Girl's Night In....(choices)

Delightful Finch and I discovered a new game! Laying on the floor, I try to steal her binky. Once I have it, I put the back end in my mouth. When she comes for the binky, I raise my tickle finger up in the air and start to chase her with it. Delightful Finch has to either run away or get tickled!

She runs away by falling to the floor and then rolling away from me. (She could just run away, but rolling must be funner). If she gets out of my reach in time, then I don't get to tickle her. ...but she really wants her binky.

At first she'd come in fast and try to pick up the binky with her mouth. Then she knocked me so hard I thought she'd chipped my tooth. I thought she'd want to quit after that, but instead she just grabs the binky with her hand now. She's getting quicker and braver.

If Mom takes too long to steal her binky, Delightful Finch takes it out of her mouth and hands it to me.

:)

More Woes

My Beautiful Rabbit is sick. again. I'm pretty sure it can't be food poisoning this time. She said lots of kids at school are coughing. I hope it's not the flu. Poor lil thing. She keeps smiling at me. I hope that means she's starting to feel better.

Baby B might have a heart problem. It's too early to tell for sure. They'll check again in a month. One of the chambers in her heart is too big and the one next to it is barely there at all. Safire reminded me that her doctors were worried about her baby A's heart, but when they checked again everything was fine. Hopefully it'll be like that for us, too.

Please remember us in your prayers. Thanks.

Dinner time woes

Beautiful Rabbit gets so distracted during meals that she doesn't get enough to eat. She always comes home from school hungry. Dinner time is spent asking 'are you done eating?....then go sit down and eat!' At bedtime, she cries that she never finished eating and is starving.

It drives me crazy! Tonight I finally said, "I think I know why you're so skinny."
Beautiful Rabbit said, "I know exactly why I'm so skinny - it's cuz I'm not pregnant!!"
.........

It's a GIRL!! and a GIRL!!

Ok, so mom was wrong. I'm delighted to have a pair of cuties to dress up in dresses! And No, we haven't picked out any girl names yet.

Baby B is quite modest. She wouldn't open her legs wide enough to tell her sex for the longest time. Also, she was sitting on top of Baby A - making it hard to tell her sex either. Luckily with identical twins you only have to catch one of them! Eventually they both showed themselves to be girls. The appointment was so long! I almost fell asleep. My tummy hurts from all the prodding.

Baby B is resting with her feet propped up on Baby A's tummy. Yes, she kicked Baby A's head during the ultra sound.

I used the camcorder to capture Beautiful Rabbit's reaction to twin sisters. I expected squeals and jumping and general wildness as suits my Beautiful Rabbit. Instead, she said that she wants us to have twin boys. She wanted to stick to mommy's prediction (even after I was proven wrong). Then she explained that it was like Strong Bear's ultrasound. She was 4 years old. Completely fearless, she glared at the doctor and informed him that he was wrong - mommy was going to have a girl not a boy. The doctor deferred to mom and slipped out of the room.

Beautiful Rabbit can't image anyone being smaller than Delightful Finch. The twins will be about 17lbs smaller than Finch. Tiny.

Potty training a bear (paw 2)

We're completely out of size 5 diapers. The Albertson's guy is due to show up with our groceries at any minute. Strong Bear knows he CANNOT be naked when the Albertson's guy gets here. Will he put on his Diego underwear? Nope. I finally gave him a choice: underwear or wait upstairs in my room until Albertson's guy comes and leaves. Bear hates being alone. He marches up the stairs to wait it out. /sigh

But Strong Bear came downstairs too early. The truck had arrived. The door was open. Albertson's guy would be walking in any second. I grabbed Strong Bear and shoved his squirming feet into the Diego underwear. Then I picked him up and lugged him across the house to the back door. "Look. There's the truck." Strong Bear likes trucks. Loud truck.

He wasn't happy, but there wasn't much he could do about it.

Doh! Strong Bear is WAY too heavy for me to carry - what was I thinking?? Was it worth it? He's just gonna pull them off again as soon as Albertson's guy leaves. or as soon as he has to go potty.

An hour later, I checked. He'd peed in his underwear. "You can't pee in your underwear, honey. Quick, go potty." Tinkle, tinkle flush. Strong Bear ran back and put his legs into his underwear - trying to pull them on. Wow! What could this mean?....

We got him some fresh Diego underwear. He put it on without a fuss. ...and peed in it an hour later. So, ...why don't I feel like I won?

Potty training a bear

Strong Bear loves Diego. He loves his Diego pull-ups. Diego underwear is the next logical step, right? What better way to show the difference between diapers, pull-ups, and underwear than pouring a cup of water in each to see what happens? I am so cool!

...except, I guess instead of learning that it's very important to go in the potty instead of in his new underwear, Strong bear immediately learned that underwear is completely worthless. Therefore, he refuses to wear them or even try them on for size.

Outsmarted by a 2 yr old. again.

Pick your poison

The twins are roughly 5.5" long - about as long as a bell pepper.

I spent most of today reading a book and feeling yucky. I feel less yucky if I get some exercise (walking/pacing the house). But when I walk, my hips start to feel like they're falling off. It hurts. I feel like Mom's slow-roasted turkey - falling apart.

Beautiful Rabbit had SEP (student-educator-parent) Conf yesterday. When I was in gradeschool, they called it parent-teacher conferences. Mom always took me with her and I guess it really caught on. Anyway, it's just a nice excuse to be proud of my beautiful Rabbit. She's a quick study, so I never worry about her academics. She's in a new school this year. (we moved just before the school year.) So, it was nice to hear that she's doing well socially, too.

Beautiful Rabbit insisted on taking Strong Bear and Delightful Finch with us to SEP Conf. Every time a kid walked by, Delightful Finch had to decide if she should follow them or her family. We nearly lost her to the stairs, but after much coaxing she followed us. Beautiful Rabbit likes to show off her cute, lil bro and sis. Strong Bear explored the room while Delightful Finch gnawed on the side of a table.

Twins ticker..

Just testing out a new ticker I found:

Ewwwww!

***WARNING***: This is a poop story. Don't read today's entry if poop stories gross you out. Don't read this while you're eating.

****Really - just skip it if you're squeamish*******

You've been warned....







Ok. I'm under doctor's orders to not lift anything heavy. Sadly, Delightful Finch is 2.5lbs too heavy for me to lift. I try sooo hard to be strict about this, but sometimes I just have to pick her up!

We're naked-potty training Strong Bear. He will turn 3 in May. He was doing really well before our weekend trip. When we came back, he refused to go in the potty--even when I offer him candy. It's been a few days, and today I was at my computer when I heard him tinkling in the potty. Yay!

A few minutes later, Delightful Finch walks past my chair. Ewwww - STINKY! I guess I'm gonna have to change her diaper. I wish we could potty train her before the twins come, but that's just not gonna happen. That's when I looked down. My delightful Finch is carrying a big brown chunk in her hand. Ewwwww! I quickly check for a binky. Pheww. Finch puts absolutely everything in her mouth, *unless* she's already sucking on her binky.

Using my secret ninja mom powers, I grabbed the chunk in a tissue and scooped her up in my other arm. I deposited the chunk in the toilet and washed Finch's hands 3 times with soap. Then I put her on the couch while I cleaned up the spot on the floor where strong Bear hadn't quite made it.

It's only the second time he hasn't made it for #2. I just wish I'd found it before my sweet lil delightful Finch did. Hey - atleast I didn't have to change a poopie diaper :)

Week 17

Winnie the Pooh brought his friends to welcome Delightful Finch to her new crib. She's much happier in there now.

Last night was date night. Yay! Sexy Haqon and I had a blast. I found a new Creme that I love. (chocolate makes me feel sick, so the caffeine-free latte rescued me - it was too cold to go without a nice, hot drink.) Hmm...couldn't find the one I had. I ordered Steamed milk with hazelnut syrup and caramel syrup. Yum!

I organized the top shelf of the pantry. Then I put all (but one) of the bills on auto-pilot. Could I be any more ready? haha....

Tree Jade

When I first saw tree jade, I thought it was painted on. Nope. That's how the rock looks. I should've taken the pictures in sunlight. Staring at winter trees de-stresses me. I was thrilled to find a rock that looked like winter trees over a stream.

Our tree jade is a foot tall and 11 inches wide. They had a tree jade table (think coffee table) that I loved, but it was way too expensive - not to mention too big to carry on to the plane. I love staring at it. I've had plenty of stress to keep me busy.

Today wasn't great. Sexy Haqon and Strong Bear caught a cold with a terrible, deep cough. Strong Bear woke up with a fever. and Beautiful Rabbit was coughing just before she went to bed. Delightful Finch was only delightful while she was in someone's arms. I hope she doesn't catch the cold. I hope I don't catch it. I'm awful at being sick.

Delightful Finch's crib bumper arrived, yay! She slept in her crib last night with only a token protest. This afternoon, she napped in her crib without a single complaint. I think she knows this crib is hers now. I keep forgetting to take a picture of it while she's awake.

No snow! Palm trees ;)

Sexy Haqon and I ditched the snow over the weekend to attend the international rock/gem show in Tuscon, AZ. The kids stayed home under the watchful care of my niece. The house was actually clean when we got home!

We met a couple friends/family down there. It was a blast. Part of the show was set up at our hotel (most of my favorite ones).

I'm terribly happy to be sleeping in my own bed tonight. (We're used to sharing a king, and the hotel had queens. very hard queens.)

We came home with lots of treasures that I'll show you later because I'm sleepy. Night :)

XOXOXOXOX

Beautiful Rabbit has a crush on a boy from school! Much more forward than I ever was, she's already told his best friend who told him....loudly....very loudly. His response was: "I knew it!!!" [...not to be confused with the boy who she's pretty sure is going to try to kiss her soon. (on the cheek!)]

Mom: Cute. Ok, sweetie, just don't let any boys kiss you.
Beautiful Rabbit: Why?
Mom: You're not allowed to date until your 16, so you can't let any boys kiss you until you're 16.
Beautiful Rabbit: but it won't be a date.
Mom: ask your father. Haqon, tell your beautiful daughter why no dating until she's 16 means no letting boys kiss her until she's 16.
Beautiful Rabbit: but Dad, A-------------- already kissed me last year [on the cheek].
Haqon: .......................


Haqon couldn't think of a thing to say. He's got 8 years to figure it out...please cross your fingers for him ;)

It snowed like crazy today! So, instead of running to the store for Beautiful Rabbit's last-minute Valentines, we decided to make our own. (Including a few special ones, like the one for her crush.) Somehow I'd managed to buy the requisite candy earlier. The Valentines turned out really cute.

4 hours later, she got sick. I'll have to keep her home tomorrow. Poor girl! I was all set to help out at the class Valentine's party, too. Instead, the homeroom mom will come pick up the "DON'T EAT MY HEART!!" game. (It's a Valentine's Day take on don't eat Pete.)

Let there be milk...

Groceries delivered to my kitchen counter! Yay! I used Albertson's delivery service when I was pregnant with Delightful Finch. I figured it was time. It's hard to keep the fridge stocked when I'm so tired all the time. Also, I'm limited in how much I can lift. AND shopping online, it's easier to see if I'm over budget and put stuff back.
**********
Strong Bear: I want some candy, Mom!
Mom: Let me check my pockets....nope, no candy there.
Strong Bear: I want some candy, Mom!
Mom: I'm sorry, sweetie, I don't have any candy in my pockets for you.
Strong Bear: No, Mom. Up there (pointing to my super secret candy stash in the cupboards above the fridge.....Oooops).
Mom: No. We're not going to have any more candy today.
Strong Bear: I want some candy, Mom!
Mom: No.
Strong Bear: I want some candy, Mom!
Mom: No.
Strong Bear: ...say 'Yes', Mom...

.....

Pbbbbbbbbbbth!

I scored a nice Ameda breast pump on freecycle.org. Haqon drove an hour to go pick it up. What a sweetie!

My latest craving: potatoes smothered in cheese. Dad used to steam potatoes and throw cheese on for the last couple minutes. Steamed cheese is....heavenly! Throw some Spike on top. Mix up some fry sauce for dipping. Yum! College taught me to spoon cottage cheese on top. Broccoli, too, if you want it to seem more nutritious.

I just spent 10 minutes recording my darling kids blowing raspberries for posterity! Yay for sound! I'd hoped they'd be so embarrassed watching the video that they'd do something less icky next time. No hope. They just laughed...and pointed out who was in the video.

16 weeks--half way.

The best laid plans...

We bought a crib. First I spent 3 days looking at every possible crib. Then I searched for better deals on the cribs I liked. Then I double checked used and freebie sites. I was just trying to be frugal - twins can be expensive! Haqon thinks I'm bordering on OCD, but one look at my 'comfortably lived in' home proves I don't have OCD.

No, the crib isn't for the twins - it's for delightful Finch. She's been sleeping in a playpen her whole life. (Strong Bear preferred sleeping in the playpen, too.) I love the playpen, but I'm trying to pick Finch up less. The new crib has a side that slides down so I don't have to lift as far. Hopefully she'll learn to climb out when the bar is down, but not when the bar is up.

That was the plan. Finch loved the crib - the springs make it slightly bouncy. It was like sitting on a trampoline! But then mom tried to get her to lay down! and turned off the lights! She cried and cried and cried....and then she turned the crying up 2 notches, and I knew I had to check on her. (You have to understand - Finch is my delightful child. She gets upset when I *forget* to put her to bed. She smiles at me when I put her down for nap time/the night.)

Finch had managed to kick her leg through one of the slats of the crib. She was stuck! I scooped her up and after many hugs put her back in the playpen for the night. She scolded me, but quieted as soon as I closed the door.

I didn't think she'd need a bumper. My bad. I found a cute Winnie the Pooh bumper on ebay. Hopefully I can coax her into trying the new crib again once it arrives.

Bye, bye CompUSA - thanks for the toys :)

I love my digital camera! Besides pictures, it lets me take 30-sec videos w/out sound. I adore the video clips of Rabbit, Bear, and Finch. But I really wish I'd captured their voices, too!

With the twins on their way, I've been sorely tempted to splurge on a camcorder. Well, thanks to CompUSA's going out of business sale, I'm the proud new owner of a Sony Handycam! My brain was too fuzzy to figure out how to use it last night. Hopefully I'll have better luck this afternoon. It's digital with a 30gb hdd.

Beautiful Rabbit already has plans for a music video and a Diego episode, featuring herself, Strong Bear, and Delightful Finch! I'm so excited!!

Haqon hunted down a great discount on a digital picture frame. He's wanted one for his office for ages, but I'd been worried picture quality. I kept telling him to wait for the technology to advance. The pictures look amazing. He can display one picture or run a slide show.

Mono/Mono - first week of June

The twins were very active during the ultrasound. Baby B kept punching BabyA. They were both kicking each other. Baby A(on my left side) is facing Baby B (on my right side) who is facing out. Both heads are up towards my head; both feet down towards my feet.

They're much bigger this week than I'd expected:
Dr. Pnat confirmed one placenta/one sac (mono/mono). So, I'll have a c-section at 32 weeks - the first week of June. The babies will spend the first 6-8 weeks of their lives in the hospital. That gives me....8 weeks to find a crib before I'm too big to move ;)

Can't we just skip Tuesday?

I was so excited for my appointment with the perinatologist that I thought today was Tuesday! I even asked Haqon to take the garbage cans out for pick-up. He thanked me for reminding him a full day in advance.

We're praying that Dr Pnat will find a very thin line between the twins that would mean they're in separate amniotic sacks. That would lower the risks of the unthinkable considerably. Plus, since I'm 15 weeks along, Dr Pnat might be able to determine the sex of the babies :)

My appointment is Wednesday morning, so I have to wait through another day! I'd hoped my nausea would be gone by now, but it was especially bad today. I've started picking up Delightful Finch less. She's so independent that it's easy most of the time :)

say 'hi'

A year ago, we were living in a one bedroom house. Beautiful Rabbit can't imagine sharing a room with her brother and her sister AND twins. Everyone agrees it was good we moved.

Each of the kids says hi to the twins in their own way. Beautiful Rabbit kisses each side of my tummy. Delightful Finch pats my tummy (not gently, but it doesn't hurt). Strong Bear kicks my tummy! "Don't kick the babies," I say. He's not fooled. "You're not baby, you're Mommy." Haqon puts his hand on my tummy - ready to pull it off if he thinks the baby might kick him. He's still jumpy about feeling baby kicks. Beautiful Rabbit scared him by kicking his butt before she was born. Haqon jumped off the bed and said, "There's something in there!"

I still think we're going to have boys. We'll find out on Feb 29th - my next appt w/ Dr Obgyn.

Girls Night In

Every Friday night, Haqon takes Beautiful Rabbit and Strong Bear over to a friend's house to play games. This leaves me home alone with Delightful Finch. I'm thrilled that she gets some mommy time all to herself. (Usually Strong Bear hoards my attention. I can't really blame him - they're only 18 months apart.)

Finch goes to bed without a fuss a few hours later. Then I have the rest of the night to myself. My only rule is that I can't do any cleaning/housework. If Haqon's out playing, I'm gonna play too!

I haven't been able to sleep in past Haqon's alarm clock (7am!) since my obgyn appointment. There's too many things to plan out and my poor pregnant brain can't let stuff go. Can you imagine nesting for two??

Finch hardly seems old enough to be a big sister. She'll be 19 months old when the babies are born. She's only 18 months younger than Strong Bear. Did I mention that we're not having more kids after this. We planned to stop at four, but I guess Someone had other plans for us.

Tonight Finch and I are going to dance til it hurts to giggle and then watch Dr. Who episodes til she falls asleep. Her favorite words are: "ya!", "salta"(jump in spanish - thx, Diego), and "da da".