Friday, October 31, 2008
VOTE VOTE VOTE
I hope that everyone is planning on voting next week. Please, make an EDUCATED vote on November 4th!
Halloween was a hit!
The kids did great on Halloween night. They loved trick or treating and especially loved seeing all of the lights and running kids while being pulled in the wagon. We're in for a real treat next year. Until tonight, they didn't really know what candy was - the cats out of the bag now!
Hope everyone had a fun, safe night - it was a great night for trick or treating!
Thursday, October 30, 2008
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
We went to a halloween party yesterday with about 15 other 'multiples' families (do the math). It was organized chaos - and we did it without wine! Hats off to the brave MOM who volunteered her house for over 30 toddlers. She's a better woman than I!
Here's a sneak peek at the boys costumes - these photos aren't great. We'll get better ones tonight! More to come...
Cole is not a fan of his dog suit....
Have a safe and fun Halloween!
We went to a halloween party yesterday with about 15 other 'multiples' families (do the math). It was organized chaos - and we did it without wine! Hats off to the brave MOM who volunteered her house for over 30 toddlers. She's a better woman than I!
Here's a sneak peek at the boys costumes - these photos aren't great. We'll get better ones tonight! More to come...
Cole is not a fan of his dog suit....Have a safe and fun Halloween!
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Deja Vu
It comes back so clearly, so easily. I have a new friend on bedrest. I visited her a few weeks ago, a week after she lost one of her twins in utero. They had twin to twin transfusion syndrome.
Mid afternoon, I got a call about a woman I needed to visit. At that time, she was only 19 weeks. When we met, we had THAT connection. The connection that comes only once in a while and is immediate when I meet someone who has lost a baby. And the connection that only a former bedrester feels when you see a pregnant Mom laying in bed, feet higher than head, hanging on for dear life to that little life that is still growing inside.
We talked for a while; her loss was still really fresh. She was sorta stoic, strong and scared. Things had calmed a bit and seemed stable with the living baby. Her emotions were conflicted – moving between such sadness & devastation for the loss, but staying strong and optimistic for the living baby. What a tough place to be. We laughed a little, cried a little and talked about things a little. The real grief comes later – but there are much more important things at hand now, like the living baby.
I got a call last night from my new friend. When I called her back, I learned that things had taken a turn the wrong direction and she was in a very precarious place. Her cervix had changed and there was only a very thin membrane separating her baby from the world. She was scared. And sad. And having a hard time staying positive. She’s 23 weeks now and almost to the viability mark. One more week and she can get the steroid shots for the baby, which increases the odds of survival if born soon. They tilted her bed even further back, so she’s standing on her head (almost). Gravity is working in the opposite direction to take the pressure off. Imagine eating, drinking and existing with your head 45 degrees below your feet. She has a headache. It’s no fun.
Just typing this gives me butterflies in my belly and makes my heart hurt. Sadly, there are no words for her except “one day at a time & stay positive”. But I’ve been there. I’ve been THAT scared. There’s nothing worse than being completely out of control of your situation and just having to sit and wait. Alone. Every minute that goes by, you wonder what will happen next. You pray for nothing to happen. It changes so quickly, and without warning. The nurses come and go. The visitors come and go. The husband and family come and go. And you and the baby(ies) stay there, hoping.
As I walked to the car after our short visit this morning, I cried. I cried for her because I know how scary it is. I know how lonely it is. I know how that helpless out of control feeling feels. I cried because I couldn’t find any words at all to say to help her. I get it, L. I get it. And I'm sorry you have to endure this. In the meantime, we pray for a happy ending...
Mid afternoon, I got a call about a woman I needed to visit. At that time, she was only 19 weeks. When we met, we had THAT connection. The connection that comes only once in a while and is immediate when I meet someone who has lost a baby. And the connection that only a former bedrester feels when you see a pregnant Mom laying in bed, feet higher than head, hanging on for dear life to that little life that is still growing inside.
We talked for a while; her loss was still really fresh. She was sorta stoic, strong and scared. Things had calmed a bit and seemed stable with the living baby. Her emotions were conflicted – moving between such sadness & devastation for the loss, but staying strong and optimistic for the living baby. What a tough place to be. We laughed a little, cried a little and talked about things a little. The real grief comes later – but there are much more important things at hand now, like the living baby.
I got a call last night from my new friend. When I called her back, I learned that things had taken a turn the wrong direction and she was in a very precarious place. Her cervix had changed and there was only a very thin membrane separating her baby from the world. She was scared. And sad. And having a hard time staying positive. She’s 23 weeks now and almost to the viability mark. One more week and she can get the steroid shots for the baby, which increases the odds of survival if born soon. They tilted her bed even further back, so she’s standing on her head (almost). Gravity is working in the opposite direction to take the pressure off. Imagine eating, drinking and existing with your head 45 degrees below your feet. She has a headache. It’s no fun.
Just typing this gives me butterflies in my belly and makes my heart hurt. Sadly, there are no words for her except “one day at a time & stay positive”. But I’ve been there. I’ve been THAT scared. There’s nothing worse than being completely out of control of your situation and just having to sit and wait. Alone. Every minute that goes by, you wonder what will happen next. You pray for nothing to happen. It changes so quickly, and without warning. The nurses come and go. The visitors come and go. The husband and family come and go. And you and the baby(ies) stay there, hoping.
As I walked to the car after our short visit this morning, I cried. I cried for her because I know how scary it is. I know how lonely it is. I know how that helpless out of control feeling feels. I cried because I couldn’t find any words at all to say to help her. I get it, L. I get it. And I'm sorry you have to endure this. In the meantime, we pray for a happy ending...
Monday, October 27, 2008
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
13 years...
...and still goin' strong. I am the jerk that almost forgot our anniversary today, amidst the chaos. And wouldn't you know, I was surprised by a dozen beautiful roses. We're postponing our anniversary today and celebrating later this week. Nonetheless, Happy Anniversary to the man I married 13 years ago today - you're my best friend, rock and confidant; we still have so much fun together and we're so blessed with our family.I love you more every day - you're a wonderful husband & father and I'm so lucky to have you. Here's to many more together my love!
-Me
It aint over til the fat lady sings...
I just went upstairs to check on the kids and JD had puked all over his bed - again. Seriously, it's a cruel joke someone is playing on us. No?
A new kid, just add water
...that's what the on-call pediatrician said to me last night about 2 hours after Cole was admitted to the hospital. The one thing that actually made me chuckle.
Cole's screaming low blood sugar & dehydrated little body earned us a sleepless night in the pediatric suites at AAMC. He hardly passed through the ER before they were walking us directly down to ped's for an immediate admission. I guess we can say we made the right decision about taking him to the doctor yesterday afternoon.
Within a few short minutes of a bolus of sugar water, Cole turned back into his feisty little self. He had not eaten in almost 48 hours and had started refusing fluids because he couldn't hold them down. Once that appetite returned, he ate 6 packs of crackers in about 10 minutes. It reminded me of one of those cracker eating contests you see in college - only we weren't asking him to whistle at the end with a dry mouth full of crumbs.
We settled in around 10:30 with lights out and may have slept a solid 2 hours in a row; that's about it. It's pretty hard to keep an IV in a 2 year olds arm without a constant fuss. Let me add that it's even more interesting trying to get an IV into a 2 year old arm to begin with...luckily, the anti-nausea meds had a sedative so that helped with the sleeping. Any time the nurses came in, he said "please, take it off" about 10 times in a row. At first it started out being a bit hard to understand but by the end of the night, he perfected those words and they were clear as day.
By 8:30 this morning, he was back to his old self; eating crackers again, trying to get out of bed and throwing the football with me. He's one resilient little dude.
We were chomping at the bit to get back home. He must have asked for JD & Daddy at least every 15 minutes for endless hours - and would you know, we walked in the front door, greeted by JD and he walked right by him like he never left.
I feel like I've been beaten to a pulp over the last week with all of the boys in the house being so sick. Hopefully we've turned the corner now and the end of the tunnel is near. If it's not, I'm blowing town in the middle of the night and taking a short hiatus!
Cole's screaming low blood sugar & dehydrated little body earned us a sleepless night in the pediatric suites at AAMC. He hardly passed through the ER before they were walking us directly down to ped's for an immediate admission. I guess we can say we made the right decision about taking him to the doctor yesterday afternoon.
Within a few short minutes of a bolus of sugar water, Cole turned back into his feisty little self. He had not eaten in almost 48 hours and had started refusing fluids because he couldn't hold them down. Once that appetite returned, he ate 6 packs of crackers in about 10 minutes. It reminded me of one of those cracker eating contests you see in college - only we weren't asking him to whistle at the end with a dry mouth full of crumbs.
We settled in around 10:30 with lights out and may have slept a solid 2 hours in a row; that's about it. It's pretty hard to keep an IV in a 2 year olds arm without a constant fuss. Let me add that it's even more interesting trying to get an IV into a 2 year old arm to begin with...luckily, the anti-nausea meds had a sedative so that helped with the sleeping. Any time the nurses came in, he said "please, take it off" about 10 times in a row. At first it started out being a bit hard to understand but by the end of the night, he perfected those words and they were clear as day.
By 8:30 this morning, he was back to his old self; eating crackers again, trying to get out of bed and throwing the football with me. He's one resilient little dude.
We were chomping at the bit to get back home. He must have asked for JD & Daddy at least every 15 minutes for endless hours - and would you know, we walked in the front door, greeted by JD and he walked right by him like he never left.I feel like I've been beaten to a pulp over the last week with all of the boys in the house being so sick. Hopefully we've turned the corner now and the end of the tunnel is near. If it's not, I'm blowing town in the middle of the night and taking a short hiatus!
Monday, October 20, 2008
Dear God,
While I am most thankful that you spared me of the long term version of this stomach bug and only gave it to me for 12 hours, I plea for you to assist in it's speedy exit from our premise, immediately. We have had this germy monster among us for a week now and we're beyond ready for it to go away. My kids are starving and thirsty and would really like to be able to hold some calories in their tiny bodies.
I don't know how much longer I can sit and watch Diego and Dora (thank goodness for DVR); nor do I know how many more times I can clean up explosive diapers and pukey jammies. Please, please, please do away with this virus as soon as you possibly can so we can resume some normalcy. Three baths a day and endless laundry are starting to take their toll.
Anything you can do to help would be greatly appreciated. I will continue to pray in the meantime.
Truly yours,
Mommy L
While I am most thankful that you spared me of the long term version of this stomach bug and only gave it to me for 12 hours, I plea for you to assist in it's speedy exit from our premise, immediately. We have had this germy monster among us for a week now and we're beyond ready for it to go away. My kids are starving and thirsty and would really like to be able to hold some calories in their tiny bodies.
I don't know how much longer I can sit and watch Diego and Dora (thank goodness for DVR); nor do I know how many more times I can clean up explosive diapers and pukey jammies. Please, please, please do away with this virus as soon as you possibly can so we can resume some normalcy. Three baths a day and endless laundry are starting to take their toll.
Anything you can do to help would be greatly appreciated. I will continue to pray in the meantime.
Truly yours,
Mommy L
Friday, October 17, 2008
Bummer
I hate when things you are really looking forward to don't work out - ugh. It's been one of those weeks. I took the day off from work today (pre-planned) to spend the day with my kids and some of my favorite fellow MOMs (Moms of Multiples) and sadly, we couldn't do what we had planned. Our outing was to be a fun day the Pumpkin Patch - and it's a beautiful fall day outside. I knew when I got JD out of bed this am that it wasn't happening - nothing like waking up to a sick baby; and having to change sheets/blankets/jammies etc. I'm just totally disappointed - I've been looking forward to it for weeks. A day off with my boys and my girlfriends. Oh well. Could be worse. I do feel sorry for him being sick - he's just not the happy go lucky little guy he usually is; that always makes me sad to see.
C. has been VERY sick all week (the sickest I have EVER seen him) with what we thought was a bad case of food poisoning. He just returned to work today, since Monday. We're now wondering if it wasn't in fact food poisoning and it's a flu bug due to today's events. Surely Cole is shortly behind JD. Fingers crossed that I escape it. I'm run down however so hoping my immune system kicks into high gear. Although, at least it's Friday and we have a weekend coming up to recoup.
It's been a sleepless week for a number of reasons so it will be nice to try to catch up on some much needed rest. We were supposed to have company this weekend which we had to cancel since there is an alien stomach bug who has taken up temporary residence with us.
Last Monday, our nanny gave her notice and let us know that she's leaving us, right after Thanksgiving. Now THAT is a kick in the pants. After a few days of mourning, we started to figure out our options going forward in December. Included in these options is the possibility of putting the kids into a structured school program with afternoon care. I started my search. I visited a couple of schools this week. I have lost sleep over what to do. My work schedule would have to be modified a bit (actually more in office hours). My kids will miss Jess so much, and so will we. I don't want to stop working - I have the best of both worlds right now. C. doesn't want our kids in 'daycare' all week. The cost is similar, which is good. We'll never be able to replace Jess in kind with an even calibur nanny - we've been spoiled. I would have to settle for something less. WHAT A TOUGH DECISION! We have to make a decision soon - if we don't do the school program, I need to get busy on my nanny search...to be continued....
C. has been VERY sick all week (the sickest I have EVER seen him) with what we thought was a bad case of food poisoning. He just returned to work today, since Monday. We're now wondering if it wasn't in fact food poisoning and it's a flu bug due to today's events. Surely Cole is shortly behind JD. Fingers crossed that I escape it. I'm run down however so hoping my immune system kicks into high gear. Although, at least it's Friday and we have a weekend coming up to recoup.
It's been a sleepless week for a number of reasons so it will be nice to try to catch up on some much needed rest. We were supposed to have company this weekend which we had to cancel since there is an alien stomach bug who has taken up temporary residence with us.
Last Monday, our nanny gave her notice and let us know that she's leaving us, right after Thanksgiving. Now THAT is a kick in the pants. After a few days of mourning, we started to figure out our options going forward in December. Included in these options is the possibility of putting the kids into a structured school program with afternoon care. I started my search. I visited a couple of schools this week. I have lost sleep over what to do. My work schedule would have to be modified a bit (actually more in office hours). My kids will miss Jess so much, and so will we. I don't want to stop working - I have the best of both worlds right now. C. doesn't want our kids in 'daycare' all week. The cost is similar, which is good. We'll never be able to replace Jess in kind with an even calibur nanny - we've been spoiled. I would have to settle for something less. WHAT A TOUGH DECISION! We have to make a decision soon - if we don't do the school program, I need to get busy on my nanny search...to be continued....
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
