It's been a while.

I have exactly two pictures filed under my March 2012 folder.  I currently have 8 filed under April 2012.  Maybe I should post all ten of those pictures and call it good?!  Here's the first picture in the March folder:

The other picture from March looks a lot like this one, only a bit closer up.  The closer up angle isn't doing any of us any favors, so we'll just leave it there in the folder.  March consisted mostly of more of the same routines of life.  Although Darin had his Earnest grandparents pass away, and that took him to Oregon twice within two weeks of each other.  During the month of March I was mostly only exhausted.  I really couldn't think past what was happening that very day.  You can read a few more details over at the sister post that my mom posted right HERE. (Sarah has the most recent sister post up.)

Towards the end of March I did start to feel better.  I passed into the blessed second trimester of this pregnancy.  The second trimester is harolded as the best part of any pregnancy.  I'm sure that will prove true of mine too.  I was making it through days without needing a nap, or multiple naps.  It felt like a new lease on life.  I started sewing again, which is always good way for me to add more joy and happiness into my life.

I went back to the doctor for another routine OB appointment.  I knew they would do another ultrasound, because with twins, it's impossible to distinguish two separate heart beats with that little fetal heart beat monitor.  I don't know why, but I was overcome with fear.  I had convinced myself that something would be wrong and I was going to have to prepare myself to deal with the emotional aftermath of crisis.  I told Darin of my foreboding.  I begged him to skip class and join me for the bad news.  He told me since he had already missed two classes in a row, that it was really important that he go to class.  He told me nothing was going to be wrong.  I still didn't believe him.

The OB walked into the room.  She was the same doctor who got called in as a second verifying opinion of the twin situation the first time around.  The one who declared it definitively twins.  She remembered me.  She wanted to chat, discuss things.  I only wanted her to get the ultrasound machine rolling and get the bad news over with.

She fired up the ultrasound machine while we did more small talking.  Had she taken my blood pressure reading right then, she would have been worried.  And then, all of a sudden, on the monitor I saw them.  Both of them.  Wiggling.  Hearts beating.  Four arms.  Four legs.  Little fingers, too small to count twenty.  Everyone looking like they were having a grand time in-utero.  I still start to cry just thinking about it now.  Never have I felt more powerfully connected to the powers of procreation.  There I was, a partner with God in the process of bringing more spirits into this world.  I felt so very humble.

The doctor said they looked as heathy as could be.  She wasn't even going to bother getting a heart rate on either of them because she said, "Just look at them".  And I was.  It was amazing.  For the first time I KNEW we were having twins.  I wished Darin could have been there.  Class had gotten out early, and he was trying to get there, but it didn't work out.  He'll see them later this month.

  
I guess that summarizes March in my mind.  It will go down as the month I suddenly got less tired, and the month I finally KNEW we were having our second set of twins.  I will always remember March.

George has started baseball again.  If you follow Darin on instagram, you can get the weekly pictorial update of that event.  His first game was tonight.  We all went and even stood in the rain to watch George score a run!  Maybe baseball won't be so bad after all?!

Jane planned Family Home Evening for us on Monday night.  She had a full paper full of plans and activities.  But she had forgotten about the treat!  She asked if we could go to our favorite Maple View Farm for their homemade ice cream.  It was a wonderfully warm April night, and neither Darin nor I had the will power to say "no".  We shortened a bit of her lesson to accomodate the travel time involved with our treats.  It was totally worth it.

Tomorrow is our first day of Spring Break.  We couldn't possibly be more ready for spring break.  We are heading to the Outer Banks next week for a couple of nights.  In the mean time, we will prepare for Easter (with a bit of sewing), enjoy sleeping in, not packing lunches, or needing to lay out outfits before bedtime.  We will enjoy doing nothing!  And just when we get tired of doing nothing, we'll head out to the beach.  I hope it all turns out as perfect as it sounds right now!

I think that's my update.  So many friends have told me they've been checking in on my blog to see how the news has settled in on us about the new twins.  It took me a while, but I am fully on board now.  I want nothing less than new twins!  It is all that my future dreams are made of.  But not my nightly dreams.  Please tell me when you are pregnant you have crazy dreams too?!  Tell me I am not alone in this weird stage of pregnancy.  The most remarkable dreams from this week, were first when the elementary school (where I had been spending a great deal of time up until this pregnancy) thought I had gotten a job at the zoo.  When I walked in one morning to volunteer, everyone I walked passed was asking me about the zoo.  It took the whole dream to sort out why everyone was asking me about the zoo, to get to the bottom of the scandal, and then to inform everyone that in fact I didn't get a new job at the zoo.  But last night's dream was so bad, I woke up at 5am and didn't want to go back to bed because I didn't want that awful dream to come back.  It was all about Darin getting a sudden and rare incurable disease from which he would die in a week.  We had one week to sort out all the details, say our good-byes, and all the while he was getting progressively frail and sick (in my dream).  It was so awful!  I was constantly crying.  And for some reason, his sickness just made him grumpy so he forgot to be nice to be in his last week alive on earth.  I'm telling you, morning couldn't come soon enough.

Oh boy.  I hope I look back and laugh about it all someday!   I nearly woke him up at 5am to make sure the dream wasn't real.  Then I thought about how in real life, he's usually a pretty nice guy, but not if I woke him up unnecessarily and way too early.  So I let him sleep and just checked my email instead.

Our in-depth "anatomy" ultrasound at UNC hospital is schedule for April 26th.  Mark your calendars!  I'll see you back here then.  Happy Spring Break!!