See you in September...

... or late August, to be more exact. School's out for the summer, and right now, I couldn't be happier about that. I'm sure I'll take that back in a few weeks when the kids are restless and bored, but for now, not dragging S out of bed every morning, and not telling H once again to hurry up is a welcome relief.

Last week, we enjoyed H's preschool graduation. The kids performed songs and plays, including classics like, "A peanut sat on a railroad track" and "Mama's Soup Surprise." We had to do the graduation in his teacher's garage because it was rainy and cold that day, but no matter. Everything went great, except for the minor issue of T wanting to be a part of the whole thing and sneaking up to the stage every two seconds.

S had fun the last few weeks of school, with pajama days and field days, and a whole lot of candy for some reason. On Tuesday, she performed in the dance festival at school and then had her year-end clogging performance that night. Her team performed "Holla" and "Friend Like Me." She was the most excited to get her trophy, which was bigger than last year's.

And last, but not least, the T-man. He didn't go to school this year, but he did have a family birthday party on Sunday, where he received oodles of toys and clothes. And as always, he pretty much thinks he's a part of everything anyway, so he's spent the past few days walking around the house with a little backpack on and waving to me as he goes off to school. :)

The Winds of Change

Sometime between Saturday and Sunday, something changed in my body. Someone moved... and not the normal jabbing or kicking. This was a definite movement downwards, with a new heavier feeling in my lower pelvis to accompany it.

I'm hoping and crossing all my fingers and toes that these kids (or rather, just one, because the other's still high as the sky in my ribs) haven't dropped yet. With my previous kids, they all dropped about 3 to 4 weeks early. But with me at only 30 weeks, 33 or 34 weeks is still a little earlier than I'd like to see these kids out and about.

I spent most of Sunday in a daze, alternating between crying and panicking and wondering if there was anything I could do. I kept hoping it was all a figment of my imagination but then I'd get a headbutt to the cervix and think, "Fine, you're down there. I get it." And in the next breath, his sister would kick my ribs. Such a nice combo. :)

I called my sister on Sunday night--I have four, but this is the one who had twins in February. I was vainly hoping that this sudden change was just a "twin thing" and completely normal. No-go on that, but she did talk it over with me and suggest stuff and even look up an experience on the web where some lady's twins dropped at 31 weeks and they went on to hang around for quite a while longer.

I finally called the on-call doctor on Monday morning. Not surprisingly, he didn't have too much advice to offer. I knew he wouldn't because I'm not contracting and there's nothing to say that I'm in immediate labor. I just know the way things have begun before and so I freaked because it's still much too early. He said I could definitely go for several more weeks like this--which in the pain department doesn't thrill me, but I'll do it if it means I can keep them safe for a while longer. He didn't put me on bedrest, but said some restricted activity might be in order.

Restricted activity--really no specific definition for that, but here's my take on it. No more exercising (not like I was loving it anyway), no more picking up T to change his diaper, no more cleaning tubs and toilets, and in general, a lot more lying down with my feet up. I'm all in favor of the relaxing but it's hard to envision it for the next six (or maybe even seven!) weeks.

I decided yesterday that this is just one more way that Heavenly Father is helping me and my little family to change and grow. I still believe that having twins is His way of saying, "Stop working full-time. Make it work another way. Work together better as a family." I'm still scared to death that we're having twins to begin with, but now, I'm more worried that they'll come before they're good and cooked. So, we adjust, we make changes, we do everything we can to help them stay in there for as long as possible, and we wait. :)

The T-man is three today

T is three today--hooray! In some ways, he still seems like a little baby to me (especially when he refuses to be potty trained) but in other ways, he seems so grown up. He wants to do everything that H does and loves all of his older brother's toys, books, and stuffed animals. He is also quite possibly the most contrary person I know. A typical conversation with T:

T: I want some grapes.
Me: Ok, here you go.
T: NO! I don't want them.
Me: Alright. (Wait for a minute.)
T: I do want grapes.

He can't wait to start preschool in the Fall. It's only one morning a week, though, so I wonder how he's going to handle being home the other four mornings with me and two newborn babies since H will be in kindergarten. Could be interesting. Although, he did inform me a few weeks ago that he loves babies. He does enjoy talking to the babies, patting my belly, running cars over my belly, and posing Power Ranger action figures on it.

Three favorite things about T:

1. I've trained all my kids to be affectionate but it's really worked well with T. He'll run up to me and give me a "big kiss," which involves grabbing my face and kissing my cheek really hard. Apparently, these things must be done with force. And he's awesome about telling me he loves me. Nothing like teaching boys to give their moms hugs. It's a must in my book.

2. This kid loves to run. S loves to dance, H loves baseball, and T may very well join the track team in high school. He loves sports in general, but he loves running the most. When he was younger, he would run all over the kitchen for long periods of time. He also likes to run outside by the fence where he can check out his shadow.

3. As crazy as he can sometimes be with his temper tantrums and wanting everything in the house to belong to him, he is very thoughtful. He always wants to include his siblings in everything. He says hi to everyone he sees. He gets concerned if I say I'm more tired than usual or in pain. He is a very sweet boy and we're so glad he's part of our family!

Happy birthday, T!

Swelling Ahead

Why can't it stay Spring forever? Or perhaps until around July 15?

We've been having some unseasonably cool weather around here lately. Like, 70 degrees one day and then 50 the next. There's even been snow in the higher elevations. My husband has complained quite a bit because he loves the hot weather for biking. Pretty much everyone I know wishes it would warm up more, but not me. I would rather it stay 65 for as long as possible. Not only am I lazy about turning on the A/C, but this year I have a special reason to want it to stay cool: swelling. Up until now, I've been able to wear cute skirts, sandals, and capris and feel pretty good about how my legs and feet looked. With 80+ degree days coming up this weekend, that will be a thing of the past. Gone will be the comments from family and friends that I look cute. Pretty soon, everyone will just give me sympathy sighs and say, "How much longer do you have?"

I know I'm being whiny, but hey, I'm pregnant and it's my blog, so I'll complain if I want to. :)

On a less-whiny note, the babies are doing well and getting fat in there. Both are measuring about a week and a half ahead of my due date (and have been since 10 wks) so they might move it up. I'm slightly anemic but I don't have gestational diabetes. I'll take the little iron pill over testing my blood any day.

Story Time

Last night on the way to the grocery store, S said, "Mom, did you know that sometimes twins can be born with their heads stuck together? Does that happen just when twins are a boy and a boy, or a girl and a girl? Can it happen with a boy and a girl?" I reassured her that since we've seen our babies on video a few times, we know they're not stuck together in any way. "Oh good. The librarian told us about them today and I got worried."

I thought it was so sweet that she wanted to make sure her new brother and sister weren't going to be joined at the head, but this conversation begs the question, What exactly are they talking about at the school library? I can just see the librarian sitting the first graders down for story time and saying, "Welcome children. Today we'll be talking about extremely rare birth defects in twins. Next week, we'll cover cleft palates." I certainly hope she didn't have a picture book to go along with her presentation.

And for your viewing enjoyment, here's a belly picture--not an actual one, because I don't think I'll ever post one, but a lovely interpretation drawn by S for her school journal a month or so ago. There appears to only be one baby in there (or what I think is a baby) but her journal that day was all about the twins, so who knows. I was very interested by the fact that my belly seems to be overtaking the rest of my body. I could definitely see that happening toward the end...