Sometimes you have to scoop up all the pictures in your “To Blog” folder, and just post them, even though they are wildly not related to each other.

Natalie got herself dressed up and then this little doll dressed up, and at some point along the way realized they were very similar, so she had me take her picture.  :)  (Or I made her stop and pose, whatever.)

Almost two weeks ago, Joanna and I took one of our MDO days to shop at Target together!  I rode the motor scooter around the store while she walked, and it was very fun!

We even treated ourselves to a little junk food lunch.  :)

Anyway, while we were there the bedding section sucked us in, and I ended up finally buying bedding for our king sized bed!

I was eyeing clearance sets and saw this dandelion duvet cover set, but only in a queen size.  But then Super Joanna found the king – wahoo! 

I just really a whole lot love dandelions.  And I liked the neutral color as well.  The color isn’t great in the photograph, but it’s pretty close-ish.  I also picked up a white bed skirt (which Matt IRONED for me and put on all by himself) and a set of sheets.  The sheets are pretty close to the color of the blue pillows in the picture.  It feels so good to have a real set of bedding on the bed.  Now, in real life, the duvet cover (which I found an insert for on Amazon) is laying on the floor and I’m using my thinner twin quilt until it cools off a bit.  And Matt has moved out to the couch again because I keep the bedroom too cold.  Poor guy.  There are pretty sham covers that match the duvet, so at some point if I ever shop again, I’m going to pick up a couple of super cheap king sized pillows to fill them.

It makes me feel good when my bedroom is a nice place to be.

Switching gears completely… a week or so ago, Kroger had their snow crab legs on sale (and I love crab legs!)  So we splurged on a few pounds to share for dinner.

We decided to forgo plates (it was a wise choice).  I served ‘em up with smoothies so it was practically a balanced meal.  YUMMO!

One day last week (I think) Joanna and I did some school work outside since the weather wasn’t super awful.  I made us some milkshakes (milk, frozen bananas, peanut butter), and we enjoyed a little almost-fall weather.

Sometimes it’s hard to concentrate when nature is right there.  (Eh, who am I kidding?  Sometimes it’s hard to concentrate anywhere!)

I’ve been slowing down week by week, day by day, so we ended up a bit “behind” on school this past weekend.  We have finished seven weeks to public school’s four, so we’re not actually behind on anyone’s standards.  And we can go into the summer further if necessary.  Anyway, I decided to make this week our catch-up week, and it was an excellent decision!  We have a few math lessons (they are Joanna’s least favorite I think) to do plus a ton of reading (it was sort of “extra” in the curriculum) that we can do.  And I’ve skipped some language arts stuff here and there that we’ll do.  I thought about doing a make-up week before my back really went out, so I felt doubly sure it was a good decision after that!  And it’s crazy but I have some kind of appointment four out of five mornings this week – yowza!  Next week we’ll start refreshed with week eight, all caught up with everything!

The kids love to put on CDs and dance in the living room.  James is often asking for “a pretty dress” to dance in.  Today I told him to go find something he wanted to wear, and he brought this dress.  He had it on a few times today, and he was so happy.

Natalie figured out she could put one of the bouncy balls from the baby shower in her dress to be pregnant.

Of course sister followed suit.

Later Natalie gave birth to a cute little pink doll, but I didn’t take a picture.  :)

The heat index was only 90 today and the backyard was pretty shady, so I sent the kiddos out to play for awhile this afternoon.  They love playing out there and can entertain themselves forever with very little in the way of toys or what not.

All was well until James discovered an ant pile.  :(  He was perky again after Momma’s (made up on the spot) remedy of a warm bath with baking soda and then some salve on the bites.

Well, being stuck on the couch, barely able to walk does one thing for me – I think I’m caught up on blog posts!  :)

33 Weeks

33 weeks

How Your Baby’s Growing (from Babycenter.com):

This week your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds and has passed the 17-inch mark (about the size of a pineapple). He's rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and his skeleton is hardening. The bones in his skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for him to fit through the birth canal. (The pressure on the head during birth is so intense that many babies are born with a conehead-like appearance.) These bones don't entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as his brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood.

How far along: 33 weeks

Pregnancy symptoms: heartburn and misc. other GI stuff; carpal tunnel syndrome – mostly on the right; trouble sleeping; intense lower back pain, making it difficult to walk; mega stretch marks; tiredness; hip, pelvic, pubic pain; swollen everything

Food Cravings: snow cones, poached or fried eggs, blueberry pancakes and muffins

Food Aversions: Sometimes things smell icky, but I don’t really have trouble eating anything.

Sleep: I could be better.  I was up for a couple of wee hours this morning with everywhere pain.  I can’t sleep on my back because I cut off circulation and get woozy; I can’t sleep on my belly for obvious reasons.  I am basically switching side to side with every bathroom trip in the night (usually 2-3 hours).  Every time I wake up the hip that I’m sleeping on is in major pain and the hand connected to the arm I’m sleeping on is either tingling, asleep, or in pain.  (I know I sound very whiney, but I’m wanting to keep it real here!)

Measurement: about 51 inches around the belly

Movement: I don’t think they have a ton of room in there, but I do feel big, all over body movements as well as small bits here and there.

Labor signs: Braxton Hicks contractions, some of which are doozies.

What I miss: Being able to walk comfortably, being able to do some chores, not feeling tired all the time

What I’m looking forward to: continued cooler weather, meeting my babes (but not for several weeks!), a maternity mini-session this week (more on that after it happens).

Milestone: I kind of feel like every day is another milestone.  Everyday I can keep on going, keep on carrying these babies, is amazing for them.

Thoughts from the children: Both girls had bouncy balls shoved up their shirts today. 
They are both very observant to the weird shape and texture of my giant belly.  :)

Doctor’s visit: I had a quick visit this morning which included a Non Stress Test.  I reclined on the table with monitors for each boy and one for me strapped to my belly.  For about 15-20 minutes I just laid there and watched their heart rates on the monitor.  They were all over the place!  They mainly stayed in the 140s-150s, but Baby B’s ranged from 133 up to 170.  That seems crazy to me.  Dr. Torres didn’t think it was crazy though; she said they looked like healthy boys!

I was going to go by myself and have my mom watch the kids, but I was hurting so badly, Mom loaded the kids up, dropped me off at the door, and took the kids for a bite of breakfast.  Isn’t she amazing?

On our way out, Natalie found these acorns, and they made me think of the brothers.

Other thoughts: I had a little turning point or hit a wall or something this weekend.  I’m in pretty intense pain all the time, and I can’t seem to do anything about it.  My lower back has just hit it’s limit I guess.  Every step I take is excruciating, increasing in intensity as the day wears on.  I’m a really fun wife and mom right now.  :)  I am thankful that my mobility impairment is temporary.  And that, even though some days I think I can’t do it anymore, I CAN.  Thank you Lord for the strength, even though I don’t feel strong.

Another preggo shot for fun.  This one was taken after my baby shower on Saturday, just in case I ended up being lazy or behind on Sunday morning.

Baby-related projects:

• I’m putting this on the list kind of after the fact: Work on potty training James.  Hallelujah that boy is doing so so well!
• Clean up/organize the girls’ room to make space for eventual James.
• Go to IKEA.  Look at and possibly purchase the Kura low loft bed and shallow mattress for the girls.  **I’ve been putting this off since it is logistically hard, but we are ready to get this done!
• Move the majority of the toys into the main living area to make space for sleeping and clothes in the bedrooms. I still need to sort through and organize the books, which are in a giant pile on the floor.
• Do some research on the best sleeping arrangements for newborn twins.  *I’m currently planning to use a standard sized pack and play with the newborn “shelf” in it for our bedroom when they’re bitty.  If we discover they don’t sleep well with each other, we can always switch to two pack and plays or just use the cribs.
• Figure out number of diapers that would be ideal for the babies.  **I think at this point we’ll just get a few more newborn sized diapers and then wait and see what works when they come.
• Pick out infant car seats.
• Organize James’ closet.  (This is where the not-in-use clothes live as well as a lot of baby things, and it’s a super-pit.)
• Shop for a king sized bed.  We really really really really want one.  :)  But the logistics and expense may mean this isn’t the best time.
• Tinker with a baby registry.  We don’t need much, but I have started putting some things on an Amazon registry when I think about them
• Pull the baby boy clothes from the attic and take inventory.
• Possibly get some maternity/family pictures made.  **I get to be a “model” for a local photographer this week, and I will get a couple of digital images for my time.  Wahoo!  And we booked a family photo mini session for November, when there will be SEVEN of us!
• Wash, dry, fold, put away the 0-3 months clothes.  **A sweet friend came over and stole them to wash, so that’s done!
• Pull the new infant car seats out of the boxes and make sure they are what we think they are and work as they should. **Done! And I’ve started stalking Joanna’s new car seat, waiting for a great price.  **We got Joanna’s new seat last week!  “We” have yet to put it in the car and make sure it’s going to work, but it’s here!
• Preregister at the hospital.
• Work on a birth plan (mainly just for us but also to bring up any questions I want to ask my doctor about this different kind of birth coming up!)
• Hospital bag lists – one for labor/delivery/right away, another of things I’d like to have if I stay a few days. **Made ‘em.
• Work on “decorating” the nursery.  Basically this involves pulling out anything that isn’t baby boy related and putting up things that are!  **It’s really not too bad in there, it just needs some TLC.  This may simply have to wait until some far away time to get done.  :) 
• Pack the hospital bags, including a list of things to add at the last minute.

Anna is Seven!

Over a week ago now (yikes!), Joanna got to help her best bud Anna celebrate her birthday with a sleepover!

Hopping into the car full of friends!

I got distracted by someone/something so my lighting was way off and nasty.  I attempted to correct it a bit with PSE, which is why Joanna’s face looks a bit funny.

Their first stop was Mudpie to paint.  And actually Natalie got to go along to hang out with her buddy Emma.  So if I’m not mistaken, that meant that Lisa was at The Mudpie with eleven million little girls all by herself.  She’s amazing.  :)

They had a great time, and we’re so happy God made our Anna and that we’ve gotten to love on her for SEVEN years now!!

Joanna may not be cut out for sleepovers though, since she apparently stayed up until like 1:00 IN THE MORNING.  (More thankful than ever for our homeschooling schedule that allows her to catch up on sleep little by little in the mornings!)

Oh What a Beautiful Morning

I saw on my weather app this morning that the temperature was in the 60’s, so I quickly got myself and the kiddos ready so I could enjoy a bit of that on the front porch!  We don’t actually have any furniture on the front porch so I had Matt drag out a rocking chair for me.  The way our house is situated, the front is shaded in the mornings, while it’s super sunny and gross out back.  Maybe this will be the year we actually find a little table and chairs for the front.  :)  It’s the best spot to enjoy the cool mornings!

Joanna took this picture of me:

Then I sat in my chair, drank my coffee, and took pictures of the littles running around.

Then as soon as everyone was ready, Matt took my weekly preggo pic (to be posted tomorrow), and we headed to church.

My shower hostesses and I attempted to get everyone reconvened for a make-up picture, but we were missing two.  We didn’t find Amanda and Jennifer.  Maybe they were playing hooky?  :)

It was so incredibly wonderful to not sweat buckets at church.  What a delight it was not to come home drenched in sweat, simply from attending Sunday school and worship – ha!

I know this was a fall weather tease, and it will be grody again soon, but it was a beautiful way to start the season!

A Baby Shower for the Babies/Twins/Boys

I had kind of thought I wouldn’t have a baby shower this pregnancy, BUT a sweet group of friends arm-twisted me into it.  :)  Who am I to argue?  It was wonderful!

Of course the first thing I did when I got there was take pictures of all the gorgeous decorations and food!

The yummy spread of food:

Do you see the fruit babies?!

Gumball peas in a pod!

And cake ball peas in a pod!  Such clever ladies!!

Peas in the pod – balloons in tissue paper.  The little tree (that I got to bring home with me!) has little ultrasound pics of the boys at the top and a little message in the frames in the bottom.  The message told me a gift that the hostesses and a few wonderful out of town friends gave – EIGHT visits from a housekeeper.  WAHOO!  They know me so well.  :)

More décor!

Dried peas in the vases – oh so clever!

The invitation:

Cucumber water and limeade.  So yummy and pretty!

There were games.  One was you had to work in teams to diaper two babies, each person with one hand behind their back.  Clearly we have photographic evidence that Kendra blatantly disregarded the rules of the game.  :)

We’re not totally sure, but it appears that the baby dolls were easier to diaper than the animals.  :)

Such determination!

They look so much more cozy, don’t they?

The next game was like “hot potato” but with Baby A and Baby B (the bouncy balls).

I won.  I wonder, does this mean I’m going to be an excellent twin mother or a terrible one?  :)

I received so many lovely gifts, including newborn cloth diapers (WAHOO!!) and several gift cards!  Yay for being able to get some things we need once we figure out we need them.  Ha!

I’d been taking a few candid pictures here and there, but I keep catching people with their eyes closed or their faces blurred from motion.  So I made everyone look at the camera as I went around the room.

Amanda, Jennifer, Whitney, and Kendra

{As you can plainly see, Amanda was in the lead with the clothespin game.  Everyone had a clothespin, and you weren’t supposed to say babies, twins, boys, or they’re singular counterparts.  If you caught someone saying one, you could steal their clothespin and vice versa.  Eventually Jan caught Amanda and was able to steal her stash and become the ultimate winner.  :)}

Grandma, Shaun, and Laura

Kimberly, Theresa, Kristina, and Lisa

Jan and my momma.

I’m just about positive I got a picture of everyone, but if I missed someone, let’s blame it on pregnancy brain.  I think this may be the first shower I’ve helped host or been to with this group of girlfriends that WE FORGOT TO TAKE A HOSTESS PICTURE!!  I can’t believe it!  I’m in shock!

But now I’m over it.  :)

It was a very lovely afternoon with a lot of great food and so much wonderful conversation.  Thank you friends for making me have a shower and coming to celebrate the boys with me!