Life is Wonderful!

First of all, to my loyal blog followers, I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I hardly post any more.

Life is flying by, I never get to bed before midnight any more and my personal blog just always seems to take a back seat.

I have so many pictures and videos but the thought of trying to deal with them is just too much when all I want to do is sit and veg out and get away from my computer. so sorry, this is a text post.

(and to those friends that I owe pictures too. I'm sorry, I PROMISE I'll get them to you. I really really haven't had a minute to spare)

Kaitlyn and Quinn update:

Quinn (although still a sensitive guy) is finally walking at 16 months!! 2 weeks ago he started taking one step and then falling forward. But he is now full-on walking. He is so proud of himself. His PT thinks that the delay came from his standing on tip-toes all the time, but he really seems to have the hang of it. It's amazing how quickly he caught on. From hardly taking a step to taking 3 and then "diving" for me or the couch to full own toddling all over the house! The first week of his walking was hysterical as he could only walk side-ways, as he was used to furniture walking. It was so funny! Good thing our house was fairly baby proofed already, but there are time I "forget", like a few nights ago when I found him sticking Kaitlyn's butterfly net in the toilet and was having an absolute blast!

Quinn is also talking, he's got about 10 words I think. This happened probably 2 months ago and I haven't been able to get to a post...his words:
Mama, Dada, no-no, more, bye-bye, ball (or ba), wawa (water) aqua (yes, he's already bilingual), duck. He is catching on to the talking thing so much easier than Kaitlyn did. Kaitlyn's first word was dada and everyone was dada (even me!)

Q is definitely a little mama's boy, he loves to nibble on me, especially if I've wearing something fuzzy. He loves fuzzy blankets and goes "mmm-mmmm" and nuzzles when he gets a hold of me or a blanket. He loves to be held at night before going to bed. How I love this, Kaitlyn never wanted to be held. He is FINALLY sleeping through the night (if he's not teething, as he screams all night and I have to rely on Tylenol) .

Quinn loves to smile and giggle, he super ticklish and has the BEST laugh. Remember K never smiled EVER until she was about Quin''s age. Where he smiles all the time (when he's not screaming that is).

Now, as much as I'd love to call him a "happy baby", that's not the case. Now, Quinn is still a sensitive guy, he cries a LOT/ I call him extreme baby, as he's either having a blast or screaming his head off. It's so bad at times that our neighbor knows when we are having especially trying days. Yes, he's LOUD and it's NON-STOP! It's horrible.... Thankfully (most nights) he likes to be held at night so I can calm myself down over the stress that his screaming (and my crazy buys day) causes me! I just love to kiss his little blond head as he nuzzles close to me. It's absolutely heaven on earth!

Kaitlyn is eating up a storm. Yes, I can't believe I can say this! It's like a new little girl arrived from somewhere who LOVES to eat. I cannot believe I'm saying this. Even this summer it was still a chore, as she rarely ate anything, but I changed my philosophy in feeding her to try to let her little body to teach herself what hunger was. it took 1.5 years, but her hunger and appetite finally kicked in. AND low and behold she weighs over 31 pounds now! I think it was only a year ago that she was stuck at 26 pounds... I'm not sure how tall she is exactly, but she is shooting up like a weed. She was always 1 or 2 sizes behind her age, and now she is wearing size 4 (her age). Even most size 4 pants fit (with a belt) as size 3 are way too short for her.

She's doing really well in her main-stream pre-school. The teachers can't believe what a difference. This is the same class she was in a year ago, as she is repeating the 3 year old program. She's now finally able to draw, (a year ago she was hardly drawing squiggles), now she loves drawing happy faces. She interacts a bit more with other kids, but still prefers to do things on her own.

What is currently worrying me is some weird new happenings. She clenches her jaw, grinds her teeth and goes: nnnn-nnnn-nnn as she shakes her hands up and down, or puts her hands on either side of me and hits me (gently) , she does this ALL the time. Seriously. at least 10 times an hour. It' sort of hard to explain. It's hard to get her to stop, she's sort of "stuck" doing it. She still also gets really wired/hyper and the best thing to calm her down is to put a "heavy frog" on her or the new weighted vest that I got. Both are therapy items. I say to her take deep breaths, hunny, it's time to calm down. But she can't seem to. She rolls around on the floor, pillow, soccer ball (whatever ball they were using in "sports class" that she just took)

Other stuff:
This is Prevention of Prematurity Month and as my role of March of Dimes Ambassador and Family Teams Chair I've visited two NICU's this week. the Nicu where my children were all born, and everyone was so happy to see me. Of course I cried as I thanked the nurses, (this was March of Dimes show of appreciation for all the NICU and L&D workers). I thanked the nurses again for giving me my most favorite picture of my 2 girls together for the last time.

I've wanted to post all month about it being Prevention of Prematurity Month, and of course haven't gotten around to it.

I also helped start a local Bay Area Twinless Twin group, and we got together for dinner this month. IT was wonderful and sad at the same time. There were 5 of us there and a lot of tears! I think next time we shouldn't meet at a restaurant so the waiter doesn't think we are all crazy. Then again, as we get to know each other and our stories, maybe it won't be quite so emotional. It was really nice to be able to support some moms with recent losses.

I also this month met with my feeding tube support group and continue to help new moms that come into the group whose children have serious feeding issues or are on feeding tubes. The moms that I've met in this group have become some of my closest friends.

Our heater went out on Thursday, (as I was rushing trying to prepare for the Board meeting and my poor children and nanny where at home freezing!) I had to deal with this too. Thankfully it was just a door left open to the blower, but it took PG&E to come out and tell us this as neither I nor any of my neighbors who tired could get the darn thing to start. (It all started when a helium balloon got sucked into the air intake and in process of taking it out the door was left ajar)

Real Estate Update
OH and yes, I think most of you know, but I do work full time as Real Estate Broker!

Yesterday I ran a full-day board retreat as my new position as incoming President for the Marin Chapter of The Women's' Council of Realtors. This took a LOT of time to plan and prepare. I'm sooo happy that it's over and that it went so well. I'm looking forward to working with my Board next year and am excited that everyone is so willing to help me as obviously, I have a LOT on my plate.

I helped sell a friend/client from my local mom's group sell their condo (we are in escrow) and are looking for a replacement home. We've put in two offers but neither of them have stuck yet.

I've spoken to 2 new wonderful clients (one is looking for a 2nd home and the other is coming back to the bay area and couldn't imagine living anywhere but Marin County). I plan on meeting both of them just after the holidays. I've been helping 2 other sets of clients make the move from SF to Marin for our great schools, but I can't see to find the right house for one family! If anyone knows of a high end very contemporary home, (preferably in Larkspur) please let me know!

I helped some clients relocating from NY purchase a house in West Marin (Inverness) after 3 weeks of serious negotiations. This was the hardest deal I've ever had to get into escrow as my buyers are self-employed and we had to pull out all the stops as it's next to impossible to get financing now if you are self-employed.

OH, and I went to San Diego last week for 5 days to attend the National Women's Council of Realtors Meeting as well as the National Association of Realtors meeting. I'm helping launch a brand new website for the California State chapter of Women's Council, so that's taken a lot of my time. I was so lucky to get to listen to some great presentations, Condoleezza Rice was the head-liner for NAR and Sashi Koto (former CNN Anchor) was the speaker for the Inaugural lunch of the National WCR 2010 President. I also took many classes on Real Estate, primary all focused on Social Networking for Real Estate agent. So much great stuff, but I don't seem to have the time to get anything started!!

The day I got back my pediatrician's office called and let me know they finally had the H1N1 in, so rushed to get them the shot in the comfort of our doctors office. Of course the shot gave them both a "cold" not too bad, this was on the heels of them both been sick earlier in the month, which of course for Kaitlyn means breathing treatments and all.

Ok, and that's just been this month!

Whew, I'm tired just writing all of this!!

The kids and I are heading solo to Los Angeles to visit my mom for Thanksgiving (it's a very, very very long drive (as Kaitlyn puts it), so I'm going to try to head down late Tuesday afternoon and hope Quinn will nap and sleep. Brian has to work on Thanksgiving, so figured we might as well go spend some time with Grandma Corinne as everyone knows I don't cook!!

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!!! Be thankful for all that we do have in this serious time of uncertainty. I know I'M thankful for my two children here on earth with me and for how amazing they both are. I'm thankful for my husband's willingness to put up with all that I take on (and that he KNOWS I don't cook) I'm thankful for all of my friends who are always there to lend a helping hand (which I often need), I'm thankful for all of my WCR Board members who are so willing to help me as I take on the Presidency. I'm thankful for my Real Estate clients who continue to know that I'll take good care of them. I'm thankful for all of my on-line friends for continued support of my family and my blog (when I rarely post any more). I'm thankful for my co-moderators of my Micro Preemie Support group (as I so rarely even have time to read the posts on the group any more). I'm thankful for the March of Dimes new friends I have that are willing to help me help the March of Dimes.

And mainly I'm thankful that life is wonderful. Life with all it's up and downs, it's still a wonderful road to be on. Life. I'd never be the person I am today without all that's happened in my life. Good and Bad. I'm a much better person that I could have ever have hoped to be. I constantly think about all the people that are now in my life that I would have never met and I'm so thankful that my life took the path it did (even thought I'd still trade paths a million times over), I'm totally at peace with the road that was chosen for me.

Happy Thanksgiving!

It's Fall

Guess it was only a matter of time. This is Kaitlyn's 3 cold this fall so far. This one went directly into her lungs and she has mild bronchitis. Her coughs are just soooo horrible to hear.

Quinn now caught it today too.

At least the last 2 weren't too bad. We are back to doing round the clock breathing treatments and she's on antibiotics. I'm mainly soooo fearful of the swine flu. I've heard of some really horrible stories, a father supposedly passed away who lives near by who was healthy, and a 30 year old former preemie spent 4 weeks on a ventilator in a medically induced coma.

Can you believe that this happened:

Bankers getting vaccines

That wall street bankers are getting H1N1 Vaccines, while children like mine can't find the vaccine? My pediatricians office hasn't gotten any in yet at all.

What are your thoughts?

Oh and another "fall" story:

Oh, and yes, if you see my face book posts (which I am doing MUCH more often than my blogging updates as I'm sure you can tell). Quinn fell out of my car. It was horrible. It was sort of the perfect storm of events that happened, I felt like a horrible mother after wards.

But after another ER visit (we had just left Urgent Care an hour before to check on Kaitlyn's lungs from her last cold). K was very hungry, we stopped to get food, there wasn't any place to sit, so I had both kids, K was having a temper tantrum (from being so hungry) busy parking lot, my carrying Quinn while holding take-out food, his food, my purse, Kaitlyn's had, tried to put K in car, but had to open her car door and as I stupidly put Quinn in his car seat (for just a second) that's in the middle of the car, he got out of his car seat as I sprinted to the other side of the car, to make sure he wouldn't crawl out of the seat he rolled out of the car in front of my eyes before I could get there and onto the pavement.

Stupid mother of the year award I know....sigh.

Thankfully, now 2 weeks later, he no longer has a black-eye and his scratch near his eye is just a bit red still