It's a girl

OK. 85% sure, but it is. My best friend Jennifer just found out that they were 85% sure they were having a girl. It looks like Ava Chu was correct in her preminition. If you remember she said Danialle would wait a long time before having kids, which is true and Jennifer would have a girl and it looks like that will be true. She said I would have a boy, but we can't find that out until I get pregnant. She was wrong on Heather, b/c she did not find love by Valentine's day. However, we decided that maybe it was b/c Heather didn't buy one of the moon necklaces like the rest of us did...

Congratulations Jennifer & Eric! We have baby "girl" matherly now...

Brother Issues

For some unknown reason my brother has decided to sign up for the Army. Now don't get me wrong I support our troops despite not totally agreeing with the war, but why on earth would someone sign up knowing they will most likely be going to war? To make matters worse he signed up for infantry... He will be leaving either August 7 or 18 and going to Fort Benning in Georgia. Now, my brother has some issues and I know being in the army will be very good for him and I'm not surprised in the least, but just concerned w/ his timing. One good point is that he has 8 weeks of boot camp and then 3-4 months of specialized training. Se he has any where from 5-6 months before he could be deployed (I think/hope!) My other issue is that he is an only son and his father is deceased. I always heard that he would not be put on the front line b/c of this, but my husband believes that since our troop strength is weak and spread thin, that he could. My brother isn't making it a point to share this fact w/ the army either... Does anyone know?

Alligator on the loose near my house! Aaahhh!

Officials from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources are trying to catch an alligator that was spotted in a retention pond at a subdivision in WL. The reptile is about two-feet-long.

An eight-year-old boy spotted it while he was fishing in the pond over the weekend.

D-N-R officials and the owner of a local exotic animal sanctuary went out in a boat to try to catch the gator using raw chicken as bait. The gator didn't bite.

D-N-R spokesman Matt Tholen says officials caught the gator at about 10:15 pm Monday and says the alligator likely could have survived until winter.

1st Anniversary GWO Re-cap

Yet another great, relaxing girls weekend out. Thursday evening I set out to drive to Chicago. I got into a little construction congestion, but arrived at Danialle's around 4:00. She was just finishing up some taco dip so we snacked on that for a bit. Jennifer called and said her plane was delayed b/c of the weather, so Danialle & I headed to Potbelly's for some dinner. Before heading on to the airport, Danialle spotted this shirt we thought we might pick up for Jennifer. It said "due in december", but unfortunately after we got in the store, it also said $58 and as much as we love Jennifer, the shirt was NOT worth that price. After circling the curbside pickup/dropoff & laughing hysterically, we finally figured out how to get to the parking area. We picked up Jennifer and headed back to Danialle's after a quick stop at McDonald's. We of course caught up on things and relaxed. We decided to walk down to Lincoln Park to get some dessert, but I was disappointed when they didn't have tiramisu, so the girls got something and we headed back to Danialle's. Before turning in for the night we listened to Jennifer's baby thru her doppler. Wow! That was so touching & amazing! Although it was a little warm at Danialle's we had a wind tunnel going and didn't sleep to bad.

We got up early Friday morning and took Chadd to work and then headed to Nookie's for breakfast. After getting back downtown we tried to scope out boat rides, but they were all too expensive, so we headed to H&M and Filene's Basement to do some shopping. We got some great deals of course! Heather called shortly thereafter, so we headed back to Danialle's to meet her. After catching her up we put our bathing suits on and went to BW3's for a quick lunch before heading to the beach. Unfortunately I talked Danialle into getting "Hot" wings and her mouth was on fire the rest of the day. (I'm sorry!) The beach was a little on the cool side, windy and a sandstorm, but despite that we still laid out for a while. Heather must have been exhausted from her drive as she took a nap. Jennifer dug a hole in the sand for her belly and we all concentrated on her feeling more baby movements. We then headed back to Danialle's, grabbed out luggage, and headed to the hotel to get ready. We had dinner at Leona's and then did a little shopping in that area. Leona's (or something) did NOT sit well with me, so we made a stop at Danialle's before returning to the hotel. Once we got to the hotel, sleepiness caught up so we didn't stay up much later.

On Saturday morning we slept in a little more then headed to Gurnee Mills for some MAJOR shopping! We spent 7 hours wandering around the mall! The best part was when Jennifer was trying on clothes at the Motherhood store and both Danialle and I joined her w/ the bellie pillows. We took a picture, so I'll try to post them later! I got a little sad at that, but I'm ok with it. After finally leaving there we decided not to got all the way back downtown and just got dinner at Outback near the hotel. We had this "different" waiter. His name was Ave, which was ironic b/c last October we met this lady named Ava Chu. Anyway, he proceeded to tell us all about how he found his spiritual love. It was nice hearing his point of view, but I don't necessarily agree with it. He was a little weird. We didn't stay up too late once we got to the hotel. We had planned on either swimming or sitting in the hot tub, but the pool was packed w/ kids and the hot tub was broke, so we just headed to the room and after some talking, fell asleep.

Sunday morning we were woke up early to Danialle moaning and sorta yelling. Apparently she was having a nightmare that she was barking at someone who stole her car. It was hilarious! After getting everything ready, we said our goodbyes and headed home. Over halfway home I realized that I forgot my nice, expensive pillow at the hotel, so I freaked out and called Danialle and had her pick it up for me and mail it to me. I sure wished we lived closer (all of us). After I got home, I showed Eric everything I got and talked to him for a while then took a nap.

I love having girls weekend. They are so relaxing and refreshing and I just love being with my girls. I'm always glad to be home though, too.

GWO - Chicago

I will be leaving today around 1 to head to Chicago for our "Girls Weekend", which I can't wait for! I'm sure we'll have an absolute blast. I'll be sure to give a recap on Sunday or Monday.

Blazin'

Eric tried the blazin' sauce at BW3's!!! Actually we both tried it. They first brought out a little thing of the sauce and we both tried it and it wasn't all that hot. She couldn't believe we didn't think it was that hot, so she went back & told the guys in the kitchen. Come to find out it was the bottom of the bucket and the spices float, so they opened a new bucket and brought us some of that. Wow! Eric's mouth was on fire. He just tried a little bite and I stuck my fork in it and tried it.

BTW - This is coming from the same guy who just recently moved up to the Medium wing sauce level...

Today in History

On July 20, 2969 Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin touched down in the moon's Sea of Tranquility.

"That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind"

I also must tell ya that Neil Armstrong graduated from Purdue. :)

AF - Update

AF just arrived, so obviously the low temps were calling her in. The odd thing is that I usually have horrendous cramps right when I start and so far I'm not having any. Maybe that means my body is getting back to normal since BC. I sure hope so.

We've officially been trying for 1 full year now.

Weekend Update

Friday after work we headed to C'ville to a cookout at my aunt's house. It was nice. Most of the family was there and we got to see my cousins from Godville & Chicago. We ate and visited for quite a while and we left around 10 to head home.

Saturday morning we got up and cleaned house as we were having guests later in the day. We met my cousins and their dad at Red Lobster and had some good food. After eating we headed to the mall for a little shopping. When we got home we got ready and headed out for the wedding. On our way there it started pouring rain, which would have been fine had this been an indoor wedding. Fortunately it stopped raining for them to get through the ceremony which was also nice. However, it did sprinkle a little during the wedding. The reception was also outside except they had rented a tent, so at least we were protected from the weather. It rained one more time then let up for the rest of the evening. We danced and celebrated and had an all-round good time. After the fireworks, we headed home. Once home we ordered a pizza and chatted a bit before heading to bed.

My aunt and grams picked up J around 7:30 am and D & C left shortly after them. I fell back asleep on the couch until late morning. Eric mowed the lawn then we got ready and headed to the movies to see I, Robot. It was a pretty good movie. Will Smith is pretty funny. I'm sure we'll buy it when it comes out.

On a side note, Eric hasn't heard anything from his interview yet. We had hoped to hear something last week, but didn't. He did hear that he was in the final two, but that was no surprise. I was also supposed to have an interview this Wednesday, but I withdrew myself b/c it was the same level as I am currently w/ most likely no room for advancement. Another downfall was that it was not w/in my current employer, which I originally thought it was and if I took it I'd lose my "years of service" and have to start all over w/ vacation, and all that jazz. I'll just keep looking here until I find something higher or at least with more room for advancement. I am hoping my current job will soon bump my job up to a higher level at least to keep my around for a while longer. That will mean a raise for the re-classification and then another 90-day raise. They had already planned on doing it, so I'm really going to encourage them to do so soon. The good thing is that my boss is great and totally understands. I'm sure she'll help me find something even. I would stay where I'm at if I could advance to at least an administrative level, but unfortunately our school is so small that it's just not possible.

I have a big weekend coming this weekend. I will be heading to Chicago for a girls weekend out. I can't wait for it either! It's always nice to have some girl time.

Still no AF

My temp went down again today (97.2) and still no sign of AF. I can only assume she will show today. I don't think there is any way I could be prego. If that was the case these low temps are NOT good. What else could it mean? My longest cycle was 31 days, so I'm not in that "late" stage yet, although that one long cycle was not a usual occurrence for me. I'm usually between 28-29 days.
 
P.S.
Sorry it took so long to post yesterday. We got up early to see the family off and then I fell asleep on the couch.

Outlook not good

My temp this morning was 97.6 and I took it twice just to make sure. Looks like AF will be surely coming today. No sign of her yet, but I'm sure this month is over be it today or tomorrow. Bummer. We'll just keep trying next month. We have now completed one full year of trying to get pregnant. Wow! Eric was pretty dissappointed this morning when I told him my temp. I know it bothers him just as much as me. One day, I know our dream will come try. I guess it will happen when the time is right for us.

So far, so good

As you can see in my chart, my temp was still at 98.1. There's still a chance that I'll start tomorrow. Last month was a 28 day cycle, the month before that was 29 days, and the month before that was 31 (which is also long for me). I'm not getting my hopes up too high, but right now I'm getting a good vibe. I think if my temp is up tomorrow its going to be all I can do to not test tomorrow, but I know I need to hold out until Monday.

Hmmm.....

Ok, so yesterday I took my temp as I'm supposed to start sometime between Thur-Sat this week. It was 97.7. I took it that I would start yesterday. Nope. When I woke up this morning I took my temp again...98.1  Now, looking back at previous months when I've temped that is still not a good temp, but this time is just weird. I guess we'll either see if today brings AF or check out tomorrow's temp...

"Fertility is a Gift, not a Given"

I came across this quote last night while reading an article in Good Housekeeping about stars who had IVF. I think one of the Dixie Chics said it. Anyway, it hit home with me. I always assumed that as soon as I started trying, I would get pregnant. In fact, I figured it'd happen when I wasn't even trying. Seems like that is what happened to everyyone else in my family. It never even occurred to me that I'd actually have to "Try to Conceive". I guess I sorta took that for granted. Now that I have been trying for some time, it has brought me to a whole new level. I truly agree that fertility is a gift now. We have only been trying for one year and there are so many people that have been trying much longer. My doc did say that it could take up to a year to get "regular" again b/c of BC and being on it for many years.

I've been thinking on the "next steps" to take if I'm not pregnant this month as it will be 1 full year (12 cycles) of trying. Honestly, right now I think we'll give it a few more months (maybe 6). Depending on what happens with Eric's job, too. Right now his insurance doesn't cover IVF. If I'm still not pregnant by the end of the year then I'll switch insurance to my company, which I know pays for that sort of thing. I'm mixed on clomid b/c I know I'm ovulating.

Anyway, just thought I'd give you an update on how I'm feeling right now. I talked to my friend J yesterday and realized that I really hadn't expressed my feelings lately, so now you know...

Weekend

We got to start our weekend early on Friday (sorta). Eric picked me up at 1:00 and we headed to C'ville to our dentist appt. I didn't have any cavities. Eric had 8 cavities, but on his defense, he hadn't been to the dentist in about 10 years, so even the doc told him that was pretty good. Unfortunately he had to schedule two more appointments. It stormed Friday night and I didn't sleep well for some reason. I apparently decided that b/c of the lack of sleep I got to plant my rear on the couch all day Saturday and not move too much. Needless to say, I finished #4 & #5 of the LB series. 4 was almost done and I started 5 on Friday night... Yesterday we had a lazy morning for the most part. I found an enemy out in my landscaping, in the front none the less. What kind of enemy you ask? A SNAKE! Anyone who knows me, knows that I am an outside person and don't mind bugs and such. HOWEVER, I'm not fond of snakes at all. It was a baby snake, but you know what that means. There is at least a mother around if not other babies... I tried to take some pics of him to post, but he kept hiding from me and then peeking his head out and sticking his tongue out at me. Anyway, yesterday afternoon Eric and I sorta had a date. We went to our favorite DP's for late lunch then went to play Putt-putt. I was not having a very good day. He beat me to say the least.

Today after I got up and showered I encountered a big problem. I apparently pulled something in my neck and now it is very sore. I had a heck of a time blow-drying my hair let me tell ya. Eric is supposed to be bringing me one of those therma-care heating things, so hopefully that will help. I can move my head around, but it definitely gets my attention when I turn my head the wrong way...

We have a busy next couple of weeks ahead of us. Eric should hear something about the RB job by the middle to end of this week. My cousin is coming in on Thursday night, but we actually won't see her until a cookout on Friday night. Then we all have a wedding to go to on Saturday. The following weekend I will head to Chicago for a Girls' Weekend. I'm so excited about that. We all have so much to talk about and all! I just need girl time more than anything and I know the girls are with me on that!

On the TTC Note
I am expecting AF late this week (Thurs-Sat) if she shows. I obviously hope she doesn't show. I think we hit the timeframe as well as any of the other "good" months. Keep your fingers crossed as always!

Holiday Weekend

We had a nice holiday weekend. We were pretty lazy for the most part. I definately feel like I've recooped from Mexico now. We had intended to play some tennis, but it was just way to humid and we didn't want a replay of Cancun. Saturday night we had a cookout on my dad's side. It was nice. Sunday we went and saw Spiderman 2 and of course, watched fireworks at Purdue. They were good. Yesterday we barely did anything. Eric was a little more motivated than me and mowed the lawn & trimmed. It's always nice to have a lazy, relaxing weekend!