... the Fool's Gold* video for "Surprise Hotel" has just over 60,000 hits on YouTube. Go Bradleah**!

Need a little drop of summertime? Check out the video (Bradleah is the sax player***)

I was totally singing that title as I typed it.

We've been doing three things around here lately that have really bothered me:

1. Eating way too much fast food
2. Spending a fortune on groceries
3. Throwing away way too many groceries that we never got around to cooking

I'm on a mission to solve all three.

I've checked into make-ahead meals in the past, and honestly, it always just overwhelmed me. Most info out there is geared towards cooking for one day  (or even one weekend) and having meals for a month. That sounds nice, but seriously - if I can find a whole day to do anything, it will be sleeping, not cooking. Also, I don't have that much room in my freezer.

Then there was that article in Parents a few weeks ago that ticked me off so badly. In an effort to see if I could cook five REAL meals for a decent price, I made up a menu and a corresponding shopping list that included only the ingredients needed for those meals. Wait a minute - how handy is this? Wouldn't it be awesome to have a bunch of menus and grocery lists ready to go, that I could just pull from on any given week? (Yes, I realize I'm probably not the first person to have this idea. Whatever.)

So, I started hunting down recipes, and devised my menu for the first week. I only included one make-ahead meal, because I wasn't entirely sure how I felt about that yet (or whether we would actually eat them once made). We actually DID eat them - twice. Fabulous both times. Anyway, I present to you, Week 1 of my latest obsession (and actually, I've done this for two weeks so far, and the second menu is even better, but I'm holding out on you. Get over it.)

Week 1 - menu, recipes, grocery list. You're welcome.

I should note that the grocery list assumes that you keep the usual staples like salt, pepper, oil, etc. on hand. If you don't (or if you just haven't been to the grocery store in awhile), you might want to read through the recipes first. Also, not all of the recipes are original to me - I gave credit where it's due. A word of warning about the recipes labeled "from Anna's brain": I don't write recipes down, ever. I cook by taste, smell and sight. I'm pretty sure most of the measurements and cooking times are fairly accurate, but ya know... if something looks wacky, adjust accordingly.

Oops... looks like I've gone another week without posting. It's been a crazy week. Seems like I was late getting home almost every night. Throw in a night of insomnia, work and a bunch of kid activities... and yeah, no posts.

My big surprise this week is how much I'm truly enjoying being a Girl Scout leader (obviously, since I've now signed on to be Co-Service Unit Manager, too... more on that once I have some idea of what it actually means). Really, though, the girls are fantastic. There are 12 of them, which can be a little overwhelming at times, but they do seem to be enjoying themselves. They rocked out cookie sales. I thought we'd be lucky to hit 250 boxes total, and they sold 848!! We're gonna have one heck of a spring outing. :)

The next post will be more substantial - I promise!

As of January, I'm the (not so) proud owner of a Parents magazine subscription. I don't know how it happened, but I know I didn't ask for it, or pay for it.  I'd previously canceled my subscriptions to all parenting magazines, because they invariably piss me off (except Wondertime. Man, I really miss Wondertime!) Apparently someone out there decided I don't have enough angst in my life, so they're kindly adding some to my mailbox monthly. Yippee!

The first issue didn't do too badly - I got a whole 40 pages in before I started yelling at the magazine (yes, I do that). That's when I got to one of the articles that was splashed on the cover: 5 Dinners on a Budget. The big idea in the lead-in from the chef/writer is to save money by using frozen foods (duh).  He goes on to say that Parents challenged him to cook five healthy dinners for a family of four on a $50 budget. The $50 had to pay for everything excluding pantry staples such as oil and dried herbs.

Sounds good, right? It is, until you see the meals. The highest calorie content per serving is 231 calories. One of them is 195 calories! Sorry, but that's not dinner - that's a side dish. If I were to have four 231-calorie "meals" in a day, my intake would be 924 calories. I tried giving them the benefit of the doubt: maybe they accidentally calculated toddler portions. No, even my toddlers require about 1100 calories per day, and the older kids need around 1600. So chef, you may have made five dinners for $50, but they were for a family of two - maybe - NOT a family of four. If a REAL family of four wanted to eat more realistic portions of your five meals, they'd pretty much have to double them - which means spending around $100, not $50. Quite misleading, if you ask me.

Out of curiosity, I decided to see if I could get anywhere close to 5 meals for $50 for my family. With very little planning, I didn't do too badly - 5 dinners of around 400 calories per serving for about $78 total. And considering I have a family of 7, I'd say that's pretty good! On the menu this week:

- Salmon with dill sauce and steamed broccoli
- Roasted chicken with garlic & artichokes
- London broil with baked potato bar
- Veggie-stuffed pasta shells with garlic bread
- Pork tenderloin with cabbage & apple slaw

All stuff my kids love, and all relatively healthy. Take that, Parents.

Was up at oh-dark-thirty this morning thanks to Reagan.  Thought I'd go back to bed for a few more winks, but the pitter patter of Gracie's feet coming down the stairs demanded otherwise.  She wandered into the kitchen and gave me a giant hug, and I was all You're up early - it's still dark out!  And she said, Well, it's almost light and I heard the water  so I knew you were up, so I just jumped out of bed to come see you! And damn - how could I go back to bed in the face of such cuteness?  And so, chocolate chip pancakes it was - from scratch, no less!

She dragged a chair over to the counter while I gathered the ingredients.  I even let her crack the eggs*.  About that time, Levi showed up and hauled his own chair over so he could see what was going on.  It was time to start cooking by then, but he and Gracie were completely distracted playing house with the kitchen utensils (don't ask), so the pancake flipping was all on me, which is probably good, given that the cast iron griddle weighs more than Gracie and Levi put together.

A bed-headed Jonny made his way into the kitchen just as I was flipping the last pancake onto a plate.  Amazingly, he didn't pass out at the sight of his mom cooking breakfast (it's been awhile), and we all sat down to enjoy the feast.  Did I mention that I put chocolate chips in the pancakes?  Yeah - I've been elevated to hero status.  We ate, Jonny and Gracie got dressed for school (and I only had to ask Jonny three times, instead of the usual eleven), and Levi changed his diaper (tried to get him to the potty - he went in the bathroom and tried for a second, then rolled his eyes and said Mommy, I don't need to pee.  I already peed in my diaper!)  

Final analysis:
- good hair day for me
- full bellies
- two kids who got to the bus on time, in clothes that match, with no major battles
- Levi peed in his diaper

Ok, so that last one's not exactly a win, but I still think chocolate chip pancakes might be magic.


* UNSOLICITED ADVICE: When cooking with kids - or grownups, for that matter - always crack eggs into a separate bowl.  Makes it easier to fish out stray shells (or worse, if you're unlucky enough to get one that's growing an actual bird.  Mmm... liquid chicken.)

So, I haven't written here in about a hundred years.  I decided today that I'm going to fix that, and what better place to start than with a fun Levi story?

Lee and I are quickly becoming convinced that Levi will never be potty trained.  He'll be 4 next month.  The most recent proof came yesterday.  I bought a package of Oreos, and told Levi that he could have one every time he used the potty.  Hoping a little peer pressure would help, I also told Jonny and Gracie that they could only have an Oreo when Levi used the potty.  Levi was all gung-ho, and immediately went to the bathroom, peed in the toilet, collected his cookie, and happily passed out cookies to his brother and sister.  Good start!  I asked him if he wanted to wear underwear for the day, and he said he did.  Woohoo!

Fast forward a couple of hours.  Lee had been asking Levi if he needed to go potty about every 15 minutes.  The answer was always "nope."  After about two hours, Lee started asking Levi if he was wet, knowing he had probably peed in his pants by then.  Again, the answer was "nope."  Finally, I asked Levi if he was dry.  The answer: "nope."  Sure enough,  a quick check revealed wet pants.  *sigh*

Lee said, "Come on, Levi.  Come over here so we can put a diaper on you."  Levi walked over obediently and lay down.  As Lee was stripping him of his wet pants, Levi said, "Well, I guess I don't have to go to school now!"  (We've been telling him that he can't go to school until he wears underwear and uses the potty).

I'm pretty sure we've been out-maneuvered.

Reagan and Sera are one year old!  Can you believe it?  Yeah, me neither.  Does anyone even read this blog anymore?  Well, if you are reading, here's a treat for ya - video of the girls "enjoying" their first birthday cake.  Ah, the things you can get away with as a baby!


 

Wow - lots of breastfeeding talk going on in the blogosphere this week.  The Atlantic published The Case Against Breastfeeding.  A popular blogger breastfed another woman's baby, and got publicly blasted for it.  Someone suggested that moms who are having a hard time breastfeeding should give up after two weeks.  Then there was the great breastfeeding in public debate that got so heated, it has a part 2.

I've finally joined twitter: http://twitter.com/5rottens. Love it, but the inability to search for people is frustrating. Hope they fix that soon. Aside from that, I think I'm addicted!

Actually, they were one month old a few days ago, but I just got around to posting the photos.  Hey - at least I took them on time!  Click the photo above to see lots more, plus a few of Levi.

PS - Reagan's on the left, Sera's on the right.  :-)

This isn't going to be much of a birth story, since I had a c-section.  Let's face it, even when it's completely necessary (which I've no doubt mine was), most things about a surgical birth just kinda... suck, and I'm not interested in writing all the details.  So...

I started having contractions Friday evening.  They weren't terribly strong or even all that regular, but they were definitely different.  We decided to go ahead and take the kids over to Mom and Dad's, just in case.  Around 10pm or so, I was sure that I was in labor, so I called Abby (one of my midwives).  I could tell from poking around my abdomen that Pixie was still breech.  After some discussion, we decided it would probably be best to just head on to the hospital, and she and Kelly (the other midwife) would meet us there.

A little backstory on how we decided the hospital would be best... the day before, at my 39w appointment, I was 4cm dilated, and Pixie was still breech.  After a lot of thought and discussion with Abby, we decided that with me being as far along as I was, attempting a breech birth at home was probably just too risky.  We had no idea how big the babies were, and although it was still possible that Pixie could turn once I went into labor, we all felt that the best place for me to be was in the hospital.  If I got there and the ultrasound showed that she had turned, great... off to a birthing room we go.  If she hadn't, than surgery it would be.

Sidenote: Yes, I know that breech birth in the hospital can be a safe option.  However, the safety hinges on having an attendant who is a) willing and b) experienced and skilled with breech births.  I had neither.

We got to the hospital around 11:30pm.  Checked in, went back to triage, and the OB on duty came to do an ultrasound.  Sure enough - Pixie had her butt right above my pelvis, and didn't show any signs of budging.  A cervical check showed me to be about 6cm dilated.  It was time to get moving.

-Insert lots of icky stuff in preparation for surgery here-

We got into the OR at 1:40am, Reagan (Pixie) and Sera (Dixie) were born at 1:59am and 2:00am respectively, and I was headed back to recovery at 2:30am.  Thanks to a digital camera, Lee was able to film the birth while pretending he was just taking pictures.  If you're interested, you can see the video here:  Reagan & Sera's Birth.  It's surgery, so yes... it's bloody.  Don't watch while eating lunch, or if you have a weak stomach.

There are three things that helped me be ok with having a c/s:

1) I went into labor.  I can't begin to describe the difference that made to me.  If anyone faces a necessary surgical birth, I highly recommend waiting until you go into labor, if at all possible, rather than scheduling it.

2) Abby and Kelly were at the hospital with me.  Their calm reassurance that I was doing the right thing was wonderful.

3) I basically demanded that the babies come to the recovery room with me, assuming they had no immediate medical issues.  Of all the things I pushed back on that night, I pushed the hardest on this one, and won ("hospital policy" is that all c/s babies go immediately to the nursery for observation for at least an hour).  Being able to bond with them and nurse them immediately was HUGE.  I will never forget Reagan latching on for the first time... I don't think I've ever seen a brand new baby latch so enthusiastically!

The one thing I wish I had pushed harder on was having Lee with me during the prep for the surgery.  They wouldn't let him come in until the surgery started, and I think having him there for all the icky stuff prior to the surgery would have helped a lot.

Overall, I'd say my hospital stay was a good one.  The nurses were all very nice, and most of them were genuinely impressed with how quickly I was recovering and adapting to nursing two babies.  One of the night nurses told me, "Most of my moms with ONE baby are freaking out about nursing - I just can't believe how great you're doing and how calm you are with two of them!"

A few things I'm glad I either learned from friends who've been there, or figured out on my own:

- DEMAND that healthy babies come to recovery with you.  This is so incredibly important for bonding and the start of breastfeeding.  I can not imagine how miserable I would have been, sitting in recovery for two hours without my babies. 

- The nurses are not trying to torture you when the come to get you up and moving.  It's essential for a quick recovery.  Don't overdo it, but definitely get up as soon as possible, and continue to get out of bed frequently.

- Bring your own comfy pajamas, and shower and change as soon as possible.  You will feel worlds better once you're clean and in your own clothes.

- Bring (or ask for) several extra pillows for nursing.  The most comfortable position in which to nurse is the football hold, and it's hard to do without supportive pillows.  A Boppy is out of the question for the first few weeks - you won't want anything across your belly.

- Anyone who's given birth in a hospital has laughed at the disposable net underwear they give you.  TAKE HOME AS MANY PAIRS AS POSSIBLE!  Unless you normally wear gigantic, stretchy underwear, most of your usual underwear will continue to be uncomfortable for awhile (truth be told, mine still is!)

- Take your pain meds on schedule.  If you wait until you're in full-blown pain to take them, you'll be behind the curve, and wind up taking more meds in the long run.  I talked to my nurses, and they helped me find a schedule that kept me as comfortable as possible while still being alert enough to care for and interact with my babies.


So... that's my birth story, of sorts.  Although I am sad that I didn't get to have the birth I wanted, I have no doubts that this is what was best for me and the babies.  I know there are many women who are bitter and angry about their surgical births, and I'm incredibly thankful that I don't feel that way.  I do think that waiting until I went into labor made all the difference for me, along with standing up for myself, having a doctor I trust, and having all the right support people with me.

Did you know that of the (relatively limited) studies that compare vaginal breech birth and surgical birth outcomes, there is not ONE that decisively shows one method is better than the other?  Surprisingly, most of them conclude that vaginal breech birth is safer.  However, the caveat is that breech birth is safer than c/s only with a skilled attendant.  In absence of an attendant experienced in breech births, the risks are about the same as c/s.

Ugh Ugh Ugh!

When I was deciding between home birth and hospital birth, I felt I was choosing between two very safe options.  Now, I feel that I'm choosing between the lesser of two evils.  Trouble is... I don't know which one is the lesser, and I can't find any magical source to help me.

I find the general misconception that a c-section "guarantees" a positive outcome disturbing.  There ARE NO GUARANTEES.  Every decision made during birth carries with it its own benefits, and its own risks.  Contrary to popular belief, surgery is not automatically the safest route to take.  It's just the route by which an OB is least likely to get sued, even if things go horribly wrong, because everyone will be able to say "we did all that we could."

Although Dr. Jenkins, Abby and Kelly are listening to my thoughts on the matter, it's frustrating that they seem to think my idea of a "perfect birth" and my desire to avoid a c-section are at the root of my concerns.  I don't have an idea of a perfect birth, and I've never said that I want to avoid surgery at all costs.  Every decision that I've made to this point, and the agonizing I'm doing over the decision facing me now, is because I want to do what's best for the babies.  I wish I could find a way to make that exceptionally clear to all involved.

Pixie is still breech, and Dixie is breech again.  Had my 38w appointment with Dr. Jenkins yesterday, and there they both were - heads side-by-side at the top of my abdomen.  Dr. J didn't say, but as best I could tell, they're both footling.  They're definitely not Frank (neither had feet up by his/her head), and I'm pretty sure neither one was curled into full-breech position. 

After some discussion, we decided it would be best not to have Dr. J check my cervix, due to the potential to start labor and force an emergency c/s.  So, no idea if I'm any closer to getting this show on the road.  The interesting thing is that when Dr. J checked me at my 37w appointment, he found me to be 3cm.  However, when I saw the midwives the following week, Abby said I was 50% effaced, but not really dilated at all.  Not sure how that's possible... I guess it could have something to do with the babies continually shifting positions, and putting more or less pressure on my cervix at any given time.

The good news(?) is that no one is anywhere near my pelvis, and apparently there's still plenty of room to move around in there, so there's still a chance that one could flip vertex and get their head engaged. 

The question is... how much longer can I stay on this emotional roller coaster?

I had a long talk with Abby on the way home from my appointment, and we talked about the possibility of moving my scheduled c/s date up to next week, in order to increase the likelihood that I would have Dr. Jenkins.  Abby seems to think that at this point, that might be the best route to take, since the idea of having anyone other than Dr. Jenkins sends me into high-stress mode.  Which is true, but I think that scheduling the surgery prior to 40w makes me stress even more.

I've spent a lot of time thinking about what these babies might be trying to tell me...

- Maybe Dixie flipped back to breech to clue me in that trying to birth the first baby (Pixie) breech would be a bad idea.
- Maybe they're both breech because, for whatever reason, one or both of them won't be able to tolerate labor and vaginal birth.
- Maybe they're both breech because they're just not quite ready to come out yet.

It's that last one that nags at me.  I mean yes, they are definitely full-term.  Other than maybe a couple of days on either side, there is no question about my dates.  However, some babies *do* need longer to cook, or normal gestation wouldn't be up to 42 weeks.  Maybe that's the case with these two?  I don't know - there's just something about cutting them out of the womb before I go into labor that seems utterly WRONG to me.  If there were some indication that they needed to be out, than absolutely, but so far, there's not.

I guess all I can do right now is go with my gut, and my gut is telling me to leave the scheduled c/s date where it is (July 28 - 40w4d), and give the babies more time. 

In the soul-searching I've done over the last 24 hours, I realized that in my heart, I've already let go of the possibility of a home birth.  Letting go of natural birth is harder, but I've always been ok with having a surgical birth if the situation warrants it once I go into labor.  Scheduling a surgical birth before I'm sure the babies are ready, though, is not something I'm prepared to do. 

Contractions have slowed waaaaaay down.  Guess I'll have to go to work tomorrow.  :-P

Probably just as well, though, since I can't tell what position the babies are in at all.  Usually I can feel around and at least figure out where their heads are, but I'm finding it impossible today.  I see Abby and Kelly on Wednesday... they'll probably be able to tell (sometimes even they have trouble, with two in there).  If not, Dr. Jenkins will do an u/s on Friday, so I'll know for sure.

Been having contractions every five minutes for HOURS now; since about 7:30 this morning.  Although they're definitely different from BH, they're not getting any stronger, or more frequent, or... anything, really.  C'mon babies - shit or get off the pot.  :-P

Well - I've officially made it to full-term... I was 37 weeks yesterday.  Doesn't sound like that big of a deal, I guess, but with twins, I think it's something to be pretty proud of.  Especially since I've also managed to avoid the other things that tend to go along with twin pregnancies - gestational diabetes, pre-eclampsia, anemia, bedrest, etc.  The midwives and Dr. Jenkins all seem pretty amazed at how healthy I've managed to be.  So - go me.  :-)

Had my weekly non-stress test (NST) and visit with Dr. Jenkins yesterday, as well as my home visit with the midwives. 

The NST was completely normal, as usual (although I was slightly annoyed that they left me on there for so long, I was able to get a little catnap).  The visit with Dr. Jenkins was good.  He did an u/s to check the babies' positions.  Dixie (baby B) is vertex - YAY!  Unfortunately, Pixie is still breech.  S/he needs to either get head-down, or get out of the way so that Dixie can come out first.  C/s is scheduled for July 28 (40w4d), just in case.  Neither Dr. Jenkins nor I think I'll go that long, and he is completely ok with me going into labor, checking positions of the babies, and going from there.  I haven't talked to him yet about how he feels about attempting a breech birth if Pixie is still not vertex when I go into labor.  I'll discuss that with him next week.

Research is somewhat limited, but from what I've been able to find on vaginal breech birth vs. surgical birth:

-  Risks of vb are lower than c/s if baby is in Frank breech position (butt presenting, legs straight)
-  Risks of vb and c/s are about the same for baby if baby is in full-breech position (butt presenting, knees bent)
-  Risks of vb are significantly higher than c/s for baby if baby is in footling breech position (one or both feet presenting)

So... based on that and my gut, I've decided that if there's a butt presenting, I'd like to attempt a vaginal birth.  This is assuming that both babies are doing well during labor, of course.

I had a very open discussion about the possibility of a breech birth with the midwives at my home visit last night, and they are on board.  That's a relief - I really thought that a butt presenting when they arrived while I was in labor might mean an automatic trip to the hospital.  It doesn't.  Long as I'm comfortable with it and the babies look good, we can stay at home.

What else?  Oh yeah - I was 3cm dilated yesterday.  I'm not getting *too* worked up yet, since I've been known to hang out at 4-6cm dilated for weeks.  However, it's good to know that things are starting to happen.  Mama's tired... these babies can vacate the premises anytime!

Bush Signs Bill To Take All Newborns' DNA
http://www.infowars.net/articles/may2008/020507DNA.htm

S. 1858: Newborn Screening Saves Lives Act of 2007

How does this stuff get through the Senate, the House, AND signed into law without the general public ever hearing about it?  Or maybe everyone has heard about it, but somehow no one cares?  How is there not public outrage over this??

I truly fear the direction our nation is headed.

So, I finally got around to loading a bunch of photos to Flickr, and a bunch of videos to YouTube.

This is by far the best photo I've gotten of all three kids in a long time:



You can see more photos here: 3rottens on Flickr

And you can see videos here: 3rottens on YouTube

Enjoy!  :-)