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Here are a couple of things that I thought I should write down before I forgot them:

While I was away on my last trip the big girls got up very early one morning. Normally Kari will get them some milk, turn on the cartoons for them, and go back to bed for a little while longer. However, on this day they let the twins out of their room. It isn't such a good idea to sleep while the twins are loose to roam the house at will. Madison immediately came in to the bed room and indicated that she wished to have her diaper changed. Kari groaned and said "Give me five more minutes." To witch Madison replied in a sweet little voice "Okaaaay." and she left the room presumably to watch TV with her sisters.

Kari rolled out of bed about 10 minutes later, stumbled out of the bedroom, and picked up Madison to change her. She took her to the changing table and found her diaper to be completely dry. So she put her down and picked up Jordan and was about to take her to the changing table when Rylee spoke up.
"Mom, I changed their diapers already."
"You did?" Kari asked. Rylee nodded her head.
"Did I do good?" She asked.
"Yes, you did very good." Kari replied. Kari was pretty impressed. I am pretty impressed. Aside from Jordan's diaper being slightly askew she did a perfect job. I wonder if she washed her hands.
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This evening I made steak, peas, and pesto pasta for dinner. Reagan and Madison woofed it right down. Rylee was eating, but taking her time and Jordan hadn't really touched a thing. It is really hit or miss when trying to get them to eat healthy. So I have been rewarding them with desert when they eat all their "good food." I am no doubt saddling them with some sort of eating disorder that will plague them for the rest of their lives, but it seems to work for me.

So as Reagan shoveled the last of her peas in her mouth I broke out the Oreos.
"Reagan, you ate very well. Would you like a cookie?" I asked
"Ummm Hmmm!" she said, her face lighting up with a big grin.
Rylee, seeing that there was a prize for cleaning her plate, began to shovel peas into her mouth a high rate of speed. The twins squealed with delight "cookies!" they both chirped and bolted for their chairs. Everyone knows by now that Dad means it when he says that you don't get cookies if you don't eat your dinner. No amount of tears will sway me here. In fact they have found that crying about it is just a good way to get a time out.
Now I don't know if it was intentional, but I think it may have been. Jordan, who had eaten almost none of her food, climbed up in Madison's chair. Right in front of the plate that Madison had nearly licked clean. So Madison, since her chair was taken, took the empty seat where Jordan's full plate of food sat. I ceremoniously placed two Oreos in front of Reagan and two in front of Jordan, who I mistook for Madison. I don't mix them up very often anymore, but they ARE identical twins and if you are not watching closely one can be mistake for the other. Madison, who I thought was Jordan, reached out across the table with her right hand. She was making a grabbing motion, bunching up her hand into a fist and then splaying out her fingers, over and over and saying "Cookies!" She knew that she had eaten all her food and was going to get goodies.
"NO." I said, looking very serious. "You have to eat your dinner to get a cookie." I held up Reagan's plate, "See all gone." I held up Madison's plate "See all gone." I pointed to Jordan's plate. "You need to eat your dinner and THEN you can have a cookie."
Jordan, clearly happy with having cookies in front of her began bouncing up and down and reaching for the Oreos. Across the table, Madison teared up, her face becoming a little bit red "Cookies, cookies, cooooookies!" she wailed.
"No, no cookies." I said, giving her the furrowed eye brows. I always feel like this look should intimidate them, but it doesn't seem to work.
I was about to launch into a new lecture on nutrition when I looked a little more closely at her. "Wait a second." I thought. I looked back down to my right at who I thought was Madison and realized what had happened. "Wait a second." I said out loud this time. I scooped Jordan out of the chair and relieved her of her unearned cookies and put Madison back in her own chair. "I'm sorry, I though you were Jordan. You ate very good. You DO get to have cookies." I said. Madison switched from crying to giggling. I am still amazed how fast they can do that. Jordan on the other hand really started to give me an earful.
I picked Jordan back up and repeated my speech about the requirements that must be met before the keeper of the Oreos would relinquish them to her. I did finally get her to eat enough "good food" to receive a cookie.

In other news:
Reagan's appointment with the cleft pallet team at Texas Children's was on Monday. Since I was flying, Kari had Mary Ellen come over to watch the girls. She got to St. Luke's, where we have been taking her for speech therapy and was shocked to find out that there was no eight floor. She had been told to take her to the eight floor. "Maybe it was suite 800." she thought with a sinking feeling. She went to the third floor, where we normally go and they confirmed her fears that this was the wrong place. The cleft pallet team is at the Texas Children's down town. So after waiting three months to get her in to see them, we are having to wait another two months for the next opening. We are a little bummed. However, I took Reagan to her other speech therapist at the elementary school today and she tells me that Reagan is improving.
I am still holding out hope that surgery will not be necessary, but I may be kidding myself.

Kari seems to be doing better and she has had a lot more energy. Her GI problems have improved, but her legs are still slightly swollen and her pinkie and ring finger on her right hand are numb. She thinks that might be a pinched nerve. And of course we have not done anything about her hernia while she was having all these other issues. Over all I would say things are looking up.

1 Comment:

  1. Kevin said...
    Hey Mark, I don't know much about Cleft Pallet, but I have a friend who was born with it and now has a "million dollar" mouth as he calls it. Guess he was blessed to get some of the best Dr.'s as he says most others don't have as good of results as him with whatever they do. So finding the best dr., even if out of town, was very important to him. Let me know if you want me to find out more.
    Kevin Long

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