Stuck at Home…

So it would seem that, upon our return, our possessions have decided to act up…perhaps punishing us for leaving them for a week.  Eric’s radiator is not doing well.  The air conditioner took some major coaxing to get the motor that runs the fan to start.  And last night the garage door broke (again!).  This final one is the clincher because, though Eric can open it manually, I’m not sure that I can get it open by myself (and with a 25 lb. lifting restriction).  So it looks like I’m stuck here at home for the day…

Here’s a quick update on a number of topics that may be of interest…

• We got home on Saturday from S. Carolina to our great delight.  I home!  And we shaved about 45 minutes off the return trip.  Eric actually did the math in his head: if you drive faster, you get home faster. He’s the smart one!

• Sunday I didn’t feel so great.  I think it was just residual from the drive and all the crazy-ness of getting home and settling back in.  I finally started to feel better in the evening.  Oh…and my parents stopped by for a bit which was lovely!  I enjoyed chatting with them.

• Pregnancy update:  Not much new here.  I’m 12 weeks now, and many of my clothes are really starting to work hard to button around the middle.  I did get one more wear out of my cute white skirt on Sunday; I’m not sure it’ll make any more appearances this summer.   Other than the clothes issue, I’m doing pretty well.  If I drink enough, eat enough, rest enough, and take my iron pill, I feel pretty good.  It’s still crazy to think that there are two of them in there (especially after seeing Nixie’s pics from a few days ago!). 

• Good news on the insurance front. For about a month, we’ve been getting letters from the insurance company saying they were dropping our hospital, labs, and doctors.  The first letter came less than a week after I found out we have twins.  I was trying really hard not to worry and panic and just leave it to God.  Thankfully, it was resolved yesterday.  I don’t have to find a new doctor now!  Shwew!

• Yesterday was strawberry day.  Karen picked them, and then we made 4 batches of freezer jam.  There’s still a lot of jam to be made, however.  So maybe I’ll work on that some more today.  Karen may come back in the afternoon to help, too. 

I think that’s all I’ve got for now.  I’m sorry I still have no pictures.  Eric hasn’t taken most of them off the camera yet, so I’ve only got this one.  It’s the view from our balcony last week.  Enjoy!

Home again, Home again, Jiggety-Jig!

Okay, well, not until tomorrow morning, but we are definitely ready to be home.  I plan to spend much of today getting things ready here so we can leave early in the morning for our 12-hour return trip.  Of course, that’s a long drive, but we’ll be home at the end of it.  Yippee!

Highlights from the week (I’ll get pictures for you next week):

• One of the areas we toured in the aircraft carrier was the galley, where they had posted the recipe they used for chocolate chip cookies.   The recipe made 10,000 cookies (one day’s worth) and called for 112 lbs. of chocolate chips, 100 lbs. of sugar, and 1.5 lbs. of baking soda!
• Yesterday we did not do very much because we both got pretty sunburned on Wednesday.  Thankfully, we both recover from burns quickly, but I’ll be peeling fabulously in a couple of days!
• I’ve discovered that my favorite time of the day to be on the beach is sunset.  It’s cool (it’s been over 90 here every day and muggy), and the colors of the setting sun make the waves turn a warm, rosy color. 
• I have enjoyed watching the crabs on the beach.  They hide in their little holes and work all day digging it deeper.  They come to the top of the whole, pause, scurry out, fling a load of sand, scurry in, pause, then disappear into the sand.  And they do it over and over.  So fun to watch!

Happy Friday!

South Carolina by the numbers:

• 2 – tanks of gas needed to get here.
• 3 – the number of real estate sales centers that I have counted so far on the island…
• 80 (dollars) – the price of a bathing suit on Kiawah Island
• 15 (dollars) – the price I paid for a bathing suit at WalMart (near the island)
• 150 – the weekly price to rent beach chairs and an umbrella (set up/torn down for us daily)
• 1 – dolphin sightings so far (they were trailing a fishing boat that was really near the water)
• 4 – the ships we toured yesterday at Patriot’s Point.
• 300,000 – the cost of the cheapest residences we drove by the other day on the island (currently for sale)
• 10 mil. – the cost of the most expensive residence on the island (currently for sale).

I don’t think we’ll be buying a house at Kiawah any time soon!  Happy Wednesday!

No pictures yet…

Sorry for the lack of pictures to post, but at least we do have internet access at our condo.  So when I get some pictures of our vacation spot, I’ll be sure to post them!

It’s been a very relaxing break so far.  We’ve been sitting around, watching TV, hanging out on the beach and just vegging.  Lovely!  I think I am a lot more tired than I realized, but my body is definitely getting a break down here!

Today is a little overcast, but it’s been sunny for the last two days.  And it’s supposed to be nice all week.  It’s also supposed to be in the high 80s or low 90s here this week.  I’m ecstatic!

Anyway, I’ll check back in periodically and hopefully put up some pictures soon.  Happy Monday!

Summer Vacation

Today is my last day of work (ie, babysitting), and tomorrow morning, we’ll be heading for South Carolina for a week.  We’ll be staying on Kiawah Island in a villa we’re renting for the week.  It has a full kitchen and a deck, and it is just a boardwalk away from the white sand beaches.  The island is also about 30 minutes south of Charleston, so we’ll probably spend 1-2 days there.  I think we’ll be good and bored by the time our week is done, but that is exactly what we need this summer!  I’m looking forward to it…

Of course, that means I have tons to do today to be ready to leave tomorrow.  I need to finish laundry, start organizing clothes, food, and other items, start packing, and just do little chores around the house.  And I need to leave myself enough time to sit down and rest regularly, too.  So, it looks as if J and I will be spending much of the day at my house! 

Last night, Eric and I went out for our anniversary.  We had Chinese and then met Kimberly at a Barnes & Noble to return her camera.  Eric bought a couple of books for himself to relax with, and then we went home.  As it was almost 9:00, I pretty much went to bed at that point.  So it was a very low-key anniversary, but since we’ll be spending a week away together, neither of us minded too much!

I think that’s about all I’ve got on this sunny, warm Friday.  Enjoy your weekends!!

Four Years, Today

Today is my fourth wedding anniversary.  It sort of snuck up on us this year, but I did at least manage to get Eric a card last week sometime.  It’s crazy how fast four years go, but I love that man more than I did back then.  I’m so excited to see where the next four years takes us…

Other than that, though, between the babies and the new bed, it seems I’ve used up all my good stuff for the week.  I’m back down to the boring, everyday blogging today.  *sigh*  Oh well…I guess we don’t want it to be too exciting all the time, right?

I’m spending most of my time getting ready for vacation next week.  I have a lot of tasks to cross off my to-do list, but I’m trying to balance resting, taking care of J, and actually being productive.  We’ve been hanging out at my house both days this week (and will probably be heading back there today and tomorrow as well).  But I also need to get to the grocery store.  And do the laundry.  And pack.  But don’t worry…I’ll do a lot of sitting to make up for all the work!

Okay, the baby is making lots of noise already, so I’d better go get him up.  Happy Thursday!

Monday holidays always mess up the days of the week in my head for the rest of the week.  But that isn’t so bad, really, because it means the week ends faster than you feel as if it should!

I thought I’d better give a quick recap of the other events of the last few days (other than yesterday’s announcement, of course), since I didn’t have a chance to do that yesterday.

Friday: After my doctor’s appointment, I met Eric so we could chat.  Then we went back to Karen’s to tell my parents (who’d watched J for me) and Karen when she got home.  We spent the rest of the evening sort of processing the information together.

Saturday: We drove out to the dairy farm to tell the news (we’d already planned to go before we knew about the twins).  We’d hoped to have a dinner where we could tell everyone at once, but it didn’t work out.  So we ended up having to drive to people’s houses to tell them.  I wore out pretty quickly in the afternoon, so I was glad to get home and to bed.

Sunday:  Church in the morning, and then home to rest in the afternoon.  Eric worked outside, mulching and building stuff.  I sat on the couch for most of the afternoon.  I think Saturday’s running around wore me out more than I realized. 

Monday: We hosted a picnic for Memorial Day and told some of the other family around here (the Edlunds).  Eric mowed in the morning while I cleaned.  Then my parents arrived early to help me.  I was so glad my mom could come so I could delegate the organization to her.  I knew I’d be super tired if I tried to do it all.  But it was a lot of fun, and it didn’t rain until the last people were leaving.  Lovely!

Tuesday:  The big news (other than all the announcing I did to friends) was that our new headboard arrived.  We ordered it a few months ago, and it looks FANTASTIC in my bedroom.  I’ll try to get pictures for tomorrow.  The only “issue” is that we’re sleeping about a foot higher now than I’m used to.  So I’ll have to try not to fall out of bed for the middle-of-the-night bathroom trips!

Okay, I think that’s all I’ve got for now.  Happy Wednesday!

Ten Weeks and One Day…

So since most of you have already seen the pictures (dang Xanga announced it too fast – I’d gone to bed right after I put those up), here is the official announcement.

After two years of trying, we are finally expecting!  We’ve known for about 6 weeks, but I’ve been trying to keep it quiet until after my first official appointment, which was Friday.  And that’s when the real surprise came.

If you look closely…

You will see TWO little blobs in that first picture.  That’s right…we’re expecting twins!  Unfortunately, they were in different planes, so the ultrasound couldn’t pick them both up at the same time.  So the odd looking gingerbread man in the first picture is Baby A, and the blob in the second is Baby B.

But the reality is finally beginning to sink it after three days.  The family has all been told, and that pretty much means there’s no hope of keeping it quiet now.  So, at ten weeks, we are sharing the good news. 

And there is lots of good news, really.  The babies are roughly the same size and level of development with a good solid wall between them.  The doctor said this would save other problems later.  I have had almost no nausea at all, only consistent, almost-daily headaches.  But I’ve spent the weekend trying to get more food and water into my system, and the headaches have almost disappeared.  So I think they were the result of dehydration and low blood sugar.  And I’m really, really tired these days, though the extra nutrients and letting myself rest more during the day are helping some with that as well.

So thank you, thank you, thank you to all of my Xanga friends for all the prayers, encouragement and support you’ve given.  You made a huge difference!  And if you’d keep on praying, I’d really appreciate it.  A couple of specific things: I’m supposed to gain upwards of 50 lbs. in the next 6 months.  As I normally weigh about 100 lbs, this is a daunting concept, and I’m having to change my entire way of thinking about eating, and it’s hard.  So pray that I’d adjust quickly.  Also, obviously, pray for continued good health for me and the babies, for wisdom to adjust my busyness levels as necessary, and for wisdom to know what to do about my job at CU for the fall.  Needless to say, Eric and I are both still a bit overwhelmed by the whole idea!

SO, that’s the news.  It’s been hard to keep it from you for so long, but there you go!  Happy Tuesday!

We Remember…

Veterans
Jack Campbell (Army – Vietnam)
Larry Hogue (Air National Guard – Vietnam)
Leon Powell (Navy – WWII)
Carlos Hogue (Army – WWII)
Les Chambers (Army – Vietnam)
Bob Campbell (Navy – Korea/Vietnam)

Current Members of the Armed Forces
Taylor Durling (Army)
Jonathan Burson (Air Force)

Those Who Gave Their Lives
Lt. Charlie Robinson (Afghanastan)
Lee Daniel Chambers (WWII)
Keith Maxwell Chambers (WWII)

TGIF!!!!

That’s pretty much where I am today.  On Wednesday, it seemed that Friday would never come.  Yet, here it is…and it’s a three-day weekend!  WooHoo!!

J and I did make it to the library yesterday.  Back when she was registering, instead of a travel system, Karen bought independent car seats and a rolling frame that can hold any of that brand’s car seats.  It was the first time I’d used the frame, and I LOVED it.  It is small enough to fit easily in store/library aisles and light enough to carry and store easily.  Fantastic!

Of course, we’d just gotten into the library when he started getting fussy.  So we went right back outside and walked down the sidewalk to the Hallmark (I needed some cards).  By the time we got to Hallmark, he was asleep!  So I bought my cards and went back to the library.  I found a few books which will probably come on vacation with me in a couple of weeks.  And he woke up on the way home.  Nice!

We hung out at home for the afternoon.  J took a good nap and didn’t get fussy until Karen got home!  She told me this morning that he developed a fever last evening, so I suspect today will be a pretty low-key, at home day. He’s still sleeping now, so hopefully, he’ll get lots of good sleep in to beat his fever.

I’m not sure what our plans for the weekend are exactly.  Eric and I are hosting a cookout on Monday, but other than that, we’re a bit up in the air.  But for sure, there will be much sleeping in and relaxing!  I’m so looking forward to it!

I think that’s all I’ve got right now.  Happy Friday!