Four Eyes...err....Eight Eyes

We had our 1 week check up at Riley's today!

 

I have to admit I was a nervous stressed out mess.  I so badly wanted everything to be ok so we would not have to schedule another sedation exam.

After such a long day yesterday, the boys were pretty tired still this morning and that made me even more nervous.

Good News!

 

The boys' eyes look wonderful! They are healing great and they said the surgery was a success!

Eli's eye pressures: 9 and 15  (Used to be in the 40's!)

Blake's eye pressure:  6-- wasn't able to get the other eye

 

Those numbers are so fantastic!!

 

They wanted to dilate their eyes to be able to check the very back of their eyes...

 

Blake's right eye has been turning in a lot- making him look really cross-eyed. They checked to make sure there wasn't something else going on inside the eye- and more good news, Everything looks great in both boys!!

 

They also checked to see how their vision is (Didn't even know this was possible before they could read/speak)

Turns out both Blake and Eli are near-sighted.

Honestly, who isn't near or far-sighted anymore!

Blake was around a -5

Eli was around a -9

 

The doctor said in 2 weeks, she would expect them to go down a little...

 

IF Blake's comes down to a -3, then he will NOT need glasses anytime soon. 
IF it stays around -5 then he will probably need glasses in the next few months.

 

She basically said she does not expect Eli to come down from a -9 to a -3 in 2 weeks...and is almost POSITIVE that he will be getting glasses in 2 weeks.  :(

 

I hate how much this news bothers me.

I am so incredibly grateful that their Glaucoma is solved and their pressures are down. I can obviously tell a major difference.. almost as if I have 2 totally different babies in my house..

BUT

 

I can't believe i'm going to admit this, but I'm so worried about people making fun of him.

I know I shouldn't worry about it or even care.

My baby can see and that's all that matters..

 

But a 7 month old with Glasses? ..BLah.

Like I said, I hate that I let it bother me.....Hate it.

 

Hopefully getting glasses will help Eli a lot.

He has almost NO motivation to crawl towards anything...he sits on the floor and will stare at a toy for 5 mins straight...

 

Maybe he has no motivation because it's not clear still!

 

*Sigh*

One more step in the wild process.

 

We will be going in for check ups Once a month for the next 6 months probably...once they know their eye pressures are stable, we will just be going in once a year.

 

I'm so thankful that the surgery was a success!

 

3 Day Weekend!

 

<3



6 Month Fly-By

Whew! This week has FLOWN by!

 

I have been working my butt of trying to get these 'Thank You' desserts made and looking perfect!

I'm making some AMAZING Lemon & Cream Cheese Cake Pops for the Pediatric Opthamology doctors at Riley Children's Hospital.

*I know it's not enough for saving my baby's eyes..but they are super tasty!*

 

 

 

This will be the first time I am putting my name out to strangers and showing them that I can, and do, make amazing desserts.

On top of making the desserts, I had to finish my 'Bakery' website and create my Business cards and box stickers!

 

So, here it is!::

 

SweetlySprinkledDesserts.blogspot.com

 

 

I'm so proud!

Brad helped me create my logo/card and I love it!

 

 

What do you think??

 

Well... I know my most recent posts have been nothing but happy...

I'm sorry to say, but things are still getting better and better!!

 

 

These crazy boys haven't been napping very much...but I LOVE it!  Today, we spent the day at Grammy's house so we could receive a package for her. 

 

There are 2 pack 'n' plays at her house and they are right next to eachother.

Well the pack 'n' play sides are mesh, so they just sat in those laughing and talking the entire time they were supposed to be napping!  

They took a 1 1/2 hour nap in the morning, then in the afternoon, they took a 10 minute nap on the drive home...

So, From 11:45am - 7:00pm, they slept for 10 minutes.

How Crazy!

 

This is so strange and new to us! They played and played allllll night long! We are having SO MUCH FUN every night!!!!

 

and BIG NEWS---

Eli is officially crawling now!

He is exactly 1 month behind Blake on crawling.

 

Their eyes seem to be recovering great. We still have to give them 4 drops a day in their eyes (an antibiotic) but they take them like champs.

I didn't ever think that their eyes were cloudy, but now that they are perfect, it's amazing how much better they look.

 

Tomorrow is another big day for us,

We have our 1 week check-up since the surgeries.

They are going to try and get pressure readings on all 4 eyes and look in them as much as possible.

If all goes well, we will be done for a month!

 

If they are not able to get a good enough check on them, or good pressure readings, we will need to schedule another 'exam under sedation' just to be 100% sure everything is healing well.

 

Either way, as long as it's all good news!

-AND-

Tomorrow they are Officially 7 Months Old!!!!

 

This past month has been so busy and so emotionally up and down...I can't believe it is over already!

 

Today, I fed them so 'puffs'.
Eli is getting his skills of picking up tiny objects and putting them in his mouth.. I believe they call it the "pincher" skill.  :)   That means he will be feeding himself soon!

And, Blake was standing up-- On his own-- Not hanging on to anything... WOWOWOW

*It wasn't for very long..but he did it! Then he just plopped down on his butt! Then he got right back up and stood up again!*

 

Both boys are also saying 'DaDa'.

Drives me nuts! I try everyday to get them to say 'MaMa' and they look at me and say 'DaDa'... It seems like some sort of cruel joke they are playing on me! lol

 

 

 

6 Month Stage has been a Wild Ride!

Not only for their health reasons, but learning to:

 crawl, talking Non-stop!, staying up so long during the day and shortening their naps, getting into the dog food, chewing on dog toys, Top teeth pushing through-super swollen gums, our first diaper rash!(Ouch!), Jumping all over their crib, pulling themselves up on objects and in their cribs...Gosh..so much happened!

I can't wait for the next 6 months!!

*I'm sure they will be saying 'MaMa' by then!*

 

TGIF!!

 



Words Fail Me.

All day I have been thinking about the next blog post I was going to write.

And I could not seem to think of what to say.

 

 

How do you write words of joy...

How do you explain on 'paper' how life has done a 360 on you..

How can I tell you all how HAPPY life is without you all seeing it for yourselves..

 

These past two months have been so bad in our house.

We made it though, survived.. but I was seriously starting to question my abilities as a Stay-at-home Mom.

My babies were always crying, always sleeping, never happy..

I was clearly not doing something right, and having that feeling as a mother KILLED me.

 

I thought I was failing.

 

I honestly cannot explain how different things are after exactly one week.

 

*The boys are now only taking 1hour naps. --Their naps used to last 2-3hours.

*They are staying awake 4hours at a time-- They used to only make it 1 - 1 1/2hours

*An entire day with NO crying, meltdowns, fussing, whining..from any of us

*An entire day of the boys laughing at and with each other..playing with each other

*An entire day without ANY Tylenol needed! -- usually, they were getting it 3 times a day.

I feel like a normal family again!

Don't get me wrong, they are not all the sudden perfect angels, they didn't lose their voices...

They still cry... they are still teething..
 

 

They stayed awake for 4 hours today playing and having a blast... They went so long, that I had to put them down for a nap instead of waiting for them to cry for a nap.. So strange!

 

Then they ended up only taking a 1 hour nap..

So, by 5pm, we had some tired, tired boys.

 

Brad and I pulled out all the tricks in our arsenol and they made it till 6:30pm for bedtime!

Not a bad night..a normal night.

 

I just can't say how happy our house is, enough times.

 

Tonight I tried a new recipe!

Thought I would share!

 

We made homemade BBQ Chicken Bites and Au Gratin Potatoes.

BBQ Chicken Bites

1/2 cup Mayo
1/4 cup BBQ Sauce
1 TBL Dijon Mustard
1 lb. Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup Breadcrumbs

Combine the 3 sauces.  Cut the chicken breasts into nugget pieces (I used kitchen scissors! So easy!).  Dunk the chicken breasts into the sauce mixture. Then coat them in the bread crumbs.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 mins.. until the chicken reads at least 160degrees on the inside. *I flipped mine over half way through.

You could omit the bread crumbs and have great grilled chicken too!

I also made homemade Au Gratin Potatoes

 

3 Russet Potatoes

-Slice in half. Boil until they are 1/2 way cooked- about 20-30 minutes.

Let the potatoes cool for about 1 hour in the fridge.

Once cool, slice to your desired thickness and place in a 9"x9" pan.

 

 

I made my own cheese sauce...

2TBl butter

3 TBL flour

2 cups Milk- Boiling

 

1/4-1/2 cup shredded cheese OR Velveeta

Combine butter and flour and stir continuously in  saucepan. Do not let it turn brown.  Mix in the boiling milk.  Stir with a whisk contantly. Bring to boil and continue to boil for 1 minute.

Add in your cheese and keep stirring.

 

1/2 cup diced onion.

Toss the onion in with the potatoes.  Pour the cheese sauce on top of the potatoes.

Bake in 350 degree oven for 30 mins -_Same amount of time as chicken!

Season with salt and pepper.

 

Yumm..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Happy Days!

Well...I figure I owe everyone an update on our Breakfast Adventure.

First time in a sit-down restaurant with two babies...and everyone knows how nervous I was.

 

I feel like this is the time that you 'insert foot in mouth'.

 

It went great!!

I packed a lot of toys and our mesh teethers.

Those mesh bags were a Life saver! I ordered a side of fresh fruit and those boys chomped on honey dew and cantaloupe almost the entire time!

If they weren't eating, they were standing up on the chairs bouncing up and down laughing so hard.

The other diners around us were smiling and laughing at the boys!

They were never once a disturbance, in fact, they were the highlight of the restaurant!

 

We couldn't be more proud of how they acted and handled the noise, new faces and being 'trapped' in our arms haha.

 

 

Whew!

I feel like we can offically venture into restaurants with a little less stress on us!

 

After the restaurant we went to Brad's parents to hang out more with Gma Shirley.  It was so great seeing her. She looks so wonderful and healthy!

 

Both boys took great naps, but Eli made me a little nervous. He took a 4 hour nap...

But, he must have really needed it. He was so happy once he woke up.

 

And, Eli is soooo close to officially crawling!!

He can take 2-4 crawl 'steps' before collapsing on his belly. They he would get right back up on all fours and take a few more steps. 

He just needs more of a reason to move.. no toy is enough motivation haha

*I really think Eli is just too smart.. he sits there and just thinks about if it is worth moving or not...  I honestly think he might be the kid that starts walking BEFORE he crawls.. For those who think that's impossible...it's not.

 

 

While Eli took his 4 hour nap, Blake was outside playing by Gma's waterfall!

It was so great seeing him outside playing and not being miserable.

 

We found out Saturday that Eli LOVES football :)   Daddy can't wait to watch football with his boys!!

 

Sunday evening when we got home, the boys were still in great moods so we are taking advantage !

 

If they are happy and playing, then we let them stay up and play! It's been so rare that we have had so much time to play with them and they stay happy, that we are LOVING every second!

So the boys stayed up playing until 7pm, then we fed them and put them to bed.

This ended up working in my favor because I got to sleep in until 7am this morning! YAYA!!

(Sounds pathetic, but those extra 30minutes rocked my world.hahaha)

 

For the first time in MONTHS..well maybe ever... They stayed awake, playing, happy, laughing until 9:00am... that's 2 whole hours with no crying, whining, meltdowns... OH MY.

 

I haven't been able to stop smiling all morning.. It's amazing that you don't realize how much stress their pain and moodiness can put on you.. until you don't have those in your life anymore.

 

Is this what having 'normal' babies is like??

When I put them down for their nap..they both pop right up to standing and start jumping and laughing... Again- can't stop smiling.  :D

 

SOoo.. 10 days after Surgery #1, and 6 days after Surger #2..

We have two TOTALLY different baby boys.

 

It's amazing, a miracle, a God send.

We have been BLESSED.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Liar Liar...Pants on Fire?

Brad and I have had a few chats about telling our kids little white lies.

 

Honestly, we are preeetty excited to get to that stage!

 

I'm curious about how everyone feels about telling their kids white lies?

 

I've been doing a little research on it and how it affects children and their mental state..and all that wonderful psychology.

I really don't believe that telling white lies is going to be the end of your child's normal state of mind..or sanity.  And quite frankly...we've all been 'lied' to!

 

So, here is my list of White Liest that I am looking forward to sharing with my boys::

 

1. The ice cream truck only plays it's music when it is out of ice cream

--really, those guys are so creepy, and if I can keep my kids from spending a few bucks on his dirty truck ice cream, I will.

 

2. Your fortune cookie reads...'Your bedtime will be 15 minutes early tonight'...

--obviously only until your kids can read, but c'mon, what parent doesn't want 15 extra minutes at night!

 

3.  The car won't start until everyone is buckled! (As you jiggle the key in the ignition)

--i'm not a parent of older kids yet, but I do know that kids like to live on the wild side...so saying anything that will keep them safe is fair game in my book.

 

4. If you eat the watermelon seeds you will grow a watermelon in your belly!

--There is nothing educational about this, or for safety..but it's HILARIOUS. I was told this as a child and I have never purposly eaten a watermelon seed in my life!

 

5. Santa won't bring you presents if are a bad boy (and it's only January!)

--Absolutely. Kids should be rewarded for good behavior.. mommy will remember if santa doesn't!  ;)

 

6. Don't cross your eyes or they will get stuck like that!

--there's really no explanation for this one. It's just fun!

 

7. You will go blind if you sit too close to the T.v!

--Yea not really....but we don't want our kids to look like zombies ..

 

Well, those are all I can come up with right now..

 

I would love everyone's versions of white lies they tell their kids or they were told as kids!!

 

<3