Friday, March 30, 2012

23 Weeks!

Time flies! Can't believe Lissy is already 23 weeks. Below is a little snapshot of my glowing wife as well as a snapshot of our yard from the kitchen window. We get some beautiful natural sunlight in the mornings.

We had our first consultation with a high-risk doctor on Tuesday. Despite the 4-hour wait (yes 4 freaking hours), it definitely put me at ease. He said that Lisa's blood pressure is great and she has a "rockstar" cervix measurement for twins at 23 weeks. And he also said he would probably yank her out of work in about 4 weeks which is what I was hoping he would say. My hard worker of a wife thought she could continue working through June without a problem. Silly woman. Before we left, he said "We only have 1 shot at this. Let's do it right." Amen doc!

PS- blogging from my phone is awesome.

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Sweetness!

This entry is about 4 months late to be exact...is it about pregnancy? Nah. But it's about something else which I have enjoyed this winter. Hot Chocolate! Yeah that's right, I'm blogging about a hot drink on the first (now second) day of Spring. But you know what, this isn't just any ordinary hot chocolate. This is the real deal! Check the pic below...


That's a homemade marshmallow in there! Where can you find this cup of goodness? It's at this spot on 18th St. between 5th and 6th aves called City Bakery. Trust me, this hot chocolate will change your life! There's nothing like walking out sipping a cup of this with the bitter cold hitting your face. I even got my friend Kathy and her family addicted to it. They would take a special trip out into the city from the 'burbs of south jersey just to partake in this sweetness.

Usually, at around 5pm I get that sugar craving that I need to get me through the rest of the day. And this hot chocolate has definitely fulfilled that craving. I've also tried their melted chocolate chip cookies and they are quite delectable. They are soft, freshly baked chocolate chocolate chip cookies. The morsels melt in your mouth!

I've tried a wide array of hot chocolate over the years from the boxed Swiss Miss with marshmallows to Max Brenners and this one from City Bakery blows the rest out of the water. I remember many winters of shoveling snow at my mom's house and coming in to a nice hot cup of Swiss Miss hot chocolate. My dad would always ask for tea with milk and I always asked mom for hot chocolate. It somehow only seemed fitting to drink after shoveling/during a snowstorm. Back then I had to shovel the front of the house and also dig out 2 cars...which sometimes took 2 outings in 1 day...which in turn resulted in 2 cups of hot chocolate! These days, I've been having to dig myself out of all the work that gets piled on from the 8 editors I work with [Do you see what I did there? I tied together my shoveling story as a teenager to working as an adult! Hi5!] and this cup of hot chocolate puts me at ease and gets me through the last few hours at work. Thank you City Bakery for pleasing my sweet tooth!

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

21 Weeks!

Picture of Lissy below at 21 Weeks last week! We've been having a "count-up" using the chalkboard in the kitchen ever since we found out she was pregnant in November. Tomorrow we'll be changing that number to 22 Weeks! Yeah!! Continue to grow little guys!

Update-today 11:20am

Just had a doctor appt this morning and had a short quick ultrasound and the little boys are wiggling around like crazy in there! Even the doc said they are very active which is a great sign. Lisa hasn't been able to feel them yet, but then again, since this is her first pregnancy, she's not really sure what it's supposed to feel like! Hopefully she finds out soon!

22 weeks, here we come!

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

What a Week Part 3

Welcome to Part 3 of my weekend. The past week was filled with milestones for me and Lisa. But for me, the biggest part so far was the purchase of a new car. Part of this "going to be a parent" phase is handling change. And one change I have to make is getting a new car because the one we have now, a small 4cylinder Mazda3 hatchback isn't gonna cut it for us. Upon hearing the news of twins, our car of choice changed from a fresh SUV to a...wait for it...wait for it...a minivan...yes that's right, a freaking minivan. Yes it makes much more sense to cop one of these because its so much more spacious especially with 2 car seats and a double stroller and whatever else parents have to lug around. And our garage is small so the sliding doors definitely help. And while these are all great features, its still...a minivan. I never thought I'd be THAT guy. Life takes you in crazy directions. Places and situations you never thought you'd experience. I always wanted to be a father but to be a father to 2 babies at once is a lot to process for me. And a minivan will be great for the family no doubt about that. But...its that little feeling of autonomy that I will miss and probably won't ever get back until I leave this earth many many years from now. Things are changing for us. And we're handling it like champs. Its been 5 years alone in this big house of ours. Gone will be the days of going out to dinner or a movie at 9pm. We'll miss those days but I know when the 2 little rugrats arrive, our house and our lives will be filled with so much joy and fulfillment. Quick side story. I ran into a couple on the elevator at work who had twin boys, they were about a year old. They were heading to a casting call on another floor and I had to hold the door open for the dad who was folding up the double stroller with one hand while holding the one baby in the other. The couple was around my age too. I immediately told them that my wife and I were expecting twins this summer and we formed an instant connection in that 20sec elevator ride. Its such a crazy beautiful thing that parenting has this effect. One thing the father said really resonated with me. He said "Ever since they were born, I don't remember what my life was like without them." I was in awe. I stepped out of the elevator even more excited and we wished each other luck.

So on Saturday evening, Lisa and I picked up our brand-spanking new Toyota Sienna Minivan. And I gotta say, it is such a sweet ride. This was a huge step for us. This was OUR very first car together and we are going to fill it with our offspring! I have such beautiful memories of riding in my parents first car in 1985 with my 2 sisters in the backseat listening to Madonna on the radio...or 1010 wins which was my dad's favorite station. It was a Chevy Cavalier Station Wagon with patent leather interior. The back seat folded down so it could be used to pack all sorts of big stuff in there. I remember sitting in the back all those times we went to our local hardware store to pick up some lumber to fix our porch. Those were some great days. I can't wait for my sons to have memories like those. I only wish they could've met my dad. But I know he's in Heaven smiling and proud that he will finally have 2 grandsons that will carry on our name.

Below are a few pics Lisa snapped while in the dealership and at home. The minivan is definitely a beast, but I love it. I look forward to driving now, albeit for the 15 mins from Journal Square to home but still, its got wireless bluetooth connectivity so I can play the music on my iphone! Now I will be blasting biggie even MORE! Hi5! So all in all, it was a great week for us. Here's to another healthy 20 weeks! Now all I need a bumper sticker that reads "if that van's a-rockin', don't go a-knockin!"

Sunday, March 11, 2012

What a Week Part 2

We also celebrated Lissy's *ahem* 30th birthday all weekend! On Friday night, we went to Zinburger, this burger & wine spot in Clifton NJ. Definitely the best burger I've had EVER. And I've had a lot of burgers in my life from McDonald's to Shake Shack and everything in between. It's probably why I have bad cholesterol...and I say "probably" because bad cholesterol could just be hereditary but I know eating more veggies and chicken is a bit healthier than fries and red meat. Since I'm a newbie at blogging I forgot to take a picture to support this paragraph so I had to steal one from one of my great friends, Kathy. We both had a glass of their Riesling which tasted great! Well I drank mine and managed to finish hers as well because she had a few sips and was done! I think she's allergic to alcohol? Anyway, I love their Riesling because It goes down smooth and has the right amount of sweetness to it. It also gives me a good enough buzz to sit back and relax and observe the chaos my Horsemen Family constantly serves up whenever we get together.


If anyone knows anything about me, they would know that I love 2 things: cheeseburgers and hip hop...haha. And no, not the "hip hop" that Flo-Rida and Rick Ross put out, but the real hip hop, ones that tell stories through gritty sometimes vulgar details and metaphors. And coincidentally, on Lisa's birthday March 9, was the same day my favorite rapper Biggie died. Its such a strange connection that I draw between Lisa and Biggie. In fact, every year I usually joke around about how I only remember her birthday because of Biggie's death. I remember back in '97, [before Lisa and I were a couple, we were great friends in high school] she gave me a ride home from a friends party in her '84 hatchback Maxima that strangely enough had power windows and doors and a clown horn. On that misty dank night at like 3am we were listening to the radio and it was then that I learned of his death and I was really shocked. Now almost everyday I listen to Biggie. Even in the house, I like to blast it on our surround sound. Lately however since Lissy is pregnant, I've been cutting back on it and playing more classical symphonies. And while I would love to expose my kids to the art of hip hop, for now, I need them to stay calm in their mommy's tummy and Biggie might just get them all riled up in there.

Last summer, a good friend of mine, JoeB, came across a Biggie Doll he had in his closet and since he knew I was a fan of his tunes, gave it to me. I thought it was the coolest thing ever and decided to make it part of my toy collection that I have on display on top of my living room TV. Check it out below! The bottom pic on the right is of MegaMind, Prickle from Gumby and Spiderman. If you notice the broken arm that Prickle is holding, I actually found that piece on my porch and decided to give it a home.


So anyway after eating, our friends came over the house for a few hours and we had some yummy baskin robbins birthday cake courtesy of the Patels. And of course to pay my respects, I played some Biggie joints on my iPad. Pam was shocked at the vulgarity of "Gimme the Loot" to which I apologized...I think Lisa has learned to tune it out by now...I've been blasting that song for the past 5 years in the house!

What a Week Part 1

This past week has been CRAZY. In a good way. It was so great that I decided to split my very first post into 3 parts. Yes that's right, you, the reader will get to read 3 posts in 1 sitting. Talk about a freaking deal!


First off, Lisa is 20 weeks pregnant! Woohoo!! We had our 20week ultrasound on Wednesday and it was awesome. We got 100% confirmation that there are 2 boys in there. And how might you ask? As the sonogram specialist said when she got lissy's belly all lathered up was "there is just penis everywhere!" Oh those 2 little boys of ours kept showing off their goods, so much so it was hard for her to snap pictures of the rest of their anatomy. We have to go back in another 2 weeks to get pics of the nose and lips. But she was able to snap a ton of shots of their arms, legs, head etc. 2 of my favorite shots are below. 





She said that one baby is higher than the other, they both weigh 13oz. but the one that's higher has a slightly fatter stomach. They are also positioned feet to feet so they're constantly kicking each other...already horsing around, love it! She also took pics of them yawning. Those little guys must be so tired all the time from all the swimming around!


So at 20 weeks, Lisa has been going through so many changes and is taking it all in stride. She's been having trouble sleeping on her side almost every night. Whenever I wake up in the morning, I look forward to glancing over to see what side of the bed she's on. Either she's right next to me cuddled up next to her ginormous snuggy pillow or she's sleeping at the foot of the bed with her little feet next to my face. I also sometimes forget that she walks a lot slower now and loves taking her time. As for food, she hasn't really craved anything crazy. But there are a lot more snacks in the house which of course I love. And I've also been eating a few extra meals at night...nothing is better than a bowl of Frosted Flakes at 1am!