Tuesday, November 27, 2007

A Holiday Treat

The Trif kids have prepared a special Holiday treat for their loved ones. Check it out:

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=9619229231

Sunday, November 25, 2007

Thankful for good eaters...

We've finally returned from a long weekend at Gram and Pape's house in Horsham. A&A celebrated their first Thanksgiving and boy did they chow down! I'm happy to report that they are great eaters! I mashed up almost everything we ate for our meal and fed it to A&A. Ava will pretty much eat anything - she proved that when we gave her a piece of Asiago cheese on Saturday! She loved it! And then there is Robert, who feasted on Cheez-its this Thanksgiving. He and Oliver were so happy to be together, they pretty much forgot to eat! The entire visit went quickly, but it was so nice to have the family together.
The kids had finally recovered from their illnesses, and now we are all getting sick again (Me and Bobby included!) Blah! I hope that this time it's just a cold.

Enjoy the updated slide show...The pictures are from September and October. I'll update with November pics too - as soon as I upload them!

The next few weeks will be busy, no doubt, but we'll keep you up to date as best as we can!


Hi Aunt Joan! :) We love you!

Thursday, November 08, 2007

Sick kids...

Alex and Ava have been fighting (what I thought was) a cold since late Monday night. I decided to take them to the pediatrician today, just as a precaution since we were planning to leave tomorrow morning for Pittsburgh to visit Rob and Germaine. At first I felt silly - they have runny noses and a cough. Alex has been grabbing at his ears, and that prompted me to call Dr. Novak.
I'm so glad I did! They both are 'croupy' and have RSV. Thankfully, its not to the point that they need to be hospitalized, but Alex's breathing is very labored and Dr. Novak said he has a feeling that Ava ia headed down that same path. Both of Alex's ears are infected, and he's been put on a steroid for his breathing. Oh, and they both have pink eye.
Dr. Novak says this is a 7-10 day virus. I hope we kick it quick - I'd like to make the trip to Pittsburgh next weekend if it works for Rob and G. Fingers crossed.

Tuesday, November 06, 2007

A very literal 'pain in the butt'

This post is going to be all about me. I know you'd rather be reading about the kids and seeing their most recent pictures, but I just need to update everyone on my condition:

A fall down the stairs about 2 months ago has left me, well, pretty much a mess. I was seeing a new chiropractor for about a month, with very little relief. I finally decided to go back to my old chiropractor - from before we moved to Nazareth. He knows my back, and I have always responded well to his technique. After 3 visits, and just a tiny bit of relief, he sent me for an MRI with suspicion of a disc injury.
Fast forward to this week: the MRI results are in and my chiro, Dr. Ryan, wanted to see me right away. He said "it doesn't look good." I have a disc protrosion sandwiched between 2 herniated discs in my lower back. The lower herniation is so severe that it is 'hanging' into my spinal canal and pressing on a nerve, hence the pain. After a complete explanation and visual demonstration, Dr. Ryan warned me that I may need surgery. He said he'd do everything possible to help me avoid that, but I should know that its a definite possibility.
Today was my second day on the Traction Table... a device that 'pulls' and elongates the spine to help the discs shift back into place - or to at least free up some space between the herniation and the nerve. (it doesn't look like the lower herniation is going to go anywhere at this point.) I need to continue treatment on the table as often as possible for as long as it takes for me to start feeling better.
In the mean time, I've been told to handle the kids with care and be mindful of my lifting and bending - which I really shouldn't be doing at all. Unfortunatly, not doing it is not an option for me.
Dr. Ryan told me that another pregnancy will pretty much destroy my back. This information alone is enough to send me for a second opinion. But that's a bridge I'll have to cross down the road. Alot can happen between now and 'then' - whenever that may be.
Enough about me for now. I promise the next post will be all about the kids!