Happy Halloween

Halloween after the storm.  We were lucky that our neighborhood did not get hit very badly from Hurricane Sandy.  There are neighborhoods north of Philadelphia that are not expected to have electrical power until next week.  We only lost power for 12 hours and very little damage in our neighborhood meant that the kids could still go out and enjoy trick-or-treating.  In some areas Halloween has been postponed until next week - but in our house it was pumpkin carving and dreaming about how much candy they were going to bring home and try to hide from Mom (because I toss it out after a week ;-)

You know they are engrossed in a project when they are not yelling at each other - haha!

Boo! 

Sending a prayer out for all those waiting to celebrate because they are dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.  

Sweet 16

We finally received our 16 week scans.  According to Dr. Shivani all is within normal limits and our babies and beautiful surrogate are doing fine.

I love the profile shots!

It looks like this one is playing with its toes or maybe calisthenics?!

Citizenship and Other Stuff

Well, we are still early in the pregnancy but I have decided to start the process of finding out what to do in order to get the babies home.  I figured it will help the time pass a little faster because it is certain that I will not be able to find anything that we need - considering we like to file paperwork in piles and then just pick up those piles and either shred them or put them in blue Rubbermaid containers which get stored in the basement.

First I contacted DNA Diagnostic Centers (DDC) to find out what I needed to get started on the DNA testing.  (Do any U.S. readers have a testing centers they recommend?) The gentleman I talked to was quite helpful in telling me that I need to contact the U.S. Embassy first to start the process.  I need to get a request for DNA testing and a reference number or at least an email request from the Embassy before DDC can ship anything over or even take Brian's DNA sample.  He did say that it takes usually a month from the start of the process but I am assuming that means from the onset of shipping and Brian's collection which will be done before the babies are born.  The DNA test takes 2 complete business days to process and then the results will be sent to the Embassy.

We are going to New York next week to get our Visa's.  We were also lucky enough to get tickets to The Chew.  I am so excited.  The Chew (in case you haven't seen it) is a daytime talk/cooking show that is taped in New York.  I get the best recipes from this show - my most favorite is a Butternut Squash soup that is amazing!!!!   The one thing I look forward to with colder weather is Butternut Squash soup - yum!!!  

We are due for 16 week scans next week - I swear it feels like months instead of a few weeks since our last update.  Looking forward to the end of the month - Halloween, then Thanksgiving and Christmas - the holiday rush should make the time go faster, right?!?  ;-)