My b-day night.

Thank you to family for sending cards and making phone calls wishing me a happy birthday. I'm 37 now. Barry made me my favorite dinner, spaghetti and meatballs with french bread and a salad. I made a homemade cake and frosting and it turned out pretty good. I didn't feel like taking any pictures because my camera takes blurry pictures. Holidays just aren't the same without family nearby to celebrate with. I look forward to the next birthday, which is Barry's on Feb. 13th. I also look forward to my doctor's appt.s because I get to see the progress of the babies inside me.

I have a lot of free time on my hands now. I should tell everyone the truth about teaching. I'm not teaching anymore. My principal let me go one week before Christmas. She said that she needed a licensed teacher and I only had my substitute license when I moved here. I have been waiting 4 months for Las Vegas to send me another copy of my teaching license. My principal didn't like the way I was teaching the kindergarten class. She said that I had no classroom management skills and she never saw me teaching the curriculum. Of course, she only popped her head in randomly and never made an official observation of one of my lessons. She also said that if I was a licensed teacher, that she would have gave me unsatisfactory progress in all areas of teaching. Well, of course I was devastated for a long time. It's a month after this happened and I am just now telling you about it. So, I am not working, I am collecting unemployment, and getting WIC (milk, cheese, cereal, etc...) and I'm applying for medicaid to help with the doctor bills and the babies delivery. If my license comes maybe I will teach again but I think that it is a blessing in disguise. I was really stressed out with the class and being pregnant. Now that I know I am having twins, I take it easy and rest alot. I might want to be a stay-at-home mom for a couple of years and then go back into teaching. I don't know what the future holds for me. Barry and Tony are very supportive here cooking and cleaning and making sure the bills are paid on time. Mom and Dad have been very supportive as well. I don't think that I like it here in Reno that much. I don't have any friends, co-workers, or family nearby. I guess I never lived away from family before now. It is hard getting used to. When the babies get here I will be super busy and won't have that much free time to dwell on past mistakes. Anyway, I should probably end this on a good note. I can't think of anything great to write. I'll post more after my appt on Friday.

Early B-day shopping.

Thank you mom and dad for my b-day card and check. I went shopping for a new maternity outfit. I had the best luck finding clothes that fit me at Sears. I also bought some extra pieces to make two more outfits. Barry took some pictures of me in my new clothes. We also went and registered at Babies R Us. It was so much fun to scan items for our wish list. We know not to expect too much from the list, but there are some really cute items for our girls. I don't know if I will have a baby shower before the babies get here. I might wait until family comes to visit and then do a small baby shower. I can't stop thinking about having two brand new babies to take care of. I dream about them all night long while I toss and turn trying to get comfortable. I get my best sleep when Barry gets up early and then I can hog the whole bed. He has been so nice to me, taking me shopping and going to craft stores looking for items for the girl's room. Has anyone seen those felt stocking kits at Michaels? Because I can't find them at any craft store around here. I want to make the cute stockings for my girls before they get here. See if you can find any in your town and let me know. Erica, didn't you make them for your kids? Lisa, and Tiffy, didn't you also make them for your kids too? OK, here are the pictures of me at 5 months pregnant. My camera takes blurry pictures. You can see the tan pants and the blue shirt. They both have lots of room to grow really big.

Here is a front shot of the black pants and a blue and white stripped shirt.

Here is a side shot showing my growing belly.

Front view of a different shirt and the same black pants. Side view of the same outfit. I will update my pictures when I grow bigger next month.

Update on the twins!!!

Today Barry and I went to my ultrasound appt. We found out that we are having identical twin girls!!! Can you believe it??!! I am super excited because I wanted little girls to play dress up with. Barry is happy that they are both the same sex so they can share a room and stuff. The girl's names are going to be Brenna Chanel Lee and Chantrell Meagan Lee. I am about 20 weeks along and think that my due date will be June 7. I don't know why they think that my due date should be July 4th. Twins usually come early so I will be ready by the end of May. Anyone who wants to send used baby clothes or items my way, let me know. I can use two of everything. I'm feeling pretty good and starting to show a little more. I will post some pictures of my belly when I buy some new maternity clothes for my b-day. Hope everyone is doing good and remember to update your blogs!!!

Keep this a secret!!!

I have an idea for Dad on Father's Day this year. I know it is too early to be thinking about it in January but it might take all of us a couple of months to complete. I bought this really nice book a few years ago that has room for pictures and memories for dad. It is covered in brown velvet and has many pages to fill out. My idea is that each of the kids, fill out just a couple of pages. I have marked in the book who does what page. I will start it and then send it to Erica in UT, Debbie in AZ, Lisa in NV, Brett, Kay-Lynn, Jennifer, and Tiffany in OR. Each person should only have the book for about 2 weeks. Then, make sure the next person gets it and does it. It should reach Tiffy and Mom by May in time for them to finish it and wrap it for dad. I think Father's day is June 16th, but I'm not sure. I'm going to look for pictures of me and dad when I was a baby, baptism, father-daughter dances, and my wedding. If you don't want to put the original pictures in, then take them to Wal-mart and scan them and get color copies made. I will send a permanent marker that writes in the book without smudges. I think that Dad will love something that each of his kids put some time and effort into. Keep this a secret from Dad, so he is surprised.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!!!!

The big storm that has been hitting the West coast came to us on Friday with lots of rain. Saturday, we woke up to 4 inches of snow. It has been snowing all day and we got another 5 inches. We don't own snow boots, or even a shovel, so we stay inside where it's nice and warm. The news has been showing different areas affected by the storm, flooding in Fernley, just North of Reno, and tons of bad weather in California. Oregon has had lots of rain and wind on the coast. We are pretty lucky not to have flooding where we live. So far, no power outages yet either. Here are some pictures of the pretty white snow.

Tony's car in about 4 inches of snow.

Our back alley where we park our cars.

Barry's truck next to our house.

Looking to the left from our front door. Normally it is just dirt and rocks.

Looking to the right from the front door. Our path to get the mail is covered in snow.

Barry took this picture of when it was really coming down fast.

I'm having twins!!!

I went to my first pre-natal appt. today at 4 months pregnant. My mom has been after me to go and make sure everything is going right. I have normal blood pressure and they will do tests to make sure that I don't have diabetes. Barry came with me for the whole three hour appt. I had to do paperwork, bloodwork, and a complete physical. During my exam, the doctor said that my cervix was measuring higher than 18 weeks along. She did the thing that lets you hear the baby's heartbeat. At first she only heard one heartbeat and then she found the other one. I wasn't scheduled for an ultrasound today, but she was curious to see how many babies were in there. There are two babies and she said that there might be more but wasn't sure. My next ultrasound will determine the sex of the babies and see if there are anymore babies hiding in there. Barry and I are shocked and happy about seeing the two little babies moving around inside me. They are only 4 inches long but have strong heartbeats and move around alot. I am so happy that my dreams of having kids is coming true. This will be my first and only pregnancy because of my age. I really wanted twins!! Thanks to everyone who believed in me and supported me in my decision to become a mom. It truly will be my most important job for the rest of my life.