It's the babies!! 11wk6days

Here's the babies! It's really unfortunate that we are not allowed to take video of the ultrasounds. It really was amazing to watch!

Can you believe how big they look now! Don't look too close though or you'll notice that some of the shots are upside down!

12 weeks!!!

We are 12 weeks today! I think I pop out a little more each day. I've gotten to where I no longer button my shorts and my shirts seem a little shorter. I have a 6 am flight tomorrow morning to visit P & L and their family, so I've got a lot to get done today.

Thursday is my math and social studies copying day at school. I also had to get the Scholastic book order forms ready to go out on Friday. I was pleased that I got it all done by 10 am. I broke down and put gas in the van (I'm really hating this task lately) and ran to Target to pick up my Folic Acid refill. While I was there I couldn't help but pick up another surprise for my trip. I'm so excited to see how big P & L are and all the things they can do now!

I still need to get Ciera to her pitching lesson, run by my SIL's, put some outfits together and pack. If I hurry I can still get a short nap in before picking the kids up.

It feels so great to have made it to 12 weeks!!!

Ultrasound details and the rest of Wed.

Yesterday was an amazing day! Now that it's over I can confess just how nervous I had been for Baby B. The size difference really did have me worried.

So my day started off with an ob appointment. I got to hear the heartbeat with the Doppler, so at 10:30 I at least knew that 1 baby was still OK. Dr. E didn't even bother to try to find a second heartbeat as the Doppler is really rather useless beyond one heartbeat. We discussed my week of messages and came to the agreement that ANYTIME I call and leave a message he will return my call so I don't have to worry-he agreed I can be a worrier. Apparently he was putting the order through each day, but it never quite did what it was to do-user error, computer error, scheduler error-who's to blame, we'll leave it alone now that it's been taken care of.

I then ran by Toys-R-Us to see if I could find the gift I've been 'dreaming' of. They had WAY more in the store than online. I found what I was looking for quite easily and even became distracted by a ton of other things. They had the cutest doll twin stoller but I decided it might be tough to pack in my suitcase so I skipped it.

I met up with my friend Melissa for lunch before the ultrasound. For those of you who don't know, Melissa is the friend that introduced me to S & S. Without her we never would've met. Melissa comes to every ultrasound appointment with me when S & S can't be here. So of course we had lunch at Strings and it was all that I had hoped for. I love their salad and bread! The chicken parmesan never lets me down.

We then headed to the ultrasound. Our appointment was at 2:00 and we were finally taken in at 2:25. They insisted on scheduling me for 2, 1 hour appointments back to back since I'm carrying multiples. I knew that there's no way they would really need 2 hours. The ultrasound technician was very pleased to hear that she'd have a break in her schedule that day. We were out the door before 3:00, leaving her at least 1 free hour.

The ultrasound! It was beautiful, especially after all of my worries. You could immediately see both sacs and both babies. I didn't notice the heartbeats right away, but was pleased that they both looked the same size. The babies are SO much bigger than they were 4 weeks ago! They both were moving all over the place and baby B appeared to have the hiccups (just like L used to have). She got some great shots that I hope to get Brian to scan tonight for me. I was so relieved to hear that Baby B had caught up in size and that they both looked great!

I ran by the mall on my way home to check out maternity clothes one more time. I got home just in time to make it to Logan's soccer practice. On the way out the door I noticed that Logan had brought home both his Science and Social Studies books-and hadn't done the work yet. He promised me a GREAT attitude getting the work done when we returned home from soccer at 8:00. Ciera also had some work to get done, but got it done while we were at soccer. The boys got to scrimmage the parents for the last 30 minutes of practice. I think they ALL had a great time. I know I enjoyed watching from my comfy chair! After practice Logan did a fantastic job with his work and the kids got to tell me about their day. Papa (Brian's dad) picked up the kids from school for me. They even went to TCBY. Logan had cookies and cream and couldn't believe how much the frozen yogurt tasted like ICE CREAM (apparently we've never had it before)! It sounded like they had a nice time. Thanks again for picking them up Papa, it was nice to not have to worry about them!

I started a new book at the Dr.s office and I was unable to go to bed last night without reading some of it. Brian brought home Twilight by Stephanie Meyers for Ciera a few weeks ago. Ciera tore through it and finished the second one last night. I'd been meaning to get started on it for almost a week, but Ciera had said the beginning was a little slow. 20 pages into it and I'm hooked. If this is slow I can't wait to read what happens.

Drumroll please...

So the verdict is:

TWO HEATHY BABIES!!!

Baby A is measuring 12 weeks 1 day, with a heartbeat of 175
and
Baby B is measuring 12 weeks 4 days, with a heartbeat of 167

Wow- has baby B caught up!! (last time B was 7 days smaller than A). Things look good- and Cyn will fill everyone in on the details when she's back.

YAY!!!!

11 weeks 5 days!

Today was an odd tummy day. Not sure what happened or why, but I felt pretty icky most of the morning. I got some typing done for Ciera's teacher and got my eyebrows fixed up for my trip to visit P & L. I was then able to get in an hour nap before heading back to school to make up a snack calendar for Logan's class.

Due to the tummy issues it was a bit of an odd eating day. My standard Total raisin bran, yogurt, 2 bananas, chicken noodle soup, 1 1/2 BLT's, some Goo Goo Cluster ice cream and crunchy tacos with ground turkey. I'm sure I'll need something before bed, but for the moment I feel pretty good.

Ciera's toe seems to be doing much better. Ciera and Brian have gone out to try and pitch. We caught her running up the stairs this afternoon, so I think she'll be alright. Hopefully 4 days off of pitching won't be too hard to correct. Her pitching instructor informed us last night that she still could've been practicing her knee drills-Ciera hates these, so that may be the reason for the rapid recovery.

Both kids came home with a lot of math work yesterday. Today they are both all caught up, so that's encouraging. There was a lot of complaining about the amount of math yesterday. I'm going to go bake up the rest of the cookie dough to take to my ultrasound appointment tomorrow.

I'm so excited that Wednesday is almost here. We should be able to hear heartbeats at the appointment with Dr. E and then we'll get to see them at the ultrasound. I've been so worried about these babies being ok. It will be so reassuring to see and hear them tomorrow. I will be out all day though, so I'm sure to be beat when I get home. Maybe STE will update for us.

Oh and I almost forgot! The principal at school (who knows about the pregnancy) asked me today as politely as she could if I was starting to show. She said "I think you are." I definitely feel like I am, but not enough for a stranger to mention it.

P&L Turn Two

P&L turned two yesterday. As their party was planned for the weekend, DH & I took them to Cold Stone after dinner. We ordered them one child’s size to share (sweet cream ice cream with strawberries, whipped cream, and yellow cake) – super yummy. But they wouldn’t have anything to do with it! They were way more interested in running circles up and around the handicapped ramp. (We’ll put the video on YouTube- email Cyn if you want the link). They each tasted the ice cream but refused to stop and eat any. After about ½ hour of literally watching them run circles in the store, we headed out - making a quick stop at the grocery next door. While they totally ignored the ice cream, they went crazy for the orange cherry tomatoes I put in the cart. They couldn’t wait- P&L each ate about 3-4 before we left the store, and then another 2-3 on the way home. What priorities! - I can hardly believe they're related to me!

Happy 2nd Birthday P & L!!

I took the kids to school this morning and then received a special phone call at 9am. P & L were calling to say Hi! I can't believe that they are already 2 years old!! I'm so excited to be going up to visit them on Friday. I can hardly imagine what they are like as 2 year olds. STE does a great job of keeping me updated, but it's always different to see them in person.

Then when I hung up the phone I was connected to the pediatrician's office. It is so rare to get through on a Monday morning in less than 10 minutes. I was able get Ciera in this afternoon to get her toe x-rayed, just in case it was broken. I figured $15 was worth the piece of mind that we weren't neglecting her injury. Dr. M. thinks she's fine though.

Ciera and I then stopped by the mall. She had some PAC money that was going to expire soon. It took forever but she was finally able to find $50 worth of shirts to buy. We ran into Motherhood Maternity as well. I am 'kinda' looking for a dress, but I think I'll stick with what I have for now.

We swung by Walmart to pick up some more fruit and red sauce. While walking through the produce BLT's sounded good so I picked up a tomato and lettuce. I had made bacon this morning for Logan. I also picked up a can of diced potatoes and thought I'd give 'home fries' a try.

The 'home fries' turned out ok, not quite like my MIL makes but they were edible. The BLT was delicious. I was then able to make it to the last hour of Logan's soccer practice. So now it's almost bedtime, but I'm doing ok. I swept, mopped and wiped down the kitchen today and only got a 1 hour nap, but I'm feeling surprisingly well. Oh, I almost forgot to mention that the babies don't seem to be too happy with my lasagna. I think it's all the cheese and not enough red suace.

Ultrasound Scheduling FIASCO!!!

For the last two weeks I've been struggling to get a growth check ultrasound scheduled. I had my first ultrasound done the last Wed of July. My OB phoned me on Thursday to discuss the scan. If you recall, there was almost a week difference in the size of baby A and baby B. Dr. E agreed that it's probably nothing to worry about but the only way to know what's going on is to check the growth again. He said I would have a growth check every 4 weeks. He tells me that he'll put in the order for the ultrasound when I see him at the end of August. I pointed out to him that I wouldn't be able to get an appointment for nearly 2 weeks after that due to how radiology gets booked. He agreed that would be too long to wait and tells me that he will put in the order when he returns from vacation, as he was getting ready to leave for vacation.

So I give him a week and call his office the following Monday. His office says he's back from vacation. I leave a message to remind him to order the ultrasound for me. I receive a call from his nurse on Tuesday around 4 to tell me that the order has been placed. I go ahead and call radiology to get the appointment set up. I speak with a wonderful woman named Stephanie who tells me that she has an order for me for my 20 week ultrasound. While that's great that we could get that scheduled now, there is no way for her to schedule an August ultrasound (which is what was supposed to be ordered) because the order is only for a 20 week scan. So I immediately call Dr. E's nurse back and explain that the order was not right and I left a very detailed explanation of what was needed. Stephanie had been very helpful in telling me what he should say where so we could get this fixed.

So Wed, Thurs and Friday I check with radiology to see if they've received a new order, NOPE! So each day I call and leave a message for Dr. E or his nurse explaining that the order was not right and that it's very important that I get this ultrasound to check the growth and because I've had some spotting (not a ton and fairly normal for IVF, but I had hoped mentioning spotting would get me a return call from someone). Every time I leave a message I am hopeful that I will receive a return call shortly and we can get this whole thing taken care of.

So now it's the Monday AFTER Dr. E has returned from vacation. I call in the AM to leave my same message. I actually speak with someone that took a message earlier in the week. She apologizes for the lack of response and says she will get him the message, again. At 4:00 I still have not heard from anyone so I call to make an appointment to go in and speak with Dr. E in person. (I'm leaving Fri the 29th to fly to Seattle to see P & L and I need to know that everything is ok before I get on a plane). The receptionist asks why I need to be seen and I tell her that I've called for a week and have still not heard back from Dr. E. I explain the whole thing again, mention the spotting and she makes me an appointment for Wed morning (his next day in my area). Within 10 minutes I receive a call back from the receptionist letting me know that Dr. E put in the new order and that radiology has an appointment for me on Friday the 29th. If you've been paying attention you know that I will be on a plane on Friday the 29th and that the appointment is too late (which is why I've been trying so hard to get this worked out, I know radiology books up fast). She says she will let the dr. know. So I go ahead and call Radiology down in Sacramento (rather than the smaller Roseville location). I get a hold of Stephanie again. She remembers me from my call last Tuesday and she finds the new order. Great, right? No. There is something wrong with the way the order was written or something (she thinks it may be an IT issue). She can't make me an appt with the order the way it is. She tells me she will personally deal with this and get back to me by the next day, as it was already 4:30.

Tuesday morning at 9:30 Stephanie calls! She had her supervisor help out as well. It never quite got fixed, but they found a way around it so that they could book me my appointment. I go in Wed, the 27th!! AND she has an appointment for me for 4 weeks after that one. I also have a Sept appointment. We had already scheduled the October appt (20 week). So it took 2 phone calls a day and over a week, but I know have ultrasounds scheduled to check on the babies every 4 weeks until October. By that appointment everything should be worked out and I will be able to schedule the rest of the scans!

It was a very frustrating experience and I have still not heard from Dr. E. I can't wait to hear is explanation when I go in for my 12 week check-up this Wed. It better be good! I also felt like Stephanie really went above and beyond for me, so I will be bringing her cookies on Wednesday!

Although I was becoming increasingly angry with Dr. E and the entire process, STE did a great job of not making me worry more. She offered to help if I wanted some "New Yorker" help, but she trusted me to get this taken care of one way or the other. I figured at the worst I'd go to the ER before my flight. I'm so glad that it did not come to that, but things were much less stressful for me since STE was not freaked out as well. Now, I don't actually know how much she freaked out to her family or DH, but she did a great job of not making me more worried!

So, that is hopefully my last ultrasound scheduling fiasco story to post!

Less than 200 days to go!

Our ticker says we only have 200 days to go and since we know the babies will be here before their due date, that means we have even less days to go!

Today has not been an entirely bad day. I'm not as tired as I expected to be. I made a lasagna for today and a second one to freeze. I made cookie dough to take cookies to the ultrasound scheduler on Wed (I'll explain this later). I got all caught up on our laundry and vacuumed my bedroom. I did not take a nap at all because my friend Tara was having a Demarle party at her house. She has just started selling this product and is very excited about it. Some of you may know that I'm not really into cooking or baking, but I have to admit it seemed pretty cool. I decided to go ahead and host my own party in October. Most of the food was great, but the babies didn't seem to care for the red peppers or green chili peppers.

Ciera was unable to practice today due to her toe. I don't really think it's broken but I will call the dr in the morning to see if I should bring her in anyhow, since she's still growing. This was the first practice I did not go to, but that's ok since she just watched it herself. Logan was getting ready to go out to play soccer and football with his dad, when he bumped his forehead on the piano. He got pretty lucky, it's only a small lump.

Logan had a great time at his flag football camp last night. The times got 'switched' so it was from 6-8 last night. At 8:15 we all wanted pizza, Papa Murphy to the rescue! I finished up my book yesterday. It's actually called The Year of Pleasures. It was a fairly good read, if not a little sad. I find it a little sad to read about losing a loved one. Ciera finished reading Twilight earlier this week and is now on book 2. I thought I'd go ahead and try reading it as well.

Olive Garden and the rest of our tales

We did make it to Olive Garden for dinner Friday night. Logan had just eaten a ton of chicken nuggets (and didn't save any for me) and claimed to not be too hungry, but he came with us anyhow. It was our first time at Olive Garden as a family. We all enjoyed the bread sticks, except Logan. Brian ordered potato sausage soup and it was delicious if not a little spicy. I confess to eating all of the potato slices out of it and leaving him the sausage and 'soup'. According to the Brewer Diet I should be eating 3 potatoes a week, so I figured the babies needed Brian's potato slices. Ciera and I had the salad. I don't remember the salad being all iceberg lettuce. Ciera doesn't really care for iceberg lettuce, she's a romaine girl so she only ate the tomatoes.

Unfortunately Ciera's tummy was really bothering her once we got to the restaurant and she became chilled as well. We grabbed a sweatshirt from the van and she made it through the evening, but I'm sure it took some of the fun out of the experience.

Brian and I both ordered the Tour of Italy. This comes with Chicken Parmesan, Lasagna and Fettucini Alfredo. Brian got both lasagnas and I got two servings of pasta-one red sauce and one alfredo, making it the perfect mix (I discovered this while pregnant with P & L). Although I had been starving before we got there, I wasn't able to eat much after the soup, salad and breadsticks. I'm not sure we've ever taken home so many leftovers. Logan ordered mac & cheese and was disappointed when it came out as seashells rather than traditional elbows. I'm sure someone will eat it eventually. Ciera ordered her standard spaghetti with marinara, but didn't eat much due to her tummy.

Brian and I both woke up and ate our leftovers for breakfast, but now we're left needing lunch! Logan made himself some Easy Mac rather than eat his leftover mac & cheese. He's definitely holding a grudge about the seashells. Ciera's belly is all better this morning, but she still hasn't eaten a thing yet.

On Friday afternoon Ciera slipped on the stairs and fell. It was only a little fall, but she really hurt her toes. I think she will be ok. One toe is a little swollen but I think it will heal. The bummer is that she can't go out and practice. She's lost 2 good practice days. Hopefully she'll be ok for her team practice tomorrow.

Logan had soccer pictures this morning. We showered the dog at the same time as Logan so now everyone is clean! Logan has a flag football camp from 3-6 this afternoon and it appears it will be a very hot afternoon. Brian and I are hoping to watch Smart People sometime today.

Special People

Well I shared the news with staff at school yesterday that I'm pregnant for the twins' again. We have a new staff member that wasn't aware that I'd ever carried before and an 'old' staff member that had been a little nervous to even ask about it the first time. (I had showed up at the school in March pregnant, came back for 1 week of the new school year HUGE and then came back a week later no longer pregnant-but there were a few who just didn't ask about it). Due to these conversations and a comment I'd like to back up a little and explain a bit about WHY I chose to be a surrogate. This may become more emotional than any of my other posts-just a warning.

I do not really even feel as though I chose surrogacy. I believe it chose me. It is something that stuck in my head for several years and just never seem to go away. At this point I do believe surrogacy is what I was 'chosen to do'. It is the gift that I can give back to my world and my way to make a difference. I'm never going to be an activist, I'm never going to take on a career that could change the world. I am changing the world one family and child at a time (or 2 children at a time). One never knows what a child will go on to do in their life. Perhaps by raising my own 2 children I will have affected the outcome of the world. Perhaps by helping P & L to get here, they will go on to do great things and affect change in a way that I never could. And even if none of them go on to create world peace, they will all grow up to be loved, well balanced adults who will affect the world in some way, even if it's just 1 person at a time.

One hears the 'you're such an angel' line a lot. This is not a phrase I'm comfortable with. I am not an angel. I'm a woman, with the ability to carry, that could not imagine life without her children. They are my everything. It is amazing to me that I can help another woman meet her 'everythings'. Yes, what I am doing is special. I will be the first to agree that not everyone can do it. And that's ok. It's important for everyone to know their limits and what they can and can't handle. But what I find REALLY special is that this family has let me into their life in such a powerful way. It must be so hard to allow someone else access to your children 24/7 and to have to trust in a way that most people can't, that she is taking superb care of your babies. For those of you lucky enough to carry your own children, imagine letting a 'virtual stranger' into the hospital room as you birthed your babies. Imagine her there for the entire recovery. This family allowed me into the most private of private moments after their babies were born. This is not a standard thing in surrogacy. Quite often the parents stay separated from the surrogate after the babies are born. Some people need that time together alone as a family. I was fortunate to have found a family that understood that I didn't want their babies, I wanted to see them as a family. My love for them all grew so large while in the hospital after the birth. It was such a special thing to see them come together as a family! And although they might've been a little more relaxed in a private room, THEY were special enough people to include ME! So who really is the extraordinary person here? I don't think even IP's realize how special they are! Without them we as surrogates would just be like everyone else. It is because of our IP's that we are special women.

And then when I looked at the possibility of carrying for them again for a sibling, I felt so honored that they would allow me such a role. To be able to carry all of the children in their family would be amazing! As much as I wanted them to have more children if they chose, I didn't know how I'd react if they used a different surrogate. Actually I did have an idea, I figured I wouldn't react well. I'm just so thankful that I can do this for them and that they would allow me to carry for them.

Not to mention how thankful I am that they share their family memories and stories with me as though I was a family member. I've heard that some IM's (and probably IF's) worry about how to keep a good relationship after the birth without having to share their child. I am only 1 surro, but here's my take on it. I do not in any way want the babies. I love seeing them grow and hearing about what they do, but it's not a whole lot different from how I feel about my friends' kids or my nieces and nephews. Would I watch the babies for an evening so you could go out to dinner? Sure, but not because I need that time. I would only be doing it to help you out, so you can have an evening out if you wanted one. I do not expect daily updates or more than you would share with your sister or best friend. And I certainly don't need to be a best friend, but it's always nice to be thought of. I don't know if my IP's struggled with this after the birth or not. If they did they dealt with their worries very well, as I never had a clue!

So although in a perfect world everyone would be able to carry their own babies. But since we all know that's not the world we live in I am so thankful to all of the IP's that are strong enough to trust in surrogacy! You are all very special and without you us surrogates would just be women searching for a way to give back to our world.

Comment moderation

If you've tried to leave a comment this week, you'll have noticed that we are now moderating comments. I did not want to have to do this as it generally makes me think twice about leaving a comment. It appeared as though we were being spammed earlier in the week and no one wants to read those comments. So please rest assured we're not moderating to 'filter your voice' we just want to keep the place spam free :)

Keep the comments coming, it always helps to know who's actually reading!

11 weeks 1 day!

I had started to feel like I was getting more energy back and my tummy issues were going away. This week has proven to me that I am not out of the woods yet! I didn't take my nap Tuesday and then I ran errands on Wednesday, boy am I exhausted.

Who takes a nap every day AND goes to bed early? I am definitely going to have to pace myself for a few more weeks (or months). I've found that there is a delicate balance for my food intake, but there's still only a few things that sound appealing. If I don't eat enough I feel icky, if I eat too much I feel icky. I really have to be careful to get just the right amount continuously. I remember food being one of the toughest parts of carrying twins the first time, but I don't remember it being this big of an issue so early on.

Even though I know I need to keep constant amounts in the belly I am still struggling to do so. Here's today, 2 servings Total raisin bran with milk, 1 cup yogurt with honey graham goldfish, 1 med gala apple, 1 crunchy taco, a large serving (or 2 or 3, who really knows what a serving of pasta looks like) of pasta with red sauce, 1 meatball, 2 cups milk, 1 cup yogurt and 4 strawberries. And it's only 4:00. If I'm lucky Logan will have some leftover Chicken nuggets that I can snack on before dinner. This is quite similar to what I've eaten for the last week. The only things that really sound good are pasta, breaded chicken and tacos. My kids love pasta, but even they are almost done having it for dinner every night! We just received an Olive Garden gift card from the twins and family. I'm wondering if I can get the family to agree on pasta just one more night!

So we've successfully made it through the first week of school. Both kids had full workloads this week and got all of their work done, not everyone got through it all. Ciera is in the middle of her first research paper about Maria Montessori. Logan already has a book report assigned and has chosen to read I, Jack (he's really enjoying it which is great because he still hasn't bought into the reading is fun lifestyle). I have also started a new book, A Year of Pleasures (I think is the title).

On Wednesday while running errands I finally picked up our new, Serta, Tranquility collection computer chair! It is so comfy, but we're going to have to rework the desk a little to accommodate 'lounging' while typing. I had really hoped for leather but this is velour, which I'm sure will be nice in the winter but right now I feel like I'm wrapped in a blanket. The best part is that Brian and I were both able to agree on this chair and feel satisfied with the purchase. Brian even stayed up after Wednesday's soccer practice to put it together for me. It does make me relaxed and I'm sure one of these days I'll fall asleep in it as well. The other great thing is the wheels. When I get really big and tired I can just push myself around the kitchen and living room in it. I'll only need to get up to go to the bathroom!

I am really going to try to refocus my efforts and update every day, even if it's a short entry. I'm afraid that with this long post I will have lost some of you. If you've made it this far leave me a comment guessing whether I was able to talk the family into Olive Garden tonight.

First day of school, revisited

On our first morning of school the kids did a great job of getting up, showered, fed and ready to go. We were ON TIME for my morning plan. We even had time to get in a before school picture. The kids were NOT happy. This is the shot I got of them together after telling them we would not leave until I got a picture. Not their best, but it was good enough.



















I then told them I needed one of them individually. Ciera was a little more willing than her brother. I promise he does not always make this face, but at least he was holding still




















When they got home from school they both sat zoned on the couch watching a horrible show. It didn't even matter what was on, they were in need of a non-thinking break. I thought they wouldn't mind if I snapped a quick picture of them together. I was wrong. This is the best shot I could get, and I tried several times. Apparently both teachers thought there was no reason not to get started immediately with their 'school work'. Neither one of them got to do a 'what I did this summer' fluff assignment.

Oh what a difference 7 weeks makes!

Here I am the day after our first positive pregnancy test.
I am 3 weeks 4 day pregnant.
And on Monday I was 10 weeks 4 days. I had meant to stand at the same angle, but couldn't remember what that angle was. This is the exact same outfit. I'm not sure if you can tell as easily in the picture, but the shirt is DEFINITELY tighter. This shirt (and it's matching yellow one) have now been safely packed away until after the pregnancy.

Bring in the Clowns!!

Wait, you didn't know that year twelve was the year of the clowns?

DH and I had a great year 12 anniversary day- very family oriented, and we all had a great time. Hard to believe that just two years ago on our 10 year anniversary we were waiting by the phone for L&P to be born!

With all the enjoyment our children currently give us (this weekend included messy faces, creative napping, and the need for duct-taped diapers), we can't wait to see what the next ones have in store. (Kudos to the first person who can guess what's on her face)

My kids have returned to school!

Today was a beautifully calm morning while we prepared to return to school. Every year I hope to have things so well organized that we all leave the house peacefully. This year it worked, although I think it's mostly because the kids are older now. Everyone got up on time and got showers, breakfast AND teeth brushed.

There was a little bit of frustration when I asked to take 2 before school shots. I got them, but they weren't too happy. On the way to school I asked if I could come in and see the classrooms. They BOTH looked at me like I was crazy. Last year at least Logan let me go in with him. So we compromised and they said I could come in to pick them up. I was one of only a handful of parents that drove through and dropped the kids off without going into the classroom. That was very tough for me, I felt like the parent that doesn't care enough to come into the classroom.

So I've been asked what am I going to do today, the first day all alone in several months. I honestly have NO idea. I may try to start a new book. I would watch tv but I know that there isn't much on during these hours and I refuse to start watching Days of our Lives again. The house is actually fairly picked up right now, but I may give in and clean up Ciera's room.

Yesterday was another nice Sunday. Ciera had her last tryout for her softball team. She made the team so we are looking forward to practice games on Thursdays on tournaments on the weekends. I took Brian over to check out 'my' computer chair and he agreed that he could live with it. I will go pick it up sometime this week hopefully. I spent the rest of the day reading the first book I've been able to get into in months. Brian, Ciera and Logan went back out to play soccer in the evening. They came back incredibly hot and sweaty. The babies seemed to do great yesterday. They were hungry (but still quite picky) all day!

A day of Lifetime Movies, ahh!

Well as promised we all enjoyed our last Saturday with no activities or commitments. We all got to sleep in a little. Brian and I were up around 9:30 and we had the kids up before 10. Somehow they both managed to sleep through an hour of their alarm buzzers blaring at 7am!

Ciera and Brian went out to pitch and hit. Logan, Ciera and Brian went out to play soccer and football for awhile this afternoon. I spent a glorious day lounging in bed watching not one, but two Lifetime movies. It's been a long time since I've done that! We all watched Nim's Island today as well. And this evening I watched No Reservations. This was a movie I had avoided because I just don't like Catherine Zeta Jones (ever since her T-mobile commercials). It was such a sad movie and made me think about what I'd want for my kids if I were to die. I just hope not every day would be filled with sadness, that they could still have some good days and be kids!

Today was a big cooking day. Last week my FIL had some seashell pasta leftover in his refrigerator and I've wanted some ever since. Seashells is one of the few shapes you can't get in a whole wheat or higher fiber option, so I'd been trying to get past my desire for it. I finally caved and bought some Thursday night. I defrosted the red sauce with ground beef/turkey and added it to the seashells for lunch. I was surprised that we had no leftovers, even Brian ate this for lunch. I had defrosted enchilada meat on Friday, so I made up the enchilada's for dinner. We all ate the same thing for dinner and even ate together at the table. Some days we are civilized, a little.

So that's it for today. Nothing too exciting, but it is another day closer to a birth or two!

10 weeks 1 day!!

Where has the time gone! We are now in our 10th week! Yesterday was such a great day, a last hurrah before school starts.

The kids and I started the day at 8, but didn't get out the door until 10. We stopped by for a quick blood draw and then lunch at the mall while we picked up Ciera's school planner. We then headed down to Grandma's to see Kung Fu Panda with her. It was a cute movie, a little dark and a little longer than necessary (I was able to nap through parts without missing anything).

After the movie it was time to swim one last time before going back to school. It was so hot out and the water felt so good! It was only my second time back in the water since getting pregnant and boy did it feel good! Ciera had a pitching lesson in the evening, but Logan and I got to swim well into the evening. I think we all had a pretty good time.

Logan agreed to go with me to the grocery store and Sam's Club to pick up a few groceries. He was such a helper and we were out of both stores within an hour. I was exhausted by the time we got home, I couldn't even put the groceries away last night. Fortunately we only left out 1 yogurt.

Last night was my final shot and I am thrilled. Last night's shot has really bothered me all day. You can't even see it, but it has been painful all day.

Today was spent getting laundry done again. Logan said to me this morning "I don't have anymore clean shorts" and I realized that all the laundry I did last week needed to be done again. I guess I should stop being so proud of getting it done.

I got to meet an online "friend" and her husband today. For those of you who really know me, you know that I'm not real comfortable meeting new people. I'm so glad that I have tried to start stepping outside of my comfort zone and taking the risk of meeting new people. I have met some amazing people online and can't even imagine my life without the experience and wisdom they have given or shown me. Anyhow, we went to Coldstone and chatted for well over an hour. They made it so easy and comfortable, we could've talked all night.

I've come home to an empty house tonight. Brian and Logan are watching a preseason football game with the BIL and cousins. Ciera was invited to share a 'girls night out' with her Aunt, which she happily accepted. So I have a chance to catch up on my missed afternoon nap and update here a little.

Tomorrow is our last Saturday without a sporting commitment! I think we will all have to stay in bed and watch movies or something, maybe we'll clean out the garage as a family? On Sunday I hope to take Brian over to Sam's Club, I think I found our new computer chair and not a moment too soon. I'd kinda forgotten how uncomfortable things can become so quickly with twins. I'm already finding it difficult to sit upright at the computer for too long.

There's a few other things that have started to happen, but I always seem to forget about them until I go to lie down. I am finding it increasingly difficult to lie on my belly while sleeping. Even the 'half belly, half side' isn't working out. I've even had to go as far as using my 'leg pillow' to get comfy enough to fall asleep! Let me remind you all, I'm only 10 weeks! I will post a belly picture tomorrow and a comparison shot in the same outfit from 4 weeks. Things are definitely growing around here!

I'm also really experiencing some food aversions. I'm having a hard time finding anything that sounds good, especially meat and bread. Noodles, tacos, hard boiled eggs and milk are all ok still. My body lets me know when I haven't consumed enough protein though. I start to feel weak and 'funny' and sure enough if I consume some protein I feel much better. When we went to KFC the other night, nothing sounded good. I tried a bite of a plain old chicken sandwich, but it was just so salty. I typically can always eat Orange Chicken from Panda Express, but even that I couldn't eat more than 2 bites of yesterday! Brian's mom made Eggplant Parmesan last night though and that was delicious (my first time trying it that way). So here I sit trying to decide what to eat tonight and I'm just not sure-deviled eggs sound good though.

And don't be surprised when you call the house and it sounds as though I just ran a marathon. I'm having a tough time catching my breath already and take frequent 'rests' after going upstairs or downstairs. So at 10 weeks 1 day, I think I may be pregnant and soon others will be able to tell as well.

Another nonproductive day

There is really so little to say today. I only snoozed until 7:40 today. I baked up the rest of the banana bread and we had that for breakfast, along with leftover pizza. I took Ciera to a friends house and then spent 30 minutes inside Safeway getting milk, cereal, yogurt and bread. Seriously, why did that take so long?

Logan had a friend come over this afternoon, so it was very quiet. I tried to start a new book, only got a few pages in. I tried to take a nap, but just couldn't seem to drift off. So I spent most of my day surfing the internet-thank you to everyone with a blog, I think I checked in on everyone (most of you are not blogging enough).

We had our parent orientation meeting at school tonight. I now have 4 days to buy all the stuff that the kids actually need. I wish they sent that info out earlier. Logan had soccer again tonight and worked so hard. He was so tired and sweaty when he came home. Ciera is sleeping over at her friends house, so it was just the 3 of us for dinner. We decided to run to Taco Del Mar for a quick taco, but they changed their hours and were closed when we got there. KFC was in the same parking lot, but all I could eat was an ear of corn. After expecting a taco, it was really hard to shift gears to greasy chicken. I will just have to eat at home.

Here's an interesting tidbit about the Papa John's Whole Wheat crust pizza. You may recall that my family was quite disappointed with it and the kids refused to eat more than the one piece. Well one of my children, that shall remain nameless, left 1/2 of his pizza on the coffee table overnight. Apparently the whole wheat crust is SO bad that even the dogs won't eat it. It sat on the coffee table untouched for several hours before I threw it out. I personally enjoyed the crust, but I guess you can't please them all.

Our last Tuesday of summer!

Has anyone else noticed how 'asleep' the ticker babies look?

After doing so much yesterday I thought for sure I'd crash at bedtime. Unfortunately, the opposite happened. I lied in bed for several hours unable to drift off. It was at least 11 before I fell asleep. But the alarm still went off at 7! After snoozing until 8 I discovered that at least both kids had gotten up on time. They were both watching tv when I staggered down the stairs.

The only baby related tales today are about food. I'm hungry all the time, but almost nothing sounds good. I started the morning out with the banana bread muffins I made last night. Since I'm out of my Total Raisin Bran and I still haven't gotten to the store, I then had a bowl of Life. I followed it up with leftover pork chop, wild rice and green beans. Lunch was more wild rice and green beans. I took a crunchy peanut butter granola bar while I ran some errands and ended up eating a package of Beef Jerky in Target (Ciera was so afraid we'd get arrested for eating it before paying). On the way home from errands both kids expressed an interest in pizza for dinner. I thought pizza sounded great, but not just any pizza. I really wanted the Whole wheat crust pizza from Papa John's. Throw in a lot of water and milk and there you have it-at least until 8:30. I'm sure I'll have to have something before bed.

Logan got to swim at a friends house today and Ciera got to visit a few stores. We played a round of Trouble and spent an awful lot of time watching tv today. Sadly, I can't remember what I watched all afternoon, but it was certainly restful. I also got to take a little nap today.

So that was it for our last Tuesday of summer!

And the first events of the Olympics are...

Looking sullen in cute ethnic clothes. To be followed by escaping a camera wielding Mom, climbing up and down stairs, refusing to get in the shower- then refusing to get out of the shower...

Okay, so NBC won't be doing coverage of the events at our house. But we do have two little ones who now point to the photo of the ultrasound on our fridge and say "baby". I rather doubt that they understand what it all means, but I like to think that they're just as excited about our upcoming "event" as DH and I!

Finally, a productive day!

I figured I should get to this before I crash. I was up for the 3rd morning in a row at 7am. Today was the first morning I didn't feel awful opening my eyes. It's actually been a very productive and energetic day. I swept and mopped the house for the first time in weeks! I got both bathrooms wiped down and have finally finished pre-washing all of the new school clothes.

I remembered to take meat out of the freezer last night, so we actually get to have a fully planned dinner tonight-pork chops, wild rice and green beans. I'm really hoping to get the banana bread batter made today as well. And then the kitchen counters will get scrubbed, hopefully!

Logan had a friend come over and Ciera finally cleaned up her room. We've got almost all of our school needs organized and ready to go. Logan has soccer again at 6:30. Somehow I'm still running strong and feeling great. Oh, I finally got through the last drawer of maternity clothes-all of the denim capris that I was really hoping would fit. Unfortunately they don't, but that's ok, now we know what size to try on at the store :)

We'll see how early I crash tonight!

Sheer exhaustion!

Friday, Saturday and Sunday were spent in a blur of exhaustion! My body was so sore and tired from walking around Six Flags on Thursday. Most of Friday was spent lying around until 4 when I took Logan to a birthday party.

Saturday was our first day 'back on regular schedule'. School starts next week, so it was time to start preparing for the early rise. We've all (except poor Brian who still had to work) become accustomed to rising around 11 and staying up until midnight. Saturday morning Logan had a goalie clinic and Ciera was going to the auction with my mom. Both kids had a great time. Ciera bought some 'junk' with her own money and Logan learned alot about playing goalie and diving for the ball. Ciera then had a pitching lesson and we stopped by Grandma & Papa's for a swim. We were lucky enough to catch dinner. Home fries-Yum!! I was able to go to bed at 10:30 that night.

Sunday greeted us bright and early again. Ciera had her first try-out for her fall ball traveling softball team. We dropped Ciera and Brian off and Logan and I got to go have breakfast at IHOP-hashbrowns, YUM! After the tryout we had lunch and tried computer chairs. We're searching for the 'perfect' chair to replace the broken one. When we finally returned home, Brian had a taped Titan's game to watch, so I took a much needed nap-about 4 hours! I woke up so refreshed though, enough so that I could finally update here!

As for the babies, I continue to hope that everything is fine inside of me. I find myself in awe of this amazing process this time. I lie in bed at night with my hands on my belly and I can't help but think encouraging words to the babies. The first pregnancy everything just felt so unbelievable andsurreal. This time there is a constant reminder of exactly what this pregnancy means.

The toothbrush gagging has begun! I haven't thrown up yet, but the toothbrush gagging always makes a pregnancy seem so real! In a way it's nice to have a physical symptom aside from my exhaustion. Wish me luck in the next week as we continue this ridiculous rising at 7am to prepare for waking for school. I am sure to be back in bed by 9 each morning, but the important thing is that we awaken for at least 30 minutes.

This day deserves a 2nd post!

I mentioned earlier today about having gone up an entire size, well tonight we had a first (in the new size at least). I had noticed on Tuesday that this moment was coming, but on the way home from Six Flags tonight I had to unbutton AND unzip my shorts to comfortably sit for the drive home. At this rate I'll be in a mumu for Christmas!! I guess it's time to go through the last drawer of maternity stuff and see if there's anything that fits and doesn't SCREAM maternity (as I'm not actually looking pregnant, just sporting an extra belly roll).

Off to bed because you guessed it, I'm exhausted after walking around the park. It's nice to know that I can still do it though. But rest assured, I took it very easy and finally finished the book I've been trying to read since July.

9 weeks today!!

I can hardly believe how fast the time is going! We are almost done with the first trimester (I have a warped perception of almost done though). My tummy issues seem to have faded and the exhaustion just keeps on coming! I feel pretty good though. My breasts are now much larger (although not post pardum full of milk large) as is my rear. I've officially had to go up a size in undies and pants. My shirts still fit although I'm looking as though I have more 'tummy' than I should. I've only got 7 more progesterone shots and only 2 Estradiol valerate shots!! So all in all this pregnancy is shaping up very well.

I was lying in bed last night and I got a real funny feeling. I wondered to myself it I could actually feel the babies sooner since there are two of them. And then I recognized the feeling for what it is and with mild disappointment I passed gas. I don't know how many of you are familiar with the Fiber One bars, but they are a delicious chewy granola bar with a ton of fiber and chocolate (or caramel depending on your preference). Generally 1 Fiber One bar causes it's own special breed of gas, but yesterday I was out and about and had 2 of them to get me through my afternoon. Apparently 2 fiber one bars in 1 day is a little more than my poor tummy could handle. I was continuously feeling as though the babies had become giant and were moving to then realize it was just Fiber One gas. It was quite a disappointing evening though.

Yesterday was fantastic. Ciera spent Tuesday evening with her Grandma and Papa all by herself, no brother, no cousins, just Ciera time. She got to have her favorite for dinner, Chinese. On Wednesday Grandma took her to the mall. Ciera's friend had recently told her that the clothes at PacSun fit her. Ciera was delighted to see if she could really fit Junior sizes. Lo and behold MY daughter is a size 0 short!! I don't think I was ever a size 0. From the stories I hear it sounds like they had a great time. She came home with some jeans (which is always a challenge every year) and a few cute tops, all of which she's crazy about.

So with Ciera at Grandma's house, I got Logan all to myself. He really is growing up. Sometimes I'm amazed at the things he says and wonder how he came up with that phrase! Kohls was having a 1 day sale on Tony Hawk sneakers. If you've been paying attention you'll remember that Tony Hawk is the only name brand Logan cares about. So, he decided he'd come shopping with me. There were only 4 styles, but he found one he loved, and I never would've picked it for him. He is so excited about them though (be sure to check out the shoes in the first day of school pick in 11 days). He also found a backpack that he LOVED!! Sadly he already bought a backpack. But when he claimed he'd love to get it for Christmas I decided to just get it for school now. It's great to see him so excited about his stuff to go back to school. Plus I'm hoping that it will make things a little easier on the first day back, less grumbling and more excitement-we'll see how that works.

Logan then had his 2nd soccer practice. He loves his coach, which is great because he doesn't usually. He loves all the drills and is just working so hard. It's hard to believe that this is the same kid that wanted to just skip soccer on the day of the first practice.

Ciera's been working very hard on her pitching. About a month or two ago something happened and she just 'lost it'. Her motion was off and she just wasn't able to throw a strike. Her dad and her have worked diligently to bring it back and figure out what happened. Even her pitching coach was stumped as to what went wrong. We're thinking it was her growth throwing things off. All of a sudden her arms hang almost to her knees. Well, yesterday was the breakthrough day! They came back from pitching and it was like the switch was turned back on. Her motion and speed were back and she hit all of her targets. Brian didn't have to get up off his bucket once to get a ball! We are so proud of how hard she workd without giving up or letting it get her down. Now hopefully she won't grow again until Fall Ball is over in November.

We are headed out the door for one last trip to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom before school starts. I of course won't be able to ride anything, but the kids have agreed that they'll take turns riding alone on the rides. And the high in Vallejo is only expected to be 74 degrees! I think I may enjoy sitting on a bench in 74 degree weather, with a slight breeze.

One Inch!!

So my fancy little calendar (thanks Cyn!) says that today the babies are 1 inch long or about the length of your fingerprint. I'm teary-eyed as I think about it. Hard to believe what was not even visible 6 weeks ago, could now fit across the pad of my index finger. Even harder to believe that they will one day be as big as P&L, who at around 25lbs each are getting difficult to carry at the same time. I'm getting more and more excited, and can't wait to start telling people!! I'm not sure I can make it to 12 weeks without spilling the beans...how did I ever hold out until 20 weeks last time?

A Morning Update

I was so tired last night I was unable to post about the day. And it was a pretty good day!

We woke up early to go see Alvin and the Chipmunks (the free movie this week) with the cousins and Grandma. We were very surprised to see that even Papa came. Logan got to go home with Grandma, Papa and his cousins. Ciera had time to stop by Justice to see if they had anything she liked for school and get a quick lunch before she had to go pitch.

After pitching I went to meet my friend M to make a 2 hour drive to Dublin for dinner. I belong to a few surrogacy support boards. I've managed to meet quite a few 'local' people, but every now and then someone comes from out of state to use a 'local clinic' for IVF. Tuesday was one of those days. A few of us that have already met drove 1-2 hours to meet an IM (intended mother through surrogacy) and her surrogate. We've all 'talked' through the boards for awhile now so it was really nice to finally meet them both.

We had a great Mexican dinner and conversation for 3 hours. If you do the math that's 7 hours of my day committed to meeting these ladies. If you've been paying any attention at all to my blogs you would remember that I'm VERY tired these days. I was exhausted when I returned home at 11:30 last night-which is why I'm just now updating. But aside from being tired I'm still feeling pretty good, hungry, but good.

Today was a great day!

I did not have an icky tummy at all today!! There were a few times where I found myself suddenly starving, but no icki-ness!! I also felt pretty rested today. I was able to last over an hour at Target today while Ciera tried on clothes. AND Ciera found a backpack!!

Logan had his first soccer practice tonight. He complained all day about how his leg hurt and he wouldn't be able to go to practice. He went of course, and had a great time! They learned some new drills and worked very hard. He came home exhausted. He's one of the older kids on the team this year and I think he's going to really enjoy being one of the 'big kids' finally. Soccer season here we come!!

STE, comments, a lovely day of rest and school shopping

Some of you may have noticed that there is a new contributor to this little blog. STE is the mom of P & L and is the mother of the two nestled into my uterus. I'm very excited that she decided she'd like to post sometimes as well.

I would also like to thank everyone that has left a comment so far. I LOVE this feature of the blog. I check each day to make sure there isn't a new comment and my day is just a little bit brighter when I find that someone else has commented. So thank you to the comment givers!

So Saturday night was a nice night. Brian and I got to watch a movie together-alone. Ciera watched something downstairs for the entire movie and only interrupted us twice. Logan spent the evening with his cousin at Grandma and Papa's house. As we were getting ready for bed I noticed that I had started spotting. It wasn't much and it was brown, clearly old blood. But it was still a little worrisome, just because we didn't know why it had happened. It was all I needed to ensure that I would stay in bed resting all of Sunday. It only happened the one time and we've had no more today.

I was woken up Sunday at 10:30 by my family closing up the windows and turning on the air. I woke up dreaming of Pepperoni Pizza. Brian and Ciera were MORE than willing to run out and get pizza. I had my standard bowl of Total Raisin Bran while I waited (which Ciera kindly brought me in bed). I napped off and on throughout the day. We watched License to Wed and a horribly good Lifetime movie. We all played Sorry! as a family and I lost badly, again.

I finally got Logan to try on the new clothes he picked out at Kohl's for school. Logan HATES shopping-for everything! I was finally able to convince him to come with me to check out the Tony Hawk line at Kohl's, but I couldn't convince him to try the stuff on in the fitting room. We had to try everything on over his clothing. He was so excited to put them on tonight and show his dad all of his 'Tony Hawk' stuff. The best part is that my son is SO not label conscious, but is really excited about his new clothes.

Ciera is on the quest for the perfect backpack, but I am unwilling to go to every store to see which one she wants. She has spent the last 4 days browsing backpacks online and I think she has finally made a decision. She gets to go clothes shopping with her Grandma this week and her Aunt offered to take her next week. This may seem like a little thing, but it is a HUGE deal for me. I don't want to say that she's the worst shopper ever, but she's horrible at making decisions and she wants to see everything before she even decides. I just don't have that kind of patience. So between the three of us she should be able to pick out at least a few new things for school.

In honor of the new blog...

We Got Tattoos!!!

We'll, not really. They're just airbrushed on and will last another day or two. The legs- left to right, are mine, L's , P's, and Grandma's. DH was out of town or surely he would have gotten one too! ;) I'll probably one day regret putting a picture of my pasty-white legs on the internet, but there you go.

This weekend we attended the local 'Sea Fair' in our neighborhood. The little ones watched a parade (and gathered candy tossed at them), played in the Boy Scouts soap-box cars (L liked the fur lined one with a bear's head), got airbrushed tattoos, played musical instruments, and rode ponies (P was reluctant at first, but after watching his sister, was not going to miss out on the fun). And I'm happy to report that we had no accidents- though at one point we had to set up the portable potty in a corner of the nursery across from the fair. DH was away at a symposium, but made up for it by bringing home yummy chocolate.

We had fun, but were still thinking cherries- as I'm sure we will be for the next seven months!

What a day!

Today I finally got in the pool after being restricted since the end of June!

We had to wake up early (8 am) to get to my nephew's baseball game. We spent 2 hours sitting in the shade, but yet I still had to fan myself with a paper plate! After the game we all went back to Granma and Papa's to swim and have lunch.

After floating in the pool long enough to turn my thighs a lovely shade of pink it was time for a nap. I wasn't the only one to take a nap this afternoon, but I probably enjoyed it more than anyone else.

So we come home around 7:30 and find that the house has reached a lovely 92 degrees while we were away. We could already feel it cooling off outside, but how long will it take for the inside to cool off if we don't turn on the air? Apparently the answer is that it will take 4 hours to drop 5 degrees! I guess we should've turned on the air.

This evening was spent doing laundry, watching a movie, falling as our computer chair finally gave way and dips in and out of the shower to cool off. I have definite plans to sleep as much as I can tomorrow in hopes that sleep will improve my mood. Apparently I've been a little cranky the last few days, but I'm blaming it on the dog needing to be let out throughout the night because of bowel issues. Certainly when that clears up so will my mood. This has nothing to do with being 8weeks 2days pregnant! I am not an irrational and cranky pregnant woman-yet! I'm just a woman that is sleep deprived despite getting mass amounts of sleep, and can't find anything to wear anymore! That's right. I just had to wear my POST PREGNANCY clothes at 8 weeks along, but I guess that's better than wearing the maternity clothes already. And yet it's tough to complain because I'm so thrilled to be pregnant and for it to be twins to boot!

Another day, another mood!

Big plans have fizzled!

Last night I had really big plans about what I could update today. But it turns out I am beat! So I guess that doesn't make for a very exciting update, but August 1 has found me exhausted!

There is some good news though. I got my progesterone levels back yesterday (they are drawn weekly until 12 weeks). My body is finally producing progesterone on it's own, in addition to the injections and suppositories. I get to stop my injections in14 days! This is very exciting as I had anticipated being on them until the 28th of August.

So I guess that's it. I was officially released to swim and take a bath, but the water was just too cool to get into the pool today. Perhaps I'll take a bath along with a little nap.

I LOVE our ticker!!

I could sit here all day and watch the babies bounce around in my little ticker. It will be amazing to watch them grow!