Our little baby "B"

At our 18 week ultrasound (the same ultrasound where we found out they were girls) we were also made aware that our little baby "B" has a malformation called Omphalocele. This is a malformation that describes what happens when some of the baby's abdominal organs, such as the liver, spleen or intestines, do not make it into the abdominal cavity during development. It's common enough that Doctors know how to treat it, and it can be remedied, but it's still not what you want to hear when you are hoping your baby is perfect. Since we found this out, it has made made my pregnancy quite a bit more complicated, and high risk. It means I cannot deliver here in Bend, that my medical care and delivery via C-section will be scheduled and monitored up in Portland (3 hours away), that our baby "B" will have to have immediate surgery upon her arrival into the world, and will have possibly a lengthly stay in the NICU until she is ready to be away from constant medical monitoring.

My first appointment with my high risk doctor, a Perinatalogist, was in Portland on Tuesday. My parents and in-laws went with me since Doug had to stay in Bend for work. We had another ultrasound, where we learned that both babies are growing well, already up to a pound in weight, and are close in size, which is very good. We also learned that B's condition is quite a bit larger than initially thought- at this point it looks as if her spleen, liver, and part of her intestines are in the omphalocele. While it is still repairable, and she will hardly have a scar, it means her surgery may be more complicated than initially thought. When the organs are outside of her tummy, everything that's left in her tummy settles into the empty space, so her heart, lungs and other organs are not where they should be. It means a gradual surgery to slowly push everything back in to where it should be, and we don't know yet how long that could take, but that once fixed, she will lead a totally normal and healthy life.

Here are some pictures of what is very hard to envision by my poor explanation:

The Before and After situation

What our "B" will likely look like when she is born before they repair her tummy. That bubble where her umbilical cord comes out is where her organs are.

We meet again with the doctor in portland on January 20, and also the Pediatric surgeon who will be performing B's surgery. At that point we should find out some more information on her time in the NICU and overall recovery.

I have been told I will need to move to my parent's house in Portland possibly starting at 28-30 weeks for close monitoring and more frequent appointments. This time away from Doug is going to be very hard and definitely a surprise to us, as we were initially expecting me to move there at 36 weeks, and do the C-section at 38 weeks.

I only mention all of this because you are all my dear friends, and would soon learn of our situation soon enough, and I also hope you can keep our family and our little girls in your prayers that they continue to grow and develop the way they need to and that my pregnancy can last until 38 weeks to ensure their good health and survival.

Much love,
the Mayo's

Can you guess?

I changed my template... any ideas on what the babies are??

IT'S GIRLS!!!!!!

Super cute movie

Doug and I rarely, and I mean rarely go to the movies, but we did this weekend, and splurged with popcorn and Twizzlers for waaay too much money, but it was so fun! We saw Madagascar 2, and it was great! If you enjoyed the first one, you will love the second one! It's just as funny, if not more, and a great movie for kids and adults. We were some of the few adults in the theatre and I found us laughing out loud more than the kids at the humor they don't notice yet. They used all the same voices as the first one, and introduced a few new ones, including the late Bernie Mac (love that man) which was a great addition. Hope you all check it out, it's definitely worth seeing with the kids or without them!

Just checking in

I had an appointment with my OB last Friday and and everything is going great with the babies. Doug finally got to be there to hear their heartbeats, and even some kicking, and that was really special and exciting. I can't feel anything yet, and well, if I can, I haven't distinguished it as baby kicking but I am trying to focus on it more in hopes I can catch a real kick! We got my next ultrasound scheduled at 18 weeks, which is on November 21, and we should get to see what we are having! I am so thrilled, it's only a few more weeks away! Any one want to place bets? Doug thinks it's identical boys, I think it's fraternal boy and girl, and the rest of the family is a mixed bag, but I know my nephew Adam is sure they are girls and will be sad if they aren't, so don't let me down! :)

We got to go up to Portland over the weekend for my other nephew Michael's baptism! I can't believe the little guy is already 8! He was so excited the entire day, instead of walking anywhere he would bounce and was grinning ear to ear. It was special to be there and see him take that step in his life. In his testimony at sacrament meeting the next day he said he was "grateful his auntie sarah and uncle doug could be here" and how much he loves having us around. It was so sweet, and made me realize how much I do love being around those little guys.

We were so thrilled to watch the election coverage last night and see Obama make history. Regardless of who you voted for, you have to admit it was an emotional event last night seeing the country so united and excited over the events and what they believed one man was capable of. What an exciting event in our history to elect an African American man to the presidency, and I have never been more proud of being an American as I was last night seeing that all take place and the country usually so divided come together.

Now today I wake up with a nasty case of pink eye in my right eye. I can hardly see out of it, and it hurts like the dickens. Are you supposed to go to the doctor for this or does it heal on its own? Seriously, it seems like everyday I wake up there is some new ailment to deal with. blah.

How is everyone else doing? I hope you are well and enjoying the cool fall weather and the holidays this month will bring!

Photos from way back when

I got an email from my dad the other day who keeps coming across some of my old pictures back home. I thought I would post a few, since a few of my fellow blog buddies are in them and it's fun to look back a few years:)

Marian, Nicole, and Shannon playing poker with the bears that were left in our hear attacked apartment after Spring Break in San Francisco.

Getting my books my first day in Rexburg, Fall 2001 with my stepmom.


It snowed in April so in protest we went out in our shorts to play in the snow. Me, Shannon, Marian, Nicole, and Leah


Marian burned her hand somehow. I later found her in the dark laying on the counter with her hand in the sink.


BYU-Idaho Cabaret Spring 2002. My room mate Leah, Mark (now her hubby), Kristi, Ben (Now Nicole's hubby), Me and Dave Massey.

I am sure I will come across more of these. I sure love you Beehive 106 girls!!

The baby bump and other updates

It's here.... and I have a feeling it's going to end up being ginormous.

We've started taking weekly pictures of it's development and so far, it's bigger every week. At least I know my babies are growing. I can't wait to hear their heartbeats again at our next appointment on 10/31/08.



I am starting to feel better, yay!! I haven't nauseous in a while, I am still pretty tired most of the time, but I do have some energy back which is nice- it's good to sorta feel like me again. We are getting so anxious to find out what they are. My doctor said I could have an ultrasound at 16 weeks or I could wait until 20 weeks to see what they are. Initially I told her I could wait till 20 weeks (to save on the expense) but as it gets closer, I am thinking the beginning of November sounds much more realistic. I just can't wait to know what my kids are!

We finally got around to, or let me say, we finally got enough money saved up to paint the main part of our house. It looks so much better, and I can finally say it feels like a home now when you walk in. It was a lot of work, ladders, and paint but we got it done and we couldn't be more glad. Next paint job- the babies room!







What do you think of the color? It's a light grey/blue, and it's just enough to make it pop against the white. Oh and it goes with our stuff, which is good, right?

We have a trip to Portland planned for Nov.1 as my oldest nephew is turning 8 and getting baptized. I am excited to see him and my family again, and am really looking forward to the weekend out of town.

Feeling like crap: week 12

Sorry for the delinquency in blogging. Since our last post I have been pretty much useless- constantly exhausted, nauseous, killer headaches and always hungry. Sounds like fun, right? Some days it takes every ounce of energy I have to drag my bum out of bed and get to work on time, only to come home and go right back to bed. Sleep has been my very best source of comfort lately, and I just can't seem to get enough of it. That and grilled cheese sandwiches. Being pregnant with twins has not been as bad as I imagined it would be. No major morning sickness to speak of, just sick (nauseous) all the time, not just in the mornings. I am still able to put in a full weeks work, which some days is a LOT harder than others. I have TRIED to keep up with the housework, but I'll admit, most days it looked like a bomb went off- the laundry gets washed and dried but it stays in a huge pile on the bedroom floor that we just dig through each morning to get clean clothes from. The dishes are a constant force to be reckoned with and most days the dishes win. The cats spend the midnight hours destroying my dried flower arrangement leaving bits of weeds and flowers everywhere, cat food spilled from their bowls, and their water cooler tipped over getting the floor soaked. While my house is destroyed, my husband exhausted from working his usual 60 hour weeks and picking up the slack from my lack of household help, and me barely having the motivation or energy to do my hair or make up each day, we are so blessed, and so happy to have these little wonders growing every day! I cannot wait to meet them next year, and look forward to the wonderful things they will bring to our family. So yes, while I vent and whine about how awful I feel, I can't help but smile when I think of why I feel so gross, and am thankful every day that I have them.

Happy News!!

We're having a baby!!

No, wait... make that, TWO BABIES!! Doug and I found out last week that we were pregnant, and today that we are having TWINS!!

I am freakin out beyond excited, scared, all of the above, you name it! But we couldn't be happier or feel more blessed!

My due date is April 21, 2009, and today I am almost 9 weeks along!

Here are some pictures of the babies-

Camping in Crater Lake National Park

For the holiday weekend, we decided with our good friends back in May to go camping in Crater Lake National Park. None of us had been there, and they live in Sacramento, so it wouldn't be too far of a drive for us to all meet up there. We camped Friday and Saturday and spent a lot of time keeping warm by the campfire and hiking to the many BREATHTAKING views of the lake! I have never seen something so amazing before! If you have not been, you should make plans to go and see it sometime, it's truly amazing. It was so fun to see our friends again who we met when we lived in Florida. Right about the same time last year when we packed up and moved to Bend, they packed up and moved to Sacramento, so it had been nearly a year since we had seen each other and it was so fun to spend time together in such a beautiful place. It got REALLY cold Saturday night- all of our water froze! So Sunday we headed back to Bend, and showed them the sites in our neck of the woods. We did some shopping, and also took them up to Mt. Bachelor where in the summertime you can ride the ski lift up the mountain and look around since most of the snow is melted. We had a great time dipping in what little snow was left up there and taking some great pictures. I am so glad we were able to get out of the house for the long weekend and spend it doing so many fun things with such great friends! We love you Bradshaw's!!

I took over 200 pictures so here they are on PicasaWeb.

Addicted to "The Office"

I have been at my job for 3 months now, and the more I am here, the more efficient I am becoming at my work, which is good! But it also means I have more downtime throughout the day which I try to come up with things to do to entertain myself. On Monday I decided I would start watching "The Office" online from the first episode to where it's at today. I only started following the show this last season, so I felt a little behind as to what it was about the other 3 seasons. Right now I am starting season 3, and I am so hooked! I just love this show!! It's hilarious, (which I already knew) but now getting to see it from the beginning makes me appreciate it more. If you don't currently follow this show, you totally should, it's a kick in the pants! Plus it makes my day go faster when it's slow here, and for that I love it even more!

Hot, Hot, Hot!!

Summer is officially here in Central Oregon and we are burning up. It was 100 yesterday and 98 today, and totally beautiful! We love it!

But we also haven't been in heat this hot since we lived in FL, and we could survive it because we had Air Conditioning to come home to. We don't have a/c here, and we are feeling it! I've got everything closed up and dark during the day but even just now, my thermostat says it 87 in the house... ah! We set up the sprinkler in the back yard a little while ago and ran through it like we were 10 trying to stay cool. I forgot how much fun the sprinkler can be!

I think we'll be sleeping outside tonight- it's so dang hot in here we can't get comfortable! I try not to complain too much because in just a few short months it will be cold again, but for now, it's hot and I think I am enjoying it.. sort of :)

The House

Here are some more pictures of the house. We haven't touched our room yet, so pictures of that to come some day when we have the means to get it spruced up a bit.

Enjoy!

I am a slacker

So. I haven't posted much lately. Here's why:

A) family in town
B) Breaking Dawn came out August 2nd
C) So You Think You Can Dance finale is this week (another great dance clip below)
D) The crazy madness called moving, unpacking, painting and all of the above has caught up with me, and I am being lazy. And it feels really, really good.

Some pictures of some of the house!

I know, I know- It's about time, right? Well, I know I have been delinquent in blogging, but I have a good excuse, and it's called unpacking and painting, and decorating, and getting organized... and it's exhausting. I have some pics to show for my efforts, but there will still be more to come when I can find time to focus my efforts on some other parts of the house.

The guest bath- you can't tell well from this picture, but I spent a few days this week painting it a khaki brown, and it compliments everything really nicely.


Just like the rest of the house, this room has a lot of chocolate brown, blue, and tan- We just can't seem to get away from that color combo we love so much!


Originally, I wanted to paint the kitchen a light celery green with yellow accents, but in the end, we decided to paint our room green, and so I used some leftover red paint we had from Florida and gave myself the red kitchen I have always wanted, and I still got to keep my yellow. What do you think?


I am still working on sewing a red table runner, and finding a nice piece of art for the wall behind the table.


The whole picture- I love it- it's just the right mix of warm and cozy and classy I was hoping for!

More pictures to come when I can get the living room and guest room a little more presentable! I have a feeling our room will be the last to get put together, but that's the one people see least, so it works out!

Moved in!

Well, we got all moved into our house over the weekend, and it's wonderful! Our only hangup was realizing (after a couple of lukewarm showers) that the pilot light in our gas water heater was not lit. Once we got that up and going, things improved and we're as happy as clams in our new digs. Pictures to come soon!

All good things must come to an end...

...including vacations. Which sucks, because I LOVE going on vacation. I wish it could just last all the time, but how realistic is that? We got home from a great time in Oklahoma City, Monday night after 2 flights, one 4 hour layover, and one 3 hours car ride back to Bend. Needless to say, I was sick of traveling. But now that we are home it's back to work, and the daily grind, but the most exciting part is that we are also back in time to move into our house this weekend! We signed endless documents yesterday, and developed a nice case of carpel tunnel, but it's done, and now we just wait for the keys tomorrow. YAY!

Here are some pictures from our great vacations. We enjoyed lots of time in the backyard pool, shopping, eating waaaay too much good food and Momma Mayo treats like Banana Pudding, Cinnamon Bundt Cake, and my favorite Mint Chocolate Chip dessert. We had a great time at the lake on the 4th of July blowing up fireworks, waterskiing, tubing, and getting too much smoke inhalation from the fireworks, but it was worth it. The barbeque was delicious, the days were warm and the nights were full of fun at the casino, where I just happened to win $160 dollars from $20 dollars spending money I put in one of the slots! How's that for luck?

At Sonic in Doug's old '51 Chevrolet Sport Coup Deluxe


With Doug's old car on my Birthday


Spending time with my best friend Jill at PF Changs


My adorable in-laws, they are the best!

My crazy husband and his cousin-in-law blowing up some homemade bombs at the lake


My wonderful in-laws relaxin at the pavilion at the lake on the 4th


My husband is a pyromaniac, but I love him!

Getting a good dose of the lame kiddie fireworks I love, like cars, tanks and chickens!

Congratulations Leah & Daniel!

Congratulations to my sister-in-law Leah, and her boyfriend Daniel who got engaged last night! We are so excited for you both, and wish you every happiness as you two get ready for the big day and your life together! We can't wait to see you both next week and wish your our best in person! Until then, Congratulations guys!!

Why I love "So You Think You Can Dance"

A few of my favorite clips from over the seasons... still give me chills!

Packing, Birthdays, Oklahoma and Moving!

Whoever said summer was relaxing? I always find it to be the exact opposite- there are usually lots of events, trips and other things planned and it goes by in a flash, and before you know it, it's cold again. I've been packing each night, a little here and there to get everything ready for us to go out of town to visit Doug's family in Oklahoma for a week. Not only have I had to pack for that trip, but 4 days after we get back from our trip, we move into our new house! It's going to be a busy couple of weeks, but I couldn't be more excited! The apartment is almost packed, or at least it will be (cross your fingers) by the time we leave for Portland Friday night! If it isn't, I am going to be one crazy busy lady when we get back in town on the 8th!

We are so excited to go to Oklahoma for the 4th of July! I love, love, love going to Oklahoma to see Doug's family! It's always so much fun, and I just love being with them all. I get to go to Hobby Lobby (the greatest craft store EVER) with my mom-in-law, we get to eat good ol' fashioned barbeque, I get to see my best friend Jill who lives nearby, I get to see my sister-in-law and her bf Daniel and that is always a blast, we get to go swimming in their pool and enjoy the sun, and better yet, I get to go waterskiing for the first time EVER on the lake and blow up lots of illegal fireworks on the 4th with the cousins! I can't think of a better vacation, and I have really been looking forward to it!

While we are in Oklahoma, I also get to celebrate my 25th birthday on the 29th! I have some mixed feeling about this milestone but all in all I think I am coping. For some reason, turning 20 five years ago was exciting, I was that much closer to being a young adult. Now turning 25, I feel like I am that much closer to 30, and 30 just scares me. It doesn't seem like it fits that young adult category anymore, and that means... Im getting old! Guess it's a fear of getting old and decrepit, but either way it will be fun to share the special day with the family, and also with my sister in law Leah and Daniel who have late June birthdays too!

We should sign papers for the house Tuesday the 8th and we get the keys on Thursday the 10th! Our U-haul will be ready Saturday morning the 12th and then its all a done deal! We are so thrilled, and scared, and excited, and overwhelmed, and well, just about every emotion out there, but all in all I cannot wait to no longer hear when my neighbors take a shower, flush the toilet, wash their laundry, or jam to their favorite song! Yay for homeownership!

Mea tagged me!

4 things I was doing 10 years ago:
1. Getting used to high school
2. Riding the school bus to school each day
3. Doing chores for an allowance
4. Meeting up with my friends at the mall to spend my allowance

4 things I was doing 5 years ago:
1. Working at a phone survey place
2. Trying to figure out what major I was going to do
3. Sledding on the sand dunes in Rexburg
4. Living with 5 other girls

4 things I did yesterday:
1. Went to Costco
2. Watched Hell's Kitchen
3. Packed up some more boxes for the move
4. Kissed my kitty cats

4 shows that I like:
1. Lost
2. The Office
3. Grey's Anatomy
4. So You Think You Can Dance

4 Biggest Joys of My Life Right Now:
1. Doug
2. My two kitties Jackson and Memphis
3. Getting ready to move into our house
4. My family

4 things that you might not know about me:
1. I am scared of owls
2. I don't eat fish or other seafood
3. I am a Notary Public
4. I am Scuba Certified, but I am really scared of being underwater

4 people I tag:
1. Leah
2. Marian
3. Jill
4. Landon

Pictures of the new house

Here are some pictures of the house-

The Front


The super cute front porch


The backyard and deck


The kitchen


The view from the dining room into the living room


Guest bathroom


Master bedroom


Master bedroom and bath


Bedroom #2


Bedroom #3


Laundry Room


Doug and I in front of our house!!

And the winner is...

Home #2!

We are so excited!! We signed the agreement to purchase a couple days ago, and cannot wait to close on July 10!! In less than a month we will be official homeowners!!

More pics to come when we can get back into the house this week!!

We are so excited to have a 3 bedroom, 2 bath home with lots of room to grow and entertain guests, so come visit!!!

Let's make a deal!

Well Doug and I got serious this week and made an offer on two houses. The first house, a home we really liked on a cul-de-sac with a large yard was priced a little high for the market and so we made them a low offer, and they countered back with a not so good counter offer. Amid deciding what to do about that house, my dad came down from Portland yesterday. He is a realtor up there, and so he and I drove around all afternoon yesterday looking at other homes, and came across another really great home we knew Doug had to see. We made an offer on that home last night, so now we are just playing the waiting game and a little of "Let's make a deal" with the sellers to get something great at a great price! I don't know at this point which home will work out, if either, but it's exciting, and a good feeling to be taking that next step in our future!

Here is house number one, we are still negotiating a good price:


Here is house number two, we made an offer last night: