Jami, John, Addy, & Sid

Our First Attempt at a Family Vacation

2010-09-07T14:43:00.003-05:00

Is it at all sad that in the past 3 years John and I have not once attempted to take a family vacation? I was sort of feeling like a bad Mommy for never even considering taking my children on an actual vacation. Then again when you live in a city like Chicago that’s full of museums, parks, aquariums, lake front attractions, beaches and more diverse people watching than you can shake a stick at, where do you go on vacation anyways?!?

Apparently the answer to that question is ‘Milwaukee’. No – I’m not kidding – we actually went to Milwaukee over Labor Day weekend. The deciding factors included a short drive (who knew that Milwaukee was only 90 minutes away from Chicago) and kid friendly activities that even though were in the same nature as what you’ll find in Chicago were still promising to be different than what we actually have here. So plans were made, a hotel was booked, the car was loaded up and we headed out – for our 2 day, 1 night “starter” family vacation. After all I’ve seen one too many Griswold movies to think we should attempt anything more than the bare minimum required to be considered a vacation. Baby steps people, baby steps…..

We left Sunday after attending church (Thank you, Jesus!) and a brief yet filling lunch at Arby’s on Jackson St (you should see my kids each destroy a medium roast beef sandwich – seriously – it’s a massacre of sorts). Traffic was light, bellies were full and 3 of the 4 Chung’s were passed out in the family vehicle (Thank you, John – for driving!).

We arrived in Milwaukee and proceeded directly to the Betty Brinn Children’s Museum where we were greeted with a various assortment of sleepy parents trying to do something entertaining for their offspring. Seriously, it can’t really be that bad, could it? We found out shortly that it wasn't as bad as some were making it out to be – and the girls enjoyed it so much that they wet their pants, literally. OK, that was only Addy, but that’s Addy protocol. She’s all about wetting her pants, and I’m pretty sure she only does it just to prove to herself, and her adoring parents, that on some level she still is in control, much to my dismay.

After a full tour of the museum we headed out for a brief walk by the lake front and a pit-stop at a local coffee shop. John and I loaded up on our caffeinated drinks while the girls screamed and giggled in delight of all the 4-legged creatures running amuck around the outdoor patio.

4-hours into the trip and no “Griswold” mishaps (Thank you, Jesus!).

After checking in and getting settled into our hotel room we headed out for a child friendly dinner that was also sure to promise a few brews for this hard working woman her hardworking husband. AJ Bombers was a short walk from our hotel room, just over a cute little bridge, crossing a duck filled river, that the girls adored. Addy filled her belly with mounds of the free peanuts while Sidney destroyed a cheeseburger like a starving grown man. Me? I had another beer while waiting for the rain to subside. Ah – vacation (Thank you, Jesus!).

The rain eventually ended and we made a dash out the door, back to our hotel room, where we hung out in the lobby with a few other Milwaukee visitors and their friendly pets. The girls were in bliss, petting a vast arrangement of doggies while filling their bellies with M&M cookies, while John and I sipped on adult beverages as our nightcap. Our evening concluded with 3 of the 4 Chung’s passed out snoring in the hotel room (curse me and my light sleeping determent).

8-hours into the trip and no “Griswold” mishaps (Thank you, Jesus!).

Day two started off with rain. Rain?!? What is this rain?!? There was no rain in the forecast for the day! Yep, there was rain. Which for some days is a mere matter of inconvenience – but for a day that was planned for the zoo was a deal breaker. 4 Chung’s and 1 umbrella = an earlier than anticipated arrival home, after a trucker-style breakfast and a pit stop at Starbucks for a pumpkin spice latte of course (Thank you, Jesus!)

So – all in all it was a decent mini-vacation. I could have done with out the rain and without the snoring Chung twins and their father – but they are all so cute I think I’ll keep them!

Thank you, Jesus indeed!

Can I Get a Three?

2010-07-22T14:14:00.005-05:00

Well - actually - in our case we have two of them already.... Two three-year-olds that is. Yep, that's right - my babies have officially entered into their fourth year of life by turning three (feel free to do that math). Don't bother in asking me where the time has gone because I certainly haven't got a clue.

The girls were blessed with not one but two birthday parties this year. The first one being on their actual birthday (July 14) with only John, myself and the girls in attendance. We took them out for one of their personal favorites - buttered noodles - and then held a small celebration at our house - full of gift openings, ice cream shoveling and fire eating. If you haven't seen the video yet you can check it out here (you'll have to excuse the snort - it's a genetic defect of sorts):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mbFj2S5qvI

The second party was held on Saturday, July 17 at Pump it Up in Lincoln Park. 12 children, 19 adults, 5 pizzas, and 4-dozen cupcakes were in attendance for the festivities and a good time was held by all. Despite some momentary stage fright from the Chung Twins - the rest of their day was spent speaking of how "everyone sang me happy birthday" and opening a few gifts at a time - for fear of "over exposure". A huge thanks for everyone that made their day extra special - we love you guys!

Up next for the Chungs this summer:

John's Annual Golf Trip (July 21 - 25)

Bon Jovi Concert (July 30)

Trip to Iowa (August 6 - 8)

Rob and Neha's Wedding (August 21)

John's Trip to Napa for David Wojtonik's Bachelor Party (August 27 - 29)

I can already feel myself wondering where the summer went.....

Girly Girls

2010-06-28T12:25:00.007-05:00

So anyone that knows John and myself knows that neither one of us have ever been defined as “girly”. Obviously this applies more to John than me, unless you knew me as a child – which is a completely different story!

Either way, as I was sitting on the deck at my in-laws in Michigan over the weekend I became very aware of the fact that my girls are indeed girly girls.

The proof is in the photos (and the high heels and the constant wearing of dresses – EVERYDAY). I just don’t know what I’m going to do when the day comes when they tell me they want to be cheerleaders!

Flower headbands in purple (for Sidney) and pink (for Addison):

Sidney and Addison trying on their flower girl dresses for Uncle Andy and Aunt Amanda's wedding (not pictured are the enormous tearful cries that went on and on and on after I made them take them off):

Just another typical Saturday with the girls still in their pajamas, Sidney already in her purple dress and both of them attempting to wear their Momma's heels:

The first 5/12 of 2010….

2010-05-11T15:55:00.002-05:00

Does it really need to be said that we suck at updating our blog? I swear to you it’s only because we really don’t have much to share – our lives honestly resemble more than a few scenes from the movie ‘Groundhog Day’ with John and I changing our routine just enough to hope for a different outcome from the day before. Sometimes we are successful, other times not so much, but we try. There has to be something said for trying – right?

Anyways – this year in all its routine familiarity – has brought a few unforeseen twists. Here’s the high level preview of things that might or might not be worth mentioning:

We spent Easter in Michigan with John’s parents and had a great time watching the girls hunt for Easter eggs and discover the treats that the Easter bunny had left for them for the first time. Plus getting the girls on video shouting “Jesus is risen!” was priceless

We spent a short weekend in Iowa for Andy and Amanda’s bridal shower where I got to spend some time with cousins and more importantly with Andy and Amanda who we haven’t been able to spend much time with as of late. Law school, jobs and children will do that to siblings

We are officially in the highlights and frustration of potty training! Today was the first day the girls went to school in actual underpants – and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the extra set of clothing was not needed – though knowing my offspring I fully anticipate a load of laundry in my near future

I spent a weekend in Columbia, Missouri visiting one of my closest friends Miss Tina Joy Ubben. I had a wonderful time shopping, eating, drinking and being the laziest, sleepiest bum in the world that weekend. I also love the fact that it can be months since I’ve last seen Tina and yet it some how feels like we pick up right where we left off without skipping a beat. (P.S. please do not ask John about the shopping I did while in MO – it is a touchy subject!)

I recently applied for, and was offered, a job at the Blue Cross Blue Shied Association. After long, hard and difficult deliberation, and a few promises from my current management, I ended up turning down the job. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that promises will not be broken and that I will remain a happy little girl at BCBSIL

All in all it has been an excellent year so far and we still have so much more to look forward to. Events for this summer include (but hopefully are not limited to):

Andy’s graduation from law school (May 14)
Andy and Amanda’s wedding (May 29)
John’s PMP classes (June)
The Girls’ 3rd Birthday (July 14)
John’s golf trip (weekend of July 24)

We are continually astonished at how much easier our lives have become over the past year and the joy that Addy and Sidney bring to other people. They are a true blessing in our lives and obviously do a great job of keeping us on our toes! We will see what antics they will come up with next. Until then I will just hope that they continue to learn and grow and somehow over come their mother’s clumsiness! All the bumps and bruises, tripping and falling, not to mention bloody noses is about to drive my normally very rational self right into crazy town!

The Summer of Chung

2009-10-20T12:40:00.008-05:00

OK - I know - we suck at updating our blog. Seriously though - our life is like the movie 'Groundhog Day' where it seems like there isn't really all that much going on - or at least I should say nothing worth telling the world about. So I figured that now it's officially fall that I'd recap our little summer - and by little I mean that I'm still not sure we even had a summer at all cause it was flipping cold!

July 2009 - the girls officially turned 2 years old! We had a small birthday party in our condo with family to celebrate the occasion. There was cake, Portillo's, a few beers, a few less tears, gifts and two little girls that were absolutely thrilled for a room full of people to sing to them the 'Happy Birthday' song. Seriously - they love that song - and sing it often - mostly to their blankets, dolls, stuffed animals and to Dora - but none the less it ranks right up there with 'Old McDonald' and 'Twinkle Twinkle'. I'm pretty sure neither John nor myself will be surprised if one of both of these girls have music become a vital part of their adult life.

August 2009 - 2 weekends of August were spent in Michigan this year. The first weekend entailed a wedding (congrats again to Steve and Chris!) and a short trip to Toronto for John and Jami minus our little turkeys. John's mom and dad graciously watched the girls for us while we went off to relax, sleep, wander aimlessly, dine and sleep some more. Great times were had even though it rained basically the entire time we were in Canada. Though when you've only spent a grand total of 4 days away from your kids in 2 years not much is gonna keep you from enjoying your time away. And in case you were wondering - yes - I have already started contemplating where the next anual Turkey-less Chung Vacation will be held. I'll have to update you all on that one later
The second trip to Michigan during the month of August '09 was to South Haven where the greater Chung family congregated to spend some quality time bonding. And bonding we did! Again it rained and rained and rained and rained and for the 2 minutes that the rain would stop we'd throw on our shoes and dash outside with the kids in hopes of burning off some of that pent up energy we were all feeling - only to have it start raining once again. We did manage to spend some time around a camp fire in the back yard Saturday night and some time at the beach on Sunday before we left for the 2-hour trip back to Chicago - so the trip wasn't a complete bust. Plus Helen and I spent many many hours the kitchen making meals for the entire family - and if any of you know me well you will know that I love to cook! Plus learning that Trader Joe's makes an awesome pancake mix - well that was more than well worth a trip!

September 2009 - Ah September! I love September - mostly because of Labor Day and that coveted day off of work - but I can't forget that September marks the beginning of Fall - and again - if any of you really know me you know that I love Fall! I digress....

Labor Day weekend was spent in Iowa this year celebrating my mom's birthday. The girls seem to love spending time at my parent's house running around smelling all the flowers, watching the bubbling fountain and finding produce in their giant garden. My mom was also able to secure some babysitting from the neighbor girls so that the rest of the Wendling family could enjoy a not so quiet dinner out at The Brown Bottle. It is possible that our dinner antics had other fellow diners running for the hills - but it's also quite possible that we didn't really care! Good times were had - and it's rare that 3 of the 4 Wendling siblings are available to break some bread together - so we had to take advantage of the time that we had.

September also marked a few more trips to the Brookfield Zoo, the Shedd Aquarium, a U2 concert (a child-less night for John and Jami) and a few lake side bike rides that always seem to be a favorite of The Chung Twins. The girls have seemed to vastly develop their speech and are now speaking in almost full sentences and have also managed to learn all their colors, shapes, animal noises, numbers and on rare occasion can even count to 20. We're still working on the alphabet and potty training - and I'm fairly certain that is going to be a long, long dirty little road! At least they are developing their taste for John Cougar Mellencamp and the Black Eyed Peas - what more could any mom ask for - right? Now if only I could get their feet to stop growing!

I know...I know...It has been forever.

2009-06-18T13:15:00.002-05:00

I know I've said I'd be better about posting...so I lied. Anyway, I'm having a slow day at work, so I figured I would do a quick post.

Daycare - Things have been going well. I drop off the girls each morning on my way to work and Jami has been picking them up when the weather is nice. They were really enjoying their teachers, but we recently had their teachers switched up. Sid doesn't seem to like the change, but it has only been since the beginning of June. We really miss Ms. Cierra who was always encouraging the girls to dance and play and be happy. She did this thing where she encouraged the girls to dance by saying..."Go Sidney, Go Sidney, Go Sidney"...then Sid would dance and jump. Well, we do this at home now since their new teacher doesn't seem to be in to that. At least the girls aren't getting as sick as often. Knock on wood!

Summer - Things at work are slowing down a bit for me, but Jami's work seems to be picking up. We are anxiously waiting for the weather to turn nicer and take the girls out to do more activities. We renewed our Shedd Aquarium membership and we hope to take the girls out on more bike rides. We bought these front mount bike seats that work awesome. We've only gone out once due to the weather, but we hope to take them out once a week on the bikes. See below for the new seat. It is Addy with her sweet helmet. We have lots going on this summer, including friends visiting this week and next. We also have the girls' birthday coming up soon, more friends visiting, trips to Michigan and Iowa (hopefully), and then a little vacation for Jami and me. We were hoping to go to Montreal for a few days, but it seems like it will have to be Toronto. Why Canada? Because Jami got her passport and we want to "leave the U.S. of A". Baby steps people.

Growth - The girls are getting bigger and bigger each day. Almost two years ago they were just little 3 pound wrinkled rats. Now they are monsters. They seem to outgrow shows, clothes, PJs and everything else. I even got each of the girls to pee in the potty. They are still far from being potty trained. Here's a fun pic...and yes those are Ed Hardy PJs from Aunt Tina.

Goodbye Chicago? - Jami and I have really been thinking that our place is getting too small. We already have an offsite storage that we pay for, and a small storage onsite. I'm not sure we can afford to buy a three or four bedroom place in the city, and why would we move to the suburbs here when we can move to Iowa or Michigan suburbs? So, who knows what the future holds...but houses in Michigan are pretty dang cheap!

The One Month Update

2009-03-04T09:37:00.003-06:00

So - the Chungs have been hit. Hit hard - very, very hard indeed. Day care has bestowed a many many blessings upon us - including fevers, runny noses, coughing, vomiting, poop stains and crankiness. John and I knew that colds and illnesses of all variations were going to be the biggest down fall of the girls' transition into day care - we just didn't think it would be a constant never ending illness for the past 4.5 weeks and counting. We're working thru it - we're exhausted - but we're working thru it.

Not to say that it has been nothing but miserable (we all actually got to sleep thru the night last night - for the first time in probably 3 weeks!) - the girls have adjusted amazingly well to their new environment. Here's the breakdown:

Weight Gain - For most of us, including myself, this is seriously a bad thing. But for our two little monkeys this has been something that hasn't happened since they turned 1! They have grown - grown at least a good 3 if not 4 inches - but they only managed to gain 1 pound from July to December. If you look at John and I you know we are not destined to have skinny children - it's just not in the gene cards! Some how thru all the colds and illness the girls have finally started putting on some weight. Sidney alone managed to put on 2 pounds during the month of February - the results are still pending for Addison. Might it have something to do with the fact that they are now eating 4 meals a day (they get a breakfast at home and then another one at day care a couple of hours later) or that we regularly feed them Ichiban Noodles? I'm not sure but I'm not complaining.

Expansions of Vocabulary - Addy can repeat ANYTHING you say. Trust me on this one - John has learned it the hard way. Though I should blame myself for allowing my children to be anywhere close to their father when Michigan sports are on TV!

Dancing Queens - The evidence, though slightly blurry can be found by clicking on the link provided below. Not much more needs to be said except that they get the love of the dance from my mother. It must be something that is passed down thru the DNA code - cause this for sure isn't something that can be taught! http://picasaweb.google.com/jchungum/AddySid02_15_2009#5306561265315871474
Hugs & Kisses - Not only do the girls love giving John and me hugs and kisses when we drop them off and pick them up from day care - but they now also hug and kiss their teachers as well. It is rather endearing to witness this display of love for people I hardly know - but at least it's a way for them to let me know that they love the people they spend 9.5 hours a day with.

So - all in all - things are going good. Despite the never ending illnesses that have plagued our home we are all still very blessed with many things in our lives. The proof is in the photos.....

Sid in the toy box:

The Girls playing peek-a-boo at dinner:

Addy getting cozy in our bed:

Piggie tails!

Always Trust Your Instincts!

2009-02-03T12:44:00.002-06:00

Day Care – Day 1

No issues! Seriously. I’m still not sure how it happened – except to say that I have to start trusting my instincts because apparently I’m onto something over here…..

John and I dropped the girls off in the morning together. We had them go find a few toys that they seemed to enjoy playing with when we took them in for 2 short visits the week before – than had them sit down at the table where the rest of the children were playing. I gave them both a quick kiss good-bye and we left. That was it. No tears, no whining, no running to the door like we just abandoned our off spring. Totally amazing!

The thing that I had not anticipated was all of this being harder on John and me than it was on them. Honestly a shocking revelation for the both of us – being the stoic individuals that we are. You want someone with cold blood? Marry a German or a Korean (Yes – we are so lucky that we found each other!).

But yes, I had spent the day wondering and worrying if my little half-breeds were doing OK. I got my answer when I went to pick them up at 5PM. I had prepared myself for tears of overwhelming joy – of which I got none. When I walked into the room they both looked over at me with these looks that basically said: “Oh, hey! I’m glad to see you but I hope you’re not seriously trying to take me home right now. I’m sort of busy over here, Mom.” Nice my little offspring, very nice….

I spent the next 20 minutes bundling up my kids. It was a scene straight out of 'A Christmas Story' expect you have to add in another kid, a stroller, and a giant plastic stroller cover (which I do believe will end up being a pain in my existence), a baby bag and now one sweaty mother who was exhausted from having an emotion for the past 9 hours that wasn’t ‘calm’ or ‘anger so uncontrollable there is steam visibly shooting out of my ears’. I started to head for the door only to look up and find my husband standing there – and again I’m hit with a couple of different emotions we won't mention in my PG-13 blog – but ended back at being ‘calm’ yet still sweaty. I mean – who really wants to head out on a 21 degree day for a 10-block walk if they really don’t have to? Right?

The day being over – the night was just beginning! Our little Einstein’s, full of exhaustion and a newly found independence, proceeded to give me a run for my money. I sent John out to search for food (I mean who wants too cook after the day I just had – not me for sure!), while I started feeding the girls some staples of their diet. That being YoBaby yogurt and peas.

I’ve always encouraged the girls to self feed and lately to try and use utensils. John always wants to do what it easiest for us - and avoiding the huge mess that follows when the girls attempt to feed themselves falls right into that category. Last night both of the girls REFUSSED to let me feed them. Even though I was completely amused at this little defiance the logical side of me knows the mess I make when I try and feed them yogurt – I cannot fathom the aftermath of this one. So I opted to let them feed themselves their own peas - and then shoved spoonfuls of yogurt down their throats where they weren't looking.

Tantrums squashed, but the war wasn’t over. Sidney quickly got sick of using her spoon and starting just picking up her bowl and dumping the peas right into her mouth - and down her bib, into her chair, onto the floor, bouncing every where and leaving a little 'butter' trail every where the eye could see. Upon John’s return from foraging for food (OK – it was Yang’s Chinese food to the rescue again) an epic battle ensued. It was the right to be fed vs the right to feed themselves. John soon raised a white flag and let them just have at it. Parents 1 – Children 1.

So after baths, ear cleaning, teeth brushing, hair combing, lotion-ing, pajama-ing, de-toy-ing and story time - we put the girls down for a long winters nap – glad that the day was over with little tears, much joy and a night of Tivo to look forward to.

*Sigh*

We’ll see how Day Care - Day 2 goes……

We Might Be Crazy!

2009-01-09T11:19:00.004-06:00

So last Friday John and I officially decided that we were going to "let our nanny go" - which is basically the p.c. way of saying we fired her *ss. Not that it was an easy decision as Elvie has become like a part of our family - I'd even venture to say she is like a third Grandmother to Addy and Sid. They love her so much that at times John and I have to wonder if the girls would rather go live with Elvie than stay with us! Seriously you should see them run to the door every morning when they hear her coming in - I never knew two half-breeds could move so fast! Could they be a couple of future track stars? Perhaps - but only if they don't end up with those short little Chung legs.....

Anyways - Elvie's last day with us will be on Friday, January 30 - and we will miss her - a lot. Not so much all the long, black hair she leaves around the house, on the floors, on the couch, in the girls clothing, on the carpet, etc etc - but I have a feeling the stuff she does for us on a daily basis will continue to go unnoticed by myself and John until she has left and is gone from our lives completely.

So yes - we might be crazy - but we have spent many weeks - not to mention countless bottles of beer (aids in deep thinking) - in coming to this choice. The girls will officially start their new day care on Monday, February 2. We're trying to prepare ourselves for what can only be a difficult transition - as they still get kicked out of Promise Land at church from time to time - but with any luck they will eventually be happy in their new environment.

Will the socialization and learning opportunities outweigh the runny noses, colds, and naughty little habits they will pick up from all the other crumbsnatchers in their class? Only time will tell - but we hope we have made the right decision!

Who ever knew being an adult and making choices that will influence our children for the rest of their lives would be so difficult! I'm sort of missing the time when the biggest decision of my day was if I should wear the Stuart Weitzman boots and my Kate Spade bag - or the Cole Haan peep-toe pumps and my Dooney purse. Though I'm more than certain that John is very happy those days for me are gone!

A Crappy Sunday

2008-12-31T09:53:00.003-06:00

This past Sunday (12/28/08) was a day to remember and forget. Unfortunately, I have no pictures or proof to indict the two little scoundrels, so you'll have to take my word for it. It was a typical Sunday morning, and Jami and I tried to get that extra 30 minutes of sleep. Yeah, we try but typically fail. Sunday mornings are a challenge, since church begins at 10:00 AM (really 9:46 AM but we skip the morning songs). The girls need to eat, take a nap, and it takes us 15 to 20 minutes to walk to church. So that means we need to be out the door around quarter to 10.

We decided to give the monkeys some french toast sticks and sausage. Jami loves to encourage the girls to eat, even if it is super messy. So the first incident was that syrup was EVERYWHERE! Then the "genius twins" decide that syrup in the hair would be totally awesome. So now we have dirty little girls that need a bath before church. The time line is now officially running off course. Please note Squid's "up do" below.

We are both thinking, throw them in the tub, get them dressed, Jami will get ready while I watch the girls and take a quick shower...maybe we can get back on schedule. So we throw them in the tub, and when we are done we notice a King Size Snickers bar floating in the tub. At first I thought...YUM a little post Christmas gift until I realized what it really was. You see the "peanuts" were really corn kernels. Now the girls have only pooped in the tub a few times, but Sunday really didn't need to be one of those days.

Okay, let's get them out of the tub, clean the tub, get diapers on them and then get going! Nope.

Jami went to diaper the girls while I got the privilege of scooping the chocolate bar and floaters out of the tub. As I'm having fun doing that, I hear..."JOHN!!!". I run to the girls' room and see Jami holding Addy...another monster turd is on the floor and Addy's feet are full of poop. When Jami was putting a diaper on Sid, she heard, "UUNNNNGGGG!!!". She turned, saw a man-size turd flying out of Addy's ass and now we are screwed. So now I'm running to find something to wipe Addy's feet off, but the wet cloth I'm using is useless. Too much poop on her feet. Why did she decide to stomp on the log she just laid? I don't know...must be a Wendling thing?

As I'm wiping her feet, poop is now dripping onto the hallway rug. So there is poop every-friggin'-where. Jami then throws Addy in the tub again, I'm swearing and yelling, Sid is running around crying because I'm yelling. All FUN at the Chung house this past Sunday.

At least I made it to church. The Chung ladies stayed home.

How Many Christmases Can Two Monkeys Have?

2008-12-29T12:00:00.003-06:00

Addy and Sid had their own version of Hanukkah, but it was more like five crazy days of gifts. There were Christmas celebrations with Jami's parents, Dave/Em, Neha, my brother's family, and finally with John's parents. There are a host of pictures at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/jchungum/AddySid12_22_2008#
http://picasaweb.google.com/jchungum/AddySid12_14_2008#

Here are a few highlights!

Christmas with Jami's Parents - I swear I've spent hours upon hours stopping the girls from touching this damn tree.

All sorts of goodies!!!

Christmas at My Brother's - Uh, note the bow on Clara's head

NO COMMENT!

Christmas at John's Parents - The girls won't wear those slippers!

Sid's Christmas Shiner - Should I ever trust my parents to take care of the girls again?!? Sid actually bled twice this week, but she's tough! She also had a cut lip last night when she face planted. My t-shirt looks like I was in a fight.

Last One - Melissa & Doug fruit from Dave/Em

Playing in the Leaves

2008-12-09T16:41:00.004-06:00

First of all, it is very sad that I can't blog a bit more. Our family's new phrase is "survival"...and sometimes survival doesn't allow for tons of blogging time. Anyway, enough of the excuses.

So we spent our Thanksgiving in Iowa. It was very nice because the girls slept in each morning until at least 8 AM. Maybe it was the fresh air? Lack of an "El" train flying by every six minutes? We really don't know, but it was very nice because we were up late every night catching up with friends, playing games, going to the bar, and whatever else normal people without kids do.

It is sad that our girls don't have a lawn to play in every day. We are scared to take the girls to Grant Park because of all the dog urine and crap. So all you that have a clean lawn, count your blessings. Grandpa Mort and I took the girls out back and played in the leaves. They loved it! A few pics:

The Monsters on the Lawn

Grandpa Bring More Leaves!!!

We Need a Lawn!

Update from the Chungs!

2008-09-11T13:34:00.008-05:00

So it's been a while since we published anything - and if you want to get technical this is actually the first time I am posting something. Yes - I usually have no issues letting John do his thing - but apparently he's been busy lately so I figured I'd step up.

Anyways - John and I took our first trip last month - without the girls. You could say that we needed a break from - well - everything! It was a slightly difficult year for us and and I decided that our reward for the endless hours of our mundane routine was a little 3-day vacation to Ojai California. There's actually this little resort there called Ojai Valley Inn & Spa (http://www.ojairesort.com/) that we packed our bags and left Chicago (and our monkeys) for.

The plan was to do everything that we can't do on your average typical day - like sleeping, relaxing, sitting down and eating a meal for longer than 3.4 minutes, watching a movie from beginning to end and throwing back a few without the knowledge of a very early morning filled with two screaming, hungry and diaper dirty children. I have to say we succeeded on many levels but there were two things that surprised me during this little journey:

1. How easy it was for me to fall back into my "childless life" - aka my life before I had children and

2. How difficult it was for John to just friggin' sit down and do NOTHING.

He was killing me!

Good thing I came prepared and handed him a book of Sudoku puzzles so I could continue with my mindless reading of fashion magazines that I actually forgot I loved so much. (Side note: I'm totally excited for all the 5 inch heels and purple frocks that are hot for this fall. If anyone has any extra cash they want to part with I can totally put it to good use)

All in all we had a great time - and both of us were excited to get back home and see the girls. John and I had originally thought that they wouldn't even notice we had left - as they were left in such good hands (a big thank you to Mrs. Chung who came from Michigan to watch the girls on Nanny Evlie's "off-hours"). Needless to say we were completely surprised that the minute we walked thru the door poor little Sidney burst into what can only be described as inconsolable tears. She would not let either one of us go for a good 30 minutes - and for a while took comfort in just sitting in John's lap resting her head on his chest and holding on to his sleeve for dear life. I felt pretty horrible - but her dismay was quickly forgotten by the toy necklaces we brought back from California for her and Addison. Here the photo evidence of our purchase where you can sort of tell that Sid has been crying:

Oh - and in case you are wondering Addy - our special child - simply smiled and acted excited to see us like it was just any other day. Crazy Addy - it will be very interesting to see the type of person she turns into 10 years from now. I have a feeling we might be in need for some back-up with this one.

Hope all is well with everyone - and with any luck it won't take us another 2 months to write another post!

Jami

One Year Update

2008-07-14T09:33:00.009-05:00

So it was one year and 3.5 hours ago that we had the girls. For a quick reminder here is the link to our first blog entry: http://jchungum.blogspot.com/2007/07/our-familys-first-posting.html

We want to thank everyone that came out to the girls' party this past Saturday. It was their second party, and I'll post some pictures when I get a chance. It is amazing to think how far the girls have come since 7/14/07. Here is a reminder of how much the girls have grown:

Sid Day One

Addy Day One - Poor girl

Addy & Sid One Year

We are completely blessed at how healthy our girls have become. Addy started off with some heart problems, but now she is now completely off of any medications. The meds also could have caused kidney problems, but she is completely fine. Both girls had acid reflux problems early on and spit up ALL THE TIME! Now they are on medication to control their acid reflux and they do not spit up. I mean they will barf sometimes, but nothing like what it used to be. They also could have had a multitude of other problems: eyes, hips, weight, etc. All is well so far, and both girls are nearing the 20 pound mark. We'll be taking the girls in to their one year appointment next week and see if we can put them on whole milk. Their hips are fine, and we need to take them into get their eyes checked soon. Addy & Sid are both crawling, and Addy wants to walk SO BAD.

Jami and I can't believe we survived the last year. People ask us how we did it. In hindsight, I don't know how either. You just do it. It was crazy hard, and many times it was just Jami and I trying to survive. It is so nice to sleep more than 3 hours at a time. Often times we felt alone and struggled because we didn't have much family here to help us, but we pushed on. Our friends were invaluable, and we couldn't have done it without them. We want to thank all of our friends that helped us with babysitting and helping out with the girls.

Dave/Em - We can't count how many times you came over to help out, babysit, bring food over, whatever. We seriously couldn't have done this without you.
Woj/Audrey - Thanks for supporting us, babysitting, and Woj's endless energy to entertain the girls.
Nerha - You helped us on all those Sundays when John went to play basketball.
Amber/Alma - Amber made those terrible days in the NICU bearable and we wouldn't have had anyone else be our nurse. These two also babysat for us. Thanks Alma for the burp cloth trick!

I'm sure I've forgotten other people that have helped out here and there, but the last year was a blur. Of course both of our parents helped out tremendously as well when they came to Chicago!

Jami and I don't know how the girls survived! I love messing with the girls and they don't seem to mind. My favorite these days is "I'm gonna get you!", "Close Talker", and "Can I suck on your chin?". The first one is all about smelling Addy's armpits and tickling the girls' necks. The other two I think should be self-explanatory. If you want to see demos, just ask me. The girls have a tiny room in a tiny condo. We cram everything in, and I wish we could move to a bigger place. But they are surviving as well. They handle our ways, our outbursts, and even our mistakes. Sid took a fall off the couch early on and Addy took an even bigger fall off the counter one day. I was seriously scared sh*tless. We got a new toy and we put Addy on the counter. We always keep an eye on the girls when we do this, but for some reason both Jami and I went to grab something and took our eyes off of her. We both thought the other had her, and Jami sees a blur of purple clothing fall! She is obviously fine, but dang we won the "Worst Parents of the Year" award on that day.

So here we are a year later, a year older, a year wiser. I won't lie and say it was all so great and having children is the greatest thing in the world. Life sucked for a long time, but God was good and many things that could have gone wrong didn't. It was worth it all though as any parent will attest. After many long battles and endless hours up at night with Addy & Sid, they always seem to be able to show us their love for us. I guess that makes up for them being such a pain sometimes! There is nothing better than a goofy grin from Sid and loud scream of joy from Addy each morning and when we get home from work.

I can only thank God for such blessings. Jami and I know that after this first year we can get through anything...well unless we have another set of multiples!!!

Early Birthday

2008-06-30T20:45:00.004-05:00

Jami and I packed our little SUV and headed out to Michigan this past weekend for a fun adventure. Well okay...not really...but it ended up being pretty fun. Other than having to drive through glorious Indiana, the drive there and back wasn't bad. It was a personal best for me on the way out...4 hours 10 minutes and on the way back 4 hours 30 minutes with only one stop!

We haven't seen my parents for awhile, and they wanted to have a more Korean traditional 1st birthday. So my mom invited some of her friends over and we dressed the monkeys up, and they had a great birthday part 1. We are having another birthday party here in Chicago closer to their actual birthday on July 14th. I can't believe it has been a year! I just looked at some of those old pictures, and it is unbelievable how far the girls have come, and how we survived! Anyway, here is a pic of their little Korean dresses:

Go to http://picasaweb.google.com/jchungum/AddySid06_28_08 for more pictures.

We actually did a whole lot over the weekend. We got to see lots of friends on Saturday night at the Hamlin Pub, we saw the Bubans and the Yims, and we got a chance to spend some time in Michigan.

Crosswalk Part II

2008-06-26T11:08:00.002-05:00

We had another incident where someone was sitting in the crosswalk while pedestrians had the right of way. Jami and I took the girls out for a nice quiet walk along the lake. We cut over on Balbo and crossed LSD. Then we crossed back over Balbo. There was a woman in a red car that wanted to turn right (going south) on LSD and creeped up into the crosswalk, completely blocking the path to the sidewalk. I happened to be carrying Addy at the time, and as I was walking towards the car I started talking to the lady in what I thought was a matter-of-fact tone. I said, "You are in the crosswalk, I can't get my stroller through to the other side." Then I just walked on.

Jami was behind me and I guess the lady got pissed at me and started barking at me about something. I just ignored her and moved on but Jami heard it and started talking back. Before I know it, there is shouting and yelling and all sorts of fun stuff for the tourists around me to go back and tell their friends about in Podunk, (you name a state).

Why can't people just be couteous and say, "I'm sorry I won't do it again."? One day I'm going to wear metal cleats and walk over a car that is the crosswalk!

Makes Me Angry!!!

2008-06-17T15:01:00.004-05:00

If you ever want to see me blow my top and go absolutely berserk, do the following:

Now that we have the little monkeys to tote around all the time, I get super ticked off when I have to go around a car that is sitting in the crosswalk, when pedestrians have the right to cross. A few weeks ago, Jami and I were walking down Michigan Ave and some complete moron is sitting in the cross walk as people are trying to get across the street. I'm going around this guy, and of course I start barking at him cause I have to steer the stroller between people and other cars. Then I see he is on his cell phone, and I start just yelling at him. If you didn't know, it is illegal to use your cell phone without a handsfree device in Chicago. The dude flicks me off, and then I'm just friggin' irate and I swear I was angry enough to pull him out of his car and kick the crap out of him. Jami tried to calm me down, but people were staring at this little altercation, and I was just going nuts! One of these days, you are going to see a little article on page 25 of the Tribune that says: "Psycho Asian Man Arrested for Assault on Moron in the Cross Walk!"

On a side note...Have a nice day!

Holy Crap! It is 6:30 AM

2008-06-13T09:50:00.002-05:00

An amazing thing just happened this morning, our alarm actually went off and woke us up from a full night's sleep. Of course I'm completely jinxing us from now until forever, but I just had to update our blog with this piece of amazing information. It's been 8 months since we've been able to sleep until the alarm goes off. There is always some monkey in the adjacent room complaining and whining about something in the VERY early morning hours. But today, they didn't make a peep until after 6:30 AM...after our alarm woke us up!

We think it is because the girls are sitting up now really well and can go from lying down to sitting up on their own. Here is a good little pic of them,

Anyway, this weekend will be full of Jami's family time. Jen is coming in today to spend the weekend here for their grandma's 85th birthday. A bunch of aunts, cousins, etc. are coming out to Chicago to spend the weekend taking Grandma Elma all around the city sites. We just hope that they can make it out here with all the flooding that is going on in Iowa. Jami's family is around some of the areas that have been hit between Waterloo/Cedar Falls all the way to Cedar Rapids. We hope that everyone is safe. If you haven't seen some of the damage, it is crazy.

Eight and Half Month Update

2008-04-03T14:11:00.002-05:00

Yeah I'm pretty lame for not updating this blog more often, but Jami and I are in a groove right now...get up at 6 AM, take care of the girls, try to get ready for work, go to work, get through the work day, take care of the girls from 5 PM to 7 PM, eat dinner, get 30 - 60 minutes to ourselves, run errands or clean up, get some sleep. Riveting, isn't it? Anyway, there isn't much time to do anything else like blogging, doing anything fun, finishing up the taxes, paying bills, etc.

So the girls went to their nine month PT appointment yesterday. All is well in terms of development and Sidney is now officially the fatty face of the two. She is like four ounces heavier than Addy now! Sid is 16 pounds 12 ounces, do the math on Addy. Both are about 25 inches long, and their heads are gigantic.

Since I'm a former consultant and am typically very anal and logical, here are my bullet points of updates for the girls.

BARFING - This used to be the biggest complaint we had on the girls. Surprisingly they rarely spit up or barf. Knock on wood, but all of sudden they just stopped puking at every turn. Of course there is the occasional heave-ho, but that is maybe once or twice a week. We don't know if it is because they are off breast milk, or if the solids are helping or what, but no more constant cleaning up. Thank God!
EATING - The girls are now eating baby food. The typical bananas, other fruits, sweet potatoes, peas, other greens, etc. The fav for them has to be carrots and bananas. They LOVE these two. They also take in cereal and still take a bottle...damn formula is expensive!!! We are trying homemade baby food, but only succeed every once in awhile. We bought the Baby Food book that gives you all sorts of ideas and stuff. But c'mon I barely have time to eat my own food let alone make something for the girls. So we are buying baby food jars.
DEVELOPMENT - Like I mentioned the girls are growing and growing. If any of you have seen their thighs, you know what I mean. Sid rolls over both ways, Addy is only can go from tummy to back. But she's getting there. Our PT said they are ahead of the curve for 6 month olds, and they are much more interactive these days...picking up toys they know, listening for sounds, making eye contact (or lack of it when they aren't in the mood), and just being babies.
COMMUNICATION - Addy's preferred method of communicating is screaming like a cat that is being attacked by a cougar. It's loud, annoying, and makes you wonder how people are all happy that they have children. They also make all those typical baby sounds, but who can hear that when your ear drums are shattered from Addy.
SLEEP - The girls basically sleeping through the night. They go down around 7 - 8 PM and are up at 6 AM. Addy likes to get up in the middle of the night still, but we don't know why. Sometimes it is 2 AM or 5 AM. So one of us gets up and tries to silence her...sometimes with love, sometimes in pure rage and anger. Whatever, I don't get it.
US - We are tired! Not like the up every 3 to 4 hours tired, but we are tired.
NANNY - Our new nanny is working out well. We wish she spoke English better, but I think I'm just going to ask her to speak Filipino to the girls. The girls are so happy to see her each morning, and they seem very attached to her.

Anyway...we are all doing well. Jami and I could both use a break. Maybe a vacation, maybe we can just ditch the girls in Iowa on a farm. Dunno.

Lastly...the girls keep on getting kicked out of church. At first we would take them into service with us, but they are so loud we had to give them up to the church nursery people. At first, we were like thank you Lord! Then our number kept on getting called. At this church they give you a number for each kid at check in. If your kid is a crazy lunatic they put your number on this big screen to come calm your kid down. So five out of the last six weeks our number has been called on the screen. It is usually and surprisingly Sid almost all the time. So we end up leaving early because the people at church can't control our psycho kids. It's been a long road so far, but at least we haven't killed one of them yet. More to come...

Six Month Update

2008-01-21T21:12:00.000-06:00

So for the new year John has a new job...at the University of Chicago Medical Center. It allows me to stop traveling and spend some more time with the family. Don't ask me what I'm doing cause it just ain't that exciting.

At the six month check up for the girls, Addy weighed 13 pounds 10 ounces and Sid was 13 pounds 6 ounces. I was hoping they would be closer to the 15 pound mark, but since they are 4 months adjusted (or corrected) I can't complain. Comparing their stats on the 4 month old growth chart, they are doing great. On the 6 month old growth chart, they are 15% on weight and height, but 50% on head circumference. The growth chart thing is way overrated. It's like my girls are at the NFL combine and all you care about are the numbers...Addy runs a 4.5 40, but can only bench press 225 pounds 15 times. Sid runs a 4.3 40, can bench press 225 pounds 20 times, but she looks sluggish in man-to-man coverage...

http://picasaweb.google.com/jchungum/AddyAndSid6MonthPics

Sorry check out the professional pictures we got of them.

What else? WE ARE TIRED! The girls seemed to have digressed on the sleeping thing. They were starting to sleep all the way through the night, but now they are up early in the morning between 2:30 to 4 AM. So if you anyone needs an early wakeup call, let me know...I'll be awake.

Boogers Versus Burps

2007-12-13T15:32:00.000-06:00

There are two things that give me great satisfaction when caring for the girls. One is getting a nice, juicy, booger from their nose. The other is getting a monster burp out of them. Now I'm not talking about a little weenie burp, but one of those giant ones. Like if you didn't see the little baby beast it came out of, you'd think it was a fat trucker dude that just downed a can of beer. These burps shake the ground you walk on.

So what is more satisfying? I'll let you decide!

My Case for Boogers
Boogers aren't a daily or even weekly occurrence, but when one of the girls has some cloggage in their nose. It is up to me to dig it out. Sometimes you need a little saline, sometimes you just need some real patience. You also need the right tools. Some of those bulb things are useless...I mean the tips of them are bigger than the girls nostril! Your pinky fingernail is also a great tool. Anyway, you really need to get the right suction, the right angle, and if still doesn't come out you need the right length of fingernail to finally dig it out. These girls' boogers are giant, slimey and long. No wonder they have trouble breathing! Sometimes I feel like it is a magic trick where you think the booger ends, but it just keeps coming out of their nose.

My Case for Monster Burps
The monster burp has already been described above. Just imagine patting a little 12 pound baby on the back and all of a sudden you are deafened by a sonic boom. Yeah they burp at every feeding, but when you got the real whopper...you just step back and say how the heck did she burp that loud? It is really amazing. It's even better when they don't barf all over you after the burp.

I need to find a job and stop writing on this blog...

Nanny Situation

2007-12-13T15:19:00.000-06:00

Here is Yolly our first nanny

So as some of you may know, we had to start looking for a new nanny in November because Yolly had to have surgery. We LOVE Yolly, and she is so good with the girls. She does so much...but we had to find someone else. So we started interviewing, and after talking to five other nannies, we settled on someone. Unfortunately, we settled on the wrong person. Talk about a difference in productivity. Yolly walks in the door washes her hands, starts filling the sink with water to clean the bottles, starts warming up the bottles, and changes/diapers the girls. Our other nanny, we'll call her Gee didn't do that much work in an hour. From the moment she walked through the door until she had both girls changed and diapered...it was a good 30 minutes. No joke...and that is it. She didn't think to start warming the milk or start the laundry or anything else. Plus she didn't take the girls on a walk once in two weeks! The girls LOVE their walks and sleep soundly, even when it is cold out.

We had Yolly come in on a weekend to babysit for three hours. She fed the girls, changed them, did their laundry, ran our dishwasher, put away the dishes, cleaned the floor, folded and cleaned up the blankets on our couch, did the girls dishes, and basically tidied up everywhere. All in three hours!

A Quick Comparison:

Yolly - Walks the girls daily
Gee - Never walked them

Yolly - Laughs
Gee - No laughs

Yolly - Happy
Gee - Not happy

Yolly - Gets the girls to sleep so they aren't crabby in the evening
Gee - Tried to do this, but the girls got so used to her holding them they won't sleep in their crib during the day anymore.

Yolly - Plays with the girls, talks to them
Gee - A dang mute!

Yolly - Thinks nurturing and caring is the most important thing
Gee - Thinks keeping them quiet and sleeping is the most important thing

Yolly - We trust her
Gee - Not so much

Anyway...we have Yolly back for a week. She's going to get some more tests done to see if she really needs the surgery. If not, we get her back for good. If she does need it, we get to look for someone else!

Timber!

2007-12-08T09:50:00.000-06:00

I'm learning how to finally use our camcorder. Here is a fun little clip.

Some Good Things...

2007-11-07T10:38:00.000-06:00

I know I was a bit of a whiney little baby the last post, so I'll share some of my private "good things" about the girls. I tend to focus on the funny, bad, angry moments. But there are many moments that make me love these little devil incarnates!

1) The Stretch - When the girls wake up, and we unwrap them from their swaddle...they stretch. I mean the arms automatically raise like the sun every morning. It is super cute because it is like I'm freeing them from shackles! In Korean it would be "Man Seh"...or lifting your arms up in honor.

2) Cheek to Cheek - Our girls have the fattest cheeks! So when I'm holding them, I love to go cheek to cheek with them! They hate it, especially when I don't shave. But I love it. It's like putting your face on the softest pillow.

3) Chubber Thighs - If you had a chance to see the girls in their first month of life, their legs were like little sticks. My buddy Woj said it the best and that they looked like Vienna Sausages. Well our girls now have the chubbiest thighs! I love them and it makes me feel like they are healthy!

4) Crazy Hair - I thought by now the girls would have lost that reddish blonde hair, but it is still there. Jami and I both love it and people who see the girls think it is so crazy.

5) The Stare - I guess Jami noticed this before me. But the girls tend to just stare at me. I guess it is my darker complexion and contrast of hair to skin. Jami will be holding one of the girls and she'll just stare at me for a few minutes, even when I'm tending to the other girl.

6) Sensitive Necks - Jami and I are both ticklish around the neck. So our girls are SUPER ticklish around the neck. Well that is if you can get to their neck around their big heads and fat rolls. Sometimes when I'm holding one of them and they fall asleep they move their head to one side. Almost like they are falling over, but it exposes their neck. So, I start tickling them in their sleep! They hate it SO much, but I can't stop.

These are some good things...one annoying thing. It is unbelievable how many people comment on the girls. There are SO many twins in this city it is crazy, but without fail we get many comments on the streets. I mean it is insane how much attention these two monkeys get. Jami and I like to just mind our own business, and I just despise talking to random people. But take a walk with this girls and just about everyone that passes by says something.

Error Correction!

2007-11-07T10:33:00.000-06:00

"Addy is 5 lbs 10 ounces and Sid is just 5 ounces behind her sister."

This statement in my last blog was just dang wrong. I guess I was trying to type as quickly as I could! It should read:

Addy is 10 lbs 11 ounces and Sid is just 6 ounces behind her sister.

Please let the masses know that I made a mistake!

Big Head Big Head...Our Little Giada De Laurentiis's

2007-11-06T22:34:00.000-06:00

Sid with her new hat and mittens

Addy in her new mittens

Let's get some quick updates out of the way...I'm on the bench right now or on the beach...whatever you call it. It basically means I'm not on a project, but I'm still collecting a paycheck. The good news is that I get to stay at home, the bad news is that it can't last forever and if it goes on too long I could lose my job. So, I'm back on the job search. I have an interview to transfer to an internal group with my company, so that is a good start. I'm going to see what else is out there.

We took the girls to their physical therapy appointment. They were weighed and went through a PT exam to see if they were developing appropriately. The good news is that they are doing great. They are strong and as the PT said...very sturdy and solid! Although the girls are almost 4 months old, they are more like 2 month old babies due to the early birth. So they are 50th percentile in weight, 25th percentile in height, and 75th percentile in head circumference! Our girls have huge noggins! The PT asked which side of the family it came from. If they have big brains they come from the Chung side. If they just have huge heads...well they must be Wendlings! Hahahaha...sorry...J/K. We joke that they are like Giada De Laurentiis...the chef...hostess of the Today Show...she's got a huge head. Anyway, we are so happy that they are developing. The girls are smiling more, lifting their heads, blah blah blah...they are also still puking!

Addy is 10 lbs 10 ounces and Sid is just 5 ounces behind her sister.

We got some bad news today. Our nanny is having surgery the last week of November, and can't work for at least 6 weeks. That means we have to find a new nanny. Our agency will be working with us, but we are sad to lose Yolly. Hopefully she can come back to us after her recovery, but it'll be tough to find a replacement just for the six weeks. What a pain! We really like her and she really likes the girls.

What else? Hmmm...not much other than that Jami and I are really getting worn out. It isn't really a lack of sleep, but two constantly screaming, puking, angry, evil little girls that are our daughters. People say they are so cute...well spend one day at the Chung house and you'll think otherwise. We are sleeping pretty well, but we just don't have time to re-energize. We did get to go eat for our anniversary, which was nice. But the girls are at the point where they are very vocal and need constant attention. I mean I wish I could just pull a Britney Spears and neglect my children...ahhh the life of a celeb! J/K.

So, everyone that meets the girls or us, asks how we do it. People who have twins stop us and talk to us. People who are just curious about the girls stop and talk to us. Almost everyone asks how we do it, if we have help, etc. I mean we both work and we have Yolly from 8 to 5, but EVERY other family with twins has help 24 hours a day. A live in nanny, or family super close by, or parents that move in for awhile. A lady on the El chatted with us for about 10 minutes and talked about how her daughter has twins and the help she gets. Our friend Neha's sister is living with their parents for a short time to get help. Everyone has some close knit set of people that they can rely on. Unfortunately it is basically Jami and I and Yolly. We really appreciate the friends that stop by and help for a few hours. We hope things get better and we don't give our kids away. Some lady on Michigan Ave stopped her car and said she would take one...I almost gave her Addy on the spot. Almost everyone that comments says..."Good Luck!" or "God Bless You" or something to the effect that our lives must suck and we need all the help we can get. The funniest thing was that I was getting bagels with the girls one morning and a homeless guy stopped me and asked if the girls were twins. I chatted with him, and before we parted...he patted me on the back, wished me luck, and said..."God help you!". This homeless man had pity on me!!!

Subscription to This Blog

2007-10-24T11:26:00.000-05:00

Some sites like Xanga have a subscription service that emails you on a recurring basis if a blog gets updated. My blog doesn't do this, but you can sign up for a free service that will notify you of any changes to this blog. I know it is a pain to check the site when I haven't been updating it very often. So, if you want an email that sends you my blog updates on a nightly basis, follow the instructions below. This will only send you something if there is new content.

Go to http://www.feedblitz.com/ and sign up for an account. They will only ask you for an email and a password.
Once you have signed up, a confirmation email will be sent to you. Click on the link in your email and sign in.
Go to the "My Account" menu option at the top, and choose Subscription Center.
Select "Create a new subscription".
In the "URL to Poll:" box, type in jchungum.blogspot.com
You DO NOT NEED to fill in the Login Name or Password since my blog is not password protected.
Click the Subscribe button.
On the "Choose Your Article Source", just choose the RSS version.
On the next screen, choose the frequency...the default is nightly.
You are done. You'll get any new updates in your email.

If you look at other people's blogs, you can sign up for these as well.

The Chung Scowl

2007-10-23T23:01:00.000-05:00

I've been getting a lot of heat for not writing more often. Sorry to all my throngs of fans! I vow to write at least once a week on how things are going. To get things out of the way...Yes we are tired. The girls are doing well. And they are still spitting up! Well Sid is more than Addy.

Some news...
1) The girls are on a new feeding schedule. They eat at 10 PM and don't wake up until 4 or 5 AM. This is a recent thing, but they seem to know when it is night and when to sleep.
2) This means that they are awake more during the day. So when Jami and I get home from work, it is a non-stop flurry of preventing the girls from crying and being just plain angry.
3) My mom and dad are coming this weekend to see the family, including my bro, his wife, and Jerry.
4) I still don't know what I'm going to do about my job.
5) Addy is getting super fat. Her chubber thighs barely fit into size 1 diapers. Sid is still in newborn diapers.
6) We just took the girls 3 month pictures. They were both good until we put them in their outfits. Addy wanted none of it...as you can tell by the picture above. Go to the picasaweb to see all the pictures that the studio took. Also, if you want a little picture, let us know. We have lots of wallets and the next size up. But first come first serve...J/K. We'll be lucky to get rid of them.

Addy inherited the Chung Scowl from me. You can see the lineage of the scowl from my grandfather when he was alive in Korea to my dad, to me, and now to my girls. My mom also has a nice scowl, so I get it from both parents. Jami thinks the girls are "mini-mes" or little versions of me...all scowly. Oh well...the Chung Scowl lives on!

Baptized!

2007-10-08T22:03:00.000-05:00

Squid Getting Baptized

Addy Getting Baptized

We took the girls to get baptized in Iowa at the church that Jami's mom grew up in and where Karen and Mort were married. Since Jami and I got married in the Methodist church, we wanted the girls baptized in the Catholic church. Check out the pictures on the picasaweb site.

Other than Sid crying the ENTIRE time, and Addy sleeping through the whole thing it was a really blessed event for me. We got the baptism candles, certificates, and these hand stitched cloths.

We also got to put the girls in their Christening outfits that Sid just absolutely hated!

We were also back from Jami's friend's wedding. More pictures at picasaweb.

Eureka!!!

2007-09-24T21:40:00.000-05:00

The girls sharing some screaming time!

So there are a couple of things that came on like a dang light bulb. Jami and I were both stressing pretty bad about all the throwing up. It isn't that we mind barf on our clothes, floor, and couch...but there just didn't seem to be a logical explanation. So one of the things we tried...which they always did in the NICU was raise the crib so the girls heads are elevated. This was not an easy task, but what better thing to use than the bumper pads that came with the crib sheets. So we propped the dang crib up, but the girls would roll and slide down to the bottom! Talk about stupid parents. So we used the Boppy (even though it says that it should not be used for sleeping) to keep them in a "nest". Check it out:

Holy friggin' light bulb Batman! This helped some, but the thing that helped even more was that Jami ran out of her pre-natal multi-vitamin. So while we were waiting for it to be refilled, we noticed that the girls spit up and vomited SIGNIFICANTLY less. So another day passed with out the vitamin and BINGO...no barfing/puking. So I've asked Jami to stop taking it. I can't believe that whatever is in this thing causes them to barf so much. Anyway, another friggin' light bulb! So the girls are puking, spitting up, SO MUCH less. It is such a burden off of us to at least isolate the problem. At some point, we were going to either go to formula or Jami was going to stop eating dairy products and spicy food.

The good news is that the girls are sleeping much better, they are keeping their food down, they are spitting up less, and we are happier.

Yollie our nanny started today. She's great with the girls and is already helping out around the house and making our lives easier.

What else? Jami is on her second week of work, and I'm officially back at work. So, on to finding out what my career has in store. I have a few options, but I'm waiting to see what my company is going to say with the merger and all. Sorry if we've been out of communications. Sometimes it is easier for us to just hole up and be home bodies and rest.

I'm All Barfed Out

2007-09-21T11:56:00.000-05:00

Girls Sleeping!

Let me get some updates out of the way before I start whining and complaining about the girls. First, there is nothing really wrong with Addy's hip. When whoever measured the angles on the ultrasound, the normal limit was 60 and higher for some angle in the hip socket. Addy's was in the high 50s. So I waited for two and a half hours for a doctor to tell me that there was nothing wrong, and that we probably should just have an x-ray in about 8 months. It was crazy! That was the second time I waited for like 2 hours for an appointment. One of these days I'm going to lose it. Second...the girls eyes are both developing well. They had their THIRD eye appointment to check their development...and the retinas are looking normal. We have to check their eyes in a year to make sure they aren't cross-eyed or have bad vision.

So...the spit-up, barfing, puking. Jami and I decided that a little spit up was just that. Barfing is vomiting ONCE. Puking is having a vomiting episode where waterfalls of vomit come flying out of the girls, this usually ends in a bout of hiccuping. We can't figure out what is causing it other than it is reflux (GERD). We don't know if it is something Jami eats, or if it is just immature development in their stomach/esophagus valve, or if they are just trying to piss me off. Whatever it is, it is very tiresome. There is some good info online at: http://infantrefluxdisease.com/infant-reflux-main.php and we've also thought about buying special pillows to keep the girls elevated when they sleep. These stupid pillows cost $90 each...(http://www.arpillow.com/)

So now what do we do? I just hope they out grow this phase. They don't always have puking episodes. Sometimes they just spit up or have one barf...but it is all getting very very old.

Sorry for not posting more. There really isn't much going on other than cleaning up vomit...

No Longer Porterhouse Steaks!!

2007-09-14T22:05:00.000-05:00

The girls hanging out!

So we took the little turds to the doctor on Thursday to get their two month immunizations. The nurse weighed them and surprisingly Addy was 6 pounds 10 ounces and Squid was 6 pounds 2 ounces! We thought with all the barfing these girls would be back to their original birth weight! But...they are growing and growing. They are catching up in height and weight to the normal children growth charts. However, their head circumferences are almost like a newborn already! They have big heads...or as the doctor nicely says they have big brains.

Jami's sister Jennifer is in town this weekend.

Jami starts working this coming Monday...pray for me since I'll have the girls all to myself on Monday!!!

Quick Update

2007-09-12T11:38:00.000-05:00

Here is a quick update for all of you...Jami and I are just dying from lack of sleep. It isn't that the girls don't sleep, but they only sleep a maximum of 3 hours at any one time. So we only sleep when they do and there are no breaks for either of us. Now I know what it means to be truly sleep deprived!!! I mean I used to work CRAZY hours, but I could always sleep for more than 3 hours at one time. I haven't slept more than three hours since Sid came home over two weeks ago. So I just take naps...all throughout the day. Jami's mom is here with us this week, and I don't think she knew what she was getting into! Poor Karen.

We took Addy for her hip ultrasound on Tuesday, and we found out that there was something that the doctors saw that could be of minor concern. (Sid's hips are completely fine, so no worries for her.) So now we have to take Addy to see a specialist next Tuesday. The worst case is that she'll be in some sling to help her hip, the best case is that there is nothing really wrong. Cross your fingers!

Disgusting Little Beasts

2007-09-09T21:37:00.000-05:00

Sid's Puke

If I could bottle baby puke, and people would buy it, I would seriously be a millionaire! It seems that our little precious beasts are constantly spitting up and creating more disgusting liquid than actually goes down their stomachs. I'm sick of their spitting, drooling, puking, crapping, peeing, and crusty face/hair/nose/ear/____.

So I'm just whining because I'm tired and sick of cleaning up after the constant excretion of bodily fluid. If these turds weren't our little girls, it would be the most disgusting thing in the world. I'm surprised that guy from TLC Mike Rowe doesn't make this one of the Dirty Jobs episodes.

I used to call the girls Disgusting Little Beasts at the hospital...and I think the other parents around thought I was crazy. I'm not...these little monkeys are so gross that they would fling poop at me if they could.

I'm off to try and get some sleep!!!

Nurse Amber Comes to Visit

2007-09-08T18:37:00.000-05:00

Amber with Addy

Good fortune comes in many ways, and sometimes good things happen when you least expect them to. One of those things for us was to meet Amber and for her to be the primary nurse for the girls. She visited us today, had lunch, and we got a chance to hang out outside of the hospital.

Amber has some Martha Stewart in her and she made us the coolest book for the girls. It's a little album or book with pictures. I can't really describe it, but here are a few shots of it below. We couldn't have asked for a better nurse who genuinely cared for the well being and health of our children. We also couldn't have asked for a better person to just hang out with at the NICU. Even when I was super pissed about not finding street parking, Amber always tried to cheer me up.

Thanks Amber for everything! You are a blessing to us and our kids!

Sad Day...Michigan SUCKS!

2007-09-08T18:23:00.000-05:00

So I'm going to call Lloyd Carr and ask for three hours of my life back. I mean I set aside those hours today so that I could watch the game. There are many OTHER things that I could have done today instead of watching Michigan football. The team bent over and took one up the ass and it really pisses me off that I watched the game instead of doing any of the following, which are MUCH more fun:

Wash bottles, nipples, caps, and pumping equipment.
Sanitize above equipment.
Watch Jami pump milk.
Watch my kids sleep.
Add up the hospital bills.
Measure out milk for the next three feedings.
Pick the dried skin off my feet.
Find all the poop and puke stains on all the clothes and apply Stain Stick.
Review my new company info.
Vacuum, clean, and find the leak in my shower door.
Take a friggin' nap!!!

So now I'm just angry. I'm almost as pissed off as Sid was today. She went through quite a little hissy fit after Nurse Amber left today. Check out the series of pictures on today's album: http://picasaweb.google.com/jchungum/AddySid09_08_07

I'm sure many of you either don't care about Michigan football or are sick of hearing about Michigan football. So stop here if you don't want to hear my analysis.

Michigan is too slow to change. The college game evolves every few years, and it still feels that Michigan's game is in the mid to late 90s. The playbook is essentially the same as when I was in school then. There are the basic plays, and if anyone watches the team there aren't very many new wrinkles. I'm not saying Michigan has to go to a spread formation or something crazy. But how about being inventive for once?
We need some F-ing defensive backs! Since Charles Woodson left, there hasn't been a shut down corner. Marlin Jackson was good, and so was Leon Hall but the rest of the secondary since Tripp Welborne in '89 - '90 has been pretty bad. Okay I'm generalizing, but doesn't it seem that Michigan always is short on the secondary?
Speed! How come Michigan doesn't have atheletes that can run like the wind?!? I don't think Michigan ever is the fastest team on the field. Recruiting is always decent. Maybe we need to look in the South? Oregon even looked faster than the Blue.
Can somebody tell Michigan how to play against a mobile quarterback? Watching Donovan McNabb eat up Michigan at home was the beginning of it in 1998. For those of you playing against Michigan, find your fastest dude and put him at QB. Doesn't matter if he can't throw.
Get rid of slow ass, immobile QBs. Henne sucks...and he is not a winner. How many more bad sacks, bad decisions, and bad interceptions will he throw before they realize that his arm strength doesn't overcome all the bad?!? That tatoo on his arm sucks too. Mike Hart is a winner and a stud. If the entire team played like him, Michigan wouldn't be in the same spot they are in today.
Every game, play, and second should be full of pride playing for the Michigan Wolverines. These last two games show that many players don't have the pride.
Clean out the entire coaching staff. C'mon two weeks of this? Bo is turning in his grave.

I was looking forward to a good season, not great. I sacrifice watching the NFL to watch NCAA and Michigan football on Saturdays. Now I might as well watch dart throwing, curling, or women's figure skating. I try to keep my expectations low, and for pete sake it is just a game, but 0-2 at home to start the season?!?

I'm going to barf.

Day Two...I'm Friggin' Tired

2007-09-06T23:19:00.000-05:00

MTV Cribs with Addy & Sid

Okay well maybe not MTV Cribs, but here are the girls hangin' in the single crib that we have. Our second bedroom is pretty small, and there really isn't a place for another crib unless we get rid of the computer desk. SO...what to do? We'll keep them in the same crib for as long as we can, but both girls have the ability to wriggle, move, and "Houdini" their arms out of the sleep sacks. Eventually they'll be on top of each other which will be very unsafe. Actually once they are out of the sleep sacks and can really move around we'll have to get rid of ALL loose objects in the crib. I mean these girls can squirm and move, but they can't really roll over or anything. However, that shouldn't be too much longer.

Anyway, both the girls should be in magic acts, because they can get out of the straight jackets that we put them in. It's crazy...cause I velcro them down (or swaddle them using the Amber style of swaddling) and they always get an arm out. I feel bad making the swaddle so tight, but that is the only way to keep their arms in. They are mini-Houdinis!!! With their arms out they hit themselves and can wake themselves up.

Jami and I are both tired. The girls feed, then we hold them upright for 15-30 minutes, then they sleep for 2-3 hours...which isn't bad at all. It's just that we are on a constant 3 to 4 hour cycle. I'm sure all parents go through it, but Jami and I never get a break. We are both up every feeding. Fun times.

We are surviving, and we had visitors today. Check the pictures out on Picasa...

Both girls are barfing a bit less, or maybe Jami and I are handling them better. Either way, we are increasing their milk as needed and hopefully they continue growing. Addy had her first outpatient appointment and she is 5 lbs 15 ounces!

I'll try to blog more, but I also need to figure out what my
job situation is. Maybe I can start a "Father of Twins" donation fund?!?

The girls are crying now...gotta run.

Addy's Home!!!

2007-09-04T18:01:00.000-05:00

John with BOTH Girls!

So we got the call from Nurse Amber that Addy was ready to come home this morning. We went and got her, and our first feeding with both girls was quite an experience. Luckily, the second feeding went quite well.

I put the girls right next to each other on the changing table, and they definitely have some similar characteristics. However, Addy has more pink to her than Sid. And her face is definitely fatter! Sid still has that white mole thing near her left eyebrow.

So now they are both home. No more trips to the NICU, no more searching for parking, no more worrying about when they will be home. Now they are here and they are here to stay. I wish there was a 30 day return policy...

Thanks to all for their thoughts and prayers...we will need lots more help now that they are at home!

Grandparents!

2007-09-03T12:34:00.001-05:00

John's Parents with Sid

Sid with Jami's Dad

Jami's Mom with Addy

So all the grandparents came to see the girls this weekend. My dad finally got back from China and Korea this past Wednesday. And, he was super jet lagged. This is the first time either of my parents have seen the girls in person. They have both been in Asia due to my dad's work.

Jami's parents decided at short notice to visit us this weekend. We always have a good time chatting, joking, and making fun of Karen!!! I tried to put up a "good" picture of Karen since she doesn't like pictures.

If any of you are wondering, I look like my mom and my dad. There are some very strong characteristics in the Chung family that come across from my dad's side...including the nose, the ears, the lips/mouth, and the high cheek bones. But I also have my mom's cheeks, skin color, and eyes. You'll see our girls with the Chung family characteristics right now. The nose, the ears, lips, and cheeks...they come from my side of the family. Jami actually resembles her dad more than her mom, with the rounder face and cheeks of the Wendlings. Unfortunately, Addy & Squid don't have much of her mom in their faces except the eyes. They have the "double eye lid"...which definitely comes from the white part of our family. Hopefully the girls look more like mom down the road.

BTW...the scowl comes from the Chung side of the family...no doubt about that.

P.S. More pics on the website at http://picasaweb.google.com/jchungum Including some pics of the wedding Jami and I went to. Mort and Karen babysat for us.

Car Seat Test for Addy...Is She Coming Home?!?

2007-09-02T10:50:00.000-05:00

Sid & Addy Hanging

That is Sid on the left and Addy on the right. Addy was in the car seat for one of the "final" checks before she can be discharged. Amber thinks that it might be Tuesday, but you can never really tell. As long as she doesn't do something very silly, there is a good chance for it. We aren't using the B word any more. Check out what the B word is: (http://jchungum.blogspot.com/2007/08/addy-flunked-open-crib-101.html)

Cross your fingers, pray, mediate, whatever for us. We are utterly and totally sick of going to the hospital to see Addy. We did a quick back-of-the-envelope calculation on the cost of parking/transportation daily to the hospital.

CTA 2 Roundtrips = $7.00
Valet Parking = $16.00
Deck Parking = $9.00
Street Parking = $0 to $3.00
-----------------------------
Approx Daily Avg = $6.50
Days since born = 50 Days
-----------------------------
Approx Transportation/Parking Cost = $325

Come home Addy!

Some Crap I've Been Meaning To Blog About

2007-09-01T06:10:00.000-05:00

The Future - I can't imagine continuing my blogging streak. I will probably continue to post photos and crap, but I have little "mind time" these days with just Sid here. It's 6 AM and do you know where your sleep went?!? Sorry...it is 6 AM and I'm debating if I should fall asleep or stay awake and try to be a productive citizen. I have lots to do today including taking care of Squid, going to Home Depot, going to Walgreens, paying bills, working on my resume, entertaining two sets of grandparents, going to a wedding, going to see Addy, and cleaning up puke. With Addy at home, I'll have little time at all...and no time to blog. So I'll get some of my "blog thoughts" out of the way while I'm sitting here struggling to type and spell correctly.

My Life Sucks - I realized yesterday that I was really pissed off about having these two children in my life. Not that I hate them, but they really cramp my lifestyle. I just wanted to get a haircut yesterday, and from the time I left at 1:30 and the time I got home at 4:00, I realized that I could have done a lot of other stuff. But the first thing I have to do is make sure Squid is fed while Jami pumps milk for her and Addy. Then Jami or I have to hold her upright for 20-30 minutes or she'll puke all over the damn place. Then we have to clean, then we have to prep for the next session, then we have to rest, then we have to live life in the next 2 hour interval before taking care of Sid again. AND...Addy isn't even home yet. I came to the realization that life will suck for a long time. Yes yes...those chubby cheeks and the cuddle time are great, but they don't pay the bills. And John needs to find some local Chicago work. So I was just really ANGRY yesterday, and it took FOREVER to get from Western/Clybourn to State/Roosevelt. So I'm bitchin' and moanin'...and I realize how hard my parents must have worked. And how hard Jami's parents must have worked with four kids! I also realize I'm not half the man either my dad or Jami's dad is. I'm just a punk kid who needs to man up and have a little faith and do this thing we call life. I got a long ways to go.

Nicknames - I used to give all sorts of nicknames to people, and I think Squid works so well for Sidney. I mean Squidney, Squidders, Squidsquatch...they are all good to use. She is so squirmy and so strong for a 5 pound preemie...so Squid it is. What about Addy?!? Anyone have any ideas? I really like Faddy Addy, but Jami is worried she'll have an eating disorder by the time she's 4 years old. Add, or Dee, or Deeson...who named this stupid kid without thinking of a good nickname to use?!? Even when they were born, Sid was the Runt. But Addy was just Addy. I'm open for any suggestions.

PG-13 VS JC Unfiltered - So I've learned how to filter my thoughts and actions depending on the audience. I don't know if this is an Asian thing or what, but I learned to act one way with one of my worlds and another way in a different world. We have all these different circles of friends or worlds that don't always intersect. So growing up I had church, school, korean school, magnet school, korean friends, non-korean friends...blah blah blah. You sorta tailored how you act with each circle, like you have a different face for different environments. Like you don't treat your non-korean friend's parents like you can treat your korean friend's parents. Anyway, my work demeanor is so different than my at home demeanor. But as life goes on, I care less and less and it seems I'm more consistent now. So what's my point? I've tried to make this blog as close to what I'm like as possible, however I'm obviously missing some of either side of the spectrum. Lots of intersections of people see this post, and some are wondering why I'm so screwed up and others are wondering why I'm not saying more screwed up stuff! So I keep this thing PG-13...JC Unfiltered isn't a pretty site, but the evil does come out at home. Jami sees all sides and she knows that sometimes JC Unfiltered is there but she knows that it isn't the only thing there. (Side Note: Many of my white friends don't understand the different faces thing, but my buddy Bill does. I don't know if he remembers this, but I was debating on having Dave come to my annual golf trip years ago. I didn't want to show him JC Unfiltered and drunk. Well Bill understood my hesitation, while others didn't. Thanks Bill.)

Career Change - I'm thinking of changing careers but don't know what to do. I was thinking about trying to write a sitcom. Some people think I have a sense of humor, while others think I'm just a plain ignoramus. Well I think going from Healthcare IT Consultant to TV show writer and comedian might be a big leap...but isn't that what people do to make it big?!? I always thought I should have been on Real World Seattle, but I was afraid of embarassing my family. Okay...whatever, right? But don't be suprised if I write one season out and try to get a pilot for it. Who'll be laughing then?!? I think it'll have to be on HBO or Showtime cause I don't want some vanilla made for all audiences show. I want something raw...true...real...maybe JC Unfiltered?!?

I Hate People Example #1 - I plan on making a blog series out of this alone. Here is the first example. I know, I know...Act Justly, Love Mercy, Walk Humbly...but sometimes I'm just evil. So forgive me, okay?

Jami and I get on the #3 bus going South down Michigan Ave. All is well until we get near Congress and this person gets on the bus. This person's fare card doesn't have the appropriate amount on it. So the bus driver tells the person to get off or use cash or whatever. The person tells the driver that they have the fare and they need to go through their bag to find it. Problem is that person just got their nails done AND person is on the dang phone AND person has a Starbucks drink in their hand! So the driver allows person on the bus for awhile. Person is trying to deal with phone, drink, and drying nails while rummaging through a bag. They get to their card and cash holder and they are seriously trying to find another CTA card with wet nails. At first I was like, why is that person acting retarded?!? But Jami explained that people with wet nails hold things like that and don't want to screw up their nails. At the next stop the driver stops the bus and waits for this dumb ass to get the fare. Meanwhile, this person has drink, phone, and now bag contents all over the bus seats. AND, is still on the phone! The bus driver is waiting for person to pay, and all of us on the bus are amazed at how this person thinks the world revolves around them. I almost got up and paid for person because I was sick of waiting for the bus to move because of this person. Greatest part is that the person was a guy! It was killing me! I can't stand people who have no courtesy for others, who think of only themselves, and can't think for themselves. I know I need to show mercy and grace, but c'mon!!! Chicago is full of inconsiderate, self-centered, arrogant morons. But I guess that is where I shouldn't be like that...and I should try to not kill random people on the CTA.

A Couple of Things...

2007-08-30T22:08:00.000-05:00

She Likes the Noise?!? - Sid is settling in after the first two days of being at home. Other than the fact that she doesn't sleep as long during the night as during the day, all is well...okay sorta. We'll get to that part later. Because of her time in the NICU, she is used to constant noise and commotion. So she sleeps better during the day because we are around and about, on the phone, running errands, whatever. She actually likes the ambient noise!

Barfing Ninja - We can thank Nurse Amber for that nickname. Sid will just barf, puke, vomit, hurl, blow chunks, etc...whenever. It's like a game for us...we think we know the signs and we get the burp cloth or napkin ready. Then nothing...then we pull the napkin away...then BLAH! Addy does the same thing. Sometimes they puke a lot, sometimes they don't. You never know when they will STRIKE! Just get another napkin and outfit ready to change her. Sid puked up all her vitamins today. I had fun with that one...in disgust I just gave Sid to Jami and walked away. I love my kids!

Walker and Texas Ranger - Okay, so this really nice couple took over Sid's spot in the NICU (really the Step Down Unit). The little boy's sign says Walker. So of course the first thing that Jami and I start laughing about is the movie with Ricky Bobby (Will Ferrell)...um...Talledega Nights. Ricky Bobby's kids are Walker and Texas Ranger. Chuck Norris rocks! Well we can't stop laughing every time they call this cute little baby's name cause we immediately want to say "Texas Ranger" right after it. So we are retarded...sorry! Anyway, I wonder what people think when they hear Addison and Sidney? Sidney Bristow from Alias? Addison from Grey's Anatomy? Sydney, Australia? The Addison Exit off the Kennedy?

Guess Who Came Home Today?!?

2007-08-28T21:47:00.000-05:00

Sid getting ready to go!

So here is Sid the Squid ready to go home in her car seat. She is at home safe and sound now, and she's already been fed once. So the next question is when will Addy come home? We are hoping this weekend. Sid isn't even at five pounds yet, but she is only 3 ounces away.

Addy is at 5 pounds 3 ounces. We are excited, exhausted, and hoping that we can get a decent night's rest.

Ass Sore!

2007-08-27T22:16:00.000-05:00

POOR SID!

Well one of the reasons that our little runt Sid has been so cranky is that she has diaper rash. Here is a potentially embarassing photo for her 16th birthday, first date, wedding, whatever. Sid's getting a little air blown on her butt to cool off the red spots. I have more embarassing photos, but we'll keep our picasa site PG-13. So I'll keep the more embarassing ones for when she's ticking me off 17 years down the road.

Sid didn't make it home today...we are hoping for Wednesday now. Addy is at least a week out now since she Brady'd multiple times today.

Crazy Church and Facebook

2007-08-26T23:14:00.000-05:00

So Jami and I have been attending Willow Creek Chicago. It is really convenient for us since it is about six blocks away from us. It also fits our multi-cultural family and is a happy medium for our different religious backgrounds.

So today's message was from Randy Frazee who is a teaching pastor at the South Barrington campus. If you don't know about Willow Creek, it is HUGE. Anyway, he was talking about Neighborhood Life and what it means to live in our city, suburb, wherever. He made some very interesting points about something he called "crowded loneliness". Our country has become too busy with our own lives and we have invested less in relationships with people. Our church in Denver also did a series of messages on this and it had to do with a book Bowling Alone (In a nutshell, the author argues that civil society was breaking down as Americans became more disconnected from their families, neighbors, communities, and the republic itself. The organizations that gave life to democracy were fraying. Bowling became his driving metaphor. Years ago, he wrote, thousands of people belonged to bowling leagues. Today, however, they're more likely to bowl alone. - From Amazon.com)

Sorry...so we are richer, fatter, and smarter than ever before but we are more lonely. Randy said that there is research that shows people who are alone or lonely die earlier and are more vulnerable to disease. Crazy, eh? So I'm sitting there at church and thinking about using Facebook.com lately. Joe and Helen got me on to it, and Jami and I are finding friends and old acquaintences using it. It made me realize that I haven't really invested in relationships like I used to. My job, my family, and other things have pushed other people outside of my selfish little world. Facebook allows me to "cheat" and pretend I'm having real relationships with people because I message them or write on their wall. I mean, don't get me wrong, I think it is cool. But I also think it is sort of a cop out. I mean isn't it easier to email someone or ping them versus talking to them? That takes time. Who knows if someone needs to really talk or really meet or heaven forbid I have to not play my PSP for one night so that I can have a conversation with someone. Even blogging seems like an easy way to let people know what is going on. What if I need support or a prayer or a friend? I close myself off to people too.

So what is my point? I don't know...I think I realize that my life has become so fast paced that I sometimes forget that it isn't just about me and Jami and Addy and Sid. And that yelling at someone in my car because they suck at driving isn't all that good of a thing. Dunno...I don't usually get this deep.

Mike Breaux is another teaching pastor at Willow, and he had these bracelets made out that quote some scripture from Micah...Act Justly Love Mercy Walk Humbly. I want that to be my motto...but let's take things one step at a time.

I'm hoping my children don't overtake my world, but that I leave some space for others...we'll see. I hope I'm not someone who ignores my neighbors and my community because I'm too busy living my own life. Off to sleep to forget about all this deep thinking...I'm going to dream about winning the lottery and playing golf.

I Just Gained 10 Pounds...

2007-08-26T23:03:00.000-05:00

Well in new babies...well almost. Addy is over the five pound mark and Sid is slowly creeping up to it. Sid is the one that is doing "better" since she isn't having Bradys or desat-ing. We just got word tonight that an order was put in to have Sid do the car seat test. Tomorrow morning we will call and see if she gets discharged. Unfortunately Addy had a Brady and so the countdown starts all over again. So the earliest she can come home is Friday or Saturday.

The funniest thing about these girls puking all over the place is that they don't seem to mind. I mean they puke and it isn't like when I puke and my whole body goes into shock and I can't control my eye balls from popping out of my head. They are just fine and normal and then all of a sudden...BLAH! It all comes out like a dang fountain...two seconds later they are completely fine. Addy had a Buckingham fountain puke on Saturday. It came out her mouth and shot out both of her nostrils...all down my leg and onto my feet. It was quite impressive!!! Tonight Sid was acting like she didn't like the puking or the hiccups that followed right after that.

Anyway, we'll see what they say tomorrow. Then life will be over as we know it. I played my last golf round of the year today...how sad. :(

As Frank Would Say...HOLY CRAP

2007-08-24T08:50:00.000-05:00

(For those of you who never watch "Everybody Loves Raymond", Frank is Ray's dad.)

So the nurses and docs think that Sid will be released at the earliest on Monday. But Addy will not be until Wednesday at the earliest. Anything could happen, but if NOTHING BAD happens...Sid will be home with us on Monday!

I'm a little freaked out about the whole thing. And it all depends on the Bradys and de-sats. Sid had a de-sat during a feeding, which isn't supposed to count. But the docs may make a decision based on that.

We are going to take our car seats in today so that they have them ready for a test. The girls have to sit in the car seat for like an hour for some test. Anyway...that is the next step for them to come home.

Spit Up Hua-Hua-Hua-Huaaaaaaa!!!

2007-08-23T22:36:00.000-05:00

Sid with Jami Spitting Up

Our biggest deal with the little ones is that they are spitting up a lot and puking up their milk. There really is no explanation for this other than that is what newborns do a lot. We tried limiting their flow of milk by using a different nipple, we try to keep them upright after feedings, we try to burp them. Whatever, they just keep on puking up. Makes me want to puke. Reminds me of Chunk from The Goonies:

[the Fratellis are interrogating Chunk]

Francis Fratelli: Tell us everything! Everything!

Chunk: Everything. OK! I'll talk! In third grade, I cheated on my history exam. In fourth grade, I stole my uncle Max's toupee and I glued it on my face when I was Moses in my Hebrew School play. In fifth grade, I knocked my sister Edie down the stairs and I blamed it on the dog... When my mom sent me to the summer camp for fat kids and then they served lunch I got nuts and I pigged out and they kicked me out... But the worst thing I ever done - I mixed a pot of fake puke at home and then I went to this movie theater, hid the puke in my jacket, climbed up to the balcony and then, t-t-then, I made a noise like this: hua-hua-hua-huaaaaaaa - and then I dumped it over the side, all over the people in the audience. And then, this was horrible, all the people started getting sick and throwing up all over each other. I never felt so bad in my entire life.

Jake Fratelli: I'm beginning to like this kid, Ma!

Mama Fratelli: [tired of Chunk's stalling] Hit puree!

So My Kids Are Funny Looking...Blame John

2007-08-23T08:20:00.001-05:00

There are generally three reactions when people see our little ones. #1 - "Awww they are cute" #2 - "Whoa! They look like their father!" #3 - "What color is their hair and eyes?"

So let me address the first reaction. I've always thought I'd be very objective when it comes to how cute or ugly my children would be. I mean who really cares as long as Jami and I love these children and raise them right. I don't want them to think that looks are that important anyway, and I definitely don't want to raise these girls thinking they are some beauty queens. My first reaction to these 32 week preemies were that they looked like Yoda from Star Wars OR they looked like grumpy 80 year old men. You pick. Now they are starting to fill out and they may have some cute features. But I'm skeptical of anyone saying my babies are SO cute. I think people are trying to be nice because there isn't anything else to say. How many times have YOU seen a baby that looks like it was born from a meat grinder and you are like, "Uh...cute...?" And what else do you say about a baby? "She's so precious"??? That equals your kid looks like a dog's crap in an alley on a steamy hot day in Chicago.

I try to be unbiased. Addy has some cute pictures, but Sid still looks like Yoda. Sid's baby personality makes her more "lively"...to be nice. We'll see in a few months and a few years. I hear they change so much. I love my children, but not blindly. I can't blindly say our children are SUPER cute, because of the second thing people usually say about them. See below.

(A Quick Aside - Babies naturally have this innocent, cute look to them. Almost all the babies in the NICU have cute tendencies. Baby M has this really cute blonde look to her. Baby I is just dang cute, with all her dark features, and then there are a bunch of other babies I try not to look at because we aren't supposed to. There is the donkey baby that cries like a dang donkey...NOT CUTE.)

The second reaction is what makes me so skeptical about the first reaction. Me and Cute don't go together. Many people ask why Jami married me because "I’m not what you would call an attractive man. I’m not smart or athletic…" (from the Waterboy). My theory is that she drank so much during college and her early 20s that she still has beer goggles on. Let's hope they don't wear off in the next 50 years. So how can you say my babies are cute and other people say they look like me?!? Anything looking like me can't be good. These girls definitely have Chung blood in them though. So I have to give up the gig of saying they aren't mine and trying to give them away.

The third reaction is pretty typical too. Jami and I expected these little turds to have turd colored hair...okay brown hair and brown eyes. And I know that babies that are born blonde sometimes go darker and that eye color changes. But I'm used to dark haired babies with dark haired eyes that don't change colors over 6 months. And most half breeds are brown hair and brown eyes. Nobody ever told me that if you pulled the turkey out of the oven an hour early it looks green until you finish cooking it....then it is brown.

So I'm mesmerized by the strawberry blonde hair, especially when the hair is clean and without puke and spit up. Check out the photo here:

I mean c'mon did anyone expect that color hair? Even the eyes are sorta grey, green, blue, brown, and even a bit yellow around their pupils. If you've ever stared at Jami's eyes...just outside her pupils is yellow. Then the rest is blue. Chances are that Addy & Sid will be a light brunette with brown eyes. But for now, it is a trip to see them with those dark grey eyes and reddish blonde hair.

FYI...Sid is 4 lbs 8 ounces and Addy is 4 lbs 13 ounces. Both girls can eat as much milk as they want now. Before they were limited, but now it is a milk buffett!

Proof!

2007-08-21T22:08:00.000-05:00

Sid with no tube!

Addy no tube!

I'm hoping my blog also gets to my facebook page. I tried to link them up, but facebook is sorta messing it up. We'll see how it all goes. If you don't know what facebook is, don't worry about it.

So Jami and I stopped in to the hospital today and saw the girls. What a friggin' ruckus Sid was making! You'd think that with her feeding tube out, she would be a happy little camper. She screamed and screamed and screamed. Little turkey!

Sid is 4 lbs 8 oz and Addy is 4 lbs 13 oz. They are growing so much. Nurse Amber showed us a picture of some twins that she used to take care of about 5 months ago. The babies were Addy's weight when they came out...now they are like 15 pounds!

Jami and I were looking through all the pictures so that we can get some printed out. We still can't believe how tiny they were, especially our little runt Sid. Her ribs were sticking out all over the dang place. And both had tubes and needles and crap all over them. Now they are just attached to some monitoring devices.

Feeding Tubes

2007-08-21T10:28:00.000-05:00

We just got word that the feeding tubes have been taken out of both Sidney and Addison. Addison actually had hers taken out on Monday, and we were a bit confused because Sid should have also had hers taken out. The good news is that we got a call this morning that Sid got hers out now.

So what does this mean?!? It means...that there is only one more step left before they can come home. Remember the steps?

1) Breathe on their own - CHECK
2) Maintain their own body temperature - CHECK (keep your fingers crossed)
3) Bottle or breast feed at every feeding - CHECK
4) No more "Bradys" for five straight days - THE COUNT DOWN BEGINS

Of course there are some other things that they have to pass, like a car seat test. And I'm sure there are a few other wrinkles that need to be ironed out. But, the big steps are almost done.

Now our little turkeys just have to stop dropping their heart rates!

Some Random Thoughts

2007-08-19T23:58:00.000-05:00

Addy licking Jami's hand

Sid throwing a fit

There is no real weight change in these two little buggers...Addy is at 4 lbs 12 oz and Sid is at 4 lbs 6.5 oz and they are slowly gaining weight. The good news is that Sid took from the bottle at every feeding yesterday. If she does it for 24 hours (8 feedings) then the feeding tube comes out. Same goes for Addy...she I think did 6 feedings in a row with the bottle. Jami and I are hoping that when we come in on Monday they are both without feeding tubes.

I mean how would you feel if there was a tube in your nose 24/7? This tube goes in your nose, gets taped to your face, and then down all the way into your stomach. Ugh. It would make me barf...

Speaking of barfing...it is the new little fun trick that Addy & Sid like to do. Since they are taking the bottle so often, they are starting to puke up a lot more. Addy decided to projectile puke on my hand and on her blanket...while Sid decided to spit up about 10 times.

So I started to do some facebook.com stuff, and I realize that there are people that were in my life that I no longer have any contact with anymore. It is crazy. But that is me...I have a close circle of friends and then there are those that move in and out of my life.

Burpy Time

2007-08-19T08:51:00.000-05:00

Sid Before

Sid After

Addy & Sid are now 4 lbs 11 ounces and 4 lbs 6 ounces, respectively. We need to fatten up these little princesses! Jami and I were looking through the very first set of pictures that I took when they were born, and the girls have gained so much weight. I mean Sid was literally a skeleton covered with skin when she came out.

I think they should make baby formula that tastes like Reese's Puffs cereal. I mean this stuff is SO GOOD. I don't know...it's a perfect balance of cereal, peanut butter, some choco puffs, and milk. Yum.

I digress...the Sid After picture isn't showing Jami choking our little Runt (I'm sure we'll want to down the road!). When you burp these little turds, you hold them by the neck, sit them on your lap, and whack them on their backs. You can do the traditional over the shoulder thing, but our preemie kids are so small there is no need to. Anyway...they NEVER cry when you burp them. It is the friggin' strangest thing. I mean, I hit them pretty hard and Jami thinks I'm over doing it. BUT...they never once have cried. The best thing is that they just sit there and have this totally confused look on their face, and you just whack them on their back until they burp. Now, I don't hit them hard on purpose, but the nurses give me a benchmark on how hard. And they really whack these little babies.

So check out Sid's faces when she is getting burped on the Picasa Photo site.

FYI...the funky hat on Sid's head makes me crack up.

Find the Root Cause!

2007-08-16T20:47:00.000-05:00

Here is Addy in a crib in front of her cage. After her failure in Open Crib 101 she is back for a retry. I would show you Sid the Squid's crib, but the picture that I took has Jami with this weird look. She would kill me if I published it. But Sid is also in the same boat. So why the change? Well both were doing well in the cages. And now it is time for another try.

If you read one of my other posts, you know that I was complaining about nurses that don't go the extra mile. Well Nurse Amber thought that the drafty area was causing the girls temp to be low in the open crib. So she called the Engineering guys to come take a look and they fixed the problem. This is probably the ROOT CAUSE of the problem!

Why didn't anyone else think to do this? I don't know...in the consulting world you find the root cause...do a root cause analysis or whatever. And you make a long term fix, not just a short term one. Ugh.

So Sid is 4 lbs 4 ounces...and Addy is 4 lbs 8 ounces...she lost an ounce.

Fire in the Hole!!!

2007-08-16T08:39:00.001-05:00

It seems that Sid and Addy have different personalities, and some of the nurses say they can tell already as well. Who really knows at this point of their lives, but we all know one thing for sure...these little babies can be VERY angry. We'll talk about Sidney in this little episode called Fire in the Hole.

You've all heard of little babies pooping and peeing when they are changed, but Sid seems to have a special knack for it.

Example #1: She has pooped at least three times when I have changed her diaper. So now I sorta pretend I'm changing her. I lift up her legs, pretend I'm taking off the diaper, then sorta just hold her there for awhile. This has seemed to alleviate the situation for now, but I know this little girl has pooped on others while changing the diaper...see below.

Example #2: She has launched poop before. Jami and I just walked in to the nursery and a nurse was like, "Whoa...you are the Chung parents? Your daughter just pooped all over the isolette!" I think this nurse was impressed that our angry little daughter could projectile poop. When Sid was in the cage, a different nurse was changing her...and she all of sudden sprayed/shot/projectiled poop all over the inside of her cage. The nurse that was changing her described it as a fountain of poop. Nice, eh?

Example #3: Sid went from a cage to a crib and then back to a cage. When Jami and nurse Emma were taking her temp, it was very low. So they decided on the cage again on Wednesday. The nurse wanted to be sure and wanted to take a rectal temp. I knew this was going to be bad. So the nurse lubes up this probe and sticks it in Sid's butt. The first thing she did was go freakin' berserk...then she decided to push out the probe along with any poop that was in her body! So out comes the probe, and out comes a gush of poop that gets all over the place...on her foot, clothes, blankets, the nurse, bed, etc. Our Sid is like a feces throwing monkey.

Example #4: Sid sorta freaked me out last night. You know that blood pressure thing that people put on your arm? It fills up, then it releases and the nurse or machine records your blood pressure. Well there is a baby version of this that goes on their legs. And guess what...our daughters freakin' throw a fit every time. They like that as much as the temp probe in their arm pit. Both make them cry, and want to kill all living beings in a 50 yard radius. So the nurse does the blood pressure thing and Sid is pissed off. Then the nurse says...why don't you take her temp? I'm thinking let's let the little beast cool off first. But she doesn't calm down so I just start putting this probe in her armpit. I haven't heard such a little baby make such a crazy noise in my life. It took me two tries and for some reason the nurse took her diaper off. Then Sid poops of course...but I was waiting for it, and I sorta caught it all in one place. But Sid wouldn't calm down. So Jami says, "Pick her up". I was like..."Are you sure?". The nurse is like if she poops again, at least you have a gown on. So I pick the screaming feces throwing beast up and of course poop!!!

I'll share more poop stories down the road...

Sid Mimics Big Sis and Fails "Open Crib 101"

2007-08-15T17:19:00.000-05:00

We went in a bit early today and checked on the girls. Jami took Sid's temp and it was 97.0. Sid had two blankets, a hat, and a full body suit on. So back to the isolette for our other little turd. More failure in the Chung family. I guess we'll have to start getting used to the fact that these girls just won't be #1 in their class!!!

So now both of them are in cages again! Ugh.

FYI...Addy is 4 lbs 8 ounces and Sid is 4 lbs 2 ounces. Jami is worried that Addy will have a perma double chin. She might come out of her cage today. We'll see...and then she'll just disappoint her parents again and fail "Open Crib 102". I don't know if I can handle all of this...

Addy Flunked "Open Crib 101"

2007-08-14T23:53:00.000-05:00

This picture was taken yesterday and you can see that one of our little stinkers has decided to go back into an isolette. Addy's body temp was not in the normal range in her open crib at the 2 AM checkpoint, so the nurses decided to put her back in the little cage that is heated inside. Can you imagine how we feel?!? Addy flunked Open Crib 101. I mean she got there, but then she failed! :) Wow I guess I'm pretty harsh....okay I'm just kidding. But it sucks, because this is a step backward from them coming home. And Jami and I are absolutely sick of going to the hospital and seeing our babies like this. We want them home.

Now begins my ranting and raving...so you can either stop here and just pretend there isn't more...or you can read on.

"When are the girls coming home?" - I must get asked this every time someone asks me about the babies. I keep on explaining this to people, but they keep on asking me. So here it is, if you read this don't ever ask me again when they are coming home. Ask a more intelligent question like..."I read the blog and I see that Addy hasn't had a Brady in four days, will she be discharged if she makes it to the fifth day?" Or you'll be able to ask a question like..."So Sid bottle feeds at 9 and 3, when do you expect her to bottle feed at 12 and 6?" There are basically four things that the girls need to show before they can leave. Even after that there is some more crap that they have to do, but let's get past the big four:

Breathe on their own. Our girls are doing this, if they start having trouble breathing at this point we are in big trouble!
Maintain their own body temperature. No this doesn't mean you stick them outside naked and expect them to be at 98 degrees. With blankets, clothes, etc can they be in an open crib and maintain their body temp? At every 3 hour checkpoint, their temperature is taken, which they absolutely hate. You basically stick a probe in their armpit until the little machine starts beeping. The whole time the baby is crying, kicking, biting, and doing anything else to make you stop. One of our girls is maintaining body temp...the other NOT SO MUCH!
Bottle or breast feed at every feeding. The babies are on a very strict schedule. Addy is at 8, 11, 2, and 5...while Sid is on the 9, 12, 3, and 6 hours. The nurses check their temp, change their diaper, listen to them with a stethoscope, change their bed at times, etc. Both girls are on an every other checkpoint bottle feed. During the non-bottle feed, they use the tube that goes in their nose down to their stomachs. This is called a gavage feeding. They basically fill a large syringe with milk and you let gravity pull the milk down into the baby. If the girls are hyper active for their gavage feeding, they'll try to use a bottle instead. Both girls can take a whole bottle (right now about 40 mL). But they get so tired from it that they pass out most of the time. Until they can take a bottle EVERY time, we are stuck in the hospital.
No more "Bradys" for five straight days. What the hell is that you ask? Here is the definition I found online: Bradycardia is the slowing down of your premature baby's heart rate to less than 100 beats a minute. Many times bradycardia will follow apnea, transient tachypnea, feeding tube insertions, and attempted bowel movements. Premature babies with bradycardia also have apnea because the same things cause both medical problems. For this reason, these two conditions are often lumped together and referred to equally. So this is scary because there are three monitors on the baby at ALL times. Heart rate, respiratory rate, and SpO2 (oxygen saturation). Any time any of the readings are abnormal the machine beeps...quietly if it is just getting to an abnormal value, and then it starts beeping like crazy once it hits the abnormal value. So if the heart rate drops, the damn machine beeps. If the "Brady" occurs during bathing, feeding, whatever active awake time that they have...it is okay. If the "Brady" occurs during their sleep, it counts "against them". The timer starts over, and we have to see if they can go without a "Brady" for five days from that point.

I'm not really expecting anybody to know all this, but it is frustrating for Jami and I to see our babies in the NICU for so long...it's been one month now. We are tired of it...and the bills are ridiculous. So I'm sorry for venting about it. Go ahead and ask me the generic question of when they are coming home...I'm okay with that...seriously! If anyone knows me, I just need to get some of this out and I'm fine now.

Nurses! - Overall the NICU nurses have been absolutely fantastic, but there are a few duds in the bunch. A few bulbs in the chandelier that aren't so bright...a few tools in the shed that need sharpening. We have two primary nurses, Emma and Amber. Amber is in her 20s and has this really caring way of handling our girls. Emma is an older woman, and is a sweetheart too. These primary nurses basically get assigned to our babies if they are working. I prefer to have either of these two taking care of our kids, but they only work 3 days a week for 12 hour days. Then there are the nurses that rotate around. This is really hit or miss. Some are really lazy, and never check on the girls. Here are a couple of examples of the crappy nurses:

One time I found Sid lying in a puddle of her spit up. It wasn't really that bad, and Sid slept right through it like a champ...but you could tell it was there for a really really long time cause the spit up was completely cold. So I estimated that she didn't check on the girls for an hour. If the machine doesn't beep, why check on them, right?!? But that is what separates the caring, kind nurses that go the extra mile to the ones that just do their job. For any of you out there that just do your job and you take care of people...go the extra mile! Our primaries would never let that happen.
This one time...at band camp....sorry! Jami and I stopped in and our nurse wasn't around. So we sat down and waited. We sat there for 45 minutes...and I even fell asleep on the recliner chair. Finally she came back to us and was like, "Oh you must have come in when I went to the bathroom!" So either this girl craps like an elephant or she is LYING. Cause we were there for 45 minutes, which means she didn't check on the girls for a whole 45 minutes. Not just check, but look over to where the cribs are. C'mon. I don't expect these nurses to sit at the cribs and wait for something to happen, but how can you not even look over to where the babies are for 45 minutes? Each nurse gets 2-3 kids to look after. They are all in the same area. She can't even look over there?
Yesterday was fun...we had this nurse that Jami was going to throw out the 15th floor window. I had called ahead and asked her if we could bring in some milk cause our fridge is packed already. So I asked her many bottles I could bring in...and she kept on saying that we could bring in a bin full. I asked her how many that is...she just said bring enough and if you have left over you can take it home. I didn't like that answer so I kept on asking her and she finally said bring a dozen. Whatever...why give me a hard time? Then when we got there, we were surprised that Addy was back in the cage. We didn't go in early because we were interviewing a nanny. The nurse was like, "Oh you didn't know? She was cold at 2 AM last night, I'm surprised you don't know that already!" Our girls are doing well, and we don't call every hour to see how they are doing. Anyway, then she insulted Jami by asking if she knew how to take the temp and change the diaper. This nurse had a really weird vibe. The funniest and weirdest thing was that after I changed Sid's diaper...I put it on this cart. In all my experiences, the nurses pick up the diaper, weigh it, and throw it away. This nurse, got a napkin to pick up the diaper. Like she was afraid that this little one month old preemie, who has never been in the outside world, might have the friggin' Ebola virus!!! The diaper wasn't all poopy or anything! Ugh.

Okay I'm done pissing and moaning. I hope you all have a wonderful day today. Thank God Amber is back on Thursday.

Bath Time #3

2007-08-12T13:33:00.000-05:00

Addy during bath time

Sid getting squirmy during bath time

Another ho hum day with the girls. Jami and I are super tired for some reason...and she obviously has more reason than I do. Nurse Amber washed our little stinky brats on Sunday. Whew! They both needed it. The girls seem to generate lots of stinky smells! I wonder why...

Grow, Eat, Sleep, Poop (GESP)

Four Pounds!!!

2007-08-11T10:37:00.001-05:00

So as of this morning, Addy and Sid are over the 4 pound mark. Addy is at 4 lbs 4 ounces, and Sid is at 4 lbs. Addy is out of her cage and is now in an open crib. She can regulate her temp now...Sid isn't far behind but still needs to get more fat on her.

Jami and I went to dinner with Katy & Ben last night, and I think I ate about 4 lbs of food. And I just took a crap and I think I pooped about 3 lbs. Yum yum, give me some?!?

I am dreaming of skirt steak right now...AND some fried manchego cheese.

Soldier Holds Baby Instead of Gun

2007-08-10T22:33:00.000-05:00

Adam stopped by the hospital on Friday and surprise surprise...I handed him Addy. If you want to see all the faces of Sid go to:

http://picasaweb.google.com/jchungum/SidSFaces08_10_07

She has some classic faces!

The Many Faces of Addy

2007-08-09T22:44:00.000-05:00

So for some reason we didn't take a single picture of Sid today. Probably because I'm the one snapping the pictures, and when we both have the girls there is nobody to take pictures. I usually have to gently "remind" Jami to snap a few photos.

So if you want to see the many faces of Addy go to: http://picasaweb.google.com/jchungum/AddySFaces08_09_07

Some are pretty hilarious...and forgive me for the blurry pics. I can't really turn the flash on and capture some of these faces. So, I try to increase my shutter speed...but then it is too dark. So I'm not a friggin' photographer...sue me.

Oh btw...Addy hit the 4 pound 1 ounce mark today!!!!

We got rock star parking today on Superior St! Woo-hoo!

Getting Fatter!!!

2007-08-08T19:28:00.000-05:00

The girls are both gaining weight and starting to eat from their bottles more and more. Addison finally took a whole bottle today, which is about 36 mL. I seem to have a knack for getting the girls to eat, but mostly it is probably because I have the time to make them bottle feed, whereas the nurses don't have that much time.

Addy is 3 lbs 15 ounces, and Sid is about 3 lbs 12 ounces. Both of their bellies are getting quite big!

Jami even tried a little breast feeding today, which all the nurse and docs and lactation consultants expect her to do. However, with her going back to work after 8 weeks, it may not be an option after that. Call us horrible parents...whatever. I think Jami will pump milk for as long as she can, but who knows how much longer we'll be able to do that as well. Everyone is a breast feeding nazi and they always ask Jami to pull out a boob and feed the girls. I think the breast milk is enough and we don't necessarily need to put them on the breast directly.

BTW...After taking the breast feeding class for multiples, I don't view breasts the same way anymore!!!

New clothes and a new home!

2007-08-06T20:45:00.000-05:00

Addy in her new outfit, looking at Jami

Sid just hanging out in her new outfit

Well the girls both got to wear some of their own clothes. Jami's mom sent us some preemie stuff, so we brought the clothes in today so that they could wear them. All of the other clothes they had were too big so we wanted them to have some clothes that actually fit them.

Addy is at like 3 lbs 12 ounces and Sid is at 3 lbs 8 ounces. Both just keep on eating and growing. Like I mentioned in the previous blog, Sid bottle fed. Well Addy did today twice. The first time she took 20 out of 34 ounces, and the second time 10 out of 34 ounces. They will go from feeding from the bottle once a day to once every 12 hours to every other 3 hours, then every feeding.

The other good news is that the girls both got moved up to the 15th floor step down unit. This means that they are doing well enough to move out of the NICU and into a less critical care area. It means that they are doing well. It kinda sucks for us because we don't have our little private NICU room. We are now in a big room with lots and lots of babies that are doing well enough that they no longer need to be in the NICU.

Our primary nurse Amber will continue to work with them, and they will have all the same nurses from the NICU. So, progress again...and they will be home very soon if they continue to do this well!

Sid Bottle Feeding

2007-08-06T09:28:00.000-05:00

So Jami and I went to the hospital last night for the second time. We were planning on going, but I went to play golf that afternoon and didn't expect to be back until much later. A thunderstorm rolled through the course, so I ended up leaving much earlier and we got to see the babies before 9 PM. This is a key point since Addy feeds at 8, 11, 2, and 5 while Sid feeds at 9, 12, 3, and 6.

Since we caught the nurse before Sid's 9 PM feeding, she asked if we wanted to try to bottle feed Sid. Well...first she asked if Jami wanted to breast feed the baby. They constantly ask if you want to breast feed. We took our breast feeding for multiples class on Saturday, and they say that breast feeding (not just pumping breast milk) is always the best thing. So every nurse, physician, and lactation consultant always asks..."Are you breast feeding? Do you want to try?" It almost seems like if you don't you are a HORRIBLE parent. And it isn't like Jami isn't pumping like a milk cow every 2-3 hours of the day. Anyway...I digress!

Sid took about 28 mL of milk through the bottle. This is a huge milestone because if the babies can breathe on their own (check!), bottle feed all the time without a feeding tube (starting...), and maintain their body temp (we got some time before that happens) then they can leave the hospital. Sid was drinking and drinking and spitting and slurping. The nurse estimated that she spilled about 4 mL. So hopefully Addy tried last night and she is well on her way to bottle feeding too!

No pictures because we thought the trip would be uneventful! That was stupid! The worst decision I made all day...the best decision? To get soft serve ice cream cones from McDonald's after the visit. Yum yum give me some!

Bath Time #2

2007-08-04T07:27:00.000-05:00

Addy Wondering What is Going On

Sid the Squid Giving Us a Dirty Look

We gave the girls their second bath and even cut their nails. I guess the nurses aren't supposed to cut their nails because it is not medically necessary to cut a baby's nails. So they leave that up to the parents to do. Thankfully our primary nurse (Amber) showed us the best practice on how to do this. I only made Addison's thumb bleed! :( But I did cut all of Sid's nails without any problems.

So Sid is starting to have "episodes" which are typical for preeemies, but we were a bit surprised since she never had episodes before. It might be because she is off the caffeine. She never used to drop her O2 saturation or heart rate. But she has been doing this now. It really isn't a big deal, but kinda surprising.

Both girls are starting to fill out their bellies. I'm just hoping that they both start filling out the rest of their bodies...their legs and arms are still so skinny. And all that wrinkled skin around their knee caps is sorta freaking me out!!!

Bath time is so much fun (I'm losing it!)...since the girls have no idea what is going on. But they both didn't seem to mind the water this time.

Making Progress

2007-08-01T21:45:00.000-05:00

Both of the girls are no longer in nests, but now they are in clothes and wrapped in blankets. One of the nurses said that once the girls are over 1500 grams (3 lbs 3 ounces for those stuck on the English system) they can move them from the little cages to an open crib and keep them swaddled. They aren't tracking their body temperature anymore using the little cage, but they check the temp every 3 hours.

Sid is not on any medication, but Addy will continue to take her blood pressure medication.

Sid is 3 lbs 5 ounces and Addy is 3 lbs 9 ounces! Sid is obviously catching up to big sis, but Addy had a late start. They are growing at about 20 grams a day, which is just under an ounce.

One of the residents came in and told me that they are doing great, and that there is nothing to report...which is very good news.

On a side note...why does the medical profession use the metric system for some measurements? They are constantly telling me the weight in grams when I have no idea what that means. OR...they show the temp in Celsius. I blame this on our stubborn American government and culture which absolutely will not convert to the metric system. America is always right, of course! Viva la USA! Anyway....I'd rather drive at 100 km/hr instead of 60 mph cause it sounds cooler, but other than that I guess I'll continue to lag behind the rest of the culture and drink soda instead of wine with dinner, watch football instead of futbol, and use pounds/ounces instead of grams.

Army Adam & Andy in Town

2007-08-01T09:24:00.000-05:00

So these two Army goons came into town to complete their tour of celebration in Chicago. Check out their pics on the picture website to see them in the hospital with the babies.

I had to put this picture up because it is classic Adam and Andy.

For those of you who don't know...Adam on the left is the "baby" of the Wendling family. Andy is the second youngest. They both got back from Iraq last week, and they are on six day benders...celebrating their return from the Iraq war. We are so happy that they are both back safe and sound. Adam will be off to a six month training program in Wisconsin and will continue with the Iowa National Guard. Andy is going back to law school at Iowa at the end of August. Both of these guys will be living in Iowa City...

There is a lot to be thankful for in general, but with the girls healthy and doing well...AND Jami's brothers back from the war...we are very blessed and thankful.

Quick Update on Addy

2007-07-31T07:31:00.000-05:00

Our little Bruiser had her echocardiogram yesterday. Nurse Amber called us late in the afternoon to let us know that the results were fine, and that the heart murmur was not really a murmur. We couldn't be happier that these two runts are doing so well.

Both girls are eating well and Sid is up to 3 lbs and almost 4 oz. She is growing so quickly!

Only 5 more weeks before they can come home! Geez...

No Real Update

2007-07-29T18:14:00.001-05:00

Well the girls are both doing well. Jami and I spent most of the day over at the hospital on Saturday instead of heading out to Iowa for Jami's brothers' party. The nurse heard a slight murmur on Addison but she thinks it is due to some blood flow between the heart and the lungs. I guess the heart is growing faster than the lungs, and it isn't a big deal. So on Monday Addison will have another Echocardiogram to check things out.

Other than that...the girls are in eat and grow mode.

Bath Day!

2007-07-27T23:57:00.000-05:00

So the two little buggers had bath time today. Addison's umbilical cord hasn't fallen off yet, so the nurse and Jami had to "sponge" bath her. She went a little balistic and had quite a little fit, but they washed her hair and body. They also got the pukey smell off of her. Sid's umbilical cord piece fell off and she went full blown into the bath. I predicted she wouldn't mind, and she really didn't. She didn't scream or cry once. Crazy girl!

I got to hold Sid and Addy again today. Addy is up to 27 mL of milk and Sid is up to 26 mL. Both are doing great. Addy's blood pressure is down with the medications, both are off of IVs, both are just friggin' happy go lucky! Addy seems to be the crankier one, and Sid is just fine as long as she has food in her belly. Addy continues to desat, so she just needs to remember to breathe!

Side note...Nurse Amber and Jami have one thing in common. They both have Asian names. She is also one of the primary nurses for the twins...the other is Emma, a very nice lady.

Something missing on Addy?

2007-07-26T22:00:00.000-05:00

If you guessed right, her central IV line is now out. Both Addy & Sid no longer have a central IV line and both are now just on a feeding tube. Addy is at 3 lbs 3 oz and Sid is catching up at 3 lbs! Check out the Picasa site where Nurse Jen is trying to feed Sid using a bottle. She only took down 4 mL.

Tomorrow they may be taking baths...we'll be calling Nurse Amber in the morning.

Both girls are getting about 24 mL of milk, and Jami wanted me to mention that Addy pooped like a truck driver.

Addy & Sid Together Again!

2007-07-25T18:05:00.000-05:00

Check out the Picasa web site for pics of our two little runts together! The good news continues and Sid no longer needs an IV. She only has a feeding tube and her monitoring points. Addy is still on her central IV line, but had her O2 cannula taken out. We'll see how she does. Her blood pressure is a bit high so they are putting her on a medication to lower it.

Addy is acting like a preemy, but Sid is acting like a 40 week old baby. So all is good.

We were so happy to put them together for the first time since they were in Jami's belly.

Out of Town

2007-07-24T07:02:00.000-05:00

So I'm sitting in my hotel room right now wondering why the hell I travel for my work. Part of this last trip to Atlanta is due to a vendor certification test that I need to take, but I could have re-scheduled it I guess. I'll be back in Chicago Wednesday morning.

Jami stopped by the NICU yesterday...she calls it the "Neekooo" and I call it the "Nick-you". I'm pretty sure that I'm right! :) She held Sid, but not Addy. I guess they don't want us to bother her too much with her de-sat issues and reflux. Sid is getting a new concoction of milk and other nutrient based stuff to help her growth. I guess it isn't as easy to keep down as just milk...we'll see how she does. No other updates or pics.

BTW...The Today Show is going to have a little piece on a baby naming service that you pay for! How unimaginative has our culture become that we can't even think of names for our children and we have to get outside help? Then again, I also wonder if our girls' names will be really lame in about 25 years. I can just hear them saying..."My stupid parents, why did they name me fill in the blank!"

Off to take my test. I was worried about the last one and I got a 96%. But I barely studied for this one. Wish me luck!

Addy & Sid 7/22/07

2007-07-22T23:13:00.000-05:00

Here's a quick update...Addy is on and off her nasal cannula because her oxygen saturation keeps dropping. The monitor which shows SPO2 should be in the high 90s or 100%. However, every once in awhile her oxygen saturation drops dramatically to the 40s or 50s. Basically the little Bruiser needs to breathe. Due to several reasons, including her reflux she stops breathing for a bit. The monitor just beeps and beeps until her number goes back up to the 90s. So she has a nasal cannula and they up the O2 to help get her the oxygen.

They take her off the cannula when she does well, but put it back in when she isn't. So right now she is on it.

The good news is that this is very typical of preemies. In fact, it is suprising that Sidney doesn't have problems like this. Our little Runt is a tough little cookie.

Both babies are getting 18 mL of milk, and soon Jami may not be able to keep up with their intake. Sid is up 3 oz from birth to 2 lbs 11 oz and Addy is down a bit from her birth weight...to 3 lbs 3 oz. But she was down to about 3 lbs 2 oz cause she wasn't eating for the first five days.

Holding Addy This Time

2007-07-21T09:32:00.000-05:00

Jami and I stopped by the NICU again on Friday night...I mean what else are we to do? Seriously though, we aren't sure if we should stay there the whole time or if we should let the nurses do their thing or what? We have no benchmark on what is right or wrong...or if we are doing the right thing or not. Not that we care that much, but we wonder what those nurses think of us. I mean we are very casual and we don't get too uptight about the whole situation. One nurse called us "model parents" because we never seem to freak out about the beeping machines, or Addy's heart murmur, or any other potentially bad thing that could happen. I think I sorta take after my father who seems to have a faith like a rock and never really waivers. My mom does too, but her worrisome side comes out a lot. I guess I know that I can't control anything, that I barely know anything, and that I'm just a human. I know who I am and what I am, and I know that I can't do a damn thing about the babies coming early or if they get sick or if something really bad happens. I just know that it is all up to the Big Guy up there and I can only have faith that he'll do the right thing for our family. Jami and I have discussions about my blind faith in the WILL of the Father...

Wow that was serious! So I'm holding Addy up there. Jami got to hold Sid tonight. They were swaddled, and they LOVED it. Once Addy was put back in her "cage" she was pissed that she wasn't all snuggled up. Sid is just lights out these days.

Some stats:

Addy - 3 lbs 2 oz

Sid - 2 lbs 11 oz

Got to hold Sid

2007-07-20T17:26:00.000-05:00

Dang...crazy. I finally got to hold Sidney today for an extended period of time. I was able to hold Addison for a few minutes before, but both times she freaked and cried. Probably because I have no idea what I'm doing with these little babies. I think I've had steaks larger than these babies. Think about it...holding a 40 oz Porterhouse to your chest for 1/2 an hour. I mean Sid was 2 lb 8 oz...that is the same as a 40 oz Porterhouse from like Gibson's. Wow steak size = Sid's size. Ummmmm...steak! BTW...I'm CRAVING steak since last Friday. Don't worry, Koreans don't eat their young.

More pics on the Picasa site. It was crazy holding Sid...

Also, Addison had her eyes WIDE open. I mean she can't control them and she goes cross eyed, but she had them WIDE open. You'll see that they put Addison on the nasal cannula again last night, but they took it off today.

Last thing about today...Sid is off the lights. Addy is still on them but hopefully only for a bit longer. Sid is at 12 mL of milk and Addy is at 10 mL of milk. Sid is on a new bed, similar to her sister's.

Feeding Sid

2007-07-19T22:25:00.000-05:00

New pics are available in our Picasa Google albums. Emily and David stopped by the hospital with us and all is going well with the little turds. Jami is feeding Sid through a tube in the pictures and you can see this above. Both girls now have their feeding tubes going into their noses instead of in their mouths. If they can bottle feed, they will...but I guess it just wears them out. I guess you use a lot of muscles and energy with the whole sucking action. I'm pretty sure that this is to get them ready to talk...cause little kids never shut up! :) Okay, that was a cheap shot.

Addison's blood pressure is a little high but the medical folks think it is due to the medication that she took. Hopefully it evens out very soon. If it doesn't go down in a week, we'll have to see a specialist.

Another ho hum day in twin preemy land...

What are these girls' real names???

2007-07-19T17:05:00.000-05:00

These little buggers have really, REALLY long names:

Addison Reece Ji Young Chung aka "Apple"

Sidney Kay Mi Young Chung aka "Baby Bubble"

Their first names are totally made up, we just liked them. And no, it wasn't from Alias and Grey's...c'mon you think we are that lame? I wanted to name them after Webber and Rose for Chris Webber and Jalen Rose, but Jami said no.

Reece is like Maurice, Jami's dad. FYI...don't call him Maurice, you might find a tractor riding up your ass. Kay is Jami's mom's middle name. Ji Young and Mi Young are the names my dad gave these little rats.

Lastly "Apple" and "Baby Bubble" come from Neilan, Jami's nephew. He is building an empire on naming little girls. His little sister is Avery, but Neilan calls her "Flower". If anyone needs a cute little name for a baby, call Neilan.

Yes...these names are really on the birth certificates. We figured if they are going to have a racial identity crisis, we might as well give them some jacked up long names too!

Addy's Eating!!!

2007-07-19T16:27:00.000-05:00

Today Addison decided to eat!!! Well there is a lot more to it than that. Addison was having a heart murmur and the physicians put her on medication that started on Monday and ended on Wednesday. During this time, she was not given any of Jami's milk. There were also potential complications with her kidneys due to the meds. So on Wednesday, she got her last dose of the medication, they did an echocardiogram, and they did an ultrasound of her kidneys. This morning they decided that all was well and that she could start eating. The heart murmur is gone, and her kidneys are fine. So Jami watched the nurse feed her today!

Sidney also got to bottle feed last night. I guess she was SUPER cranky and fiesty and so they decided to bottle feed her at 8 PM last night. She loved it, but was too tired to try again today.

I guess they are advanced for this, since most babies won't bottle feed until the 34th week. These two runts are at 32.5 weeks. Geez...who would have ever thought our babies would be so far advanced?!? Also both babies are off any O2 help...you'll notice the Addy has no nasal cannula.

Here is a link to the pics: http://picasaweb.google.com/jchungum

Addy & Sid 7/18

2007-07-18T16:17:00.000-05:00

All,

Sorry I promise this is the last email...but go to http://picasaweb.google.com/jchungum for any new pics. You can check back every once in awhile if you want to see what we posted. But I'll stop the spam now.

Jami was discharged on Tuesday. The staples were taken out and she is doing great. She is continually pumping milk for the little rats, but only one of them is eating right now. Jami is around and about, and will be making trips to the hospital each day. Fortunately, I get to work from home, except for a short trip to Atlanta next week.

Sidney is great. She is spunky, squirmy, and just a little ball of fire. Each new NICU nurse that gets her is like...WHOA!!!! She is so tiny yet she cries SO loud, she is always moving around, and she even crawled out of her little "nest" they made for her! She just is fiery and the nurses always call her Fiesty. She is always gets tangled in all the wires and pulls on all of them. She must have tangled her own umbilical cord! :) She's been taking a little bit of milk every 3 hours directly into her stomach. The nurses will give her a couple of drops in her mouth and she just LOVES it. It is the only way to calm her down. She's off any breathing help, and she isn't having any problems so far.

Addison FINALLY has the tube in her nose out. She absolutely hated it and would pull on it all the time. She is now on a nasal cannula which makes her feel so much better. She isn't as fiesty as Sid, but she has a little bit of a temper on her. Unfortunately, both of these girls have our tempers...watch out! Anyway, Addison has a heart murmur which is typical of preemies. They have her on a medication called Indocin which is to close a passageway to her heart called the DUCTUS ARTERIOSUS. I think that is right, but I have no idea. Today she will get her final dose and hopefully the murmur will be gone. Cross your fingers. Because of the med, she can't eat. So they have her on fluids and nutrients through the IV.

Both babies are on light therapy to help with jaundice and to reduce their bilirubin. And, they are getting a PICC line or a PCVC line instead of a normal IV line. Sid is always moving around and screwing up her IV. She only has one or two more sites where than can place it, so they have to move to this special line directly into a major vein. They'll do the same for Addison.

Thank you all for your notes, thoughts, and prayers. Hopefully we are past any trouble, but only God knows what is in store for our little rats.

Addy & Sid Day 2

2007-07-15T10:25:00.000-05:00

Update on 7/15 10 AM
Jami is doing well...off of IV. She finally held Addison last night, but not Sidney yet who is in her little bubble...
Here are the pics:

http://picasaweb.google.com/jchungum/AddisonSidney

Our Family's First Posting

2007-07-14T13:06:00.000-05:00

Sidney

Addison

Jami had the babies on Saturday morning 7/14/2007:

Jami gave birth early this morning on 7/14/2007...Saturday. We went in for a clinical exam and ultrasound on Friday as scheduled, and the docs determined that baby B (the one in Jami's ribs) did not grow as much as baby A. In fact she was almost a pound smaller. They did a bio physical to check for signs of developmental progress, but baby B didn't pass the test. So they admitted us to the hospital for fetal monitoring. After about 10 hours of this, they decided to go into surgery and do a c-section. Jami gave birth to Addison (baby A) at 6:09 AM and Sidney (baby B) at 6:11 AM. Addison was 3 lbs 6 oz and Sidney was 2 lbs 8 oz.

Jami is doing fine and is just really tired from all the monitoring last night. She's trying to nap right now. Sidney the little runt is actually doing better than Addison. Sidney needs no help with breathing and shows really positive signs. Addison isn't in bad shape either, but is getting help with breathing through a tube in her nose. Neither are on ventilation, and cross your fingers, both should be fine. Jami is in the hospital until Wednesday and the babies will stay at the hospital until mid to late August!