No more work

When I went to the doctor yesterday he wrote me a note so I could go on disability so my last official day of work will be next Friday, January 9th. I did not post that yesterday as I had not really told anyone at work, but now they know so you can too. I have mixed feelings about not working any more but hope that I can take my time to get things ready for the babies and rest a lot so I know it is for the best. I am coming up with lots to do in the short period of time that I am allowed out of bed during the day. Remember, I will have to rest for 2 hours in the morning and 3 hours in the afternoon and the rest of the day I just have to take it easy. Provided I behave and take care of myself I could go on this way for awhile, which is my hope. On the other hand, if things do not go well at my doctors visits, I could be put on bed rest and potentially sent to live at the hospital until the babies are born. I am hoping and praying that things go well and that we have healthy babies without long hospital stays!! My next appointment is January 13th and after that I will be seeing a doctor every week (between by regular ob and specialist). Oh, and by the way, for those of you wondering my blood pressure has been really good. 120 over 70 something so they are very pleased with that. My ankles are not swollen yet either so that is another really good sign since they were already noticeably swollen by this time with Caleb.

Smoke detectors

As I'm sure most of you know it is advisable that you check the batteries in your smoke detectors on a regular basis. Most normal families would do this by pressing the little button to make sure it works. I on the other hand like to check the efficiency and sensitivity of the smoke detectors while cooking. What better way to check! So tonight was a test night. I fired up the broiler and waited. Mark was prepared this time. He opened the window downstairs, put a fan in it and propped the front door for circulation. We of course had the useless fan over the stove on that does nothing. I'm not sure why it always happens to me, but low and behold as the steaks were cooking the smoke was barrelling out of the oven anytime I opened it to check on them. I know it is just the juices burning off in the pan, but man are those detectors sensitive. By the time they are done cooking only about 10 or 15 minutes (5 for Marks since he likes to chase his meat down to eat it) we have our routine down. Open the oven, flip the steaks, detectors go off and I head to the hallway with a dish towel to wave away the smoke. Am I the only one this happens to? Mark tells me that when we remodel our kitchen he is going to get me one of those fancy oven vents that actually sends the air outside. I can't wait! Thankfully this time it was only 40 degrees outside. Last time I checked to see if the detectors worked it was 30 below and I could hardly bear to crack the door. I am happy to report that they work!

Belly shot

Bill, Jen and Mya from next door came over this weekend to hang out. Jen's due date is Mary 1st and mine is May 3rd. Jen wanted a belly comparison shot so I thought I would share it with everyone. As you can see I am quite a bit bigger than she is :) I did go to the doctor today and my belly measures at 28 weeks when I am really 22 weeks.

Christmas and more...

I have to say that being off work and all of us being together for the past 5/6 days has been awesome. I know that Caleb has enjoyed being home with us especially since he was albe to enjoy all of his presents after Christmas day. I must say that Santa was very generous to us all this year. The boys (Mark and Caleb) really love their light sabers and guns. These are not just any run of the mill guns, these are battery operated dart guns and you can be assured that if you are planning a visit to our house you are sure to get nailed. Darts are everywhere, I love it-ha :)
My gifts were great as well!!


Caleb was given a karaoke machine for Christmas and he really likes it....and so do we.

At Great Grandma and grandpa Szachnieski's house he really liked a particular box. He even insisted on 'wearing' it home.

Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas to everyone!!! I hope you are having a wonderful day and I will post photos and more later. We're having a blast and Santa was very good to everyone in our house this year.

Let the fun begin.....

Sunday officially began the Christmas fun. We celebrate with my mom (and her kids) and Bill (and his kids) plus all of the grandkids early so that everyone can be together. Since it has been cold Mark has been getting more emergency calls and of course what happens on Sunday at 12:30...his phone rings. Whenever I ask who it is and he does not know, that is not a good sign. He did have to go work but was able to meet Caleb and I there so I was really happy about that. The thought of him missing Caleb's excitement was quite depressing, but it all worked out. On Friday, Santa Caleb had been busy rearranging everyone's presents and was excited to see that he had the 'biggest present in the whole town' He did have the biggest box, and was excited to find a kitchen/BBQ set when he opened it. He (along with Mark and I) also got lots of other great gifts too and was VERY excited. Emma got a kitchen too so they were both busy cooking things up for us. We enjoyed being with everyone, ate way too much but it was a great day!

The week before the big day!!

So the past weeks have been a busy but tis the season so that makes it so fun! The weekend before last Caleb, my mom and I went to the zoo to see the lights and it was really nice. Thankfully we went last weekend instead of this past one otherwise we would have all been icicles. Mark had the guys over for poker so we usually try to get out of the house when that is going on for at least a little while. Saturday, Mark put up closet organizers in the babies room. I ran out for an hour and while I was away, Caleb (aka Santa) was busy making snow in his room. Yeah, it is the really fun kind that is made out of Styrofoam that mommies love to clean up. It was everywhere! It was even on the walls! Needless to say, Santa was not happy that I vacuumed up the snow in his 'workshop' but he got over it since Caiden came over to spend the night.
This past weekend we went out to dinner and shopping on Friday. Mark actually spend almost 3 hours at the MALL!!! I think the Starbucks and shopping for himself helped in the painful process. We went to gap and was holding up one of their long sleeve t-shirts comparing the length between the large and x-large. When the sales guy walked by he had a confused look on his face and said, 'you do know we have maternity at the galleria'. Seriously, did he really think I was THAT big :) I am please to say that the large would have fit just fine, but I did go with the x-large taking into consideration growth and shrinkage. Nothing too fancy, but comfortable to wear around the house. Saturday was low key and we went to the 'light jungle' by six flags. Caleb hung out the sunroof the entire time and was frozen when he came back inside. Luckily I had his Santa hat and gloves in the car so at least his head and his hands were covered.