Back from Houston

 

Kate & Ryan

Well, we are back.

It wasn’t exactly the “vacation” it was billed to be, but I had an okay time. The change of scenery was definitely good, and it was nice seeing other family members. The spa day did not happen. In fact I only left the house twice the entire week…once to go to Office Max to fax some time-sensitive docs to my mortgage broker and then over to my step-brother’s house.

The twins did remarkably well on the car trip. We made a stop halfway for a feeding and changing, but other than that they slept the whole time. Once we got to my mom’s, we had a tough day and a half adjustment. They must have known they were in a new environment, and they were extremely fussy….especially Kate, but what’s new.

Actually, Kate was a nightmare for pretty much the entire trip. I did not realize a 2 month old baby was capable of doing this, but she only wants me to hold her and hold her ALL of the time. There is no way I can just let her cry it out either because she has the most angry/rageful cry I have ever heard. I am seriously afraid she will pass out if I let her go with it. Kate’s new clinginess is draining on me, and I don’t know what to do about it. If she isn’t eating or sleeping, she is crying for me. Bath time is a rare moment of contentment for her (and me!).

Yesterday, we went over to my step-brother’s house. I got to meet his 4-month old baby Adam for the first time, and do some catch-up with his oldest child Ryan. Ryan, who is 2 1/2, was so sweet to the twins. He could not correctly pronounce Kate’s name so he called her “Cake.” All afternoon he referred to her as “Baby Cake.” Cute.

Mark came and got us this morning and drove us all home. So now my complete focus is on preparing for our move into the new house. I need to book some movers and start packing. I guess I also need to find or buy us some boxes.

Oh, and I think Carson may have an allergy to pet dander. Ever since we brought him home from the NICU he was been stuffy and congested. The entire time we were in Houston (in a dog-free house), he was completely cleared up. Hmm…

H-Town

So it’s off to Houston we go tomorrow morning. I am not especially looking forward to the drive, but maybe the twins will surprise me. We have family and friends coming over to see the twins almost every night we will be in town. I am looking forward to seeing everyone and having a little bit of down time. My mom is sending me to a day spa some time during the week. Have I mentioned how much I adore my mom lately?!

Mark and I were suppose to go to his law school reunion tonight, but we opted to be lazy bums at home instead. We are both tired, and I was stressing over what to wear. I still can’t come anywhere close to wearing most of my pre-pregnant clothes….or at least not the bottoms. It would have been nice to get all “prettied-up” and rejoin society for one evening though. Oh well.

The new house got inspected on Friday. Everything looks good, and we got a thumbs up from the inspector. The house is less than 2 years old, so everything is still covered under the builder’s warranty.

The new pad is a lot bigger than our current house. It’s going to take me forever to furnish and decorate the new place, but that’s okay. I’m really excited about it, but really not looking forward to another move. Moves are always a nightmare, and this time will be especially hellish.

New House Details: 3,100 square feet, 4 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths, game room with wet bar (more than just a bar though), formal dining room, fireplace, study with French doors, master bedroom with sitting area downstairs, breakfast nook, nice kitchen with cherry cabinets, small lot. A lot of arches and crown molding.

Under Contract

We got the house that we wanted! Yippee! We are scheduled to close on May 16th.

The Exhaustion Continues

I have had a rough few days with the twins this week. It’s becoming very difficult to put them back to sleep…especially Kate. She pretty much wants to be held at all times. I am utterly exhausted. As far as sheer exhaustion goes, this has been the worst week yet since they’ve been home.

My mom is coming to pick me and the twins up on Saturday, and we will be in Houston all of next week. On the one hand I am looking forward to it because I will be able to show off the twins to all of our Houston folks, Mom will be a big help with the twins, and I need a change of scenery. But I am concerned about how well the twins will do in a new environment. I am also afraid I will forget to pack something crucial since I’ve become so non-functional lately.

We made an offer and two counteroffers on a house we really life. After being on the market for 67 days with no offers, the house we like is now in a mini bidding war. I truly don’t need this kind of stress. We made our final offer, and at this point I don’t care if it’s accepted or not. I like the property, but not enough to get into a game of chicken with these folks. All of this just makes me miss work even more. I miss my old world of real estate. I will definitely be returning in August or September.

Sleeping in Shifts

Tonight we tried an experiment and it did not work out as planned. For the first time since the twins have been home (a month ago now), Mark and I have been sleeping in shifts. This is what our routine has been…

He gets home from work at 5:30 PM. We eat dinner together, and then I go to bed at 8 PM. He watches the twins while I sleep until 12:00 AM. Then I get up and he goes to sleep. I try to get a few cat naps during the day, but that rarely works out well since one or the other twin is up. Then I go to sleep again at 8 PM, and on and on.

Anyway, tonight we decided to try doing it the way I thought it would be like all along…

We ate dinner. We watched The Sopranos and Entourage. We gave the twins a bath and fed them. We put them down to sleep, and then we went to sleep. I figured I would have to get up once or maybe twice in the night for feedings, but that I would still be able to get several hours of consecutive sleep. I was wrong. I was very wrong.

The twins have been restless and hungry. We have not be able to keep them down for more than an hour at a stretch. Ugh. So now we will both be exhausted, and I don’t even have my nanny to look forward to on Tuesday. I had to cancel her for Tuesday morning because the twins have a morning appointment with a pedi eye doc (follow-up from NICU exam).

I guess the twins aren’t ready yet, but I am definitely ready to a normal sleep pattern (i.e., sleeping in my bed with Mark during normal sleeping hours).