A Recipe Cook / Blog Changes

That's me!  I definitely am not a cook by nature.  I bake very well but I'm reluctant to experiment with my own recipes.  Meaning I very rarely veer off the beaten path.  And well cooking...lets just say I wasn't the best eater growing up so of course I took very little interest in creating food.  I cooked with my mom but it was always meat and potatoes and very bland seasonings.  

Now that I'm older and my palate has changed...cough..cough..I've stopped being so stubborn.  I have found that I do really enjoy food.  With lots of different  flavors, textures, and styles.  I now find myself stalking the food blogs looking for new fantastic recipes.  Now I will say I have had to adjust a few of them to suit some of my food aversions and to make them a smidge bit healthier, but I have come across a few great winners!

As you may or may not have noticed.  I have cleaned up my blog reader a little bit.  And I've added some running and food blogs that I have found quite good.  I'm not running right now, but I plan on getting back to it PDQ after PJ is born, and I plan on attacking it harder than I ever had.  I want to do a marathon next summer.  So reading other runner's blogs and healthy nutrition blogs is keeping me very motivated.  

Any of the recipes I try that are a hit I will definitely post a link to them here for my fellow blog friends.  Like this one ....  Fresh Margarita Chicken  from Iowa Girl Eats.  It was FANTASTIC!!!  I even made the lime cilantro rice and the guacamole.  LolaBean and JD loved it!  It was super easy.  I was nervous about the guacamole as I'm not a huge avocado fan, but on top of the chicken it was pure heaven!  Seriously pop over, check it out and try it.  You will not be sorry!

Anyway, this blog post was intended to tell you where I am heading with this blog.  It will be more of a family blog about cooking, running and parenting after Infertility.  My trying to conceive days are over.  I turn 35 this week.  Our second baby girl is due this summer.  And doing another DE cycle just gives me anxiety thinking about it.   Maybe that will change...I mean I'm only 35, but for now...no more...  I still hope you will follow me and my family's adventures.  And I hope you like what you find gracing this space.

Much Love!

ks

Success' Abound!

There have been some fantastic happenings in our blog community lately.  Two bloggers that I have followed for a long time, have very unexpectedly become moms recently.  Both through the miracle that is adoption.  I don't comment a whole lot on the blogs I read as I mostly read on my phone, but I'm always reading and cheering people on.  I had to post about these two stories because they just got me so darn excited.  

Patience and her husband from Searching for the Missing Piece was just surprised by a birth mother who dropped off her baby at a hospital with specific instructions that she wanted them to be the adoptive parents.  Of course there was a ton of red tape to go through until the birth mother's wishes could be fulfilled but none the less, they now have their son home with them.  And if all keeps going as it should they should be expecting their daughter's arrival soon as well.  They were right smack in the middle of an adoption with a birth mother who I believe is due in May (I think).  I pray that this adoption still goes through as well.  Patience and her husband have been through so much, and have prayed so hard for this baby girl that is on her way.  I really and truly hope the birth mother continues with her plan of placing her miracle girl with them.

And the second amazing story is SIF from Single Infertile Female.  She was at a work function when one of her coworker (of sorts) took a phone call and after hanging up exasperated asked the group if anyone knew anybody who is looking to adopt?  What are the chances?  And amazingly enough the birth mother and SIF hit it off and everything is a go.  From beginning of adoption call to delivery it might be a week (maybe).  The birth mother has been having irregular contractions for the past 3 days now!  And they only just met 3-4 days ago!  It's just beautiful!

I'm just so happy for our fellow IF'rs that get their happy endings, whichever way they come to us.  And seeing these two families finally achieve this is wonderful.  I wish all of us would find our happy endings. Why I felt a need to post these two stories is because both are so different and yet so similar.  Both had at one point or another lost hope.  Both were still trying to achieve their dreams yes, but they had both changed what they were envisioning.  One was directing their attention to fostering to adopt and older child and the other was resigned to have one child maybe...  And life just threw them a curve ball.  Sometimes the surprises and the bends in the road do in fact lead us to great things.

Tonight I will continue to pray for all of my fellow IF'rs.  And tonight as every night I will be grateful for everything I have and cherish every moment.

Much Love!
ks

Teething ... And blogger advise needed!

What a nightmare teething can be!  It sneaks up on you.  And I don't know about everyone else's babies but with LolaBean it's kind of a guessing game that it is her teeth that are bugging her.  LB has a full mouth of teeth.  The only ones she is missing is her four eye teeth, stomach teeth, canines, whatever people call them!  LOL!  I've heard them referred to by all this last week!  Because she has a mouth full of teeth it is very rare that we actually get up enough nerve to stick our fingers in her mouth.  The minute you do put that peter pointer finger near her mouth she chomps down with all her might with this devilish little smile on her face.  And she laughs and laughs while you squeal in pain!  It's just plain mean!  And of course it is something JD taught her.  I told him to stop laughing when she would bite him as it would turn into all kinds of bad.  Did he listen?  Nope!  LOL!  Momma knows!

Suffice it to say this last week has been a bit of a struggle.  We've had the flu bug rip through my offices, my sitters, my family and friends, and LB teething.  This time with her teething she decided not to eat or sleep.  She went without food from Wednesday to Sunday, just taking bottles and the random yogurt and some, very little fruit.  Arrggh!  But the sleeping thing was killing us.  And even now with the tooth broken through she is still getting up at around 4:45 am every day.  This is not very productive to Mommy getting ready for work.  I can only get up so dang early!  

Usually my little muffin pops more than one tooth at a time, so I don't think we are out of the woods yet...  But she's still happy so that's a plus!  I can't believe how fast this last 16 months has gone.  I so hope I get to experience all of this again.  Even the pregnancy stuff.  Oh the aches and pains, but then the best part the kicks!  It makes me all teary eyed just thinking of it!  One of my employees is pregnant...I kind of have a hard time looking at her belly and yet I try and peak at it every week to see if it's bigger.  Gosh IF has really done a number on me!

I realized I haven't posted any pics in awhile...So for your viewing pleasure...Without further ado...Miss LolaBean!

Sick Baby with a cold, but still rocking her sweet sense of style!

Pointing out all the fallen leaves!

Her New Pink Chair

Maybe I'll do a full separate post about this...but I'll put this question out there to all my blog friends.  What photo programs are you all using to be able to write on your photos?  And seriously can any one help me redesign my blog?  I hate that I have no clue how to navigate blogger anymore.  It's not nearly as user friendly as it once was.  Help!!!

Much Love!

ks

The Nursery Revealed!

It is finally all finished!  Wow what a job!  I think it took us this long as we were afraid we were getting ready for heart ache.  But we've moved (sort of) past this stage, and are embracing that we have a baby girl coming home in the next 4 weeks (maybe sooner)!  Without further ado....

Well there it is.  The pictures on the wall are from embryo development until now.  I have one blank one that will get filled on Thursday.  And the pink one is save for her newborn pictures.  I know it's hard to tell the wall colour but it is actually white.  We wanted to stay very gender neutral on the colour that way if we are fortunate enough to get preggo on our last embryo, we can adjust the nursery to suit whatever second bubble might be.

Things are going well here.  I have a feeling that I will be very lucky to make it another 2 weeks.  I don't know why I feel this way, but I really don't think I am going to make it to 40 weeks.  But who knows, watch I'll end up getting induced!  LOL!  I finished packing her diaper bag.  I packed my 'travel' bag, minus my make up and hair stuff obviously.  And when JD gets home I am going to get him to get my suitcase from the basement so I can start getting my hospital suitcase ready to rock.

I am still having issues with 'Blogger'.  I can not access one of my blog favorites.  And I really want Meagan to know that I am thinking of her.  I have been where she is, and it is a hard place to pull yourself out of.  Nothing about IF is fair.  You just do what you can to keep it together and keep putting one foot in front of the other.  If that means taking a girls weekend, hitting the gym, shopping (even when you don't need it), or eating pounds of chocolate than do it.  Slowly but surely you will recover from this failure.  I promise.  Please know I am thinking of you!

Mush Love!

ks



200th Post!

Wow!  It seems like just yesterday I discovered the blogging community.  And what a sweet relief it was to know that we are not alone.  I started this blog to help me deal with my diagnosis of POF.  And it really has helped me.  Getting it all out there in the open, it's a release!  There are still times I get really down about our situation, but I can't change it, so I just have to deal with it and find a way to complete our dreams in a different manner.  And that's what we've done. 

With the help of fellow bloggers I have come to a very comfortable place with donor.  I'm still figuring out how we are going to approach the topic with our children, but I'm hopeful that if we raise them with love and honesty that they won't grow up with any issues with their origins.  Anyway, if you are one of my readers Thank you for hanging in with me for 200 rambling posts!  I hope you enjoy some of what I write!

Onto Bebe Update

OB appointment yesterday.  No pelvic exam, no arguing over the Pap, victory for me!  Weight is up, not by much but enough that I need to keep my eye on it.  We heard the heartbeat - 155!  Yahh!  Talked about trying to get to the gym, Dr. says no, but I can swim, so another small victory!  SCH looks like it is fully healed, but B's sac is still there... :(  I had a good cry after the appointment about that.  JD says it's staying around to watch over it's sibling. 

I think the whole issue with me working out is because of the SCH and the gush that I had 5 weeks ago.  I think the Dr. might be worried that I might have an incompetent cervix, or maybe a risk of pre-term labour.  I think I read somewhere that woman who have very large SCH tend to delivery early, but I could be mistaken.  They all just might want me to get fat and lazy who knows!  But I tell you with my stupid thyroid disease and the fact that I only crave crap food, I am gaining weight way to fast.  I'm really going to have to work my butt off after this Bebe!  Oh well!

That's my update for today!

Much Love!

ks