Add this to the list

We came across another crazy that was worth documenting on Sunday.  We went to lunch at Carrabas to get out of the house for a bit. 
Of course everyone that passed by our table had to say something about the babies.  No biggie.  Its expected now. 
But, there was one crazy Bible banger that wouldn't leave.  She just stared at the boys and repeatedly said "God loves you, arent you precious.  God loves you, aren't you precious."  Over and over and over again. 
People are strange.

Our vacation. What? We took a vacation?

Hubs and I took a 5 day cruise to the Bahamas and Grand Turk on the Carnival Destiny. 

We drove down b/c we're cheap.  We got to Florida the night before departure and stayed at his aunt's house.  We rarely get to see her so we always stop by when we go to Florida (which we seem to do for every vacation.)

The next day we gather our belongings and head to the port of Miami so we could be baby and carefree for the week.   First we made a stop at Target to get some tea.  Carnival's beverage policy states that you cannot bring liquor on the ship, you can bring a bottle of wine or champagne per person but you have to check it, and you can bring a 6 pack on non-alcoholic beverages on per person.  So, we got our tea so we could swap it with alcohol.  We took far too much time getting the caps off without breaking the seal so our plan could be fool proof.  If only we knew how much of a waste that was. 

At check in we were behind a group that had to bring a dolly b/c they had so many sodas with them.  Cases of Mt. Dew, Pepsi, water, and other assorted goods.  I was shocked.  There wasn't anything like this on our Royal Caribbean cruise. 

We put our bag on the xray belt, walk through the metal detectors, and get on the ship with 4 tea bottles of liquor, a bottle of wine, and a bottle of champagne and no one said a single word. 

I would say this was the major plus of Carnival. 

The food was pretty good.  I would say the dinners were just as good as Royal Caribbean.  The breakfast buffet was pretty blah.  I usually had cereal. 
Sleeping quarters were like any other cruise I had been on.  Not the best, but good enough.  The bed was surprisingly comfortable. 
Drinks were incredibly expensive.  We spent the same amount on drinks on a 5 day cruise as we did on our 7 day-er with Royal Caribbean.  We didn't even drink that much from the ship since we brought our own alcohol.  I think they snag you with their cheap rates, then rob you blind with any extras. 
The service was pretty piss poor.  Most of the staff acted as if every little task was a total hassle.  We got a lot of eye rolls and mumbling. 
And don't even get me started on the other guests.  I've never seen so many rude people in one small space before.  And this is saying something considering I visit Walmart at least once a week. 

So, if we ever go on a cruise again it will not be Carnival.  Unless its free. I can't pass up a free cruise.

Last week was pretty much hell

We got back from our trip, not quite rested, and were very excited to see the boys.  My mom had informed us that they slept great while they were there so we thought we would easily get back into our old routine.  They weren't sleeping all the way through the night, but the rest was still decent. 

Then Monday came.  We were up countless times.  At one point we were up for a couple hours.  Repeat Tuesday, Wednesday, and on and on.  It was so much worse than when they were newborns.  At least we had some sort of adrenaline going at that point.  This time around we had nothing to fall back on but caffeine and that can only get you but so far. 

Its amazing what long term sleep deprivation can do to your brain.  I started resenting these boys big time.  I regretted the decision to have children.  I wanted to pawn them off on anyone and everyone.  I waited until I finally got some sleep to write this post because I was afraid of saying something I would horribly regret. 

I think the CIA could have used these two as a form of torture to get information out of locked lipped folks.  It was bad.  Very bad. 

Our best guess is that a new formula was the problem.  At least we hope we're correct b/c we went back to the old stuff yesterday and they went back to their old sleeping habits. 

Man, I suck at this blogging thing. AKA: The boys' first Thanksgiving

Not that they cared.  They slept right through it.  We set up their high chairs at the dining table, then they decided it was nap time.  Oh well, at least we were able to eat in peace.  For once.
Dinner was excellent.  It was just me, the hubs, my parents, and our boys(kind of).  Once the boys woke up we decided that they needed to partake in our feast so we gave them a taste of potatoes.  They were not impressed.  In fact, they started gagging and Grant puked 3 times that night. 
After dinner my parents left, hubs left to go hunting, and I was left alone with two screaming children.

The next day we packed for our cruise.  Our long awaited cruise where we would be able to get some sleep and some sun.

Not for the squeamish

Last night was a fun one.  I'm here all by my lonesome taking care of these two awesomely cute babies.  Well, they decided that they were going to alternate waking all night and I was up every hour if not more.  So, when I go to change Cole's first diaper of the day, my eyes aren't quite open yet. 

I open it up to realize he's left me a present.  The boy has crapped his pants.  Before I can realize whats going on, he sticks his hand in his diaper, then proceeds to put said hand in mouth.  yeah.  Awesome. 

First haircut

Yesterday we took the boys for their first haircut.  Grant never lost part of his birth hair and it was creating quite the comb-over.  It was necessary, but the thought of going through with it made me ill. 
I'm still not sure why I found this simple procedure to be so daunting.  Many mothers cry when their babies get shots.  Not me.  Doesn't phase me at all.  But a simple haircut?  I thought I was going to puke all day yesterday.  The anticipation was brutal.

But, once we got down to it, it happened so quickly there was no time to freak out.  We both had to hold one child since they still aren't sitting on their own and then the women worked their magic.  Then it was done.  I barely got any pics.  But, we do have their hair.  One of these days I need to get started on their baby books. 

I would post pics but I think if I put any more pictures on this computer it will boycott and refuse to turn on. 

I hope the sleep gods read this

Its official.  I'm losing my mind. 
Or I've got a very early case of early onset Alzheimer's. 

This morning I go about the day as normal.  Then, it was time to take our weekly trip to Walmart.  I get the boys and the diaper bag ready, get everything and everyone in the car, lock up and...what?  I don't have my keys.  Or my cell phone. 

I take the stroller out of the van (I had unlocked it from in the house) and take the boys across the street to the church.  I call Nick, thinking he was going to be super pissed, but he didn't even have the first sound of annoyance in his voice.  Neat!  I hang out with the boys in the church nursery until Nick gets back. 

By that time it was too late to try to attack Wally world before their next feeding so I put them down for a nap and go about my day. 

Trip to Walmart Take 2:
Get the boys in the van and go to Walmart. 
Mission at least started. 
People pretty much stayed to themselves which was nice.  I only had a couple crazy stalkers this time. 
I get everything I need and head to the check out.  The line was absurdly long, but the boys were good so I didn't much care.  I finally make it to the register and unload everything.  I put my wallet in the cupholder of the stroller for easy access b/c I knew they would want my ID for the wine I bought.  I was right.  She asks for my ID, I give it to her, put the ID back in the wallet and the wallet back in the bag.  Only I didn't realize I had done this.  Once she was finished ringing everything up I go to grab my wallet and its not there.  I say, a bit too loudly, "Oh shit!  Someone stole my wallet!"  I'm freaking out. 
Um, moron, its in the diaper bag.

I seriously need more sleep. 

In other news, Cole learned a new trick today. 
If he notices that Grant has a paci, he will do anything to get to it and steal it.  Even if he already has one in his mouth.  He will then proceed to try to shove it in his already paci filled mouth and get horribly frustrated and start crying.  Is it bad that I laugh?

Blessing or Curse?

The boys have started playing with each other.  They will look at each other and cackle and tug on the same toy.  Playing together also means that they pull each others hair and chomp down on different appendages. 
I'm happy that they can entertain each other for a little while, but the sibling abuse is a bit premature me thinks. 

In honor of Halloween I have a scary dream story

I recently had a dream that would scare the pants off of anyone. 

Somehow, without taking a pregnancy test, I found out I was pregnant.  I'm not sure where I got this handy tool, but I had an ultrasound machine at home.  I placed the wand on my belly and found out I was having twins.  SCREAM!! 

I could tell they were boy/girl twins because one was outlined in pink and the other blue. 

I hope this isn't a reoccurring dream (nightmare)

No Sleep for You!!

So yesterday was a super fussy day for the boys.  The slept like hell the night before then I schlepped them to my parents because my dad is retiring tomorrow. 
And no, the husband is not with me so don't rob our house. 

Anyway, I was hoping to get a good night's sleep last night because its been far too long.  One would think that would have been possible considering the boys slept until 7am.  No such luck. 

The storms that reeked havoc over the mid west came our way.  The weather man told us to take cover immediately.  Neat.  There's no sleeping involved in tornado cover. 

I finally make it to bed at around 11.  Then around 1am I am awoken by another storm system.  It was raining so hard it looked like a thick fog.  I could barely see the houses behind my parents'.  That storm passes through and I go back to sleep.  And I'm sleeping mighty well until I randomly wake up at 5:30. 

Remember that monitor I wrote about before?  Well, my mom found one on her local craigslist for $10 and the deal was a success.  But, as I found out last night, if you are using the receiver while it is plugged in, it creates lots and lots of static.  So, since there was nothing but static coming my way, I grab my glasses of the nightstand only to knock them to the floor.  Then in my rush to check on the babies, I reach down to the floor to get my glasses when BAM, I slam my head into the nightstand.  Now I have a nice purple welt about an inch in diameter in the middle of my forehead.  I always knew I was supposed to have horns. 

Four dollars is serious business

Craigslist is a great place to buy used (sometimes new) baby gear. 

I wanted to get a monitor to keep at my parents house instead of paying full price for something that will be used sparingly.  I found an ad on craigslist, contacted the seller, agreed on a time to meet, and do the exchange.  Fabulous. 

The list price was $10.  I went to Starbucks this morning and paid in cash with one of my 2 10 dollar bills.  I got to the lady's house, opened my wallet, found that one of my supposed $10s was actually a $20 bill.  Oops.  So, now I have a $20 and $6.  I tell her as much, she checks to see if she has change.  Nope, sure doesn't.  Ok, I offer her the $6.  She refused it. 

Lady, your lame monitor has been on craigslist for over 2 months.  You weren't prepared with change, and now you're going to blow the sale over $4?  Your loss crazycakes. 

New, fun comment today

Usually when I'm out with my husband people ignore the babies.  I guess he is intimidating or something.  Who knows.  But, we went into Garden Ridge today to see what the fuss was about.  Its like a Big Lots but the stuff was slightly less junky. 
Anyway, on to my story. 
We were walking through the store and this lady stops to stare.   Her husband says to her, "they're not for sale.  Keep moving."  Awesome.  Thank you random man at the store for saying something that I could appreciate for once. 
Then the wife replied with "well, I bet they would be at 2AM."  My husband appreciated that one. 

Now its on to bigger and better things.  Like watching the Va Tech game.

I think I have little psychics on my hands

These two seem to know certain things. 

For instance, they must sense when I'm about to strangle their father so they give me one night of much needed sleep.  Or they know that I'm about to commit myself to the nuthouse, so they stop crying constantly. 

They must have sensed what would happen today.  They slept great last night.  It was amazing.  This morning went about as any other day.  Then on our way to Kroger we almost got in a car crash.  I think they knew I needed that sleep so I could be as alert as possible today.  If I had reacted just a little slower we would have been T-boned and Cole could have been crushed. 

Some dumb woman sped right through a red light and I was so lucky to have noticed she wasn't stopping.  I followed her down the road for a bit and nearly followed her into the cemetery she went into but decided against it.  If she had gone to the same shopping center as me should would have gotten a mouth full from me.  If she had hurt either of my babies, she would be headless.

Sh*t stupid people say

The world has its fair share of morons, but when you're a mom of multiples you come across far too many far too often. It astounds me the moronic comments I get every time I go into public. There hasn't been a single outing where I wasn't asked if my boys were twins. I would think this would be obvious, but apparently people are too dumb to even figure that one out. I should have started a tally of the things people say to me. I could have written a book by the end of the first year. Instead I'll settle for trying to remember some of the best ones for you.

• Are they twins? Nope, I stole a baby that's identical to mine.
• How do you do it? Most of the time I sit back and let the dogs watch them.
• Better you than me. Well, with that attitude, I'd say you're correct.
  
• I'd die if I had twins.
  
• But they can't be yours. You're too small. For those of you who don't know, I'm 4'11" and pretty thin. I have had people start full on arguments with me over whether or not I had the babies.
  
• You're what? 15? Well, I can be judgemental too, but I usually keep it to myself.
  
• The latest gem happened at Wally world the other day. I was leaving and this lady started running, full speed, yelling "Miss. Oh Miss." My attempt to ignore crazy was a huge failure. First, she asked if they're twins. (Shocker). Then she proceeded to tell me that Dion Celine was having twins. Awesome, but if you're going to tell me a story at least have the name right. And could you please visit a dentist before trying to frighten all the neighborhood children.
  

Walmart is like a mecca for the crazies. I get the best comments there. Since I go there on a weekly basis I'm sure I'll have more fun stories for you all in the future.
So, the moral of today's story is: Yes, twins are fascinating, but please don't treat them like circus freaks. We have lives and things to do and talking to you about how we conceived and what our day to day lives are like are not on our list of priorities.

The first 6 months. The abridged version

The first three months are already a blur. It was round the clock feeding, changing, pumping, feeding, changing, pumping. At night we had to set the alarm for every three hours to make sure these little buggers ate enough b/c they were so small at birth.
I remember lots of poop. Loooooootttttssssssssss of poop. That breastmilk goes right through them. I often would open a diaper and be offered a present of poo on my hand. Gee, thanks child.
Lots of urine showers as well.
Then I was in my best friends wedding and it killed my milk supply. I was a bit bummed at first, but once we switched to formula, everyone was much happier. Suddenly, the babies weren't crying constantly.

After three months they started sleeping through the night. Ah, glorious sleep. I would often have to wake them in the morning to feed them. Well, that little present only lasted about a month and a half. Oh, how I miss sleep.

These babies. They grow like weeds I tell ya. They've more than tripled their birth weight. (Not too difficult when you weigh roughly 4lbs at birth.) And watching the milestones is a great experience. The both rolled for the first time on the same day. Shocking! Now, they're both working on crawling. Cole rocks on his knees for a good portion of the day. It usually leaves him terribly frustrated and in tears b/c he just can't seem to get to whatever toy it is he's after. Grant usually scoots himself backwards and ends up with his legs stuck under the couch. I've started baby proofing, but I've still got a way to go.
We're also working on teeth. This teething thing. Yeah, not so fun. Its considered a good night if we're up less than 5 times at night. Remember those days of me waking them at 7:30? Haven't seen one of those in quite a while.

Well, here I am

Doing something I always said I wouldn't. Start a blog. I never had any interest, but after many requests I decided to cave. I say random crap often enough on facebook so I figure I can type the same stuff here.

I suppose I'll start with the title of the blog. Twice the...
I'm sure you can figure out what that means. It's pretty self explanatory. Twice the smiles, twice the love, twice the poop, twice the amount of night wakings, etc.

Now to the story. I guess I should start from the beginning.
Nick and I decided one drunken, lazy Sunday afternoon that we were ready to start trying for a family. That was the last day I took my pill. We got pregnant that first month, only to lose that baby (or babies, who knows). A couple months later we got pregnant again. I went to my first Dr. appointment around 8 weeks. Did the run of the mill bloodwork, then got an ultrasound. We saw the little turd(no lie, thats what it looked like) and its heart beat and all was well. Fast forward to the NT scan around 12 weeks. The ultrasound tech puts the gooey wand on my belly, says to me "uh, what did the last ultrasound tech say to you?" which of course puts me in a panic. Thats when I look up at the screen and notice something that didn't appear to be there last time. Another baby. Holy shock! Nick just grabbed my hand and I could feel his pulse in his palm.

The pregnancy was relatively smooth, as far as multiples pregnancies go. But, at 14 weeks I started having pretty constant Braxton Hicks contractions and was put on partial bedrest at 17 weeks. It was mighty boring. But, well worth it.

Towards the end of my pregnancy we noticed that the boys weren't really growing. The doctors weren't sure why this was, so I was induced at 37 weeks. Pitocin is the devil. I went into the hospital Easter Sunday and started with Cervadil. The next morning they started the Pitocin drip. The contractions were painful but nothing worth writing home about. Then my water broke, but of course at the time I thought I had lost all bladder control. After that the contractions were like fire. I was only dilated 2cm at this point so they wouldn't let me get an epidural. Instead I got some other drug through the IV which did nothing to ease the pain, but it did make me nice and dizzy. That did not make for a happy Kristine.

Once I finally got the epidural I was a different woman. Finally around 5:15am that Tuesday I was wheeled into the OR to deliver our boys. Grant came first after an hour of pushing, followed by his brother, Cole.

I was discharged from the hospital the next day, but the boys spent a week in the NICU. After that our lives would never be the same.