Spring Break!!

That's right...I'm on Spring Break!!! Only I don't feel quite so free, because our house is being fumigated on Thursday, so that means tomorrow, we have a lot of work to do to get ready for that. All food, spices, and medication have to be removed or double-bagged into these lovely plastic bags that were provided to us by the termite company. Nothing in the fridge. Or freezer. Or medicine cabinet. Or the fridge outside. Or the food in the pantry. Or the food in the garage pantry. Aye aye aye! *@*&$#@ termites!!!
On a lighter note, we are going to escape the hazardous fumes by taking a mini-vacation to San Diego. We're planning on going to the Wild Animal Park and the San Diego Zoo. The girls are over-the-moon excited about staying in a hotel!

Happy 8th Birthday, Grace and Sarah!!

Tuesday, March 26, 2002
My sleep was fitful, to say the least. I had a very hard time getting any z's, couldn't get comfortable or breathe well, was woken up every couple of hours by nurses drawing blood, and to top it off, I have a doctoral degree in worrying. The day was uneventful, but I was grateful to have my girls still in my belly for another day. Little did I know that later that evening, they would be born, ten weeks too soon.
5:00 pm....Carey arrived from work to be with us. Around that time, my 24-hour urine collection was turned into the lab for testing. All evening, Carey and I hung out, and he gave his best effort into calming my nerves.
10:00 pm...Carey was getting ready to go home for the night. Before he left, he asked the doctors if he would have time to get to the hospital from home or work if the babies were going to be born. The doctors reassured him that yes, he would have time to get there if need be.
10:30 pm...Just as Carey was about to leave, two OB doctors came into my room with very serious looks on their faces. They told Carey to stay because my pre-eclampsia was getting worse, and the safest thing to do "is to deliver the babies now." I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I immediately burst into tears, afraid that my girls were not going to survive such a premature birth.
10:45 pm...The anesthesiologist entered and gave me an epidural, and the nurses prepped me for surgery. Next, one of the OB docs brought an ultrasound machine into my room to check the position of both babies.
11:00 pm...I was wheeled into the operating room. I kept my eyes closed the whole time, afraid to look around at all the mass of doctors, both OB and Neonatal, nurses, and who knows who else. I remember telling the doctor that I was very scared of getting cut open....scared that I would feel the knife. He assured me that all would be fine.
11:10 pm....Before the c-section began, everyone was watching my blood pressure increase on the monitor. At one point, it was 220/140. Poor Carey was watching this happen, watching the doctors' concerned looks on their faces, scared that I was going to die on the table along with our girls. He was so tough and remained strong even though he was so fearful on the inside.
11:16 pm...They cut me open, told Carey to stand up so he could see the doctors pull "Baby A" (Grace) out first. Grace made not a whimper, and was rushed off to the NICU and placed on a ventilator.
11:17 pm..."Baby B", Sarah, was pulled out second, and I remember being overjoyed to hear her tiny little cry. The nurses quickly wrapped her up, brought her to me and showed me her tiny face before being taken to her and her sister's temporary home, the NICU, for the following few weeks.

Grace weighed in at a whopping 2 pounds, 14 ounces. A couple of days later, her weight dropped down to 2 pounds, 7 ounces.
Sarah weighed in at a staggering 2 pounds, 15 ounces and dropped to 2 pounds 8 ounces.

Eight years later, you'd never know that Grace and Sarah had such a rough start to life. They are the smartest, healthiest girls, and we are so blessed and lucky to have them in our lives!

8 years ago today

9:35 am on March 25th, 2002....29 weeks, 4 days pregnant....I remember lying in my bed, feeling miserable. I had a hard time breathing, couldn't sleep, couldn't get comfortable.
1:30 pm....My mom came over to my house to pick me up for a doctor's appointment. The day before, a Sunday, I had been released from the hospital. I was there over the weekend with contractions, and had spent three days lying in a hospital bed, with an awful drug called Magnesium Sulfate running through my veins to stop the contractions. The doctor who released me from the hospital told me to make an appointment the following day to see my OB and let him know about my weekend hospital stay.
2:00 pm... I peed in a cup at the doctor's office then waited for Dr. Gray to come into my room. My blood pressure was taken....and it was very high. I had gained over 20 pounds in water weight over the weekend, and I was so swollen. The doctor pressed his finger into my shin, and his finger mark stayed indented in my skin. The protein content in my urine was very high. All these are signs of pre-eclampsia, a very dangerous pregnancy condition from which many mothers have died. "You need to go back to the hospital," he said with a very serious look on his face. I dreaded going back to the hospital. I was just there for three days.
2:30 pm....I arrived at Labor and Delivery, was checked in and given my room. Dr. Henderson, the doc on call, told me that I was going to be in the hospital until I delivered, whether it would be 12 hours or 12 days, I wasn't going to go home. I was so frightened.
3:00 pm....They hooked me up to a catheter, with a plan to collect blood and urine for 24 hours for more testing. For the rest of the day and night, I struggled to get comfortable, and continued to feel like crap. My blood pressure remained dangerously high, and I was scared. I was desperately praying that my babies would stay in my belly and not be born 10 weeks early.

Ghosts

Mia's been freaked out about ghosts lately. They're in her room at night, pestering her and scaring her to death, and sometimes, they fly under her covers, causing a screeching cry in the middle of the night. Tired of getting woken up in the middle of the night because of the "ghostis," I took Mia to the neighorhood hardware store. I walked in and asked the man at the front counter where the nightlights are located. He walked us over to that section, and when we came upon the lights, I asked him if they carry any lights that scare the ghosts away. He said "Oh yeah, this one," pointing to a standard nightlight. I grabbed that light, and went to the clerk to check out. While paying, I said to the man, "Now this one scares the ghosts away, right?" He replied, "Oh yes, this one definitely keeps them away." Mia was all smiles as we headed toward the car. The best part was it only cost $2.49 + tax to regain my sleep at night. So awesome!

11 months later....

Oh man, do I suck at maintaining a blog or what?!!
My last post was March 29, 2009. It's February 21, 2010. Nearly 11 months have gone by, and not a single word typed out.
OK, I'm making a new resolution to blog at least once a week. Pester me if I don't keep up with it. Really.

So here's my story for this week:
This afternoon, I was helping Grace and Sarah pick up their mess of a room, and found a folded piece of notebook paper on the floor next to Grace's dresser.. Thinking it was a worthless piece of scrap paper or the beginning of a story she started but wasn't going to finish, I began walking to the trash can to throw it away. Luckily, I decided to open it up and read it. Here's what it said: "Joey: I'm wondering do you like me? P.S. Your (sic) funny. Love, Grace P.S. Tell me please!! I'm begging you!"

Holy hell, this crap is going on ALREADY? In SECOND GRADE?

We're in trouble. Deep, deep trouble.

I remember doing this in the upper grades, mostly sixth grade, but NOT second grade! I think it's time to invest in some handcuffs.

Hard Life

Sarah last night: "You just don't get it. You don't know how hard my life is."

I guess being seven years old is much harder than being six!

Dear Grace and Sarah,

It's 11:16pm right now, and I was about to cozy up in bed after a really fantastic birthday with you. I looked up at the clock, and when I saw that it was exactly the time you were born seven years ago, I had to sit down and write to you. Seven years ago today, you were so cruelly pulled from my belly ten weeks early in the hopes of saving my life. My body was pre-eclamptic, and the doctors felt that it was too unsafe to leave you in the warm comforts of my belly. When they wheeled me into the OR, my blood pressure was 220/140, dangerously high. We didn't know if you were going to survive, or if you would have lifelong struggles due to your prematurity. First they pulled you out first, Grace, and the team of doctors and nurses immediately began working on you. You didn't cry. You had to be intubated and rushed off to the NICU. One minute later, at 11:17pm, they pulled you out, Sarah, and you surprised us when you let out a slight whimper. They brought you to me and you looked at me for just a couple of seconds before they whisked you off to the NICU. You could breathe on your own and only had to have oxygen coming through your nose. It was nearly two days before I got to see you both in person. You daddy was visiting you every couple of hours, and coming back and giving me updates. I wasn't able to visit you until my body stabilized. I barely remember the first time getting wheeled into the NICU, the first time laying my eyes on your precious faces and tiny bodies, but I do remember the profound feeling of love that I had never felt before. I wanted so desperately to hold you, to tell you I loved you, and to put you back into my belly where you would be safe and healthy. I was so afraid for the future, as we had no idea what it would hold for you and us. I wanted, dreamed of, and hoped for you to survive and be okay. And look at you today!! You two are the most amazing, wonderful, smart, sweet girls and I am so blessed to have you in my life. I will never forget your humble beginnings, and will forever be grateful for God's hand upon your development seven years ago. You are two miracles!! I love you with all of my heart, and can't imagine life without you. Happy 7th birthday, Grace and Sarah!!

Another tooth report! Tooth #2 for Sarah!

This evening, just as Grace and Sarah were headed for bed, I decided to give Sarah's very loose tooth a wiggle. Her tooth was almost literally hanging by a thread, and it was time for that puppy to go. Sarah doesn't like her tooth wiggled very much, but I persisted, and pulled it out! Yahooo! She was very excited and can't wait, in her words, "to be the first person on the February tooth chart!"

Another visit from the trusty tooth fairy coming tonight!!

Tooth #8!!

How many teachers are out there who enjoy pulling out a small child's loose tooth? Probably not many, and I for sure don't want to do that in my own classroom. Ewww. But Grace's first grade teacher, Mrs. Bastieri does! Today she happily tugged, twisted, and turned Grace's tooth until it came out. How cool is that?

That makes eight teeth that Grace has lost in the past year and a half. Current count: Grace = 8 lost teeth, Sarah = 1 lost tooth.

Half-Way Through First Grade!

Today marks the last day of the first half of the school year. It seems like yesterday when we were clothes shopping, shoe shopping, when the blissful days of summer were ending, when I was nervously contemplating Grace and Sarah being separated with their own teachers in their own classes. Now they are half-way to the end, and they are doing phenomenally well! They love having their own space and their own teachers, and they have made a lot of great friends. Their reading ability has soared this year, and their math and writing skills are great, too. I couldn't be happier with their success in school, especially given their rough start to life, and I have so much hope for their future. They are two sweet, loving, caring, smart, wonderful girls and we are so amazingly blessed!

Inauguration Day 2008

Today marks a historic day in our country. Barack Obama is our new president! WOW! I am hopeful for our nation's future, and although I think it will take a long time for our economy to recover, I have much faith. We are a great nation, and I pray that great things will happen in the next four years.

I got that from GJ

Yesterday, Mia was feeling under the weather, so we stayed home all day. In the mid-morning, I asked her if she wanted to paint, to which she quickly replied "Yes!" I went into her closet to get out the new painting pad that my mom got her for Christmas and brought it out to the kitchen. She looked at the painting kit, and said "I got that from GJ for Christmas!" I was a very surprised that she knew that, because on Christmas, she was bombarded with about 10,000 gifts from many people. How does a little three-year-old girl remember who she got what from? Every day she surprises us with what she knows, the vocabulary she uses, and the things she remembers. We think she's very smart and are continually amazed by our three-going-on-six year old little girl.

A baby?

So tonight, I picked up the girls from my mom's house, and on our drive home this is how our conversation went:

Sarah: Mom, how do you decide to have a baby when you grow up?

Me: Well, you grow up, get married, and you decide with your husband whether you want to have a baby or not. Then you pray to God about it, and if God wants you to have a baby, He will bless you with one."

(silence...thinking...)

Sarah: "What happens if you decide you don't want to have a baby, but then you get a baby anyway."

Me: Ummmmm.......Wellll.........Ummmm........

Change of subject.

Born in the 1800's???

Funny story from work today, my first day back after Christmas vacation. Today was a student's birthday, we all happily sang happy birthday to him, then I proceeded to ask him how old he is now. He quickly replied with "eight." Then another student, a smart, funny boy, said "How old are you, Mrs. Anderson?" I replied, "Old. Really old." He piped back, "Were you born in the 1900's or the 1800's?" I couldn't help but have a good chuckle right then and there. Some days I feel old, but not THAT old!!

Vacation over, going back to work!

Today marks the end of our Christmas vacation. It's been fantastic sleeping in and hanging around the house with Carey and the girls. We spent a lot of hours cleaning out the girls' toys and other meaningless crap (like those dumb toys that come with kids' meals) and it feels great! We did a great job organizing the toys into bins and labeled them with my handy dandy label maker. The job is not done, for sure, but we put a big dent into my quest to get more organized. Next up: cleaning out and organizing the garage (once that *#&$*# sailboat gets outta there!)

I have a very positive attitude about going back to work. I am very blessed and lucky to have the job I have. So many people in America lost their jobs due to the downturn in the economy and are really hurting for work and suffering financially. I have a great job teaching second graders, working part-time, have an awesome job-share partner, and have my mom to watch my kids while I'm working. I still have time to volunteer at the girls' school and do errands, go to Disneyland and the park. I am so thankful! So that's why I am going to have a smile on my face tomorrow when I return to work after a great, restful vacation!

One more resolution

Here's #5:
Live each day to its fullest and don't put off what I can do today. As Gene Appel said in church today: "Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift...that's why it's called the present."

Happy New Year!

My resolutions this year:

1) Get in shape
2) Organize the house and garage.
3) Get Carey to get that *#$#!@*& sailboat out of our garage by the end of summer.
4) Read more novels.

I think that's a good start to the year!

Christmas Day 2008

On Christmas Day, we awoke to the sounds of Gracie screaming because that old man in the red suit came to our house and dropped off some AMAZING gifts... Littlest Pet Shop digital planners, Littlest Pet Shop diary holders, games, dolls, games, and more games. The girls urged us out of our beds to "COME SEE!" We groggily shuffled our way down the long hallway (totally kidding...we live in a 1500 sq ft house), gave a quick look to all the presents that Santa so generously gave the girls, then straight to the coffee maker so we could become human. After pouring ourselves those cups of deliciousness, we settled into the living room to watch all the girls open their gifts, starting with their stockings.




Next, the girls opened the rest of their presents from Mom and Dad. More games, some pajamas, sweaters, shirts, boots, gloves, mittens, and hats. They all made out like bandits! They had a great time opening all of their presents and were thrilled with all of their gifts.


The next part (and best part, in my opinion) of our morning was breakfast! Gigantic warm Cinnabons, covered with the most fattening icing, alongside the most tasty cup o' joe. YUM!! It was everything I wanted it to be and more! We had a great breakfast, and after that we lazed around the house, reading the newspaper while the girls played with all of their new things. It was raining outside, and we were so cozy inside. What a perfect morning!

At around 11am, we went over to my brother Scott, Amy, Emily and Abby's house for a Christmas visit. Here's a picture of the girls on our way to their house:


My other brother Brian and his wife Tammie were there with their two kids Alyssa and Austin. We exchanged gifts with all of the cousins, and then they spent a lot of time playing. Here's a picture of all the kids:


After a couple of hours, we went back home, and not too long after, started cooking. We were bringing creamed corn, spinach dip, and buffalo chicken dip to Brian and Tammie's house. We arrived at their house around 5:30, immediately digging in to the buffalo dip. OMG that dip is so delicious and is really hard to stop eating! It's so easy to make and is really delicious with celery. Yum!
The kids played with all of their cousins, and for the first time, played the Wii. It was a great end to our perfect Christmas Day 2008! We are so fortunate and feel so blessed!

Christmas Eve 2008

On Christmas Eve, I continued my yearly tradition of trudging to the Brea Mall early in the morning to purchase a six-pack of Cinnabons to eat on Christmas morning. I love Cinnabons, but almost never eat them, because I imagine that just one of those suckers contains at least a thousand calories. But on Christmas, it's a Cinnabon free-for-all. After returning home from the mall, we got ready for the Christmas Eve service at Eastside. I curled the girls' hair and they put on their Christmas dresses. They looked adorable and loved being all dressed up.


After the church service, we went to Carey's grandma's house in Buena Park for our yearly Christmas Eve celebration. There was a lot of delicious food and more presents than you could imagine! Santa Claus (AKA Grandpa Mark) made a quick visit to the house before taking off to deliver presents. The girls, Carey, and I received so many great gifts and had a lot of fun!






After we came home, we got on the internet and went to the Santa tracker website (www.noradsanta.org) What a totally cool site! If I was a kid, that's all the proof I would need to make me believe! Upon seeing where Santa had been on the world map, the girls were so excited! They quickly donned their pajamas, got the milk and cookies ready for the jolly dude, and went outside to throw carrots on the roof for the reindeer. Then we read "Twas the Night Before Christmas" and the girls were tucked in, screaming with excitement. It took them a long time to get to sleep, but once they were out cold, Carey and I went to work, doing our annual late Christmas Eve duties.

A Present for Herself

Four days before Christmas, Grace decided to give herself an early Christmas present...a haircut. Done by her. She was at my mom's house on a sleepover when she quietly decided to make some bangs for herself. Sarah, Emily, Abby, and my mom were in the family room watching TV when Grace did the deed. Nobody knew it was coming, and after she butchered her hair, she came out into the family room crying. Hard. I guess she realized that one-inch bangs aren't the most fashionable things around. Ugh. Good thing hair grows!

Before the chop chop



After

I am 37

I am 37, but only for a mere 3 hours and 15 minutes. My birthday is tomorrow, and tomorrow happens to be 3 hours and 15 minutes away. So as I sit here and think about my 37th year of life, I feel happiness. It was a great year- Carey, the girls and I are all healthy and happy, and life did not throw us any curve balls this year I am very grateful for our many blessings, and look forward to an even better year as a thirty-eight year old. Cheers to getting older!

Poopoo on the Potty

Well, she did it! Mia pooped on the potty. Last night, Carey and I were on a date and Nana and Bruce were over babysitting. Sometime during the evening, out of the blue, Mia said she needed to poop and wanted to go on the potty. She has never wanted nor attempted to poop on the potty, so this was big news. So off she went to the bathroom, with success! She pooped a good one, and after, she shouted "That was so cool." We are hoping that she continues to think that pooping on the toilet is cool and we are one step closer to a diaper-free household!

Ghosts

Last night, Mia said to Carey, "Dad, there's a ghost in my room." Carey replied, "There's not a ghost in your room." And she said, "Oh, well there's ghosts outside. And ghosts freak me out."

This girl is two! Or, as she would tell you, "I'm not two, I'm two and a half!"

She's a funny girl!

19 and counting

Tomorrow I start teaching summer school, so as of today, the count stands at 19. Yup, that's right, I'm counting. Nineteen days until REAL summer vacation begins for me.

Movie Night

Tonight, we had our first of what will be many movie nights in the front yard. Last summer, we started the tradition of watching movies on the lawn, and the kids really had a good time. Stephanie and I picked tonight to be our debut night of summer movies, and we couldn't have chosen a better night. The weather was in the high 90s today, so this evening, it was perfect....nice and balmy, but not too hot. Everyone had a great time!

Busy first day off!

Summer is here! Sort of. This week, I have Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday off, before I start teaching summer school. Today, we had a busy day! This morning, the twins and I took Mia to her "My Gym" class followed by a delicious lunch at California Fish Grille. After that, Gracie got her hair cut into the most adorable bob. It fits her face well, and she is so happy with it. She is very excited about her new hair! Next, we went to the Yorba LInda Library, where the girls signed up for the summer reading club and checked out books.

We hung out at home for the afternoon, and in the evening, Grace and Sarah began their two-week run of swim lessons. It was a busy but good day!

Still Gone

Carey and the girls are still gone at their campout, and Mia is asleep (has been for almost three hours.) It's 9:30pm and I'm sitting here at the kitchen table sipping a Malibu and Diet Coke that I made for myself. Yum. That's my favorite drink. I was introduced to the deliciousness of Malibu Rum many years ago by my friend Melissa's husband Jerry while in Vegas, and haven't discovered anything that I like better since then.

Tomorrow is Father's Day.




I am so lucky and blessed to be married to the most wonderful, amazing husband and father. Carey absolutely loves his girls and would do anything for them. But this day still brings me back to thoughts of my own father. Yes, he is still alive, and no, I have no contact with him. Many, many years ago, when I was merely five years old, my parents divorced. He was cheating on my mom, and had been doing so for years. They tried to make it work, to no avail. He moved away to Utah with wife #2 (he's on wife #4) and has not lived in California since. That was in 1976.

Since then I've seen him only a handful of times, and in the last 17 years I think I've spoken to him three times. I often wonder what he thinks about on Father's Day. Does he think about his kids? Me? Does he have any regrets? Does he think about his grandkids that he doesn't know one lick of anything about? Is he sorry? Does he wish he had a relationship with me? These are just a smidgen of all the questions I wish I could ask him. It probably will never happen, but on this eve of Father's Day 2008, I wonder.

Camping

Today the girls left for their second weekend campout with Carey for the Y-Princesses. This time, they are going to stay in San Onofre, above the beach on the bluffs. They are so totally excited about their weekend away, and I am so not excited that they'll be gone. I actually feel a tad bit depressed, still thinking too much about kindergarten being overwith. Stupid, I know, but I just can't help it. And being in a semi-quiet house this weekend with just Mia isn't going to help me get my mind off of it. I should go somewhere, but I'm not quite sure where to go. Disneyland? The mall? We'll see....

Last Day of Kindergarten!

It is an understatement to say that today was a tiring day. It was completely and utterly exhausting. Emotionally exhausting, that is. This morning, I walked the girls to their last day of kindergarten, trying hard to choke back the tears on the way. I dropped them off at 8:00am (thinking all along the way that this is the way it's going to be next year, having to go to school so early in the morning, only I'll have to get them there ten minutes earlier.) Like I said yesterday, traffic was dreadful. But, alas, I got them there on time and took a picture of them as they walked into class for the last time. I took a slow, quiet walk back home with Mia, thinking about this wonderful kindergarten year. More tears to choke back.

I came home and tidied up a bit, packed up the car, and left for the girls' kindergarten promotion ceremony. I got a great seat--front row center!--saved my seat, and went into the classroom to drop off the ice cream I brought for the party afterwards. As soon as I saw Mrs. Willey, I just lost it. Many more tears. I just couldn't hold it back anymore, and I became a blubbering idiot, feeling so emotional that kindergarten is already over. Sandy consoled me and gave me some tissues, which helped a bit.

The promotion ceremony began with the class coming into the room donned with their cute little graduation caps while the song "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" played. The moment I heard that song and saw all the kids, I lost my marbles again. More tears. It was a rollercoaster ride throughout that entire ceremony. Tears. OK. Hold it together. Oh, I can't. More tears.

The class sang some songs, which were super cute by the way, and then each student's name was called up for their certificate. They shook Mrs. Willey's hand as well as the hand of Mr. Slonkosky, the principal. After, a big surprise came when Sarah received a perfect attendance award. That's right...Sarah never missed one day of school, nor was she every tardy. I know I never did that in any grade ever, and I'm so proud of her and happy that she has such an awesome immune system.

After that, there was a really great slide show presentation that was shown to the audience, made by Mrs. Willey. I lost it again while watching that show, thinking again about how great this year has been and how sad I am that it's over.

After the promotion ceremony, all of the kids and parents went back into the classroom and had an ice cream party, and then the kids spent some time playing outside. The time finally came when we had to say good bye to Mrs. Willey. The tears flowed again as I thanked her and told her that this year was a dream come true for me.

I will never, ever forget this completely awesome kindergarten year.

Last super-relaxing school morning

The end is here. And I am not at all happy that my sweet, blissful, super-relaxing school mornings are over. This school year, Gracie and Sarah were "late birds," which meant that they started school at 9:45 every day. So on my non-working days, I would have the sweetest mornings. After showering, I'd get in my comfy-cozy sweats, get the girls breakfast, pour my coffee, get my own breakfast, sit at the table and read the newspaper while sipping my delicious cup o' joe and eating my usual breakfast of oatmeal. After perusing the paper, I'd get onto my computer and surf around the net and check email. Then around 9am, I'd start getting the girls ready for school, and we'd head out for our quiet walk to school around 9:35. Oh how I loved my mornings. And I'm so terribly sad that it will never be that way again.

Starting next year, the girls start school at 7:50am. The traffic is dreadful. It's hard to cross Van Buren Street. And we're not going to have any time to relax, drink coffee, read the paper, or the like. Boo hoo.

I will always have warm fuzzy feelings for my super awesome kindergarten mornings.