Great Day

Today is my birthday! (And apparently national chocolate chip day... how cool is that!)

The girls had a rough night last night. By 7 this morning (when #1 got up for the day) I had only slept 45 minutes without a baby in my arms. I was tired, and honestly didn't have great hopes for the day.  Hod had spent a lot of time planning our activities, so I put on my happy face and tried to get excited.

We took the girls to a babysitter, put on our fancy clothes, and went to a nice lunch. I am almost positive that was the first time Hod and I have had a nice baby free meal together since... well when I was pregnant with #1. Not that she was high maintenance those days, but I am just uncomfortable while pregnant. Our lunch was just delightful. I don't remember at all what we talked about. However, I do know that during that meal, not one person threw food, screamed at me, spit out their food, or cried, and I got to eat with two hands! I was with an amazing man, and I just got to enjoy him.

After lunch we hurried to change clothes and went on probably the coolest date I've ever been on. We went to a glass blowing school and made flowers! We didn't actually "blow" glass. That is a tricky thing that takes much longer than 20 minutes to learn. We did get to heat and shape glass though, and it was heck-a cool.

We were given a walk-through of what was going to happen, and then we jumped right in.  I went first.  The expert guy put the clear glass on the long pipe (I don't remember what the non-blowing pipes were called, but they have a cool name) cooled off the pipe so I could handle it, and then gave it to me.  I will try to explain this with pictures.

He brought me the clear glass, and I rolled it in chips of colored glass.  First was the color I picked for the stem of my flower.  I picked white.

After rolling it in the color, I pushed it into the hot box thing that runs at about 2000 degrees Fahrenheit.  During all of this, we were constantly rolling the glass.  Because it was almost liquid we had to constantly roll it so gravity didn't pull it off, or bend it it ways we didn't want it.

The expert then shaped the glass by rolling it on top of a metal cart.  (Sorry I don't have that picture.)   Then we went and got more hot clear glass.  

Next we pressed the hot glass into our second color choice.  This was the color for the flower petals.  (We didn't get a picture of me doing this, so here is my handsome hubby doing this step for his flower.)

The glass expert heated this all together while I got situated on the special bench.  I grabbed my tongs and excitedly waited.

Once the glass guy brought me my super hot glass, he rolled it while I pinched in the petal details with the tongs.  When the tongs started to stick, I had to hurry and dip them in cold water sitting behind me.

(Look how fast the color changes!  And my flower is actually a dark purple, not bright red.  That is how hot it is!)

After one more heating, I then got to start pulling on the glass to get the petal layer of glass apart from the stem layer.

We let gravity help us a little bit.

This is what my flower looked like right before he tapped it off of the metal pole.  Those are the colors that I picked for my flower, and though it looks cool, it is still sitting at about 1400 degrees.

This picture is really busy.  My flower is upside down.  It has dark purple petals, and a white stem.  In the orange cup on the right is some water.  That is used to "shock" the joint where the glass is going to break.  They then used the blow torch you can see in the bottom of the picture on the broken part of the glass to smooth it out.

Because the flower was still so hot, I have to wait til tomorrow to get it.  They put it in a special hot box that slowly brings it to room temperature. (That takes about 21 hours.) It has to do it slow because if it changes temperatures too fast the glass breaks.  

Tomorrow I am planning on going to pick up our flowers.  I'll post a picture of the finished product as soon as I can.

Then, to end my birthday, we had some friends over for games.

It was a wonderful day!  

 And if any of you want to come visit, I'll take you to a glass class and you can make a flower too!

Day To Day

I love my girls.  Sure, when I was younger I never thought I would want or have 2 kids under 2.  Especially when I haven't even been married three years yet.  However, my family is my world, and I wouldn't change the size or age of my family for anything.  We always have our adventures.

Example:  Going to the grocery store.  This has never been one of my favorite tasks.  Now I pretty much hate it.  Figuring out how to maneuver a grocery store with two girls was a struggle.  But I think I have it down.  Oh, but I just told you I hate it.  Why would I hate it?  Because of all of the lame people!

I realize where I live that a family like mine is unusual.  I'm used to the surprised looks.  I'm fine with people asking the ages of my girls.  We can be a bit of a spectacle.  It is normal for me to hear someone comment on how cute #1 is, to then have them look with surprise when they realize there is a baby in a carrier right behind her.  But really, friends.  Can we work on a few things?

For example:  Today I went to Aldi.  It is a great grocery store with awesome prices.  There are a few quirks for those of you not in the know.  They don't bag your groceries.  They take the food right off the belt, scan it, and put it back in the cart.  Also, you have to "pay" a quarter to get a cart.  You get your quarter back when you return the cart.  We made it through the store with #2 in the car seat at the front of the cart, and #1 in the main part of the cart.  She loved that I kept handing her new toys to play with.  "Oh look!  A box!  And a can!  And another box!!!  My life is awesome!"  (I'm pretty sure that is what she was thinking.)  We even managed to buy eggs and get them home in one piece.  (Well, 12 pieces.)  While shopping I had quite a few of the normal comments I get.  That's cool.  #1 was squealing a lot.  But she was super happy so I didn't stop her.  It's not like we were at the library or anything.  I heard (and I guess that there were more comments I didn't hear) one woman say under her breath "she could probably keep her kid under control if she didn't have two to deal with."  EXCUSE ME?  Who are you to say something like that?  My girls were both being very well behaved.  If you are allowed to make any noise, then so is my 18 month old.

When I went to return my cart I had both girls with me.  It is getting hot here, #2 was asleep, and I knew if I put the girls in the car and when to return the cart #1 would scream and wake up her sister.  The problem was, you can't get your quarter back if anything is in the cart.  I pushed the cart to the return area and passed a couple that was smoking.  "Oh, look how sweet" the lady said.  "She is adora... wait!  Is there another baby there?"asked the man.  I smiled and told him that yes, there were two and they are both mine.  He then proceeded to watch me struggle to return the cart while holding a squirmy toddler and a baby in a car seat.  While I was doing this he commented that I, "must have a really hard time doing normal things like grocery shop with those kids."  Huh.  Ya think?  Maybe you could put down your cigarette for a minute and return my cart for me?  I realize that you may have had to step about three feet to do this, but that would have been much kinder than just watching me struggle and commenting about it.

Oh, and probably my favorite comment I get from people:  "Did you know you don't have to have your kids so close together?  There area ways to prevent that...."   oh... gosh... I'm so embarrassed   I didn't know that.  I sure wish I had known you before so you could have imparted your great and wonderful wisdom earlier.

Maybe we should just be nice?  Maybe you don't have to approve of the spacing of my children but you could just keep your opinion to yourself?


And just one more story.  This last week Hod and I were out shopping for Mother's Day.  He wanted to get me some jewelry with an emerald.  Right after finding out the ages of the girls (18 and 3 months) the sales lady perked up and asked, "Oh, so do you want an emerald because that is their birthstone?"  Ha!  Nice math lady.  But if this month is May and emeralds are the birthstone for this month.... how can an 18 and 3 month old have May birthdays?  People are funny.  At least she was nice. :)

Just A Moment

#1 and I had some time this morning, just the two of us before #2 woke up. #1 likes to play with me for a while,  go do her own thing, and then come back to me. She walked to me and I scooped her up into a snuggle-hug. She rested her head on my shoulder and used her little arms to pull me just a tiny bit closer. As she let out a little sigh it hit me. That feeling of overwhelming peace, joy, and love. Ahhh... there it is. That is why I love being a mom. Best job ever.

Wrinkles

I remember one summer day when I was a young teen, lounging on the couch reading a book when my Mom came up to me and starting rubbing my eyebrows....

Yeah, that was my reaction too.  She was trying to smooth them out because I furrow my brow when I read.  (And apparently when I type too...)  She was worried that I would get wrinkles.  I didn't listen to my mom.  I wasn't really worried about the wrinkles. Now I totally have them.  Not a big deal.  I'm fine with it.

However, I have found myself trying to smooth out #2's wrinkles that she is getting for the same reason.  It is funny to see her furrow her brow so often.  Maybe there is something in the genetics?  Whatever.  Wrinkles are in this season, right?

And now some random pictures.

 "I look down my nose at you, ma'am.  This I do because I am incredibly cute, and I can get away with it.  Now go fetch me some nourishment."

"Why am I chewing on a belt?  Because it exists, thus it must go into my mouth."

Opposites Attract

Hod has always been a night owl. Me, not so much. Not that I don't enjoy staying up, but growing up I was trained to be an early riser. While I was in high school I always had somewhere to be by 6 am on school days. You would think I would sleep in on Saturdays to make up for it. Not so my friend! Saturday mornings my Dad always went to an early session at the temple. He got home between 8 and 8:30 am. I always knew I had to be awake by the time he got home. Then, during the summer my Mom would wake us up by 8 to read scriptures. There was no sleeping in at my house.

When we were first married this resulted in Hod trying to get me to stay up late, and me being lonely in the mornings.  It was no good.

#1 is much like me. She goes to bed by 8 pm, and she is up by 8 am. 

Turns out #2 is like her Dad. Late nights and late mornings. This was proving to be problematic for me. I was going crazy staying up late with one kid to turn around and get up early with the other.

Not anymore. Hod now stays up with #2, I go to bed early, and I get up with #1 while Hod sleeps in.

I like it when we can work together on this parenting thing and we both get what we want.

Adjusting

Oh, the life of a mom of 2 young girls!

I love my girls so much.  #1 has a few little quirks.  For example, when she is really sad she will find her favorite pink blanket and bite it.  I don't know where that came from.  This morning I had #2 on the floor as I was changing her diaper and she was screaming.  #1 came over, and though at first I wondered if she was trying to smother her sister, gently offered her favorite pink blanket for her sister to bite on.  Yesterday #1 tried to sit on #2.  We had a very quick, very firm talk about why that wasn't ok.  She went to the other side of the room and sulked for a minute, then came back and gave #2 the sweetest little kiss and pat on the head.

Today we have all been awake for less than three hours.  So far I have given 3 baths, changed 5 diapers, and changed 4 sets of clothing.

Last night I got 2 1/2 hours of sleep.

This morning I had a beautiful 10 minute cuddle session with #1.  She smiled at me and gently rubbed my cheek.

Monday #1 threw up on me.

After a lot of work, I have gotten #2's schedule to shift about 5 hours.  She came home from the hospital almost completely nocturnal.  She is starting to respond a little to me.  Blinking her big eyes and pursing her little lips into the sweetest "O".

I taught #1 how to tickle #2.  Not that she laughs yet, but #1 thinks it is the coolest thing ever.

#2 is already obsessed with her pacifiers.  #1 was never really into them.  This is awesome because it is really quite easy to calm her down.  It is a little less awesome because if the pacifier falls out at just the wrong moment she kind of loses it.

#1 is doing marginally better with eating.  She will now eat chicken and beef.  Now we just need to get her to sleep.  She was doing great, but then we brought home her sister and threw her entire world upside-down.

#2 has the hiccups.  It is so cute!

I almost can't believe how my heart has grown to love my family.  Yeah, I'm exhausted.  Yes, most days there are moments where all three of us are crying.  But I am blessed to have two amazing daughters and one supportive husband that deals with the craziness.

All The Gory Details

Well, all, #2 is here!

Seeing as pretty much all of you are either family or friends I'm sure most of you know this by now.  I was pretty detailed about my birth experience with #1, and I am glad.  I don't have a memory right now, and I'm glad that I have that record.  So, here we go again.  This is more for me and the future #2 than anyone else.

Saturday, Feb 2, I was having some pretty hard contractions in the morning.  However, these contractions weren't close enough together to warrant going to the hospital.  I let Hod know what what going on, and he decided to come home for his lunch.  While he was home I wasn't have a single contraction.  However, my lower back was KILLING me!  He was pretty worried about me.  I'll be honest, I was too.  Something just didn't feel right about my body.  After some prayer, Hod decided we needed to go to the hospital.  I readily agreed.  That is unusual in and of itself.  I am kind of anti hospitals.  Well, not super anti because I would never consider delivering anywhere else.

We called some friends to take #1 and off to the hospital we went.

We got there, around 4 in the afternoon, I was hooked up to monitors and even though I couldn't really feel them I was having regular contractions.  I was already dilated to a 4 and the bag of waters was bulging and ready to pop.  We decided to stay for a few hours and see what would happen.  60 min later I was at a 5, and having painful contractions.  We got the official word, they were keeping me!  #2 was on her way!  When we had sent #1 away with friends we hadn't given them everything they would need to watch her more than 5 hours.  Hod went on a quick run to take care of all of that while I waited.

I was enjoying some HGTV when they came to tell me they were ready to augment my labor,  We waited for Hod, and then quickly broke my water, started pitocin, and got an epidural.  I had an epidural with #1, and loved it.  It didn't work perfectly but it was still pretty great.  But this time it was a little funny. Everything started sounding really metallic.  I realize that doesn't make much sense, but I don't know how else to describe it.  I felt really light headed and I'm still not sure if I passed out.  (Wow... that sounds kind of scary now that I mention it.)  But the pain was gone and I appreciated that.  Also, pretty soon the metallic sound and light headdedness left too.

However, a few hours later the pain was back.  And it was back in full force.  Because of the pitocin the contractions were really hard.  Knowing that I was getting an epidural I hadn't practiced any other sort of pain management techniques.  This is the one unperfect part of the delivery.  It took about an hour to figure out what the problem was.  Turns out ... well I don't really know I guess.  All I know is that they ended up moving my epidural and then I could handle my life again.  That hour... man.  It was no good.  However, once they took care of it life was blissful again.

When I arrived at the hospital, #2 was still sitting posterior.  But my amazing nurse had me doing some acrobatics to get her to flip.  And it worked!

Just before midnight chaos broke out in the maternity ward.  There were at least 3 other woman laboring at the same time as me.  Within minutes 2 of them were moved into the OR for emergency C-Sections.  Sadly my amazing nurse, and my doctor had to go with one of those women.  But the new lady was nice.  One of the first things she did was check me again, and I was fully ready to start pushing.  Turns out the other lady laboring who didn't need a C-Section was ready too.   So, instead of immediately starting to push, they let me labor down on my own for a bit.  (I say "let me" even though I'm pretty sure they wanted to get a little more organized because everything was happening all at once.  Whatever, I didn't mind.)

Once everything else had calmed down, and they found me a new doctor we got ready to push.  Sadly, I did end up needing to be on oxygen again.  Hod had an easier time than he had during our first delivery.  He was able to watch the birth without getting light headed.  He said it was really amazing.

To help get me in the correct position, I had an exciting tug of war party with one of the nurses.  She was rather impressed with my upper body strength.  I do have some pretty amazing shoulder muscles from all the heavy drum carrying I did in High School.  I actively pushed for only 45 minutes.  That was worlds better than the 3 hours I pushed with #1.  #2 came and she was beautiful!  No vacuum  no forceps, just an easy delivery.   The only sad part is, right as #2 went to gasp for air some more amniotic fluid came out, so she got it in her lungs.  This made it so I couldn't hold her immediately as they had to take care of her.  They took her away to attend to her, stitched me up (Yeah, I tore again, but only a stage 3 this time!) and then Hod and I waited for them to return our girl to us.

This experience was so different than #1's.  And I'm glad.  The entire time in the hospital from check in to baby was only 9 hours.  We did end up with a few hic-ups.  The results for my group b strep test were inconclusive so we were both treated for that.  That meant we had to spend an extra night in the hospital.  As for healing, it is going pretty well.  The nurses in the hospital thought I was crazy.  I haven't ever needed anything more than strong ibuprofen to fight the pain. Heck, the part that hurt the most was my arms from my awesome tug of war fight.  Over all it was quite the pleasant experience.

Life at home is exciting.  Well, that is one way to put it.  Today is my second day home all alone.  It was hard to see my mom go.  So far we've all only cried once!  I'm excited and nervous about this new part of life, but ready or not, here it is!

(I was going to post pictures too, but I can't figure out how to activate something on my phone so it will let me connect my phone to my computer and my amazing phone guru {AKA my hubby} is at work.  I'll see what I can figure out for later.)

Almost Not Perfect

Friday #1 had a well check.  As I talked with the doctor about how #1 is doing with ... well everything I learned some facts.  First, I learned that I am a pretty good mom.  That is always nice to hear.  I also learned that #1 is doing ok.... for now.  Here is where she is:

Height 75%
Weight 25%
Average the two together and she is only at 20%.  If she gets down to an average of 15% we have a problem.  She is slowly falling off the weight chart.

Walking:  She has done it once for Hod and once for me.  (Well, not actually for us, we have both just caught her doing it once.)  As of right now she is still in the normal range for not walking.

Talking:  She doesn't really.  But she is able to communicate a little, so we are still in the normal range for that.

Sleeping:  She is on a regular pattern, but not yet sleeping though the night.  The pattern suggests that she should be able to sleep through the night, but she just isn't.  For her age that is still considered ok, but just barely.

However, unless we see some major progress in the next three months we get to start meeting with a ton o people.  If she starts to really walk, then they expect her weight will plummet.  If her foot size is any indication she is just going to get taller, so she really needs to eat better or she will fall off the weight chart.  If that happens we will be meeting with a dietitian.  I am going a little bit crazy trying to get her to eat.  The only foods she will always eat are milk and yogurt.  Everything else is so hit and miss it drives me crazy.  I no longer prepare food for myself because I know I will just end up eating what I make for her.  I have a friend who is a dietitian and she has already given me a few tips to get some extra calories in her milk and yogurt.  Coming from a family that has struggled to lose weight it is strange that I am working so hard to get my daughter to gain weight.  I think she gets that from her dad.  (Seriously, before he started a new med that can make you gain weight he could eat pure fat and not gain weight.  You know the stuff you cut off of your steak cause it is just fat?  He could eat it, and enjoy it, and still stay the exact same size.)

If she doesn't start walking by her next well check we will have to meet with physical therapists.

If she doesn't start sleeping through the night then we will have to run a bunch of tests to see if she maybe has sleep apnea or something that is preventing her from really resting.  (And according to my Dr, the answer isn't just to ignore her when she wakes up at night.  We talked about that extensively.  With her current sleep pattern that isn't the problem I guess.)

If she doesn't become more vocal then we will start speech therapy.

Now, I realize we have 3 months.  That is 1/5 of her life.  That is a long time for a kid her age.  I just worry that with #2 showing up any day I will have a hard time working as much with #1 as I need to in order to give her the best chance of making the goals we have set.

I talked to the Dr about possible ... What is the politically correct way to say it?  Is this just a small developmental delay, or is this going to be a permanent life long problem?  In some ways she seems SO smart, but the fact that she is all but behind in everything makes me nervous.  As of now the Dr doesn't think it is anything like that.  But I still worry.  I have quite a few friends with special needs kids.  They go through a lot.  I can't really imagine what life will be like if we join that group and I have such a young baby as well.

I've never really felt like a paranoid parent.  I have actually had a lot of moms tell me that I am super chill for a first time mom.  I'm not so chill anymore.  Most days feel like we are fighting all day as I try to get her to eat or speak or walk before I will help her with things.  I thought we were dealing with possible tantrums before but that was nothing compared to what we are doing now.  I miss my sweet happy girl.  It is so hard to watch her throw fits and have to ignore them.  I know what she wants.  I know how to make her stop.  But then she won't learn.  Then she will just stay behind.

I've had a lot of other moms tell me that I don't need to worry about it.  All of these things will happen when they happen and it isn't a big deal.  That is what I thought too, but apparently if she is behind in all of these things there could be something else going on.

I love #1 so much.  In the past few weeks we have grown closer as I have slowed down to spend more quality time with her.  Our days of just the two of us are rapidly coming to a close and I will miss them.  Don't get me wrong, I'm excited for #2 to join us, but I know that will change everything in our lives.  I cherish the time I have with #1.

So yeah.  That is where we are.  I hope that I'm just worrying over nothing and in the coming months something will just magically switch on and all of our problems will work themselves out.

It is going to be an exciting three months!