Happy Belated Turkey Day!!

Now that the enormous amounts of food have settled, I can take a minute to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving!!

I don't know what T-day was like at your house, but I awoke to lots of yummy smells coming from the kitchen, where my mom was busy cooking up a storm. Darrell soon joined her, to get the meats going on the grill, and by the time we ate mid-afternoon, here was the menu:

Spinach-artichoke dip
Crab-corn soup
Smoked turkey
Grilled tri-tip steak
Sausage and apple stuffing
Giblet gravy
Potato casserole (compliments of Gloria Q-B)
Candied sweet potatoes
Roasted asparagus with prosciutto
Homemade cranberry sauce
Rolls
Pumpkin pie with a pecan prailine layer
Regular pumpkin pie
Caramel-apple pie
Sugar free apple pecan cheesecake

It truly was a feast!!! Darrell's grill skills are incredible, and both the turkey and tri-tip were unbelievable. My mom did a great job making sugar-substitute alternatives for me on the cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, and dessert. Between that and good portion control, my blood sugars fared quite well - an hour after the start of the meal, it was only 125 - I was very proud of myself!!

Our friends Dan, Gloria and their son Ryan joined us for the feast and football - I think Anthony may have learned some choice new words during the USC game!!! Hopefully "Boo-yah" is the only one he'll remember and repeat...hehehe...

We opted out (not like I had a choice) of the early-morning day-after-Thanksgiving shopping (though if you want to read a fun story about this - go to my sister's blog), and have just been having a relaxing, slow morning. It's finally cooled off here, and it's SOOOOO nice to be able to have the windows open and enjoy some fresh air. It's just not right to have to run the air condition on Thanskgiving evening!!!! Of course, we had leftovers for breakfast...yummy!

The plan for the rest of the weekend is for my mom to put up our Christmas decorations, while I give direction from the couch, of course! We actually have some clear ball ornaments to decorate - may work on that later today. I can't wait til all the decorations are up - I LOVE Christmas decorating!!!

Enjoy your long weekend, everyone!!

29 weeks tomorrow!

I had an appointment with my OB today - all is well. He again reinforced, as his partner has repeatedly, that I will most likely have a c-section. He said if both babies were head-down, we could attempt a vaginal delivery, but alas, Mackenzie has never been head down, and they're getting pretty crowded in there, so I doubt she'll be turning. Thus, I also went ahead and signed the form for a tubal ligation - might as well get that taken care of while they're in there! Definitely won't be doing THIS again!!!

I also had an ultrasound at the peri's office and got to take a peek at the girls. They're both growing well - Baby A is weighing in at 2 lbs, 11 oz, and Mackenzie, true to form, is smaller, at 2 lbs, 7 oz. She's always been a little bit behind her sister (except in the naming department!). So I've got a little over 5 lbs of baby in me - no wonder I look and feel like I'm ready to pop! Baby A is head-down, and let me tell ya, her head is really DOWN there! They had a hard time even getting a good measurement on her head, it's so low. My bladder takes a constant beating. Mackenzie remains breech, sitting up with her head butting my stomah and rib cage - feels REALLY good, let me tell ya! The u/s tech tried to show us the faces on the 3D ultrasound, but there's just too many arms and legs moving around in there to get any good pics.

We had dinner from The Cheesecake Factory for my birthday dinner last week. It was so yummy! We had avocado egg rolls and fried calimari for appetizers. I had the luau salad, which I love, and a slice of sugar-free cheesecake for dessert. It was heaven! And my blood sugar didn't do too badly with all of that - of course, I had already told my diabetic nurse that I was throwing the diet out the window for my b'day dinner (other than the sugar free cheesecake). She was okay with that.

We're having a nice visit with my mom, who's been here for about 3 weeks now. Let me tell ya, the food is good! (Although I was already kind of spoiled b/c Darrell cooks quite a lot too, and he's also a good cook!) But mom has made some sugar-free desserts, which have indulged my intense cravings for sweets...mmmmm.... She made an apple cake, pumpkin bars, and chocolate mousse. We're getting a sugar-free cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory for Thanksgiving, and she's going to make a no-sugar-added apple and pecan topping for it - mmmm...., can't wait!!! She's also been making great headway on helping us sort and organize some clutter and get things arranged for when the girls arrive, which has been a HUGE help. I'm nesting in a big way, and it's driving me crazy that I can't get up and do what I want/need to do!

Mom's gonna help put up Christmas decorations this weekend, after Thanksgiving - a tradition. It will be hard to sit back and watch! I LOVE putting up Christmas decorations. I did find a couple ideas for homemade ornaments that we're gonna try, which I can do sitting down - that will be fun.

Only a few more weeks - can you believe it?!!

Thomas the Tank Engine - Anthony's big day!!

Yesterday, Darrell took Anthony to the train museum in Perris, CA, for an afternoon of fun with Thomas the Tank Engine. He came home quite excited, with Thomas painted on his face, chatting endlessly about riding on Thomas and how the diesel engine scared him! Here are some pics.









Doesn't he just look so pensive, staring out the train window?!!

Odds and ends on a special day

Today, one year ago, we lost our baby, Shiloh, early in pregnancy. We had barely even had a chance to start making plans and thinking about our future with another child, when those plans and dreams and hopes were taken away from us. It's been a long year since then, with lots of sadness but also many, many blessings. We will never forget Shiloh, and I truly believe that we have another son or daughter waiting for us in heaven - what a day that will be when we get to meet him/her!!

And yet, if it were not for losing Shiloh, so many things today would not be as they are. I would not have many of the friends who are now such an important part of my life, whom I've met through my grief support group. I would not be the person I have grown into, more sensitve and more attuned to people's pain, even more appreciative of the miracle and gift my son is. And certainly, we would not be pregnant with our wonderful little girls right now!!!

This is just another example of how God works in our lives. He sees the big picture and knows what is best for us. We get only a tiny glimpse of the big picture, which is why the things that happen in our lives sometimes don't make sense to us. But what a relief it is to know that He does understand why everything happens, and that he has a purpose for everything that happens in our lives. It comforts me to know that we are not just floundering around aimlessly in this world and that our suffering is not for nothing. He takes these things and makes something beautiful out of them.

Give your kids an extra hug and kiss today and recognize the incredible little miracles that they are!!

Angel Tribute

This is a video tribute that one of the ladies on my Pregnant After a Loss message board put together to remember our angels that we have lost. One week from today will be one year since we lost our baby, Shiloh, and even though we are blessed to now be expecting twins, nothing can take away the hurt of losing a baby.

Home Sweet Home

I am reclining here on my couch, sipping a cup of warm sugar-free chai tea from Trader Joe's (compliments of my friend Megan) - yay - at home!!! I got out of the hospital yesterday, after a miserable 4 days there. As I suspected they would, they admitted me right away on Tuesday and started me on mag sulfate again to stop the contractions. They also administered betamethasone, which are a round of steroid shots, to help the babies' lungs mature faster, just in case they did decide to arrive really early. For some reason, this 4 day stint seemed even harder than the previous 12-day stint I did there. I was just so ready to come home, and was so thankful when the doc said I could go. All in all, the test results were not too bad. The fetal fibronectin (which is a predictor of whether or not you will deliver in the next 2 weeks) was negative, my cervix remains closed (though shorter than it previously was), and the babies seem to be doing well in spite of all the contractions. They also did an abdominal ultrasound on me to check for any gallbladder/pancreas/liver problems, due to some pain and nausea I've been having, but all it showed was some "sludge" in my gallbladder. Apparently this can later turn into stones, but for now is nothing to be concerned about. I'm going to talk to my doc to see if there's anything I can do or drink/eat to help clear that out before it DOES become a problem (that's the last thing I need!).

Here's to hoping that the next time I have to see the inside of that hospital will be many weeks from now when I go to deliver!!! Thanks everyone for your continued prayers and support...I know God is taking care of these wee little ones and will protect them until it's their time to arrive.