Look Mom, no oxygen!

That's right, Reagan is officially done with her oxygen. Here she is on Wednesday or as I like to call it,"no more O2 day." She loves parading around the house and has already been on a lunch date with Auntie Leah and Auntie Alisha for Leah's birthday. Grandma doesn't know she's off yet. Boy will she be surprised when she comes home from London! Reagan may even make an appearance at church this Sunday.

So sad, our baby fits in the fruit bowl. There was no fruit in it at the time.

I don't know why everything is blue and underlined now, so forgive me. Sweet Bailey bug did not get to come off her oxygen because her machine did not record her data. That is okay though because we kept getting false readings which probably would have caused the doctor to keep her on for another 4 weeks. Instead, she will be doing another test next week and will hopefully be off in time for Easter!

In other news, the girls had their first trip to the ER on Tuesday night. On a side note, I've learned that the wait at the ER is veeeery short if you are pregnant, have a baby, or your skin and eyes have turned yellow. Tuesday evening, I noticed that both girls felt pretty warm. They had been sleeping most of the day and were grumpy when they were awake. Reagan's temp was 101.5 and Bailey was 100.8. At the advice of our awesome Brother-in-law (also known as our after hours physician, Thanks for all your help Brian!!) we took them to the ER. They had chest x-rays and RSV and flu swabs. The swabs came back negative and the x-rays were clear, leading the doctors to the conclusion that both girls had upper respiratory infections. We were sent home at 2 am Wednesday morning with instructions on how to keep the girls cool and to give them Tylenol every four hours. They did find that Reagan is missing some bone in her right arm up near her shoulder, so we will be seeing her pediatrician next Thursday to find out what testing he wants done to determine the cause. We will keep you updated. Prayers for her would be appreciated, because even though we are confident that it is nothing, there are some causes of missing bone that are a little unsettling.

Doctor's appointment update

The girls had another appointment with the pulmonologist yesterday. Bailey now weighs 10 lbs. 7 oz and is 20 inches long. Reagan is 8 lbs. 7 oz. and 19 1/2 inches long. They have grown so much in their little 5 month lives. Both girls did really well during the 10 minute room air test the doctor did. Even Reagan stayed up at 99-100 when she was upset. She lowered Bailey's oxygen flow from 50 cc's a minute to 25. So she is now on the same amount as her sister. We'll be doing another overnight room air test either late this week or early next week, but I have a feeling the girls still won't be coming off the O2. The doctor said that our areas RSV season has been extended through April, so once again she is "not in a hurry to take them off of the oxygen." She said to me "you'll be so glad once all of these tanks and tubes are gone." Umm, you think so? Sorry, that was mean, but she has obviously never had a child (let alone 2) holed up in her bedroom for 3 months because they're hooked up to equipment that makes it very difficult to travel. I really do like her though, especially when I told her we were waiting to bless the girls until they were equipment free and that I was afraid they would be a year old before they could be blessed. I know nothing of her religious views but her response was " the real blessing is that your girls are here and they are healthy." I guess I needed to be reminded of my many blessings and to stop having a pity party for myself. 

Me A-Z

I'm a bad blogger. I can't think of interesting things, so I either post dumb stuff or wait for a fun one that is pretty much already done for me. Like this...

A - Age: 23
B - Bed size:​​ King
C- Car you drive​:​​ Gold Hyundai. It's my grandparent's and I'm borrowing it while they're on their mission.
D - Dad'​​s Name:​​ Jeff
E - Essen​tial start​ your day item:​​ A kiss from my husband

F - Favor​ite actor​(​​s)​​:​​ Johnny Depp, Christian Bale and Daniel Craig
G - Gold or Silve​r:​​ white​ gold, preferably with some diamonds
H - Heigh​t:​​​ 5'2
I - Instr​ument​s you play(​​ed)​​:​​ I used to play the piano, but have since forgotten how. I have played the violin since I was 10.
J - Job title​:​ Mommy
K - Kid(​​s)​​:​​ 2 and you know all about them!
L - Livin​g arran​gemen​ts:​​ A weird question, but okay. In a house with my husband, daughters and dog.
M - Mom'​​s name:​ Lora
N - Nickn​ames:​​ Mal, Mally
O - Overn​ight hospi​tal stay other​ than birth​:​​ Tonsilectomy when I was 3, pre-term labor, gall stone removal (both last year)
P - Pet Peeve​:​​ I honestly can't think of one right now.
Q - Quote​s you like:​​ Okay, I love the office, so I have a lot of favorite quotes from there: "We're off like a herd of turtles", "Next time I'll let you get the cake and I can scream at the birthday girl." Those are just two of my current favorites.
R - Right​ or left hande​d:​​ Right​
S - Sibli​ngs:​​ Little sister and little brother.
T - Time you wake up: Whenever the girls decide they want to eat. Usually between 6 and 8.
U- Under​wear:​​ Under there. Under where?  Haha i made you say underwear..... (That was another weird one that I didn't have an answer to.)

V - Veget​able you disli​ke:​​ Squash. I have never liked it and to this day it makes me gag.
W - Ways you run late:​​ It used to be that I just couldn't get up on time. Now it's because I've got 3 people to get ready for the day instead of one!
X - X-​​rays you'​​ve had: Teeth, wrist and gall bladder.
Y - Yummy​ food you make:​​ I make lots of yummy​ food :)
Z- Zodia​c:​​ Cancer

First Born

Originally uploaded by mikes_muse

I stole this from a friend because I thought it was cute, I hope she doesn't mind!

1. WAS YOUR FIRST BORN'S PREGNANCY PLANNED? Yes. Michael and I tried to get pregnant for 28 months before it finally happened.

2. WERE YOU MARRIED AT THE TIME? We had been married for almost 4 years.

3. WHAT WERE YOUR REACTIONS? I got the phone call and all I could say was "I am?" And then I started to cry, and the nurse had to book my next appointment for me because I couldn't talk.
4. HOW OLD WERE YOU? 22

5. HOW DID YOU FIND OUT YOU WERE PREGNANT? It was the first month that I did not take a pregnancy test, because I was so sure the cycle had failed. I was waiting for the nurse to call me back and say it was negative and give me the protocol for the next cycle. They hadn't called with my blood results by 4:45 and the girls at work kept telling me to call them. Michael was on his way to pick me up so I waited for him so that he would be there for me to cry to. The receptionist answered and said "let me go get the nurse," which I took as a sure sign of it being negative. She got on the line and said "honey, you're pregnant. Your beta was 278!" I said "I am" and Michael just broke out in the biggest smile and said "I'm gonna be a daddy!" We're lucky he didn't crash, he was so happy I don't think he could concentrate on the road!

6. WHO DID YOU TELL FIRST? I immediately got on the phone with my family (all four of them just happened to be at my parents house and they all started screaming) and Michael called his parents.

7. DID YOU WANT TO FIND OUT THE SEX? Definitely, I like to have everything planned out. Plus I wanted to go shopping!

8. DUE DATE? January 7th, 2009

9. DID YOU HAVE MORNING SICKNESS? I had all day sickness! It was the first time I had thrown up in over 10 years!! And I am not lying.

10. CRAVINGS? Pineapple and Mandarin Oranges. My sweet visiting teacher Nicole O'Neil brought me some cans of oranges.
11. WHO/WHAT IRRITATED YOU THE MOST? The rude comments. Like people saying "well that's what you get for doing fertility treatments" when I told them I was having twins. Or being told that I was selfish for doing the treatments because I could have "easily" adopted a child.
12. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CHILD'S SEX? Two girls! I was convinced we were having one of each though.

13. DID YOU WISH YOU HAD THE OPPOSITE SEX OF WHAT YOU WERE GETTING? No, we would have been thrilled with whatever we were given.

14. HOW MANY POUNDS DID YOU GAIN THROUGHOUT THE PREGNANCY? I lost 25, and gained 17 of it back by the time I delivered.

15. DID YOU HAVE A BABY SHOWER? Yes. I am spoiled rotten and I had 3! My amazing sister -in-law threw the first one for me and it was beautiful. Then my visiting teachers threw one, and my sweet sister and Teri threw the last one.

16. WAS IT A SURPRISE OR DID YOU KNOW? I knew about all of them, but my Grandma did fly up for the 3rd one to surprise me.

17. DID YOU HAVE ANY COMPLICATIONS DURING YOUR PREGNANCY? Yes. I had bleeding early on and was told that I was probably going to lose Reagan at the first u/s. Then I had some umm *difficulties* that landed me in the ER. Then because of Reagan's size they thought I had twin to twin transfusion. Then all of a sudden my cervix shortened, I was contracting, and Reagan's water broke, so I ended up in the hospital, and everyone knows the rest!

18. WHERE DID YOU GIVE BIRTH? In Reno at St Mary's. I looooove the labor and delivery nurses and could not have been happier with the care I received.

19. HOW MANY HOURS WERE YOU IN LABOR? 24 hours. The stupid on call doctor did not believe me that my contractions had broken through the 3 meds they had given me and that I was having back labor.

20. WHO DROVE YOU TO THE HOSPITAL? We walked! Okay, so Michael drove me to my doctor's appointment because I wasn't allowed to, and she is right across the street from the hospital.

21. WHO WATCHED YOU GIVE BIRTH? My husband, two doctors delivering, the anesthesiologist, two nicu nurses, a nicu doctor, two respiratory therapists, and a nurse to assist the doctors delivering.
22. WAS IT NATURAL OR C-SECTION? Emergency c-section. It sounds much cooler if you say emergency :)

23. DID YOU TAKE MEDICINE TO EASE THE PAIN? I didn't have a choice, but I would have asked for an epidural even if I didn't have a c-section.

24. HOW MUCH DID YOUR CHILD WEIGH? 1 pound 14 ounces and 2 pounds 4 ounces.

25. WHEN WAS YOUR CHILD ACTUALLY BORN ? 12 weeks early on October 16, 2008

26. WHAT DID YOU NAME HIM/HER? Bailey Jane and Reagan Lee

27. HOW OLD IS YOUR FIRST BORN? 4 and a half months!

Valentines Day

I love Valentines Day. I love making cards for my family, baking sugar cookies and decorating them. I just love it. I think it's because I'm one of those mushy romantics (shameful, I know). Unfortunately, my husband hates it. Don't get me wrong, he is a very loving and romantic man. He just thinks it's ridiculous to have 1 day devoted to the people you love, instead of showing them you love them all year round. Because of this, and the fact that the girls are still on oxygen, we are not doing anything this year *sigh*. Oh, speaking of oxygen, the girls did their room air test last night. We turned off their oxygen tanks and attached them to a machine that measures their oxygen saturation and records how many desaturations they have. They spent the whole night like this and I think they did pretty well. As soon as the darn medical supply company comes to pick up the machines, they'll give the results to the doctor and she'll let us know if the girls can come off. Maybe once they are off they will seem like real babies instead of preemies. It's hard having your child confined to one room of the house and not being able to carry them around with you. Okay, now I'm just starting to complain, and that's not the point. The point is that Michael and I want what is best for the girls even if it means tripping over and pulling on cords for a little while longer. 

Food

I love food. And I love to cook food too, not just eat it. Whenever I am stressed or sad, I'll go whip something up in the kitchen. I also love cooking magazines and looking for new recipes. I'll share these two that I just found because they are soooo easy and really good too. They are from Katie Lee Joel. I like her stuff because it's so simple and you can do a lot of it in minutes. If you decide to try them, great, I think you'll like them. If not, I still love you :)

Chili Cheese dip:

1 pound ground beef

1 packet of taco seasoning

1 16 oz. jar of salsa

4 oz. cream cheese cut into cubes

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Brown the meat in a skillet. Pour out grease. Add taco seasoning and salsa; reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes stirring every so often. Add cream cheese and cheddar and stir until melted. Serve hot with tortilla chips

Reese's Brownies

This recipe is even easier. Prepare a box of brownie mix according to the instructions on the back. Pour half of the prepared mix into a pan. Top with Reese's peanut butter cups (the big ones, about 16). Pour remaining half of batter over the peanut butter cups and bake according to instructions.

Not much going on

Okay, I'm quite proud of myself so I had to share. This is the cake I made for my sister's 22nd birthday. It was my first time ever doing a "sculpted" cake and also my first time working with fondant. It's not perfect, and it definitely had it's flaws, but I think it turned out pretty cute. The cake was delicious by the way. I got the recipe from Williams - Sonoma and it was fantastic. And even though my sister was probably a little old for this cake, she humors me because she's my princess and best friend.

In other news, can you believe these cuties are already over 3 months old? Seriously where has the time gone? They fill every day with love and amazement. I am so lucky to be able to stay home with them every day. They are tons of fun. I have started losing my hair though because they both love to grab onto it and pull it to their faces. When I finally get free, their chubby little hands are wrapped around 5 or 6 strands of hair. This happens multiple times a day, and I'm thinking I may need a haircut before I go bald! Anyways, Bailey loves to snuggle and makes the funniest faces we've ever seen. She is constantly making her Daddy laugh. She has also started pushing up with her arms and lifting her head at which point she rolls her body side to side or does this hilarious head bob. Reagan is our little sweet pea. She is rarely fussy and is perfectly content just looking around, cooing and sucking on her hands. She is such a sweetheart and still a tiny little thing. So far we have avoided RSV, colds, and the flu, and we are praying it stays that way. Daddy started school last week and the three of us girls miss him a ton when he's gone. But we are so proud of him and always look forward to seeing him at the end of the day. The only exciting thing coming up is the girls' appointment with the pulmonologist on February 4th. She should determine that day when the girls can come off the oxygen. Mommy can't wait because she is so fed up with all of these tubes and wires!!

Reagan and her cute little mohawk!
Hehe, I love this face. I caught her right before she started to yawn.