The Hutchisons' Happenings...

22 weeks

2011-11-06T22:13:00.001-06:00

It's hard to believe I am almost through my second trimester. In 18 weeks (or less) I will be holding a sweet baby girl in my arms. We still have so much to do in preparation of our new little bundle. I still haven't decided what I'm going to do with baby's room! Nor have we picked a name.

I'm feeling good, just tired. My feet drive me nuts at night. I saw the doctor this week. My blood pressure is down some which is good. It was 128/81. I've gained a few pounds, and baby weighs around a pound now. I feel her somersaults and kicks. I welcome all of this movement and am so thankful for a healthy baby.

Halloween Fun!

2011-11-06T21:57:00.001-06:00

- Posted by Kelly using BlogPress from my iPhone

Say Cheese!

2011-10-29T21:37:00.001-05:00

My silly Addi Kate picks up my phone and says to me, "say cheese!" That means take my picture momma! So I did! I just love this little girl!

- Posted by Kelly using
BlogPress from my iPhone

First Snow

2011-10-27T21:45:00.001-05:00

We had our first snow of the season starting last night and lasting most of the day; close to 5 inches. Although I am less than thrilled at the thought or sight of snow, my itty bittys were super excited!

Grandma took them out in her backyard to build a snowman. I missed all the fun because I had to work, but I'm glad they had a good time with Grandma.

- Posted by Kelly using BlogPress from my iPhone

Gouda Lunch!

2011-10-24T22:03:00.001-05:00

I finally got Ella talking about baby on video! This makes me laugh!

YouTube Video

- Posted by Kelly using BlogPress from my iPhone

20 weeks, Baby #3

2011-10-23T12:22:00.004-05:00

I hit the halfway point in pregnancy number two this week. It's going by so quickly. Everything is going pretty smoothly so far. I feel good, just tired. I chalk that up mostly to being on my feet all day at work. This week i woke up craving hot sauce and chips with pickles!

Baby (because we haven't named her yet) is pretty active in my tummy. She wiggles and turns and kicks. She is about 11 ounces now according to the sonogram I had last week.

We have not started her nursery yet either. We have to replace the back door in the current man cave so that I can move my crafts out of the baby's room and the man cave can become my craft cave. (Sorry, honey!) This doesn't seem like such a big deal but we are downsizing our triple door into a single door with two windows to make the room more energy efficient. It's going to require the help of my dad.

So, once that is finished, then we can focus on getting the baby's room ready. Hopefully by that point we will have a name for her and I will have decided on what I want to do with her room. I have lots of ideas, just haven't figured out how I'm going to tie it all together yet.

Addilyn and Ella are still stuck on calling baby "Gouda Lunch". I'm trying very hard to get this caught on video because it is hilarious! They also tell baby they love her and kiss her through my tummy. This just warms my heart!

I'm attaching a photo of me pregnant with the twins alongside me pregnant now.

Follow Up Sonogram

2011-10-21T22:40:00.001-05:00

Tuesday I had a follow up sonogram from two weeks ago. I was sent back to have our baby's heart rechecked. My first sonogram the tech wasn't able to get good pictures of baby's heart so as a precaution I was sent back. Turns out she looks perfect. Everything measures as it should and looks as it should. I also got to see our newest little doodlebug's face again. She is so pretty. She was estimated to weigh about 11 ounces.

- Posted by Kelly using BlogPress from my iPhone

Pregnancy Dreams

2011-10-19T22:38:00.001-05:00

Sleeping throughout the night is becoming more and more difficult as my pregnancy progresses. As if getting up to use the bathroom a couple times at night wasn't enough to cause sleepless nights, I've been having very interesting and weird dreams.

At the beginning, I had a dream about following cops who were trying to arrest criminals. When they would stop to stake out the bad guy, I would rush to their car and try to spoon feed them mandarin oranges. Weird on so many levels!

Then I started having dreams about an Italian guy that I was in college with who was an artist. He also wanted to paint me nude! This dream by far is so random because I'm the most modest person I know!

Last night's dream was pretty crazy too. I woke up to Matthew shaking me awake and only heard briefly the sounds coming out of my mouth. I was dreaming that the Predator was trying to get me. Yes, Predator as in the movie. A movie I haven't seen in 10 or more years and haven't thought of since! In my dream I was screaming, but I sounded more like a deranged ghost! Scared my poor husband out of a sound slumber and even woke baby up!

Ahhh, pregnancy dreams, you prove to be very entertaining!

- Posted by Kelly using BlogPress from my iPhone

Bedtime Stories

2011-10-17T22:23:00.001-05:00

I've been reading to my girls just about every night before I kiss them good night and tuck them in. I enjoy this time snuggled with them sharing my favorite stories from when I was a little girl and sharing new stories with them. That is until the story is over. That's when I have two little girls crying because they want more! I have to play tough guy and hand them a Kleenex cover them up and say nighty-night. I am thankful that they enjoy stories.

Sunday morning 101 Dalmatians was on TV and Ella compared Cruella deVille to the evil queen from one of the fairy tales I've read to them. Pretty smart for a two year old!

- Posted by Kelly using BlogPress from my iPhone

Baby Names

2011-10-09T21:37:00.001-05:00

While Matthew and I have yet to decide on a name for our new baby girl, I asked the girls what we should name the baby.

Addilyn and Ella think we should call the baby, Gouda! LOL! Yes, that's right, as in the cheese!

I believe I'm going to have to veto their name as I did the names Matthew had picked out for a boy. Looks like I'm on my own with this one!

- Posted by Kelly using BlogPress from my iPhone

Baby #3

2011-10-09T16:52:00.003-05:00

Addilyn and Ella are going to be big sisters to a baby girl!

16 Weeks

2011-10-08T10:49:00.002-05:00

This is a picture of me a couple of weeks ago. I was sixteen weeks with baby number 3. I think I gained about 5 pounds during my first trimester because eating was how I kept my stomach calm. I haven't gained any weight since though. I saw the doctor before this picture was taken, maybe a week or two before and my blood pressure was 134/84. Last week is was different, at 120/87. Down in one area but up in the other. My blood pressure became an issue at the end of my pregnancy with the girls, so I'm doing what I can to try to keep it down. It's tough growing a baby in your body!

Sorry Blog Followers...

2011-10-06T18:09:00.010-05:00

I'm sorry I've been so neglectful of blogging! I'm REALLY going to try to be better! Really.

Back tracking to July...

This is the picture I texted to my husband when Aunt Flow didn't visit and was five days late making her appearance. That's it. No words. Just this picture. I didn't get a text back. Instead, I have to call my husband to make sure his heart hasn't failed. He's still alive, but I was informed that I sent the text while Matthew was in the middle of a meeting at work.

This is how he described what happened when he saw the picture:
I picked up my phone and looked at it. I put it down. I looked again and then I shook my phone. (Because apparently, the iPhone has the capability to change like a Magic 8 ball!) Then I started sweating. Then people started asking me if I was okay. I left the meeting with swamp ass from sweating so much.

I laughed, but the reality of it was WE WERE GOING TO HAVE ANOTHER BABY!!! And then...Oh, no! What if it's twins again?!?! Or worse, TRIPLETS?!?!?!

Morning sickness was as unkind to me this time around as it was with my girls. Fortunately it didn't seem to last quite as long. By 10 weeks into this pregnancy it was gone. I think with my girls, it lasted until about 13 weeks.

August 17 was my first prenatal appointment. I was about 11.5 weeks. It revealed...

Just one baby this time! I wouldn't change anything about my girls but it was tough for the first six months with them as babies. Not to mention, we were already trying to figure out the vehicle situation as Matthew's car and my Blazer would neither one hold 3 car seats.

I recently had my level 2 sonogram at 17 weeks and three days. The baby is healthy and everything looks good. My due date is March 9, 2012. The baby was estimated to weigh about 7 ounces.

We also found out the gender of the baby, but for right now we aren't telling! However, my class has predicted what they think baby might be...

Reading...

2011-02-28T21:45:00.001-06:00

to Papa! Love this picture of Addi and Ella with my Daddy!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Our Twinkies Turn Two!

2011-02-20T23:10:00.001-06:00

The other night I reminisced and looked back at photos of Addilyn and Ella when they were tiny little babies that looked like tiny little dolls. I cannot believe my babies are two! I am in awe on a daily basis watching these two grow into beautiful little girls.

We celebrated the girls birthday today with family. Everyone had a good time. So much has changed in two short years. If I could stop time right now and keep them little, I might. It's a bittersweet time for me.

I am so thankful for the sweet little girls I have, but also know that this is it for us. We aren't planning on any more little ones in the future, so this time with my girls is so special.

Here's what Addi is up to: running, climbing, favorite word: no!, likes to sleep with her puppy dog, doesn't like broccoli, prefers juice over milk, speaks in short sentences, but on her terms, still my quiet child, gives good kisses and hugs, weighs 21.4 pounds, 33" tall, size 3 diaper, size 5 shoes, wears size 24-month clothes, but the waist has to be taken in!

Here's what Ella is up to:
running, climbing, jumping, hopping, repeats EVERYTHING, speaks in sentences most of the time, likes to sleep with her Teddy bear, likes broccoli, loves milk, chatters nonstop, gives good kisses and hugs, weighs 22.2 pounds, 34" tall, size 3 diaper, size 5 shoes, wears size 24-month clothes, but the waist has to be taken in!

There are many more things my doodlebugs are up to, but I will end with pictures from their birthday. Addi and Ella, mommy and daddy love you very much! We are so thankful for the blessing that you both are to us. Happy birthday!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

My Little Cleaner!

2010-09-08T17:19:00.002-05:00

Ella Grace is a cleaning machine! Let's hope she continues to like the chore as she gets older!

Ring! Ring! Hello?

2010-06-20T21:15:00.006-05:00

This week Addi Kate has kept me very entertained. She has been very chatty and silly. For starters, she loves Mardi Gras beads and wears them. She loves hats too. And it doesn't really matter if they are too big...

...or just the right size.

But the thing she has started doing that makes me giggle the most is this...

That is Addi talking on the laptop power adapter. Yes, she's using it like a phone and has a conversation consisting of words that I can't understand except for hi, hey, and bye or bye-bye!
She's not particular when it comes to "her" phone either. It might be a hat or her hand, but my favorite is this...

Yes, that's the remote control for the TV!

Meow!

2010-06-19T21:18:00.003-05:00

Ella Grace has been meowing back at our cats for quite some time now. It still makes me giggle!

Sunny Days...

2010-06-19T20:48:00.004-05:00

Sweepin' the clouds away
On my way to where the air is sweet

Can you tell me how to get,
How to get to Sesame Street

Come and play
Everything's A-OK
Friendly neighbors there
That's where we meet

Can you tell me how to get
How to get to Sesame Street

It's a magic carpet ride
Every door will open wide
To Happy people like you--
Happy people like
What a beautiful

Sunny Day
Sweepin' the clouds away
On my way to where the air is sweet

Can you tell me how to get,
How to get to Sesame street...
How to get to Sesame Street
How to get to...

The familiar lyrics of one of my favorite shows has also become a favorite to my girls. I made breakfast the other morning and sacrificed watching the Today Show (one on my guilty pleasures in the summer) and tuned into PBS.

Here is Ella and Addi Kate, happy about breakfast...

Until that catchy tune comes on, then...

Silly Girls!

2010-06-12T21:45:00.002-05:00

Tonight while the girls were feeding themselves dinner, I decided that I'd quickly vacuum the floor in the kitchen and dinning room. While I was running the vacuum, I noticed Ella put her fingers in her ears! She would put them in and pull them out and giggle! It was pretty cute watching her!

Matthew got home from work shortly after the girls finished eating dinner and we sat on the living room floor with them. Matthew and I were trying to encourage Addi Kate to walk back and forth to us. I've finally figured out why she won't walk! She squeezes her eyes closed as tight as she can get them!

I have a couple of silly little girls! They make me smile!

Giggles!

2010-06-12T21:16:00.003-05:00

I took today off from packing and chores and spent it with my little doodlebugs. I must say, it was sort of a strange day. Addi and Ella didn't get up until 10:15 this morning (they went to bed at 8:00 last night)! I kept cracking open their door to make sure they were okay! Then they took a 3 hour nap this afternoon!

After nap time, I decided to let them swim a little. I cleaned out the little pool we had stored for the dogs while they were sleeping. They haven't been in out backyard before so they stared at everything for a little bit and then the fun began. They got to chattering with each other and then got the giggles. I LOVE baby giggles! They have to be one of the best sounds ever!

I also snapped a couple cute pictures while they enjoyed the pool!

Pool Fun & Packing!

2010-06-12T08:12:00.003-05:00

Yesterday was a busy day for the girls and myself! My mom kept them for me so I could start getting some packing done. Addi Kate and Ella got to have fun at grandma's while I worked. I must say, I'm a little jealous! Anyhow, my mom blew up their pool and let them play in the water for an hour. She said they had so much fun that they cried when she finally made them get out!

I packed 21 boxes yesterday; almost half of which consisted of books from our library. I got all our stemware packed. The walls look bare too as I took everything down from the living room, kitchen and and man cave walls. I hope we are able to close soon. It's going to be hard to live like this for very long! I'm excited to finally be getting into a house of our own, even with all the packing and unpacking that looms ahead of me. Have I mentioned how much I HATE moving?!?!

It's Awfully Quiet...

2010-06-09T21:50:00.004-05:00

Any mother knows that a quiet house is not necessarily a good thing. After baths tonight, I ran into the kitchen to wash dinner dishes and it was then that I noticed it was too quiet. I hadn't put the girls to bed yet, so I wondered what they might be up to and went looking for the answer. Here is what I found...

Hungry?

2010-06-09T21:38:00.002-05:00

Do you think this means they are hungry?!?!

They were hungry! I had to cook dinner!

16 months

2010-06-09T17:03:00.007-05:00

I had no idea 16 months could go by so quickly. My little girls are not so "little" anymore. Last month they went in for their 15-month well check and got three shots apiece. We also learned that they had only gained a pound each since their 12-month well check. I promise I feed them! Ha! Here's what they are up to:

Addilyn

likes to eat mandarin oranges, fish sticks, and strawberries
is not much of a morning person
squeals in delight rather than giggling
is taking her time walking
is our thinker, can sit for long periods of time turning the pages in a book
weighs about 18 pounds 9 ounces and is in the 59th percentile for height
wears size 3 diapers and size 3 shoes
wears 12 month size clothes and 18-month size pajamas (too long for 12 month sizes)
says: mama, dada, papa, banana, bye-bye, hi, night-night, woof-woof, bawk-bawk, heehaw, kitty-kitty, go, more, oh-oh
loves to blow kisses and wave bye-bye
loves our cats and dogs: Chloe, Grace, Jack and Izzy; and my parents cat Chance and dogs Odie and Ellie May
has four teeth, two on top and two on bottom
takes a while to warm up to new surroundings or new people
is content to sit in the shopping cart or stroller during outings

Ella

is very happy in the morning and is usually bouncing around like a monkey
giggles and will tell you tickle-tickle when she wants you to tickle her
weighs about 18 pounds 8 ounces and is also in the 59th percentile for height
wears size 3 diapers and size 3 shoes
wears 12-month size clothes and 18-month size pajamas
says: mama, dada, papa, banana, hi, bye-bye, hat, hand, duck, puppy, dog, kitty-kitty, woof-woof, bawk-bawk, meow, heehaw, night-night, baby, Addi, tickle-tickle, oh-oh, bite
also loves to blow kisses and wave bye-bye
loves our cats and dogs
loves to be around new people and see new places...she is very social
will sit in the shopping cart or stroller for a little bit and then wants to walk wherever we are
chatters nonstop and often talkes to her baby dolls or stuffed lion and tiger

Popsicles!

2010-06-09T16:47:00.004-05:00

Right before school was out I grabbed popsicles on a hot day thinking my girls would love a cool treat. The pictures that follow are a bit deceiving! They look like they are enjoying yummy strawberry flavored goodness, but in reality, my mom and I ended up with a screamfest on our hands! It was pretty funny to see their reaction and hatred of popsicles! I wonder how they will feel about ice cream...

When It Rains, It Pours...

2010-06-05T12:18:00.003-05:00

Matthew and I have had to deal with an abundant amount of problems lately. We have been "under contract" on our new home since the beginning of April. Our closing date was set for May 17. That has come and gone. Our new closing date is set for June 10. We have a feeling that is also going to come and go. Fannie Mae currently has possession of the house (since we are buying a foreclosed property) and it is taking them forever to make decisions regarding the property. The agreed to fix a leak in the pipes under the hall bathroom tub. Now we are waiting for them to agree to fix the leak in the sewer line under the kitchen sink. Once they agree and the work is complete, we are ready to get moved!

The air conditioner went out in the house we are living in, and that had to be fixed. The high today is expected to reach 100+ temperatures. We also have a leak under our foundation that has turned into a small stream of water running down the hill in our backyard.

And then, my poor car. I hit a pole going through the drive-thru at Braum's. I just didn't see it. With all that has been going on, no wonder I can't focus on driving! Thankfully, my doors open and close and lock, and the windows work. I suppose it could have been worse.

We really need a break though. Getting moved into the new house and being in town would really help relieve some stress. Hopefully Fannie Mae doesn't take three and a half weeks to make the decision about the sink. Matthew and I have to close on the house by June 30 in order to qualify for the tax rebate being offered by the government. Lets hope that happens!

The Park

2010-05-21T13:35:00.005-05:00

A couple weeks ago Matthew and I took the girls to the park in Canyon after I got home from work. We took the wagon with us and walked around it a couple times. The girls enjoyed crawling in the grass and swinging in the swings. As a matter of fact, when it was time to go, they both cried their pretty little heads off!

I am thankful for summer and the time I will get with my little doodlebugs! I also can't wait to get moved into our new house! We can walk right down the street and be at the park! It is going to be so wonderful!

First Steps!

2010-05-20T12:08:00.003-05:00

Ella Grace has finally taken her first steps on her own!

House Hunting

2010-04-11T20:07:00.003-05:00

Three years ago, I started this journey on my own. And then I met Matthew. I knew from the beginning that our relationship was different. I put "house hunting" on hold. After a whirlwind courtship, marriage, and birth of two babies, here I am again.

Matthew and I decided it was time to buy a place of our own over spring break. We went through the pre-approval process at the bank shortly after, and I began looking at houses after work. We had decided it would be best for me to "pre-screen" houses. If they had potential, then Matthew would take his lunch break at work and look at the houses I deemed worthy.

I looked at 14 houses on my own. Matthew saw 3 with me. Number 14 was the lucky place. It was the third house I'd looked at that day, and although I liked it, I left my realtor and went to pick up my girls. My realtor called me shortly after and told me that there was other interest in the house. I in turn called Matthew and soon afterwards, we were walking through the front door of that house less than two hours later.

What was supposed to be "looking" at the house turned into writing up an offer at 10:00 p.m. I'm not sure how I slept that night. Maybe because I didn't get home until 11:30 p.m. and couldn't go to sleep until 1:00 a.m. The next day at work was so long anticipating a call for my realtor. Finally it came, and our offer was accepted!

Matthew and I had to go in and initial 19 more pages of paperwork. Our new place was inspected on Saturday, and things went pretty well. Now we are just waiting on the test the plumbing company runs on the pipes and sewer, and we will be closing on our new home by May 17th. I can't speak for Matthew, but I am so excited! I think he is too!

I am posting some pictures. No one has lived in the house since at least November, so it needs a little love, but we will make it great with time!

Quickie Update...

2010-02-16T21:29:00.004-06:00

Addilyn and Ella went in for their 12-month checkup on Friday. My poor little girls both got three shots in their legs. Ahh, the noise, NoIsE, NOISE! That was most unpleasant, but mostly for them. I imagine just about everyone in the office heard them holler! Their pediatrician has finally realized they are going to be petite! Addi is 29 inches long (average) and weighs 17 pounds 11.5 ounces. Ella is 28.5 inches long (also average) and weighs 17 pounds 6.5 ounces. They are both still able to wear some of their nine month size clothes and some 12 month sizes although they gap a bit in the waist.

They are healthy and happy and still good sleepers! We really like that. Addilyn's top tooth on the left has finally popped through the skin and her right top tooth is getting close to breaking through as well. Ella is still sporting just her two front bottom teeth.

Neither of them are out right walking, but both are cruising along furniture. It's a matter of time! Thank goodness I'm running! More on that later.) Today Addi stood on her on without me holding on to her and maintained her balance for a good 15-20 seconds. Ella decided she wanted to walk and took off pushing her lion at my parents and walked down their hallway holding on to it. I can't believe how much they have grown since we brought them home from the hospital a year ago. I will blog later this week and post pictures of their first birthday party.

About my 5K training...I have surprised myself. When I began this 5 weeks ago, I could hardly run 1/4 of a mile without feeling like I was going to die! Now I can run 2.5 miles without walking and I have finished week 6 of the C25K training program. I have also started strength training with Jilllian Michaels' 30-Day Shred DVD. I already have plans to train for an 8K when I finish this program. I plan to actually run my first 5K in April. I have come to enjoy running more than I thought I would. It's a great way for me to lose tension and stress and clear my mind. Matthew told me last night that he could see me training for a full marathon someday. Who knows...maybe!

Catching up...

2010-01-17T19:34:00.004-06:00

I've fallen off the blogship. Sorry to all of my followers. I guess I needed a break, I assure you in more ways than just blogging. Since I haven't blogged since November, I have a lot of catching up to do.

Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas were a whirlwind. Christmas was a bit stressful. Ella ended up getting Croup. We ended up in the ER the Saturday night after Christmas. Ella had a fever of 102.7. She was feeling better after a few days, and thankfully enough, Addilyn did not get it. I took the girls to see Santa. I was shocked that neither of them cried!

I enjoyed being home with my girls over the break. As a matter of fact, I enjoyed it so much, that I am now looking into starting my own website. (More on that to come at a later date.)

January 9th my babies turned 11 months old. I can't believe the last eleven months have gone so quickly. Here's what they are up to:

Addilyn ~

pulling herself into a standing position (has been for about a month)
opens her mouth and lets her food fall out when it's something she doesn't like
takes toys away from Ella
loves our cats and gets excited to see them
talks gibberish more and more everyday
has actually said these words: mama, dada, Ella, Elmo and hello
weighs 17 pounds 13 ounces and is over 27.5 inches long
wears a size 3 shoe and size 3 diaper
still wears nine month clothing; 12 month fits, but I have to roll the waist down
has two bottom teeth
likes to play Indian, complete with sounds
races me to the bathroom when she hears the bathtub filling with water

Ella ~

just started pulling herself into a standing position
eats anything we giver her (thank goodness!)
also loves our cats and meows back at them when they meow
has said these words: mama, dada, nana, papa, meow, hello, baby
shakes her head "no"
weighs 17 pounds 3 ounces and is over 27 inches long
wears a size 3 shoe and size 3 diaper
wears the same size clothing as Addilyn
also has two bottom teeth
also likes to play Indian (with sounds) as well as Peek-A-Boo
likes to play "I'm Going to Get You." Momma pretends to let her crawl ahead and then I tell her I'm going to get her and she laughs and laughs!

Tonight I began replacing an ounce of the water in their bottles with whole milk and mixing it with their usual amount of formula. I'm hoping this will make the transition from formula to milk easier.

Anyhow, It has been a busy day, so I'm off to relax and watch a little TV, something I rarely get to do. One more thing before I sign off. I'm training for a 5K in April. Yes, I know! I'm crazy...maybe! I feel better though since I've started running and have even gotten Matthew to do it with me!

Playing Hooky...

2009-11-01T19:46:00.004-06:00

pictures from my two days off...

My little girls are changing daily. I want to capture everything they do. I wish they'd slow down...just a little.

H1N1

2009-11-01T19:27:00.003-06:00

So, two Fridays ago Matthew comes home from work and tells me he doesn't feel well. Ugh, I think as I grab my pillows and head to the spare room to sleep on the crappy bed. This didn't sit well with Matt as he wasn't happy that I didn't want to sleep with his germy self. Oh well, it was a wise move on my part. Saturday morning Matt woke up feeling really bad and had to go to work. By Saturday afternoon he was running a fever and made to finish his shift at work. My parents were gracious enough to keep the girls Saturday night since Matthew came home with a fever. His fever remained Sunday morning and by early Sunday afternoon I was driving him to the health clinic in Canyon to see the doctor.

I got as far as the door tot he clinic with hubby only to see a sign saying I'd have to wear a mask beyond that point. I wish hubby good luck and pertly returned tot he car to browse Facebook posts and play Bejeweled 2 on my iPhone. Whoo-hoo for some source of entertainment! Around an hour later Matt returned to the car to inform me that he has Type A Influenza, or H1N1, or the Swine Flu, whatever you want to call it.

I called my parents to inform them of the bad news. They were fantastic in telling us they would keep the girls until Matthew was fever free for 24-hours. We also wanted to make sure I didn't get it. Which, by the way, I didn't! I think that's because I sprayed enough Lysol to taste it for a week in the back of my throat, and I wouldn't let Matthew sit in the same room as me.

Matt's fever was up over 101 until Tuesday afternoon when it finally broke. He spent most of that time sleeping. I've never seen him look so bad and so pale. Poor guy. I did take care of him. Made him stuff to eat and kept his meds on a schedule for him. On Wednesday I called my parents and asked them to keep the girls one more night for us so I could go home and disinfect the house. I took Thursday and Friday off work so I could bring the girls home. I knew Matt wouldn't be up to keeping them on his own. I missed them so much! I took like 100 pictures on Thursday! I am glad to say that Matthew is feeling much better! Thanks Mom and Dad for helping us out and keeping our little girls away from all those nasty germs! We are so thankful!

8 months

2009-10-20T21:08:00.003-05:00

Wow, I'm behind! Addilyn and Ella turned eight months old on October 9. Life is busy juggling two little girls and working full time, so forgive my delay! Anyhow... Here's what they are up to.

Addilyn

* becoming more talkative (still only says momma when she is upset)

* not a big fan of baby food meat (not that I can blame her) but still manages to gag it down!

* can sit up all by herself

* is getting her first tooth (and is thankfully taking it well)

* able to turn her entire body around in every direction and roll from one place to another

* claps and is starting to get the hang of waving

* gets up on her hands and knees for a split second before toppling over

* loves to watch Ella and talk to her (and squeal!)

* doesn't care for noodles!

* loves her bath seat

* just started wearing size 3 diapers, but they are still a little too big

Ella

* I can't even keep up with the noises coming out of this kids mouth! everyday is something new.

* loves food! she will eat anything you give her!

* sits up by herself

* waves and claps (a lot!)

* is also rolling and turning all over the place

* has not gotten up on her knees yet

* loves to squeal back at Addi

* loves her bath seat and splashing Addilyn

* is also getting her first tooth (and doing okay too)

* also wearing size 3 diapers

Both girls are wearing 6-9 month size clothes, but they are still a little too long and a bit big in the waist. Six month size outfits still fit them best, but I can tell it won't be long before they are too long.

Both girls had their flu shot last week. Matthew and my mom took them and claimed they were troopers and barely let out a cry.

They are both sleeping well through the night. Their usual bedtime is around 7:00-7:30 and they sleep until 8:00-8:30.

They are both very happy little girls!

Sleeping Arrangements

2009-10-20T21:02:00.002-05:00

This picture was taken about a week ago when we had our first overnight temperatures in the 30s. Horray for fuzzy, warm footies...AND...sister's foot just in case Addilyn's nose got cold!

Shopping!

2009-10-04T14:53:00.004-05:00

Yesterday the girls and I did a little shopping, mostly just to get out of the house for a little while. We went out looking for Halloween costumes, which I did find! I'll keep that my little secret for now. I also found the cutest bows! I bought Addilyn a new bow that says: "Big Sister" and Ella got one that says: "Lil Sister." They are HUGE, but so stinking cute! Here's the proof...

The girls seemed to really enjoy our outing. They didn't fuss once and liked looking around in the stroller. We attracted a lot of attention as a double stroller is like pushing a bus through a crowd of people! Two cute little girls also attract a lot of attention. Our days are numbered for outings though. I don't think we will be going too many places as I worry about them getting sick from someone's cooties.

the BIG 3-oh

2009-10-04T14:47:00.002-05:00

Yes, that's right. I turned thirty about a week ago. It was a rough birthday. Maybe because thirty always seemed so old to me. Anyhow, it doesn't anymore. I'm glad it's over and the next time I reach a milestone birthday I'm not going to work!

Here is a picture of the beautiful flowers Matthew and the girls sent me at work:

Cuteness!

2009-09-23T19:14:00.002-05:00

How could you not fall hopelessly in love with these two little faces? These girls have my heart.

Bottoms Up!

2009-09-21T20:48:00.003-05:00

Ah yes, Addilyn gives new meaning to the phrase "bottoms up!" This picture was taken last night after I put the girls to bed. It was too cute to pass up a photo opportunity! Fortunately for me, the flash on my camera didn't bother either of my girls!

7 months

2009-09-13T14:40:00.007-05:00

My little doodlebugs are seven months old! It seems like time is flying by these days. Here's what they are up to...

Addilyn

Addi is rolling all over the place! Front to back and back to front, and can turn herself around on her tummy.
Addilyn is really trying hard to get her knees under her. The result of all that trying is a cute little baby booty sticking up in the air!
She sleeps on her tummy or side mostly, and goes to sleep with her snuggly.
Addi loves to play in her exersaucer.
She also loves to eat!
Addi can't quite sit up on her own yet, but she is getting really close.
She loves bath time and getting her hair brushed afterwards.
Addi has also developed a very bad habit. I don't think it's one we can do anything about. She poops every time you put her in her carseat! She gets all talkative when she does this.
Addi is pretty quiet, unless she feels like talking. Sometimes she gets really excited and you can tell she wants to say something but isn't sure how to get it out!
She loves books and being read to.
Addi also likes to snuggle.

Ella

Ella is also rolling all over. She finally got over her fear of rolling from her tummy to her back. She also turns herself around in circles on her tummy.
Ella lovers her bouncer! She bounces in it like a maniac!
Ella just started sleeping on her side and tummy about a week ago.
She loves bath time and really likes you to turn her over on her tummy and let her splash! Momma needs a raincoat when she gives Ella a bath!
Ella is doing a pretty good job sitting up by herself and is only a little wobbly.
Ella also like books and being read to.
Her vocabulary is also increasing. Ella says: momma, dada, and nana.
Ella likes to eat too. She will eat anything you give her!
She laughs when you tickle her.

Both girls are wearing size 2 diapers and just started wearing 6-9 month size clothes (mainly because they are getting long). They are both eating stage two baby food in fruits and veggies and just started meats a week ago. They get three meals per day, morning, afternoon, and evening of solid baby food. In between the morning/afternoon and afternoon/evening meals they get a regular bottle of formula. Addi and Ella talk to each other and hold hands often. It's so neat to see how much they love each other. Addilyn and Ella are great sleepers! I put them to bed between 7:30-8:00 p.m. and they sleep until 8:00-9:30 a.m. That is wonderful for Matthew since he gets up with them during the week and fantastic for me when the weekend finally rolls around!

I have learned to write down my grocery list if I plan on going to the store and taking these two with me. I get stopped at least 5-10 times which makes it impossible to remember what you were going to the store for in the first place!

It's Been About a Year...

2009-09-05T11:00:00.002-05:00

...since I've had to battle a snake around the house. Well, Matthew and I woke up with one IN our house this morning. I was in the kitchen getting bottles ready for Addi and Ella and Matt was in the nursery changing diapers. In no way was I awake and had somehow managed to slip flip flops on my feet as I rolled outta bed this morning. Thank goodness for something on my feet! As I was walking back into the living room for the kitchen, I noticed the cats out of the corner of my eye and saw Chloe jump. I thought this was weird, so I walked around the table to see both of our cats staring at something on the floor.

At first I thought: "oh great! who yacked on the floor?" But then I got a better look and saw that it was a snake and that it was ALIVE! I said to Matthew: "Can you put the baby down and come in here please?" I can't believe I was so calm. He walked into the living room and asked what was going on. I said: "There's a snake in the house." I thought my hubby was going to lose it right then. I don't think he's a big fan of snakes! I grabbed the broom while Matt put on his shoes and found the shovel in the garage. I got behind the snake and swept it onto the shovel and wached my freaked out hubby run through the kitchen, utility, garage and all the way down our long driveway with that snake. I tried not to giggle, but it was pretty funny! He tossed it in the road!

After a Long Day...

2009-09-05T10:31:00.005-05:00

...this is what I have to look forward to coming home to:

They are such happy little girls. I love them so much and miss them like crazy while I am at work all day.

Eye-Okay

2009-09-05T10:25:00.002-05:00

All went well with Addi's eye appointment! We are so thankful. The eye doctor is going to share her thoughts with the girls' pediatrician so she can still check it when we go in for appointments, but as long as there is no change in the spot, we won't see the eye doctor again for six months.

Addilyn and I went to the appointment alone. We were sceduled for 9:45 and didn't get out of there until 12:30. It was nice to have some one on one time with little Addi even if we were sitting in a doctor's waiting room. She was such a good girl!

A Bit Behind...

2009-09-05T10:13:00.003-05:00

Addilyn and Ella went in for their six month check up on August 12. They received 3 shots each and one oral. Addilyn weighed 14.7 ounces (25th percentile) and was 25.75 inches long (50th percentile). Ella weighed 13.11 ounces (25th percentile) and was 25.50 inches long (50th percentile). They are growing so fast. Their pediatrician found a small spot on Addi's cornea and scheduled an appointment with a pediatric opthomologist just to be on the safe side.

Here are pictures of the girls at six months...

Life has been insane since I had to go back to work full time AND be a full time momma! I'm still trying to figure out how people do it! Anyhow...

Watch Out Boys!

2009-07-20T17:12:00.003-05:00

Addi is as "Cute as a Cupcake" and Ella is a "Future Heart Breaker!"

Really, I tell my girls every day that the only boys they are allowed to like is their Daddy and Papa....and MAYBE their uncles....as long as they keep my girls out of trouble. I tell them they can't like boys until they are out of college. Think brain washing works this early? Ha!

James, The Crab

2009-07-19T23:16:00.003-05:00

My friend Jon recently posted a status update (on Facebook) about his daughter's fish dying. Apparently she paid it more attention after death than when it was alive.

For some reason this incident made me think of James, the Hermit Crab that I inherited the first year I taught kindergarten. As it happened, I took over for a teacher that was moving to Austin, TX. She left her hermit crab in my care. That was a huge mistake. I was new to teaching and that crab was the last thing on my mind. I was preoccupied running around trying to plan and teach lessons and get my feet underneath myself. I should have given up then. That was the hardest year ever!

Anyhow, James came into my care, and not having the time to take care of the poor thing, he suffered greatly. One of my kids was assigned to soak his sponge each day so he had water, but no one knew what James ate and I was not briefed before the teacher moved that left him in my incompetent hands. Maybe if I hadn't been so preoccupied with all the things that come along with my first real job, I would have thought to look up the care of hermit crabs on the Internet. But no, poor James starved to death in my classroom. I did sprinkle fish food in his cage, but apparently crabs don't dig fish food because James crawled out of his shell and died.

My kids learned about democracy that year and what it means to vote. We voted how his body should be disposed of...by land or sea. A kindergartners logic is this: "he should be flushed so he goes back to the ocean." How does one argue with that? Poor James was carried very carefully on a paper towel across the hall to a neighboring teacher's classroom. (I didn't have a bathroom in my room.) We disrupted her class to pay our final regards to James and flushed him in his watery grave with hopes he would return to the ocean. Poor James.

I learned a lesson that year...NEVER accept a classroom pet you know nothing about. Stick with fish, they are the safer bet!

Calling All Golfers...

2009-07-14T16:21:00.002-05:00

I have my own personal driving range. Here's the proof...

Are you jealous?

It's a shame there's a shed right in the middle of my driving range, but I make it work. However, there is a perfect dent with countable golf ball dimples in the side of that shed! It's too bad I can't train the horses to retreive my balls! (I don't hit balls into the pasture when there are horses out there! I would feel horrible if I hit one, and knowing me, I would!)

Long Overdue Update!

2009-07-14T13:42:00.006-05:00

So I've been a little busy lately...I can't imagine what keeps me so busy (note my sarcasm), but I'm finally around to updating and promise to be better about keeping our blog current!

Addilyn and Ella are five months old now. Here's what they are up to...

Addilyn...

Addi is up to 13 pounds 3 ounces and is 24 inches long. She rolls from her back to her tummy, but usually has one arm pinned under her because she won't take her hand out of her mouth. If you help her out, she tries to get her knees under her and scoot. She has no problem rolling over to her back. Addi loves to suck on her fingers and makes a big drooly mess! She grabs her toys on her playmat and likes to put them in her mouth. Addi LOVES bathtime! She can be tired after a busy day and still find the energy to kick her little legs and drench me with water! I gave up bathing the girls in their little tub a long time ago. She loves swim time during her bath! Addi also says "hi". It's so cute! She has such a little voice! She's been saying hi for about a month. Addi is pretty outgoing. She doesn't care who holds her or feeds her. She loves to look around at the park or restaurant or store.

Ella...

Ella is up to 12 pounds 14 ounces and is 23.5 inches long. Her chubby cheeks make her look bigger than she really is! Ella rolls over to her tummy almost immediately, but doesn't like to roll back to her back once she's on her tummy. I think it scares her and she usually cries. Ella is a little more timid about bathtime, but seems to enjoy it more every day. Ella is getting a mind of her own. She is trying very hard to hold her own bottle and will pull it into her mouth. Sometimes she misses and gets her nose! She is also a chatterbox. She wakes up talking in the morning, talks herself to sleep at naptime, and says "mama" when she is upset and wants her mama! Ella is a little more reserved around people she doesn't know than Addilyn. She has to warm up to you first, but generally does okay if you give her enough time to decide that you are alright!

Both girls are in bed by 9:30 p.m. and sleep until 7:30-8:00 a.m. They eat first thing in the morning, at noon, 3:00 p.m., 6:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. We start bathtime around 8:15 every evening. At their 3:00 feeding the girls get veggies before a bottle. So far they like green beans, sweet potatoes and squash. They are not a fan of carrots and peas. I've been mixing peas with green beans to get them to eat them and saw carrots mixed with apples in the store, so I might try that. We will start fruit when they are eating all their veggies good!

The girls take about 4 short naps during the day. I don't let them sleep longer than an hour at a time. If I do then they don't sleep good at night and I am up and down putting pacifiers in mouths! I like to avoid that! The girls are funny at bedtime. They scoot until they are touching each other before they will fall asleep at night. They sleep with their heads touching! They are both in size 1 diapers and still able to wear their 3 month size summer outfits. Last month I started putting them in 3-6 month size sleep n' plays but we still have to roll the sleeves up.

Here are pictures over the last couple of weeks...

Pizza, It's What's For Dinner!

2009-06-20T23:07:00.004-05:00

Yes, that's right! Every Saturday night we eat pizza. Matthew doesn't get off work until 7:00 p.m. and that's if nothing big happens in Amarillo. For the past month, maybe two, we've had Papa Murphy's pizza every Saturday night for dinner. You go by (or call in), order what you want and take it home to bake. It's convenient for us since we never know when he's going to get off work and when the girls are going to want to eat.

Here's the sad part. A couple weeks ago I went by to pick up a pizza and pulled up to the window (which I learned is a no no unless you've called in an order) and placed an order. I explained to the nice girl working that I couldn't come in to order as I had two babies in the car and it would be too hard. She very politely took my order and I was quickly on my way. Well, the next week, I did the same thing. I pulled up to the window and the same girl was working. She immediately asked me if I had my twins with me to which I replied yes. Some guy (in high school) apparently made a comment to her to which she replied, "It's okay, we like her!" She was talking about me! Haha!

Tonight Matthew stopped by to grab a pizza and the same girl was working that waited on him the previous week (also the same girl that waited on me). She commented that he was in every Saturday. Matthew agreed that he was and then added if he wasn't, his wife was in to get a pizza. He told them we had twins and the girl immediately knew who he was talking about! Apparently we either need to find something else to eat on Saturday nights or they need to have a frequent customer card that we receive a discount on!

In addition to pizza on Saturday night we are hooked on a series called Harper's Island. It's a murder mystery television show that is quickly coming to an end. What will we do when it's over?!?! Maybe we will be ready to try something new! Anyhow, take a look at the yummy pizza we had tonight.

New Tricks...for lack of a better word!

2009-06-19T23:14:00.003-05:00

The girls have been in bed for over an hour now, which really means I should be in bed too. The flip side of that is being home with them all day means I'm not sure when they next time is that I will get to blog. So I'm doing it now!

Tonight I got the girls ready for bed. Diapers changed, pajamas on, and bottles (with cereal) made. This is our typical nightly routine. Matthew wasn't home yet, so I was on my own. I sat down to feed them, Ella in a boppy on my lap and Addi in a boppy right next to me.

After a few ounces it was time to burp. I got up and laid Ella on the love seat and laid Addi next to me on the sofa. It's easier to get them to burp if they have some wiggle time. Here are the results of wiggle time...

You probably can't tell in the picture, but Ella was using her feet to shove herself into the cushion crack! In the meantime, Addi was shoving her ENTIRE hand in her mouth! Every day is an adventure with these girls. They make me laugh! I love being a momma!

Green Beans...No Thank You!

2009-06-19T22:53:00.005-05:00

Last Sunday, I tried spoon feeding the girls green beans. Here is the evidence...

I don't think either of the girls were keen on the idea of me shoving mushy green beans in their mouths, but Matthew and I sure got a good laugh!

4 Month Checkup

2009-06-11T17:49:00.003-05:00

Addilyn and Ella went in for their four month checkup today. Addi weighs 11 pounds 14 ounces and is 23.5 inches long. Ella weighs 11 pounds 2.5 ounces and is 23 inches long. They are both in the 25th percentile for their height. I'm not sure about their weight and percentile. Addi has been taken off the apnea monitor. The doctor doesn't think there is any need for it now. She thinks Addi will do just fine.

We have been given the go ahead on mixing cereal thick enough to start spoon feeding the girls. I'm not sure how I feel about this as I know it's going to be tough with two of them! Next month we will start green veggies. From there we will move on to yellow veggies and fruit will be last. The doctor said it was fine that I was putting an ounce of juice in their formula/cereal bottles to keep them from getting constipated. Thank goodness!

Both girls got a shot in the top of each leg and one oral vaccination. They cried good and loud. Even made me cry to hear them cry. Thankfully it didn't last long. When we got home both were all smiles again and ready to eat. Hopefully the rest of the day goes smoothly and they don't get too fussy.

Discoveries!

2009-06-11T09:39:00.005-05:00

Last month, Ella discovered her thumb. I just happened to get a picture as she still prefers to suck on all her fingers at once!

This month, Addilyn finally figured out how to roll on her side. It's funny because both girls rolled to their left side first. Neither one of them has figured out they have a right side too!

Addi and Ella are also finally starting to discover each other. Last night I layed them on their playmat so they could look at each other. They cooed at each other for a little bit.

I left the room for a minute only to hear some commotion from the girls after a short time. I walked in to see this...

Apparently, Ella discovered Addi's mouth and Addi was not thrilled about it! I quickly broke up the sisterly love!

Addi has also started scratching her forehead. She does this when she wakes up. It doesn't matter how short her nails are either. So, we've resorted to putting her mittens back on her when she sleeps. I hope she grows out of this phase soon!

4 Months

2009-06-09T20:40:00.008-05:00

Addi and Ella are four months old today! It doesn't seem possible. Let me tell you a little about each of them.

Addilyn is about 11.5 pounds now. I'm not sure how long she is, but we will find out on Thursday at her well baby check. Addi is getting better about sleeping through the night. I think she finally realizes I'm going to put a pacifier in her mouth and not a bottle. She would start stirring around 3:00 a.m. since that was the time we were feeding in the middle of the night. Now, it's closer to 5:00 a.m., but we can usually hold her off until 7:00 or 8:00 a.m. before feeding. It doesn't matter what time we feed Addi though, she's not a morning baby until after she's had her bottle! And she lets you know it!

Addi is turning into a chatterbox. She sounds like shes gargling though! Poor baby hasn't figured out what to do with all that extra spit in her mouth. Addi has finally become more active. Last night she rolled on her side for the first time. She likes to kick her feet, especially during bath time! She's also batting at the toys hanging from her playmats. Addi's apnea monitor was downloaded last week and only had one recording on it since we started using it at 7 weeks old. It was for a low heart rate, but the specialist said that is normal in anyone. For the machine to go off her heart rate had to be low for 15 seconds or she had to stop breathing for 15 seconds. It hasn't gone off, well, not unless we forgot to plug it in and the battery was low. She may get to come off of it soon.

Ella has turned into a good little sleeper. We are usually waking her up in the morning. She's happy when she wakes up, and if we aren't waking her up, I hear her talking to the mobile when she wakes up. She weighs about 10.5 pounds now. Ella is getting very close to rolling from her back to her side to her tummy. She gets on her side and tries very hard to get to her tummy. She also is a chatterbox. We went shopping today and she oooh'd through two stores!

We are slowly getting the girls to bed a little earlier. They are both eating 5 ounce bottles with 8 teaspoons of rice cereal in it at night before bed. This week we started mixing oatmeal with the rice. They also get an ounce of apple or prune juice in their bottles with rice/oatmeal to keep their system regular. Sounds gross, but they love it! We also do cereal/juice in the morning. The remainder of the day is formula only.

Both girls are wearing 3 month size outfits. We are going to have to move up to 3-6 month size sleepers as they are getting too long and are beginning to not be able to stretch out in them. They both have distinct personalities, and it's amazing to see their growth each day. I will update again after their checkup with the doctor.

Saturday at the Park!

2009-06-08T13:22:00.007-05:00

Saturday I packed up the girls, the pack-n-play, double stroller, two car seats, diaper bag, lawn chair and headed to Memorial Park for my cousin Angela's son, Grayson's, first birthday party. Matthew had to work, so I was on my own getting everyone ready and getting there. Sheesh! It was a lot of work! The girls looked so cute in their hats and sunglasses.

The temperature reached 96 degrees and the wind was terrible. Addi didn't seem to mind the wind or the people that came by to see her. She also didn't mind being held by people she rarely sees. Ella on the other hand cried and cried until she exhausted herself and fell asleep. I felt so bad. Addi eventually fell asleep too.

Thankfully, Ella woke up in a better mood, but still didn't want anyone other than her momma, grandma, or papa holding her.

Despite the effort it took to get there, it was a nice day and a nice party. It's hard to believe that Grayson is a year old now. Happy birthday little guy!

West Texas Weather

2009-06-04T21:39:00.003-05:00

I attempted a quick trip into Target this evening to be greeted by a fast approaching storm as I left. I had the girls with me. I'm sure I looked ridiculous running to the car pushing my Cadillac of a double stroller. Graceful I was not! Thankfully, it was only lightly sprinkling and I was able to get the girls tucked away in the car before the rain really hit.

As soon as we were all snug in my blazer, the tornado sirens went off. For those of you that don't know, it takes me about 25 minutes to drive home from Target. Needless to say I was heading straight into the heart of the storm.

I was about halfway down 2219 when that little voice inside you starts tugging at your ear telling you to turn around. Since it wasn't raining too hard, I forged ahead and made it home just in time. I got the car parked in the garage, shut the door behind me, and ran like crazy through the kitchen to the back door to get the dogs in the whole time praying they had sense enough to lay on the back porch and not run through the rain like nut jobs. My prayers were answered! Clean, mostly dry dogs! I put them in their kennels and then I was running back out to the car to get the girls in.

We lost satellite and Internet connection for a brief time so I wasn't able to follow the storm. I kept looking outside preparing myself that I might have to toss the diaper bag in a closet and climb in with the girls. We survived unscathed. Matthew called later to tell me that the National Weather Service confirmed a tornado touchdown at 2219 and City Lake Road. City Lake is the road you turn on to get to my house. That intersection is only about a mile to a mile and a half away from my house. It was sighted the same time I was driving home. How scary is that?

After the storm, I stepped out on the front porch and was able to get some good pictures of the rainbows that appeared as the storm headed south and the sun came back out.

I Promise...

2009-06-03T22:10:00.003-05:00

...to update our blog soon. Not that I think anyone reads it, but in case I have a faithful follower, I haven't forgotten about my blog. School ended on Friday, but I was in my classroom painting on Tuesday and tomorrow I'm running the first six weeks of lessons for next school year. I try to stay ahead to make life a little easier. So, I've neglected my blog. Pictures and news coming soon. Stay tuned!

On a side note, if you're a faithful reader and follow my updates, become a follower! And, thank you for reading!

Chubby Cheeks

2009-05-12T20:59:00.003-05:00

Ella Grace has some chubby cheeks! They're so cute you just want to kiss 'em! Her eyes are also a very pretty blue. I hope they stay that way! (Miss Addi wouldn't hold still for me to take a good picture of her today.)

Mr. Mom

2009-05-11T19:18:00.003-05:00

Matthew survived his first day playing Mr. Mom. He was alone with the girls from the time I left the house this morning at 7:20 a.m. until I got home at 4:15 p.m. I think the girls wore him out! It was a long day for me as well. I worked, had to run by the store on my way home, got home and ate dinner, fed the girls, bathed the girls, and finally got to sit down! Here is a picture I took of Matthew at 7:15 this evening:

That's not even our bed! It's the bed in the guest bedroom! If I had to guess I'd say he's EXHAUSTED!

Many "Firsts"

2009-05-10T21:04:00.003-05:00

We have had a busy weekend with many things happening. Here are some of the things that have happened:

Ella - Ella started rolling on her side a couple of weeks ago. Friday night I was in the nursery checking on Addilyn since I heard her fussing. It was somewhere around 3 a.m. Ella was sleeping on her side for the first time.

Addilyn - Addilyn has learned to blow bubbles with her mouth. It's funny to watch, but also a little messy as she hasn't learned to swallow her own spit!

Addilyn & Ella - Addilyn and Ella both had their first taste of rice cereal. Our pediatrician told us we would start them on cereal at four months. We decided to start a little early since I had to return to work. They are still eating every three hours during the day which really makes it hard to get things done. They won't eat more than 4 oz. per feeding without spitting up the ounce of formula their tummy can't hold if we feed them 5 oz. Their little tummys just aren't read for more food. Plus, we are hoping this will help them feel full longer at night so we can put them to bed earlier so I can get more sleep and be halfway competent at work!

So far, they are going great on the cereal. We are only giving them a teaspoon in their formula until they get used to the texture and flavor change. Friday night they slept from 1:00 a.m. until 9:00 a.m. Last night they slept from 1:00 a.m. until 8:00 a.m. Tonight we are going to have them in bed by 10:30 p.m. and hope that they sleep until 6:00 a.m. Last week when I went back to work, we started their last feeding at 11:00 p.m. and had them in bed by midnight. They did good, but I'm needing more sleep.

Last night we took the girls with us to our friend Aaron and Des' house for their son, Jude's, second birthday. They were such good babies. Everyone wanted to hold them. That's the good thing about twins, no one has to wait long to hold a baby since there is more to pass around.

Mother's Day - Today we celebrated my first Mother's Day. It was a great day, just not long enough. Matthew and the girls gave me some very thoughtful cards and a Cricut Expressions cutting machine! I've been wanting one since I saw the infomercial a year ago! I've taken up scrapbooking, and I think this is going to be a scrapbooker's dream! We also went to Johnny Carino's with my parents to celebrate Mother's Day with my mom.

I feel very blessed to be a mommy. I love my girls more and more every day. I never knew I could love anything or anyone so much until they came along. (Sorry, honey! Don't worry, I love you, too!) Thank you for a wonderful Mother's Day, Matthew. You're the best hubby!

Crazy Days!

2009-05-07T22:30:00.004-05:00

The last two days have been crazy busy with me going back to work. I spent Tuesday evening ironing for the rest of the week, getting coffee ready for the morning, packing the diaper bag, setting out the car seats and clothes for the girls.

Wednesday morning started at 6:00 a.m. It was a mad dash to get the girls up and diapers changed while Matthew prepared bottles. By 6:30 a.m. I was in the shower trying to get myself ready. I was out the door by 7:20 a.m. That's almost record time for me! Ha!

It was then Matthew's job to take care of the girls and getting himself ready for work. He was a trooper! I have to admit that I am very proud of him for being willing to even try such a difficult task. Our girls are easy, happy babies, but there are still TWO of them and only one of you which sometimes makes everything more challenging. Matthew survived his first morning being alone with the girls and didn't throw in the towel. He did it all over again today.

I almost had to be dragging kicking and screaming out of bed this morning. I dreading going back to work today after seeing the disaster that my classroom had become. I don't know who these kids are in my classroom, but they aren't the students I left 13 weeks ago. They've mutated into mean, disrespectful, uncaring beasts!

Here's a list of things that were damaged in my classroom: books, easel, supply baskets, rolling carts, and pencil boxes. My first sub lost four weeks worth of smart tub activities. My second sub rearranged my furniture and gave my kids a new seating chart. Neither of my subs read with my kids for 13 weeks. I'm so disgusted and so frustrated that neither were competent to do their jobs when I had EVERYTHING they would need while I was out ready for them. One even had the nerve to talk to my principal about a possible opening at our campus. Really? Do they really think they can handle teaching because you are REQUIRED to teach kids to read! Don't even get me started on classroom management!

My student's behavior was so bad that the guidance counselor wouldn't even come into the room for her once a month guidance session. I was told they sharpened crayons and disposed of the shavings down the sink drain in my room. I was also informed that they were caught standing on the tables. The questions that go through my mind over and over again is: "What in the world was my sub doing?" "Where was he/she that all of this happened?" All of their pencils are gone. I had a HUGE supply of pencils in my cabinet and only have two packs remaining.

These last couple of weeks of school are going to be long I'm afraid. I have to keep my thumb on my kids all day long their behavior is so bad. I turned my back for a second yesterday and caught three of my girl doing back bends on my carpet. I'm so disgusted by their behavior, but if they choose to behave poorly, then I can choose to make the rest of the school year as un-fun as possible. Ugh, I just wish I could have stayed home the rest of the year and not faced the mess that is my classroom until the kids were out for summer.

Reasons why...

2009-05-05T22:05:00.002-05:00

...I hate living in the country. In no particular order...

spiders...and I'm not just talking your regular, ordinary, spiders. I'm talking big, mean, fierce country spiders that will chase you down and gnaw your leg off.
snakes...my pool is now the snake pit. they are big enough out here to kill the motor on the lawn mower. enough said.
dogs...strays and such. that's how we ended up with Jack. someone tossed him broken leg and all in the country to die. this goes without saying that most people allow their dogs to run wild out here. i HATE that. love your dogs people. take care of them if you're going to have them.
weeds...i think there are unknown species of weeds out here that even bleach won't even kill. yes, i dump bleach on my weeds!
tumbleweeds...they hurt like heck and they are everywhere! on any given day you're dodging them just walking to your front door.
tarantulas...no, they don't fall into the spider category because spiders don't migrate in the fall!
dirt...nothing blocks it and it's always blowing. my house constantly needs to be dusted.
feed lot...miles and miles of cow poo. there's no bypassing it to get home. just pray that the wind isn't blowing from the north and if it is grab something to cover your nose with. it gives a whole new meaning to steak.
storms...you can see them coming for miles and know there's nothing to stop them and no where to hide. it can be pretty scary.
drought...it's impossible to water 14 acres with a water hose thus leading to a very ugly view come July or August.
distance...errands take hours. seriously. hours. you learn to plan ahead and take care of things while you are "in town."
neighbors...there aren't any. not any that are close anyways. it gets lonely.
get togethers...your friends won't drive out to your house because A) you're practically in a different area code and B) they get lost every time and have to call for directions. plus, if the wind is blowing from the north, no one wants to smell the cow poo. it doesn't make for a nice aroma when grilling out!

That's about all I can think of for now. I'll be sure to add on if I think of something later.

Can you tell I'm sour about going back to work tomorrow?

So Much to Blog About...

2009-05-05T10:15:00.008-05:00

...yet so little time. I suppose it doesn't help when blogger is down and you can't log in. Oh well.

First off, I snapped a couple of pictures of my irises before the rain made them droop. They are the first flowers to bloom in my garden. I love spring!

Secondly, Addilyn and Ella are 12 weeks old. I can't believe how quickly the time has gone. Addilyn now weighs 10 pounds and is 21 inches long. Ella is also 21 inches long and weighs 9 pounds 5 ounces. They are cooing and smiling more and more everyday. Ella has also learned to roll onto her side. They are sweet girls. We are truly blessed.

We had a lazy day yesterday. Well, I guess I shouldn't say lazy because it was a very busy day. I just didn't get the girls out of their pajamas to take pictures. Whoops! Matthew had a trial run feeding the two of them at the same time while I ran to Wal-Mart. I hope he can manage in the mornings. I'm so sad that I have to go back to work tomorrow. At least it's only 16.5 days.

Izzy Jo got to hang out in the house for a little bit yesterday. Normally she is an indoor dog, but she really needs a bath. We just haven't had time to give her one. It's on my "to do" list. Izzy is funny with the babies. She doesn't know what to think of them. She would smell them and walk in circles around the sofa and love seat. Then to the back door to ring her bells to let us know that she really wanted back out with Jack.

Poor Jack needs a bath too. We did manage to get his hair shaved. That poor dog was losing his winter coat and was just a mess. His hair is so thick and 4-5 inches long. Bless his heart, he looks moth eaten now, but has got to feel cooler with the warmer weather. Jack hasn't earned our trust in the house yet, and with two new babies, I don't have the time to watch him like a hawk. He refuses to ring the bells on the back door when he needs outside.

Jack is just a year old and VERY destructive. I'm thinking about registering online for the "Desperate Landscapes" on DIY Network. Jack has destroyed our backyard. It looks like a gopher lives back there. Not to mention he is a pro at tearing off the fence pickets. Ugh, and don't get me started on the pool cover that is no longer in existence. All in all, he's a very sweet dog and has a very gentle disposition. You can't help but love the little guy. Well, he's not little. He weighs 50 pounds now. He got much bigger than we expected.

Izzy Jo

Jack

Ooooh...11 Weeks!

2009-04-27T12:25:00.004-05:00

Addilyn and Ella are 11 weeks old today. Addilyn is up to 9 pounds 11 ounces and Ella is weighing in at 9 pounds 0.5 ounces. They are really starting to grow! Both of them have discovered their hands and work diligently to suck their thumbs. Fortunately, neither of them have discovered how to make their thumb stick out! Instead, they both just suck the top of their thumbs. It's funny to watch!

Ella is finally smiling at us. She has dimples on either side of her top lip. It's weird that it's not her cheeks that have them. Ella ooohs at us. It makes me laugh. Her little voice is so cute! I will post video of her ooohing at me this morning. Addilyn is still smiling up a storm. She coos at us but doesn't mimic any of the noises we make. Addi is still fighting baby acne. She clears up for a few days and then breaks back out for a few days. Her pediatrician said it will resolve by about 4-6 months.

The girls have been consistently sleeping through the night the last week. If we make sure we feed them closer to midnight then they will sleep until about 7:00 a.m. It is wonderful to finally start getting some sleep again!

Silly Gracie!

2009-04-22T19:57:00.003-05:00

Recently I've noticed my cat, Grace, has been hanging out in the nursery. She snoozes in the window and bird watches. She siestas on the changing table pad, but her favorite place to sleep is in the crib. She doesn't want to sleep with the babies though. Threaten to put a baby in bed with her and she's gone like a flash of lightening! She's silly!

Sweet Sleep!

2009-04-22T11:03:00.003-05:00

Matthew and I fed Ella and Addi last night at midnight. They slept until 7:00 a.m.! Whoo-hoo! I am thrilled that they are finally starting to sleep a little longer! I only hope it continues, especially since I return to work soon.

I was up at 6:00 a.m. checking on them both though. After Addi's scare I'm a little paranoid when the girls sleep too long or seem too quiet. I'm glad to say that her apnea monitor hasn't gone off since we've come home from the hospital.

10 Weeks

2009-04-20T21:36:00.002-05:00

Addilyn and Ella are 10 weeks old today. Addilyn now weighs 9 lbs. 1.5 oz. Ella is 8 lbs. 8 oz. They are definitely starting to feel heavier.

Everyday their little personalities elude to the little girls they are going to become. Ella is a mess. She's a cute mess though. She won't smile at me. It's like she thinks she has to play it cool and can't be caught smiling at something silly. It might ruin her image! Ella will stick her tongue out at me and make the "O" face. I think she's going to be stubborn just like her mommy. Ella makes me laugh. Did I mention that she burps like a grown man? (Also a trait she got from mommy!) Addilyn is smiling up a storm. She also "talks" to me in her baby language. It melts my heart every time she smiles. I can't wait until Ella finally starts!

The girls are starting to sleep longer at night. We are usually getting 4-5 hours between feedings at night. Nighttime feedings are the hardest. Usually it's only one baby that's awake and ready to eat. This forces me to wake the other up so we can getting feedings out of the way and not be up with the other baby in an hour. I am so thankful my hubby gets up with me to help me feed the girls. I'll be glad when they can start having some cereal in their bottles to help keep their tummy full. Hopefully then they will start sleeping through the night.

Work is looming right around the corner for me. I'm not exactly looking forward to it. I have to go back on May 6. I am looking forward to resuming a full paycheck though. This month's check was dismal to say the least. The substitute that was originally hired to teach my class while I was on maternity leave was fired two weeks ago. I am so glad. He was not cut out to teach my class and a lot of my parents were lodging complaints in the office about him. I met my new sub about 5 days after she started in my classroom. She seems to be restoring order. I am so thankful and this makes me dread going back to work a lot less.

Matthew plans to keep the girls in the mornings until he goes to work at 1:00. He will drop the girls off at my mom's on his way to work. It is going to be a crazy two and a half weeks trying to get ready for work and feed babies in the morning. I'm probably going to have to get up at 5:00 a.m. to get myself ready and then feed and jet off to work. I only hope it passes quickly. I'm ready for summer!

To Buy? Or Not to Buy?

2009-04-19T16:41:00.004-05:00

Those are the questions weighing heavily on our minds these days. Matthew and I are thinking about buying a home. We have been fortunate to live in his family's old home for the last couple of years rent free. I say "rent free" but it hasn't been without its fixer-up projects. We've installed new flooring in the living room, nursery, hallway, and main bathroom. We've painted the kitchen, dining room, living room, living room ceiling/skylights, hallway, nursery, extra bedroom, master bedroom, and main bathroom. We've cut down dead trees. Planted new trees. Dug flowerbeds, and removed giant creepy bushes from the front of the house. We've made this house our own, but we are starting to feel the need to move on.

For starters, we'd both like to be in town. Technically our address is Amarillo, but we don't live inside the city limits. It takes me about 25 minutes to drive to work. Matthew works in downtown Amarillo so it takes him about 45 minutes to drive to work. We'd both like to be closer to work. We'd also like to be in a newer home. Country living has worn out its welcome with both of us. It's quiet out here, but when the wind blows there is nothing to block it and it sounds like we are living on a ship at sea! There is also the problems of snakes in the summer and the tarantula migration in the fall. Country living has toughened me up, that's for sure. I've learned to battle snakes on my own (even if it means tossing them in our pool...which is now the snake pit) and catapulting tarantulas across the dirt road into the neighbor's pasture.

I think I've proven I'm tougher than I look. Green acres is no place for me. We are currently eyeing a home the block behind my parents. It's a few years old and it's on a couple lots. It would give us room to grow in case we decided to expand our family. (Not that we are even thinking about this right now!) The location would also be ideal since my mom is going to watch the girls when I return to work. Anyhow, it's something we are discussing and thinking very seriously about. I'll keep everyone updated on our decisions as we make them.

Another Doctor Visit

2009-04-18T00:04:00.002-05:00

I saw my OB on Monday for all of my postpartum "stuff". Yes, I realize it was almost nine weeks later! Trust me, he tried to get all of that "stuff" out of the way a few weeks ago, but didn't clue me in ahead of time. Needless to say I didn't shave my legs the day of the appointment so we rescheduled for later on (I wasn't letting him see the forest that had taken up residence on MY legs!). I probably hadn't shaved my legs in a week or more. Who has time? I have two little girls to take care of!

Anyhow, I finally made it in on Monday. My blood pressure was rechecked. It was 140/84 on Monday. The doctor was glad that it was coming down...FINALLY...and told me to only take my blood pressure medicine once a day and return next week and have my BP checked again.

Wednesday I noticed that I was feeling a little dizzy, but dismissed it. Thursday I still felt dizzy. Thursday night I got a horrible headache and started having vision problems and got really dizzy. This morning I called the office and told them how I was feeling. They told me to come in this afternoon and have my BP rechecked. It checked out at 125/83. My doctor couldn't explain why I was feeling the way I did. Apparently your BP has to be super low (100/50) to feel dizzy and light headed. I don't have to take the medication anymore, but I do have to go back next week to see that it is staying down. I'm so glad to be off the meds! Who knew that it would take almost 10 weeks after the girls arrived for my blood pressure to go down to a safe number. It still has a ways to go. My BP pre-pregnancy was 120/70.

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T12:04:00.003-05:00

Happy Easter!

Eight Weeks

2009-04-10T23:22:00.003-05:00

Addilyn and Ella hit the 2 month mark this week. We had a very busy week and I am just now getting the opportunity to blog about it. Monday Addi weighed 8 lbs. 4 oz. and Ella was a whopping 7 lbs. 12.5 oz. By today at their 2-month check up Addi weighed 8 lbs. 6 oz. and measured 21 inches long. Ella was up to 8 lbs. even and measured 20.5 inches long. Their pediatrician is very pleased with how the girls are growing.

Addilyn has been really smiling up a storm since her breathing incident. She has the most beautiful smile. It melts my heart every time I see it. I hope I can capture it on camera soon. Ella isn't as focused as Addi. She takes everything in, and smiles, but it's harder to get her to smile back at you like Addi does. She's too busy looking at everything else. Ella on the other hand has learned (by Mommy's example) how to stick her tongue out! I'm such a bad influence, but it's so stinking funny!

We tried to have professional photos made on Wednesday, but the photographer wasn't very helpful and asked us to reschedule. I'm not convinced that I'll be going back. In the short amount of time that I was there, I wasn't too impressed. Anyhow, grandma Carol took pictures of our girls this week, so I will post them.

Addi at the Hospital

2009-04-03T23:03:00.003-05:00

Here are pictures of my sweet Addi at the hospital. The contraption at the bottom of the hospital bassinet is her apnea monitor that she has to wear at home when she sleeps. Neither of the girls are taking too kindly to not being swaddled. I've had to compromise a little and swaddle them from the waist down. They seem content with this. Their pediatrician said no more swaddling (she just wants them sleeping in their footies), keep the room cold and the ceiling fan on.

April Fools and the ER

2009-04-02T13:34:00.003-05:00

Wednesday morning around midnight, Matthew and I were settling into our nightly routine of taking care of the girls. They were supposed to eat around 11:30 p.m. and hadn't started stirring yet. We decided to go ahead and wake the girls and get them fed so we could go to bed. Matthew set off to the kitchen to get bottles ready and I went into the nursery to wake the girls and get their diapers changed.

I don't normally flip on the overhead light when I go into the girls room as I think that's a very rude way to wake up. I usually turn the lamps on the changing table on as they aren't as bright and unswaddle the girls as I walk in to get them wiggling. For some reason, I flipped the overhead light on as I walked into the girls room that night.

I unswaddled Addilyn first as she is notorious for wanting to potty on you as soon as you change her diaper if she is not awake enough. I noticed when I unwrapped her that she didn't make her usual Pee Wee Herman noise and start stretching. Then I noticed that her lips and eye lids were blue and she wasn't breathing. I immediately dug my fingers into her ribs and began rubbing her very hard. I also stuck my finger in her mouth to check that she wasn't choking on anything. It was when I did this that Addi started breathing again. I didn't stop rubbing her ribs until she was screaming. I wanted to make sure she was good and awake and breathing well.

The shock of seeing her like that hit me very quickly. I sat down in our nursery chair and just held Addilyn and cried. This whole time Matthew was unaware of what was going on. He had made bottles and was sitting down in the living room waiting on me to change a baby and bring one of the girls to him to feed. I told him what happened and he wanted to hold Addi. I told him no in a not so nice way, not intentionally, but more out of the fact that she was my baby and there was no way in hell I was letting go of her, even to let him hold her.

I didn't know what to do then so I called my parents and told them what happened. This news was not something grandma and grandpa wanted to hear in the middle of the night. My mom told me to call the ER and ask what I should do. I called the ER and spoke to a very dumb girl who told me, "if you're calling, then you must think something is wrong and you should bring her in." Well duh something was wrong. It's not normal for anyone to stop breathing.

I called my parents back and told them I was taking Addilyn to the ER. I didn't want to take any chances and for my own piece of mind, I needed to know that she was going to be okay. I left Matthew at home with Ella (we didn't want to expose her to any unnecessary germs or illnesses) and my parents met me at the hospital at 1:00 a.m.

The ER checked Addilyn's blood for RSV and the flu, which were both negative. They also did a chest x-ray of her lungs to make sure they were clear. Her lungs looked good. The ER doctor called the girls pediatrician to let her know what was going on. She wanted to admit Addi for observation. It was just before 8:00 a.m. when we were taken to PICU. Addi was hooked up to an EKG machine that monitored her heart rate and respiratory activity.

I stayed all day with her. It was later that afternoon when her pediatrician came by that I found out we were going to be staying the night and that someone from Brit Care would be by with the apnea machine we would be required to use at home. I was shown how to operate the machine. My mom was with me during this time and left shortly afterwards so we could both try to get some rest. I was going on 34 hours of no sleep.

Addi was an angel last night. I got up about every 4 hours to feed her. When she was done eating I would hold her and talk to her. I told her this was the meanest April Fools joke ever and that she better NEVER do this again. The little toot just grinned at me. Addilyn was discharged this morning around 11:30. We didn't have any episodes last night and I am so thankful for that. I am also so thankful that she had an angel watching over her. I couldn't imagine if she hadn't started breathing again. God is good.

Addi has to wear the apnea machine at bedtime, nap time, riding in the car seat, and any time she is unobserved. I'm not sure how many months she will be required to wear it. We aren't sure what caused her to stop breathing. The doctor thought if she had had excessive spit in her mouth that it might be reflux, but she didn't have any when I found her. She also told me that this could be a one time event. Addi may never stop breathing again. I sure hope that's the case. I love my little girls and would be crushed if anything happened to either of them. A mother should definitely never have to go through finding her child blue and not breathing. We are so thankful for everyone's thoughts and prayers.

Hippity, Hoppity, Easter's on its Way!

2009-03-31T23:30:00.005-05:00

Today Mom and I went to the Olive Garden for soup, salad, and breadsticks. It was a great lunch, and the girls were perfect little angels! Afterwards I needed to have my engagement ring and wedding band inspected to maintain the extended warranty on them so we ventured out to the mall. My rings checked out fine, and just as we were leaving Kay Jewelers, I noticed the Easter Bunny sitting in the middle of the mall.

You would have thought I was 5 again I got so excited about the girls sitting on his lap to have their picture made. Ella was a bit of a squirm worm and we had to take several shots before getting one with her eyes open and her headband positioned on top of her head. Addilyn just kicked back in the bunny's arm all relaxed.

It wasn't until after the girls had their picture made with Mr. Easter Bunny that I thought about how creepy the bunny really was. He didn't move or make any noise. He didn't even talk to me when I was trying to get the girls situated in his arms. I'll take Santa over the Easter Bunny any day. At least Santa Ho Ho Ho's! Haha! Seriously, the Easter Bunny looks all jolly and happy, but what's really lurking behind that mask?

7 Weeks

2009-03-30T11:46:00.002-05:00

Addilyn and Ella are now seven weeks old. Addilyn weighs 7 pounds 14 ounces and Ella is 7 pounds 8.5 ounces. They are growing so fast! Here are a couple of pictures I took of the girls today. Ella was not being very cooperative. I think she was sleepy. Anyhow, enjoy MY commentary on the girls.

Ella: Hey sis, let me eat your elbow.

Addilyn: I don't think so!

Ella: Sis, your elbow was tasty.

Addilyn: Yuck! You got it all slimy!

Ella: But it was so good. C'mon, just one more little nibble?

Addilyn: Chew on your own elbow! Seriously, back off before I elbow you in the face!

Ella: Waaaaaaa! She won't let me taste her elbow!

Addilyn: You had it coming!

Date Night!

2009-03-29T23:38:00.006-05:00

Saturday was the first day I've been on my own with both babies since we brought them home from the hospital. Since I was snowed in, my mom couldn't come over to help, and I definitely wasn't taking my chances on the road with two small infants. It was all me from the time Matthew went to work until he got home. A good 12 hours, just me and them, and briefly the Dish Network guy who came to repair a cable (but he didn't look like he was into babies, and probably wouldn't have been any help!)

After being snowed in with the blizzard, my fantastic hubby suggested we call up my parents and kindly ask them if they would watch the girls for a bit while we enjoyed some time together and went to dinner. My parents graciously agreed (or should I say jumped at the opportunity) and Matthew and I enjoyed dinner at Cheddar's tonight. It was nice to have a little bit of a break from the babies. Don't get me wrong, I love them dearly, but everyone needs some grown up time! We are so wild these days that we ran a couple or errands afterwards to Target, Wal-Mart and Lowe's. I know! We better slow down a little and stop living on the edge!

Anyhow, I got mom to take a couple of pictures when we picked the girls up. Enjoy!

The Aftermath

2009-03-28T09:47:00.005-05:00

I ventured outside and took a few pictures of the snow before the sun melts it away. It's hard to say how much accumulation we have since we live in the country and the wind blows it around so much. If I had to guess I would say 8-10 inches. We have snow drifts almost as high as the fence on the side of our property. Hopefully this is our last blast and we can enjoy spring again.

Leapin' Blizzards!

2009-03-27T13:43:00.003-05:00

Apparently the weatherman wasn't delusional. I'm not sure how much snow is on the ground, but this morning when we fed the girls at 10 o'clock, I peeked outside. I could see the trees in our yard, but nothing past that. The snow was blowing pretty bad, so hard in fact, you couldn't tell if it was snowing or just blowing.

Roads are closed all over the panhandle. As a matter of fact, we couldn't leave if we wanted to. FM 2219, the main road that leads out to our house, is closed. Matthew got a snow day from work too! I was not brave enough to venture out to take pictures. Matthew bundled up and headed out to take a look at how bad the conditions really are so I asked him to take pictures. I was able to keep my tootsies nice and warm in my slippers!

Gone are the days that this much snow excited me. I'm not sure how Matthew feels about it, but I think it holds more excitement for him than it does me. He was up late last night anticipating the wintry blast. I don't think he came to bed until 2 or 3 o'clock in the morning. I am thankful that I have a few years to prepare myself for snowman, snow fort, snow tunnel and snowball making with the girls.

I loved playing in the snow as a little girl. Maybe with our girls I'll gain some of my childish ignorance back! I don't think I'll ever LOVE the snow again, but maybe I can learn to tolerate it every now and again for the sake of making memories with our little ones. Thank goodness we live in a crazy weather environment and it doesn't snow often. Unfortunately, it seems to snow in the spring rather than winter. Yesterday's high was in the low 70s. Today it is in the low 20s.

Our front yard and new tree we planted four days ago.

My poor flowerbed that was just "waking up" with our warm spring weather.

The neighbor's house, barely visible across the road.

My crazy husband, brave enough to venture out in this yucky weather.

Blah! Snow...?

2009-03-26T21:31:00.002-05:00

Tonight Amarillo is under a blizzard warning. Seriously, a BLIZZARD! The weatherman is forecasting 6-12 inches of snow tonight. Winds are supposed to be 35-40 mph tomorrow with gusts up to 50 mph. All that wind is said to cause snow drifts 10-20 feet!

Amarillo ISD has already cancelled school for tomorrow. This act in itself needs to go down in history! AISD NEVER cancels school. When I say NEVER, I really mean that. Last year we had an ice storm come though town. Ice was so bad that you couldn't even get your car doors open and had to be almost a half inch thick. You can imagine what the roads were like, yet AISD didn't call off school. Where's the logic in that decision?

I HATE, HATE, HATE snow with a passion. It's too cold and too wet! Bravery pending, and at the risk of getting cold toes, IF this storm hits like it's predicted to hit, I'll pop myself outside long enough to take pictures. We haven't had that much snow since it snowed in May a few years ago.

Matthew and I live in the country on a dirt road. We might be snowed in since the nearest main road to our house isn't travelled much and is one of the last roads to be plowed. Neither of us drive a four wheel drive vehicle. Speaking of snow plows, driving home from my parents tonight I did notice that plows were already taking up residence in the local movie theater parking lot in preparation of this arctic blast. I'm really hoping the weatherman was smoking a doobie and slightly delusional when he said the word BLIZZARD. I guess a few hours will tell. Until then...

Six Weeks

2009-03-23T13:00:00.003-05:00

Addilyn and Ella are six weeks old today. They are growing so fast. They have outgrown almost all of their preemie clothes and are now wearing newborn sizes.

I got out the baby scale to check their weight gain today. Addilyn weighs 7 pounds 5 ounces. Ella weighs 6 pounds 15.5 ounces. They are both right on track gaining about 1/2 pound a week. I sure am glad it's them and not me!

Chloe, our cat, of course, can't stand for the attention to not be on her. She had to steal the spotlight by laying on the scale and making sure we weighed her as well. She's a whooping 12 pounds 15 ounces.

Chloe is very curious when it comes to the babies. Gracie, our other cat, is not too fond of them. I think she thinks they are too noisy and usually stears clear of them. Chloe, on the other hand, likes to supervise feedings. She watches them when they are on their activity mats and even comes into the nursery if the babies are crying. I think she will be very sweet to the girls as they get older, that is until the girls are old enough to want to dress her in doll clothes. Then we might have another story on our hands!

St. Patty's Day

2009-03-19T11:21:00.003-05:00

We celebrated St. Patrick's Day a little differently this year. There was no green beer and no rowdy "Irishmen." My mom and I took the girls out for lunch. We enjoyed lunch at Chili's and they slept quietly. Then we went shopping at Hobby Lobby. A double stroller with two tiny girls draws a LOT of attention. We won't be able to go anywhere discreetly for some time! It was a fun day.

Prior to St. Patty's Day I looked high and low for cute outfits for the girls. Unfortunately, the girls are still too small to fit into anything geared towards shamrocks and leprechauns. We made do by dressing them in green. They were cute! I can't wait to dress them up for Easter! (We already have bunny hats!)

The girls were five weeks old on Monday. Addilyn now weights 6 pounds 13 ounces. Ella weighs 6 pounds 8.5 ounces. I can't believe how quickly they are growing!

Doctor Update

2009-03-14T10:21:00.002-05:00

I saw my doctor on Thursday with hopes that my blood pressure would be down and I'd be off the meds. Not the case. It's still up (140/98). I have to continue taking the meds and return in three weeks. He's still hopeful that it will return to my normal pre-pregnancy range of 120/70.

On the bright side of things, after only 4.5 weeks post babies arrival, I have been given the okay to resume working out! I'm thrilled! I have missed working out almost as much as I missed wearing heels while I was pregnant. Maybe working out will relieve some stress or whatever is making my blood pressure high. A girl can hope anyway.

Busy Days

2009-03-11T22:12:00.007-05:00

My days are busy with the girls, thus lots of photo opportunities. Ella is our ham. She grunts and groans all the time. I teasingly say we should have named her Ella "Grunt" Hutchison instead of Ella Grace! Addilyn is our quiet one. She's going to be our "thinker" and the one encouraging Ella not to do something that might get them in trouble.

Today I took pictures of them during tummy time on their activity mats. Neither one of them fussed over tummy time today and both girls are getting a lot stronger.

Oh, and did I mention that Chloe, our cat, also likes tummy time? After Matthew set up the activity mats, Chloe was underneath it, on her back, batting at the toys with her paws. It's almost as if she was showing the girls how they are supposed to play with their new toy.

On Monday, Matthew and I gave the girls a bath before their one month old pictures. Instead of dressing Ella right away, I swaddled her and put her in the bouncer so we could bathe Addilyn. Here is Ella peeking at us!

Ella's smart, too. I flipped on the light in the girl's room and Ella hid her eyes. She cracks me up!

I took pictures of the girls at mom and dad's yesterday. They were just too cute to pass up a photo opportunity.

One Month

2009-03-09T20:00:00.003-05:00

One month ago today Addilyn and Ella greeted the world with loud cries. They are doing so well and each day Matthew and I count our blessings for healthy, happy babies. Addilyn Kate is now 6lbs. 2.5oz. and measures 19 inches long. Ella Grace is 5lbs. 15oz. and measures 18 inches long. They are beginning to fit into newborn size clothes. Of course they are still a little big and made for babies a bit wider than Addi and Ella!

Matthew and I are finally figuring things out, with thanks to my mom. We had a rough couple of weeks with the girls at night. They weren't wanting to sleep and we were running on empty being up with them so much. We've started keeping them awake during the day at least an hour after feedings before letting them go back to sleep. Our nights have been much smoother. The girls still wake up every three hours to eat, but now we usually have one stretch in the night that they go four hours before needing to eat again. It's wonderful!

I am feeling much better about recent decisions I've made. I feel more like a human again. I see the doctor on Thursday for another blood pressure check. I'm hoping for good news and that I will no longer have to take blood pressure medication.

Matthew and I exhausted the girls today with a photo session. Enjoy their one month old pictures!

Motherhood

2009-03-05T20:29:00.011-06:00

What can I say? It's tough work. I never would have guessed sleep deprivation would be so tiring or trying to breastfeed so frustrating. So many thing have changed in the last month. The girls will be four weeks old on Monday and I am already looking forward to the nights in the future that they sleep all night. I feel bad...almost like I'm wishing time away, but I miss sleep in the worst possible way.

I have found that I no longer have time to eat either. Two weeks after the birth of Addilyn and Ella, I was already back at my pre-pregnancy weight. Oh, and remind me to pee, too because I no longer remember or think about that either.

Matthew and I tried to watch a movie last weekend, and I couldn't even make it through half of it before confessing my exhaustion and climbing into bed. I'm lucky if I get a shower on a daily basis, and my poor house doesn't know what happened to it. It's dirty (well, dirtier than I'd like it to be), and filled with baby stuff that has no room for it other than the living room. I already feel as if we've outgrown our house, but on the flip side of that there is no possible way I could keep a bigger house clean right now.

Have I mentioned that the most action my stove has seen has been boiling nipples for bottles? I haven't cooked in over a month. Who has time? I certainly don't. My poor washing machine sees at least a load of baby clothes, burp cloths and potty pads daily. The diaper genie gets disposed of every two days. And my poor hands realize the meaning of "dish pan hands" from washing bottles. I thought having a sterilizer would help, but it deceives you. You still have to wash the bottles before you sterilize them. It never ends.

Today I made the hardest decision I've had to make since the arrival of the girls. I was trying to breastfeed, but due to the girls being premature they have latch on issues. I pumped instead and realized that I had a low milk supply (like 1 ounce of milk after pumping for 20 minutes.) I asked the doctor for a prescription to increase my supply. He prescribed Reglan, but it made me super sick to my stomach to take. So I stopped for a few days and tried taking an herbal supplement called Fenugreek and drinking Mother's Milk Tea. My supply decreased dramatically, so I asked the doctor if I should start out slow on the Reglan to let my body adjust. He said that I should try. He also recommended a beer a day. Over a week later, I'm still not producing much, and finding the time to pump is hard. When I have the time to pump, I'd rather be sleeping.

So with many tears shed, and feeling like somewhat of a failure, I've decided for my own sanity that it's time to stop and dry up my boobies. The Reglan is making me resent the girls and affecting my moods too much to be worth it. I want to enjoy my girls and not feel ill feelings towards them. Matthew is being very supportive especially knowing how important it was to me to breastfeed the girls. Some things just aren't worth it.

I took some cute pictures of the girls today. Mom and I were keeping them awake as long as possible to make nights easier for Matthew and me. I will also post pictures of their first baths.

Addilyn wants Ella to share!

Ella loves her big sister.

Ella and one of her usual faces.

Ella was not thrilled with her first bath.

Addilyn's first bath.

Quick Update

2009-02-23T16:59:00.002-06:00

The girl's pediatrician asked us to bring them by the office today to have them weighed again. Addilyn weighed 5 pounds 2 ounces and Ella weighed 4 pounds 14 ounces. They are both up and over their birth weights which is fantastic! We don't have to return to the pediatrician until April 10.

Addilyn & Ella

2009-02-21T13:22:00.003-06:00

Just wanted to do a quick update on the pediatric visit the girls had on Thursday. Their two week follow-up resulted in being weighed and measured. Addilyn weighed 4 pounds 10 ounces and measured 18 inches long. She's lost three ounces since birth. Ella weighed 4 pounds 6.5 ounces and measure 18 inches long. She's lost half of an ounce since bringing her home. Both are doing great. I'm posting more pictures.

The girls have arrived!

2009-02-18T20:56:00.003-06:00

I know this blog is more than a week late in announcing the arrival of our baby girls, Addilyn Kate and Ella Grace, but motherhood keeps me VERY busy.

My doctor induced me Monday, February 9 at about 8:00 a.m. He broke my water around 9:00 a.m. only to discover later that day that he had only nicked the sack and had to re-break it when my chief complaint was that the blood pressure cuff was more horrendous than my contractions.

After that, the blood pressure cuff wasn't noticeable and I was asking for an epidural within 30 minutes. Everything sort of gets hazy and happened pretty fast after that. I'm not joking when I say I dilated from 5 cm to 10 cm in a matter of about 30 minutes.

I was whisked away to the operating room (just in case an emergency c-section was needed) while Matthew fumbled with getting scrubs on trying to keep up with my rolling bed. I think I endured an out of body experience delivering our girls. I didn't think I had it in me to do, but it was done and before I knew it they were both here!

Addilyn Kate Hutchison arrived at 7:26 p.m. weighing 4 pounds 13 ounces and measuring 17.75 inches long. Ella Grace Hutchison arrived 13 minutes later at 7:39 p.m. weighing 4 pounds 7 ounces and measuring 17.5 inches long. Both girls immediately began breathing on their own and never had to go to the NICU. We are so blessed to have such healthy babies considering they were born 4 weeks early. We all got to come home from the hospital on Thursday, February 12.

The hospital stay was especially difficult on me. I never knew how much the nurses bug you when you're trying to rest. The stress of childbirth and being in a hospital and fatigued brought on a minor case of Bells Palsy. The right side of my face is slightly paralyzed, but thankfully enough not droopy. I saw a neurologist on Monday, February 16 and he thinks we started treatment soon enough that I will recover. The bad thing is that it could be a few weeks to months before I recover. I'm trying to stay positive about it, but it is hard not being able to smile at my baby girls. Eating, drinking, and even brushing my teeth is a bit of a challenge now too. I vow to never take these things for granted again. I'm also struggling to regain a normal blood pressure. My doctor had to prescribe meds to help get it down. So far it hasn't done any good and is still in the 180/90 range.

The girls go in for their one week follow up to the pediatrician tomorrow. We are hoping to hear good news about their jaundice depleting and that they are gaining weight. I'll update again after their appointment.

Enjoy the pictures!

Addilyn & Ella

Addilyn Kate

Ella Grace

36 Week Update

2009-02-06T02:19:00.003-06:00

I made it to week 36 in my pregnancy without any MAJOR problems or complications. It was a very busy week with doctor appointments. Here's the scoop...

Monday I had a non-stress test (NST) at the hospital to monitor the girls heart rates. They looked beautiful. The test also recorded any contractions I was having, and let me tell you I was having a lot. The nurse called my doctor to tell him what was going on and he advised her to check me. I was 60% effaced, 1 cm dilated, and Baby A's head was at a -2 station. The nurse called my doctor back with her findings and he told her he wanted to see me first thing the next morning and that I was not to go to work.

Tuesday morning I see my doctor and find that my blood pressure is up a bit, 140/80. My doctor rechecks me and agrees with with the nurse about my progress. I discuss working with my doctor and let him know I've finally reached my point of exhaustion. He said I could do whatever I wanted about work and if I didn't want to go back, he'd furnish the note. As I was checking out his nurse tells me there is a change of plans. A slight trace of protein was detected in my urine and I am not allowed to go back to work.

Thursday I return to the doctor to have my urine and blood pressure rechecked. My blood pressure is now 160/80. I was reexamined by the doctor and told that I am dilated to 1.5 cm. He sent me to the lab to have some bloodwork to check for pregnancy induced hypertension. He calls me at 5:30 to let me know that my lab work looks good. When I left his office earlier, he had me scheduled for another NST on Saturday morning and to be induced Monday morning. Pending my lab results he was going to induce me Friday.

As things stand, I go in for the NST on Saturday and arrive at the hospital by 7:00 a.m. Monday to start the inducing process unless I go into labor over the weekend on my own. I can't believe in just a few short days we will finally get to meet Addilyn and Ella!

36 Weeks, 0 Days

February 5, 2009

34 Weeks, 5 Days Sonogram

2009-01-27T18:17:00.003-06:00

I went in today for another growth sonogram. I am 34 weeks and 5 days. Baby A weighs 4 lbs. 3 oz. and Baby B weighs 4 lbs. 5 oz. Both are head down. Baby A had a heart rate of 127 bpm and Baby B's heart rate was 136 bpm. Baby B was wiggling around which made her heart rate faster. I am posting pictures of both babies this time. We FINALLY got a profile picture of Baby B! We haven't been able to see her since my 20 week sonogram. I was also informed that my stomach is so firm because I have no fat! You can feel my uterus directly below my skin. Kind of creepy! I'll update again after tomorrows weekly visit to the doctor.

Baby B

Baby A

34 Week Update

2009-01-24T14:49:00.002-06:00

It was a busy week for me. My doctor appointments are now weekly as well as non-stress tests at the hospital. I saw the doctor on Wednesday and we learned that Baby B has finally decided to turn around and is now in the head-down position. It seems as if both babies are getting ready for their debut. It is still to be determined if I will have a so-called "natural" birth (hate the "v" word) or if my doctor will schedule a c-section. He said it's possible that Baby B could turn back around.

I did ask how long he would allow me to carry the girls as I am getting uncomfortable and seriously don't feel as if my body could expand another inch. I was told that he really thinks they will come between 36-38 weeks. If they haven't come by 38 weeks he will induce me at 39 weeks. I haven't had any Braxton Hicks contractions. The contractions that I am having are what the doctor called "false" contractions. I didn't ask him to elaborate.

I am scheduled for another growth sonogram on Tuesday. I hope we will get to see Baby B's face this time. She's been camera shy the last several sonograms. I return to the doctor on Wednesday and have my NST scheduled for Thursday. My weeks are getting very busy now. Oh, all of that and I'm supposed to meet the man that is going to sub my class while I am on maternity leave. Did I mention that I am still teaching full time?

Matthew took a picture of me on Thursday morning at 34 weeks. Thank goodness it was before I came down with the raging case of pink eye that plagues me now. Darn germy kids at school. I'll update again next week.

33 Week Update

2009-01-17T12:53:00.003-06:00

Thursday I went to BSA for my scheduled NST (non-stress test) to monitor the babies. I felt like an octopus by the time she got everything strapped to me! I had two fetal heart rate monitors as well as a contraction monitor strapped to my tummy. These tests can last anywhere from 20 minutes to 1 hour. I think I was hooked up about 30-40 minutes.

Both babies looked great! Their hearts are strong and they respond to activity and periods of rest like they are supposed to. After about 15-20 minutes of monitoring me, the nurse came back to check on me and informed me that I was having lots of contractions. Who knew! I certainly didn't. I was expecting them to feel like menstrual cramps, like the doctor said they would. Instead I didn't feel anything. My tummy always feels hard too, so that isn't a good indication either.

Anyhow, the nurse gave me a cup of water and unhooked me and sent me to the bathroom. After the bathroom and drinking the water, the contractions calmed down. She called my doctor to relay the results of the test to him and he seemed okay with everything. I see him on Wednesday. I am already scheduled for a weekly NST over the next two weeks. This weeks test is pending. The doctor may think I'm okay to wait until the following week, but that won't be determined until I see him on Wednesday. These tests are standard procedure with twin pregnancies. Matthew and I pre-register with Labor and Delivery on Monday. It's unreal how quickly time has passed and that soon we will get to meet our little girls!

Stuff!

2009-01-09T20:40:00.005-06:00

First off, THANK GOD IT'S FRIDAY! This was my first week back to work after a much needed two week break. I so had the worst time NOT getting to sleep until noon everyday. But, what does a person do? I'll tell you what they do...or in my case, what I did...which was roll my enormous tummy out of bed every morning and lethargically get ready for work. I only cried one day! Haha! I'm just glad the week is over. It seemed exceptionally long, and my students seemed exceptionally talkative and fidgety. I think my patience may be wearing a little thin.

In other news, I hit the 32 week mark yesterday. My tummy has grown so much in the last two weeks. I know any day now a baby foot is going to choke me! In all seriousness though, my tummy has a circumference of 41.5 inches. Never, did I think I would have a 40+ waist size! I'm really missing my feet. I can't wait to see them again! I'm sure Matthew is ready too. Poor guy probably dreads the incessant morning question of: "Will you tie my shoes?"

I saw the doctor today. He did a quick ultrasound to check both babies. Baby A is still head down and weighs about 3 lbs. 8 oz. Baby B is still breech and weighs about 3 lbs. 10 oz. The doctor doesn't think she will turn. But it's still a little soon to discuss what that means. Matthew and I both felt each baby have the hiccups last night. They had them about an hour apart. It may not have been the first time I felt them, but I can't be sure. I feel so much movement it's hard to discern what is what going on in there.

Next week I am scheduled for a NST test which is a fetal non-stress test. It measures the fetal heart rate and contractions. I haven't had any contractions. I pre-register with Labor and Delivery on the 19th. Matthew and I will also get a tour of the new Women's Center. I see my doctor again on the 21st. That will put me at one day shy of 34 weeks. I hope he will start discussing how these babies are entering this world with me. I'm a planner and a scheduler! I'm ready to know!

We Finished the Nursery!

2008-12-29T18:19:00.006-06:00

I have been working diligently on getting the nursery organized over the last couple of days. It is finally finished today! Matthew helped me hang the last of the wall hangings and we put together a storage chest to keep baby blankets nice inside the closet.

I'm excited! We may have gone a tad overboard, but I think it turned out great! The only thing we are missing in the pictures is the glider we've ordered that still hasn't arrived. The glider will go in front of the window in that empty corner. Happy picture viewing!

The saying on the wall behind the crib reads: "With a butterfly kiss and a ladybug hug, sleep tight little one, like a bug in a rug.

Christmas and Things!

2008-12-28T19:09:00.003-06:00

Matthew and I celebrated our second "married" Christmas together and although we did not exchange gifts with each other this year, it was perfect. We spent the day at my parents house and enjoyed good company and a good meal. Dad and I schooled Matthew and mom in a game of Cranium and Scategories. Yes, I'm that competitive that I have to rub it in in a blog!

I have enjoyed my time off from work and have been able to finally put things on the wall of the nursery. I will post pictures soon. If I do say so myself, it's adorable! We are only lacking the gliding chair we ordered six weeks ago! I have also washed all of the baby clothes so they will be ready when our little ones arrive. I supposed that leaves me no choice but to focus on writing lesson plans next week. Blah!

I hit the 30 week mark on Christmas day. We only have about 6-7 weeks left at the most before Addilyn and Ella arrive. It's a little scary to think about. That's really not much time. Matthew took a picture of me, but it's blurry. He wouldn't tell me what was taking so long, and I was pretty impatient (blame the hormones) so I wouldn't pose for a clear shot. Anyhow, I'll post it at the end of this blog. I also measured the circumference of my tummy. It's now 39.5 inches around! My bellybutton is beginning to pop out a little bit.

Sonogram Update!

2008-12-23T23:16:00.004-06:00

I had another sonogram today to check the growth of the babies. Baby A (on my left) is head down. Her heart rate is 138 bpm. She weighs approximately 2 lbs. and 15 oz.

Baby B (on my right) is breech. Her heart rate is 140 bpm. She weighs approximately 2 lbs. and 13 oz. Everything looks good with both babies. They both have hair too! They technically still have room to turn, but I don't know if they still try to turn around.

I am 29 weeks and 5 days. I see my doctor again on Monday. My last visit with him went well. My body is doing great carrying this double load. The doctor signed off on my paperwork to allow me to take 12 weeks off after the girls are born.

Matthew and I attended our baby classes. They weren't so bad until the birthing class. I'm not sure I needed to know that I'll have to wear mesh undies with a kotex the size of a baby diaper. I'm sure you can imagine the horrified look on my face. Anyhow, it is still to be determined if we will have a c-section or a natural birth. And by natural birth, I don't mean drug-free!

We have arranged a pediatrician. I will register with the hospital and also with Labor and Delivery in the next week or so. We will tour the Labor and Delivery Unit when we do this. We also purchased our car seats and double stroller. They ship out the day after Christmas. Once they come in, I'll make an appointment to make sure we have the car seats installed correctly in my car.

I am posting pictures of Baby A that were taken today. Baby B was on her tummy and would not turn around. Baby A was sucking on her fingers.

28-Weeks Update

2008-12-11T20:08:00.005-06:00

I officially entered my third trimester today. I can't believe I'm two-thirds of the way done cooking these babies! I only have 9 weeks to go! I am happy to report that I remain contraction free! The down side of things are that I'm a bit under the weather with my sinuses. Darn snotty-nosed kids at school think they need to share their germs with me. The nerve!

I also haven't been sleeping well. I think I've developed restless leg syndrome. I've read that it does occur in pregnancies and usually goes away about a month after birth. Boo! I even kept poor Matthew up the other night. I couldn't keep my legs still. Not to mention, turning over is a stinking process! I'm so thankful we don't have a water bed! I read that it helps to put a bar of soap under the sheets. I'm going to hunt some down and try it.

Oh, and another reason for my lack of sleep is the babies. All week around 1:00 a.m. they decide to have their kickboxing class. And yes, full out kicks and jabs. It's impossible to sleep through and usually lasts about an hour. Even though I'm dead tired after their session, I am so thankful that they are active. It keeps my mind at peace knowing they are okay in my tummy.

I filled out my maternity leave paperwork today as well. I'm trying to not procrastinate trivial things like that until the last minute. The lady that helped me went over all it's unpleasantness with me as well as the FMLA paperwork. I am allowed to take 60 days off with the FMLA and my job is secure. However, I only have 27.5 days of sick and personal leave accumulated. I will get docked my daily rate of pay for the remaining 32.5 days. My doctor has to sign paperwork for my leave as well. I have a substitute in mind for my class, but I need to contact the elementary personnel director to see if they are going to allow her to take my class. This is next on my to-do list. If I didn't have the girls until February 12, I wouldn't be required to return to work until May 16. There are only two weeks remaining of the school year after that.

I have 5.5 days until a MUCH needed Christmas break arrives. I'll get two much deserved weeks off of work and away from those germ sharing kids! Whoo-hoo! I'll also get more time with Matthew, and I always look forward to that. I plan to get the nursery finished, arrange a pediatrician, and get my lesson plans worked out for the rest of the school year. That last part sounds a bit ambitious, but I'm going to try my hardest. I think it would be wise to do anyway as I have no idea what it's going to be like juggling two little monkeys when they arrive.

Matthew and I take our first classes on Saturday from 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. While I am taking a breastfeeding class, Matthew will attend Daddy Boot Camp. Afterwards we will both attend a class called The Happiest Baby. It's supposed to help you soothe and calm a fussy baby and stuff like that.

Matthew took a picture of my quickly expanding tummy this morning. It now measures about 38-inches.

Thanksgiving Humor

2008-11-30T21:58:00.003-06:00

Matthew and I enjoyed a relaxing Thanksgiving holiday. He scored the entire week off from work and I got a much deserved five days away from first graders! For both of us, it was a much needed break.

We spent Thanksgiving at my parent's house with my mom, dad, Ellen, Angela, Casey, Grayson, and our friend JB who drove in from Dallas to spend the holiday with our nutty family! I must say, this year's table conversation was no exception, we did not let JB down! He must be a glutton for punishment as he keeps coming back for more harassment! (I won't go in to details, but for those that must know, it did involve corn pudding.) We had some great laughs!

After dinner, Matthew and I pulled up our shirts and compared bellies! I think I've got him beat! I was 26 weeks on Thanksgiving day. My poor belly has a circumference of 37 inches now. The good news, Baby A made it back to her side of my tummy. Thank goodness! I see the doctor on Tuesday. I'll update again after that.

26-Week Sonogram

2008-11-25T20:26:00.004-06:00

Yesterday, just shy of 26-weeks, I had a sonogram to check the growth of the babies. I don't know how there could be any doubt that they weren't growing as my tummy looks as if I swallowed a basketball! All is well in the baby world.

Baby A (left) weights about 1 pound 11 ounces and Baby B (right) weights about 1 pound 12 ounces. Baby A has a heart rate of 141 bpm and Baby B has a heart rate of 148 bpm.

The night before my sonogram, it literally felt as if a rock concert was going on inside my stomach. Both babies were especially wiggly and kicking up a storm. I actually had to get out of bed and delay sleeping for about an hour.

At the sonogram, we discovered that Baby A was no longer in the head down position. Instead, she had migrated over to Baby B's side. They were head to head on my right side with their legs stretched horizontally across my stomach. I told Matthew that it looked as if they were already plotting against us! I do have to admit. I'm ready for Baby A to go back to her own side. It's very uncomfortable having two heads pushing against my ribs.

The girls are moving a lot these days. They are big enough that you can see them move through my skin and my shirt. My kids at school are amazed by this and sometimes we will sit and watch my belly dance around! It's pretty funny. I can only imagine what they must go home and tell their parents!

I see my doctor again after the Thanksgiving holiday on December 2. The following week I will enter my third and final trimester. I can't believe how quickly this time has gone by. I must say that I feel very blessed that my pregnancy has gone so well. I am so thankful that I haven't had any complications. I'm sure my last trimester will be the toughest part of this pregnancy, but all in all I have nothing to complain about.