Working on the Nest

I took at least some pictures this past spring even though I was a serious mess, including some I really love, but they were still sitting on my hard drive, chillin’.  I’ve at least posted them here and/or on Facebook, but it was time for them to get up on the wall!

So this weekend I sent some recent favorites to Sams (cheap, pretty good quality, and instant gratification!)

I used to have quite a few 4x6 frames up since that’s what I had and 4x6 frames/prints are cheap, but I’ve decided to pretty much ditch that size for display.  The exceptions are my collage frames which I do like, especially with a nice theme inside!

I printed some bluebonnet pictures from back in March (!!!), and I love it!

I reverted this collage grouping back to James’ newborn shots, though they’re really just holding a place for some cute little brothers on the way.

This one has old pics in it as well, from the last two years of pumpkin patch pictures.  I’ll probably replace these with new pumpkin patch pictures (hopefully I’ll be able to go!) when the time comes.

This grouping of 4 5x7s had black and whites of James as a newborn, but I replaced all but one of current black and whites of the kiddos.  I’ll hopefully have a sweet one of the twins together for the last spot.

This wall got revamped a lot at the bottom, just switching some frames out or turning them.  And I switched out a few pics for more recent ones. 

It was pretty simple, but it makes the whole house seems so much more cozy!

I have LOTS of work to do in other rooms, but until it annoys me enough to do something about it, they’re good the way they are!

23 Weeks

23 weeks

(We had such trouble getting a picture yesterday morning.  It’s sooooo humid outside that the camera lens fogs up like crazy, and I was in a hurry to get to church!)

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

Turn on the radio and sway to the music. With her sense of movement well developed by now, your baby can feel you dance. And now that she's more than 11 inches long and weighs just over a pound (about the size of a large mango), you may be able to see her squirm underneath your clothes. Blood vessels in her lungs are developing to prepare for breathing, and the sounds that your baby's increasingly keen ears pick up are preparing her for entry into the outside world. Loud noises that become familiar now — such as your dog barking or the roar of the vacuum cleaner — probably won't faze her when she hears them outside the womb.

How far along: 23 weeks

Pregnancy symptoms: heartburn, tiredness, aches and pains (some specifics: groin pain, hip pain, back pain, this weird pain on my left side that’s kind of like a stitch when you run but higher up, feet/ankle pain), swollen ankles

Food Cravings: chocolate, fresh cherries, potato chips

Food Aversions: I haven’t had much in the way of aversions lately – wahoo!  I’ll keep this category just in case something crops up.

Sleep: I definitely had worse, but I’m pretty tired.  I sleep okay through the night, but most of the time wake up very sore.  And wanting a lot more sleep.  :)

Measurement: about 47 inches around

Movement: Lots and lots!  Sometimes when they’re very gymnastic, I can see the belly move on the outside.

Labor signs: Occasional Braxton Hicks

What I miss: I officially really miss sleeping on my belly.  And having a comfortable position for reading a book.

What I’m looking forward to: Hmmmmm… I guess I’m ready to pull out the baby boy clothes and see what’s there!

Milestone: We ordered car seats for the boys.  There was a super excellent deal online so we went ahead and bit the bullet!

Thoughts from the children: Joanna wants to feel the babies move all the time.

Doctor’s visit: My “24 week” visit will be at the end of the week.

Other thoughts: I’ve had a few comments from strangers along the lines of “Any day now?”  I don’t mind them, but wowza, I’m so not even close.  :)

I’m still in nesting mode, which is nice.  Unfortunately my nesting does not involve any kind of desire to clean anything.  Oh well.  I printed a bunch of pictures to switch out on the walls and moved a few frames around.  Love!  I have more work to do in that area, but it already feels so much fresher to have some new pictures of my cuties up on the wall.

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.  *So, I’ve done a little bit of reading!
• Figure out number of diapers that would be ideal for the babies.
• Pick out infant car seats.  Done!
• 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.
• Reconvert the double stroller back to a double stroller from a sit-n-stand. 
• Possibly get some maternity/family pictures made.  Need to find someone wonderful and affordable and look more into this.

First Day of Summer “School!”

Up at the church they’re having a summer school session this month two days a week, and we are taking part!  I’m teaching a little bit of music in the mornings, then taking off to come home while the kiddos enjoy their day with friends!  Day one and it’s kind of perfect.  I do love lazing around the house and having nowhere to be, but the kids need just a bit of social interaction and getting out of the house.  :)  And it is SO HOT that it’s good to have some fun things to do inside!

We don’t have to be there until 9:30, which is really the earliest possible time I can get anywhere these days, even when we’re all up early (and we were all up plenty early, let me assure you.)

We did have some time to try and capture a shot of all my babies ready for school this morning!

I love the expressions on their faces in this one, but the focus is a little soft.

I love this one too, and it’s sharper.

My babies are soooooooooo beautiful!

Even their feet!

When we got to the church another mother took a picture of all of us (with my little camera).  It is SO HOT AND HUMID outside that my lens fogs up… often.  I think there was also that kind of cool sun haze thing going on as well.  So we’ll call this one artsy.  :)

They’re offering pizza for lunch everyday, and my kids are going to enjoy every bit of that!  I figure two days a week of pizza for four weeks is better than losing my sanity 8 times as I pack lunches.  :)  I also bought individually packaged snacks so I can just toss them in the bag.  Mucho sanity saver for sure!!

The hardest part of the day was picking them up at 2:30.  Not because it was time for them to come home, but because the heat index was like 104, and that is too high for me.  :)  I melt.

22 Weeks

22 weeks

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

At 11 inches and almost 1 pound (about the size of a spaghetti squash), your baby is starting to look like a miniature newborn. His lips, eyelids, and eyebrows are becoming more distinct, and he's even developing tiny tooth buds beneath his gums. His eyes have formed, but his irises (the colored part of the eye) still lack pigment.  If you could see inside your womb, you'd be able to spot the fine hair (lanugo) that covers his body and the deep wrinkles on his skin, which he'll sport until he adds a padding of fat to fill them in. Inside his belly, his pancreas — essential for the production of some important hormones — is developing steadily.

How far along: 22 weeks

Pregnancy symptoms: aches and pains, heartburn, tiredness, (I thought my nausea was coming back yesterday, but it may have been a fluke – hopefully!)

Food Cravings: cinnamon roll, meat (like steaks and ribs), chocolate

Food Aversions: I haven’t had much in the way of aversions lately – wahoo!  I’ll keep this category just in case something crops up.

Sleep: Overall pretty good.  I wake up sore pretty often, but the actual sleep seems to be very deep and restful.  The last two mornings I’ve woken very early (just before 5) and been unable to get back to sleep.  :(

Measurement: about 45 inches around

Movement: Lots and lots!  I’m pretty sure I feel B more than A, but they’re both pretty active in there.  Both girls have felt the movement on the outside.

Labor signs: Occasional Braxton Hicks

What I miss: I officially really miss sleeping on my belly.  And having a comfortable position for reading a book.

What I’m looking forward to: Cooler weather, though that would be the case preggers or not.  :)

Milestone: Matt and I may actually be close on names for the boys!  This would be a record for us.

Thoughts from the children: I love how supportive and helpful they are.  Joanna is old enough to comprehend that carrying babies is HARD WORK!  She’ll say things about how she’s ready for them to come so I will feel better.  :)  I love her.  Though having two newborns in the house isn’t exactly going to be a cakewalk for any of us.

Doctor’s visit: I’ll have another at the end of next week.

Other thoughts: I definitely already look huge these days.  :)  I don’t mind, but I’m a little worried about my poor body over the next few months!  I have to laugh when people ask me when I’m due and I have to say November – yowza!

A wonderful friend gave me the gift of a professional house cleaning today, and it feels amazing.  I worked yesterday on getting everything picked up, decluttered, and put away, so today the house really is as clean as it can be!  I hope we can maintain it for a little while at least.  I am so much more calm and at peace when my surroundings are clean and picked up. 

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.  *So, I’ve done a little bit of reading!
• Figure out number of diapers that would be ideal for the babies.
• Pick out infant car seats.  We haven’t purchased them yet, but we picked ‘em out!
• 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.
• Reconvert the double stroller back to a double stroller from a sit-n-stand.  I did it and it was easy!

The Fourth of July!

I would say that the Fourth of July is perhaps not a pregnant woman’s holiday.  :)  Not that we’re not thankful for the freedom we have in America, but it is FREAKING HOT outside!

I like parades and I like fireworks, but I would sure like them better at about 45 degrees.  Or so.

I was pretty content to just stay at home with the kiddos (Matt was at work), but Grandpa David decided he wanted to bring the girls to the parade!

James was just as happy as could be to stay at home with me and watch Thomas the Train.  :)

This is basically the only picture I took on the 4th (I wasn’t feeling great at all), and it’s with my iPod!  Momographer FAIL!

He shirt says “Mom’s Little Sparkler!”  And he sure is. 

I think David ran into a friend at the parade who took a picture of him with the girls.  Don’t they look HOT?!  Joanna told me she’d go back tomorrow if there was another parade.  Natalie… not so much. :)  She doesn’t love the heat.  They had a really great time though – thanks Grandpa David for braving the heat!

David took pics with his iPhone of the girls hugging this dog.

Awwwww!

And I would like to take this moment to point out that iPhones have a camera with 5 or so megapixels, while iPod touches have a camera with less than ONE megapixel.  And this makes me sad.  From what I read, it has to do with how thin the iPods are.  Of course, mine is in an Otterbox so I would be just as happy to have a super thick one! Aaaaaand, rant over.

And here is the only other picture I took on the fourth:

Any guesses?

I really really really wanted to go see fireworks and play with taking pictures of them.  But I knew, physically, it would be a really terrible idea, so I didn’t.  They’ll shoot ‘em off again next year!  Mom and David took the girls to see the fireworks, and they had a great time.  They offered to take James, but I really didn’t want him staying up that late.  And he didn’t know what he was missing… yet.  He slept soundly the whole time!  Anyway, we noticed there were some fireworks we could actually see intermittently from the backyard.  The trees really got in the way, but I headed out with my camera anyway to see what I could see.  And the above is all I managed to get.  But it’s part of a firework!!

Swim Lessons–I survived!

We made it to 7 of the 8 lessons, and I’m proud of that.  :)  They were scheduled for M-Th, M-Th, but because the 2nd Thursday was the 4th, they asked everyone if it would work okay to do M-F, M-W.  I said yes (why rock the boat?), but simply could not summon the energy for the 5th day in a row.  So we missed the Friday class.

The last day I asked David if I could borrow his zoomy lens to take some pictures of the girls in action.  Mom also offered to watch James, so I was able to concentrate!

My swimmers!

Miss Natalie isn’t quite brave enough yet to just leap into the water on her own.

I’m pretty sure Joanna can actually propel herself in the water, basically unassisted.  She has to completely stop to breath, but it’s progress!  Below, the black arrow is pointing to Joanna’s head.

I love Natalie’s pose here.  She’s doing her very best to swim without getting water on her face.  :)

In hindsight, it would have been more fun to take the camera on a different day.  This day was “safety day” and they did very little swimming.  They had everyone lined up on the side and were telling them things and demonstrating things.

But I still got some sweet pictures of my wet girls.

We got out of there quite a bit faster without our two year old accompanying us.  :)  And he had lots of fun at Gran’s house!  We’re going to have to find a lovely shady, “cool” day to invite ourselves over to Aunt Mindy’s house and try out our new skills in her pool!

Old Uniforms? Dress Up!

Since the United/Continental merger, the companies have each continued to wear their respective uniforms… until last week.  Then it was time for a new look for them.  So my mom asked around to see if anyone had any old size 0 pieces for her grandchildren to use for dress up!  A United lady gave these two dresses that the girls have been enjoying wearing.  Mom also passed along a shirt that James has spent most of the last two days in.  :)

Joanna and James have mostly pretended to be Darth Vader.  The new costumes coincided with us finishing the original trilogy a couple of days ago.  :)

Here Darth Vader has Princess Leia in custody.

Joanna is doing her Darth Vader breathing face (Natalie too!)

Such fun with old things!