Making my list and checking it twice...

No, no, not that kind of list. Christmas is over. This is my "List of Things To Do Before the Boys Arrive"! I thought I'd let you guys know how I'm doing on it! (And these are in no particular order!)

1. Finish writing all of the thank you notes for baby gifts received to this point.
Done. Just stamped and sealed the last one. I know I'll have more to write after the boys come, but at least I'm caught up.

2. Finish writing all of the thank you notes from C's birthday.
Done. And BTW, I was very proud of myself for being so thrifty on this one. I ordered her invites and it was a 25 minimum order. I'm pretty sure we sent out less than 10 since we just had family in attendance, so I wrote the thank-yous on the backs of the extra invitations.

3. Pack for the hospital.
Done. I did it on Friday morning before I went to the doctor and took the bag with me just in case I needed it. I've had to take a few things out that I'll have to put back before we go for the real-deal on Thursday, but the majority is done. I even bought snacks for me and R and have them bagged up and ready to go. I also have a small bag packed for the boys with their coming-home outfits and monogrammed caps inside. I also wrapped the gift the boys will give C when she comes to meet them at the hospital and have that ready to go. I have the gifts she will bring to them, but I don't think I'll bother with wrapping. They won't care!

4. Re-read "On Becoming Babywise".
Working on it. I've done about 1/3 and it is all coming back to me. I hope to read a little more early in the week so I'm all brushed up!

5. Get a haircut.
Going on Tuesday at 10 a.m. Don't want the boys to meet me with shaggy hair!

6. Shave my legs.
Done, but will probably need to be done again before Thursday. Just in case you are wondering why this is even on the list, it is because it is SUCH an ordeal for me to shave. I can't do it in the shower (no balance) so I have to sit in the tub. WELL the problem with that is that I can't get out of the tub on my own, so R has to be home when I do it so he can help me get up and out!

7. Make arrangements for C.
This is kind of half done and half undone. She is going to spend the night with R's parents on Wednesday night and then they are going to drop her off at Nana's on their way to the hospital on Thursday morning. Our goal is to keep her "routine" as close to normal as possible. I'm pretty sure I want her to wait until Friday morning to come up to the hospital and meet her brothers because by then they will have removed all of my IVs and she won't be scared. I'm not sure who will keep her on Thursday night. I'm not sure I want to make that decision. I just want to do what is easiest and less stressful for HER! I think I'm going to put R in charge of making the arrangements.

8. Get a mani/pedi.
Yes, this sounds silly, but I got a gift certificate for my birthday and I know it will be a while before I'm able to use it again. I got a pedi the day before C was born, so I plan to do this on Wednesday morning! When C was born I got PINK toes, so I think I'll go with RED this time!

9. Write C's two-year old letter for her baby book and write a "night before you were born" letter to each of the boys.
C's letter will hopefully get done sooner now that the thank-you notes aren't filling my evening time. I will write the boys' letters on Wednesday evening after we drop C off at R's parents' house. I'm doubting sleep will come easy that night anyway, and this plan will give me something productive to do!

This list is kind of the way I'm coping with all of the unknowns that will hit me within the next week. I've got some nerves about the surgery and the actual birth. I've got some nerves about the recovery. I've CERTAINLY got nerves about bringing TWO newborns home from the hospital. I'm nervous about how C will react to her two new baby brothers. I'm nervous about how short-term pumping for twins is going to work for me.

We're going to take things one day (one hour? one moment?) at a time and try to enjoy each and every piece of the adventure since these are the last babies we'll have at our house! I pray that God will continue to calm my heart and my nerves as I continue to place my trust in Him!

Perspective, A Princess & A Party!

Perspective...
Have you seen on the ticker that we've crossed into single digits? WHOA! Very exciting! As time for the boys' arrival draws nearer well-meaning people have made some comments that have got me thinking!

"Enjoy these last few days with just you and R and C..."

"Life as you know it is about to really change! Enjoy these last few days..."

"Your family size is almost doubling in a few days. Enjoy it now while you can..."

What's funny is that probably some of the same well-meaning people made similar comments the week before C was born. Back then, the comments REALLY freaked me out. I thought, "OH MY GOSH, is life going to be over when she's born? Why do people keep saying that to me?" I may have even panicked a little bit!

Luckily, this time I have some more perspective. I know that our life DID change after C was born and that it 100% changed for the better. You couldn't pay me any amount of money to go back to "life" before C. I don't think back on the days before she was a part of our life and want for them. On the contrary, it is hard for me to even remember a time when she wasn't the joy of our family.

And I know it is going to be the same way with the boys joining us soon. It will be hard for us to remember a time when they weren't with us. We won't long for the days when they weren't a part of our family. They are going to add another layer of depth and love and richness to our already blessed family. We couldn't be more excited!!!

A Party...
I had to share a couple of pictures from C's second birthday party! Gammy made her precious cupcake dress and we formed the party "theme" around it! She was in a fantastic humor for the entire party and loved being the center of attention. Thanks to Uncle Mike & Aunt Teresa for hosting the party at their house!

Hands-down, her favorite gift was her BACKPACK! As soon as she opened it, I told her it was a backpack like Dora's and she was SOLD! She loves it and wants to wear it all the time! You can see in the second picture that she also got a coordinating lunchbox! She's got both of them filled with all kinds of treasures!


You can see in this picture that she was a HUGE fan of the cupcakes and the frosting! At her first birthday last year, she couldn't get past having a little frosting on her fingers in order to actually enjoy the cake. She's certainly gotten over that issue!

Another one of her favorite gifts was a treasure-trove of princess jewels and dress-up clothes! I mean, what little girly-girl isn't wowed by some bling? She had me wear the crown while she did her "magic" with her wand. I LOVED being able to be right in the middle of the action and helping her open all of her gifts. She was so excited about everything!

A Princess...
Once we got home from the party, ALL the dress-up clothes came out! She prissed around the house and even insisted on wearing the hat! Here's the "princess face" too!

And just for anyone worried about this princess getting de-throned in 9 days, I want to give you all the assurances I can muster...You've got NOTHING to worry about! She's got her daddy wrapped so tightly around her little finger (okay, and probably her mommie too!) that although she'll have some adjustments to make, she's still going to ALWAYS be our Princess!!

Where the boys are...

(or, rather, where they will be soon!)

I want to take y'all on a tour of the boys' nursery. I am not a decorator by any stretch of the imagination, but we've pulled it all together around a few colors (navy, red and khaki) and a sports theme. I must say that I'm so happy with how it turned out. I think it is very much "us" and I'm hopeful it will be very "them" too! :)

First up, currently hanging on the door of their room is the MAGNIFICENT birthday banner that my mom painted! This will hang on the door of our hospital room while we are there and then on the front door of our home on their birthday for years to come. Didn't she do an awesome job?

When you open the door to their bedroom, this is what you see when you look to the left. That is Chase's side of the room. He has two framed pictures on his wall. One is a Texas flag with A&M instead of the star framed in barn wood, and the other is the picture of the Red, White & Blue Out picture taken at the Aggie football game after 9/11. R and I were both at that game and are therefore in the picture (somewhere!) My Grandaddy made the barn wood frame for that picture. You can also see the sports-themed lamp in this picture. The "pull" on the lamp is a coach's whistle! Too cute! I bought the letters for their names on-line and then painted them myself. We all know I'm not crafty like my mom, but I'm proud of how the letters turned out!

To the right you see Reid's side of the room. His crib is identical. My mom made the bedding and curtain of course! I'll show the wall-hangings in more detail below.

This awesome wall-hanging was put together by R's mom. The sweatshirt in the shadow box was made by R's grandma in the mid-eighties, and I am told he wore it CONSTANTLY. It fit in the room perfectly, and it is so special to have such a treasure hanging in the boys' room. I'm not sure if it is cross-stitch or some other kind of needle-work, but it certainly has history in our family!

Next to the sweatshirt on Reid's wall you will see four rustic sports-themed signs from Hobby Lobby! Audrey and I found them when she was here, but I didn't buy them then. I later regretted it so I sent my dad back to find them. He followed directions really well and got them for his first grandsons! R had quite a time hanging them up, but I think they look awesome!

Here is the center of the room--R's pride and joy! It is a rug that is a replica of the basketball court at A&M's Reed Arena. I've mentioned this on here before, but after we got it R wanted to order another one for the living room. I hated to be the one to crush his dreams, but one per house is plenty! He'll have the boys doing ball drills as soon as possible I'm sure!

This picture was taken looking from between the baby beds to the opposite side of the room (where the door is)! You can see the bookshelf my dad made out of old barn wood and bead board, the picture of my Grandaddy and his twin brother (framed in barn wood by my Grandaddy), and the awesome changing table/dressing table R's parents bought for C's room. We took off the closet door to make more space, so my mom made the curtain to match the bedding.

The last things I want to showcase from their room are the quilts my mom and Gran Gran made for them. This first one is the one my mom started working on as soon as she learned I was pregnant. She stitched the design on each square in red thread. Each square has a little boy with his dog (a schnauzer) and then some squares have a flag as well. Once she got all of the squares stitched and sewn together, my Gran Gran hand quilted the quilt. What a treasure this first quilt is. Below the picture of the whole quilt you can see a picture of a square up-close!

And then on that fateful day we learned that we were expecting not one but TWO children, my mom started working on a second quilt. You see, C has her own and according to my mom, it wouldn't do for the twins to have to share one! Here is the second one. This one has maroon stitching on it instead of red but still has the little boy with his little dog in each square. This one was also hand quilted by my Gran Gran.
For the time being, both boys will use both quilts. What a SPECIAL gift they have been given. When they get married and have their own homes someday, they can decide who wants which one!

So that is the tour, folks. Obviously these are very special and very loved boys. We can't wait to meet them and enjoy learning about their little personalities. We hope they will enjoy their room! It is kind of small but much love has gone into putting it together and making it just right for them!

Catch up on posts!

Here are links to the three Christmas posts I finally got put up this evening! Wouldn't want you to miss one! :)

Christmas Morning

Happy Birthday to Jesus & Christmas Eve

Merry Christmas at Gammy & Pops'

Christmas Morning!

R and I decided after C was born that we would make every effort to have our child(ren) wake up at their own home on Christmas morning. Thankfully, our families are supportive of this and this year was no exception! This year, we didn't "play up" the Santa thing simply because she wasn't interested. She didn't have her picture made with him and when someone would ask, "Is Santa coming to your house?" she would quickly say, "Nope!" We're not going to push the issue, but she did wake up on Christmas morning to find the following spread...
It is funny, because I wracked my brain to come up with cool things that I thought she would like. The very last gift I bought (as an afterthought, honestly) is the "Little Einsteins" action figures. They were on sale for $8.00 at the Disney Outlet store. As you can guess, that was probably her favorite gift. At least, we had to convince her to put June, Annie, and Rocket down so we could open the rest of her gifts!

One of the gifts she got from Mommie & Daddy was a Magna-Doodle. We've decided it is one of the most perfect gifts ever--it isn't messy, it is compact and she can erase and draw, erase and draw to her heart's content!

She also got her first set of Duplo/Leggo blocks. We've had the best time since then building all kinds of towers and bridges. Maybe we have a budding architect on our hands?

My Aunt had given me a recipe for monkey bread that I had been dying to try but could never justify making it for just a regular morning, I decided to try it out on Christmas morning and it didn't disappoint. Fortunately, R's parents live close by and were able to come and share some of the gooey-goodness! They also got to see C's presents and enjoy her Christmas morning excitement! It was easy to make (and approved by R since it doesn't have any "odd" ingredients like nuts!) so I'll certainly share the recipe if anyone is interested!
We spent the rest of Christmas day playing and enjoying each other's company! Neither of our cars left the driveway. It was just sweet family time!!

Happy Birthday to Jesus & Christmas Eve

All Christmas festivities were especially fun this year since C really could understand and participate! She knew we were celebrating Jesus' birthday ("Happy birthday cake to Jesus!") so we decided to bake him a cake. She was my willing little helper in the kitchen. She poured in the eggs, oil and water. And it was even more fabulous that Jesus likes the SAME kind of cake I do!! Okay, well I'm sure He would have loved the yellow Duncan Hines cake with whipped chocolate icing and multi-colored sprinkles if it had been available back in His time!

We went out to R's parents' house for Christmas eve and took the cake with us. We had fantastic ham, chips and dips and watched a Christmas classic--"National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation"--together! After we ate dinner we lit candles and sang "Happy Birthday to Jesus" before we tore into the delicious cake! Here's C eating her slice!

SO many of you sent beautiful picture Christmas cards this year, and I want you to know that I enjoyed opening every one! If you didn't get one from us it isn't because you didn't make "the cut"! PROMISE! It is because we didn't send any out. No one wants a picture of big-ole pregnant me on their fridge all year! I promise to send out birth announcements like CRAZY after the boys are born!

I have a scrapbook-type-book that has a page for every year of our marriage so far in it. Each year I put a picture of our Christmas tree and a picture of of our family at Christmas (usually our family Christmas card!) Because we had no family Christmas card this year, we had to take a picture on Christmas Eve so the spot wouldn't be blank for 2009! Here's the best one we came up with...

C is actually smiling (and looking at the camera!!), I don't look too swollen, and R's eyes are open! We're sitting in front of Ryan's mom's pretty Christmas tree! This may be one of our last photos as a family of three!!

Here is the other picture that will go in my Christmas book for this year. We had a fake tree last year but went back to a real one this year. There is nothing like a real tree in my opinion!

Merry Christmas at Gammy & Pops'!

We had a very Merry Christmas at Gammy & Pops' house the same weekend Aunt Audrey came to town. When we arrived on Friday evening, the men of the house worked really hard to get C's surprise from Santa put together. When I see this picture, I can only ask, "How many Aggies does it take to put together a kiddie kitchen?"

After the mechanical engineer, Aunt Audrey helped finish the job the answer would be 3 Aggies and 1 honorary Aggie (since he paid for my brother and I to be Aggies!) Obviously you can see the large amount of schnauzer help as well.

It was ALL worth it the next morning when C discovered her "chichen"! She L-O-V-E-S it! She puts all of her play food in the washing machine, then moves it to the dishwasher, then to the oven and then to the microwave. She has had the most fun pretending and cooking for us. We brought it back to our house and it is now a fixture in the playroom. She says, "Want to play chichen, mommy?" which means I sit in one of her little chairs and she serves me ALL of the play food she can find!
A stocking stuffer treat that gave lots of smiles was a big box of Raisinettes. How can I tell her no? I mean, they are a fruit, right? We actually found some random Raisinettes in the "chichen" washing machine along with a pair of her shoes and a sippy cup of juice!


This picture was taken later in the morning after we had all gotten dressed. C loves playing with blocks and leggos and building "tall, tall towers" and I included this picture because of her sweet smile. She isn't a fan of looking at the camera and smiling lately, so we'll just take what we can get!
It was a fantastic and full weekend!