7 Quick Takes Friday, no. 54

It's been a long time since I last did a 7 Quick Takes. Sometimes I am just not sure what to write about. 7 pithy things that don't need a whole blog post. Pithy is not something I'm usually very good at! LOL!! But we've been pretty busy lately, so I figured I could share what we've been up to.

~1~

First, since we moved, we've been working through a list of things to do on the house. First priority was to replace the kitchen sink. Unfortunately this is not as easy as it sounds. So we looked into replacing a section of the granite counter top so we could get a sink that better fit our needs, was more functional, would better support a faucet so it didn't drip constantly, and was an under-mount sink. More bad news: the granite person we are using is having a hard time finding a supplier for that particular granite. We haven't ruled out the possibility yet, but Hubby is starting to look at over-mount sinks instead. I don't think we have the budget to completely replace all the granite throughout the kitchen.

~2~

The garage door was a mess. OLD!! It was splitting in places, bowed out in others, didn't have the safety eyes on the bottom, often took several attempts to get it to go up or down, and sometimes the motor stopped working when the door was going down and it would just fall straight to the ground. Real safe, right? We got it replaced this week!! Woohoo!! It's so quiet now! And well insulated. And it has the outside keypad. I love it already, like I never thought I'd love a garage door.

~3~

Hubby has been busy in the yard. He removed this plastic, fake wire stuff that was wrapped around the fence (presumably to keep the former owner's dog inside the horse-type fence), he removed the old, rusty wiring that surrounded the dilapidated garden and trashed some other wire things laying in the garden area, and he is contemplating how best to get rid of the pond in the backyard. He's also considering getting rid of the entire fence and planting trees or bushes along the back of the property line instead. This will be a very long term project.

~4~

On a more fun note, we've been doing a lot too. We started off last weekend by attending a Married Couples Supper Club at our church on Friday evening. It was great because we ran into two couples we are good friends with and spent the whole evening chatting with them. So I never got to meet anyone new, but it was a lot of fun nonetheless. There was also free childcare during the dinner, so the boys got to play in the nursery with a bunch of new toys and new children. I think they had a great time. They got distracted by the trains when we first got there, so Hubby and I made a quick getaway. Hubby went in to pick them up at the end of the night while I was wrapping up conversation with a friend. When I got up to the main floor of the church he was just coming out of the nursery with the boys. From down the hallway Peter saw me, shouted "Mommy!" and came running all the way down to meet me with a huge smile on his face!! Such a sweet boy!

~5~

Saturday I took the boys to get new shoes and they did really well. They cried the last time we did this when they were getting their feet measured by a stranger. But this time they did really well. But wow, shoes are expensive!! That evening after dinner, we drove over to the Greek festival. It's not a huge festival and we got there between some of the entertainment groups (dancing groups, I think) so there wasn't much to really do. It was held at a nearby elementary school, so the boys had fun playing on the playground while Hubby got himself a Greek coffee and bought us some desserts to enjoy once the boys went to bed. The food is really the only reason we go to the Greek Festival.

~6~

Sunday was a busy day with Mass in the morning and then Touch a Truck in the afternoon. I posted about this yesterday, so go check out my post on our adventures at this event complete with pictures. 

~7~

Our special plans for Labor Day weekend include buying a new fridge. We're not crazy about the one that came with the house, but we figured we could live with it. After struggling to get everything we needed into a side-by-side and having an ice explosion with the supposedly convenient external ice dispenser, we decided we'd be better off with a new fridge. Hubby has done all the research and has a plan. I'm not even sure he needs me to go with him to buy it, although I would like to see it first but I'm pretty sure his mind is made up. Which is fine with me. We'll also be visiting Hubby's family on Monday for the traditional family gathering of the year. I'm sure it'll be a lovely visit.

What are your plans for the long weekend? Hope you get to spend some time with family. 

Thanks to Jen for hosting these 7 Quick Takes. Check out her blog for many more!

Trains, Trucks, Cars, and All Things Boy

My boys are all boy. No doubt. But what I love is seeing my identical twins grow into very different personalities. They are so much alike and yet so different at the same time.

Peter tends to be more obsessive compulsive. Case in point, this is his favorite activity:

Peter, proud of his work; Ethan just happy that he was allowed to help this time

Peter's favorite activity is to line up all the toys. Either in one long straight line or several lines that are lined up next to each other. Sometimes I'm not sure of his order, but he's very particular. And the concentration on his face is priceless. Unfortunately for Ethan, Peter doesn't like for any of the toys to go AWOL. Peter will throw a fit if Ethan tries to take any one of the toys for himself.

Another view of the train of toys

The nice thing is that Ethan is usually happy with just one toy. The problem is finding that one toy that he's happy with and that Peter doesn't want. It can turn into quite the battle at times. But then, after much crying and pleading from Peter, Ethan will turn around and give him the toy back.

Ethan's just too nice sometimes. Poor thing is always going to be bending to his brother's will.

One day the boys were pushing around some of the larger toys on wheels. Probably the school bus and the plane. They had gotten into a pattern of going around the furniture in the family room, into the hallway, around the kitchen, and back. I was sitting in the family room while Hubby was in the kitchen. At one point, Ethan decided to change his route. He turned his toy around and headed back to the kitchen. Peter noticed immediately! He stopped what he was doing and ran after Ethan, obviously upset.

Hubby didn't witness what had happened, all he saw was Peter trying to grab the toy out of Ethan's hands in the kitchen. He started trying to tell Peter to leave Ethan alone and not take toys away from him. I sat in the family room listening to the exchange and finally had to intervene. Peter didn't want Ethan's toy, he wanted Ethan to stay on the same track he was on. How dare Ethan diverge from the established route!

Peter likes everything a certain way. Everything. Every. Time.

The boys both love trucks. Big or small, doesn't matter. Really, anything big we see on the road: buses, trucks, vans of various sizes, firetrucks, and other emergency vehicles. When outside they recognize the sounds of airplanes or helicopters and start looking for them in the sky and often wave "bye-bye" to them as they fly over.

So we thought they would have a great time this past Sunday at an event in town called "Touch a Truck." And I think they did, but they wanted nothing to do with getting close to them and sitting inside any sort of truck was a definite no.

Watching the firefighter up on the ladder while having some ice cream

I think the boys would have preferred to just sit here and watch the trucks (particular the firefighter who was up on the end of a very long ladder). There was a Schwann's truck giving out free ice cream to children under 12, so we got two ice cream sandwiches. Turns out my kids weren't interested in the ice cream. Hubby managed to get Peter to take a couple small bites, but he wasn't really interested in eating much else. Ethan completely refused. As a result, Hubby and I enjoyed our free ice cream.

Firefighter up on the ladder

This was about as close as we could get the boys to an actual truck

Other kids enjoyed getting to sit in this trash truck and beep the horn. My kids wanted nothing to do with it.

Checking out a police helicopter

This truck was of interest to the boys, briefly.

The truck above held their attention briefly. We knew, by this time, that they wouldn't want to sit in it, but we thought maybe they would at least go up and touch it. But no!! You would have thought we were trying to put their hands into a burning fire.

Hot Air Balloon at Touch a Truck

This Hot Air Balloon was also on display. They had cold air being blown into it to keep it inflated and they allowed everyone to go inside to check it out. So we removed our shoes and carried two screaming boys inside. We didn't stay long.

Touch a Truck seemed a bit of a bust for our boys. But honestly, I think they did enjoy it, they just didn't want to get near anything. There was a city bus there that I took them into, with a bit of hesitation, of course. The event was held at Keeneland, the large local horse race track in town. Keeneland happens to be across the street from the airport and the runway points towards the Keene barn area where we were. So throughout our time there we also watched many small airplanes come in for a landing.

Airplane heading to the Lexington airport

Despite the boys not wanting to get near anything, we took a couple of pictures of things we found of interest.

Here's hubby inside slot 9 of the Keeneland start gate. This thing is HUGE!

Had to get a picture of the DeLorean. Back to the Future!

Me next to the tractor that pulls the Keeneland start gate. Yes, the wheel is taller than I am!

More on the boys:

They are still mostly just saying one word at a time. They have expanded their vocabulary quite a bit, but they stick to one word. I also now understand how a parent can understand what a child is saying when it sounds like complete nonsense to someone else. I get it now!! I can interpret a lot of their words that are missing syllables or certain sounds and I'm positive that most people (even Hubby) wouldn't know what they are saying. As an example: the word "red" sounds like "eh." Also, bread, bath, and several other "b" words all sound the same on the surface. There is a slight difference in inflection that I usually can catch. Plus context helps a lot.

We think one of the boys is left-handed and the other is right-handed. Makes me wonder if they might be mirror twins. But so far this is the only thing I've noticed that is a true opposite between them. And it's still too early to know if they are really left- or right-handed.

I think Ethan knows some of his primary colors. I knew they sort of knew the colors blue and yellow, but I hadn't seen them identify them consistently enough to be sure. The other day, Ethan was playing with the Mega Blocks (four total colors among all the blocks). I was sitting on a nearby chair but couldn't see the blocks on the floor. I asked him to show me a blue block and he reached down, pulled one out, and showed it to me. And it was blue! So I asked for a yellow one and got it. This was cool to see, but I knew he was more aware of those two colors. So I decided to test whether he knew the other two colors in the mix. So I asked for him to show me a red one and he did!! Finally a green one and again he pulled out the right one. I'm so impressed that he could do this. I tried it with Peter and he's not as consistent. But that's okay, they are only two.

One word they know is "pray." Peter especially likes to ask about praying when we sit down to eat and before bed and occasionally at other random times. Both boys are slowly getting the hang of the Sign of the Cross, which is cute to watch. They insist on using both hands. Two hands to their forehead, two to the chest, one each on their shoulders, and then hands together. Just this week Peter has been much more consistent in actually doing the Sign of the Cross and keeping his hands folded while Hubby and I pray. He also spends prayer time looking at Ethan and saying "pray" over and over again. Ethan completely ignores him which just frustrates Peter even more. I have to work hard to concentrate on praying and not laughing at the boys.

The boys love Elmo. I don't know how they learned about Elmo since we don't usually watch any TV with them except for Wheel of Fortune and occasional shows on Animal Planet on the weekend. At day care I've seen some Elmo stuffed animals, so I am guessing that's where they learned who Elmo is (no TV at daycare either). I think I need to get some DVDs of Elmo and a few books. I love the way they both say "Elmo" as well, kind of like "Me-mo." Very cute!

They also have two songs that they love. One is The Itsy Bitsy Spider. We figured this out about 4 or 5 months ago. They kept making the various hand signs that go with the song, but we didn't know what they were doing. One night at dinner it dawned on one of us and as soon as we started singing the song the boys got sooooooo excited.

More recently they started looking at us inquisitively and asking "ro, ro, ro?" This took us a little time to figure out as well, but not nearly as long as Itsy Bitsy Spider. We started singing Row, Row, Row Your Boat and got an interesting reaction. At the end of the song they put the palms of their hands up to their cheeks and opened up their mouths real wide and then started clapping and saying "Hooray." I could figure out why they were making the funny face with the hands up to the cheeks. Finally one morning, I remembered to ask their teacher and she explained the different lyrics she was using:

Row, row, row your boat,

gently down the stream.

If you meet an alligator,

don't forget to scream!

It was the "scream" face they were making!! This version of the lyrics is much more enjoyable to the boys. I had never heard the song sung this way. But it's very cute. You can also make a big alligator motion with your arms during the third line of that stanza.

They are certainly growing fast and learning tons very quickly. I'm starting to see signs that they are ready to start putting some words together, but we're not there quite yet. Any day now. They are finally getting some teeth in to fill in the gaps that have been in their mouths forever (it seems). They are still little guys (at 27 months old they are still mostly in 18 or 18-24 month sizes). And they are just such sweet boys!! All their teachers love them.

Hope you enjoyed this somewhat lengthy update on them. I know it's been a while since I wrote about these two precious boys. Hope everyone has a great Labor Day weekend!!

Pregnancy Update: Week 25

I don't feel like there is a whole lot to update on this week since I haven't had any appointments (unusual in itself, it seems!). But here's a brief update anyway and maybe a little extra update on the boys.

How far along: 25 weeks, 0 days. Survival chances are around 60% this week.

How big is baby: According to babycenter.com, baby is about 13.5 inches long and 1.5 pounds, the size of an average rutabaga.

Cravings/Aversions: Nothing has changed here.

Belly Button: Flat and wide.

Movement: Lots of movement. I think a lot more than I ever had with the boys. This baby has a lot more room since his or her big brothers stretched everything out!!

Leg cramps: Ugh! Had another one this week. Doesn't matter what I do, I think I'm just more prone to them.

Sleep: I sleep okay, but I'm lacking a bit in sleep just because I'm a bit of a night owl. I'm not very good at making myself go to bed at a reasonable time. I'm also surprised that the progesterone isn't affecting my sleep. I seem to remember that it did last time, but I'm not noticing any difference this time around. Been on it a whole week now.

Weight gain: Not sure, but probably stable. Forgot to weigh myself on Monday.

Ultrasound: Next one is in a week. Hoping everything is stable!

Appointment: Also next week, same day as the ultrasound. Also have to do the glucose test that morning. What a fun day I have to look forward to. Oh, and then a dentist appointment that afternoon. So yeah ... I decided to take vacation time the hours of the day I wouldn't be sitting in doctors or dentists offices. Probably a good decision.

The To-Do List:

• Find a new pediatrician or family doctor
• Start looking at birthing classes and other possible classes of interest (breastfeeding, for one)
• Decide on a stroller (I did get to look at two the other day, which helped my decision making process)
• Sell my cloth diapers
• Investigate baby carriers/wraps (most likely a carrier, not sure I'm cut out for the wrap thing)
• Figure out how the boys will be handled whenever labor strikes! I have no idea how we are going to handle this, especially if the boys are at school at the time since my car is the only one with two car seats in it and I don't think we have any friends who could put two more car seats in their cars. This is going to be interesting!
• Ask potential Godparents if they want to be Godparents
• Eventually, schedule the baptism itself and make family all aware so they can make travel plans if necessary

Names: I'm holding out on my favorite boy name, but I am playing with some other possibilities. Hubby still hasn't given me any alternatives. I'm such a nice person that I am considering alternatives for him. Aren't I a good wife? 

The Boys: Before bed at night, they ask to give the baby a kiss. So sweet. It's been a while since I posted an updated picture of the boys. So here is one from about two months back or so:

Peter says cheese; Ethan's just confused. Ignore the half asleep woman in the background.

And another one of the boys hugging. Such sweet boys!

Brother's hugging, Peter has to keep his eye on the camera.

Peter especially loves the camera. He won't take his eyes off of it when we pull it out, which isn't even all that often. Haha!

I have more pictures of the boys from this past weekend. But I'm going to save them for another post. Yes, you heard me right, another post! Two in one week. Hope you didn't fall off your chair. 

Next week's update will likely be on Thursday since my appointments are all on Wednesday. Pray for good news!! Thanks!!

Pregnancy Update: Week 24

How far along: 24 weeks, 0 days. That means we've hit the official point of viability according to the medical community. Chances of survival at this point are about 50%.

How big is baby: Baby is approximately a foot long and a little over a pound.

Cravings: Nothing here. For a while I wasn't even really eating much due to recent "digestive issues." At least I'm eating more normally now.

Aversions: Nothing has really bothered me yet. Although, I was in the grocery store after work yesterday and there was a little free sample table set up near the meat department. A woman was there making what looked like sloppy joes and the smell really bothered me! I think that was the first time this pregnancy where I smelled something and felt nauseous immediately. Thankfully, sloppy joes are something we don't usually have around here.

Belly button: Still mostly flat, no popping yet.

Movement: so much movement! It still surprises me. No one else has felt baby yet, just me.

Leg cramps: Had one again a few nights ago. First one in a long time. The funny thing is, I had eaten two bananas that day!

Sleep: Doing okay here. Not terribly uncomfortable yet and, amazingly, I haven't even gotten the pregnancy pillow out yet.

Weight gain: Weighed myself on Monday and I think I lost about two pounds, bringing me to about 8 pounds of total weigh gain this pregnancy. I'm sure the recent loss had to do with the previously mentioned "digestive issues." I seem to be back on track now.

Maternity clothes: I finally broke down this week and bought a few more tops. I'm glad I did. I needed a bit more variety.

Ultrasound: Had another yesterday (Tuesday) to once again check my cervical length. Last week I was still in normal range at around 3.5 to 3.6 or 3.7. This time I was between 3.0 and 3.4, although one measurement was closer to 4 cm. So here's the thing with cervical length (as much as I understand it). They watch it for about 3 minutes or longer and measure it several times during that time frame. The cervix can change some, and they often even push on my belly a bit to see what that will do. So, after the ultrasound, Dr. O came in and we talked. At this point in pregnancy, 24 weeks, it doesn't make as much sense to do a cerclage. Plus I'm in normal range (technically) anyway. At this point, he told me, the cervix isn't as important as any pre-labor symptoms I might have (currently none). So the plan going forward is that I will be starting on progesterone and I go back for another cervical check on September 4. Dr. O said we'll start "weaning" me off of everyone staring at my cervix from that point forward. Oh, also, the placenta is still low, but the ultrasound tech said she would say it was more low lying rather than covering the cervix. So that's a positive move toward having a VBAC!

Appointment: Next appointment with Dr. M is September 4. It just occurred to me in typing this that I'm also supposed to do the glucose test just before my appointment but I just scheduled my next ultrasound for that morning as well, just before my appointment with Dr. M. So that will be an interesting morning!

The Big Brothers: They love patting my belly and saying "baby." They have also been kissing my belly too or waving "hi" to the baby. It's so, so cute!! I'm pretty certain that they don't understand at all, but I love that they love babies.

My To-Do List: I need to figure out what I need for this new baby. I am looking into strollers right now because I need a new one for snapping in a car seat carrier. I had a double one for the boys that I gave to a friend when she had twins. I'm looking into single versions of the same thing now and have one on my Amazon wish list, but I really need to see them in person if at all possible before I make a decision. I'm also looking into cloth diapers again, but I'm thinking of selling some (maybe all) of the cloth diapers I had bought the last time. I think I want to try a totally different kind. I also want to look more into baby carriers. I'm thinking of an Ergo, but haven't thoroughly researched this area yet. Also on the to-do list: find a new pediatrician or family doctor; ask our prospective Godparents if they would like to be Godparents to our child; maybe arrange a date for the Baptism (though that can probably sit on the to-do list for a while, a small part of me wants to arrange the Baptism for the same date that I was baptized which was in January sometime. I need to look it up). That's all I can think of for now.

Names: No progress. I'm settled and happy with what I've picked out. Hubby doesn't like one of my choices but hasn't yet given me something different. So we'll see.

I think that is all I have for this update. No appointments next week!! Prayers still very much welcome for things to stay as they are and nothing changes for a while. Thanks!!

Things I Contemplate Over

I have a new post up today over at Catholic Sistas in which I reveal a recent contemplation I had over a diaper change. The whole idea was what a privilege it is to do this often unrewarding task.

In writing the piece I mostly was thinking of my thoughts from that one particular day. However, it did briefly occur to me that I have this privilege where others do not. Where I almost thought I never would either. I didn't include that in the post, that wasn't my point, but it is definitely another way of looking at it.

When you suffer from multiple pregnancy losses or infertility, being able to change your own child's diaper is looked at much more as a privilege. It's something I don't take for granted, this ability to tend to my child's basic needs. I have three children who I was not able to do this (and many other things) for.

So you get some additional thought from me on this topic just from stopping by here. But don't just stop here, I sincerely hope you'll head over to Catholic Sistas and check out today's post, Contemplation Over A Diaper Change.

Look forward to seeing your comments there!

Pregnancy Update: Week 23

How far along: 23 weeks!! I've never gotten this far in pregnancy without either losing a baby or having some sort of intervention to keep the pregnancy going. This is all new territory. It feels like I'm experiencing pregnancy for the first time.

How big is baby: Baby is about 11 inches long and a little over a pound. According to babycenter.com, the baby is about the size of a large mango. I've never seen a mango anywhere near 11 inches, so I assume they are comparing the weight. Although that seems a stretch too.

Pregnancy Symptoms: Still about the same, practically none.

Food aversions/cravings: Again, not much here.

Weight gain: I forgot to weigh myself this week, but I'm guessing I'm still in the 10 pound area. Heck, due to the "stomach issues" I've been having for several days now, it wouldn't surprise me if I'm a little less now in the weight gain area.

Maternity clothes: No change. I'm just tired of wearing the same 6-7 shirts all the time. And the laundry that goes with only having 6-7 shirts that fit. I'd like to go find a few more just to give myself a bit of variety.

Belly Button: Pretty flat, but not "popped" yet.

Baby Movement: Love feeling baby moving. And he or she moves a lot! My ultrasounds the last three times have shown baby in completely different positions each time.

Ultrasound/Appointment: Tuesday (yesterday) was another cervical check ultrasound. Previous checks have shown my cervix to be over 4 cm in length, generally around 4.3 to 4.7 depending on the day. This time I measured at 3.5 to 3.6. Normal is between 3 and 4. So I'm in normal range, but it is a little concerning that it has changed this much in two weeks. For now, it's not a concern, but it's something that needs to be watched still. So, the plan is to go back in one week (just shy of 24 weeks) and check again. Generally they do not do cerclages after 24 weeks (viability). If I am still in the same place next week, we may just continue to watch. If I'm around 3 cm Dr. O wants me on progesterone suppositories again (I took them last pregnancy too). If I'm less than 3 cm, I think I may be sent right over to the hospital for a cerclage; though he did not specify.

So at this point, I'm a bit nervous about what the future holds and how early this baby could potentially come. But other than the cervix, we did take another peak at baby and he or she is doing well. Baby's butt was down on my cervix, hands and feet were over his/her head, and a little sliver of placenta is still over the cervical opening (still time for it to move).

Names: Still working on it. Hubby hasn't come up with an alternative boy name to the one I told him I liked. He still has some time. Otherwise ...

Other things of note: Since moving to our new home I haven't unpacked any of my books yet. I'm thinking I may need to find my pregnancy books and start looking over my copy of The Preemie Primer. Just in case. I also haven't yet asked for a blessing from a priest for this pregnancy. I need to rectify that ASAP!

As always, please keep baby and I in your prayers.

A Weekend Overview

We had a great weekend here in central KY. The weather cooperated for the most part.

The boys' school was closed on Friday for an in-service day, so we took the opportunity to use our Zoo Membership for the day. We don't have a zoo here, but the one in the larger city north of us is really nice. We managed to spend a few hours there and not get rained on, despite the almost constant rain during the hour long drive up. Luckily it was clear at the zoo and we enjoyed our time there. The boys loved the elephants and got angry when we tried to move on. But they soon realized that there was more to see. Bubbles especially!! Yes, I said bubbles. Any sort of water is considered bubbles and they LOVE bubbles. So all the waterways separating people from animals was thrilling.

We saw the new Africa exhibit where you can get pretty up close and personal to the lions. We missed the feeding of the giraffes, but got to watch all three of them out in their habitat and the baby giraffe was running laps. A running giraffe is very awkward looking. They just don't look like they know how to coordinate their legs. Maybe it was because it was a baby, I don't know. The two adults could have cared less. The manatees were the biggest hit for the boys, oh and the lizards in the reptile house!! Definitely the lizards.

The boys fell asleep in the car almost immediately after we left the zoo. A good indication of a successful day.

Saturday we kept things a bit slower. We did go out to visit a family friend at a nearby nursing home. We hadn't been there in a while. The boys loved Bosco, the facility's dog and the fish tanks were a big hit. The staff were so surprised to see how much the boys had grown since we were last there. It was a nice visit. Again, the boys nodded off briefly on the car ride home.

Finally on Sunday we started the day by attending Mass. Got a bit of a shock when we got to church and couldn't find parking and then no available seats once we got inside. This was just a normal Sunday and we had no idea why it looked like a Christmas or Easter Mass. Turns out it was the "Back to School Mass." No announcement or anything had been made, so we got stuck having to split up. Someone was nice enough to give up their seat for me (there was no way I was going to stand for an entire Mass and was so grateful someone finally let me have their seat!). Hubby ended up standing back in the narthex. So yeah, nice surprising way to start off your Sunday.

That afternoon I took the boys to our local Arboretum for the Tomato Festival. I didn't know what to expect, but had a good time. And the boys actually ate some tomatoes! Totally shocked me. Especially Peter. I think he liked the little paper cup for sampling. He wouldn't try the tomato when I handed it to him, but once I gave him the little cup he ate them all up and asked for more. We tried a ton of various heirloom tomatoes, the boys got tomatoes painted on their hands (I didn't think they'd stand for face painting), I picked up some information on gardening in KY, and tried some tomato appetizers from some local restaurants.

In addition to the Tomato Festival we also went and visited the Children's Garden where the boys enjoyed the misting area and got to make a tomato puppet. I had never been in before (it's only been open a year or so) and there was a lot to do. Had I known there was a water area to wade in I might have been more prepared (not that my boys will go into water right now). As the boys get a little older that will be a great place to visit again.

A great weekend, through and through. Only regret is that I have no pictures. Sorry. I checked the camera on Saturday and the battery was dying and I didn't bother changing it. I know, I'm lazy.

Pregnancy Update: Week 22

It's been a busy two weeks since my last pregnancy update. We've moved into a new house during these last two weeks and everything with the pregnancy seems to be going well. It's weird to be in this place where everything is going well. Nothing has ever been going well at this point in any previous pregnancy. So yeah, weird.

How far along: 22 weeks!! When I was pregnant with the boys I was home on bedrest at this point after just having had a cerclage put in because I had already dilated 2 cm. And when I was pregnant with Zachary my water broke at 22 weeks and he passed about 24 hours later. So I'm both excited to be this far along with no major issues and nervous at the same time. Like I said above, just feels weird.

Pregnancy Symptoms: Not much of any. I am careful about getting enough potassium and drinking plenty of water, which seems (knock on wood) to be staving off any leg cramps. I still have some restless legs at times. Trying to find sources of magnesium for that, but that's a bit more difficult. Otherwise, this is probably the easiest pregnancy I've ever had!

Food aversions/cravings: Still nothing. I can't count chocolate, that's just a perpetual craving. :)

Weight gain: I think I'm just barely hitting the 10 pound mark. Not quite 10 yet, but close. Not too bad being a little over half way into the pregnancy now.

Maternity clothes: I complained last time about the stretchy band on the top of maternity pants. Well, I retired those pants and am now wearing the ones with the huge front that comes up over the belly. I'm still not quite big enough for them yet, so they slide down some, but it's better than having that low-ride band cutting into my tummy.

Belly Button: almost completely flat. The turkey timer hasn't popped yet, though.

Baby Movement: I'm finally feeling something!! So great to actually feel baby move. Actually, on Tuesday I was in an informational session at work. I was sitting in the last row of an auditorium filled with about 100 or so people from all across campus. I could feel the baby moving and even spent some time watching my belly to see if I could actually see movement. I think I did, but it was very slight. No meeting can hold my attention over feeling or seeing my baby move.

Ultrasound/Appointment: I had an ultrasound last week to check my cervix. My mother went with me since she was here helping us move. We took a break to go to my appointment and got to see the baby moving around and sucking on his or her fingers. It was very cool. I was hoping that everything was going to be fine. I kept imaging being sent over to the hospital in the midst of our move. Luckily, that didn't happen and my cervix is still over 4 cm in length. It feels like a miracle!! I also had a regular appointment early this week and everything is still good on that front. Those are the easy appointments: chat with doctor, listen to heartbeat, leave. Even so, always nice to hear that heartbeat! The plan from here: one more cervical check at 23 weeks and then they'll probably stop checking. I will probably get one more ultrasound around 32 weeks to check the placenta position (it's currently slightly covering the cervix). I have my next regular appointment in early September along with the glucose thing and then my appointments start getting closer together. No one has mentioned NSTs yet, but I am guessing they'll want to do some, maybe not as many as I had the last time, but given that I'm considered high risk for my age (not just all my other previous issues) I'm guessing there will be some to look forward to down the road.

Names: Sorry, we're not sharing. We have a girl name picked out. Actually, we've had a girl name picked out for five years, maybe longer. Boy names have always been much harder for us to agree on. But a boy name came to me this week and as I turned it over in my head I liked it more and more. It felt right. I knew sharing it with Hubby was probably going to get a negative reaction. And it did. But I really like this one. So now it's his job to come up with something different. If not, I think we'll be going with this name! You'll have to wait until baby comes to hear the name we've chosen. Yes, I'm a tease. ;)

Other things of note: I'm still in disbelief that we are this far along and my cervix is at normal length. It's totally unexpected. At least to me. I'm starting to seriously consider the future with this baby, something I didn't do with the boys until I was well past 32 weeks. On my list: find my breastfeeding books (remember we just moved) and pray that it works this time, look into baby carriers (something I never bothered to do with the twins), talk to someone I know who teaches NFP about the post-partum class CCL now offers, start investigating cloth diapers yet again (much to Hubby's dismay, I haven't given up on this possibility!!), and check into labor and birth classes offered by my hospital (something else I never bothered with when pregnant with the twins).

I'll do another update next week after the next ultrasound. Thanks to all those who are keeping us in their prayers!