Wait For It...

I've been to the hospital every day for the past 6 weeks. Sometimes twice. Here's our daily schedule for the past week: Celia drops me off at work or I drop her off at the hospital in the morning. After work I either find a ride to the hospital, she picks me up, or I pick her up. Then we run some errands, go home and take a nap. Quick dinner then off to the hospital for the babies' 8pm feeding/cuddle/bath. Then home at about 10pm. On weekends I get to spend more time in the afternoon at the hospital. Even though I don't get a lot of time with my babies right now, it's still the best part of my day and it practically kills me sometimes if I'm even 5 minutes late.

Bandwagon Fan

Well it's good to see that everything is going back to normal. My blog is no longer getting hammered with 12,000 hits/day. It seems we've settled to an average of 100-140/week, just slightly more than pre-twin days.

How come no one writes in their blog anymore? I've got about a dozen of them bookmarked and when I go check for updates, there might be one that has been updated. You guys suck. Maybe you should get off Facebook and update your blog to prove that you didn't start it just to jump on the blog bandwagon and that you really wanted to share your thoughts with the world.

You Can't Handle the Truth Part 4

It's okay if you're jealous that my kids are cuter than yours. I'm jealous that your kids were full term and are at home with you.

No Heavy Lifting!

We found out today that Lucas needs surgery. Apparently, all his organs are backwards and he has to have major surgery to correct it or else when he grows up he'll have major problems. Hang on a sec... I think that's the story from Grey's Anatomy. Lucas has a hernia and needs it repaired. It's the kind of surgery that only takes a couple of seconds and then he comes home again like nothing happened. So he's not going under the knife for anything major after all. It'll probably happen later later as in not any time soon.

Wait For It...

Last Saturday Celia and I were supposed to get married. Since Christmas we though that April 14 would be the day. Well that day has come and gone my friends. Just in case you haven't been paying attention, our babies were born a little early. All our plans for Feb-May have changed. Now, our wedding is being rescheduled for... later. We haven't decided on a date yet, we are waiting to find out what a lucky day is for us. Even though we didn't get married when we thought we would, this works out better for us because now we don't have to rush. You'll get real invitations this time (unless I don't know you - why are you reading this?) and there will be a real wedding and reception (probably anyway). I figure if we get married in May or June next year, we'll have our anniversary, Celia's bday, my bday, mother's day, and father's day all out of the way. I guess that could be expensive, huh?

Smile

Today I didn't get to go to the hospital until late in the evening. I didn't realize it before but if you go too long without seeing your newborn babies, you get very antsy and grumpy until you finally see them again. The best part is when you get to the hospital and the babies are no longer in separate isolettes but co-bedded in one crib. Seeing them sleep beside each other is probably thus far, the greatest thing I've seen. I can't even begin to explain how incredible it is to see them go from being intubated because they were born so early they didn't know how to breathe yet, to seeing them sleep peacefully beside each other in a crib. I have only 3 words to describe it: W. O. W.

I am in Control

Facebook isn't addicting like everyone says it is. "Internet crack", my ass (get it? my ass ->crack?). Anyway, just because I spend most of my time on Facebook doesn't mean I'm addicted to it. I can quit any time.

Not the Source but Still A Lot of Fun

Just in case you haven't already figured it out, Lucas and Amelia's names are quite fun for me.

Lucas & Amelia
Luke & Lia. Fraternal twins. If you haven't gotten it yet, you're a moron.

"Luke, I am your father."

The Twins

Lucas:
Usually he's quite laid back. He sleeps like daddy with both arms over his head and generally sleeps through anything and everything until it's time to eat. Once in a while he'll get all fidgety like he's got ants in his pants but if you give him a soother he's good until it's feeding time again. As of a few days ago he started wearing clothes. He was born a little smaller but now he's bit bigger than his sister. His head was shaved a couple of weeks ago and it looks quite good on him - like a cute little thug.

Amelia:
When she first came out we were really worried about her. As soon as the docs removed her, the NICU nurses grabbed her, did a few things, then whisked her off to the nursery. We didn't even get a chance to see her. As Celia was being wheeled to recovery she said to me, "go make sure Amelia is okay." Even though she's doing great now, I still think back to that moment and I get scared for her. After the incident last week, I was reminded of her first moments in life. She sleeps like mommy, a little more spread out with her mouth slightly open. Also, when she's sleeping she tends to have a little smile on her face. She's very alert, even when she should be sleeping, with her eyes wide open watching everything going on around her. When she cries she is easily soothed when we hold her.

I have pictures of both of them that make me smile with joy but at the same time the look on their faces seem to say, "Why?" As in "Why was I born so early?" "Why is everything so difficult already?" "Why aren't I still inside mommy's belly?" I look at them and I want to say sorry that they had to be born so early and struggle with life already.

I Would Never...

...Want to be on the team that plays against the Harlem Globetrotters.  They cheat, they break all the rules, they goof off, and yet they always win. 

"Mom"

Celia's mom has been staying with us the past week. She'll stay with use during the week and on the weekend, go stay with Celia's sister. Most people would cringe at the thought of having their mother-in-law stay with them, but I actually kinda like it. The past week, Celia and I have been driving from hospital to hospital to see our kids and by the time we get home its like 10pm or later. Every time we've come home, her mom has had food ready for us. She also cleaned the house for us (including the bathrooms) and went grocery shopping. She's been a mom for a long time so I guess she knows what she's doing here. Not only do I like her being around to help with all this stuff, but whether she's willing to admit it or not, I can tell that Celia really likes having her here too. I know that the two of them have had a very tumultuous relationship over the years, but I guess that now that Celia is an adult (as if she hasn't been for like 15 years) and has settled down with a family of her own, things are a little more relaxed. It's nice to see them sitting down with a cup of tea talking and laughing like old friends. I have no idea what they're saying but Celia tells me they are just gossipping. I hope someday Celia will be sitting in Amelia's living room laughing and gossipping over a cup of tea.

You Can't Handle the Truth Part 3

When I used to work at the bedside, if a patient had a nice family it meant I liked the patient better.

So Very Important...

I work in informatics. I work the informatics department of a very large organization. If you don't know what informatics is, look it up. Anyway, where I work, there are a lot of people with a lot of access to a lot of information. Some very personal information. Also, because of where I used to work, there are a lot of people with little bit of access to very specific information. No offense to anyone but I don't want you poking your nosey little noses into my wife and kids' records. They are all marked as VIPs so if you try snooping and looking at what's going on, we'll catch you. I know I publish my blog to a very public place and I don't restrict anyone from reading this, but when it comes to my very personal life, go mind your own damn business. I'll tell you what I want to tell you and if you want to know more, ask me instead of invading my privacy.

So Much to Celebrate...

My little girl is back at our local hospital. She's been ready for a couple of days, we just had to wait for a bed to open up for her. Every day we had to visit her in the city, she seemed so grumpy (but then again, she was probably really hungry) but yesterday, back at our hospital, she seemed so much more relaxed and calm. I think she could sense that she was close to her brother again. I didn't mind driving into Vancouver every day - Celia and I used to do it all the time - I didn't like the the idea that my twins were so far apart from each other so early in life. Aren't twins supposed to be close to each other?

Today is Lucas and Amelia's 1 month birthday. They have officially been out in the big bad world for one month. Celia and I will be having cupcakes at the hospital in honour of this event.

So far, so good

We had a visit from the surgeons - and not just any surgeon, it was the fellow and the boss - and based on their assessment of Amelia, they don't believe that we should be worried at all that she has necrotizing enteral colitis.  In the past 24 hours her abdominal girth has gone down a few centimeters, the xrays look clear, and (just as the doc was opening her diaper) she had a huge, smelly bowel movement.  The surgeons were going to follow her for the next few days but they said they really didn't think they would need to get involved.  So today: good news!  In a couple of days, let's hope for more good news. 

Getting good news like this is always such a relief.    We were having coffee and Celia tried this cranberry cider thing.  At first she said it was very soothing and made her feel better but then we realized that after the good news we got, the nice, soothing cider topped it off and made her feel good all over (not in THAT way, get your mind out of the gutter).  Have you ever had that sense of relief and comfort at the same time?

Brave Little Girl

I figure it's because she wants to be a nurse like daddy and she just has to see all the different places she can work. This afternoon Amelia was transferred to yet another hospital. Some time during the night her abdomen began to balloon up and slightly bloated belly became significantly distended, interfering with her breathing. Once the docs saw her, they decided to transfer her to the big children's hospital in the city just in case she needed to go for surgery. They did all kinds of things to her and she didn't cry a single tear (that's my brave little girl) - I think mommy and daddy cried more than she did. Even with her little ventilator and gazillion tubes and IVs and monitors, she held my hand so tight and was stronger than daddy.

So now the twins are separated. Not just in different incubators, but this time they're in different hospitals in different cities. For a third time I ask you, please pray for my children.

Be My Friend

Have you heard of Facebook? It's the new friendster or myspace. Its got some neat features and I still haven't quite figured it out yet. It's always fun to join these things because you can post pictures and comments and network with friends - old and new. Friendster was getting boring anyway. I really like it because I can advertise my blog to complete strangers and then maybe I'll get 13000 hits by the end of the year.

Funny

You Can't Handle the Truth Part 2

Sometimes when it looks like I'm thinking hard about something at work, I'm actually wondering what I'm going to have for dinner. Even in mid-conversation with someone.

One Step Closer

Today the twins were moved to the local hospital. No more driving across the bridge to see them! Woo hoo! They took a little time getting used to their new home but I think they'll like it. Amelia's doing great, still no problems. Lucas is doing much better now. He doesn't need any help breathing, but he still forgets once in a while. He looks better though. He's filling in a little more now and apparently he's starting to look like me. I don't really see it though - he's much better looking. Amelia looks like both her mommy and daddy but she does all the cute things that Celia does when she sleeps.

Baby Update

Both twins are back to Level 2 and breathing on their own. Tube feeds are going well for both and both are gaining weight. Lucas looks like his daddy and is one good-looking dude. Amelia looks like both her mommy and daddy and is starting to gain some weight so she's super-cute right now.

My sister-in-law said that when her daughter was born she was 4200 grams. My kids combined were only 2200 grams.

You Can't Handle the Truth Part 1

When my twins were first born I took a bajillion pictures of them but when I got home I couldn't tell them apart.

Why does the word "lisp" have an 's' in it?

I know I've been writing a lot about the birth of my children lately. Even though I fought the idea of it for years, I always knew it would be an exciting moment for me. So, if you thought the past month of entries was boring, screw you. Go write your own blog instead of living vicariously through mine - I know my life is way more exciting than yours. Anyway, although these twins have taken up a great deal of my time (apparently children do that. I read it in a book once), there have been some other things going on in my life too.

We finally got officially engaged. With a ring and everything. You should see the ring. Its fucking beautiful. Seriously, if you think the one you got/bought for/from your wife/husband is nice, when you see this one you'll be jealous and think, "damn, Oliver is one classy dude." Yes, I'm bragging about it. What are you gonna do about it? Huh? What? That's what I thought.

We repainted the house. No, not the outside, stupid, I live in a townhouse. We repainted the entire main floor so now the colours are bright and fresh. Very family-like.

Work is going well. It just really bugs me how it always seems to interfere with things like "life" and "fun" and "sleep".

We moved the computers downstairs again. They've been upstairs for a couple of years now but we're turning the old computer room into a baby room so we needed to clear some shit out. As in everything. Oh, and my wireless network sucks. I unsecured it so if you park in front of my house with your laptop you can steal my internet. I think there's someone out there doing this right now.

I've officially quit smoking for 3 months. Since January, I've had a total of 1 cigarette. Don't try to tell me I haven't quit if I had a cigarette, that's just stupid. Trust me, a smoker knows when he's quit. To celebrate I'm going out for a smoke. Just kidding.

I'm Obviously a New Dad.

I'm not much of a crier. I don't cry during movies, I don't cry at weddings or funerals, and I don't cry when Britney Spears goes to rehab. The past 2 weeks though, these babies are making me cry like... well, a baby. Sometimes it's frustration, sometimes it's because I'm scared for them, and sometimes it's because I'm literally overwhelmed with joy. Last Wednesday night we got a call saying Lucas wasn't do so well and needed to be intubated. Over the last few days I got more information and realized that it wasn't so much that he wasn't doing well, the little guy just needed a little help. I felt better and seeing him wasn't so hard. Today we went to the hospital and he had been extubated and was breathing on his own like nothing happened. I almost cried when I saw that he didn't have anything stuffed down his throat. I was able to hold it together for the whole visit until the nurse said that he might be getting promoted back to the West Side and back down to a Level 2. Okay, I didn't break down in tears or anything, but I was so happy to hear that I let a single tear fall down my cheek.

A friend of mine once told me that when she sees her 8 yr-old son win tae kwon do tournaments, she gets so full of joy she cries. I cry when I get the chance to actually hold my children in my arms and not see them in a clear plastic box. I fill with pride when I hear my twins are no longer level 3 and that they've moved to the West Nursery. And I'm probably the happiest guy on earth when I hear they are tolerating their tube feeds and the volume increases by 3mLs. Right now I'm praying that I'll be able to see them in tae kwon do tournaments or piano recitals or school plays.

Pictures

I've added the link to my pictures over on the right. -->

Shit

We got a call last night at 3am from the hospital to let us know that Lucas has an infection.  They stopped all his feeding, intubated him again, took blood samples, and did a lumbar puncture.  He also got moved back to the Level 3 side.  They put him back on the ventilator so that he can focus all his energy on fighting the infection.  At his age, fighting infection and breathing are still pretty difficult to do at the same time.  When I think about how small he is I get so scared for him.  Please pray that he'll be okay.

Wow

According to my site meter:

as of March 2, 2007
visits/week: 98
average/day: 14

as of March 16, 2007
visits/week: 207
average/day: 30

Just as Expected

I always knew that if our babies were going to be born at 29 weeks, it wouldn't be easy. I knew that at that age they would go back and forth in terms of 'stuff' they can do. I fully expected either Lucas or Amelia to go from breathing on their own and back to cpap and then breathe on their own again and so on. I figured that if they were digesting food, they would be better at it on some days and on other days, not so good. This past weekend I was so happy to see both of my children breathing on their own and having their diet increased in volume and frequency. Being able to hold them as we tube fed them has been the greatest feeling I've had as a father thus far. Doesn't sound like much but if when most of the time you see your children it's through a plexiglass isolette, just being able to touch them or hold them, even for just 10 minutes, puts a huge smile on your face.

The hospital told us that if the twins even had a set-back, they would call us and let us know. I always felt better that they would keep us up-to-date on how they were doing. Until I actually got a call from them. This evening they called and told me that Lucas needed a little bit of extra help remembering to breathe so they but some hi-flow nasal prongs on him. This isn't really a big deal - like I said, I always knew they would go back and forth until they were a little older (they're not even 2 weeks old yet). As the nurse was telling me about this, I felt a little numb. Was there anything I could do? No, he's fine now. Should I be concerned? No, this is normal. I finished painting my living room and an hour or so later I sat down and looked at today's pictures from the hospital. I don't think I've ever felt so crappy in my entire life. Never in my life have I envied my friends' healthy, full-term children more than now. Never have I been so... angry that my children weren't home with me. And never have I felt so helpless. To all those parents out there, did you ever promise your newborn child that you'd always protect them and take care of them? Well I did and I feel like I'm not doing anything.

Stupid

Okay, I'm not complaining about my TV or anything, but when the specs say it has a max resolution of 13xx by 768, it suggests a widescreen aspect ratio. So why, I ask, when you hook a computer up to it, it only supports 4:3 aspect ratios? This stretches my desktop and warps pictures and stuff. I can set the TV to display 4:3 but that wastes a lot of space on the sides. The computer displays quite nicely - clear and bright - on the TV so to use it as a monitor is perfectly acceptable (I wonder how games would look...) but I'd like to take advantage of the widescreen.

Still Growing

A couple of days ago, little Amelia's cpap was discontinued and she now breathing on her own! Also, both of them are slowly increasing their intake of breast milk so they should start gaining some weight pretty soon. We went to visit them and poor Amelia had to have part of her head shaved so she could get a scalp IV. They saved the hair for us and marked it "Amelia's first haircut". So cute...

Originally, they were in the East Nursery where the Level 3 babies go - the ones that need the most care. Usually the ones that are ventilated or in bad shape or born super early like my guys. This past weekend, they both graduated to Level 2 and were moved to the West Nursery. That means they are doing well and we shouldn't have to worry about anything. Once they hit a certain weight, they can be co-bedded in one crib. I'm sure they'll like that better - being separated like this must be real confusing for them. "Where's my brother? He was here a minute ago."

I tell ya, these two are real fighters. First they're born at 29 weeks, then they have to be taught how to breathe earlier then usual, then taught how to digest food earlier than usual, and now they're getting their heads shaved like some gang initiation.

Pictures!

Finally!

Remember its like a Life Network show so some pics really pull at the heart. Just kidding, they're just pictures of my family in the hospital. I remember when going to the hospital meant going to work. Now going to the hospital is like going on vacation - I can't wait to get there and I don't want to leave.

Getting There...

Today I finally got to hold Amelia. I rushed to the hospital after work and got there just in time to hold her for just 10 minutes. I didn't cry this time because I was too excited to just be holding her. She is so beautiful even behind the cpap and IV lines. Both her and Lucas' feeding schedules have been bumped up to 2mL every 2 hours (instead of every 3hrs) which means they are tolerating the feeds a better. Maybe now they'll start gaining some weight! They're still so small...

Yesterday Lucas' cpap was discontinued. He's now fully breathing on his own so there's nothing covering his face anymore except a tiny little feeding tube going to his nose. I knew that eventually he would lose his peripheral IV lines and would have to get one in his scalp and today he had one. It was so cute and sad at the same time. His head was shaved in the spot where the IV was and you could see the little IV going into his scalp. His hand were now free to wave around and boy did he ever wave them around! It was so cute to see him stretching and yawning. The nurse on tonight said she thinks Amelia would lose her cpap tomorrow morning so hopefully we'll be able to see her pretty little face again.

I know I haven't posted any pictures yet, but I'll get some up soon.

Home Alone

Well we're home now. Because of her discharge, we had to get a lot of things ready for when Celia got home and we couldn't be at the hospital when they were going to weigh Amelia. In other words, I didn't get a chance to hold her today but I'm going to try tomorrow. I thought it would be great to finally get out of the hospital and go home to lay in our own bed in our own room in our own house but... it just doesn't seem right to come home from the hospital after our babies were born without them. We got here, dumped all our stuff, sat down and cried that we came home alone. Will our babies be okay by themselves at the hospital? Do they know we're not close by anymore? Will they notice that we're not there as often? I don't know if any of these things matter to them, but they all matter to us. We don't want them to be alone there, we want to be close to them, and we want to see them often. Poor little babies, don't worry, mommy and daddy are always thinking of you.

Still Here

We're still at the hospital.  Wednesday will be day 5 post-op.  That's a long time for c-section to be in the hospital.  My old knee replacement patients who are in their 60's or 70's usually only stayed for 4 or 5 days.  I think the worst part for me is the crappy cot that I'm sleeping on.  My mom has been nice enough to go over to our house and do a little cleaning.  She did laundry and changed the sheets on our bed and washed the dishes.  I stopped off at home today to pick up some stuff and when I saw my bed I wanted to lay down in it so bad and take a nap in its glorious comfort.  No, couldn't do that, I had to get back to Celia.  Instead, I took a nap on my cot.  It was great.  I was wearing jeans and I was cold and the mattress on the cot wasn't centered so one edge had a metal bar digging into me.  I loved it.  I haven't watched tv either in 5 days.  I know there are some people that actually prefer this, but I like a little tv.  I'm dying here!  

Seriously though, the twins are doing great.  They are producing tonnes of milk when we pump and we have to start freezing it for the kids, who doing well to by the way.  

Amelia is getting a reputation as the feisty one with the nurses.  She's still on cpap but I'm told she's doing really good otherwise.  Right now she's a little jaundiced so she's under the tanning lights.  I don't think she likes the mask over her eyes cuz when I go talk to her she holds my hand (my finger) and doesn't let go.  It almost makes me cry. 

Lucas is doing well too.   He's on cpap too but I think he's the independent one.  He kicks stuff away and does all his stuff on his own schedule.  Like breathing and digesting food.  He'll have periods of apnea but the RT says that's normal for his age and that its just a phase and he'll get over it.  He's tolerating the breast milk once in a while but not all the time.  I tell him he needs to eat and grow and he just waves his cpap at me.  Yesterday I got to hold him for the first time.  He still had everything hooked up but they weighed him so he was out of the isolette anyway.  I got to hold him for about 15 minutes and for about 12 of those minutes I was actually crying.  I was holding my son!   Tomorrow, I'm going to hold my daughter and try not to cry. 

Hi, my name is dad

Lucas, 2lbs 6oz
Amelia, 2lbs 10oz
They'll be in the NICU for a while but right now they're doing okay.
Mom's still in recovery but she's doing okay too.

Now!

We're going to the OR now.  Next time I update my Live Blog I'll be a dad.

Another Day

We've been given another day with the babies inside. Right now, everything looks good enough to leave them in but we're taking it on a day-to-day basis. This is double good news for me. One more day for the babies and a day for me to run errands. Woohoo!

Almost

Yesterday when we were hunting for some NICU beds, the doc told us we almost had to go to Alberta.  That would have really sucked.

Observations

The past couple of weeks we've made a few observations.
1.  Our local hospital has a nicer maternity floor (then again, its much newer).
2.  The dad chairs that convert into beds are medeival torture devices. The one I'm on now dooesn't even go flat.
3.  Celia: "they have good-looking doctors here."
4.  Going out of your own city to go to another hospital sucks.  I understand now why people go to those little community hospitals close to home even though all the services aren't there.  I'm only 5 minutes further than my hospital and I feel like I'm in a different province. 
5.  I've been on one side of health care for years as a nurse.  Now, I can honestly say that being on the patient side really, really sucks.  If I still worked at the bedside I'd be more caring and compassionate to all my patients that really annoy the hell out of me. 

So Close and Yet So Far Away

We changed hospitals.  The other one can't handle babies this early so they transferred us across the river.  We're still waiting to find out what the final decision is (I'm not sure they've decided yet).  I'll keep you updated. 

Here We Go Again...

Well we're back at the hospital again.  Her bloodwork is all out of whack and her bp is still wonky.  I think this time she's here for good.  For good as in until she delivers.  Hopefully later rather than sooner.  Don't call me until later, I'll be with her all afternoon. 

Whew

Well, I was back in bed with Celia by 3am. Her blood pressure stabilized and they let us go home. I'm falling asleep here at my desk today but at least I can go home after work instead of hang out at the hospital. As you can tell, I'm having a hard time concentrating on work.

Back Again

We're at the hospital right now.  Blood pressure was a bit high again.  Hopefully we'll be home tonight. 

Lost in Translation

I was reading an old issue of FHM Philippines and there was this interview with some filipino guy and he was talking about all his favourite stuff. "What's something you couldn't live without?" "Oh that's easy, its my PS2, straight out. I could play it for hours." Straight out? Who says that?

I remember as a kid, my grandmother would offer me something to eat. Often, I wasn't hungry or I just didn't feel like eating. The conversation would go like this:

grandma: "Do you want some?"
me: "No thanks."
grandma: "You don't like it?"
me: "Well I like it, I just don't want any."
I always thought it was funny how not wanting to eat something automatically meant I didn't like it. It was just recently that I finally realized that something probably got lost in translation. If I didn't feel like explaining why I didn't like something, the conversation went like this:

grandma: "Do you want some?"
me: "No thanks."
grandma: "You don't like it?"
me: "No."
grandma talking to someone else: "Oh Oliver doesn't like this. Its good, he should try it."
someone else: "Maybe he just doesn't know its good. Oliver, do you want to try this?"
me: "No thanks."
someone else: "You don't like it?"
Right back to where we started. Has this ever happened to someone else? I just remember getting really annoyed at these conversations.

Torture Me.

Last week I spent the night at the hospital with Celia. There was a little chair in the corner of the room the folds down into a "bed". The chair/bed is about the width of the average computer keyboard and, of course, the armrests of the chair become bedrails that prevent you from moving. As I'm lying on this super-uncomfortable torture device, all I can think of is "I have a new king-size bed at home." Being the selfish bastard that I am, I am thankful that Celia is no longer in the hospital because the thing I was sleeping on was the worst bed ever.

Signature Dish

Celia's been on bedrest for a few days now. I'm trying to paint and organize the main floor and today I got word that it has to be done within 2 weeks. I figure if I was able to prime and paint the kitchen in 2 days, the rest of the house shouldn't take too long. If anyone wants to help, I'll buy the beer and pizza if you come over. I still have to move a heavy-ass desk down the stairs at some point too.

Since Celia's stuck in bed I brought her computer into the room and hooked it up to the 32" LCD. with her wireless keyboard and mouse, she's surfing the web, chatting with friends, listening to iTunes, and paying bills all from bed. The thing I find funny is that her 19" monitor is sitting there on her desk 4 feet away from me and I haven't started using it yet. Soon...

I've had to prepare meals for the two of us since Thursday. As everyone knows, I can't cook. Someone asked me once what my signature dish was. Even people that can't cook have at least one dish they can make and make well. Here's my dish: instant noodles. I can make some pretty damn good instant noodles. Sometimes I'll even throw an egg in there.

Staying in Bed

No, I'm not staying in bed.  In fact, I'm doing anything but staying in bed.  Now that Celia is home, she is on bedrest until she delivers.  Everything else is okay and the babies are alright but Celia has to make sure they stay in there for at least another 4-6 weeks.  She's only allowed to be on her feet for up to 10 minutes at a time, she can only go downstairs once/day, and she isn't allowed to do sit-ups or crunches.  The first 2 things are difficult but so far the 3rd one has gone quite well.

Yay!

Good news, we're going home today.

American Idol

I have my top 2 girls and the internet-slu* Antonella sucks. I don't mean guys, I mean at singing.

Blackberry blogging

Since I'm going to be spending a lot of time at the hospital without any internet connection, I'm trying to blog from my blackberry via email.

I guess I have internet access, seeing as I work in Information Management. I just need a computer which I don't have.

Help!

Last night I took Celia to the hospital. The past month we've been watching her blood pressure pretty closely and last week while I was in Boston, her bp did a bit of a jump. Its a little higher than we're all comfortable with so the midwife and our OB admitted her to the hospital. She'll be staying there until either her BP stabilizes or until she delivers, whichever comes first. The babies are okay, we're just worried about Celia. I don't pull out the religious card very often, but please pray for us.

I suck

Like I said in a previous post, I don't know how to do shit on the internet other than download videos inappropriate for work and children, and write text messages in my blog. I still don't know how to post videos, add sound, or even change my fucking template properly. I'd make a better presentation of this if I could but obviously I can't. Here's the link to Rodney's video from our trip to Big White (AKA best damn mountain ever). The video is awesome!

Snow or Shine

Home At Last!

For the past 5 days, I was in Boston for some software training. It was good training but I don't like living in a hotel room for a week. Plus, Celia had some important appointments that I would have liked be there for. Well, here's an update on the past little while:

We went out for Valentine's Day on the 16th because its just easier. No crowds, reservations are easy to make, it was a friday, etc etc. After dinner we went to visit Karen. Karen's son was so fascinated by Celia's belly. He was so cute:
I saw my cousins in Boston while I was there. It turns out they're not going to the Philippines next year. To be honest, the only reason I want to go is for Eva's wedding. All that family stuff that's going on... I'll pass on that. Plus, I kinda want to go to Taiwan. I've never been there and it would probably be fun to bring the kids to see their family. The only thing I'm worried about is that it's going to cost a million dollars. If I buy tickets now, it's a bit cheaper but I was hoping to wait until the babies were born to make up my mind. By then, it'll be a little more expensive.

Boston was kinda fun. One day we went into the city and did a little walking tour. We went to Cheer's for a beer. It's nothing like the bar in the tv show but its fun to say I had a beer there. They even serve their beers in those glass mugs like the one Norm always had. If you don't remember the show, then you're probably too young to fully appreciate the Diane years (better than the Rebecca years).

Celia's blood pressure is a little elevated so she's starting her maternity leave a bit earlier than expected. Only a couple of weeks earlier but this is the first thing that has happened to make me nervous about the whole pregnancy. Babies are fine, I'm just worried about Celia. Aww, isn't that sweet?

Name Game

Everyone always says they have names picked out for their future children. I think they're full of shit. You can't pick a name for unborn children. What if you've always liked the name "Bob" and then the baby comes out and it doesn't look like a "Bob"? What if this new little baby looks like a "Mike"? Do you name him "Bob" anyway because you've always liked that name or do you go with the name that actually suits him? We've got some names picked out but I'm worried that when the time comes they won't suit the babies. Or am I full of shit and this kind of crap doesn't happen?

btw, I always thought the name "Bob" was a little comedic. I've never had a friend named Bob so I've never taken the name seriously - no offense to anyone named Bob.

What do you a call a guy with no arms or legs in a swimming pool? Bob.

If anyone can suggest names, I'll add them to my lists. Don't ask if I need boy names or girl names. If you don't know you haven't been reading.

New Goals

As you can tell, I'm revisiting some old issues from previous posts. My totally unrealistic goal for 2006 was to get 10000 hits before the end of the year. Obviously I didn't reach that goal so I'm going to change it to 13000 before the end of 2007. Why such an unlucky number? Because I'm not an ignorant, superstitious moron. It's just a number. 13000 shouldn't be too difficult to get. Why do I think that? Check this out.

Who Said That?

No one got Level 4. Here's a hint:

"Cinderfuckinrella"

Super Ultra Sound

I was thinknig about the word "ultrasound" and realized that it sound so... comicbook-ish. "ultra sound" like "super sound" or "mega sound". Anyway, we went for our 3D megasound and it gave us super, ultragoodnews. One boy, one girl. :)

Bye!

I found out yesterday that my friend at work, Rene, will be leaving for a couple of years to go work on some top secret, confidential project. Apparently the bigwigs were scoping her out for a while now to do this mission. It'll be sad to see her go, she's been my mentor these past 3 years and the only person I feel I can go to when I have questions. Bye Rene! Good luck and be careful on your job and we'll keep your seat warm for when you come back. Actually, I can't guarantee that your ratty old chair will still be here when you come back. Maybe bring it with you...

TV Series Review

Dead Like Me with Ellen Muth, Mandy Patinkin, & Jasmine Guy

I like this show a lot. Funny and insightful.

Temp

You're probably wondering what the hell is going on with my blog. Why does it have a new template? Because I was playing around with something and screwed it up and had to go back to a standard template just so I'd be able to post. Don't worry, it'll only be like for as long as it needs to be and then I'll be changing it into something a little nicer.

Registry

So we created a baby registry. No, you can't buy babies off of it, you buy baby stuff. We created one at Babies R Us and at TJ's. TJ's is actually the better one so you should buy us stuff off that registry first. Both registries are under Celia's last name. If you don't know it, just ask either of us. If you don't know us, quit trying to look at our registry.

Call Me

Last month Celia and I bought new phones. We both needed an upgrade (okay, I didn't really need one but I wanted one) so we went out and bought matching phones. Aww, how sweet. Anyway, the phone we got was pretty sweet. 2 MP camera, mp3 player, world phone, internet, etc etc. I don't need any of these features but all the phones that didn't have them were pretty sucky. We also got bluetooth headsets just for the hell of it.

Woof Woof

For the past couple of weeks we've had the dog. Good ol' Shaughn. I don't know if you know the story of the dog but he was named after Shaughnessy (Celia's family used to live there) and a couple of years ago got sick and hasn't been 100% since. Anyway, he's still a great dog. He'll follow me around the house even if I'm just going from one chair to another. He'll sit at my feet as I watch TV and he'll watch as I play on my PS2. Understand this: I like him, he's a good dog. The part I don't like is getting up early in the morning to let him out so he can "do his business", especially on my days off. I don't like taking him out late at night just before I go to sleep and I don't like having to worry about coming home right after work so I can let him out again. People tell me it'll be great practice for when the babies come. Seriously? You're comparing raising children to taking care of a dog? I've never been a pet person. I don't feel that emotional connection to animals. I know that Celia does so I do my best to make sure Shaughn is well taken care of. I'll look after Shaughn for as long as I can because he's part of Celia's family and he's a good dog. I'm just not a pet person.

Good News/Bad News

Good news: my RSS feed works! I have it on good authority that I'm right about this.

Bad news: even though we have over 3 meters (that's like, 10 feet for you americans) of snow and even though I have a Monday night snowboarding pass, I can't go. We have some classes that we have to go to and they just happen to fall on Monday night. Crappity crap. Oh well.

Basic Training

People seem to think I know how to do things on a computer. I don't know why, maybe it has something to do with me working in informatics. Seriously though, I don't know shit. My blog site uses standard templates because I don't know how to use those fancy schmancy ones that some of you have. I can barely set up 2 computers to share files and I have no idea what an RSS feed is. Are these things I should know?

Better Late than Never

I'm pretty late with this, but I figure because it's still January, I'm okay. If anyone gives me grief that there's 12 items in my top ten list, I'm going to publicly humiliate you in my blog. On an ongoing basis too, not just once, but regularly. Man, you people probably all want that, huh? As my priest said, there's something missing in society if it find entertainment in the pain and suffering of other people. Well, he said something to that effect. I can guarantee he said it better, but if I had a photographic memory, I'd probably... remember things a lot better. Shut up.

Top Ten New Year's Resolutions for 2007:

1. Watch less TV.
2. Lose 10lbs.
3. Read 6 books.
4. Be a good father.
5. Don't eat fast food or mall food as often.
6. Quit smoking (I'm at 1 week now!).
7. Save money for trip to Phils next year.
8. Less slacking off at work (don't tell my boss).
9. Go to church.
10. Stay out of debt.
11. Spend more time with my family.
12. Smile more.

I Object!

Today I had to appear at the provincial courts. No, I wasn't being sued and I wasn't there for the Pickton trial (let him burn!). I was there for jury duty selection for a civil case. If you ever get called, you should go. Trial by one's peers is the cornerstone of our democratic society. I fulfilled my civil obligation and showed up. As it turns out, even if I wanted to be in the jury, I wouldn't have been allowed. I'm closely related to the defendant (not as in family relation, but professional relations) so I wasn't an appropriate juror. Whew! I was there for the morning and then back to work in the afternoon.

Morning at the courthouse: pretty fucking crazy. The Pickton trial started today so the media was all there, there were more lawyers than in the lineup to hell, and security was tighter than an airport's. It took me 15 minutes just to get into the building! Anyway, I think he's guilty. Don't ask me for evidence or any of that crap - the cops found that already. I just think he's guilty because he's a greasy, psychotic, freak. But that's just my 'professional' opinion.

Movie Review

The Family Stone with SJP, Claire Danes, Rachel McAdams, Luke Wilson, Dermot Mulroney, Diane Keaton, etc

Rachel McAdams is hot.

Movie Reviews

The Da Vinci Code with Tom Hanks and Audrey Tautou

It was okay. Try the illustrated version of the book.


Prime with Uma Thurman and Meryl Streep

You kind of get the idea they get together in the end, but they don't. Ya, screw you. I just ruined the movie for you.


Doom with The Rock and Karl Urban

I liked it!


You, Me, and Dupree with Kate Hudson, Matt Dillon, and Owen Wilson

Not bad. It had some funny parts. Owen Wilson played... Owen Wilson. Kate Hudson is a hot milf.

Weather Update

It's snowing.

Life's Lubricant (get your mind out of the gutter)

I get a lot of email at work. I know I know, everyone does. Luckily, most of the email I receive is just information stuff that gets sent to me because I'm on a lot of different distribution groups because of my position (free shout-out to anyone that can tell me my title/position - and not "RN"). In other words, it's just junk mail. One of the things I get once/week is our authority's Health News flyer. At the bottom, there's always the Chaplain's Thought for the Week. Some are really cheesy and some are actually quite insightful. Anyway, this week's was "Ten Ways to be Happy"

1. Give something away
2. Do a kindness
3. Give thanks always
4. Work with vim and vigour
5. Visit the elderly and learn from their experience
6. Look intently into the face of a baby and marvel
7. Laugh often - it's life's lubricant
8. Pray to know God's way
9. Plan as though you will live forever - you will
10. Live as though today is your last day on earth

Well that sounds reasonable.

As Dumb as We Want

As part of my job, I have to configure our software so that the clinical staff in the hospital can easily use it. I've gone to a couple of conferences where I've learned some tips and cool tricks. One thing I heard when I was in Florida last year was "We designed the system so that even a 2-year-old could use it." Wow, that sounds great, huh? They had to take a piece of software which, by the way can be quite powerful when it is used to its full potential, and dumb it down to the level of a 2-year-old so that a nurse with a college-level education could use it on a regular basis. It makes me sad to think that nursing has fallen so far behind that the IT industry has to either sell them outdated technology or talk to them as if they were children. Someone told me that nursing was at least 15 years behind the times in technology. I guess its good for me - it makes me look and feel really smart.

"You Want to Eat?"

We were over at my brother's house last night and Ava was so cute. She was walking around the table trying to get people to give her food. That's when I found out she was signing. No, I don't mean she was signing autographs, I mean signing as in American Sign Language. She was signing that she wanted more to eat. Then she signed she was full. It was so cute.

Big White

Yesterday I got back from snowboarding at Big White. For anyone that doesn't know what that is, its a new ski/snowboard resort near Kelowna. It's also one freakin' awesome mountain. Anyway, we drove up on Thursday, ripped up the mountain on Friday and Saturday, then drove home Sunday. Good times.

Then I checked my mail.

It was about 6 or 7 pm when I read that I was supposed to appear at the courts for jury selection on January 15th at 9am. WTF? That's in the morning! Crap. So I went there today and the woman in the sheriff's office (is everyone there considered a sheriff?) told me that it was postponed and I'd have to show up next monday. Sonuva... Okay fine. I stop by work and tell my boss I have jury duty and I won't be showing up on Monday. Not that its such a big deal, I mean trial by one's peers is the cornerstone of democratic society, right? I totally stole that line from my summons papers and I didn't even put it in quotes or cite the reference. I'm such a badass. Maybe now I'll be disqualified from jury duty.

Men's Rules for Women

1. Learn to use the toilet seat. You're a big girl, if its up, put it down. We put it up when you leave it down. You don't hear us complain.
2. Let us be clear: subtle hints do not work. Strong hints do not work. Obvious hints do not work. You have to just say what you want.
3. Yes and No are perfectly acceptable answers to your yes and no questions.
4. Don't ask us if you're fat if you're not willing to hear the truth.
5. When you come to us with a problem we'll try to fix it. You can go to your girlfriends for sympathy.
6. You can either ask us to do something or tell us how you want it done. Not both. If you already know best how to do it, just do it yourself. This includes driving.
7. Whenever possible, please say what you have to say during commercials.
8. If we ask what is wrong and you say "nothing," we will act like nothing's wrong.
9. If you ask a question you don't want an answer to, expect an answer you don't want to hear.

Holy Crap!

As all of you probably know, we're expecting. "Expecting what?" you ask? Babies, of course. Why does "expecting" always mean you're expecting a baby? What if you're just expecting the delivery of a new sofa? "Yes, we're expecting and we're very excited. The new sofa gets delivered Tuesday." Anyway, you read correctly above. We're expecting babies. As in Twins. Crazy, huh? Not crazy like running around in circles screaming, but crazy like climbing mt everest without a warm coat. I have to admit this throws a monkey wrench into all my plans. I was going to buy a little 2-seater sports car and move us all into a little downtown condo. Now it looks like its minivan and home in the burbs. Oh wait, that didn't change my plans at all. never mind.

Smile!

Yesterday I bought a new camera: the Canon Powershot SD800IS. You'll have to look it up yourself because I'm too lazy to make a link. Originally, I was looking for the SD900 because I wanted a 10 megapixel camera but I traded 3 megapixels for image stabilization. I know what you're thinking: "you didn't need 10 megapixels anyway." Well, sure maybe I didn't but that doesn't mean you shouldn't get it. I believe that when it comes to technology, you should always get the most that you can afford. When people ask me to help them find a new computer I always ask "how much can you spend?" If you say $1000, then I'll look for computers that are $1000 not $600. You'll never be ahead of the game when it comes to technology because there's always something new so by buying the best you can now will mean your stuff will become outdated in 10 months instead of 5. But I guess its all a tradeoff. I chose less megapixels for the image stabilization. I'll post some pictures after my vacation.

Merry Christmas

We're spending Christmas in San Francisco with Celia's sister and we'll be back on Boxing Day. Have a Merry Christmas and best wishes for the holiday season to you and your loved ones.

Edelweiss

I just watched The Sound of Music again. When did this movie come out? 1965? After the movie we looked up the characters on Wikipedia. Apparently, the actors that played the kids are all still alive and kicking. Liesl used to be so hot. Now: not so much. Anyway, I still think its a romantic movie. Not just the love story but the whole stand-up-for-your-convictions way that the Captain handled his family. No joining the nazis, giving up everything for freedom, etc etc. If you've only watched it on TV, you should watch the widescreen version. Trust me, its better.

Happy Belated

I forgot to celebrate the third anniversary of my blog. It was November 25th, 2003 when I started writing all this crap. The really funny part is that all you guys have been wasting your time reading it! Seriously, I don't have any kind of insight and I'm not all that funny. I mostly just talk about myself and useless crap. Anyway, happy birthday! I have an idea for 2007, but you'll have to wait to see the new feature.

New stuff I'm working on (this isn't the new 2007 feature, moron. it's still 2006):
Adding labels to all my old posts. As of right now, I have something like 542 entries that I have to label. It might take a while but after all that work, it'll be so much easier to go back and read all my deep, insightful movie and book reviews or go back and play all the 'Who Said That?' games all over again.

Save the Cheerleader...

Okay, I'm hooked. I haven't been this hooked since last season's Grey's Anatomy (which I'm finding kinda dull nowadays). You have to watch Heroes. Now that's some good shit. Don't even tell me you think it looks cheesy because it's not. Okay okay, its a little farfetched but its so exciting.

Synopsis:
A bunch of people have super powers and something is going to happen that brings them all together to save the world. How do they save the world? Save the cheerleader.

Top Ten Things I Want for Christmas

In no particular order:

1. World Peace
2. New helmet with built in headphones
3. Oakley Crowbar goggles
4. Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby
5. Nintendo Wii/PS3
6. Black Socks
7. Underwear - either boxers or boxer briefs
8. Logitech G7 or MX Revolution mouse
9. new computer (actually, just a processor and video card - I can take care of the rest myself
10. Canon SD900 digital camera

Go World Peace!

Victoria's Secret Fashion Show

Yeah, that's hot.

Again, the Job gets Stressful

I found out the other day that I have to do a presentation. Presentations are no big deal. I do them all the time. I teach classes on how to use the software on a regular basis. This presentation, however, is a little different. I have to present to all the executives in the Authority. I'm talking about standing in front of the CEO, CFO, CIO, a whole pile of VP's, directors, managers, etc, and do my best to sound the least bit intelligent. I don't know why I'm nervous about it, it's not like they can fire me. And whether or not I do a good job won't really affect anything about my work. I just don't want to sound like an idiot. You know, gotta make our department look good. Okay, all those people might not be there, but this is a bigger deal than I'm used to.

What's That From?

I have to salute a movie that has given us some great quotes. I have to admit I enjoyed this movie but unfortunately its missing huge explosions and naked women. Oh well, good movies don't have to have it all.

"Show me the money!"
"You had me at hello."
"Help me help you."
"You complete me."

If you say any of these quotes, everyone - and I mean everyone will know what you're talking about.

Another Top 5

Top 5 Funniest Shows on TV:

1. Family Guy
2. Scrubs
3. Most Extreme Elimination Challenge
4. The Simpsons
5. Ellen

Who Said That? Level 6

"No man, they got the metric system. They wouldn't know what the fuck a Quarter Pounder is."

Superstar

Looks like old KFed's concert was a smashing success. After begging to stop it from being cancelled he was able to fill 300 seats out of the 1500 available. I almost feel bad for the guy. At first, he was the lucky chump that nailed Britney Spears. Then he became the deadbeat dad and husband. Then he became the loser that had his car taken away by his wife. Then he turned into a rap "artist". Now he's this sad little pathetic dude that probably cried after his concert. I really feel bad for him. Sort of.

Let it Snow!!

It snowed on Cypress Mountain the other day. 32 cm!! That's one foot for all you people that still live in the stone age. They expect to open at the end of the month. I'd like to see another 100 cm before I go, but I'm just itching to go. I bought new gloves a couple weeks ago. My old ones were starting to wear at the fingertips and I noticed my fingers were getting cold and wet. All I need now is a new helmet and pair of goggles (Christmas gifts hopefully!).

Movie Review

Strange Than Fiction with Will Ferrell and Dustin Hoffman

I thought it was brilliant.

Shut Up!!!

Britney finally filed for divorce from KFed. Looks like Whitney finally talked to her and told she should lose the loser and become the sexy little tramp schoolgirl again. I doubt Whitney told her to be a sexy little tramp schoolgirl but you get the idea. Actually, I doubt Whitney talked to her at all but Britney rhymes with Whitney so maybe they were just on the same wavelength. I read somewhere that Britney wasn't going to ask for alimony from Special K. That's too bad for her because I think I see his new CD skyrocketing any day now.

What's Eating Gilbert Grape?

I'm not perfect. Actually, I'm far from it. I'm kinda lazy, not really very smart, a little irresponsible, I don't make a lot of money, and I'm not famous, and I don't see myself suddenly becoming famous in the future. I live a pretty average life. This has been me for the past 32 years. Why do people expect anything different? Why is it okay for some people to do things differently and make their own decisions in life but not okay for me? When will I be allowed to do what I want? Everyone else seems to be allowed to bitch and scream about this, but when I do it, I'm being immature. And why do I still let people make me feel like I'm 17 years old again?

Fright Night

Last night we went to Fright Night at Playland. We got some free tickets from Celia's friend so it was actually pretty cheap. $10 for parking, no door charge ($50 value), $40 in games (they're all scams), and corn dogs, smokies, churros, and cotton candy made for a very entertaining night. We couldn't go on any rides and we attempted one of the haunted houses but the lineups weren't worth the thrills. To be honest, it wasn't even that scary. There were too many people walking through the haunted house to make it scary. Maybe for children or if you were walking through alone then it would be scary.

Save Your Money

If you want to open an ING savings account (3.5% interest), let me know. I'll refer you and you get some free money (so do I).

Sonuva...

I just noticed that the titles in my sidebar don't line up. Why the hell didn't anyone tell me this? Now I can't the damn things to line up properly.

That's Just Me

I hate hate hate it when people put food in their mouths and then open their mouths to show you the chewed up food. It makes me want to puke.

Who Said That? Level 5

"True love is hard to find, sometimes you think you have true love and then you catch the early flight home from San Diego and a couple of nude people jump out of your bathroom blindfolded like a goddamn magic show ready to double team your girlfriend... "

That's Just Me

My desk at work is very neat and tidy. I put everything away before I leave for the day and everything has its place.

My desk at home is a fucking pigsty.

Dreams

Reading my sister's blog reminded me of something that happened a couple years ago. I used to have a roommate that had a cat. I actually liked the cat because she was easy to take care of because she didn't need walking, didn't need constant attention, and was cute to have around. Well we used to sleep with the door slightly ajar otherwise Nala would scratch at it until someone let her in (then she would come in, look around and then leave like she just wanted to come in and see what was going on). Anyway, Nala would sometimes jump up on the bed and sleep on the pillow beside me or if Kerri had left for work already would just bug me until I got up. Anyway, one night I was having a dream that Nala was walking on my pillow and waving her tail in my face so I pushed her away and yelled, "Nala, stop that!" The next morning when I got up I realized that it wasn't Nala, it was Celia's hair tickling my face and I had shoved her head away! Sorry, babe.

Just an Update

It's been a while, huh? What have I been up to? None of your damn business. Just kidding. Well, not entirely, but I don't mean to sound like an a-hole. Anyway, I'll tell you what I'm doing now.

Today I attended my first meeting for this new project I'm working on at work and wow what a timekiller. Four hour meetings just kill me. I'd rather go to the dentist. Don't get me wrong, the meeting was necessary, but holy crap this project seems like it will never get off the ground with all the bickering and "discussions" going on. The next 6 months at work will be interesting...

I just got a new muffler for my car. I've needed a new muffler for about 3 months now but I finally got it done and my car is nice and quiet. Next: new tires.

Bed update: the king size bed we bought fucking rocks. We don't crowd each other anymore and Celia can roll over without knocking me in the face.

Has anyone else had a problem recently with their MSN Messenger? For a while I couldn't log in and it would just say "signing on" and the msn dude would spin around forever. I fixed it with the help of some website. Apparently it was some bug. Don't ask me for the address, just google "can't log into msn messenger".

Last week I was on vacation and did absolutely nothing. It was great. I slept in, played on my computer all day and vegged out for a week. I haven't had any real time off work since January so it was much-needed. The problem now is that I hate waking up early for work.