Thursday, March 29, 2012

Nursery Art

I finished a small 4-piece project for the nursery last night.  It wasn't much but I think it turned out cute.  

First I made some prints on picnik. I've shown 2 of them before back when I posted about the babies' names.  Here are the jpegs of the prints.





I had Sam's Online Photo Center print them, and they were mailed to my house this week.  After they came in, I paid a visit to Hobby Lobby (where frames are always 50% off) to find white semi-ornate frames.

When I got home from work yesterday, I wiped the frames off, cleaned the glass, and put all the prints in them.  I laid them out on the nursery floor in the same arrangement that I want use on the wall.  I plan to hang them on the wall to the right of the window, above where the rocker/recliner will sit.  




I am ready to get everything hung and in place, but we are still waiting on the dressers, nightstand, bedding, and rocker/recliner.

Monday, March 26, 2012

Happy Birthday Ruby Girl!

If you don't like dogs or think dog lovers are weird or wrong, then don't read on...

Our puppy Ruby [aka Rubes, Ruby Dooby, Rubilicious Dog], turned 2 today! No matter how old she is, I will still refer to her as a 'puppy.'

We got Ruby on June 11, 2010.  It's hard to believe we've had her for almost 2 years! She is beyond adorable and has the sweetest temperament. She makes it so fun to come home after a long day because I know without a doubt I will be greeted with exuberant tail wagging, hugs, and kisses.



Although she is just a dog, she has been therapeutic for me in many ways. She comforted me and softened the pain I would repeatedly feel during all the months we tried to get pregnant. She was also by my side comforting me at my parents' house the night my granny passed away. She is very intuitive and knows when I am crying and upset because she'll crawl up in my lap and put her sweet face right up by mine. She's the ultimate cuddle bug and has to be by me or Tom at all times. She definitely fulfills her roll as a lap dog perfectly.

I am so glad I wore Tom down on the idea of getting a dog for our family. I love it when he mentions out of the blue how glad he is that we got her. Ruby has worked her way into his heart and converted him from his non-dog person ways. ;) That'a girl Rubes!

I got out my iPhone to take a picture of her this morning and she laid down with this pose.  What a lady. :)


Poor thing will soon have 4 little hands pulling and tugging her ears and tail. But I know by watching how calm and docile she is around the children of our family and friends that she will be sweet with our babies, which makes my heart happy.



We love you Rubes!  We are glad you chose us as your family!

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Week 26

[I wasn't feeling picture day, can ya tell?]

How Far Along:  26 Weeks

Size of Babies: The Babies are about 14 inches long and weigh about 1.5 lbs.

Total Weight Gain: +20 lbs total as of my March 15th appointment

Maternity Clothes: I wear mostly maternity clothes, but I can still wear some of my regular tops and dresses.  I'm not sure the regular tops and dresses will fit for much longer though!

Gender: It's a Boy and Girl - Grady Warren and Wren Elizabeth! :) :)

Movement: Feeling LOTS of movement and kicking.  I can also see the kicking from the outside now. :)

Sleep:  Interrupted nightly for multiple potty breaks and mild discomfort

What I Miss: Sleeping on my tummy

Cravings: SWEETS!

Symptoms: I'm exhausted by the end of the day most days.  But there are days where I'll have an unusual amount of energy and I'm rearing to conquer the long list of to-do's in my head.  I have this huge sense of urgency to get everything done immediately.  Probably because I have the fear of doctor ordered bed rest or complications. I'm sure Tom thinks I've lost it, or maybe he's used to it by now.

Best Moment(s) So Far:  The continued celebrating with friends and family at our second and third baby showers! :) We are extremely thankful and blessed!!!

Other "best" moments include the times I've spent with my mom planning, hanging tiny clothes in the nursery closet, setting up baby gear, and just enjoying this season of anticipation together.  :)

Monday, March 12, 2012

Guess What?!

Yes, sadly Picnik is closing.  I've been pre-grieving their closing date of April 19, 2012. 

But guess what?!  There seems to be a suitable alternative, and it's free with no registration required.  Enter, PicMonkey!  I've only briefly messed with it, but it seems to offer many of the same features as Picnik.  PicMonkey's homepage says "Collage and more coming soon!"  So, that's exciting!  I am elated that I will still have an online photo editing tool.


Go check it out!

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Week 24


How Far Along:  24 Weeks

Size of Babies: The Babies are almost 12 inches long and weigh about 1 lb 2 oz [per our March 1st ultrasound stats].  I thought I'd add the pic of fraternal twins at 24 weeks from babycenter.com for reference.  It is still so amazingly crazy to me that there are TWO people inside my tummy!


Total Weight Gain: +19.4 lbs total as of my March 1st appointment

Maternity Clothes: I wear mostly maternity clothes, but I can still wear some of my regular tops and dresses

Gender: It's a Boy and Girl - Grady Warren and Wren Elizabeth! :) :)

Movement: I'm feeling LOTS of movement and kicking.  The first "official" kick Tom felt was while our ultrasound tech was taking a break from scanning us on March 1st.  It was Grady that kicked him.  He was moving all around, which is what we needed him to do and why the tech had to take a break. She was having a hard time getting good images of his heart.  After she came back from her break he was in a better position and ready for his close ups.

Sleep:  Interrupted nightly for multiple potty breaks and mild discomfort

What I Miss: Sleeping on my tummy

Cravings: SWEETS!

Symptoms:  The swelling is here to stay.  My OB said it's going to get worse before it gets better.  So glad flip flop season is near!

Best Moment(s) So Far:  Celebrating with sweet friends and family at our first baby shower! :)  We are feeling so overwhelmingly loved on and blessed!

Saturday, March 3, 2012

The Name Game

Our sweet babies have names...


'Grady' is the name of Tom's great grandfather on his dad's side.  Tom's family thinks he favors Grady in the looks department.  After I learned this family name, before I ever got pregnant, Tom and I decided we loved that name and would like to use it if we had a son.  'Warren' is the name of Tom's grandfather on his dad's side and subsequently Tom's middle name, which I've always loved.  So there you have it, Grady Warren is our son! :)


'Wren' is kind of from out of nowhere and Tom and I just like it. Wren means songbird, which I hope she is. :)  I can't wait to sing with her (and Grady too). 'Elizabeth' is a beautiful name that is dear to my heart.  It is my mom's name and is also my middle name.  I learned not too long ago that it's also the middle name of Tom's grandmother on his dad's side.

We didn't necessarily set out to use mostly family names, but it just kind of worked out that way.

Austin Anniversary Trip Day 4 Recap

Austin: Day 4 - Monday, February 27

We woke up, finished packing up, and went to eat breakfast at Austin Java.  

After breakfast we checked out of our hotel and headed to the airport to turn in our rental car.  We had some downtime in the airport because we had to get there way earlier than our flight due to when our rental car had to be back.  It gave us time to eat lunch, catch up on social media, emails, and an episode of Parenthood.  :) All the important stuff.  Oh! And there was an Amy's Ice Cream in the terminal by our gate, so of course I had to get one more Mexican vanilla ice cream cone. ;)  Can you tell this trip pretty much revolved around food?


We had a good time in Austin celebrating our 6th Anniversary, our last trip together, just us, before our kiddos arrive. My oh my, I imagine our next anniversary is going to look MUCH different! :)

Austin Anniversary Trip Day 3 Recap

Austin: Day 3 - Sunday, February 26

On Sunday morning we had an early brunch at Moonshine Patio Bar & Grill. Having Sunday brunch at Moonshine was a 'must do' per my friend Amanda. So, of course we had to follow her suggestion. It was so good and I was incredibly full ALL day from it.




After brunch, we visited Jen & Brandon Hatmaker's church, Austin New Church (ANC). Jen Hatmaker is an amazingly challenging and witty author/speaker.  I've heard her speak several times, I've read her books, and I read her blog. [She's also friends with some of my friends.] If her name is not familiar to you, click on her name above to see her blog and check her out!

Side Note to the Day 3 Recap:
ANC was participating in Freedom Sunday, promoting awareness and action against human trafficking/sex slavery. ANC is combating human trafficking in Haiti by partnering with H.E.L.P. to build safe homes for female orphans who have aged out of orphanages. These homes built by donations will change the lives of these victimized/enslaved young women by giving them a safe dwelling away from the danger of those who use/abuse them as sex slaves. 

God got a hold of our hearts in a big way through the stories of those who had been to Haiti, pictures, and the original song sung by worship leader, Lamar Stockton. Sex trafficking IS NOT okay and we could not merely watch and learn of these efforts and just walk out of that church without committing with them to combat this terrible, real, and huge issue. If this is something you feel you should give towards, please check out this site out to help: garagesale4orphans, an initiative of H.E.L.P.  The previous link will take you to H.E.L.P.'s active projects and you will see Jen Hatmaker's Anti-Trafficking Home #1, in which the readers of her book, "7" are donating to. It only takes $6,000 to build a house! That is crazy cheap compared with what our houses in America cost. With enough donations, several houses could be built and lives forever changed!

Back to the recap:
Still full from brunch, we skipped lunch went to enjoy the beautiful weather at Zilker Park on Town Lake.  After relaxing at and strolling around the park, we went to a local Austin ice creamery, Amy's Ice Cream. I got a yummy Mexican vanilla cone and Tom got the coffee lobster mix (coffee ice cream with heath bar mixed in and topped with hot fudge). No idea why 'lobster' is in the name, probably just because Austin is weird. :) After Amy's, Tom wanted to drive over to the campus of University of Texas at Austin and check it out. Don't worry we documented a horns down in front of the humongous stadium.







Tom wanted Mexican food for dinner, so we dined at Guero's Taco Bar on South Congress.  It was alright, but nothing compared to our Mexican food back home. 

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Austin Anniversary Trip Day 2 Recap

Austin: Day 2 - Saturday, February 25 [Anniversary Day]

On Saturday we got up and around super early because we couldn't sleep [different bed than we're used to] and exchanged our Anniversary cards.

I saw a bakery named Sweetish Hill while driving on Friday that looked like it was worth a try, so we ate breakfast there.



After breakfast we drove down to San Marcos to check out the outlets. Because I'm not in regular clothes right now and my feet are swollen and might even grow due to pregnancy, shopping for clothes and shoes was out. I'm afraid to buy baby clothes because I don't know how big they'll be in any given season. The babies might be on the small side since they're twins and will be early. And I couldn't buy home stuff because I don't need anything nor would I be able to fit much in our small suitcases. So we mainly looked.  But there was a maternity outlet and I found a dress for my baby showers.

Around 12:30pm, we headed back into Austin to hit up the food trucks on South Congress for a progressive late lunch. We started with a crepe truck and shared a small savory rotisserie chicken, spinach, and feta crepe. Then we shared pad thai at the Thai food truck named "Coat and Thai." Tom also got a small sandwich at a sub truck, of which I had a bite or two.


After trying the food trucks, we went back to the hotel so I could put my swollen feet up and relax for a little bit before our anniversary dinner date. Per my friend Amanda's recommendation, we ate our anniversary dinner at Chez Zee. The atmosphere was quirky but pretty with lots of twinkle lights, ornaments, etc hanging everywhere. And the food was rather tasty.







Tom's dinner:  The fish special - Amberjack with Israeli couscous, cherry tomatoes, and sauteed spinach.


My dinner: A pecan crusted goat cheese salad of mixed greens with pecan chicken, and dried cherries, tossed in a raspberry balsamic vinaigrette dressing.


Chez Zee's signature dipping oil and sourdough wheat bread.  The oil was smokey and flavored.  I found it interesting.  Tom liked it more than I did.


Dessert #1: Fresh fruit Bavarian, a sweet shortbread pastry crust filled with a creamy vanilla cheesecake,  topped with seasonal fruit [mine had blueberries] and cinnamon walnut streusel.



Dessert #2: Butterscotch Pudding served in a martini glass topped with a layer of caramel, sprinkled with sea salt, and topped with a dollop of whipped cream.  It was amazing!


It's Chez Zee's custom to give a slice of their lemon rosemary cake to those celebrating birthdays or anniversaries.  So we got a third dessert! We took the lemon rosemary cake to go because we were so full.  I didn't even touch it until the next day, and I didn't really care for it. After dinner we drove around for a bit and and then turned in for the evening.