Feuling my addiction

Who else is watching Mad Men and who is else going to be so addicted for another season? We actually were up to watch it on Sunday, but I've been forgetting to blog about it.

My love letter to Sears

Dear Sears,

I really should have known better to get involved with you. I've not had good luck in the past and have simply been able to ignore you or find other stores that would meet my needs. This time, you drew me in with an offer that I couldn't refuse.

A white glider with green cushions that was $100 cheaper than the one at BRU. I tried to stay away and buy it at BRU, but I just couldn't pass up the savings and BRU wouldn't price match since it was a slightly different model.

So, I gave in to you. I placed my order to find out that you wouldn't even deliver to our local store. Enter the in-laws who volunteered to pick up our delivery at a store near them. First, you lied and said you would be ready in 3-5 days ... try 10 days. But you arrived to find out that your wood was shattered and broken.

Next, we reordered and you would come straight to our door. Trying your best to satisfy. 7-10 days this time and you actually stayed on schedule. Again, a tease ... broken yet again. I sent you back, had some lovely conversations with a few people, and we are trying yet again. Come through for me this time, Sears. Learn what proper packaging means as well as customer service. That's right, say it with me, "customer service."

I'm counting on you ... please don't disappoint.

Love,
Susan D.

date night

My parents kicked Hubby and I out of the house last night, so we could have dinner out. Since we still haven't taken the girls out on the town (just for Dr.'s appointments until they're a little older), we went solo, and I have to admit was wonderful.

I had my first glass of wine since last year, and luckily timing worked out in between pumping/feeding, that I didn't have to do a "pump & dump". We chose a neat little place with outdoor seating and a guy playing acoustic guitar - everything from Coldplay to James Taylor. We had a great dinner, good conversation (mainly about the girls and the birth), and of course toasted to Maddy & Libby.

Now, I'm not sure what Grans and Grandpa did to the girls while we were out, or if they were just jealous that they didn't go, but they were not wanting to settle down at all last night. Feeding, rocking, walking, diapering, singing, holding -- nothing worked. Finally, the pacifier and sheer exhaustion (them and us) finally put everyone to sleep. We are hoping not to repeat that again this evening!

Con artists

We may really be in trouble once the girls reach their teenage years, as they have already started to con their grandmother at 1 month of age.

This morning, I fed both girls around 7 - 7:30 am, then my mom helped me bring them downstairs around 8:00 am. I had been in the office drinking coffee and probably checking blogs, when I walked back in the kitchen when my mom asked me something about Libby's last feeding.

I looked over and Libby was over halfway through a bottle, her second one in the past hour! Apparently, Mom didn't think they had eaten yet, so she went ahead and warmed up some milk and Libby had no complaints - just a full little belly. Maddy wasn't quite fast enough, so she had to survive on just the one bottle for the hour.

It's been wonderful having both of them home, and I will admit it's been a bit of a blur and hard at times, but also amazing. We're surviving and are having fun getting to know the girls and their personalities. I am also happy to report that we survived two Doctor's appointments and our first stroll around the neighborhood this week. They are gaining weight well, and to us look huge, while to everyone else, they are still tiny. Libby weighed in yesterday at 5 lbs., 15 oz. and Maddy is up to 4 lbs., 9 oz. It is hard to believe that tomorrow will mark 5 weeks since they arrived.

Wednesday Meme

1.What is in the back seat of your car right now? Two infant car seat bases and the double snap & go stroller in the very back.

2. When was the last time you threw up? Hmmm, I can't remember. I made it through my pregnancy only feeling like I had to throw up.

3. What's your favorite curse word? The F- bomb

4. Name 3 people who made you smile today? The babies, my husband, my mom.

5. What were you doing at 8 am this morning? Debating if I had time to get a cup of coffee before the girls woke up.

6. What were you doing 30 minutes ago? Feeding 2 babies

7. What will you be doing 3 hours from now? Hopefully still sleeping

8. Have you ever been to a strip club? Yep

9. What is the last thing you said aloud? Goodnight, sweet Maddy.

10. What is the best ice cream flavor? Chocolate Mint

11. What was the last thing you had to drink? Water

12. Do you look like your Mom or your Dad? Both

13. What was the last thing you ate? Frozen banana

14. Have you bought any new clothing items this week? No

15. When was the last time you ran? sometime in the fall of 2007

16. What's the last sporting event you watched? A few minutes of the St. Louis game last night.

17. What is your pet peeve? Not doing something you say you're going to do.

18. Who is the last person you emailed? Vivian with Bonanno to inquire about the sandals I ordered.

19. Ever go camping? Yes, I used to love it.

20. Do you have a tan? No

21. What is your favorite indulgence? pedicures

22. Would you rather take a week off at home or travel? Travel

23. What do you sleep in? Pajama pants and a tee shirt

24. Do you drink your soda from a straw? Yes, if it's from a restaurant

25. What did your last IM say? I don't IM

26. Are you someones best friend? Yes, and I have been for a very long time

27. What are you doing tomorrow? Taking care of babies, going to my Dr. for my checkup and hopefully making an appointment for a much needed eyebrow wax.

28. Where is your mom right now? Asleep, in our spare bedroom.

29. Look to your left, what do you see? Our office door and pictures that need to be hung.

30. What color is your watch? Silver

31. What do you think of when you think of Australia? My old friend, Scott and gorgeous accents, and a place that I would love to visit.

32. Would you consider plastic surgery? Possibly, probably not, but I wouldn't rule it out.

33. What is your birthstone? Aquamarine

34. Do you go in at a fast food place or just hit the drive thru? Typically, I'll just run in.

35.How many kids do you want? 2 - guess that was a good thing!

36. Do you have a dog? Yes, 2 dogs.

37. Last person you talked to on the phone? My Aunt.

38. Have you met anyone famous? Yes, Michael Stipe from REM, and Alexander Julian.

39. Any plans today? See #27.

40. How many states have you lived in? Three

41. Ever go to college? Yes.

42. Where are you right now? our home office

43. Biggest annoyance in your life right now? A tie - the fact that I'm still wearing maxi pads and stupid questions from strangers about the girls such as, "are they going to be identical?" Oh, I wanted to be sarcastic, but I was polite. Luckily, the first annoyance will go away!

44. Last song listened to? Either something from Light Classical from the TV or something on the radio.

45. What is your favorite store? Target, JCrew, Williams-Sonoma

46. Are you allergic to anything? Cats, ragweed, dust mites

47. Favorite pair of shoes you wear all the time? Right now, it's been my black Reef flip flops

48. Are you jealous of anyone? I don't think so.

49. Is anyone jealous of you? Doubt it.

50. What is your dream job? Wedding planner, writer

51. What time is it? 2 something am

52. Do any of your friends have children? Yes

53. Do you eat healthy? Usually, but I do love some sugary candy.

54. What do you usually do during the day? Work

55. Do you hate anyone right now? No.

56. Do you use the word 'hello' daily? Yes.

57. Do you think you have good manners? Yes, I try.

58. How old will you be turning on your next birthday? 36, baby.

59. Have you ever been to Six Flags? Yes, when I was in Middle School, I think.

60. How did you get one of your scars? Bike wreck in elementary school.

sappiness x 2

I have to share this picture of Hubby from over the weekend. After reading one of our Mother Goose nursery rhyme books to the girls, (which brought tears to my eyes), Hubby also had the girls enjoy a little tummy time with him for a while. Again, the tears.

Life is good.

Insider Stock Tip

If it's available, buy stock in OxiClean. This stuff is the bomb and I can't believe that in under two weeks, I have practically drained an entire bottle. Poop, spit-up, formula, milk ... all gone, like magic. Well, with a little scrubbing, but I'm still amazed at how well it works.

Do I sound like an infomercial or what?

We survived ...

The first day and night with both twins home. I was actually a little bit, urhm a lot nervous at how it would all play out, especially the nighttime part. During the day, both girls' schedules were about 30-45 minutes a part, which stayed consistent pretty much through the night. Somehow, I was able to handle the midnight feeding solo and Hubby took the 3 AM by himself. The 6 AM ended up being all hands on deck, including my mom.

But, the good news is the girls survived, as did we. Now, next on the radar is a Doctor's appointment later today for one of the girls, then next week, we have 3 appointments scheduled for both. That does scare me, because it's going to require getting both in the car seats and actually using the double stroller and navigating in buildings.

Our first afternoon nap together.

Full house

It is pretty ironic to me that on what would have been my anticipated due date (July 17 - 37 weeks), that Madeline will be coming home. We are beyond thrilled that both girls will have made it home in less than a month and we can really now have the entire family under one roof. We feel very blessed.

One down, one to go

That is right ... we received notice on Monday that Libby was able to come home with us and that she did on Tuesday. We didn't expect this news quite so soon, and then had a few hiccups getting ready for her arrival that included:

• The first test failure. Every NICU baby has to pass a car seat tolerance test - this is to make sure that they can sit up in a car seat and have no respiratory problems. Well, that wasn't the problem for us - it was the car seat. The ones that we had were slightly too big, so we ended up going to 2 places to find a new car seat that would fit her. We got the new one and she passed her test with flying colors.
• This was also the day that I was going to buy my new car. Goodbye little Audi, hello big ol Ford Explorer. I have dodged the Mini Van for now, but who knows ... I may change my mind in a couple of years. I like the size of the Explorer, but if you see me, I wouldn't suggest parking near me because parking isn't going very well. Of course, the paperwork took an excruciating amount of time and was just a longer process than we had hoped.

So, let's see ... a few things that we've learned so far about parenthood so far.

• I may opt to keep my parents around for the next 6 years. (Just kidding, Hubby!). They were planning just to come and visit for a few days, but have been here since I went into labor. My Mom has been a Godsend and it's great to have the extra help with Libby, cooking, cleaning, etc.
• Libby poops and pees like a boy. Example, when you pull off her diaper, you better watch out because at least once a day, that's when she decides to finish up. Nice. Her burps are also of the college frat boy caliber, but that's a good thing.
• Don't forget to leave all of the clothes downstairs, because when she has an explosion at 1 AM, you really can't run downstairs to get the change of clothes while you have a screaming baby on your hands. (Thank you, Hubby.)
• Zeus & Zoe seem fine with the new addition - they've done a lot of sniffing and a little poking around, but seem relatively unfazed.

So, life is definitely a lot busier, but in a good way. It's hard not to be at the NICU to see Maddy quite as much, but we're still up there quite a bit. She's doing really well and continuing to gain weight and meet other requirements, so we may have two babies home before too long!

Bit of a blur

I guess it's really more than a blur, but that's the best way I know to describe it. I think the body has a mysterious way of allowing you to run on auto-pilot when you need it.

Luckily for Hubby and I, my parents are still here helping out, our church has been great at providing several meals for us (even Zoe managed to help herself to a bit of leftover chicken pot pie that was on the counter), and we are able to see the girls as much as possible.

To answer a few questions and to give a bit of an update ...

Their names are both family names and one that we just really liked.

We did find out that the girls are identical twins. WOW.

They have both surpassed their birth weights. Maddy is up to 3 lbs, 3 oz and Libby is up to 4 lbs, 10 oz. Yay.

Still no definite word on when they can come home, but they are both doing great and are in the least intensive room of the NICU floor. It's still hard for me to believe that they are here, and not still swimming around in my stomach. Especially when I'm holding one of them and their movements are oh-so familiar.

Ritz Camera is getting more of my money than humanly possible.

I know I won't be posting much, but I'm still checking in with everyone ... especially at 3am-ish, when I typically have a date with the ol' b-pump machine. I really need the hands-free model, so I can type better to leave comments!

Introducing ...

Happy 1 week birthday!

Madeline Kate (Maddy) and Elizabeth Lucy (Libby)

They're here!

After a few days on bed rest, Baby A and Baby B decide that it "was time", so off we went to the hospital on Saturday night.

Delivered by C-section, we are pleased to announce the birth of our daughters on Saturday, June 21.

A was born at 9:48 PM and weighed 3 lbs., 2 ounces and 15 1/2 inches.

B was born at 9:50 PM and weighed 4 lbs., 9 ounces and 17 3/4 inches.

Both are recovering nicely in the NICU. A is breathing fine on her own & B is using oxygen, but is getting better every day.

We really went through the range of emotions yesterday, but we feel so blessed and amazed by these two little girls. We are still working on finalizing names and downloading pictures, so hopefully a better introduction soon!

c-ch-ch-changes

Not quite those kind of changes, but it's amazing what 1 day an 1Dr.'s appointment make. We had our weekly non-stress test and exam yesterday. The NST looked great, so we headed over for our exam. We were just chatting before my exam, when she asked if they checked my cervix last week. I replied yes and everything was fine. The Dr. checked to discover I was 2cm. dilated. She checked a few other things in my chart and directed us to have lunch and head to the hospital for further monitoring. After I was hooked up to the monitors, they also discovered that I was having contractions. Who knew? Not me!

So we settled in and they opted to give me steroid injections to help the babies lungs develop, and also gave me meds to stop contractions. So far, so good. No more regular contractions and the babies look great.

It looks like I'll be home tomorrow, but will more than likely be on bed rest at home for the duration. So worth it if we can help these babies stay put a few weeks longer. All I can say is thank goodness for a wonderful hubby who has stayed here non-stop, his lap top, my co-workers for bringing me a stash of magazines, sweet nurses, great in-laws that made the 2 hour drive to check on us, cell phones to stay in touch with family and friends, and let's not forget that lovely pill called Ambien to sleep in a hospital room.

iQuestion

In preparation to "pack my bag", one item that will definitely be included is my beloved little iPod. I already have various songs and mixes that range from "new running mix" and "half" (for the Nashville half marathon), to "slow down" (that has Michael Buble and other slow stuff), but I'm looking for suggestions for my hospital music.

While I really think that some of the half marathon tunes may get me through, I feel like I've listened to them over and over and want some new stuff.

Musically speaking, I tend to gravitate back to the familiar, so my list has a bunch of music from the 80's and 90's and aside from hearing new-ish stuff on the radio, I'm a little bit out of touch. Basically, I like a little bit of everything with the exception of most country music. I know, I know. How does a girl from TN not like country?

One song that I may have to include as a joke is Push It by Salt & Pepa. Hee, hee. So, help a girl out and list some favorite tunes or artists and I'll give them a listen, so I don't end up listening to "push it real good" over and over!

Checking in

Since I haven't posted in a while, I didn't want you to think that the babies were here, so I wanted to check in with a little update. Apparently, my co-workers get very nervous if they haven't seen me around the office for few hours and they think that they've missed important news, so I thought my readers might think the same.

We're at 32 weeks and 2 days, and all is well. This week was a milestone week (according to my Dr.) and I'm glad we've made it. The weekly non stress tests have started (I'm hooked up to 2 monitors while lying in a hospital recliner to monitor the heart rates of the babies) as have the weekly appointments. Baby B decided to move, so now Baby A is still head-down, and Baby B is breech/sideways. I'm still shocked that I never felt that distinct move.

Some of what's been going on this week:

• ordering cute seersucker pants from Ann Taylor Loft maternity and reordering them. The first pair didn't quite fit around my belly & I'm hoping that the new ones do.
• Eating yummy pizza from a new local, organic place last night - mine had fried eggplant, mushrooms, garlic, etc. So, so good.
• Trying to stay "horizontal" as much as possible when I'm home. It's harder than it sounds, but I'm just trying to follow Doctor's orders and stay off bed rest.
• Realizing that I have a gardenia plant in our yard and it has bloomed! This makes me so happy. If it cools off later, I'll try to get some pictures. They smell wonderful.

Hubby should play the lottery

I was sitting in our den on Sunday evening, feet propped on a pillow, watching TV when Hubby came in and asked me what I felt about NY in the fall? My first thought was "Has he gone mad? Does he not remember that we'll have 2 infants by the fall and probably won't remember our first names, let alone want to take a visit to NY?" Then it hit me ... he had entered his name into the ING NYC Marathon lottery several months ago, almost as a joke, because really, does anyone ever get picked out of the lottery?

All I asked was "Did you get in?" His grin said it all.

So, now for the next question ... who wants to babysit or come to NYC and help out with 2 3-month olds?!

He's trying to decide now if he would have enough time to train and be ready by November. He can always defer his entry to next year, but what a great opportunity. I'm really torn ... I would love to go and watch him run, but I don't know that I'll be ready to leave 2 little ones by then and I know I won't be ready to carry them around NYC.

Maybe I could do it with one of these?I can only imagine getting around the crowds with this much baby strapped to me. We'll see, but with this luck, I really think Hubby should go buy a lottery ticket to see if we can win the $25,000,000 or whatever it's up to these days!

Feelin' like a rock star

Some of the women from my office had a baby shower for me on Friday afternoon. It was really sweet and we received some very nice gifts and lots of essentials - huge ol' back of diapers, blankets, etc.

One of the gifts made me feel like a celebrity mom-to-be. I received this cool lullaby CD. This company takes modern music and turns it into instrumental music made for kids. I received The Cure, one of my old faves, but they have everything from AC/DC to Bob Marley to Coldplay.

Rock on!

Tick tock, tick tock

Why is it after 3:00 AM and I am wide awake, and have been off and on since 1:00 AM?

Could it be ....

Heartburn? nope, not tonight.

Can't get comfortable and need to rearrange pillows every 5 minutes? no, I actually felt pretty comfortable.

The babies are moving so much that it feels like they may be wrestling? they are moving around quite a bit, but nothing that drastic.

I'm hungry? well, that could always be the case, but I drank some milk and don't feel hungry.

I need to pee? Been there, done that.

Or is it the fact that I feel like my "mind" just won't turn off, plus it could have something to do with the brownie and chocolate sauce that I had for dessert tonight that has me wired from the caffeine in the chocolate? Ding, ding, ding ... we have a winner!

At this point, who the hell really knows? Hubby is snoring soundly, the dogs didn't make a peep when I came downstairs and poured myself a glass of milk and came into the office, I've updated photos on facebook, checked e-mail, watched Elton John on Classic VH1, watched part of an HGTV show, blogged, have debated about trying to read, and most importantly have wondered how the hell am I supposed to get up and go to work in a few hours? I am not a happy camper without sleep.

Ok, thinking about counting sheep and sweet dreams. Heading upstairs to try this again.

P.S. Just for the record, I noticed that the time of this post reads 2:15 AM and I can assure you that it is actually 3:15 AM.

Birth & Baby 101

Well, Hubby and I finally had our "Birth & Baby" class this weekend, AKA, what to do and when, who to call, and how to avoid having social services called to your home.

While I was a little disappointed that the videos weren't circa 1970, there were a few posters showing labor poses with the women dressed in tights and leotards. Hmmm, how does that work?

Three things we did learn ...

1. During Labor, Hubby knows not to stay 2 inches away from my face and ask me how I'm doing. This will result in lots and lots of expletives from me or actual hitting. (One of the guys in the video was up in his wife's face the entire time and it would have driven any normal person insane).

2. There are still "those guys" that have to act like the class clown and ask questions such as "So, is taking the baby on a motorcycle a bad idea" and "So, how bad is alcohol for a baby?" I just really felt sorry for his wife who rolled her eyes at him through 80% of the class.

3. We learned all sorts of terms like "cheerio to a bagel" and what that represents. If you don't know, I'll tell you, but if you think really hard about it you can figure it out. All I can say is bagel=scary and it has nothing to do with breakfast.