My Mom is a Miracle Worker

Preparing for the babies is a big deal.  Anyone who has children knows that there is a lot that 

goes into all of the planning: Dr.'s visits, insurance, hospitals, nursery furniture, diapers, 

washing clothes, and the list goes on.  

Well, my sweet sweet mom came to Minnesota and worked her magic in our little home to help us get prepared for our babies since she knows I can't be up doing things and Marty has been going non-stop between work and church and helping me.  

Mom - I'm assuming you're going to read this and I just want to say

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I know I've said thank you already and you are just super kind and generous and I know you don't look for attention, BUT I just can't say thank you enough.

So my mom flew out Thursday night and on Friday morning we got cranking - more like 

I made lists and SHE got cranking.

She did about 20 loads of laundry (no exaggeration), luckily I could help fold the clothes.  And then she organized them all into boxes labeled by age and gender.

We ended up with 8 or 9 boxes packed with clean, organized clothes.  AND she got all the new born clothes ready for the babies and put away in their dresser.

Another HUGE, and I mean HUGE, thing she did for us was 

cook over 20 meals that could be stored in the freezer.  

Yeah, I told you my mom is a miracle worker.

As much as I appreciate how Marty has tried to stay on top of the cooking, both he and I 

agree that these meals are pretty amazing :)

Our tiny freezer packed with meals

The freezer didn't quite fit everything so next best option = outside in the snow in 15 degree weather :)

My mom was helping non-stop the whole weekend.  She went shopping for me to get some much needed maternity clothes, she helped Martin pull together an awesome luau for our church party, she organized drawers with diapers and diaper changing supplies, she cleaned, she washed toys, and more.  

All in 3 and a half days.

 But the part I like best is that I got to just hang out with my mama.  I love talking with her, 

she has so much wisdom and is an incredible example of loving others.

Thank you SOOOO much for coming and helping mom.  You have genuinely blessed our lives and the lives of your new grand-babies!  I love you!!!

P.S. Martin also got the crib set up while my mom was here!  Yay!!!

Valentine's Day

I love my Valentine.

He's really handsome and funny and thoughtful and patient and smart and respectful and...he's all mine!

I love celebrating our love!  

I woke up on Valentine's Day to a lovely bouquet of pink flowers from Marty and the day just got better.  

We have awesome friends here in Minnesota and one of them came up with an awesome, sneaky plan she and I could do for our husband's on Valentine's Day.

We had been planning this for several weeks and unfortunately I was put on bed rest about a week and a half before Valentine's day so I couldn't do all the cooking and running around like we planned to do together.  BUT Becky is amazing and was a champ in picking up my slack and the day went great!

First, we sent the boys on a scavenger hunt with lots of clues and treats to go 

with each clue (great idea by Becky).  

It all started when Jesus came home after work to an empty house and a note to pick up Marty.  Then off they went on their adventure.

 There's an inside joke between Becky and Jesus on that clue for Jesus :)

Side note: they TRIED to be funny and trick us into thinking that Jesus never got the first clue to 

pick up Marty, but we knew better :)

Eventually they made it back to our house...BUT they went through the scavenger hunt way faster then we expected and Becky was still out picking up the yummy gourmet burgers we ordered when they walked in.  And Jesus even walked in with a big bouquet of flowers ready to greet his valentine - whoops!  Anticlimactic, but sweet.

Luckily Becky got back shortly after.

Then we all enjoyed a delicious meal and each other's company

Becky's delicious Dulce de Leche Banana Cream Pie

The couples

And of course - the ridiculously cute Joaquin!

I'd say it was a successful night and tons of fun to spend it with some of our best friends.

Becky, I hope it's ok that I stole all your pictures! :)

30 weeks

Woo hoo!  We made it to 30 weeks.  Each week is a milestone so I am one happy mama.

Here's a funny comparison from when I was wearing the same shirt several weeks ago:

 Week 24                                        Week 30

Some interesting things from this past week:

• My "waist" literally grew 1/2 inch in 2 days.  We measured.
• I haven't dilated any more, yay!!!
• I got a surprise ultrasound at my Dr.'s appt because the babies were moving around too much to find heart beats - I was so excited to see them again :)
• Our little boy turned around!  His head used to be on my left side and now it's on my right side right next to our baby girl's head.  So now they can cuddle instead of kick each other in the faces.  They are still transverse, or laying sideways as if in bunk beds. 

Things are going smoothly and we have been the recipients of sooo much good.

Multiple people have brought us delicious meals, offered to help or come hang out with me, and have been sending prayers our way.  We SO appreciate it.

So we want to give a special thank you to those who have been keeping us in mind, 

you know who you are.

We truly are doing well, all four of us :) and we have a lot to be thankful for.

Martin and I recently watched this video and felt very uplifted by it.  We think about what type of parents we hope to be A LOT, and it's neat to remember that we have the ultimate example of a loving parent - God.  It shares a wonderful perspective of our relationship with not only our fathers here on earth, but also with God, our Heavenly Father. 

The Inevitable Has Come

I am officially on bed rest.

Somehow I knew the day would come, I just didn't think it would be this soon.

Considering that I am a whopping 5'4" (well, I round up - I'm 5'3.5"),

I have 2 babies growing inside of me,

and I haven't been allowed to do any strenuous exercise,

this probably shouldn't be a surprise.

However, I have felt great throughout the pregnancy and was genuinely beginning to think that I was going to beat the odds of moms of twins ending up on bed rest.  

It was hard at first to hear that I had to be on bed rest, but it has become easier and easier to accept as I realize that the ultimate goal is to have 2 healthy babies.  If taking it easy will help me reach that goal, bring it on!

The great news is, the babies are doing SO well!  At my last Dr's appointment I got an ultrasound to check their growth and our little babies are growing like crazy.

The ultrasound tech kept saying, "Wow, you've got some butterballs in there!"

Basically, our babies are little chunks and are both measuring

2 weeks bigger than how far along I am.

Baby Boy was about 3 lbs. 4 oz.

Baby Girl was about 3 lbs. 5 oz.

This is fantastic news because their growth patterns have been consistent, it means they are both getting the nutrients they need, and if I deliver early they will have an advantage because of their size.

Before I tell the story of how we found out that I need to be on bed rest, here are pictures from the last 2 weeks.

Week 28

  I was pretty surprised to see just how big I am!

Week 29

 Here's the story of how we learned I need to be on bed rest:

During the same growth ultrasound I was just talking about the tech noticed that my cervix didn't look normal, so after talking with the specialist we found that my cervix is doing something called "funneling."  This basically means that it is beginning to open from the inside. 

The Dr. sent us to the hospital to get further monitoring and we learned that I have been having fairly frequent contractions and that I am 40% effaced and just barely dilated (less than 1cm).  I hadn't felt any of the contractions, which is good, but we needed to calm them down.  So I had some medicine to help my uterus relax and after 8ish hours of monitoring we left the hospital with orders to be on bed rest until my next Dr's appointment.

My next appointment was scheduled for 4 days later and the good news is that nothing has changed!  I haven't dilated any more and my contractions have calmed down.

In order to keep things steady and prevent more pre-term labor I have been put on bed rest indefinitely.  We'll just take it week by week to keep these babies cookin'!

Luckily I can still get up to grab a snack, shower, go to the bathroom, and I can drive short distances.  Just no shopping, going on walks, preparing meals, and things that

require me to be on my feet for a while.  

This also means no more nannying.

This is really sad because the family I nanny for is incredible.  They have truly been such a blessing in our lives.  I felt so bad leaving them so suddenly, but they were completely understanding and want 2 healthy babies they can snuggle too.

So, to entertain myself I have taken up a new hobby of knitting - which I am loving!  

I'm working on a baby blanket :)

I'm also reading, working on puzzles, watching movies and getting things in order for when the babies are here!

Martin has been the best support system I could ask for.  He makes sure I'm comfy, he cleans, he cooks, he runs to the store, he does puzzles with me, he gets books at the library for me, he asks the people he works with for ideas to entertain me, and most of all - he loves me :) 

I'm very blessed to have him and so are these little babies.