Just a quick one…

Sorry for my absence yesterday.  I had a doctor’s appointment in the morning, and I spent much of the rest of the day with the nieces (and some friends) at the zoo.  Then, as I was super hot and super tired, I went home and sat on the couch.  For the rest of the day.

As for updates…I got no pictures from the ultrasounds (none at all), so I don’t have those to show you.  But I did gain good weight, the babies look fantastic, their heartbeats were 160-ish and 150-ish, and my cervix is closed and very long.  My doctor was very, very pleased.

The zoo was a lot of fun.  I was the hit of the day, it seemed.  Deb and the girls brought along some friends, Angie and her two girls (Alyssa and Sarah) who are Kelly and Holly’s ages. Everyone wanted to hold my hand (Sarah cried once because she couldn’t at the same time as the other girls), and Alyssa was even calling me Aunt Shannah for the day.  They were too cute! 

Today, I’m headed to C-ville to help my mom can green beans.  So I may be back one once or twice, but I won’t be around much today either.  So on that note, have a marvelous weekend!

Happy Friday!

Gail’s Receipt Game

I know that everyone keeps talking about how much gas costs these days, but that’s not really my big problem.  I drive a Toyota Corolla that (after 12 years) still gets 30+ mpg from its 10 gallon tank. And not driving to CU in the summer makes a huge difference as well. So gas is not killing my budget, thankfully.

On the other hand…my budget has been seriously affected by this whole pregnancy thing.  Of course, I’ve heard that big list of how much a kid will cost from birth to age 18.  But why didn’t someone mention before how freakin’ expensive having the kid is?   This is particularly true in my grocery/household shopping.  To illustrate, I will play Gail’s receipt game from my last trip to Meijer.

• $10 – fruits and vegetables
• $17.75 – dairy products (including milk, yogurt and cheese)
• $22.75 – other groceries (most of which go towards my snacks and not toward actual meals)
• $2.99 – a travel sized pillow to put between my knees so I can sleep
• $4.99 – a pack of dishcloths (okay, this isn’t a pregnancy thing, but mine keep falling down the drain and being eaten by the disposal)
• $16.00 – 2 big plastic tubs for basement storage of things that didn’t need to be on bookshelves.

Anyway…there it is.  Of course, we are not poor, we are highly blessed, and for crying out loud, we’ll get two babies for the price of one.  Oh wait…that’s what I’ve been forgetting to do.  I haven’t been dividing the costs by two, half for each twin!  Never mind then…babies aren’t really that expensive after all!

Happy Wednesday!

I wish I had something super exciting to share, but I don’t.  So here’s a quick update on life:

• I was called yesterday by our insurance company. They have a pregnancy program you can enroll in.  I did that a number of months ago.  Apparently, there is a second tier for multiples.  They’ll assign a specific person to call you every so often, check in, make sure you’re doing well, and answer any questions you have.  I figured…why not?  Of course, I know they’re less interested in me/us than in how much money they’ll need to spend on me/us, but that’s okay.

• The lady who called me yesterday reminded me to do three things: hold on to hand rails on stairs because my center of balance is changing, eat smaller meals more often and drink lots of water.  Um…duh…

• I spent most of the day sorting out drawers, filing cabinets and piles of things.  I’m not done yet.  From the looks of my recycling pile, we’ve wasted a lot of trees in the last few years.

• Eric got home before 3:00 yesterday.  He’s not enjoying work these days, so he brought some stuff home to read it.  He needed not to sit at his desk.  It’s hard to see him during this stage of his “I hate/love my job” cycle.

• I cleaned my kitchen yesterday evening, and it was lovely to come downstairs to empty countertops.  I also ironed the three shirts I’d washed for Eric the other day.  They only sat around for a couple of days instead of the week or more I’ve been letting the ironing go.  Yay for me!  Then we watched Bravo’s countdown of the top 25 funniest movies ever.  We didn’t agree with some of their choices, but it was a fun thing to watch.

• Today will probably involve a grocery errand and cleaning bathrooms, as well as continuing on my sorting.  Sounds like fun, huh?

Happy Tuesday!

Is it just me, or is Xanga a little slow today?  It could just be me…

The weekend was insanely busy, but quite good.

Friday night we headed to C-ville for a family gathering for my brother’s birthday.  The girls were in great moods, the food was good, and it was nice to sit and chat with everyone. 

Funny story about the girls:
The other night after the girls had been put to bed, they were giggling and making noise, so my brother opens the door (without turning on the light) and asks, “Who wants to be paddled first?”  From the dark, Holly’s voice comes back to him, “She does.”

We left about 8:30, thinking we would drive straight out to the farm.  But it didn’t happen.  We were just too tired. So we drove home, got up early on Saturday morning and drove out then.  Eric helped his brother put a roof on the new calf barn, and I chatted all day with his mom.  And I even dozed off for a short nap!  My in-laws had to leave in the late afternoon for a wedding reception, so we just headed home and relaxed all evening.  We watched a movie (Mama’s Boy) and headed for bed.

Sadly, my nap came back to haunt me on Saturday night.  After my nightly bathroom trip at about 2:30, I went back to bed.  And stared at the ceiling for an hour and a half.  Nothing worrying me.  Nothing on my mind.  Just not sleeping.  So I prayed for a bunch of people (you guys, too!) and tried not to wake my husband up.  And about 4:00 in the morning I fell back asleep.  This is why I never, never nap!

Sunday was a good day.  Church in the morning included a Parent/Baby dedication in which Karen & Erik participated (with J of course!).  We went to first service and then waited for all the family to arrive.  We stayed for that part of the second service (it’s always about first thing) and then headed home for a bit. Karen had invited us to join them for dinner, so we headed over there, ate, and had a nice time chatting and relaxing.  And when we got home, we started tearing our house apart in preparation for baby stuff.  Of course, this morning my house is quite disheveled, but I think we’ll figure out where to put everything eventually!

And that’s about it for now.  I have no major plans until later in the week, but I do have some cleaning to do in my house.  So I guess I’ll be working on that.  And don’t worry (for all you who were already concerned), Eric’s doing all the moving of furniture and things.  The most I carried yesterday was a couple of (small) stacks of books.  Most of my job involves sorting, throwing away, and figuring out where the furniture should be moved!

Happy Monday!

A Hot One

Even without humidity, the heat this week can be a bit overwhelming.  I must remember to water the plants this morning so they don’t droop horribly…  But I still summer! 

Yesterday’s “party” went really well, but I did too much.  Before the girls arrived, I went to the grocery and then made chicken salad.  Then I cleaned up the kitchen, swept the kitchen floor and quick-cleaned the bathroom.  At just after noon, Autumn and baby Luke (5 months) arrived.  At 12:30, Kate and Katie came with Katie’s daughter McKayla (9 months). A few minutes later, Bev and Landon (9 months) arrived as well. 

We played with the babies, had lunch, and generally enjoyed not being all by ourselves at home for one day.  We talked, regrouped, talked some more, regrouped, talked some more, and finally had to break up the fun. The first group left about 3:00 and the last two left about 3:45. 

After they left, I sat on the couch and watched television.  Too much work and too much standing made my hips and feet really hurt, so I just did nothing for the rest of the day.  Eric and I spent a lazy evening, and I was ready for bed at 9:00.  Fantastic!

Today I have only a couple of errands to run.  And this evening we’ll be heading to C-ville for a family gathering.  Then I think we’ll be driving to the farm for a short visit this weekend.  Eric’s going to help his brother do some roofing job, I think.  All I know is that I will NOT be helping with a roofing job! 

Anyway, that’s all I’ve got.  Have a lovely weekend!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CHRIS!!!!!

Can’t be on long today.  I have a number of things (including a trip to the grocery) that must get done before my friends arrive for lunch.  I should’ve done a couple more of them yesterday, but alas, that didn’t happen.  I did get a number of other things done during the day, and then, in the evening, I spent some qt with my husband while he worked outside and chatted briefly with our neighbor who just found out we’re having twins.

Speaking of that, it was very amusing.  I was sitting on our porch swing with my back to her when she walked by, so I was turned in my seat chatting.  She asked if I was showing yet.  I laughed and stood up.  Looking shocked, she said, “And you’re supposed to go until December?!?”  Yep…that’s what I keep thinking, too…

Last night, Eric grilled steak for dinner.  Sadly, the filet mignon that my in-laws had from the last butchering had to go to my husband, since it is best cooked medium rare, and I can’t have blood in my meat these days.  *sigh*  Still, my husband is a grillmaster, so my t-bone was definitely yummy, too.  It just wasn’t filet by any means!

Not sure if I have anything else worth mentioning this morning.  Let me think…

Nope.  That’s it.  Have a lovely, happy Thursday!

The News

• The number of ants in my kitchen has dropped significantly in the last few days.  No more than 1-2 a day (or none!), so hopefully, we can continue this pattern!

• I talked to my Mom on the phone twice yesterday.  She’s watching my nephew while Karen and Erik take their last grad school classes.  I think they’re having a good time!

• I talked to Michelle for over an hour yesterday afternoon.  I was so glad she called.  I needed the conversation yesterday.

• I got two loads of laundry done yesterday (not put away, though).  And I loaded the dishwasher (and ran it) twice.  Talk about productive! 

• Today I need to run some errands (library, drop off recyclables, quick grocery run).  I also need to keep cleaning on my house so that the girls coming over tomorrow aren’t disgusted by my messiness!

• Eric mowed as soon as he got home last night and beat the thunderstorms by about 30 minutes.  It was crazy weather last night, for sure!

• I can’t think of anything else worth telling you today.  Happy Wednesday!

I didn’t recap yesterday, so maybe I’ll do that this morning. 

Friday: mostly uneventful day.  We did a lot of goofing off.  We had a cookout at a friend’s house to attend that evening.  It was supposed to start at 5:00.  Apparently I missed that until 4:20 when I looked at the time and then had to hurry to make my pie.  We were late.  But we had a great time talking and making some new friends. 

Saturday: another mostly uneventful day, at least in the morning.  In the afternoon, my parents came up.  My mom, sister and I got our nails done, Karen’s husband watched Jason, and Eric took my dad to MicroCenter where my dad drooled over the Notebook PC.  Then we had tacos for dinner at Karen’s house and then home to bed.

Sunday: church in the morning, then some friends took us out to dinner as a thank-you for letting them use our carpet cleaner a few months ago.  I’d forgotten all about it!   After we got home, I sat for the rest of the day.  And I went happily to bed at about 9:00 after watching the Olympic trials for a while!

Yesterday: Nothing too exciting there either.  I cleaned up the house a bit and started a load of laundry.  It’s still in the dryer this morning.  And I ran some errands as well.  Other than that I read a book and ate my snacks until Eric got home.  Then I almost ruined dinner (it was saved) and chatted with our neighbors while Eric hacked down our forsythia bush which was starting to look more appropriate to a jungle habitat at the zoo.  Then…off to bed!

Okay, I think that’s all I’ve got.  Happy Tuesday!

A is for age.
31.
B is for burger of choice.
Regular, with lettuce, tomato, onion, ketchup, mustard, and sometimes cheese.
C is for what car you drive.
A 1995 Toyota Corolla (maroon) with almost 220,000 miles on it!
D is for Dog’s name.

None.  I’d love a dog, but not right now.
E is for essential item you use every day.
Computer.  (Also, these days, the bathroom is pretty much a fixture in my life, too!)
F is for favorite tv show at the moment.
America’s Got Talent
G is for Favorite game.
Word puzzles
H is for Hometown.
Cedarville, OH.
I is for instruments
you play
Piano, sort of.
J is for favorite juice.
Cranberry Grape, Pinapple Orange, Grape
K is for who you’d like to kiss.
Eric
L is for last restaurant you ate at.
Macaroni Grill…just yesterday!
M is for your favorite Muppet.
I always liked Statler and Waldorf.
N is for number of piercings.
Two per ear.
O is for overnight hospital stays.
Never.
P is for people you were with today.
Eric
Q is for what you do with your quiet time.
Reading through the gospels right now.
R is for biggest regret.
Spending so many years absorbed by my own selfish fears.
S is for status.
Married, four years.
T is for time
you woke up today.
Far too often between midnight and 7:56, when I got up.
U is for what you consider unique.
My husband.
V is for vegetable you love.
Tomatoes.
W is for worst habit.
Huffing when I’m annoyed.
X is for number of x-rays you’ve had.
Two, I think.
Y is for yummy food you ate today.
So far, I’ve only had cereal.  But I’ll be having leftovers from Macaroni Grill for lunch today
Z is for Zeal
Right now, keeping my babies inside me for at least 20 more weeks!

It’s “Friday”

Eric was very happy about that fact all week.  And we even have plans this weekend that will allow us to stay home and sleep in, but still get to see people.  Fabulous!

Today, I think I’ll be going to C-ville with Karen when she drives down (if she’s still going and still wants me along!). It’ll be good to get out of the house, I think.  Hopefully, though, I don’t develop a headache like the one I had yesterday.  It was the low-grade kind I got almost every day a few weeks ago.  I guess they’ll still pop up every once in a while. 

Because of the headache, I didn’t do much yesterday.  I cleaned the kitchen in the morning to discourage the ants from lingering and looking for food (only 2 ants so far today, btw).  But I spent a good bit of the rest of the day watching television or being on the computer.  I watched America’s Got Talent, which I had recorded on Tuesday, and part of Dirty Dancing in the afternoon.  Eric grilled steaks for us last night, and dinner tasted really good.  Then we watched our most recent Netflix movie, Semi Pro (Will Ferrell).  Pretty normal for him, really.  A bit dumb, too much swearing, boy humor, but I actually liked Woody Harrelson in the movie…which was a major surprise.  I don’t typically find him worth watching.

And…just for Holly…here are some updated pictures for you.  At 15 weeks,

They are a little blurry, but Eric and I forgot to take them yesterday until I was already in bed, and I didn’t feel like doing it then.  But there they are!

Happy Thursday (aka “Friday”)!