We're pregnant!

I found out on Monday, August 5th, that I was pregnant! The lines were super faint but my mom and I could definitely see two of them! I called Jay and we were both so excited but so scared. I think with the second time around you know all of the things that can wrong in a pregnancy and it has made me more worried than the first time. I hate to say it but I sort of expected this pregnancy to work because the last one did and it seemed like they had everything figured out. I wasn't necessarily surprised to learn I was pregnant but more relieved, excited, and nervous.

Jay came home on August 8th and we took another test together. This one was digital and we were both so excited to see "pregnant" pop up on the screen. The word seems so much more real than the two little lines!

On August 11th I had my first beta test and the results came in at 303 for my 11dp6dt beta. With the twins I was 433 on 9dp5dt so I had a feeling that I am only pregnant with one baby this time. I was definitely hoping for twins because that would mean this is my last pregnancy but I am really excited about how easy one baby will be (watch my child turn out to be a non-sleeping, colicky baby!)! 

On August 14th we did the second beta and it was 1280 on 14dpt6td. This was closer to my second number with the twins so it made Jay think that we were having twins... I still think its just one due to how different I'm feeling this pregnancy. 

Our last beta was on August 16th and was 2572. They schedule us for our ultrasound and we are so excited to get a peek at this baby!

Unfortunately, that same evening I was had some cramping during dinner and when I used the restroom before bed I realized I was bleeding a significant amount. I burst into tears and Jay was visibly upset too. We had been pretty casual about the baby up until this point but all of a sudden it felt so much more real. I called the doctor and he was very optimistic that I wasn't miscarrying but that I should sleep on it and depending on how much blood I lost overnight would determine our baby's fate. I prayed and prayed that the bleeding would stop and when I woke up the next morning, it had stopped. I felt soooo thankful. 

It wasn't until yesterday that I had the courage to take another pregnancy test. Even though the bleeding stopped when I woke up, I still worried that I had miscarried. To make things worse, I had started bleeding again last night and thought that this might really be the end of it.  But to my excitement, the pregnancy test was still positive! I am so excited for our ultrasound and really want to know why I am having this bleeding. I want to make sure everything is okay with our little one. This is such a nervous wait!

Midweek Randoms

I'm trying to catch on to some of these blogging link ups to help encourage me to blog!

Midweek Randoms

1. I'm loving the change in gmail that organizes my mail by primary, social, and promotions. It makes it so easy to delete all the junk email.

2.  This string cheese is amazing. I found it at Whole Foods and will never eat the Kraft stuff again. Totally worth the price. I eat it on peppers for my snack at school and cut it up for the babies.

3. I made this last night. No lie I LOVE hamburger helper but gave it up once I realized how disgusting the ingredients are. I made this last night from all real foods and it was a hit with my family. I used quinoa pasta, tomato sauce, onion powder, garlic powder, ground mustard, vinegar, ground turkey, and shredded cheddar cheese. 

4. Tonight is parent night and my room is coming together nicely. I still have a ton of pictures to print (once I upload them from my camera) and I want to add a big monogram to the front of my desk. 

5. Because she is so stinkin cute and because babies in hats are just adorable.

6. I posted this collage on instagram earlier in the week. It my car progression over the past 6 years. I am 100% a sports car person and refuse to get rid of my coupe. My husband would much prefer a truck but I love ditching my SUV and pretending I'm cool again driving around my little car! Jay and I bought a new a SUV on Friday. I loved my tahoe but it was getting small with all the stuff we've been lugging around with the twins. We are also making a big trip this weekend and decided this was a great time to pull the trigger. I MISS my tahoe soo much. The suburban is huge and definitely screams "mom" but it gets the job done. 

Whew! Back to School and Kid Update

I feel like life has been such a whirlwind lately! We ended summer by doing all sorts of fun things. I tried to be spontaneous and let the house work build up a bit in exchange for nightly walks, mid-morning playdates, and pool time. Now summer is officially over. I've been back at work for two weeks and we're all adjusting. Babysitters have been coming and going in our home and we're working on adjusting the twins' schedule to get ready for preschool!

Within the past week, my mom, our primary caretaker of the twins while we're at work was offered a 5 day a week TK position at a really great preschool. The position is still part-time (830-1) but it meant that we would need to figure out someone to watch the twins. They were already signed up for Monday/Wednesday preschool at the school next door to my mom's school so that would work out with her dropping them off and picking them up. I was super stressed trying to find a nanny for the other days but luckily the new preschool my mom is at had openings for the twins in their Tuesday/Thursday class. Such a blessing! Jay's mom is helping us out by watching the kids on Fridays.

It is CRAZY trying to manage two preschools along with my own back to school schedule. Just this week I have back to school night at my school on Wednesday, Weekday preschool on Thursday, Weekday preschool meet the teachers on Friday morning (hubs is taking the two kids to this by himself- good luck!). My mom was sweet to buy each child their back to school lunch box. We ordered some bag tags and labels too and I'm so excited to prep for their first day. I'm such a nerd. Each preschool has a different bag to pack and lunch requirements. I just ordered these lunchboxes and they look like the perfect thing for preschool and they are dishwasher safe. They are also plain on the front so I've ordered decal monograms to decorate! They also come in pink!



I haven't uploaded pictures since JULY but I've got lots to share of my two crazy kids! Emma Cate is ALMOST walking (she'll take 6 steps every now and then). Holden is RUNNING! We've been loving this cooler weather and play outside whenever we get the chance. They each have 5 teeth (three upper and two lower). Emma Cate can say mama, dada, and baby. Holden's got dada down pat but just prefers to babble in his own language. Jay mimics his words and they have some hilarious conversations. We've totally stopped with the bottles and it is SO nice not washing Dr. Brown's bottles! Both babies are OBSESSED with their YBIKE and I HIGHLY recommend purchasing this as a walker/riding toy all in one (less baby gear around the house is always a plus!) They are napping once a day from 1-4 and its such a nice span of time to get things done around the house. The babies are SO much fun at this age. They know what most items that we use daily are and can retrieve them and bring them to me. Holden loves to bring me books and climbs in my lap to read them. Emma Cate loves to give Holden kisses and will chase him around to kiss him when prompted. Holden was just getting over a cold and we let them both watch cartoons over the weekend. Emma Cate wouldn't sit still but Holden curled up in his anywhere chair and watched some Jake and the Neverland Pirates. Too Cute! They love petting boomer and squeal when he comes in their room to get them out of their cribs.

I've started cooking again and will post our menus soon. I found lots of great clean eating menus to share including some crock pot ones! Hope your back to school has been great! I'm looking forward to routine and schedules!

A Very Hungry Caterpillar Birthday- Family

We were so lucky to have so many family members in town for the twin's birthday party! My aunt and cousin flew in from Texas and Minnesota and my grandpa and Susan drove down from Indiana. The twins look a little out of whack in these pictures. I didn't plan this party very well around their nap times and they started getting tired and cranky towards the end! I'm saving the smash cake pics for tomorrow because their are soooo many of them!

my mom's side of the family

Jay's mom's side of the family

Sara and Katie my sorority sisters

my real sisters

just the 5 of us

my sweet cousin Erin and Emma Cate

Great Aunt Barbara (GAB) and Holden

My Grandpa and Holden

A Very Hungry Caterpillar Birthday- The Decorations

I'm just now going to through all of my pictures and just realized that I don't have ANY of the 400 + pics my mom took of the party. I may need to go back and fill in some of the gaps with her pictures. The following pics are all from our photographer.

my mom whipped up these adorable birthday hats for the kids! emma cate wore hers well but holden hated his! 

I saw this inflatble caterpillar and thought it would be so fun! The babies weren't huge fans but we had so much fun taking them through it.

my diy flowerpot centerpieces

the gift table and book signing

Our cute caterpillar photo booth! My mom made this too! Such a crafty lady. 

 

smash cake back drop. we decided not to do first birthday pictures and do the smash cake session at the party instead. I made this cute little backdrop for the pictures. Having both twins sitting near each other worked out better for photographs. 

The backyard. I wish I took a picture from above. We set the tables up in a caterpillar shape.

 

View of the party from the back

Baby #3 6 weeks

I figure I might as well start the weekly posts now that we've hit 6 weeks! Still have no idea how many we are having but my guess is one because this pregnancy is so different than the twins. We have our ultrasound at the end of the week and are so excited to meet our little one! We are still hush hush about this pregnancy. It is amazing how quickly its going this time around. The start of school and being so busy chasing around two crazy toddlers has definitely made the time pass.

Pregnancy Highlights:

Today's Date: Friday, August 23rd

How Far Along: 6 Weeks

Size of baby: Baby is the size of a sweet pea

Total Weight Gain/Loss: up 3 lbs

Maternity Clothes: No but I'm excited because J.crew is coming out with a maternity line!

Gender: I think girl, Jay thinks boy

Movement:  None yet! 

Sleep: I have definitely been more tired than usual but I am also going going going trying to get everything ready for school.

What I miss: Feeling normal as in not nauseous! 

Cravings: Pho Ga (but I had been craving that before pregancy). I am back to loving some carbs. I've been eating lots of special K, mac and cheese, and popcorn

Symptoms: Tired, still some acne, and a bit of morning (all-day) sickness. It hasn't been as bad at the twin pregnancy but I've got a script for Zofran in my purse. My sense of smell is picking up and I almost vomited when serving the twins peas. yuck.

Best Moment this week: Buying our new car. We decided to take the plunge and get the mommymobile. We purchases a suburban in anticipation of all the space we'll need for three kids!

your baby's the size of a sweet pea!

The average embryo at week 6 is about .25 inches and will double in size again next week. Wow!

A Very Hungry Caterpillar First Birthday Party- The Food

Why yes, I am two months late getting this post up but being at stay at home mommy doesn't allow me a lot of time for blogging. Now that I am back at work, I've got a little extra free computer time on my hands!

The twins first birthday party was so much fun! I definitely went all out and had a great time with the theme. #2 will surely not be as extravagant! Today I'm blogging about the food, tomorrow I'll do the decorations, and finally on Monday I'll put up the smash cake and family photos.

The front of the house

my mom made this adorable caterpillar wreath for the front door and we kept it simple with balloons. The party was in our backyard.

The Food

we served all the food from the very hungry caterpillar book!

watermelon on a stick

 whole foods cupcakes (their cupcakes and cakes are delicious... i am having a craving for one just seeing this photo!

 Jay's cousin Candice made these yummy mini cherry pies

 the dessert table

we went with two small smash cakes for the babies since we had so many other desserts for everyone else. 

We served homemade ice cream, cupcakes, take-away cookies, cherry pies, and lollipops

 The entire food spread. 

 we served caterpillar punch (non alcoholic for the little ones) and butterfly punch (a light sangria for the adults). We also had juice boxes and sodas on hand