They're almost here!

It looks like the little guys are going to wait until their scheduled inducement date--Monday, the 28th. I started leave from work this past week, and Mom arrived on Monday. We had a doctor's appointment to see the babies on the ultrasound, and they were doing fine. It took a while for them to pass all their tests because they were sleeping, but eventually they did what they were supposed to do. We had another appointment on Thursday, and they monitored their heartbeats. They were just fine.

Now, we're just waiting! We'll let you all know when they arrive.

Love, j&c

Happy Birthday to Olivia!

It's hard to believe, but Olivia is 1 today!!! Happy birthday! She has her party at 1:00 over at Helen and John's. We'll look forward to pictures and to hearing about the fun day!

The Litchfield Park Condo

We finished up the condo last evening and welcomed our first guest! Here are some pics.

Congrats All Around!

Marriage News: Alicia and Scott tied the knot this week, Wednesday, the 2nd, in Yuma. We are so happy for them!

Baby News: Megan and Aaron welcomed their baby boy, River Riley Francis, early Wednesday morning, April 2, at about 1:00. Everyone is doing fine, and they were going home yesterday. We can't wait to meet him!

We had a busy day again yesterday. Chris and I both took the day off from work, so we could get things done. We went to the doctor where they did the non-stress test on the babies. They monitor their heartrates and movement, and any contractions. I had no contractions, and they babies did just fine!

Then, we had a nice lunch at Johnny Rockets in Westgate. It is so pretty there--it's the new shopping/living/sports complex where the Arizona Cardinals and the Phoenix Cardinals play. It's right across the freeway from where our new condo is. So, afer lunch, we decided to go to the sales office at the new condo and talk to them about when we would be able to close and find out the status of the community. We are at the point where we could cancel and get our money back, if we wanted to. But, it's such a great area that we were thinking we'd just hold on to it, knowing it would be a great investment over time. When we tried to get through the gate into the sales office, it was closed! So, I called the number I had and was told that they had decided not to sell the condos, but turn them into apartments! So, later in the day I spoke with the developer, and he said he'd e-mail me a cancellation notice to sign, and he'd send us our money back by next week! It's actually kind of a relief to have it over, and to be getting that money when we can really use it.

More good news is that we rented the Litchfield Park condo for April! Lise and Thomas sent this gentleman our way, and we really appreciate it! He's arriving this evening (Friday). So, yesterday we had a ton of stuff to do to get the condo ready--we picked up a dresser and 2 nightstands and had the bed and headboard delivered. We found and bought a kitchen table and chairs and a patio set, and Chris put those together. Meanwhile, I finished up stocking all the dishes, etc, in the kitchen, and made the beds in both bedrooms. We both did a lot more, too, because we were working for about 7 hours, but I can't remember all the details. Basically, just moving stuff into place and doing a little cleaning, fixing the locks, etc. We were exhausted when we finally got home at about 8:00 last night. I still have a few things to buy, and then we'll meet him over there this evening at about 7:00.

That's all for now!

xo, j&c

2-3 Weeks to Go!

Yesterday, Chris and I went to the doctor for an ultrasound where they did what is called a Biophysical Profile on the babies. They check for 4 things: enough amniotic fluid, movement, tone, and breathing. Both babies came through with flying colors! The nurse warned us ahead of time that it might take 30 minutes to see their chests moving, with their practice breathing. But, both of them were breathing the whole time! They're actually taking in fluid, but once they're born, they'll be able to breath air. Also, Matthew has lots of hair! We couldn't get a good look at Thomas's head to see if he has hair, too. They were moving a little bit, but the nurse wanted them to move more so she could see their "tone" which means they're moving strongly, rather than appearing limp or lethargic. So, first she put this little buzzer up against my stomach near Matthew's ear; he did not like it and moved his hand up to cover his ear! Then, she did the same thing to Thomas; it gave him the hiccups!

I'll go back on Thursday, and they'll be monitoring the babies for 30 minutes--I think this is just their heartrates, but I'm not sure. It's called a Non-stress test. Next Monday and Thursday, we'll do the same things. I'm now at 34 weeks, and the babies could come at any time. It's ideal if they arrive at 36-37 weeks, because their lungs should be mature enough by that time. If they came now, they'll likely be just fine, too, but may need a couple more days in the hospital just to make sure.

Megan, Chris's cousin, is on baby countdown, too! She had her last day of work on Friday, and her due date is April 6.

GO SUNS!!!

That's all for now.

Love, j&c

Another Baby Shower!

My sweetie customers at Yavapai County Library District in Prescott gave me a surprise Baby Shower last week! Cheryl, Barbara, Ann, Priscilla, and Mary spent part of their afternoon showering me with gifts and cake and ice cream--yum! Other people also sent gifts--Arminta who used to work at Yavapai County and the Sedona Public Library people, Pam, Amy, and Carla. It was such a special treat, and our babies got the most wonderful gifts!

Thank you!!!

Love, j&c

Our weekend and 33-week check-up

We had a really busy weekend. Saturday we finished getting our Glendale apartment cleaned and ready for the new tenants. It looks really good--brand new tub/surround, paint, and carpet. One of our other tenants did all the repair work and painting and did a great job. I forgot to bring my camera to take pictures before the new people moved in, darn it!

Then, we had a basic gun safety training class. Chris bought a Glock 40-caliber for protection. In Arizona, it's fairly easy to buy a gun, and he can carry it now as long as it's viewable. He's going to take another class that will allow him to carry concealed. That'll be next weekend. At the basic class, he got to practice shooting at the shooting range. I was nearby watching, and each time the gun went off, the babies jumped!!! I was worried that the noise would damage their hearing, so I opted out of shooting and sat in the car while Chris practiced. He did great and has a very accurate shot.

Sunday, Chris spent the day over at our Sunnyslope "estates." He worked on our vacant unit and cleaning up/weeding around the property. He's happy because it's starting to get hot--88 degrees already! He really likes the heat and being outdoors. Meanwhile, I worked on our Litchfield Park condo. We are getting it ready to rent it as an executive/vacation home. I had already purchased a lot of kitchen stuff, as well as bath/bedding for the other condo we still have under contract that has not yet closed. So, I washed everything and put things away. It looks really nice. We still need to buy a bed, a dining table and chairs, a dresser, a patio table and chairs, and some other necessities to have it totally ready. Take a look at the new link to see where it is posted for rent. I'll also put some pictures here.

Speaking of the other condo that we have under contract . . . I had put money down on it back in October 2006 and it was supposed to be constructed and ready by May of 2007. Then, the date became August 2007, then October, and then I couldn't get in touch with anyone there! The housing market was coming to a standstill, and construction was basically stopped. We had hoped to have it available for Super Bowl, which was in February 2008, but that didn't happen. At this point, we are a little nervous about going forward with purchasing it, with the babies coming, and the state of the housing market. The only way to get out of the contract and get our money back, is if they don't deliver within 18 months of the original contract--that happens to be next week! So, at this point, we're going to wait until the 18 months runs out and talk to the sales agent about either reducing the price to entice us to follow through with our purchase, or canceling and get our money back.

With all we had to do over the weekend, we didn't celebrate Easter at all. It just came so early!!!

Yesterday, I had my 33-week check-up. They did an ultrasound to check the heartrates--Matthew was at 135 and Thomas was at 137--both are just fine. All is going well, and now I will have to start seeing the doctor twice a week. They'll be monitoring the babies at each visit to make sure they're doing OK. They want the babies to wait until at least 36-37 weeks to be born, so they have time to develop as much as possible. They should arrive in just 3-4 weeks now! I'm getting very ready for them to be here. Moving around and sleeping are difficult, but really everything is going well and I can't complain too much! We are so blessed to be having these little guys!

That's all for now! xo, j&c