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.

Plans for round 2

   The lovely, Shelley, helped inspire today's blog post so I must first give her a shout out.
   I've already talked about how I'm not decorating a nursery this time around. Like I mentioned in that post I'm waiting for big brother to be ready to move to a new room and bed. My plan now that I know we are having more boys is to keep the décor in the nursery pretty much the same and have a crib and things ready to go and make the big switch in one weekend.
   As most moms quickly figure out we can make a lot of plans but they rarely go the way we want them to. It's crazy how little I've talked about this pregnancy on the blog! So let's talk labor first. With twins baby A has to be head down for you to even talk about a natural delivery. If baby A is breech c section time. I read a few chapters of a twin book and my mantra this pregnancy I got from that book. It is turn worries into goals. So I don't have plans, I have goals. My goal is to delivery both babies naturally with an epidural of course. If baby A is head down and baby B is breech I could face a painful turning or delivery of a breech baby but I talked to another twin mom and I won't give you the lovely phrase they shared with me but she made it sound like no biggie.
   Since a twin pregnancy has a higher risk for preterm labor I also have the goal of making it to 37 weeks or beyond. Also have the goal of avoiding gestational diabetes which I am at a higher risk for and preeclampsia.
   Another goal is to nurse them both until they are 1. I nursed Chase for 15 months and while it had its challenges I am mostly a fan of how much money we saved. I've got the ginormous twin brest friend already. I plan to get a pump from the hospital, need to talk to insurance about how all that works. Oh and the hands free pump bra. I know that its best to nurse them at the same time so you aren't constantly nursing. I've looked in to positions. I don't know when you are supposed to pump, gotta ask my twin mom friends that one. Is it still just after the first morning feeding or is it more often? I also need to do research on getting my milk to come in faster. I'll be turning to my love Nancy Holtzman and Isis parenting and breast feeding webinars for those questions. Chase got dehydrated waiting for my milk to come in and he had to drink a bottle of formula. My friend that nurses her 6 month old twins had to supplement with formula at first in the hospital.
   I remember around 6 months when Chase started to crawl and notice things around him I had to start nursing him when he was sleepy and in his room in the dark. I know that might not be an option since I now have a toddler so nursing until one is a goal but we understand there are a lot more challenges this time around.
   Like I said in the nursery post, the plan is to have the twins in a pack and play in our room at first. I think I will just swaddle for bedtime. Chase was swaddled all the live long day it seemed like because we thought it made it easier for people to hold him or something. I am hoping I can be relaxed about the twins nap schedule and just let them sleep when they sleep and not stress like I did with Chase. They will probably sleep in our room longer than the 3 weeks Chase did because we are waiting for big brother to be ready to move.
   We plan to keep their names secret. We are pretty sure the names are set. We've let them slip to a lot more people this time around but we would like some people to be surprised when they arrive. I think some people want to be surprised too.
   Since we are having two more boys I don't think anyone is throwing us a shower. No one has said anything to me about it at least.
   I think that's everything. Let me know if you have any more questions. You guys know I'll tell ya anything you want to know!

23 weeks!

Twin gender reveal party details

Check out yesterday's blog if you want to see our reaction to finding out we were having two more boys. Today I'm posting pictures of the details. I have to say again that my cousin and her friend took care of all the details. They get all the credit. Seriously, every single detail was color coordinated. Pink symbolized is we were having two girls, blue for two boys, and yellow for one of each.

Here is my cousin's staircase banner decorated pink, blue, and yellow.

Guests were asked to sign a onesie with their guess.

Blankets were wrapped for each baby to reveal the sex.

Even the drinks and straws were color coordinated! Pink lemonade, lemonade, and blue koolaid and mason jars with yarns in a bow.

Adorable hand made pink, blue, and yellow wreath on the front door.

The invitation and color coordinated flowers

The candles were wrapped in pink, blue, and yellow chevron.

Gender Reveal

Ok, I don't want to bombard you with too many pictures so today I will share pictures of us finding out we were having two boys and then tomorrow I will post pictures with details of the party.

I guess I need to explain the reveal first. So, in my family, my aunt makes all the babies blankets. So my cousin decided for the reveal we would open gifts that had blue or pink blankets inside.

I should also mention that I've thought all along we were having two boys and kind of wanted to wear blue to the party but thought I would wear pink to make the pics better. I think my ig friends picked the shirt too.

Ok, here we go. Opening the gift that would reveal the sex of baby A.

Blue!

Opening the gift to reveal the sex of baby B.

Baby B's blanket is blue and green. All I saw was green and I was confused what that meant.

Oh, it's blue!!!

I'm having two more boys!!!

Proud parents with both blue blankets.

Big brother wasn't so sure about two more boys.

Until he heard he could have a cupcake then he was fine.

My cousin and her friend planned the whole party and took care of all details. I literally showed up so they get all credit!

Passing out candy advice from an allergy mom

Chase is 2.5 years old and this was his first Halloween trick or treating. This was also the first year we knew about his allergy to peanuts. We talked about the rules for trick or treating before we left. You ring the doorbell once. You say trick or treat and thank you. You don't eat any candy. I brought the bendryl and epi pens with me.

Hubby went up to the door with Chase most of the time or he was with one of his aunts. We weren't too worried about what kind of candy he got because we didn't plan on giving him much, if any. Hubby said he mentioned that Chase was allergic to peanuts at one house when they asked what kind of candy Chase wanted. Let's be honest, Hubby and I love us some peanut candy and were totally ok with him getting it so we could eat it.

Most of the stuff Chase got was candy that we don't plan on giving him. There was a variety of suckers and non peanut items. I just don't like giving him sugar. He was so excited about a capri sun that he got at one house. We thought the capri sun was a good idea but it did make the buckets heavy. Besides candy he got fruit snacks, pretzels, and a cool mini coloring book and crayons.

As a mom of a 2.5 year old with peanut allergies I thought this was great. I'm guessing the high school kids probably wouldn't be excited about it. My cousin said some houses saw that Chase and his cousin were younger so they gave them fruit snacks instead of candy. So I guess you could get the little coloring book for younger kids and have candy for older kids.

There was a discussion on twitter today about kids asking for nut free candy. As a mom of a child with a peanut allergy I thought I could give my opinion on the topic. Personally, I don't think it is the job of the people passing out candy to provide nut free or gluten free choices. My plan as a passer outer is to usually get like the 150 pack at Costco and try to hand out the stuff I don't like first. I think as an allergy parent it is your job to educate your child on what they can and can't eat when they are old enough to go up to the door on their own. In the past, I would just grab a candy and put it in a kid's bag because letting them pick sometimes they take more than one or take forever to pick. Maybe now as an allergy parent I would let them pick.

I know a lot of allergy parents have candy or toys at home that their child can trade candy that they can't eat for. I also saw on twitter and heard on Ellen today about the switch witch. I just told Hubby about it and I think that's our plan for when Chase is old enough to care. Have you heard about the switch witch? Of course there is a cool poem on pinterest.

Isn't that a great idea? The kid trades their candy for a toy!

I hope you all had a safe and happy Halloween!

Chase's phrases at 2.5 years old

   It's been about 9 months since I did a Chase's words post. I honestly wouldn't be able to do a post with all the words he can say now. He is such a little parrot and can repeat just about anything. Which is super fun, most of the time.
   My in-laws were visiting this weekend and my mother-in-law and I were laughing about all of Chase's little sayings. Last night I was thinking I really need to write these down because even though I can't imagine forgetting the things he says to me 100 times a day the truth of the matter is I may forget.
   This summer Chase learned the phrase, "What are you doing?". Oh my goodness. He had to know what everyone was doing, even inanimate objects. It made our four hour car ride to Monterey super fun. Remember when you could put the kid in the car and they would fall asleep instantly? Yeah, not any more. This summer he asked us what we were doing every 2 seconds for four hours! If you were in the room with him he would ask you what you were doing. If you moved he asked you what you were doing.
   Shortly after he picked up the phrase, "I miss it!". He now misses a lot of things. His super ball? "I miss it!" This weekend he said, "I want my milk! I miss it!" So dramatic and stinkin' cute!
   Last week he saw his friend and said, "I haven't seen you all day!". Now he'll spend the day with me and still say, "Mama, I haven't seen you all day".
   His latest fun phrase is, "What happened?". So now he says, "What are you doing?" Then after you answer him he says, "What happened?". It was tough coming up with responses to what are you doing. Sometimes I was just sitting. Now I have to come up with what happened. Kid really makes you think!
   He has also picked up the lovely word stupid. Everyone warned me there would be a word he picked up that I would not enjoy hearing come out of his sweet face and yep it happened. I am trying to pretend I think he is saying super. I'm hoping maybe he will just start saying super instead. It is kind of funny but I don't laugh because I want it to go away! It's funny that it comes out when he is playing ball. If he misses the ball he'll say stupid. He even said, "Come on, stupid". To me one time. Oh, toddlers!
   He is pretty into football now. He knows Sunday is football day. He loves to watch football and often asks to watch baseball and the Dodgers. I had to tell him last night that the Dodgers won't be on until next spring! He is so funny when he is watching the games he repeats everything we say and lately has just been yelling, "Come on!" or "Yeah, baby!" at the tv randomly.
   We laugh every day at the things he says. I can't believe how he can have conversations with people now. Especially phone conversations. He used to just listen when people talked to him. He now answers their questions. I was talking to my mom the other day and told Chase to say hi Nana and she couldn't believe it was him he sounded so old. He's growing up so fast!
   I guess I should include some of the funny things he says to the babies. From the very beginning of my pregnancy he has said I love you to the baby (and babies when we found out there were two) and given kisses. He of course also uses his favorite phrases with the babies. "Babies, I haven't seen you all day!" "I miss you babies". One time he asked the babies if they helped Dada. We are working on him calling them by name. If I tell him one of their names he knows the other one. He knows where in my belly each one is and tells them he loves them and gives them kisses. I love that he already has such a strong bond with them.

I really need to get my sh*t together before I have twins!

   Do you want to hear about my morning? I got out of bed around 8:15 because Chase was crying. I brought him in bed with me and we snuggled for a little while. Then I had to check my facebook before I could get up.
   I rolled out of bed and put my robe on and got Chase dressed. We walked downstairs and I made my breakfast. Chase wasn't ready for breakfast yet. Then I sat down to watch Keeping up with the Kardashians while I ate my breakfast.
   This brought me to about 9:40. Chase had a flu shot appointment across town at 10:55 so I didn't have much time for anything but to get ready. By the time I got ready and threw a load of laundry in the washer it was time to go. This means I had no time to do the dishes.
   I got to the doctors and waited for them to call me to their desk so I could check in and she tells me to fill out a form and then she says, "I don't see Chase for today. His appointment is tomorrow." Ugh!!!!!!!!!!!
   I swear my husband said something about Chase has an appointment Monday. He gets the calls for some reason. I think he told me this when I was doing a million other things and distracted by the toddler and I said oh yeah I know. Last night I looked at my app to see what time the appointment was but didn't pay attention to the date. Even this morning my dad mentioned something about do we have something going on Tuesday because it was blocked off on my work calendar.
   I told Chase we were going to the doctor and he might get a lollipop and on the way out and all the way home he was asking about his lollipop. I'm so frustrated! I blame pregnancy brain. I was told it affects my ability to listen to my husband. I also blame the new ios7 calendar. I can't see sh*t on that thing.
   After having a very unproductive Kardashian filled morning I was already feeling like a lazy bum and then going to an appointment on the wrong day just pissed me off. My patience just flew out the window. Luckily Chase was tired and is now napping and I can try to get my patience back. The only thing that I kept thinking was oh my goodness I only have one child and I can't seem to get it together. I really need to get my sh*t together before I have twins!
   I have often fantasized about being a mom that gets up before her children. I tell myself I will be waking up earlier once the twins arrive. But I really think I need to start getting up a few minutes earlier so I can at least get ready for the day before Chase wakes up. The other day we saw some kids that live on our street heading to the park and Chase wanted to go with them. He had to wait for his lazy bum of a mom to get dressed first though. I don't want to be like that.
   Any one else want to join me in getting up 30 minutes earlier? Maybe we can hold each other accountable.

Boys!!!

Chase is getting 2 BROTHERS!!!!

My cousin and her friend threw us an amazing gender reveal party! Our family and close friends were there and it was just perfect. My aunt makes all the babies in the family blankets so she whipped up four blankets for the reveal. Then we unwrapped the presents to reveal a color blanket to reveal the sex of our baby.

I mentioned briefly that I thought we were having two boys. At my 18 week ultrasound we closed our eyes when she was looking at the legs and genitals so she could write it down and put it in an envelope for my cousin's friend. When the dr came in and was trying to find where the umbilical cord attaches to the placenta for baby a I thought I saw a penis. I also thought Chase's leg was his penis in his ultrasound so I wasn't placing any bets.

We opened baby a's blanket first and it was blue! I said I knew it! Then we opened baby b's blanket and it was blue and green and threw everyone off for a second but I think my aunt said that's the boy blanket!

We have it all on video and my cousin's friend took a ton of pictures for us. Just waiting on everyone to get those to me and then I'll share.

We are all thrilled for more boys. I love being a boy mom and Christmas with my three boys and my cousins' three boys will be crazy but the best kind of crazy.

Luckily, I have my niece to take shopping and get manis and pedis with. She is going to be pretty spoiled as the only girl grandchild for my in-laws. I may have to force her to do ballet. But we don't have to pay for any weddings!

I think we even have the names picked. We probably won't reveal those until they are born though.

Now time to figure out what I need to buy. Luckily not much. Just some sheets and maybe a crib skirt and letters to paint.

20 weeks with twinsies

Today is the day!!!

   I wanted to write down my thoughts and feelings before we find out the sex of the babies in a few hours! This is 99.9% probably the last time I get to experience this. I've said all along that I wasn't in a big hurry to find out the sex of the babies because I like daydreaming about it.
   Will it be two girls? Will Chase go from a boy centered house to a girl centered house? Will I break the bank buying matching twin girl outfits? Will our days be filled with pink and bows and ballet and tutus and princesses?
   Any girl brought into this family will be around a lot of sports. Chase is all about football and baseball already. Hubby is excited to have a foursome to golf with. I'm excited for a whole day to myself someday when they are old enough to golf. I'm guessing day one of bringing the babies home Chase will be telling them to ride the scooter with him or play baseball or ping pong.
   Will it be two boys? Will every window in our house be broken by balls? Will no pillow ever be on the couch? Will there be 3 bikes being ridden around and around while I play "Life is a highway" by Rascal Flatts over and over again? (This might happen with two girls too).
  Will it be one of each? Will Chase get a buddy to rough house with and a sister to protect? Will we get a combination of the things I mentioned above?
   How many weddings will we have to pay for? Will I be a mother-in-law to three girls or one girl and two boys or two girls and one boy? This kind of makes me want a daughter. How dramatic will junior high and high school be?
   It's funny the things people assume I want after they hear I have one boy already. Yes, I think I'm having two boys based on physical symptoms and my hcg levels and comments from the doctor but I also feel like wanting a girl means I don't adore my boy. I tell people I'm totally ok with three boys. I like boys!
   I've had my fleeting thoughts of will I be able to bond with a girl. I think I grew up such a girlie girl that I will be able to and I trust that I will love my babies the minute I see them.
   These two little ones are 99.9% going to complete our family and I look forward to having that completed family feeling. Everything is about to get a lot more real!

Twin nurseries

   The gender reveal party is tomorrow!!! I am so excited to find out what we are having! I'm sure most people would start planning the nursery once they found out the sex of their babies. I was browsing pinterest a little today. Aren't these twin nurseries adorable?!

   Unfortunately, our twinsies won't be getting a pinterest worthy nursery. Big brother is still using his nursery and I am really against pushing him into anything he isn't ready to do just because we are having a 2nd and 3rd child. I just imagine us being up all night with the twins and Chase coming in our room too because we moved him into a toddler bed. I'm praying if we add another white noise fan to his room adding the twins to our family won't affect his sleep.
   Chase is currently in the smaller of our two extra bedrooms. We have a queen bed in the other room. Our plan was to move him into the room with the queen bed when he was ready.
   Now the plan is to just take things day by day. Chase could decide any day to start climbing out of his crib and of course we would then make the necessary changes. If he stays happy as a clam in his crib then the babies will sleep in a pack and play or two in our room. Then we will go from there. Chase will be 3 a few months after the babies arrive. So we might move him into a big boy room for his birthday if we are all ready.

I swear my head isn't up my own ass!

   If you follow me on twitter or instagram you know that we are having a gender reveal party Saturday!!! Someone on twitter recently posted this blog about gender reveal parties and I have to explain myself!
   First, my cousin really wanted to throw us this party. So, we are not throwing it for ourselves. I also know it is a sex reveal party and I haven't even seen the invitations but I don't think she called it a gender reveal party.
   The blog mentions how cutting in to a cake is so 2 years ago. It is so funny everyone that hears we are having a gender reveal party says, "Oh, are you doing a cake?" I didn't find out until recently that we aren't doing a cake or balloons. I can't wait to find out if she is going to use one of my ideas or if she came up with one of her own!
   Everyone seems really excited to find out what we are having so I think the blog is wrong that no one else cares. The twin thing makes it more exciting I think. Maybe she just doesn't care. I care. I care what my friends are having. Even if it is their 4th (Allie ;)).
   We don't know the sex of our babies. We had the doctor write it down and put it in an envelope. The envelope was giving to my cousin's friend to coordinate the reveal. I'm really excited to have pictures that capture our reactions to finding out. Is that self-absorbed?
   I don't know if we are going to have a shower too. No one has offered to throw me one, so unless someone wants to throw one we won't be having one.
   I'll be sure to share what we are having and pics from the party. I know you all care ;)

Your list of 9 things that gave your son autism is scaring the heck out of us.

   I'm pregnant with twins and I probably shouldn't have read this "How I Gave My Son Autism" blog but I did. I don't recommend doing it unless you can handle reading that everything you are doing is probably giving your unborn or young child autism.
   I admit I found the article interesting. I had never heard the research about the vaccines being given when sick having a link to autism. At the same time I thought it was ridiculous to say there is a link between ultrasounds and autism.
   Today, I realized the major flaw in her argument, the 9 item list. Is her son autistic because all of these 9 things occurred? So all autistic children had these 9 things happen? Was it just one of the 9 things? Then she should get rid of the other 8 things on the list. Is it a combination of 2 of the things or 3?
   One of the things on her list is ultrasounds. Most pregnant women have ultrasounds so I think we can rule that one out. Another is high fructose corn syrup. Again, most pregnant women consume high fructose corn syrup. She says she had 5 ultrasounds. Was it that 5th ultrasound that gave her child autism? She had coca cola every day. Is it something else in the coca cola?
   I understand mom guilt. We all experience it. I can completely understand her searching for answers for why this happened to her precious child. I am sure I would do the same thing. But writing this blog? I don't think she should have done it. I don't think this is helping other moms. It is scaring the heck out of us.
   Again, I'm pregnant with twins. I don't need something else to worry about. I don't need a list of 9 things that I can't prevent. I have to have a lot of ultrasounds to make sure my babies are growing the way they should be. I don't need to be scared about it.
    As moms we have to do the best we can taking care of ourselves when we are pregnant and after our child is born. If and when we find a cause for autism then let's spread the word.

16.5 weeks #2 and #3

16.5 weeks!

I had a doctor's appointment Wednesday. Everything went great. I got to hear both heartbeats which is the best part. My doctor said I'm growing like a weed! I've gained 11ish pounds.

It is definitely starting to hit me that we are having TWO babies! I've been feeling them move for awhile now. It isn't very often and it is more of a rolling around not kicks or flutters.

My belly button is already starting to stick out!

I'm in maternity pants and long stretchy tops or maternity tops.

Doing good. Looking forward to hearing from the perinatologist about scheduling our 20 week ultrasound!

Click chicks is coming back!

Hey guys! I wanted to let you know that click chicks is coming back! My friend Krystal missed it so much she offered to take it over for me. I'm so glad that she offered. I miss taking pictures with my dslr but it is just such a chore for me to find time to come up with the themes and get the link to everyone. I thought it was a great idea to do a photography link up but it got to be too much for me to be the host. It reassures me that it was a good idea since Krystal missed it! I can't wait to participate and see it grow.

I hope you all join in too. Check in with Krystal's blog this Thursday 9/19 for details!

Gender Reveal Party Ideas

I'll be 16 weeks on Wednesday which means I will schedule my 20 week ultrasound for 4 weeks from Wednesday which means we have picked a date for the gender reveal party! I have been thinking about this party for a long time. I see a lot of people doing the cakes/cupcakes or the balloons in a box and I wanted to come up with some different ways for the gender of the babies to be revealed. Here are some of the ideas I have come up with:

• Sparklers- I have no idea if they make sparklers in different colors but I thought that would be a neat idea.
• Fire works- Again, totally don't know if this is possible but was an idea I got around 4th of July.
• Snake in a can- You know those prank cans that pop stuff out. I thought it would be cool if they made those with different colors inside.
• Confetti present- I made this list awhile ago. I guess I was thinking a box full of confetti?
• Balloon drop- I thought it would be fun if the balloons dropped instead of were in a box.
• Fortune cookie
• First child's diaper- obviously a clean one but thought that might be a funny way to include the first kid.
• Piñata- with balloons or confetti or both or colored candy
• Write it on the first child's diaper- Have the kid actually wearing the diaper with the gender on it and the parents have to pull their pants down or something.
• Have the first child tell you
• Ball drop
• A present with gender specific clothes, toys, bibs, shoes, etc.
• Silly string- Can you buy silly string in different colors? The parents and or first kid can spray each other with the colored silly string.
• Have a big stork it's a boy or it's a girl balloon in box
• First child's toy box filled with balloons

Those are a few of my ideas I haven't seen other people do. Do you have any creative ideas?

The light of our life

It's Sunday morning and we just finished a lovely big breakfast made by my amazing husband. Before I start the dishes I just wanted to write down how much joy my big boy has been bringing me. A tweet or facebook status update just wouldn't do it justice.

While Hubby was making breakfast Chase said, "I'll help you." This is one of his favorite phrases and it just makes my heart smile every time he says it. He always wants to help and I try to encourage it as much as possible.

Yesterday afternoon Chase woke up from his nap and Hubby was outside and he kept saying, "See Daddy?". So I took him outside. He helped pull a few weeds, another favorite activity silly kid. Then he want to mow the lawn. Hubby needed to mow the lawn so they mowed together. Chase even puts his play shoes on for mowing. He followed right behind Hubby the whole time. The cute about killed me. In the moment when he stopped to spit in the grass I was overwhelmed by the amount he wants to be like his Daddy. The mowing, the spitting, the peeing standing up. Such a Daddy's boy.

I love our weekends together and Chase continues to bring us so much joy. Just trying to soak them all up before things get crazy when the twins arrive!

The details

You know I love to overshare. So here are the details:
- After the miscarriage we were told to wait 2 cycles. Several people told me they didn't listen to their doctors about that and got pregnant and everything was fine. You know how obsessed I am with this website http://pregnancyloss.info/. There is also a few facebook groups you can join that involve the creator of this website. She recommends waiting at least 1 cycle for your own peace of mind. From my fertility friend chart it doesn't look like we listened to either of their advice. I started temping and charting 10 days after the miscarriage.
- It took awhile for my body to get back to normal. I kind of talked about it here. I had 3 normal cycles and started to get frustrated. We got pregnant with the miscarriage the 1st or 2nd normal cycle after weaning Chase.
- So I once again turned to my favorite website. I decided instead of not temping and not paying attention I would try the sperm meets egg plan and see if that worked.
- My chart looked perfect and we did everything perfectly according to the plan. I was so convinced I was pregnant randomly in the middle of the day on 8 days past ovulation (June 18th) I took a pregnancy test. I was bummed that it was negative. Hubby couldn't believe I had taken a test so early and told me to wait until 10 days past like we agreed. So I listened to him and took a test the next day ;)
- At 9 days past I had a very faint line. I was relieved that I was pregnant after all our hard work! I called my doctor and made the first 3 appointments. I also asked if I could go in and have my hcg levels taken.
- At 10 days past I woke up with Hubby to take a test and couldn't wait the 3 minutes for it to turn positive I had to go downstairs and get food to calm my nausea. When I came back Hubby said it's positive and I said I know. So romantic right?
- At 11 days and 13 days past I had my hcg levels taken. At 11 days my levels were 58. Totally in the normal range. My dr told me my numbers, "were low but doubled appropriately". Not all that reassuring.
- So we tried to be excited. We facetimed our parents and told them. On July 4th we told Hubby's brother and his wife.
- I still wasn't having a ton of symptoms. That was one of the biggest clues that I was having a miscarriage. So I called my doctor and they scheduled me for an ultrasound at 6 weeks on July 22nd.
- One of my besties called me a few days before the 22nd to talk about this and that and she asked if we were still trying and she said she could tell from my voice that I was pregnant. I told her we were planning on telling our close friends after the ultrasound in a few days.
- The 22nd- the 6 week ultrasound- Hubby came with me to the ultrasound. The tech scared us half to death asking us if we had taken a pregnancy test. She looked all around my uterus and said she would come back. So finally she says something about two sacs and I was so nervous about what we would see that I didn't say a word. Hubby heard her but apparently thought there were always two sacs. So she starts with the first sac and I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw a little heart fluttering away. Then she said something about let's look at the other one. That's when Hubby realized there were two babies. He was all excited and said, "We got our 3!" I told him to hush and wait and see. And then we saw another beautiful little heart fluttering away. She printed out a picture of the two sacs to give us and then wanted to tell my dr about the twins.
- I immediately texted the picture to my sil. She was babysitting Chase. She had been babysitting him the day we found out I was having a miscarriage and she volunteered to watch him for this nerve wracking appointment. My dad had originally been booked to babysit but I couldn't stand the thought of him seeing me after hearing bad news. So I knew she was sitting at our house a nervous wreck waiting for news. She was obviously so shocked to hear there were two babies! I also texted my friend that knew we were going to the appointment. She was freaking out and dying for me to call her and tell her everything. I texted my mom who knew about the ultrasound and was in a training so she had told me to text her. I guess she gasped out loud in the training and someone next to her asked her if she was ok and she showed them the text.
- My nurse came over and just kind of congratulated us and said, "have you been having more symptoms?!" I had an appointment scheduled for the next week so we just agreed to keep that.
- Then we walked outside and called my father-in-law. He said, "Oh sh!t!" My dad said, "I was just thinking how you guys want 3 kids and having twins would get that out of the way."
- I continued to be nervous. Twins gave me two things to worry about. Hubby came with me to my 7 week appointment and we were definitely relieved that they had both gotten bigger.
- My mom came with me to my 12 week ultrasound and it was so amazing to see them looking like little babies and that they are still both doing amazing. Baby a measured at 12 weeks 4 days and baby b was 12 weeks 2 days.

Other frequently asked questions:
- Do twins run in your family? Were you on any fertility drugs? Are you over the age of 30? Yes, twins run in our families. But I have identical twin aunts and that doesn't run in families. My husband having twins on his side of the family doesn't affect my ovulation. I think it was just a fluke. Might have had something to do with the miscarriage and my body getting back to normal. My aunt also saw somewhere that tall women are more prone to hyper ovulation. I was not on any fertility drugs. I turn 30 February 1st.
- Are we going to find out the sex? When will we find out the sex? Yes, we want to find out what we are having so we can nail down name choices. My cousin is super excited to throw a gender reveal party. I don't really care what we are having. I don't know when we will find out the sex. I see my doctor again on the 18th and I'm going to discuss seeing a perinatoligist (a high risk doctor). I don't feel high risk but other twin moms have recommended it. I would be more closely monitored and have an ultrasound monthly. I'll keep you updated! My plan is to find out with Hubby, Chase, and our parents at the gender reveal party. I might ask my sil or cousin to come with me to the ultrasound so they can witness everything. With Chase my mom and I both closed our eyes and always had a tiny bit of doubt since we didn't see it in person which is silly.

13 weeks

Pregnancy announcement

Who is good at math?!

We are expecting...

TWINS!!!!!

 

I'm about 12 weeks. We saw our perfect babies on Wednesday and I've been dying to get a picture taken so I could spread our exciting news.

 

They will probably arrive mid February.

 

Thank you all so much for your love, support, and prayers during this tough start to our year. We are shocked and humbled by God's amazing love. I knew he had a better plan than me but I could have never imagined this. I thank God every day for all the blessings he has given us especially these two little miracles.

 

We would appreciate your continued love, support, and prayers that this pregnancy continues to be easy. Praying we avoid bed rest and early labor. Since he is God and gave us these miracles I'm praying for the miracle that I can deliver them both naturally. I am not stressing about the what ifs. I know He will bring our babies to us in His perfect way. 

Rules for dating my son

Have you seen this rules for dating my son thing going around? It is bugging me.

I have dated boys and boys with moms like this and they scare me. I don't want to be like that.

1. The rules for dating MY son are I will raise my son to be attracted to and interested in girls that have substance. So if a girl shows up to my house "looking like a stripper" instead of making her "go away" I will invite her in and get to know her. I will trust that my son saw something in this girl and I won't judge her based on her appearance.

2. I will raise my son to value money. When he is old enough to date and drive a car he will also have a job to pay for these things. If he wants to buy a girl dinner or a gift that is his choice. It is his money and I trust that he understands that saving his money for college and his future is a great choice but he can also use his hard earned money for fun.

3. I will raise a son that treats women with respect and speaks and texts them respectfully. He will only have a phone for emergency purposes so there won't be much texting anyways. You will have to call the house and speak to me and ask for him. He will be well aware that I will be checking all his facebook, instagram and whatever else there is in 15 years.

4. My son is a mama's boy and I do apologize for that. I am sure if you get to know him you will see it is hard not to love him with your whole heart. I hope you have a close relationship with your parents too. If you date my son for a long period of time I hope that we can be close as well. If you are lucky enough for my son to ask your father for your hand in marriage and then ask you and you accept you will be like a daughter to me.

5. My son is a gentleman and I'm sure you're a lady because he wouldn't be attracted to someone that wasn't.

6. I don't know how to avoid jail. My son doesn't either. I hope you don't either. We don't do criminal activities. I don't even know how to get out of a speeding ticket. I haven't had one since I was a freshman in college though.

7. I look forward to meeting you. I hope we can be good friends. Let me know if my son doesn't treat you right. Have fun. My son is a great catch but you are both young and have a lot of life ahead of you. This time in your life isn't for serious relationships and drama. Spend time with your girlfriends.