Time is Telling

Wow...I'm totally embarrassed that it's been almost 7 months since I've posted! I guess that says a lot. My last post was the night before I went back to work...and boy, have we been CRAZY since then! Lucky for us, Gigi stayed with the girls until they turned 8 months old, and then they were off to "school." L&M absolutely love school and have made all sorts of friends - Carter, Charlie, Lucas, Bryce and Kinsley. Not to mention they love their teachers Ms. Ragone and Ms. MacLean :) Having to get the girls to school each morning and pick them up by a certain time each night has whipped Eddie and me into shape. We've developed a pretty serious routine to keep all of the wheels greased around this place. Only problem is...I still haven't found time to fit in exercise...or losing those last 15 pounds of baby weight. Arrrggghhh.

The girls are growing fast; it's truly amazing. They are crawling and pulling themselves up, saying mama, dada, baba, and every now and then, we convince ourselves that they say I love you ;) L&M love playing with each other and have really developed their own little personalities. L is our diva. She'll spend most of her time in detention and talking her way out of speeding tickets and other such nonsense. M is our little love muffin - totally not interested in the drama and loves being a cuddle bunny. It will be fun to see if these traits stick with them as they grow up.

Back to Reality

Tomorrow I go back to work. Granted, it's only part-time for the next four weeks, but eventually I'll be back to work full-time in May and another "new normal" will occur. I have mixed emotions about the entire situation; it's really bittersweet! My original plan was to take 12 weeks with the girls, but due to some crazy happenings at work (CCE's North American operations are merging with The Coca-Cola Company at the end of 2010), I've decided that returning to work sooner rather than later is probably a good idea.

I have been over the moon for the last eight weeks (some days better than others - don't get me wrong) at home with my girls. They have become my entire life, and it's hard to think about sharing my time and brain with anything other than them! Until our girls were born, our main priority (besides each other) was work. We're both blessed with amazing jobs for wonderful companies, and frankly, we both enjoy working. Shocking for most, I know! I thought about making the choice to stay at home with the twins, and I told Eddie that if I got halfway through my maternity leave and just couldn't bear the thought of going back to work, that we'd have to devise a plan to make it work (read: two incomes to one!) But, I actually found myself missing work (and checking my BlackBerry....and reading emails....and calling the office.)

It's going to be good to get back into the swing of things, but hard to adjust to our "new normal." Thankfully, the girls are in good hands (thanks Gigi!) and I've got an amazing support system at work. Wish me luck!!

Six Weeks and Counting!

I can hardly believe that the girls are six weeks old already! It feels like the time has gone by so quickly (except for when time stands still at 3 a.m. and we can't get one or both of them to sleep!) Today I went for my six week follow up with Dr. H and I'm officially released to return to the land of the living. It's pretty exciting since I haven't been able to exercise since last fall. I can't wait to smell the gym. Isn't that disgusting? Disgusting but true! Especially since I have about 30 pounds to shake before summer :) I was a little sad when we left Dr. H's today...I spent a lot of time there the past nine months and got to be pretty close to Nurse S and Dr. H. I got used to the VIP treatment around there and now, I'm just another pap smear. Hahaha!

The girls are getting so big and are growing more everyday. They're both well over eight pounds (normal in singleton land...big in twinsland) and tall like their mommy. They've officially outgrown their newborn clothes and have moved into 0-3 months. Now we get to wear more than just sleepers and gowns!! They'll go out on their official debut this Saturday to watch Eddie get baptized into the Catholic church. It's going to be quite a big day for us! Until now, our pediatrician hasn't wanted us to expose the girls in public (flu season + germs + people that can't resist touching twins = YUCK) and Eddie and I are both pretty stoked to get back into the swing of things. For the last six weeks, we've been stuck inside this house (more like five months for me, since I was on bedrest) and we're busting at the seams to get out. Heck, we're already planning summer vacation trips! Right now, our big nights out consist of strapping the girls in their carseats, getting take out, and eating it in the parking lot. It sounds crazy, but we've actually really enjoyed it! We pile our food on the center console and catch up on each other's lives - how's work, have you talked to anyone lately, can you believe we're parents and so on. We've actually had some of the best convos we've had in a long time in that ol' Ford these past few weeks :)

Well, I can hear the Hornets stirring up from their nap, so I better sign off. Feels good to blog again! More to come...

Thought of the Day: When Does This Get Easier?!

Taking care of two new lives is not easy! I've never felt so overworked and helpless, all at the same time (if that even makes sense?!) The twins are actually pretty well behaved and I have tons of help with Eddie and my mom here to support me, but holy moly, being a mommy is taking a toll on me! Post-pardum, your hormones are still off kilter (will this ever stop?) and toss that in with trying to breastfeed twins, and you have a moltov cocktail - a real confidence killer. Somedays, they latch right on and go to town....and other days, they look at me like I'm a complete idiot. I actually think that if they could, they'd walk right into the kitchen to grab a bottle and feed themselves. Hahaha! So, I've pledged to take motherhood one day at a time. I'm going to stop trying to get "ahead of the game" (which at this point, I've deemed impossible), and try to take a deep breath every once and awhile.

Happy Birthday Laiten & Maisen!

The life of a mom to twins is CRAZY, but I wanted to take a minute and make sure that I updated all of the friends and family who are checking in on our blog! Laiten and Maisen came into the world on Friday, February 12, 2010 at 7:43 and 7:44 a.m. It was such an amazing day and the girls are absolutely beautiful. Eddie and I have spent the better part of the last week staring in awe at them...pretty much 24/7. We came home from the hospital on Tuesday and had a hectic first night (crying, screaming, fussing - you name it!) but we've had a great stretch since then (knock on wood). They are on a pretty tight feeding schedule - they eat every three hours, and feeding two babies every three hours for twenty four hours.....well, you do the math on how much we're sleeping. But it's worth every second.

Laiten Ann (Baby A)
Born 7:43 a.m.
5 lbs. 13 oz.
18 inches long

Maisen Lane (Baby B)
Born 7:44 a.m.
5 lbs. 9 oz.
19 inches long

Delivery Day....Could It Be Near?!

Well, it looks like the day is finally here. We had a great visit with Dr. H today and he said that he's planning to deliver us THIS FRIDAY! After my usual checkup this morning (which consisted of a cervical exam that felt more like he was checking my tonsils) he asked Eddie and me to come down to his office. It felt so surreal. I was so overwhelmed with emotions; just eight months ago, we were sitting in his office and he was preparing us for the long journey ahead and what a challenge it presented to be pregnant with twins. It's so hard to believe that it has passed us by so quickly and that we're finally nearing the end of our journey. When I look back at the roller coaster of emotions we've felt - from excitement to frustration to being scared and anxious - we've learned so much about each other and even more about what we're capable of together. For any of you DMB fans, our journey makes me think of the song "You & Me." In fact, I think I've cried everytime I've heard it in the last two weeks.

On a much lighter note (after all, this blog is supposed to be about comic relief) here is a top-10 list of things I'll miss most about being pregnant with the Hornets Nest, in no particular order:

10. Being on bed rest. Yeah, it sucks now, but I can't help but think about how much I'll miss it when I'm running after two little gremlins, a dog, taking care of Eddie, and working full-time. Crosswords and soap operas don't sound so bad when you think about it that way.

9. Eating whatever I want. I've induldged in the most ridiculous of menu items for the last few months. Sonic BLT's, McDonalds Cheesburgers, Moe's Queso, Chick-Fil-A Milkshakes - you name it. It's been ridiculous. Ridiculously enjoyable.

8. Wearing sweats 24/7. Although there are days when I miss throwing on my cute BigStar jeans and a cardigan, wearing sweats is pretty awesome. However, that has not come without challenge. I've gained about 30 lbs. in the last 2.5 weeks (it's water weight, people) so even my sweats inventory has become slightly smaller (in more ways than one.) Variety is the spice of life, but not when you're carrying two six pound babies.

7. Working from home. This has been pretty fabulous. I've been so blessed to have supportive co-workers who have helped me to adjust to being out of the office and doing everything via BlackBerry and laptop. It's amazing how technology now allows you to do just about anything from anywhere. Thank goodness because I really needed something to stimulate my brain in between crosswords and soaps (see above) - hahaha!

6. Getting presents. Having babies is like having Christmas for an extended two months. My family and friends have been so incredibly generous, the Hornets Nest is beyond spoiled already. I will miss our nearly daily visits from the UPS man and our USPS mail lady, but I'm sure they are sick of Bowden barking his face off everytime they come to the door.

5. Embarking on something new everyday. Although I'm sure this won't stop with pregnancy, it has been really fun learning all sorts of new skills - including, but not limited to breastfeeding, changing a diaper, sponge bathing, installing car seats, and putting together two Pack and Plays.

4. Spending oodles of time with those I love the most. Also another perk from bedrest, I've been able to spend lots of time with Eddie and my family as we prepare for the girls' arrival. I've heard some great stories and got some fantastic advice from the most wonderful mothers I know - my Grandma (daughter of a twin, mother of twins) my mom and aunts, and some close friends.

3. Feeling the girls move and kick. After months of getting wrapped up in every move they make in there, it will be strange having a normal belly (Lord - please tell me it will be normal once again) with normal internal organs again. I wonder if I'll have phantom movements in there from now on.

2. Having an excuse to be moody. While I think I've done a decent job (I do have double the hormones in there, people) at maintaining a good balance, there have been (a handful of) times where I've been in meltdown mode. And it's kind of nice to have a good excuse to fly off the handle every now and again.

1. Being selfish. Now, I don't mean this in a bad way. It's just that for the last nine months, I'm the only one who has really been directly connected with the girls (literally). I feel like they're somehow linked into my thoughts and feelings, and now, I'll have to share them with the world. On the flipside, sometimes I wish I could escape my own head...surely they're ready by now, too :)

So, please send some positive thoughts and prayers our way as we turn the page - closing one chapter and beginning the next. We'll be posting updates here and on Facebook later this week!

To Whom It May Concern...

Dear Mr./Ms. Stretch Marks:

I am writing you to express my concern with your recent invasion of my privacy. Upon your recommendation, I worked my tail off for 8.5 months, slathering and shellacking, to prevent you from moving into the neighborhood. And then, out of the blue, there you were. One tiny, silver line. Honestly, I am so greasy that I'm surprised that you didn't slide right off my belly when you attempted to make your move. But then, you really started to overstay your welcome. Like ants marching, you began inviting friends to join, seemingly by the dozen everyday. And they weren't tiny and silver like you. They were angry. Angry and red. Every morning during my 34th week was like waking up from a nightmare. Day by day, more and more of your nasty friends were making a permanent home below my belly button. My belly was looking less like the Hornets Nest and more like a roadmap of Central Florida. Don't you know that I'm only 28 years old? I still have many, many years of sunning at the pool with my cute husband (and adorable twins) and would like to do so without the assistance of having to wear a one-piece.

I would like for you and Mr. Water Weight to get together and discuss how we can proceed with the last few weeks of this pregnancy without turning my body into a train wreck. The hormones and other physical changes of pregnancy are tough enough without this added pressure. And if you're feeling extra generous, if you could please deflate my hands and feet so that they no longer look like 20 lbs of potatoes stuffed into a 10 lb bag, that would also be appreciated.

Yours truly,
Jessi Horne

Thoughts From the Underbelly

I had to laugh at myself today. My belly is so big right now that everything seems to be a struggle. I can't really shave my legs, I can barely sit in a chair without crushing my lungs, and my own mother is disgusted by the looks of my belly button (which is rocking out in full force.) When I was first pregnant, I named the twins The Hornets Nest because they were making me so sick, but now it feels like the Hornets Nest has morphed into a small school bus. My maternity shirts have turned into midrifts and my yoga pants are begging for reprieve. I actually tripped over my dog getting out of the shower last week because I honestly couldn't see him on the ground. That's how I knew I was really in trouble.

Speaking of rude awakenings, I also think I discovered the beginnings of my first stretch mark this week. I can't confirm it at this time because anything past my belly button is unchartered territory these days and I don't think Eddie even knows what a stretch mark looks like. However, after some detective work and a hand mirror, I'm pretty sure that I identified a shiny silver line right underneath my belly button. %&$#! I have been fairly religious with moisturizing the Hornets Nest, so I'm really confused! All of my books say you don't have to use cocoa butter (which seems to be everyone's recommendation, but the smell of it, unfortunately, makes me want to vomit) so I just got into a regular rotation of using Burt's Bees Belly Balm, Vaseline Cocoa Butter Oil, and just plain ol' Lubriderm. Well, wouldn't you know my plan worked right up until 34 weeks when I caught a flash of that pesky little thing in the mirror. Maybe it will go away quietly. Hopefully, he doesn't have anymore friends that plan on making their debut on the Hornets Nest. Needless to say, I'm already stockpiling Strivectin and researching laser surgery.

In other news, my mom has been here since my baby shower last week and has been an absolute Godsend. She has scrubbed my house from top to bottom (it's MOM clean, and I love that), grocery shopped, and helped me get the nursery in working order. I am so thankful for her!

The Countdown Begins...

This week was a crazy one! It started with my weekly appointment with my OB, Dr. H. These appointments are usually pretty par for the course...in fact, I take care of most of it before the nurse even calls me back. I've got the routine down: pee in a cup, weigh yourself (yikes!), the nurse takes your blood pressure, the doc measures your belly, listens to the heartbeats, and checks your cervix. You're in and out in no time. But this week was a little different. When Dr. H. was doing his normal exam, he said he could feel Baby A's head and that I had started to efface. Holy cow! I couldn't believe it. I knew with twins that they would probably come early, but I guess I wasn't expecting it to happen this soon.

The doc ordered me to strict bed rest to help Baby A stay in place, rather than continue to put pressure on her, which could possibly lead to a pre-term labor. Dr. H wants to try and get us to at least 35 weeks so that the girls are further developed - especially their lungs. So that means that we have three more weeks (I'm 32 weeks on Monday) before we can let Baby A get her party started. This is officially her first lesson in "hurry up and wait."

The other part of this story is that being on strict bed rest (actually just the mere thought of being on strict bed rest) has made me even more neurotic than I was before. I was feeling a little bit of panic. I still had so much to do - get car seats, crib mattresses, finish the nursery, clean the house - and that was just at home! I've also been working on a few projects at work that I needed to finish and I just wasn't sure how all of this was going to get done without being able to do it myself. (Control problems? Who me?) Luckily, Eddie is my polar opposite and he was able to think clearly through the mud. I made him a list of exactly what we needed for the nursery and the girls, and it literally took him two hours on Saturday to get everything done. He's amazing!

So now, the journey really begins. My mom and grandma arrive for my baby shower this week, and they'll help me put the finishing touches on everything to make sure that we are ready. And then, once everyone goes home after the weekend, we'll wait. Wait to welcome these sweet girls into the world.

Tales from an Insomniac

One of the great (read: sarcasm) things about being pregnant is you don't really get much sleep. I wonder if it's foreshadowing for things to come, but regardless, I spend a lot of sleepless nights pondering the 1,000,000 RANDOM thoughts that come across my brain. Because I have no other way to get them out of my head other than to spit them back out, I thought I'd share them with you. Otherwise, I play them in my head over and over again. (And while I've actually tried that as a means to get myself to fall back asleep, it doesn't work.)

Here's a sample playlist of last night/this morning's randomness. To provide you with the full effect, I'm listing them in the same order that they played out in my head tonight:

• I sure am glad I registered for all those bed pillows at JCPenney when I got married, otherwise I wouldn't be able to log the few hours of sleep each night that I am able to get. I mean, I've been staring a dozen pillows in my linen closet for 5 1/2 years now, thinking that I should really give some of them to Goodwill or something. Well, imagine that. Eddie has built me a classic Army bunker of my feathered-filled friends so that I can wedge my barbecue grill of a belly in bed each night. Bless his heart.

• I hope Eddie is enjoying his new position at Ferguson. Is he feeling tremendous bouts of stress about his new job? Is he nervous about succeeding now that we have a family on the way? Is he worried about me being pregnant? Is he scared to be a dad to twins in less than 60 days? If he is, why doesn't he act like it? Doesn't he want to talk about it? Oh, and that new Breathe Right strip that he is trying to help with his jacked-up sinuses is really a miracle worker. He looks crazy as hell, but he seems to be breathing without any trouble. In fact, I can barely hear him. He is breathing, right? (Leans over a minimum of five times to check. We're good.)

• Hmmm...I haven't felt Maisen move in awhile. I hope everything is ok. (Insert kick from Maisen...shoulder roll from Laiten) Check - check.

• There are a few things that I really couldn't survive without at this stage of my pregnancy: my Boppy wedge pillow (one of the many from the pillow fort), Aveda Rosemary Mint lotion, my Health Journey - Having a Successful Childbirth meditation CD (thanks Luch), and the Internet. Dear God, what did pregnant women do before the new millennium?

• I'm so glad that I got a few big things checked off my list yesterday...bought the girls' car seats (thanks Grandma Roth) and a glider/rocker for the nursery. I actually found the glider/rocker on Craig's List and that was the first time I've ever done anything like that! I have been so anti-consignment, but when it came down to it, I really wanted that $1,000 rocker and seeing as though we've already spent the $1,000,000 we had saved up for the babies (read: more sarcasm) I thought, hell, why not get the expensive rocker that I really want for way less from the nice couple selling theirs in East Cobb. Now, I fully intend to get it steam-cleaned of course, but what if they had bed bugs or fleas, or worse yet, their kids had lice or something? No wonder Eddie thinks I need to be medicated. (I'm still having it sanitized, though.)

So, there you have it. All of the randomness that I battle during those sleepless hours. It's a wonder I have any teeth left from the grinding I must put myself through during the sleeping hours. Hopefully I'm not passing along this neurotic behavior to my girls in-utero.

Shame on Me!

I'm so ashamed of myself and not keeping up with my blog since we found out we were pregnant. I was totally into documenting this entire process from the moment we knew we were pregnant to when we delivered....and every waking moment in between. I made a few posts in the very early days (check them out under the 2009 archives if you need a good laugh) but other than that, I've been a real slacker.

We are expecting twins in the next six or seven weeks - two little girls - Laiten Ann and Maisen Lane. It has been an incredible ride so far...being pregnant allows you to look a life through a completely new lens. I can't wait for their arrival!

So, this is my New Year's resolution (for the record, I usually think making resolutions are ridiculous and just another way to disappoint yourself, but it seems fitting considering the time of year): To keep up with this blog and let all of our family and friends know how we are doing as we turn the page on another new chapter of our lives. Stay tuned!