It's a Date!!!

For all the guys out there, I'm about to let you in on a really cool secret guaranteed to heat up your marriage. If you're looking for a great place to take your wife for a weekend (or just overnight) getaway, you've got to try the place that's becoming a bit of a tradition for us. Two years ago, Cristine was pregnant with Presleigh - terribly hyperemetic (a fancy word for "full time nausea"), and wound up dehydrated. So I, being the high priest of romance in our marriage, did what any sensible guy would do - I booked us a room... at Northside Hospital. Valentine's weekend, of all times, right?

Yeah, I know what you're thinking "Dang, Cassanova, you spared no expense!" Well, if you're over your medical deductible for the year or you're on Medicaid, it could turn out to be a whole lot cheaper than tickets to Whistler for the Olympics and they'll wait on your wife hand and foot... and heart... and I.V. FYI, free parking at the Emergency Room helps make it a cheaper date.

Alright, so it's not all that romantic, but late last night, Cristine was complaining of a severe burning pain in her upper abdomen and we weren't getting a whole lot of action in her belly from the twins. Knowing the drill, I was able to get a bag packed and get us out the door pretty quickly. Within about 10 minutes, Brianna had been re-stationed on the living room couch and assigned to Presleigh-sitting duty and we were headed for the highway.

A few minutes into our check-in, we had a nice room and some snacks (graham crackers, saltines, and juice - we're talking serious romance here...) to whet the appetite. Our personal butler... uh, nurse, got to work popping in an IV and checking the fetal heartbeats. Good news on both accounts - the IV went in smoothly, I selected a fine bag of 2009 Lactated Ringer's for the lady, and the twins registered healthy, vibrant heartbeats of 140 and 132 beats per minute. I could tell Cristine was in the mood for love... or sleep... I'm not sure which it was, because it was 3AM and I already had my feet kicked up on the recliner - zzzzz. ZZZ...

The abbreviated version is, after ultrasounds and observation, it turns out Cristine had severely strained an abdominal muscle. By the time check-out time arrived we'd spent 12 hours in the hospital, confirmed the fine health of our babies in waiting, enjoyed the fine cafeteria cuisine we've not sampled in over a year, and reaffirmed my conviction that Mommy needs to be either in bed or on the couch and nothing more for the next two months. Here we are, enjoying our Valentine's Day toast, courtesy of Chez Ronald and Le Vending Machine.

It was good news all around and we got some more photos of Jovi and Jez. But, the star of the day had to be our oldest, Brianna, who babysat Presleigh through 2 late night wake ups, 3 poopie diapers, an afternoon nap, and 12 long, unexpected hours on the job. She really rose to the occasion and deserved every bite of that pizza we brought her back... that is, what Presleigh didn't devour!

Happy Valentine's Day!