That Old Sinking Feeling

So the babies love to play in our room. Problem is that the house is old and in order for the door to stay open, we have to use a rubber doorstop stolen from the Graves 601 Hotel fka Le Meridien. Well, usually, one or both babies will take out the doorstop and the the door will eventually swing almost completely shut. They are in there right now, giggling and babbling to each other. Any other person in their right mind would think, "Oh how sweet! They are playing together and having fun." Not me. Apparently I have issues, because I feel like I have been magically whisked away to 8th grade and the popular girls are in the other room making fun of me. Sigh. I know this is ilogical, since these "popular girls" are only 9 months old and can only speak Baby. But still, it's hard to refute when I go into the room and Monkey unsuccessfully lurches for the door to shut it before I get in. Then both parties guiltily put down the mounds of my clean underwear over which they had apparently been dishing. They stare at me and I swear I can feel the braces back on my teeth. Man, this parenting stuff is hard.

Randomness

It's Tuesday. Tuesday means different things to different people. To Wallace it meant porridge. To the college-aged Ringmaster, it meant tacos. But to the parent Ringmaster, it means babies go to Grandmas! WAHOO!! I also tend to work on projects that cannot be accomplished when babies are here, such as tonight's mission, cleaning the girls' room. It occurs to me that some of you have never seen their space, or at least haven't seen it this clean.

This would be their door. Who knew it would be so hard to

find letters that weren't cutesy? I found these on clearance at

Walmart. Actually only the A was on clearance, but

through the magic of fingernails, I got both for 50 cents.

SHHHH! Don't tell Sam Walton!

This dresser and shelf on the left was mine as kid. Now

on the shelves, I have displayed things that were

ours as kids, you know, things that reflect the childhood of

Mom and Dad. So sweet your teeth could rot, right?

Of course, straight ahead is the end all be all of gifts, books.

Don't worry dear readers, there are more than just those two

measly shelves. There is a whole basket-full next

to Monkey's crib.

And speaking of cribs, here they are, complete with clean

sheets, although that part is lost on you since this is just a photo

If you were in the room, however, you could smell the sweet

smell of Mountain Fresh Downey. And lentil soup.

Incidentally, Monkey's crib is in the foreground, and Bear's is in the background.

They both have breathable bumpers as they are both

devoted baseball fans and LOVED to play catch with their NUKers.

Try to find a NUKer at 3 in the morning when it has fallen behind

2 boxes of diapers and the humidifier. Just try it. I dare you.

Now they can practice their Torii Hunter catches off the baggie.

There it is, the Wall Street of Casa de Gato y Ninas: where

fortunes are made and lost, dreams made and broken. I speak of

course of the the changing table. Many deals have

gone down here. And many a diaper has given its life

for an innocent infant's butt.

This is the other side of the room, with E's crib and the

closet, cleverly covered with an old shower curtain.

See that picture above the door? Chris made that for his grandma

when he was 10. Go ahead with the collective, "Awwww!"

And last but not least, how could we ever forget the most

important part of the room, the Monkey and the Bear.

Don't you just want to squeeze 'em?

So quite the silly if not boring post, but hey, now you know where the magic happens in our house...and what I do on Tuesdays.

Until next time, rock.

Living in the seventh layer of Hell

So it's been a while since we last posted. I blame that on the fact that my hands are literally melting off my body. It's so freakin hot here, I think we are actually living on the sun. It just doesn't seem right that one should sweat when all he or she is doing is breathing. Oi, I say.



I HEART YOU


When Monkey was a few days old, the doctor heard a slight heart murmur. He said that if she still had it when she went to her 2 month appointment, she would need to see a cardiologist. Well it didn't disappear, so last Wednesday, she went in to see Dr. Baker. As he was listening to her heart, she was flirting up a storm, smiling and looking at him through her eyelashes. Little Monkey, going for the older men!

Anyway, after a really long appointment including an echocardiogram, we found out that she has three defects in her heart structure. And now I get to dazzle you again with my fake medical knowledge:

• Periphoral Pulmonary Stenosis (which is causing the murmur): This is a narrowing of the main artery or arteries of the heart. The doctor thinks that E has a narrowing of both. According to the University of Virginia's website, some issues that can occur are swelling and fluid retention as well as heart infections. Eleanor's is not nearly this bad. She just needs to be watched.








• Right Aortic Arch with mirror image branching: Instead of the aorta going over one of the branches of the trachea that goes into the lungs, it wraps around the whole trachea and esophogus. What can happen is as she grows, that aortic arch could constrict the esophogus and trachea. This is another thing to watch.

• High takeoff of the left pulmonary artery: I think this is the main artery that goes to Monkey's left lung. It is high-arched, meaning, I think, that it could constrict blood-flow to her left lung. When she goes back, she will have to have a chest x-ray to make sure that lung is doing okay. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a picture of this.

So overall, she is fine. We will just have to watch the conditions, and, like Bear, she will have to be monitored by a specialist to make sure that things are doing okay.

Other news not as complex

Per usual, nothing new is going on. We both have the Fourth off, which is cool. I was so ready for a break, even though I have only worked 2 days this week!

Both babies are sounding sick, snotty, coughish, and somewhat lethargic. They are drooling like mad, so maybe it's teeth. Scary! Doesn't it seem like just yesterday that they were tiny?!

Well I should get back to my task at hand:embroidering kitchen towels for my cousin's wedding. And with no babies, this is my chance to motor through!

Take care and until next time, stay cool!

-s-

13 weeks and sweating

I will be your father figure, put your little hand in mine

Happy Father's Day to all the fathers and father-figures out there. Life was pretty relaxed at Casa de Gato y Ninas for Chris's first day o the Pop. It was too bloody hot to do anything other than move at a snails pace, and even that was too much! Every day this week was over 90, which is fantastic when you don't have air conditioning in either your car or your home.
The babies faired okay with the heat for the most part, but we all pretty much hit the wall today. No amount of fanage, wet rags or undressing could help. And that was just the parents! Lemme tell ya, a semi-naked 13 week twin post-partum belly isn't pretty, so it's good that when it gets hot, most people lose their appetites.

I just want to bang on the drum all day

I made it through week 1 of back to work. It was tougher than I thought it was going to be, leaving the babies on Monday. I got a little misty, but was quickly distracted on Cedar Avenue where people were traveling 25 miles per hour in a 30. Let's just say that this font color really describes my language for that 20 minutes in time.
Being back at work reminded me of all the frustrations that I had before I left. Miraculously, they are still there, despite the fact that many of my co-workers are not. Thanks for the beautiful down-turn, Mortgage Market! You rock!

What's new Pussycat?

What else is new, you may ask? Not too much.
Monkey's tests came back negative for urine reflux. Yay E! Abigail is taking pro-biotics to help her tummy while she is on the amoxicilian. Pro-biotics are the natural cultures in yogurt and are helping to replace the good bacteria in her stomach that the antibiotic is killing off. She is a much happier Bear because of it and as are her parents and sister.
Tomorrow, June 18, the girls officially exit newborness and enter the world of infantism. Happy Birthday, Ladies!! Supposedly the big thing for this month is language and singing, so I have been practicing, hence the subtitles. They say that any songs and any voice will do. Somehow knowing all the words to "Fight the Power" and reciting them to an infant just doesn't seem right.

And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make

So I guess that's it for today...time to haul myself to bed in my 88 degree bedroom. Until next time.
-s-

Work Sucks, I know

T minus 2 days and counting until the return. I am so not looking forward to it. I haven't been at work to work since February 12. Since then, the job has changed, the work has been expanded, and a bunch of familar faces have left. I am really nervous. As much as some days at home are harried and overwhelming, at least these babies know that I am their superior. That isn't always the case at work. Ah well, no way around it, have to go through it.

Speaking of babies, they are well. I can't belive that they will be 3 months old soon. It seemed so far away when people said, "Oh she'll outgrow that by 3 months." Now it's here and I have to say that I am a little sad. By turning 3 months, they are no longer able to use the newborn monicker-they are now "infants." Infant seems so broad to me. I liked saying, "I have newborn twins. I can't possibly donate to the annual fund." "I have infant twins," is so much less impressive in my mind. Most people don't even hear the age part any way. They just focus on the word twins. They are a spectical even auditorily.

And speaking of specticals, what is it that makes people think that they can touch your child. I was in Target today and two different parties actually pushed up the visors on the car seats. Who does that? I mean I know we are somewhat asking for it by putting them side by side in a cart, but still...look with your eyes, not your fingers! Man, people tick me off.

Well I guess I have nothing else to say. I must get back to my dwelling on work, watching Abigail stare at whatever it is that she is staring at on the side of the laptop, and eating of Lorna Doones. Until next time.