tick, tock

dear babies,


we've passed the 35 week mark and are almost at new year's eve, and yet i've still not seen your little faces.  i had no doubt that i'd have you in my arms by now - obviously wrong on that front.  still, every time my belly contracts or i feel one of you move, i wonder, is today the day?  every night when i build my fort of pillows and get settled into it i wonder, will they arrive before morning?  daddy's pretty antsy about the whole thing - he asks if i feel anything with every toss and turn...we're both just so excited to get to meet you soon!


it seems as if every appointment we go to, the specialists / midwives / doctors / nurses are convinced that we don't have long to go, but for now we wait...and pray for the patience to enjoy this stage for all it's worth!  :)  they've also been telling us about how well you two are doing - daddy and i are so proud of how much you've grown and how well you've developed all your tiny little organs.  you've had so many people praying for you and by the grace of God you've surpassed all of our expectations.


i remember heading into fall and thinking that this winter won't be so bad because i had your arrival to look forward to, but i had no idea how fast the time would fly between all the preparation, appointments, etc - not even born and already a being a blessing to your mama!  these first few months of the year tend to be so dark, wet and discouraging - but this time around i get to look forward to spending time with you while we wait for longer and warmer days.  i have no doubt it'll be rough and there will be lots to learn in those first few months, but i'm also sure it will be an amazing experience - one i've never had before, that will stretch and teach me in ways i can't even begin to imagine!


but enough dreaming for now; i'd rather live in the moment and continue to pray for your safe arrival then take each day in stride, leaning on the Lord to supply the grace i need to navigate this new phase and teach me how to glorify him through my new role as your mama.


love,
your mom

just wanted to say...

ours is made up of

family
board games
LOTS of good food
pregnant bellies
laughter
warm drinks
cozy houses
chocolate / baking / treats galore
etc etc etc

and of course, we took some time to read some scripture and remember the real reason for all the celebration.

THE BIRTH OF JESUS CHRIST
Luke 2:1-14

¹ In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. ² This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. ³ And all went to be registered, each to his own town. ⁴ And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, ⁵ to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. ⁶ And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. ⁷ And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

⁸ And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹ And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. ¹⁰ And the angel said to them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. ¹¹ For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. ¹²And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger" ¹³ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, ¹⁴ "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!" 

I'll wrap this up with one of my favorite Christmas songs


so once more, from our family to yours: merry merry Christmas!

oh the difference 25 weeks makes...

take that, winter!

there isn't much better than having a barista hand over a piping hot short-in-a-tall, 1/2 caf, 1 pump white mocha americano with a splash of soy and extra water to the top or a {insert your much simpler because you aren't a starbucks snob drink here}  ...especially on a cold / blustery / wet / dark day.

not having a set schedule anymore makes it tempting to waltz on over to my neighborhood starbucks every morning and get "the usual" (or at this time of year, maybe a chai eggnog latte - mmmm!)

I could blame it on a love of espresso or a need for company during the day (even if it's just a barista on the other side of the counter), but I think there's more to it than that.  I think a big part of it is wrapping my hands around a hot cup and feeling the warmth spread through my body with the yummy goodness of every sip.

kind of like these calzones we've been making lately
(I know, it was a stretch of a connection, but hey - when you've got baby brain, your thoughts don't always connect!)

anyway, back to the calzones - these are essentially our winter version of pizza ...because we've never cooked pizza in the oven (grilled pizza is just too good to veer away from), but we're kind of wimpy when it comes to the cold so it's definitely more of a summer food in our house.  that doesn't mean we go without our pizza fix in the winters, though. we just bundle our pizza up into warm little pockets of ooey gooey perfection stuffed with our favorite pizza toppings.

and the best part?  it's ridiculously easy.
I use the same dough as I do for grilled pizza - it's a snap to throw together and tastes great - why mess with a good thing, right?
the only hard part is remembering to make it early enough to rise.
once the dough's ready, just follow these steps and you're set:

white whole wheat calzones:
- preheat your oven to 350* F
- divide the dough out into 4 pieces (for large calzones) or 8 pieces (for more pizza pocket sized ones)
- roll each piece out into a circle
- pile your toppings / sauce / cheese etc onto half of your circle
(remember to leave a bit of an "edge" so you can shut your calzone!)
- fold the untopping-ed half over your toppings
- "seal" with a fork (sometimes it helps to fold a bit of the dough over itself)
- place calzones on a parchment lined baking sheet and distract yourself they brown nicely, about 25 minutes



*warning*
these bad boys come out piping hot - as tempting as it is to dig in right aways, let 'em sit a couple of minutes after you've pulled them out the oven and be careful when you finally do cave!

so there you have it - beating the winter blues one meal at a time.  :)  it's a double bonus in our case, since every little bite goes towards growing these little babies (who are growing quite nicely, by the way - thanks for all your prayers!).  that being said, I'm once again overdue for a baby belly picture - so here we are at 33 weeks:

week 1

Today was supposed to be my first "official" day off work, but as I mentioned in my last post, I was ordered off a week early.  I thought I'd have so much time on my hands once I stopped working, especially with the extra week thrown in there, but boy was I wrong!  I guess I didn't anticipate the number of appointments and errands (especially at this time of year) I'd be running between.  I also didn't realize how much more sleep I'd need at this point in the pregnancy and how much longer things take when your body is so tired.  

That being said, I've still gotten a couple of things crossed off the to-do list:  

- I finally packed my hospital bag 

- We bought a used crib, had some great friends come over and help clean and assemble it

- I made what will likely be my last Trader Joe's trip before the arrival of the littles

(I use their Vitamin E oil straight on my tummy - it's super soothing and gentle...and way cheaper than fancy creams!  I would totally recommend it for pregnant bellies - quick, tell all your friends! ;) )

- I took care of random odds and ends around the house

What I haven't done is post a 32 week picture...

(now that we're practically 33 weeks - oops!)

so there you have it - my week in review plus the assurance that no babies have arrived yet 

(which seems to be the general assumption when people don't hear from me for a day or two!)

a small fib

remember back in September when I admitted to accidentally lying to you?  well, it looks like I've done it again...this time about being done work.  

allow me to explain.

last Thursday, I blogged about all the things I've been busy with - one of which was work, which, come this Friday, would be one less thing to balance.  Later that day, I went in for a midwife appointment, only to be turned right around and sent straight to the hospital.  

apparently, our little ones are a bit too little, so they wanted to run some tests and make sure everybody was healthy.  if not, they were going to induce.

as I sat there listening to my midwife explain the situation, all I could think was "induce?!? but I'm not ready!  there are still things to be done...I'm not done work, there's nowhere for the littles to sleep, what if I don't have the bare necessities yet, and what about my hospital bag - I haven't even begun to pack it!"  etc etc etc

now I understand what people mean when they say things like "for a moment, the world stopped turning" ...that is exactly how I felt - between the shock, concern, giddiness (at the possibility of finally meeting them!), fear, helplessness etc it actually felt like time stopped - guess it's one of those things you have to experience to understand.

so off I went to the hospital, all of these thoughts circling around my brain.  I checked into maternal fetal medicine and was whisked away into a room where they hooked me up to all kinds of wires.  a couple of hours later, they let us go, with babies still inside...for now.

they did, however, order me off of work (effective immediately!) and schedule in all kinds of appointments to keep track of the twins' growth as we approach full term.  and apparently after any given one of said appointments, they might send me off to induce the littles.  thankfully, we are far along enough where inducing them won't cause any long-term problems with their health, so all this really means is we might get surprise babies any day now.  gulp.  

so there you have it - when I said I'd be done work in a week, I really meant in a couple of hours - not that big of a difference, right?  ;)  in other news, I promised you a 30 and 31 week picture so here they are - who knows, these might be the last!

 

believe it or not, I haven't fallen off the face of the planet...

I know I've been MIA for the past little while - between tying up loose ends at work (just over a week left!) and sorting through what all we need for the twins' arrival, I've had barely any time to sleep, much less blog.  But I miss blog-ville, and I promise I'll be back ...just as soon as I've sorted through all these mini outfits, creams, diapers, books on twins, bottles, toys, books etc etc etc.    

p.s. stay tuned for week 30 and 31 pics (coming soon) ...promise!  :)