New Digs

So I mentioned last week that we were on the hunt for a new house. Our criteria for homes were simple. 4 bedrooms, finished basement or the potential to be finished, and in the school district we wanted. Everything else we could be flexible on.

I went into the search with a few neighborhoods in mind. They were all older neighborhoods with mid century homes. I wanted something with character. The first time we bought a house. 11 years ago, we only looked in Southwood Park, an older neighborhood full of houses with amazing architectural details. I loved that neighborhood, I still miss it, but we decided the school district there was not an option for our family. This time around I thought an updated mid century modern ranch would be perfect. Well guess what, finding a 4 bedroom mid century ranch on a basement in the zip codes we wanted is pretty much impossible. Rather than wait for my perfect home to eventually come up for sale, and who knows if that house even exists, I opened my mind to look at the space the homes we were looking at had available rather than the architecture of the house.

As soon as we found the right house, we knew it was it. Lots of space, an amazing basement to make into a playroom, a fenced back yard, and no major improvements that need done to the house before we could move in. The entire house needs a paint job, but we can handle that. We put in an offer a couple days after seeing and after a little back and forth, we agreed on numbers. Now we are officially under contract!! We had our inspection on Wednesday, and now we're waiting on the seller to get back to us about the few items that need addressed. A few minor things. and the big issue of high radon levels in the basement. An easy fix, but something we want lowered before we move in.

As long as everything goes well with the remediation of the items from the inspection, and that the appraisal comes back where it needs to be, we should be all set to close and move before the end of October. Just in time too, because my second trimester is flying by and once I hit 30 weeks I'll probably be rather useless, at least when it comes to helping pack up and move.

For now we're waiting impatiently patiently for everything to get checked off the list before closing in less than a month. We have started packing up boxes, deciding what needs to be donated before the move, and fixing the few minor thing that need repaired around here before we move. Thankfully we don't have to worry about selling, but we still want to house to be ready for our landlord to bring in potential renters. A third bedroom that is primarily used as storage doesn't exactly scream usable space, so moving all the baby stuff we've been storing in there out is priority numero uno.

While I was at the house for the inspection, I snapped a few pictures on my phone so I could share them here. The house has been well updated, with the exception of the master bath which is very late 90s. That particular project will be waiting a couple years, so it will just be lots of paiting when we move in.  Have I ever mentioned how much I don't love to paint, but I love the results. I'm pretty sure that's everyone though.

Main Entry

Guest Room

Nursery

Harrison and Brooke's Room

Master Bedroom

Master Bath

Basement

Kitchen

Great Room 

And there it is! Our first orders of business will be painting the master and nursery. Getting the basement set up as a playroom will also be done almost immediately. We want an organized space where H and B can play their days away and keep the clutter out of the great room.

Please keep your fingers crossed that all goes well over the next couple weeks!

24 Weeks

How Far Along - 24 weeks 2 days
Babies' Size - 2 ears of Indiana sweet corn
Total Weight Gain - 2 pound gain last week, and 1 the week before.  27 pounds total.
Gender - Still carrying the B/Gs
Maternity Clothes - Either maternity clothes, maxi dresses, or sweats. I don't like to wear sweats or yoga pants outside of the house unless I'm going to work out. I'm slowing deciding I don't give a shit and that I'll wear whatever I darn well please.
Cravings - Food. I love it all right now. I have been longing for more coffee than I'm allowed to drink. I'm not sure it it's the cooler weather, but I've really been wanting a second cup of coffee in the afternoon.
Symptoms - All of them. ;) Hip and pelvic pain, heartburn, itchy belly, discharge, swollen feet by the end of the day, you get the idea. Even with all of the lovely symptoms of pregnancy, I'm still enjoying it. Most of the time.
Miss Anything - Clothes that fit and not having to go to the bathroom 4 times per night. The other night I didn't wake up to use the restroom at all.  It was glorious until the morning when I had tons of Braxton Hicks, was seriously uncomfortable, and realized I didn't drink enough the day before.
Stretch Marks - I can see little red marks under my skin, but no stretch marks have come through yet.  
Looking Forward To - Our next appointment in a week and a half! We have blood work, glucose test, an ultrasound, and a visit with my OB all on the agenda. After my last visit we moved appointments up to 3 weeks increments. A couple 3 week appointments and then we'll be moving up to every 2.
Best Moment This Week - REACHING VIABILITY!! 24 weeks is such a big deal for twin pregnancies. So many twin moms deliver early or have to go on bed rest. Reaching this milestone is a big one for us. We were fortunate to make it to 37 weeks with H and B with almost no complications. The great news this time around is our success last time gives us an even better chance of carrying to term this time. Even with that information, it's still a relief to know that if something happened and they had to be born, they have a better chance of surviving than not. That is of course with serious medical help. 

Appointment Notes - I developed mild pre-eclampsia with H and B at the very end. I want to keep track of my blood pressure this go round, so I am going to add an appointment notes section to my weekly posts. At my 22 week appointment my BP was 120/70. Still low but a little higher than usual for me. Also worth noting, both babies heartbeats were in the low 150s. 

365 Challenge - Weeks 33, 34, & 35

This post is only almost a week late, but as with everything in our lives right now, I'll get to it when I get to it. We have had some pretty big things going on lately. Brooke and Harrison started Pre-School last week!! I probably should write a post all about their first day, but it probably wouldn't get done until next month. ;) They really enjoyed their first day and their second day, which was today. We've been making it a point to enjoy summer as much as possible before it's gone. The Y pool is already closed, we probably had our last swim at the lake on Labor Day, and the zoo is only open for another month. We've been loving this late summer weather, and as much as we're looking forward to fall, we'll be sad when summer is officially over.

In other big news we started looking for a house to buy. We have been on the fence as to whether we would wait until after the babies are born or try and make the move now. We've been looking for a couple weeks and have seen a few great options. If we can make a decision and get moved before mid Novemeber, I think we'll be happy we decided to do it now. The kids have come with us for a couple showings, and Brooke has insisted on using the bathroom at each house we tour. To everyone who has their home listed for sale in the '04 and '14, you're welcome. I will definitely be keeping the blog updated about our home hunting and hopefully purchasing adventures.

For now, here are our last 3 weeks of pictures, taken almost entirely on my iPhone. Lugging around the Nikon and a twin belly don't go together too well.

8.20.2015

8.21.2015

8.22.2015

8.23.2015

8.24.2015

8.25.2015 - Nikon

8.26.2015

8.27.2015

8.28.2015

8.29.2015

8.30.2015

8.31.2015

9.1.2015

9.2.2015

9.3.2015

9.4.2015

9.5.2015

9.6.2015

9.7.2015

9.8.2015

9.9.2015

22 Weeks

How Far Along - 22 weeks 2 days
Babies' Size - 11 inches, 1 pound, approximately the size of 2 papayas
Total Weight Gain - Up 3 pounds last week. Yikes! 24 pounds total. I am having a hard time seeing the number on the scale climb. I know early weight gain is so important with twins, but it's still hard to see the number go up so much. I have to keep reminding myself that big healthy babies and no NICU time is the goal. I can worry about weight gain after they're born.  
Gender - One little man and one little lady. 
Maternity Clothes - All the time. Some of my maternity tanks and tees are even getting a little short. I have some sized up maternity clothes from the end of my last pregnancy that will be making an appearance soon.  
Cravings - no real cravings, but definitely some foods I've been favoring lately. Cereal, cheese toasties with turkey, and Mexican food are high on the list right now. 
Symptoms - Lots of hip and pelvic pain. By the time the kids are in bed, I am ready to get in bed and lay on my side to relieve some of the pressure. I've been noticing minor swelling in my feet by the end of the day. I have an OB appointment this Friday, and I'm curious to see if my blood pressure is up anymore. It was a gradual climb my entire last pregnancy until I made it to 140/90 at my 37 week appointment. 
Miss Anything - Energy and a good nights sleep. After a couple good nights of sleep post vacation, I've been tossing and turning a lot at night.  
Stretch Marks - Still none yet. My belly has been really itchy, so I've been slathering it with lotion multiple times a day.  
Looking Forward To - Hearing two little heartbeats this week. Even though I can feel them move daily, there's something so amazing and reassuring about hearing their heartbeats.  
Best Moment This Week - We can finally see some of their movements. Rob and I were laying on the couch a couple nights ago just watching them kick my belly button. Being able to share their movements with him is so special. 

Denver

As I'm sure many of you know, because I posted tons of pictures on Instagram and Facebook, we were in Denver last week to celebrate my brother and his husband's wedding. It was an absolute blast, and I've spent all week saying I want to go back. We spent a couple days in Denver and then headed into the mountains and stayed at Keystone Resort. I'm going to try and keep the words short on this one, not my specialty, and overload on pictures, something I tend to be good at.

Sunday we headed down to Indy to spend the day at The Children's Museum. We spent the night in a hotel, and then flew out Monday afternoon. By the time we got to Denver, got our rental, and checked into our hotel it was already 5pm. We headed to my brother's that evening to celebrate my now BIL's birthday. Tuesday morning we hung out at the Denver Children's Museum. Nap time for the kids equalled a mani-pedi for me and a few of the other groom's party members. We had family dinner at my brother's and enjoyed a walk to Sloan's Lake.

Wednesday we made the drive into the mountains. We stopped on the way to ride the Georgetown Loop railroad. By 5:30pm all of our roomies had arrived to the resort. We roomed with my younger brother and his wife, and well as a couple of our besties from The Fort who also happen to be great friends with my older brother. We got a 4 bedroom condo so the kids could have their own room. Possibly the smartest decision of the trip. So much better than sharing double beds with them as Rob and I had done the three nights prior. We explored the resort and had dinner before calling it a night.

Thursday morning the kids and I were up before everyone else. We did more exploring and picked up coffee and breakfast. When everyone else was up we played mini golf. Thursday evening was the rehearsal. It was an I Do BBQ and was held at Lake Dillion, which was beyond beautiful. Once the kids were asleep we all hot tubbed it for a couple hours. Don't worry, I only sat on the step so it wouldn't get to hot for the babies. Mid way through our evening of hot tubbing we decided to walk 10 minutes in 50 degree temps across the resort in just our swimsuits and towels to go to my brother's hot tub. Theirs had a waterfall, so how could we not? They also had a heated pool which was heavenly to swim in.

Friday was wedding day!!! Since we had a large 4 bedroom condo, we were hair central for all the attendants getting their hair did. I was up first at 9:30am. Rob took over kid duty and went out with my parents, sister, and nephew to keep them entertained while we ladies all got ready. Early lunch and naps, and by 2:45 we were headed up the gondola to 12,000ft. The ceremony and reception site were breathtaking. The ceremony was officiated by my SIL, and was perfect.

Pictures, cocktail hour, dinner, cake, and then the party started. Harrison, Brooke, and their cousins all took to the dance floor immediately, they weren't waiting for the rest of us. Once the first dance was done, the party started and didn't slow down. Glow sticks and other glow in the dark party accessories were broke out, and the dance floor didn't empty once. H and B didn't make it through the whole reception, so Rob pulled father of the year and took them back to the condo early. The rest of us partied the night away. I did learn that if your 21 weeks pregnant with twins it's ok to drop it like it's hot and shake it like a Polaroid picture, but it's not ok to do a conga line. You will pull a muscle in your hip and be sidelined for the rest of the night. Thankfully that happened after a couple hours of good dancing when the night was almost over.

Saturday we had lunch with all of the groom's families before heading back to Denver for the evening. It was of course a perfect day the day we left, and I wish we would have had one more day to play in the mountains. Almost all of my immediate family was crashing at my brother's in Denver that night, so we got some carryout Mexican for dinner and enjoyed our last evening together. We all had early flights in the morning and called it a night before 10pm.

Sunday we got up early to return the rental car and make a 10:10am flight. We found out after we dropped off the rental car that our flight was delayed 2 hours. We waited in the longest TSA line ever, so it was probably a good thing we were slightly delayed otherwise we would have been pulling a Home Alone and running to the gate at the last minute. It was 8:15pm by the time we made it home, but we made it home and that's all that matters.


So maybe not that short of a post, but it all made into one post, unlike our trip to Seattle last year. (1, 2, 3) Now all of us Justice kids are married, so no more Justice weddings for another 20+ years. I guess that means next year we can vacation wherever we want. Although with 4 kids under 4, maybe we'll just stay at home.