Twin Tuesday.

3D ultrasound at 12 weeks

When did we know it was twins? 

We knew that by doing the IUI procedure to get pregnant, there was an increased chance of having twins. But honestly, we didn't think it would happen to us! Then, when I went in to have my bloodwork done to confirm the pregnancy, my first beta number was 565. Two days later it was 1400. They like to see this number atleast double, so when mine more than doubled, the girls in a private Facebook group I was in, were all convinced it was twins. The higher HCG numbers do not ALWAYS indicate multiples though so I really wasn't sure what to believe. Then, at our first ultrasound at 5 weeks (seeing a fertility doctor gets you early ultrasounds!) we got the shock of our lives when the doctor said, "well, just as I suspected, there are two in there!" My eyes got huge, and I kept looking back and forth between the ultrasound screen and a very shocked (and silent) husband.

Type of twins?

There are a few types of twins: 

Ours are "di-di" twins (bottom right), which means they are in separate amniotic sacs and have their own placentas. Luckily, these are the least risky type of twins. And there's your science lesson for the day. :) 

Do twins run in our family?

Nope! They are a blessing due to the fact that we did the IUI procedure to get pregnant.

How did we tell our parents it was twins? 

After our first ultrasound at 5 weeks, we got back to Cameron's car and immediately called our parents to share the exciting/shocking news. We actually Face-timed my parents and when they picked up, all they saw was the ultrasound below. My mom literally said, "oh, sh*t!" Needless to say, they were also shocked and very excited. We then called Cameron's parents and his stepdad said the same thing! 

Identical or fraternal?

Di-di twins are most likely fraternal (unless they are boy/girl in which they are definitely fraternal), but there is also a slight chance they could be identical. We will not know for sure until they are born. 

When did we find out the genders? 

My regular OB told us that we would not be able to find out the genders until my 20 week ultrasound. Are you kidding me?!? I'm the type of person that gives birthday presents early because I hate waiting! So I scheduled an elective ultrasound for 17 weeks. Well, at my 16 week appointment, which Cameron last minute decided he couldn't come to because he was swamped at work and I thought it was just going to be a quick appointment, the ultrasound tech told me she could tell what they are and asked if I wanted to know. Well again, I am the worst at waiting on things, so I immediately said yes! Baby A was not being very cooperative so we moved on to Baby B. It's (very clearly) a boy! Went back to Baby A and were finally able to tell it's another boy! I immediately started tearing up because I wanted atleast one boy because we wanted to name him after Cameron's brother that passed away when he was younger. 

After my appointment was over, I wanted to tell Cameron in person the genders and absolutely could not wait until after work. I went to Party City and picked up a bunch of blue balloons and drove to his work. Once I was in the parking lot, I hid around a corner, called him, and asked him to come outside. He walked outside, and there I was with the blue balloons! Surprise, we're having two boys! He was very shocked and even more excited. It was really cute and I'll never forget the look on his face. :) 

What's my due date?

My original due date was November 22, but with twins you are considered full term at 38 weeks, so that moves my due date up to November 8. The same due date as one of my best friends, Katie! I'm 19 weeks today, so that means I'm halfway there!! 

Did I miss anything? Sorry for the uterus pictures, I know some people are weird about seeing them. 

Weekend Highlights.

This weekend was jam packed with activities and lots of celebrating! I'm looking forward to a low key holiday weekend coming up and then relaxing on our babymoon the following weekend! 

-I co-hosted a shower for one of my longest friends, Caroline! It was a woodlands themed shower, which goes along with Baby Ben's nursery. I'll do a separate post on it, but it all turned out really cute! 

-We celebrated Cameron's birthday with his parents with dinner at Indaco followed by cocktails (and mocktails) at 492. 

Appetizer: Burrata with shaved asparagus, pickled bluberries, and asparagus aioli

Recommend?: Yes! 

My Entree: Tonnarelli with lump crab meat, saffron, mint, breadcrumbs and paremesan

Recommend?: No. While the crab meat itself was tasty, there was no real flavor to this dish. 

Cameron's Entree: Garganelli with braised lamb, ricotta, herbs, and breadcrumbs

Recommend?: YES! I had major food envy with Cameron's dinner. It was much more flavorful that mine. 

Dessert: Espresso tart with chocolate ganache, biscotti, and espresso cream

Recommend?: Yes, how could you go wrong??

-Gus announced on his Instagram page that he was going to be a big brother x2!

That's a 3D pic of the babes!

-Cameron painted the nursery (yay!!!) while I did super fun stuff like laundry, de-cluttering, etc. 

-We celebrated June birthdays for my family, which are my sister, Cameron, my grandaddy, and my mom! My mom made the most amazing Kahlua cake with white russian icing! Reminded me of one of the layers of our wedding cake! 

Hope you all had a great weekend! Another Twin Tuesday post coming tomorrow! 

Twin Tuesday: First Trimester.

First Trimester

How We Found Out: We had been trying to get pregnant for a little over a year so we were on the lookout for that extra pink line. I was supposed to wait until Wednesday, March 16th to take a test, but I am the most impatient person ever and decided to test on Friday, the 11th. I saw the slightest line and only let myself get a little excited. Didn't want to get my hopes up just to be let down. The next two days I took a test in the morning and at night. The lines were still there! On the third day I took a digital test that would either say "pregnant" or "not pregnant." Can't get any more clear than that! I nonchalantly mentioned that I could see faint lines to Cameron, but again didn't make a big deal out of it. When I saw "pregnant" on the digital test, I told Cameron, "I'm really pregnant!" I must have caught him off guard because he responded, "That's awesome! Gus just peed in the hallway." Hahah not your perfect blog-worthy way that I thought it would happen, but it's real life! I called my doctor's office that Monday and was scheduled for a blood test on Wednesday, March 16th which officially confirmed that I was pregnant! 

Morning sickness: More like all day sickness. It was like right when I confirmed I was pregnant it started, too. My nurse gave me the gift of Diclegis around week 6 and I've been popping two of those every night before bedtime. 

Exhaustion: I was pleasantly surprised that this didn't hit me as hard as I thought it would. Now, I've always been a napper so some naps did happen after I got home from work, but the full on exhaustion never really happened. 

Appetite: Ugh, literally the only thing I wanted to (or could) eat for my first trimester was pizza, cheeseburgers, french fries, and mac&cheese. 

Hormones: I didn't think they were crazy at the time, but looking back now - WHOA. A combination of Cameron wanting me to eat healthier when all I could stomach was carbs combined with the overwhelming joy of the thought of finally becoming parents made me totally crazy. On top of that, we hid the fact that we were having twins from everyone but our parents and my best friend until the gender reveal at 17 weeks! Talk about stress! Poor Cameron got the worst of it. Love you, Cam! 

Potty Breaks: So many potty breaks! Too many times to count throughout the day due to upping my water intake, and 1-2 times in the middle of the night. 

How We Told Our Parents: After we confirmed through the blood test that I was pregnant, I couldn't wait much longer to tell our parents! Luckily, we had just completed our guest bathroom renovation so we had an excuse to have them over for what wouldn't be an obvious pregnancy announcement. Combine the bathroom unveiling with dinner and we had them hooked! We waited until everyone arrived and escorted them to the bathroom. I made sure that Cameron went in first and I went in last. They looked around, "ooh"ed and "ahh"ed and when they were almost done, Cameron said something to the effect of "oh, and we updated the bathtub a little bit." At that point, he opened the shower curtain and this was sitting in the tub!

Proud Parents To Be

Proud Grandparents To Be

I'll do a whole separate post all about the twinsies next! I already have a list of obvious questions, but feel free to ask me any you may have so that I can add them to the post! :) 

Surprise!

Cameron and I announced yesterday that we are expecting not one, but two baby boys in November! More details to come this week!!

Happy Fathers Day to all of your dad's and baby daddies!

Introducing Gus The Golden!

Both Cameron and I grew up with golden retrievers so the next dog that was going to be part of our lives was a no brainer. We did our research on breeders and the different types of goldens (did you know there were two??) and decided we wanted an English Cream Golden Retriever. From what we read online, ECGRs have a longer life expectancy on average and are less likely to get cancer than American Golden Retrievers. Who know if this is all true, but it sounded good to us! Plus, ECGRs aren't as common as regular golden retrievers.  

Three months after our sweet Brady passed away, we picked up our tiny white ball of fur from a breeder in a small town called Troy, SC. He has provided us with lots of laughter to replace our sadness of losing Brady. And it's a good thing he is so cute, because he has also provided us many, many hours of frustration (aka potty training). 

You can follow Gus on Instagram - @gus.thegolden

And now for cute puppy photo overload.....

The day we decided we wanted the "grey collar" dog to be ours! 
He was the perfect combination of cuddly and playful, which still remains true. 

And the day we brought him home at 7 weeks!

Couch cuddles when Dad wasn't looking

First Halloween costume: Gus the mouse from Cinderella

The time I dressed him up as a baby

Gus' First Christmas

(This photo was re-grammed from Southern Living Magazine!)

Family pic

My sister got a puppy about the same time as we did! 

His name is Cooper. 

He's OBSESSED with sticks. 

I grew a lot in six months!

A Recent Hello Fresh Favorite + Discount Link.

We're still on the Hello Fresh / Home Chef train (we switch back a forth depending on the meals available), which is one reason that the recipe posts have subsided for a while. Not having to meal plan (other than going on a website and picking out meals that look most appetizing to me) is just one less thing one my to-do list, which is huge! 

I wanted to share a recipe that we recently received from Hello Fresh that we made and loved!

To see a full blog post reviewing the different boxed meals, you can go here. 

And if you'd like to try a Hello Fresh box of your own, click this link to receive $40 off of your first order! 

Chopped Chicken Salad with Charred Veggies and Avocado-Lime Dressing

Ingredients for 2 People

Chicken Breasts (12oz)  

Head of Romaine Lettuce

Red Bell Pepper

Red Onion

Lime

Avocado

Cilantro (1/4 oz)

Sour Cream (1 T)

Roma Tomato

Southwest Spice Blend (1 t)

Cumin (1 t)

Oregano (1 t)

Olive Oil (1 T)

Wash and dry all produce. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Halve, peel, and slice the onion into wedges. Core, seed, and thinly slice the bell pepper. Toss the peppers and the onions on a baking sheet with a large drizzle of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place in the oven for 20 minutes, tossing halfway through cooking. 

Season the chicken on all sides with the Southwest spice blend, cumin, and oregano. Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a large pan over high heat. Sear the chicken for 2-3 minutes per side, then transfer to the baking sheet in the oven for 8-10 minutes, until cooked through. 

Core and dice the tomato. Pick the cilantro leaves, then finely chop the stems. Zest and halve the lime. Slice the romaine lettuce into ½-inch pieces and place in a large bowl.  

Halve, pit, and cube the avocado. Place half in a medium bowl with the lime zest, cilantro stems, and the juice of half a lime. Mash together with a fork until completely smooth. Mix in 1 Tablespoon sour cream. Season with salt, pepper, and additional lime juice, if needed.  

Heat the broiler to high or the oven to 500 degrees. Cook the chicken and veggies for an additional 2-3 minutes, until they are slightly charred. Toss the charred veggies into the romaine lettuce along with the tomatoes, cilantro leaves, and cubed avocado. Stir the avocado-lime dressing into the salad and toss until evenly coated. Thinly slice the chicken. 

Serve the chopped salad topped with the sliced chicken and enjoy!

Screened Porch Face Lift!

The screened porch face lift project that I briefly mentioned about a month ago is complete! It was actually complete by our goal date of Mother's Day, but I just got around to taking a picture of it and posting it. 

The picture below is from the day that Cameron closed on the house 5 and a half years ago! Other than replacing the screened door, installing a fan, and adding some hand-me-down furniture, not much had been done to it until recently. 

AFTER

We painted all of the wood and replaced the screens, then Cameron laid the tile down over the old concrete floor. Following that, we added all new furniture. We love how much brighter and more comfortable it is, and find ourselves eating outside more often than inside! 

Sources:

7 Piece Dining Set - Target // 5 Piece Chat Set - Target

Outdoor Pillows - Target // Rug - Old // Tile - Palmetto Tile