Grilled Chicken Tostadas

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Here is an easy and yummy dinner idea... 

What you will need...

  • Juice of two limes 
  • 2 garlic cloves, sliced
  • 1 chipotle chile in adobo, coarsely chopped
  • Kosher salt
  • 1 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces 
  • Cooking spray
  • 2 (8-inch) flour tortillas
  • 1/2 pound tomatillos, removed from husk and rinsed
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 cups shredded romaine lettuce
  • 2 ounces queso fresco, crumbled, about 1/3 cup (I used shredded Monterey Jack) 
Combine the lime juice, garlic and chipotle chile in a medium bowl; season with salt. Add the chicken, toss well to coat, and refrigerate 2 hours. Remove the chicken from the marinade; thread onto 4 (12-inch) skewers lightly misted with cooking spray.
Preheat the grill to medium. Mist the tortillas with cooking spray. Add the tortillas to the grill; cook, turning once, until lightly toasted, about 1 to 2 minutes per tortilla.
Meanwhile, add the chicken and the whole tomatillos to the grill; cook, turning often, until tomatillos are charred and chicken is cooked through, 4 to 6 minutes. Remove the skewers from the chicken.

Coarsely chop the tomatillos and toss with oil and salt to taste. Place toasted tortillas on plates; generously top with romaine, tomatillos, chicken, and cheese. 




They are a little hard to eat, but they are delish!

18 weeks



Maternity Clothes? As you can see in the picture, I need to get some maternity shirts! Even my big and long shirts are getting too short!

Stretch Marks? No.

Sleep? Pretty well this week!

Movement? A flutter every couple days!

Cravings? Nothing specific this week.

Gender? Boy and Girl

Belly Button In or Out? In

Weight Gain: +15 lbs so far

Symptoms: Heartburn has started, still very mild.

Favorite Moment: Getting to feel tiny little flutters! I can't wait to feel more!

17 Weeks

Saturday, March 24, 2012


I cant believe I am 17 weeks already. My energy is coming back and we began our baby registry this week.

Maternity Clothes? All my tops are still regular cloths, I just wear my longer shirts! Pants are either maternity or with Bella Band.

Stretch Marks? No.

Sleep? Pretty well this week!

Movement? I think I MIGHT have felt a few flutters!

Cravings? Strawberry smoothies.

Gender? Boy and Girl

Belly Button In or Out? In

Weight Gain: +14 lbs so far

Symptoms: Heartburn has started, still very mild.

Favorite Moment: Being able to buy cloths for these two sweet peas! If they are anything like their Mommy or Daddy, they will enjoy college basketball... I know we have this week :)

16 weeks, Gender Reveal and Luke's Birthday

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Having twins, you are very spoiled with getting many ultrasounds! Our last one was at 12 weeks but our next isn't until 20. We were very impatient excited to find out their genders, so we went to Becoming Mom which is a really fun pregnancy/ultrasound spa to find out early! If they aren't 100% correct they will tell you they aren't sure and will let you come back for free until they are. They also give you your money back if you they are wrong. It was so worth the money, and I hope they are right :)
Here is what we found out... 

We were SO excited! Baby A (our little girl) wasn't cooperating at first, so the ultrasound tech skipped over to baby B and quickly discovered he was a boy :) Were were thrilled! We went back to baby A and finally after checking several times, discovered a sweet little girl. We could't be happier and it was so fun to find out on Luke's birthday. I would say that was definitely his favorite birthday present:)

Thank you Lord for your abundant blessings.

I can do all things...

Monday, March 12, 2012

Words can't even BEGIN to express how JOYFUL we are to be expecting not one, but TWO babies that we so deeply prayed for! I wouldn't change one thing about our situation but with double the blessing, double the love, double the joy, I also have moments where I experience double the fear.



“An anxious heart weighs a man down, but a kind word cheers him up” (Proverbs 12:25, NIV).

I remember going into work the night after I found out we were having twins. I work night shift (thankfully just two 12 hour shifts a week) and I feel everything seems darker, gloomier and just over all down at night. That night at work I was suddenly hit with a whole new set of emotions. The joy and excitement suddenly turned into "How am I going to do this?"  

“I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears” (Psalm 34:4).

Suddenly just one baby sounded SOOOOO easy and two seemed near impossible! If it was just one, I could devote everything I had to just ONE little one. After all there is a reason a baby grows for 9 months right? It gives you time for each baby you have to age a bit, for you to get a hold on how to become a good mom slowly and gradually, one at a time. I felt like learning to juggle you start out with one ball... then add two and when you are finally ready, the third ball is added to make the juggling process a gradual learning experience that doesn't seem so hard in the end. I felt that night, and still have moments, where I feel as if someone is throwing 3 balls at me, all at once where I have NO IDEA what I am doing and all the balls just fall on the floor in a heaping mess. 

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7).

How could I breastfeed TWO babies? What happens when I am by myself and they BOTH cry? 

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:6-7)

And forget about when the babies arrive, how would I make it through this pregnancy? It can be so scary hearing how high risk twin pregnancies can be. Preterm labor, NICU time, all such scary thoughts. Also, how would my body carry these babies.. I see pictures of pregnant with twin bellies that look un-human like they are going to EXPLODE! 

“Then Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?’” (Luke 12:22-26, NIV). 

I know all these fears are normal, and at the end of the day I wouldn't trade our situation for the WORLD! This is God's plan for me! He trusts that I can do it and I trust in Him that he will equip me with all that I need to do this! His strength is made perfect in my weakness.
When I think of the two precious lives forming inside me, and imagining looking into our sweet babies eyes for the first time, I know all the fear will melt away and I will forget all about the aches, pains and anxieties of this pregnancy. I praise God that he is my strength in all things. I CANT WAIT to meet these little ones and to take on all the challenges that come with twins :)
Flowers that Luke surprised me with, when I was having a bad "twin day" :)


15 weeks

Well, since I will be 16 weeks tomorrow, I thought I better post the 15 week post...




Total weight gain: The stomach flu made me loose a little :/ I think I am back to my pre-sickness weight though:) +10
Stretch marks? none yet!
Sleep: I have been sleeping comfortably lately.
Best moment this week: Getting over the stomach flu!

Movement: None yet
Food cravings: Chic-fil-a chicken mini breakfast.
Symptoms: Back pain and tight tummy.
Wedding rings on or off?
 on!

Looking forward to: Gender ultrasound, March 13th... Luke's birthday! TOMORROW!

Cribs...

Friday, March 9, 2012

My parents and my grandmother were so generous and each bought one of our babies a crib :) This was about 5 weeks ago, before we shared the big news! 








Hayes turns 5!

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Last week my precious nephew turned 5... 









We love you Hayes and are so thankful for you!

Woah belly!

Saturday, March 3, 2012

I know there are two babies in there, but WOAH I never thought I would show so soon! Most first time moms (with one baby) start showing around 16-20 weeks, I had to start wearing a bella band with my pants at 8 weeks and was starting to show pretty substantially at just 9 weeks! Makes me a little scared to think how crazy big I am going to expand to at 30+ weeks :)
Here are some pics I took with my phone in the beginning... 


8 weeks


9 weeks
10 weeks
11 Weeks
Valentines Day, 12 weeks

First Trimester in Review

I can't believe my first trimester is over! It really flew by! Here were the basics of my first 13 weeks...


Morning Sickness?: No! How did I get so lucky?! I can't believe I was so blessed to somehow avoid morning sickness. I have read that with twins, morning sickness is often worse than that of a singleton pregnancy. My mom, my grandmother and my mom's sister never had morning sickness, so maybe it is in the genes, Thanks mom :) I only threw up twice and that was related to my biggest symptom so far, which was...


HUNGER! I have never been so hungry! That was my only clue that there could be more than one baby inside me. I often woke up in the middle of the night, so hungry that I had to come downstairs and have a bowel of cereal or a granola bar. I ate a lot my first trimester, just trying to listen to my body. There are two babies in there that need me to eat lots, and I definitely did! I would often feel nauseous if there was not enough food in my belly at any point in the day.


Weight gain: I often feel overwhelmed at the unbelievable weight gain that is expected with twins. I am reading a book called "When You're Expecting Twins, Triplets or Quads" by Dr.Luke and they recommend 1,000 extra calories a day for twins. This sounds fun, but it is hard to get the extra 1,000 in, especially in a healthy way.  I have had some fun though, having some extra calories to play with! Weight gain is also very important for preventing preterm labor which is one of the biggest complications with twin pregnancy. 24 lbs by 24 weeks is the most important, as it is most important to gain weight earlier in the pregnancy than later. I also rejoice that I was able to loose 35 lbs before becoming pregnant and totally changing my eating habits, this has given me a much healthier start to carrying these two sweet ones.


Fatigue: I was absolutely exhausted every day. I could definitely tell I had two babies and two placentas forming with in me, as I had to to take a nap almost everyday. I could also tell I wasn't myself as we ate out almost every night of the first trimester, which is very out of the norm for us. I just couldn't find the energy to cook!


Emotions: I have been amazed at how emotionally stable I have been! I normally become very moody with monthly hormone swings, so I was fearing pregnancy would bring out the worst in me. But I have been surprisingly joyful and happy even despite my exhaustion. 
I felt like this pregnancy has been such a miracle so I definitely had some normal fears of miscarriage early on. I loved that God used this to make me fully rely on him. At the end of the day, I was doing everything I could do to take care of myself and my babies, so I knew the rest was up to the Lord, and trusting in him is a beautiful place to be. Once I found out we were having twins, I honestly I had so much else to think about, that miscarriage was the last thing on my mind!


I feel so blessed to have had such a smooth pregnancy and we give God all the glory for his goodness and abundant blessings!

14 weeks (contrary to what the chalkboard says)



Total weight gain: Almost 10 lbs! I'm on my the way to my weight gain goal for twins of 24 lbs by 24 weeks! 
Maternity clothes? Just bought my first pair of maternity jeans and they are HEAVENLY! I began wearing a bella band since  9 weeks!
Stretch marks? none yet!
Sleep: Starting to only sleep on my side which is difficult as I am a side/belly/back sleeper!
Best moment this week: Still just enjoying my ever growing belly!

Movement: None yet
Food cravings: A very strange Q-doba queso craving! yikes!
Symptoms: Belly starting to become tight.
Wedding rings on or off?
 on, hopefully for as long as possible :)

Looking forward to: Gender ultrasound, March 13th... Luke's birthday!

Finding out we were expecting twins...

Thursday, March 1, 2012

I am making it no secret that we took clomid to get pregnant. Clomid makes your ovaries release eggs and it can increase your chance for multiples. I have a twin book that tells you that Clomid gives you a 10% chance of having twins and my doctor said he hasn't seen anyone get pregnant with twins on the dosage of medicine I was on. (Even though I still find this hard to believe.) 
Anyways, in the back of my mind, I mean maybe I had a tiny idea that it MIGHT happen but as soon as I found out we were expecting, I just KNEW there was only one baby inside me. I don't know why I thought this, it was just a feeling I had... perhaps a lack of feeling, but when we went into our ultrasound appointment, I just knew we would be confirming one little baby in there.
Luke and I grabbed lunch before our appointment and we talked about what would be exciting about this appointment...
1. We would (hopefully) hear a heart beat! I was excited for this because once a heartbeat is heard on an ultrasound, your risk of miscarriage goes down to less than 2%.
2. We would get an exact due date.
3. We would find out IF there was more than one. No way...ha!


The ultrasound was an amazing experience! Quickly, I will tell you how we found out...
I laid back on the exam table as Luke and I viewed the large flat screen TV that showed the ultrasound images in front of us. As soon as we could see inside my belly, I saw the baby! I didn't say anything out loud, but I thought to myself, see, just one!
The ultrasound tech said "There's your baby!" We smiled and were so amazed to see the little life within me. Then in the most  unassuming, nonchalant way, she said "And there's your other baby!" My heart started racing, tears came down my face, Luke smiled with the most joyful laughter and we preceded to see our TWO babys, hear TWO heart beats and rejoice that God has blessed us TWICE!
Here are our tiny peanuts at 8 weeks...





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