It Began with a BBFT

Christmas 2011

2012-01-08T21:03:00.000-05:00

Whatever gene causes little girls to love all thinks pink and princess is a strong one. No matter how hard I try to raise tough little sporty girls they just want dolls, pink, dress up stuff and tutus. It's not that I'm against girls being girly, but not being a girly girl myself it just doesn't come naturally to me. So, I decided to go outside of my comfort zone and have a girly Christmas. Their big gift this year was a dress up box. I stole the idea from a friend (thanks Carrie) and started hunting and gathering for sparkles, sequins, old costumes, funky hats, beaded purses and jewelry when it was still 95 degrees outside. We made a day trip to ikea for the most important part of the dress up box--the box itself --and !poof! we had ourselves one fancy dress up collection (I have to give a shout out to the Peacocks and my mom for sharing contents of their own dress up boxes, to Ryan's mom for lots of great stuff for the box and to Donna for making the tutus and aprons!). They love it. We never know whether we will have cheerleader twins, princess twins, lion twins, or just really tacky sequiny old lady twins :) They haven't gotten the concept of putting things on over their clothes quite yet so they are half dressed most of the time trying to wriggle into the next get-up. See pics below for a great visual.

Christmas was so much fun this year. They really 'got it'. They woke up every morning in December asking for 'advent chocolate' (the best 99 cents I've ever spent at trader joes). We sang a lot of Christmas songs in the car and Ryan even made our minivan into a reindeer mini van complete with red nose and antlers. I of course balked at this because let's be honest--I'm already behind the 8-ball in the coolness dept driving around a minivan--so antlers and a red nose really don't help the cause.

Benson, at 10 months, loved the paper and boxes of course. We got him a grand total of 2 presents, both of which were quickly stolen by the girls.

Christmas 2011

Picking out our tree--notice the T-shirts. It was like 50 degrees and sunny!

A Lydia sized tree.

The tree we actually got

Ben and I doing the obligatory photo op with this year's tree.

Riding the bus on the tree farm I think this was the girls favorite part. Addie Skaug is on the right.

Addie, Grace and Lydia decorating Christmas cookies.

Grace and 'Santa' (our neighbor John)

Not so sure about Santa.

Not sure what Benson thinks about this.

Christmas Eve scene (after kids were in bed of course)

Lion in a tutu with a feather boa. Naturally.

Hmmm

Getting into it.

Spider!

Ladybug!

Trying to capture a pic of all three on Christmas day.

A little happier!

Farewell to the Pacifiers

2011-11-02T11:24:00.000-04:00

Again, a large amount of time has passed since my last entry. Such is my life. No apologies this time.

I keep a mental running list of what I want to post about and this one has been rolling around in my cluttered mind for a while, so might as well send it out into cyber space while I am highly caffeinated and Ryan has the kids for 'mommy's morning off' (have I mentioned what a great dad/husband he is?)

Pacifiers have been an integral part of the twins life from day one when the NICU nurse unwrapped the vanilla scented green pacifier from its plastic wrapper and placed it in their mouths when they were mere hours, maybe even minutes old (pacifiers are an important NICU tool, I know from experience). They took to them like a duck to water. As parents of newborn twins the pacis were like gold to us. They easily soothed our little bundles and helped keep peace in our household. When they would cry at night we would stumble into their room and feel around in the dark for the oh so familiar rubber texture of the pacifier, return it to the crying mouth and then peace would surely be restored. We accrued quite a collection and were sure to always have one within reach. I am still finding them in the pockets of my jackets. When they became mobile we tried to attach them with string and safety pins so that they were never more than 12 inches away from a waiting mouth. We had paci buckets and paci baskets. We had pink and green ones (Lydia only wanted green, Grace would change it up). They started chewing on them so some developed holes, this meant that every night we would hand them pacifiers one by one to 'test' the paci and let us know, if it 'was good' (kind of like what they do when you order a bottle of wine in a restaurant) When they turned two we limited pacifier use to the bed only. (Lydia would go into her room, sit on her bed and 'take a hit' on her pacifier at various times throughout the day) but it wasn't until their third birthday that we decided to ditch them completely. All 4 of us started to have apprehension about this transition about 2 months prior to their third birthday. We discussed it with the twins nearly every day, explaining that they are 'big girls' now and they don't need a paci. We bought them paci gifts and everything. So, the night of their third birthday we had a big pep talk, Ryan loaded a brand new bag into the trash can (we weren't going to actually pitch all those great pacifiers!) and they 'threw away' their pacifiers. They were totally on board with it, and loved their paci gifts. However, when they climbed into bed, the lights were turned off and goodnights were said, reality set in and the tears started. I am a tough skinned parent, but I nearly broke down and brought back the pilfered collection of pacifiers . . . but I stayed strong, and they did surprisingly well over the next several days. So, now we are paci free, but as with any transition, it was a tiny bit sad to see the pacifier days end, so this is a tribute to our pacifiers, complete with pics.

Oh, and guess what? Benson won't take one to safe his life. Ironic, isn't it?

This is their first picture ever together as sisters, taken by the NICU nurses.

Lydia double dipping. She is truly our pacifier queen!

If you look closely you can see the string attached to Lydia's pacifier

Gathering up the pacifiers to throw away

Throwing them away!

Pacifier gift for Lydia!

Pacifier gift for Grace!

We survived the 2's. Now onto the 3's!

2011-09-22T15:08:00.000-04:00

Birthdays have been a hot topic in our house since about March. Lydia and Grace have talked about their various cake choices on a daily basis, they have focused intently on putting up three little fingers rather than the oh so easy two fingers, and when asked 'what do you want to do today?' they said 'have my birthday!' about three times a week. So, this three year mile marker was a long time in the making. I am not put together enough to plan a big party with a theme, animals, bounce houses, favors, etc but I did want to make it fun this year for them since the anticipation was so great. However, the nice thing about 3 year olds is that it takes very little to entertain them and make their year. So I hit up the dollar store for balloons (I probably could have stopped there and they would have been content) and punch ball/balloons for entertainment. We dragged out our ghetto sandbox ( a rubbermaid storage container with sand in it balanced on two old milk crates), covered the picnic table with paper for coloring, tossed around some crayons, added some mini muffins, cupcakes, and coffee (for the adults of course to tolerate multiple toddlers with punch balls in hand) and Presto! We had a three year old party on our hands.

A friend from work made their cakes (props to Amanda!) and the cupcakes which were a hit. Each twin had her own "letter" cake and after blowing out the candles we gave every child a fork and let them go to town. As far as birthday party entertainment goes, I think that rivals a dusty old horse that walks in a circle and makes all the parents feel sorry for it any day in my book.

Now for a little recap of the last year, for posterity's sake since I did it for their previous birthday blog (I need to remember to do this for Benson or he'll have issues to talk to his therapist about). They have definitely changed from stubby legged toddlers to long legged little girls. I feel like they have launched into a 'little kid' realm this past year where you can have conversations with them and see what is going on in their little minds. Now, in an effort to have full disclosure, we did go through a challenging period that some might call 'the terrible twos' but I will not label it as such since my children might at some point in time read this. This dark time occurred around 2.5 and was characterized by lots of passionate 'Do it Self!!' statements although they were not able to quite 'do it self' which caused further frustration for both parties. So you had to wait and see how long they struggled before finally giving up and asking for help or just going into full out meltdown mode. It was fun. Anyways, on to brighter topics. Grace is our bouncy gummy bear social butterfly. She does literally bounce everywhere it seems. She is quick with a hearty "Hi!" and usually has a running commentary on life in general ("is that your bra mommy? are you going potty mommy? daddy has a beard, I don't have a beard", you get the idea). She is officially in the 'Why' stage now. Lydia has not yet caught on to that game thankfully. Lydia can be a bit more reserved but when she decides you are worthy of her affection, she doesn't hold back. She loves to read books, work on puzzles and stack just about anything. The twins have really started to interact more with each other this year. They chase each other around in circles shrieking and giggling all the while. Pretending is name of the game these days. They have tea parties (complete with starbucks coffee, pumpkin bread and breakfast sandwiches) and story time, taking turns being the reader. They take trips on their trikes to costco, northstar, barnes and noble, sand park, grandma's house and starbucks to name a few. We started doing bedtime prayers this year as well which is beyond adorable. Lydia confidently rattles off a long prayer of thanks for multiple objects in the room with other random things thrown in (air conditioning, our minivan, the potty, northstar, big cookie, starbucks, just to name a few) and of course 'mommy, daddy, lydia, grace, benson and Bocce.' Grace seems shy about it and won't go until everyone else has prayed, then she rushes through a quick 'Dear God thank you for . . .and adds one or two things to it and rushes to the Amen' but then looks up with a smile for approval. We started potty training and got rid of the pacifiers both of which deserve their own blog post when I have the time. So, that is the quick year in review of year two. We are thankful Lydia and Grace and their unique personalities. They bring us joy on a daily basis.

The two's are over for L and G (yes, I did cry--did you expect anything different?) We are ready for the year of the threes!

Bailey enjoying the entertainment

Addie and Grace.

Izzie Babcock and her matching wings and bal.

For their birthday evening we went to the playground and had dinner there.

Grace chose to 'have her own bag' which means fries and nuggets (it's only the second time she has had it so don't make me feel too guilty, Ryan started it) and Lydia chose pizza. Norah is just along for entertainment :)

Tradition! Northstar breakfast in Clintonville. Lydia dressed herself.

This is Lydia's 'smile for the camera' smile. Just a tad forced :)

An orientation to preschool

2011-08-26T15:32:00.000-04:00

As I have mentioned in previous posts, I have a hard time with change. So, when it came to the girls and school I was planning on waiting as long as possible to let them spread their little wings. The thought of kindergarten made me misty eyed (and still does by the way) so preschool wasn't on my radar. Then we had baby #3 and my outlook changed. Yes, I love being with the girls, but the idea of a small window of time in the morning with just one child started to sound pretty good. It's only two days a week, and I knew the girls would have fun too--let's face it, I'm no preschool teacher. My creative play resources are sometimes lacking.

So I signed them up and today was the big orientation day. I decided to skip getting my butt kicked by my Jillian michaels workout DVD and blog about it while it's fresh in my mind.

We were off to a rocky start since the girls were fast asleep at 8:15 and we had to be there by 9. They rarely sleep that long so it was ironic. Lydia cried from the moment she got up that she didn't want to go to preschool so I did what any good parent would do and bribed her with treats from starbucks, After a couple of wardrobe changes both for the girls and myself (this is my debut with an organized parental gathering--what do you wear to something like this???) I handed them a frozen gogurt, loaded Ben in his carrier and we were off.

I pulled my minivan into a row of about 20 other minivans and joined the stream of parents and preschoolers entering the building. They both froze as we entered and had to be bumped gently with the stroller from behind to move forward past the front doors. Somehow we made it to their room (the purple panda 3's) which was buzzing with activity. It had all of the cutesy components necessary to make a great preschool classroom and the girls were enamored with everything from the get go. I on the other hand started to feel little tugs of emotion that threatened to disrupt my 'cool with this' mom exterior. It wasn't that I minded leaving them--I am quick to drop them with a sitter for date night or even mommy time at starbucks--but it hit me that this is pre-school. emphasis on the word SCHOOL. It's a new era. An era of classroom parties, parent teacher conferences, forced socialization with other parents, projects, theme days, and the list goes on and on. School means another chapter--and more change--which, I think I have mentioned that I'm not very good with. I swear that a slide show of their infant and toddler pictures starts in my head at these emotionally charged moments complete with some sappy song like 'wonderful world' or 'somewhere over the rainbow' by that big hawaiian guy playing in the background--which doesn't help things! Anyhow, I gave myself a stern mental talking to and pulled it together (I know, I know you all can laugh. I will be mess when they go to kindergarten, and college will just be over the top). Just as the parents and children were feeling comfortable with the situation, the teachers rang a little bell which is universal teacher talk for 'shut your mouths everyone' and they trilled in a sing song voice only a preschool teacher can master, 'Ok parents, time to go downstairs. Say goodbye! Children find a carpet square for story time'. Now, granted we were only leaving for 30 minutes for a brief orientation but you would have thought were were dropping them off at a Russian orphanage never to be seen again. The cries started immediately. The twins at the time were across the room playing when the pandemonium began. I saw Lydia's little face through the sea of parents and crying preschoolers start to search wildly for me and then crumple into a cry. Well, I nearly grabbed her and made a run for the car but managed keep it together, calm her down and guide her towards a carpet square next to Grace who was oblivious to the chaos. Grace apparently was born ready for preschool and had no qualms whatsoever.

As we settled into our meeting you could still hear the wails echoing off of the walls. I tried to casually glance around to see if any less stoic moms had turned to 'the ugly cry' as Oprah calls it but everyone was surprisingly cool.

Ultimately the girls had a great time and are very excited about preschool. Lydia did pee her pants during the 30 minutes I was away from her, but no one seemed to notice and it could have been #2 so I still consider it a successful morning. I am proud to say that I am now a fully oriented preschool parent. My google calendar has already been labeled with our assigned snack days (no oats or processed cheese--apparently someone has an allergy--so does that rule out goldfish and cheese nips? if so then I'm out of ideas), what days they are to wear red/purple/pink, parent teacher conference dates (yes, it starts even in preschool!) and the themes for the next several weeks (welcome to preschool, apples, chicka chicka boom boom, are a few in case you are wondering). Now that I'm over the mini emotional roller coster of our orientation to preschool, I'm looking forward to kicking back with Benson and some coffee at the starbucks that is around the corner from the preschool (some people pick their schools for the academics, i pick them for their proximity to a coffee shop) for approximately 2.5 hours or until they call me that one of the twins pooped their pants whichever comes first. Stay tuned for pics.

Vacation Pre-kids vs. Post kids. A comparison.

2011-08-22T11:33:00.000-04:00

This was written when we got home from vacation but due to the post vacation hecticness is just now getting posted.

We just arrived home from a week at the beach with our cousins. The minivan is still trying to catch its breath. I first want to state that it was great, and now I want to state that I'm very tired and plan to go to bed early tonight and sleep as long as my 6 month old will allow. Vacation with kids is different. Not bad, just different. Here are a few of my observations about vacation with kids and how it differs from our pre-kid days, maybe you can identify:

Packing

Pre-kids: short list that includes summer clothes, a stack of magazines and summer books, music for long runs on the beach,

With kids: I made a 3 page list that included many things, but the highlights include 3 pack n plays, clothes for 3 kids, diapers for 3 kids (yes, they are almost 3 but you can't force this potty thing, believe me we've been working on it--stay tuned on this one), a snack bag, backpacks full of toys for the ride, a stroller, a baby carrier, etc. We even packed a picnic table!

The ride

Pre-kids: Ryan and I would pick a good book to read together as we drove. We had lots of great music to keep us entertained and we had long talks about life and our plans. We made it easily in one day or sometimes through the night so that we were arriving at the beach as the sun came up.

With kids: Oh boy, I could go on about this. We used to try to get them up at the crack of dawn and put them in their carseats so that they would sleep for a few hours first. That DOES NOT WORK ANYMORE. The upside of traveling with kids is that I keep very fit by doing something I like to call 'mini van yoga' --contorting my body into crazy positions to grab a fallen pacifier/toy/blanket, hand out snacks, feed a screaming baby--you get the idea. I'm sure nearby truckers were quite entertained by the maternal bottom persistently visible through our front windshield as I perpetually bent over into the back seat to cater to my back seat passengers. Our 'tunes' include Barney, The wiggles, and various baby einstein DVDs to keep everyone as catatonic as possible. Our lowest point was when Lydia was in a full blown epic tantrum and was hitting our 3 month old while Grace cried from the trauma of it all. We had to pull over in a grocery store parking lot and extricate all three tear streaked red faces from their car seats to calm everyone down. A close second was an epic tantrum in a flying J travel stop somewhere in south carolina--Lydia was going ballistic on the bathroom floor with about 10 ladies in line watching it unfold while shaking their heads and clucking their tongues at this mother who evidently has no control over her kids. I had to exit with lydia tucked under my arm kicking and screaming and Grace on the other hip crying again from the drama. (I must vindicate Lydia here and say that she inherited these tantrums from me and so I have hopes that she will outgrow them--Ryan has had to carry me out of a travel stop kicking and screaming only once.)

A typical Day

Pre-kids: Our day involved sleeping in a bit, grabbing a leisurely breakfast, lounging at the beach to read through mindless books and magazines, taking a walk on the beach together, and finally a long drawn out delicious dinner.

With kids: We are up in the 5 or 6 am range which does have an upside--nothing is better than the beach in the morning especially with smiling baby as your companion. Then once the toddlers are up it's time for a quick breakfast before starting the long process of pool or beach prep. This involves tugging on swim diapers and bathing suits, slathering on the sunscreen, then changing the pooped in swim diaper, putting on a new swim diaper, squeezing on water wings--all of this is done on a wriggly toddler which ends up more like those fishing shows when they drag the giant floppy fish into the boat and try to wrangle it down. The beach is an even bigger process and everyone ends up like a powdered sand donut in the end. It takes a mothers love to willingly pick up a little sand and salt water coated toddler and hoist them onto your hip as they wrap their crusty arms around your neck. Naptime provides a brief respite from the chaos (fun chaos, remember the theme is different, not bad) and we taking turns enjoying the beach or reading by the pool while the other parent monitors for escaping napees. Dinner is similar to feeding a cage full of monkeys--just throw some food out there and hope that they ingest at least something a little healthy before a fun aunt or uncle brings out the ice cream. After all of the sandy toes are tucked into bed the adults have a few hours to recover from the days events before it all starts again when the sun pops up.

So, yes, it is very different, but I LOVE it--and can't wait to do it again.

I love just enjoying my family without the pressure of work, laundry (only the essentials get done on vacation), emails, house cleaning (ok, my neurotic side does some cleaning on vacation, but not as much as usual!) and to do lists. It is so fun to just play all day, to watch them experience all that embodies vacation. I love seeing their little butts in their swim diapers and bathing suits. I love watching them play in the sand. I love hearing the shrieks when they jump over the waves. I love their sandy, sticky little heads that smell like the beach. I may not be able to read books by the pool, but hearing 'mommy watch me!' as Grace jumps in with water wings on her arms and an inner tube around her waist or Lydia exclaiming "I went under!" as she learns to put her face in the water is worth having a "different" kind of vacation any day.

Eventually they will become disinterested teenagers that may pretend not to even know their lands end tankini clad mom on the beach when a cute boy walks by so for now I will relish the sandy arms around my neck, the ever present smell of sunscreen, the splashes made when they jump pell mell into the pool and yes, even the travel stop tantrums because these are the things that define these days that will one day be behind me.

The "touch a truck" fiasco

2011-08-02T22:16:00.000-04:00

I am not a stay at home mom but since my job is in the evenings I kind of live the stay at home life in the mornings. Meaning that I am available to take my kids to various story times, mommy and me sing classes, a colorful parachute class, an organized playgroup, etc. However, availability does not translate into actually doing these things. I have guilt at times that I don't enroll my kids in this or that, or that I don't plan my week around various kid festivals happening in the city. OK, we do go to story time about once a week but really it is because it is next door to the breakfast restaurant we are supremely addicted to, it gives us 45 minutes of happy kid time, and the parental involvement/silliness factor is at a minimum at this particular one (don't get me wrong, I like to belt out the ABCs and baby beluga with the best of them, just on my own terms, not in a room full of mommies and toddlers under the direction of a lady wearing a themed cardigan and banging a tamborine). So, when I saw in our local paper that an event called "Touch a Truck" was going on in our town, I thought I would try to be a good mom and brave this event with my brood of 3 under 3.

BAD IDEA

This is how it all went down:

I first spent a good 30-45 minutes preparing. I had snacks, water bottles, sunglasses, sunscreen, hats, diapers, etc. I buckled everyone in their carseats and then wrestled our giant all terrain double stroller into the mini van. I was sweaty before we even left the driveway! Oh, and I forgot to mention that this was during a record setting heat wave. Despite my perspiration, everything seemed to be going as planned. When we were driving up to the event it seemed like it was going to be great. They had everything you could imagine--a schoolbus (super novel to a 2 year old), a garbage truck, semi trucks, fire trucks, police cars, a public bus, diggers, a helicopter and many more. Even the senior center bus that takes the local retirees to Marcs :). From the comfort of our air conditioned van we were all a twitter about the various machinery we were about to witness up close. And then, with a pleasant little beep beep beep the van door slid open, the humidity crashed in, and it was all downhill from there. The first speedbump was that we had to park across the street from the event and walk. No biggie. I just dragged out my trusty stroller (did I already mention it's giant?), strapped Ben into my Bjorn (I have not sprung for a triple stroller) and off we went. I thought things would better once we got into the action, but imagine if you will, every large truck or vehicle known to man, and then imagine these vehicles with three year olds behind the wheel--what do you think every three year old wants to do? HONK THE HORN! So every truck was honk, honk, honking which is apparently much scarier when you are two years old and two feet in front of a semi truck or a fire truck. Lydia started crying right from the get go that it was too loud and she wanted to go home. Grace looked a little freaked out but still was curious so we tried the public bus first. How much interest could there be in that one? A lot apparently. The twins hopped out of the stroller and went to get onto the bus but there were people streaming both on and off the bus so they were quickly lost in the shuffle. In the end they were both crying and I had a twin under each arm with my 5 month old strapped to my front while trying to get off of a COTA bus. We tried the garbage truck next (don't worry it was spiffy clean). Grace did eventually make it to the front of the line and was able to turn the wheel (and honk it of course) but it was anticlimactic at best. My last ditch effort was the helicopter. Lydia cried through it all then wanted to be held, so I plopped B (who was being very tolerant despite the fact that he was in the direct sunlight and strapped to a hot, sweaty human) in the stroller and perched a tearful Lydia on my sweaty hip. When she realized she had given up a prime seat to her brother the wails got even louder. Somehow, we survived the trek back to the car. We were a hot mess-- with hair plastered to our heads, our Tshirts sweat soaked and faces tearstained (not mine yet, but almost). I cranked the AC("thank you God for air conditioning" is a common line in their bedtime prayers) promised the girls smoothies of their choice at home, and we high tailed it out of the masses of kids and the moms with more patience and ambition than myself. The girls ended up having a stellar morning playing in our basement playroom . . . which is probably what we should have done in the first place :)

Life with three

2011-06-28T22:05:00.000-04:00

I can't believe it's been 2 months since my last entry! It is like etched in my to do list because I always want to vividly remember these days but I think 'these days' are so busy that blogging gets put on the back burner behind daily showers and clean clothes!

So, a quick catch up post is in order. Life with three is fun. The best way to sum up baby Benson is sweet. He just goes with the flow whether that means a trip to costco, the park or the gym. He spends his life looking up at whatever the location of the moment is. He has been laid in the grass, on a slide, on our front doormat, and he spends lots and lots of time on his little playmat at home. He actually has a little routine he has developed while on his playmat. He first bats at the animals, then he rolls over on his stomach, pukes, puts his face in it, then starts crying until I come over to find him with puke covering his face in a Mike Tyson tattoo pattern. It happens this way nearly every time. Don't feel too sorry for him--he's our first singleton so he gets lots of special cuddle time that the twins never did. We have deep talks in the mornings after he has fed and he always has a lot to discuss. We haven't forgotten him anywhere which is a small miracle. I love him dearly with every fiber of my being but when the girls are awake we have to direct our attention to the two who might color on the wall with a sharpie and not the sweet little pillbug on the playmat and I'm afraid we'll just leave his carseat in the dining room while we dash off to this place or that with the twins.

I think I am getting into the swing of things as a working mom of three. My first couple of days back were doozies and I nearly had a breakdown. Ryan could see it coming and organized a preemptive strike involving breakfast at Northstar and a talk about how he could help. It felt like what I like to call 'syllabus day' which originated in college when they hand you that big ol' syllabus and you think, "i can't possibly complete all this in a semester" and a sinking feeling starts to take root and grow deep in your being. I have had this 'syllabus day' feeling many times in my life and I know that after a few days of feeling overwhelmed and close to tears at all times things start to click and I feel better. I feel much better now and it seems almost easy to tote three kids around. I have even learned how to take a walk with three. . . two in our double stroller and one strapped to my back. I'm like a tot sherpa! Hats off to that 17 kids and counting lady, I don't know how she does it.

The girls are quite sweet with him, even Lydia. They crawl in his crib and give him hugs and kisses. They are learning what gentle means and that poking his eyes is never a good idea. I've put all three in the bath at a couple of times which went better than expected. Benson might not feel that way if he could talk--Lydia kept poking his boy parts like it was a doorbell and she was an aggressive UPS man and Grace 'accidentally' poured water on his face multiples times. They get positively get giddy when he pees in the tub--it's like the main event when that stream arcs across the tub.

All in all, life in our little house is crazy at times but very very fun. Stay tuned for another post in two months :)

My boys. Don't judge B by these photos, they aren't his best

Hanging out in Ben's crib

Ben's reaction to his sisters hanging out in his crib.

The Spinning Plates

2011-04-18T15:19:00.000-04:00

This was written a couple of weeks ago, just forgot to post it.

There are times as a parent that I feel like one of those plate spinning acts. You know the guy whose special talent is to spin glass plates on skinny poles or his nose or something? He dances around from plate to plate giving them just the right amount of 'spin' to keep them revolving and most importantly, not crashing. Well, I'm sure the plate guy has had his share of 'off' days when the plates seemed to be crashing more than spinning. If I were the plate guy this week I would have had to invest a lot of money in more plates because it's definitely been more of a plate crashing week than a plate spinning week. Now my disclaimer here is not that I'm complaining. I'm, uh, describing--for humor, history and for maternal kinship for any moms that happen to read this.

OK, back to my plate analysis---my plates had been balancing quite well that day--all three kids napped in unison which is a huge accomplishment. Yes, I was expertly spinning my plates, then CRASH! One plate went down when Lydia threw up all over her room--and she had eaten her weight in banana pancakes that morning so it was a lot. Ok, Ok, I can handle this, I still have my other plates in perfect motion and balance. Lydia was in need of a bath (I wasn't prepared enough to hold back her lovely locks) and this girl that normally loves her bath wouldn't bathe unless I was in the shower with her. So, Lydia and I are getting the regurgitated food cleaned off of us and then CRASH another plate falls as Benson starts to cry and soon he worked himself into a frenzy and was crying like I've never heard him cry since he was yanked from the womb. He was in his crib so I knew he was safe and I'm pretty o.k. with crying but still, this was a wail--it was piercing even my tough heart. I had to just let it go while we finished the shower. As I'm exiting the shower still holding the crying Lydia and trying not go feel too guilty about benson's meltdown I see Grace wading through the remnants of Lydia's banana pancakes! CRASH my last plate bites it! As an added bonus Bocce was outside barking and whining to come in constantly which kind of counts as a crying child, right? Adds to the story anyhow.

So, now I had to triage the situation. Who needed me the most? Well, Bocce was an easy answer, she could just keep on annoying the neighbors and we could apologize later. Benson was in a contained situation and the fact that he was crying meant that he was very much alive so he was prioritized lower. Then it was toss up between cleaning up the vomit and Grace or settling the vomiter who was not about to release her monkey like grasp on my body. I should add that first, even before my mental triaging, I called for backup. Ryan was strongly advised to make this an early day from work--and he was reminded that my sanity depended on it. I eventually was able to entice Lydia with TV (which also kept Grace out of trouble) and some juice. Benson eventually cried himself to sleep and I was able to get most of the vomit smell out of the carpet. Bocce was finally released from her backyard exile and even tried to help with the clean up process (gross, I know). By the time Ryan arrived home it looked like everything was under control and he probably wondered why his wife was unable to handle three kids at home by herself :)

So, needless to say from there on out it was wobbly plate territory. Lydia was sick for 4 days which entailed things coming from both ends and quite a sour disposition, to put it nicely. When she wasn't having a tantrum over some minute detail such as the color of her spoon she was asking to be held. Normally I would relish this extra cuddle time but the six week old latched onto me for roughly 1/3 of the day and the other 2 year old kind of put a wrench in the 'cuddle all day' plans. Right when Lydia was showing some slight improvement in her projectile body fluids and when we were thinking Grace was safe, Grace woke up with a full blown case of it. She handled it better at first. She happily chirped 'I threw up!' then the next day 'I threw up at Northstar!' (which she did, all over the table). Then the tantrums started and is was some very strong deja vu.

So after a lot of laundry, zofran, motrin, carpet cleaner and sleep we have all come out of it in one piece. My plates feel like they are spinning a little less precariously these days. To all the other plate spinners out there, relish those well balanced days and um. . . blog about the rest so you can laugh at it later.

Perfect Pics

2011-03-22T21:12:00.000-04:00

I am the youngest of six kids and although I feel that my parents love and appreciate all of us equally, the photos of me as an infant or toddler are somewhat sparse. For a Christmas present a few years back my sister transferred my parents old home videos (the kind on a reel) to DVD and we were able to watch some old videos including the video of when I came home from the hospital as an infant. I thought, 'finally, this is my moment' and then right in the middle of the relatively short video, my sister Laura gets banged in the head with the car door and essentially steals the show. What a disappointment :). So to made sure to schedule a photo shoot for little B so we could at least have a myriad of newborn shots and then we can lapse into forgetting to take tons of pics of him down the line.

So Kelsey (www.momentsbykelsey.com--this is my shameless plug because she did an amazing job and deserves lots of referrals) came over when Benson was just 6 days old and worked her magic. She brought her heater, cute hats and baskets and a magical sound machine and Benson was putty in her hands as you can see from the pics. We started off with the girls before they got their dresses goobered up with chocolate or who knows what. We had several rolls of smarties in our pockets and just kept 'feeding the meter' to keep them cooperative. Lydia went through about 2 rolls of smarties just so she would touch or hold Benson for the pics. You can see in a few of them that they are so over this photo shoot thing, but we managed to get some good ones so Benson knows his big sisters love him.

Kelsey brought several adorable hats, but the blue one was knit by our neighbor across the street who has been crafting adorable sweaters, hats, booties, pants and even stuffed dogs for the girls since we first mentioned we were pregnant. I think she gave us the darling blue hat in the photo below on the day we found out it was a boy, so it's one of my favorite photos.

I think the finished product is amazing

As you can see, Lydia is less than thrilled

It's hard to see Benson amidst the fun chaos

AND ONE MORE MAKES THREE

2011-02-22T08:59:00.000-05:00

Baby Ben is now 2 weeks old and life is starting to settle down a bit. One of the things that people have been asking us is how the twins are handling our new addition. We have been talking about 'baby Benson' for months, trying to get it into their two year old brains that they were going to have a little brother. They memorized that 'baby Benson is in mommy's tummy', but I honestly don't think they had any clue that he was indeed a real baby. I tried to be a good mom and prepare them--I got books about the topic from the library (by the way, those aren't as helpful as you'd think--in nearly every one there is something about hating the baby, even the family dogs weren't happy about the baby and wanted to bury it in the backyard. Granted they have redeeming endings, but do you think it's helpful to plant the idea of burying the baby in the backyard in my toddler's head?). I made them their own little photo books books about their transition from mommy's tummy through infanthood, and now as big toddlers. We bought gifts to give them 'from Benson'. I was unsure of what they might do when we brought a screaming, squirming infant into their lives (and into our little 1100 square foot home). I wasn't too worried about Grace because she is quite the nurturer. She will hold and rock her babies very gently while Lydia either yells 'no baby!' or shoves hers under the ottoman. She can be nurturing to her stuffed sneetch toy that she loves to pieces so that alone gave me hope--I guess with Lydia she will pick and choose who gets her TLC.

Well, their first look at him in the hospital was not as monumental as I thought it would be. They peeked at him while I showed them his little fingers and toes . . . their interest lasted all of about 10 seconds before they were over it and just wanted to play with our iphones and climb around the hospital room. So far so good I thought.

When we came home, it was sort of the same reaction. Sure, they wanted to be held whenever I was holding him, but they didn't have a ton of interest in him and they definitely did not show any tendency toward wanting to bury him in the backyard (what a relief).

Then the time came for them to be present for a feeding--we figured they had to see it sometime. So, first we talked all about it. Ryan even whipped out the word 'milk glands'. I thought that they would definitely be traumatized by this process. We explained how Ben drinks 'mommy's milk' and they drink cow's milk and where exactly the milk came from and we tried to use anatomically correct words--so if my kids point out where your nipples are I apologize in advance. After the long explanation, Grace pointed to my arm and said 'arm milk'? I think after our in depth explanation she thought any body part could produce milk. When the actual feeding occurred they showed a bit of interest but then were off doing their own thing. I have seen Grace trying to breastfeed her dolls though.

So, in general we have settled into our new life without major mishap yet. I do have to keep one arm free during feedings to deflect the toddler bodies flying by. They sort of respect him as much as one of our couch pillows, so I am still very cautious of those two sticky little toddlers (my showers either involve bringing baby into the bathroom in his bouncy seat or talking the twins into a fun 'girls shower' where all 3 of us pile in). But to their credit, every day they congenially say 'Hi Baby Benson!' and at night "Good night baby Benson!" and even give him the occasional kiss (on the top of his head only--don't want any of my pediatric friends to panic, I know RSV is rampant still). Sure, it's hard to share mommy and daddy, and I don't think it's a coincidence that in the last 2 weeks the terrible two's seem to have come into full bloom (which is another post entirely--I'm hoping to catch a classic moment on video) but they haven't gotten out a shovel yet to bury him in the backyard and Lydia hasn't yet tried to shove him under the ottoman--it's the little miracles to rejoice over :)

My post C-section vacation

2011-02-11T09:07:00.000-05:00

I think the only people that can identify with the idea of hospital stay being a mini vacation are moms and super driven crazy type A people. I am sure it sounds crazy that the last several days have seemed like a little getaway for me but it's true. I am the kind of person that just can't stop 'doing'. I am constantly making to do lists and eagerly checking them off. Relaxing doesn't necessarily come easy--unless I don't have a choice. If you put me in an environment where laundry, dishes, and vacuuming are not an option then I am quite good at seizing the moment and really enjoying some down time. That is exactly what the last 4 days have been.

While the rest of Columbus has been going about their daily routines in single digit temperatures we have been holed up in a cozy hospital room (yes, a hospital room can be cozy believe it or not) with a warm and cuddly newborn--and our laptops, cell phones, ipad and nook of course (we can't be totally cut off from the real world, that's just craziness). Sure, I have had to endure significant invasion of privacy every 4 hours and I literally shuffle to the bathroom but isn't that a small price to pay for meals delivered to your room, a TV that can be positioned 4 inches from your face, an endless supply of ice chips and most of all, a break from my usual mommy/work responsibilities. What could be better than sitting on an adjustable bed snuggling a sleeping newborn on your chest while catching up on hulu shows? Best of all, Ryan has been with me on most of this mini vacation. Of course it is not a typical couples vacation--he sleeps across the room on a vinyl couch with hospital sheets and blankets while a revolving door of medical professionals violate the privacy of his wife and newborn child.

I must go off on a quick yet funny tangent about the hilarity of this scenario of multiple healthcare workers wandering into your dark room at all hours of the night. I can be woken up from a dead sleep and be very coherent, but the same cannot be said for Ryan. He is so confused when all of these different people come in. He sits up bleary eyed and tries to look alert when people come in but usually fails miserably. Our usual conversation throughout the night:
Ryan: 'who was that?'
Heather: 'it was the PCA',
Ryan: 'oh, what's that?' . . . 30 minutes later

Ryan: 'was that the PCA?'
Heather: 'no, that was Dr. Turner who delivered our baby'

30 minutes later

Ryan: 'did you feed the baby?'
Heather: 'yes, about three times throughout the night'
Ryan: 'oh, when did he get in here?'

Anyhow, I digress. . .

Not only have these last few days given me downtime to relax, but I find that there is nothing like a post partum hospital stay to bond your marriage. You think I am kidding, but when I reflect on our two birthing experiences and the days that followed I really think it brought us closer as a couple. Of course one of the obvious reasons is that we brought a child (or children) into the world and into our family. However, the less obvious reasons for this bonding (but I think those of you that have been through it would agree with me) involve the concept of complete trust and dependency on your husband during the days following the birth of your child and his willingness to step up to the plate at this time and not think you are the most disgusting woman on the face of the earth. I mean, when you have to ask another human to pull up your underwear for you--that takes some vulnerability--and the underwear thing is a very mild example of post partum vulnerability (I don't want to scare off people contemplating parenthood) that occurs thanks to the miracle of childbirth. Being a vulnerable person is not my usual M.O. so having to play this role, and also having Ryan still respect me through it all is a marriage building moment.

So as checkout time looms closer and I write this from the lovely organizational tray that conveniently swings over my bed I lament the end of our mini vacation . . . but I am looking forward to jumping back into life as a mother of three and a family of five.

So, Honey, warm up the minivan, we're coming home.

Some pics from our 'vacation'

Lydia's first peek at her baby brother.

Grace's first peek at Benson.

Our first photo as a family of 5.

Lydia is not so sure of this little guy.

Grace fits right into the post partum role with her 'brest friend' (yes, that is what it is called) pillow and the ever present water cup.

Grace working on her incentive spirometry.

Lydia decided to utilize the 'brest friend' to relax and play with mommy's iphone.

Benson checking out his dad.

Ryan enjoying the benefits of hospital living. This was not a staged pic. I was sitting on the couch so that my sheets could be changed but before someone was able to stop by, Ryan had settled in.

Grace took more of an interest in Ben than Lydia.

Capturing the craziness during the twins' visits.

Benson is Here!

2011-02-09T14:04:00.000-05:00

So we aren't new to this parenthood thing--we went through that glorious transition nearly 2.5 years ago with our two wonderful girls--and although we have been eagerly awaiting little Baby B #3's arrival for 9 months I thought I was prepared for the shock and awe of the 'bringing baby into the world' process since it was not necessarily going to be a new experience. I am not talking about the actual logistics of going from point A (intrauterine life) to point B (extrauterine life)--although that never ceases to be cool and definitely surreal. I am talking about that moment when they hold that screaming, red, slippery little being in front of you for the first time and it hits you that it is your child and life is never going to be the same again--and all the other 'Juno moments' I like to call them--that follow.

I was wrong--It was just as much of a Tsunami of emotion and amazement as it was the first time around.

Let me go back a few hours to our pre-Benson state. We spent our last day as a family of 4 doing fun things with the girls like breakfast together (do you need to even ask where?), reading books (most of the activities had to be sitting down since Benson was using my lower organs as a bean bag chair), and even had time for a dip in the pool (I watched from the sidelines). We put the girls to bed and gave them big hugs and kisses--I had to strongly resist the urge to breakdown and cry (have I ever mentioned that I am terrible with change, whether it is positive or negative?) and then were off for my 'last supper' before the big day. My parents came down a day early to Columbus to spend this pre-baby time with us (before they became babysitters extraordinaire for a week of twin two year olds) which made it extra special. We were the only customers in our little local Thai restaurant since the rest of America was engrossed superbowl football or commercials.

Despite my 2 benadryl (OB approved), sleep was elusive--not surprising. I had super planned for this day (lists were made, frozen meals were prepared, guilt alleviating gifts for the girls were purchased, remotes labeled) but contemplating this new chapter we were about to embark on in less than 12 hours kept my mind whirring. How would the twins take it? How are we going to get him to sleep through the night? Is he going to be a newborn that we are just going to start liking at month 4 when the colic subsides? How am I going to make all 3 feel equally loved? Most importantly--when will the minivan arrive? :)

We arrived to the hospital nice and early and before I knew it Benson made his first appearance into this world (before quite a crowd I might add: 2 nursing students and their instructor, a medical student, 2 anesthesia residents, an OB resident, an anesthesia attending, our OB, 3 pediatricians, a PhD student doing research, and 3 OR nurses) and I was experiencing the aforementioned 'first moments' with our son. He did wonderfully. He came out peeing and screaming at the same time (I am sure that in the world of infants that means you are a good multitasker) and within an hour I was in recovery and he was in my arms.

We spent a surprisingly calm and cozy first day with him. My parents were able to visit and hold their new grandson in the morning. We spent the afternoon admiring our new little boy and in the evening he met Ryan's parents.

I must say that Benson is adorable. I know I am his mom and part of his genetic material came from me so it might seem that I am tooting my own horn, but I'd like to think I can be objective about this. I have seen my fair share of newborns and they are not all equally cute--so if he was one of those I would just omit this paragraph and hope for the best over the next several months :). The twins certainly had their 'wrinkled raisin' newborn moments that were not so beautiful and now look at them. Anyhow, back to Ben. He has great little lips and thanks to the miracle of the C-section has a great looking head too. Some vital statistics for posterity must be dropped into the post as well. He was 8 lb 6 oz born at 8:45 am on February 7, 2011. He was 20 inches long.

He is amazing and I love looking over at his bassinet and knowing that he is my little guy.

And now for some pics. I avoided the surgical pics on facebook because I know not everyone is as excited about that stuff as I am but since this blog is written mainly to record my own memories I did not censor anything--don't worry, there are no private part pics, unless you consider the inside of my abdominal cavity private parts.

Ryan is ready to roll in his oh so cool bunny suit.

I am ready to roll in my sexy get up--hospital gown and shower cap with the IV as the ultimate accessory.

Benson's 'rabbit of of the hat' pics.

My first look at Benson as the pediatrician carried him by to head to the warmer. No, that is not his middle finger.

Getting cleaned up and checked out by the pediatricians.

Ryan's creative side coming out with this picture-I love it.

Benson's first official picture with his mom and dad.

First father and son picture. Finally Ryan has another boy to join the ranks at our house!

Time with Grandpa

Time with Grandma

See the lips? they are great. Don't judge him for his gooey antibiotic eyes, he had no choice in the matter.

Meeting Nana

Meeting Papa and Yaya (Ryan's sister Samantha)

To Do: Baby B #3 Blog Post

2011-01-12T16:28:00.000-05:00

I love to do lists. I make the lists, and make little check boxes next to them. Now, some things linger on my to do list longer than others. This entry is one of them. It has been present with a wide open little square next to it just waiting for that satisfying little check mark for months, about 8 to be exact. Baby #3 is a huge deal and we're super excited so the fact that I haven't been on top of getting it done in no way means that we are ho hum about #3 (in case my son decides to investigate my blog in the future and wonders why he hasn't been mentioned until he has nearly popped into the world I wanted to clarify this)--parenting twin toddlers and juggling job/marriage, etc has kept me from getting this done--and I procrastinate on blog entries as evidenced by the fact that there are huge gaps between entries at times. So this entry is a tribute to our first son that is due to arrive in 3.5 weeks to be exact (if he goes along with his mommy's meticulous planning).

Without doling out too many gory details, I must mention that we are not a couple that having kids comes easy to. I guess we didn't jump into the right fertility pool at some point or maybe it has something to do with pursuing a career for quite a while before deciding to have kids but we like to say we have 'expensive kids' (by the way, I could do an entire blog post just on the experience of sitting in the waiting room at a fertility clinic--it's very interesting people watching to say the least). So it was no different with this kiddo (yea science!) and when you use science to manipulate the situation you know you are pregnant nearly from the minute the cells start dividing to form a mini human. So it feels like I've been pregnant for forever since I've known from very early on in the process. It's been a pretty easy pregnancy (I think God feels bad about the fertility thing so he makes up for it with a smooth pregnancy without nausea/heartburn/swelling ,etc) and I've enjoyed being able to say (finally) to the lovely people who ask 'are you pregnant'? "Why yes I am thank you for asking" (I routinely got asked if I"m pregnant even when I wasn't) so pregnancy has been a nice time to ditch the spanx and let it all hang out :)

We found out we were having a little boy over labor day weekend when our friend did an ultrasound for us (I have no patience) which was a big shock. We are just used to girls--girl stuff, girls that can sit and color for a bit, girl clothes, girl toys--and the idea of having a boy made both of us a bit nervous at first. I mean little boys are cute and I think I handle that but little boys turn into big smelly hormonal teenage boys and I'm not quite sure about that. This little male fetus is also 4 times as active as the twins were combined which definitely makes me nervous about how active this little guy might be. Those leash things they sell for kids might actually be appealing :).

Compared to the size I was with the girls I am practically a ballerina this time around, although the patients at work beg to differ ('girl, you swolled up, when is that baby comin?').

Lydia and Grace really have no grasp of what is about to happen. They know that Baby b is in mommy's tummy but it pretty much ends there so it should be interesting to see how they react.

So for completeness sake I put some prego pics below so Baby B knows he did reside in mommy's belly for a long 9+ months and that we have been eagerly anticipating his arrival from the minute we saw the plus on the stick :)

Big Girl Beds, the follow up story

2010-12-16T12:39:00.000-05:00

So project 'big girl bed' was a success last night--for the most part. Early in the evening, the girls said 'bye-bye' to their cribs which we captured on an adorable video and then the real work began. Ryan gets most of the credit since he had to tear down 2 cribs, assemble 2 beds and clean up after it was all done. My part was to create custom made bedspreads, flat sheets and blankets since the beds we chose are 'junior' beds from ikea that are larger than toddler beds but smaller than twin beds and the only bedding that they sell is a fitted sheet that truly fits the bed--It really tested my very crafty side which is nearly nonexistent to begin with. The finished product from both of our efforts combined (building and sewing) was pretty darn cute (see pics below) if I do say so myself.

The girls loved the beds and were quickly climbing on and off and on and off their 'big girl beds'. About 1.5 hours after their usual bedtime we were finally tucking them into their new beds. They have never used blankets so that was new territory and frankly they didn't really get it. Also the standard orientation of how one is to lay in a regular bed was sort of lost on them too--I'm curious as to when they will start consistently figuring it out. These are things that you don't really think about--I mean, it's a bed, you just get in, get under the blankets and lay your head on a pillow, but apparently it's a learning process.

I just put them down for their first nap in the new beds which will be the real challenge. I threatened them multiple times with confiscation of pacifiers, blankets and sneetches (lydia's stuffed bff) but after that I really am not sure what I'll do to reinforce the 'stay in your bed' philosophy. So far things are quiet, but it has only been about 2 minutes :).

Big girl bed assembly

Grace was our quality control girl checking things out

Testing them out

Finally asleep! (the under the blanket thing was done by Ryan)

The finished product after making the beds this morning.

Moving out of the cribs!

2010-12-15T15:59:00.000-05:00

Ok, so I've been resistant to this one. We bought them 'big girl beds' a couple of months ago but haven't transitioned them yet but we plan to tonight. I have cited many reasons for waiting on moving them to a crib. Mainly because many a nap often begins by putting them in the crib against their will--how do you do that with a bed??? Also, with two in there I don't know what kinds of things they'll get into!
Anyhow, Baby #3 is coming and needs a crib so we need to move forward. So this is the 'ode to the cribs', written while they are taking their last nap in their cribs. I shouldn't be so sentimental about it because, A: It could be terrible and we might be putting them back up tomorrow night and just buying Baby #3 his own new crib and B: If we are successful the crib will be filled with a new little bundle in about 6 weeks--what could be better than that? However, I've never done well with change and I can't say that I'm not a little sad about seeing the cribs come down. I can remember renting a truck and driving super fast to pick them up (we only had the truck for 1 hour) and then sweating through the summer heat as we put them together. Well, Ryan put them together, but I broke down and recycled the boxes which was no small feat with my bulbous twin infested belly. When we brought them home from the hospital they looked so tiny in their cribs--I almost felt bad about leaving them in that big thing all alone. Over the last 2 years though they've spent a lot of time in their cribs--sleeping mainly but also jumping, laughing, babbling/talking with eachother, chewing on the sides (until we finally found some good covers), looking at books, snuggling with sneetches and blankets (see pics below) --and a little crying too :). So tonight we start the big bed experiment--and in about 4 years when they outgrow their oh so cute ikea junior beds I'll be blogging and misting up about their transition to 'big, big girl beds'.

Carrying in the cribs with some help from Jeff and Ron

Putting the cribs together

Grace's first time in the crib

Twin time in the crib. They used to sleep in one crib until the started scooting dangerously close to one another

Grace

Lydia

So much for crib bumpers :)

Lydia

Grace

Second Birthday

2010-09-26T22:31:00.000-04:00

A little over a week ago Grace and Lydia turned two! In some ways I feel like the time went fast, but in other ways it feels like decades ago that they were little babies in their matching swings. This last year has really moved them from infanthood to toddlerhood. They are now little people with clear preferences (Grace: "No birthday!"-in reference to us singing happy birthday to her. Lydia, from her bed: "Pac, Sneetch!" demanding her pacifier and her ratty stuffed sneetch) and personalities. At this point Grace is a talker and quick with a laugh. She repeats everything and loves saying the words of objects (especially body parts) nearby. Lydia is more pensive and loves figuring out any type of puzzle, buckle or clasp. She's the first to figure out child proofing devices and master them. For example, when the girls got some bristle blocks as a gift, within a few minutes Lydia was deftly making tall stacks and the instant Grace saw them she brightened up and promptly started coming her hair with them. She still can't be convinced they aren't hair brushes of all shapes and sizes. It is so much fun to watch them learn more and more every day. I think watching their language develop has been really fun. You can't get much better than when they run to the door and yell "mommy home!" when you walk through the door. It's hard to imagine that we ever had a life without them!

Grace enjoying the first few minutes of her first day as a 2 year old

Birthday Breakfast as a Family

I don't know why but I just love this pic. So not posed but so great.

Getting better at blowing out the candles.

Lydia did much better with her cake this year as she is now a well seasoned eater. She would like to thank Costco pizza for really helping her progress.

Grace

A Toddler's World

2010-08-13T14:25:00.000-04:00

Figured I'd give an update on the girls latest adventures since this blog is really for posterity's sake, not to entertain the masses.

The twins have reached a new stage that so far is my favorite. They are real little people with their own personalities and quirks. They are learning about their world by leaps and bounds. I'm pretty versed in developmental milestones, but to see it in action is another thing. Both of the girls are learning new words every day, but Grace at this point is the word champion. She loves to just point at everything and exclaim it's title "Bocce!" "Shoes!" "Diaper!" "Pee-Pee" (to clarify: as in peeing, not referring to a body part. that one is funny because if she hears anyone going to bathroom she immediately stops what she is doing and runs to the bathroom door yelling pee-pee). She's excited about everything she can put a word with. Lydia is working on her words too, but she is more of a quiet thinker. I don't think she feels the need to prove herself :). She loves doing puzzles which Grace doesn't have as much patience for and she can figure out most of our childproofing gadgets.

They are interacting more with eachother which is a double edged sword. I have to go into their room at naptime some days multiple times to remind them it is 'nite nite time' and put all of the objects back into their cribs that they have chucked out. If Grace wakes up early she starts yelling over to Lydia's crib "Lydia, Lydia, Lydia" until Lydia wakes up. So great.

Spontaneous twin kisses are common now.

Lydia's sporting her first ponytail.

Random hat during dinner.

They love to be wrapped up in their towels post bath or pool.

Backyard splash time. This usually occurs in the nude but this is a G-rated pic.

Grace loves her towel swaddle compliments of daddy.

Grace's first ponytail. It was short lived.

Father's Day 2010

2010-07-19T16:48:00.000-04:00

Quick blurb on Ryan's second father's day with some pics to go with it. The twins decided that we should start the day extra early and woke up in the 6 range which is rare so we hit a local popular playground before it got busy with starbucks in hand. As the morning unfolded, we made our way to Northstar Cafe for breakfast which is a weekend tradition for us anyhow, but Ryan got his own order of cloud nine pancakes (we are usually splitters to justify NS on a weekly basis) which I highly recommend to anyone in the Columbus area. The girls both had their "I heart my Dad" T's on which was adorable. Back home for a nap and then off to Cosi together (the museum, not the restaurant) for the first time and promptly became members. in the evening we just relaxed at home together with a meal at home. What did we get him for a gift? A plant. Not just any plant. A fancy tropical plant. Still sounds lame, I know but you have to understand Ryan's love of all plants, especially tropical and my aversion to lots of plants cluttering the house. It was an act of love from his girls (but not unselfish love because I strongly suggested he take it to work and put it on his nice big desk!).

The girls wanted me to be sure to thank their dad for all of the things he's done for them this past year, such as: lots of baths and bedtime prep while mom is at work, throwing us up in the air dangerously high, making forts, feeding us costco pizza, showing us videos of animals on u-tube, coming into pick us up when we're crying at night even when mom says not to, changing our stinky diapers, singing silly songs, coming up with funny names for us (grizwald, professor click and snort, etc), taking us to work to see mom, taking us to the library and the park, and lots of other things!

Frolicking at Mom's

2010-06-15T21:10:00.000-04:00

Ryan went to San Francisco for a conference for a few days. So, naturally I high tailed it out of there to my parent's house since a zone defense against the girls is not pleasant for an entire week. My mom's house is a place that has always been a mecca for kids. It has a big yard, lots of toys and a neverending supply of tasty treats (especially mom's homemade bread). The best part of the week was that their cousins were there too. At times it was chaotic (I am a little too neurotic about order and organization, I'll admit) but the girls (including bocce) had a great time playing in the yard, fighting over toys and stuffing their faces with 'mom's bread'.

Mother's Day 2010

2010-05-13T13:56:00.000-04:00

I had a perfect Mother's Day. Breakfast at Starbucks (we did Northstar the day before as part of 'mothers day weekend' and I had the pancakes as a splurge), church, relaxing while the girls napped, family lunch made by Ryan, the zoo, dinner again made by Ryan and then just relaxing in the evening. During church my caffeinated mind started to wander back to my own mother's day memories growing up (corsages for moms, having all the moms at church all stand up, reading proverbs 31 at church--every year, brunch or lunch for mom, etc) and I started to think about how weird it is that now I am on the other side of that fence. Don't get me wrong, I love it, but sometimes it's just weird that I am the mom. I think I am starting to feel more like a parent too. When the girls were first born, it seemed a little like babysitting or even having a pet (just gotta keep that thing alive.). Of course I loved them in an indescribable way, but they just don't give much back in return in those first few months. Then the smiles come, but they are pretty free and loose with those--even with strangers, so I still didn't quite feel 'it' yet. I think some of my favorite moments as a parent are when they really start to show preference for you--you are their comfortable place, where they feel safe. They reach for you, climb up your legs when they are scared, are excited when you come to get them out of their cribs in the mornings or when you come home from work. My very favorite is when I pick them up from the daycare at our gym (mind you, it's two hours max). First I just like to watch them playing before I get their attention, and then when I say their names, their heads snap up and they squeal and laugh and come running for me. As simple as that experience sounds, I have to say that nothing else has compared to it yet and it really feels like I have 'arrived' and am now an official mom. One of the best blog posts that my friend Rachel Elek has written included a video of picking Norah up from daycare and it was same experience (except Norah first threw her toy hamburger and then ran)--so now I truly identify with that and I love it!

Lydia on the carousel before she cried

Grace combing a goat

Lydia combing a goat

Ryan and Grace with the lorakeets. (not my favorite)

Grace on the carousel before she cried

Me and my girls on our second mother's day

Lydia decided to eat the chalk at Jeni's before we were able to get our icecream

Ahhh, much better!

My streak is broken

2010-05-06T12:49:00.000-04:00

**Warning, for those of you who know me well this rant is not new and you may want to skip it--it's just my way of processing as I like to tell Ryan**

I had about a 6 month streak going without anyone asking "are you pregnant?" and today it was broken--at the gym--when I was in my sleekest workout gear and heading to my spinning class. It was nice while it lasted I guess. So this is more of a ranting post and an educational post for those of you who are doing the asking. When the girls were first born it was pretty understandable that people might've thought I was pregnant--it's tough to bounce back from that I'll be honest. At the beginning I'd smile and tell them that I have newborn twins at home which would help to squelch some of their embarrassment and just the general awkwardness of the situation. However, as the twins got older and older it got harder and harder to smile and work through the awkwardness. Usually it goes like this--I see the person's eyes bouncing down to my midriff and then they get a little twinkle in their eyes and they lean forward and say with supreme confidence "are you pregnant?" As soon as I say "no I have twins" that is when the embarrassing pauses and hems/haws start, then they eventually collect themselves and try to smooth things over by saying "oh, you had twins--but you look so good for having twins! (too late for compliments now buddy!). I am not necessarily a woman of low self esteem but this really started to get old. I tried telling myself that it's a compliment--that if they just thought I was fat then they wouldn't be asking anything at all, so clearly they have deduced that--no this woman is not fat so that bump in her middle must represent a baby.

Here's the education part . . . this is very important . . . DON'T ASK THAT QUESTION TO ANYONE! unless there is a foot coming out or the person appears to be in labor and might need your assistance--DO NOT ASK IT. The outcome is just not good for everyone involved. Here's a visual lesson with pics.

In this case you can ask. Clearly pregnant and the hospital gown should give you an extra boost of confidence.

Not appropriate to ask. Abdominal flaws does not = pregnant.

Most women look forward to having another child so that they can again cuddle a sweet little newborn, but I when we decide to start jump back into this pregnancy thing again I will be so excited to say, 'why yes, I am pregnant'--and I'll get rid of any constricting underthings (even with those I get asked) and just let it all hang out even if it's minutes after the test turned positive.

And here's why it's all worth it in the end and if I did not have a shallow or vain component to my nature (which I definitely do) I'd say that I wouldn't change any of it, but 5 minutes after I eek out that last kid you better believe I'm going to be on the phone with the best plastic surgeon in town making my appointment!

Turning over a new Leaf

2010-05-01T23:06:00.000-04:00

I've been a poor blogger yet again. I know I am not disappointing all of my many followers--my mom mainly-- (I still talk to my mom several times a week so she gets updates even without a blog and proficient with facebook) but I'm disappointing my future nostalgic side. Meaning that when I want to look back and see what happened in 2010 there will be big gaps. I was looking back at some of my earlier blog posts about the twins or whatever and it was really fun to look back on them. Even kind of witty I suppose (though nothing close to my dear friends and favorite bloggers the Eleks). I'm not surprised at myself though. I have always been somewhat of a journaler and when I look back through the archives of my life (which is only when I am at my mom's still trying to clean my junk out of my room) there will be months in which I faithfully chronicled my life however exciting it was at the time and then months when who knows what might have been going on? So, I'm up and down and hopefully I'll get back into my blog for a bit so when my girls are teenagers and won't talk to me I can go back and read with tears in my eyes about how they jump up and down in their cribs every morning and greet me with squeals and giggles.

So to make amends to my sentimental side, below are a few pics from the last 6 months.

The Olympics 2010

2010-03-01T10:29:00.000-05:00

I never watch sports but when the olympics are on I find myself trying to watch every minute I can. I can't get enough. I don't know if it is all of the human interest stories, the endless bits of trivia or the just the possibility of a good old fashioned crash that draws me in. I think for me the Olympics also serve as little benchmarks every 2 years by which to mark my life by. When the Olympics roll around I often find myself thinking of what I was doing during the last winter Olympics (still suffering through medical school) or the last summer Olympics (enjoying my reign as the largest pregnant women in Columbus). I like to think ahead to what life might be like at the next opening ceremonies (2 nearly 4 year olds--I think I'll be lucky to get to watch it). I remember during one of the Olympic ceremonies making my college roommates write down what they thought their life would be life the next time they sat down to watch the opening ceremonies in 4 years. They humored me and I promised we would read them in 4 years. I don't remember what I did with those papers, but I bet they would be funny to read now. Even just the names of the athletes conjure up images of what my life was like at the time: Nancy Kerrigan, Dan Jansen, Dave and Dan, Tanya Harding, Greg Luganis, of course Michael Phelps, etc.

So what will I remember about the 2010 Olympic games and what life is like now for our family?

-The tragedy of the Georgian luger (is that a word?) that the world watched again and again on utube

*The twins perfecting their cute little waddling walk

-Tearing up as I watched Joannie Rochette break down after her short program

*Lydia and Grace's new favorite pastime is pretending anything is a cell phone.

-Numerous crashes on the ski slopes--and watching the girls just walk away after each one. ( I tried to encourage my urgent care patients to be so tough about their minor injuries but it didn't work)

*Ryan recording the Olympics for me and staying up late with me so I could after my urgent care shifts.

-Apollo Ohno and his short track drama again.

*An exciting day for our family in the winter involves costco, target or the play area at the mall.

-Kim Yu Na's record breaking skating--I think Scott Hamilton is secretly in love with her.

-The palpable girl tension between Julia Mancuso and Lindsay Vonn

-Shawn white and his insane tricks.

There are many more but those are a few of the highlights.

I think Ryan is secretly happy it is all over so the obsession can subside until summer of 2012 but I'm already counting down the days until I can go through the ritual all over again. I can tell my 3 year old twins what life was like for them at the last summer Olympics :)

And of course some pics to capture some recent Battles family moments.

People Watching

2010-01-18T12:28:00.000-05:00

Lately we've been scoping out indoor places for the girls to play during the long winter. Sometimes our 1200 square foot house doesn't cut it and I can only read "where is baby?" so many times in a row :). So we've been frequenting the play area at the mall. Before I had kids I used to pass the play area (which is your classic giant tree, rocks, animals etc to climb on) and say to Ryan--"that place is crazy, I don't ever want to take our kids there." Now, I still think that place is crazy and as an urgent care doctor I look at every kid as a potential future patient as they jump off things and mow over toddlers. However we do take them there--but only at strategic times. We've learned to go early because once 10:00 am hits the moms come out in droves like bees to a pop can with all of their offspring to release some pent up energy. The people watching is fantastic. The dynamic between parents and their kids varies widely. You have the germ conscious mom who trails behind her kid with her tiny travel purell bottle making them clean their hands every few minutes. You have the high end moms with their impeccable name brand outfits, diaper bag and stroller. I usually mentally tally the cost of their ensemble and let Ryan know "see that lady, she has about 2,000 worth of stuff surrounding her and that doesn't include her mani-pedi". Usually her matching kid is just as name brand. There is the matching sweat suit mom, the mom jeans mom, the I-just-worked-out-outfit mom--I could go on and on. Sometimes the dads come on the weekends but lets be honest--they just aren't that interesting.

So, it is just a matter of time before one of the girls gets hurt there or gets sick from there, but we still go and I have to admit, it's kind of fun to hang out there with my starbucks (yup, I'm that mom--but it's only a coffee and not a fancy drink, o.k.?) and play with the girls while they climb, slide, go through tunnels . . . and occasionally get pummeled by some crazy kid running around in her uggs.

Glad Christmas Tidings

2009-12-28T21:10:00.000-05:00

Even though this wasn't the girls' first Christmas it sort of felt like it was because they were just little cuddlebug newborns last year. We kicked off Christmas Eve day with breakfast in Canton with our college buds. Lydia and Grace made Christmas Eve memorable by demonstrating their new skill . . . walking! Grace had been taking a few steps here and there but all of a sudden they both just started toddling all over--in their Christmas jammies (thanks to Aunt Sarah). It was a very picturesque moment. Christmas morning was a fun type of chaos. It is different with kids involved--not different bad--different good. The girls loved all of the paper and boxes. They fought over their new shopping cart within the first minutes of owning it. It was great. . .

. . . and then the puking began! Well, first my Dad wasn't feeling that great and then Megan and Adam had the full blown shabang the day after Christmas. Ryan and Lydia both bit the dust around the same time. Poor Lydia woke up in a pool of costco pizza and ice cream-- an impressive inaugural vomiting episode. After we cleaned her up, she did it again, right into my Dad's hand. Ryan was vomiting in tandem, but was able to make it into the appropriate receptacle. It was pure chaos. I quickly packed up and loaded my puking family members (ryan and Lydia) and the nonpuking members (Grace, myself and the dogs) into our car to head back to Columbus. Lydia rode the whole way with her plastic bib on just in case. The fun continued when our dogs Bocce and Widget got sick as well! Grace held out until the night of the 27th, but needed an impromptu bath and sheet change at midnight after her first vomiting episode. Last, but not least, I joined the ranks on the morning of the 28th.

Even with all the illness, we had a great time. We were able to have our own family Christmas at our house in between episodes of vomiting :). We didn't get the girls much since they're much more into boxes and paper, but we did stuff their stockings and they had fun pulling little trinkets out of them.

Halloween

2009-11-09T11:22:00.001-05:00

This year was like their first halloween. Last year they were 6 weeks old and we stuffed them into peapod costumes (see below) but they of course didn't get any candy. This year we had a choice of several handed down costumes: a black cat, a monkey, a rooster or tinkerbell. Since it wouldn't be fair to put one in pretty little tinkerbell and another in an animal costume (that has therapy written all over it) we decided to go with the animal theme for both. We went with some of their cousins (Charlie, Bailey and Hudson) in Chagrin Falls. The girls aren't quite walking independently yet but they were able to go down a couple of walks with our assistance. They learned quickly about grabbing goodies from the big bowls or buckets. I felt weird carrying my infant/toddler up to people's doors and holding out a bag for candy so we didn't do a ton of houses, but it was fun. They'll be much better at it next year. Bailey is 1 year older than the girls so she gives us a good idea of what it might be like next year--Bailey wanted to eat every piece of candy right on the spot. She didn't quite get the put it in the bag for later idea :)

Last year's costumes

Random Catch Up

2009-10-26T11:19:00.002-04:00

I've been a delinquent blogger again. I have the best intentions of keeping up on it, but then other things get in the way. Earlier this month I took my pediatric boards which explains the delay. I don't have much of an excuse from here on out. Here are a few random pics from the last couple weeks.

The girls at 'the battles zoo'. Widget and Bocce are very amusing.

Lydia finally got over her stubborn nature about food and now can shovel it in with the best of them. This is Ryan feeding them pizza which is their ultimate favorite food.

Grace's first toothbrushing experience.

Lydia's first toothbrushing experience.

Ryan's rigged up train toy for them. He drags them round and round the house and sometimes outside as you can see here.

This is Lydia with her stuffed sneetch. It is a character from a Dr.Seuss book that she became attached to after Ryan bought it at a garage sale to give as a joke to one of our friends (sorry Josh and Norah). Now she sleeps with it every night.

First Birthday Party

2009-09-21T13:40:00.000-04:00

The first birthday party for Lydia and Grace has come and gone. Kind of a let down now, like the day after Christmas :). It was so much fun. We had so many wonderful friends and family that attended. It felt like a mini version of our wedding day. On days like that I am floored by the love and generosity of the people we are surrounded by. The weather was perfect and Lydia only had a mini melt down in her highchair. Grace thoroughly enjoyed the cake while Lydia exercised a bit more caution. Today they had their one year doctor's appt and shots (they are both in the 18 pound range and doing well per their doctor and it's o.k that Lydia is slow to love solid food) so it's a big, big let down compared to the fun of Saturday :).

P.S. Lydia got her first tooth today too which we noticed right after I told the doctor that she is ' the toothless wonder'

First Birthday Part 1

2009-09-17T22:28:00.003-04:00

Today is the girls actual birthday. How could I not blog on this important day? They are fast asleep in their cribs, Grace with her blanket and Lydia with her stuffed sneech (another story) hopefully having sweet dreams about their very first birthday. We started it off at Northstar, our favorite breakfast place that we've been taking them since they were a couple of weeks old. It was the only way we could get out in the beginning so it holds real memories for us. They had their first taste of their famous cloud nine pancakes and of course the obligatory sweet potato hash. Then hope for a nap (you can't totally abandon routine even on a birthday). After the nap Lydia woke up with a fever and was super duper fussy. I tried to look in her ears, but they were too waxy so I dragged her to the doctor and held her down while the doctor (the non-mom doctor ) cleaned out her ears and checked her out. Her first sick visit. Just wanted to be sure so her eardrum didn't rupture with pus during her upcoming party:). Usually I let them fester with their fever until they are truly lethargic and so far we haven't gotten to that point. Anyhow, next we went to the pool and splashed around which is really more work than it's worth right now (swim diapers can be hard to get off) but we wanted to do something out of the ordinary for their b-day. By then it was bedtime so we grabbed a pizza on the way home (their favorite food so far) and put them to bed. It was a monumental day for all of us. Feels weird to be on the other side--to be the mom now and to try to make them feel loved and special on their birthday in whatever way possible. Looking forward to many many many more birthday with my daughters.

Standing up and other milestones

2009-09-11T09:48:00.005-04:00

This stuff is old news but still had cute pics to show so I'm sharing anyhow. A couple months ago they started pulling to stand. One of the pics shows them both standing in their cribs and it was the first time they both pulled to stand. . .that we witnessed anyhow. I heard laughing in their room towards the end of their nap, walked in and there they were just standing and laughing at each other. Grace loves to fling clothes (folded or unfoded) from laundry baskets, drawers, etc. They are crawling everywhere. We have a playroom that is essentially baby proofed that we put them in when we're feeling lazy but when we 'let them loose' there's so much exploring to do (wires, lamps, dog bowls, remotes) around our little house. I'm sure when they are older they'll ask me, "mom, which one of us crawled first" so just for the record here's the milestone tally so far:
first to roll over: lydia
first to pull to stand: lydia
first tooth: grace
first to babble: grace
first to wave: grace
first to crawl: lydia
first to pull to stand:lydia
First to walk:???, they are taking their time :)

Pics to to bottom:
twins first pull to stand
Mas giving Lydia her bottle
Grace and her Laundry

My Stinky Day

2009-09-04T23:37:00.002-04:00

I'm trying to wind down from a busy shift so why not blog a little? Most of the time I love being home with the girls when I'm not working. The other day though I had a trying afternoon with one thing after another. it was all going well at first. the twins were sleeping the dogs were happily playing outside and I just sat down to get some studying done before I had to leave for work. Bocce came trotting over for some affection and she stunk like garbage or dead animal. It was terrible! She and widget had been wrestling so Widget was stinky too. First i sniffed around the backyard and couldn't find what she got into. So the studying came to a grinding halt and instead I had to bathe both of the dogs. I tried the hose, but bocce pretty much had a seizure (she barked at the hose for 10 minutes later that day) so I had to do it inside. Then the twins started to cry so I had to see what was up with them. Naptime was apparently over so I went to change Grace and realized she had had a blowout that soaked through 2 layers. I got Grace cleaned up and of course, Lydia was stinky too but she managed to keep it in her diaper. Ryan came home at the tail end of this , found the culprit of the smell and was holding it up for me to see--a fly trap that has putrid liquid in it to attract them and it had dripped onto bocce.

Who Needs a Pool??

2009-08-21T10:31:00.003-04:00

Baths aren't as frequent as they should be in our house (for the babies mostly) but when they do happen it's a lot of fun. Here's how we have to do it with two potential drownees:
1. Struggle to undress twin 1 and put in dry tub with toys
2. Struggle to undress twin 2 and add to dry tub with twin 1 and toys
3. Rinse pee out of tub from twin 1 while she was waiting for twin 2
4. Turn on water
5. Watch twin 1 and twin 2 climb over eachother to get to the faucet
6. Enjoy the surprised-blink-gasp-blink face that comes from putting their face under the faucet
7. Make twin 1 sit back down.
8. Pull twin 2 off of twin 1
9. lather, dump water over twin 1 and twin 2 to rinse. enjoy surprised-blink-gasp-blink face again
10. Drain tub
11. Remove twin 1, towel dry and diaper/dress
12. Go back for twin 2 (from dry tub), towel dry and diaper/dress
13. Put twin 1 and 2 down for a nap
14. Pour cup of coffee and blog about it.

3 for $5

2009-08-13T22:03:00.002-04:00

I was off of work today which was glorious because last night was rather busy and I needed time to recover. Since the humidity was better we took advantage of it and just wandered around westerville with our double stroller. We ate dinner at a local place and sipped coffee afterwards while the girls sipped their bottles. We stopped at the swings on the way home which is the twins ultimate favorite thing to do and then a quick library stop. Now I know that a rundown of my evening is boring to most outsiders, but one of the reasons I have my blog is to be able to look back and remember things, especially simple every day things.

Now, the blog title does relate to something funny. Today as I was changing Grace's dirty diaper I found a very intact blue sticker with white writing in classic gap style that said 3 for $5 mixed in with her poop! Of course I showed Ryan and we almost took a picture, but then thought better of it. I guess Grace has a taste for gap stickers. We'll have to keep a better eye on her.

New Jobs

2009-08-12T23:53:00.003-04:00

I say new jobs plural because I feel like a stay at home mom in the mornings and an urgent care physician at night. I finished residency about 1 month ago and now I am working at several pediatric urgent care locations in Columbus that are owned by Nationwide Children's Hospital (where I did my residency). The upside of the job is that I am only working about 3-4 8 hours (in theory) shifts a week. I get to spend my mornings and early afternoons with the girls even ondays that I work because my shifts don't start until 3pm. The downside is that it's urgent care which goes a little like this: you're fine, you're fine, really you brought him in for this?, now where exactly is this rash. . . um can you point to it?, you're fine, you're fine, virus, virus, virus, oooh really bad break--and stay off those trampolines, so the fever just started 2 hours ago?, so this pain has been going on for 6 months and you're here tonight why?, rash. . . uh. .not sure what that is but it won't kill you!, etc, etc, etc. It's still very much a learning process. I don't think I've been paying attention at all the last 3 years during residency :). So far I like it, but we'll see. The winter is coming and I may just want to poke my eye out daily when it rolls around.

Here's a fun bath pic from Ryan's mom's sink to make the post more interesting.

p.s. lydia fell down the stairs the other day . . . but we didn't even take her to urgent care!!! Wish others would do the same.

Settling Back In

2009-08-06T17:33:00.005-04:00

We completed our mini-vacation a couple of days ago and we are settling back into our own little place again. We traversed Indiana back to the great state of Ohio and spent some time with our college friends in Canton, made a brief stop at the Dreniks beautiful home and then last but not least enjoyed a couple of days in Chagrin Falls with my family. It was wonderful to just hang out with friends and family without any real agenda. I'm glad we did it because if we stayed in Westerville for my time off I would've cleaned and organized something for sure and not really enjoyed it. Thanks to everyone who hosted us! See pics below.

I had my first urgent care shift last night so I am officially employed therefore we all officially have health insurance so we can be crazy as we want to be. More on my urgent care job in the next post. I gotta space out my tidbits of info :)

Photos Top to Bottom:

Ryan and Hudson on their matching laptops

Dad and Grace reading/eating the paper

Hudson helping to feed the twins

Lunch at our favorite . . . Costco!!!

Relaxing on the Drenik's porch with their kids

Travels

2009-07-28T16:10:00.004-04:00

We got home from vacation a few days ago and after reuniting with the twins (They both started crawling while we were gone and Grace got her first tooth) we made a quick turnaround and decided to take an impromptu "tour de midwest". We drove to Chicago on Sunday are are staying with our college friends, the Eleks who have an almost 2 year old (Norah). We were also able to catch up with the Rozkos and a brief stop at Northwestern to visit the newest NICU fellow, Megan Lagoski. We are quite the crew because we brought the dogs too so the car is overflowing with dog crates, pack and plays (baby crates?), formula and diapers. Yesterday we went to millennium park and strolled Michigan avenue (see pics below). Three children don't seem like a lot until you are living with them :). This morning Norah dumped her cereal onto her tray while I was changing Lydia's diaper. We crammed them all into one room last night for the girls first real sleepover. I don't think the pillow talk went well. The Eleks are good sports to allow such chaos into their home (two babies, two dogs, a giant stroller, two good sized adults).

Watching Baby Einstein to give us a break.

Visit with Dr.Lagoski

Warning, not G-rated.

2009-07-22T15:09:00.004-04:00

The nude beach was going to be my title, but the current one is more intriguing don't you think? we're apparently down the beach from a nude resort and since there is only one direction you can really walk from our hotel (the other is too rocky) we have to pass through the "nude gauntlet" every time we want to take a beach walk. Naturally we've had a lot of discussions about whether we would or would not do something of that nature (would not was the answer by the way) as we go by. I try desperately to find something else to look at so they won't think i'm staring but they are everwhere. The ironic thing is that they are carrying on with all the usual beach activities just without clothes on! So on a typical afternoon you will see naked people sitting on their lawn chairs playing cards, running into the waves, sunbathing, etc. They even have a volleyball net which they have thankfully not been using when we have passed by. There is a rooftop pool and they're all perched up around the pool like naked birds on a wire. The best was a woman walking around the beach with a sheer sarong on. .. the kind you are supposed to put over a bathing suit, but no she was using it to for I'm not sure what since it wasn't covering anything. just an accessory I guess. About 75% of them are not what you'd consider beautiful bodies either which makes it even stranger.

7 Days in Paradise a Belated Post

2009-07-19T15:16:00.002-04:00

I typed this entry in the plane but before I could post it we dropped below 10,000 feet for our descent and I guess that's when wifi has to be turned off. So, here it is a couple of days late, complete with pics.

It's been a busy couple of days. Lots to blog, but for now I'll dedicate this one to our trip. We're (let me clarify the "we" thing--it's just Ryan and I) flying over somewhere and are 1 hour away from Cancun. Ryan's parents graciously agreed to watch the girls for us. I have left the girls overnight quite a bit for work, so I didn't anticipate that I would have such a hard time leaving them for this trip. I started feeling homesick for them even before we left! It's that homesick feeling in your chest that you used to get when you would go away to camp. I would just pine away for my parents like crazy. It's the worst at night too (remember crying in your bunk at night?) so even though I'm feeling fine now I could be a mess later. I told Ryan, "be extra nice to me because there is still a chance I'll just say, screw it we're staying home". Kids do weird things to you. It's not that I'm worried about the girls at all--they will have a great week with their grandparents and Aunts/uncles/cousins in Cincinnati. It's purely a deep-missing-them-feeling. Now, if I post again while we are in Mexico enjoying the sun, pools, ocean and endless breakfast, lunch and dinner dates I will probably be singing a different tune. When I left, the girls were happily playing on the floor, oblivious to my inner turmoil. So girls, if you ever go back in cyber world and read this blog, know that I never wanted to leave you. . . your father made me do it. Before you start feeling too sorry for me, I've placed our lighthearted plane pics up below.

Farewell Clinic

2009-07-13T15:49:00.002-04:00

Today is my last day of clinic. For those that don't know where my clinic is, it is in downtown Columbus--I'll be general just to keep it mysterious about where it actually is. Let's just say that when you hear about a shooting downtown, you can bet that it was within a couple of blocks of the clinic. We have a big window where our conference room is so that when we are doing charts we can also observe the urban activity just outside our walls. It's one of my favorite parts of clinic. Here are just a few of the things I've observed over the last few years:
-prostitutes, prostitute and more prostitutes. They don't look like julia roberts either. and interestingly enough they usually return to their post in 30 minutes.
-a woman wearing what appeared like only a sheet wandering up and down the street
-many a drug deal--at least that is what it looked like to us amateurs
-many men peeing in public
-intoxicated individuals
-interesting store fronts such is Jihad's supply store where they sell backpacks, bus driver supplies (not sure what that is) and other miscellaneous sundries. Also the corner market had an awning with many misspelled words including "bueauty suppies" which they have since painted over.

I have also learned that eye contact should be minimal lest a drunk come to your window for assistance and watch closely for people crossing the street because apparently there are no rules whatsoever about that.

sometimes I worry that they can see in our window b/c if they could they would see a wall of faces pressed up against it just watching urban life go by. I don't think they would appreciate it :)

On a more positive note, I have enjoyed my time in this clinic and am pretty good with urban name pronunciation now (did you know neveah is heaven backwards? Of course, that is a very old one) . . . like la-a is really "ladasha" and not "laah" like you'd think and nidia is really pronounced nadia but needs to be spelled nidia because it is aiden (the other twin's name) backwards.

It's been a fun 3 years and i've learned a lot. today is my last day of clinic and now I've seen my last patient and will be walked out by the oh so interesting security guard one more time so that I don't get pillaged or plundered in the parking lot :)

Pics for Sarah

2009-07-08T22:25:00.004-04:00

Sarah is refusing to join facebook so I have to post pictures in other ways so she can see them :). I refused to join facebook for quite awhile--so I do understand somewhat. So this post is just for her, and anyone else that needs a little baby picture pick me up.

9 MONTH VISIT

2009-06-25T16:27:00.005-04:00

o.k. this post is mainly for my mom since she likes to hear the girls' weights and stuff. They had their 9 month visit today and Grace weighed 16 lb 15 ounces and Lydia was 16 lbs 12 ounces. They both are 27 inches which means that they can still be in their little bucket car seats. . yea! It's actually funny b/c I always made fun of my downtown clinic patients for leaving their kids in the infant carrier carseats until their legs were dangling over the sides. . . we are now those people. Both the girls are sick with a croup like thing. Lydia more than Grace. I actually called the pediatrician for a prescription for Lydia yesterday. Our first sick call. They both screamed and fussed pretty much the whole visit--especially with the finger stick to check their iron. Hopefully they'll be a little happier next time.

First Father's Day

2009-06-23T11:29:00.003-04:00

We decided to make a big deal about the first father's day and the first mother's day and after this it'll be all down hill :). Anyhow, Ryan is a tropical nut (just ask about our banana plant and other tropicals out back) so I dressed the girls up in cute little dresses with hibiscus flowers on them. They looked like they could've been Hawaiian tour guides (see pics below). We then hit the zoo in the morning before it got too hot and crowded. The girls didn't care about the animals (which we expected) but Ryan and I had a good time just strolling around the Columbus zoo. We had some relaxing downtime in the afternoon while the girls were napping and then a pizza picnic in the park with live music. Ryan is a great Dad to the girls and I hope he felt loved and appreciated by all of us. Oh, and Lydia developed her skill to say 'da, da, da' just in time for father's day (grace is an old pro at it).

Food on their Faces

2009-06-17T17:06:00.003-04:00

We're working on our baby foods these days. They have been on some solids since 6 months but they're just now getting good at it. I think they have fun watching me stress about their abilities and milestones. My peds friends know I'm always looking for reassurance on the girls' development. Grace is going to be our best eater. She'll let you put just about anything in her mouth. Lydia however has a very strong gag apparently and has puked after trying puffers (like dissolvable cheerios), grits (Ryan tried it at cracker barrel) and I think green beans. She has decided though that she loves fruit. She makes the worst faces whenever she tries something new--even something that's a universal hit like ice cream. They it in their little high chairs now like big girls and eat their mashed up whatever.

On another note today is their 9 month birthday! I'm only a few weeks away from finishing residency (more on that later) and things are good. They're both jabbering on the monitor so I guess I should release them from their cribs soon :).

Grace's first attempt at eating a puffer. I think she missed the point

Lydia's classic "yuck" face

dogs and kids

2009-05-27T17:03:00.003-04:00

we have twin dogs and twin kids. o.k. so our dogs only look like twins, but we are pretty comical walking down the street with matching babies and dogs. Anyhow, with two dogs it is pretty hard to avoid interaction between the kid and the dogs. Right now the dogs go after the kids--and when I say "go after" I mean they try to lick their faces, hands, clothes (there is usually baby food to be had), etc. Widget and Bocce are very friendly and are actually very good with the babies. The dogs get that Grace and Lydia are little humans and they will lay down next to the twins and roll over as if the girls will just start petting them or something. We try to stop the french kissing between dogs and babies but as you can see from the pics we can't always prevent it and in this instance decided it would be funny to capture the moment. I am reassured though that in my 3 years of residency I haven't had a kid in the hospital with illness from being licked by a dog. Kids get lots of junk from daycares, but dogs--no. If you screen through the pictures you can see Lydia being knocked backwards by bocce--and loving it! Just another little glimpse into our lives. Now you'll never kiss our girls again :)

Ladies Locker Room

2009-05-19T15:42:00.004-04:00

this is a random post that has nothing to do with the babies--not directly anyhow. A blog is a place just to put little here and there thoughts, right? So I figure that at least my mom and husband will see the inner workings of my mind through these entries as my faithful followers (although Ryan is sporadic I think). We go to the gym quite bit, probably because we get 2 free hours of childcare a day. anyhow, I think the locker room is a very interesting place. You can feel any way that you want about your body depending on who you decide to focus on. There's the morning aqua aerobics class which is comprised of older, usually rotund ladies--they make me feel young and svelte. and then there is the a morning mom group-with tiny little yoga bodies and perky boobs despite childbearing. They make me feel squishy and large.
I love watching everyone get on the scale. Regardless of the woman's size, they slowly walk up to it, resolutely step onto it, and wait for the numbers to settle. Then they sigh, look around to see who saw their weight digitally displayed for the whole locker room and then step off to accomplish their workout. I have heard women of all shapes and sizes complaining about their bodies. I want to shake the ones that have absolutely nothing to complain about and say "enjoy it! you will probably never look better than this; let me show you what twins can do to you" and then show off my new and "unimproved" stomach but I just look away from them back at my more rotund locker room mates and head off to my workout feeling thin for the moment (until my eyes catch a glimpse of the young skinnies again :) ). Moral of the story: focus on other people's flab to feel better :)

Mothers day

2009-05-13T23:23:00.004-04:00

This year was my first mother's day. It was weird to be on the recipient side of mother's day. I don't know that I necessarily feel like a mom--I mean I don't have a mini-van and I don't even know how to go about scheduling a play date--but maybe that stuff comes with time :). Nevertheless it was a very monumental day for me and I'm very thankful to be a mom even if I need to work on my maternal side some days. We started the day at our favorite breakfast place (North Star for all you Columbus people), next was church and then an afternoon shopping and hanging out at Easton. Ryan was the model husband and father and bestowed on me flowers and gifts including a card with the girls handprints in it. It's a saver. I had to work mother's day evening/night but Ryan even brought the girls to the hospital to visit complete with starbuck in hand. This mother's day gig is great--like adding on another birthday, except that you have to share it with a million other women.

spring days

2009-05-03T20:42:00.004-04:00

i'm at work. i'm on nightfloat this month which can be crazy pull your hair out busy or it can be o.k. It forces me to work on the stuff I brought with my like catching up on reading, blogging, internet shopping :). If the nights are good I can get sleep and basically have the daytime with the girls until about 5 when i have to go into work. I'm crossing my fingers for a good month. Lydia and Grace are real movers now. they can roll to where they want to go--or sometimes to where they don't want to go-like under the coffee table. They are getting more interactive every day. They actually cry when we leave the room sometimes-which is annoying but also nice b/c they realize we exist. We had to get a second exersaucer this week so they can both sit at their little exersaucer "desks" as I like to call them and get stuff done--like spinning this thing, pulling that thing and chewing on this thing. They look very busy always. They all sit in a row--Ryan, Lydia and Grace, just working away in the basement :). it's entertaining. It's nice to be back from vacation and back to our usual routine. Now grace and lydia can talk all they want at 5am and we don't have to hear it quite as loudly as when we had to share a room on vacation.

More Vacation PicsLydia and Grace in the pool

The 6 grandkids that were on vacation (L-R; Hudson, Grace, Charlie, Bailey, Lydia and Troy)

Grace rolled her self under the TV stand and was very pleased with herself

Lydia just chillin' out in her crib

siamese twins on swing

2009-04-20T21:24:00.004-04:00

the girls got their first ride on the swings today. now the swings weren't made to put two in like this, but it worked much better this way. looks like they are joined at the butt. another fun day of vacation. so far the girls have survived the many cousins. grace did get sat on while sitting in her carseat by 18 month old bailey, but she didn't even cry.

vacation with kids

2009-04-19T23:18:00.003-04:00

so we are learning that vacation with kids is a very different phenomenon. we pretty much expected this though so we're o.k. about it. today we got up early (it's harder to ignore the girls in the morning when they're in the same room) and tag teamed staying back at the house to watch the girls. we ventured into the pool yesterday which was the girls first time in a pool. they were uncertain at first but then splashed their little hearts out. there are 4 of their cousins here as well which makes for a pretty fun and crazy house-full.

7 months

2009-04-17T19:38:00.002-04:00

the girls are exactly 7 months today. and to celebrate, we strapped them into carseats for multiple hours while we drove to charlotte, NC. we are on our way to hilton head, sc for vacation with my family. the trip went much faster than last time when we braved it when they were 5 weeks old (to maximize my maternity leave). we can now feed them in their carseats. don't worry, we stopped a couple of times to get them out of those darned seats to stretch--or whatever babies like to do. they did great. I'm hoping to catch up on blogging, updating pics etc during the next few relaxing days.

weight and shots

2009-04-03T08:35:00.004-04:00

the girls are now quite immunized --got their 6 month shots the other day. Grace howled for a good 3-5 minutes and Lydia just gave a good 20 second screech and was over it. gotta love the personalities emerging. for those of you who love the mundane details, lydia weighs 14 lbs, 10 oz and grace is 14 lb 14 oz. (which is about 20th percentile) they are the same height and they both have gigantic heads (90th percentile) but so do Ryan and i so I think we're o.k. Ryan, if you see this post, i have been working on my stuff, this is my only little break so thanks for watching the girls this morning :)

adorable boogers

2009-03-30T22:50:00.004-04:00

my kids have been looking like "those kids" these days--you know, the ones that are constantly crusty under the nose. they look very neglected even though I wipe their nose umpteen times a day much to their dismay. they usually move their heads back and forth as I try to wipe which ends up as a big smear of snot all across their faces :). so i now own the crusty kids. got some cute boogie pics though. my month of ICU is now over!!! I can back into the real world now. I do have a big presentation in about 10 days that I haven't even started that is hanging over my head like a cloud but then after that it will be smooth sailing for a big. i've got several great new pics of the girls, but i'll have to add them in small morsels rather than dumping them all at once.

6 months!

2009-03-18T21:13:00.003-04:00

yesterday was the girls 6 month birthday! they are attempting rice cereal and they're terrible at it :). we had a fun time trying it though. lydia beat grace in the rolling over competition today too. big exciting baby things in our house which equals boring tidbits of info for everyone else--sorry. pictures are always good, so enjoy.

laundry and scones--at 4am

2009-03-05T05:32:00.005-05:00

I have been working nights for about 5 weeks now and I've been able to sleep o.k on my nights off until tonight. I woke up at 3am wide awake. After trying to go back to sleep for about 45 minutes and telling Ryan to quit snoring 3 times I decided to give up and embrace the night. I got the dogs up (they'll get out of their crates anytime) and decided to make scones and fold some laundry. You know, all the normal stuff that people do at 4am :). This month has been more difficult (and it's only the 5th day of it) because I have only about 1-2 hours of awake time at home between shifts and if the girls are napping during that time then I don't get to be with them at all. I hate to be a whiner, but if you can't complain on your own blog, where can you complain ? :) It will get better in April--just in time for warm weather. Lydia and Grace are so much fun. We try and try to get videos of them smiling and laughing but as soon as that camera is in front of them they become very stoic. So we have a lot of very boring footage but we'll keep trying. I have rice cereal on my shopping list so we're progressing to solid foods soon (i'm waiting until the last minute to start them because they've just started to be masters of their 8 oz bottles).

Can't sleep on night float

2009-02-27T04:43:00.004-05:00

I am on NICU night float (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) and I can't sleep. I WAS sleeping but then was woken up to to to a delivery and now I'm just surfing around and decided to blog. It is my last shift of the month--yea! but the excitement is short lived because I go to PICU (pediatric intensive care unit) night float. The NICU is sick little people and the PICU is sick kids. With the NICU we get to go to deliveries which is fun especially when it's a healthy baby. I look at deliveries differently now. When I first saw a delivery I just thought "gross, but a little cool" and then when I was pregnant I thought "I want to get off this rollercoster and never do what SHE is doing" and now I think "o.k. still gross, but isn't this great guys, you are parents, aren't you just SO excited--you're going to love it (o.k. most of it)?!?!" I have to hold myself back from being straight up annoying. I love handing the baby to the dad with the shaking hands that can't find his camera even though it is dangling around his wrist. O.k., that is my rambling for now. I'll attach a picture for good measure because a post without a picture is really kind of boring. I'll save the "ab update" post and the "how many times have I been asked if I am pregnant" posts for another time :).

Photos Gone

2009-02-24T11:29:00.007-05:00

We don't know what happened, but all of our photos are kaput. Perhaps Picasa will do something in the meantime to fix the problem, but one day they were just gone.

Ryan has updated the site, and there is now a link to our main Photo album at the top of this page, which will usually be updated with our latest downloads from our camera.

Here is a few new ones to get started with repopulating the blog:

Happy Valentines Day!

2009-02-14T21:28:00.005-05:00

We enjoyed a non-traditional valentines day today. Background: we aren't big into valentines day--we usually just do small things for eachother. Ryan thinks it is made up and would be fine doing nothing (he is not anti-romance, he just chooses to do nice things on regular days), but I succomb to societal peer pressure and like the small things. These two ideas about valentines day caused some problems on our first V-day because I told Ryan it wasn't a big deal and he interpreted it as "do nothing at all". I think there may have been tears even, so now we discuss valentines "expectations" so that scenario isn't repeated :). Anyhow, I worked overnight last night and I had just enough steam left to go out for a valentines breakfast. So, we put the girls in their matching outfits (see below), compliments of their Uncle Eric and Aunt Amy and went out ot our usual breakfast place for our first valentines day as a family. Then I spent the bulk of the afternoon sleeping in preparation for another night shift (I'm at work typing this) and then the whole family got baths (including the dogs) --not all at once though :). I hope you all enjoyed the day in your own unique ways as well.

Cozy Winter Day

2009-01-28T10:33:00.004-05:00

The girls and I are having a cozy winter morning. The snow has been lazily falling all morning and I don't have to be at work until 1 today. Ryan decided to venture out to starbucks but I love being homebound. Lydia and Grace had their 4 month visit. Grace now weighs 12 lbs 2 oz and Lydia weighs 11 lbs 13 oz. They both have sizeable heads--not pathologically but more genetically. They took their shots like champs--much better than Ryan does--they didn't pass out :). They still don't have a lot of tricks, but at 4 months I don't have high expectations. They're smiling and reaching for things pretty well. Another update on the job front, I am now have a job for next year. I will be working at several pediatric urgent care sites here in Columbus that Nationwide Children's hospital (the one I am currently at) runs. It has nice hours and no overnights so it will allow me to spend more time with Ryan and the twins. Two other residents/friends will be starting there the same time I do so that is an additional bonus. Ryan will continue to take care of the girls when I'm working and will hopefully have time to build up his web business as well. We're excited about the job and the fact that we don't have to work on selling our house this spring!

Early morning update

2009-01-22T04:53:00.002-05:00

it's 4:45 and I am up and pumping for my 6 am shift. have i mentioned that pumping is getting old? I go back and forth about whether I want to continue or not so for now I've come to a compromise. I am only pumping 3 times a day which ends up making a world of difference. I was going crazy trying to work/pump/eat/enjoy and care for babies etc. It's been interesting adjusting to working full time again. I'm on ER this month which is shift work and the shifts are sporadically scheduled. so that means that I can have a run of shifts in a row which invariably means I'll get grumpier and grumpier about the state of things in my life and the world in general (too much time in the ER and not much time at home = a jaded grumpy individual) then I'll have a few days off and everything is rosy. Ryan becomes the real saint in all of this of course. He puts up with the ranting and is ready to clear his schedule for some time together whenever my schedule lets up.

On a lighter note, Lyida and Grace are doing well. They are both all smiles recently and seem to converse with us in coos and squeals. No rolling yet but lydia did take a spill off of a low ottoman recently when her carseat tipped--she's o.k. and her parents are too ( I think it's more traumatizing for the parents anyhow). They are having their 4 month visit with the pediatrician next week and I'm looking forward to the great weigh in (why do we perseverate on their weight? I think it's because it's a reflection of our nurturing skills--our ability to feed and care for them so that they grow).

We enjoyed the inauguration and especially the historic significance of it all. I love getting a glimpse into the life of the president and his family. It's so intriguing. I kept trying to tell the girls all about why this year's inauguration was unique, but they didn't seem to grasp it :). I think they might be a better audience at the next one when they are four and they'll probably be in their "why" stage about every little thing.

So, that's a mini-all-over-the-place update for now.

Thankful

2009-01-11T04:46:00.002-05:00

Tonight after my shift I snuck into the girls room and just looked at them and listened to them breathe (after I made sure they were breathing). Usually I don't go into their room when I get home at crazy hours (the time of this post is nearly 5am) but driving home from my ER shift tonight I was thinking about how thankful I am that they are healthy. It sounds very cliche I guess, but that has been my theme lately, especially after 10 hours with sick kids. I'm happy for health.

Pictures with the cousins

2008-12-28T08:27:00.003-05:00

The twins and I spent 5 days in Chagrin Falls at my mom's over Christmas. My sister Laura also flew in from St.Louis and my other two sisters ( Megan and Amy) both live in town so I was able to spend lots of time with my sisters and their kids. My mom's house is kid friendly so we all settled in with the babies for a cozy 5 days. We had to practically take numbers for pack-n-play usage with 5 kids needing naps. The swing was a hot commodity as was the exersaucer (the twins don't use it yet but Charlie [6 mos] and Bailey [15 mos] traded off). My sisters decided we'd be brave and planned a photo shoot with the cousins at the local photography place. So, we lined up the kids and spent the next 30 minutes trying to get 6 kids to smile: Jordan, 18 (she cooperated of course), Hudson--3, Bailey, Charlie, Lydia and Grace. We were missing Troy who lives in North Carolina :(. It was hilarious to watch. The twins pretty much just sat there and soaked it all up. Bailey and Hudson wanted to be up and about playing with the cool toys there. We actually managed to get a few good ones as you can see above. I like the one where Grace is giving Lydia the 'stink eye'--I think because she's still mad that Lydia got to be the baby Jesus.

Merry Christmas

2008-12-25T08:04:00.002-05:00

Hope you all are having a wonderful Christmas. Grace is lying here smiling and kicking and very excited about tearing through presents once Mommy finishes pumping and Daddy gives her her bottle. We've been having a great time with their cousins, aunts and grandparents here in Cleveland and we'll be loading up the family (including the dogs) to head to Cincinnati this afternoon to see aunts, cousins and grandparents there! I have some great pics which I'll add later.

Baby Jesus is a twin!

2008-12-23T18:44:00.004-05:00

Lydia made her debut as the baby Jesus this past Sunday. It was sort of a last minute decision. My sister Amy was Mary in the Christmas play at my family's church and she volunteered one of the twins to be the real live baby Jesus! I dressed both girls in white onesies under their outfits so that whichever one was more "baby Jesus like" at the start of the play would be cast as Jesus. Lydia beat out Grace by a narrow margin and did a fabulous job. It was hilarious. She had shepherds and wisemen bowing down to worship her. what an ego boost for her. She even laid in the manger for part of the play. She hammed it up and waved her arms about in a very Christ like way and waited to poop up her back until later in the day. We put Grace in the manger for a minute for pictures and you can see why Lydia made the cut and not baby Grace :). The last picture of is of cousin Charlie (6 months) squashed in the manger with the twins.

Pizza and a movie

2008-12-20T07:40:00.002-05:00

We decided to have a 'stay home' date last night of pizza and movie. one of our old favorite ways to spend an evening. I think the babies knew the plan and worked as a team AGAINST us--and they roped the dogs into the plan too! They were sleeping peacefully in their swings when we sat down to the movie. First lydia started wimpering--she rarely cries--so I picked her up, gave her a pacifier--crisis averted. Five minutes later Grace did the exact same thing. So, we're both holding a baby and trying to juggle our pizza at the same time while following the plot of the movie. THEN the dogs come tearing down the stairs and start making a big ruckus by wrestling and play-fighting. Things just kept happening and it really started to get comical--Grace pooped up her back not once, but twice requiring two wardrobe changes. Lydia pulled this shenanigan only once. Bocce chewed up a burp cloth and peed on the nursery rug just for spite twice. Things aren't usually this crazy with so man body substances flowing freely in our house, but I really think they all consipred together to thwart our relaxing time together and they had to use the resources available to them :). Hope any potential babysitters don't read this post because it looks like we'll need them.

A visit from Santa

2008-12-18T07:34:00.006-05:00

The girls got their first visit from Santa this past week. They were relatively unimpressed :). Our neighbor John graciously made a stop at our place in full Santa garb. It went like this: Santa enters and the dogs immediately start jumping and sniffing (they want to get their requests in too--or maybe it's because Santa has a daschund). Hope that last sentence didn't ruin the magic of santa for anyone--I don't think I have any 5 year old readers. So, once the dogs calmed down we handed over the girls to santa for some pics. Grace was already in a little snit before he came to be fair to poor santa but her crying continued as he was holding her. She was calmed by her favorite pacifier, but she kept loosing it in Santa's beard! When she would cry she would flail her arms around and get her little fingers caught in santa's beard and pull it down! What a little stinker--she is already exposing the true identity of santa. It's a good thing we did this trial run in our house rather than have this fiasco go down in the middle of the mall :). Anyhow, Lydia just looked a little bewildered the entire time. When santa stood up to leave, 3 green pacifiers tumbled out of his beard. Grace fell asleep immediately after he left. All in all it was pretty entertaining.

Pumping & Posting

2008-12-10T17:15:00.004-05:00

This is not so much a cutesy update as it is a brief glimpse into my everyday world so guys beware :) It's 5:15pm and I just got home from work. I'm hungry and I don't think I remembered to pee today, but first things first--I have to pump. This is the new story of my life. Background: the twins only get breastmilk (for the most part), but they only take it from a bottle--they aren't very good at taking it the old fashioned way so our pediatrician encouraged me to just pump it all. I definitely have mixed feelings about pumping. It's good for Lydia and Grace of course and I think it's supposed to be good for me too--oh and it's much cheaper than formula--but, pardon the pun, it's a time sucker. It doesn't sound that hard to do something every 3-4 hours, does it? Well, it is--at least for me. It's just the remembering and the stopping that can difficult. Sometimes I don't want to stop and pump--I just want to keep shopping or doing whatever I am doing, and adding another 20-25 minutes to pump in the morning makes it much harder to get out on time and I wasn't very good at it to begin with. However, and they don't mention this as a benefit of breastfeeding and I think they should, I think it's been beneficial for me to be forced to just stop and read, catch up on email, blog or even chat on the phone for a few minutes several times a day. Most of my picture organizing and blogging is done with the pump attached--I've gotten very good at it. I'm not sure Ryan even knows how to fall asleep anymore with out the whir-whir of the pump. I've even desensitized my female friends & family to the whole idea so that now I can just pump and continue socializing if it's a girls only gathering. I've pumped in multiple store dressing rooms and in the car too (as a passenger). I'd also like to make a disclaimer about formula--I'm not against it and will be feeding it to my girls when this pumping stuff really gets old. So, now that you all know about my feelings on breast pumping, I'll be sure to make the next entry cutesy, include pics and talk about the 'other twins' :).

Christmas Kickoff

2008-12-01T10:57:00.005-05:00

One of the Hurst family traditions is to cut down our Christmas tree over Thanksgiving weekend. We make a day of it and drag everyone out to our favorite tree farm to run around the rows and rows of trees yelling out "I like this one!" and "No way, that one is way to ___ (insert adjective: skinny, fat, tall, sparse, bald)". I love it and since I am a huge stickler for traditions we have adopted it as our family tradition as well (Ryan gets bonus points for going along with this plan every year since he was raised with artificial trees which I hear involve much less work). Since we stayed in town for Thanksgiving we went to a tree farm here in Columbus with our new little family. We bundled the twins in warm blankets (complements of Jan, Suzie and Carnie) put them in their double bob all terrain stroller (which I highly recommend by the way) and picked out our tree. They didn't have much of an opinion this year, but hopefully they'll be more involved in years to come:). As always putting up the tree was a fiasco and ended in Ryan cutting off two feet from the bottom. It's up now and lit and it adds a certain coziness to our living room that really embodies Christmas. Pictures Top-Bottom: Lydia, Grace and I by the chosen tree; Lydia (left) and Grace in their Christmas hats knit by our neighbor, Becky; Lydia hanging out in her swing enjoying the lights and ornaments; Lydia and Grace again modeling the full knit Christmas ensemble.

Babies' first Thanksgiving

2008-11-29T17:14:00.002-05:00

We spent Thanksgiving with our good friends, the Taylors here in Columbus. They are our surrogate family here in Columbus and we enjoyed an amazing dinner and game filled evening at their house. The girls were held and cuddled by many, although they did have competition as there was a 2 week old baby there named Thomas. He weighed more than Lydia! We usually bring the dogs to the Taylors even though it never fails that one of them does something out of the ordinary that causes a big mess. This time we left the dogs at home to avoid any drama but Lydia and Grace decided to keep the tradition going. Lydia started first by puking her entire bottle up--she was like a geyser. There was a puddle of breast milk on the kitchen floor and all over Ryan and Lydia. 15 minutes later after we had cleaned up Lydia's mess Grace decided to compete with her sister and puked up her entire bottle. By this time we were out of outfits (Grace had peed on hers earlier) so Grace had to wear her birthday suite (plus a diaper) until a load of laundry could be done. Happy memories from their first Thanksgiving! The Taylors were understanding and gracious as usual and might even invite us back for future events.

It's incredible what a year can do

2008-11-27T08:00:00.005-05:00

Many of you know we have a tradition every year with our college friends called "Malone Thanksgiving". We started the tradition after we realized that we never get to spend holidays with our roommates and friends from school even though they are like family . . . so eight years ago Malone Thanksgiving was born and it has been going on ever since. Coming to this event with our twins this year made an already special event even more monumental. When we got in the car to drive there I said to Ryan "It's Malone Thanksgiving and I have two babies!" One of my favorite parts of the weekend was seeing all of our friends holding the girls and pitching in to help with diapers and feedings . . . without even being asked. I would just look over and there was Lydia in all her glory getting a fresh diaper. The most special part of the evening is when we go around the table and say what we are thankful for which usually turns into a time of sharing what has happened in our lives over the past year--good or bad. It is an amazing thing (started by Wendy--there's your shout out Wen if you're reading this). I am usually cliche when it's my turn--"I'm thankful for Ryan, my family, etc" to keep things simple and to avoid getting emotional and my plan this year was no different--but when it came to be my turn it just hit me--how amazingly blessed I am to have Lydia and Grace--and things turned emotional real quick. Luckily Ryan saved me with his wit and took the attention away from me and my tears :). It was incredibly surreal to be at this annual event where we review the events of the previous year around close friends with my beautiful, perfect little girls.

Back to Work Week 1

2008-11-21T10:08:00.004-05:00

This week was my first official week back after maternity leave. So far there haven't been any tears or breakdowns, but that could be because I worked only 2 half and 2 full days and I'm home with the girls today :) It could also be attributed to the fact that I'm leaving them in the capable hands of their dad. The rotation I am currently on is very laid back and enjoyable (I'm working in a suburban general pediatricians office 5 minutes from our house). I think getting out and going to work makes me soak up the time at home with the girls even more. I'm sure more emotionally distraught posts will follow once I am on more difficult months so I'll save it until then. On a more practical note, the girls had their 2 month visit which included shots and we all survived. They are growing wonderfully! I included a couple of recent pictures: Lydia having an "Aha" moment and Ryan holding Grace :).

Girls Weekend

2008-11-16T15:44:00.004-05:00

I just got back from my first night away from the twins since they came home from the NICU. I went on a girls weekend trip to Chicago with some friends. I flew in Saturday morning and back home again on Sunday (today) so it was really only 30 hours away but I did miss the girls. I called home a couple of times and listened to them squeak on the phone. Ryan held down the fort without a problem. Friends Wendy, Jay and Sarah came down from Canton and helped him out to give him a little break. Wouldn't you know it that the first time I'm gone overnight and the twins slept through the night! I hope this is a trend that will continue. The trip was a success--we saw the musical "Wicked" (which I highly recommend) and had a fun night on the town. On my flight home when I was contemplating how I was looking forward to seeing the twins I came to the realization that this trip was the exact same length as some of my calls will be when I go back to work! I find that funny because I was all dramatic about leaving the twins and making sure Ryan was prepared with plenty of milk and lots of instructions, but really we'll be doing this routine on a regular basis this winter when I take call in some of my harder months. I didn't bring the girls back any souvenirs but I did bring them back a cooler full of breast milk that was pumped all over the city of Chicago which I'm sure tastes better than milk pumped in regular old Columbus :).

Fun with the Dogs

2008-11-14T06:44:00.004-05:00

People often ask how the dogs and babies are getting along so I thought I'd show some pictures of their interactions:). O.K., so these are pictures of the forced interactions between the babies and the dogs. Bocce and Widget are actually doing well with the babies. Bocce was curious at first but now the babies aren't that exciting to her. Every once in awhile the dogs will get in a good lick to the girls heads or faces if we aren't paying attention, but it's always cursory and I think the real motivation is the constant crusting of milk around the babies' mouths that draws the dogs to taste them. Kind of like when they lick the crumbs off of the kitchen floor. Some people warned us that our dogs were going to fall several rungs down the ladder of significance in our lives but I don't think things have changed that much. If anything their lives are better because they're out of the crate all day now and every once in awhile one of the twins might just spit up on the floor where the dogs can reach it :)--hey, any kind of clean up help is appreciated. We even hired a dog trainer to help us with the dogs--more on that in another entry. Well, it's 7am which means feeding time and now that I've finished my morning pumping and blogging-- simultaneously I might add-- I can start my day (whatever happened to just getting up and getting in the shower?). By the way that's Lydia and Widget in the pictures. No babies or dogs were hurt in the making of these pictures :)

The Rainbow Effect

2008-11-08T10:16:00.002-05:00

When we walk through public places with the twins we leave a wake of smiling people, most of them saying 'awww, twins' (at least the women). I like to call it the Rainbow Effect--it's like I'm carrying around a rainbow that makes everybody a little happier when you pass by. More often than not people will stop us to ask us the routine twin questions: 1. Are they twins? 2. Are they girls/boys (depending on the outfits) 3. How old are they? 4. Are they identical? 5. Do you have twins in your family? (a.k.a. did you use fertility Rx?) 6. What are their names? etc, etc. Then after the questions we usually hear about their closest link to twins or a new infant so I've heard lots about other peoples' children and grandchildren :). Last night at dinner we spent 15 minutes talking to a canadian couple at the table next to us and even looking at pictures of their 4 and 8 year old children. I don't mind all of the attention and the answering of questions and I'm especially happy to have it shifted off of my belly and onto my babies. Most people we meet are very kind and remind us to soak up every minute, enjoy the girls and they are always sure to congratulate us (although one lady said to me 'they're 5 weeks and you still have that belly there'? however, she was about 250 lbs so I didn't take to heart). I think it's really sweet of everyone to show so much interest, and I think I'll miss this 'Rainbow Effect' once the girls are older and they don't have that newborn charm that apparently makes everyone smile.

Election Day 2008

2008-11-05T19:10:00.003-05:00

Despite the fact that we could have arranged to vote absentee or even to vote early when things were calm in the Battles household we decided to wait until the last minute to exercise our right to vote--6:30 pm on election day. I had heard horror stories about the lines and I'll be honest-- I had a low threshold for saying "well, we tried" and walking away (like the toy story dinosaur when he is about to cross the busy street--sarah I know you're laughing at that image if you're reading this). Our two hour breaks between feeds are precious! Luckily there wasn't a line and we walked right in a caused a ruckus with the twins since the election centers are staffed mainly by matronly ladies. They were all a twitter about the girls and quickly offered to watch them which we politely declined :). After voting we collected our 'we voted' goodies which were free doughnuts at krispy kreme and free coffee at starbucks. It's always fun to think back to what we were doing the last election day and how different our lives have become since then. At the next election when they are four they'll have fun looking back at the pictures of when they were babies and did the responsible thing and voted--kind of :). [ Top to bottom: Ryan and I with our post voting goodies; Lydia looking very proud of her sticker; Grace bored with the process; The twins together with grace on the right]

Two Peas in a Pod

2008-11-03T16:38:00.005-05:00

I wasn't planning on dressing up the twins for Halloween since they're only 6 weeks old and don't have any older sibs to trick or treat with but my sister Megan bought the twins these outfits for dirt cheap last minute since her kids were dressing up (this is all while we were in HHI). Coincidentally the peapod costume created a great play on words :). So here they are on their first Halloween. Hudson was a pirate and Bailey was tinkerbell so we were quite a little troop of trick or treaters. The girls quickly fell asleep in their snuggly costumes. We don't have any super warm wear yet for walks so we're thinking they just might wear their peapod costumes for walks over the next few months--I'm sure the neighbors will get a kick out of that.

Home Again

2008-11-02T23:59:00.002-05:00

Well, we're back home. The girls are swaddled and tucked into their crib hopefully for at least a 5 hour stretch. They survived their first vacation and are no worse for the wear. We maximized our time complete with a trip through the smoky mountains, an overnight stay in Asheville, NC and a visit with all of the cousins and Aunts/Uncles on the Battles' side on the way home. I haven't uploaded the rest of the pictures yet but hopefully I'll get to that soon. We have all of our vacation stuff piled up by the front door that I have to dig through tomorrow before I can focus on pictures, etc.

Vacation Update Part one

2008-10-28T22:26:00.007-04:00

We've been dressing them in the same outfits some this week just for fun. I love them in these cute pink onesies just enjoying a little twin bonding time. Grace fell asleep for it though.

Lydia checking out the view from Harbor town. We didn't waste the 50 cents it costs to use this since her vision is still pretty poor being a newborn and all :).

This is Ryan's first attempt at feeding Lydia and Grace at the same time while I was at the pool. He started feeding them at 2 and finished at 2:30 which is record time!He even recorded the event with these pictures.

Once the burping started it got a little more complicated

The twins and I sitting at our usual table at our favorite HHI coffee shop.

So, as you can see we're having a great time here, believe it or not it has been relaxing so far. My sister Megan and her two kids arrived today (Hudson, 3 and Bailey 13 months) so things are getting more boisterous. Lydia already got a good smack on the head from Bailey (all the other touches were gentle to be fair to her) and Hudson gave Grace a football that he thought she'd like to play with.

Still Spontaneous--kind of

2008-10-26T10:02:00.003-04:00

Thursday morning Ryan and I went out for breakfast (with the twins in tow). We were highly caffeinnated and discussing how low gas prices were getting--then Ryan said "hey, we should take a road trip" and I said (kind of joking really), "well, we are currently jobless" and now we are in Hilton Head Island, SC feeding the girls from our balcony overlooking palm trees and the pool! I also had to use 2 weeks of vacation for this maternity leave so it made sense to actually take a vacation. Now I'll be honest, I'm more of a planner and never was really spontaneous to begin with so of course I was reluctant to plan a trip in 24 hours ( we left Friday night) but to prove I have small shred of spontaneity I went along with it. We got a great deal on a condo since it's off season and the weather forecast doesn't look half bad. We split the trip up into two days and stopped every 3 hours to feed the girls. The girls had a lot of firsts along the way--first hotel stay, first time in starbucks, mcdonalds and cracker barrel--pretty much everything is a first I these days. We plan to ejoy the beach and pools in between feedings. Why not be tired in a nicer environment ?:)

Ryan's Race Day

2008-10-20T03:24:00.002-04:00

Yesterday Ryan and I got up super early, bundled up the girls and made our way downtown for the Columbus 1/2 marathon. I was a well rested (and warm) spectator while Ryan ran the entire 13.1 miles (in 30 degree weather) like a champ. His average pace was a little over 9 1/2 minutes per mile which I'm thoroughly impressed with. Several residents came out to help with the babies and to cheer Ryan on (bottom picture L to R :Stacy, Me, Jess and Eddie). Lydia and Grace slept peacefully in their baby bjorns and supported their dad from their dreams :). I'm sure next race they'll be much more animated. By the way, at their last doctor visit they were each up over a pound--Lydia was 6 lbs 4 oz and Grace was a solid 7 lbs.

Newborns aren't so photogenic:)

2008-10-18T18:39:00.003-04:00

We were trying to take a picture of the girls in their matching "daddy loves me" outfits. I think the pics just keep getting worse :). Don't judge my kids looks by these pics--their lack of head control at this stage makes photo shoots challenging :).

Ahh, the little things

2008-10-15T20:09:00.001-04:00

So, last night I did something I haven't done in months--I slept on my stomach! Sounds like no big deal, right? To me though it's a milestone in my recovery from pregnancy. Every day I realize little things that I am able to do again now that I am closer to a normal size. I can't believe the reductions in trips to the bathroom--and walking without a waddle really is a perk. I never thought I'd say this, but sometimes I do miss being pregnant. I don't miss the aches, pains and awkwardness that came with carrying a 35 lb medicine ball around, but what I do miss is being a little threesome with the twins. It was kind of fun to have them around all of the time and now that they are out in the real world , mom and twin cuddle time doesn't happen nearly enough with all the daily demands of raising newborn twins.

Out and about

2008-10-12T16:11:00.002-04:00

Yesterday Ryan's family came to visit, including his Grandpa Battles. We enjoyed the great weather and went to Inniswood park with the twins and the rest of the family. It is hard to get used to being tethered to our home by these two little ones unless we bring them along. The weather has been amazing lately and before we had the twins we would have been out riding our bikes, taking a long hike in the park, or enjoying a date at a restaurant with a patio. It's easy to miss the lack of responsibility we had before Lydia and Grace came along, but I know that we really maximized our time together without kids and we're entering into a new chapter. We have these two beautiful babies as a trade off and sitting around giving them bottles and hearing them burp loudly has become our new mainstay of entertainment :).

1 week down

2008-10-08T09:41:00.002-04:00

We've survived our first week of parenting! The twins seem to be no worse for it. They might smell a little more like spit up and dirty diapers than when they were in the NICU, but at least they are growing and thriving. We've settled into our routine for the most part. Ryan is sleeping as I am taking the morning shift. It's only 9:45 and I've fed and burped two babies, fed two dogs (and refereed their eating since Bocce is a bully and eats Widgets food), pumped breastmilk (while feeding a twin--hope that didn't give you a visual) and finally fed myself. I'm still in my bathrobe though--a shower and real clothes are my next task. Today Lydia and Grace are 3 weeks old. We took them on their first walk in their stroller yesterday. They weren't too excited about the walk--they slept through the whole thing. I'll have to attach a photo to my next post that our neighbor kindly took. My friend Jess volunteered to babysit the babies last night so we took advantage of it and went on our first date since the girls have left the NICU (within one week--pretty good). She's a pediatrician so she was way overqualified as a babysitter. Well, I'm off to the shower before the next feeding rolls around and we have to do it all over again.

2008-10-04T10:21:00.002-04:00

Titles put the post in a box, so no title today for this post. The babies had their first pediatrician appt yesterday and were given a clean bill of health and they both gained weight. Ryan had to work and I planned to do our appointment solo, but one of my resident friends, Jess, graciously came over early to feed/diaper/dress a twin and to help me out with the appointment. The visit was so successful that we decided to try out the mall. Jess played 'defender of the babies' to aggressively ward off any people who tried to touch them and the girls had their first taste of fashion (although they both slept through banana republic so I think we'll have to work on their fashion sense). We were also given the green light by their pediatrician to let them go 4 hours between feedings at night which is especially good for Ryan as he is the nighttime guy--it's part of our new arrangement. I wish that meant that I was able to sleep for 7 straight ours, but I still have to get up every 3-4 hours to pump. I get the morning shift so he can sleep in.
It's weird to not be able to go out for dinner whenever we want or just run to the store but for now I think we're o.k. with that. We are enjoying spending time together at home, feeding the girls, burping, changing and especially cuddling the twins.

Lydia and Grace's homecoming

2008-10-01T18:02:00.003-04:00

The twins are officially home. We had quite a busy day yesterday. My parents happened to be in town as well as my sister (Laura) and her baby, Charlie so we coincidentally had lots of help. Ryan spent the morning running errands like made since again we were unprepared for these two while I tried to complete last minute details around the house. After several trips to the car for forgotton things (those darn car seats--are they really that crucial?) they finally let the girls leave the hospital. They looked so tiny in their carseats! We have uploaded new pics onto the picassa album, but I've added a couple to this post as you can see. Our wonderful neighbors made us a sign that read "Welcome Home Lydia & Grace" and put it up in our front yard and my mom decorated the porch with two pink balloons.
We survived the first night in one piece--mostly because the girls are still on their NICU schedules and we are trying to keep it that way. We actually braved Babies R Us and Target with them in their double stroller and of course we got quite a few comments. They currently burritoed (our term for swaddled) and lying next to eachother in Grace's crib. So cute.

Coming Home!!

2008-09-30T10:20:00.002-04:00

So, the twins are possibly coming home today. Lydia is ready for sure. She passed her carseat test with flying colors (they have to sit in the carseat for 1 hour and maintain normal vital signs) and is eating like a champ both from the bottle and the real deal. Grace decided she didn't want to be left all alone in the NICU and really stepped up to the plate yesterday. However, she failed her carseat test twice but apparently they still might send her--one of us would just have to sit in the backseat and watch her to make sure she doesn't turn blue :). We didn't think they'd be home until the end of the week so it was a surprise when they said--o.k., Tuesday is the day. So, last night was our last night without any kids at home--life will definitely be changing in a big way. I'm nervous about only getting sleep in 2 hour increments for the next weeks-months, but also excited to have the girls around 24/7. Ryan went around last night setting up baby toys and swings which our 3 month old nephew Charlie eagerly tried out for us. He is running last minute errands right now including car shopping as we need a large vehicle for 2 girls 2 adults and 2 dogs. Our posts will likely become less frequent once we get into the thick of this newborn parenting stuff, but we'll try.

Late Night Visit

2008-09-28T12:38:00.004-04:00

Yesterday we made two visits to the NICU: our usual daytime visit and then an impromptu late night visit b/c we missed them. They've been letting us unhook one or both of the babies from their monitor briefly so the whole family can relax in one room. Ryan and I each were holding a twin late last night in our respective rocking chairs and it was great to be a little family--it felt almost normal.
We are also working on buying a car for our expanded family. Ryan drives a nice sized car (impala) that will easily hold two babies in their carseats, but since we also have our two boston terriers we need something that doesn't involve putting the dogs in the trunk . We made another visit to the dreaded babies R us to buy some essentials, including our two carseats (the ones they'll graduate to after they grow out of the infant carrier seats). We went round and round the store withour car overflowing and since I look about 5 months pregnant people probably thought we were going a little overborad a little too early :). The girls are slowly improving on their feeds. Little Lydia is ahead of her chubbier sister and will likely go home first (this is common with twins in the NICU)--maybe even before next weekend. We've been giving Grace pep talks to promote a little healthy sibling rivalry, but she seems to be o.k. with her older sister (by two minutes) taking the lead. The pics: (Top to bottom) Grace getting her bath, Lydia looking overwhelmed at feat of taking the entire bottle, me with the girls at our late night visit.

Day of Life 10

2008-09-26T16:25:00.002-04:00

Wish my entries were as thought provoking as Ryan's, but I'll continue to play the role of updater. Maybe I'll work my way to becoming deep on my blog--I'm new to the blogging world. I am at the NICU taking a break while the girls nap. They stick to their every three hour feeding schedule that the NICU sets up perfectly, but I'm sure as soon as we enter our house they'll wake up to the world and find their lungs :). Today they both had baths--one by the nurse and one by mom once I learned the official technique. Still working on feeds--that's about it. They are both keeping their temps up without problems. Our updates are going to be 'working on feeds, working on feeds, working on feeds' which is typical of the last few days of a NICU course. So, we might be home in a week, we'll see. It's totally up to the babies. We were saying to each other that it feels like we are in a school project where you are in an intense parenting class during the day and then we come home to our old life with just the dogs in the evenings.

A Stay-at-home Dad with No Kids

2008-09-25T21:40:00.002-04:00

People often ask me what it is that I do. I suppose I could answer that in a number of ways: a student, a freelancer, a part-time IT specialist, or a stay at home dad. The latter of these didn't quite work until last Wednesday, before the kids were born. Even now, as they are in this world, I'm not really a stay-at-home dad, because they are getting 24 hour care at the NICU.

It has been a challenge to really define who I am going to become in these next few months. We are often categorized by what we do, and if we don't work, by the reason we aren't working. I have a family member that always introduces Heather as "Heather, she's a doctor." That must make me Ryan Shezadokter. So I wonder what it is that I will be defined as in the coming months (or years perhaps).

I think I know. After spending time with these twins in the NICU, I realize that there is nothing I would love to do more than spend every waking minute with them (between the hours of 9AM and 9PM, they can sleep the rest). I know that there are diapers and fussyness and sickness. Those times will be trying, but I am so in love with these two peapods called babies, that I want to quit working for a while and spend time raising them.

This decision was not easy, as just today I had to tell a business associate that I couldn't take on more freelance work. I LOVE freelance work. I love getting paid to work out of my basement in my comfort clothes with music blaring. I would love to build a business off of that type of work. The weird thing is, it is all too possible for me to do that. I am actually saying "no" to people who are offering me work.

It has been strange to transition to this new role. Something within me tells me to make a lucrative salary and own my own business. I am beginning to see that this voice within me is pride. Heather and I have our needs met, and we have these three blessings called Grace, Lydia, and a happy marriage. I think I'm going to be just fine putting those three before that voice in me called pride. That way Heather can continue her training, the twins will be able to grow up with their daddy around, and I may even manage to clean a dish or two while they take a nap (assuming they sleep in tandem).

First Video of the Twins together (Lydia on left, Grace on right)

2008-09-25T21:25:00.005-04:00

I camped out at the NICU today from 10-7 thinking I would read and catch up on other things while I sat next to the babies. However, I had lots of other fun things that came up--such as putting the twins together for a mini family photo shoot--our first time as a little family of 4 (6 if you count the dogs). Our nurses have been doing a great job of keeping us involved. I changed several diapers today, gave 2 bottles, dressed Lydia (for the first time!) and re-did ryan's first swaddle attempt. I also got to kangaroo them which is a cutesy term for skin-to-skin time. Plus the ever present pumping in order to feed these little monsters. No major developments today really. They did stop monitoring their oxygen saturation which is one less cord. Lydia is up to 4 of 8 feeds by bottle and Grace is at 3. They are trying them out from under the warmer again (called trying an 'open crib') to see if they can maintain their temperature (this is their second attempt at that). We had a lot of fun with them in the same room. JR visited today as well as Deb Taylor (2 visits actually so she gets double bonus points). My mom gets recognition for doing tons of laundry yesterday, ironing shirts and even emptying my bathroom trashcan during her visit. Amy was able to make it too and give our dogs some much needed attention.