Emma is still in the isolette (again, as of last night) but is staying warm with very little help, so she'll be in the crib with Chloe soon.  They get to share a crib, which makes me unaccountably happy.  Her IV fluids have been stopped, too, but they'll leave the PICC line through today to be sure that they won't be needing it.  She was 3 lbs 10 oz, so is back to birthweight and gaining now.  Her lowest weight was 3-7, for several days over the weekend.  She takes just a smidgen less milk than Chloe, but still is at about an ounce.

I'm still making lots of milk.  6 oz at a time, this morning.  I'm just absolutely thrilled that some body system is working well, after the pregnancy had so many issues.  Of course, I'm going to have to consider hiring a wheelbarrow to carry the bottles into the NICU.  Yesterday I had ten bottles with 2.5 to 4 oz in each, plus what I pumped while I was there.  Moo moo moo.

Physically, I'm doing OK.  I'm only needing Tylenol now, and can get around and do 95% of the things I'd usually do without discomfort.  Still not lifting anything, or driving, but definitely better.  The c/s experience wasn't nearly as bad as I'd thought, all told.  I'm down 23 lbs since pre-delivery, 13 of which I've lost since I left the hospital (which puts me at 10 lbs below pre-pregnancy weight.)  Retaining water much? 

The emotional stuff is pretty difficult at times.  I'm generally pretty positive most of the time, but there are some hard moments too, given the hormones and having had things turn out very differently than I'd have liked. I mean, I got what I wanted most, which was healthy babies/healthy mom, but I'm dealing a good bit with feeling sad that I didn't/couldn't keep them in longer, feeling like I didn't emotionally prepare to be "done" being pregnant, that sort of stuff. Not at all logical, but it's there. I'm just facing it and dealing with it. And investing in kleenex.  

I got to hold both of them together yesterday.  Best.  Thing.  Ever.

This is the china hutch my MIL inherited from her dad who passed away recently. It belonged to her grandmother. It has to be over 100 years old. She didn't want it. She doesn't like old stuff. I told her I would treasure this beautiful heirloom that belonged to the girls' great-great grandmother. I just think it is very cool to have something like that in our home.

I've really got to do more cleaning on it and the table she gave us, too (which is no where near as old but kind of matches and came with six chairs and a leaf to make it bigger! woo hoo!) The chairs are really covered in grime. I'm going to work on them today.

She gave me a box of old china, too but it's green and doesn't match at all. There's other china that I could pick but I'm thinking I'm going to do like the Nester and just collect various plain white dishes. (By that way, that chick kicks Martha Stewart's decorating ass!)

Jaimie and her kids stayed for hours yesterday. We had a great time and got a lot done. I moved my old spray painted black table and bakers rack to the basement to use as an art table. We're going to create a play area down there.

Here's very random recent shots I love of the girls. My allergies are so bad this morning I can barely concentrate. Ugh. I love fall though. Really.

Another book, well, series, that I have read is the Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer. Twilight, the first in the series, was her first book, and, for me, that is where it should have ended. I thought the portrayal of emotions was very accurate and it was one of the most perfect love stories, but it was purely a love story, and once the story goes past a certain point in their love life, then only a real plot line keeps it going. I really did not feel a real plot line coming through. It was a love story - a wonderful, beautiful, enchanting love story but purely a love story, and it wore thin on me. I also think that Meyer needs a bit more guts in her writing. She needed more ups and downs - more things that happened within the book that kept you wanting for more after and the end of the book is meant to be an end. An ending is supposed to be grand, surprising, and, often, not what you want to happen. The best endings are not always the ‘happy endings' and this is something that Meyer should adapt to. That is why Twilight was such a big hit - they were not supposed to be together, it was forbidden, and they had to keep it a secret. He could never give her what she truly wished but he would stay with her for as long as it was safe. It was not a ‘happy ending', but left the reader wanting to know what would happen to them - would they still be together tomorrow? Would she ever get what she wanted? There are simple answers to these questions, but they were not meant to be answered, ever, and certainly not over the course of three other books. They were meant to be elusive answers that no one would ever find the answer to, and to spend three books answering them is a bit much. ‘Maybe,' should have been the only possible answer. She could have saved it all in the last book - Breaking Dawn - yet the fight never happened, no big decisions were made, everything just ended like the rest of the books - happily. So, now that the rest of the world knows the answer to the questions - are the books still worth reading? Try them for yourselves and either become one of the many addicted to the tale (as most of my friends are) or perhaps take different, far more critical view into her works. And - it is not just her sequels that abide by this ‘Happy Ending' rule - read ‘The Host' if you want more proof (it's the only other book she has written out of the Twilight Saga.)

I also have another book that I read that did not satisfy me; the last Harry Potter book (by J.K. Rowling, if you did not already know that). I, like everyone else, wanted more at the end, sure, but I did not want to know that everyone lived happily ever after. The epilogue was just a bit much - I almost thought that someone else had written the book and published it as hers. Even some of the story line was a bit far fetched. I only read it once, but it seemed to me that all the other books were just so clever and that this one just brought it down the drain. It think it should have tied up all the loose ends she left in all the other books, and, right at the end, after the defeat of Voldemort, some uproar should happen that would leave the world reeling. Like - suddenly he sees Sirius' face amongst the crowd, or something that left the story open and people wanting more, even if they knew that they were never going to get. The series really seemed to end - just finish - with the last book, while so many other little loose ends were left unanswered that could have made for a better book. The major question that should have been left unanswered was what happened to them all afterwards, yet it was the question that was answered. Harry Potter was better, far better than the Twilight Saga, but the ending and the last book were just lacking something. Sorry J.K.

So - Yes, I can be critical.

I welcome all the opinions that are just waiting to contradict and undermine my own - go ahead. It is interesting what people think, especially when I disagree.

Happy Reading.

• attending preschool (3-yr-old) 2 days a week
• fully potty-trained ("Brooke, when you have to potty, you just go in the bathroom, sit on the potty, and go!")
• fully mastered the use of my iPhone
• pretends to be different people so she can call me "Mandy" and daddy "Josh"
• loves mermaids
• wanted to see sharks at the aquarium but got scared when she did
• enjoys her Light Bright
• plays doll house all the time
• enjoys lollipops for about 10 licks
• loves being a big sister

So, that's what Emma is up to.

This quote is... breathtakingly perfect:

"The wedding was very much like other weddings, where the parties have no taste for finery or parade, and Mrs. Elton, from the particulars detailed by her husband thought it all extremely shabby, and very inferior to her own. "Very little white satin, very few lace veils; a most pitiful business."

But, in spite of these deficiencies, the wishes, the hopes, the predictions, the confidences of the small band of true friends who witnessed the ceremony were fully answered in the perfect happiness of the union." - Jane Austen, from Emma

Don't worry.  I brought her back out of the water.  There is nothing like that feeling.

Brian

This picture of Emma reminded me of one that my mom had taken of me when I was 15 months old...they both make me laugh.

"Cate, it's okay, go back to sleep. Mommy's sleeping and Daddy's sleeping and Emma's sleeping. You need to sleep, too."

Tuck. Tuck. Arrange blankets. Kiss. Hug. Snuggle. Back to bed I go. All is quiet.

My heavy eyelids close again and quickly I'm back in sweet slumber.

*screams* *crying* "Mommy! Daddy! Mommy Daddy!"

Cate's up again. I'm wide awake. Fuck it. I let her out. I put in Aristocats. Then I decide to clean out our fridge. One shelf at a time like farmer*swife suggested to me last night when I was bitching about my To Do list.

Two shelves in and I hear a noise. I look down the hallway and hear, "BOO!" *giggle* *snicker* *hysterical laughter*

It's Emma.

It's 3:30 a.m.

Ugh. We're all up. Emma wet her bed - hasn't happened in weeks.

My fridge is clean and sparkling. Kitchen is so clean it squeaks. I even cleaned my earrings, wedding ring (Billy's grandmother's because mine still doesn't fit), and necklace.

An hour and a half later, we're watching Cinderella. I'm tired. Today is going to be rough!

Jaimie's still planning on coming over around 3ish today and staying for awhile. I'm kind of embarrassed about my basement. It's a mess. She lives in this perfect mansion (ok, to me it's a mansion, maybe not to other people living in HUGE three story houses with four bathrooms and four bedrooms and gigantic kitchens with formal dining rooms and attached two car garages). I wonder what she thinks of our little house with the unfinished basement and exposed insulation and all that mess. I'm thinking I'll tell her we'll just let the kids play and veg. I'd rather just hang with my good friend than actually work and suffer the humiliation of what is the mess down there in that dungeon. Ugh.

I need some damn sleep. I can't say I'm not majorly annoyed that Billy's sleep is more valuable than mine. I guess since he earns the dollar dollar bill y'all he gets preferential sleep. Grrrr.

Well I think if she ever decides to get preggers and have a munchkin of her own, she should just take the brownies, the epidural does the same thing and it doesn't last as long - at least it didn't for me.

Is it time for a picture again - geeessshh! Here is one taken with our crappy point & shoot camera - man I have big fingers (okay so I was still a little swollen when this was taken).

So while Pascal was out on the phone, which by this time was about 12:30 a.m. I began having more intense contractions, and let me tell you that I felt each and everything so I am not sure that they gave me enough drugs.  I am pretty sure they saw how stoned I got off the first dose and decided that was enough.  My blood pressure had gone from through the roof to that of a Tibetan monk.

Then all of a sudden and without warning all the nurses and my Dr. came rushing in the room with all their gear, threw me on the oxygen and ripped off the bottom of the bed.    It was go time and Pascal was nowhere to be seen.  Then I heard the Dr. tell the nurses that I was 9.5 cm and that it was time to get the baby out!  - where the fuck was Pascal??

Hair anyone????

Then Mr. Knight in Shinning Armour who got me into this mess in the first place walked into the room and his eyes lit up like a deer about to be run over by a semi-truck.  Just before he had gone outside to make some phone calls we had talked about him going home for a couple hours since I was only at 6 cm and it had taken me all day to get to that point - that and Jakey Jake was home all alone for the longest time since we had him.

Anyhow, my girly regions continued to burn every couple minutes while the crew set up shop.  Pascal quickly ran around the room, careful to avoid looking at my vajayjay that was hanging out there for the world to see, and came beside me and told me that my BFF who shall remain nameless in order to protect her good name wanted me to try and remember about the Duncan Hines icing that went along with those hideous "special" brownies.  It was the "icing on the cake" and the tension in the room (well at least between me and Pascal) was broken instantly and it was onward from that point on.

Without further ado, the Dr. shoved something up my special region and I almost kicked him in the face - okay well I wanted to at least.  I had no idea what was going on at that point but the next thing I remember is that the Dr. told me to push like I had to take a crap.  Well since taking a crap is something I have never had a problem doing (okay too much info I know), I figured this would be it, one push and I would be good to go.

Yeah right! I began to squeeze Pascal's hand so hard, in my head pretending it was his you-know-what so that he could feel the pain I was in, and began pushing.  Then the Dr. brought over this huge ass mirror so I could watch.

WTF did he think I wanted to watch was beyond me but whatever.  I finally opened my eyes and looked in the mirror and saw what no self-respecting girl needs to see - the top of a baby's head just inside my, well you get the point.

That was it, the cherry on the top of the cake if you will.  I decided then and there that this baby was gonna get the hell out of me on my next push or I was gonna pass out trying.   I closed my eyes and pushed so freakin hard that I am sure I was without oxygen for about 10 minutes :-) and voila, I opened my eyes just in time to watch myself give birth to Emma, the alien that has been kicking my stomach like a soccer ball for that last 3 months.

When she popped out, the Dr. gave her a smack on the ass, she cried, which well I would do to if a 60-year-old man smacked my virginal ass at 1:16 a.m.  (the time she was born for those of you who aren't so quick).

They then placed Emma on my chest for a couple of seconds and then took her and Pascal into another room so that the pediatrician could make sure she was fine.  This also gave the nice Dr. man a chance to play with my insides some more.

some details, for those who can't quite figure out the french, she was born at 1:16 a.m., weighed in at a chunky 5lbs, 2 oz and was 47cm long.  We have also been staying in room 257-2 since Tuesday morning (it is now Sunday night and I had hospital Chinese instead of gobble gobble turkey).

After about 5 minutes of the nice Dr. man showing me the up close and personal view of my placenta and kindly pointing out that I would get a new one if I decide to have another baby, he moved right on to showing me the various parts of my vajayjay and advising me that I was lucky because there was almost not tearing or damage - well thank the good lord for that eh!  I mean really, 10 minutes after pushing out a baby, the first thing I needed to hear was that my girly parts were good to go should I want to jump right back on the saddle - umm no thanks, I will wait a bit.  Gulp Gulp Erin. 

The most glorious thing then happened, and for those of you who have not had the pleasure of giving birth, savour this moment, the moment when they bring out the water bottle filled with nice warm water and pour it all over your girly parts to wash you up.  Never in my life would I have imagined that having my feet in stirrups and being doused with warm water all over "down there" would feel so good, it was almost naughty. 

Anyhow, before I go and get you all grossed out beyond belief and getting visuals and all, lets just say that the nurse then brought Emma back in, told me she was totally healthy and put her on my chest so that we could bond.

And there you have it, I am a mom - and I am still in the hospital surrounded by awesome nurses that know so much more than I do so we will see how this whole motherhood/housewife/domestic goddess thing works out in a week or so. 

Proud momma - see how I am even posting pics of myself!  I have made progress my friends (either that or I am still stoned from the drugs). This photo was taken about 6 hours after giving birth so no judging the hair or the outfit.  My stylist and wardrobe consultant had not yet arrived.

and after I had a shower - about 12 hours after giving birth.

and one more to show I still have a sense of humour!

Stay tuned for the next post, which will detail how I have been spending my days in the hospital, have I mentioned that I am still here after 6 days!!!!!!!!! 

la foto è di andrew blumenfeld, sotto le foglie la musica: funky bahia

Di questi giorni ricordo il tempo folle di un ottobre che non vuole rassegnarsi.
Un vento leggero e un sole premuroso.
Le foglie nonostante tutto. Gialle nonostante tutto.
Che non si fanno incantare da una promessa non mantenuta.
Che non si fanno infinocchiare da un bel muso giallo, che non si fanno comprare come i negozi dai musi gialli ecco.
Le foglie lo sanno che è già autunno, lo sanno le strade e le piante sui balconi.
Di questi giorni ricordo, come un film che scorre veloce, fotogrammi che rotolano gli uni sugli altri, fotogrammi di cose comuni, spesa, partita di pallone, scale mobili, luci intermittenti, sergio mendes, milano silenziosa, il vapore del ferro da stiro, il sole sugli alberi ingialliti, l'azzurro del cielo sopra le creste degli edifici, le foglie cadute sul campetto di calcio, un ramo rosso attorcigliato su un albero di fronte alla finestra della cucina, i libri comprati a metà prezzo, il sapore del caffè dopo otto ore filate di sonno, la gatta che si struscia sulle mie falangi, il calcare sulle piastrelle del bagno, le canottiere di tela mandate in letargo per l'inverno come ghiri nei boschi.
Riavvolgo il nastro e vado al lunedì.
Mas que nada.
(E.)

This episode brings some near-absurdity into it with the introduction of Hakim, an Indian prince, and his harem of beautiful women and male servants.  The absurdity, however, is not too much.  It's not like Kodomo no Omocha or Love Hina.  It's still there, with a parade of elephants marching through the streets of London, Hakim's suggestion that they keep his visit "secret" (after the parade of elephants...), and in general bizarre behavior.  But it feels like it is there to accentuate the normalcy of everything else.  It's like adding a dash of a spice into a stew, it gives it a little something extra without overpowering the true aroma of the meal.

Hakim is here to find a bride.  He's planning to stay for just a week, and it isn't long until he too meets Emma, and is completely enamored by her.  Unlike William, Hakim is more than willing to express his affection for Emma, confessing unabashedly to her while dressed handsomely in English, rather than Indian, clothing.  Although it is not shown, it is made apparent that he, like all the others before him, was turned down.  Does Emma's heart already belong elsewhere?  Is it William's?  Or will it always belong (in a non-romantic way) to Ms. Stownar for her kindness over the years?

Random note: It was hard to write this post, not just because of the time between watching and writing (I really can't remember the details anymore!), but also because I kept writing Indian as Indiana, even just now as I was writing about doing it!  I suppose it's just a curse from living in Indiana for all but 2 years of my life, I always want to have that spare A around.

I've officially been nicknamed Elsie the Cow by the family, after pumping 3-5 oz per session for the past day or so. Moo.

More intelligent posting to follow, at some point. Maybe when the kids are in college?

The girls were good at first but Emma flipped out because I had been letting her listen to the Beatles on my ipod and I took it away when the food came. She started screaming and acting like a tired kid basically. I took her to the bathroom and we had a talk. MIL tried to intervene a bit but FIL stopped her and told her to hush. LOL! We came back from the bathroom and Emma behaved wonderfully throughout the rest of the meal. I think I made my point.

FIL just really enjoyed Cate - I could tell. She had him eating out of the palm of her cute chubby little hand (not literally!) It was adorable.

The girls were exhausted this evening. I gave them a nice bath and read a bunch of Halloween stories. I love those books I ordered from Emma's preschool through Scholastic. Quite the bargain, too! These are a few that I read if you're interested for your own little crumbsnatchers. ;)

The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything

Big Pumpkin

I love both of these books. They are fun to read and both girls laugh and laugh at the stories. I have been trying to read to them more. My goal is three to six books a day. They seem to enjoy it and it doesn't take all that much time because the books are brief. I find time here and there to read them two books at a time and it's really not that difficult.

Well, I'm off to relax and enjoy the quiet. Billy's going out to drink a beer with an old friend of his who is getting married soon. He worked a 12 hour shift today. I'm not sure how he's going to have energy for that but more power to him! I wish he'd socialize more. It's good for him.

So was that rude? I thought it would be fun and I wouldn't have to cook and the girls can see their "Ma & Pa" for a bit.

Billy volunteered to work a 12 hour shift today. He says we need the money. Oh, and I found out I have to cancel my plans to go visit my friend next month. He *has* to work and cannot take off after all. Ugh.

And random, the other night I took the girls by the IL's house to show off their costumes I scored for a deal (the bee costume for Cate for $2 and this dragon costume for Emma for $3). While there, MIL said she didn't know what the kids eat anymore and had nothing for them. They'd skipped their dinner because they didn't like it. I can't even recall what we had for dinner that night -- ooh taco salad. Well generally the rule here is no dinner, no dessert so Billy told his mom not to give the girls any sugary snacks since they hadn't eaten their dinner. So what does she give them instead? Potato chips. LOL Yeah, that's a healthy snack. *insert eye roll*

So today on the phone MIL says she was so embarrassed she didn't have any snacks for the kids at her house so she went to Walmart the very next day and bought some cereal they might like and some goldfish crackers. Well, that's pretty sweet of her I think. At least she is trying. :)

Alguns dias atrás postei uma reprodução do quadro “O sacrifício de Isaac”, de Rembrandt. Uma das obras mais inquietantes, juntamente com a narrativa hebraica do sacrifício do filho de Abrahão, que já tomei contato.

Imagino o último olhar do velho Abrahão, com o cutelo na mão, e Isaac, com as mãos amarradas para trás, como um cordeiro pronto para o sacrifício. O jovem, filho do “Pai da Fé”, conhecia perfeitamente os costumes e tradições hebraicas. Sabia, portanto, que o seu caminho até Moriá seria uma passagem sem volta. Caminhava para o sacrifício sem rotas de fuga ou trajetos alternativos.

A providência, que livrou o jovem da degola, é algo tão intrigante quanto o próprio ato do sacrifício. Refiro-me a Providência e não a “fortuna”, aquilo que sucede por acaso, destino ou sorte. Na relação de Abrahão e Isaac, a intervenção do “Anjo do Senhor” foi decisiva não apenas para a vida do jovem, mas para o destino de um povo. Abrahão recebeu a promessa: “Abençoar-te-ei e multiplicarei a tua semente como as estrelas do céu e como a arei à beira-mar e a tua semente herdará os portões dos seus inimigos”.

O ponto central da doutrina da Providência está na “ênfase no governo de Deus sobre o universo”, ”com absoluta soberania e autoridade”. São Tomás de Aquino definiu a providência como: “... Deus não fez as coisas boas somente quanto a suas substâncias, mas também quanto ao fim a qual as destinou. Ora bem, o fim ao qual todas as coisas estão ordenadas, enquanto preexiste na inteligência divina, chamamos de providência”.

Depois de alguns anos distante da Teologia, voltei a refletir sobre o assunto após assistir ao filme alemão “A alegria de Emma” (Emmas Glück), de Sven Taddicken, adaptação de um romance de Claudia Schreiber. Com Jördis Triebel e Jürgen Vogel no elenco, acompanhamos a história de Emma, uma agricultora falida, e Max, um homem que acabou de receber a notícia que está com câncer avançado no pâncreas.

O encontro entre os dois, Max sofre um acidente de carro antes de concluir seu plano de fuga para o México e caí na propriedade de Emma com seus gansos e porcos, transforma-se numa bela história de amor. Desconstroem personalidades embrutecidas, desfaz-se gestos duros e tímidos, sorrisos voltam a permear a vida, a sexualidade ressurge, o afeto mecânico e programado é substituído pelo toque gracioso das mãos.

Ao passo que amor do casal se desenvolve e situações inusitadas com outros personagens recheiam a tela de humor (um policial caipira que deseja se casar com Emma e as intervenções de sua mãe, além do companheiro de Max no trabalho), o câncer pancreático avança. As dores e o vômito são constantes e cada vez mais agudos. Inevitavelmente, retorna para o hospital. Refaz alguns exames, reinicia o tratamento e confirma que possui poucos dias de vida. Decide, então, retornar para a fazenda.

Num processo eficiente de direção de arte, a figura de Max decompõe-se com a doença. Resta-lhe apenas a alegria e o amor de Emma. E é este amor que conduz o casal ao Moriá, o monte do sacrifício. A providência perpassa todo o filme, conduz a narrativa e entrega para Max a libertação, o alívio definitivo. Ela está na fuga de Max, no encontro do casal depois do acidente, na técnica apurada de Emma em abater seus porcos, na entrega sem concessões de um para o outro, na desconstrução natural de personagens tão sisudos em seus sentimentos.

Impávidos, Emma, com o cutelo nas mãos - o mesmo que usava para abater seus animais, e Max, com as mãos amarradas para trás e olhos bem abertos e sorriso na face, não recebem a visita do “Anjo do Senhor”. Não há milagres, não há sinal de teofania. Não há vozes que atravessam os céus. No entanto, a providência está ali, na libertação perpassada pelo amor incondicional de Emma e Max.

Jördis Triebel recebeu o prêmio de melhor atriz no Festival de Munique e Jürgen Vogel de melhor ator no Bavarian Film Awards.

At my OB appointment on Wednesday my BP was going up just a little, so we did a 24 hr urine for protein.  OB's office called me Friday afternoon and I had a fair amount of protein in my urine, so got admitted on Friday night for monitoring babies, running some bloodwork, that sort of thing.  BP was still fine, and I felt fine.  Babies looked great on their NSTs.  Labs weren't terrible, so I figured we'd see how I was in the morning.  By the next morning, my labs were slightly worse (liver and platelets.)  So my OB's newest associate, who's all of three months out of residency, has to try to convince me that yes, we need to have these babies ASAP.  I'm of course still in "keep babies in and get them to grow" mode after all the bedrest weeks, and don't know this lady from Adam, and of course my BPs are still really good, so I'm balking a bit at this (I mean, how bad are the labs really?) but ultimately she talked with my OB, and we all agreed the thing to do was to deliver.  (Baby B was still breech, and after a long discussion with my OB a few weeks ago, and reading up on breech second twins and all that, I was ultimately more comfortable with a c/s.)

Had a c/s on Saturday afternoon at 2:30, babies were born at 2:41 and 2:43.  My mother (who I wanted for my support person) barely made it (she lives three hours away,) but I had a sweet nurse who drug her feet juuuust a bit to make sure mom was there.  :)  Babies were/are absolutely perfect, cried immediately, never needed intubated (or even any oxygen.)  They went straight to NICU, obviously, but did beautifully.  Couldn't ask for better given their age.

The 24 hours after they were born was a blur, with labs every few hours and being on magnesium sulfate (which makes you feel really stupid and tired and have the dryest eyes/mouth in the world) and I did get to see the babies briefly on the day they were born (once in the OR, then a few minutes each down in NICU - they took me down on the cart before we went to my room) and for a bit longer the next day (even got to hold them.) 

My blood pressures started really going up after delivery, and I felt pretty lousy for a couple of days.  Turns out, in retrospect, that the meds I was on to prevent contractions were probably controlling my BP, too, so once I was off of them after delivery, my BP went pretty haywire, and was truly into the early stages of HELLP as my labs continued to get worse, along with a side of near-kidney failure.  Nasty stuff.  That all started to turn around at about two days after delivery, and I've really done well since.  Got to go home late on Wednesday, and of course am sore and tired and all that, but feeling much more myself. 

The scary thing of it all was that I felt absolutely fine (I mean, big and pregnant, but nothing new) when I went into the hospital, and if we hadn't delivered within a few days, it would have really hurt all three of us.  As it was, baby B had slowed on her growth curve a little bit, probably due to the beginnings of the preeclampsia.  Definitely dodged a bullet, and thank heaven for good prenatal care.    

Babies are in NICU, obviously, but are just needing help with staying warm, nutrition, that sort of thing.  No oxygen/respiratory help, and just a little caffeine to keep them in a good breathing pattern.  Still on tube feeds along with IV feedings, and I'm pumping, so they're getting 100% breastmilk right now, and that's going great.  I get to hold them once a day at least, and that's absolutely wonderful.  

So...introducing Chloe and Emma!  (Chloe is A/Watson, Emma is B/Crick.)  They were 3 lb 13 oz and 3 lb 10 oz respectively.

Riding to NICU in the isolette

Chloe

Emma

Last night, I asked the girls again, "What do you want for Christmas?"  Emma answered, "Whatever you want to give me, Momma."  (God love her!)  Addie answered, "The whole world!"  I rolled my eyes, "How about you be more specific?"  She answered, "Ok, I want a real live man, ear wax and an iPod."  Then she added, "And a pimple."

I'm thinking she's been fed crack.

Well from time to time, when we're able to catch peoples birthdays we're more than happy to wish them a happy birthday on Grafwurks' behalf. Today, we wanna wish two people a very happy birthday!

Today - Oct. 10th; our very good homie Gus has a beautiful little baby girl and today is her (Emma) birthday. She is turning two today and on behalf of Grafwurks' we wanna wish Emma a very happy second birthday! Hope you
live it up Emma and give your pops (Gus) hell today, it's your birthday and you can cry is you want to.

Tomorrow - Oct. 11th; Grafwurks' good homie and my (Mando) fellow Dead Stock colleague; Nukes' birthday is tomorrow on Oct. 11th. As I said, Nuke is part of Dead Stock but is also part of Hypnotic Tunez. So on behalf of Grafwurks' we wanna wish our homie Nuke a early happy birthday!