Merry Christmas

I want to wish everyone a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year! I hope that the lord blesses each of you!

I have finished my shopping with the help of my mom who was kind enough to drive me around.

Anna is super excited about Christmas and Scarlet loves to take the bows off the presents and out them in her stroller for her babies!

Anna was given the part of Mary in our Christmas pageant this year, I am so excited. She is extremely nervous though. She is so concerned that her Christmas dress is going to make her costume to puffy (Mary's outfit was plain and straight).

I am really looking forward to being off of work...we are closed from 12/23/2009 until 1/3/2010 and return to work on Monday the 4th!!!!!! Such a much needed break! I can't wait! I also will only work a short day on the 4th since I have my 6 month apt. on that day as well so I will feel like I am easing back into the routine!

Merry Christmas everyone and Happy New Year!!!! Please be safe and take care!

Twins

We had our 20 week check up today & the twins were not shy in showing us they are BOYS! Yes 2 boys, now the house is even and Michael isn't out numbered any more. They weigh 15 oz. each and are each a little bigger than a banana. Dr. McMichens assured us that everything is absolutely perfect. We are looking at about 15 more weeks left. We can't wait but we still have to get a lot done in that little bit of time.

Thanksgiving

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I really enjoyed mine and I ate way to much. I realized on Sunday night that I did not eat one piece of turkey. While we were at my aunts for the feast we watched as someones house burned down. Thank God they were away so no one was hurt. Homeowners insurance can rebuild a house but it can't replace a life.

I didn't think that I would try and shop on black Friday but my cousin talked me into it. We didn't leave the house until about 10:30 though. We went out to Bridge Street then we were off to Nashville! I love that galleria up there. We were on our way back we were making really great time about 9:30. We were going about 60 - 65 mph and bam out of no where there is a deer right in front of us! My cousin didn't even have time to hit the breaks (thank God). We creamed it, we hit Bambi with the front of the car, all four tires, and the entire under carriage. She even had fur stuck to the back window (of a minivan) all the way to the top of the car. My cousin has never been in a wreak or had a speeding ticket, she was freaking out. I was okay until I saw her car then I get a little upset since at that time reality set in. Michael came to our rescue and we found out that an accident report is not usually needed for a collision with a deer and if you file an accident report of that nature with your insurance company and you don't have collision your rates will just go up and your car will still be broken. We are all okay (except the car).

We get to find out what the babies are on Monday YAY!! Lord I hope they cooperate! We are praying that we have at there is at least one boy in there! We are going to take some more belly pictures soon. I feel so incredibly huge already, Michael says I look like I did when I was about 7 to 8 months prego with Scarlet....great!

Thanksgiving

Well this Thanksgiving is going to be a whole lot different this year since Michael's parents are going down to Florida to see my Sis-in-law and family. I guess we wont get those left overs too. We are getting 3 days off from work this year. I don't really know what I am going to do. Michael is going to work at the church cleaning up the yard on Friday. I will be at home with the kids and animals, I think decorating for Christmas is in order cause there is no way I am going shopping. I just love this time of the year. It is time for building fires and snuggling.

We are getting very anxious about finding out what the sexes of the babies are. In 2 weeks we will have the big sg. I would love to see a little stem on the apple. That would be the best Christmas present I could imagine for Michael. He on the other hand is preparing himself for 2 more little girls. I would love 2 little boys it would make the whole room sharing thing a lot easier.

Short entry because our lives are really normal right now any way. I am going to try to take some belly pictures over the holidays since I am huge already. My belly button is on it's way out.

Twins

Well I had my 16 wk. check up yesterday and all is well. The babies heartbeats are exactly what they need to be. We had a different sonographer this time (not Dana) and she well sucked. She took no time, would not make any pictures, and did not explain anything that was on the screen. I (after two pregnancies) kind of new what to look for but she went over my belly so fast that about the only thing that I could make out was the babies were head to head. Dr. McMichens measured my belly and right now I am measuring 5 months. He said the further along I get and the bigger the babies get the further away and larger that number will get. At my next visit (20 wks) I could serious measure 6.5 - 7.0 months prego. I am going to be as big as a house and I feel like I getting there quite quickly. I can feel them move quite a bit and I am running out of room for food already.

What do I do?

I have one question...What should we do? We will take any advice that anyone gives us right now!

Last night my ex-husband's father called me. I never had a problem with him or anyone else in the family (except David) for that matter. We talked for about 30 minutes. They haven't seen, talked to, or even sent a card to Anna since she was 2 years old. Anna has no clue who they are. I have told her that she has biological grandparents that are her biological father's parents but beyond that she has no interest in them.

Last night Dave said that the reason that they have had no contact was because of David (my ex). They were "protecting her". The thing is David was living in Colorado and Florida (running form the law). I am completely torn and I have been agonizing over this since we got off the phone. I really wanted to ask him to come up with a better excuse then contact me later. I mean they could have sent cards etc... with out David knowing or it being traced. Phone calls could have happened, hell David knows my phone number (he has to so I don't get in trouble). Well they want to see her again and he was calling her his baby and he said that he has got a lot of b-days & Christmas' to make up for. I really was offended by that part, how could you call someone "your baby" when you haven't given a damn about her for the last 7 1/2 years of her life!!!?

I don't want Anna to hate me when she is older for not giving her the opportunity to meet her biological grandparents and to get to know them. On the other hand I feel like I am being slapped in the face and that I am going to have to slap some super great people in the face as well. Anna has grandparents that have been in her life since the time she came into this world and then she has grandparents that didn't have to be apart of her life but they have taken her in as if she had been theirs since the beginning.

Michael and I talked about it last night. Michael is her daddy and any decision regarding her should be made by the both of us...right? We are kind of stuck and I think he stayed quiet because he didn't want to express his personal thoughts about the situation. I know that a part of me just wants to say "go to hell" and "you missed your chance" but I know that as a christian that isn't the right way to handle it. I think about the emotional effect this will have on MY BABY! I as a mother have to protect her & I am really feeling that motherly instinct right now! I am also feeling a bit angry about the whole thing too. What ever I choose to do I will do it with Michael.

Oh my GOD!

Oh my God! I am still struggling with morning sickness! I am going to be one of those women that suffer with it the entire pregnancy. Yay! I can already feel the babies move, now don't get me wrong it isn't strong by any means and it only happens when they are getting squished. I will admit it is pretty cool to feel them this early on. I am now about 3.5 months prego and I feel like I am about 5. I get hungry quite often but there is just no room to eat anything. I have started to eat small meals more frequently but with me being so sick & all the food aversions that gets a little difficult at times.

I can't wait to see what the rest of this pregnancy will hold for us!

Update

I am so happy for Candi and Wes, their beautiful little girl was born yesterday. She is beautiful!

Well I went to the Dr on Monday for my regular check up. I have lost a total of 4 lbs so far, but was told with severe morning sickness that was common in the 1st trimester. The bleeding has stopped now but I am still on "restriction" as Michael calls it. I have decided that I am going to try to gain about about 1 lb a week. Since I am overweight to begin with I don't have to gain as much but with twins it is still recommended. We have come to accept that the babies will probably be preemies, so in that regard my goal is to get their weight to about 5lbs each and make it to about 36 weeks. Michael & I were told that the goal that I had set was a big goal but we should try to reach it anyway. They are going to start measuring the babies at 32 weeks. Pray that they won't have to take them to early, they need their time in the oven.

Big Scare

Last night I woke up to go to the bathroom....imagine that....and when I wiped there was blood. I totally freaked out but it took a few minutes to really hit me. I calmly called the Dr's. office and the on call nurse asked me questions and said to be at the Dr's. around 8:15 in the morning. I said okay and went back to bed, then it hit me. Michael and I were up. Neither one of us could sleep and I could do nothing but lay on my left side and pray. Well I got an US done as soon as I got there and both babies are fine; active, growing at the rate they should be and their little heart beats are all what they should be. We were extremely happy and relieved. The Dr wasn't sure what the cause was but I am to watch it and take it very easy. I have a desk job and I have to take it easy and not be on my feet unless I have to be. I guess it is kind of like bed rest. I guess having a desk job helps with being able to avoid true bed rest. I just thank God the babies are okay!

interesting

I read the article that Brandi linked to in her blog regarding Obama needing to act like a President. Well I agree. I think he is just trying to get his 15 minutes of fame right now which politically is turning out to devastating to the country as a country. If he wanted to be an actor and be on TV he should have moved to Hollywood and pursued that career instead.

I saw a sign yesterday in a yard that read "A government that controls it's health care controls it's people". Think about it...if we are made by force to accept a health care plan regardless if it is one that fits our needs or not then yes we are being controlled. The current 'leaders' of this once great nation have already stated that if you don't accept the health care plan then there will be a fine and if you don't pay the fine then you get hauled of to jail.....hum sounds like somebody is forcing people to do what they want (controlling). When I was growing up I was taught not to boss people around and that you make more friends with sugar than you do with vinegar.

Michael made a very good statement yesterday while we were talking about things. There is a lot of opposition to Obama it seems from the south. You know we do tend to cling to our guns, religion, and our constitutional rights down here. "'They' say the people from the south are backwards and dumb but pretty soon "they" will be saying the people from the south are free." I had to agree with Michael and I figure that the "resistance" will begin in Texas seeing as how in they are the only state with the stipulation in their constitution that they can secede from the union at anytime (not to mention the good ol' boys down there). Well I for one like being free and want my children to grow up free too.

update

I found out last week that my brother will be shipping off to either Iraq or Afghanistan on Dec. 1st. He is upset because he will be missing Kahnon's 1st Christmas and her 1st birthday. I ask that you pray for his safe return. He is leaving Friday to report to Washington state where he will be stationed I assume for a few years at least.

I am extremely glad that my 1st trimester is nearing it's end. I really hope my 2nd trimester brings some relief from morning sickness. I can't wait to be able to get my appetite back and I hope my chicken aversion subsides because I used to love chicken. I hate taking the belly pictures because you really can see a slight difference in size each week (it is starting to scare me a little).

New niece!

I got to meet my new niece yesterday! I will say that she is beautiful! She was so little and pink. My brother look smitten and wrapped already! This make baby #2 for my sister-in-law, so she seemed more interested in her computer at times than she did in Kanhon (I think that is how they are spelling her name...it is a shortened version of the mother's maiden name.) Anyway I am not sure when I will get to see her again seeing as how they are going to be stationed in Washington state and I don't see Rachel wanting to spend time with our side of the family. I am just thankful that we got to see her when we did.

Babies A & B

Well Michael & I decided that we are going to take weekly pictures of my belly since it is possible to see a difference quicker than with a singleton pregnancy. I will post them (well maybe not every week) so here is my first belly shot. Now please keep in mind there is still some of my chunk there but honestly I have gained 7 lbs and I can already feel that hard belly uncomfortable feeling when I try to lay on my stomach. My pants are also starting to get snug on me....I feel like I am about 3 months or so prego. Lord help me I am going to be huge! Do they make maternity clothes that big?

Baby B well A & B

Michael and I had our first official OB apt. yesterday! We were all excited to hear the heart beat and all that good stuff.....well.....we got all ready for the ultra sound and the tech said "guess what..y'all are having twins"! Yes we are.....twins! Michael is extremely excited and I am still in shock wondering what this pregnancy is going to be like! I was told that even though my official due date is 4/22 I will be having a c-section the end of March beginning of April. Since I had a c-section with Anna my Dr. will not let me deliver naturally for mine & the babies' sake. I will have to a ultra sound every time I visit & my visits will be get closer together a lot sooner than normal. I was told that since they are fraternal they have separate yolk sacks, placentas etc... that my risk of a miscarriage is less than 1% at this point. The babies are exactly the length and at the development stage they are supposed to be at! Both my mom and my mother in law thought we were lying to them and actually needed to be told more than once and shown pictures. It has started to sink in for me since I am the one with my head in the toilet in the evenings and I can already tell that my pants are getting tighter. I knew there was a reason why I was so sick but still able to gain 6 pounds in 8 weeks! Lord I just ask that y'all pray for my sanity!

Tuesday Morning

This weekend was great, well sort of:

We went to a kick off party at a friends and had a really good time. Scarlet got to jump on a trampoline for the first time and she had the time of her life(nice & worn out too!). Michael got so much done on the girls club house...all four walls are now up! Sunday was the usual church in the morning, lounge in the evening. All the trouble began when we decided to eat Sunday dinner with Michael's parents. Scarlet got sick & threw her little guts up all over her highchair. Let me tell you that is one pitiful sight...seeing your child throwing up cause there is nothing you can do until they get done. Once we got her all cleaned up and settled down we went home & put her to bed and she slept better that night then she had all week. Monday started out really great. Scarlet helped Michael take the tire off of my car, she played all morning, fed the turtles and had breakfast. Around ten that morning we laid down to take our morning nap, nothing new. I woke up around 11:30 zapped of all energy and every muscle in my body hurt and my tongue is swollen with scabs on it, I knew that I'd had a seizure.

Okay I make it through the weekend, Tuesday morning rolls around & I know that I have to go work. I get ready and Michael & I hop in the car (I have to ride with him because under Al. law I can't drive for 6 months). On our way in to work I ask him to pull over cause I felt seriously queasy. Once he pulls over I start to open the door but it is to late, it ends up getting all on the inside of his car door as I am trying to make it onto the concrete. I hate morning sickness! Thank God that man loves me. I did tell him sorry & that he had better hope this is a little boy b/c it is going to take some serious convincing to get me to go through this again.

VENT!

I understand why some parents home school their children. Michael & I are seriously considering it at the moment. We learned yesterday the Pres. Obama wants to address the children of the nation at school. That sounds fine & dandy right except a few little left out details....he won't tell people what it is about & wants to issue homework. I have a major problem with all of this knowing his political & social affiliations. I know the problems that he seems to be having with passing his "Obama care" crap and the opposition to his socialist views. Michael & I are concerned about the content of his message & what he is wanting the children to do ("how can I help Pres. Obama?" paper from what we understand). I mean since he can't get the voting adults in on his side why not try to persuade the next generation to become socialist.... I don't think so, maybe in North Korea (and I think something like that happened with the "Hitler Youth") but not in America. This is America the free, the brave damn it and I want it to stay that way. My children are not going to be a part of his games. We learned that there are a lot of schools opting out of the telecast & I praise them for the protection they are giving our children. We are hoping that Anna's school will be one of them but if not a letter will be sent to her teacher & the principal and hell we will probably keep her home for the day just to be on the safe side. Like I said before if she gets in trouble for that both of my parent have masters in education & my dad is a cert. teacher. I think they can handle the schooling part of their lives! Thank God we still have our freedom of speech.... for now!

Monday!

Well if I have ever had a bad day today would be it. I could not get motivated this morning & I felt so sick. Got caught in all kinds of traffic on the way to work.....school, slow/idiot drivers, even a wreak. Once I get to work I sigh (15 minutes late by now). While walking to the time clock I walk out of my shoe & fell. Not just fall but I slide across the floor on my knees (a Michael Jackson move of sorts). Okay by now I am sick as a dog, late for work, embarrassed beyond belief, and have bruises on both of my knees & shins. I just hope that tonight I can just relax and watch a movie. I would have a drink to go with that movie but I can't so I will just have to settle.

News

Just read the news about the death of Ted Kennedy. I will pray for his family and friends. As for me and my emotions we are torn. I am sorry to hear of the death and my heart goes out to them but I am truly scared of the repercussions of it, I also disagree with a lot of what is being said about him. I don't think that he should be idolized the way the he is for the things that he has done.

Baby B

Well I had my first OB visit today. I was amazed that I actually heard and saw it's heartbeat. I loved being able to actually see something. Seeing the little heart "beat" though and it made me warm & fuzzy. I was given good news about it.....the fact that they were able to pick that much up at only 6 weeks dropped my miscarriage risk from 35% to 5%. It actually seems different to me because this baby B was planned. I would love to upload the pics but I can't get the scanner to cooperate...I am severely technologically challenged (maybe if I let Scarlet & Anna try they can get it to work LOL).

tootles

Thursday

First:
Good morning to all. I want to start by telling everyone what we did this morning. Yesterday Scarlet shoved Kleenex up her nose. My mother-in-law tried to get it all out but couldn't. Well as busy as we were yesterday evening I had forgotten about it, Scarlet was playing as is nothing was wrong. This morning about 5:15 she woke up screaming, well like a ton of bricks it hit me that I had forgotten. I wake Michael up and we get her out of the bed, grab the tweezers, the bulb sucker, and a flashlight. In the mean time we wake Anna up which is a good thing since she could hold the flashlight. To make a long story short it took three people and 30 minutes to retrieve a piece of Kleenex about an inch long out of her nose. How she managed to shove it that far up there is beyond me.

Second:
I have been following Brandi's blog for a week or so now and I love it. It has some political content that is very true and very real. I have actually posted a link and a quote from her blog on my facebook page. She really does her homework. It is really good if you haven't read it you should just follow the link from my blog.

Third:
The news is in Michael and I are pregnant. Since this one was our first planned pregnancy we already have the names picked out. To tell you the truth I am having mixed feelings of excitement and nervousness (both of my other kids were oopses). We have decided that if this one is a boy I am getting fixed. If it is another girl we'll try one more time but 4 is the limit and I am getting fixed (yes it's my decision to get fixed & I have no problem with it).

Picture Post

I thought this picture was so cute. My poor m-i-l &f-i-l, they are surrounded by girls (oh the hormones). They are of course my 2 (ages 17 mos. & 9 yrs.) and my three nieces (ages 2 1/2, 5, and 7 yrs.)

Still Trying!

Well Michael and I have now been trying for 2 months to get pregnant. We are anxiously waiting to find out but according to my cycle (and the ovulation calendar) it will still be another 16 days.

Hello

Hello, I am back. I have just been very busy so I had to take a break from a few things. I am really excited about all the babies that are due. I have friends that are pregnant, a niece that is due in a few months and my sister and her girl friend just had their baby 2 weeks ago. I will tell you that I again have the baby bug and so does Michael. We have decided that we are officially trying. We would like to have a boy and have agreed that if it is then I will have my tubes tied if not we will talk about 1 more. I will be happy either way because I will have a boy or I will have 4 children (which I originally wanted).

I am very excited for all of my friends and I wish them the best of luck!

Well at our first weigh in Monday I lost a total of 9 lbs. I won both of the female categories and took home $20.00 yeah!!!!! I don't know where I lost the weight at and I was only aiming at 2 lbs. per week not 9. Michael ended up losing 11.4 lbs and won both the male categories as well so I got to take home another $20.00!!!!!!! I don't feel like I have lost any this week though but we'll see come Monday!

Tootles!

1. I just want to say hello. I have been really busy and haven't had time to post.

2. The place where I work has started a "Biggest Loser" contest and I entered it. I will have the chance to win up to $20.00 a week and $200.00 at the very end of the competition. It is going to last for 16 weeks. Michael and I are really excited about it because he joined too so we hope to have the market cornered so to speak.

3. I had my first seizure in 6 years 3 weeks ago. Michael knew that about 7 years ago I was diagnosed with Epilepsy but I had been seizure free for so long that they took me off of my medication. Well 3 weeks ago I scared the tar out of him when I had my grand mal seizure. I have them at night so I woke him up out of a dead sleep! I have my first apt. and EEG at UAB in about 1 and 1/2 months.

4. We are finally done with all the Girl Scout cookie sales. I volunteered to be the cookie captain for my troop...I will never do that again. I am also a troop leader and the two just don't mix when I work full time too. I never knew how little the girls make off of those cookies either but I also didn't know they were that easy to sell.

5. Scarlet turned 1 year old on February 25th. She had her princess party complete with her princess sash. We ended up renting a helium tank to inflate all 212 balloons that I ordered. Yes I went crazy for the bash but I did the same with Anna.

6. I bought Michael 2 wolf/husky puppies for an anniversary gift back in January and let me tell you they are just 2 more little kids in the house. They are now 3 months old and weigh about 25 lbs each and there backs are taller than our couch cushions. They make the 2nd & 3rd doggie additions to our growing petting zoo we have, aren't they cute.