Valentine weekend

Valentines started on Friday for the Clardy family...Max's Valentine party at school!As you can see, Max really gets into eating cookies...takes a lot of concentration.My friend, Nikki, inspired (I use that term loosely) me to make these Valentine treats - Nikki always has such cute and creative ideas. Trust me, hers looked a lot better than mine...notice how the chocolate ran down on some of mine. Don left last Wednesday for Orlando and flew back into Charlotte on Saturday afternoon. So, Max and I drove up to get him but decided to go a little early to meet a few friends for lunch. From left to right we have Nancy, Dolly, Hannah, me and Donna (and all of our children). It was so much fun getting together with these girls...they're some good ones FO SURE (that's for you, HPS)!I love these next two pictures. Hannah's little girl, Anna Preston, was so sweet to Max and kept saying his name (could be because her daddy's name is also Max). We sat them next to each and I asked Max to give her a kiss. Well, he's not overly shy about giving away kisses and it looked like AP was up for it, but... ...she quickly changed her mind...look at those arms reaching for her mommy!Dolly was sweet enough to ask Max to hold Michael. Max has never held a baby so I was a little nervous, but he did pretty good.He had a genuine smile on his face the whole time he was holding him...a good sign for the months ahead!This is the best picture I could get of all the kids. Please take note of Roy Austin (red shirt on far right). This is the only pose I could get of him......he JUST WANTS TO GET DOWN...no wonder that Donna is so tiny...she has to chase that cutie pie around all day!Cute picture of Dolly and sweet Michael. He LOVED those fingers and hardly made a peep the entire time.We picked up Don at the airport and drove on home to Greenville. Our Valentine dinner was spent at Don's favorite college burger joint and then home to put Max's Valentine gift together...a Lego helicopter. I was so proud of Don...he put that thing together just perfectly without getting frustrated or any cursing! :)And lastly, here's the gift I got Don...it was supposed to be his new oatmeal bowl, but dummy me pushed the box off the table at dinner and it completely broke. Anyone good at super gluing? Don got me a prenatal massage...CANNOT WAIT to get that one scheduled!
Hope you and yours had a great Valentines Day too!

A little this and that

We've been pretty busy the past week or so. Here are just a few tidbits...

Two Fridays ago...
We went to dinner with our friends, Pat and Barb (look HERE for how we became fast friends). Their little girl, Faith, and Max have been friends since birth and it doesn't take them long to warm up to each other...no lack of sillyness when they're together.Last Saturday...
Another basketball game for Max. Max has a perfect record so far this season...don't think he's touched the ball once! But, he enjoys going out there and running around for an hour so that's just fine with us. Here he is checking out Spain's good form...Libby, I thought I would throw this picture in of Spain since you always seem to miss his shots.Sometime last week...
Couldn't resist taking a picture of Max during a nap. This boy still sucks on his thumb when he sleeps. Well, the thing is he really has never sucked it he just has to have it in his mouth...I know he's 5 but it's still so sweet to me.Last Monday...
On our way back from Walmart Max begin to argue with me about something I told him (this has become a habit of his lately). I told him that arguing with his parents is wrong, it's a sin and that Jesus doesn't like it. His voice started to quiver and he asked me in this pitiful voice..."Is Jesus going to put me in jail?"

Last Thursday...
I had my monthly doctor's appointment and everything looked good...and BIG! I'm 20 weeks tomorrow but I'm measuring 26 weeks - YIKES! I guess this is normal with twins, but again, the vanity in me kicks in and wonders how much sagging skin I'm really going to have on my stomach after it's all said and done. I have gained 9 lbs so they said that was good but I know that will start increasing rapidly as I get into the 2nd half of my pregnancy. I took these pictures today (first attempt at self portraits) because I was dressed up from church and was actually wearing makeup. Don told me it was nice to see me dressed up...I guess he doesn't like my sweatpants I wear every day and my hair in a ponytail???Friday was Lily's (my niece) 9th birthday but we celebrated on Thursday night. My mom made her famous fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy - my babies liked it A LOT and went back for seconds. She also made Lily a cake which was my favorite birthday cake when I was growing up - angel food with homemade candy icing...so, so good and fluffy! She put a doll in the middle of the cake to make it look like the cake was her dress...this was my exact birthday cake I had one year when I was a little girl.My mom gave Lily a sweet gift...a ring that was Andrea's (Lily's mom) when she was a little girl. The stone is missing so they are going next week to let Lily pick out a new one and get it sized to fit her...wouldn't you have loved that gift when you were little?Yesterday...
Max had another basketball game and kept up that perfect record. We then worked on gaining some pregnancy pounds by eating a greasy hamburger at The Clock and then went to the park with some friends. Yesterday was a gorgeous day...almost 70 degrees and sunny!

Today...
Went to church, ate at Moe's and then home to play outside again...another pretty day! Max played a little T-ball and I will say that he can really hit that ball. Of course, his favorite thing to do outside is play in the dirt with trucks and trains. I must have 100 pictures like the one below...he lays in the dirt, gets his face close to the ground and proceeds to play for as long as I'll let him.Another busy week starts tomorrow!

I "heart" Valentine blog swap!

Look what came in the mail today...my Valentine Swap gift! I was the lucky person who got her name chosen by Jane, who is my friend Donna's mother-in-law (Donna is the blog guru and one of the "inventors" of the blog swap). I've heard wonderful things about Jane so I knew this would be a GREAT gift and I definitely wasn't disappointed...and neither was Don!

Simple, pretty red package...
...that held an ADORABLE pink apron (my very 1st apron I might add)!
Now, the reason my husband is so happy is because I'm not necessarily known for my gourmet meals. I LOVE to bake sweet stuff, but cooking a great meal every night is another story. So, Don was thrilled to see me so happy about something that could possibly lead to him getting something other than spaghetti. So, I can't wait to wear this while making my next batch of homemade chocolate chip cookies...and, if Don's lucky... Chicken Patata!

So thank you SO MUCH, Jane! I love it and I'm so glad you decided to join in on all the blog swap fun...you're a pro at it! :)

Sorry Max...

...looks like you're only going to get one brother. We're having a BOY and a GIRL! I will say that I was secretly hoping for one of each so I really am happy about this and, believe it or not, Don is not completely freaked out about having a girl. :)

We were lucky enough to get several 3D pictures of the babies, but only baby boy would cooperate and give us a picture of his face. Here he is rubbing his eye...so, so sweet.The next two are the best we could get of the girl and I really hope it's not a sign of things to come...baby girl has her bottom in baby boy's face! Isn't it crazy that you can see this at just 18 1/2 weeks! You can't see it, but they are separated by a thin membrane and are in two different sacks which obviously means they are fraternal.Okay, and this last one is pretty funny, but you may have to look at it for a little bit to figure it out. Baby boy has his hand up and it looks like he's about to slap baby girl's hiney...check out what the ultrasound tech wrote...so funny! :)So, I guess I better end this post and start looking for a job...those baby girl clothes are calling my name!!!

Max's birth story

WARNING: This post is VERY LONG and something I started back in early November of last year. Please, you will not offend me if you don't read it or comment...I've just never written it down and wanted to before I forgot it. Some of the details are somewhat gross - Daddy, you may not want to read it. :)

Thursday, October 30, 2003 (26 weeks pregnant)

(The above picture is the last picture of me pregnant and was taken 9 days before Max was born.)

I had just gotten back to work from lunch with friends and after stopping at the bathroom noticed that I had a little spotting (let me also add that I had been having major lower back pain all day). I called my doctor who reassured me that it was probably nothing, but to come on in to the office and they would do an ultrasound. I jumped in the car and probably 3 minutes later basically started hemorrhaging - I imagine it was something like what happens when your water breaks except this was blood (this is the part that is gross, sorry). I panicked and didn't know what to do - this is where I lost my rational thinking. Instead of driving straight to the doctor or hospital I drove home because all I could think of was that I couldn't walk in anywhere with my pants completely covered in blood - CRAZY, I know! I was also trying to find Don - he didn't answer at work and he didn't answer his cell phone (this was before his phone was permanently attached to his body and by the way, he was getting his hair cut). I dialed my sister, Andrea, next and when she answered I asked her where she was. She laughed and said "I'm right behind you." I looked in my rear view mirror and she was sitting in the car right behind me - UNBELIEVABLE and truly and act of God!!! She followed me home and also called an ambulance. By the time the ambulance got there I had stopped bleeding so again my rational thinking kicked in and I told them I would just have my sister take me to my doctor's office - again, CRAZY. My sister was smart enough to put my soaked pants in a bag and take them to the doctor. They got me back to a room and the doctor walked in, saw the pants and said he didn't even want to check me and told me to go to the hospital immediately. By the way, we had found Don and he met us at the doctor's office. My sister's husband also met us there to pick up poor little Clay who was in the backseat of Andrea's car the entire time not knowing what the heck was happening. The hospital was literally 3 minutes from the doctor's office so we get there and again, rational thinking, declined the use of a wheelchair and said I was fine to walk up to the labor and delivery floor - someone should have slapped me!

Once at the hospital they hooked me up to all kinds of machines and informed me that I was having contractions that were 4 minutes apart...and I said "Oh, that's what those were." I thought they were just growing pains - DUH! They immediately gave me a steroid shot, surfactant, which helps with the baby's lung development (I also got another steroid shot the next day). One of the NICU doctors came up and talked to us about premature babies and I honestly didn't absorb one thing he said - a lot due to the fact I had been giving some medication and my blood pressure plummeted (I have never felt like that and don't care to again). I was also told that I would be in the hospital until I delivered Max - which could have been anytime or up to 3 months. I was very emotional and knew that I would do anything for my baby, but was also very overwhelmed at the thought of staying in the hospital and in bed for up to 3 months.
Friday, Saturday, Sunday - October 31, November 1, November 2, 2003
Things were pretty calm and my contractions had slowed down. I watched a lot of TV, read a lot of magazines and chatted with visitors. My mom flew in from Texas on Friday and my sister, Kim, managed to also fly in on Friday from Illinois. I remember telling Kim that I was craving Rice Krispie Treats so she went back to Andrea's house and made me some - one of the benefits of being in the hospital! Don's mom, Fay, was also able to fly in on Friday.

Don had been spending each night with me in the hospital which meant he wasn't sleeping well at all. So Sunday night I told him he needed to go home and get some good rest because it looked like everything was calm. Or so I thought...

Monday, November 3, 2003
I woke up early Morning morning (probably between 5 and 6 am) and noticed I was having contractions again and this time I could actually feel pain (felt like menstrual cramps). I was checked by the doctor and they said I had begun to dilate. I called Don and told him that he probably should come to the hospital, but told him not to rush because I knew his mom was staying at our place and didn't want her to have to rush. For some reason Andrea and Kim decided they would come to the hospital early that morning around 7:00 (which was another thing that I feel God had his hand in because Andrea had two small children at that point and I was completely not expecting them to come see me that early). But, I needed them there because two doctors came in soon after they arrived and checked me out. They left the room to discuss what needed to be done and then came back in pretty quickly and said they thought I needed to have an emergency cesarean. Max was breeched at that point and they said that they knew he was going to be born that morning so they needed to take him immediately before he started to work his way down the birth canal in a breeched position. Within a few minutes I just remember it became crazy in my room - people were prepping me for surgery, unhooking/hooking up machines, and who knows what else. Don, in the meantime, was breaking every speed limit in Greenville to get to the hospital. I remember him rushing into the room and being told to changed into scrubs immediately. One of the nurses who was in the OR that morning later told me that they were all ready to go and someone asked what the hold up was. One of the doctors said they were waiting for the father to get to the hospital - I guess that can happen in emergency situations like that! In the OR I felt like I was going to hyperventilate...the closest thing to a panic attack I've ever felt. I remember being completely scared to death...literally I felt like I was having an out of body experience. Everything had happened so fast that morning that I didn't have time to wrap my brain around it all.

Max Bryan Clardy came into the world at 8:52 that Monday morning weighing in at 2 lbs, 1.5 oz. I heard a faint little cry and was so happy to hear that because they had warned us that he may not make any sounds. Oh, by the way, we had chosen not to find out the sex so we didn't know if we were having a boy or girl, although, we had so many ultrasounds over the past previous days and a couple of the nurses/ultrasound techs kept saying "him" or "he" so we kind of had an idea.

The neonatal doctor immediately intubated Max and then brought him over to me for a second and I kissed his little face. My two sisters and my mother-in-law were waiting outside the OR and got to see him as they took him up to the NICU. One of the nurses told them it was a boy.

Here we are in the recovery room right after Max was born. Don would make a hot doctor, don't you think? :)
My mom had left early that morning to go back to Texas because we all thought everything was calm and that the baby wouldn't be coming anytime soon. Poor thing, my brother met her in Dallas as she got off the plane, told her Max had been born and then immediately took her to another terminal to get on a flight back to Greenville. My brother is a pilot and was so helpful because he arranged all her flights and got her back to Greenville as soon as possible.

Later that afternoon the nurse helped me out of my bed (if anyone has had a c-section you know that the 1st time getting out of bed is not the most fun). I was wheeled up to see Max and was finally able to see my little boy. He was completely naked and hooked up to so many wires. He was very dark and red with dark hair. I was so scared to touch him and was very emotional, but there was a sweet nurse who was assigned to Max who talked to me and explained everything that they were doing. This nurse, Shelby, had been a NICU nurse for 30 years and was just the type of person I needed taking care of my son. She asked me a few days later if we would mind if she asked to be his primary nurse. That just meant the days she worked she would be assigned to Max. I said YES!!! because I felt so comfortable knowing she was with him when I couldn't be.

Here's Shelby letting us help give Max his 1st real bath when he was probably 4-5 weeks old.
By the way, Max did not get his name until later in the evening on the day he was born. Because we didn't know the sex and because he came so early, we didn't have a name picked out. So finally, Don said that we needed to be alone and figure out his name. So, we sat in my hospital room and finally settled on Max Bryan. Max is a family name - I have an uncle and cousin with the name and Bryan was Don's brother's name.

I stayed in the hospital for 5 days and then Max stayed in the NICU for the next 3 months. He developed a cataract in his left eye right before he was ready to come home so instead of having a nice homecoming, Max and I left the hospital in an ambulance and rode to Atlanta to stay at Emory hospital for a few days. There was a cataract specialist there who needed to do the cataract surgery.

Here's Max being loaded into the ambulance on his way to Atlanta...can you even see him???So, after a few days in Atlanta (very emotional because I didn't know any of the nurses and felt like they didn't know my son) we finally came home for good at the end of January, 2003.

The Clardy family in Atlanta as we were about to walk out the door to take our baby home...WE WERE SCARED TO DEATH!!! Because of it being in the middle of RSV season we were not allowed to take Max anywhere so we were basically stuck at home until April of that year. I think that's when I gained the rest of that pregnancy weight I would have gained if Max had stayed in me the full 40 weeks!

So those are the first few months of my boy's life. There were so many other things that I should have written down back then because I've already forgotten - such as people that came to visit, friends we met in the hospital, sweet things people did for us, how I hated going to the pumping room in the hospital, etc. Looking back, it sure would have been nice to have a blog so that I could have written all of this down as it was happening, but did blogs even exist back in 2003???

Thomas and Carpet

Here's a video of Max with what he thinks the babies are and what he wants to name them.



By the way, he's eating one of MY powdered doughnuts (hence the white powder around his mouth) and I had also just wet his hair down so it's really not greasy.

Inauguration of the 44th president

I began watching the inauguration today right as President Bush and President-elect Obama were getting in the limo for the ride over to the Capitol (wouldn't you love to know the extent of their conversation). I missed the first part of the actual ceremony because I had to go pick up Max from school but was able to watch the rest of it. Even though I didn't vote for Obama, I still find inauguration day pretty exciting and so "American." Unfortunately, some of those feelings went away when the Rev. Joseph Lowery got up to say the benediction...here is a quote of the very last part of his prayer.

"Lord, in the memory of all the saints who from their labors rest, and in the joy of a new beginning, we ask you to help us work for that day when black will not be asked to get in back, when brown can stick around, when the red man can get ahead, man; and when WHITE WILL EMBRACE WHAT IS RIGHT. That all those who do justice and love mercy say Amen. Say Amen"

Are you kidding me? Did he just insinuate that "whites" (including Obama who is half white) always do the wrong thing and don't do the right thing? I was appalled, offended and sad that he still wants to promote the divisiveness that supposedly he's been working his whole life to get rid of...just doesn't make sense to me. And by the way, something tells me that President Obama wasn't too thrilled that after his grand speech about "coming together" that someone would end the entire ceremony with those words.

Anyway, Max knows who our new president is and I'm working on vice-president...you know, that Joe Biden who, according to Rev. Lowery, apparently just can't seem to "embrace what is right".

One more very important thing...I'm LOVING Sasha's orange and pink combination! An A+ to her and Malia on their attire!