Zombie Dream

I love my dreams. I have great dreams! One of my favourite classes in University was Dr. Nienkirchen's dream class...except for that terrible "Visions" book. Terrible book. ;) I often have what I categorize as 'adventure' dreams. For example, uncovering and taking down a human trafficking ring, exploring the amazon jungle, things along that nature. When I remember, I tell M my dreams. This morning when I told him my dream he said I HAD to blog it. So here it is.

ZOMBIE BABIES!!

You're laughing already aren't you? I can hear you. Just so you know, there are some DISTURBING things that come up when you search for 'zombie babies.' People are crazy. Back to my dream.

M, L, V and I were scuba diving. Not somewhere warm like Australia, or Hawaii, or where normal people would dream of scuba diving. No. We were scuba diving in the Atlantic ocean, off the coast of Nova Scotia, exploring the Titanic wreck. Sounds like a great family vacation yeah? Yes, we took the babies scuba diving! Turns out (in my dream and possibly in reality) no one had ever taken babies to the wreck site before. So of course, L and V caught the zombie virus from the Titanic wreck. They turned all pasty white, and their eyes went black, and they looked like they were water logged. Also, their clothes transformed into floaty white old fashioned gowns. It was really scary! They were still babies, so when we got back up to our boat we put them down and they couldn't magically walk or anything, but they were crying for me, but I knew they wanted to eat me, and not in the normal way!

The worst part about the whole thing was I woke up from the dream with L crying to eat. I had to wait at least two minutes to wake up properly to get over my irrational fear of my baby! Sometimes my brain is just weird.

Hopefully tonight I'll have a more Christmas-themed dream rather than horror! Sleep tight everybody!

Clean-Up!

A couple of things from past posts that I need to follow up on!

Remember the shredded green herb? Totally Summer Savory! Hahaha! Go me. But I am told that my Nan enjoyed reading it out loud to my Pop, so happiness was spread! This is my main goal in blogging, so Hooray! Turns out my uncle does not like it when Nan puts sage into her stuffing, so she only sneaks it in sometimes. :)

I forgot to answer my favourite question! My long lost friend from Junior high took a gander at my blog, and when we saw each other next she asked me if I am a professional writer. My answer? I WISH! I've been dreaming of writing my own book for years (those high school friends out there can attest to that!), but I find it hard to believe that people I don't know would be entertained by that which I have to say. I love writing this for you, and I hope that it gives you the giggles, and helps me by being writing practice! Maybe I'll be published someday.

X hit his head again. What an accident-prone child! The school called just after lunch one day last week to tell us that he stood up directly under a metal bar at the playground. He wasn't hurt like last time, but they just wanted to let us know because of what happened last time. X goes to Catholic school, and when I asked him how his head felt, he told me it started feeling a lot better during liturgy. Bahaha! What a spiritual little boy.

Questions Answered!

I've been asked a lot of questions in the past few weeks, so I thought I would have a go at answering some of them! If my answers simply pique your curiosity, feel free to ask me more through comments or facebook! As I've mentioned before, I'm pretty honest up here, so I'll more than likely answer it, as long as I can and the question is about me! Hahaha!

Before I forget, I'm going to start with church. Some of you have been wondering what our final decision concerning church was. Well, we left the small dangerous church. Really, we stayed with it as long as we did to support my mom who was teaching Sunday school, but it just got to be too much for us all. Even Mom has since taken break from teaching there. M, X, V, L and I (bahahaha) have been attending the Fellowship Baptist church. From the very first week we were there people talked to us! It's a very large church, but the pastor has talked to us every time he's seen us I think. X's Sunday school teacher is great and there are 5 other grade one students in his class! He's enjoying it very much, and I look forward to making more meaningful contacts here.

Now on to less serious. Here are some questions I've been asked by strangers:

Are they twins? Yes.
A boy and a girl? No. (don't you see all the pink!?) 2 girls.
Oh! Are they identical? No. (Thank you Jesus for saying "yes" to my pleas!)
How old are they? (insert appropriate answer depending on time frame) 2 1/2 months.
What!? They look big! How big were they? 8-6 and 7-5.
(bulging eyes) You must have been HUGE! Yes.

Here's a question I don't fully understand:

Natural?

There are a couple of reasons I don't understand. A number of strangers have asked this question! With just the one word! Some asked while I was still pregnant, some after they were born! So I don't know if they are asking if they were conceived naturally or if they were delivered naturally. Either way really....strangers need to know the answer to that question either way? So I just say yes and let them think what they want. They are natural babies!

Questions my friends have asked (and if you're reading my blog, you are my friend, even if you are from Russia and we've never met!):

Are you still nursing? Yes.
Both? No. I picked my favourite to feed, M picked his, and he feeds her. Of course both! Silly people. They are getting 6 ozs of formula before bedtime to help facilitate the sleeping action though. Both.
Do you have trouble telling them apart? Not even a little. They are the same height, and very close in weight, but seriously, they are completely different shapes! V is a buddah-baby, L has cankles. L is a chia pet. She went bald on top and now her hair is growing back straight up. L has a round head (except for the flat spot from sleeping on one side for 2 months. bad mom), V has an oval head. They are just different! :)
Do they sleep through the night? Sometimes. I get maybe 6 hours sometimes. :)
Why don't you post more pictures? I don't know! I'm sorry!

Okay. Those are the questions I can think of right now. I hope you're all excited for Christmas! I know we are here! Dodie Bob is on his way out again! Hooray! (New question? Dodie Bob is my dad, X's original name for his grandfather! When X was born he had a Mom Oliver, Grampie John, Grammie, Grampie, Nan, Pop, Grandma Anna, Grandma Soup and Grandpa Doug he needed something completely original!)

Have a great day!!!

Video-palooooza!

Grandmothers!

I have two grandmothers. Today I have two great things to tell you. My grandmothers are completely different, so my stories are also completely different.

First, it's more like a funny observation-conjecture. The other day my Grammie was complaining about me. Well, she was apparently complaining about a lot of things, but this blog is about me, so let's focus here people!! Her complaint about me is that I am too honest. My funny observation? She is not even online! She does not follow me on Twitter, is not my friend on facebook, nor does she read this blog! If she knew I was talking to the world in general about miscarriages, c-sections, post-partum, bathroom humour, and nursing so much I expect the National Geographic people to show up any time because my boobs are out THAT much, I think she'd disown me! But she comes from a silent era. Don't talk about personal stuff, and for goodness sake, make sure everyone believes your life is perfect! But we've learned that it's okay not to be perfect, haven't we? God still loves us, and people respect us even more for dealing with our imperfections! And it's way fun to be super honest!

On a side-note, my Mother follows me on Twitter, my Dad is my friend on facebook, and both parents and my Nan and Pop read my blog...so I still edit a bit! :)

Second story! My Nan and Pop sent a Christmas box to us! Hoooray! So much fun! The best part of the box? A special little baggie with shredded green plant material. Now before you go calling my husband on me, I think it's called sage. It could be summer savory. I'm not as domesticated as Nan would like me to be yet. :) What's important is that it's the herb that Nan puts in her stuffing every Christmas. Now, even though the sage (we'll call it that until she corrects me) is double baggied, my whole house smells like Christmas!! It made me so excited when I pulled it out! So yummy! I might use too much in my excitement when it comes time to prepare dinner, but I'll eat it anyway!

Love you Nan and Pop! Merry Christmas!!! :)

The X Files

No copyright infringement intended. :)

My boy with his kitty.

Nearly everyone has been asking how X has taken to his sisters! Instead of simply answering that question, I'm dedicating this whole post to him! Because my son is still as strange and wonderful as he has ever been! So you can imagine he has given me quite a bit of material lately!

Do you know that commercial for Charmin brand toilet paper? The one where the little bear promises to conserve in the house by using less toilet paper? How old would you say they are trying to depict that "child" bear to be? 5? 6? 7? LIARS! We can not buy Charmin brand in this household because X can not use less. He plugged the toilet 3 times in a week with just paper! Poor M. Shout out to AM and UA who live in the basement and continue to lend us a plunger, as we keep forgetting to buy one for ourselves!

More bathroom humour you say? Something else X can not seem to process is the courtesy of closing the bathroom door. It's just at home that he leaves it open, but it doesn't matter if we have company or not! And if you dare walk by he yells at you for looking! Not my fault you forgot to close the door!!! Also, the singing. If he's in there for any length of time, he multitasks by writing songs. And washing his hands usually turns into epic under-water battle of good (left hand) vs. evil (right hand).

X tells the funniest jokes! Want to hear one? Knock knock. (Who's there?) Orange. (Orange who?) Orange is a banana! Hahahaha! Get it? No? Would you like another? Why did the dog cross the road? Because he wanted money! Hahahahha. Still not getting the humour? Ok. One more. Why did the mom talk to the dad? Because they are in love with each other! Hahahaha! I'll ask him to tell me one right now, we'll see what he comes up with. Why did the chicken cross the road? Because he wanted to get some chicken food! Why did the fox go out for supper? Because he saw some chickens on his way for supper! He's 'on' like that all the time!

Since he's in grade one this year, he's learning how to read! It's driving me bananas! Here is a typical conversation between us; X: Mom, is this a word? R-A-M. Me: Sound it out. Does it sound like a word? X: Rrra...rrrr...rrrr aaaaa.....rrraaaam. ram. Yes it sounds like a word. What does it mean? Me: It's just the name of that truck parked next to us at the red light. X: Oh. Is this a word? L-I-G-H-T. Me: Sound it out. Does it sound like a word? X: Llllllla....llllleye...lllleyega...llleyegagahehe.... Me: Ok. It's a tricky one. The 'gh' is silent so it says light. X: Oh. light. Ok. Is this a word? Me: Honey. I'm driving now, so I can't concentrate, you sound it out ok? X: Am I being a bad boy? Me: No honey, I just can't concentrate on spelling and driving, you sound it out. X: Ok.

As for getting along with his sisters? It's getting better. We had a bad moment when we went to Walmart the other day. It used to be that every once in a while X would sit in a cart and play my DSi while M and I shopped, now there is no room for him to sit. The babies take up all the room! So he got upset that they have disturbed his world in such a way. At home he's pretty good. He's excited that they watch him walk around and they smile at him. He plays peek-a-boo with them and rocks them in their chairs when I'm doing laundry or some such thing. He's still limiting himself to shaking their hands goodnight. If someone is holding a baby he gives a hug for both, but babies don't get a hug on their own, and he won't even consider kissing their heads. I don't know what the hold up is, but he'll get to it! :)

So that's my boy. He's great. He's getting bullied at school already, which makes me angry. He wants to be friends with the older kids, and they call him names and laugh at him for trying to play with them. I try to explain why they act like they do, but how can I? I can't very well say "the older boys called you a stupid boy because they are stupid." It's the hardest thing to deal with in school. Still thinking about home schooling for junior high! Bah! By then the girls will be in school! Holy crap.

On that thought....have a great day! :)

Howdy Strangers!

My goodness! Where does the time go? I sit at the computer with every intention of posting a blog and get sucked into a new facebook game (if you play Castleville, add me as a neighbour won't you?)! Terrible! It's not like I don't have enough to do! Hahaha! I have a lot to blog about too! First I have a funny story to tell you that goes along with the theme for the day!

Last week sometime I went to pick X up from school. (Don't ask what day, they just blend together now.) I was standing out in the courtyard freezing my earlobes off waiting for my slow, social butterfly of a son, and two ladies were standing near me, talking. I was not listening in. I promise. But they were standing close to me and talking...and I was staring at a wall, not talking. So I heard some of what was being said. What they were saying is not important. Something about a zipper. But when I was standing there not listening, I thought to myself that the one girl sounded SO much like a friend from junior high! Wouldn't that be funny? Then the other girl said her name and it was the same name as my junior high friend. What are the chances right? I didn't want to ask because I would obviously look like a total fool in front of two strangers. That would not be cool. But then the second girl went into the school. So I took my chance. Looking like a total fool in front of one stranger is not so bad.

So I asked this stranger if I could ask her a totally random question. Then I asked if she had ever had the same name as my friend from grade 8. (side note, we did a lot of moving around during my junior high years, so I had 3 different junior high schools) She in turn asked me how I knew her maiden name. Yep. Totally happened. She was the person I went to school with (quick terrifying math here) 20 years ago. (Seriously, can that be right?) She asked if we went to school together back in N.S. and I confirmed her theory and told her my maiden name. At that point we're sort of screaming at each other in disbelief. Turns out not only do our sons go to the same school, they are in the same grade, although in different classes, and we live on the same street!

My husband of course thinks I'm a ridiculous freak recognizing some one's voice from 20 years ago. But that's just how I roll! :)

I promise to try my best not to leave it so long between posts again! :)

What a Day!

The Bravest Boy!

Well, with three kids, a person is bound to spend more time with doctors right? On Monday the girls turned 6 weeks old! V and I celebrated by going to the pediatrician about a rash on her face! Pretty sure it's the same allergy to milk that X had when he was an infant. It just took me a little longer to clue in since it did not present itself in the hospital at all! I did find out that she is now 12 lbs 1 oz! She also grew 3 inches! Crazy. She's feeling a lot better now.

Today, about 5 minutes after M came back from dropping X off at school, the school called. They said X had fallen on the playground and had a nasty bump on his head, could we come see him? So M went back to the school and brought him home. M checked his pupils and so on, looking for signs of concussion, but there were none, until he puked. Twice. The second time he puked I was already getting myself together to take him to hospital. For extra fun he puked again in a Timmy's cup half way there. I forgot to bring a bucket and handed him the only thing in reach. ;)

Turns out if you go to the emergency department with a 'head injury' you don't have to wait! As the mom of the 5 year old in question, I was not impressed with the term 'head injury.' It scared me. It also scared me when he was slow to answer questions like "what school do you go to?" He answered, but he was slow. Then they told me "the plan." An IV for fluids and a cat scan. WHAT? You're going to stick a needle in my little boy? No no no. But I tried to be brave! I told him what was coming, but we both still cried when it happened. But I didn't let him see me. And I didn't TOTALLY freak out.

The cat scan was super fun. Mostly because it was apparent that he was already feeling 100% better. We were having fun practicing reading and making notes of all the cool things he could tell his friends at school about! Plus I saw his brain. Hahaha! He did really well staying still though. Plus he kept getting stickers, so he was 'paid' in kid currency for his time! :) Everything was clear and they sent us home, but we get to wake him up throughout the night tonight to see if he can answer questions. I don't know if I could answer questions if people woke me out of a sound sleep wanting to know what day it was!!

Tomorrow it's my turn to see the doctor for my post-babies checkup. Hopefully L will wait for a scheduled appointment! But I'm really not looking forward to the immunizations that are booked for the end of the month! Bah.

Hope you have a great day!!

I Have a Favourite!

Since our time in the hospital (almost 6 weeks ago!) M has been teasing me about favourite children. He'll pick up a baby and say "you're my favourite." He does this because it bugs me. It goes against every instinct in my body for him to pick a favourite. The other day I realized I have a favourite. Don't comment yet! My favourite is whoever I'm staring at. Whoever I'm feeding, burping, changing, bathing, singing to, reading with, doing homework with, walking with, or thinking about. That's my favourite kid. Then if my attention shifts to another, I have a new favourite! And yes, I'm able to have 3 favourites if we're all walking down the rode, or sitting on the couch together. There's my confession for the day! :)

You wanna know what I'm looking forward to now? When I was pregnant I was looking forward to things like peeing like a normal person, walking without pain, twisting to crack my back (which is AWESOME), and sleeping NOT on my back. Now my main goal in life is to teach my daughters to blow their noses. I cannot wait. Their nostrils are so tiny, and their heads are so wiggly, that it is very difficult to help them with snot issues! So I'm thinking they'll be able to blow their noses at 10 months right? Oh boy. That seems a long time to wait for some snot action.

There is something else that I have been looking forward to. I will tell you now. Since finding out I was pregnant, two of my BFFs started habit-changing, weight-loss journeys. Because I was preggers I could not join them, only offer support. Now I can do it! Having support makes all the difference in the world I think in the weight battle. All I need now is batteries for my scale! Do you think it would be cheating if I used my weight from 6 weeks ago as my start weight? That would give me such a boost! Hahahaha! I'll let you know how it goes! :) But I'll tell you a little story to start.

My journey actually started about 3 years ago. I must have been battling a little bit of depression or something, but I made the conscious decision to give up with weight. I tell you no lie. Somehow the idea got into my head that bad-for-me food tasted good enough to give up on health and looks. And by looks I mean awesome clothes. Then one day we were visiting my mom and she had a scale that worked, so I thought I'd get on it for fun. Why did I think that would be fun? I don't know. It was not. I saw a number that woke me out of my fog. I started my journey right then and declared to myself that I would never see that number again! It turns out I did see that number again, but I was 34 weeks pregnant with twins at the time, so I was ok seeing it again in that circumstance. But now that the twins are no longer residing in my belly, I hope that the number is once again in my past forever. :)

Hope you're enjoying my randomness! It's just who I am! Hahahah! Have a great weekend!!

One Month!!

All of my babies!! V, X, & L! My mother brought to my attention that L looks bigger because of her pose, but I assure you, the sleeper is mostly filled with air! Hahaha! But this is them at one month with their big brother! It's too bad L wouldn't wake up! The night before the girls decided to celebrate their birthday by staying up all night and drinking! Only I ended up with the exhaustion induced hang over! But at least they were doing their drinking at home, where I know they'll be safe! Because that's the kind of parent I am! ;)

Speaking of, I just spent a little time on parentfails.com and people scare me. That's all.

A couple of you are wondering if we went to church last week. We did not. M's parents were here visiting, so it wasn't the right time to try out a new church. I've decided I can't go back to the small friendly church. Mom went and said that nothing "crazy" happened, but it's still just too dangerous a church to take my children to. Also, I have another motive. X's birthday is coming up in a couple of months and I would rather hand-pick some church friends to come to a party than invite random kids from school! I might be odd, but that's how my brain works!

Little girl milestones! Smiles! Woot! V started smiling about a week ago and L a couple of days ago. They don't smile every time I ask, but at least they do something other than cry at me sometimes! I was starting to get a complex! Funny things, they are still hiccuping everyday, L will roll onto her side while she sleeps to be closer to V, the grunting is hilarious! I have to get a video! This morning they were both grunting and whimpering like crazy! But every time I got up they stopped and went back to a peaceful sleep. When I would lay down again, they would give me about 5 minutes and start grunting like there was a problem again! This happened 4 or 5 times! They know what they're doing I tell you!!

We're super excited for Halloween! X is going to be Captain America and the girls are going to be ladybugs! I'm a little concerned about how many kids are going to show up at the door though! Hopefully if we run out of treats we won't get egged!

Have a great weekend!!

Here We Are!

I have not posted! I know! It's terrible! Apparently, nursing twins has a time commitment that you just can't get out of! Hahaha! I feel like I'm not getting a whole lot accomplished, I just sit on the couch with a baby, but they are growing, so it's doing something! But they take up all the lap room! No lap top, no cross stitching. It's very sad. (I'm kidding)

We're getting about 3 hours of sleep at a time at night now, so that's good. We try to keep them up from 8:00 until 11:00 and if we're totally successful, I might even get 4, 4 and a half hours! Then it's 2 hours after that. During the day, I am feeding someone at least 30 minutes out of 2 hours. By the evening, and sometimes once in the afternoon, they each get some formula. I need a break! Hahaha! Crazy kids.

The things I was looking forward to when I was pregnant? Peeing. Yes. It is much more satisfying now! I don't have to pee every 10 minutes! Having my feet back. Hooray! 3 and a half weeks later most of the swelling has gone and the tenderness is fading quickly! Sneezing without fear! Good to go! Sleeping on my belly. Not quite. Almost, but not quite.

New things that freak me out? I have twins. Two (2) infants. Tomorrow they will be 4 weeks. Wednesday they will be a month old! I also have a 5 year old boy. He will be 6 in 2 months. Sometimes L spits up and milk comes out her nose. Actually, that happens a lot. Sometimes when nursing, the girls choose drinking above breathing. I'm starting to get used to the choking action.

Fabulous things? X is getting more used to his sisters. We're working our way up to having the courage to take a picture with the three of them! V smiles in her sleep. Even L gave me a little smile the other day. Makes my heart super happy. :) The joy X gets out of hearing L and V fill their diapers. Really, they are quite spectacular, and he laughs like a loon! As does M. Speaking of M, it's fabulous having him home still! He burps the babies, changes diapers, cooks for everyone! I really love him.

So here they are! And this behaviour is the same that was going on inside by the way! Don't be forgetting that! Hahaha! Oh, one more note. I was thinking the other day, L and V were born at 38 weeks, 2 days. X was born at 41 weeks, 2 days. If I stayed pregnant as long with them, they would have been born this past Monday! Totally crazy!

Grumble.

Oh wait. It's too late.

So I'm having a bad day. Sadly, this post will have nothing to do with my beautiful daughters or my fantabulous son. I have some good things to say about them too! But I have to tell you about today, and then ask for your input.

I've mentioned before our struggle to find a church here in our "new" town. For the last few months we've been going to a very small church where the biggest strength is friendliness. I've never been in a church that was so excited for the birth of babies! V and L are practically superstars! At other churches we tried before this one, no one talked to us! At all. So we've been attending this church where the regular attendance is about 20 people. There is no one X's age, and only recently has there been a couple close to Marvin's age. Not so much mine. ;)

A couple of months ago trouble started. Our pastor went away and one of the regular attenders preached. I wasn't there, which is a good thing. I'm not going to repeat anything he said, but after I got the synopsis of his message I had to pull out Dorothy L. Sayers' Unpopular Opinions for comfort. She's the best. You should read her. Especially her essays "Are Women Human?" and "Human not Human." Anywhooo, since then the church has been struggling with some very basic theology, and the concept of Christian maturity. Personally, I have been struggling with being part of a church where God is put into such a small box, and His call in some people's lives would not (and indeed is not) be honoured. For example: if there is a man to teach, women should not, even if God has called her to do so.

This is not what the Pastor believes or teaches in any way. Obviously I would have left long ago if that were so. Ever since these issues were brought to light, he has been bringing us messages trying to repair the damages done, and teach the basics again. Sadly, it's not sinking in. In fact he has been refuted and opposed many times; as has his wife who teaches the Bible study, and my mother who teaches the Sunday School lesson.

And then today. Boo. In an attempt to bring more fellowship into the church we had a potluck after service at my mother's new apartment. After we had eaten, somehow a conversation about TV shows on TLC turned into "Muslims are evil." I kid you not. It was disturbing. Three people were exchanging comments and stories about the "special treatment" Muslims get at their work places. Seriously, it sounded like children complaining about how much little brother has it easier. And then the E word came up. Evil. Really? Mom had enough. She asked them to stop being so intolerant in her home. She was told she is not saved. At this point I wanted to throw the offenders out. Mom, on the other hand said, "that's fine, but in my house, I, my friends and anyone I invite into my home will be treated with respect." And then she offered them more coffee. They left.

So here are my questions. How can someone read the Bible, profess to be Christ-like, and then adopt an attitude of such hatred and intolerance? When was Christ ever intolerant? When did He talk smack about any group of people? In other words, why are some "Christians" so dumb?

It comes down to this; do we want to stay in a church that could make a difference if all the ignorant, theologically backward people left? Or do we again go on the hunt for a church that is making a difference? I certainly do not want my children going to church and hearing hatred of any sort, but do I stay and hope that God will lift the veil of stupid? Or do I leave and pray that He will? It's possible I'm over-upset because my mother was so insulted in her home. I will talk it over with M and see what we come up with.

P.S. I talked with my dad about today's incident. Not only did he have good advice and offer great support, he also made me jealous of the services the Summerside Nazarene church has been having!!

A Big Day!

So the girls are 12 days old! Crazy times. Before today I had been out of the house twice since getting home from the hospital. Once to go to the library and a quick cruise through Walmart, and the second was to get my staples out. Just as an FYI, I heard terrible things about getting staples removed, but it really wasn't that bad. For both of these outings M, V, and L were with me, as I'm not allowed to drive for a few more days yet, but they stayed in the car while I did things. Today we tried something new! We took the girls out! Twice!

This morning was pretty great, the girls let us sleep until 9:00! I was up at 3:30, 4:45, and 7:00, but it was a good night! A few minutes before L woke up, Mom called and we made a date to go for brunch! There were 11 of us altogether, the 5 of us plus my sister, her husband, my Mom and Dad and a couple of Mom's friends. Note number one: I can fit in booths again!!! Hooray! Note number two: bucket car seats do not fit in Smitty's booths. So the girls were on display sitting on our table. Every waitress, cook and hostess working today came over to admire, ask how old, ask if they were a boy and a girl, and tell us about all the twins and triplets in their families! Good times. V and L slept through all the excitement. They woke up on the way home to demand brunch of their own!

After they ate, we went for a walk! This is the first honest to goodness walk I've been able to take for months! M put together our fabulous double stroller while I was stuck to the couch and when the little ladies were satisfied we bundled them up and headed to the grocery store! It took a long time to get out the front door. A really long time. X was doing laps up and down the stairs for fun. the laps didn't help as we kept needing to go back upstairs for more blankets, or shoes, or a wallet. But we did eventually make it outside! L loves the stroller! She just laid back and looked around. V immediately fell asleep. By the time we were on our way back home I was super slow, but it felt so good to get back outside and active (after a fashion) again!

A Birth Story

I'll tell you now, it is not my intention to gross anyone out...but this is a story about giving birth...so read at your own risk! If you get grossed out, it's not my fault. Deal? Deal.

September 26th started very early for M and I...and my mom. Mom came over to wake X and get him ready for school. Of course we got stuck in traffic. This has to be the only place in Canada where rush hour is from 5:30am to 10:00am! We were supposed to be at the hospital at 6:00, we arrived at maternity at 6:25. It stressed me out, but the nurses didn't seem to care. Oh well. They gave us our "clothes" and told us to get ready. They gave me a bum-hanging out "gown." Seriously the only hospital left in the world that uses these!

Down in the prep room we met my anaesthesiologist. He was about 6'5" or so and kept putting stuff up too high for the nurses to reach. His first attempt at an IV failed harsh. 10 days later I still have a heart-shaped bruise on my arm. M almost fainted. Bad sign.

They took me into the OR to put the epidural in and told M they wouldn't forget him. They forgot him. I had to ask for him. There were 12 to 15 people in there all so excited about haqving twins that they forgot that Daddy might like to be there too! So when M walked in the doctor was already at it, the nurse told him "go in, go straight to that chair, and sit. Nowhere else." I was thinking, dear heavens he almost fainted at the IV and here he is walking in cold and my belly is open! But apparently he thought that part was "awesome."

Let me tell you, a planned c-section is WAY different than an emergency procedure. First of all I was TOTALLY drugged up for the first one. And super tired. Therefore I was not completely aware of what was going on. For this one I was all too aware of everything! They kept telling me it was like the dentist; there would be no pain, but I would still feel a lot of "pressure." Apparently "pressure" feels like someone grabbing your belly and shaking it like a polaroid picture.

Anywhooooo. Two babies came out. Twin A turned into Viola and Twin B turned into Lily. V weighed in at 8lbs, 6ozs, and L is the baby sister in every way as she weighed in at 7lbs, 5ozs. This is quite an acccomplishment if I do say so myself! At least the crowd in the OR agreed with me, there was a lot of exclaiming. I felt it was inappropriate for me to tell the doctor "I told you so," prehaps had I been a little less focused on two new daughters I would have.

After the teams of nurses and pediatrition tortured the girls for a few minutes they were bundled up and sent upstairs for more fun and some Daddy time. I was in the OR for another half hour or so and then shipped off to the recovery room. Funniest thing about recovering? Feeling came back in my right leg WAY before it came back in my left. It's very odd not to be able to move certain bits.

When I was shipped back up to my room I was greeted by a husband with his arms full of crying babies! It was great. Speaking of, there's one crying now.... Hope I didn't gross you out!

I'm back!

I know, it's been almost two weeks since I posted anything, but I'm back, I promise! As you can imagine a lot has happened in two weeks! We now have 10 day old twin girls at home! I've been dealing with surgery recovery, baby blues, sleep deprivation, a jealous cat, a 5 year old who is scared of his sisters, and feeling like I'm chained to the couch so I can nurse two apparently starving newborns. It's good times. Seriously though, everything is great. Had M not been home with me, I might not have made it, but he is, and I am unbelievably grateful.

So here's my plan; I'm going to put pictures up and update my blog later today. I'll also start posting stories of our crazy adventure, starting with the birth of the girls. But right now, I have to rescue one from the crib. Hopefully you'll find our parenting stories as entertaining as my pregnancy! :)

Week 38

First of all, my husband is trying to give me a complex!! Every time I move, he asks if I'm in labour! But that's not all! Remember how my mom was giving me a hard time about rubbing one side of my belly more than the other, in essence touching one twin more than the other? Well at my NST appointments they look for heart rate fluctuations, like when the baby moves the heart rate goes up by 20 bpm for a few seconds. Twin A is a showoff, moving all the time. Twin B, she's fairly relaxed until the evening hours, so I've been poking her to get her to move when the heart monitor is on her. M teased me about loving one more than the other on Wednesday when we were there. Not cool.

There's one more. My belly makes the perfect place to keep small things, like cans of pop, a book, or a cell phone say. M sort of mildly freaks out whenever my cell phone finds it's way to my belly. He thinks it'll give the twins brain tumors. Oh boy. BTW, the top of my belly is where the twins' feet are. :)

I'm going to have a couple of babies in 61 hours. Or sooner. But hopefully they'll wait the 61 hours.

The other day I went downtown to Walmart and to a new Halloween store. Don't worry, I've already been reprimanded by the proper authority! One of my BFFs totally was not happy with me for doing unessential energy-spending. She let me stay out since I was accompanied by M and AM. So while I was at Walmart people kept starting at me! Like EVERYONE stared, not just the occasional person. My Pastor's wife happened to be there too. When we stopped to chat with her, she just kept shaking her head and saying "God is good" and "God is with you." It was pretty funny.

Only my sister and I went into the Halloween store. M isn't as much of a fan of decorating for Halloween as we are. :) We were approached by what I assume was the owner, as he was the only employee not in a silly wig or partial costume. He came up behind us and asked if we needed anything. When I turned to answer he said "WOAH! You're having a busy day!" Now I'm not sure if he was under the impression that I got pregnant earlier in the day and was going to deliver later that evening, but he was sufficiently freaked out and left us alone. Well done daughters! :)

Let's see. What else has been going on? Oh! My pre-op appointment. I walked in and the lady said "Ooooo! The twins!" Hahaha. But you would think they wouldn't be as excited anymore! There is something in the water up here or something. The nurse who did my NST after my pre-op told me that there have been 7 sets of twins born in the hospital since March of this year! She also told me that there are 3 of us pregnant with twins and coming in for NSTs right now. That's just crazy talk.

I'm hoping to be home on Wednesday of next week, but I can't promise when I'll post again. Pictures to come asap though!

Odd Things

Okay, so I can't resist.

At my new place our "junk" mail included a Victoria's Secret catalogue. Not one nursing bra. That's odd. ;)

Do you know what is ridiculously difficult to use when you have a giant beach ball stuffed down your shirt? A laptop. I dare you to try it. Those beach toys can't be too far away yet!!

X scraped his knee on the playground at school the other day. His teacher took a band-aid out of the box, unwrapped it and put it in his "home bag." I'm sure there is an explanation that includes some fantastic X-logic....but I found it odd. Why send a band-
aid home?

My sister positively freaks out whenever my babies become active! For example:

Week 37

It's all just odd anyway, so to call this post odd things just seems redundant.

M keeps asking if I'm in labour. Whenever I sit up in bed, pause while walking, or move from one sitting position to another...so about 30 times in a 24 hour period. I'm not sure he's going to make it through his next on-shift set!

Did I tell you I broke my toe? Oh yeah. I'm that awesome. I was sitting on a stool and tried to hook my foot and only my baby toe took hold. The rest of my foot tried to leave my baby toe behind while it fell back to the floor. That felt awesome. The odd thing is not that I broke my toe, I broke my other baby toe last summer, I really am that awesome. The odd thing is that my foot is already so swollen that the toe couldn't get any bigger! It just points in a slightly new direction now.

You know how you sneeze and, if it's a really good one, you see stars? I see stars all the time. When I look to the left, or right. Sometimes when I breathe. It's pretty.

M's sister had a baby two days ago! Little guy came about 3 weeks early, but everyone is happy and healthy, so it's fabulous!!!

I had my second NST appointment this week. When I was waiting to check in the lady behind the desk looked up and in a very terrified voice asked if I was in labour. Bahaha. I assured her everything was normal and she calmed down and asked a few questions. She seemed very disappointed that she isn't on duty next Monday when I go in to have my babies.

The best part about the NST appointment was that M and I got to talk to a nurse who is actually the mother of twins. And she nursed them! She had great advice and stories. Obviously she was way more helpful than the public health person that directed me to a website. I was actually able to ask specific questions and she had some great answers, as far as I could tell anyway.

X is learning sign language at school. Here is a series of signs I hope he doesn't learn!!

Started packing the baby bag for the hospital yesterday. Will probably get around to packing a bag for me in the next day or two. My sister asked me if I was afraid at all, I told her about my brain being constantly 15% terrified. She says she's terrified and she's not even pregnant. Today I realized it's only 10 days until I have twins to take care of. If I could curl up into a ball and rock, I would. But I can't. I'm sort of a walking ball at this point.

And Air Canada better not strike. That is all. I have people coming don't you know!!!!

Odd Things - Week 36

WoooHooo! Do the happy dance! We made it to week 36! This means that they won't just ship me down to Edmonton if I go into labour. Nothing like a 5 hour drive home with newborn twins while recovering from giving birth! I am now 36 weeks and 2 days. The counter over on the side of this blog says I have 26 days to go. It lies. My c-section has been scheduled for 14 days from now. So two weeks from this moment I should be not pregnant, but possibly way busier!

Other odd things...hmmm, let me think. A while ago I came across an article online that was about what you should NOT say to pregnant women. Most of the taboo comments revolved around the size of the expectant mother. And one comment that you should never utter apparently is "Are you sure it's not twins?" That is actually something I heard a lot when I was pregnant with X. Granted, he was big enough to be twins! But that didn't really bother me. The comment that bothered me the most was when I would ask question of a mother, not mine, about pregnancy, or their own labour experience and their answer was "oh, you'll know." Fabulously unhelpful.

My doctor went out of the country. I knew this was taking place, and he is scheduled to be back before my delivery date, but a couple of odd things have happened because of his trip. First, before he left, he took my file home with him and locked it in his car. That's odd. Because my file is unavailable, the doctor I saw this week had no history to go on. My blood pressure was up 12 points from last Tuesday to this Wednesday. My temporary doctor didn't care. In fact, he said I don't need any more appointments between now and delivery. I'm sort of glad he has not been my doctor from the beginning with this. Instead of going to the doctor, I am now going to the hospital every week for NSTs. That's where they put the heart monitors on the babies and make sure they are behaving as they should. That's it. If something should go wrong however, then I am to make an appointment. I've decided this doctor is wrong. If something goes wrong, I'm still going to the hospital! By the way, I went for an NST on Friday and my bp had dropped back down 17 points into way healthy margins. It was just the heat and the waiting.

Speaking of heat. It's odd that the three hottest days of summer happened last week. 31 and 32?! That was a little much I think!

Oh yeah, when I was leaving the hospital after my NST people stared at us like I was too stupid to realize I was heading the wrong way. I'm sure they thought I should turn around and go have the baby immediately.

My Friday appointment was the first baby appointment that M has been able to accompany me to since that one time we ended up at the hospital and found out I was having twins. I guess that's just what happens when there's already a child at home that needs constant supervision! He's in school full time now, so M gets to come with. Isn't that exciting!? He played Angry Birds the whole time.

M set up the crib a few days ago. That's not really odd, but it is exciting!

I'm starting to worry about the individuality of my daughters! Ok. I say starting to...I've actually been worried about it for at least 6 weeks. I don't have a twin A wardrobe and a twin B wardrobe. I have baby girl stuff and whoever I'm holding when I grab an outfit is who gets to wear it. Even if her sister wore it last time. When do you think this becomes not ok?

I know I'm all over the map with this post, but my brain just is not functioning in a straight line.

It is becoming increasingly difficult to drive. I am relying more on my mirrors now than I ever have before! I just can't turn at the waist! It's impossible!

I'm really looking forward to no heartburn! Also, no swollen feet. And baths. I can't wait to relax in a tub again!

I got mauled at Walmart today. True story. The cashier who was looking after the self checkouts came over to chat. That meant there was no belt or register to act as a barrier. She was very disappointed to learn that I do in fact have family here, so I didn't need her babysitting services after all. Free or not. She informed me that she would love to have another baby of her own, but her baby is 20. M tried to stop the mauling, but our station was not co-operating so she kept wandering over! Oh well.

I'll try to be on here more consistently over the next few days, and I will do my best to get belly shots! Promise!!

Odd things - Week 35

Oh boy things changed this week!! We moved, X started grade one, I got my delivery date, my sister and her husband moved into the same house as us. It's continuing to be a crazy adventure for sure.

I did forget to tell you though, while on vacation I found out for sure that I'm huge. We went to Swiss Chalet, which I was TOTALLY looking forward to, and I didn't fit. Really, all around it was a comical experience. When I told the hostess we needed a table for 10 she seriously stared her little table map for about 5 minutes. The restaurant was empty, but they didn't want to open extra sections, so she was trying to decide which booth built for 4 would work best. She ended up putting us in 3 separate booths, then the entertainment started. The old people (for that is who frequents Swiss Chalet the most) stared at me as I tried and failed to sit in the booth. I could fit sideways, but that would have meant eating over my shoulder! Not so great. So I asked for a chair and became a fire hazard at the end of one table. Nothing like feeling demanding! The next large party that came got the tables with chairs in the other section. Awesome.

On another note, here are some things I am looking forward to! Sleeping on my stomach! I have no grand illusions of getting more sleep, just more comfortable sleep! Stretching and cracking my back! Being able to look behind me without standing up to turn completely around! Being able to get out of bed without plotting 3 or 4 movements ahead. I have 3 weeks and a day until my c-section. I'm already looking forward to getting home.

Speaking of home, I love our new place! I don't hear the highway anymore, and so far there are no neighbours pressing their noses up against my windows! We're obviously not totally unpacked yet, there are still boxes everywhere and laundry to be done, but I really like it. Also I'm excited to hang pictures! We weren't allowed anything on the walls in the last place. Boo to strange rules. I felt pretty useless during the move of course. M kept telling me to sit down, but that's just not the way I am usually when there's stuff to be done! I'm happy to be slowly doing things here though! I have finished a few loads of little girl laundry, next is laundry for people who are already born!

My lap top is on the fritz still, so no pictures, but I'll get some up soon! Promise!

Odd Things - Week 34

So I'm a little behind. You'll have to forgive me. When we got home from vacation my laptop took a hissy fit at being left behind and refused to work, so until M figures it out and has time to fix it, I have to borrow his. Boo. I'm trying not to have a mental breakdown over the pictures and files on my laptop right now. M says he can fix it, I believe him, we've just got a lot going on right now so it's time that's the issue.

We're moving today and tomorrow. That's odd. My sister and her husband are moving up from Calgary to have a go at living with us. I've warned her that she is entering my inner circle of oddness and so will most likely become a main character in this blog. Especially when it comes to how much X wants to be like his Auntie M. So since her name also starts with M, we'll call her AM from this point on.

I'm 34 weeks, 2 days along. That's odd. Strangers no longer have any doubt about my current state and EVERYONE asks if I'm due "any day." No. I'm not. I'm due in 6 weeks, but the babies will be here in 4 weeks. The first day back to work for M though, he spent 12 hours not with me, then came home, looked at me and declared that he does not believe they will wait 4 weeks. Awesome.

X started grade 1 today. That's totally odd. Once again my poor son is in a new school. Because we're moving 6 blocks west, he's in a different zone. I feel bad. 3 schools in 2 years, but I did that sort of thing too. Hopefully in the future we'll be a bit more stable. As in only moving every few years rather than every few months.

People have odd reactions to my pregnancy. On my vacation I made a stranger cry, created a scene that gathered a crowd at Fabricland, I get pitying looks, knowing smiles, stares, and the pastor at the church we attend keeps mentioning the two new people that are expected to join the church very soon like they're late for an appointment or something. The crying stranger was actually a neighbour of a bff I got to visit while on holiday. She touched my belly and both babies kicked her, so she cried. The scene at Fabricland? All I did was say "there's two" when asked if I was going to birth right away. Suddenly everyone in the store came to look. It's odd.

If you're a woman who has had children, you know that "I'm totally done" feeling? I don't have that yet and that's odd. I can't walk, I waddle. There is constant pain in my hips, knees and feet. If I stand for too long I feel like gravity will pull my forward to fall on my face. I'm averaging 3 hours of sleep at a time. I have to sleep with at least 4 pillows, sometimes 5 if M's on night shift and I can take over the WHOLE bed. But I'm not done. On the other hand, I do feel like I might be pregnant forever. And ever. There is no end to this.

By the way, the hiccups have totally happened. The one on my left gets them everyday and they shake me. The one on the right gets them less frequently and they seem to be smaller, but that could just be the positioning.

Well, M thinks I'm writing a novel, so I'll sign off for now! Next post will come from our new crazy home!!

Odd Things: week 33

On location! We are still on vacation! Had some great times in BC with X's great grandmother and now hanging out with my sister and some wicked friends in Calgary! Heading back "home" on Tuesday, but we'll be pretty busy in the coming weeks, so I didn't want to fall too far behind!

Things that are striking me a odd this week? My feet are huge! Driving for 6 hours at a time will do that anyway, but add pregnancy to the situation and I've got boats for feet, cankles and sausage toes! Awesome.

I've realized that strangers touching my belly...well if I'm ever going to have people touching my mid-section, now is the time to do it. Never again will my abdomen be hard and tight, so really, go ahead! In 6 weeks it will be all squishy again...probably forever. :)

A woman (possibly a mental health patient) mentioned that I looked like I should be on my way to the hospital now, that I looked ready. X's great grandmother apparently thought this was the rudest thing possible! Me? I'm just happy people know for sure that I'm pregnant now and not just maybe pregnant, maybe fat!

Driving for 6-8 hours X had to entertain himself for a while. He made machine gun sounds and pointed things, like the DS, out the window toward trees and such. M was super impressed that he even included the cocking sounds.

I am having super weird dreams. The other night I dreamed that I had the babies, but I was unconscious for the delivery. When I woke up the nurses told me that M had named the babies, but they tried to talk him out of it. The thing is, everyone refused to tell WHAT he had named them! Oh, and they told me that one was born 6 weeks early and one was 3 months early. So one was super smaller than the other! My brain is crazy.

Oh yeah. I turned 34 this week. That's odd.

Odd Things - Week 32

Alright! I'm sort of on the ball this week! Actually, I'm looking for an excuse to stay seated a little while longer while M gets ready for us to leave for a little road trip tomorrow! Hooray!

As I hinted at a couple of posts ago, I had my first stranger-mauling this week. On Monday I was dropping off an application for a house to rent downtown, and a lady...not the lady I am dealing with, but her boss...greeted me by coming at me with an outstretched hand which landed on my belly. Someday I would like to be brave enough to rub the stranger back...

The community complex where the public library is reassigned some of the handicapped parking to mommy-to-be parking. For almost a week, the new signs said "Expected mothers only." So if you are a mother and someone is expecting you, you can park in the cool spots? Sadly someone noticed the error and changed the sign before I got a picture.

Once again, my doctor's appointment today was a barrel of oddness. I only had to wait about an hour and 15 minutes to be let into the second waiting stage. That was pretty quick for this office! Apparently over the last 2.5 weeks, the babies grew. Can you imagine?! The doctor seemed a little surprised. He kept saying "they got bigger hey?" I thought growth was what we were aiming for, but he actually spent over 5 minutes with his little ultrasound machine looking for a third baby to explain the growth. Then he measured the heads and realized my babies are just growing, not multiplying.

I found the perfect picture to explain the one ginormous fear that my husband and son share:
Last, but not least, I witnessed some true brilliance today. You might have seen the gist of the story on my facebook/twitter. I was standing in line at the post office, and not wanting to stare at the guy in front of me, I looked out the window. I noticed to people acting strangely around a car. One lady seemed to be trying to pull the window out with her fingers. As I watched, (it was a long slow line) I realized that she was trying to break into her car with a hanger. Sadly though, the only hanger available to her seemed to come from a clothing store. It was plastic. And fat. So this lady is stabbing at the interior of her car with a fat non-pliable utensil, and her friend is being very supportive by walking around the car repeatedly, I assume, looking for another weak spot to have a go at. Then they tried the other side. They worked together to wiggle the window down enough to fit the hanger in, and stabbed with the hanger again. I don't know if they did not understand the concept of what had to happen to gain access to the car or if they were just having some fun. Sadly, after 20 minutes of some great entertainment, my turn came and I did not see how they finally got in, but I did find out what happened. The owner of the car was in the post office, then she walked outside to give her car key to her friend, but the key was gone. Someone had taken the key off her ring while she was in the post office and stole it. Not the car, just the key. Rrrrright. Ten bucks says it's in her pocket, or she mailed it somewhere.

Good times. I'll keep you posted on the odd goings on as we take a little tour this week!

I'm Telling!!

The other day, Monday I think, something funny happened. M had the day off, so he was sleeping in a bit, and when he joined us for the day he seemed to be a little depressed. I asked him if he had not slept very well, but he said he slept all night, which is sort of rare, but that he was mad. I thought maybe we had woken him or maybe the neighbours had been knocking on the bedroom window looking for X. It could happen. No. He was a little angry that in his dream he had to break up with a girl. This girl:
That's right. While my husband is sleeping I'm competing with Charlize Theron, specifically, Charlize Theron dressed as Aeon Flux. But even in his dreams it's not meant to be. Apparently he had to break up with her because she was being unreasonable about something. He "can't remember" the argument, but the real issue was that she ignored him while he was trying to work it out, so he had to end the relationship. It was very sad. I think he's still angry with her. I may be a terrible wife to say this...but I feel confident that my position will not be usurped any time soon!!! Hahahahahaha!

Odd Things - Week 31

So I have some catching up to do!! This one might be a short post, but looking at my history, I rather doubt it! I seem to be a bit long winded don't I? I have been collecting material! I have a few posts I've been writing in my head for a while, but I just don't seem to get them typed out. One of them will require a great deal of refining!

Odd things - Pregnancy.

Remember Ms fears? Specifically the sneezing out of the babies? Well that hasn't happened, worry not dear reader! The babies seem quite secure and happy where they are! But my sneezes have become a little traumatic for everyone! Mostly because my belly button pops out when I do. It hasn't stayed out....so far.

My daughters have decided they are no old enough for coffee. Before this week I could drink maybe one cup of coffee, over a long period of time. It just didn't taste good. It didn't make me ill or anything, it was just unappealing. Now I'm starting to love it again. So they think they're all grown up.

The most sore part of my body? My knees. They have been doing A LOT more work these last few weeks and are not happy about it. Soon I will be rolling everywhere just to save my knees the pain of standing up or sitting down.

I had an ultrasound on Thursday and was shocked at how close to my spine the technician had to go to get the pictures she wanted. Apparently EVERYTHING in my middle is baby. Well. Babies.

My hands have stopped falling asleep, but it hurts to make a fist. They are not swollen, just sore fingers. I have no idea if it's pregnancy related or not, but everything in my life is qualified by my pregnancy, so I'm going with yes.

My belly makes a spectacle of itself everywhere I go. I was looking at an apartment for my sister a while ago (a 4th floor walk up) and there was this 20ish girl on the tour with us. She asked in a sing-song voice "OOOOOOOO! And how far along are YOU!?" Really? Was I supposed to sing back at her? But you know what? As of Friday...the day I was supposed to put this post up...I had not been mauled by any strangers yet! :)

Odd Things - My Son

Can you say selective hearing?

Me: "Ooo, come look at your sister's hair, she looks like an adult!" X: "All nurses are adults mom."

Me: "Jerk of a driver not using his signal." X: "The rider has a splinter?"

And the math questions! "What's forty six hundred nine?" And he gets upset when I don't understand what he's asking?!

And his sense of timing. "Dad! We haven't played this in 20 years!"

And he misses A. He's been asking about her, we'll have to drop by and visit later this week. We have to return a plate anyway. :)

Odd Things - Random

This video almost made me go into labour.

Sorta Sad

Today is sort of a sad day here. It is the first non-holiday day that we have no A. All we get to do now is wait for our own "Princesses in Training" to arrive! We had a great time practicing our caring-for-little-girls skills on A, and have slight to no hope that our own will be as well behaved! I have slightly more hope that X will not try to ignore ours as much as he attempted to ignore A, but that is apparently poor remembering on my part. My little sister feels that I could have been nicer to her growing up! :)

The last week with A was certainly eventful! She learned the signs of us getting ready to go for a car ride and decided to help by opening the front door. She did not leave, just slightly opened the door and yelled for us to hurry up (according to X anyway)!

When X decided to ignore her he would go into his room, shut the door and play with toys that A is not big enough to play with, such as marbles and lego. A learned that if she knocked long enough, he would come out again. This made her extremely happy. He could not understand why she wanted to sit on him, pull his hair, play with whatever he was playing with, etc. We tried to explain that she believes he's super cool, but he just wouldn't believe it.

On her last day A's Mom was kind enough to send the messiest lunch that was not cutlery-friendly. 14 month old princesses do not like cutlery. If there are bits of food big enough to grab, cutlery is dismissed completely. Oh. And she doesn't like to have her face washed.

As an added bonus our family was invited over to A's house for a BBQ this weekend. We had a great time together, plus I got to direct A to her Daddy for a diaper change! We are totally looking forward to some play dates! A must practice being the big sister, don't you think? Muahahaha.

Odd Things 13 - Amendment

I have been charged by my husband to add a little information to yesterday's post. When I blog about him specifically, I usually tell him what I wrote as he doesn't actually read my blog. He just walks by, sees odd pictures, and makes comments. So last night I told him that I listed his odd fears. He takes exception. He does not feel these fears are odd at all and wants me to fully explain why they are not odd.

I have never fallen in the shower.

I have fallen in a hole.

I have fallen while walking with no visible obstacles in my way.

I did faint when I was pregnant with X at the top of some stairs, but I did call him first to make sure he would be there to help me.

I have never sneezed babies out, but his theory: "There's still time."

X was not early. They induced me 8 days after my due date and he still didn't feel ready so at 9 days overdue I had an "emergency" c-section. But twins are different and other people have M a little paranoid.

M used to love horror movies. He blames me for not enjoying them anymore, because I can't handle them. He anticipates my fear apparently, and the manifestation of belly bursters would be the final straw.

There. I feel I have explained fully. I'll let you know if any of his fears become reality! Have a great weekend!!

Odd Things 13

So many odd things this week!

I'm 30 weeks pregnant! Doctor says we're delivering at 38 weeks. That means only 8 weeks left of having 1 child!

If I put my hand on my belly it feels like there are tennis balls moving around in there! It used to feel like golf balls. Their feet, knees, bums, and so on, have grown!

I'm only able to sleep 2-3 hours at a time at night before I have to fully wake up so I can change position. This includes flopping around like a fish and sometimes elbowing M in the back.

My maternity clothes no longer meet in the middle. So that's sexy. My "Baby on Board" tank top looks like a tragic midriff-baring train wreck. Complete with train tracks. ;)

The swelling. Oh the swelling! I have to keep my feet up as much as possible. Which I do! So we have this old school toy box from M's childhood that we're using as a coffee table. It has a ridge design. When I used it the other day as a foot rest my leg looked like I'd lost part of it to a shark because of the HUGE indent left in the swelling! Again, so sexy.

This is an evil creature:
They are RAMPANT up here right now. But I have never fully understood the extent of their evil genius before! Do you know where they are biting me? On my ankles! Can I reach my ankles? No! But M can. Sure he can. And takes great pleasure in showing me how easy it is to reach his ankles and relieve the itchiness!

But enough about me. Let's discuss the oddness of other people in my life! M has some odd fears. Well, I guess the fears aren't really THAT odd, but it's odd how these fears seem to be forefront in his mind all the time!

He fears I'll fall in the shower.

He fears I'll fall in a hole.

He fears I'll fall while walking.

He fears I'll faint and he won't be there to catch me.

He fears I'll sneeze and the babies will come out.

He fears the babies will randomly decide to come early.
I think he secretly fears the babies will try to come out the side and become legit belly-bursters.

X has one fear. He fears his position in life will be erased when the babies come. Lately I've been reminding him that the babies are his too, and that they will love him. I think he's starting to feel a little better about it.

X's other oddness still revolves around Justin Bieber. Sigh. But apparently before this morning he was not convinced that the Biebs was real. I guess he was slotted with cupid and the Easter Bunny.

Random odd thing: I find it very odd that tattoo artists need not know how to spell.

That's all for now!

Medical Politics!

How I wish we could all just get along! Really! But apparently we can't. This office tells me that office is terrible and that office tells me the next office is worse! Let me tell you a story. I don't think I mentioned my trip to public health, but if I did, sorry. I'll try to keep it short.

I went to public health a few weeks ago. I was in the neighbourhood, waiting for the garage to be done with my car (what a fiasco THAT was), so I dropped in to see if I could get an appointment with a lactation consultant. I nursed X until he was 9 months, I plan to give it a go with twins, but as I've never nursed two at a time before, I have some questions! I wasn't expecting to talk to anyone, just get an appointment. The receptionist had me sit in the waiting room while she called for someone to talk to me, and a few minutes later a nice lady came out to call me back to her office. After some hmmmingh and hawing, she explained there is no lactation consultant employed by public health here. I'd have to drive 5 hours south. Why they could not tell me that at reception, I do not know.

She did have some "helpful" information though. Not only did she give me websites (like I hadn't searched them already) she was so kind as to inform me that the nurses at this hospital will steal my babies and formula feed them without my knowledge and then they'll never go back to the breast again. Awesome. She then further explained that it would be best if I went into labour before 36 weeks so they would ship me down to Edmonton. Then I could feed them with a syringe and pump in my room. But at least I would be away from the evil nurses up here. Then I asked a question that forced her to admit that she'd never visited the maternity ward here, and didn't really know how it was set up. After clearing my throat of the unkind words that arose I thanked her for her time and left.

On the other hand, my family doctor warned me that the support staff at my OB office was useless and mean. Good. I look forward to it. Not that I've had a super experience with the support staff in her office either! So yesterday I had another appointment with my OB. 3 weeks ago I was there for 4 hours, yesterday my wait was 2 hours for a 10 minute visit. But boy does he ever pack a lot into the visit! He assured me all my swelling and discomfort is normal, did a mini-ultrasound to look at the babies' heads, (both look good, he's happy), and called the head of the radiology department to get me in for a "growth scan" ultrasound. Remember, I'm high risk because I'm old. ;) When he got off the phone he explained that he's always had great success in getting things done while being nice! And he is a very friendly sort of guy. His secretary promptly informed me that the radiology dept. is picky, so wait until today to call for an appointment.

From the very nice girl on the phone in booking I learned this morning that they have not yet received any paperwork. They have a sticky from the head of the dept. telling them to expect the paperwork and have some instructions from him, but no order yet. So I call the office and low and behold....it has not been faxed yet. Grrr. Here's hoping that at some point the Doctor's mode of operation will rub off on his staff!

Now all 4 of these offices work for Alberta Health Services. Why are they not all on the same page? Frustrating.

Oh, the other thing the doctor told me is that we will be booking my c-section for 38 weeks, so that counter over on the right of the page? Subtract 14 days!! That means 59 days! Oh boy.

Baby Shower!

This Saturday past I went to a baby shower, for me! Hooray! We are still going to the crazy-friendly, mostly Nigerian church. There are some things that I could wish for, like other kids, but really, they have been so friendly and welcoming and excited to see us all the time, they really gave us no choice but to be part of the church. To cap it all off, they threw a shower for me!
This is me and my belly at 29 weeks at my shower. :) We had a great time! The food was fantastic, but it was Nigerian, so I made mom taste everything first! Usually, I'm not picky at all (obviously) but I had learned my lesson on Friday at book club! That's right folks! 2 nights out for this mama. At book club I had one piece of pepperoni. One. All night I thought I was going to die from heartburn. I actually ended up sleeping sitting up for a while. So that's why I had mom by my spice-o-meter! I stuck with the fruit, cheese and cashews! It was great!

The gifts were also great! Clothes and blankets and diapers and a bag and chairs! So good! There was even a gift for my husband! A's mom gave him a nose plug and New Zealand scented febreeze! I don't know how you can fit the smell experience of a whole country in one bottle, but I've never been, so I believe them! :) A's dad is from New Zealand, hence the connection there. Smelly diapers are sort of a running joke. You see there are times when M will watch X and A while I go to a doctor's appointment. The first time he did this for me coincided with the end of a 3 day poop strike A was on. Apparently 5 minutes before she went home. I didn't even try to keep the laughter in. My poor husband! But he hasn't quit yet!

Bom bom BOMMMMMMM!

I have to tell you a story. I've been holding it in for a couple of weeks, but I don't think the story is going to get any better. It has reached it's climax, so I must now share.

We have new neighbours! Since we moved here in January only 3 units out of 8 have been unoccupied in our building. In April our next door neighbours moved leaving us the only occupants on the ground level! This gave X access to the entire "backyard," but very lonely. 2 weeks ago we noticed a couple of young girls hanging around. They would ride their bikes passed our windows in the back while casually glancing in, or hang around in the front yard for a while. We hadn't noticed any moving truck anywhere in the complex, so we were a little confused. Turns out this family moved in right next door, but as is common up here, they have to wait a couple of weeks for their moving truck to arrive.

This is very exciting news. 2 little girls living right next door! One 8 and one 4, we'll call them K and S. After two weeks of neighbourly action this is how I see them:

Only, replace the fence with my back deck sliding doors. And they are much younger than the couple seen here. I'm really not exaggerating here. I will look up and there will be noses pressed up against my screen door! No sound...just watching. Sometimes when we go out to our car, or for a walk I will see those same noses pressed up against their window watching. When A's mom comes to pick her up they will stand at the end of my walk just staring. It is getting a little creepy.

This is how they see me:

Muahahahaha! Yep. I'm the evil witch! No I have not tried to lure them into my oven, nor have I offered them any poisoned apples.

If you are my "friend" on facebook, you may recall my post about grounding X for the first time. And the next day I grounded him for the second time. And the next day I grounded him for the third time. The day after that his grandparents were here, so you can't ground him, but boy did I yell.

The first three incidents involved X getting completely soaked, sneakers included, after we told him no more water. I know, water is a hard thing for kids to resist in the summer, but I'm still the boss. The third was general dangerous behaviour; jumping off of the deep freeze on our back deck. Again, after a warning.

The "yelling incident" takes a little background information to get the full effect. One day before all the grounding the girls came over to watch some cartoons. X, at one point, decided that he needed to give them a tour of our apartment...even though they live in the same set-up next door, only in reverse. He opened closets, and the laundry room, and was on his way to my room when I stopped him. I told him that since he wasn't allowed to hang out in my room, neither were his friends, so they didn't need to see it.

On "yelling day," as I mentioned, my in-laws were here. A's parents came for her early, and I wanted out of the house! So I told X he could play outside while I was gone because M and his step-dad were working on the car. I went shopping. With my mother, and my mother-in-law. With my big belly. A)I did not take enough breaks for my big belly. B)The topic of choice was menopause. I'll let you in on a secret. I'm not experiencing menopause at this moment. It's not even on my radar screen really. I did buy some cool stuff though. :)

When we got home I was in desperate need of feet-up action. As I walked into my house I heard this strange noise...coming from my bedroom! I opened the door, and low and behold there is the air mattress that we had set up for my in-laws on my bed, on the air mattress are the 2 girls from next door bouncing away! X is wedged between the air mattress and the wall playing his guitar serenading these vixens from next door! Where is my husband? Outside working on the car still!! Also, there is ceiling spackle crap all over the mattress and the blinds are messed up, and my books have been tossed on the floor.

So I yelled. "Out. Out. OUT!!!" Boy did those girls run. X, who is old hat at my yelling, was all "but mom, we just..." "No. Not until I talk to your father to see if the rules changed while I was gone! Out!" Haven't had the girls in since really. They still play outside, and press their noses to my windows, and play with X outside...I'm just not ready for the in-house visits yet!

Oh, and the rule had changed slightly. They were supposed to be watching a cartoon in the living room. Lesson: Don't think a 4, 5, and 8 year old will be responsible enough to be left in the house! Even if the 5 year old would be responsible enough if he was not showing off for girls! Good times.