Home Sweet Home!

Yesterday we brought our girls home from hospital. It was such an exciting day and i was also a little nervous. I think we did pretty well for our first day at home together though. The girls settled into their new home perfectly. We managed a very successful breastfeed once we got home and from there, they have been feeding every 4 hours. I am following a feeding plan set out for me by a lactation consultant which seems to be working quite well so far. I am still struggling a bit with the whole twin feeding thing but i guess it's just a matter of time before they are both big and strong enough to not need so much help.

Here are some pics of our drive home:

Miranda.


Claudia.


Proudest Big Brother.


Coban holding hands with his sisters.


And here is a pic of the girls' first sleep in their cot at home.

I'm sure that there is plenty more that i should write but i can't think of anything else right now lol. Oh, apart from Happy Father's Day to all the Dad's out there!! Especially to my Dad & Paulie. And a big Happy Father's Day to Daniel from Coban, Miranda & Claudia. xxx

Speedy Entrance to The World.

I am now the very emotional & proud mother to 3 beautiful children.

Miranda Celise & Claudia Kaitlin were born Thursday 16th August @ 3.07am and 3.26am. And weighed 2.1kg & 2.3kg respectively.

As far as labours go, I think i had a fairly easy one. (Although I wouldn't have said that at the time lol.) My waters started to leak at 11pm Wednesday night and we arrived at the hospital sometime after 11.30pm. I got myself all settled into the birthing room and not too long after i started to get the first contractions. After timing a few, it seemed they were 5 minutes apart and weren't too strong so we didn't think anything of them.

We were waiting on the Dr and the anaesthetist to come in to put in the epidural but it seemed our little darlings were in too much of a hurry and didn't want to wait. The anaesthetist was explaining everything to me while i was in the middle of a full blown contraction and after she stopped rambling, I told her that i needed to push. She then told me that i couldn't push LOL. Has this woman ever had a baby???? Anyway, the midwives listened to me and decided that it was too late and that these babies were coming now whether they liked it or not.

Most of everything is a bit of a blur to me but i remember them checking to see how far i had dilated and it was only 3cm. In half an hour, it had dilated to 10cm!!

After Miranda was born, and the shock that the first born was in fact a girl, I realised that I had to do that all over again!! Claudia was still breech at this point so the Dr did an ECV and turned her around. This was reasonably unpleasant but nothing in comparison to the rest of the birth lol. Claudia was born not long afterwards and was just as perfect as her big sister. We were a bit shocked at finding out that we had in fact given birth to 2 girls instead of one boy and one girl but that very quickly disappeared as we held our beautiful girls.

Daniel & I hadn't decided on names but it wasn't long before we decided upon Miranda & Claudia. Both of these names had been my favourites so i was pretty happy with the choices lol. Celise was a name i made up in memory of my Grandpa, Cecil who passed away when i was younger. And Kaitlin is Daniel's favourite name.

Coban seems quite besotted by the girls but he hasn't really spent too much time with them yet. He has had a cuddle with both of them and will always give them kisses when he does see them.

They are both still in the SCN which is very tiring for me. I have been going in from about 11am to 3.30pm the past couple of days and by the time i pick Coban up and get home, I am knackered. But the girls are doing really well. They are both very healthy and content but we just need to get them both breastfeeding properly before we can get their gavage tubes out and coming home with us. I really hope it's not long to wait as i am getting a bit emotional about it all. I am starting to feel as if i'm not bonding with them properly or that it won't be the same once we get them home. I know that these thoughts are unfounded but i can't stop my emotions running away from me lol. I'm sure those of you that have been through it, know what i mean.

Miranda is breastfeeding pretty well but Claudia is a very sleepy baby and doesn't suck very well yet. She has been on the breast so i know that she can do it but she is obviously full as they have both been having formula feeds when there has been no EBM. But my supply is fabulous at the moment so there should be no need for any more formula feeds. Today we should be starting a new feeding plan so that will be interesting. They will be going from 3 hourly feeds to 4 hourly feeds so hopefully that will make a difference.

Thanks for reading all that lol. It was probably all over the place as i have so much going through my head right now.

Here are some pics for you all.




Do you think we could any more proud??


Miranda (left) & Claudia (right) the day before they had to have the gavage tubes put in for feeding.


Coban having a cuddle with Miranda.


And now sharing a kiss.


Our happy family.


Miranda & Claudia with their gavage tubes in. 19-08-07

A quick LO to show

I finished this LO last night so thought i'd better upload it now otherwise i'll forget about it lol. I am pretty happy with the way it turned out. Almost the way i saw it in my mind lol.



I used the gorgeous 'Boyfriend' kit by Holly McCaig.

And to everyone that keeps ringing and asking if i'm in labour yet..... STOP IT!!!!
Everyone will find out as soon as anything happens so please stop bothering me lol.
If you want to be useful, please send labour vibes my way. That's all i need right now. Thanks.

TOOT for Clair!!

I just read on Clair's blog that she has been asked to sell her digi designs at the Aussie site Designs In Digital. I am so ecstatic for you Clair. And i am just so happy that i will have the opportunity to buy the kits and try to scrap 'Clair' style. OK maybe that's pushing it, but i'll give it a go lol. Her first mini kit 'Lila' is available HERE.

That's all i wanted to say lol.

36 weeks-The countdown is on.

I am so proud of myself lol. We have made it to 36 weeks and both babies seem very healthy and happy. I would be happier if i could hold them now but i guess every day in there is a bonus. :)

We had a scan this morning and both babies are growing really well. Everything seems in great working order which is just too exciting. Hopefully that means not much time in the SCN and breastfeeding will be easy (as easy as can be with twins lol). Twin 1 was estimated at about 2.5kg (5lb 7oz) and Twin 2 was estimated at about 2.8kg (6lb 6oz). I am so surprised as Coban was only 6lb 7oz and he was born full term.

Here are a couple of photos of my HUGE belly. Please excuse the stretchmarks but i couldn't imagine not having them with the way my poor tummy has stretched lol.


This is my latest LO. It is not my usual style but i am happy with the way it turned out. Especially considering it was nothing like what i had imagined.
Credits can be found HERE.

Almost there!

35 weeks and 4 days today!! Not long to go now. It feels as though we are watching paint dry though lol. D & I are still trying to decide on names which is really frustrating me. I have the names that i LOVE but I am still working on D. I hope he comes to realise that he really does love the names too lol.

I have only managed a few LO's recently due to my Photoshop issues. But it's better than none i suppose.

I love this LO. I used the gorgeous Shabby Princess kit 'French Countryside' for this one.


I used Faer Oak's Brandishly Bold kit for this LO.
Credits can be found HERE.


I used Anita Stergiou's Happy Halloween kit plus her Sketch Plate #17 for this one.
Credits can be found HERE.


And for this LO, I used Amy C's Beautiful Belly kit. This kit is so adorable for pregnancy photos. It steps away from those horrible pastel pinks and blues that can be found EVERYWHERE.
Credits can be found HERE.


I started making a couple of mint tin mini albums for the twins but after i made all the tags for one album in PS, it crashed and i lost the lot! Grrr... So i am working up to starting them again. I figured it would give me something constructive to do in between learning to tandem feed, changing nappies, trying to sleep, seeing my little man & my husband and of course, staring in amazement at 2 perfect little babies. PMSL, makes it sound like i'm not going to have any time to myself lol.

D thinks i will be in labour on Monday 13th so i guess we'll see. I was thinking either Monday or Tuesday would be the day. I will be 36 weeks on Tuesday so that wouldn't be too bad. I do have an ultrasound booked in the morning so maybe it will all happen at once. I am a bit scared now of delivering twin 1 naturally and then having to have a c/s for twin 2. I really want to have a natural birth for both so i am keeping my fingers crossed.

Coban has been pretty good lately. Not too many tantrums lol. I do look at him some days and wonder how i became so lucky. He really is a loving, clever, fun little man and i adore spending time with him. I just hope i am as lucky with these 2 lol.

I got a new mobile last week so i can now take good quality pics while i'm in hospital. I will have my point and shoot as well but this way i can send pics when i send the announcements. I am getting really excited!!!! Can you tell?

Better go and try to get some scrapping done. I am having the laziest of days today and it's great.

New hair do!

I went and got myself a haircut today. It has taken me so long to do it but finally i made the change!! It is not exactly what i had in mind but it's close enough. At least now I have no dry, split ends.

As requested, here is the before and after shots. Don't laugh...I am not wearing any makeup and look a bit shabby. lol

BEFORE:


AFTER:


And i also made this card for DH's friends 30th tomorrow. Pretty simple but he's a simple kind of guy. Not sure whether he would even appreciate it but it beats spending $6 on a crappy store bought card. I just can't do that!


We are off to Rushworth tomorrow for the above mentioned 30th. Hopefully these babies keep put and I don't have to rush back home lol. Man it is going to be bloody freezing too. I better borrow some of DH's clothes i think. Especially a jacket as mine doesn't quite do up anymore lol.

Better go and get ready.

32 weeks!! Yippee.

I am so excited to have reached the 32 week mark. Especially as i haven't had any complications or dramas so far (touch wood!) Now I just need to get another 2 weeks further along and I will stress less. At Box Hill Hospital, they don't have the facilities to look after babies born earlier than 34 weeks and i really couldn't handle being away from them for so long. So hang in there you two!!!!

Here is a belly shot taken on Saturday before we went to a wedding. I was 31.4wks.



We are all settled into our new house now. It is so wonderful. I LOVE it here!! It really feels like a family home and i love waking up to beautiful views and birds singing lol. Not something you ever get when you live on a highway PMSL.

I received my Tupperware on the weekend and I am so in love. I have set up some of my pantry and am now just hanging out ch nicer now. Plus I got a set of microwave/freezer safe containers of all sizes so i can get some meals prepared and frozen for when i get home from hospital and can't be bothered cooking.

Today Coban & I went to Eastland and got some stuff for my hospital bag. I got 2 maternity bras from Myer for a steal. I got an Elle McPherson one for $20 (RRP $54.95) and a Berlie one for $15. I already have an Elle McPherson one from last pregnancy and i LOVE it so i'm glad i was able to get a new one. I also got a travel size set of Clinique's 3 Step skin care to take to hospital and finally found myself a top to wear in hospital. It buttons down a fair way so i can breastfeed easily. And i will probably just wear my PJ pants or tracky pants as well. I think because i will be in for longer this time, I'd like to be in comfy clothes rather than PJ's and a dressing gown all the time. Yeah so, my hospital bag is ready to go. I just have to remember to grab my camera & dressing gown before we leave.

We have been so lucky with this pregnancy so far. Not just because of having no complications and everything running smoothly, but also because we have been given SO much stuff by friends and family. We have a HUGE amount of clothes now from size 0000 to size 1. I don't really have any ooooo clothes but if we need them, i'm sure we'll get them.
We are going to pick up 2 cots sometime soon. I can't wait! We were given these cots plus 2 highchairs, a bouncer, a jolly jumper, 5 huge bag of clothes, blankets and a Twins book all from one lady off EB. And all for free. I just couldn't believe my luck. We have also received cot sheets, blankets and toys from some family members so we are just feeling so grateful atm. Just have to buy new car seats and a pram.

There has to be more to talk about but i just can't concentrate at the moment. So i'll finish up here. Hopefully i won't take so long to post again.

CT Call for Faer Oak

I have been offline due to moving house so i haven't blogged for ages. I will, i promise!!
But before i post about my life, i just thought i'd stop in and let you know that Faer Oak is looking for some guest CT members for July. I am a part of her original CT and absolutely adore her designs. Plus she is a gorgeous and very generous person. So if you're looking for a fun CT, check out Faer's blog for details.

Hubba Hubba.

Who's your 80's Hunk?? Click HERE to find out.
I just LURVE John Stamos and have ever since i watched him on Full House when i was little.

Your 80s Hunk Is

John Stamos

Who's Your 80s Hunk?

We are slowly getting this house packed up. I keep running out of boxes though which is really annoying when all i want to do is pack everything away. But we did do a couple of trips over the weekend and unpacked some stuff so we could re-use those boxes. Only 4 days to go till we can move in!!! Yippee! I got my interent organised but will be without it for about a week after we move in so that will suck. At least i can concentrate on unpacking i suppose.

I have just realised that i could have these twins any day now. I am not expecting to go TOO early but i guess i have to be prepared for anything. I have to pay and pick up the cots and car seats yet so hopefully i can get those in the next few weeks. I have an appt at the hospital on Wednesday too so i will be able to find out the results from my GD test and also find out which way they are both lying. It is so hard to tell by myself as they move around so much and i feel movements all over my belly lol.

I have also decided to have my very first Tupperware Party on the 30th June. I am really looking forward to it as my pantry could really do with some organisation. Especially now that we will be in a new place.

Oh and the most exciting part of the year is fast approaching! The good old toy sales start in a few weeks and i am so excited about it lol. I just love toy shopping and this year it will be fun as i can get stuff for the babies (not that they need much) and stuff for Coban. Plus it is almost tax time!! I am hoping for a decent return for DH. Fingers crossed. We plan on being debt free by the end of the year and hopefully we will be able to save enough to buy a place of our own in maybe 2 years.

Here's a LO i did the other day. Photoshop issues has seen me unable to scrap for over 2 weeks so it was great to get this one done.


My feet are so cold atm so i will end it here and go and put on my ugg boots.

I just saw this on Jo's blog so i thought i'd give it a go. I must say i am surprised at the results LOL. I was sure it wouldn't be good.

You Are a Prophet Soul

You are a gentle soul, with good intentions toward everyone. Selfless and kind, you have great faith in people. Sometimes this faith can lead to disappoinment in the long run. No matter what, you deal with everything in a calm and balanced way. You are a good interpreter, very sensitive, intuitive, caring, and gentle. Concerned about the world, you are good at predicting people's feelings. A seeker of wisdom, you are a life long learner looking for purpose and meaning. You are a great thinker and communicator, but not necessarily a doer. Souls you are most compatible with: Bright Star Soul and Dreaming Soul

What Kind of Soul Are You?

OMG. I've been tagged.

Well i have been tagged for the first time ever!!! LOL
Thanks Dannii. Sorry it took me so long to do.


1. Four of my favorite jobs:
Well I haven't had all that many jobs to choose from but these 4 were probably my faves.
1) Pharmacy Assistant/Cosmetic Consultant. I worked for Clinique & Lancome while i was at the pharmacy and enjoyed them both.
2) I worked at a newsagency when i first left school. It was ok but money wasn't. LOL
3) I worked at BBQ's Galore. That was quite a good job but i didn't enjoy working weekends.
4) And lastly, I was a Stock Controller for an outdoor furniture company. I loved it!!! I worked with such great people who i really miss.

2. Four of my favorite local places

1. Westerfold's Park
2. Officeworks LOL
3. My Mum's house.
4. Dairy Bell YUMMY!!

3. Four of my favorite foods
1. Chocolate
2. Pizza desserts
3. Lasagne
4. Roast Lamb

4. Four of my favorite international places
Well i have never been overseas so this is my wish list LOL.

1. Venice
2. Switzerland
3. Disneyland, Anaheim USA
4. Amsterdam

5. Four name's of people I am tagging

Amy C, zebette, Anita, Faer

A couple of new LO's.

This first one is of Coban & Eli. Both of them wereplaying up when we were trying to take nice photos of them. They are both just SO cute lol.


I used Sketch Plate #3 by Anita Stergiou and the Digital Tag Team Collab Kit #1-Sweet On Summer.


And this is D and I on our wedding day 2003. It was for a lyrical challenge at DSS and i'm quite happy with the result.

I used Amy Teets Sun Porch kit for this LO.

24 Weeks and growing.

I have absolutely no idea if this is normal but i sure hope so lol.
For the past month, my belly has been feeling so tight and heavy. Each day, the top of my belly feels sore. It's sort of hard to explain but it is kind of like it feels bruised or something. I have thought that it is just something that happens when you have 2 babies squished into one small space. Anyone care to let me know that it is normal?? Please lol.

Here i am at 24 weeks:


It is very unusual for us to have a weekend that isn't full on lately. If D doesn't plan anything without me knowing, we will have this weekend to ourselves. I am really looking forward to that. Especially as he needs to mow the lawns lol. I would love to get more stuff packed too but we have run out of boxes so that will have to wait. We still haven't found anything yet but i am really praying that we find something ASAP so that i can start organising stuff for the twins. Not to mention that i am SO sick of inspecting houses. It is such a drag!!

D isn't nearly as stressed out about it as I am but that's just him. He is just excited because he gets to go 4wd'ing with his mates for the Queen's Birthday long weekend. It was supposed to be a 'Boys' only weekend but one of his mates has decided to take his 2 kids. I think D is a bit shirty about that as he was really looking forwrad to getting stuck into his poor old 4wd lol. He hasn't really been able to go nuts and test it out as everyone else that he has been with are all wusses!!
Anyway, now that it's not 'Boys' only, D said that Coban and I could go but there is no way i am going 4wd'ing in my condition lol. I would end up going into pre-term labour in the middle of the freezing cold bush and probably getting stuck or something. I don't think so!!! As much as I enjoy 4wd'ing, I don't think i will be doing it for quite a while.

Yesterday I was very lucky to have met up with one of the girls from my 'Due In' group. Sarah has 2 kids already and her 2nd little boy is due on the 2nd September. We really hit it off and had the best time chatting away and letting our boys run wild. They were actually really well behaved and Coban just loved having a 'big boy' to play with. Eli is almost 4 so he was really 'cool'. Sarah & I were trying take photos of ourselves but they just kept looking very ordinary lol. I managed to get one of mine to look half decent (if you disregard my extra chins lol) and made a LO of it.



I also have 2 other LO's to show. The first one is of my new Ugg boots. I just couldn't help but do a LO of them lol. My kids need to know how much of a dag i really am.



And this one is of D's Grandpa and his 4 sons:

Short Back & Sides

Today i had to go to the shops and do a few quick errands. On my way to the shops, I walked into a Child's wear/toys shop where they had a hairdresser at the back of the shop. I took Coban down to watch another boy getting his hair cut so that he wouldn't see it as being such a horrible drama. (He absolutely HATES it when we cut his hair at home). Anyway, I decided that he could get his hair cut as it really was getting very long and shaggy looking.

After LOTS of tears, this was the outcome...


Short back and sides!! It is so much shorter than i expected but i really like it. He looks so cute when we put a bit of gel in his hair.

We are off to Geelong tomorrow for Daniel's Grandpa's b'day lunch. Daniel is working till 1pm so his Dad is picking Coban & I up and Daniel will come down after work. It should be a good day!!

I haven't really been scrapping up a storm lately. I feel like i have lost a bit of mojo so when i start something, it ends up looking completely different to my original ideas. It is very frustrating as the origianl ideas are always so much better lol. I did however, receive the latest SM mag in which my free Paper & Alpha are included!! I'm not all that happy with the way the paper turned out but i'll survuve. I do get paid for them so it's all good.

For those of you out there that have had twins or more, how did you cope with the later parts of pregnancy?? My belly is so sore and heavy and I just feel so exhausted all the time. Luckily i haven't put on much weight (at least it doesn't look like i have. I don't weigh myself.) so i don't have that to contend with as well. I just feel so uncomfortable all the time!! And i'm only 23 weeks. :(

I'm not really in the blogging mood tonight so i will add a few LO's and then leave it there.

22 weeks!!

Here i am at 22 weeks 1 day:



Feeling very heavy and easily exhausted at the moment but i guess that's to be expected. I am pretty happy with it all so far though. With Coban, I had ballooned by now. At least I am still able to wear a lot of my old pants which has been great. I am walking with a waddle already which is absolutely hilarious and everytime i get up from the couch, it takes a real effort!! I make all kinds of grunting, moaning noises lol.

I am really hoping to find a new house soon as I want to get it all out of the way so i can concentrate on buying the stuff for the babies. And Coban needs to get a big bed too but i don't want to get it just yet as it will be an extra thing to move. Plus we need the money to pay bond etc. I am off to check out a couple of places today and i have another one close by next week. So i am really hoping that one of these houses is the one!! PLEASE!!!!

Scrapping wise, I have been reasonably productive. I made a little double 5x5 canvas for my nephew's naming ceremony. I did forget to take photos of course and it turned out fabulously!! I was so proud of myself. I also got my first acceptance from SC this week!! It was for my LO 'Live Life As Play' which i really liked so i'm glad that someone wanted it.


For this layout i used the add on kit for the DSS May Collab kit. It was created by Luiza Garay.



I used DeDe Smith's Spring Fever kit~available at DSS


I used Anita Stergiou's Sketch Plate 10, Floriade kit & Flower Cliipies for this LO~available at Pickleberrypop.


And the awesome Collab kit #1 called Sweet on Summer. Created by the Digital Tag Team!!


I used Carole Neale's Send In The Clowns kit for this layout~available at DSS



And lastly, this LO was creted using designs from Amy C~ available at PDW & SBB

That's all i can muster at the moment. I should go and tidy up a bit before we look at these houses.

Time for LO's and pics.

Everything used in this LO is from Faer Oak.
Credits can be found here.



Credits can be found here.



I used the April DSS Mega Kit for this LO.
Credits can be found here.


Credits can be found here.


Earth and Sky kit by Amy Cheeseman.
Credits can be found here.


Credits can be found here.


Faer Oak's Briar Sunset.
Credits can be found here.


Some pics from Coban's b'day party.
Credits can be found here.


Credits can be found here.

And i was recently lucky enough to be accepted onto Anita Stergiou's CT. I have always liked her stuff so i had to take the plunge and apply. I am so glad that i did as I have had so much fun so far using her products and getting to know the other girls. And she's an Aussie too!!!! BONUS.

So here are a couple of LO's i have done using her stuff:
This first LO was using her Floriade kit.
Credits can be found here.


And I used a sketch template and Strawberry Iced Kisses for this LO.
Credits can be found here.


And now time for a belly shot. Unfortunately this is a really bad photo but you get the idea.