Blackberry picking with E

Yesterday, Miss E and I braved the heat to pick our own blackberries. I'd been trying to go all week, but the farm that has them seemed to be allowing two days of ripening in between each day of picking. So the blackberry field was only open for picking on Tuesday and Friday of this week. Carter didn't join us. That was probably easier on me. He was on a mini vacation with Nana and Papa Jack.

I kept Ellyson in the stroller until the bucket was about 3/4 full. Then she was screaming to get out, and I decided I'd kept her in long enough ... I just knew I wanted to pick more than half the gallon before she got out, since she was bound to slow me down. 

At first, she just picked leaves and put them in the bucket.

Luckily, the field was not busy. We had a row all to ourselves, so I was able to let her wander a little.

But it was thirsty work! 95 degrees by 10 a.m. is bound to make Mommy's Little Helper #2 down some water!

Then it was back to picking ... but now she'd caught on to the fact we were picking the berries (she started out picking red ones but eventually start picking purple).

She even tried one! But it was bright red, and she spit it right out. After that, I couldn't convince her to try a purple one. She thought she knew better than to put it in her mouth ... but they were oh-so-sweet. And many of them were the size of average strawberries!

Word of the Week: Purse

Ellyson got her first play purse a few weeks ago. She had started carrying around my purse and some thermal totes - as if they were purses - so we thought she'd have fun with it. She was kind of lukewarm to it, though. She still kept going back for a black leather purse that I keep in my closet (and I'm pretty sure I haven't used since we had kids). So Nana indulged Ellyson in her first big-girl purse this week.

And what are her most-prized possessions, to be kept in that Vera bag? Carter's play phone and some pretend chocolate chip cookies. Naturally.

Zoo Trip

Last Saturday, we made our final pre-twins trip to the zoo. Carter had fun bringing Grandpa and Grandma with us this time. Ellyson rode in the stroller for most of it ... when I finally took her out toward the end of our tour, she was so excited by the animals that I felt bad for having left her in the stroller so long. But I was afraid she'd come out of it and then want me to carry her - and be unhappy when that didn't happen. Oh well.

I pushed the stroller for our two-hour zoo trip. It helps me offset some of the strain on my tailbone. But when we stopped for lunch after we left, I knew I'd overdone it. In the 45 minutes or so that we sat in the restaurant, I had five contractions and felt really sick. I think the combination of dehydration, then downing sugary fruit punch, made me sick - and the contractions were probably from overexertion followed by a big meal. They did finally subside, but I learned my lesson! We won't be back to the zoo until after the twins arrive.

Wordless Wednesday

Baby Shower

On Sunday, my sister and stepmom threw a twin shower for Grant and Graham. A handful of close family and friends came to celebrate the boys with me. We got lots of very useful gifts - another crib, a handmade quilt (with a second on its way), lots of diapers, wipes, clothes and some personalized hats (which the boys will not take off until we can tell them apart - haha). It was really wonderful. And I got a good laugh out of the games.

The guests broke into two teams, and because twin bellies get a lot bigger than singletons, the ladies had to see "how preggo they can go", wearing really big shorts and shirts. One team had a 360-degree pregnancy, with balloons stuffed in her back as well!

Then the same two teams had to design toilet paper maternity wear.

Finally, each guest drew a number between 1 and 12, and had to write a birthday card for the twins to open on the birthday that corresponds with that number.

Funny story about the cake. Actually, two funny stories about it. First, the (older) lady who took the order for the cake, gave my sister a lot of grief about putting the names on the cake. She kept asking if she was sure she wanted to do that ... I guess it's a generational thing?? Second, when my sister picked up the cake, the lady at the bakery told her she had done (or taken an order for) a birthday cake that day, and the cake was for two boys named Grant and Graham.

Portable Tray

Funny story of the weekend.

Yesterday morning, Ellyson was still grazing on her breakfast (a homemade waffle) after she got out of her high chair. I was holding her in the kitchen. She wanted to reach for her water cup, but needed to put down her waffle first. After looking around her, she decided to put it down on the top of my belly.

What to Expect in L&D ... When You're Expecting Twins

Here's the basic (warning: honest and blunt) play-by-play of what I can expect during delivery of the twins. It's quite different from delivering a singleton. If you're squeamish and/or don't want to read graphic details of childbirth, just skip this post.


If Grant (Baby A; the lower baby) is still breech at my 36-1/2 week ultrasound ... I will have a scheduled c-section. This is a likely scenario, now that he has a 4-1/2-pound brother pushing down on him.


If Grant is vertex (head-down) at my ultrasound ... when I check in to the hospital (regardless of induction or active labor), I'll receive an IV. If I'm in active labor, they won't hook anything to that IV until if/when it's necessary for me to receive fluids, pain meds, pitocin, etc. But I'll still have to have an IV line put in. This is different from Ellyson's birth, when I had no IV - no needles - at all.

Labor will progress more or less the same that it would with a singleton. I'll just have an extra heartbeat monitor on my belly. When I hit 8-9 cm, if I have not had an epidural, I am strongly advised to do so. You'll find out why if you keep reading.

When it's time to push, an O.B. will be in the room with us. After Grant delivers, (this is why the epidural is so strongly advised) the O.B. will reach inside my cervix to check Graham's presentation (Graham will push down as Grant pushes out, meaning he will be at my cervix as soon as Grant comes all the way out).

If Graham is presenting vertex (head-down) and is under no distress, I will most likely be allowed to push him out as I would a single birth.

If Graham presents breech (butt-down), the O.B. will essentially grab him and pull him out. Breech presentation increases the risk of his cord becoming clamped, cutting off his blood flow or air flow, so they don't want him to endure the process of being pushed out (which would take longer anyway in that position).

After Graham delivers, I'll push out the placentas. However, once they're (mostly) out, the O.B. will reach inside again, to sweep my uterus. Apparently placentas tend to tear apart during twin delivery, and small pieces are likely to be left inside - so the O.B. has to make sure all pieces come out, to avoid hemorrhaging.

If Graham presents any other body part down (not head and not butt), the O.B. will reach in and attempt to reposition him into either vertex or breech position. If he cooperates, he'll then be pulled out. If not, I'll go into an emergency c-section. If I have had an epidural, they just make some adjustments to my meds. If I haven't had an epidural, I'll be put under general anesthesia.

So, that's that. All in a day's work, right?

32 Weeks

Photo credit: Carter. It's not the most flattering, but it'll do.

Weight Change: +30 pounds

Baby Weights: Grant is 4 lb, 2 oz ... Graham is 4 lb, 4 oz

Baby News: Grant is still breech. He has four weeks to turn, or we schedule a c-section. It's out of my hands, and I'm at peace with that fact. Graham is still transverse, but his position doesn't matter. Both have enough hair to be visible via 2D ultrasound ... so they're likely to be born with more hair than big sister has to date. Poor girl.

Mommy News: I don't feel like I've deteriorated any more since my rant two weeks ago. My tailbone still feels like it's splitting, and if I don't prop up my feet for an hour or more in the afternoon, they will get uncomfortably swollen. Any physical exertion is taxing. I'm actually noticing fewer contractions (a handful per week) than I was four weeks ago, possibly because I've made a greater effort to take it easy. Heartburn and indigestion are still running rampant, but they're just a fact of life right now.

Unless I go into labor sooner (not likely), I'm looking at a delivery between 37 and 38 weeks. They'll actually induce/c-section me at 37 if my mental health is at stake. ;-) So I think there is a good chance we'll be having some July babies ... as August 1 will be 37-1/2 weeks.

I also had a very long, very detailed, very blunt conversation with my midwife, regarding what to expect in the delivery room for either surgical (c-section) or non-surgical delivery. I will post that play-by-play separately, as it's pretty graphic.

Word of the Week: Diaper

Ellyson has learned the word "diaper". I would've preferred to just go ahead and learn the word "potty" at this point, but nooooooo. Actually, she recognizes the word potty ... but shakes her head "no" and won't actually say it. She will, however, rip off the Velcro Bum Genius diapers that I use overnight. Luckily, I only have a couple of them - the others are snap (Bum Genius or Fuzzi Bunz), and she hasn't mastered that skill yet.

But look how our little girl is growing up! She even asked to eat her snack at Carter's kids' table one day this week. One of these days, she might even grow some discernible hair. (She has some, but it's so thin and light that she looks bald.)

Boon

I splurged and bought a new drying rack for sippy cups. I've been using a plain, inexpensive one made by Munchkin, for four years. There's nothing wrong with it. Though I've complained more than once (to Jack) about how it looks on the counter. Just out of place. When Ellyson was a baby (or maybe when I was pregnant with her), Jack saw the Boon "grass" drying rack and suggested it. At the time, I decided to keep the one we had since it was fully functional.

But I finally broke down and bought the Boon. Actually, it was seeing this accessory at a store, that convinced me I wanted the "grass". And then Amazon dropped their price on it, and I saw it as a sign.

It definitely does the trick. I have so many straw-type components (since Ellyson only uses cups with straws, since since Carter takes a strawed thermos in his school lunch), and my old drying rack had limited places to put them. But the grass layout works great - it would accommodate every straw in this house, and then some. I mean, look at all those straws standing upright! And the old drying rack wasn't strong enough to hold the metal thermoses, either. Definitely a win.

Wordless Wednesday

Happy Father's Day!

... if not a few days late.

Part of our Father's Day celebration this year involved a trip to Medieval Times. Jack has considered taking Carter, but hadn't yet bitten the bullet (price tag). Well, they were running a Father's Day weekend promotion wherein dads were free - so we had to pay for just Carter and me (Ellyson is free as a lap infant).

It was a whole lot of fun. It's also a whole lot of money when there aren't any good discounts available, so it is a family trip we aren't likely to repeat any time soon - especially with two more babies coming very soon.

But Carter loved it. He didn't even want to get up to use the bathroom! And I only had to take Ellyson out of our seats once - to get her a dry diaper. The only food she ate was my bread (knowing she might not eat much, I brought some other food for her in the diaper bag). But she loved the horses. I mean, loved them. I've never seen her face light up the way it did when she waved to "our" knight on his horse. And she was repaid with a flower from him.

Birthday Flowers

I've had so many other fun topics to post that I nearly missed out on a very sweet story about Carter. Monday night after his birthday dinner at Chick-Fil-A, he and Jack were sitting on the tailgate of Jack's truck, parked in a grocery store parking lot, so that Carter could eat his ice cream (I had gone ahead and taken Ellyson home). When he finished, he told his daddy that they needed to go into the grocery store. Why? Because "Mommy needs flowers for my birthday." Jack couldn't argue with that sweet logic, so into the grocery store they went ... and my little four-year-old was so proud to bring the flowers home to me. (For being so thoughtful, his daddy also let him get a Spiderman balloon, since he hadn't had any balloons this year for his party.)

Checkups

Carter had his four-year checkup this week, and Ellyson had her 15-month at the same time. Carter didn't shed a tear when he got his shots! Ellyson did, but only until I picked her up.

Size-wise, here's where they both stand:

Carter's height: 42.75" (95th percentile)
Carter's weight: 40 lbs (80th percentile)

Ellyson's height: 31.25" (70th percentile)
Ellyson's weight: 22 lb, 5 oz (40th percentile)

All in all, they're a-okay. And Carter now officially meets all the minimum requirements to ride in a backless booster seat instead of a car seat (40", 40 lbs and 4 years old), though I'll keep him in the car seat as his primary seat, for the foreseeable future. He's been using the backless booster as a secondary seat for some time now.

Word of the Week: Cooking

So, it's not E's new vocabulary word. And actually, it hasn't even been this week. It was, in fact, the previous two weeks. But I have been cooking meals and freezing them. I think we're almost ready for bed rest or twins ... whichever comes first. I've frozen enough meals to feed our family for 14 dinners, a handful of (kids') lunches, and I also have some store-bought heat-and-serve meals frozen. I still have a few items on my freezer-cooking wish list, but I got to the point where I was really wearing myself out.

In the course of two weeks, I prepped, cooked (except in the case of the PB&J) and froze:

(2) homemade "kits" of chicken fajitas (chicken, peppers, tortillas and cheese)

(2) full-size chicken casseroles (each of which will last us two dinners)
(1) baked cheese ravioli
(1) full-size Mexican lasagna (two dinners)
(1) full-size baked penne pasta (two dinners, to be served with ...)
(6) cooked chicken parmesan breasts
(1) meal worth of pulled BBQ chicken breast
(1) sweet potato casserole (probably two meals)
(2) broccoli and cheese casseroles (each will last one dinner, plus feed the kids an additional lunch)
(10) PB&J uncrustables (individually packaged in sandwich bags, inside the freezer bag)

I'm hoping to also crank out a double batch of our favorite chocolate-peanut butter cookie dough, a tray of chicken enchiladas, and a batch each of pancakes and waffles. But I'm at the point where I'm content if those fall through.

Town Center Fountains

Yesterday afternoon it was like 90 degrees out (and Ellyson and I both had taken naps before lunch), so I took the kids to the Suwanee Town Center Fountains to play. It's a nice break from the heat, a little better than the inflatable pool (or backyard sprinkler) and it's free. What sweetens the deal is a frozen yogurt shop just steps away from the fountains. A friend brought her daughter along, and all the kids eventually had fun splashing.

Carter jumped right in, even in the midst of a bunch of older daycare/summer camp children. Bonnie and Ellyson took a little longer to warm up, but eventually enjoyed some splashing also.

These boots were made for walking ...

A couple months ago, Carter told me he wanted a pair of cowboy boots. It was kind of a random request. But I made a mental note, and mentioned it to my family when they asked about birthday gift ideas. So when my sister Katya made her cross-country trek to her new home in Colorado, and stopped in Texas to stay with her in-laws for a couple days, she scored a pair of true cowboy boots.

Carter seemed indifferent to them when he opened them at his party ... but in the proceeding days, he wore them with everything. And we don't wear shoes inside our house ... so the fact he loved them enough to wear them all around the house (until he finally took them outside, then we had to stop), was pretty big.

Wordless Wednesday

Yo Ho, Mateys Away!

We celebrated Carter's birthday party on Saturday. Since Jake and the Neverland Pirates is his new obsession, we used it as the theme for his party. (Don't get me wrong ... this kid is still all about super heros ... but we figured super heros will still be cool when he's turning five, six, seven ... a Disney Junior cartoon won't be ... so we are embracing the fact he's still only four.) Anyway.

We had an inflatable pirate ship, and Jack came up with games to mimick an episode of Jake, wherein the kids earned gold doobloons for completing the tasks. I think the kids had a lot of fun. Carter wore a pirate costume all the way until bedtime ... I'd expected it to last about 30 minutes. So we definitely got our $5 (on Amazon) out of it!

At the end of the games, the kids had to find the "x" marking the treasure ... cupcakes! (Also check out the pirate cake pops, and the Almond Joy cake pops ... I'm pretty proud of them.)

Yep, those boys are still going to double in weight before they come out ...

Even Ellyson sported a pirate tattoo. She did much better at Carter's party this year, than last. I mean, she actually attended it! But she had some fun. She kept herself entertained by pulling ice out of the inflatable pirate chest cooler, and eating Pirate's Booty snacks.

After cake, the kids (and dads) cooled off with water missiles.

And after the party, Carter bounced until bedtime with his daddy and Uncle Brad. I think the big boys had fun on it, too.