Party of Seven. I had my first doctor's appointment on Thursday which started out with an ultrasound to make sure there was a viable pregnancy and to determine the actual due date. After the lady took some measurements and recorded the heartbeat she turned on a tv screen so I could see what was going on. "Notice anything different?" she asked. "Ummm....no"...I can never tell what's going on in those ultrasound pics until they point things out. "There's two", she said. "WHAT?!.....Are you SERIOUS?!"....I was in shock. That's right we're having twins as some of you already know. Daniel and I have briefly talked about having twins....in like a wouldn't that be cool...but never going to happen to us sort of way. Well here we are....expecting twins. With this new news comes a wave of feelings. First, Daniel and I feel like we've won the lottery or something....we're really excited and know that the odds of this although better than I thought were still against us. Daniel has often said that with twins you're getting 2 for maybe the price of 1 1/2...we'll see how right he was. Second, I'm worried that there will be problems or complications, but am hoping since so far my pregnancies have gone smooothly that this will be no exception. Third, we'll be having FIVE kids in FIVE and half years!!!....that's just a little terrifying....so yes although we're excited ...we're aware that we've got our work cut out for us. Thankfully, I happen to be moving to my home town where all of my family lives... 4 months before these babies are due. So from now on we'll be a Party of Seven............we're going to fill a minivan the second we buy one. Should we buy bigger?....not for future children...but I mean for more room? Anyway, that's our crazy news for the week....I'm still in shock and think about this constantly. At least I have a reason for eating so much....I thought I just had no self control. :)

Ashley: I have 2 Grandmas and they live in Illinois
Me: Actually you have 3.....what about Grammy?
Ashley: Grammy is not my grandma....she's my uncle's mom.

She got me there.

So the word is out to most of you.....I'm expecting....due in November around Thanksgiving. It's a little early to tell but it's hard to keep it quiet when it pretty much consumes my life these days. I mean that I feel like I'm losing my mind and my stomach most days. That's not to get sympathy...it's mostly to vent. So I have the usual nausea....but that could be worse....my sister-in-law Jessica has it much worse in terms of being physically sick....so I'm grateful for how relatively well I'm doing there. However, my mind plays tricks on me when I'm pregnant that it seems no one can relate to....so maybe I'd like to hear who can relate to this or to hear more.."hmm you really are one of a kind". Anyway so when I was pregnant with Holly there were certain shirts I bought during the first trimester that I could hardly even look at then without throwing up and now still shudder a little when I think about them.....the smell of the Abercrombie/Hollister store made me sick. In addition, songs that came out during those 3 months made my stomach turn and still bring back sickly memories. Now that I'm pregnant with PTBNL(Player to be named later....named by my dad....and what I will call this baby until it is born).....it seems that all of my old addictive habits make me nauseous. To name a few....being on the computer, watching tv, and even sleeping seem to make me think of puking. It's the weirdest thing....not necessarily a bad thing since those habits aren't the most fulfilling ways to spend my time. But, I find that when I don't feel well...I tend toward doing any one of those 3 things and that just makes it worse. You see my dilemna. The worst part of it all.....I was so excited about building our new house when I was first pregnant...nausea just taking effect....and now I can barely stand to think of our new house! So, I try to think about it as little as possible so that when I move into my new house I don't associate it with feeling sick. I tell Daniel this and he's baffled....and so are most people...even those who've been pregnant before. I have an addictive personality...I can get obsessed with things....and it seems as though....the things I'm "obsessed with" around the first trimester.....will be the things thats keep me carrying a bowl around with me. Weird huh? Sorry, I think I mentioned throwing up way too many times in this post. I promise the next one will be less disgusting.

Andrew: "Mommy, how much do I weigh?"
Me: "You weigh 44 pounds."
Andrew: "44 pounds for fighting?!"
Me: "hmmm."

Ashley: "Mommy, you're not a loser."
Me: "Thanks Ashley".....I think
Ashley: "Andrew called you a loser but you're not."
Me: "Hmm....so Andrew called me a loser?"
Ashley: "Nope.....he did last night"
Me: "Andrew did you call me a loser?"
Andrew "No....well I did last night"
Me: "Do you think I'm a loser?"
Andrew "Umm well not right now"
Very reassuring. Ahhh kids.....I'll tell myself that Andrew still doesn't understand what a loser is.....and that'll work for now. :)

Something not right at school. Over the past few months I've noticed Andrew saying things about school that leads me to believe it's not the best school in the world. The first thing he came home saying was "Mommy........ Brandon, Dimitri, and Caleb belong in Jail!" I'm guessing he didn't come up with that on his own and now he and Ashley say this regularly.....telling all who will listen about these boys misbehaving and how they will end up in jail. How sad that apparently their teacher is telling them they belong in jail...and will end up there. As if kids need someone to tell them they are doomed to fail. Then, recently Andrew came home and said "Jaun, caleb, and Brandon can't count.....they always mess up!" But, he said it in a way that I knew he was repeating what an adult had said. Andrew doesn't usually even notice things like that unless someone points it out and makes a HUGE deal out of it. Even sadder that his teachers are announcing to the class who can't count. I asked Andrew if he can count and thank goodness he said he could....it would have broken my heart if his teacher seeing him struggle would label him as the kid who can't count or "the slow one". And today he came home and said "Brandon and Caleb were actin like fools today". This, I know, did not come from Andrew's brain. His lovely teacher again apparently announced to the class that these kids were actin like fools. Finally, Andrew has asked me several times what nerves and frustrating mean...from "you're getting on my nerves and frustrating me". His teachers say this regularly to a select few he tells me. Kids are sponges and soak this stuff up....sometimes ....too often we think of them like rubber..."they won't even remember or they aren't even listening"...but as you can see not the case. You might be thinking at this point....."Why aren't you doing anything about this?!" Oh, don't worry I have plans to, but as long as Andrew isn't in the line of fire I don't want to make him a target and so I've decided to wait until either Drew tells me something about him or the end of the school year.....whichever comes first. Anyway, his teachers are nice .....I don't want to paint them as monsters....but sometimes they say things without thinking. I can't say that I never do that....I'm not a perfect mother....and it would be hard to control what I say when trying to watch 17 3-5 year-olds.....but I think they can do better.

Ashley ate a glazed donut this morning and I just told her to get a baby wipe to clean her face. After I was done giving it a good scrub Ash said " I don't think my face can take any more donuts."...cute.