"Take the long way home..."

Okay, this is going to be a long one, that's what I get for waiting a week to post - my life, right now at least (and so it has seemed ever since the end of college) is pretty damn eventful. So strap in, I had a pretty awesome week. We'll start with Wednesday, when good friend, Joe Christopher, and I headed out on a mini road trip to good ol' Columbia, Missouri, where the Journalism School is celebrating it's centennial and close to $1 billion (Billion with a "B") in renovations (much needed, I can attest to that). The day was really fantastic - the weather was beautiful, I was taking one of my favorite drives, with one of my favorite people. Joe and I met at Mizzou in an inconsequential communications class, and then, most importantly, when I came to work for the Journalism Library. Our mission Wednesday was to have lunch with Sue Scheurmann (head of the J-Library and smart ass extraordinaire) and to check out the new J-Library digs. Shamefully I didn't take any photos of the new library, I was too busy eating cookies and drinking soda if I'm being honest, although I managed to capture this cute one of me and Joe.... I felt really nostalgic that day, on the brink of tears almost at times. My experience at Mizzou was one of the best of my life thus far - coming 2nd only to marrying Kristian and naturally will have to take a back seat to the birth of and life with my babies... Nonetheless I will always cherish my time in Columbia and everything about the Journalism program. The program was no joke, indeed, which is why it relentlessly holds its position as the top Journalism program in the country. I am glad that I was (finally) in the mindset to get down to business after taking a little extra time to, ahem, "find myself," taking a semester longer than normal to finish high school and spending a little time in community college before I decided, with the love and support of my mom and Big Joe, that it was time to get serious, I wanted to be a part of Mizzou Journalism, and I knew I had it in me. It's amazing when you can be present to something enough to feel it in your bones, and Mizzou Journalism really did course through my veins, and still does. I was scared shitless a lot of the time, but young enough and naively ballsy enough to not let it hold me back. I was taught by Pulitzer prize winning professors, and worked next to Masters students in the Photojournalism program, who came from, literally, all over. I wrote some pieces I'm proud of and shot some photos I'm proud of. I met some people I'll never forget and had some conversations I'll never forget. Beyond all of that though it was just the atmosphere of sheer professionalism mixed with idealism and youth and heart that helped me learn who it is I strive to be - someone who can get down to business, with confidence and idealism. I don't win all the time, but then again, who does? I learned to ask questions - more questions, even, than I normally ask. I learned that everything is not what you see in the media, and I learned what the true job of the media should be. It doesn't win all the time either. -------- Anyhow the J-Library was a part of my experience there for 2 out of the 4 years (as was, of course, my various living arrangements where I met two of the best friends I'll ever have - Annie and Stacey) and most of all I just had fun there - Joe and I are both clowns and I'll admit I distracted him from his job, which was a lot more important than mine since he was actually staff and I was just a part-time student worker. We share a love of R&B and hip-hop - which no one around us at the time did... We play a mean game of Pictionary and can cut a rug at the club. We have an uncanny knack for color coordinating our outfits - without even consulting each other. Here's a couple more of me and Joe from "back in the day."And one of the circulation desk - Sue, our boss, is seated at her computer... And another of the "crew" at a holiday party (2001?) showing off the "classic Sue" pose... Pat simply refuses.Lunch was great (mmmm, fish & chips with malt vinegar), conversation with Sue was like we never left, we were super impressed with the new J-library, a little pissed, sure, that they hadn't completed such renovations while we were there.... Over all we were both really glad we made the trip, and to top the day off we stopped by my favorite pizza joint of all time, Shakespeare's. Anyone who has had it knows that it's one of a kind, both the pizza and the atmosphere. I paid a hefty $52 for two large, half-baked pies, which promptly filled the car with sweet aroma of Shakespeare's for the drive home - only heightening the anticipation for dinner that evening. Kristian was happy I didn't re-neg on my promise to bring home Shakespeare's - a fond memory of his also, considering how much time he spent in Columbia while I was there... I got home, we baked one of the pies the rest of the way, sliced it, added the ever necessary Parmesan and red pepper flakes, and got our eat-on. We felt like we were there, minus the hippies. It was worth every penny.

Thursday was a marathon day - although really a great day too... I had coffee with an old high school friend, April, who just so happens to have 18 month old twin girls! She brought Cameryn and Maddison with her, who are both simply adorable and really well-behaved actually, and she was kind enough to lend me some reading material - a book called "When you're expecting twins, triplets and Quads." I'm already a quarter of the way through it and have learned so much - more than from any of the other books I've read - since it speaks directly to moms of multiples. I learned that I'm not eating enough, that my craving for sweets and fats and red meat are all perfectly normal and to indulge in them since I need close to 3,000 calories a day and lots of protein, fats and carbos to keep the babies on track with healthy gain and growth.... I learned that twins develop faster than singletons initially since somehow they "know" that they won't have as long in the womb - and that their growth pattern actually slows down towards the end vs. speeding up as is the case with singletons since they both develop fast initially and that they'll simply run out of room towards the end. I learned that I'm doing a lot of the right things, and learned some things I need to get better with, like drinking 4 liters of water (I'm at about 3 liters now), and just cutting out the caffeine since it hinders hydration and fluids are super important. Some days are better than others with that - I love coffee. I feel armed with information and have listed a lot of questions to go over with my Dr. tomorrow morning... I can't wait!! I feel like every day before a Dr.s appt. and ultrasound is Christmas Eve!! Please everyone cross your fingers that my plan comes to fruition and that the ultrasound tech is able to confirm genders of the babies, write the info in my card that I'm bringing with me, and that Kristian and I will be able to sit down together at dinner on our 3rd anniversary next Wednesday and learn who these little people are dancing around inside of me..... Stay tuned for new pix of the babies, and video of the ultrasound (I'll post it on my YouTube page). ------ As Thursday continued I had lunch with a childhood friend Kim, who, just so happens to have 4 year old twin girls!! (I'm sure you see a pattern, I try to schedule all of my meetings with people who have twins and where there will be food... just kidding it's a blessing to see old friends and conversations with moms who have twins are invaluable - they've been there!). Kim and I haven't seen each other in a long time - since her wedding in 2003, and before that we were kids. I'm so glad that our paths have crossed again and look forward to hanging out with her any opportunity we get. We're both pretty insanely busy. ----- Lastly, after a meeting with Jordan at the studio, I headed over to my brother Michael's house to hang with him and my little niece G-Funk (Gretchen). We had a fab Mexican dinner with daddy/broham Mike and paid absolutely no attention to the fact that it was September 11th. I love hanging out with Gretchen, she just never ceases to impress me with her wit and insight... We all really have a lot to learn from 3-yr-olds. And just look how darn cute she is..... (PS, thanks Frankie for the rose - she loved it!!). "How many babies does Tia Juana have in her belly Gretchen?" "Two!" (she answers in a rolled-eye annoyed voice like, duh! I'm not stupid!).Okay, lastly (promise - thanks for hanging in there with me...), I can't wait for tomorrow, and I know I already said that. Below you'll see a photo from the 12week ultrasound that I hadn't posted yet mostly because Kristian has been in possession of it. It's a 3D shot of Baby B, and by far it's the best of the batch we got that day, except for the shot of them together, although only in the regular ultrasound mode... You'll notice that he (that's what we think Baby B is) has his hands over his eyes and that he's just simply, super cute and this is just an incredible image that I'm so happy we have. I know they'll both look so different and bigger tomorrow (hopefully we'll get more 3D pix!) and I'm beside myself with anticipation. I'll be sure to tell you all about it. Updates on the pregnancy: I feel great, I love watermelon, beef tenderloin and jalapenos, I'm turning into a hairy beast (you should see my belly), my skin is clearing up (yay, no more 13 yr. old pizza face!), I'm on the coffee wagon, and the kids are just big teases at this point with their "kicking." Less "kicking" really, more of just a random kick here and there, followed by... nothing. Oooh, they're crafty. They sure have me on a hook already..... Have a great week and please come back to visit and leave comments - and thanks to all the moms who have been leaving me advice on the must-have items after my Babies R Us freak-out post. Whew.