{five things x}

- one -

First of all, I need to thank my mom for bringing sunshine back to the Beehive State.  

She is flying home from Hawaii today, and I asked her to bring some sunny skies with her.  The days here have been so grey and murky lately, to see sun and experience fresh air-- even if it is still cold-- is a most welcome treat.

 

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

That's better.

Thanks, Mom!

 

- two -

Reilly finally seems to have won the battle over the infection that had been plaguing her the last couple of months.  

HOORAY!!!!!!!!!!

Recent lab results had given us some preliminary good news, but I wasn't quite ready to breathe easier until we got the more in-depth culture results back from the hospital.  Thankfully, everything came back clean.

Finally the color has returned to her face.  Her beautiful freckles, which had completely disappeared while she was ill are brightening our days again. 

I am so happy that chapter is over and done with.

- three -

Lately it seems like my entire life has been spent on simply keeping up with the essentials.  It is always a bit frustrating not being able to keep up with what used to be a normal routine now that I am pregnant.  I have to keep telling myself that as long as everyone has clothes on their backs and food in their tummies that we're doing okay.  The house may never be as clean as I'd like over the next few months, and I'm making peace with that.

I also decided to start taking some time during the twins' naps to work on something creative.  I'm an artsy person by nature, and a new project has done wonders for my outlook lately.  I decided to make quilts for the twins' birthday gifts this year.  They will be my first ever pieced quilts.  I'm using fabric from Aneela Hoey's "Sherbet Pips" and "Little Apples" lines that I got on sale awhile back. So far the blocks are turning out really cute.  I think Dani & Logan will love them-- they keep trying to run off with the finished blocks already! 

- four -

There has always been a budding paleontologist in our house, but as of late there has actually been an honest-to-goodness dinosaur dig going on in our kitchen.

For Christmas this year, Taylor's Uncle Rob & Aunt Angel gave him his very own paleontology experience-- a Tyrannosaur skeleton excavation kit.  For the last several weeks he has spent hours carefully digging his T-Rex out of what appears to be some sort of plaster, imitating the compacted earth that real scientists experience.

With only a few bones remaining to uncover, he is one happy dino-lover.

- five -

Tomorrow, I'll be 17 weeks along with this pregnancy.

Things have been going fairly well, aside from a little scare a while back when the doppler was unable to pick up the baby's heartbeat.  An ultrasound relieved those concerns, and also confirmed that there is just one baby on his or her way this time.  It made me a little sad at first, because having twins has been such a sweet and amazing experience, but over the past few days I've come to think that the idea of having just one little baby to snuggle and savor sounds quite heavenly.  Just one!  I don't know if I even remember what that's like!

The nausea thankfully has been starting to ease up gradually over the past few days.  Now the biggest issue I'm facing daily is the chronic fatigue and horrible sciatica that likes to sneak up on me.  There is nothing quite so disconcerting as having your legs suddenly give out right under you.  The back pain I can deal with.  But when it starts limiting my mobility, it gets pretty interesting around here. 

The things we go through for our little ones!

While it is certainly difficult, I am honestly thankful for the lessons I've learned along the journey.

(Just usually after the fact.)

 • • • 

And those are my five things for Friday!

Have a wonderful weekend, all!