January 24th, 2012

Wordless Wednesday: Does there always have to be an evil twin?

This is a very pressing question. Although, my sister and I were talking this afternoon and we decided that the good/evil twin thing only comes in to play when the twins are identical. And mine are not. But, I do have one other concern:

Perfectly regular if kind of mysterious and blob like Twin A.

Twin B is a STORMTROOPER.

So. There’s that.

Do you have a wordless wednesday post? I’d love to see! Link up below.

January 23rd, 2012

All I Can Think About is TWINS!?!

I’ve had plenty of time to adjust to the idea of twins, but crazy things pop in my head all the time. I am thinking about things much more obsessively than I did when I thought this was just a singleton pregnancy. I’m still getting used to the idea of having them in my belly instead of it. I thought I’d bullet point out my thoughts and then people can tell me I’m crazy or weird or be helpful and point me in the direction of more information on things. Pointing welcome.

• Twin pregnancy is going to be way more expensive. I was still working when I had Spencer and my insurance was amazing. I paid for nothing. Well, I paid a single $200 copay for an amniocentesis. That’s it. Out of my entire hospital stay, pregnancy, delivery and his first few months where we went to the doctor near weekly. Now, my husband’s insurance is the primary and I am positive this pregnancy/delivery is going to end of costing significantly more. And then after delivery, we pay per person on the insurance. Yikes.
• I want to breastfeed the twins as much as possible. I had significant low supply issues with Spencer that were exacerbated by some mistakes early on. I plan on pumping from the beginning and nursing all the time, but I will force myself to be pragmatic and not be heartbroken if I am unable to exclusively breastfeed. Some is much, much better than none.
• Cloth diapers. I’m thinking this might be the way to go. Maybe prefolds/flats and covers. I waited with Spencer until he was big enough to fit in the 12 pound and up diapers, so I have no newborn sized things already. I should be able to fix most of my diapers (I hope) to make the pocket diapers I have usable. Except for the ones where the elastic failed in the legs.
• I really want to try for a vaginal delivery of twins. I don’t think the rate is fantastic at my hospital, but it is worth pushing for. If one looks to be breech or poorly positioned, I may opt for a c-section. What I really, really don’t want is vaginal delivery of one and a c-section for the second. If I have to get a c-section, why do all the work for a vaginal delivery too? Seems like the worst of both worlds.
• I am finally getting a belly. I wasn’t really showing much before 16 weeks, but, I swear, the minute we found out it was twins, kapow!, out came the belly. I’m still in my regular clothes for now, but that mostly just goes to show how ill-fitting my clothes are. I am a little worried about being able to find shirts that are long enough. I remember that being a problem in the last few weeks of my pregnancy last time. On the bright side, I’m not working this time. I might just do tunic/sundresses plus leggings and cardigans for Spring.
• Our house layout is stressing me out. We live in a two-story house with two bedrooms upstairs (currently master + Spencer) with a bathroom of the hall between them. It’s worked out great because we just gated the top of the stairs and Spencer could come into our room when he work up. He was never locked or gated in his room. But, the rooms are small (house was built in the 50s) and I worry about putting Spencer in a room with two babies, There might be enough room in the master bedroom for a shared crib in the beginning, but after that… We could move Spencer downstairs, but then we’d need to gate him in his room. I don’t want him waking up and having the run of the house. 3 seems a little young for that. I kind of just want to move.

If you made it thorough all the words, you get a picture!

At least his favorite matching/memory game is getting him used to the concept of TWINS!?!

January 22nd, 2012

P366: Week in Photos Jan 15th – Jan 21st

Mellow week here. Hubs had most of the week off recuperating from an injury, so we were mostly home bound. Then we wrapped things up with Spencer getting a cold. This does not make for an exciting set of pictures. At least Spence is still cute.

Sunday January 15th

Tee Ball!

Monday January 16th

Doughnut Hole

Tuesday January 17th

Toddler has a new chore - making salad.

Wednesday January 18th

We call this the Spencer tree because it is just his size.

Thursday January 19th

Playing dress-up at school - super suave business man.

Friday Janaury 20th

Peg Leg Jessie has been repaired.

Saturday January 21st

Toddler with a cold gets extra Angry Birds time.

That’s our week! Linking up with Amy as per usual.

January 20th, 2012

Secret Weapon Berry Sauce

This sauce is so easy it isn’t even a recipe. I hesitate to post it, but every time I serve it (which is pretty much every time we have guests) it gets rave reviews and when I explain it, people are always surprised. This simple sauce packs a punch on ice cream, chocolate cake, angel food cake, pancakes, waffles, you name it. My current favorite rendition is as a topping to tart frozen yogurt. LOVE IT.

I call it my secret weapon because it is so easy and yet elevates almost any type of dessert to fancy status, even just a frozen pound cake. (Actually, I like to toast pound cake and dip it.)

Forgive the crappy picture. This pregnant lady had to eat it right away. No time for fancy camera business.

Secret Weapon Berry Sauce

1 pound bag mixed frozen berries unsweetend (I like the trader joe’s mix the best, but any combination of blueberries, strawberries, blackberries or raspberries will do. Just make sure it is unsweetened)
2 tablespoons of sugar

(or to just make a bit, use a 1/2 bag and cut the sugar in half)

That’s it.

Step 1: Cut a hole in the box. Wait. Wrong thing.

1. Throw berries (still frozen) in a small saucepan.
2. Add sugar.
3. Let sit for 30 minutes or so. (This makes it better, but feel free to skip this step)
4. Turn heat to low and simmer until berries thaw and begin to form a syrup. Simmer for about 20 minutes.
5. To make the sauce super fancy, puree with an immersion blender, blender or food processor and strain through a mesh strainer.
6. Serve warm.
7. It keeps in the fridge for a few days, but gets pretty thick. To reheat, add a splash of water and heat in the microwave or stove on low.