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I shared a story this morning with a close family friend that he encouraged me to blog about. And it is about how sometimes, you have to listen to the voice in your head.

This past Saturday night, my wife, the boys and I walked into Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner. And as we did, we passed a table with a couple that was having dinner before their prom. They were happy and smiling and laughing. And it was just contagious the way that they were enjoying their dinner and life in general. And as I walked by, this little voice in my head said, “buy their dinner”. No, I’m not crazy and I’m not trying to start a religious conversation, but I do think that God can give us nudges sometimes.

Our waiter leads us to the back of the restaurant, but I can still clearly see the kids laughing and smiling. And the entire time, I keep hearing in my head, “buy their dinner” and I tried to shake it but the more I dismissed the idea, the more I had this tugging that I needed to do this. So, I get up, grab my waiter and tell him that I want to buy the kids dinner and asked if he could get their waiter over so I could get their bill. The waiter just looked at me and smiled and said that it was really cool of me to want do that and to let him see what he could do. It was at this point, that my wife smiled and looked at me and then realized that I had done. A few minutes, their waiter goes to their table and tells them that someone wanted to buy their dinner, but wouldn’t tell them who, as I asked that we remain anonymous.

After our food was brought to our table, I looked up and saw the cute couple walking to another table to visit some of their friends and what I later found out was also family.  The high school boy kept adjusting his tie and his tux, making sure that it was perfect. But the smile that he had on his face was just awesome and one that I’ll never forget.  You see, the young couple both had Down’s Syndrome. And the waiter that was taking care of the couple, told me that this was their first prom and in fact, it was their first date ever.

I did not buy their dinner because they had Down’s Syndrome. I bought their dinner, because sometimes in life, we get these little nudges through the voice in our heads and I think that if we act on that voice, that something big could happen. And it did. I saw how happy they were. I saw how much they were enjoying the moment of life. And as we left the restaurant, we walked past the couple and their families and one of the mom’s told a friend that someone in the restaurant paid for the kids to have dinner and how neat that it was.  And my wife and I just smiled as we got in and watched them getting ready to head to their prom, because for a few moments in life, a small gesture on our part, gave us a lifetime of memories.

It is the small things in life that matter the most.  And if you get the chance, do something nice and out of the ordinary for someone else, but do it in a way that no one else knows that you did it.

Listen to that little voice in your head, that nudge that tells you to do something, because I would hate for you to miss out on a life changing moment.

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The hardest part about being an adult, has to be making decisions.  But, there is a difference in making decisions that only effect you personally and making a decision that effects your entire family. And that is where I am today.

What do I do? What is the best career move for my family? Do we move closer to my family down south? Do we move to Houston, where I also have family and friends, but it is Houston and that is all that matters.

The older that we get, the harder a lot of decisions become to make. We are lucky, because the boys are still young and have no friends to speak of. But, we do have family here. But, if we move to Houston, we could provide more for the boys. But, it would be harder for my wife’s family to see the boys. But, my family would see the boys and so would my friends in Houston. But that would require us selling our house and moving. But, that would mean a much bigger house and lower cost of living.

Decisions. Remember when the hardest decision was what tv show to watch? Or what bar to go to that night? Or what you were going to have for dinner?

Man, kids can really make decisions harder, but also easier too.

Decisions. Decisions. Decisions.

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We knew it. We had talked about it, but when the Dr. mentioned the words “Delayed Speech” at the boys 2 year check up, it hit me hard.

As a parent, you never want your children to suffer any pain or have struggles in life. So, when the Dr. suggested that Baby B should see a speech pathologist for delayed speech, it was hard.  I realize that you should never compare your children, but when you have twins, it is hard not to. It is hard not to look at one boy that is saying 3 word sentences and then look at the other and they are only making sounds and wonder if there is something wrong?

I had already made up my mind that if the Dr. did not bring up the speech problem, that I would. But it was obvious from just observing the boys in the office, that the Dr. quickly picked up that Baby A was doing all the talking and Baby B, well he was making sounds of letters and pointing at the Dinosaur (which he loves) and making Dinosaur sounds, but the words, just were not there. The Dr. tried to ask him questions and encourage him to speak and he wouldn’t say a word, just sounds. And that was when the Dr. turned and said, “I am not concerned, but, I think that he needs to see a speech pathologist.”

My heart sank. My mind went racing.

And then the Dr. quick put our concerns at ease. He calmed the worst of the fears by assuring us that he isn’t Autistic. He calmed our fears by figuring out that Baby A, he talks for both of them, so why should Baby B talk? And then he gave us suggestions, like separating them a little more and spending more 1 on 1 time together. Reading more at night. Less tv, even though their tv time is really limited.

So, I did like most parents would do on the drive home, I called my mom. Now, my mom has been an elementary school teacher for 42 years, so she has experience in this. And she did as any parent should do, she put my mind at ease. And then after I hung up with her, I walked around the grocery store for an hour, just trying to process it all. But in reality, there wasn’t anything to process. It isn’t like we are dealing with something major. I mean, it is important for him to get help and to start speaking sentences, but as I have found online, this isn’t an uncommon thing for the 2nd child of twins and especially twin boys.

The speech pathologist is coming out next week for the assessment. And until then, I ask questions and hope that he will start saying words on his own.

More to come.

// Resources //

Here were a few articles that I found to be very helpful >
Kids Health – Delayed Speech or Language Development
Parenting – Guide to Speech Delays
Baby Center – What Should I do if my 2-year-old doesn’t talk yet?

Disclaimer – I am not a Doctor and nor do I give out medical advice. I have stayed in a Holiday Inn, once, but still doesn’t qualify me to give any advice. Talk with your Doctor, as they actually went to school for this stuff. They can help you a lot more than I can.

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All-Star Outfielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Matt Kemp did something the other night, that was not meant to be caught on camera, but I think that we are all glad that it was.  Matt Kemp thought of someone else first. He found out about a young man that has cancer and what happens next, well if it doesn’t bring a tear to your eye, you should seek medical attention.

Matt Kemp gave the young fan his hat, jersey, cleats and a signed baseball and more importantly, a memory for the rest of his life.

I hope that more athletes step away from the lime light and do more random acts of kindness like this.

Great job Matt.  And I’m really glad that someone recorded this moment.  Please take a moment to read more about Matt Kemp and this hero type kindness.

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When does it end? The boys have now turned two and have been alternating fevers and their hands shoved in their mouths.

I hate seeing the boys suffer, because they have to be in pain. And with a fever, they aren’t feeling like themselves.

I am just ready for the teething to end.

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I realized last night that my boys each have a security blanket and it is the exact same stuffed bunny rabbit. They each sleep with their rabbit and travel with their rabbit and if we don’t have their security blankets, they are a mess.

So, what is your security blanket?  Is it money? Is it a possession? Is it a person?

This is something that I’ve been thinking about a lot lately. But, as my mother reminded me this past weekend, I still have a furry dog that my uncle Danny gave me the day that I was born. But now, it sits in my boys room.

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Birthday parties can be both fun and also really expensive.  We just had our boys 2nd birthday party and I was actually floored at how much it cost.

I know, I know, you shouldn’t think about money when they are this age. WRONG! You should always think about money. How much of this party will they remember next year?
Don’t get me wrong, they had a lot of fun. But still.

As I watched the boys play at the farm and run on a big bouncy thing, I got lost in the cost. I could only enjoy watching them laugh and smile. And there were several kids there too, which made it even more exciting.
And at the end of the day, the party moved from the big bouncy thing to the slide. And it wasn’t just the kids going down it. In fact, more times than not, the adults were sliding down and relieving their youths.
Everyone seemed to have a blast.

As the party ended and we packed up, we realized that we had only 1 toy to load into my suv. And in the quietness of the farm, my wife and I stood still and realized that everyone that came to the party, made a donation to the charity that we had selected in honor of the boys. So, even though the party was not cheap, after the farm rental and food, etc., the boys and all of the other kids had a great time. And from the text messages that I got from my friends with children, their children all slept well that night too.

Was it worth it? Yes. Because in a little town in South Carolina, there will be special needs children that will be getting some extra therapy lessons because of our wonderful friends and family.

Happy Birthday to my two wonderful sons. I don’t know what life would be like without you.

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With the news this week of the tragedy that took place, it got me thinking about these lyrics:

Please come to Boston
For the springtime
I’m stayin’ here with some friends
And they’ve got lots of room
You can sell your paintings on the sidewalk
By a cafe where I hope to be workin’ soon
Please come to Boston
She said no, boy you come home to me

Today, as I sit and watch the news coverage, I’ve got this song in my head. Remembering my first trip to Boston. Going to Fenway and watching Nolan Ryan pitch against Roger Clemens and yes, I did just date myself. But today, as a Yankee fan, I can say that I support Boston. Boston is a town full of history, the pride, the beauty, the days in the fall, a night game a Fenway, Cheers and some wonderful people. Today, I watch a town that is suffering and millions and millions of Americans, asking the question, yet again, WHY? Why would someone want to harm others. Why would some want to kill Americans? And at the end of the day, there are no answers. There are just more questions.

So tonight, hug your kids just a little tighter. Tell them that you love them.  And say a prayer for those that have been taken away from us too early and their families that are left behind asking why.

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Play time is so important for the kids. Just getting out and running around and now that the weather is starting to turn nice outside, there will be even more play time to come.

This past weekend, I took the boys out for a walk, which helped me get exercise in, but also gave them a chance to get out and run too.   Getting the boys outside more is a goal of mine.It let’s them play more with other kids, but it also gets them use to the environment, playing on playgrounds, etc.

But, it is also quality family time too and gives me a chance to be a big kid all over again.

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