Category Archives: Miscellaneous

Go Away, We Don’t Want Your Money

It’s been one full week with both muppets. And their actual due date is still another week away. Gramma J departed on Saturday – back to the daily grind of a new school year. That leaves just a mom, dad and two muppets to fend for ourselves.

We’ve begun developing a routine and so far the boys sleep at night. (As much as newborns sleep – 3-4 hours at a time.) And being the big boys they are (and growing still more), they have moved out of the master bedroom and into their own room. While I have always been impressed with the overall mural decorating the nursery, Search and Destroy are showing a much more intricate artistic palette and continuously concentrate on the minute textured details of all the individual leaves on the trees above their crib.

During the day we socialize and discuss the new wonders of their world, in between feedings and diaper changes. They nap downstairs in their playpen. Napping occurs only when they are too exhausted to even cry. Destroy does occasionally fall asleep, but he much prefers to do so only when lying on one of our chests. This makes getting anything actually done around the house rather difficult.

That’s no surprise to us. We knew we were facing a challenge as soon as we learned we’d be entering the parent pool at a 1:1 ratio instead of the more traditional 2:1 parents to children. So it’s a huge success when at least one of our little chores gets accomplished. (Yesterday there was no blog post because I was busy patting myself on my back for doing all the laundry. Granted there are several more loads already needing to be done today…)

Today, both boys were snoozing after their afternoon lunch (there are multiples of each meal). Everything was otherwise chill in the Stream household. I decided to take this opportunity to make a dash for the mall.

I figured that I could make it to Nordstrom and back in under an hour. Jon was willing to hold down the fort. And I needed new nursing bras. In theory, this should have been a very quick and straightforward transaction. I made it to the mall, parked in no man’s land because I’m still scared of parking stalls while in the much-larger-than-my-Accord Honda Pilot and located the lingerie department.

I asked a friendly clerk if she would be so kind as to point me toward the nursing bras. “Did you need to be measured?” she offered. I declined – just need to be pointed in the direction, thanks. Instead, she asked if I would mind waiting for her colleague to finish her transaction and she could then help me. I was slightly confused, but I patiently waited.

Finally, after about five minutes, the nursing bra clerk was available to, what I hoped, walk me over to the nursing bras. “Is this bra for you or someone else?” (Are gift bras located in a different section?) I assured her if was for me. She then paused. “Well…we’re doing inventory tonight, so we can’t touch anything in the stockroom.”

Confirm you are telling me I can’t buy anything today because you need to count what you haven’t sold later tonight?

She then suggested I come back tomorrow. I explained to her that I was shopping for said nursing bras because there were two small boys at home waiting for me and my new nursing bra. So no. I cannot simply come back tomorrow because it already took an act of God for me to dart out for this hour (a slight exaggeration). She offered to measure me and mail me a different bra tomorrow. I said thank you, but no thanks, I prefer to pick out my own undergarments.

I just wanted to spend money after shopping at a brick-and-mortar store. Unfortunately, this was not a presentable option. Corporate decision makers – if you’re out there – telling customers to go away is a bad business move in my opinion. Especially when the items relate to new babies.

Next time I’m going to stay home and nap with the boys. We live in the Silicon Valley – I’ll just order online.

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Happy Anniversary

I woke up at 3 a.m. this morning, courtesy of a screaming child. Destroy was hungry. (To be clear, Destroy is always hungry – he just vocalizes this point at the top of his lungs every two hours and 45 minutes.) Jon stumbled downstairs to warm up some milk while I fumbled my way into the nursery trying to soothe an angry baby. As Destroy screamed, Search woke up and decided that he wouldn’t mind something to nosh on either. After their uncivilized-hour-of-the-night snack, Destroy fell back fast asleep. Search, on the other hand, decided this would be a wonderful time to socialize. He looked up from the crib at me with wide eyes, “Let’s start the day!” Continue reading

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Got Milk?

The muppets take a bottle when they’re hungry. And they are hungry a lot. Destroy’s night nurse in the NICU used to call him “the alarm clock” because he’d wake up and scream every two hours and 45 minutes without fail.

As a friend of mine discovered with his little girl, “I guess that’s just the way babies are; they don’t know yet how to express the “you really should think about feeding me now” and instead go to “I’M DYING OF HUNGER! FEED ME ALREADY!!” Continue reading

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You Have Got to be Kidding Me

This speaks for itself…

I am not making this up. I have seen it in stores. This is a real product.

I mean, really? But according to this Yahoo! article. Designer diapers are the chic new trend.

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The Quilting Bee

Search

I was trying to think of a topic for today’s blog – and not having an easy time. Really, there’s only so much you can say about poop. Suddenly, I realized this is an awesome thing. I don’t have a post at the ready because things are currently going well.

The boys are eating, sleeping, pooping regularly. Their eyes are open more often as they stare around the NICU, just taking it all in. Destroy has found his voice; he now screams at the nurses to remind them it’s snack time. Search is only a day or two away from three pounds. None of this leads to clever or emotional stories; it just makes me smile.

Perhaps they’re growing up. Or perhaps Gramma J was on to something with her quilts.

The week after the muppets arrival, my mom came up to visit. She still hasn’t been able to meet her grandsons, but a mom is a mom forever and she’d come to make sure my emotional state remained stable. I decided they needed new blankets (remember I previously noted they had fleece blankets with surfers and John Deere tractors covering their isolettes). And a homemade quilt from Gramma would be something they could treasure forever. My brother and I still have the little elephant quilts Mom made for us when we joined the family.

Destroy

After my morning NICU visit, off we went to the fabric store. I was on a mission. I think Mom was just humoring me. Apparently, baby quilts aren’t that popular. There were approximately three options in the 5,000+ pages of patterns. Luckily Mom found a simple quilting magazine.

Out next challenge was to find the right fabric. Much easier said than done… 1) I have boys. I do not want pink dolls or frilly fabric. 2) What is with the amount of John Deere fabrics?! Thankfully, I asked Yahoo! about my dilemma and it shared some info on a local quilting store.

We started riffling through all the fun patterns. Girly, girly, John Deere, girly, John Deere… I found a very cute jungle animal print. Mom vetoed it on the grounds not everything needed to match the nursery. (I don’t see why not. The nursery is exceedingly adorable.) Finally, I found a puppy design with a blue, green and red checkered background. I also pulled out a pattern with dogs, trucks, baseball gloves and footballs. Perfect for my two little boys.

Nope. Vetoed. On the grounds that “those are for boys.” (I am not making this up.) I paused, concerned that the transition to grandmotherhood affected the frontal lobe. Granted, she was there to support me – her daughter – but she has two grandsons. No no, I was informed we were on the hunt for baby fabrics. They’ll have enough time to be boys later.

Suddenly, the educator within emerged. She’d found the school pattern section. Shortly thereafter, we departed the quilting store – appropriate baby fabrics in tow. My mom must have remained behind. Because when we got back to the house, only Gramma was with me. She set about designing and creating the world’s cutest quilts – they only appropriate kind for her grandkids.

They’re LEARNING quilts. It’s never too early to start. The muppets now have a head start over all their NICU peers.

For Search, my little squirming inchworm who doesn’t take kindly to swaddling confinement, Gramma found a pale blue fabric featuring the nursery rhyme “Hey Diddle Diddle.” It has pictures of the cat and the fiddle, the cow jumping over the moon, dishes running away with a spoon, and rocking horses.

The backing is blue with moons and stars. It’s a calming color for the little mover and shaker, yet still stimulating with the varying shapes. And when he awakes, he can learn his nursery rhymes as he starts learning to read!

For Destroy, my chill little guy who may forget to breathe (but loves to eat), Gramma found a farm fabric. He can learn his primary colors and what sounds the farm animals make. The backing is bright red with yellow baby chicks. Stimulating. Wake up and breathe!

They get cuter by the day. The quilts just make them stand out. I can’t wait to remember these moments when they’re packing the quilt for college. That one day, long long ago, I sat and held their three-pound selves – rocking my little geniuses slowly back and forth next to their learning quilts.

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Red Light, Green Light

We bought a new car today. And with a heavy heart, I said goodbye to my trusty 1998 Honda Accord.

Farewell Friend

Sadly, this new car process turned out to be an all day event (broken up by our visits to the boys, of course) so today’s originally scheduled blog post has been postponed until tomorrow. But don’t fret – now you also get to look forward to reading about the whole new car back-story.

PS. I now drive a 2011 white Honda Pilot. Yes, I’m an SUV mom now… In my defense, I do have two kids.

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Postpartum Pounds

Every morning I get up and get ready for the day. These days each morning is spent preparing to visit the muppets. And it’s getting harder and harder to decide what to wear.

I’m certainly not trying to get dressed up for them. Just trying to find clothes that fit. I have reached that very awkward size stage where maternity clothes are too large but I can’t yet squeeze back into my pre-partum pants. Sad really – because the boys haven’t even reached the developmental stage of spit-up yet.

Even though I gave birth to twins, I only gained 20 pounds (ignoring the hormonal weight gained prior to pregnancy). This is largely attributed to my distinct lack of a third trimester, which I’ve heard is where mom and babies spend three months accumulating fat.

In the two weeks since Search and Destroy’s arrival, I’ve lost my little pregnancy tummy. The weight appears to have migrated elsewhere on my body. All for the betterment of my boys… As we wait for them to grow up big and strong, I am allowed to walk.

Being mobile again is wonderful! After six weeks on bedrest, getting going again was more difficult than I anticipated. I have now accepted that the 2010 Nike Women’s Marathon is not in my future. Given their isolette attitudes, I’m sure I’ll be running the equivalent of ultra-marathons once the boys are home and mobile. Initially, I got lightheaded walking from the hospital entrance to the NICU. But that’s where my boys are – so to the NICU go I.

Today I thought I’d attempt a walk around the block. But then I decided that a walk in 90 degree weather might not be the best decision. I had a nectarine instead. (Oh, McDonald’s, how I’ll miss thee – but my allegiance now lies with Old MacDonald and his farm.)

Many people ask how I’m doing. My standard answer is “worried about the boys.” My attitude generally correlates with the twins’ daily prognosis. It’s a good thing they’re doing well. How am I doing physically? Fine, I suppose. To be honest, I never really paid attention to the whole physical aspect of the surgery. I had over four pounds of other concern.

So aside from looking a little funny in my pants these days, I’m doing great. As I’ve mentioned before, the boys are little fighters. And with that – I’m off to pump and visit the NICU. Someday I’ll be back to the size you all remember. Until then, two little men are awaiting my appearance…

My Little Man Search

My Little Man Destroy

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Draft Eligible

We are in the midst of the 2010 MLB Draft. Held via conference call among all 30 clubs, the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft occurs every year in June. After missing the call for the past eight years, Dad has decided to hang ‘em up – passing the torch to his young sons.

Search appears to be taking this responsibility very seriously. We know he will not be called to the show any time in the near future due to his current ineligibility – given his age and recent steroid use. But it’s never too early to start practicing. Continue reading

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Who’s On First?

"Game Called Because of Rain" by Norman Rockwell

Winding down week two of captivity. There are 36 ceiling tiles above me. Seven of them have accoutrements such as lights, sprinklers or fans installed. Sleep deprivation continues, with the hospital staff not allowing more than two and a half hours of sleep at a time. I am convinced the-powers-that-be secretly turn the heat up at night to assist in the baby cooking process. Why yes, in answer to your question, I am indeed going stir crazy. Continue reading

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Strega Nona

Strega Nona is an elderly lady who helps her fellow villagers out with their troubles. (I can see why perhaps Mom is opposed to this particular name for her grandmotherly moniker.) On a side note, my mother is here to help out for the weekend, as I am still very much bed-ridden. Lest anyone think this post compares my mother to a witch, note that the plot of Strega Nona revolves around a magic pasta pot; the women in my family do not cook. Continue reading

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