18 days

what can i say?  i love my boys.  for 18 days i've snuggled, fed, burped, changed, bathed, kissed, sang to, read to, and adored these little guys.  some days have presented their challenges - mostly sleep or recovery related - but it's worth it all.  

a few photos for your viewing pleasure:

mom and addison

uncle ricky with gabriel and addison

addison

uncle jarrod and gabriel

my boys

getting ready to leave the hospital on friday afternoon

daddy

aunty carol

playtime at home

grandma & grandpa

grandma & gabriel

grandma & addison

my boys

things

things that grow...

eek!  hippophantitis, as i like to call it.

peonies - i've been advised that i may be able to expect a bloom around june 1st.  (please ignore the weeds... someday when i can bend over i'll pull them out.)

can't wait to find out what these are.  anybody know and want to fill me in?

and some strange jungle-ish, bamboo stalk-like plant.

thing i miss...

things i love...

pregnancy mishap #107

earlier in the day i had told my mom over the phone that we were having baked ziti for dinner - i went on and on about what a quick, simple, and tasty meal it was.  if only i had known right then what i was in for...

let's take a moment to rewind.  a week or two prior to last night's incident we were in need of another quick and easy meal and so we went for shells and sauce.  for years i have been the master at draining my pasta and rinsing it in the pot it was cooked in - not needing to add in another dirty dish by using a strainer.  well, i don't know what happened.  i blame it on pregnancy brain.  there i was draining the water from the shells when all of a sudden the lid slipped and the entire contents of the pot landed in the sink.  my response... "oh no!  i can't believe i just did that."  fortunately the sink had been scrubbed clean that afternoon and so kevin encouraged me to pull out a colander, put all of the shells into it, and rinse them really well.  so, i did.  there they were (the shells) sitting nice and clean in the colander next to the sink - i had set them there while i reached for a plate.  you know what happens next don't you?  yup, i knocked over the colander and back into the sink they all went.  i didn't cry - i just stared in disbelief. eventually we ate dinner that night and it was pretty tasty.

so, last night... i made baked ziti.  i boiled the water.  i cooked the ziti in the boiling water.  i drained and rinsed the ziti successfully with the use of a colander.  i put the ziti back into the pot it was cooked in.  i added the sauce, the ricotta cheese, the pepperoni, some seasonings, and then mixed it all together.  i poured it into a 9x13 and sprinkled the shredded mozzarella cheese on top.  i covered the pan with foil and placed it in the oven to bake.  home-free, right?  totally in the clear?  what could possibly turn this meal into a disaster?  well, i'll tell you.  taking it out of the oven could turn this meal into a disaster!  i don't know what happened.  i had pot holders on.  i had a good grip on the pan, or so i thought.  and there i was, staring at this full pan of baked ziti upside down against the oven door.  my response... "oh no!  what did i do?!"  i couldn't just pick the pan up because all of the ziti would've fallen out.  our only option was to slide it off of the oven door and catch it in another 9x13 pan and that's what we did.  the ziti was saved, but you can imagine the mess on the inside of that oven door.   eventually we ate dinner and it was pretty tasty.

my husband is so gracious!

soon

things that make me think these boys are coming soon...

1.  mild yet fairly regular contractions.

2.  on average, i get up 3-4 times to use the bathroom between the hours of 12am-7am.

3.  the other day i was lying on the bed and i asked kevin if he would help me get up, because getting up from a lying down position is very awkward and uncomfortable these days, and once he got me to a sitting position on the edge of the bed i burst into tears.  the poor guy.  he hugged me and comforted me - apologized over and over because he thought he'd hurt me.  through tears, sniffles, and broken breaths i told him i was fine and that he hadn't hurt me - that it just always hurt to try to get out of bed.  i tried to quickly get my tears under control and i succeeded, but it was the kind of crying that had i been alone i may have sobbed and sobbed until i fell asleep just because it would've felt good.  

4.  we finally sold our saab, which really is a huge blessing for us!  so yesterday i went with kevin to drop off the vehicle to the new owner, and as we pulled out of the parking lot i looked back at my sport-luxury sedan and tears welled up in my eyes.  

5.  later that same day i went to the grocery store to do our weekly shopping.  i wandered through the store with purpose, only going down the aisles that had items i needed.  as i reached for the last item on my list, a 12oz can of frozen concentrate minute maid orange juice, tears once again pooled in my eyes...  i was just so pleased knowing that i had gotten great deals with my wildcard savings, and that i was saving us money, and that kevin would be pleased.  

6.  last week kevin and i were driving home from somewhere - to be more specific, i was driving and he was riding along while talking with one of our tenants on the phone.  we sat at a red light at the intersection in front of the police station.  there are three lanes there - the farthest one to the right is a turn-right-only lane, the next lane goes straight, and the next lane goes straight to the next traffic light and then turns left.  so we sat in the middle lane waiting patiently for our green light.  kevin still on the phone and me in a bit of a daze, i see a green light and remove my foot from the brake and begin rolling into the intersection.  out of the corner of my eye i catch kevin waving at me with a concerned look on his face.  i think to myself, i wonder what's wrong, as i nonchalantly glance once more at the light.  oh, that's what's wrong!  the green light i saw was for the lane to the right of me.  i moved my foot back to the break and continued to wait patiently while laughing my head off - kevin wasn't as amused.  in actuality it all happened quite quickly - our vehicle never even made it under the traffic light, but it felt like slow motion.

7.  earlier that same day i walked into a screen door.

please tell me that all of these things mean that they're coming soon!  

my mom

my mom is here!  you know what that means, right?  really good food, a really clean house, trips to the park with otis, various outings to different stores for things that i must have... a proper mop bucket, toys for otis, random grocery items, etc...  did i mention all of the things she brings up with her?  outfits for the boys, books for the boys, musical keepsakes for the boys, spaghetti sauce, whole wheat pasta, a sleeve of plastic cups, meat from allens bros, and tennis balls for otis.  she's funny in different ways and all together wonderful - it's a real treat.  she washed the leaves on one of my plants - apparently it's leaves are brown and dying because they can't breathe through the dust collecting on them.  this visit is just a short one, but the next one will be really special!

saturday

it started off as a bit of a moody-blues day - the sole reason being that once i was showered, i also had to get dressed.  you see, i'm eight months pregnant, measuring more like eighteen months pregnant, and that means i've outgrown every article of clothing i own. not to mention that it's 75* and my maternity wardrobe consists of pants, sweaters, and long sleeve shirts.  why don't i invest in more clothes, you ask.  well, i'm just not sure it's worth it since these little guys will be here so soon.  so in the mean time, i guess i'll just stick to my $2.99 men's undershirts and maternity pants that i can roll the cuffs on to look like capri's.  

once i recovered from my little meltdown it was off to ives park for a picnic.  a pesto wrap with turkey and provolone, pink lemonade, a loving husband, a couple of great friends, and a blanket made for a splendid afternoon.  ooh, and after the picnic we went and got ice cream!

within a few short minutes of arriving home we decided to finish the last of our "things we'd like to have assembled before the babies arrive" projects.  what do you think?