Christmas is coming and if anyone wants a good place to find toys for the girls, there is a Web site called "Tiny Love" and they have a multiples program where you can buy one thing and get a second free. The catch is, Eric and I have to apply for the "program" first, which we are goingto do, and I'm not sure if it will be done in time for the holidays. But I will let you know if we get it in order. And the orders have to be made via the phone, not online or at a retail store...so anyway...e-mail us if you are interested in it. You can go to www.tinylove.com to check it out. They seem to be reasonably priced and they have pretty rigorous testing standards to avoid all that lead crap in other toys.

Gearing up for that special photo

Yup, the girls are practicing for the special holiday picture! We tried them out in a pose that we want to replicate in a bigger "bucket" and with the two of them together in party dresses! Here are the good ones:

S'More Thanks...

Hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving! We missed everyone at Grandma's M's house this year, but we'll see you next year when the girls aren't in as much danger from RSV. While we weren't there, Grandma M. did tell us some people came bearing gifts and we want to take this time to thank them!!! I'm throwing in a belated Thanks to another friend too!!!

Priscilla - Thank you for the outfits. The girls are already wearing the 12-month sets and we know they will be in the 18 months by early in the new year!!! They look so cute in the black leggings, I knew I'd love them!! These girls dont' have enough black!!!

Grandma M. - Thank you for the outfits meant for Christmas that fit now! The little jeans and fall shirts were greeeat! And the coveralls and orange shirts were cute too. We dressed them in those one day at home. Both girls stayed warm in the track suits and we always love the clothes you buy them. There are too many to name each individually, but we thank you for them all!

Mara - We heard you gave us $100 for formula and we are VERY appreciative! These two are our "formula-monsters" and they eat like crazy! It will definitely come in handy and won't go to waste. We also heard you bought Pooh clothes for Christmas that thegirls already fit in and we want to thank you for those too. We love Pooh and they are growing so fast that clothes are important!

Karen - Grandma M. said you got some old Olivia clothes back from Kevin, Colleen and Caroline and are letting us have them -- thanks! We can definitely find a use for them and we'll try to keep them in good condition for the next little girl in the family! We're packing away some of the girls' newborn, 0-3 and 3-6 month stuff too. I doubt many in the family want the preemie clothes!!!

For future information, if anyone plans on buying clothes for the girls, you are safest buying 12 months and beyond. They are already in 6 and 6-9 and some 12 month clothes. We swear manufacturers purposely make this stuff smaller so people buy them as gifts and then parent shave to go buy new stuff really soon after when they babies grow out so quick!

Anyway, THANKS everyone!!!!!!

We're in the wrong profession...

I was working out payment plans with various doctors/facilities etc, when I called Albany Med's patient billing department. They said insurance paid the actual hospital bills in full, so we owe them nothing, but just on an interesting note...they told me what the girls' bills came to:

Eve racked up a total of about $186,000. ANd Lily's stay cost over $200,000.

Imagine what would have happened if we DIDN'T have insurance. With the salary Eric brings in, we aren't eligible for any government assistance, regardless of what the bills add up to, and even if we had SOLD the house and cars and everything we own, it wouldn't add up to that! It's a scary thought. We still do owe about $4-5,000 in doctors fees, but I've worked out that we pay $50 a month for Eve, Lily and my doctors, adding up to $150. We pay the cardiology pple what we can afford, they aren't picky, and the pathology bill is being resubmitted to the insurance company because STUPID surgeon at Albany Med who didn't know Lily was a girl, let alone her name, submitted a claim for "FemaleA Mostaccio." Yeh, that name isn't on our policy. Asswipe. Pardon the speech, but we HATE him. And as strong as that word is, it's the truth. He shouldn't be in the medical profession, I don't care HOW good he is at what he does, if he can't remember the sex of the baby he is talking to the parents of, he needs to retire and NOW.

Developmental follow-up

Just a quick update (it's all I have time for!) We went to the girls' 6-month developmental checkup today and it was NOT what I thought. The toys they used didn't interest the girls in the slightest, so they didn't even really pay attention to them let alone reach for them when they were "sitting" at the table. When they were laying on their backs on the mat, both would hold the toys if they were placed in their hands. Lily would bring it to her mouth and chew on it or look at it. Eve appeared to have no idea she had something in her hand. Lily did well on her tummy, held her torso up at the right angle and all, andplayed a bit with a toy. Eve...she laid down, put her head to the side and cried. They didn't even keep her there for 20 seconds before moving on. When all was said and done, the doctor said they were within the normal range for their adjusted age of 16 weeks, but she was concerned and wants to see them again in 3 months. Oh joy.

There was pretty much NO suggestions given on getting Eve to pick her head up. At least not anything we didn't already try. And the doctor didn't really tell us what concerned us. She said LIly is noticeably ahead. She did also mentioned they have good speech for their age, and said that many times mean smarter children. I was like...OK...so if they are quiet they end up dumb? Right.

Anyway, we'll be going BACK up to Latham on April 4. I think that's one year to the day we that we learned we were having twins.

Tomorrow they get their 6-month shots. That'll be wonderful. Ugh. And on Nov. 23 they get their flu shot.

I'm not positive, but from what my mom said of a call from the office, they MIGHT be getting RSV shots. I asked vaguely about RSV at their last appointment and it was pretty much blown off. BUT, then mom said the pede's office called and wanted the girls social security numbers to order something. Now, I got a flu shot in the office, so I doubt he had to order THAT. And mom could almost swear she heard the person say "synagis" which is the name for the RSV shot. We'll find out for sure tomorrow. If that is the case, they would need an appointment every month through April or May. But it would be nice if they could get it.

We're a little worried about the insurance though. One woman on a messageboard for twins said that she was approved for the shots, but her insurance only covers 80 percent of the cost -- leaving her and her husband with $250 payments every month for BOTH babies: a total of $500 a month for the shots! From November through April! If that is the case here, we can't afford them. No way! Not with the other bills we have that we can't pay!

Anyway, that's all...ended up being a bit longer than I thought!