Deep Thoughts From Ryan

In Sunday School last week, there was a discussion about why one shouldn't "cast pearls before swine." Some one's answer was that a pig wouldn't appreciate something as fine as pearls. Ryan leans over to me and gives this insight: "Unless you are Miss Piggy." I can't argue with that.

Christmas Dresses 2008

Here are the annual pictures of the girls in their Christmas dresses on the Sunday before the holiday. Elizabeth was stoked that she got to wear Emma's dress, since Emma had outgrown it.

We took pictures of the twins after church, once they were fed and had their diapers changed. Only problem was Maddie was ready for another nap, not pictures.

Decorating Cookies with the Clauses

Yesterday the Darigold cheese factory hosted cookie decorating with Mrs. Claus. Santa put in an appearance as well. This is a very fun weekend here in town.

This is Emma's pile of sprinkles and goodies, or rather- her cookie. When the girls got home, they picked off all the goodies, licked the frosting all off and then took a couple bites of the cookies.

Santa and Elizabeth. Elizabeth couldn't look at Santa while she was on his lap, and Emma wouldn't even stand by Santa. They love Santa from a distance. I really wanted Emma to tell Santa what she wanted for Christmas. I'm still not sure what Santa is bringing the girls yet. Since we don't seem to want to talk to Santa in person, perhaps we will be writing a letter to him. I need input!

Santa, Mrs. Claus and a helper.

Happy? Christmas

For our Christmas cards, I thought I would take a picture of all the girls in front of the Christmas tree in their Christmas dresses. Good idea in theory...

These were some of the better ones. Not quite what I had in mind.

I think a good caption for this picture is: Peace on Earth, Goodwill to Men

I think we will need to try again. I just don't know if I have the energy for another episode like this.

Baby Shower and One Month Old!

Yesterday the high school (where Ryan works) threw us a baby shower after their teacher's meeting. It was so nice of them. We are now the proud owners of a double stroller. Hallelujah! I'm stoked about that. Thanks Voc department! And thanks to everyone else who came. And we've already started in on those diapers... Since Ryan has worked here, this is the 3rd set of twins born to members of the faculty. They've all been in the vocational department thus far. But now a member of the math department will be joining in the fun next year. :o)

The cake. I didn't catch it with all the decorations still on it, but you get the general idea. Very pink, right? (Yea, Ryan)

Emma was camera shy yesterday.

Here are some of the attendees in the library. (Whoa, is that food in the library??)
Today the twins are a whole month old. I can't believe we made it. I guess that means that we might survive. There are times I wonder and feel so overwhelmed.

People ask if we think it would be easier to have twins as your first, or if it would be better after you've already had one, or two in our case. Honestly, I can't imagine being a new mother for the first time with twins. I was so scared and neurotic and afraid I was doing something wrong with Emma. Knowing I've (semi-) successfully raised two children past the infant and toddler stages gives me a certain amount of piece of mind. And I know that the sleepless nights and incessant crying will pass. And I know that sometimes babies just cry (thanks for that Emma) and there's not much I can do about it. It's still hard.

On the other hand, having had two kids before the arrival of the twins presents its own challenges. For one thing, there is NO QUIET around here. Elizabeth chatters ALL DAY LONG in an effort to get my attention. And the adage "Sleep when the baby sleeps" doesn't work so well for me. My day still has to start at a particular time to make sure Emma gets off to school, that Elizabeth makes it to the bathroom first thing, etc. And then that potty training seems to wear off a little for a certain member of the family. (No, no, it's not Ryan) It is getting a little better again, so we are hoping that it stays that way.

I've had so many "I'm a bad mother/wife" moments lately. Like when I was feeding one of the babies and I couldn't walk Emma down to the end of the road to the bus stop. I stood at the front window, nursing a baby, watching my poor 5 year old tear up walking away from the house and weeping myself. Or growling at Elizabeth for jostling me as I try to sleep on the couch while bouncing one of the babies in a bouncer. Or letting Elizabeth watch the 2nd full length movie of the day. Or the fact I've vacuumed maybe once since the babies came home. Really, the examples go on and on. The table only needs to be washed every other day, right? And as long as the laundry gets washed, why bother folding it?

Annie and Maddie are getting so big. They are so beautiful and sweet and innocent. I am so invested and wrapped up in all my girls. I love them all so much. As crazy as my life is right now, I wouldn't trade any of it. They are so worth it.

Irish Road Bowling

We went to visit Ryan's family for Thanksgiving. While we were there, we had a family road bowling game after Ryan's dad got done with work. Here are some of the pictures from our adventure. Emma, Megan, Brynne and Elizabeth

Everyone from the back

Check out Ryan's profile. Can you guess what's under his coat?

I just liked this picture.

Brynne

Michael

Another profile shot. A question: Is Ryan having gastric-intestinal fit from eating too much turkey?

And what do I say about this?

Ok, so the answer. The twins are wrapped up in a Snuggly (Ryan) and Moby Wrap (me) and hidden under our coats to protect them from the cold and wind. Don't we look goofy? We are an equal opportunity household. :o)

Laughs

Danae: Ryan, did you have lunch?
Ryan: Yes.
Danae (sensing that was a lie): Oh really? What did you have for lunch?
Ryan (quietly): Oh crap.
Emma: Daddy had crap for lunch!!

It's Autumn Time

Elizabeth had fun playing in the leaves yesterday while Ryan raked the yard. As you can probably tell, it was well past time to rake the yard. Lots and lots of leaves....

You may have to look a little harder at this picture, but the top of Elizabeth's head is poking out of the top of the pile of leaves.

This picture doesn't really belong to the rest of this post, but I thought it was cute.

Seeing Double

Just some of the pictures we've taken lately: Sleeping on Daddy
Tiny hand

In the swing together

Emma and Maddie

Elizabeth and Annie

In the crib

We Survived Week 1

Anne and Madeline are 1 week old today. We seem to have made it through the first week. The twins had a check up today. They both have regained their birth weight and then some. Annie has gone from 5 lbs 8 oz to 5 lbs 10 oz. Maddie went from 5 lbs 9 oz to 5 lbs 12 oz. They had lost a couple ounces while we were in the hospital. I couldn't keep up with their appetites at first, so we supplemented with some formula. That has changed. They also grew a quarter inch. It's good to see that all the time spent nursing is doing something productive.
I was very excited today to see that the water retention finally went away today. I can see my ankle bones. Yea! My shoes will fit better now. :o) Now, if only we could get those girls to sleep at night, I could lose the dark circles under my eyes...
I've taken some more pictures that I will try to post in the next day or two.

The Twins Arrive!

After a really long and tiring weekend of pre or false labor and no real sleep, I called my doctor's office Monday morning and begged for an appointment. I got one at 10:15. Dr. M told me that conditions were "favorable" for an induction and things would be ready for me at the hospital in 45 minutes. Yes! "The babies are finally coming guys!" I packed my bag, Ryan got his sub plans out and ready in his classroom, made arrangement for the girls and we were off.

We arrived at the hospital at about noon, and they started the Pitocin about 1 pm. I was 8 centimeters dilated just after 8 pm, at which point I was wheeled (or Bumper Car-ed into) the OR. Dr. M's condition for letting the twins arrive naturally was that it had to be in an operating room, in case of emergency. I had all the staff available for a C-section just in case. The room was very, very full. My birthing bed, the baby/contraction monitor, two warming tables, an operating table and all the other stuff crammed into one room, plus my doctor, nurses, baby doctor and us. Whew! I pushed 3 or 4 times before baby A arrived at 8:45 pm. Baby B arrived 9 minutes later, at 8:54 pm, with only 2 or 3 pushes. Nice! Baby A was 5 lbs 8 oz and 19 inches long. Baby B was 5 lbs 9 oz and 19 inches long. And yes, this birthing experience included an epidural. There's a reason I was born during the age of technology.

Here they are! Anne Kathryn and Madeline Rae Kannely. This was the first time I got to hold them, which was after I was returned to my room.

Elizabeth is a big sister now! She's pretty excited about that.

Big Sister Emma

The second bath.

Leaving the hospital yesterday as a family of.... what the.....6 people??!?!

We made it home! (Aaaahhh! They seriously just let us take TWO babies home? Shouldn't there be some sort of intensive training first? Or maybe they should send us home with a nurse to make sure we are doing everything right???)

The twins are so tiny compared to most other babies. These are what their legs look like. Ryan left his hand in the picture so you could really appreciate how tiny Maddie's and Annie's legs are.