Not my twins, but close!

On Friday night, my sister Brooke had her twin boys. They were born by c-section at 36.5 weeks (one was breech--he had been head-down and then turned back the wrong way). Austin was about 7 lbs 4 oz and Isaac was 5 lbs. 11 oz. I went up to the hospital yesterday with my mom and took these pictures. They are so incredibly precious. It was kind of surreal, holding one and then the other and thinking that I've got two of my own coming. Also very interesting to talk to my sister about the difference in recovery from a c-section since I've done all mine the old-fashioned way. Hooray for Brooke and Shawn and their boys!

Isaac and AustinIsaac

Austin

First Trimester Lowpoints and Highpoints

Because no one knew I was preggers (except for my poor husband) during most of the first trimester I only had him to complain to. While he was almost always very patient and let me blather on, I think there's only so much puke talk that one man can take, you know? So, I decided to post it and get it out of my system. :)

Warning: These aren't for the faint of heart...

"That was the best thing I've ever eaten." What I said to A after eating one of those cheap frozen burritos heated up in the microwave. I still stand by that. It tasted dang good. And I've had quite a few more in the days since.

Jumping up and down in my in-laws' bathroom, a mere fifteen feet away from A's entire family, (where they were calmly eating dinner) willing myself not to throw up. It did happen to work that time. (And no, I'm not certain why I jumped up and down, but hey, it seemed to work.)

Almost yakking on the way to my in-laws to open presents on Christmas morning. Lovely.

Having a sinus infection (for a month) on top of my nausea. Every cough and sneeze sent me running to the bathroom. Also, ever puked with a sinus headache? I wouldn't recommend it.

And a few highpoints with the T-man:

"Mom, the door's wocked (locked)." "I know; I'll be out in just a minute." "You ok, Mom?" T then sat outside the door and waited for me to come out. Interestingly enough, he was the one who paid the most attention when I would run to the bathroom and lock the door. He would always make sure I was ok afterwards, even though he had no idea what had happened.

We didn't tell the older kids until just barely, but I discussed it with T about every single day. (He's 2--who was he going to tell?) Before we found out about the twins, I just asked him if he wanted a baby brother or sister. He gave me different answers, depending on the day. When I started asking him about two babies, his answers got really interesting.

Me: Are we going to have two babies?
T: No sisters. Only blue babies. (Boys, I'm assuming.)

Me: Are you going to be a good big brother?
T: (pause) Not sure.

Me: Are we going to have two babies?
T: No.
Me: Why not?
T: They're gone.
Me: Where did they go?
T: In my belly.

:)

A Whale of a Tale...

and this one's true.

Some of you know this already, but for those of you who don't, I'm pregnant. About 13 weeks along, due in the beginning of August. But that's not the big news. The big news is that there's two little buggers swimming around in there. Yep, you read that right. Two.

About three weeks ago, I had a touch of spotting. Because of a miscarriage about three months ago, I got a little bit panicked. (Perhaps incredibly panicked, coupled with bouts of sobbing) It happened on a Saturday (of course) so I waited until Monday and went into the office to get checked out. They did an ultrasound to see what was going on. When the picture came up on the screen, the first thing I thought was, "That looks like two different sacs... silly Tennille, you're not a professional. Stop trying to figure this stuff out." Then two seconds later, the tech says to me, "Look at that sweet baby... and look at that sweet baby." She said I should be grateful it isn't triplets. I even asked her if she was looking at pictures of the same baby, like it was some weird game that ultrasound techs play on unsuspecting pregnant women. It was a ridiculous question, especially when she was clearly moving her wand thing-y back and forth, back and forth. But I had to ask. After I got done with the ultrasound, I called my husband with "an interesting development." He was worried I would call and say I had lost the baby. Neither of us were prepared for this.

So, that was almost three weeks ago. I'd like to say that we've recovered from the shock, but that's not really the truth. When you sort of had to talk your husband into trying for a 4th baby (and even talk myself into it a little, even though I knew it was the right thing) finding out there's a tag along takes some getting used to. Plus, because I'm a slightly controlling person, I had everything planned down to the minute: S would go to 2nd grade right after the new baby was born, H would start Kindergarten at half-days, and T would start preschool one day a week. I could still work full-time with two kids home in the morning and three in the afternoon, right? Well, that's what I get for planning, I guess.

Our biggest priority right now (and newest worry) is making sure these babies stay in there, healthy and safe until I'm 37 weeks. With two separate sacs and two separate placentas, it's the safest scenario for twins, but as every parent knows, that doesn't lessen the worry. So, if you have them to spare, we could use a few extra prayers every now and then. I'm sure we'll need them, both now and in the summer when we realize we have five kids. Yikes!

High School Crush

I just finished watching My-So Called Life (a sadly underrated series that didn't even get to finish out a season) and I'm remembering now why I love it so much. In two words... Jordan Catalano, AKA Jared Leto. This show was pretty much his debut and let me tell you, it was a beautiful one. (Sadly, in recent years, Jared Leto has been in a handful of movies, plays in a weird band, and sometimes sports eyeliner). And don't worry, my husband's well aware of my crush.

Now, I never had many of the issues that Angela Chase (played by Clare Danes) had in high school. I never had a best friend who was an alcoholic, and another best friend who was gay. And I never had a crush on someone as beautiful and hopelessly confusing as Jordan Catalano. (And yes, you have to say the first and last name every time. The show does it and I love it.) But some of her innermost thoughts, and conversations with her friends and parents totally take me back. And now I can watch the exchanges with her parents and see how my life might be in several years with a teenager who won't confide in me and thinks I'm completely out of touch.

If you've never seen this show, I highly recommend renting it. And then, rent Freaks and Geeks (another high school show, this one set in the early 80s and absolutely hilarious). I defy you to not completely fall in love with Bill, who's hopelessly nerdy and completely endearing.

Please and Thank you

Just be polite... that's all I ask for, really. We've been struggling with a few issues with the kids lately (I feel like I may have written that before...) and one of the biggest ones is just common courtesy. When your mother speaks to you, acknowledge her presence, would you? And instead of "I need some milk; get it now," I would love to hear "please" the first time around. It might just be wishful thinking but I've got to believe that my children can show respect for us and for others. Anyway, manners was the subject of FHE tonight. (This is at least the second time we've had the lesson.) We all picked a few phrases that we're really going to work on. I know that it starts with the parents first. And I think we really do try. But after asking someone nicely to do something six times, the patience begins to wear a little thin. So of course when the disobedience and lack of respect happen again, say two minutes later, I may be slightly less patient. Maybe.

Anyway, we talked a lot about how the example starts at the top, with miss S and on down. By the time it gets to the T man, the attitude is not always pretty. I'm sure we'll revisit the issue tomorrow, the next day, and maybe even a refresher course next Monday night. :)

Pet Peeve

This really isn't a post about all of my pet peeves. I'll save that for later (wearing socks when you walk into a puddle on your kitchen floor, anyone?). This will just be about one of my biggest ones: not being able to breathe through my nose when I'm trying to sleep. I hate it. I really can't fall asleep otherwise. Sometimes the Breathe Right strips work, and sometimes they don't. Since I've had a cold on and off (mostly on) since Christmas Eve (yeah, when I realized it had been that long, I kind of freaked), night-time has not been a good time for me. I should have known it was a sinus infection and gone to the doctor for drugs much sooner, but I just kept thinking, "Well, the sinus pressure isn't too bad... my teeth aren't completely killing me yet." And I really do believe in the power of my immune system to defeat the microscopic bugs in my body. I write about natural products for a living, after all.

*Sigh.* After a hideous cough added itself to the mix last week, I decided it was time to throw in the towel. I went to the doctor yesterday and he gave me a bit of a lecture about waiting so long to come in. Yeah, yeah, I know. Anyway, I've got my antibiotics and hopefully, I'll stop coughing, sneezing, and hacking up a lung. And maybe, just maybe, I'll be able to breathe through my nose at night...