I'm still here...

So, I know I've been MIA lately, and I'm sorry. The school year is wrapping up, we've begun this whole house project, AND we've started a revival at our church. Something had to give, and, unfortunately, that something ended up being my blog. But I miss it, and I promise that as soon as things slow down a bit (after school is out, at the least), I'll return to posting and commenting regularly. I'm so sorry to those of you who have needed my support and I haven't been offering it. If it's any consolation at all, I have been thinking about you, whether I've been able to "drop by" or not.

Not a lot to report on at the moment. AF is hopefully packing her bags to get the heck out of here. She made her presence from Wednesday until yesterday afternoon (don't usually have the killer cramps for that long), and she has DEFINITELY overstayed her welcome.

The kids have been wild at school, too. It's like I'm not even talking to them anymore. I'm "evil" because I don't just let them play all day (yes, we still have to do some work--school isn't out yet), and I may as well tell the walls to be quiet and sit down, because there's a greater chance that would happen.

I wish I could tell you that the house project was coming along swimmingly. Last Friday, they began building up the floor in the existing garage (new family room). 

Notice that it's not finished yet, because they're waiting on the plumber to connect some pipes from our current bathroom for MIL's new bathroom.

Well, since last week, here is our progress.  On Wednesday (5/12), we had a pipe delivered.  Here's what it looked like when I got home.

Not only is it *JUST* a pipe, but it's also just there.  It's not connected to anything.  It's not been drilled into the concrete blocks to join the other pipe work in our house.  It's just there.  See?

Our builder asked me on Thursday evening if I had noticed any markings or flags along the driveway, as he had called to let the phone company and electric company know we'd be digging.  They come out and mark where the lines go so they can try to avoid cutting anything important.  I told him I hadn't noticed anything.  Friday, I came home to this:

Can you see the orange markings in the driveway?  That's spray-painted all along the driveway, in the yard, and even across the gutter that was leaning against the side of the house.  (Never mind the "For Sale" sign.  That's for MIL's current house.  We were just getting it out of my car.) 

I just keep telling myself that it's about to get to the fun stage, when I can pick out new furniture and paint and fixtures. 

I'll leave you with a picture of my monster hosta.  It has overtaken the entire space between the house and the walkway. 

Isn't it funny that this one was planted at the same time?!  (Oops!  It was planted underneath the vent from the dryer.)

Hugs and baby dust,

Wednesday's Wishes

To follow up on yesterday's post, the lie was number 2. My darling husband DOES fix my lunch for me sometimes (because he swears I don't eat enough if he doesn't), and I DID graduate from college a semester early. My "rare" pink quarter, though, is actually just a plain quarter that somehow fell victim to a bottle of nail polish. My great-grandmother gave it to me when I was little (I guess she got it with her change at the store or something), and I just couldn't bear to part with it. I refused to spend it, and I still have it. So, while I DO have a pink quarter, it was NOT minted that way.

Time for Wishes...

Today, I wish we could retire some phrases often given to us infertiles as advice from well-meaning (yet uninformed) individuals from the "other side." Here is a short list I've come up with in just a few minutes. Feel free to add your own. Please pardon my sarcasm.

* Relax, and it will happen (Oh, is that how it works? I thought it would be easier if I stayed all tensed up.)
* It will happen when it is supposed to (So all this "perfect timing" business is just a marketing ploy?)
* Take a cruise(I'm 24 days away from my third one....how many do you have to take? I don't really need the special laundry service.)
* Don't think about it and it will happen (Yeah, and I do that how?)
* Just adopt and it will happen for you (Gee, now why didn't I think of that sooner? Honey, could you add a baby to the shopping list?)

I apologize for the cynical nature of my post today, but there are very few IRL people who know about our struggles, and I get tired of hearing all of this unwarranted "advice" from them regularly. I know they don't know what to say to me. Usually, I just shrug it off when they inquire about when we are going to expand our family (because when they ask when we're going to "start" our family, I usually respond with, "We are a family already."). But, it seems like everybody is full of the same advice. I even have an acquaintance who went through IF treatments to conceive both of her daughters, and she even tells me some of this stuff. Grrr.

Sorry for all the venting this week. I'll blame it on the extra stress of the last weeks of school. Hope your Wednesday is wonderful!

Hugs and baby dust,

Two Truths and a Lie Tuesday

Happy Tuesday, everyone! (Wow, I sound way too chipper this morning! Trust me, it's all a front. While I am indeed a morning person, I am not feeling so perky today.) I'm trying to regroup and maintain my regular posts again. I missed a few last week, and I'm sorry. It's proving to be a trying week for me, but I'm going to try my best to keep up with my posting.

Here are today's statements. Which one isn't true? (And thank you to all who play my little "game" each week.)

1. My dear, sweet husband makes my lunch once or twice a week.

2. I possess a rare pink quarter, minted in 1978.

3. I graduated from college in 3 1/2 years.

There you have them. Two of these gems are the truth. Can you figure out which one is not?

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In TTC news, spot found me this morning. Grrrrr! I don't feel all teary this month like I did last month, but it makes me SO MAD that this means that AF will likely follow me to the Bahamas next month. *Double Grrrrr* Hope your day started better than mine.

Hugs and baby dust,

Happy Blog-oversary!

So, today is the first anniversary of my blog. Exactly one year ago today, this site was constructed--on that day specifically to vent about MD. I never dreamed anyone would actually want to read it and follow along with me on this journey!

I hope everyone is doing well. I'm sorry I didn't get to post all weekend--but it was busy, busy, busy. Today, I'm feeling blah. Nothing hurts, nothing's wrong. I just feel like I could go to bed and sleep 'til Friday. And my nose is all stuffed up, despite my daily allergy medicine. Ah, well...this, too, shall pass.

Here's my Monday Musings. It's a continuation from last week's "Kids on Love" topic. Here are a few more questions I asked my students to answer:

3. WHEN IS IT OKAY TO KISS SOMEONE?
• When you feel comfortable with kissing in front of your parents.
• when they are together for at least 1 month! (because they need to get to know that person before they can trust them with their lips)
• about 16 years old
• 2nd date
• whenever
• when you’re old enough—like 17 or older
• 19 or 20—that’s my age limit
• 14
• when you have been dating for a long time (and are at least 15)
• on the 5th date, I think it would be fine. They know each other pretty well—oh, and 16 years old.

4. THE GREAT DEBATE: IS IT BETTER TO BE SINGLE OR MARRIED?
• Single—because you can still think boys are cute and you can still date
• Married—because you can spend the rest of your life with someone you love and not have to be all alone, unless you’re too young (to get married?)
• married—so you have someone to back you up
• married, because you’re hardly ever alone and you can have more laughs when you’re with somebody

5. WHAT IS IT LIKE TO FALL IN LOVE?
• you never want to be apart and you will do anything for the person you love, and you never want anyone else
• it’s cool
• when you fall in love it means you care for someone and don’t want anything to happen to them, and you want them to be happy and grow up and marry the person they love (and hope it is you)
• beautiful!
• it’s different
• you feel these weird feelings in your stomach
• it feels like your whole life flew by
• it sweeps you off your feet (I don’t know but I’m just guessing)
• you can’t stop thinking about the person; you both like each other mutually. You always want to be with the person; you smile every time you see them. They make you laugh constantly and when you’re with them you’re always happy and having fun.


Hugs and baby dust,

Finally Friday!

I thought this day would never come!  I don't know how everyone else is feeling, but this week has been creeeeping ever so slowly for me.  We've started the state assessment at school, so my schedule has been disrupted, too.  Plus that took my planning time away. 

I've had a really tough time coming up with fun facts for today, so if they're too boring, I apologize in advance.

1.  String cheese is one of my favorite snacks (perhaps because I can take it apart?).

2.  While I loved school very much growing up, I only received the "perfect attendance" awards twice in the 13 years I was in school.

3.  I was able to get into my attic yesterday for the first time since I built the house 4 1/2 years ago.  (another story for another day.)

So, I guess today's "fun facts" aren't so fun.  I'm sorry.  I guess my brain's just soaked up all the creative juices and left me with nothing this week.  Maybe next week's facts will be better.

Have a fabulous Friday and a wonderful weekend, everone!

Hugs and baby dust,

Thoughtful Thursday

"When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it." - Henry Ford

I'm a bad, bad person. Or at least, I certainly feel like one today. I just came home from school and cried for 20 minutes. About absolutely nothing I can control. And it wasn't even about MD this time. I'll tell you why, but you'll just agree that I'm a bad, bad person. You see, we're adding on to our house so my MIL can move in with us. It's not what you think--really. I love my MIL, and this is the best decision for our family. While this isn't exactly the way I pictured our family expanding in 2010, it is best for all of us.

So, once we made the decision, we jumped through all the hoops at the bank. The entire process has been a "hurry-up-and-wait" kind of deal. I expected it, but Special J is new to the whole construction thing. We are turning our current garage into a (huge) family room, and we're adding a new garage with a room for MIL, plus a couple of rooms upstairs over the garage. (We do not currently have an upstairs in our house.) Once we got our loan approved (had a little trouble with the appraisal...grr), we made our first draw on the loan and paid a bit to our contractor. A week or so went by with nothing to show for it. Then, we had a dumpster delivered.

 

That was three weeks ago now. We also had to have our satellite moved. See the "old" pole?

Yesterday, I noticed that some supplies had been delivered when I got home from school. Finally, some progress! We joked that it'd be another week before anything else was done. But at church last night, my contractor asked me if we could get the rest of our stuff out of the garage before today. Um, sure. No problem. So are WE the only ones who have to work at a moment's notice? (It's a good thing I wsn't ovulating yesterday! I'd have had to tell him NO!)

So, that brings me to today. When I left for work this morning, the end of my house looked like this:

This afternoon, it looks like this:

No brick...no gutter...no garage door...no outside lights.  It's all gone.  They said they're hoping to build the floor up tomorrow.  We'll see.

There you have it. The cause of my tears. And that's why I'm a bad, bad person.  Special J, if you're reading this, please don't get the wrong idea. You just have to remember that I built this house myself (well, not with my own two hands or anything). It was mine. I happily shared it with you, but now it is changing to fit our needs. Forgive me if I'm just a little bit sad about it. I'll get over it. Soon. I promise.

Thanks for being patient with me, dear readers. I just needed a good vent session, I guess. I'll try to be more fun tomorrow.

Hugs and baby dust,

Wednesday's Wishes

I'll keep it simple today. I wish a lollipop, a band-aid, and a kiss on the forehead still made the world better.

In response to yesterday's post, statement #1 was the lie. While I did have 3 years of Spanish in high school (and nearly got enough hours of it in college for a minor), I am only fluent in English. And technically, I guess my movie collection isn't really arranged like that anymore. It was, but now I have a niece and nephew who frequently visit and rearrange them for me (whether I wanted them to or not)!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Wednesday. We're halfway through the week!

Hugs and baby dust,

Two Truths and a Lie Tuesday

Gosh, this game just keeps getting harder and harder to come up with stuff. I can't imagine anyone is really interested in these useless facts about me, but I guess as long as readers keep playing, I'll keep dishing them out. Here ya go!

1. I speak 4 languages.
2. My CD and movie collections are arranged by genre, then alphabetically.
3. I'm VERY cold-natured. I keep a blanket near my seat on the couch year-round, and always take one on trips for the car ride there.

Which one is the lie?

Facing My Demons

Yesterday, I broke down and bought cards for that--ahem--gift-giving occasion occurring next Sunday.  I hope my mom and MIL like the cards because they pretty much got the first two I found that said "From Both of Us."  I contemplated getting them the same card so I'd only have to read one, but I did that one year and then cringed as I realized what I'd done when they opened them together at lunch.  This particular shopping trip was a double whammy, though, as I had to also purchase a card for the baby gift I hastily bought last weekend.  Maybe that means I won't have to do that again for a while.  One can only hope. 

If you are a mother (or a mother-to-be) and you read my blog, please do not think I mean any ill will toward you or the holiday set aside to honor you.  I know that you truly are deserving of it.  It's just a bitter pill to swallow, and I have a bad habit of getting pills stuck in my throat.

Hugs and baby dust,

Monday Musings

Several years ago, I was sent a forward via email that was about kids' answers to questions about love.  Their hilarious answers sometimes surprised me by how "wise" they seemed.  So, the year DH and I were engaged, I began asking my class of fifth graders some of these "love" questions.  Last Friday, I polled this year's group of 10 and 11 year-olds (and a couple of 12-year-olds), and have decided to share their responses with you, dear readers.  I won't put them all at once, as that would make for a VERY long post, but I will share a couple of questions each Monday for the next few weeks.  (Maybe that will carry my Monday posts into summer vacation.) I have corrected spelling for ease of reading, but if they put something in parentheses, I left it like that. Sometimes, I made a comment about their answers. They are in italics inside parentheses.

1. WHAT IS THE PROPER AGE TO GET MARRIED?
• 24 because you will know what kind of people you like to be around by then
• at least 19 (but in the older days it was way younger)
• 25 years old because I have seen it happen
• 35 or whenever you think you have found the right person, not because everyone else is doing it
• 18 because my mom did
• 25 years old is the youngest in my opinion; if you’re a teen, that’s too young. 25 sounds right to me. I think 30 is too late. (Whew! I barely made it in time!)
• 18 because that’s when you turn into an adult (just like Cinderella, huh?)

2. WHAT DO MOST PEOPLE DO ON A DATE?
• Kiss—I have seen it in a movie
• talk to each other, get to know each other (but on 1st date—NO KISS)
• go out and eat
• hold hands
• usually eat, talk, sometimes kiss. It depends on what date it is to kiss though. #1 and #2 is too early.


Well, there you have it, folks. Stay tuned for the rest of the low-down on love. I'd be interested to see how many of these kids follow their own advice!

Hugs and baby dust,

Sunday's Sketch

I found this picture online, and it (along with its message) reminds me of so many of you wonderful people I have "met" via the message boards and blogging. You all give me hope when it seems there is no hope to be had. I also realize I am not alone--there are others aching in the same ways I am. I may not be able to physically comfort any of you, but if I could I would put my arms around you all and give you a great big hug. Thanks for always being there.

In case you can't read it,  the verse says: "Courage doesn't always roar.  Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, 'I will try again tomorrow.'"

Hugs and baby dust,

Saturday Catch-up...

So I've been a bad, bad blogger this week. Dear readers, I can't make any promises for May, either. This is probably the busiest time of the year for me. We'll be wrapping up the school year at the end of the month, and there is A LOT to do between now and then. I also have a wedding to do and a consult on one in June, and we should be starting an addition onto our home within the next week or so. Whew! I'm tired just thinking about it! I will do my best to continue my regular posts, but please don't give up on me if I miss a few days here and there. Things *should* return to "normal" once school is out.

Oh, how do I catch up with the last 4 days? Thanks to Lis for giving a shout out to my blog. I hope your magazine arrives soon, and I really hope you like it. (If it doesn't show up, please let me know. It's been paid for, so they better get it to you!) Also, thanks to Erika, who was my secret pal for April. She sent me a wooden set of tangrams. I love puzzles, and I've done tangrams with my fifth graders, but they were paper. I can't wait to figure it all out. Great stress relief!

If you've followed our weight loss at all, I'm stuck again. *blah* I've now lost about 43 pounds, while DH has lost 102! I'm so very proud of him. I love him no matter what, but I hope our future children (hey, I'm trying to be positive here) will know just how hard their daddy worked to get them here. Today, we had splurge day. We have those a couple of times a month, but today's was more "splurge" than usual. The weather was horrible here today--just in time for the KY Derby,nonetheless. We've had about 3 inches of rain so far, and it's still coming down. Tomorrow is looking to be just wet, too. We slept in (after being awakened 3 times by the weather radio), and then ran some errands before having lunch at Long.Horn Steakhouse. *Yummy*

After a soggy trip to Wal.Mart, we decided to have a treat and stopped by Bru.ster's ice cream (I highly recommend chocolate peanut butter buckeye) before heading to the grocery store. For dinner, we had breakfast: whole wheat toast with reduced sugar strawberry jam and honey butter, homemade hashbrowns, and bacon (it was low-cal, too). My belly is all full, and I'm ready to rest, even though I had a short nap earlier!

Okay, now for my own response to my last post. Thanks so much to those of you who commented to Tuesday's Two Truths and a Lie. (This is one of my favorite days to post.) Here are the facts: #1--Truth. When I was in the eighth grade, my English teacher sent a poem I wrote to a contest, and it was published. #2--Truth. My kindergarten class went on a field trip to a radio station (and I was deeply disappointed when there were no "stars" there). While there, we sang a couple of verses of Short.n'in Bread. That would make #3 the lie. While I was always curious, as a child, to see if there really was anything at the end of a rainbow, my mom would never let me. Thanks so much for playing!

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On the TTC front, I'm not sure what's happening. According to FF, I ovulated on Tuesday, but I didn't get a Peak on my CBEFM until Wednesday--the same day I had a positive OPK. What gives? Oh, well. My body never does what it's supposed to, anyway.

You might remember that my best "school" friend moved to a different school this year, and I rarely see or talk to her anymore. She sent me the most lovely gift for Christmas (a wooden pendant monogrammed with my initials), but my 30th birthday came and went without so much as an email from her. I was surprised, but not terribly hurt. I understand--we're not around each other anymore. She's several years older than I (16, I think), and she just doesn't need me anymore. So, yesterday, when I had an envelope in the mailbox from her, I thought maybe it was a belated birthday card. Glad to have any kind of correspondence from her, I opened it carefully...and found an invitation to a baby shower for her stepson and his wife. *Ouch* Wanting to get it over quickly (I subscribe to the pulling-a-bandaid-off methodology), I picked up a gift today while I was out in the rain, but I just don't do baby showers right now. DH told me that everyone would know when I was pg because I suddenly started going to baby showers again. I told him that I wouldn't have to worry about it because everyone I know would have already had a baby shower by then. *sigh*

Hope everyone is doing well.

Hugs and baby dust,