Tomorrow Is Another Day...

28 Weeks: Glucose and Rhogam and Inductions, OH MY!

Today I celebrated my official entry into the 3rd trimester with a delicious bottle of dextrose goodness and a Rhogam shot to the ass.  And who said pregnancy isn't magical???  I am certainly eating my words from my last pregnancy update, as time has definitely not been passing slowly.  In fact, I feel like I just wrote that 24 week post, and here we are a month later and a month closer to having two precious babies in our lives.

Annabelle's hand in front of Charlotte's foot--they must be so squished in there!

I had my third growth scan on Tuesday, and neither one of the girls was feeling particularly sociable.  They flipped over face down, covered their faces with their hands, squirmed away from the ultrasound techs magic wand, and were just generally difficult, meaning no adorable glamour shots from this appointment.  But we did learn that both babies are still doing great, and growing like weeds.  They're no longer measuring ahead, which worries me just a little, but they're only a day behind, so hopefully we'll still get some nice, big babies when the time comes.  Charlotte is a little bigger, measuring 2 pounds 11 ounces with a heartbeat of 158 bpm.  Annabelle is back to being the little one, measuring 2 pounds 7 ounces with a heartbeat of 149 bpm.  It's hard to believe I've got more than 5 pounds of baby inside me already--I've known girls who gave birth to full term babies not much bigger than that!
We met with the new high risk doctor, and got to ask him a bunch of questions about the labor and delivery process for twins.  He confirmed that his recommendation is to take the babies between 37 and 38 weeks depending on how they are measuring if they don't come before that on their own.  He also told us to be prepared for them to arrive anytime around 36 weeks.  I'm still feeling a little anxious about that since Colby is scheduled on a trip that will get him back home when I'm 34 1/2 weeks, so hopefully the girls will stay inside at least until then and hopefully longer.  But it's absolutely mindblowing to think that in 10 weeks or less, we'll be meeting our babies.
As for how I'm doing... I'm hanging in there.  I have good days and not so good days, but I think considering what my body is having to contend with, it's doing a pretty good job.  Bedtime has become my least favorite part of the day.  I've pretty much returned to 1st tri levels of exhaustion, but now without the benefit of being able to sleep for 15 hours a day.  I can't even toss and turn because just rolling over in bed requires such monumental effort.  I sleep with a pillow between my legs to try to alleviate the joint pain in my groin, but I wake up every morning so incredibly achy.  I really want to try to find somewhere around here that does prenatal massages--I would be willing to pay scads of money for just one hour of not feeling uncomfortable.

I've been having lots of weird little aches, pains, and twinges in my uterus that tend to freak me out a bit but so far haven't led to anything of concern.  The Braxton Hicks still come and go, but without any regularity and no pain--though they are getting more uncomfortable.  As the girls have gotten bigger, their sweet little kicks have turned into full on assaults.  I think Annabelle is the one who likes to get right up into my ribs and just roll and flail, and Charlotte is down really low and likes to take shots at my pelvis.  It's a real joy when they're both going at it simultaneously.  It's all I can do to keep breathing.  Is it possible to get an epidural at 28 weeks?
But still, I never take a minute of any of this for granted.  I love these babies so much, and I am so excited for them to arrive.  This weekend we're repainting the nursery in a different shade of grey (I wish I didn't think of S&M every time I thought about painting the nursery), and going to Ikea for the last of the baby furniture.  I've started sorting through their clothes and hope to get it all washed and put away next week.  My mom and a very sweet family friend are making the crib skirts and a roman shade, and should be finished by the end of September.  Other than that, I'll figure out what else I want for decor when I see how much wall space we have.  It's all starting to come together, and I really want to be ready for the girls to arrive any time after 32 or 33 weeks.

Please, let's all hope that Ikea is feeling kind this weekend.  I've already had one tearful breakdown in that store, I'm not sure if I can handle another!

Eating Our Way Through Istanbul

One of the best decisions I made when planning our trip was frontloading most of the sightseeing into the first couple of days in Istanbul.  Sure, I dealt with some pretty gnarly swelling in my lower legs and feet and even my hands, and I was wiped out at the end of each day, but I was able to keep going for all of the walking we were doing.  By the time we wrapped up our time in the city, it was all I could do to get from our room to a pool chair!
Our second full day in Turkey, we had booked a food tour in the "New District" of Beyoglu through Istanbul Eats.  We were in Istanbul for some of the last days of Ramadan, so many of the restaurants in the older, more conservative part of town were closed due to the sunrise to sunset fasting observed by many of the residents.  However, the New District is a much less conservative part of the city, and most businesses continue to operate as usual during Ramadan.  We had a wonderful tour guide from Greece--it was very interesting to get his perspective on the friction between Turkey and Greece as well as Greece's current financial situation with the European Union.  And of course, he also took us to a ton of amazing restaurants to sample authentic Turkish cuisine.

I really had no idea what to expect of Turkish food, and I'd still have trouble explaining it succinctly, but it was a sort of combination of Greek, Italian, and Indian with its own unique flavors.  We started off with a delicious typical Turkish breakfast--bread with beyaz peynir (a soft, white cheese) and honey, tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, and a flavorful Turkish omelet.  For "snacks" we sampled six different Turkish cheeses, ate mouth-wateringly delicious profiteroles in a bakery, tried some tripe soup, munched on fried sardines, and sipped on pickle juice with chunks of pickled vegetables including cauliflower, beets, carrots and more.  The highlight of our snack stops was a Durum shop, made popular by Anthony Bourdain, where we each got to try a lamb durum--oh my goodness, SO GOOD!

We took a small break from eating to stop at a Turkish coffee shop.  I opted out of the coffee as I expect it probably had 14000 pounds of caffeine per serving, but had a delicious apple tea instead.  I tried a little taste of Colby's coffee, and thick just doesn't begin to describe it!  We also broke out the chicken pudding that our guide had purchased at our breakfast stop.  Yes, you read that right, and considering the fact that it did indeed taste exactly like what you'd expect chicken pudding to taste like, it was surprisingly good!  For lunch, we had three different stops.  The first at a restaurant serving borek--essentially a Turkish pierogi with a yogurt sauce.  Then our "main meal" which included a to die for stuffed eggplant.  We also had a sampling of baklava--chocolate, traditional, walnut, and one that had the phyllo dough rolled around a pistachio stuffing rather than in thin layers.  Perhaps not so shockingly, the chocolate was my fave!  Our final stop was our most adventurous one of the day where we all put on our big kid panties and tried kokoreç--strings of lamb intestines wrapped around sweetbreads and offal.  Ha!  And again, as disgusting as that sounds, it was not bad... at least in small doses.  I'm not sure I'd go for the super sized kokoreç meal...
  Our next stop was supposed to be The Grand Bazaar, but on our walk back to the metro, we happened to stroll right past the Galata Tower, and decided to take a detour to climb up for a view over the city.  And upon exiting the tower, I stumbled upon a pottery shop, and just had to take a peek inside.  The shop keeper was so happy with this decision that he sent me away with two free magnets "for the babies"--I just loved the Turkish people, they were so sweet!


Finally, we made it to the Grand Bazaar.  As it turns out, the Grand Bazaar is indeed quite grand in size, and it's a strange combination of mall, souvenier shop, auction house and flea market.  I actually found the Spice Market to be a lot more charming, and the Grand Bazaar vendors were much more aggressive.  My favorite sales approach was the gentlemen who shouted out to me, "I have t-shirt in your kid's size!!!!"  Really, sir?  You have unborn fetus sized shirts?  My feet, legs, hips and back called it quits at this point, so we sloooooowly strolled back to our room where we cranked up the a/c, turned on Netflix and ordered room service ice cream.  Hooray for hotels!

Turkish Delight

After getting off to a fairly rough start on our first travel day, we got a good night's sleep and were up and out early enough to beat the mad rush of tourists heading to Istanbul's main sights--Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque.  We had about an hour to kill between 8 and 9 because I'd gotten the wrong opening hours for the mosques off of the internet, so we wandered around the Sultanahmet area and enjoyed the quiet and the feeling of having the city to ourselves.
I'd purchased our Hagia Sophia tickets online, so a little before 9, we got in line, but were able to skip right past the herd of people buying tickets and were among the first few people in the mosque.  We stood at the entrance for a few minutes, in absolute awe, then as people started trickling in I jolted Colby into photography action so we could get a few shots before the place filled up.  This was the first mosque I'd ever been inside, and I've got to tell you, it set the bar pretty darn high.  Between the rings of light floating in space, the gold leaf paintings, and the light filtering through the windows high above us, the whole place seemed to glow with a mystical aura.  It was just one more of those travel experiences when I could not believe I was experiencing such an amazing piece of history.
After spending a little over an hour wandering around Hagia Sophia, we walked around the corner to the Basilica Cistern (sometimes called the Underground Cistern).  This cistern was built in the 6th century AD, replacing what had been an enormous basilica built between 300 and 400 AD.  The cistern is capable of holding up to 2.8 million cubic feet of water, though now the water depth is only a couple of feet.  The columns are all thought to be repurposed from other ancient Roman structures.  There are also two Medusa heads beneath columns in one of the corners of the cistern, and no one is quite sure where they came from or why they're there.  It was a pretty impressive feat of engineering, and although it doesn't seem like there was much to see--just some columns and water--the cistern was lit up beautifully and there was haunting music playing over loudspeakers, making for quite the experience.
Next up was the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, or as it's commonly known to tourists, the Blue Mosque, after the beautiful blue tiles decorating the interior.  Because Hagia Sophia has been converted into a museum and is no longer an active mosque, visitors aren't asked to observe the religious customs of removing their shoes and keeping their heads, knees and shoulders covered, however, the Blue Mosque is still a functioning mosque, so it was my very first time wearing a head scarf.  In a way, I felt like observing those customs added something authentic to the experience.  The exterior of the mosque was astoundingly graceful, with its cascading domes, and the interior was much more light and airy than Hagia Sophia.  You could definitely tell that it had been built much later--between 1606 and 1616.


After we had packed all of that sightseeing into the morning hours, we were pretty hungry, and it just so happened that there was a McD's right by our metro stop.  So, continuing our silly tradition of eating at McDonald's in every country we visit, we headed inside to see what McMeals Turkey had thought up.  So of course, Colby ended up with a McTurko--a hamburger in a pita!!!  After lunch, we made our way to Eminonu pier to buy our tickets for a two hour Bosphorous cruise.  The Bosphorous is the main waterway to the Black Sea for a number of countries, including Turkey, Russia, the Ukraine and more, so it is always incredibly busy and its shores have been incredibly built up over the centuries.  There are palaces, mansions, fortresses, mosques, and parks, as well as a sight of the Asian side of Istanbul.

Our final stop for the day was at the Spice Market, which was just such a perfectly Turkish experience.  We wandered through small alleys jam-packed with flora and fauna.  Everything from kittens to peacocks to pigeons to leeches and any kind of plant seed you can imagine.  Once we entered the main market building, we were confronted with exactly what you would expect, stall after stall of vendors selling the most fragrant, colorful spices and teas, and of course, lokum or Turkish Delight.  By the time we finished exploring the market and ate dinner, I was pretty dead on my feet, so it was back to the hotel to rest up for day three in Istanbul!

From A Distance

What an absolutely phenomenal weekend.  I'm absolutely dead tired, but it was so worth it to pack in so many amazing events over just a couple of days!

We did kick things off with a lazy day on Friday since Colby had the day off, but Saturday life got a little more exciting.  We went in search of a second grey paint option for the nursery since our original grey magically turned blue as soon as we put it on the walls.  The paint selection here is pretty laughable--there were about 8 different greys, but that was ranging from pale, almost white, to dark charcoal, so there were really only 2 or 3 that could possibly work in our color scheme.  Oh, how I miss the infinite number of paint colors available back home--or the ability to see a color you like in the magazine and just go pick it up at the store!

That evening we had our maternity photo session with the insanely talented Jess Fountain of Jess Renee Photography.  It was a bit touch and go as some pretty massive storm clouds were hovering just before our session time, but we holed up in our car for about 15 minutes waiting for the rain to pass, and it ended up being a perfect evening.  I had a lot of anxiety about how the photos would turn out.  I am ridiculously self-critical and almost always hate pictures of myself, but this pregnancy is so special to me, I knew that I wanted to document it and have tangible reminders of it.  Then the weather seemed to be against us and I was a little nervous about how much wind there was while we were shooting.  Then I got home and realized I NEVER PUT ON MASCARA when I was doing my makeup.  For me, this is like... forgetting to put on pants.  I never, ever leave the house without mascara, even if I'm wearing yoga pants and have my hair in a ponytail.  And I'll freely admit that my eyes are my one vanity, so I was pretty distraught upon this realization.  However, the pictures are PERFECT.  I've only seen the sneak peek so far, but I already can't pick a favorite, and I am so amazed at how Jess captured such a special time in our lives.

Sunday, the weather was still blustery and rainy, but we pulled out our fall sweaters and rain gear, and headed out to the Pferderennen (horse racing) in Miesau with some friends.  It was a pretty charming event with the track consisting of a mowed field and race horses mostly between 10 and 15 years old, but despite the wind and spurts of rain, we had a great time.  Plus, they had delicious flammkuchen, so my tummy was happy.
Finally, we wrapped up our day with a wonderful international baby shower held in a Google Hangout!  My sister, Brittany, and sweet friend, Jessica, co-hosted and did an incredible job of making it feel like a party, even across thousands of miles.  I received a box last week filled with baby shower decor, treats, and gifts, and we had eleven people who were able to either phone in or participate in the video hangout, and so many more who couldn't "attend" sent gifts and their love across the pond.
I realize how lucky I am to have this experience living abroad, but it's bittersweet to do it during my first, and possibly only, pregnancy when I would give anything to be surrounded by my closest friends and family.  But the way we are all scattered around the globe, this was the perfect way to celebrate our little girls and spend time together in a crazy, chaotic video chat!

Istanbul Not Constantinople

How is it already FRIDAY????  I feel like we just got back from our trip to Turkey a minute ago, and here it's been almost a week.  I was completely dead for a couple of days after our return, but after spending most of the last week napping with my feet elevated to combat the crazy swelling, I'm feeling much better and finally ready to recap our Turkish Delightful experience (groan, I know, it's okay).

Things got off to kind of a rocky start on Monday.  I had miscalculated when plotting out our agenda of waking up, dropping the dogs off at "camp", and driving to the airport, which led to us flying down the autobahn at about 150 kph, and making it to the check-in counter at exactly one hour before take off, right before they closed the flight.  We were already feeling pretty stressed, so when the lady checking us in started making noises about how I wasn't going to be able to board the aircraft because I was SO PREGNANT (you know, at 25 weeks, yeah, I'm about to go into labor at any moment) we came pretty close to losing our shit.  She kept asking for proof of how far along I was, which I didn't have because I was under the impression that I could fly without a doctor's note until 28 weeks.  She finally let us go to our gate, and I spent most of the walk and wait at security on the phone with a nurse at the hospital trying to explain why I needed a doctor's note even though I was technically authorized to fly without one.
We eventually were let through with our boarding passes, and as we're walking down the jetway ANOTHER Turkish Airlines employee came running up to me, asking me how far along I am.  Let me tell you, I was feeling pretty great about myself at that point.  But we were on the plane when it took off, and all the stress seemed to be behind us.  We had an amazing flight, and despite the pregnancy issues, I would love to fly Turkish Airlines again.  We landed and got checked in to the beautiful and perfectly located Doubletree in Istanbul's Old Town, then set off to find our way to the Whirling Dervishes show at the Hodja Pasha Cultural Center.
I'd printed directions from Google Maps, and Colby got us exactly where they led us... unfortunately it wasn't where we needed to be going.  We found ourselves in a labrynthine maze of streets surrounded by stray cats, delivery boys racing around with mysterious carts piled high with burlap bags and boxes, and absolutely nothing remotely touristy in sight.  We probably talked to five different Turks who spoke extremely limited to no English about how to get where we were going, and they all stared at the map in puzzlement, then gave us directions that led us nowhere once more.  It was disappointing since I really was looking forward to the show and we'd prebooked tickets, but it was also kind of hilarious, especially in retrospect.  We ended up spending the evening sitting at a street cafe eating and people watching until we were ready to crash.
Fortunately, after that less than auspicious start, the rest of our trip was absolutely amazing and I fell completely in love with Turkey.  Istanbul was simultaneously exactly what I had hoped it would be, and so, so different from what I'd expected.  The people were friendly, the city was quite clean, the sites were beautiful, and as much as I'm not a religious person, hearing the call to prayer became my favorite part of the day.  There was something so perfectly mystical and magical about Istanbul, and I'm so excited to share my love for it with you over the next week.

Blogdentity Crisis

The strangest thing is happening.  My blog is morphing into a mommy blog.  More and more often I find myself thinking of blog posts I want to write, and then censoring myself because, "Ack!  Too much baby!"  But I don't know... I'm realizing that's a bad idea.  I've always said I keep this blog primarily for myself as a document of my life, and if I'm constantly supressing the urge to write about pretty much the most major event of that life thusfar, then it all becomes a bit pointless, no?

When I first started blogging, I was fresh out of college, writing about working and dating.  Then I got engaged and it became a blog largely about wedding planning and subsequently being married.  Now there are babies happening, and so I guess it's time to talk babies for a while.  I do promise that I will never, ever post a picture of my child on the toilet though.  This, I solemnly swear.  Feel free to bookmark this post and hold it over my head at a later date.

So, baby stuff.  Y'all, I'm sure I'd be equally as over the moon about having wee little ones to munch on in a few months if I were having boys, but let me tell you, shopping for a girl is just about the funnest thing ever.  I haven't quite transitioned to that girl who never buys anything for herself, and always shops for her kids (just ask the Gap, Old Navy, Motherhood Maternity, and Zappos, they'll vouch for me), but I'm more like the girl who constantly buys stuff for herself AND her kids.  The perils of building a maternity wardrobe and a twin girls wardrobe at the same time.
Yesterday, my very first shipment of baby girl clothes arrived, and it felt like Christmas as I opened the boxes and lovingly stroked each sweet little garment.  I was lucky enough to be gifted with a ton of baby clothes at my shower in May, but because we didn't yet know the sexes of the babies, all of it is gender neutral, so it's thrilling to toss a little bit of pink into the mix amongst all of the yellow and green.

I also made my first foray into cloth diaper purchases, and have found some pretty great deals on Charlie Bananas, Thirsties, and the Workhorse fitteds.  I had planned to wait until after my upcoming shower to see if I ended up with a decent starter stash from that, but then these sales kept popping up and, figuring we'd have to buy some on our own eventually anyway, I decided to strike while the iron is hot.  I also revamped my registry/shopping list based on the cloth diapering plan you all helped me create with your amazing advice and suggestions.  I'll write a separate post about that soon.

But what I'm most excited about is that we're finally getting started on the nursery this weekend!  We got a really good head start in my first trimester, buying cribs and large baby gear in the States before we moved since we didn't know what we'd find here and what could be shipped.  Then the move happened and life kind of exploded for a while, so the nursery has been on the back burner.  But we bought the paint a couple of weeks ago, and on Saturday Colby will be manning the brush and I'll have the roller, and if I'm a very good girl, maybe we'll even get cribs put together!  Here's a little sneak peak since it'll probably be awhile before we have a finished product:
25 weeks down, 15 more to go!

Ich Liebe Blogging!

Well, don't I just feel like a fancy pants!  Molly from A Foreign Land has awarded me the adorably (and in my current environs, aptly) named Liebster Award!  I actually had another bloggy friend award this to me a couple months back, but it was when I was in the midst of moving insanity and I completely dropped the ball on passing it along.  So, I'm super thrilled that Molly has given me a redo!

The Liebster award is given to up and coming bloggers who have less than 200 followers. What is a Liebster? The meaning: Liebster is German and means sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing, and welcome.

Here are the very strict rules for receiving this award:
1. Each person must post 11 things about themselves.
2. Answer your assigned questions and create 11 new questions for the people you tag
3. Choose 11 people/blogs and link to them in your post.
4. Go to their page and tell them.
5. No tag backs!

11 Things About Me:

1) Over the course of 29 years, I've lived in 6 states and 2 countries--Oklahoma, Virginia, Louisiana, Arkansas, Washington South Carolina, and currently, Germany.

2) I lived in Louisiana for 17 of those years, so the other 12 years of my life have consisted of moving pretty frequently.  I haven't made it to three years living in one place since I graduated from college in 2004.

3) I was an officer in the Air Force for 2 1/2 years.

4) I have a very serious chocolate addiction.  If it's in the house, I will eat it.  All of it.

5) I've been blogging for SEVEN YEARS.  I've never stuck with anything this long.

6) I never really considered myself a runner, but I ran my first 10K in 2011 and my first half marathon in 2012.  I gave up running when I got pregnant, and I find that I really, really miss it.  So, I guess I'm a runner.

7) I have two of the most adorable pups on the planet.  They've been my loyal companions for the past seven years, and help any new place feel like home.  If I ever got lost in a time vortex, they'd probably be my Constants.

8) My favorite book and movie is Gone with the Wind.  I read my grandmother's copy for the first time when I was eleven, and it was love at first read.  As I've gotten older, I've come to realize that it certainly glamorizes the antebellum South more than it deserves, but I still think Scarlett is one of the most fascinating, dynamic characters ever created.

9) I have my bachelors in English Literature and a Masters in Elementary Education... I'm sure those'll come in handy some day...

10) I have a hair color commitment problem.

11) I really hate feet.  I never, ever wear open-toe shoes unless I'm going to the beach and on a few occasions when a formal dress just wouldn't work with pumps.  One of my favorite things about Germany is how almost everyone here wears real shoes instead of the ubiquitous flip flop.

11 Questions from Molly:

What was the last movie you saw in a theater? The Dark Knight Rises

What do you want to be when you grow up? A mom

What would you do-oo-oo for a Klondike bar? Pay for it.

Superman, Batman or Iron man? Superman and Batman have way too much angst.  Ironman.

How many brothers and sisters do you have and where are you in the birth order? Two older sisters, one younger.  I'm in the middle, but my older sisters are 10 and 12 years older and didn't live with us, so I grew up feeling like the oldest most of the time.

What is your favorite season? Fall

Are you more of an early riser or a night owl? Night owl

How did you come up with the name of your blog? Gone with the Wind!  It's a very uplifting thought when times are hard.  Today might suck balls, but you'll survive and tomorrow will still come.

What's one thing you've accomplished that you want to brag about? Go ahead! Brag! Hm, well, I'm pretty proud of the Masters degree and the half marathon, but since I already talked about those, I guess getting a short story published in a literary journal was pretty awesome.

What book are you reading right now? When Christ and His Saints Slept, Sharon Kay Penman

What would you consider your signature color? Clothingwise, probably blue/teal.  Decorating, I gravitate towards yellow an awful lot.

Tag You're It:

Chelsea's Psycho Babble

Operation Pink Herring

Maiden Aunt

And Her Heart It Is In Ireland

Reinventing Erin

Quirks and Smirks

Little Mrs Married

Growing Kateastrophe

Duoly Noted

We Took The Road Less Traveled

To the Nth

Your Questions:

1. What is your dream travel destination?
2. What is your favorite place that you've traveled?
3. What is your favorite physical quality about yourself?
4. What is your favorite personality aspect of yourself?
5. Backstreet Boys or NSync?
6. Do you still keep in touch with your best friend from elementary school?
7. Would you rather watch the movie or read the book?
8. Where did you go on your first date?
9. What's your favorite board game?
10. Do you have a cooking "specialty"?
11. Phone, text or email?

24 Weeks

Ah, the great, gaping chasm of the middle of pregnancy.  It's sort of like the middle of a deployment--the first part goes by so fast, then there's that looooooong bit in the middle where you feel like you're treading water.  There's almost as much ahead of you as you've got behind you, and things feel a bit stagnant.  But at least in the case of a deployment, things tend to pick up speed as the end draws near, and I'm hoping pregnancy is similar in that regard.
After feeling like the first trimester and beginning of the second trimester blew by, I've noticed that time seems to have slowed drastically.  This slowness of time seems to be directly proportional to my level of discomfort, which seems a bit unfair.  For pretty much the first time in 24 weeks, I'm just going to be whiny for a minute.  My back hurts constantly.  I'm exhausted during the day, but I can't sleep through the night.  My ankles and feet are swollen almost every night.  I'm inexplicably congested.  I'm ridiculously moody--going from insanely happy and upbeat to soap opera crying for no discernible reason.  My stomach is starting to be uncomfortably heavy.  I feel like I'm the size of a walrus.  And perhaps most upsetting of all, I'm beginning to understand that this pregnancy is never going to result in Victoria's Secret model boobs or thick, luscious locks of hair.
So, after getting all of that off of my chest, I must say that I'm still very aware of how incredibly lucky I am that this has been such an easy pregnancy.  When I first heard the word twins in association with the state of my uterus, my very first thought was, "Oh my god, months of bedrest."  While that could still be ahead of me, I thought for sure by now I would be experiencing all kinds of complications, and so far, with the exception of some slight anemia, nada.  I am so, so, SO grateful for that.  To combat my lack of energy, I've started incorporating more regular exercise back into my regular routine.  I'd been doing a great job keeping up with it before we moved, but then there was a couple month interim where I fell off the wagon with the exception of walks.  It feels great to get back to my videos for a little strength training, and even if I don't actually feel less tired, I know it's good for both me and the girls.
The babies--Charlotte and Annabelle, I should say!--are rocking and rolling pretty much constantly now.  If I haven't felt them for more than an hour, I start to really miss them and to worry that something is wrong.  But before long, they're right back to kicking and karate chopping their way into my heart.  With the exception of a few unfortunately aimed kicks to the cervix, the movement isn't uncomfortable, though I'm sure as the three of us continue to grow, that will probably change!
Nothing terribly exciting pregnancy-wise has occurred lately, but at the end of August, there will be a huge flurry of activity.  I'm super excited about a maternity photo shoot that I scheduled for August 25th with the crazy talented Jess of Jess Renee Photography--her photos are just so filled with life and joy.  My sister and one of my sweet friends are co-hosting an online baby-shower for me on the 26th, so I'll get to spend an evening video chatting and opening presents with friends and family on the other side of the world.  And my next anatomy scan (ultrasound) is scheduled for August 28th, when I'll be almost 28 weeks and nearing the home stretch!  It'll be a busy few days, but I'm so looking forward to all of it--especially seeing my beautiful girls again.  This will have been the longest I've gone without a little peek at them.

Until then, I'll just be blowing my nose, vainly searching for the perfect pillow positioning to support my back, crying at the drop of a hat and avoiding all mirrors and scales!