35w2d: What a beautiful day!

We are having beautiful, unseasonably warm spring-like weather here.  All the trees are starting to bud and all our plants are beginning to come up.  I've been enjoying the past few days by going outside for a little everyday.

Today began with brunch with my friend Alex and her husband Michael.  We had good food, and good conversation.  They live in town, and Michael kindly commented on how spacious and sunny the suburbs are.  I am more accustomed to our city friends putting down the suburbs, so that was nice to hear!  One day perhaps they will join us out here with kids, too, but in the meantime they seem to have a great time in town.  When they were saying their goodbyes we realized that in all likelihood, the next time we see them the boys will be on the outside.

Then my friends Shoshana and Jen came over.  Jen lives pretty far away now so I haven't seen her since October.  This was her make-up visit since she missed my shower, but actually, this was way better than if she had actually been at the shower.  They brought picnic food, but we ended up eating out on the back deck (way easier for me than getting up and down off the ground).  We sat in the sun and had bellinis, baguette, cheese, fruit, and chips with mango salsa.  It was perfect!  You can see Shoshana and Jen and our lunch in the top picture.  While we gossiped and ate, Eric went out for a long bike ride.

Originally we had dinner plans with another couple, but they had to cancel.  Eric was fine with this because he does not like when I over-commit us socially.  We got Thai food take-out and then went out for an ice cream cone.  Eric said that a woman in the ice cream shop saw my belly and had a very shocked expression on her face.  Yes, I'm huge!  I told Eric if I go past 36 weeks I want him to print a T-shirt for me that says, "I am full-term with twins!" so that when I go out people will know why I am so big.

Eric tried to take a picture of me with Jen and Shoshana.  In the first picture below, he looked at it and said, "Hmm, that's not a great angle for you... you look like a giant body with a tiny head on top."  So I shifted, and he took another and said, "Hmm, that's not great either..." but we gave up and decided that at this point, I am out of good angles.  No matter how you cut it, my midsection is running large.  Maybe a picture from behind?  So, here is Attempt #1:

And Attempt #2:

I just have to say, these babies better be BIG and healthy when they get here.  I am so not used to myself looking like this.  And it's crazy, because I still have normal arms, legs, ankles, and face.  It is from the collar bone to my butt that is problematic.

Tonight Eric and I settled on the couch to watch a movie (Pirate Radio), and had to take a bathroom break.  While we were upstairs, Eric said, "Where are our babies?" (By babies, he means our cats.  Terminology that will probably have to change in the near future.)  He walked into the nursery, and there they were, Peanut sleeping in one crib, and Trouble sleeping in the other!  I sent Eric running for his phone to take a picture, but I was laughing so hard that Peanut got scared and leaped out of his crib and ran away.  Here is a picture of Trouble in his crib:

We are hoping that they will lose interest in the cribs when there are human babies in them.  Don't worry, we don't plan to let the babies (human) sleep with the cats and will do research to make sure it doesn't happen.

There is also some less-good news about our sweet Trouble.  He threw up on Thursday night and it was strange.  Not food throw up, and a lot of it and he seemed a little upset.  So as soon as we got home from my non-stress test on Friday (oh yeah, the non-stress test was fine, I'm still pregnant) I called the vet and made an appointment for him.  The vet is worried that he has Irritable Bowel Disease.  The first step was for us to change their food.  Eric and I had been feeding them an adult formula from Costco and the vet said that this is the equivalent of McDonald's for cats.  I was mortified!  I would NEVER feed my children a daily diet of McDonald's, so my cats shouldn't eat it, either.  We went to the pet store and got him a sensitive tummy formula.  The vet also recommended 5 mg of Pepcid AC a day.  Trouble has always acted his usual self, so I was surprised that he might be so sick!  He had lost 2 pounds since the previous summer, and the vet said that is unusual at his young age.  If Trouble's tummy troubles don't ease up in the next month, then we will have to get him an ultrasound to rule in or out the Irritable Bowel Disease.  My sweet boy, we will do whatever he needs!  He was clingy the rest of the day Friday and today is back to his usual napping, affectionate, handsome self.  Both Peanut and Trouble seem to adore their new food and have eaten quite enthusiastically.   It is probably 3 times as much as we were spending at Costco, but like I said, we will do whatever it takes for them.

Also, today is my dad's birthday!  Happy Birthday, Dad!  He and my mom went down to DC to spend the day with my sister so I didn't get to see him.  Tomorrow my parents are taking a short vacation to Long island, so we are going to have to delay my dad's birthday celebration for a while.  He is impossible to buy for, but he loves red meat, so our usual gift to him is a nice steak and bottle of red wine.  That's what he'll be having this year, too.