We have just a quick moment. Here is a marvelous slideshow put together by our good friend Rebecca Mudrick of Darling Art Photography. Not only does this make a priceless gift, but she also gave a lot of her time to help give invaluable coaching during the delivery. We owe her so much.

http://www.darling-art.com/darkroom/share/?client/empey

We're so happy to have our boys with us, to have them healthy, and to be headed home from the hospital today. For those curious souls Everett Burke Empey was born at 2:08 pm, June 3rd, weighing in at 6 lbs 5 oz, followed not-so-closely by Brookston Green Empey born at 10:27 pm, June 3rd, weighing in at 6 lbs 13 oz.

We had lots of great doctors and nurses, and also owe Nick's mother, LaDawn, a great deal as well for driving down from Indiana to be here for the delivery. And also on more thanks to Metta Prieto, who provided child care for Rebecca's monkeys during the night. Metta also took some great photos the day before we went to the hospital. Metta's pictures.

We are sooo appreciative of everyone's prayers and thoughts. We know for a fact that they were answered.

We will write more later with more details, but for now enjoy the slideshow!

It's a date.

Me @ 35 weeks
I can no longer fit into shoes.

Notice how I never actually made the 34 week update...Ah, well.

Now I'm 36 weeks along, and doing just fine for the most part. At about 34 weeks I was diagnosed with Cholestasis of Pregnancy, which basically means that my gallbladder isn't working as well, thanks to all those hormones and lack of space in my body. The result is a build-up of bile salts in the skin that makes me itch all over. There's also a risk to the babies, and therefore they recommended that if I hadn't gone into labor before week 37 they would induce me.

They put me on a pill to help bind up the bile in my body and send it on out, and wow, what a pill. I don't mean to be a whiner, but I was pretty proud of the way my body had been handling pregnancy -- I'd been feeling great, and this pill finally made me feel truly pregnant. The list of side effects* makes one wonder "who would willingly put that sort of thing in their mouth and swallow?" My body celebrated Memorial Day with my first ever pregnant lady throw up extravaganza accompanied with a nice gastrointestinal (distress) number. A nice way to memorialize the pregnancy, I'd say. My body is so thoughtful.

Anyway, on a happier note, today we went in for our last growth ultrasound and Baby A is estimated at 6lbs 1oz and Baby B is estimated at 6lbs 5oz. Baby B is somewhat transverse, and after a lot of deliberation and thought we decided to schedule a C-section. So, we have a date!

We'll meet our boys this Tuesday, June 2nd sometime around 11:30am!

*Ursodiol 300MG - Common Side Effects: constipation; diarrhea; dry skin; gas; headache; indigestion; metallic taste; muscle or joint pain; nausea; skin rash; stomach pain; swellling; tiredness.

nick @ night

The other night whilst attempting to roll awkwardly from my left side to my right, I found myself in considerable pain. I think it was my stomach trying to separate from my body or something like that, you never know when you're pregnant. I gasped out loud and clutched at my belly and Nick sat straight up in bed. I didn't want him to worry that I was going in to labor so I quickly said "Don't worry, I'm not going into labor, my stomach is just protesting about the position change." Nick, with a gesture of deep concern, reached over and touched my arm lightly and said in a worried voice: "Did you enter all the team names into the database?"

Unlike my good friend Nick, I'm quite alert coming out of sleep and quickly realized that what I was expecting to be sympathy was instead my husband dreaming about Tecmo Superbowl.

Nice.

"You're asleep" I responded, somewhat irritatedly (if it hadn't been Tecmo I might not have been irritated), "go ahead and lay back down, love." Nick did so, and as he rolled away from me I heard him mumble, "Yeah, gotta enter those names."

I certainly hope I don't go into labor in the middle of the night...

a favorite summer recipe

Cooking Light is a friend of mine with some great ideas. I thought I'd share one of them with you today, because I don't know what else to blog about that won't involve me talking about things that I'm scared of. I need to post a 34 weeks along (*eeeeeeeep* deep breath) post soon, since yesterday marked exactly 34 weeks for me.

So anyway, on to the recipe:

Chipotle Chicken Taco Salad
note: this recipe rates 5 stars on myrecipes.com and on my kitchen table

The creamy dressing mellows the heat from the chiles—and best of all, it can be prepared in less than 30 minutes.

Yield

4 servings (serving size: 2 1/2 cups)

Ingredients

Dressing:

• 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 2/3 cup light sour cream
• 1 tablespoon minced chipotle chile, canned in adobo sauce
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 4 teaspoons fresh lime juice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Salad:

• 4 cups shredded romaine lettuce
• 2 cups chopped roasted skinless, boneless chicken breasts (about 2 breasts)
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1/2 cup diced peeled avocado
• 1/3 cup thinly vertically sliced red onion
• 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (8 3/4-ounce) can no-salt-added whole-kernel corn, rinsed and drained

Preparation

To prepare dressing, combine first 7 ingredients, stirring well.

To prepare salad, combine lettuce and remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Drizzle dressing over salad; toss gently to coat. Serve immediately.

Tip: Add a spoonful of adobo sauce for a spicier salad. Kidney or pinto beans also taste great in this dish.

Nutritional Information

Calories: 249 (30% from fat)

Fat: 8.2g (sat 2.8g,mono 2.9g,poly 0.7g)

Protein: 23.3g

Carbohydrate: 25.1g

Fiber: 7g

Cholesterol: 50mg

Iron: 2.2mg

Sodium: 650mg

Calcium: 106mg

David Bonom, Cooking Light, AUGUST 2006

Notes from me:
-I saved the rest of my little can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce by:
1. blending the rest of the can in my food processor
2. laying out a wax sheet of paper on a cookie sheet
3. and measuring out 1 tbsp portions in little heaps on said paper
4. and freezing them in the freezer.
5. then I put the little lumps in a zip lock freezer bag to use whenever I need some.

-I think it's fun to say 'chipotle peppers in adobo sauce.' Go ahead and try it out.

-In my current gravid state I can't handle a full tbsp of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, so I use a tsp and it's still nice. So, if you're averse to spicy food this could be a solution for you too.

-If you're looking for sides, serve this with tortilla or corn chips and a watermelon mango fruit salad.


I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as Nick and I do. =)

Strollin'

Nick and I are pleased to announce that we are expecting this sweet Baby Jogger City Mini sometime in the next month!

Nick speaking: In addition to it being oh so stylish it features a seating capacity of 100 lbs which can be evenly or not so evenly distributed amongst 2 children. It comes in at 26 lbs with 8" *bling* spinner wheels. Wait--no spinners, but they do roll, which probably contributed to its 5 star customer rating from joggingstroller.com. Its mean AND lean with a 29" wingspan like Alan Greenspan. It may even fit into some closet somewhere being only 11" wide when folded. I'll leave the rest to my man from strollerdepot.com to fill you in on the rest.

One last thing. It was very very hard to find this stroller at a not retail price. But we did. I am a man, and I have to mention not paying full retail price.

Nicole speaking again: I'd like to thank the many friends and family members that contributed to this purchase. We couldn't have done it without you and I hope you're proud to see what you made possible. We did our homework folks: this is our dream stroller. Thanks again.

The Pregnant 'Idealist Portrait of a Teacher'

Here's what I look like now @ 31 weeks. At our appointment last week baby A was 3lbs 10oz. and Baby B was 3lbs. 11oz.

My visiting teachers came over last night and we had an engaging conversation during which one of them mentioned her score on the Myers Briggs Type Indicator. I've never taken one and heeding her encouragement I found one online last night that is 72 questions long and took it. It's not the real thing, but this is what it said about me:

I am the

Idealist Portrait of the Teacher (ENFJ)

"Even more than the other Idealists, Teachers have a natural talent for leading students or trainees toward learning, or as Idealists like to think of it, they are capable of calling forth each learner's potentials. Teachers (around two percent of the population) are able - effortlessly, it seems, and almost endlessly-to dream up fascinating learning activities for their students to engage in. In some Teachers, this ability to fire the imagination can amount to a kind of genius which other types find hard to emulate. But perhaps their greatest strength lies in their belief in their students. Teachers look for the best in their students, and communicate clearly that each one has untold potential, and this confidence can inspire their students to grow and develop more than they ever thought possible.

"In whatever field they choose, Teachers consider people their highest priority, and they instinctively communicate personal concern and a willingness to become involved. Warmly outgoing, and perhaps the most expressive of all the types, Teachers are remarkably good with language, especially when communicating in speech, face to face. And they do not hesitate to speak out and let their feelings be known. Bubbling with enthusiasm, Teachers will voice their passions with dramatic flourish, and can, with practice, become charismatic public speakers. This verbal ability gives Teachers a good deal of influence in groups, and they are often asked to take a leadership role.

"Teachers like things settled and organized, and will schedule their work hours and social engagements well ahead of time-and they are absolutely trustworthy in honoring these commitments. Valuing as they do interpersonal cooperation and harmonious relations, Teachers are extraordinarily tolerant of others, are easy to get along with, and are usually popular wherever they are.

"Teachers are highly sensitive to others, which is to say their intuition tends to be well developed. Certainly their insight into themselves and others is unparalleled. Without a doubt, they know what is going on inside themselves, and they can read other people with uncanny accuracy. Teachers also identify with others quite easily, and will actually find themselves picking up the characteristics, emotions, and beliefs of those around them. Because they slip almost unconsciously into other people's skin in this way, Teachers feel closely connected with those around them, and thus show a sincere interest in the joys and problems of their employees, colleagues, students, clients, and loved ones."

Eh? Does that sound like me to you?

Here is my ENFJ broken down: E:11 N:62 F:12 J:22

• slightly expressed extravert
  
• distinctively expressed intuitive personality
  
• slightly expressed feeling personality
  
• slightly expressed judging personality
  

Interestingly enough, I took the test again this morning and the second time I was a Rational Portrait of a Field Marshall: E:11 N:62 T:1 J:33

So, evidently in the mornings I'm rational and by nighttime I'm an idealist.

If you have time, I'd love to see what you scored. Here's the link again. Nick was an ISTJ, (that's: introverted, sensing, thinking, judging) 'Guardian Portrait of the Inspector', but neither of us felt like the description truly fit him. Maybe I can convince him to take it again and see what happens.

our woodland friends

It's fun to live up against the woods because it attracts all sorts of fun wildlife. Let me esplain. No--there is no time, lemme sum up. Here are pictures of animals we have seen out our sliding glass door:



This is a groundhog. We had about 3 or 4 living out there last summer, but they've all left we think...except for this guy. Next:



It's a snail. Next:



Those...were deer. Next:



I believe this is a skink. Blue tailed skink to be exact. Although, this guy's tail isn't as blue as some others we've seen. I saw a very green lizard while I was out disc golfing, too. Very cool li'l creeping things. Next:

This one is actually outside our friend's window. It flew up to the window and flashed it's abdomen at us. I don't know if that's obscene or not for insect life, but we took a picture anyway.

Aside from these majestic creatures are others such as the gray squirrel, flies, spiders--oh wait! I got one of a spider:



...big bumblebees, cardinals, blue jays, blue birds, crickets, green grasshoppers, moths, and a slug--got one of those, too!  

We don't discriminate against those creatures that don't live out back, though. For example:


So there you have it. Oh, and by the way, wildlife love the souds of Lenny Kravitz. Put some on sometime and watch the animals roll, walk, creep, crawl, or waddle in. It's like a magic flute of sorts.