Long time coming update

It has been many, many months since I updated this blog, primarily because my back starts to hurt if I spend more than about 5 minutes at the computer. That is good news, though, as it is just one of the symptoms of the twin pregnancy I am going through right now.
We just finished up our 26th week, (I can't believe we are this far along) and the babies are looking good. The boy, Frederick, is weighing in at about 1 lb and 12 oz, and the girl, Not Olga (for now) is just one ounce lighter. They are both exactly wher they should be in their measurements, so I feel very much at ease, which is not what I was expecting initially.
I can't say that the pregnancy has not been without its adventures. I started off with extreme fatigue and back pain in the first trimester. I had a little scare when I thought I might have another kidney stone and had to go to the hospital at around week 14. That turned out to be just a sciatic nerve, which was no fun, but went away shortly afterwards. Another challenge has been keeping my sugar levels down, as they seemed a little high early on. I have managed to cut down drastically on my sugar intake, and after 2 glucose tolerance tests, have barely passed without being diagnosed with gestational diabetes.
The biggest challenge I have faced so far has been a terrible rash that broke out all over my belly and chest. It started off as a few bumps around my belly button but quickly became a series of hives completely covering my abdomen and went all the way up to my chin. The doctors thought it was somthing called a PUPPS rash and prescribed a steroid cream. I don't know what I would have done without it. By the time I got to the doctors office, I was hysterical in tears from the extraordinary itching and burning from the rash, not to mention that fact that it had not let me sleep in 4 days. It took about 4 days of using the cream for the rash to start to clear up, but thankfully, it did just that.
I am actually feeling very good at this point in the pregnancy. I have gained weight at a steady pace of about one pound a week, but most of that has gone straight to my belly. That doesn't count, however, the 20 pounds I gained while undergoing the IVF treatment. In the end, I expect to gain about 55 to 60 pounds by the time the twins are born. That is a whole lot'a weight for someone with my 5 foot frame, but I know that it is worth it for the babies to be healthy. I hope that running around after two little ones will help me lose the weight quickly enough.
Today is the first day that the weather has actually cooled off significantly in the last two weeks. We were going through a terrible heat wave, with temperatures in the high 90s to low 100s, which when you're a fatty fat like I am now, is not pleasant at all. On top of that, there are massive wildfires in the mountains to the north of us that have filled the air with smoke and ash. We had pretty good views of the flames at night from our balcony, but thankfully, we are far enough from the fires to not be in any sort of danger. I just can't imagine what kind of a moonscape the forest will look like when this is all over with. I've enjoyed many hikes in our local mountains and will be sad to see them barren.
I am still working, but at a reduced schedule. I am just getting too big to be very useful behind the coffee bar, and mostly get in the way of my staff members. Most of the time I am just handling paperwork, supervising my staff from a chair, and answering customer questions about how big I am and how I must be due any day. I always get an excited reaction from people when they hear "twins." I've always felt that twins are special, but never realized how strongly so many people feel about them.
I will make a better effort going forward to post more regularly, especially as I have more time at home and will soon have nothing but time at home waiting for the babies arrival. I really can't wait.