2012, The Year of the Babies!

2012 was a wild year for this ole gal. Here are a few events from the year.

January 5, 2012: I was 9 weeks pregnant and off to the doctor to get my very first ultrasound. I was still coming to grips with the fact that I was pregnant. I went alone to this appointment because I figured it was just going to be routine "Yep, you're pregnant." kinda deal. Boy was I ever surprised. Laying there on the table, the cold gel on my belly, seeing my little baby (which basically looked like nothing) for the first time, the ultrasound tech says, "So, Allison, what do you think about twins?" Come again? Oh my Lord! Are you serious?!?! I couldn't stop laughing after she told me that. It was the most amazing (and terrifying) news I had ever received. TWINS!

I called Douglas as soon as I got out of the office to tell him the news. "Are you sitting down? Doug, we are having twins!" "ARE YOU SERIOUS? No. You are joking. ARE YOU SERIOUS! Oh my God. What are we going to do with 2 of them?"

Then I called Boomer and Jenna. Got the same reactions. "ARE YOU SERIOUS!?"

January 28, 2012: We had a party to reveal the big secret and let everyone know that we were expecting twins. Up until this point, only a few people knew and were sworn to secrecy. My mother, my aunts, uncles, cousins, friends...no one knew. We decided to let everyone know via cake (why not, cake is one of my favorite things). Oh, and I had just received my Masters in December, so everyone assumed that the party was to celebrate that. After dinner, I forced everyone to gather around the dining room table to see the cakes I had purchased. I took the top off of the first cake, "Congratulations on your 1st Baby!" There was a slight pause, then everyone started hollering, "What!? You're pregnant?!" Calm down, people, check out this cake. "Congratulations on your 2nd Baby!" A slightly longer pause as it sunk in. Then, more screaming, "WHAT?! TWO BABIES? TWINS?!!" Hilarious. That was such an awesome day. Aunt Kathy said, "We have to call Mom [Beetle]!" I said, "She already knows." Kathy said, "What? I'm going to kill her!" 

A little bit later Tracy showed up. None of us had eaten any cake yet because we wanted her to experience the surprise. She saw the first cake and hollered. After seeing the second cake, "You've gotta be shitting me!!! Carol, how did this happen?" To which Carol replied, "Don't look at me. I didn't do it." So funny.

February 27, 2012: I was 16 weeks pregnant and we found out the sex of the babies. Two little boys. Good grief. 

March 2012: Doogie and I travel to the YUM! Center to watch the UK Wildcats dominate in the second and third round of the tourney. Got to see lots of awesome dunks, lobs, and blocks, and all other awesomeness that came along with that wonderful team. Oh, how I miss those boys!

Late March 2012: Sarah and Chris come over to watch the UK/UL Final Four game. Right when the game is getting heated (a 2-4 point differential), the friggin ceiling caves in...literally. We're just sitting here watching the game, I'm probably cussing like a sailor at the game, and then BOOM! A cloud of plaster dust fills the room and bits of plaster fly everywhere. Doug calmly gets up off the couch and shuts the pocket door. Out of sight, out of mine. "We'll deal with that after the ballgame."

April 2012: The Wildcats win the championship! I cried watching One Shining Moment. You know how it is.

May 2012: I don't really remember much about May. Honestly, the only thing I remember about 2012 is being pregnant. In May, I was starting to get pretty miserable. Oh, and Doogie and I celebrated our 2 year wedding anniversary.

June 2012: Full on misery! When I entered into my third trimester, I entered into hell. Each week I went to the doctor, and each week I gained 3-5 lbs. Ugh. I am still carrying some of that weight around. Anything else cool happen in June? I doubt it. I was too huge to do anything but go to work, go to the doctor, and lay on the couch. Oh, you know something that was really cool, though, was during this time, my sweet, considerate friends organized a Meals on Wheels for me. Because I was on partial bed rest, the doc told me to do nothing but lay on the couch after I got home from work. Therefore, I was not allowed to cook. Even if I had been allowed, I was too miserable to even try. So, my friends cooked for me!! I love those dudes.

July 13, 2012: I was admitted to the hospital on Friday the 13th. I had mild preeclampsia, so I had to go sit in the damn hospital hooked up to an IV just in case something happened. Nothing happened until the 19th when the boys arrived. I will spare you that story in case you are a woman and want to have babies. You don't want to hear about it. Don't read about it either. The best thing to do is just pretend that childbirth doesn't happen until it happens. Then, once the ordeal is over, try your best to block it out of your memory. I'm working on the latter myself. How am I to ever have another child if I cannot fully block out the horror of the first ordeal? 

July 19, 2012: Julian and Jonas arrive! They were so beautiful and awesome and I gave them a million kisses! Boomer went in the operation room with me and tried to make me less scared. It was all okay once I heard those little cries. I just can't describe what that feeling was like. You just gotta be there, I reckon. 

Everyday since July 19: All about the babies! Oh how your life changes once you have a little one (or 2)! Everything you knew before babies is no more. Everything changes. 

August 19, 2012: After telling everyone that Doogie did not want to do anything  for his birthday, no one listened and ambushed us at the house for a party. I think it was probably the worst birthday party ever. Poor Doug. Turning 30 sucks, especially when you don't even get to celebrate the way you want.

September 2012: Ugh, this was the month I started back to work. It totally sucked leaving my little babies, but at least I got a promotion and raise!

October 2012: I WON THE LOTTERY! Well, my name was drawn in the UK season tickets lottery! For those of you not in the know, that means I was hand selected to get the opportunity to purchase season tickets to UK men's basketball games. It was basically like winning the lottery, except instead of winning money, I actually forked over a couple of grand to be able to sit in Rupp's Rafters. I can't help it, people. I was raised this way. Blue to the bone, as they say.

November 2012: Thanksgiving at our house! This was the first time in my life that I was not in Dwarf for Thanksgiving. It was sad not to be with Beetle and the gang, but we had a really nice time at home with Doug's family. And, this awesome Marc quote came out of the experience, "I'm not a girl. I'm a man-zebra!" That kid is a trip!

December 2012: CHRISTMAS. I won't bore you with repeating details of Christmas, just know that it was awesome, as usual.

2012 was, in a lot of ways, a very loooooong year. Especially during those last few months of pregnancy. But, now that it is over, I can't believe it is already 2013. My boys are 5 months and some change. When did that happen? Time really does fly.

Here's to hoping 2013 is a great adventure!

December

December is always fun. In fact, it is my favorite month of all. You just can't beat Christmas, followed by my birthday, and then New Year's Eve! Because I was thinking about them today, I thought I'd share some fun memories of the past few holiday seasons.

December 2009, the year of the Bacon King, or that time we spent Christmas in the dark.

   This year we spent Christmas in Dwarf, which is always a great time, but something was a little off--the electricity! Yep, that's right. Christmas 2009 was spent in the dark. A big snow storm hit D-town and left its residents without power for 2 weeks. The lack of electricity didn't hold us back! Beetle has a generator, and was therefore able to keep her fridge running, which meant we still had food. Boomer and Aunt Kathy brought some grub from P-ville and London; they had electricity there. Uncle Glenn cooked some taters outside on the grill. Beetle cooked beans on the kerosene heater. If you would've seen our spread, you wouldn't have known we didn't have a working stove!

   On Christmas Eve, Doug, Codar, and me drove back to CVG from Dwarf. Bad idea. While we drove, the snow furiously fell. And guess who was driving! That's right, me! I was, of course, having a panic attack, so we had to pull off in Lex and let Doug take over. Good grief!

   New Year's Eve came and Doug and I joined Chris and Sarah at The Madison for our second New Year's Eve Bash. This is where Doug met (and photographed) the Bacon King. At midnight at the party, a buffet is served. The first year we went, coneys were served, but on this night, it was breakfast. Some dude (not a server, just a random fellow party-goer) went up to the buffet and loaded his plate down with crispy slices of bacon. Doug, in his party state (read: drunk), saw this and proclaimed this dude as The Bacon King. He then proceeded to go talk to the guy and take his picture, oh, and tell Sarah, Chris, and me all about his run in with royalty. That guy!

December 2010, our first Christmas

   This was our first Christmas as Mr. and Mrs. How sweet!.....You know, other than that little tid-bit, I don't remember much about Christmas 2010. Isn't that sad? It was just 2 years ago. What did we do? I guess the usual. Nothing is standing out in my mind...of course, that doesn't mean much. I'm old and forgetful.

   I do remember the NYE Bash! Jenna and Allen joined us this year. It was a good time. The week of Christmas and New Year's, I took off from work, like I always do, and since I didn't have any babies then, I could do whatever I wanted, which meant I watched Ken Burns's The War and the entire HBO series Band of Brothers. Well, on NYE night/New Year's morning, I cried myself to sleep (booze + too much war footage = depressed Alli) thinking of those brave men who fought in WW2. That was a fun night for Doug!

December 2011, the year I was pregnant but no one knew

 
Last year was a fantastic December! I graduated with my MA in history! Yay! No more school! Oh, yeah, and I found out I was pregnant on December 1st. We decided to not tell anyone until the first trimester was over, so December was a month of secrets. It was very hard to keep my big mouth shut about something so HUGE! And I still thought I only had ONE baby on the way. Oh, how things were about to get interesting.

   Due to my condition (pregnancy), we did not go to our annual NYE Bash this year. Instead, we traveled to Philadelphia to spend time with Doug's brother and family. It was a very nice time. A nice road trip with Doogie (complete with lots of pit-stops for donuts, chocolate milk, and french fries). Got to see the kiddos on Christmas morning after Santa came. Went to NYC. And watched the Wildcats beat Louisville (and hear Reese echo me in screaming at the officials to slap Rick Pitino with a technical--"T him up! T him up!" There is something so sweet about hearing a 3 year old scream at the refs.)!

December 2012, my first Christmas as a mother

  So far, the past 5 months have flown by. It is still hard for me to believe that I had twins. I mean, doesn't it just trip your mind to think that humans grow inside of humans? And me of all people, hand selected by God himself to have 2 babies at once. What was he thinking?! I reckon I'll take it as a compliment. Surely he must not think I am a complete waste if he blessed me with 2 babies at once. Right?

  To be continued...don't worry, I will fill you in on all of the fun festivities that await in the upcoming days (including our visit with Santa today).