Good News Mama!

In exactly one week, Kevin has to decide where he will go for school...will it be Rochester, Miami, or UMass? He's still waitlisted at UMass so we aren't sure about that just yet, but we are actually visiting Rochester in a few days to see how we feel! His Miami trip was stressful to say the least. Evangeline had been sick the entire week beforehand, and Kevin even called the pediatrician to make sure it was okay to leave. The doc had been under the impression Evangeline was sick with strep throat, fever, and cold. But I felt like it was worse, and that it was progressing to become pneumonia. The doc gave Kevin the go, and once he landed in Miami, not only was Evangeline still sick, but Elianna got a 103 fever! It was a hot mess in our home. Both girls went to ER, Evangeline had gotten admitted and was in the hospital for five whole days due to bilateral pneumonia (which is the worst it's ever been!) Kevin was out of town for the first time ever, and it was just exhaustin...

I was holding Elianna tonight and was surprised by how long she was...when she sleeps on me, she's no longer that tiny little newborn but an active TODDLER. Gone are the days where she could barely do tummy time or crawl on her own. She's walking and stumbling and climbing up our small step by our fireplace...she loves sitting and leaning on things and pushing and pulling any big toy with wheels. She's so different from her sister. While Evangeline is obedient and quiet, Elianna is rebellious and loud. Evangeline barely cried, and Elianna will find any reason to whine and cry if she's the slight bit uncomfortable. Evangeline never wandered into anything she shouldn't have (kitchen cabinets, bathroom cabinets, opening drawers or slamming doors) but Elianna does it all the time. You tell her no, you carry her somewhere else, and she will defiantly walk back to where she came from and defy you. Evangeline barely eats, and we have to not only monitor her so she eats e...

A little over two years ago, I was crying to my cousin because I had just found out I was suffering a miscarriage. Not only was it a miscarriage of a baby whom I was losing, but it was also the loss of a twin that Elianna would not grow up with. And when a person miscarries a twin early enough, the baby doesn't come out the way a typical miscarriage happens...the baby just gets reabsorbed into the mom and into the twin. "You should really watch This Is Us. The first episode is about a miscarriage too, except the character played by Mandy Moore loses a triplet." my cousin told me through her tears, as she comforted me since the wounds were so fresh. There are a lot of things within the show that I do not relate with: I never lost a dad to an unexpected death. I do not have an adoptive sibling or was adopted myself looking for a birth parent. I do not have an addiction to eating. But I could relate to miscarriage, and I do plan to adopt one day, so that's as far as ...

I still remember Kevin calling my cell phone as I volunteered at Evangeline's co-op February 7, 2019. I was worried because he usually never called on mornings, and I thought something was wrong. I immediately answered saying, "Kev, are you ok???" And he shouted, "WE ARE GOING TO ROCHESTER, BABY!!!!" To that, I howled with joy, and started laughing like a maniac. Kevin had been applying for PhD programs the last two months and dedicated blood, sweat, and tears to having a bomb mission statement and working hard for a high GRE score. After a lot of stress and being disappointed in his ultimate score, and over $1,000 spent on prep material and applications, it was a HUGE weight lifted off his shoulders! And mine too... he spent so many days worried that no school would accept him because in his words: "It is REALLY competitive to get into a PhD program...and even harder to get a tenure position after all that time dedicated to school." So he stal...