Monday, December 31, 2012

Keep on trucking


So we are just trucking along still.

The boys are doing well.  Healthy and happy.  Sleeping through the night a lot. From 9 to about 5 and then if I'm lucky they go down for another hour.

Ned's newest word is whoa and he uses it liberally.  Even getting the context correct! He loves to help still.  He has stopped climbing on the table as much since he fell off. He was fine but may have scarred Cecilee for life.  He was on the table, she was trying to get him off, he backed away from her and fell off.  Cecilee felt awful. 


The girls got new bikes for Christmas and have been riding around when weather permits. We've all been spending time playing the new sports game we got for Christmas.  Hubby is upset that the girls keep creaming him in bowling.  

I've been getting more sleep, but it will be a while before it isn't like gold to me.  

We never did put up a tree for Christmas. It just wasn't practical this year. We weren't sure when the carpet was coming, and with toddler E into everything it just seemed like a extra headache. C made a Christmas tree project that was cute. We put it on the wall and put the presents under it. It was a little weird, but it will be a memory.  

The twins are cooing and smiling bunches.  They are almost 4 months old.  They each look different from the other.  They still have the entire ward charmed.  I've been busy in primary so it seems like hubby keeps one baby and I have to find someone else to keep the other.  I've had nothing but good reviews ( it's nap time, they just sleep and look cute) we'll see what happens when we go to a different schedule next week.  

Toddler E wants to play the kinect so bad.  I'm trying to convince the girls to try and teach him to play.  We'll see what happens.  He loves to watch them play.

Time to change the diapers!

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Toddler E


Loves to climb. Can now climb onto the table and has grown clever enough to push chairs over to what he wants.

Tonight I had some milk making cookies on the counter. The boys seem like they might need a little more nutrition (for weight issues) so I've been drinking water and I also made these. They are basically oatmeal cookies with flax seed and brewers yeast.
Anyway, toddler E saw where we were getting them, waited for a time when his sisters weren't watching, I was in the shower, etc, and went for it.  When I went to get another cookie later there were 2 left. Each had a big bite taken out of them.  There had been about 5 cookies.  All night he kept showing up with a cookie. So I think he stashed them also.

It was one of those situations where you are aggravated and amused at the same time.  And impressed :)

Monday, December 3, 2012

Life is good


Ok, so that last post focuses on negatives so I'm making myself write down my blessings.

Healthy kids. Slightly crusty noses. But doing well besides that.

Good older sister helpers.

Great husband. Very supportive and hard working.

Working with a great company putting our house back together.  

Fireplace that keeps us warm despite missing a whole lot of ducting.

Soft bed.

Reliable car.

Holiday shopping mostly done

Babies sleeping a lot at night. (I told hubby that its like a starving or thirsty man. You can't give me just a little water at a time. It's torture. I want to drink gallons of it. Sleep that is.)

Swaddles. Couldn't live without them.

iPad, kindle

Insurance

Caring hubby

Sweet kiddos

Toddler N is a smiley sweetie. Who climbed up on the piano keyboard today.  Yes he's climbing. Thanks Dad.

The other day I was walking past the nursery and out he came with a nursery leader. The front of his pants were soaked.  I asked if he had spilled water on himself.  She then asked if he was wearing a diaper. I said yes.  She checked the back of his pants and she said I don't think he's wearing a diaper.  I said no way! And then oh my heck.  We went to the mothers room to remedy the situation, all the while me trying to figure out who could have forgotten to puta diaper on him. I mean we are sleep deprived, but to forget a diaper?  Anyway, as I was removing his pants, I found his diaper down one of his pants legs.  My guess is that he was playing with the tabs.  

He likes to climb on the toilet in the guest bathroom, the table, and the bunk beds so far. I don't dare wonder what he will climb next.

Life is hard


So yeah. Life seems hard tonight.  I think I'm just tired. 

Today was a day of ups and downs.

The boys slept until 5:30.yay!
The boys wouldn't go back to sleep until their normal 7:30 wake up time.
My dreams of a long luxurious shower and perhaps some time for myself went poof!
I managed to squeeze a shower into a brief moment when they took a short nap.

Trying to get anything done anymore seems like I'm slogging through quicksand.  Sure, say I want to go work on a Christmas project.  In order to do that someone has to be napping.  And even then the someone who is napping may want to be held.

Say I want to go anywhere.  I can't. The only time I go anywhere during the day involves a massive effort.  We went to Costco during the day last week and it was a huge production involving a double stroller, a cart, and way to much time getting little bodies in and out of carseats. 

Yes. We are almost there on sleep.  With extra feedings for baby Q the long periods of sleep are getting better. But it's just so hard to fathom the difference between one baby and two unless you have been there before.

I don't have any time or brain cells left to do much thinking.  Hubby keeps asking me what I want for Christmas and i can't think of anything.  But that's only because sleep doesn't come in pill form yet.


I'm exhausted and I think I just need to figure out how to make time to do something for me.  Hubby gives me breaks, I guess I just need to figure out how to better use them.

I've got ward help. But when they come I focus on getting my house clean and organized. Or I go to doctors appointments.  I do get a shower when they come.  They help me so much.  Can you imagine where I would be If I didn't have that help?


I think I should go to bed.  I need to drink more water and eat more veggies.

I miss my Mom.

Don't ask me about carpet, remodeling, if I want anymore kids, what I want for Christmas, how badly I need a haircut, why Its time to repaint my home, or any of the other subjects that are overwhelming me right now.

life is hard.

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Baby Q

Baby Q went to the doctor by himself yesterday. He is now weighing in at 9lbs 8 oz!!

Saturday, November 24, 2012

I forgot

I forgot to mention that almost 2 weeks ago the boys were in for their 2 month check up.  Baby Q was 8lbs 14 oz. Baby N was 9 lbs 4 oz. Both healthy and doing great.

Meh

So this has been a very adventurous week.   The whole waking up once a night? Stopped as soon as I said anything.  But for good reason.  And I wonder if Baby N would be sleeping through the night if I didn't wake him up and feed him every time his brother woke up?

Anyway, the reason that we have been adventurous this week is that we woke up to a flood in our kids bathroom Monday morning. I had slept through my alarm clock (its becoming a regular thing these days) and the power had bumped so the kids alarm clock didn't go off (again, if its not the power its toddler E, and is becoming a regular thing) so we had about 5 minutes to get them off to school. Luckily they had woken up on their own and were dressed. We just had to rush through hair brushing, putting shoes on, getting lunches and backpacks, etc.  As A was going to brush her hair she told me something was wrong in the bathroom, and that there was water everywhere.

Yes, there was a pool in the bathroom and the carpet was sopping wet in the hallway.  I rushed the kids off to the bus and left the water.  It was a little crazy, but I knew that if I didn't at least take care of feeding the babies, feeding myself and Toddler E and getting the day started, that all I would be doing was adding to the chaos.

So after about 15-20 minutes of those chores, I got to work. First on the list was unclogging the toilet that had caused the whole mess.  Then I grabbed towels and began the process of clearing away the girls clothing and shoes from the floor that they had left from saturday night showers (yes they are supposed to clean that up after...) and began hauling to the washing machine, which had a very long day by the way.

I initially thought it was our kids fault.  But after cleaning (and cleaning!) a bunch of the water up, I realized that it wasn't.

After I had cleaned up the water and tried to soak as much from the carpet as I could, I grabbed a bucket and a mop and a sponge and a ton of pinesol (read somewhere that its the most effective cleaner when it comes to killing germs) and got to work. 

Somewhere in all of that I called my visiting teacher who luckily was on the list to come that morning and warned her about what was going on.  She clued me in to the fact that with a spill like this, that I might want to call in some professionals, and perhaps call my insurance. I was iffey on this, but then she said something about how would I ever be able to clean it all up and the germs and possible mold in the carpet that this could all cause....

During all of this I pieced together what had happened.  It looked like the toilet had clogged (C didn't realize this, she had put the lid down) and ran and ran.  I don't know for how long, but it wasn't running when I found it the next morning.

Anyway, after my V.T. came over and helped hold babies and care for toddler E, I called my insurance, they said call Paul Davis Restoration, and we arranged for Paul's guys to be there by noon.  Of course Hubby was at work during this and he received several phone calls, only one that was tear laden ( I was having a moment).

The restoration guys were there by about noon and after signing contract after contract (yes, I PROMISE I will pay you no matter what)  they got started.  They worked until later that night and for a few more hours the next day.

That was when the fans and dehumidifier started.  So loud that having a conversation was yelling and the TV had to be turned up really REALLY loud to watch a show.

We've had the fans since Tuesday (I think) and it is now Saturday.  We are down to 1 fan and the dehumidifier.  Its not as loud, but its still annoying.  a conversation is just in loud voices and I still can't get into the babies room while holding a baby.

The babies mattress is in the front room where the babies have been sleeping.  Everything is in an uproar and that is why schedules are all over the place.

Thanksgiving dinner was loud, but yummy.  This has definitely been a crazy holiday.   Yes, we still did our black friday shopping.

The result of the flood is that insurance is going to cover about 9-10 k worth of damage/repair/replacement.  We will be getting new carpet in the hallway and exercise room and possibly the babies room.  The family room is getting new also since there is no 'natural break' such as a door.  Linoleum will be replaced.   I'm interested to hear what will happen with the vanity since it looked bad when I was in there cleaning.  The backsplash tile will also need to be replaced since the guys doing the work broke nearly all of the tiles when they were removing them.  That one actually makes me happy.  Word to anyone out there building a house. don't choose a porous tile for a bathroom vanity. Or a kitchen cupboard for that matter. Have you ever tried to remove flour or toothpaste from porous tile?

Babies crying. got to go.

Edited to add  how glad I am that we called insurance and Paul Davis Restoration.  Initially I thought this was a small flood.  After several days of fans and dehumidifier, and around 2 days of a fan directly on it, the subfloor behind the toilet (toilet is removed) is still not dry.  I am very glad that this is being taken care of properly.  And did I mention that several feet of venting under the house had to be removed because of  'black water' being in it?. Very VERY glad for insurance and companies that know how to fix this right.

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Good News Bad News

Good News - for the past 3 nights the boys have only woken up one time. Hooray!

Bad News - Last night baby Q decided that he didn't want to go back to bed and was up for about 1 hour and 45 min or so. Not like I was keeping track :)

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

A's baptism

I just realized that I've been so busy with the twins and E that I never posted about A's baptism!

A was baptized at a stake baptism. It was fun to have 2 of my sisters and 1 of hubby's sisters there with their families there supporting A. 

The baptism started at 6 and A was supposed to be there at 5:30 with hubby to get clothes, etc.  Unfortunately this was our first outing with the twins where we all had to be ready in church clothes.  Understandably we were there about 5:45.  Luckily we only held things up about 5 min. 

All 3 boys were wearing matching outfits that Grandma W had supplied.  It was very cute and we were able to get a picture with all of the kids that turned out very cute. 

The baptism was a stake baptism and it was fun for both A and C to see kids that they knew from school. There were a couple of "I didn't know they were a member of our church Mom!" and waving at various schoolmates.

The meeting itself was a bit strange.  For one thing instead of having family members speak in the program they had members of the stake primary presidency speak.  And then after the baptisms we split into ward groups and we heard a talk about the Holy Ghost from a family member of one of the kids being baptized. 

Due to a large group from our ward being baptized along with many other kids from the stake being baptized, we were there for over 2 hours. I'd never been to a stake baptism that was that long before, as far as I can remember.

Overall, it was a wonderful experience. The boys did well and I only had to sneak out to nurse 1 - who couldn't wait - at the very end.  Since her baptism, (and since the beginning of the school year) I've noticed that A has begun to mature and take on more responsibility. I enjoy that she is able to carry babies safely (only makes me nervous every now and then) and seems to enjoy her brothers. 

We love A very much and are very glad that she is a member of our family.

Stupid daylight savings.

Last week the babies were starting to do wonderful things. Like sleep from around 9pm until 3 or so.  It was wonderful.

Then daylight savings hit.  And threw everything off.  Now they sleep from 9 or 10 to around 1 or 2.  I'm keeping the same schedule as before so here's hoping that things come back to what they were.

On another similar note, do you think that 8 weeks is to early for a nap schedule? Because I'm going crazy. The only calm time that Toddler E and I have is when the babies are napping together.  So I'm going to start trying to swaddle them for daytime naps and I guess that means that we have to follow the twin mantra "one up, both up" for feeding.  I'm not sure how that translates when one doesn't want to go to sleep. I guess that is where the schedule might kick in.

E is having a tough time these days. We had a primary presidency meeting today at my house and the poor kid had all sorts of trouble sharing (his only experience with that is in nursery.  No one steal his toys here at home - yet) and throwing fits. And probably missing Grandma who went home yesterday.  I ended up putting him in his room for a few minutes as a time out while we ended the meeting.  He cried and cried and I felt like an awful mother.  When I got him - a whole 3-4 min later - he was carrying a favorite crochet blanket (he's obsessed with them), had tears just running down his face and just wanted to cuddle.  So I ended up with a baby and E on my lap cuddling. Only the baby wanted to eat.  I was also a bit stressed from the meeting. Ugh. But I was able to make it work. I fed the baby, put it down and E and I cuddled and ate a cookie or 2 that a kind ward member had dropped off that morning.  After a while he calmed down and after about an hour stopped being touchy.

It is a definite challenge being home with 2 babies and a toddler.  Its easy to get down sometimes.  But I've found when I start feeling overwhelmed I just need to grab my shoes and head down the lane to get the mail.  E and I did this today while the babies were napping and I know it helped both of our moods. E always seems to find something to pick up and swing around and I was able to stare at the new pile of interesting things the neighbor has piled up in his side yard while walking by to the mailbox.  The neighbor is renting an outbuilding to a family member who recently closed a Mexican butchery.  They have the whole store broken down in the side yard as well as a very dilapidated taco truck parked there.

The girls are doing well as always.  A keeps losing her lunch and as a result having to buy hot lunch at school.  I always keep 5 lunches as an emergency in their accounts.  Anyway, the first time she lost her lunch turns out she had left it on the counter. It was to much for me to pile 3 kids in the car to bring a lunch to school, so I saw that one coming (she really thought her lunch had been stolen). The second time, today, she was sure it had been stolen.  But after a thorough search of her backpack it turned up.  I'm still trying to decide if she honestly thought it was stolen, or if she just wanted to have hot lunch. :)

C is doing well at school, and is becoming quite the mature young lady at almost 10.  On Sunday she bore her testimony.  She came and sat next to me during testimony meeting and showed me that she had written her testimony in a notebook.  I said that was great and that she could share it if she wanted. She said ok and stood up.  I told her she had to wait until the lady talking was done. She waited and then without a prompting got up and shared her testimony.  I was so proud and overcome with emotion.  Since I personally have a hard time getting up in front of people and sharing my testimony, it was amazing for me to see.

Sunday was also blessing day.  In this case daylight savings worked in our favor and we all were up an hour early.  We got to church on time and everything went well.  The babies were blessed by hubby and there wasn't any crying due to the quick feeding they had right before church.  The boys looked so cute in their crocheted blessing outfits.  I told hubby it looked like they were being eaten by crochet since they also were wrapped in crocheted blue blankets.  They did look cute though. I wish they could have worn their outfits for a little while longer.. All that work and it was over in less than 2 hours.

Here is a link to my sister's photography blog.  
http://www.pepperwoodphotography.blogspot.com/2012/10/twin-falls-newborn-photographer.html
She was kind enough to take pictures of the boys when they were less than1 week old. so cute!

Friday, October 26, 2012

sleep deprived

So last night I got up with the babies around 1 , got them back to bed and then tried to get back to sleep. It was going fine until hubby started moving his arms around. I didn't know what he was doing but I put my hand on his arm, he jumped a little, and then stopped. the next day he told me I touched the wrong hand. His other hand was moving. Apparently his other hand was patting the pillow he was hugging, trying to put it to sleep.

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Its a rollercoaster!

So after the my last post we went back to normal. If your definition of normal is up several times a night with twins (and that is normal to me :)

I think (cross fingers) our issue with E has been that he never knows where he is at night. He was having issues with staying in his toddler bed (kept coming out) and poor C was having to tuck him in many times and occasionally in the middle of the night. This wasn't fair to a 10 year old, so hubby and I were trying different things. One thing was putting him to bed in the crib and then transferring him to his toddler bed. Anyway, we gave up on that after the night where he kept waking up wailing. The new plan has been to put him in his toddler bed with a stern reminder that he needed to stay in the bed. Shutting the door with a stern reminder to his sisters that it was time for bed and not time for reading in bed (using the light from the hallway). this has worked for 2 nights so far. I hope it continues to work.

Its been a good reminder to me that toddlers require flexibility and trying different things.

In the meanwhile we have been very blessed. My Mother in law has gone home and then come back and is now out of town (across the US). We are hoping that she will come back to visit a couple times a month. She enjoyed herself enough that it seems possible at least for a few visits.

Our ward has really pulled together for us. One of my visiting teachers came to help Monday morning and was able to watch E while I took the twins to the pediatrician for a check on their circumcisions. It is always busy to take twins to the doc, so much nicer that I didn't have to try and take E and juggle him as well.

 My V.T. also brought me a list of women from the ward who would come over 3 times a week for an hour or so to help with whatever I need help with. As a result my stress level has gone down and I feel much less crazy.

Its amazing what a list of names on the fridge can do for you. When I feel overwhelmed I just have to look on the list and say "so and so is coming over tomorrow am. I can make it until then." I haven't had to do that yet. Just knowing that help is there is enough.

I also had a kind offer from a retired neighbor (a street over) who said she was home most days and would come over. Just call. I have a wonderful ward.

To add to the great news (drumroll please!) the babies decided last night to sleep from about 10:30 to a little after 4am. We woke up several times wondering what was going on. But after gazing at the clock in wonder, went back to sleep. When they woke up at 4, only one was crying. The other started shortly thereafter. They ate and (another different thing) went back to sleep quickly. I was back to bed in under an hour. That has never happened before. I don't know what happened, and it probably won't happen again. But I'm very very thankful for it. It has added to the positive week we are having.

I desperately need to go shopping. The only veggies we have are a load of zucchini that we harvested before the freeze a few days ago, a couple of tomatoes that a neighbor brought over, and some celery. Along with a box of apples (honey crisp!) that we have been working our way through for the past 3 weeks.

I guess that is a lot of veggies, but I feel like I need to be getting so much more nutrition for nursing these twins!

Speaking of nutrition and twins and nursing, when we went to the doc, the babies weights were matching again. Last time we went their weights were both 5 lbs 12 oz. This time after about 10 days or so, we are at 6 lbs 10 oz. The doctor seemed very impressed. The walls in his office are paper thin and I heard him telling the nurse how impressive that was for breast fed twins.

Well, I hear a baby crying. I better get back out there. I may or may not go shopping tonight. but the good news is, if I don't get out tonight I can go tomorrow when another helpful ward member will be here!!!

(sorry about the run on sentences on my blog lately. Every time I use my kindle to write a post it changes my settings)

Sunday, October 7, 2012

Tired but here!

So last night we didn't get the twins to bed until around 11pm. I put one twin in the bassinet while I carried the other twin to their crib. Toddler E has been having sleep issues so he was in the crib in the babies room.

I was quiet but must have made some noise because a few minutes later while I was trying to settle the other twin into a deep sleep, toddler E started crying really loud. Hubby heard him and settled him into his toddler bed in A and C's room. We all go to sleep.

 Fast forward an hour. One of the twins wakes up and I go and get them. Only while I am picking them up I hear Toddler E crying in his room. I had C bring him out to me and after putting the twin who was still asleep down, I walked E to a sleeping Daddy who I thought could help. Daddy hears crying E and comes out to help.

 So here it is, after midnight. Daddy with toddler E on one couch, me on the recliner nursing the awake baby and trying to wake up the other baby who is very soundly asleep.

 In the end, we got back to bed at some point. I have a vague recollection of Daddy having to sleep in the recliner with a twin, but frankly last night is a blur and I don't remember if that was last night or the night before :( I'm tired.

 But it is general conference this weekend, so at least there are lots of naps and no church to try to go to. I'm really nervous about this new development with E. If it continues then we will really have a problem. A sleep problem.

 Anyway, we are still here, plowing through.

Last night when I was the most tired, I started imagining hiring a night nurse. LOL.

 The good news is that today the boys are 4 weeks old. We are one month closer to sleeping through the night. I may start begging my Mother in law to come and stay again. I'm really not sure how this is going to play out.

 At least its Sunday and I can sleep all day if I need to. Hubby is currently sleeping on the recliner with both babies in his arms.

Sunday, September 30, 2012

public health notice

If you are sick, stay home from church. I don't think anyone will die if you stay home. If you or anyone in your family has thrown up in the past 24 hours,please refer to the above statement. If your son was throwing up on Friday and your husband left sick after sacrament,please feel free to leave. If you choose to stay, stay away from me. And don't touch the babies!!!!! Yes, we are now on flu watch. Why are some people so clueless? And yes, I am now going to be thoroughly interviewing anyone who may be holding a baby about their and their families health. And yes I am totally ticked off. If we get sick I may never speak to this lady again. Ok, not really. But arrrggg!!! She assured everyone on facebook that this flu comes with aches and pains and oh yes, stomach cramps. Sorry. Just tired and grumpy about the possibility of sickness in our house. And my poor little boys getting really sick...

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

additional update

In an interesting turn of events, we found out today at the doctor that Baby Q is 5lbs 12 oz also.  So, while it is an adequate weight gain, its puzzling since he started out life 5 oz heavier.  He is also a slow and steady eater, while his brother is a racer.  So I had thought he was eating more.  Not the case I guess.  Hmmm.

oh, and yes, it is very nice to have someone around to help out.  A big Thank You to my mother in law.

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

interesting observation

interesting how easily a grown adult, a parent themselves, slips back into the role of child when their parent is around ..... Just an observation... :op

Baby n went to the doctor today. He is now 5 lbs 12 oz. That is a 1 lb gain from the day he left the hospital.

Oh and posting this from mu kindle is a pain in my derriere, posterior. Whatever you want to call it. Ugh.

Thursday, September 20, 2012

2 beautiful boys

I've been enjoying the past few weeks of getting to know my 2 new bundles of joy.  They have such sweet little faces.

They are starting to wake up more now.  It is quite fun to see them gazing at different things and occasionally, you!  I am finding that with twins you have to be ever diligent. Sometimes you get into diaper changing mode and forget to check for rash/etc.  As a result you can miss things. I think this is also a result of lack of sleep.  So my new motto is ever diligent!  This could also be a result of having 3 in diapers.  Which by the way, you should see the number of wipes we go through!


Hubby has a ticket to the BYU/BSU game tonight. He is very excited to go.  I'm excited that he can go.  At one point our C-section (if Twin A hadn't flipped by now) was scheduled for today. So it all ended up working out.

So Toddler E really enjoys the twins.  He spends a lot of time on the side of the bassinet with his nose and eyes above the rim, gazing at the twins with a cute grin on his face.  He loves to 'pet' their hair.  He still will get rough with them, or forget they are there.  This makes everyone nervous but I just have to be extra careful when he is around.   I put him on my lap the other day and put a twin on his lap.  E really enjoyed it.  I moved the twin and he kept tugging on the twins blankets until I put the twin on his lap again.  It was really cute.

Its been nice to have hubby home these past few weeks.  He has to go back to work on Monday.  But when the boys have a bad night or one won't settle, hubby has been very good about taking a shift and even letting me sleep until 9 the next morning.  I really really appreciate it.

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Weight correction

For some reason I keep saying the boys were born at 6 lbs. Not true. Sorry for the mix up. I can only blame it on the lack of sleep.

Baby N was 5 lbs 1 oz and Baby Q was 5 lbs 6 oz. 

Baby E will now be known as Toddler E unless I come up with some clever nick name :)  Or I guess I could just refer to him as E.  I'll figure it out later :)

Saturday, September 15, 2012

The post where I bore you with a birth story

***I have now added a few more details and corrected most spelling errors in this post***

So the boys are here as I mentioned before.  However, they arrived in a manner that was not as I had hoped. As my body gets over it, I'm moving past it.

Only read this if you want a Loooong drawn out story of the boys birth.

I've had Braxton Hicks since about mid pregnancy.  Probably started getting more and more frequent by around 28 weeks.  They were so frequent that I had a Fetal Fibronectin (ffn) test done at 32 weeks and had the doctor check me.  The ffn test basically tests for some hormone and predicts whether you will deliver in the next 2 weeks.  Its something like 95% accurate.   The test came back negative and the doctor was able to confirm that the braxton hicks were doing nothing. I was very high and not dilated at all (YAY!).

The problem we kept seeing was that Baby A was breech.  All of the ultrasounds except for 1 had baby A being everything but head down.  This worried me, but I hoped and prayed for the best.  As we got closer to my due date I found myself trying all sorts of things. One was to get in the tub where the babies seemed to float into my lungs.  I hoped this would reposition them.  After this didn't end up working I started to try and manipulate them from the outside.  This did nothing. So I tried the warm water where I wanted their head and an ice pack where I wanted their feet. The internet said that this could cause them to swim for the warmth.  Didn't work.  The only thing I didn't end up trying was to lay at an incline on my back, hips up in the air.  I tried bear walking but only got a back ache.  I tried all sorts of things.  I still had a list of things to try when -

Sunday Morning, Sept 9th, the day of the primary program.  I was 36 weeks, 4 days.  The reason this is significant is that I am in the presidency and the other members had expressed that they just wanted me to delivery after the program.  Truthfully though, I wasn't a whole lot of help leading up to it. I did my best, but just kept getting bigger and less mobile.

I woke up with lots of pressure and contractions.  I went to the bathroom and they seemed to calm down.  I was still having contractions every 3-5 min though.  so I woke up hubby and we talked it over.  After a while, he decided to take a shower and get ready.  By the time he was out, I felt like things weren't progressing, and we should just go back to sleep.

I woke up again around 5:30 or 6.  I went to the bathroom again (as usual) but this time the contractions felt a bit different.  I felt like I was splitting open.  It just felt like things were happening.  So I woke up hubby, we discussed it again, and decided to go to the hospital to get checked.

I called a few people in the ward and the second person I called picked up.  She agreed to come over and get the kids ready for church and to the primary program.  I made the mistake of going to tell C what was happening.  Everyone woke up and that was it.  So they started having breakfast, and I had them practice their parts.  We left before the sister from the ward came, knowing that she would be over in the next 10 min or so.

When we got to the hospital hubby dropped me off and parked the car.  Little did I know that this would be my last time outside for several days.  They let us in after I told them I thought I could be in labor.  As I walked in I got a few looks (I was talking and smiling) and so I felt like I had to tell them that the reason I was as big as a house was that it was twins. Hoping they would understand that I wasn't some overreacting pregnant lady who wasn't really in labor.

We were taken to a room, I told them what had been happening, and they hooked me up to all the usual monitors.  Within a short amount of time, the doctor on call from my OBGYN office came in and they checked to see if the twins were still out of position.  They were.  Baby B was head down, but Baby A was breech with his bum down and head over next to Baby B's.

A quick check showed that the 2 cm I had been in the office was now 3 cm and my contractions were regular.  The doc said it was 'early labor'. I wonder how much I would have to dilate to get to regular labor?

Anyway, after an ultrasound and check (still high, but now 3cm) the doctor suggested that we have a c-section and meet the boys today.

I was devastated. 

The doctor on call whom I had never met before explained why this was my only option.  But it didn't make me feel any better.  I mentioned an external version, but I guess that isn't done with twins. Why not?  The nurse who was caring for me shared her story. she had twins around 32 or 34 weeks and had a c-section. I can't remember her story, just that as I expressed my feelings that I was being given no choice but a c-section, she said that she liked her c-section so much that she opted to have a section again for her 2nd child.

I was on the verge of tears and the nurse offered to get the doctor to come and talk to me again about my concerns.

The doctor came in again and explained why this was the best option. She had good points and between her and hubby I had to be ok with a c-section.  I wish I had had another option. Maybe refusing and going home? But then I would probably just be back, further along, having had more pain and in the same situation.  I'm sitting here even now wishing I had done even more to get that baby to flip.  I have such easy regular deliveries.  Maybe I needed to find a different doctor. Maybe I needed to go to a chiropractor who does special adjustments to help babies turn. Maybe I should have gone to a pool and tried doing flips in the water (another internet suggestion).

In the end, it was to late at that moment to do anything more.  I wish....

I was prepped for surgery.  I talked to many nurses and anesthesiologists etc etc whom once again I had never met before. Simply taking the hospital's word that these were the best there was.  Isn't it strange the way we entrust these important moments to strangers.  The doc on call asked me if I had met another doc in the practice whom she wanted to assist her.  Strangely enough I thought I had met her a few years back before we chose our midwife.  If memory served we had met and she was on the hospital board or something.  I just checked that and realized that I had never met this lady and she isn't on the board.  Oh well. It helped me feel good in the moment anyway. And the doc on call highly recommended her.

So on with the story.

They wheeled me into the OR. It felt like I was on a big boat being pushed around.  I got a little bit of motion sickness, but luckily the OR was pretty close.  They had me get up on the table. I did and looked around at this cramped crowded room.  I guess it wasn't that crowded though since they were able to get 2 doctors, an intern, 2 NICU nurses with warming tables, and the anesthesiologists plus hubby in there.  But anyway, They got me ready by giving me a spinal (why do they always manage to make me jump as they find the right spot?) and laid me back on the table. I was unable to move from the ribs down pretty much from that time forward (except that I was able to wiggle my right big toe if I really concentrated:) ).  The weirdest part was the weight from the twins that I had been feeling for the past months was just .. gone.

They put up a screen between me and my lower body.  I knew that was coming and imagined it would be more up and down that close to my face.  Well, it was angled at my face.  That was weird.  They began checking for numbness and eventually Hubby arrived.  After checking several times to verify that I was numb, they quickly did the c-section and before I knew what was happening there was a baby out and crying. They got hubby over to the baby to take pictures.  They brought baby A over to me and I started tearing up.  About a minute later, baby B had arrived.  They brought him over, and I teared up.  Everyone told hubby to go over to the babies and he was able to hold them.  Hubby took a pic of them and came back to share it with me.

The babies were checked over and I heard they were great.  At this point the babies were being wheeled out to recovery and hubby with them. 

At this point I felt...I don't know. somewhat abandoned.  I know that this is probably the MO. But I felt like  at this point I still needed my husband's support.  I didn't want the babies to be gone.  I had to lay there with no one to talk to while the doctors stitched me back together for the next 30 or so minutes talking about how they were no longer able to do non stress tests in the office for some insurance reason or something like that and how it didn't make sense and also, it brought in more income.  My personal feeling is that it might be more relaxing as a patient to take a test like that in an environment that you are familiar with.  But no one asked me.

The most interaction I got to distract me from my new gaping hole being stitched up was the occasional comment from the doctors.  They had questions about my oopherectomy (tubal pregnancy removal) which side, 'oh you still have both ovaries! and part of your fallopian tube also' and a particularly nasty moment when they irrigated...something with water and I felt awful.  I kept stating loudly "something is not right" because if I was dying I wanted someone to notice.  Luckly the anesthesiologist was still somewhere near my head where I couldn't see and he assurred me my vitals were normal and asked the doctors what was going on. They said they irrigated with water and that was what had happened.  I told him to just keep assuring me I was ok.

Anyway, after what seemed like forever, I was done.  They moved me from the operating table to the bed and I had my first experience of nausea due to the movement.  Yuck. And then the big boat experience being pushed in the bed down the hall again. I feel sick just thinking about it now. 

In recovery I found myself reunited with my babies and hubby.

I would like to state at this time that a c-section is a totally different bonding experience.  Bonding with my babies seemed like it took a few days.  Where bonding immediately with my babies after a vaginal delivery is immediate.  It was a weird experience.

Hubby told me that they had weighed the babies and that baby A was just over 6 lbs.  6 lbs and .0? oz. They ended up just rounding up to 6lbs 1 oz.  Baby B was 6lbs 6 oz. I can't remember how long.  Seemed like it was short. 18 something.

In recovery they basically monitored me for a while to make sure I was ok.  I started having breathing problems a little while into it.  My breathing would slow and my heart rate would decrease and then I would feel light headed and panic and that would send my heart rate back up and by the time the nurse came back I was normal and she would tell me that my vitals were normal and I would feel just a bit stupid about the whole episode.  I tried to sleep, and did get some, but the whole not breathing properly kept occurring.  In fact, for the record, I think its still bothering me every now and then when I sleep.  I don't know if I'm being a bit paranoid or it could be the fact that my milk is in and there is a new weight on my chest.  But according to google, its not a unique thing.

Unexpectedly I started nursing babies in recovery.  Makes sense yes, but for some reason I didn't expect it.

Anyway, after a while they released us back to a regular room and the healing process started.

Thus began a blur of pain medication, and pills pills and more pills.  Prenatal vitamins, stool softeners, ibuprofen,  pills for this and pills for that, etc etc.

My sisters J and L and niece T came and visited the first night. It was nice to see familiar faces.  

While we were waiting for our turn in the OR, hubby called his Mom and she was nice enough to stay with the kids while we were in the hospital.  Hubby went home each night to get a good nights rest and I utilized the nurses.  They watched the babies during the night except when I needed to feed them.

After a couple of days in the room, I begged to be allowed to switch to a room with a regular bed.  The hospital beds for c-section patients weren't nearly as comfy as the bigger beds with normal mattresses that they save for the vaginal birthers.  I was blessed and they allowed me to switch after a few days when I was able to stand up without needing to be able to hold onto the bed. And I was also told they normally didn't allow switching and to keep it on the down low.

Somewhere in there I had a bad experience with Percocet.  See, when they give you a spinal, they give you a 24 hour pain medication. Morphine something or other. It makes you itch. That was pleasant. But I chose to itch rather than take yet another pill.  In retrospect, I probably should have just taken it. but oh well. to late now.  but after the 24 hours, you have many options. I chose to take a pain killer that is given in your IV. Its not a narcotic.  you can have it 4 times.  I chose that.  After that was done, I was told my choice was percocet. I said I wanted to avoid narcotics because in the past they made me a bit loopy and paranoid.  I suggested extra strength Tylenol.  They said, well, we can try it.

Long story short, it didn't cut it.  My incision site was just to painful still.  I gave in to the percocet (hoping for no side effect).  It worked.  It took care of my pain for about the next day or so.

And then.

I took the percocet on an empty stomach.  Can you blame me? It was the middle of the night/early morning. I was nursing babies and they were giving me pills all of the time. I had no clue most of the time. I counted on the nurses to keep me doing the right thing medication-wise.  Anyway, an hour after I took that single pill, I was so nauseous that I didn't want to move.  I hit the nurse call button and a nurse I knew responded.

Side story, the one CNA we know at this hospital has a niece who plays soccer with A.  Hubby coaches the team.  She regularly comes to the games.  She came to say hi as soon as she came on shift and found we were there. She is the nicest lady and had helped me all through that first night.

Anyway, this nurse responded to my call and suggested that the empty stomach was the culprit. I ate some saltines and hoped for the best.

The nausea didn't stop.  My nurse (RN assigned to me) was finally able to get an order for anti nausea medicine and put it directly into my vein. I didn't have an IV anymore, but she did her best.  I immediately got swollen where she put it in which was wierd but she assured me that that happened and i would probably have a bruise there.

At this point I didn't care anymore because I was feeling human again!

I just want to point out that nausea like this is different than your normal sick nausea.  When you're sick the nausea comes in waves. You usually have moments you feel relief or you throw up and then feel better.  This nasea was constant and horrible. I literally sat on the side of my bed, fanning myself with a magazine wiping the sweat off of my face.  Eventually a wet washcloth was given to me and that helped.    But after that medicine I felt so much better.  And just in time for another feeding of the babies.

A little after the feeding I ordered breakfast and then it was time for more percocet.  Well I knew what I was doing now, right?  I ate a bunch of saltines and took the medicine.  And about an hour later it hit me again.  Nausea.  I was going down for the count. Again.  This time, the anti nausea medication wasn't going to work because it was too soon after the other dose.  They had to go to a different medication.  It had to be taken by mouth and again the nurse had to wait for the order.  After what seemed like an eternity (and poor hubby had to watch me go through it without being able to do anything)  it kicked in and I felt better.  About an hour after taking the anti nausea pill.  So around this time we threw out my ordered breakfast which was cold and yucky at this point.  I tried some chicken broth and saltines and was happy to discover I had an appetite.  I ordered lunch and was able to eat it.

So this was my day. From about 5am to 2pm I felt like crap. cold sweats, basically not moving.  Dealing with the parade of everyday visitors like the pediatrician, my doctor, lactation, NICU who did the car seat evals, etc etc.

It really took it out of me.  I had been able to walk down the hallway for a juice the night before.  I tried to do the same this evening and found that after getting the juice my knees were weak and a helpful nurse helped me find a seat for a minute and then escorted me to my room to ensure I didn't faint on the way.

It set me way back.

The moral of the story?  I don't know. But I will never take percocet again.

Another hospital story.  When your baby is under 37 weeks, they do a car seat study where they put your baby in the car seat and make sure they are getting enough oxygen.  If they are not they issue you a car seat mattress.  It has to do with the incline the car seat has. Anyway they hook the babies up to all sorts of monitors for a few hours and they both came back with tape residue on their cheeks. but they passed!  And we were told that until they are past 40 weeks they were only to be in their car seats when absolutely necessary.


The babies both lost weight while in the hospital. but acceptable amounts. If they had lost 10% or more they would have to go to NICU, and might not be able to come home with us.  Baby B, lost 6%. Baby A, less.   As a result, we chose not to circumcise in the hospital (Baby E didn't eat for a whole day after that) and we chose to supplement with a little formula.  Not a whole lot.  Just 5 cc here and there.  And we used a nifty little tube hooked to a syringe.  We would insert the thin tube and a finger and stimulate the roof of their mouth causing them to suck. I felt ok with that since it wouldn't cause nipple confusion.

And when we went to the pediatrician the next day, they had gained 1 oz and 2 oz and my milk was in. So they are doing well!

Anyway, I was in the hospital from Sunday morning to Wednesday around 3pm.  We had wonderful nurses. All were caring and responsive.  The pediatrician on call was really nice and caring.  I was impressed by all of the staff I encountered.

Observations - After we got home my feet and ankles have proceeded to swell to sizes I have never before experienced.  Then I weighed myself.  After having over 10 lbs of baby and placentas and fluid, I had lost a grand total of 8 lbs.  I blame all of the water weight in my ankles.  Here's hoping that the internet is right and it goes down in the next week. 

 Sleep is hard when you have a new baby. Its even harder when there are 2 of them.

I'm sure there will be more on this subject, but my ankles are getting bigger every moment I spend typing and its about time to feed the babies for the night.






Babies are here!

So the babies have arrived!  I have lots to blog about. Their birth story, life so far, etc etc how much I don't like c-sections, pain, and stuff like that. Oh and how much I detest Percocet (sp?).

Anyway, no time right now, but I promise to write it all up later.

Oh and to the nurse in the hospital who was trying to calm me down and help me be ok with a c-section by telling me her twins came via c-section and that she liked it so much that she chose to have her second child via c-section.  You are totally a liar!

More to come later.

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

update and baby shower!

So I'm 36 weeks today! YAY.  I had so many contractions all throughout yesterday that I was worried I wouldn't make it. I totally overdid it yesterday but managed to make it through the crisis and only whined for a while.  I think it had something to do with ending the day with a cool bath that seemed to help my swollen ankles.

A few ladies from the ward threw myself and another pregnant lady in the ward a baby shower last week.  It was a lot of fun.  It was supposed to be a diapers and wipes shower, but there were a lot of clothes thrown in also.  They are all very cute, but with so many smaller sized clothes I will either have to regift or return/swap some out for larger sizes.  Which is sad because the clothes are SO cute.  I've decided to hold off on doing anything right now due to just being to tired to go to the store/lets see if I end up needing the clothes after all.  We got really cute short outfits that are super cute and 0-3 month size.  I may have to pull those out. 

We were also given a huge amount of diapers along with 2 diaper cakes and other misc baby items.

I had to bring baby E with me and he was held and cuddled and carried around by all.

I heard the other lady from the ward had her baby yesterday.  I'm very happy for her because she was overdue by 1 day.  And handling it very well. 

Baby E is still having a hard time transitioning to life without the girls home.  Each week on Monday the adjustment seems huge. Yesterday was bad again since Daddy (the light of his life) had taken both Friday and Monday off. so baby E had a huge readjustment again.  Then the babies are going to come and we will have an even bigger adjustment when its him, me and babies at home alone.   Should be interesting and I'm NOT looking forward to it .

We received Baby E's baby book in the mail yesterday. It turned out very cute. I'm really glad that I blogged about so many of his milestones.  I was able to copy/paste a lot of that into the book.  And I got a really good deal on Picaboo.  I had purchased a Groupon earlier in the year and that make his $40 book about $12 after shipping, etc. I'm going to try and do the same for the twins.  Good luck to me! I've also decided it will be important that they each have their own baby books.

The girls are loving school as always.  They had told me several times over the summer they wished they could go to school, so I'm happy that they are still loving it. 

The soccer season has started and they are happy that Dad is their coach this year.  This is new for C but old hat for A.  I hope this continues to be a good experience for all after the twins are here.



Saturday, September 1, 2012

hmmm :/

Remember how I was all like, I learned my lesson. When I overdue it I just want to have these twins?
Well I guess I needed another reminder.

Yesterday was a good day and I feel much better.  I guess I needed another reminder not to over do it.  No more back pain.

I am swelling pretty badly now.  Just another fun pregnancy side effect. I'm grateful it didn't kick in this bad earlier though.  :)

Thursday, August 30, 2012

i don't want to do this anymore

This morning around 4am i woke up to excruciating pain in my entire right mid back.  I jumped (all right, rolled) out of bed and tried to work it out thinking I slept funny and it was just sore.  But it wouldn't stop.  I was confused and even felt my tummy to see if it was just a really really bad contraction. It wasn't.  And then after what seemed like an eternity, it released.  It just stopped. The pain was gone.  Didn't leave any soreness, except for every now and then when I move just right.

My conclusion is that it was a spasm.  I have never experienced any mid back troubles. But my mid back was spasming this morning.  All I can conclude is that I slept in a very bad position.

It hurt a lot and I don't want to do that again. 

So after I went to the bathroom (again) I tentatively sat on my bed, scared to lay down again.  Was my back out?

I already have to get up to use the bathroom 2-3 times a night.  I have trouble going back to sleep around 5am and usually end up getting up for the day.

Why oh why oh why ?

In the end I laid down on my other side to see if I could sleep some more.  I was able to, and no more spasming.  Until tomorrow night?

Perhaps I overdid it yesterday at my baby shower?  After I got home from a beautiful pristine, in party shape, home I took one look at my home and started straightening it.  Baby E likes to carry little things from here to there and leaves them all over the floor.  The Kitchen needs to be cleaned/swept/straightened.  so I worked on that until the kids got home.  Then after a while they helped me bring everything in from the shower and I proceeded to put it all away and organize it.  I think it was carrying all of those diapers that did it.  That and getting on the floor to organize things. 

So probably my fault.  I just hope it never never ever happens again. :(  That was so painful.

Sunday, August 26, 2012

this week

This week I have a lot to look forward to.

Doctors appointment on Tuesday.

Baby shower on Wednesday.

35 weeks on Wednesday.

 Last ultrasound on Thursday.

Please pray with me that baby A is head down.

 On another note I've discovered that when I over do it, it's unbearable. I get tired and achey and just want to be done and have babies. However, when I take it somewhat easy life is bearable and I feel like I can do a few more weeks. That was a hard lesson to learn but I'm glad I learned it now.

I'm 34.5 weeks so about 2.5 - 3.5 or so more weeks to go.

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

letters...

Dear 34 weeks,
Its good to see you.  It will be even better to see you go.

Dear 37 weeks,
You can't get here fast enough.

Dear snoring,
I will be very happy when you go away.  I've never quite experienced you like this before.

Dear bed,
Ours is a love hate relationship.  You are very comfortable to lay in.  I just wish I didn't have to get up 3 times a night to use the bathroom. 

Dear Air Conditioning,
Oh how you taunt me.  You start out so cool and refreshing.  You feel good and comfy.  Then around the 2nd trip to the bathroom I can't seem to cool off enough to go back to sleep.  I can't turn you on again because you are freezing the rest of the family.

Dear Baby E,
You are having a hard time adjusting to the girls being back at school.  You wander around looking a bit lost. You have discovered the kitchen cupboards and all of the fun toys inside. Mom has discovered that she needs more cupboard latches.  You don't like that all of a sudden all of the doors are shut thus corralling you into a certain space.  You like to cry at the slightest thing not going your way.  That is not like my normal happy little guy.  Won't you come cuddle with your mommy?  I'm sorry that I can't play with you as much as the girls did.  Please get used to our new life during the school year soon. I don't think I can take much more of this.

Dear girls,
You are such a big help.  You don't whine much and I appreciate that.  Thank you for being so patient with me and doing your best to help out.  I'm happy that you are very excited for the new babies.

Dear body,
I know. I know you are worn down. I feel that you are reaching your limits. I am trying to take it easy on you. Yesterday you helped me clean the kitchen and do 1 load of laundry.  Those 2 things took all day.  Thank you for hanging tough.  Just a few more weeks and we'll be there.  And then we'll be testing new limits!

Dear Hubby,
Thank you for your patience.  Thank you for your help.  Thank you for cleaning the bathroom. Thank you for making dinner.  Thank you for everything you do to make this pregnancy bearable.  I really really really really appreciate everything. I love you.

These are the ramblings that go on inside my head around 4 am.  Yesterday it was at 3am. 

Thursday, August 9, 2012

Pictures from our vacation

Photobucket This is the Pacific City version of 'Haystack Rock'. The large hill to the left is called Cape Kiwanda. Notice that even though its a beautiful day (yes, in the middle of the week, but in July!) the beach looks fairly deserted.

Photobucket This was a gorgeous day. the girls got down to their swimsuits

 Photobucket and despite the cold ocean, played and played in and out of the water. This is the day I sunburned my knees. OUCH!

Photobucket Baby E had fun too! I even caught him eating sand at one point. However, after quickly spitting it out, I don't think I caught him doing it again.

Photobucket Baby E and daddy spend a lot of time like this on the beach. They are both conked out. Baby E is covered mostly by the towel to prevent sunburn.

Photobucket We took one day and traveled up the coast a bit. This is one of the lookouts.

 Photobucket We stopped at Cape Mears (as blogged about below) and hiked down to the lighthouse. This is Baby E getting a ride. His hair is so cute here! We gave him a buzz last week and I miss the blond blond hair!

Photobucket And here you go. A picture of me at 28 weeks pregnant with twins. I'm about the same size as I was full term with Baby E.

I went to the doctor today for a checkup and she said I had grown by 3.5 cm. I asked her if this was a regular pregnancy where that would put me. She said it would mean I had about 12 lbs of baby in there and she would be panicking and thinking about an early induction!

At my ultrasound last week they estimated weights around 3lbs 9oz and 3lbs 7oz. This is +/- 1 lb so not really an accurate measurement. However, it does show that the babies have grown since the last ultrasound which is the most important fact.

Friday, July 27, 2012

So much to do

So much to do today. Don't know where to start. Its easier to just sit here. 

I am having the usual clutter party in my kitchen. The island gets covered in mail and stuff.  The living room is covered in boxes. My bedroom has lost its freshly cleaned look.  The dishwasher is ready to be loaded again. Laundry is behind.  Need to go to 2 banks and drop some things by some ward members houses.  Need to find a sub for nursery on sunday and a few other primary phone calls.

What to do first?  Maybe I can split in 2 and leave 1 self behind to clean the kitchen and the other one can go do errands. :)

But lets count a few blessings. 

My blood pressure at the doctor yesterday was 100/64.  My tummy hasn't grown any more up and down, but since I feel so much more crowded lately, my doctor suspects I'm just getting wider. :)  I'm at 30 weeks now and heart beats are great along with everything else. Ultrasound again next week (once a month).

I have completed 2 blessing outfits, 3 baby blankets, and started one scripture cover. Were there any other craft projects? I don't remember.

Remember the guy at hubby's work who was going to give us a bunch of baby clothes? Well it was like Christmas yesterday.  Hubby brought 6 boxes of clothes home.  Which was great. And then I opened them and realized how packed they were.  And there were at least 15 outfits/items with tags on them still.  There were so many newborn clothes I started putting items with tags aside for the other 2 ladies in my ward having babies in August and September.  There were so many newborn clothes that i sorted them into 4 piles. Preemie, newborn, 1-3 months, and 3 months.  I've always been confused by the clothes tagged as 3 months. Does that mean they should fit at 3 months or that they should go with the 3-6 months.  I've personally always put them with the smaller clothes (1-3 mos) just in case.  I would hate to miss out on using them just because they were in a box.  And these clothes were all name brand. Old Navy, Carters, etc.  And so cute!! I think hubby got tired of my ooohing and aaaahhhing and "Look at this one!".  And there were shoes and socks!   After seeing what there was, I pulled everything I had and went through and got rid of anything ugly or worn.  I haven't even mentioned the hats. So many cute hats. From the normal ones you get with outfits to cute knitted hats to golfing type hats! I'd only ever seen those in pictures.


I slept well last night.  I've been having problems waking up to use the bathroom and then not being able to get back to sleep.  Last night, I slept well despite going to bed around 12:30.

The cows got out last night.  They pushed through a part of the fence where there was only electric fencing.  We will probably upgrade our charger to a higher voltage. Which freaks me out a little because of little hands touching it and what will it do to them?  And another thought just struck me, it will cost more to run. Won't it?

Air conditioning. Its the best. 

Kids that are old enough to help out with Baby E (soon to be toddler E).  Lifting and carrying him around has been getting tougher.

No back problems with this pregnancy. Body is holding strong! Still working out. However, my leg lifts (like reverse sit ups) and other ab strengthening exercises are getting tough due to my enlarging belly.  Also the struggle to breath is hampering me a little on the elliptical.

No soccer or softball or swimming to run to this month.

Phew. Lots and lots of blessings. Just looking at this list is making me feel the urge to get going! 

Saturday, July 21, 2012

coastal adventure

I forgot to post about our day trip!

We had what looked like a rainy day happening so we decided to have a day trip! We headed North through Netarts, Oceanside, and landed at Cape Mears.  We also stopped at Cape Lookout state park for some pictures at the lookout.  It was fun and we even saw boats out in Netarts Bay fishing. We ended at the Cape Mears lighthouse.  It is a neat little area.  It has a small parking lot. You can stop in several overlooks and even hike .1 miles to an 'octopus tree' which is a tree with lots of branches going out every direction. 

We went to the first overlook and were awed by the sheer cliff we were at the edge of. There were informational signs about birds and nesting that they did all over the cliff.  We headed on towards the lighthouse to go the .2 miles .  I was a bit worried when I realized it was .2 at a steady decline.  But we went anyway.  I refused to go the last steep ramp however. I knew that I had to walk out of there and didn't want die trying :).  Besides where I stopped you could see the top part of the lighthouse.  the ramp was steep and I sent the kids down to check things out.  They said that there was a giftshop and some more views.  I could see the views from where I was, and was satisfied by seeing the top of the lighthouse. 

After admiring the views and taking some pictures, we headed up.  I started out strong and slowly petered out.  I stopped a few times for a brief rest, but eventually made it out.  We then headed over to the octopus tree .1 mile.  Imagine my unhappiness to see that this trail was steep.  Not crazy steep, just steeper than the other trail.  And only partly paved.  But I made it!!!  Got a little muddy, but I made it!  The tree was pretty cool.  I need to post some pictures!  There was a bench at the top, and after a quick rest, we headed down.

On our way back, we were hoping to find somewhere to eat lunch.  We ended up stopping at a restaurant where we had seen lots of cars on our way in. Typically if you see lots of cars that look local at a restaurant, it should be a good place to eat.  This place was near Netarts Bay and was called "Down by the Bay".  We all thought 'seafood'. As we approached the door we realized it was Mexican.  Well, we thought we were there, lets give it a go.  We sat down and were the only patrons (at 2pm).  It was interesting.  they had a good fish taco. The chicken fingers A ordered were good and done to perfection.  C ordered a bean and cheese burrito and seemed to enjoy it.  I ordered a fish taco that was good but the chili rellano was awful. It was fried (I didn't realize they were) and very very oily.  So I tried a few bites and ended up leaving most of it. It had a good flavor, but the oil! yuck!  The rice was really good.  Hubby ordered a burrito grande. And it was huge! He finished almost half of it and left the rest due to the lettuce inside. Lettuce just doesn't reheat well.  The salsa (what is that stuff called when its freshly diced ??) was really good, but they only gave us a little. 

We headed home after that and relaxed for a few hours. by then it looked just overcast so we headed for the beach!

the coast

So we are back from Vacation!  Sorry to be so vague last posting. yes I am one of those paranoid people who don't want to post on the internet when my home will be empty :)

We left last Friday and returned last night.  So we were able to stay from Friday to Friday.
We stayed here  http://www.kiwandahouse.com/ .  It was a fun little house. However, the pictures are from when the house was remodeled in 2009.  So, like all things near the beach it is looking rundown on the outside and needs to be sanded/repainted.  The inside still looks fresh though.   Its a fun little house.  The pictures on the website make it look really large. But when you get inside there are lots of little corners and nooks.  Makes it unique.I think I'm the only one who struggled with it though.  They made me feel as big as a house.

The bedroom is L shaped, with a bed in one part of the L. Its a queen sized bed that just fits in the L with about a foot of space on either side of the bed.  Under normal circumstances, this is a little squeeze, but no big deal.  For a very pregnant lady, this is a laughable situation.  Luckily for me, about the last 2 feet of the end of the bed stuck out into the main room.  so a little bounce scoot to the end of the bed and then I could stand up.  Poor hubby though.  When I have to run to the bathroom 2-3 times a night, I'm sure I disturbed his sleep a bit.

The bathroom is also full of corners. Again, I am probably the only one who noticed.  Yes, I felt as big as a house.  But then again, when I look in the mirror, I look almost full term.  And I am 29 weeks.  This is going to be fun.

Friday after we got there and got settled in, we headed down to the beach to check it out.  After a short hike to the end of the road (about 6 houses down) we went up a hill and realized we had to go down the other side to get to the beach.  No big deal. But I dreaded getting back up the sand hill on the way out.  Under normal circumstances, tiring, but not a big deal.  Pregnant, well, a different story.

We got down to the beach and were delighted to find really soft sand, and a fairly flat beach with waves that looked like they would be a lot of fun to wade in.  Looking left, you could see the beach at Pacific city. You could see Cape Kiwanda and their Haystack rock.  I never went that far down the beach, but It looked like it was further out and probably never was completely out of the water like the Haystack rock at Cannon Beach.  so probably no tide pools.

We were able to look for shells, although only found 1 unbroken one our whole time there.  Also, this beach had lots of stones and would probably be a great place to look for agates.  We tried. :)

After a few hours of playing, we went out to dinner in Pacific city at BJ's burgers and tacos. A bit spendy, but close and good. Afterwards, home and then bed after relaxing a bit more.

The next day, hubby woke up and let me know that he had a bad headache.  Well, we didn't bring any tylenol.  So we piled everyone into the car and headed out to Tillamook for Fred Meyer.  We had stopped there on the way to the beach house to buy the fresh groceries we needed for the week. We just didn't think about pain killer.  We also grabbed a mattress foam topper (the inexpensive kind. I missed my memory foam!)  due to my hips hurting a lot.  This wasn't new.  My hips hurt on my bed at home. Just part of pregnancy.  Anyway, hubby took the painkiller right away and we decided since we had trekked into Tillamook (20 min or so) we might as well hit the cheese factory.  So about 8:45 in the morning (Oregon time) we were touring the cheese factory, sampling cheese, buying cheese curds and a piece of jerky for the kids to share, and ending it all by buying overpriced ice cream cones.  All part of the experience!

After that, we decided to locate the church in Tillamook so that we would know where we were going the next day.  On the way there, we noticed signs for a farmers market.  The cell service was spotty, and the church website was not working for me.  But luckily we found the church, and they had the hours posted in the door.  After that, we headed over to the farmers market.  They had so much neat stuff.  Hubby bought some green beans, we looked at some cool agates, and bought some donuts we all shared.  The donut guy had maple bars for sale with a thick cut slice of cooked bacon on top.  Interesting.  We didn't buy those but it would have been interesting to try 1 bite.  But... I don't know.

Anyway, after this we were tired, and of course hubby was feeling better.  On our way out of town, we passed a taco stand that had received excellent reviews on Yelp.  So hubby had to stop.  We did, he got to sample the dish he wanted to.  The rest of us were full from cheese and ice cream. 

After that we finally made it home.  We decided to veg and relaxed until afternoon when we headed out to the beach again for a few hours. 

Most days were like that.  We would relax all morning enjoying the cable TV, markers, ping pong, and all the other activities the house offered. Then we would head out to the beach for the afternoon.

Baby E takes afternoon naps, so he and hubby would relax in a beach chair (it is lower to the ground and could be leaned back) and nap.  The girls and I would wade, they would dig and play, we looked for shells and rocks and generally had a great time.

We had typical coastal weather.  We had a few rainy days, a few overcast days, and 2 wonderfully sunny days.  I was the only person who got sunburned the first sunny day.  It was so sunny the kids wore their swimming suits and were in and out of the freezing water.  The second sunny day we all slathered on the sunscreen and no one else got burned. 

By the last 2 days Baby E finally warmed up to the water (somewhat) and we had to keep a closer eye on him because he would try and sit down in the water.  That and I was concerned he would try to wade by himself.   He loved to be where ever the girls were.  digging, and throwing sand.  They decided they liked to throw wet sand and even created a few 'sand balls'.  As a result he always had sand in his hair because of the way he threw sand. Over his head.

It was fun to relax in the sand. We saw many horse rides on the beach because we were only a beach access point away from where the horses came out. But they would head in the opposite direction because there were almost no people that direction.

That was another nice thing about this beach.  We were kind of near the end of the beach (1-2 miles) and in the other direction was Pacific city where it was crowded.  So for the most part it was very pleasant.  Super sunny days were always busy, but it never seemed crowded.  The overcast days we saw some people, but not many.  the one rainy day we came down to the beach we say just a handful of people and they left when it started raining.  We started to leave but then the rain let up, and then stopped.  Truthfully, we just didn't want to hike out of there just to come back :).  As a result, the rain stopped and we got about 1 1/2 hours at the beach before we all got cold and we left. It worked out perfectly because as we got back to the house, about 10 min later a thunderstorm started.  So it was perfect timing.

Hubby decided he wanted to try a few dinner dishes with fresh seafood.  he loves to cook so I let him.  He tried out clam chowder with fresh clams purchased in Pacific city.  He cooked them, and steamed them and shucked them and everything. Of course being very careful about checking them to make sure they were alive when he bought them so no one would get sick.  A few days later he made seafood alfredo.  He purchased shrimp and scallops.  He knew the rest of us wouldn't appreciate them though and only cooked those for himself.  Of course offering a taste to any who wanted.  the shrimp was great, but I passed on the scallops. 

The kids had their first experience flying kites and thoroughly enjoyed it.  They each had single string kits and tried flying them several times.  Only one time was there not enough wind. I tried flying a 2 stringer, but had a problem with gusty wind. It would blow, seem really windy, and then stop. So as a result I never was very successful with my 2 string kit.

Overall it was a very pleasant time at the beach. We hope to do it again in 2 years or so.  I don't know if I want to try and vacation with 2 18 month olds, but we will see. Maybe I could go alone :)

Our last day was fun.  We got up, had cold cereal and then packed up.  We wanted to leave by 9am Oregon time and were able to.  We swung over through Pacific City because I had wanted to stop by The Grateful Bread to try some of their baked goods.  We tried a couple of things. Don't buy the cinnamon rolls. It was awful.  I won't say anything about the taste because I burnt my tongue the night before. But as I got to the center of the roll I found large amounts of sugar that had just crystalized and caked in the middle. So much of it that I was removing it so I wouldn't have to eat it. Not scraping it. Literally just picking it off in large clumps.  It was gross. So none of that gooey stuff that we all like on cinnamon rolls. That and I am really spoiled by my sisters awesome cinnamon roll recipe. 

We rolled on out to Tillamook next and filled up on gas and I walked my 5 min. (5 min every 2 hours for us traveling pregnant ladies).  We got on the highway and went!  Baby E was a little cranky at times, but the stopping every 2 hours helped most of the time.  One of the stops was Baker City Oregon.  We were going to have dinner.  But despite it seeming like a fairly large town, there isn't a whole lot of food choices.  Again, Yelp helped us out.  We went over to Piazanos pizza.  It was a chance to get out of the car, and especially a time for Baby E to walk around and get some wiggles out.  It was yummy.  If I'm ever in Baker City again, I would stop there.

Finally about 8:30 our time, we arrived home.  We set Baby E in the driveway and let him run around while we emptied the car and the girls fed the chickens.  He was so happy to be home. 

We all had a great time.  It was great to go, but also great to come home again!

Thursday, July 12, 2012

V-a-c-a-t-i-o-n



We'll be heading out to the coast this month! I can't wait!  cool ocean breezes, soft sand, no cell service.  Sounds like heaven to me!

Not looking forward to the inevitable swelling that will happen in my ankles on the drive down, but I am willing to deal with that.

It will be interesting to see how Baby E likes it.  C hated it when we took her at 18 months.

I'm excited for the down time.  I just hope we make time to get over to Tillamook for some ice cream and cheese.  I hear if you go early you can buy cheese curds.  That sounds yummy.

I will have to remember to bring some of my secret weapon against heartburn since that seems to be my constant companion these days.

Hubby has a few seafood dishes he is going to try and prepare.  Don't worry, nothing to crazy. And yes, we have researched what I can and can't have.

I've started making lists today of what to bring and a menu and shopping lists, etc.

I'm 28 weeks today.  The babies are both doing well.  Went to the doctor yesterday and got the green light to go (with a caution again to avoid salty snacks and walk around every 2 hours).

On the project front - I've completed the twins blessing outfits as reported earlier.  I've also completed 1 baby blanket.  I am about halfway through the 2nd baby blanket.  Its larger than the first one and that worries me a little.  Hubby encouraged me to choose 2 different patterns and I did.  i just am not used to paying attention to the finished size.  Typically baby blankets are about the same size. Especially from my fave pattern book.  Oh well.

I'm going to have A choose a color for her scripture cover today and I'll bring that project on the road with me just in case I manage to finish this blanket.

I'm feeling quite prepared for the babies.  I know you can never really prepare for twins, but I have the rooms organized and ready. Although as always, they do manage to deteriorate.  Thats one of the things you deal with when you have a toddler.

If I do go on bed rest I can rest easy knowing my laundry is nearly caught up (a batch behind, maybe. are you ever really done?) my bathrooms have been recently cleaned, and the kitchen, well, the kitchen will never be ready for bedrest. Its impossible. Maybe for a day or two. But no longer. Not when you have kids who think they each  need their individual knife when they make a pb&j.

In the meantime, I am feeling pretty good.  The nurse told me my blood pressure was perfect yesterday.  104/68 or something like that.  But she also told me to put my feet up whenever I could.

The kids are now feeding the chickens for me every day for a cut of the proceeds (.25 each per dozen sold) but I am continuing to stay active by working out and attending softball games.  I do feel heavier and heavier though.

Monday, July 9, 2012

Just had to share

Just finished the blessing outfits for the twins.  Once they get here I can finish the wastebands of the pants (have to see how much the elastic will need to be tightened) and add all of the hooks and snaps (depending on which ones I decide to use).  But I have done all I can until they get here and we get close to a blessing date. 

YAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!

In the meantime its pretty darn hot around here.  In the 100's all week.  I'll be staying in the air conditioned house. the girls have 2 games this week.  I'm going to have to see if I can come up with something to keep them cool.


Monday, July 2, 2012

Pics of Baby E

I usually don't like to post a lot of pics of my kids on my blog, but these pics of Baby E are so cute I have to!

Photobucket

Photobucket

He is getting so big!  These pictures were taken a month or two ago by my very talented sister AR who has a photo blog over at http://pepperwoodphotography.blogspot.com/

She was over visiting and said "Hey let me take some pics of baby E!"

Anyway, just had to share cuz they turned out so cute.

In other news we just saw her and lots of other siblings at my niece's wedding. It was a beautiful ceremony and a beautiful reception. But I think the family consensus is no more summer weddings!

Yeah...we'll see how long that lasts.

Edited to add :  Baby E started blowing kisses today. Its SO cute!  I always blow kisses to him when I put him to bed, but to see him blow kisses to me and everyone else is adorable. 

Thursday, June 28, 2012

dryer update

Thanks to YouTube, hubby took the dryer apart (halfway) and then messed around moving things and trying to identify the trouble.  Low and behold, after a bit of drum rotation, moving the felt around and general messing with it, out fell 2 quarters, a dime and 6 pennies.  Along with a small ball of lint that had been rolled and rolled.  Seems like this was the problem.

Cross your fingers.  Perhaps he fixed the dryer and we made .66 on the whole affair!  All for about 30 min. of our time. 

Funny thing is, you don't know how much you need something until it breaks.  I was thinking about spending $75 to have Sears come out... totally worth googling the problem and trying to fix it yourself.

If its not one thing...

So the dryer started thumping last night. Then the thumping got worse after a second load was going.  I stopped the mostly dry load and proceeded to google possible problems.  There are some great YouTube videos out there. So I may be taking the dryer apart tonight to diagnose the situation.

Trouble is, parts would be at least a week out and we are going out of town tomorrow.  But at least there is a dryer next door we can use.  I just hope we can fix it.  If not, well, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

In other news, this morning out of the corner of my eye I saw my tummy rippling.  It happened a few more times over the next 10 seconds. Wow. That was weird.

We've had a crazy busy week.  Softball games, visiting teaching, dentist appointments, piano and swimming lessons, family obligations, and church meetings.  By the way the Boise Temple open house is scheduled for the 4th quarter of 2012.   But today we get to go to my doctor and take the glucose test. yummy.  And then tomorrow a quick trip to a wedding.

I didn't realize that i needed a break from my calling for a week until I realized I was feeling relief at not having to do it on Sunday.  It has been my month to teach sharing time, so that is probably the reason.  Its always a big month getting a big lesson every week.  I do have to say that I've enjoyed this month's topics.  Very basic ones like tithing, modesty, etc.  Next month is the same. I'm filling in one week and my topic is kindness.

Baby E is walking up a storm these days.  He loves the word eat and has discovered that he likes Elmo's world.  He is getting very wiggly during church and is sooo ready for nursery.  The other day he tried to dart in and join the fun.  I guess all of those kids playing with toys were to tempting for him.

The girls are doing great at swimming lessons. I have only been a few times due to Baby E's wiggling, but I'm going to go with them today as promised and watch.  They are getting so confident in the water.  We went to an Elders quorum part on Friday and they were so comfortable in the water.  It was great!

The last piano lesson was yesterday.  Swimming ends today, and softball only has 2 more weeks left.  I have enjoyed the opportunities for them, but am looking forward to a few weeks to enjoy the lazy days of summer with them.  And then it will be time to go to the beach!  I'll be 28 weeks when we go.  I am getting more and more uncomfortable.  But so far just normal stuff.  Turning over 3 times a night due to hip aches, can't lie on my back for very long, can't eat big meals, etc etc.  Nothing that would keep me from going to the beach yet.

Craft update - 2 shirts 2 pants.  If I was building a house and putting in the plumbing, I would say they had been "roughed in". Basically the structure is there, but ends need to be tucked in, buttons, etc need to be attached, and the waste band on the pants needs to be done.

I have one baby blanket 1/2 done, but with our trip coming up tomorrow, there is a good chance I could finish one this weekend.  I am getting a little tired of crochet though, so I may bring along the knitting needles for that scripture case I need to get started on..

Saturday, June 16, 2012

Wahoo!!

Status report:
Baby room, organized and ready for an additional crib. 

My room, clean and ready for vacuuming.

blessing outfits -  4 sleeves down, 1 shirt mostly done, 2nd shirt started

baby blankets - 1 started and now about 6 inches long

Scripture case - scriptures on backorder.

I love that the girls like to play with baby E.  He hangs out with them while they do chores or while they watch Curious George. 

Softball season is in full swing and was brutal last week.  4 days of games. Thank goodness there aren't games Friday or the weekend.

Swimming lessons start on Monday,

Summer Library starts on Monday.

I just realized I've got to GOT TO finish preparing sharing time for Sunday. I've had such a busy week with the primary activity stressing me out (really that was the busy part, the worrying) that I've only read over the outline.  I've been thinking about the topic all week though.  Sometimes that is all the prep that you need before writing the actual lesson plan.

Thinking about ways to gain access to a pool. It may help me get even more exercise while pregnant.  And might even give me some relief in the coming months as I get larger.

Well, its naptime! Great time to get stuff done!

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Big things!

Baby E is now walking.  We knew he could, but just didn't have the interest.  Well now that his biggest hero (his Dad) has been extra encouraging about it, and he understands what 'walk' means, he is trying it everywhere. At the Orthodontist, in the grass, on the carpet, the linoleum. Everywhere.

Its really exciting.  the girls love it and are so proud of him.  All 3 of them are currently outside playing in the irrigation water flooding the yard.  I love that they can play together despite the age difference.

A few things off of the to do list - I finished organizing my new craft closet.  I've also gotten the baby room about 2/3rds organized.

A few things to add to the to do list.  I need to crochet baby blankets for the twins, and blessing outfits for the twins and I need to knit a scripture case for A's 8th birthday. Can't go against tradition.  Luckily its softball season. Many hours sitting watching softball is great for crafting.  And since I wouldn't want to chance taking white thread crochet to a softball game, it will be a good break for me to switch things up and not get tired of one project or the other.  I'm thinking a pineapple afghan for the boys.

Also, I am starting to look really pregnant depending on what outfit I am wearing.  My favorite church skirt still fits (yes!) but it is starting to get snug.  The babies are kicking and moving a lot.  They move the most after I've eaten a meal.  According to our last ultrasound, they are about 1 lb 3 oz and 1 lb 5 oz. and both looking healthy and growing well.

I met with my new OBGYN. Yes, I have to have a new one. My midwife doesn't deliver twins. But her practice is just her and this other doctor. So one or the other will deliver the babies.

The new doctor is a little stiff, not as friendly as my midwife. But she did take the time with our appointment which is still much better than the doctor who delivered my first 2 babies. His appointments were literally taking a measurement and then asking if I had any questions.  And then he was outta there!