October in pictures

I finally got proof that sometimes Benny and Ruby actually play together and don't fight. 

We watched General Conference, ate cinnamon rolls, and delivered extras to our neighbors. It was an exciting conference as they announced new changes like the 2 hour block and the family centered approach to teaching. 

Shad and I took a trip up to Minneapolis for the midwest area husband/wife convention. We left the kids with James and Monica for 4 days. We learned some really great things to implement in our family including "Mastery Monday's" where we will work on finding answers through doctrinal mastery.
We also had an opportunity to serve at "Feed my starving children". putting together manna packs that would be shipped off to Jamaica. It was such a great experience. I would love to take my kids there one day to serve too.

 We are so grateful for good friends that are like family and are willing to take on all of our kids. They moved into our house for 4 days to make it easier on our kids too. Between our family and theirs, they had 9 kids running around.

Laney also liked being Ruby's personal stylist....

Monica did some fun things with the kids while we were gone like visiting the fire station open house.

Ruby has been a dream toddler, but lest you think that she is always happy, here is proof that she does get stuck in her ways and has meltdowns every once in a while. They are ridiculous and cute all at the same time.

It was a super warm October, but when we returned from Minneapolis it was cold all of the sudden. We went from 80 degree weather to 50 degrees. It was 54 degrees outside but they just had to eat their ice cream outside after dinner. I think we are all in denial that Fall is actually here.

I had 20 women running around my kitchen compiling freezer meals. We ended up making 264 meals in about 2.5 hours. Between that night and another night compiling meals in Champaign early November I have 32 meals in my freezer ready to go when the babies get here....or before (I've already starting using them as I've lost motivation to cook).

We went to Rader Farms in Normal on early out day. My kids love this place and look forward to it every year. Steph came and helped us out. I took Jack into his appointment in Peoria while they went to Rader Farms and then we met back up with them and Shad for another hour of play.

Benny learned how to draw people. This is a picture of him with "his babies". I'm glad that he is starting to show that he knows what is going on and talks about it.

My friends Monica and Charlotte threw me a baby shower at Charlotte's house. I didn't get pictures of anyone there, but I did remember to take pictures of her cute decorations. People are so generous. We received so many diapers and wipes to get us started with the twins.

Gracie and Jack have become pretty great friends. It makes me excited to see what Benny and Ruby's relationship will look like in a few years as they are the same distance apart.

Halloween

Around here Halloween seems to last forever as we have lots of events going on. We started the weekend before Halloween at the ward trunk or treat. It was a good test to see how the kid's costumes would work out.

Since Gracie wanted to be a witch and Benny wanted to be lion we decided why not go for the Wizard of Oz theme with everyone else? I was able to find a brand new witch costume for Gracie and a cute little Dorothy costume for Ruby at the consignment sale. It fit Ruby perfectly and had all of the accessories including the bows, basket, and ruby red slippers. I bought Benny's lion costume on a classifieds page for $5. 

I had to make Jack a tin man costume which I thought would be an easy task as I looked at tutorials online. It ended up being more of a labor of love than I thought. I was glad that I didn't have to make any other costumes because his took enough time for 4 costumes. I think he really liked it though.

Haken, being the preteen that he is, refused to be the scarecrow. The day of the trunk or treat he came up with his own costume. Of course, he was his favorite Cubs player, Jake Arrietta. He doesn't play for the cubs anymore, but he still loves him. This is the night of the trunk or treat. Shad helped draw on his beard. I think I see a resemblance here:

I had to get a picture of his beard after he came home from trick or treating/ party with his friends. He did the beard on his own and he said "the more I started drawing it on the worse it got." We were laughing pretty hard about the way it looked.

The ward trunk or treat was a lot of fun. I didn't get many pictures as we were just trying to enjoy the time together...and I'm just too tired lately. 

The funniest thing about the night was Ruby's reaction to all of the face painting. She was absolutely terrified of all of the kids because they all had their faces painted. She kept saying "Haken scawee." In the car, we couldn't get her to remove her basket from her face.

She was also a little apprehensive to even stand by any of her siblings. We had to catch this picture really quick before she ran off. The kids got LOADS of candy at the trunk or treat. We had lots of chili at the cookoff and I didn't eat a single piece of candy or treats. I am trying to be really good. My blood sugar was still high that night, probably from the chili and cornbread.

The FHE before Halloween we carved pumpkins. I learned the hard way that I really should have bought Benny his own pumpkin too. Next year I will make sure we have one just for him. I just didn't want to be carving that many pumpkins! I think he still had fun though. Ruby just liked hanging out with everyone.

The pumpkin he got from the pumpkin patch a week earlier just didn't cut it.

Halloween wouldn't be complete with a lot of parties at school. 

Gracie's class. She is on the back row on the end of the left side.

Jack's class on Halloween. He is in the back row in the middle. The most adorable tin man.

I went to Jack's class Halloween party and helped. In one game he wrapped his friend as a mummy.

Jack was the cutest little tin man in the storybook parade

Gracie walked so fast I didn't get a picture of her on the storybook parade but I got a quick video. 

Halloween night was a success. The kids went around our neighborhood. Finn and Monica came with us. Haken was with his friends getting all of the big houses and hanging out. I love that the village of Mahomet limits trick or treating to the hours of 6-9pm. So much nicer as a parent, especially on a school night.

 It was a little bit chilly so we opted to put Ruby in the chicken costume that we had. She was the cutest little chicken I have ever seen. Benny decided to be a superhero and wear the new mask that grandma sent in the mail.

Ruby really got the hang of saying "trick or treat" at every house. She was always so polite and said "dant you." I think it was my favorite part of the night.

Haken is student of the month!

Pretty proud of this kid. He is such a great student and he deserved every bit of this recognition as student of the month (October) for the 6th grade. 

His teacher emailed me and told me about the assembly but told me not to tell Haken. Shad was out of town but I went with Benny and Ruby. I think when Haken saw me he knew that something was up. It was really fun to surprise him. 

He is not only a good student but he is a good friend and nice to everyone. 

We are really super proud of him. 

Gestational Diabetes

At my appointment earlier this week I did my standard glucose test and drunk that lovely sugary carbonated beverage. Well, the next day I got a call from the nurse that I indeed did NOT pass the initial glucose test.

I didn't worry about it too much as I actually didn't pass when I was Haken either. However, with Haken I ate strawberries at lunch right before and I think that messed up the results. I also ended up passing the 3 hour glucose test that I had to take.

This time, however, I made sure to eat a carb free breakfast so the results would for sure be accurate. The nurse said I barely didn't pass, but I still had to go back in and do the 3 hour glucose test later that week.

So, today I went in and did the 3 hour test at the hospital. It was actually kind of nice as I got to sit there for a solid three hours by myself doing whatever I wanted to do. I took the laptop with me and got my blog all updated through the summer. It's amazing how much I can get done when I don't have any distractions. Shad stayed home with the kids and it was a good thing that he did because Jack ended up having a pump site at school that wasn't working at all. When Shad went to go change it out it was completely kinked. We haven't had an incident like that in a while. I'm glad he was close enough to take care of it so we could get his blood sugar down.

During the test I actually felt a little bit nauseous in the beginning, probably due to the high blood sugar on an empty stomach because I had to go fasting that morning. I was done by 11:00 though, so it wasn't too bad.

On the way home from the hospital I got a call from the nurse. I did NOT pass the 3 hour glucose test and so I am now considered a gestational diabetic.

This was so weird to me as I thought I was actually being really healthy this pregnancy. I was eating a salad a day for pretty much my whole pregnancy. I was trying to exercise regularly, although the last few weeks I had been a little lazier as I just didn't have the energy and thought carrying twins was a good excuse to sleep in instead of wake up and work out.

Apparently, you are more prone to have gestational diabetes if you are carrying multiples and have a history of diabetes in your family. Obviously, we have type 1 that runs in our family, but my dad was also technically considered type 2 so I think it is something that I will need to watch for in the future.

Because my numbers were technically "right on the line" she said to start by managing it with diet and then we will see where it goes from there. I have to check my blood sugar in the morning before I eat, 2 hours after lunch, 2 hours after dinner, and at bedtime. She was going to order me in a blood glucose monitor and test strips but I told her that we have an extra meter and lots of strips because of Jack, so we didn't worry about getting a new prescription.

Jack is kind of loving the fact that I get to check my blood sugar with him. Although, my numbers do look a bit different than his. I am supposed to be under 95 when fasting and under 120 after a meal and before bedtime. I think they just like to see that I am coming down on my own. By looking at my fasting blood glucose they can also see whether that is happening overnight as well. If it starts to rise, then that means it is not well controlled and I need to do more than just managing it with a low carb diet.

This pregnancy has been really easy so far so I thought something like this was bound to happen eventually. I am determined to keep it under control though because I read about the effect it can have on the babies like having low blood sugar when they are born and even making them more prone to being diabetics later in their lives. It sure is going to be a challenge though with the holidays coming up.

Say a little prayer for me.

27 weeks. Third trimester!

October 11th marked the beginning of my third trimester! Honestly, I can't believe we are on the home stretch, but at the same time, I feel like we have such a long way to go. When I think about having to go 10 more weeks it seems a little daunting to me.

2 weeks ago I had a little bit of a reality check. I decided to compare how big I was with my last pregnancies with this one. I have been feeling really big and telling people that I felt like I am the same size I was when I delivered my other kids. The picture I found was from the night before I delivered Gracie and I think I was right. I actually think that I look bigger right now than I was when I delivered her. She was my smallest baby, but I still wasn't much bigger with any of my other kids. I can't imagine how big I am going to be in 9-10 weeks when I deliver. It is going to be insane.

Today I had my monthly doctor appointment and ultrasound. It was also the glucose test appointment. I haven't heard the results back yet, so I'm just praying it comes back normal as it would be pretty hard to be on a strict diet right now.

The babies looked great on the ultrasound. Both are measuring almost exactly the same with Baby A at 2lbs 10oz and Baby B at 2lbs 9oz. The ultrasound tech said that Baby A tends to typically be smaller than Baby B, so I guess that is a sign they are doing really well. I honestly can't believe I already have over 5 lbs of baby in there already!

The ultrasound tech did a little 4D ultrasound for me, but we didn't get a great shot of Baby A because he is breach, his arms and legs were over his face, and his face was towards my back. Hopefully he flips around in the next couple of weeks and gets in position because if he is not head down then the doctor will be doing a C-section instead of a vaginal delivery. It all depends on which way he is positioned because Baby B can squeeze out breach since he is second. We did, however, get a good shot of Baby B's face. I think he has a "butt chin" like the rest of my kids.

My weight is sitting at 157 which means I have gained 37lbs already. This is definitely over the weight that I delivered my other babies. I think I topped out at about 150. It this rate I may actually catch up to Shad as we are only about 15lbs apart. Hopefully this is the only time in our marriage that this will be the case.  Here's hoping that nursing two really does help the weight come off quick.

I'm measuring at 32 weeks which means I am about 4-5 weeks ahead of a singleton pregnancy. This is actually kind of small for a twin pregnancy as most measure about 6-7 weeks ahead. However, the size of the babies is right on where they should be for gestational age, so I guess there is just lots of room in there still.

Overall everything is looking great! The doctor is really impressed with how well everything is going. Hopefully that will be the case for the last few weeks.

Pee Pee in the Potty!!!

Over the summer I tried potty training Benny twice.

The first time I tried for a day and then after cleaning up multiple accidents on the floor and not having a single success with him going in the potty even though I knew that he had to go, I decided it wasn't worth it.

The second time he again didn't have a single success and I had lots of resistance. Every time I would ask him to sit on the potty he would say "not again" and I would physically have to put him on the potty with him screaming. After a day of that, I decided it wasn't worth it.

I had come to the realization that he might actually be in diapers when the babies got here and I would have four in diapers.

Whatever.

However, one day when I was praying I just got this feeling that I should try again and this time be the mean mom and not give up. I realized that with Benny everything has had lots of resistance. He doesn't do things unless he wants to. He doesn't like doing hard things that will interfere with his day and potty training is one of those.

It was easier for him to crawl instead of walk, so he didn't walk until he was 18 months old. It was easier to grunt and scream for things that he wanted, so he decided not to talk. It was easier to keep the binky, so he three when we made him give that up.

He is the type of kid that has to be pushed into doing things and once he realizes that it is actually a good thing, then he gets on board, but there is always a lot of resistance.

Potty training was the same.

This time Shad and I both buckled down. We took him to school late for a few days because he wouldn't go pee before the bus came. We dealt with him screaming on the potty as we forced him to sit there until he went because it had been 4 hours. He has the most amazing bladder control, which is great, but also a struggle because he would not let the pee go. I think a lot of it was due to his stubbornness. If he went pee then we had won and he lost.

However, after a week of this and only 2 accidents, he is dry and going on his own and even waking up dry in the morning in regular underwear. Once we got through that week it was a breeze.

We also found he was really motivated by these growing capsules. We went through three packages during a week and a half of potty training. Every time he went potty he got to pick one and put it in a cup of water and watch it grow into something. They really were "magic"!

Now he goes without them but he does sometimes say to me "I want a dino" or "I want a dolphin." I told him they were all gone and isn't it nice to be dry?! I think he really likes being a big boy and he makes sure to tell everyone when "the pee pee is coming" as he releases it on the toilet. It really was a huge deal to him once he figured that out.

Now if he can motivate Ruby to be potty trained by the end of the year maybe we will actually only have 2 in diapers!!

"How are you feeling?"

The most common question I get from anyone lately is "how are you feeling?" I think these pictures pretty much sum it up...

Last weekend was conference weekend. I gave the kids stickers to play with while we listened to conference. It kept them pretty busy during most of Sunday. This was their favorite place to stick stickers.

Ruby thought it was so much fun that she decided to do it again today as I was sitting at the computer.

When I look at these pictures I realize how big I really am. I am getting to the point where I don't really try to bend over to pick things up off the floor anymore. If I really want it I can usually use my toes to pick it up....or it can just stay there until someone else picks it up.

Every week that I clean the bathrooms and do the laundry I wonder how many more weeks I will be able to do this. At what point do I have someone come in and do these things for me?

I'm not really working out anymore as going up and down the stairs is enough of a workout for me. A few weeks ago I decided I wasn't going to walk with my friends in the morning anymore. After going almost 5 miles with them and being whipped out for the rest of the day I decided that it wasn't worth it. I was so sore and tired that I really couldn't do much of anything. Now I will occasionally walk two miles or do some prenatal workouts, but nothing like I used to do. It just isn't worth being on bed rest. I have also made it a goal to lay down for 30 minutes to an hour every afternoon as I find that I feel so much better when I do this. The weight is off of my pelvis when I lay down and I feel like I can breathe.

The greatest blessing with this pregnancy is that I haven't really had any issues with varicose veins which were terrible with my other pregnancies. I think that is a huge tender mercy as it has allowed me to still stand and make dinner and take care of my family. Hopefully it stays that way.