Keeping Pace with Multiple Miracles

www.keepingpace.org

I have posted before about the wonders of freecycle, for the ability to get and give great free stuff, however, I never realized the potential power of connecting people through this site.

A few weeks ago I posted a WANTED ad to freecycle, saying I was expecting twins, and if anyone had any of the list of items I needed laying around, could they contact me. Well, I didn't get any actual stuff from that post, but I did get to meet some really great moms of multiples and get introduced to a great support group - "Keeping Pace with Multiple Miracles" or KPMM for short.

Now, I'm getting a little sucked in, but I think it's good. Their headquarters is down in Bridgewater but I attended a meeting in Roslindale this last Wednesday (instead of prayer summit, sorry folks) and got to meet a bunch of really great ladies with twins & triplets ranging in age from 7 years old down to 5 weeks old, and everything in-between. They also have a store that is open every Saturday morning in Bridgewater, where they sell all kinds of baby stuff (and maternity clothes) to members, and the general public, for garage sale prices. So if any of you new moms (of singletons) or pregnant friends with a car want to drive down there sometime and take a look around, I'd be happy to go with you!

Check out their website - and especially if you know of any moms of multiples out there, or folks expecting multiples, give them the info too. We are trying to organize a Brookline meeting for folks who need a T-accessible meeting, it's very exciting - more coming on this soon.

Make Way for Ducklings

My 6-year-old nephew came to visit with my sister this weekend, and the only "touristy" outing we had to do, was to go see the "Make Way for Ducklings" sculpture. It was a really nice outing - especially since Tm and I had not yet seen it or even seen the Swan Pond.


It was a drizzly day, but somehow it seemed perfect weather for walking around the pond, visiting with the ducks, swans, and other city dwelling birds, and taking in the scenery. It is good to do these things, to see the "sights" within the city of Boston, that has been our home for 2+ years now. I hope we get the chance to do and see more within this city, without the help of having out of town guests come to visit.

Make way for ducklings!

Another Day, Another Cake

So, most of you have probably experienced my Chocolate Pistachio Bundt Cake- it is typically the only "party" cake I make, because it's so easy and I typically just keep the ingredients around the house so that I can throw one together on a moments notice. The recipe for that cake comes from The Cake Mix Doctor. I received the book as a gift from my sister at my bridal shower. She would make the Chocolate Pistachio Bundt Cake from it as well, so I knew it was a good one. Well, another recipe she used, but actually used in our WEDDING CAKE (she slightly revised the recipe from a bundt recipe to use as a layered cake) was this one:

The Fuzzy Navel Bundt

Last week I just made two of the Chocolate Pistachio Bundt Cakes (CPBC for short) - one for a work party, and another I brought to community group. Well, tonight is the party at PJ&DJ's place for KW's going away party. How could I bring another CPBC to a community group / church gatering less than a week later? The answer is, I couldn't. Well I could, but Tm and I have been wanting a taste of the Fuzzy Navel cake ever since I rediscovered half a bottle of Peach Schnapps when we were unpacking. This is left over from the last time I made this cake.

Now, don't worry here - the alcohol bakes out of the cake, so I'm not going to be getting the babies liquored up by having a piece of cake. But - I am looking forward to cutting into this beauty, and I hope everyone else likes it as well.

I must note, that my dear husband put a lot of work into this cake too. The recipe calls for fresh orange juice, which usually I just replace with some from the carton (store bought). But it also says for a more flavorful cake, to add the zest of 1 orange. Well, if I was going to buy an orange for zest, I might as well just buy 3 oranges to make make fresh orange juice. Which, in our household, juicing citrus is Tm's job. (He also had to juice limes in the same day for our dinner, Pan Seared Pork Tenderloin with Garlicy Lime Cilantro sauce, YUM).

All that said, we didn't get as much done around the apartment (unpacking) that we would have liked to yesterday, but we did get a lot accomplished:

1) I found a Sesame Street mobile on craigslist the day before, we arranged a meeting time and met to exchange the cash for the item. So cute!

2) Went to the Verizon store to check out new phones. I then spent 90 minutes on the phone with Verizon signing up for a new contract (we've been with Sprint for the last 3 years) and following up with paperwork to prove where I work for the awesome corporate discount we got.

3) Tm did the dishes, which doesn't sound like much, but there was about 3 days worth of dishes in there.

4) I unpacked ONE very large box containing towels and linens. We put clean sheets on the bed.

5) Cooked a yummy tasty dinner out of Cook's Illustrated - which, it just so happens that they featured the same recipe on their show "America's Test Kitchen" yesterday, I caught the 2nd half of the show while eating a late lunch. Some of you might be familiar with this recipe, I made it way back when for a Welcome Team event (Spring Thing - Guess Who's Coming To Dinner). Yum!

6) Tm went to the store to pick up the ingredients we would need to make the Fuzzy Navel Cake.

7) I baked some cookies (from a mix) and washed up the dinner dishes.

8) Tm returned with the wrong pudding mix for the cake and without complaint went back out to get the right thing.

9) I did some more dishes.

10) Time to make the cake! Tm got a great arm workout juicing the oranges, I slightly injured myself grating the zest, but we got the cake into the oven then relaxed the rest of the night. So you know there's a lot of love put into this cake!

When I put it that way, we got a lot done! Time to get ready for church and eat some breakfast.

The Amazing Disappearing Bellybutton!

Let me give a little back story here.

I have always had an innie bellybutton (BB for short), and quite a deep one at that. In September 2001 I had a laparoscopic surgery which resulted in a small scar that ran along the bottom edge of my BB. This scar decreased the elasticity of my BB where no matter how much I stretched or pulled, I could not ever see the bottom of my button. I mean seriously, I had to dry it out with a q-tip after showers to keep mold from growing in there (that part was a joke).

Imagine my amazement at 14 weeks of pregnancy, upon looking down to see - what's that? The bottom of my bellybutton!! At that point it was still fairly deep, but more rounded and definitely "open". I'm now 23 1/2 weeks along and what was once my BB is no more than a shallow divot with my bellybutton's private parts exposed. You know, that little nub of tissue in the very depths of your BB? That's what I'm talking about here.

I forgot to mention, I also have a BB piercing, along the top edge of my BB. I've had this piercing since I was 19, and it hurt A LOT to get, so it is my intention not to lose it because I don't think I could ever get it done again. A few weeks ago I purchased a specialty jewelry that is basically a piece of flexible medical tubing with a decorative "stopper" inserted at each end. So - no worries about having a hard piece of jewelry tearing out as my belly grows and stretches, but now it is starting to look like I just had a piece of my belly pierced, as it is indistinguishable as the actual "top" of my bellybutton. And, what was a tiny scar along the bottom edge of my BB is now about an inch and a half long smiley face. I will spare you by not posting a photo here.

I knew I was a smart gal for never getting any tattoos on my belly. Aren't the changes of pregnancy great? Some are amusing, to say the least. Until next time..

Catching Up

I realize I haven't written to my blog in almost exactly one month. In that time we started (and are soon to finish) our childbirth / infant care classes, went on vacation back home to Seattle, have been working on getting settled into our new apartment, among other things. I of course have the continued job of growing our two baby sons :) I don't have much energy to type tonight so I'm just going to lead you through the last month in whatever photos seem appropriate from that time. Thanks for reading / looking, I'll write more soon!

Hershey found what he thought was a comfortable spot to rest - in the sunshine, on top of miscellaneous odds-and-ends that weren't packed at moving time.

Yes, these are my feet and ankles (what's left of them) resting on my carry on luggage on our way to Seattle, during our extended layover in Dallas. Yes, we had to fly to Dallas to then fly to Seattle. I resolved 1) never to fly that pattern again (and) 2) never to fly pregnant again. It took about 3 days for my ankles to return and for any of my shoes to fit.

The day after our arrival, we spent the afternoon with some friends and had some professional black and white "pregnancy" photos taken. This one was particularly fun to do, although I somewhat resent Tm for having a bigger pregnant belly than me!

These are my parents! It just so happened that the timing of our trip was perfect so that we could attend my cousin's wedding. It was a great opportunity to see a lot of my extended family and to see my parents get dressed up. Don't they look cute?

Here I am at my very first baby shower. The chocolate brown outfit was a gift from my mother-in-law - she thought I should have something sexy to wear while pregnant. The top probably won't fit for very long, as these aren't actually "maternity" clothes, but the pants are super comfy (gauchos) and I think I'll be able to wear for a long time, during and after the pregnancy. We had a great time with everyone, and got lots of cute outfits and baby stuff. It was a lot of fun.

"The Farmboy" is a little restaurant just south of where Tm's parents live that serves GREAT breakfast. We actually went there twice with his Dad for breakfast in the 3 days we spent with Tm's family. The first time I had eggs, hashbrowns, biscuits & sausage country gravy. The second time I had a huge malted waffle with strawberries and whipped cream, and scrambled eggs. Mmmm... Yum! And, the coffee was always hot (more on this later).

I'm lounging at the in-laws place with Isabelle, who is a Devon Rex, just like Hershey. She is an old lady (18 years old!) but she still gets around alright, despite her cataracts and partial vision loss. Just like any other Devon, she loves to spend time on your shoulder. She has always been very skiddish, so it is an honor that she chose to sleep on me. She does interact with us more each time we visit.

This picture was taken at IHOP: International House of Pancakes - which USED to be my favorite breakfast spot. It is tradition that I look forward to every time we go home to visit, that we have a breakfast date at IHOP with our friends JB & DB. This visit was no different. I ordered (decaf) coffee, and of course IHOP brings out a cup and a "hot pot" of coffee. First off, the first cup was cold. So I asked for new coffee - which came out piping hot. By the time I drank the first cup and attempted to refill from the "hot pot" the coffee inside was certainly NOT "very hot coffee". I was inspired enough by the experience (and, I must say it is ALWAYS like this) that I wrote a comment card to our good friend Dave (the IHOP guy). I even included my address, I wonder if he'll write me back..

This is just prior to our leaving Tm's family to head back up north to prepare to fly back to Boston. I thought it would be a great idea to get a picture of the babies with their Grandpa Y while we were there.

That's all the pictures (and time) I have for now. Thanks for looking and take care!

Exhausted and Completely Blessed

The days are ticking by to our move date - I am exhausted each night - and so completely blessed. So many of you have offered your assistance, given up your weeknight or weekend to help us out - it means so very much. Not only the work you are able to accomplish, but having help spurs me on to get more done than I would get done simply on my own. You keep me accountable to keep going, and honestly, I think you keep me from bickering with my husband (too much) and I can leave him to help do the things that he does best. In the past 2 days he has been carrying over lighter furniture items to the new place, trying to clear out some space as we continue to fill the apartment with more and more boxes. Thankfully, the packing is starting to come to an end. There are still some odds and ends that need to be taken care of, and obviously we have not torn down the computer or internet connection yet (that will happen last thing Friday night, and the first thing to get set-up at the new apartment) but for the most part things are wrapping up. Tomorrow night Tm's going to go get the laundry done while I go to the new place and clean. Friday will consist of getting the last things packed and ready to go, and some prayer in the evening that things will go well on Saturday.

So I must say, once again, THANK YOU ALL so very much. Once we get a little settled in, perhaps in mid to late August, we plan to thank you all appropriately with a dinner party or some such event. Our new place is even smaller than the one we're leaving, though, but I heard ES & SS had over 10 folks in their tiny place, it'll just have to be a "social" format where not everyone gets to sit down at the same time :) You guys rock.

We're MOVING!

If you have been reading my posts, you know that we are currently living in a mold haven, camped out on our livingroom floor for the past 3 weeks. Well last Wednesday we went and saw a new apartment (in the same building) that is on the front of the building (facing Beacon Street). It's going to be available for move-in probably by next Wednesday, so we are planning our move for the next weekend - we're hoping to get enough help so that we can get it all done on Saturday, July 22nd but if not then we'll be carrying over into Sunday as well. If you can offer any assistance, on either of the actual move dates, with packing the week before, with providing used boxes or packing supplies, we would be so grateful. Thanks for your consideration! We are just so happy to be getting out of our moldy apartment (although it sucks to have to move).

My Ever Expanding Belly

We've been taking belly pics ever since 6 weeks - every 4 weeks - until now, 18 weeks. I think after this we'll have to take them every 2 weeks because the change is definitely happening more quickly now.

We also had our 18 week ultrasound today, and found out that we are expecting.. two boys!

This is "Twin A"

And this is "Twin A"s boy parts. Can you see it?

This is "Twin B"

And this is "Twin B"s boy parts. This one has an arrow to help you find it.

I'm sure our sons will really appreciate their mother posting ultrasound pictures of their penises for the world to see. I can just hear it now, "How embarrassing, Mom!"

My First Digital "Scrapbook Page"

So, for numerous reasons I have not done any scrapbooking since April - crazy! I decided to take a break from paper scrapping (which takes up a lot of space and costs) and purchased a digital scrapbooking software program (Art Explosion Scrapbook Factory Deluxe v. 3.0) in the hopes I'd get to do some scrapping. So - all explanations aside, here's my first digital scrapbooking page. It's also the first page I've done about my pregnancy.. Thanks for looking!!

If you'd like to view this page full size, check it out at my Online Scrapbooking Gallery. At this link, if you click on the smaller picture, you'll get a full size view of the page. :) Thanks for looking!

Eww!

So this is what the inside of our bedroom wall looks like. It smells even worse! Luckily we seem to be making some progress with our landlord - they are calling in the "restoration" people and are planning to tear out our entire bedroom wall and replace it. We should get the call tomorrow with more details. 

From a 1 bdrm to a studio

I must admit I am getting increasingly frustrated with this mold situation at our apartment. Landlord says a carpenter will be coming in tomorrow morning to pull off some of the boards around the window/fire escape to look to find the source/mold. As I was doing some housekeeping in the living room tonight I realized that the OTHER window (the one in the living room) that also leaked earlier this month also smells of mold. Yay.

So, what was our small but spacious 1 bedroom apartment has quickly turned into a studio apartment with a less than comfortable bed (the futon). At least we still have each other, right?

I don't think my family is going to be able to come this weekend. I can't imagine entertaining anyone in this apartment regardless of if we had space to put everyone. It's hard enough to find enough room for me, Tm, Hershey, and all our stuff, much less 2 more adults and 2 nephews. Oh, this just sucks. Really, really sucks.

Moldy Bedroom?!?

Our bedroom is currently un-liveable, and not because it's a mess (although it is a mess) but because of a strong, permeating moldy smell. If you look at the message archives, we had a pretty big leak along the edge of the window / fire escape in that room a few weeks ago. Now, it is my fear that mold is growing in the wall. I took the trash out this morning and looked at the back of the building, to see a large quantity of green growing on the outside of the building, and I wonder if that is contributing to the smell. All I know is that to enter the room I have to wear a particulate respirator mask otherwise a headache is immediately forthcoming. Last night we camped out in the living room, and the bedroom door is closed until this is resolved. When we got home from doing the laundry last night the whole apartment smelled! Now, after airing out the entire apartment and closing the bedroom door, we can confidently say that the smell is coming from the bedroom. I guess the good news is that part of our apartment is liveable. The bad news is that we are expecting out-of-town family guests this weekend!!! I just hope and pray that this will be resolved by Friday and I don't have to call them and say "don't come."

Happy 4th of July, everyone. Hope yours is better than it looks like ours is going to be!

Hungry like a Hobbit

Well, I'm now almost 16 weeks along in this twin pregnancy. The sickness is subsiding, as long as I eat whenever my body says "EAT!" which, seems like all the time! They say that newborns need to eat every 2-4 hours, but I think it's the same in-utero! I'm sure all of you have seen Lord of the Rings - remember in the first movie, when "Strider" is leading the hobbits, and they start to break down their gear for "2nd breakfast", and "Strider" freaks out?!? One of the hobbits says "I don't think he's heard of 2nd breakfast, Pip." I feel like a hobbit! Between full meals, small meals, and snacks, I've been covering just about all the "Hobbit" meals: breakfast, 2nd breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner, and supper. But, I don't have feet like a hobbit! Maybe we'll have to start calling the twins "Pip" and "Merry" in-utero until we come up with real names for them! (on that note, in 2 more weeks we hope to find out the sexes of the babies at my 18 week ultrasound). :)

Let the knitting RE-commence!

I started this project (a baby blanket) a while back.. with just one skein of yarn. Oops! I figured I'd be able to go pick more up at Michael's next time I went to the store. But it looks like they're not carrying this yarn anymore! So, it's been sitting around doing nothing and since this is currently my only set of knitting needles, I haven't done much other knitting (except when RL was kind enough to lend me her needles to make baby hats).

Well, I finally did some searching online and found the yarn I need, and it arrived yesterday! YAY! Now I can let the knitting re-commence! I'm planning to learn how to crochet a scalloped border around the whole thing (in a different color/pattern yarn) when it is complete.
 

Gotta love Dilbert

I subscribe to "Daily Dilbert" which means I get the new Dilbert comic in my email every morning (I don't get the Sunday comic). I just had to share this one!!

Freecycle is awesome

I am so thankful to MH & LH for telling me about Freecycle. Have you heard of it? It is a yahoo group where you can offer up to others the things you don't want anymore, and of course try to get things that others no longer want. Sometimes you can even post a "wanted" ad so if someone has an item that they didn't even remember they had sitting around in their basement, you can take it off their hands. Here's an excerpt from the main page:

" Boston, Massachusetts Freecycle(TM) is open to all who want to "recycle" that special something rather than throw it away. Whether a chair, a fax machine, or an old door, feel free to post it. Maybe you're looking to acquire something yourself! Everything posted must be FREE, legal and appropriate for all ages. Freecycle is a movement of people interested in keeping stuff out of landfills while building a sense of community."

I wanted to share about Freecycle because I was so immensely blessed today by another Freecycle member. Timo and I took a short, 2/3 mile walk today to go pick up some maternity clothes. Another member had offered this lot of clothes and I hadn't "won" it, but a few weeks later she wrote me to say that the original person who had contacted her apparently didn't want the stuff, was I still interested? I replied in the affirmative and arranged to pick them up. Well, I just got done sorting through the two huge trash bags full of clothes, and I really hit the motherlode!!! I can't even count the number of tops - long sleeve, 3/4 sleeve, 1/2 sleeve, short sleeve, no sleeve - some t-shirt style, some dressier. Also some dresses and skirts, a nightgown, and a pair of shorts. Wow.

Completely, amazedly blessed.

Let's Get Crafty: Scrapbooking!!

Today was the "Let's Get Crafty: Scrapbooking" event, hosted by yours truly. We met together for a potluck breakfast - yummy pancakes with fresh fruit, scrambled cheesy eggs, everything bagels, cut up watermelon, and Dunkin muffins. Yum! I went through a short talk about the basics of scrapbooking, and we quickly got to work! As always, I forgot to take out my camera until nearly the very end, but here are some shots of everyone who finished a project today.. KR made some beautiful cards..
PM made an intro page for her Ireland photos..

WS made the first page for her wedding album! Great job, ladies! I hope you all had fun!

My Science Fair Project

So, this is what I have been working on for the past few hours for the Welcome Table at church.


I have had this project in my "To Do" list for months.. It's on a folding board like what you see at science fairs. I've never actually DONE a display for a science fair, so this is my first time making such a thing. Not all of the seams are in ideal locations, and I just hope this thing will last for some period of time, with being folded and re-folded, and being stored in the back store room at the hotel, getting beat up on, etc. Anyway, it's done. 

Drip... drip... drip...

So, two of our windows are leaking at the moulding around the top of the window, the moulding above the window and fire escape door in the bedroom and the window by the kitty tower. Rain is expected to continue through Saturday. We called the management company - apparently they are getting a lot of these calls and can't do anything about it until the rain stops. Oh, yay. I wonder if we'll have any clean towels by the end of this..

Desperately Hungry Pregnant Lady Food

I guess I have been blogging a lot about food lately, but I think that's understandable from someone who's pregnant.It's 11:50pm and I haven't eaten dinner yet. Now, don't scold me yet - when I got home I was feeling awful - Tm got home and I made him feed me a salad (I felt the need for veggies of some kind). We immediately fell asleep and I didn't wake up until 10pm. For the last 2 hours I've been writing email, reading blogs, and trying to figure out what I am going to eat. What do I feel like eating? What is easy to make? What do we have in the house? Sometimes I feel so much a need for PROTEIN that all I can think about are SCRAMBLED EGGS. This is the 2nd time I have made this particular version for myself - scrambled eggs with cheese and ketchup on buttered toast. And, that's water in the purple glass. People keep asking me, are you craving any foods? And I never have an answer, cause I don't feel like I do crave certain foods but I do certainly crave foods - usually vegetables and eggs (not together!) although I could go for some green beans right now. Um, I gotta go..