Friday photo: Expanding or Exploding?

I feel MUCH bigger than a week ago and think I'm not just expanding, but exploding! I guess that's what happens when there are 2 babies growing! It's also been really hot this week, so I'm feeling really "puffy" all over. Hopefully this heat will go away soon, but I know we've still got a lot of summer left here in CA.

I'm free!!!!

I am officially off modified bed rest. Woo hoo!!!! This means I can actually leave the house, which is something I haven't done in 2 weeks! It actually wasn't too bad being home all the time; I'm used to it since I work from home. But, I am very thankful that I can leave to go to the store, go for short walks, and maybe even go for a swim now! I think Noel is also happy since I can help out with some household things now. Hopefully things will be smooth from now until the babies are born.

Double the trouble, double the fun!

We are excited to announce that we have not one, but TWO babies on the way! Yup, TWINS! The size of our family is slated to double sometime in January 2011. Our goal is to keep these babies warm and snug in the womb for at least 36 weeks, which would bring us to the beginning of January. Here are a couple of pictures of my emerging belly with ultrasound pictures of our emerging children.

15 weeks 2 days
2 babies! These were taken just prior to 13 weeks. One is facing down and one is looking up. They kept putting their heads together during the ultrasound.

Check back from time to time for updates.

Pizza recipe

In case you're interested in making the deep dish pizza found 2 posts down, here's the recipe I followed. I have another crust recipe that I'd like the try, but haven't gotten around to it. If I do, and it turns out to be better, I'll let you all know! But, this one's pretty good! And I love the sauce! Instead of typing it all out, I thought I'd try this method. Hopefully by clicking on it, you'll be able to read it. The amounts are a little odd since the recipe is for 2-12 inch pizzas and my pan is 14 inches, but it still works great!

Happy 4th of July!

We had a great 4th of July celebration with friends. It involved lots of grilling, lots of other food, and lots of babies playing on their blankets in the yard. Hope you all had a great day!

Deep Dish Pizza!

Though our schedules have been incredibly hectic lately, I FINALLY got around to trying my hand at a deep dish pizza. I bought the deep dish pan over a year ago and finally used it for the first time a few weeks ago. There is no Chicago style deep dish pizza to be found in our area and I really miss it! So, I thought, "Why not make my own?". It's not quite Gino's quality, but it was good and a huge hit with our guests! You do need a special deep dish pizza pan (though I suppose 2 small round cake pans might work). I have the 14-inch Chicago Metallic Professional Deep Dish Pizza Pan and have had success with it both times I used it.


The recipe I have is for 2 12-inch pizzas. Since my pan is 14 inches, I have to use a little over half the dough and a little over half the sauce (or all of it for a saucy pizza), which leaves me with an odd amount of dough left and sometimes a little sauce. I have thrown the extra dough in the freezer and plan to take it out someday to make either a regular pizza, stromboli, or calzones. I can't say that any of these will work for sure (since the dough for deep dish pizza is a little different than regular pizza dough), but I can't imagine that it wouldn't!

If any of you want to try this fun meal (I guarantee your guests will love it!), I will try and post my recipe soon. In the meantime, you can just drool over these pictures. :)

So busy

No, we have not fallen off the planet. Yes, we (especially Heidi) are busier than we've ever been and literally have no time to do anything other than work, study, sleep, and eat.
Noel's in the midst of finals week, which always makes for a crazy week. He sits at his computer typing all day, everyday for a week straight. At the end, he turns in a big paper.
Heidi's taking Microbiology and Chemistry (General, Organic, and Biochemistry) at Pasadena City College. These classes would be difficult enough if it's all I was doing! But, on top of it, I'm working full-time. Also, we're trying to finish out the year strong as community coordinators. Our last day is May 31, which can't come soon enough at this point!
We're tired, but doing well. Just thought we'd give you all a little (albeit boring) update.