Vent/rant to the haters

This photo of Rebecca Romijn has been circling the internets today.  The lovely lady gave birth to twin girls a month ago.  Why am I even bothering to post this??

Because of the haters out there.  Every gossip blog that posted this picture is full of negative comments about tummy tucks and c-sections, personal trainers and private chefs.  They are all complaining that Hollywood is producing unrealistic expectations for new moms, etc., etc.

Seriously.  First, I can’t believe I’m commenting on the comments on a gossip blog.  For that, I promise some sort of penance ;o)  But honestly!  People need to realize exactly what a twin pregnancy can do to your body!

I was at my “pre-pregnancy weight” within months of delivering.  I only gained 37 lbs.  That is the high end of a singleton baby.  But honestly, it was impossible to gain any more weight.  I was ridiculously ill for the first 4 months, and by the time I felt well enough to eat, my stomach was SO huge that I didn’t have the space for food.  I tried!!  I ate McDonald’s, and I drank whole milk.  I tried to eat all day long.

The funny thing is, pregnancy boost your metabolism.  When you are carrying TWO babeez, it boosts it even higher.  My resting heart rate at the end of my pregnancy was 110 beats per minute (bpm).  To give you an idea of how hard my body was working at rest, laying in a hospital bed, my normal resting HR is between 60-70 bpm.  95 bpm means that a trainer will send you to a doctor for approval before working out because you are a bit of a liability.

My body worked HARD.

After I had my twins, I was a wreck.  It was weeks after my c-section before I felt strong enough to do more than walk around the house.  I didn’t start “working out” again until the girls were 2.5 months old.  The weight still fell off.

Add breast-feeding to the equation:  a nursing mother to a singleton requires 500 calories a day above her pre-pregnancy needs.  A nursing mother to twins burns ONE THOUSAND calories a day.  That is just to maintain basic bodily function.  If you do any walking around or activity, you are going to drop weight.  Unless you are eating lard out of a bucket with a spoon, but that’s another story….

So to all the haters:  Yes, it is possible to look that good.  Not everyone gains 95 lbs carrying twins.  I’d like to know how they managed to fit it all in.  If you were tiny before your twins, chances are you will quickly be tiny again after.

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Try carrying twins and then caring for them – let me know if you make it out alive and then we’ll talk.  Until you’ve done it, you have no idea.

A Warning…

I have a mouth like a trucker.
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There, I said it.  I admitted it.  You don’t want to be around me when I lose my temper, or when I’m driving 😉

That being said, I am very good at censoring my vocabulary as necessary.  But I stumbled across this article today, and I thought I should share it.  I’ve often wondered what makes a swear “bad” – I mean, the worst words of our society have no real meaning.  They are verbs, nouns and adjectives all at once.  They have no religious connotations anymore.  What makes them so bad??  

If you can stomach a bad word or two (or seven…), take a read.  It is interesting to see what context constitutes swearing.

What we’ve been up to…

Welcome to our life lately … puffers, Kleenex, and oh yes – antibiotics!  Fun, fun, fun times TWO!

The babeez have been battling wicked coughs for over a month now, so we went to see the pediatrician on Monday.  C-boo has the worst of it.  Basically, due to their prematurity they will always be inclined towards respiratory problems of varying degrees.  Right now, it’s manifested itself as a hyperactive cough.  The muscles in their lungs are hyperactive, so they need an inhaler (Ventilin) to relax the muscles for them.  They haven’t been wheezing, but C-boo draws in with her ribs when she breathes, which means she is working too hard at breathing.  Poor bugs!!  They take the inhaler three times a day, and at night as necessary.  C-boo doesn’t mind, but Kit-kat HATES having the mask put over her face, so I have to pin her down on the floor between my knees, with her arms under my thighs.  She is NOT impressed with me 😉

Kit-kat also has a round of antibiotics!  She had some nasty, gunky eyes for the past week and it appears to be an eye infection of some sort.  It’s at the back of her eyes, so the inflammation puts pressure on her ears.  That explains her crankiness!  But the antibiotics are the super tasty kind, so she is all over that!  C-boo is jealous that she doesn’t get any.  They’re cotton-candy flavor – yum!

***

Work is ridiculously slow right now.  It’s stupid, and I don’t care if I sound 14 saying that.  I cannot figure out how to get busy right now.  I’ve mentioned before that I can only work 2 hours each morning, because that is as long as childcare will keep the babeez.  Unfortunately, I have no one to fill those spots right now.  I might post another ad on Kijiji this week and see if I get some interest.  I can’t keep putting myself in the appointment book with reception because a) they never book me and b) on the rare occasion that they DO, I only get paid $10 but I have to pay $6.50 for childcare plus the gas to and from Sherwood Park.  

Dilemma….

***

While work is lame right now, working OUT has been going great!  You can check out my training log here, if you are interested.  I’m running a steady 5km right now, under 35 minutes.  I’m still only doing 4:1s (run 4 minutes, walk 1 minute), so when I bump it up to 10:1s, I should start to slide under 30 minutes.  I refuse to run a 5k in over 30 minutes in the real world 🙂  Indoor training on the bike is going well also.  I’m up to an average speed of (almost) 19 km/h, and riding for a solid 30 minutes.  So I’m 2/3 of the way to my speed goal and halfway to my distance goal!  

Footstock, here I come!!!

***

I also have been working around the house.  I hate deciding how to decorate, but I’m always happy when a room is done.  My project right now is the living room.  We’ve put up shelves and hung curtains.  We had some ice climbing pictures above the piano in ugly, plain clip-frames.  I found some really nice frames for $17 at Michael’s, and they look a million times better!

Now I just have to do something with a couple more empty spaces and we’re good to go!  The next project is to finish the knick-knacks for the babeez’ room, and then to start on our bedroom.  We painted in the spring of 2007, so it’s about time!

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Pretty pink and sparkly Gratitudes

Sorry.  I’m in a good mood today, and it seems to have spilled onto my computer…
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*for the sweet sounds  of my babeez singing each other to sleep for their morning nap today, instead of screaming bloody murder at me

*for my Grampa’s 76th birthday yesterday!

*for the safe arrival of our new nephew/cousin Dante Ottavio Guiseppe 

*for Grampa Rocky, coming to swimming lessons yesterday!  We had lots of fun, even if he poured a bucket of water over my head 🙂

*for finally finishing my student’s jazz solo … now to finish their group dance!

*that Baby T survived being baby sat by us 🙂  Ooh, and grateful that Sherrie is finally done reading ‘Twilight’ so that we can go to the movie this week!!

*that I was able to run and bike as much as I did last week, even though I was icky-sicky

*for our wonderful pediatrician’s clinic.  The nurses always call back promptly to answer questions, and they have managed to fit us in last-minute twice now!

*for 2 calmer nights.  I am trying something different in hopes of weaning the girls off their nighttime feedings and into the land of sleeping-through-the-night.  I am “scheduling” their feedings every 3 hours after I put them to bed, whether they wake up or not.  It has resulted in more sleep for me.  They still wake up once or twice other than their “feeding times” but they are quickly soothed and returned to bed.  My hope is that they will learn from this that they CAN go back to sleep without freaking out/nursing, and then I will gradually wean them off the night feedings as well… Wish me luck!

Success/Disappointment

Yesterday, I completed my 3-month fast from fast food.  It was hard, particularly with how busy I was in December and how much I was away from home!  
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I decided to celebrate by going to McD’s for lunch today.  Now, I’m not a Big Mac girl.  I like my plain and simple cheeseburgers.  So I ordered 2 cheeseburgers and  small fries.

It all tasted like salty cardboard.

But I love McDonald’s!  Does this mean that I am cured??  I really have no desire to eat fast food anymore … other than a DQ sundae…

***

Blogging fun – it’s Friday!!

Friday 5:

1.  What types of blogs do you usually read?

I usually read light-hearted, personal blogs.  There are a few blogs by people that I know that I enjoy reading just to keep up with their lives.  There are others that I have never met, but they make me laugh.  There are a couple that I read because of their experiences as preemie parents (CF Husband and Matt & Maddy)

2.  What kinds of products do you usually buy when you shop online?

Usually I only buy books online at Amazon.ca.  Other than that, I have occasionally purchased Christmas gifts online that I don’t know if I’d be able to find in Edmonton.

3.  What kinds of online videos do you usually spend time watching?

I usually watch TV shows online at ctv.ca since we don’t have cable anymore 🙂  I’m usually catching up on Flashpoint and Degrassi!

4.  Besides Friday 5 (!), what other weekly memes do you usually enjoy?

I write a weekly Gratitude list, but you already know that!!

5.  Where do you like to go for streaming online music?

I don’t really listen to a lot of music online.  Sometimes, I’ll tune into CISN, but I usually have them playing on the radio in the house anyways!

***

We’re living the triplet life, babysitting Baby T tonight!  Wish us luck – 3 babeez!!

Random Thursday!

Everyone seems to be playing a game of “Random” in blogland today!
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6 Random Things about Me:

1.  I found a mystery recipe in a stash of old emails from about 4 years ago.  All it said was 1c sugar, 1 c peanut butter, 1 egg; mix well, drop by spoonfuls onto a baking sheet; bake at 350 for 18 minutes.

Surprise!  Peanut butter cookies!

2.  I really had to force myself to become a “runner”.  It did not come naturally.  I had run on occasion throughout high school (not, despite what my parents say, for the opportunity to stop at the Mohawk), ran a couple 5k relays.  I even did the 2000 Resolution run!  But it was only in late 2006 that I really got bit by the running bug.

3.  It drives me crazy when people jump their turn at a 4-way stop.  Ditto for people who can’t use a traffic circle properly.

4.  I don’t worry as much as I used to.  You’d think that with 2 babeez, I would have much more to worry about, but they have relaxed me!

5.  I tried to be a vegetarian in high school.  Lyndsay felled that plan by offering me a cheeseburger when I was starving one day.

6.  I am terrified about my duathlon in June.  I wish my dad could compete along with me so that I would have someone to guide me through the day-of things that I don’t know about – like where to put my bike, and will someone steal my helmet, and what if they all laugh at me for riding a mountain bike??

***

Despite one scary buyer-to-be, I have sold *almost* all of my babeez’ outgrown toys.  We sold both swings, one bouncer, and one pack ‘n play.  We still have another bouncer and another pack ‘n play.  I haven’t listed the 2 exersaucers or the Bumbos because we still use them a bit.  When it is all said and done, I hopefully will have $400 towards the $600 needed for new car seats!  I also have a moving box full of clothes to take to the 2nd hand store, if I ever had a free afternoon 😉

***

Take a minute to drop by Confessions of a CF Husband.  They continue to be a source of hope and inspiration to me.  Their daughter was born at 24+ weeks and celebrated her 1st birthday this month.  Mom Tricia received a double lung transplant, and survived cancer last year.  They will make you believe in God and His miracles.

***

We are at 10% of our preemie clothing goal!  We have 2 full outfits from my friend Tanya, 2 full outfits from my mom’s co-worker Sheila, and $75 in cash donations!!  Thank you to my (former) client Gail and to my Gramma 🙂

Very late Gratitudes!

* “Mama” from both babeez, on command (okay, on their command…)
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*for the safe return of my parents from Mexico, with turtles!!

*for raspberry almond cookies from the Safeway bakery

*on that note:  for reaching 135 lbs!!  10 lbs to go!

*for the opportunity to watch history in the making yesterday

*for Kit-kat’s 2nd tooth (finally!!) on the bottom left

*for Cheerios, and all the peace they bring me 🙂

*for surviving 24 hours without nursing, and for the forgiveness from my sweet babeez

*for the beautiful weather this past weekend, the chance to go for a run and a walk outside, and for our beautiful Chariot!

*for our slow cooker:  I have made “real” dinners 3 times in the last couple of weeks, on the table when Leith gets home.  What is wrong with me?!?!

*for Sherrie’s generosity, offering to babysit the drunk octopus while I had my bone scan.  What a brave soul!  They were perfect angels for her, which leads me to believe that their temper tantrums are to be taken personally.

Dilemma

I’m late in posting my Gratitudes, but I will get to it…
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I’m trying to decide whether or not I should give Sofie away 😦

She is the sweetest cat that ever lived.  She puts up with so much abuse from the babeez (or anyone, for that matter) without so much as a sigh.  She doesn’t bite, scratch or hiss.  She is very cuddly – she should have been a golden retriever.  She is just an angel.

But she is also very high-needs.  She needs waaay more attention than I could ever give her.  She is always underfoot, trying to get any physical contact she can manage.  She is vocal.  She doesn’t wail, but she meows non-stop.  And she sometimes sprays.  She shakes her tail everywhere.

I don’t know what to do.  I made a commitment when I bought her.  How do you go back on that commitment?  You wouldn’t send a child back that you don’t have time for.  The cold, heartless side of me says that she was bought as a companion for Penny.  Penny has been gone since October 2007.  

I really do love Sofie.  She is such a sweet kitty, and she deserves better than she is getting here.  Am I selfish to keep her?  Or am I selfish to get rid of her?

I just don’t know 😦

Rant/Vent

Re: Turning left at an uncontrolled intersection
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*If you are behind me, and there is OBVIOUSLY no visible break in traffic for MILES, laying on your horn and swearing at me only makes YOU look like an ass.

*If you are a part of the MILES of oncoming traffic, grab a brain and a bit of courtesy – don’t block the intersection.

Re:  Walking down the middle of a back road in all your white trash glory

*If you insist on walking down the back roads in all your white trash glory (i.e., your 1980s toque, ratty wind-breaker trackpants, faux leather bomber jacket and your work boots undone), and you DON’T move over into the ditch where pedestrians belong when you see me coming, DON’T curse at me and flip me the bird when I pull over into the far lane and splash you with slush and mud.  I was trying not to HIT you.  Sorry about the favor, jackass.

So sweet!

How perfectly appropriate for my 200th post :o)

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