Weekending

There's something about school starting that makes us really cherish the weekends.  Even though, we don't have anyone going to school this year, it does make us snap back into a routine and well, right now, we're loving no routine.

Last night Matt and I went out on a date.  Yes, a date.  It was wonderful to eat out and see a movie.  A very good movie.  I highly recommend The Help.  Its not often that we both enter and leave a movie feeling like it was the right choice.  One of us always compromises (usually its me, seeing something with blood and guts...I mean, who cares.  I get a seat to myself with no one crying.  I'll watch whatever). But I digress.  The movie is worth every penny...even though we had free tickets.  We said we would have paid for it.  Now I can't wait to read the book.

Then today, we went to the zoo.  Its become an end of summer tradition for us.  Two of the three times that we've gone, I've been pregnant.  Wow.  We went early in the morning and it was perfect.  All the animals were out and ready to socialize.

Daddy and Annelise by the fish tank.  There really are fish in there.

And Elli couldn't be left out.

Watching the gorillas squabble.

Petting the sting rays and nurse sharks.  Well, mommy was.  Annelise heard the word "shark" and decided it wasn't for her.

Feeding the birds.

She loved it!

This was right before I got pooped on.  In my hair.  Go ahead...laugh.

We really enjoyed ourselves, minus a few temper tantrums that I am attributing to ragweed allergies.  Runny noses are no fun.

And we've spent the rest of the afternoon napping, swinging, making laundry soap and folding clothes.  I'm trying a new recipe for dry detergent and decided to use Ivory soap this time.  Last time, the Fels-Naptha was just a little strong in scent for my taste.  Oh...and since I'm a sucker for fresh smelling laundry, I added a half cup of this to the mixture.  Its heavenly.  And it softens your clothes while it cleans.

So, that's us.  We have a few weekends left before the fall begins.  We're looking forward to cooler weather, shorter days and being a little lazier all around.  Slowing down in on the agenda for mommy - and we all know what that means.  Well, nothing really.

Happy Sunday.

19 Weeks

For those of you that have had singletons, I'm measuring at 26 weeks. And still smiling.

Let's Change Things Up

Had my big ultrasound today.  You know, the one you wait for your entire pregnancy.  All eyes in the room are staring at one thing...your unborn baby's (or in our case, babies') genitals.  Its the one time as a mother you pray your child does not decide to be modest.  Truly, the one time.

And we got to do it times two!

So, I won't punish you and make you read an entire paragraph about the health of our babies or the measurement of my cervix (like you care) before I tell you that...

Yes, according to Annelise, that is a boy pee-pee.

Well, if the picture isn't obvious enough...we're welcoming BLUE into our house.  And we couldn't be more thrilled about it.

So sweet...face to face and very cuddly in the womb!

The babies (ahem...boys!) are very healthy, measuring about 6 inches each and weighing roughly 9 and 10 ounces.  Um, that's a foot of baby boy in my stomach, not to mention 2 pounds of baby, placenta, amniotic fluid...you get the picture.  No wonder I feel so uncomfortable already! 

Thankfully, all of my vitals are looking great.  Long cervix, healthy blood pressure.  And, while my babies (sorry, still getting used to this...boys) measure 19 weeks, my stomach size measures 26 weeks.  Holy cow!  I wonder what I'll measure at the end?  I've only gained 3 pounds, which is amazing, because I feel like all I do is eat. 

We're still aiming for a December 28 delivery.  Trying to keep them in as long as possible.  However, anything after December 15 is fair play.  So, needless to say, we're very excited (and relieved) that we'll be changing it up a little...trading hair bows for ball caps and dolls for trucks.  We're ready for some boy action in this house.

My Right of Passage

Every parent goes through it...these moments we call rights of passage.  I guess they're kind of like badges of honor.  I wasn't in girl scouts, but I imagine it being something of an accomplishment when you've earned another badge.

The past few weeks, we've experienced quite a few rights of passage.  Things others adults (without children) would cringe at.  You know, pooping on the carpet, cutting long curly locks of hair, attempting to cut your sister's already too-short hair...those kinds of things.

Though it was tragic at the time...

I think the end result is nice.

And how come no one warned me that my 3-year old would start saying "Ok, here's the deal..."  Do I say that?

Elli has taken on a special role in our home.  At 22 months she's decided the role of rule enforcer fits her best.  Though her words aren't always coherent, its clear what she's expecting.  "No, no Anne..."  Words like mine, ioyikeit (I don't like it) and aheat (I eat) permeate our house.  I will be sad when she gives up the baby talk.  I love this stage.  And I enjoy it when I get to interpret for her.  There's something very gratifying about having to tell Matt what she said.  That's not wrong, is it?

Changes haven't just happened in our children either.  Matt finished a 5-year ministry position at Calvary Schools of Holland at the end of July and is enjoying his first week of work at Wireless Zone - our family business.  I wrote about the venture here, which has since grown to three stores in three cities with lots of employees.  We're excited to see what God has in store.  The schedule is different from what we're used to, retail hours, but I think the stress level will be much more manageable for my man - especially in light of the other change that is happening in our lives.

Ah yes, the twins.  They are growing rapidly - I think I read that between 16 and 20 weeks they double in size...yikes.  At my 16 week appointment we determined they are identical, so we're either getting girls or boys.  Their heartbeats were very strong and both seem to be active - though Baby A is usually the squirmiest while Baby B reacts to the punches.  There's just something amazing about seeing two babies on the ultrasound screen.  It never gets old.  In two weeks I have my anatomy scan (all the men reading this just said, what?).  Basically they are going to tell us the gender (yeah), amongst lots of other things.  I was told to expect the ultrasound to last 2 hours...they have to find and measure everything - two right arms, two left arms, two brains...you get the picture.  I guess that could take a long time.  Can you imagine what its like to have your bladder uncomfortably full for two hours?  I might need a bathroom break.  They are also going to measure the length of my cervix, something they don't do until the end with singletons.  I guess in pregnancies with multiples there can be an early shortening of the cervix, which isn't good.  Right now, I'm just praying for over 3cm - anything under and my doctor will put me on bed rest.  Have you ever prayed for a long cervix before?

So, life is really good for us right now.  Changing, but good.  We're enjoying a transition which includes lots of cutting back, refocusing and placing importance on raising a family that knows Christ and the power He has in our lives.  There's lots of trusting going on...and I'm sure you know that's a good thing for us.

What day is it?

The days are melding together and I don't know why.  Summer heat...vacation...changes in our lives...or pregnancy.  I like to blame everything on the pregnancy.

Or maybe I just feel off because my doctor changed my due date this week.  I hate when they do that!  Looks like we'll be having these babies a week earlier than planned. Although, I can't say I've done a whole lot of planning, because with multiples, well...you just never know when they're going to make their entrance.

I haven't been feeling very well.  I was hoping to turn a corner at 14 weeks, but nope.  Doctor says I need to slow down...take it easy.  If you know me, you know that's impossible.  I'm not a napper, I don't go to bed super early and well, I'm just stubborn.

So, my goal today is to take a nap.  That's a huge goal for me.  But, I know it will make our evening so much more pleasant.

12 Weeks

Here it is folks.  As much as I hate to document visually the hugeness of this pregnancy, I know you all want to see it.  And I'm sure some day in the very distant future, I'll want to see it too.  Maybe.

The shelter I work at has a volunteer nurse.  She's wonderful and as caring as any nurse you've seen.  But, she keeps telling me I'm going get very large.  Yes, I know...thanks for reminding me.

To celebrate this 12 week milestone, we're painting our house.  It needs to be done, so we're using the last bit of vacation time that we have to get it done.  Here's the progress so far.

 Scraping the house to prepare for painting has taken two days.

The new shutter color.  Like it?

Oh...and I would be remiss if I didn't mention our wonderful weekend in Lake City, Michigan.  We enjoyed the Greatest Fourth in the North for a fifth time since we moved here.  Although, I have been going for 29 years.  Here's a few snapshots of our visit.  Let's just say the camera didn't make it into our hands as often as the sunscreen.

Remembering

I was just reminiscing about summer's past when I happened upon this post, exactly one year ago.  How does time move so quickly?  And it seems that the words I wrote 12 months ago could have come from my fingers moving across the keyboard today.  So much different, so much the same.

My sweet baby moved into a big girl bed today.  This mommy fully expected failure.  But, my darling just woke from a 2 hour nap and never even attempted to get down.  In fact, she called for me to come get her.  Tear.  She's not my baby anymore (although I think any mother knows your babies are always babies).

Could it be possible that I'm nesting early?  Even with the worst nausea I've ever experienced, I still managed to clean out the basement last week, rearrange the girls' room and am hoping to tackle to the office soon-to-be nursery to two swaddled babes in the coming weeks.

My next appointment and ultrasound is on July 20th.  I'll be 14 weeks.  We're hoping to determine at that time whether we'll have identical or fraternal twins.  I'm also hoping we could get a sneak-peek at gender...is 14 weeks too early?

Anyhoo, my children would like for me to push them on the swing and that's exactly what I intend to do. 

Blessings...times 2!

An hour ago, we had this ultrasound photo taken.

Oh.my.word.  Do you see those two babies in there?

Yes, I'm still in shock.  Over the moon excited, but shocked.

My mom was my exact age when she found out she was pregnant with twins.  She had two kids at home too.  Its eery how similar our stories have been.

She told me a few weeks ago that I was having twins.  "I could just tell...your symptoms were the same as mine."

She was right.  Isn't mom always right?  My mom is.  It makes me mad sometimes.

So, here's to two of everything.  Car seats, cribs, outfits, bottles...and now I'm going to stop.  Before I freak out.

Taking it one day at a time.  Thank you Lord for double blessings...especially the most unexpected!

I got nothing.

I'm lacking in creativity these days.  I swear growing a baby equals a shrinking brain.  Anyone else with me?

In between lots of morning sickness, we've tried our best to celebrate our anniversary, my birthday and father's day.  Oh, and we did all of it this weekend.

I was feeling good on Saturday, so Matt surprised me with a lunch reservation at the Melting Pot.  Love that place!  It's probably the last time we'll go there for a while, but it was worth every penny.  I love the long, drawn out fondue cooking process, which gives us time to chat and savor every bite.  Where else can you get a two hour lunch with your spouse, uninterrupted.  You pay for the experience and its totally worth it.  And after lunch, we did something very foreign to parents of young children.  We went to a movie...at the IMAX.  It was glorious.

So, kudos go to my husband for a wonderful day, full of all the things I'd wish for (well, minus a pedicure...) on my birthday.

To top the weekend off, the four of us celebrated Father's Day lunch at Red Robin for only $5.  Yup!  With my free birthday burger and the girls splitting a meal, we were all full and happy...on a budget.  It was a rush!

After celebrating some more with afternoon naps (what?  I think naps are something worth celebrating!) we headed over to my parents for dinner and fun in the sprinklers.  Well, the kids did anyways.

Our Wilderness Adventure

Ok, so we just went camping.  But I'd say with two kids under the age of three - who have never even seen a camping tent before - it was an adventure. Its always nice to experience a new adventure with a family who has done it before.

This picture cracks me up.  That would be Annelise taking a picture of Elli, while they are supposed to be sleeping.  Stinkers!  Caught in the act...

And this is what Annelise looks like today...tired much?  We're laying low, cleaning and doing lots of school on the computer.

I couldn't resist posting this one.  In the midst of the camping mess (we literally dropped our bags in a pile and crashed when we got home) I found Mr. Piggy, sound asleep under Elli's blanket.  I wonder who is responsible for that?

Our Latest Project

 

My very generous parents bought this swingset for our girls last weekend.  We had been looking to buy one for a while, but wanted to make the right purchase and hadn't found anything that seemed to be long-lasting.  Well, grandpa surprised us with this gift!

It only took us 12 hours to put together (seriously) but it was well worth it.  The kids have been on it every day.  Thanks Mom and Dad...we love it!

Oh and don't mind the teeter totter.  We have since fixed it.  It was put together upside down. Ha!

Its true.

Another Neal baby is on the way!  We're very excited (and I wouldn't be completely honest if I didn't also say a little nervous) about a third little one joining our family.  I'm still very early in my pregnancy and experiencing lots of morning (ha! all-day) sickness and exhaustion.  Man, there is just nothing like pregnancy exhaustion, is there?

So, we'll be welcoming another baby during the same week that we celebrate our eldest daughter's 4th birthday.  Wow.