25 & 26 Weeks

The Snyder Duo Weeks 25 & 26

Today: 26 weeks 5 days.

Looking huge. I get asked ALL THE TIME when I am due.

Baby Size:
According to my sources the babies are about the size of hot house cucumbers. They are about 14-15 inches long and weigh about 2 lbs. each. They are growing bigger each day and moving all over the place.

Weight Loss/Gain:
At my 24 week appointment I was +12 lbs. I am guessing that I am up from that this week, but I do not weigh myself unless at the doctor. I have been eating and I have not been super sick so I am guessing I have gained, hoping it is not 7 lbs like last appointment! But we will have to wait until the 28 week appointment for the official word.

Maternity Clothes:
YES. All maternity pants and mostly all maternity tops. My belly gets bigger everyday and I am amazed at how quickly the maternity tops are getting tight. i was able to wear regular tshirts until recently. They are now all too short. I have been wearing dresses, but maternity dresses are better because I cannot stand the long in the back, short in the front look so many of my non maternity dresses are not working. I have plenty to wear, just mostly maternity.

Sleep:
I have had lots of trouble falling asleep lately. Once I am asleep I still wake up at least 4 times a night to go to the bathroom, but getting to sleep in the hard part. My mind is racing with all things school, new house, old house, packing boxes, having babies and all that good stuff. My legs are restless at night and it is not easy to get to sleep. I used to made question if RLS was real, but now I am thinking it might have it! ha! To make up for the lack of sleep at night I have been trying to nap while Clark naps. This helps soooo much and gives me the energy I need to work in my classroom each night.

Symptoms:
I am feeling great these days. I have not been sick and I have been keeping most if not all meals down. I have not taken any Zofran this week and I have not been sick! I am hoping this sticks around. I have also had a VERY itchy belly. I know that it is growing and stretching (yes- I have some stretch marks and I am sooooo sad about it) but I don't see how it can stretch much more. It is so tight and solid. It is not easy to bend over and many times I feel like I am going to break in half. The next 10 weeks or so should be very interesting.
Movement:
ALL OF THE TIME. I have found that I can tell the difference between the two and I think that is pretty neat. When I sleep on my left side Sara Kate protests in kicks and when I sleep on my right side Shepard does the same. So I have to switch back in fourth to give everyone equal time. Also, Shep's little bottom sticks out a lot causing my belly to look very lopsided. He is up higher and the other day I had a cold bowl of cereal resting on my belly while I ate it and he was moving so much the milk spilled a little. It was so funny.
Best Moment This Week:
I just love when Clark feels my belly trying to feel the babies. He has only been successful once, but he is so funny when he tells people about them. He sounds so proud when he announces their names. At the dentist office the other day Dr. Jackson asked Clark if he was going to have a little brother or little sister and Clark replied "Yes". Dr. Jackson was confused and asked him which one. Clark says, "Yes, one boy and one sister". I then explained we were having twins. It was super cute. He thought the doctor was so silly for thinking there was only one baby in there. I mean who's mommy only has ONE baby?
Food Cravings:
MILK. I have been putting away the milk. I drink it with every meal. I have also been loving some Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Well the off  brands that is. I have been eating it for breakfast and dinner a lot this week and have been through 2 boxes. I eat it when I get up and then when I come home from working in my classroom each night! I guess you could call that a craving! :)
What I Miss:
I still miss Jazzercise. I miss bending over easily. I miss sleeping on my belly. I miss having lots of energy. I usually like to get so much done during nap time and this past week I have napped every time that Clark has. I have lots to do like pack, read my 5th grade curriculum and such but instead I have been napping. I guess baking 2 babies takes a little more energy than I thought!


Looking Forward To:
Moving into our new house!! I can't wait to get all things put away and hope to have it all done before these babes arrive. I can't wait to get their room ready. I am also very excited to see them again at our 28 week appointment on the 26th. I am not looking forward to the glucose test and drinking the yucky drink- but at least I get an ultrasound while I have to wait the hour for the test!

Some Updates.

Life is twelve kinds of crazy around these parts. In the past few weeks we have made some BIG changes. So I have been running around like a wild woman and not had a chance to blog. I did not do a 25 week pregnancy update and I have really been trying to document this pregnancy so next week I will try to do a 25 & 26 combo. (I know you are dying to read it! ha!) What have we been up to you ask?

HOUSE MADNESS

On June 28th (two days before we were planning on taking our house off the market) we got an offer on our house!! We countered the offer and they accepted. After we agreed on a selling price we quickly realized we needed to find a new house. We had been looking online, and we knew our specifications and our small budget so on Wednesday we set out to see some houses. We saw 5 that night. We saw a few more over the next few days and made an offer on a house that FRIDAY. Yes- we Snyders don't mess around do we? The house we loved is currently owned by a relocation company so we placed the official offer on Friday but did not hear back until the next Tuesday due to the 4th of July holiday weekend. This was like torture to me. I hate waiting and the unknown. But we waited. On Tuesday we learned they had countered, we offered a new price, they countered, we offered again, they accepted and agreed to our terms. This all took a few days and we learned on Thursday they agreed and had signed all the paperwork. On Friday (yesterday) we had to be up and out of the house early because they did a home inspection, pest inspection and appraisal here at this house. We also had the inspection of the new house yesterday so we met the inspector and checked everything out. I think that all went well. I am waiting on word from our realtor to know how the appraisal and inspection went here so that I can begin to pack boxes!  We have set closing dates for July 29th so we have got to work to get this house ready and all things packed! I am just waiting on the green light to do it. Hopefully soon I will have some pictures of the new house to share soon. 

So due to all this house hunting madness I have been super busy the last few days.

CLASSROOM MADNESS

Not only are we moving to a new house, but I am moving to a new classroom and a new grade level. So my classroom is a disaster and all in boxes. I have been working in the evenings at school for as long as I can manage due to the fact that there is NO AIR on and it is about 98 degrees in my classroom- being pregnant and hot do not mix well so I have to take lots of breaks to sit in front of the fan. I have unpacked about 45 boxes and I have been making some progress but I still have a LONG way to go. I would love to get it all done in the next week or two so that we can really concentrate on moving to the new house and not have to worry about both. So we will see how that goes. My plan is to go this evening when Stuart gets home from the golf course. If you walked in there right now, you would never know that I had worked so hard- but hopefully it will be obvious soon. I will have pictures soon too! Right now NO ONE wants to see the mess- not even me.

IN OTHER NEWS

We had Clark's 3 year pictures taken at Keeneland last Saturday and we had so much fun. My friend Rebecca took them and she was so wonderful. You can check our her website HERE. If you live in the Lexington area I would highly recommend her. She is my friend from high school and is just starting her business. While we were there she also took lots of family pictures of us and our babies bump and I am so excited to see them all. She did post a few of them on Facebook to give me a sneak peek and it just left me wanting more. As since I don't typically post without pictures I thought I would share some of them with you!! Like I said she took hundreds and these are just a few. What do you think??

I also got a SUPER cute outfit that I ordered from a fellow blogger/ monogramming extraordinaire in the mail this week and I am so in love with it that I have to share it too!! To get some super cute things of your own visit Hillary HERE and thank me later!

I hope everyone has a super great weekend. I am going to be up to my eyeballs in boxes soon so I am going to enjoy the next few hours of no agenda with Clark before I head to school this afternoon!

HAPPY SATURDAY!!

Clark- On Being a Big Brother.

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!


Enjoy this cute video of my big boy expalining a little bit about being a big brother. He does share the names!

You might want to mute my playlist at the bottom to hear him better.



Untitled from Abby Snyder on Vimeo.

Sounds like he has it all figured out!
I think he LOVES Shepard and SaraKate already.

Taste of Our Town & Classroom Panic

Last Thursday after a day of looking at houses (we think we found one!!) we headed downtown to a fun little weeknight treat. Our town hosted an event that showcased local food and drinks. They had over 20 vendors and some wine tasting. Because I was not able to partake in the vino taste testing I made sure to try lots of the food! :) We bought our tickets and made our way around the town square taste testing all the yummy things our town had to offer. My favorite was a pulled pork lasagna from a local BBQ place. It sounds weird I know, but it was soooooo yummy. I used 4 of my tickets to get two pieces! There was not only great food, but LOTS of desserts and a live band. We stayed about as long as I could take it because it was so HOT and we used all of our food tickets- all 20 of them. It was a great turnout- much greater than they planned. Many vendors ran out of food and it was a challenge to find a place to sit- but we loved being downtown just enjoying each other and yummy food! I am pretty sure Clark loved it because he had a cupcake, a meatball and a cake pop for dinner. Healthy I know- but hey it is summer and you are only 3 once right??!

My cute boy and his cake pop.
It was a super cute idea- cake with frosting in a push-up.
Loves it.

Please ignore my slight farmers sunburn...

Our little family of 3  5.

Because of the idea of moving to a new house (prayers appreciated that all deals work out and we make the right choices.) and moving to a new classroom I spent all day Friday working in my classroom. I figured I had better get one thing crossed off the list... right?? Well I walked into room 204 to find this...

OVERWHELMED does not even begin to describe what I was feeling. Not only was I welcomed with this HUGE mess, but the air conditioning was also turned off. But I was determined. I stayed from 9:30- 2:30 and emptied about 35 boxes. I filled a cabinet (NO CLOSET IN ROOM 204), put all my resource books in a filing cabinet, and organized my classroom library while sorting out all the books that were most likely too young for 5th graders. I took a few breaks to head down to the office- where the air was on and enjoy a popsicle to ensure there was no passing out and worked until I could work no more. I will be heading back next week in the evenings once Stuart is home to work some more. I promise it will look much more like THIS when I am done. It just may take longer than I would like as I am not as quick since I am carrying two extra sweeties and because I have NO IDEA what I am doing in 5th grade. But I do have faith that it will all come together- IT WILL RIGHT??

Happy 4th weekend to you!!

We are doing a whole lot of nothing around here. yay!

24 Weeks & BIG NEWS

The Snyder Duo: WEEK 24
24 WEEKS: 4 DAYS

We have been a little busy this week to say the least. We got an offer on our house from some people who looked at it while we were in Nashville. They looked at it again on Tuesday and made an offer. This is the same house that we had decided that if it did not sell by the end of the month we were going to take off the market, because we have so much to do to get ready for babies and I have so much to do moving my classroom. CHANGE OF PLANS. They offered, we counter offered, THEY ACCEPTED. So as of yesterday we began house hunting. We had been looking online-just in case. But last night we picked out 5 and went to see them in person. I LOVED one and Stuart loved one. One was ruled out and one is looking like it was about to be in a bidding war and that is a turn off for me. The last one would be okay. We are going to look at more Friday and our realtor and Stuart think we will find one and make an offer by next week! YOWZA. Needless to say I did not sleep at all last night and was up at 6:30 this morning. I do not EVER have trouble sleeping- last night my mind was racing. I was comparing all the houses we saw. Imagining all of our stuff in them. Imagining 3 kids in them. Imagining life in them. My brain would not rest. I am so glad that Stuart is so at ease with it all because I am a little nervous. I know it will work out like it is supposed to, but I am not a huge fan of the unknown. I am sure there will be more house info posted later, but the reason of this post is to document this pregnancy so back to the babies!


Baby Size:
According to my sources the babies are about the size of ears of corn. They are about 10-12 inches long and weigh about 1.7 lbs. each. We got to see them on Tuesday and they looked GREAT!! They were both measuring on track and look to be weighing 1.8 lbs. each. Baby Girl is breech and was all over the place. Like I said she is a wild one! Baby Boy is up high and horizontal. He is more laid back but was moving and so sweet to watch. We loved seeing them again and we were reassured that they are still one boy and one girl- You know I had to check!

 Weight Loss/Gain:
On Tuesday I learned that I was +12 lbs. Yes, you are reading this correctly. At my 20 week checkup I was +5 and this time I was +12. I GAINED 7 POUNDS IN 4 WEEKS. I was a little shocked by this but no one else was concerned so I did not fret too much. But really 7 lbs! I guess the anniversary trip eating and my slight ice cream habit might be catching up with me. I will be okay if I don't make it a habit to gain 7 lbs. a month!  Next month I have my glucose test so I will be a little more careful about my eating this month. Last month I was just so happy to be able to eat without getting sick that I might have taken full advantage of it! :)

Maternity Clothes:
Are you kidding??
All maternity pants and mostly all maternity tops. My belly gets bigger everyday and I am amazed at how quickly the maternity tops are getting tight. The shirt in the picture below I bought in February and wondered if it would ever fit. It was hanging on me. Now it is stretched about as far as it can go. This could get very interesting.

Sleep:
I having more trouble sleeping than I have. (Not just because of my my house hunting fears) I can only sleep on my right or left side. My left side is most comfortable because Baby Girl is on my lower right side and she tends to squirm and kick around if I lay on her side too long. My left shoulder and hip are starting to hurt and I think it is from lying on them so much. So I try to flip sides during the night to avoid her jabs and the sore shoulder and hip. However, everytime I flip I have to get up to go to the bathroom. So I am getting up about five times every night to go. Fun times.

Symptoms:
I am feeling great these days. I have not been sick and I have been keeping most if not all meals down. (Obviously- due to the 7 lb. gain)  I go to the bathroom all the time. I have a bad taste in my mouth all the time and I have been chewing lots of gum to try to make it better. I have been eating lots of cereal and popsicles.

Movement:
ALL OF THE TIME. I have found that I can tell the difference between the two and I think that is pretty neat. My hunch was confirmed Tuesday when I learned they are in about the same place they were last month. All lower movement is my girl and all the upper movement is the little guy. I am not sure that I have felt them at the same time, but I have feel them both at different times all throughout the day.

Best Moment This Week:
Of course the ultrasound was a BIG DEAL this week. I loved seeing them on the screen and learning that they were thriving and growing big and looking great. We got to see them move around, the little fingers and toes and learned a little more about their little personalities.

Food Cravings:
Nothing exciting this week, I have just been eating meals and enjoying it. We ate some great food in Nashville and I have been loving some Fiber One squares each morning for breakfast. Popsicles have been a great treat in the afternoons! Dora popsicles at that!
What I Miss:
I still miss Jazzercise. I miss sleeping on my belly. I miss having lots of energy. I usually like to get so much done during nap time and this past week I have napped every time that Clark has. I have lots to do like pack, read my 5th grade curriculum and such but instead I have been napping. I guess baking 2 babies takes a little more energy than I thought!
Looking Forward To:
I am looking forward finding a house and getting started on the nursery! I have lots of ideas and I am so excited to see it. I am also excited to see them again in 4 weeks.

Our Weekend Away.

Saturday was our 6 year wedding anniversary and we took a childless (well-kind of!) weekend trip to Nashville. Thanks so much to Stuart's parents for keeping Clark and Barney so we could enjoy this wonderful trip! I think the boys had a great time at camp Snyder and we had a great time just the two of us in NashVegas.  We made a last minute decision (two days before) to take the trip. We knew the Snyder's were keeping Clark but we had no clue what we were going to do. Stuart suggested Nashville and we went with it. Last year we went to Charleston, SC for our anniversary but this year we did not do a week long trip just a weekend so Nashville it was.

So Wednesday night we made hotel reservations, dinner reservations and talked to some friends from college who live there for some good ideas and the plans were made. We left Friday afternoon to stop and drop the boys off in Elizabethtown and then we were on our way. We had a wonderful time just being Stuart and Abby. We love traveling with little agenda and just enjoying the local spots wherever we go. We like to enjoy the culture, food and Stuart usually has to throw in a little history.  So that is exactly what we did on this trip.

Friday night we stayed with the Snyder's and had an evening with some of Stuart's high school friends. We had a great night visiting and all of the other wives were pregnant too so it made for easy conversations. During the conversations I learned about a local children's boutique that is closing and everything was 50 % off so of course we had to hit it up on Saturday morning! I got some super cute things for the twins and Clark. I might have even spent a whole hour looking through all the cute things. Let me tell you. Shopping for coordinating outfits in just the right sizes for the right seasons is tough! I tried to explain this to Stuart as I had to explain the need for the one hour detour, but he did not get it. Owell. I have lots of cute things. It was totally worth it.

After the slight detour we made our way to Nashville were we met up with our friends Sean and Ashley. We met them at their new home and it was absolutely adorable. After the home tour we rode with them to a local brewery for lunch and then a trip to The Frist. Sean and Ashley are members of the museum and we got to use their free guest passes to see the Andy Warhol exhibit that was on display. It was a great afternoon and I loved seeing them and seeing the sights and sounds with them.

After the lovely afternoon we made our way to our hotel. We stayed at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel and it was fantastic! We really felt like we were more on a cruise ship than a hotel. Neither one of us had ever stayed there so it was a great place to spend the weekend. If you have never been I would totally recommend it. It was beautiful and had so much to do.

Once we checked in we relaxed for a bit and then got ready for dinner. We had reservations at Maggiano's and our dinner was WONDERFUL. We loved every bite. We split a pasta dish that had lobster, shrimp, mussels and clams in a red sauce over linguine. It sounded great to both of us however, I am allergic to shrimp so we asked for it without shrimp and they said this would not be a problem. So that was the plan. We were sitting at the table enjoying our calamari appetizer when the chef came to our table. He said that he heard I had a shrimp allergy and he wanted to discuss the meal with us. He said that the sauce contained a shrimp stock and he explained what he was going to replace it with and asked if that would work for us. Well of course it would! We were so impressed that he took the time to do this and the meal was super great. The portion was HUGE and even the two of us could not finish it.

After a the lovely meal we walked around our hotel and enjoyed the sights and sounds. We even found an ice cream shop and got some FREE ice cream. The people in line in front of us had a travel voucher and could not spend it all so they paid for ours too! The ice cream was great and the twins and I really enjoyed it. I will be checking at the grocery store to see if they carry the same flavor! ha! :)

We slept in until 10:00!! Took our time getting ready and made our way to one of the restaurants in the hotel for breakfast. After breakfast we made time for a little history. We went to The Hermitage. The Hermitage is Andrew Jackson's home and now a museum. It was rainy, but of course we made the best of it. We took the self guided tour of the grounds and the home and it really was quite interesting. They had headsets for us to wear and each spot had things to listen to. There was an adult version of the narration and a children's version. Stuart chose to listen to the adult version and I chose the children's version! ha! It really was so much fun and it was like how I would talk to my 3rd graders so of course I liked it better! The twins even heard a little too. Gotta get these babies learning a little history right??

After the history lesson we made our way back home to pick up our boys and say goodbye to Nashville. We had a great trip celebrating together and the boys had a great time with Grammy and Grandpa. Clark did not even want to come home so I think he liked it.  I wonder if next year for our 7th anniversary the grandparents will be volunteering to keep all 3 kids and Barney! ha! We will see. Until then here are some pictures from this year's trip.

The Snyder's at The Frist.

Thanks Sean and Ashley!!
We had a great afternoon.

A quick shot inside the hotel.

An anniversary picture AFTER our yummy meal.

Me and The Duo in our hotel.

A self portrait. We have these from everywhere we go!

Stuart giving the lobby decor a thumbs up.

Stuart made new friends as we walked around the hotel.



Me and the yummy goodness!



Our view at breakfast.

Stuart learning a little history at The Hermitage.
He was loving it. Promise. :)

Me learning all about Andrew Jackson and the twins taking their turn listening.





As you can see we had a great time. So happy that we got to do it.
I love you Stuart! Thanks for a wonderful trip and for making me so happy the last 6 years.
I am looking forward to at least 60 more!!

22 & 23 Week Update.

The Snyder Duo: WEEK 23
23 WEEKS: 2 DAYS

In all of the end of school, a special 3rd birthday, and summer start I missed the 22 week post. So here is 23 with a quick pic of 22. Yes- there has been some belly growth! According to Stuart, my belly is as big now as it was when Clark was born...Ohmy!

22 Weeks



23 Weeks



23 Weeks

Baby Size:
According to my sources the babies are about the size of large mangos. They are about 11.5  inches long and weigh about 1.1 lbs. each. We get to see them next Tuesday so we will see how accurate this is.

Weight Loss/Gain:
At my last appointment I was +5 lbs. I sure feel much bigger than +5. I don't weigh myself- ugh! So I will have to wait until my 24 week appointment to find out.


Maternity Clothes:
All maternity pants and my much adored gaucho pants and a mix of tops. My belly gets bigger everyday and I am amazed at how quickly the maternity tops are getting tight. These shirts that I bought a few months ago and were hanging on me are now snug.



Sleep:
I am sleeping. Not sleeping very well, but I am sleeping. I get up at least 4 to 5 times a night to go to the bathroom. I cannot sleep on one side for very long and when I roll over to the other side I have to get up to go to the bathroom. :) Lovely I know. But I have been taking naps when C takes naps.


Symptoms:
I am feeling great these days. I have not been sick and I have been keeping most if not all meals down. yay! I go to the bathroom all the time. I have a bad taste in my mouth all the time and I have been chewing lots of gum to try to make it better.

Movement:
Yes. I have been feeling them more and more. They are more like flutters and rolls. There has been some jabs and a few kicks and I have noticed them responding to loud noises. I think I can tell the difference between the two and I am very interested to see if I am right when we have the ultrasound on the 28th.


Best Moment This Week:
I love hearing Clark tell people that there is "One boy and one sister" in my belly. It makes me smile. Also, for Father's Day I gave Stuart some monogrammed onesies with the babies names on them. He was pretty excited and he even teared up- it was super cute. OH YEA- WE HAVE NAMES!! That is another post for another day.

Food Cravings:
Nothing exciting this week. I have just been eating regular meals and staying hydrated. Clark and I have been drinking LOTS of KoolAid and eating lots of popsicles to stay cool around here.

What I Miss:
I still miss Jazzercise and not being able to wear regular pants and shorts has been a problem this week because I only had two pairs of summer maternity pants to wear and it has been so hot. So I am so thrilled I found some.

Looking Forward To:
 I am looking forward to our 24 week appointment so we can get another glimpse of the duo. I am also looking forward to putting their room together. I don't like to work part but I do want it to be finished.