Folks, I have two babies in my belly.

I know. Crazy. It absolutely doesn't seem like two people could be inside me, but whatever!

We have a super exciting summer to finish out, and then we'll be on Baby Watch 2012. With twins it really does happen just that fast. For instance, I'm supposed to have my hospital list and bag ready by 32 weeks. Riiiiight. I can't even have dinner done by 6.  I'm guessing that if I'm one of the unfortunate mamas who heads to an OB appointment and is sent straight to the hospital for a stay, I'll be emailing someone my list and working out the details on the flip side.

So in just a couple of short weeks we have a super-fun week of visiting family, followed very closely by a trip to Florida for Andrew and I, ALONE. mmmm-hmmmm....drinking on the beach and sleeping all day...going to be super fun doing all those crazy things we never get to do...oh, wait. I'm going to be house-sized and under strict instructions from my OB not to walk, move too quickly or enjoy too much warm weather. What was going to be our CRAZY second honeymoon without children will actually be a babymoon with two in tow. I'll be drinking ice water by the gallon while Andrew enjoys a whiny wife. Should be a fantastic trip! Andrew's parents are kind enough to have scheduled a 5 day layover in the DFW area, so they'll be chilling golf course-side with the littles while we enjoy one last vacation before we're officially a "large family."

Once our August trip is out of the way, we'll have about 11 weeks of school for Lucy before she finishes Kindergarten. We are very excited about taking a break! She'll be going to co-op with Molly through the school year, and Mimi will help us get started on First Grade in January as we transition from brand new babies to life with twins.

September will be nothing but waiting, waiting, waiting. Thankfully, with the beginning of the public school year comes cooler weather and a new year of meetings and busy-ness. That will help us as we get through the last of the second trimester. Andrew's papa, the Deacon himself, will be down for two weeks in September, to play with the kiddies and enjoy some QT with the Texas folk. Yippee! He likes to stay busy, so we're getting the Deacon-Do list together for him. So much fun he'll hardly be able to stand it!

And then, the third trimester!! Andrew's mom has graciously offered to spend my 3rd trimester down here in Texas with us, and we are SO EXCITED! The third trimester is going to be a LOT of stress, exhaustion, doctor's appointments and pain. The problem with twins is that they write their own calendar. We have had many offers of help, but we are most concerned about keeping the girls in some kind of routine amid the craziness of the numerous appointments, possible bed rest, probable hospital trips and definite couch time. It was very clear that we don't need help from all over but one steady source of stability. Having someone here at night is key, as we just don't know how my body will handle a twin pregnancy, especially with three c-sections under my belt as it is. If we need to duck out to Labor and Delivery in the middle of the night, we want to be able to let the girls sleep in peace without the added stress of locating a friend or neighbor to help.

When Andrew's mom asked me what kind of help we need and when, I was completely honest and said, "We have no idea and I'm completely afraid that it'll be at the wrong time." She swooped in like any wonderful mom and said, "Then I'll just come for all of it and we'll go from there!" Yahoo!

Now most women would think, "12 weeks with my mother-in-law? Gag." But my mother-in-law is a dream. This will not be the first time we've done extended time together, and we did great the first couple of times. She is a nurse, which is a major bonus, and the girls are SO excited about having "real" Grandma time as opposed to the short week we usually get. Lucy asked me only a week before, "Can our grandma come live with us like Stella's grandma does?" I was so happy to be able to say, "Yes!"

The thing we will need the most help with is the later part of the day when my back gives out and I just hit that horrible wall. Assuming I'm not on bedrest for some other reason, I should be able to do some morning activities, get dinner in the crockpot and spend a little time with the kiddies before I'm just out of commission. That is the hardest part of pregnancy for me, losing precious time with the kids. I am hoping to gather some great library books and create a place where we can color, read, build Legos and chat while I'm laid up in the afternoons. (that would mean paying my $30 fine at the library. sheesh.)

I have just rambled for far too long.