merry, merry

Merry wee babe #1:

Merry wee babe #2:


This week I went in for a two hour appointment for genetic counseling and a very -- very -- thorough ultrasound. I had an amniocentesis with both of my other children and it was extremely painful. So, I decided I did not want to have one this time. However, after the incredibly thorough ultrasound, the doctor found a "white spot" (calcium deposit) in baby #1's heart which CAN, but not always, be a symptom of downs syndrome. So...thank heavens my hubby went to the appt. with me and he encouraged me to get an amnio so that we wouldn't worry the entire rest of the pregnancy.

Yes, it was very, very painful. Not once, but twice did that huge needle go into my belly. Double the pain. Good times. But...I am very happy I had it done because I know I would be very worried about it since my sister has a mentally retarded child and it is definitely something I have always been concerned about (which is why I chose to have an amnio with my first two babes -- not to mention I have had all three pregnancies after the age of 35).

So...the doctor said I might have some cramping within the next 24 hours and to take it easy. I felt ok after the appt. -- with a little pain, but nothing too horrible. Then a few hours passed. Oh man, the pain set in. I mean serious pain. My lil boy came down with a fever of 102º. My lil girl would not stop crying since she had skipped her nap three days in a row and was extremely tired. I am so very grateful my hubby was home to get them to bed because I couldn't handle the crying. I get very irritable and impatient when I am in pain. I had to lie down so I decided just to go to bed at 7pm. I could hardly move I had so much pain and cramping in my abdomen.

I lay in bed for a few hours but the pain would not go away and I could hardly turn to change positions. I finally went to sit at my computer just to try something new and get my mind off my worry about my wee babes. There is always a risk of miscarriage after an amnio and I have a friend who lost her baby after hers. I was VERY worried. It's amazing the attachment a mother can have to lil babes she hasn't even met. I would be absolutely devastated if I lost one of these precious wee lil ones.

Anyway, long story short, while I was at the computer, I tried to print out my Christmas card and it simply would NOT print out so I was completely distracted -- and very frustrated -- and finally gave up and went to bed at 1am. The distraction helped because the cramping had subsided a little bit. It still took me a while to get to sleep, but I finally did. Only to be awakened at 4:30am by my sick boy. It was a long night.

I still had presents to wrap, a house to clean, packing to do for our trip to Wisconsin, kidlings to take care of while the hubby went to work, Christmas preparations and doings to be done.... What the heck was I going to do if I had to stay in bed the next few very busy days?? Yes, I was just a wee bit stressed.

But, Christmas magic was in the air and it all worked out. I lay in bed with my boy until 8:30am, took it easy that morning and the horrible pain and cramping was completely gone. I felt great. My boy felt much better too. Mr. Incredible came home early from work. I completed all the wrapping. I was able to get a house cleaner to clean my home so that it wasn't a mess when I returned from WI (I hate coming home to a messy home...) and I felt so, so very much better. I mean MUCH better. I was extremely relieved, to say the least.

So now I am all caught up on my Christmas doings and am about to decorate our Christmas tree (my family always decorated on Christmas eve...thank heavens because the tree has already fallen over three times and I am very grateful there were no ornaments on it when it fell!!).

I have so many, many reasons to be merry and I hope there is much merriness in homes everywhere this Christmastime. We're off to Jim's dad's house for the next week for some serious r&r (since there is not much to do in a very small farming town in Wisconsin).


MERRY MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

the belly "bump"

Ok...I personally think this is more than a "bump", but people keep telling me they hardly notice I'm pregnant. If they felt how I feel, there would be no doubt. My belly feels a lot bigger than a "bump" lemme tell you.... Not to mention the nausea...oh the nausea. Yesterday I had uncontrollable dry heaves that seemed like they would never end. Thank heavens the hubby took the kidlings out running errands and they weren't here to witness -- or hear it. It was horrible. These twins are doing a number on my hormones. The sinus headaches and the nausea are really the worst of it. Other than that, I honestly feel great and the babes seem to be good 'n healthy and growing strong -- and I am EXTREMELY grateful for that.

But... I do feel like it's more than just a "bump" as there is one heckuva lotta stretching goin' on 'round my belly area. However...sometimes I wonder if that is due to the increased food consumption these past few months...although I am finally starting to eat a bit less...a bit.... Eating helps the nausea subside at least a little bit, so it's very difficult to hold back and not eat. I feel the most sick when I have an empty stomach, so I rarely have an empty stomach lemme tell you! I mostly crave chips and salsa with sour cream, meat/cheese/pickle sandwiches with LOTS of mayo (I know that grosses some people out, but man, these twins sure love the mayo!), and I've been eating an extraordinary amount of cheese. The good news is that there are very few things that completely gross me out...although there are definitely a few things I can't even think about eating, but it usually depends on the moment.

And yes, I have felt a few lil kicks now and then -- as every mom will say, that is the very best part of being prego. I just love those wee kicks. However, towards the last few weeks, I may not be lovin' them kicks so much.... I'm actually looking forward to what it will feel like to have TWO big babes a'kickin' rather than just one. I will be keeping you posted!

(By the way...since people keep asking me...I'm in my 15th -- almost 16th -- week and my due date is June 2nd, but the doctor said to plan on mid-May sometime as twins usually come early. I hope not TOO early -- I want good 'n healthy well-baked babes!!)

it's all snowy outside!!

This is what I looked out my window and saw first thing when I awoke this morning:

There are few mornings that bring me more joy than the morning of the first snow. I just love it. I've always loved snow. I love the beauty of the teeny tiny snowflakes and the beauty of what those trillions of snowflakes do to the landscape, the fresh chill and smell of the air, the feeling of softness all around you as you stand outside in the muffled stillness.

This is the first thing my boy did this morning (after getting dressed in his Sunday best...and didn't even want to take the time to put his jacket on):

Nuthin' like a bike ride in the snow!

Oh the joy snow brings!

There are few things more exciting (for a 5 and 3 year old) than building the first snowman with daddy.

holidays in brief

It's been a bit crazy 'roun these parts these past couple weeks, so I took a bit of a blog break. Since I have no interest in boring you with the details, I will share my fantabulous Thanksgiving fun in pictures.... (My parents and my sister with her family of six came to visit.)
Serving lunch to 5 wee ones in the midst of our Thanksgiving feast creation:

The place settings with the "thankful 4s" my sis made. We each wrote on the back of the "4" what we were most thankful for. I am so very thankful for so very many things, but, right now, I am most thankful for my very healthy family...all 6 of us (the twins included of course!) have stayed healthy this entire fall of swine flu, and other illnesses, running rampant. I most definitely do not take that for granted....

The kidlings' table with the turkey placemats I designed and made...with a lotta help from my mom to put them all together. They were tedious, but worth it!!

My dad teaching my hubby how to carve a turkey. The hubby wasn't too interested, however....

The active kidling table:

The "Black Friday" activity: making lefse...a tradition in Jim's family for countless generations. A tradition new to my family and we all enjoyed the team effort of its creation...

...not to mention enjoying the end result of its yumminess....

My most incredible parents created this lil addition to my kitchen. My mom's idea and my dad's creation: a changing table for my kitchen so I wouldn't have to walk up and down stairs every single time my wee babies needed a change...inspired by the fact that the babies' room will be on the third floor -- that's two flights of stairs every single time I need to change a diaper. Yes, I could change them on the kitchen floor or table, but why not build a folding changing table instead?? A set of drawers and shelves will be below the table once the twinlings arrive, but for now it's outta the way and available if needed for an extra table for drinks er whatever when we have a party. Cool, eh?


Searching the forest behind our home for our Christmas tree:

They found one!

Oh the satisfaction of finding a Christmas tree....

Then the Christmas decorating began....











I hope everyone had a fantabulous Thanksgiving and is enjoying a very merry holiday season!

there are still 2....

Every single time I see the babies in an ultrasound (and there have been several ultrasounds, just not with pictures every time), I honestly continue to be in shock that there are TWO BABIES in my belly. I never in a million years thought I would be a mom of twins. I just didn't. And I just can't seem to get used to that reality. But here they are...and they are so. dang. cute. moving around posing, stretching and waving for the camera.... They are very healthy and doing all the right things. So far, so good!

Check out their lil hands above their lil heads...ooooooo...so cute!! 

The ultrasound tech said it is very rare to get such a clear picture of both babies. Like I said...they were doing all the right things, and that is all right by me! It certainly makes this intense nausea I'm experiencing worth it! Although I will be VERY happy when it goes away.....

look mommy!

It's the United States of America!

we the people

Our country's constitution begins with those three very, very important words. Our country was formed to provide freedom...freedom of religion, speech, to bear arms, etc. My husband and I are history and political junkies, my hubby moreso than I as many of you know (for him it's more of an obsession). We try to stay on top of what is going on in the governing of our country because, "we the people" are the ones who run this country. The United States President and our Congress is supposed to work for US -- the PEOPLE -- and it is our duty to stay informed and make sure our fundamental freedoms are protected. Right before our eyes, the current administration is taking more and more of them away and too many people are blindly going along thinking, "well, the government knows what it's doing, they'll take care of it" or "there's nothing I can do about it" or whatever....

Anyway...a concerned citizen of this country, and one who truly loves everything this country stands for, is speaking up. He's doing everything he can to make his voice heard because WE THE PEOPLE need to make our voices heard -- and too many voices are being squelched because they disagree. This administration's definition of "transparency" and "openness" is VERY VERY different from mine.... In fact, it's quite the opposite of how it is traditionally defined -- and there are way too many examples to support my view to even begin to write about them here.

So, I would like to share this citizen's blog with you with the hope that you will take the time to read it. It is worth reading. You WILL learn something, believe me. Whether you agree with it or not, it just might open your mind up to some new thoughts, a new way of thinking about something that has mystified you, or just plain provide a forum for you to share your own concerns by commenting on the blog.

First, here is the background info on the blog as written by the author:
Some of you may have read the 1/4 page advocacy ad that we (my wife and I) ran in the Wall Street Journal on March 31, 2009. The blog created at that time was designed to capture comments on the ad's theme - namely my concern for what I perceived was an absurd overreach driven by a thoughtless populist emotion on the part of the Congress relative to a hot topic of that time -'unwarranted' bonuses being paid to some 800+ AIG employees. A copy of the ad is posted on the subject blog.

I received over 1000 responses to the ad on the blog - 95.8% agreed with my position. This level of support was surprising since most people were really upset about those 'greedy undeserving' people getting paid money from a bailed out private company. I found it interesting that after sending a copy of the ad to every member of the House, that one representative went to the floor a few days later and publicly retracted his vote because he believed, as I did, that the act that had been passed was unconstitutional. He used some of the words in the ad to support his position - of course, I have no clue as to whether it actually enlightened him but it gave me some hope that just maybe putting my money where my mouth might have paid off.

Bottom line: this idiotic measure died in the House - I guess they were just kidding.  It is indeed incredible that 327 members voted for a measure that was patently in violation of the fundamental principles of our individual freedoms that have made us a truly great place to be born, raised and productive as citizens.

I am extremely worried about the huge debt that the Congress, the Federal Reserve and our President are piling on our children and grandchildren and look at the actions by these folks as effectively an assault on the fundamental values of our Country that have made us the greatest contributor of good in the history of man.  As a result, my family has encouraged me to continue to put my money where my mouth is and speak out, using a blog as my forum to do so.

In the initial posts, I have tried to stay within the context of my underlying concern outlined above and am interested in focusing on a discussion of solutions.  Finally, I have tried to avoid getting into inflammatory and unproductive rhetoric - although there are some provocative passages purposely included in order to encourage comments from those who support the current direction in Washington. By the way, while most of the public's ire is directed at the President - the Congress is the fundamental problem - they create and pass the laws!! 

I look forward to your comments - again go to wealthcreatesgood.com and post your comments on each post which is the best way to respond since others can see what you think -  or, of course, you can exercise your disagreement and hit the delete key.

fan of food and football

I love food. I mean I reeeeeally love food. I love to cook, bake and eat....lots. I saw this recipe in one of my favorite foodie magazines and HAD to try it -- even though my pregnancy nausea is only made worse with sweets (oh the horror for a chocoholic and baked goods fanatic!). I couldn't help myself. I just had to make these dang doughnuts. However, they sounded a bit better than they tasted -- but mostly because I am very particular about the balance between caramel and, well, whatever is with caramel. I loooove caramel (almost as much as I love chocolate) and these didn't have enough caramel in them because it melted out of the donuts. My fryer was filled with wasted caramel and I was devastated to have missed out on all that yummy gooeyness.... However, for whatever reason, I just wanted to share that I had made them. Don't worry, they didn't go uneaten. They were delicious. Pure indulgence. Just not enough caramel for my taste.

While I'm at it...later on this day of doughnut-making was a Big Game. Mr. Incredible is from Green Bay, so guess who we root for in our home?

 

I just had to share because, c'mon, is that one cute cheerleader or what??

Too bad they lost. Oh well. It sure wasn't because of a lack of fan support in THIS family!!

the halloween buzzzzzzzzzzz

My two buzzzzy bees.....



a bit too much on the hug there lil man...

Check out those stingers!







The scaaaaaary punkin man on Halloween night....

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!