29 weeks 6 days

Date night didn't quite work out. Ciera didn't end up going to her friend's house until after dinner, and we all had a hard time agreeing on what to eat. We finally ended up at Safeway. After browsing the entire store, Ciera and Brian ended up with a big sandwich and potato salad. I chose 'bags of gold' (yummy pastry with spinach and artichoke inside) and a dutch crust apple pie (my favorite type of apple pie).

We did manage to watch 1 movie (Burn after Reading) and were left wondering what we had just watched-odd little movie. Even though it was just a short time alone, we were still thankful for that time.

I started playing a recording for the babies from their family. So far they have responded almost immediately and continuously. I may have to start playing it in the morning rather than at bedtime. They seem to get very active and take a while to settle back down-not really conducive to ME getting to sleep.

I was able to sleep until 10:30 this morning. I'm so thankful that I can go back to sleep easily after getting up to potty repeatedly. I'm finding that I wake up very thirsty in the middle of the night (which was very common with P&L). I caught most of PS I Love You and found myself in tears (I don't recall crying the first time I saw it though). I was feeling VERY rested, so I headed out to run some errands before picking up Logan. Bath & Body Works, Best Buy, In & Out for a snack and Sam's Club were on the list. Unfortunately, Sam's prices weren't as good as Safeway's this week, so I had to run by Safeway to pick up ground meat. I'm hoping to make 2 lasagnas, tacos and enchiladas before Saturday.

Everyone is now home and looking forward to hanging out for the next 5 hours.

Have a wonderful New Year!! Tomorrow we will begin our 30th week of pregnancy and the countdown officially begins!

Video is now working!!

I'm so proud of myself to have figured out how to add the video, ALL ON MY OWN!! Turns out that blogger has a help section that walked me through the whole thing. So if you're interested, go back a few posts.

Last night was a pretty good night of sleep. My new feather bed came yesterday and Brian commented that it felt really nice when he got into bed-he thought I'd just washed the sheets and made the bed. I had a tough time feeling tired enough to sleep, hence all of the entries at 11 last night. But once I got into bed I slept quite well, with no bad dreams at all.

Considering I didn't go to bed until close to 1am, when I awoke at 9:30 it just felt like I should've been able to sleep longer, but the body would not go back to sleep. It's probably because I needed to come check in on a surrogacy board to find that Millie (the IM I had Coldstone with back in August) was at the hospital awaiting the birth of her little boy. Her surro's water broke around 4am and little boy was born healthy before 1! I'm so excited for her and her family! He still does not have a name, but that seems to be the norm these days.

My legs/knees were feeling a little achy so I took a hot bath this morning and read some. Logan finally got up around 11:30 and I had to wake Ciera at 12. I took Ciera back to the nail shop to get her fingers and toes fixed. I went to take a picture of the girls' nails Sunday night and she informed me that they were messed up and had been since she left the shop. This is the same shop we typically go to and I KNOW that it should last her longer than 1 day. The guy seemed a little irritated about fixing it, but did it anyhow.

Logan is off to sleep over at Grandma & Papa's with his cousins and Ciera will be heading to a friend's as well. Brian doesn't know about it yet, but I'm thinking it's the perfect opportunity for a 'date night'. Even we hadn't just spent the day at the theater I'd suggest a movie, but I think we may end up watching some videos in the new, super soft bed.

Have I mentioned that I'm continually surprised to find that laundry needs to be done, again? I got 2 loads done today, but I'm pretty sure a 3rd needs to be started. I don't remember us wearing all of these clothes since I did the laundry a few days ago, but I guess we must have!

The H twins are doing pretty good. I've had several 'no heartburn' days. And when I do get it, it's usually right before bed. I'm just happy that the Zantac takes care of it so quickly and easily.

We have no big plans for New Year's. The kids usually watch the Disney marathon and Brian and I have plenty of videos to watch, so it should be a nice, relaxing evening.

3 years ago today...

I was on bedrest, hoping for P & L to snuggle in as little embryos. I often find myself surprised to realize just how big they are now and what a miracle they truly are!

One of the best parts about visiting is seeing them all as a family and how loved they are every minute. To witness the transformation of two people into parents is just remarkable and I'm so thankful to have been able to see STE & S evolve into the fantastic parents and partners that they are.

I have no doubt that the next year will bring them many challenges, but they are so ready to embrace the changes and grow their family. They are truly a remarkable family and their children are blessed to be raised by them!

Happy 12th Birthday Ciera!

My baby is 12 years old today!! I can hardly believe how fast she's grown and how much she has changed my life. We are both so very proud of how she's grown and the choices she has made so far. She's a very bright girl, who is not afraid to march to her own drum. She has a much better head on her shoulders than I could've ever hoped for.

This year she decided to just have 1 friend come over for a sleepover (the number has gotten smaller each year). She chose to get a manicure and a pedicure with her friend on Saturday and then they picked out movies at Blockbuster. We went to BJ's Brewery for dinner and the girls got their own table. We did the same thing last year, but I spoke with the waitress for her and 'helped out' a bit. This year she was on her own and it was so neat to see her talk with the waiter, smile, thank him, order their food and just generally deal with ordering and paying all on her own. I'm not even sure her waiter even knew we were there. They did however receive rather slow service, probably because they were kids.

The girls then spent the rest of the evening playing games on the computer and playing pool in the cold garage. They apparently stayed up until 6am and were hoping to watch the sun rise. They finally got up around 1 on Sunday and spent the rest of the day holed up in Ciera's room. The fun finally had to end around 8 pm, since everyone had things to do the next day (and both of their mother's were hoping for some daughter time).

Ciera decided that she'd like to see movies on her birthday. Her dad took the day off and they headed out at 9:15 to see Marley & Me. Logan and I joined them for Bedtime Stories and Yes Man. The two of them stayed to see Seven Pounds as well. It was a long time with little to no food, but she packed plenty of orthodontic approved snacks and had a great time. They got home around 7:30 and we all headed out to Jack in the Box at Ciera's request.

She must've worn her dad out, as he was in bed shortly after dinner. Ciera and Logan watched the new Beethoven movie on DVD and then she spent the next 30 minutes washing her face and cleaning her teeth before heading off to bed to read. She's become quite the reader in the last year and tends to prefer books that her dad recommends, rather than the average 12 year old girl books. She's currently reading The Seventh Son by Orson Scott Card, and that's after making it through the entire Ender series and Carrie by Stephen King. I love that she values his opinion so much!

She's off to sleepover at a friend's house tomorrow and will spend New Year's Eve home with us watching Disney channel shows. Saturday will be her final birthday celebration as Brian's family comes for dinner to celebrate.

Happy Birthday baby girl!!

Got movement?

Oh yeah! I'm lucky to have not gotten in a car accident today. Driving home from the theater at least one baby decided it was party time. At first it was just little quivers distracting me from driving. Then the movements got bigger. I actually saw a giant double movement that seriously looked like an arm or leg pushing against my skin. It was so hard to watch the road and not just keep an eye on seeing the movement.

Within 2 hours I got another burst of movement from the same area. It took a bit of time to get up and locate the camera, but I was able to get 1 little movement on video. The movement occurs right before I point out the spot with my finger. So if you get to my finger without seeing the movement go back and watch again. It's very quick and short, but absolutely amazing. I will try to start keeping the camera nearby and see if we can't just get a really good shot.

I 'think' I got it to work. It turns out the help section as a how to.

Christmas clearance Friday!!

Ciera and I were up and at Target by 10 to take advantage of the Christmas clearance items. We picked up 50% off candy for her birthday and few other things 'she just had to have'. By the time we left the store I was dragging, but apparently we'd been canvassing the store for 2 hours! We stopped by and made an appointment for Ciera and her friend to get manicures and pedicures on Saturday for her birthday. The rest of the day was spent taking down Christmas, getting everything put away and hoping to get things swept and mopped. I did not get to the cleaning, but Ciera did get her room cleaned up for me so that things started out organized before her sleepover with her friend.

We had Salisbury steak with scalloped potatoes for dinner and then we all headed off to Logan's basketball practice. We then took Logan down to his cousins' for a sleep over and Ciera hit with her dad. As a bonus surprise for Brian we stopped by Walmart to check out their clearance stuff. We picked up a few things, including cereal which I've been eating quite a bit of. I decided I should try to find a 'more nutritious' cereal than frosted flakes. I settled on Honey Nut Chex, which is delicious!! Somehow the box is now empty 2 days later and I'm the only one that's eaten it. After an hour in Wal-mart we were ready to come home.

I took a hot bath hoping to relieve the ache in my left hip and knee. I'm not sure what's going on there, but it sure isn't comfy. All things considered I'm feeling pretty good. Some hours are tougher than others, but considering I'm about full term with a singleton, size wise, I'm not doing too bad. It is amazing to me to think that these babies will be here within 9 weeks!!

Christmas 2008!

Christmas morning was nice. Logan woke up and came to our room fairly disappointed. He said that there was nothing in the living room (meaning Santa brought nothing). He snuggled in and went back to sleep with me. I believe Ciera set her alarm so she wouldn't sleep all morning, as she joined us in bed and announced that it was time to get up. Logan once again pointed out to us that there was nothing down there. We all went downstairs and sure enough, the stockings were empty. I asked Logan to plug in the tree and on his way he found things UNDER the tree! Santa had filled 'old' stockings and left calendars under the tree. Clever Santa, the stocking holders never hold a filled stocking, it's just too heavy. He must've come up with a better idea!

Logan's disappointment quickly vanished as they brought the stuff over to the couch. He was delighted to find out that the Titan's calendar was for him and not his dad! They both took their time pulling things out of the stocking and delighting at what they found, actually Ciera had a cranky face on that she claims was because she was tired. (Her suggestion for next year is to eat before opening the stockings so that she's 'more awake').

We had pancakes with pb&j and chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast. Between showering everyone and playing with our new things, we barely made it out the door by 1:30 to get to my brother's house for Christmas dinner.

At this point in the day I already had some 'complaints'. I slept HORRIBLE that night. I had some horrifically bloody and disturbing dreams and couldn't seem to snap out of them. It also rained pretty hard and I just couldn't get to sleep. Plus I seem to be a little irritable lately, and Christmas morning was no exception, especially when you add in that I was tired, had things to get ready for my brother's and Brian seemed to be obliviously reading his new 'toy/book'. Now I recognize that I'm extra irritable, so I try to let it go and I didn't actually call Brian down to join and help get us ready.

We got stuck in traffic heading to my brother's house, but finally arrive almost 30 minutes late. Considering I had very little expectation for this day, it actually went quite well. My brother has really grown into himself and really did seem to enjoy hosting everyone. His little girl turned 2 in September and it was so neat to see how much she's grown and what a big girl she's becoming. She had a long sleeved top on and apparently got to hot. She streaked through the house with no shirt on, went into her room and put on a tank top, all by herself! Dinner was good and we were home watching Big Daddy by 7.

Christmas Eve 2008

We had a wonderful time and thanks to my SIL we have PHOTOS!! We of course brought our camera, but neglected to think about needing batteries. These are a few of my favorite shots a couple that how the 28 week 6 day belly. Each year the cousins have to take a picture together before we can open gifts. They all had a little fun with it this year. And look out, Jack and Logan will be hitting the runway soon!

It was a nice evening with delicious food, good conversation, a few rounds of skipbo and fun opening gifts. The kids were all pleased with what they received and everyone left happy with a full belly.

We got home around 10 and Brian and I went straight to bed after putting away 'the loot'. The kids both stayed up going through their stuff for quite awhile, but were asleep by midnight for sure. Logan got a reading timer that he tried out that night. He told me Christmas morning that he had read for 36 minutes that night. He's very excited about keeping track of it and we're just thrilled that he's finally decided it's OK to read! Ciera surrounded herself on her floor with all of her new goodies, just opening everything and checking it all out. She did ask for a garbage bag so she could clean it all up when both mine and Brian's jaws dropped when we saw the 'mess'.

The rule on Christmas morning is that they need to stay in their rooms or come to ours. Logan asked if he could just sit on the couch and 'look at it', to which I replied no, I want to see your face when you look at it.

The babies did pretty good all night. I had taken my heating pad knowing that I might need it for my back before we were to leave, but we did OK. I made it home with no obvious physical aches. They are getting big though!

Still here, but...

I've almost finished the trilogy I've been working on. There's too much to catch up on without keeping me up all night to finish the book. I am still definitely pregnant, some days I feel much more pregnant than others (I could even say some hours I feel much more pregnant). The babes are doing there thing and have given me so VERY large movements catching me off guard or causing a verbal release from me.

I will definitely get to the updating by tomorrow though. We had a wonderful Christmas and are in full "Ciera's birthday" mode. The benefit to being born 4 days after Christmas is that her birthday is celebrated at least a little each day from the 26th until at least New Year's.

Merry Christmas Eve!

We are 28 weeks 6 days on Christmas Eve! The morning was spent sleeping in. When Brian returns home from work (sometime between 1 and 4) we'll head down to his parent's house, just a nice 35 minute drive with no snow to worry about.

We'll have lasagna, salad and garlic bread for dinner with lots of cookies for dessert. We'll open gifts, play games and have a very nice evening with Brian's parents, his sister and her husband as well as the 4 kids.

I'm feeling extra fortunate to be living where the high has been about 45 degrees and a slight rain is the most we've had to deal with from the sky. I know other areas have not been so fortunate. I hear STE and family are working on the 4th day of being snowed in and it doesn't look like they'll get to spend the holidays with their families. Fortunately STE had started to stockpile frozen foods for when the twins are born. At least I know the family will not go hungry.

I had decided to not do Christmas cards this year, but as I check my mail and see everyone's adorable faces, I'm starting to feel badly (plus my brother called and asked where his picture was). Please know that we are thinking of all of you and we'll get right on New Year's cards.

Have a wonderful and SAFE holiday!!

Worst night of sleep!

Thankfully it wasn't physically uncomfortable. I had the most realistic, horrific dream and I couldn't break out of it, even when I knew it was just a dream. I dreamt that I went in for my OB check-up and the blood pressure was REALLY bad. Not just take it easy and we'll recheck you in 2 days, but get your butt to the hospital now! We're only 29 weeks and although the babies could probably survive, it simply wasn't OK with me. I spent all night trying to talk the nurse into just a few more days. Thankfully, I never even made it to the point of STE trying to get a flight, but boy did it shake me up.

Aside from my overactive imagination the babies are doing good. They're moving like they should and only occasionally pressing on my bladder. I think the oddest movements come when I roll onto my side to fall asleep, but they are still active in there. Heartburn stayed away until 8 last night and a quick Zantac with my prenatal, folic acid and aspirin took care of it quite quickly.

Tuesday was another nice day, although I did have to wake up with an alarm at 8. Ciera had a pitching lesson and Logan got to play with his cousins rather than hangout in the cold watching her. We then all met up at the theater to see A Tale of Despereaux. There were mixed reviews. Ciera had JUST finished rereading it Monday night, so she was quite upset that there were so many changes from the book. I read it 2 years ago, so I wasn't too bothered by the changes. I figured it was what they needed to do to recreate the story and make it interesting to all ages. My biggest complaint was Sigourney Weaver as the voice of the narrator. She set the mood for the whole movie, in my opinion, and she was so somber and dreary. I just wanted to take a nap, which I only did for a few minutes (I think). Logan enjoyed the film and liked seeing a visual for some of the 'lands' in the book (he read it in November).

After a quick stop at Kohl's for a Christmas shirt for Logan we came home to make tacos. Brian was kind enough to stop at Sam's Club for me to get a short list of items so that the kids and I didn't have to do it after the movie. He said the lines were horrible, I'm so thankful that I didn't have to do it. I was feeling quite tired by the time we got home. Ciera and I ran out to exchange her pants for the correct size, and to pick a few last minute items at Target. It seemed like I really needed something from Target, but we walked out with just floss. It was finally time for my hot bath. I didn't have any specific pains that night, but I needed to wash the dog so he smelled good for Christmas and didn't want to have to do it without my body feeling refreshed from the hot water.

Sleep felt so good when I initially turned out the lights.

First day of winter break!!

Well, today was a beautiful day of sleeping in and not rushing to get ready for school. Brian still had to work, but it was a great morning for the rest of us. I received a call at 7:20 that woke me up for a little bit, but after a morning snack I was back asleep by 8:30. We all woke up around 10.

It was a very leisurely day until Brian got home at 4. Logan played Guitar Hero World Tour and finally started receiving some sponsorships for his dandy drum work. Ciera watched a movie and played a lot of games on her laptop. I got to read some more of my book and we all played a little pool as well. We played a round of Skipbo, Fluxx and I convinced Logan to try Blokus again (he enjoyed it a little more this time).

When Brian got home, he took advantage of the hour of daylight and no rain with Ciera. I finally got a shower and then we headed out for dinner. The kids both really wanted KFC and since I love them, I agreed to go. I tend to have an issue with meat on a bone, and I can't really stomach the taste or smell of chicken, so I had some mashed potatoes and figured I'd eat at home tonight. I did manage to take meat out of the freezer for tomorrow's dinner as well as Friday's though. We stopped by the grocery store for some last minute Christmas food items and I was pleased to find my favorite soup on sale for $1 a can again.

I have only a few pregnancy complaints today. My calf muscles are still killing me from the leg cramps two nights ago and the heartburn this evening is pretty bad. Thankfully the pelvic pain is gone. After showering this evening I went to get dressed and was surprised to find that my 'big belly' shirts actually fit quite well now (they used to hang really big) and the belly is looking bigger every day. The checker at the grocery store asked me when I was due and was shocked to hear March, until I told her there were two. It's always surprising when you find that something no longer fits or suddenly fits perfectly after being way too large for so long. I definitely expect to have to order more pants soon, but not until I know which ones fit in January.

Not a bad way to start the week.

Our 'first' family Christmas

If there's one thing I've learned being a parent for almost 12 years, it's that you've got to be flexible and traditions are made to be tweaked.

When my kids were first born we lived in Texas, a good day or two of driving. Being on our own, we were free to start any tradition we wanted for holidays and birthdays. After 3 1/2 years on our own with the kids, we moved back to be near family and the area I grew up. We then had to sort out some new traditions and how to do things now that we had others around with hopes and expectations as well. Brian's family has always done Christmas on Christmas Eve, so that was a no brainer. The only question is what time do we show up, what time are we eating and what time is Mass for those that are attending that day. Christmas Day had always been more of a wild card. For the last 5+ years, we've stayed home on Christmas Day, just our immediate family. It was our day to do whatever we wanted together and enjoy the time and gifts, just us with no rushing or having to be somewhere. We tended to get together with my mom's family on a different day (usually due to work schedules and other people's plans). Well, my mom lost her dad last December and is now looking at how to 'tweak' her family traditions without her parents around. She decided that it was very important to her that she be with her kids and their families on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. To me the day we get together is not important and I couldn't quite understand why she needed one of those two days that have been spoken for for years now. Then it hit me, it doesn't matter to me what day, so we chose to move our immediate family Christmas to the first Saturday or Sunday after the kids get out of school. This way we still get our day just the 4 of us, everyone else gets a day that they want and honestly, it means the kids get their gifts almost a week earlier than everyone else (what kid would complain about that?).

So yesterday was the day. Santa is still coming on his regularly scheduled night, so there was no early morning rising for anyone (which is a gift to me whether I'm pregnant or not). Brian had a 10 Titans game so he was up early. I joined him around 9:30 because the babies were starving. We woke Logan up at 10 so he could watch the game with his dad and Ciera slept until 10:30. I made Cinnabon Streussel muffins (my favorite) and we opened gifts during halftime. Waiting for us under the tree was a 'new' family tradition, a box of See's chocolates put together with all of our favorites (I was wrong on what some of the favorites are, but now I know for next year). That held us over until the game was finished and Brian went to pick up our 'Christmas Meal'. The other perk to celebrating on a different day is that everything is open. We decided to order a Giant pizza (pepperoni, mushroom and olive) that we could eat all day. We didn't use fancy dishes or have a lot of prep/clean-up, but we did have a very nice lunch together at the table-with no TV on.

After lunch we tried out the new games that were sent from STE and her parents. Blokus was a lot of fun and we played 3 rounds before moving on to another activity (pretty good for us). A bit later we gave Fluxx a try. I was very concerned that Logan would hate this game. Logan likes rules and doesn't like change. Fluxx is a card game where the rules and goal changes throughout the game. It really sounded like he'd leave angry. He LOVED it, and even played several rounds with just me later in the evening. I was also able to talk them all into 2 rounds of Skipbo.

Ciera received her much desired laptop and spent some time playing with the settings with her dad. She even cleared away the garbage off her desk to make room for it (something I'd been asking her to do for a week). Logan received Guitar Hero World Tour, so the kids and I rocked the house while Brian watched the rest of his Titan's game (which they won). We played until Logan's foot got tired playing the drums and Ciera's arm got sore playing bass. Some of you may remember the really heavy box we brought home on the top of the van on Black Friday. Well that was a pool/ping pong table. I had my brother come Saturday night to assemble it as a gift to Brian. The 3 of them spent a lot of time in the freezing cold garage playing pool together on Sunday as well.

We watched Leatherheads (yawn) and Forest Gump together as well. The kids really enjoyed Forest Gump. It was finally time to call it a day at 11, as Brian still had to get up to work Monday morning. Logan learned how to 'finger crochet' at school and spent 30 minutes in our bed snuggling, watching a show and crocheting before falling asleep. Ciera went right to her room and played around with her computer some more before reading some more Tale of Desperaux. I convinced her to reread it before we see the movie on Tuesday.

I on the other hand, desperately needed a hot bath. My calves hurt so bad from the leg cramps the previous night and my pelvic area was hurting pretty good again. By evening I had to very carefully get up out of a chair. A hot bath and a couple of chapters read, I was feeling much better, except the babies were hungry again. I had a quick snack, peeked at a sleeping Logan and said goodnight again to Ciera.

It was exactly the day I was hoping for. Ciera and I stayed in PJ's all day, Logan didn't have to comb his hair and Brian could shower just because he wanted to. I think we all had a nice day. I didn't even get heartburn until right before bed. The babies were very active, but gentle.

I hope everyone can enjoy their Christmas as much as we did this year!

Saturday was pretty darn good!

I felt pretty good for most of Saturday. We had a fairly busy day planned so I was pleased to find myself feeling more comfortable. The belly continues to shift from one side to the other. It's pretty funny to look each morning and see where more of the babies are hanging out.

I had a mental list of things for Brian and I do get done by 1:00. Brian recycled our newspapers, did the dishes, took Ciera out to pitch, returned the Blockbuster movies, took Ciera to Ross to check for 'skinny jeans' her friend told her about and played 'bed football' with Logan. Ciera and Logan basically just had to shower. I finished wrapping gifts, wiped down the kitchen, picked up the house and did some more laundry.

We were due to arrive at my mil's at 4:30 for a birthday dinner for Brian's sister and her husband. So we ran our errands on the way. Nobody ever likes it when the whole family runs errands together, but in the interest of time we all sucked it up and got it done. We stopped by Extra Innings for Ciera to hit and Logan and I played 2 rounds of Yahtzee ( I lucked into a Yahtzee each game, so I won-rarely does that happen). We then went to Winco to pick up soda, pie and sherbet for Christmas desserts. Our final stop, Sam's Club. The family ate a hot dog or pizza while I gathered the few things we needed (including a tub of Red Vines, a jar of Raisinets and 2 Spa pillows from Aunt Patty-thanks Aunt Patty, the kids were thrilled). I was so pleased that we made it on time. I tend to underestimate how much time I'll need to get places these days, so I was thrilled that we arrived shortly before 4:30, rather than after.

Now, my knees had begun to ache a little before we left to do the errands. Tylenol seemed to help with that. By the time we left dinner my back was aching a little as well, a hot shower helped there and I didn't even need the heating pad. My biggest physical complaint of the day would be the leg cramps I woke up to several times during the night. Painful, but normal. I probably need to up my calcium and potassium.

Dinner was really nice. Somehow breaded pork chops has become a bit of a family favorite, which is not so bad if you just have to make them for a family of 4. The challenge comes in when you're preparing pork chops for 10! My poor MIL makes it look so easy though and they are always delicious! I'm pretty sure one can never have too many pork chops. Then she really outdid herself by having not just mashed potatoes, but scalloped potatoes as well! We all had to wait quite awhile before anyone was ready for dessert (except the kids). Dessert was wonderful once we finally got to it-Cheesecake Factory Chocolate Tuxedo Cream Cake (and key lime pie, chocolate silk pie and sherbet). I would not have thought to ever try this, but it was DELICIOUS, very rich, but delicious!! We had a nice evening playing games and arrived home around 10, in bed by 11.

Feeling better at 28 weeks 1 day

Aside from being a little tired because I stayed up reading too late, I'm feeling much better today.

I got all of the math copies done for the rest of the year. I no longer have to worry about not being able to make the copies in February when I need to rest more. I'm so thrilled to have it done. The teacher was great about planning ahead so I could get her all set up.

I also spent some time yesterday and today in Logan's class helping with a craft project. Lesson learned there-the babies did not like the effort involved with that yesterday.

Ciera's other teacher had some more typing for me this week and we got it finished up today as well.

Logan and I have come to a compromise in regards to his basketball practice. He understands that I'd really like to be there but that seating is really tough in the gym. He said as long as I'm not missing his practice to nap that he's OK with it. So last night was the first night that I didn't go. I had hoped that he would tell me about the practice, but he seemed to have more important things to do when he got home, like eat dinner. I'm still going to try and go to 1 of the 2 practices for a bit at least. I feel like I'm missing out by not being there.

So I'm hoping to officially start taking it a little easier again. I stayed up way too late last night finishing up the second book of the Mistborn trilogy, The Well of Ascension. I'm enjoying the series, but felt it could've been edited a little more. I'm getting inpatient waiting for 'stuff' to happen. There's just so much 'set-up'. This final book had better be good!

28 week belly pictures

Do I still look bigger in person or has the belly caught up? When Brian first went to take the pictures he commented that I was wearing 'slimming black'. I asked if you could still tell how big the belly was and chuckled, "Oh yeah!" So there you have it. I don't believe there are any new stretch marks yet, those are all P & L's fault (I certainly didn't get stretch marks with my own kids :P ).
I think the first two pictures the belly looks a little bigger from that side. That would be where little boy now has his bum rather than his head, and where his sister has her bum and legs (I think).

28 week ultrasound photos

The top left picture may be the last shot of both baby A and B together until they are born. The two shots on the right are little girl profiles. I love the top one. The bottom left picture is head on of little girl. She looks a little alien now, but I feel certain she'll be beautiful when she's born. Little boy was not willing to show us his face from his new position.

28 week appointment and revelations

Have you noticed how calmly the babies float around in the ticker? That is not what they are currently doing! These are definitely mischievous little ones! The entire weekend with their parents they floated around nicely, just like in the ticker. But as soon as I get back to CA, BAM! The babies are up to no good at all!

The ultrasound today confirmed that they are definitely playing tricks. Our great scanner Katie, went right in and thought little boy had somehow lost his boy parts! They both had moved around SO much that they were no longer where they've been the entire pregnancy. Little girl has moved herself up towards the middle of my uterus, still head down, but barely. Little boy has been lying sideways with his head on my right and his bum on my left. He somehow flipped himself all the way around and is now resting comfortably with his head on my left and his bum on my right. The bright side to this was we were able to get an image of both of their heads in the same shot. The downside is that my stomach feels like it's about to explode due to the recent change in location. I asked Brian tonight if he thought my stomach stuck out further and his reply was that it looked bigger when I came back from my trip. Can one really grow that much in 3 days or does the difference in position make a huge difference in how big I look? I'm guessing a little of both, since I personally believe the big position changes occurred in the last 2 days. We'll never really know, but little girl now has plenty of space to flip breech so we don't even get the luxury of considering a vaginal delivery.

The good news is that both babies are growing right on target and have beautiful heart rates of 147. Yes, both babies have a heart rate of 147. Little girl is measuring 28weeks 2 days and is estimated to be 2 lbs 12 oz. Little boy is measuring a little smaller at 27weeks 4 days and is estimated to be 2 lbs 8 oz. Also, due to little boys new positioning we were unable to get a decent face shot of him. There are some beautiful shots of little girl though. She was moving her mouth and chin around and she looked so much like her brother P's profile. It will be amazing to see what these babies look like. It somehow hadn't occurred to me until today that they could look like their siblings, or not. I hadn't actually considered what they might look like.

I am secretly hoping to have "Katie" scan us for the rest of the pregnancy (2 more scans). She is so quick, and thorough and she remembers every detail of our journey. She remembered where the babies had previously been located and that they were a girl and boy. She even remembered where mom and dad live. The office insists on booking me for 2 hours so the tech has time to check both babies. 2 hours is a little more time than is needed though. Our previous ultrasound took over 1 1/2 hours and it was quite uncomfortable for me. Katie is so good, she had everything measured in less than 30 minutes! Considering I'm on my back for the whole time, 30 minutes is such a gift!

My cervix is also measuring where we'd like it to be and is giving no worries yet. This was fantastic to hear since I'd been having discomfort in my pelvic region and I was a bit concerned that it wasn't 'normal'. Turns out everything I've been feeling is in fact normal and perhaps I should read some more pregnancy books. I am in fact pregnant!

(Ultrasound and belly pictures will be posted before bedtime tonight)

Worst day ever?

Wednesday, 27 weeks 6 days, was probably the toughest day I've had this entire pregnancy. When I went to stand up after posting my last entry I thought I might die (not actually, but OH!). My upper thighs felt so bad and my pelvic region felt quite achy. I'm wondering if little girl moved a little lower or if she just decided it was time to start moving things around in my pelvic region. I felt fine as long as I was sitting, but standing and walking were an issue. I watched enviously as an older woman rode her motorized chair across a cross walk-that's how bad it was.

After soaking in the bath for an hour and a quick dinner, I retired for the evening at 6:30. 12 hours later I feel SO much better! I will take it as a warning that my body DID in fact prefer an afternoon nap each day and that there is no reason to walk through ALL of Costco (get in, get what I need and get out is my new motto).

3 more hours and we'll get to see what the babies are doing in there. Perhaps it was nothing and little girl was just planting flowers to give to her mommy when she's born!

Wednesday, 27 weeks 6 days!

Today is our final day in the 2nd trimester!! I have no idea where time has gone! In a few short hours we will have made it to the 3rd trimester! Here's what should be happening for the babies in the next week.

• Your baby's hair is growing and gaining color now.
  
  
• The little one's lungs are now capable of breathing air, if it were absolutely necessary.
  
  
• Not only is she able to open and close her eyes, but she's even got little eyelashes to bat.
  
  
• Your little boy's testicles developed within his abdomen, but are now descending into the scrotum.
  
  
• Up until this point your baby's brain was smooth. Now, due to rapid growth, those wrinkles that are completely normal on the surface of the brain, are beginning to develop.

Apparently, I should be producing plenty of colostrum at this point and could conceivably begin leaking. I am thankful to report that although I may have heartburn and hemorrhoids, at least I'm not leaking yet! I don't generally leak early, so I'm hoping for the same this pregnancy.

Tomorrow is our 28 week ultrasound and another chance to peek in at the babies. The nice thing about a twin pregnancy is the multiple chances to peek in and make sure everything looks OK. I'm expecting a good report, everything feels pretty much like it should. Some days are better than others, but my back has been doing pretty good, the Zantac is working when needed and I'm still sleeping good. The last 2 days little girl has taken to providing bursts of pressure down below. I'm wondering if I'm just moving too fast for her and she wants to remind me to take it slow-there's babies on board.

I went to Costco today to pick up a few things, namely See's gift certificates and pot stickers (which I can't stand the smell of right now but the family asked for them). $136 later I was headed to See's to redeem my gift certificate for some Christmas chocolate. We've had a few changes this year and we're hoping to start a few new traditions. I think a box of See's chocolate for Christmas is a great tradition to start.

Here's my favorite new find and holiday shipping tip. Were you aware that you can buy postage for your package online, print it out and order a package pick up? They even give you a discount on the postage cost. You don't have to find a parking spot at the Post office and wait 30 minutes in line! My mail carrier just picked up my package that is headed to my brother and his family in Alaska!

I am officially done with all of my holiday shopping. I still need to wrap up a few things, but there is nothing that I need to hunt down. I will still go to Target for a new bath rug, but that doesn't really count. The kids have 2 more days of school and then we're home for 16 whole days. Logan finally read Tale of Desperaux so we will go see the movie sometime over the break. Ciera's birthday is on the 29th, so there are a few other days already mapped out for us. It will just be so nice to not have to be up and showered by 8am. We are all showering in the morning (now that Logan is wearing his hair long), so the morning schedule is pretty strict in order for us all to get a shower with hot water. If Brian wakes up late, someone is not getting a hot shower. I think I look forward to the time off of the regular schedule even more than the food or gifts.

A fabulous weekend of vomiting and burgers!

My plane arrived early on Saturday morning. It's a pretty big airport, so by the time I got my self to baggage, it had already stopped rotating and my bag was simply waiting for me. STE pulled up and I believe she said something to the effect of "You really are big!" Apparently the pictures just don't do the tummy justice. P & L had come to the airport and was and L immediately greeted me with a smile, while P hid from me behind his blankie.

When we made the plans for me to come up we knew the kids had been sick and their was a possibility that everyone could be sick. I'm not a big germ-y gal, so I wasn't too worried, plus Brian and Ciera had both had bad colds at my house. However, this poor family ended up with more than a cold. S had been very sick prior to my arrival and poor P just wasn't feeling too hot.

So we made plans to go for lunch at Lunchbox Laboratory-the best burger place ever!! I ordered the burger of my dreams since September (beef with Pepper Jack cheese, grilled onions and garlic pepper mayo) and was thrilled to see it brought out to the table. Before anyone even got a bite P began vomiting at the table. Poor little guy! We immediately decided to get the food to go and get P settled at home. Would a 20 minute delay ruin the burger? Absolutely not! It was exactly as I remembered it and I enjoyed every bite of the 1/2 lb of beef! Sadly, P continued to be sick several times that afternoon.

One of the nice things about visiting families with young children is nap time. There's very few places where you can visit and it not be rude to disappear for a 2 hour nap, but the home of 2 nappers it is totally acceptable. I arrived back home more rested than ever!

Fortunately for me, in the hurry to pack up and get out of the restaurant, S left his credit card behind. So in the interest of not making it a trip just to retrieve the credit card, I ordered another burger for dinner-to go. The place was strangely empty at 6:30 so we were able to watch him make the burger and learn all of his secrets. What I noticed the most was that it was a seasoned burger, not just a patty of meat. They were even kind enough to give me a container of the garlic pepper mayo to bring home with me (we're going to try it out tonight). And if that wasn't enough he made us a special 'pregnancy treat', a grilled sandwich with the best pepperoni and a spinach/artichoke/cream cheese sauce. Now I never would've even thought to try this sauce, but it was DELICIOUS!!

Saturday night while watching The Philadelphia Story the babies finally had a good streak of movement. However, STE's hands were a little occupied soothing a very sad and sick P. It just wasn't the time to feel anything. Earlier in the day she did get to feel when the 'upper portion' got really hard as baby readjusted himself and at the beginning of the movie she was able to feel a 'body part' poke through the upper abdomen. Sadly, the baby wiggling just wasn't meant to be felt this weekend. I of course was disappointed, but STE seemed OK and assured me that it would happen eventually before the birth.

On Sunday P stopped vomiting but was still not quite up to par. Both kids did a lot of snuggling with bursts of active play with daddy. Where would one go for lunch on a Sunday? Why, Lunchbox Laboratory of course! So we stopped in for another to go order. I had decided that the cream cheese sauce was so good, surely it would be good on beef as well. They had it paired up with a 'bacon relish' that terrified me a bit, but they assured me the burger was not the same without it. So I took a leap of faith and ordered "The Mafia". The burger was to DIE for!! Since I already had garlic pepper sauce to bring home with me, this was the new burger to obsess over. For dinner that night we had a delicious raspberry, pecan turkey roast with mashed potatoes and broccoli. Have I mentioned what a great job STE does at providing wonderfully balanced meals? I never have any worries about eating well while I am there. She even introduced me to Cream of Rice for breakfast that morning. Turns out it was pretty good with some brown sugar!

Monday morning P seemed to be doing a little better and L seemed to be doing a bit worse. STE made delicious french toast (which I don't normally care for) and I even ate some of P's since it was so good (and he wasn't eating it anyhow). We stopped by Lunchbox Laboratory one last time before I flew home. I again ordered The Mafia. They also have delicious shakes. Since the babies seem to really like peppermint right now, I was able to get a chocolate peppermint shake that was unbelievable! When we got home and sat down for lunch, L got sick. Poor thing, all she wanted to do after vomiting was to eat her lunch, but that just didn't seem like a great idea. After one more glorious afternoon nap it was time to pack up and head to the airport. On the way we stopped and picked up some delicious whole wheat bread that I'd been craving for months. I hadn't found anything close enough to it at home, so I brought 2 loaves home with me. When you toast it just a little and spread butter on it, the bread tastes just like it did when my mom used to make bread.

My flight was delayed, but the airport sells food and I had a good book. I didn't end up getting home until midnight. I had such a great time visiting. It's just so nice to see the kids grow and to see them being a family, just doing regular basic things. Perhaps when the kids are bigger we'll do 'tourist' things, but I figure I'm not going up to see the town. I'm there to see them and the regular things that families do. I never leave sad, always happy that they are so great and that my kids are no longer 2! Kids are a lot of work, but so worth it!

I got to see STE's mother for a little bit while I was there and STE's sister gave birth to her 4th baby on Sunday. Welcome to the world Miss Adele!

Happy Birthday to my SIL!

What's better than a birthday card? A personal blog message!
Here's hoping she has a wonderful day!

I am going to try really hard to get my fabulous weekend updated today! I'm all caught up with the laundry that seemed to pile up and the mounds of dirt my family brought into the house while I was gone.

I've got some typing to do at school and a quick trip to Costco and that's pretty much it for today, so fingers crossed I make it back!

27 weeks 1 day!!

Wow!! I'll try to get a picture up tonight.

I've actually felt pretty darn good, considering how far along we are. Two nights in a row I went to bed without a backache, and yesterday was a pretty busy day. I really didn't do much for a typical person, but it took me several hours to get through my grocery shopping.

I started off the morning with my weekly copies and then was headed to Wal-Mart and Sam's Club for some much needed groceries. I was already feeling tired just thinking about it. I stopped by Kohl's first to return a too small outfit for Logan and pick up a few things I still needed for Christmas. Then I stopped for a mid-morning meal at Chick-Fil-A. Typically chicken has been despised by these babies, but they do allow me the occassional fried strip (but not KFC).

I had a list but forgot where I put it. I had to walk through the entire store, but at a very leisurely rate (there is no rushing anywhere for me anymore). Then I headed next door feeling very tired, but knowing I still needed milk, eggs and corn dogs. By the time I got home, I had been shopping for 4 hours. I'm never going to win the fastest shopper award at this rate. Once home I decided I was only unpacking the perishables. The rest could wait for Brian to get home.

After school it was time to get my final packages in order. Everything is now in the right piles, bag or box and just waiting for finishing touches. I'm hoping to get most of that done today so I can get it off my counter.

We finally got to the meatloaf and Dark Knight. Both were quite enjoyable. The meatloaf was exactly what I expected and I look forward to it for lunch today. The movie however, was much better than I expected. Logan bailed, but Ciera actually stuck around and said she was glad she did by the end.

I threw some laundry in so it wouldn't take as long today and it was time to do Logan's forgotten homework. Once finished he agreed to play Skipbo with me. Skipbo is one of my favorite games and the kids have refused to play it with me for several years. Logan finally agreed 2 nights ago and remembered how much he enjoyed it. Looks like we'll get to play a lot of Skipbo at Christmas!

So the big plans for today are to finish up the laundry and gifts, pack my things and read my book, which has gotten VERY good finally. I'm so looking forward to my trip this weekend. The babies move all the time now and have been quite kind about it this week (I think the placenta in the front really helps to cushion some of the blows).

I can hardly believe that the kids only have 1 more week of school and that Christmas is right around the corner! I'd been telling myself throughout the early part of the pregnancy that things will be OK until around Christmas and then the tough part may start. When I think back to how I felt at this point in the last pregnancy, I really am feeling so much better. It was June though and there was a lot of sitting outside for baseball games in the heat. I really am hoping my plan to deliver in the cooler months pays off. So far it does seem to be helping. It's been about 50-55 degrees during the day and I'm feeling perfect in my pants, 3/4 length sleeve shirt and sandals.

Peppermint Mocha creamer-revisited

I hate to seem like I'm obsessing about this creamer stuff, but I am a little. Having used the Peppermint Mocha for a while now I can definitely say I prefer the white chocolate with peppermint (Safeway's generic). The flavor just seems to please me a little bit more. The Mocha is acceptable, but it has an odd 'is it coffee or chocolate' thing. I finally googled 'mocha' today and it turns out that it's coffee with chocolate, doesn't really help me nail down what the mystery flavor in the creamer is other than 'mocha'. So if you're feeling adventurous, buy the small bottle first!

While my Belgian waffle was good this morning, I'm now left feeling hungry again at 8:20. Am I finally getting an appetite back or is it the lack of protein and high rush of sugar? Perhaps I'll make up the meatloaf this morning and snack on it all day.

Belgian Waffle Wednesday!

I busted out the Belgian waffle maker this morning and gave it another try. I used the whisk as directed and added 2 packets of sugar. They were delicious!! It's more work than when La Quinta has the batter ready for you, but I think I can adjust.

I slept great last night and had some very involved dreams, right up until alarm time. Brian is still home sick, Ciera is feeling a little bit better and Logan got up right on time today. I have no plans for the morning, perhaps I'll finally read some more of Mistborn. It's a good book, but I seem to be having trouble picking it up. I'm watching a friend's boys at lunch time and then Logan has a dental cleaning. We WILL be having meatloaf for dinner and I think we may all watch Dark Knight if Brian is feeling up to it.

Tomorrow we begin our 27th week of pregnancy! We are so close to the 3rd trimester it's almost scary!

Tired Tuesday

Brian came home from work yesterday feeling very sick. He took 2 NyQuil and was off to bed. He slept horribly all night and was up for more medicine in the middle of the night. Due to the chattering, I'd wager he was running a fever. So, he stayed home from work today. This always puts a crimp in my schedule. It's just so hard to get up and start doing stuff when someone else is in the bed (I don't know how he manages to do it every day). I had plans to have lunch with a friend, but nothing that required me to get my butt showered in the morning. To Ciera's great displeasure I drove the kids to school in my PJ's, the ones that don't quite cover my belly entirely! Brian slept away the morning, but I was still unable to get up and get showered until the last possible moment.

I'm going to backtrack a bit, as Ciera just reminded me of a story I told the kids I would share. Ciera was feeling a little bit under the weather as well, so she took a NyQuil as well. Logan saw the pretty blue pill sitting on the counter and said 'Oh, I want one!' Two problems, 1) Logan is not feeling sick 2)Logan can't swallow a pill yet, he has a VERY sensitive gag reflex. I decide if he can get it down that one unneeded pill won't hurt him. The poor kid gives it a try, 4 or 5 times. After the 3rd try he actually vomited on my counter! I then had him move to the sink if he was going to continue trying. He finally lost the pill down the drain after it shot back out of his throat. It would've been sad if he had truly needed the medicine, but since he didn't we all had a great laugh right before bed.

Fast forward to today and I arrived at lunch right on time with wet hair. I ordered the 'Widow Maker Burger'. It was quite tasty with avacado, cheddar cheese, bacon, bar-b-cue sauce, lettuce and tomato. It also came with a delicious side salad. The only down side was I ordered it well-done since it was a new restaurant to me, and I was a bit disappointed at the charred edges. I just don't understand why there isn't an option between well done and medium well. I don't want charred edges, but I don't want a pink center either.

I had intended to do some grocery shopping after lunch. The kids have made me a list: peas, baked beans and top ramen. I have a few other items that I know we need to pick up as well, like spaghetti sauce, lunch meat, bread, eggs and milk. I stopped by Bath and Body Works for a couple of things I needed and then ran out of energy. I thought about 'just running in', but I knew there was no way I was capable of 'just running' anywhere. I came home and rested in bed for 30 minutes before picking up the kids.

Since it was Tuesday, the kids and I went to Coldstone. We didn't make it much during November. I got the dark chocolate peppermint again, but I just didn't enjoy it the way I had the first time. Ciera had plenty of things to tell me about her day, if you ever want to have a lengthy conversation with her, be sure to do it right after she gets home from school. We came home and I immediately made my way back to the bed. I even managed to trap the dog into snuggling with me. It's not that I'm super tired, it's just that my legs feel really tired. I've considered taking a bath, but that requires my getting up to do it-so it hasn't happened yet.

Dinner? There's an interesting problem tonight. The meatloaf stuff is thawed out and would be fairly easy to prepare, but I don't even want to get out of bed, yet alone wait for the meat to cook. Brian is still feeling bad, but hungry. The cupboards are running out of easy things to make because I need to go to the store. We all want to eat though. Brian finished up the bread making PB & J's (I don't know what Logan will take for lunch tomorrow). Logan made Easy Mac. I decided to make up the rest of the frozen hash browns that I had craved at the beginning of the pregnancy. They were not so good, I was able to swallow a few bites but that was it. I made bean burritos for Ciera and Logan, but the thought of beans was not something I was willing to swallow tonight.

So I think I will go take a quick bath and head to bed early. One of the great things about the kids being older is that they really can put themselves to bed. They've proven to be trustworthy enough that they do go to sleep at the appropriate time too. Although I've felt tired today, the rest of me hasn't felt too bad, hardly any back pain and the stomach stretch has felt OK too.

And one more thing...

I really don't mean to sound whiny and complain-y. This pregnancy has been everything I expected, some things that I had forgotten too, but totally expected pregnancy issues. If I could go back in time I would not change anything. I had really hoped delivering during cooler months would make the pregnancy easier and I think that it has. I also made decreased my commitments in anticipation for the pregnancy woes, and I think those changes have also made this twin pregnancy easier than the first.

But if I didn't write about my woes, there might not be anything to write about. The emotions for me during a surrogate pregnancy are so different than when I carried my own. I don't have hopes or dreams for the babies to share. I don't have random thoughts about the babies the way I would if they were my own. I just happily gestate, which means I only have the effects of pregnancy to discuss. And let's be honest, although pregnancy is amazing and beautiful, it's not entirely glamorous. There are countless issues that one doesn't really even want to discuss with the OB.

So bear with me when it sounds like I'm complaining a little too much. I really am mentally and emotionally thrilled to be pregnant with twins for the twins!

Is it Friday yet?

Saturday was cold and foggy! The kids both still managed to have practice, but everyone was a bit chilly-probably about 40 degrees (I know it's nothing compared to what many of you deal with for several months, but for us it's darn cold). Logan had a great practice and is excited about his new team. The kids were all hand picked by the coaches and Brian said they all worked really well together. It will be exciting to see them play in January. I stayed at Ciera's practice, as Brian was the 'chosen' parent for Logan's practice. After practice we all had a delicious McDonald's lunch. Fresh fries are the best, fortunately they aren't always fresh.

Logan's final flag football game was even colder than the practices, but it was amazing to watch.. Although the ended the season with no wins, the boys had definitely improved and it was great to see them make some plays. Our proudest moment was when Logan intercepted a thrown and ran 3/4 of the field before getting his flag pulled. The team was then able to score their only touchdown of the game. Logan had a few other moments of glory, but nothing compares to his big play.

After the game Logan slept over at his grandparents' house with his cousin. Brian, Ciera and I planned to watch Prince Caspian that night. The disk wouldn't play on our bedroom DVD player, so they watched it downstairs. My back was not up for 2 hours on the couch, so I went to sleep early in my comfy, back loving bed.

Lunch on Sunday wasn't until 3:00, so I did nothing until 1:30 and then had to rush around to get ready. There were only 5 of us, but it was nice to catch up with the gals. We hadn't met up since October. I decided to go for the baked potato with chili. It was wonderful and made a great lunch for Monday as well. I felt fine throughout lunch, but by the time I got home not only did my back hurt, but so did my belly. I think things are really starting to get tight in there and I'm starting to really feel the stretch in my belly. I had a very hard time getting comfortable in bed, but once I was I slept great throughout the night. I only had to get up once to go to the bathroom, much better than the 2-3 times a night I'd been getting up.

I love that I can wake up in the mornings feeling refreshed and all better. I had big expectations for my day today. It took me longer than expected, but I did complete all of my 'to do hopes'. I cleaned the floors, counters, bathroom and unloaded the dishwasher (not my job by the way). I went to Target and almost have all of my shopping finished up, just a few more things that I'm waiting to go on sale. I turned in Logan's library books and checked out a few more. And I made dinner! I had planned to make meatloaf, but my ground turkey did not thaw out, only the ground beef. So with a quick change of plans we had spaghetti with meat sauce and cheesy, garlic biscuits. I tried the Ronzoni Smart Taste pasta and it was great! It has 3x the fiber than traditional white pasta, plus calcium.

My body is definitely tired, but I don't really have any back pain tonight. I do have some upper belly discomfort, but I think that's just going to happen more often these days. I'm looking forward to a hot shower, my heating pad and a good night's sleep.

Tomorrow should be a little easier. I am having lunch with a friend and I have some grocery shopping to do. The rest of the week is much calmer though. It's almost funny how constant the babies' movement is now. It seems like someone is always moving around in there. I'm looking forward to our next ultrasound on the 18th. They've got to be growing big!

I'm very excited that STE and I found a way to squeeze in a quick trip up to show off the belly. I"m really hoping with 3 days, there's bound to be a moment where she can finally feel the babies move. P & L are growing so fast, I'm sure it will be amazing to see them running around being 2 now. I'm also looking forward to a certain burger that has haunted me since my September visit. I may not eat anything else.

So, another Monday down, only 12 more to go!

Little surprises...

can really brighten your day! I took a little nap today and when I awoke there was a package awaiting me outside the front door. It was a delightful gift box from Harry and David from STE and family! Since I already knew my heart loves the Moose Munch, I purposely didn't open it up first. Instead I thought I'd try the summer sausage. I'd been having trouble finding something I wanted to eat this afternoon, so I thought it would be the right thing to try. I really only meant to have a slice or two, but it was delicious and exactly what the twins were begging for. I'm pretty sure one person is not meant to consume the entire sausage in one sitting, but I figure I'm eating for 3, right? Thank you again for such a delicious surprise!!

So I just went back to 'try' something else. The mint chocolates are TO DIE FOR!! They are so creamy and minty, I could probably eat them all at once, but I'm really going to try and save them. I'm not sure the kids even need to know that chocolate came in the box!

The kids had performed a 'holiday show' at the local retirement home. They really did a great job and I couldn't help but tear up a few times. They complained every day about having to do it, but they really did a fantastic job today.

We have a busy Saturday ahead. Ciera has softball practice from 9-12 and Logan has his first soccer practice with the indoor team from 10-11. Then we have the final flag football game at 5:30. It's bound to be cold by then. Sunday shouldn't be too bad. Ciera has a lesson and I'm having lunch at BJ's Brewery with some fellow surrogates. I may skip the burger this time and just have the chili with a baked potato, we shall see. Who knows, maybe we'll even get the ornaments on the tree by Monday.

Peppermint Mocha creamer

I can't believe I forgot to update on the creamer situation. It's good. I'm not sure which brand I prefer better, but I will have no problem drinking the whole container.

Mocha? I'm still a bit torn as to what it is. I don't think I'm tasting a coffee flavor, but it's such a small amount of creamer added that maybe it is? I don't add as much of the cocoa mix, so I'm thinking the creamer must have a bit of a chocolate flavor all on it's own.

The peppermint is very good though. I'd say go ahead and try it, just don't hold me accountable.

A family approved dinner!

I believe I mentioned before, my mom made an extra turkey so I would have plenty of white meat leftovers. The only problem is that the turkey is very much like chicken to my red meat wanting uterus. The rest of my family will only eat leftovers once if that. So, what do I do with all this turkey? I decided to freeze most of it, but I did cut up some and add it to a wild rice soup mix. The family loved it! It is so rare that the 3 of them actually agree on a meal. Usually there is always someone not too happy. Well, last night that was me. It was OK, but it still wasn't red meat.

I've made another unfortunate discovery. My favorite canned soup, Progresso Vegetable Italiano, gives me heartburn-every time!! I had been a little afraid back when I'd been having heartburn daily that it was related to my daily can of soup and sure enough, it is! It won't keep me from enjoying it, but now I know to take the Zantac before I have a bowl.

Ready for another tidbit? I also discovered yesterday that pants that have been too big in the belly are now fitting. I have a pair of full panel jeans that I thought would be perfect for the last month or two. I pulled them down yesterday and they were no longer ridiculously big in the belly. In fact, they practically fit perfect!! My black pants that just two weeks ago were giving me trouble staying up because of the big full panel, fit quite well today! I'm not sure when the growth happened, as I don't recall waking up much bigger one morning. It's a little scary that it can come on so slowly each day that within 1 week everything fits differently. The good news is little girl has been much kinder to my lower parts since I stopped squishing her with my favorite jeans. I'm a little sad to put them away already, but she clearly did not care for them on Wednesday.

I am also still somehow sleeping very well at night. I'm currently looking into mattress toppers as I would love for the bed to feel a little softer without all the pillows. There are just so many choices and I can't seem to decide what I really want. We've had a featherbed before and I loved how it felt, but I hated having to 'fluff' it. I just can't see my pregnant self fluffing it each week for 12 more weeks, I can barely see my non-pregnant self doing it. But perhaps that is the price I'm willing to pay. I just don't want to buy the wrong thing.

My mid-lower back pain was particularly bad last night, but only on the left side. I made the mistake of sitting incorrectly while playing War with Logan. Now that he's using 48 cards instead of 28 the game takes as long as I remember. I tried to get into a better position, but it was too late. I took a hot shower before basketball practice hoping that would get me through until bed. It did help, but I was still uncomfortable for the hour practice. I'll have to bring a chair with me tonight.

Basketball practice was fun to watch though. It's a 3rd/4th grade team, so Logan is one of the older kids this year. However, this is a competitive team that was drafted from try-outs. I'm not sure what kind of a team the coach was trying to build, but we have 4 of our 8 players with little experience even dribbling a ball. While I don't think the team will win a lot, I do think Logan will have a great time being one of the 'super stars'. Last year was his first year playing and there were other kids that absolutely outplayed him. He has really worked hard and mentally understands the game so much better, that I think he's really going to enjoy being one of the older kids. Games don't start until January, but I'm looking forward to it. The next couple of months are all about Logan's sports and I think it's a time he really needs after all the time we spend at his sister's softball. She still practices hitting and pitching daily and works out with her team every week to two weeks, but not having any games makes it a lot easier for Logan to swallow.

Happy Friday!

26 weeks-can you believe it?

Another Thursday is here and almost gone. 26 weeks!!

I got my CBC results back and my iron looks great-without supplementation!! Dr. said it can't hurt to throw some extra iron in there every once in awhile, but that I don't need to start an actual iron and stool softener supplement. Yeah! I guess that means the babies have been sucking up all the iron in my hamburgers! Dr. asked if I eat much red meat? Typically no, I'm a chicken gal. But this pregnancy nothing sounds worse than chicken (chicken nuggets don't count). All we really want to eat is red meat with a little ground turkey thrown in.

It was so weird to not have Ciera here this morning while getting ready for school. I got to sleep in until it was time to get Logan up and in the shower. I got to see Ciera at school before she went to class. She assured me that she flossed and flossed well. We've had a bit of trouble with the flossing since the braces went on.

At school I did my Thursday copies and was at Safeway picking up some more raspberry preserves, peppermint creamer and mandarins. I just can't seem to get enough of these items. We had a neighbor bring us by a bag of mandarins the other day and they were gone by the next morning. They were the sweetest mandarins I've ever had. Safeway was out of my white chocolate peppermint creamer, so I thought we'd try the peppermint mocha. I'm a little afraid though because I don't really know what 'mocha' is supposed to taste like. I'm hoping it's not a coffee flavor but more of a chocolate flavor. We'll see this afternoon.

Today was hot lunch day at school, so I took the kids KFC. I then ran by Target for a curtain rod for Logan's room. I took the long way through the store so I could try to find the calendar section. This led me past the maternity clothes and I thought I'd check the clearance rack. I could not believe the luck. They had v-neck, 3/4 length sleeved shirts with side rouching for only $4. Plus they had XXL and my basic staple colors, black, brown, navy and a magenta/red shade that will be nice for the holidays. My new Mammoth Crocs came yesterday as well and they were very comfy to wear out today.

The weather seems to have taken a cold turn, finally. While I'm loving that it's cooler, it seems I'm a little too cool in my short sleeved shirts, so the 3/4 length shirts should be perfect.

Tonight is Logan's first basketball practice. He ended up on his football coach's team, so he's pretty excited. For a child that I had to really talk into trying basketball last year, he really does love it. It's been awhile since we've been out on the court, so I'm looking forward to the practice tonight. Plus it's indoors!!

First visible wiggle and OH the pain!

My trip to Ikea was mostly successful. There was only 1 item that they didn't have that I had been hoping for. While sitting on a bench, waiting for Melissa outside of Fresh Choice I started to feel a mid belly movement. I looked down and I could actually see the wiggle through my shirt. And then he did it again and again. Now I know he's been moving for awhile, but I've never been able to visually confirm it. Every time I'm lying in bed and he starts moving I look down only to find my breathing irregular and erratic and I'm never sure if I'm seeing him move or just my own breath. Today there was no doubt!!

I wore my favorite pair of jeans out today. You know the ones, I took a picture in them with my only sweater many weeks ago and I estimated that they would no longer fit by Thanksgiving? Well they still fit my rear, which is a big deal to me, so I wore them out today. The belly band is now SO tight that I think I must've been squishing poor little girl. I had so much discomfort walking around today as a result. She was firmly planted in whatever the sensitive regions of my lower uterus are called. I do believe I wore a slightly pained expression with every step I took, as I slowly breathed in and out. She'd let up for a few steps and then WHAM! there it was again. When I got home I immediately changed into a larger pair of jeans and I haven't had quite as much discomfort. There's still a ton of movement, but I no longer have to breathe deeply and carefully.

Today was my first visit to Fresh Choice. I'm not generally big on buffets, mostly because I'm such a picky eater and secondly I don't think they're a very good value for the cost. I enjoyed my salad, baked potato and chili, but I think I could've enjoyed the $3 version at Wendy's just as much. It was nice to have lunch with Melissa though and she paid so I'll stop complaining. The gingerbread muffin/cake was really yummy though.

Ciera is having her first 'during the school week' sleepover at her friends. Depending on how it goes and how she acts tomorrow it may be the last one. This week at school half of her class is gone on a Science trip, so the academic week has been thrown off a bit. Apparently tomorrow will be pajama day and they will just be reading all day. SO, we thought we'd let her give it a try. Honestly, she will probably be asleep earlier than when she's at home.

Since it was just Logan, we gave him the choice of dinner. I was hoping for somewhere yummy, instead he chose KFC. Since he's having KFC for lunch tomorrow I was able to get him to pick somewhere else, Panda Express. I loved this place around the time we got pregnant, but haven't really enjoyed it since. The green bean chicken was actually quite good tonight and I enjoyed some steamed rice as well.

I was able to get some reading in today and am actually enjoying the book, so I will share the name with you now, Mistborn. I don't have it in front of me and I refuse to hike up the stairs just to find the author's name, so you'll just have to google it if you're curious. It's the first book of a trilogy that has been COMPLETED!! After much discussion Brian has a better understanding of when to give me books in a series. I guess a completed trilogy seemed safe. By chapter 5 he's convinced me that the book is worth reading. So off I go for a quick hot shower for my back before I curl up for the night with my book.

Double digits baby!!

99 days to go until the due date!! Has this pregnancy gone by so fast for anyone else?

I got a call this morning from my OB. My glucose results are in and I passed-barely. I'm chalking that up to my breakfast though. I should've known better than to go in there with only a belly full of sugar. Cocoa Nuggets is not the smartest breakfast before they check your sugar levels. Here's the funny part: Doc wants to know what happened, it says in my chart that I wasn't very helpful. Actually what it says is that I refused orders, not much better. Doc took a look and agreed that there was no reason for me to have taken all of the tests that were ordered. All I really needed was the glucose screening and the CBC to check my iron. So he has reordered the iron check and I'll go down and get that drawn. I just think it's humorous that the tech had to record anything about my refusal, which wasn't an outright refusal. I just wanted to verify with my Dr. that the tests were actually necessary. I figured the insurance would have a fit if I took a 3 HIV test in 1 year, not to mention all of the others. So my Dr assured me that he doesn't have anything written in my chart that alludes to me being a difficult patient and that I did the right thing.

Yesterday was a good day. I made it all day without any lower back pain, I can already feel it today though. Not much got accomplished yesterday. I'm mentally preparing packages to mail out if I ever get the boxes from the Post Office and I got to watch a final flag football practice. The kids had a fairly good day at school and I didn't read a single new page of the book Brian gave me to read (name will come later). There was a lot of movement as I watched TV last night from 10-11pm and again this morning they have made their presence known.

I'm headed out in a bit to Ikea. I haven't been in years and I need/want a few things. While I'm down in Sacramento I thought it would be nice to have lunch with Melissa since we were unable to have our usual ultrasound lunch last month. It's hard to believe we have another ultrasound in just a few short weeks.

Here's another thing I've been thinking about lately. The entire pregnancy process is amazing. The way something so small and inconsequential can grow into something so life changing. And then you throw surrogacy into the mix and I am literally stunned at times that I really am able to grow someone else's baby. That the movements inside of my uterus right now were intentionally put there and will change so many lives in so many ways. I just think it's amazing how an embryo grows into a actual human being! Thank you again for allowing me the opportunity to be a part of such a miraculous event!

One more post and I'm off to bed-promise!

I meant to explain why I was crying inside of Lowe's today. After going to Costco I returned to Lowe's to purchase the tub, my mom was going to meet me there to help transport it back to the house. I walk to the back of the store (in my too hot sweater inside of the too hot store) and verify that it is still there. I then find the nearest employee to find out what I have to do to buy it. He tells me that I'll need to put it on a flat cart and take it to the front. I said 'really? OK'. As I'm walking away he asks if I have a truck here for it and I say yes, I then throw in snarkily that 'the pregnant lady will get the cart.' He then says, "I'll bring it up in a minute." I was in near tears thinking that this employee and the other one standing next to him chatting are REALLY going to insist that a clearly pregnant lady hike to the front of the store, get a flat cart, bring it to the back of the store and then lift the 6 foot fiberglass tub onto the cart by herself. Apparently I misunderstood and I thanked him for bringing it up while explaining that I misunderstood him. He does in fact bring it to the front of the store and parks it in front of a register and then returns to the back of the store. I guess he's not the guy that would help a pregnant lady load the tub. The guy at the register did ask if I needed help and another employee came out with him to help put it in the truck. These two were very helpful and even waited to help put it in my van after all and they tied down the back door for the trip home. Once home we just had to walk it out of the van and it's actually quite light out of the box, it's fiberglass after all.

So we now have a beautiful tub sitting in the garage just waiting for us to brave the stress involved in taking out the other tub and tile. I'm pretty sure we'll wait until after the babies are born unless we're told it can actually be done quickly and without much effort on our part. We'll see....