7 1/2 months

Memorial Day Pictures

Kim, Mark, Dean, Kari
Daniel and Auntie Joann

Mommy and Daddy

Memorial Day Weekend

Well, what a weekend!!!

We were a busy bunch this weekend.

It started Thursday with our anniversary. Hubby took the day off and we worked around the house and yard. We went to dinner and our very good friends watched the kids. We then went over to another friends house and visited for a while. The kids sort of behaved and weren't too terrible when they got home considering the teething....and my throat was starting to hurt.

Friday was running around and prepping for our cookout which was on Saturday. We finished cleaning the house and the yard and setting up tables and chairs. And my throat was getting really sore and I was sneezing...

Saturday, we had about 35 people over...yes...35...I must be out of my mind......but we had a great time and the kids got some "face" time with everyone. It went a lot better than I though it would. I will post pictures....when the kids give me a minute....

And then it hit me. I knew it was going to...and it did...and hit me hard. A DREADED COLD...

Sunday, I was MISERABLE!!!!!!!!! Coughing, hacking, sneezing, stuffy, runny, you name it!!!! I was a mess. Daniel has a little bit of it and I am sure the Melissa will end up with it as well. Joy! Teething and a cold.... a double whammy!!!

Monday, we were still recovering from the entire ordeal on Saturday. The weather was just beautiful all weekend. Today, it is raining and not so nice, but that is okay since my only assigned "to do" is laundry.......

So, we survived our first Memorial Day cookout with the kids. Hubby is back to work and I am back to my routine....

3 year Anniversary

Three years ago today, I married my best friend in the whole wide world.
I can't believe how much our lives have changed. I saved the two pieces of paper that we wrote our vows on and last year for our anniversary, my Uncle, who married us, sent us them back. So, here they are......

Our Vows:
I, Kari Lynn, take you , dean Allen, as my husband, my soul mate and the love of my life.

We have already been through a lot together, and I believe that God has been preparing us for this moment and our future together.

Though life may not always be as perfect as this day, I vow to stand beside you. When you need someone to encourage you, I want it to be me. When you need a helping hand, i want it to be mine. When you long for someone to smile as and laugh with, turn to me.

I promise to love you in all your laughter and tears, your comfort and fears, your sickness and health in poverty and wealth.

I know that our love is heaven-sent and I promise to always honor my promise to you, I will be your best friend, your partner and your love, all the days of our lives, come what may.

I, Dean Allen, take you, Kari Lynn to be my wife, my partner and my soul mate.

I want to share my life with you. Together, our love will grow into a bond too strong to break and I know that we will share this amazing gift from God with the world.

I will be here to listen to you, laugh with you and to hold you through the good time and the bad, I want you to always know that I will be by your side.

I pledge my love to you. I will have faith in you and encourage you in all your endeavours. I will work with you as we build our new life together and strive to make every day as special as today.

I will be your best friend, your partner and your love, all the days of our lives, come what may.

Our March of Dimes March For Babies Picture

Came in the mail today. Boy, was it cold that day but we did it...all 5.2 miles.

Sleeplessness

I am not sure what was going on with the kids last night.
We were literally up with them every hour.
I am beyond exhausted and I know that today will be a challenge for hubby too.

Maybe it is the "4 month sleep regression" but even with their adjusted age, they should be passed that. Maybe it is because they are teething. Maybes it is because Grandma, Grandpa and Great-Grandma were here last night. I don't know. We even resorted to our old trick of adding rice cereal to their bottles in the hopes of having them sleep through the night. It seems like it has been more than a month, and it probably has, since I got 8 hours sleep. Even Mother's Day...Hubby got up with the kids in the night, but he doesn't have "Mommy Hearing". I can hear them from everywhere. And in the rare event that I am trying to catch a nap, I immediately wake up. So, when I heard the kids, I woke him up and he got up with them. But, I was still awake.

I think I may be losing it. I am snapping at things that would normally roll right off of my back. I am snapping at Hubby, ALOT! I am going to suffer through today and try to keep the kids up as long as possible so maybe tonight we can all get some sleep.

Mother's Day Present

My hubby has such good taste!!!

Our Little Family on Mother's Day

My First Mother's Day (officially)

Mommy and Melissa
Mommy and Daniel
Mommy and the Monsters
Daddy and the Monsters

Not so little babies anymore

The kids had their 6 month check up yesterday at the pediatrician. We did not see our usual doctor but saw the doctor who had just returned from maternity leave. She also has a daughter named Melissa, so I instantly bonded with her. Nothing against our doctor, but I think I really like this one better.

The latest measurements are:
Daniel
20 lbs, 10 oz (in the 90-95th percentile for full term babies)
27 1/2 inches tall (75th percentile)
17" head circumference (25th percentile)

Melissa
19 lbs, 13 oz (95th percentile)
28 1/4 inches tall (97th percentile)
17 1/2 " head circumference (95th percentile)

They are not even being measured on the preemie charts anymore. With their adjusted age, (-8 weeks) they are ahead of the curve developmentally and we are very happy about this.

They are tired and cranky today because of their 4 shots but I don't think that they are nearly as bad as last time.

So, tomorrow will be my first official Mother's Day. I was pregnant with the twins last year and nearly cried when my mother and my friend Kirstin both sent me Mother's Day cards. This year, mom sent a Mother's Day present but mislabeled the box and sent it to my sister's house. My sister was to forward it to me but I don't know if she ever got around to it.

I am sure that hubby will make me breakfast in bed or something like that. I told him that all I wanted was 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep. It really is the simple things in life that make me happy.

I am trying to go through the closets and divest of some of the tons of clothing that I have somehow acquired. I literally have an entire wardrobe of maternity clothing that I will never ever use again. We talked about maybe doing an FET, but he thinks two is enough and that if we tried for just one more, we would end up like Jon and Kate plus Eight. We still have 8 frozen in the lab in NJ. We are paying for storage and really need to make a decision on what we are going to do with them.

My neighbor and I usually have a garage sale in the summer so maybe I will just hold on to the stuff and sell it for a buck a piece or something like that. Or I will end up baggin it and dropping it off at the thrift store....

 

 

 

Blessed?

It is an absolutely beautiful day here today.
I should be happy to be up and out and have the ability to take the twins on a walk.
But I am not.
I am not happy.
Well, not exactly.
I am not as happy as I think I should be.
Everyone, including strangers, tell me how blessed I am when I am out with the twins.
But, they don't know.
They don't have to get up three, four and sometimes five times a night.
They don't understand the frustration of two inconsolable cries.
They don't understand that I feel like I have lost my identity and that at times I feel more like an employee than a mother.
They don't know what it feels like to not have the energy to even feel human.
Sometimes, I just feel so trapped.

it is such a huge undertaking just to get the kids loaded up and into the car, and then fight with the 47 lb double stroller that barely fits in the trunk, try to accomplish the simplest task without being stopped by six or eight strangers who ask if they kids are twins.... um, yes folks, they are twins, no folks, they are not identical- one is in pink and the other is in blue.... do I need to remove their diapers to show you they are not identical...

I hate to admit is, but sometimes I miss my "old life" and wonder if I have what it takes to be a good stay at home mom. I don't even know if what I am feeling is normal. I don't really have anyone to ask. I feel completely isolated.

Even when hubby is home from work, he is preoccupied with one home improvement project or another. And perish the thought of going out and doing something as a family. He is always afraid the kids are going to fuss if we go out. They are 6 1/2 months old...if they fuss, they fuss. People do expect babies to cry from time to time.

I even feel guilty sitting here and blogging because there are literally a million other things that I should be doing.

I never once thought like this when we were still TTC. I just knew that I wanted a baby more than anything. Now, here I am. Twins. Exhausted. Isolated. Lonely. Frustrated.

I have nothing to complain about. There are millions of women out there who would love to have my problems and who can't. I should just count my blessings, right?

I couldn't help but to show them off

They are just getting too cute.......