Friday, October 28, 2011

Super Duper Chicken & Noodles

3 or 4 Boneless chicken breasts
1 can Cream of Chicken soup
2-3 Tablespoons bacon bits
1 Pkg. Hidden Valley Ranch Mix
1/2 to 1 cup water (depending on how soupy you want it)
1 cup Sour Cream

Dump everything in the crock pot and cook on low for at least 3 hrs.
Take the chicken pieces out, shred and put back in.  Add cooked broad noodles. 
I don't know how much....just a bunch.  Let it mix with everything as long as you
can...and it's ready.

Tonight I was in a hurry so I just boiled the chicken breasts in enough water to cover them till
done....sliced it up, added UNCOOKED noodles and let them cook....then added everything else.  I think it was just as good.  The bacon gives it a really good smokey flavor.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

The Latin Duo

I got a new Zumba DVD and thought this would be great to dance with the twins.  They both enjoy music and dancing around and I so need the exercise. 

First we start the basics.  Those pretty, skinny girls show what we are supposed to look like and the Duo are down dancing, kicking their legs and really getting into it.  I decided to watch several minutes to get it straight in my mind before I start participating.  The Duo are having a great time so I'm thinking this is going to be a great morning routine for us. 

I get up to start going through the step by step routines and the twins stop to try to figure out what is wrong with me.  I spread my legs to try to do a body roll and Lyss starts crying.  Kayla comes to me and is hanging on to me to be picked up.  I sit them on the couch to watch me and both are boohooing to beat the band.  Tears are flowing and they are hanging on to each other like the world is coming to an end.  After a few more minutes of jumping and scrunching my body in strange positions, I finally give up and sit down to hold the girls.  I had to turn the DVD off completely before they would calm down.  I guess they thought I was going through my final death throes.  Who knew Zumba would be so scary??

Monday, October 17, 2011

Trashcanitus

I've just realized my husband has this terrible disease.  I don't know what the scientific name for it is but it could be fatal.  I have found that more men than women are debilitated by this horrible problem.

He is totally unable to put a trash bag into an empty trash can.  Now he can put trash, dirty diapers, etc. in it but an empty trash bag is just too much for him.  I think this disease is connected another which makes it impossible to change an empty toilet paper roll.  There is no known cure for this disease but if not treated, is nearly always fatal.  Since, starting a newsletter on this disease, I've found hundreds of families are afflicted.  The medical world has turned it's back on our suffering!  Through much time and effort though, I have found an old folk remedy which may be the answer to the prayers of people living with the ones with this terrible disease. 

First, you let them go to sleep.  You quietly and gently, place a pillow over their head and gently but firmly press for several minutes.  Five or ten minutes should do the trick.  I'll let you know if this works out for me.

Saturday, October 15, 2011

Sleeping Beauty

The girls are so different....Lyssa wants her own bed, by herself....don't let the door hit you in the back when you leave her alone to go to sleep.  Alas, Kayla is our problem sleeper....she has to have a warm body to sleep against....usually me. 

Naptime.  I tell them it is naptime and Lyssa runs to her room and says "up!"  She finds her baby and she's finished with me.  Kayla disappears.  After I fish her out of her latest hidey hole, we go to lie down in my bed.  Her crib has monsters in it in the daytime.  I wrap her in her blanket so she can't roll and crawl from side to side and say a serious "nite, nite!"  She snugs up against me and scrunches her eyes close so I close mine to bore her to sleep.  

She talks...I ignore.  She gives me kisses....I ignore.  Finally, she rubs my hair in a rhythm....rub, rub, pause...then rub, rub, pause.  Finally, after about five minutes, I open my eyes to see what in the world she is doing.  She is licking her hand until it is dripping, then wiping it in my hair....over and over and over.  Now that I've chewed her out and have gotten her to sleep finally, I think I will go wash my hair.

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Two years in a few sentences

Two years ago the Dynamic Duo were a few hours old, I had driven home and I was still living in Neverland that I was going to be nothing more than a meddling grandmother.  It seems like it was only yesterday that I left that hospital after only getting to see the twins for a few minutes.  They were so fragile, each baby had her own nurse within touching, and were kept in a darkened room with machines beeping. The hardest part was that no one would tell me anything because I was not a parent....and the "parent" wasn't asking questions.  The only thing I had to hang on to is I knew that they were breathing on their own.  It was a hard trip home but since I had a seven year old I was responsible for, home is where I had to be. 

After many trips, the Duo came home in mid November and haven't looked back since.  Two years later, they are healthy, ornery and going ninety miles an  hour most of the time. 

There will be challenges.  We are much older than other parents.  Kayla will have to work a little harder.  We will have to be vigilant for problems that could crop up from the prenatal drugs and alcohol. 

I made a vow that I would not worry and look too far ahead....and I haven't.  If we as Christians, believe in God, we also have to trust.  With trust there can be no worry.  I don't know where we are headed but I'm not worried.  We will make it.

MEN!!!

I've been married for nearly 42 years and still don't understand the male species. 

I got the girls up for church, fed them, chased them down to dress them, and then chased them down again to load them in the carseats.  The girls were having their birthday party today at Nanny Ruth's so I had ordered the cake and got the plates, ice cream, etc. for the dinner......all Chuck had to do was his normal routine and show up.  I taught my Sunday school class, did my paperwork, got the Duo from nursery and headed to the lunch.  As I have mentioned before.....all Chuck had to do was show up.  I fed one twin while the other one played, then switched.....while Chuck ate and talked cows with his brother in law.  I got the cake and ice cream out for the girls to see and everybody to sing 'Happy Birthday' to.....and he talked cows.  We moved on to opening presents so I sat in the floor with the twins to show them all the stuff they got.  By this time I'm a little peeved so I gave Chuck the camera....I mean surely he can take a few pictures while I'm wrestling with them.  He is STILL talking cows.  

When we are getting ready to leave, I'm cleaning up the mess and ask Chuck to pick up the toys while I load the presents in the car.  I come back......and pick up the toys while he is talking.....load the rest of the stuff and girls.  THEN he asks me what I told him to do.  hmmmm.....

He says I don't listen to him......I say I'm going to smother him with a pillow.   When we got home, I found that he had taken four pictures....and only one of them had both of the girls in it.

Monday, August 15, 2011

Indy 500 Sundays

Sundays are a little stressful around here. You'd think any halfway intelligent person could get two little people presentable and at church by a reasonable time.  We get up early on Sunday....I don't know why.  There must be some high frequency alarm system that only the Duo can hear because six or six thirty is usually the limit.  It seems since we get up earlier we should have more time but it doesn't work that way.  Sunday time is different...it takes twice as long to get anything done, especially Duo-wise.  I know a lot of people say they sleep a little later, read the paper a little longer, have a nice breakfast, then leisurely get dressed and off to church.  I think they're lying.....Sundays here are like the Indy 500. 

Kayla, of course, wakes me up worried about her dog, ducks, cows, and turkeys.....thankfully, we don't have all those things but we have to go check the dog for sure.  Lyssa is yelling by this time and we go check the hummingbirds out.  The Duo don't think they can go in one direction....if one goes east, the other is programed to automatically go west.  Herding takes a lot of running and cutting off at the pass which is hilarious fun.  Why am I not skinny??   Now...breakfast.  Any other day, they eat in their high chairs easily.  Sundays their chairs must have thorns or thumbtacks because there is no way they will sit for scrambled eggs.  I give them Cheerios in bowls on the floor so I can get out of my pajamas.  I come back and the Cheerios had to have bred and exploded all over the den and dining room.  It's 8 am and I'm in a housecoat and lucky if I've gotten to brush my teeth. 

I finally get us all dressed...and redressed...and redressed.  Hair has been fixed...and refixed and finally given up on.  One of the biggest challenges is finding four shoes that are matching.  For some reason Kayla always has one missing from each pair.  I live in a dream world and put their hair bows in the car to put on when we get there. 

We head out the door and I turn to lock it....and lose what little tiny strand of control I had.  They escape.  We have a new cellar in the back yard that that of course, has turned a mud bog with the recent rain and Lyss runs for it...in her shiny white dress shoes and frilly dress.  I head for her and Kayla runs for the nearest puddle.  I yell and slow her down long enough to grab Lyss....pulling her out of her shoes and hike for Kayla.  Kayla splashes in the mud but just gets it on her shoes so strip those off too.  I plunk Lyss in her car seat so I can pin Kayla in hers.  Lyssa gets loose and crawls to the drivers seat while I snap Kayla in.  Finally get both of them contained so I can rescue and clean shoes, wash feet and clean runny noses. 

We are finally on our way with twenty minutes till church.  Halfway there I look down and my toes in my sandals are muddy and I have muddy foot prints on my pants.  Forget the hair bows...I need a change of clothes to take to church. 

Friday, August 12, 2011

Mornings at the Zoo

I have great admiration for mothers that work.  I whine about not getting to work but I'm not sure I could find one with hours that I could handle. 

Our mornings start at midnight....none of this late sleeping for us.  Kayla is a very light....very spoiled sleeper.  The girls go to bed at 8:30 and by 11 or 12, Kayla is ready for company.  She cries like she's scared to death so she is either a really good actress or having monster nightmares.  I'm beginning to be a little suspicious.  After the initial hysteria, she will lie right down and go back to sleep.....as long as it is up against a warm body.  I had said I would never sleep with one of my children but around here, if I want to sleep, I'm usually the warm body.

At daybreak she is nose to nose with me, giving me kisses and pointing to the window saying "dog!"  Kayla is our dog person and has to check on them at first light.  Thankfully, Lyssa is oblivious to dawn.  We walk outside watching the hummingbirds, cows and dogs until she decides she needs a cookie.  Now cookie to Kayla is anything from mashed potatoes and gravy to scrambled eggs.  It's her word for food of all kinds....just like tea stands for milk, applejuice or water.  She speaks a quirky English. 

Lyssa joins us and the fun begins.  Kayla will eat just about anything......Lyssa is very suspicious of anything I might give her.  Today, scrambled eggs and cereal met with a snub so Pop Tarts and a banana saved her from starvation.  Kayla ate some of all.

Now on to the bathroom ritual.  Lyssa doesn't think she can sit on the potty without brushing her teeth so she sits and brushes while I brush Kayla's with one hand and hold her down with the other.  The games have officially begun.  Lyssa runs off barebottomed so I will chase her down to save the toothbrush from oblivion and Kayla escapes.  I finally get both faces washed and hair combed....no wait, one has already taken her ponytail out, so I start over.  I hold down and change one diaper on a wiggly girl while the other one escapes to hide.  Kayla still thinks if she puts her hands over her eyes, she's hidden, so she's easy.  Lyssa has really learned to hide though.  Fifteen minutes later we are start getting dressed to the same hide and seek game.  By that time both have lost their ponytails and the hair is sticking straight up.

Finally, they are dressed, have their glasses on and watching Sesame Street.  All is calm.  Maybe it is safe for me to get dressed finally.  I come back in ten minutes and Lyssa is naked . Kayla has no ponytail and has pulled out all the diaper wipes....one by one in the den floor.   Glasses are hidden along with the diaper and clothes.  I finally get everything back to normal..... just in time for Chuck to come in for lunch and ask what I've been doing all morning.  It's a zoo.



Tuesday, August 9, 2011

The King Cobra

After weeks of 100 degree weather, this cool morning was a treat.  The Duo and I had an early breakfast so we could go out and play.  The sun was just easing over the hill and a nice breeze was blowing.  Getting to play outside has been very few and far between times this summer.  The girls stand in a chair and look outside at their swing set and Lyssa waves "hi" to it every afternoon.  I feel like a warden.

So, the Duo are running and sliding and swinging.  Great morning.  Kayla, especially, likes to sit under the trampoline and dig in her dirt pile.  It had rained just enough to make it a little damp with a few shiney mud spots.  She squated down to dig with her spoon and I noticed it was so pretty with the halo effect of the sun behind her.......until I noticed the water her foot was in was moving.  Hmmm....that's funny....  She moved to a more promising looking dirt pile and I noticed the shiney place was still moving.....and coiled!!!  She had been standing on a snake!  Here I come running and yelling and she knows this is a new game so she runs away from me....BACK ON TOP OF THE SNAKE!!!  Lyssa decides it looks like a neat game to her too so she runs to get under the trampoline too. 

Most of you know I'm not too skinny.....or for that fact, not too young, but I can hoof it if I see a snake.  There's no such thing as a nonpoisonous snake.  I know in my own mind there are only two kinds of snakes:  Boa Constrictors and King Cobras.  This had to be a King Cobra. 

After running around the trampoline, trying to get Kayla to come out, I had to crab-walk under the thing to pull her out.  By that time I had Lyssa under there too.  With a kid under each arm, I crawled back out and threw them in the house.  I armed myself with a shovel and went back out to kill the deadly beast.  Of course, after it had been stepped on at least two or three times, it had made tracks out of Dodge.  By tomorrow my heart rate should be back to normal.  All I can say is if you wanted to be rich you should have been at my house early this morning with a camcorder.

Saturday, August 6, 2011

Twenty-two Months and Counting

Very shortly the Duo will have their second birthday.  Though their start was a little rocky, I can tell that they are ahead of their age now.....the terrible twos have been here for several months.

Yesterday, they both were in the kitchen jabbering and it dawned on me they had really been in there a long time.  I checked and Lyssa was standing on the counter microwave showing Kayla, who was standing on the bar, all the cereal and cookies that were in the top shelf.  Lyssa looked like she was working out their menu for the day.  They had pushed a high chair in the kitchen to climb on. I've learned if it is quiet.....there's trouble brewing.

Though they still speak their own version of "Twinese," English is creeping in more and more.  We are monitoring their TV watching more because they are little parrots that will repeat everything they hear.

 Lyssa is still the happy go lucky, into everything, child.  She is stringing several words together to make comprehensive sentences now. She imitates a lot, and can flap her arms like a chicken, dance, and even does a little sign language. She can tell me the birds are hungry (hummingbirds at the feeder), she wants a bite, or she needs a drink. Everything is an adventure to Lyss and she's going full out to see what she can see.  After the initial shyness, she loves to meet and talk to just about anybody....as long as I'm within sight.  She is also my tattletale.  She will run to me, pointing to Kayla, and have a shocked Oh!!! look on her face.  Of course, sometimes she's trying to hide her own tracks such as when she knocks the cookie bag off the counter and then points to Kayla in the other room.

Kayla is still improving with her dexterity and one of her favorite things is to try to stand on her head. She has the head and hand positions down great and can get one leg up but the other one is still giving her a little trouble.  She, too, is getting much more vocal....especially when she wants something. We have deep conversations in the morning where she holds my face and seriously talks quietly to me and then has to give me smacking kisses.  She is the follower right now, but that tends to go back and forth every few months.  Kayla is much more attached to me and not as happy to stay with anyone else for long.  We are going to get back in a schedule of them going to daycare once a week so maybe this will help her be less dependent.  She wakes up every morning calling for the dogs, birds, ducks, anything that will get her out of that bed and hopefully, outside.  I can see her in a few years with a haberdashery of pets.  One of her favorite things is to go out and "talk" to our cow dog, Abby, eyeball to eyeball.  Abby loves her.

It seems like if I blink they have grown.  Every day is a new experience.  I never think about if I'm going to have the energy to keep up with them because it is always just there.  I don't worry about what I'm going to do when they, and I, are older because I am confident that it will be taken care of too.  Things just have a way of falling in place most of the time.  Now teenage years.....that may be the ultament experience.

Friday, August 5, 2011

The making of ballerinas

I've taken a wild urge to make tutus for the Duo.  I think it has something to do with being cooped up for so many hot days in this house with two wild things.  I can't actually do much sewing with them around. Needles would either find their way into mouths or feet, and a sewing machine would really be a new toy.  So therefore, I settled on tutus.  Mostly, it is tying knots and very little actual sewing. 

Lyssa is fascinated by the tulle.  She wraps herself in it like a mummy and slip slides across the floor. Kayla thinks if she pulls it over her head it makes her invisible and she loves to sneak up on me. There are bits stuck everywhere, including diapers making them look like spiders have built cobwebs in some unlikely spots. Another thing the Duo found out was tulle on the laminate floor is as slippery as greased spit and running, sliding and falling has been hilarious....until it's not. 
I don't know what it is about tutus but when they put them on, they become dancers.  They've never actually seen a ballerina so how do they know to start spinning and jumping around the floor?

The Duo will be flower girls (yikes!!) in a September wedding so I'm making them some fancy ones for that.  I'm sure they will be perfect little fairy princesses for that.....well we can live in hope. It should be hilarious whatever they do.  I have thought seriously about tying them together so it's less running on my part.

Thursday, August 4, 2011

The Dreaded Glasses....Part 2

 
My little ladies have been wearing their cute pink glasses for about a month.  Well....really....they've had them about a month.  They've actually worn them, maybe, 18 hours....maybe.  I knew this was going to be hard but I'm usually up to anything thrown in my path.  This has kicked my butt!!!

This is an example of a normal day.  After getting the Duo dressed for the day, I clean glasses and put Kayla's on....turn to put Lyssa's on but first pick up Kayla's that have been pitched across the room.  Get Lyssa's on, turn to put Kayla's on but first take Lyssa's glasses out of her mouth and clean.  Repeat throughout the day. This cycle is broken for the several hours it takes me to find the glasses that have been hidden in various hidey holes.  I'm ashamed to say, there are some days that I just look at the glasses and put them back on their shelf....I just don't have the strength to deal with them.

.....And they're sneaky....  After several off and on times, they magically settle down to wearing them like the sweet angels they are.  Until I lose my focus....then the glasses disappear.  Kayla's were lost for several days last week.  I crawled this house over, getting down to her level, moving furniture, and even emptying all the trash cans.  When I gave up and finally admitted that I had probably already thrown them out with the trash, I found them.....behind the toilet.  See what I mean....sneaky.

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Burnt Offerings

Yesterday, I burnt part of our supper.  That in itself is not so unusual but it got me thinking.  I seem to make more mistakes like that than Chuck.  I load the washer and forget to turn it on, I get only half the vacuuming done and leave the vacuum in the middle of the room or I start running the Duo's bath and walk out with the water running.  Chuck doesn't ever seem to do those things.  He must have it together more than I do. 

Like yesterday....I had gone to get groceries and Jaiden, our eight year old granddaughter, had a hair appointment.  Anyone that has a girl that age knows their mind is only about a minute long.  She was drastically changing her mind on a haircut even as it was being snipped.  The hair stylist and I were using sign language before she was finished.  I'm pretty sure I didn't give her a big enough tip.  Then on to Walmart with the biggest pint size impulse buyer on the planet.  They put out the red carpet when they see her coming.  I thought I was super organized...even had my list in hand, and STILL managed to forget the two most important items....bread and milk.  Of course, it was all my fault and had nothing to do with the constant, water-on-stone badgering that Jaiden was doing. Chuck had decided the Duo should stay home with him since it was so hot.  I'm sure it had nothing to do with the fact that they were napping and he was planning on doing the same thing.

I came home a little frazzled to two little girls that were so happy to see me and ready to play.  Chuck was off duty after a strenuous job of napping and reading while they slept, so he went to take a shower and then settle in his recliner to rest.  All I had to do was cook dinner while bathing two little ones that had gotten muddy, change two unexpected diapers AFTER said bath, keep Jaiden from dropping them on their heads while teaching them gymnastics, find Lyssa's diaper that she hid so she could streak...and that's all.  I STILL managed to burn supper.....

Chuck just said supper didn't look too bad and said he would go get the stuff I had forgotten....after sighing and explaining that I needed to write a list so that wouldn't happen again.  What would I do without him????

I do have to clarify that Chuck does work extremely hard.....just not in the house.

Thursday, June 30, 2011

Four Eyes Duo Style

The Duo may be Dynamic but like most of our family......they are going to be legally blind.  We finally made the dreaded visit to the eye doctor that culminated in glasses being ordered.  We knew this day was coming, in fact, I had put it off for two months before the guilt got too bad.  I just can't imagine how two little girls, less than two years old, are going to manage to keep glasses on their heads.  Super Glue is considered child abuse.  I did the best I could by ordering the ones that look like they could be made by Rubbermaid, and a strap that fits all around their head.  The frames are supposed to be completely unbreakable and we are hoping for the best on the lens.

Kayla is going to be a softball pitcher when she's a little older.  I can tell by the way she can chunk anything....hat, hair bow, food and especially a sippy cup, across the room before I can say "don't do it!!"  When the very nice lady put the glasses on to measure, she had them off and pitched with three adults trying to stop the momentum.

Lyssa is more laid back.  Any hat or hairbow stays on until my back is turned and then mysteriously disappears.  I'm still looking for her stash.  She liked the attention she got when she tried the glasses on but enough was enough and she politely handed them back.  I have big hopes for her wearing them at least ten minutes before they go into her stash.

Thursday, June 23, 2011

The Alien from Walmart

The other night I went to Walmart by myself, which is very unusual.  The Dynamic Duo are well known in our local haunts.  I'm rushing through my list so I could get home before Chuck had pulled all his hair out or started listing too bad, and this stranger struck up a conversation with me.  She was really upset that someone an aisle over was letting a child scream.  I had been oblivious to the noise but then I thought " Letting??? "  Anyway, she felt like a swift slap on the bottom would solve the problem in a hurry.  I smiled vaguely and left the area.  I'm not sure what planet she was from but I am pretty sure a bottom slapping wouldn't have made the Duo happy to stop any noise they would have been making.  I'm not for letting kids have temper tantrums in a crowd but a kid yelling doesn't even show up as a blip on my scale. 

Today the Duo and I went to Walmart.  Kayla likes to yell.....I think it must be the acoustics in there....then Lyssa starts her version of singing which could, for the tone deaf, sound like yelling.  I'm furtively looking for my alien lady to come up and tell me to start slapping bottoms but mostly I just saw people point the Duo out, smile and ask if they are twins. 

I think a lot of it is an age thing.  When I was a younger mother, I expected my kids to be nearly perfect....hmmm....a lot of you know how well that turned out.  This time around, I want them to be happy, healthy and not be complete hellions.  We are having a lot more fun this time around.

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Miss Lyss



Though it takes her a little while to warm up to strangers, Lyss is the happiest child.  She wakes up with a grin and goes to bed with a wave and a "nite, nite."  A camera in sight means a grin and giggle.
The twin's personalities are totally different.  Where Kayla is more solemn, harder to satisfy at times, and cries more....Lyss is carefree, into EVERYTHING, wants to see everything, and just happy go lucky.  She doesn't say as many words but seems to have a very good grasp on what is being said to her.  She follows simple instructions....when she wants to.  She's found out the fun of running away tho.......running away when I want to put  her clothes on....running away when I'm ready to put her in her high chair and most importantly.....running away when it's time to come in from play time.  She is the type of child that harnesses were invented for.

She's my climber...therefore she is also my reason we have very little furniture.  Dining room chairs are a thing of the past...they were her way to get on the table and dance.  The back of a large chair, formerly in the den, was a perfect perch to sit on and jump off when someone came by.  She just knew someone would catch her before she fell.  End tables have disappeared, along with anything else climbable.  It's a sparse house we live in now.  What has not been moved out, has been barricaded.  Bungee straps and child proof locks are my new friends but they just slow her down....they don't stop her.  

She is also so much fun.  Everything is a new adventure and usually something to laugh about.  She loves to give me kisses when Papa is looking so he will grab her, tickle her and steal kisses.  She's a nudist this week and I hope this is a passing fancy......but I also shudder to think what she will think of next. 


Monday, May 30, 2011

Kayla Bug

Kayla is our more solemn child.  She makes us work for it a little harder, but she has the sweetest smile that lights up her whole face.  Also she has become the baby of the family.....and really likes it. 

Kayla has had a little rougher start than Lyssa.  She was the smaller by half an ounce, which doesn't seem like much.....unless you are a very small preemie.  The drugs had a bigger impact with Kayla and the doctors told me this is often the case with the lower, or "A" baby.  Things such as fine motor skills and balance had to be worked on a little longer.  Thankfully, through therapy, she has caught up in nearly everything that she should be doing for her age.  She can run, throw a ball, stand on her tip toes and most importantly, to dance!  When we started with a therapist, she couldn't hold a ball, much less throw it.  Her fingers wouldn't work together so we had to teach her how to pinch her fingers together to hold an object.   Marshmallows are very good for this so we spent a lot of times with mashmallows, cheerios, and green beans.  Most parents don't even notice the day their child learns to grasp small objects.....it was a major thing at this house. 

One day, we had been working with cheerios and Kayla was really getting frustrated and dropping everything.  Lyss reached over from her high chair and fed Kayla  from her bowl.  We've really had to work hard not to give in to her.  It would be so much easier to feed her or just carry her when she falls but instead, we have to walk away and let her slowly pick up those bits of food or pick herself up. 

She has the bigger vocabulary and strangely, "turkey" was one of her first words.  For days, everything was turkey.  Now she has moved on to "duck" as her favorite word.  Hummingbirds, Blue Jays, eagles....they're all ducks to Kayla.  Another favorite thing is to "read" to us.  She spends a lot of time reading her favorite books to whomever will sit under her.  Some day we hope she learns English so we can understand what she is reading.

Monday, May 16, 2011

Jake...the grandson

Jake, our 12 year old grandson spent the weekend. This is the monologue when we were ready to take him home.
Me: Did you get your clothes out of the dryer??
Jake: Yep.
Me: Your socks too?
Jake: Yeah! (eye roll)
Me: Both of them??
Jake: Oh....what a minute....I'll meet you in the car!!

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Why Flowers and the Duo don't grow together.

Chuck brought me a big load of dirt for my flower beds yesterday.  I'm not sure why.  I don't have flower beds....I have weed beds....or big holes where the dogs sleep.  Once I started planning my flower planting in January or February.  Now I just look at the yard and sigh.  But wait!  Help is on the way!  Chuck has built a corral...excuse me...fence for the Duo to play in.  He only had to pull up two of my best bushes to do it but the sacrifice is worth it.  I can actually chain...oops...fence them in and play in the dirt.  Of course, I have to keep them off the trampoline, make sure they don't do a header off the slide, trip and fall on the concrete porch (Lyss has only done that twice already), or climb the fence. 

So far I have some nifty dirt beds......

The Dynamic Birth Day

I've skipped over much and find myself thinking of the day...or in this case, night the twins were born.  I've mentioned before, the twins have an older sister that we were taking care of.  She had been seeing her mom nearly every day, so when her mom went into the hospital this was a really rough time for her.  Every other weekend she went to visit her dad so the weekends we had her, I took her to the hospital. 

These visits were pretty stressful for me, since the child was pulled in two different directions so much.  Our daughter thought it was fun to tell her she could do something after I had told her no.  I have a problem understanding that type of fun especially when a child is the one that suffers.   Enough whining.

October 10th, Chuck was going to be out of town until late.  It was the time of year that he is gone a lot, buying stocker calves.  This morning he headed off south and granddaughter and I got up early and headed off west.  My plan was to get there early, let them visit and then leave early for the long trip home.  Hmmmm, best laid plans.  We had a decent visit and though she had been having slight contractions the doctor said there was no immediate problem, so we headed home.  We got to Henryetta when the doctor called and said  I probably needed to come back.  So here I go back with this very tired seven year old that had turned into a limp noodle.  I carried/dragged her back to the hospital with her just wanting the nearest bed.  And.....the contractions had stopped.  Don't get me wrong...this was great.  So I start the process of carrying/dragging to leave......and they start again.  Third time, they don't stop and the doctors decide they can't give her anything else.  Showtime!!  

Since I had the little limp noodle with me, I couldn't go into the delivery room...that was hard because I had gotten to see all but one of my other grandchildren born.  In the back of my mind though, I wasn't too disappointed because I didn't think they would be all right.  Since it was close to midnight, there was absolutely no one around and no one to ask how things where going.  The doctor had told me that the babies would be born before midnight.  Midnight got closer and closer... then passed with still no word.  No one EVER came to tell me anything.  I finally propped the door open so I could still see the sleeping child, and walked down the hall until I could find the delivery room door and knocked.  Still no one would tell me anything!!  See....I was only the grandmother, not a parent, and they were not allowed to tell me anything without my daughter's express consent and she was unconscious.  When they finally brought the babies out, the nurses would not stop and let me look so I ran along with them to the elevator.  The little china dolls were breathing on their own and that's all I knew.   It was two hours before I cut through the red tape to be allowed in to see them and talk to their nurses.  At 29 weeks gestation, they were in surprisingly good shape but everyone was very cautious about their chances.  Nearly every preemie baby has set backs the first few days.  Miraculously, neither twin every had any problem.  They came home three weeks before the doctor had originally projected and have done great ever since.  They are definitely, the Dynamic Duo.

Monday, May 9, 2011

KNOCK YOU NAKED BROWNIES!!!

First I have to say I swiped these from Ree Drummonds but I'm pretty sure she swiped them from someone else so I don't feel too guilty.

1 German chocolate cake mix
1 Cup chopped pecans
1/2  Cup Butter
1/3 Cup Evaporated Milk
60 Caramels
1/2 Cup Evaporated Milk
1/4 Cup Powdered Sugar

Mix dry cake mix, pecans, 1/3 C. milk and melted butter together.  This will be about like cookie dough.  Divide into 2 equal amounts.  Press 1/2 in well greased pan.  I use an oblong but a square one will be fine....just thicker.  Bake 8-10 minutes at 350 degrees.  Remove

Melt in a double boiler, caramels and 1/2 C. milk.  Pour over the brownie base.

Turn out remaining dough on wax paper and press into an oblong (or square) a little smaller than pan.  Set on top of caramels.  Bake 20-25 minutes.

Remove and cool.  DO NOT CUT  Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.  Sift powdered sugar on top and cut.

Remember me when you eat them.......just not naked....

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Adoptions.....Part Two or Living in Neverland

As I've posted before AND people are quick to remind me.....I'm fifty-nine years old and thought I would be a nifty grandmother but never a mother again.  Hmmmm...there's that word "never" again.  AND the twins were just a temporary arrangement...right???

Even though it became apparent Chuck and I were going to be raising the Duo, we still didn't think about adopting them.  A legal guardianship would allow us to take care of any need, especially medical, so we thought we were set.  We also liked to think (back to our fantasy world) that one day our daughter would grow up, get well, have a huge lightbulb moment and want to take care of all three of her children.  Well, it happens in soap operas....  I do spend a lot of time in my own little fantasy world. 

One day, about seven months into this project, I realized we were always going to be living in this limbo, waiting for the other shoe to drop.  She could petition the court, at any time, to drop the guardianship, win and walk out with them.  She could even let someone else adopt them, which she had threatened, and we would never see them again.  It was one thing to whine about all my travel and retirement dreams going capoot but it was another very different thing to be faced with losing these babies forever.  The word, adoption, raised its head and the ball was rolling.  Never is now.

The rest is pretty boring...paperwork....screening.....home inspection...more paperwork and then the big day.

All of our other adoptions were done in the judge's chamber,  pretty casual and lowkey, but this time it was to be held in the court room.  For some reason that made it much more solemn.  At least, at first.  The attorney chose me to answer all the questions then Chuck could just be sworn in and say he agreed.  He was holding Lyssa because she is usually our wild child and I had Kayla, who is our little quiet child.  So here I am, sworn in...solemnly answering these very important questions....and Kayla starts giving me kisses.  Not just one or two, but I'm drowning in them!  We are all trying to keep solemn and straight faces......but she doesn't like to be ignored so she starts biting.  When she gets it in her head to bite, she is a pirahna.   She has me in this death grip and the judge is nearly rolling in the floor.  Somehow I don't think this was the way his court usually went.

The adoption was a momentus occasion.. I have the marks to prove it.... and I'm never doing it again.

Monday, April 18, 2011

The Dynamic Duo's First Authentic Photo Op

I'm ashamed to say that the twins are eighteen months old and I have just gotten up my nerve to have their pictures taken.  When they first came home, they were less than five pounds, hooked up to all kinds of wires and very susceptible to germs.....that's my very good excuse.... seventeen months ago.  Okay, anyway, I finally did it and the first thought when I saw the proofs was...wow!  They're little girls, not babies anymore. 

I look forward to every milestone but every step means they are growing up fast.  Of course, I want them to grow but it is bittersweet too.  There is nothing like holding a small baby when she looks at you like you are the only thing in her world.  Enough of the sad maudlin stuff and on to the adventure of the photo adventure!

The photographer thought the park would be a good site and it did make a gorgeous background.    I'm thinking, maybe we should have started with something a little more confining though, like something the size of a small cell.  The thing about two little girls is they insist on going in two different directions....nearly always.  At home, one might be sitting on the other one's head and heaven forbid if one is in my lap without the other.  If Kayla gets up from a nap, she whines until Lyss wakes up to be with her.  Take them out in public and it's a whole different ballgame....they are like herding cats. 

Oh I also had this wonderful fantasy of holding hands and their beautiful bows in their hair.  Well, we might have two pictures before they threw the bows away and they couldn't have been super glued together.

The photographer, in her infinite wisdom, brought her husband with her.  He was in charge of Kayla and I had Lyssa.  We found out, after running after them for at least a mile, that we could count to three....plunk them down...jump back, and voila!  The shot looked so posed!  Kayla ran and ran, away from the photographer of course, then unexpectedly plunked down in a field of dandelions....priceless.  Lyssa wouldn't pose, wouldn't stop, and then turned and gave the camera the sweetest, most winsome smile.....gorgeous.

I just can't understand why I waited so long. 

Friday, April 15, 2011

Adoptions

As I've mentioned before, we had adopted four children before the Duo.  The two boys are biological brothers and the girls are also biological sisters.  These children all came to us "at risk," which means they didn't come from ideal situations.  I loved that wording ....why would any child be adopted if she came from ideal situations???  The first adoption was a two year old boy and we were told that we wouldn't have any problems at all if we just loved him.  hmmm.....That meant, when we started having severe problems, it must be our fault...right??  We blithely adopted his brother five months later, thinking two would be so much easier than an only child.  Okay, so we were dumb, but it gets even better later.  Whenever I voiced our concerns, we were made to feel that we were at fault with these little guys.  Only years later did we find out the abuse...physically and mentally, and the terrible living conditions these babies lived through.  One was punched in the stomach so hard the doctor didn't think he would live.  And the parents got him back......until the mother did it again.  When the police went to arrest her, she had taken off.  That probably saved a life because the parents probably would have gotten them back.  She hurt them  while taking LSD and wound up in the hospital but not prison.  I'm beginning to sound a little bitter here. 
Both were finally diagnosed with ADHD and one could not bond to anyone.  In the two years these people had these children, they did irreparable damage. I could write a book or several books on the years with the boys but I'm kinda like Scarlett in Gone With The Wind  on that.  I'll think about it tomorrow.....or never.

Then we decided we needed girls to make our family complete.  I told you it gets better.

The first time we saw the girls, the littlest asked me if I was her new mommy.  Awwww.....but what that really meant was, "are you my today's mommy?"  These two hadn't gone through the terrible physical abuse but neglect.  Neglect does a terrible thing to a child's self worth.  They didn't know what actual love was and they didn't trust anybody completely.  The question everyday, for at least six months, was when were they going to move again and get a new mommy.  I've really had to do a lot of praying over the years not to hate.

I do want to stop right here and say that we had so much fun with our four kids.  It wasn't all bad just like any other family is not all good.  I never had two extreme crisis going at the same...thank you Lord!  I think the thing that got us through all the hills and mountains was our weird sense of humor.  In the blackest of times we laughed....mostly about the strangest things....and we hung on to each other.

Over the years, Chuck and I had wondered if we had done the right thing by adopting these children.  Would someone else with more patience or some one with more education in children's problems been better?  On the other hand, I often told our younger son, it was a good thing we adopted him......someone else would have beat him to death!  One thing Chuck and I were in total agreement was......never again.


What is that saying about never saying never??

to be continued.........

History of the Dynamic Duo Part 9 (or Butterflies are free)

Kayla's Conk Out Palace......

Once my older kids where gone from home, I found I finally had a guest room that I could decorate all by my self.  This was a heady experience and I loved it.  I finally had my pretty yellow and navy room.  Of course, this was BDD (before Dynamic Duo).  I fought it.  I wanted my room.  Alas it was not to be.  My beautiful handmade yellow and white quilt was put up, the bed moved out and the crib moved in, until that  nefarious "one day."   But wait!  This is all temporary....just a few months maybe.

 I never knew it but a house actually shrinks drastically when a baby comes in.  I'm not sure how it happens but there doesn't seem to be any way to stop it.  These two tiny scraps of humanity come in and take up more room than two adults.  How can that be??  Their "stuff" overflows into every room in a matter of days.
All they consume is formula but the kitchen is magically conformed into baby land.  One bathroom can only be used by tiny people since bath tubs, supplies and diaper genie take up all the room.  Anyone else in dire need better search elsewhere fast.  And then there is the double stroller that takes up one closet all by itself.  Okay, enough whining and back to Kayla's boudoir.


Kayla's bedroom is still a work in process for the simple reason, I hate to shop.  Slowly it is coming together with butterflies and flowers but it is a petal at a time.  By the time she is totally sick of it and wants skull and crossbones, it should be finished. 

Monday, April 11, 2011

History of the Duo part 8 (or Blazing new Territory)

Lyssa's Sanctuary...

Other mothers of twins have told me .....several times.....that their twins had to be touching when they slept, couldn't stand to be out of sight from each other, etc, etc.  Now the Dynamic Duo must not be normal then.  They love to see each other in the morning but there's no sleeping done if they are in the same room.  We went from, both in the same crib, to two cribs in one room.... to the misery of us all.  I finally quit listening to every one  else and moved to Lyssa to her own room.  She loves it.  No one is yelling at her so she can't go to sleep or yelling at her to wake up.  Kayla doesn't believe in being the only child....even for a little while.  If she's up, everybody needs to be up.

At the "before common sense told us we were permanent" time when we thought this is all temporary, I wasn't going to decorate the nursery.  Hey, this was only a few months, right??  I didn't want to be too attached, right??  Especially the room we moved Lyss to, since that was our exercise room, I didn't do anything except make a space for a crib and chair.  Now, a few months behind, I'm decorating nursery rooms. 


While I was gone out of town, the man came to paint Lyssa's room.  Chuck called me and asked me if it was supposed to be pink....and in my vast wisdom, I told him, yes, it was very pale, mother of pearl, pink.  So in his vast wisdom, says, "okay."  I come home to a PINK nearly Pepto Bismol pink room!  Hmmm....this was enough to scare an self respecting bunny or butterfly away.  Since repainting would take an act of congress and as I had 'told' him it was supposed to be pink, I had to put away the pastels and go diva-ish.  Zebra striped curtains, rug and accessories makes it look like it was all planned.  It hasn't given Lyssa nightmares either. 

Saturday, April 2, 2011

The History of the Duo. (part 7)..or The Dreaded Hogpen



Shortly after we got the Duo home, we started accumulating all the paraphenalia we thought we couldn't make it without.  The only thing we had when we walked throught the door was a borrowed crib.  They both could sleep sideways in it and everyone told us the twins would want to be touching when they slept.  Problem was, no one told the Duo that.  Kayla's monitor was super sensitive and went off when she cried, then Lyss woke up to sympathize with her.  Lyss loved from the very first to poke at Kayla....and not a friendly nudge but a slap or finger poke in the eye.  They liked to be together when awake but sleeping was serious business and they didn't want company.  As long as the monitors were on we needed to keep them in one room but Miss Lyss needed her own territory so we got her another crib. 

In the daytime we would keep them in the living room in a playpen.  Two playpens later, we had to come up with a better plan.  The Duo didn't like to be squeezed together with the monitors in one playpen but they didn't like to be separated
 completely.  Even
after we got rid of the monitors, they just still didn't like those playpens.  Putting them on a pallet was an invitation to roll under the nearest piece of furniture and it was better if they could get good and wedged there.  Lyssa, especially, was our escape artist and before she was crawling she could roll/scoot across the den, into the dining room and under the table, to wait for discovery.   Kayla would scoot on her back until she hit something....then yelled until we turned her around so she could repeat the process.

Leaving them alone to go to the bathroom was an invitation for an adventure.  At least one would be hiding or stuck under something yelling.  We had to corrall them somehow.  Enter the hogpen.

At one time, we had furniture in our den.....now we have the hogpen.  Visitors need to be prepared to either sit on the floor or fight for the few seats available. 

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

If you're a redneck.......

Our house has an open floor plan...the front living room (aka grandkid's TV room), dining room, kitchen and den all flow together. There's enough space so the two TVs don't compete with each other but we could see what the grandkids were up to without much trouble. It worked for us.

Enter the walking/crawling Duo. First rule of business was buying the highest TV cabinet we could find so Lyss couldn't crawl in it and pull out

all the paraphenalia for the satallite system. That fixed the den but the other living room had a low TV stand so the older kids could work it. The Duo loved to work it too. That room also had a radiant wall heater we used in really cold weather. I shopped for toddler gates but they were only for a little wider than a single door width. I put dining room chairs across the doorway so I could hear the screach when the Duo moved them to escape but that meant I was never allowed to go to the bathroom unless another adult was in the house. Enter my hero, Chuck the solver of all carpenter problems (hehe) at our house.

While I was gone grocery shopping he screwed a large unfinished piece of board across the opening. Problem solved....big people could step over it, heat could pass from room to room and of course, it added so much to the decor!! I'm so proud.

History of the Duo 106 (part 6)

Premature babies have so many strikes against them. Even with great prenatal care and a drug free habitat, which unfortunately, the Dynamic Duo did not have, there are problems. The twins never had the lung problems that a lot of preemies do. They were breathing on their own from the first and never had a setback....that was a huge miracle in itself. They were responding to sound in the hospital and subsequent hearing test showed no problem. The twice a month eye exams in Oklahoma City were normal but later exams have shown problems that hopefully, glasses will correct. I can't get my mind around having two, less than two year olds, in glasses! I have problems finding two pairs of shoes at one time. Glasses are going to be a nightmare.

At a few months old, we realized Kayla was not progressing as well as Lyssa....nothing showed up in capital letters, just little things. She didn't "talk/coo" as soon, she couldn't grasp and hang on to toys, and one eye was drifting to the left, most of the time. Doctors' offices were our second homes. A patch on Kayla's good eye for a month corrected her drifting eye and she's never regressed. The developmental specialist thinks that her fine motor skills will catch up soon. It seems the kind of drugs she had in her system linger in the muscles. She's been slower to walk and still wobbles a little. The good news was that her thinking and processing part of her brain was fine. Things could have been so much worse.

For some reason, something the doctors explained as the "A" baby being in the position to be more susceptable, Lyssa has not shown the same problems as Kayla Bug. Being second is best sometimes, I guess. Lyss started out as my clinging velcro baby but now she is Miss Independent. She's mischievious, the climber and a loving child who is always ready for the tickle spiders to get her. They speak their own language and think they need to be together most of the time though they are getting more independent.

When people tell me their child was potty trained at eight months, I just smile and think, someday we'll get there. Some things are just not as important as I used to think in my "before Duo" time. We are just glad to know where belly buttons, noses and toes are, right now. The other stuff will fall into place with some nudges....later.

to be continued....

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Tuesday continued.....

Kayla's therapist came this afternoon. Kayla likes to see her but Lyssa LOVES to see her. She has all kinds of neat toys in her bag that Kayla Bug gets to play with. Lyssa is so jealous. Today, it was too cold and rainy for Lyss and me to go outside to play so she got to have therapy too. She wound up in the therapists lap, afraid she might miss something. When Kay was ready to leave, Lyssa just decided to go with her. She's never done that before!! That bag is really nifty....

Lyssa has cleaned the floor with a slightly used diaper.....cleaned up apple juice with a dirty washcloth, THEN washed Kayla's face with it and spilled a glass of tea all over her, the floor, couch and Kayla. The day is not done yet.

Kayla, thankfully, has had a quieter day. I'm just hoping she is not watching and learning. One of her favorite sayings is, "Lyssa!! No! No!" I wonder why?? I think Kayla thinks that is Lyssa's full name.

Tuesday's this and that

If you need to know how many kleenex are in a big box, don't ask me.....but Miss Lyss can probably tell you. I put her high chair a little too close to the table this morning.

How anyone can hold out against a little ones raised arms is a mystery to me. This is probably why not much gets done around here except holding one or the other. Kayla came to me begging to be held, so the dishes will be waiting on me later. She doesn't usually get rocked to sleep....there's fierce lap competition here....but today she wanted to just rock

and doze.

Monday, March 28, 2011

DWTS Duo

Dancing With The Stars is the Duo's new favorite show. It's right up there, maybe passing Yo Gabba Gabba!! They've twirled, done serious head banging and run each other over, giggling like crazy. They may never be dancers but they might have a career as wrestlers. Of course, Lyssa also could be training as a stripper. I can't leave the room without her taking off everything she can. When we are getting ready to go somewhere, she can strip faster than I can dress her. Hopefully, she won't decide to do this at Walmart or church. Thankfully, all Kayla can handle right now is taking off her shoes but I'm sure Lyssa will teach her all she knows soon.

History of the Duo 105 (part 5)

The girls were thriving.  They should have......they were the only ones getting any sleep.  Every day were changes....little things like grasping a toy, the smiling recognition of our familiar faces, and the first garbled coo.  These were big things because the list of possible defects still were lurking over our shoulder.  And then there were the dreaded monitors.  It seemed like no matter what I did, those blasted things were squealing.  There's just nothing like that scream at three in the morning to get your heart pumping.  The machines checked their heart and breathing at all time.  Their baths had to be timed so they didn't go over the alloted time for the monitors to be off them.  I began to hate....  Then finally we got to take them off after months.  This strange thing happened......I missed them.  It had been a comfort to know if one of them quit breathing, the alarm would go off.  Now we began lying in bed listening for their breathing and getting up dozens of times to check on them.

I've glossed over a lot in the last blog. We were "visited" at least twice a week, not counting phone calls from various agencies.  I looked up one day to a women peering in our front window, watching the twins in their playpen.  When asked, she said she was just checking on us and she had a cold that she didn't want to spread it to the twins.  I was told the twins could be put in foster care in several conversations.  Talk about Big Brother!!  

Chuck and I came to the understanding that as long as our daughter had custody of the twins, they were in jeopardy.  Though she didn't want the day to day responsibility, she wanted the title of  mother, so I prepared for a battle.....that never happened.  She signed her rights over to us with very little problem.  I really don't know what we would have done if she would have fought us but I do know, we weren't letting the twins go anywhere.

We had nearly a year of stress and uncertainty before the adoption was finalized.  The girls spent their first birthday with diva crowns, their family and new names.  Kayla Elizabeth Roye and Alyssa Grace Roye (I won't tell you their original names and have that seared  forever in your brain) were here to stay. 

to be continued.......

History of the Duo 104 (part 4)

I have to backtrack a little more at this time.   Even though I had four children at this time....they were all adopted.  The youngest was two when adopted so I missed all the little stuff.   I knew very little about formula, diaper, feeding schedules....and the dreaded suction thingy.  I really grew to hate that thing.  I had told the authorities in OKC that I had experience in raising four children.......I just didn't go into any details.  We were entering uncharted territory and I was being watched closely. 

I had planned on taking two weeks off from work and then go back to real estate, part time after that.  My fantasy was to take the granddaughter to school, work a few hours then come home.  Our daughter was living with us so we could help her with the babies.  After just being gone an hour to take said child to school, to find the Duo unsupervised for the second time changed all that.  This was winter and Chuck was feeding hundreds of head of cattle.  He was stopping in, trying to check on the babies but this situation just wasn't working.  I realized I was the one who was going to have to give up on a career.....we didn't depend on it, but we definitely depended on the ranch to make us a living. 

This was probably my lowest time.  I'm a people person and my job really suited me.  I never knew where I would be or who I would talk to.  I'd spend one day rushing to get paperwork done on time and the next day, I might be walking a field or sitting, having tea with some of the nicest people.
And.....I was good at it.  Enough of that....but like I said, it wasn't my best time.

It was also becoming evident that "helping" the daughter take care of the children wasn't working.  Chuck and I were up around the clock for three hour feedings with no help from her on top of his regular job and me taking care of the seven year old.  It was time for a showdown.  We asked her to leave.  I was thinking this would be a wake up call to her and she would realize she was going to have to change.  The only thing that changed was that she realized she wasn't going to be able to do it and didn't think she ever would be able to.  Believe it or not, this was a relief for her to say that.  The unknown was becoming the known.  We were going to be more than grandparents to the Duo.

to be continued........

Sunday, March 27, 2011

A Duo Sunday

Sunday mornings are a wild time around here.  Getting two little squirming ladies ready to meet their public is always a challenge but for some reason, Sundays just go in slow motion. 

Finally off to church, after I have to go back to get a soapy washcloth to clean all the  places that were missed the first....and second time.  It seems like the first time I really get to see them is when I've got them penned up and tied down in their carseats. 

Church was good for me and no one told me about any catastophe so I guess the nursery is still standing too.  Lyssa has to walk in to church by herself now and has to peep into every classroom on the way to her room.  Kayla deems to be still carried.......everywhere, if I will.  Her room is in Drama Queen decor....I wonder why???

The rest of the afternoon was spent napping.  Even I tried to take one...but alas, it's just a waste of my time.  I usually just lie there thinking of a hundred things I could be doing.....could, not would. 

The Duo got up to play in the hogpen which means taking every toy out and spread it over the den.  Tornadoes have nothing on the Dynamic Duo. 

Tomorrow will be an exciting day of grocery shopping where Lyssa will get to wear her new fashion accessory, her harness . She has learned how much fun it is to run....away.  Then home again to shovel all the toys back in the pen.  Kayla's therapist comes Tuesday and it is always nice if she can get in the den without having to turn sideways.

Saturday, March 26, 2011

A Duo Day

Today has been a rough day for Lyss.  She's scraped, bruised and pinched. (only once and by Kayla not me!!)  I think she is going to be our adventurous one, though it seems to change every month.  She was my shy one that hung on to me....now she's the one walking down the church aisle by herself, high fiving everyone.  If you can't tell which twin is which, just look for the one with the quick grin....that's Lyss.

Though Kayla is the oldest..by a minute, maybe, she is definitely the baby of the family, and fights daily for that position.  Why walk when you can be carried??  She has the sweetest smile and the funniest little belly laugh.  Right now, she probably has the biggest vocabulary but that changes day by day.  One of these days she might even sleep the whole night before she gets old enough for kindergarten.

History of the Duo 103 (Part 3)

I don't usually ask my church for prayer...right or wrong...that's just me.  The odds where not good for the twins even though they seemed to be doing extremely well.  The strong medications they had been swimming in for so many weeks had the possibility of causing long term damage.  Brain damage, muscle control, breathing problems, hearing and eye sight damage were all discussed at this point.  They weren't out of the woods by a long shot.  I started calling my church and other churches to get a prayer chain started.  We needed a miracle.

During this time, our daughter was still saying she wanted to keep them but in the next sentence would say she didn't know how she was going to handle one, much less two babies AND a seven year old.  I began to get a very sinking feeling. 

The doctors told me the twins would be in the hospital for 4 to 6 weeks at least but probably longer.....maybe we could take them home by Christmas. Since I was working and also taking care of the seven year old grand daughter, I had to go home, leaving the daughter to watch over the day to day care of the twins.  This was a very conflicted time because I could not call and talk to anyone in authority.  My daughter was actually in charge of all information and that information wasn't being passed on in it's entirety.   I finally called the head nurse and told her I realized she couldn't actually tell me anything but if she ever thought I needed to come, to please call.  She called the next day.  I drove to Oklahoma City to find the authorities had been notified and things were pretty dramatic.  We had a very real chance of the twins being taken straight from the hospital into foster care. I've never been in a situation where I had to grovel but I was more than happy to promise anything they threw at me to keep the twins in our care.  That is actually when the twins became real and so very important to me.  I went through all the classes that a new mother goes through to learn to take care of premature babies....overnight.  The authorities decided to let me take the twins home if I would be responsible for them and keep them in our home AND they had to have monitors on twenty four hours a day.  Of course, then the authorities in our county took over to make sure I was going to keep my word.  I don't blame them.....I was really glad that they took the situation seriously but it was still a very scary time.  I knew I would never hurt these babies.........but what if I made a mistake???

After a month in the OU Medical Center in Oklahoma City, the Duo came home.  They weighed quite a bit less than five pounds each but were....thank you Lord!!...healthy.  That was such a miracle.  We found out later, four sets of twins were born at the hospital that week......the Dynamic Duo were the only ones that both survived. 

to be continued.......

History of the Duo 102 (2nd part)

After calling Chuck and telling him he better sit down, reality set in.  One baby's chance of survival wasn't good...with twins, it was virtually nonexistent.  I could not allow myself to visualize them as actually babies...that was my way of coping.  The only thing in their favor was they had longer to grow since her delivery date was set as December. 

In September, she was put in the hospital in Oklahoma City, mainly because no doctor in this area would touch this ticking bomb.  The presciptions she had taken and continued to take while pregnant were all extremely harmful to the fetuses.  She still was not "showing." I had not bought so much as a diaper and this black cloud was with me constantly.  Chuck and I discussed cemetery plots.

I had to do all the gloom and doom to get to this part.

One day it hit me right between the eyes.  This was my life.....I could go through it thinking "why me??" ...or I could find my sense of humor and hang on with both hands, and refuse to be drug down.  If I was going to believe that God could and would get us through this, I had to quit worrying because that negated my belief and trust in Him.  ....So....I quit worrying...just like that.  That's not to say I didn't wonder where we were heading but I just let it be.....and it was.  Believe it or not, that was the most peaceful time.

The Dynamic Duo were  born October 11, 2009, breathing on their own and at about 2 1/2 lbs. each, looking like perfect little china dolls.  They had lasted 29 weeks of their 40 week gestation...that was pretty dynamic.

to be continued......

History of the Duo 101 (or whatever)

I guess I need to start before the Duo were actually born.  I had just got back from a trip to Europe and was planning trips to New York and Ireland in the near future.  Life was good.....Chuck and I were talking about semi retiring and traveling more.  Since we live on a cattle ranch in southeastern Oklahoma and ranching is in my husband's blood, semi retiring was as good as it was ever gonna get.  So getting back to those days of yesteryear.....June was good, by July a little speck of suspicion had taken up residence in the back of my mind but easily ignored.  August came in with the bomb "pregnant" word and was not so easily ignored.  We were going to be grandparents again and the circumstances were not good. 

The first time I saw the blobs before they became dynamic was the ultrasound.  I was not happy to be there and was bound and determined not to take any active part.  My daughter "thought" she might be eight months along but didn't know, so I was so absolutely furious and just wanted to be somewhere else having a root canal.  When the very nice lady that I was doing my best to ignore, first touched the tummy, two little white balls appeared.  Now I'm thinking (from across the room), that can't be what I think it is..... By the time I came back to my senses, I'm leaning over the technicians shoulder nearly nose to the screen with white spots dancing before my eyes!! 

to be continued.........

Friday, March 25, 2011

A Duo Day

Today is a quiet day for the Duo.  Kayla Bug decided to stay up all night. (So happy Chuck does night duty) Miss Lyss has danced and sung along with Sesame Street but was glad to see her bed and thumb for her nap.  My plan is to go back to the very beginning....nearly two years ago when the twinkling of the Duo exploded into our lives.  I still whine and pine for my planned trip to Ireland but life has a great sense of humor sometimes.