Perfecting Imperfection

First of all – Easter rocked!  Check it out -

We colored Easter eggs

We ate Easter Pizza (that’s what we call it at least)

We were invaded by GIANT Easter Bunnies

We had Easter egg hunts

We wore Bunny Ears (or at least THEY wore them!)

Now ~ we have so much Easter candy I don’t know what we are going to do with it all.  We have more than I could ever allow my children to eat – Easter has totally rivaled Halloween this year.  They got candy at the Easter Party we went to a few weeks ago.  Nate got some candy from school (not as much candy as other stuff, though – which was nice).  They got candy from my husband’s parents.  They got candy from my parents.  They got candy from the “Easter Bunny” (though only a few little eggs with jelly beans and a big chocolate bunny).  They got candy from my sister-in-law.  HELP!  I would like to do something fun with the chocolate…melt it down, maybe?  Any suggestions?  What do you do with all the candy? 

Oh…and…um ~ I reached 75 followers this weekend.  That is a really big deal for me…I’m kind of in awe, actually.  Thank you for finding me interesting enough to listen to while I’m rambling!  *totally blushing*

So ~ over at Multiples and More they are celebrating their First Blogiversary.  To commemorate the ending of this week long event, they put up a MckLinky for all sites to link up on.  That’s where I found this. Which has inspired me to elaborate on this – the day we found out we were having TWINS!

I think my original post about finding out we were having twins wasn’t a very good one.  Mainly because I wrote it the day AFTER we found out.  The excitement/fun had worn off and I had already started to worry. 

It was the Wednesday before Easter – I remember because I had my Easter Party with my preschool class the day before and had promised to call the school and tell them if I found out the sex of the baby at the ultrasound the next day. 

Jerry wasn’t excited.  He was more annoyed than anything else because he was “skipping” work to come to the ultrasound.  We had set it up so that he would still make it to work in time to have his weekly conference call with one of his higher ups, who knew where he was going and approved it and all, but Jerry likes routine and this was messing with his routine.  It didn’t help that we waited in the waiting room for a good 25 minutes after our scheduled appointment time had come and gone.  My mom had come to sit with the “big” kids and he was nervous we were keeping her from doing something, too. 

When we finally got back there, the ultrasound tech looked at me like I had 6 heads.  She just couldn’t understand why I was coming in at 18 weeks and not a few weeks later.  She sounded very pessimistic about being able to determine the gender.  I explained that the OB said I was measuring a little bit big and that she just wanted to check the size of the baby to make sure everything was ok.  The ultrasound tech didn’t even turn the screen so I could see as she started.  I wasn’t happy at all – I was actually feeling really disappointed.  Then I saw Jerry make a funny face from the bottom of the table.  I felt the ultrasound tech move from one spot to the other.  Jerry turned his head sideways.

“Well, honey, I know why you are measuring big.”  I think I held my breath here – waiting for some horrible news. “You are having twins!”

The next 30 seconds were a blur.  I remember Jerry’s initial reaction perfectly.  “Oh shit.” he said as he kind of crouched down and covered his face with his hands.  Then he rushed over to me…and the roller coaster ride began at the top again.

We learned from that visit that the twins had separate sacs and separate placentas.  Baby B was most likely a boy (she was 75% sure) They were most likely fraternal – not identical, but we were told that didn’t mean they wouldn’t look alike (they look NOTHING alike). 

We spent the next 40 minutes getting measured and measured again – everything looked great.  I remember the lady doing the ultrasound was the mother of twins.  She was showing an intern the “ropes” and that intern was a twin herself!  What are the chances?  We spent the car ride home trying to decide how to tell people.

Telling people was a lot of fun, actually.  We used pretty much the same approach with everyone.  They asked how the ultrasound went…we showed them one set of pictures.  They gushed over them – asking if we knew the sex.  We said no.  Then we would ask them to look up in the corner – they would then say, “Why does it say Baby A?” We would then whip out the second set of pics and say, “Because they are pretty sure that Baby B is a boy.”  This approach made both my parents cry and Jerry’s mom decide she needed a drink!  (she almost NEVER drinks!)

I did tell my brother and sister-in-law over the phone.  My brother-in-law was first and I just blurted it out because he sounded concerned about why I was calling him at work on a Wednesday.  My sister-in-law thought she didn’t hear me right when I said “they couldn’t tell on the first one”.  She said something about that being too bad but we would probably be able to find out next time.  So then I said something about how big Baby A was and that made her pause…and then ask me what the heck I was talking about.

Looking back, this was really a great day!  It was so much fun letting everyone know!  It was so much fun sharing that with other people.  The months that followed were rocky.  We had moments when we were sure we wouldn’t be able to do this.  Moments when we were in awe that there were 2 babies fighting it out in my belly.  Moments when we were scared.  Moments when we were excited.  It’s funny how all of that seems kind of silly now – now that we’ve been doing this for almost 7 months.  I wonder what we worried so much about.  It’s hard to imagine life any different than it is right now.  It’s hard to imagine life before I found out I was having twins.

That was almost a year ago – but I think I will always think about that day around Easter.  We were really celebrating new life that Easter – not only 1 new life, which were were expecting, but a second new life that was an amazing blessing!

If you are here from Friday Follow ~ Welcome!

Feel free to find out a little more about me and my family at My Kiddos page and my About Me page!  If you follow, make sure to leave me a comment so I can stop by and return the favor!

It’s also time for the next edition of 5 Question Friday ~ which I haven’t done in a while but decided to start up again this week.

You can play along by copy and pasting the questions from Mama M’s site and linking up to her MckLinky!

1. Do you sing out loud in the car when you're driving?

Yes ~ I sing out loud in the car when I am driving…alone, that is.  I don’t sing out loud if anyone else is in the car with me.  In fact, I LOVE singing out loud when I’m driving – I usually try to calm down a bit when I get to a stop light or intersection where someone may see me, though.

2. What would you never be caught doing?

Everything I thought of here was hygiene related – gross as it is, my personal hygiene has taken a hit since having 4 kids.  I just don’t seem to have enough time to pay the same kind of attention to it that I use to…so it would either be a) using mouthwash instead of brushing my teeth on the way out the door (just call me Ms. Simpson) or b) picking my nose…I know that everyone does it, but you don’t really want other people to see you doing it.

3. Will you go #2 in a public restroom?

Yes,  I have HAD to – no way I was going to make it if I didn’t.  This is because I had my gall bladder removed a few years ago and every once in a great while something I eat will upset me so much that it’s a race to the restroom.  Aren’t you glad that was a featured question this week? 

4. Have you ever broken a bone?

No, not unless you count my nose – which isn’t really a bone, right?

5. Do you prefer cooking or baking?

Cooking!  I HATE baking, in fact.  I never time the oven right – or know exactly when it’s done…so usually I end up with brownies that aren’t really done enough and cookies that are a little “dark” on the bottom.

With that being said…here is my “menu” for the upcoming week!

Friday – Fish Sandwiches (it is Good Friday, after all!)

Saturday – Dinner @ my Mom and Dad’s (so far this menu planning thing is pretty easy!)

Sunday – Dinner @ my SIL’s for Easter (I am making these to take, so it’s not a completely cook free day!)

Monday – Chicken Noodle Casserole

Tuesday – Burgers and Dog and Fries on the Grill (it’s my birthday – and I LOVE a good Cheeseburger…well done, though)

Wednesday – Pasta with mushrooms and peppers

Thursday- Breaded Pork Chops

I kind of cheated by using recipes I knew I had some stuff for and were pretty easy this week.

Have a great Friday!

I didn’t have to make grocery lists.  I HATE making grocery lists.  I HATE planning meals and trying to have the foresight needed to know what I’m going to feel like eating/making for the next week or so.  I wish someone else could do this for me…but, I’m the Mama/Wife and it’s part of my job description, right?

I’m working on a couple different ideas to make this a little bit easier.  I’m eventually going to figure something out that makes this whole process much much easier – probably around the time I’m going to be spending triple what I spend now at the grocery store.  In case you missed it, I have 4 kids – 3 boys!  Eventually, they will stop being so picky and just start eating everything in sight.  I really hope I have a better game plan by the time that happens!

Anyway ~ I thought I’d share 2 of my tools with you…not that they have single-handedly made this task any easier, but they are worth a look. 

First, this is where I got the Grocery List/Menu Planner (it’s the Menu Grocery List if you go to download it) I use each week.  I LOVE it because I do exactly what Kate does here – I got a clipboard at the dollar store and just clip it to my fridge.  Also, I save weeks past – which is really convenient when I’m looking for something we liked with all of the ingredients listed right there.  I mainly use it for dinner, but have also used it for breakfast if I feel like doing something special when we are all home together (like we will be this Tuesday!).

Next, allrecipes.com is the sight I go to for recipes.  I have cookbooks that I love to look through when I have time – because you know I have a ton of extra time on my hands.  I go to All Recipes, though, when I am looking for something specific.  They have a great search feature!  Plus, you can create your own online recipe box to keep recipes you like in…so I’ll head over there when I’m meal planning to pick stuff I know we like and I can actually make!

I read somewhere – I wish I had the link to share with you…but I can’t for the life of me remember which blog I was reading, (if it’s yours, send me the link and I’ll add it) - that it would simplify meal planning and life in general if you picked a theme for each day of the week.  I’m thinking of giving that a try.  Here’s what I’m thinking:

Monday – Chicken

Tuesday – Ground Meat

Wednesday – Pasta

Thursday – Pork (we love pork chops!)

Friday – Fish

Saturday – Leftovers or out somewhere

Sunday – Dinner with Mom and Dad/Family

This Sunday is Easter so we will be at Jerry’s sister’s house.  We’ll see how this plan works – I’m going to try planning meals starting with tomorrow (Friday) and then for 1 week…I’ll post my “menu” when I’m done – with links if I use allrecipe.com.

I’d love any suggestions on how to make this process easier or just tell me what you do!  I know that eventually I will laugh that this was even a big deal for me – I’ll be a pro, someday.  Right now, though, I HATE this part of being the Mama/Wife!

BTW ~ I’m making these for Easter on Sunday.  I’m going to take them to my SIL’s for an appetizer.  So, I’ll have to remember to add the ingredients to my list!  You should go check them out – and maybe vote for them for The Brown Eyed Baker!  You could win $300!  Wouldn’t that be a nice chunk to help fill the freezer?