Twins!

***I apologize for the weird text background...not sure why it is doing this. I have nothing highlighted***
Hello world!

I must say it is good to be back on the computer. I have spent almost my entire summer getting nauseous every time I look at a computer screen. 5 minutes was my cap, but things are progressing well. So...we have a lot of catching up to do! Since you all know anyways, I will start by saying we are pregnant :) Here is our "announcement" photo that S took:

We really wanted a fun way of telling all you guys-TWINS! How crazy is that?

Now we are just about to end week 21. I saw a blogger that did a little weekly update on her twin pregnancy and I loved it so much I decided to do something like it. So here we are...

How far along? 22 weeks tomorrow

Weight gain/loss: Loss of another 4 lbs at my last appointment...making that 9 lbs total (I think!). Definitely not as much as with Z but still substantial. Not that you can tell from looking at me cause I am growing at an alarmingly fast rate.

Sleep: Doing ok now that I got a pregnancy pillow! I borrowed one from an awesome friend but it was just too big. It is the leachco total body one, and S didn't like sharing the bed with it. Because he quite literally had to share with it. It took up more room than the both of us. But I decided on 2 that I would be willing to try and I advertised on an awesome facebook page of things for sale in our area and I got one! $20 instead of $50-$60 for a new one. Plus I know the lady it came from so I am sure it came clean :) It is a boppy pillow...still a little bigger than I had planned but so comfortable! And a different shape so it isn't really awkward in the bed. S said he doesn't mind/notice so it is all good.

 

Maternity clothes? Yes-for a couple months now. But seriously. My belly is 41 inches in diameter at its thickest! I feel like nothing fits. I attempt to slip into something I wore before and its a joke. We have the same old routine at our house.

Me: Taking off yet another article of clothing and throwing it on the bed/floor. "It doesn't fit."

S: "It doesn't fit" (in a whiny voice). He then proceeds to tell me that I had better suck it up and deal with it cause he wasn't listening to me complain about my clothes not fitting for another 4 months.

 

Stretch marks? Yes unfortunately. I don't think it is avoidable with twins anyways. All the old ones from Z plus new ones forming on the top of my belly. For all ladies out there who find themselves pregnant with twins in the future...Palmer's Cocoa Butter/Stretch mark cream is useless! I did a little googling and found the suggestion to try Jergen's soothing aloe cream and it seems to work. The skin ripping feeling is sooooo terrible...especially around my belly button. I had emergency gall bladder surgery in July 2011 and I have a tiny incision scar right above my belly button. Well it was tiny. Now it is itchy and about an inch long-and growing daily! The cocoa butter worked for 2 minutes to relieve the pain. Literally. It was two minutes before I needed to reapply. The Jergen's lasted for 2 hours. 5:05 to 7:07 no joke. A definite improvement.

Miss Anything? Running. Not that I was a hardcore marathon athlete or anything. I just really miss being able to go out and clear my head.

Movement: Yes. So much! It is awesome. Squirmy, wriggly little things! Even got to experience what it feels like to get kicked in the ribs. Z never really kicked me. He often wedged his little feet and pushed on my ribs, but oh my! Being kicked takes my breath away! Baby B (our sweet little boy twin) is crazy active and likes to kick hard already. Baby A (our sweet little girl) is way more passive, although I think she likes to roll more. And she must suck her thumb or something because there are lots of flutters up around her head-often. They move the most 9pm-12am. I usually fall asleep around 11, but when I am up later they are still going strong!

 

Food cravings: Not anything regularly. Sometimes I want something sweet, but nothing in particular. Although apple cider always sounds delicious. And mini fair donuts. Not a craving but I find greek yogurt incredibly helpful in keeping me going. It helps me get through the nausea in the mornings cause it is packed with almost 30% of my daily protein. Great suggestion for sick mommas out there.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Just in the mornings when I haven't eaten anything. Also the smell in our kitchen if something in the garbage needs to go out. Like this morning with the leftover chicken scraps. But seriously, who likes that smell and finds it tolerable anyways? Pregnant or not.

Gender: Boy and Girl!

Belly Button in or out? It is slowly unfolding. I don't know how else to describe it really. It kind of pokes out a little more each day as my stomach stretches out.

Wedding rings on or off? My wedding ring has been off for over a month! S bought me a large fake one I can wear in the meantime. Like we could ever afford that rock on my hand now!

Looking forward to: Our 3D/4D ultrasound in 4 more weeks :)

Symptoms: So hard to breathe. Like all the time hard to breathe. I don't know what they are doing in there but I wonder if I get enough oxygen half the time. It's like I just climbed 5 flights of stairs-but I'm sitting down! Heartburn. Oh. My. Goodness. It burns!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If I eat or drink anything I get heartburn. So at first I stopped eating spicy or acidic foods to try and help the situation. After I realized that I was getting heartburn after drinking water I decided to put those foods back in my diet. Why not eat what I enjoy right? A Costco bottle of Tums now sits on my nightstand. It's really huge. I also started back to work this week and I have noticed that I am super tired. If I was tired before that was an understatement. Now I am fatigued. I don't want to do anything when I come home except sit there and play with Z. But my floors need vacuuming, and my apples need drying, and my clothes need washing..because like it or not, I still live with a toddler. And he likes to be messy.

"Other" Section: This will be where I vent. Where to begin on the good...I am so blessed with my little family. I love when Z slaps my belly and says "Baby". I love that S is so supportive and sweet telling me I look beautiful even though I feel like Shamu the whale. I don't like how my counter tops are so high and I can't reach the sink faucets very well, or stand to do dishes. I don't like how I have to get my 21 month old child to pull the laundry out of the dryer for me cause I can't reach in the well. I don't like having to pee; going pee; then having to pee again as soon as I am 5 steps out of the bathroom. And that is enough venting for now. Not because I ran out of things to say, but because I am being kicked in the bladder and I need a potty break.

Now for an update on Z. He is doing well. He is 33-35 lbs depending on the scale! He loves to talk and walk and run everywhere! Here are the words/phrases he is saying now quite regularly at 20 months:

• Ball


• Mine


• Car


• Vroom Vroom


• Kitty


• Where'd it go?


• All gone


• All done


• Potty


• Banana


• Hi


• Bye


• Momma


• Daddy


• Milk

And I am sure there are more things but that is all I can think of off the top of my head right now. He also understands a lot. I am constantly surprised at how much he knows/understands. Just for fun S and I decided to ask him to point out some body parts. We thought he only knew eyes, mouth, nose, hair, belly button, but he can show you ears, teeth, legs, feet, hands, head...he obviously learns as we talk. Also, although he can't say all the animals names yet, if you ask him what sounds they make, he knows those as well. Horse, duck, chicken, cow, dog, cat, and his favourite...monkey! He loves Curious George and sometimes we have some mommy/Z time and watch an episode on netflix.

I started back to work this week after having the summer off with my baby :( It was a bittersweet day for me. It's nice to feel productive again, but I hate hate hate leaving him everyday. It breaks my heart to see his little teary eyes.

I have also started baby gear hunting. So far with great success! We technically have enough car seats, but I wanted 2 new infant carriers. When I say new, I just mean new to me. We have one from Z but it is 1 year expired-not recalled...just technically the plastic is old. So there isn't anything necessarily wrong with it, but I decided to keep my eyes open. Also, we wanted a second infant carrier so it would make our lives easier. Because having to buckle newborns in every time you get out of the car is kind of a hassle. So as of today I have found 2 new car seats! Hurray! For only $30 I got 2 graco snugrides :) I'm pleased. And they are even gendered! A pink and tan floral and a blue and brown polka dot. Also finally decided on the stroller I want. Then I found it on Craigslist for $100. Pray for that cause I really want it! It is $300 new! I will keep you posted. Now we just need girl clothes, and cloth diapers, and bottles, and a million and a half other things. But the car seats were my biggest concern. Actually a car is my biggest concern. We definitely need a bigger vehicle, and I am not sure what God has in store for us with this. Our car will NOT fit 3 car seats. It can barely fit one car seat. It has served us well, but it is time to move on to bigger and better things. We need something with three rows of seats and we are very certain we do not want a minivan. Unless the Lord throws one in our laps for free. I would take it then. But we just aren't minivan kinda people.

So, to wrap this up...I will add gender reveal pics on here later. I realize most of you readers are my facebook friends so you have already seen them, but I like to have them in more than one place anyway! Love you all and I will definitely be more regular now that I am over my morning sickness awfulness!

Loves and Hugs
-T

 

Just some quick news

Hi!

I start this post asking for prayer for us. Nothing is wrong, we just have some decisions that we are trying to figure out and having extra prayer will always help.

With that said, this post will be short and sweet...just a quick update. Things are super busy for us, but the end is in sight! I am finished work for the summer starting June 15th and I am so so looking forward to it. I am exhausted. Both of us are exhausted actually. S is working normal hours Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and 1 pm to 10 pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Z is his usual happy self...nothing seems to phase him too much, but we are still tired. It feels like family days come so few and far between! I look forward to every weekend so I can see my babies.

Z is cutting teeth. His molars are almost in, but the canines haven't really started. He is so good about it, but I can tell he is in pain. Sometimes he complains, but not often. He loves to bite everything though! He is talking a little more. His words are definitely becoming more distinguishable. He says mama and dada or dad. He also says "some" when he wants some, "uh-oh" when he drops things (or throws them), and "yum" when he eats. He also makes noises that sound like "there you go" which S and I say to him often. You can tell that is what he is saying, even if he can't enunciate that yet. What else? Umm...he puts his hands up when he wants up now, and points at things or places he wants to go or see. He likes to turn off light switches and lock the front door so we can't get back in. And he loves to climb up and down on anything and everything. He is up to 24 month clothes, although we have to hem his pants because his legs aren't long enough. I'm glad summer season is here.

S is working hard as always. He recently finished cutting my vegetable garden out of the sod in the backyard. We planted our peas, pumpkins, and beans last night. We had frost last week so we have had a late start. But the plants have been growing on our window sill for a month at least. I will be planting the rest tonight: carrots, corn, celery, tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, and potatoes. I am excited. I really hope we get a great crop! I am truly blessed by him and all his hard work for us. Love that man :)
We finally picked out frames for his new glasses, so we need to order those. He looks really good! I'll post a picture when that is done.

As for me, nothing new to report. I picked my new frames. Wasn't too fond of contacts. I'm thinking I will try again not during allergy season when my eyes get irritated anyways. We have been trying new recipes, which I will add one day. I'm hoping with the summer off I will be able to reformat the blog so the recipes will be indexed on the side. This is the goal anyways. And hopefully I will write more in the summer as well. You can only clean 1000 sq ft so many times before you run out of things to do right?

Anyways, love you all and talk to you soon!
-T

It's a Great Day to Be Alive :)

Hi :)

I am done apologizing for not keeping current because I think I will forever be apologizing if that is the case. It's been too long since the last post. Life is just super super busy for us. I guess I will start by doing a quick recap of our last couple weeks. Here are the major high points/low points:

• S and I had eye doctor appointments. S needs glasses. I need stronger glasses. I am trying contacts. Got trial pairs for two weeks, then going back.
• Z started saying "nuh" and shaking his head no on a regular basis...as in he finally understands what that means. Also signing is going pretty well. He tells us he is hungry, wants up, wants down, and when is all done. Thanks to Samantha for doing this with him as well.
• Hurray! Reached the 6 month point of my new (now not so new) job and have vacation time and personal days.
• Z had a virus that lasted 6 days. Fever of around 103.5 for 4 days before breaking. He was a trooper.
• S and I went to Eugene to have Easter with family! It was a good trip :) Got to see some friends who we miss like crazy. Left our fluffy feather pillow at the hotel :( Sad day-more like sad night. When we realized it was missing that night crawling into our own beds, it was a sad moment. On this topic...S was the one who really wanted to take that pillow and I didn't. So he took his. Now somehow, he is using mine. Every night he has claimed it as his own and I am amused.
• Went back to eye doctor for follow-up. Contacts were not working out for me, they were making things harder to see. Different doctor this time, and he found an astigmatism in my right eye. He upped my prescription, and gave me new lenses that are bigger and a little thicker and they make a HUGE difference. They are super comfortable and I can see fantastic. I am very happy with them.
• Finally got to work in the garden a little bit on the 2 sunny days we have had all spring. Also got all of our seedlings started for the vegetable garden S is making me :) They are growing on the windowsill and I am so excited. Like a kid on Christmas. I want to keep peeking under the greenhouse lid.
• Have found a couple new recipes that we are adding to our staples list. Will be sharing a super delicious easy one later on in the post.
• Most recently and happiest moment for me..a dear friend whom I love has given me a sewing machine. An answer to prayer :) SO SO HAPPY! I have a couple projects that I really really want to make but can't sew it all by hand because it would take forever and the material is too strong. This is such a huge blessing on us all (Because S and Z will benefit from this too!). If you are ready this C I thank you with all my heart. We love you.

I think that is pretty much the quick rundown of the last couple weeks. We are planning on going to Eugene again this weekend to have some fun. We are going to have a blast. Seriously. I have some awesome things to do with the kids there and I am really looking forward to this :)

On Monday we had gorgeous sunshine and Z and I went to the park while S fixed something on our car. Some cover to something. I don't know these things. They just don't stick in my head. What I do know? Our car has lasted us a lot longer than we ever hoped our imagined so I am very thankful for the little deathtrap. That is affection. We lovingly call it deathtrap and tin can. Pretty sure a tuna can is made stronger. One day we will be able to afford something a little bigger and more sturdy. When we have another kid we will need a bigger car because we can't fit more than one car seat in our car now!
Anyways...so Z and I went to the park. There were 2 other babies there and he was much more interested in watching them than looking at the camera. I was taking a million pictures I know, but I wanted him to look at me. Didn't really happen as you can see...everything else was much more interesting. Grass, dogs barking, even his shadow!

Weird angle=fat cheeks hahaha

Mama and baby love <3

And here is our walk home: (the park is only 2 blocks down the street-we could see S fixing the car from the park!)

Fascinated by his shadow

Trying to pick up his shadow!

Happy Boy

S cutting out a vegetable garden for us :)

Chasing after the ball like a puppy

Showing momma the ball

Watching Daddy cut out the garden.



I'm not sure why he was so disgusted..maybe the wet grass?

The many faces of our silly boy

I think I might have to load the rest of the pictures in a different post because I'm having issues with this...Actually will just load them all to facebook so if you want to see them you can look there :)
But I do want to share that recipe with you before I end the post!

Chicken Pot Pie Cupcakes

·         1 chicken breast, poached and diced ·         1 (14.5 oz) can cream of chicken soup ·         1 cup frozen mixed veggies ·         1 cup shredded cheddar cheese ·         1 Tbs Herbs De Provence ·         1 tsp onion powder ·         1 tsp garlic salt ·         2 (10 oz) cans Pillsbury biscuits

1.       1Preheat your oven to 400. 2.       2In a large bowl, combine the cooked chicken, cream of chicken soup, frozen veggies, cheese, herbs and spices. 3.       3Lightly grease a 12-cup muffin tin and place the Pillsbury biscuits into each cup, pressing into the bottom and up the sides. 4.       4Evenly spoon the pot pie mixture into each biscuit cup. Slide into the oven and bake for about 15 minutes. Check at the 12 minute mark. 5.       5Let rest for about 3 minutes and dig in!

Sorry about the weird format. That is how all my recipes are stored on my computer so that I can print them on cards and easily see what groceries I need. It was easier to copy and paste than retype the whole thing. These were super easy and delicious. I made them in about 5 minutes with chicken I had already cooked and stored in the freezer. You could also use a rotisserie chicken if you don't have pre-cooked meat. S and Z both loved these...Z even ate the broccoli in them. And they were a great size for leftover lunches to take to work/day care.

Anyways...love you all and  hope things are going well with you all. I leave you with this adorable picture of my boys!

PS: Comments are great but don't tell me I need to cut my grass ;) I know it is ridiculously long but S just cut it last week.



A little late I know...

Disclaimer: This is a post that I started about a week and a half ago but never published...time flies. I felt the need to publish it before I move on to a newer post which should happen tonight. Our dental clinic just opened this week and life has been work, work, work, busy, busy, busy, busy. I feel the need to relax. Too bad there is no long weekend for Easter in the big US of A. I will definitely be writing a bigger post later..love you all
-T


Hi all,
It's a cloudy, stormy day here. And way too cold to be the end of March. I want to start my seedlings so bad but I just don't want them to freeze in my window sill. S and I are going to the eye doctor today for a check-up. S has never been to the eye doctor...crazy right? We think he might need glasses and I am pretty sure that I need a stronger prescription! I am so excited to go as weird as that sounds. I am definietly going to look at getting contacts. I would love to be able to just put my sunglasses on this summer and not have to take my glasses off to do it...among many other things!
What else is new...oh yeah...we joined the gym! Hurray :) We really want to work out together, and since S doesn't really work much manual labor anymore, he is really feeling it. I am definietly feeling it. I haven't really worked out since before Zeke was born!!!! Ouch. It hurts to admit. I have been recently, but I need to go out of my house and work somewhere where I can't be so lazy. Also, Zeke can go play in the childcare center so S and I can be together. We are starting with 3 days a week so wish us luck! We want to look good this summer in our bathing suits!
Speaking of summer....oh how I long for the warm summer days. I am off work June 15th through September 16th and I am super super super excited :) :) I can't wait to spend the summer chasing after Zeke! Taking him to the park, and playing in the water. It will be a blast...and I'm imagining that he will start talking a little bit by then too...any day now really. He gets so close with all his little noises :)

I want to share some pictures with y'all from a little day trip we took up to Valsetz. We weren't aware that the old town had been burned down (I guess many years ago...oops!) But it was just so gash darn pretty it was worth the drive anyways :)

New camera and yummy recipes :)

Hello Again,

I know it has been a very long time since I last posted a good post. Life has a way of catching up to you! Our house also had a way of catching up to us. Zeke tries to be helpful all the time by pulling things off the table, or taking toys out of his bins to bring to you, or my personal favourite (heavily sarcastic), pulling the clean folded laundry off the couch after you just fold it and set it down and then saying “uh-oh”. It’s super cute 99% of the time and super annoying about 1% of the time, usually when I am trying to hurry. Life is pretty normal and routine for us right now. Work, home, dinner, bath time, bedtime. Saturdays and Sundays are the best, even though we haven’t been able to truly sleep in ages, and we have been pretty busy. On Sunday we took Zeke to the Kroc Center with baby Ruby and her parents J It was pretty fun, although the water was too cold for babies. But us parents had fun going down the waterslide and rock climbing!

Like I mentioned before, we got a new camera! I am super excited. We have to save up for a cool lens, but the camera itself is great with/without the big lens. It already has taken much better pictures than our old camera, plus it has really cool editing features right on the camera. Here are some fun pictures:

Little hand print on his shirt <3

We are really having fun with the camera! It will be awesome to have some different lenses where we can really do "artsy" pictures!

In the food area in our lives, we have discovered the deliciousness of lentils! I don't know why we never really cooked with them that much before but we really like them. We made this yummy, spicy delicious butter chicken the other night, and had it with lentils.

Yum!

Here is the recipe, but I would only try it if you really like spicy food:

4 pieces Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts, Cut Into Bite Size Pieces

5 cloves Garlic, Minced

1 teaspoon Salt

½ teaspoons Black Pepper

½ teaspoons Cayenne Pepper

¼ teaspoons Ground Coriander

¼ teaspoons Cumin

¼ teaspoons Cardamom

1 whole Lime, Juiced

1 whole Onion, Diced

¼ cups Butter

1 can (14.5 Oz. Can) Tomato Sauce

1 can (14.5 Oz. Can) Petite Diced Tomatoes

1 pint Whipping Cream

1 bunch Chopped Cilantro, to taste

2 cups Basmati Rice (or However Much You Want)

Combine first 9 ingredients and marinate overnight. (We haven't done this before, but that's what it says to do).

Saute the onion in the butter until soft. Add marinated chicken and cook about 10 minutes. Add the tomato sauce and diced tomatoes. Cook for 30 minutes over medium-low heat with the lid on. Add the whipping cream (I used whole milk cause thats all I had this time) and cilantro just before serving over Basmati rice.

Note: more cayenne=deliciously spicy. Also, you can add a couple teaspoons of hot curry if you like that kind of thing...we sure do!!!!!!!!

We also have made these a couple of times recently. Once to try them, and two more times because they are so good you just eat them all up way too fast. They are basically the red lobster biscuits because they taste just like them.

Cheddar Bay Biscuits

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups Bisquick

4 Tbsp cold butter

1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

3/4 cup milk

1/4 tsp garlic powder

Butter Glaze:

3 Tbsp butter

1/2 tsp garlic powder

3/4 tsp dried parsley flakes

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease or line one cookie sheet with parchment; set aside.

Combine Bisquick with cold butter in a medium bowl using a pastry cutter (I just used 2 forks). Don't worry about mixing too thoroughly; there will be small chunks of butter in the mix about the size of peas. Add cheddar cheese, milk, and garlic powder. Mix by hand until combined, but don't over mix.

Drop 1/4 cup portions of the dough onto the lightly greased or parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake for 13-15 minutes in preheated oven until the tops of the biscuits begin to turn light brown.

While the biscuits are baking, melt butter is a small bowl in the microwave. Stir in garlic powder and dried parsley flakes. Use a brush to spread the garlic butter over the tops of all the biscuits. Sprinkle a little kosher salt on the freshly coated biscuits. Makes one dozen.

That's it for the recipes today. Tonight we are doing a little freezer cooking. We will be attempting homemade pizza pockets. We thought they would be nice to have for days when we need to grab a fast lunch.

Loves and kisses.
-T