Coming soon to a nursery near you...

(well, probably not near you, but...)

Joel Osburn and William Conrad!

Yep. That's right. I've got two boys growing inside of me. I never dreamt that it would be two boys, but Jeremy has been saying that all along. I guess that explains all the extra hair on my back and belly, huh? :o) (I wish I was kidding! At least it's peach fuzz'ish)

I couldn't be more excited about my boys. We're calling them Oz and Conner and I know that Oz is on my right and will probably be born first and Conner is on my left. Oz is my wild child and Conner is the complacent one. Well, that's how I think of them in my head based on their kicks.

Everyone is doing really well and the specialist said that he didn't expect to have to see me again. Yay!

I've managed to pick up a cold or something. Leave it to me to wait until April to get sick, huh? I'm doing okay and have OTC drugs that I can take, but I'm ready to be well again. At least my throat is not as sore today.

I leave for North Alabama tomorrow and will be spending the next few days up there sans hub. I'm going to miss him like crazy, but I'm really looking forward to spending so much time in my hometown and I'm totally not letting a little cold stop me. I've been trying to take it easy so that I'll get better faster.

I've been tearing up the pavement trying to find the fabric that I want to use in the nursery. I've already decided that it's going to be some sort of variation of the blues and browns, and oddly enough I'm having a hard time finding something in that genre. There's not a lot of fabric stores down here, so on Friday my mom and I are going to look in Huntsville at all of her favorite haunts. (She's sewing all the nursery stuff)

Then on Saturday my little sister and my Kelley and I are going shopping for my shower dress! I'm a little nervous about buying it a month in advanced, but what sane pregnant girl is going to turn down someone wanting to buy her a dress at Motherhood Maternity? I can wear it before the shower down here and if I outgrow it I'll find something else to wear.

Then on Sunday is my little SIL's baby shower for her son, Eli. It's going to be a long weekend full of babies, excluding Thursday afternoon when I'm bound and determined to visit my favorite Mexican resturant. (I'll be thinkin of you Amanda!) :o)

Obviously I'm excited. Can you tell that I've yet to speak to anyone face to face today? :o)

I'm sure I'll check in on ya'll when I get to my Dad and Kelley's and maybe I'll even be able to do some catch up on your blogs!

Love ya bunches!

18 weeks!

So, you asked for it, and I've finally found the Internet speed to do it, so here they are - the pregnancy photos. This first one is of me on Christmas Eve. I'm 4 weeks pregnant and totally unaware that there's two boogers in there. The second one is a totally unflattering picture of me at 9 weeks. I'm already in maternity pants here and showing. I think you can tell that I'm not feeling too hot, but the yellow background wasn't very good for my complection either. Okay, so the more pictures I add, the more it messes up the order, but I'm sure you can figure out which one is which. The last picture is me at 14 weeks. (I think the caption says 12 but it's wrong) My eyes are closed and my butt looks huge. I'm hoping that tomorrow's progress pictures turn out better. My Kelley took pictures of me and my skinny little preggo SIL, and I dread seeing those comparisons, too. :o)

I went to the OB today and had a good check-up. I got to see the babies and they're doing well. They're kicking like crazy and I love to feel them. I'm told that eventually they'll be big enough that I won't love them keeping me awake, but I'm enjoying it while I can.

We find out a week from today what they are! Yeah!

I promise I'll check back in ASAP and let you know what we find out!

Week 16 (or is it 17?)

I have no idea what week I'm in, because I have no idea when my due date is. You'd think that I would know, right? You'd think that my doctor would have told me by now what the for sure date is. But she hasn't. I've been told anywhere from August 24th to September 1st, so I really don't know how far along I am. It technically doesn't matter because it's not like they're going to induce me just because I hit that magic 40 weeks (unless they need to induce me). We should find out the for sure date on our next super cool ultrasound which is on April 3rd. They're looking at the twins structures (hearts, bones, etc) and I'm sure we'll find out what we're having then. (I just hope they're human!)

Everything else is going fabulously wonderful. I feel like me again, and I didn't really how unlike myself I was acting until I started acting normal again. I have plenty of energy - most of the time - and as long as I rest when my body tells me to I can typically do whatever I want. (not including climbing. It's really hard for a shorty like me to go through life without climbing. I caught myself climbing on top of the washing machine earlier today and thought, "Oops! I'm going to get into trouble!")

I'm huge, though. Like, bigger than any of the other pregnant women I know (except for Amanda!) and two of them are due in May! I read somewhere that a twin mommy looks like she's full term at 5 months, and since I'm somewhere above 4 months I guess it makes sense that I'm really pregnant. I'm loving my belly, though. It's just hard to find maternity clothes around here that doesn't cost an arm and a leg. I'm going to have to go shopping when I visit North Alabama again. I'll be wearing moo-moo's before this pregnancy is over! (oh, I hope I'm just kidding!)

I feel the need to accomplish EVERYTHING while I feel like doing stuff. I was going crazy trying to figure out what I was going to register for, and what I needed two of, and what I didn't need at all, and whatever else, and then my Kelley told me to register for what I wanted, and if it was a big something (bouncy seat or swing or whatever) to keep the receipt and if one of the babies doesn't like it then I can take it back. Makes sense to me. I just had this mental image of me holding two screaming babies and not being able to decide who got to sit in the magical bouncy seat that I only had one of because I didn't know if they'd both like it and I didn't want to be wasteful. Is this normal new mom stuff or is it Mandy psychosis? It's hard to tell.

I've been having some CRAZY dreams lately, and I'm really enjoying them now. At first they were scary, but now they're hilarious. Like last night, I had three of them. The first one I dreamt that Jeremy was counseling a couple who couldn't get pregnant for some unknown reason, just to find out that the wife used to be a man. The second I dreamt that I kept my son in a box at the church (I had to wait a few weeks to deliver the second twin for some reason) and it was completely normal for me to keep my child in a box in a separate building. And then I dreamt that I wanted to dry my non-existant dog so I put it in the microwave. (Don't worry - the dog was fine) But can you believe? What would make me dream that? I read on Amanda's blog that when you dream the sex of your child that it's typically accurate. I always dream that I have a boy and a girl. Always. I so hope that's what's in there, but if not then I'll really be just as happy. But I'll eventually want a little girl, I think. (That is if having two babies at once doesn't scare us so bad that we won't want another pregnancy!)

I'm trying to wait to go back to the house until the ADT man leaves, but I'm STARVING, so I don't think that I'll make it. :o)

Happy St. Patty's day, ya'll! Throw back a beer for me, okay? (I'd LOVE to have one!) ;o)

second trimester!

Yeah! I've finally made it to the second trimester! I had high hopes that the ickiness would stop by now, but not yet. I don't think I've blogged since the morning sickness has kicked in in high gear, but I'm learning how to deal with it.

We got to see the boogers again last week, and they're doing well. We still don't know who's who or what's what, but they look like little aliens. :o) I love my little et's.

We've been keeping really busy but it's all going really well. The hub is settling in and it's so cute to hear people call him "Preacher". I still get to do what I want to do at the church and no one really expects anything of me - and they still see me as a church leader! It's great. :o)

I'm totally in maternity clothes at this point, and I don't mind them, for the most part. My mother keeps buying me 5x's (no kidding) and saying that I'll eventually get into them. *rolls eyes* Why don't we wait and see how much of a whale I become before we start ordering the bed hoist, shall we? It sounds horrible to say, but it's really a blessing that she's 4 hours away. She'd be driving me crazy if she were any closer. (and we won't even start on my Gran...) They're just worry'ers. My Dad and Kelley have been really great, though. Nothing negative, always excited and full of support. (and Dad's always willing to fix me whatever I want to eat...)

Jeremy's dad is doing much much better. The doctor released him from the heart center's care, and the hospital is writing off most of the charges. (they didn't have insurance) They've decided that they can take on buying our house, so that's one less burden on us. It's totally an answer to prayers.

I hope all is well, and I appreciate all of your support! I think about you all the time, and I miss you guys!!

Smooches & Hugs!!

*sigh* still no high-speed :o)

Well, the hubs still hasn't managed to figure out a way that we can afford high-speed, and I just can't handle the extra stress of dial up right now! :o) The church is going to buy Jeremy a lap top that's Wi-Fi ready, so at least we can go to Panera or something like that for free internet.

This week has been really hard. Between constantly feeling hungry and feeling sick (and still hungry!) I haven't really been myself. I'm officially wearing maternity clothes now, and I'm only 9 weeks and 4 days! It's the twins, right? Please tell me it's because they're 2 x's the normal stuff! My Kelley finally said, "Mandy, take care of yourself. Listen to your body. Eat when you want, and if worse comes to worse, you know how to lose weight." And for now I'm taking that advice. I'm not eating all the chocolate cake, but I'm definitely no low-carbing it. Carbs are my friends!

Everything else is going fine. We've got names picked out - Joel Osburn (Oz), William Conrad (Conrad), Robbie Elizabeth (Lizzie) and Olivia Ann (Ollie). They're all family names. If the Boogers are brother and sister it'll be Lizzie and Oz, which have been our boy and girl names from day one.

I've been reading about taking care of twins like crazy. I've made up my mind to breast feed for as long as possible (even if they are getting bottles of my milk), and there's so much to learn. I'm afraid that I'm going to forget everything, but I guess it'll come back when I need it.

Well, I hope you're all doing fabulous! I'm going to see if I can't check in with you now. *fingers crossed!!*

Have a Grandola Granola Day!!

week 7

It's official. I feel pregnant. :o)

Up until now I've been pretty lucky. Just a mild sense of nausea and very few mood swings. I was tired, but not dog tired. And then week 7 hits and I really began to feel it. It's still not hard or horrible, but I'm beginning to feel less guilty for not being able to get all of my to-do's done each day. I still have a whole house to organize (it's all unpacked, but it's sorta stashed in it's appropriate room) but I keep telling myself, "Another month and you'll be in the second trimester." The second one is easier, right?

Organization is really big to me right now. I feel like if I can get my house running and on a schedule then it will be easier to keep down the chaos once the twins get here. (there's no need to tell me that this is impossible...) :o)

And I just realized that there's a chance that we have to come up with some new names. We have a boy name (Joel Osburn and we'll call him Oz) and we have a girl name (Robbie Elizabeth and we'll call her Lizzie) but it took us 3 years to figure those out. No kidding. They are both names from our grandparents (or great grandparents) that have already past. And I love them. They're my babies's names. But now I feel pressured to come up with another boy and girl name that's also from grandparents. And I have less than 8 months to do it. :o) See how I like to stress about the things I can handle and just let things that I can't roll off of me? It's how I roll. :o)

Well, I've gotta stop short. The hub is pressuring me to wrap things up here at the library and I still haven't checked in on ya'll. Maybe I can come back soon. I love you and miss you!!

Thanks for all of my sweet comments - they really do give me the warm fuzzies!! :o)

twinkies

Yesterday was my first OB appointment, and it went really well. I got to have my first ultrasound. Actually I got to have two of them. Because you'll never guess what we saw on the first one.

two babies.

That's right. There's two Boogers in there! Twins!

I never in my life thought that this would happen. I knew that my Gran had miscarried twins before my mom was born, but I never really thought that it would skip a generation. Umm. Believe me. It really does. :o)

There's a lot of unknowns, but I know that this is a God Thing. Sometimes God has a really wicked sense of humor, doesn't He? :o)

Oh, and both of the babies are healthy. We think that they're fraternal twins, which is supposed to be safest because they have their own little spots. We'll know more next month. They were so tiny this time that all we saw was their heart beats and blood flow. I was told that I'm 6 weeks 4 days along, but again it's hard to tell because they're so small. I guess they're even smaller than what one booger would be, although I'm not sure.

The hub has promised me that we'll find faster internet somewhere tomorrow, and I can actually do some research and update my profile.

It still hasn't sunk in yet. I guess it's something that I'll process a little at a time. But in the meantime I'm so not going to feel guilty for the five pounds that I've gained since finding out I'm pregnant. And I'm definitely not going to worry about my mandatory afternoon naps. I'm sleeping for three now. :o)

I hope you're all doing great. I wish that I could check in, but my browser shuts down everytime I try to use one of my links. Hopefully I'll stop by tomorrow and see what ya'll have been up to. I miss you and hope you're having wonderfully OP days!!

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone else's New Year is going as well as mine. The move was very smooth, and we're settling into the parsonage. I absolutely love it. It's so nice and open. The parishioners have been great. There was supper waiting for us when we got here on Tuesday and someone's bringing by more food tonight. Yum-yum! :o)

My FIL is doing much better. His spirits seem to have improved, and, aside from a slight cough, he is healthy. We were told that his heart is still very strong - much stronger than it should be after a heart attack. And then we found out yesterday that the hospital will more than likely cover the costs of everything. That's a huge answer to prayers. I can't even fathom how much money that would be. So, the chances of them getting our old house are much better. We'll still have to wait and see, but at least there's hope!

I also found out yesterday that my SIL is having a boy. His name is Eli Landon and we're expecting him mid-July. They really wanted a boy - and I really wanted them to have a boy, too. That way, if I have a girl, I'd at least have the first girl grandbaby and my parents would be more inclined to drive four hours to see her. (I know - it's silly and childish, but it's the truth.) Cyrena's cyst is half the size that it was a month ago and the doctor told them that it's not a reason for concern anymore. Another answer to prayers! We're on a roll! :o)

Booger and I are doing fine. I just unpacked the scale this morning and it was up way more than I wanted it to be. I haven't weighed myself in close to a month, and I'm not happy at all with the results - somewhere around 10 pounds up! But, it was after eating breakfast so maybe that's a little bit of it. I've just really have to buckle down and start eating healthy foods again. Now that I have a functioning kitchen I should be able to do a modified Core plan and maintain. The hub keeps saying, "You're pregnant! You're supposed to gain weight!" Yeah, but not that much weight.

So, I'm bound and determined to walk around this beautiful church of ours for exercise, limit sweets, and give Booger good stuff to eat. I'm just so stinking hungry - all the time! I never feel full long. I ate two pieces of toast, three slices of bacon, and a glass of skim milk this morning for breakfast, and I'm already watching the clock for lunch. (T-minus 2 hours to go!) I'd love some suggestions. Maybe oatmeal will stick to me better? Our pantry is a little bare, but I have oatmeal. :o)

My first doctor's appointment is a week from today. It's with a group that consists of just two doctors, and I can't pronounce my doctor's name correctly. I don't even know if it's a man or a woman, but I know that I'll be seeing my doctor of choice just as much as I'll be seeing this other doctor, so it's the best that I'm going to get. I can't really complain - at least I finally have a doctor!

My Google Reader wouldn't load on this dinosaur with dial up that I'm using, but I'm going to try again now. I miss you all and I hope that you're having lovely OP days!!