CD 6

Yes, you read that correct...today is day 6 of my cycle! I know some of you have been wondering what was going on so I thought I would go ahead and put the info out there. I'm not sure why I didn't early this week, I just think I didn't want to talk/think/wonder/worry/etc about it. But, I know that I need/want your support, kind words, and prayers...thank you for being there!

I finished the last of my Fem*ara today and will start the Bra*velle injections tomorrow night. Ultrasound and bloodwork on Tuesday with IUIs later next week.

Please be praying for us! The plan is to find out if this IUI round worked just before Christmas...hopefully we'll have good news to share!

Thanksgiving

This year was a little different than past years - Jason and I hosted Thanksgiving for each of our families...at the same time! Luckily, we really have small families so we all fit quite nicely. I cooked the turkey and everyone else took care of the sides so it didn't seem like too much work. The food and company were very nice.

Playing Phase 10

Jason carving the turkey!

I didn't get many pictures this year - probably didn't help that I was taking a nap after the meal! :-)

Just a few things I am thankful for this year:

• Jason - he is an awesome, supportive, and patient husband
• Friends/Family
• My bible study ladies
• Infertility (Yep, hard to believe I know, but it has taught me so much about life and people. I only hope I can pass along all that I have learned.)
• Jason and I both have jobs (even though he worked over 80 hours last week) and a nice home

I'm sure I could go on and on, but I won't...there is a lot to be thankful for these days even though the media will tell you how bad it is!

Next cycle started!

I am the type of person who HATES taking home pregnancy tests...not only because they are expensive, but because I don't want to be disappointed. I knew the test would be negative, but thought I would take it just in case. Naturally, I started my cycle that day! The good news is that Dr. Jarrett said we could start the meds for IUI #3 when it started. I called the office yesterday morning...when Lisa (nurse) called me back she wasn't sure I should be doing the meds because it hadn't been 60 days since the methotrexate injection. They talk to Dr. Jarrett over the noon hour so I had to wait for them to talk to him. I was a little frustrated to say the least at this point because we had just met with Dr. Jarrett on Wednesday, and he didn't seem to think it would be a problem. When Linda (nurse practitioner) called me back at 4:15pm, she said that Dr. Jarrett still didn't think it would be a problem, but she and Teresa (another nurse practitioner) recommended that I didn't do it. Of course, she acted like she didn't want to get in the middle of me and Dr. Jarrett, but I could tell that was her recommendation. Dr. Jarrett feels like she we won't be having the actual insemination until right around 60 days, it won't be a problem. We scheduled the baseline ultrasound for this morning and said we would talk afterwards (pretty typical). Jason and I decided that we would go with Dr. Jarrett's recommendation - afterall we have trusted him to this point and don't believe that he would do anything to put us in danger. So, I had my ultrasound this morning and and waiting on a call back from the office. According to the tech, though, everything looked fine. :-)

This has been a busy, but great week! Tuesday night, I met up with my little sister to make Christmas cards (a BB/BS activity). We made five cards and had a lot of fun! I can't wait to send them out next year since I already have my cards for this year put together. I took Wednesday off work for our follow up appointment with Dr. Jarrett - everything went great and we'll be starting our 3rd round of IUIs soon! The rest of the day, I got a bunch of things done around the house and was even able to visit the quad babies for a couple hours. Today, I met with my little sister again - a co-worker's son-in-law has been deployed to Iraq so we bought items to go in a box of goodies from our office. I thought this was a great thing for her to learn about giving to others and was really proud of the things she picked out. I gave her a budget and the list of items we could choose from, and we went to town. We even got two Christmas cards, wrote a little note in them, and signed them for the troop. I can't wait to take the big bag into work on Monday!

Where did the weekend go?

What a great, but busy weekend!! Friday night, Jason was at a birthday party for a co-worker while I had my open house and then I met up with my neighbor girls at a bead store. Let me remind you that I do not think I am a very creative person! But, I did make a nice bracelet as a gift (can't say who it's for or show it since they might be reading the blog). They had tons of choices, and I don't think any two items would look the same. Lots of gifts were made and even some things for ourselves. I definitely want to do this again when I have more a plan on what to create!

On Saturday morning I was up bright an early for a conference at ISU then we had our friend's son's birthday party! We had a great time hanging out with friends.Today, I watched my old boss's two boys in the morning and took them to church. Then I took a nap during the Bears game - good thing since they were crushed! Glad I didn't watch; I probably would have been screaming at the tv the whole time!

That's about the excitement of our weekend!

Happy Birthday, Mitchell!

Happy 9th Birthday, Mitchell!!

You may remember that we already celebrated with him...here's a picture from that weekend:

This weekend went by so quickly!! On Friday night, we had a great dinner with the Probst family, (one of our neighbors). It was nice to get to know them a little more and play Rock Band on the xBox! I spent all day Saturday in Chicago shopping with the neighbor girls on the State Farm trip.

The girls at Maggiano's
(Sarie, Tisha, Julie, me, Becky, Heather)

The weather wasn't too bad...just cold. And, I didn't buy anything except Garrett's popcorn! After church on Sunday, I headed to Michaels' house to give Tiffany some popcorn, and we ended up hanging out with them until around 7pm after the kiddos went to bed. They are so much fun, and I love getting to know them more and more!

Projects Complete!

Okay, so they were very minor projects, but they still had to get done. You may remember that back in the middle of September we came home to find that the bathroom mirror had fallen off the wall and shatter. I FINALLY found a mirror that I somewhat like and would fit where we needed it! It was ordered from Target on Sunday and arrived today.

The second project was an Uppercase Living item I purchased a couple months ago. I finally decided where I would put it and got it on the wall tonight! This was a tough decision because I wanted to put it on a wall that I wouldn't want to paint anytime soon. I love the colors in my dining room so I figured this was the best place. I was also a little worried because we have textured walls, but it worked out just fine!

Welcome Baby Cohen!

Congratulations to my cousin, Danielle, on the birth of her son!

Cohen Alec
November 4, 2008
4:24 am
7 lbs 11 1/2 oz
20 " long

And, don't forget to VOTE today!!

Oh Baby!!

On Saturday, Janell drove down from Rockford, and we made our way to Heather's baby shower in Springfield. It was another beautiful day for a drive, and Heather got so many great gifts!!

An obvious gift from Janell!

The ISU Girls - me, Janell, Heather, and Heather (also due in January)

Grandma (Heather's mom) and Heather
Heather "practicing" with baby Hudson (6.5 months old)

They did not find out the sex of the baby so that will be a complete surprise, and I haven't heard anything about names...guess we'll have to wait and see. She is due January 6th.

I'm sure some of you are wondering so I'll just put this here. I never would have missed Heather's shower even though she told me it was okay if I didn't want to come. She has been such a great friend, and I know how hard it was for her to tell me that she was expecting just shortly after we found out we had to wait another month to do our first IUI. Heather has been completely understanding and supportive of our situation, so there was no way I wasn't going to attend her shower. Now, I'm not going to lie and say it was easy. I was feeling pretty good about everything, until I was asked if we had kids, the conversation was completely about children, and Heather was about half way through her gift opening. BUT, I kept it together and know that my time will come and I am excited for her and Jim!

Happy Halloween...belated!

Friday was such a beautiful day (I think it got up to 70 degrees!) that it made it really nice for the kids out trick or treating. As you usual, I was taking some pictures of the kids in the neighborhood I know. Here are a few:

Kennedy (on the left) with two of her friends.

Gantert twins

Kids from Blue Heron St.

Cameron and Tim (I love it when the parents dress up!)

I don't think we had as many kids as last year, maybe because it was nice weather and a Friday...probably some parties going on. We have a ton of candy left over so now I have to find a way to get it out of my house!