Finally!  An Update!

Finally! An Update!

Wow, I have been awful at updating this blog!  I’ve had it open for months, trying to remind myself!  I have so much to update with, it seems!

Well, one thing since my last update: I finished out my semester at SSU!  This was a big accomplishment for me since I was so busy and had so much on my plate.  I finished my classes and got a 3.0 as well!  I was just very impressed with myself that I was able to finish, let alone do well!  Organic Chemistry, Biology, etc… It was a decently difficult semester!  Add on top of that a full time job, and being pregnant with twins!  I figured the next semester I take at SSU will be easy since I’ll have twins at home.  I am currently taking Intro Biology.  Having taken the thirs Bio class in the series last semester, these two Intro Bio classes will be much simpler!

Next, I had the twins!  They were born November 28th at 9:07am and 9:08am.  Kerensa is older by a minute!  She will probably never let Merrick live that down, too.  The C-section wasn’t as scary as I thought it was going to be.  My doctor is pretty awesome and calmed my nerves.  The recovery is definitely longer than a vaginal birth, but it wasn’t too bad as long as I stayed current on my pain medications!  I made the mistake of missing a couple doses one day and I spent that evening on the bed, writhing in pain.  I never made that mistake again!  We stayed an extra night in the hospital because Ren and Merrick were having trouble maintaining their weight.  They lost too much, so we had to force feed them high calorie formula for a bit.

They have been doing well so far.  We are trying to get them on a good sleep schedule.  Unfortunately, they have their good and their bad days.  Today was one of the latter.  The twins didn’t think naps were necessary and they only napped for about 10 minutes at a time.  We did get one stretch of 17 minutes, but that was it.  They’ve been tag-teaming us all day!  One will settle down and the other will get riled up!  By the time you’ve changed, fed, and burped the upset one… the calm one has woken up!  It’s been a long day for us today.

We had professional pictures of the family taken, too!  They are gorgeous!  I need to pick out the ones I love and get them ordered!  They are online at: http://michellefphoto.zenfolio.com/p249478559

I am also working on the children’s web photo galleries.  There’s a link up at the top there.  I’m hoping to add a lot more pictures and get their sites working as soon as I can!

So I’m hoping I’ll be able to update here a bit more often.  The first 7.5 weeks of the twins has robbed me of my time!  But we’re getting a little extra time here and there, so I’ll make a better effort!  :)

It’s Been So Long!

It’s Been So Long!

I know it’s been forever since I did an actual update, and for that, I am sorry.  Please forgive me!  I have been so overwhelmingly busy that sitting down to write something would have resulted in my flat out, face down on the keyboard.  Drooling, most likely.  It’s just not a good picture!

Let’s see, since the last update, we have moved.  We didn’t move far.  Just to another apartment in the same building!  We needed another bedroom for when the twins come, so this was a good choice.  We are now are the third floor, and it’s nice to not hear elephants bouncing above us.  I try my best to make sure Rhonin and Jaren aren’t running or jumping around the house just so we don’t become “the elephants” to our downstairs neighbors.  The new place also has a better view of the hills, and not just another apartment building!  Plus, not being right over the pool sure has it’s benefits.

The move went smoothly, although it was a lot of work.  We hired movers to help with the big items and they were so fast and efficient that we almost ran out of things for them to move!  (In case anyone is curious, they are from a company called Beal’s Moving.  Highly recommended by Mike and myself.)  And in the end, no one let me lift a thing.  I did get my work in by unpacking boxes for them as fast as I could.  Even now, we still have some boxes to sort, but we’re mostly ‘put together’!

I have been keeping up in school and doing the best I can.  I just got my second Organic Chemistry midterm back, and didn’t do amazing… but I guess I’ll live.  I could have done worse, for sure.

Mike and I now have Jaren for Monday nights as well.  He heads back to his dad’s house after school on Tuesday.  The morning routine can be a bit crazy with Rhonin there, too.  But overall, it’s gone pretty well.  After dropping Rhonin off at school, chatting with Jaren while driving, I’ve come to the conclusion that he’s wise beyond his years.  But probably a bit overly worried!  A radio announcement came on for the “Win $1,000″ contest.  He promptly told me that I should enter it because he could use $1,000 to “buy a computer for college”!  When I told him that he will get one and doesn’t need to worry, he said, “Well, then I could use the money to save food for college!”  I think he should just focus on 2nd grade first!  He did amazingly well with his homework packet.  I was quite impressed.  He had until Friday to do it all, but by Monday night, only one page was left.  I’m so proud of him!

Rhonin’s been doing well in school as well.  He’s so articulate now, it’s rather impressive.  He comes up with things all on his own!  “Mommy!  When I older, I bigger, I get a blue motorbike and go fast, okay?”  I mean, what do you say to that?  It was so cute, of course I agreed!  Now, I just have to figure out what to tell him if he remembers that conversation at age 18!  His school drop offs have been okay.  He does cling and cry “No, Mommy, don’t go!” a bit, but his teacher, Miss Kelly, is great!  She’ll hold him and cuddle him while I walk out of sight.  Most of the time, he’s calm again by the time I reach the door.  I miss those little guys when they are at school!

As for me, I’m getting bigger and more uncomfortable by the day.  I’m holding out as long as I can, though.  I would love to take time off now, but Pregnancy Disability and Paid Family Leave only pay 55% of your wages.  Since we won’t be able to function on that, I don’t have much of a choice than to stick it out as long as I can.  I joke with my doctor and coworkers that I’ll probably go into labor at work.  I don’t think they realize… I’m not really joking!  It’s the reality of it.  Perhaps when I’m off work, I can find some things to do on the side that will make up the difference.  I would love to take months off, but 55% is a rather large cut for us!

My hands and feet as swelling and it’s getting painful.  Walking isn’t any fun since the soles of my feet are sore.  And my fingers feel like I have arthritis in them!  I did have to take off my wedding ring, but I wear it on a necklace around my neck to keep it safe.  I just wouldn’t feel right without it!

And on a random side note, I made some nice Ricotta and Spinach Stuffed Shells, and the boys loved them!  There is something to nice about hearing Jaren and Rhonin both say they “love the spinach” and eat so much of their dinner!  Jaren even cleared his plate.  I feel a lot like a good mother when stuff like that happens.  (Much like my own Mom!)  And the last random bit of “news”… I successfully showed off my skills by putting in a new shower head!  It’s got an arm so poor Mike doesn’t have to bend his knees just to get under the water.  We had some trouble with it having very low pressure, so I took it apart and removed the flow restricter.  Now it works much better than before!  I’m so proud of myself and my ‘handyman’ skills.  Yay!

Anyway, I promise I won’t let the next update take so long!  Thanks for being so patient with me!  See you guys soon!

Whirlwind of a Week

Whirlwind of a Week

I feel like so much has happened since my last update!  I’m not sure where to start or where to focus.  I guess I’ll start at ‘step 1′.  That seems like a logical place.

Jaren had his first day of school this last week.  I can’t believe my baby is in Second Grade already!  I’m sure every mother feels that way when her kids start school.  His father texted me a picture of him on his first day, and boy, does he look so grown up!  With his hair neatly parted on the side, and that big ole backpack, it’s hard to imagine back when he was so small that he could fit in your arms.  I do wish he was with me for his first day of school, but either way, I am so proud of him!  Way to go, Jaren!

Rhonin also had a rather eventful week.  Though, not all of it was good!  He woke up one night, clutching his ears and crying hysterically “Owie!”  Having been through this before, I could see the classic signs of another ear infection.  After trying to calm him down, unsuccessfully, Mike had the brilliant idea of walking him around upright to relieve the pressure in his ear.  So there they were, talking a small walk around the apartment complex at midnight.  They came back and Rhonin was calm and collected.  We proceeded to all sit on the couch and rest.  Upright, of course.  I believe I fell asleep, but Mike was watching over us the entire time.  After some Benzocaine ear drops, Rhonin was able to get some sleep.  I took him to the doctor’s office the next day, and he was being so adorable.  The doctor came in and said, “Oh, Rhonin!  Why are you here today?”  He replied, “I have owie in my ear!  My doctor fix my ear so it no hurt when I lay on Mommy’s bed.”  I don’t think I could have said it better myself!  The doctor’s conclusion (and I quote): “Oh look!  A raging ear infection!”  So Rhonin is currently on “pink medicine” again.  He’s such a trooper!

Also, Mike and I went to our first Air Show!  We had a blast, but learned a few very valuable lessons.  (These are things that will come in handy the next time the Air Show is going on and we can bring the boys.)  First Lesson: Sunscreen.  Mike and I both were lobsters by the end of the day.  He wasn’t as bad because he did put some on, but seemed to miss a couple spots.  My face and arms were red!  The other lessons included bringing lawn chairs, water bottles, and hats to wear.  I still believe the First Lesson is the most important.

We got some nice pictures of the helicopters and airplanes they brought in for display.  I think Jaren and Rhonin would have really enjoyed it!  They would have had fun climbing in and out of the cockpit of the jet fighter planes, or sitting in a helicopter.  And the stunt pilots were great!  They were pretty awesome, doing flips and twists in the air.  The boys could have gotten a kick out of it.  Since they weren’t able to come, we did get them little die cast models of the Blue Angels.  I hope they like them.  Next year, I’m going to try my hardest to get them to come along, too.

And the last event for the week was the start of classes at Sonoma State University.  My first day of school was stressful, as I still have a lot of pain when walking.  So walking around campus was difficult.  But I am excited for my classes!  I am extremely nervous about the twin’s birth and finishing my classes, but it seems all my teachers are willing to work with me on any absences.  I really need to make sure I stay on top of my work and reading.  That way, if I have to miss any class, I will be maintaining the pace of the class as a whole.  So here’s to hoping for a smooth semester.  And who knows?  Maybe the twins will make their appearance during Thanksgiving, when we don’t have any class!  With babies, you never know!  I suppose it doesn’t really matter, though.  Everything will work out!

Learning my Lesson

Learning my Lesson

This last Saturday was Rhonin’s second swim lesson.  We had a fun, eventful day planned.  And while we got ‘eventful’, it wasn’t quite what we had planned!

We lost track of the time and ended up running late to his swim lesson.  Since I wanted to give him as much time in the pool as possible, we rushed over to the club.  I dressed in my swimsuit for the “Parent-Tot” class, with some jeans and rubber flip flops.  I was dressed and ready to go!  We got to the club, and I wasn’t really sure which parking lot to park in.  I just instructed Mike to park in the upper level.  No idea why!  We parked, and I quickly collected Rhonin and began to walk towards the pool while carrying him.  There were about 6 or 7 concrete steps leading from one parking lot to the other.  I started down them and got about halfway when my foot slipped in my shoe.  I felt it twist and began to fall.

“Oh snap!  Oh God, please don’t let Rhonin get hurt!” was the thought that went through my mind.  I turned to my right a little to avoid falling forward with him and fell to the ground.  My right elbow and left hand took the impact.  Of course, Mike and Jaren rushed over to see if Rhonin and I were okay.  Rhonin had landed while still in my arms, so he was completely fine.  He didn’t have a scratch on him.  My elbow and ankle didn’t quite have such good luck.  I limped to the pool and Rhonin had his swim lesson.

On Sunday, my ankle still was extremely tender, so I opted to head to the ER.  I normally wouldn’t, but I was worried that maybe I had broken a bone in my foot.  After some quick X-rays, it was determined that I didn’t fracture any bones, but I had a bone contusion.  (Bone bruise where the bone tissue is damaged, but there is no clear defined break.)  I was told bone contusions can take as long as a fracture to heal and are about as painful.  Great!  I was sent home with instruction to rest, use ice and compression, and elevate my foot.  They didn’t use an ultrasound to check on the twins because I had fallen backwards and had not had any pain or bleeding.  I could also feel them moving around a bit, too.  I would like to get them checked on soon, though.  Just to ease my mind a little.

I woke up Monday morning with about ten times as much pain as the day before.  After getting the boys ready for school and “grandma’s house”, Mike helped get me to work, since I can’t drive at the moment.  I went back to Urgent Care since I was unable to walk.  They seemed a bit shocked that the ER didn’t give me a splint and crutches.  “You shouldn’t be walking on that at all!”  After a new splint and a nice shiney pair of crutches, I am feeling much, much better!

As for Rhonin’s swimming lesson, he did so well!  He wasn’t too into listening to the instructor, though.  He noticed the other girl in the class blowing bubbled underwater and decided to try it.  I wanted to make sure he understood that he had to take a breath and hold it before dunking his face underwater.  (Worry much, Mommy?)  I just didn’t want him to get water in his nose!  After the teacher ended the class, we packed up and headed out to get Frozen Yogurt, which was Mom’s best idea of the day!

And Jaren was able to stay over an extra night!  We dropped him off at his grandparent’s house this morning.  I felt bad because he wanted to see Rhonin’s school, but due to a time crunch, we had to drop him off first.  I told him next time he’s over, we can go see Rhonin’s school first.  I’m hoping by then I’m able to walk around much better and it won’t take us so long to get out the door.  It was rather fun doing the “morning thing” with Jaren.  I hate feeling like I’m the “Disneyland Mom” that he only sees on the weekends.  Getting him up and ready for the day and finishing his homework after school are two of those little things I miss and would love to do more of!

So it was a rather ‘eventful’ weekend.  I don’t think I would have made it through the weekend if it weren’t for the amazing help of my awesome husband, Mike.  Mike has had to help me do just about everything, from standing up to walk to the bathroom, to somehow getting myself situated sitting safely in the shower!  He’s been great, and I thank him for everything he’s done.  Even both of the boys helped.  They would get things for me if I asked, and helped clean up as well.  Jaren would say, “Poor Mommy” and you could hear the concern in his voice.  Rhonin would kiss my pant leg and give me hugs.  I don’t know what I’d do without all three of my guys.  They are all amazing, and I’m so lucky to have them all.

This weekend is a great reminder to listen to my kids, too.  Jaren said, “This is why you shouldn’t rush down stairs!” and Rhonin reminded me, “No running in flip flops!”  I’ve got such smart children.  :)

Fretting the Fair

Fretting the Fair

I don’t know exactly what’s been up this last week! Part of it is probably my Big Pregnancy Hormones. Rhonin has been in a “clingy” mood a lot lately. He will hold onto my legs and reach out for me when I drop him off at school, and he will demand I hold his hand while he falls asleep. I can’t say I really mind it, though, because as a mother, it’s good to “feel wanted and needed”. Of course, trying to use the restroom in peace has become a bit more of a chore!

We went to the fair last Saturday, and had a good time. I packed a peanut butter and jelly sandwich lunch with raisins, cheese, and two small cookies. We ate while at the fair, and they seemed to enjoy it. They had a cute little Pirate Area set up for the young children, so Jaren dressed up as a pirate and they both climbed all over the large, wooden ship they had set up. The petting zoo was cute, but Rhonin was a bit nervous around the goats and didn’t want to touch anything! He just clung to me. We attempted some rides, but Jaren wanted to try the rides that Rhonin didn’t… And Jaren sort of left Rhonin behind at the funhouse! (Don’t worry, Mike was there to rescue Rho!) But Rhonin ended up crying because he was scared of the big fun house slide, and he was so upset on the small motorcycle ride, that they stopped it a little early so we could get him. I felt awful. I know he was just a little scared because Mike, Mommy, and Jaren weren’t on the ride with him. But he wanted to go on it and we thought he’d be okay! There is something about the image of him crying on the ride that is burned into my mind. He was totally fine afterwards, as he and Jaren went on the small canoe ride.

That experience, combined with Jaren being a little bummed we didn’t go into the Flower Hall to see the flower displays, has made me worry all week whether or not they really had a good time. Like I said, it’s more than likely all pregnancy hormones! Logically, I know they had a good time, and I am worried over nothing. Mike even reminds me over and over that they had a good day! I did manage to forget my camera, so we didn’t get a lot of pictures. (Sorry, Mom!) I got a couple via my cell phone, though!

I don’t believe I am the only parent out there that worries about the kids having a good time at the fair or enjoying themselves. I just wish these hormones would stop making me worry so much!

Oh, and I won 5th place with my pencil drawing that I submitted to the Fair! Yay me!