Jenni, you will be missed =(

Goodbye party ... Before all the tears.

My baby shower... planned by my wonderful friends, Jenni, LeiLani, and Amanda.

Winter Gala...

We made Christmas decorations this last Christmas '08.

Halloween '08.

Poker night... one of many.

Jenni's Baby Shower... planned by Laura, Sara, Amanda, and me.

Fancy dinner with the girls.

Halloween '07.

Over the last year and a half, I got to know Jenni very well. She is a wonderful friend, neighbor, wife, mom, cook, and hair stylist. She has always been there for me, through the best and the worst, and I hope I have been there for her, too.

This summer, she is moving to Ohio with Nick and George. I will miss her very much but am comforted to know that she already has friends there. I have no doubt that she will make many more and will continue to spread her joy for life through her smile and service.

Jenni, I will miss you tons. Keep in touch =)

Blessed

My heart is full today, and I truly feel blessed to have such a wonderful husband. Being a medical student is extremely stressful. These last few months, Billy has had to not only study for his classes, but also study for boards. These tests are crucial in determining which residency/specialty Billy will or will not get into - in other words, these tests will determine our future. In addition, Billy also has had to:

- do everything that I am no longer able/allowed to do, like grocery shopping and heavy lifting,
- stress out about our boys being born prematurely,
- stress out about our boys being born before he takes the boards,
- stress out about the possibility that I might have to get surgery,
- stress out about the possibility that I might be doing more than I should,
- and stress out about not being able to handle it all.

I wish that there was something I could do to help him, but all I can really do is show my support and appreciation for all that he does. Resting is now my #1 priority, not only because it can save our babies' lives, but also because it can save Billy's education. If I can prove my doctors wrong, carry the babies until after Billy has taken the boards, and deliver them in perfect health, there will be a lot less stress on him.

I know that if I do my part, the Lord will do His.

Bed rest

This is my 25th week of pregnancy and I have officially been put on bed rest since my 24th week... only I haven't been taking it very seriously. It has been really difficult for me to go from moving around every minute of the day to laying in bed all day. This is crucial for the babies, though, because they have some Twin-to-Twin Transfusion. To help you better understand what it is, I did some research and this is what I found:

As a result of sharing a single placenta, the blood supplies of monochorionic twin fetuses can become connected, so that they share blood circulation: although each fetus uses its own portion of the placenta, the connecting blood vessels within the placenta allow blood to pass from one twin to the other. Depending on the number, type and direction of the interconnecting blood vessels, blood can be transferred disproportionately from one twin (the "donor") to the other (the "recipient"). The transfusion causes the donor twin to have decreased blood volume, retarding the donor's development and growth, and also decreased urinary output, leading to a lower than normal level of amniotic fluid. The blood volume of the recipient twin is increased, which can strain the fetus's heart and eventually lead to heart failure, and also higher than normal urinary output, which can lead to excess amniotic fluid.
In early pregnancy (before 26 weeks), TTTS can cause both fetuses to die, or lead to severe disabilities. If TTTS develops after 26 weeks, the babies can usually be delivered alive and have a greater chance of survival without disability.
Other than requiring a monochorionic-diamniotic twin (or higher multiple) pregnancy, the causes of TTTS are not known. It is not known to be hereditary or genetic.
Some doctors recommend complete bed-rest for the mother coupled with massive intakes of protein as a therapy to try to counteract the syndrome. Theories for why this would be effective vary, but some doctors claim to have seen it help. There are, however, no formal clinical trials indicating that the bed rest / high-protein diet is effective.

If the situation persists, there is a chance that I might have to go in to surgery to split the babies' placenta into two placentas using a laser. We are hoping that it won't get that severe. I have been resting a little more these last few days, and it has made some difference, but there is still a great concern, and I have to keep resting. Other than that, there is not much that can be done, and it all rests in the Lord's hands. All we can do now is pray that the babies will grow at the same rate and that the difference in growth will decrease so that it is not a concern anymore.

Twins

Alright, I admit it, when I first found out that we were going to have twins, I felt very nervous, overwhelmed, stressed out, and scared. But now that I have had time to let the news sink in, I feel very excited, and I cannot wait to hold both of my babies in my arms.

So I made up a list of the best things about having twins:
- It's a great conversation starter - in fact, I don't need any other topics.
- I'll have an instant family.
- I'll be the center of attention wherever I go.
- I'll have a special bond with other parents of twins.
- There'll be no arguments about who holds the baby - we've got one each.
- It'll be so incredibly special when both twins laugh together for the first time.
- Watching them interact will provite non-stop entertainement.
- I'll never finish meals or do anything sitting down so I'll lose the baby weight instantly.
- Both my babies will have an instant playmate.
- By the time they turn three, they'll be keeping each other company while I'm busy with baby #3.
- I'll give and receive twice the love, the kisses and the cuddles (my favorite)!

Mother's Day

I love it when Billy surprises me with roses...

... and dessert in bed.

On Sunday morning, I woke up to the yummy smell of waffles. A few minutes later, Billy came into the room and placed a plate of waffles with stawberries and whipping cream on my lap. He also gave me a glass of orange juice and a dozen roses.

Me: "Awww, thank you, honey. These waffles are delicious. You should be Belgian!"
Billy: "I kinda feel like have become Belgian, in certain ways, with all that chocolate I've been eating since I met you."

It was so sweet. I am so blessed to have met such a wonderful man who loves me and spoils me so much. This made my First Mother's Day truly special and I will remember it forever. The babies may not be here, yet, but I already feel like a mom to them.

Hormones

I woke up the other morning to my finger being grabbed and twisted! And it scared the crap out of me!

Billy: "What are you doing?"
Me: "What are you doing? You totally freaked me out!"
Billy: "You freaked me out. What were you doing on my back?"
Me: "What was I doing? What were you grabbing and twisting my finger for?"
Billy: "You were doing stuff with you finger on my back."
Me: "No, I wasn't."
Billy: "Oh yes, you were."

And then I remembered... I was dreaming that someone had complemented me on my drawing skills and had asked me to draw on his back so that he could go and get a tatoo. So I was drawing on Billy's back, with my finger, just the way I would have drawn on that person's back.
Weird... This has never happened before. I have never acted out my dreams. It must be this whole pregnancy thing.


Later that day, I had an emotional "breakdown" or something like that. First of all, you have to know that whenever we leave a drink on the carpet by the couch, I accidentally kick it over and spill the whole thing, even if I know it is sitting right there. So tonight, Billy put a drink on the carpet and told me to be careful not to kick it. A few minutes later, of course, I accidentally kicked it over and spilled the whole thing. Fortunately it was water. But then the weirdest thing happened... I started laughing and could not stop. And then I started crying and could not stop. Poor Billy, he was sitting right next to me and didn't know that to say or do. He was just as confused as I was. I cannot describe what I felt at the moment. I guess the situation was pretty funny, but at the same time I felt really clumbsy for doing this every single time there is a drink on the carpet. Silly... These pregnancy hormones are really messing me up.

Late birthday

Thanks for lunch, Amanda!

And thanks for dessert, Jenni!

Today Amanda, Jenni, and Nikki took me out to lunch to celebrate my birthday. We went to a place called Zen. It is a sushi bar and Asian restaurant downtown. My dish was super spicy, but I think I handled it pretty well - at least I didn't cry. I love spending time downtown during the week because it is busy with business people dressed up in their best suit.
We then went to get gelato at Spam. I managed to stay away from that place for almost 2 years, but when Jenni offered to treat me, I couldn't refuse. I am now officially addicted - the exact reason why I was trying to stay away from Spam. They have tons of chocolate that I have been missing and craving for years. Unfortunately, my wallet cannot afford it, and it is killing me!

Thanks girls for celebrating my birthday with me and treating me to some yummy food! You are the best friends in the whole world!

Birthday

Mmmmm... Ice cream...

HAHA! Gotta love that hat!

I got a sewing machine. YAY!

I celebrated my birthday by spending almost all day with Billy. I told him he didn't have to take so much time off from studying, but he insisted. So we went shopping for me (and a little for the babies), we ate dinner at Cool Basil, and we got some dessert at Cold Stone. It was really nice to spend some quality time with my hubby.
How does it feel to be 24? Not any different than being 23. Although when I was 23, I was in my early-20s and now that I am 24, I am in my mid-20s. It sounds so much worse than it really is, but it makes me feel better to know that Billy is in his late-20s. =)

Baby Shower

All the pregnant girls - Erin, LeiLani, me, Annie, and Margaret.

All my wonderful friends!

Amanda, LeiLani, and Jenni planned this amazing shower for me.

Michelle competed with me in changing some DIRTY diapers.

The food was D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S!

On May 2, Amanda, Jenni, and LeiLani threw me a baby shower. My boys got really spoiled. We received many outfits, blankets, towels, lotions, wipes, etc.
The games were really fun, too. Michelle and I raced, blind-folded, in changing dirty diapers on two teddy bears. I was really funny. (I won!) Later the girls all tried to guess how big my belly was, using a string. Some girls must have thought I was a lot bigger than I really am. (Sheryl won!) And finally, we all had to get tiny little babies out of an ice cube. Some girls rubbed the ice cube, some girls sucked on it, and one even put it in the microwave. (Dawn won!)
I am so thankful for the wonderful friends that I have made out here. I truly feel blessed to have them in my life. I love them all so very much.

Graduation

My sweet hubby!

Just me!

Me and some of my Elementary Education friends - Mirela, Monique,

Hillary, Steve, Doug, and Nichole!

Me and my parents!

On April 25, after spending six years in three different universities, I finally graduated! I am officially an elementary education graduate, a teacher. I cannot believe that I am not ever going to take a college course again. Well that's not completely true because I will have to recertify every so often, but it's still a pretty nice feeling.
My parents came for the ceremony, and it was really nice to see them again after almost a year. They spoiled me and the boys for five days straight. They had a lot to celebrate. My brother and I are the first generation to graduate from college AND my mom and dad are going to be grandparents for the first time! Saying goodbye was hard, but not as hard as usual because they will be back again in three months when the babies come.
Now I can finally focus on the arrival of these little boys growing inside my belly. For the last five months, I have put off everything that dealt with babies because I wanted to focus on my education and not be side-tracked. But now I can finally get started on my numerous projects, like repainting furniture and sewing burping cloths.