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!
Tuesday, April 06, 2010
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!
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!
Friday, March 26, 2010
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!
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!
Thursday, March 25, 2010
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.
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.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
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.
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.