Saturday, January 24, 2009

Musings



Life is getting better around the Shingler home. I sound like a broken record but we really are THIS CLOSE to having the house all settled. Why is it the last few bits of stuff are always the most difficult to get squared away? I am feeling much better than I was but am now wary of allowing myself to get as run down as I was over the holidays. That means insisting on taking a nap every day.. which cuts down on productivity ... particularly on the days when the girls decide to nap well for only one of their naps. Still we march on and I feel like I have made progress..slow progress.. but progress all the same.

I started to get self conscious about the fact that all I write about is the babies. So I decided I wouldn't post anything until I had something else to take about.. turns out.. that's all that is in my head right now. That being said I guess I will just talk about babies some more. I hate to think I am boring readers out there but.. they can always just surf on by so...why do I worry about such stupid stuff!? Shut up and just write already! Ok.

The girls are now eating 3 solid meals a day plus nursing 4 times a day.. that means that the majority of my day is spent preparing to feed or feeding in one fashion or another. Mom presented us with the most fabulous baby food maker - the Beaba Baby Cook. It steams cooks their food fresh in 15 minutes, and then you blend it right there in the same container. It is my best friend. If wasn't already married... anyway.. it's really great. Our girls are big eaters. They split a whole bowl of plain yogurt and oatmeal for breakfast and then for lunch and dinner two more bowls (respectively) of either applesauce, green beans, sweet potato or avocado and banana. We add a new food every 4 days and so far we have had no complaints. They have a hard time towards the end of a feeding being patient enough to wait for their spoonful but.. they are learning.

They are trying so hard to crawl. Ada can get up on all fours but doesn't know where to go from there. She gets up and then flattens out and does it again. Margot sticks her bottom in the air, face-plants, then lifts herself up high on her arms.. looks a little bit like a seesaw. They get bored more easily so I was super excited when Ellen brought that door jumper and exersaucer over. They are so thrilled to be upright and view the world from another angle.

I have lately been feeling a little guilty for not holding them more. That is one of the challenges of having multiples. You can't hold them both at the same time.. well .. you can.. but it's not very cuddly when they are little like this. It's more for transportation purposes. I wanted them to be ok with amusing themselves early on.. didn't want them to get the idea that if they cried they would automatically get picked up since that is not really an option most of the time. So now I have babies who will play together on their own very contentedly.. which is great... but I find myself missing the snuggling I imagine one must get with a singleton. I try to make up for it at some point during the day. If someone wakes up early from her nap, I get her up and feed her alone or just spend time cuddling with her until her sister wakes up and then I swap and feed and cuddle the later sleeper. In a small way ( and I do mean VERY small because it was super hard back then) I miss the early days when they were so teeny that they fell asleep right after they nursed and we would all snuggle/nap on the bed together. I wish they would nap with me now but I am glad they know how to nap on their own. Maybe we can share a nap together now and then when they are toddlers ? So strange how the older they get and the more their personalities develop the stronger my desire is to keep them as close to me as possible.. thus the snuggling issue. I have to be ok with the fact that I can't hold them all the time.. it has achieved the outcome that I wanted and for that I am thankful. It's funny, I am so used to having them comfort themselves that occasionally when someone is crying it will randomly occur to me that I COULD in fact pick her up. This week I did that several times and each time that baby looked like she had just won the lottery. Then the exact thing I knew would happen.. happened.. the other baby saw her sister being held and cried..demanding to be held as well.. so.. I had to either put the first baby back down.. or try to calm the tearful sibling while feeling extremely unfair. Sigh. Multiples. This is why I stick to the "quiet baby" rule. As much as is humanly possible, always try to tend to the quiet baby first..thus they begin to learn that being patient has it's rewards. Or at least that's the basic idea..

Now that I have rambled on about basically nothing.. I am feeling self conscious again .. oh well.. I have a bedroom to organize. G'night folks.

A little Saturday treat..



Ellen brought this over for the girls on Friday and ever since it has been hard not to just sit and watch them in it! It probably looks gross that Ada is bouncing in the bathroom doorway but it's the only doorway downstairs so.... I promise she can't reach the toilet.. does that help?

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Hopeful


Here are two little girls watching the beginning of a new age for America. They will grow up in a time when having an African American president feels normal instead of revolutionary. We watched with tears in our eyes this morning as a brave, courageous, and wise man stood with his family and took the oath of office. Our prayers are with you Mr. President. 


Oliver watching the snow fall...yeah.. it's a snow day here!!! Daddy's home from work :)


The view from our bedroom window.. no we do not live on the set of the Truman Show..



View from the girls' bedroom window.. such a welcome sight.

We are enjoying our day here watching Season Four of LOST in preparation for the season premier this week with our buddy James whose wife is out of town with their daughter. He walked through the snow to get to our place to hang out. Snow days are so awesome. Gotta love the south and the way things simply shut down when it snows. 

I have so much to do and yet I sit here tapping away on this computer. Still have some more settling in to do but we are mostly done with that.. a lot of what I have to do is just on a list in my head .. a list that seems to get longer as the days go by.. here are just a few of my items:

- Call Mary and Larry and attempt to describe how much we enjoyed their visit this weekend and thank them for making the trip up from Florida to share their three day weekend with us... and thank them once again for the amazing D40 that took the above photos... I am in heaven :)

- Call/write Mindy and Jeff and attempt to describe how thankful I am for the gift they sent the girls so many months ago. Every day, twice a day, when put the little girls down for their naps I tuck those cozy blankies around them and think of you guys as they snuggle their little noses into the silky edges..

- Attempt to express my gratitude to my parents for the washer and dryer.. the bike... the hours spent helping us and loving on the girls.. the multiple trips to Raleigh.. etc etc etc

- Call everyone who has been praying for me and say thank you..

- Have everyone who helped us move over for dinner in an attempt to thank them for their incredible generosity in our time of need.. yet again..

- Thank those folks who have fed us recently.. Ellen.. Julie.. Krissie.. Several of Stephen's students mom's... 

... my head is bursting with people to thank.. that is not a burden that I mind bearing.. how blessed we have been.. how blessed we are..

I am feeling better each day.. it's slow going but we are getting there. 

I will post pictures from Christmas and all that soon.. 

Friday, January 16, 2009

Update

Ok another boring post but one just to update everyone. I went to the doctor yesterday and they say it looks better (it does) and they are ruling out surgery for the moment. I am still on all the antibiotics and in a lot of pain.. and super ridiculously tired.. but psyched that I don't have to go see a surgeon! Thanks for all your prayers. When I say I am tired.. I mean that I can hardly keep my eyes open all day long and sleep like the dead (during the hours the girls let me sleep) at night.. so that means it might be a little while until there is anything interesting or colorful on this blog... hoping to get my energy back any day now.. so.. anyway.. see ya when I see ya and thanks again for your prayers.. 


Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Back Online

This is a short blurb to say that we had a great holiday (more to come on that later) and that we are now moved into our new apartment (more on that later) and that we just got our internet back up and running. Right now, I have a prayer request for all those prayers out there. I came down with mastitis the day before we left for Florida (before Christmas) and it seemed to clear up while we were there. When we got back to NC... it came back .. but worse.. running a temp of 101 in a matter of 15 minutes. This time it was accompanied by a case of thrush in both girls due to the antibiotics I had been on. I went to the doctor and got back on antibiotics - a different kind this time. Seemed to get better for about a day.. then .. worse still. Today I went back to the doctor in the hopes that they could help me figure out how to get rid of this mess..... the news was not what I had hoped for. They have two theories this time; either the bacteria I am afflicted with is abnormal and was not reacting favorably to the new antibiotic....OR.. I have an abscess and will have to see a surgeon right away. SO, I am taking one antibiotic 4 times a day on an empty stomach.. and another 4 times a day with a meal..loading up on probiotics so that my "gut" doesn't lost all it's good bacteria .. and I have to see the doctors again in 48 hours and if there is not significant improvement.. I will be headed off to see a surgeon that same day. At the same time I am treating the girls for their thrush at least 4 times a day. It has cleared up but we don't want it to come back. Not to mention running a fever constantly and breaking that fever constantly, plus I still have to feed my little girls and do all the regular stuff .. and my house is not quiet put together yet though it is SO close. All this to say, if you are a prayer....please add me to the list! I am in tremendous amounts of pain and that pain only gets worse when the girls have to feed. I am praying that this horrific amount of meds will start to make a difference. I really want to be able to nurse my girls but if this is nature's way of letting me know it's time to stop I am ready to do that..but I can't stop until I am better..... I am stuck in a vicious cycle of sorts. Anyway... I have lots and lots to write about and so many lovely pictures to show.. but for now... I am just trying to make it to tomorrow and praying that surgery will not be on the table on Thursday. Despite it all we are in good spirits around here... chocolate chip cookies ...nuff said right? :)