PHEW! MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Wow, what a Christmas whirlwind! ((deep breath!)). It was a crazy Christmas but SO much fun...just so busy and I'm exhausted but happy. This is pretty much the first day I've been able to get online to contribute to the virtual world since Christmas Eve.

Christmas Eve we went over my sister, Jamie's house. We had a BLAST! I watched everyone get pretty buzzed and silly. There was my entire immediate family and a couple of my sister's friends and their families. There were tons of kids and Lilly had a ball with all of them. The food was amazing and the drinks of the night were martinis. Ouch, you can imagine. The night ended with a huge snowball fight outside when everyone was getting ready to leave. It was crazy.

Christmas morning was so cool. I went in to wake up Lilly and I whispered in her ear "I think Santa Claus and his reindeer came last night...and I think they left you a few presents under the Christmas tree...". Lilly slowly came out of her sleepy fog as she processed these words. A wide grin appeared on her face, she opened her eyes and popped up to a sitting position. Not two seconds later she was in the livingroom, eyes as big as saucers, staring at the Christmas tree. She was so excited. We had the video camera going, it was great! This year she is really into Christmas and I think she understands more of why we celebrate Christmas. I have been reading this great book to her called "Happy Birthday Jesus". We got it last year but I think this year she is processing the "reason for the season" a bit more than last.

Lilly got lots of fun and fabulous gifts for Christmas but her favorites are a new baby doll and a cradle for her. She also LOVES her new dollhouse from her inlaws and the Thomas the Train set that her awesome cousin, Jacob gave to her. It was his for many years and now he's outgrown it. He said proudly that as of now "this train set belongs to Lilly!". What a sweetie! He's such a dollface. And it's so funny...Lilly LOVES trains!!!

Around 3pm we went over to my sister Cori's house for Christmas dinner. There were alot of tired but happy faces there...tired from the previous night. I was so appreciative and excited b/c they had me sit down in a chair and then my two sisters and my mom "showered" me with all kinds of presents for the twins. Mostly clothes for baby Griffin b/c I don't have much at all for boy clothes. I was thrilled. Again, we had a fabulous day. Cori (sister) and David (her husband) made the most delicious prime rib dinner and a roasted turkey with all the veggies. It was amazing. Then we had the most delectable cake (pic in post). It was all chocolate mousse inside...sooooo yummy. The twins loved it! They were both kicking away on a sugar high! Lilly had so much fun with her cousins. It's so nice to watch her enjoy spending time with them, they love her so much. David and Cori are huge vino fans and they have a wine cellar. They broke open this amazing bottle of French red wine from their locked cellar. I just HAD to have some. I had about 3 sips from a beautiful red bowl wine glass. Oh man, can I just tell you that it made my Christmas..ha..ha. I know that sounds shallow but it was soooooooooooo smooth, bold and lovely.

So much has happened since my last post. Two days ago we finally bought our mini van! Yes we did it. We bought a 2005 Toyota Sienna. It's dark grey and has 40k miles on it. The thing is in mint condition! I think there is one scratch on the back bumper and the rest is immaculate. The inside looks brand new. It's certified and has all new tires on it. What can I say, it's gorgeous, we're officially uncool and I'm sooooooooooo thrilled!..ha..ha. So we finally got the car off of our "to-do" list. And to top it off I got 2k for my 1997 Honda Accord! The last dealership we went to only wanted to give us $500. I was pissed b/c I knew my car was worth more than that. I've taken such great care of it and it was the top-of-the-line model. I'm so glad we shopped around, it was so worth it. We got a way better deal at this dealership (and they were nicer..heh heh). Devon and I are psyched.

Now it's on to New Year's Eve. I tried like crazy to get out of this b/c I'm completely spent and exhausted (not to mention in pain) from Christmas. My body has had enough. We are going into Boston for the night with 3 other couples. It'll be fun but I don't know how long I will hold out. The good thing is, I will be going right upstairs to my wonderful, comfortable king sized bed in the hotel to snooze away. My inlaws are coming to take care of Lilly for the night (they are angels from heaven!). When Dev comes home tonight I am going to the mall to "try" to find something that will fit me and work for New Years. Wish me luck, I don't have alot of hope for this. I've got to tell you that I've been super emotional lately b/c I have officially reached the "freakish feeling" stage. People are giving me looks like "holy huge!". And no, I'm NOT imagining them...so don't even try to go there. Honey, I am huge! My family spent all Christmas reminding me of this. I was mentally prepared for them though...my family is not known for their tactful filters. I still love them to death! Fun times! ; )

So I see that this post has turned into a novel...if you've lasted this long, congrats and thanks for sharing my Christmas!

MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!! See you in 2009!!

Christmas with the Pods and Dodds!

It sounds like a National Lampoon movie, right? ..ha..ha. We had our Christmas with Devon's family this past weekend. We had a ball, as usual. Mary and Pete (Dev's stepmom and dad) got tons (and I mean tons) of presents for the kiddos. Then they put together this "Blues Clues" game for them. They hide all their gifts and the kids follow their own clues to find each one all around the house. This was the first year that Lilly was able to really play. She did so great and was so excited. Every gift she got, she wanted to stop, open and play with right away. They gave her a new dollhouse with a mommy, daddy and (get this) twin babies, a boy and a girl! So excellent. Lilly loves it! She got books, art supplies, games...they went crazy. Compared to that our Christmas here at home will be peanuts..ha..ha. We ate so much and we were all exhausted by bedtime. I was completely spent by 9pm and put my pajamas on. Everyone was tired after dinner though. Mary made delicous pork, mashed potatoes, string beans, etc. Delicious! I could barely eat alot though, there's just no room left. It snowed the entire weekend. We drove to Stow in the snow and left on Sunday while a brand new snowstorm was just beginning. Normally, it takes us about 45mins to get home...Sunday, it took us 2.5 hours to get home. The driving was terrible and all the snowplows on the highway made it that much longer.

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve!!!! I still have a bunch of Lilly's presents to wrap. My mom and I went out to lunch today and then to Target for some last minute items. I bought Lilly's new Christmas PJ's. They are adorable and I can't wait to give them to her at Jamie's house (my sister) tomorrow night. Christmas day we will then go to Cori's house (my other sister). It's going to be a whirlwind, but it's always fun!

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!!!!!!

Glucose!

Oh and I forgot, I passed my glucose tolerance test! Yippeeeee! Another step climbed. Next Thursday I have another ultrasound. I'll be 29 weeks. I can't wait to see you both again, my precious babes!

Mrs. Gigantic At 28 Weeks

I think this is my new name. The time has now come that when I walk into stores, the YMCA..or basically anywhere I strike up a conversation with someone, the same scenerio plays itself out. I get the "shocked-OH-hide-your-shock" look on people's faces. I may just be sensitive, but I remember this look well from my first pregnancy. I recall when I was pregnant with Lilly, I went into a convenient store to buy a bottled water. I was 2 weeks from full term at the time. When I brought my water up to the counter the man behind the counter lifted his arms up and started waving his flat palms in my direction..."Oh, I don't think we're equipped to handle someone like you in here...". Of course he said this with a big smile on his face and I laughed b/c I thought it was funny...but I have to admit, I was borderline embarrassed. And so I'm noticing this silent reaction pretty quickly (and early) with this pregnancy. It's funny, people think I'm full term and I freak them out when they ask when I'm due and I say February 27th. Then their already bugged eyes become even buggier! I let their brains churn until I tell them that I'm having twins. It's become fun, actually. I was at the YMCA with Lilly last week for her Tot Gym Class and all of us parents and children were playing with the multi-colored parachute. One of the father's, with his son, arrived late. Upon his arrival to the parachute, he immediately looked at me and declared "Oh my God, you're still here???". After that comment I became the main attraction and talking point for all the moms and the teacher. Questions from everywhere. It was pretty funny. I'm supposed to go to Boston with my husband and 3 other couples for New Years Eve...oh God, what could be such an incredibly fun night just sounds like pure torture at this moment! Can you imagine the looks I'll get that night? Me in a bedspread-sized glittery tent...soooo gooooorgeous! Happy New Year! ; ))

I have to admit, I truly do not know if I actually have much room left for these babies to grow much bigger. I am getting the painful skin stretching...esp. after I eat. Ouch, it hurts. The symptom list is growing longer day by day. I now have hands that fall asleep every night, a very achey pelvis, horrible sinus pain, back pain, rib pain, daily occurances of racing heart and the latest today...light sciatic pulses I get when walking. They cause my right leg to "give" somewhat. I'm truly a sight. I'm totally "thrilled" b/c I know this is going to get worse with every coming day!..ha..ha. Don't get me wrong, babies! I am over-the-moon that you are coming in 2 months...I cannot wait to rest my eyes on your gorgeous new eager faces. Daddy, Lilly and I dream every waking day about what and who you are going to look like. Lilly seems to think you are going to look like "Pa" and nobody else. So cute. I hope she's right, he is a stunningly handsome man! : ))))