I'M BACK!!! Stay tuned :) Anyone out there??

Aren't we just the cutest!!

We had these pictures taken this weekend! I LOVE them! And don't you think the baking pictures would work perfect on a Christmas card?

The boys are almost 3! Three! When did that happen? They turn 3 on Sept 27th. I've decided to throw a big party. I debated until a week ago. I think it'll be the last big one and then starting next year we'll keep it small. Only invite the boys closest friend or two.

And about me.... had an MRI last week. Will be meeting w/ the breast surgeon again next week to find out the results. I've met with her once already and she was concerned but not overly concerned. She said I will not have radiation at this point. She's not even sure why the radiologist told me that. But she did request the MRI and thinks a MRI guided lumpectomy should be done. I'm also meeting w/ a genetic counselor next week. That should be interesting. I am curious to see what she has to say. I will most likely have to decide if I am willing to take the breast cancer gene test and if I'm willing to act on whatever they suggest if it's positive.

Right now I'm not feeling too stressed about it all. So that's good! Life is good. Super happy =)

Cancer Scare

Been a long time since I blogged. I miss all my blogging friends!

I had a really rough week. About 2 months ago I felt a breast lump. I decided to wait through one menstrual cycle to see if it went away with my period. It didn't. So I made a doctor appt. That was about 2 weeks ago. The doctor felt the lump which led to an ultrasound appt. Those results led to a mammogram. All of which had concerning results. This was last Thurs. I was told I needed to have a biopsy right away at the nearby hospital. On the way out they handed be a breast cancer survival booklet. OMG! During the biopsy they took 6 tissue samples from my left breast. The surgeon nicked an artery during the surgery so it took them over 2 hours to control the bleeding. The bleeding eventually stopped but left a 3 inch by 2.5 inch hemotoma. (by the way I have small breasts) On the way out they handed me a pink bear with ribbons all over it. OMG! That was Monday. I went back to the hospital on Tues to have the hemotoma drained. They were able to get it down to about a 1 inch size.

Yesterday I got the results. Not Cancer! Woohoo! But the biopsy does show abnormal precancerous cells. Huh? What? Radiologist recommends surgery and radiation. Referral to an oncologist and breast surgeon has been made. Needs to be done after 4 to 6 weeks so the hemotoma has a chance to go away.

So I guess I'm super ecstatic b/c it's not cancer... But also trying to wrap my mind around needing breast surgery and radiation. Also trying not to Google and make assumptions based on limited info. I tend to do that. Hoping I can get into the oncologist before the 4-6 weeks I need to wait so we can go over my results and make a plan.

From what I gather. They didn't like the looks of the lump. They also didn't like all the calcification's they saw around the lump (red flag for cancer), I also have abnormal "precancerous" cells from the tissue samples they took (not good), I also have breast cancer in my family so that increases my risk a lot. My Dad's Mother died very young of breast cancer. My Aunt has also had breast cancer. So based on all that they think they should do a lumpectomy and follow up w/ radiation. Of course that is the recommendation from the radiologist and the oncologist may say something very different.

So that's been my week.

On another note since I'm actually on here writing a post. My twins are awesome. I love this age so much. They will be 3 years old in 2 months. They are talking non-stop and say the funniest things. Both are doing really well. We started potty training about a month ago and both are doing awesome. They are pretty much fully potty trained. It was an interesting experience. Potty training two at the same time is a little crazy.

They are really into trains and cars and love to paint and color. They ask me every morning to draw them a picture and I usually do. They make requests for a train or cookie monster or a lion, etc. (75% of the time they want me to draw a train) And then I try to draw it for them. Both like to have their toenails painted every week. So they always have painted nails and yes they are boys. We usually do blue or green nails but this week they wanted purple so they got purple :) Their favorite show is Dora the Explorer. They love Dora even more than Diego.

I am starting a preschool co-op w/ 3 other families in early Sept. We'll be rotating who teaches and who assists. So I'll teach one week a month, assist one week a month and have 2 weeks off =) The location will always be at the teachers home and we'll be doing this on Tues/Thurs from 9 to noon. I'm excited. I think it'll be great and a lot of fun.

Other than that I'll also be super busy w/ a cooking co-op, book-club, Bunco and also being a co-president for a local Multiples Club. We are also officially looking to buy a "new" home. I'm super excited. We've been renting since we moved here over 2 years ago and I am ready to buy and a truly make a place our home. We're in a good position since we aren't trapped by a lease and don't need to sell a home. So we can take our time and wait until we find the perfect house for our family.


Nail polish for everyone :)


Trip to Gilroy Gardens


Andrew and Matthew


Yosemite National Park


Finger Painting


Pool Time

Happy Holidays!

I just love this time of year. Seeing the magic of the season through your children's eyes is beyond words. It just humbles you and reminds you of the simple joys. We go and look at Christams lights almost every night. The boys can't get enough. They want "more lights... more lights" They love the lit up cho cho trains! My sons just melt my heart. I am so very happy.

My boys are now almost 27 months old! When did that happen?!? We had a wonderful party w/ friends and family for their 2nd birthday at a local park. I was touched so many people came to celebrate with us. I still never for one moment take them for granted. There is nothing in my life I've ever wanted as much as I wanted them. I am so thankful that happened and my dreams of becoming a Mother came true.

It's been such a long time since I've posted. It's hard to find any free time. The boys are very demanding w/ wanting constant attention. Plus we seem to have all our days jam packed w/ activities and play-dates. Facebook has also taken over and I'm a bit addicted :)

Their stats at 26 months: Matthew is 36 inches tall and 26lbs. Skinny boy! Andrew is 34 inches and 26lbs.

We had a health scare w/ Matthew. He got Salmonella poisoning. The health department got very involved since there was a small outbreak in toddler age children here. They think they can link the outbreak to the nearby Zoo. Possibly from a bird in the aviary... It's an open aviary where the birds are free in the same area with you. So Matthew could have touched some contaminated bird feces and then touched his mouth. Ewwww!!! So he had diarrhea on and off for almost a month and there are days he still has intestinal issues. (Probiotics seem to help) It was scary at one point b/c he lost 5lbs and he's already a thin child. Luckily he was still eating well and drinking well so the weight came back on after a few weeks. I was told it can take 3-4 months for him to get back to 100%. This also caused him to become lactose intolerant so we've had him on zero dairy for almost 2 months. I decided I couldn't feed one twin different foods than the other so I have both of dairy free diets. I am hoping we can start to introduce some dairy back into their diets soon. I found it very interesting that the health dept can test the sick child's stool and determine the exact species of animal that got them sick. So we collected 9 samples... that was fun.

In early October we took both boys for speech evaluations. I was a little concerned since I felt they weren't exactly where they should be. Especially Matthew. He just wasn't talking much. We were having tantrums issues b/c of this lack of communication. So I took them in and Andrew did well. His speech and comprehension were both at age level. Matthew tested and came back w/ the comprehension of a 3 year old (a year ahead) and the verbal of a 21 month old. So he was a little behind in verbal. Since he's so far ahead in comprehension he gets frustrated at the gap between that and trying to communicate. The therapist didn't think we needed regular speech therapy and instead gave me suggestions to help them at home. So we've been working on it at home and he's doing so well. His speech has taken off!

We spent Thanksgiving at my parents up North and we'll be spending X-mas day with Jerry's Dad, Step-Mom and also his brother's family. On X-mas Eve we'll be going over to my friend's Kathy's house for dinner. So next week should be nice and relaxing. I'm happy we don't have to travel anywhere. We do hope to take the boys to the snow one day. I just bought them sleds so it'll be fun to try them out.

Hope everyone is having a Wonderful Holiday Season!!

Beach Vacation

First family vacation to the beach. We had such a GREAT time!!!


The boys were loving the beach!!


Andrew


This is a fantastic museum for children.


Andrew :)


Andrew loved the train!


Andrew & Matthew


Andrew the fireman :)


Matthew :)


Matthew the fireman


Digging up dinosaur bones....


Matthew


This was at a petting zoo...


Me and Matthew








Matthew loved feeding the animals. Andrew was running around but didn't want to feed them until our second visit. Yes- we had such a great time we went twice :)


Andrew and Daddy


Leaving the petting zoo...


Beach time!


Matthew


They both loved the water and couldn't get enough of it!





Mommy got nervous when the tide went back out. They fell down several times but cared less. They got right back up and played some more. In fact they didn't want Mommy's help as you can see on Andrew's face hahaha






Sandcastle time





Second visit to the petting zoo. This time Andrew was really into feeding the animals.


More food for the animals please :)


Matthew


Andrew

Family Pics :)

We went and had our first family pics done. About time don't you think!! Unfortunately Andrew wasn't feeling well that day so he cried the entire photo session :( Taking that into account... I think they turned out pretty good.

I am working on a catch-up post since it's been forever. Hope to post it later this week.





















The only picture where we caught Andrew smiling.














look at that SAD face...