Lately...

Things have been busy in the McIntosh house! Ok not really. Dave has been busy working on his dissertation and training for his next marathon while I haven't been doing much other than eating and sitting! But here is a quick run down of the latest news.

Dave, Brett, and Derek with their medals!

Dave, along with who I usually call "the idiots" Brett and Derek, completed the Houston Marathon a few weeks ago.  The weather was wet, humid and warm which is not ideal for a marathon but they did GREAT! Dave finished the course in 4:54:03. His goal was to finish and to finish under 5 hours was fantastic for a first marathon. They run their next marathon this weekend in Austin which looks like similar weather but a much harder course. Wish them luck! 

Note-they are not really idiots...they are all actually very smart...but they come up with some idiotic things to do.Complete an Ironman, run 2 marathons in 4 weeks...sane people don't do this. 

As many of you know, we learned that we are expecting twin boys! I will admit I wanted at least one girl but as I think about it, it will be so much fun to watch these two little men grow up. I am sure they will be the best of friends and I will be spending a lot of time at even more sporting events. They are looking healthy and right on track with their growth which is really all we could ask for! I am getting bigger and bigger and I am beginning to notice the extra 20 pounds! Here I am at 20 weeks...

Week 20

Well that is all for now so we will see you later...oh wait...someone wanted to say HI!

(I don't think I will put many of these up here but who could resist not sharing this!)

Double the Fun

It's been a while. I know so please don't hold it against me. Perhaps I will get a little better at blogging..at least for a few months. The big news we recently shared with family and friends is that Dave and I are expecting! Yeah! Not only are we expecting we are expecting twins! We found out in November we were expecting (excellent birthday present for me!) and then a few weeks later I saw two little heartbeats and the doctor gave us the news that we were expecting twins. My reaction? I laughed. What else can you do when you have equal amounts of excitement, joy and pure anxiety over how in the world we would manage two children at once! Dave unfortunately couldn't be with me that day due to a conference. The doctor and I both were a little disappointed we couldn't see his reaction because I am sure it would have been priceless.

As soon as I left the dr.'s office I texted Dave to say I was done and he should call ASAP. He did and I told him that he needed to come up with another nickname so that both of our children would feel included when their father was talking to them. He's reaction..."You're Kidding." and then silence. Yes for once I was able to make my husband speechless. Oh to have seen his face!! Then he started asking me all these questions that I really did not even think about when I was in the doctor's office...hello I was just told we were having twins and my brain wasn't working. But as we go to all the doctor's appointments he is slowly getting all his questions answered.

So now we are 4 months in and so far this has been a really easy pregnancy...knock on wood. I haven't had a bit of morning sickness but the Christmas holiday came at the best time because I think that was when I was most tired. I am getting bigger each day and am measuring about a month ahead of schedule which is typical of twins. I am not doing great on the weight gain but I feel like I am eating nonstop. Hopefully it will pick up this trimester. Our due date was July 5 but the doctor said we won't make that so as long as we make it to June the doc will be happy.
 
We will find out girls and boys in about two weeks so let the guessing begin! Here is a picture at 13 weeks and another at 16 weeks to help you in your guessing game.

14 weeks

 16 weeks

In other news, Dave is running a marathon next weekend. His first and I know he will do great. I really don't know where he finds the energy and motivation to train for these endurance sports but hopefully our children will get that from him!  My sister Abrah (along with Josh and Riley) welcomed their 2nd son this week. Myles Levi arrived on Jan. 19 and everyone is doing great. And another sister Chelsea along with Chris and Rease will welcome baby #2 in August! Crazy.

McLovin'

Handmade Banner...so cool!

Dave and I are rockstars. Well, at least we were for 4 days this summer. We had the great honor to serve as Fish Camp Namesakes for a group of 143 incoming freshmen but really we didn't do a thing other than show up! The work was all done by 24 energetic counselors and 2 amazing co-chairs. They have been working for the past 6 months to create an awesome experience for the McIntosh fish.

Kickball Victory during Work Day #1!

Dave and I got to give a speech at camp.  That was a highlight.  We talked about taking chances, stepping into discomfort, and making the most of your college years. One of the themes that we used during out speech was all things 1980's (rap, like Young MC and Digital Underground; the 1985 Chicago Bears; Michael Jackson, John Mellencamp, and Bob Knight), which was funny and sad for us because everything they knew about any of this stuff was from a book or movie.  They weren't alive in the 1980's... 

"M-C-I-N-T-O-S-H! McIntosh, McIntosh all over the place!"

Camp McIntosh 2010

Our fantastic co-chairs Missy & Mandi

YNWA: You'll Never Walk Alone

Our camp color was red which will explain the amount of red hair in some of the pictures. They did a bunch of skits that were pretty funny. My favorites were a group of lovely men displaying their dry land synchronized swimming skills, Chariots of Fire, and Dave showing some impressive dancing skills that I rarely have the pleasure seeing (while that wasn't a skit, that was some comedy). These are incredibly talented people! For 4 days we heard "McIntosh" chanted over and over. It was SO HOT (it is Texas in August) but so much fun!  We couldn't have asked for anything more! 

"Snapping necks and cashing checks, we're hard CORE, how do you like them apples, huhhh"

Thanks so much Mandi, Missy, Anthony, Austin, Ben, Beth, Byrd, Chase, Cristin, Daniel, Emily, Fairleigh, J-Dunc, Jordan, Kelsey, Kevin, Kylee, Meghan, Ross, Sara, Sean, Sisi, Tara, TMac, Trcka, and Will!

Happy Birthday Dave!

Today Dave is 35! It is hard to believe because he doesn't look a day over 30. I am very lucky and blessed to be married to such a wonderful person. There are many things I love and appreciate about him like....

He's determined & driven

Dave riding in the 2009 Silverman...112 miles! Some might call him crazy...

He is loyal and dedicated

Please take special note of the beltbuckle...that would be chocheeze (no idea how to spell that) ...proof it did travel with us on our honeymoon.

He is creative and funny

He always suprises me...this is my suprise honeymoon to MEXICO!

He's loving, caring, and cute!

Happy Birthday babe! I hope you have a great day! Love you!

Aggie Bonfire

On November 18 at 2:42am ten years ago Bonfire at Texas A&M University fell killing 12 students and injuring 27. I wasn't here on campus then but Dave was here to experience the tragedy that is still very present on the minds of so many. The student newspaper, The Battalion, has done a great job in remembering this anniversary over the past two days and I don't think I could express or share in this blog what occurs with Bonfire. I think the memorial that opened 5 years ago is one of the most thoughtful memorials I have ever seen. If you have a few moments you may want to watch the video, read the deep meaning of the memorial, or about the 12 students who fell with Bonfire.

If you think I look bad, you should see the doctor!

For the past few years I have had a small lump under my right eye. No one really notices unless I point it out to them. I guess in this case I should be grateful for my round face and chubby cheeks. I however notice it EVERYDAY! I had talked to my doctors and they all said it was probably a cyst or a build up of fatty tissue so I never worried about it. It didn't bother me enough to have it cut out! Well, over the years it kept growing and after watching a few too many TLC specials about weird things people grew, I decided to get it removed.

Since it was on my face and around my eye, I decided to visit a plastic surgeon and an eye surgeon to see who would be the best candidate to remove this thing. I settled on the plastic surgeon and about 2 weeks ago I went under the knife! Luckily, he was able to do a local anesthetic and do the procedure (I don't even call it a surgery) in the office. It took about 45 minutes and I was able to see the little critter. It was about the size of a really bloated Tylenol capsule or a small Mike and Ike (candy). I stayed home for two days mainly because I looked ridiculous and had a pretty good headache. Did I mention that we had the Livestrong banquet 3 days after this...I was pretty.

Honestly it didn't look that bad. Most people didn't notice it because my glasses hid it nicely and I wore a hat for a couple of days (the bright sunny skies of TX were not my friend that week). My doctor said that I would have a black eye and he wasn't kidding. Below you can see the picture a week after I had the procedure. I had the stitches removed the following day. I promise it looks much worse than it felt!

4 little stitches & a pretty black eye

I am healing quite well. Just a little bit of a black eye remains (but I can cover most of it with makeup) and the cut is still a little tender. The results of the biopsy showed that it was a benign tumor of the nerve tissue and the chances of it growing again are pretty slim. After thinking about it this is something I probably should have taken care of a while ago but I am glad it is finally done!

Boss's Day

Today is Boss's Day around the country...a hallmark holiday...but a holiday none the less to remind us to appreciate those who we work with. Today I had a great day because my group of fabulous students took a minute out of their busy schedules to remember me. I adore Allison, Tracie, Jace and Krystavel and truly am so lucky to work with them. They make my job so easy because they are so great at what they do. I didn't have a moment to get them all together for a picture but here are the BEAUTIFUL flowers they gave me that are making my office smell so great!

Of course I posted my surprise on facebook! To my surprise this prompted an even better day as some of my past students wrote little notes remembering me being their boss years ago. I have been so lucky to work with such fabulous people over the course of my career. They are all so special to me and are never forgotten. Thanks to everyone for a great day!

So I should give a shout out to all of my bosses! Here's to Laura, D'aun, Jane, Troy, Nicole, Rachel, George, Kate, Nikki, & Kathy for helping me become such a great boss...I learned from you!

By the way...I have not idea why this entire blog is underlined and I can't figure out how to turn it off!