Kisha News

I got a call last night saying that my sister, Kisha, got married yesterday... I knew they were going to elope, but they had talked about going away for the weekend. Apparently I was wrong, of course everyone else was, too. Once they get their house finished (repairs) then they are having a reception type/potluck type party...

She already had a dress so Levi said that b/c everyone wanted pics then they would get dressed up go somewhere to get pics for everyone. I guess at least she gets to wear it once...

I won't ellaborate too much, BUT I will say that I feel bad that she didn't have a "real" wedding b/c I know deep down that she wanted one.

Which State has the Worst Drivers?

Acording to this article Massachusetts has the #1 worst drivers.

Everywhere you go, people claim that nobody -- except themselves, of course -- knows how to drive.

Cable network Speed Channel took a survey to try to determine which roads really are populated by the most annoying drivers.

Viewers said that Massachusetts drivers are the worst. The rest of the top 10 are:

* 2. Florida
* 3. California
* 4. New York
* 5. New Jersey
* 6. Ohio
* 7. Illinois
* 8. Texas
* 9. Virginia
10. Maryland

I (and I'm sure my husband will agree) can't believe that Indiana didn't rank up there....

TTC Update

I should be O-ing sometime today through Wednesday. I will probably take my temp on Thursday just to confirm that I did O. My CM has been watery yesterday and today and I feel a little crampy this morning, so I'm betting that I'm O-ing today. In fact, I might take my temp tomorrow just to see. I think we've covered it pretty well. We BD'd Saturday and yesterday. That's about all I know right now. Just keeping my fingers crossed.

Sounds like several people have gotten prego within three months of an HSG, so I feel like I've got something going for me in that aspect. I sure hope so. I'm ready! Seems like 9 months of waiting for 9 months of pregnancy is a fair trade to me!

Exhausting Weekend Re-cap

Friday
My grandparents came over and had pizza and just hung out with us. My grandpa and Eric put in our new digital thermostat and fixed our bedroom ceiling fan which we could not get balanced. Then we played our little game of "7-up, 7-down" and they won their dollar back from the other weekend.

Saturday
Let me start by saying it was very long and very exhausting, but VERY productive. The fish pond is done and I'll try to post a pic later. We made 4 trips to Wal-mart for about 75 - 40# bags of topsoil and 70 or so red/black retaining wall bricks. Plus the numerous rocks we moved from the old pond... The fish pond looks great and so far I haven't lost any fish. We also found Froggie that we've had since he was a tadpole. That was a little sentimental. He was all sprawled out sunning himself in the pond on Sunday, I'm sure happy to have a nice home. The fish are much happier, too. The pond has already cleared up some by this morning. Now I just need to start feeding them. We ran a few errands that evening, got a couple of movies and layed around most of the evening.


We both woke up sore from the manual labor the day before. Me probably worse than he. We layed around for a while in the morning. Around lunchtime we headed to Aquarium world to get a new filter and some new baskets for my plants. Then headed to the grocery store. After we put up the groceries Eric worked on the pond filter while I worked on repotting my pond plants. Then spent the rest of the evening recooperating from the exhaustion.

Friday Five

1. How many houses/apartments have you lived in throughout your life?

Way too many! Let's see what I can remember... 3 Houses in C'ville, 2 in Ladoga, 1 in Lafayette, 1 in West Lafayette

At least that's what I remember...

2. Which was your favorite and why?

Childhood
I'd have to say the house in Ladoga by the pond. There was so much to do out there...Ride 3-wheelers, investigate the woods, play in the creek, play pool, etc. The house was enormous, so we all had our own room and mine had a door to an attic to it. I probably had one of the biggest rooms. It was just an absolute blast!

Adult
Definitely the house we live in right now. I know it's a stepping stone house, but its the first house that is actually ours and we are taking great pride in doing things inside and out.

3. Do you find moving house more exciting or stressful? Why?

Definitely stressful especially with my husband....

4. What's more important, location or price?

Definitely location. I want to be in a good area with good schools and friendly neighbors, close to town, yet not in town. I'd prefer a little more privacy than we have now, but I don't mind it either. Also there has to be things to do!

5. What features does your dream house have (pool, spa bath, big yard, etc.)?

Definitely a big house, 6+ bedrooms, 3+ Bathrooms, Huge Kitchen w/ lots of storage, breakfast area and formal dining room, sunroom, a Den/Library where the office could also be possibly upstairs and open to the downstairs, LOTS of windows throughout the house including bay windows and skylights, Large FULL/FINISHED basement for "rec room", I laundry shoot, 3+ car garage, yard, yard and more yard of course fenced in with vinyl so we don't have to paint it and the doggies can enjoy it. Nice big patio on the back to accomodate the cook-outs, Pool w/ deck around it and spa directly off back porch in an enclosed area, sorta like Heather's, might as well make the pool enclosed, too with a waterfall. In-wall surround sound and speakers throughout the entire house and outside. Several acres of woods at the end of our big yard (for mushroom hunting) and all the other stuff you do in a woods, maybe a cabin so when the kids have sleepovers or when the adults need to "get away". A small guest house. A huge pond near the woods so I can accomodate my fish. Oh and a cat. Possibly a small greenhouse, which I will run from home.

Maybe I should start designing this house.... I guess I'd need to quit my job or hire a housekeeper, too...

Super Busy Week

Wow! I'm glad it's Friday. I've been super swamped at work this. My boss has been out every day except Monday, which I was out. I am of course her backup, so it's been super crazy around here. The only good thing is that I'm getting overtime for it. And I'm sure there's more to come.

TTC
Nothing too exciting going on right now. We are starting BD tonight. I should be O-ing somewhere between Monday and Wednesday. I'm just excited in general b/c we haven't at all this month b/c of AF and then my "procedure" on Monday. I hope I remember how to do it! ha ha ha

Weekend Plans
My grandparents are coming up tonight for pizza. My grandpa is also going to help Eric install our digital thermostat and new tub hardware b/c the masterbathroom is not working correctly. They also want to check out the painting in the living room. Saturday and Sunday are going to be spent working on the pond in our back yard. This is definitely going to be a major chore. But, well worth it when we are finished. My dad & Peg might stop by tomorrow, too. I had originally thought I'd fix them dinner, but I think now I will buying them dinner. Hope they don't mind.

Brother News
I got some news about my brother, Matt, this week, too. Apparently he has met someone (my mom set them up) and has fallen head-over-heels in love with this girl, Crystal. She has a 6-month old little girl that Matt adores and wants to adopt when they get married. They haven't set a date yet, but are buying the ring this weekend, so I'm sure a date will be coming shortly after. It sorta surprised me, but I am very happy with my brother. Apparently he has even quit smoking and drinking for her, too. They are renting a new apartment in C'ville and buying an SUV, so they can drive safely with the baby. Wow! This is a lot to take in, but don't get me wrong I'm happy for them. Oh, I almost forgot! They are going to church now. They went on Sunday and introduced her to my grandparents and plan on going every Sunday thereafter. I always new Matt had good in him, I guess it just took finding the right woman...

Feel much better

I'm feeling much better today. I let my aleve run out last night and started having some mild cramping before I went to bed, but it disappeared shortly after I took more meds. I do however feel yucky today. Now I know this it too much information, but... After they shoot the die up inside of you, obviously it has to come back out. Well, last night when I was sleeping obviously it doesn't just "flow out" b/c of gravity. So, apparently it decided to dry up, so to speak. So this morning I had these little globs of crumbly stuff that I sorta had to wipe/pick out. I know it sounds totally gross, but it was just weird.

HSG

Yes, I had my HSG today. Ugh. It was horrible. First my doctor was late and they had to page him. Then we I got in there he asked me if I had taken the motrin or ibuprofren this morning, which I knew nothing about. He said no big deal, but I would want to take it when I got home. The whole experience was quick, but not in the least bit fun. First they put the speculum in. Then he inserts another thing (I think it was a catheter) in then you have to slide back so you are under the actual x-ray machine while he holds this catheter. Then you have to 1/2 way roll to one side, hold it, then the other, hold it. That is probably the worst part. Apparently your cervix is a muscle and touching it makes it go into spasms, thus the cramping. I started cramping immediately and went to change. They gave me this pad that was so tiny I couldn't imagine how it would hold anything. Of course I haven't bought pads in years, so what do I buy? Thin Superlong. I guess I missed the second part in trying to decide. Anyway, I came home today just to relax but will be back to work tomorrow for sure!

Oh, I almost forgot the most important part. My tubes are clear. Apparently this just shows him major blockage and I don't have any of that. So, it's back to "keep trying". I'm not sure when I'm suppose to call again, but I figure I'll call after 1 full year of trying and see what happens then. He'll probably say wait another 6 months.

On another note, this guy had horrible bedside manners or at least he is NOT a people person, so after a year I think I'll ask to see someone else in the office.

Fabulous Weekend

Friday I was swamped at work, so I didn't do much chatting or e-mailing or much. I had training until 11:00, which was overwhelming. Then had a working meeting with my boss and worked on the list we made at lunch all afternoon. By the time I got home I just wanted to relax, which we did.

Saturday we got up early and cleaned the house and the in-laws came over around noon. We went out to eat at Don Pablo's then did a little shopping and came back home. I bought some lawn fertilizer and one of those spreader things, so we put that on the yard real quick before heading to the couch.

Sunday was what made the weekend. We got up early (not planned) and ended up meeting my sister Ashley and her boyfriend at Nirvana for breakfast. This is one of our favorite breakfast places. Then we went home and took a nice long walk. The weather was absolutely gorgeous. We had tickets to go to the Pacer's game, but frankly neither one of us wanted to go b/c of the weather outside. So we got someone to use the tickets and headed for the greenhouse. We ended up buying a lilac bush and a magnolia tree. Once we got home we pulled the pine tree out of our front yard planted the magnolia tree. Then we re-planted the pine tree on the hill in the back of our house on the easement. Finally we planted the lilac bush. One neighbor even stopped and told us what a difference it made at looking at our house. I does look much better. I also put out some grass seed, so hopefully that starts growing soon, too. We have a nice bare spot in our back yard where our pond is. Speaking of... Next weekend is the pond overhaul. That is going to be a chore.

Overall I thought it was a fabulous weekend. Eric and I got to spend some time together doing fun things, which I absolutely love.

Friday Five (on Monday again)

Ok. So, this little site we go to didn't have any Friday Five's this week so I went back a year and this is what you get this week!

1. What was your most memorable moment from the last week?

That's a tough one, nothing really memorable happened last week that I can think of. Good old AF came around again.

2. What one person touched your life this week?

Overall my girls touch my lives almost weekly. They are great. On a more personal note my sister-in-law touched my life b/c they are going to make an effort to get together for Christmas this year and I hope for many years to come. I talked to her for quite a while on the phone and it just felt good to know we are bonding.

3. How have you helped someone this week?

I think I've helped out Danialle this week. She has been a little down in the dumps and I imagine I'm probably the only one who knows about what's been going on (at least til GWO). I think I've helped her in that I'm pretty honest and call things like I see them and not just give her what she wants to hear. That's what friends are for!

4. What one thing do you need to get done by this time next week?

Well, I need to write my cousin Jamie a letter as I just got one from her. I'd also like to finish up my GWO scrapbook for the Columbus weekend. We have planned on getting our pond done next weekend. That is one of our ultimate goals right now.

5. What one thing will you do over the next seven days to make your world a better place?

Gosh...... Hmmmm..... Well we start trying to get pregnant again at the end of the week, so that could definitely make our world a better place!

CD 2

Yep, AF flew in late yesterday evening and she's bombing my ovaries this morning! ha ha (Severe Cramps) Anyway, I've decided not to temp this month and see what happens. It will be a little weird b/c my CM isn't even an indicator, but I'm getting burnt out, so I gotta try something new I guess. Did a few calculations about this month and this is what I've come up with....

- Estimated Dates of Ovulation - April 5-7 (CD 14-16) We will probably start trying around the 1st or 2nd of April in case of early ovulation

- Estimated Next Period - April 18-21 This month my cycle was only 26 days, which is the shortest it has been, so I hope now that it goes back up to 28 days. I would feel much better about my luteal phase.

- Estimated Test Date - I don't think I will let myself test until Thursday, April 22. In case that doesn't job your memory the ladies of GWO will be arriving at my house later that evening of that date.

Now we just get to wait a little while now before we find out if Jennifer's "no temping" month worked for her! ***Baby dust to her!***

CD 27, 13 DPO

Still no AF. I don't even feel like she's coming today. I'm not crampy or grouchy or bloated or anything. Maybe she'll come later today or tomorrow... Weird...

Weekend Re-cap

Friday - Of course I left work early to get my bloodwork done, which only took about 5 minutes total. We decided to check out a few art stores and antique stores in downtown Lafayette. Then decided we'd have an early dinner and headed to Battleground to a little hole in the way restaraunt/bar called TC's, where we stuffed ourself! Then went home and laid around the rest of the evening.

Saturday - Was lazy most of the morning. Left for C'ville around 2:30. On they way down we stopped by Kisha's new place. All I can say is "Boy does it need work!" We would NEVER go down that route. Then we headed over to my Nanny & Papaw's and had dinner there. After dinner we played 7-up/7-down with them for change and we took them for a whopping $1. It was a blast though. Headed home a little after 9.

Sunday - I worked on GWO packets and watched some old movies, Awakenings & Fried Green Tomatoes, neither of which I had seen before. Went grocery shopping, which was a bad idea b/c all the church crowd had the same idea. We also found "All Fired Up", a paint your own pottery place on the West Side. When I got home I baked some chocolate chip cookies and then got on a huge cleaning spree. Not sure what came over me, but I cleaned out cabinets in my kitchen, fixed a door on our entertainment center, got rid of the fish tank in the office, which then got Eric started cleaning the office and rearranging. It ended up being a pretty huge deal, but it was fun! It was a little after 10 when I went to bed and I could have stayed up even later doing stuff if I wouldn't have had to get up and go to work in the morning!

CD 26, 12 DPO - Soon to be CD 1

Yep, my temp dropped to 97.7 this morning to AF ought to be arriving any time now. I took an Aleve Naproxen this morning to help my cramps before they start. Still haven't decided about temping this month. We'll see. It is getting rather old though.

CD 25, 11 DPO - 98.1

Well as you can see my temp dropped back to 98.1 today. I have a feeling it will be dropping more in the next few days. I guess I knew it, but each month there is always a little hope. Maybe these tests will tell us something or maybe they won't and we'll keep trying. I'm thinking of not temping next month as I know my cycle is pretty regular now, but who knows. I guess I've got a day or two to think about it. I'm going to talk to Eric, too although I already know he would rather I not temp...

I would love to see my temp go back up tomorrow, but...

Ok. I'm a little disappointed that my temp went down this morning and I know it might just be nothing. I'm just so ready to be pregnant and it's bothering me that it's taking to long.

CD 24, 10 DPO - Update

Went yesterday and got my blood work done. They said the results should be in sometime Monday, so I'll either call late Monday or Tuesday to find out. Also asked out Eric's s/a results and those take a little longer so probably won't be in for 3-5 days, so I am planning on calling probably Thursday to find those out.

Not having any symptoms, but my temp is still up pretty high, which I'm excited about. Felt sorta crampy, but not like AF crampy, more like gasey crampy yesterday evening and so far today. Who knows?! I joined a buddy group on FF, so that is keeping my busy. They of course think my chart is triphasic, but after reading a lot of FF circles, they always think positive or at least send people positive thoughts. I guess I'm more of a realist. I won't believe it until I get that BFP. I tried reading into my chart (and still do), but honestly it just doesn't tell you much about pregnancy! At least I've come to the realization, but I do check it throughout the day in case those FF people change something. Like they are going say on the pregancy analysis, "There is no doubt you are pregnant. Congratulations!" I suppose I can hope!

Note to Jennifer - I love your analogy of the "What if Game". I tried to send you a comment, but for some reason it wouldn't open. You really gave this some thought. We'll have to print this out if I/we become pregnant this month and see how close you were... Come on O for you!

Friday Five

If you...

1. ...owned a restaurant, what kind of food would you serve? This is way to ironic.... Fondue or Bar Food

2. ...owned a small store, what kind of merchandise would you sell? scrapbook store, exotic pet store, greenhouse

3. ...wrote a book, what genre would it be? probably some type of Fiction/Literature Novel, but not a romance novel

4. ...ran a school, what would you teach? English, Gym, Health

5. ...recorded an album, what kind of music would be on it? Probably something like Tori Amos, Evanescence

CD 23, 9 DPO - 98.3

I think this weekend might be an indicator if my temp stays up there... Nothing much to report except I had a dream last night that my bbs were sore, but when I woke up they weren't. Sad. Isn't it funny how you want your bbs to be sore and to have this sickness in the mornings?? Who asks for this stuff? Of course those of us trying to become pregnant do! Oh, I'm leaving work today at 3:30 do get my bloodwork down. Nothing else really important to tell.

Eric has been under the weather. His sinuses are bothering him and he's been having headaches. Last night he went to bed when we got home from work and got back up at 9:15, don't know what time he came back to bed though. He still had a headache this morning, so he was going to stay in bed today until he picks me up to get my bloodwork done. I sure hope he feels better. We are supposed to go to C'ville tomorrow.

CD 22, 8 DPO - 98.3

Not a whole lot to report on today except my temp is still up. Obviously still early for any "symptoms". I feel like if it goes back down to .1 then I would most likely not be pregnant. If it stays up at .3 or higher then I think there's a good chance I am. So far this cycle has been a little different from the rest in that I didn't hit .3 until 7 DPO whereas the last few has went up to .3 at 4-5 DPO. I honestly don't have high hopes this cycle, but I still have some hope. I suppose the next few days might be an indicator, but then again temps really don't tell you much until afterwards...

AF (if she shows) is expected sometime next Tuesday-Thursday. FF has me testing on Thursday, which is 15 DPO and I think I'll stick to what they think this month. Currently I only have 1 test, so I guess it better be worth the while! I'm saving it for a special time. We'll see if it agrees.

On a side note, Eric deposited his "thesis" this morning. I'm sure he's glad to have that behind him. I leave work tomorrow at 3:30 to get my bloodwork done. Not sure who and when we find out the results. I'm assuming someone will call.

Other news

Planning on going to C'ville this weekend to visit my grandparents as they are back from Florida. We might possibly stop by my mom's house, but not sure on that yet and I haven't even talked to her yet to find out if she'll be home.

My computer was down from Monday afternoon to Wednesday late morning, so thus the lack of updates. Everything should be okay now. (We'll see)

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Do you have green on today? My underwear are. Can you believe I don't own a green shirt?

Update

CD 19, 5 DPO
Eric is taking in his "sample" on Thursday this week and I have to go in on Friday to get blood tests, which essentially is just to make sure I'm ovulating and I am. So I guess they get to stick me for the fun of it. I'm 5 DPO today. Not really sure how I feel right now. I'm not getting my hopes up, but at the same time I feel like our 1 day was good timing. Obviously it's too soon to even feel anything, so we'll see what happens. We were talking last night and it was almost like we took the month off and went back to once a week like before TTC. It wasn't as "planned".

This Weekend
We had a really nice weekend. Saturday we went to Melting Pot and had dinner, which of course was excellent. On the way over we stopped at a dealer and looked at Mini Coopers. Who knows if we'll get one, but they look fun. Build your own here. It's sorta pointless for us both of have an SUV, but at the same time we will not make out so well on the Explorer, so essentially we will probably end up paying more. blah, blah, blah.

Yesterday we browsed through a few stores and went to the Theatre and saw "50 First Dates". It was funny and good, but probably not something I'd watch several times more (we won't be buying it). We also stopped at Blockbuster on the way home and got "Mona Lisa Smile". I wasn't real impressed with it, but it was okay to watch once...

Looks like spring isn't as close as I thought. I just read the weather and it's supposed to start snowing tonight with accumulation of 4-6 tomorrow and 1-2 more on Wednesday. YUCK! I'm not impressed at all!

Friday Five

March 12, 2004

It's time again for this week's Friday Five.

1. What was the last song you heard?
- Radio@Netscape Plus.... "Figured You Out" by Nickelback

2. What were the last two movies you saw?
- Cold Creek Maynor
- Dickie Roberts Former Child Star

3. What were the last three things you purchased?
- Eyelet Tool Set
- Groceries
- Subway

4. What four things do you need to do this weekend?
- Eat at Melting Pot on Saturday
- Go to Movie on Sunday
- Work on Scrapbooks
- Relax and Sleep in!

5. Who are the last five people you talked to?
- Darla @ Work
- Danialle via IM
- Eric on phone
- Judy @ Work
- Professor McDeavitt @ Work

Day 15, 1 DPO

My temp officially spiked today. Good old 98.1. Of course it has to stay up for 3 days before FF gives me an ovulation date, but I'm pretty confident. This month was definitely different than the other months...

Some Thoughts
1) Basically we are relying solely on me getting an extra special birthday present or being a very late ovulater as we only BD'd Tuesday (my birthday) and then tonight. I feel like we timed it okay. I figure I o'd late Tuesday or yesterday sometime. We probably should have bd'd yesterday, but at the same time we were doing the every other day thing this month. Heck, it didn't work last month doing it every day, so maybe doing it once this month will work. Doesn't make a person feel like they've tried very hard though. Don't think I will be getting my hopes up too high this time around.

2) On another note, if this month does happens then that will mean we conceived around my birthday and that would put my EDD at December 1 and Eric's birthday is December 15. Conception for my birthday, delivery for Eric's. That's a nice thought.

OK. I cheated a little bit and assuming I have 3 full days of high temps, I could test on March 25 or 15 DPO. And that is even FF's test date... Another thought if that is the case and with all this other birthday stuff, I would tell my parents (Dad & Peg) on the 30th, which is Peg's birthday!

OK, maybe I'm getting my hopes up a tad bit...

Update

I just flowers sent to work by my lovely girls! Hopefully I can post a nice pic of them unlike my bracelet pic.

CD 13

On another note, my temp went up to 97.6 this morning so I have a feeling I'll ovulate either today or tomorrow. I'm definitely at that creamy stage today. Eric and I decided last night that we'd just wait to start trying until tonight so that maybe I will get an extra special birthday present this month. We'll see if it works, but you never know. It just might.

My Birthday

Today is my birthday and I'm 25 years old. Wow! It seems like those days and years get shorter the older you get. Apparently my birthday isn't really until 5:17 this evening, but it's still my day!

Here is my Birthday/Anniversary Present from Eric - It's fuzzy but you get the idea.


Some of my other gifts include cards (a few with money in them) and a birthday cake from my boss. I used a little of the money to buy 2 colored bras that match some of my undies. Also, tonight my dad & Peg are coming up and we are having dinner at..... Yes, you guess it..... Don Pablo's. And I get to wear the sombraro.

Also my grandparents on the Paddack side, my grandma Nita and my mom called to wish me a happy birthday. My mom even sang the entire birthday song to me!

New Week

Well, ironically enough we start trying this week. FF estimates me o-ing sometime between Wednesday & Friday. We are starting every other day tonight. Might even get an every day in on a couple of days. Maybe. We are just sorta going with the flow this month. Not as well, not sure of the word. Obsessed sounds drastic, but laid back sounds like we aren't all that into it, which isn't the case either... Hmmm...

Anyway, on another note tomorrow is my birthday. A whole "Quarter of a Century" old. I don't feel that age. Although I don't feel older or younger either. So, all in all, I guess I'm about the right age. Not that I have a choice.

The weekend was fun but pretty lazy, too. Saturday we went to the mall and came home with my my birthday and anniversary and any other close holiday in that vacinity gift. I got a diamond tennis bracelet. It is absolutely gorgeous! Eric had originally wanted to get me one, but I told him I thought it was too much. We, well he, didn't find anything else that he felt like was the "right gift". Needless to say, we spent about twice as much as we intended, but we decided it would definitely be something to hand down to our kids later on. It was also a little more b/c it has more gold on it as it's sort of u's around the diamonds instead of s's which snag things. I will try to post a pic of it later. Yesterday, Sunday, we were pretty lazy. We took some pics in to get printed and did a little grocery shopping at Kroger. I worked on my GWO scrapbook for a little while in the evening while Eric cleaned out the coat closet. Then we watched the "Matchstick Man" with Nicolas Cage. It was a pretty good movie. Basically about this con artist who finds out he has a daughter and unfortunately gets her involved it conning people. Surprising ending, but it reminds me of another movie I've seen, but I'm not sure which one. I'll have to think about that.

Friday Five (On Monday)

What was...

1. ...your first grade teacher's name? Mrs. Harbison - I will NEVER forget her!

2. ...your favorite Saturday morning cartoon? I would probably say Smurfs, but overall it was whatever was on!

3. ...the name of your very first best friend? Katie Mann

4. ...your favorite breakfast cereal? Lucky Charms, Frosted Mini Wheats, Count Chocula

5. ...your favorite thing to do after school? Ride 3-Wheelers, Investigate areas around the pond, just plain be outside!

Dr. Appt. Update

Went to the doctor today and came out feeling better. I was getting pretty mad and frustrated at the beginning b/c my doc wasn't getting it. He said that it really wasn't likely that my endo was back and that they could put me on Lupron or back on BC to ease the pain. This totally defeats the purpose of trying to conceive so there was NO WAY that was happening. He basically told us that he wouldn't do a laparoscopy that we could find someone else if we wanted. We were getting pissed. Thankfully the nurse came in a the doc had to leave for a minute to take a call. When he came back in, he apparently thought about what he was telling us and realized that we would do just that, go somewhere else, b/c he said we could do the normal tests. They are going to do a sperm count on Eric sometime next week. This complicates things b/c we are supposed to start trying next week, so we decided that the last day of our trying, he would wait 3 days then do his sperm count. I go to the lab on March 19 and they are going to do blood tests on me to check my progesterone and HsG. Then on the first day of my next period I call the doc and I go the day after the last day of my period for an x-ray on my tubes to make sure they aren't blocked.

I feel much better about the whole situation and maybe I am being a hypocondriac, but at least I'll know if those things are good, I will feel much better. I did find out that my endo that I had back in 2000 was mild, so that makes me feel much better, too. This wasn't stated until later in the doc appt, thus getting me a little worked up. I guess if I would have known that it was only mild back then I wouldn't have worried about it so much.

"The Lovely Bones" by Alice Sebold

Yep, book number 4 is done now, too. This is a very good book. Basically it is about this girl who is raped and murdered and whose body may never be found. She is in heaven looking down on everyone on Earth and how their lives change after her death. It was sorta odd, but you really don't think about how everyone else's life will change after you die.

I highly recommend this book.

This author also wrote the book "Lucky", which is another good book.

Hmmm..... What shall I read next?

Finished Book

I finished my 3rd book of the 10 I'd like to read for the year. This book, "Why Grace Changes Everything" by Chuck Smith was really good and lent to me by Danialle. I wasn't brought up in a religious family and don't really know much about religion or the Bible for that matter. One of my goals this year that I didn't put here, but that is in my journal at home is to learn about religion. Anyway this book was really good and made me feel better about my position in life. Right now obviously I don't go to church. Basically this book said that you don't have to be "perfect" and sin-free and go to church to go to Heaven. As long as you believe and have faith then when that time comes Jesus will wipe your slate clean of your sins and you go to Heaven. I don't really understand this part b/c it seems like God will never know of your sins, but what doesn't make sense is that you pray to good and ask for forgiveness, but God doesn't really know of your sins. Guess Danialle & I need to discuss this book.

Anyway, I'm sorta torn b/c I want to at least learn about religion and the Bible, but haven't chosen a church yet. Eric is not into going to church every Sunday b/c that was forced upon him when he was little. I know I could go without him, but that's not something I want to venture into by myself either. Ugh... Decision, decisions...

Good Weekend

We had a really good weekend.

Friday
We were lazy. I was still a little blah from Aunt Flo who visited on Thursday, but got over it.

Saturday
We got up and went to Menards, Lowes & SAMs. Eric got a couple of storage shelves for the garage and I got paint for our living room (Color: Warm Gingerbread). Eric worked out in the garage and I worked in the yard. I pulled & dug a bunch of bulbs out that the insane previous owner apparently put in. That was quite a chore. I had to dig through the mulch and find the random spots they were planted then fight the fabric lining between the dirt and mulch to keep weeds out. Needless to say my butt got a nice workout. I even axed down this bush that was half dead, which was fun. Then I headed to the back yard and picked up sticks. I got bored so I decided to join Eric in the garage. We did some rearranging and it looks much better now. We were pretty exhausted after the day so we relaxed the rest of the evening.

Sunday
We got up at a decent time and started moving furniture to the center of the room and taping stuff off by around 10 am. We started painting and didn't really run in to anything major. I used this edger for the ceilings and around the windows and stuff while Eric rolled the walls. It wasn't a quick process by any means as our living room is not small and it has vaulted ceilings. Overall, I think it looks great. It definitely gives it the "warm" feeling, which I was looking for and Eric likes to make fun of me for. It makes the room darker, but I don't mind that much. We would like to get this painting to go over the couch and may even do some smaller oil painting this summer to put on each side of the hutch. I personally would like to get a neat lamp to put in there, too.

Yesterday evening we went for a walk on the trail by our house then went grocery shopping and I did some baking for my lunch this week and made Eric some key lime bars. I was supposed to make him these cinnamon swirl bars, but decided to wait until next weekend. I was ready to sit down and relax. Watched the Oscar's until about 10 then went to bed.

Early Arrival

Yes, Aunt Flo arrive late yesterday morning earlier than expected, thus putting me at a 27 Day Cycle w/ an 11 Day Luteal Phase. Not too much to report about it. After seeing this month's pattern, I have speculation that I might have ovulated later last month (Day 19), which would also have put me at a 10 Day Luteal Phase. It's a possibility anyway.

My cramps were horrible yesterday. The continued until about 9:00 last night. Gotta say I love those Therma-Care heating things. I used the back one and put in on my back for a while, then twisted it around to the front for a while. They really tamed down my cramps.

On another note (same subject) After some talk with Eric and my girls, I decided that my endometriosis might be back so I scheduled an appointment for next Thursday, March 4 at 3:15. I just have this feeling deep down that "something" is off or not right. It's not only b/c of not getting pregnant yet either. I am having a lot of the symptoms that I had the first time and a few additional ones.

Day 27

Well, as you can see from my chart my temp dropped below the coverline, which only means that Aunt Flo will be arriving probably today or tomorrow. I even took it twice to make sure and yep. Right on the dot! Good thing I didn't get my hopes up this month. I talked to Eric this morning and we are going to try one more month before we call the doctor. That will give us 8 FULL months of trying and 3 GOOD months of charting (assuming next month's is good, too).

I'll update when her flight gets in...

FF - Laughs

Just was looking through some stuff on FF and I had to laugh. During the DPO timeframe there is an option to do a "Pregnancy Poll". For those of you who aren't familiar, your temps are almost always up or past the coverline during this post ovulation time. Anyway, I was checking my chart today and I had someone put "Very Promising", which is 100% sure (opinion) that I'm pregnant. I just had to laugh b/c this person whom I've never met think I'm 100% sure I'm pregnant. There isn't even a sign that I am except that my temps are up and they should be.

Heck I don't know maybe my one of my friends did it and knows something I don't know. ha ha

I just had to get a giggle in this morning. I'm not having the best morning, so anything giggles help today. :)

Day 26, 10 DPO

My temp rose a bit to 98.2 today. Nothing more to report really. Did make one observation. Last month I had a drop to .1 above my coverline for 2 days around what was thought to be implantation time. This month I haven't dropped below 98.1. I wonder if that means anything. Probably not, but good observation. Wonder why it dropped for 2 days last month.

Day 25, 9 DPO

Nothing much to report today. Still at 98.1 today. Unfortunately that doesn't tell us anything. Aunt Flow could be visiting either Friday, Saturday or Sunday, so I might know something by the end of the week although last month my luteal phase was 14 days, so that would actually put me starting Sunday.

I feel better this today. The other day I was sorta down and I still am not sure what I'm going to do if this month doesn't work. I guess I'll figure that out if/when the time comes. I may chart one more month or I may not. Still undecided in that aspect.

Feelings

I'm feeling sorta down today. I've convinced myself that we are not going to be pregnant this month and it isn't even close enough to find out. Although it might happen this month, I have a feeling it won't. I'm not getting myself as psyched as I have in the past. And I'm definitely not testing early than 3/1 unless I have so many symptoms that it couldn't possibly be anything else.

I guess I've just got it in my head that its going to be a year or longer and I'll have to see the doc again before anything happens. I don't know why, but I just have this feeling. I've been reading circles on FF and some of those ladies have been trying for years. I know we haven't been trying that long, but I just never thought it would be this difficult.

Day 23, 7 DPO

My temp dropped a little this morning to 98.1. I woke up at 6 (normal temp taking time) by cramps. Again I imagine it's nothing to worry about. I eventually went back to sleep and they are gone now

Thanks Jennifer!

Special thanks to Jennifer who showed us a world of blinkies and other web stuff! Needless to say I've added some "special effects" to my blog today! Hope you like them as much as me.

Of course special thanks to Danialle for even introducing us to blogger!

Thanks ladies!

Day 22, 6 DPO

Yet another 98.3. Nothing more to report besides that. I felt a little crampy this morning when I got up, but it's probably nothing.

Day 21, 5 DPO

Had another 98.3 today. Nothing to exciting happening. If implantation occurs this month I expect it to happen sometime between Saturday and Tuesday and depending on circumstances testing on Monday, March 1.

Child Molester on my Street

I just found out today that a child molester lives on my street. YUCK. I am upset about this. I made Eric figure out what house is his today and we know there is a little boy that lives there, possibly middle school age. He was sentenced in 1995 and served 3 years. Kinda freaks me out though.

Here's my issue
There are 2 home daycares on my street. I think (and so do 2 of my co-workers) that I should send this info to them in the mail anonymously. Eric doesn't think I should b/c he doesn't want to open up a can of worms. Myself, I would want to know. There are too many kids around there to take this lightly... I would want to know if I had my own daycare.

Day 20, 4 DPO

I have another increase today to 98.3. Probably doesn't mean anything, but it is a little weird. In the 2 months prior of charting I've never gone over 98.1 even when I was sick. This is going to be interesting. Seems like every month shows us something new.

Day 19, 3 DPO

It's confirmed now. I officially ovulated on Valentine's Day. I sure hope that in itself is a good sign. Still not sure on test date yet. FF says to wait until Day 35, 19 DPO which is 3/4. I don't know if I'll wait that long or not. I figure I can look for AF around 2/26-2/29. I definitely will wait until after the 29th to test. I guess it will depend on the circumstance, too. (If I'm having signs.) Although this month I'm not testing unless they are clear signs, not possible signs!

Good luck to Jennifer on spiking this week. We are keeping our fingers crossed for tomorrow morning since the bunny is wearing down. :) ha ha (Been there, done that) I'll be checking your chart first thing in the morning!

Day 18, 2 DPO

Nothing to report except that I'm 2 DPO. FF hasn't given me a coverline or ovulation line yet, but if it was anything like last month, I'm right! I definitely think 98.1 is my post-o temp. Looking at last month I wonder if the dip around days 8 & 9 tell us anything. Normally we would think it's implantation, but since I got a PFN obviously that wasn't the case... Hmmm... I guess I could research it today. Of course it wasn't below my coverline, but I'll be curious to see if I get that this month, too...

Finally a Spike!

My temp jumped to 98.1 today. Thank goodness. We were getting a little worn out. If it doesn't happen this month I'm definitely calling the doc. Honestly I was getting a little worried about this month for a few reasons. 1) Traveling 2) Lindsay news. Apparently they didn't affect me though. Whew! Now it's just the sit and wait game. The funnest part I might add. ha ha I just love analyzing "possible symptoms". I'm going to try not to this month though unless I start puking, which would be my indicator I think or definitely breast tenderness, b/c I don't get that with my period. We might do it one more time today just to be completely safe.

Valentine's was good. We tried to sleep in, but Eric got up a little after 7 and I got up shortly thereafter. We both exchanged cards and Eric got me a pair of new diamond earrings small for my upper holes in my ear. They were really nice and I had been wanting them for some time now. We were just lazy throughout the morning and finally started getting ready for our 3:15 dinner reservation at Mountain Jacks. Dinner was really nice. Can you believe that Eric had Lobster?? I thought I was going to fall out of my chair and my chin almost did hit the floor! Anyway, we then planned on going to the movie to see Fifty First Dates but it didn't start until 5:10, so we walked around Target for a while to waste some time. Finally we left Target and once we got to the theatre decided to go buy a couple of movies instead and the parking lot was completely packed! We bought and watched "In the Cut" w/ Meg Ryan and also Wonderland (Danialle you would like this one). Actually I have to finish In the Cut today. Wonderland was basically a story on John Holmes' life after he was a porn star through his death. Eric said it was an "artsy" movie and can you believe I'm the one who picked it out? That about sums it up for our weekend. Today we might go to the theatre, but not sure as we sorta just want to be lazy, too. And if we go I know I'll be tempted to eat popcorn and have pop, which even though I can't it will be hard not to get...

Day 15

My temp increased to 97.7 today so I'm expecting my spike to be tomorrow morning, which means I either ovulated yesterday or will be today (assuming I spike tomorrow). We will have definitely hit the window again. Especially getting "Operation Rabbit" in twice last night. I sure hope I get the spike in the morning!!

Comparison
In looking at last month's chart I ovulated on Day 14 and had a 14 day luteal phase. So far it could be very similar this month. If that were the case this month I'd say I ovulated on Day 15 and assuming I have a 14 day luteal phase, I should start my period around Day 31 or Feb 29. This really throws me off b/c the most days of cycle I've ever had is 29 and that would 30 day cycle, which I suppose isn't too far off, but well, who knows?! Well see if I spike tomorrow or not!

No point in trying to figure that out yet...

New Year's Resolutions - Update

- So far I've completed 5 1/2 weeks of BFL and lost a total of 7 pounds. I feel pretty good about it, but know I've slacked off some. The last week has been especially slacking b/c of our vacation to Florida and also just trying to get back into a routine. We also need to get groceries and needed to wait until today b/c Eric gets paid today, so after today I should be back on track.

- I copied Danialle's goal and would like to read 10 books this year. I've read one so far. "In Her Shoes" by Jennifer Weiner. It was a good book, but read "Good in Bed" first if you plan on reading it. I need to go through my books at home and find out what I still need to read yet. I guess I've also finished reading TCOYF, so that should count, too. Danialle let me borrow a book so I should really get to reading that so I can give it back to her (probably in April) when I see her again. Probably need to go to Half Price books again!

- Cooking dinner 6 nights/week. Well, again I was doing pretty good at this until we went on vacation and haven't got groceries in a while.

- Still working on my relationship with my mom. Going to her house on Friday to set up the computer she is buying off us and also taking her out for her birthday for the dinner of her choice!

- Birthday cards - So far I've sent everyone on my calendar whose had a birthday a card. I am even prepared. At the end of January I made a list of the people I needed to get cards for for February.

- Another goal I had, but didn't put it at the side was to write in a journal. So far I've written about some things. Still need to update about vacation and Lindsay

Day 14

My temp was still 97.6 this morning. I look for a spike either tomorrow or Saturday. Feel pretty good about hitting the window if that's the case. Haven't noticed any "signs" really. Been a little grouchy, but I think that is mostly b/c of getting back into work routine (sleep included). My stomach was a little crampy last night, but I took that for over-eating at Don Pablo's. Hopefully my CM will give me a sign today or tomorrow.

Update on Lindsay

Talked to Lindsay last night and despite the major drama that went on at the hospital between mom & Rob, she is doing good. Apparently as soon as she got in recovery they gave her morphine and she got sick so they waited a little while then gave her something else in pill form and she nibbled on some crackers and ice chips. That stayed down. It amazes me that they don't start you out small on the pain med, but rather start you out with a major drug then bring you down. Anyway, she tried to get up a few times and passed out and even bumped her head once, so she was staying on the couch and trying not to move much. She seemed in good spirits though. She was sad, but she was handling it well b/c she said deep down they knew they wouldn't be able to provide for it like they should. They decided to get their lives together (school, sports, possibly college), so that later down the road when they do have kids they will be able to provide for them and take care of them like they should. I was kinda floored that she said that, but she said Donnie broke down on Monday night and they talked about that and so even though it was hard they are handling it. She is having some pains/cramps, but hasn't had much bleeding. I'm going to call her tonight to find out how she's doing today.

On another note... Remember how I said all of us girls were born on the 9th of a month. Well, I just realized that Lindsay found out about her loss on the 9th. Isn't that weird???

Bad News about Lindsay

Lindsay called this evening with some bad news.

Let me fill you in about her doc appointment on Friday though. She had an appointment on Friday and everthing seemed good. The baby was really moving around and they couldn't get it sit still long enough to get it's heartbeat, but didn't think much of it b/c it was moving around.

Well, apparently Lindsay got really sick over the weekend. She didn't give me any specifics, but just said really sick. I don't think she was spotting even. She called the doc today and went in. (Not sure why she went to OBGYN for sickness, but anyway). When she went in they did an ultrasound and the baby was curled in a little ball and not moving. The measured it at 11 weeks and couldn't find a heartbeat so they concluded that she had lost it. I'm so confused though b/c it seems like it happened so fast. Friday is was moving around and everything. Anyway, they don't think she'll lose it naturally since she hadn't yet, so they scheduled her D&C for tomorrow morning. She seemed pretty sad about it and I am truly sorry it happened, but at the same time I have such mixed feelings.

I'm not happy it happened by all means, but she was just so young and I just felt so bad for her b/c she was only 15 and still a baby herself. I sorta feel like this was god's way of waking our family up and bringing us back together. I know Lindsay will grieve for a while and I really hope she doesn't try to get pregnant again, not for a few years AT LEAST.

I know I'm being selfish when I say I'm supposed to be the one to have the baby first and all like there is some order to it and again I'm not happy she lost it, but I do feel a little relief and, well, I don't know how to explain it.

It's almost like I feel like Lindsay was blessed. Like God was giving her a wake-up call or warning or something. That she can get pregnant, but she really needs to be a child before she has one to raise. Like he was giving her another chance to prove herself or something.

It's so weird b/c that makes 2 miscarriages in the last few months of 2 people very close to me. I never realized it was that common when Jennifer had hers and now my own sister has had the same thing happen. Really makes you think that prenancy in itself is truly amazing that it even happens, let alone the ups and downs you have to go through to get to that point. Wow!

Florida/Weekend Re-cap

Thursday - We got up early to head to Indy to catch our flight. We went to Washington Dulles to connect to go to Orlando. (I thought it would be neat to see the skyline. I didn't realize we'd have to go to Washington Reagan to do that, so I was a little disappointed. Oh, and I thought Eric was bad about flying. There was this guy behind us during our first leg who was freaking out! It was actually comical. First he couldn't understand why we were even flying b/c there was ice and snow on the runway and the wheels could slip and he just knew we'd never make it up off the ground. Then when we landed in Dulles, which by the way was pretty turbulenty we sorta hit a gust of wind and you could feel it but it wasn't THAT bad and he freaked and said loudy, "What was that? Oh my gosh! etc." Everthing was fine though. By the time we got to Dulles and found our gate we only waited about 15 minutes before we boarded to depart for Orlando. Everything went smoothly and we laned in Orlando around 3 or so. We met Nanny and Pappaw at baggage claim and headed to their house. It was high 70s there. Since we had flown all day we hadn't eaten since breakfast so we stopped by Taco Bell to get a snack and it ended up being our dinner b/c we ate so much we didn't have room for dinner. I think Nanny was a little disappointed b/c she was going to fix us dinner. Anyway, we got to there place and it was nice. Saw tons of orange groves and that was neat. We kinda relaxed for a bit then decided to head to town to get dessert (Dairy Queen) and check out a few areas they wanted to show us. Headed to bed around 9:30 as we had a big day ahead of us at Disney World Friday.

Friday - Got up around 6:00 am and was out of the house by 7:00 am heading towards Disney World. We got there about 8 and it didn't open until 9. We got on the monorail though and checked a few things out and really only waited at the gate about 15 minutes before they let us in. They only let us in right past the gates so we waited there for about 15 minutes before Mickey and friends came in from Toon Town to open the park. That was neat. The kids really got excited. Once the park opened we made our lunch reservations at the Crystal Palace and headed to the Haunted Mansion. We were 2nd in line. We rode several rides in the morning and looked through some shops to see what we wanted to buy for later. Then headed to lunch where we got to meet Tiger, Pooh, Piglet and Eeore. Lunch wasn't all that exciting it was a buffet so we got a lot to eat by all means. Then we set out for more rides. At 3:00 the parade started. We had actually planned on watching part of it while standing in line for Splash Mountain, but Eric got confused on where it started so we ended up stuck on the wrong side of the parade with the ride on the other. I was glad though b/c I really enjoyed seeing the parade. According to Eric we got ALL the important rides in and almost all of the other rides in. We didn't ride in the Tea Cups or the Cars. The cars didn't appeal to me though b/c you had to follow the metal bar and couldn't even drive all over the actual course. I think we had accomplished all the rides by 4:00 so we were excited about that. We did some shopping and walked over to Toon Town (kiddie town). Thought we might get to see Mickey, but you have to stand in line to see him so we decided against it. Definitely makes you want to have kids of your own though. There were so many kids there and they got so excited about everything. We do think however it is for kids at the age of 4-5 or so b/c those were the cutest kids. They really got into it and understood things. We saw some younger kids, but some couldn't even walk, which seems dumb to me b/c even though I'm sure they were excited they probably didn't understand or would even remember it. Just my opinion though. We ended up leaving the part a little after 6. The part closed at 7:00, so we didn't get to see the fireworks, but we were both exhausted. Probably a good thing we left when we did b/c there was major traffic on the road we had to take. We stopped in the little town near where my grandparents house was and got Subway and headed home. We were ever so glad to get our shoes off and kick our feet up. It had been a high of mid 80s that say so I wasn't feeling the freshest either.

Sataurday - We slept in some but still was up around 7-ish. We all got ready and was out of the house by 8:30 and heading North to my great aunt and uncles house. It was a drive. Probably about an hour and a half. We stopped at Bob Evans and had a horrible breakfast. My french toast was just luke warm and cold bacon and well, you get the point. Not impressed at all and she didn't get a very good tip. It was cold, too. High of about 60 that day. Anyway, we went to see Nora and Clint and they took us to Homosassa Park to see Mantees and other animals. That was pretty awesome. We rode a boat back to this area where they were doing a show about manatees. I didn't realize those animals were so good. They won't hurt a thing. Very affectionate, too. Then we walked around the park and saw a hippo that was 44 years old. We missed 2 panthers attack a pelican that flew into their cage. We did get pics of them eating it though. That was cool. There were other animals, too. Bobcat, flamingos, owls, bear, otters, alligators, bald eagle, etc. etc. After we left there we headed to a late lunch and chowed down at Applebee's. After lunch we had to make our journey back south taking naps along the way. When we got home we were still stuffed from our late lunch so again Nanny didn't get to make us dinner. We did however eat some corn on the cob and fresh tomatos. Yummy.

Sunday - Our day to head home. We got up and Nanny fixed us a nice breakfast of eggs, bacon, toast, waffles, fresh grapefruit and OJ. After breakfast we got ready, packed up everything in the car and headed to Winterhaven. We went to a place called Spookhill where you put your car in neutral and roll backward but it's supposed to feel like you are going forward. I was a little confused. We drove around and saw a few things. We saw the Bok Tower, which is a garden and sanctuary and plays music. We didn't get too close b/c it was $8.00 a person to get in and we didn't have a whole lot of time. After that we headed to this little place on the water to have lunch. It was good but it was cold in there, so we didn't even take off our jackets. After that we headed to the airport. It was sad leaving, but we're always ready to be home, too. When we got to the airport we were pretty early so we had plenty of time to spare. Our flight didn' t leave until 4:40. There was a flight leaving at 3:10 that we eventually found out was overbook and they were going to try to squeeze some on our plane. Come to find out our flight was already over booked so we voluntarily bumped our seats. It worked out really good for us and we'd do it again in a heartbeat. We got 1 night in the Hyatt at the airport free; Dinner, Breakfast, Lunch vouchers totally $26 for each of us; 1 free roundtrip flight anywhere in the US for each of us; and best of all our new trip back to Indy got bumped to first class, seats 1A, 1B. Looks like we have our airfare for next year already! ha ha... The only catch was that our luggage was going on the 4:40 flight and we'd have to pick it up in Indy in lost and found when we arrived. Neither one of us had ever had this happen so we weren't prepared and had nothing in our carry-on. We got a few things we needed at the hotel and did some shopping for toiletries at the airport. Ended up buying some boxers and t-shirts to sleep in, too. Had a nice dinner at the hotel restaurant after we found out that we could combine all of our meal vouchers and use them as one. Unfortunately our flight left the next morning at 6:20 so we went to bed early

Monday (Today) - We got up at 4:30 this morning to catch our flight. We both didn't sleep well even though we went to bed early and probably had been up since 2-ish. The flights were fine. Had about a 2 and a 1/2 hour layover in Chicago, but I finished my book I brought along for the trip, so it worked out well. tee hee. Picked up the dogs on the way home at the kennel and collapsed when we got home. Eric had some stuff to do work-wise, but I took a nice nap on the couch.

Aaaahhhh... Glad to be home. Can't wait to sleep in our bed tonight!

CD 6

Today is the first day of no period this month. Noticed a couple of changes I thought I'd share.

1) Period was a little longer than normal. Normally It's regular for 2-3 days then spotting 1 day. This month it was normal for 3 days, light 1 and spotting 1. I guess not overly odd, just noticeable.

2) My temps are a little higher so far this month. Last month they were in the low 97s. This month more mid 97s.

3) Decided to wait until AF was really late this time as the last 2 times I've tested in the morning and she arrived by afternoon. Such a waste of money. Which brings me to...

4) I will probably be testing (as long as no sign of AF) around 2/29 or 3/1. Ironically 3/1 is Jennifer's birthday, but I don't think she will hold out long enough for her to test on my birthday.

Next week we will be starting to try again with a We want to see more X's on our charts this month! If we do it like rabbits, maybe we'll reproduce like them? It's worth a shot. AND I AGREE! Good idea! We can definitely do November babies.

I will be leaving for Floriday tomorrow (Thursday) morning and am really excited about it. I'm hoping this relaxes me a lot, too for next week's BD. Not that I'm stressed out that bad, just a little discouraged about the negatives. Anyway, we are going to Disney World on Friday and Eric called me a little while ago and said he turned his ankle on the ice this morning. His ankle is sore, but he said he can walk on it. I could beat him! I told him to put "Heat" on the drive b/c it was slick. Guess he didn't listen. Men! They are always right! ha ha ha

I will updating about our trip on Monday. Have a good rest of the week and weekend! I will be!

No Pregnancies this Month

Just read Jennifer's blog and found out she got visited this month, too. She was sorta of expecting it more than I was, but that's the way it goes. After reading hers I decided to jot down some of the things I learned this month, too.

Thoughts

Obviously I ovulated , which is a marvalous thing as I didn't ovulate in December. Now we know I don't have an annovulatory problem. Although it seems that I'm affected by stress more easily than some. According to this last month I ovulated around the 14th day give or take a few days, have a 28 day cycle and have a 14 day luteal phase. These are subject to change by a day or so on either side. We plan on increasing our BD time earlier and continuing for a few days after I know I ovulated this month. Planning on starting around the 9th.

Finally as Jennifer also noted, she and I still have a chance to get pregnant at the same time or within a few days of each other.

Fingers crossed for Jennifer

Should be a few days before we find out anything for Jennifer. I'm keeping my fingers crossed this month for her. And even though I want us to be pregnant at the same time, I hope she is pregnant this month.

Bad Day

OK, so now I'm not having a very good day. Rightfully so. My idiot boss (Tramp) apparently talked to his "Lady" last night and she doesn't want to be in the cold today, so they have cancelled the luncheon for today. That thoroughly ticks me off for a few reasons. 1) This is this guy's last day and we aren't even taking him to lunch. 2) We are getting in our cars, driving down there and walking 20 feet to the entrance of the restaurant. It's not like we have to even walk very far. 3) Being that I'm on a diet, I didn't pack my lunch and already knew what I was getting at our luncheon today. Now I have to go to the union and figure something out. Eric brought me to work, so I can't even drive anywhere. 4) I will lay money on them (Lady and the Tramp) going to lunch today OUTSIDE our building. Ugh!

Tramp is a complete idiot and he needs to step down from his position. That's about all I have to say about that. I hope he gets in trouble b/c he's sleeping with "Lady" which is considered at a minimum of fraternizing.

Day 29, 15 DPO - HPT-

Where to start??? My temp droppped to 97.7 this morning and despite my better judgement I was sure it was b/c I didn't sleep very well last night. Unfortunately I took a test and it was a BFN. I imagine I will be getting my visitor today or tomorrow. So, it's another month of charting.

Eric was so sweet this morning. He kept saying, "You still might be pregnant", but I know that just isn't the case. He asked me to think about stopping charting, but honestly, I did think about it. He thinks I get too stressed the last 2 weeks, but I would wonder anyway, so why not be more aware of my body. I think charting helps me not be so stressed.

I am super dissappointed about this month. I don't even feel like I'm getting ready to start my period. I guess I'm more discouraged b/c that was the 6th month of trying. Although I look back and realize that several of those other months I probably didn't ovulate b/c of stress, it was still our 6th month. I guess there will be one more now.

I will say if this next month doesn't work, I will be calling the doc.

That's all for now. I'll update more when the witch arrives...

Funny Story

This morning Eric & I had a lit spat. He takes me to work when its yucky out so I don't have to walk and I think he's babying me a little this week b/c, well you know. Anyway, occassionally he thinks he has to race to get me to work, so I tend to criticize his driving, which REALLY makes him mad. That was the case this morning. This Purdue car passed him and I agree the car was flying, so Eric decides we need to catch him to get his license plate. I really could have cared less. When I looked over he was doing 50 in a 35, so I yelled at him and of course he got mad, slowed down to 35 and it was silent for a few miles. :) When we got to work I told him he should be nice to me b/c tomorrow I could be pregnant. His response...

"What about today? You might be pregnant today, too!"

I guess I worded it wrong. We both laughed.

Sometimes he just drives me nuts with his driving. (Danialle knows) He has gotten much better now, but occassionally he gets a little carried away and I have to criticize him and he gets mad, but it usually doesn't last long.

My husband is the greatest man I know and I love him dearly.

Day 28, 14 DPO - 1 Day til Test

I was so nervous taking my temp this morning and it was hard to turn the light on to even look at the temp, but it was a 98.1, so my day is going wonderfully! Good thing I made Eric hide the HPTs b/c I wanted to test this morning SO BAD!!! They are back in the bathroom now just waiting for tomorrow so they can get peed on! ha ha ha

I have a feeling this day is going to drag by...

Anxious.

Anxious is probably an understatement! I'm getting so anxious and can hardly wait until Friday. Only 2 days left! I called Eric a few minutes ago and told him to hide the HPTs and don't let me have them until tomorrow evening. It's good, but I know he probably won't even give them to me until Friday morning!

Potential Symptoms:

Hot Flashes - Monday & Tuesday - The thing is I'm never hot, especially in this weather. I always have my heater going at work (even in the summer).
NO Energy - Monday & Tuesday
Little Bloated - Tuesday & Today - Could be PMS

Day 27, 13 DPO - 2 Days til Test

98.1 yet again. It was all I could do to not test this morning!

Day 26, 12 DPO - 3 Days til Test

Yep, 98.1 again today. Yay! I'm getting very anxious, but I'm holding out so far.

Weird that yesterday I kept having hot flashes. My boss even asked if I was sick or something b/c she wasn't hot at all. I can't imagine that being a symptom already though... Or could it? Nah, my body is probably doing weird things again.

Day 25, 11 DPO - 4 Days til Test

Another 98.1 temp today. That always puts me in a good mood first thing in the morning. I sure hope this is the month!

Had hot flashes off and on throughout the day...

Day 24, 10 DPO - 5 Days til Test

Well, my temp went up to 98.1 again this morning. I'm so happy with my temps this month. I feel pretty good about it.

Eric broke our sweeper Friday night on accident although I was thrilled b/c I hate that one, so we got a new one yesterday. We got a Dyson DC07. We used it last night for a minute and it is awesome, so I'm cleaning the house with it today! Weird I'm excited to clean the house! ha ha

Temp Drop - Day 22, 8 DPO

Well my temp dropped back down to 97.6 today, which is still above the coverline, but I'm not sure what to think about this. Kinda odd. Needless to say I became a VIP member of Fertility Friend for a mere $10 for 30 days. I changed a few things around that I hadn't put the first time and it gave me an O-Day of 1/15, which is day 14 and also the day we all thought I O'd. Yay. At least that is right. I e-mailed fertilityfriend and asked them what they thought about the 3 days of 98.1, so I'll update when they reply

Good Day so Far - Day 21, 7 DPO

Today I woke up and said, "Today is going to be a good day!" and so far it has. First off, I had another 98.1 temp this morning, which is always good. Also, my hair is doing good this morning. Sometimes it doesn't want to stick out on my right side, but today it did. Even more exciting, I got on the scale. Scarey after the weekend and Don Pablo's last night, BUT... Yep, I've lost 6 1/2 pounds in 2 1/2 weeks. I feel really good about that. BTW - Eric has been watching what he has been eating and drinking more water and he's lost 7 pounds.

On the baby note, I'm not as nervous/anxious this morning. I feel much better. For one thing my temps are high, so even if I didn't get pregnant this month at least I know I DID ovulate. That is an awesome feeling in itself. Also, if it doesn't happen this month, I have at least another month to lose a few before I start gaining. Obviously I would love to be pregnant this month, but I have to "prepare", so to speak, for the possibility of not being pregnant.

On another note, for those yucky, cracked winter lips, you should try Mary Kay's Satin Lips (Mask & Balm). It does wonders for your lips. it is a little pricey at $18 for the set, but well worth the money! Trust me. I have kissably smooth lips today and love it! It's kinda like face masks in that you put this stuff on your lips that sorta pastey and has little granuales in it, then wash it off and apply the balm. Good stuff.

Nervous Nellie - Day 20, 6 DPO

My temp was still up at 98.1 today. I have so many feelings and not sure what to do with them.

- I am very excited b/c there is a chance I could be pregnant.
- I'm trying not to get my hopes up too high in case I'm not.
- If I am pregnant, WOW!
- If I'm not, bummer. We'll try again
- I'm scared b/c this could be it
- I want to just jump up and down!
- I want to go to bed and wake up next Friday so I can test

My emotions are sorta up and down now. I keep thinking so many possibilities. Like for instance... Maybe I really didn't ovulate last week, that this big jump was my ovulation, which would be horrible b/c we haven't done anything since last Thursday. I want so much for this to be my implantation spike (triphasic).

THIS IS GOING TO BE A LONG WEEK AND A HALF!!!

8 More Days AND COUTING!

Triphasic? Gotta research

Today my temp went up to 98.1... Possibility of triphasic??? Not sure.

Ovulation

Well, I have a pretty good chance that I ovulated within the last 2 days. My temp spiked to a high of 97.6 this morning. Hopefully it stays up for the next few (18) days. I just hope traveling this weekend doesn't affect it any, but since I've ovulated, then it shouldn't affect it too much. I'm fairly certain we "hit our window", too. I sure hope this is the month!

Thoughts
IF this month worked that would put my due date at around October 8, which coincidentally is my cousin Jamie's birthday. Isn't that weird? I'm not getting my hopes up to high, but there's a good possibility!! We'll keep our fingers crossed!!

It would be my luck though since I started my diet with full force this month!

BBT & Life Update

I've been pretty pleased with my temps this week and part of last. I've had 2 weird ones, but mostly steady. After Aunt Flow left it was as follows 97.4, 97.0, 96.6, 97.0, 97.0, 97.0, 97.0. I figure I will ovulated sometime between late this week or early next. I'm hoping late this week since I will be traveling over the weekend, which I am very excited about. So far there hasn't been stress in my life this month, so I feel pretty confident about this month. The infamous day 14 is Thursday. Last month I had a huge dip on Day 13. Now although I cannot compare much from last cycle, I'm hoping that tells me something. I also had a huge jump around Day 20. Looking back, I could think possibly 2 things.

1) As my period "normally" is like clockwork, my ovulation could be pretty "normal", too and be around the infamous Day 14. Probably didn't happen last month b/c of stress

2) I am a late ovulator and will probably ovulate around Daya 20 or so. Although this doesn't seem as likely to me b/c I figure that dip was my body trying to ovulate again after the earlier stress although I got some new stress around that time, too.

Another good thing that is going on is that we are cleaning out our "rec" room, which will eventually be the nursery. We got the couch, TV, and TV stand sold (Thanks Danialle) and still need to get the coffee table sold. That shouldn't be too hard though. We still have to figure out what Eric is going to do with his game stations (Xbox, PS2) and also our CD's. It's a gradual process, but we figure since we are trying we might as well gradually start changing the room around, too. We need to do some repairs on the wall (holes, scrapes, etc.) and will probably paint it off white until the day comes that I am preg and we know what we are having. I hope it doesn't sound like we are rushing anything.

I love painting, so I'm getting really anxious to start working on the house. I want to paint the bathrooms, bedrooms, kitchen/dining. Not sure about the living room. We talked about getting a big canvas and painting it together, but that probably won't happen until the weather is warmer. We saw a neat painted canvas on Queer Eye. So, we'll see what ours turns out like.

Kisha News

Almost forgot. My sister Kisha had surgery yesterday. I didn't find out until after the fact. Anway, they did say she had endometriosis and scar tissue, so they cleaned her up and all. They also told her she could have to do IVF when she starts trying for kids. I told her not to worry to much about that. I know (from reading TCOYF) that there are several things out there to help with getting pregnant. Unfortunately she already only has 1 ovary b/c when she was younger she had a cyst and they had to take her ovary when they removed the cyst. She is doing fine otherwise.

Lindsay's Pregnancy

Lindsay had her first "official" doctor's appointment this morning. We found out that she is 2 months and 1 week pregnant, which makes her due date August 12, 2004. The said she was doing good and the baby was progressing well and looked healthy. She got a pic, so she was pretty excited about that, too. I don't think it has COMPLETELY set in yet although she has a real due date now, so that I'm sure is weird for her.

About Lindsay's due date
All three of us girls were born on the 9th of a month (January, March and July). I think it would be neat if Lindsay's baby is born on the 9th, too. Another option would be August 18th, which is Danialle's birthday. Really it should have a birthday of it's own, but I'm just thinking about options. (Like I have a say in the matter or something).

My Thoughts
Obviously I am not proud of the fact that my 15 year old sister is pregnant, but at the same time I hope and think it will bring the family closer. Currently, I've been talking with my mom pretty regularly and that makes me happy. She even calls me. I've talked to her more in the last 2-3 week than I have over the last year or two.

Danialle & I are going to start collecting things now to give her for her shower. Maybe not as much clothes, but more things that aren't as fun to get as gift that she will need. I'll have to do some research. If you have any ideas, let me know.

Sweet Husband

Decided to do my hair differently this morning. I curl it out instead of under. Anway, when Eric got up and told me my hair looked good this morning. It was so sweet. He is pretty good about compliments anyway, but not first thing in the morning...

Anyway, on a different note.. I had this really weird dream last night about some past high school stuff that got me thinking. I guess I'm sorta amazed at how far I've come so far. Looking back, you wouldn't have thought I'd get this far. I mean I have always had the drive, but I had some obstacles in the years to overcome. I'm proud of myself for coming as far as I've come. I've graduated college (twice), married someone who treats with me with the utmost respect and love, bought a house, have a pretty good job although it may not be the most challenging it is still rewarding. Wow! I really have made several accomplishments in my life. Now we're trying to get pregnant and even though it hasn't happened yet I know we will accomplish that, too. I guess this is just another one of those obstacles to overcome in my life.

She Arrived Late

I finally got my period today (this afternoon). I don't really know what to think abut it. That puts me at 29 day cycle now and I should be ovuating during the next GWO, which is a major bummer! I will admit that even though I KNEW I wasn't pregnant I did take a pregnancy test this morning. I was sorta stumped about AF and wanted to be positive. O'well. Give me a good reason to use my coupon I got on-line now!

We've had a pretty relaxing lazy vacation so far. We went down to my grandparents for New Year's and played in a euchre match. I came in DEAD LAST. I got a prize for it though. A roll of toilet paper. Yesterday we did a few things (errand wise). I bought a new journal as I've decided to start writing in a journal and keep one from year to year. Today, my grandparents came over and helped us put up a new ceiling fan in our bedroom. We can finally have a fan in the bedroom. It gets sorta stuffy in there sometime. Then my parents stopped by for a little bit.

Tomorrow I'm going to work on my eating plan for the week and then go grocery shopping on Sunday. I had a good dish tonight, but I'm not sure how BFL it was. I suppose it wasn't too bad if I used no or ff cheese. I'm really excited about getting on the BFL diet. This week I really strayed from the meal plan and I've felt like crap b/c of it. I'm ready to get in shape!

No Visitor

Today is when AF was supposed to come, but so far she hasn't. Yesterday I was pretty grouchy and had some major cramps, which was weird b/c I have had cramps before my period since I was on the pill. It's been cramps the morning and day of. I don't really feel crampy today. It's just sit and wait, oh and make numerous bathroom visits to check now! ha ha

Today is the day we find out if Jennifer got a positive test. I sure hope she did. I'm so excited for them.

Tonight we are going down to my grandparents to bring in the new year. We munch all evening while playing some major euchre, too. Should be a lot of fun.

Holiday Re-cap

I'm back to work today. Thought I would update my blog over the holiday, but that didn't happen, so I'll re-cap. I went home sick from work on Tuesday late morning. (Started feeling sick Monday and it kept getting worse.) On Wednesday, Christmas Eve, I was pretty bad, so Eric ended up taking me to the hospital. Fortunately I didn't have the flu, but did have an upper respiratory infection. They gave me a prescription and sent me on my way. On Christmas morning, I was torn. I wasn't feeling much better, but at the same time didn't want to miss Christmas. We ended up going to Dad & Peg's for lunch and then on down to my grandparent's house (Peg's side). Needlesss to say we left after dinner. I was pretty exhausted and ended up having a horrible night of sleeping. I stayed in bed the whole day on Friday. Saturday I was feeling much better. We went to C'ville that evening and had dinner with my grandparents on my mom's side and my siblings. It was very nice. My sisters, their boyfriends, Eric & I went and played a game of bowling and then we went to my mom's house and visited with her for a little while. We looked through some pics of us when we were younger and had a few laughs. Yesterday, Eric and I went to see Lord of the Rings and just relaxed besides that.

I'm sure that I'm not pregnant this month again. My temp spiked last week, but I think it was a temperature rather than a ovulation spike. Saturday my temp went back down to where it was before I got sick. I read more in the Fertility book and am pretty confused. With my periods so regular it is hard to imagine that I'm not ovulating, but at the same time, it is pretty obvious that I'm not by my temps. I actually wish I was irregular! It would be a lot easier to deal with. Honestly I think I have the problem of my body not producing enough proestrogen for ovulation. Maybe. I also wonder about stress, but if stress was the problem then again, my periods would be messed up. I"m supposed to start my period on the 31st, so hopefully next month will be better!

On another note, I've been working on my relationship with my mom. We are both making some baby steps to become friends again. I'm glad that she is finally making some progress on it and hopefully things will get better. I have heard several things about her from my sisters and various people about her being sick, but she has never told me anything. Saturday she finally broke down and we had a talk. Apparently about 6 months ago she was dianosed with colon cancer and severe endometriosis. I guess she also has polyps, but I don't really understand or know what that means. I'm going to do some research today on it. Right now they are treating her with medication, but she goes back in February for more tests. We were both very upset while talking about it, so I don't know any more specifics, but intend to find out soon! I'll keep you posted.

Day 20 Questionable

My temp spiked to 98.6 today, but I am also very sick, so I imagine it is just fever. Even so, we had planned on trying last night, but I started getting really sick, so we didn't. The last time we tried was Saturday, so I doubt if anything will be fertilized even if it was an ovulation spike...

Day 19

Well, today is Day 19 and still no ovulation. I'm discouraged as I should be. So many things are going through my head. It's hard to describe. I've sorta wondered after the first few months if I was ovulating. Then as this month progressed I just figured I was a late ovulater, now, even though I could still ovulate this month, I am pretty sure I won't unless it happens today!

A part of me thinks I've just had some stress that could be contributing to this anovulation and next month will be better. Another part of me wants to get really down and think I'm just screwed up. I'm trying not to listen to that side, but when you want to get pregnant and so have not had any luck, it's pretty discouraging. I tried not to think about it this weekend, but heck when you start your day off with a pre-o temp, it does start the day off so well.

Gotta think positive. Gotta think positive.

I'm glad I started charting my temp though or I could have just kept going to several more months with no idea. Maybe tomorrow will be better. We are going to try again tonight, but I don't think we will anymore this week after tonight.

Day 16

Well, I thought I would have ovulated by now, but so far nothing. I was a little discouraged this morning, but thanks to a few people, I'm certain I'm just a late ovulater and that is probably why it hasn't happened yet. I guess I just had it in my mind that since I have a clockwork Aunt (Flow), I would be the imfamous ovulater on Day 14. Guess I was wrong. How many people's bodies are really like that? Seriously!

It's going to be a crazy weekend. We are going to finish up our Christmas shopping tonight. Eric's parents are coming over on Saturday for a belated birthday for Eric. That will be a day of shopping and eating, too. Sunday is Christmas with the Paddack side. We have to go to the other side of Indy. I'm not excited about the driving, but it will be nice to see everyone. Christmas day is actually going to be much more peaceful this year. Not so much driving and hustle-bustle. We get to wake up whenever and have christmas at our house. Leave around 12:00 noon to go to my dad's then head down to Peg's side for dinner! This should continue like this, so it will be nice when the kids finally arrive.

Ovulation

I imagine I will be ovulating either today, Wednesday or Thursday. I kinda have an upset stomach today, so I'm hoping that means I will ovulate today. We are trying again tonight and we tried Sunday, so I feel pretty sure we've covered it. I was also feeling sorta crampy last night, but thought maybe it was just b/c of something I ate. Probably too many details, but I feel pretty "wet" today and that is always a pretty good indicator. My temp dipped to a low 96.9 this morning, so I wonder if it dips before it jumps. Hmmm... I'll have to see what my friend Jennifer's did the day before she ovulated...

Update on Lindsay

Lindsay went to the doctor yesterday and she is 5 weeks pregnant. Her due date is September 15, the day before the father's 18th birthday. Isn't that kinda ironic? They gave her a new prenatal vitamin b/c the one she was taking was making her sick. Her next appointment is January 8. We are pretty sure she will be able to take Driver's Ed this summer as she will be 16 in July.

Bad News

I did get a little bad news over the weekend. Remember a few months ago when my 15 yr. old sister thought she was pregnant? Well, it turns out that it apparently didn't scare her enough b/c she is pregnant now. She goes to the doc today to find out how far along she is, so I'll update everyong on that tomorrow. We are really disappointed, but told her we would help in any way we could. I gave her my "What to Expect" book and told her to read it front to back then front to back. She said she borrowed it from the library already and had started reading it. Thankfully I've already read it, but I do plan on getting another one soon. I will reference MANY times throughout my pregnancy I'm sure.

Doctor's Appointment

Went to the ob-gyn on Friday, December 12. Everything went pretty well. Basically, he said if I didn't get pregnant in another 4-6 months then we could come back and they would check the "Top 3", which is if I'm ovulating, make sure my tubes are clear and check Eric's sperm count. Charting my temp will confirm if I'm ovulating or not. He actually told me not to put too much into charting my temp, but at the same time don't get rid of it. He said not to even worry about my mucus b/c when we are trying it isn't accurate anyway b/c of the other stuff. I feel pretty confident about this month or at least more in tune with my body and all the happenings, so we'll see. This would be an awesome New Year's surprise!

Nice Evening at home

I'm going to have a nice evening at home this evening. Eric has a promotion and they have to start setting up around 6:00. He said he may come home to watch Survivor and then go back out again. I will probably just snuggle up on the couch and read more of my fertility book. I'm anxious to finish it. I'm only about a little over 1/2 way through it.

Speaking of, I've been taking my temperature every morning so I will be anxious to see when it actually spikes. I go to the doctor on Friday for my yearly exam. For once I'm actually anxious to go there. I'm sure I won't have much to tell him with my chart and I imagine he will think the chart is not necessary anyway, but o'well. It's still fun.

Babies

Just read my friend Jennifer's recent post and started thinking. Why is it so easy for some to get pregnant and difficult for others. Now, I know there are people that are far worse off than me. I'm just thinking publicly here. Take my boss for example. She has 2 sons. Her youngest son and his wife just had their 2nd little boy, cute as a button. They got it on their first time. Her oldest son called her last night and said he and his fiance were expecting unexpectedly. It will be his 2nd, her first. I know both myself and my cousin Danialle were both accidents. And although I'm glad I didn't have any accidents in my younger days, I'd like one now. ha ha I suppose that is just the way it goes. It's never easy when you want it to happen, but always easy when you don't. I guess I just needed to get a little off my chest...

I sure hope that this child isn't going to be this much of a pain when it finally does arrive. ha ha ha

Diet Log

Well, it's Monday and boy does it feel like it. The weekend was okay. Went to a wedding on Saturday. It was quite small as it was for my distant relative who is much older. Didn't stay at the reception very long. Sunday we went out to lunch at Don Pablo's and then to see "The Last Samurai". We thought it was a good movie. Of course, Eric really gets into that kinda of stuff. There were definitely some gorey parts in it as well.

Anyway, as you can see from my title, I've also decided to start a Diet Log. (Good idea Danialle)! I got a little down over the weekend for many different things. I know mostly its the holiday blues. I'm hoping that the diet and stuff will help me feel better. Of course, I had hoped I would be putting on weight at this time, but unfortunately its not for the right reasons. Actually its for no reason other than gorging in food and sitting on the couch watching TV.

So, here goes! Day #1 (Although I did do some lunges and crunches last night!)

Is it 5:00 yet?

I'm super bored at work today as you can tell. Only 35 more minutes, so I thought blogging would waste some time.

I did some updated and playing with my FAM chart today. I'm going to have to figure out how to post the chart. I will try that this weekend. I have a ton of things to do this weekend. We also have to make out our Christmas lists. Haven't even starting shopping yet. Ugh.

I hope I enjoy this charting. I don't have a lot of patience though, so I already want to put me temperatures in for the rest of the month. I suppose that is why I've played with it so much today. I wonder if Jennifer had that problem....

Don't have too many plans for the weekend though. Have a wedding Saturday evening and we plan on stopping by my Dad & Peg's to see their new puppy. They got a Lab/Boxer mix. Kelby is her name and she is black with white chest and tips. Not sure what is tipped white.

Still haven't heard from my sister and her dilemma, although I know she isn't staying at my mom's house. I guess there is only one other place for her. Her dad's.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas (20 Days til)

We woke up this morning to a couple of inches of snow on the ground. Yay! I love it when it snows. I started taking my temperature this morning. Honestly I wasn't sure if I was going to this month or not, but decided this morning when I woke up that I would. I guess we'll see how it goes. Plus, I want to use my chart I made. ha ha

Oh, I forgot to mention yesterday that I was supposed to go to the doc yesterday morning for my pap. Unfortunately b/c of my visitor I was unable to so I rescheduled it. Now, I got next Friday, Dec 12. I am actually looking forward to it b/c I have questions and want to know what he thinks about some things.

Everything! 21 Days til Christmas...

Just finished reading everyone's blog this morning. And as you can tell from the title, I have a lot to talk about. I thought I'd start with Tuesday!

Tuesday
As you know we had a VERY IMPORTANT workshop starting with a reception Tuesday night and the workshop on Wednesday. I came in at about 7:30 am and didn't leave this place until around 9:00 pm. Can you say LONG DAY? Ugh. The reception was a huge success. Everyone was so impressed with everything we did and we got complimented continuously! I was exhausted so I pretty much went right to bed when I got home.

Wednesday
At 2:30 in the morning our doorbell was ringing and someone was knocking on the door. It was my younger sister (the older of the two) Ashlee. She had apparently got into a huge fight with her dad (who is a complete asshole anyway). We talked for a little while and then tried to go back to sleep. Didn't get a whole lot more sleep. I was up and back at work by 7:30 am to get ready for the workshop. The workshop was a huge success, too. Eric & I were pretty stressed yesterday and got little sleep the night before. We really don't/didn't know what to do. As much as we wanted to take Ashlee in, we are not her parents. On top of that we only have 1 spare bedroom and and trying to have a child. Needless to say, I'm not sure what is going on. My mom came up last night and we talked to her and laid down some groud rules for both of them if Ashlee goes their. She ended up talking to her dad last night against our wishes and I went to bed. When I got up this morning to get Ashlee up, she just told me she was going to go over to her dad's tonight and talk to him and she'd call and let us know what happens. Eric pretty much laid down the law to her that we weren't playing these games. It is hard on both of us. I'll let you know what we find out.

Thursday-Today
Well, I woke up at about 5:00 this morning with cramps. That's right I started my period this morning. I was 99% sure this was not the month to get pregnant anyway, so I think Mother Nature agreed! I'm dissappointed, but then again, I knew it was going to take a while. I just didn't really believe it would take this long. Then again, it's been 4 months with the first 3 kinda hit and miss. We were trying, but not as actively as we should. Anyway, I supposed nature will take its course and apparently it wasn't meant to happen over the holidays since there was so much stress. OH, I"ve also come to the conclusion that my cycle is 27 days now. It was 27 days the last time, too, but I just kinda thought it was a flux, but it was 27 days this time, too. So with that being said, guess when my estimated ENP is.... New Year's Eve! WONDERFUL!!! Guess we won't be bringing in the new year with a "bang". ha ha ha We'll have to bring it in the night before! wink

Anyway, today is back to normal for the most part. I plan on taking a nap when I get home tonight and then watching Survivor and possibly CSI, but we might tape that and watch it tomorrow.

23 Days til Christmas...

Don't have time to blog, but wanted to get that in. I'll do a life update on Thursday.

Holidays.... 24 Days til Christmas

This is my 3rd time trying to post this morning. Apparently I'm having some brain failures or something. Ugh. My holiday festivities were good. Although we do so much driving that I'm always glad when they are done. Let's see. Wednesday we did some grocery shopping, which I was a little nervous about b/c of waiting until the last minute. Fortunately, they had everything we needed. Thursday, I hosted my dad's side and Eric's parents at my house. Everything went perfect with no major dilemmas. I was exhausted Thursday night though. Friday we got up early for some Christmas shopping, but after the 1 hour wait at Best Buy and the 5 mile (almost) walk back to the truck, we decided it wasn't worth it. Friday afternoon we went to my mom's side get together, which crazily enough was nice. Everyone got along and it was very calm. The weather on the way home was bad, but we made it home safe. Saturday we made our final trip south to Peg's side get together, which is always nice. We are burnt out on Turkey though. ha ha

Put up the outside decorations yesterday morning, ran out of a few strands, so Eric is getting them today. We also did our traditional cut a tree down yourself. That was so much fun. As usual, those trees look so much smaller out in a field then they do in your house. We got a giant! Our house smells so awesome though! Oh and with some of the branches we cut off the bottom I made a not so Martha Stewart wreath. Needless to say, that will probably be history this afternoon, too. If not I will take a pic of it and I will try to post some pics later in the week once the outside is finished!

Started the diet today. So far so good. Had bacon and a piece of bread for breakfast. Pears and cottage cheese for snack. Piece of bread, turkey, green beans for lunch. Piece of bread, bacon, and cottage cheese for my afternoon snack. Hmmm... I guess it won't hurt! Not sure on dinner. It's going to be a struggle this week for me, too. I know I'm working over tonight at least a little. Tuesday, I probably won't be home until after 8 pm and I hope I can eat good at our reception that night. Wednesday is our conference and I know I will be involved in that, so even if I do eat healthy, I won't be able to eat on a schedule every couple of hours. I WILL TRY THOUGH.

I have a small dilemma in aunt flow & pregnancy testing. Here goes.... I'm supposed to be visited by aunt flow on Friday. However, I have a yearly appointment with my OB/GYN on Thursday morning. I imagine I will test Thursday morning so I can tell the doc for sure. I guess unless I start on Thursday morning, which could also be a possibility. I guess I should probably tell you (Danialle knows a little), I had some problems over the holiday. I was having major pains in my left side. Eric was ready to take me to the hospital. They have stopped now (today). Not sure what the deal was (or is). Anyone have any thoughts/suggestions?? I do NOT think it has anything to do with periods or babies. Anyway, back to the pregnancy thing. I'm not having any symptoms thus far. And honestly I'm pretty certain I'm not pregnant. I guess we'll see later this week, but don't get your hopes up...