First Days at Home

We arrived home to our house – done! Beautiful! We are so comfortable and Mom & Julia civilize it more each day. We are getting to open our wedding gifts all over again – what a treat! These chairs are where they boys hang out downstairs. We love the chairs and get to gaze at the boys all day long.

Matt’s first bath!

And into some cozy booties knit by Aunt Julia, we think they look like moon boots on those chicken legs!

Leo’s turn!

More moon boots.

The view from my bedside. This cosleeper (kind of like a pack n play but up higher and converts to a pack n play later) is perfect for the twins. (And c-section recovery). They stay close through the night always turn their heads toward each other (Doc says I have to shift them to avoid FLAT HEAD – yikes, who knew about that?!).

We are the happiest family! Check out our cloud chair – we are gliding the days away! Thank you Daddy!

Having a Kitchen . . . I Mean, Babies.

Okay, here it is, but I’m not wearing a very tight shirt. Maybe next week when I feel truly pitiful, which I am certainly closing in on.

Going off the anti-contraction medication (Terbutaline) as of tomorrow if all measures well with the babies. Their size, if the weight I am carrying up and down these stairs is any indication, is significant. I foresee no problems in that department.

Which is why I guess we need this very big crib?

A very special thanks to all the Keegans for this, and its twin, which all measurements indicate will also fit into this room. Dan is becoming more impressive and handy by the minute in this crazy house in these crazy times.

Meanwhile, I have found the advantage to having a huge belly. The contractors are terrified of me and have worked ahead of schedule to finish the kitchen. No, I’m sweet and I serve them coffee and lunch, and they are still terrified of me and probably some movie-version scene-to-come of my water breaking and giving birth in the back of one of their vans.

The granite is gorgeous – nice job Mom!

The “It Works” list? Everything! We are picking backsplash and paint.

Meanwhile, up in the bat cave –

Notice we even have matching bedspreads for all our nannies to come! Practically paradise!

Tomorrow I will also test our new Flip Video camcorder – stay tuned to see if I can actually upload video. Right now I’m a little disappointed it is not automatically downloading to my ivideo but to their provided software. Otherwise seems like a nice handy little thing that will NOT be in the birthing room, but around to capture smiles, giggles, etc.

Oh Sweet Microwave . . .

You can’t see it here, but  the lights are on in the microwave, which mean IT’S WORKING!

And we’re pretty happy about the molding across the top of the room too.  All appliances are in their place, although I’m not adventurous enough to try the stove, nor am I ready to cede the takeout lifestyle.

We are so happy with the new white vanity, the other may get banished to the upstairs bathroom, which is quickly falling out of favor in light of this lovely little room.

Granite by Friday, we hear.  Could we be so lucky?  This is just happy, happy progress!  Thank you, boys, for giving us the time to see this come to be!

Cabinets In!

After 2 quiet mid-week days, Saturday was a flurry of progress:

• Cabinets in!

• Bathroom grouted, shower in, vanity (the seriously out of place Victorian bargain) in. Vanity may not be invited to stay, we’ll see about that today.

As for the rest of the house, it’s coming along. The upstairs got painted in 2 days, thanks to our wonderful painter and a great baby-friendly paint recommendation, NO-VOC from Fresh Aire, from our friends Rush & Sarah (and River) at Rusharound.

And because of Mom, who arrived during our darkest hours to tame dust, dishes, plumbing questions, nerves, and to laugh a lot about the crazy state of affairs, we are almost feeling civilized.

Taking a well-deserved break in bed – the only decent seating in the house.  Paint in this master bedroom is a light green.

The beautiful blue nursery is not set up (cribs on the way!), but the closet sure is . . . how adorable!

Guest (twin-helper) bedroom a bright, cheery, energizing yellow.

And the upstairs purple bathroom, which we were nervous about, but LOVE. Until we rip it out. It is functioning like it was built in 1923, which it was. Ugh.

So there’s a long way to go, but the good news is, it is going. And growing, the babies are, that is! Updates on estimated measurements by this coming Friday, 36 weeks, the official cutoff of “full term” for twins. Great job boys!

From the Pits of Despair to . . .

Progress!

Kitchen/bathroom project pictures after week 1:

Nobody seems able to throw this stove away. If I could heft it into the dumpster myself, I would!

Moving Day

I’m getting way behind. Who knew things could get so crazy on “bedrest.” Moving day was last Saturday, and it feels like a hundred years ago. I think it was the smoothest move of my life, thanks to the Keegan army.

10:00 – L arrives first, does not pause for bagels, and starts whipping boxes into her truck.

10:30 – more family arrive, also refuse food, and get to it. This is the hardest working family I know. The trucks are lined up like cabs at Penn, and they fill up just as quickly.

By 12:00 our 1 bedroom apartment has been STRIPPED. We are off to the new digs, 3 whopping blocks away!

Finally, everyone stops for lunch and a beer to christen the new place. The one and only meal served and eaten in the kitchen before the demolition started 2 days later. No, we didn’t make it sillies, takeout!

But oh no, this crew does not quit! The sisters setup a provisional kitchen in the living room, while the guys set up the bed upstairs. Someone gets into a box of pictures, and posts Dan’s school photos in every nook and cranny of the upstairs!

And at the end of it all, they are all still smiling. It’s good to be a Keegan. I love them all so.

Next up, pics of the kitchen/bathroom renovation. The gut/wall demolition started Monday and by Saturday they were taping & spackling drywall. Unbelievable the progress in a week. Thank goodness. I’m 34 weeks and counting down . . . hang in there little guys.

To see pictures of the house before we moved in, go to our smugmug page.