It's SO "Ramotional"!!

If anyone knows me at all, you know I am a "Real Housewives" fan. Do I mark the premier's and finale's of each season on my calendar so I don't forget? CHECK! Do I make sure Violet is bathed, fed and ready to watch with me (or be asleep already)before my show is on? CHECK! Throw a mini - premier party of my very own - DOUBLE CHECK! So it only made sense to me that when Ramona from the Real Housewives of New York came to Houston in August for her Pinot Grigio signing, I had to get myself there. Plus, I felt doubly satisfied that my RHONY super-fans in training (aka - the twins) were right there along with me! Yes, I felt a bit goofy for being literally the only pregnant lady in a line of hundreds clinging to a bottle of Pinot Grigio, but hey, it was TOTALLY worth. Ramona even said how "cute" I was as she glanced at my belly. We snapped a photo, then me and the twins were off with our autographed bottle of wine in tow......and I will neither confirm nor deny that I may have sampled a taste already, and when theses girlies are out, I'll be ready for a REAL glass of wine!

Violet and her Papaw

There's just something about my Dad that Violet loves so much! It warms my heart to see photo's like this one below and reminds me how extremely lucky I am to have Frank Payne as a father. Not many men would take on a spoiled little 5 year old and immediately want her to be a part of his family. Even though I missed the precious baby years with my Dad, I couldn't be happier that Violet get's to experience that time for me with her Papaw! I like to think that when God was building her he made sure to include in her "chemistry" the knowledge that this man was going to be very special to her, and it would be a natural instinct to know how amazing he was. You can see it in her eyes when she see's him that she's completely in love with him, and that makes me the happiest Mom in the world. I feel so tremendously blessed to get to experience these moments with the greatest father in the world. My Dad never once let me feel like I missed out on anything, he loved me unconditionally from the moment we met. It takes a special person to do that for someone, and he did it like there was never a question in his mind that I was supposed to be his. Now that I'm a parent myself, I am overwhelmed sometimes when I look back on the life he gave me and the love he gives me every day. It's one of the most amazing feelings I've ever known, to be loved so much by such a wonderful father. So, thank you Dad for being the one that God chose to Father me, nuture, and love me. I love you so much more than I could ever express, and it's obvious that Violet does too. She will grow up knowing how blessed she is to have you in her life! I LOVE YOU!

Six Months!

I am into month SIX now of pregnancy with Stevie & Marlee! At times it feels like I've been pregnant forever, then at times it feels like it's flying by. Both girls are starting to move a lot, mostly during the day. I hope that's a sign that they have a good sleep pattern of awake during the day and sleeping at night - but I won't hold my breath! There's already a lot of pressure on my lower back and bladder, I can't imagine what I'll feel like as I continue to grow over the next 18 weeks or so. My only hope is I keep these little girls safe in my belly until 38 weeks! I want them both healthy enough to come right home with us and their big sister Violet! Here is a photo of Mommy & the Twins at 21 weeks:

We are also now 2 weeks away from Violet's FIRST Birthday! I can't believe my little baby is going to be ONE. I heard parents say it all the time, but you never realize it until you have a child, just HOW FAST they grow up. Some days I wish I could freeze time and keep her just the way she is for a little longer. However, I couldn't be prouder of the little lady she's becoming. She can say quite a few words like: Mommy, Daddy, Nana, thank you or "ta-eww," of course her number one favorite word is Daddy, and she'll point at pictures or the TV and say his name over and over. She can also sign many words (thank you baby Eintstein) like: eat, mommy, daddy, milk, more, friends and baby. When I point to my growing belly and say "babies" she'll immediately do the sign for baby. She also does the sign for baby when she sees my Mom's dog Baby Blue, sooooo...we'll just hope she sorts out the difference as she get's older! LOL Right now her biggest troubles are an abundance of teeth all cutting at the same time. It makes her a bit on edge and cranky, which is not like her at all. She hates baby orajel and taking Tylenol, so it can sometimes be a challenge but for the most part she's a trooper. One of her favorite times is "coffee time" at Mamaw & Papaw Mustin's house. She's always the highlight of the hour and puts on quite the performance (wonder where she get's that from). Everyone loves to watch her talk, dance, laugh and practice her walking - she's now up to a good 4 or 5 steps before she decides that crawling is faster still!

I'll do better to update more often, but with so much going on, it sometimes slips my mind! (or my mind has slipped - one of those two - ha!) Schoff - Party of Five is on the way...

19 weeks and the color PINK!

Looks like more PINK in the Schoff household!! We found out yesterday that both twins are girls!!!! I think it took Daddy by surprise quite a bit. He was so certain that there was at least one boy in there, the look on his face was priceless. Like my OB said, "There's always next year" LOL!!!!!! If my Mom is reading this she probably just had a minor heart attack! (Mom, I really won't have another next year - I don't think?!) *evil grin*

Now to get busy on the GIRLS' room! When I say we have done nothing to prepare, that's an understatement! We have not even begun to buy things for their room, so we definitely have our work cut out for us, and by us, I mean Steve! At least I know that my babies will have clothes. All of Violet's things that are too small are still in the bottom of her closet in a HUGE plastic bin. I can just move them over to the twins' room, and wa-la, instant wardrobe!

There were some really amazing images taken yesterday, but unfortunately they weren't all converted onto the CD correctly, so I'm waiting for my new copy in the mail. I do have some print outs that I can scan later on, and I'll do my best to post those soon.

In the meantime, say a little prayer for Daddy Steve, he'll need lot's of encouragement to get through life with 3 mini-Sarah's!!!

5 Ways You Know Your Morning Sickness is Old News

#5 You've had 2 kolaches, chips, coffee & candy all before 11am even though you just threw up 2 hours ago.

#4 People around you start complaining that THEY are nauseated!

#3 You can simultaneously update your Facebook status while vomiting

#2 While getting sick your husband walks into the restroom to start shaving while you are hunched over the toilet

#1 After you've wiped your mouth and flushed the remains of your breakfast, said husband asks, "Can you hand me a towel?"

*please note than I can neither confirm nor deny that my actual husband inspired the creation of this list

UH-OH!

Looks like Baby V has a new favorite word, and boy is there a story on how it started! Sooooo...last Saturday while Daddy went fishing, me and Violet were having some quality time and she was "helping" me do laundry. After putting the fresh warm towels into the basket I plopped her on top of them to let her ride in the basket into the house. Well, Mommy got carried away and pulled a bit too fast across the floor, the basket hit a bump, started leaning then rolling then out rolled Violet face first onto the wood floor. OKAY, so before everyone starts google-ing the number for Child Protective Services; Violet is perfectly fine and will only need a few weeks of regular therapy to recover - just kidding! To continue the story, once she relaxed and started eating the ice pack intended for her head, I put her into her high chair and she looked right at me and said, "UH-OH"!! lol Uh-Oh is right my sweetie, and she kept on repeating and repeating it! It was like she was saying, "I love you Mom, but I'm not letting you off that easy"!! Since that day Uh-oh has been her new favorite word. She'll drop her cup or toy off her chair or wherever just so she can say "uh-oh"!


Here are a few pictures my Mom took 4th of July weekend of our "uh-oh" girl!

I just love this one of Megan and Violet. Megan is a long-time family friend, which we really consider as part of our family anyway. I remember holding Megan when she was Violet's age and I was her age....amazing how quickly time goes by!

Violet is learning to Stand!

I can't believe Miss V is now 10 months old, and in a few short months will be an OLDER sister x's TWO! I'm really trying to just soak up all the time I can while it's just her. This is such a special time, and even though she won't remember it, Mommy sure will!

Here is a video link of her playing and practicing standing while at coffee time at Mamaw and Papaw Mustin's. Even though I was sick a lot during my time off from work, these were the moments I was glad to be able to share with everyone.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgXbYSIvsTA

**I tried to download the video directly onto here but it was taking WAY too long, so you can enjoy it on youtube!!**

Back to the Land of the Living at 15 weeks!

Wow, it's been a long time since I've updated everyone! Shortly after my last entry I became VERY sick with what is medically called hyperemesis gravidarum. That just means I had really bad morning sickness which required me to be hospitalized for 3 days. I lost a significant amount of weight and was extremely dehydrated. All I can remember from that day is that I could barely walk into the doctors office, and I was throwing up about every 30 minutes. By the time I was admitted, I was in a world of hurt! After giving me meds for nausea and starting me on fluids my body started to ache and burn all over, which was normal according to the nurses for how dehydrated I was. The rest of my stay was a blur, just fluids and more fluids and anti-nausea meds, some that made me quite loopy and sleepy which was fine by me. When I was discharged, I can't say I felt a whole lot better, I was just tired of being away from Steve and Violet and sleeping in a hospital bed. The first night home was pretty miserable. I almost felt like I had made a mistake by leaving the hospital. Steve was taking care of everything and I was in the bedroom asleep. He started to make himself some dinner (a skillet meal) and the smell drew me from a dead sleep. I couldn't barely take it the smell was so awful. I asked him to bring me a dryer sheet to put on the other side of my sheet over my nose, but even that wouldn't do the trick. Finally, about to throw up AGAIN, I ran for the back door, and waited out the stench on the back porch until the smell had dissipated from the house. Poor Steve, he had no idea that making himself dinner would turn into such a fiasco.

The weeks passed and I had nausea and vomiting on and off so my doctor kept me out of work until yesterday, which was my first day back. I still get nausea almost every day, but it's controllable through medication, and I haven't been SICK in about 2 weeks, which is major improvement. Now I'm just ready to focus on the positive things in my pregnancy, enjoying our last months as a family of three, and getting ready for Violet's first Birthday CELEBRATION! I can hardly believe she's going to be one in just 2 months. She'll always be my sweet baby girl no matter how old she is, and I'm sure that will go over well in her teenage years! I'll update more tomorrow on Violet's latest achievements and progress...she's developing the cutest personality. So until then I'll leave you with this quote, that kind of reminded me of my current situation:
"YES I'm pregnant again, YES I know what causes it, NO I don't think I've had too many". - author unknown

Thank Goodness for my Husband!

I have to say the past week I've probably (okay definitely) been miserable to be around. I've been nauseated EVERY day 24 hrs a day 7 days a week for some time now, and it had started to weigh on me emotionally. Some days I just had to come home, drop my purse and head straight to bed. Steve was there to feed Violet, wash dishes, clothes, give her bath, put her to bed & get her bag ready for the next day. After all that, he still had homework to do. Let's not forget that this full-time Daddy & husband has a full-time job & full-time school work to do! He's been wearing more than his fair share of hats lately and I just wanted to have it IN WRITING how much I appreciate all that he does. I may not say it or look like I feel it enough, but I do appreciate everything he does to keep our little family running! So Honey, thank you so much, me and Violet and the Schoff twins could not do this without you. I know it's hard right now, but I won't be sick forever (it just seems like it - lol). I know sometimes it's difficult to understand what I am going through but you're patient with me anyway. You're an amazing partner, I'm so proud of how hard you work to keep us all going....I love you so much more than you'll ever know! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU (that's one "thank you" for every baby)! I love you!

SURPRISE! it's TWINS ~ 7 weeks

Well, most of you know by now the big surprise is out! We have been blessed with TWINS! Last week I had my first ultrasound, and as soon as the technician started, she said "Oh, you have dos". To which I said "Whaaaaat?" She then followed with, "You're having Twins, congratulations"!!!!! Okay, so good thing I was laying down because I probably would have fallen over if I had been standing. The news was definitely a shock to me and my mom, who happen to be there with me for my first appointment. Mom started crying, and I was surprised at myself that I held it together. My head was simply trying to grasp the amount of money it will cost to raise these wonderful babies, and how we will never again sleep for the rest of our lives! LOL Now that it's been a little over a week the idea is settling in. In fact, it feels like I've known there where twins all along!

As of today I am 7 weeks with MANY more to go! Nausea is a constant, and luckily vomiting seems to be a not so regular visitor which is nice. The only thing I am struggling with right now is fatigue. I could literally sleep all day and STILL be tired. I have almost zero motivation to get out of bed for work in the mornings, which makes me really miserable. The good thing is that I have Violet's sweet face to look forward to seeing every day. If it wasn't for her and Steve taking such good care of me I don't know what I would do!

Here are some photos of us at 7 weeks...

Violet is so happy she's getting TWO siblings!

Mommy & the Twins at 7 weeks

(amazingly I already have a tiny bump!!!)

God DOES have a sense of humor!

If my calculations are correct (and we find out tomorrow for sure) then I am at 5 weeks and 5 days along today.



I was watching my favorite show RHOC last night, and I started feeling nauseated. I took my anti-nausea medication - promethazine and slept pretty well. This morning I am still nauseated a little, but what's worse is the extreme fatigue! I almost threw in the towel and stayed home, but my lovely husband so eloquently reminded me to "push through it," so....i did...VERY reluctantly! I just sent said husband a lovely email stating, "I wanna go home"!! Then I went on to make some very notable observations.



I thought how funny it is that once you (as a Mommy) have your baby in your arms, it doesn't matter how horrible your pregnancy was, how much you puked, how much you needed sleep, how fat you felt or even how close to death you came bringing that baby into the world. When you look down at her, it's all ERASED, just magically erased from your memory. You look back with happiness at every moment you spent huddled over the toilet, begging for relief! All the while the Man upstairs has got to be looking down with a little giggle, or a smirk?!!!? Well, what's life without a good sense of humor? Thanks GOD! We'll see what kind of comedy I can work up for you this time around!

Baby Schoff #2...we are ready for you!

So today (4-6-2011), Steve and I made our familiar way back to Dr. Abbott's office to confirm baby # 2! On Sunday, I took a home pregnancy test and it came back positive. Steve and I were excited, and so was Violet although I'm not sure she totally grasped the idea!! I made an appointment immediately when I got to work on Monday morning. Dr. Abbott did confirm this morning that I have a positive pregnancy test. She is having me come back on the 19th to do the first ultrasound because it is too early to do it now. We are estimating I am 4 weeks today, so it is still very early. We are only sharing this information with immediate family, i.e. Mom's n Dad's....and hopefully if things go well, I will be able to post this in a couple of weeks and make it "official" with photos and all!



Baby Schoff,



I love you already, I am so happy you are giving me the chance to be a Mommy again for a second time. I can't wait for you to meet your big sister Violet, and just be in our lives! Our life is already better because of you.......we love you!



Mommy & Daddy

Happy St. Patty's Day everyone

MY FIRST ST. PATRICK'S DAY!!!

(almost 7 months old)