Week 30

I'm huge (46 inch waist), so I don't do much other than work and try to sleep. Oh, and visit doctors. One doctor told us that at this stage a single baby should weigh almost 3 pounds. Our smaller one is 3 pounds and 5 ounces (62nd percentile) and the bigger one is 3 pounds and 11 ounces (83rd percentile) for a total of 7 pounds. The doctors also tell me that since we are all doing so well they will schedule us for a c-section at 38 weeks, just in case. If these kids keep this up, they'll be 7 3/4 and 8 1/2 pounds by then. Woah!

We also recently had some exciting firsts. Though we are both 30 something’s, neither of us has ever owned a TV.... until now, sort of. This week we bought a projector that we will use as a TV. Huge step!

Another big first was that, after spending about 5 years with John, this was the first time I've seen him in shorts other than his swimming suit. I didn't even know he owns shorts, but he's had these since high school. They are Bugle Boys. He said this is how dads dress, so I guess it was time to break them out. I shouldn't be surprised that it's taken this long for me to see him wearing shorts, since he didn't wear jeans around me until we'd dated more than a year. He really does live in a white dress shirt and khakis as much as possible.

One of my favorite highlights from the last few weeks was an argument we had. At the end John said that it was kind of fun to argue because we haven't had a real disagreement in a long time. I thought about it for a few seconds then busted up laughing because the last big tiff we had ended with John being brought home by the cops. That was funny.

Uneventful July and Tag Response

This month has just been normal stuff- we each worked 60 or so hour weeks for the first weeks of the month, John's work sent him to Houston(?) for a bit, and I gain a few pounds every week. I'm trying to rest more and am preparing to cut back at work. We had more furniture and carpet delivered and worked on little details around the house like caulking and reattaching light switch covers.

We had another ultrasound session, but the pictures were not as good as last time. Last time Xena did a Thinker pose, this time most of her pictures showed her portraying the Great Sphinx of Giza- no nose (she does have one....the pictures are just weird). Both babies are doing great. Xena has just about caught up with Athena in weight, so they are each about 2 lbs (double what they were last month). Though it doesn't show in the pictures, Xena has some chubby checks, and Athena loves covering her eyes with her fists.

After about an hour of fighting with the scanner, this is the best I can do with the ultrasound pictures. The black and white photos show that Athena became pretty photogenic near the end of the appointment, but once again Xena's picture (the purplish one) is especially rough since it was the middle of her afternoon play time.

Since it's been an uneventful month, I'll post the response to the blog tag I received from a friend from High School (I'm often a stick in the mud on those). This last month I expectantly heard from a few High School friends, from a few different sources. It's so great to hear from them! I still think Provo grows some of my favorite people.

So here is the tag response-

How long have you been together? How long did you date?

There’s no simple answer

First contact: 11.5 years ago

First time he was accused of being interested in me: 10.25 years ago

First time he noticed me/ knew who I was: a few minutes later

First conversation: 5.75 years ago

First date: 5.25 years ago

Mutually agreed exclusive “dating”: 4.25 years

Engaged: 3.75 years

Married: 3.25 years

How old is he? Older than I am

Who eats more? These days- me

Who said "I love you" first? John, probably 3 or 4 times before I did.

Who is taller? John. Though in his family we are the midgets, and in my family we are considered really tall.

Who is smarter? Depends on the topic.

Who does the laundry? John moves everything between the machines; I do most of the folding.

Who does the dishes? Both

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? John. Though John might say that I do and he sleeps on the FAR right of the bed

Who pays the bills? The automatic pay system

Who mows the lawn? The guys with the white caps. They do a great job

Who cooks dinner? Don’t know. But our employers pay for it. On the weekend I grocery shop, and we eat fruits, vegetables, and sandwiches

Who kissed who first? John used to say that he kissed me first, then I told him my side of the story, and he now adds “But I was tricked”….but it was after we’d casually dated about a year

Who asked who out? John asked me

Who proposed? John

Who is more sensitive? Who is more stubborn? Our scanner takes the title.

Who has more siblings? Me, by one brother

What were you doing 10 years ago? We were both getting ready to start the accounting program at BYU. I was in school and working

Five things on my To Do list 1. Clean the guest room 2. Finish buying baby stuff 3. Work stuff 4. File our 2007 taxes 5. Get a haircut

Things I would do if I was suddenly made a billionaire 1. I’d like to think I wouldn’t change anything, but I’d probably celebrate by taking the day off work and have a plumber come fix my tub. 2. Try to give away the money- I don’t want that sort of responsibility!

Three of my bad habits 1. Eating too much sugar. 2. Returning half the stuff I buy at TJ Maxx. 3. Saying “Oh! Big belly!” (about my self) whenever I move

Five places I have lived (in order of length) 1. Utah 2. Massachusetts 3. New York 4. California 5. Greenwich, CT (for a week)

Five jobs I have had 1. Teaching assistant 2. Custodian 3. Auditor, accountant, stuff like that 4. Machinist 5. Receptionist

Things people don't know about me I bit all the way through my lip when I was two. I have a cool scar on both sides. I’ve been to Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, China, Vietnam, Thailand, France, Mexico, Canada (three times), Israel, the Bahamas, and Trinidad and Tobago.

Home Alone

John spent the July 4th weekend with his family in San Francisco so he could participate in the blessing of our newest niece Ellie-Jane (and meet our next newest niece 4-month-old Molly). We decided that it would be a rough trip for the other three of us, so I stayed home alone. When John and I are both home we don't get much done. I think it's just that we do the old "what you want to do?" "I don't know. What do you want to do" "I don't know" (etc.). So with John gone...

Day 1 I searched for, bought, and assembled a clothes sorter, over-the-door ironing board, and shelving unit for the closet; cleaned the living room, bathrooms, master bed room, and dining room (including scraping the paint speckles off the window). I also emptied and organized the big closet and started cleaning the guest room. My wonderful "old lady cart" really helped out throughout the day. After 12 hours of hard work, I decided I that my day job is a lot less work than a day off. I also stopped by our church party for a few hours. My brain was gone and I was worn out, but it was fun.

Day 2 I Decided to take it easy(er). I started the day with yoga and cleaned the fridge, emptied the guest closet (so I can put in new shelves), then turned the newly cleaned dining room into a sewing room. While on the phone with my sisters, I made a canvas bag for John's "Grandpa Golf" game, some shoe covers for John's shoes, and a hooded towel for the babies.

I also found a great furntiture store that we had missed, and bought a buffet at another store (this was a violation of our "no purchases over $50 w/o approval from the other spouse," but I will totally return it if I need to).

Day 3 Church and a nap. Getting dressed was the great challenge of the day. I have no dresses or skirts that fit, so I tried to be creative. I was not completely successful.

I'm getting huge! (the picture is a week old- I can't get in that dress now) Only 3 1/2 more months!

John's new theme song and 21 week ultrasound

John and I don't do much of interest very often, but here are a few highlights from the last few weeks.

John's new theme song

John loves YouTube. I'll leave it at that, but every so often I'll ask if he's found anything interesting. A few days ago I walked in our room and noticed he was watching this

John would love to live like cookie monster. Last night I dragged him out to help me grocery shop, so of course we came home with a box of sugar cookies, which he had for breakfast with some cookie juice on the side.

21 Week Ultrasound

We had another ultrasound where the doctor took some "4-D" pictures (whatever that means). Everyone seems to talk about baby A first so I want to start with baby B .

Baby B (or, "Xena: Warrior Princess", as we call her) looks like she has my pug nose, and I think she sort of looks like my family from the picture. She is further back and so a bit fuzzier on all the ultrasounds. She's roughly 12 oz., which is about average for someone her age.

This is the pug nose I'm talking about- that's me at about 3 1/2. This picture comes from the compilation of pictures of me as a kid I made to help prepare my mother-in-law for the great likelihood that she will have chubby, unattractive grand-babies.

And Baby A (or "Athena: Goddess of War", as we call her) is pictured here. I think she looks like her daddy, though the doctor pointed out that she has quite the healthy pot belly. Nuts. That comes from me. My belly was so big when I was little that I refused to wear pants until I was maybe 6 or so. She is about 15 oz., which is about average for a someone a week older than she.

The womb names above come from John. He says the babies are wagging war on my belly, so they have war- themed names. Every afternoon and any time I lay down they move and kick like crazy. It's like popcorn popping in my belly. I'm told that mom's can feel twins sooner and more intensely than singletons, so I've been able to feel A since about 9 weeks, and B since about 14 (she's further back and higher). B was the first to give a good kick and she just happened to do this for her daddy.

Weekend Entertainment

Last weekend John and I went into the city to meet with two of his former classmates Sergy and Yu-Im and their spouses Jen and Yao for lunch. Yu-Im and Yao's son Sean also made a cameo appearance. After lunch John and I dropped off Sergy and Jen at the Brooklyn Bridge, then went to the Cloisters museum. I'd given up trying to find maternity clothes to wear, so I borrowed one of John's shirts and we went through the day matchy-matchy with khakis and blue plaid shirts. John only has three different shirts, though he owns about 20 shirts. Dude, why don't they make women's clothes that comfortable?

Yesterday John's coworker Mike took us out on his sailboat for the afternoon. We'd gone with sailing with him last fall, and somehow both days were perfect. When we lived in Boston we had free access to the boat house and sailboats, so John learned to sail a dingy and could help sail the bigger sailboat. My main job was to stay out of the way.

Economics

This past weekend, John and I were in Boston for John's one-year MBA reunion. We've been wanting to visit a few friends up there, so we tried to pack everything into the weekend. I brought the camera, but never took it out of the suit case.

I did, however, steal a picture from the Charles' website of us with Sammy, Ben, William, and Cristie (Steven took the picture). Cristie and I go way back- we went to high school together, both moved to Boston after college, ran into each other on a flight back to Boston after Christmas break, and eventually lived in the same building in Boston for two years while our husbands went to the same school. Ben and Sammy used to come over to play and get John to do magic tricks (I'm surprised by the number of kids who invite John to birthday parties). We taught Ben about why you don't want to put too much salt or pepper on your dinner, no matter how cool the shaker. We really miss them!

We enjoyed spending time with the Bryants (including 6 month-old Layla on the right), who put John through Daddy try-outs, and he passed! Though you can see from his face that it was hard work. We also learned that John rocks at Guitar Hero, but not as much as Bryant. Mona is an amazing resource for baby prep.

My favorite reunion event was the economics lecture on the world recession and the price of food by Roberto Rigobon. I love that John takes me on dates to economics lectures- seriously. Two years ago John took me to Israel where our 30ish person group met with Stanley Fischer for about an hour- that was AWESOME. We discussed Israel's unique economic challenges, with a history of mass immigrations, constant war, political chaos, etc. Bernanke was interesting as well, though I'm still trying to decide what I think about the sub-prime mortgage bailout. It's just cool to hear super smart people talk about stuff I find interesting.

I have always been much more interested in finance and economics than in accounting, but accounting seemed like the right degree to get a job (though I later learned a job is not the same thing as a fun job where you work hard, are treated well, and are paid well. After we were married, I noticed the contrast between the job John had and the job I had, though we each had a BS in accounting from BYU). I'd considered going back to school to study econ for a while, but until I met John, it was pretty tough to find any one who was very supportive of any "non-mom" plans (once I met John, I decided his prospective tuition payments were enough for the both of us). I love that I have a great husband who supports and encourages my crazy ideas and interests- and that our daughters will have him for a daddy.

Week 18

I'm becoming indoctrinated into the mommy world. My life completely revolves around my kids, so that I now even count my time in their age. No big news lately- but we've been getting prepared for the days when I will be gigantic and less mobile. I've bought a few essentials, including a double snap-and-go that we are totally excited about. John noted that the pajamas I found would accommodate even his head- which is great considering that our little ones are each likely inherit genes for a large head from at least one parent. They've recently started another growth spurt (meaning I have too), after staying about the same size for about a month. This is me at 18 weeks and more than that many new pounds, along with some of the mess I need to get cleared away. I hear that 18 weeks is about the time that most single pregancies start to "show."

And John wanted to document my over-sugared breakfast. The berries were a bit tart, but not enough to need the 1/2 cup that exploded everywhere. Still, it was really good!

On the right is my favorite picture from our Bernanke dinner. After dinner we missed the train that John wanted to catch, so we hung out in the Roosevelt Hotel. We also missed the next train. John is starting to realize that a pregnant woman in heels doesn't move too fast through NYC (dude, NYC has more grates than anywhere!).

Everything is funnier these days

So today I was listening to a podcast mentioning that the second largest purchaser of Pampers (after Walmart) is Amazon. I decided to look into it, and sure enough, you can indeed buy Pampers at Amazon- and just as like many other items on the site you can save a buck or two if you buy them "used". If anyone is interested in buying our double batch of used Pampers next year, please let us know. We are willing to beat the above offered $39.99 for 140.

Mother's day (by John)

During the year that we shopped for furniture (yes you read that right, it was not just a weekend or two), we went back and forth over fabrics, design, and color. When I found a piece or a swatch of fabric that I thought was classy, Edna would suggest, "yes, that looks really nice, but the first time a little kid with chocolate pudding gets to it, we'll wish we had something else." And I never understood, why Edna would be arming little tykes with pudding-loaded mouths and hands to go on a rampage in my living room. So for mother's day I made breakfast and a card. On the card are three chocolate-pudding hand prints: mine, baby A's, and baby B's. For breakfast we had tater-tots, poached eggs, croissants, and chocolate pudding. I hope the babies use the chocolate pudding to leave little hand prints all over the inside of Edna's belly.

Then when we were coming back from church this afternoon, we found some of our neighbors standing outside in the courtyard with a box. At night we sometimes see a rabbit hopping around on the grass. Our neighbors found the nest and were waiting for someone to come pick them up. That's right, for mother's day they were shipping the four babies away from their mom. So before they left, Edna wanted to hold one: She loved that little bunny. Afterwards I mentioned to Edna, "I don't think I have ever seen you look at ME like that." To which she replied, "Well, I've never seen you that small."

Like prom, but pregnant (by John)

What could be more New Yorky than a black-tie event at the Waldorf Astoria hotel? To be fair it was just a dinner. People have dinner all the time - even us. So here are a few things that made it extraordinary for us:

1) dress. The event was a fund raiser for Columbia Business School. My work sponsored a table, and some of the alumni were busy that night, so I volunteered to go. There were about 1,000 people, all tuxed and gowned out. We took this picture towards the end of the evening. 2) speakers. Henry Kravis introduced the two award recipients: Ben Bernanke and Russel Carson. Ben spoke about the housing situation in the US and Russel spoke about how much the private equity industry has changed over the years and how his family helped foster his success. 3) venue. Ok so you dressed like a penguin and listened to an economist... *YAWN*. So this is the hotel where Serendipity, Coming to America, Maid in Manhattan, and the like were filmed. AND! AND! it is one of the two NYC hotels after which the two old Muppets Statler and Waldorf are named after. In fact, all around the main ballroom are velvet lined balconies - just like the ones they sit in. So in summary: it was just like prom, except it didn't cost hundreds of dollars, we went in a train, not a limo, my date was pregnant, we didn't dance, but we did listen to the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the United States Federal Reserve.

14 week tummy

After a number of requests from far away friends and family, I feel compelled to post this picture. That there is a 37 inch waist. John casually mentioned this weekend that I will soon be a "hippopotamus ballerina". I'd hoped for a better piciture, but John was done playing "take a picture of me for the blog".