Thursday, October 31, 2013

OB Appointment

I've been seeing my OB once/month ever since my first appointment with her.  I really like my doctor.  Dr. P never seems in a hurry, even though I know she has a very busy schedule, and always takes the time to answer my questions.

The first thing that happened is the weight in.  I've gained about 34 lbs so far.  I hope it doesn't end up being much more.  Although, everyone does tell me it doesn't look like I've gained much weight, which is nice to hear.  I haven't had any swelling and most of the gain has been in my belly.  Actually, in my hips and thighs too, but nobody else can tell that.

The nurse tested my urine sample, and everything was normal there.  No urinary tract infection and no protein in the urine.  My blood pressure is still pretty good, thank goodness, at 120/78.  It's been pretty stable with the exception of the first few appointments when I was SO anxious about the first trimester and meeting a new OB.

I had to wait about 15 minutes for Dr. P to arrive because she had a few surgeries at the hospital and was running late.  No big deal.  I had my list of questions ready for her.

  1. My biggest concern was the rash I have on my stomach.  It's been there now for a few weeks and seems to be getting worse and starting to get extremely itchy.  I also have a lot of itching along my spine in back.  Dr. P thought the rash was pregnancy related and fairly normal.  We both agreed that it is probably PUPPP (Pruritic urticarial papules and plaques of pregnancy), an annoying hives-like rash that presents no long term effect for either mother or babies and goes away within a short time after delivery.  
  2. Right side rib pain.  I actually don't think it's my ribs at all, but in that area.  It's been bothering me for over a month and I have mostly attributed it to being because that is where Baby B is hanging out.  However, sometimes it's more than just an uncomfortable sort of pain, but more like a burning pain, and it is sore to the touch.  I had asked the MFM doctor about it previously, and she said it could be my liver and an indicator for pre-eclampsia, but didn't think so because I had no other issues at all.  I brought it up to Dr. P because the pain has continued and of course, because the MFM doc mentioned pre-eclampsia, it's been a worry for me.  Dr. P agreed that it sounded like normal pregnancy pain due to the expansion of the ribs and the muscles stretching.
  3. I asked about the moles growing on my nipples.  I've had a LOT of moles growing and needed to know if this is normal and would it effect breast feeding when the babies get here.  She took a look at my nipples and assured me that it was normal.  She also said to expect them to maybe get a little darker and the nipples to increase more in size as well.
  4. Breast pump.  I had called my insurance company quite awhile back to find out if they would cover a breast pump.  They said that they do (YAY!), but it would need to be from a preferred provider.  Soooo, I asked Dr. P about that.  She gave me a written prescription for a breast pump.  The problem is I am not sure how or where to claim it.  I will be calling the insurance company again to find out (hopefully) what to do.
  5. My hands have been falling asleep when I lay down.  I told Dr. P I thought I was getting pregnancy induced carpal tunnel.  She didn't really say much about that, but did recommend sleeping on my side with my top arm over a pillow.  She also told me to get hard/firm wrist braces if it becomes a major problem.
After addressing each of my questions, Dr. P found both babies heartbeats and said they are rockstars. She told me that I was doing really, really good with this pregnancy.  I haven't had any major issues and the babies have looked great at every u/s so far.  I left the appointment feeling pretty good about things and feeling much relief that my blood pressure was good.  She did send me to the lab for some blood work, just to rule out any other possibilities for the rash and to check the liver, just in case.

The guy doing the blood draw looked about 15 years old.  I was a little nervous to have such a kid poke a needle in me.  (I know I've mentioned before how much I hate needles)  He wasn't very gentle, but he was a nice enough guy.  I survived.

I called Hubby on the way home to let him know how the appointment went.  He can't come to the regular OB appointments, because we need him to work!  He takes the time off for the u/s's with the MFM, but we can't afford both.

Later that night, around 6:00, I got a phone call from Dr. P.  Uh-oh.  Can't be good news if she's calling so late after I just saw her a few hours ago.  She was calling to let me know that the blood work does show an elevation in my liver enzymes.  She asked if I've ever had any problems with my liver.  No.  Have you taken any Tylenol lately?  No, I haven't taken anything this entire pregnancy so far.

She's still waiting to get a few more results from the blood work, and is going to have them check it for Hepatitis, which she says she's sure won't be an issue, and I'm sure it won't be either.  I will also be getting a phone call to schedule an u/s for my gallbladder.

I didn't think to ask any questions when she called, but I spent the rest of the night and today worrying about what this means.  I don't know how serious this is, or what complications we may be looking forward to, other than what Dr. Google says.  I'm trying not to freak out because, well, we just don't know anything yet.  However, that doesn't stop me from worrying.  A lot.  There IS a problem with my liver.  It's just a matter of the severity of it.  Dr. P thinks it's just pregnancy induced, but what does that mean exactly.  I didn't ask.

I tried to call the clinic to get more information today, but Dr. P has Thursday's off so I just left a message.  Either she will get back to me, or a nurse will follow up.  I haven't heard yet.  I also haven't received the call to schedule the gallbladder u/s yet either.  Ugh.

So, while the appointment went good yesterday, my day didn't end so well.  I was up most of the night because of the intense itching on my belly.  I laid with a cold washcloth over it for relief.  I also said a few prayers that the problem with my liver will resolve itself and won't be a big deal.  Now I'm just waiting....

Monday, October 28, 2013

25 Weeks

Today I am 25 weeks plus 2 days.  You'd think that would help me to not worry so much, but....  I just can't help it.  I am so incredibly happy to have made it to viability, but now I am more and more aware of the fact that we really don't have control over when these babies will come.  Of course, nobody in our family wants to hear that, and everyone has a story about knowing this set of twins or that set of twins that went full term.  That's great.  But the fact is that twins WILL typically come early.  It's just a matter of how early.

It's kind of like all those people that tell you to "just relax" and you will get pregnant.  Or, "as soon as you stop trying" you will get pregnant.  Yeah, well, that never really worked out for us so great.  If we kept going about our softball lives and "stopped trying" any longer, the FACT is, I wouldn't be pregnant right now and we wouldn't have an opportunity to have kids of our own.

This pregnancy IS going pretty dang good so far.  We haven't had any problems or markers to be concerned about, other than my age and twins being considered a high risk pregnancy to begin with.  I am so extremely grateful for that.  I also know that things can change in a heartbeat.  I know that pre-eclampsia is a very real concern.  It's something that can come about very quickly and there's not much you can do about it.

(as I sit here and type this, I have sneezed twice and dammit if I haven't peed a little bit both times!  Another uncontrollable thing that has come with pregnancy!  haha!)

Anyways, as I've mentioned before, I am not out of my mind crazy with worry over all this.  I just can't help but for it to be on the back of my mind on a constant basis.  I have an OB appointment this Wednesday and here are a few things I am going to ask about:
  • The rash on my belly.  It's not major blotches or anything, but it's definitely a rash that causes constant itching!  It's very uncomfortable.  I stopped putting lotion on my belly because it made the rash burn.  I'd rather have stretch marks and itching, than stretch marks, itching, AND the burning sensation!
  • My nipples have grown a tremendous amount of moles.  I realize that your boobs change during pregnancy, but I'm not so sure all these moles (maybe a few warts?) is normal.  Will that impede in breast feeding?  Maybe this isn't even a big deal at all, but I thought I would ask just in case.
  • It seems that I am developing pregnancy induced carpal tunnel.  My hands get all tingly and fall asleep every time I lay down.  It's not painful, but it is uncomfortable and annoying.
  • I have a pain in my right rib area that's been going on for over a month.  It sometimes is just uncomfortable, but sometimes it is also a burning sensation.  I assumed this was because that is where Baby B is hanging out, and I did ask the MFM doctor about it.  She said it's probably just normal, but she did ask about my blood pressure and expressed some concern because that is also where my liver is.  The burning sensation could be an indicator of pre-eclampsia.  She wasn't too concerned about it since I haven't had (much) swelling and my blood pressure has been pretty good lately.  However, she did plant the seed for me to worry about pre-eclampsia (obviously), so I am going to ask the OB about it just to be sure.
25 Weeks

In other news....

Our kitchen is almost put back together.  We once again have a dishwasher, stove, and refrigerator.  The walls have been painted and we have new linoleum flooring.  It looks pretty good.  I will post pictures when we get everything else done, like hanging the pictures back on the wall and moving the food cupboard back in.

I had some friends come and refinish/stain our two antique dressers.  They did an AMAZING job!!!!!  I cannot even begin to describe the difference.  It's like we have two brand new dressers.  Again, I should have taken before pictures so you could really see the difference.  My friend is going to come put one more coat of stain on them this Friday, and then I will share pics of the finished product.

While they were working on the dressers, I spent that time cleaning out our spare bedroom (aka, the hoarding room).  We can now see the floor!  It is not finished, but I got enough done so that this weekend we can completely empty the nursery, now that we have a place to put the stuff that is currently in there.  Since the nursery is our main priority, we will get that done and then I will go back to finishing cleaning up the spare bedroom.

There is a clean floor space!

And then...the other half of the room, which is what the ENTIRE room looked like to begin with.  I told you - hoarders.  How embarrassing.

Things kids say:

Saturday night, two of our nieces spent the night with us.  The very first thing the 6 year old said when she saw me was "you suuurrrreeee do have a fat belly with those babies in there!"  She went on to tell me a few more times that night how fat my belly is.  I just laughed because, well, it's true and she's a 6 year old without a filter.  lol.

Both her and her sister were concerned about where they would be sleeping.  We got sleeping bags out for them and set them up on the living room floor.  They were going to have a slumber party in the living room with Uncle Tony.  The 4 year old asked "where are the babies going to sleep?"  I let her know that they would be all snuggled up in my belly for the night, in the bedroom with me.

On Sunday, we went to another one of my other nieces go-kart races.  She is SO excited about these babies!  She asked me "are the twins going to be born next month?"  I told her I really, really hope not.  She was very disappointed, especially when I told her they aren't supposed to be here until January.  I had to explain to her that if they were to come next month, they would be very sick babies.  It's fun how excited the kids are about the babies :)

I will end this with once last picture.  While we were at the race track, Uncle Tony got some practice in for when the babies do arrive.  He's going to have to build up his endurance because he didn't last very long holding both of them at the same time.

Uncle Tony with our nephews

Monday, October 21, 2013

Things I Can and Can't Do

Pregnancy is a weird thing.  It does strange things to your body.  I thought I'd share with you some of the things I find myself no longer being able to do, and some things I can do.  This post will have some tmi moments, so be forewarned.  I'm going to lay it all out there.

Things I Can't do:
  •  Sleep.  It's like I'm just taking long naps every night.  I wake up anywhere between 1:00 - 3:00am and then am wide awake for 2-3 hours.  I cannot go back to sleep.  I usually use this time to catch up on all my blog reading, take my turns playing Words with Friends, and watch a little t.v.  When I try to shut it all down and go back to sleep, I just can't seem to shut down my brain.  This isn't a problem on the weekends, when I can sleep in a little later.  But during the week, finally falling back to sleep around 5:00am only to have my alarm clock go off 30 minutes later for work, really sucks.
  • Put on my tennis shoes and socks like a normal person.  It's not a problem with my left foot, but it is like gymnastics trying to put my sock on my right foot.  I can't reach it!  I have two babies in the way.  I have resorted to asking Hubby to put my sock on a few times.  But if he's not around to help, I have to kneel down with my heel on the floor, slip the sock over my toes, and then swing my foot around behind me so I can then pull it up over my heel.  Good times.  Actually, it really is quite entertaining.
  • I can't clip the toenails on my right foot anymore.  Same problem as putting on my socks.  I can't reach.  Darn.  I'm gonna have to get a pedicure.  That's really too bad.  Not!
  • Sit/Stand up from a reclined position.  I have to turn to my side and push myself up.  I have no abs anymore.  If I'm sitting on the couch and need to stand up, it is not done without a lot of grunting and groaning.  I sound like the beef heads in our weight room at the gym, only I'm getting a different sort of workout.  It's called standing up.
  • Okay, I warned you earlier about the tmi.  I cannot see my crotch below my belly.  I'm pretty sure I'm becoming a hairy beast down there.  I attempted to shave this weekend, but who knows what it actually looks like.  It's not like I've just got belly fat that is a little more pliable and can be moved to the side.  No, these babies make my belly hard.  There is no pushing it to the side to see what is going on below it.
  • Again tmi.  Don't say I didn't warn you.  I can't have a bowel movement without fear of clogging the toilet.  I have never seen such big poop before!  Seriously.  It's a little a lot ridiculous and actually quite painful, even though I have to admit I've been impressed a few times as well.  I just pray I don't ever have to take a grumpy at someone else's house because it would be rather embarrassing to clog someone else's toilet.
  • I can't stop itching.  My belly and my boobs itch constantly.  I have a slight rash on my belly.  Nothing major, but definitely annoying.  I hesitate to put lotion on my belly because sometimes it really burns. 
  • I can't help with most of the projects around our house.  Hubby worked his butt off over the weekend painting the kitchen and ripping up the floor.  Me, well I offered great advice when it was needed and otherwise stayed out of his way when he got overly grumpy because he'd smashed his fingers one too many times.
Things I CAN do:
  • I can feel these babies moving around.  No swift kicks or elbow jabs yet, but I can definitely feel activity.  I've been feeling it for at least a month, but didn't start acknowledging it as movement until a few weeks ago.  When you don't know what it really feels like, it's difficult to 100% identify it as movement.  I'm pretty sure now though.
  •  I can still reach the lever in my car to pop my gas tank.  Barely.  I discovered last week that this will soon be transitioning to the other list though.  There is just not enough room for me to bend over and actually reach down for anything anymore.  I envision that I will have to get out of my car and actually reach back in to pull the lever.  (It is actually against the law in Oregon for us to pump our own gas, which I am forever grateful for)
  • Take naps.  The sleeping at night issue definitely contributes to my ability to take much needed naps in the afternoon when I can barely keep my eyes open. 
  • I can plan on a simple trip to the grocery store taking at least an extra 30 minutes to an hour.  The joys of living in a small town.  I can't go to the store without running into half a dozen people that want to congratulate me and ask how I'm feeling.  Even people I don't know.  For example, yesterday I ran to the store real quick and had a lady ask me if I am C's daughter in law, followed by the normal congratulations, and hearing how excited C is to have twins.  Apparently this gal goes to church with my mil.  I didn't even know her and I was stopped for a 5 minute conversation.  (I actually DO like living in a small community.  Sometimes I'd just like to be able to run my errands as quickly as I need to.)
  • I can celebrate that I have now reached viability.  Crazy that I've actually passed the 24 week mark and have not one, but two babies growing inside me.  It still doesn't seem real, even thought we are working hard in our preparation for them.  The reality will come when we are holding these babies in our arms, which is getting closer and closer to actually happening every day. 
  • I can be excited for finally having my very own baby showers to look forward to!  There are four of them in the works.  There will be a shower for Hubby's side of the family, one for my side and friends, a softball baby shower, and a work shower.  I definitely feel spoiled.

 I'm sure there are more things I could add to both of these lists, but this is all I can think of at the moment.  In other news....

Remember last week I posted this picture?  This was the view in our living room from our couch as of last weekend.


This is what it looks like now, sitting in the exact same spot on the couch.


Yep.  The stove really is that close to the couch and yes that really is the refrigerator in our living room.  There is barely enough space between the fridge and the entertainment center for me to squeeze through to the kitchen (which is empty) and around to the hallway on the other side of the china hutch, which is also taking up residency in our living room.  I have to get to the hallway to get to the bathroom and bedrooms.  Our dishwasher is currently in our backyard.  We feel a little like we are camping.

The new flooring is going in the kitchen today.  Then we have to wait until Wednesday when we can start moving stuff back into the kitchen.  I can't wait to see what it all looks like with the finished project!  Then it will be time to start on the spare bedrooms and getting the nursery ready!

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

23w, 4d Ultrasound

The last 4-5 days have been a little torturous for me.  I know I'm extremely fortunate to have so many doctor's appointments and ultrasounds.  I do realize that.  However, as each u/s approaches, I get more anxious as the days get closer.  I'm so afraid of going into the appointment and learning something is wrong.  I knew the babies were still alive at least, because I can feel them moving periodically.  That doesn't stop me from fearing something maybe isn't going right.  It's not an overwhelming fear or anything like that.  It's just such a relief to KNOW they are doing okay.

My fears were put to rest this morning.  We got to see both the babies again and everything appears to be doing good!  They are measuring right on target, but they do have big heads, especially Baby B.  The tech said it's because their heads are more round than oval.  Baby B's head is almost 3 weeks ahead of where we are at now!

I asked the doctor if this was an indication of anything we should be concerned about and she said absolutely not, because everything inside the head is right on target.  There is no swelling or any other markers to indicate concern.  She said that he's just going to be really smart!  I told her I could live with that.

The only thing they were still not able to get a look at today was Baby A's aortic arch.  We could see the four chambers of the heart and everything else they were looking for, but she was just not in a good position to get a look at the arch.  So that will be the focus of the next u/s.  They are not worried about this either, as everything else is looking right on target and really good, so the assumption is that the arch will be good too.

Baby A is weighing approximately 1 lb, 3 oz.  Baby B weighs approximately 1 lb, 8 oz.  Both heartbeats were in the 140's.  They had two arms and two legs.  They each have their little hearts, kidneys, and bladders in the right location.  Their little girl and little boy parts were confirmed and they are still a boy and a girl.

My cervix is still nice and long at 4.15.  It is shortened from the 5.0 it measured at previously, but that is not a concern since it is still a really, really good measurement.  They don't start to worry unless it gets down to about 2.5.  The placenta of Baby A that had been sitting on the cervix and was of mild concern at 16w, is now completely moved away and nothing to worry about.

Three more days and I will be 24 weeks and reach viability.  Anything beyond 24 weeks means that if the babies are born early, there is at least a chance of survival.  The doctor's will at least try to save them at that point.  Hopefully, they will be born much farther down the road, but our chances of having take home babies are increasing every day!

We were able to get a profile picture of each of the babies today:


Baby Girl

Baby Boy

Even though things are progressing so well, it still feels a little surreal that we might actually end up taking these babies home in a few months.  The babies look good, we are getting our house ready for them, we've registered and baby showers are being planned, but it still doesn't seem like reality.  It sort of feels like we are playing house.  I kind of like this pretend world, and I am so looking forward to the day we do, in reality, get to bring these babies home.

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Our Speed Racer and The Kitchen Project

My weekend was spent emptying our china hutch, a food cupboard, desk, and bookshelf in our kitchen.  It's amazing all the stuff you accumulate in your cupboards over the years.  I found stuff I didn't even know I had!  I had no idea I had so many flower vases and quart canning jars!  Many vases are now boxed up and ready to head to Goodwill, and I've already passed off the canning jars to one of my clients.  It's so nice to get rid of things.

Saturday evening, we went to watch my niece compete in her second race of a four race series.  It was an alllllll night event.  We arrived at the Raceway at 6pm and left at 10pm!  It's not something that Hubby and I are really into, but we are very much into supporting our adorable niece.  She has improved SO much since the last time when we watched her at a practice!  She is the only one competing in her division, so she automatically wins, but they have her race against another little boy that is also the only one in his division.  She was ecstatic when she won her very first trophy the weekend before, and this time we got to be there to see her earn her second trophy.

Taking a break after a warm up practice round.  Isn't she so adorable!  I love her so much!

Getting ready to enter the track for the second heat of the night.

She was SO excited that this trophy is PINK and matches her car!

LOVE HER!
I've mentioned in a previous post that we are getting new flooring in our kitchen/dining room.  That project officially began on Sunday!  Our china hutch is now in our living room and the carpet has been pulled from most of the kitchen.  The kitchen table and chairs are currently residing in our garage.  We just have one little corner of carpet left sitting under the desk, which will be joining the hutch in the living room tonight.

Once we got the big items moved and the carpet pulled up, we decided that we need to take advantage of this time to paint the walls as well.  Hubby has been wanting to do it for a long time, and I was resisting the thought of throwing in another project amongst everything else that we have going on.  However, once seeing the kitchen so bare, I thought it would be ridiculous not to take advantage of this time, especially when we don't even need to worry about ruining the floor!  No need for drop cloths.

So yesterday I went to Home Depot and bought all the painting supplies.  I had an idea of what color we would be going with, but who knew there would be so many different shades of the same exact color!  Ugh!  It took a little while to decide.  I hope I made the right decision, but we won't really know that until we see it on the walls.  I chose a sage greenish color.  I wanted a light green that had more of a grayish undertone.  We'll see how it turns out!

Tonight, my FIL will be coming over to finish moving the desk out of the kitchen.  Then they will be putting plywood down where the carpet used to be.  The section that already had linoleum is raised higher than the carpeted area, so that has to be leveled out before the new linoleum can be laid.

We have through the weekend to get all this done.  Sunday night, the refrigerator, stove, and dishwasher will also need to be moved out of the kitchen.  The new linoleum is being laid on Monday.  Then we aren't supposed to really walk on it or move the furniture back in for at least 48 hours.

This is the current view in our living room, laying on the couch.  Like my socks?  lol

Here's what our kitchen looks like right now.
This is all kind of a pain in the butt right now, but it's only a week and will be SOOooooo worth it once it's done.  I can't wait to see the finished product and am extremely excited not to have carpet in here anymore.

Monday, October 14, 2013

Sunshine Award: Part II

Now for the second set of questions from Melissa at Ask An Infertile.  Thanks again for nominating me for the Sunshine Award!

1. Where did you come up with the name of your blog?  There is nothing like being a 37-38 year old woman trying to have a baby to make you feel old, especially if you are going through fertility treatments.  Most especially if you have a depleted ovarian reserve and the eggs you do have aren't very good.  Thus, the name of my blog, Old Lady and No Baby.

2.  You have the chance to be told 5 significant events that will occur in your lifetime (what will happen and when). Do you want to know and why?  I really don't think I would want to be told.  That would make me live my life differently and I'm not sure that is a good thing.  The only exception to that is maybe knowing ahead of time when these babies of mine will be born, so I could make sure we are prepared and ready!

3.  If you could do any job, regardless of money or talent, what would it be?  I would love to be an assistant coach to a DI softball team that is a contender for the Women's College World Series every year.  I don't really want the responsibilities of the head coach, but I would totally dig being an assistant coach and would LOVE being around that caliber of athlete on a daily basis.

4.  What was your favorite Halloween costume when you were young?  Oh my goodness.  I have no idea.  I know I had a witches costume one year when I was younger.  In the 8th grade I dressed up as a punk rocker.  In college I was a swamp monster.  But no favorites.  Those are just the costumes I can remember wearing!

5.  Has infertility changed you?  I don't think that IF in and of itself has changed me, but going through treatments the last few years most definitely has.  I have a new appreciation and understanding of how strong I am.  I never in a million years would have ever thought I could give myself injections, let alone doing them on a daily basis for so long.  I never would have known how strong I could be, to emotionally work my way past the heartache of a miscarriage and then be GRATEFUL for that experience.  IF treatments have given me the opportunity to relate to others in a new way.  I have also forged some tremendous friendships with others because of this IF blogging community, which I am eternally grateful for.

6.  What is your favorite thing about yourself?  It's so hard to answer this type of question about yourself!  My favorite thing about myself....Hmmm....I love that I'm athletic.  I loved being able to compete with the boys when I was growing up.  I could pretty much pick up any sport or activity fairly quick.  I was a killer Wall Ball player.  Nobody could beat me at Tether Ball.  I played baseball with the boys until the 7th grade.  In middle school P.E. class, I usually participated with the boys, rather than the girls class (they were at the same time).  The boys were just....better.  It's fun to be able to shine and be good at something, and sports was it for me.  I was a three sport athlete in high school: volleyball, basketball, and softball, and I enjoyed all of them.

7.  You can eat one thing every day for the next month. What is it?  Funny, I pretty much CAN eat the same exact thing every day for a month and not get tired of it.  If I like it, I'll stick with it.  Now, is this question asking if I could ONLY eat one single item for every meal for a month, what would it be?  My first thought, currently, is that it would be ice cream, but then that's not very nutritious so I should probably pick something else.  I love fruit.  I could eat pineapple every day.  Or grapes or watermelon.  Only problem there is that fruit doesn't have very many calories so I'd probably end up starving, not to mention the bathroom issues I'd probably end up with!  So...how about I pick chicken enchiladas.  I love them, and it includes all the macro-nutrients needed (fat, carbs, protein) to have a balanced meal :)

8.  If you had a superpower, what would it be?  Ever since I was a kid, I've always had the same dream that I could fly.  It's one of my favorite reoccurring dreams, so I guess I should pick that.  Not reoccurring every night mind you, but every once in awhile, like maybe once a year I have that dream of flying around.

9.  Would you rather live one 1000 year life or ten 100 year lives?  It depends on how good the 1000 year life is.  That's an awfully long time!  I think I'd probably choose the ten 100 year lives, especially if they could all be different.  Wouldn't it be cool to live in a different place/culture for each of those lives?  Or what about different generations?  I would love to live through the early 1900's, especially if it could be on the Prairie, like Laura Ingalls Wilder. 

10.  What is your best piece of advice?  Choose to be happy.  Your attitude is a choice.  It is definitely the hardest thing in the world to do, especially when you've been dealt a pretty crappy hand.  But would you rather have that same crappy hand and be miserable, or the same crappy hand and be happy.  Being miserable and depressed is really not fun.  I've been there.  I've had to work through some pretty tough stuff in my life.  It does nobody any good to dwell in the misery though.  Mostly it does YOU no good.  Find the positive in everything.  There's always something, you just have to look for it.

Friday, October 11, 2013

Sunshine Award: Part I

I have been nominated not once, but twice, for the Sunshine Award!  I am going to honor both these nominations in two separate posts, as it will take some time for me to answer the questions.  I must admit, I get a little giddy when I get a nomination for these recognition awards.  It feels a little like winning an Oscar in the blogging world, and I LOVE being able to recognize other great bloggie friends in return.  In addition to that, I really enjoy all the answers to the questions. A lot of times, they are things that would never be blogged about, so the answers give us insight to who that person really is.  This award is for writers that brighten the days of fellow bloggers/readers, and I am honored to be in this category for Amie at Is It Time Yet and Melissa at Ask an Infertile.

The Rules:
1. Include the Sunshine Award icon in your post.
2. Link to the person who nominated you.
3. Answer 10 questions about yourself.
4. Nominate 10 bloggers to receive the award.
5. Link your nominees and let them know they've been nominated.


First, I will start with Amie's questions:

1. Do you prefer the beach or the lake?  I actually really like both the beach AND the lake!  For swimming, I would choose a lake any day over the beach though, especially if you are in Oregon where the Pacific Ocean water is absolutely frigid!  However, for a vacation, I would happily go to either one.

2. Favorite sitcom, new or old?  You can never go wrong with Friends.

3. Do you watch sports on TV? Favorite Team?  Mostly college football or softball.  Favorite team is the Oregon State Beavers!

4. How many kids do you wish you had?  I always wanted 4 kids by the time I was 30.  That dream is long gone, but it looks like we may just have 2 kids by the time I'm 40!  Hallelujah for that!

5. What has been your favorite age up to this point?  Oh now this is a tough question.  I would have to say.... maybe when I was around 32ish?  I was the most fit and ripped I've ever been and it felt wonderful!  It lasted for a couple years anyways...

6. Which candy is your most favorite?  I have to choose!?!!?  Hmmm, when I was in college it was most definitely Gobstoppers.  I stopped eating them though because they were ruining my teeth!  Favorite candies: Pretzel M&M's, Junior Mints, red Licorice, and Skittles to name a few.  Sweets are my weakness, but I very rarely will give in to eating them because I tend to go overboard.

7. If you use bath and body works products which fragrance do you love?  Anything food smelling, lol.  I really can't handle any floral fragrances. 

8. How long have you been married?  16 years!

9. If you could change one thing about your life what would it be?  If I could change anything about my life, I wouldn't be the person I am today.  I'd love to say that I wish I didn't have trouble having kids, but then I wouldn't be sitting here with two babies in my belly right now.  I'd love to say that I wish I grew up without my Mom being a drug addict, but then I probably would have made other choices growing up and wouldn't be as strong as I am today.  I suppose the one thing I WOULD change is to be more financially secure.  I would love to not be in so much debt and have been able to pay for fertility treatments without taking out loans.

10. What DIY project would you like to do?  I wish I was talented in the DIY area.  There are lots of things I would like to do, but will probably never get to.  We do have two antique dressers that need redone, but I've recruited a couple friends to come do that for us, as we have no clue how to go about it!
 Now for my 10 Nominees:
1. Jane at Mine to Command.  She always has so many great stories to share and has such an eloquent way of writing.  It never ceases to put a smile on my face when I see a post from Jane in my blog reader.  She is about to undergo her first IVF.  Stop by and wish her luck if you have a chance!
2.  Candi at Putter Pie.  I think I have laughed at every single post she has ever written.  She has such a wonderful sense of humor and an amazing gift at putting it in writing.  I always get excited when I see she has written a new post!
3.  Amanda at Our Grisworld.  Amanda has been through the trenches of IF and come out on the other side with two absolutely adorable girls that are now 3 months old!  She has shared her journey with such a positive attitude, even when things were difficult.  I admire her tremendously and how she has managed the transition into being a parent of twins, balancing time for herself, work, and her family.
4.  Stacie at Life As I Know It.  Stacie is another twin Momma, and also has a younger son.  She has had a difficult journey to parenthood, and is currently struggling with transitioning the older boys into Kindergarten.  She has been an incredible source of support to me over the past year, and I can only hope that I am the same for her.  She handles the stress in her life with grace and a great sense of humor that I thoroughly enjoy.
5.  Liz at Compromised Fertility.  She has 5 week old twins that entered this world in dramatic fashion at 34 weeks.  She has had a rough IF journey that has finally led to her two adorable baby girls.  She has been blogging for a long time, but I just found her blog a year ago.  She has been a great source of inspiration for me.
6. Amanda at Beloved Burnt Toast.  Amanda is one of those writers that is brutally honest, but has a natural gift at being funny at the same time.  I absolutely love reading her blog.  She has struggled with repeat pregnancy loss this past year, but is once again pregnant.  She could use all the prayers and support she can get right now, so don't hesitate to stop by her blog and check out her story!
7. Aramis at It Only Takes One.  She is another one of those writers that has such a gift for just saying what's on her mind.  She has a dry sense of humor which I enjoy, and has been as source of support for me even though she is still in the trenches of her own IF struggle.
8.  Lentil at Lamenting the Lentil.  She is newly pregnant with twins on the way.  Lentil has a gift for being hilarious without even trying to be.  She shares her most intense fears in a way that we can all relate too.
9.  Em at Teach Me to Braid.  She has been quiet on the blog front lately, but she is one of my most favorite bloggers ever.  She is incredibly sweet and another one that I get so excited about when I see she has a new post.  Em also always leaves the nicest comments that simply make my heart happy.
10.  Kimberly at No Good Eggs.  Another newly pregnant infertile among us!  Like me, she has used donor eggs in her quest to have children.  She provides a lot of research on her blog, in addition to sharing about her everyday life.  She is a great source of information and also incredibly supportive of others in this blogging community.
My Questions For These Nominees (and anyone else who would like to answer them!):
1.  What has been your favorite vacation in your lifetime so far?
2.  What is your dream vacation destination?
3.  Most embarrassing moment?
4.  How did you and your spouse meet?
5.  What accomplishment are you most proud of?  (don't be shy!  This is your chance to brag about yourself!)
6.  Who has been the most influential person in your life?
7.  What is your most prized possession/keepsake?
8.  Exercise - Love it or Hate it?
9.  If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
10.  What is your best quality?
Okay.  Now GO!  I'm excited to read all your answers and look forward to any new bloggers that you might introduce me too :)



Thursday, October 10, 2013

Garage Sale Success

Holy cow.  We were not expecting to make so much from our garage sale!  Of course, we've never done this before, so we really didn't have anything to base our expectations on, but I am SOOOOooooo happy.  Not only did we empty our garage, but we made $1154, almost double what we had hoped for.

It was definitely a LOT of work, but much, much needed.  I really wish that I had taken a before picture so you could fully appreciate the magnitude of effort it was to clean all our crap up that we had collected over the past 16 years.  Envision a garage piled high with stuff and only a small pathway to get through.

I didn't take a before picture, but here is an after picture.  There are a few random items, but for the most part, our garage is EMPTY!  We open the garage door and it echos.  For the first time ever since we have lived in this house (9 years), it is empty.  The stuff you see in the left corner will all be gone this weekend when my FIL comes to pick it up for the dump.  Along the right wall, which you can't see, is a desk and dresser that will eventually go in the house,  and some shelving with the only items we are keeping.


Our next project is getting new linoleum in our kitchen/dining room.  Currently, there is carpet in the "dining" area, which I think is so dumb, but it was there when we bought the house.  Who wants carpet under their dining table and chairs.  It's just a disaster waiting to happen, especially now that we have two kids on the way!  So this weekend will be spent emptying the china hutch, book shelf, etc so Hubby and his Dad can move it all out of the kitchen.  We have some large, heavy pieces of furniture in there that will be quite the chore.  Now that I think about it, what are we going to do with all of our freezer/fridge items when the linoleum is being installed....... Hmmmm.

After the flooring gets put in, our focus will be shifting to the nursery and spare bedroom.  It's time to get those rooms emptied out!  Now that we have room in the garage to work with, the bedrooms should go fairly quickly.  Then we can start painting the nursery and getting it set up for these babies!

Thursday, October 3, 2013

Catching Up

I won't be able to write again for a few days, so thought I'd better take the time to catch up on everything while I can.  I'm kind of resigned to the fact that this is just going to be how our life is: busy, busy, busy.  I thought we were super busy during softball season - I'm not so sure getting ready for these babies doesn't rank right up there with our softball schedule!  It's a good problem to have and it is great that we are finally being forced to do these much needed things around our house.

Last Friday, Hubby and I went to Babies R Us to do our first baby registry!  It was a lot of fun, but extremely overwhelming.  We didn't know where to begin!  We started out looking at car seats and strollers, but we really have no clue what we want in that department, so we just moved on to other more basic things.  We agreed on a lot of things, and disagreed on some as well.  Hubby is convinced we need a diaper genie, and I absolutely don't want one!  I don't see the need to have another item cluttering the nursery when we can just take the diaper out to the garbage can in the garage.  Plus, I think they are kind of disgusting.  Besides that, I am still tossing around the idea of using cloth diapers at home, disposables for when we are out and about.

We also had different ideas about what we wanted for a baby monitor.  Hubby wanted the Motorola one that you can use with a smart phone.  He has a friend with twins and that is what they have.  The friend showed Hubby how he could see what was going on at home, even when he wasn't there!  It is really a great invention.  However... I was wanting the Angel Care monitor that has the movement/breathing sensor that will sound an alarm if the baby stops breathing for 20 seconds or more.

Two and a half hours after we started, we were both done.  We weren't finished registering, but we were tired and DONE for the day.  Besides that, the store was closing in just a half hour.  We left without registering for car seats, a stroller, a Pack and Play, and baby monitors.

If any of you Momma's out there have any advise to pass along in regard to these items, I would greatly appreciate any insight you can give us.  We also need to register for more bottles, but don't know what kind(s) to get!

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On Saturday, we went to a birthday party for our two nieces on Hubby's side.  They live about 2 hours away from us, so we made the trip with Hubby's parents and Grandpa.  It was a fun day spent with family and the kids were a lot of fun, but that two hour drive seemed to turn into four on the way home!  Isn't that the way it always goes?

Showing off their new raincoats from Auntie Amber and Uncle Tony

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Sunday, my MIL came over to help me get started on marking stuff for our garage sale.  We made a pretty good dent, but there was still a lot more to be done!  I have worked on it some more throughout the week, but omgosh, we have a lot of junk to get rid of!  I can't wait for the garage to be emptied out and we can start clearing out the bedrooms.

Today, my MIL, my mom, and a friend will be meeting me in just a few hours to get ready for this garage sale that will be starting tomorrow.  We somehow have to find a way to get it all sorted and organized so we are ready in the morning.  I am soooooo glad I have help.

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Yesterday, I had an OB appointment.  Everything seems to be going great so far!  We heard both of the heartbeats, and they seem to be measuring right on target for twins.  I asked Dr. P about my weight gain.  I told her about the doctor from my very first MFM appt. telling me I should only gain about 20-25 lbs during this pregnancy and how I didn't see how that was going to remotely be possible since I am already up 24 lbs!  Dr. P was really confused as to why I would have been told that for a TWIN pregnancy and said it's more realistic to expect me to gain about 35 lbs or so.

She also convinced me that I should get a flu shot, so I got my first one ever yesterday.  I can't stand getting shots, which is funny that I still have such an aversion after going through 4 different IVF/FET cycles in the past two years.  The one time Hubby got a flu shot, he was more sick that year than he ever has been, so we both have just never really put a lot of stock into getting it.  Dr. P explained that during pregnancy, it's just extra important to avoid the flu, and because I have twins, we are already considered high risk.  And because I work in a gym with the public.... She then told me I could get a sticker if I got the shot.  So...I went home with a star sticker on my shirt.  lol  And really, I must admit, it wasn't that bad.  I don't know why I'm such a big baby about shots.

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Lastly, I am going to leave you with my 21 week belly shot, taken this last weekend.  There is no hiding my baby belly anymore!


Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Reveal Party

It's almost been two weeks ago now, but I still wanted to share about our gender reveal party!  We had our anatomy scan on Wed. the 18th, and our party was that Saturday the 21st.  It worked out perfectly, because we just had a new sofa and love seat delivered the day before, and I had the help to clean my house!  It was exhausting, but we made it and our house looked great.

I ordered the cakes for the party on Thursday, just at the local grocery store bakery here in town.  I was a little nervous about them getting it right because the gal who took my order didn't have a CLUE as to what a gender reveal party was.  I initially wanted the inside of one cake to be pink and the other to be blue.  Apparently, they didn't have enough time to do that, so we just did the fillings pink and blue, which turned out okay.

I wanted to keep the party very simple, so I kept the cakes very simple as well.  One cake said "Baby A" on top and the other "Baby B."  I told the gal that the outside of the cakes absolutely had to be neutral colors with BOTH pink and blue.  I wasn't convinced she understood that, as she seemed thoroughly confused when she took the order.  However, it all turned out fantastic!

We invited our parents, my sister and her family, a few aunts, and some really close friends of ours.  I was only expecting about 12 people, but we ended up with a few extra!  My sister's MIL ended up coming, as she was staying with them to help take care of all the kiddos.  Did I mention that this party was less than two days after Sis gave birth to my new niece?  I know I told you she is a rock star.  She truly is!  They got released from the hospital Saturday afternoon, and that evening she was at my house for a party.  Amazing.  Then Hubby's mom invited one of his uncles to join us as well.  Wasn't expecting him, but oh well, it was nice to see him.

We barely had enough food!  In fact, I don't really think we DID have enough food, because the last few people to dish up kind of skimped a little, myself included, to make sure there was enough for the next person.  All I did was make taco soup in the crock pot.  Nothing fancy and very simple.  I had people dish up as they arrived instead of making it formal and all eating at the same time.  I don't have enough kitchen space for everyone anyway, so this saved on trying to seat everyone at the table.

I placed a dry erase board out in the living room for people to vote on whether they thought the babies would be boy/boy, boy/girl, or girl/girl.  There were a few votes for boy/boy and a few for girl/girl, but the definite majority was for one of each.

I also put out a bowl and some paper for people to jot down there favorite baby name suggestions.  Everyone voted for their gender guess, but we didn't get as many to write down baby names.  It was still fun to read through some of the names later though.  My favorite was Jesus, pronounced Hey-Zoos.  It was actually written down that way, with the pronunciation.  It was meant to be funny of course, and it was!

Hubby and I already new what we were having.  I'm really impressed that he was able to keep it a secret for FOUR whole days!  He wanted to tell people so bad.  This guy is the one that, our first year of dating, gave me my Christmas present in October because he couldn't wait till Christmas!  He just can't stand the suspense!  Because we already knew the genders ourselves, we thought it would be great to have his mom cut one of the cakes, and my mom cut the other.  We didn't tell them this until the time came, so they were both very surprised that we asked them to be the ones to cut the cakes and make the announcement, but I also think they felt very honored.

Hubby's mom.  Baby A is a GIRL!

My mom.  Baby B is a BOY!


Of course we had to get a picture of Hubby and I as well.
(Hubby's shirt says "Kimmy Jin is my Friend."  Anyone know what movie that is from?  He is quite proud of this shirt.)

Pink and Blue for one of each!
 
 
These next two pictures aren't very good quality, but I wanted to share them anyway. 
I love my family!
 

Me, my brother, and Sis


With 3 out of 4 of my sister's kids.  Only missing the baby!