Hello.....Is anyone out there?

It's a little before 3am and I am having trouble sleeping, so what better time to update the blog. I often wonder if anyone reads this anymore. I just spent the better part of an hour looking through my old posts, and I must say that I'm glad I have done this blog, I just wish I would have kept up with it a little better. To anyone out there who still visits the blog, my sincerest apologies!

So, I'm sure you are asking: What is going on with the cubs???

Where to start??? The cubs are potty trained and have been for some time. Even at night. I can't remember the last time we bought diapers or pull-ups, but this is now a diaper/pull-up free zone. Emily pretty much potty-trained herself over the summer and I was just a casual (and delighted) observer. Zach took a little more effort, but I think the peer pressure from preschool really kicked him into high gear. We started out the first week in September in pull-ups and by the end of September we were in our "big boys". AWESOMENESS!

The cubs are also in big girl/boy beds. I don't quite remember when that happened either. I do remember that it took 3 tries for Emily to accept the toddler bed, and that was a miserable experience in itself. Now she is in a twin bed (she calls it her "princess bed"). I held Zach's transition off as much as possible, and to my surprise, he did great! We converted first to a toddler bed, and then a twin bed for him as well, and I must say with great relief, that we had no trouble at all with it. Such a pleasant and unexpected surprise.

Our first visit to the Dentist was in February. Emily did fabulous. She let them take x-rays, clean her teeth, and do the exam with little fussing. Zach was a bit more trying. He started screaming when they tried to take xrays so they took us to a room for the Dentist to do an "infant exam" (inward groan). I tried my best to calm him down. Then the Dentist walked in. As she was starting the exam, I asked Zach one last time if he wanted to get his picture (xray) taken and he slowly nodded "yes". I am sure this big change of heart had everything to do with the fact that the Dentist was a very attractive blonde. FLIRT. So xrays, cleaning, and exam...DONE! Both cubs are cavity free. Emily is still missing her 2 year old molars on her right side, and Zach is missing both on top. They are there but haven't broken through yet, so apparently we have more teething in our future. Yippee (UGH)!

The cubs are still taking swim lessons. Last session was quite a test for us, especially for Zach. He would resist going and would cry often, even though he would do what they told him to once he was in the water. He would just cry as he was doing it. This session has been a complete turn around. He is excited to go, puts his swimsuit on without a fight, and is really making great progress. By looking at him this time you would never know the headaches we went through last session. I'm sure the fact that he thinks his instructor, Alex, is cute certainly helps. And yes, he told me "Alex is cute". Of course I just rolled my eyes at him. FLIRT!!! Emily is doing great in her lessons too. She always wants to be the first one to do anything. Last week her group got to go down the "big slide" and that's all I have heard about. They are doing great with their kicks and their "big arms", the only problem is getting them to do both at the same time. They hold their breath, blow bubbles, jump in and turn around to back to the side of the pool, and they do it while looking amusingly adorable in their little goggles!

Both cubs are still in speech therapy, both through the school district and TWU. We are making progress there too. Zach is working on his action verbs. He has a book with pictures of actions, and we go through it by me asking him "What is this girl/boy doing?" and he will tell me "the boy is fishing" or "the girl is running". Last week in the car, he took the book from me, held it up for his sister, and said, "Emily, what is this boy doing?". I was so proud of him. Emily is working on her articulation and she still has some trouble getting her words in the correct order. She sings a lot, which is adorable, but it always takes me a while to figure out the song, because she makes up her own words, and sometimes the tune is a little off. Pretty sure she won't be trying out for American Idol. Gotta love her.

Preschool is wonderful! The cubs run to class and barely look at me as I'm leaving. I practically have to beg for a goodbye kiss. Sometimes they surprise me with "Goodbye, Mommy" but most of the time I can tell they are ready to jump into the first activity and I am just in the way. SIGH. They really are growing up too fast. I love their independence but I love my hugs and kisses more.

Zach eating has been amazing. It definitely isn't because he is trying new things, because he really isn't, but when I look back at where we were two years ago, I am so relieved at the progress he has made. We still have our few select foods, but at least he is eating. He has added "quesadilla" to his food rotation (as well as his vocabulary - so cute to hear him say it). Just this week he asked me for a cookie. He ate two mini-oreo cookies (what mom can say they are excited that their kid ate a cookie?!?!) but of course the next day he had no interest in them. BUT, he asked for a cookie! AND he tried it! I will never complain about that! He loves pasta in almost any form as long as there is no red sauce of any sort on it. There must also be no ketchup within a mile radius of his plate. He still loves Bueno burritos and recently he ate a whole mini pizza by himself. He likes Chuck-E-Cheese pizza too! Can you believe it?? We are still supplementing his diet with Pediasure. I look forward to the day that he will no longer need it, it is quite expensive when he gobbles down 2-3 bottles a day. Emily is still dealing with her addiction to nuggets and fries. She still loves strawberries, bananas, and mandarin oranges, but refuses all veggies. Occasionally I can get her to eat a taco with meat only. Who knew this little monkey would turn into a picky eater. When she was a baby she liked everything except watermelon. Now she is on picky diet too - and of course it can't be anything that Zach likes. That would be too easy. I know there are those out there who feel that I shouldn't cater to them, but when you have a baby with eating issues, you will do whatever it takes for them to eat. Believe me, I have tried the "he'll eat anything if he's hungry" approach, and he will literally refuse to eat. All day. And it won't phase him a bit but it will make the rest of us miserable. I stand by the advice of my pedicatrician..."if you find something he likes, then feed it to him". Even if it is the same thing day after day, because right now, the important thing is maintaining his weight. He still gets his nutritional needs met by vitamins and Pediasure. I have no doubt that when he becomes a teenager I will need a second income to feed him, but for now this is just how things are going to be.

Zach still LOVES golf. Whether he is playing it or watching it on TV, he LOVES it. Which makes his Daddy very proud. He says "Titleist, number one golf ball" every night before bed. I should record it and then see if Titleist will endorse his future golfing career. I am sure that he and Steve will be glued to the TV this Sunday for the final round of the Masters.

My last day of work was March 31st. It was just getting too hard to work and maintain the cubs' "social schedule". Between school, therapies, swim lessons, family time, and my other household duties, I was having difficulty trying to manage work too. I was staying up late at night to work, or passing up on family activities to work, and Steve finally told me I needed to choose one or the other, and of course he was right. I am really thankful that I was able to work for so long, and I am grateful for my boss allowing me to have such a flexible schedule, but now I am thankful that I have one less thing on my plate. I will miss the income, but spending time with the cubs is more important right now.

Steve is still incredibly busy with work and we really enjoy the time when he is home. He is trying to golf once a week, but sometimes other activities keep him from doing so. Eventually we will get a schedule worked out. He has been really great letting me do all my "girl stuff" in the evenings. I still enjoy our neighborhood Bunco group and getting together with the girls for dinner and conversation. I served a year on the Board for my Mothers of Multiples group, but have decided this year to pass that torch on to someone else. Our neighborhood has started a Women's Association, so I've enjoyed meeting new friends and neighbors through that as well.

It's just a crazy, busy time of year for us at Cub Central. I can't believe that my precious cubbies are about to celebrate their fourth birthday. We love and appreciate all of you who have taken this journey with us. Thank you for remaining patient with me as I sadly neglect my blog. We have some exciting things planned this year. The cubs' first airplane trip is scheduled...not sure what to expect there, but we'll make the best of it. I'm sure I'll blog about it six months after it happens! Just pretend that we are in our own special time zone with a six month time delay!

Hugs and kisses from all of us!!

Social calendar

The cubs' social calendar has exploded this fall. The cubs started swimming lessons at the end of August. The first week went great and then the crying began. Emily would cry and then Zach would cry. It eventually got so bad that Zach was crying just to cry. No real reason for it. He would do everything the teacher told him to do. He wouldn't fight her or pull away, he would just do it while crying. Annoying. In hopes of stopping the tears we decided to split the cubs up. This was a pretty drastic measure, since it now meant that we had to go two nights per week instead of just one. So now Emily is flourishing in her Tuesday night classes and Zach just recently started making headway in his Thursday night classes. No tears at his latest class...WOO HOO!!

Preschool started on September 7th. The cubs are going to a new school this year and I think it is going great. They really like going and I love seeing how much they are learning. They are making such great progress. One day we heard Zach counting on his own...in SPANISH! Even more impressive to me, Steve knew it was spanish. Wow! They are learning colors (except in Emily's world everything is pink) and they are learning to write their names. They are singing songs all the time...of course, I have no idea what they are but it is still cute to hear.

Preschool and swimming lessons now dominate our Tuesdays and Thursdays. So does that mean that Mondays and Wednesdays are open?? HA - hardly. The cubs have speech therapy at the elementary school bright and early at 8:00am. UGH. I pick them up at 9:30, which gives us a little playtime before we head up to speech therapy at TWU. By the time 2pm rolls around, we have had our fill of speech therapy. It is definitely helping though. Sometimes what I hear the cubs say now really surprises me, especially since this time last year, Zach could barely talk at all. I sneeze, and Zach says "bless you". I ask Zach if he can bring me his cup, he says "of course". OF COURSE?!?! I LOVE IT!!!! Progress is being made.

That leaves Friday. The only "free" day. We fill those up with playdates with friends, little shopping trips, or excursions to the gym. Our gym has a rocking kid's play area and the cubs love it. They ask to go all the time, and cry if we pass by and don't stop. I love that it tires them out and gets them nap-ready! :)

I'm not sure when our schedule will lighten up. I'm ready for a little down time, but with two busy cubs in the house I probably won't get that for many years to come.

Where have we been?

Hmmm, good question. Every day seems to be a repeat of the last. Naps are becoming fewer and farther between....EEEKKK! NAPS are very important to our well-being. Theirs and mine. I wonder if bribery would work....these are desperate times!

The cubs are doing well. We had a pretty bad case of the germies here at Cub Central. It seems that I was harder hit than the rest of the crew. We're going on two weeks of the dreaded cough...it has to end sometime, right? We have had our fair share of runny noses, coughing, and sleepless nights. Even Dad was a little under the weather.

Speech therapy at TWU starts again tomorrow. I am looking forward to it! The cubs really seemed to benefit from the sessions last semester. I can't believe the progress Zach has made with his numbers and ABCs. I will write them down and he will say the number or letter. I even mix them up and he still gets them. He still has a little trouble with M, N and W, but it becomes clearer each day....and he LOVES to do it. Emily is using two-word phrases and is repeating almost everything. Please sounds like 'fleas' which makes me laugh every time because it's so cute.

We have stalled in the eating department. Emily is on a strike. She hasn't really wanted anything. I place a plate in front of her and she turns her head, sticks her nose in the air, and adamantly says "no". GRRR! Things she used to love she refuses and when I offer new things she refuses that too. Whatever this phase is, I hope it passes quickly. Zach is now eating chicken nuggets, fish sticks and Ritz crackers. While this is huge (HUGE) progress, it makes me laugh that we have gone from one extreme to the other. Before he would just nibble microscopic bites and now he shoves the whole thing in his mouth, which makes mom very nervous. I would much appreciate a happy medium.

We now have a busy Spring ahead. With speech and preschool we now have something to do every weekday, so I'm hoping the days pass with less drama and as they get busier I hope their napping frequency increases back up. FINGERS crossed.

Another week with a sick cub. Quarantine needed.

We had more drama on Grandpa Bear's birthday. We spent the evening with the pool designer because our original pool design did not fit in our backyard. BOO to the regulations that require our fence to be pushed in 10 feet from our property line. Who does that?? Anyway, that's another soapbox issue.

We ended up putting Emily to bed a little early because she was fussy and tired. I figured it was because she skipped her nap earlier that day. Other than that she seemed perfectly fine. Two hours later she was whimpering like a puppy so Steve went to check on her and she was burning up with a fever of 106! We did all the right things: started meds, stripped her down, lukewarm bath, cold compress and we could only get her temp down to 103. Then her temp started going back up and she was very lethargic, so we called the oncall Doctor. Before he returned our call, she started throwing up (which is VERY rare for Em). The Doctor starts yapping about brain damage with fevers over 105 and I thought I was going to lose it. He told us to take her to Cooks, where (two hours later) they diagnosed her w/ a (yet another) viral infection. Negative for flu. Unfortunately there is nothing we can give her to treat this other than alternating Tylenol and Motrin to keep her comfortable and give her plenty of fluids. We should be old pros at this. One Doctor's office visit, two urgent care visits, and one ER visit in the last month and every time we come home with the same diagnosis. Will we ever get over this mess???

Anyway, knock on wood, both cubs seem to be doing fine now. There was no preschool on Monday since it was Columbus Day, and I was anxious to get back to our routine. Speech therapy on Tuesday went great. Zach does the chicken dance now which Steve and I find hilarious. He is so cute!! Donuts with Dad day at Preschool was yesterday but unfortunately Dad couldn't go, so I was Dad proxy. Unfortunately the cubs left their good behavior at home....I guess it's their job to embarrass me in front of all the other parents. Zach dumped over a cup of water and neither of the cubs were interested in sitting during story time. I wish I could have superglued their little bottoms to the floor. I guess that's the behavior I can expect from two two-year-olds. Maybe I should start looking into etiquette school too. Good thing they are cute!!

Weekly update

We are getting back into our routine...finally. Zach has done great going to preschool...I even got a goodbye kiss when I dropped him off in his classroom on Wednesday. Therapy is going just as well, he now takes the hand of his Clinician and off they go, leaving me behind to follow. What a difference!!

When I picked the cubs up from preschool on Monday, the director told me that they were having a picture make-up day. Woo hoo. I was thrilled that Emily would be getting another chance to replace the stick figure I was going to have to put in her scrapbook. I dressed her up on Tuesday, went to school, and was thrilled that the photographer was able to get a cute picture of her. Unfortunately the cubs wouldn't sit together well and I gave up as soon as the fussing started, so no sibling pictures, but at least I will have an individual picture for each of them. SUCCESS.

I am still working with Emily on the potty training. She is doing pretty well. Tonight she finally indicated "poo" to me BEFORE she actually did it. Usually she cues me after she's already gone, so this was huge. Hopefully she will keep up the forward progress. It is difficult though, since we are gone every morning during the week. I think I am going to start working with Zach. I'm not expecting anything yet, but maybe the little man will surprise me.

Zach has been doing very well with his eating with the exception of the week he was sick. This is also huge progress. He has been trying some new foods...fish, broccoli, scrambled eggs, and hashbrown potatoes. He even ate some cheese toasty and tried a few bites of roast beef. AWESOME!!! He still LOVES Taco Bueno refried beans. Today I gave him some burrito at lunch and I took him out of his booster seat when I thought he was finished. Silly me! I was amazed when he looked at me and crawled right back in his booster seat. I offered him the remaining small bites of the burrito and he ate it!! WOW!! He absolutely despises ketchup. I put a small drop on a hashbrown potato and he immediately spit it out and started screaming. SCREAMING!!!! Emily, on the other hand, can't eat things without it. She would not touch her fish until I put ketchup on it (which was a little gross to me...baked fish with ketchup, but if she'll eat it then I won't complain, and I'll keep offering it to her). She won't eat her fish sticks, french fries, scrambled eggs, or chicken nuggets without ketchup. It is so funny watching her with nuggets. She takes one bite out of each one...as if she is checking to see if they are all alike...and then she will go back and start over. Silly cub.

Steve and I have met with a pool contractor. What should be easy has started becoming difficult thanks to all the HOA/City regulations, but we are not giving up. I have financing lined up, now all we have to do is get the pool we want to fit in our yard. We'll know more next week. Until then....

Back to our routine. (All caught up...FINALLY!)

Because of the germ monsters that invaded Cub Central last week, we are now trying to reestablish our routine. The cubs were only able to attend Preschool on Monday and all other events were cancelled for the week, so we were basically having to start over and reintroduce the cubs to school and therapy.

Monday and Tuesday went as expected. Emily did well, but Zach fussed terribly at both Preschool and therapy. At school he attached himself to my leg and screamed. I felt so badly because all of the other children were quietly drawing and Zach was creating mass hysteria. I finally just gave him a kiss, handed him to the teacher (while apologizing profusely) and left. It is what the school recommends. The longer I stay, the longer he'll continue to cry. I knew he'd calm down, but it didn't make leaving any easier. Tuesday was more of the same. We went in with the Clinician and I had to leave him there while screaming. Heart wrenching. After a few minutes he calmed down there too. It's just hard leaving him when he's screaming after me.

Wednesday was BEAUTIFUL! Emily and Zach both went into their preschool classroom happily. They didn't even say goodbye to me, and I left (a little sad) before they could notice. I was so relieved that there wasn't any screaming. Wednesday also happened to be picture day. It was also the first time Steve received a phone call from school. I certainly would have freaked out if they called me, so I'm glad they called him. Thankfully it wasn't an emergency, however, it turns out our little camera hog refused (REFUSED!!!!) to have her picture taken. Turns out our normally shy little man was quite the opposite. His teacher told us how cute he was posing for the camera. I am a little sad that Emily's first preschool photo is non-existent. I guess in their scrapbook next to Zach's first school photo, I'll have to draw in a stick-figure of Emily or perhaps put one of those little gray silhouettes where her picture should be. Little fussbucket.

Therapy went just as well on Thursday. No fussing. Zach took his Clinician's hand and they walked right in the room together. A break-through. I was so proud of him and so relieved that he didn't attach himself to my leg again. Emily is quite the opposite, she never had an issue about going with her Clinician. From the first day Emily walked up to her and took her hand. I think teaching her about "Stranger Danger" may be a bit difficult. She trusts everyone.

Now with Friday and the weekend in between, I am hoping that next week we can continue the non-screaming trend!!

Always playing catch up!

Cub Central is trucking along. Zach is still attending the feeding clinic at TWU. Tomorrow is our last day. It seems that we take one step forward and two steps back. Every time we make progress we seem to always have a small relapse. Now we're on the uphill again and I am thankful for that. He hasn't wanted to eat much in the last week. I think he may be teething and that has really affected him. He is so very fussy...to the point that when he doesn't get his way he attaches himself to my leg. So annoying. Today was a better day. We finally got to go outside to play (cold front has brought the temperatures down a bit) but he threw a grand hissy fit when he had to come inside. Emily threw a fit because we went outside, Zach threw a fit because we came inside....could these cubs be any more different?

Feeding the animals cubs has become a challenge, even with Emily. Foods she liked last week are left on her plate untouched this week. Zach still sticks with his standard foods: yogurt, taco bueno refried beans, mac and cheese, and the cheese topping off of pizza. He is on strike with his chicken and rice....WHAT a bummer! He still takes Pediasure and I still give him pureed veggies and fruits since that is the only way I can get him to eat them. He does like the tostada toppings from Taco Bell and he even eats the lettuce and cheese, but not the shell. He has improved on trying foods. He actually tried some rice-a-roni and a leaf from a brussel sprout. He'll try spaghetti but doesn't like spaghetti sauce. He is using his spoon/fork more even though I don't complain if he eats with his hands because at least he is eating. Emily is a mixed bag. She enjoys eating Dad's sloppy joe, but refuses (screaming refuses) to eat it off of her plate. The girl still LOVES bananas. Monkey. She likes fresh strawberries, grapes, and even shared a peach with me. Mandarin oranges are a favorite of hers too. She is a total fruitarian. Veggies are another story. She is on strike with the potato unless it is in french fry form. Yesterday she had some chicken fried steak even though she generally refuses meat. She is also on strike with cheese slices. WHAT??? No cheese??? This can't be my cub.

Last week I hosted an informal play date. I had four little guys come over to play. It went really well. Emily, always the hostess, wanted hugs from everyone as they left and then she would watch out the front window as they drove away. So cute. She was totally outnumbered but it didn't bother her a bit...she is quite the little tom-boy.

Emily is still keeping up with her routine at nap time. Zach goes to bed first as Emily blows him a kiss, waves, tells him bye, and closes the door. I love getting them up in the morning, except when it is unbelievably early. Since moving into their own rooms they have been sleeping pretty well. Emily is usually the first up (which is a surprise) so I get her out of her crib and we walk into Zach's room together. She is always so excited to see him. She always bursts through the door with a big smile and says "HI" and runs over to Zach's crib. Zach always jumps up and looks down at her with the biggest smile. It is so sweet! They are also playing together now. Zach follows Emily everywhere. They were running through the house holding hands earlier this week. Too cute for words!

I still enjoy my nights out with my friends. Things are calming down enough around here that Steve even gets to go to the golf course every now and then. He tries to get out at least once a week depending on the cubs' moods. You never know how their afternoons are going to go.

Just a little behind

So I am a little behind on my blogging. I am totally aware of this and yet I still haven't done it. That makes me a very bad blogger. It also means I have been a very busy non-blogger.

Zach's therapy.
Zach is attending a feeding clinic at a University in Denton (see blog dated 5/19 for more information on the clinic). There are three clinicians, one for each child. We have had two sessions and the other children have not shown up. So little man has had the total attention of three pretty college girls and their instructor. He is pretty much "eating this up"...pardon the expression. What a flirt. After the first session, he hugged his primary clinician, Leah, and then blew her a kiss. Are you kidding me? Zach blew his very first kiss to me on my birthday, and here he is blowing kisses to another girl just 8 days later. Kind of makes my kiss feel a little less special. The sessions are going ok. Play time is fun, but anytime they put him in the booster seat screaming ensues. Not pleasant to watch. (I am on the other side of a one-way mirror so he is unable to see me). The instructor says he's doing well with the different textures. Pretty good for the first week. She's had kids gag at the sight of food, so for Zach to play with his food is a good thing. He did actually pick up a piece of macaroni and cheese up and put it in his mouth all by himself. The next day he picked up a piece of rice. It's only been a few days and he's started using his fork all on his own. PROGRESS!! I am so proud of our little man.

Emily's therapy.
Emily's therapy has been going pretty well too. Her clinician, Kelly, says she is saying words. Why is it that I can't understand her??? She is starting to mimic and she is making a lot more sounds. I have a feeling my little cubs will be talking in no time, and then I'll wonder why I put them through all these sessions. Either way, I think it's good that Emily is getting some one-on-one therapy/attention. It is so hard to do that at home because the cubs are always together.

Grandma Bear.
Grandma Bear is visiting for the next two weeks. I am so excited to have an extra set of paws (hands) around the house. I was actually able to schedule a physical exam at my Doctor's office that is long overdue. The next two weeks will be very busy.

Mommy's GNOs
Mommy still has her GNOs. Over the last few weeks I've been to Gloria's, Campania's Pizza, and Blue Mesa Grill. I love that we pick new places to go each time so I get to sample new restaurants. Yummy!

Our landscaping project.
Still in progress....although we have the cutest little helper (and cutest little supervisor).




Emily supervising:


Stopping for a water break:



Love for Husky.
Emily loves her husky. So much so, that lately she has been putting him in her booster seat and strapping him in. He must be secured. The other day she took a facial wipe and wiped his little face. He must be clean. This weekend she gave Husky a drink out of Baxter's water bowl. He must be watered. What a spoiled Husky. We can't leave home without him. He even attends Emily's therapy sessions. Can you say "attachment issues"??







Potty training.
I postponed Emily's potty training because every time I would try working with her she would scream and cry. Grandma Bear has worked with Emily one day and already she has used her potty, both for #1 and #2. Makes me look like a potty training failure. I guess Grandma Bear can't leave until Zach is potty trained too.

They still fit.
Great Grandma Betty handmade these outfits for Emily and Zach last year when they were not even walking. Zach can still wear his but it's getting a little tight. Emily's was a dress but don't you think it looks just as cute as a top? I paired it with some shorts and she can still wear it throughout the summer. Awesome!

We go all out.

So I haven't "officially" blogged since May 19th. Hmmm. It's funny that I don't think we've done very much, yet I feel like we've been so busy that my head is spinning. Perhaps it's because the cubs are getting older, are more active and taking shorter (if any) naps. I feel like I've been going non-stop from sunrise to sunset and yet I don't have much to blog about. We've been spending a lot more time outside and taking walks almost daily around the neighborhood. The cubs really like their stroller now, and when I bring it out they climb in all by themselves.

We've had some of our friends over now too. I always felt like the old house was too out of the way and the apartment was way too small to have our friends over. Now that we actually have some room to move, I thought it would be a good idea to invite over some of Emily and Zach's friends that have so graciously invited us over to play in the past. So we've been busy with playdates too, three in the last eleven days. I thought I better start out small so I have only invited one set of twins over at a time, but I might just get wild and invite over more than one set. Won't that be a huge circus of fun??

I've been pretty busy during the evenings too. My LCMOM meeting was May 19. My dinner with the THC girls was on May 21 at The Covey Restaurant and Brewery. Yummy. Next week is just as busy. GNO on Monday and my "scrapbooking" meeting on Tuesday. Steve's been really great about letting me get out and enjoy some adult/girl time while he stays home and puts the cubs to bed. Sometimes he'll even give them their baths. Way to go Stevie! It just seems funny that I have more of a social life now than I did before the cubs were here. Steve and I even have to use a calendar to plan out all of the week's events. HA!

The cubs both had a speech therapy visit last week as well. I obviously didn't expect much on the first visit and I wasn't disappointed. We didn't get much. In just a few weeks we'll be starting the feeding/speech clinics at TWU. I am still so excited and hopeful about it.

We had a surprise visit from our friend Brad on Saturday (the 23rd). He currently lives in Minot, ND, so we were really shocked when we received a call from him that he was here in town. Luckily Steve was off so we both were able to enjoy a short visit with him.

We purchased booster seats for the dining room chairs this week. So far Emily has done pretty well. Unfortunately they seem a little short so Emily's elbow is up to her chin as she tries to shovel in her food. Soon we'll move Zach into his and see how he does.

Today Zach treated me with what I would classify as one of his top three temper tantrums of all time. In public. In the witness of some friends, no doubt. NICE. We were at the park and he was in the swing which he just loves loves loves. When it was time to go, he threw a colossal fit. COLOSSAL!! Embarrassing. At least it was big enough to be note-worthy. Why not go all out?! If you're going to pitch a hissy fit in public, you should definitely make it a good one. Good job Zach. Maybe Mommy can convince Daddy to go swing-set shopping this weekend.

I'll try to post some fun pictures over the weekend. Stay tuned!

To eat or not to eat.

There hasn't been much going on here at Cub Central. We've had a few playdates since Mother's Day. We went to Jessica's last week and then Kelli and her girls came over yesterday. It seems like it has rained every weekend, especially if it happens to be one of Steve's days off. We spent this weekend putting flooring in the attic so we can store some things that we don't need right away. I have been putting off the unpacking because I just don't want to do it anymore. It seems like I spend more time moving boxes than unpacking them. We have been trying to spend more time outside. I have taken the cubs on a few walks this week. It is really nice to be in a neighborhood where I feel safe to do this. I didn't feel comfortable taking the cubs for walks around the apartment because of all the crazy drivers speeding through the complex and there were no sidewalks. I never felt safe taking them for walks at the old house either. SAD. I'm really happy that they have done so well in their stroller lately. I'm sure it is only because we are walking outside. If we are inside a mall or department store, the stroller is not very well liked by the cubs. Inside our house it becomes a playpen, they can't stop crawling all over it. Silly cubs.

Zach had his first therapy session with the new speech therapist for his feeding aversion issues. I'm a little irked that they have only scheduled him for two half hour sessions per month. However, today I received some encouraging news. Zach was accepted into a summer feeding program at Texas Women's University. Specifically, it is a group feeding program for toddlers with sensory-based feeding disorders. He will be introduced to a variety of foods with different textures, tastes, and temperatures to increase sensory experiences and improve oral intake. The sessions are led by master’s level graduate students under the direct supervision of a licensed speech-language pathologist. It runs for 6 weeks, from June 16 to July 23, on Tuesday and Thursday mornings for 1.5 hours per session. Each session is planned around a weekly theme and includes circle time, rotations through non-food sensory exploration, sensory exploration with food, and language enrichment activities. I am so hopeful about this! As an added bonus, Emily will receive individual speech-language therapy at the same time. Can it get any better than that?

I haven't updated in ages about all of the new foods we've introduced. Lately (because it will probably change tomorrow) Emily likes black olives and broccoli. She recently started eating steamed carrots but stopped eating potatoes. She likes the small frozen individual pizzas. She likes toast but not bread. She loves fish sticks, especially when she can dunk them in ketchup. She doesn't like sandwiches, but will dunk her toast in jelly. She likes waffles without syrup. She loves to share cereal and milk with Mom. She loves burritos but not mexican rice. She likes chips and hot sauce from Taco Bueno. She loves mandarin oranges. She will eat a whole banana but doesn't like it if you slice it up. Silly cub.

Zach's list is much shorter but at least it consists of things other than baby food in a jar. He still loves refried beans from Taco Bueno. I still add sour cream to them for the added calories. He still likes macaroni and cheese. I give Emily a chicken and rice meal and he will eat the rice, but not the chicken. He likes potatoes but no longer seems to like McDonald's fries. He will eat the cheese from the individual pizza but not the crust. He tried the sauce from Mom's chicken enchilada casserole. He still eats his daily yogurt and Pediasure. He thinks crayons, books, and chalk are meant to be eaten. Foods, however, are not. Silly cub.

Random happenings around the Swine Flu

Emily and Zach had their two year check-ups on April 29th. We got out of there with only one shot each, however I think they managed to pick up a cold while we were there too. BOO HISS! I originally thought that they were suffering from allergies due to this crazy weather, but then it developed into a crummy cold. Commence nose mopping. UGH.

Stats:
Emily weighs a whopping 28 lbs. which puts her in the 68%tile for weight. A few weeks earlier she weighed 29 lbs., so she actually has thinned down a bit. I guess all of the running in, out and around the house has really melted away her baby fat. She is 36" tall which puts her in the 95%tile. That means that 95% of children her age are shorter than her. YIKES. She's going to be a tall girl.

Zach weighs 23.4 lbs. which finally puts him on the growth chart at a stunning 5%tile. That means 95% of children his age weigh more than he does. Big surprise. He's going to be tall and skinny. I'm ok with that. He is 34" tall which is the 40%tile. That's pretty close to average. Good enough for Mommy. He isn't throwing up anymore and for that I am so thankful.

That night I celebrated with another one of those tasty raspberry margaritas with my "scrapbooking" girls. I have a lot to be thankful for.

Thanks to the Swine Flu we didn't even attempt to go to Paradise Pond. Or anywhere else for that matter. Most of the school districts were closed here, so the Pond was probably closed anyway. We've been staying at home and playing outside when the weather cooperates.

On Saturday (May 2) Steve treated me to a day away. He took care of the cubs while I had a spa treatment (if I had money to waste I'd have one of these every day) and then lunch with my fellow moms at Brios. What a great day. Except for the weather -- it was pretty crummy. That afternoon a storm collapsed the roof of the Cowboys' training facility. We were fortunate and didn't receive any damage but sadly others weren't as lucky. Mother Nature can be very ugly.

Tuesday night was another GNO with my friends. I love that Steve is willing to put the cubs to bed so I can enjoy dinner with friends. We went to Cheddars, where I of course indulged myself in the onion rings (yum) and a Cookie Monster (more yummy)...and a raspberry something or other. This has become such a frequent order that Steve actually bought me my own bottle of Raspberry mix so I can make my own at home. I hope he doesn't think that this means I'll stop going to GNO. Hee hee.

Yesterday was Emily and Zach's ECI evaluation. Emily qualifies for speech therapy and I'm excited to get started with that. She speaks in her own little language. She changes her tone and uses facial expressions and hand gestures as if she's telling a whole story. Unfortunately I can't understand a single word. I do think that once she starts talking, she'll really take off. Zach also qualifies for speech therapy and occupational therapy to help with his eating aversions. No surprise there. That is the reason I called them. Zach has come a long way but he still has a way to go. We know he'll get there!

We are homeless and we're happy about it....temporarily.

What a week. We are officially homeless....or between homes...or apartment dwellers, not sure which term I feel like picking today. We closed on the old house on Wednesday. What a relief to have that over with. We definitely know how lucky we are that we found a buyer and at the perfect time. They could have easily bought a newer house for less money in our neighborhood, so we are counting our blessings. That night I treated myself to a celebratory margarita at Mi Pueblo with some friends. We jokingly call it our "scrapbooking meeting". Ironically because none of us scrapbook, but it was brought up in conversation and just stuck. So now I tell Steve I have a scrapbook meeting to attend and he just rolls his eyes at me.

It finally started raining on Wednesday afternoon, several days after my knees began to let me know that it would be raining soon. Stupid knees. They are great indicators of a weather change, much to my dismay. I'm too stubborn to see a Doctor for it even at Grandma Bear's constant urging (I love you Mom!). I'll try to squeeze it in between later and never.

Zach had a therapy appointment on Thursday. Although it went much better this week I am still a bit aggravated by the whole thing. I had to take Emily with me but this time I was smart enough to put them in their stroller. I was determined to keep them contained. I even fed Zach in the stroller which is the main reason I think this session went better. He didn't have to sit in that little wooden chair which automatically induces a thirty minute screaming session. I was most irritated with the fact that while I was feeding Zach, the therapist was busy playing with Emily. HELLO!!!!! I'm here to get help with Zach!!! Emily was perfectly fine playing with her toys on her side of the stroller, she didn't need to be entertained. UGH. This morning I called the ECI program in Denton County. The therapist comes to your home so that the child is in his own surroundings and I have a feeling that will work much better for us. Plus it's a flat monthly cost share based on our income so it will actually be cheaper than paying our $40 copay for each visit.

Our Thursday play date was cancelled due to the weather. It was supposed to be at a park that I have not been to yet, but word has it that it is gated so it would be a little safer for the cubs to run around and easier for me to keep an eye on them. I'm looking forward to trying it out as soon as the weather improves.

Steve brought home a rhinovirus this week. Isn't it nice of him to share with the rest of the family? It's either that or allergies, but I have been mopping up noses for the last day and a half. I'm feeling pretty lousy myself. I declared today a PJ day and the cubs and I remained in our jammies most of the day. We were stuck inside due to the crummy weather (what happened to our 70 degree temps from last week??) and the runny noses anyway.

Emily now calls for Zach by yelling "ACK". When I tell her to go get her brother, she turns and yells "ACK". NICE! She also repeats me when I say "uh oh" except she's a little lazy with it and it comes out "uh uh". Close enough I guess. For now anyway. Good thing she's cute.

Steve is supposed to work both days this weekend (of course) so we have nothing planned. We are supposed to do our final walk-through for the new house on Monday so I'm looking forward to that. It just puts us that much closer to moving day!

Things that happened in between fevers....

Tuesday night was my monthly LCMOM meeting. We had dinner and a white elephant gift exchange. I always enjoy getting out for an evening. The Doctor had given the "all clear" for Zach to attend his therapy session on Thursday even though he still had the lingering fever. She said as long as he wasn't exhibiting any other symptoms it should be ok. One of the moms from my LCMOM group graciously invited Emily over to her house while I took Zach to his appointment. Emily played with Kim's boys, Nathan and James, while I sat with Zach in his therapy room while he screamed at the top of his lungs for 30 minutes. Emily obviously got the better end of the deal. This was the worst session yet. Last week he managed to eat his yogurt in the middle of all the screaming. This week was nothing but screaming. Except he would stop screaming if you put a toy on the table. Of course afterwards he ate his yogurt up in the car without any problem. So frustrating. On Thursday night I went to dinner with the girls from THC. We went to Rio Mambo for mexican food and a nice strong Margarita. A desperately needed Margarita after that therapy session. My dear friend Debbie invited us over for lunch on Friday. She took time off for the week because her daughter was out of school for Spring Break. Sydney is seven and just the most beautiful little girl...Debbie is going to have her hands full when those boys start knocking on the door. We spent most of our visit outside. I'm glad it was pretty outside because I was very nervous that the cubs would break something if we stayed inside. The cubs are very curious and have to touch everything. On Friday evening we took the cubs to the Cotton Patch for dinner. It is pretty loud there and even with all the noise I think Zach's squeals were still the loudest. He loves to hear his echo even when the rest of us don't love it so much. Matt and Beth Ann came over on Saturday. It has been too long since we saw them last. We all went over to the old house together for one last look. It was a bit sad. I remember being so excited when we first bought the house and now I am so excited to sell it. I actually gave my keys and garage door opener to Steve today so he could give them to our realtor for closing. Closing is scheduled for 1:00 on Wednesday. Zach did impress me this weekend by trying some new foods. He ate a Pringle potato chip. It sounds silly to blog about that, but it really is huge for him. It was only one half of a chip and it took about 10 minutes, but he ate it on his own and that's all that matters to me. On Sunday he actually put a Mum-Mum (a rice cracker...Emily loves them) in his mouth. He didn't really eat any of it, but he put it in his mouth numerous times. Even Steve had to admit that it was exciting to see him do this. We had Taco Bueno for lunch on Sunday and Zach gobbled up his refried beans. I even added some sour cream just for the added calories. Last night I made chicken with pasta for dinner and he tried some of the pasta too. He has learned to push things out with his tongue if he doesn't like it. This is huge progress because before he would try to swallow it, gag, and throw up everything. I'd much rather he spit it out than throw it (and everything else) up.

Moving forward

So far so good on the sale of the old house. The date that the buyers could terminate the contract without reason has passed. Steve is finishing up the minor issues that the buyers want fixed. He has managed to bring most of the boxes down from the attic and move them to storage. I think we have enough Christmas lights to decorate the whole neighborhood. Just wait until we have our first Christmas at the new house, we will be the beacon of light that all airline passengers will be able to see as they are flying above. The appraisers are scheduled to come out early tomorrow morning. I am so excited to get this house sold. What a huge relief it will be to not have two mortgages at the same time.

There isn't much to catch up on this week. Last Sunday we took the cubs to the park to enjoy the spectacular weather. Can you believe that we left earlier than planned because it was just too hot?? After the park we visited with our friend Donna who was here from out of town.

Monday night was GNO with Deb and Kristi. LOVE LOVE LOVE those raspberry margaritas. Monday was also the last day of our spectacular weather. The rest of the week was cold and rainy and we have been cooped up since. I think the cubs and I are experiencing cabin fever. We did venture out on Thursday for Zach's therapy appointment. While it did not go as badly as the week before it still did not go very well. I feel like I am watching dollars go down the drain here, and at a particular time where we don't have much money to waste. I'm going to give it a few more sessions and then I might contact ECI (early childhood intervention). They are much cheaper and perform therapy at home where the child is more comfortable. I think the major problem with Zach's therapy is that he's not comfortable. He starts screaming as soon as we put him in the little wooden chair. After his therapy we went to Paradise Pond. Major mistake on my part. The cubs acted horribly and I was so embarrassed that after the third temper tantrum I gathered them up and brought them home. Zach even refused to walk out with me, so I had to carry them both to the car in the yucky weather. UGH. Paradise Pond is supposed to be a fun treat. It's a real beating for me because it is so hard to keep an eye on them at the same time. They are usually at opposite ends of the building, and Zach won't stand still for a second. I don't really enjoy it, but since they (usually) do, I suck it up so that they will have a fun time, but I don't think anyone had fun at our last visit. Maybe we'll have to skip it next week.

The weather is still crummy and we are still stuck inside. When will we ever see the sun again??

Making up for lost time

Since we were sick last week and had to cancel most of our activities, we certainly made up for it this week.

On Tuesday I took the cubs to register for PRESCHOOL. I have heard that this preschool can be difficult to get into. The doors opened at 8am, you were given a number, and then registration would start promptly at 9am. I was number 14. We waited for over an hour before our number was called. Emily was fussy, Zach was noisy, and I figured they would take one look at us and send us on our way. I sat down, the Director asked me what classes I was needing, and I held my breath. They offer two programs. The half-day program which is from 8:45 - 11:45 and the full-day program from 8:45 - 2:30. Both programs are two days per week. I wanted the half-day program simply so I wouldn't have to worry about someone trying to feed Zach. My preference was Monday/Wednesday, but would obviously take Tuesday/Thursday if it were the only class still open. When I told the Director my preference, she opened her book, and said the magic words "you got the last two spots". WHEW!!! We got the last two spots for the entire two-year old class....and we got the days I wanted. Thank goodness, because if she would have told me that there was only one spot left or no spots at all, I think I would have broken down into tears right there at her table. My second choice preschool had already had their registration a few weeks prior so I gambled a little by waiting. For once things went my way.

Tuesday night was my last board meeting with my MOMs group at Buca di Beppos. I had volunteered to do the secretary duties that night since Jennifer was unable to attend. Note to self: never volunteer to do things that I already know I'm not good at. I felt a little like being back in college, 1.5 hours of note-taking. I was starving and wanted to eat and by the time I finished my Italian Margarita, who knows what I was writing. Poor Jennifer is going to have to type up my notes and submit them for approval. I sure hope she can muddle through them and make sense out of it all.

I took my muddled mess of notes to Jennifer on Wednesday and the cubs had a play date with her twin boys. It was a pretty morning and we spent some time with the foursome in the backyard. Her boys are so cute and they are talking so well...we need to hang out with them more so the cubs will learn to talk too. Nothing like a little peer pressure.

Thursday morning the inspector came out to inspect the house. We accepted an offer and now have a contract pending. WOO HOO! They have until midnight tomorrow (Monday) night to submit their request for additional repairs or back out of the contract completely. I am holding my breath and watching the clock. So far we haven't heard anything, so hopefully no news is good news. I talked to our realtor on Friday and she agreed that the best thing would be to hear nothing at all and then we will push forward to closing on March 25. So today Steve is emptying out the garage and the attic and moving everything out to storage so the house will be completely empty and ready to transfer to its new owners. Part of me is a little sad. It was the house we first brought the cubs home to, and I'll miss their nursery. It was my favorite room! Now they will have their own rooms at the new house with much more space to play, but you never forget bringing them home the first time.

Thursday morning was also Zach's first feeding therapy appointment. Our copay is $40 per visit, each session lasts 30 minutes, so I paid over $1.00 per minute to listen to Zach scream. All I could think of was that I could do this at home for free. Needless to say, his first session did not go well. He HATES the little booster chair and he screamed almost the entire time. Plus I had to take Emily, so she was a huge distraction. She wanted to be in the middle of everything, she wanted to play, she wanted to eat, and she stuck her fingers in Zach's food. That was thirty minutes of my life that I don't care to repeat. I ushered the cubs to the car, finished feeding Zach, who by the way eats like a champ in his car seat, and took them to Paradise Pond for some fun time. They played for an hour and half and took a nice long nap after we returned home.

Saturday was "Girl Day". Kelli and I spent the entire day together doing what girls do best. Mani/pedis, lunch and shopping. Dad kept the cubs, and I left right after breakfast and came home right before bedtime. I had a ton of fun and it was so good to do things without my two shadows in tow.

This morning I am trying to adjust to this ridiculous time change. Not my favorite time of year, I hate giving up an hour of sleep.