A Financial Future With Twins

Money has been a topic of conversation around here a lot since we found out we are expecting. The fact that we are expecting double has also doubled our concerns about making it by as new parents. Last night we sat down and mapped out our budget and our debt re-payment. We both have student loans and a few smaller debts that need to be payed off pronto. If it were possible to pay them off by August you better believe we would!

We have been inspired by a lot of other bloggers around the web who are sharing their stories of becoming debt free and living frugally. We already live pretty frugally but there is always room for improvement and we are cutting a few things we do not need to have at the moment. As scary as it is, I think sharing this journey will help us keep on track, and hopefully inspire others to start a journey towards a debt free, frugal lifestyle. We are so excited just to get started, a weight of worry has already been lifted! It's like the first day of a new diet, or something. We are eager to get started and cannot wait to see what the future holds for us financially.

Here are our top financial goals:

1. Eliminate all debt.
 - We want to be out of debt completely. We are working on our final date, still crunching a few numbers, but the plan shouldn't extend past a few years.
2. Buy a home.
 - We would love to own a home and have a place to raise our boys, garden, make art, and live our life together.
3. Spend less time at jobs.
 - This one will be tricky. We need to earn enough to cover all of our bases, but ultimately we do not want to miss out on a single thing in our boys little lives.
4. Have a college savings fund.
 - We want to have multiple channels of savings, one big one being a chunk put away for college for out boys and our niece.
5. Not live pay check to pay check.
 - Not having to worry if every single bill will be payed or if we can afford to go visit family or spend an evening with friends would be so wonderful. Also being able to spend fun money on our babies would be a huge blessing.

We know that these goals are going to take a lot of dedication on our part. We have already taken steps to lowering our monthly spending. We called and re-negotiated our internet/cable bill. We will no longer be eating out except for special occasions. We will be putting every dollar towards our debt in a snow-ball type fashion (meaning paying off the debt from smallest to largest). We are going to become a one car family for now by selling two vehicles that are a burden to us and eliminating paying monthly insurance on them.

As nerdy as it sounds, we are so excited! Having this debt gone will be the start of a fresh life of financial freedom with our boys. We want to be the best examples we can be for them, and also be able to give them the best life possible.

We will be sharing this journey often and celebrating milestones of paying off our debt. We hope you will continue to follow along and support us in this journey!

-Megan & Dan 

21 Week Update - Karate Kids

I am looking around wondering what happened to March and April. The months just flew by and now I find myself looking down at this gigantic twin belly! It really seemed to come out of nowhere, like one day I thought, I look a little more round, to DANG GIRL that is a big baby belly! (Babies Belly!*)

A lot has happened and changed over the course of the last two months. We found out the gender at week 15 at one of our Denver appointments. I spent all of week 16 in Alabama which was a blessing and also a huge challenge. I loved every minute that I got to spend with my family, but being pregnant and uncomfortable and away from Dan was super hard. I am glad I went, but I will never recommend traveling while pregnant! After the long car ride my feet were so swollen I could barely slip on flip flops. Not fun. Weeks 17, 18, and 19 are all a blur but 20 and 21 have been great! Our last two doctors appointments have been extremely positive and we now have two, one pound babies!

The biggest changes recently have been with me personally. For one, my body, but I feel like I am growing in so many ways in such a short amount of time. The process of becoming a mother and learning about my babies has been wonderful. It makes all of the un-wonderful body changes all worth it. I have learned what I am capable of in this short time, and learning to stand up for what I believe in where my body is concerned has really been amazing. I have cried big gross cry face cries at the thought of having a c-section, and been angrier at doctors than I have ever been at anyone, and through it I am finding this amazing movement of women who are challenging the current medical paradigm. I find myself immersed in studies, blogs, birth stories, and photos that show women standing up for what they know their bodies are capable of in the face of an overwhelming amount of unnecessary medical intervention.

Through this process I have also learned a bit about letting go. Although I have come to a place to trust my body and love my growing babies, I also know that mother nature is unpredictable. I will be grateful for any medical interventions that I NEED if an emergency arises. I know so many women who had their heart set on a natural birth or a birth plan and when it came time, changed the plan completely. I have had to let go of any feelings of guilt or shame or control in the process of learning to trust my body, and giving a little shred of trust to the medical professionals who will attend my birth. The biggest piece of guilt I have had to let go of is constantly saying "If I were only having one baby I would do _______" because, hello, I am having two babies! I love that I am having two babies and although I would love to never hear the phrase "high risk" again, I know that I need to do what is best for getting them into this world safely. Continued prayers are appreciated, especially for us to find a doctor that meets our needs both physically and in world view. 

The highlight of the last two weeks has been the kicking. I started feeling the baby flutters around 14 weeks, and have waited and waited for the moment that they would kick hard enough for Dan to feel them. Watching him grow into the dad he will be has been wonderful and I know it is a completely different experience than mine because he isn't as ever-aware of them as I am (at least in the same way). Week 20 it finally happened! I felt a little bit of movement, grabbed his hand and put it on my belly and Baby B kicked his hand! It was one of the best moments of the whole pregnancy. Since that moment these little babies have quickly turned into karate kids! I love every movement, every wiggle, and every kick. It is so life-affirming to have them bouncing around the way they do. The other night we went out to dinner with some friends and while waiting for our table I grabbed Dan's hand again and the biggest kick to date popped right out under him! He told me later that he had fun at dinner but that kick was the highlight of his night. (Mine too!)

Things are finally starting to feel "normal." I want to blog more frequently, because this journey has been so incredible that I want to remember every moment and also share it with all of you! But, until next time...

-Megan

PS: We are having BOYS. BOYS BOYS BOYS BOYS BOYS :D We are having boys.

Top 10 of The First Fourteen

 

We made it to fourteen weeks! These past weeks have been a whirlwind to say the least. Lots of ups and downs and too many doctors appointments to count. As it turns out having twins makes you very popular with the doctor types. Here are my top 10 favorite moments from the last fourteen weeks:

1. Finding out about the twins.
- As if finding out we were pregnant wasn't fun enough, going to our first ultrasound and finding two babies has been the highlight of my pregnancy so far. We laughed, we cried, we called our families, and I think I asked the doctor about 50 times if he was joking.

2. Showing off the belly.
- Showing off my belly has been fun because most women do not start to show as early as I have! At our last appointment the doc was feeling my belly and was surprised to find my uterus all the way up to my belly button! Simple math shows that two babies equals a bigger bump! This might be one of the only instances where I think bigger is better, and only because I am going to get two sweet babies out of this deal. (Don't quote me on this when I'm 30 weeks and wanting to kill anyone who tells me I'm glowing)

3. The Good News Week.
- We had one week were we got some pretty sad news. One baby was 5 whole days behind the other, and had much less amniotic fluid to swim in. The specialist we were seeing did not offer us much hope during our appointment and we left feeling extremely defeated. After a week of lots and lots of prayer and protein shakes, we went back to find that both babies had the right amount of fluid and that our small baby had all but caught up! Praise God! (This one really warrants it's own blog post, to come later)

4. Family Reactions.
- Telling our family and friends the news has really been a joy for us because we get so many different and excited responses! I was afraid that when we found out the news that no one was going to believe us (I didn't really believe it myself!) and I was wrong. There have been shouts of joy, tears, laughing, praising God, LOTS of questions and all around happiness for us. We are very, very grateful.

5. Sense of Humor.
- Dan and I have really had to develop a bigger sense of humor toward bodily functions and our daily routines. I hate to admit that one of my worst pregnancy symptoms has been...gas. Sometimes it has been painful or uncomfortable, and of course, uncontrollable. Mostly it has been funny, at least to me, when I can pull a dutch oven over Dan at bedtime (I know you have all done this!) or sneak in a drive by while he is sitting at the table. I think I am pretty funny and for some things, if I have to suffer, so does he!

6. Finding the Pillow.
- I was out shopping with a friend and we came across this GIANT body pillow. It is a two sided, wrap all the way around, kind of pillow. I don't know how I went my whole life without a pillow like this. It is shaped perfectly to support my bump and my back now that I have to sleep on my side, and really, I think I am in love.

7. Shopping for Twin Stuff.
- There are so many cool things made for twin babies, from special breast feeding pillows to twin carriers and strollers. I have been window shopping like crazy awaiting the time I can start to buy things for my twins! I know this is driving Grammy crazy too because she already wants to spoil her new twin grand-babies!

8. Marriage Strengthening.
- Since we found out we were pregnant I have felt inseparable from Dan. I love him and enjoy his company more than ever, and I know that once the babies get here that alone time will be really special. I know he is going to make the best Dad to these babies and I am so grateful for him. I know seeing him love on our babies is going to make me fall even more in love with him :P Cue corny love music here.

9. Pregnancy Dreams.
- A common symptom of pregnancy is wild and vivid dreams. I have had my share, and honestly, its so fun! I have dreamed of giving birth to puppies and dating celebrity chefs, its like being in the craziest movie ever every time I go to sleep.

10. Reading, Reading, and more Reading.
- I have learned so much over the past several weeks. Things I never even knew existed or were important during pregnancy, especially twin pregnancy. I feel so blessed by the books, blogs, doctors, journals, and friends who have given me invaluable information that I use everyday while growing my babies.

We are so glad you have joined us in our new blogging journey and hope you will stick with us for the next 24 weeks and beyond!

-Megan & Dan

The Countdown Begins!

Welcome to the all new Artist & Professor blog! We are so thrilled to be on this new journey as expecting parents. Our goal for this blog is to share our story as expecting parents and new parents of twins! We have both loved the stories and support that already exists in this beautiful community online and we have decided to take part. As a welcome to our new blog Megan has created a free downloadable calendar for expecting parents of twins! It only goes to 38 weeks, which is considered full term for twin pregnancy. Our calendar is located in the top corner of our blog so you can follow along with our pregnancy! Simply right click on the calendar and chose "save as." The calendar is already sized at 8x10 and can be printed out or shared as much as you would like! Thank you for coming along side us as we journey into parenthood!

 All our best, 

Megan & Dan