It’s been awhile since we had a good doctor’s visit post.  Don’t you agree? Tobie took Paige to the dentist because she chipped a tooth.  There is good news bad news.  The good news is Cole’s teeth looked great.  The bad news is Paige’s teeth are in bad shape.  They are very brittle and had lots of plaque build-up. Remember when Tobie was on Magnesium Sulfate for 3 weeks?  Well one of the side effects was that our babies could have weak teeth.  Why Cole’s teeth are fine and Paige’s aren’t, is beyond me.  The dentist was kind enough to reinforce what bad parents we are, lets recap:

1. Sippy cups are training cups.  Once kids know how to sip, they should be using regular cups. Whatever, Cole’s still on the bottle for heaven’s sake and Paige is nowhere ready for a regular cup.
2. Giving your kid a bottle throughout the day is bad bad bad. Your child needs to drink their milk in one sitting because spreading it out over many hours causes lots of erosion.  The kids get roughly 4-5 bottles throughout the day.  It takes Cole about 40 minutes to finish a bottle.  We are lucky that even likes his bottle.
3. You should only give your child milk at breakfast and dinner.  All other times of the day, give them water.  I don’t think we have ever given the kids water.  Isn’t that the stuff they swim in?
4. Brush their teeth everyday.  Well this one makes sense, but sometimes it’s easier said then done.  Mea culpa.

So based on that visit, we’re implementing some changes in our house.  What’s the deal with dentists?  They are more hard ass than eye doctors.

So my question to you dear readers, anyone ever had any issues with brittle weak teeth because of Mag?  Also, if she has weak teeth, what are the chances she has weak bones?  Should we have her bone density checked out?  We aren’t scheduled to see the peed until next January and I want to get to the bottom of this now.  Michele, why don’t you go and do the research for us?  It would make a good blog post.

I think I can officially say that we are all done with being sick.  That sentence cracks me up because in my head I’m saying “allllll done” and doing the sign language motion with my hands.  That’s really the only sign we’ve mastered (and Cole likes to sign all done immediately after I put him in his highchair).  Anyways, we’ve revved up our immune systems right before flu season so I’m happy about that.  It was hell for 2.5 weeks, but we survived!

Oh  my god I hurt.  Seriously every bone in my body aches and I just want to curl into the fetal position and sleep for days.  We are going on day 14 of being sick and I feel worse now than I have in the last 14 days.  It was pretty inevitable since I have not slept a full night in the last five months.  I think the babies are doing better so that’s a relief.  They are still coughing up a storm but the snot has disappeared.  Drew has trouble going to sleep at night because his nose is so stuffed up.  He really is such a dream all day long until bedtime.  Then he screams his head off and I have to hold him until he passes out.  It makes our bedtime routine very difficult as Eric has to put Paige and Cole down by himself.  He is a trooper though.  Speaking of my dreamy man…he is out right now getting me chicken soup.  What a guy.

Let me recap some recent events:  Paige had her first swim lesson on Saturday.  Yes, I brought her even though she still has a cough because the water is very soothing (salt water is good for a cough, right?) and the air is very humid.  She absolutely loved it like I suspected she would.  The instructor said she was indeed a little fish (and much better than Cole but don’t tell him).  She did great with the instructor and the thirty minutes flew by.  Note to others in swim lessons:  other parents that don’t go in the water and are wearing street clothes do not appreciate being sprayed with the shower hose.

We started music classes today.  All I can say is that Paige and Cole better get it together and stop flirting with EVERYONE else in the class, stop banging the walls, playing with the outlets, and pay attention otherwise we are not going to get our money’s worth.  The teacher assures me this is normal behavior and they are just checking out the new surroundings and they should be ready in a few weeks.  It was nice seeing them interact with other kids so I suppose that’s worth the trip right there.  The songs they sing are sooooo retarded.  We sang about green boats and other random stuff, so random I don’t even remember.  They definitely weren’t catchy songs that I’ll be singing around the house. 

That’s all for now.  Eric is back with my soup and I want to kiss him and go cuddle up in my G-G-ma’s afghan and cry. 

Did you know that today marks our two year blogging anniversary.  It’s true, check out the first post!  I must say, after reading that post again, I still got it baby!  I would have never imagined when we started blogging that we would end up where we are now.  If you would have said we would have been on hospital bed rest for 3 weeks, deliver at 24 weeks, lose a child, spend 4 months in the hospital, and then pop out another kid just a year later, I would have told you, “yeah I can totally can see that happening“.  It’s been a crazy journey and we’ve shared it with the world.  All I can say is: Are we nuts? 

Our online evolution, from fetus to toddler!

I have a lot on my mind.  Must be these long naps now that the babies are sick that gives me too much time to think.  Can you believe next month I will have been out of work for a year?  That is crazy for a girl that has always worked at least two jobs at the same time.  My next thought (going to be very random here, bear with me) is online grocery shopping seems good in theory, but is very disappointing.  I order three gallons of milk for Paige (the girl loves her milk) and two gallons of milk for me.  I had an order delivered on Saturday.  The store brought me a gallon that expired the day before on Friday (WHAT?) and two gallons that expired that coming Monday.  I know there is a window after the expiration date where the milk is still drinkable even if expired, but I don’t feel comfortable giving my baby girl expired products.  I mean they’re expired for a reason.  So all in all, online shopping is disappointing.

My next random thought is this:  I can’t find good books to read to Paige and Cole.  Seriously I have a book Twinkle Twinkle Little Star about kids playing in the streets at night and pushing others down the stairs, a book Runaway Bunny about a bunny that runs away from home, a book Goodnight about a boy that refuses to go to sleep even when it’s bedtime, a book Mo Monkey about a monkey that refuses to give his sweater to his mother to wash.  What am I reading to my kids?  Are there not books out there about nice kids that are respectful?  Seriously, without getting carried away, are there any books that are great for kids around the 12-15 month old reading level that don’t have too much pictures on a page that anyone recommends?  Our library has a reserve in advance online program that I can reserve books if I know the author and/or title.

Next random thought:  Paige and Cole seem to be cognitively about 8 months behind their actual age right now.  I know they can make vast improvement in their abilities and be ready for school when the time arises.  But what if they’re not ready?  What if they need to be held back a year for their own benefit?  They’d be in the same class as Drew.  I can already see it now, “are they triplets?….kind of…..long story”.  Since Drew will be bigger than them, “did you hold Drew back a year?….no, actually Drew’s the younger brother”.  Uughh.  Take it as it comes….

Recent events:  Paige’s hair is a disaster in the back.  No amount of detangler can fix these knots.  Trust me, I’ve tried.  Don’t try to wipe noses….ever.  It’s grounds for serious tantrums.  The babies are not ready for forks and spoons despite repeated attempts.  Don’t try to give Cole his formula in a sippy cup;  he is not ready.  Knocking down blocks are much more fun than building them back up.  Paige loves music, she can now do hand motions to certain songs, specifically Twinkle twinkle little star.  It’s soooooo cute.  Drew loves food.  It is such a joy feeding him.  I remember asking people how to feed him before I actually did feed him because I couldn’t remember the feeding specialists’ advice from Cole’s therapies on where to place the food for best results.  It doesn’t matter for Drew.  Apparently normal babies can move the food to their throats just fine no matter where you place the spoon in their mouth.  Tennis is like riding a bike, after three years of non-activity, it all comes back to you.  I started tennis lessons last night after a three year hiatus and it felt wonderful.  Don’t accidentally put something in the mini-fridge while the babies are watching.  Nothing will ever be cold again.

End of rambles.  Have a great snot-free day.