What My Crazy Pregnant Self Did Today

I was starting to feel like a loser for not getting the "nesting" instinct. Surely by 32 weeks (tomorrow), it should have started, right?  So in a fit of frustration I forced myself to organize my twins' closet, retrieve things the newbie could use and I went crazy in the kitchen... Managed to make Kale Chips, Chard Chips, Parsnip fries, hamburger buns, three swiss chard/garlic scape quiches (to be frozen for post baby days), rhubarb tea and granola bars.  My feet were about ready to fall off after I finally washed the final dish.  I've been immobile on my butt since, but at least I can say I had a productive day! Here are recipes/instructions for what I made:

Kale Chips:  Simply "de-bone" (is that what you call it?) the kale by tearing the green stuff from the stem stuff.  Do this with a bunch of the kale. Place it on a cookie pan. Drizzle some (NOT TOO MUCH) olive oil, sprinkle with mineral salt and mix it up. Bake in a preheated 275 degree oven for about 20 minutes.... I never time it, and it never seems to burn. Just gets nice and crisy :) Same rules apply to the Chard Chips.

Parsnip Fries:  Still perfecting this one, but today I washed and peeled four parsnips with a peeler thingy, then I cut each one into three sections, after that I cut each section into wedges about 1/8 inch thick.. put them on a cookie sheet, sprinkled them with olive oil, garlic and some rosemary. Baked at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes.  After about 10 minutes of baking stir the parsnips around a bit.


Swiss Chard/Garlic Scape Quiche: (NOTE: I have not yet taste tested these. MAKE AT YOUR OWN RISK!!!!)
Quiche Crust

Quiche Filling:
-1.5 cups of grated cheese of choice (my favorite is Gruyere)
-4 teaspoons of flour
-1/3 bunch of garlic scapes, washed and prepped (cut off bulbs and cut into 1 inch pieces)
-A few swiss chard leaves, washed and chopped very small.
-handful of sundried tomatoes. Chopped small 
-3 eggs
-2 good squirts of Dijon mustard
-1 cup of milk (or half n half if you're feeling too damn skinny!)
-1/4 teaspoon of salt
-Freshly grated parmesan for the top

1) Make the crust. Its easy, just do it. Recipe link above quiche filling instructions.

2) Fill the quiche crust with the grated cheese, add the flour and kind of mix it up with your hands. You could also mix the cheese and the flour separately in a bowl, but then your just adding a dish to wash later. I try to minimize unnecessary crap.

3) Top evenly with the scapes, chard and sundried tomatoes.

4) Whisk eggs, mustard, milk and salt in a separate bowl.

5) Pour over quiche filling as evenly as possible.

6) Grate some fresh parmesan cheese on top, as much or as little as you want.

7) Bake in 400 degree preheated oven for about 50-60 minutes. Or cover it and put it in the freezer for future nights when you just don't wanna.

Rhubarb Hibiscus Tea

Chocolate Chip Granola Bars

Hamburger Buns


Nesting instinct or no, I think I can be happy with the amount of "nesting" done today.  Even if forced!

Buh Bye Winter!

 

 

I feel like we are finally coming out of hibernation. This winter has been awful! Between morning sickness (YUP, unexpectedly pregnant with boy number 3! Due August 31!), the seemingly apocalyptic winter weather (i.e. unstoppable snow) and sickness after sickness after sickness the boys and I are ready for spring sun! 

I'm excited to wear something other than sweat pants and extra large hoodies. Time to break out the sandals, tank tops and sip iced coffees (I'm allowed 1-2 cups of coffee a day according to my doctor. I'm a mother to twin toddlers.... don't fight me on this one.). No more "snowy/rainy day" activity madness... My boys just eat art supplies anyways.  The one time we went to a scribble art class they spent the entire time screaming and stomping on all the well behaved toddlers' artwork. They may look serene and angelic in the photo above, but they are straight up BOYS.  All snails and puppy dog tails, these two! *Love them.

My boys are outdoorsmen. They like to explore and chase birds for now.  They can be artistic when they are older and more coordinated. For now they just want to know how the world works and why they can't eat that little bit of a balloon on the ground. Why not, mommy???! Pneumonia, and gross. THAT's why.

Winter at a glace:

 <scribble art class (before the destruction)



               just some no nap kisses>

 <Fav winter activity: Cuddling and reading.





                       And more reading>

<Indian Road Playground






          Fort Tryon, just a bit icy...>



 

FIRST AWESOME WEATHER!!!! The day they opened The Great Lawn in Central Park. We got there before it become annoyingly crowded. Look at us! We own NYC :) Also, look at their faces. Seriously.



Just so you know... This is my "normal". They NEVER go in the same direction. They coordinate this, I know they do.

One of the Many Perks to Living in Inwood

Flowers In Fort Tryon Park-Beginning of Spring

NOTE: This post was written April 2013, but I just now got around to publishing it :)




This picture makes me ADORE where I live.  Just a five minute walk to Fort Tryon, and a short (albeit GRUELING) uphill mini hike away.  The trip is even shorter when you have your two napping adorable Littles, a great friend and her very own Little to keep you company.  I'm hoping for many more days like this this spring :)

Today felt good.  With twins its a day by day thing... Having a great day today means NOTHING for tomorrow.  However, I am having more and more "feeling good" days.  We are all falling into a more predictable schedule and the night time crying/waking is diminishing, and mommy is getting her sanity back, JUST in time for the predictably amazing NYC Spring.  

Since having my sanity (aka night sleep) back, I've been craving some pavement time.  My solution was to wait for Jason to return home from work and run then... however, that would definitely end up being just a seasonal thing and therefore NOT good enough.  Jason suggested that I meet him with the boys in mid-town right after he gets off of work.  This idea was certainly an improvement however visions of tired and pissed off subway commuters screaming obscenities at me for bring a double wide or double long stroller on during rush hours shied me away from the idea. Rightly so. I would have been a pissed commuter too (prior to kids. However, now? I GET IT.).  

Luckily, last week I braved the subways and traveled all the way to Union Square.  I was determined to not be confined to my usual one mile radius surrounding the apartment (MUST learn how to nurse in public without feeling embarrassed.. would make life so much easier!).  And of course, since I'm a mother now, I bypassed my pre-mommy store (Sephora) and walked straight into Babies R Us (Ill be back some day Sephora!).  I couldn't believe it... BRU had the Bob Revolution Duallie on clearance for $300! WHAT? Unfortunately I am not an octupus, so I had to drag Jason back down to BRU on the weekend.  This is actually funny, because in order to get back home (including a detour to Central Park to test out Bob) we had to haul TWO double strollers (each containing one baby so we only looked half insane) on two separate subways and up and down too many to count itty bitty elevators.  It was like Real Size Tetris. 

Testing out my new Bob. Screaming Marek riding the "trunk" ;)

Not Happening...

I was about to write a post but then Marek woke up screaming! Laters ;)

26 weeks and 4 days... its been a while!

It has been a while since I've updated! The biggest update is that Im now on bedrest due to a high blood  pressure that will just NOT go down.. Otherwise I feel great! I've been on bedrest since last Thursday and I'm doing everything I can to keep myself sufficiently occupied. Mostly I'm reading books,knitting and napping :)  I have a doctor's appt this Wednesday and I'm hoping that the doctor can give me more information on what exactly she means by bedrest...
At the last growth scan (around 25 weeks) the babies were measuring right on target at 1lb 7 oz and 1lb 8 oz. By now they could very well be over 2 lbs each!  Meaning I have over 4 lbs of babies in there! No wonder I can't breathe :) Both boys are very active and LOVE hanging from mommy's ribs and kicking her bladder.
Here are the latest pictures :)

Here are Charlie and Marek showing off their new trick, bending completely in half! Their toes are touching the back of their heads... Both boys were positioned like this at our last ultrasound. The ultrasound tech even thought it was pretty funny :) 

Mr. Marek :)

Charlie :)

One thing I've noticed with my boys is that they have completely different profiles if you look at the foreheads. I can't wait to see what they really look like!!!!

20 Weeks!

I am 20 weeks as of yesterday, what a milestone! The babies are becoming EXTREMELY active and I know we will soon be able to feel them from the outside. I can't wait for Jason to be able to experience their movement as well.  So far I have gained about 19 lbs and besides some shoulder, neck and hip pain I'm still experiencing a relatively easy pregnancy, thank goodness! Monday we have two doctors appts, one is the anatomy scan (however, we will not be finding out the sexes) and the other is my regular OB appointment.  Both Jason and I have taken the day off for this and I'm extremely excited to see my babies again! I know they have grown a lot since their last scan just by the strength behind their little kicks and jabs :)

On a sad note Jason and I lost our pretty kitty Silly yesterday.  She managed to slip through a very small crack in our window and fell 4 stories to a hard concrete sidewalk.  We took her to the vet the morning after (she fell at around 9pm at night) and the diagnosis was not good.  She had extensive internal damage of her kidneys and her liver.  Her heart was also moved and she had a large bubble in her chest cavity. The vet said that cats are very resilient and of course there was a chance, however small, that she would survive (She didn't look too convinced, but what is a poor vet going to tell a sobbing, near hyperventilating, largely pregnant woman who desperately wants her precious cat to live?) so she said if we wanted, we could give her pain meds and antibiotics for a day and see if it looked like she was showing any improvement.  We chose that route and I stayed home the next day to monitor her (my eyes literally never left my poor kitty, unless it was to go to the bathroom) and it was made apparent to me that my baby girl was not going to make it. The air bubble was definitely making it hard for her to breathe and she wasn't even slurping when I would try to give her a dropper of water (and food was impossible). My heart was BROKEN and I was beyond devastated. I knew though that I did not want her to starve to death or die of dehydration... so we made the decision to bring her back to the vet to be put down... Both Jason and I were there with her when she got the needle. I got down to her level so she could look at me and have something familiar to look at while dying... literally the hardest thing I have ever had to do...She (along with our other kitty Gula) traveled with us from Seattle, to Tacoma, to midtown NYC and then to Inwood NYC... she has done everything with us and while she tended to HATE strangers, (thereby making her a very unpopular kitty with friends) she LOVED and ADORED me and Jason, showering us with frequent kisses and cuddles.  At least once a night I would wake up to her trying to spoon me while sleeping,  she also loved to sleep on Jason chest and never once did she seem to mind his consistent and loud snoring.  Both Jason and I will miss her a ton, and I'm SO sad that my babies will not get to meet this very special cat... However I will always remember her fondly and I know that no one will mess with my babies with such a feisty cat as one of their guardian angels ;) RIP Silly Bear.. .love you so much!

Here is a picture of my pretty girl with Jason, doing what she does best:

and of course, here is the 20 week belly :)

18 Weeks!

    Yesterday I was 18 weeks! I can't believe how fast this pregnancy is going by... I am anxious to meet my little ones so it doesn't bother me too much :)  In honor of reaching 18 weeks I had an ultrasound to check for cervical length (basically  making sure my body isn't already trying to get these suckers out before their due date!) and of course I thought that they would only check for that so I told Jason he need not come (it was early in the morning and he would have been late for work) but BOY what a mistake! I asked the tech as soon as I got there if they would at least take a peek at the babies and she said " OF COURSE! that's the fun part!" She spent a good half hour on them and it was probably the best scan so far :) Both stinkers measure PERFECTLY for their gestational age. One is 7 ounces and one is 8 ounces.  What is funny is that the 8 ouncer is actually smaller, but fatter ;) LOL. I LOVE IT!  She measured femurs, heads, tummies, legs, etc.. She could have told me their sexes but I of course said that we do not want to find out :) So hard to say that! I WANT TO KNOW! but at the same time I don't... what a conundrum!
     Im also currently reading a book titled "Baby Brain Rules". So far I am loving it! It delves into the basics on how to raise an intelligent child.  The recommendations aren't necessarily what I was expecting.. (apparently playing Mozart to your belly does not increase IQ or math skills!). The basic recommedations are to not stress, make sure to gain the proper amount of weight, eat a diet rich in paleo type foods (nuts, berries, meat, veggies, etc..), there is another point but I can't remember it right now! Darn it! Either way, I need to focus on eating healthier and keeping myself calm.. I tend to be a worrywart and it will do my babies no good!
 In other good news my blood pressure has been "optimal" for the last three readings I have had... My OB instructed me to purchase my own monitor because I was consistently reading high at her office which freaked me out... Had to do a 24 hour pee jug test and everything to make sure I wasn't spilling any protein.  Everything must be fine though because I have not heard from them regarding my results :) Phew! No pre-eclampsia please!
 Jason and I have both noticed a definite increase in bump size in the past week or so, its good to actually look pregnant rather than just chubbier than usual, you can see for yourself!.  Here are some pics for this week!