I got an award.

I received a blog award from the Type A Nightmare, she writes Infertility: a Type A's Nightmare!

I want so say thanks for giving me this award, it made my day!!!

The instructions that go along with this award are as follows:

* Thank the person who nominated you for this award. 

* Copy the award and place it in your blog.

* Link the person who nominated you for this award.

* Tell us 7 interesting things about you.

* Nominate 7 bloggers.

* Post the links to the 7 bloggers you nominate.

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SEVEN INTERESTING THINGS ABOUT ME:

1. I am a twin.
2. I went to the same school from Kindergarten through 12th grade.
3. My husband is 10 months younger than I am.
4. My family is Italian but I don't like spaghetti.
5. Being late annoys me. My husband makes us late for just about everything.
6. My iPhone is my lifeline. There is never a day that I don't have it within reach!
7. I despise going to see the doctor, any doctor really.  I guess I better get used to it.  From December 1 until now I have been to see my RE (reproductive endocrinologist) 4 times, and I get to go again on February 2 and will continue to go see her until we get pregnant.

I am giving this award to all of my blog readers!  I can't just pick seven of you so if you read this blog please consider yourself awarded!!!

some great friends

Through this journey of trying to have a baby I have met some pretty awesome ladies that are trying to have a baby too!!!  They are so supportive and we all know what each other are going through and they are a great source of information for a newbie like me.  There is so many technical terms that are thrown your way that it is hard to take it all in and they are able to help me sort through that and process everything.

I feel like I know so many of them because we talk a lot on Twitter or through emails.  Not just about babies but about things going on in our lives outside of having a baby.

I find myself getting so excited for them for their next appointments and hoping for their BFP (big fat positive) right along with them.

I write each appointment down on my calendar of each one that has said when her next appointment is so I can ask her about it on that day (because I am forgetful and need a reminder).  I count down the days until one of them goes in for their bloodwork and I pray for each of them every day. I pray that their appointments go well and that they will be blessed with a child...

These ladies are amazing and I am so blessed to have them to talk to each day...  they give me hope that one day I will have my own baby and they will too!

My love of SNOW

I received an email from my cousin Brenda last night about the possibility of SNOW at their house this weekend!!!  How awesome would that be?!?!?!?!

We had been emailing about directions to their house because I am directionally challenged and she totally made my night when she told me that it could SNOW!  I hope that it does!!!

I will be posting from their house hopefully...  Until then...  pray for snow!

Also: just a quick update on the baby front...  things seem to be going well.  The Clomid seemed to do what it is supposed to do.  I will go in on February 2 to check my progesterone levels to make sure that it did...  and then we will go from there...  the waiting is what I hate: waiting to start my period so I can start the medication, waiting on ovulation, and then waiting to start my period again (or not!)...  I am not a patient waiter but wait I must so I am trying to make the best of it!!!

Augusta, Georgia

I'm sorry if some of these are repeats but there are a lot of new pictures here too.

Augusta is a beautiful city with lots of old homes downtown that I absolutely LOVED.

 

 

We spent a lot of time at the River Walk in Augusta...  We found this the first weekend in Augusta with Zach's parents.

 

 

 

Where I am standing taking the following picture is Augusta, Georgia...

This is across the Savannah River and it is South Carolina.

Then one weekend we discovered the Savannah River Rapids Park...

 

We spent several weekend with Zach's friend Joseph and his girlfriend (at the time, they are engaged now) Katie, she is such a sweet person!

 

My mom even visited with me one weekend and we went sight seeing of course...

We saw these four young men jumping off the dam.  Yes they all survived and no they didn't get arrested.

 

And they were even kind enough to take a picture of me and my mom...

We visited the Savannah River Rapids Park a lot because we LOVED it there...  So I have a TON of pictures of Zach like this...

And finally it was graduation day, a day we looked forward to for so long...

 

 

Good bye Fort Gordon!

TEAMWORK

 
Don't you just love how we can work together?   (Do you see it? Check my sunglasses... click picture to enlarge)

we are running away!

In one week (the 29th) Zach and I are heading here...

To the Blue Ridge Mountains!

To visit Brenda and Jimmy...

(Hi Brenda and Jimmy!)

And we are taking My Nanny with us...

Isn't she precious?

We are so excited to spend some time away from home!  And who better to spend that time with than family?  The only thing that could make this trip even more perfect would be SNOW!  Can someone please let the weather man know that I would like some snow in the Blue Ridge Mountains next weekend? Thanks!

News Flash: I realized tonight that I didn't post a lot of pictures from our time in Augusta, Georgia at Fort Gordon.  I will post those soon because Augusta is a BEAUTIFUL city y'all!

I couldn't have said it better myself.

I read a really funny blog called Busted Plumbing and she did a really funny post on people telling her to relax while trying to conceive.  You can read it here...  I'll wait on you to read it...

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Done?  OK, good.  She cracks me up!

When people tell me to relax I am going to direct them to her blog post and tell them that "just relax and it will happen" is the last thing someone trying to conceive for more than three months wants to hear...  I know people are trying to be helpful when they say it but to someone who desperately wants a baby and everyone around them can seem to get pregnant so easily, "relax" is the last thing you want to hear...

I'm not going to elaborate anymore because I could go off on a tanget that I really don't have time for right now...  I will end with this...  Kate is hilarious and you should all follow her!

the cat is OFFICIALLY out of the bag now.

I told my employers about our baby plans and that I am now on Clomid.  I wanted to warn them of the possible side effects of the medication.  Hopefully I won't experience any crazy side effects but I wanted them to know in the event that I do.

One of them said, "Kristen, have you ever seen Jon and Kate plus Eight?" I laughed and said that hopefully that won't happen to us!

I know I didn't have to tell them that we are trying to start a family but I wanted to be honest with them and let them know that in the near future I could be pregnant and would eventually have a baby and therefore be off work.

As of right now I will be coming back to work after I have the baby but if something changes with my husband's job situation the plan will be for me to stay at home with our baby.  I will definitely let them know as soon as I know if I will be coming back or not so that they can find a replacement for me if I will not be coming back.

No, I didn't go into all the details of every little thing with them.  I told them that we had been trying since April 2009 and was referred to a specialist in December for a problem and that I was diagnosed with PCOS and I will be starting Clomid.

I didn't want to tell anyone until we were pregnant but when I started having my problems we felt like we needed to tell our families.  I didn't want to answer a million questions and I didn't want to always feel like they were going to ask me every time I see them if we are pregnant or if it that special time of the month or any other question that you don't want to answer when you are trying to get pregnant.  Luckily, our families have been really good about not asking all of those questions!

So, did you tell your employer that you were trying? Why or why not?

the human pin cushion

That is what I feel like these days.  I feel like I am getting poked with some sort of needle all  the time.

I had more blood taken today and guess what...  I'm not pregnant, which I already knew.

I also had an ultrasound and my lining looks good and I have a lot of follicles in my ovaries.  I have about 16 in my left ovary and about that many or more in my right ovary.  So that is good too...

Next step, starting Clomid and that happens tonight!!!  I am excited and nervous so please say a prayer for me and Zach as we officially begin this journey!

Another Appointment

I have another appointment with my specialist tomorrow morning at 8:45.  I haven't started my period yet but I have been spotting since January 3rd.  At my last appointment my doctor told me to call today if I had not started and I would go in for bloodwork to make sure that I am not pregnant and then I could start taking the Clomid.  But since I have been spotting for a week I get to have an ultrasound also to measure my lining and then meet with the doctor to see what she wants me to do (start taking the Clomid or not).

So hopefully tomorrow she will say that it is fine for me to go ahead and start taking it and we will be on our way with cycle number 1 of Clomid.

I have been so excited to get this started.  It has been almost nine months since we started trying... maybe month number 9 will be our lucky month!  We are saying prayers that it is!

snow, SnOw, SNOW

It is supposed to snow here tomorrow and I could not be more excited!  I am hoping to wake up to a white blanket on the ground!  I absolutely LOVE snow and a snow day would be so much fun!!!

My northern readers are probably shaking their heads right now...  but us southern people do not see a lot of snow and any mention of it gets us excited...

I have to cut this short now, I have to make a list for the grocery store so that I can join everyone else in the world who is going to buy milk and bread tonight!

you had me at "let's got out to eat"

My wonderful husband called me this morning to tell me that he was craving a calzone and that he wanted to go out to eat tonight to get one...  (is he pregnant with his craving of a calzone?)  So then he suggested we go to Hungry Howie's.  But we thought the closest one was like an hour away but it turns out that there is one and it is only 20 minutes away!

We LOVE Hungry Howie's!  When Zach was in training at Fort Gordon in Augusta, Georgia we would order from there just about every weekend!  It is seriously the best pizza that I have ever had!  So when he suggested Hungry Howie's for dinner I got excited not only because I LOVE it but because I don't have to cook!

Moving right along...  on the baby topic: still waiting on my next cycle to start so I can start taking Clomid.  I have until Sunday the 10th for my next cycle to start before I go in for bloodwork.  If my cycle doesn't start because I am pregnant that would be FANTASTIC but if it just doesn't start I will be disappointed but I will just move right along and start my medication with the hopes that it will do the trick!

My sister just posted the flipping and changing that they have done in their house...  They inspired us to do some flipping and changing of our own.  We installed blinds on our back door so that you can't see in our house.  We switched our TV from one wall to another which involved moving the cable lines.  We rearranged the furniture in our living room to make it more open!  Our next project involves Karmen and her sewing machine.  She is going to help me make some curtains for our living room.  I have one fabric picked out and I am SO excited about it.  Also on our to do list is to paint our living room and our kitchen.  Right now our living room is red (my husband's choice not mine) and it is driving me insane.

Sorry I have no pictures of our rearrangement.  I have yet to take any.  We are still in the process of putting everything back in its place.  Once that is finished I will put some pictures up for you.

So there you have it...  we are going out to dinner tonight, we are waiting for my next cycle, and we are sprucing up our house...  not an exciting life but it is our life!

The Big One

As "the big cycle" (cycle number one on Clomid) draws near I am filled with many different emotions.  I am filled with excitement because we finally have answers and a solution to help us get pregnant.  We have wanted this for so long and now it is within our reach.  The thought that I could be pregnant by the end of January makes me so happy!

I am also filled with nervousness because I am not sure how this medication is going to affect me.  I have forewarned my husband and my family and my close friends that I may be a crazy lady while taking it...  Sorry in advance to all of you because if I am a crazy lady I will probably not post on here for fear of what I might say.

I am also nervous because this might not work for me right away...  I am trying not to get my hopes up that I will be pregnant by the end of January.  I know it can work but I don't want to expect anything that may not happen.  I have to keep a level head about all of this and just take one day at a time.

I have all of the crazy questions floating around in my mind: Are we ready?  Will I be a good mother?  How long will it take for us to get pregnant?  What if our baby is premature?  I have to tell myself many times each day to stop worrying about the things I can't control and to just let God do what He has planned for us.  He knows all of the answers to these questions!

We are so happy to be starting our year off this way and we know that 2010 holds a lot of good things for us!  We are glad that you are along for the ride!