how am i doing, you ask?

These past few weeks have been nothing short of a miracle, in my opinion.  While I was in the hospital, I dropped more weight, and got down under 100 lbs.  I looked a little skeletal, but remained cautiously optimistic about my recovery. 
I think I literally slept for 2 weeks post-op.  If I wasn't sleeping, I was walking around in a dilaudid-induced trance, not really able to do much.  I'd head downstairs when I could muster the energy to "snuggle" and be mauled by adoring almost-two-year-olds.

If you're considering have twins and then having surgery, I wouldn't really recommend it.  It's not exactly easy to obey the "don't lift over 10 lbs." rule when your cutie toddlers are 25 and 30 lbs. each.  They have, however, done a remarkable job of being careful with mommy's "owie tummy."  They've touched me softly, and done the best they could being patient with my recovery.  We have had tons of help from my parents and Marcus' parents... and the kids haven't missed a beat.

Since my arrival home, I've managed to gain some weight, eat some food, and play with my kids.  A couple of mornings ago, I even went for a tiny jog with the jogging stroller--for the first time since October! And yes, the doctor said it was okay. :)

So, how good is good, you ask?  I'm still throwing up a time or two per day...mostly when I try to eat more than a tiny handful of something at a time.  Or, when I eat something too fibrous. Or, when I just randomly feel nauseous and barf.  But overall, my pain is much less.  I'm still having some surgical pain, mostly because I'm lifting my fat kids multiple times per day.  But besides that, I'm pretty awesome.

All I've got to say is... THANK YOU, JESUS!!  Thank you for all of your thoughts, prayers, and well-wishes.  I pray that I continue to heal completely and that everything goes swimmingly. 
Hugs and love to you all.
brelin

surgery tomorrow.

My post in October indicated that my health was poor.  It never got better... in fact, it has continued to get worse.  Since last fall, I've managed to get down to 102 lbs--less than I weighed in the fifth grade.  Ridiculous.  My days are filled with vomiting and my nights are filled with pain medicine and tears.
We've had to battle the insurance company to cover the entire surgery, which is slightly experimental for gastroparesis patients, but seems to be working for other people.  I will be patient #20 in the Seattle-area to have the surgery done.  They've been doing it in the Midwest for a while now, and the results continue to be hopeful.  They'll be doing a pyloroplasty, which means they're opening the pyloric sphincter so that my food can empty the stomach more rapidly, hopefully decreasing the likelihood of me puking it all up.  The surgeon will also be removing my gastric stimulator (which has been worthless), and he'll be removing any adhesions that he sees... especially in the zone where I am complaining of horrific pain.  I am cautiously optimistic about the surgery being a "big success"--and as Marcus pointed out the other day, things can't get much worse. Please pray for smooth sailing tomorrow, and that the surgeons are able to perform the surgery laproscopically (so that I can lift the babies sooner. :))
The babies are adorable and BUSY.  They're running and playing, falling down, laughing and loving each other and us so much--it's both absolutely delightful and exhausting.  Especially now, in the midst of this current health crisis, I thank God again and again for the miracle that they are.
Thanks again for your prayers, we covet them, as always. 
Hugs and love,
brelin

fallen off the deep end...

Although I have fallen off the deep end in my blog posting, it is not because a million new things have not happened in our lives. 

The kids continue to grow and change each day.  Each time I think about updating the blog, the task seems daunting, and I put it off... until tomorrow.

Sadly, I just haven't made time.  UNTIL NOW. 

I'll try to be better about just posting the funny little quips of the day.  Perhaps I can do it.  Perhaps not.  I'll give it a go.

1. A couple of weeks ago, the kids had a stomach virus.  It also caused them to wake up a kazillion times per night, which caused me to wake up a kazillion times per night also.  One afternoon, I leaned down to "smell" buns.  I smelled Colby's buns... I smelled Kinley's buns... then I leaned down and checked the plastic ride-on dinosaur.  He was not poopy--thank goodness.  Clearly, I needed a nap.

2. My health is rather poor currently.  I am seeing a new doctor, a primary care physician who ran some much-needed blood work.  I am deficient in a bunch of vitamins.  (potassium, zinc, b6, b12, b-some more numbers, DHEA, and something else that I can't remember right now.)  He put me on a bunch of supplements and will re-check my blood work in 6 weeks.

3. The kids are growing like crazy.  Well, they're not growing that much, I guess--but they're changing like crazy.  They're getting all kinds of new words each day, many of them only I can understand. :)  They've gone from walking to running, and they're totally toddlers now.  They eat with us at the table, no longer in their high chairs, and want to use their spoons and forks at most meals (albeit unsuccessfully)  They are also adorable.  My days are filed with laughter, Little People, stories, songs about the Itsy Bitsy Spider and If You're Happy &You Know It, tears, poopy pants, fighting over the 'best' shaker during dance time, walks around the block, and playing in the yard.
Below are a few of my favorite photos since I've posted last. 

Our First Mariner's Game vs. The Twins (how ironic)

C at the park with Daddy

K at the park with Daddy

Thanks for the cool onesies, Bill!

We look RAD.

We love reading while mommy jogs.  We also eat a lot of graham crackers.

Secret Agent Colby

Kinley at the Picnic Table

Colby at Toddler time

All of us before Toddler Time

a little busy...

Since my last post, we bought a new house in Enumclaw, rented our condo, packed all of our belongings and cleaned out the condo in 7 days while both kids had sinus infections and wouldn't be put down, moved in with my in-laws for two weeks because our condo rented more quickly than we'd planned, and then moved into the new house, and celebrated the kid's birthday in the record-breaking heat without air conditioning.

I think I might be tired.

We've also experienced a lot of "firsts" at our house.  The kids are both walking well, and starting to talk.  Every time we see a dog, one of them will point and say "DOHW" or something similar.  And then I follow up with, "what does a dog say?"  The kids answer, "roo, roo."  It's adorable.

They also like to sing along with me when I sing, E-I-E-I-O, the chorus of Old MacDonald had a Farm.  Again, adorable.  They can also clap their hands along with me for the song BINGO.

They are done with bottles, except one at bedtime, and are living on grown-up food now.  They're getting better at using their spoon and fork, making it to their mouth about 70% of the time.  They're starting to drink from big kid cups all by themselves.  Sippy cups are old news, and they prefer to drink from the ones with a straw.

We do lots of waving and saying, "Hi" to our new neighbors, and they think living closer to their cousins is totally awesome.  We think so too.  Below is a picture of all the cousins together in the kid's new pool.  Kinley has the pink ONE on her shirt, Colby is wearing the green ONE.

Now that we're mostly unpacked, I am hoping to keep this blog updated a little better. :)  Stay tuned for more cuteness. :)

Sleep training. Who is training who?

My kids are in the next room putting themselves to sleep.  And when I say that, I mean they are giggling hysterically at each other.  One will make a funny noise, and then the other will make a silly pronouncement of another kind.  Both giggle.  And repeat.  I'm sitting here, wondering what the little wooden thumps I keep hearing are, but I assume there are no heads hitting their cribs--or else there would be crying, right?  I just peeked, and little legs seem to be making the thumping sounds so far. :) 

These kids are adorable.  Well, mostly.  Not quite so adorable when Colby is crying (again) at 2 am and wakes up his sister for no apparent reason.  Which leads me to question aloud the actual effectiveness of "sleep training."  I don't mean to offend anyone, but I have a case study going on in my own home. One child sleeps and one child doesn't.  We do the EXACT same thing with both children at the EXACT same time ALL DAY LONG.  I think people just get lucky when their kids sleep through the night, but that's just my humble opinion.

This is from their 8 month photo shoot.  It pretty much captures their sparkling personalities. (sorry I'm a month behind in their photo updates!!)

Happy Holy Week!

Living the dream. Living in a dream. Living with a dreamboat?

I digress.

Sorry it's been so long since my last post.  To say that life with twins is hectic might be the understatement of the century.  Since I wrote last, I believe that everyone in the family has been touched by some sort of illness.  Some of us have been blessed (?) to get more than one kind of illness.  Kinley had sinus infections, Colby got the puke flu, Marcus got a cold, I got some GI thing, then a nasty cold (that I'm currently still unable to speak from, but I think I'm on the mend.)

In the midst of that, I had a VERY successful port removal.  Thank you all so much for your prayers.  It went flawlessly.  I was petrified that something was going to go awry, but it all went really, really well.  And the even BETTER news is that I've been keeping fluids down pretty well on my own, and haven't had to get IVs.  What?  I know.  It's wild.  But, I'm managing at home and so thrilled about it. Thank you, Jesus.

I have a funny little story to share, just you can laugh along with us and the lack of sleeping that was going on at our house.  Don't worry, things are much improved now that the kids are feeling better. :)
It was 3:36 am.  I was awake for the fifth night in a row, this time putting a "to go" cup of coffee into the microwave so that the babies and I could drive Auntie Sarah to the airport after a fun visit.* 
*Note: Colby didn't really get to enjoy the visit so much, he had the flu the whole time (which is why I'd been up the previous 4 nights) 
Sparks start to fly in the microwave.  Apparently, my "to go" cup had metal on it.  Who knew?  Quickly, I run to the microwave and shut the power off.  Automatically the microwave fan comes on.  I guess they built this machine to handle other idiots sleep-deprived mommies.  There is no fire in the kitchen, the microwave fan is going but everything seems intact.  The babies continue to crawl in the living room, unharmed and unfazed my panic-inducing near disaster in the kitchen.
When Marcus arrives home from work, I start out with, "Isn't it wonderful that we're all safe?  Isn't it nice that we have a home to live in?"  He asks if the car was in an accident.  I say no, but that I'm not sure all of our kitchen appliances are still all functional. :)
Later that day, I was cleaning out the fridge, and dumped some leftover stew into the garbage disposal.  Just so you know, this is NOT a good idea.  Roast beef + garbage disposal = nightmare.  Oops again.  Rumble, rumble. Bubble, bubble.  And then splooge.  Both sides of the sink fill up with brownish, orangish, stringy meaty-potato looking goo.  If you're doing the math on this, I've managed to break TWO kitchen appliances in one day, and it's not even 9 am yet.  Oops again.  This clean up was a little more involved and required taking all the pipes under the sink apart.  Thank you, Marcus.

My current favorite picture

K stealing C's toys. Again.

cutest girl ever.

chubby boy legs.

walking with K.

Cutest boys ever.

Chubby girl legs

 

The kids are going crazy with their development.  Both are crawling. Fast.  And both are pulling themselves up on everything all the time. 

I've got to go.  Nap time is officially over.  Hugs and love.
brelin

better late than never? seven month photo shoot

C

K

seven months 01/24/13

 

Mommy Medical Update:
I finally got completely fed up with my port, and am having it removed on Thursday, 2/28.  This is a fairly "simple" procedure--which always concerns me a little bit.  They just do a local anesthetic, and remove it in the doctor's office.  Please pray that it goes smoothly.  I'm also seeing the dentist the next 3 weeks in a row (for fillings and then a cleaning), so please pray that all those visits go without incident too.  I'm trying to get down to just one IV appointment per week because it's just so time consuming--and I've found that if I drink more and eat less I can get enough water in.  Then, of course, I am eating less--but, you win some, you lose some. :)  Hee hee.

 

Also, please pray for Kinley.  She is on her SECOND round of antibiotics, and can't seem to kick this sinus infection.  I'm calling the doctor again on Monday if she's still not improving, but this is getting ridiculous.  The poor little thing has been sick since the end of Jan.

 

C is getting really good at using his hands, and K is crawling fast.  They are both full of smiles, and are quick to sing along with you on most songs.  I think their favorite song right now is "BINGO".  We are taking lots of pictures and trying to film as much as we can because this time is going by so quickly--and I feel like I'm walking around in a haze most days.  I'm so tired. 
But the kids are so full of joy--it's absolutely infectious, and they just started babbling too!! "Mamamamamamama" and "bababababa" are the words of choice so far.  No "dadadada", but I'm sure that's on the horizon, and we've been practicing.

Funny Aside: When are twins giggling at each other from across the room NOT adorable? 4:09 am.