3D

I don't intend this to become a pregnancy blog. This is why I haven't been very good about writing. Being pregnant is pretty much all I can think about these days.

Anyway, this picture is so cool I had to share it. They take these 3D ultrasound images now. The technology is so amazing. This picture of our two identical twins was taken at 12weeks 4 days pregnant. That was 2 weeks ago.

Comments I have heard about this picture:
They look like they have a lot of room in there
The one on top looks like Ernie
This would make a great punk rock album cover
The top one looks like it's wearing glasses (Anne's comment)

Tell me what you think.

Being Pregnant is Dangerous Business - if You're One of my Cats

Seriously.

Some of you may also read Anne's blog and might remember her recent post about her not so good luck with cats.

Well, I have one to add to her cache.

We all know I am pregnant. With twins. Yeah, yeah, let's talk about something else for a change, please.

OK.

So I also have the World's Worst Cold. When you are knocked up your immune system slows waaaayyyyy down so as not to accidentally kill off the growing off-spring/parasite. Additionally, all of your bodily resources go toward growing those little buggers regardless of what happens to you (well, me).

Many people at work have been out sick. Or have come to work still sick. Or have had to leave work early because they were so sick they couldn't take it anymore. Luckily for me my compromised immune system was looking away long enough to allow me to catch this super-sickness.

Since last Tuesday evening I have been practically confined to bed. Not sleeping. No. Of course not. That would be too easy. I have been confined to bed unable to breathe through my nose because my sinuses are filled with concrete. My throat has been so sore that to breathe through my mouth felt like inhaling fiberglass. My ears complied by becoming increasingly sore and now are just so clogged that I can't hear a thing. Add to those symptoms a slight fever and the non-desire to eat a single thing. Intersperse with hacking dry cough and you have my World's Worst Cold.

Note: When pregnant one must limit the drugs, both over the counter, prescription and recreational that one may take. Couple this with the body's disinterest in curing itself and you're in for a long miserable convalescence.

So I have the humidifier, nasal strips, vicks vap-o-rub from 1953, OJ by the gallon, Stew Leonard's magical chicken soup (thanks mom), saline nasal spray and Shower Soothers. None of these things have done me a damn bit of good.

I tried Sudafed, as instructed by my Doc. No good. Tylenol, helped a bit with fever but that's it. Robitussin did nothing for my cough.

Now to the part about the cats.

Yesterday afternoon I was in bed (duh) and Mrs. Jinx and Godzilla decided to get into bed with me (as per the norm these days, they don't leave me alone anymore). I thought - self, maybe it would be a good idea to keep cats out of bedroom until sinuses return to normal. I then put them out of the room.

Godzilla is the bigger, slower, sweeter of the two cats. He took his time. So, I picked him up and placed him in the hallway and then I shut the door.

Whack.

SCHREEEEEEEEEECHHHHHH!!! MEEEEEEEOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWW!

HHHHHIIIISSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!

Me: Oh SHIT!

I opened the door as quickly as I shut it. Attached to the door frame/jam/whatever was the tip of Godzilla's tail.

AGH! I scream for Ernie and pick up the cat who looks at me like I just castrated him. He is utterly confused and obviously in pain. My poor innocent baby!

I make Ernie take the fur off the door to see if there is bone/cartilage in it. He doesn't think so. We look at his tail and see the damage I had done.

I skinned him.

Took the skin right off. The bone/cartilage is now clearly exposed. It is bloody. It is almost severed. More like a giant indent.

My POOR Kitty!!! He just looks at me with his gigantic eyes like Mommy, why did you hurt me?

I am like weeping.

We take him down to the kitchen/triage center. Ernie puts on his leather gloves and I pour Hydrogen Peroxide into a bowl. Ernie holds Godzilla on the counter while I dip the end of his tail into the bowl of peroxide.

Cat screaming ensues.

His tail then starts whipping around, smacking Ernie in the face and basically soaking the kitchen in bloody peroxide. Nice. I am ready to barf.

Ernie calls his dad who tells him to let the cat lick it and he'll heal himself. I am in the background debating outloud whether or not we should bring him to the vet - on a Sunday afternoon. In a town where we have no vet.

Half an hour later Ernie picks him up again to look at his tail. Of course he had been to the litter box. Now there was litter in the wound. Horror of horrors!

We perform our little procedure again. Only this time I wrap his tail in a gauze pad secured with first aid tape. I taped it so tightly that Godzilla cried.

We put him down and within 5 second he has the bandage off.

Well.......

I kept him in bed with me the rest of his day and told him repeatedly to lick his tail. His tail seemed to have a mind of it's own and when he tried to lick it it would flick itself away. Poor kitty. Eventually I held his tail still so that he could get some good licks in.

Today the wound seems much better and Godzilla has obviously forgiven me, or forgotten the incident entirely. But I still feel soooo bad.

Poor Kitty. Pregnant women are clumsy. This is not a myth. We are also forgetful and absent minded. Cats should know this. They are very easy targets being so small and stealthy.

I only hope this stops when the babies come or we may all be in trouble. Luckily, I think they have already lost their tails.

Emily, Krista, Josette, Melissa, Me...

What do we all have in common? Well we're ALL pregnant!

Since Josette outed herself on her own blog, and she alluded to the fact in her comment here yesterday, I feel that I am now free to make a general announcement.

Doo-do-do-dooooooooo (Trumpet sound)...

Emily is due in April. It will be her second.

Krista is due beginning of July. It will be her first.

Josette is due in beginning of August. It will be her third.

Melissa is due beginning of September. It will be her first.

I am due end of September. It will be my first and second.

When all is said and done there will be 6 new babies among us.

How exciting!

The funny thing is that we are all so separated by geography.

Emily is in Brooklyn.
Krista is in Manhattan.
Josette is in PA (near Harrisburg)
Melissa is in Switzerland.
I am in Connecticut.

However, I still think we will be able to arrange play dates and various get togethers.

Another cool thing to note is that we are all above the age of 30! Go us!

Congratulations girls. I don't know what we've all been drinking but I've evidently double-dipped.

Glad to know I'm not in this thing alone.

Trying to Gain Weight

For once in my life isn't easy.

Really.

They tell me that with twins I should gain 50 pounds. Huh?! Did you say 50!? Yep. 50.

To date I have gained 0. That's zero pounds. Nada.

I have been eating the following, daily:

2 eggs on toast or bagel
one serving steel cut oats
16 oz. OJ
24oz. Milk
Poly-O String Cheese
1 hard boiled egg
1 apple/orange/kiwi fruit
2 servings Cottage Cheese
Left-over dinner (for lunch)
Mixed Nuts
Pint of Milk
16 oz. V8 Juice
Baby carrots
Dinner
More milk!

Plus add the occassional pickles, marinated garden salad, peanut butter and jelly sandwich or ice cream and you have my diet of the past 3 odd months.

Have not gained a single pound. Not one.

I don't think I can eat any more. I mean really, 3 eggs a day! I am already at the point where if I even look at an egg I want to vomit. I have never been particularly fond of them in the first place. But they say you need all of this extra protein, yada, yada...

I ask you, those who know me, has this ever been a problem for me in the past? Have I ever had trouble GAINING weight? Uh...NO! Just the opposite quite frankly.

Could it possibly be the absence of a nightly glass of wine from my diet? Those extra calories must add up. There must be something bad that I was eating before that I have since given up that was helping me to pack on the pounds. Brie? Nah.

It probably doesn't help that with twins you automatically increase your metabolism by 25%. Now that's something to be proud of. I don't even have to go to the gym! My body gets a 24 hour workout even if I just sit still. Nice.

But this still doesn't help me to gain any weight. Where exactly is that 50 pounds supposed to come from anyway? And just exactly where is it supposed to go once it gets here?

One piece of comfort I received was from my Dr. at our last visit, she kindly reminded me that I wasn't "malnourished" to begin with. Ernie heartily agreed.


Thanks.

The Big News Everyone Already Knows

Here goes.....

I am pregnant.

Knocked up.

Expecting.

In the family way.

Got a bun in the oven...

Actually, I've got two buns in my oven. Two identical buns. Either boy's buns or girl's buns (is that four buns or two sets of buns?). We don't know yet.

The question on everyone's mind? Is Ernie flipping out? Well, not actually. He is taking it pretty well. We both are now that the reality has finally sunk in. We are both really, really excited to have an instant family!

Originally, we saw one heartbeat and one baby. That was back in January.

At my second doctor's visit - the one that Ernie stayed home for - they OOPS! discovered a second heartbeat and a second baby. Equal in size to the first.

Excuse me?

My thoughts exactly.

Ultrasound doesn't lie. Two distinct heartbeats - 183 and 174 (something like that).

Wow!

Please give me a print out of that to show my husband. Thanks, I will drive home now and try very hard not to run anyone down.

Me to husband - well, before you drive me to the train to go to work I have something to tell you.

Husband - something wrong?

Me - well....not sure how to tell you this. There are actually two in there. Here's the picture to prove it.

Husband - huh?

What?

Are you kidding me? (hand in pocket pulling out cell phone to call mother)

Me - Uh, nope. They were big too.

He - Holy Shit.

Me - IDENTICAL

He -

Me - exact twins

He -

This went on for a while until the phone calls began. Mother/father, other Mother/father. Boss (hello boss. I will be a little bit later than I thought this morning because um, well, I just found out that I am having twins). Sister, brother, best friend.

Two days of euphoria passed. The thought of two sisters or brothers nestled up against one another in my belly was too much to bear without tearing up. They are already bonding. They don't know the world without the other. Amazing.

Followed by one and a half weeks of self-torture. Books. Books = Bad. Too many scary things in books about babies. Especially books about multiples pregnancies. Panic ensues...

Fast forward to next doctor appointment. Husband comes with this time. Damn straight.

Babies do a show for daddy. Twin B does a series of flips over and over. Later Twin B bashes into the membrance seperating him/her from his/her sibling. Slam dancing in-utero. Priceless. Twin A dances in place, does some kicking and head bobbing, but no flips. Cool.

We hear each of their heartbeats on Doppler (just like Acuweather!). Loud! Fast! Boom, Boom, Boom.

Both heartbeats are strong. Good babies.

Now we are in the blissful stage again. I have "dropped the bomb" at the office. Everyone in the world seems to know now. Many of those people have been praying for us since the beginning and we thank you all very, very much. Keep up the good work.

How do identical twins occur? Not hereditary. They are a "fluke" of nature that nobody understands for sure. My sister's theory is it is because we were trying too hard.

SNL Funny (rare these days)

In case you missed this one a few weeks ago...

This makes me laugh. In fact, it made my boring afternoon oh so much more bearable!

Push the Play button to start. Make sure your volume is on.

Better Than Valentine's Day

According to Wikipedia...

The Lupercalia was an annual Roman festival held on February 15 to honour Faunus, god of fertility and forests. Justin Martyr identified Faunus as Lupercus, 'the one who wards off the wolf', but his identification is not supported by any earlier classical sources. The festival was celebrated near the cave of Lupercal on the Palatine (one of the seven Roman hills), to expiate and purify new life in the Spring. This festival's origins are older than the founding of Rome.

The religious ceremonies were directed by the Luperci, the "brothers of the wolf", priests of Faunus, dressed only in a goatskin. During Lupercalia, a dog and two male goats were sacrificed. Two patrician youths were anointed with the blood, which was wiped off with wool soaked in milk, after which they were expected to smile and laugh. The Luperci afterwards dressed themselves in the skins of the sacrificed goats, in imitation of Lupercus, and ran round the Palatine Hill with thongs cut from the skins in their hands. These were called Februa. Girls and young women would line up on their route to receive lashes from these whips. This was supposed to ensure fertility and ease the pains of childbirth. The name of the month of February is derived from the Latin februare, "to purify" (meant as one of the effects of fever, which has the same linguistic root).

The William Shakespeare play Julius Caesar begins during Lupercalia.

Now that's a holiday I could get into!

It's Official

...Our Brooklyn phone was shut off today. So was the DSL.

Grand Army Plaza

Grand Army Plaza
Originally uploaded by nadzent.

Bye, Bye Brooklyn. It's been a crazy trip you pretty old gal.

Go Cat, Go!

Go Cat, Go!
Originally uploaded by nadzent.

Mrs. Jinx in the studio

Emily's Baby Shower #1

Emily's Baby Shower #1
Originally uploaded by nadzent.

at the Rowe's Sterling Place apartment, Brooklyn.

Our Livingroom

Livingroom
Originally uploaded by nadzent.

Bye - Bye Washington Ave apartment!

The Queen of the Forest

The Queen of the Forest
Originally uploaded by nadzent.

Mrs. Jinx in Brooklyn

Astroland Park. Coney Island, NY. New Years Day 1/1/05.

Astroland Park. Coney Island, NY. New Years Day 1/1/05.
Originally uploaded by nadzent.

Brooklyn Memoirs

We Love Brooklyn - WAH! - Don't Make Us Leave - WAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

Yes, we are weeping in our Brooklyn Lager. Only one more day commuting on the C Train from Prospect Heights to Tribeca.

One more day of alternate side of the street parking. Getting lucky and finding a spot near "the Fluffies", or by the park.

One more day to possibly receive a Fresh Direct delivery.

One more day of Disco Linda above our head.

One more day of the legless beggar in the wheelchair on my way home from work.

One more day of being a 10 minute walk away from one of the most beautiful museums in America.

One more day of being a 10 minute walk from 300 different cuisines, all of which can be had for less than $20 and eaten in, taken out, or delivered to your doorstep.

One more day of instant access to the $18 mani/pedi - Monday thru Wed only...

One more day of Gary, The Cracker, MLE, John and Zoe, PROSPECT PARK (no more runs in the park, I can hardly choke back the tears), 7th Avenue, 5th Avenue, Jones Beach, Coney Island, Court Street Bakery, Nino's Pizzeria, Mazolla's Bakery, 200 5th Avenue, Purity Diner, Brownstones - BROWNSTONES! - farmer's market, Christine, 5th Ave Cat Clinic, Park Slope Veterinary, Happy Dry Cleaners, WAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

I have to stop, I can't take it anymore. It's just too sad. How are we ever going to live in the suburbs? I mean, how do people do it day in and day out? Will we survive? Or will you be reading about our new Brownstone in Sunset Park in about 10 months?

I guess we'll just have to take a great big breath, wave adios but not good-bye, pack our Budget Rental and not look back. I am sure we can do it. There are just far too many great things about Brooklyn to list in any one post. The memories go on and on.

Thanks to our extended Brooklyn family. We are going to miss you guys, but we won't be far away. We will be back for concerts at the Balabans, Brunches with the Heaths and Dinner with the Rowes, drinks with Christine, etc. I promise.

Brooklyn Brunch

This is the Rowes, The Heaths and The Adzentoivichs at brunch in Park Slope last weekend. Our last social outing in Brooklyn.

Countdown to Blast -off

5-Days:

Well, I begin this post with a heavy-heart. Although I have been awaiting this day for oh, I don't know, YEARS maybe? - now that it is upon the horizon I reflect on what I am about to leave behind.

Five days until we leave Brooklyn.

I love Brooklyn.

I have lived in Brooklyn since May 1997. I moved into my sister's lopsided 17th Street apartment with two duffel bags and about $200. I had a job in Greenwich, CT. I commuted backwards for 2 hours each way. I did this for about 2 months before I told my employer that I had moved out of CT and couldn't do the commute any longer. And besides, I couldn't afford the commute any longer.

I put my beloved 1993 Toyota Celica CONVERTIBLE for sale in my grandfather's front yard. It sat there for 6 months before we got an offer. Luckily for me my grandfather was a sweetheart and continued to pay my car payments until it sold because I was broke.

Remind my again why I moved to Brooklyn?

Oh yeah, to be an actress. And, apparently, to go broke.

Eventually my sister's lease was up and she and her roommates went their separate ways. I took over the lopsided apartment and began the hunt for roommates. This consisted of putting posters up at the SAG/AFTRA/Equity offices in Manhattan. I got plenty of calls - from crazy people. Eventually I found Lorna - who was OK except for a few eccentricities.

Lorna was an actress and was about 5 year older than me. She had a clinical case of acne and was hopelessly single. She grew up in a trailer park and was very protective of that.

Every night Lorna took a bath for 30 minutes. Every night.

Every month Lorna stuck a Q-tip up her cat's hoo-ha. Every month. She thought this kept her from whining every time she went into heat. Gross.

Lorna was a temp somewhere in Manhattan. She had a co-worker named Kevin who ended up being our 3rd roommate. His girlfriend became our freeloading 4th roommate. Boy - it was a blast.

So, blah, blah, blah. Time passed. I went on auditions and took more acting classes. I did some weird Shakespearean adaptation at the Angel Orensanz Foundation on the Lower East Side.

I did another show on the upper West Side where I played a dead person who pushed around a coffin.

I did a more conventional play; Our Town with the father of Charlie from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory ( the original one). This was at some weird, old fashioned men's social club. No, not that kind of men's social club. The kind where there is a women's auxiliary and they do community service, have potluck dinners and black tie fund raisers and put on semi-professional theater four times a year. They also had a professional choir which was combined with the women's club. I don't honestly know how I got involved in this one. This place was located in Murray Hill - I think. Like 34th Street between Park and Lex. I got to meet Charlie. He looks exactly the same, but bigger.

I did some extra work in a bunch of movies. Some that I don't even remember the name of. Some I do: Summer of Sam, The Cradle Will Rock. There was also that TV show about firemen.

Eventually I went on a US tour as the Wicked Witch in a children's theater production of the Wizard of Oz. It was a three month van tour. It was awesome.

I met Ernie just before I went away and when I returned we went on our first date. The rest is history.

Brooklyn was the supporting character in all of this. I ran in Prospect Park. I shopped for cheap clothes on 5th Avenue. I ate $1.25 pizza from Lenny's every night between pay checks. I shopped at the store front produce market and got a week's worth of produce for $4. I bought homemade sauerkraut and mushroom pierogies from the Polish Market on 5th Ave. for $3 (this was all before Park Slope became FANCY). I walked to the Farmer's Market at Grand army Plaza. I met Emily who became my running partner.

I moved out of the lopsided apartment and into Ernie's place where he was renting a room from a friend. Saxaphone player Kevin. Kevin also happened to be a classmate of my sister's from college. We slept on one of those foam chairs that flattens out to a bed(?). It was only wide enough for one person so Ernie let me have the foam and he slept next to me on the floor. It was very sweet. We had nothing.

I followed Ernie to countless jazz gigs arouns Manhattan both before and after we got married in November 1998.

We began our Real Estate obsession when we only had a few thousand dollars that Ernie's parents gave us.

We bought our first place on 5th Ave when it was still inhabited by crack heads. Our little studio with a backyard was our haven for more than 4 years. We sold when the block turned into Hipster central and we could no longer afford to eat at the restaurants or shop in the shops.

OK. I need to reflect a bit more.

Ernie Loves My Job

Yes...he does. Not because of my great salary.

Not because of my great health benefits.

Not because of my super-flexible hours.

Mostly because he gets to go to lots of open bar parties and drink with Kyle.

NASCAR Get's Political

From Yahoo News:

Yes, that is the President and Tony Stewart looking at his car parked at the White House.

This is hysterical to me...I just can't put my finger on why.

Bryan - the Motorcycle Maniac

Photo courtesy of Rich Makin circa 199-something?
(thanks, Rich - on left)

Bryan won his class in his most recent foray into motorcycle racing this past weekend in Los Angeles. Horray!

Apparently he has found a new racing circuit and will be making regular appearances. Stay tuned for some actual racing photos and updates on his progress. Maybe the man himself will grace us with an interview?