Nursery Basics

Hello all! Adam and I had a very productive weekend, which I am paying for now. These days I can only do a few tasks at a time. Not quite the same as I used to be. Plus I had to teach Body Attack Friday, Sunday, and Monday, so that wears me out as well.

We did have a fabulous weekend though. It started off Friday afternoon with a trip to the salon. I always feel better after I get my hair did. :) Saturday I had a lot of energy for some reason, so I took full advantage. I have been dying to get the cribs squared away (or at least ordered). I am so ready to start working on the nursery and that's one of the first steps besides painting. We found the cribs we wanted several weeks ago. It's hard to find a crib that's not the trend right now of the convertible bed (crib to toddler to full) with the huge headboard on the back. The cribs we chose do convert into a toddler bed, so that's perfect. We will worry about "big boy" beds later. Plus, they may not even want to sleep in their "crib" anymore even if it is converted. Since we have to buy 2 and our space is limited, we decided on a traditional crib but it's very classy. We also feel we got a good price for 2. Ya'll would not believe how ridiculously expensive some of these cribs are. We (I) have to keep in mind they won't be in them forever. So, here is a pic of the cribs we selected. The color we chose is Espresso, which is a lot darker wood than what is shown below. They are on order and expect them to be in this week. :)

After we got the cribs squared away, I dove right into figuring out exactly what I want for the crib bedding. The store we purchased the cribs from has the option to design your own custom bedding, which really appeals to me since I am having a terrible time finding exactly what I want. Plus I love doing stuff like that! Everything is so busy with these horrible tacky prints. I want something very simple without a print especially since there will be 2. I don't want the small room to look too cluttered but light and airy. The custom bedding is ridiculously expensive, so I'm not sure I'm going to be able to do that. I have a few options, which I will list below. Any ideas, comments, suggestions would be great! Ideally I would like for the main color of one set to be light green and the other to be blue. I want them to be different but still similar. So here's what I'm thinking...



These are from Serena & Lily. I would have the bumper pads monogrammed with the boys initials (blue and green to match)

Here is the Pottery Barn Pique option. The only drawback is that both sets would have to be in blue since they don't offer it in a green. So, I would have to make it look different with different colored sheets and monograms I guess. Like I said, any suggestions are welcome! :)

In addition to narrowing down the bedding choices, we also went to Lowe's to pick up some paint samples for the room. Seeing that the twins are boys, we have decided to paint the room a light blue shade. We have yet to paint the samples on the wall but will get to that soon.

I had so much energy on Saturday I knew I would pay for it later. After looking for cribs and bedding all day, I was even able to go on a date with the hubs downtown. We had a fabulous sushi dinner at Koji and the weather was so nice we were able to walk around and get ice cream. It's been so hot lately that it's unbearable to be outside. I honestly felt a little like myself Saturday night. :) And yes, I did pay for all my productivity. Sunday I was wiped! It didn't help I had to teach a high impact Body Attack class either. Adam and I tried to go to church, but I just couldn't make it. My body was screaming for rest.

I have my first appointment with the high risk doctor tomorrow morning, so hopefully everything is ok. Crossing my fingers I will get to see my babies again. :)

Oh BOY...

(No, I am not this preggo yet. When my sis was in town, we went maternity clothes shopping. Apparently they have this Velcro belly thing you can put on to see how clothes will fit once you're huge. I thought it was hilarious, and we had fun playing around. BTW, I think this is a dress, but Katie thinks it's too short, ha ha. I miss having my sissy close by.)

Are ya'll shocked that I have posted 2 times in the past week? I am trying my hardest to be better about blogging. I have to post our latest news...

So my 16 weeks doctor's appointment was yesterday. I went in thinking I would get an ultrasound because I am carrying mono/di twins, which could be considered high risk. At first the nurse told me I wasn't scheduled for an ultrasound, but I quickly had them change that. I think there was definitely a lack of communication. They way I understood it was that I am to get an ultrasound at every visit to make sure both babies are growing equally and one is not being a hog basically. However, they quickly got me back into the ultrasound room, which I was very happy about. I honestly wanted to find out the sexes too. They told me I would find out at 20 weeks but was keeping my fingers crossed they would be able to tell at 16 weeks. Well, lo and behold, the first question the nurse asked was, "Do you want to know what they are?" Adam stalled a minute because we had initially discussed we were going to have the nurse write it down for us, and we would find out later on our own. Guess what I said? "Yes, yes!" Those of you who know me well know that I am not a very patient person, so of course I couldn't wait another minute! Plus, I wanted to know what I was looking at on the screen if you know what I mean. So....having said all that, our babies are...BOYS! And for the record, I knew they were boys before we even went in there. I had been feeling like they were boys for several weeks now. I also have to give credit to my dad because he called it from the beginning. He thought they were boys all along. We are very excited about our 2 little boys! My family is mainly girls, so this will definitely be a new experience. I know Adam is happy too. Since he is an only child, there will now be 2 more men to carry on the Vicars name. Our little boys are growing just fine right now. Baby A is 3 days bigger than Baby B (not sure how they can tell that), but that's perfectly normal. We got some awesome 3D pics too. Now, I have to start going to the high risk doctor as well. My first appointment with the high risk is next week, so hoping all goes well. Now, let the shopping begin! I am such a dork but I have already picked out every combo of bedding (depending on genders), so I know exactly what I want now. I am dying to get the cribs and dresser ordered and start painting, etc. I guess that's all for today. I am going to post some pics of our baby boys...

Baby A

Big News!

Clearly I am awesome at keeping up-to-date with my blogging, ha ha. Hilarious, right?! Anyway, a lot has happened in the past few months. I say I am going to be religious about updating this blog but I'm not gonna lie it's very hard for some reason...but... because of our big news I want to document our journey so I promise I will try my hardest to do better. So....for the big news....Adam and I are pregnant with TWINS! Yes! That's right! 2 babies! We definitely got the shock of our lives in that ultrasound room the beginning of June. We had just gotten over the shock of being pregnant then we were faced with 2 babies on the screen. We literally couldn't believe it. I just busted out laughing hysterically. Adam sat very still staring at the screen with his mouth wide open. I'm just glad he didn't pass out. I thought he might, ha. The thought of twins never even crossed either one of our minds. I had never heard of any twins on my side of the family and no, no fertility drugs were being used. It happened naturally. These are the 2 questions I am asked most. I did find out later that my Great Uncle (my Grandma Lovett's half brother) was a twin. His twin died at an early age, so I had never even heard of him. We honestly weren't "trying" that hard to get pregnant. We weren't preventing but weren't adamant about trying. Here's my take...God's timing is perfect. He has a plan, boy does he, and little did we know and still don't know (ha ha) all he has in store for us. How quickly things change. God also won't give us more than we can handle. I keep telling myself this, ha ha. Honestly though, we couldn't be more overjoyed for our 2 little lives growing in my belly. I already can't wait to meet my sweet little babies. We haven't found out the sexes yet (dying to know) but I think they are boys. We go back to the doc Tuesday for our 3rd (planned) visit. I am 16 weeks now, so crossing my fingers we will find out the sexes even though they told us we wouldn't know until 20 weeks.

Here's a little background on my pregnancy so far because I know you are all so interested in the details. Humor me though! Maybe some of ya'll reading this are pregnant too and want to follow my journey. I know I love hearing about other people's pregnancies. Although I have to admit before my pregnancy, all this "pregnancy" talk made me roll my eyes and honestly throw up in my mouth a little bit. My how things change....

So, my journey began on May 12 which was the date of the first preggo test. This is when Adam and I got our first shock. I had no clue I was pregnant. Didn't "feel" pregnant at all. Thought I was late because I had been teaching crazy Body Attack and Body Pump classes at the gym and working out like a maniac. Nope, not the reason. The due date as determined by the doc on my first appointment is January 12, but since I am having twins, it will probably be sometime in December. I have to admit my first trimester was hard! Luckily I never had terrible nausea (just here and there) and some food aversions, but never physically got sick. I was able to eat. This may have been what saved me. Oh my goodness did I eat! I always had something on my tummy. I would be starving all the time too! Probably because I was trying to grow2 babies. The thing that made the first tri so hard was the fatique. I mean there's tired but I'm telling you, this tired doesn't compare. I honestly thought I was on my deathbed. I had no energy at all! Yes, I'm a bit of a drama queen, but trust me coming from someone who is very active, I didn't know what hit me. Well, I did but I had a hard time coming to grips with reality. Yes, I had to say goodbye to my crazy active lifestyle and slow it down a bit. Even if I wanted to keep it up, I couldn't. I would wake up and be tired and go to bed at like 7 or 8 and if I was lucky to have time I would take a nap too. I really didn't want to leave the couch much, so my DVR was my (still is actually) best friend. Real Housewives to be exact, ha ha! :) Other than the terrible fatigue, first trimester was fine.

We did have a little scare after our 2nd Dr. appt. The same week I was abruptly called back in for another ultra sound, which scared me to death. They called me while I was teaching a class at the gym and when I called the nurse back she said to come in today right now. Of course I was so scared. Everything imaginable went through my head. Turns out, they had to find out if the twins were sharing a placenta or not before they got too big. The pics they had gotten earlier that week weren't clear enough. They are sharing a placenta, so it makes my pregnancy a little more high risk. The big long name which I can't even pronounce is Monochorionic Diamniotic (Mono/Di). They are in 2 separate sacs but have one placenta. This could cause a problem if one baby is basically taking all the nutrients, blood supply, etc from the other. We are praying this will not be an issue. The plus side is I get more ultrasounds. :) Now we are up-to-date for the most part.

Here are some pregnancy highlights:

How Far Along: 16 weeks

Size of Babies: The size of an avocado (4.5 inches)

Maternity Clothes: Have bought some maternity items but have not crossed the line into maternity clothing land yet. I have a lot of summery dresses with a lot of room in the belly so I have been wearing those. I did buy a bigger pair of denim shorts that ride low on my hips (not maternity btw, very trendy from Express). A lot of styles right now are baggier, which is good. It won't be long though.

Gender: Hopefully August 2nd but will probably be the end of August at 20 weeks.

Movement: Felt something but not sure if it's gas or not. May be some baby flutters. :)

Sleep: I'm a stomach sleeper, so it has been hard trying to sleep on my side and getting comfortable. I wake up on my stomach though, oops. Probably need to quit that. I also get sooo hot!

What I Miss: WINE!, Sushi (the raw stuff), having energy to workout like a maniac, being able to run at a decent pace (I am a slow ass these days) and not get so out of breath.

Cravings: It differs but red meat, carbs, cheese. Not sugar surprisingly since I had such a sweet tooth pre-pregnancy.

Aversions: I had a bad reaction to some steamed mussels while on vacay, again it varies.

Symptoms: Still tired a lot! It's better but still have to take it easy. I can't do a lot at once. I have good and bad days.

Best Moment of the Week: Well, I hope to find out the genders of my babies on Tuesday. This has honestly been a long, exhausting week between work and teaching classes, so I am looking forward to some downtime this weekend. :)


So, this concludes my book of a blog post. You are all up to date on my pregnancy. I will try to post each week on the happenings of the Vicars Twins.

Baby A

Baby B

P.S. Baby B is sucking his/her thumb. :)

The Best Time of the Year

Gosh, it's been soooo long since I've posted but I am going to try this blogging thing again. Well it's that time of year again...Spring! May is my most favorite month not just because it's my birth month but the weather is absolutely perfect! We are heading to Wild Dunes this coming weekend for a week, and I cannot wait! I'm so ready for a week of relaxing by the ocean and some sea breeze in my face. I promise I will post pics as soon as we get back. Just wanted to get the ball rolling on re-entering the Blogging World again. More to come...

Thanksgiving Already Come and Gone...Right on to Christmas

I can't believe it's less than three weeks until Christmas! Whew! Where did the time go? Thanksgiving was wonderful for the Vicars this year. We completed the Tour of East TN once again starting in Kingsport to be with the Vicars and then headed to Knoxville Friday to be with the Fillingims. It was wonderful to see all the fam and spend some quality time and eat way too much of course! We must remember in this busy time of year that it's relationships and loved ones that are the most important and of course Jesus Christ! It's so easy to get wrapped up in all the "hoop-la" and all the activities we are all involved in that sometimes we forget to focus on the important things. I know I am guilty of losing sight of this. My priority this year is making the most of every minute I have with loved ones.

B-B-Body Pump Training

So, I am posting 2 times today to catch up for lost time. My computer got a virus and I am STILL trying to get it fixed a week and a half later. Word to the wise, don't take it to Geek Squad at Best Buy. It's a total rip off!

Last weekend was a blur. I attended an initial training for Body Pump. I want to get certified to teach. I have taken Body Pump for at least 6 years. I absolutely LOVE it, so why not take the next step and teach something I love? I want to share the passion I have for working out with others and Group Fitness is a great way to do it! The training was very intense, but I really did have a blast! I am finally able to walk again-haha. Yes, I was definitely sore for a couple of days. I passed the initial training, so now it's time to learn the rest of the release and start team teaching. Then, I get to send in a video of me teaching a class. Crossing my fingers that I will get my certification after that.




















Did I mention I enjoy weight training and fitness in general? It's amazing the benefits a few days in the gym can provide. It is a lifestyle for me. I feel the best I have ever felt in my life. I am somewhat tracking my progress for the last couple of months. These pics were taken the end of September. It's amazing to see the results of hard work and sweat. I hope to keep continually improving. BTW-I LOVE to sweat!!! I encourage everyone to start some sort of cardio and strength training exercise. I promise you will see great improvements in just a couple of weeks. Not only will you see physical changes, but your mental and overall well being will improve drastically. You really will be surprised. So do something good for yourself. Get out there and pump it up and work it out!

Happy Halloween

A little late, but Happy Halloween! We had a great one. I love love love dressing up! It's my favorite. I am already planning next year's costume-haha. Check out my throwback to the 80s cartoon days. You got it! Yes I did dress up as Jem from Jem and the Holograms. I have to say my costume was fabulous!



Adam's costume was just as original. No, you can't beat Crocodile Dundee. Please notice the awesome handcrafted vest by yours truly (I think I missed my calling-I should have been a seamstress-haha-yeah right!). I can't take all the credit. Adam is actually quite handy when it comes to putting together a made-from-scratch costume. When I say made from scratch, I mean it. Thank goodness for Hobby Lobby.