The Secret Is To Ply Them With Sugary Goodness

Catherine came over last night, Blizzards in hand, ready to beat the living snot out of play a fun game of Settlers of Catan with K2 and I.  Doris and Dan introduced us to this game last Easter and K2 was so enamored with it that I decided to get it for him for our anniversary (which isn't until next Monday).  I gave it to him early, since the babies are due to be born any day now and I knew that we wouldn't have as much time to play it once there are two more little bodies around.

 

Settlers is a game in which players kind of have to be a little cutthroat in order to advance.  Our problem?  None of us likes to cut the other off at the knees, so the first little while was all very cordial.  That is, until K2 started playing dirty.  Then, Catherine and I decided to gang up on him.  'Twas fun.

Game #1 won by...ME!  Yay!

We decided to play a second game (I think that Catherine and K2 wanted to redeem themselves) so we shuffled the game pieces and began again.  This time, K2 dominated the board and even Catherine and I got into the whole cutting people off at the knees mentality.  With all eyes on K2's success, no one was watching my points add up and when I flipped my final card over, winning the game, the other two were shocked!  I'm a bit of a quiet assassin.

My secret?  Ply them with the sugary goodness of Blizzards before quietly taking each of them out. 

Thanks for a fun evening, Catherine! 

Miracle Treat Day

Want an excuse to have a yummy and delicious Blizzard?

"Dairy Queen's Miracle Treat Day is a one-day national charity drive that donates 100 per cent of the proceeds from all Blizzards sold to Children's Miracle Network hospitals. Participating Dairy Queen locations across Canada will celebrate Miracle Treat Day on Thursday, August 13, 2009. "
Sick Kids Foundation

Our nephew's life was saved by the doctors and nurses at Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto and we feel it is extremely important to give back in whatever way we can.  If it means that we must eat ice cream to do it, then so be it!  Hmmm...I think I'll choose the Girl Scouts Thin Mint Cookie Blizzard.


We've wrangled (and I use the term "wrangled" very loosely) our sweet friend Catherine into coming over tonight to share in the Miracle Treat Day fun and we are looking forward to eating Blizzards and playing Settlers of Catan.  We have to keep Catherine's mind occupied since she is about to receive her referral ANY DAY NOW!!  K2 thinks the best way to do that is to beat the socks off of her at his favorite game.

Should be a fun night!

A Shower of Happiness!

Yesterday, we had the great fortune of being able to honor our good friend Catherine as she is literally DAYS away from seeing Hannah's face for the very first time.  What better way to honor our friend than to gather some great friends, eat some wonderful food, and share some fun laughs!

I met Catherine at "our spot" and she drove us to Michelle's house (the hostess with the mostess!).  As I opened the car door to get in, I noticed that she had some equipment on the seat just in case I went into labor on the way to the shower.

 

Blankets, string, ice, scissors, diapers and a kettle.  I'm not sure where she thought she would be able to boil water, but at least she had good intentions.   Fortunately, I managed to hold the babies in!

Once everyone arrived, we began to open some fun gifts.  We missed being able to share the day with Doris (who was in NYC), Dolores (in Alberta) and M3 (in California) but each of them was never far from our thoughts all day.  We missed you!!

 

Catherine reading the card signed by all her friends (both near and far).

The car seat for Hannah!!

 

How cute is this bathing suit? 

  

Cute sleepers!

 

A beautiful storybook that Catherine read to all of us.

 

A very cool "Disco Duck" for bath 

time fun!
 

A beautiful (and, might I add, AMAZINGLY tasty) cake that Michelle made.

 

A beautiful afternoon with beautiful friends!

Bottom Row L-R:  Me, Catherine, Karen 

Back Row L-R:  Rhonda, Cari, Liz, Michelle 

Friends in our hearts L-R:  Dolores, Doris, and M3

So happy to celebrate YOU, my sweet friend!!  Can't wait to see what this week (or next) holds for you!

99 Things

I never do these anymore, but since it came from my sweet friend Joannah, I thought I would give it a go.

Here are the rules:

Bold the things you’ve done and post this list on your blog then leave me a comment and tell me you did this I can go see.  I bet this has gone around the blog world already, so if you've done it, let me know.

1. Started your own blog

2. Slept under the stars

3. Played in a band

4. Visited Hawaii

5. Watched a meteor shower

6. Given more than you can afford to charity

7. Been to Disneyworld

8. Kissed a stranger at midnight on New Year’s Eve

9. Held a praying mantis

10. Written something that was published

11. Bungee jumped or parachuted

12. Walked across the Golden Gate Bridge

13. Been in a fist fight

14. Taught yourself an art from scratch

15. Adopted a child

16. Had food poisoning

17. Seen the Rings of Saturn with a telescope

18. Grown your own vegetables

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France

20. Slept on an overnight train

21. Had a pillow fight

22. Hitch hiked

23. Taken a sick day when not ill

24. Built a tree house or snow fort

25. Held a lamb

26. Gone skinny dipping

27. Run a marathon

28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice

29. Seen a total eclipse

30. Fired a gun

31. Hit a home run

32. Been on a cruise

33. Seen Niagara Falls in person

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors

35. Seen an Amish community

36. Taught yourself a new language

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied

38. Visited the Leaning Tower of Pisa

39. Gone rock climbing

40. Seen Michelangelo’s David

41. Sung karaoke

42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt

43. Bought a stranger a meal

44. Visited Africa

45. Cried yourself to sleep

46. Been transported in an ambulance

47. Had your portrait painted

48. Gone deep sea fishing

49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person

50. Visited the Eiffel Tower

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling

52. Kissed in the rain

53. Pretended you cooked something from scratch when you didn't

54. Gone to a drive-in theater

55. Been in a movie or commercial

56. Visited the Great Wall of China

57. Started a business

58. Taken a martial arts class

59. Visited Russia

60. Served at a soup kitchen

61. Sold something door to door

62. Gone whale or dolphin watching

64. Donated blood, marrow, etc

65. Gone sky diving

66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp

67. Bounced a check

68. Flown in a helicopter

69. Held onto a favorite childhood toy

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial

71. Eaten frog legs or caviar

72. Pieced a quilt

73. Stood in Time Square

74. Toured the Everglades

75. Been fired from a job

76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London

77. Broken a bone

78. Done something illegal

79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person

80. Sang a solo

81. Visited the Vatican

82. Bought a brand new car

83. Walked in Jerusalem

84. Had your picture in the newspaper

85. Climbed a mountain

86. Visited the White House

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating

88. Had surgery

89. Directly saved someone’s life

90. Sat on a jury

91. Met someone famous

92. Joined a book club

93. Seen a loved one die

94. Given birth to a baby

95. Visited the Alamo

96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake

97. Been involved in a law suit

98. Sent a text message while driving

99. Been stung by a bee

I've done 37 out of these 99 things.  I think it's time I get up off of the couch and do some more!

In Case Of Sushi Emergency

Remember this post about the new sushi restaurant opening in our town?  Well, last night, K2 and I were on our way home from a late lunch out and saw that it had finally opened!!  We swung the car into the parking lot, picked up a take-out menu, then went home to salivate over all of the options.  Later on, K2 went back out to pick up a few rolls.  The report?  Better than grocery store sushi...nowhere near the quality and taste of "Our Place".  We've decided that it will be our "in case of emergency" sushi place.

With some help from Doris and Dan, K2 and I bought a brand new camera yesterday!!  We've had our current one since 2004 and felt it was time to upgrade since we will want to take some beautiful pictures of the babies when they are born.  We've gone from this:

 

To this:

 

K2 has been playing with it since last night and poor Bear has had enough.  Some of the shots taken:

 

Sleeping soundly.

  

How beautiful is my Blueberry Bear?

  

My newly pedicured toes.  Please ignore the swelling and the cankles.

Have a wonderful Saturday, everyone!  We are heading out to "our sushi place" for lunch with some friends, then we're wide open for a gloriously free Saturday.  Enjoy!

We Need A New Word For "Overwhelmed"

Over the past two days, we have read some of the most beautiful comments and emails we have ever received. We didn't really know what to expect when we revealed our news, but the experience surpassed anything we could have ever imagined.

So many of you walked with us through our miscarriages and provided incredible support and kind words. I read over those comments yesterday as well and cried as I did.  December of 2007 and May of 2008 seem like an eternity ago now, but the emotions from then welled up inside of me as I read through my own feelings and the comments from my extended family in this community.

Now, so many of you have chosen to walk with us through this amazing time in our lives and we are thrilled.  Isn't this what it is all about?  Walking with friends through the good and the bad?

We kept our news quiet for as long as we did because of the fear I had about losing these babies.  K2 was pretty confident all along, but I had so much anxiety that I just couldn't bring myself to announce it for fear of being the "Girl Who Cried Pregnant".  I love writing and it has been difficult to not be as authentic as I wanted to be on this blog.

Our pregnancy has been perfect.  For so long, I cursed my body for not doing what it was ultimately meant to do, only to have it perform better than expected.  Our doctor calls us the stars of the show.  I'm 36 weeks with twins and have not had one minute of bed rest, have not had any issues with bleeding, blood pressure or diabetes and we are still managing to walk every day for 45 minutes or so.  Sure, it takes me that long to walk to the end of the driveway and back, but you get the idea.  Miraculous is too weak a word to use.

My dad called me the other night after he read through all of your beautiful comments and said that it was heartening to see that so many people, even those in the midst of their own pain, were so beautifully supportive.  If anyone knows how difficult it can be to be joyous for others in the midst of pain, it's us.  We know the courage it takes and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

Waiting For This Moment To Arrive