Week 14

So this post comes a whole week late, as  the babies are 15 weeks today.  I woke up yesterday morning and I was unable to button my jeans for my chubs just squished and busted out over the top... so lately I've been wearing "flowy" tops just to hide the fact that my pants are open! I'm feeling great and thank God my energy is up, for the past two weeks I have been able to stay awake past 7:30pm, woo-hoo!  Believe it or not, my appetite has decreased and I find myself scrambling to eat whenever I remember I have to feed two little people who depend on me to grow.  

My belly seems so small considering the babies should be about 4 inches in length (about the size of an orange or an apple).  They have 10 toes and 10 fingers (each hopefully!) and should now have functioning joints, which means they should be wiggling around like crazy... which certainly isn't a bad thing considering they have their own little playmate right there inside!  

Now cross your fingers everyone, if we get lucky, we just might be able to tell if they are girls or boys by next Friday!  Second trimester, here we come! (Waist size: 34)

Happy Birthday... Again!?

Ahhh... the month of April - you gotta love it!  Well, maybe not you... but certainly Jei & I do.  It just might be our favorite month!  Not only do we get to celebrate, go out, and do something fun on my birthday... and then celebrate, go out, and do something fun two weeks later for Jei's birthday... but we also get to milk our birthday celebrations a little longer than we probably should... until we finally meet up with "The Girls" and once again, celebrate our birthdays!  Of course you certainly don't have to twist our arms to set aside a weekend for the big celebration... we get treated to an incredible meal, get showered with gifts, but most importantly, we get to spend time & celebrate with family.  Celebrating your birthday over a span of a month is fantastic... I highly recommend it! 

Jeilene & I made the drive up to L.A. on a gorgeous Saturday afternoon and met "The Girls" (Helen, Joanne, Gema, & Nani) for an early dinner in Pasadena.  Italian was the dinner theme of choice... and there was only one place where we could sit & enjoy delicious family-style Italian food: Buca di Beppo!     

We ate, drank, and were all very merry.  Jei & I even got a free dessert along with half the restaurant singing happy birthday to us!  It was a great meal and an even better time.

After dinner we all headed back to Nani's house for dessert & birthday presents!  Naturally, Gema & Jeilene gravitated into the kitchen and began baking lots of yummy treats!





I of course had to teach Gema a thing or two about chocolate chip cookie baking!  :-)




After all the dust (dough) had settled in the kitchen... it was finally time to open presents!!!

Jei got some very pretty jewelry and some more charms for her bracelet...

While I was just excited to get blue tissue paper!






Actually, I got a couple of my favorite movies on Blu-ray which I was pretty excited about!  

Question: What does a baker give a fellow baker?

Answer: Top Secret recipes from prestigious 'Le Cordon Bleu' of course!

A couple of beautiful picture frames sure was a nice surprise from the Meeker gang!  One for each twin I suppose?

Unfortunately, I didn't end up getting that Key-Den I wanted for my birthday... so I had to cuddle up & play with Helen's instead.

After opening all our gifts and pigging out on cookies all night long... it was finally time to put our birthday celebrations to rest!  An enormous thanks to the Gonzalez Girls for an amazing dinner, hosting a fun night at the house, delicious baked goods, and of course all the wonderful gifts!  I have to say, we truly are blessed and very thankful for all of our family making us feel so special.  We really enjoyed our long birthday celebrations this month and took full advantage!  I figured we kind of had to since it might very well be our last... my guess is that any and all cash saved up to buy birthday gifts for us next year will undoubtedly be spent on random crap for the twins instead!  Oh well, "C'est la vie!"  It was fun while it lasted!  :-)  

What's Up, Doc?

Monday was our second doctor visit... and knowing that our two little babies have been growing inside, but without seeing any of that growth on the outside, made Jei & I extremely anxious to see and know what exactly was going on in there!  After all, it had been four whole years since our last visit (okay-okay, four weeks, but it certainly felt like four years!), and to tell you the truth... we were beginning to think we had dreamt the whole 'twins' thing up! 

Little did we know... that this visit, along with all other future visits, an ultrasound would be performed!  We were in the same little room as before, so flashbacks & memories of us finding out about the twins for the first time were almost overwhelming!  Jei & I obviously weren't as anxious as last time... but we were still pretty excited.  The doctor turned on the machine and squeezed a ton of transparent goo on Jei's belly while we both waited anxiously to see our twin little babies!

It certainly didn't take very long for a picture to appear.  A couple of tweaks here and there and then all of a sudden... BAM, there they were!  How exciting!!!  You could definitely tell there were two in there, but only one of them really wanted the spotlight.  You could clearly see the profile of the one... it totally looked like "Bing" (We still don't know the sex yet and I have a problem calling them "it", so they're "Ming" & "Bing" for now!) was sitting at the bottom just chillin' out watching TV or something (My twin!).  The other, "Ming", was off in La-La Land (Jei's twin!) and we never really could get a good view.  

It honestly took quite a while for my jaw to lift itself from the floor.  I was just completely amazed at what I was seeing!  Our two little fetuses had grown so much... they looked so much bigger than when we first saw them and could now see so much more detail... it truly was amazing!  Jei & I both thought the most incredible part was being able to clearly see and identify each of the twin's spine and ribcage!

As you may or may not see in the "Bing" sonogram above (the doctor did NOT bring her 'A' game when it came to capturing a good photo!)... where it totally looks like he (she?) is lounging back in a 'La-Z-Boy' recliner enjoying some tacos that Jei had for lunch... a few of the facial features are beginning to appear!  It was so fascinating to see the little nose & eyes taking shape, along with all the other features beginning to appear like the arms & legs... but yet so hard to believe and understand just how small they really are growing inside Jei's unassuming belly!  

As I mentioned earlier... "Ming" (above) did not want to cooperate and never really gave us a good clean shot for a decent picture, hence the illustrated version of the "Ming" photo (below)!

So... Jei & I finally exhaled, breathed a sigh of relief, and were as giddy as could be... for we had just found out the good news: there were in fact two fetuses, they were both alive & well as far as we could tell (we got to hear both their heartbeats!), and there was nothing blatantly abnormal about the pregnancy or the growth of the twins.  Unfortunately, what we weren't expecting was to hear that along with the good news came the proverbial bad news! 

The doctor finished up with the ultrasound machine and we were left with about a thousand questions... so once she cleaned up and turned the lights back on, it was question & answer time!  The doctor first explained that Jei & I would get a lot more information and answers to our questions once we had our appointment with the twins specialist in a couple of weeks. They apparently do a much more thorough and detailed ultrasound with better and more sophisticated equipment.  We'll also be on our 16th week by the time we see the specialist so we should be able to find out the sex by then too.  But nevertheless, our doctor did the best she could with the information she had at explaining to us what was going on with our two little babies. 

First of all... those who participated in the first poll over there on the right and chose "Identical" are absolutely correct!  The doctor explained that since both the babies were in the same "sac" together, the chances of them being anything other than identical twins were extremely slim to none.  The doctor went on to further explain that since the twins are in fact in the same sac and have their own umbilical cord... the chances of them becoming entangled and/or choking themselves (or the other) with their cords in that cramped little sac they're in are somewhat on the high side... and naturally pose a risk to the babies!  

As you might imagine, Jei & I were completely flabbergasted!  We didn't know what to think or how to respond... which of course the doctor picked up on, probably from the looks on our faces, but she was very calm and did a good job trying not to totally freak us out!  She went on to tell us just how rare this situation was and started talking in 'doctor lingo' which obviously went right over our heads.  Apparently, the situation, or our twins rather, are described by the following term:  "Monochorionic Monoamniotic."  It's certainly long and complicated... which is why twins that are described by the term are commonly referred to as "MoMo Twins!"   And in case you are as curious, intrigued, and bewildered as we were... I included a link you can click to help educate yourselves if you so desire.  

http://multiples.about.com/od/medicalissues/a/MoMoTwins.htm

So after hearing everything the doctor had to say and then going home and doing a ton of research... we're really not sure what to expect.  All we know for sure is that Jei is feeling great, we just finished our first trimester, and that we have a pair of crazy little "MoMo Twins" chillin' inside Jei's belly!  I think we'll know a lot more in a couple of weeks (May 7th) when we go and see the specialist... but for now, all we can do is hope for the best and plan for the worst!  And speaking of planning for the worst... the doctor did warn us that with such a rare & risky pregnancy, there would be a good chance that Jei would have to be admitted to the hospital a Hell of lot earlier than expected - like around week 24!!! ...YIKES!  

Like I said, we got a ton of really good news... but a little bit of bad news too.  Certainly nothing to worry about at this point, but it definitely wouldn't hurt to start sending a few prayers our way!  Sorry about ending this on a low note... but just wanted to give everyone a heads up on what went down at our last doctor's visit so their wouldn't be any big or unwanted surprises down the road.  Also sorry about the picture quality... we both forgot our cameras so my trusty iPhone had to step up to the plate!   

       

Birthday Girl

My 29th birthday weekend couldn't have started off any better!  A few of my coworkers took me out Friday after work for happy hour.  I couldn't let Alec stay home alone and watch ESPN all night, so I dragged him with me.  In the end, it was a really fun time had by all!  Great food, yummy drinks (Sprite on the rocks for me of course!), a few presents, and some good laughs... definitely good times!  

Saturday was my designated 'sleep-in' day... which, as you may have guessed, didn't get any objections from Alec!  That night we met some friends for dinner at the Cheesecake Factory (Hmmm... my favorite!), and then after a magnificent meal and of course some delicious FREE cheesecake (thanks to Cousin Frank!), we went to the movies and saw 'Date Night', which if you're a big Steve Carell fan like Alec is, then you're sure to laugh out loud!   

I actually had to get up early on Sunday... for Alec & I had a date with a Harley that morning!  We had absolute fantastic weather which made the ride that much more amazing!  The wild flowers and California Poppies were in full bloom and were quite the site to see... although I don't think the pictures did them any justice.  

I felt bad not being 'available' for friends & family to wish me a happy birthday, so every once in a while I made Alec pull over so I could answer my phone.  I also used it as an excuse to rest my fanny too... those seats look way more comfortable than they really are! 

Now what exactly would a Southern California Harley ride be without some sort of pit-stop in the beautiful little quaint town of Julian?  We stopped for lunch at our favorite eatery: the Julian Cafe & Bakery.  

Of course, what would a pit-stop in Julian be without pigging-out on some famously delicious pie?!?  Hmmm... warm apple pie 'a la mode'!!!  YUMMY!  Happy Birthday to me!!!

The rest of the afternoon was spent putting on the miles!  Between the beautiful weather, scenery, and driver (hee-hee!)... I was lovin' it!

And after an ass-numbing 218 miles later... we had a little bit of sunburn, a little bit of windburn, belly aches from too much pie, and some pretty sore rear-ends... but it was so worth it!  What an amazing day!  Who knows, maybe we'll make this a yearly birthday tradition too?!

Thank you so much for everyone's phone calls, emails, gifts and good wishes.  I sure couldn't have hoped for a better time celebrating my last birthday in the 20's!  (p.s. Are we going to have to rent one with a side car next time? ...you know, for the twins???)    :-)

Week 12

I don't know, if you ask me I think I see a little growth there... but even if there isn't any growth on the outside, there sure is a heck of a lot of growing inside!  Our little twin babies are now about two and a half inches in length... and their little fingernails & toenails are starting to appear.  I can't wait until we can actually see some evidence of twins inside!  Right now it's just all too surreal & unbelievable!  Of course it doesn't help that I'm still not feeling any of the usual side effects of being pregnant!  No crazy mood swings, no morning sickness, and no weird food cravings... but with that being said, I still do my little happy dance when I think about food (I absolutely LOVE food right now... every meal is the best meal I've ever had!), and I totally feel like Sleeping Beauty! (If I'm not thinking about food then I'm thinking about taking a nap... which usually ends up lasting the entire night!)   Other than that, I feel pretty good for having two little babies inside my belly!  Maybe I should just enjoy how I look & feel  for now... I have a feeling it won't last for much longer! (Waist size: 33) 

Birthday Boy

Well, my 32nd birthday didn't quite start off like I wanted it to.  I got up on a perfectly good day-off of work way too freakin' early!  I had a play date with some coworkers to go motorcycle riding that morning so that made waking up early on my birthday a little more tolerable... or so I thought anyway!  I went downstairs to take my 'pride & joy' out from under its dusty cover to see if after sitting for two years it would actually start.  Not sure what I was expecting but I know what I was hoping for... and I sure as Hell didn't get it!  My bike had no intentions of starting and it quickly became obvious that I had one heck of an expensive and heavy paperweight!  I was pretty bummed so I just crawled right back into bed.  After getting up the second time, I decided to keep my two-wheeled riding tradition on my birthday alive... and since I couldn't go play on the asphalt, I did the next best thing: played in the dirt instead!  

For my birthday dinner, I decided on 'Benihana', a very yummy Japanese steak house!  

After a sensational meal, a complimentary bowl of ice cream, and a Happy Birthday song sung in Japanese in my honor... Jei & I headed to the movies to see 'How to Train Your Dragon,' which was great! ...loved the scottish accents!  After the movie we came back home and it was time to open presents!

I didn't have to work... got to ride my dirt bike.... had one of my favorite meals... got free ice cream... saw a good movie... and even got to open a few cards & presents!  All in all, I think it was an outstanding birthday and thoroughly enjoyed turning another year older.  I definitely want to thank everyone for all their wonderful birthday wishes, cards, emails, presents, and phone calls... that of course was the best part and what made it so special! 

Week 10

Hmmm... I'm thinking this week probably shouldn't really count.  I mean at this point, sure the twins have grown a little to about the size of a lime (little more than an inch in length) ...but this photo was literally taken the day we just got off of a 7-day Caribbean cruise!  I've got two words for you:  BACON & ICE CREAM!!!  (Waist size: 31.5)

Time for a Vacation

Sam "Dad-Oh" Etheridge celebrates his birthday in March... and it just so happens that this year he celebrates the big 60th!  So, in good ol' Dad-Oh fashion, he decided he actually wanted to spend his birthday with his family! (Go figure... have you actually met any of us? Hee-hee!) Lucky for us... his birthday celebration lasted an entire week and was on a cruise ship in the Caribbean!!!  Needless to say, Dad-Oh's big 60th birthday cruise celebration was a ginormous hit and an absolute amazing time!   

 

While we were all together down in Florida getting mentally prepared to spend a full week aboard a cruise ship sailing through the western Caribbean stuffing our faces with massive amounts of food and drinking ourselves silly... Jeilene & I figured it would be the perfect time to tell my side of the family that we'll be expanding our little "circle of trust" by two in about six or seven months time!  

So with about an hour or so to spare until we left the house... I managed to get everyone together in the living room for a group picture.  After the picture, and with just the right amount of sneakiness... I completely surprised Dad-Oh (as well as everyone else!) and handed him what he thought was his first official 60th birthday present!  

Dad-Oh opened his present and was quite perplexed to find nothing but a small piece of paper.  Of course it didn't take long at all for him to figure out that I had stolen an all too familiar page from one of his most famous books!  As soon as he opened up the piece of paper and read what was on it... he knew right away it was a scavenger hunt!  For those not fortunate enough to have experienced an Etheridge scavenger hunt to know what it all entails... the first note or poem written on a small piece of paper gives you a clue as to where you might find your next clue throughout various parts of the house.  You may certainly choose to torture the recipient for as long as you'd like, depending on how many creative clues you come up with and hide, but usually there are only a handful.  The scavenger hunt ends when the last clue leads the player to where his/her true gift is ultimately hidden.  In Dad-Oh's case, his gift was a DVD that he had to play for all of his family to see.  It was a really fun game and a perfect way to break the big news!  I just don't think they were quite ready for what they saw...     

We're Pregnant!

(click the above link to watch how the Etheridge family found out about the twins!)

Etheridge Family Reaction!

(click the above link to watch how the Etheridge family reacted to the video!)

NOTE: You must have a YouTube and/or a Google account to watch videos!

If you don't have or want to create an account, email me & I will hook you up.

Two round trip plane tickets from coast to coast: $1000.00

One balcony stateroom on a 7-day Caribbean cruise: FREE (Thanks Dad-Oh!)

A free round of golf at Pebble Beach for Dad-Oh's 60th birthday: $500.00

Surprising your family with news of being pregnant with twins: ...ABSOLUTELY PRICELESS!!!  =)

So... not a bad way to start our vacation, heh?  Yeah, it definitely was an amazingly blissful start... to what ended up being a very memorable and incredibly relaxing and happy vacation!!!  Thanks again to Dad-Oh for turning 60, wanting to spend such a monumental birthday with your family, and of course for financing such a wonderful trip!  We love you Dad-Oh!

To see a few more great pics from our amazing week in the Caribbean, click on all the "This Time Last Week..." entries in both March & April on Mandi & Jason's Blog

Not one... but TWO!!!

To be honest with you... with no visible signs of being pregnant, no crazy food cravings, no weird mood swings, and no morning sickness... there was a small itsy-bitsy chance in the back of our minds that this whole being pregnant thing was one big fluke!  Never mind the five pregnancy tests that all showed positive... to us, without proof positive evidence that there was something (someone!) growing inside Jei's little belly, we weren't 100 percent sure we were actually pregnant!  So on Thursday, March 18th, we had our first doctor's appointment, and not only did we get our proof positive evidence... but we also got the surprise of a lifetime!!! 

Jeilene & I got escorted to the little examination room at the doctor's office and waited patiently for the doctor to arrive.  We got a knock on the door and in walks this 5 foot tiny-skinny-little female Asian doctor with a big smile on her face.  The door hadn't even gotten a chance to close all the way when the doctor immediately blurted out, "Well, looks like you guys are off the hook!"  Naturally, we were a bit confused but she immediately explained, "I just got done diagnosing twins, so you guys are off the hook."  She went on to explain that for every 90 patients she examines in a given time frame, one of those 90 is going to have twins.  The very last patient that she had examined before walking into our room that day was in fact her 90th patient... and it just so happens that that 90th patient was going to have twins!  So, since the doctor had already diagnosed a set of twins in her little 90 patient cycle, and had done it that day no less... she was more than confident in saying that we were "off the hook" when she walked in.

Jeilene was lying down getting comfortable on the examination table while the doctor was preparing for the upcoming ultrasound, and as for me... well, I couldn't help but sit there next to Jei and think about what the doctor had said about the 1 in 90 twins stat she threw out earlier.  So much so that I had to open my mouth and make a very astute observation, "Since your last twins patient was your 90th, then the count starts all over again with us, right?  So technically, we still could have twins, right?"  The doctor looked at me like she was solving calculus in her head and then said, "You know, you're absolutely right.  Highly unlikely, but you're right." 

So the ultrasound commenced and both Jeilene & I were feeling a ton of emotions!  Excited, anxious, and of course nervous that there wouldn't be anything in there... all at the same time!  All of a sudden, there it was!  You really couldn't make out any of the features at first.  It was just this blob that you unequivocally knew was your little fetus!  What an indescribable feeling that was!  Relief that we finally found out for sure that we were going to have a little baby, blessed to know it was alive & moving, and absolutely ecstatic about the whole situation!  It really was surreal!  

Finally, after several minutes of adjustment, we really got to see an incredible image of our new little fetus!  At first Jei & I really didn't have a clue as to what we were looking at, but the doctor did a great job at showing and explaining everything that we were seeing.  Before we knew it, we could clearly see its ginormous head and tiny little body!  The doctor kept making adjustments to the ultrasound tool which sometimes gave us really great images where we could definitively tell that it was a tiny little baby, but it would also give us really crummy views & images too, where we (Jei & I) weren't really sure what we were looking at!  

 

At one point, the doctor pressed some buttons and all of a sudden we were listening to our little fetus's actual heartbeat!  It was absolutely incredible!  Jeilene & I were totally beside ourselves and truly amazed at what we were seeing!  The doctor made a few more adjustments and then suddenly paused.  It was definitely an awkward pause which made me think something was wrong.  The doctor made some more adjustments and then said, "Huh... Looks like I was wrong."  There was this long silent pause in the room with the doctor focused in on the ultrasound screen, Jei wondering what was going on, and me staring at this doctor with a 'what in God's name are you talking about' look on my face... waiting for this doctor to explain herself!  Finally, after a year had gone by, the doctor made a few more adjustments and then said, "Yep, I was wrong.  There's definitely two in there!"  

I got visual evidence on the ultrasound screen, confirmation from the doctor who pointed the other fetus out on the screen to us... and then I just went crazy!!!  I literally jumped out of my seat and starting pacing around the tiny little room.  Every three seconds I would get real serious, stick my face in front of the doctor's face and ask, "Are you kidding me, Doc?  Are you sure?  You're positive?" ...and then I continued to jump up & down and pace around the room!  Eventually I realized Jei was still in the room and made eye contact with her just to make sure she was as blown away as I was.  I don't think we could have been more excited, had bigger smiles on our faces, or have felt more overwhelmed than we did at that moment!  

I finally got to where I could sit down again and the doctor explained to us how she missed the second one in the beginning.  Both fetuses were/are in the same placenta sac with the second one literally hiding behind the first one... so at first it was quite impossible to see that there was actually two in there!  But with a little movement from the little fetuses inside, and an adjustment or two from the ultrasound tool... the second one slowing began to make an appearance.  By the time the ultrasound was over we could clearly see not one... but two!!!  

Talk about surreal moments!  As I was sitting there trying to control my emotions, I kept thinking how unbelievable this was and that at any second now the doctor is going turn around and say, "Just kidding!"  The doctor of course was serious and was a little less emotional than we were but still very stunned at what had happened.  She said that she had never gotten twins in the same day before, much less one right after another!  I'm not sure what that means if anything at all, but it's still pretty amazing!  The rest of the day & evening was spent trying to wipe the massive smiles off our faces and trying to comprehend the fact that come Fall this year (due date is October 22nd) Jeilene & I are going to be proud parents of TWINS!!!  

 

Sinaloan Surprise

Since "the girls" (Helen, Joanne & Nani) were all headed down to Mexico to visit the rest of the family in early March, we thought it would be the perfect time to surprise Jeilene's family with the big news!  We thought about how we were going to tell them for the longest time, until finally... Alec came up with the perfect plan!  We picked up three small gifts (two things of candy and one "I love Grandma" bib for Momma Soch) and decided that when they were all together one night they would have to play Nani's famous dice game... but the big surprise wasn't about any of the three gifts themselves, but what was actually attached to each gift!  Before wrapping each gift all nice & pretty, I took three separate pieces of paper and wrote one single word on each piece of paper and then attached them to each of the three gifts.  So, when the game ended and the three gifts had been rightfully claimed, the owner would unwrap his/her present and see that one word.  Naturally, all three words would be seen and the proverbial cat would finally be let out of the bag!  

It seemed like the perfect way to tell Jei's side of the family... and indeed it was, however, we failed to consider the fact that we had no control over when exactly everyone was going to get together and actually play the game!  With that being said, Sunday came & went without a phone call... Monday came & went without a phone call... Tuesday and Wednesday came & went without a phone call!  Not only were we super anxious and eagerly anticipating that phone call, but we started to get really worried and wondered if they were going to play the game at all.  Finally, Thursday night came around and the news finally broke!  Of course it was just Alec's luck that he happened to be up in Mammoth on a ski trip that night when the phone call finally came in.  I was at home all alone when it sounded like a bunch of people in Mexico had just won the lottery!  The game was played, the plan worked to perfection, and according to eye witnesses at the scene... there were some absolute priceless faces when everyone saw those three little words!  

One family down... one to go!  

Week 6

Our first "officially pregnant" photo... and besides of a few chubs here and there, obvious signs of a tiny little fetus growing inside is virtually nonexistent!  32 more weeks to go!  YIPPEEEEE!!! 

p.s. Being pregnant and knowing you're inevitably going to become a real life parent in the very near future definitely hasn't quite 'sunk-in' at this point! (Waist size: 29.5)

It's Positive!!!

October 12, 2009... Alec & I celebrate our first full year of marriage bliss together!  And that one year was just about all it took... until we both sat down, had a long talk, and decided that our little family of two just wasn't big enough!  

So, a few months after making "the big decision" ...and dealing with prenatal vitamin overloads, ovulation predictors, LOTS of practice, and countless pregnancy tests... Sunday, February 7th, was the last possible day for "aunt flow" to visit that cycle.  Hopeful that she wouldn't arrive and that Alec had lost count of the cycle, I remained optimistic and went on about my week.  Putting off yet another disappointing negative test was easy, especially since Alec was working nights and there was no vodka, beer, or wine in the house. (hee-hee!)

I had decided I would wait to test again over Valentine's Day weekend so that Alec and I could find out together... but come Tuesday night I got super anxious and started to panic for fear of how it might play out: "We'd anxiously wait for the result together with white-knuckled hands grasped with one another, praying to God out loud begging him for two little lines to appear, with our emotions getting the better of us and ending up one uncontrollably excited mess!  Then suddenly the single "negative" line appears, my heart breaks, I hang my head in defeat, and I burst into irrepressible tears!"  Well, as you can imagine, that's not exactly the way I wanted that particular moment in my life to happen.  So I immediately rushed to the bathroom and took out the last test I had and prayed as hard as I could and waited ever so impatiently!  Almost immediately, and to my absolute astonishment... two "positive" lines appeared!  I began jumping up and down in excitement, clapping and screaming, and seriously not believing there was nobody there in that bathroom to share such an amazing moment with!

Now came the hard part: how to tell Alec the wonderful news?!  After much thought, my creative juices began to flow and knew exactly how I wanted him to find out.  I emptied out a stationary box (the kind with the clear plastic lids), and stuffed it with tissue paper.  I then carefully placed the test on top and put the clear lid back on.  Of course I wrapped it, tied a big bow, made it look nice & pretty, and then placed it on the bathroom counter for him to see when he came home that night in the wee hours of the morning...

 As I heard him pull into the driveway and walk up the stairs... I did my best to control my excitement, pretend I was sleeping, and prayed he couldn't see my heart pounding from underneath the covers!  He walked into the bathroom and I anxiously awaited his reaction!  Expecting him to burst out of the bathroom yelling & screaming in excitement... I was somewhat disappointed & perplexed.  Instead, all I heard was some shuffling of the gift paper, running water from the sink, and the sound of him brushing his teeth!  Finally (after he finished brushing his teeth!), he slowly came out of the bathroom, noticed that I was sitting up waiting for him with the biggest smile I could possibly make on my face, and looked at me in complete & total disbelief and asked, "Is this for real?"  Definitely one of the best moments we've ever shared! ...so far anyway!  =)