What a year

If there is one thing I keep hearing people say is that this year has been a year for many life changes. It is so true in my life as well.  It's a little overwhelming when I really think about it.  2011 started off on a sad note. C's step father passed away on New Years Day.  He is greatly missed and I so wish he could have met Sophia, but I think he looks after her. He is her guardian angel.  Some other changes in my life this past year:

This was happening in my belly!

I'm still in awe sometimes when I think about getting pregnant. It was such a crazy, amazing and often difficult experience, but I'd do it again and again for her.

Wow- look how big I was!

We got married!

Well, technically, this was the end of 2010, but oh well. It was still a big moment. Even though we've been together for about 12 years it was special. Even if it happened in our kitchen. :)

And then she arrived...

     

We also had a big loss in our family. We lost Tom and Lucy in a matter of days.  I miss them everyday and still sometimes wait for Lucy to come running down the stairs or Tom to greet me at the door.  I think I'm still dealing with that.

We miss you Tomcat

I still miss this crazy dog

Other 2011 adventures:

- We took a trip home (Sophia had her first plane ride!) and she got to meet her crazy family

- C got a new job with normal hours 

- I'm finally back at work full time (although I wish I could stay home with the baby)

- C had his surgery

What a crazy, sad, and wonderful year it has been. Here's hoping for a happy, healthy and maybe not so eventful 2012!

Our "Wedding"

For those of you that don't know, I am a married lady now! I think we had the shortest marriage ceremony in history.  We got hitched in our kitchen. (Yes, I said kitchen. Don't judge us)   We were actually babysitting a friend's little boy too.  So, yes, C and I got married surrounded by a baby, a barking Lucy, and 3 confused cats.  It was very romantic.  All that being said, I am very happy and surprised that it actually feels a little different, in a good way. Here are some pictures:

C and our "witness". He is adorable. 

It's really legal, I swear. We have the license to prove it!

We had champagne to celebrate

The happy couple

The End...

By the way, I'm getting married Wednesday...

So, the time's coming for us to start TTC again.   I got my new blood work done Friday, so hopefully the results won't be too much worse than they were last year.  The bad news is I don't think they have the same donor we used last year, so we'll have to pick another one. I'm getting excited though!

Oh yeah, C and I are getting married Wednesday night. Yes, I did just type that, and no I'm not kidding. We got our license last week and found a Justice of the Peace to do it.  We're not having a ceremony or anything.  If we were at home with our families we probably would, but really, I've never been a white dress/bridesmaids/flowers kind of girl anyway. The JOP is coming to our house for a short and sweet "ceremony".  I'm sure it will happen amongst Lucy barking, and the cats crying for their food, so it won't be too boring. We're actually thinking of getting matching tattoos to honor the occasion.  We can't do anything "normal" after all.   After 10 years, it's about time we got married, right? :)

Good Stuff

It seems like all I do is whine and complain here, so I thought I'd let you in on some more positive news.

* C's insurance covers unlimited artificial inseminations and 2 IVF's. I'm not sure if they cover the whole IUI or just the actual insemination, but either way, that's fantastic! Now, I just need to get on it. Which brings me to...

* C and I got our marriage license today! I know for some of you this may be coming out of nowhere, but really, after 10 years should you be that surprised? We just need to find a Justice of the Peace and set up the day! (Hopefully within the next couple of weeks)

* I have a new layout for my blog if you haven't noticed. I also have a grab button which I've always wanted! It was designed by Casey at hotbliggityblog.com .  I love it!

* C's step-dad is doing much better and is out of ICU. He still has a way to go, but he's much much better than he was.

I'll be sure to let everyone know when our "wedding day" is! :)

Crazy week

I am so glad that last week is over.  It was long, emotional and exhausting. Here's some of what happened:

• Work was crazy busy. We are short one person and another is on vacation. I still love my job, but it was actually a little bit stressful.

• We had a meeting with the coordinator for the foster program. Let's just say that it wasn't pretty. I basically cried the whole time. Not just regular crying, but the can't catch your breath kind that makes you seem crazy. Yeah, it was great. Basically, we don't have enough "experience" with kids.  Another foster parent made a comment to her that while I was holding her foster child (that she pretty much threw at me to feed), I wasn't holding him "right" and he didn't eat enough. Seriously.  Anyway, we were told we can't be foster parents if we're trying to get pregnant, which I think is odd.  So, we were put on a hold status. Now that I think about it, I'm, kind of relieved and maybe we can focus on getting pregnant again.  I'm hoping to start in December either with a friend of ours or with an IUI at the hospital.

• One positive thing that happened was my new RE doctor. I absolutely love him! He is realistic, but still positive. As he said, he's not willing to throw the towel in on me yet. I am getting all my blood work done again on my next cycle, so he can compare numbers.  He doesn't think we've tried enough to really get an accurate idea of what's going on. 

• We are hoping that C's insurance covers infertility and if I can get on it. This would be the best thing that could happen if they would pay for some IUI's.  It's really my first choice of how to do this.

• C's step-dad is really sick and in the hospital in ICU.  Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers and send good vibes his way if you can.

Here's hoping that next week fares better...

Life Without C

It's been a crazy week! C decided to leave me for a whole 7 days and take a bus home to Ohio. Well, he went for a friend's wedding, to see his mom and step-dad, plus he had a ton of vacation to use by the end of this month.  Seeing that I just started my new job, I don't have any time off yet so I am stuck here with all the crazy animals. The night he left I was a mess of course.  I barely slept the first two nights.  So, what have I done with my time?  Well, work has kept me and my mind busy during the day.  I made a list of things I wanted to do and I actually have done most of them.  Here is what I've been doing since C has been gone:
1- Got addicted to Torchwood. Seriously addicted. I watched like 8 episodes in a day and a half
2- Dug up the ginormous weed/stalk thing that was taking over the front of the condo

3- I bought this! Isn't she pretty?

My first smoothie- lots of berries, spinach, and a little rice milk.  It was yummy!

4- I cleaned the hell out of the house; cleaned out the pantry, reorganized some kitchen cabinets

5- I just realized that I actually haven't thought about babies at all until right now- now that is an accomplishment

As much "fun" as I've had all by my lonesome, I can't wait for C to come home on Tuesday! Maybe he was right that absence does make the heart grow fonder...

New beginnings

Mere moments ago, I emailed my resignation to my job of three years.  I am terrified. I know it is the right decision, but I'm not one who likes change. Even though I am miserable at my current job, I still  had that moment of panic when I hit the send button on that email. In a couple of weeks I will be starting a new job for an organization that I strongly support and hopefully be working with and for positive people. I have a good feeling about this.

Maybe this is the start of many new beginnings for C and I.  Maybe this will show the universe that I'm ready for change in my life and will send us a baby to love and take care of.  Who knows? I do know that I am trying to let things go and not let my anxiety take over.  It's definitely a work in progress though.

On a completely different topic. Here is an empowering story about a woman who had a caesarian birth.  It is a totally different look at having a caesarian.

On an even different topic, C's birthday was over the weekend.  I made him his favorite pie- vegan  maple peanut butter pie:

 

We also went to one of our favorite restaurants.  I had an amazing thai veggie stir fry, yummy!

 and C had some pad thai... 

I guess that's it for now, but here's to new beginnings!

C's first "fatherly duty"

Working hard putting the crib together...






All finished!



The funny part is that once he was done, we had to drag it upstairs and realized it wouldn't fit through the bedroom door. C had to take some of it apart and re-do it! Hey, I never said we were experts. We're new at this stuff! Next to tackle- the changing table...
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