another list, bc i really, really like lists.

update on the sleep situation-- it's teeth... low fever, lots of drool, chewing. definetly teeth. they just haven't popped thru yet & i don't see the tell-tale white bumps under his gums, but i'm pretty sure it's lurking teeth. poor little dude!

we're opening 529 accounts for the boys (& hopefully #3), which makes me happy. i've really wanted to start college funds for them for a long time, & we finally have some funds to get going with. yay us! :)

a private blog i read is currently waiting to see if they just got "the call'-- they recently finished the adoption paper work etc, after almost 3 yrs of waiting & unsuccesssul IVF attempts, & i am sooooo hoping this is their baby. i know you all pry don't know who i'm takling about, (& if you do, out of respect for their privacy, please don't give away any idenitfying names, etc here), but they're an amazing family & will give any baby lucky enough to end up with them a wonderful home... if you're the praying sort, please spare a thought for them tonight. i'm on pins & needles waiting to hear.

i took our birds in for a nail trim today at our vet. (they have a bird-guy who comes in to do grooming. bc our birds hold grudges, & hate to get their nails done, we don't clip them ourselves.) usually i go back into a private room with them while they get trimmed, but i had to run next door to get their pellets today & didn't want them in the cold any longer than they had to be, so i sent them in back without me. when i got back, they guy brought them out followed by a bunch of vet techs, all oooing & aaahing over how beautiful they are, & how well behaved. they're pretty uncommon parrots (we live in a pretty populated area & go to an avian vet, but we're still their only white-bellied caique patients), & while they're pretty good birds, I would NOT classify them as incredibly well-behaved. of course, i loved the compliments, but it was kind of like hearing how good your kids have been for some one else, after they spent the day being holy terrors for you.

odd kitty news: my cat digger has decided he loooves banana chips (unsweetened- they are super gross. we buy them for the birds, & they birds throw them at the cats.), & cheerios (which the babies throw at the cats). & felon the cat loooves yogurt melts. rafter, however, is a true conneisuere, & helped himself to leftover bacon grease N left out overnight. you'd think we were starving them, but i swear they eat better than we do!

i am super excited for the boys' first christmas. i know they're really young, but it is so fun to have kids at christmas time! N is a total grinch & i am the exact opposite-- christmas music since thanksgiving, loads of decorations, i even like holiday shopping. :) & having the boys around make it all that much more fun... even N is getting into the spirit a little!

some recent pics, just for fun...

the cats have decided that under the tree is their new fav hidey hole. which, od course, only makes it all the more attractive a locale for the dudes. sigh.... here's rafter (aka chunk) being cozy & cute.

finger painting with edible finger paints (i used gerber yogurt with food coloring, but yu could also use pudding.) the dudes LOVED this-- kept them occupied for almost a half hour, which is pretty much unheard of. the con man especialy got into it, & COVERED his plate, then ripped it off his tray & covered the back, all while yelling joyfully. val very methodically covered every inch he could reach & then carefully smeared it all together, taking it all very seriously.

& i just love this picture. (yes, they're wearing hoodies over their jammies. it was cold!!)

Quickie Updates (Babies, Laundry, Thanks... )

Thank you so much ladies for the kind offers of help yesterday on our cat crisis... once again you all totally blow me away with your generosity & support. ((HUGS)) & huge waves of gratitude are zipping across country for each of you right now, I feel so blessed to know you all.

I'm in a bit of a rush, but wanted to update quickly before we're off again. Boys are doing ok... there were some concerns Con might have needed to go back on oxygen (pretty alarming to N & me, since he's been off oxygen for a week) but he's been recovering on his own, & always looks good, so they're letting him work through it for now. Val got another bump up in his o2, but is back at 1/2 liter of flow. They're both nippling well & gaining weight-- both guys are now over their birth weight. They're starting to talk circumcision for Con sometime this week if he gets his breathing back under control.

& on the "cat laundry"-- our neonatologist said to wash it well & it should be ok... i'm still super nervous about it, but N is convinced it will be alright. If there are smells or stains, it's gone, but I'm not sure about the rest of the stuff. My mom showed up again today & cleaned furiously & was SO worried about the laundry & the guys. She was crying when we got here, scared for the boys (we told her about Con maybe needing more air). I guess our trip to the NICU finally convinced her of the huge difference between a preemie & a newborn, but I felt AWFUL for making her feel so badly. She really does mean well, & would walk through fire for us & the boys. I just needed my folks to understand the reality of what we're dealing with & didn't know how else to get it across. I feel like I'm living in a permanent state of guilt. We have a very close family & I know we'll work through it, it's just that the "working through it" sucks for everyone.

To those of you who blog/post on the board-- I'm still reading, even if I can't always comment, know I'm still here, following your story & thinking of you.

Chaos

In an effort to be helpful, my mom was putting things away in our second bedroom while we were in the NICU with the guys. She inadvertently shut our cat (Felon) in the room, which is also where we've been storing baby stuff, for 15hrs. We found him, let him out & she offered to wash all the clothes, sheets, etc that had been on the bed where Felon had made his "nest." While doing this, she discovered that he had peed & pooped all over everything on the bed. Specifically, ALL of our boys' things-- clothes, towels, sheets, blankets. Everything. Everything got washed, unfortunately it all got washed with MORE cat poop that somehow got missed & made it through to the dryer. I don't know if any of you are familiar with cat stink, but it NEVER goes away. Everything smells totally foul. She tried vinegar & baking soda-- no help. The clothes, etc. are not bleach safe, & we don't know how to clean this stuff so that its safe for the guys. (& me, since we would like to TTC again & don't want toxoplasmosis.) So we're thinking we have to toss everything. We're going to check with the boys' docs & see what they think, but we don't want our kids hanging out in cat stink-- that stuff is toxic. This would mean everything we got at our shower is gone. The first outfits Val & Con ever wore-- gone.

Sigh.... I'm grateful my guys are doing well, but can't we catch a break on the small stuff in the meantime? I didn't know whether to laugh or cry over our cat crap chaos, so I did both. I'm SOOOO frustrated. Thank God the guys had a good day today or I might have lost it totally.