One of my favorite things in life is cooking. I haven't done much, if any, of it for the past 20 weeks or so because I have hated food more than I hate the word "ladies" or "panties" or even more than I dislike Johnny Depp and the voice that does all of the "Leap Frog" toys, but I'm slowly getting back into it. Tonight I decided to make a gumbo for dinner and then brownies for dessert. I figured that because I was making the gumbo from scratch, it would be acceptable to make the brownies from a box. I pick my battles.
I got everything out for the gumbo, chopped the veggies, made the roux, got it all simmering perfectly, and then I started in on the brownies. Not hard, right? Open the box, pour it in a bowl, add a couple of eggs, some oil, and some water. Then I added some mint extract to spice it up a bit and poured the mixture in the pan. And something was wrong. It just didn't look right. It was clumpy and just kinda plopped out of the bowl. How on earth could I mess up boxed brownies? Oh yeah, it is easy when you don't add the water! I thought I had added the water. I distinctly remember filling the measuring cup and then putting the cup in the dishwasher... but whatever happened between the time I filled the cup and put the cup away is lost forever in some space/ time pregnancy black hole continuum, never to be recovered. I have NO idea where I poured the water. It could have been in the gumbo or I might have poured it right down the drain, watered a plant, gave it to a kid... No clue.
Since I had already poured the batter into the baking dish and filled the batter bowl with water to be washed and I didn't want to dirty and wash yet another bowl, I took the lazy man's route and poured some water directly into the baking dish and then mixed it all up before popping it in the oven. And then I forgot to set a timer.
So there I was, making my gumbo, chopping up the chicken and peeling the shrimp when my mother reminded me about the brownies. Oops! Thankfully, I pulled them out in the nick of time. They were certainly different looking but I wasn't sure if the texture was because of the water issue, or because they were actually cooked a bit too long. Only time would tell.
I set those out to cool, added the chicken and sausage to the gumbo, simmered it away and soon, it was time to add the shrimp and eat up. And let me tell you, my gumbo was good. Like, really good. I've made a good gumbo before, but this was hit the spot, I'll take seconds even though I'm not hungry anymore, I'm glad I am supposed to eat 3500 calories and 150 grams of protein a day because I'm going to eat this entire pot, good.
Honestly though, I've never eaten anyone other gumbo so I don't really know if it is that great on the gumbo spectrum. I highly doubt Bobby Flay will be coming to my house and requesting to do a gumbo Throw Down with me... which is really too bad because every time I am pregnant, I seem to develop a mad innocent crush on him (goodness, that sounds so dirty. That is not what I meant, I promise!)... but I do think my gumbo is good, although it might be offensive to those native to the Land of Gumbo and know what REAL gumbo tastes like.
I don't really have an actual recipe for the gumbo. The mixture came after reading numerous recipes and taking the easiest and most delicious sounding parts from each of them. I'll try to write it out somewhat coherently if anyone is interested in trying it.
- 1/4 cup oil
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 2 stalks celery, chopped
- 1 green pepper, chopped
- 3-5 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 smallish tomato, seeded and chopped
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- little bit of salt
- 3 bay leaves
- 6 cups chicken broth (I only use the low sodium kind)
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 inch to 1 inch pieces
- 1 lb smoked sausage cut into slices and then halved (I like to use smoked turkey sausage but you can use kielbasa or andouille)
- about 24 raw shrimp, peeled and deveined.
- cooked rice (if you are a health nut, which you shouldn't be if you are eating this, use brown rice. I like to use regular white rice and if you are feeling extra daring, go Paula Deen on me and use some buttered rice)
Before you start cooking, send your kids outside with your husband or put them in front of a show or movie that lasts at least 45 minutes with snacks and drinks in hand, pour yourself a beverage and put your bluetooth in your ear so your hands are free and interruptions are kept to a minimum.
Make sure all of the veggies are chopped and ready to go.
In a dutch oven or other heavy sauce pan, combine the oil and flour over medium heat. Stir constantly until the flour and oil are smooth and the color of chocolate (can take 10-15 minutes). Slowly and carefully add the chopped onion, celery, green pepper and garlic. Stir until the veggies are mixed with the roux. Keep stirring until the veggies get a bit soft and the onions begin to get translucent (about 3-5 minutes).
Add the tomatoes, cayenne pepper, thyme, bay leaves and salt, continue to stir for another 2-3 minutes.
Slowly add the chicken broth, while stirring, making sure the veggie/roux mix combines fully with the broth. Bring to a slow boil and then turn the heat down and simmer for about 30 minutes.
Add the chunks of chicken and sausage and continue to simmer for another 45- 60 minutes, stirring occasionally. The broth should be reducing and getting thicker at this point.
When you feel like it is done to your liking, and the rice is ready, add the shrimp and cook until the shrimp is pink. Take the pan off the heat and let it set for a couple of minutes. Stir before serving over rice.
I don't like a lot of salt or heat in my dishes so modify the recipe to fit your sodium limits and heartburn/ reflux threshold. If you want more spice, you can season the chicken before throwing it in the pot. The longer you simmer this, the more flavor it is going to have, but don't go more than 3 total hours because that is just nuts and you will be very hungry by then.
Let me know if any of this doesn't make sense. It is late and I'm high on sudafed and limeaid. If it sucks, or you get a horrific case of food poisoning, don't blame me. It's not my fault you just can't cook. I'm kidding, of course!! I hope this is as good as I think it is.
As for the brownies, well, they aren't my best work. But they are edible and will not go to waste because I'm pretty sure it is illegal in like 5 states to let brownies go to waste, even if they are a bit spongy and dense at the same time. Next time, I won't multi task while cooking. Clearly, my pregnant brain can only handle one task at a time.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Monday, May 4, 2009
side by side
My lovely friends who have seen my belly pictures have spent the past day trying to convince me that I am not the heifer that I think I am. They have almost convinced me. Almost. Looking at my pictures from this pregnancy, no, I'm not HUGE compared to other moms who carry twins. But compared to my previous pregnancies, dang. Moooooo. Woof.
I never measured larger than 33 weeks with W. He had severe growth restriction in the womb because the little stinker tied a true knot in his cord at 32 weeks and was born the size of a 33 week baby, at 38 weeks. So for me to be measuring 10-12 weeks ahead at 25 weeks makes me bigger than I ever was with my first pregnancy. Thankfully, CB was born at a very healthy 7 pounds, but I carried her so low at the end that I never measured larger than 36 weeks. Plus, she was born 11 days early, so I didn't get much of a chance to measure larger.
Tonight I was a bit bored (yes, I actually had a few seconds to be bored!) so I decided to dig through my old pictures and do some comparisons. It is pretty interesting to see how the same uterus (she said uterus, again!!) can grow so differently with each pregnancy.
So yes, my friends are right. I'm not a complete cow, just very large for what I am used to. Honestly, I have to say that I am (extremely full of myself and) pretty darn proud of my Buddha belly. I kinda like it. It certainly makes for a convenient spot to set my plates when I am eating and that is a definite plus.
I never measured larger than 33 weeks with W. He had severe growth restriction in the womb because the little stinker tied a true knot in his cord at 32 weeks and was born the size of a 33 week baby, at 38 weeks. So for me to be measuring 10-12 weeks ahead at 25 weeks makes me bigger than I ever was with my first pregnancy. Thankfully, CB was born at a very healthy 7 pounds, but I carried her so low at the end that I never measured larger than 36 weeks. Plus, she was born 11 days early, so I didn't get much of a chance to measure larger.
Tonight I was a bit bored (yes, I actually had a few seconds to be bored!) so I decided to dig through my old pictures and do some comparisons. It is pretty interesting to see how the same uterus (she said uterus, again!!) can grow so differently with each pregnancy.
So yes, my friends are right. I'm not a complete cow, just very large for what I am used to. Honestly, I have to say that I am (extremely full of myself and) pretty darn proud of my Buddha belly. I kinda like it. It certainly makes for a convenient spot to set my plates when I am eating and that is a definite plus.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
still here...
These past 2 weeks have been pretty rough. I will admit that I pushed myself a little too hard over the past month and now it has come back to bite me in the butt. Lesson learned! I won't do it again.
I spent the better part of the last week in bed because all I wanted to do was throw up (again). My drug peddling doctor requested that I go on some kind of anti nausea medication so I could eat more and I obliged, knowing full well that it wouldn't do anything for me but that I would give it my best effort. After spending Saturday practically in tears from being so nauseous, I broke down and took a magical Zofran on Sunday. And all it did was make me drowsy and give me a headache. So incredibly anti climatic. The way he was talking about the drug made me expect the waters to part and rainbows and sunshine to appear. Instead, I was then nauseous and stoned and that is not a fun, nor attractive, combination. We had gone to church that morning because I thought I would be feeling better which ended up being a very bad decision. Never in my life did I ever think I would have to contemplate just how sacrilegious it would be if 1) I didn't take communion for fear of losing it all over the person in front of me and 2) if I did take communion and then ended up throwing it up all over the person in front of me.
It's no secret that this pregnancy has been extraordinarily difficult, much much more than either of the other 2. From the throwing up and fatigue to the extreme itching and the shots... Oh, the shots. You would think that at 24 weeks this mess would be under control but I fear we are getting back to the level of suckiness that was the first trimester. Although, now I have the added aches and pains of what someone normally experiences in the third trimester too, as my uterus (She said uterus!!) is measuring like it would for someone who was 10-12 weeks farther along than I am, depending on how the babies are positioned. Pretty sure the ground has started to shake under me when I walk...
Last week I went to Motherhood to pick up a couple of shirts. No surprise that mine are getting a bit too short. When I shop, I don't want to be bothered. If I need something, I'll ask, but these chicks at Motherhood literally have a script that they rotate every day to get people to buy more crap, and they accost you the second you walk in the door. The first time I went in, the chick asked me if I had my bag packed. I looked at her like what the heck kind of bag are you talking about? Are you making a joke? I know my purse is huge, it is called a "weekend tote" afterall... When I inquired as to what bag she was talking about, she said, "your hospital bag!" Mama, no. I have 17 more weeks until I hit 40 weeks, I haven't even started thinking about my hospital bag. Blink, blink. Yeah, that'll shut you up. The next time I went in the sales chick asked me if I needed any stretch mark cream. Really? Do they not realize just how insulting that is? I know I am huge. I don't need it reinforced by some 19 year old who has never been pregnant, let alone could possibly understand just what your body goes through when you are pregnant. Besides that, I am so far past stretch mark cream it isn't even funny! I could spread straight Crisco on my belly 3 times a day until these babies are born and it wouldn't make a difference.
I know I am blessed to be pregnant with these baby girls. Despite everything, I thank God everyday that they are healthy and growing and that we haven't had any serious issues. The reality of being 24 weeks pregnant with twins is starting to hit though. Up until this point my thoughts have been focused on trying to get over the shock of being pregnant twins and getting through the pregnancy. Now, my focus is starting to shift and I'm realizing that we are going to have 2 new, very tiny babies sometime in the next 6- 13 weeks. Um, yeah. I got lotsa crap to do (like pack my hospital bag) and not so much time to do it. All I can say is thank goodness for online shopping. And when you see on the news that consumer confidence rose again in May and that retail sales were up, you can thank me personally. I do what I can.
I spent the better part of the last week in bed because all I wanted to do was throw up (again). My drug peddling doctor requested that I go on some kind of anti nausea medication so I could eat more and I obliged, knowing full well that it wouldn't do anything for me but that I would give it my best effort. After spending Saturday practically in tears from being so nauseous, I broke down and took a magical Zofran on Sunday. And all it did was make me drowsy and give me a headache. So incredibly anti climatic. The way he was talking about the drug made me expect the waters to part and rainbows and sunshine to appear. Instead, I was then nauseous and stoned and that is not a fun, nor attractive, combination. We had gone to church that morning because I thought I would be feeling better which ended up being a very bad decision. Never in my life did I ever think I would have to contemplate just how sacrilegious it would be if 1) I didn't take communion for fear of losing it all over the person in front of me and 2) if I did take communion and then ended up throwing it up all over the person in front of me.
It's no secret that this pregnancy has been extraordinarily difficult, much much more than either of the other 2. From the throwing up and fatigue to the extreme itching and the shots... Oh, the shots. You would think that at 24 weeks this mess would be under control but I fear we are getting back to the level of suckiness that was the first trimester. Although, now I have the added aches and pains of what someone normally experiences in the third trimester too, as my uterus (She said uterus!!) is measuring like it would for someone who was 10-12 weeks farther along than I am, depending on how the babies are positioned. Pretty sure the ground has started to shake under me when I walk...
Last week I went to Motherhood to pick up a couple of shirts. No surprise that mine are getting a bit too short. When I shop, I don't want to be bothered. If I need something, I'll ask, but these chicks at Motherhood literally have a script that they rotate every day to get people to buy more crap, and they accost you the second you walk in the door. The first time I went in, the chick asked me if I had my bag packed. I looked at her like what the heck kind of bag are you talking about? Are you making a joke? I know my purse is huge, it is called a "weekend tote" afterall... When I inquired as to what bag she was talking about, she said, "your hospital bag!" Mama, no. I have 17 more weeks until I hit 40 weeks, I haven't even started thinking about my hospital bag. Blink, blink. Yeah, that'll shut you up. The next time I went in the sales chick asked me if I needed any stretch mark cream. Really? Do they not realize just how insulting that is? I know I am huge. I don't need it reinforced by some 19 year old who has never been pregnant, let alone could possibly understand just what your body goes through when you are pregnant. Besides that, I am so far past stretch mark cream it isn't even funny! I could spread straight Crisco on my belly 3 times a day until these babies are born and it wouldn't make a difference.
I know I am blessed to be pregnant with these baby girls. Despite everything, I thank God everyday that they are healthy and growing and that we haven't had any serious issues. The reality of being 24 weeks pregnant with twins is starting to hit though. Up until this point my thoughts have been focused on trying to get over the shock of being pregnant twins and getting through the pregnancy. Now, my focus is starting to shift and I'm realizing that we are going to have 2 new, very tiny babies sometime in the next 6- 13 weeks. Um, yeah. I got lotsa crap to do (like pack my hospital bag) and not so much time to do it. All I can say is thank goodness for online shopping. And when you see on the news that consumer confidence rose again in May and that retail sales were up, you can thank me personally. I do what I can.
Monday, April 13, 2009
culture shock
We have been back in the States for a week now. Actually, a week exactly as I am writing this. It has been a whirlwind of a week and I haven't had much of a chance to communicate with the outside world so I will try to catch up now.
The trip over was amazingly smooth. I didn't even feel stressed as we were leaving for the airport. The kids did remarkably well on the flight although poor M got a workout as he rocked CB in the back of the plane for a couple of hours to keep her asleep. W was a champ, as usual, and only took a couple of days to adjust to the time change.
I, however, am having a harder time adjusting to the time difference. It's not the jetlag that is killing me, but the fact that I now wake up after my friends in the States, instead of before them. I am so used to waking up to "yesterday's" emails and messages and not "today's". Not to mention that I don't have to wait until 6pm to call businesses on the West Coast. I have to admit that I've been slacking off because I keep thinking, "I can do it tonight", but by the time tonight rolls around, everything is closed and everyone is sleeping.
We have been quite productive this week though. Highlights include: 2 trips to IKEA (and no fighting), getting my iPhone and trying to figure the darn thing out, a 2 hour drive to get our insurance set up, multiple trips to Target, Whole Foods, the mall, getting about 7 inches cut off my hair and having it colored for the first time in 3 years, a trip to the Aquarium for the kids and a fantastic dinner at the best fish market on earth, taking M back to the airport and saying goodbye to him until he comes back in a couple of months, going to a birthday party and doing more shopping, doing Easter Sunday and then finally unpacking our 8 suitcases today. It is no wonder that I am beat and itch like crazy.
I am not used to this lifestyle. I am not used to all of the shopping and socializing and being busy. In Germany, we live in a quiet little bubble and go out 3 times a week. I can go 2-3 days without talking to anyone but the kids and my husband. Not here. It is NON STOP here. There is always something to do, something to look at, money to spend. I have to say that I am dealing with some serious culture shock! Stupid things, like billboards, are incredibly distracting and frustrating to me now. You don't see billboards in Germany, and if you do, they are small, not 5,000 feet wide and lit with enough lights to light the block. Traffic, and stop lights. Seriously! How many stop lights do there have to be within 4 blocks? And what is up with the people here? Have people just gotten more rude and self centered or am I just really cranky? It is just all too much, too much stuff, too much trash, too many people talking to themselves on their bluetooths...
It is going to take a lot of adjusting to get used to life here again. I've only been gone for 6 months, but it feels different coming back this time. Maybe it is because I know that our time in Germany is up, and we won't be going back. I will really miss living in Germany but I am happy to be back in America, despite my wicked case of culture shock. We just need a chance to get settled and into a routine... and by the time we do that, the twins will be here and EVERYTHING will change, again. Good times!
The trip over was amazingly smooth. I didn't even feel stressed as we were leaving for the airport. The kids did remarkably well on the flight although poor M got a workout as he rocked CB in the back of the plane for a couple of hours to keep her asleep. W was a champ, as usual, and only took a couple of days to adjust to the time change.
I, however, am having a harder time adjusting to the time difference. It's not the jetlag that is killing me, but the fact that I now wake up after my friends in the States, instead of before them. I am so used to waking up to "yesterday's" emails and messages and not "today's". Not to mention that I don't have to wait until 6pm to call businesses on the West Coast. I have to admit that I've been slacking off because I keep thinking, "I can do it tonight", but by the time tonight rolls around, everything is closed and everyone is sleeping.
We have been quite productive this week though. Highlights include: 2 trips to IKEA (and no fighting), getting my iPhone and trying to figure the darn thing out, a 2 hour drive to get our insurance set up, multiple trips to Target, Whole Foods, the mall, getting about 7 inches cut off my hair and having it colored for the first time in 3 years, a trip to the Aquarium for the kids and a fantastic dinner at the best fish market on earth, taking M back to the airport and saying goodbye to him until he comes back in a couple of months, going to a birthday party and doing more shopping, doing Easter Sunday and then finally unpacking our 8 suitcases today. It is no wonder that I am beat and itch like crazy.
I am not used to this lifestyle. I am not used to all of the shopping and socializing and being busy. In Germany, we live in a quiet little bubble and go out 3 times a week. I can go 2-3 days without talking to anyone but the kids and my husband. Not here. It is NON STOP here. There is always something to do, something to look at, money to spend. I have to say that I am dealing with some serious culture shock! Stupid things, like billboards, are incredibly distracting and frustrating to me now. You don't see billboards in Germany, and if you do, they are small, not 5,000 feet wide and lit with enough lights to light the block. Traffic, and stop lights. Seriously! How many stop lights do there have to be within 4 blocks? And what is up with the people here? Have people just gotten more rude and self centered or am I just really cranky? It is just all too much, too much stuff, too much trash, too many people talking to themselves on their bluetooths...
It is going to take a lot of adjusting to get used to life here again. I've only been gone for 6 months, but it feels different coming back this time. Maybe it is because I know that our time in Germany is up, and we won't be going back. I will really miss living in Germany but I am happy to be back in America, despite my wicked case of culture shock. We just need a chance to get settled and into a routine... and by the time we do that, the twins will be here and EVERYTHING will change, again. Good times!
Thursday, March 26, 2009
ooh baby baby
It is official. I am really officially, noticeably and uncomfortably pregnant. I'm hormonal, itchy like I was attacked by a swarm of Mississippi mosquitoes in the middle of August, irritable like you wouldn't believe and pretty sure that I am driving those who are forced to be around me to drink.
I have all of these good intentions, like I'm going to start eating healthier and exercise a little... maybe actually start doing the prenatal yoga program I did so faithfully from the day I saw 2 pink lines when I was pregnant with W and CB. Unfortunately, good intentions are about as far as I'm going to get. There has to be some kind of nutritional value in onion rings and Dr. Pepper, right? And I'm sure I get plenty of exercise when I walk to and from the car and up and down the stairs (at least it sure feels like I have run a mile and a half after I walk up 15 stairs)... and really, these days, just putting on my shoes requires some serious yoga like action, so I'm good there.
A few nights ago it occurred to me that I am essentially gestating a 2 headed octopus. This came as I had 4 feet in my ribs, a head in my bladder, one in my pelvis and 2 elbows in my kidney, while the other baby was literally punching me in the butt. I know they are fighting for space, but if they could possibly do it without trying to decimate what is left of my internal organs, I'd be a little bit grateful.
These kids are getting big, very big, and it shows. My belly enters the room before I do now and it has gotten to the point where I have to constantly check for crumbs and spillage down the front of my shirts. Before all of the mess would just fall into my lap. Now, with my protruding belly button and mountain of a belly, food has to go through a fun little obstacle course before it can fall in my lap which causes all kinds of awesome stains. Let's just say that Oxyclean spray n wash stuff is really quite amazing.
As of a couple of days ago, both babies were measuring a week ahead and their heads were measuring 2 weeks ahead, hence the uterus that is measuring over 28 weeks. Lord have mercy. I'm gonna need it.
As they have started moving more, I have really gotten to "know" their personalities. We've always known that baby A was the more quiet one, as I've been feeling baby B move for almost 7 weeks now. Baby A has always just taken it slow and has NEVER shown us a face, only a back, or a hand or the top of the head. We've only seen one profile shot of baby A and that was at 12 weeks and most likely a fluke. Baby B, however, is much less shy. This baby is always dominating the ultrasound screen and will gladly give us a show, or the finger, as seen in this lovely shot from the ultrasound we had earlier this week.
Baby B also has a sweet side, thank goodness. We were actually able to get some 3-d pictures for the first time and played a fun little game of peek a boo. I still think that 3-d ultrasound pictures are incredibly freaky looking, almost as freaky looking as regular ultrasound pictures, but this one is pretty cute:
We were incredibly blessed at our last appointment, which sadly was our last appointment here in Germany. My doctor, who is awesome, spent a good 30 minutes checking the babies and letting us get a good look at them, or what we could of baby A, which was mostly a spine. For weeks we have been trying to determine their genders, but haven't been able to get any good shots of the gender region to be able to tell conclusively what they are. This time I begged him to look extra hard. I can only take 1300 pounds of stuff with me to CA and I have about 500 pounds of boy clothes here in Germany. So, I don't want to take boy clothes and then end up not needing them...
And it looks like we won't be needing the boy clothes, which makes my packing a whole lot easier. I can't even believe it. I don't think I will believe it until they are here. I honestly won't be surprised if at least one of them pops out and is a boy. I don't know why, because I don't have any reason to think this way. In all of our ultrasounds, we've never really seen anything that resembles any boy parts, but I still can't believe that there are 2 girls in there. Thankfully, all of CB's baby clothes are still in CA, but 2 girls are going to require a lot more clothes than we have, so I'm going to need to do some serious shopping.
However, I'm not going to go too crazy until I know, for sure, with 100% proof, that we are in fact going to be picking out 2 girl names, paying for 3 weddings, dealing with 3 teenage girls and their hormones, paying for Jujutsu lessons for W to be able to kick some serious wannabe punk rocker/ emo/ jock boyfriend butt, thanking God every day that M is a Ranger and knows fun tactical maneuvers and how to shoot a big gun, and being surrounded by pink and princesses for the next umpteen years.
I have all of these good intentions, like I'm going to start eating healthier and exercise a little... maybe actually start doing the prenatal yoga program I did so faithfully from the day I saw 2 pink lines when I was pregnant with W and CB. Unfortunately, good intentions are about as far as I'm going to get. There has to be some kind of nutritional value in onion rings and Dr. Pepper, right? And I'm sure I get plenty of exercise when I walk to and from the car and up and down the stairs (at least it sure feels like I have run a mile and a half after I walk up 15 stairs)... and really, these days, just putting on my shoes requires some serious yoga like action, so I'm good there.
A few nights ago it occurred to me that I am essentially gestating a 2 headed octopus. This came as I had 4 feet in my ribs, a head in my bladder, one in my pelvis and 2 elbows in my kidney, while the other baby was literally punching me in the butt. I know they are fighting for space, but if they could possibly do it without trying to decimate what is left of my internal organs, I'd be a little bit grateful.
These kids are getting big, very big, and it shows. My belly enters the room before I do now and it has gotten to the point where I have to constantly check for crumbs and spillage down the front of my shirts. Before all of the mess would just fall into my lap. Now, with my protruding belly button and mountain of a belly, food has to go through a fun little obstacle course before it can fall in my lap which causes all kinds of awesome stains. Let's just say that Oxyclean spray n wash stuff is really quite amazing.
As of a couple of days ago, both babies were measuring a week ahead and their heads were measuring 2 weeks ahead, hence the uterus that is measuring over 28 weeks. Lord have mercy. I'm gonna need it.
As they have started moving more, I have really gotten to "know" their personalities. We've always known that baby A was the more quiet one, as I've been feeling baby B move for almost 7 weeks now. Baby A has always just taken it slow and has NEVER shown us a face, only a back, or a hand or the top of the head. We've only seen one profile shot of baby A and that was at 12 weeks and most likely a fluke. Baby B, however, is much less shy. This baby is always dominating the ultrasound screen and will gladly give us a show, or the finger, as seen in this lovely shot from the ultrasound we had earlier this week.
Baby B also has a sweet side, thank goodness. We were actually able to get some 3-d pictures for the first time and played a fun little game of peek a boo. I still think that 3-d ultrasound pictures are incredibly freaky looking, almost as freaky looking as regular ultrasound pictures, but this one is pretty cute:
We were incredibly blessed at our last appointment, which sadly was our last appointment here in Germany. My doctor, who is awesome, spent a good 30 minutes checking the babies and letting us get a good look at them, or what we could of baby A, which was mostly a spine. For weeks we have been trying to determine their genders, but haven't been able to get any good shots of the gender region to be able to tell conclusively what they are. This time I begged him to look extra hard. I can only take 1300 pounds of stuff with me to CA and I have about 500 pounds of boy clothes here in Germany. So, I don't want to take boy clothes and then end up not needing them...
And it looks like we won't be needing the boy clothes, which makes my packing a whole lot easier. I can't even believe it. I don't think I will believe it until they are here. I honestly won't be surprised if at least one of them pops out and is a boy. I don't know why, because I don't have any reason to think this way. In all of our ultrasounds, we've never really seen anything that resembles any boy parts, but I still can't believe that there are 2 girls in there. Thankfully, all of CB's baby clothes are still in CA, but 2 girls are going to require a lot more clothes than we have, so I'm going to need to do some serious shopping.
However, I'm not going to go too crazy until I know, for sure, with 100% proof, that we are in fact going to be picking out 2 girl names, paying for 3 weddings, dealing with 3 teenage girls and their hormones, paying for Jujutsu lessons for W to be able to kick some serious wannabe punk rocker/ emo/ jock boyfriend butt, thanking God every day that M is a Ranger and knows fun tactical maneuvers and how to shoot a big gun, and being surrounded by pink and princesses for the next umpteen years.
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