Embrace the Elastic…

I tried to hold out as long as I could – but I can no longer pass the Zip Test. The Zip Test is my self imposed indicator of when I am officially not allowed to wear pre-preggo pants any more. It’s frustrating since they fit everywhere but around the tummy (duh). The Belly Band has been my best friend. For those that don't know, and why would you unless you've already been pregnant, it's a elastic band that helps hide the fact that you're walking around with your pants unzipped!

In a moment of insanity I decided to measure my waist the other night…42.25”! That’s right; I’m slowly losing visibility to my toes. Goodness, and it's only been 17 weeks. So this weekend I will make the trek to the local Motherhood Maternity and try to find some pants that fit. Really though, how could they not fit, they’ve got 8” of elastic at the waist!

Today has been the first day that I’ve felt them moving around – which is so exciting! I’d really like to call Ben to tell him, but it may just give him a heart attack since my enthusiasm may be confused with panic after waking him from a dead sleep. So, to be prudent, I’ll wait until later this evening.


I didn’t realize this, but I’m very lucky to see the kiddos every appointment via ultrasound. My sis told me that they normally don’t do them every time. So Ben and I feel very lucky, we love to see them moving around on screen. And besides, I’m just now beginning to distinguish body parts. I was able to point out a leg and a butt this time. I love this ultrasound pic, it looks like one of them is either offering its thumb or trying to knock the other one out.

17 Weeks and Growing

Time is going by so quickly! I wish we were able to slow it down in order to really enjoy the process…and feel more prepared. I’m really looking forward to my doctor appointment tomorrow (I think one of the reasons Ben is happy I’m pregnant is because it forces me to go to the doctor). Ben hasn’t gotten a chance to see them move around on screen yet, so they’ll be making their performance debut tomorrow for him.

You’d be very surprised to learn that I have not started any craft projects for the babies yet. What?! Most of you would expect me to be knee deep in sewing patterns and knitting needles by now with at least 12 projects going. What’s causing this? I like to call it “Amanda’s Analysis Paralysis”, which is very similar to, but not the same as, Procrastination. The options are endless – so it becomes easier not to choose. You’ll see the symptoms of AAP in things like:

• Home décor (no, we still have not painted and please ignore the 4 unfurnished rooms)


• Baby Names (one of my nephews thought it was great that I was going to name them Thing 1 and Thing 2)


• Nursery theme (they won’t know that plain white walls are boring, right?)


• Baby stuff (do we want a side-by-side stroller, facing each other, traveling system…)


• Daycare options (someone told me that we should be visiting locations now, yikes!)

If you really want to see me stress, feel free to leave me a comment on the 1,000+ other decisions that I’ve forgotten to mention. Thank goodness Ben is so decisive. Maybe I should send him to do all of the registering? On second thought, maybe I shouldn’t…I don’t think they will need their own archery or fishing set from Cabella’s for a few years.

Chips, Pickles and Moving Boxes

Well, the last 4 weeks have flown by! Our family is going through so many changes, I need to remember to slow down and enjoy these moments. Here’s a recap of what has been going on in the last 4 weeks:

• We are officially “moved in” to our new house in Amissville. Now, I didn’t say “unpacked” – that’s entirely different and will take at least 6 months to complete.



• I’ve reached the 15 week mark and am now showing, I’ve got one pic at 12 weeks. I found my camera last night so will try to get some recent and somewhat decent pics this weekend.



• I can no longer wear pre-prego pants unless the waistband is made entirely out of elastic.


• One of my puppies (Chloe) has made it out to VA!

We’re now living in what Ben likes to call “suburban country”. Let me translate that for you, decent land, nice neighbors close by, hellish commute and HUGE spiders. Can you guess what I’m most concerned about?

I was in the garage last night rummaging through one of the boxes when something skittered by my foot. I squeaked and Ben hurried out to investigate. I insisted I just saw a mouse – a furry body, long tail, fast. I hightailed it out of the garage and let Ben take over. A few minutes later, I was called back to the garage and Ben asks me, “could it have been a spider?”.
“No way, the thing was way too big to be a spider.”
“Take a look in between those two boxes…”

Sure enough, it was a spider – more specifically a barn spider. Despite my paranoia, I had to Google “spider with yellow black stripes on leg”. I’d like to say that I’ll get over that fear so I don’t transmit that to my kiddos – but don’t hold your breath!

On to cravings, these have been very mild, except for last weekend. I got it in my head that I wanted potato chips and sliced dill pickles…together. Luckily we had both in the house and I was able to save Ben a trip to the store (which, is now 10 miles away). It’s odd though, because I now have no desire to eat either. Eh, I’m starting to learn to just roll with it!