We survived...

We all survived a pretty nasty stomach flu and finally a week after it started, we feel back to normal. We managed to celebrate Thanksgiving with Jeremy's family and hopefully kept germs to ourselves. Jeremy and I planned to head to Louisville for a wedding with friends last night and we couldn't get there. The girls were so needy and we just didn't feel like we could leave them, so we stayed up at the lakehouse with Grandma & Grandpa Ash. I head to Denver this week for a board meeting of the organization I'm working with, so dad's on duty with help from my mom and his. Hopefully everyone stays healthy. Here's some pics from our Thanksgiving!

"Now, Grandpa Dave, tell me what card you are looking for and I'll try my sweet talk."--Lilly

"Uncle Joe, does your belly hurt from all that yummy food, I think I have heartburn."--Addy

"Yep, definately heartburn..."(Lilly on left, Addy on the right)

PS. Aunt Cat--we are sorry you are sick, do pictures of us make you feel better???? Get well soon!

Blogging through the Barf....

I said in an earlier post when my babies were battling reflux that there was nothing worse than a sick baby...well there is, 2 sick babies, a sick mom and a sick dad--yep, that's right, we all have some gross strand of the stomach flu (apparantly one that a flu shot doesn't prevent). Life has not been good. This all happened after I had begun to let my guard down about my toddlers going out to public places for playtime, knowing it would be a long and lonely winter if I didn't get over some of my OCD tendencies. So, we had a good 3 days--went to our Mom's Day out Program on Friday, visiting the childcare center at the YMCA while Jeremy and I worked out Saturday and celebrated Tyson's 2nd Birthday at a Run/Bounce/Jump facility in Cincinnatti on Sunday. The girls loved them all, but somewhere we caught the bug then spread it to other unexpected kids---I am so sorry!!! Anyway, not much time around here for blogging, but here are a few things I've discovered over our few days....

1. When I was registering for baby items, I remember saying to Jeremy that the recommendations at Babies R' Us listed 4 sets of crib sheets, "when on earth would you need 4 sets of crib sheets?"...last night we needed 4 sets.

2. Babies can get this weird bacteria rash on their face when they have a cold. It's from a persistent runny nose. No big deal, the doctor prescribed a tube of ointment to clear it right up-went to the pharmacy and it costs $50...when was the last time I spent $50 bucks on face cream for MYSELF?....before we had kids...right.

3. When the doctor says bland food, be very specific to your husband about what bland means--mandarin organges are not bland and if you offer a sick baby their favorite food, they will eat it and regret it later.

4. The BRAT (Bananas, Rice, Applesauce and Toast) diet really does work for upset tummies

5. No more calling in sick, Christina's blog said it well, but when you are a mom, it sure gets lonely, Monday was awful, with Jeremy at work and never feeling so bad, it's true what they say, it's lonely at the top.

6. During this hellish week, my little snot nosed, vomitting, never stop pooping, bacteria rash on the face, diaper rashed butt babies know exactly what they want....their mom...and amazingly I'm still thankful.

Happy Thanksgiving--Please pray that we are all better for some turkey!

Here are a few pics pre-plague (we never look at the camera anymore)...

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! Addy and Lilly were very well behaved on their first Thanksgiving. They sported the outfits below that were sent by their Aunt Cat. Lilly wanted nothing to do with that hat and for some reason Addy just looks like she's a deer in headlights, but these are the things they do for fashion.

I haven't updated in a while because I've been sicker than a dog and my girls are playing tricks on me. Last weekend was pure bliss. We had 3 full nights of the girls sleeping anywhere from 10 p.m. to 7:30 a.m. It was amazing. Jeremy and I thought we had hit the lottery. We have been so VERY patient with the middle of the night feedings. We were warned when we left the NICU and I was told over and over again by other moms of preemies that most preemies get to the 4 month/cereal introduction before they consistently sleep through the night. However, Addy and Lilly have been overachievers from the beginning, so it wasn't surprising that they were setting the curve.

And, quite honestly, I deserve it, if you add in the breast-pumping that I was doing every 3 hours while they were in the hospital and the second and third trimester discomforts AND the 4 time visit to the bathroom to pee in the first trimester, I reckon to say (minus the 1 night we stayed in Chicago and drank too much a month ago) IT HAS BEEN SINCE LAST FEBRUARY THAT I HAD A GOOD NIGHT SLEEP! I mean an honest to God, no checking to make sure babies are breathing good night sleep. I think I deserve it, right???? So, after the 3 night stretch, my body finally gave in and I got some kind of viral sickness that is going around and needless to say, as soon as I got sick, they stopped sleeping through the night and we haven't seen more than a 4 hour stretch since. They are teasing us...showing us who's boss.

All I have to say is that it's a damn good thing they are as cute as they are....

We captured Lilly smiling--it is a beautiful sight.

Addy--She looks like a porcelain doll

Mom & Everything she is so thankful for....