Just in case 2007 hasn't quite screwed me over enough...

It turns out there just might be another bidder on the new house. Fan-freaking-tastick.

We are making an offer on a house (excuse me while I go throw up)

When we got married almost 8 1/2 years ago we had a small house built all nestled in the woods. Other than a lawsuit (won't even go into that) with the builder, it was perfect. Turns out that after 8 1/2 years a small house, is even smaller! Especially when you add three dogs, two cats, and a 2 1/2 year old! We have looked at other houses many, many times. But for one reason or another, we have always talked ourselves into staying right here. The biggest reason is that houses are a lot more now than they were 8 1/2 years ago and the thought of tripling our house note makes me nauseous. Also, I really like our street name... yes, I know that's corny but we live on a street named, "Running Bear" and that's just cute.

When we built our house there were maybe 20 houses in our neighborhood and lots and lots of trees. About 2 years ago the empty lots were all purchased by a builder and there are now about 200 houses in our neighborhood with more being built every day. We've been watching these houses and have looked at them several times, but that whole note thing always comes into play. Well, today we made the move. We found a four bedroom (oh God would that be nice?!?!?) that is a foreclosure with all the upgrades for almost 30,000 less than the same house new with no upgrades. $30,000 less! So, we've put in the offer and we'll see what happens. Of course, talking and dreaming of a new house was one thing, making the offer was something totally different. Please excuse me while I go throw up.

Snakes and Lizards, OH MY!

The Houston Museum of Natural Science is having a special exhibit on "Snakes and Lizards" right now. Since every little boy (and big boy - Jeff) loves snakes and lizards we figured it would be a great way to spend the afternoon. We quickly decided that it wasn't worth the price to get in and the money would have been better spent going to the zoo, but at least we enjoyed what few reptiles they had to show. Too bad Duchess wasn't with us! ;o)

We Wish You A Merry Christmas!

Apparently Chase was a VERY good boy this year because Santa certainly spoiled him rotten (of course, Duchess, Memaw, and PawPaw may have had something to do with it as well... not to mention Mommy and Daddy).

Turns out that we even heard Santa's reindeer on the roof last night, when they shook and made their Jingle Bells jingle! It took us a few minutes, but we finally convinced Chase that if he didn't go to sleep, the reindeer would leave our house and go next door. Christmas morning proved that going to sleep was the answer because there were presents everywhere!


We hope everyone else had a wonderful Christmas as well and that your Christmas Wishes' all came true!

On the Road Again

Jeff's entire family lives in Texas, they are Texans through and through. My family, on the other hand, is every way. After moving south from Alaska my grandparents and aunts/cousins ended up in Mississippi. We try really hard to make it to Mississippi twice a year to see my family. Fortunately my grandparents (Chase's great-grandparents) make it to Texas quite often and are great about showing for birthday parties and just to visit. However, thanks to IVF last summer we didn't make it down, so it had been a year since most of my family had seen Chase. And, as most of you know, a lot can change in a year!

Since Jeff and I are both off for almost two weeks at Christmas, we hit the road and go for a visit. The drive is only about 6 1/2-7 hours depending on traffic, so it's tolerable. Or so you would think. Tolerable in my book is totally different than tolerable in Chase's book. Duchess let us borrow her new Santa Fe (loaded and F-A-N-C-Y), so that helped. I think we watched The Little Mermaid about 4 times and only a few minor meltdowns. Not bad!

Our visit was short, but fun just the same! My grandmother is a wonderful cook and always spoils us rotten with homemade breakfast and a big Christmas lunch while we're there. One of my cousins, Rachael, got engaged and asked for Chase to be her ring bearer which is very exciting. This will be his first time in a tux, I know he'll look adorable.... if we can only get him down the aisle.

As fun as it is to visit, it's always nice to be back home. Of course, I can't wait for next year!

Santa's Wonderland (and as close to snow as we'll see around these parts)

About an hour away is a lovely place that opens for just a few short weeks a year called Santa's Wonderland. We discovered it last year and quickly decided that it would definitely become a family tradition! You go in to "Santa's Village" where there's a big bonfire and cute little shops. Texas snow (a.k.a. soap snow) blows down on you and there is usually live entertainment. If your little one pleases they can take a picture with Santa in his cowboy hat (again, definite Texas thing) and then ride on the mechanical bull. There is a huge TV screen where a Christmas Classic is playing and even a petting zoo and pony rides. On a cold night the hot chocolate and kettle corn are to die for. It's just a very happy place. The best part though is the hayride through the Christmas lights. To see this place from the freeway you have no clue what is in store for you. You load up on the wagon and Christmas music fills the air. Your journey begins and for the next 35ish minutes you are surrounded by beautiful scenes and lights galore. It is phenomenal.

last year, not knowing better, we went on a Friday night and ended up waiting in line for about 2 hours before loading on the hayride. Although we loved the place and hayride itself, the way was miserable. This year we learned that if at all possible you go on a weeknight. We went on a Wednesday and had no wait at all. We were told that they after Christmas is even better since they stay open until New Years.

The man driving the hayride (meaning the man pulling the wagon inside the warm cab of his dodge) made the comment that he watched Chase through the whole thing in the mirror and loved how excited he was. I'm telling you, a two year old certainly makes this time of year magical.


**Edited to say that we did make a 2nd trip after Christmas and it was defintely a lot less crowded (we even got to park in the actual parking lot)! Much colder too if you can't tell. The first time we were in light shirts, the next time all bundled up! Fun!!!**

Merry Christmas from Our Family to Yours!

It can only get better... right?!?!

To put it plain and simple, this weekend sucked. Thanks to our lovely Texas weather it has gone from 80 degrees to 55 degrees in one day. You can imagine what that does to people's systems. It's nice. Poor Chase got the sniffles on Friday and by that evening he was telling me, "Mommy I not fweel well." That's never a good sign. An even worse sign was when he began coughing shortly after going to sleep and wound up in our bed for the night.

We did manage to get some Christmas shopping done Saturday morning, but the winds were gusting to 40mph and it was just too chilly to stay out long with a little one that didn't feel well. We had made the mistake of telling Chase that Madison's birthday party was that day and he let us know that he wanted to go to Madison's Happy Party RIGHT NOW! I think that might have been another reason I gave up on the Christmas shopping, but I was busy beating my head against the wall so I'm really not sure.

The party itself was at Pump It Up (inflatable equipment place) and was lovely. The kids and adults had a blast, but I decided that taking my fluffy self through the obstacle course while trying to hoist a 30 pound toddler and a 42 pound toddler up the rock wall was more than enough for me. I learned my lesson really quick.

As most of you know we live in the country and after nightfall the roads are dark and dangerous. On our way home we were going about 60 when a very large dog ran right out in front of us. With oncoming traffic on one side and a ditch in the other, Jeff had no choice but to hit it. All I could do was think, "Please don't swerve!" because I knew we'd flip. Unfortunately it killed the dog, but thank God we were OK. I sure love my Tahoe because had we been in a car, we'd have been in trouble. It was awful. Even worse, it was someones pet because it had a harness on... broke our hearts.

On Sunday both of my guys were under the weather and it was just a dreary not fun day. We went out to meet some people looking at a LaZBoy set we were selling and Jeff rolled down the window so that Chase could see us in the storage unit next to him, but still be in the warm, cozy car. When we went to leave the window would not go up. To make a long story short we just had to dish out $480 to replace a cable that had snapped. Can't tell you how happy that makes me.

It just seems seems to be one thing after another. Somebody tell me, it can only get better... right?!?!

I Breathe In, I Breathe Out...

Tonight was our annual Christmas party for the teachers at our school. I don't know if you've ever been to a teacher party, but these things can get pretty wild. Teachers apparently keep a lot of stress pent up inside and at parties it can definitely come out. Those that know me know that while I loved a good party in my younger days, those days are now few and far between. In the grand scheme of things tonight's party was a little more mellow than most. Sure there were the Victoria Secrets Undies making the rounds, margaritas and sangria, etc... but overall it was mild. Perhaps it was because one of our teachers will be moving after the holidays to another country due to her husband being transferred and this was our sad goodbye or perhaps it was just because we were all exhausted. Who really knows. However, there was a big announcement that yet another teacher is now expecting. Another teacher that is not me. Another teacher that is due one week before our sweet baby we lost would have been due. A teacher that is not married and who it seems is no where near leaving her partying days behind her. *sigh* Yes, I'm happy for her. It's great, she's having a baby. However, I must have looked like the weight of the world had dropped down on me because another teacher asked if I was OK. Sure, I'm fine... kind of... no... not really. It was all I could do to keep from crying. God what is wrong with me?

Earlier today I was told by a friend that they just didn't know how I did it. How I could handle this all. How I could seem so OK, when I had to be dieing on the inside. I just seem so, so strong. What she really wanted to know was, "How was I... really?" Well, if I have to be totally, completely, 100% honest, I'm crappy. My heart is broken. I'm scared. I'm devastated. All I can think is I should be pg right now. RIGHT NOW! I've learned to breathe in and breathe out. I've learned that all I can do is take it one day at a time and put one foot in front of the other. And even more, I've learned that I have to just pray that eventually it really will be as fine as everyone thinks it is. I'm trying to move on so hard that it hurts. I fight the pain and the tears and put a happy smile on my face and hold my head up high to face the day. I look at Chase and beg my heart to just move on and enjoy the now. But God, it is so damn hard.

So, in a nutshell, that's how I "really" am. I'm sure she was so glad she asked.

Chase's First Shiner

After our Santa trip (that didn't go so well) we took the kids to the McDonald's that has the nice indoor playground so they could play while the adults visited. The play area is indoors and seems rather nice. They have computers for the kids to play with, a basketball game, and a slide/climber. Best of all it's closed in, although we quickly found out that our toddlers are now big enough to push the door open and escape.

All was going well until I heard Chase's cry. That cry that makes my heart beat a zillion times a minute and causes me to move w/lightning speed to him. As soon as I saw him I knew that something was wrong... terribly wrong. His face was swollen and red and he was holding his eye. Of course while I never want my Doodlebug hurt, I certainly don't want his eye hurt! Turns out it was actually right below his eye... phew.

As far as we can figure from Chase's reenactment and description he was climbing up the steps of the slide/climber when he tripped and hit the window ledge. I was actually kind of surprised because when we really inspected it there really is a major safety concern. There is no railing of any kind to keep this from happening and it could have so easily been worse! Fortunately Chase only had a cut below his eye and it wasn't bad enough for stitches. Needless to say he is now sporting his first shiner. Window ledge: 1, Chase: 0! No doubt it is just the first of many to come.






***I will say that I contacted McDonald's and they are really on top of it. They acknowledged that this was an issue and they were very apologetic that it had not been caught in their recent inspection. They are in the process of having the safety issue corrected and reinspected. I will be notified upon completion (I guess for my approval... hahaha!)

Operation Santa Christmas Picture 2007 (a.k.a. OSCP2007)

And what do you want for Christmas?

That would be the question that every child longs to hear from Santa ... or so you would think. My child would be the exception. Actually he did have an answer, but it would not be typical in any sense of the word. Chase's response would be as follows, "To get the ____ off your lap!" You can just use your imagine to fill in the blank.

I actually thought (how naive of me) that we were going to get a *good* Santa picture this year. In fact, I thought this until the very.last.possible.moment. Then reality struck. And when it struck, it struck fast and hard. Here is my holiday tale of Operation Santa Christmas Picture 2007 (a.k.a. OSCP2007) for your reading enjoyment.

Once upon a time a "practically perfect in every way" Mommy and Daddy had a "practically perfect in every way" little boy that they named Chase. They loved Chase more than anything in the entire world and wanted Chase to experience anything and everything he could. Each Christmas they would take Chase to Santa's cottage so that they could capture the moment forever in a picture. After all, when Chase is older he will treasure these pictures forever. Chase's first Christmas he was not even a year old and only looked up at Santa in wonder while his portrait was snapped. By Chase's second Christmas he had gained knowledge and knew that old men dressed in strange clothes was not normal and became very, er I mean VERY, unhappy when placed upon Santa's lap. Still by Chase's third Christmas he was now two years old and much, much wiser. He had seen Santa in pictures and knew that there was something mystical and magical about the jolly old man and his curiosity had peaked. He led his Mommy and Daddy on to believe that he liked this old man and wanted to go and see him of his own free will. Silly Mommy and Daddy for believing him!

Mommy and Daddy picked a special day for the big trip to Santa's cottage for OSCP2007. They thought they were being smart and invited some bigger friends to go with them in hopes that Chase would view the said friends visiting on Santa's lap and want to do the same. Upon arriving at our destination Santa appeared through the door of the cottage and Chase was very excited to see that Santa was indeed at work that day. He waved and Santa waved back... a good sign Mommy thought! Mommy was overjoyed and leaped out of the vehicle while building up the excitement of seeing Santa and taking a picture with him. Chase, being the curious little boy he is, raced into Santa's cottage with Mommy and right up to Santa's big chair. Mommy honestly thought that things were going really well when Chase even began to talk to Santa, all signs were pointing in a smiling picture at last. Santa and Chase talked of reindeer and barns, Christmas, and good boys and girls. The time was coming, Mommy was giggly, Chase was smiling ... then it happened. The 12 words that would forever haunt OSCP2007... "Would you like to sit on Santa's lap and take a picture?" Oh the horror, the absolutely horror! On his lap? "NOOOOOOOOOOOOO" screamed Chase as he bolted for the door. "NOOOOOOOOOO sit on Santa's lap!" Crap. Alas, the smiling picture was not meant to be.

Mommy and Daddy thought they could save OSCP2007 by walking Chase around the cottage and negotiating with the help of candy canes, but again Chase proved to be the wiser. At their wits end Mommy and Daddy grabbed Chase as he ran and placed him upon the lap of Old St. Nick. All we can say is the result was a rather worn out Santa and a really, really, really ticked off Chase. Perhaps OSCP2008 will prove more glorious.







*** I will be scanning our really nice OSCP2007 tomorrow at work and post tomorrow evening. But to you tide you over, here are a couple of pictures taken after by the big live Christmas tree. If you receive a Christmas card from us, please pretend you did not see these. ***

Spike it Peas!

I know that Chase is adorable. I've been told this a zillion times and I've said it a zillion more. In fact, I'm almost obnoxious about just how cute he is (hey, at least I'm honest). I've even been known to say things like, "Other mothers must look at my son and feel envy that their child is not nearly as cute as mine." My mother says I shouldn't say those things, but it's tough when I know it's true. ;o) OK, I don't *actually* say this to people other than those that are very close to me, but I think it quite often. Anyway, his adorableness just continues to increase on a daily basis and I almost can't stand it.... almost. Today we went to get his hair cut by Mrs. Crystal. She is wonderful with him and Chase is an absolute angel during the haircutting process. When asked if he would like his hair trimmed or cut short where he could spike it, we were quickly informed he wanted to spike it peas.... now that's my boy. In the past we've always spiked the entire top of his head, but I've longed for the day we could spike just his bangs. Today was that day and I have to say it is definitely the cutest haircut yet! Enjoy!

It's over...

Our BETA fell, it's over. Our baby just wasn't able to hang on. I don't understand why. This was our third fresh cycle, we've transferred a total of 10 beautiful embryos, and now lost two. Thank God I have Chase. We are going in for a consult on the 10th, but right now I just want to enjoy the holidays w/Chase and not be so sad anymore. He is so excited about the Christmas lights and everything else, how can I not be? We will try again, but being selfpay this is a killer for us. And it will have to be a fourth fresh, we have no frozen.

I've already heard the, "have ya'll thought about adopting, what about donor sperm, I would carry the baby for you, have you thought of being tested to see why this is happening?" from several people and it just makes me want to puke. People have no idea. None of those are things in store for us and to be honest I don't want to hear those things. No, we are not going to adopt. I am thankful for adoption, I have a niece through adoption, but it's not for us. Yes, we have male factor, but if our RE isn't worried since the eggs fertilize, neither are we. I don't need anyone to carry the baby for me, hell I had to evict Chase because he was going to grow old in me. And no, we haven't been tested and will talk to our RE at our consult. Anyway, I just don't want to hear those things from people who have no clue. Oh, one more thing I DON'T want to here: "It'll happen when the time is right." I know this. I know it will happen, but that doesn't make me feel any better right now.

I really hope I didn't offend anyone with the above, but I'd rather put it out there than hear those things.

We will try again, maybe in April. I just don't know right now. Thanks for the prayers, apparently it just wasn't time for them to be answered.

Yes, I know you are wondering where we stand w/IVF

I didn't want to post sad or upsetting news, so I hadn't posted. But I've been asked several times (ok, more than several) so here it goes. I had so hoped to hear good news this past Wednesday and even though what I heard isn't the worst ever, it certainly wasn't good. I was told that I needed to booster my HCG, the first since the Wednesday after our transfer when we boostered. I have been told no BETA numbers but I know they run this every time and had been told no boosters were a good thing, so this scared me. I asked if my numbers went down and they said no, but they have kind of plateaued. That means w/o them saying it that I'm pg, but it also means either we are losing one baby or losing the baby. We had vanishing twin w/Chase and went through this, so I'm praying we are not going to lose the baby... that we are only losing one. Isn't that one of the hardest prayers you can imagine? To have only lost one baby? It kills me. Of course they were closed on Friday so I don't get bloodwork again until Monday. At that time it will have either gone up (good) or down (bad). If you pray, we so need them right now. I have no idea what Monday will bring. I believe in my heart this cycle would make Chase a big brother and I saw my rainbow for those that know what I'm talking about. But right now, I just feel sick.

2 1/2 year old antics

2 1/2 is a wonderful age..... mischievous, but wonderful! Every day is a new crisis, I mean adventure. The other night we were on our way home from a running errands when I heard what sounded like a sprinkler hitting the side of the Tahoe. I thought nothing of it until I heard it again and then realized that since were going 70 down the freeway, there was no way it was a sprinkler. I quickly turned the overhead light on, whipped around in my seat, and spied a very sly grin on Chase's face. Turns out he had invented a new game called, "Splash the Ceiling w/Lemonade." Here is how you play for anyone that might be interested:

1) Acquire a cup full of lemonade (make sure there is lots of sugar in the lemonade in order to leave residue on ceiling after it dries and heats up in the Texas sun)
2) Find syringe that grandmother gave you to play with in the bathtub and eventually found it's way into carseat.
3) Fill oversized cheeks with lemonade and let a small amount dribble down your front just for the heck of it.
4) Take above mentioned syringe, insert in to mouth, and withdraw lemonade into said syringe.
5) Swallow the remainder of lemonade in oversized cheeks.
6) Point filled syringe towards ceiling of vehicle and push plunger as hard as you can to cause a waterfall effect and spray entire area about giggling little body.
7) Enjoy the look of terror on Mother's face as she realized what you have done and can't help but think, "Oh God, we are in soooo much trouble."

Nothing much to blog about.

We are now 4dp3dt (meaning four days post a three day transfer). I'm on my patches and pills, still getting my lovely progesterone shots every night, and bloodwork every other day. Of course I know nothing and have all kinds of "feelings" but when you are on the amount of meds I am you are going to have those things. I so wish we would find something out sooner rather than later. I'm feeling very positive, I just need it confirmed. I did a trigger HCG last night so HPTs are out of the question since it would come out positive no matter what. Just more waiting. At least the bedrest is done and Chase is back home, that part blew big time.

I did get our Nemo pictures back and they are crappy. Jeff found out that it is actually "Disney" that requests no cameras, I would so boycott them if my child wasn't totally in love with their characters. Oh well. I got a couple of good ones and will post those later. Of course they are just of Chase since you can't see anything but blurs on the stage, but I figure he's so darn cute you'll enjoy them anyway.

Hope all is well with all of you! It's almost Friday!

Babies on Board (ET Update)

Yesterday's transfer went very well. All four made it and looked really good. At Dr. Gill's advice we transferred all four. We were going to ask if we could, so we were happy he brought it up first! We ended up with 1-8 cell and 3-6 cells. We are very optimistic and our BETA will be somewhere around the 25th.

And then there were four....

After not being able to stand it any longer I called our RE's office at 3:00 to see if our fertilization report was in. It was. Four out of the nine fertilized, not what I was hoping and praying for. Before anyone leaves me a comment saying four is fantastic, all it takes it one, etc, etc I know all of that. I know that it only takes one. I know that four is better than none. I know that it will all be OK and this cycle will be a success. What disappoints me is that judging by our past two cycles that also both had four fertilized, we will have none to freeze.... and that is what I was hoping and praying for. I just thought that with nine eggs, we had a chance. I thought that with nine eggs just maybe we'd be able to freeze some and down the road if we wanted another child (which I can pretty guarantee will happen) I wouldn't have to go through another stupid round of shots and the dreaded egg retrieval. But apparently four is our number and for the third cycle in a row, this is the number it shall be. So, I'll suck it up, get over my disappointment, and move on to positive thinking that what does it matter if we only have four... it will still give us our baby!

Our transfer will be at 8:00 on Sunday morning and then the bedrest begins. I'll start going in for "every other day" bloodwork on Wednesday and we should know shortly after Thanksgiving. The lovely shots begin again tomorrow, so wish my hips some luck (good thing they are so meaty). Our due date would be August 1st, which is neat because August 4th is Jeff's birthday. That would be one hell of a birthday present!

P.S. Doodlebug is doing so much better, he is back to his wonderful, happy self! We are going to Finding Nemo on Ice in the morning, so look for pics to come!

The official number..... 9!!!!

The retrieval went smooth, actually much better than last time. Last time it took seven tries to get the IV in, this time it took one (I LOVE that nurse)! When I came out from the anesthesia I was told the count was at 8, but then Dr. Wong came out and said we had 9. 9 wonderful, beautiful eggs (according to me)! That is more than we have ever gotten, so we are very happy. Now we just need prayers that they will all be mature, good quality, fertilize well, and grow! I would be ecstatic if they all make it because we could transfer three and freeze six for future transfers. Oh I hope that happens. Actually, having any to freeze would make me extremely happy! We'll get a call tomorrow afternoon to let us know how they are doing and expect to transfer on Sunday morning. I feel really, really good about this cycle and Jeff has no doubt it will be nothing but good news. I'm taking it as a sign! I did get sick from the anesthesia and am still a little woozy, but that's normal and I'll be fine. As Jeff said, you have to go through the bad stuff to get the good stuff!

Thank you for the prayers!

Oh, please send prayers for Doodlebug too. Jeff had to take him in to the Dr. this afternoon and he has a terrible sinus infection..... stupid allergies. He also has a very red throat from the draining and has been put on a strong antibiotic, Mucinex, and Claritin. He spiked a fever of 103.4 early this evening, which is always so scary to me. Fortunately it seems to be breaking thanks to Motrin. I always hate when my sweetie is sick, but even worse we have Finding Nemo on Ice tickets for Saturday and we have been talking about it for weeks so he is very excited. Please pray that he is feeling better very soon and can go and enjoy the show! Thanks!

Tomorrow is the big day (well, big day #1)

I took my trigger shot last night at 11:00 and we are to be at the hospital at 9:30 on Thursday morning for a 10:30 retrieval. We'll find out Friday afternoon how many fertilized and how well they are doing. Please, please, please send prayers that all goes well. We are praying for good eggs, strong sperm, and an excellent fertilization report. The retrieval is my least favorite part (if you can have a *least* favorite) of IVF and I will be very glad once we are past this hurdle. I'm terrified I will ovulate on my own and I hate being under anesthesia where I have no clue what's going on. Also, Jeff is doing his thing during this time so he's not w/me and I hate that the most. Deep breaths, deep breaths.

Just a quick update on IVF #3

Time simply goes too fast. I feel like we've barely had a minute to rest this last week, much less sit down at the computer and actually make a blog entry worth reading. Perhaps I'll have some free time after the first of the year!

IVF #3 is going well. I'm stimming away rather well and it looks like we'll trigger tomorrow night and have our egg retrieval on Thursday (I love how I say we, when I really mean I will). I know that I have made more eggs this time, but have no clue how many. I feel like I could pop at any given moment. A Thursday retrieval means that our transfer will be on Sunday. We've never had a weekend transfer, so that is something new this time around.

Good news is a Sunday transfer means that we will still be able to attend Nemo on Ice this Saturday! I was really worried I'd miss it and am thrilled that things are working out this way. Bad news is it means I'll be on bed rest Sun - Wed. Other than the fact I hate bed rest, it means that I'll miss three days of work and that is tough. Guess it could be worse.

Oh to end the post I'll say that rifle season (deer) opened this past weekend and of course Jeff had to go hunting. He got a very nice doe last night and when Chase saw it he yells, "Dat's a BIG deer.... but it's broken!" Yes, you could say that. Then he gladly climbed up on the step stool to take a picture w/Daddy while looking at the deer w/total excitement in his eyes. He is soooo going to be his Daddy's clone and I love it!

Happy Halloween!

Just wanted to wish everyone a very Happy Halloween! We visited the fire station this evening and Chase had a blast. They were handing out plastic fireman hats and of course that meant the Mickey ears had to go but hey, he sure made a cute fireman, er firemickey. Next we went to the local church's "Trunk or Treat" and Chase was just amazed at all the sites. He would get a candy for his bucket and then sample the next piece... who could blame him. We ended the night with a trip to Aunt Stacy's and then sitting on the porch and passing out candy. I have to say, it was a great Halloween for all!

I want some of dat!

This afternoon we attended yet another Fall Festival at the local preschool where Chase will eventually attend. One of his little buddies, Andi, who is four is a member of their cheer squad and quite the little cutie. Chase adores Andi and will gladly tell you that she is his girlfriend, although I seriously thought he had no clue what that meant. Well that is what I thought until he was watching her cheer and hollers, "I want some of dat!" Boy, if he was 10 years older he would be in some serious trouble!

Hi, I'm Grumpy

Either it's something in the air or stress may be getting to me because I have been a royal grump these last few days. Tuesday I came down with a nasty little bug and that on top of 20 kiddos that are beyond excited about Halloween's upcoming arrival about did me in this week. I've noticed that lots of little things are on my last nerve and cannot even express my excitement in the fact that tomorrow is Friday. I will give myself through tonight to finish my grumpiness and then tomorrow it's back to smiles (am I the only one that actually bargains w/myself).

I also have some AWESOME pictures of Chase and Madison to post, but since I have to first upload them to the server they will have to wait until tomorrow. I will tell you that it's worth the wait just to see those two cuties and gussied up in the Halloween costumes!

And, on a whole different note it seems as though *Operation - Shot in My Arse* (OSIMA) will start bright and early tomorrow morning with my first injection of FSH (follicle stimulating hormones... yes, hormones, just what Ms. Grumpy needs more of). Even better we are doubling my dose this time around, some girls have ALL THE FUN! Oh I can't wait.

Then and Now

Just more proof that Doodlebug is growing entirely too fast... *sigh*

October 23, 2005


October 18, 2007

Either side will be fine, they are both meaty...

Now seriously who says something like that? Hearing those words come out of my mouth made the first shot of IVF #3 abundantly realistic. I knew it was coming for almost three weeks now, but unlike the other times it seemed very surreal up until this point. I guess this means that we are really doing this.... again. One shot down, dozens and dozens (and dozens) to go. My lovely *friend* should arrive in 5ish days and then on d3 (day 3 for those not up on my IVF lingo) I will start my daily shots. Here goes nothing...

Dig Pit Lady Strikes Again

I was talking to another teacher at lunch today who mentioned that this past weekend she had taken her niece to the dino dig pit at the mall this past weekend and had a horrible experience. I bet you can already see where this is heading... yep, the dig pit lady struck again. Turns out that "V" still works there and is just a non friendly as ever! I swear I'm going to make a mission out of telling everyone to boycott that place (so if you're reading and live in our area.... boycott!) *wink*

And just an update on Jeff's cousin, the surgery went well and they took out two spots on his right lung and then found two more that were questionable so they removed those. He was in a lot of pain, but they currently have it under control and he is doing better. Thank you to those who sent P&PT his way, please keep them coming for him!

Prayer Request

Jeff's cousin, Wade, is having surgery today and we need all the prayers we can get for him. He is only one week older than me and has two little ones that are younger than Chase at home. He was diagnosed with cancer several years ago and had some nodules (I don't know the technical term) show up on his scan in his lungs earlier this year. He is having one surgery today and another in a couple of months. He is very strong and brave, but I can only imagine how scary it must all be. If you can spare a minute or two to send some prayers their way, I would be very grateful. Thank you!

From the mouth of babes....

I always tell parents that if they will only believe half of what their children tell them, then I will only believe half of what they tell me. That being said, I have one boy that is quite the handful... cute as a button, but quite the handful just the same. After several unanswered warnings for him to settle down I asked if he would like me to email his Dad about his behavior. He eyes got wide and he quickly replied, "Oh no because when I get home he'll give me a *loving swat* like yesterday!" I know I shouldn't have, but all I could do was chuckle. I think I'll keep that one for my future use with Mr. Chase!

Duchess Got The Job!!!

Looks like Duchess will be moving to the country!!! Thank you all for the P&PT about Duchess' job interview, this morning she received the offer we were all praying for!

Congratulations Duchess, Chase says we'll come help you pack!

Our Future Wildkat!

We live in a small town... a very small town. Our homecoming is Friday and although we are not big football fans, the elementary school I work at does a float for the Homecoming Parade each year. Because Cade and his Mommy were riding on the float they asked if we would like to ride with them. In past years I've always declined, but we figured what the heck... it would be good training and by the time the boys are in kindergarten they will have it down pat! Here are some parade highlights:

Amazed by the firetrucks

Waving to the crowd

Our Future Wildkat #7

Our Little Wildkat Family (ignore the sweat, all I can say is TX is hot in October!)

All in a Day's Play

Saturday we drove down to Kemah to see Uncle Will's new apartment. I think Madison and Chase's favorite part was the park right outside their front door. What do you think?

Old McChase went to the farm... E-I-E-I-O

I work with a teacher that has twin daughters that raise show pigs and she offered to let us bring Chase and Cade (his bestbud) by to see the week and a half old piglets. All I can say is 4H is definitely in our future! The babies were absolutely adorable, although a tad stinky, and just hilarious to watch. Chase was intrigued with the small ones, but wasn't quite sure what to think of the mamas that had to weigh in at 400 pounds easy! I didn't know it but the piglets are born with very sharp pointy teeth that are quickly cut off after birth. If you put your finger in the pen they will suck on it and although it took us a bit to get Chase to do it, he thought it was the funniest thing.

They had lambs there too (his daddy's former 4H love) and several barn cats. However, not to our surprise Chase's favorite was Shadow.... the resident dog! I'm so glad we took him down the farm so he could play with the dog, definitely worth the trip!

Third times a charm....

Today will be the official day 1 of IVF #3. I will start BCPs on Saturday and it looks like we will start daily shots around the end of October. Retrieval/transfer somewhere in the 2nd week of November and a positive pregnancy test just after Thanksgiving. Deep breaths, deep breaths.

Quotable Quotes 2

The mind is like a parachute, it works best when opened. - Unknown

FIRE, FIRE! Wet's go!

I'm always amazed by how smart my Doodlebug is. I find myself saying, "he's too little to know that or to do that" and then he immediately proves me wrong. The things he can learn are just unbelievable. He truly is a sponge soaking it all up! I'm also always amazed by just how wonderful his Daddy is with him.

Unknown to me, Jeff had decided that Chase needed to learn about fires and what to do if he were ever caught in one. I know that children need to know this and I know that families should have an escape plan, but I had yet to ever put this into motion at our house.

When I arrived home the other evening it was time for a demonstration. Jeff pushed the test button on the alarm w/o Chase knowing and Chase's eyes got huge. He looked up and screamed, "Fire, Fire, Come on Mommy we go outside now!" He grabbed our hands and we headed out the door. He then told us, "it's OK" once we got outside. Now how smart is that? *sigh* I swear he is just the smartest little guy in the whole world!!! I thought he'd forget, but he again showed us what to do when Duchess was with us this weekend and if you ask him what to do if there's a fire, he'll tell you. In all seriousness, I really do think I have to two best guys in the world.... I'm a lucky girl!

Tumble Time

Sometimes we just need a little release of all that energy at the end of the day. By "we," I mean Chase. Good Lord that boy has energy. If I had half of it, I'd be a size zero! We do the water babies (although we are skipping this session) and we've done the music class, so now we have started tumbling. We figured Chase is now old enough and what better way to get exercise (and by exercise, I really mean wear him out)! Plus he REALLY likes to run around and it's sooooo much funner to do it there at the bargain price of $55/month as opposed to at home where it's free! Here is a typical tumble class w/pictures for your enjoyment.

First we stretch:

Then we do our obstacle course, that includes a climb over:

A balance beam (with a little help):

A crawl through:

Then the awesome sponge pit:

Next it's trampoline time! How cool are these? They are in-ground and totally padded:

And last, I nice drink of water (or a face full of water and then a drink):

We think tumbling rocks!