Tip Off!

Training Regiment

Oh the insomnia!! New parents know, stealing sleep becomes an everyday occurrence. A cat nap here, a nod off in basketball film session or rocking not only your baby, but yourself to sleep, it all counts when you have newborns. Like I said in the last post, we were planning for one baby, not two, so we had double of everything and my poor wife, she was nursing both boys. They were "feeding beasts" and Michelle was doing everything to keep up with every two hour feedings. We stayed that first week out of the hospital at Michelle's grandparents house in Anamosa, Iowa. It was a luxury to have family around (my parents still live in Battle Creek, MI) and made it a short trip for the nurse to make her in home check up on the boys. Every thing was going well with the boys, but one thing that was looming over us, was the fact that I was going to have to return to Ottumwa with school starting up and that meant Michelle's schedule was about to get crazy!!

We had to be consistent with our schedule when I went back to work. The better the routine we had, the more we could have set times to eat and sleep. We made the family decision that Michelle would stay at home. We didn't know how long, but the main thing was providing an environment that our boys could thrive in. Being first time parents, we didn't want to send the boys to any daycare and with the cost of daycare nowadays, we would have been going backwards. Our nightly routine looked a little like this:

• Bath time around 9pm
• Night night bottle between 10pm-11pm
• Michelle would take the first shift usually between 1am-3am (When one of the boys woke up, she would wake up the one to keep them on the same schedule.)
• I would take the morning shift between 5am-7am (I could then get ready for work and head out while Michelle got some sleep.)

We had to have a routine so that we could maintain our own sanity. One night in particular led us to figure out a schedule. We heard one of the boys on the monitor. They would never cry, but they would make a sucking noise and just a little "waah" sound to let us know they were hungry. This night, Michelle sat up in bed and thinking she was nursing one of the boys said, "I have this one, you go get the other baby." Which led to my getting out of bed, picking up my pillow, carefully holding the "head" of the pillow and then laying the pillow on our bed and patting it ever so gently. After Michelle saw me pat the pillow back to sleep, she asked me, "What are you doing?" My response was a incoherent, "I don't know". We came to our senses and realized we had to do something a little more efficient when it came to night feedings and sleep. 

New Game Plan

Our new routine was working great and I was getting back into the swing of things with our campus recruiting and basketball workouts. Michelle and the boys were bonding, but one of the downfalls of being a college basketball coach is the fact that you have to be on the road recruiting. That first year went fast and there were a few "firsts" I missed due to my coaching responsibilities. One thing I can say about the people we met in Ottumwa, is that when we needed anything, there was someone there to help us out. Kelly Conrad was the athletic director and my boss in the campus recruiting office. He and his family (Wife-Rhonda, Daughters-Erin, Katie and Abby) would have us over and the girls would always offer to watch the boys. Indian Hills did provide a "family" atmosphere and that helped so much with no immediate family of our own in town. Our coaching staff was great as well. Mike Marquis, our head coach and Chad Boudreau, the other assistant, would relieve me of some of the daily duties in the office so I could get home and help Michelle out. That meant the world to us as a family and created some life long friends in the process. 

The season was in full swing and the boys were getting their fill of junior college basketball at the highest level. Now, if there was a moment where I thought that basketball would not be in Kris and Keegan's future, it came that first year at the Hills. Every time and I mean EVERY time the game clock buzzer went off, both of them would cry hysterically!!! WHAT THE HELL?!?!? These can't be our offspring. Not only did their dad play basketball, but Michelle was a four sport athlete and I am told she had a pretty sweet jump shot. (Her Grampa Milt says there are tapes, but the only one we have watched, was when she was thrown out of a game for fighting...LOL) Because of the boys' aversion to the buzzer, Michelle and whoever would be sitting with her would take their hands and cover the boys' ears. They would do this whenever there would be a reason for the buzzer to go off. They would grow out of it by the next season with the help of Conrad girls and their friends keeping the boys occupied during the game. 

Workout Plan

The boys were growing like weeds and becoming more and more active. At 9 months they were walking. We aren't sure who took off first, but they were both scurrying around within 24 hours of each. Now, you thought having twins was a handful, try chasing these two now that they were mobile!! We had moved to an apartment on the north side of Ottumwa, approximately 2.5 miles from the Hellyer Student Life Center on the Indian Hills campus. Michelle would strap the boys in their double jogging stroller and off they went. We would have pick up games going on in the afternoon and Michelle would use this as a way to get her up and moving, to help her loose her "baby weight". Now, I wasn't going to put this out there, but with Michelle's blessing.....here goes. Michelle's "baby weight", was 110lbs!! At her last weigh in before they were born, Michelle weighed in at 240lbs. During those last few months in the summer of 2000, she was miserable. She was reduced to wearing "oversized" cotton shorts and what Michelle would call her "moo moo" tops. I tried to comfort her and there were times when just my simply rubbing her feet and giving her the "Kenyon pedi", made her feel good. Now, my pedis, sucked by every stretch of the imagination. People told her they looked good, but regardless, I know she appreciated the effort since she hadn't seen her feet in months. 

The time it took Michelle to get from our apartment to the gym decreased very quickly. She was getting her mojo back and got a huge fitness kick from "Billy Blanks Tae Bo", on VHS. Now, she loss 75lbs in 5 weeks from just having them, but the next 30lbs was going to take some work. Billy came at a great time and we purchased the box set so Michelle could kick some butt..LOL! 

Year 1 In The Books

Now the boys' first year flew by, but I think it was a typical first year of life that most parents experience (x2). We had their first birthday party in Cedar Rapids at the Happy Joe's that used to be located on the lower level of Lindale Mall. Michelle's family was there and like always, Gramma Meeks had a cake for each boys. Though they share a womb for 9 months, Gramma always made sure they were treating as individuals and that included cakes. The cakes were great and I do believe the adults ate most of those. The  boys had their eyes for only one of their presents...a Lil Tykes Basketball Hoop (w/ two basketballs). LET THE GAMES BEGIN!!