Update on Girl Talk

Today not the best day.

Chris came home to watch the kids while I went for my IUD removal. I had written down the appointment for 11:20. So off I go to the hospital about 15 minutes away. There was a lull in the awful rain we've been having here for the last 24 hours. I get to the office to find out that my appointment is actually at 1:30. Wondering how on earth I was so far off I made my way back home. I was NOT in a good mood.

There was still no one else to watch the kids if I went back at 1:30 so Chris said he would stay. I felt bad that he missed half the day of work.

So I left the house again at 1:00 so that I could hit the bank and get some gas on the way. At that point the rain had totally started again. When I got to the hospital it was raining so hard there were massive puddles everywhere. I ran as fast as I could to the building but there was no hope of staying dry. The bottom half of my jeans were drenched! There's not much more uncomfortable than cold, wet denim.

This time I was there at the right time. The called me in at exactly 1:30 (how often does that happen??). When I made the appointment they said that the doctor would need to remove the IUD guided by ultrasound but when I got into the exam room and the doctor came in he was just going to go for it. He tried on his own first which was rather unpleasant. He couldn't get it so into the ultrasound room we moved. OH. MY. GOD. the pain. It probably only took 3 minutes for him to grab hold of it, but that was three minutes of him moving an object around in my uterus. Luckily he got it because he said if he couldn't that I was going to need a D&C! Luckily I've never had one of those but I can't imagine I would want one.

I'm home now, Chris is back at work, the kids are fed and are playing in their room. Sounds like they're emptying their drawers of their clothes. Oh, yeah, and I'm eating cookies. I feel like I have really bad cramps.

Oh, and I knew the doctor was going to tell me the IUD had absolutely nothing to do with my weight gain and of course told me that I can't believe what I read on the internet.

New Things

I just lost a post so now I have to do the abbreviated version...

Jackson cut his first tooth finally!

Jackson says doggie, umpy umpy (humpty dumpty), gobble gobble, and Bbbbooo (balloon)

Jackson does the hand sign for itsy bitsy spider

Jackson has gotten really good at walking on his knees

Madison says duckie and auntie

They both say nanana, mamama, dadada, key (kitty).

Saturday

Today Chris went to Gloucester to more work on his Nana's house so Uncle Mike and Auntie Kristen can move in in June.  They're moving back here from Atlanta.

The kids and I were on our own so we had a lazy morning eating breakfast followed by a long nap.  Then we all got dressed and surprised Grandma and Grandpa at their house.  They were in the yard doing work and they were so excited to see us!  We hung out in the yard for a little while.  Grandpa took each of them for a ride on his tractor.  He's been talking about doing that with them since before they were born so I was glad to be able to get some photos.  Then we all went out for lunch at a sandwich shop.  They had to go to home depot so I left them and went to Nana's house.  She wasn't there so we hung out with the neighbors who were all outside.  The were all making a fuss over M&J.  Once Nana got back we went inside for a while.  By then Chris was home so we left to go see him and have another nap.

Oh question...While Chris was prying off moulding from a wall he stabbed his thigh with the crow bar.  It doesn't look awful but it also doesn't look good.  He has no recollection of having a tetanus shot but has a physical every year.  Should we be worried?

Jackson and Grandpa on the tractor

Madison and Grandpa on the tractor

Jackson walking down the sidewalk!!  I'm guessing he'll be walking unsupported within a week.

Vacation with Nana

Madison and Jackson spent the last two days and nights on the Cape with Nana and Great-Nana. Of course I missed the hell out of them but it was SO nice to have a couple days to myself. I did a little shopping, a lot of relaxing, and even managed to clean the kitchen floor.

Nana said they were wonderful. They slept great for bed time and nap time. She said they were chasing each other around the bedroom and laughing hysterically. They went out to dinner and played at a playground where Jackson climbed on everything. When they got home today Jackson was walking holding onto only one of Nana's hands and Madison was saying "NaNA"!

I think we can officially call their first words.  I was waiting to be sure.  Jackson says "boo" for balloon but says the b like a motor boat noise.  They both say "key" for kitty.  When we're home they both chatter all day long.  Jackson is even starting to add inflection to his lines.

Girl talk

If you don't want to know about my method of birth control then I urge you to stop reading now!

I thought I should share this story in case it can help someone else out there.

While I was still pregnant Chris and I discussed birth control options with my OB (as ridiculous as it sounds that someone who had to endure 3 rounds of IVF to even get ONE positive pregnancy test should worry about getting pregnant naturally, we would be the ones to get pregnant accidentally when we didn't want to). We talked about a tubal while I was in for my c-section but she talked us out of it and into an IUD (a small t-shaped thing that they put in your uterus). I had it put in at the end of June (about 12 weeks post partum). I have yet to have a period.

By the end of July I had gained 20 pounds and went from a size 8 to a size 12. I was really frustrated with that because I really wasn't eating poorly and I was more active than I had been since high school.

Also at the end of July/beginning of August my mental health drastically declined. Since I had experienced post partum depression in the first few weeks post partum, everyone thought that's what it was. I was out of control anxious. I wanted to rip my skin off. My memory was literally non-existent. I was so scared. I took myself to the hospital. I got hooked up with a therapist who prescribed a great drug called lexapro and after about 4 weeks I was fine. By November I was starting to feel bad again though. I dealt with it until February when I realized I just need to up my dose and there was no reason to suffer. So the therapist upped my dose. So since February I've felt great.

A friend of mine went off birth control last year. She was always skinny but after going off the birth control she became noticeably thinner. She thought it was from the stress of building a new house and moving to another state. Then she realized it was the lack of birth control. As soon as she said that I immediately realized what had caused my 20 pound weight gain!

So I googled Mirena and weight gain and found heaps of info about people who were going through exactly what I was not to mention learning that some people suffer from depression and anxiety. It's all obviously hormone related and since I have PCOS (rendering my hormones passengers of the short bus) my body just doesn't know how to handle birth control.

I finally got up the courage to talk to Chris about it. I was afraid he wouldn't believe me that this was all related and as this was the birth control method we had agreed on he wouldn't want me to get it out. He admitted that he had already thought of it and had been researching himself. The poor guy was afraid to talk to me about it because he didn't want me to feel bad that I had gained 20 pounds.

So I'm going to make an appointment to have it taken out ASAP. But here's the kicker. At my last pap the OB (a different one than the one that put in the IUD) said he couldn't find the string that hangs down from the cervix that they use to pull it out. I had to have an ultrasound to make sure it was still in my uterus and that it hadn't fallen out. It is indeed in there but now I have no idea how they are going to get it out!

Pictures

Last weekend when we were in Gloucester visiting family, Auntie came with us. It was a beautiful day and I wanted to go to the church where we got married and take some pictures. Auntie took some of the four of us and I took some of her with the kids.

Auntie's invitations

This is what 137 wedding invitations looks like on my kitchen floor. I hope she's sure about this because they went out in the mail yesterday.

Yes, that would be Lance Armstrong

I was at the warm up area near the start of the Boston Marathon this morning.  There was a group of people standing around and one of the guys looked familiar to me.  I  couldn't place him though.  Then it hit me like a ton of bricks.  Holy crap!  It's Lance Armstrong!!!  He was so gracious and nice to let us snap a few photos of him even though he was there to run the marathon!  He is even cuter in person!

Me with Lance

Eileen and Noreen, partners in crime and a little smitten

Lance at the finish with the legendary marathoner Joan Beonit Samuelson

13 Months

Dear Madison and Jackson,

You both have been so wonderful this month. Sleep is good, eating is good, playing is good. You have an occasional bad sleep day and an occasional food ban day and a few fights over toys but that's all to be expected. This month you had your second Easter. I just can't believe that we are now working on your "seconds" when your "firsts" seem like yesterday. The fact that I have 13 month old babies just blows my mind. How did this all happen so fast?This month you both started getting really upset when someone leaves. It's heartbreaking to see your sad faces knowing that you think the person is never coming back. And it's even harder to be the person leaving :-(The schedule lately has been wake up at 9am, eggs, toast and fruit for breakfast, 11-12ish nap, lunch, play/go out, 4-6 nap, Daddy feeds you dinner, play, bed at 9. This past week you were up at 7:30 in the morning but I hope that was just a fluke.
I was very busy this past month designing Auntie's wedding invitations and addressing 140 envelopes and 140 inner envelopes. Sorry if I wasn't as attentive as I usually am.
Some things we've added to your menu are kidney beans, black beans, zucchini pancakes.
You both now clap a lot and Daddy taught you to give him five. You still crack each other up.

One day you both decided to drink from your sippy cups.  Just like you always knew how to do it.  Now you enjoy milk and water all day long.

Dear Jackson,

You are just the best little boy ever. You are so happy and smiley. You have been so much better about eating food now. You'll eat pretty much anything I give you. The only problem is that you don't take any time to chew and swallow your food before you put another piece in. You pick up pieces with both hands and stuff them in your mouth. I keep thinking that eventually you will learn that you shouldn't do that but so far you are just fine with it.
You are not interested in standing up if you're not holding onto something. You've even started to walk across the room on your knees! You have no teeth.I gave you your first hair cut. It took a little getting used to because it was such a difference from how long it had gotten but you look so handsome now. Your hair even seems a little lighter now.
I love how easy it is to get you to laugh. All I have to do is whip my head around and look at you and you crack up! The other day you were standing in your crib after a nap. I got Madison up and brought her face up to yours then took her back. You laughed so hard I almost dropped Madison because I was laughing so hard. Each time I did it you laughed harder and harder.
You started the most adorable chatter in the last week. The only "word" you say is da da. Most of the time you say "a da".
I decided one day to try one of Madison's size 3 diapers on you and it fit!! But we put you in size 6 to get you through the night. You wear size 12-18 months clothes.You absolutely love to meet new people. You just love it when people come up to you in the grocery store. You crinkle your nose and smile and kick your feet. And of course they go nuts over you.


Dear Madison,My peanut. You started really chanting da DA lately. One day Auntie was saying "AUNTIE" (like she used to say to my belly when you were still in there) and you looked straight at her and said "daDA". You strongly accentuate the second da. We don't know why but it's so cute!
You have recently become attached to the huge bear that Daddy bought you for Valentine's day. You snuggle with it in your crib. Daddy practically cries happy tears when he sees you so happy with something that he gave you.
You are a great eater. You take your time and eat mostly everything I give you. You were slow to warm up to eggs but you love them now.
You wear size 3 diapers and 12 month clothes. Today I pulled out a dress that looked like it may fit you. It was size 3-6 months and it fit like a glove!
You absolutely love it when I jump out and say "boo!" You jump a mile and crack up! You run away and come back for more.
You are very personable and loud and happy when we are home but when we go out you are very serious. You also don't like me to put you down. Once we've been there a while you totally warm up and eventually you don't need me at all and will walk away even to the point where you can't even see me anymore.
Your hair is getting so long. I'm now able to put it in pig tails. It's very curly and definitely red.

4-17-08

Yesterday I took M&J into Boston to the John Hancock Elite Athlete Village for the Boston Marathon.  For background you can read my post from last year when I took them in to visit.

This year when we went it happened to be their 13 month birthday so I was trying to get some pictures of them there.  This one below is of Madison flashing the city of Boston and the John Hancock Tower.

We had a very nice visit and got to re-meet a lot of people.  Grandpa was there to help me get the kids into the building and also saved me a space right in front of the building!  At first they were both shy to meet everyone.  Even Jackson which is not like him.  He kept nuzzling into Grandpa which was just too cute.  Madison didn't want me to put her down.  Grandpa had to go to some meetings so we hung out with the other hosts.  Nana had been out on a job so when she returned we went to another large meeting room where she and our friend Chris were setting up a miniature golf course.  The kids had a ball knocking down the gatorade bottles as Nana was setting them up.  HEHE.

Then we went and had lunch in the dining hall.  They weren't very interested in eating but they also hadn't napped at all and were getting a little fussy.  After lunch Nana and I walked to the post office to buy stamps for Auntie's wedding invitations.  When we got back to the conference center I changed diapers and we headed home.  They were both out before we got to Sturrow Drive.

So, when we got home Auntie met us there so we could put the stamps on the response cards and start stuffing the invitations.  She helped me take some more pictures before we went inside.  Jackson absolutely freaked out when I put him down in the leaves!  Of course Auntie and I were cracking up.  The look on his face in these pictures is priceless!

13 month post to come.  I haven't even written the letters yet!!

Dress shopping

Auntie, Madison, and I went dress shopping for the wedding yesterday.  Madison was so small that they really didn't have anything in her size to try on so everything was a bit big but we got the idea of what we liked.

This one was our favorite but the dress itself was $240 plus $75 rush because apparently 9 weeks isn't long enough lead time.

This is the one we are going with.  The sash will be fushia as well as the little flower buds.  At $140 this was a more economical choice.  She's going to be such a doll!  Jackson will wear a little tux.

Auntie wants them to walk down the aisle but I know Madison will freeze up and well, Jackson can't walk at all.

Photos

I got to take the kids to the park twice this week. The first time with Nana and Auntie and the next time with Chris. He took vacation days from work Thursday and Friday so we got some extra family time.

Jackson's gummy grin. Still no teeth for Buddy.

I love how he tucks his bottom lip in all the time. God, I LOVE that face!!

My little angel!

He looks like such a big boy in this picture! He's wearing Masters Green.

Madison had a rough week. She cut her bottom lip one day. She had blood all over her chin and I have no idea how it happened but realized it was coming from her lip. Then the next day she was bleeding from her upper lip! Again, there were three of us in the room with her and we have NO idea how it happened. Then a few minutes after that she was walking around with a wooden baby block. She fell and landed her face on it. She has a large bruise on her cheek now. You can see it a little in the above picture of her. She survived though.

How to play with dolls according to Madison

open box

put doll in

close box

check to see if doll is ok

take her out. rinse and repeat.

Daddy's Birthday

A little late in posting this but last Saturday was Chris's birthday. Our parents minus his dad (he was away on business) and auntie and uncle steve came over to celebrate.

Chris blew out the candles before I could get a picture so he humored me when I told him to pretend to blow.

Jackson LOVED the ice cream cake that nana fed to him.

Madison's cute hair

This picture was taken a couple weeks ago.  I did it like this again today.  Too cute!!

Rosary

Courtney knew of someone that makes an entire rosary out of one rose.  At Chris's grandmother's wake last September we had a special vase of roses of all different colors with the plan that we would have a rosary made for each of us.  Here is mine.

Baby Alice

This is baby Alice.  Melanie had her on March 11th.  She's been giving her mommy and daddy a run for their money but they are doing such a great job and she's so beautiful.  All three outfits I've seen her in so far have all been Madison's hand me downs :-)  Alice was only a pound bigger than Madison at birth so her clothes are a perfect match.  Luckily we had a lot of preemie and newborn sizes or Alice would be naked!

Jackson's first haircut

Jackson's bangs were getting a little out of control.  The back of his hair is still pretty short to his head so he ended up looking like he had a comb-over.  I figured using clippers on the longest setting was the safest way to not end up with any accidents.  Turns out it was a little too short.  Oh well, it'll grow.  And you know what they say about payback?  I went to get my hair cut right after I did his and it's WAY too short.  Oh well, it'll grow.

Before

After

Funny Story

Last week we went to visit my friend Melanie and her new baby Alice.  I hadn't seen Jackson in a few minutes.  Melanie said he was probably sitting at the bottom of the stairs looking up them.  I figured I'd better go check.  This is where I found him...

Photo contest

OK, the poll is up for the photo contest click here to vote. GO VOTE!

Pictures