Story Sticks

We cut pictures out of magazines and glued them to sticks and made up stories with the stick pictures.
I'm so motherly-wholesome, right?
Wrong - I just wanna win this blog's giveaway
:)

33 week update

• Feeling fine - no major complaints - had weekly checkup today
• Measuring 38 cm (weeks), 31 lbs gained
• Still on the low end of normal BP (that's important because Preeclampsia is a major cause of preterm labor for twin moms)
• No contractions, not even the fake ones
• HRs were 145 and 135
• No cervical changes (progression) at all
• Definitely having a cesarean birth. I know the risks. I've done a lot of research and talked to my doctor about a VBAC with these twins. I've been thoroughly freaked out by the stories and statistics of uterine rupture. I'm resigned to my surgical delivery fate, and trusting that everything will go okay.
• I used to constantly get told how good/small I looked... now I'm mostly asked how much longer I have left. Just waiting to start hearing that wonderful phrase, "you look like you're about to pop!" Note to world: pretty sure no pregnant woman likes hearing that.
• Still running 3-4 miles nearly everyday, sometimes on the treadmill, or preferably on the trails if I can drag myself out of bed early enough. Loving every second of it. Still lifting a couple days a week, but definitely not as much as I could/should/want to. 
• Getting more serious about name choices. We don't want to make this decision on delivery day, and don't want to leave the hospital nameless. Major contenders: Braxton, Charlotte, Bethany, Chandler. Minor contenders: Cassidy, Bennet, Brayden, Courtney, Camelia, Bridgette, Carson.  Middle name choices are set. Feedback welcome, though in the end we'll probably just let Brianna decide.
• Lots of baby wigglings in all directions. 
• Hands and feet are a little swollen in this hot weather. Or maybe I'm just calling fat swollen. Wedding ring came off yesterday after a minor panic attack and a rush to find soap and water. 

• So, so, so much to do before they come. I want my house to be in perfect order and to finish all unfinished projects. Unfortunately Brianna doesn't share my ambitions and just wants to play outside all day. 
• I think I'm forgetting what it's like to NOT be pregnant. 
• Still not sure about the sleeping arrangement for all 5 of us. Wish we had a bigger house! 
• It is seriously so flippin fun to be carrying two babies. I love it. I love the looks I get from people when they ask if it's a boy or a girl and I get to say, "BOTH!" I love talking about them instead of it or just him or her. I love that I can justify almost any amount of weight gain because I'm carrying two. I love thinking about them poking each other inside me. I love the extra excitement and anticipation. I love the twin-mom friends I'm making and the instant connection we have. I love practicing twin-holding with babies like my friend's twins, M&M:

I love being ALMOST DONE!

Brianna's favorite game

I still don't know where she picked this up. One day I just saw her swinging around a tree and singing the song. Now she does it almost everytime she sees a skinny tree. On this day, her cute little friend Sienna joined her. The best part was a few weeks ago when her older brother Tyrus was also playing, and apparently kicked Brianna out of the fun. She burst into tears and came running to me crying, "HE TOOK MY POCKETFUL OF POSIES!!"
Note: this sweet little nursery rhyme has absolutely nothing to do with the bubonic/black plague. Thank you snopes.com

Better than frozen grapes

You all are familiar with the appetizing novelty that is frozen grapes, right? If not, you don't have the foundation to really appreciate the savory delicacy I am about to describe...
LITTLE FROZEN BANANA BITS!

So you go to the store and get the red-banded bananas. I'm not sure every store does this, but the ones around here do. They are usually .25/lb... super cheap. And veryvery ripe/sweet. Then you chop them up (or break them by hand, as Miss Brianna is demonstrating) and put them on a big tray to go into the freezer. I wish I could just throw them straight into freezer bags, but then they get all stuck together and you have a huge chunkball of banana bits. Very annoying). So we spread them out on a tray or two (or five), freeze til solid, then divide up in freezer bags. On freakishly hot summer days (like above 75), when eating anything remotely above room temp sounds torturous, pulling out a bag of these frozen banana bits is like candy. It makes my babies jump for joy. They're going to come out requesting banana-flavored breastmilk. And with the way I gorge on these, they'll probably get it.

Too bad we're not having quadruplets...

...because we have enough clothes for twice as many babies as we're having! These pictures are just part of the stash. I spent one afternoon sorting everything by size and gender and decided to capture the insanity:

Those boxes are all full and I scored some great storage bins at a yard sale to keep all this organized. Seriously - huge THANKYOU to everyone who has been so generous with us! These are all hand-me-downs and gifts and leftovers from the two recent free swap meets I've put on. Not one item has a stain or even looks used. We're so lucky! We only have a few twin-matchy outfits, but that's ok - I'm guessing I'm not really going to care about getting them dressed up in coordinating duds. The goal will be to keep them alive and happy. As soon as they grow out of each size, I'm giving it all away again to someone else in need, like I did with Brianna's clothes (til I found out I was pregnant). I don't believe in keeping too-small clothes around - it just takes up space and you risk it getting weather/age/moth damaged. If we do have any more kids (which, right now I'm saying we will - like in 3-4 years before I hit the dreaded 30, but we'll see what I'm saying when I'm in the thick of chaotic childcare!) it's not hard to find great deals on baby clothes. There's yard sales, thrift stores, consignment, and others like me who want to just give away unneeded clothing!
Brian says we're not doing our part to help the economy. I remind him of the bazillion other items we CAN'T get free or buy used/tax-free... thousands of diapers, for instance. And the detergent to wash all these clothes... and then he's ok with my resourceful acquisition of baby clothes.
Seeing all these clothes (I'm using the word clothes a lot, I know, but there aren't a lot of synonyms) and organizing them was a real wake-up call for me (and Brian and Brianna - who is starting to understand there's little people on the way).  We only have about FIVE weeks left!  Then we get to actually dress two little dolls!

Best $15 ever spent

Who knew a little plastic pool could keep children so entertained for so long?! I bought it on a whim because I had just a couple minutes to use up a Rite Aid gift card in St. George. Brianna has played with it everyday since! She loves to throw things in it, throw things out of it, fill it up, dump it out, run into it, run away from it...

Here she is playing with her friends, Tyrus and Sienna.The blow-up basketball hoop can kindof be seen in a few shots... that was a lucky yardsale find. And the top left picture shows a hose attachment/sprinkler that shoots up water in different directions - the kids love it. It's nice to have some outside play equipment so we can invite friends over. I always took that for granted as a kid - my parents gave us an awesome backyard - a big pool, basketball court, volleyball, treehouse, zip line... and I still preferred to go to my friends' homes instead! Must be why I've turned into such a spoiled brat.  Dontcha love her swimsuit/wetsuit?! I'm sad it's getting too small. But now it's hot enough that she doesn't need it... in fact, if we don't have friends over, I usually let her go play in her pool without anything on. Trashy, I know. But so cute. And so fun to see her so happy!

The epitome of laziness

-Didn't feel like making her a real lunch, so I handed her an entire watermelon
-Didn't wanna bother with bibs or washing more clothes, thus she's half naked.
-Didn't wanna chop the melon into a bazillion pieces, so I let her dig into with with a spoon.
-Her hair. Just look at it. I'd be ashamed...if I was a little more pretentious.
-Those papers on the ground...I think they're still there....

But she's happy, and that's all that matters, right?

girly

I told Brianna it was time to leave for church (not for Sunday church - just our workout group that gets together a couple days a week to sweat while the kids run around the gym and play). She usually runs right out into her stroller when I tell her it's time to go. But on this particular day she first dashed into her room saying, "I hafta get my makeup on!" I just stood there shocked, not knowing whether to laugh or to be devastated that my little girl thinks she needs makeup. Before I could decide she ran out of her room and into her toy room, saying "I need my purse!" Again - another phrase I had never heard her say (and haven't since - this was a week or two ago, and so far, a singular event). I'm glad I grabbed my camera in time to capture her running out the door, pink purse in hand:

How'd she get so girly?!?!

Infant twins? psh. Toddler? AHHHHH!

People often ask me if I'm nervous about having twins.
The honest answer is no. I am excitedly anticipating the addition of our children.
The question few think to ask is if I'm nervous about having the twins AND the toddler.
The answer is YES! I don't know if all 2 yr olds are this way, but she has moments of intense clingy-ness! Or even just irritability and whining. And I feel like I'm the only one that knows how to help her be happy again. We really have a very tight bond - maybe the same as all SAHM moms and their first child... it's all those days/weeks/years of spending nearly 24 hrs together. But in 5 or 6 weeks, I'm suddenly going to be MIA. Especially those 3-4 days in the hospital post-cesarean... what is Brianna going to DO?! I'm seriously nervous that she's going to have a total breakdown and think I've abandoned her. Maybe I'm being paranoid, but today's experience did NOT help to bolster my faith.
Here's the photo Brian texted to me, along with the words, "heading home now" :

She doesn't look too happy, eh?  Well she had just spent the last hour or so CRYING for me! Brian decided it would be a good idea to take Brianna on a 3 hr drive to see his parents and a couple siblings for a few hours. Yep - more time in the car than actually visiting. There was no way this double-pregnant lady was going to sit through the hours of driving, especially with the overwhelming to-do list I've created before the babies come. Brianna asked me a few times, "Mommy come in car? You coming, mommy?" and I would just nonchalantly tell her that she got to do a car trip with just daddy this time, and I would stay at home. She wasn't happy about the idea, but willingly left with him after church. Well, less than an hour after they arrived Brian called me and all I could hear was sad crying in the background. Brianna was just sobbing and asking for me. It was absolutely heartbreaking. They got back in the car for the long drive home.
What am I going to DO?! Maybe we should've spaced our children out a little further...I sometimes forget that she's still partly a baby that needs her mommy. I wish there were two of me! Or at least that I could grow another arm...

If you haven't noticed, I'm sorta obsessed with collages.

I just wish I was better at making them. I don't exactly have the "right-brain" creative skills. It takes me forever to put these together. Like the new header collage picture above. Be honest - cute, or a little overboard?
This one below I made and framed as an 8x10 for my Dad for Father's Day:

I had Meredith pick it up at Walgreens in Spokane, and she loved it. Meredith doesn't lie to me about her opinions regarding anything I do - if it was dumb/ugly, she'd flat-out tell me. I love people like that.
I actually had it printed as an 8x10 for free - and the header collage too. I love the emails I get that tell me when online deals come up. Though I'll probably cut those out soon, as part of my mission to simply my life as much as possible and eliminate everything unnecessary... except for blogging :)

"New" glidder/rocker!

Not a great pic - cell phone - sorry - but you get the idea.
I made (meaning my friend Michelle made) a new cover and added padding and arm rests to a rocker we got from the swap meet! We exchanged our dog-care services for a week for her glidder-fixing services. Very worth the trade (though it did reinforce my resolution not to own a dog until my kids can help take care of it. It's a lot of work - almost like having another child!) The fabric used to hang in my mom's back doorway in Hawaii as a curtain! I'm in love with it. Can't wait to sit in it to nurse and rock my babies. Michelle is awesome - she has a blog: funonadime.blogspot.com - where she posts other fun and crafty things she does. Brianna gets to start going to her house soon for preschool! And while she's gone I'll be hanging out on my new pretty chair.

mmm... cooked blanket

Sometimes the words that come out of Brianna's mouth don't fall into the cute or funny category, but are just odd. One morning recently she woke up and immediately went to the kitchen, pulled open the oven, and insisted that her "blanket needs to cook"

If someone wants to take a stab at explaining this one, I'm all-ears.

31 week update

Well, technically 30 weeks, 5 days. I added some labels in case you're as bad at deciphering ultrasound photos as I am:

Baby boy weighs 3lb 6oz, baby girl 3lbs 6oz (I'd like to know exactly how they estimate that from just body part measurements). Both look perfect - no problems, as far as anybody can tell. We saw baby girl yawn and blink! Laying flat on the ultrasound table was torturous - I started sweating and getting light-headed. I wanted to just tough it out, but I really felt like blood circulation to my head had stopped. At the brink of DEATH, I finally told the tech and she was like, "oh, just roll a little and lay on your side."
Ten points for genius me. Lesson learned: complain sooner.
Brian and Brianna also came, but poor Brian didn't get to watch much of the action. As soon as Brianna realized it wasn't quite the "movie about her baby brother and sister" that I had promised, she wanted to go back to the clinic waiting room to play with the water fountain.
So grateful they're doing well. As long as we make it to 34 weeks, we can deliver here in Cedar. I'm hoping for 38 though - I want big babies! Even if it means a huge mama:

Yeah, that little point at the tip of the tummy mountain is my belly button. Be honest, is that gross? I'm tempted to stick a bandaid over it. Tempted...but that would be a waste of bandaids. I'm thrilled to finally be in the 30s for my weekly count. It just seems so far ahead of 29 - and makes me realize the end is near. The sense of urgency to get my house and life ready increases everyday, especially when I have any pains or aches - I get paranoid that I'm dilating. Brianna seems to really be noticing my large belly now and making comments - sometimes ones that indicate she might understand what's going on. She definitely knows which items in the house belong to "baby brodder and sizter." Confession: I weigh as much as my husband now. I burst into tears when I realized that. I blame the hormones though, because now I don't really care. He's actually lost almost 10lbs in the last year (thank you, ERAC car washing), so it's not fair. My doc wants his twin moms to gain 40-50, and I just hit a full 30. So if I add 2 more/wk, I'll be the range. I might only have 5 or 6 weeks left. The average twin gestation in the US is 35.3 weeks. I want to beat that very badly. 
Answer to the very-common "how are you feeling?" question - I'm doing just fine. Nothing major to complain about - just random joint pain occasionally. Amazingly, I'm still running almost everyday. Well, it's definitely called jogging now - like 6.5 on my treadmill. I'm always a little sore after. I might stop tomorrow. I've said that for a couple months now though. I just keep making myself do it because I know how extremely badly I'll miss it when I have to stop, and while I'm recovering from delivery. I'm totally killing my running shoes - they hate me for putting this much weight on them. I don't do as much weight lifting since I sold my Gold's membership - for some reason I'm not even remotely motivated to do it at home, though I have some equipment. I'm really grateful for the twice-weekly workout group I attend at the church building - Brianna runs around with the other kids while 5-6 of us moms do various cardio and lifting routines. My friend Andi comes with her boy-girl 4 mo. twins, and it gives me hope! Though she doesn't have a toddler too. I think that really separates me from other twin moms - having a toddler. Not just an older sibling - but a child that's half-baby and still very dependent. Maybe Brianna will surprise me and actually be a big sweet help with the babies. Or maybe she's revert to diapers and be resentful and jealous and destructive and dangerous. No idea what to expect there. 
The babies move around like nuts. Seriously, I don't think I ever go an hour without feeling movement. Sometimes it's simultaneous, but most of the time I think it's just one. I'm reading a book now (for the second time) called Mothering Multiples. Best book EVER for twin moms. Seriously - I've read a lot. Nothing beats this one.  (thus why I just linked to it several times). But it is also written for higher-order multiples - triplets, quads... honestly, that just blows my mind. I can't imagine having 3 or 4. Having two seems totally normal and awesome. Anything beyond this is just bizarre. And requires hiring a nanny and housekeeper. Though I'd really love to be able to hire a housecleaner. Maybe just once every other week. I'll see if I can talk Brian into it.
Ok, I've rambled on long enough. Anyone still reading this? Anyone? Really?! You're nice. You must love me. Or just be oddly fascinated with this twin-pregnancy and my tendency to divulge TMI.  
Time to (attempt to) sleep now.

Brianna's Most Special Aunt

Mid-April 2010. I forgot to post this along with the other Spokane-trip pictures. But it deserves it's own post anyways.

Just now as I was putting this on the screen, Brianna walked by and said, "I see Sammy at Merryglen!" I was really surprised she remembered. I hope Brianna gets to spend more time with her Aunt Samantha in the future. It's going to be really difficult to see her, since she can't travel far, and the thought of driving or flying 900 miles with a toddler and infant twins is logistically and financially difficult. I'm really grateful Samantha has a place like Merryglen to live, where she has 24 hr care and a home-like atmosphere with other residents. But I miss the days when I got to go see Sam everyday and take her on walks around the neighborhood. Though I never appreciated it growing up, I'm now very grateful that I had the unique experience of having a severely developmentally disabled sibling (though sometimes I think I actually grew up with SEVEN of them :)  I had to learn a lot of patience, tolerance, and not to be embarrassed or worry what others think. I remember going with Meredith and Sammy to a day camp every summer with other handicapped kids - several eating lunch through tubes into their abdomens, or drooling constantly, or making wild body spasms sporadically... definitely an eye-opening experience for me at a very young age (Sammy has Wolf-Hirschhorn Syndrome, in case you're curious).
Thinking of Sam now makes me want to be a better person and be more appreciative of having healthy body - though in the long run, she's the lucky one because she's innocent and protected from the temptations of this world, just like a small child. Last Sunday we had a lesson in church on the life of Christ, and it made me remember that someday He will make her whole again. I love and miss my Sammy.

You think I'M quirky...

Brian claims he hates yardsales. Yet a few weekends ago he actually had a Saturday off (and actually TOOK it off - he tends to go into work even on days he technically has off) and decided on his own to join me on my yard sale-ing. I don't go every weekend - just if I have the time and happen to be out and about and see some signs luring me in. Sometimes I SCORE... and sometimes I waste my time looking at other's junk.
Well here is a picture of what Brian deemed a score:

Yep - lots of old ties. He calls them his retro ties, though I don't know if they're technically in the retro category, or just "old man." But for the $2 they cost us (yep - .25 cents each!), it was worth seeing him happy. This now brings his tie count to approximately 872,441.

Three thumbs up

I'm not much of a restaurant connoisseur... in fact I generally try to avoid them because they offer everything I despise - wasted time sitting around doing nothing, overpriced food, paying someone to do something I can do for myself, unsanitary conditions, gluttony, overindulgence...
But poor Brian grew up thinking that exorbitant restaurant-ing was not only normal and enjoyable, but that he was entitled to it, especially on any occasion considered a celebration of some sort, and especially while traveling.
So in order to have a happy marriage, we compromise. I'll go to a restaurant with him, as long as we have a good coupon or gift certificate, it's quick, and the food has some sort of redeeming value or we're supporting a small local business. Lately, "kid-friendly" is also on the requirement list.
I'm happy to report that we've found a venue to accommodate all my wishes!

-

Sweet Tomatoes in Sandy is awesome. Technically I think it's called Souplantation & Sweet Tomatoes. We went there a few weeks ago because we happened to be in SLC and I happened to have a gift certificate I won a year or two ago at a race. No waiting since it's buffet-style, and not disgusting like most American buffets because it's mostly healthy, high-quality fresh choices. It was perfect for all 3 of us because Brianna could point out exactly what she wanted, and try a few new things. I was in love with the exceptional salad creations. Brian was happy because he could put meat on his salad, and they had a fresh bakery and potato bar. Seriously, if I was rich, I'd just plan to go there everyday for lunch. Maybe it's weird to analyze and blog post about something as trivial as going out to eat, but it was just a hallelujah experience for me to find a place so perfect for our family. If only Cedar City would branch out from it's lame line of chain-restaurants and get a place like this!

Motivation

[warning: this is another pregnancy-whining post. Read no further if you are already disgusted with my lack of gratitude at the blessed gestational condition I'm in]
A month or two ago Brianna helped me fill these two storage containers with all my too-small clothes:

I can't lie... it was depressing. I had to put some cute articles in there, unsure of whether I'd ever see and adorn them again. I'm not one of those girls that magically zips back into their size 2 pants a couple weeks after popping a baby out. At least that wasn't the case with my first pregnancy. Maybe I'll be better behaved this round. But the fact is that I can't restrict calorie intake too much, or I won't produce enough milk to exclusively breastfeed. I won't have time to count calories, so it's all going to be a guessing game. The best option would be to just throw in as much extra cardio as possible - but when exactly will I have time/energy for that?! A couple weeks ago I entered the wearing-Brian's-shirts stage. Quite demoralizing. But comfortable, which is a priority in this summer heat. It may seem trivial and petty to be complaining about something so superficial, but the fact is that I've spent most my adult life being very fit. To go from fit to flabby is no fun. So those bins will stay there at the bottom of my closet as a constant reminder of the reward for some serious self-discipline and effort.

Car seat testing

Brianna loves testing out the babies' new carseats...  it makes her seem SO HUGE!

Brianna update

 Every now and then I remember that I haven't done an update on Brianna. I hope I don't forget about my FIRST baby when the NEW babies come. She leads the exciting life of a 2-year-old, and I'm sure if I don't write down her quirks and habits and milestones, I'll forget them. Sooooo....

-More often than not, instead of just responding "yes," she will answer "BOO-YAH!"  [thanks, Brian]

-Whenever I come to pick her up from somewhere she's been for awhile without me (ex: nursery, friend's house) she gets SO excited to see me. I love it. She yells MOMMY, then runs to the nearest adult and yells at them, "that's my MOMMY!" then she runs to my arms and gives an awesome hug. Then she tells me something random she did while we were apart. 

-Lately she's been coming out of her room around 4am crying about random things - her covers came off, she can't find her shoes, she heard a noise, her blanket got stuck... I'm thinking it's just an attention thing, because all I have to do is hug her and tell her she's ok and walk her back into her bed. I wish she'd stop it. Soon. What if she's still doing this when the babies come home!?

-In the last month, we've used about 5 diapers. She wakes up nearly every morning dry!

-She's starting to willingly wear underwear. We've had an issue with that. When she initially got potty trained, she refused to wear anything - even pants. So that was the first battle. Now we've nearly conquered underwear, and maybe the next step will be socks and shoes STAYING on.

- At church during Sacrament recently, Brianna looked around and loudly declared, "Mom, everybody DANCING!"
- Brianna saw me playing with my phone and asked me, "Mom, whatchu texting?"
- She gets SO excited every Monday when the garbage truck comes by. It's the most entertaining thing in the world to see the truck lift up and dump out our can.

- She often says phrases to her blanket that sound oddly familiar, such as "blanket, don't ever run away from me!" and "blanket, it's ok, I love you, you're ok" and "blanket, did you have a nice nap?" and "blanket, go to time out!" and "blanket, you're so sweet."

- Whatever she sees me eating, she will announce like this: "Mommy, it's APPLE time!" [CRACKER time! WATER time! ICE CREAM time! you get the idea]
-She often wakes up and immediately asks for a lollipop. Though her daddy is famous for immediately giving in, I always tell her she can have one after we eat real food. Today she asked for a lollipop, but before I could respond she told ME, "I need real food first."
-She's finally letting me brush her teeth! I got her a new Elmo toothbrush and I started singing this silly song where we count 20 "Brianna alligator teeth", and she's stopped fighting me on it! Huge guilt relief. Maybe she won't end up with a mouth full of silver like her dad!
- She wears at least 3 different shirts every day, because every time she gets one wet or dirty at all, she semi-flips and starts yanking her shirt off, demanding a new one. She also whines and cries every time her hands get sticky or dirty.
- A couple weeks ago I noticed that she's finally jumping with both feet off the ground at the same time.- She calls me by my first name occasionally - or even just "Chel." [again - we can blame thank Brian!]


I seriously adore my Brianna. I still refer to her as my baby frequently. I'm already sad about the time we'll be apart when I'm in the hospital, and then of course the severe reduction in quality one-on-one time, indefinitely. I'm sure other moms feel like this when their first child loses their ONLY child status, right? She's been my only little buddy, my little sidekick, for over 2 years now.... and in a few more weeks, that's over. Infants' needs have to be top priority. I mean, I know it has to happen, because I want more children. I can't have it all. And of course I'll try to still give Brianna as much attention as possible, and include her in the baby care... but it's going to be so different. I wish I could grow an extra arm so I can always hold her too!

New ride, part 2

I think the last time I used that title, I was talking about our minivan (which turned out to be everything I thought it would be - extremely convenient and extremely uneconomical). But this time I'm talking about our new double stroller:

Sweet huh! It's the Kolcraft Contours Options Tandem II Stroller, Tangerine. The ridiculously long name makes it even cooler, right? It finally arrived, nearly two months after the contest we won ended. We were beginning to think we had wasted our time and embarrassed ourselves harassing our friends to vote for us everyday for the whole month of April. But it ended up being worth all those shameless pleas for help! I love it. I love the wheels. I love the waterbottle holders. I love the brakes. I love the straps. I love the 5 different position options. It kindof blows me away that I actually own something this high-quality. Sad, I know - but I'm quite used to being content with hand-me-downs and yard sale finds. Having the Cadillac of double strollers is almost uncomfortable. But I'll just have to get used to it :) Great timing - Brianna's old jogging stroller that I've put approximately a billion miles on (just walking - I don't actually jog/run with jogging strollers) just DIED. The tires blew. So instead of paying to fix them, we're having Brianna break in the new double stroller, solo. She loves it. We love it. The unborn babies will love it....(they BETTER! Just watch - after all this hoopla and Brian spending 2 hours assembling the dang thing, they'll totally reject it!)

Good ol' USPS.

Our mailbox key is MIA, so instead of paying the $40 for a new one (yeah - forty bucks - ridiculous), we're hoping it shows up soon. I just try to go to the mailbox when the delivery lady is there, because if I show her my ID she can give me our mail. So annoying. But that's the price you pay for a secure mailbox, right? Well, I'm not sure how SECURE it is... so this was our conversation:

Me: Hi there, I have my ID, could I get my mail from you?

Postal worker: Sure.  [looks at it and goes to my box]  Oh, you're the lady having twins?

Me: Um, yeah... how did you know I'm having twins?

Postal worker: [shrugs and stutters a little] Oh, you know, I just kinda read your mail a little sometimes.

Practice

I've had the pleasure of babysitting these two cuties recently:

Seriously, how adorable are they?! I'm SO looking forward to meeting my own set! Brianna did well with them too (meaning she kindof ignored them). I met their mom and became instant friends (as tends to happen with every twin mom I meet). She has a older toddler too and still totally has a life - marathon training, school, LLL involvement, even has an organized and non-chaotic home... so THERE'S HOPE!