PUMPKINS!

I LOVE PUMPKINS! I love fall, and fall decor, and pumpkins, and the color orange, and pumpkin bars, and pumpkin pie...the list goes on...and on...

So I thought I'd share with you my fall decorations for no other reason than it makes me happy!

I shared most of these in a post last year but there are some new ones...okay, quite a few new ones. I am not totally at fault here for draining the bank account on pumpkins. Jeremy is a huge fan of fall decorations too!

Table Centerpiece. I put together these candles last year and the pumpkins were a "basement find." What's a basement find you ask? Well, it's when you buy something on clearance at the end of the season and put it in your basement only to be surprised when you "find" it the next year! I LOVE basement finds!

Here is the book case we got at Ikea this summer.

I filled up these jars with some 1/2 price glittery gourds from Hobby Lobby. In case you weren't aware, I also love glitter.

More pumpkins

And glitter

Still more glitter

Glitter-tastic!

The mantle. It could use something more but...you know...the bank account...

Oh! I almost forgot to mention these have glitter!

Seriously? I dusted this table LAST Thursday!

There are undoubtedly more pumpkins to be found in my house but you get the idea!

Show me your pumpkins! I'd love to see them!

30 Weeks

I'm 30 weeks pregnant with Ben and Ainsley!

Things are going pretty well. All the contractions I have cause me to have a lot of anxiety but apparently having 30 contractions in 8 hours at work is NBD. NBD is No Big Deal for those of you not up on the lingo. I guess I should clarify that it's not a problem to my OB's office since the babies don't seem to be coming out in the next week or two. It is a big deal to me and I about have a nervous breakdown when this happens, but no one else seems too concerned. I am interested to know anyones experience with preterm contractions. Am I totally overreacting about having this many contractions? It's okay to say 'yes.' I tend to overreact about a lot of things.

Moving on, that four day weekend I mentioned - FABULOUS! First of all I did NOT go to the Moms of Multiples Garage Sale - it wasn't last weekend. It is actually September 23rd and 24th. Thanks, Sabrina for saving me from driving there to find that out! Unfortunately, I have to work that weekend so I'll be sending Jeremy to check it out - bummer (probably for both me and him). Sunday my mom and grandma came up and we made LOTS of freezer meals. We now have Chicken & Noodles, Baked Ziti, Chicken Chili, Chicken Spaghetti, Ranch Burgers, and Chicken Enchiladas for when the babies arrive. We just have to try not to eat it before then - it all looks so good!

We also went to visit the newest member of my family - my cousin Joe and Jeannie's baby boy, Cooper! He is so stinking cute!

I also got some headbands with flower clips on Amazon for Ainsley. They were $25 for THIRTEEN of these headbands AND flowers. And the seller actually included a 14th one for free. I thought this was a great deal. I had Jeremy model for us.

So that's what is happening this week. Hoping for seven more weeks before they're born. Keep cooking babies!

Hope you all are having a great week!

29 Weeks

I'm 29 weeks pregnant with the twins!

This post is a little late - I try to do them on Tuesdays when I change weeks. However, this past Tuesday was a little bit of a disaster. I got my hair cut and I HATED it which resulted in me crying pretty much all afternoon and evening. Let me start my saying that the girl that cuts my hair is generally AMAZING. I have been going to her for probably close to 10 years now and I have NEVER had a been experience. We apparently were not on the same page this time. I actually love the length but for some reason she decided to cut 43,000 layers in my hair and then straightened it straight as a pin which resulted in a very "emo" look. Sort of like this:

So the next day I straightened it but flipped the ends under a little with my chi. The result was Nancy Grace. Literally, people probably thought I was her.

My face probably looked like that too.

Well today I wore it curly and I actually think it looks alright. And wearing my hair curly is the easiest way to go so that's a plus. No more crying over cut hair.

I would like to say that I am generally not this ridiculously emotional. I blame it all on the pregnancy hormones.

In other pregnancy related news, the stretch marks have arrived! I swear they popped up over night. One day I had none, the next day I had many. They are all on the underside of my belly and I'm HOPING they will shrink up and be less red eventually. Bio Oil is my friend right now. It also helps with the extreme itching. At this point my belly is getting rather large, especially on the bottom. It literally sits on my lap. I can't close my legs because it's in the way. I hope you don't mind the graphic details...no one said this would be pretty! But at least I'm not including pictures...

Anywho, about the babes! I am switching to The Bump for info on weights and such because they seem to be closer in line with the size of our babies. Now they weigh 2.5lbs to 3.8lbs. They are 15.2in to 16.7in long. They are continuing to "plump up" and put on more fat.

I'm definitely feeling their increased weight (and they have a long way to go)! I feel very sore everywhere. My knees, belly, back, and hips hurt. Obviously I would do it for nine extra months if I needed to - it'll be SO worth it in the end - but I'm glad I don't have to! Aren't elephants pregnant for like two years? Yep, I just wiki'd it. Elephant gestation is 22 months and their babies weight 230 pounds! I'll quit whining now.

My reduced work hours are really helpful. I have WAY more contractions when I'm at work so being there less is great. I am looking forward to a FOUR day weekend coming up. I am planning to go the the Des Moines Moms of Multiples Garage Sale on Friday evening. I'm hoping to find some good deals on a couple bigger items we still need. I have a bridal shower to attend Saturday and of course the Iowa game. My mom is going to help me make some freezer meals this weekend to put in my NEW deep freeze she and my dad got me for my birthday. Who would ever have thought I would be so excited to get a freezer for my birthday!?

What are you doing this weekend? I hope you all have a great Friday and a fabulous Labor Day weekend!

28 Weeks

I am 28 weeks pregnant with the twins!

I had an appointment with Dr. Drake today. We had a ultrasound first to check their growth and they are doing AWESOME! Ainsley is 2lbs 9oz and Ben is 2lbs 14oz! This is great news as we were initially worried about Ben's growth with his two vessel cord but he is bigger. Also we want to make sure they stay close to the same size to make sure one isn't taking too many nutrients and not leaving enough for the other. Never too early to learn to share.

Dr. Drake was not happy with the contractions I have been having, especially at work. That combined with the cervical changes I'm having (some external dilation and funneling) made her decide we needed to do something different. That something is reducing my work hours. She recommended 20 hours per week. I am going to try 26 and see how that goes. We can reassess if need be. This is very difficult and stressful for me. First, financially I will have to take sick days and vacation days to cover this time off as we cannot afford to take it unpaid. This of course reduces the time I have available to take off after the twins are born which is frustrating. It also feels a little like I'm not doing as good a job as I should at being pregnant (which I realize is ridiculous). I find myself thinking "Why can't I do this better?" I think it's my slightly neurotic personality to blame there. I am also a worrier about what other people think and I worry people will see it as lazy to not work until the babies are born. I hate laziness so that stresses me. Again, neurotic, I know.

So with all that oversharing done being said. I need to do what the doctor thinks is best and I need to rest as much as possible (whether people judge me or not for it) so that these babies stay in and grow as big as possible. That needs to be the goal and the number one priority. Something I have to remind myself of frequently. Dr. Drake did say that after this we are "done messing around." If I continue to have contractions and cervical changes I'm done working all together. She means business. I love her for it.

I also saw the regular OB yesterday and that went fine. It was a very quick visit. I now go every two weeks to see them and at 34 weeks I start going every week for a non-stress test.

Moving on! I got these in the mail this week.

Aren't they sweet? I took a picture with my phone and made it my background - it makes me smile :) I ordered them off of GroopDealz which is a daily email I get similar to Groupon but with daily "boutique" deals. They have crafty things, handmade items, and all sorts of ca-ute stuff. I highly recommend signing up even if you never buy anything, it's fun to see all the neat items.

I also got this in the mail

"You got what in the mail?" you may be asking. It is a baby carrier/sling. It just happens to be inside out, a poorly taken picture and I'm using Daisy as a model. Jeesh, I don't know why you couldn't understand. So, anywho, about the sling. My cousin's wife, Jeannie forwarded me an email that advertised getting a FREE baby sling using the promo code FAMILY 2011 on the Seven Slings website. I was quite skeptical to say the least. I decided to try it and I paid for the shipping and a size exchange fee (which I'm sure is where they make their money) through PayPal. I think it ended up being under $15. I honestly figured that if it didn't work I would only be out 15 bucks. So, I wasn't expecting much but literally three days later it arrived in my mailbox! So if you want a baby sling and for cheap, go here!

Lastly, a food shot.

Dinner was smothered chicken, zucchini on the grill and some frozen potatoes with ranch seasoning. De-lish!

Hope everyone has a great week!

27 Weeks

Today I am 27 weeks pregnant with the twins!

We had a little excitement this past week when we made a trip to the hospital because I was having contractions. Basically I couldn't sleep at all so I moved around some, tried the couch, nothing was helping and I didn't really know for sure if I was having contractions, having never had a baby before. After a phone call to my mom at 3:30am we decided to go in. I wasn't going to sleep anyway since I was worrying about what was going on so we thought we might as well make sure everything is alright. We went to Methodists, which is where we have decided to deliver now. We were originally going to deliver at Mercy for no other reason than it's visible from the interstate, it's new and it's shiny. Very selective, I know. However, since we are now seeing Dr. Drake there at Methodist we decided to deliver there. So, on the way there I was having a contraction every four minutes. Needless to say, I was glad we decided to go. When we got there I went up to the maternity floor (in a wheelchair which I found quite embarrassing) to triage. They put monitors on the babies and a contraction monitor on me. The babies were doing fine and I only had maybe eight or ten more contractions the whole time we were there. They had Perinatal Services come up when they opened at 8:00am and do an ultrasound to measure my cervix. It was down to 2.9cm (from 4cm two weeks prior). They also checked my cervix for dilation and it was dilated to 3 on the outside but closed on the inside. This sounds scary but apparently it is normal with twins to start to see these changes. Bottom line now is that we are going to start monitoring it more closely and we will have to reassess if there are further changes. Since standing puts pressure on the cervix and causes it to shorten I am doing my best to take it easy and relax and sit down as much as possible. I stress a lot about how long I'll be able to work. My original goal was to work until at least 32 weeks but obviously if that isn't what is best for the babies I won't be doing it. Another struggle for me is not knowing what is going to happen and not being in control. Definitely something to pray about!

So! That's all that drama. Baby Center says the babies are 14&1/2 inches long this week and weigh 2 pounds. So that's 4 pounds of baby and I've gained 35 pounds...hmmm...

They are sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing their eyes, and sucking on their fingers.

Here is my paper chain I mentioned a couple weeks ago. Huge dork, I know.

I made the chain to get to 32 weeks. I don't know if that's still a possibility but we'll see how far we can get. I have been having some more contractions, especially when I'm at work and I have to be up and walking around a lot. I try to sit down when I can but that isn't always a possibility with my job. I do have to say that my coworkers have been amazing at helping me do things and really taking some of my workload whenever they can.

I also got these in the mail these week. I ordered them from Etsy. It was $10.99 for five headbands and bows.

That's all for now. I have an appointment with the OB Monday and with the Perinatologist Tuesday. I can't wait to see how big they are!

Hope everyone is having a great week!

Nursery Inspiration

We have had our fourth bedroom empty since we moved in. I mean completely empty. When we bought our house right after I graduated we knew we were going to try to start a family right away so we made one bedroom an office, one a guest room and left the fourth bedroom empty for the nursery. There were times over the last three years, when didn't know if we would ever have a baby, when it was quite hard to walk in that room and honestly the door usually stayed shut. I can't describe how excited and grateful we are to be preparing this bedroom for not one, but two little miracles!

Here are some pictures that we're using for inspiration.

Of course we'll post pictures when the room is done!

26 Weeks

I am 26 weeks pregnant with the twins!

This week, according the Baby Center, the babies are 14 inches long and weigh 1&2/3 pounds. Their hearing is more developed and they can hear both my voice and Jeremy's voice as we talk to each other. They are inhaling and exhaling small amounts of amniotic fluid which helps develop their lungs.

I don't have too much to share this week since last week's post was so late. I just finished an eight day work stretch, had today off, then work six more days. I'm really resting as much as possible when I'm not working which means Jeremy is taking care of pretty much everything else - laundry, cooking, cleaning, etc. I feel very blessed to have a husband who does so much for me - thanks J!

Apparently if you are having twins you are supposed to start counting kicks this week. I need to do a little research on that and figure out what I need to do exactly. Anyone know much about kick counting? Did you do it regularly?

I think that's it for now. Our next appointment is in two weeks and I'm getting excited to see the babies again!

Hope everyone is having a good week!