Science Project

I am not a big fan of the month by month photos although if I had a blog and a digital camera (how crazy that when JT was born I was still using film) when I was pregnant with JT, I probably would have done it. And really despite what people say, who wants a photo of themselves at their largest? All of that said, I have lots of people who have asked me what I look like, how I feel, and is being pregnant with two that different.

So let's get the first part over with quickly, here is what I look like (note it is 9 PM hence the glasses and tired look):

I am officially 38 weeks here. A medical miracle according to mu OB who can't believe that someone my size can carry basically 12 lbs of baby. Now I am a wee 38 weeks but that belly there measures at 44 weeks. So basically I am on track to have the appearance of an elephant's gestation period. And note that I am limited now to the ever cozy yoga pants as maternity jeans/pants just can't stand up to a 44 week belly.

How do I feel? At this point I feel like a science project. For the last month, I've gone to the doctor once a week and every week I start with an ultrasound, which can last up to an hour and then I see my doctor and we check to see if I am dilated, double-check my blood pressure, measure me, and then listen to the heart beats. Heart beats can take a while as well as my OB has to find a baseline and if they move, she has to restart. The last two appointments, my doctor checked my blood pressure multiple times in hopes that if it spiked at all, she could admit me to remove the babies but of course, I have "perfect" blood pressure and little to no swelling.

I am obviously a wee bit uncomfortable. Sleeping is tough. I also have giving up on bending over. I've been driving Rick crazy by sweeping around the house and leaving little piles of debris to be scooped up. I think the first time he thought there was some ghost in the house as he couldn't figure out how such nice piles of dirt appeared; he quickly caught on to my ways. I have some awesome acid reflux, which I've had pretty much since late summer. I also impressed my OB b/c if my freak show prego way, you can feel my Xiphoid sticking out, since the girls ride so high and have basically pushed by sternum out as far as it can go. This makes wearing a bra pretty much the most painful thing. I can go an hour or so and then it just gets uncomfortable.

Letter I is your Xiphoid:

I am not sure how much different being pregnant with two is than one. I am definitely more tired although some have argued that it is because I am older now than I was with the boys. For about the last month I am physically done by late afternoon and I definitely enjoy the nap. I told Rick there are days that I feel like hibernating. It has really been a blessing to work at home; I am not sure I would have been able to to work in an office for this pregnancy. I think the other big difference is the whole movement of the babies factor. Trying to determine who is moving and if both are moving. Having weekly ultrasounds has helped because I know where they are sitting (which right now is one on top sideways and one trying to be head down but she moves back and forth to being sideways as well). The other noticeable difference is just how much sooner you have to slow down. I am positive that at 30 weeks with the boys I wasn't worried about bed rest or moving slower. This time around it has been all about making each week until at least week 34 and then after that to have everyone on alert that they could arrive at any moment. I think I have some very sweet friends who are just as ready as I am to have these girls out and stop wondering when it will be! The odd thing, is that while my stomach is definitely bigger I have gained less than with both boys although truth be told, I started out weighing more than I did with either boys. I am keeping my fingers crossed for some successful nursing and good calorie burning.

And so here we are with 2011 almost to an end. I've given up on guessing their arrival. Clearly these ladies are asserting themselves early and ensuring we know they want to run things. They obviously don't care that I've met my deductible (there is a difference - twins are expensive!), that I could use them as a tax credit for 2011, and that I had some time off at work I would have liked to burn before using my 2012 time. So we look to January 3rd as their official date (since that is the day I am scheduled for c-section). I think at this point we are all beyond ready and not ready at the same time.

12/26/2011

Rick's first question to me this morning was what my plan was for the day. Oddly I have no plan, which I think he is struggling with since I typically have at least one "to do" item mapped out for the day. Outside of finding some way to get the chickens to flee the coup, the first thing that came to mind was removing my Christmas tree. I know it is just one day post-Christmas but here are my thoughts:

1. The tree is dry and losing needles
2. I have a sneaking suspicion that one small cat is doing dirty deeds under the tree and now that she doesn't have presents blocking her access she is back to her shenanigans.
3. I imagine going in to labor any day this week and then having to deal with tree take-down post-chickens
4. I imagine not going in to labor and having to take everything down prior to my 1/3 scheduled appointment and the mood I will be in at that point.

Since I messed up my Christmas day  photos, I snapped a few this morning (yes, I fixed the settings on my camera) of this year's favorite ornaments. The Anthropolgie octopus from Chandra that feeds my secret octopus obsession, homemade ornaments from both JT and Zach (although Zach's is much cuter in person), and the fabulous ornament that my Fall Carnival co-chair's mom made to help commemorate our successful adventure this fall.

Packing up all these ornaments makes me think about what will be next year. Of course there is no way to know except that we will be a house of 6 (yikes!) that definitely wasn't what I was thinking about 12/26/2010.

Merry Christmas

In true Meghan form, I managed to do something to my camera that is causing my light levels to be off which means all my Christmas photos look like this:

Who needs to see the faces of their kids?

So needless to say, rather than spending time trying to figure out what my first Kindle book will be (thanks to some little boys who gifted me with my own Kindle), I am going to bust out the owner's manual and figure out what I need to do to get normal photos again. Technically, I know that I did it when I was trying to capture my Christmas light photos, I mistakenly messed with my auto-settings rather than my manual. Ugh!

Anywho, enough complaining at Christmas. We had a wonderful day. It is always a little sad to not be at Pete's and Jude's house but we've enjoyed our time hanging at the house and honestly being extremely lazy. No new word on the chickens. They opted to ignore Lucas tradition and not arrive on the 24th, which I have to say I was a bit happy about because despite the fabulous support from friends, I felt bad about my kids having to spend Christmas at someone else's house (not only for the boys but also the friends). And honestly, I was feeling sorry for myself if I was going to spend Christmas at the hospital. So we will just continue to wait.

JT's highlights from Christmas:

• Telescope 
• Ticket to Ride game (especially since he just learned that his uncle Gavin is a huge fan)
• Circuits set

Zach's highlights from Christmas:

• The Black Pearl lego set 
• Star Wars monopoly
• Lego Idea book

I am giving big kudos to Rick who surprised with some fabulous Kendra Scott earrings. He definitely out-did me considering I gave him a controversial London Rippers baseball t-shirt.

We hope all of our friends and family members enjoyed Christmas. We send our love to each of you.

Christmas Crafting

Sometime in early November I hit a panic about having two new babies and two active boys at home during Christmas break and nothing to do. So while I was out, most likely panic Christmas shopping, I picked up a few Christmas craft projects that I thought the boys would enjoy.

The first craft we tackled, no photos, was painting ornaments. I envisioned family heirlooms but instead I got some haphazard ornaments (one is painted only in glow in the dark paint). Both boys had invited a friend over (girls) who took time and precision to make some very nice ornaments. I thought this would inspire the boys but they wanted to play, get some cookies and cocoa, and they had the added distraction of another boy that needed a place to hang while his mom ran a few errands. It probably didn't help that I was also in the midst of a project at work and was trying to monitor/help kids and work at the same. Basically a failed craft/play date and  project.

Of course that didn't stop me and the other day we broke out Christmas craft project #2. Painting Nutcrackers. Both boys have a thing for the Nutcracker so this seemed like a winner of a craft. The boys were ready, I was ready, queue up the holiday music  and watch fantastic Christmas creations emerge from the imagination and creativity of my kids. All started well until we ran in  to a small glitch, the guys have hair and while I tried to protect their beards, I couldn't think of a creative way to protect their hair and within minutes there was frustration about paint on the hair, which soon lead to melt-downs on both sides, and then lead to  some creative story telling and painting. Turns out both Nutcrackers got involved in battles, ended with eye patches and the following paint jobs.

The boys aren't the only ones experiencing failure with crafting. After reading several blogs about taking fabulous Christmas light photos, I convinced the Lucas/Largent clans to head down to Mozart's to get hot cocoa and see their Christmas light show. Needless to say, despite believing I had my DSLR settings done properly and taking 20 plus photos, I did not capture a single incredible Christmas lights at night image. I have to give props to the kids who patiently posed and reposed in cold rain while Lexy and I attempted camera super stardom. Hopefully she had better luck and got at least one good shot of the kids.

There is good news though. JT has successfully made two batches of Christmas cookies (for the most part on his own). I had cancelled Christmas baking because again, I thought I'd be sleep deprived. JT had asked if he could take up the challenge and made one batch of Grandma Jesse's thimble cookies and a batch of her Mexican Wedding cakes. We now have cookies for Santa (including our special treat of Polish cookies from Aunt Paula).

life at the house

I know it has been a while and for that I apologize. Life just seems to going so fast lately. Work is busy, babies are growing, kids have hundreds of activities.

So a quick update on what we've been doing. We had a quiet and relaxing Turkey Day at the house. I think it is the first that we have spent without company. After the long weekend we had lots of activities including Holiday Night at school complete with Zach singing and some bingo, the Voodoo played and won their final tournament of the year, class parties, and some Christmas crafting adventures.

We all spend a lot of time asking if the girls are going to come out but apparently they see no need. A few weeks back I had some decreased movement so that set off a flurry of activity that included a visit to the hospital. All ended well and the chickens are growing and thriving. At my last visit they were 5 lbs 12 oz and 5 lbs 9 oz. Needless to say having almost 12 lbs of baby is starting to get to me. The boys have all been helpful (including Rick) but I think they all want to stop having to pick things up off the floor for me. We are hoping for the chickens to come before Christmas so we can all be home but if not then I am scheduled for a 1/3 c-section.