They have arrived!

WARNING BIRTH STORY AHEAD!

The babies are here!

On Saturday December 12, my mom came to be a part of my baby shower and celebrate our common birthday and wait out the arrival of the twins. We did some Christmas shopping, got two new tires put on the Mini-Van, mailed off some packages, started getting ready for Liana's 5th birthday on the 21st and baked some cookies.Thursday the 17th I went to bed like every other night, full of baby and heartburn. At 12:55 PM my water broke, we called to wake up the doctor, went to the hospital having contractions every 5 minutes. On arrival they found I was already dilated to 4cm so they gave me a shot to stop contractions and began prepping me for surgery.

At 3:05 AM Baby Girl Au Twin A made her entrance into the world.
At 3:07 AM Baby Boy Au Twin B followed closely behind.

Our little girl was wailing before she was out, she was only 3 lbs 11 oz, but very strong with good reflexes and breathing, they cleaned her up wrapped her up and brought her to me for a quick look and kiss before going to the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit)

Our little guy cried but not as loudly or clearly as his sister, we learned later he had inhaled some fluid. I saw only a glimpse of him as they sped him off in an isolette to the NICU after his sister.

Our girl continued to make good progress, she needed only a myriad of wires and monitors, and
an IV to hydrate her and get her to the point where she could begin drinking from a bottle. I got to hold my baby girl for the first time around mid-day!

Our son was put on a CPAP machine to remind him to breathe, occasional suction of aspirated fluid of course a plethora of wires and monitors IV nutrition.

On Friday we named our babies Amalia and Edward Jr.

On Saturday we named our babies Amalia Huilin Au and Anthony James Waikuen Au (A.J.) Amalia began to drink from a bottle, 5 cc at a time.

On Sunday A.J. graduated from the CPAP machine to being on Oxygen and I got to hold my son for the first time! Amalia graduated to 6 cc of milk.

On Monday I was sent home from the hospital, crying of course because I was leaving my babies behind. But happy to go home and see Liana who had turned 5 that day and thanks to my wonderful mother and my fabulous friends, she had already had a fabulous party.

On Tuesday my Dad took me to see the babies in the morning and Eddie took me in the afternoon and I only cried one time that day. Both babies were jaundiced and put under Billi Lights both quickly learned how to get out of their eye shields (picture foam sunglasses)

On Wednesday A.J. graduated to regular old air and got to start milk through a feeding tube. Amalia started increasing her bottle by 1cc each feeding.

Today is Thursday they are one week old and doing well, both are off the Billi lights for now, both are gaining a little weight and both are so cute I don't mind just watching them sleep, it makes me happy to see them here, and to know that they are being cared for by some spectacular nurses who answer the phone when it rings at 4 AM and tell me how the babies are doing, even if all they are doing is sleeping.

So Merry Christmas everyone, this year I really feel the JOY behind the message "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given!"

Each child is a miracle and I am grateful for the Son of God, Jesus Christ who answers prayers and watches over all His little ones.

Sick and Pregnant

Last Friday we went out to eat as a family with several other families we know and love. The food an company were great, but apparently we shared more than just good times. The stomach/intestinal flu BLECHHHHH!

By and large we actually got off pretty easy, just a 24 hour bug and I am the only one in our family who actually threw up. Maybe because of my limited stomach space in the first place, or lowered immunity, at any rate, I could not keep anything down Saturday night into Sunday Morning. This dehydration set me into a pattern of contractions every 5 minutes for several hours and so I decided at 5:00 that I should call my OB and see what I should do.

The OB of course said go to Labor & Delivery.
Let me remind you that it was 5:00 Sunday, the girls are still asleep and I don't really want to take them along to the hospital. I call my friend P who I now refer to as "Super P." I called her because I figured her Husband "Tall C" is a very capable dad and would be able to cover the home front, and because my girls love her and would be OK waking up to her in the house instead of Eddie and I. Little did I realize that she had been up with her own sick child at 3 in the morning, that her capable husband had to be to the airport by 10:00. My super friend came right over anyway.

As soon as she arrived Eddie and I headed off to the hospital, where they put me on monitors and established that I was indeed contracting regularly, but that the babies were both doing well. Eddie took off to pick up his mother and bring her back to our house in time for Super P to get her husband "Tall C" off to the airport. Back at the hospital, after conferring with my OB they put me on an IV to rehydrate, and eventually gave me a shot to stop the contractions which it did. Blood tests confirmed that I had no infection and no signs of immediate dilation or progressing labor and so they sent us home

In the continuing spirit of gratitude, I am grateful for the following;
My husband who stayed calm and shuttled back and forth to make sure that the girls and I were all OK.
My Friend who rescued me and took great care of my girls, they were fed, dressed, and had their hair done before my mother-in-law came to relieve her.
My mother-in-law who stayed several days to make sure that I could rest and recover.
My father-in-law who went to work alone so that his wife could be here with us.
Modern Medicine one shot and a liter of liquid = a little longer to prepare for our twin blessings.
All my family and friends who care about us and send prayers our way!

filling in the blanks of gratitude

13 - My Fabulous Church Friends who gave me a baby shower with delicious food and adorable outfits!
14 - The fabulous movers from our church who took time away from their families on a Saturday to help us get everything to the new place. Oh and speaking of everything, the fabulous sister friends from our church who came over under the pretense of helping me wipe down counters and mop the floors quickly, they ended up packing up everything in the house and garage and cleaned it to move-in condition.
15 - Sister Williams and family who brought us dinner 2 nights in a row so that my kids would not starve.
16- Eddie who was off work and did the lion's share of putting the right boxes into the right rooms.
17 - Grapeland Elementary that provides field trips like Ella's to Riley's Frontier where she dipped a candle, made cider, and went into a "real cabin house". At least one of my children got to do some "fallish" activities this busy year.
18 -Having a day to unpack more of our life
19 - God - Thank you for the beautiful park with shady trees and a time to sit and relax for a few minutes - until Nina comes down with a fever and we go home to find the medicine basket.
20 - Healthy babies with strong heartbeats, the Rhogam shot that means no antibody issues, and justification for gaining 5 lbs in 3 weeks.
21 - Ibuprofen and Tylenol (see the 19th)
22 - Nina getting better in time to be safe to go to church.
23 - My girls' dance teacher who inspires them to do their best and tells them they are "on fire" when they do well.
24 - We had another ultrasound, babies are small but growing on their curve line, each estimated to be over 3 pounds at this stage.
25 - My brother who drove all day from AZ to spend the holiday with us, and arrived just in time to help Eddie discover the reason sewage was backing up into the downstairs shower!
26 - The plumber who came out on Thanksgiving morning to clear the pipes. My generous in-laws who are cooking for me and my family, my brother's family, my grandmother, uncle, cousin and her family, another cousin etc. Plus, I am really grateful that both sides of my family not only get along, but seem to really enjoy each other!
27 - My Sister-in-law and Niece who kept my children entertained and helped Eddie get the Costco shopping done while I had quiet time at home with my swollen feet up!
28 - Our friends from Irvine who came up and helped us organize some things in the garage and toy room.
29 - Friends who came and ate SPAM, thus making our house a home.
30 - Surviving the month of November, babies inside, household moved!

Ode to my Belly!

We interrupt this gratitude festival to bring you some much requested photos, of my big belly

This first one was taken at 22 weeks, or 5 months, you can see that Nina was quite impressed

Now 8 weeks later, at 30 weeks, or 7 months, my belly has become my daughters favorite source of entertainment. They like to trace the huge blue veins, poke at my flattened out belly button, and laugh when occasionally their baby brother pokes back. Baby sister has nestled herself into my left hip and shows no signs of leaving said territory. Sneaking back into the land of gratitude, and at the risk of repeating myself, I thank God each morning that I can still get up out of bed and get Ella to school, and be here for Liana and Nina, and be home when Eddie comes home from work.

Stay tuned for further expansion photos!

More Gratitude

10+ - My mom who found a bilingual phone to teach Nina some Chinese! Ella used to say that she is "a little bit Spanish" because she could repeat the phrases Dora the Explorer uses all the time, thanks to Ni-Hao Kailan and our new Fisher Price phone, hopefully Nina will be able to say she is Chinese with confidence!

11- My Dad again who watched the girls so I wouldn't have to take them with me to the 3 hour Glucose Tolerance Test my OB wanted me to take (for the second time this pregnancy, I guess it isn't 2 for the price of 1 on everything.) My friend P. who brought my family dinner because she had listened to my complaint of not wanting to cook this week and decided to just surprise me.

12 - My Husband who is getting up at 5:30 this morning to take my Dad back to the airport. He will then come home to pack up more of the house and navigate the finalities and formalities of getting the new house funded and closed, and will make more calls to cancel utilities here and start them there, and will do a few million other things all to make sure that we get settled in.

Continuing Gratitude

8-Last Sunday we had our annual Primary Sacrament Meeting Program, which is once a year the children, ages 3-12 deliver the sermon portion of the main meeting at church. For the last 2 1/2 years I have been one of 3 people who lead and teach and prepare the children for this program. Every year it seems fabulous, but this year I am especially grateful that my daughters are who they are. Ella memorized her part and the words to all the songs, and sang loud and clear at the appropriate times. Liana not only did her part but valiantly stepped up two more times when other children didn't show up. (because they were sick, something else to be grateful for, we were better in time for the program) I thought Nina might be problematic, when I was getting things set up before the meeting started Nina was whining and not letting Eddie comfort her, but just before I needed to lead Liana's class up to the choir loft Nina decided to take her bag of goldfish and sit quietly with her Auntie "Cessa" who we have adopted as our family. (Thank you for adopted family who step in when needed.)

9- NINA - Our little Nina turned 2 on the 9th, and never has a child been so ready for her birthday, she has been talking for weeks about her Grandpa coming for her birthday and how she wants to have a tea party with him. Of course her translation is "My Bampa a comeen my irthay peapot party!" When I went to get her in the morning (she likes to lounge) her first words of the day were "I low a tannel" which of course means "I want to blow out candles" So she had candles in her corn muffin and delightedly sang happy birthday songs to her little self all day long!

Her Grandpa did indeed come for her birthday, though bless his heart my father's plane didn't land until 10 and he wasn't offended that we had a shuttle bring him from LAX and he didn't get here till after midnight. I love my Dad.

10 - I'ts 5:00 in the morning as I type this, and I am sure by the end of the day there will be several more things I am grateful for, but today, I am grateful for our new home, which is due to be completed this Friday, today we are doing a walk-through inspection and signing the loan documents, so I am grateful for the house I will raise my family in. I am also grateful for friends who will take Liana to story time so she doesn't have to miss it, and for my aforementioned Father who will keep Nina occupied and help me pack boxes this afternoon and do whatever else he can before he hops on another plane on Thursday to take him home to HK.

Attitude addition.

I have realized lately that l seem to be complaining a lot, "my stomach is huge, I can't sleep, I have to pee every 5 seconds, Acid is eating my throat, Yadda Yadda Yadda...."
Really how much are you people supposed to take?
Answer? As long as it takes to bring these babies safely to the world. I am big and getting bigger and I am uncomfortable and tired and grumpy!

That said, I am also profoundly grateful for this time of my life, so in addition to continuing to update on my pregnancy stresses, I would like to also enumerate my blessings, one for each day of November

1- When I am really sick, I have enough friends and family to cover all the bases for me so I can stay at home and take care of my family and self.

2 - The Brown Family from church brought us dinner last night, I felt a little silly when she called the night before to say that she was going to do that, but then I spent my day taking Liana to the doctor's and the X-ray Lab and getting Ella to-and from school, figuring out homework, and dealing with Nina who didn't get her nap. Never has a pork-chop dinner been so welcomed! Thank you Brown family

3 - A quasi healthy Liana (cleared by the Dr.) returned to preschool and Library time, allowing me to take a shower and actually get dressed.

4 - Ella's Parent-Teacher conference showed what we expected, she is an intelligent motivated learner who is at the top of her class.

5 - I am big, but I am still pregnant and still mobile, I go walking 3-4 times a week with friends who like me enough to go slowly and wait for my Braxton-Hicks contractions to stop. I know some really dedicated mothers who at this point of pregnancy have been on full or partial bed rest, hospitalized, or already had their little ones and endured the stress and heartache of having a little one in the NICU.

6 - Medical Insurance - I decided with the recommendation of multiple doctors and after reading it up to get the H1N1 vaccine, the down side is that my doctor didn't have it yet so I had to go to the County's walk-in clinic for my shot (translation 3 hours of waiting in various lines and rooms for 30 seconds of treatment) I am really grateful that I don't have to go through that every time I need medical attention.

7 - I am Greatly Pregnant. It would be really dumb of me to not recognize what a blessing it is that Eddie and I have been blessed to have biological children without medical intervention and that this time around we are doubly blessed. I am grateful too that interventions exist, because some of our very best friends have become fabulous parents of their own bio-kids with a little help. I am also grateful for adoption and the blessing that it is to the parents and children alike and because adoption has brought some fabulous people into my life.

Happy Halloween!

Each year I get a happy feeling anticipating Halloween, an opportunity to be creative and make my children costumes they want, We plan out the pumpkin carving for maximum effect, I make fingers out of string cheese, spiders out of hot dogs, and other gross foods. It's a little effort laden but always fun.

This year, my family saved me from myself, in case I forgot to mention it, we are 6 months pregnant with twins, starting to recovers from colds and flu bugs, packing up the house to move in 2 weeks, and generally going insane.

First of all Eddie slaved over the crock-pot all day and made a delicious venison stew for dinner.

Bless her heart, all Ella wanted was to buy some ears and a tail at the 99 cent store and be a cat.

All Nina wanted was to wear the princess dress our friend had handed down to her (Nina would like to wear a princess dress every day). Of course once she saw that Ella got to be a kitty Nina needed to have a nose and whiskers too! Oh, I tried to talk her out of it but I am glad I gave in, she was the only kitty princess around.

Liana was my project girl this year, she wanted to be a lady-bug and since all the costumes I saw for sale were a little more hoochie than I like for my 4 year old, we set to making wings and a skirt (because after all, a lady bug is still a lady!)


So my darling girls were darling and it didn't take much to make their dreams come true. They didn't even want to carve the pumpkins, they wanted to paint them, so that means they'll be around to make a home-made pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving,.....anyone want to come over and bake it for me?

Pregnancy math and logic.

I don't know if it's because I have been helping Ella with her homework or because I have been sick with a chest cold, but in the midst of my insomnia the other night I began thinking of the word problem below, then a snowball effect began. So though math is something I know very little about (just ask my report cards all the way through college) here is a post for your (hopeful) enjoyment.

Pregnancy Quiz

1. The doctors have prescribed 1 325mg iron supplement to be taken twice a day on an empty stomach and separately from your prenatal vitamin. Due to your indigestion and acid reflux you are to eat 5-6 small meals throughout the day instead of "3 squares". You are instructed to sleep a minimum of 8 hours a night and advised to also take at least one nap during the day.
At what times of day will you take your pills?

(answer - anytime you happen to remember it, including right after a bowl of ice cream, pregnancy robs you of your neural synapses, the doctors are lucky you remembered to buy the supplements in the first place.)

2. You are lying in bed at night anytime after your 6 month of pregnancy, are you
a. not sleeping because you are being kicked/pushed in your stomach/kidney/hip/etc.

b.Not sleeping because you are not being kicked and are therefore worried that something could be wrong.

c. Not sleeping because your acid reflux is burning your esophagus.

d.Not sleeping because you are on your way to the restroom, just back from the restroom, or thinking about getting up to go to the restroom but delaying it because it hurts to get up out of bed.

e. all of the above

f. Sleeping soundly

(Note - answers "a" & "b" are only possible at the same time if you are pregnant with twins. if you answered "f" you are probably in fact the spouse of a pregnant woman.)

3. You might be pregnant if watching "Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern"
a. actually makes you throw up instead of just gagging.
b. actually makes you hungry.

(Note - both answers may be true depending on your pregnancy or on the stage of your pregnancy.)

4. When pregnant which of the following will likely make you cry?
a. Hallmark ads on TV.
b. Country music songs.
c. People being rude to you or others.
d. People being kind to you or others.

5. To avoid high blood pressure during your "high risk pregnancy" you are to limit activity and simplify your life, which of the following activities will you eliminate?

a. Feeding your family
b. Cleaning your house.
c. Showering.
d. driving children to school.
e. monthly ultrasounds.
f. bi-monthly OB check-ups.
g. glucose screenings, blood tests, urinalysis.
h. aerobic exercise

(Answer - trick question, you must continue to do all of these things - with the possible exception of "b", but if you eat some chocolate and hydrate while you do it, you might survive!)


That is about all my pregnant brain can come up with, if you have additional word problems feel free to add them in the comments section!

Things my children will eat.

In the spirit of things I know something about, I am returning to the photographic essay style to illustrate some of the kinds of things I know my children will eat. There are of course a plethora of things they will not even touch, but please enjoy the following;

Ice cream, regardless of flavor, ice cream will be consumed if given the chance, it is best enjoyed dripping down the chin, or creating a clown make-up effect around the whole mouth.


Biter biscuits and graham crackers, - actually I can't certify that they ingest any of it, but they will put it in their mouths until a paste is produced, said paste will then be spread on clothing, dark clothing is preferable, you will think you have washed it all out until the clothing is dry at which time you will realize the paste will never really be gone.

Toys

My children will eat rice, I don't know if it is their blood or just because it will stick to their fingers until they lick it off, but all my children will eat rice.

Chocolate chips, but don't count on putting them into other things under the thought that they will eat the whole pancake etc., oh no, they are adept at picking out the chip only and getting it everywhere.

Noodles, again, possibly a genetic trait, but my mother says I used to slurp up long noodles in one breath too.


Olives on their fingers, my side of the family sees this as normal and regularly uses up a #10 can at a family gathering, but elsewhere in the world apparently this is bizarre. My girls like to load up all their fingers and eat them one at a time.
Stuff that many adults can't handle, here Nina is enjoying a dried cuttlefish snack (a small squid) Ella has loved flamin hot Cheetos since she was a year old.

Things their siblings feed them, here Ella thought it would be fun if she were "a farmer, and Liana was my little chick-chick who likes yogurt." -I should point out that I had tried many times that week to feed Liana yogurt, but was spurned, apparently high chairs and bibs change the flavor.

Things their siblings give them while naked. Yes it's true, otter pops were too cold for her until Ella stripped down and shared.

Things eaten on a picnic blanket, never underestimate the power of a change of scenery, also don't count on it lasting too long.

Things grown in their own garden
Things covered in technicolor frosting


Chicken products swimming in a sea of ranch dressing - I'd expound but it makes me gag
Also, not pictured, if you want someone under the age of 2 to eat something, hide it on the floor behind the foot of a kitchen table, or try to eat it without letting them see it. CAUTION, all children can hear candy wrappers from anywhere in the house.

Insomniaaaaaaargh

Insomnia is something I know something about, especially during pregnancy.

It sounds redundant but if I can sleep through the night, I can usually sleep through the night.
There are however many things that prevent me from sleeping through the night, the following are but a representation of the many:

1-children in my house. Sick children, who may need medicine, or a cool compress etc. Silly children who need to use the restroom but can't remember that that is the reason they are awake. Little children who lose a necessary comfort object in the darkness and cannot find it on their own. Ah yes, my beautiful children, I am often heard to mutter in the darkness "It's a good thing you are cute, cuz otherwise we might not all survive this.

2-children in my body. Wiggly children that like to move around when I lay down, two of them already vying for the "sweet spot" where they can kick either my bladder, hips, or stomach. Hungry children that cause me to wake up at 3:00 in the morning starving as though I haven't eaten in days.

3-Snoring - sometimes my own, and sometimes that handsome man who sleeps with me, actually I don't think the snoring wakes me, it just keeps me awake.

4- Acid reflux - sometimes as a result of blows to my stomach but more often in response to the foods I eat, (tomatoes and pregnancy just don't work for me.)

5- Chihuahuas with laryngitis - I don't actually know the breed of this dog in our neighborhood, and since it has had the same strangely hoarse yap for the past 2 or 3 years it probably isn't laryngitis, but it does go on rants, sometimes for hours. I am not exaggerating, Hubbie and I have both been woken by this neighborhood beast and clocked it barking at 5 second intervals for more than 1 hour, I drifted off to sleep and woke up an hour and a half later to find the animal still barking.

6- impending change - the two weeks after we found we were having twins I often lay awake in my bed trying to imagine how we ill accomplish our daily and weekly tasks and schedules. I'm still not totally sure, but that doesn't keep me up much anymore, of course thinking of baby names fills the void of things to lie awake contemplating.

Some have suggested that pregnancy insomnia is preparation for the weeks of sleeplessness after the birth of a new child. I cannot refute this idea, only sigh at the thought of 3 more months of preparation.

Before you rush to offer me insomnia solutions please rest assured (like the pun?) that I have tried many, refused some, and remain resigned to my fate. Currently my favorite remedy is a small bowl of ice cream, a TUMS chaser, and an hour or two at my computer, if nothing else, this experience leads me to blog, and to check Facebook more than once a week.

Go Jersey!

Ok, today's topic is in the spirit of "Things I know..." and brought to you by the stream of consciousness when I have insomnia.
(It's 4:53 Am as I start this entry and I have been up for a while - "thank you" to the ravenous little beasties in utero that I call the twins.)

So here it is, New Jersey is a fabulous state.

I don't come to you without substantiation either,
1- it is almost October and here in SoCal, we are still occasionally hitting the triple digits. New Jersey has a Fabulous Fall starting soon, if indeed it hasn't already started. Colors exploding out of the forests of green which cozy up and around every bit of constructed civilization - Some of you may have only seen the airport or industrial meccas of New Jersey, but let me remind you that it is in fact "The Garden State"

2-Bagel shops and Delis. I could leave it at that, but no, actually I can't because bagel shops dot the landscape in Jersey, you can usually walk to one on a Saturday morning and get a bagful, while they are still hot and slightly chewy on the outside. Sure you can get a blueberry bagel if you want to, but that is not the only choice. A cinnamon raisin, or egg bagel for those wanting sweetness, or a base for sweet condiments, and for me? an everything bagel that tastes like everything, not just burnt garlic on the outside. (can you tell I've been spurned by west coast attempters and grocery store impersonators?) And the deli, the deli....ooohhhh right now I am craving some fresh sliced roast beef, fresh sliced Muenster, and some spicy brown mustard. In Jersey there is a local deli for every locale, the places that smell of spicy meat and dill pickles when you walk in the door, places where cappicola means something more than red food coloring on the outside of ham, ahhh deli - I miss you.

3 - Diners. some of you think this should go with the food entries above, but diners earn their own place in the list of proofs, because diners stay open late! In Jersey you can go to a diner at midnight and you could order greasy comfort food, but depending on which diner you choose you might also have the option of Greek Spanikopita, or fresh carved Gyros, Italian Manicotti or canoli, Etc. Etc. Etc. and they aren't diners, but Jersey has Chinese take out places open till all hours as well. (I am in a land of tacos, really yummy ones with fresh cilantro and hand rolled tortilla, but still that's about it in my neck of the woods)

4- Location, location, location,... When I first moved to California, all people could go on about was how SoCal has everything, you can go to the beach in the morning and the mountains in the afternoon, yadda, yadda, yadda. In Jersey you can go to the beach in the morning, the mountains in the afternoon, and still go see a Broadway Show that night! You might visit 3 other states in the process, but that is another great thing, none of this pretentious need for isolation, Jersey is ensconced in a sea of good states.

5 - Lack of pretension. I don't say lack of ego or pride, Jersey got plenty of people with plenty to say, and they will say it loudly, and with a variety of accents, but there is something about the rest of the country making jokes at your expense that draws the citizens of Jersey together in humble unity.

I could go on and I invite you with the spirit of Jersey to chime in with your contributions, but it is now almost 5:30 and I think that with visions of baklava dancing in my head I might be able to sleep for an hour before my little chickens rise for the day.

Go Jersey!

*****I stand corrected by my younger sister, Pizza places do deserve their own number, not only do you get a perfect balance of crusty and chewy but at most you can order an authentic anti-pasto or Italian salad - complete with fresh mozzarella, olives, and paper thin red onion. I am salivating right now.

preview of coming attractions

I haven't posted much lately, mostly because my creative juices are being used up in the creation process of the twins (Oh yeah, update for those of you not on Facebook, we are having one boy one girl, very exciting!)

Today I thought that one way to get myself into the bloggin mood would be to have a theme for a while, so here it is:

Things I know something about.

Notice I am not making any grand statements like "important things" or things I know "everything about".

Just some stuff I know, or at least that I think I know at the moment.

So here is one thing I think I know something about, picking names for babies can be hard.

First of all, you have to figure out which kind of namer you are, do you think that because you like a name your baby will grow into it? or do you believe that your baby already "has a name" and you just have to find out what it is? My husband and I each fall into somewhat different arenas. He likes to hunt for names and have a list and then eliminate undesirable names for reasons like "it sounds like a bodily function" or "No, I dated a girl with that name" etc. , the elimination process should yield the suitable name and the decision is done. I suspect He would prefer to have the names decided well in advance, indeed he felt like he knew Ella was Ella during a routine ultrasound. I like to have a long list of names and a short list of names, and finally after the baby is born I like to look into it's eyes and say "Who are you?", I will say the contending names aloud to my child and look for signs of recognition or affirmation, and generally see if I can picture that face and that name together. Nina's name wasn't on the short list, but had only recently been cut off the long list, if we had used the short list she would have been Annalise or Madelaine (which has been on every short list but will not be on this one.)

Also a word of caution, don't ask people what they think in advance if it is a name you are serious about, or at least make sure you preface it with "this is the name I really like" because other wise you will end up with that persons criticism in your head when ever you see them with your child - and in most cases they will not even remember they didn't like the name.

I was out with some girlfriends recently who have very distinct and unique names, and I wondered if their names had anything to do with the fabulous people they are. I always felt that my name while not bizarre was different enough to set me apart, for the good and bad of that. In Kindergarten I lamented all the extra letters in my name, but by High School I was glad not to be one of 3 Ashley, Kelly or Tiffany girls in my class differentiated only by bizarre spelling or last initial. Of course there was a long period of time in Middle school when I would have loved to have been a Jennifer and fit into a clique or group by that name genre. Which leads to another question, what effect does the name choice have on the child? If I had been named Kelly/Kellie etc. would I have been a cheerleader instead of a drama geek?

What's in a name? that which we call a rose by any other word would smell as sweet, but then again, Rose is easier to say and spell than oh, let's say Chrysanthemum and has no embarrassing mispronunciations waiting to happen, like Peony.

I actually "know" very little about naming babies, I didn't plan it but ended up naming all 3 of my girls with a name ending in "a". I don't know if the last girl will have a similar ending to her name or not, though I am sure our son's name will not end in "a". And I know I will not have a boy named Sue.

Big Brother P-Tah

Yesterday was my Older Bother's birthday - Oh I mean Older Brother! I thought I might take a tiny trip down memory lane to honor that occasion,

Let me start with the era that I actually have no memory of, in this picture my eldest brother is holding me (a wise decision given the ages of the options) But you will notice the charming expression on my other Brother, the birthday boy, "P-tah".

This expression could be saying many things "How you doin?" comes to mind as one option, but I like to think it is more "I am plotting the overthrow of this crying usurper, my baby sister!"
It was around this time that my mother came into my crib and found her small fragile infant daughter surrounded on all sides by Tonka trucks which had been lobbed over side of crib by the aforementioned brother in her absence - these were not the friendly plastic trucks of today either, Oh no, you may remember the die-cast metal construction that made them almost indestructible, and deadly weapons.

The next photo comes from an era I actually can recall sometimes, not vividly or in strong detail, but I remember being grossed out at the lunch table when he put ketchup on everything, including his Kool-aid. He had a nifty western style plaid shirt that I think had snaps on it in stead of buttons, and I remember more that once enjoying his "Incredible Hulk" impression as he burst his shirt off in anger. There were some tender moments during this era as well, I often got to play the kidnap victim or helpless (sometimes hog tied) hostage while my brothers played "A-team" with their friends.


I hove no photographic evidence of the next phase of life, I think this is due to the craftiness and intelligence of agent P-Tah, you see during the next phase he learned how to tie hangman's nooses at Boy Scouts (what else would you teach a young boy?)
Oh yes, I clearly remember walking to my back yard and seeing a dangling row of barbies and baby dolls in varying states of undress, swinging from nooses under the large tree in our backyard.

Shortly after this next little gem of a photo our family moved from Utah to Texas and then New Jersey, this ushered in a new era. Any torment dished out during this era may have been warrented, with that hairstyle and those glasses I was practically begging to be teased.

In some ways it was a more peaceful era, after all when the whole world is suddenly full of strangers your family becomes more important to you. In some ways it was more volatile, cuz when you are a frustrated kid who can you take out your frustrations on?

A specific torture moment I remember is him standing just inside the door of my room with his hand on my forehead as I tried desperately to reach him to get him out of my room. His reach was of course longer than mine and I flailed my arms in vain (ala the three stooges) for longer than I care to remember.

There were good times too, when I was a freshman in High School he was a senior and He made sure I wouldn't even think of getting into trouble. When he got his driver's licence he drove me a lot of places with minimal complaint. We watched "Better Off Dead" a few million times together. Bless his heart, even when there were no viable options he warned me against dating losers.

When we were at different universities he arranged a ride for me to come up to his school during "parent's weekend" The fact that it turned out to be the worst road trip of my life and that the driver in question was a little creepy, and continued to call for months after to say hello, really was not the fault of my brother, I really enjoyed being there with him, I was honored to be his family.

Later when we were at the same university he came to my productions, chatted up my roommates, and refrained from dating any of my friends. All admirable qualities that added to the quality of my life. He married a fabulous girl who doesn't let him get away with too much crap, which shows that he has good taste and is smart after all. He is very successful in his career and makes me proud to be his sister!

When we were children fighting constantly my mother would often say things like "Someday you'll pay long distance to call and talk to your siblings" She was right, and I was especially honored when My brother had his oldest daughter call me the other day to ask
"What should I do about my annoying brother, Dad said you would know."
The only answer I could really think of was something else my mother used to say
"It's just a phase, ignore him and he'll get bored, and someday he'll grow out of it."
Finally, after 30+ years I can say that it's true, I am no longer annoyed.

Happy Birthday P-Tah!

Moving right along.....

The Wednesday before Eddie and I found out about the twins we had put our house on the market for sale.
We moved into our lovely home almost 5 years ago when Ella was only 2 a Liana wasn't even born. We love our neighbors, our house, our yard, everything except for our school district, which though filled by many lovely people, our district's focus seems to be directed at getting kids to meet the minimum in Elementary school, keeping them from dropping out in Middle school, and keeping them out of prison in High School. I applaud the hard working efforts of all concerned, but as we have the opportunity to move into a district where our daughters can be challenged to excel and not just survive, we felt like we needed to take the leap.

We tried (when I was pregnant with Nina) to sell our home two years ago, we had it on the market for 6 months and had only 2 people ever even come to see it. With this as our past experience we were a little hesitant to hope for much.

On the Friday we found out about the twins we called our Realtor and told her that the 3 bedroom homes we had been considering were not going to cut it, and we needed to look a little bigger. Of course bigger means more money, or a less nice neighborhood, or a fixer-upper. We looked at all of the above and found houses with cemented in rock-scape backyards, "designer" paint jobs that looked like jello pudding smeared on the wall, homes where thrifty evictees had taken everything from the toilet fixtures and wall moldings to literally the kitchen sink.

We debated the merits of the best schools and little houses over really good schools with bigger houses. We drove up to the model homes of new constructions and did some daydreaming. We talked about all of it and waited to see if we could even sell our home in the first place.

When our realtor called back she had good news, we had a full price offer already, by the next Monday we had several full price offers, we countered on several of those and got 2 back, more counters, and to make a long story short, by the following Friday, only 10 days after listing, we accepted an offer to sell our home.

The next morning after much soul searching, thought, and prayer we drove on up to the new constructions and signed our contract for a beautiful new home scheduled to be completed November 12, 2009.

For those of you familiar with the standard 30 day escrow yes, that means that we are currently packing cleaning up for the inspectors and appraisers that are coming, and we will be homeless for a couple of months, 2 months to be exact. We won't be on the streets, there are several short term rental condos etc. available in the area (this is the project for this week, finding our intermediate housing.)

I think I may be insane, because while I am stressed out, terrified and worried about moving twice, living in a short term rental, being pregnant with twins, and all the daily functions of life, I am also really calm about this decision. It really is the right choice for us, and come Thanksgiving, you are all welcome to come on by, because we will have plenty of room, and plenty of paint-brushes so you can help us decorate our new home! (if you don't paint, don't worry, you can rub my feet, unload boxes, or even cook my turkey, cuz I'm gonna be too pregnant to do anything helpful!)

Growth & Development

We recently announced that we are expecting again and with three beautiful daughters already here a lot of people ask "So are you going for a boy this time?" The answer for both Eddie and I has been "we just want a healthy baby" Eddie adds "another girl would be cheaper and easier, we already have all the stuff."

It's true, we do have all the stuff and we kind of have a handle on the diapering and emotional moods of girls, every baby and every girl has been different, but there are some things that are almost old hat for us at this point when dealing with little girls.

We have been anticipating the ultrasound that would hopefully tell us gender of this new little one, trying not to spend too much energy on that anticipation because with both Ella and Nina we didn't know for sure that we had girls till we saw them in person.

Pardon me for stepping back a bit, but when you see the ultrasounds from early weeks you realize what a marvel it is that we know anything at all about our babies that young in development.

Here is a scan of week 7 of our pregnancy,
basically we saw that there was indeed a baby, there was only one, and it had a heart developing.

Here is a scan of week 11,

now we see (sort of) that the baby has a face and little skeletal arms and legs.

So yes, not the clearest of images but they are pretty darn close to the original printout I have on my desk here, there is no HI-DEF clarity, but it sure is reassuring that the baby is growing and moving right along during those early weeks when the only proof I have that the baby is there is an overwhelming urge to purge.

So now we have come to week 16 , and because I am old (I turn 35 a month before my due date) I got to go see a Perinatologist last Friday just to make sure that everything was going well, and hopefully to find out if we need to track down the hand-me-down clothes in pink or blue.

Well, I won't hold you in suspense any longer, did in fact find out that one of the babies is a BOY!

Wait,.......what?........did she write "one of the babies?"

Why yes, yes I did, and now that I have had two days to adjust, I can type it without shaking, though I am still bursting into shocked laughter every few minutes.

When we first sat on the exam table, and the doctor set the scanner on my belly three big blobs showed on the screen, Eddie made the joke

"From that picture it looks like we are having triplets."
Dr. - "No, no, Isn't twins enough?"
me - "No, we're only having one baby"
Dr. - "You are having two babies, you didn't know that you are having twins?"
me - "No, it just isn't possible, we've had two scans already, are you sure?"

Jumping ahead a bit, she was very sure , here is a scan of our twins, or at least two round blobby things one on the left, one on the right, and the curly line in the middle is the dividing line where their two Amniotic sacs meet. They are measuring well and equally big.
Twin A gave us a lovely head shot,
and a nice view of it's spine, but not a money shot

Twin B gave us a nice profile, I think I can already see a resemblance to Eddie's full lips,
and he spread out a bit to enjoy the space and gave us this aerial view of his, well, his boy part
So we are happy, and in shock, and looking for a slightly bigger house, and we are now anticipating the gender of twin A, since I have to return every 4 weeks for scans now, maybe we will get the money shot yet.

I will post more info on due dates etc. when I get it, thank you all for you love and support, and prayers, we are going to need them all as we learn how to be a family of 7. Am I really going to be a mother of 5? it just seems so much more than 4.

Do you think I should get my co-pay back for the first few visits? maybe just half off?

Bounty is in the eye of the beholder!

As I wrote in my last posting, we returned from our trip in time to harvest the corn, that is the good news, the bad news is that we all came down with a virus that included high fevers for several days. Since it was in the upper 90's here, I couldn't let my little farmers attend to their harvest for a while.
This delay led us to a trio of "Good News/Bad News" stories

Farmer Liana's story
Good news - Liana's crop of "Ruby Red Sweet Corn" was still plump on the stalk when she recovered!

Bad news - the plump little ears were a maximum of 4 inches long.

Good news - the farmer in this case is only 4 years old.

Result= a happy farmer who was incredibly impressed by the bounty of her crop.

Farmer Ella's Story
Good News - Some of Ella's ears of corn reached the epic measurement of 6 inches long!Bad news - Some of Ella's ears of corn were less that an inch long and had only 3 kernals on them.

Good news - the kernals she had on the tiny cobs were very sweet

Bad news - most of Ella's corn was a bit shrivelled on the cob when we shucked it.
Good news - Ella is really excited to dry the corn all the way and grind it into cornmeal.
Bad news - she can't decide what she should make with her cornmeal.

Good news - she has a lot of recipes to choose from.

Result = A happy farmer

And little farmer Nina you ask? Well it is all good news to her, she got to go outside, pick things, eat things, peel things and throw things. Life is good when you are almost two!