First Day of School!

This is a picture of the first day of school for the twins! Even though Tasha spilled milk down the front of herself while eating her cheerios, she wouldn't let us change her outfit. Abigail kept pointing to the wet spot and saying "Yucky Pee!" over and over while laughing. The twins have become obsessed with saying that something is either "Yucky Pee" or "Yucky Poo". That goes for people, toys, diapers, animals, spills, clothing or when they just excited about something!


Anyway, they were both extremely excited about school. They want to be like their older siblings when they head off to school in the morning. They are supposed to take the bus everyday but, it has not come yet. The school said it will take a little time to get them on the schedule. In the meantime, they wait every morning to go to school and call out for the bus to come get them.

The crazies are moving!

We finally pulled the trigger!  In 2 weeks we are moving to Orlando, FL.  We have wanted to get back for a while but it was hard with the girls' treatment.  While that won't be fully done until 2014, we are in a good place to transfer hospitals and things are moving quickly.  We are so sad to leave all our family and friends--especially since my brother and his family just moved here from New York 3 weeks ago!  From decision to move, it will only be about 6 weeks, so we are incredibly busy tying up loose ends and getting packed.  We anticipate leaving here on the 11th of August.  We are trying to arrive in FL to start school on the 20th.  It will be a busy month.  We expect the twins to be healthy enough this year to go to school most days, so I don't know how Corban and I will handle the quiet!  Hopefully there will be less messes like the one pictured above (the girls found my mascara and coated each other, my bathroom, and my dresser).

Twins Video

Here is a video of the twinies  http://youtu.be/zmFOg7SpFas

crazy lady in 4418

I have to share this because I am still laughing. I am in the hospital with Natasha and I need to get pajamas on. My clothes are stored between the door to the hall and the bathroom. The nurses hardly come in at night, so I thought I could be lazy and quickly change my shirt. As I start to put on my hoodie I hear the door starting to open. I had forgotten midnight vitals! The head opening of the hoodie is tight and I was struggling to get it on. I made a split second decision and tried to run to the bathroom. I couldn't see and the door was closed so I ended up just sort of running around trying to find my way to it. Tasha's poor male nurse entered to see me in my bra with my hands halfway suspended in my hoodie running around in crazy circles like a chicken. Akward vitals. VERY akward vitals. I am quite sure he is scarred for life. I win the Goober award for not thinking things through!!

The Cancer Norm

Lately, I have had a few moments to think about how odd our everyday life has become. We have become so "normalized" by cancer that things just don't phase us like we used to. I have finally started cooking actual meals again. I just do it with Corban screaming at my feet and the twins alternating crying episodes while trying to get my attention or just being angry that they are not being held.

The stomach flu went through our house last month and wasn't that big of a deal. 10 of the 11 people living in our house were puking but it wasn't as bad as it has been in the past. Vomiting doesn't scare us anymore. We slip the puker some of the twins anti-nausea meds and the puking usually stops immediately. Also, we have been practicing with the girls. We all pretend to puke in a bowl like its a fun game. Josh thought of it and it's worked like a charm. Our twins have rarely missed the bowl. Thank goodness!!

Hospital stays don't panic us like they used to. Thanks to our twin nannies we are not worried about childcare, routines, and therapists. It just make things inconvenient to coordinate--especially any evening activities. Also, I have become good at being an advocate for my girls' needs. Natasha was already inpatient when Abigail needed to be admitted in January. They told me that my request to have my twins in the same room was denied for these reasons....blah blah blah..... I listened nicely asked some questions and then explained my reasons (I was their only available parent for most of the time and that left one girl unattended always). Denied again. Then I just politely explained how I knew that it was important to this hospital that the child always come first and asked who I needed to speak to for this to happen (thanks Josh for this tip). 3 hours later a wing in the infant unit had been cleared and prepped for us (cancer patients cannot be exposed to infection or illness of any kind from others) and we had our own room together. The best part was that we also had our own nurse. Now that it has been done for us once, I shouldn't have to ask again.

My sweet mother-in-law is also battling cervical cancer in her own way. My girls just love it when we get to visit her. Sadly, we have not been able to see her as much as we would like. We have been able to take her meals and my kids have had the privilege of service by cleaning her house and making her little art projects and cards.

Life continues to go on even on our bad days. We spend one day every week at the Hematology/Oncology clinic. We give pills out every night. I sleep on a mattress in a room with Corban, Abigail, & Natasha. My kids have play dates, play in sports, and do homework. We spent our January anniversary eating cafeteria food in the E.R. of the children's hospital. We never make definite plans. Somehow chaos has become routine.

V.I.P. Night

Last night we went to Andrew's V.I.P. night. We ate popcorn, went to various centers for activities, and watched a fun video of all the exciting things they are doing in his kindergarten class. We had 3 other things going on that night so it was just me, Andrew and the twins that could go. Natasha has been unable to go out in public for the last month or so. We just got the thumbs up for the next few days and she couldn't wait to go out. It was fun to see how excited Andrew still is about school.

Thank you

We just wanted to thank everyone who has contacted us concerning the shortage of the drug Methotrexate in childhood leukemia patients. We are aware and very concerned. Abigail takes the drug weekly, as well as it being injected into each of our twins' ports and lumbar punctures. Luckily, I just refilled Abigail's prescription so I know we are good for at least a month. We will keep our fingers crossed that production goes back up. Thanks to everyone that has kept our girls in your prayers.