Vday 2013

Valentines 2013 was spent in Chicago!! Mrs had some days off from work that were fixing to expire, so we strung them together and had a mini-getaway. Left Wed and came back Saturday. We decided to drive as a large part of our trip was a visit to IKEA (insert dramatic sound effects). Holy shit, what a store! We both had our IKEA cherry popped and loved every minute of it. We spent about a paycheck, but was very worth it. Tons of things for the nursery and a few things for us. We double dated for VD night with our friends and then saw an amazing drag show at the Baton Club!! Too much fun. Aside from me being totally sick the whole time and feeling like shit, it was a fantastic trip! The Mrs surprised me with the new Jewel CD, some local dark chocolate, and a sweet little card.

 I'm still the luckiest girl in the world!!

 

 

Oh, and we had breakfast at Bongo Room in Andersonville on our way out of town. Came recommended by T&E and it was packed. We were able to get a seat up at the bar, which was a great spot. MRS got Chocolate French Toast and I got Cannoli Hotcakes. Imagine our surprise when this arrived at our table:

Holy smokes!!! We ate on it all for 3 days or so. Found out later we could get a half order....c'est la vie!! Delicioso!!



Destin September 2012

Went to Destin, FL with the Mrs., mom, and Judy. First time in Destin and now don't ever want to go anywhere else. The water was so clear and blue, it looked like the Caribbean. We stayed at the Windancer Condos right on the beach; was small, but nice. We got in late Tuesday evening after the Mrs got off work; we lucked out and she was able to leave at 1pm versus her scheduled 5:30. I had the truck packed and we hit the road shortly after she arrived home.

This trip was excellent timing with our insemination. Relaxing and allowed the Mrs a good opportunity to get her mind "off of things" as much as she can. Was a good time for us to have "us" time, even though we were with other people.

We didn't do a ton of stuff. Lounged around on the beach, swam, snorkeled. We rented a kayak one day, which was great. We were probably 70 yards off the beach and were still able to see clear to the bottom. On a trip out with the Mrs, we saw a small shark. It was grey with a white stripe down the side of it. When I first saw it, I wasn't sure if it was just a fish or a shark. Then, it swam directly beneath us and by the fins, it was obvious at that point. I accidentally let my oar dip into the water the slightest bit, and it was gone like a rocket. We also saw 3 small jellyfish. Luckily, these were only out off the shore and we never had any issues with them up close. On another day, I went out and saw what looked like a small sword fish but convinced myself that isn't what it was. Shortly after my sighting, I overheard the couple on the beach next to me saying they saw a baby swordfish so my eyes weren't playing tricks on me!

We had lunch at Whale's Tale where the food was decent and the view is phenomenal!! It's directly on the beach, all open, beautiful place to eat outside. I got fried shrimp, which were very good. The Mrs got a shrimp po boy sandwich that was very good as well. We ate dinner out 2 nights and went to AJ's Seafood and Oyster Bar and Pompano Joe's. Environment at both was great! Live music at AJ's was decent. Pompano Joe's had someone singing outside, but couldn't hear them unless sitting out on the patio. Mom got the Fried Shrimp and they were excellent! They also have the best hushpuppies. Other than that, the rest of us weren't very thrilled with our dinners. Judy and AR had grouper and both said it tasted quite fishy. I had Firecracker Shrimp appetizer and they were good, but extremely hot. Pompano Joe's was our favorite by far. I had a blackened ribeye, which I'd never had before. VERY delish! Mrs had the Seafood Sampler with grouper, shrimp, and scallops. We also had the voodoo shrimp appetizer which was very good. We stopped after dinner at AJ's at the Donut Hole where we'd been told you'd find the best key lime pie. Mrs loved it and I, not a lover of key lime pie, even liked it. It was very creamy, almost like a cheese cake and not too tart at all. Will stop again. Pompano Joe's touted their key lime pie as best on the beach, so Mrs tried theirs as well. Donut Hole wins hands down in my opinion. 

Judy and Mom left on Saturday and we rented a room at the Ramada that was right next door to the Condo. Room was fine, but not much care taken to cleaning it. Location and price were great. We stopped at Destin Ice Meat Market for shrimp to take home with us, and hit the road back to the city around 1130. Had a most excellent time and wanted to go back before we were half way home. We invited the Mrs parent's for dinner to eat our shrimp and grouper cakes. The shrimp was to die for, so dang good!!! Will for sure visit Destin Ice again in the future. 

For future trips, we think we'd like to go back either the last 2 weeks of Sept, or we heard it's good until 2nd week of October. Water temp during week we went was about 84 and temps in mid 80s all week. Got up to 90 on Saturday and Sunday. From reading, looks like water temps are in upper 70s in October. It was crowded for what I'm use to on beaches, but not too much by any means. Would not want to go any sooner I don't believe, and to go in the middle of summer would be pure hell!!! People and traffic would be ridiculous! Address of Windancer was 162 Windancer Lane and this location was great. Anything near the Whale's Tale might be too much as there are numerous public access spots and therefore more people. Can't wait to go back! 

Babies

Baby attempt #4 is upon us. We've had 3 unsuccessful IUI attempts, that all went "perfect" according to our Doc. After this last attempt, Doc suggested we try a new donor, so we have one all picked out and ready to go. Was much easier this time around as we'd composed our original list and had some backups! This donor isn't necessarily all of the features we originally "wanted" (dark hair, dark eyes, dark complexion), but the Mrs. says his features remind her of me and I like that. So, we're going with light brown/hazel/medium this time around. 

Picking a new donor has pumped some new breath and excitement into it for us. Anyone who's been through it understands the pure emotional roller coaster that it is. Life is essentially lived in 2 week increments: inseminate, enter 2 week wait, watch the Mrs' body for early pregnancy signs, did aunt flo arrive?, yes, call doc, schedule another ultrasound in 2 weeks, rinse and repeat. Uggghhhh!!! Such excitement highs followed by such disappointment lows. When all is said and done and we are preggo, none of this will matter; in the meantime, it's rough. 

This is all from my side of things - the non-pregnant soon-to-be mother. I can only imagine that it is different for the Mrs. as not only her mind is going through all this, but her body is our vessel, so she has much more going on that I do. 

We can only be hopeful with every new attempt. Mrs. has started acupuncture for pregnancy which she is loving; she's had 3 sessions at this point. The first 2 were during our last insemination cycle. She also saw a Reiki master and had a session with her that she said was an awesome experience. We're doing our best to stay relaxed and keep things as positive as possible. 

Now, for my horrible memory, here's the dates we've had ultrasounds and the dates we followed that with insemination:

Attempt #1: Ultrasound 5/21/12 CD 11, Inseminate 5/24/12 CD 14

Attempt #2: Ultrasound 6/19/12 CD 13, Inseminate 6/20/12 CD 14  and 6/21 CD 15

Attempt #3: Ultrasound 7/16/12 CD 13, Inseminate 7/18/12 CD 15

Attempt #4: Ultrasound 8/13/12 CD 13, Inseminate 8/16/12 CD 16 
Attemp #5:  Ultrasound 9/12/12 CD 14, Ultrasound #2 9/14 CD 16, Inseminate 9/16 CD 18. Slow growing follicle this cycle. Was 13mm CD 14 and between 16-17 on CD 16. Had +OPK Saturday morning, inseminated Sunday morning. Light spotting on Monday CD 26 and Tuesday CD 27. Changed from brown/tan to red Tuesday night and period started Wed CD 28. Not scheduled to start until Sun 9/30 if we had ovulation date right. This makes for a 9 day luteal phase. 
Had air sonohysterogram on 10/4/12 CD 9. Everything clear!! 
Attempt #6: Ultrasound 10/10/12 CD 15, Inseminate 10/11/12 CD 16. Had an HCG trigger shot morning of insemination, will start progesterone evening of insemination. This is it!

Well, attempt #6 was not it. However, lucky number 7 was the one!! I write this several months after, so I dont' remember CDs and follice measurements. It was a medicated cycle and she had several large juicy follices waiting. We were very nervous about multiples, but that didn't happen. We found out on the Mrs.' birthday -- how flippin' cool is that?!?! I told her my presents were going to pale in comparison! We are 18 weeks pregnant with our baby girl -- that's right, a GIRL!!!! Our OB told us we'd find out the sex at our 20 week ultrasound, however the Mrs. is way to nosey to wait that long. We struggled back and forth about finding out b/c I didn't want to find out at all, and the Mrs wanted to find out ASAP! I should have known from the beginning that was a battle I would not win! Our tech who've we've made friends with offered to have us come at 14 weeks and she's scan us on her own. Legs open and hamburger sign present -- all girl!! Check her out:

She's due August 1, 2013 and is doing great and growing right on schedule. She's giving mom a hard time with headaches, but I have a feeling that will continue for a long time!! Dying to meet her!!

Three Year Anniversary

August 8, 2012 - 3rd year anniversary with the Mrs. Since our wedding date has replaced today, we don't put as much emphasis on it as we use to. However, the yearly milestone is still a big one, and I wanted to acknowledge it. I got the Mrs. a card w/a love note I wrote inside, Reese Big Cup (maybe she'll want to share!), and tix to see Kelly Clarkson in September. She seemed pretty excited. I got a sweet letter, and some Fila Skele Toes!! Super excited! They are black/lime green, very sharp. I'll test them out for the first time when we float the Buffalo Labor Day weekend, then at the beach in September. Great evening! 

Past Due Dates / Things to Remember

Ray Lamontagne and Brandi Carlisle at Grand Ole Opry - Sept 21, 2011

Cirque de Soleil, Alegria at Bridgestone - June 16, 2011

David Gray at Grand Ole Opry - June 30, 2011

AC's Bday, November 18, 2011 - Got her a reading with Psychic Rebecca, What to Expect When You're Expecting Book, Gigi's Lemon Cupcake. Her parents were here for Aunt Sharon's doc appt. We all went to dinner at PF Changs, then met mom at Fleming's for drinks. Mom got her a Burberry scarf. Aunt Sharon's tumor was cancer, looking at surgery to remove then treat cancer.

Christmas 2011: Got AC: vest from Eddie Bauer, socks from Eddie Bauer, vest from Buckle, Crystal ball earrings, ring from Target, Martha Stuart lunch carriers, Sign from Christmas Village.
She got me: Dremel Trio Tool Set, set of wrenches, stud finder, clamps, jacket from Eddie Bauer, Black vest,  10 out of 10 shirt w/ CD.

Valentine's Day 2012

Had a wonderful day. My girl had to be to work early, so got up early with her. Had a gift bag and card waiting for me on the kitchen table when I stumbled out to make coffee. Scored some sweet treats, a kick ass bottle opener from World Market, some undies, chocolate covered strawberries, and a very sweet card with a hand written note inside.

For her, I made her Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls and made one into a heart shape. The idea was for all of them to be heart shaped, but these cinnamon rolls weren't made like the last ones I ate (couldn't even tell ya when I last ate them). When i tried to unroll them so that I could re-roll into a heart shape, they started to tear apart. So, I did what I could. 

I also had a Valentine's Basket for her. Inside were some treats - chocolates, twizzlers, Peeps, gummy raspberries; and a homemade card. 

Next was a tin of lemon pirrouettes and I taped to the bottom of these, tickets to the Predators and Blackhawks game for that night. 

Had flowers delivered to her work also. 2 white long stemmed callas with 1 red rose in a box from Emmas. 

We went and had a quick dinner at Cinco de Mayo, then headed to the game. Kick ass seats and the Preds won 3-2. 

Good day and night!! 

Hmmm....something to ponder

Know that things cannot be perfect all the time, but why is the middle ground so bad. Things are either perfect, or a real crap sandwich. Think it's possibly more in my head than anything else. Wonder if you think it sucks too, or are you over it and are fine when we don't get along? Should I be better with it and just let it go? Should it bother me like it does? What is healthier? You can be so mean and I wish it weren't so. Also wish I wasn't so sensitive about it. That would probably resolve the issue altogether. Looking for help to let things roll off my back better. I do love you and just hate it so when we don't get along. What's a girl to do....hmmmm.