First year molars and utter exhaustion

I don't remember ever being this tired.  I sure I have been...after the Zev or the girls were born, etc.  But it has been a LONG LONG time.

Jason has a conference here in Boston for the Oncology Nursing Society.  So I was supposed to pick up the girls and Zev after work yesterday.  I went (in the rain, of course!!) to get the girls first, and found Meorah screaming in the arms of one of the caregivers.  Apparently she started crying about ten minutes prior to my arrival, with no obvious reason.  Since I still had to get Zev, I just put both girls in their stroller and ran through the rain to Zev's building.  It was easy picking him up, and we drove home, with Meorah screaming most of the way.

She was inconsolable at home, refusing dinner.  I couldn't even attempt to put her down without her screaming.  Zev, with the lack of empathy that comes with being three, kept asking for dinner and I had to do my best to make him something while holding Meorah (where was Tzelia during all this?  She has recently discovered a love for dragging a blanket around and sucking her thumb while walking on her knees...think 'Linus' from Peanuts...so she was somewhere doing that with her coat still on).  I got some Tylenol into Meorah and called Jason, telling him he had to come home ASAP.

Since God hates me, by the time he showed up Meorah was acting fine.  The Tylenol had kicked in.  We still had no idea what was wrong:  I had managed to take her temperature, but she didn't have one.  She ate and went to bed.

We were awakened at 1am by her screaming.  The rest of the night is somewhat of a blurr...I know she went back to sleep after we comforted her, and awoke again at 3am.  Jason went into her room and then yelled to me that he didn't know what was wrong with her:  she refused to calm down and was now spasming every few seconds or so.  We brought her into our room, which did help her calm down.  As long as she was laying on me she stayed relatively quiet, but still spasming ocassionally.  It was now after 3am.  Jason called the on-call doc at our pediatrician's office, and the nurse said the spasms were actually not abnormal and babies often did that if they were very upset.  We made an appointment for the following morning to bring her in.  After awhile she did calm down enough to be put back in her own crib in her room.

And in the morning she was all smiles.  Tired, but no problems having breakfast, and laughing and singing to herself as we drove to daycare.  We ended up cancelling the appointment...gave her some Motrin and hoped for the best, leaving her at daycare.

Molars coming in?  That's my best guess.  They are supposed to come in around one year of age, and she's almost 17 months, 14.5 adjusted.  If she'll let me, I'm going to take a look at her mouth tonight.

But in the meantime, I'm absolutely exhausted.  I still got up at five to go to the gym and lift (I originally wasn't going to, but I was awake anyway, so figured I may as well go even if it means going through the motions...I'm a sucker for routine).  I also have a cold, which doesn't help.  Ugh.  Seriously, seriously dragging along.  You don't want to know how many pots cups of coffee I've had today.  And I have a bottle of caffeine powder in my lab that has been teasing me....

Luckily its Friday so tonight is laid back.  I don't have to 'prep' anything for tomorrow.  Jason is going to be out all day at the conference, so it will just be me and the kids.  I asked a few people if they wanted to hang out, but most are busy.  Its supposed to be a nice day, so I think we'll play in the yard for awhile.  I may try to do some yard clean-up if they'll let me.  We'll see.

All I want to do is lay on the couch and watch a movie with Jason.  That sounds heavenly about now....

Pictures

Haven't done some in awhile.

That last one is a picture of us when all three of them were sick.  Lovely, huh?  Great expression on my face...

Life is....stressful.  What else is new.  Having a nice Passover, though.  We did a little seder at home with just the five of us.  A very very very short one.  Just long enough until the girls started screaming to go to bed.  I'm not sure how much Zev got out of it, but it was amusing watching him eat horseradish root.  "Spicy!!"

Off to dinner tonight at some friend's house for a passover-friendly dinner.  Then back to the grind for Monday.  And it is quite a grind....

Daycare week 2

Four full days of day care = three sick children.

The week ended with all three children having horrible fevers.  My mother in law came to visit last weekend and we had a really nice day out at the local zoo in the afternoon.  One of our 'groupon' buys last year was a zoo membership, so we get to go there for free now.  I had never been to this particular zoo (Franklin Park Zoo) and it was actually quite nice.  We wandered around a little bit and then let the kids play in one of the little playground areas they have there.  In the evening, my mother met us and we went out to dinner at a local Japanese restaurant we really like but rarely get to go to (Minado).  Jason and I love this place but since its a buffet, unless we have other adults with us we cannot go with the children.  And, it is rather $$$!  But the food is excellent and it is always crowded and very popular.

So while Saturday was lovely, Sunday we woke up with three sick children.  Zev spent the entire day zoned out on the couch with this grandmother.  Jason and I escaped for a nice lunch out while she watched the kids (thanks!!).  The girls ended up having fevers that evening, so I agreed to stay home with them.  We did end up taking them to the doctors Monday morning, and both girls have ear infections.  Jason stayed home with all three kids on Tuesday, and everyone was back to work/daycare by Wed.

Ugh.

Zev is still coughing a LOT.  He had been on antibiotics and Flonaze for three weeks with sinusitis, but he still sounds horrific.  We're going to give him a few more days and if it doesn't improve, take him to the doctor as well.  He has a horrible wet cough.  The girls, finally, are perked up and feeling better, but it is an...adventure...trying to get them to take their antibiotics.  Its a two person job:  one of us has to hold them down while the other forces their jaw open to drop the medicine in while the poor thing is crying and squirming.  This stuff is supposed to taste good, but they REFUSE to take it unless you force it in.  At least we only have a few more days of that.

I went to my 'moms of multiples' group the other evening and am now the 'Welcoming Chair' for my group.  I had wanted to be a more active member a few months ago, so when the current chair stepped down, the president asked me if I wanted to step in.  I said sure.  It isn't that difficult a job:  before each monthly meeting with have 'age based discussion rooms', where you go into a room with other MoMs with twins the same age and chat for an hour.  They are moderated by volunteers, so I just have to make sure each room has a designated moderator.  I also will continue to run the mentoring program and make sure we have someone call new members when new members join to officially 'welcome' them into the club.  I also go to board meetings and get to see more of the 'behind the scenes' issues in the club.  I thought it would be nice to do:  I get to talk to adults, feel like I'm contributing, and have an 'outside interest' other than work.

I sometimes forget that being a twin mom is somewhat 'special' and unique.  It isn't until I talk to other mothers of twins that I realize how neat it really is.  Its just reality to me.  It isn't until I'm out in the world and I'm stopped every 5 feet by a stranger ("you must have your hands full/are they twins/God bless you (my favorite)/you're supermom/etc") that I remember how different it is.

Its also very $$.  Money continues to be a big stressor for us right now.  We're considering getting rid of a car and our cable.  We have cut out going out to dinner unless we already have a coupon.  I'm keeping a close eye on our grocery budget, but luckily we already don't buy any real 'junk', so there isn't much to cut down on.  Jason may be able to start working some weekend shifts at a local hospital starting in July, and that will be very helpful.

And I suppose we could always sell a kid.  Meorah is probably worth the most since she's the easiest, but I could argue that Tzelia is the better long-term investment:  she's definitely very smart and analytical already and has MIT or something similar in her future. So if you're willing to put her with her drama-queen antics in the first few years, I think you'd end up with a better deal with her financially.

Or you could take Zev.  He's about 90% potty-trained and already somewhat broken-in.  We could work out a deal.

Daycare week 1

The kids started daycare this week.  It is going to be a gradual transition.  On Monday, they were there for two hours, and on Tuesday they were there for four hours.  Today (Wed) the teachers have a meeting, so I am home with them.  Tomorrow they will be there for six hours, and then they will be there full-time by Friday.

My thoughts so far:

Zev:  Zev is in love.  The first day we brought him in, he took one look at the toys and didn't even say good-bye.  He was off and running.  It helps that he had friends there.  The father of one of them emailed me later that day and told me when he dropped off his daughter,  "Zev was having the time of his life, and he and Ellie were thrilled to see each other".  He did tell me that evening that "I was looking for mommy and she wasn't there".  I told him mommy didn't go to school anymore and that she went to work.  The second day he almost exploded with excitement when we pulled up.

I think he'll be fine.

The girls:  No worries there either.  No crying, no yelling, no sobbing when we left.  The director was surprised.  They got 'A+s' on their sheet.  Did great both days.  The teachers expect Meorah to walk any day now...they are working on it with her already.  They say that Tzelia is the fastest one there, even though she isn't walking (doesn't surprise me...the girl is FAST!).

They'll be fine.

What can I say:  there are no introverts in my family.  Social butterflies and flirts, all of them.

More practical stuff:  It is a PAIN packing everything up the day before.  Snacks, milk, diapers, etc.  Ugh.  It makes the evenings much more difficult and the mornings a bit more complicated.  Drop off can be anytime between 7 and 8.  Previously, Nicole was coming over around 8:15-30, and now we need to be out of the house by 7:30.  So the kids' schedule has moved up half an hour.  I still get up at the same time, but it means the morning routine is slightly more rushed.

It also doesn't help that the kids are actually in different buildings across the street from each other.  What we are planning on doing:  we all go in the minivan to drop off the kids.  Jason will take Zev or the girls, and I will take the other.  Jason will then continue to work from there (its a 20 minute walk or a 5 minute bus ride) and I will continue to work from there in the minivan; the daycare is slightly out of my way, but not horribly.  For pick-up, either we'll meet there together, or I'll go pick up the girls and Jason can pick up Zev himself and they can both take the bus.  We haven't figured that out yet.

Overall it was a good choice.  Zev will get a lot out of it and I think the girls will too.

We are still trying to set up a 'good-bye' conversation with Nicole over the phone.  We have been playing phone tag.  She sent me an email a few days ago asking how the kids were doing and saying how much she missed them and thought about them every day.  We got contacted by the DA's office, who wants to know if we are interested in continuing the trial.  While it isn't our decision, they will take our opinion into consideration.  Her pre-trial hearing is in May.

So things are settling into their new normal.  Slowly but surely....

On an unrelated note, I"m so glad its spring again.  This cold weather is just killing me.  And, I am going to my first board meeting for my moms of multiples group tonight:  they asked me to be the support chair since the old one was moving and I said sure.  I like being involved and it will be nice to become more familiar with some of the women in my group.  Not that I need more things on my schedule.....