Haircuts!

well, i didn't post anything that i am thankful for this thanksgiving, but as i went to my page to put on this update, i saw the first photo from thanksgiving and it really hit me how thankful i am for my kids! it's not like i am just realizing this, but it just hit me again. anyway, enough with the emotional stuff! :)
so, today after school i took the kids to a new hairstyle place. the business is not new, but it was the first time we have been there. it is called family fun cuts and is located in augusta, me. the kids loved it. toya had a dress on so she only got to use a regular chair, but jordan got to sit on a police motorcycle while he got his hair cut. it's about 40 min. away but it was worth it. jordan usually hates his hair cut but he loved going there. the price is really reasonable too. kids are 9.95 and adults (yes, adults can get their hair done there too) are 11.95. on tuesdays everyone is 8.95. it's like a huge playroom. the kids can either play games while they get their hair done or watch a movie. i was highly impressed. of course the person that owns it is a man, do men ever grow up!!! :) here is a picture of jordan getting his haircut on the motorcycle:

doesn't the hairdresser look like a big kid (that's the impression i got anyway) :)

here is kelsey on one of the other chairs (a horse), no she didn't get her hair cut.

i didn't get any of latoya as i got busy with the twins. i will try to remember to take a picture of her tomorrow so you can see her haircut. we got it cut all the way up to her chin. we've had it that short before and it looks super cute, of course now she doesn't look like her pictures we just had taken, but oh well.

i think that is all for tonight, exceot these last two pictures of the girls. they were trying on toys scarf and earmuffs. kelsey did it first so i was just going to take a picture of her, but as soon as kelsey took them off, kaylee wanted them on and kept insisting "cheese, cheese" until i took her picture....lol. these are the same twins that i could never get a picture of smiling a few months back. i don't knoiw what happened, but they LOVE the camera now. :) here they are:

Kelsey

Kaylee

Have a great evening!!!

Happy Thanksgiving from us to you!

first i would like to say happy thanksgiving to all!! secondly, wow, it has been a long time since i have updated. it seems that lately, my sleep has won over updating. well, lets see where to start. i guess i should update on the twins. they went to see the e.n.t. in brunswick and we have decided to do tubes on both of them. we just think it will save them some pain in the end. they will be having them out in on dec.4. we will spend the night in brunswick the night before because they have to be there for 6:30 a.m. kaylee will go first at 7:45 and then kelsey will follow at 8:15. they cannot have anything to eat or drink after midnight, so that will be fun. these are girls that want a drink as soon as they get up. the dr.s office gave them little dr. beanie babies. i thought they were adorable. okay, on to other things.
we had a few birthdays this past week. my moms on the 18th, mother in laws on the 19th, hubby's on the 20th. we got clocks with the kids pictures on them for our mothers. on hubby's birthday we actually had toya's party. we did it immediately after school. it worked out great. there was minimal set up and clean up. here are some pictures of her party and also one of daddy's cake:
Toya's cake

Nothing like being the senter of attention. the kids did that themselves without being told. i thought it was pretty cool. the twins even got involved.
Playing games. it was a little room and it got quit loud in there.
ready for cake!
daddy's birthday cake (remember he is a volunteer fireman)

i also wanted to include a copy of toya's school picture. they came out soo good. i can't beleive she will be 8 on saturday! she has grown up soo fast. i should have taken a close up picture of her today. she lost another tooth, so both her front teeth are missing now. i will try to remember to do that tomorrow. she is going to have three of her friends sleep over tomorrow night, and then we will take them all swimming tomorrow at the ymca., yes, it is a inside pool! well, i guess that is all for tonight. enjoy the rest of the thanksgiving night. i think this picture is the best she has taken. here is the picture:

Pictures, Video's, and not much else!

so, i was experimenting with the videos again, plus i have a few pictures to add. there really isn't much of an update. kaylee continues to have really bad diahrea, like go through your clothes bad. so, we have been through 5 sets of pj's today. so, when you see the video, just block out how unkept they are. i figured if i was just going to keep going through pj's all day then there was no sense in giving baths either. they go to see the e.n.t. tomorrow to see about tubes, so, hopefully medication will be a thing of the past, except of course kaylee's inh med for tb. anyway, here are some pics. we did end up going to meet some officials yesterday. it really wasn't all that great, but we did get to see the falls all lite up in pink and blue. my camera is not the best but i will include one picture and if you look closely you can see the colors on the water. remember it was for prematurity awareness, so the pink is for the girls and blue for boys...duh! i don't know why i thought i had to explain that. this morning i had to give jordan a breathing treatment for his asthma. i still don't know for sure that he has it, but it seemed to help a little. i hope you don't mind all the pictures and videos. it's too hard to choose. enjoy!!! okay, on to the pictures and videos:

Here is a picture of the falls:

The video below is of the girls playing/fighting (it's all the same with them) :)
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Kaylee says cheese :)

Kelsey

Jordan, i can assure you, he is not bodyless...lol. it just happens that his shirt is red and so is grammies, so it looks like just his head.Toothless Latoya!
Jordan talking about his girlfriend, alana. he said she said she loved him at pre-school today, so i had to get it on video.

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I had to get this picture of Kelsey. Notice the seeds of the broccoli on her face, that is what is stuffed in her mouth. of course she has pizza in her other hand. gotta have a balanced meal :) Jordan, Kelsey, Kaylee, and Latoya
Jordan and Latoya
Kaylee and Kelsey (no, there is nothing wrong with her neck, she just likes to pose that way..lol)

This video is Latoya just talking. I had to fit her in.
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Updates :)

well, as you will notice, i have added slide shows to the blog. there are three on the side and then two at the bottom. i thought it would spice up the blog a little. i am also adding video footage that i took of the twins with my digital camera today. it is kinda dark, but i was just experimenting. i will know next time to try to get to a brighter spot. you can still hear their cute little voices though. there is not too much else to report. the girls have major diahrea that i'm assuming is from the medicine. they will be going to see dr. penner in brunswick on thursday for tubes, so hopefully we will be able to put a top to all the meds. they are definitely sleeping better. we went to the ymca to work out tonight. they have a playroom where someone watches the kids while the parents work out. toya was bored last time but liked this lady and they actually did not want to leave. doug and i were able to work out together for an hour. it really is nice to just be able to talk without anyone interupting for a little while. tomorrow, we have the opportunity to meet with some town officials and some state officials as well as it is prematurity awareness month here. they invited me to come with my kids (all 3 girls spent time in the nicu), jordan was 2 1/2 weeks early but was completely healthy enough to come home, plus he weighed 7lbs. 14 oz. :). anyway, here are the videos. make sure you tunr your volume up. the first one is kaylee giggling:

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the next one is the girls kissing nd kaylee saying bankie (blankie):

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this last one is the girls saying various things, kelsey is first and then kaylee:

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i hope you enjoy. next time i will make sure they are better. have a great evening.

Where have I been???

well, since you asked, we have been back and forth from the dr.s. i know, i know, we are soooo full of surprises...lol. so, lets see. we left off on tuesday. I can't remember much about wendsday, so it must have been fairly uneventful. on thursday we had to go to portland to see the specialist about kaylee's tb. she was actually quit nice this time, probably because she had her charts!!! she still thinks it is probably more of a cousin of TB than actual tb, but still wants her on the medication to be sure. the girls were fine during the day, but come supper time, they were done. neither of them ate supper and screamed the rest of the night. kaylee is still on medication for her ears and kelsey had finished hers. kaylee did not want to swallow at all. i don't think she was being stubborn, i think it actually hurt too much to swallow. so, i had to fight with her to get it down, but we managed. kaylee woke up at 10:00 and was up for about a half hour, i then decided that it was probably going to be a long night so i went to bed. kelsey then woke up at midnight. daddy let me sleep and went in and held her for a while and then put her back down. kelsey was then back up at 1:00 so i took her downstairs, gave her some ear drops and motrin cold (they really do have colds). she went back to sleep around 1:30. at 5:00, kaylee was awake again. i gave her more ear drops and motrin and then she went back to sleep. i never did get back to sleep. they woke up around 7:30 screaming. i called the dr.s office and they made them an appt. for 10:30. we went down and sure enough, kelsey has another ear infection and kaylee's is only a tiny bit better. they also both have conjunctivitis. so, we left there with a prescription for ear drops, eye drops, and meds for kelsey (we decided to keep kaylee on hers and not change it again). so, our ritual for meds for the day goes like this. wake up ~ jordan gets singulair, kelsey and kaylee get ceftin (ear meds.), ear drops, and eye drops. at supper they get more ceftin, and then at bed time they get ear drops and eye drops plus kaylee gets INH for tb. they also get motrin and more ear drops when needed for the pain. i feel like such a bad parent that they are on soo many meds. part of me just wants to say forget it, but i know they will be in sooo much pain. when we were at the dr.s today, i was talking to one of them and i was saying how sick i was of coming down every other day and another one jokingly says "we're sick of seeing you". i said "i know, like i have nothing better to do". he said "well, we have to be here every day", and i said "yeah, but you get paid for it." he just laughed. i really do love the girls dr. office. they never make me feel like a nuisance. of course, every time i go down, they definitely have something going on, so they know i am not just the kind to cry wolf. i still feel like a frequent flyer though and i hate it. anyway, please pray that the girls start getting better. i am soooo tired. you had to ask where i've been didn't you???? lol. on to other news:
we have a ladies conference at the church tomorrow. i was looking forward to it, but if the girls are up all night again, i am not going. latoya is excited as she will be dressed as a princess and will be greeting people. even if i don't go, grammy will come and pick her up so she doesn't miss it. i am really hoping that they have a better night. it's not looking too good as they went to bed at around 8:30 and i have already heard them twice. they have gone right back to sleep both times, but that will only happen for so long.
here is a update on my cousin. the baby, whose name is haley, died of sids. visiting hours were yesterday and the funeral was today. my hubby had to work, but even if he didn't, i wouldn't have gone because i wouldn't be able to see a little baby in a casket like that. my mom went and said when they got to the visiting hours, that she noticed that the casket was empty and then she saw the mother holding her. she said she was rocking her and playing with her hair and hands. i would have lost it right there. at first, i thought that was kinda strange, but then i thought it seemed natural. as mothers, that is what we do. we rock them and cuddle them and comfort them. i think she is in shock, and who wouldn't be.
here is a link to the obituary:
http://www.sunjournal.com/story/184451-3/Obituaries/Haley_Elizabeth_Johnson/.
she is definitely a beautiful baby. sorry to end on such a sad note, it just goes to show that when you think you have it bad, someone has it worse. a couple of prayer requests is for the girls health and also for this family. have a good night!

A Busy November!

well, november is here. i am just realizing that it truly is november. life has been so chaotic lately. we were back at the dr.s office this afternoon for a asthma appt. for jordan. i was told to make one and then when i got there i was told everything i had been told the day before.....time well spent!!! what can you do??? anyway, getting on to the busy part of november. we have sooo many birthdays this month and most of them are immediate family! my mom's is the 18th, hubby's mom's is the 19th, hubby's is the 20th, and latoya's 8th and my sisters birthdays are on the 25th. we also have a couple of nieces and nephews between the 20th and the 25th. thankfully i am on a roll this year and am about done christmas shopping as well as birthday shopping with the exception of hubby who doesn't get anything. don't feel bad for him, i don't get anything either. we have too many other people to buy for, we can't afford to buy for ourselves, besides, who wants to celebrate getting older anyway???? we are approaching 30.....ugh!!!! i know we are old. anyway, not much else, just looking for some sympathy...lol.

on to a serious note: i have a prayer request. my cousin (i am not very close to him) and his wife had their second child about 2 mo. ago. this afternoon the little girl stopped breathing and passed away. nothing has been found as to what happened to her, but please pray for her family. i could not imagine dealing with the death of a child. please pray for comfort for them. that's all for tonight. have a great evening.

Another update :)

not to much to report. the home health nurse came today and she was actually quit pleasant. she said that the TB program was going to send me a $40 gas card for the running around i have been doing and also told me of a program that pays for the gas i use to go back and forth to the dr.s office. as much as we go to the dr.s office, that will be a big help. she thinks kaylee's lymph nodes on her jaw are getting smaller which is what i think as well. so, that is a good sign. anyway, right after she left we headed down to the dr.s office for rechecks. as i thought, kaylee's ears are not any better and may in fact be worse, so they changed her meds. kelseys are getting better. jordan is thought to truly have asthma and he was given two medications for that. he will take singulair from here on out and then have pulmicourt when he gets wheezing. i think his is more of an activity induced asthma. that is all as far as the medical aspect goes. doug and i went to the ymca tonight to check out the facilities and ended up joining. we are hoping to be able to go workout every monday night and thursday and then i will go an extra day or two when i get a chance. i like that we can just bring the kids with us and there is a sitter there. that will be nice. anyway, that is all for tonight. sorry, no pics this time. have a great evening. :)

Eating Ice Cream & Other News :)

sorry it's been so long. it has been a very eventful few days. my days are so mixed up right now. here's a short version of what has been going on. on wendsday night we didn't go to church as latoya came home from school with a belly ache and headache. we called it an early night. on thursday night at around 10 p.m. (i think), kaylee woke up screaming and would not go back to sleep. i thought maybe she had an ear ache, but wasn't sure. i also didn't know if she was having a reaction to the INH medication she is on for the TB. like i said before, there are many side affects that she cannot tell me about. she had also hit her forehead about 3 hr.s before that and had a bump there so i wasn't sure if that had anything to do with it either. anyway, after talking mayself into it, i decided to call the dr. on call at the dr.s office. he called me right back and said that more than likely it had nothing to do with the meds. or the bump, but if she continued to cry for more than an hour, to bring her to the ER. i put some ear drops in (they numb the ear) and after about a half hour she was back asleep. i bet you can't guess what we did on friday??? yup, you guessed it, we were back at the dr.s office. sure enough she has a ear infection, actually a double ear infection. he said that she actually has puss in one ear and the other didn't look much better. so now, i have 3 of the 4 on meds. kelsey and kaylee get their ear ache meds in the morning, and then kaylee gets her INH at night and jordan gets his allergy/asthma (singulair) at night. thursday night when kaylee was crying was horrible. i was crying right along with her saying why can't i have normal, healthy kids!!!!! i don't understand it. it is so heart wrenching to hold your baby while she screams and you can't do anything for her because you don't know what's wrong with her!!!!! anyway, it must have been a good ear infection because even after two days on the meds, she still holds onto that ear and cries at night until i put the ear drops in. i also forgot to mention that the meds they had put kelsey on for her ear infection was giving her really watery diahrea, so they switched her to something else and now her and kaylee are on the same one. happier thought :) today we went swimming at the ymca. they have family open swim. it lasts one hour and the family gets in for $6. the kids had fun so i think we will do it every weekend when we have nothing else going on. on monday the home health nurse comes to check on kaylee and then i have to take the other three down to get rechecked at the dr.s. hopefully the girls ears will look better and we can find out where to go from her with jordan. i will keep you all updated. here are some cute pictures of the kids eating ice cream:

Kaylee

kaylee ~ this is how we eat ice cream when our hands are cold

kaylee

jordan

latoya

kelsey
kelsey

kelsey ~ notice the corn on the cob sitting beside the cone. she took turns biting each! :)

Ear infection and Asthma???

well, go figure, we ended up in the dr.s office this afternoon. since the last time jordan had the croup, his cough has hung around. the dr. we saw today said that looking back at his records over the past couple of years, that what he seems to have is asthma. croup is a sign of asthma is they get it alot, which jordan does. he gets croup every time he gets a cold. he sent us home with some samples for allergys/asthma and said he will see us back on moday for a consult. i had been wondering about that for a while as he seems to cough whenever he runs or is really active which is all the time...lol. that's the update on him.
kelsey was up last night from 2:30-5:30 a.m. i had a feeling she had an ear infection because she refused to lay down. sure enough, she has an ear infection. after i got to the dr.s office, i felt that just for the heck of it i should have had kaylee checked as well just to make sure she didn't have one too. the dr. was nice and said he would check her just to be sure. kaylee doesn't have one. he said he will send a referral again for tubes tomorrow for both of them. this is the 4th ear infection for the season so far so he said they definitely should have them. so it looks like they will both have the surgery. i don't know what exactly to feel about this. for those who remember, the e.n.t. (the one who will do the tubes) said that if he did do the tubes that he might as well take the lymph nodes out of kaylee's cheek while she is under. this is going to require alot of that, because you will also remember that there is a chance of her face becoming partially paralyzed. i'm too tired to think about it right now. i will keep everyone updated though.
anyway, tonight was halloween. last year we went to a nursing home and trick or treated there. we liked it so much that we did it again this year. it is two fold as the kids love to get candy and the older people love to see the kids. i like that it also gets the kids used to going into a nursing home. i remember when my grandfather was in one and even though we were older, it was still kinda scary for me. i really hope this helps my kids. we invited a couple more parents from the church to come with us and the kids had alot of fun. there was a guy in the lobby, which was dark by the way, and he wears camouflage and stands really still. he has a pumpkin on his head. i remember last year how long it took us to realize that he was real. whenever a kid gets close enough, he jumps them. it really is funny, i guess you have to see it. jordan kept walking by but was smart enough not to get too close, then the pumpkin man scared another kid and jordan stayed away. it was funny. well, that is all for tonight, sorry there are no pics. i will make up for it eventually. have a great evening, and happy halloween!! :)

Dissapointed, but i have pics!!! :)

sorry this is so scatterbrained, i have 1000 thoughts and emotions running through my head. once again i have no pics of latoya either.....ugh.
well, not really too much for an update. i went to a community baby shower today, but it will probably be the last year i go. unless you are expecting or have small children i guess it is not really worth it. i have to say it was nice to just go out with other people my age. i didn't really get much. for the big raffles they had a firetruck rocking ride thing. i was really hoping to get it for jordan for christmas, he would have absolutely loved. one of my friends won it and gave it away. i wish i would have known because i would have bought it from her. there's more to it, but anyway. the twins would have loved it too. they love fire trucks. kelsey puts on the fire truck hat and says "fire guy" :). i try to get her to say fireman, but she keeps saying "fire guy"...lol. i guess i will search for one to buy.
anyway, the girls are talking soo much. yesterday we took them to eat and toya says "thank you mommy" and right after kelsey said it. now she says it whenever i giver he something. it is soooo cute!!!!! we also went to see my grandmother (kids great grandmother) yesterday. the girls cried when we first got there, but each gave grammy a kiss when we left and i got pics. they also love playing on the exercise bike at her house.
we also had a harvest party at church tonight. the kids had fun. i didn't take pictures because i forgot my camera in the van and it was pouring. the girls each carried their own bags and tried all the game and got candy. they were really good about putting it in their bags, but if we stopped too long, they would sit down and check out their loot. :) it made for a long day.
last news is that kaylee has started her medication. i think it will be a long 9 mo. they didn't want to test her again. oh well, even if they did, if it came back negative i don't think i would be satisfied just because she did have a positive test and that would always be in the back of my mind. from here she will have periodic blood tests because the medication can cause liver damage. i don't know what is worse. just keep her in your prayers that she does not get any liver damage. i think that is the worst case scenario. this medication causes lots of side affects though. here is a link to info: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/drug-information/DR202307. the scary thing is that most of the side affects she cannot tell me about because she is only 20 mo. it's so easy to question why her??? i honestly can say that until she started the medication, i really didn't do that, but tonight after giving her her first dose, i have to admit that was the first thing that popped into my mind. why her, why me, why us???? i don't have the answer. i beleive in God, and i know everything happens for a reason, but why???? i put on such a strong front and make like it is not such a big deal, but this is my baby. she is such a fun loving, energetic, beautiful girl and i am just afraid that something will change. wow, i'm sorry, this is such a emotional post for me. i think writing it makes it more real, this is hard. it's gonna be another long christmas i think. we are coming up on the one year marker of doug's father's death and now this with kaylee. it almost makes you not want to celebrate, but it wouldn't be fair to the kids. maybe it will get better as we get closer, but i think it will just get harder. who knows. enough emotion for tonight. i know people do and are going through worse, but it feels just as bad when it's your own family and especially your own innocent child.
it's been one of those days. here are some pics to lighten up the post. enjoy and please keep kaylee in your prayers.

Not much of an update

well, i talked to the home health nurse today and she said she will check into getting kaylee retested before we start the medication. i just think that as her mom, i would like to have one more test to be sure it definitely is TB, especially since it is 9 months. anyway, i should hear back from her today. i also got another call from a different home health nurse who wanted to know what i found out about the strawberry on kaylee's forehead, what!!!! how did she know??? she said when things like that get a referral, the state gets a letter that tells them about it so someone can check in and make sure we are getting the help we need?? anyway, i told her that the dr.s were going to give us a referral and then decided all of a sudden that she didn't need one and wouldn't give us one. she was not impressed and said i should see my primary care physician and bring it up with them. i'm not too worried about it after hearing from the dr. in boston, but if they are willing to give me a referral, then i will take her to be seen. what can it hurt??? we'll see. i may wait until their physical in feb. we'll see. i wish things didn't always happen to kaylee! on to other news, toys has two loose teeth. i was hoping that she would still have them for her pictures, and she did. she hasn't lost them yet. anyway, that is all for now. good night!

A Few Days Late!

on the post that is. i was planning on updateing last night, but completely forgot. so, anyway, here it is. the dr. that i had emailed about in boston, did email me back rather promptly on monday morning. she said that there are different kinds of "strawberry's", and the kind that kaylee has will certainly go away on it's own. she said that the steroid treatment will not do anything for it. i thought there moght be different kinds as the mother of the little boy had said that he had three of them and that they got infected sometimes. kaylee has only had one and it has never gotten infected. anyway, she stated it would go away by the time she is in second grade. i sent her a picture and she said it is already showing signs of going away. we'll just have to cover it with bangs until then. oh well, it was worht a try. i also got a call from the specialist in portland about the tb. they have decided to start her back on the medication. i have to go pick it up tonight.

anyway, here are jordan's 4 yr. pictures. they came out really good. the package we got was of him and thomas, of course! latoya is getting her pictures done at school today, so when they come in, i will post that. of course school pictures are only one pose, but they usually come out really good. by the way, on anmy of the pictures i post, if you click on them, they open in a new window and are bigger. well, have a great day.

A Wonderful Pic of Latoya!

well, my one picture i have today is of latoya, go figure! a couple from church gave this to me tonight. it is from old fashion sunday about a month ago. the hat was made by my grandmother, toya's great grandmother! it was made for me and my sisters when we were little. it is really cute. beleive it or not, that is all there is for tonight. i hope you enjoy the picture. good night.

No New is Good News :)

of course, it's not as interesting, but it means we are happy for the moment and there isn't too much chaos. there really isn't much to tell or any pictures. i could have taken a pictures of kelsey's first fat lip, but i didn't. i was pushing her in the cart and went over the curb and i didn't realize she had her mouth on the metal bar and when the cart bump down onto the road, all of a sudden there was blood. because mouths bleed soo much, i couldn't tell how bad it was, i just saw alot of blood. she (or i) did a pretty good job. her little lip is swollen and there was a little hole where her tooth went in. luckily she didn't break any teeth, and it closed pretty quickly. by the way, i was busy trying to keep jordan from running into the road! while we were browsing, we saw a couple and at first when she was asking about the twins, i was just thinking oh another one, but then she said she had 2 year old triplets at home. all i thought was WOW! she showed us a picture and they are cute! she has 2 boys and a girl. one of the boys had a couple of hemengiomas on his face like kalyee's and she was told of a dr. in boston that specializes in them and put her son on some steroid treatment and she said that worked great! my dr.s office won't do anything about them, so i am going to see if i can find out who the dr. was and try to get a hold of her. maybe she can do the same for kaylee. anyway, that's about it. hopefully i will have a better update and pictures tomorrow. have a great evening. :)

Another update on Kaylee's TB

we had our appt. with the e.n.t specialist in brunswick. he is the one who ordered the tb skin test to begin with. he said the only reason he ordered it was because he felt the lymph nodes were swollen just because there was a disease in the body not because he thought the tb was in the lymph nodes themselves. he was very thorough and went through the options with me. he like the specialist in portland feels that it is just in the body and nor the lymph nodes. he said it is ultimately our decision as to whether we want them to remove them or not. one drawback is that right where the lumps are is also where a major facial vein or vessel (can't remember what it was) is. he said they do these all the time, but there is a risk of facial paralysis for life. he said what he would like to do is start treating her as non active(meaning no tb in the lymph nodes) and if they do not go away then remove them at that time. of course then you have the question of, if it is active tb then won't it spread. he said no necessarily. i am very confused, but my thoughts right now are to start treating her as inactive and see what happens. the facial paralysis really scared me, and maybe that's why he told me that. we also discussed tubes for the girls and he said to discuss it with their dr. again and make sure that was what we wanted to do and he would do it. he also said that if we do go with tubes that we may as well have the lumps taken out so they will only have to do general anesthesia once, but i don't think i want him doing that. i guess we will cross that bridge when we come to it. anyway, on to more news.
our dog got sprayed by a skunk tonight!!! boy did it stink!. i didn't think we would ever get the smell out of our house or off her. i found this awesome recipe that worked the very first time. here it is:

The Recipe & Directions


The Skunk Remedy Recipe

In a plastic bucket, mix well the following ingredients:

1 quart of 3% Hydrogen Peroxide

1/4 cup of baking soda

1 to 2 teaspoons liquid soap



for very large pets one quart of tepid tap water may be added to enable complete coverage.

Wash pet promptly and thoroughly, work the solution deep into the fur. Let your nose guide you, leave the solution on about 5 minutes or until the odor is gone. Some heavily oiled areas may require a "rinse and repeat" washing.

Skunks usually aim for the face, but try to keep the solution out of the eyes - it stings. If you have any cuts on your hands you might want to wear latex gloves for the same reason.

After treatment, thoroughly rinse your pet with tepid tap water.

Pour the spent solution down the drain with running water.

NEVER, ever, store mixed solution in a closed bottle, sprayer,etc. Pressure will build up until the container bursts. This can cause severe injury.

**********Notes**************

1) Clean plastic mixing containers and utensils are preferred. Metals encourage auto-decomposition of the peroxide.

2) Hydrogen Peroxide 3% solution is usually sold in pint (500ml) bottles, so you'll need two. The 3% grade is often marked "U.S.P.", meaning that it meets the standards for medical use and purity as set forth in the United States Pharmacopoeia.

The use of other strengths/grades is not recommended unless you're a chemist, and even then a trip to the 24-hour drugstore is much better than a trip to the emergency room.

3) Use baking soda, not baking powder. "Arm and Hammer" is one popular brand. Baking soda is also called: Sodium Bicarbonate, Sodium Bicarbonate, U.S.P., Bicarbonate of Soda, and Sodium Hydrogen Carbonate. Do not confuse any of the above with Washing Soda, which is Sodium Carbonate. Washing Soda is about 100 times more alkaline than Baking Soda and can cause skin burns to both you and your pet.

4) Two preferred brands are "Softsoap" and "Ivory Liquid". As far as auto-decomposition of the peroxide is concerned, the surfactant package in these two is fairly inert. Heavy-duty grease-cutting brands such as "Dawn" are less inert, and hair shampoo is probably the worst.

5) Once mixed, the peroxide slowly breaks down into water and oxygen gas. Thus it gets weaker with time and so it should be used promptly. The exact rate depends on temperature, pH, and catalysts such as trace amounts of metals (iron,etc.) in the soap and/or tap water.

How much pressure will the complete decomposition of 3% hydrogen peroxide produce in a closed container ??? It depends on how full the container is. Assuming negligible solubility of Oxygen in water, a bottle half-full of peroxide will develop about 140 psi. A bottle 3/4 full would develop 420 psi. This can do a lot of damage.

Highly pure hydrogen peroxide decomposes very slowly if kept cool and in a dark place, a few percent a year. The more dilute solutions usually decompose faster (due to impurities in the dilution water) and have a trace of stabilizer added. So why aren't the bottles in the store bloated or bursting ? Look carefully inside the cap... you'll see some very tiny holes in the cap liner to let the oxygen gas escape. A good reason to always store bottles upright.

Look for an expiration date on your peroxide. If you're using stuff which has been sitting around in your medicine cabinet for years, buy fresh peroxide.

6) Tepid: lukewarm.

7) All brand names mentioned in this website are trademarks of their various owners.

As for the house, i mopped the kitchen floor and then set up 5 little bowls of tomato juice around the kitchen (it's supposed to absorb the smell). it seems to have worked, and really fast!!! i can't say the same for the outside though. i also thought i would say thanks to my dad for bringing over the ingredients. you see, i am not a cook and had no baking soda. anyway, that's the update for tonight. now you know why i am not an animal lover, i have 4 kids, why do i need someone to keep me busy after they go to bed???? oh well, she is good and is getting better at listening, maybe one day i will love her (i only like her right now). okay, have a great evening, i know this is a pretty boring update following the great pictures last night, but who knows, maybe someday you will nedd this recipe :)

Just some cute pics!

Kaylee, Latoya, Kelsey, and Jordan

tomorrow is the big appt. with the specialist. we should find out about tubes and about what we will do about kaylee. obviously there will be more tomorrow. on to other news.
i got these tights for the girls as hand me downs and they are just too cute. i think they look like punky brewster(showing my age a little), except they match. someone at church said they looked like rainbow bright as well. either way, they are super cute!!!! here are some pictures: (boy are they growing up, and FAST)

Kelsey
Kaylee

for those that know jordan, then you know whyt i am including this picture, and not just because it is absolutely adorable. for those that don't know jordan, he can be very mean to his sisters. i think it is definitely a jealousy thing, it just happened later instead of when they were little. i really hope he grows out of it soon. any advise on how to help him along would be appreciated. he is really weird about them though because one minute he will be hitting them and the next he will be all lovey as pictured below:

Kaylee, Jordan, and Kelsey

a funny story ~ they had a fire drill at the preschool. his teacher said that jordan was highly

dissapointed when there was actually no fire or fire trucks.

and here is a goodnight kiss for all. they do this every night, it is soo cute!!!

Kelsey(L) and Kaylee(R)

Thank You!

first i wanted to say thank you to those that have left comments, now and when i first started. i know people are reading it as the count keeps going up, but it is nice to know that it's not the same one or two people, although i do love that those one or two people are interested in my kids. of cours i know one of them is my sister in n.c. who only gets to see her nieces and nephew 3 times a year at most, and because i am such a mean...i mean busy mom, i don't get pictures sent out to her very often, so atleast she can see a day to day update with pictures. another one is my mom, even though she sees them every day, literally. can you ever get enough of your grandkids, i don't know???? i guess it depends on the grandparent. anyway, enough about that, i just wanted to say thanks to those that have responded and to those that haven't. it makes writing a blog a little more satisfying when you know people are reading it.
well, i wasn't going to update as nothing new really happened today, but i figured i had a few spare minutes. who needs sleep anyway???
looks like toya won't be going on her field trip to pumpkinland after all as it will be raining. i'm glad we took them by ourselves. i noticed that jordan has been eating like a pig the past few days, at first i thought it was because he was going through a growth spurt, then i remembered....duh, he is on steroids for his croup. i'm glad the meds are only for 5 days...lol. nobody can beleive he is only 4 as it is. okay, i am going to bed now as that is all the news, interesting, huh??? have a good night!!

Late or Early Update

well, i see that the name thing didn't go over so well. oh well, i guess people are just to shy to say hi. anyway, sorry for not updating last night, it was just a relaxing night.
anyway, i got a call from the specialist in portland this morning. she said the reason she hasn't gotten back to me is because she honestly didn't know what to tell me. she said if i decide to that we can definitely have the lumps removed so she can look at them, it's just a matter of finding a surgeon willing to do it. her concern is that kaylee is so little and she doesn't know how she will handle the anesthesia. she said other than that, all else will be cosmetic. her recommendation is that we wait it out and see if they continue to grow. she said they will start treating her as inactive, the problem with that is if it is in the lymph nodes and we treat her as inactive, the tb could definitely spread because one medication will not stop it. i honestly don't know what to do. my gut says wait, but what if it is tb in there??? we have a specialist appt. with dr. penner in brunswick and she said to discuss it with him as he will be the one to remove them. she said whatever dr. penner and i decide, she will go along with. she said because of the size and the fact that they are not growing anymore, that she does not think that it is tb in there. she said the only way to know for sure is to have them taken out and looked at. she doesn't want to start the medication again until after we meet with dr. penner again just in case he does decide to take them out. i guess i will update again after we see him. she also said i realize that this is not my child, so i see why you would want to know for sure, and probably nothing i say unless i can say it with 100% certainty is going to satisfy you, and i don't blame you. she was much nicer this time, of course she had the charts so she could really talk to me too. anyway, i will possible update again tonight if anything interesting happens. have a great day!!
i thought just to make brighten things up, i'd shjare some of my favorite photos of when the girls first came home: (they were about 1-1 1/2 mo. old)

What's Your Name???

i saw someone do this on their site and thought it would be interesting to see how many people actually check my blog. what io would like you to do is post a comment just say hi, and if you would like to include how you found my site and where you are from that would be great. i see that my site is looked at about 20-30 times a day, so i am just curious. have a great night!!!

Another Sunday

today was a normal sunday. church, cleaning the church, and church again at night. i don't mean to imply that church is a bad thing, because i really like it. i like alot of things about it. i get to talk to adults, and i usually enjoy the sermons, of course it is hard to pay attention to the pastor when i have a 4 yr. old wiggle worm next to me, but he is getting better. i might be able to get something out of it again someday :). i also remember what i was going to say about jordan yesterday. he has been coughing ALOT and the other day we were in the van and i heard him gaging. i asked him if he was okay, and he said yes. i heard it again and asked what he was doing, he said his throat was itching and he was trying to scratch it by sticking his finger down his throat and itching it....lol. i told you he was funny!!! anyway, that is all for tonight. i know it is not much, but, i am kinda glad, it means my life was a little less hectic today....or so it seemed :) have a great evening!!!