I made a forum. It’s called Fixation. So yah… go register and we’ll have an amazing time wasting time.

It’s friggin 37 degrees here today!!! :censor: I’m so not happy about that. Tomorrow is Easter and I bought the cutest maternity dress to wear tomorrow and now I’m going to freeze my pregnant butt off! Easter… ok I have to go buy Easter egg dye because I forgot when I went grocery shopping and Ashton has been looking forward to coloring eggs all weekend. She’s so cute.

I feel so bleh today. I think It must be the weather. That and I didn’t sleep well last night at all. I kept waking up because when the babies kick my cervix it hurts really bad. It’s always nice to jump awake from a stabbing pain in your woohoo. And, I have a feeling Ava is head down because now I’m getting kicked (or maybe punched) in the ribs on her side. That woke me up a couple times too. Add that to the fact that I just cannot stay comfortable these days so yah… I’m not feeling on top of it today. Hence, my ever attractive sweats and sweatshirt ensemble that I’m wearing today.

Anyway, I better get to the store and then start thinking about cooking dinner. Something… cold weather-ish. Chili maybe? I’m going to brag again (because that’s all I do right?) and say that I make some really, really good chili.

This video is SOOOOO CUTE!!!!!!!! I can’t wait to hear our little girls laughing!

Today I officially start my 3rd trimester! YAY! Only 8-10 weeks left until Emma and Ava are here!!!!!! I can’t belive how fast it’s going by!

I posted some pictures in a private entry so if you’re awesome enough to be an advanced subscriber, then go check them out!

Ughhhh I am getting soooo uncomfortable lately. My back is officially killing me. It’s my upper back though, so that’s kind of odd. The front of my body right under my boobs at the top of my uterus is so sore and if you go from there around to the back, that’s where my back hurts. Right under my shoulder blades. Weird. I was at the mall today and I was trying to walk fast and my body seriously would not go any faster than a slow waddle. I can feel so much pressure on lower stomach/pubic region. I think both babies are still breech because I can feel them both kick me really low. Their kicking is actually starting to hurt. I can tell when Emma has her foot pressing on my cervix because I’ll have this sharp pain from inside me down through my vagina. That sounds pretty funny but it’s true! And if I have to pee…. I better get to a restroom ASAP because I swear they kick me more when I have to pee. They won’t be moving at all but once my bladder gets to the point where I need to go, they start kicking up a storm! If I didn’t have good muscle control, I swear I would have peed my pants 1,000 times by now. Imagine having to pee really, really bad and then getting to the restroom and you’re about to go and all of a sudden you stop yourself! That’s what it feels like. I know you wanted to know that.
They are seriously getting so big. It’s cute though. You can actually put your hands on my tummy and feel where each of them is at. Ava’s head is usually always in the same exact spot and if you push on it, it feels like its RIGHT on the other side of my skin. I’m now measuring at 34 weeks. I feel soooo stretched! But, no stretch marks yet!!! Sometimes it hurts to stand up straight because I can feel so much pulling.
My weight gain so far…. 32lbs. My doctor said that’s right on target so yay for that but I can definitely feel it in my knees. How long do you think it’ll take me to get back down to my pre-pregnancy weight? I’m guessing……… I’ll be back down to normal size by my 23rd birthday. If I deliver in the beginning of June then that’s about 4 months. It’s basically all baby weight so I wouldn’t be surprised if I was back to normal before then. Yes… the extra fat on my ass counts as “maternal stores” which are necessary for sucessful baby building. Actually, Preston doesn’t want me to lose the weight in my behind so maybe I won’t try too hard. I have to be tone though and not flabby (that’s my requirement, not his) so I am really looking forward to being able to work out again.
Oh and I got my glucose test results back and I’m all good there but I do have a pretty low iron count so I have to take a supplement twice a day. And we have our next ultrasound on the 10th so I’m excited for that.

Anyway, I need to get off of here and go make dinner. I’m making my famous meatloaf. Okay so I’ve never actually made meatloaf before, but once I do… it’ll be famous (for being good, not for being bad!).

I’m going to show you how easy it is to be misinformed about twins. I don’t blame people for not knowing what they’re talking about… twins can be confusing if you don’t do any research and just believe everything you hear.

Okay. The Olsen Twins. Are they identical or fraternal? They themselves even claim to be fraternal. I would bet a very large sum of money on the fact that they are indeed identical. Why do people think the Olsen twins are fraternal? Well, aside from them actually telling people that… their mother was probably misinformed 20 something years ago when the girls were born, that they were fraternal based on the possible fact that they had two placentas. (I say possible fact because no where can I find if they actually had two placentas, but this has to be the only way, aside from DNA testing - which no where can it be found if they have ever had DNA testing - that they could have determined that these girls were fraternal.) The doctor tells their mom “they’re fraternal because you have two placentas” and their mom just believes it, and goes on to tell the girls that they are not identical but indeed fraternal. Many, many, many women are told they have fraternal twins because they have two placentas. This is extremely inaccurate. It’s something that many doctors still tell people, and usually because these doctors are older and not keeping up with new research. But, lucky for you, I am. This will explain how twins can form.

Now, why do “fans” of the Olsen twins argue till they’re blue in the face that the Olsen twins are fraternal? Really, I researched this and fans of these girls will tell you a number of reasons why they are fraternal. I’m going to tell you why they are all wrong.

In order to understand any of this you need to know the difference in a genotype and a phenotype. You can find that here. To give you a brief summary…

“The genotype of an organism represents its exact genetic makeup, that is, the particular set of genes it possesses.”

“The phenotype of an organism, on the other hand, represents its actual physical properties, such as height, weight, hair color, and so on.”

“An organism’s genotype is the largest influencing factor in the development of its phenotype, but it is not the only one. Even two organisms with identical genotypes normally differ in their phenotypes. One experiences this in everyday life with monozygous (i.e. identical) twins. Identical twins share the same genotype, since their genomes are identical; but they never have the same phenotype, although their phenotypes may be very similar. This is apparent in the fact that their mothers and close friends can always tell them apart, even though others might not be able to see the subtle differences. Further, identical twins can be distinguished by their fingerprints, which are never completely identical.”

1. Mary-Kate is left handed and Ashley is right handed. Therefore, they are not identical.
Wrong. 20% of all identical twin pairs have one right handed twin and one left handed. Handedness is not purely genetic. More info here.

2. Ashley is 1 inch taller than Mary-Kate, therefore they are not identical.
Wrong. Height is not purely genetic either. Height is a phenotype. While height is party genetic, other factors (environment for example) also influence a person’s height.

3. Mary-Kate and Ashley have different voices.
Of course they do! A person’s voice is not purely genetic.

4. Mary-Kate and Ashley have different personalities and interests.
Again, of course they do! They are two separate people. Just because they have the exact same genetic makeup, doesn’t mean they have the exact same personalities or interests. Some good info here.

5. One of them has more freckles than the other.
LOL! Okay, really some people do think that this is a reason for them not being identical. I hope I don’t have to explain this one but just incase, I will. Freckles, are a genetic trait. However, it is a phenotype and things such as sun exposure change the amount of freckles a person has. It is silly to think that identical twins will have identical freckles.

Hopefully I’ve cleared up a few things for people dying to know if the Olsen twins are identical or fraternal. I say they should pay the $150-$200 it takes to get a DNA test and solve the “mystery” once and for all. Like I said, I would bet a very large sum of money on them being identical.

I’m really amazed right now, after reading a twin message board, at how misinformed even twin mommies are. The general population has so many wrong ideas on twins and to see people who actually have twins be so wrong on their information about twins… it’s annoying.
Some of these women are saying that 2 placentas = fraternal twins. This is an extremely popular misconception. Just read the FAQ about twins that I wrote up (link in the navigation menu). It doesn’t take much research to find out the possible combinations of twins. Two placentas does not always equal fraternal twins. It annoys the hell out of me to see people post a picture of their twins, who look exactly alike, and say they are fraternal. If your twins look so much alike that you can’t tell them apart… THEY ARE IDENTICAL. Fraternal twins look no more alike than any two siblings. Yes, identical twins have “little things” about them that make it where their parents and others around them a lot can tell them apart. Seriously, if you are seriously that stupid, just get a DNA test to confirm if they are identical or fraternal. I actually read - in a popular actresses book about her twin pregnancy - this woman said her twins were fraternal because they had two placentas and even though they looked exactly alike, there were tiny things about them that made it where you could still tell them apart, therefore they were fraternal. No.
Then, to top it off…….. on this message board…… a woman stated that the Olsen twins were fraternal and not identical. OMG. Now you have other women saying “oh wow I didn’t know they were fraternal they look so much alike!” DUH! That’s because the Olsen twins are identical.
Stupid people hurt my brain.