They're Three!!!

Labor Day weekend, three years ago, my beautiful boys made their entrance into the world and changed my life forever!! Until I became a mother I couldn't fully comprehend unconditional love. These boys have taught me what love truly is. I cannot get over how handsome and smart and amazing they are. Each day they surprise me with the knowledge they have attained, they are like sponges and pick up on everything going on around them!!

They have grown so much over these 3 years! At birth Vincenzo was 3 pounds 14 oz. and 17 1/2 inches long. At his doctor visit last week he weighed 39. 4 pounds and measured 38 1/2 inches!!!
Luccio, birth 2 minutes alter, weighed 4 pounds 14 oz and was also 17 1/2 inches long. At his 3 year visit he weighed 35 pounds and measured 34 inches tall.

We spent just about the whole week celebrating the birthday, LOL!! We talked about it pretty much all summer. We were planning a Mickey Mouse themed birthday party to be held at Stregga and Papa's house. They have big back yard which was perfect for inviting family and friends and having a bounce house!! We ordered paper goods and stuffed Mickey dolls to give to their friends. We had pizza and cake ordered, it was going to be a great day! Well...2 days before the big party a hurricane started moving up the coast and brought LOTS of rain and wind to our area. SO, we quickly went with a back plan that included an indoor location. We couldn't really fit 50 people (20 children between the ages of 2-12) into Stregga's house.

We moved the party to a local "bounce barn." It's basically a giant warehouse filled with inflatable bounce houses, slides, and mazes!! They have a party room and a coordinator so all we had to do was show up. It was fantastic!! They kids (and parents) had so much fun!!!!!!

On their actual birthday we celebrated by going to Chuck E Cheese with Stregga and Nonni. As the day went on we added more people to our group. Zhaz ended up coming with her 2 girls and my friend Sheri came with her toddler twins. and cousin Alice stopped by for a little while. It was great, we had pizza and I brought individual size cakes for the boys that we all shared!!

And then, the next day we visited Auntie Grace. She wasn't able to come to either of the other parties because she had to work, but she wanted to help the boys celebrate so she invited us to a Birthday Breakfast at her house. She made yummy quiches and carrot muffins and the boys had cupcakes!!

So much celebrating!!! It was fabulous!! The boys really enjoyed it and so did I. It reminded me of how exciting it was when they were born. All the anticipation and then their arrival!! I remember being overwhelmed with emotion, not knowing who to look at or hold first! They are so different and yet have that bond of brotherhood!

We have been so blessed!!! Happy Birthday babies!! May all your wishes come true!

Last Days of Summer

Wednesday I had a list of chores I needed to get done, but when I woke up and saw the sun finally shining, I thought a beach day would be fun! About 2 mins. later Stregga called and asked if we wanted to go to the beach with her. She is so psychic sometimes!! She said my aunts and cousins were going too. So I talked to Hubby and we decided to ditch our chores and errands and pack up the minivan. We were ready in less than an hour and headed out to beautiful beach. We met up with my mom (Stregga) and my Aunt Grace, cousin Lizzie, Zhaz and her husband Steve and their girls C and J. It was such a fun day!!

When we first got there the tide was out so we set up camp on the sandbar, it was awesome!! The water was so warm! Stregga parked her chair right in the water until the waves were so high she was forced to move to land, LOL!! The boys had a ball with their cousins!! We took some great pictures. The group shot of all the ladies came out nice, except I hate the image of myself, ughhh!! I couldn't find a maternity bathing suit so it looks like I just gained a LOT of weight, but I figured it was a nice idea to have all of us together so I decided to keep it!!

It was a fantastic day!! It felt like a perfect way to end summer!!!!!

Milestones and Madness

I wish I could stop time and freeze summer. Around here we have really enjoyed the days of hanging out and having no schedule and spending our time at the park or beach or home. But, it is quickly coming to an end and I feel like I am all of a sudden on the express train and my stop is approaching before I am ready!!!

Hubby has been home since July, but school starts back up Monday, ughhhhhhh! I wish we could hit the lottery and he could stay home forever. Or that we could hire a housekeeper, chef and a Nanny and I could still be a SAHM. Now that would be cool!! LOLL

Back to reality... so August has been spent cramming in doctor appointments for all of us. Luccio has been to the Eye Doc, the Lung Doc, the Ear Doc and even had a new set of tubes put in last Friday. My Little Bear is a trooper. He did fantastic with his surgery!! It was much harder now that he is older because he knew what was going on and it broke my heart. After the surgery he went to Recovery and when he saw the doctor he said, "You hurt me!! Don;t hurt me!" I felt so bad for my little guy! He say on my lap and buried his head under his favorite quilt. But, once we got home he was ok. He ate a bit snack and watched a little TV and then he napped for 5 hours! He woke up like a new kid! And he hasn't mentioned his ears since.

I have been running back and forth to the hospital where all of my OB appointments and NSTs are scheduled. Its about a 30 min drive so it takes up a bit of the day when I have mroe than one appointment like I did today. But, the good news is my Gestational Diabetes has been nicely controlled on my new diet so my doctor told me today that I can cut back and only have to test my sugars 3 times a week!! Yeah!! And my belly measurements were better, I am only measuring 3 weeks ahead now. The NSTs are great, I get to listen to the Bean move all over and hear her heartbeat and she had been "reactive" every time!! they checked the amniotic fluid today and it has stabilized, so hopefully its going to stay that way. 8 1/2 weeks to go!!!!!!

And after 2 hours at OB appts., Hubby and I went to the Dentist!!!

Our summer projects are wrapping up. Hubby finished painting the Bean's room and building the crib and 2 dressers and with help from his dad, the chandelier is up!!! I will post pics soon. We are getting a new window so I want to wait until its done so you an see it all as I imagine it should look, LOL!!

The boys turn 3 on Sept. 1st so we are celebrating their birthday this coming weekend. The party is going to be at Stregga and Papa's house. We are having a Mickey Mouse themed party with a Bounce House!! I ordered a Cupcake Tower cake too!! And we got all of the Mickey theme plates, cups, balloons through Birthday Direct, a fabulous online company. It was so much less expensive than some of the other sites I checked out and I was able to essentially get a party in box mailed to us!!!

So my babies will be 3 AND they are starting preschool. Orientation is Sept. 2nd!! I am so NOT ready. And they had their last Birth to 3 visit today. They have been in the program since they were 8 weeks old. We grew very attached to their physical therapist Gigi!! And we will all miss her so much. She promised to visit and want to hear updates about their school and the baby when she is born. But, my goodness it's a big step to go form having Gigi a part of our lives on a weekly basis for so long to nothing!!

So many milestones have marked our lives this summer and especially this week!! All is good!! But, time is going so fast!!!!!!!!!!!

I look forward to all that the future has for us and I wish all of you the best for your futures too!!

Sugar Stress

This has been a crazy and somewhat crappy week! I went in last Wednesday for an ultrasound and cervix check. My doc said if all was stable I wouldn't have to come every week, I could go back to coming in twice a month. I was excited to hear that my cervix length was still good and that it would be my last check!! WOO HOO!!!!! I have been going weekly since May so this was good news. BUT, when they did a growth scan of the baby, her head and belly were measuring 3 weeks ahead of schedule. AND I have too much amniotic fluid. The normal range is 10-20 and my level was 23. So, it could be the reason why my belly was measuring so big at my last appointment. One of the docs came in and explained that I would have to go for the glucose test because I most likely have gestational diabetes and she said I had to start Non-Stress Tests (NSTs.) So the bottom line is: I have to go twice a week for the NSTs and I FAILED the 3 hour glucose test which means I do have Gestational Diabetes (GD)

I had GD with the boys too, but I was inpatient. That meant a nurse checked my blood sugar levels and a cafeteria employee brought my meals and snack. Essentially my only job was to eat on time. Now, I am in for a whole new experience. Don't get me wrong, I am eternally grateful that I am having a beautiful pregnancy this far and that I am getting to enjoy it at home with my family and friends. And I do not want to be hospitalized.

However, I am overwhelmed to say the least. I went to a training class today with a dietitian. She gave me the glucose monitor and showed me how to use it and told me what to eat and when. She was a fantastic woman who fit me in for an appointment at the last minute and worked with me for free because her office didn't take my insurance!!! I left there with a plan.

Then I got home... it didn't go so well. I was ok at snack. But, dinner was stressful because I was trying to read all the notes and figure out what to eat and how much. The boys were chatting away and needed my attention even though Hubby was standing right there.

Then it was time to check my glucose level with the monitor. I thought I was all set, but for some reason I couldn't get the "lancer" to draw blood from my finger. There are only 6 needles in each cartridge and I have 2 cartridges. Well, I ended up using all 6 needles trying to get enough blood and it kept saying error not enough blood, ughhhh!! SO I fumbled through the directions for how to change the cartridge all the while crying like a loon because I was stressed that I was well past the time limit that I was supposed to follow and I had used a good amount of my supplies!!
Hubby tried to be helpful but staring at me and asking me questions while I fumbled and freaked out wasn't really the best idea so he finally left me to my own stress fit and retreated to his office.

Luckily the directions were step by step sort of like "Glucose Monitors for Dummies," so I figured it out and eventually squeezed enough blood out of my finger after 7 attempts!!

After that episode, I called my good friend who also had gestational diabetes in all 3 of her pregnancies and she offered lots of wisdom and advice and calmed me down.

So now I have a diet plan, a monitor and a calm attitude, ahhhhh! I CAN do this!! I WILL do this!! And I have great motivation, I need my Bean to be healthy!!

I jsut hope tomorrow goes better!

Quality Time

Now that Grandma and Papa are retired they have been able to spend more one on one time with the boys, which is fantastic!! They boys love getting to visit and have fun on their adventures.
And there are always funny stories that I look forward to hearing!

Last week both boys went to Grandma and Papa's house for the day while Hubby and I prepped for our tag Sale. Luckily they are gracious hosts even when Hubby delivers the boys at 8am and leaves them until we arrive in time for dinner around 5!! So the boys had a full day of activities which included: breakfast, getting dressed and then taking a Nature Walk. They were thrilled to collect pine cones and spent a long time investigating the sounds they heard coming from a woodpecker!

Luccios famous saying is "What's dat noise??" He uses the most urgent voice and you can't help laughing and endlessly repeating his quote (or at least we can't help it)

After the Nature Walk they went back to the house and had Pool Time, which is actually a cement mixing basin filled with water for them to play in. Its the perfect size tub to fit on Grandma's back deck and the boys had no problem squishing themselves into it together!!

They also colored, ate lunch, napped and then played until we arrived to have dinner.

Grandma and Papa reported that the visit went well with only a few minor adjustments needing to be made here and there.

On the way home when I asked how the visit went, Cenzo said "Well, I had to yell at Papa, he said no to me!"

Which is an interesting perspective on the story that we heard from Papa that Cenzo was not listening when it was time to eat lunch and was throwing a fit!!

Luckily, despite his yelling at Papa, Cenzo got invited back this week for a solo sleepover!! Grandma and Papa picked him up on Friday afternoon and kept him overnight. He did really well and slept all night!! YEAH!!!

I was happy that when I spoke to Grandma the next morning she was still having a good time with Cenzo and even referred to him as a "Gem!" A good sign I thought, LOL!!

Grandma shared a funny story...
She wanted to know if Cenzo had ever seen anyone wearing a nightgown before because she said when she walked downstairs in her pajamas, he asked her "is that your ballet costume?" LOL!!

Pregnancy Face

There is no one quite like a sibling to give you and honest assessment of yourself. Throughout my pregnancy I have been feeling good and my belly was a nice little bump that measured exactly on target at each check up. Well...this week I "popped." I had lots of stretching and pulling one day and some contractions. Then the next morning I woke up an it looked like I swallowed a watermelon!! I even had 2 stretch marks, which I didn't get with the boys until 2 days before I delivered them!! When i went to the OB my belly measured 5 weeks ahead!!

I showed my belly to Hubby and the boys and they oohed and aahed and admitted it looked larger. My mom saw it and said "Oh, it looks cute." One friend I had seen last Sunday had commented how small my belly was, then on Thursday when she saw me she was screaming "Where did your belly come from??"

So I knew I popped.

But, it was until I saw my brother, aka Godfather as the boys call him, that I knew for sure I had moved into a different stage of pregnancy. He took one look at me and said "Oh My God there is no hiding that belly! And you have Pregnancy Face!!"

Just to clear up any confusion, Pregnancy Face is not a compliment. To make sure I understood that point, my brother called me to be sure I was "going easy on the sodium." Because according to him, "You are puffy and your nose is HUGE!"

Thanks...

Beach Day Funnies

We went to the Beach yesterday with Stregga and her sister, my Aunt Grace. My good friend, Shiela met up with us and brought her son, James and her mom, Lola. We had a fantastic day!! The weather was absolutely perfect! Finally no rain, yeah!!!!

The boys were so excited because they hadn't seen Aunt Grace in awhile so all the way to the beach they were singing and laughing and showing off for her.

They were overjoyed to see their friend James too!

These are 2 of my favorites of their funny sayings for the day:

-Luccio saw that some kids had their shirts off with their bathing suits, he looked at me and said, "I want my body out too."

-At one point Aunt Grace was playing with Cenzo in the water and swinging him around, He kept getting mouthfuls of water. So I told him to close his mouth and he said, "I can't I'm too happy!" Made my day!!

Let Me Show You The Door

Yesterday, my in-laws aka Grandma and Papa, came over for a visit. They had been on vacation so the boys hadn't seen them in over a week. So needless to say they were very excited for Grandma and Papa to arrive. We talked about it all day and I had to keep reminding them the visit wouldn't be until AFTER nap.

Before summer began, we had a weekly visit scheduled with Grandma and Papa on Thursdays. They would come to our house and watch the boys and it was usually my night out and Hubby would be working etc. So the boys are used to having their special time alone with them.

Well, yesterday Hubby and I had planned to go out to dinner, but we wanted to visit for awhile first. The boys excitedly greeted Grandma and Papa and started telling them stories and opening all the surprises that had been brought back from vacation for them. Then they kept asking Hubby and I when we were leaving. I explained we wanted to visited and talk a bit first.

After the initial hellos and present opening, I wanted to show Grandma the progress on Baby Bean's room, the new bedding we bought and all the clothes we have collected so far. Cenzo decided to come into the room with us and thought it would be fun, but then he got tired of it and said, "Are you going to keep talking to grandma?" And he wanted to know when I was leaving.

When we returned to the living room, Luccio was saying goodbye. I told them we weren't quite ready yet. But, the boys couldn't wait any longer. Cenzo was frantically trying to get me to go and giving me hugs goodbye.

And Luccio finally walked over to the front door and opened it and said "Here you go MommyDaddy, see ya later!" And he ushered us out the door!

Culture Shock

Sunday was big day...I reached 24 weeks in my pregnancy which means The Bean is viable!! The significance of this is being that if I went into labor at this point the doctors would try to save my baby. A lot more reassuring than the response I got a few week sago when I started having some contractions and the on-call resident told me "Well, you might as well wait until the office is open tomorrow and call back because there isn't anything we could do anyways." Hmm....great! So now Bean is viable, WOO HOO!!! A new milestone!!

Also, Sunday night I started developing sudden sore throat and swollen glands. I thought I was having an allergic reaction so I took some Benadryll. But, then it developed into chest soreness and congestion and wheezing. I was coughing all night. UGHHH!!! I called my doc in the morning because I am basically paranoid that coughing too much will start up contractions. I went in for an appointment and the doc listened to my lungs, he said its Bronchitis. Great!

Since my throat was really red and swollen they decided to do a throat culture to rule out strep.
The nurse came in to do the culture and it was a tedious process. I normally have a horrible gag reflex, but pregnant I am beyond awful. So every time she said to open my mouth I felt like I was going to throw up. She quickly swabbed one side and then gave me a break. But, she needed to swab the other side. I was so embarrassed when I started gagging and making disgusting noises that I couldn't control. I was willing myself to throw up on the poor woman.

The nurses response was "Don't worry about it, actually I wouldn't mind if you throw up on me cause then I get to go home early."

Well...