pregnancy--26 weeks+1

My belly is HUGE...I went from looking a little full in the middle to beach ball size in three weeks! Crazy! Being pregnant across three seasons and with twins = frequent overages on the clothing budget! The babies are measuring a little ahead and are concordant in growth (for which I am very thankful, given the common complications associated with twin pregnancies). So far, everything is developing right on track. If you are wondering what it feels like to be pregnant with twins, picture yourself measuring 8 weeks ahead (like can barely bend over at 26 weeks), and feeling twice the movement in really weird places (intestines, bladder, back, kidneys--nothing is off limits).
We purchased the mom-mobile last weekend (Ford Flex), and now we are moving on to car seats and strollers. Hopefully, I will get around to the babies' registry in the next two weeks. If you are wondering what we need--we need DIAPERS and wipes, among other things spread throughout several baby registries (interpreted, no clothes, please!). We still have plenty of leftover clothes from Caleb (although we will probably need more, I prefer to buy those things myself, so spread the word!) I will most likely register at the typical baby stores, but feel free to buy something somewhere else if you find it cheaper--just make sure they accept returns, and that you get a gift receipt!

Here's to hoping I can still bend over in two weeks (looking pretty unlikely at this point!) I will try to post some pics soon.

Caleb's Antics

So, for those of you who are interested, I thought I would update you on Caleb's gross motor development at 15 months (previously known as "lack thereof"). It seems we have a fairly laid-back (aka "lazy") baby on our hands. Until now, Caleb's preferred method of self-transportation has been rolling...literally. He would not crawl, although he gets up on all fours perfectly well, and he really hasn't been interested in climbing or cruising activities. All of this has changed over the last few weeks. He can, all of the sudden, go from rolling to sitting to crawling to pulling up. He can even stand on his own for a few seconds. He walks with his little push-walker, and will let go one hand at a time, and then look at us for approval (he waits for the applause, then smiles--what a ham!). He hasn't really tried walking, yet, but I think he's really close. He is still scared to move from standing to sitting (that's pretty funny to watch--it looks like he's try to make a giant dirty diaper), but he's getting better at it.
He is very fond of waving...at himself and us, simultaneously. He waves with one hand facing forward and one hand facing himself...sort of a hello/goodbye (ie: aloha). Very entertaining. He really enjoys patting himself on the head and face. I think this may be him trying to do the "head, shoulders, knees, toes..." thing. It's cute. It's amazing to watch him change from a pet rock sort-of baby into a little mover and shaker!

TWINS!!!

OK, so I am REALLY bad at updating my blog, lately. I finally had a few minutes free of interruption--I am home (took a day off, yay!), a yummy dinner is simmering on the stove, and Travis is going to pick Caleb up from pre-school. If you know that we have a 15 month old and are expecting twins and that both of us work full-time, then you can sympathize with our lack of free time for blogging. As most of you know, we found out in July that we are expecting twins. September brought tidings of identical boys (as in, boy will we have our hands full!). As of tomorrow, we will be 25 weeks along, and we are doing well. We had the babies' echocardiograms today--each has four chambers and good outflow tracts (My medical friends will understand the significance of this great news. For the rest of you, just know that the hearts work well, have all the necessary parts, and the major blood vessels leaving the heart and entering the heart look good). We have been super-busy shopping for a car big enough to haul three car seats--hopefully, that search will end VERY soon! Next up is the babies' registries, getting the kids' play room (formerly known as the sun room) ready, buying car seats and strollers...ok, I've worn myself out, so let's talk about something else for a bit.
Caleb is doing well...he's getting taller by the minute (and skinnier--wish it was me, instead). He just got put on a high-calorie, high-fat diet today, so we will all be a little envious of Caleb's plate! He still hasn't decided to walk. We are hoping he will walk before his brothers, at this point.
Alright, I'm goint to call it quits for now. I'll upload some pics soon (family pictures being taken Sunday afternoon between work and call). I may not get back to the blog before Thanksgiving, so I will wish you all a wonderful, family and turkey-filled Thanksgiving now.
Love you all.
Wendy

Food, Family, and Fun!

Travis has been begging for these green chili cheeseburgers. Since the weather is so nice, I decided we could try the recipe during the Camp family's annual pre-summer grill initiation. He wanted onion rings on the side, so we headed to our favorite recipe collection (www.foodtv.com) to hunt down the appropriate Bobby Flay burger recipe (one of the many green chili cheeseburger recipes by said chef...this is the one with "Green Chili Sauce and provolone cheese) and Guy Fieri onion ring recipe (Rajun Cajun Onion Rings). I changed up the seasoning for the burger itself and the flour for the onion rings...they were AWESOME!!! I don't want to brag (well, maybe a little), but the onion rings have been compared to Mojo's. They're not quite as crunchy, and MAYBE a tad bit more greasy (need to use hotter oil), but I think they'll come along nicely with a little practice. Caleb even wanted to give them a try...but had to settle for the pureed version (just the burger and the chili sauce pureed in the food pro with a little water). Caleb's version wasn't quite as appealing, visually (as you can see from the pic of the pureed version below), but he didn't seem to mind. Sarah took some pics, so you guys can enjoy the deliciousness along with us. Bon appetit!

For those of you who like cauliflower...

For dinner last night, I made a spicy cajun shrimp pasta; it was decent, but nothing to write home about.  I cooked some chopped bacon, added shrimp, then tomatoes, minced garlic, scampi sauce, lemon juice and white wine--I let all of those things hang out for a few minutes, then added them to some bowtie pasta.  I was going to make a salad and call it a meal, but I felt like trying something different.  Travis REALLY likes cauliflower, and has been practically begging me to make some.  I don't have a craving for the  mushy white "broccolli", so I've been putting it off for a while.  Growing up, I had only had cauliflower "Southern Style", meaning steamed until mushy and swimming in butter (seriously, the leftovers would have a "skim" of butter when you opened the container--the same goes for just about any vegetable my grandma would cook).  But, lo and behold, I was checking out the recipes in the Thanksgiving edition of the FNM, and found this recipe called "Roasted Cauliflower with Dates and Pine Nuts", which I had to try, because, like I said, Travis has been begging for months to have cauliflower.  The recipe is as follows:

1 large head cauliflower, broken into florets
1/2 cup medjool dates, pitted and coarsely chopped
1/3 cup pine nuts
4 tbsp butter (unsalted)
1 clove garlic, minced
preheat oven to 425 F.  Place florets on baking sheet, add salt and pepper to taste, and roast for 20 minutes (toss once about half-way through).  Meanwhile, melt butter on medium heat, then add pine nuts and cook, stirring frequently, until pine nuts are brown (about 5 minutes).  Then, add dates and garlic, and stir frequently until dates are softened.  When the cauliflower is tender and browned on the tops, remove it from the oven and put it in a serving dish, then drizzle with the pine nut/date mixture.

While I was eating, some stray bacon pieces from my pasta migrated into my roasted cauliflower with dates and pine nuts, and the light-bulb went off...should have cooked the pine nuts in some bacon (because we know that bacon makes everything better) instead of butter.  So, next time, I will chop 4 or 5 pieces of thick sliced bacon and saute the pine nuts with the bacon, then add the garlic and dates...should be tasty!