20 weeks!!

WOW! I cannot believe I am over halfway done with this pregnancy. Thank God. I honestly am not a good pregnant person. I used to think that after a few weeks I would LOVE being pregnant and I felt a little guilty when other women said they loved being pregnant. I kept thinking "I am sure I will feel that way, soon!" Well guess what. No freaking way. I am way too vain for this. It is a truly humbling experience. Somebody told me that when you are pregnant with a girl, she "steals" your beauty. I must be growing a Victorias Secret model inside of me!!

I feel a little better getting that off of my chest. In a few years when Brian and I decide that we might want more children, please refer me back to this post so that I can be reminded of how very little I am enjoying this. THANKS!!

Here are some updates:

1. We are getting wood floors installed upstairs next week!!! We are very excited. Once those are done we can put together the nursery. I need to get a picture ASAP of the "before."

2. I am trying to decide between two fantastic area photographers for a maternity photo session for me, Brian and the wombmates. I am very torn between Jason Angelini and Dawn Haas. I am sure we will use the same person for a newborn session within the first two weeks of birth also, so it is a tough choice!

3. I went back to work this week and it is so great to be back. I missed my kids! And the week went by so fast. I am actually sleeping much better because my job gets me so tired.

4. We have an appointment on Wednesday to see the babies hearts during an ultrasound called a Fetal Heart Echo. We love seeing the babies so much, they are bigger and bigger at every appointment! And we get to learn a little about their personalities. Someone is always doing flips off the others head or something crazy. Who knows what Wednesday will bring!

20 Week Poll

How far along? 20 weeks, 2 days
Total weight gain/loss: 20 lbs
Maternity clothes? Yes -- every day!
Stretch marks? Nope! Using cocoa butter every day on all the B's and it has done a good job so far!

Sleep: I have been sleeping a lot since going back to work! My job wears me out.
Best moment this week:Feeling lots of kicks!

Movement: Yes, a few times a day I feel something.
Food cravings: Not really.
Gender: One boy and one girl!
Labor Signs: Nope
Belly Button in or out?Almost a total outtie!

What I miss: clear skin
What I am looking forward to: doctor appointment on Wednesday
Weekly Wisdom: Keep smiling!

Milestones: Over halfway!

Until the floors are done and the nursery is ready...here is a picture of our baby furniture piling up :) We ordered the Graco Lauren convertible cribs over Labor Day weekend when they were on sale with a changing table and mattress! Even though we probably won't use the convertible beds (I am thinking car and princess beds!), it was a really great deal. You can see Rusty and Rocco are not that excited, but Brian and I are! And you can catch a little glimpse of the green carpeting on the stairs. The whole upstairs is carpeted that color and in a week it will be wood! The stairway will be carpeted a lighter color that matches the wood very nicely! I can't wait for it to be finished!

Things that I have been missing...

I have been pregnant for almost 5 months!! It has been such a great time...but it does not come without sacrifices. Here are some things I have been missing...

I do not miss Snoopy....but I miss sleeping all night long! Instead, I wake up to pee a few times and can never fall right back to sleep!! I don't turn the lights on, I try to keep my eyes closed the whole time, I try everything! But once I am up it is a good 20 minutes before I can fall back asleep, and that is if I am lucky. Take today for instance...I have been up since 4:30AM!

I miss wine!!! Red wine, white wine, it doesn't matter. I just miss it! Lauren was an AMAZING friend and found some non-alcoholic wine to bring to me last week when we had dinner together. I thought it was the coolest thing! It turns out it was really grape juice, in a wine bottle. Oh well..it was still fun!

Of course I miss sushi! I used to drag Brian out to sushi almost once a week. It is my favorite thing to eat after a good workout. I think I will have some sushi brought to me in the hospital as soon as I deliver these babies :) And do you know what goes great with sushi??

SAKE! Mmm sake is so good...warm or cold! I could drink a kettle by myself - not really a good idea but totally possible! And sake bombs are my favorite! A lot of my college memories are clouded by images of flying chopsticks and spilled beer.

I miss runny eggs!! I eat a lot of eggs, breakfast is my favorite meal! But these days, my eggs have to be scrambled all the way. That is so boring to me! I try to make fun omelets and add cheese and things to help the eggs out...but in the end it is never exactly the same.

Even though giving up some of these things have been hard, it is going to be totally worth it in just a few months!!!!! I cannot wait to meet these healthy little babies I have been growing :)

Gender Reveal Party - Twins Style!

Brian and I hosted a gender reveal party tonight and it was so much fun!!

We invited our families over and asked everyone to wear different colors to represent what their guesses were for the sex of the babies. Blue meant 2 boys, pink meant 2 girls, and purple meant one of each!

What do you think most people guessed???

Purple!!!

There were a few team blue...

And a few team pink...

Brian's dad wanted to vote for everything, so that he would be right...

Finally it was time to cut the cakes!! Yummy :)

Brian's parents cut cake A...

AND.....

It's a boy!!!

My parents cut cake B...

AND....

It's a girl!!!

We are so happy to be expecting one boy and one girl :)

The party was fun...the cakes were adorable...it was really a great time!

I was hobbling around on my leg some of the night, but was back in my wheelchair before it was all over. It was nice to move around some and I am really hoping that by the end of the long weekend I will be able to go back to work!!

I will leave you with a picture of me looking huge while I grow one baby girl and one baby boy sweet potato!

Thanks for reading :)

Gender scan today! :)

Brian and I are so excited that we got to see the babies today!!! And find out the genders :) We are thrilled...but keeping it a secret for a few more days. (Sorry!)

On Sunday we are having a little get together with our parents/grandparents and some close friends to cut cake and share the good news. Everyone is coming with their guesses and we will all get to see who guessed right and who was wrong.

I got a lot of cute ideas for gender reveal parties online and am so happy to be putting ours together on Saturday.

Here is some interesting news that we can share right now..these babies are growing into sweet potatoes this week!

Your fetus has become amazingly mobile (at least compared to you), passing the hours yawning, hiccuping, rolling, twisting, kicking, punching, sucking and swallowing. And, baby's finally big enough that you'll be able to feel those movements soon.

I also switched OB offices today. I was sent to a high-risk Dr. for this specific ultrasound but he was very concerned with my present condition (the wheelchair) and how it is being handled by my other Drs. After he spoke with my Rheumatologist and OB offices, it was decided that the rest of my pre-natal care would be taken care of at the high-risk office. I was a little put-off, but happy that my new Dr is taking my RA so seriously and being more aggressive about gaining control of it.

So I had my steroid dosage doubled (again!) and should feel better within 48 hours. Well, I have heard that before. So I am not getting too high of hopes but I would love to be walking up my stairs in two short days. The couch makes a nice bed but I miss picking out my own clothes from my closet, although Brian has pretty good taste!

Thanks for reading :) Cannot wait to post about the babies as soon as we reveal it to our families!!!