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Wednesday, March 30

Another Day

Yesterday Kelsey had a more invasive line placed because her tube feedings aren't going very well. She still has the exact same amount of food in her belly 3 hrs later so she hasn't been digesting much. The new IV line will help keep her intake/calories up because they can put higher doses of TPN in if her tube feedings continue to not go well. They also think that since my milk has come in (and I'm able to leave it there) and they are now able to feed her that, she will have an easier time digesting.

Drew's been the same...eating like a champ. We did some trial "nippling" with him while putting food in his tube. This gives him the sensation of a full belly while being on the breast. For his first time, he did well. This morning when we tried again, all he wanted was FOOD.NOW! We also tried nippling with Kelsey this morning and the nurse said for her first time she showed good interest.

Their weights have been good. Drew is just a tad above his birth weight and Kelsey a tad below. They were also able to turn D's bilirubin light off before I left today. It doesn't mean it won't have to go back on, but his levels were a lot lower.

We are just charging through the days. We have a pretty basic routine we follow; what times we are at the hospital, when we eat dinner together, what time we crawl into bed, when I get to nap in the afternoon:) Craig and I appreciate all the love and support from you as we get through this time until we can take them home.

Monday, March 28

Update

We were able to leave last night without breaking down - mostly because of the terrible jokes we were sharing on the ride home. Knowing both of us, mostly Craig, laughing is easy. Telling silly jokes is even easier. So we got by on the fact that:
A. We were having them tested for "tiger blood"
B. They're starting Drew on a new drug, it's called Charlie Sheen
C. And they are of course, "Duh, WINNING!"

It made us laugh instead of cry, which is all I wanted to do. I got up early today and went in by them for 2 sets of cares. I was able to do skin-to-skin holds after their feedings, to help my milk come in. That's a whole other issue; I've been pumping regularly, but since they were early, my body needs to figure out that it's okay to send the milk early. I'm trying to stay positive and have patience because it can take days before it happens.

We are heading back in this evening when Craig gets home. The nurse and doctor assure me they are doing very good. Kelsey is a heart-breaker - she can seem inconsolable in her isolet "nest" and I just wanna grab her and hold her, but can't. Drew is a heart-stealer -  he is so content in his isolet, takes his feeds well, seems more relaxed.



Craig's first diaper change with Drew

Baby Drew in his isolet nest, with bilirubin light turned off

Baby Kelsey with her bilirubin light and eye protection on


Sunday, March 27

Quick update - NICU day 2

We went down to see the babies during their 10:30/11:30 care time. We were able to take Kelsey out for bit. The nurse told us that early this morning they did residual checks on them to see if they could feed them more via tube feeding and both babies bellies weren't empty. So they held the rest of the their feeds today - this is all common in preemies; they aren't use to having food in their stomachs yet. I was there when the doctor was doing their check up - same doc that was in the room during delivery. He is also putting them on the bilirubin light - also normal for preemie babies to need this. They don't look jaundiced, but their lab levels are getting high. He also said they can start trying to feed them again so when we go back down there for the 1:30/2:30 care time, we will be able to syringe feed their tubes.

The nurses say they are both doing well overall. The NICU nursery is so peaceful, and the nurses are patient and helpful and great. I am being discharged today as we expected. We plan on staying thru dinner; I have to get a pertussis/tetanus titer shot, pack up the room, and leaving instructions. It will also be so hard to leave them tonight, to go home without our babies.

Saturday, March 26

More Pictures

This is my first time seeing the babies since the delivery - 12hrs later. Drew in blue and Kelsey in yellow. I am in major need of a nap and shower in these pics.






We went to the NICU around 7:30 for their feedings and cares. Poor little Kelsey is going to be a handful - she's already acting like a diva. So Craig held her; his patience are more equiped for her personality. Drew slept pretty peacefully during my feed with him. It's not in these pictures, but they have nasal feeding tubes in now. Everyone is doing well. Can't wait to sleep in my own bed again!

They're HERE!

Last night they wheeled me into the OB OR for delivery around 11p.m. I had done a "practice push" in my room and baby girl said "yep, my head's ready to come out." So after everything, the long day of nothing happening, premature baby antibiotics, magnesium sulfate (because my blood pressure jumped mid-afternoon and some labs were off) IV drip, the delivery was relatively EASY. It feels good to say that! That something since 22wks of this pregnancy was going to go my way:) A couple of pushes and Kelsey Mabel was born - actually it was, "You're having a contraction. Fill your lungs up and push for 10 seconds." I did that twice. Then felt this release of pressure plip, plop and there was a baby. She cried right away, her color looked good, she was TINY! Then I was worried baby boy was gonna be like, "Hey, look at ALL this room I have now. Let me get comfortable" and not come out right away - the doc said this could happen. But I told her I was feeling another contraction start so I got ready to push. The first one his head presented in my cervix and 2 more big pushes and Drew Kermit was born - a little slimier than his sister but crying and looking good. The NICU staff brought them over to me to see them before they were whisked away to their NICU home.

Everyone is doing well. It will be day by day to see when the babies can come home. They need to breathe on their own, suck/eat (which usually isn't fully developed until 36wks), and remember to breathe. I should be discharged tomorrow and officially OFF bed rest!

That's it for now - my brain hurts and I just wanna chill. Here's some pics, enjoy our little babies!


"Dad" getting ready to go to the OR for delivery!
Me right before I was wheeled into the OR for delivery.

Kelsey - and all her dark hair!



Drew - and there's hair, just blonde.
I actually don't know which one's which - I didn't take the picture and only saw them for a couple seconds. But my guess would be Drew is on the left. Since Kelsey was out first and had time to "look better".

Friday, March 25

Getting Closer!!!

Labor was induced around 4:30 this afternoon.  It is now about 10:45 pm and we are heading into delivery soon.  I am just about 10 cm and fully effaced.  This has got us thinking about an interesting twin possibility.  Different birthdays!  It is very possible that our little girl will get here before midnight and the our active boy will join us early tomorrow morning.  Only time will tell, but we are very eager to meet them.  All else is great with me.  The epidural went well and the anesthesiologist was very generous with the last dose.  Overall I am feeling pretty good and excited for what comes next.

Or Maybe Not Quite Yet

Still hanging in there. Nothing has progressed since 7 this morning so we are turning off the epidural and waiting....

Since I am preterm, they don't want to do anything to advance labor - just let it happen. I get to eat a little and I slept a smidge. And we wait...

I'll let you know if anything EXCITING happens. We will be missing our "Diapers for Dad" party tonight but I believe our wonderful friends/hosts are going to march on and still enjoy the gathering.

This could be IT!

sooooooooooo....yesterday was another NST to watch the heart rates compared to their movement. All went well and we had a good OB appt talking about leaving the cerclage in until 36wks, which made me excited:)

NOW, I'm currently laying in the hospital bed, on my side, IV in place, waiting to see the doctors. I woke up around 3 to use the bathroom and when I got back into bed, I felt like I had *wet* my pants. Since I had just used the bathroom, I started to worry. Then I got a little sweaty and my heart started to race and thought seriously about what kind of deal I could work out with Big Guns in order for this to NOT be labor i.e. GO TIME. I let Craig sleep and around 4 I started to feel back pain, lots of it. Thinking I was just uncomfortable in bed (again more denial) I rearranged the pillows and tried to sleep. So it didn't get better and I called the doc and that's how I got here. It is what it is and we'll see how things go - I just ask for some prayers that the babies will be healthy and READY! Thanks to everyone for everything so far!! We will keep you updated as things go.

Tuesday, March 22

Appt Update

Yesterday we met with the specialist for biophysical profiles on each baby. They each scored normal which includes: fetal tone/movement, practice breathing, adequate amniotic fluid pockets, and heart rate. This only means that the babies do not need to be delivered in the next couple days. The doppler studies of their umbilical cords was the same as last week - at this point it won't get better, only worse. There is still resistance of blood flow in the cords, but because the babies are functioning normally, there is no indication that they are in distress and need to be delivered. The doc did say that if I make it to 36wks, there will be no reason to keep me pregnant and there will be serious talks of a delivery date. Is it weird that I just take this info with a grain of salt? I guess the idea of real.live.babies being here in 3wks sounds like a dream, like I'm just going to be pregnant forever. That idea might sound awful to some of you, but I think I've finally gotten use to being on bed rest and pregnant, so why change it?! And people/docs have been commenting on the fact that this has been a "rough" pregnancy for me - but I don't see it that way. At first it was hard accepting the bed rest and the thought of very premature babies, but as the weeks went by I became more optimistic that everything was going to be okay in the end. My cerclage procedure was traumatic in that it was emergent but I recovered quickly and have been "feeling" good ever since. (Now "looking" good is another story! For your own sake, please don't show up unannounced. Example: today I'm wearing a tie-dye softball t-shirt of Craig's that says "I'D HIT THAT" with a pink hoodie, olive green sweatpants and slippers - super cute:))

According to my OB, the cerclage is supposed to come out next week. I'd like to leave it in for...um...like...ever. For the last 10wks it has been, what I believe, keeping me pregnant/keeping these babies in! So it's a lifeline of sorts and giving up that security blanket makes me nervous.

Another NST on Thursday, hoping for reactive babies! And "Diapers for Dad" party on Friday - a version of a baby shower for Craig.

Sunday, March 20

Just a Bitter Sweet Symphony

All week Craig and I were excitedly anticipating the "family" baby shower. It ultimately means more work for Craig because the shower has to take place at our house due to the bed rest. But he is/has been a champ about preparing our home for guests - also my mom, who came Friday to start the cleaning and party organizing. It wasn't only a baby shower; Craig made plans with male family members - our dads, uncles, cousins - to tour the Lakefront Brewery, planning to make a day out of it for everyone, since most of our family traveled at least an hour to attend the shower. All in all it was going to be a "perfect" day, but as we got closer to Saturday, some unhappier life events were affecting our family - and with very heavy hearts, Craig and I got ready Saturday morning hoping to see a silver lining.

My grandfather was admitted back into the hospital after previously coming home from a successful surgery. There were a lot of ups and downs while he was inpatient and it was decided that going to a nursing home for rehab was going to be the best for all. A year and a half ago my grandpa had heart surgery in the same hospital I worked in; I originally directed him to see his heart surgeon and I was able to "request" a great anesthesiologist to ensure he would receive the best care that day. He did great and only required a week's stay before he was recovered enough to go home. I visited him EVERY day, either before I started work, on my lunch break, or before I went home for the day and came in on the weekends. He was in a different city a long way from home and I felt I needed to be there to offer some familiarity and to make sure he was being taken care of!! It was Grandpa's goal then to come down to the shower yesterday to "repay" the favor and visit with me since being on bed rest. So the admission to the nursing home upset him more that he wouldn't be able to see me and Grandma said she left him with tears in his eyes.

Our best good friends and favorite parents of twin boys had a terrifying event with one of their boys Friday. Jax had come down with some virus earlier in the week and any cold/illness can really do a number on him. It seemed like he was going to get past it but it would just take a little longer. Annie took Jax to the pediatrician again Friday and his lungs wanted no part of it! His oxygen levels fell dramatically, resulting in an ambulance ride to Children's, where it was determined his cold had progressed into pneumonia. He's still in the hospital, receiving antibiotics, staying hydrated. Annie and Jason, being the absolute wonderful people they are, had the audacity to apologize for the fact that Annie wouldn't be attending the baby shower. I know she was looking forward to being there/out but you take care of that sweet little boy; and don't worry, I plan on cooking these babies for a couple more weeks!

The worst part of the weekend was Saturday morning. First I couldn't believe my brother was answering my text at 8 in the morning. Then I got a phone call from him and he said he and his fiance weren't coming to the shower. If you know Derek then your first thought is that he's joking. I was about .25 seconds away from putting my foot in my mouth when he sniffled and said, "Kyle died in a car accident last night." I almost dropped the phone. Derek had known Kyle for 13 years; they were roommates after high school and most recently Derek had chosen Kyle to be his best man in 6 months. He was a great friend to the entire family. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and long time girlfriend.

I could just kick myself for not taking ANY pictures at the shower - I didn't take any at the first shower either! My sister wanted me to tell everyone the "status" of the babies and I said no because it's not really good news and who wants to share that at what's supposed to be a celebration. I could have also pointed out the miracle at the party, to put a positive spin on premature babies. Craig's cousin had their second child when she was only 24wks! She was small enough that her dad could put his wedding ring around her wrist. Well, today she is a beautiful, 'normal', fully functioning 10th grader on her way to getting her driver's license.

It's raining pretty good here -  which is appropriate for this somber post. I love rain showers as much as I love sunny days.

Anyway, we received really great gifts yesterday and are almost "ready" for babies. I'm including some pictures of a couple items that called to me, but we truly loved everything.


Baby moccasins, since they will be 1/8 Oneida

Stuffed owls that my 11 y.o. cousin sewed herself! So talented :)

And just plain cute!

Friday, March 18

Keep Them In, We All Win

That's the mantra for at least 2 more weeks. I had my 2 steroid injections Wednesday and Thursday. And the NST went well yesterday, proving, I guess, that the babies are still doing well in-utero. The next appt is with the specialist again, hoping to "stay" pregnant another week. I've been having more Braxton-Hicks contractions last night and into this morning but I haven't been feeling very well digestionally either. I hope it passes soon; I've been up at 3 every morning - heartburn - can't sleep - diarrhea. Real neat. The upper part of my belly is now numb from all the stretching. I think Craig said it best last night with, "boy, pregnancy is a GLORIOUS thing!"

Speaking of, I spent this green holiday with a Shamrock Shake, courtesy of my thoughtful husband:)

Another shower tomorrow; more fun baby stuff to go through!

Tuesday, March 15

Crappy start to the week

Monday's appt update. Where to start, where to start? Would you like the good news or discouraging news? Should I start with the news that is shortest and easiest to say? Since I can't hear you, I'll start here:

Good News - Simply put:
*There are 2 active babies
*They are now both head down
*My cervix is no longer an issue!

The other news is not as easy. So today we had a growth ultrasound, scheduled monthly check-up on their weights. We never expected them to be overachievers - there's two of them that have to share food and space. Baby boy has always been smaller, as usually one twin is. They have been charting their growth since 20wks and today when the tech was transferring the babies' numbers for head, abdomen, and femur size, I saw their marks drop fairly low on the graph. But the ultrasound tech said nothing, not her place or degree to make comments so we moved on to the next portion of the appt: the NST (non-stress test).

The NST is easy. I sit in a chair with monitors on my belly recording both babies' heart rates and an extra monitor to record any contractions. I push a button when I feel any/either baby move and they can see if the heart rate reacts appropriately. After about 30 min of monitoring, one of the doctors shows up. He says he only gets to see us with bad news. After reviewing the ultrasound, he found the babies' weights (3.6lbs and 3.1lbs, respectively) and growth gestational age to be falling behind, below the 15th percentile. He had already called the maternal-fetal specialist and they were expecting us shortly. Apparently the placentas are functioning somewhat abnormal. So they did another ultrasound where they could see the umbilical cord blood flow and determine what the problem was and how severe. Good news here: the babies themselves scored "normal" based on movement, heart rate, practice breathing. But both cords are showing abnormal blood flow movement between the placentas and babies. The specialist doesn't think the babies need to be delivered now, but we will have these appts at their office every week, along with weekly NST's at my regular OB.

Well, Craig and I decided it is good we are getting 2 babies for the price of one pregnancy because if this is a precursor for how all my pregnancies would go, it would be a touch decision to try again.

Oh another "fun" thing we are doing this week is interviewing/looking for in-home childcare. Yeah, my least favorite "new parent" task so far. It's not like the town I grew up in where no matter where you took your kids, you felt safe because somehow you or someone you know knew that person. As of now we have a back-up plan; we know her daughter, we feel comfortable leaving our children with her. She actually offered to watch the twins when I was barely 20wks pregnant, but she lives 20min in the opposite direction of both our jobs! Anyone want to come and live in our home for less than minimum wage, watch 2 babies at once - sent us your resume! HA!

Just got a phone call from the OB's office. They want me to do steroid shots this week to help mature the babies lungs in case they are born early or in the next week. Ugh. Still hoping to keep them in for 4 more weeks!

Sunday, March 13

Maximum Capacity

If there was a meter or gauge on the front of my abdomen, the arrow would be on the "F" for FULL. But you know when you fill your tank with gas and you can go past the "F", I figure that's what I'll feel like in another couple of weeks! The past week has been me trying to figure out how to roll out of bed and find a comfortable sitting position when I'm not in bed - both nearly impossible tasks. It's like watching a beached whale. Not because of sheer size, but I don't know how to maneuver this weight so I get "stuck" like a whale does when it makes it to the beach:) There are heads poking out of my side; appendages flailing everywhere. I wish I could add 2 inches between my rib cage and pelvis so that I can push their head and feet out of my ribs. Oh and because there isn't enough room for them (all my fault), they are rearranging my organs and the nightly heartburn is intense! I do have something to get rid of it, but it is SO chalky and foamy that I have to gag it down. So to complain a little bit: my back hurts, there are uncomfortable pieces of my babies in my ribs, and I don't want to drink anything because then my bladder becomes a trampoline.

I'm a little bummed that Craig and I weren't able to take the "Twins Childbirth" class through the hospital. 1. Singleton pregnancies ARE different from twins. 2. We could have met other couples in the area also having twins. We were supposed to start the "Twins" class 2 weeks after I was put on bed rest. So we cancelled and signed up for the online class - which was good for Craig because even though I didn't learn anything new I haven't already read in my pregnancy books, it was easier than Craig having to actually read:) The online class was interactive with videos so it held Craig's attention. Thankfully my "multiples" book (on loan from my favorite multiples mom) has a couple good chapters on bringing 2 babies home, NICU, breastfeeding, and whatever comes along. Because not only are we first time parents, we are new parents with 2 babies. I'm a planner; I like to be prepared!

Not a whole lot of happy thoughts in this post so I'll try to end with some. My good friend Nikki came to visit Friday night before leaving for Colorado - to see her fiance and finish some wedding planning:) I haven't seen her since we went dress shopping for the wedding in December and she brought boppys for the babies! We also received the cutest preemie outfits from a couple of ladies I work with. Our ever faithful bed rest visitors Melissa and Rich stopped in shortly last night, because Rich was on call, and brought cute little "rub-y" tag animals (you just gotta see them!), super soft blankets, and a monetary gift to use on ourselves when we can "go out" again (which feels like forever away - I crave a nice dinner with wine and dessert, getting a little dressed up). Melissa also brought over her dog Miller, who is smaller than our cats and annoyed Marty with all his energy!

So I have two appts this week. Yay to get out of the house twice in one week; Nay because I never get out of the doctor's office in a reasonable amount of time.

Friday, March 11

Who knows where thoughts come from, they just appear!

Where do I begin in the random-ness of this post? Oh, yeah...shrimp now being served at Taco Bell? Are your insides gurgling just thinking about it? I won't pretend that I don't eat there; Craig is a closet Taco Bell junkie. Although our visits have been less frequent than in the past...of course that could be because T-bell is synonymous with drinking and hunger pangs after bar close. T-bell cuisine could already be used as a cheap colon cleanse (did I go too far?) but now they are adding seafood. Food poisoning is awful by any means but I just think a T-bell seafood meal resulting in food poisoning would be x1000.

Yay, Craig has off today! Don't worry I have a list of things for us, I mean him, to do around the house! Now that he has the living room situated for babies, there are odds and ends that I want done before we get too deep in newborns. Our bedroom was suffering for a while and finally received a new coat of paint over Christmas vacation but the walls haven't seen decoration love since.

Don't see Scott Pilgrim vs. The World unless you are 13 and a huge video arcade game fan. What a waste of an evening! (Not that we had alternate plans.) And we recently saw Due Date - Zach Galifainakis steals the show in this one. Inception has been sitting on top of the DVD player for almost a month. I guess we haven't been in the right mood to watch it - first, it is a tad longer than most movies; second, it will require full-brain attention which doesn't happen every day.

Anyone else feeling a little Armageddon-ish with all these earthquakes/tsunamis in the last couple years? It's creepy and unsettling.

Today is Cap'n Crunch french toast breakfast. Sounds amazing, I know. Next I want to try peanut butter Cap'n Crunch - yum! I'm not complaining, since usually I eat prepared food in the morning like yogurt or oatmeal, but it's been 50 min since I told Craig I was hungry and can hear him in the kitchen...hope everything is going okay.



Good thing we set this up early for them!


Tuesday, March 8

When is 27 too many?

Answer: when it is the amount of girl scout cookies I ate in an 18 hour period this weekend. And really there are 28 in a box of Thin Mints, but somehow Craig escaped with his life when he took one from me. I can't say why I ate the entire box from Saturday afternoon until Sunday evening; yes, I do love me some cookies and usually I just bake whatever I'm in the mood for - I can make chocolate chip cookies by memory. So maybe I was jonesing for cookies in general. Or it could be all the hype. Those girl scouts torment us by only offering cookies once a year and you order them like two months before you actually get them, so the anticipation is a killer. I'm afraid to open the next box of cookies. It's like once they are opened, there is no stopping, no putting them away for another day.

Fat Tuesday. That's today. Sometimes I forget that Fat Tuesday preceeds Ash Wednesday. Lent is so late this year. Not that we will be 'celebrating' either one of these events, well we are pretty good at joining our Catholic peeps in the "no meat" Fridays tradition. Every year I ask Craig what he's gonna give up for Lent or maybe I ask him in order to remind him of the Lenten season. He never tells me what he gave up; same as this year. But I put the bug in his head. I started to think of what I could sacrifice this year. Usually I go with something food related (not advisable while pregnant) or watching my "potty mouth" (but I'm not in a position to use foul language). So since I can't go anywhere or do anything, I think I'm going to give up labor/delivery and/or birth for the next 40 days. Back when I was 12 or so weeks pregnant, my ultimate goal was to stay pregnant until Easter (making me 38wks). I thought it was a reasonable goal; that's considered full term for twins and why wouldn't any expectant mother not shoot for the best outcome. Well, since then you know the story and it's been a goal just to make it one more week pregnant. But now I'm involving big guns upstairs in my Lenten sacrifice, so it has to stick right?? Have I proved yet that I've totally lost my mind on bed rest?

So peace be with you my friends. And even though this is the church's season for fasting and sacrifice, I know you are all gonna get your Friday night fish fry on, probably accompanied by an Old Fashioned (make mine a whiskey-sour, please, mushrooms, no olives).

Saturday, March 5

58 days...

8 weeks. Not that I'm counting. That's how long I've been on bed rest. I have only left the house for appointments, which for my sanity were once a week for a while but unfortunate because that meant something was abnormal, and my sister's wedding. I was trying to rationalize out loud to Craig how it's probably better to be on bed rest in winter because what am I really missing? It's easy to lay around when the weather is snowy and/or cloudy and cold. I haven't had to bundle up to go outside or trudge thru the un-shoveled sidewalks to get to work.  But if this was bed rest day 58 in the summer, sure I would have missed some great things: Summerfest, parties, the beach, most likely a friend wedding or two, Craig's softball tournaments (but really that's like bed rest because I sit for long hours and watch game after game), or just doing anything outdoors. Although if it was summer, I could "bed rest" outside in my favorite lawn chair. Just imagine the rockin' tan I'd have by now! And Marty loves chillin outside in the grass in summer - we actually have to trick him to come back in.

So that was the one-sided conversation I had with Craig in the doctor's office yesterday. Sometimes I just need to talk and he listens and if he doesn't add to the conversation, I just keep talking! By the way, my appt was unremarkable. First time in 8 weeks and 7 appts that we got out of the doctor's office in under an hour. Maybe because it was Friday afternoon and they staff was motivated to leave on time or that all was well with me so there was nothing to talk about. No appt next week but soon we will start going twice a week for non-stress tests (NST), growth ultrasounds, and general doctor follow-ups. If my cervix doesn't change at the next appt, we can stop checking on that. And some of you know how they ultrasound the cervix, so it will be a relief to be able to leave that "area" alone until a baby comes out of it!

Hope everyone has a good weekend, even though is seems a little crappy out there. Craig is playing softball today, so send him warm thoughts! (I know you're thinking softball already? But he's missed 2 tournaments for sure and I guess you can play softball year round. It's local and whatever helps him feel like he's not on bed rest too.)

Thursday, March 3

Oh Em Gee

So I've been hearing alot about this and it's all over the television and I just gotta talk about it: what is up with Charlie Sheen??! I mean it is obvious he has lost his freakin' mind but keep it to yourself! There was no need to go on prime time t.v. and awkwardly answer personal questions. I have heard it all - mostly because daytime television is the backdrop of my life nowadays (while I'm working on the computer), and EVERYBODY is talking about it every day. Even when the t.v. goes off in the afternoon and the radio goes on, Charlie Sheen is.STILL.THERE! The radio was using this "Charlie Sheen quote generator" from his recent interview. In case you've been under a rock this week, here are some of Sheen's classic one-liners:

*I have tiger blood.
*I'm not bipolar; I think I'm bi-winning.
*I'm on a drug - it's called Charlie Sheen.
*I have one speed, one gear, it's GO!
*I cured my addiction with my mind.
*Dying is for fools.
*I'm tired of pretending I'm not a total bitchin' rock star from Mars.
*Duh, winning. (a repetitive statement of his)

This guy has 3 divorces, 4 children, and now lives with 2 girlfriends. I just don't get the people that are given everything don't have enough sense to know what to do with it. That's it really; I just needed to get that out or just to talk to someone. Craig is at the batting cages tonight, going to a poker/dinner in Oak Creek tomorrow night, and has a co-ed softball tournament this weekend. He's lucky he has the day off next Friday to hang with me:) But it is March already - we are in the home stretch!! Fingers (and "legs") crossed for 6 more weeks. Craig has finished putting the baby gear together and now it is strewn about the living room...kinda like, now what? Next week when Craig has more time, we can start arranging for our new life. Bed rest was making my skin crawl but I was pretty sure I wanted these babies to stay inside because that's all I knew - I wasn't ready to take care of them on the outside! But things are different/changing. I'm feeling more ready, ready to see them, hold them, not be confined to the bed or couch;)

It's a birthday shout out to Ma Bonin and everyone's favorite surgeon Rich Carballo!

Tuesday, March 1

2nd Day of Visitors and Fun

Yesterday my favorite toddlers were over to visit, with their mom of course who is also my favorite:) Thankfully my mom was also here to help corrale the boys because you can imagine I'm not much help once they take off! Annie and my mom swam through all my shower gifts, looking at all the great things we received; listening to Annie reminisce about *tiny* sized diapers and LOVING the little girl clothes! Brady was hugging up on Marty and may have stepped on his awful floppy paws, to which Marty let him know with a less than gentle kiss. Brady recovered shortly without a mark and soon they were friends again because Brady had food and doesn't know how quick Marty is when a half of pancake is flailing around at mouth level. If Marty hangs on to see our babies turn into toddlers, it's possible he will be the only one eating! Or at least the floor under their high-chairs will be spotless:)

After the all the morning fun I went through the shower gifts myself, doing all that I could from a floor sitting position. So I pulled out all the clothes, burp cloths, towels/washcloths, and blankets; cut off all the tags and plastic holds, inspected their washing requirements and made piles for Craig to put in the washer when he got home! Later that night Craig put some of the baby gear together: play yards, bouncers, and swing. One of the pack n plays will stay assembled - it was of course the more intricate of the 2 so we hope to not have to take it down for a long time. The other one will be used for travelling but we put it together so we wouldn't find any surprises once the babies are here and we're struggling to put their bed up! I picked it based on ease-of-use reviews; it has less bells and whistles but was much easier for Craig to set up.

Jax and Brady sitting still long enough to get this picture! Cutest ever:)


Apparently Marty couldn't be too far away from me so he had to sit as close as possible
 while I went thru the gifts.