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Oh my, am I exhausted. I'm excited to be back in the real world, but wow - what a week! God must realize that I'm close to zombie status and has been helping keep the girls asleep. Last night and the night before, they both only woke up to eat once at night. I'm ever-so-thankful for that small miracle.
My clients are at the airport now, so I can take a deep breath and relax a little bit. And hopefully get some HR stuff taken care of. I still haven't filled out a W2 or health insurance information, or heck, even had my computer or e-mail set up yet. I'm so excited to be back at it!
Breanna and Lillian are doing great. Although, our poor daycare lady has had some hairy moments. One day she even cried when they both woke up hungry at the same time, three times in a row. Poor dear. Hopefully they'll lighten up a little bit with that.
I'm looking forward to the weekend so I can get a little caught up at home. There are piles of clean laundry all over my living room, mail up to the cupboard, and shoes haphasardly kicked off in random places - wherever my tired feet decided that enough was enough. Alas, the tradeoff is worth it. Those big gummy smiles from our babies are becoming more frequent - they just melt my heart.
Thursday, July 27, 2006
Monday, July 24, 2006
The Grind
Hi ho, hi ho. It's back to work I go. And go with a smile. I just returned from the first day of my new routine, and it feels pretty darned good. After a nice long weekend at my folks' house, I feel rejuvinated and ready for the real world again. My parents took baby duty during the nights so I could catch up on sleep, and oh the glory!
DW woke up early on Saturday morning, apparently appreciating the good sleep, and headed into town while the rest of us slept in. Well, most of us, but not my mom, bless her. Anyway, DW was going to look for some new sandals and to check out a specialty wood store he'd recently heard about. At about 11, he called and told me he was on his way to pick me up to test drive a car. I asked what it was and he said a 2007 Camry. My heart leapt! For real? The dealership was willing to give us what we paid for our crappy Chevy, so why not, right? I had to tease DW that he went shopping for sandals and wound up with a new car - certainly not how we'd expected to spend our Saturday. But how exciting!
When we returned home, my dad, sister and brother-in-law picked us up at our dock and we set sail for a couple hours. Talk about relaxation. We stopped at the sandbar and DW made his own little island and even wrote his name on it - then invited us to come visit. It was great to lighten up and get silly again. Family came over in the evening and we had a fun visit. My mom got a real taste of what it's like to care for two infants at once and her eyes were certainly opened. Poor dear. But she did enjoy spending the time with her grandbabies who didn't sleep at all - all day long.
Breanna shocked us all and slept 8 1/2 hours that night, though. We credited it to the "magic sleeping hat" that she wore to bed. On Sunday, my pen pal stopped in and met the girls and we had a really pleasant visit. Then off to my dad's folks' house for introductions. While we were there, about a bajillion of my dad's sisters and their kids and friends and grandkids, etc. stopped in. Talk about chaos - so we got the heck out of there right away. We're still on germ restrictions with the girls and that was just too many people at once.
Once we got home last night, we tried the magic sleeping hat again, but darn, no luck. Back to the usual up every 3-4 hours. At least with me going back to work, DW gets up to help, so it doesn't take so long to tend to everyone and then get back to sleep.
We prepped as much as we could last night for our big day today and it seemed to help. DW came into the bathroom to say goodbye and shoo me out at 7:10, and told me that he had the girls all ready to go, buckled into the car. I appreciated it, but reminded him that the earliest they can be at daycare is 7:30, so we'd have to wait a little bit. I took my makeup bag out to the car and applied it in the driveway in the meantime. Whatever works, right?
Anyway, the day went great for all of us. Our daycare mom said it got hairy a couple times, but it was manageable. I guess her 7-year-old son has a magic touch with Lillian. They put her in the infant seat and he jiggles it just so and she calms right down. And the daycare's helper has a way with Breanna that soothes her, so that's good too.
I really enjoyed being at my new job. The people are so genuinely nice and I think I'm going to like getting back into real client work again. I'll be in an account executive role, so less writing time and more strategy time. It feels like a nice shift back. The agency's biggest client is in town this week for 2007 planning, so it was great to be "on stage" right from the bat. The client guys seem pretty decent, too. Yay! I've officially hit the ground running.
Things really are going great all the way around. Our girls are growing and getting cuter each day (Breanna - 10 lbs., Lillian - 7.5 lbs.). And I have hope that someday we'll get more sleep. Who could ask for more?
DW woke up early on Saturday morning, apparently appreciating the good sleep, and headed into town while the rest of us slept in. Well, most of us, but not my mom, bless her. Anyway, DW was going to look for some new sandals and to check out a specialty wood store he'd recently heard about. At about 11, he called and told me he was on his way to pick me up to test drive a car. I asked what it was and he said a 2007 Camry. My heart leapt! For real? The dealership was willing to give us what we paid for our crappy Chevy, so why not, right? I had to tease DW that he went shopping for sandals and wound up with a new car - certainly not how we'd expected to spend our Saturday. But how exciting!
When we returned home, my dad, sister and brother-in-law picked us up at our dock and we set sail for a couple hours. Talk about relaxation. We stopped at the sandbar and DW made his own little island and even wrote his name on it - then invited us to come visit. It was great to lighten up and get silly again. Family came over in the evening and we had a fun visit. My mom got a real taste of what it's like to care for two infants at once and her eyes were certainly opened. Poor dear. But she did enjoy spending the time with her grandbabies who didn't sleep at all - all day long.
Breanna shocked us all and slept 8 1/2 hours that night, though. We credited it to the "magic sleeping hat" that she wore to bed. On Sunday, my pen pal stopped in and met the girls and we had a really pleasant visit. Then off to my dad's folks' house for introductions. While we were there, about a bajillion of my dad's sisters and their kids and friends and grandkids, etc. stopped in. Talk about chaos - so we got the heck out of there right away. We're still on germ restrictions with the girls and that was just too many people at once.
Once we got home last night, we tried the magic sleeping hat again, but darn, no luck. Back to the usual up every 3-4 hours. At least with me going back to work, DW gets up to help, so it doesn't take so long to tend to everyone and then get back to sleep.
We prepped as much as we could last night for our big day today and it seemed to help. DW came into the bathroom to say goodbye and shoo me out at 7:10, and told me that he had the girls all ready to go, buckled into the car. I appreciated it, but reminded him that the earliest they can be at daycare is 7:30, so we'd have to wait a little bit. I took my makeup bag out to the car and applied it in the driveway in the meantime. Whatever works, right?
Anyway, the day went great for all of us. Our daycare mom said it got hairy a couple times, but it was manageable. I guess her 7-year-old son has a magic touch with Lillian. They put her in the infant seat and he jiggles it just so and she calms right down. And the daycare's helper has a way with Breanna that soothes her, so that's good too.
I really enjoyed being at my new job. The people are so genuinely nice and I think I'm going to like getting back into real client work again. I'll be in an account executive role, so less writing time and more strategy time. It feels like a nice shift back. The agency's biggest client is in town this week for 2007 planning, so it was great to be "on stage" right from the bat. The client guys seem pretty decent, too. Yay! I've officially hit the ground running.
Things really are going great all the way around. Our girls are growing and getting cuter each day (Breanna - 10 lbs., Lillian - 7.5 lbs.). And I have hope that someday we'll get more sleep. Who could ask for more?
Thursday, July 20, 2006
How do you spell relief?
D-A-Y-C-A-R-E!
DW and I have been going back and forth on when to start our trial run with daycare. I'd planned for today and tomorrow mornings - just to see how long it would take to get out the door and drop off the girls and head to work. DW thought we needed this whole week.
He spent most of Saturday and all of Sunday at home with us, and got his first real taste of how crazy it really can be. It seems like the girls are getting more and more in sync with each other, which means they often wake up at the exact same moment - starving. Because they're still so little, they need to be held in one arm and fed with the other. DW asked how one handles two at once? "Creatively. And patiently," I explained.
Sometimes I put them both in carseats on the kitchen island and hold a bottle for each of them. Other times, I prop them in the corners of our big recliner. Other times, I give one a binkie and feed the other (this option rarely works, though).
Anyway, once he got a good taste of parenting twins this weekend, he insisted that we do daycare Tues. - Fri. this week - so that I can get a little break before I go back to work. He wanted me to take care of the important stuff, like getting a haircut, canceling one of our phone lines, catching up on some sleep, digging out those boxes of skinny clothes that are in our storage closet - way in the back, and the list goes on. So, it's a been a glorious, although too fast, week.
Off I go now to the Hyundai dealership. I'm going to cross my fingers and hope that they have something I want so I can get rid of this lemon that I bought this spring. Although it's a 2005 and still under a bumper-to-bumper warranty, I've had it in 4 times for major stuff and 2 times for less major stuff. And now I can hear that the wheel bearing hub is bad. Unfortunately, that's a noise that I can now pick out after it happened with my last car. Augh. Cars. Oh well. In this climate, a motorbike just isn't that practical. I'm going back to my little foreign friends and giving up on domestic. Maybe I'll have better luck with my next purchase.
DW and I have been going back and forth on when to start our trial run with daycare. I'd planned for today and tomorrow mornings - just to see how long it would take to get out the door and drop off the girls and head to work. DW thought we needed this whole week.
He spent most of Saturday and all of Sunday at home with us, and got his first real taste of how crazy it really can be. It seems like the girls are getting more and more in sync with each other, which means they often wake up at the exact same moment - starving. Because they're still so little, they need to be held in one arm and fed with the other. DW asked how one handles two at once? "Creatively. And patiently," I explained.
Sometimes I put them both in carseats on the kitchen island and hold a bottle for each of them. Other times, I prop them in the corners of our big recliner. Other times, I give one a binkie and feed the other (this option rarely works, though).
Anyway, once he got a good taste of parenting twins this weekend, he insisted that we do daycare Tues. - Fri. this week - so that I can get a little break before I go back to work. He wanted me to take care of the important stuff, like getting a haircut, canceling one of our phone lines, catching up on some sleep, digging out those boxes of skinny clothes that are in our storage closet - way in the back, and the list goes on. So, it's a been a glorious, although too fast, week.
Off I go now to the Hyundai dealership. I'm going to cross my fingers and hope that they have something I want so I can get rid of this lemon that I bought this spring. Although it's a 2005 and still under a bumper-to-bumper warranty, I've had it in 4 times for major stuff and 2 times for less major stuff. And now I can hear that the wheel bearing hub is bad. Unfortunately, that's a noise that I can now pick out after it happened with my last car. Augh. Cars. Oh well. In this climate, a motorbike just isn't that practical. I'm going back to my little foreign friends and giving up on domestic. Maybe I'll have better luck with my next purchase.
Thursday, July 13, 2006
Last full week
As I'm winding down the week, I can't believe that this is my last full one being at home with the girls. Talk about mixed feelings! I've loved this time with them, all the snuggling and seeing their changes. On the other hand, I've started to get a little stir crazy. As DW has been working more and more into the evenings, I've been feeling a bit overwhelmed. Thank goodness for my wonderful sister, who has come to relieve me for a couple hours here and there so I can get out of the house without hauling two babies in a stroller, hoping no one wakes up.
Next Thursday and Friday, we're going to do a test run for mornings with our daycare. I'm planning to drop the girls off at 7:45 or so and leave them for a couple hours. Since mornings are by far my toughest time of day, I figure a couple of trials will be good so I can see just how early I have to get up in order to get to work on time. Plus, then our daycare lady can get a taste of how things go and be able to call me with questions.
Starting the week of the 24th, I start my new job and will be co-hosting my biggest client Monday through Thursday. Holy moly! I don't think it would be too good to have the phone ringing with baby questions. We're starting their planning for the upcoming year, so it should be interesting. What a great way to get to know what's going on right from the start. So, not only do I get to start at what seems to be a pretty nice little company, but also jump in right away. I'm excited! However, this is the first time I've had to be out of the house before 9 a.m. in years, and that alone (not to mention adding babies into the mix) is enough to scare the bejeebers out of me. Deep breaths. More deep breaths.
I'm also excited to get back to work and start earning money again. Since the bell's palsy came on, I haven't worked at all, thus no paychecks. I've been living off of what's in my checking account and been able to do just fine, but as we're getting further into summer, my balance is getting lower and lower and I really don't want to ask for money from DW or dip into my savings account. I haven't had to ask him for any money, and for some reason, I take great pride in that. Maybe because I know that it takes a lot of pressure off of him - not forcing him to support three more people than normal. So far, I've had him pick up one pack of diapers and two grocery trips, so it hasn't been anything much for changes for him. I know he's been trying to save up a bunch of money for some other exciting things, and it's been good so far.
So, here we are. My last week of staying home. As I write through my thoughts on this, my feelings are still mixed. Speaking of, I miss my girls. I'm going to go pick them up and cuddle.
Next Thursday and Friday, we're going to do a test run for mornings with our daycare. I'm planning to drop the girls off at 7:45 or so and leave them for a couple hours. Since mornings are by far my toughest time of day, I figure a couple of trials will be good so I can see just how early I have to get up in order to get to work on time. Plus, then our daycare lady can get a taste of how things go and be able to call me with questions.
Starting the week of the 24th, I start my new job and will be co-hosting my biggest client Monday through Thursday. Holy moly! I don't think it would be too good to have the phone ringing with baby questions. We're starting their planning for the upcoming year, so it should be interesting. What a great way to get to know what's going on right from the start. So, not only do I get to start at what seems to be a pretty nice little company, but also jump in right away. I'm excited! However, this is the first time I've had to be out of the house before 9 a.m. in years, and that alone (not to mention adding babies into the mix) is enough to scare the bejeebers out of me. Deep breaths. More deep breaths.
I'm also excited to get back to work and start earning money again. Since the bell's palsy came on, I haven't worked at all, thus no paychecks. I've been living off of what's in my checking account and been able to do just fine, but as we're getting further into summer, my balance is getting lower and lower and I really don't want to ask for money from DW or dip into my savings account. I haven't had to ask him for any money, and for some reason, I take great pride in that. Maybe because I know that it takes a lot of pressure off of him - not forcing him to support three more people than normal. So far, I've had him pick up one pack of diapers and two grocery trips, so it hasn't been anything much for changes for him. I know he's been trying to save up a bunch of money for some other exciting things, and it's been good so far.
So, here we are. My last week of staying home. As I write through my thoughts on this, my feelings are still mixed. Speaking of, I miss my girls. I'm going to go pick them up and cuddle.
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Kissy Lips
Since they were just born, both Breanna and Lillian make kissy lips when they're getting hungry. They purse up their lips and form the perfect little "o". I've been trying like crazy to capture their kissy lips with a camera before they grow up and stop making such sweet faces. I finally got them on film a couple nights ago - probably around 4 a.m. Lillian is in the pink outfit and Breanna is in the blue.
Our middle of the night visits, while exhausting, have also been some of the sweetest moments. I've been making faces at the girls, trying to get them to mimic me. They've been sticking their tongues out back at me, and now they're starting to smile at me. And not just a cute little gassy smile. Full gums smile wide as can be -crinkled eyes and all. It's worth every second of this exhaustion.
Friday, July 07, 2006
Hope
I just returned from a very promising trip to a chiropractor/acupuncturist. We did a very thorough exam yesterday and started treatments for Bell's Palsy today, and lo and behold - my eye started watering right away! Whatever he adjusted to take the pressure off my facial nerve freed up my tears for a little while! I still definitely have symptoms, but that 1/2 hour of tears has given me hope. Who'd have thought that a person would miss crying?
It looks like it will be a pretty low-key weekend ahead. DW is going to work straight through, so it will be just like any other day of me taking care of the girls full time. To my friends who work during the week (pretty much all of you), if anyone is in town this weekend and wants to visit, please look me up. I have nothing planned whatsoever.
Not much else is happening on this front. I'm sleepy and am going to lay down for a little nap. Second time since having both girls home, and long overdue.
It looks like it will be a pretty low-key weekend ahead. DW is going to work straight through, so it will be just like any other day of me taking care of the girls full time. To my friends who work during the week (pretty much all of you), if anyone is in town this weekend and wants to visit, please look me up. I have nothing planned whatsoever.
Not much else is happening on this front. I'm sleepy and am going to lay down for a little nap. Second time since having both girls home, and long overdue.
Wednesday, July 05, 2006
Two months already?
Our daughters are two months old and I can hardly believe it. In some ways, it's been such a long road that it feels like many many months. In other ways, it seems like they're still newborns. Wow - I've been a mom for two whole months - how lucky am I! They're over 6# and 8# now.
The girls and I have been enjoying our time at home together. We go for walks outside in the double stroller almost every day. The weather has been quite cooperative, so it's been a treat for all of us. Sometimes we wait until DW gets home from work and let him come with us. When he comes with, the dogs get to come, too.
We're not quite sleeping through the night yet, and some nights, not getting much sleep at all. But really, who can complain when the girls are so darn cute? Once Lillian is off the extra calories, she'll hopefully have a little less gas pain, and that will be a treat for all of us.
This past Saturday, we took a field trip to my family's cabin near Detroit Lakes. My Auntie Jeanne and her family were there along with my folks and my sister and brother-in-law. I had been really lonesome for some family time, and it was really a wonderful visit. I think we all had a nice time. The relatives got some baby time, the babies got cuddle time, and I got free time. My dad took DW, my Uncle Beaner and me out for a boat cruise around the lake and let me tell you, it was glorious! I came back refreshed and relaxed like nothing else.
Tonight, we spent our July 4th like townies. We bundled up the girls and walked across the cul-de-sac to watch the local fireworks display from our neighbors' deck. It was really weird not to watch the show reflecting on the lake, but I can't complain. Our neighbors have a 5-month-old daughter, so they're adjusting to their new family status, as well. It was a fun and quick little visit.
In the week ahead, we have doctor appointments. The girls get their first set of immunization shots, poor things, tomorrow afternoon. Then on Thursday, I'm seeing an accupuncturist to see if he can clear up this Bell's Palsy business. I have a feeling I might get a few hours out tomorrow night. My dear friend, Tina, has asked for a revisit to the Cork and Cleaver for a chat over Wednesday night teas. What a lovely idea. With this nice weather, we'll probably be able to enjoy ourselves on the patio. Something quite nice to look forward to.
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