Fun Little Weekend

Our plans to relax this weekend didn't go as well as we had hoped but we still had lots of fun!


Friday afternoon Jay and I both had clear schedules from 4:30 on so we decided to meet at Freedom Park for an impromptu dinner picnic. I'm trying to squeeze in as many of these spontaneous things as I can before the babies arrive. Several other families had the same idea and the park was busy! They were also setting up for the international tree climbing competition and it made for some nice evening entertainment. After our appetizers, we went home and enjoyed the delicious prosciutto, asparagus and mushroom pasta that I blogged about previously.

I was up at 5:45 Saturday am to volunteer for my school's 5k run. I was so tired and spent a lot of Saturday laying around being lazy once I returned from the run. I did get to enjoy breakfast out with some colleagues at a new place called skillets in Ballantyne. It was sooo good!

Jay and I attended his end of the season baseball party on Saturday night and it was fun meeting parents of my boy students who I never get to see. I know so many girl parents from coaching cheer and this was a good opportunity to be introduced to some new folks. I just have to say, boys are soooo different than girls! Especially at age 13! It was so sweet to see how much these guys enjoyed playing for Jay and how much they looked up to him. I'm also so glad that he enjoys coaching and working with kids this age. He told me that now understands why I enjoy it so much. Jay gave an awesome end of the season speech and all the moms commented on how adorable and sweet he was. Jay is usually quite the talker so I got a little nervous when he started his speech but he did an awesome job! We didn't get home until 11:30 and I was soo thankful that we didn't have any early Sunday plans!

Sunday morning was spent rearranging the den. We're making the switch from a "den" to a "family room". We moved a lot of furniture out of the den, changed the position of our couch, bought some new stuff from Ikea, changed out the drapes, and purchased a new rug. The room is a little bare right now but we know the space will be filled with swings, PB anywhere chairs, crawling gyms, exersaucers and other baby things soon.

BEFORE:

AFTER (midway)

(please excuse the trash and tools, we haven't cleaned up yet! Also- the large picture of our wedding will be hung above the white table and replaced with a picture of the babies. The mirror on the wall will be removed as well as the home sign)

And sorry for the lighting! I snapped these on my cell phone on my way out the door this morning. I'll do a better update once the whole room is more put together.

Sunday afternoon, I was privileged to be spoiled by my cheerleaders at an "alumnae" baby shower. All the girls from my 5 years of coaching were there! It was so fun to catch up with moms I hadn't seen in years. I can't believe some of these girls are driving now. I sooo badly wanted to let them know that I'll be coaching at the high school next year but I haven't gotten the go ahead to tell anyone yet! The babies were absolutely spoiled and I think that I'm going to have to change them every hour to get them into all of the new clothes they got! (More shower pictures to come!)

Love these personalized boppies!

cute elephant pillows that match the chairs

spoiled!

Cute personalized bathrobes. I'll probably going to see if the monogram shop can add "Cate" to Emma Cate's. The perils of a double name :)

Sunday evening ended with the WORST trip to Ikea ever. We arrived at 6:30 and the store closed at 7. Luckily we knew what we wanted but still wanted to see it in person before purchasing. As soon as we arrived I was STARVING and went straight for the cafeteria. I seriously cried when we rounded the corner and I saw the man putting the ropes up to block off the lines. The cafeteria closed at 6:30. Jay did his best to try and convince the guy that I needed to eat NOW but he wasn't budging. We then made beeline for the sofa table we came to buy, picked out the perfect baskets to fit inside and made our way downstairs to collect the items. We found two great rugs (one for the family room and one for the nursery) and went to pick up baskets. We couldn't find them anywhere and the store was closing so Jay ran upstairs to grab some of the 20 they had on display while I went to wait in the 40 person checkout line. Jay was rudely told that he could not take those baskets, the ones to purchase were on backorder and would be in in 2 weeks and that no, they would not give us the sale price when the baskets did come in. Ikea is not close and it was so frustrating that they didn't have the things I wanted!

 We had a delicious dinner at Cracker Barrel and I practically cleaned my plate I was soooo hungry. Once fed, I was a much more pleasant person :) At home, Jay went straight to work on the Ikea piece and I went to the nursery to organize our items to take back. We wanted to wait until our last shower to do any returns. I was surprised at how many "doubles" of things we got! Around midnight, we finally called it a night and I slept like a baby until my alarm went off signalling the start of another work week. Weekends are really too short...

Now for your opinion- we can't decide how to center this rug. Its a 6.5x6.5 square. Our rockers and bookshelf are centered by the window but the cribs and armoire are centered on the back wall (we couldn't center them with the window because of the shape of the room). Right now they are centered with the cribs but I'm not sure I love it that way.

Welcome!

Hi! 

Welcome to those of you from the MOMs link up as well as those that have been following along with us since the beginning. I've decided to make my original blog private for personal reasons but I didn't want to miss the opportunity to connect with others through this fun blogging world. My husband Jay and I are preparing to welcome a son and a daughter to our family within the next two months! This blog will chronicle our adventures as we become parents to twins. 

About Us:

Jay and I met as freshman at the great NC State University in August of 2003 and began dating shortly after. He asked me to marry him on October 1st 2006. We graduated in May of 2007 and were married on September 8th, 2007. A few years later we decided to try to start a family. After a long tough road, we found out that we were pregnant on November 7, 2011. At our first ultrasound on November 30, 2011 we learned that I was carrying twins! Jay was ecstatic. I was overwhelmed. 29 weeks later we are both so excited to welcome Emma Cate and Holden into our lives. 

We learned at our last appointment that my doctor does not want me to go past 38 weeks; so if the babies decide to stay put and my body continues to cooperate, the twins will be born by July 4th. 

Week 28

It's been a fun week around our house! After a stressful and busy Saturday, our nursery is almost complete and we're in love with it! Also very thankful for everyone that helped make it beautiful! 

My ultrasound last week was everything I could have hoped for and so relieved to see that the babies are doing so well. 

Is is safe to say that things are calming down around here?

I'll wait to make that statement until I take my three hour glucose (gestational diabetes) test. Yes, unfortunately I failed my 1 hour test at the doctor's office this morning. Not by much but still a fail. I'm more upset than I thought I would be about it. After reading more about it, I don't want to do ANYTHING that puts my babies' health in jeopardy. Gestational diabetes is complicated to explain. I've gotten some information here. It also seems like I'll need to start working out more. I can't really imagine this as uncomfortable as I am. Maybe I should try swimming laps...

Pregnancy Highlights:

Today's Date: Wednesday, April 25th, 2012

How Far Along: 28 weeks

Size of babies: A rutabaga. The babies are 13.6-14.8 inches long and weigh between 1.5 to 2.5 pounds (still in the same ranges as last week). 

Total Weight Gain/Loss: 17 pounds. I am actually down three pounds from last week. My eating pretty much stayed the same so I'm thinking it is just me adjusting to pregnancy. At the doctor today Emma Cate's heart beat was 145 and Holden's was 133. He must have been sleeping :)

Maternity Clothes: Yes, and even some of the tops are getting short. They did my belly measurement at the doctor today and I'm measuring at 35 weeks. 

Gender: Girl- Emma Cate and Boy- Holden.

Movement: There has been some crazy belly dancing going on in there. They also respond pretty well to rap music. I think they like the bass like their mama.

Sleep: Sleep was much better this week! I can still make it through the night (we'll 5:30am) without a potty break!

What I miss: tying my shoes without help

Cravings: None really this week. I figured that I would fail my glucose test so I started stocking up on healthy protein filled items. I had greek yogurt for the first time in forever and realized how much I missed it! Almonds have also been a yummy snack.

Symptoms: Braxton hicks and lots of trucker burps. I also learned today that I failed my 1 hour glucose test by 2 points! They want you to be at 135 and I was at 137 and 135 the two times they ran it. I'll be heading into the doctor next Wednesday for the three hour test. Until then I'm sticking to a protein and veggie filled diet. Buhbye carbs, fruits, smoothies, and sweets :(    

Best Moment this week: Seeing the nursery complete!

The other day while finishing up the nursery, I noticed my reflection in the mirror. Figured I'd take a pic of my bump busting out of my shirt.

27 weeks 4 days

27 weeks 5 days

sneak peak of our pics from the maternity session on Saturday

Your baby's the size of a rutabaga!

Putting on layers of fat, your baby now weighs in around 1.5 to 2.5 pounds and measures about 13.6 to 14.8 inches.

Nursery Pictures and Carseat Deals

Hope you had a fabulous weekend! My mom, Jay, and I had a crazy busy Saturday. My mom drove up Friday evening with all of the items she made for the nursery as well as a few things she needed to complete at our house.

We woke up early Saturday morning and hit the Belk Charity sale to pick up a few Lilly dresses for the maternity pictures and then headed to the craft store for some last minute supplies. I am so thankful to my mom and husband who worked their behinds off to make my "vision" for the nursery a reality! Our Sunday was spend being lazy (i.e. I stayed in bed until 3pm!). We finished up the weekend by a quick trip to the mall and a nice dinner out.

Now on to the nursery:

Jay has truly transformed this room. Here are some before and during pictures.

This is the best one I have of the before pictures. This room was our second guest room before it became a nursery.

Adult furniture out, some baby furniture in

Still had old art on the walls.

Chair before covering

closets before painting

Holden's "naked" crib

Emma Cate's "naked" crib

testing out the wall color

close up

Added the second glider

painted the upper half of the walls

painted the lower half of the walls

installed all of the board and batten treatment. Realized that the lower wall color was too yellow and needed to find a different color.

Adding the shelf above the board and batten. You can see it on the right hand side of the picture.

Missing a board and the shelving on the left side

unfinished closets

updated belly shot and nursery progress.

painting the amoire

one of my new favorite hobbies. Stalking my husband as he works in the nursery.

I've been spotted. Jay's finishing up the trim around the windows.

the lower walls are now painted white and the armoire is in place but has no hardware.

Other side of the room, everything is pretty much in place, the trim has been painted but the things on the shelves need to be moved around and the chairs are waiting for their covers.

Now, those are pretty much all the before pictures that I have! Here is the almost finished result.

Sorry the lighting is so crummy. These first 3 were taken on my iphone because I was too lazy to change out my lens on my DSLR to get wide angle shots.  This pretty much shows the entire nursery.

Details

Window Treatments

 My mom made these simple box pleat valances and we attached them to 4x1x? pieces of wood to adorn the windows. We're sticking to regular faux wooden blinds for privacy. The valances are made from the same tan linen fabric as the bed skirts and crib ties.

The Cribs

Both cribs are the Sophia style from Pottery Barn. They were super easy to put together and the crib mattresses we got from Buy Buy Baby fit in perfectly. The mobiles are originally from Pottery Barn Kids and we picked them up at the mothers of multiples consignment sale. They were still in their boxes! We went with a classic toile pattern for the outside of the bumpers and off-white with polk-a-dots for the inside. The cording around the bumpers is the same fabric as the window treatments, bed skirts, and crib ties. I had a hard time deciding on crib sheets and went with natural organic cotton jersey knit crib sheets from Buy Buy Baby. The bears in the corner were a shower gift and play different sounds (lullabye, womb, heartbeat). The animal blankets in the cribs were a gift from my mother in law and are the softest things I have ever felt! 

Those that know my husband, know that he can be a bit particular. After asking him what he thought of my mom's sewing, he said he didn't understand why the bumper pads were flat. He wanted them to be "fluffier". On Saturday morning, we headed to the craft store for batting to make them fluffy. The employee there warned us that having the fluffy bumper pads but the baby at a higher risk for suffocation. I know that all bumper pads are a suffocation hazard and we do plan on moving them out of the crib and replacing them with the mesh ones when the babies start moving around. We decided to stick with the flat kind until then. On Sunday we swung by PBK and after feeling all of those bumper pads, Jay proclaimed that my Mom's were much better than what we could have bought. :) I think she would be pleased. 

The crib skirts are not 100% finished yet. My mom is going to add pink/blue trim to the bottom of the skirt when she comes back Mother's Day weekend. The skirts will look similar to the window treatments but have pink or blue at the bottom rather than white.

These blankets were hand knit for us as a shower gift by the grandmother of a set of twins that both my mom and I taught. My mom had the girls as four year olds and I taught them as middle schoolers. They both cheered for me and we've become quiet close with the family.

The Gliders-

My mom would probably be embarassed that I'm putting these pictures up because the gliders are not done at all but I think they look great! She whipped up these in a few minutes for the nursery pictures. I know nothing about sewing so I'm using her terms, she basted them together for time being. She plans to take them apart, ad a lining so that the previous cushion fabric doesn't show through, add snaps to the arm rests, and trim the edges in the same tan linen cording that is on the bumper pads. She also said that all the wrinkles and gaps would be taken out in the new version. Like I said, I am so happy with what I've got now but she wants them to be fabulous. Also, the pink pillows are just for time being. She's going to make other pillows out of the scraps of fabric.  

The Changing Table

Not too exciting. The changing table is the Catalina dresser from PBK. My mom found it at the outlet near Atlanta and it was a great deal but was missing one knob. I decided to replace them with glass knobs and love how it turned out! The topper is also from PBK but I found it on craigslist for $40. I think it was originally like $120. I like that it is removable so we can use it as a dresser later on. The color is really off in this picture. It is the same white as the cribs and gliders.

The Book Shelf

The bookshelf is also part of the Catalina collection from PBK. My mom found this piece at the outlet too. I love that it is short and we can put it in front of the window without blocking too much light. The books are ALL courtesy of our friends and family who spoiled us at the Baby-Q shower (pics still to come!). The canvas bins were our easter baskets this year. The sweet lamb banks were a gift from Jay's Aunt Vic and the lamb night light was a gift from his sister Ivey.  

The Armoire

We painted this the same color as the top of the walls and added glass knobs for a little makeover. I'm really pleased with how it turned out! The crosses are gifts from Jay's mom.

The Decorations

(descriptions are at the bottom of each set of pictures)

Our hospital bags are from Land's End. My talented friend Jennifer made the adorable bag tags for us as part of a shower gift! She also sells them on her blog, JM Papers. 

This teddy bear was given to me by a student and her mom as soon as I announced I was pregnant! This is one of the softest stuffed animals I have ever touched. I wasn't quiet sure where to put it but my mom and Jay both suggested on top of the armoire to give the room some height and I loved it up there! The frame is from my mother in law and it says "Twins, two are better than one!". I love it!

My mother in law also gave us this cute magnetic family frame. Jay did all the arranging and I think he did a great job. We just need pictures to fill all these frames in!

These frames are currently above the changing table but will relocated when another piece of art we're getting comes in. I'm not sure exactly where they will go but we'll find the perfect spot! These were also bought for us by my mother in law and match the lamb banks perfectly! 

I put these pictures up on facebook and had a lot of questions about these monogrammed signs. Jay and I actually made them ourselves. Jay made the frames from molding and I covered sheet metal (the light-weight kind used in air ducts) with nursery fabric. The letters were purchased at JoAnn's and Michael's. JoAnn's had the large letters and Michael's had the smaller ones that matched. I painted them the same color as the top of the nursery walls. The tiny E and C in Emma Cate's monogram were black to begin with so I primed those with white spray paint primer. I would suggest priming ALL the letters before painting because it helped the paint stick so much better! We added heavy duty magnets to the back of the letters. I figured these board could double as magnetic memo boards and be recovered as the decor changes. 

btw- I know that Emma Cate's toile is facing the wrong direction. I ran into the board before it was up and knocked the letters off. Jay scrambled to rearrange right before the photos. We'll have to fix it soon :)

One last bit of excitement. Jay and I were debating what to do about carseats. We have two infant carriers and bases for my car but weren't sure about what to do for his car. We thought about ordering another set of bases but with each base being $84 we didn't know if we wanted to spend the money on that or use it towards purchasing the convertible seats that the babies could ride in now and also when they outgrow their infant carriers. Lucky for us, the Britax seats we wanted went on sale $100 off on Zulily. I quickly snapped up four of them. Two for our car and two for my moms. I love getting deals!