PCA 23 Weeks

Sorry, folks, no 23 week pictures. We just weren't on our A-game this week. :(



PCA:

Another great week with PCA. Aren't they all great, though? Not much new to report. No headaches, no swelling, no tiredness, no nothing! She's been kicking up a storm, which is always amazing. I have had a bit of stuffiness, but no bothersome heartburn. Maybe I won't have a hairy baby afterall? She's been sitting really low. I've noticed that my belly is starting to streeeeetch a lil bit more. My feet and limbs have been falling asleep a lot easier these days.

From the twins, I have a lone stretch mark, teeeeny tiny, but it counts. Right? It is right on my belly b (Bebo for you Sandra Boynton fans) from my old piercing (I guess from scar tissue that doesn't stretch?) and it isn't red or anything, maybe 2 cm long. BUT IT IS THERE, so it counts. I feel pretty lucky to have had twins and no real stretch marks. You can't even see it when I'm not preggo, it goes back into hiding in my bebo.



sidebar: I had the piercing done in a BAR in MEXICO when I was 17 ... what were my parents thinking letting me go to Mexico with 13 of my friends unchaperoned??? I will never, NEVER let my kids do that. :)



Anyway, Names: We are currently still loving Caroline, no middle name yet. I also really love Lela, but you know the problem with that one. Lela Jayne is so southern, but I love it. We also really like the name Anna Caroline ... but if you say Emma and Anna together, it sounds funny. So, all in all, we have NO clue what we are going to call PCA.



Weight: 19 pounds... but I betcha anything I'm about to hit a growth spurt. I can feel the volume (blood and fluid, that is) starting to build up. Ugh. My rings are getting tight. I haven't been wearing my diamonds, just the lonely band. And I'm gettin scary Angelina hands -- you know where her veins popped out and looked nasty? Yes, I'm getting scary hands like that. Some days, not all.



What I miss: I'm really craving a cup of hot wassail or spiked boiled custard. Wow, I sound like a lush lately. But, I think it is because I associate those drinks with fun family times. We had Wassail for the first time with my parents at the Meeting House in Philly 7 YEARS ago and my Mamo made boiled custard and we'd always add a lil bit of Gentleman Jack. It is a chilly day today so those things just sound fun.



Advice: For those of you soon to-be-preggers ... I'm compiling a list of all of those little nuggets of information that women conveniently forget to tell you about pregnancy and post-partum ... like how your nipples turn black and how you have contractions when breastfeeding. Fun! Stay tuned...



Emma:

• Has mastered the word "brush."
• Is really getting the hang of knowing where we keep things like toothbrushes, spoons, diapers, the phone, etc and will go to the object and point and ask for it.
• Emma LOVES going to kindermusik. As soon as we walk into the classroom, she points directly at the huge towel we use to make a hammock and swing. Her face always lights up whenever the teacher brings it out and is the first one to rush over a lay down on the hammock to swing. She throws huge fits when it is someone else's turn to swing. She's getting better about it, though. We've been doing it at home so she gets some practice. The girl loves to swing.
• Emma has 6 teeth with two more on the way.

Olivia:

• Has mastered the word "no." And loves, LOVES to say it.
• Loves to point at cars and airplanes.
• Loves to say "mama" over and over again when we are driving.
• At Kindermusik this week, the instructor said "let's sing" and Olivia -- at the top of her lungs -- screams "LA LA LAAAAAAAAA!" We have a book with a picture of little kids singing and whenever we get to that page I tell her "la la la" is how we sing. La la la has really caught on.
• She continues to love to dance and sway.
• Olivia has 8 teeth with 9 and 10 on the way. She already has a molar! I feel so horrible, if I had known to look there, I would have given her tylenol. I had no clue she was teething.
• Still prefers her left hand.

Em and Liv:

• You'd think these girly girls would hate wrestling ... but oh do they love it. They tackle and sit on each other all the while laughing hysterically.
• They are really, really enamored with Elmo and ask to watch him all the time. It is hard for me to say no to them, but I know it is in their best interest. I limit their viewing time to the evenings when I need to start supper.

A day in the life of:

Well, I might as well post it here. Here is a sample daily schedule:

• 7:45 a.m. -- the kids have been waking up at 7:45 - 8ish a.m. lately which is awesome since it was 7 on the dot. This, however, puts me way off in the mornings and makes it hard for us to get ready (me included) and be somewhere on time.
• 8:05 -- change diapers and get a sip of liquid (daddy gives half juice and half water (mostly juice!), but I prefer mostly water)
• 8:15 -- breakfast which consists of cheesy eggs (1 per kid), waffle with fruit spread (1/2 waffle per kid) and a half piece of fruit per kid. During this time I make coffee and eat a bagel or fruit. I also prepare their sippy cups and snacks for the day. Allen has been making the breakfast lately which we love because it is pretty much our only family time lately. He's been working , moonlighting and studying for boards like crazy. We cherish this time.
• 8:30ish -- Brush teeth and then head back upstairs. Rush around to get ready, me included. During this time, Emma usually poops so I change both diapers again and get them dressed. Then I rush around to get me ready. It is amazing how my hour-long routine has dwindled down to 15 minutes. What I can do with a little hairspray and dab o makeup. Meanwhile I'm trying to keep the kids entertained and out of the toilet. (their new favorite thing to do... I about die)
• 9 a.m. -- Warm milk and out the door for a morning activity. THe girls drink their milk on the go. Usually a playdate, kindermusik, playgroup, story time, shopping or some sort of appointment.
• 10:30ish -- snack time which consists of water, fruit, and cheese or goldfish.
• 12 -- home again. Lunch time. The girls usually eat turkey dog and some sort of veggie and fruit.
• 12:30ish --- nap time! During this time, I do homework, laundry, cleaning, catching up, etc. Sometimes I might take a nap if I'm extra tired, but usually I just end up talking myself out of it.
• 2ish -- the kids get up and we have a snack of grapes, yogurt (they really love the dannon kids yogurt smoothies because they get to drink from a big girl straw) and milk.
• 2:30ish -- out the door! We go to the park or shopping or whatever.
• 5ish -- back home and ready to watch a lil bit of Elmo while I get dinner ready.
• 5:30ish -- the girls have dinner which usually consists of some type of protein, grilled cheese, veggie and fruit.
• 6 -- bath time! The girls have started getting all sorts of nasty stuff in their hair. They think it is a game when I tell them to leave their hair alone... so we require nightly baths now. I let them play in the tub as long as they want. Allen is usually home by this time and helps out.
• 7 -- milk and bed. We have a routine of giving kisses and hugs and saying "night night." I've been thinking about adding prayer time, but I'm not sure if they are old enough and/or ready. Thoughts?
• 7:15 -- I finish supper and we eat. After we clean up, we both sit down at the table and finish our work for the day. Sometimes we watch TV.
• 9 -- i'm so pooped, I just want to be in bed.
• 12 a.m. -- Allen finally comes to bed after studying and doing all of the things he couldn't do while putting out fires at work.
• Rinse & repeat.

Our Menu:

Just for giggles, I'll add our menu for this week. We (adults) had:

• Southwest chicken casserole - super easy and fast. It was just okay, not something I'd serve to guests.
• Pierogies with sauteed cabbage and apples. Super easy and delish.
• Potato soup -- Allen's absolute favorite.
• brownies from a mix
• Turtle bars from a mix
• apple crisp
• And a couple other things I can't remember... baby brain!

Next week:

• Coconut salmon with garlicky spinach and sweet potatoes
• chicken pot pie
• asian chicken salad a la dinner doctor
• chicken piccata with risotto
• pumpkin cookies a la martha stewart -- they are like little pillows of pumpkiny goodness. I've been making them for a couple years now... highly recommend this recipe: http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/pumpkin-cookies-with-brown-butter-icing