Good to Go!

I went to my first “official” doctors appointment today with my new doctor. He is so nice. Besides being nice, you can tell that his level of intelligence is higher than most, which is the most important thing!! I love my nurses too, by the way. I know everyone has heard me talk about them. Today I had to get my blood taken and for the first time in a long time, I almost passed out. The room started looking fuzzy and I started to see spots. I began to get hot and nauseous and I just knew I was going to collapse. Luckily my husband was right next to me and as soon as it was done, I laid down. One word… Embarrassing. How did this happen? I have my blood taken at least 4-5 times a month and yeah, it usually is a struggle, but passing out?? Ugh.

The good news is that I am right on schedule! My hormones levels are right on target. The dates that we have planned are a go! I am physically and mentally exhausted after my 6:30am-9:30pm day so I am heading to bed! ~Amy

Remember When You Had to Take Naps?

Whoo! What another jam packed weekend! We had so much fun hanging out with friends this weekend! The only thing missing with our friends is our child! I know so many people are wanting this so badly for us, that when our baby (or babies) come, it will be UBER spoiled! We just got back from hanging out with Jeff, Hilary, & Mason and Brian, Jamie & Sydney. Sydney is so precious. She is 8 weeks old and sleeps through the night. They are lucky!! I held her for a long time tonight and she sleeps with her mouth open, which causes her to snore. It was HILARIOUS! We also got to see Mason's music recital where, in true Mason fashion, he danced like a rock star. It was pretty cute.
Tomorrow is going to be the longest day ever for me! We have our first doctors appointment at 7:30am, then I work until to 5:30pm and have Junior League duties from 6-9pm! Do you remember when you had to take naps and did not want to? Oh! I wish I could nap now! Our doctor will be able to tell me how far along I am in the process of creating eggs. We will see if the dates that we are planning are on spot. I hope we are on for the time we are expecting, I am ready to get this show on the road!
My dad will be coming into town this week and will stay with us through the weekend. I feel bad because apparently harvest is late this year and my husband's family will be cutting wheat this weekend. We will not be able to help them. I actually enjoy harvest. It is peaceful... well for me... I drove the combine one time and it is too hard. Then I drove the wheat truck, and that was difficult because there are so many gears! I like to keep everyone hydrated and bring lunch. That was going to be my job this year. Yeah, I know what you are thinking... I am replaceable! Have a great week! ~Amy

What a FUN Night! (Oh, and we have a calendar)

What a fun time we had tonight! Our friends, Melodie and Jeremy, came over with their son Holden. He is about the cutest thing ever. We played "scrunch nose" and stuck out our tongues and played with a plant. It was hilarious because he loved when I shook it, but if it brought it close to him, he would freak out! It was so cute. He is so snugly, I just love him. We were sad to see him go, but it was 9:30, and he was tired. We offered to babysit, and I hope they take us up on it. He would be so much fun. Just precious.

Tomorrow I am having a "girls day" with my husband's fam. His mother, grandmother, and aunt are coming to the city and we are going to lunch, shop for shoes, and maybe get a pedicure. I can't wait. They are a lot of fun. Tomorrow night, Scott and Neilly are coming over for dinner with baby Henry and baby Lucy (still in utero). Saturday I have to work (Boo!)... we have a health fair that I will be at. I am excited though, because it is with the aging population and I have come to find that is my niche. We are going to try a new church on Sunday, we are just not sure which one. Will we ever find our church home? Who knows. What I am excited about is seeing Mason on Sunday. I hope he has some more dance moves. (For those who forgot, Mason is the 3 year old that likes to show the ladies his mad dance skills).

Have I mentioned how lucky we are to have such a great group of friends? We have so much support through all of this and get calls, emails, and texts daily asking about shots, when we start, etc... SO... for those who are wanting to know.... We have a calendar!!! (Look on the right side) We will update it as we get more accurate dates. Last time I was spot on, so I will predict that it will be a lot like that. There are so many people pulling for us, and we feel it! WOW! We are blessed. You all will never know how much each and every one of you means to us. Fasten your seat belts, because the ride is about to begin again! ~Amy

Best Time Ever!

So this weekend was my husband's 10 year reunion. We had the best time ever! I will admit that at first, I was not thinking that this would be nearly as fun as it was. I am so glad that we went. I am pretty sure that my fear of bugs was a first for some of the girls out there, but they were very patient with me, so thank you! Saturday morning the men went golfing and then everyone met at the local state park for a cookout. I came, armed with Deep Woods Off, and met a lot of his classmates and their families. I learned new information about my husband there too (blackmail for later). After the cookout was over, everyone went home and rested, changed clothes, and went to the dinner/dance. My husband, being the dancer that he is, had his fellow classmates in shock. I think that they thought he would sit against the wall in a chair all night and watch the party happen. Instead, he was the party. Apparently the husband I know and the the man in the late 90’s are two different people. Dancing like a mad man, he had everyone in stitches. Unfortunately, he cannot do the “Two-step” so I had to dance with his friends. (Isn’t that weird that he is from a small, county music lovin’ town, and he cannot Two-step?) If I had a dollar for how many times people came up to me and told me that they had no idea that he was this much fun, I could almost buy that lake house that I want! We had a so much fun… maybe a little too much! ;)

Sunday we woke up and went to church with the family. Well…at least that is what I think we did. I woke up on Sunday with some girl issues and did not have any medicine. That is when I proceeded to take a muscle relaxer… BIG mistake, HUGE! I have only taken a muscle relaxer one other time in my life. I slept for almost 24 hours. I thought, well… maybe that was just a weird deal, or maybe that was a stronger dosage. WRONG! I can take pain pills and still work (timeout- I am not a pill popper, or take them on a regular basis, I just mean after a root canal, or something like egg retrieval – just want to clear that up before I start anonymously getting N.A. brochures in the mail) but muscle relaxers, forget about it! Do you remember the part in Sixteen Candles where Ginny is getting married and stumbles down the aisle? That is what I felt like. On our way home, I fell asleep and I am pretty sure I was drooling. Two words: HOT MESS!

This week will be pretty slow for us, thank God! We need some time to decompress. We have been on the go non-stop for the past 3 weeks! Last night, when we got home, we felt like we were on vacation! We had not been at home, sitting down, watching TV in forever! Every night we have had something to do! We are excited for summer TV. My favorite, So You Think You Can Dance, and my husband's favorite, Big Brother, are on. I know what you are thinking… “Wow! They are really deep people”… but really, isn’t TV for entertainment? If I wanted to think, I would read a book!

And one more thing… Check out our roses! TLC plant food… can’t beat it!!

~Amy

Small Update

We are going to be delayed a little bit. Our nurse, Michelle, called yesterday and told us that the doctor who we want to come in and do the biopsy on the embryos will not be available until the 2nd week of July. She gave me the option of going with another doctor to do the biopsy or waiting to have this certain man do it. We decided to wait. If having the best means we delay 2 weeks, so be it. I will be patient. Yes you heard me, I will be patient! So far this whole year has flown by, what is 2 weeks???

We are busy, busy this week preparing for my husband’s 10 year reunion this weekend! It should be a good time. Our good friends are not going because they are going to be in Dallas...just trying to make you feel a little guilt. Keep your fingers crossed that the weather is as nice as predicted because the picnic is obviously outside and after last weekend, I need to make sure I am doused with Off and guaranteed no tornadoes. After last weekend’s experience, I am not sure I am ready for another outdoor adventure! ~Amy

Livin' the Country Life

As most of you know I am not a country girl, but for some reason I always look forward to going to my husbands family reunion over Memorial Day weekend. It is so peaceful and laid back that I tend to overlook the one thing that scares me every year. My husband's cousin Gary's attempt to make me a fisherman. This year was the end of him trying. I think that he now knows that I am not cut out for it, poor guy. I need to set the scene for those of you not from Oklahoma (or some that are). Freedom is a town of less than 300 people that is about 25 minutes away from a city. When I say city, I mean a town of approximately 5,000. Gary is quite the character. He is good as gold and ornery as they come. That is why I like him! Anyway, I remember the first time I was in Freedom, and the first time we met, I don't think he quite knew what to do with me. I remember asking him what would happen if someone has a heart attack and he said, "Pray they can hold on until we can get them to the ER" - again 25 minutes way.... I am sure he got a kick out of the pure panic in my face. Ok- so, I went last year and had a small panic attack. He jokes that he could feel my breath on his neck the entire time because I would not leave his side. I remember when it was all over, thanking God that I was still alive. Why did I go again this year? I am like that kid that puts their hand on the hot stove and the mother tells them not to do it again or it will really hurt, and they have to try one more time just to make sure.... stupid... So, we head out on our fishing excursion. This year, I did not bring clothes because I knew I wouldn't go so I had to borrow everything except for jeans:

As you can see, my husband's hat was about 10 sizes too big, but I was not about to go without one. Ticks. So we head out. The whole time going up and down huge hills on a gravel road at 60 miles per hour, knuckles clinched. We went to the first farm pond, and shockingly, it was not that bad. They pulled the truck right up to the bank so all I had to do was get out - check for snakes- and cast away! Unfortunately, there was so much moss, we could not fish there. I should have known that it was too good to be true. As we load back up and go to the next pond about 15 minutes away I saw 2 rattlesnakes on the road. Sure, they were dead, but they were still rattlesnakes. (I think I forgot to mention about 20 miles south of where we were, they hold a rattlesnake hunt, which is one of the largest in the US... I checked...)

So we get to where we are going and I notice there is no gate that we have to open to drive through. We are just on the side of the road with a barbwire fence. Hmm... I am thinking... Maybe he wants to check on something, but oh no... I was wrong. That is where we were fishing. I looked at them like they had lost their minds. The grass was knee high, and I had to crawl over a barb wire fence??? I sat on the edge of the seat in the truck as they waited for me to get out. My husband was being nice trying to coach me out and Gary was threatening that he was going to just get me out himself if I didn't move soon. After I began to cry, I took my feet and somehow got out. Then, I decided to crawl over the fence (since my inseam is 36, I have the legs to do it), well I forgot that it was going down hill, so I tore the inner thigh of my jeans and cut my thigh. It felt like the blood was gushing, and I knew that I was going to have to get a tetanus shot. (Oh- FYI...after we got home, I realized that it did not even break the skin). During all of this my husband's *#%*&*$% hat kept falling down so I was panicked that I was going to not be able to see that snake underneath where I was about to step. Once they were both over the fence I cannot even tell you what happened... it was a blur... but somehow I made it down to the bank. I took a picture from where I stood, back to where the truck was, because I knew my family would never believe me...

Once we began fishing, I was in a nightmare. Every 2 seconds, I knew I heard a rattle, or saw a water moccasin, or a tick, or a bee, the list goes on and on... I was M-I-S-E-R-A-B-L-E. I stood there by myself and looked across the pond at my husband who was waving thinking, I hate your guts for making me get out of that truck. Look... He is just smiling from ear to ear. After about 15 minutes I was about to lose it and signaled for him to come over and stand with me. He did. I
think that was about the time he thought Satan took over my body. I was yelling, crying, hyperventilating, I think my head spun around and did a 180, I am not sure. He decided to tell Gary that it was time that we left. Shortly after, we got back to the cabin, stripped down and checked for ticks. As he was about to get into the shower, he said, "Presh, I am really ready for you to get off of the birth control pills...they are really messing with you."

After we showered and changed clothes, I was calm. Everyone asked me how it went, and I think once I said, "I had to climb over barb wire" they knew this would be the last year of my pond fishing. Even poor Gary has decided to give up. My husband's uncle Corby told me that he will have to take me out on his boat, and I agreed to that. It is not the fishing I mind, it is not being able to stand or sit somewhere where I feel safe. I am miserable and I make everyone else around me just as miserable too. This experience though, has made everyone realize that my place is in the cabin! As you can see from this picture, I had thoroughly calmed down once I was on safe grounds.

It really is so beautiful there. I will be ready for next year, just without the fishing. I hope everyone had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend! ~Amy

Quick Update...

We went to the doctors office today and had our blood drawn. It is official, we are starting our 2nd journey on this crazy ride!! I cannot believe it is already here. It seems like just yesterday we were starting shots. So I heard about the 66 year old lady who is pregnant through IVF. How does that happen? At 66, what makes you think that it is a good time to start a family? I don't know, call me a pessimist, but when her baby (or babies) is born she will be 80. Again, how does that happen?

There is one new thing that we decided to do.... change doctors. We are going to use our doctor's partner. Dr. Hansen is an amazing doctor and we are excited about our new adventure with him. We figured since we are doing so many things differently, we might as well use a different doctor. We will see!

Wednesday will be our 3rd anniversary. I cannot believe that we have been married 3 years! This seems like yesterday:

We get each other traditional wedding gifts because it is fun! Year one was paper; he got me a certificate to the spa and I got him tickets to a Red Sox game in Texas. Year two was cotton; he and I both just bought a ton of T-shirts in NYC. This year, it is leather. I cannot disclose what I got him yet, because I know he will read this blog. As much as we are in desperate want of a child, we are really glad that we have had these years together. We have had so much fun and grown so close. These 3 years have been precious and we do not regret one minute of them!

Everyone have a great...and safe... Memorial Day weekend! We will be in Freedom, Oklahoma at the Bradt family reunion! I look forward to this weekend every year! ~Amy