Week 21 Pictures and Ramblings

Well, today we went for our 21 week ultrasound.

Short story long... everything is perfectly fine. Carter and Cooper are developing on schedule. They are both one pound. We saw 4 kidneys, 2 hearts (beating at 153 and 151 bpm), 2 brains, 4 arms, 4 legs, 2 stomachs, 2 bladders, and yep... speaking in baseball terms, 4 balls and two bats. :)

What? So I'm a little proud... give me that.

We got some great pictures as well. Carter was a little shy when it came to a good profile picture. Although he did give us one, it is upside-down. I guess when you're that age your mind doesn't work quite right. Maybe he thought if he turned upside-down we couldn't see him. That's just not the case, little buddy. That's ok. Neonate logic is just as cute as two-year-old logic. Gotta love it!

Here's some pics for you all. We know you are dying to see them so I'll quit boring you with my incoherent ramblings and show you the most precious pictures a proud papa could ev........... ok, ok...geeez! Here they are:

Cooper giving mommy and daddy what they want... a good profile.

We got a better profile last time, but who's complaining? :)

Carter, like I said earlier, thought he could hide by flipping upside-down.

Love the logic, little man. But it didn't work. We see you...

Carter and Cooper together in one shot. Miranda said, "Aww, look. They love each other. They're trying to kiss." I was like, "Ummm, no. My boys don't kiss each other. They're head butting"

Cooper's boy parts. Hey, dad's are proud and wanna show this off.

Carter's boy parts. I'm so proud!

Oh, hush. I'm just tickled to death. Finally the hormone balance will be shifted from balanced

to 75/25 testosterone/estrogen. Daddy is happy. :)

And as promised, although majorly delayed, here are some belly pics taken of Miranda today - before we went to the doctor. She was pleased with these and said I could post them. 

Isn't that precious?

Already cradling her babies. She's going to be an amazing mommy.

Hope you all enjoyed this update. Stay tuned...

More to come at a later date.

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SodaStream Fountain Jet Giveaway & Review

Congratulations!!

Jamie Gibson

is the winner of this giveaway!


Stay tuned. I'll be posting another giveaway VERY soon. Up for grabs will be 2 large boxes of Seventh Generation products!

--CLOSED--

The good folks over at SodaStream sent me one of their Fountain Jet machines to try and review for them.
I heard about these machines from a good friend of mine a while back and thought it would be a great item to have and let me tell you... I was right!

I received the Fountain Jet a little over a week ago and started using it immediately.

 What Came with the Unit

I was amazed at all that came with the unit: 

     1. The main unit

     2. One (1) 60 liter CO2 canister

     3. Seven (7) different flavor syrups

     4. Three (3) flavored water syrups

     5. Two (2) one-liter carbonation bottles

 Flavors

The flavors that came with my unit were:

Flavored Syrups
Diet Lemon-Lime
Lemon Iced Tea
Orange Mango
Diet Pink Grapefruit
Cola
Diet Root Beer
Diet Energy (Compare to Sugar Free Red Bull)

Flavored Water Syrups
Lemon-Lime
Orange
Berry

The 7 flavors I received are just a few of the many, many flavors they offer on their website.

Do you like Mountain Dew? They've got a flavor for that!
Do you like Cream Soda? They've got that one too!
How about Cherry? They've got one of those!
And everyone likes Dr Pepper, right? Well lookie there... they've got a flavor to match that too!
Tonic, Ginger Ale, Grape Soda?? Yup, Yup, Yup!!!

All of the flavored cola syrups listed above are just wonderful! My absolute favorite out of the seven listed is (was) Diet Energy. It smells and tastes JUST LIKE Red Bull. I've used almost all of it and have already ordered another bottle. Yeah, its that good. :)

Using the Machine

Using it is SO easy. Just fill one of the carbonation bottles with cold water (tap, filtered, purified - doesn't matter) and press the button on top of the machine three times (or until you hear the 'buzz'). Wah-la! The water is now carbonated. After doing this, you simply choose which flavor you want, fill the lid of the syrup bottle to the line and pour it in the bottle you just carbonated. Put THAT bottle's lid on and gently give it a few turns to mix the syrup with the water.

Presto! You've just made your very own carbonated soft drink in less than 30 seconds. And you make a liter at a time - and for pennies! This machine makes your favorite drinks for a LOT less than buying them in a grocery store. And it uses NO batteries - NO electricity! No more packaging waste (ie. cans, cardboard, plastic). Eco-friendly and 99% flavor match. How can you go wrong!

Eco-Friendly, Eco-Responsible

The SodaStream is an eco-friendly alternative to purchasing the normal canned or bottled soft drinks you are used to. More info about the savings you can experience by using these items can be read on the SodaStream website.

I invite all of you to check out this company and this product. You truly will not be disappointed.

Thank you, SodaStream, for allowing me to review your product. Personally, I LOVE your product. I simply can not get enough of it. It is the only beverage(s) I've had since it arrived!


Giveaway Time!!!

 One of you will be the lucky winner of your very own SodaStream Fountain Jet machine - complete with everything I received (flavors MAY vary). You must live in the United States. And the best part is, SodaStream pays for shipping and the item is yours to keep - forever! NO STRINGS ATTACHED!! Period!

Here's how its going to work.

#1 Mandatory
You MUST be a 'Follower' of our blog. Do this by looking on the right side of this page (you may have to scroll up or down a bit to see it) and click the 'follow' button. A little box will pop-up. Sign in to the account of your choice and you're good to go. If you don't have a Gmail, Yahoo, AIM account, its simple to create one. Instructions are on that screen.

#2 Mandatory
Go to the SodaStream website, click on the 'Online Store' button near the upper-right. Browse their list of accessories and flavors and simply leave a comment here telling me what flavor you'd like to try the most.

That's it! Its that simple...

Next Saturday night at midnight (12:00am Sunday morning) is the deadline. You must comment before then to have a chance at winning. On Sunday, May 30th I'll go to random.org and let that site choose the winner randomly - so you all know it was done fairly.


Extra Entries


 Two (2) extra entries will be awarded to those who blog about this giveaway on their own blog and leave a comment here with a link to their blog post.


That's it! Good luck to everyone!

And a BIG thanks to SodaStream for sponsoring this amazing giveaway!! 

--CLOSED--

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20 Weeks Picture Delayed

Who knew pregnant women were so picky? haha

Miranda and I wanted to put a 20 week picture on the blog tonight since she's 20 wks today. But, she apparently chose the wrong outfit and after the pictures were taken she didn't want me to use any of them.

She didn't like her hair...
She didn't like her bra lines...
She didn't like this...
She didn't like that...  HAHA

Bless her heart. Pregnancy hasn't changed her a bit. :) She's just as picky now as she was 5 months ago.

I guess I could look on he bright side - she picked me. Why? God only knows.

I'll try to get her to choose a better outfit in the next day or two so we can let all you anxious folks see her 20-weeks-and-growing belly.

For now, I'm gonna drop it like its hot. (aka, The End)

Peace




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Graduation and the Weekend

Well, graduation came and went. I received my diploma on Friday night and the ceremony went off without a hitch. Took about as long as I thought it would. Around 2 1/2 hours.

It was actually bitter-sweet. I'm going to miss all my friends. We spent 2 years together and we all got pretty close.

This weekend was pretty great. My wife's family came down. Her mom, sister, brother-in-law and their two munchkins. This weekend was the first time one of my nieces let me get within 5 feet of her without whining. She actually let me hold her a few times and she almost fell asleep in my lap.

I can't wait to have our little ones. *sigh*

I'll update again tomorrow. Stay tuned...




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Miracles

As of today, Miranda is 19 weeks. But, as the title says, I'm posting an 18 Weeks picture. 

Although it is a weeks late it still sums up the love we both have for our boys.

Lately I've been pondering (seriously this time) the word 'miracle.'

Websters defines the word 'miracle' as:

"An effect or extraordinary event in the physical world that surpasses all known human or natural powers and is ascribed to a supernatural cause; such an effect or event manifesting or considered as a work of god; a wonder or marvel." 

This definition is spot on. Not only is this pregnancy a miracle... its a miracle x2! To be expecting one child is a miracle. But to expect two at once is absolutely awe inspiring. Just to think about how these babies are conceived... how two cells multiply so rapidly to make and embryo, then a fetus, and ultimately a baby... how they don't even have to use their lungs while en utero... how their circulatory system basically runs backwards until they take their first breath then switches gears, does an about-face and goes the other way - closing valves that were open to bypass the lungs while in mommy's tummy... how squeezing through the birth canal compresses their little torsos and the recoil of exiting makes most of them breathe... and SO much more...

We have a good God. We have a great God. We have an all knowing God who is perfect in everything He's ever done and who made our reproductive process - from sperm and eggs to birth - so miraculous.

Think about it. Get a medical book on the A-Z's of reproduction. Read it and then, yes, let your mind ponder the thousands of miracles that take place with just ONE baby from start to finish. Get all that in your head and then multiply it by TWO and that's what He saw fit to bestow upon Miranda and I. Who are we to deserve these gifts? I don't know, but I'm suuure glad they're on their way!

On my knees in utter un-repayable thanks...

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Just Pondering...

Have you ever caught yourself pondering? I don't mean the 'quickie' ponder. And I don't really mean the ponder where you think about the same subject throughout the entire ponder session.

No, I'm talking about the type of pondering where you start out pondering something ordinary like "if I go make some pancakes, will I have any butter to put on them?" And from there you ponder "How did peanut butter get its name? I mean, 'butter'?...really?" And from there you ponder "how much butter did it take to coat the slip-n-slide when I watched that competition to see how far people could slide... I remember a little midget won." And from there you ponder "why it is that midgets heads are never in proportion to their bodies." And from there you ponder (or wonder) "if there are any midget truck drivers." And from there you ponder "the chances of the UPS truck delivering the baby stuff we ordered today."

Then, out of nowhere, you catch yourself. You realize you have been staring out into space for an unknown amount of time and you ponder what your original thought was - so you try to backtrack. You attempt to go backwards from Ponder 'Z' back to Ponder 'A' to get back to what you were originally pondering.

Eventually you succeed (sometimes). I just did. And I've come to the conclusion that I'm not even hungry anymore. Dang! And I really wanted those pancakes... 

Oh well. C'est la vie...

(Note: I've got nothing against midgets. They're all so cute.) 
 

Mother's Day 2010

Happy Mother's Day to All Mothers & Mothers-to-Be!

My gorgeous wife is a mommy-2-be so Mother's Day (MD) starts this year for us. She's begun her journey of motherhood and although our babies aren't here as of yet, why not celebrate?

She does have children...
She is (solely at this point) in charge of two lives other than her own...
She IS a mother.

So Happy Mother's Day, Miranda! I love you. :)


Also, I'd like to say Happy Mother's Day to MY mother. This is a woman that I'm proud to call 'mom.'
She gave me life back in March of  '77 and hasn't stopped mothering yet. No matter how old she or I get, I'll always be her boy and she'll always be my mother so I guess her continued mothering is to be expected. I'm 33 years old and she still calls on cold nights and asks if I've wrapped my outdoor water valves and left my water dripping. :)

She shielded my brother and I from a man that was initially called 'dad' but is now called Don, or simply a$$hole.

She struggled to work as a single mom for a few years to try and raise us and provide what we needed. She cried semi-regularly (not knowing that I heard her - or even sometimes witnessed) because the stress of it all was overwhelming. But she never gave up and we had everything we needed. We, including her, rarely got what we just simply wanted, but our needs were always met.

She then married a nice guy who we still call by his first name, Terry - but who is also our dad and one of my best friends. I think that's one of the best decisions she could have ever made.

She is a grandmother like no other and is about to be made a granny again x2.

She's constantly giving us things from her cabinets and home. We can't go to her home without leaving with something - from left-over spaghetti to curtains, from magazines to anything else she wants us to have.

We love you, mom. Thanks for all you've done to raise us. Thanks for all you're still doing to 'raise' us. And thanks for all you'll do tomorrow to 'raise' us. :)

I want to thank Miranda too... Thanks for feeding our babies. I wish I could help. You're doing a wonderful job. I love you.

Happy Mother's Day to ALL mothers and moms-2-be!

New Lane Bryant Commercial

I was actually very upset when I heard that a couple of networks weren't going to show the new Lane Bryant commercial because it was "too suggestive."
I mean, give me a BREAK! Victoria's Secret commercials are WAY more suggestive than this one...

She's a size 16 and she's absolutely gorgeous! What's the big deal ABC and Fox??



Here's the actual ad:





In this link, the model in the new LB commercial, Ashley Graham, talks about this very thing.Here's Ashley's response to it being 'banned' by a couple of networks:
Lane Bryant Model On Commercial Controversy: ‘We’re Celebrating Every Type Of Woman’

Respiratory Therapy Pinning

Tomorrow (5/7/10) marks the end if a long yet somehow short college career for me. Long because I've tried so long and so hard to  finally earn my degree... but short because I only spent a short time with all the new friends I made over the almost two years I spent with them.

Tomorrow night is the Respiratory Therapy Pinning Program for the Class of 2010!

Its a short ceremony, only about 45 minutes long (VERY short compared to graduation night). We get recognized for our accomplishments in a setting that is only ours - not nurses, not hygienists, not polysomnographers. It's all about us! Some of us will get awards and all of us will get our pins - pins that symbolically signify that we have persevered, worked through the challenges and fought through the unknown to reach our goal. After tomorrow we are classified as being through - officially recognized as trained respiratory therapists - pending successful passing of the real certification and registry exams of course.

Nonetheless, its over. Class of 2010, we started with many and ended with few. The ones who remain can be called successful. The ones who remain can be called fighters. The ones who remain can be called Respiratory Therapists!

We're Registered !!

Ok folks, Miranda and I went to Babies Я Us today and registered for all the things we knew we couldn't get at Wal-Mart. Some of the things are expensive - who knew they made their items out of pure
silver-ruby-gold-luminum? Geez!

Good news is, a lot of the items we scanned are crazy affordable.

Go check it out. Click here.
And POOF... You'll be magically whisked away to a page that contains all of our hopes, dreams and wishes - a place so awe inspiring you'll.......... sorry...
Ahem...

Anyway, we also registered at JCPenney. Only for a few things though. We bought our bedding set online there today and there are several items that go along with it we thought some folks might like to purchase. (How thoughtful of us, eh?) You can browse that registry by clicking here.

Try to contain your excitement. We all know how much people love buying babies things, especially two of each thing (unless you have been living under a rock lately you do realize that that was a friendly reminder that we're having TWO boys).

Also, try to leave some items for others to purchase. Unless of course you WANT to buy everything on the list(s). In which case we'd be more than happy to add new items. Trust us, it's NO bother. :)

That concludes today's post. Be sure to check back often for more glorious and inventive ways to help make our lives less INSANE!

Disclaimer: This post is not intended to pressure anyone into making a purchase at either of the two stores listed above. It is simply intended to.... oh, hell, who am I kidding?

Our Sons Have Names! (plus a great twin poem)

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Ladies and Gentlemen:

I'd like to formally and excitedly announce that our previously unnamed twin sons are now the proud owners (although unknowingly) of their very own forever-names.

I'm proud to introduce to you:

Jacob Cooper Robertson

and
Noah Carter Robertson


They'll be called Cooper and Carter, respectively. We're ecstatic to share this news with everyone! No more calling them Baby A and B. No more headaches from flooding our brains with 2000+ names/hour. No more wondering.

Now for the poem. A friend of mine posted this after hearing that we were having boys:

So many good things come in pairs,

Like ears and socks and panda bears.

But best of all are sets of twins

With extra laughter, double grins.

There's so much fun in having two

With twice as many points of view.

So much alike, forever linked,

And yet they're also quite distinct.

They share a birthday and a name,

But moods and tempers aren't the same.

Although at times they may dispute,

Their loyalty is absolute.

From days of youth till life is done,

It's one for both and both for one.

We're all quite novel and precise,

But special boys... God made them twice.

-Larry Howland