Strawberry Rice Krispie Treats

I don't think I've tried a new recipe since I found out I was pregnant. I love trying new recipes, but I've just been too tired. But, last night while I was at Target, I saw these.


Mmmm....strawberry marshmallows and on the back was a recipe for strawberry rice krispie treats. The perfect treat for me to make--it's super easy and fast and I get to try a new recipe. They were so easy to make. Just melt 3 tablespoons of butter in the microwave, add the bag of marshmallows to the buter, toss to coat and put back in the microwave for a minute or so until the marshmallows are melted. Add 6 cups of rice krispies and stir together. Pour into a 13x9 pan that has been coated with non-stick spray and pack tight. Let cool and cut into bars. We both thought they were really good--so good that we didn't even get a picture of them before we dug in.

Nursery & Bath

I spent some time Tuesday working on the nursery. I'm still far from finished, but I thought I'd go ahead and post some pictures of my progress so far. I've posted an album with all the pictures on our Shutterfly website We still need to hang the curtains, put the boys names over the cribs, finish organizing the rest of the baby stuff that's still out, put some decorative touches on the walls, etc.

Our two dresers and my comfy rocking chair.

The two cribs. I'm going to put the boys names above the cribs (if we ever decide on names), they each have matching monkey mobiles.

The long dresser that we're going to use as the changing station. There's so much wall space above the dresser. I plan to put two big canvas pictures above this dresser of the boys' newborn pictures.

The closet system that Greg installed. Still needs a little organizing, but I love it. I was lucky to get so many cute baskets for my baby shower, they are perfect for storing things. I still have several that aren't in the picture that I'm going to use in the boys' bathroom and throughout the house to store the boys things in.
Clothes! There's so many because we have two of almost of their outfits. My friend, Elena & sister-in-law Carrie both have boys that will be three at the end of the year and they handed me down their outfits that their boys have outgrown. I have filled the tall dresser with outfits that they were so nice to give me, plus I have several bins full in the basement.


We stuck with brown and blue in their bathroom as well. We didn't do that on purpose, I just found a cute shower curtain at Target that I liked and it happened to be brown and blue.
You can't really see the bottom of the shower curtain, but it has whales on it.

More uses for baskets. I got this for 50% off at Michael's. I bought two in two different sizes. I have one in the nursery as well. I think it's cute and not too girly.

I still have a lot to do before the boys get here, but I have no idea how I'm going to get it all done. Last night, we had to go to the hospital again to have my contractions stopped. The doctor said that I might have to come in several times over the next couple weeks to get them to stopped since I'm only 33 weeks along and the doctor doesn't want me going into labor before August. I was told to relax, take it easy, & stay off my feet as much as I can. I'm also supposed to stay indoors and away from the heat, and to drink plenty of water. Starting in August, I can start doing more since it won't matter if I do too much and cause myself to go into labor since I'll be so far along and the boys will be at a point where they will be completely fine when they're born. The doctor thinks that they're doing so well (and growing so big) that they would probably be fine now if I delivered them, but we're not going to take that chance. So, I'm home bored out of my mind, feeling super guilty about all the stuff that needs to be done. I would try and do some little things but everytime I get up and start walking around I start having braxton hicks, so I'm just laying in bed today and hoping tomorrow I'm able to do more.

Doctor's Appointment and Ultrasound

Today we had our 32 week check up and an ultrasound. According to my weekly BabyCenter e-mails and "What To Expect When Expecting" the babies should be around 3.75lbs and 4lbs at 32 weeks. So imagine our surprise when we found out that one of the boys is 4lbs 9oz and the other is 4lb 6oz. I couldn't believe it! I'm carrying about 9lbs of baby and I'm only 32 weeks. We were both so excited though. It's great that the boys are growing so well and that they are so close in size. Everything on the ultrasound looked great. We're supposed to be starting our weekly appointments soon, but the doctor felt that everything is going so well, that we can follow up in 2 weeks and then start the weekly appointments.

I am not any closer to delivering than I was 4 weeks ago at my last ultrasound, which is great news. I mentioned in my last post that Greg and I had to go to the hospital, so here's the story behind that: The last Sunday in June I started having a ton of Braxton Hicks and the books/BabyCenter emails say if you have more than 4 an hour, call your doctor. I was having more than that, but they didn't hurt at all and I wasn't having any other symptoms. I laid down and drank a ton of water, but I kept having them, so to be on the safe side I figured I'd call a doctor I work with and see what she thought I should do. She suggested to lay down and give it another hour and if they didn't let up, to call my OB. So, when I laid down and started counting them, and had 4 in 8 minutes, Greg said that we weren't waiting an hour, to call the OB right away. He wanted me to come in to make sure I wasn't in preterm labor. We went in and the contractions were exactly 2 minutes apart, so they gave me a shot to make them stop. The doctor checked to make sure I wasn't dilated, which I wasn't and the shot worked great to stop the contractions. They monitored me for a little bit, then let me go. It wasn't a big deal, but because of that and the fact that I'm so far along with twins, the doctor didn't want me going out of town. It's something that could be an isolated incident they said, or it could become a frequent occurance. But, I haven't had any problems since then, so we're hoping it was a one time thing.

Starting next week, I will be reducing my work weeks to 3 days a week. I think work has been great at keeping me busy and making the time fly by, but I'm starting to get to the uncomfortable part of the pregnancy and the 40 hour work week is just becoming too exhausting. I'm so tired at the end of the day that I am completely useless. I come home and lay in the bed and watch tv until we go to sleep at 9:00. On the weekends, there's so many things that we need to get done, so I feel guilty for relaxing on the only 2 days we have to get stuff done. . So, having 2 days off a week for the rest of the month will be so nice. I plan on working the first couple of days in August, but then starting my maternity leave. Yay!

Here's a couple of maternity pictures. These pictures were taken by Kris Grimes, Greg's friend and coworker.

This one was taken at the beginning of June



This one was taken at my baby shower back in May.






I'm hoping to get a little more done in the baby room this weekend so I can finally post some pictures of that. Even if we don't, I might have to suck it up and take some pictures of it unfinished because I've been promising my mom some pictures for a couple of weeks now. We've done a lot but there's still a lot to do.

Sad News

I can't believe it's been almost 2 months since I've blogged last. I've been so lazy, I'd blame it on being 32 weeks pregnant with twins, but it's really just that I'm lazy. I even made a promise to my cousin, Jennifer, that I would update my blog by last Friday--but I missed that deadline. So, here I am a few days late, but I'm finally hoping to start updating this blog several times a week. Starting next week, I'm cutting my hours at work back to 3 days a week, so that should give me some more time. I started this blog to be a light, fun update on how our lives are going and had no plans to put anything depressing in it-when it comes to stuff like that, I'm much more private. However, I don't feel right not mentioning the things that have happened this past weekend.

My Granny is dying. Everybody in the family is down in Tennesee right now spending her last few days left saying good bye and spending time with her. We weren't able to go because my doctor advised against it, not only am I 32 weeks pregnant with twins, but we had to go to the hospital last week because I was having contractions that I had to get a shot to stop (more on that in a future post), so unfortunately we were not able to go down there and say goodbye to her. They expect her to pass any day now and it breaks my heart. I love my Granny and feel so bad for my mom having to go through this after just losing my papaw (her dad) 6 months ago. It kills me now not being able to be there for my mom.

Yesterday we received some very devestating news from Greg's brother, Eric. His wife, Carrie, who was due on June 30th with their daughter, Claire, went to the hospital because her water broke. When she got there, they found that Claire did not have a heartbeat and had died. The doctor's aren't sure what happened. But I cannot even put into words how sad I am for Eric and Carrie, and their 2 1/2 year old son Ian. I'm so sad for the whole family, who was so ecstatic to welcome the first "Westover" girl into the world. Greg and I have done nothing but think of them since we recieved the news. We feel helpless and wish there was something we could do for them. We can't fly out to Arizona to be with the family due to the reasons I mentioned earlier. So, we're just keeping them in our thoughts.

So, needless to say, it has been a very sad weekend. We're just thinking of our families and wishing we could be there for them. I really wish there was more that we could do for them right now.

Food & Family

Last weekend we finally made the trip down to Tennessee to see my family. We've been wanting to get down there for awhile, it'd been so long since we've seen everybody. I got off a couple of hours early on Friday and made the 6 hour drive down. My dad and sister came up and we all stayed with my aunt Ethel. My aunt Glenna also stayed with her--so there was a full house. Friday night, my cousin Holly stopped by for awhile and my cousin Carla, her husband and her twin girls got to come by for a little bit. Her girls are almost 2 years old and this was the first time I met them. Seeing how precious they were definitely got me excited for our twins arrival.

On Saturday, my aunt Georgia and cousin Rene came over and we all had a delicious, home cooked breakfast. Afterward, me, Greg, my dad and Caroline drove to my grandma's and got to see her and my mom. They were having a cookout later on that day, so we we're able to get to see several aunts & uncles on my mom's side as well. Then we left to meet up with my dad's side of the family for dinner. There was a huge group of us, I'm going to list the family members that were able to make it for my memory and also to show just how big my family is. My aunt Ethel & her daughter Holly, my aunt and uncle Glenna and Bob, one of their twin sons, Kevin and his wife Jody and their son, Mason, My aunt Georgia and uncle Bob and 2 of the 3 daughters, Rene and Jennifer and Jennifer's cute little girl, Kendra, My uncle David, my uncle and aunt Pete & Susie and their daughter Heather. And I think that was all, I'm sure I'm forgetting some (hopefully not--I'd feel awful) It was so nice to see everybody and catch up. It'd had been way too long since seeing them. Greg and I have been married 11 years and he actually met people in my family that he's never met. I was so happy to see everybody and it was especially fun getting to meet my cousin's kids that I have never met, I have the cutest little cousins ever.

Unfortunately, we had to leave early Sunday morning. We both had to work Monday, but it was nice to see everybody, even if it was for a short while.

The reason I named this post "food and family" is because I felt like we stuffed ourselves silly the whole weekend. Besides seeing family and catching up--we ate! I'm lucky (my waist is not) that my family can really cook. We arrived Friday night to have fresh cornbread and beans ready to eat the second we walked in the door and homemade fudge for dessert. Saturday morning we had a huge breakfast with eggs, biscuits, homemade sausage gravy, homemade blackberry jam, and donuts. It was all so delicious! I'm going to have to work on my cooking skills before the boys come! I want them to love my cooking as much as I love my parents and the rest of my familys' cooking.

Several of us posing after dinner. The sun was right in our face, not the best location for a picture.

Names & Nurseries

So, we are not sold on the name "Landon". I like it, but neither of us love it. So, we've been throwing around some other names and I have a bad feeling we won't be making a decision anytime soon. & although I'm pretty sure we will, there's a slight chance that we may not go with the name "Carter" either. I have had that name picked out for 9 years! I fell in love with the name when Greg and I started watching ER in our first apartment in Tucson. Noah Wyle's character is named John Carter, but everybody called him "Carter" and I loved it. I decided then and there that would be the name of our first born son. There has never been a question in my mind, it was perfect. It's cute, it's simple, it wasn't common but not too weird. Well, the other night while searching for nursery ideas on HGTV's Rate My Space, it seemed like every other nursery had the name Carter on the wall. I'm really disappointed about this, I love this name and part of the appeal was that it wasn't super common. I can't imagine not using the name now, but I'm going to sit down with some name books and consider all our options before we decide on the names for sure.

The runner up right now for the 2nd name is Anderson. Greg also likes the name Justin, which I like, but don't love. Greg also likes Parker. On my list of names to consider are: Brantely, Brayden (or Braeden), Brandon, Bradley, James, Dylan, Jackson, Harrison, and Sawyer. I guess I'll be spending most of my free time reading name books and going to name websites until we find a few more that Greg and I can agree on.

So, I've been searching for nursery ideas. We're painting the nursery blue and chocolate brown, but I'm not sure how I want to do it. Below are some pictures I found on the internet that will hopefully inspire me.







I only downloaded this one because I liked the black and white pictures in the nursery.








I know I'd like the nursery to be simple and not too "themey" I think it'll be much easier to buy things for the nursery if I'm just looking to match the colors instead of match an entire theme. I also have a tendency to change my mind a lot, so it'll make it cheaper and easier to change out a few things (blankets, mobiles, frames) when I get bored. I know that I want their names in letters over the cribs. I also know that I want to get two black and white canvas pictures, one of each of them and hang them in the room. That's about as far as I've got on the nursery planning. I know I need to step it up, August will be here before we know it.

One last thing. Here's a picture of what my belly looks like now. We've been so lazy about taking pictures and this one is awful. Awful location, awful lighting. But, I wanted to post something, so this will do for now, but it's very motivating for me to take some better ones soon.

We're having.....

Today we found out that we are having TWO BOYS!! I can't believe it. Greg thought it was two boys all along, but I was convinced it was a boy and a girl. But, I am so happy. It didn't matter to me what we were having, I just wanted to know so we could pick out names, start planning on how to decorate the nursery, register, and start buying things. We didn't take many pictures at the visit today. We were both so exhausted. We were up late to watch the season premiere of Glee and neither of us could sleep last night, (me because I was so excited for today's appointment). But, here's the pictures we did take from today's visit.





After I got off work, I went to Target because I just had to buy a few things now that I know that I'm having boys. I picked up a few inexpensive things to hold me over until Greg and I make our big shopping trip this Saturday.



I didn't want to get to many outfits that were exactly the same. I'm going to try and get coordinating outfits, but these were so cute and they didn't have them in any other colors, so Greg convinced me to get two of these shirts. They were only $3.00!



I've decided on blue and chocolate brown for the nursery. I originally looked up green and brown nursery ideas, since I was convinved I was having a boy and a girl. I like the painting in the nursery picture below and I might do something like that in our nursery. Or I might put up chair railing & paint the bottom half chocolate brown and paint blue strips on the top half. It's nice to know what color scheme we're going with now so I can start making some decisions.


**I have no idea who this is, I google imaged "green and brown" nurseries and this came up and I loved it, so I copied and pasted it into my "nursery ideas" folder.**

As far as names go, we have decided on Carter & Landon. Carter is set in stone, but we're going to try using the name Landon for the next couple of weeks and see how we feel. I have a list a mile long of boys names that I love, but Greg is very picky and this is the first one that we've both liked besides Carter. The middle names are going to be Lewis and George after both of our dads.

I'm so excited to start my planning & shopping. I think the next 4 months are going to fly by and I hope I can get everything I want done and still have time to enjoy being pregnant before it's over.