25 Week Update

Here are some pregnancy highlights:

How Far Along: 25 weeks

Size of Babies: Baby A is 1 lb 4 oz and Baby B is 15 oz (as of last Tuesday, so I'm sure they've already grown)

Maternity Clothes: I have started wearing some maternity (tops, denim skirt, dresses). Finally got my maternity jeans hemmed, so I am ready to go for the cooler weather this weekend. Still able to wear some of my bigger jeans if I ride them low or do the rubber band trick and some looser fitting tops. I have just been buying bigger sizes in tops though.

Gender: BOYS! Van Earl and Elijah Willis

Movement: Definitely moving! Feel them kick harder and harder especially at night when I'm laying on the couch.

Sleep: Hit or miss. Sleep great some nights and others not. Harder and harder to get comfy.

What I Miss: Red wine (this one is never gonna fall off the list, ha), sleeping without waking up several times a night, my "skinny" jeans, running, lifting heavy weights (my strength is pathetic right now), and high impact aerobics!

Cravings: Not really anything in particular right now.

Aversions: Nothing in particular.

Symptoms: Feeling heavy!, nesting, starting to wear down a little more easily than the past few weeks.

Best Moment of the Week: Seeing my boys last week and I get to see them again this coming week. Getting the nursery almost complete is another one. Just a few finishing touches are needed.

Babies Update and More

I have had 2 doctor's appointments in the past week. I had my bi-weekly visit at the high risk last week, and I just got back from my monthly visit at my regular OB group. I got an ultrasound at the high risk last week. The boys look precious. Baby A is 1 lb 4oz and Baby B (a little smaller) is 15oz but that is perfectly normal. They made sure the membrane separating them looked OK, checked the blood flow to the brain, and took a lot of measurements. Overall, everything looks good! Baby A was not cooperating for the camera, so I just have a clear pic of Baby B at a little over 23 Weeks. Precious!

Today I had to go in for my glucose test to check for gestational diabetes. I couldn't eat or drink anything this morning and had to drink this sugary orange drink beforehand. I thought it was going to be some terrible, long drawn out thing, but it was so easy. They just drew blood and that was that besides my growling stomach and extreme thirst. I drink water constantly so it was hard to not have any for a while this morning. The actual doctor's visit didn't take long at all, so I hope everything is fine with my blood work. I REALLY don't want to go back in for more testing which takes 4 hours! I will know in 3-4 days whether or not I have to do that. Everything seems to be going fine, which is wonderful news! Here are some baby bump pics of me at 24 weeks. I know I am terrible about taking them much less posting them. Sorry for the poor quality too. I took them with my phone. For those of ya'll who are grossed out by this, skip over these.

~24 Weeks~

I started this past weekend team teaching Attack Saturday morning. Whew! I hadn't taught a high impact class (of course I stay low but you still have to have a certain amount of energy for a high impact class) in awhile, so it kicked my booty! I may have pushed a little too hard because after I felt a little woozy. I just have to constantly remind myself, "I am pregnant, take it easy!!" After running errands and straightening up a bit, we had a nice visit from the Vicars. It was a quick trip to them but it was so good to visit a bit and have a nice Italian meal out together. By Sunday, I was wiped! All I wanted to do was lay on the couch, which I did, ha ha! Hey, I'm pregnant! I can do that all day if I want, right? I was ready to go again on Monday. I taught my Active class Monday morning, worked from home in the afternoon, and went back to the gym for another Attack class. I typically don't do 2 classes in a day, so needless to say it took a lot out of me. I do take it easy though. I'm going to keep doing what I'm doing at the gym as long as the doctors say it's ok and I feel fine doing it. So far, so good! I sure hope it stays that way.

I have been fortunate enough to be able to work from home a few days a week recently. I am not planning on going back to The Pink Monogram after I have my boys, so this is perfect! Since the majority of TPM's business comes from the Internet, there is always plenty of work to do on the web. Perfect for me, right?! I have been training my replacement for the past couple of weeks, so I will slowly transition into working completely from home. Plus we don't know if I will have to go on bed rest so if I do, I am ready to keep working. I am so thankful for this set-up. I will leave you with a pic from the hardest working member of our family...

Fall is in the Air

My weekend started off fabulously! After work I decided to stop by the mall just to browse (yeah right) the new Fall styles and look for a new handbag.

Disclaimer: I tend to ramble on about shopping and fashion, so if this doesn't interest you, please skip ahead.

Even though I can't wear a lot of the styles this year, I still want to keep up with the trends, so I decided to do a little "trend" shopping Friday evening. It ended up being a very successful trip. I have found that when you go in looking for something specific you will find nothing. When it's just a "browsing" trip, you will want everything! Let me just tell you...for me there is nothing like a little retail therapy to cheer one up and brighten the day. :) I found a gorgeous handbag at Dillards. It's just what I was looking for...black patent with gold hardware and it's the perfect size. I have a hard time finding the "perfect" bag at the right price point, so I was super excited to find this one. I love the gold chain handle (very Chanel-like).

I also had some luck in Juniors. The best thing about Juniors is you can usually find (if you hit it at the right time) trendy pieces at a much cheaper price than in Contemporary or high end boutiques. I was thrilled about finding some trendy Fall items (with lots of belly room of course) at good prices. I am having a really hard time with the "maternity" clothing thing. A) they are super expensive. What a rip off! B) It's hard (for me) to find styles I like. This is why I was so happy to find some items that will work perfect for me (Big Mama) this Fall. I am really excited about my cape jacket. Although I'm not sure the hubs gets it. He called me a "flying squirrel" when I put it on. Oh well, too bad. I love it and it's the perfect preggo belly Fall piece. I will pair it with some skinny jeans or leggings and tall boots and it will be perfect. :)
After my shopping outing, Adam and I got Carrabba's take out which was the perfect ending to a great evening.

Saturday was busy. We worked hard again. I got up and taught pump, ran errands, and cleaned the house (it was in dire need) all before the TN/FL game, which we lost. :( It has been so long since we beat FL. I was so hoping we would pull it off this past weekend. Oh well, there's always next year, right? They better get it together by next year because I want my boys' first football season to see a Vol win against FL. On a the other hand, Adam's homemade spinach dip made the game a little more bearable to watch. It's soooo yummy! And yes, we ate it all! My hubby is quite the cook, thank goodness. I don't like to cook so this works out well. :) After the game we (Adam) put together the bookshelf in the nursery, so all the big furniture pieces are done!

Here's another TN Maternity Tee I'm loving. Thanks to my sweet friend Ashley!

Sunday morning we woke up and were pooped from everything we did on Saturday, so we were bad and didn't make it to church. We had a wonderfully lazy Sunday morning instead, which was very much needed.

Babies Update:
Of course I have to put in a baby update...The boys are kicking harder and harder. I feel them more and you can see them kicking through my belly. It really is quite hilarious. Just not sure how much stronger their kicks will get, hope not too much haha. I put a bowl of popcorn on my belly the other night, and they almost kicked it off. It seems they are most active in the evening when I'm laying on the couch or maybe it's because I am still and can feel them more. I go back to the high risk Dr. Wednesday, so I will update ya'll then. Hope everything is still going ok. Please keep your prayers coming that they are healthy and both growing equally. I greatly appreciate them all. I am a firm believer in prayer, so knowing I have peeps praying for my boys is very comforting. I am 23 weeks and will be 24 this Thursday. Can't wait to meet my little kickers. :)

Working Weekend

Since Adam and I were finally in town this weekend, we decided to bust it and get some work done on the nursery. My sweet hubby worked so hard and did everything I asked. It's harder for me to do some of the big things these days so I need a man to help. :) We made mucho progress in the nursery. Adam finished the paint, which looks amazing I might add. He did a wonderful job-looks professional. Here's a before pic.

While Adam was painting, I was feeling productive so I thought I would put one of the cribs together. Not thinking, I put it together in the living room while watching football. When it came time to take it into the nursery, guess what?! Yep, didn't fit through the door. What do ya know? After yelling and cursing (I was so proud of my crib building skills), Adam took the darn thing apart (not totally just enough to fit through the door). One of the cribs almost finished.

After watching the TN game, we decided to go downtown since the weather was so nice and have a date night. :) We sat outside at Pomegranate and had a delicious dinner. Instead of going somewhere for drinks after dinner (what we used to do), we decided to get really crazy. We hit up BABIES R US baby! What else would you want to do on a Saturday night, lol? We thought we were going to buy mattresses with coupons we had but ended up getting a twin feeding pillow (only one they had) and a changing pad for the dresser we would be getting on Sunday...which leads me to my next topic...the dresser...

Sunday we woke up to a beautiful Fall morning. We had coffee and read the paper (I just look through the ads and coupons) on the back patio which was very nice. After Sunday School and a huge Mexican lunch (I have been eating pretty healthy lately, so I deserve it right?), we decided to tackle the bear of getting the almost 200 lb dresser from Babies R Us to our house with Adam's VW GTI. No problem, right?! I know what ya'll are thinking if you know how big a GTI is, but as much as I'm ready to get rid of that car I have to say that through the years it has proven to be very helpful when it comes to hauling things. Doesn't look big, but fold the seats down and there is more room than you think. Keep in mind our knees our in the dash, but still...we have hauled so many things in that car. Well the GTI let us down on Sunday. I figured it wouldn't fit but it was worth a try. Let me tell you though, this dresser is huge and in a box already put together. I don't think it would have fit in many SUVs. So, apparently Home Depot offers a truck you can rent for $20 for 75 minutes. Yup, ya'll this is a lifesaver if you don't have a large vehicle for hauling things. Adam was the man and got that thing to our house and back to Home Depot in time. Whew! The biggest items are now in the nursery.

Thankfully we had help from the neighbors to get it out...





And the final product...




I want to wait to post pics of the entire nursery until it's completely finished. Don't worry I will definitely post them though. As of last night both cribs have been put together. I still have a shelf to put together. Next on the list...mattresses. Anybody know a place to get a good cheap one (actually two)? We want to go cheap on these. Well there you have it...a VERY productive weekend! I am very happy with our progress. I think this is why we start our weeks so tired. We work so hard on the weekends and forget to rest.

Bring on Fall

Like I have mentioned before, I am usually a summer person. This year has been a little different though. Due to my pregnancy and the hottest summer ever it seems, I am ready for fall! The cooler temps the past mornings have been wonderful! I have already gotten my Fall scented candles out and my Fall decs down from the attic. Call it nesting, pregnancy, or just wanting a change in season, but I am ready for some cooler weather. Don't get me wrong, hate winter but this year will be a little different. :) I have also been trying to get my house in order. We moved the guest bedroom (now nursery) to where the office used to be (downstairs). We had to move all the office stuff up to the bonus room which has been our catch-all room for a while now. It was such a disaster because we just basically threw everything up there with no rhyme or reason. Since I have had some time off work due to coming back from Ktown early, I have been determined to get the bonus room organized. I have made major progress. It is now an office in one corner, a sewing area in another corner (not that I sew that much but I plan on learning more), my out of season closet along one wall, and we have a couch and recliner on the main wall. I still have some work to do but have made major progress. It looks a lot better! You can actually walk in there now. Adam has been so sweet about helping paint the nursery. He has painted after work several nights, which I greatly appreciate. All we have left is the trim work. Next on the list: putting the cribs together and moving in the furniture. I will post pics once it's complete.

A pic from last year to get you in the Fall spirit:

Football Time in Tennessee

Even though we ended up not going to the game (decided it was way too hot for preggo and ended up storming), it was wonderful to be in Knoxville on game day. If you've never experienced it, there's nothing like Knoxville on a UT game day. I started off my day by going to Body Pump with mom. Adam even joined in. :) After a great workout, Dad took us to Pete's for lunch. Pete's is a great diner downtown that serves awesome breakfast and meat and three. It's one of my parents favorite places. It was so great to see everyone wearing their TN Orange. You have to remember I live in SC where it's all Clemson Orange and USC Garnet. Due to the near 100 degree temps, we opted to watch the game at Downtown Grill and Brewery. It was perfect except for the long rain delay. We were able to get a good seat to see TVs and the food there is so good! Of course that's what I'm all about these days, ha ha. I did have a Beck's non-alcoholic beer. You have to have a beer while watching football. Yes, I need to add an "S" to "Quarterback". This tank was too cute to pass up though.

Sunday we planned on heading to the outlets in Pigeon Forge. We got up early to get there right when they open to beat the Labor Day crowds. Boy, am I glad we did. By the time we left, it was ridiculously crowded. I would not have been a happy camper trying to shop with all those people. We stopped by my friend Ashley's house on the way home to see her newborn baby boy, Bryce. He is adorable! She was so sweet to give me a bunch of maternity clothes, which is a HUGE help! So cute too! Thank you Ashley!! :)

We ended up coming back Monday morning so Adam could get back to work on Tuesday and not waste a vacation day. We will need all of those we can get soon. All in all a wonderful weekend with my parents in Ktown. We have decided we are not traveling again for awhile. We have been burning up the roads lately, so we need to stay at home and get some things completed (ummm...like the nursery). I think I have started my nesting phase. I am very anxious to get the nursery complete in case I go on bed rest. Truth be told, I just want it finished.