Updating...

Yesterday Les got her teeth cleaned. Apparently her gums were really inflamed. They put dogs under when they're doing deep cleanings. When I got home (Kev and Dave were at agility class) she greeted me at the door but she wasn't her usual jumpy excited self. Her tail was down, her ears were down and she had these big glassy eyes looking up at me. So after I put my stuff down, we had a bit of a cuddle. Which was nice because she isn't usually a cuddly dog. Anyways she was kind of out of it the rest of the evening. Hopefully she'll be more like herself today. They put an IV in her so she has a shaved bald patch on her leg. Her skin is very spotty! Like a dalmation! Who knew she had spots under all that white fur.

Less that a week to go till I see GV! I'm excited but a bit apprehensive. Before our first ultrasound we saw Marl.ey & Me on TV. Yeah, the ultrasound scene really scared the crap out of me...that's what put the whole blighted ovum thought in my head. Then last night we were watching the latest episode of Ugl.y Bet.ty and it was the same thing! While we're watching it, Kevin tells me "Don't pay attention!" because I think he knew just how crazy M&M got me.

Most mornings after we wake up and I take my levothyro.xine, I usually have to pee. Afterwards I get back into bed and Kevin and I lie there listening to the radio station. Sometimes if I'm very still I think I feel GV moving. I'm not sure if it's real or just my stomach rumbling but I'm choosing to believe that it's Garden View.

Labor Day Recall

The drive down wasn't that bad. Kevin had a meeting get pushed back and so he ended up not leaving the house till 12:00 so we were half an hour off. Usually we handle it in three hour shifts and did this time as well. We got to my parent's around 1am. myDad actually let Les and Dave sleep in our room which isn't normal, but starting Saturday morning, they became outside dogs.

After their swim lesson in the morning (where we learned Les doesn'tuse her back legs when swimming) we left for Chicken's house. J is college football obsessed so we watched that, ordered in some Chinese food (which J doesn't like but was willing to endure since it meant he didn't have to leave his TV) and just hung out. Chicklet was a little angel. I even held her after her second feeding. Kevin held her right away and then again when I was done. I think he's ready for fatherhood. We left before dinner and when we got home myDad was out grilling (he's got the mac daddy setup!). myDad and I stayed up to watch The Sou.nd of Mus.ic. That movie is seriously a long a$$ movie! It's like 4 hours! Okay, I looked it up on imd.b.com and it's only 3 hours long....that's still long for an old movie. It'd be like a 6 hour movie in today's time, right?

I got Kylee done in enough time but didn't redo Chloe's head. I realized after I made them that their little button eyes are probably not kid-safe so I told Chicken and J that they could cut them off and I would reattach them when Chicklet was older. When I gave the dolls to Chicklet, J was so awesome. He took them to Chicklet's room and put them in the crib! Most of her dolls are on a high shelf in her room and I know that that's where they'll prolly end up, but still, it was cute to see him do that.

Sunday we went to Bus.ch Garde.ns. My mom had free tickets for working a big event held in February. It was a nice day for it and I got a hat for our cruise! Afterwards we cooked out again and then played Phas.e 10. It took 3 rounds for me to get the first phase done, but then I caught up and was in even in the lead once. Then Kevin won.

Monday morning came too soon and we had a 12+ hour drive ahead of us. But myMom and I got some shopping done at my favorite teacher store and then Kevin and I said our final goodbyes to Les and Dave. It was so sad. Les was all excited (she can sense when we're going on a trip) when we came out that last time. But we managed to drive away. We got home about 11:30pm.

So now that my 3.5-day weekend is over, I can relax and rest.

Busyness

Ack! How did an entire week go by without me posting? I need to get back in the habit of posting and commenting. Just as a warning, the next month or so's posts are going to be mainly soccer related. I tend to get a bit obsessive (at least that's what friends tell me) when I coach and with the break in TTC I don't really have anything else to write about.

Monday - Everything went great at practice. Except that I forgot my watch. I didn't forget it really, I just usually keep it in my car and then drove Kevin's car to practice. Wait! Crap, I did it again today. I think I need to buy another watch - one for each car. I don't normally wear a watch so I usually take it off first chance I get (in the car) and then don't usually remember about it till I'm on my way to a game/practice. So I leave it in the car. After practice I met briefly with the parents and got to meet my team manager. So far so good.

Tuesday - I use to play indoor at one place on Monday nights, but since I'm now practicing on Mondays, I had to switch to the other indoor place. They play on Tuesdays. This was the first time I was able to go and it turned out to be the last time they're doing Tuesday pick up games. Apparently not enough women are interested so they're trying to fold the girls into the co-ed league. Which is on Monday nights. But I did find out about an outdoor league that starts up next month. I might do that instead. Ooh, and I got to use my new toy - a Po.lar Hea.rt Ra.te Moni.tor (PHRM) - while playing.

Wednesday - Practice #2! It was stormy the whole drive (45 min. north of where I work!) up, but as I turned off the freeway, the storm let up. Turned into a real nice afternoon and a great practice. However I became confused when I was practicing and thought practice ended at 6:30 instead of 7. But because I'm me, I let the girls go at 6:45ish. Parents don't mind practice going 15 minutes late right? Even if it was actually 15 minutes early? I've warned most of them though that I very rarely end right at 6:30.

Thursday - I went to another game night. It was hosted by the same people as last time. We got to play a game called Last Word. It was awesome! It's like a mix of scattergories and something else but fun! You're shouting the whole time and sometimes you get caught up in arguing how an answer is not eligible and then someone else ends up with the point because you forgot to get the last word in.

Friday - I decided to play in the outdoor league but I had a few questions. Friday was the last day to register but the chick never called me back! I've also decided to actually start using my elliptical machine. I think Kevin and I are going to do a lot of walking on this cruise. When going through the excursions Kevin kept leaning towards the walking-tours-of-this-historical-city type of activities. I did a 45 minute workout and got to use my PHRM again. Also, Kevin and I have decided to do a kayak rolling class. But I can't register us till Monday!

Saturday - On Wednesday when I was finally cleaning out my soccer bag, I found a gift card to the local mall. And it was for $135! Yes! Sweet! It must have fallen out of the thank you card I got from my last team back in May 2008. However since it had been a year since it had been purchased it was only worth $127. Stupid monthly maintenance fees! Kevin and I went to DSG to pick up a few items. He got these shoes

and this bag. Of course for the cruise! :) I got some shirts and these ad.idas shorts (The new soccer club is adid.as and I've been coaching at ni.ke clubs for the past five-ish years). Plus I found this water bottle! I've been looking for this kind of water bottle for years! Anyways good shopping day. Of course we rounded it out with a trip to Targ.et and Ko.hl's.

Sunday - I had a very productive day! We watched the Form.ula 1 race and the first half of the WPS Championship game (not the second half, so no spoilers please!) while I did the weekly shopping list. Then after the shopping, we installed our rain barrel which we've had for MONTHS and never put in. But we got it in. Afterwards I did my 90 minute elliptical session (go PHRM!) while Kevin made this for dinner. Yum-O! We went to the Byrd to see Ter.minator: Salvati.on. And I got to squeeze in Tr.ueB.lood and De.sign S.tar before bed!

Today - It rained last night! RIC got 2-3" of rain! And Kevin said we'd go through a dry spell because we'd installed the rain barrel. I signed us up for the rolling class. We got the date we wanted. Also the girls soccer schedule came out. I knew I was going to miss two games because of the cruise but now they've scheduled a double header for that second weekend I'm gone! Come on! I don't know if I can reschedule (in the past they've been really rigid about rescheduling games), but I'll try.

Cycle News (finally!): I'm CD28 today and no signs of ovulation. My chart looks dismal. I'm thinking about taking some leftover Provera just so that I stay somewhat regular. Kevin and I are going to restart TTC when we get back, in October, so I might go in to see Dr. Grrr. I think I should do a u/s before taking the provera and also I want to have a game plan (and order any meds) for when we get back.

Adoption News: We have 2 references in! I talked to Chicken, Lylas and S and they all said that they were getting theirs in soon! So one of them did! We just need one more now. Also I called one local lawyer that had been referred to us, but when I called Kevin to confirm the appt he kind of freaked out about how fast everything was moving. So I cancelled the appt. Hopefully we'll talk about it soon and can get everything moving again. We also need to work on our profile book.

Well I think this post is long enough! I'll try to update sooner next time!

Oh, to answer some questions -

Beth - I'm coaching U-11 Girls.

A - I coach with a soccer club. I coach travel (select) soccer.

6DPUIU

Chicklet was born this morning! I got a text message from Peeta that she came out weighing 9lbs 10 oz and 20 1/4 inches long! Holy crapola, that's a big baby!

My cousin J is taking his first set of vows next weekend in Trenton, NJ. Since we live relatively close to him (the rest of our family lives in Texas), we decided to head up there for the big event. J told me his parents and two of his sisters (he's got 4) are coming. It will be good to see them all. Mostly. I don't really get on with Uncle D. I might have mentioned I was a bit of a trouble maker when I was little and somehow I always dragged RR, J's oldest sister, along with me. But I'm sure it will be fine.

Round 9 v2.0 is going well. I've been having weird pains and stuff in that lower area. Mostly on the left side, but some on the right. I'm not sure what it is. Last night Kevin gave me the HCG booster shot. It was the worst shot he's ever given me! Oh! The pain! I also haven't taken a good bbt since the morning after ovulation (thurs). Friday morning I was moving around a lot and then remembered to bbt. By that time I was way up. Sat and Sun I didn't bother. Monday morning I slept in a hour past my normal temping time so it was high again. Then I took it downstairs to record them on FF and forgot to bring it back up for this morning. Kevin offered to go get it, but I just told him not to bother. I'm going to try to get in a bbt tomorrow.

I've got to go to the dentist tomorrow to get some fillings redone. I'm tempted to reschedule. With the way irregular schedule I had last week, plus knowing that next wednesday I'm going to be late because of the homestudy, I think I should hold off on any non-necessary appointments.

Okay SPOILERS here if you haven't seen HP6 (or read HP7). Highlight from here down to the next paragraph if you've seen HP6 and want to read my take.
Overall I thought the movie was good. The kids are better actors, most of the over-acting is done by insignificant side characters (*cough*LavenderBrown*cough*) and they've gotten better at cutting out the things that don't really need to be in the movies. There were just two things I didn't like. First that Ginny was the one who hid the potions book. In the book, Harry hides it, intending to retrieve it once the heat is off and so marks the spot with a bust, wig & tiara (which we learn in HP7 is a diadem). He recalls seeing the tiara in HP7 and so knows where to get it from once he realizes what it is. If he didn't hide the potions book in the this movie, how's he suppose to remember about it in HP7? The other problem I had was that there was no Hogwarts fight scene at the end. My dad saw the movie this past weekend and as he's never read the book, he thought this one was a boring. He said it needed a fight scene. I agree. Get rid of the unneeded attack on the Burrow (Hello! Where's the escape from Privit Drive/Wedding going to take place then?) and the anachronistic bridge collapse and put in the Hogwarts skirmish. Then it would have been much better. But other than that, I didn't really mind any of the other changes and thought the movie did a good job of carrying itself, both as the 6th movie in a series and standing alone.

Sunday we celebrated the 3 year anniversary in our house! These past three years have been filled! We got engaged, got married, found ourselves battling IF. I lost a grandfather and Kevin lost both his grandparents. We hosted the inlaws with no major catastrophes. We're still trying to tame the front garden and haven't gotten grass to grow in the back yard. Oh yeah, it was filled. We went to Red L.obster to celebrate. We have friends who make fun of us, claiming that RL is not real seafood, but I remember when I was little we only ever went there for special occaisions. My birthday or Dad's. And so now, when I think of special occaisions, I always think Red Lo.bster. I always get a half order of crab legs and Kevin always gets the Alfredo Linguini with Chicken. If you can't tell, we're creatures of habit.

1DPIUI

Dr. Grrr didn't show up to my appt till 1pm. Apparently the ER he had before my appt hadn't gone very well. I could tell he was upset because he didn't have the usual edge that he normally does. I forgot to check on Kevin's numbers, but they didn't seem concerned. We even got to see the little swimmers under the microscope.
Before the IUI Dr. Grrr did an u/s and he said that he thinks one of the follicles might have already ovulated. My measurements were 21mm & 18mm on right and 17mm on left. I was a little sad when he said this (I'm not sure why) but then he said maybe not...it was all very weird, especially considering the mood he was in.
Afterwards I went home and read (laying down of course!) my latest book and then prepped dinner. Kevin got home and we cooked. We watched Eag.le E.ye which was a fun movie. Not nearly as scary as Ene.my of the S.tate.
Tonight I'm meeting some friends for a girls game night. It's crazy because the girl who is hosting it (I don't know her) lives on the other side of the creek that runs behind the houses across the street from me. Got that? Anways, her house is like 1300 ft away from my house (see google map picture) but because of that creek, the shortest street distance is 2.5 miles. I could walk to her house but the creek doesn't have a bridge or steady crossing. I'm looking forward to tonight. It will be a nice break I think.

It's good to be back

I didn't intend to take a break from blogging, it just kind of happened. First things first, I'm fine. Things have been busy at home and there's a cube-stalker at work, so I've had to force myself to get out of the habit of posting on my blog and checking and commenting other's blogs at work (always on my breaks of course!). This week is going to be slow -- I'm in the 2ww now, my show's series/season finales have all aired, BSC is done & indoor soccer is on a between season break -- so I'm hoping to catch up.

Alright, let's get started with what's been happening over the past two weeks:

The shower weekend was great! I flew down on Saturday, got picked up by the parents, went food shopping, got mani/pedis with Chicken and her future MIL & SIL & then went to mass with the parents. Literally one after the other. Next I went home and worked on shower stuff. Pita (Chicken's sister) came over around 9:30 pm to set up/decorate. She was suppose to be by around 6pm with her mom but something happened (wasn't explained to me) and she ended up not coming over till much later sans mom. Other than food my big shower projects were the blanket, crocheted mini-rattle swag (as a party favor), and corsages for Chicken and grammas-to-be.

• I actually finished the blanket two weeks prior, I just had to finish off the beginnings and ends. 80 squares x 2 = I didn't get it done on time. When I gave one to Wiki's BFF at her shower, the blanket got passed around and fondled by everyone and I didn't want anyone to see it unfinished so I didn't give it to Chicken at the shower. I showed it to her after (her future MIL gave her one at the shower that she had someone else make for her) so that she could see it, but I've brought it back with me to finish off. Yeah, 2w later and I still haven't finished it! This week!
• Originally I was going to make the rattle swag in four colors - purple, pink, yellow & white, but I ran out of time. I only did pink and purple. I got myMom and myDad involved in making the bows and finishing off the beginnings/ends for me. I did have a few left over though, so good thing I didn't make all four colors!
  
• We got Chicken an orchid corsage and attached various ribbons and rattles to it. Then we bought some baby socks, rolled them up to make little rose/flower buds for the grammas-to-be corsages. It took myMom and I about 10 false starts, but we finally found some web directions that worked and here's what we came up with.
  

Sunday started early, with me getting the burgers ready and chicken marinating. Then myMom and I drove down to church to go to myDad's Kof.C Mother's Day breakfast. Good Stuff. Afterwards we ran to walm.art to pick up last minute items, rushing to be back by 10am cause that's when the girls were suppose to arrive.

At 10:30 it was still just me and myMom. BFF A had gotten lost and Pita was somewhere between her house and mine (a 45 minute trip one way) having not left until about 10am. They finally arrived around 10:45 so we had a few minutes to finish the decorating & set up. Most of the guests arrived within the first 15 minutes. Unfortunately Chicken's future MIL wasn't one of those and as she was bringing the drinks & chips, we had water & only a veggie tray for the first 45 minutes of the party. But it was fine, everyone was talking/mixing and I think the J (the baby daddy) was the only one who noticed the lack of appetizers.

Being in charge of the food was awesome. It kept me busy and while I was able to say hi to everyone, I couldn't get caught in deep conversation (past 2 or 3 questions) because I always had to get back to the prep. I missed most of the games and I think for a while Chicken was getting annoyed, but really it kept me from thinking about the reason everyone was there. Finally everyone ate, all the games were over and it was time to open gifts. I was fine almost the whole time, J's family were all really nice and loved to make fun of him because he wasn't always sure what things were (he once called a matching bloomer a "cute hat"). Honestly it wasn't until the end of the gift opening that I got teary-eyed so I went to the bathroom and let myself go for a minute or so and then got back to the party. I had to concentrate hard on not seeming upset, but thankfully the party was breaking up at that point. Chicken stayed a few extra hours to hang out (and try to beat myDad at poker - her obsession) and then she left.

Afterwards my parents and I went to go see St.arTr.ek. It was awesome! I've always been a tre.kkie, along with my whole family. I was excited to see the film especially with my parents. Kevin says he wants to go see it, but he'll never actually pay to go to the movies to watch it and I wanted to see it on the big screen. Anyways, I thought it was really good but I did have one issue with one subplot. In not wanting to give away spoilers I won't mention it here, but if you want to discuss, just email me.

I flew home on Monday morning, making the drive straight in to work. My indoor game got cancelled so I was able to go home and go to sleep. I needed it!

Okay, this is enough for today, I'll be back tomorrow, I promise! And just to make sure you come back tomorrow I'll update you all on our 8th (and possibly last) cycle of TTC.

What's Les Doing on the Big Screen?

So today Chicken and I went to go see this movie:
We were going to go last night, but it ended up taking Chicken 3 1/2 hours to get home from DC. She even ended up in Maryland! Oops!  Once she got turned around she was able to make it home without any other mishaps.  But we ended up being too tired after dinner to do much of anything so we just went back home.  So this morning after a bit of shopping at Kohl's (my favorite!) we went to go see it.  It's awesome! I've decided that Les is going to be Bolt for Halloween next year.