So We Might Build Now...

There is a lot in the neighborhood we want. If we can use our own builder, we might do it. I will keep you all posted...

OK, I Know, I Know...

I am a terrible person, I know. It's been forever since I have posted an update... In my defense, school has been out and I just haven't had any inclination to spend the 45 seconds each day that I get of peace to do this.

Anyhow... What has happened since my last post?

Mmmmmm... Let's see...

We still haven't found a house. Well, I take that back. We found a house we like, but David wants to wait until school starts to make an offer. I guess it's kind of a smart move since people tend to get a little more desperate to sell once the official "season" is over, but I am so over this process. It's a great house, in the neighborhood we want, on a great (pool-worthy) yard so I guess if we get it, it will be worth the wait.

The Walk went great! Our family team raised almost $13,000. Would you believe Emma raised over $6,000 of it herself. She really is quite amazing (I will track you down and kill you if you tell her I said that.) Thanks to all of you who contributed! It really means sooooooooo much to our family, the twins especially!

Emma just turned 6 on Monday. I can't really believe that either. We had a fantastic birthday party for her. American Idol themed karaoke/pool party. She had lots of friends from school come and we all had a great time. Her favorite gift was her ipod. I will post pictures as soon as I get them off of my camera. She starts school 3 weeks from Monday, and I can't wait. I have to admit that I had to choke back the bile writing her tuition check though. Also, I just want you all to know that she is partially to blame for my lack of posts. She hogs the computer with her Webkinz. WARNING: If your kid hasn't asked for one already, put it off as long as possible.

Benjamin and Sarah start back to Montessori 1 week from Monday. That means we are in the throes of potty training HELL! Actually, Sarah's doing GREAT. She's day trained, which is good enough for school. Ben is being a turd. He had it down most of summer. My Mom told him, "You have to potty train or you can't go to your new big boy class." and it was all over. He wants to stay with his old teacher. What do we do about that?

David is doing his work thing. He is still off of the cigarettes now since December, so I think we can safely say he has quit. Oh yeah and I am 31 now.

Here are some pics from Sarah and Ben's end of school party and Emma in her sparring gear at karate competition (1st in Forms, 3rd in Sparring.)

Hangover

Well, David and I went to the Jimmy Buffett concert last night. It was really great and MUCH needed! I had a whopping 3 drinks and I am feeling a little hungover today, but it was well worth it. I was trying to remember the last time I drank that much and I think it was before Ben and Sarah were born. Usually I'll nurse a drink all night because it's usually just not worth it knowing I will likely have to get up with some kid at night (Benjamin was that kid last night.) If you knew me in a former life, you know that I used to be able to put them away with the best of them (one of my many skills learned at UB) but that was a former life. It is funny though how times change.

Two more days until the big Walk! I've raised about $1100 and Emma is about to pass me. She is definitely going to raise more than me this year. Those of you who were planning on donating should probably do that since we are getting down to the wire. If you're reading this, go to my site and do it, that way you won't forget!

Update...

Well, things are well here in Atlanta...

Nothing to report as far as the house hunting is concerned. David is just back from the Left Coast and we are just laying low this weekend. David had a good time in San Francisco even though it was a business trip, but he's happy to be home. We went to Emma's friend Cameron's birthday party yesterday and everyone had a really good time, even the adults! Desiree, if you're reading this, Great Job! I know it was A LOT of work! Today we are doing housework and yard work to try to get this house ready for the market. We will be carrying 2 mortgages so we want it to go quickly.

As far as the above picture goes, I just thought that it was funny. Since most of you that would be reading this believe the same things I do, I know you think it's funny too!

As far as our fundraising efforts are concerned, things are going pretty well. So far, I have raised $900. I know that number is going to go up a lot because most of my loving family have not made their contributions yet, and I KNOW that they will! Emma has raised $350 so far. That number will surely rise since the letters and coin boxes just went home with the students at her school on Friday. Also, I found out some exciting news last week. Northside Hospital, where Sarah & Ben were born and spent their first 102 days, is matching everything we raise, dollar for dollar! They did this last year, but we thought we couldn't do it this year because Mainstream Media is our team's corporate sponsor. Well, the Walk director has arranged for NSH to match what our family raises because we are so active in the parent support group (Parents Partnered for Preemies) at the hospital. We speak pretty frequently to NICU parents. give gifts during the holidays, etc. It's really exciting because the $900 is now $1800 and Emma's $350 is now $700. So... Those of you who are still planning on donating, remember whatever you donate is doubled! What a great opportunity to make a difference!

Well, that's really all I have left to report. More pictures to come later in the week...

You Tube Links...

Here are a couple of links to you tube videos from the March of Dimes that you can watch if you want.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVghSy-Cens

www.youtube.com/watch?v=glse_zAiYAE

Just a Reminder...

If you keep up with our blog, then you know we are trying to raise money for the March of Dimes annual fundraiser, WalkAmerica. The Walk is on Saturday, April 28th, just over a week away, and I wanted to remind everyone to go to my site and donate whatever you can. www.walkamerica.org/jacobstein To help jog your memory as to why we do this I have posted some pictures of the twins during their 102 day stay in the NICU.

The above picture is of Benjamin's foot in Jay's hand when he was 1 week old. I know that when I see them now it's easy to forget how small they were when they were born.

These four pictures are of Sarah and Ben when they were 4 days old. This was the first day I got to see them because I got an infection during delivery and had to be fever free to go in the NICU. Sarah was not in very good shape (she's the one with the sunglasses.) She was septic when she was born and her body was working extra hard to fight the infection. It didn't leave her liver, lungs, and kidneys much energy and even with the machines helping, she was hanging on by a thread. Ben was actually doing very well at this point, given the circumstances. It was on this day that he briefly came off of the ventilator. Unfortunately he was using too much energy breathing and had to go back on for another week, but it was nice to know he was capable of breathing without a ventilator. It was over a month before we found out if Sarah could breathe without the ventilator.



These pictures are of Sarah and Ben at just over a month old. The toy you see on the scale is a Lamaze Inchworm. They are 24 inches long, just a tad bit longer than a full term baby (Emma was 22.5".) If you look closely at the photo of Ben you can see that he was 2 lbs. 8 oz. at over a month old, and he was the big one. Sarah was still below 2 lbs. at this point because she had lost a lot of weight after she was born. This photo was taken about a week and a half after her successful heart surgery. This was also the same day she came off of the ventilator and had her first bath. I got to hold her for the first time before this picture was taken.



This picture is of me holding them when thy were just over 2 months old. They were still tiny, but their health was improving. This was our honeymoon period. Benjamin was breathing with just a nasal cannula and Sarah was on Vapotherm, which is a form of continuous positive air pressure. It's between the vent and plain oxygen. We hadn't attempted to eat by mouth yet (they were getting their nutrition through an NG tube that goes down the nose and into the stomach), so the trouble hadn't really started. They were still dropping their heart rates pretty frequently and would stop breathing every so often, but at this point we were used to that.



This is Sarah and Ben when they were 10 weeks old and finally back together. They spent 2 weeks separated. Benjamin was breathing on his own so they put him on the "preemie" side on one side of the hospital. This was where the older (<32 weeks), larger preemies were. They could typically breathe on their own and were just maturing and learning to eat so that they could go home. Sarah was still in the "critical" unit because she still required more intensive care. On her side it was usually 1:1 or 1:2 nurse, baby ratio. On Ben's side it was typically 1:4 or 1:5. It was strange having to visit them separately and very nice when they were back together. Unfortunately, this was when the trouble started for Ben because he had very little skill eating by mouth. Sarah sucked her bottles right down, Ben just couldn't seem to get the hang of it.



January 4th, they finally get to go home after 102 days! As you can see the wires and tubes went with us. Ben still had his feeding tube in his nose, which he would continue to need until the end of May. Sarah still had her oxygen, which she would continue to need until April, and both had apnea monitors that would alarm if they stopped breathing for more than 20 seconds. That only happened a handful of times, but it was a good thing we had them.



Fast forward 2 years and you have two very healthy, ACTIVE toddlers at Disney World. They are smart, beautiful, healthy, active, and developmentally normal. We owe their lives and well being to the March of Dimes and people like you that support the cause. As I have said before, Sarah and Benjamin are NOT the norm. That is why we work so hard to raise money each year. We were the fortunate ones and we thank God every day for that blessing. We feel it our duty to try our best to make sure that Sarah and Benjamin's story becomes the norm and the goal of the March of Dimes is to do that.

Go to my links at the bottom and click on the one to save babies like Sarah and Benjamin. Even a five dollar donation will help. Anything you can do is appreciated. You are reading this because you care about our family and our family cares about this cause!

Everyone NEEDS to Read This Book!

Everyone should read this book. Most of you know that I am a disciple of The Church of the Painful Truth, of which Neal Boortz is the High Priest. For those of you who don't know who he is, he is a syndicated radio talk show host here in Atlanta. He so rarely says anything that I disagree with that I can't even think of anything off the top of my head.

This book just says everything that you think but are afraid to say for fear of offending someone. He just doesn't care and it's GREAT. Anyway, you all need to buy this book (especially those of you who give me a hard time for not allowing the government to educate my children.) While you're at it, buy the Fair Tax book, also written by him. I think Amazon might even have a discounted bundle. I will write a whole other thing on Fair Tax and why it is the best idea since the wheel another time (I know you guys can't sleep because of the anticipation.) After reading those two books, you won't be able to help but read The Terrible Truth About Liberals.

Anyway, off of my soapbox. But seriously, read this book. You won't be sorry you did no matter what side you are on. You will either get really riled up and hate him (members of teacher's unions especially) or you will embrace what he has to say and be on his website looking to see if you can get his show in your area (boortz.com). You'll thank me for enriching your life by turning you on to this genius!

Easter Pictures

As you can see, the Easter Bunny paid a visit to the Jacobstein house! Actually, it was our babysitter, Chloe, who has a part time job dressing up as characters. Ben and Emma ate it up, Sarah, not so much. David and I were actually out buying Easter basket stuff and missed it. These photos are all courtesy of Jay, who was in town for Grandparents Day at Woodward.




Here you can see Emma and Mom showing off the eggs they colored. I really can't believe they did it without making a huge mess. This is the first year that Emma's skin didn't match the eggs. They were very smart and waited until Sarah and Benjamin were in bed. Mom went back to Florida after baskets on Easter Sunday. The kids, as always, were very sad to see her go.



Here you can see Princess Sarah in her ballerina costume that the Easter Bunny brought her. Sarah and Ben joined us for a playdate with one of Emma's schoolmates a couple of weeks ago and Sarah really took to his 4 year old sister, Olivia. Well, Olivia gave her a princess costume that she had outgrown and Sarah is very into dressing up now. Good thing Emma has a closet full of Disney Princess and Barbie costumes that she is about to outgrow. It was not easy getting her out of that costume to go to Stan & Paula's for dinner on Easter. She really is starting to remind me of another little girl I know...

All of you have probably received my mass email about the Walk. Please donate anything you can. $5 to the March of Dimes does a lot more for the greater good than that cup of Starbucks. If you all donated even that we would raise a lot, so be a little tired tomorrow morning and go to my site and donate!

And We're Back to Square One...

Well, some of you may be aware that we had put in an offer on a fabulous new house. I was actually REALLY excited about it. It was nearly perfect for our family. We even had a pool contractor out to start making plans to put the pool in upon closing.

Well, it didn't work out. The house was synthetic stucco and it had had some serious problems in the past, as had the roof. The owner had made repairs on both a couple of years ago but was not willing to negotiate based on it's history so we let it go. We also don't have a buyer's agent and she didn't want to negotiate the price based on the 3.5% she would be saving in commissions. Very sad, but we put it in God's hands and said that if she was unwilling to take our offer as we wrote it (reflecting the resale issues we would face with it's history), then we knew it wasn't meant to be. Soooooooo- we are back to square one.

We looked at an AWESOME house yesterday. Really stunning! Unfortunately, it had NO (I mean ZERO yard) and that is just not practical if I want to keep any of my sanity. There are a few things we will look at this week, and hopefully we will find the right one. It's just really hard to find something the size we need, where we need it, in our price range. Plus we need a fairly large, level backyard for the pool we want.

Anyhow, that is what is consuming our lives right at the moment. We want to move before school lets out so that I will have that 4 hours each morning to get settled.

Next week is Grandparent's Day at Woodward (Emma's school) and my Mom and David's Dad will be traveling here to attend. She is very fortunate to have 3 of her grandparents attending. I am hostessing her class party so that should be fun.

I am now off to do some yard work to get THIS house ready to go on the market once we move. We had originally want to keep this house as an investment property, but because we are probably going to have to spend a bit more on the new house we are going to sell it. We are, however, going to sell it empty since we need to refinish our hardwoods and replace our carpet. It's just easier to do that empty. Not to mention, I can not imaging being at the mercy of a listing agent to keep this place "showable" with 3 kids under 6. I know people do it, but not me.

So say a little prayer for us that a new house comes along this week! Happy Palm Sunday! Happy Easter, if I don't get to post before then. I will post more pictures soon!

These Days...

There is not a whole lot to report right now. My brother Jacob is here visiting for the week. He's 17 now, which makes me feel REALLY old. David took him for a tour of GA Tech yesterday (he is going to go to school for engineering.) We took him to Medieval Times for his birthday on Sunday. It was actually pretty cool with all the jousting and sword fights and such. I even got into it and I'm usually pretty bored with that sort of thing. Anyway, the visit is going well. The kids are definitely enjoying his being here.

Emma is officially a blue belt in karate now for almost 2 weeks. She got to lead the 27 techniques at graduation, which she is always very happy to do. She is very intense and it makes everyone laugh to see this pretty little girl put on this mean face and loud voice. She gets a big kick out of the older kids saying "Yes ma'am" to her. She also came to the WalkAmerica kickoff and got to get up in front and hand out door prizes with two local radio personalities. She was pretty excited about that. They made a big deal out of how much she raised last year, which is something she is very proud of.

Sarah and Benjamin are fighting a nasty, asthma exacerbating cold right now. They are not feeling great, but that usually doesn't get them down too much. Some GREAT news on them... They are officially discharged from speech therapy!!! It was the last of the therapies for them so this is a big deal. It means that they are developmentally "normal" for their ages. Not even corrected, but actual ages. We thank God every day that they are with us, given the start they had, but we never could have imagined that they would have done so well.

Lastly, for those of you who pray... My cousin Nicholas went into the ER a week and a half ago for severe headaches to find out that he had a large tumor around his pituitary gland. Last week they removed it and the biopsy showed that it was benign. Please keep him in your prayers that they got it all and that it doesn't cause any future problems for him. He is only 28 years old and is a single father to a 2 year old and a 4 year old.

Oh yeah, one last thing... Happy 60th Birthday to my Dad, who is now officially OLD! It was last week, but it is a milestore birthday that I felt was worth mentioning!

Anyway, that's all for now.

Some tired children at Disney World!

Sarah and Benjaim actually slept through the New Years parade at Disney World. I don't know how they did it! Emma is such a little actress!

Sarah & Benjamin at Disney World

Sarah and Benjamin on their 1st trip to Disney World. They had a lot of fun, as did Emma and Chloe (our babysitter who we brought with us to help.) I know Sarah's scowl isn't any indication of that, but they really did.

Emma and Narl, her Australian White's Tree Frog

This is Emma with her tree frog Narl. Santa brought her the cage set-up for Christmas and when we returned from Disney World, we went and got him. He's actually a really cool pet and the whole family likes him. She is going to be featured in the Woodward Academy yearbook in the section for students with unusual pets. She is very proud!

Laying Low...

I am going to try this again...

I had a nice little update written and I walked away for a minute and Benjamin deleted it. He is pretty interested in the computer these days. Anyway...

We are laying low right now. Keeping busy, but not really having much to report. We are FINALLY actively pursuing a new house. It's a very long overdue endeavor, as you all know. We have needed the space for a couple of years, but the prospect of moving with infant twins was not something we wanted to even think about. As the commutes get worse and worse with Atlanta's growth moving further and further North, we decided that now is the time. We are probably going to keep this house as a rental property, though. Rumor has it that Google will be putting a 10,000 job facility in our town, so we want to capitalize on that if at all possible.

Emma is going to be getting her blue belt in Karate this Saturday. It's a big deal because it's puts her half way to her black belt. She should have her Novice Black Belt in about 2 years, and her 1st Degree Black Belt by the time she is 8 if she works hard. She has some competitions coming up in the next couple of months, so I will keep you posted.

Sarah and Benjamin are doing well. They are evolving into little people! They are finally showing an interest in potty training, which scares me. I'm not sure I know how to potty train 2 two year olds. I think maybe Emma was easier because she was NOT two yet. And because there weren't 2 of her. They are talking up a storm. In fact, we have been discharged from speech therapy. We knew it was coming since they are not only caught up now, but ahead! Yay! They love their school. They ask for their teacher, "Meanie" (her name is Ms. Bhavini) all the time when they are not there, especially when they are mad at me. So far, despite being in school 5 days a week, they haven't gotten sick very much. A couple of colds and ear infections, one bout (Sarah) with pneumonia (no hospital, though) and that's it. Benjamin does have to have his adenoids removed, but we have been expecting that.

We are considering getting a nanny again when we get a bigger house. We may have jumped the gun a little in giving that up. I think I would probably rather have a housekeeper...

Mainstream Media is a single entity now after many, many months of making it happen. That should make life easier for everyone in the long run. Golf is next to publish. The bowls went well. We are certainly glad to have David home from his travels for awhile.

I am gearing up for the MOD Walk. I am on a volunteer planning committee this year which should be fun. The kickoff luncheon is on Wednesday and I'm guessing that from that date until the Walk I will be pretty busy with that stuff. Just a funny tidbit... The mother of the coordinator for WalkAmerica, here in Atlanta, is the principal of Jackson Elementary School in Batavia, NY where I spent my 1st 6 years of school. It is a small world!

Anyway, that is our life right now!

WalkAmerica 2007

Just so you all know...

March of Dimes WalkAmerica 2007 is April 28th. I will be hitting you all up for donations again this year, so if you are feeling generous, you can beat me to the punch, and follow the link below to donate.

In case you have been on Mars for the past two and a half years, the reason we so actively participate in this event is because the March of Dimes is very near and dear to us. Without the research and work they have done, and continue to do, Sarah and Benjamin would NOT be here today, and would never have had a prayer of being as healthy and wonderful as they are.

Again, in case you have been on Mars, here is our story...

After 15 weeks on bedrest for pre-term labor, Sarah and Ben arrived via emergency c-section September 25th, 2004, 14 weeks 1 day too soon (that would be 25w6d gestationally for all of the mathematically challenged.) Sarah was born at 1 lb. 11 oz and 12" long. Benjamin was 2 lbs. and 14" long. Benjamin's odds of survival were so-so, Sarah's were not good. We spent 102 days in the NICU and went through a rollercoaster before going home to an even bigger one. Long story short, Sarah and Ben beat the odds in more ways than one. Not only are they here with us today, but they are healthy, which is more than we could have ever hoped for. That is not to say that they don't still face some challenges, but they will lead "normal" lives (if we don't screw them up too bad.) The picture with my hand is of Benjamin when he was 23 days old. The picture with the pink blanket is Sarah at 15 days old.

Unfortunately, that is not the norm. Too many people have babies that don't survive, or survive with lifelong, severe disabilities. That is why the March of Dimes is so very important. They have worked for years for our kids. All of our kids... Your baby may have been full term, but chances are someone close to you has been touched by the horror of prematurity. At the very least, your child received the Polio vaccine which was developed with funds from the MOD.

Anyway, I will get off my soapbox (for now). Just remember, every dollar helps and is appreciated, so buck up! Additionally, Northside Hospital (where they spent the 1st 3.5 months of their lives) is matching any money our team raises dollar for dollar, so your money will really stretch. If you want to do even more, consider walking and raising money on Sarah & Benjamin's team. You don't have to be local. Almost every area in the US has a walk. Look on the website to find where the closest one to you is. When you register, search for "Sarah & Benjamin Jacobstein's Team," we would be honored to have you walk with us in their honor!

For the longer version of our story visit www.shareyourstory.org/webx/.eec7405/1

Why do you have a blog AND a website?

You guys are probably wondering why I have both, right? Simple... This is easier, and easier is good right now.

All is well here in Jacobstein Land. Kids are all healthy for the time being... Sarah and Benjamin are naughty little things. Typical two year olds. Thank God! Emma is smart as a whip and super sassy. She has a nice little relationship with Tabasco these days.

The holidays were good. We didn't do gifts with adults this year, but instead made donations in charities of each person's choice. We all have too much, plus it kept me out of malls with three children. Santa visited the children, Mommy and Daddy took them to Disney World. We had a big meal (fiasco) here on Christmas day. It was quite fun for everyone (else).

David is doing the NCAA Bowl circuit right now, and will be back on Wednesday. When he gets back with the camera, I can post some of the Disney pics.

Well, hopefully I can keep up with this... You are not allowed to hold me to it though.