Marbles Museum

On Friday my mom was here and so graciously volunteered to clean our house really good before the baby comes. Andy told me I wasn't allowed to use cleaning supplies while pregnant, which drives me crazy since I love to bleach the bathrooms. So our house could really use a good clean and it has been cleaned since I became pregnant just not in a while. So while my mom was cleaning we met a friend of mine and her twins (Cale and Carter's girlfriends) and little boy at the Marbles Kids Museum. This was the first time I have taken the boys and they had the best time! We will definitely be getting a membership. As soon as this little guy makes his entrance and I get acclimated to having 3 kids we will spend lots of time there! My mom got the house nice and clean before we came back and then that night I had a much needed girls night out.

The boys start school on Wednesday, yay!!!!! We are all so excited! The boys ask all the time when is it a school day. They love school and I am so glad that they do. This year they will be getting ready for kindergarten and I felt so happy when hearing their teacher talk about what they were going to learn first, writing the letter L and recognizing their ABC's, because the boys already know that stuff. Cale actually has been making lots of L's, I think they must be his favorite letter or something. I just hope they aren't shy and voice what they know, unlike their father and I were. They have known their alphabet and the sounds the letters make since before they turned 2 (all thanks to the Letter Factory DVD--best $10 I ever spent). They also just love to learn and read and figure out what stuff says. It takes forever to get through a book sometimes just because they want to read it after you do. I am so relieved about this since Andy doesn't like to read and I have to be in the mood to read. I guess the ironic thing is Andy is the one who works with them the most on reading. I guess he doesn't want them to be like him about reading.

Well we have a busy week ahead and just hope the baby doesn't come until after Wednesday. I am one of those moms that likes to get lots of pictures the first day and be there to walk them into school. I know that if I am in the hospital Andy will not do it!

Cale in the bus


Cale and Carter in the bus, they loved this thing!

Cale in the car and Carter pumping gas

The boys and their girlfriends Bell and Gloria
We hope they will marry one day in a double wedding.

37 Weeks...

I am now 37 weeks and officially full term! I went to the doctor yesterday and nothing is happening. I am 50% effaced, but not dilated. It was a little disappointing, but the more I think about it the more I am ok with not rushing things along. I am definitely not miserable or uncomfortable. It makes me laugh to hear people having one baby complain about being miserable. I hate to say it, but this really is nothing compared to carrying twins. I was so unbelievably miserable with the boys and could not imagine feeling any worse than I did. I don't know how people carry twins full term. I can still honestly say that I have no complaints, other than having to pee every 15 minutes. My back has not hurt this time and so far no signs of that horrible PUPPPS rash (a rash that itched so bad they had to give me sleeping pills so that I could sleep without scratching my belly).

Since I am pretty sure that this is my last pregnancy (Andy would say it is definitely the last), I have decided to try and take in and enjoy the last little bit of it. I do hate that my belly once again makes me look like a freak of nature and I hate how people stare at us! Doesn't anyone know what it means to glance! I really noticed this Sunday in line at the K&W. People would look at me then look at the boys and then just watch us. I am kind of use to this since people have done this since the boys were newborns, but I guess it is getting old. Even Andy is tired of hearing perfect strangers ask me if I am having TWINS!!! Not to mention this is when we don't even have the boys with us! All I do is laugh and say, "No, I already have a set of those." I do get asked this on a weekly basis. I dread what my poor stomach is going to look like after I have the boys. I am sure it will once again look like I am still pregnant and then I will have people ask me when I am due, because it did happen last time and I even had my newborn twins with me. I am just thankful that I realize most people aren't the brightest and to just answer as nicely as I can and walk away.

Andy's Birthday

We celebrated Andy's birthday with a nice relaxing day of nothing! That is how Andy likes it. The boys made him a card and helped him open his presents. We got him a new Wii game, Grand Slam Tennis. We did nothing all afternoon. The boys watched a movie and we napped. For his birthday supper he wanted Chinese food. So he got take out from his favorite place. As for a cake I made his favorite, Chocolate Eclair. Lucky for us the boys hate dessert, so more for us!! Carter asked who was coming to Daddy's birthday and I told him it was just us. He was like, ok. I was really hoping that I would have the baby on his birthday because he did not want it to be born on his birthday. I don't know why, it's not like he cares that much about his birthday. It will actually probably be born on birthday since that is the day before my due date. I am starting to really hope that he comes sooner!!

Yesterday Cale and I had a very interesting conversation. He was commenting that his Chik-fil-a cows had different spots and that one cow was missing some. I explained to him that God makes everything special and unique and that their spots were different because God made them that way. Then he looks at Carter and said, "Yeah, his face is different than mine and I'm taller than him." It is really great that they see themselves as being different because the older they get it does get a little harder to hear them just lumped together because they look alike. They are really VERY different. It shouldn't, but it even kinda bothers me when people lump them together even more generically as "the twins." Andy and I rarely say that about them. We pretty much always say their names as if they are just siblings. I do love having twins and fill very blessed, but it is nice to see them develop into their own personality. The even stranger thing is though, that when they see pictures of themselves they always ask which one is Cale and which one is Carter. So I wonder what they are thinking sometimes?

The boys greeting Andy when he got home from work



Andy opening up his presents and he was actually totally surprised!!

Yummy cake!!

Gymnastics Camp

The boys have been in gymnastics camp for the last 3 weeks. They did this last summer too and loved it, so we signed them up again this summer. We unfortunately can't afford to send them to the once a week class throughout the year. Having to pay for two in preschool 5 days a week really adds up. I am really amazed at how people afford to have their kids in so many sports activities! Anyways, the boys once again had a great time and even had a couple friends from school in the camp this summer. That made it even more fun for them. I am really surprised that the boys let me take pictures of them. I thought for sure that they would refuse to do anything. When they want their picture made they can be great, but when they don't they don't!

Carter



Cale made it all the way across the bar!

Carter

Cale

Finished!

I think that everything is now ready and finished!! I finished putting the last few touches on the baby's room. Now whenever he is ready we are ready for him! I am a little nervous about how this whole thing is going to go down, but I am also a little excited. After I gave birth to the boys I really felt that it was an amazing experience and I really did enjoy it. It was painful and very long, but it was something that I just felt so blessed to able to do. This time I am really looking forward to experiencing it again and I hope that all goes smoothly. I think that only thing I am really nervous about is, when will I go into labor? I just hope it is at a convenient time because we will have to unload the boys onto someone. My friend from work lives down the street and has so graciously offered to take them whenever it is, but I feel so bad if it the middle of the night or something. Hopefully it will happen once they are back in school and they will be at school that will buy us 3 - 4 hours. I am feeling pretty good this week. My Group B Strep test was negative, yay!!! That means no antibiotics during labor. I really haven't had anything to really complain about this time. My back hasn't hurt, last time it was terrible. I have had more contractions, but that is normal and it isn't too bad. This pregnancy really has been a breeze compared to carrying twins!!

Here is the baby's car seat. It is ironically the same print that the boys had. I say this because I sold the boys' when they were one and then when I got pregnant this time a friend was selling her infant seat and it just so happen to be the same print, but a little different seat. That is also the blanket, strap pads and handle pad that I made. I love making stuff for the new baby!!



His closet. As you can tell this kid may never run out of clothes. I could probably go weeks without doing his laundry!!

Here is the bookshelf that Andy made before we got married. I think it has been in every room over the last 8 years! That is also the Pottery Barn lamp shade that I got for $10. We were able to work around the scheme of making the shade only fit their lamp stands. The guy at Lowe's recommended wrapping electrical tape around it until the shade fit and it worked!

I finished hanging the mobile over the changing table and the little sailboat peg for clothes or whatever.

36 Weeks...

Tomorrow I will be 36 weeks! I had my doctor appointment today. Everything seems to be good. The baby is head first, or at least for now and he better stay that way. I am measuring what I should be. I haven't gained any weight since last time!! I read that usually women lose a few pounds towards the end and I hope that I do. I really have a feeling that I will go over my due date. I don't really want to go over, but I think that since I was measuring 44 weeks when I delivered the boys then my body can take a lot. Hopefully though since I am not on bed rest and I am up walking a lot and busy maybe I will go just a little early, like a week, or right at my due date. I really do want to make it until the boys are in school. That way I will have a few days or weeks to myself and get more accomplished before I have this baby. I did put a few more finishing touches on the baby's room this morning. I hung a peg for clothes and a mobile about the changing table. I have been working on making this baby some burp cloths and bibs. I also still need to make myself a nursing cover. I feel like I have plenty of time, we'll see!

Andy's New Wheels

Just kidding! Andy wishes these were his new wheels. This is is co-worker, Bill, wife's scooter. Andy wants one of these so bad, but I will not let him get one. I think his boss would be so pleased to see him pull up at a meeting or job site riding one of these! Pink is his color, don't you think?!

Our Weekend

This weekend was actually a kind of fast one for us, probably because the big day is getting closer. On Friday the boys had gymnastics camp and while they were there I went to the farmer's market and got some yummy fruit and veggies, then stopped by their doctor and pick up their immunization records for school. Yay, it is almost time to go back to school! That night was the semi-annual TMOTT (Triangle Mothers of Twins and Triplets) consignment sale. They always have the best stuff!! My friend Danielle went with me as my helper since I am pregnant. I got a brand new looking Bjorn Active for $55, which retails for $180! I was really pumped about that. The only other things I got was a few things for the boys for the fall and a few sweaters and warm items and Halloween stuff for the baby since that is the only thing that didn't overlap in size. Which does go against my no shopping, but these were things we needed. I had gone through most of the boys' stuff and all of the baby's stuff before going to the sale. Andy fed the boys while I was gone and I got back just in time for their bedtime and then Andy and I had the ever so healthy Chinese date night at home.

Then Saturday I had lunch with a former teacher friend of mine. We ate at Carrabbas and were there talking for about 3 hours! It was so nice to catch up without kids and over a very yummy meal. We then went to Target for a few items we both needed before having to return to our spouses and children. That night Andy grilled out a yummy super and then we took the boys to the Durham Bulls Baseball game. Andy's work has season tickets and so we just went for the last 2 innings and then the fireworks afterwards. The boys had mixed reviews. Cale, who didn't cover his ears, said afterwards that they scared him (you would have never known). Carter, who covered his ears an laid on Andy, said he liked them a lot. Kids are so funny. They did seem more attentive to the game than they have in the past. Probably because I made Andy sit in our regular seats, behind the gust bullpen and it had "cooled" off some outside and wasn't so hot. The boys didn't get in bed until 10:30 and so the slept until 8 this morning, then they went and played quietly in the living room since Andy and I were still sleeping!! They have been doing that lately which is so nice!

Today has been pretty laid back. We had church this morning and Andy and I both served in the nursery, so we were there for a while. We then hit the Hibachi Express, kids eat for $1 on Sunday. After lunch Andy took the boys to the school to ride their bikes and then play in the yard while I rested since I have been having several contractions today. Tomorrow I go to the doctor again and hopefully after all these contractions something has started to happen in there!! This week the boys have their last week of gymnastics camp .

Almost Ready!

Today I haven't really had any contractions, yay!! I was beginning to think that I would have those things until I went into real labor. I did read tonight that most of the time when your Braxton Hicks contractions become more painful and come anywhere from 10 to 20 mins apart you may be only a couple weeks away from real labor. At the thought of that for the first time I did get a little excited! I am looking forward to meeting this little guy, but dreading the actual labor and mainly sleepless nights. I think that I am also ready to have my body back to almost normal. I do remember that since I seem to gain all out front then I will probably have a huge belly even after the baby comes out. To help with that problem, I just go the books "Eat This, Not That." They are very informative! It helps you make healthier choices at restaurants and the grocery store without "dieting." I don't diet, so this book is perfect it is more like helping you make a lifestyle change and the region the author focuses on is your belly. The only I need to help my workout routine once the baby arrives if a single jogging stroller. I just haven't decided on the one I want.

The boys are very ready to have the baby here. When my mom asked Cale when were going to pick out a name for the baby his response was, "When the baby gets here we will just look at his hair and see if he looks like Cale or Carter. Then we will name him." I am not sure where this idea came from, but it was pretty funny. I kept asking him what if he looks different and Cale just said, "We'll see." This kid will pick up anything he hears us say. It is so funny to hear them talk to each other. We constantly hear one ask the other to do something with them and the others response will be, "You will just have to wait a minute, I'm busy." Gee, I wonder where they have heard that before?

Here I am at 35 weeks and 2 days


Here I am at 2 days shy of 35 weeks with the boys--hopefully I look much smaller this time.

A New Challenge

Last week in my Good Housekeeping there was an article about a family who stopped shopping for a year. They didn't spend money except for food and depletables (toilet paper, etc). I was inspired to try and do the same. This family was doing it because they felt like they were too wrapped up into material things. I sometimes feel that I am too and it would be nice to have more money in savings. The really strange thing is that I told Andy about it on Friday and then on Sunday our pastors sermon went right along with what I had said to Andy. When we left we both thought that it was so crazy how things like that happen! It was something we felt God must really want us to do.

I think that I can be successful with this. I am going to try really hard for 6 months at first and see how it goes. I am not going to buy the boys any clothes unless I find that theirs' don't fit. I bought them a lot of 4T stuff at the end of last season because of a growth spurt. Really the only thing they absolutely need that I will have to buy is tennis shoes. The baby is totally set! He doesn't need anything until maybe winter and that only depends on how big he is since he is just a little off from the season the boys were born in. Andy is definitely set and I will hopefully be set. I saved my big girl clothes from after I had the boys and I have a lot of elastic waist skirts and work out pants that I wear all the time, not to mention the fact that I will be home with a baby and what other clothes would I need other than work out pants.

As for Christmas, I will probably spend as usual because that is something we never spend a lot at. Last Christmas I spent a total of $100 on both boys combined. This family in the article had three kids and spent over $1000! Andy and I are not real big on buying the boys tons of stuff and we don't really buy each other gifts either. The boys have a lot of toys and they were pretty much all used and gifts. I do want the boys to have a trampoline for Christmas, but Andy thinks they are dangerous. I think that would be a good gift for the family and great way to exercise.

So far, it hasn't even been a week, and I haven't bought anything we don't need. Our vacuum died, so with a BBB coupon we got another one. Our old one was over 8 years old. I went to Target and BRU today and left with the items I went in there for. Andy was so impressed. I am a shopaholic and really hope I can stick to this. I have just been trying to look at the bigger picture and the fact that we are blessed and don't need anything else.

Lots of Work

Within the last week Andy and I (and my Mom) have been doing serious amounts of work. Thankfully we were not dumb enough to move while I was 7 months pregnant this time like we did with the boys, so we don't have nearly as much to do to get ready for this baby. There is still several things we want to get done. I am really starting to fear that I am running out of time since I had bad contractions again yesterday afternoon and some all night long. They were just Braxton Hicks, but I know stuff must be getting ready to happen.

Last week Andy hung one new door in our house. We are going to redo all the interior doors, because they are plain wood doors circa 1954. These are what we chose and we are doing bronze handles and hinges. Our house is a pain to hang doors since all the floors are now slanted, but we started with the attic door just to see how it would go. Andy discovered that he is just going to have to order custom doors and will still have to sand them some. Anyone want to come help Andy do the next 9 doors?! My mom painted it for us and the whites look a little different, but they are from the same can of paint. The lady before us decided to paint all the trim is acrylic paint, I have no clue as to why. We have changed it in the other rooms, but the door looked funny next to the shiny trim. We found her paint she left and fixed it.

My mom and I also spent Friday morning making freezer meals while the boys were at gymnastics camp. I didn't have any freezer meals made or realize that I probably should have when I had the boys. This time I feel more prepared and decided to give it a try. Hopefully everything will turn out, as they are pretty much all new recipes- I have only made the lasagna before. I still have one more to make and I am going to do that tomorrow morning. These are what we made, lasagna, baked spaghetti, cream cheese chicken, BBQ chicken and tomorrow I am going to do sloppy joes (thanks to my friend Tara for the last two). I am also going to try and do a baked ziti (also thank you Tara), if I can get the stuff and make it before having this baby!!

We also had some extra carpet from when we carpeted our stairs bound and made into two rugs. That is what the boys are sitting on in the pictures. You see how quickly Andy gets things put away. This rug is probably going in our room since we moved ours into the boys' room and the man didn't cut it as small as Andy wanted. He did however bind the left over piece for free which will go in my sewing room. I have finished a little more in the baby's room. Now all we still need is a name!!! Why is this so hard. It's like my mind is blank and I have no clue what to call this kid. That is another reason I don't want to go early, but mainly the fear of having to go back to the NICU. Please pray that I make it until at least 38 weeks, that's only three more weeks.

35 Weeks...

I went to the doctor today and was told if I go into labor they aren't stopping me. Which I already knew since this is the exact time in my pregnancy that I had the boys. I am so not ready!! I think I might be the only pregnant woman to say that. On leaving the room the doctor said they would see me next week if not sooner. I was like, you will not see me sooner (at least I hope not). I did get the Group B Strep test today and the doctor checked my cervix and said nothing was happening. I was relieved and now I hope that my Group B is negative. I never made it far enough to have that test with the boys and just had to be on the antibiotics just in case I had it. On Saturday I had some pretty intense contractions for almost an hour and then today I have had several that were painful. I really want to be able to have this baby with no epidural. Don't ask why, because I don't have a good reason other than I really hated having these crazy back spasms last time from the epidural. I don't know if I will make it without one though, because the few I have had were a little painful. I love to watch the show, I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant, and those women survive the contractions the whole time and then get to the hospital just in time to have the baby. They always say that the pain was so bad that they thought they were dying. Well, I didn't not think that last time and not this time either, but I do hope that I can make it at home for a while first. The contractions were just worse this time than the other Braxton Hicks I have had. They were actually painful and not just tight. Hopefully I will make it until the boys start back to school. I would really hate to miss their open house or first day of school.

My friend Kristin threw me a baby shower last week. I got a lot of great items, diapers, wipes, and other things that I needed.
Here is the yummy cake!

Independence

I am so happy that right before the baby comes the boys are becoming more and more independent. This is why we waited "so long" to have another baby. We get the comment a lot, "Why do you want to go back to diapers?" Well the simple answer is always, "If you had two in diapers would you want to add another child that wear diapers and if so are going to pay for our diapers?" Andy and I had (have) our hands full with the two kids we already have, so we wanted to wait until they were potty trained, in school for 5 days a week and doing somethings on their own.

Making their own breakfast would be really nice, but we will take what we can get. This includes being able to wipe their own butts, get their own cups and water from the fridge, and now change the toilet paper. Yesterday I went to the bathroom to check on Carter because he had been in there awhile and when I went in he told me that the toilet paper had run out so he was putting a new roll on. Sure enough he had put a new roll on and correctly. This is more than Andy does sometimes. I have high hopes that when the baby comes the boys will be helpful. With my luck I have once again set my expectations way too high. Andy tells me I have a serious problem with that and that I need to have low expectations so that I am surprised when things turn out better than I thought. I just have a problem being a pessimist like my husband. I want to always think things will go good. Hopefully they will. My thought on the new baby is that at least it will not be as bad as having two newborns screaming at you.

Ready to Go

This past weekend the boys went to visit my parents and Andy and I had a lot to get done! I was able to finish getting the nursery ready. This included making a few things, like the changing pad cover, some blankets, and a tummy time pillow. I also had to pick up a sheet (this was a Pottery Barn sheet that is why it is only one) and few other items like, pacifiers and nursing stuff. I feel like now I have the bulk of everything ready for the baby. I got the pack n play set up in our room as the bassinet. I didn't bother getting an actual bassinet or cradle because the boys spit up so much they had to sleep in their car seats. All I really have left to do is sterilize the bottles, which hopefully I won't need, and the pacifiers, which the baby WILL take. We also need to fix the lamp. I go the lamp shade from Pottery Barn, of course but for only $10, and in their scheme to probably make you then buy their $70 lamp base the lamp shade doesn't fit on the lamp bases I have. Now Andy has to replace a piece that will clamp down on the shade. Granted this will still cost way less than $70.

Andy on the other hand did not get his main objective finished this weekend. We are starting to replace our 1954 interior doors with new ones. Since our house is so old everything is slanted, so a normal size door will not fit. Andy was going to do the nursery first, but then realized that we need a custom fit door, so we decided to put the door we bought on the attic doorway. Well Andy wants an exterior door for that, but I talked him into going ahead and using the one we have since our plan is the finish the attic one day. That door still isn't finished and up, but hopefully this week. Now we just need to order the other doors. Putting up doors is such a pain, but paying Home Depot to do it would cost more than the door!

View from the door, with the car seat and other items that will be moved out when the baby comes.


My Pottery Barn Sailboat set. No bumper, because I totally stress over the baby suffocating on it.

The changing table/dresser. That is the changing pad cover that I made and will probably never make another one.
It was very time consuming.

The blanket and tummy time pillow that I made.

Almost Finished

The boys' room is almost finished! All I need to do is pick out a new color, because I am a little tired of the orange and it doesn't really go with their new quilts. I finally decided on some quilts for their beds. I decided that it wasn't the best money decision to spend $300 on 2 quilts at Pottery Barn. I really hate that I came to my senses and didn't buy the Madras quilts that I wanted. They were so cute! Anyways, I got these with cars on them and the boys love them. Cale especially likes sleeping on the pillow with the sham on it, it is pretty soft. We also moved their rug and bookcase out and put them in the nursery. The boys got a new bookshelf from Grandma and Grandpa that holds book so that they can find them easier. Andy said he felt like he was at the library, the boys said it looked like school. They have a ton of books and love to read!! I am really glad that they do. Andy hates to read, but has done an excellent job of teaching them to read. They are starting to pick out words like, the, is, go, it, you, and other words that they have seen repeatedly. I am very proud of their intiative to want to learn to read and to learn anything. I just hope that they keep it up after the baby comes.

Cale with his backwards pj shirt

Carter excited about his new bookshelf