A good friend of mine who is a reporter down in Florida just published this amazing story about a woman who just gave birth to quads! I just can't even imagine!
The scariest part of this story is that these quads were NATURAL. No fertility drugs. Dave (the story's author) says that's something like a 1 in a million chance occurrence. Unbelievable.
Dave knows a thing or two about multiple births and the NICU -- he and his wife, Darla, had twin boys who were very premature. I think they were something like 2 pounds each. They are now 2 years old and doing well!
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Monday, July 14, 2008
State worker salaries
We joined the pack of other newspapers around the country that have posted searchable databases of public employee salaries. Ours launched this morning with state workers, county workers from our immediate area and city of St. Paul workers. Needless to say, it's already the most popular thing on our website and they day has just begun!
The database goes along with a package of stories (second one coming tomorrow) on how the state has a unique salary cap that limits government workers' pay to a percentage of the governor's salary. The problem is that the guv hasn't had a raise in 10 years! So that means there are a lot of other people who haven't had raises either.
I built the searchable database in a product called ASP.NET -- this is my first go at a .NET application and I'm pleased with the results! The reporter, Rachel Stassen-Berger, and I have been working on this since the start of the year. UGH. We're very glad to have it done.
The database goes along with a package of stories (second one coming tomorrow) on how the state has a unique salary cap that limits government workers' pay to a percentage of the governor's salary. The problem is that the guv hasn't had a raise in 10 years! So that means there are a lot of other people who haven't had raises either.
I built the searchable database in a product called ASP.NET -- this is my first go at a .NET application and I'm pleased with the results! The reporter, Rachel Stassen-Berger, and I have been working on this since the start of the year. UGH. We're very glad to have it done.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Wolff family party 2008
This weekend we went to our annual summer "birthday" party with my Wolff family relatives (my mom's family). There are three sections of the family and we're all busy having kids these days. This year there were 6 kids age 3 and under, plus 2 older kids. Needless to say, it was chaos. One of the pictures in this slide pretty well sums it all up! You'll also see we also got some baby presents for the twins! Next year they'll be about 6 or 7 months old when we have this party and they'll certainly add to the chaos.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Double the fun
So the news that many of you are probably already expecting: We're pregnant!
And the news that is just a bit more shocking: It's twins!
Yep. Two of 'em. ....Really.
We are super excited! We had our second ultrasound today to confirm that they both made it through the first trimester. They were just fabulous! Both were larger than would be expected at this stage (11 weeks) and both had good, strong heartbeats. They were jumping around a little...it was so cute to watch. It's fairly certain they are fraternal (but of course, the docs won't EVER give you a 100% until they are born), but we won't know gender for a few more weeks.
Technically they are due Jan. 26th, but twins never go the full 40 weeks. A full-term twin pregnancy would be 37 or 38 weeks, and typically they are born even earlier than that. So we're hoping for sometime between Christmas and the middle of January. The closer we can get to the middle of January, the bigger they will be and less likely they would need to go into the NICU.
The doctor has already told us that it's highly likely I'll have to go on either partial or full bedrest at some point along the way. I'm basically planning that I'll be pretty well laid up by about the start of December, if not earlier. We want to do everything necessary to make sure they are healthy and strong and as close to full term as possible!
As for how I'm doing....I've been thanking my lucky stars that I seem to be one of those blessed women who doesn't get morning sickness. Not even a tad bit! It was quite amazing. I was extremely, extremely tired for several weeks, but that has now subsided.
And because there are two, I'm starting to show. I'm ready to make the switch to maternity clothes! (Anybody willing to give or lend me some, I'd be grateful!!). This may have something to do with the fact that it seems like all I do these days is eat, eat, eat! Boy are they hungry little ones!
I'm sure my parents are sitting up in heaven laughing their butts off. This must be my mom's way of serving retribution for all the hell my twin brother and I put her through! I'm sure she's just smiling, thinking, "Now it's her turn! Ha!" Seriously, though, I'm kind of jazzed about the idea of having two generations of twins in a row.
And the news that is just a bit more shocking: It's twins!
Yep. Two of 'em. ....Really.
We are super excited! We had our second ultrasound today to confirm that they both made it through the first trimester. They were just fabulous! Both were larger than would be expected at this stage (11 weeks) and both had good, strong heartbeats. They were jumping around a little...it was so cute to watch. It's fairly certain they are fraternal (but of course, the docs won't EVER give you a 100% until they are born), but we won't know gender for a few more weeks.
Technically they are due Jan. 26th, but twins never go the full 40 weeks. A full-term twin pregnancy would be 37 or 38 weeks, and typically they are born even earlier than that. So we're hoping for sometime between Christmas and the middle of January. The closer we can get to the middle of January, the bigger they will be and less likely they would need to go into the NICU.
The doctor has already told us that it's highly likely I'll have to go on either partial or full bedrest at some point along the way. I'm basically planning that I'll be pretty well laid up by about the start of December, if not earlier. We want to do everything necessary to make sure they are healthy and strong and as close to full term as possible!
As for how I'm doing....I've been thanking my lucky stars that I seem to be one of those blessed women who doesn't get morning sickness. Not even a tad bit! It was quite amazing. I was extremely, extremely tired for several weeks, but that has now subsided.
And because there are two, I'm starting to show. I'm ready to make the switch to maternity clothes! (Anybody willing to give or lend me some, I'd be grateful!!). This may have something to do with the fact that it seems like all I do these days is eat, eat, eat! Boy are they hungry little ones!
I'm sure my parents are sitting up in heaven laughing their butts off. This must be my mom's way of serving retribution for all the hell my twin brother and I put her through! I'm sure she's just smiling, thinking, "Now it's her turn! Ha!" Seriously, though, I'm kind of jazzed about the idea of having two generations of twins in a row.
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