So I know that I promised pictures of the twins and my belly last week but time has just gotten away from me. I'm still not going to post a picture of my belly or the twins until tonight though because I need to have Tim take a picture of me. We are going to the temple tonight so I will be doing my hair and will have that "spiritual" glow when we get back. That will hopefully make for a good picture. : )

So I actually did finish my apron when I said I would (last Wednesday), but I didn't finish my other project to go with it until today. My one and only sewing machine needle snapped in three different places (how does that happen?). So I went to the store to get more on Saturday and then I left the needles in my wallet and left my wallet in the car which then went to work with Tim. It was all very frustrating, but I was able to pull my project together last night. This is a VERY good thing because I had to ship this by today for the wonderful apron swap that am in. I hope that my partner will like the apron and table topper I made (crossing-fingers). I picked the fabric and then the more I looked at it the more I didn't like it so I was worried. But...now that it is finished I really like it and wish that I didn't have to give it away!! : ( I always learn so much when I make a new project so if I keep doing new sewing projects maybe I will be a pro like my mom and pretty much her whole entire family!! But that will probably take a few years. : )

I had to pin my apron and table topper to the back of my couch because this apron is not flattering on me due to "the belly" and I didn't think having Tim wear it would be very flattering either.

The Apron

The Table Topper

The Treats

Well...thats it for now but I will have more pictures tonight or tomorrow morning.

Well, today I decided that we would have dinner in the park because I found this recipe on a friends blog for cod sandwitches. The sandwitches were very good and I made some homemade hoagies and macaroni salad to go with the sandwitches. Here are the recipes.

Sailor Sandwiches with Caesar Mayo

Courtesy of “Put a Lyd on it” by Lydia Stewart

1/4 c milk

1/4 cup cornmeal

2 T flour

4T grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

2 cod or haddock fillets (6 oz each)

2 T butter

Place milk in a shallow bowl. In another shallow bowl, combine the cornmeal, flour, cheese, and seasonings. Dip fish in milk, then cornmeal mixture. Place butter in a frying pan over medium heat and add the fish when the butter is melted. Cook for 2-3 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily with a fork.

Caesar Mayo
4 tsp grated Parmesan cheese

4 tsp mayo

4 tsp olive oil

1 T lemon juice

1 T Worcestershire sauce

3/4 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp ground mustard

1/4 tsp hot pepper sauce

Combine the ingredients. Spread over the rolls.

On the bottom bun, layer the fish, lettuce, and tomato and onion slices.

Sandwiches:

2 kaiser rolls, split

2 lettuce leaves

2 small tomatoes, thinly sliced

2 slices of sweet onion

We really liked these sandwitches although next time I think I will put more sauce on. I changed the recipe a bit from Lydia's blog because she cooked the fish under the broiler but suggested to do it in a frying pan instead. I also added more salt and pepper to dredge.

Here is the recipe for the bread:

Burger or Hot Dog Buns

1 cup milk

1 T. yeast
½ cup water

2 T. white sugar
¼ cup butter

1 ½ tsp. salt
4 ½ cups flour

1 egg

In a small saucepan, heat milk, water, and butter until very warm, approx. 120 degrees. In a large bowl, mix together 1 ¾ cups flour, yeast, sugar, and salt. Mix milk mixture with flour mixture and then mix in the egg. Stir in the remaining flour, ½ cup at a time, beating well after each addition. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.

Burger Buns: Divide dough into 12 equal pieces. Shape into smooth balls, and place on a greased baking sheet. Flatten slightly. Cover, and let rise for 30 to 35 minutes.

For Hot Dog Buns: Shape each piece into a 6x4 inch rectangle. Starting with the longer side, roll up tightly, and pinch edges and ends to seal. Let rise about 20-25 minutes.

Bake at 400 ° for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown.

And finally the recipe for the macaroni salad:

Macaroni Salad

1 lb. cooked elbow macaroni

1 carrot

1 stalk of celery

4 large dill pickles

8 radishes

6 green onions

6 oz. cheddar cheese

1 tsp. paprika

3/4 cup mayo

2 T. mustard

Salt and pepper

Chop the carrot, celery, pickles, radishes, green onions, and cheese to the same size. It doesn't really matter what size as long as everything is pretty close to the same (I usually make them a little smaller than the pasta). Put all the ingredients into a large bowl and add the paprika, mayo, and mustard. Toss everything together until well blended. Add as much salt and pepper as you like. Serve at room temperature.

Now for the picture.

The other day Tim and I put Abram in his room to play so that we could get a few things done. A few minutes later this is what we found...

Abram has only done this one time before so we had to take some pictures because it doesn't happen very often.

The twins are doing well and moving like crazy!!! Think that I have finally figured out how to tell which one is moving. They hardly ever move at the same time so it is hard to tell. They both weigh in at 1.3 lbs and are still a little bigger than average. They are about 5 oz. bigger than the average baby at 22 1/2 weeks. I am okay with that as long as they don't end up as big as Abram!!! Can you imagine two 9 lb. babies!?!?!?! I don't even want to think about it. My belly button is getting closer and closer to popping out so I'm sure that will be happening soon. When I was pregnant with Abram my belly button didn't stick out at all so this will be a new thing for me ( I have a VERY inny belly button). I promise to post some new ultrasound and belly pictures by the end of the week!

I am working on another apron right now and will have that done by Wednesday so I will put a picture of that too.

Twins

So I have been reading a book on twins that my mother-in-law let me borrow and I have found out some interesting facts. Basically no matter what kind of twins I have (fraternal or identical) it really had nothing to do with Tim (the getting pregnant part did). So now I really don't know how I am having twins instead of one. I just thought that it was Tim's grandpa but come to find out identical twins are random and fraternal twins are hereditary but only on the mom's side. So I guess we were just lucky! We are very excited to be having twins, but I hope that Abram will take the change well. I just don't know how I am going to be able to give Abram all the attention he needs/deserves along with the two girls. I hope he won't think that we don't love him anymore!

Thanks for the book Diane!!! I love it so far. I got it yesterday in the mail and I am already in chapter three!

Last week was a fun and busy week! We had our friends David and Anna Sibbett come visit us from Wyoming! Their little girl Jamie is soo cute! And she is so light!!! Of course I am comparing her to our hefty 25 pound boy! She only weighed 13 pounds and I felt like I could hold her all the time!!! The sad thing is that even though I took our camera with us everywhere I didn't take one picture! What was I thinking?!?!?! We went to see Old Sacramento which was pretty cool and we went to the zoo. I had to be pushed around in a wheel chair at the zoo because it is hard for me to walk for very long so it was kind of weird. I think that the parents enjoyed the zoo more than the babies! : ) Abram was very upset most of the time and I am sure it was because we made him sit in his stroller when all he wanted to do was run around. I think we will have to make another trip to the zoo when he is a little older. On Saturday we went to San Francisco and walked around a lot!! I wouldn't have been able to do it if I had walked around the zoo. It was a BEAUTIFUL day!! The skies were never that clear when we lived there! There wasn't even one spot of fog...it was amazing!

Because we had guests come over last week I decided to plan the whole weeks menus to make myself more organized and it was the best thing ever! I typed out the the meal, shopping list, and prep work needed for each meal and I saved over a 100 dollars on groceries! That and I went to WinCo instead! I will never go back to my old ways! We expected to spend more last week with the extra mouths to feed but that was not the case! I will keep you posted on this weeks savings!!! Tim told me a couple weeks ago that I needed to cut back on the grocery bill and I was feeling like it would be impossible but after last weeks experience I just want to see how low I can get the bill. Luckily we don't have sales tax on groceries because that would add a lot. Our sales tax is 7.75% and I think they will be raising it!! CRAZY!!!!

I have just entered an apron swap with a tea party theme and I am so excited! Through out the swaps duration there will be givaways and this weeks giveaway is a tea cup apron.

Isn't this a cute apron? Who knows...maybe I will be the winner. This apron was created by Jan Carrell and her Web site is http://www.jcarrelloriginals.com/ . She has a lot of cute aprons that she custom makes and she also makes tea cozies. She is also planning to add Burp Cloths, Baby Bibs, Pony Tail Holders, Sippee Cups, Baby Bloomers, Kitchen Towels, and Tote Bags. I am excited to keep visiting her Web site and see what's new. You should check it out.

Now to my latest creations. These are definitely not sell worthy, but I think they are pretty good.

I have made this particular apron pattern a few times and I think I am finally getting the hang of it. I have learned a lot doing this pattern and now know the quickest way to complete these. I am not knowedgable enough to create my own patterns so for now I will be using other people's patterns. I don't really like how this apron hangs on my pregnant body but I figured it would look better on me than on Tim and we were the only ones around to try them on. Tim made me suck my tummy in the for the side shot photos and as you can see it didn't help much. Maybe someday I will have one of those mannequins like Jan Carrell has.

I have started two other aprons from this pattern in different fabric but I haven't finished them enough to take a picture. I also made one for Bethany when she got married and I don't have any pictures of that one either. Making 5 aprons from the same pattern is definitely enough so the next aprons you see will be very different and maybe I will be learning some new skills too!

How Twins Are Made

So if you ever wondered how you got twins now you know! I saw this on another blog and I had to put it on here.

So we finally Abram a highchair! I know what your thinking. Yes he is 15 months old and he has been using a walker that grandpa Nehring got him last spring. We should have done this a long time ago but at least he has got one now. He loves his highchair and always goes over to it when he wants something to eat. This morning I decided to take some pictures of him in the highchair and when I asked him to smile he would scrunch up his face and look towards the ceiling. It was pretty funny.

Today during lunch I was in a hurry to get him his food because I lost track of time and didn't feed him until an hour after the normal time! I forgot to say prayer and he ate one piece of his quesadilla and looked at me with a confused expression. He then proceeded to fold his arms and wait. Of course, I felt bad but I felt proud that he wanted to say prayer and remembered. I guess you don't really know how much your kids are learning until something like this happens. This experience makes me want to be the best example ever. I'm glad he seems to be learning from the good things instead of all the mistakes.

It has only been a couple months since we last updated the blog (I know...we need to do better) but these last two months have been CRAZY!!! The last time that we posted we were on our way to Sacramento, CA. This is still true but our exact location is Elk Grove, CA which is just south of Sacramento. We couldn't be happier in our new ward and stake. We have made a lot of new friends and were warmly welcomed upon arriving here. In fact, we have met so many people that we feel like we have been in the ward for much longer than a month and a half. Both Tim and Anna are on the Activities Committee for the ward and Anna teaches the 14 year old Sunday School class. The Bishopric promises that Tim will be getting another calling soon so we will keep you posted.

Tim is really excited about the company that he is working for and feels like he made the right choice. He just got back from St Louis, MO where he did a new hire orientation for 5 days. He liked all of the stuff that he learned but is definitely glad to be back. He really missed Anna and Abram. Tim is trying to keep busy at work but the job he is working on is close to completion and not in a good way. The school district is cutting the job off so the McCarthy people are just trying to get through to the end.

Abram is learning more and more everyday and continually amazes his parents. He talks all the time (even though we don't understand him) and is very curious. He loves to explore everything in the house and likes to give lots of hugs to his mommy and daddy. He definitely missed Tim last week and was driving Anna a little crazy by Friday but we made it through and for that we are thankful.

Anna is enjoying life here in Elk Grove and is excited about the new friends she has met so far. Having friends definitely makes life a lot easier and more fun!

Now to the exciting news!!!

As of the last post Anna was pregnant and we have now discovered that she is having twins!!! We actually discovered this a few weeks ago so the intitial shock is over and has been replaced by pure excitement. We also found out that we will be having two girls and won't find out if they are identical until after they are born, but either way I am sure they will look alike. We are sooooo excited to be welcoming these two baby girls into our family and can't wait for them to arrive!

Time has been going by VERY slowly for Anna and she hopes that things will go a little faster in the next few months. At her last appointment the doctor told her that she is measuring at 26 weeks! The only problem with that is she is only 18 weeks pregnant! She is sure that by the time she has these babies she will be the equivilant of 60 weeks pregnant!! She is crossing her fingers that this won't happen.

The other exciting news is that we just got a puppy on Friday. Her name is Matilda and she is an American Staffy mix. We think she has labrador and border collie in her but we aren't sure. So far she is doing really well with Abram and we are trying to teach her not to jump on him and lick him. She sees Abram as one of her litter mates.