Ah so much going on! Lets see...my daughter, Sydnie, had an eye appt. today because she failed her school and physical eye exam...she has been walking around the house with my sunglasses on because her HUGE eyes are dilated...Well she is thinking she is Paris Hilton or something because every time she walks past my mirrored curio cabinet, she is staring at herself...way too funny...and cute I might add! She does have astigmatism, but they are going to wait a year for glasses...to be honest, she was really looking forward to wearing pink glasses, so breaking the news to her that she didn't need them was very disappointing to her...so if she wants to wear the sunglasses...so be it. LOL! Oh one other funny thing. Ever since Sydnie was born, I always commented on how I thought her one eye was a little "off"...her ped told us that it was her one lid that was "bigger" than the other...I didn't buy it, so I asked this eye doctor today...hee hee....he told me that her eye give the impression that it is going out, but....it is actually her pupil that is slightly off center. I KNEW IT~!!! I wasn't going nuts all these years! LOL!!!

After her appt. we took Kenny to his Pulmonologist for his check up. His lungs were clear (thank God) but he is not liking how Kenny hasnt gained any weight...still 20 lbs with clothes on! I mentioned that he gasp for air several times a night and then starts coughing and throwing up. He is sending Kenny to a GI specialist for that. He is thinking that there is some kind of reflux happening..and they can also help with the calorie intake for him. I am so happy that the doctors at Metro are helping us AND Kenny. I was also told that Advair was not approved for children, let alone micro-preemies! Ummmm can you say I am kind of ticked off that our family pediatrician would even consider this!!!! So now, it is still the Pulmicort, Albuterol and now Singular because Kenny gets out of breath as he crawls...and I really cant keep him on his oxygen during the day...he hates wearing it! So at least we are getting answers!

Oh, and I also might add that Kenny is going to be the local K-mart store Ambassador for the March of Dimes. The March of Dimes wants to put faces to the fundraising efforts that K-Mart and their employees are involved in. So, our little guy will be representing one of the locations! yeay!

I got the first batch of shirts made for the hospital...I am so excited about that...

THANKS TO EVERYONE THAT HAS DONATED EITHER $$ OR SHIRTS!!!

I will be taking them on Thursday!

AHHHH!!!got to cut this short...the little guy decided to pull down a plant off the end table! NICE!

Today's update on our Kenny

Today's therapy was so nice with Kenny. He was able to put shapes in the shape sorter with the help of blocking the other shape holes! He has never really let go of the blocks before. He was also trying to let go and stand for a few seconds at a time! He was so proud of himself that he was actually standing on his own! The look on his face was priceless! My little guy who struggles everyday with one thing or another, was actually doing things that made him so excited! Beth also had him trying to scribble with one of those magnetic doodle pads...he did it, but was more interested in the string that held the pen to the board. I just keep kissing his cute head because I see that he wants to learn...that he gets happy and excited when he does something! He is using his hand together more lately, so that is another plus! I haven't taken him out of this house for a while...he was supposed to go for his audiologist appt. this morning, but he is still fighting this dumb cold! I was up with Kenny AND Gina again last night...actually....I've gone through 2 24oz. cups of coffee from Speedway...and now I am relying on the pot of hot tea that I made...because I've been up since 3 am. Starting to crash a little...not liking it!LOL!
We discussed sending Kenny to 2 day a week therapy school...I really think that would be great for him. They would work on his PT/OT and Speech/feeding...and he'd be around other kids like him. Like I said, I think it would be great for him, but I am nervous to send him because his lungs are so bad...and he is always getting sick...I guess it is time to really talk to his doctor about this. It's almost a no win situation...see...if we send him somewhere for PT/OT and the other therapies...he will get sick...if we don't send him...he wont excel in his development...not to mention how sick he has been...and what he has missed just from being sick.
I cant take him to preemie clinic, because he has been so sick, yet he really needs to go...it's just a continuous circle of events that wont stop. Now Gina is starting to get up on her knees and spin around in circles, scoot (backwards), hold things with both hand...and it shows me just how far behind Kenny is with things. Yes, he is making great progress for what he has been through, but it gets to me. I feel bad for him...that he is struggling with everyday stuff while it is supposed to come natural for babies. Isn't it bad enough that he went through so much when he was born...and those long 4 months in the hospital....losing his twin brother, whom shared a special bond with inside of me, being near death several times?! I am at a loss for all the options of what kind of therapies are good I know he needs speech and feeding therapy...but from who? Where? He is almost 22 months old and still not cruising against furniture...when will he start walking? Will he ever be able to walk? I am so scared for him and what the future holds. He is so precious and pure...when he looks at you, his eyes see right through you...almost to your soul...its kind of a peaceful, calm look that he gives. I just pray that this world is good to him throughout his lifetime because his everyday tasks may be harder for him to do, he may not be able to hear very well, or even talk, have horrible lungs which require oxygen at night, walk or eat solids, but he is still our family's miracle. And we all will love and protect him till eternity because that is what family is all about!

I want to give a short shout out to my sister Andrea, who is turning 38 today! Woo Hoo! Have a very Happy Birthday sis! Love ya much!

Happy birthday to my Morgan and Happy Anniversary to my twin and BIL!

Today, 8 years ago, I gave birth to my 3rd child! We didn't get to see her right away..actually for about 12 hours after she was born because she came out blue. They intubated her and whisked her off to the NICU. You know, to this day, I still don't know why she wasn't breathing when she was born. When she was a baby, we were having problems with asthma, allergies to milk and all milk products, eczema on her face, arms and legs, and the biggest one, her being allergic to cold temperatures! Yep...you heard me right...she cant go in pools or under sprinklers in the summer, and in the winter, the snow...also, if it is too windy or rainy out...she breaks out in welts. I feel so bad for her, but she doesn't let that stop her...she'll go out and play...get tons of welts...go warm up and take benadryl or claritin and get right back to the fun! Kids are so resilient!
And now today she is 8. Where has the time gone?! It just amazes me how fast time goes by! Have a very Happy Birthday my love! You always make me smile!
And for my twin sister, Diane and the love of her life, Johnnie...I hope you both have a wonderful Anniversary! I cant get over that from the night on the dance floor when your eyes connected you are still very much in love! You both have been there for me through everything and I love you both very much. Congratulations on 15 married years together + all the years before you guys got married! What a ride it has been! Here's to many, many more together!

Milestones for Micros! Please Help!

I am looking for anyone that wants to donate plain baby shirts. We are going to be making shirts for MetroHealth's NICU graduates for their first birthdays, along with our preemie friends here online. It is all about our preemies who had the odds against them but pulled through, and is now celebrating their first birthdays! PLEASE PASS THIS INFO ON TO EVERYONE THAT YOU KNOW. You can contact me through the comments. I really want to make this happen, but I am extremely limited on $$ (for obvious reasons). I am going to need sizes 9-12 month shirts in boys and girls. must be plain. It doesn't matter if they are long sleeve or short. I am not asking for money...just new shirts.

This has been in the planning ever since Kenny was turning 1, and now I really am going to make this happen. Our little miracles are very special and to be celebrating their first birthdays is such a milestone. When you are in the NICU and you don't know if you are going to be bringing your baby home or not, it is such a relief when the time comes when the doctors tell you that its time to go home! That first year is scary...the oxygen, monitors, constant doctor visits, medication...and yes, the occasional hospital stays...Heck, the second year is not that much better! LOL! But to know and to tell the world that your preemie (micro) made it through everything...that YOU (as a parent) made it through everything, is very important!

So I am asking you all to pass this on to everyone that you know...Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!

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On another note,Valentine's Day 2009 turned out to be a very normal day in the Tomecko house. It seems like the cold that Kenny and Gina have is just getting worse by the day. The day consisted of breathing treatments, coughing and crying...and the last one was a little bit from me. LOL! How the heck can I have so many kids with wheezing! I got rid of the carpet, the dog...dust everyday, scrub the floors every day along with vacuuming...and no matter what I do, they still get sick and wheeze. We now have Kenny on Advair twice a day...I don't know if its working or not. He is getting his Albuterol as needed for his fast breathing and coughing too. I feel so bad for him. Gina is just doing the whole wheezing in the chest with the coughing...she is not on anything yet, but I have a feeling come Monday, that might change. *sigh.

(I just saw the popsicle laying on the couch...lovely!)

So can I please get tons of prayers that these poor babies of mine get better and not worse. I am so worried about Kenny, between the fevers, coughing, not eating and wheezing, it is setting up to be a hospital stay. So, please pray. Thanks.

Our big Valentine's dinner that Tony and I decided on was going to be steak, baked potatoes and salad...he came home with a couple of steaks (the cheap ones lol) and some chicken for the kids....I was getting so excited that we were actually going to have a good dinner...short lived....I don't have a broiler on my oven! How can I NOT have a broiler?!!! Just goes to show you how much I broil foods. During the summer, we would put the steaks on the grill...our grill is in the city dump as of the fall...we ended up eating the baked potatoes and salad...for the 2nd time this past week. One day I'll be able to go out on an actual date with my love and have a real steak dinner! But for now, it just the way it is.

Happy valentine's Day everyone!

Well Valentines Day is fast approaching and I sit here thinking how different it has become for me. LOL. When it was just Tony and I...even when it was just a couple of the kids...we would go out to dinner and celebrate. Now a days, we are making Valentines for the kids to pass out at school...no dates, no cards...but that's OK...we know we love each other...

These days, it means a simple, "I love you". Thank you for being here in my life. No cards, no gifts...not even a night out to dinner. Why? Because with 7 kids, it's easier AND cheaper to just stay home. No one wants to babysit so many kids, and to be honest, Kenny needs his medicine, and I wouldnt feel comfortable with leaving him...just yet. Who needs to go out and spend $50 on dinner anyhow...not me. I am so far from wanting anything materialistic...it not even funny. I guess I am...simple. That's a great word for me. I love sitting here with my family. Talking to them. Making them great dinners that while we are smashed around out little dining room table with Kenny and Gina in their high chair and walker. The kids telling us about their day at school...that is what I love...and live for... Yes, there is the common fight about who is going to talk first, who is sitting where at the table, and the occasional..."I don't like that...can I have something else to eat"? But that is what makes it even more memorable.

I am very happy to have the loves of my life all around me. My husband swept me off of my feet 19 years ago. We had everything in common...

He saw me drive up in my red convertible to a job interview at his office...told everyone that he was going to marry me...and he did! He didn't even know I was getting interviewed at his office until the owner asked him into the office, where I was! He was persistent and charming...as we got to know each other, we found out that we both came from families of 7 children..just the opposite (my family had 6 girls, 1 boy and his, 6 boys and 1 girl), we both loved art. And the kicker...we both were twins! The similarities just went on and on.

Oh...I can go on and on...but I wont bore you with our love story. LOL

So this is why I love Valentine's Day.

You know what I ended up doing these last couple of nights and days...making 100 ipod candy valentines for the kids parties at school. I saw the project in a magazine about a month ago, and I just HAD to make it! All it is, is a box of conversation hearts, construction paper (or if you have a sign guy for a husband, like I do, we used hot pink vinyl), string, Hershey Kisses and tape. Well...after countless hours of printing, taping, and tying...I finally got it done! Woo hoo! And I must say, they turned out very cute!

I love seeing the smiles on my kids faces when I do something like this for them. I just wish I had my own craft room. I was sitting at the dining room table, then at the kitchen counter working on these things...all the while, Kenny and Gina fussing because of being sick...it ended up being 5 minutes working on the valentines, 15 minutes taking care of the little sickies, and so on....But it is done and their parties are today!

here is what they turned out to look like:

I'm back after a long break. We have strep throat here in the house...little Tony has it. It's just a matter of time before it spreads like wild fire and the entire house is going to get quarantined. I guess it is going around...everywhere. Tony and I have been up for the past couple of nights with Gina and Kenny, coughing like crazy and both with fevers. It makes for a F U N time. So everyone please keep both babies in your prayers that they wont have to be hospitalized...I just don't feel like staying at the hospital for any amount of time...it's getting old. Luckily, they are not wheezing too bad and Kenny is not breathing too fast....knock on wood!

I just get so paranoid with him. Every time he gets sick, I worry that his heart or lungs wont be able to handle it. And with his fever last night, I didn't want to fall asleep...I wanted to sit and hold him all night long to make sure he was going to be alright.

This past week was a pretty busy one for us. Kenny and Gina went for their immunizations...Kenny ended up getting 5! Three of the normal ones and 2 Sinygis for RSV...those suckers are EXPENSIVE! I cant understand how or why they would cost so much, but they do. It's almost a shame. Kenny got the shots last year and right after his last shot, he ended up getting RSV, what a waste of money.

Anyhow, at Kenny's check up he was weighed and is at 20 lbs. 2 oz. As a mom, I feel that he is doing horrible with his eating and weight, but the doc thinks that he is doing well, so...only time will tell. He is really trying to eat cheese puffs ans cookies, He wont bite it, but he licks it...I guess it's a start. I have even tried suckers.

As you can see, he doesn't have great hand control yet, but we are working on it! Now that he is sick, it's going to put his eating back a little bit. He is already not wanting to drink his bottles that much. He also stopped signing. I don't know why, I do it every day. He just stopped. Time to get serious with this whole signing thing...I have to say one thing...it's HARD...for a person...well...family that has NEVER had to even think about any type of hearing loss, learning and doing sign language really takes time and effort....every time we say something, we have to follow it up with a sign. Not to mention, Kenny being a very stubborn 21 month old and not wanting to keep his hearing aids in..no matter what we do. We were supposed to go to the audiologist this morning, but with his fever and cough, I didn't want to take him out.

On another note...

Gina started to hold her own bottle! Yeay!!! That helps mommy out a lot!! She is even trying to get up on her hands and knees...scooting backwards! She wants to really catch up to her big brother, Kenny so they can cruise the house together! I LOVE IT!

We have our very own Cabbage Patch Kid...

This is what NOT to do with a basketball! LMBO!!!
That's about it for now...its been a very crazy week here between sickness and running around...I'll leave you with a picture of a cute puppy that I fell in love with at the pet store...until I found out how much he cost...$1200 dollars! Ummm...no thank you...I'd much rather go to the pound and get one that needs a home for about $20! He was cute though!