Friday Updates

We are doing better (knocking on wood). The girls went to the school yesterday and were perfect angels. Of course, my friend Casee declared that they just love being around her. And it's true :-) So Casee, why don't you quit your teaching job and be our nanny. Can I pay you? Nope! But you get to care for these two beauties and be around me all day. What do you say, hmmm??

Can I just tell you what has made the most difference? These two things right here...

Yep, the swing and the bouncer. The realization that when they are super fussy, screaming, red faced, if I put Abigail into the swing and Olivia into the bouncer...they calm down. Huh? What?? I KNOW!! The Lord truly knows what he is doing to create two little girls who can be calmed by not being in my arms. Am I grateful? Yes, truly! Am I happy about it? Umm...not really. You see, I am used to being what calms babies down. Especially my own. For them to scream in my arms and calm when I put them down is a little stinging to my heart, but whatever makes for happy babies, right?

Another thing that has made the difference? Right here...

Lactose-free formula seems to be doing the trick. And yes, people, that will last us 4 days. What? What is that you say? Powered formula is cheaper and will last longer? Neh, neh, I say. Well, at least about the price. See those little red stickers on the cans? Those are clearance tags. 1 can for $4.54 instead of $6.59. Plus, I have a way to beat the system so I got all these cans for $1.32. No, that is no typo. One dollar and thirty two cents. How? Mmm...I could tell you but then I would have to kill you. And no, no sexual favors or bribes were involved.

Ok here are updates on each girl

Abigail
She has not done as well on this formula. But she really didn't like the taste of the Soy formula and she wouldn't drink a whole lot at one sitting so...we are adding juice to her diet twice a day. We'll see how this goes. She has the most expressive face. She makes all these faces. Especially when she is waking up. I tried to capture some of them. Right in the middle of it all was...

her first real smile

She is also really starting to love to cuddle. Again, especially after she wakes up. She just buries her little head in my neck and sometimes goes back to sleep. My little snuggle bunny!

And just how big are the eyes?



Some other funny expressions



Future Olympian
(please ignore the "death warmed over" look I have going on)

Olivia
She is smiling full huge smiles now and cooing a little more. She smiled really big at Zachary yesterday. Here favorite new place is on my shoulder.

I captured her smiling a little smile here


And another smile for Z here

This is how she usually looks though, poor little thing but I do think it is getting better.

Some other cute expressions of her

Z says it looks like I have shrunk down to a baby since he thinks she looks like I did as a baby. She is seriously asleep here after crying for about 30 mins. I finally just laid her on my pillow and patted her bottom until she fell asleep.



Wow a huge long post! It took me literally all day to do between all the other things going on here. I have to say I am looking forward to the first day of school.

Sara

Drs Appointment

Well we took the girls to the dr and wouldn't you know it. They were all smiles and cooing! It's like taking a car to the mechanic: it never does what you want it to so he can fix it! She listened to all of our worries and came to some surprising and not so surprising conclusions. They are constipated. Even though their poop is super mushy, they have to strain to push it out and are fussy before they have to poop. This was a surprise to us. We figured constipation = hard poop, but not so. She also said they have colic. That was not a surprise. We knew that but wanted advice on how to deal with it. We didn't get much more than sincere sympathy, but she did suggest either switching to a Lactose free formula or adding juice to their diet. Then if either one of those don't help, we will go to a Hypoallergenic formula, which is liquid gold for what it costs.

We are opting to switch formulas first then go from there. I went to Target to get formula (surprisingly the cheapest around, even Wal-mart) and they had the ready to feed on clearance so I got 8 cans. The girl who checked me out made a comment about how much formula I was buying and I told her we had twins...and this would last 4 days. She was shocked. Yep...it is expensive to have twins, especially if you don't breastfeed. Great, more guilt. Anyhoo...

Olivia is doing much better on this formula. She just smiled and smiled the past few days. There still fussy times, but I do think she feels better. I think Abigail needs to go back to Soy. She did better on it I think. Can you imagine what it will entail for the girls to be on different formulas?? But whatever it takes, right? Here's where those Bumpy Names can come in handy, right? Which reminds me. The owner of that website left a comment for anyone of my readers to have a discount when they shopped. So if you do want to order use coupon code #112081208 for 10% off. Thanks, Kay!!

Funny poop story time:
Abigail hates to be dirty...like, the minute she poops even a little, she screams to be changed. Never mind that she is not done. She will not poop any more until you clean her up. So every poopy diaper change is the same. She poops, screams and when we wipe her she continues to poop while laying there on her diaper. She cries after each little poop so we have to continue to wipe between poops. (Yes, I know, can you say high maintenance? I wonder where she got that from. Hmmm...). So the other day Gary was changing her and she was pushing extra hard to get it out. She had paused for awhile and Gary asked me if I thought she was done. I did so he went to put her new diaper under her. She grunted and POW! poop shot over the diaper, over Gary's hand, over the side of the changing pad and onto the floor. And not right by the table either, it was a good foot and a half away from it. If it wasn't so disgusting, it would have been beautiful. Gary had jerked his hand out of the way just in time to miss getting a handful (like he has before). Needless to say, Z got a huge kick out it as Gary and I stared dumbfounded at our tiny little girl who had done that. Ha!! What a little lady.

I am going to visit my school where I used to work tomorrow. We are also stopping at the in home day care where Z went for 5 years. He wants to show off his sisters. Hopefully the girls will not be too fussy. Please Lord....please....

Sara

Great Wolf Lodge

We went to Great Wolf Lodge last week. My nephews birthdays are in July so they chose to go there to celebrate. The rest of the family decided to tag along. Well, everyone but my dad, the party pooper. We had a great time. It is only about 45 mins away from us.

It is a hotel that has a water park inside it. It is open year 'round so we might go back in January when the thought of swimming is especially enticing. You pull up to these huge wolves that tower over the opening of the doors. Very cool. The lobby is breath taking with its rustic feeling. There is a huge tree house looking thing with a big fireplace next to it. Did a get pictures of these wondrous things? Of course! Did they turn out? Of course not! The pictures are all dark and crap. Only a few turned out. I have already tried to fix them, but I can't figure it out.



The room key is one of those bracelets that snap onto your wrist so you don't lose your key. Pretty clever, I say. The room itself was super cool with a log cabin inside for the kids. Z called the top bunk immediately.



There are arcades, gift shops, candy shops, and other money pits for parents to spend money in. The whole atmosphere is geared toward kids, of course. Each floor is a different theme like woody forests, or fairy land, or treetop for the top floor (Yea, I know. Clever, huh).

The water park was pretty fun too. And can I just say that I wish I could wear a sign that says "I had twins 7 weeks ago"? I know I look pretty good for having twins 7 weeks ago, but dang if people there didn't know that and I just looked huge! I know I shouldn't care what people think, but...well...I do. There were several slides that were pretty crazy. There was one that you could ride with someone in a double tube. Z and I rode together after we talked him into it. He wasn't too sure about it. Usually during a ride we hoop and holler all the way through it, but he was silent on this one. A sure sign that he was freaked out. There was a huge drop off that emptied us out in this huge bowl thing, kinda like a toilet. We went round and round until getting "flushed" down another tube. Great fun! He loved it after we got off. He also loved the wave pool. He spent most of the day there. Then there was one slide that we had to climb a massive amount of stairs to get to. I was seriously out of breath when I got to the top. Like, embarrassingly out of breath. Again, I wanted to say, "I had surgery 7 weeks ago to remove two children that I have been carrying around for 9 months, so I am a little out of shape here, but don't mind me...really...I am fine..."


And to top it all off there is a little something called Magic Quest. Ahhh...the Cha-chinging of the $$ is all I hear. And of course my little dude had to do it. It is where you go and buy a wand. Then you go on quests around the hotel to find different things so you can earn points and such. You pay for the wand, the game, then an add-on to the wand if you want. Well, we wanted, of course. We ended up shelling out about $45 to play this silly little thing. After getting the hang of it, we actually had a blast doing it all. You race around pointing your wand at pictures, chests, and props. They talk back to you and then you race to the next one, usually on another floor. That was the thing. You went to the 5th floor, then the 2nd, then back up to the 6th. It literally took us about 5 hours to complete this thing and by golly we where going to complete it!!

We took the girls and they spent the night but then my mom took them home so we could enjoy a day at the water park. They had their usual melt down and ended up in the bed with us on their Boppys. Abigail fought and fought sleep. We finally got her to go to sleep at one point. I tip-toed over to the Pack-n-Play to check on them and Abigail was just laying there staring up at me with her big eyes wide awake. It was pretty funny.

All in all a great time. We can't wait to go back :-)

Sara

We will see how much I can get into this post. I am feeling a little down tonight and trying to shake it off. We are calling the doctor tomorrow to see if we need to switch formulas again...again. I am carrying a tremendous amount of guilt over the whole formula thing because I stopped breast feeding. Would they be having these problems if I was still breast feeding them? Who knows, but I still feel like I let them down by stopping. I just couldn't do it anymore. I felt like all I was doing all day was feeding or pumping. Plus, I couldn't pick them up or anything while I was pumping so every time they would cry I would have to unhook and then re-hook after I tended to them. It just led to me being stressed.

I don't want to be one of those parents. You know, the ones that take their baby to the Dr for every little cry or squeak. But by golly, there has got to be something wrong!! They cry and cry with gas and who knows what else. I am worried that there is nothing wrong and this is just how our lives are going to be until they outgrow it. And with school starting...Ugh! I am worried because I am going to have to take him to school every day. Last year I walked him in all the way to his classroom every day of the year. Even when I was huge pregnant I would walk him all the way down to his room. This year I am hoping he will walk in by himself after the first week or so, because holy crap. If they are like they have been every day I can look forward to them crying all the way there and back. Lovely... He actually wants to ride the bus so we will see...

Another thing is...Z was SUCH a great baby I got spoiled. I knew he was good, but not until these girls did I realize how good he was. He was just super easy. Every time he cried, I knew exactly what to do. I am at a loss with these girls sometimes and they just look at me when they are screaming as if to say "Do something!!" and I don't know how to help them feel better and it just breaks my heart. Ok, I gotta stop there because this is certainly not helping to shake off my mood.


Ok, on to some product raves

Bumpy Name

These bands fit around bottles or cups to identify whose bottle is whose. These have been great!! I am going to get a few more I think. When the girls only drink a little of their bottle, we just slip one of these around it and we know whose it whose. I think they will really be great when they have cups to tell them apart. We are not hugely careful about germs between the two of them, but when Olivia was sick, we really had to be careful about them sharing.

The Moby Wrap

A blessing from above! Olivia will go to sleep in it. And Abigail the other day laid in it and drank her bottle while I was able to get things done around the house hands free. It is great and I highly recommend it for all new mommies. I got mine on ebay, but you can get them here. Just a side note-I know she looks unhappy but she really does love it. And the glowing stripes behind me are from a backpack, not a flying jet pack as it appears.

The Boppy

I questioned whether or not to get these for the girls because I never used Zacharys. Well they have improved them in the last 6 years and they are not as stiff. They love them and they are the best for them to hang out in and look around. We use them to feed them, hold them, they sleep on them. They are great!! We wish we had two more. We have to bring them down and take them back up every morning and night. We got them at Targe.t.

The Miracle Blanket and SwaddleMe

Abigail (left) is in a miracle blanket and Olivia is in a SwaddleMe. These are the best for getting them to settle in for the night. Abigail especially twitches all the time during her sleep and if her hands where not swaddled then she would wake herself up all through the night. Gary was a swaddling Nazi at first but he did get them used to sleeping with them and they do sleep better with them on. We got the Miracle Blanket from Ebay and the Swaddle Mes from Babies R Us.

I also love my microwave sterilizer, but I refrained from posting a picture of it :-)

AND...this made breast feeding and pumping easier. I would never have done it as long as I did without it. It makes for a comical sight, but trust me, it is a lifesaver.

These are my top picks for must haves with babies.

Sara

New Form of Torture

You know, us new moms always say that sleep deprivation should be a form of torture. Well, I have found a new one.

Olivia.

crying.

for.

three.

and.

a half.

hours.

It was brutal people. If I had known any national security secrets they would have been seriously gone if someone would have promised she would stop. There were a few breaks in there, like when she went to sleep...and then spit up...all over herself. Gary and I passed her back and forth when we needed a break or Abigail needed something. She was horse (hoarse?) she cried so much. At first I felt bad for her. Babies don't cry for no reason right? But dang if after hours I just wanted her to be quiet!! And go to sleep!! So I could go to sleep. Finally at 11:40, she finally...finally went to sleep and stayed asleep.

Of course, she is her sunshiny self this morning. And we are the walking dead.

Coffee...coffee...where is my coffee...

Sara

Friday Check In

Things are really hopping around here with back to school and two still fussy girls. There are not a lot of pictures this week because we have been so freakin busy trying to keep these two little darlings happy.

Abigail
(along with Olivia making a cameo appearance)

My sweet Abby has turned into a smiley girl this week! She is smiling more and more and she cooed at me for the first time this week. Her little smile lights up her whole face. She loves the swing and will sit in the bouncer for a good while before wanting to be picked up. She goes from 0 - 90 with her crying when she wants something. She also HATES to be dirty. I mean, it is instant crying after she poops. It doesn't matter that she is not finished. As soon as you wiped her up she continues to go like a little poop factory. We have switched to Soy so that maybe her gas will be better and it is! She still has a meltdown every night around 8:00. Only Daddy can calm her :-)

Olivia

My poor baby is sick.

She has a stuffed up nose and doesn't really want to eat much. She is sleeping a lot more and just feels yucky. She is not cooing yet, but is smiling more and more. They both are getting really good at holding their heads up. They just look right at us when we talk to them. She still likes to be held...a lot. But her cries don't get serious unless I am busy with Abigail. She just kind of cries softly a little bit then stops to see if I are coming to get her, then tries again. She talks more with her cries. She also likes the swing but only if she is in the mood. She loves it when I sing to her. She also has a meltdown around the same time as Abigail every night. It makes for a LONG evening in our house. Soy has not helped her as much with her fussiness but I can't imagine trying to have 2 different formulas for them, but we may have to do that.

And in case you are wondering about the wrap that Olivia is in. It is a Moby Wrap and it is sent from heaven above! I will talk more about it in my post about product reviews.

I have not lost any more weight, but I guess it is because I am not doing anything. :-) Oh well, I can fit into my shorts from last summer, so I guess I am doing ok.

Ok here are my list of posts I will post in the next few days.
1. the grass fire (finally)
2. product reviews
3. Great Wolf Lodge trip
4. My coupon plan to save money

I am setting a goal :-)

I will leave you with a picture of what our mini-fridge looks like stocked up for the nighttime. That is a lot of milk!!

Sara

P.S. I got through this whole post non-stop. I didn't have to get up once to tend to my sleeping babies. Wow! Maybe it is getting better :-)

Sara Needs...

I saw this over at Deb's Postcards From the Edge and thought it was just too much fun not to play along. So, what you do is in G0.0gle you type your name and the word needs (ex. Sara Needs) and see what the first 10 links say that come up. I had to skip a few because the search brought up other blogs that played this game. Here is my list...

1. Sara needs you - What a way to start out! This is so true. I need all you guys that are apart of my life in some way, either in real life or web friends.

2. Sara needs a lawyer - Umm...not right this minute but thanks.

3. Sara needs something more than the well-established love of her companion - Ha! Well...yes I do but I do enjoy that well-established love.

4. Sara needs help to keep on task - So true! I start things all the time without finishing them. Like now, I started cleaning the upstairs but stopped for a break to do this.

5. Sara needs Sara time - For the love of all things holy yes! YES!!

6. Sara needs your opinion on parents sleeping in your bed - Personally I think its ok as long as you are not in the bed with them. Ha ha! I actually followed this link and its a stand up comedian.

7. Sara needs replies - This is a good one! I do need replies from my blogger readers :-)

8. Sara needs to come back - Didn't know I had gone somewhere...wait...where am I??

9. Sara needs paint - Yes, I light taupe to paint to living room with, please.

10. Sara needs a hug but wants a kiss - Hee hee...Oh my...Gary? You reading this?

So, go Goo.gle your name and play along. Come on, you know you want to. Let me know if you do it so I can read yours!

Coming up...our mini-vacation to Wolf Creek Lodge

Sara

The Gas Song

I forgot to include this in my other post. My mom made up this song to sing when the girls are fussy. Yes, my mom. made this song up.

Do you, do you have gas?
Does it hurt when you try to pass?
Just push, push, push it right out your a$$
Do you, do you have gas?

You are welcome to use this for your own fussy babies when the need arises. :-)

Sara

6 week check-up

My dearest friends and family, I have decided that every Friday will be an update post on the girls, and Z. This way if you read this blog only for the girls and Z then you know what day to tune it. The other days will be my ramblings on who knows what. Thats not to say that the girls and Z won't be in any other posts, but the major updates will be on Fridays. Plus, this will make me update at least once a week.

First the good stuff about the girls.
They are getting to a great stage now. They really look into our eyes when we talk. Olivia will actually stop crying when we talk to her. She has started smiling more and more, especially in the morning when I sing to her. Abigail smiled at me for the first time this week. Aww!! They both stop drinking when Z comes to talk to them and they smile at him. They are good friends already! They are pretty oblivious of each other right now. But when one of them starts grunting or moving in their sleep, the other one will too, even if they are across the room from each other. I think this is the start of the twin talk I hear so much about.

My sweet Z with Abigail
She was fussy until we laid her down with him

Hmmm...thinking...thinking

We have really been wondering how much they weigh. So I got out my postal scale. White trash much? So here are their weights. Get ready to be shocked. I was.

Abigail 9 lbs 9 oz
Olivia 9 lbs 1 oz

HUH?? Where are my tiny babies?? I knew they were growing but I really didn't expect them to be over 8.5 at most. They just seem so big now! They are almost out of NB diapers and their NB clothes are getting tight. We were putting their preemie things away the other day and Oh my gosh how tiny they were!!

Now about the other side of our little darlings. They have a hard time going to sleep because they don't want to miss anything. Olivia especially just cries like her heart is broken when you know she needs to sleep and we are trying to rock her. Abigail will actually go to sleep on her own. Olivia will too every great once in awhile. Plus, they have the worst gas ever! They just scream at times because of it. The time of 7:00 - 9:00 to be more exact. In between this two hour block, Gary and I will be juggling both of them. It doesn't really matter what position they are in, they just cry and cry. We will try everything and it may work in short bursts, but then they start right back up. During this time we head upstairs to bathe and dress for bed. They like their baths, so that is a calm in the storm. They are on a really gentle formula now, but we may be moving to soy soon. Yucky, but necessary it seems.

What a sleep deprived Daddy looks like
and yes, that is a Boppy he is using for a head rest
My poor honey

What the girls look like when they are with Daddy

So I went for my 6 week check-up this week.

Everything's fine, of course. He had hard time telling which incision is his. He had to talk himself through it. "Ok, I do mine in the crease so you can't see it, so that must be mine." I could tell him which was which; yours is the longer one that is still hurting! But I digress - He said it was healing great. I guess so since you couldn't even tell yours from a 6 year old one!

I told him I had had a longer recovery than I thought. He called the nurse in there that helped him with the c-section and she reminded him of the details. It was like concrete, it took forever to get through it, etc. What I find out that I didn't know is that they could not even take my uterus out because of how much scar tissue there was. I guess they take the uterus out to check it and make sure the ovaries and tubes are good. Well, they couldn't get mine out to even do something or other to my bladder they usually do. Ok so no wonder I am still hurting (yes, still hurting, especially after my walk...more about that below). I am sure they tugged and pulled trying to get it out. Ok, I don't want to think about that anymore. Because of this, they could not see my ovaries and the condition they are in. So...

We discussed birth control. Something I thought I would never have to worry about again. He said that I need to be on something. WHAT?? I can't get pregnant remember? We did IVF? He said there was always a possibility of a tubal pregnancy or some other kind of problems that can happen. Ugh!! Really!! I can't even cash in on the one positive from this? No birth control?? He gave me samples of a low dose one. But here's the deal; I get mean when I'm on birth control. I have been on this one before and even with the low dose of the hormone, I was still pretty short, irritable, and just all around more nasty on it. So we may decide to do something else. Not really sure. I really don't want to be mean :-(

He cleared me for exercise, but I went for a walk around the block on Wednesday because it was 80 degrees outside instead of 100 for once. We made the loop only a couple of times until the sun came out and I felt great...until I started hurting...again. ::Sigh:: I am going to have to move back into it slowly I guess. It is so frustrating to me! I am not making very good food choices (note to self: 100 calorie snacks are only good if you don't eat 5 packages a day), so this means my weight is not going down like I want it to. I have been craving sweets like crazy!! Which leads me to...

I think I may be about to start for the first time since the girls have been here. I mean, it is about time. They are 6 weeks old. I am so much more tired this week than I have been, I am also very close to tears over everything. I was watching TV and everything that even bordered on sappy was making me tear up. I had some pretty low moments after Z was born and it was only in hindsight that I realized it was probably postpartum depression. I even got on some meds for it, but I got off of all of them when I went through IVF. Since I have dealt with depression since Z was born, I am really watching for it. I have been doing pretty good, but this week has been rough. So I am hoping I can chalk it up to PMS. I never thought I would say I hope to have PMS.

And I will leave you with an updated picture of me. Let me preface it by saying I am not happy with it. The clothes are too big and I need to cut my frizzy hair. I think I look pretty good , then I see the picture and just want to throw my hands up. But on the other hand, I have come a long way in 6 weeks. :-)

Sara

Catching up

Oh there is so much rattling around up in my mind!

This is what happens when I go 4 days without blogging. I am going to just spill some things that have been needing to come out. Who knows if I will get to the grass fire today or tomorrow.

Blah Week:
It has been kind of a blah week. Nothing has changed really except that the girls were waking up every 2 hours instead of every 3 for a couple of nights there which makes for very tiring days and grouchy people. (Sorry, honey) Even when I get to take a nap, it seems that I will never catch up. I know it gets better and I am hanging on to that.

Honesty:
I hate dishonest people. People who lie just to make themselves look better. People who go out of their way to lie to make themselves look better. I can't really go into the why behind this but just know that it makes my skin crawl. I am so glad I am married to a man who would never even think about lying to me or about anything. Love you, honey :-)

Blogging:
I love to blog. Someone said recently that they have no idea how I have time to do it. And I replied that you make time for what is important. And this is important to me. I feel an obligation to you guys! You who tune in for updates on the girls or to see what wackiness I have gotten myself into. I love to tell all about what it going on. I love to take pictures with every intention of putting them right here on this blog. It keeps me sane! Do I shower every day? No But do I read my blogs? Oh yes. And this brings me to this:

Google Reader:
Saves.my.life - If you read a ton of blogs and you don't do it through Google Reader or something like it, then you must get it. But the thing that I don't like about it is it makes it hard to leave comments. You have to click to go to the actual site then go through the whole comment section. For all you who are used to me leaving comments on your blog, I am still reading, promise! But I just don't have the time or energy to leave comments like I used to. It's all I can do to keep up with reading!

Ok in the next post I will update you on my 6 week check-up plus the girls. Stay tuned...

Sara

Stupid Ticket and a Grass Fire

First, a funny...I got a stupid ticket today. Ugh!!! I am so bad about speeding. And was I out to do a really important errand so that I could justify my speeding?? Nope, we were out for a drive to see the burned field (more on that in a bit) and we went to grab lunch. Because I was SO ready to be out of the house. Plus, I have a small window were the girls will sit quietly or sleep in the car, then it is screamsville.

The officer was super nice. He informed me that he pulled me over for speeding. He went on to ask how fast the speed limit is and how fast I was driving. I did answer the first question correctly, but I don't think I got bonus points for it. He asked me if I was in a hurry to get somewhere. I can never think fast enough. I should have said, "Yes, as a matter of fact, Officer, we were just going to grab some lunch. These 6 week old twin girls in the back will start screaming at any minute and since this is the first time I have been out driving since they have been born, well, yes, you could say I am in a little bit of a hurry." But no. Then Olivia really started crying so Zachary jumps into the back to hold her bottle. He thanks me for my courtesy as he handed me my ticket and I thanked him...THANKED HIM for costing me over $200. I know, I know, I am the one who did it...whatever. I know better than to go 53 in a 35.

It's a wonder I don't get more tickets. I have been lucky only to get a couple in the past few years. There was one year that I got like 4 speeding tickets, plus 3 more warnings. I do love to speed. I usually go around 20 over. Sometimes I can get out of them but not very often. I was pulled over when I was pregnant a couple of months ago. I made a huge show of reaching across my belly to get my insurance card from the glove box. She let me go. Then there was the time when I blubbered to the guy that my husband had just left me for another woman and God only knows what else I said. He let me go really quick like with a muttered "you drive safe now, Ma'am." Then, THEN, there was the time when I was speeding, had no insurance, my driver's license was expired and had the wrong address on it and he let me GO, people! Ahhh...the stories I could write about all my pull-overs.

I'll have to blog about the grass fire tomorrow...or another day

Sara

Sunday Show and Tell

I had a true full circle moment on Friday.

We were blessed to have our friend Sarah be able to take Z, along with her kids to Vacation Bible School this past week. He loved it. He brought home all kinds of goodies that he made and stories about things he did. Then the whole group put on a play for the last day. We sat and watched as he sang along to all the songs he learned this week and memories of my own VBS experiences welled up inside me. If I listened closely enough I could almost hear strands of "It's the B-I-B-L-E, that's the book for me..." and flashes of me gluing popsicle sticks together to make a cross. Plus, when I was a teenager I was the one up there doing the little plays for the kids every day. There was about 3 years three where me and two friends, Bryan and Keven, were the actors in the drama skits everyday for the kids. I was a time traveling adventure girl one year, and then a visitor on a farm, and then...hmmm...can't remember that last one or was it the first one. Oh well, we had so much fun and it just brought it all back.

He's in the red shorts

But even more than the memories was the overwhelming realization that my son was up there singing...about his God being real and how we should live his truth...my son. My.son...my son. It was not just hormones that had tears coming to my eyes. It was one of those moments where if you are still enough, you can feel the earth shift. At least your own little world. I just sat and savored it. That moment. And when he looked over at me and grinned...my heart just swelled up with pride for him. These are the moments that matter. In all the chaos of this life, this is what I am here for; to love and care for my children and guide them to make good decisions and live a life for the Lord. And there is absolutely nothing I would rather be doing.

Sara

Updates on the girls

~~Just so you can see what life is like with twins,

I will be giving a play by play of what is happening while I am typing this post~~

~Started at 2:25 on Friday afternoon~

And Introducing...
Fuss Bucket 1 and Fussy Bucket 2

Oh my we are going through a stage in here, people! They are so much more awake now and want to be twizzled with (as my mom puts it) and if they are not, look out!!

~went to get Olivia, I am feeding her and typing at the same time~

They sleep a good 3 hours at night, but we are lucky to get more than 30 mins out of them during the day in any one stretch. They are starting to enjoy their floor time under their playmat and they actually watch the circling animals over their swing now, but not for very long. They soon realize no one is messing with them and start to cry. They follow us with their eyes when we come and go. Abigail actually laughed at Z the other night! Olivia has smiled at both Gary and me (Gary first, but she will say Mama first :-)

Here is Olivia enjoying her mat

Olivia has decided that she does not want to go to sleep at night (and sometimes during the day) without screaming, yes, that darling has some lungs on her, screaming for a bottle to be put into her mouth so she can go to sleep. I am trying to nix that bad habit right now, but another MOM suggested "Whatever works!! Just let them sleep so you can!" Ok, I can see how that is good advice.

Here they are actually sleeping at the same time today, for about 15 mins

~Went to check on Abigail who is sleeping. She cried, but went back to sleep before I got there. Still feeding Olivia, stopping to burp her now~

~2:40 Back with Olivia drinking again (and pooping) It's hard to do 2 things at once. Her, I mean. They have the hardest time pooping and eating. They can't figure out which is more important~

So they cry a lot more now to be held. They know someone is here to hold them, never mind there is another baby here too. Olivia has this 6th sense of when I am about to put her down to get Abigail cause she starts it up the minute I go to put her down!

~2:48 Back from checking Olivia's drawers. No poop, but she is grunting up a storm so I am expecting it any minute now. She is now hanging out on her Boppy. Abigail is asleep. I get to type with two hands!~

It is especially hard when both of them want to be held at the same time. I hold both, but they somehow know that my attention is split because neither one can stand it when they are held together.

~3:02 Went to change Olivia's clothes. She spit up all over her outfit. Checked to make sure Abby's breathing. She is actually sleeping more than 20 mins! Holding Olivia as I type~

I am going to go back now and add pictures

~3:05 Laid Olivia down because she is out, went to the bathroom~
~3:08 Went to get Olivia because she woke up crying~
~3:10 Olivia out again. Let's try the swing this time. Abigail starting to wake up~
~3:12 Olivia settled in swing~

Have only added 2 pictures. Going back to add more

~3:19 Abigail now up and eating. Olivia still asleep in swing. Typing one handed again~

Added 3 pictures, now going back to edit and arrange

~3:26 Abigail still drinking and going back to sleep~

We try not to hold them more than we need to but it is hard when they get so sad at being left alone. I don't think babies at this age can be spoiled but they can def get used to being held all the time.

~3:35 stopped to burp Abigail. She is out after only a snack of 2 oz~

For the first time this week I find myself able to get through the day without pain meds. I have turned a corner most definitely. I am so relieved. I am still super tired but I can think clearer, or more clearly...whatever, without the pain always there. I have actually started doing laundry and dishes in between bottles and changes instead of just sitting and resting.

~3:44 stopped to lay Abigail down. She woke right up and wanted more to eat so back at computer with Abigail still eating. Olivia is grunting from the other room~

~3:47 Abigail out again after about another oz. Olivia starting to wake up~

Have a lot more to say, but this post has beat me down in the last hour and a half. Dang, has it really taken me that long to post these few words?

::sigh::

I leave you with a sweet pic that I don't have the energy to blog about. Time for another cup of coffee.

Sara

To the lady in Wal-mart...

I am sorry I couldn't get myself together enough to babble more than the few sentences I did. I was just so shocked to see your little train of triplet boys. Thank you for your encouragement and praise at being out. And can I just say your little ones are so cute! And so well behaved. They were just sitting quietly in their little car staring at me as I stared back at them completely unable to form a coherent thought. I wish I would have gotten your email address. Maybe I will see you again. I hope so.

Sara

Weight Loss Update

Oh, the yummy creamy goodness that is this Snow Ice Cream flavored snowcone treat! It is crunchy, slurpy, runny yumminess from the first bite to the last. Followed close behind are the flavors Bahama Mama, Fuzzy Navel, and Blue Hawaiian.

Coffee
(and yes that is coffee I enjoy a little coffee with my cream and sugar)





So this is what has been my diet for the past week or so. I may grab a sandwich here or there and dinner, but only because Gary cooks it. I used to never drink coffee, maybe a cup here or there. Then when I worked for Dickinson, I started getting these Vanilla Latte things from Diam.ond Sha.mrock. It couldn't even be called coffee because it was so full of flavor. It was probably about 15 of the 30 pounds I gained after I got married. Just those stupid coffees alone. Since I am downing about 3 cups a day, you would think I would be gaining. All this sugar and snack grabbing must be bad, but it seems not because I am down 2 more pounds. 2 more pounds people!!

30 - 3 = 27 more to go to my goal of getting rid of my IVF weight.

And might I just say that the human skin is freaking amazing. I mean, seriously, you have seen the pictures of how huge my skin was stretched. I really and truly thought I would never be the same. I mean, how could I be, right??

Well, I am by no means back to normal, but I can definitely see the potential for normalcy. I thought I would be just a huge saggy mess.

Think Jo.hn a.nd Ka.te plus 8 kind of thing, because my dear friends, at my biggest I was as big around as she was when she delivered. Yes!! I know! But I was. We were watching one night (the one with her getting the tummy tuck) and John said that she measured 54 inches around at delivery. I sputtered to Gary, "But that's what I am now!" and I only had 2 in there, people, not the litter of 6 that she had. And then when they showed her tummy, I just about lost it. Not because it was so bad on her, but I was not going to get a free tummy tuck, right?? I could just see what it was going to be like for me. I must make a note here: Kate was straight out in front like a bullet. My 54 inches was more around and obviously not all baby, since I didn't have 6!

So I was not expecting greatness afterwards. Surprisingly, I am not a saggy mess. Whoo-hoo!! AND when I get to start working out, it will be all the better. Whew! Ummm...yes, I will workout. In between the bottles, , burping, changing, spitting up, pooping, rocking, and a little bit of sleeping that is my life.

Sara

Way Back Wed-nesday

Ok this is a first for me. Cheryle over at Twinfatuation does this every week and I want to join in this time. Since the girls' way back when is like a month ago, I am going to post pictures of Gary and me. Then I will set up a poll to see who you think looks like who. Did you follow that?

Gary at the hospital Gary at 1 year old



















Abigail
















Me a couple of days old













Olivia
















And just for kicks - Zachary



















So what do you think? Leave me a comment and vote. I will post my thoughts in a couple of days.

My Very First Award!!

I received this award from a great friend, Katie. I am so grateful to her for this award. I know her from the Multiple board on The Nest. She has two of the cutest twin boys you will ever see. She has been such an encouragement to me and even though I don't know her in real life, I count her as a friend. We share a birthday. Isn't that neat?? Thank you so much Katie! You made my day!



These are the rules:

1. The recipient must link back to the awards creator the babblings of mere

2. You must post these rules if you receive the award.

3. You must chose 5 people to receive the award after receiving it yourself

4. You must fit the characteristics of the recipient of the award, as posted by Mere.

5. You must post the characteristics of a recipient.

6. You must create a post sharing your win with others.

7. You must thank your giver.

Characteristics for the Smile Award:
1. Must display a cheerful attitude. (not necessarily at all times--we are all human)

2. Must love one another

3. Must make mistakes

4. Must learn from others

5. Must be a positive contributor to blog world

6. Must love life

7. Must love kids


Wow, only five?? You are kidding me...ok here goes

1. Sarah at twins + 2 more = 4 girls is a real life friend! She has been such an encouragement during my pregnancy and in the time since the girls have arrived. She is always ready to lend a helping hand. Thanks Sarah! I am so glad God sent you my way.

2. Lisa at Goldberg Baby Blog is another friend I have gotten to know from The Nest. She had 2 twin girls a couple of weeks before me. I love reading about how her girls are doing. She is another nestie that I know I would be friends with in real life.

3. Aimee at The Barbagallo Twins is yet another Nestie friend. She also had twin girls about a month before mine. I love to watch her girls and what they are up to. We have a lot in common. We decorated the girls' room in the same ladybug decor. We both have an Abby, whose middle name is named after our mom. I really wish we lived closer together because I know we would be friends.

4. Jennifer at The Foster Family is also a Nestie. She is having twin girls, too!! But she is still pregnant and on bedrest. She needs a smile award right about now so I am giving this one to her :-)

5. Deb at Postcards from the Edge always makes me smile. She is also my number 1 comment leaver! Thanks Deb!!

Edit:
I have to leave another one because I can't stand it!!
6. Katie at The Twinskis deserves this award also and dang it I am going to give it to her as well. She has twin girls also (and no I am not partial to twin girls...well...maybe a little). She is also a Nestie and a good friend. She is one of the nicest people. I love to watch how her girls are growing. I can see how my girls are going to be in about a year or so.

There are so many others I would like to have given this to. I hope I get to pass others on in the future :-)

The 9 layers of me...

I saw this one over at Deb's and had to play along.

LAYER ONE:

Name: Sara

Birth date: June 30

Birthplace: Irving Tx

Current Location: Fort Worth Tx

Eye Color: Brown

Hair Color: Brown

Height: 5′3

Righty or Lefty: Righty

Zodiac Sign: Cancer - the crab -somewhat fitting I know


LAYER TWO:

Your heritage: Mostly German, with Scottish-Irish in there too.

The shoes you wore today: No shoes, haven't been out of the house today

Your weakness: Bacon, like, lots of it

Your fears: Something happening to my kids

Your perfect pizza: Thick crusty crust, with bacon pieces, tomatoes, and pineapple

Goal you’d like to achieve: Getting back to my wedding day weight of 150


LAYER THREE:

Your most overused phrase on AIM: I don't IM, but I overuse the word "so" on here

Your first waking thoughts: Please, go back to sleep Olivia/Abigail

Your best physical feature: My legs

What you miss the most: sleep; precious 8 uninterrupted hours of it


LAYER FOUR:

Pepsi or Coke: Pepsi

McDonald’s or Burger King: Mc.Donalds - except I like BK's Icees

Single or group dates: Single

Adidas or Nike: Nike

Lipton Ice Tea or Nestea: neither, I am not a big tea drinker, almost a crime in these parts :-)

Chocolate or vanilla: Vanilla

Cappuccino or coffee: Cappuccino


LAYER FIVE:

Smoke: Never, ever

Cuss: Just the little words, hardly ever the seriously bad ones. Gawd, I sound 10 years old

Sing: Yes, I love to sing. I need to do it more

Take a shower everyday: Right now?? No, I can barely get my clothes on in the morning, much less shower. If I am lucky, I get one every other day.

Do you think you’ve been in love: Yes, 3 times for real

Want to go to college: I already did and don't want to think about it

Liked high school: Yes, it was fun

Want to get married: Already done it...twice

Believe in yourself: Yes

Get motion sickness: No

Think you’re attractive: Right now?? Ummm...no, but I know that it is only temporary

Think you’re a health freak: No, but really want to be

Get along with your parent(s): Yes, they are the best!!

Like thunderstorms: When I am home, yes

Play an instrument: Yes, the French Horn in High School


LAYER SIX: In the past month…

Drank Alcohol: Yes, 1 drink after not drinking anything for about a year.

Smoked: No

Done a drug: No

Made out: Yes, but not as much as I would have liked

Gone on a date: Yes, a quick bite to eat while Grana babysat

Gone to the mall: No...sigh

Eaten an entire box of Oreos: No

Eaten sushi: No, yuck

Been on stage: No

Been dumped: No

Gone skating: No

Made homemade cookies: No

Gone skinny dipping: No

Dyed your hair: No

Stolen anything: No


LAYER SEVEN: Ever…

Played a game that required removal of clothing: Yes

If so, was it mixed company: No

Been trashed or extremely intoxicated: No

Been caught “doing something”: Yes

Been called a tease: Yes, in high school...whatever

Gotten beaten up: No

Shoplifted: Yes a gumball when I was like 5 years old. I couldn't even eat the damn thing I felt so guilty.

Changed who you were to fit in: I am sure I did at some point along the way


LAYER EIGHT:

Age you hope to be married: Don't know how to answer this one

Numbers and Names of Children: 1 boy – Z and 2 girls - Olivia and Abigail

Describe your Dream Wedding: It happened a year and a half ago on September 23rd. I would have only changed one thing. My hairdresser would not have forgotten her %$#@$% curling iron!! Don't get me started...

How do you want to die: Very quickly

Where you want to go to college: Already done, but if I could do it again…TCU

What do you want to be when you grow up: A Professional Shopper...hey, I can dream, right??

What country would you most like to visit: Italy, especially Venice - since it is rapidly sinking into the ocean


LAYER NINE:

Number of people I could trust with my life: What does this mean anyway?? Who can I trust never to kill me? Who will never betray me? I am not answering this

Number of CDs that I own: A.Lot. between Gary and I, hundreds

Number of piercing: 2 in each ear

Number of tattoos: 1 and thinking about another

Number of times my name has appeared in the newspaper: At least 20 with high school stuff and weddings and births

Number of scars on my body: 2 c-sections

Number of things in my past that I regret: 1 - really big one

YOUR TURN! If you decide to play…let me know cause I wanna read your 9 layers!