2 lil cherubs

Last night was a rough night as I came down with the bug that my boy started, then gave to my girl and then at 5pm last night I felt it comin' on -- and it came on F A S T. I had a HORRIBLE sore throat all night and my head feels like it will explode. I'm hoping it only lasts a day like it seemed to with them....

Anyway, I took my time getting out of bed, showered and dressed this morning and had no idea what my wee ones were up to. Well, I walked into the living room to find this:


A friend recently gave us a book with a CD that goes along with it and they were peacefully and happily reading along together...being the perfect lil cherubs that they are.

HA! Yeah, well, that didn't last long. The rest of the day they seemed to be at each other's throats. This was a good moment though, so I had to document it. It felt so good to see that they had taken care of themselves while I took care of me...for a bit anyway.

After feeling yucky all day, I made what my mom used to make for me when I was sick....

The difference being that my mom would give me Campbell's tomato soup, and this is homemade -- but it was for dinner and not for lunch like my mom used to do. And...I didn't grow up with a plethora of tomatoes in my back yard for making such yummy delights as tomato soup 'n such (yes, I still have some canned and frozen...lots actually). And...my mom gave me a panini maker for Christmas and it makes the BEST grilled cheese sandwiches!!!!! Who knew they could get even better....

Hopefully this comfort food dinner will help me get a better night's sleep and feel all better tomorrow. Here's hoping!

the final stretch

And I do mean "stretch". My belly already feels stretched to the max and I still have 3 months to go!! Yikes. These babies clearly need more room as I am now feeling both of them kick at once -- which I felt for the first time yesterday. They are moving around more and more...and yes, I still love those lil bumpy-bumps in my belly telling me I have TWO babies alive and kickin' in there.

(note that I can't see my feet anymore)

I was trying to get a picture of me and my belly and the Doggy Diva just HAD to prop herself in the picture. Believe me, she is MUCH better looking than I am, so I kept her in and me out. The picture doesn't do the enormity of my belly justice (seriously, it doesn't...my belly is much larger than the picture shows), but she's way more interesting to look at than a bloated momma.

Anyway, my point is that I'm feeling the "final stretch" coming on as I am losing energy, feeling lethargic and not nearly as motivated as I was just last week. Oh so short a break that was! But, I just have to share some of the things I have been getting done in my two short weeks of feeling so dang good (really just to make me feel better knowing I at least got SOMETHING done during these prego months).

I've been cooking and baking like a mad woman, gourmet meals every night, breads, treats, all sorts of new recipes have been tried. I have always wanted to make baklava, so this week I did. It turned out just like it does at the bakery...only better because I could eat as much as I wanted without having to buy every square. I absolutely love this very sweet and rich treat, so I'm glad to know that it is easy to make...although maybe that's not such a good thing considering my rather large thighs.....

I also made some yummy smelling cream for my babes. So easy, cheap, and it's excellent cream for my horribly dry skin...which has inevitably been passed on to my wee ones.

I've started making the nursery look more like a nursery than a guest bedroom.... (both the cream and the pom poms were inspired from a wonderful and most creative friend).


A few other fun creative projects are in the works as well. Why couldn't I get this motivated when I didn't have a huge belly -- and lots more weight -- to lug around???? Unfortunately the motivation is slowly drifting away...and who knows when it will come back given what the next year will be like.....

week 21

It's week 21 and all is still well....
baby #1 (waving its wee hand at the camera)

baby #2

Yet another good day of good news. It just doesn't get old. They are both healthy and growing well. Baby #2 has two blood vessels to the placenta rather than the normal three, but because the amnio came out so well, it shouldn't be anything to worry about (it's sometimes an indication of chromosomal issues) as it is somewhat common. That was the one and only red flag the doctor noticed and, considering how much can go wrong, I am extremely relieved once again.

My only complaint these days is the muscle cramping every single night...a different leg muscle every night and extreme shoots of pain up one of my legs every night. Other than that, there truly is nothing worth complaining about.

Meanwhile, it was a gorgeous snowy day in New Hampshire....

She also had her stitches taken out today. She wasn't much of a trooper at the doctor's office this time...but at least they are out and I don't have to look at those blue strings stickin' outta her nose anymore!!

another first....

Well, we finally had our first trip to the emergency room for stitches.

Ironically enough, I had my first stitches when I was almost four years old from a sledding accident. Mine were on my chin, hers are in her nose. She had just two, I had quite a bit more, but I don't remember how many.

She was sledding on our little hill in our back yard with her brother and his friend. They were having a grand ole time. Then Soren came running inside yelling, "MOMMY! Anna Clara is bleeding! Her face is bleeding!!" I went outside to check out the situation and sure enough, her face was covered in blood and dripping all over her jacket. After cleaning it off, I could see it was deep and probably needed a stitch, but it was probably ok. I called my mom (who was a nurse) and she thought it would probably be ok to go without stitches. Then Mr. Incredible came home and, after checking it out, said we should take her to the emergency room. When he was young, he had cut his chin (exactly the same place where I cut my chin!) and his dad ignored it and he now has a fairly large scar (and my scar is hardly noticeable)... We didn't want to take any chances, so he took her to the emergency room while I stayed home with my boy.

They were gone about two hours and she was an absolute trooper -- which was actually surprising to me. That girl surprises me on a daily basis. As difficult as she can be, she often surprises me with how good, and easy, she actually can be!

Here she is showing off her new "bracelets"....

I'm so grateful that, so far at least, two stitches is the worst I've had to deal with in my almost 6 years of raising my children. Every day I am grateful for the health and safety of my children.

How lucky am I to live in a country with such exceptional infrastructure and health care and military and generosity and...and...and.... I can't help but think about these things when I see what has happened in Haiti. Having traveled around the world and lived in various countries, I know, first hand, how extremely lucky we Americans are. As far as I can tell, not enough Americans realize just how lucky they are to simply live in this great country.

mmm-MM!

There are few things better than homemade bread...warm and fresh from the oven...flaky-crunchy on the outside, soft and spongy on the inside...and the smell! Oh that yummy, goodness-to-the-core, comforting smell.....

mmmmmm-MM!!!!

I've been feeling sooooo GOOD these days -- no more nausea, lots of energy and sometimes I even forget I'm preggers...until I look in the mirror...or bend over to pick something up.... My belly is rather large and getting bigger every single day. But, I'm not hungry all the time and I'm not eating NEARLY as much as I was a couple weeks ago -- which is a very good thing.

Since my OB and some mothers of twins have told me this will most likely be my last month of feeling good, I have been frantically getting one heckuva lot done.... I think I have been able to get more done in the past three days than I did the entire last three months! I just wish I could feel like this the rest of the pregnancy...but I'm thinking that might be too much to hope for as a momma with two growing babes inside her belly. I am sure enjoying every second of it while it lasts, believe me! And feeling the babes kicking and rolling around inside me simply never gets old....at this stage anyway (I may feel a bit differently when my belly is stretched to the max in a couple months!).

all is well....

The results came back from my amnio and I am very relieved to report that all is well. The babies are as healthy as can be, with all their chromosomes in perfect form and their heartbeats and growth perfect and absolutely everything going well. Yippee!

(what better way to represent my joy than my girl's smile...she fills me with joy every time I look at her pure, happy face)

Look what I drew mommy!!

ME: Awww...is it Anna Clara? (he always draws her with her curly hair)
HIM: No.
ME: Is it you?
HIM: No, it's a poopy head. HAHHHAHHAHAHHHHAAAA!!!!!

He is ALL boy. And all potty talk these days. He stopped it for a while, but it surprisingly came back after being in a kindergarten class with all boys. Funny how that happens. So funny. ONLY the beginning of those wonderful peer influences at school.......

happy new year!

We've begun yet another decade. SO hard to believe.... I swear it was yesterday that it was 1990. Yes, so very much has happened between now and then, but man, time sure flies.

I don't have any goals or resolutions for this coming year. I simply hope for two healthy babes and to stay as sane as possible in my sleep-deprived months ahead. Those are the only two things I am focused on right now in this beginning of a new year -- and they are always on my mind. So I guess I do have two goals for the year...although they are somewhat out of my hands as to whether or not they will/can be accomplished:
1) two healthy babies
2) be patient and kind in my sleep-deprived state (patience and kindness seem to disappear when I am sleep-deprived. Not a good thing for a mommy...or a wife...or a friend, daughter, sister.......).
That's it. If I can accomplish those two things this year, I will truly feel like it is a blessed year. Here's hoping.....

And here's to two full days of GORGEOUS snow falling these last two days of vacation with Mr. Incredible and my two kiddos. I didn't take one picture while I was in Wisconsin since we did nothing but sit, eat, sit and eat. No joke. No pictures worth taking during such a non-eventful, but relaxing (so relaxing I think my muscles have atrophied), time away. These pictures represent my feelings of excitement from this past week...they were all I was inspired to take on these gorgeous days of snowfall while I was getting my life back in order after being away.



Nothing exciting, but peaceful and still, which is nice once in a while. Hmmmm...peace and stillness...two more good things to hope for in the new year......(although maybe not QUITE to the extreme of this past week....)