Friday, July 31, 2009

To all of the other "boo boo" kissers........

A friend of the Hubs sent this excerpt from Humor for a Mom's Heart for me to read, I thought I would share.

I Am Mommy, Hear Me Roar
Nancy Kennedy
Excerpted from Humor for a Mom’s Heart

A long time ago, I gave up using the name on my birth certificate and just
started referring to my self as Mommy. As in:
“Come give Mommy a kiss.”
“Tell Mommy where it hurts.”
“I told you Mommy’s ears can’t hear whining.”
“Mommy’s face looks like this because Mommy just found out that somebody
used her lace tablecloth to wipe off fingernail polish”

I knew I wasn’t alone on that either. I know for a fact that none of my
friends have names. We greet each other in the market:
“Hi, Sarah’s mom!”
“Hi, Laura’s mom!”
The vet even calls me “Blackie’s mom.”

I may not have a real name, but you know who I am. There’s a container of
Gak dumped in a corner of my living room carpet and the moldy remains of a
peach deemed too gross to eat stuffed in the cushions of my couch. I walk
around the house with dryer lint and used Q-tips in the pocked of my robe. I spend the majority of my day behind the wheel of a car - traveling
hundreds of miles to and from softball practice, cheerleading, and trips to
the market - yet never leave the city limits. I can’t do a quadratic
equation, but I can tell you how to get to Sesame Street.

My prayers are often frantic and generally specific. (“Lord, please help my
child to throw up in the bucket and not on the wall.”) At times I pray to
be made invisible, like during PTA meetings when they need someone to chair
the fifth grade fundraising car wash or during the Christmas program when
it’s my child up on stage singing “Let there be peace on earth and let it
begin with me,” as she proceeds to slug the boy standing next to her.

I know you know me. I wash my children’s faces with spit and my thumb.
Pick at the dirt behind their ears. Whine about their whining.
Nag abouttheir nagging. Worry that I’ll never live to see the day they’ll change
their underwear without coercion or threats of bodily harm.

I have eyes in the back of my head and a nose that can sniff out doggy
doo-doo on a sneakered foot fifty yards away. I have ears that can hear
Oreo cookies being eaten underneath the covers by a child who is supposedly
asleep. With just one sideways glance, I can tell who sharpened her crayon
with my eyeliner pencil sharpener and who accidentally-on-purpose let the
bathroom sink overflow.

A few years ago, you would have recognized me as the one with strained
chicken and peas plastered in my hair and a faraway look in my eyes, as I
dreamed of a life that was not planned around nap time and late night
feedings. I was the one who, when asked by a poll-taker to name my
favorite male television performer, answered without hesitation, “Ernie
from Sesame Street”.

Once upon a time I had a stomach that didn’t fall to the floor. Once, I
had hips that didn’t serve as a baby saddle and a shelf for grocery bags.
Once, I could even take a bath. Alone. All by myself. Without someone
pounding on the closed door, asking if she could use the blue food coloring
or “just wondering” if Super Glue ruins dining room tables.

If you looked in my closet you’d find baggy sweats with elastic waists;
big, long sweaters; and pull-on pants. Forget Bill Blass and Anne Klein,
give me Hanes Her Way any day.

You know who I am. I eat standing up. “Breakfast” consists of the soggy
cereal left in bowls on the kitchen table, the ends of bread left in the
bag, and blobs of strawberry jam scraped from the counter. I grab lunch on
the run from a drive-through window and nibble on dinner as I cook it. I
finish everyone else’s ice cream, then wonder why I can’t ever seem to lose
weight.

Don’t tell anyone, but I live for bedtime. I yearn for the sounds of a
child’s slumber. I long for my own head to hit the pillow. I pine for
(yawn)…zzzzz.

You know me. I’m the one with the knot in her stomach, praying her child
will figure out how to turn over on the playground turnover bar so she
won’t be humiliated in front of her classmates during gym class. I’m the
one who drinks the powdered milk so that everyone else can have the “real”
stuff. I’m the one who eagerly counted the days until both daughters went
to school, then cried when that day finally arrived.

I’m the one who willingly suffered through morning sickness, swollen
ankles, uncontrollable crying jags, and overwhelming desires for lemon
meringue pie and out-of-season blackberries. (Not to mention pushing a
bowling ball through a part of my body a bowling ball doesn’t normally fit
– twice.)

I’m the one frightened voices call for in the middle of the night. I’m
who changes wet sheets at three in the morning, rocks a
nightmare-strickened preschooler back to sleep at four, then gets up at
five to let the dog out.

I’m the one who, despite an utterly selfish nature and a propensity toward
evil (in addition to an inadequacy in and of myself and a definite lack of
experience), God chose as caretaker, teacher, and nurturer of two totally
dependent little sinners.

With apologies to the Peace Corps, I have the toughest job anyone will ever
love. I am battle-weary from refereeing squabbles over who did or did not
do the dishes last and battle-scarred from getting smacked in the thigh by
a line-driven softball during backyard practice. Still, I endure.

Who am I? I am a cooker of oatmeal and cleaner of soap scum. A taxi
driver, spider killer, purchase of folders with pockets and prongs, pencil
finder, and dental appointment maker. Loudest cheerleader and most fervent
pray-er, encourager of dreams and holder of hands. I am a tear wiper and
boo-boo kisser, the toothbrushing gestapo and an example of faith. You
know who I am.

I am a mother.


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Saturday, July 25, 2009

9 months old!!

I cannot beleive that my boys are 9 months old today. The past 9 months have flown by! Two beautiful boys who started out at 5lbs 10oz & 5lbs 5oz, are now at least 18lbs (I will post their weights after next weeks well baby checkup). Things were so incredibly crazy during the first 3-4 months. Lately, I somewhat felt like I have a handle on things only to have the get even crazier once my little guys started being more mobile. Both boys have been crawling for a while & are cruising now. Next step - WALKING!!!!! I'm really not ready for it!

As I've done before, I love to show pictures of the boys when they were first born to compare to pictures now.


Two days old - Brayden (left) Aaron (right)

Brayden playing


AJ giggling

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Thursday, July 23, 2009

My brave little guy!

I didn't cry (very much) when they took Brayden back for surgery. I wasn't sure how it was going to go when they took him back for surgery, but my friendly little guy reached right for the doctor without looking back. As soon as he was out of sight, Jared & I quickly made ourselves busy with a potty break & trip to get something to drink to keep our minds busy for a few minutes before going to the family waiting room.
Surgery lasted an hour, the doctor came out & explained exactly what happened. Just as they he had thought from ultrasounds & exams, the blood supply to one of his testicles was cut off at birth or shortly after. The testicle was essentially "dead" & needed to be removed to avoid it possibly becoming cancerous when he's an adult. They made two incisions, one to remove the dead tissue & one to make sure this doesn't happen to the good one. They stabilized the good testicle so it won't move around & the blood supply cut off to that one as well. We were able to hold him while he was in recovery. Recovery was a little tough - as expected, he was irritable. He was also running a fever, which is normal for the first 24 hours after anesthesia. After few hours in recovery, we were sent home with an exhausted little guy.
Jared & I were pretty tired after a long day. We were assumed Brayden would be tired & cuddle up so we could all take a little nap. Quite the contrary, our little man was playing as if nothing happened. He was all over the house & loving being the center of Mommy & Daddy's attention. After an hour or so of playing & laughing, we finally got our nap. It was so nice to cuddle up & nap with my baby who never stays still long enough for me to hold him any more. I'm so glad the day is over.
Thank you to everyone who kept us in your thoughts today. Here are a few pictures from todays events.
My brave little guy right before surgery

I just love this picture


Just after surgery in the recovery room

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Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Mommy is pretty nervous

Tomorrow we go for Brayden's surgery. Payton & Aaron are at their Mimi & Poppa's house (my mom & dad) & Brayden is sleeping in his room. We had a lot of fun before he went to bed, jumping in his jumper (he can't jump in it for 3 weeks after surgery, so I let him get it all out tonight), tickling, playing peek-a-boo with Daddy. It was bitter sweet having only one child here tonight. Bitter because I missed AJ & Payton so much, but sweet because it's always so nice to get alone time & bond with just one of the kids.

We leave VERY early to arrive at the hospital at 7:30AM, so we should be home in the evening. I'll update when I can.

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Tuesday, July 21, 2009

TwinHappy Member of the Day!

Recently I joined a group of twin mommas through TwinHappy.com. TwinHappyJen, is a mom of 4 year old identical twin girls who survived TTTS (Twin To Twin Transfusion Syndrome - a serious & sometimes, fatal disorder that occurs in identical twins and higher order multiples who share a placenta). She has done so many things to bring twin parents/grandparents together & offers a ton of information. If you follow me on Twitter, you'll see #TwinTuesday on many of my posts, this is also something created by TwinHappyJen.

So....(drum roll please)....I am the TwinHappy Member of the Day!! If you get a chance, click the TwinHappy link above, you'll see a picture of the boys!

Thanks TwinHappyJen!

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Monday, July 20, 2009

Twinstock '09

August of 2009 is the 40th anniversary of Woodstock & Jen at twinhappy.com (@TwinHappyJen -Twitter) is throwing a party!! It's a 31 day celebration of twins!! "Peace, Love, & Twins". I saw a "tweet" from @TwinHappyJen on Twitter this morning & I instantly thought of my favorite new onsies that the boys just got from their Mimi (my mom) the other day, which they happened to already be wearing. What a perfect picture to start out the Twinstock '09 blog party!!! Here is my attempt. Keep in mind, it is nearly impossible to get two 9 month olds to stay still long enough to get a picture, let alone get a picture where you can read their shirts.

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Saturday, July 18, 2009

My babies are growing up!!

I find myself once again apologizing for being such a horrible blogger. I often think to myself during the day, "hmm, I should post something tonight", but alas, when the house settles & everyone is sleeping (this is the only time I can dedicate myself to something for more than 2 minutes), I am at times, too mentally exhausted to put a post together. I know, not a very good excuse, but that is my excuse & I'm sticking to it. :)

So here is an update on us: Payton is very much enjoying the summer & is so excited to start Kindergarten in just a little over 6 weeks. I cannot believe my little girl is going to be in school all day, everyday very soon!

The boys are doing great. Their personalities are really starting to come out & boy are they different. AJ is what we sometimes tease as "Momma's boy", we only call him this because he is a cuddler & is all about Mom. Brayden is so curious, so busy getting around..he's really showing that he is the independent little guy. His brother sits back, lets him get into everything & then follow when he sees that it's safe. I love that Aaron cuddles, but I also love to see Brayden being so independent. They are going to be 9 months old in a few days, I am so glad that their different personalities are showing, but at the same time, a little sad to see my babies growing so fast.

In a previous post, I talked about Brayden having surgery to remove one of his testicles that had the blood supply cut off at some point. This surgery was scheduled in June, but due to the doctor needing to be out of the office on the day of his surgery, it was rescheduled for this Thursday (July 23rd). I am very nervous about my little guy having surgery. The surgeon will remove the undeveloped testicle (if not removed, it could become cancerous when he is an adult), as well as check the developed testicle to make sure that the same thing doesn't happen to it as well. With one testicle he will still be able to produce the appropriate amount of hormones when he reaches puberty. At some point if he requests it (and as the doctor advises) he will be able to have a prosthetic. The doctor is say that during his mid to late teens is when he might notice/question that he is slightly different than his brother.

Both boys are teething like crazy. As I previously posted, they each have their lower central incisors, their lateral incisor on the right side have broken through the skin & their upper central incisor on the right side has also broken through. Apparently, identical twins teeth at the exact same time. I'm really not sure if this is a good thing or bad. Do I really want two teething babies at the same time or would I rather them teeth at different times & have it stretch out twice as long? I really don't know what scenario is more ideal. But either way, I wouldn't change any of it for the world. I am so thankful that God has blessed me with these three perfect little ones. I am not saying it's easy, but it is worth every minute of it.

I am adding a few pictures of all three kids. I just cannot believe how fast time is going by & how much they are growing.




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