Settling In and Growing Up

Settling In and Growing Up

I know it has been so long since I’ve updated.  I’ll blame that on the twins!  I’ve been really busy since the last update.  Since I don’t want to keep you stuck here forever, I’ll keep it a bit short.

I managed to somehow get a 4.0 for Spring semester.  I’m not quite sure how I did that, but it feels nice.  I feel quite accomplished!  Three more semesters to go and I’ll be done.  I can’t wait for the day I get to graduate.  My family will be so proud of me for finally finishing my degree!  There were lots of problems with getting into classes for Fall due to Sonoma State’s registration system.  I almost didn’t get them!  I had to email teachers and get Add Codes to be added.  Since I’m a Super Super senior with over 180 units, they let me in the classes I need to graduate since they probably want me out of there!  I don’t blame them.  In Fall, I am taking Environmental Physio, Evolution, and Molecular Genetics.  Genetics is supposed to be the most difficult class and teacher of the three, but I am excited for it.  I just have to remember to study and stay on top of the material.  I certainly don’t want to fall behind now!

Jaren is doing wonderful.  He recently just finished up second grade and will be headed to third in Fall.  Naturally, he got high marks in class.  Such a smarty!  He’s really taken to the Harry Potter books and is blowing through them!  I couldn’t be more proud of that kid.  He also just got his beginning orange belt in his American Kenpo class.  He’s so much fun to watch.  About two weeks ago, he celebrated his 8th birthday.  We got some cute pictures with him and his birthday dinner.  Adorable smiles with his missing front tooth!

Rhonin is getting so big, too.  He has really grown with his vocabulary and will just tell you like it is.  When his Nana got a stomach ache, he went right up to her and told her, “Nana, you need to drink tea.  It makes your tummy feel better.”  How darling!  He’s been a great helper with the twins so far.  He just loves giving them their pacifier when they drop them, and fetching bottles when our hands are full.  He was recently caught just singing to Ren to entertain her.  It was darling!  He’s going to be celebrating his 4th birthday really soon, too!

Kerensa is growing by leaps and bounds daily.  She’s got great head control and is sleeping mostly through the night, waking only briefly one time.  At her last doctor’s appointment, she weighed in at over 13 pounds already!  She’s starting to get her hair in, too.  And surprise, it’s strawberry blonde!  I think she’s going to look quite a bit like Auntie Ali.  (No, Ali, she’s still MY daughter!)  She’s already learned to roll over, so I think crawling is next for her.  We’re just waiting for her to get a couple teeth now!  Should be any day now.  She’s also been eating solids daily, too!  She loves her veggies!

Merrick is growing up so fast already!  He is rolling over, and can mostly sit up on his own.  (I’m always there just in case he topples over.)  He’s been sleeping well like his sister, and weighed in at over 15 pounds at his last doctor’s visit.  We just discovered two teeth this morning, too!  He’s very proud of them.  You can tell because he’s always smiling!  He’s getting more hair, too and it’s dark like Mommy’s!  He is in love with his sold foods and goes to town with his oatmeal, applesauce, veggies, and fruits!  And boy, he loves to eat!  He could go through an entire big jar of baby food in one sitting now!

So I’m hoping that I’ll be able to update a bit more frequently now that our schedule has settled down a bit.  Father’s Day is coming up and we’re seeing a good Australian friend in San Francisco this weekend.  Maybe I’ll try to get a good picture and update next week.

And last, but not least, I’ve been working on getting the kids their photo gallery pages.  You can find the links at the top menu bar on this page.  Each of the them have their own domain and photo gallery.  I found a way to resize and upload the pictures of the kids that I take on my phone, so it should be pretty easy to get new pictures up there now.  I am a bit backlogged trying to get the older pictures up first, but I’m working on it!  I started with Jaren’s page first, but then I’ll be moving on to Rhonin, then Ren, then Merrick.  Stay tuned!  :)

Growing Up So Fast

Growing Up So Fast

Another week down, and I’m still alive!  I’m not quite sure how I’ve survived, either!  It’s been a tiring week!

Of course, I’ve been keeping up in school.  I’m taking Intro Biology classes so I can change my major from Biochemistry to Biology.  I’m not going to say these classes are ‘easy’, but they are a nice pace.  Especially since I have the twins at home now!

I’ve met some pretty awesome people in my classes so far.  They make attending class and lab a bit more fun.  :)  Of course, I still miss my classmates from other classes, too.  I may be in their classes again next semester.

We got the news that SSU is not going to offer the Intro Biology series anymore after this semester.  Biol 121, 122, and 123 are leaving us!  They are going to be introducing a new class in it’s place so that the General Chemistry class won’t be a bottleneck anymore.  (121, 122, and 123 require Gen Chem and people can’t get into that class easily!)  I feel bad for those that will be stuck in the middle of that class swap.  How confusing!  Luckily for me, I am taking 121 and 122 together this semester, so I will be done with the series when they stop offering it.

Anyway, the twins are doing great here at home.  I’d give you guys new weights for them, but I had to reschedule their appointment due to class times.  They’ll get in to get weighed again next week.  I believe they get their 2 month shots then, too… so let’s hope that goes okay!  They are getting so big, too.  It’s noticeable!  It’s crazy to think I’ll never have a ‘newborn’ ever again.. but I’m okay with that.  :)  My family is complete!

Rhonin is doing well.  He’s been such an awesome big brother and is really taking his new role seriously.  He will always ask to “kiss the babies” when we are holding them, and put his stuffed animals next to them so they can play with them, too.  It’s rather cute!  He also has recently just said “goodnight” and climbed into bed when it was bedtime.  On his own!  He’s getting so big!  I am so proud of the lil dude!

And Jaren was recently promoted from a white belt to a yellow belt in karate!  I am so proud.  When attending his class recently, the teachers were caught up in something and were going to be rather late.  So this group of 7 and 8 year old kids organized the class on their own and started practicing their karate before the teachers arrived.  However they are teaching discipline to those children, it’s working.  I was very impressed!

At this point, the babies are asleep, so I really should be taking this small window of opportunity to get some rest, too.  But I couldn’t leave you guys without a quick update!

Oh, and I’m getting the kids’ photo galleries going soon.  I need to add the pictures, but at least they are designed now.  I am hoping to get them updated with some recent pictures within the next week or two.  So don’t forget to check back!  :)

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!

Swamped with School

Swamped with School

Oh, so much has happened since I last updated.  I’ve been so busy with school starting and attempting to keep up with work, that I hadn’t a chance to update for a couple weeks.  I try to update weekly, but I was so overwhelmed.

Obviously, I started school again.  Yay for Fall semester at Sonoma State University.  I am currently in Organic Chemistry, Biology, and an Education and Early Child Development class (for GE requirements).  So far, my teachers have been great.  I told them all that I was expecting (as if it wasn’t obvious), and they are all willing to work with me if the babies come early.

In taking more chemistry and biology, I’ve come to the decision that I really would like to change my major to Biology.  That’s what I had originally applied for when I applied to the school.  But it was impacted and I lacked two critical classes.  I am going to take them next semester in Spring, and then change my major after that.

This week has been busy.  I had my first midterms in Organic Chemistry and Biology.  One after another.  I feel strangely confident in them, which can either be a really good thing or a really bad one!  Here’s to hoping it’s a good sign.  I should find out next week.

Thanks God it’s Friday, though.  I plan on taking it easy this weekend.  People have been saying at work that I “look very tired”.  And I am!  I’m exhausted!  I intend to crochet a bit this weekend, and perhaps get some homework done in advance.  (I know, right?  Jillian do homework in advance?)

Anyway, off to another class.  I will update again soon.  I hope I am able to update on Monday and get back into my ‘weekly’ schedule.  Til then.. take care everyone!