My Hubby, forever...

Isn't he the sweetest husband EVER????

I think so!

Thanks for the night out, my babies, my education (sorry about this one ;), loving me, the last five years, the four before that, and the next ??? years! You are the best!

To My Wife on Our 5th Wedding Anniversary

I was going to say more, but as I wrote it down it simply did not suffice. I guess all I can say is that I love you more than they day we were married, 5 years ago today. Happy anniversary. I look forward to the next 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30... (you get the point) years.

I love you...

Pictures!

So that's what they are supposed to look like when they come out.

Welcome

Zachary Donald Stanis
Born at 2:31pm (pacific time)
7pounds

Mommy and baby are doing well!

I'm an Auntie again!!!!!
Sort of funny that Taylor was born at 2:29, Livi at 2:30 and Zachary at 2:31pm... hehehe
Can't wait for pictures!!!!

Q to be Revealed

So last night we got the news that Baby Q Donald Stanis will make is big entrance into our crazy world tomorrow! We are super excited and depressed, since I want to be there holding the little bundle! sniff sniff... no one really feels sorry for me, but I will keep trying... Anyone want to fund a plane ride for me??? Its only about 700 round trip... :(

Well here is a BIG GOOD LUCK to the newest Mommy and Daddy!!!

Drip drip drip

So the pink plumbing is still gone, however, the faucets are leaking again! I took the kiddos to the Ped this afternoon. They each had fevers and runny noses. Livi has a cough, and has been coughing like mad. Taylor was a whiny whiny boy all morning.

So the verdict is... virus! Doctor would like us to continue nebulizers to keep it out of the lungs, and give Tylenol and Ib profrin for fever. I pretty much expected this, so I am not too disappointed. Between their recent pneumonia and their preemie status, I just felt better having them checked out right away.

Right now we are all sitting here quietly watching Clifford the Big Red Dog... even Taylor... now we know he is ill!

No more Pink plumbing

Yesterday we finished Taylor's course of antibiotics, and Alivya's course ended on Monday. So far... no runny, leaky, nasty, snot noses, nor any nasty hacky coughs. So I think it is safe to decree, at least at this moment, that we are actually disease free!

The pool is filled and chemically treated...just waiting for some nice warm weather to welcome us into its induction! I simply can't wait. Jon and I were looking at stuff several weeks ago in the pool isle at Wally world, and I discovered this "light show" kit. They call it a "floating disco ball". It looked really neat. Well, its been calling me, I have no clue why... so Monday when I came home from work, it was sitting there on my kitchen table with a bow on it! Somebody DOES love me! :) Thank you honey!

If the weather actually ever gets nice and stays warm, it is going to be so much fun!

Since the kids got sick a few weeks ago, they have been playing with my stethoscopes. Right now actually, Taylor has the pediatric one in his ears and is telling me that he is listening to his own heart! So cute! They listen to each other, Mommy, Daddy, and just about anything in their reach. Its so precious! They even lift their shirts.. I think they might become little doctors...although they are going to have to stop wearing them around their waists! T's waist is listening to the floor's heart right now!

I love this pretend stage. They are so creative and interpretive. Its funny to me to watch how things that I do or say influence them and how they interpret it.

Babies

For the past three years now, our lives have been consumed by the expectation, complication and arrival of our twins. This coming month will mark a huge turn in events for our small family, we will welcome another baby, who I affectionately refer to as "Baby Q Donald Stanis" poor thing ;) While his arrival is super exciting for us (as many of you might remember us begging for cousins!!!) it is also kind of sad for us. I have been noticing for a several months now that we no longer have babies, but the arrival of little Q means that my "babies" are most definitely not THE babies anymore!

Now, they are super cute sassy little terrible two year old know it all toddlers! I can't say that I wish they would stay small for ever, but every now and then I miss when they were tiny little babies that needed me more. I mean, this afternoon Livi took a tissue from the box and wiped her nose! So grown up! Most of this stage has been pretty fun, but there really have been so many more frustrating tantrums. Two year olds really do deserve their reputation.

So today we officially say good bye to having "babies" and hello to having "toddlers" and a baby cousin (well soon...) And if baby Q's parents could let us know when they get their package... that would be cool!

Hot, hot, hot!

Most of you already know what the weather is like in Wisconsin, but for those of you that don't, it is d**n cold one day, and blistering hot the next! For example, today's forecast says it will be 79 for a high, tomorrow... 50! WTF? Last year I begged and begged for this
large pool I saw at Wally world. When I finally convinced Jon that we had to have it... they didn't have any more. So we ended up paying more for the same pool at Menards... We put it up near the end of July (if not August) and took it down sometime in September... It claims to be a easy quick set up... what it doesn't say is that the land you set it on has to be perfectly level! So last year we used our poor wooden picnic table to help support it. The flattest part of our back yard had about a four to six inch slope... To make a long story short, the pool filled and leaned and filled, and bulged and nearly went tumbling down the hill. The table was the only thing holding it up! When we took it down, the poor table was broken and rotted from being wet and having so much pressure put against it.

So this year, we were determined to make it "easy and quick"! We spent two days in early spring leveling out a large circle in the back yard. We used the level, and sand, and the big pounder thing that we had purchased when we re-laid the patio at the old house... it was d**n level!

So on Memorial day, we pulled out the pool and got ready to fill it... and to our dismay, there were three large holes in the tube at the top... so, no big deal, Jon got out the patches. Takes 12 hours to seal, so we left it alone. A few days later it was finally warm enough to get back to it, and if we didn't find two more holes... more patches. The next day we pull out the hose, start filling, and you guessed it, a hole in the bottom... more patches... left it sit again. Started filling, and about one foot later, yep, little trickle coming from under the pool. So we stop filling, locate the hole, and patch some more. The next day we start filling, and everything, finally, seems to be good. After filling the pool all day long, we finally had about 2.5 feet of water. Unfortunately though, we also noticed that our perfectly level plot was pooling again down slope... Nothing we were doing seemed to help. Tired and frustrated, we went to bed. The next morning I looked out the window, and wouldn't you know it... ALL the water was gone!

This was the last straw. So while out buying groceries, we also bought this...




Its almost full now, and so much easier to deal with.

Couch Potato???

This post is for anyone who thinks us Stanis' are couch potatoes!

When we last talked,Taylor had somehow lost his tube, ended up in the ER and thankfully got another (smaller) one in. So that was around May 8th... what have we been up to? Not couching it, oh no... we have been BUSY!

Mother's Day Breakfast

Taylor had three visits with our surgeon friend, who was able to put his regular sized tube back in after only two visits and in less than a week! HURRAY, he rocks so much! Go Dr Brennan!

On the 15th we had our usual visit from the nurse that is in charge of Taylor's home care. She and I don't always see eye to eye, and this time she came with an agenda. She decided that she would cut our hours by 2 hours a day. While I agree that Taylor is getting well enough that we don't need as much care, one of the purposes of his care was to provide him with care while I work. This can be pretty complicated to explain, but as a child with a G-tube and other complications, he does not generally qualify for regular means of child care. Consequently, Katie Becket (a program that funds Taylor's Medicaid Eligibility etc) is in place to help find care for kids like Taylor. This day was very frustrating.

After Taylor's last tube change appointment, I decided to call the Ped's office becaue Livi's cold was not only not better, it was getting worse. Both the kids started getting runny noses around the same time T's tube came out. While Taylor's sort of resolved, Livi's developed into a bad cough.



Turns out she had an infection in both ears! Bring on the pink stuff!!! If you aren't familiar with this yet, and you are a parent... this is your future!

Anyway, so we went on with life and antibiotics...


If you look closely at this one, you will see the poor drippy noses that we've been wiping!







So on Saturday the 17th, we loaded up the car and set out to hit the rummage sales HARD! I love these sales... you can find so many good deals, and it gets us out of the house. And no one cares if the kids cry, laugh, or make a mess! We found a neighborhood where there were over 30 homes having sales. It was AWESOME! We walked and walked and then...



we ate. We were exhausted, but had a super fun time.



So the noses started to clear up, and on Thursday the 22nd, we were scheduled to have Taylor's Botox redone. Jon took the day off to come with me, unfortunately... for the doctor... Taylor's PT thought that he didn't really need the Botox. So we cancelled the appointment!!! YEAH! Doesn't Taylor just rock? Instead, we ended up traveling down to Waukesha to visit our NICU nurse Sue.



We had a really good time! Especially the kids. We stayed up late, and we ate, and we played, and well.. just so much catching up!





Then we slept, well the kids did anyway. Daddy drove, and Mommy struggled to stay awake. Daddy took Friday off, so we were all super spoiled having Daddy home Thursday through Tuesday! On Friday Jon and I fixed up the old bike trailer that our neighbor gave us when we moved in and bought the kids bike helmets... pix to come...

we went for a ride and the kids really thought it was fun... after they got going. Putting on helmets and getting in wasn't really fun.
Meanwhile, the girly nose kept running...

So after work on Saturday, Jon tells me that he gave Livi Albuterol because she started wheezing... no good... Sunday morning I pull out the old stethoscope, and sure enough this child's right lung was squeaky like a mouse! I called her dr and...



yup, nebs! Poor kiddo.

So on Monday, Memorial Day, we went over to James and Kristi's for a small cookout after playing outside all morning... and discovering a couple holes in our pool :( It was so fun to hang out and the kids had an awesome time! Thanks for having us over!!!
I can't say how nice it is to have other adults around once in a while leaving us free to relax a bit!

Tuesday morning we got up bright and early for SURGERY! Taylor was scheduled to have his adenoids removed, and his tubes replaced.



He really liked the Versed! After the procedure we met him in Recovery. Everything went well in the surgery, and he PASSED his hearing exam!



He was super sleepy, and really angry! Who wouldn't be though?

After an hour or so, he was still sleepy, AND only sating around 89 :(
Soooooo...


After four hours, he was still not sating very well... so a chest x-ray was done, and pnuemonia was diagnosed... we were admitted to the PACU for observation. By the time we arrived to the room, he was sating 96! The child was HUNGRY!!! So after a few hours of observation, we went home on... see pic above... the pink stuff... well his is actually white, but you get the idea. AND prednisone! sigh...

AND we were all exhuasted!



This morning I took Livi back to the Dr to check on things... guess what... you are going to be shocked... she has ...

PNEUMONIA too!

Shocking! I bet the Dr wishes the nurse had listened to me better last Sunday! So double strength Zithromax... here we come!

Take a moment to give us some health! We need it!

The kids are doing well, considering!

Taylor and Alivya playing in the back yard.

TWiP and Twitter

First, another link to This Week in Photography. They are giving away a Drobo (a back up device that would be extremely useful), plus they are a great photography podcast that is getting better as they go along.

http://www.twipphoto.com

Second, if you would like a peak inside the madness that is my mind you can follow me on Twitter, which is a sort of blog/IM service. You can either subscribe to my feed in an RSS feed or join Twitter yourself and jump into the conversation. I am also planing on adding it the sidebar. Warning, Twitter can be a real black hole if you let it be.

http://twitter.com/jonstanis

G Tube

Every now and then I am asked to talk about what residual complications we have from the kids prematurity. Generally speaking, I would say that we have very few, however there are some. This is why the mission of the March of Dimes continues to be so important to us. No child should suffer the short or long term complications of premature birth.

There are two different types of complications that our kids continue to battle; there are the direct complications and the more indirect complications. Alivya, for example, has few direct complications. In fact, the only one I can think of is that she continues to lag behind on the growth chart. It is something that her doctor mentions each time we see her, but she has not recommended anything special to do about it. So I assume that her growth pattern isn't very alarming.

I would say that Alivya's continuing complications are more of the indirect nature. In my opinion, Livi lacks the social skills that normal two year olds have. I believe very much that this is at least partially, a complication resulting from the immuno precautions we took in their first two years. It seems to me that even though babies don't really knowingly participate in social situations during their first two years, they gain a ton of social experiences from watching the interactions that others have with them and the people around them. So I think what we are seeing now in group situations is a fear that may not have been so prominent if she had experienced more group activities when they were younger. I doubt this is a permanent deficiency, but it is something that we are working on with her. There is shy, and there is fear. I really believe that Alivya gets scared of larger groups of kids and/or adults.



Now Taylor, on the other hand, is doing rather well with the group situation. I think this is partially because he got more of his father's passive personality. Anyway, he continues to have more direct complications of his premature birth. Above is a photo Jon and I took of some of Taylor's old feeding tubes. The long one is called a G/J Tube. The long part is guided through the stomach and down into the small intestine using a radiology technique called floroscopy. Radioactive dye and xray helps the radiologist determine if the tube is placed properly. Taylor used this type of tube between October 2006 and August 2007. During this period he experienced frequent projectile vomiting, sometimes four and five times per day. The advantage of the G/J tube is that the food bypasses the stomach altogether. This ensured that Taylor would not be able to vomit, and contributed to his successful growth during that first year.

The other tube pictured is a more simple form called a G-tube. This tube is much shorter since it only needs to go through the skin and into the stomach. The large bulb at the bottom of this tube is an inflatable balloon, which keeps the tube in place. Both types of tube work like this.

On Thursday morning we woke to find that Taylor's G-tube (the smaller one) had somehow been removed, and the channel from Taylor's skin to into his stomach, was already halfway closed. Although I was really worried that we might have to take him into surgery to reopen the channel, we ended up only having to go to the ER. There a surgeon was able to place a temporary tube that is half the size of his usual tube. Consequently, he will have to make at least two appointments to try to enlarge the channel by placing larger and larger tubing in the channel. We have no idea really how the tube became dislodged, but since the balloon at the bottom was completely intact, I have to believe that it was either caught on something or someone... but it must have happened after 7pm when Jon fed him, and 10pm when we moved him back to his own bed just before we went to bed. If we had noticed it right away, we could have replaced it ourselves without difficulty.

So Thursday was a busy busy day. Taylor and I also had an appointment with his Ear Nose, and Throat doctor. It turns out that one of his tubes is dislodged and crusted shut. Since this will be his second set of tubes, and his research has indicated that children who require multiple sets of tubes tend to benefit from having their adenoids removed. So sometime in the next week or two he will be having his ear tubes replaced and a partial adenoidectomy. Since he will be asleep, they are also going to be doing a conductive hearing test to make sure that all his failed hearing tests have in fact been related to the fluid not a conductive issue.

So these are a couple of the examples of the continuing complications that we are dealing with.

A conversation with Taylor

Nothing like a cute movie to bring the crowds...

Loved

So its a good thing that I don't judge how well loved we are based on our reader comments;) Maybe everyone else is busy putting together mother's day surprises and just can't take time to post a comment... or maybe you have all switched to readers, like us, where commenting is really super inconvenient... what ever keeps you away, once in a while drop a line so we feel a purpose for writing.

Anyway, we have been really busy working on the photos from the March for Babies walk. They look super, I am really excited to finally get them in the mail, hopefully this week yet.

I have also been working on mother's day surprises... since some of our mothers actually read our blog... I think so anyway... I won't say anymore about that. And lastly, we ordered some more prints to add to our Studio portfolio. Overall, I am really pleased with them, but there were a few (7) that ended up being a "learning experience". Thankfully they were all shots that we were sort of experimenting with in the first place, so nothing important was messed up. I would like to take a moment to thank a number of our friends and family who have allowed us to "play" with their images. Breaking into this business is tough work, but every photo shoot is an opportunity to gain ground... so big THANK YOU... you all know who you are!

Without further adu... since I know you all read to hear about the kiddies...
Alivya has had a couple of really adorable conversations with herself and various inanimate objects (remotes, crayons, blocks, etc) Most of these consist of some short sentences. Tanya said this morning she was having one of these and said something to the effect of "oh, you're all done? Good then". Too cute! Potty training still evades me. I can't exactly put my finger on it, but there is something about it that just freaks me out! Any pointers, fellow moms? Twin mommy's? HELP!

We've finally had a couple really nice days, so the kids got to enjoy the sunshine and their outdoor toys. Taylor discovered that going under the screen of our new gazebo is so much easier than zipping and unzipping... there are advantages to being small. Last night we had dinner outside. I am not sure it was Livi's cup of tea, but Taylor had a ball.

Livi has undeniably learned the word "NO", and expresses her new verbiage with enthusiasm often! It kills me when I use it on her now, she looks up at us like, "only I can use that term!" It's pretty classic. Likewise, Taylor is starting to pick up on it too. He doesn't use it as often, but in key moments he can pull it out as good as she can! Taylor is also working on his repetition stage... I often say things like, "don't play with that Taylor!" and hear back "don't pay with dat Tayr!" Yesterday he came up to me and I looked at him and said, "Whats up bud?" and he got right in my face and said "whats up bud?" You really learn to listen to yourself more when you have two year olds!

Jon and I have been trudging, begrudgingly through hours of whinny, screaming pouts and tantrums. So much so, that I am surprised that we've still got our feet firmly planted... so last week Jon says to me "they are acting SOOOO ..... two!" In some ways we just have to laugh, because everyone always talks about this, but as a parent, it hits you like a meteor just fell out of the sky. One day you have these perfect tiny angel beings that bring joy and laughter to your life. The next day you have two year olds! Screaming, crying, whining about EVERYTHING! Taylor: dacker (cracker) Dad: you have a cracker! Taylor: Daaaaackerrrrrrrr!! Daaaaaackerrrrrrr! [while pulling on your finger with intent]

See even when you give them what they say they want, they are not happy. So in conclusion, parents of two year olds are SCREWED, just hunker down and pray that three comes soon... not that it necessarily gets sunnier on that side...

:)

Mother's Day... May 11th

For those men who do not have calenders which will remind them, Mother's Day is May 11th... which is a week from Sunday! Go buy your mothers some flowers, and your wives a nice gift from their wish list on Amazon...

Mommy has needs...


In other news, its still cold here... we all have SEVERE cabin fever. The terrible twos are in full force, and Livi refuses to eat just about every single night. Toast which she calls "breakfast", "crackers" (but she actually means cookies) and "strawburries" are the only acceptable foods. Taylor the food monster prefers "puffs", unflavored puffed popcorn, but will shovel anything and everything into his little mouth. Most of it he eventually chews and swallows, but this depends upon his skill at said food. He did pretty well with steak this evening... YES I said STEAK... At almost three weeks past nasty stomach illness, see vomit village and buckets of vomit in our archives, he is still down a full pound, but not for lack of trying. I truly believe that he spends all of his calories trying to dissolve the he** out of undissolvable foods! Consequently, he also spends around eight hours of the day happily stuffing his face at the table. While I am super stoked to be reporting his continued interest in solid "table" foods, I will be very happy when some day we can have a normal meal... by this I mean, a meal in which all four of us consume the same foods in a reasonable amount of time... yes I think 3 hours per meal is a bit over kill when we are talking about one course!

I have also decided that "toddler" beds, are a big marketing farce as no kid actually wants to sleep in their "big" beds. Ours, and just about every other kid we know, has decided to x the old toddler bed for really "BIG" kid beds... two twins now inhabit what I still refer to as "the nursery", however inappropriate the term has become.

"Outside" and "Shovel" are terms we hear daily now, after spending a splendid warm weekend outdoors just two weeks ago! This unfortunate freeze has broken both of their little hearts... all Livi wants is her "wings". However fun the swings are, I am not sure that social services will understand my explaining the ensuing frostbite... "mam, all I wanted to do was give her wings!"

With that, remember to buy gifts for your wives and mothers... May 11th! ;)

March for Babies 2008 Pictures

Setting up in the morning.


The Pavilion/Theater from the top of the hill.


Setting up the grill.


The radio station arrives.


More than one...


If I had a hammer, I'd hammer in the morning...


They said the biggest team was going to be 15, I count 31.


The walk begins.


My lovely wife and the March of Dimes event manager.


The hot dogs were good.


The first of the walkers retuning to the pavilion.


Hurry up! It's fricking cold.




"You come here often?"


Dogs march too.


Cheater!


These bike buggies were everywhere.




Picking up bottles after the walk.


Cheering them home.


My wife does not like her picture taken, but I think she is cute.


One of the little reasons we are doing this.


The mini golf course set up.


See you next year!

March for Babies

After working so hard for the past six months to plan the Fox Valley annual March of Dimes fund raising walk, this year debuting as "March for Babies" (formerly Walk America). I think I should at the very least put one last plug on our blog. Yes, this is one of things that have occupied my precious blog time...

Anyway, March for Babies 2008, will take place this Saturday in the Fox Valley. Team Stanis unfortunately has shrunk this year, to merely Jon and I :( We have officially collected only $55 this year... Last year we had seven members and collected $540.

Well, needless to say, we have a ton of catching up to do between now, and well... Thursday morning when funds are due...

So, If you would be so inclined, my March for Babies page is located here... please pledge for our babies who benefited greatly from the research funded by the March of Dimes, and who you come here to read about. Your pledge can be as little as $1 or as much as you would like.

Also pledge for all the other babies like ours born early after complicated pregnancies, and for all healthy babies... because the research funded by March of Dimes directly impacts ALL pregnancies. And visit Grant's Mom, who, like us, also "Marches" for many reasons!

When I started supporting the March of Dimes as my charity of choice, I struggled with one question, Why this charity, and not one of the thousands of other charities out there? I think donating time and money to any charity is important, our family benefited in so many ways by this particular charity, that I can't imagine being so involved in another one at this point. So if not our charity of choice, please pick at least one to donate a little piece of your hard earned cash to... I know it can be hard to give a little back, there is always something else it could go to, but every little penny counts!

Thanks in advance to all who choose to support Team Stanis, and a special thank you to those of you who already have! Your pennies make a difference... impatiently, patiently waiting for our little nephew "Q"...

I am getting really good at this linking business... ;)

Vomit Village or Poopy Palace?

These days are so hard to tell... one day we're all about vomit, then next four is all about poop! Yeah, not nice clean formed ones that stay in the diapers, but the big STINKY wet ones that mush out from all sides... And they never happen during the day time...nope night is the best time to get watery diarrhea. That way, we can squirm around in it making sure that it does leak out all sides, rub some on the bed, the carpet, the stuffed friends, even dribble some chunks out the back end...

Oh yeah, fun times at the Stanis house of keep me the H-E ** out of there!"

Surprise

Sunday was Jon's mother's 60th birthday. To celebrate, we conjured up a fake seminar and asked her to babysit for us. We told her that our regular sitter was out of town, which was a total lie since she agreed to sit for us while we took K out to dinner. My brother in laws and their spouses made plans to arrive on Friday night. So Saturday morning when K arrived to "babysit" she was greeted with a huge surprise. She was very happy and very surprised. I can't think of a better gift.

We had a really great weekend. The kids were able to spend time with their uncles and their Grandma (although that is not unusual, she tries to come for dinner at least weekly) They also got to spend some time with their Aunt Sonja, Aunt Melissa though, wasn't able to make the trip. So we talked with her online for a little bit. It was sad when everyone left, but a little time together is better than none at all.

Thanks everyone for helping us make this big surprise such a success!