What a week!
Lonnie has been off so I had our organizer girl come three full days (M, T, W) this week so we could tackle the things that we needed his help with. He is not off again until mid March and I knew we needed to get these things done because I would like to have the garage sale as soon as possible.
I tried to prepare him for what I wanted to do but I don't think he fully understood. 9-4 each day going through things, cleaning out things and sorting things. There was not going to be any, "oh I don't want to go through that box" or "oh, I'll go through that one later". No. We were doing it. Right then. We started in his office which was a freakin' wreck and once that was done we moved to the master closet downstairs. There were a ton of my keepsake boxes from college and high school that I went through and consolidated. Then we moved to the garage. This forced Lonnie to go through a bunch of boxes that he has been putting off going through. His Dad died almost 10 years ago and he has a lot of his stuff. He went though all of that and I was so proud of him. About midway through the second day he was done. Over it. But I made him push through just so we could finish. And we did. Whew. He was mad at me but I think he's over it now ;) And he loves the fact that it is done.
We got a lot more done than I even imagined. I wanted to complete his office but we were able to do that plus empty out the closet downstairs (which is where we will store the sorted boxes AND it is the nursery closet...it is really big) and then move to the garage. I did NOT think we would get to the garage but that is why I hired this girl. She keeps us on track! I will post pictures when everything is final. All areas are still a work in progress until we clean out all other areas and then have the garage sale.
Also on Tuesday we interviewed a lady who is going to help us with housework a few days a week when the babies come. An entire post on that later. But that was just one more thing to add to the list of stuff to do (and prepare for). Then Blakely had dance and that night and my MIL came over.
This morning we took B to gymnastics and then came home so I could finish going through a few more things while Lonnie took a nap. Then he went to an afternoon and evening full of meetings. I am WORN OUT. So I am propped up on the couch typing this while B watches F.rozen.
Tomorrow we have a window guy coming to give us an estimate on new kitchen windows because one of them is broken. Turns out they aren't tempered glass and they are supposed to be (but weren't required to be when this house was built). They go to the floor so we are looking at replacing 2 others besides the broken one. Fun. Lonnie has to go through the last bit of paperwork in his office (future guest bedroom) or my head may explode. I am ready to rearrange the furniture and hang stuff on the walls to actually complete a room. I honestly try really hard not to nag Lonnie ever. I never make "honey-do" lists for when he is off and I just let him get around to doing certain things in his own time. But this week I have really been on him. He knew it was coming but I think he will be glad when this week is over and he can go back to work! Ha!
I also have a friend coming tomorrow to look at our bedroom set that is in the babies room. Hopefully she is going to buy it because then I will actually have a nursery. Whoop!
It has been a long week but a crazy productive week. I have felt pretty good and that helped a lot. My girl is coming 2 days again next week so we can tackle my crazy areas of the house (craft closet...oy). Things are moving faster than I thought and we already have a ton of garage sale stuff. Man I can't wait to get that crap outta here. It is going to feel so good!
Thursday, January 29, 2015
Thursday, January 22, 2015
Medicine cabinet
The other day Lonnie got tired of the craziness in our medicine cabinet and decided to clean it out. He said I didn't even need to help him. Wait. What?
Obviously I told him to go for it. I didn't take a before picture but you can just imagine three shelves overflowing with medications and vitamins. A lot of it was leftover stuff from IVF and then just random bottles of Ty.lenol, etc.
Anyway, we went through every single item and ended up with quite bit to take to the hospital medical waste. I had some leftover medicine that I donated to my clinic since they were unopened.
The point of this post is not about the cleaning out of the cabinet. The point is that I wanted to show you this picture.
That is 10 full sharps containers. TEN. FULL. The one on the far right is about halfway full but the other are brimming. All of these are from trying for baby #2. When I was working at the hospital while trying to get pregnant with B I would take them occasional and empty them in to the sharps containers there. But now that I don't work there they have just piled up over the last 2 1/2 years. These are the needles from one frozen embryo transfer and 3 IVF's. Geez. Just call me a pincushion!
It felt good to get rid of all of that...the medication included. Part of me wanted to wallow in the fact that I even had to poke myself that many times. Wah wah wah. But ya know what? It was worth it and I knew that it would be. That is why I kept going. I am so thankful to be where we are right now. I am so thankful that we were ABLE to keep going. Sometimes it still feels surreal. Like I am going to wake up and all of this was just a dream. Then I get a swift kick to the bladder as a reminder that THIS IS HAPPENING. This girl is so happy and so in love with these two tiny miracles.
Obviously I told him to go for it. I didn't take a before picture but you can just imagine three shelves overflowing with medications and vitamins. A lot of it was leftover stuff from IVF and then just random bottles of Ty.lenol, etc.
Anyway, we went through every single item and ended up with quite bit to take to the hospital medical waste. I had some leftover medicine that I donated to my clinic since they were unopened.
The point of this post is not about the cleaning out of the cabinet. The point is that I wanted to show you this picture.
That is 10 full sharps containers. TEN. FULL. The one on the far right is about halfway full but the other are brimming. All of these are from trying for baby #2. When I was working at the hospital while trying to get pregnant with B I would take them occasional and empty them in to the sharps containers there. But now that I don't work there they have just piled up over the last 2 1/2 years. These are the needles from one frozen embryo transfer and 3 IVF's. Geez. Just call me a pincushion!
It felt good to get rid of all of that...the medication included. Part of me wanted to wallow in the fact that I even had to poke myself that many times. Wah wah wah. But ya know what? It was worth it and I knew that it would be. That is why I kept going. I am so thankful to be where we are right now. I am so thankful that we were ABLE to keep going. Sometimes it still feels surreal. Like I am going to wake up and all of this was just a dream. Then I get a swift kick to the bladder as a reminder that THIS IS HAPPENING. This girl is so happy and so in love with these two tiny miracles.
Baby girl
Baby boy
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
20 weekers with the twinkers
How Far Along: 20 weeks. Halfway. Although surely we will be taking these babes before 40 weeks! 37 weeks is my goal. I can do this.
19 weeks
Best Moment of the Week: seeing these precious ones on our ultrasound. They looked perfect and cooperated great so we could see everything that needed to be seen. So thankful for that. I will have growth ultrasounds now every 4 weeks and have appointments every 2 weeks.
Movement: yes. I feel them pretty often and it is getting stronger and stronger. I feel baby boy the most because he is low. I do feel baby girl up high but just not as strong yet. I love it so much and I can't wait for Lonnie and B to feel them. I have been able to feel some kicks a couple of times from the outside so it is just a matter of time. On the ultrasound today she was trying to get some pictures of baby girl but baby boy kept kicking her so it was making her jump even thought it wasn't her doing the actual moving. I foresee a lot more of that!
Symptoms: still the same as last time although I think my "super fun pain" is a little better. Or maybe I am learning when I need to rest and not overdo it. And the girls have started leaking. I expected it as this is about when they did that with Blakely. Real fun.
Food Cravings/Aversions: Can I just let y'all know that I wake up with the appetite of 10 men. I act like I haven't eaten in days...all day...until about 4:00 and then I'm not so hungry anymore. I want all the pasta that was ever made in the world too. Should be good for the poundage.
What I Miss: nothing right now!
What I'm Looking Forward to: getting things together with the house. It is so hard to find coordinating boy/girl crib bedding. I know what I want but finding it has proved to be a little difficult. Although yesterday I think I found a lady on E.tsy who can do it for me for a reasonable price. I just purchased each babe a quilt and I can't wait for them to get here. I hope to sell our bedroom furniture this week or next so then I will have a baby room to play in. Fun!
Also, naming these babies! We have about 5 girls names that we would both love to use. Boy names? So much harder. Seriously. I don't like ANY of them. Or I like them but it just isn't his name, ya know? We have a family name for him that we always thought we would use but now it is super common so we are kind of backing off on it. But it just seems like nothing will live up to it. We will see. We have time!
Milestones: reaching the "halfway" mark and just getting one week closer to meeting these babies!
Blakely's take: Blakely talks about the babies a lot so I thought I would add this in to these little updates. Right now she tells me that she has babies in her tummy too. Which is pretty funny because she raises up her shirt and pokes her little belly out. My mom sent me this the other day...
Blakely's take: Blakely talks about the babies a lot so I thought I would add this in to these little updates. Right now she tells me that she has babies in her tummy too. Which is pretty funny because she raises up her shirt and pokes her little belly out. My mom sent me this the other day...
When I am making her pick up her toys before bed she tells me that she can't bend down because of the babies in her tummy. Smart girl really.
We were sitting together at the window waiting for Lonnie to get home 2 days ago and she reached over, rubbed my belly and said, "I can't wait for the babies to come out". Sweet girl. Although I am pretty sure she is going to want them to go right back in once they do come out.
Someone asked her if she was excited about becoming a big sister in a few months. She said I ALREADY AM A BIG SISTER!
She wants to feel them move so bad. She comes over and puts her hand on my belly for a minute and then says that they must be sleeping and we should be quiet.
Yay for another week in the books!!
Thursday, January 15, 2015
The house
There are about eleventy billion things that need to be done in our house to get ready for the twins. I made a list the other day of all the things that need to be sold, bought, organized and rearranged and it was 12 pages long. Lordy.
I want to document here the progress that we make because I am sure not all of the things I want to get done will actually get done. I know you are dying to hear ALLLLLL about it....
Here is the thing. We haven't really "finished" our house since we moved in 8 years ago. Granted this house was move in ready and there weren't any big projects to finish but I mean like finishing decorating each room and stuff like that. Want to know why? Infertility. I can blame a lot of things on it but this is a big one. I feel like our life has ben on hold for the past 6-7 years. I didn't want to turn our bar into a big fun adult pool table/ping pong room because I had hopes that it would be a playroom for children. And then that didn't happen in the time frame that I was expecting so everything just got put on hold. I didn't want to make one of the bedrooms downstairs into a super nice guest room because I want to make it a nursery! So basically we did nothing. We had our master upstairs and then some furniture in a room downstairs and called it a guest room. Then of course when B came along we made her a nursery. But other that that we have quite a few rooms that were/are not being used to their full potential.
So that brings me to now. We have to make room for 2 babies! Let me give you a little rundown of the way our house is laid out.
The upstairs is the main floor, the floor you walk in on and the floor where we spend most of our time. This is where the master is (as well as the living room, dining room, kitchen, and laundry room). We always lived in this room until we had B and then we moved down to the guest room beside her room which is where we live now.
The downstairs has three bedrooms and then a large (bonus?) room that has a nice bar and lots of space. We have used this as a bar/storage room. Grrr. One of the bedrooms is smaller and is my husband's office right now. It has no windows and tile floors. We call it the dungeon room. It is a nice room but the others are more spacious and have windows and doors that look out to the lake.
Anyway. Basically we are rearranging our entire house before the babies come. Or at least it feels like it. Here is small(!) list of the big things that we have to do before babies.
1. The twin's nursery is going to be the room we live in now downstairs. So we have to sell the bedroom set that is in there to make room for baby furniture. Then we have to move back to the master upstairs.
2. Move all of the furniture in Blakely's room (crib, dresser, chest of drawers, queen bed and glider) to the baby room. Buy B all new furniture. She's getting a new white bed and dresser and a room makeover. No paint (her room is green) but lots of other new stuff.
3. Make the office into a guest bedroom. There is already a queen bed in there so mainly this will be a bunch of organizing books (L is a book hoarder...have I mentioned that?). We are going to sell the desk and desktop computers that are in there so it is less office-y and more comfortable for guests. Ya know, since it has no windows :/
4. The bar/storage room is being turned into a family room/playroom. I think this space will need its own post. It is crazy right now but I have big plans for it in the future. One day it will be just a playroom but for the immediate future I see it as a family room and a playroom. It is huge so that will work for now.
So how am I going to get all of this done? Well the first thing is I am having garage sale. I have never had one before and I may never again but I feel it is the best way to get rid of all of the junk we have. (Side note...where does all the crap come from?) I am in the biggest purging mode right now. I want to throw away EVERYTHING. Ugh. It is driving me crazy. I think once we purge a bunch of our stuff then we can start to get the rooms to come together. The problem is that I can't physically do all of these things. I have a few good hours on my feet a day and the rest of the day is spent sitting down or laying down with some spurts of "getting shit done" in between.
So I hired someone. She organizes for people for a living. I may or may not be in love with her. She has been here one day for 6 hours and we completely went through the bar and organized it. I sat the entire time. She would bring me a box or something and ask what I wanted to do with it and that was it. She doesn't get tired or distracted. And she is totally OCD. I am so thankful I found her! She is going to help me get everything together for the garage sale and then work the sale with me also. I feel like once we can get all this excess crap out of here I will be able to breathe and feel better about bringing a ton of baby stuff into the house!
We plan to have this garage/yard sale in about 8 weeks....so late March. For right now she set up the bar downstairs as a garage sale and we are pricing things as we go. So now when we clean out the craft closet, for example, we (she!) can just take things into the bar to the home decor section or the kids section she has set up and toss it in a box with a price. I think it will make going through the rest of my house much easier. Then we just have to bring all of it upstairs right before the sale. Yikes. My list of things to clean out/organize with her are:
-bar (done)
-craft closet (it is mostly organized just a few months worth of stuff that I didn't put back in place and threw on the floor. Ha! lots of purging will happen here)
-the baby's closet (this has a bunch of sports equipment, puzzles, luggage, large baby items, etc in it)
-Blakely's closet (I have done most of this but still some left to do)
-help get Blakely's toy situation under control. (pregnant mom + 3rd birthday + Christmas has sent the toy sitch into overdrive)
-laundry room (my god the laundry room)
-office (have to have Lonnie around for this)
-garage (have to have Lonnie around for this)
-our closet upstairs (all of our clothes and shoes)
-pantry (not for the garage sale but just for my sanity)
She is going to organize as we clean out too. So the laundry room will be a completely usable space unlike the 25% that is usable right now.
Once we sell the bedroom set in the twin's room (have a few people interested already) we can move all of B's baby furniture in there and order her a new set. Then we we will actually have a space to put baby stuff and I can begin to go through some of the clothes that I saved from when Blakely was a baby, get the swing out of the attic, etc.
I am thrilled to get started on this huge project and I am so happy that she said she would help me. To me it seems like a ton to do but she says it will move quickly now that we've gotten started. She's not overwhelmed like I am! I didn't really start doing a thing for Blakely's nursery until about 28 weeks but I needed to start sooner because we have a lot more to do and because I could end up on bed rest or something too. Not to even mention if the babies come early (please stay in there!). I don't have the energy to do all of it and Lonnie works too much. It would take us a year! And yes, I will probably pay her as much if not more than I will make in the garage sale but I don't care a bit! Totally worth it.
Oh, you want to see pictures? Okay.... I will take some before and afters for sure. We organized the bar but since it is the storage place for all the garage sale items it is still pretty hectic. I want to wait to post before/during/afters of that until the playroom/family room is set up.
Eeeek! I know you are all as excited as me!
I want to document here the progress that we make because I am sure not all of the things I want to get done will actually get done. I know you are dying to hear ALLLLLL about it....
Here is the thing. We haven't really "finished" our house since we moved in 8 years ago. Granted this house was move in ready and there weren't any big projects to finish but I mean like finishing decorating each room and stuff like that. Want to know why? Infertility. I can blame a lot of things on it but this is a big one. I feel like our life has ben on hold for the past 6-7 years. I didn't want to turn our bar into a big fun adult pool table/ping pong room because I had hopes that it would be a playroom for children. And then that didn't happen in the time frame that I was expecting so everything just got put on hold. I didn't want to make one of the bedrooms downstairs into a super nice guest room because I want to make it a nursery! So basically we did nothing. We had our master upstairs and then some furniture in a room downstairs and called it a guest room. Then of course when B came along we made her a nursery. But other that that we have quite a few rooms that were/are not being used to their full potential.
So that brings me to now. We have to make room for 2 babies! Let me give you a little rundown of the way our house is laid out.
The upstairs is the main floor, the floor you walk in on and the floor where we spend most of our time. This is where the master is (as well as the living room, dining room, kitchen, and laundry room). We always lived in this room until we had B and then we moved down to the guest room beside her room which is where we live now.
The downstairs has three bedrooms and then a large (bonus?) room that has a nice bar and lots of space. We have used this as a bar/storage room. Grrr. One of the bedrooms is smaller and is my husband's office right now. It has no windows and tile floors. We call it the dungeon room. It is a nice room but the others are more spacious and have windows and doors that look out to the lake.
Anyway. Basically we are rearranging our entire house before the babies come. Or at least it feels like it. Here is small(!) list of the big things that we have to do before babies.
1. The twin's nursery is going to be the room we live in now downstairs. So we have to sell the bedroom set that is in there to make room for baby furniture. Then we have to move back to the master upstairs.
2. Move all of the furniture in Blakely's room (crib, dresser, chest of drawers, queen bed and glider) to the baby room. Buy B all new furniture. She's getting a new white bed and dresser and a room makeover. No paint (her room is green) but lots of other new stuff.
3. Make the office into a guest bedroom. There is already a queen bed in there so mainly this will be a bunch of organizing books (L is a book hoarder...have I mentioned that?). We are going to sell the desk and desktop computers that are in there so it is less office-y and more comfortable for guests. Ya know, since it has no windows :/
4. The bar/storage room is being turned into a family room/playroom. I think this space will need its own post. It is crazy right now but I have big plans for it in the future. One day it will be just a playroom but for the immediate future I see it as a family room and a playroom. It is huge so that will work for now.
So how am I going to get all of this done? Well the first thing is I am having garage sale. I have never had one before and I may never again but I feel it is the best way to get rid of all of the junk we have. (Side note...where does all the crap come from?) I am in the biggest purging mode right now. I want to throw away EVERYTHING. Ugh. It is driving me crazy. I think once we purge a bunch of our stuff then we can start to get the rooms to come together. The problem is that I can't physically do all of these things. I have a few good hours on my feet a day and the rest of the day is spent sitting down or laying down with some spurts of "getting shit done" in between.
So I hired someone. She organizes for people for a living. I may or may not be in love with her. She has been here one day for 6 hours and we completely went through the bar and organized it. I sat the entire time. She would bring me a box or something and ask what I wanted to do with it and that was it. She doesn't get tired or distracted. And she is totally OCD. I am so thankful I found her! She is going to help me get everything together for the garage sale and then work the sale with me also. I feel like once we can get all this excess crap out of here I will be able to breathe and feel better about bringing a ton of baby stuff into the house!
We plan to have this garage/yard sale in about 8 weeks....so late March. For right now she set up the bar downstairs as a garage sale and we are pricing things as we go. So now when we clean out the craft closet, for example, we (she!) can just take things into the bar to the home decor section or the kids section she has set up and toss it in a box with a price. I think it will make going through the rest of my house much easier. Then we just have to bring all of it upstairs right before the sale. Yikes. My list of things to clean out/organize with her are:
-bar (done)
-craft closet (it is mostly organized just a few months worth of stuff that I didn't put back in place and threw on the floor. Ha! lots of purging will happen here)
-the baby's closet (this has a bunch of sports equipment, puzzles, luggage, large baby items, etc in it)
-Blakely's closet (I have done most of this but still some left to do)
-help get Blakely's toy situation under control. (pregnant mom + 3rd birthday + Christmas has sent the toy sitch into overdrive)
-laundry room (my god the laundry room)
-office (have to have Lonnie around for this)
-garage (have to have Lonnie around for this)
-our closet upstairs (all of our clothes and shoes)
-pantry (not for the garage sale but just for my sanity)
She is going to organize as we clean out too. So the laundry room will be a completely usable space unlike the 25% that is usable right now.
Once we sell the bedroom set in the twin's room (have a few people interested already) we can move all of B's baby furniture in there and order her a new set. Then we we will actually have a space to put baby stuff and I can begin to go through some of the clothes that I saved from when Blakely was a baby, get the swing out of the attic, etc.
I am thrilled to get started on this huge project and I am so happy that she said she would help me. To me it seems like a ton to do but she says it will move quickly now that we've gotten started. She's not overwhelmed like I am! I didn't really start doing a thing for Blakely's nursery until about 28 weeks but I needed to start sooner because we have a lot more to do and because I could end up on bed rest or something too. Not to even mention if the babies come early (please stay in there!). I don't have the energy to do all of it and Lonnie works too much. It would take us a year! And yes, I will probably pay her as much if not more than I will make in the garage sale but I don't care a bit! Totally worth it.
Oh, you want to see pictures? Okay.... I will take some before and afters for sure. We organized the bar but since it is the storage place for all the garage sale items it is still pretty hectic. I want to wait to post before/during/afters of that until the playroom/family room is set up.
Eeeek! I know you are all as excited as me!
Friday, January 9, 2015
tag along
I had an OB appointment the other day and I usually schedule them on the two days I know Blakely will be in MDO. Well I have kept her out of MDO this week (and probably next) because the flu is so rampant here and I am stressed about us getting it. SO she got to tag along to the appointment with me.
I told her in the morning all about it and that she was a big girl to get to go and meet Dr. Jaime. She had all kinds of questions about him. I explained that he took care of babies while they were in tummies and that he took care of her when she was in my tummy. She thought that was cool and then asked about a million other questions.
Since we haven't left the house much lately I tried to make it somewhat of a date for the two of us. We left the house early so we could drive thru chi.ck-fil-a then we drove to the hospital. We parked and I let her get in the front seat with me. We ate our food while listening to the Fr.ozen soundtrack.
This was just a quick checkup so I thought it would be a breeze taking her. She was very interested in the fact that I had to pee in a cup. She wanted to do it too. Took me 5 minutes to explain that she could not. She was really cute during the appointment. She sat in the chair and let me talk to the nurse and then the doctor. About halfway through she got up, came over to me and asked if she could give me a hug. I said yes of course. Then she went back and sat in her chair.
Turns out he wanted to check me again (because of the vagina pain...fun). So I strategically placed Blakely at the head of my bed and gave her my phone. She was totally engrossed in the phone so I don't think she even realized I got half naked!
Everything was fine. Which makes me feel (and him) feel better. I am really hoping to avoid being checked next time. I go back in 2 weeks for the big ultrasound. Once I got dressed and we walked out into the hall he asked Blakely if she wanted to see the babies. She of course said yes not understanding what that meant. The sonographer wasn't busy so we got a sneak peek at the babes and Blakely thought it was pretty cool. She kept saying "that's baby sister on top and baby brother is on the bottom".
She did great with me and I am glad that I got to take her AND that she got to see the babies. She keeps asking to feel the babies move but she can't feel them yet so I think seeing them move around in there was fun for her. For a few minutes and then she was back to digging in my purse and pulling things out. :)
When we were on our way home I was telling her that she was such a big girl and maybe she could go with me again. I said, "I really love it when you go to the doctor with me" and she responded with, "I really love it when you go by yourself and I get to spend the day with Daddy". Ha! So there may not be a next time but I am glad there was a first time! ;)
Thursday, January 8, 2015
Vegas
Lonnie had some time off at the beginning of December and we wanted to plan a little getaway for just the three of us. I really just let him plan the thing because I didn't care where we went. I preferred a direct flight or a short drive somewhere but that was about it.
He decided on Vegas. Ha!
If I am being totally honest I wasn't that thrilled with the idea of taking a 3 year old to Vegas. But once I started doing some searching around I realized there were quite a few things we could do with Blakely and quite a few Christmas-y things we could do as well. So I didn't complain as we were only going to be there for 3 full days ;)
Blakely was great on the flight out there. She slept most of the way. We stayed at the Palaz.zo for the first time and really liked it. We had a suite and it was FANTASTIC. I wish I would have taken pictures of it. It was split level with the king bed and a large sitting area up top and then down three steps was the "living" area with a huge sectional and the fold out that B slept on. Blakely would have been happy just to play with her babies in our room the entire time. I worried about her sleeping in the same "room" with us but she did fine. Went to sleep great each night and even took great naps with me everyday. She was really a dream on this trip and I was so relieved because she had been quite naughty the weeks leading up to the trip.
The first full day was spent walking around and letting Blakely take in the lights of Vegas. We bought a new umbrella stroller (J.eep brand and hello love it) because our other one pretty much died on our last trip. When we went to Denver in March I swore I wasn't taking B to walk around a city without a stroller again anytime soon. I could just picture her getting lost in Vegas and I knew a stroller would save my sanity. It did. She still walked quite a bit but the stroller was so very helpful because even when she was walking she wanted to be pushing her baby in the stroller.
We took a gondola ride at The Ven.etian and she thought that was fun. Our driver sang songs to her and I think she wanted to go again.
I had read that the Cosmopolitan turned their swimming area into an ice skating rink and I knew B would love trying that so the next day we took her there. Obviously I couldn't ice skate (darn) so Lonnie had to be the one to skate with her. He hasn't skated in a million years so I let him get his bearings before sending her out there.
Basically she looks adorable...
She thought it was fun and the girls there tried to teach her the best way to stay on her feet. She did okay but Lonnie had to keep her upright. She didn't want to stop but after about 20-30 minutes I could tell this was not going well for Lonnie. The position he was in, slightly bent over at the waist and holding all of her weight most of the time, was not looking good for his already injured back (see this post). I tried to get him to stop and let the girls who worked there take B out but they were just holding her hand and not really giving a shit if she cracked her head or her arm so we weren't okay with that. He pushed on.
When we were done we went and had dinner and then came back out there to the fire pits they had set up. They had Christmas music playing and you could get hot chocolate at the bar and stuff for s'mores. We roasted about 20 (Mommy LOVES them) and sipped hot chocolate by the fire.
The best part was that it wasn't actually cold...ha! Then they made it snow and B was fired up about that. She ran around and jumped up and down trying to catch it yelling, "Snow! Mommy, it's SNOW!"
The next day we took her to the indoor theme park at Ci.rcus Circ.us. She has never ridden any rides before. I know! I can't believe it either. We have meant to take her to the fair each year but something has always come up. I was so looking forward to Disney in March because I knew she would love to ride rides (and, well, princesses). Since that is cancelled I was excited to see how she liked this little theme park. For an indoor theme park it was pretty great. They even have some big rides. They had about 8 rides that she could ride and that was really plenty. Lonnie or I rode many of them with her first and then tested out one by herself.
She was so excited and picked out her airplane with care. About halfway through the ride I could tell the change on her face. She was getting a little scared and made eye contact with me. I told her she was doing great! and wasn't it fun! and it was almost over! I think she got a little freaked out because she wasn't sure when it would stop. I was so proud of her because she didn't cry and I could tell she was trying so hard to be brave. It was just one of those mommy moments for me and I could have cried I was so proud of her. Or maybe I am just pregnant and overly emotional.
We stayed for a few hours and then went back to the hotel to crash. And I am talking a 3 hour nap. Glory.
On our last day we went to old downtown Vegas. It was fun and Lonnie and I had never checked that out before. It is more of the old timey major lights and flashiness that you think of when you think of Vegas. We had fun walking around and and then had dinner. Blakely did so well at our dinners in Vegas. I was worried about it because she is in a stage where she doesn't want to listen to anything we say. But really she did well and I was impressed. We even did a couple of fancier places and didn't have to leave early. By the end of dinner I was ready to go lay down. I was hurting and worn out and knew I was going to have to travel the next day with Blakely by myself. So we went to bed at like 730. Wild Vegas nights I tell ya.
Blakely and I came home together and Lonnie stayed for a few extra days. She did well traveling with me although she didn't sleep on the way home. 3+ hour flight with a sleepy toddler who wants to get up and pee every 15 minutes. Exhausting. She didn't whine though so I can't complain much.
On the way home I asked her her favorite part of the trip. She said the taxi rides. LOL! We didn't take a car seat this time since we didn't rent a car. Also I knew we wouldn't use taxis much...mainly to and from the airport which was quite close to our hotel. She thought she was so big to not have a car seat. Lonnie and I stressed the entire ride. What do y'all do? I didn't want to take a car seat because then what would we do with it once we got to our destination? The only place we went was the Cosmo and we couldn't lug it around the entire time. But I really wanted to take it. It was just weird. She only had about 4 rides without a seat but still. Stressful. Interested to see what everyone else does in this situation.
All in all I am glad we made the trip. We were able to have some fun family time together and since we can't go to Disney this was our last big trip as a family of three! Eeeeek!
He decided on Vegas. Ha!
If I am being totally honest I wasn't that thrilled with the idea of taking a 3 year old to Vegas. But once I started doing some searching around I realized there were quite a few things we could do with Blakely and quite a few Christmas-y things we could do as well. So I didn't complain as we were only going to be there for 3 full days ;)
Blakely was great on the flight out there. She slept most of the way. We stayed at the Palaz.zo for the first time and really liked it. We had a suite and it was FANTASTIC. I wish I would have taken pictures of it. It was split level with the king bed and a large sitting area up top and then down three steps was the "living" area with a huge sectional and the fold out that B slept on. Blakely would have been happy just to play with her babies in our room the entire time. I worried about her sleeping in the same "room" with us but she did fine. Went to sleep great each night and even took great naps with me everyday. She was really a dream on this trip and I was so relieved because she had been quite naughty the weeks leading up to the trip.
The first full day was spent walking around and letting Blakely take in the lights of Vegas. We bought a new umbrella stroller (J.eep brand and hello love it) because our other one pretty much died on our last trip. When we went to Denver in March I swore I wasn't taking B to walk around a city without a stroller again anytime soon. I could just picture her getting lost in Vegas and I knew a stroller would save my sanity. It did. She still walked quite a bit but the stroller was so very helpful because even when she was walking she wanted to be pushing her baby in the stroller.
We took a gondola ride at The Ven.etian and she thought that was fun. Our driver sang songs to her and I think she wanted to go again.
I had read that the Cosmopolitan turned their swimming area into an ice skating rink and I knew B would love trying that so the next day we took her there. Obviously I couldn't ice skate (darn) so Lonnie had to be the one to skate with her. He hasn't skated in a million years so I let him get his bearings before sending her out there.
Basically she looks adorable...
She thought it was fun and the girls there tried to teach her the best way to stay on her feet. She did okay but Lonnie had to keep her upright. She didn't want to stop but after about 20-30 minutes I could tell this was not going well for Lonnie. The position he was in, slightly bent over at the waist and holding all of her weight most of the time, was not looking good for his already injured back (see this post). I tried to get him to stop and let the girls who worked there take B out but they were just holding her hand and not really giving a shit if she cracked her head or her arm so we weren't okay with that. He pushed on.
The best part was that it wasn't actually cold...ha! Then they made it snow and B was fired up about that. She ran around and jumped up and down trying to catch it yelling, "Snow! Mommy, it's SNOW!"
The next day we took her to the indoor theme park at Ci.rcus Circ.us. She has never ridden any rides before. I know! I can't believe it either. We have meant to take her to the fair each year but something has always come up. I was so looking forward to Disney in March because I knew she would love to ride rides (and, well, princesses). Since that is cancelled I was excited to see how she liked this little theme park. For an indoor theme park it was pretty great. They even have some big rides. They had about 8 rides that she could ride and that was really plenty. Lonnie or I rode many of them with her first and then tested out one by herself.
She was so excited and picked out her airplane with care. About halfway through the ride I could tell the change on her face. She was getting a little scared and made eye contact with me. I told her she was doing great! and wasn't it fun! and it was almost over! I think she got a little freaked out because she wasn't sure when it would stop. I was so proud of her because she didn't cry and I could tell she was trying so hard to be brave. It was just one of those mommy moments for me and I could have cried I was so proud of her. Or maybe I am just pregnant and overly emotional.
We stayed for a few hours and then went back to the hotel to crash. And I am talking a 3 hour nap. Glory.
On our last day we went to old downtown Vegas. It was fun and Lonnie and I had never checked that out before. It is more of the old timey major lights and flashiness that you think of when you think of Vegas. We had fun walking around and and then had dinner. Blakely did so well at our dinners in Vegas. I was worried about it because she is in a stage where she doesn't want to listen to anything we say. But really she did well and I was impressed. We even did a couple of fancier places and didn't have to leave early. By the end of dinner I was ready to go lay down. I was hurting and worn out and knew I was going to have to travel the next day with Blakely by myself. So we went to bed at like 730. Wild Vegas nights I tell ya.
Blakely and I came home together and Lonnie stayed for a few extra days. She did well traveling with me although she didn't sleep on the way home. 3+ hour flight with a sleepy toddler who wants to get up and pee every 15 minutes. Exhausting. She didn't whine though so I can't complain much.
On the way home I asked her her favorite part of the trip. She said the taxi rides. LOL! We didn't take a car seat this time since we didn't rent a car. Also I knew we wouldn't use taxis much...mainly to and from the airport which was quite close to our hotel. She thought she was so big to not have a car seat. Lonnie and I stressed the entire ride. What do y'all do? I didn't want to take a car seat because then what would we do with it once we got to our destination? The only place we went was the Cosmo and we couldn't lug it around the entire time. But I really wanted to take it. It was just weird. She only had about 4 rides without a seat but still. Stressful. Interested to see what everyone else does in this situation.
She looks scared to death here but she really was thrilled.
All in all I am glad we made the trip. We were able to have some fun family time together and since we can't go to Disney this was our last big trip as a family of three! Eeeeek!
Sunday, January 4, 2015
18 weeks
Well obviously I am not going to be able to keep up with the weekly updates!
Today I am 18 weeks pregnant with the twinks! I feel like I have a lot to update on because a lot has been going on the last 6 weeks.
Maternity Clothes: Yes to the pants and some shirts. Most of my larger sweaters will fit for a while. Thank goodness for the sweater and leggings trend! My mom got me four long sleeve maternity shirts and they are perfect. I think they will last until the OMG huge stage. I really need to get some more pants. I literally have one pair that fits. I got a couple of gift cards for Christmas so this weekend I am going to do some online shopping. Any recs for maternity jeans that are LONG? I am almost five ten!
Sleep: Sleep is good. I sleep really hard and wake up about 2 times a night to pee but go right back to sleep. I have started taking a bath every night and it really gets me ready for sleep. Baths are awesome!
Best Moment of the Week: There have been a lot of great moments the past few weeks. I had my friend at the hospital scan me the other day and she looked really good at the babies. Until now we have just done quick checks but nothing thorough. She checked all of their organs and everything looked good. We were able to tell that baby boy is on the bottom and baby girl is on the top...so he will be the first one to come out.
My tummy is popping out now and I definitely look pregnant. Blakely likes to rub my belly...basically waited my whole life for that. She talks about the babies a lot and how she will hold them when they cry and pat their backs so they will go to sleep. She also talks about the babies coming when the weather gets warmer in May. If you ask her what their names are she says one of two things. Mickey and Minnie or Mickey and Clarabelle. Oy. I have mentioned a few of our top names to her and she gives a disgusted look. Ha! One night after I put her to bed she called me back down there a few minutes later crying saying that she forgot to give the babies a goodnight kiss. holy sweet.
Movement: Yes! I felt the very first flutters at 14 weeks but then nothing for a few days. Around 16 and a half weeks I started feeling more actual kicks. I can sometimes tell which baby it is but only because I know that baby girl is up high and baby boy is low. I love feeling them and it gets stronger every single day.
Symptoms: Well...I feel quite pregnant. At this same time with Blakely I don't think I felt pregnant at all. By the end of each day I am completely worn out and I go to bed right after Blakely does...about 830. During the day I have to rest multiple times and I am moving a little slower than normal. All of this is fine I just wasn't expecting it this early. As long as I take it easy when I feel like I need to I am fine.
And now for something that is WAY too much info for you all! Ha! At about 15 weeks I started having quite the pain in my lady parts. Pain/heaviness/fullness? Difficult to explain. Mainly when I've been standing for a little while. It doesn't feel like "pressure" but I can't stand for very long without being very uncomfortable "down there". :) I remember feeling that with Blakely but much much later...like 32 weeks. But with her it felt like her head was hanging out...this just feels all external. It really freaked me out. I was really worried that I wasn't holding these babies in there. At my 16 week appointment I mentioned it to him. He checked me and said my cervix was super hard and completely closed...perfect. He said my "lower uterine segment" wasn't hanging down or anything which would worry him if it was. Everything was fine. When my friend scanned me my cervix looked great. So I guess I am just going to have this discomfort which is totally fine as long as everything is okay. I just want to keep these babies in there as long as possible. All this to say I can't stand for very long before needing to sit or lay down. He told me to just listen to my body and when I felt that way I need to rest. I can't compare pregnancies because every one is different. Plus there are 2 in there! But seriously...I can't imagine working my job like I did with when pregnant with Blakely..on my feet all day? No way.
Food Cravings/Aversions: yes please to all things sour. No aversions really. I have finally been able to start cooking again. My family is happy about that! I don't cook as often as I used to but at least I can cook without puking. Soups are my go to because I can cook them in the morning when I have energy and well, it is soup weather!
What I Miss: nothing really at the moment although a bloody mary on New Year's sounded awesome. ;)
What I'm Looking Forward to: my official ultrasound in 2 weeks and reaching viability at 24 weeks! I can't wait for Blakely to feel the babies move and for us to give them some names. The name situation is basically going no where. Coming up with 4 names is hard! I am also looking forward to getting started on the nursery. We have oh so much to do.
Today I am 18 weeks pregnant with the twinks! I feel like I have a lot to update on because a lot has been going on the last 6 weeks.
How Far Along: 18 weeks I can not believe I am 18 weeks. The first 10 weeks went by soooo slowly but since then things are flying.
12 weeks 4 days (this dress accentuated the belly!)
14 weeks
15 weeks 2 days
17 weeks
I seriously love doing the comparisons. I always loved seeing everyone else's bump comparisons too!
Best Moment of the Week: There have been a lot of great moments the past few weeks. I had my friend at the hospital scan me the other day and she looked really good at the babies. Until now we have just done quick checks but nothing thorough. She checked all of their organs and everything looked good. We were able to tell that baby boy is on the bottom and baby girl is on the top...so he will be the first one to come out.
baby girl skelton face :)
baby boy profile.
My tummy is popping out now and I definitely look pregnant. Blakely likes to rub my belly...basically waited my whole life for that. She talks about the babies a lot and how she will hold them when they cry and pat their backs so they will go to sleep. She also talks about the babies coming when the weather gets warmer in May. If you ask her what their names are she says one of two things. Mickey and Minnie or Mickey and Clarabelle. Oy. I have mentioned a few of our top names to her and she gives a disgusted look. Ha! One night after I put her to bed she called me back down there a few minutes later crying saying that she forgot to give the babies a goodnight kiss. holy sweet.
Movement: Yes! I felt the very first flutters at 14 weeks but then nothing for a few days. Around 16 and a half weeks I started feeling more actual kicks. I can sometimes tell which baby it is but only because I know that baby girl is up high and baby boy is low. I love feeling them and it gets stronger every single day.
Symptoms: Well...I feel quite pregnant. At this same time with Blakely I don't think I felt pregnant at all. By the end of each day I am completely worn out and I go to bed right after Blakely does...about 830. During the day I have to rest multiple times and I am moving a little slower than normal. All of this is fine I just wasn't expecting it this early. As long as I take it easy when I feel like I need to I am fine.
And now for something that is WAY too much info for you all! Ha! At about 15 weeks I started having quite the pain in my lady parts. Pain/heaviness/fullness? Difficult to explain. Mainly when I've been standing for a little while. It doesn't feel like "pressure" but I can't stand for very long without being very uncomfortable "down there". :) I remember feeling that with Blakely but much much later...like 32 weeks. But with her it felt like her head was hanging out...this just feels all external. It really freaked me out. I was really worried that I wasn't holding these babies in there. At my 16 week appointment I mentioned it to him. He checked me and said my cervix was super hard and completely closed...perfect. He said my "lower uterine segment" wasn't hanging down or anything which would worry him if it was. Everything was fine. When my friend scanned me my cervix looked great. So I guess I am just going to have this discomfort which is totally fine as long as everything is okay. I just want to keep these babies in there as long as possible. All this to say I can't stand for very long before needing to sit or lay down. He told me to just listen to my body and when I felt that way I need to rest. I can't compare pregnancies because every one is different. Plus there are 2 in there! But seriously...I can't imagine working my job like I did with when pregnant with Blakely..on my feet all day? No way.
Food Cravings/Aversions: yes please to all things sour. No aversions really. I have finally been able to start cooking again. My family is happy about that! I don't cook as often as I used to but at least I can cook without puking. Soups are my go to because I can cook them in the morning when I have energy and well, it is soup weather!
What I Miss: nothing really at the moment although a bloody mary on New Year's sounded awesome. ;)
What I'm Looking Forward to: my official ultrasound in 2 weeks and reaching viability at 24 weeks! I can't wait for Blakely to feel the babies move and for us to give them some names. The name situation is basically going no where. Coming up with 4 names is hard! I am also looking forward to getting started on the nursery. We have oh so much to do.
Milestones: At 15 weeks I graduated from the Denver clinic. I was able to stop all meds and my nurse told me I was just a normal pregnant girl. I bawled like a baby on the phone and told her how much I appreciated her. Seriously sometimes I can't even believe that we are here right now. One year ago is when I made our first consult with Dr. S and now I am almost halfway through a twin pregnancy. It is really a miracle and I am so so grateful. I am not sure how we got so lucky but I thank my lucky stars every single day.
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