Baby Eli and Baby Elsie

Baby Elsie was born this morning at 4:41 am and weighed 4 lbs 7 oz. Baby Eli was born at 4:43 am and weighed 5 lbs. 5 oz. Both babies were crying loudly when they were born, which is always a good sign!

The hospital's policy is that any baby born before 37 weeks go directly to the NICU for a minimum of six hours. But before they were taken there Scott and I got to hold them both, which was fabulous.

Right now both babies are in the NICU and will be for awhile. Elsie is doing just fine, but we're waiting until tomorrow to see if she can feed with the suck/swallow/breath reflex. Elias has a few more problems. He is on a C-pap machine because his lungs aren't developed yet. He is also receiving oxygen, though only at 28% (normal room air is 20%) Once he gets off the machine and oxygen, then he will also need to show that he has the suck/swallow/ breathe reflex.

Both of them are just perfect! What a great gift from God?

Its 2 am and my water broke

I got a sleeping pill in order to make it through the night with all the infant heart monitors, contraction monitors, IV's and things. I am not one much for sleeping pills, so when I woke to a puddle I embarrassingly told Scott that I thought I didn't make it to the bathroom on time.

When I got up it became obvious that wasn't the issue. Luckily my doctor is already here delivering another woman's baby across the hall. She will be in soon. All my OCD self can do until then is blog with updates. Makes me feel better. Oh yeah, and I call and wake my parents up to tell them the news. My poor mother has lived her life the past week with one foot on a plane and one foot off as we try to guess when the best time for her to come is. She has been so patient, but I know she wants to be here ASAP!

Anyhow, it could be a long morning, or if it is anything like when Emily was born, it could go by super fast and we could be seeing our babies soon. :)

Babies could possibly be here tomorrow :)

This afternoon I called my doctor because we've been concerned for a bit about the lack of movement from our baby girl. Today there was literally no movement from her, and so when I called and told my doctor this she said to come in just in case. They did a non-stress test, where they hook me up to external monitors to trace each baby's heart rate. Both babies had great heart rates, but there was still little movement from baby girl. So they decided to do an ultra-sound in the office. Basically the ultra-sound test is called a BPP where they look for eight specific movements, and to "pass" both babies need to show all eight movements within thirty minutes. Baby boy did great, and got all movements right away. Baby girl only got 4/8, which automatically got me a one way ticket across the street to the hospital.

When we got to the hospital my doctor wanted me to be hooked up to monitors to make sure that both baby's heart rates didn't drop during contractions. They told me that if I didn't have contractions on my own, that they would induce contractions with pitocin. That kinda freaked us out because that would send me in to labor, and would mean a c-section this some time tonight. Luckily, I had plenty of contractions on my own, and we were able to by-pass being induced.

Now we wait to make sure both babies do well tonight, and tomorrow morning at 7 am my doctor will do another BPP test with ultra-sound. If baby girl doesn't get all eight movements, my doctor will take the babies tomorrow morning via c-section.

I will be 35 weeks on Friday. I'm glad that we've made it this far, but we really wanted to make it to 36 weeks, as this is when twins are considered "full term." But, everybody says that 34 weeks is great for twins. We're a little nervous, but also very excited. Of course, she could pass with flying colors, but so far this evening she hasn't moved on the monitors at all. This doesn't mean anything is wrong, but my doctor would rather be safe than sorry. She's probably just so low and cramped that she can't move!

Anyhow, the big news is that Scott and I have FINALLY decided on names for both baby girl and boy. We've had Elias David (Eli) picked out for our little boy for months now, but just tonight we finally decided on Elsie Faith. Maybe tomorrow we will get to meet these two precious babies. Maybe not! :) Either way, Scott and I are hanging out in the hospital room, and Emily is at Lori's house. We'll see what happens in the morning!

Something I accomplished while sitting down...

Cloth baby wipes

Thanks to Becky for this great idea! Scott and I have decided to do cloth diapers, but I was leery about cloth baby wipes. After talking with Becky and doing a little internet research, this was my project this afternoon.

One of the things Scott and I felt we "just had to have" with Emily was a diaper wipes warmer. Now I am using this wipes warmer to keep some of the older nastier baby wash clothes from Em in a solution I found on the internet. I think it will work quite nicely, and if I am already washing diapers, what's a few more cloth wipes?

Solution:
2 C. water
1.5 T. Baby Oil
1.5 T. Baby Lotion
1 T. Baby Wash
2 drops lavender oil

34 Weeks

This morning I went to my bi-weekly appt. Scott and I have resolved that our doctor could potentially want to take the babies at any time now if something should alarm her at an appt. Therefore we've each packed a hospital bag to be kept in the car with a fully stocked diaper bag.

Luckily today was not that day. My doctor strapped me into the non-stress test machine with elastic bands and monitors for each baby, as well as a contraction monitor. Basically all I do is sit in this comfy recliner in a special room with a t.v. and watch HGTV for 30 minutes while the computer prints out a strip of both babies' heart rates and another strip that shows any contractions I have. When the doctor came back in she said that the babies' strip looked fabulous... just as perfect as could be! However, I did have some contractions that concerned her. *Side note- I've been telling her for three weeks now that my contractions happen all the time, but she chalked that up with having twins and called it "normal"...until now* She said that now I needed to be on bed-rest... not just "limited activity." At least she understood what I was trying to tell her before, because these contractions get painful!

So now I am on bed-rest. I would say that for the past three days I haven't been up moving around too much at all just because the pressure and contractions get painful, and I sit down. So "bed-rest" won't be too much of a change from the activity level that I had this weekend.

Oh well. I would really like to shoot for 36 weeks, but right now we are just making it day by day, knowing that every day these two keep baking the better! But that doesn't mean that I don't feel a little whiny every once in awhile. I told my mom on the phone this morning "I just want these babies OUT!" But then I remind myself that it wouldn't be good for them to be born now, even it it meant getting my body back! :)

And just for a little perspective... at normal OB appts. the doctor takes a measurement of of a pregnant woman's fundal (sp?) height. Basically the outside measurement of the big 'ole belly from the top of the pubic bone to the top of the uterus. Well, today mine measured 45 weeks. Yeah. So, not that it is possible, but if a woman could go five whole weeks late with her singleton baby, her belly would be as big as mine is right now. Great. I can't wait to see what I will look like in another week! *sarcasm*

Trampoline + Sprinker = A great way to cool off

This is how we enjoyed our Sunday afternoon. Hope everybody else had an enjoyable day as well!

Yucky Dinner

Tonight I decided to make a new recipe for dinner. Basically it was your traditional mexican casserole that layered flour tortillas between a ground beef mixture and refried beans. It called for chopped green peppers, olives, diced tomatoes, and lots of other yummy things that seemed to promise a good meal.

I made the mistake of using ground turkey.

Now normally when I use ground turkey it tastes just fine. But this was absolutely awful. Even the topped shredded cheese and dollop of sour cream couldn't disguise the awful flavor.

Poor Scott wasn't going to say a word, but as soon as I made a comment about how I didn't like it, he looked so relived that I said it and not him.

Here's the thing. Making dinner takes a lot more effort than it normally does. Quite honestly it takes just about everything out of me these days. Team that up with the time I spent and the ingredients that were wasted, and I burst in to tears.

So now I have red eyes, and a family who is still very hungry with no dinner to serve. Looks like we're hitting a drive-thru.

Anybody else have a dinner flop like this? What a bummer, huh?

Is this how you sleep?

Emily has always been a napper. In light of yesterday's lunch-bunch episode (see yesterday's post and updated comment) I thought I would share some recent pictures that showed Emily's ability to literally sleep anywhere. She plays long and she plays hard. Where she passes out to sleep is sometimes your guess as well as mine.

The first is from last night. She had a very full afternoon. First she had a drumstick with her daddy on the front porch, then she played slip and slide with her dear friend "Jofus" (Joseph) on the front lawn while daddy pulled weeds. She played with my friend's puppy until bath time, and then went straight to sleep when she hit the bed. Sometimes you're just too exhausted to move!
The next picture is a little hard to see. This is the box that the babies' dresser came in. Emily played with it for a full week, and on this day she curled up and took a nap in her box. Scott and I laughed pretty hard when we found her passed out inside, with the front "door" closed.

Here are some other favorites from long ago:

Big Day for Emily

Today I drove Emily to preschool. But it isn't just a regular preschool day. Today she gets to stay after for "lunch-bunch." Basically, all lunch-bunch is is a time for kids to stay after, eat their lunch at preschool, play, and do a craft. Normally there is no opportunity for Emily to go because Ms. Shari picks up the kids from preschool at 11:45, and when working I can't pick up Emily when lunch-bunch is over (1:50).

She has been asking ALL YEAR to go to lunch-bunch because her dear friend Ella attends lunch-bunch every day. Ella is a year older than Emily, and used to go to Ms. Shari's house with Emily ever day. Emily misses Ella terribly, and the only time they see each other is in passing at dance, which always results in both of them running to each other with big hugs. It is far too cute!

Well, Scott and I decided to sign Emily up for lunch-bunch this one time. We picked her up together at Shari's yesterday and told her the big news. Then we told her we needed to go to Target to get a new lunch box. She was thrilled! We spent the afternoon getting a cream slush from Sonic, picking out a new super-special lunch box, and choosing the best things for our lunch. (BTW, when asked to pick out a dessert for her lunch, my kid passed up the pudding for mandarin oranges.) What an afternoon!

Then this morning I walked Emily in to her class and before I could inform Ms. Hope of Emily's special lunch-bunch attendance, Ms. Hope said to Emily, "I saw you on the list for lunch-bunch today! How exciting!" Apparently Emily has also been asking her teacher to go to lunch-bunch all year.

As I walked out of preschool my child was beaming. I'm sure she drove her teacher crazy asking, "is it time for lunch-bunch yet?" about a zillion times. I'm thrilled that something that I would consider "no big deal" is such a joy for Emily. I think I could learn from Emily how to see the excitement in even the simple things.

Now off I go to pick her up. Who knows the stories I will be told about lunch-bunch and the accompanying activities. I will make sure to be just as excited as can be while she shares.

I think I have control issues... ??

In the past few weeks there have been many things that I felt are out of my control. Most of all is the birth of the babies. Now before I had my doctor and friend who was planning on delivering our babies 5/15 via scheduled c-section. I felt we had a plan. As soon as the babies were born we would look at the potential "come-home" date. If both babies had no problems and it looked like we would come home within a couple of days, my mom would immediately book a flight and be here. If it looked like they would need some time in the neo-natal nursery, mom would wait until it looked like they were ready to come home. The idea was that I needed my mom during the time we were home.. not during the time they were in NICU. We had this plan. It was a plan we all were comfortable with, and the May 15 date gave me a goal to "stay pregnant" until then, and also a mind-set of "I can do anything until May 15" that helped as the discomfort grew.

Now that my doctor is out on bedrest with her own pregnancy I am seeing another doctor in her practice. First things first. This doctor is also amazing, and I am so thankful that she is in the practice for me to go to. However, her approach is slightly different. She says 5/15 is a good goal, but she really doesn't see the need to take them at that time if they are still growing. She sort of has a "wait and see" approach. This if fine of course, and honestly sounds like the best plan for the babies. But it leaves me thinking, "Then what exactly is my 'due date'?" All of the sudden our plan won't work, because even if I make it to 5/15 that doesn't mean we will have a c-section that day.

Of course now there is thought that I may not even make it to May 15. This thought has grown in light of last week's hospital stay.

And what exacerbates my feeling of being out of control is all of the end of the year events that Emily has coming up during that time. Between her preschool end of year activities, dance recitals, friend birthday parties and more I can barely keep it straight! Just the dance recital alone has my head spinning. First there is the informative parent meeting. Then pictures, costume dress rehearsal, final dress rehearsal at the theater, call times, instructions for everything up to what color blush to wear on their cheeks, etc. This all the week that I was "due" to have the twins. Hmmm. I'm feeling a bit out of control.

So what did I do today? I dropped Emily off at preschool, and went to Panera. After a decaf coffee and a cinnacrunch bagel with non-fat cream cheese I left with a fairly clear head. After a nice nap (sleep was an issue last night) I plan on typing up directions for every activity with a date and time posted to the front so that whoever it is helping, whether it be my grandma, Mom, or friend, will know exactly what to do, where to go, and how to get Emily there.

Maybe accomplishing this task will help me feel a bit more in control of life.

33 Weeks

I went to the doctor on Monday. Sorry for the late update. I wasn't dilated on Friday when I was at the hospital, but I was slightly Monday. No worries though as the doctor said I could stay the same way without progressing for weeks. They did an ultrasound to check the fluid levels around both babies, and that came back just fine. I go back in Monday for them to check again.

Here are some pictures of baby Eli. He is in a better position that his sister, so both pictures are of him because we aren't able to get any of her. Anyhow, here's the thing about twin ultrasound pics.... everything is so squished in there that there really have never been any fabulous shots of either of them. Also the "4-D" is actually computer generated, which means the ultrasound tech takes a still picture and then does some work with the imaging. But our boy never stays put long enough for her to do that, and it results in a blur. Hence the blurry "hand " that you see on the first picture on the left side. But I still enjoyed getting to see his little nose and mouth. Very cute!

The second picture is my favorite, even though there isn't too much to see because he is actually sucking his thumb in this picture. That was so fun to see on screen!

We can't wait to meet these two!

Um... now what?

Today is my first day of no working, "limited activity." We decided to continue taking Emily to Ms. Shari's because having her here would mean little rest for me, and no fun for her.

So its 8:45 am and Emily is at Shari's, Scott is off to work, and I am at home by myself. I have a doctor's appt. at 10 am this morning.

And then what?


I need to find something good to read. It is going to be a long three weeks.

Moving towards ready

I have been looking for the perfect diaper bag for months. I had certain criteria that had to be met in order to be considered, and ended up with no considerable bags to speak of. I've looked on-line, in multiple stores, and even fancy boutiques (where I was reminded I am so NOT a boutique type of girl.) After looking for two hours on-line last night and coming up with nothing, my friend Meesh went to Target, picked up two bags that came the closest to meeting my list of "must-haves" and came over. She told me my indecision about a diaper bag was driving her nuts, and I must chose and pack one today.

So I did. And I played with both until I found the perfect diaper bag. Success! :)

Another great accomplishment that our afternoon brought was the van. Scott detailed the entire thing. He was out there from 1 p.m. until dinner time. He pulled all the seats out, wiped down the dash and all knobs, steering, and upholstery. He vacuumed and shampooed the rugs and installed all of the car seats. (2 infant seats, and Emily's new "big-girl" booster seat.) My blue mini-van sparkles just like it did the day we bought it. I couldn't be more excited with the cleanliness!

I guess my brief hospital scare really got both of us thinking about everything that still needed to be done before our little ones arrived. My personal hospital bag has been packed, with the addition of a new "mommy jammies" for the hospital. And now with the seats in stalled in my sparkly-clean van, and the packed diaper bag... we are ready for some babies! (Though another week or two of growing would be nice!)

Until then, I laugh at our baby boy's game that he plays with us. He presses his foot as hard as he can against my belly until the entire thing is pushed out and totally visible. I push it back in. He moves it over and pushes it out harder. I push it back in. Over and over we go as he moves his little foot and presses all over my belly. It is sort of like "whack-a-mole"

Saturday Plans

Yesterday I was released from the hospital around five. Thank goodness. Everybody was very nice, but still. It was a hospital. I didn't get any sleep on my over-night stay because they kept me continuously connected to monitors for each baby for their heart rates. They connect the monitors to my belly with 3-inch wide elastic bands that wrap all the way around me. There is one for each baby, and another that is to monitor contractions. Every time I would move, or a baby would move the nurse would come in and have to re-adjust them. Then they had to make sure they had two separate heart rates, and not two of the same. Needless to say, they were making constant adjustments all day and night.

Anyhow, I slept in until eight this morning. Those of you who know me well know that eight is totally sleeping late for me! :) Scott brought Emily downstairs and they have been watching "Captain Planet" marathon episodes in honor of Earth Day while I slept.

Scott has his computer test for the National Board certification this morning at 11:30. A friend of mine is going with me and Emily to the mall to pick a few clothing items that will complete my hospital bag. If the past few days did anything, they showed Scott and I that we need to prepare to have these babies at either time. Next on the list is installing the baby seats.

And finally, the very day I get my mini-van back from being fixed, Scott's truck goes in because of a check engine light. Turns out it will cost over $300. I don't think it is ironic that just last night our state tax return got deposited into our checking account. I thought that was very cool.

Hope everybody has a great Saturday!

Hospital Tonight

Today as I was at school alone in my class while my kids were on a field trip with out me. I was putting together lesson plans and basically prepping everything for a sub in case I can't make it the next two weeks when my long-term sub is available.

Sure enough, around 2 pm this afternoon I began having a few "issues." Not to be too graphic, but fluid leakage... not like the water break when I was pregnant with Emily, but surely a problem.

Basically, after three hours of different tests we really aren't sure where the fluid is coming from. And the ultra-sound showed our baby girl was not really moving the way they wanted her to.

They gave me a shot of trebutiline (sp?) which is what I took in pill form when pregnant with Emily and on bed rest all those weeks. It immediately stopped cramping/contractions.

Now I am just spending the night so they can monitor the babies heart rates and to make for certain the fluid isn't amniotic fluid.

Scott brought me a cheeseburger and a large chocolate milkshake :) and Amber came by to sit with me to ease my boredom. And anybody who has every had that shot knows how jittery and fidgety it makes you feel. I feel horrible for the poor nurse who has to keep coming in and altering my monitors every time I shift a few inches.

Thanks to my friends who took care of Emily this afternoon. I went straight from school to the hospital, so I haven't seen her at all today. Scott is at home with her now, and she called on the phone and asked if I could read her "Fancy Nancy." Naturally I didn't get the words just right since I didn't have the book in front of me. Emily made sure to point out my mistakes. I love that girl. She cracks me up.

I'll keep you posted. (if not my parents will just about freak!) Love you mom!

My school

Today my fourth grade team threw a baby shower for me. It was wonderful and fun to sit and chat with the people I work with. Everybody was so kind and everybody is is excited about the twins. I love how everybody is excited right a long with me. I walk down the hallways and everybody is checking to see how I am doing. They are all so supportive.

Right now there are five pregnant teachers on staff, and what amazes me is that our awesome principal comes to every one of the baby showers. He sits and eats cake with us as we ohh and ahh over the baby outfits. I'm sure it means just as much to the other ladies as it does to me that he is willing to take time to do that. And he didn't even get upset with me today when I poked fun at him for asking what a onsie was. :)

Then there is my team. I work with some of the best people I know. This year there are only four of us, and we are tight. We celebrate with each other, vent to each other, and give each other advice. We collaborate about everything from science lab lessons to dealing with strange parent situations. They are a lot of fun to be with. Every one of them is the type of person I would chose to spend time with even if I didn't work with them. I love all three of them!

Next comes Miss Julia. Miss Julia is one of the hardest working women I have ever met. She cleans our hallway and takes care of all of us on the OPES blue hall. We've always known she was unbelievable, but thought it pretty cool that our district thought so too last year when she was voted staff member of the year. No one is more deserving. She checks on me all the time, and helps keep my kids in check. One day I was toting around my heavy book bag as we returned from the computer lab. She followed me into the class and addressed my students saying, "Now listen here. This is your teacher, and you need to take care of her. Next time I see her carrying this heavy book bag you all will have to answer to me." My kids shook their heads in agreement and all you could hear was this mumbled, ashamed-sounding, "yes Miss Julia."

Tomorrow the fourth grade is taking a field trip and I am unable to go. (Can't travel more than 30 minutes away). When our instructional assistant was asked if she would go in my place, she excitedly agreed. She even posted her status on facebook as "excited to go on the fourth grade field trip tomorrow!" Isn't it awesome that she is so willing to go? And I know my students will have such a great time and have fun with her.

Can you understand why I love my job? I'm not even talking about the kids... these are just the adults! How many teachers enjoy working with the other adults in their building? How many people, period, enjoy working with the adults in their building? I am very lucky.

Hostile?

Today could be described as "hostile." Scott and I have had three things going on today that just aren't pleasant.

First of all, is our van. One of the automatic sliding doors has never worked right and the dealership has had the car for three days now. They think they know how to fix it, but have literally taken apart the entire inside to replace an electrical componant. That part won't be in until possibly Tuesday, and they don't want to put the car back together until it is replaced. Mind you, our van is only two years old, and this is the eighth time we have brought it in for this issue. Yes, that's right. Eight times. I'm not saying its their fault... they are doing everything they can. But it is their product. So I asked them for a rental. They said no at first, but eventually saw my point (EIGHT TIMES!?!?) and I am now a not-so-proud drive of a Ford Focus. Oh well. I'm thankful for that.

Then there is the insurance hassle. I didn't personally notify my insurance company that I was pregnant until I was in my second trimester. Therefore, I will now be assessed a "penalty" that allows no out of pocket maximum, and will charge me for the first $200 for every service I receive while in the hospital having the babies. Never mind the documentation that I have showing that my doctor's office contacted them on 10/15/08 and received confirmation FROM THE INSURANCE COMPANY stating that I am in fact covered. So I got to write a wonderful letter of appeal today.

Finally, there is the medical and childcare reimbursement claim that we have. Basically this is a program that takes money straight out of my paycheck before taxes to reimburse us for childcare and medical expenses. Some how the company representatives are "unable" to receive emails from us containing the PDF claim forms and documentation that would reimburse us for over $700 of expenses. Four phone calls and seven emails later, still no luck.

Scott jokingly said the dealership probably added the word "hostile" next to my name in the computer. You know, I feel hostile today. But if we get these issues worked out, that would be great. (deep breath)

This week's Emily-ism

On Sunday we went to second service like normal, but ran in to a friend (my doctor actually) after the service. By the time we were finished chatting the third service had started, and in the lobby they were frantically trying to get people to take some of the donut holes that they obviously didn't want to keep.

I took one from the nice lady, and Emily I told Emily she could get one too. She did, but was uncharacteristically timid about it. We walked out the door as I popped mine into my mouth, and Emily just held hers. As we walked to the car where Scott was waiting I told her to take a bite. I told her it was just like a small donut.

A look of relief swept across her face with a smile and she said, "Oh! I thought that lady was trying to get me to eat a rock!"

Oh Emily. She constantly keeps us laughing!

Nursery progress

Here are pictures as promised. We still need to to paint the other tree on the opposite corner where the other crib will go. Lori came over and this tree was done within just a couple of hours. She's amazing. I painted the leaves and bird, but she did the second coat which was good because she paints without streaks.. unlike myself!

I couldn't be happier with the tree silhouette. It is so much better than I imagined! I can't wait to get the other one done and the nursery finished. As soon as Scott pulls the crib mattresses out and on the cribs, I will put the bedding on and take another picture. THe cribs look great in there too, and Scott is in the process of brining of the beautiful new tall dresser.

By this time tomorrow we will officially be ready for babies!

31 Weeks

This week is spring break. Scott and I are busy preparing the nursery for the babies. We hadn't made a decision on bedding, so on Friday night I told Scott I wanted to go out and decide on crib bedding, and not come home until we had some. He asked if we would need to get a hotel. Ha ha funny guy!

Now he is busy painting the nursery and base boards. He is quite the perfectionist, which is great for me. It looks wonderful! My friend Lori is coming over to morrow to help paint the tree silhouettes, and then we will move in the furniture and put up the window treatments.

Kind of funny that we are so near the end and just now getting the room together. I think Emily's room was finished well before Christmas, and she wasn't due until April!

Other than that, spring break is just about being at home this year. I can't leave more than 30-45 minutes away, as per doctor instructions, which rules out a quick weekend get-away. Emily and I are cleaning out her closet, and having fun around here. Tomorrow she will have a fun time playing with Lori's two munchkins while we paint.

If all continues to go well I will be back at work next Monday. I hope to make it at least one more week, but hopefully 2-3 if possible. I am getting to the point where sleeping at night is difficult. I got up nine times to use the bathroom last night. If that continues either Scott or I will be moving to the guest room... he didn't mention it, but I'm certain I kept him up last night. No need for both of us to be sleep deprived. And other than being very big in the belly, I'm doing okay. Shortness of breath, and ultimate clumsiness have taken over, but that is to be expected. I have my next appt. this Thursday at 10 am and I can't wait to see the estimated weight for these two. We're guessing I am hauling over 7 lbs. of baby already.

I'm sure everybody has heard that Becky and Jay had their sweet baby girl last Thursday. I got to chat with Becky for a bit this afternoon, and it seriously grew my excitement for my two to be here. I so enjoyed talking with her about how the first week was going. Being pregnant at the same time was fun, even though we live so far apart, but I realized that having a newborn at the same time is so fabulous because we will get to relate to each other and give advice to each other via telephone calls. Then once Jenny and Katie have their babies, it will be even more fun!

Hope everybody has a great week! I will post nursery pics as soon as it is ready!

So cute!

Today was the last day before spring break. My kids were wired though still fun, but nevertheless, exhausting. When I came home I had a kid who hollered for a "snack and a drink please!" a dog whining to come inside, and a cat very audibly explaining that her food bowl was empty. Then the phone rang. All of this before I could even set my bag down.

Finally after appeasing all of those above, I went out to check the mail, and found a package from Jenny. So cute! My mood instantly improved.



Thanks Jenny. I can't wait to put them on the babies!

This story disturbs me

I saw this in the newspaper yesterday

Even though it is so disturbing, I hope it gets people to reflect on their relationship with their own neighbors. Scott and I have always had some great neighbors. Remember Bessie? She still lives all by herself on Floradora. I love Bessie. She was a great friend. And I loved that at 93 she is still fiesty enough to shoot her potato gun at cars that go down the road too fast. I hope whoever lives next to Bessie watches out for her.

I'm thankful for the friendship we have now with Sergeant Rick and Linda next door. (this is what Em calls them.) I appreciate that we look after each other, and know we can count on them for silly little stuff like collecting our mail and watching our house when we are out of town, and they can count on us for the same. I enjoy the weekend chats we have on their deck when I pop over to say hello while Emily is taking her nap. They are great people.

But there is a house across the street with a boy just a year older than Emily, and even though I've talked with the mom a couple of times, we really don't know much about them. I know she just had a baby three weeks ago. Seems like she and I would have much in common, however life sometimes prevents us from getting to know the very people who reside beside us. I think I will make a point to go over and say hello... maybe bring some cookies or something and congratulate their new baby.