{no turning back now!}

Well, this is it. Our last night in the house as just the two of us. My last night trying to sleep with two balls of baby in my belly. 9 hours from now we'll be checking into the hospital and getting ready for the arrival of our two babies. Two babies! It doesn't matter how prepared I have tried to make myself, it all still seems so surreal. I know that Dan and I have no idea what we are in for tomorrow...the emotions will certainly be overwhelming.

Dan got me one of my favorites for dinner...Chili's southwestern egg rolls (with a side of chips and salsa of course). I was definitely risking heartburn with that one.

We had one last exam at the doctor this morning and I was 2 cm dilated and 80% effaced, so hopefully that will give me a good headstart. I wasn't expecting to be dilated at all, since I wasn't on Tuesday, so that's a good sign.

I promise I'll try my best to post an update after they arrive, but I know things will be very hectic. So be patient with me and I promise an update with a picture or two as soon as I can! Thanks to everyone for your prayers and good wishes...I'll need them tomorrow more than ever!!

{5-30-08}

Unless they decide to come sooner, that will be the boys' birthday!! I'll be induced that morning...we go in at 6:30. *insert super tired picture of me here*. But, hopefully going in that early will mean they will arrive the same day. I could be wrong, but I really don't feel like they are going to come on their own before that. So now we have a date to look forward to, and boy am I more than ready! I don't think my poor belly can take much more of this!

{last night}

More contractions starting at 7:30
Go to the hospital at 10:30
Seriously major back pain like I've never felt before
Uncomfortable examinations
A shot of morphine that was like heaven
My first IV...not so bad
Passed out until 6 am with Dan in a chair next to me
Contractions slowed and not dilated
Sent back home...
again.

{37 weeks}

Holy cow! I really can't believe that I'm 37 weeks today. If the doctor keeps his word, and the babies don't come on their own, they will induce me next week! I really don't feel like they are going to come on their own before then, but we'll see. It all seems so surreal and I don't even know what to think or how to feel right now. I'm very anxious and nervous about labor, excited to finally see them, and especially excited for Dan to finally get to hold them.

We go for another non-stress test this afternoon, which is basically me laying on a hospital bed with a bunch of goo on my stomach so they can monitor the boys' heartbeats. It will be my big outing for the day. LOL :)

I'm very curious as to how the cats are going to react when we bring the boys home. Melvin will probably sulk in a corner for a week or so...he's very needy. Miss Chloe is a very curious cat, so she'll probably be all about sniffing them and trying to compete for lap time. Hopefully it won't take long for both of them to adjust. It will definitely be a new adventure for all of us!

Keep your positive thoughts and prayers coming!!

{super husband}

My husband already deserves the father of the year award, and the babies aren't even here yet! Seriously. He does almost everything for me right now...fixes dinner, cleans the house, does my laundry, brings me cherry 7-up with just the right amount of ice. AND he is still keeping up with the things he normally does...mowing the lawn, taking out the trash, cleaning out the kitty litter. He even cleaned out the gutters yesterday and pulled weeds...and he never pulls weeds...that is totally my arena. Thank God he did though...our yard was looking like a dandelion exhibit. He's tired and physically worn out from his job, but he never complains and is always asking me if I'm OK and if I need anything.

Never in my life could I have imagined that I would have such an amazing person to call my husband and the father of my children. I seriously don't know what I would do without him, and everytime I'm in a crazy hormonal mood and get upset about something little I feel awful because he has sacrificed so much for me and these babies. I just can't wait until I'm back to my normal self and I can start helping out with all of these chores again.

Thanks honey...I love you!!

{Mother's Day *love*}

This weekend was full of lots of love for the moms in my life...and strangely enough this year it included me! :) Yesterday we spent most of the afternoon at the park for Dan's cousin's little boy's first birthday. The weather was great and he was adorable as usual. I wasn't going to go, but after I realized that I could just sit the entire time I decided to get dressed and get out of the house. I'm so glad I did...it was a lot of fun.

Look at how cute he is in his little crown! Happy Birthday Gavin! :)


That evening my parents came over for awhile and my Mom and I exchanged gifts. I got her a silver baby cup charm for her charm bracelet and she got me the cutest necklace...a silver heart pendant with two sets of little footprints on it. Perfect! She also brought a very sweet card from my sister. It was so strange to be getting mother's day gifts!


Today the weather has been horrendous...raining all day...but it was perfect to stay inside and be lazy with the hubby. He gave me the sweetest card and a necklace to represent our two boys. It is a silver pea pod with two little pearl peas nestled inside. I just love it. :)

Dan's mom came over later this afternoon for a visit and so we could give her her gift. I found her an adorable necklace on Etsy with four little pearl "eggs" in a silver nest to represent her four grandchildren. I forgot to get a picture of her with it though...doh! Here's the photo of it from Etsy--->

I just noticed that everyone's gifts this year were silver jewelry...not a bad theme to continue in my opinion. :)

On a random note, Dan and I watched "Walk Hard" tonight...what a strange movie. The first hour or so was oddly funny and entertaining, but by the 2nd half I was asleep. That kind of humor can't keep my attention for very long.

Hope everyone has had a great weekend and Happy Mother's Day to all my mommy friends out there!!

{cravings}

As I sit here finishing my 2nd full glass of OJ in the past hour, I thought it would be fun to document all of the cravings I've had during my pregnancy. Some have gone on for weeks while others have just been for a day or two, but I definitely felt like I was going to die if I didn't have each and every one of them at the exact moment the craving hit. Here they are in order from first to last...

1. Nacho cheese Doritos - strange, but when most food made me feel nauseous, these things hit the spot. They were my 10 am snack at work every morning for at least 2 weeks.

2. Burger King chicken tenders & BBQ sauce - their BBQ sauce is the best (well, McDonald's gives them a run for their money)

3. French fries - For about a week fries were the only thing that sounded good...my favorites were Burger King and J's (a locally owned burger place)

4. Oranges - I had never been one to eat fresh oranges, but I had one at work one day and was hooked. I ate two a day almost every day for a few weeks.

5. PB Captain Crunch - now I normally enjoy a nice big bowl of PBCC, but I went through I think three of the giant boxes in a couple week's time. This one made an appearance again yesterday...I actually had a bowl this morning at 2:30 am.

6. Frisch's salads - their ranch dressing is the BEST!

7. Milkshakes - since you're not supposed to eat softserve ice cream when you're pg, and I've been a good girl, my only options have been Steak N'Shake and the ice cream shop in our mall. Dan has been sweet enough to humor me and make a few shake trips since I've been layed up on the couch. My last fix was Sunday morning at 2 am after our first trip to the hospital...a large vanilla shake from S N'S really hit the spot.

8. Orange juice - over the past month or so I swear I could sit and drink a gallon of this stuff at one sitting. I've never been a huge OJ drinker, but right now it is pure heaven in a glass.

9. Cherry 7-Up - this one has been a staple in our fridge for almost my entire pregnancy. Of course it has to be in a glass with a little bit of ice...out of the can just isn't the same.

10. Soft chocolate chip cookies - I ate a whole package in 3 days. Enough said.

11. Popsicles - I'm always thirsty lately and my mouth is super dry so these really hit the spot. One night recently I ate 6. My favorite is cherry but I don't discriminate.

Others that deserve an honorable mention: chocolate milk, sugar cream pie, and Chili's chips and salsa (a usual craving even when I'm not pg).

Luckily, even with all of my cravings I've only gained about 35-40 lbs so I feel very grateful for that. PG cravings are no joke!!

{on hold}

As excited as I am about becoming a mom, and meeting my boys, I'm frustrated right now because my entire life is on hold. I'm not working (not that I'm totally upset about that), can't go out shopping for fun things or necessities, and can barely make it to the doctor's office and back without feeling like I'm going to pass out. Showering is my big activity for the day. Fixing my hair and putting on make-up are pretty much luxuries that I have to save for doctor's visit days.

I want to scrapbook so bad right now...I have lots of pictures and tons of creative ideas floating around in my head, but sadly I can't even handle the physical requirements of sitting at a table and making a scrapbook layout. I'm pretty much stuck on the couch all day watching bad daytime TV...although I am enjoying getting to watch Ellen and A Baby Story on TLC (until they start screaming in pain, then I change the channel.) I also want to decorate the nursery but that is going to have to wait until they are here and I'm healed enough to maneuver up the stairs and lift things.

Going through this has made me realize that the world isn't going to end if I can't get things done on my schedule, or done exactly the way I would do them. I have realized that I'm more of a control freak than I thought I was, so this has been good for me in that way. It is hard for me to accept help from others, but I'm so thankful that I have Dan, his mom and my parents who have been a true Godsend through all of this.

Don't get me wrong...I know this is all going to be more worth it than I even realize right now, but I miss the old Mandy and hope she comes back really soon...even if she is only around for a few hours a week. :)

{again}

Went to L&D again last night...contractions were coming for 3 hours so we thought it was better to be safe than sorry. Of course they gave me a shot and within 30 minutes the contractions had stopped so back home we went. I'm still having them randomly but hoping we don't have to do that again, especially in the middle of the night. I'm also having pain in my left arm which is odd. The nurse last night told me that it is probably being caused by the babies pushing on a nerve.

So this morning I'm emotional, tired, frustrated and anxious. Wondering what is going to happen next and hoping that I won't have another episode like this until the real thing. I'd appreciate all the prayers you could send my way!

{L&D}

Well, it was a good thing that Dan got my hospital bag together yesterday (and put the swing and bouncer together), because we made our first trip to labor and delivery last night! Around 9:20 I started getting contractions and they kept coming every 5 minutes, so around 10:30 I called the doctor and they told me to go to the hospital. Wow I've never been so nervous in my life! On the ride there Dan and I were holding hands and I was shaking uncontrollably. Once we got there I calmed down quite a bit. The nurses were so nice. It took them forever to find the boys' separate heartbeats which started to get comical. Plus, my stomach is such a hard ball that they couldn't get the monitors to stay on.



At first we thought we would be there for at least 24 hours, but they were able to give me a shot of medication to relax my uterus and it worked, so we were out of there by about 1:30 this morning. We're just praying that they will stay put for at least another week. 36 weeks would be ideal. Now I'm scared to move around too much because I don't want to cause the contractions to start again. I guess I should enjoy my last week or so of being a total couch potato. :)



Dan's mom is bringing over a big meal today for Dan's birthday so we're both looking forward to that. I was actually a little disappointed in the hospital last night that I might have to miss it. LOL :) (although those ice chips they gave me were quite delicious.)


So now we just wait and see how long these babies are going to stay inside. Any prayers you would like to send my way would be greatly appreciated!



Oh...Dan also got the dresser finished for the nursery. We love it! Their little socks look so small in the drawer! :)






See my belly in the corner? LOL :)