Wednesday, Wednesday???!

Can you hurry up and get here, please? Okay, I've waited long enough to find out what these babies are! Will I even use any of Lilly's clothes? Will my nephew's old hand-me-downs be appropriate? Will Lilly have brother's or sister's or both? I'm so anxious to know...I can't wait but I'm also a bit nervous. If there was only one baby, I wouldn't be finding out at all...but with two babies, I need some preparation. Having twins is a happy surprise that just won't wear off.
I'm also nervous b/c looming in the back of my mind is the hope that the babies are measuring exactly normal for their gestational age. I'm hoping they measure healthy and all their stats look good. My ob/gyn gave me a 1:660 odds of Down's Syndrome. Mostly, this is due to my age and nothing that came up strange in my bloodwork or NT scan. But it still has me on edge. When I was pregnant with Lilly, I think the odds were 1:1000. It's unreal how it just drops with a few more years. It's causing me to fight with the dreaded insomnia again. For the past few nights I've been waking up at 4am and not able to go back to sleep. I'll be SO ready for these babies when they get here. My body is on high alert as it is. : )))

The Closer

We closed! YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS! I really cannot express the relief I have that the house is officially sold and we are DONE moving! For now, anyway. I have to say, it's alot of work! I already told Devon that we better find our dream house b/c we are never moving again..ha..ha. Too much. I am really enjoying this one-level living too. It's so easy to get everything done quickly. Not much to clean either, which is the BEST! I'm off to the lawyer's office today to pick up our check from the close. I told Devon I'd be good and bring it right home (even though a shopping spree sounds perfect right now! I could do some serious damage..ha!). And on another wonderful note, the sun is shining. After 3 full days of nothing but drenching downpours, this is such a refreshing sight to see.

I Love My In-Laws!!!

I really wish more people could say this, truly. I hear so many stories. I have to tell you that my in-laws really are the most wonderful people. I think I landed under a lucky star when I married my husband, b/c not only is he absolutely fabulous (of course ; ), but he comes from the closest, happiest, most caring and fun family. Sorry to sound so sappy and overboard, but I can't help it, it's been on my mind alot lately. Sometimes it just amazes me that I got so lucky.

Do you ever look back at your life, look at the difficult times (which we've all had, here and there) and think how you ever got to where you are today? I do, all the time, as a matter of fact. My immediate family is great too, don't get me wrong. I love them with all of my heart and they are a blast! But who gets lucky enough to have two incredible families? Of course, there are the typical ups and downs like any family has, but they are invisible compared to all the laughs and great memories we have created with eachother.

I guess the reason I bring this up is b/c we had such a beautiful reunion with Devon's Aunt B. and Uncle J. a couple of weekends ago (see pics). They live in Florida and so we don't get to see them often enough. The last time we were able to visit with them was when they were gracious enough to travel up and attend our wedding in 2005. I correspond with Devon's aunt all the time, but it was so refreshing to sit down, have a glass of lemonade and catch up with her in person. Part of the reason why it was so special is b/c Devon's mom, Linda, died of ovarian cancer when Devon was 21. He was 2 weeks away from graduating college when she died. She battled cancer on and off for a few years. I know Devon has never been the same since she passed away, it was very hard on him and his dad and sister. Devon's Aunt B. was his mom's only sibling. That is why visiting with her was such a special event. It gave us all a chance (especially Devon and his sister) to talk about Linda and all the wonderful, loving memories they all have of her life. It is so hard to accept that such terrible things happen to such wonderful people.

Devon's dad eventually got remarried to an AMAZING woman, Mary. I love her with all of my heart, she is like another mother/best friend to me. Mary and Devon's dad are already planning to come up for a week to stay with us after the twins are born. I am beyond thrilled! They are the best, we never have to ask them for anything. They are always offering to help with everything, when they don't have to. They are fantastic people and I cannot express how appreciative I am to have them as my family.

I just rec'd these wonderful pictures in the mail from Aunt B. in Florida. These pics were from their visit to us in Massachusetts a couple of weeks ago. It was a priceless day with alot of laughs, memories and tons of delicous food! I wish I could have had one of those delicious cocktails they were making but I have to say, the ginger ale spritzers that my BIL, Pete, made were just perfect for me. : )))

I Miss Him!!

Alright, it's the third week of the football season and I just gotta say, I really really miss my second husband. Why oh why did you have to go and get hurt, Tommy!! Sad, sad, sad.....

: (((((

Our FABULOUS New Mansion!..and Stuff!

Ha..ha..of course, I'm just joking here. But I have to say I am so happy right now. I haven't blogged in SOOOOO damn long. I feel so bad. Needless to say our life has been crammed with "stuff and stuff and more stuff". Isn't it funny that when you go to move and you start to pack you find "stuff" that you completely forgot you owned. You know the "save-it-for-a-rainy-day" stuff. Well, man I found alot of that. One thing I found was an adorable onesie that I bought when Lilly was still cookin' in my baby belly. It was for a baby boy and I think I bought it b/c I just simply loved it and couldn't live w/o it. Then we found out we were having a girly girl and I put it away for the second babe....whenever s/he should arrive. Who knew it would take so long, right?...HA! Anyhoo....I found that and hello hormones! And the crying commenced. But not for long, I'm at such a good place right now that I don't cry for long. So now I have that little onesie in a safe little box for when we find out the genders of these little pumpkins. Thank the good Lord I didn't find it when I was going through "lovely" IF. That would have been a much longer crying episode, I'm positive.

So yesterday we moved all of our "stuff" into the transition apartment. Lilly freakin' LOVES this new place. It is an old house all updated and we are on the second floor. She loves it b/c all the windows are huge and they come up to her belly so she is able to look out the window with ease at all the happenings going on. We are on a busy street smack dab in downtown. Lots of kiddos were walking by this morning on their way to school and she was loving watching them all. She even declared "I love looking out the windows, Mommy!". I was thrilled when our Comcast guy came right on time and hooked up my tv and Internet....man, I had such a long day yesterday that sitting right here and catching up with all of you was just what I needed. We still have lots of work to do. Right now I'm off to continue packing all the little leftovers at the house and maybe bring my love muffin, scared sh*tless cat over here. Moving is not his forteit, let's just say. Kringle is a cool 16lbs....should I even attempt this? I'll let you know. It's already a given that he's going to find a dark spot in the new apartment and hide there for a good week. He's 11 yrs. old and has moved with me a total of 5 times and when we move to our next house, it'll be 6. If he survives all this stress, it'll be a miracle. My poor furbaby! Stoli, on the other hand, could care less...as long as she gets her walks, her bones and her favorite dog bed, she's a happy woof.

My Dear Friend's Miracle

My incredible friend is labor right now as we speak...actually she may even be pushing! I am sitting on pins and needles waiting to hear the next update. You see, I am so proud and honored to have her as my friend. She has had some health complications in her life. When she was born, her mom didn't know she was having twins (back then they didn't know anything!). My friends twin brother was born first and was a healthy 7-ish lbs. Then the doctor told her mother that there was another baby inside her uterus. That was when my friend was born at 2lbs. Being born at 2lbs is a challenge for anybody, now and especially back in the 70's. My friend fought her way into the world and then when she was in her early teens she had to have her ovaries removed due to complications with the organs. She has had her eggs frozen all this time and via many necessary hormonal treatments to trick her body into believing she had ovaries, and IVF, she became pregnant and is now giving birth to a son. I have been taking in every little speck of her journey to becoming pregnant as well as her exciting and miraculous pregnancy. When I was going through my own smaller version of infertility, her story and her strength gave me hope and continuously built up my courage and will to keep trying. I cannot wait to hear the rest of her amazing story when she calls to tell me about her new baby boy. It will be so special to hear his name announced to the world. I couldn't be happier for her at this moment b/c I know exactly what the feeling is to look into your newborn's sparkling new eyes for the first time. I am so thrilled that she is going to have this incredible opportunity!