Then and now-

Hunting, fishing, ATV riding, camping, 4 wheeling, these are all the things I loved to do in the past. I always looked forward to the Cabelas catalog coming in the mail. It was full of everything you could need for any of the previously listed activities. I would sit and go through it page by page looking for the next thing that I had to have. This week the new one came out and I found myself setting it aside and looking through the latest edition of American Baby and the weekly flyer from Babies R Us. On TV I would watch all my favorites, MASH, police and fire fighter shows, Mythbusters, you know, manly shows. Now Bringing home baby and a Baby story are on more than anything. It used to be that I was not afraid to go into a burning building or climb into a mangled car to rescue someone and now I am terrified that I will buy the wrong kind of mattress for the crib. We would look forward to traveling, cruises, Orlando, Vegas for months. Now I can't wait to see the next ultrasound and do the expecting parent tour at Magee. I am not saying I am turning into a girl, I still stand to pee but I am a bit concerned about the direction things are going. I may need to go buy something manly to even things out. I wonder if Babies R Us has camouflage bibs?

I hate NY!

Andrea and I have been trying to get a few trips in before the big day. She went to Florida last week with her family and this weekend we headed for NYC. I have always wanted to take a trip on a train and she has always wanted to go to New York City. So we did both. We left from Pgh at 7:20am Saturday morning and arrived in NYC at 5pm. We checked into the Hotel Pennsylvania which was across the street from Penn Station. After seeing our room we wanted to get out of it as soon as possible. $200 does not get you much in Manhattan. We walked about 9 blocks to Times Square where we had dinner and got on a bus tour at 7:30 for 2 hours cruising around NYC. Our guide was not from this country and I am fairly sure he was making things up as we went. After the tour we walked back towards our hotel. We stopped at a pizza shop for a piece of authentic NYC pizza. After getting into a short argument with the shop owner we took our pizza and ate it outside. I was amazed at how big and crowded the city was on a Saturday night. We headed back to our hotel and went to sleep. The next morning we got up, took a walk around and found a K Mart store. Only Andrea would find a K Mart in NYC and shop there. We went for some breakfast at McDonalds. We are in one of the food meccas of the world and all she wanted was a bacon egg and cheese biscuit. At 10:50 we left headed for the burgh. There were about 15 stops each way between Pgh and NYC. The train was very comfortable and we had a great time on it. Took a bunch of naps, talked about what the baby names will be and even got woken up twice by a drunk guy. I was able to control myself each time and not cause a scene but I told Andrea that the next time he came through the car on the way to the bar singing and waking everyone up I was going to have a talk with him. Luckily, he must have passed out because we never saw him again. We got back to Pgh at 8pm and headed home. It was a short, busy trip that we really enjoyed but I never have to go back to NYC again. Way to big, crowded, expensive and full of obnoxious people. No new news on the babies front. She has been feeling pretty good with the exception of some heart burn and the need for lots of naps. 17 days till the next ultrasound.

Half way there.

Andrea got back last night from a trip to Orlando with her family. I can tell she is starting to be in mommy mode because the whole time she was there every time I talked to her all she could do is talk about her little niece Lillian. She sent me about 40 pictures of her over the few days she was there. She said she even changed a diaper. I was shocked to see her last night after only 5 days she looks more pregnant than when she left. The belly is large and in charge. She is back to her starting weight. She is eating better, has not puked in weeks and is only taking the nausea pills occasionally. Her new thing is heart burn. It has been bad at times. Tomorrow starts week 18 so based on an expected 35-36 week pregnancy for twins we are 1/2 way there. We are still 3 weeks away from the next ultrasound where we will probably be able to tell if they are boys, girls or both. If you have not voted yet on what you think they will be go to the link listed the blog from last week below this one. I got the furniture cleared out of the babies room and ready for cribs, changing tables, etc.

Random thoughts

Andrea is definitely looking knocked up. The belly is becoming large and in charge. I fear what is to come. She still weighs less than she did before we started this though. I think that she may be using me though. We went miniature golfing the other day with my niece Kyleigh. After several holes Andrea asked me to bend over every time to put the ball down and pick it up out of the hole. She was ready to quit after about 5 holes also. I know you are wondering the score so-

Jeff- 46 WINNER!

Kyleigh- 67

Andrea and the Twins- 68

Andrea is going to Florida this weekend for a few days with her family. She leaves tonight with her grandmother.

She continues to feel better, I think we are at 2 weeks without any puking.

We went to Babies R Us the other day to find out what a double stroller, 2 car seats and 2 extra bases for the car seats cost. $650.

That's it for now, don't forget to vote from the link listed on the previous blog.

Your vote counts!

As I said in a previous post we were unable to find out the sexes of the twins at the last ultrasound. We will not be able to find out until the next ultrasound the second week of August. Even then, if one or both of them are camera shy we may not find out then either. Everyone seems to have an opinion as to what they think they will be so I thought I would do a poll to get the thoughts of the people. I also have no idea if anyone is reading these blogs so this will give me an idea of how many of you are out there also. Thanks Pav for setting up the poll. I will let you know the total in a week or so. To vote click the address below. I assume ACORN will stay out of this one and let the people's voices be heard.

www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=QehroEsjBPDqfRFxPdL6Rw_3d_3d

Stomach contents- butterflys and squeeze cheese

Andrea has been told that at this point she may start to feel something in her belly described as a "fluttering". It happened today for the first time. She said if felt like butterflies flying around in her stomach. The need for that disgusting squeeze cheese in a can continues. I got sent out with a shopping list today. She continues to feel better than she has in the past. She naps alot but I think she may be using the pregnancy as an excuse to be lazy.

Looking for boy parts

Week 16 starts tomorrow. We had a Dr. appointment and an ultrasound today. The goal was to find out the sexes of the kids but our "penis hunt" was unsuccessful. We will have to wait for the next ultrasound to find out. I tried to beg, bribe and threaten the ultrasound technician but to no avail. We did find out that the heart rates and measurements on both were within normal limits. We were surprised to see how much they were moving in there. They are too small to feel but the one looked like they were dancing. Our next chance to see what sexes are will not be for another month. Andrea continues to feel better but not good.

Public enemies- Johnny Depp and me

As I have mentioned in the past one of the side effects of pregnancy is the "gas" issue. Andrea still finds it funny to pay me back for years of abuse. I still cringe and run screaming from the room when I hear a certain giggle coming from her. Last night she wanted to see the movie Public Enemies. I reluctantly went since I hate Johnny Depp. About 2 hours into the movie it hit me. It was unannounced and it was mean. The smell made me angry and there was nothing I could do about it but give Andrea an evil stare. I asked her what was wrong with her and how could someone do this in a crowded theater. She gave me the normal giggle and then explained that if anyone in the movie were to think it came from our row they would most definitely assume that it came from me and not her. I think she may be on to something here. She can get away with almost anything she wants. She drops a death stinky in a crowded theater and I am the one that ends up being public enemy #1, not Johnny Depp.

A trek north, eh.

We headed north to Niagara Falls, Canada for the night. In the past Andrea has been a traveling fool, running all day and never wanting to stop or go back to the room to rest. This trip was a bit different. She got tired very easily and even fell twice while climbing up a few flights of steps. nothing bad, just stumbled from being so tired. Friday night we walked around Clifton Hill and had dinner at the Macaroni Grill at our hotel. Andrea wanted to sit outside and since it was after sundown it was a bit cold. She was prepared with a sweater but I was in shorts and a short sleeved shirt. The waiter asked if we needed anything so I told him I was cold and wanted to snuggle. He literally ran away, I think I scarred him off. We then went back to the room and watched the fireworks over the falls out our window. Andrea made a small donation to the casino and we came back to the burgh this afternoon. We go for an ultrasound this Wednesday. I can't wait to see what Tumas and Bella look like.

Bye bye first trimester, hello deductible

Today is the last day of the first trimester. Andrea continues to feel better as more time goes by. If you consider the fact that we are probably looking at 35-37 weeks of pregnancy with twins instead of the typical 40 weeks we are well over 1/3 of the way there. Many things have changed already and some things never change. Andrea has knocked the passenger mirror off every car she has ever had. Why should the company car be any different. Nationwide vehicle versus Comcast van today.