What's in a Birth date? (Vote at end)

As we get closer to the due date it seems everyone has a feeling or at least hopes the babies will be born on a specific day. It may revolve around a lucky number or a date that has some sort of astrological significance. Perhaps, it's just your own (or another family members) birthday. Regardless of how you came up with your birthday guess, please feel free to cast your vote in the comment section at the end of this post. If for no other reason than for bragging rites. It will be documented and easily linked for that fun "I was right and you were wrong" email you send to friends and family that also voted, but were not as omniscient as yourself.

For the record, I actually have a few guesses (hedging my bets) . . . First, November 11th or the 22nd. Why you ask? Eleven and Twenty-two are two of my lucky Roulette numbers. Both would be a double dose 11/11 and 11/22. November 11th would put the girls in the astrological sign of Scorpio, just like me and my own daughter . . . and there is nothing cooler than a female Scorpio! (The 22nd is on a cusp of Scorpio and Sagittarius- depends on where you read). The other date that seems to come up often is November 13th. It would still have the lucky 11 aspect (because of the month) but this number is more of a "feeling" . . . plus as I was writing this very sentence, I looked up at my clock on my laptop and it said 11:13 PM HELLO!! Does it get any more obvious? ha!

I'm not going to be picky, if the 11th or 13th comes and goes, that's fine, but anytime between the 7th and 19th would be awesome because my mom will be here visiting and it would be great to give birth while she was here to help my family while I'm pushing out some Scorpios!

As you're thinking about a date, if you don't already have one in mind, a little information for you to make a great educated guess:

Remember the due date is December 15th (40 weeks) and most twins don't hang out that long.

We will not be giving birth after December 5th, as they will induce sometime between November 30-December 5th if we make it that far.

Dr. Knight told us that week 35 is the date we want to make it to, after that, they'll let me progress.

My own singleton pregnancy's arrived at 36, 37 and 38 weeks.

About half of twins, and the majority of higher order multiples, are born at least a month early.

Oh- and here's a new belly pic!



VOTING WAS OVER AFTER THE BIRTH and results were pulled.

Goodbye Glowing, Hello Swelling!

The days of cute, glowing pregnant woman are behind me. Welcome the days of, "Wow, when are you due?" big ol' pregnant chick. My husband Rick told me last night when I was brushing my teeth in the buff that my belly had grown 10 times its size in the last week or so. Nice. If Dr. Knight hadn't already quashed our sex life, I would've last night after that comment. Actually, not really, as Rick was telling the truth. The funny part about it is that with clothes on I look like your normal third trimester preggo lady, but when I lift up my shirt to show the "select few" that I deem worthy, they gasp in amazement of how much bigger it looks in its natural glory.

The other body parts that are out of control are my feet, ankles and calves. During every pregnancy I tend to swell towards the end. I was actually bragging just last week about how it had not happened yet. Well, if my foot could fit in my mouth, or even reach it, I'd insert it. What's interesting this time around is that my right foot/ankle/calf (a.k.a cankle) is larger than the left. Don't get me wrong, both are noticeably swollen . . . but the left is pregnancy swollen, where the right is Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man swollen.


I think it's safe to say that my dreams of being a shoe model in the upcoming weeks have been crushed. I took a few pictures last night for the blog, but since it has been months since I could reach my feet, my toenails aren't looking so cute. And honestly, if I'm going to post an unflattering picture of my ever swelling cankles, then damn it, my toes are going to look gorgeous. So- you'll have to wait for that picture . . . and here it is!

Banana Chocolate Vivanno, mmm, mmm, Good!

Everyone who has ever been pregnant or been around someone who was pregnant knows that most "expecting" women tend to have food cravings and I am no different.

When I was pregnant with Ruby it was cheese, specifically Pumped Nacho Cheese. Sadly, there was a Taco Bell across the street from where I taught high school at the time . . . this is probably one of the biggest reasons I gained so much weight with Ruby. To this day Ruby LOVES cheese and will eat it everyday if we have it in the fridge. With Preston it was Fuji Apples . . . although, you'd think since it was a healthier craving I wouldn't have gained so much with him, but I digress. Nowadays, I would say Preston eats about 5 apples a week, easy. With Sawyer it was anything sweet and he is my little candy man. He will ask at 8:00 am for a lollipop. No, I don't give it to him, but he tries several times a day to get cookies, candy or even fruit flavored gummy vitamins.

You may be wondering what it is this time around. Well, it's actually a few things. First off, I have single handedly kept the Gridley Starbucks in business with my excessive need for their Banana Chocolate Vivanno. A lot of other people I've talked to say they think it's chalky or doesn't really taste like Chocolate. To me, it's Heaven. It reminds me of a Carob Banana milkshake my dad and I used to share when I was about Ruby's age. My thoughts are that they are better for me (and the babies) than the Mint Mocha Chip Frap that I'm really jonesing for.

Food wise, I am constantly craving either Pepperoni Pizza or these wonderful Cheese Bread Sticks from a local place called Pizza Round-up. The bummer about this craving is my Nirvana is immediately followed by Heart Burn, "Damn you Bread sticks!" Lastly, I tend to daydream about Mexican Food. I rarely give into this one because my need for cheese enchiladas and refried beans doesn't outweigh my need for peace at dinner . . . taking my 2 year old out to eat anywhere is a headache waiting to happen.

I have not given in to my cravings as much with this pregnancy as I have in the past. I'm positive this must be the reason I have only gained about half the weight this time around (even though it's twins). With that being said, I still have a few weeks to go . . . which means dozens more Vivannos, bread sticks and possibly a Mexican Take-out plate or two . . . so perhaps I should save the "pat on my own back" until I actually deliver. Umm, speaking of delivery, do I smell pizza?

Babymoon or weeks of nail biting?

We're at 31 weeks now and things are moving along. Our last appointment went great. Babies are doing well and I'm only up 20 pounds. If Dr. Knight was a kindergarten teacher, I would have left his office with the biggest gold star you've ever seen. Sadly, he's not, so I got a "Good Job Kelly" and a big smile . . . but that will do. After the appointment, we took the Hospital Tour. I've delivered there twice but thought it was a good idea for the parents to see how things will work during our stay. Nothing really changed, except they didn't give out the "how to cut your umbilical cord with car keys" in case you deliver in your car handout that Rick and I got back in 2003. Not sure if they've decided not to freak people out or if it in fact was as dirty and unhygienic as it seemed back then.

Now, for the next few weeks. I'm hoping that it is very uneventful. The Parents have left the country for about 3 weeks. Perhaps it's for a Babymoon and family wedding rolled into one. For me, its a one way ticket to Freakoutville. Where every night I dream about going into labor between 31-33 weeks. Where every cramp, ache or weird feeling makes me take a deep breath and tell myself, it's nothing, nothing is going to happen. Where I count down until their return October 29th. Don't get me wrong, I know that if something does happen, they'll come back immediately but I'm still freaked for some reason. I do have plenty to do to pass the time, I need to get prepared for the upcoming weeks- but that will be in my next post.

Everybody was Kung-Fu Fighting

My womb is a war zone. Actually, I'm sure all the movement is nothing more than "love taps" but these girls are everywhere! It's funny because my belly is so tight right now that if I'm wearing a close fitting shirt you can see the movement from the outside of my body at times. Speaking of which, here's a belly pic (sans shirt).

My next appointment is at the end of the week, then I'll have updated information for everyone. Usually around this time (almost 30 weeks) we're looking at over 15" length for each baby and almost 3 pounds a piece! People keep asking me if it feels different with twins. Not really. It's more of just the feeling of being farther along in the pregnancy with a baby that moves a lot. My energy and overall feeling reminds me of around 36 weeks with my others, so I keep wondering what the next several weeks have in store for me.

Now that I'm not working at my store anymore, I'll have a little more time. One of my goals is to watch and review the movie Baby Mama. I've heard it's funny, I love Tina Fey and Amy Poehler but never saw it. However, lately people keep asking me if certain parts of the movie are true . . . like the fact the surrogate gets $10,000 a month, ha ha ha ha ha ha ! No, that part is not true. I guess she gets something like $100,000 to carry the baby . . . I told an acquaintance that for $100,000 I'd put an "EXIT" sign by my Vagina and cash in . . . that I can single handedly help populate the earth until my uterus gives. Of course I'm joking!