Style File: 24 Weeks

Sometimes...it's all about being comfortable. That's the name of the game this summer. Keeping cool. Haha. So far it hasn't been too bad because the spring was a very cool spring, but the past couple of weeks have been hitting the mid 90's and while I know that's hardly scorching...It's certainly not my favorite. I'm just glad our ancient AC unit got replaced recently. It's way more efficient which means I can keep it cooler in the house and not have to worry about busting the bank. ;)

I'm actually super stoked about these jeans. I ordinarily prefer skinny jeans, but these classic boot cut jeans were on the clearance rack at Kohl's for $6.00. Then the cashier gave me an additional 20% off. So for five bucks (including tax) I got a pair of comfy, stretchy, maternity pants.

 

I had a doctor's appointment this morning and everything looks great with the babies. Their heart rates were 153 and 149, both were looking good on the ultrasound. They have changed positions a bit. The baby on my right side likes to be balled up, but she was considered vertex (head down). The one the left, though, has changed positions and is now breech. It's still pretty early for that to really matter much. My next appointment is a big one. I do my glucose test and I have a growth scan. The drink does look a little weird... I do get to eat prior to the test though, so that's good. I can have protein. So while a plate full of eggs isn't really my first choice, at least I don't have to totally fast. Not eating doesn't usually go over too well these days.

Just as a side note: Chick Fil A's new salads are still good but I miss the old Chargrilled Chicken salad. It was just vegetables and grilled chicken. Now the only option for a grilled chicken salad involves lots of berries and blue cheese. I don't mind the berries...but the blue cheese is icky. And they can't always just make you one without it. Bummer. I'm eating the cobb salad right now, and it's good but it has fried chicken on it. 

Also as a side note: ants are taking over my kitchen again. I have some borax and sugar water out, which seemed to work ok last time. I could have Terminex come out and spray but I don't really want them spraying pesticides in my house while I'm pregnant. Any other thoughts on how to get rid of ants pesticide free? (and yes, I do keep the kitchen clean so it's not because there's food sitting around).

Blog Name Change and my Summer To Do List

You may have noticed that I changed the name of the blog around here. I'm contemplating switching the URL to reflect that change, but I didn't want to lose a bunch of readers because of a URL change. So I thought I would mull it over and maybe announce it later on prior to the change. The name change is meant to reflect the blog more. "Daily Life" was boring and vanilla...and my life is not boring and vanilla! Don't worry-- all of the same types of posts will continue here. I have some ideas for after the babies get here and we're settled (ha! is that ever going to happen?) and I'm really hoping to have some new features and hopefully blog a bit more often. That won't be for a while though since I'm still currently working then when I am not working any more for a bit it's going to be chaos. Just know I am thinking about it and mulling it over!


Oh, yeah, did I ever mention here that I will not be returning to work after the babies arrive? I made that decision pretty early on when we began weighing my salary against child care costs. It ended up working out that my entire salary would go toward child care and that's not really the point of working, now is it? I was also trying to be delicate because not everyone at work knew that I would not be returning, but I think the word has spread at this point.

Anyway! On to what I have planned for the summer. It's not all baby related, but a lot of it is. Sorry about that, it's just kind of the nature of my life at the moment.

• Go to the beach a couple times. Last year I didn't go- not even once! I have a cute maternity suit and everything. Better use it before I outgrow it!
• Refinish dresser for nursery. We're kind of in process on this. But it will get done soon!
• Paint the nursery/set up the nursery
• Collect baby gear of all kinds (because we really don't have much!)
• Attend work baby shower in July
• Finish up my course work so I can get my M.A! 
• Read FOR FUN (maybe at the beach?!)
• Make a couple pinterest projects for the babies' room
• Take some couple-y photos 
• Finish up Dr. Who season 6
• Catch up on Once Upon A Time
• Survive VBS with our community group
• Enjoy our last couple of months as a couple before the two little ladies arrive

Google Reader is shutting down!!!

I was agast when I logged in one day to check out my blogs and then got the dreaded message "Google Reader will be shutting down on July 1st, 2013". What was I going to do!?

I tried a couple different blog reading services and landed on blog lovin'. I'm really enjoying how it has me interact with different blogs. Instead of pulling the post the way Reader did it forces me to go to the actual blog and see the layouts and other features that didn't come through on reader. I also like how it's more of a community. You should give it a try and follow me on Blog Lovin'! There's a link at the top right of this blog to follow me.

Here are some more reasons I like Blog Lovin':

1.) It's easy to migrate your Reader subscriptions over. Just follow the (easy to follow) instructions they give you.

2.) My blog gets page views when you read through Blog Lovin', this isn't true of Google Reader. I would like to expand my readership and some day maybe even supplement our income through my blog. That takes page views.

3.) The Blog Lovin' App for my iPhone and iPad is awesome.

4.) It's easy to find new blogs to read on Blog Lovin'

5.) It's really easy to follow blogs through Blog Lovin'. If the blogger is part of Blog Lovin' you just click on the Blog Lovin' icon on their blog and follow away!

Style File: 23 Weeks and some reflections

 Happy Summer! It's been mostly warm here for a while, but when I think of summer here in VA beach I think of sandals and maxi dresses. At least that's what I think of now. I've decided skirts and maxi dresses are just more comfortable in the heat than jeans or even shorts.

 I've outgrown several of my maternity items (already!) so I've had to pick up a few more things. Thankfully this dress isn't one of them! It is a bit of a struggle because just about the time you settle into a groove with your body and how you look it all changes again. The weight gain has been the most difficult for me because I've spent the last several years being quite active and working at either losing or maintaining my weight. Now, however, my goal is to *gain* weight. I know it' all for the babies and this is how you help do what you can to prevent premature delivery (at least with twins), it's still hard to see that scale climbing. It is just a season, but some days I just feel a bit like a big marshmallow and that can be hard.

I've been feeling a lot better this week. I've had to increase my water intake as well as add some iron to my diet, but both things seem to be helping a lot. I still get tired out a lot faster than I did before I got pregnant, but growing babies is hard on your body!  The chiropractor adjustments have also been helping IMMENSELY. Seriously. I highly recommend chiropractic care for anyone, but especially expectant mothers. You don't know how bad you feel until you've been adjusted and feel so much better.

Yesterday and today I went to Babies R Us and Target and scanned some stuff for our registries. I have our diaper registry at Diaper Junction pretty much finished, but we hadn't done much in the way of registering for other baby items (like, you know, a crib). I'm ready to start putting together the nursery for the girls. I have things planned out, we just need to execute it. I'm also excited because I feel like I can start getting stuff for the girls too. I've been trying to hold out for various reasons but now I feel like time is ticking and all I have is a couple miracle blankets, a swing, and three little outfits I picked up yesterday. Oh and two diapers. Time to get rolling! I think I've got the big stuff covered on the registry but do have some questions for you experienced moms out there:

• Infant bath- yay or nay? I don't like any of them and they seem kind of silly? Or are they actually useful and I just don't know it? 
• Bed sets- they're not really that safe so I wasn't planning on getting one. I was just going to get some sheets and call it good. Is this what most people do?
• Boppy pillow- I have one, should I register for another one? Or will I likely just use one at a time (this one is for Twin Moms out there).
• Baby monitor- is the video one worth it or just stick with the good old fashioned audio only one?
• Any tips for registering you want to give me? Things you forgot to put on there that you wish you had? Stuff you put on there you wish you hadn't?

This week I've also been working on talking to the babies. This just does NOT come naturally for me and I feel super weird doing it. I know it's supposed to help be bond and all of that...but seriously, am I the only one who feels super silly talking to the belly?

Crafty Things for Sean's Grad Party!

 As you know, I went to Michigan a couple weeks ago to celebrate with my brother since he graduated from high school. I had a wonderful time at his party, but definitely did not take as many pictures as I should have (sorry mom!). Here are a few of the things I helped with!

 Food

 I helped bake the crusts for these veggie pizzas. Basically, you roll our  croissant dough on a cookie sheet and bake it until it's golden. After it's browned, you let it cool. Then you mix together cream cheese and ranch dressing mix and spread it on the top as "sauce". Top with your favorite veggies (chopped real small) and enjoy! We used broccoli, cauliflower, peppers, carrots, and black olives for our veggie pizza. These are always a big hit!

I also made several batches of M & M cookies, using this recipe I found on pinterest. The secret ingredient? Vanilla pudding mix. They were so so delicious, and I'm not just saying that because I made them. The only changes I made to the recipe was to leave out the mini chocolate chips and I used regular M&M's because we couldn't find the minis. I eyeballed the amount because 1 and 1/2 cups of regular sized M&M's were too many. I think I ended up using 1/2-3/4 cup of them, depending on how I felt the dough looked. This is one of my new favorite cookie recipes!

As for the rest of the party spread we had a veggie tray, chips, hummus and pita chips, BBQ pulled pork, sloppy joes...and I think that's it, but I'm probably leaving something out.  The food was a big team effort between all of us: my mom, my dad, my mom's super awesome friend... it was so much fun getting it all together!

 Gratuitous shot of the cake table.

Decor

 This was my mom's idea on how to display some of Sean's medals. It's so cute, isn't it? I love the old encyclopedias!

 The centerpieces! There were one of these on each of the tables. These were a team effort between myself, my mom, and one of my mom's crafty friends. I made the GHS 2013 pennants with my Cricut before I got up to MI.

Each of them was slightly different, with a different picture and slightly different arrangement. They looked awesome, if I do say so myself.

I also made a bunting banner that was displayed over the cake table, but would you believe it I didn't even get a picture of it?! This is the mostly finished version. The finished version said 'GHS 2013' on it. I think this was my favorite thing to make. Buntings are so in right now and I thought it was cute.

We had a blast at the party. Lots of food, fun, and hanging out with people! 

Style File: 22 weeks

Sorry this post is a little late! After a week in Michigan, I had some catching up at home to do. Brad was not feeling well, then I wasn't feeling well...and before I knew it it was Sunday! But I got the pictures up (even though they're a little late) so I'm calling that one a win. I got these shorts last night, and I am in love. They're super comfortable. You can't see it in the pics very well but there is a light floral pattern. I think it's fun and makes it more interesting than your typical denim short. 

 This outfit is basically about comfort and not making me hot. It's offiicially hit that stage in June where I am hot a lot. Welcome summer! I'm glad I found some pieces that are comfortable and still fit within my style framework.

Babies are doing great. I had a bit of a scare on thursday morning where I felt very faint and got tunnel vision. Turns out, my iron level is slightly low. I'm guessing that combined with the heat, tiredness of traveling, and my blood pressure tanking...all things that made a perfect storm for passing out. Everything at the doctor's office looked great, girls are moving around, and nothing major popped up. Just one of those fun things about pregnancy. Just have to make sure I'm eating right and I'm going to add some more iron to my diet for sure!

Saturday morning I got my first prenatal massage. It was wonderful. I highly recommend. ;)

Style File: 21 Weeks

Well, here I am in Michigan! I didn't bring my laptop so I had to abscond my brother's computer to be able to put up the blog post. He has a Windows 8 computer, and let me tell you... Windows 8 is very very different than my iOS macbook. ;) As such...my photos are straight from the camera and unedited. I'm not too worried about it because I don't tweak my pictures a ton...but thought I would give you fair warning.

I had to do some shopping before my trip because I realized... I had hardly any pants that were comfortable. I've embraced the full panel pants. I discovered I am big enough the demi-panel folds down and squishes weird now that the belly is large. ;) I like these mint jeans. I've decided that I'm going to take some risks with my maternity style because, why not?

It's a bit cooler in Northern MI than I am used to, but I am loving being able to bust out this denim jacket. There is about a two week window where I can wear such a thing at home before it starts getting wayyyyyy too hot for that business. It should be great weather for the outdoor open house tomorrow. We've been busy putting together centerpieces, baking cookies, putting together appetizers...it's been a lot of fun. I'll probably make a bonus post next week showing you all the crafty things I helped with for the party.

Babies are moving a lot more. I can feel them kicking from the outside occasionally. Brad got to feel one of them kick on Sunday. Those strong movements are still not all the time, but I'm definitely feeling them more often. We've picked nursery colors (expect future posts on the progress of that!), registered for our cloth diapers, and begun talking names more seriously. I feel like we've gotten a lot done in the past week. Of course, a lot of it is on hold for a bit since I'm not home. Over all, I'm feeling pretty good and am ready to tackle some of the projects on my list! 

Outfit Rundown:

Jeans- Liz Lange Maternity (Target)

Tshirt- Old Navy

Jacket- Calvin Klein (Thrifted) 

Style File: 20 Weeks

 Halfway! Well, halfway if I go to 40 weeks. ;) Brad got me this dress for Mother's Day as a little surprise. He picked it himself even. It's actually very comfortable and that's key to me. Plus, it isn't frumpy like some of the maternity dresses out there.  Brad's been busy lately as he started his summer class as well as trying to do some various baby projects. Last week he sanded down the dresser. This week we've picked paint colors for their room and he's started prepping the bathrooms to be painted (the bathrooms aren't a baby project. It's just a good time to do them. The master bath required some hefty work as along the shower mold had grown in the grout and somewhat in the pain. Lots of scraping...).

 My anatomy scan went very well! Nothing looked out of place or abnormal. Both were in the head down position (and it would be nice if they just stayed that way for the duration of this pregnancy!) and measured spot on for their gestational age. Baby A is estimated to be 12 oz and Baby B is estimated to be 11oz, both of which are normal for this stage of pregnancy. We got some fun pictures as well as a DVD of the whole scan. They were able to determine sexes of the babies. If you missed the announcement you can see it here. We made a fun little video. This is the first time I've ever made a video, so excuse the roughness. I still love the video though. :)

On Tuesday I leave for Michigan to visit my family for the week. I'll be going up by myself this time since Brad has several things to do for class. Plus, he has to conserve his leave time for after the babies arrive. I'm going up to celebrate my Brother's graduation with him in the form of helping out with his open house (and eating the food). I'm really excited to see everyone. It's always nice to be able to go see family when you live far from them.

And the verdict is in!

Babies Sex Reveal from Liz Boyce on Vimeo.

Do you think we're having two boys? Two girls? One of each? Watch our video to find out!