2013

Phew! What a year! Some of my favorite bloggers are doing year in review posts and I had to jump on the bandwagon.

January- January of this year was one of the hardest months of my life. It started and I was ready for the year to be over. My first post let you all know about the miscarriage we had suffered.

February- Was spent still dealing with the miscarriage and trying to help others. I gave my tips on what to say and what not to say to someone that has had a miscarriage.

March- In March I explained my theory of God's baby line. I'm still praying for all of you that are waiting in line! I signed Chase up for soccer and was excited about becoming a soccer mom.

April- In April I shared the real story of how Hubby and I met. I continued to share my struggle with the miscarriage. One of my favorite posts this year that I wrote was when I shared our biggest struggle as a married couple. It was so nice to put it out there that we aren't perfect. It was like lifting a weight from my shoulders.

May- On May 1st my little man turned 2! I hadn't planned on going crazy for his party but I have no accepted that with birthday parties for my kiddo it is go big or go home. His race car birthday party was a blast! I completed my 30x30 fashion challenge. It was so fun I really recommend everyone do it.

June- In June I discussed Chase's allergies. I also wrote a post about who I am. I still think these co sleeping pictures of us are hilarious. Just wait for when we add the twins!

July- Things got a little quiet in July because I was keeping a secret! My sweet niece arrived in July.

August- In August, I wrote a post in reply to the rules for dating my son thing that had been going around. There was also the big announcement that we were becoming a family of 5!

September- In September, I shared the details of our pregnancy.

October- It is hard for me to pick my favorite posts from October. Of course one of my favorites was the announcement that we are having 2 more boys!!! I think I will always cherish the thoughts I had about the sex of our babies on the day we were going to find out what we were having.

November- There were only 5 posts in November, but I like them all! I think it is so important for everyone to read my post on handing out candy from an allergy mom. I love the pictures of us finding out what we were having. The gender reveal party details post is pretty popular.

December- At the beginning of this month I shared what it is really like to be pregnant with twins. I also shared my feelings on dealing with Christmas this year after our loss last year.

This was so much fun looking back on my year in blog posts! I hope there are some posts that you want to reread or might have missed. Like I said before this year started out tough but of course is ending better than we could have imagined. Thank you all so much for hanging around with me this year. I'm not sure how much I'll be around in 2014 but I do want to try to do monthly posts for the twins like I did with Chase.

My favorite pictures from 2013

Tomorrow I have a 2013 year in review post scheduled. When looking back through my blog posts there were a lot of click chicks posts. Hubby got me my canon rebel last year for Christmas.. I have had so much fun learning how to take pictures in manual. The main reason I wanted a dslr was to be able to capture my son's gorgeous blue eyes. I'm happy to say that I have been able to do that. I can't wait to get my camera on the twins!

Here is a collage of my favorite pictures from 2013.

My new year's resolution

This is my cleaning schedule whiteboard. I used to have a daily cleaning schedule but my dad broke the frame that it was in and I just bought a whiteboard at the dollar tree and did this instead.

When I was working and my dad was watching Chase he would help out with chores around the house too. So we needed a way to know what the other person had done and what still needed to be done. Now I'm neurotic and can't clean the kitchen again until I've checked off all the other boxes. I'm also hoping if people want to help with the twins they can see I haven't cleaned Chase's bathroom in a month and maybe do it. We won't talk about how long it has been since I cleaned the master bathroom!

Anyways, I try to do one thing from the list every day. I also usually do the dishes in the morning. By the time dinner is over it is usually bath time and bed time and I have no energy to do dishes.

Where am I going with all of this? I wanted to share my new year's resolution with you all. I was trying to come up with something I could add to my routine that would help keep things clean and organized around here.

The first part of my resolution is to start, fold, and put away a load of laundry every day. If you follow me on ig you are used to seeing posts of my couch once I've finally gotten all the laundry folded and put away. There is currently a pile on it right now. I plan to use my nap time couch sitting tv time for folding laundry. I'm assuming once the twins arrive there will be plenty of laundry for me to do every day. Not sure if I'll still have that sitting during nap time anymore to fold!

We have been pretty good about meal planning but we started slacking when I got pregnant. I still seem to be running to the store every day for something and once the twins arrive I don't think that will be an option. So the second part of my resolution is to meal plan.

I wanted to also make time for play dates. When I was trying to come up with my resolution I wasn't sure where play dates would fit in. I have found that most people like to do play dates in the morning and with me doing dishes, laundry, and chores I don't often have time in the morning or the chores don't get done. So I decided along with meal planning that I would try to have play dates on easy days. For example, the morning after pizza night would be a good day for a play date.

The last part of my resolution is the thing I failed at pretty miserably last year, working on scrapbooks. I definitely took more pictures which was part of my resolution but there are still no scrapbooks made! So after I get the laundry folded I want to use that time to write in the baby books or work on scrapbooks.

What is your new year's resolution?

Merry Christmas from my 30 week belly!

Other Christmas memories

   I haven't talked on this blog about how we told our families we were pregnant last year around this time. This would be with the blighted ovum or miscarriage. I have a private blog where I discussed our journey to conceive Chase and announced the pregnancy that we miscarried. It is hard to look back at those posts.
   We told my parents on Christmas Eve and Hubby's parents, brother and sister-in-law, grandpa and aunt on Christmas. I remember taking pictures of our mantle with three stockings thinking this will be the last year we only have three stockings. It did end up being the last year we had three stockings on the mantle because Hubby wanted to put the twinsies stockings up this year.
   I didn't know Hubby had written to: Preggo on some of my Christmas presents. My sister-in-law was pregnant and thought the gifts were for her and then the from said Hubby and Chase and she figured out I was pregnant. I think I'll tell Hubby even though I am pregnant again this year that I would prefer he not do that this year.
   One of my favorite Christmas songs is Extraordinary Christmas by the Glee Cast. I remember last year posting as my facebook status something about it being a very, very, merry Christmas. Lyrics from the song. I guess a lot of people thought this was a little hint that I was pregnant. I'm not very good at keeping secrets! I thought it might be tough this year to hear that song but I still love it.
   I'm  not sure if it will be hard to sit in the same room around a Christmas tree like we did last year or not. I've been surprised here and there by what has bothered me. The episode of Grey's anatomy that recently talked about miscarriage was a little tough. I'm happy to say in less than a year I've gone from thinking about it every day to forgetting it happened most days.
   I'm looking forward to creating new Christmas memories this year and I'm sure next year I'll be so busy I won't have time to think about it!

27 weeks

Feeling so blessed to have made it to 27 weeks with twins pretty easily.

I have my glucose test Monday and I'm hoping it goes well. I don't feel like I have gestational diabetes but I am at a higher risk since I'm having twins. Dr.'s appointment Friday and ultrasound on the 17th! The 17th will be 6 weeks since we've seen the boys. The longest stretch since seeing them at 6 weeks. I can't wait to see how they are growing. Just yesterday at the grocery store the woman giving Chase a cookie said, "you are so tiny! I would have never guessed it was twins."

My big boy wanted to get in on the pictures this week. Was hoping to capture a precious pinterest worthy moment where you could see the belly underneath my big boy but his legs are too long!

Christmas!

My pal, Shannon, over at www.lifeafteridew.com posted about Christmas traditions today and instead of leaving her a long comment about what we do I decided to write a post about it!

When I was little I don't remember too many traditions. One of my favorites was driving around looking at lights. I'm an only child so Santa didn't wrap his presents. I would wake my parents up not too early like 6 ish and I would have to wait for them to put their robes on and brush their teeth before I could go look at my presents. The stocking stuffers were just candy, hot coco, undies, and these little figurines I collected. I would get to look at all my unwrapped gifts from Santa and we would go around taking turns opening gifts.

2011 was the first year we started traditions in our little family. It was our first Christmas in our house and Chase's first Christmas. Hubby's family gets new Christmas pjs on Christmas eve so we started doing that with Chase. In Hubby's family Santa wraps the presents in special Santa wrapping paper. So, we did that too.

We've never taken Chase to the mall Santa. My dad got a Santa suit in 2011 to surprise all the little boys at my aunt's house. It was so adorable. I think my nephew is getting to old for that and we suspected at 6 months old Chase knew it was his Papa and I really think he would know now. This year we did a mini session with a local photographer and a Santa. I loved it because Chase had time to warm up to Santa instead of the wait in line get plopped on his lap at the mall thing. I can't wait to see the pictures! This may be a new tradition for us.

This year we started Elf on the Shelf. Chase couldn't come up with a name for his elf. Hubby suggested Mickey and Chase didn't like that. I suggested Buddy and it seems to have stuck. I haven't gotten too creative with him yet. Chase some how has figured out how to get whatever toy Buddy is playing with back without touching Buddy. Kid is like a ninja! His cousin was over yesterday and picked Buddy up (they don't do Elf on the Shelf) and Chase fuhreaked out! He wouldn't touch him and he said, "Don't touch! Magic!" I love it!

This is a little fake prelit tree my parents got for me at some point growing up. It is now Chase's wittle tree which I'm totally fine with.

 

I think our first Christmas I bought a bunch of white lights at Hobby Lobby and Hubby made me return them. He is a colored lights guy. Now that I'm on a mission to take the perfect picture of Chase in front of the Christmas tree I realize how much prettier white lights are to photograph!

As a kid, we would go up the hill and cut down a tree from a tree farm and drink hot apple cider. I really want to start this tradition with Chase but those tree farm trees are expensive! Maybe when the twins are older. We get a real tree every year but just from Lowe's or a tree lot in town. This year we were at the photo shoot with Santa and didn't even help Hubby pick it out.

Outside we do colored basic lights. I don't like icicles or mismatched lights. We have a palm tree and Hubby has talked about wrapping the tree with lights. No.

Our stocking stuffers have been pretty basic like they were when I was a kid. Hubby one time put my bare essentials foundation in mine. That was my favorite so far!

My parents gave me an ornament every year and now we have them all for our tree. Hubby calls it a Meagan tree. I bought silver and red generic ornaments to make the tree pretty. We have a few ornaments as a family. Several baby's first Christmas or just married ornaments. My parents also bought an ornament every year when we were on vacation to put on the tree. I think we will try to add an ornament every year.

This amazing blessing has not come easy

   This is the last picture taken of me pregnant with Chase. I am two days past my due date. Earlier that day Hubby called me on his lunch break and I was crying hysterically. At 38 weeks I was dilated 1-2 cms and everyone thought Chase would come early. At 2 days past my due date I was done. I was convinced Chase was never going to get out of my belly.
   I've always regretted being miserable the last 2-3 weeks of my pregnancy with Chase. Any calls or texts or facebook messages asking "no baby yet?" pissed me off. I often wouldn't respond.
   I think our society has made it seem like we are supposed to be miserable at the end of our pregnancy. I think I've talked about it before that it seems like people expect us to be miserable our entire pregnancy but especially at the end. Oh you poor thing you must be miserable! When are you due? Etc. etc.
   Now looking back at this picture not only do I regret being grumpy I kind of want to laugh. I'm telling you I think I'm the same size or bigger now! I'm 27 weeks pregnant with twins and even though I am so excited to have twins I want to smack myself upside the head and tell myself how lucky I was.
   Yesterday, I was telling a twitter friend that I am getting to the point where making dinner is painful. My back and my hips really hurt. She asked if I had any of the same aches and pains when I was pregnant with Chase and I honestly don't think I did. I had a boring pregnancy with Chase. It was easy. I just got my hopes up at 38 weeks and I'm not a very patient person.
   I want to talk about the differences between having a singleton and having twins. I realize that singleton pregnancies have their complications. I know all of you at the end of your pregnancies probably want to punch me and say this is not easy! I am uncomfortable and huge. I'm just comparing my experiences.
   I've often said from the moment the ultrasound tech said there were two sacs I worried. You hear a lot of horror stories. I've always said I was naïve when pregnant with Chase. I didn't have an ultrasound until 13 weeks with him and just thought everything was fine and it was. I remember after I started feeling Chase kick thinking to myself I haven't felt him kick in awhile or doing kick counts. With a singleton you feel a kick you know who it is. I've got two in here to worry about now! I'm constantly trying to make sure I've felt both of them kick.
   I never thought for one second about pre term labor when I was pregnant with Chase. When they told me I was 1-2 cms at 38 weeks I hadn't felt one contraction. With twins I worry that every ache and pain is pre term labor.
   That hip pain I was talking about earlier? I know I have a high tolerance for pain. I was 6-7 cms when I got to the hospital. My hip feels like it is going to shatter. I know if it is bad enough to make me want to cry that it would have some women calling their doctor. I lay on my right side to give my left hip a break and then the whole time worry because you are supposed to lay on your left side.
   I'm a substitute teacher. With Chase I went on maternity leave at 38 weeks when I started having contractions. If my water broke while I was teaching I'm not sure what I would have done. At 21 weeks with the twins I was teaching one day and my legs were KILLING me. Again, I have a high tolerance for pain and I was in so much pain I wanted to cry. I tried putting my feet up which didn't really help. Plus it wouldn't look good if someone came in and the sub had their feet up so I made the decision to go on maternity leave. I saw no way for me to be able to be on my feet and come home and take care of Chase without being in excruciating pain.
   I'm not sure if I can explain it well enough for everyone to understand. It might be one of those things unless you experience it you can't understand. It is so important for us all to appreciate how lucky we are which I hope everyone thinks I do. To take a minute and to think about how someone else might be feeling. When I hear Britney Spears say she wants twins it just irks me. Again, they are the biggest blessing I have ever received but they don't come easy.