30th Birthday! In the hospital

So today is my big 30th birthday. The end of this blog. And I had to use a camera phone to take the picture. Oh, well. It was a good day. I had 4 groups of visitors and all of them brought me food. Cassie brought Chipotle, and then I got 3 cakes from Dad and Dawn (pictured above with cake), Jamin, and John and Jen. Not bad! Plus I had room service all day and I got a "happy birthday, I love you mommy" call from Zaria. (=

It's been a good year. Not quite what I would've expected with the twins pregnancy and hospital stay, but still a good year. It's fun to see how much Zaria has grown over the past year, and to see some of the crazy houses we looked at before buying our home last week. I've had a lot of good times with family and friends, and a lot to be thankful for.

Jamin and I will continue to post pictures and updates on our family blog, especially since we'll be seeing two adorable babies within the next 6 weeks or so. You'll find us at:
http://saminfamily.blogspot.com/

Day 367: My view

Not a bad view, considering. They're doing a huge construction project on the Children's Hospital across the street. I woke up to a lot of banging this morning, like they were driving in some pilings or something.

I think I messed up somewhere along the line on my day numbering, seeing as how I'm on day 367 . . . it's a bit of a hassle to go back and try to change it, so I guess it is what it is. Tomorrow is my birthday, and I've been told the sad news that I won't be discharged until at least Thursday, the day after. I guess it will be a memorable birthday in the hospital, and hopefully the last b-day I'll have to do in one.

Day 366: Still at hospital

Getting a little cozy. Today is Labor Day, but it looks like we're out of the danger zone of actually going into labor today. So I tried to enjoy my "room service" and watched a "Jon and Kate Plus 8" marathon on the TLC network. I've been told for a while I should see the show since I'm expecting twins, so now I finally know what it's all about. Thanks be to God I am not having sextuplets.

Day 365: Magnesium sulfate

I forgot my camera at my mom's place when we rushed to the hospital at midnight, so I guess the end of my year will be captured with my camera phone. Today, magnesium sulfate is my lot. Kinda nasty stuff. It makes me very thirsty and my hands and feet and head feel hot. Not sure how long I'll be in the hospital, but for now this IV is working to stop the contractions. We'd like to hold off on the twins' birth, but I'm also hoping they'll let me out of here by my birthday.

Day 364: Bed rest on moving day

After a few hours at the hospital in the wee hours, I was ordered on bed rest today. So I didn't get to be part of the move today at all. Since both of our places would be in moving chaos, I went to my mom's house while she and Dave were out of town and slept there. I slept a lot, partly from barely getting any sleep during the night. I felt bad leaving everything to Jamin, especially since he didn't get much sleep last night either. Later in the evening when he got home, I had a lot of contractions again and this time I was actually admitted to the hospital to stop premature labor.

Day 363: Another baby shower

Tonight was Brenda's baby shower. It was a fun change-up of a regular Friday Night Group get together, and nice that the guys took charge of the kiddos, for the most part. Brenda's due in September, so we'll have 3 little ones joining the FNG soon. I had quite a few contractions during the shower and actually ended up going to the hospital in the middle of the night, right before our moving day.

Day 362: Packing

It is a little hard to get things packed with "help" from Zaria. Not that I can move a lot on my own right now anyway. It's strange that we'll be out of the townhouse for good in just a few days. I tried to get her sitting in the box, but she was having too much fun climbing in and out.

Day 361: Closing day!

Though we were late, the closing went through. And here's our new house!
Our friend Jesse has already started painting this evening, and we've picked out some carpeting. This place will look very different in a couple of days. We weren't sure if we'd replace all the carpet or not, but once the furniture was gone and we saw all the stains, we decided it'd be easier to replace it all, especially with babies licking the carpet in a few months.

Day 360: Picking colors

We grabbed a color swatch book to try to pick out some paint colors and get our new place painted before we move in all our stuff. Here Jamin was trying to find a color that would go well with the fabric on my vanity's bench. We actually ended up going with a lavender shade for our bedroom instead of trying to match the bench. It'll be so fun to have different colors at our new place!

Day 359: Preparations and presents

As we prepare to close on our house in a couple of days and move on Saturday, I'm trying to keep a few things out and available, like gifts and eating utensils for the moving crew. I managed to shop around at Target to get a baby shower gift for Brenda and a few other items, trying out their electronic carts for the first time. It was an interesting experience making beeping noises every time I backed up and bumping into a few aisles. I only knocked a few items over . . . I definitely have more sympathy for people that try to get around stores in wheelchairs.

Day 358: Family Sunday

Jamin didn't have to start work yet today, as he has most Sundays this summer, so we had some nice family time. Zaria enjoyed some extra "papa time."
We also had Dan and Gwendolyn over to help fill a few boxes. Gwendolyn wanted me to take a picture of her-- I told her to pose and this was the result. The thinking 3-year-old.

Day 357: Portraits waiting room

Jamin, Zaria and I got our portraits taken this morning for the church directory. They used the nursery for one of the waiting areas, which worked well since a few of the kids were able to enjoy some toys while they waited. Sadly, Zaria only started smiling by the last picture, which was one that can't be in the directory. Not that I expect many smiling toddlers in the book.

Tomorrow will be the last Sunday for Zaria in this nursery-- next week she'll be out of town with Mom and Dave while we move, and the week after that she moves up to the next older group. Jamin will be moving up with her to teach the 18-36 month-olds.

Day 356: Mini golf outing

Yup, that's Jamin trying to get his golf ball out of the tunnel. There were 12 of us that went golfing tonight, and the vast majority ended up with scores a bit over par. Some were quite glad of the 6-stroke limit, in fact. We broke up into groups of threes-- you can see Jamin's group members Mike and Aaron being quite amused.
Mandy, one of my group members, actually scored a hole in one! Just in time as this was the 18th and last hole. I was hoping to do the same, but it didn't pan out. (=

Day 355: Our little Olympian

The word on her lips in this shot is "running." Zaria's been watching a little bit of the Olympics with me and she decided to do her own relay back and forth through the kitchen this evening. She'd start with her back to the door, and chime in with me as I said "Ready, set, go!", and then she'd run and grab my leg, then run back to do it again. I think this went on for 15-20 minutes. Moments like this I love being a mom.

Day 354: Zoo with the ol roomies

I met up with the old roommates to see the Minnesota Zoo today. We used the double stroller for Zaria and Sam, and I was pushed in a wheelchair. That means Karin, Shawna and Krista all got a good workout, pushing us and running after the toddlers when we let them loose. Below is a snuggly bunch of otters including babies. I couldn't figure out how many babies there were, but they sure are cute.

Day 353: Bible study picnic

Today was the last day of the ladies' summer Bible study, so we had a potluck brunch at the park. The kids had a lot of fun playing and hanging out in the pirate ship that was there. We also tried to go swimming, but I didn't want to get too far in the water because it was getting pretty mucky from all the birds.

Day 352: Pad Thai

I really wanted to make some Pad Thai tonight and needed a few more ingredients, but I was not up for going grocery shopping on my own. Stepdad to the rescue! Dave came along and helped me get stuff bagged. I forgot to take advantage of him grabbing things that were low on the shelves. It can be hard to not do things I'm used to doing myself. I also stocked up on sandwich dressing since Jamin uses it all the time.

Day 351: 29 weeks

Still growing! I'm holding up a matching pair of little boy suits I got from Marla at the shower yesterday. I have a few identical outfits, so I guess we'll have to use name tags if the boys are identical twins.

Day 350: Baby shower for X and Y

My sister-in-law Naomi put on a fabulous shower for me today. It was very fun, and I now have at least a small stockpile of diapers and some cute things for the twins when they're born. It was also a good turn out for being a little last-minute. A lot of relatives were out of town, but quite a few FNG gals came, along with my mom and grandma and a couple of others. Thank you ladies!

Day 349: Parents playtime at FNG

As Karin proves here, you don't have to be under 10 to enjoy making a tower with blocks. Her 2-year-old son Sam hadn't even arrived on the scene yet. (=

Happy Birthday to my Dad today!

Day 348: Drive-In with Small Group

Most of the nighttime pics I took were pretty fuzzy, but these give you a little idea of our drive-in movie experience. Our small group hung out at the back of Mark's pick-up truck with a portable radio and some snacks. Jamin and I sat back in the cab for the first movie while the others sat in camping chairs in front of us. It ended up being a really late night, so Zaria stayed overnight at Mom and Dave's house while we enjoyed the triple feature. We saw Kung Fu Panda, Dark Knight, and Hancock, all really good movies.

Day 347: Children's hospital construction

I had another OB appointment today. Both X and Y are doing great, 3 lbs 1 oz and 3 lbs 3 oz, approximately, so just above the 50% percentile for their gestational age. Today I toured the Children's Hospital NICU and was walking slow enough that it made sense for the tour guide to wheel me around in a wheelchair. That was so nice! I haven't had mobility that fast in a long time. Also, it was encouraging to see viable babies in the NICU that were younger and smaller than X and Y.

The above photo is the new addition they're building for the Children's Hospital. I still haven't felt the need to park in the ramp, but with construction and decreased mobility, I may be doing that soon.

Day 346: Outside bubbles

Mom had forgotten how much Princess (or Boo Boo) loves bubbles until she started blowing some for Zaria on the deck. Zaria and I stayed over to take naps today since there was more pounding on our roof.

Day 345: Family breakfast and roofing

Since Jamin's sister Jennie was still in town from the family reunion, we had her and their folks over for breakfast this morning. Zaria was enjoying having Grandpa David help her with her new pink shoes.
Meanwhile, the pounding began today. Somehow, we all managed to take a morning nap through some of the pounding, though Jamin said it sounded exactly like the pounding that happens on his semi door to wake him up after a load is finished. I guess we were pretty beat from getting back late last night from our drive back from Bemidgi.

Day 344: Family reunion

Zaria had fun at the park in the morning with Grandma Dawn and Aunt Katie while Jamin and I went to church with Dad. She also got a new "princess skirt" from the dollar store that she was pretty pleased about.
In the afternoon, we joined up with a fair number of Jamin's relatives at the family reunion. The above photo shows all of Jamin's dad's siblings in birth order. L-R: Ronald, Coral and Knute (they're fraternal twins, a few minutes apart), Alfred, David, Herbert and Richard. They go by Ron, Coral, Knute, Al, Dave, Herb and Rich. They're all very intelligent and had some great stories to share during the reunion. I was so glad we made the trip up. The youngest family member to make it was Ron's first great grandchild, Emery, who was just a few weeks old.

Day 343: Sunset up north

In preparation for a family reunion tomorrow in Bimidgi, we drove up north to Dad and Dawn's cabin so we wouldn't have two 4-hour trips to drive in one day. Our trip up went surprisingly fast, broken up nicely by us switching drivers and stopping for dinner at Taco Bell, I suspect. One snafu to our lovely trip: we forgot to bring the Pack N Play along for Zaria to sleep in. It was pretty tough getting her to sleep on the floor where we made a bed out of blankets, but she did eventually get to sleep. That also meant we had to switch rooms with my stepsister Katie when she was already settled in, but she took it in stride.

Day 342: Packing begins

We're finally starting to get serious about packing. Looks like we're closing on our new house on the 27th! That's in just 3 weeks, and hopefully we won't be doing too much at the last minute. I had some help from our friend Sara from small group today and got a good start. It's tough for me to even do much packing now, and frustrating if I can't move boxes or other things around.

Day 341: Strolling

This worked great-- Zaria loves pushing dolls in the little stroller, and with her new monkey backpack on, Jamin could easily keep track of her and help her stay on the sidewalks.

Day 340: Getting out

I'm still taking Zaria places, like the library today to get some new books. It is definitely getting harder, though. She really enjoyed running around in the play room at the library and playing with Mac, a boy she's met before at story time. They're done with story time until September, but they still keep the early childhood play area open in the mornings. I think if we have Zaria in story time this fall, she'll have to go with Grandma Joy.

Day 339: Henry the Ape

I've had Henry the Ape since I was a teenager. Today Zaria found a fun new place for him to hang out in the fire truck basket, something I picked out for the boys' future room at a garage sale.

All day today I kept wondering why August 5th is significant-- I finally realize after the fact that it's Dad and Dawn's 19th anniversary. Happy Anniversary you two!

Day 338: Sleeping Jamin

I did ask permission before taking a picture of my sleeping husband. (= Jamin's work schedule has been so unpredictable that he's not always home sleeping anymore. It's been a little hard on me as I get bigger and it becomes harder for me to do things around the house. Tonight he was home for dinner and we even enjoyed a cheap movie together while my mom watched Zaria. We saw "Iron Man," which I really enjoyed. Robert Downey Jr. was one of my favorite actors in the early 90's, and then I hadn't seen him for a long time (I think he was just in movies that I didn't see or even hear of) until recently I saw him in "Good Night and Good Luck."

Day 337: Community dinner birthday

First Baptist had our monthly community dinner (lunch) after the service today with barbecued burgers and potluck items, and somebody brought a birthday cake. So we all got to sing for Susan, who had a birthday today. She's one of the church members that has been there since she was in nursery. It's really fun to be at a church that has people like that.

Day 336: Great Grandma's 103rd birthday

We celebrated my Great Grandma Ethel's (Cubby's) 103rd birthday today. Above she's pictured with her three sons, Gerald (my stepdad Dave's dad), Gene and Dave, and her daughters-in-law Barbara, Karen and Lynn. Great Grandma is in great shape, though she has trouble hearing people.

Below is her baby gown. Somebody at the party said that it was often a tradition to use cloth from a woman's wedding gown to use for her baby's christening gown, so this fabric is well over 100 years old.

Day 335: Big crayons, funny expressions

I bought some bigger crayons for Zaria to try out today. She LOVED them. She also had fun making funny faces at me and giggling while she colored. This expression is just about there. She was making an upside-down smile/grimace and shaking her head back and forth.

Day 334: Truck repairs

After a year without it working, Jamin finally got his truck in to repair the air conditioning. We stopped by to pick up the truck after small group tonight. Hopefully this means Jamin will be more comfortable and maybe even less sweaty and stinky when he gets home!

Day 333: Play date with twins

These adorable twin boys, Tyler and Logan, will be a year old this week. We had a play date with them today, and I got to hear their mom's birth story and issues with having them share certain toys. They're sitting on a riding train toy that Zaria brought to their attention, and it's been a major source of contention for Tyler. He's not happy seeing anyone else use the train, so they plan to either get another one or get rid of it.

Day 332: Dine and dance with ZJ

After the Bible study, Zaria, Mom and I met with Cassie and her grandma for lunch. Typically, Zaria ignores us when we go out to eat, but today she had fun hamming it up for the four of us. She stayed with her Grandma Joy through the afternoon while I had a short OB appointment, then we met up again to watch a Scandinavian band play in the park. Zaria had fun dancing and entertaining the mostly older crowd.

Day 331: Buffet date night

We decided to have a date night tonight and went out to a Chinese buffet. I don't think I'll get my money's worth at buffets soon since I'm getting full fast with the lack of space. It was nice to get out just the two of us, at any rate.

Day 330: Playing outside

I have trouble remembering plant names, but these guys have gone crazy this year. I should probably cut them back a little. Zaria has been nervous walking past them because there's been a very busy bumblebee that is a constant presence in these flowers. We had fun playing outside a little this evening. It had been too hot for me to be out earlier at 85 degrees. I've been so lucky that it's been a relatively cool summer.

Day 328: Robert's bday and FBC dinner

We went to Robby's 1st birthday party this afternoon-- today's the actual day! I was very impressed that he likes to eat lettuce (Zaria will pull it out of her mouth). He's apparently a very good eater.

Then we headed downtown to FBC to join with the Community at Calhoun gathering. We missed the lake time, but joined everyone at church for the dinner. It was a tropical theme, so it was very fun and a great time of fellowship. Mandy was walking around taking lots of pictures, so I caught her in the act. I was sad to hear we'd missed three baptisms at the lake. My own baptism was in a lake-- I liked the idea of being in God's creation while taking that step.