Even gorillas....

So we took the girls to the zoo last weekend to see all their favorite animals. We had a great time as usual, but this trip I really enjoyed the gorilla house because there was a really nice docent on duty who was willing to talk about all the gorillas and share about their history. I think the part I liked best was when she pointed to one young female and said "this little girl was delivered by c-section because her mother developed preeclampsia during her pregnancy." Because I also suffered from preeclampia and had to have a c-section, I felt weirdly connected to this gorilla mother. And, somehow knowing that gorillas can develop preeclampsia made me feel better about my own pregnancy. I know intellectually that my own issues weren't my fault, but there is always the voice in my head that says "if you'd only done ____, your pregnancy would have turned out better. Your girls would have been healthier." Knowing that gorillas can also have pregnancy complications reinforced that its just something that happens, something that is part of the reproductive process. Am I totally weird?

To do:

1. Finish dissertation corrections, print, and submit to Graduate School
2. Clean out desk/lab bench/cricket farm
3. Do laundry
4. Buy new winter clothes for A and K
5. Pack
6. Start new life

What next?

Well I'm finished with my PhD. After I make a few editorial corrections, convert my Word document to a PDF and submit my dissertation to the Graduate School, I will be finished with school. I am very excited! But at the same time I'm at a bit of a loss. You see, I've been going to school for a very, very long time. With the exception of the year I took off between finishing my B.S. and my M.S., I've been going to school since I was 5. And, no, I'm not going to tell you how long that really is. Just take my word for it - it's been a long time. So tell me, what should I do now that I am no longer a student? Update my blog? Read a good, non-science book? Take a walk? Go to Disneyland? Clean my stuff out of the lab, pack up the house and get ready to move to the location of my postdoc?

Silly Girls

This past weekend we took the girls to see Mike. Mike is a tiger and the new LSU mascot. And wouldn't you know it, K was afraid of Mike and didn't really want to get any where near him. A loved Mike, but she was afraid of the bronze tiger statue in front of Mike's cage. Go figure.

To do list

Things to do during the long weekend.

1. Grocery shopping
2. Laundry
3. Finish writing the discussion for manuscript 2/chapter 3 of my dissertation.
4. Schedule a dissertation defense
5. Spend some quality time with my family by taking the girls to the park and/or the children's museum
6. Get the oil changed in the car
7. Change the air filter
8. Teach the girls that it is wrong to pee on the floor in their room after their bath. Pee pee should only go in the potty!!!

Which one is older?

People have a lot of misconceptions about twins. I'm sure that all of my readers with twins can attest to this since they have probably heard their share of weird comments from random people at the grocery store. But I just had to share two of the strangest comments I've gotten, which, incidently, are from people at daycare. When I picked up A and K one day a few months ago, one lady commented about their very blue eyes, then the rest of the conversation went something like this: DCL: I'm surprised their eyes are the same color. Usually one twin has darker eyes and one has lighter eyes. Me: Well, they are identical twins. DCL: Yes that's what I'm talking about. They look the same. Me: (inside my head) Um, ok. Then today when I dropped them off I had this conversation: DCL2: DCL3 and I had a debate about which twin is older. DCL3 said that obviously A is older because she looks older. I said that K is older because the smaller twin has to come out first. Me: Well, A is older by about a minute. Me: (inside my head) Um, ok. What kind of logic is that? I drove away wondering if I should find a daycare center where the teachers know more basic biology.

Lets go canoeing!

We’ve spent a good bit of time this summer “getting ready for the boat.” No, not another code phrase for “moving to a different city.” We are actually getting the girls ready to ride in a boat, or more precisely, a canoe. The mister and I really got into the paddle sports when we moved to LA; we even bought a nice canoe that was stolen about 2 months after we bought it (but that’s a story for another day). It is awesome to be alone with just the water and the boat – awesome! However, it has been about 3 years since we’ve gotten to go out and paddle because of the girls. My OB told initially told me it would be safe for a pregnant woman to go canoeing as long as she didn’t drown. But this was before we knew were having twins. Before BG2 lodged herself so tightly against my lungs that it was difficult for me to breath (we actually saw her stick her leg under my rib cage during one sonogram). Before it was too uncomfortable to do anything but “lie around like a lazy dog.” Before we had a baby on supplemental oxygen. Before.... But I digress. Now that BG1 and BG2 are 2 years old, they are almost old enough to join us on our aquatic adventures, our canoe therapy. But before we can take them in out in a canoe, we have to get them used to being in water. To do this, we’ve been doing a lot of swimming in the pool at our apartment complex. We started out slowly – 5 to 10 minutes at a time, 2-3 times a week and gradually increased out stays at the pool to 30-45 minutes. At first they were scared and clung to our necks with everything they had – arms, legs, finger nails, and in one case, teeth. But now they are our little turtle and duck (which just happen to be the animals on their swimming suits). They happily swim around the pool in their little blue floaties and even excitedly jump into the water from the side. Now as soon as we can convince them to stay seated in a moving vehicle, the will really be ready for the boat.