And now, Maya is getting her second tooth! She is getting her other lower middle tooth. I thought that I was going to get lucky and the teething wouldn't bother them, but it's been pretty miserable around here- especially at night!

The girls have been very difficult to put down, and Maya has been waking, of course. But even harder than that, she has been squirming and not wanting to sleep even when I hold her!

Will update more later- very tired.

More teeth!

When I took Sofia out of the bath yesterday, she was screaming, of course. I thought I saw something in her mouth, so I looked again and sure enough! Another tooth! Her upper right incisor tooth is coming in. She is getting her right lower front tooth, so if other teeth don't come in for awhile she may look a little funny :)

Maya does not have any signs of more teeth yet.

It's really amazing how much they've learned in only 11 months. It's just amazing.

Oh! I just looked over and Maya was sitting behind Sofia, who was standing, and Maya pulled her pants down to get a better look at the pictures on Sofia's diaper! How funny!

Anyway, it is amazing how much they have learned. I am so lucky.

I have been so busy, no time to update! We are all doing well. I am pretty miserable at my job. I always thought I wanted to help teachers get better at teaching- and I still do- it's just no fun dealing with resistant people. It wouldn't be so bad, but I feel pressure to work with EVERYONE at my school site. And that is a lot of work, plus many teachers are resistant. Or, they like having you help them plan, but what they take away is not what you wanted them to learn. Or it is a bit different. I do love working with teachers who are eager to learn and try new things. That is very fun. It took awhile for me to let go and realize that every teacher is going to be different, and they are not going to do a lesson exactly like I would. And once I learned that, it got easier.

It also doesn't help working with people who are energy drainers and just mean. And I'm not talking about the teachers- I'm talking about other coaches who feel like everything is a competition. So, I will look at what positions are posted for next year. But with my schedule, who knows if I will take anything different.

We did consider hiring a nanny. A friend found someone who was good, and a great price. But it took us too long to get back to her and she now has a position. We may still look into getting a nanny for next school year. That way, Hubby could go back to working all his hours. If we can find one for a decent price, it would work. Then again, I know hubby loves taking care of them during the day, and I feel better knowing they are with him. Maybe it would be better to spend that money on a house cleaner. That would take plenty of stress off!
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I love seeing M and S's personalities come out more and more each day! It's so fun. I love in the morning when I put them in their cribs and I can hear them laughing and giggling at each other! It is so cute.

Sofia loves dolls and stuffed animals. She will sit there and "talk" to one for a long time. She is a little more laid back. She is content sitting and playing with one thing for awhile. S also loves music. They both do, but I think S likes it more. When any music comes on, she will rock back and forth and dance to it. I swear I've also heard her "singing"!

Maya, on the other hand, is always on the go! She wants to be in the middle of all the action, and wants any toy her sister is playing with. She is also hilarious. They both are, but Maya will do funny things on purpose to make you laugh. I really need to catch some of it on video!

I can't believe in about a month they will be 1! It flew by.
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I need some advice. I think I've written before about Maya waking at night. She wakes, and wants me to go and get her and bring her to bed. Which I've been doing since I like sleep. I have decided that it really needs to stop. I am not sleeping well, and I need some sleep! So I decided to do some Cry It Out (CIO) this weekend since it is a long weekend. Now, I am not a fan of CIO, but the only reason she is crying is for me to come and get her. I will also say that I am not going to let her cry for hours on end. I just won't do that.

Night 1 went great! I out them to bed in their cribs. Maya woke, I went and got her so she wouldn't wake Sofia. I rocked her for a bit and laid her down. She cried. I patted her back for awhile, but she kept crying. I got her a little settled and left the room. She cried for 10 min. and then was asleep! Of course I thought, wow! This is going to be easier than I thought! Well, of course that turned out to be false.

Night 2: Maya started crying, I brought her into our room to put in the cosleeper. I tried patting her back, she was crying. I left the room. She cried for about 20 seconds and was quiet. Of course, I started getting relieved- which I shouldn't have because soon after, she was crying again. On and off she cried for close to an hour. At the end, she was just getting too worked up and I knew it wasn't going to work, so I went and got her and went to sleep with her.

I will try again tonight, but if anyone has any tips- please share! I was thinking maybe it would work better if I put her to bed in the cosleeper? That way I won't have to pick her up and take her to a new room. Maybe that will help? Any other tips, please share!
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I will leave you with a video I shot of Maya chasing the cat around:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5iskmCVW5g

Do you ever feel like you keep going and going and you just can't keep up? That's how I feel. There is a never ending stream of things to do. Just when I think I am catching up, more stuff piles up. Having twins and a full time job, and Hubby having a full time job, is very stressful. If you are pregnant with twins, do everything you can to either stay home or work part time. Although, I think if we worked the same schedule it would be a lot easier. As it is now, it is like we are each single parents. We only really see each other on Sundays. But our Sundays are filled with things we have to get done. It's exhausting!

The girls are doing great! This is such a fun stage! They interact with each other a lot, including grabbing onto each others onesies and pulling each other down from standing. Ahh, they love each other.

I have started planning their First Birthday party!!! Can you believe they are going to be ONE?!? I can't. People always said it flies by, but I didn't realize how fast it would go!

And now, some pictures!
Maya

Sofia



And this is what happens if you don't take the pictures fast enough

YAY! There was a short (very short) piece on the news right now about how it is unethical to go ahead with the IUI cycle when you have that many follies!! FINALLY someone is reporting on the risks! The news anchor was surprised to find out that the doctor can tell about how many follies will be released. I hope more stories like this come out.

octuplets

Of course you know I have to comment about the octuplets born today. I was not happy when I heard that news this morning. It just bothers me because in stories about Higher Order Multiples (HOM)they never talk about the real dangers and the real problems these kids face. The public always thinks it is a "miracle" when HOM are born. In a way it is. When they are all born alive and doing fairly well- yes, that is a miracle. Not a miracle someone could conceive that many, but usually an irresponsible RE when there are more than 4! I say more than four because it is possible to have two sets of identicals- which is not the fault of any RE.
It just makes me sad that I know these kids will likely have plenty of problems later on, if not now.

I thought I had a lot more to write about this, but I guess I don't. I just annoyed that the public only sees one side, and it is not reality.

Thanks everyone :)

We should get counseling, but not sure when we have time to do it right now.

So last night, he told me something that had happened this week with his family. I think this added to his stress, but instead of talking to me about it, again, he bottled it up. I think maybe even if he got counseling separate from me, that would even help. I already go to counseling- and I think everyone should do that!

To the first person who commented, I do recognize my part in this and I mentioned it in my last post. And it was very much a vent, so yeah, I didn't say that much about my part in it. But honestly, I am sick and tired of getting blamed. Of course I have a part in it, but I'm also trying.

We will get through this, I know. We love each other, but we have plenty of work to do.

Just to warn you ahead of time, this is a vent. A vent about DH. I don't really think I want advice or anything, I just need to vent.

It has been pretty tough with DH. Things would get better for awhile, then worse. With the move, came worse times. We are both working full time and DH works overtime on Saturdays. I've been working a little overtime too- not too much though. Between that and taking care of the girls, we never see each other and it is stressful.

The first rough time came with the move. After we got everything moved to the new house, he felt like I was doing nothing. Truth was, I was taking care of the girls at night. I unpacked as much as I could- as much as the girls would allow. And of course, being in a new place, they were pretty fussy. So we had a big blow out and I thought he understood that when I get home I have almost no time until after the girls go to bed at 6. Or 6:30 or later if they are fussy. Then I eat dinner, have about an hour if I'm lucky and fall asleep. Can't forget the middle of the night wakings! I have to deal with those as well.

So I thought we had things worked out, I was really trying to be nicer, and really trying. Well, today was crap! He had the nerve to ask me if he could purchase supplies to build his lizard a new enclosure and put it in the garage! Remember, he already has tons of snakes- which I am deathly afraid of. We have had a million conversations and the deal was he would get 1 room for his snakes. Well, right before we moved, before the house closed, he wanted a lizard. When he said "lizard" I thought he meant little. Lizard. Like a gecko or something. He brought it home and it was a monitor. Yep, smart on his part for not saying "Monitor lizard" because he knew I knew what those were. Anyway, it was going to be fine because it was going in the snake room.

Except that didn't work out because the lizard got sick. Of course it got sick because he bought it from the reptile shop he said he'd never shop at again- because the last thing he got from them was also sick. So, this lizard is in the guest bedroom. It has gone to the vet twince. Bye-Bye $50 that we need. Never mind that I have no clothes. Never mind that the girls need new clothes. So he found out he needed to put top soil in the cage. The first kind he bought stunk. And I mean REALLY stunk. Even with the door closed! He bought a new kind, which also smells, but not as bad. But it still sticks.

So today he has the nerve to ask to buy stuff- and remember we literally have NO money- to build this thing a new enclosure. I guess he thought I would like it in the garage, but no! This was not the deal! I am SO sick of it because it is always something else. He always says, "This is it! No more cages, no more supplies" and I buy it. A couple months later he has to buy more stuff for the stinking reptiles.

I don't care about the snakes- they are in that room, I don't see them, I have given up on that. But there is always something else. And it is like he has no respect for ME. Does he ever do anything nice for me? Does he ever say, oh go out and do something nice for yourself. I'll take the girls. Nope. Does he ever randomly get me some gift- nothing fancy, doesn't even have to cost anything! A nice note would be nice. But no. I seem to be last on his list. And I am sick of it.

After I got mad about the lizard- and I was pissed. I asked if he hed the girls. No, he hadn't. And it was 3:00. He doesn't quite like to stick to the schedule as much. Well, because I was mad I told him to feed them. No, I wasn't that nice because I was mad. Well, that just made him mad. According to him, I am ALWAYS mean to him. My tone is always bad. Sure, I admit, sometimes I am very matter of fact- especially when things need to get done. It's not that I'm trying to be mean, it just needs to get done.

What is really funny is that he doesn't like to be told what to do, but if I don't say anything, he complains that he didn't know what to do! I can't win! Also, awhile ago we had the agreement that when I got "that tone" he would NICELY tell me I ws doing that. He never did. He prefers to just get mad at me.

The other thing that really infuriates me is that he won't talk to me. We were mad at each other today and he just starts ignoring me. I CAN'T STAND THAT! At least talk to me. Finally he told me not to talk to me. No, actually, he told me to shut up. Nice. So, he never talks to me about any problems we have, and then he goes and blows up at me and then ignores me. Real healthy. I honestly don't know what to do anymore. I have TRIED. He only sees things from his perspective and he is always the one who has been wronged. He can never see how he hurts ME.

I hate to say it, but he reminds me of my dad. I don't think I've ever talked about him on here, but I did not have a good relationship at all with him. And even though I know they always say you find someone like your dad, or if you have alcoholic parents (which I did) you tend to find alcoholics or other people with something wrong with them. And yeah, that seems to be true. Granted, DH is not at all as bad as my dad. Usually, DH is great! But this problem we have is really getting to me. We need to fix it. And he just doesn't want to seem to. I'm not even sure how to fix it, but it needs to be fixed.

I'm willing to see my faults and try to correct them. He needs to do the same.

We have TEETH!!!!!

I have been waiting, and waiting for the teeth to appear. I thought for sure around 6 or 7 months they were teething. I'm sure I blogged about it. Sofia was waking up screaming and only a cold paci would soothe her. And she was drooling SO much. Well, months later, and still no teeth! I was beginning to think they would never have teeth! Today I decided to feel their gums again, and I felt a sharp pointy thing in Sofia's mouth! Of course, I was so excited that I also had to try Maya's mouth. And this was really a feat. She does everything she can to NOT let my finger in her mouth. But I prevailed! Sure enough, Maya also had a sharp pointy thing! What is really interesting is that Sofia's tooth is on her bottom right hand side. Maya's tooth is on her bottom left hand side.

Just a quick update. I have been so busy between unpacking, working, and taking care of the girls!
The girls are 10 months! I can't believe it! They are doing so well, and are so fun.

The house is coming along. We are slowly unpacking. Today we are going to clean the condo and show it to possible renters. I hope we find someone!

Work is work. I may go back into the classroom next year. I'm not sure. I do like the flexibility of this job, but I can't stand the people I have to work with all the time. I will wait and see what jobs are available, but I may have to stay put. I can deal for one more year. I think.

Someday I will post more pictures. I can't find my little point and shoot. I hope I find it soon!

Rebecca-
I live in CA. I would love to lobby Congress, but yeah, I think I'd rather raise me girls ;)

Making progress on the unpacking! Kitchen is done (thanks Hubby!) and the girls room is almost completely done! Most of the boxes are unpacked. So nice.

The girls' room in the new house is much smaller than their old room. So, we had to put the cribs right next to each other, but now they are closer to each other, which is nice. So I put them in their cribs, hoping they would play, but expecting them to start crying for me. Well, they actually played nicely for a very long time! I think it helped being next to each other. It was very cute watching them "play" and "talk" together.

Sofia is trying soooooo hard to stand up! She desperately wants to, but can't get herself up past her knees yet. Did I mention she also started really crawling? About a week ago, all of a sudden, she started regular crawling!

I really can't believe in 1 week they will be 10 months. I know, I say this every month, but it goes by so fast. It really does.

I Hate Insurance Companies.

Remember a while back when I posted that I got notice in my pay stub that fertility treatments would no longer be covered? I felt like I had been punched in the stomach. Not because I might want to get pregnant again someday, but I thought about all the hundreds of women, and men, out there who would now have to pay out of pocket, and some will likely not be able to afford that. What I didn't realize was that I would hear about this!

A friend of mine, who went to the same clinic as I did, and had her baby (singleton) on the same day as me, did not get notification of this change because she is on a year leave. She did not find out until she went to the RE to discuss her next cycle. Of course she was mad, and has tried everything to get it covered, to no avail. Luckily, I think she will be able to afford at least a couple cycles. But once again it brought to the forefront of my mind how many people will not be able to fulfill their dream of having children. It pisses me off! I'd really like to do something about it. I guess I can continue to blog about situations like this, but most likely I am preaching to the choir here. I will continue to also talk freely about my infertility struggles. Occasionally, I won't feel like going through the whole explanation, but I should. Perhaps it will educate just a few more people.

I wanted to check in and give everyone an update. We have moved into our house! Hardly anything is unpacked, but we are here and have been for a few days. You might be wondering why nothing is unpacked. Well, I figured moving would be more difficult with twins, but I did not realize just how difficult it would be! Last week, the first part of the week- actually from the day after Christmas to New Year's Eve- Hubby was busy painting 2 bedrooms and the entire downstairs. He also tiled the laundry room and the kitchen. I didn't start packing until last Tuesday since I wasn't sure when he would finish. Of course, after the girls went to bed and I started packing, inevitably, one would wake up screaming, demanding my attention. It was challenging to get anything packed.

Thankfully, on the day of the move a couple friends came over and helped us pack and move. I forgot to mention that right after Christmas the girls got sick. Sofia caught a cold first. But it was strange, because she would wake up in the middle of the night screaming. She wasn't hungry or anything- just didn't feel good! She was also super fussy during the day. So packing, and then unpacking in the new house has been a challenge! Things are slowly coming together now. Slowly.

I love the house! I am still amazed that we actually have a house! It's great! I love this neighborhood. It is so diverse, has all (almost) the shops I shop at in one location, has great schools, and some of my twin mommy friends live here!

Merry Christmas everyone!

We are the official owners of our house! The loan was funded Tuesday. Yesterday, we had the place cleaned and got paint. Today, we will open presents- YAY! I am so excited for the girls! And then go to another twin mommy's house. There will be 3 sets of twins there!

The girls are doing so well. It seems like every day they are getting older and doing new things. Sofia has started to try to pull herself up, but she can only get to her knees. I wonder if her lower body strength isn't that good?

Even though we are broke, we are so happy! We have the girls, we have a house, and we have each other. It is truly a wonderful Christmas!

The girls had their 9 month appointment yesterday. I can't believe they are 9 months! And they are getting so big!
Sofia: 20 lbs, 28" long!
Maya: 18 lbs, 27 3/4" long!

It's also crazy to me that they have stayed exactly 2 lbs apart since birth. Overall, they are both in the 75th percentile.

Last night, I'm pretty sure they both slept all night! Hubby was home at midnight, but Maya stayed on her crib all night. That's a first!

The loan didn't fund yesterday because the stupid escrow company did not get their paperwork in on time. Ya know, when something like that happens, I really think they should give us something. Like paying for cleaning! Anyway, the realtor said that it would fund today. I sure hope so! We will be moving stuff over this week, so hopefully by the end of the weekend or so we will be all moved in!

I have been super busy! At least I am on Winter break now!

Last Wednesday, we signed the loan documents for the house. We were hoping the loan would fund that Thursday or Friday. Nope. So, I have been so stressed out all weekend. It should hopefully fund tomorrow. The lender's agent said we needed a couple more documents. We just have to initial an updated document and then submit our 401ks again. Which I thought was weird since it's not like they have changed on a week or so. I'm trying to find out if they can have you sign documents and then not fund the loan. We were also preapproved. Please keep your fingers crossed!

The girls are 9 months old now! 9 months!! I can't believe it has been that long! Honestly, the first few months are such a blur for me. They are a lot of fun right now, and I am loving it! The girls will make each other laugh and it is so freakin' cute! My sister in law has been in town, and it has been great! She is a huge help! Of course, others do not understand about keeping twins on their schedule, but we have survived. I do need to talk to DH after she leaves though. He felt like she needed to be doing something all the time. I understand that, but the girls were so off schedule and so cranky. There needs to be a balance! But we survived, so it's not that big of a deal.

I have figured out that I am having anxiety. I had been thinking it was just my depression, so we upped my dose of P.ax.il, which did help the depression. But then I realized that I have been anxious. Of course, waiting to see if our loan gets funded does not help! So I will likely get an anti-anxiety med as well, I'd like to just take one, but I'm not sure if there is one that treats both anxiety and depression. I think they use P.ax.il for that, which is not working for my anxiety.

The cutest thing happened this morning! Maya woke up- she was in the co-sleeper next to the bed, which is actually a play pen now. She stood up, was talking, and then started playing Peek-a-Boo with me!!! She would duck down for a minute, then pop up and I would say "Peek-a-Boo!" and she would do it again! So cute!!!

I cannot believe they are almost 9 months! That is just crazy. It goes by so fast. I swear time speeds up as soon as you have kids. It speeds up a little when you become an adult, then speeds up more as you get older. Then, you have kids, and it is on fast forward. It really makes a case for slowing down, not stressing about work so much, and just enjoying life.

Here is a video of Maya standing and getting down:




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On the home front, literally, Friday we rushed around getting some document signed because they want to see another tax return. But, even though we rushed around, it was still too late to get it in. Oh well. So we might have to wait a couple extra days. We are still hoping to close by the end of next week.

I work with idiots!

Yes, I already knew this, but I was just reminded again. We are leading professional development sessions and I had to get some hand outs ready. So I was having problems formatting one of them and getting paranoid because the one person was not emailing me back on how to fix it. So I emailed the ones I had to the other co-worker so she could print out what I had so far and make her copies. Ahead of time. Like normal people. Then I fixed the other one and sent it, only to realize that I labeled two different handouts the same number. So I asked the one who was making copies if she could fix it. Not hard. Change the 3 to a 2. She emails back and says that she is confused. Can I fix it and resend all of them! Really? You already have the files!

Then she sends me another weird email saying that I needed to do the handouts for the English session. She wasn't sure if I thought she was doing that or what. Um, hours before I had sent the English handouts. All of them. On one email.Sometimes I just want to bang my head against the wall. And watch. She will be late tomorrow because she was making copies. Even though I sent them at about 1 pm today. You know, I should have just made the copies myself!

I think it may be time to go back to the classroom.

Well, a lot has been happening! We are in escrow for the house! We should close sometime next week. Of course, I am still nervous they won't fund the loan, and I think I won't stop being nervous until we have the keys in hand. So, I don't think I ever posted details about the house. The first time we looked at it, I didn't like it. I think that there was some stuff in the house and I just didn't like it. We then looked at other houses and put other offers in. Then we got a call saying the offer on that house was accepted! So I agreed to go look at it again, but I told hubby that I probably would still not like it. I was wrong! I did like it. I don't even know what I didn't like to begin with. Sure, it needs some work. The carpets need to be cleaned, but our realtor said they would be cleaned. It needs paint too. But really, it is just cosmetic stuff that can be fixed over time. It is a large house and the price we got it for is really good.

Details:
1900 square feet
4 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths
living room, dining room, family room, and a bonus room upstairs which will be the play area! There is also an eating area in the kitchen.
The backyard is a good size, especially for San Diego.
Great area, great schools
garage w/ storage cupboards already installed

I am very excited!
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Ok, here are pictures! Now, it needs some work- we will be tiling asap and painting. The paint color downstairs actually looks better in the pics than in real life! And I didn't get good pics of the extra bedrooms b/c they are small, so I'm not posting them.


Living room when you enter

Dining room that is attached to living room


kitchen

Family room. I'm standing in the kitchen taking the picture


Ugly runner on steps that I hope can be taken out. I'm standing in eating area off the kitchen


Coming up steps- bonus room

Standing in bonus room, view of rest of upstairs, the 3 extra bedrooms and bathroom


master bedroom

master bedroom- yes, walk in closet! Separate tub and shower!!




Backyard


It wraps around the side and the side area will be our dog run.

Thanks everyone :) I especially love the "growth" comment!

I have a plan. I started recording my food in weight watchers. I did it a few years ago, and it worked, so I'm doing it again. I also am going to leave work early 2 days a week and go do cardio at the gym. I'm also getting a post-partum yoga dvd from netflix and will do that at least twice a week. I've had it with my weight. I don't even have many work clothes!

The girls are doing so well. They are 8 1/2 months now!! For awhile Maya has been crawling, pushing herself to sitting, and pulling up. I was getting worried about Sofia (I know, don't compare) but she was army crawling. For the last couple days she has been trying to push herself to sitting, but it wasn't working. Well, today, she did it!!! I was very proud of her!

I was also worrying about Maya because she wasn't eating much. It was a struggle getting 24 oz. of formula in her. She also wasn't taking much solids. Well, today that changed! She had 29 oz. of formula and ate plenty of solids! Maybe she is hitting a growth spurt.

I just realized tonight that we NEED to get out of our stupid condo. I realized that the annual HOA board meeting was tonight and I needed to go so I could vote and vote for a new board president. I had forgotten to mail in my ballot, so this was the last chance. I hauled the double stroller down our stairs, figured out a way to get both babies down the stairs, put Maya in, then started putting Sofia in. Well, Sofia's strap needed to be loosened and I've only used the side by side one other time. So I couldn't figure out how to loosen the thing!! It was taking me forever, and by this time both babies were screaming. And the neighbors were wondering what was going on. Finally I figured it out and put Sofia in. Of course they stopped screaming when I started walking.

We got to the steps (there are a few steps throughout the complex and NO disabled ramps) and as I was trying to figure out a way down, I realized that if I went down, I would need a way back up. And there was no way that was happening, so we went back inside the condo. By this time I was sweating profusely, very tired from hauling the babies around, and starting to get a headache. And also upset that I wouldn't get to vote.

So, yes, we need a house. It is just getting so ridiculous here!