Companion post

Candy (my BFF) just posted "Flashback Friday" here all about the day they found out they were expecting the twins.  I thought it would be funny to post about the day I found out they were having twins.

So, they found out on a Friday.  I found out on a Tuesday.  What happened in between (I think, details are a bit fuzzy two years later!) was that Harper was at their house at some point and left some clothes or Abby was here and had to borrow some clothes.  Bottom line, the Hansons had Russell clothes.  Also happening that Sunday night (this is I remember clearly) was Jason and I deciding about guardianship for the kids as our wills were getting done.  We had gone back and forth, pros and cons over this person and that person and were basically nowhere.  Sunday night as I was getting ready for bed, I had finally made the decision.  We were going to ask Candy and Josh.  I knew it didn't make complete sense to pick friend over blood family, but if we're going for as similar a house to grow up in as possible for my kids, it would be the Hansons.  For reasons I can't remember, we were going to see them Thursday and decided to ask them then. Whew! Decision made, off to bed to start the week.

Fast forward to Tuesday night.  I'm standing in the kitchen (as I usually am) fixing dinner when the phone rings.  Jason answers, short conversation, hangs up.  "The Hansons are coming over to drop off Harper's pants".  Now this is slightly unusual as it is a school night, but we only live 4 minutes from each other, so not unusual enough to raise an eyebrow.
They arrive through our garage door and throw the pants up on the counter.  As I'm still cooking, I just glance at them and say thanks.  Continue to make small talk about the week, blah, blah, blah.  Finally Candy (or it might have been Josh) says "Take a look at those pants, we may have just brought you a pair of Abby's."  Since both are girls are Circo (Target brand) queens, they do have many similar outfits, so I grab the pants desperately trying to remember any unique identifying characteristic of Harper's black pants.
Something falls out and flutters to the floor.  I don't even really look at it, just make to hand it back to them thinking something from their house had gotten mixed up in the pants. Candy gestures that I should look at it.
It is an ultrasound picture.  Now, because I am now a pro at ultrasound pictures, I can tell it's a "first doctor appointment" ultrasound, NOT the one where you can tell the sex.  But what's weird about this one is that where there is usually just one weird little blob floating around in the black space, there are TWO.  And what's even weirder is that Candy's name is on the top of the ultrasound.  Honest to goodness, that was my first though once the two baby thing registered.  How did Candy's name get on this ultrasound?
We were not aware that they were ready to try for #2.  Honestly, their #1 experience was not the best in the world, so I would not have been shocked to find that they were done with one.  So to be handed an ultrasound out of the blue, was quite shocking (that and the fact that the Abby was barely one).
I'm pretty sure I said something shockingly intelligent like "Whose ultrasound is this? There are two babies." And Josh just pointed at Candy.  And there was stunned, open-mouthed silence for what seemed to me a really long time and then there was stunned, awkward hugging.
And then they left.  It was, after all, a school night and they had to get Abby to bed and we had to get our kids to bed.  I swear I spent that entire night wandering around in a daze of details.  They're going to need a new car. Is the house they just moved in to going to be big enough? There's only going to be a 2 year age difference between the twins and Abby. Oh. My. God. She's going to get put on bed rest. Is she going to keep working? Three kids in daycare, can you imagine??
And then, later on that night as we were getting ready for bed, the realization.  I can't remember who said it first, but it dawned on us that we couldn't ask the Hansons to be guardians now.  If something happened to us, they'd then have FIVE children.  We couldn't do that to them, ask that of them. Crap. Back to the drawing board.

Shortly after this Tuesday night, when I had slept on it and gotten over the shock of it, I stole Home Depot's phrase to refer to the Hansons twin situation.  "You can do it, we can help."

And now, almost two years later, I hope we have helped, because they certainly have done it.

If you'd like to stroll down memory lane, you can read my post about the day the babies were born right here.