Friday, May 16, 2014

Life is Busy

I never wanted to be one of those bloggers that dropped off the face of the planet after having my babies, but I guess that's what's happened.  Life is busy with twins.

Here's what's been going on:

The babies have been going to physical therapy once a week.  That is going really well.  I absolutely love our PT guy.  He is so good with the babies and gets them to do all sorts of things.  Ayden is turning his head so much better both directions and doing it a lot more often.  Rylee still only has 70% range of motion to the left, but she is much further along developmentally as far as her motor skills are concerned.  We will continue doing PT until both babies can roll front to back and back to front at will.

We've been making the hour long trip to see the Pediatric Dermatologist once a week for Rylee.  She is now ulcer free!  Woo Hoo!  Happy Dance!  Happy Rylee!  She is now on to a new medicine called Propanolol. This is a med that is designed to shrink the hemangiomas, but she wasn't able to take it until she got a little older and bigger because it can have a negative effect on her heart.  They did an EKG to make sure she had a healthy heart.  Then the following week they started her out with a low dose and had us stay for a few hours to monitor her heart rate and blood pressure periodically.  For the next two weeks, they had us return, increasing the dosage each time, and monitoring her for any negative side effects.  Now we don't return for another month.  Whew!

I was also busy doing our softball taxes for last year.  Our summer tournament team was a non profit organization which required us to fill out forms and do taxes.  The deadline was yesterday.  I finished them the day before.

I got my hair cut.  Chopped it all off and FINALLY got the grey covered.  Who has time to actually brush their hair when you've got two infants?  All I ever did was put it in a messy bun anyway.  And my hair has been shedding like no other.  I swear, I might be bald next week at the rate it is falling out.

Annnndddddd...... we are also trying to figure out how to pay our bills.  We are so far in debt and really struggling to keep up with the bills.  I know some people don't agree with going into debt for fertility treatments, but honestly, as stressful as it is, we wouldn't change a thing.  We are beyond blessed with our family.  We WILL find a way for it to work out.  Why don't I go back to work you ask?  It's simple.  How can I, when we have so many doctor appointments?  Besides that, we've done the math and it doesn't pay off for us.  The cost of daycare for the both of them would be at least half my paycheck.  I would make enough to cover their formula for the month.  It just doesn't hardly seem worth it.

We are also needing to move.  Hubby has an hour 20 minute commute to work and back.  He absolutely hates commuting and hates it even more because he gets home so late that he barely gets to see the babies before they go down for the night. So we are going to try getting our house ready to sell and move closer. We'd love to buy another house, but we are about 2 years away from being able to do that.  We will probably end up renting for a bit instead. Not ideal, but whatever works so Hubby is happy and we can pay our bills.

Oh yeah, and in between all that, I've got two babies to take care of.  We are still struggling with sleep, but not nearly as much as we were.  Now our issue is that Rylee sleeps part of the night in her crib, but then will only sleep if I am holding her, so we tend to finish the night on the couch together.  They do take pretty good morning naps and I am lucky enough that it's even at the same time.  I could blog then, but when would I take a shower, brush my teeth, do laundry, pay bills, or actually EAT?  In addition, I am usually trying to throw dinner in the crockpot, which is now the ONLY way I cook because it's quick and easy.  Even on days we don't have to go anywhere, it seems that there is always so much to do!

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I have had softball girls wishing me a happy Mother's Day for years.  In fact, last year my team even bought/made me a Mother's Day gift.  People have known for years that we wanted children.  Last year, I shared our infertility journey with my team during the infamous Prom Talk.  It always brought tears to my eyes, knowing that they considered me their "softball mom."  This year was no different, except for the fact that I really do have my own babies!  I am more than just a softball mom.

I still got a couple texts from a few of the girls wishing me happy Mother's Day.  I can't even begin to describe what it means to me that I got these texts first thing that morning.

From a girl that will be home soon from college: "Happy Mother's Day Amber!  I can't wait until I get to come snuggle those babies!"  

From a junior in high school that I have coached since she was 9 years old: "Happy Mother's Day!  Very thankful for you and your family.  Thank you for always being there for me.  You really are like my second mom!  I love you, Amber! :) " 

I received many other texts throughout the day as well, but these were the most special ones, because they were from my softball girls.

My sister hosted a Mother's Day brunch.  It was nice to be able to spend the day with her and the nieces and nephews.  Overall, it was a very nice day.

Extra special Mother's Day with these two loves of my life!
My sister with Ayden
Grandma NiNi (my mom) with Rylee

This Momma Duck had 17 (17!!) ducklings just two days before Mother's Day.  It was fun watching them follow her around my sister's yard.  She had a very special Mother's Day as well, chasing everyone away from her babies.  She was VERY protective!




25 comments:

  1. Wow I thought the picture of your sister was you!! Ya'll look so much alike! I think having babies is a great reason for not being able to blog, I want to have that same issue one day! It is great hearing from you and it's wonderful that Rylee is doing better now. I can not even imagine how crazy things must be with two babies. I'm sure you are doing a wonderful job :) LOVE the new hair cute, it looks great!

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    1. It is definitely a great reason, but I miss reading all your blogs! I still try.... I hope that you have the same issue one of these days too!

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  2. I agree, you and your sister look so similar! I'm glad the babies are doing well in PT and Rylee is feeling so much better. I can't imagine having to deal with what she went through, poor thing. Good luck with the move, whenever it happens. Glad to see you back!

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    1. We hope the move will be sooner than later, but not sure that will be possible. All we can do is attempt to at least get our house ready for it.

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  3. You and your sister look like twins!! I'm glad to read your post- I've missed ya!! :)

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    1. We've been asked FOREVER if we were twins, but she's actually 5 years younger than me! haha! This is one of the many reasons she was the perfect egg donor. My kids still have a chance of looking like me. Who knew they'd actually end up looking like their Daddy! lol

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  4. You two could be twins! PP hair loss is no joke. I swore I would need a wig...both times. I hear you on the blogging. It's tough to find the time. I hope your move goes smoothly. We moved across the country when E was 4 months old. It was tough showing and selling a house with a baby, but easier than it would be if he had been mobile. Now it would be impossible.

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    1. Ugh. I can't imagine moving across the country! By the time we actually get to selling our house, the twins will probably be mobile. Lord help us! haha!

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  5. I'm so glad to hear Rylee is ulcer-free! I bet you are both a lot happier!

    Happy Mothers Day, what a beautiful photo of you holding the twins. And I love the new haircut!

    I totally get why you aren't able to blog as often but I'm glad you found time to give us a little update :)

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    1. We are ALL much happier now that poor Rylee isn't in a constant state of pain. Poor thing.

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  6. I love that you got to be blessed with your first Mother's Day and that you enjoyed it so much!!!! So glad to hear the updates with the kids and sounds like they are doing great!!!! Prayers for continued good health, housing situation is resolved soon so that there will be less stress on the commute and
    and the bills. Life has a way of working out always, so hang on to that! Love, hugs and prayers!! Aunt D PS: Also looking forward to seeing all of you in 2 days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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    1. It was so much fun to see you on Sunday! I'm so glad you got the chance to play with the babies :)

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  7. Times may be tough and busy...but your smile says that you are happy. And your babes are beautiful. The rest will work itself out. Glad you found the time to update us on how you're doing.

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    1. Thanks Jessah! We do love our little family :)

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  8. They really do look like their daddy. Those genes must be super strong!! I am so happy for you Amber and I can't wait to be (more) sleep deprived when my twins get here. And I agree, the debt will eventually be taken care of and while it is you get to love on your babies. If we all waited for the money or the perfect time to have them it would never happen. Happy belated Mother's Day friend!

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    1. The funny thing is that we always just assumed they would look like me! My nieces and nephews look like their mom, which means they also look like me. It's fun that they look like their daddy! It will be interesting to see how their looks form down the road.

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  9. I totally stole your idea and gave a "Prom Talk" this year to my volleyball girls. I blogged about it - someday when you're a little less busy, I'm sure you'll read it :-). Your hair looks adorable! Good luck with the move!

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    1. Oh yay! I can't wait to get to that post!

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  10. So glad you and the babies are doing well! They are so adorable and you look wonderful and sooo happy! Good luck with the work/commute/living situation!

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  11. Happy first Mother's Day! It's always wonderful to hear from you; I can only imagine how hectic your life must be right now. I can barely find the time to do things and all I have is a lazy beagle. :) So glad to hear that Rylee is feeling better. You guys all look so happy!

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    1. Haha! I don't think it really matters what we have going on in our lives. People tend to be busy doing something, it's just a matter of what! Hope you are doing good Aramis. I haven't read a post from you in awhile. I don't know if that is because I am so far behind or you haven't posted! Hah! I'm slowly but surely trying to catch up. Don't know if it will ever happen.

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  12. Ulcer free- yay! That is fantastic news! I don't blog as much as I used to, and commenting can sometimes take days after a post goes up. But when I get home I'm not interested in going on the computer.

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    1. Yeah, I am waaayyyyyy behind on my blog reading, but I still love checking in with everyone once in awhile! Hope you are doing good!

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  13. There is so much to do always. I actually spent as good part of today catching up on blogs and I am still a week behind! I plan on posting an update soon because so much has happened!
    My hair just recently stopped falling out. It's crazy how much hair I would lose when I washed it. It does actually grow back and then you will have a head full of short hairs and look really awkward for awhile. I have short hair sticking up all over the place. Our bodies do some crazy things when making babies.

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