All that and a bunch of stuff

I'm such a terrible blogger.  I have things I want to say and then don't have time to sit down and write them.  I was even late putting up Tyler's birthday post!  Mom fail.

So what have I been busy with?  So much!  January was actually a pretty crummy, stressful month. I don't want to dwell on it, but here were a few lowpoints from December and January.

• We finally had to replace the sewer line in our front yard.  We had been avoiding it for awhile, limping it along with a good rotor-rooter once a year or so.  Basically what had happened was tree roots had broken into the pipe leading from the house to the main line.  The line backed up twice in a week, so we knew the problem had escalated.  Sure enough, the pipe was actually beginning to break/collapse.  So we faced the music and had it done.  $4000 (financed) dollars later and we were left with a very muddy yard that looks like a giant gopher had dug across it and a house with plumbing we could actually use without worrying. Yay.
• Mom was sick sick sick for like 6 weeks in a row.  We all had colds, then she and I both got a horrible cough that was REALLY terrible for her.  After that came ANOTHER cold and THEN a severe ear infection with a ruptured ear drum.  That last part entailed Adam and I taking the combined total of an entire work week off because she was so sick, there was no way should could watch the kids.  After that, we came up with a back up plan for these sort of situations, since obviously we need to be at work whenever possible.  Adam's dad is retired now, so he may be able to serve as a back up, so that combined with Adam and I driving separately and me going in to work very early so I could leave in time to pick up Tyler from school will work in the future.  His dad watched both of the kids on MLK day, which they all enjoyed, and after that, mom was beginning to bounce back.  Her ear is still healing and her hearing is coming back slowly, but it's progress.  I have another cough, so I am hoping she doesn't catch it or anything else!
• I've had some disappointments at work lately.  I've been trying to figure out the next steps in my career for awhile now.  It's challenging, because the path I originally thought I would take hasn't worked out.  They changed the preferred qualifications to include a preferred degree in a technical or engineering field. Obviously, I don't have that.  It's not like that particular job was my DREAM job, but it was just about the only one I thought I'd be able to transition into (that would be a promotion, not a lateral move). I've applied for that job a total of 4 times now and not gotten the position.  I'm at peace with it now, but it was tough and frustrating at the time.  I also applied for another position, and I'm told I was definitely a top candidate, but I more or less took my name out of the running, because the amount of business travel required was up to 50%.  It was a great opportunity, but with the kids still being so young, it just wasn't possible for me.  It was my hope that by applying and interviewing for it, it might open doors down the road, so we'll see.  My boss is being great about the whole thing too.  He's contacting a lot of people on my behalf, so hopefully something will come of it.  
• My sister had moved out, but unfortunately she lost her new job, so she moved back with us for awhile. She's got a good job now, so hopefully it's just a small setback
• We're still working on the house, but with Christmas and illnesses, we're a little behind (again, some more).  The goal is looking more like early May to list.  Fingers crossed!!
• Our dryer also broke, but thankfully it was just a belt and Adam was able to fix it fairly easily.  What did we do before YouTube how-to videos?

So, on to more pleasant things!  Another thing that has been taking up a lot of my time and attention, is a project a friend and I have been working on. I can't remember if I mentioned it or not?  I have mentioned that I've had aspirations to write a book.  I talked about writing one about infertility, and I still might someday.  I also wrote a novel myself, but never felt like it was something I could develop into a real project.  But awhile back, my friend Kelly came to me and asked me to work with her on a writing project.  Our writing styles seem to compliment each other. We are both very creative, and we have different strengths and weaknesses in our writing.  I edited what she had written and then we worked together to develop the and complete the story.  I don't want to say too much yet, I have no idea how this stuff works, but it's geared toward Young Adults, but fairly mature young adults.  There is a love story involved, even a bit of a love triangle, but it also deals with heavy issues like teen suicide, self-harm, and depression.  We've completed the manuscript, so now we're hoping for some feedback and we are preparing the necessary items to start sending it out to publishers.  I'm not assuming anything, we may get a slew of rejections, but it feels good to be trying and who knows where it will lead!

Okay, enough for one night!  I hope someone is still reading out there!  I'm still reading blogs, but since I can't comment like I used to (my phone is terrible for commenting), I know it doesn't seem like I'm reading!  But I'm still here!  Take care, all!

NIAW: You Are Not Alone

This week is National Infertility Awareness Week.  I am 1 in 8 women who have struggled with infertility.  This year's theme is "You Are Not Alone", so here are my thoughts on the subject...

In terms of infertility, there's really no such thing as LUCKY.  However, on my personal journey, I was lucky enough to discover the amazing infertility community fairly early on.  I'm not saying there weren't moments when I felt alone--I certainly had those, but I was fortunate enough to have friends (and I do sincerely consider them my friends) to share the experience with. When I was struggling, on days when I got that BFN or AF arrived or I was feeling discouraged, I was able to reach out to others who really knew how I felt.  They accepted me into the community, even though I had a child, even though I perhaps hadn't been in the trenches as long as some, and they've allowed me to stay in some capacity, even after I had my rainbow baby.  They mourned with me when I lost Butterfly, never pointing out that I'd only been pregnant for a matter of days, never minimizing my grief, never failing to support me when I wanted to talk about it.

Yes, I consider myself lucky.  I had moments where I felt alone, surely, but all I had to do was sit down at my computer, or even pick up the phone in a few cases, and then I wasn't alone anymore.  There were others that were willing to talk about nothing else all day long, because some days you needed to obsess.  There were others willing to talk about anything else, because some days the weight of it is too much to bare without distraction.

Infertility certainly has a way of isolating women.  Your body is supposed to do this naturally, but you feel as though you're failing miserably. It's what we're supposed to be made for, right?  And everyday we are bombarded with images of women, even teenage girls, who can do what we cannot.  It isn't fun to admit you can't do something you "should" be able to.  And so many people make assumptions.  If you don't have children, maybe you don't want them.  If you only have one, maybe you don't want more.  Maybe you're finished having kids by choice. 

Or maybe you want a child or another child more than anything else in the world.  You feel like no one understands or you feel like you can't share it with those around you.

But you aren't alone.  You have to take the step, you have to reach out and open yourself up, but then I promise you, you won't have to go through this journey alone.  Find a forum, a facebook group, a support group, find the girl at work that goes to so many doctors appointments, share your story with a stranger and find out that she's one of us too.

Because they are the bonds that cannot be broken.  Going though infertility bonds people.  Sharing the ups and downs, the losses and the triumphs.  And remaining friends after the journey's end.

My forum group eventually became a facebook group of eleven of my closest IF friends.  Two of them are still waiting for the miracles they were trying for when I 'met' them.  My heart aches for them.  One of them had a BFP recently, but the news from the early ultrasounds has not been encouraging.  Sadly, I've lost count at the number of losses.  Every member of the group has felt loss in her own life.  And we've felt each others losses too.  Those of us lucky enough to have children now share advice and updates, while supporting the ones that are still struggling.  I love these ladies and I pray I get the chance to meet them in person someday.

They kept me from feeling alone. And I know if I decide to try for another baby, they'll be with me every step of the way.  I am lucky.  Because without infertility, I probably wouldn't know Amy, Bri, Chelsea, Emi, Jen, Jynna, Kate, Laura, Molly and Roxy.  And I am privileged to call these ladies my friends.

If you are struggling with IF, I hope you find your group of ladies.  And if you don't know where to start, you'd be welcomed in my group of ladies, so leave a comment if you need support.

The coolest thing

New blog look!  I thought it was time to freshen up a bit!

So I've been wanting to tell this story for awhile, it happened in January!  However, I had to hold off for a little while.  But it's just too cool of a story for me not to share, and really, I want to have it here so I can remember it.

I've talked many times before about a group of my friends and their families.  The four of us girls have been friends since high school.  See this post for introductions.  We all lead pretty busy lives, but we try to get together at least for birthdays and Christmas.  At Christmas, we've taken to having a gathering of all the family, with our spouses and kids.  So in January, we made a plan to get together at Gabby's house for food and presents and fun.  Gabby and Pat have three year old little boy named Logan and Pam and Clif have 1 year old Harley.  The kids love to play together and we all get a chance to catch up. 

This time we were cooking pizzas and waiting for Pam and Clif to arrive.  Mandy and I were standing in Gabby's kitchen and talking. Mandy and Nate have been trying to have a baby for awhile, but it hadn't been easy.  I had wondered if she might have good news to report that day, not sure if that was wishful thinking for a "feeling" but I was disappointed that I hadn't been right!  She has PCOS, as well as something called a bicornate uterus.  So we were catching up on that, since I spent quite a lot of time reading up on various infertility subjects.  At one point, she casually mentioned that her period was actually late.  I pressed her for details and she downplayed it, saying her periods were irregular.  I pointed out that she was taking medication for her PCOS, and hadn't she been pretty regular since starting on it.  She admitted she had. I was trying sooo hard not to get excited, but it was hard!  I know how much Mandy and Nate have been wanting to start a family and I just wanted it so badly for them. 

After a few minutes, the others started overhearing our conversation and Mandy started to get kind of nervous about the whole thing, so we started talking about other things. I took her aside later and asked, very quietly, if she wanted me to slip out and go buy a test.  She said yes, so I ran to the grocery store under the guise of needing more chips.  I came back, slipped into the bathroom to hide the tests in a drawer, and returned to the party.  Not wanting added pressure for Mandy, we tried to act casual and she slipped off to the bathroom.

 A few minutes later, I heard the door open and Mandy said my name quietly (yeah I was totally lurking close by).  I joined her and she looked anxious. 

"I think there is a second line but I don't know, because it's so faint!" she told me.

I peered at the test (First Response) and I could definitely see a second line. Then I looked closer. 

"The line that's faint is the control line!  Your test line is using up all the dye!  You're pregnant!"

Omg can I just say it was the coolest thing in the world to be able to tell someone that!  We basically freaked out together in the bathroom and then I asked if she thought Nate (Mandy's husband) would be made that I found out before he did!  She said no and we laughed and hugged.  Then I went to get Nate.  At this point they probably knew something was up and I was totally determined not to give it away, so I just told him Mandy needed to talk to him. 

Then we all just celebrated!  It was just so special for them to find out that way, surrounded by friends and I felt so totally honored and blessed to be apart of such a special day in their lives!  Mandy is now 13 weeks pregnant and everything is going well!  I'm so excited to meet my new little honorary niece or nephew!

And I'd be lying if I said it didn't give me a little bit of baby fever!!!

Another suitcase in another hotel

Points for recognizing the Evita reference (however lose a reference it was, lol).  Last week was another work trip, this time to Chattanooga, TN.  We don't have a location there, so we stayed in a hotel with a conference center.  I hadn't been to Tennessee since I was little (I've been twice, I think. Once to meet my great-grandmother when I was maybe 5, and again a few years later for her funeral) so it was nice to go back. 

I decided that instead of flying this time, I'd drive to Elizabethtown, KY and pick up the two invoicers who work there and then we'd continue on to Chattanooga together.  I rented a car in town and drove the 2.5 hours to "E-town".  The drive down was fairly uneventful, aside from one nasty stretch of construction where the pavement made my car make a noise.  I didn't realize what it was and thought maybe I had a flat!  That wasn't too much fun!  Neither was the nasty cold I brought with me. I sounded funny, my ears wouldn't stop popping and over the course of the week I probably went through 500 tissues.

Ford Fusion--not a bad ride.

Louisville

Welcome to Kentucky!

I picked up Nova and Mari Lynn and let Nova take over driving.  I was happy to relinquish that duty, as I really don't enjoy driving in unfamiliar areas.  We had lunch at IHop and the drive passed quickly.

Dinos!  Wish my boys were here!

Pretty landscape

We got into Chattanooga and checked into our rooms. Nova and I had adjoining rooms that shared the crummy feature of an air conditioner that failed to keep our rooms cool.  Seriously, the entire trip my thermostat never read lower than 70 degrees and that was in the middle of the night.  They sent an engineer up and he just said the unit was blowing at 65 degrees so it was running fine.  Whatever.  After we got settled, we went down to the bar and grill and had dinner and drinks and hung out with other coworkers as they arrived.  After dinner, Nova and Amberly (from Missouri) and I took a shuttle downtown in search of ice cream.  We wandered for hours trying to find a place with milkshakes for Amberly.  Finally we found an amazing little shop where they mix your favorite toppings with vanilla or chocolate. I had chocolate ice cream with M&Ms and marshmallows.  It was DIVINE and worth the walk, even when we got back to the shuttle stop and realized it was right next door to Ben and Jerry's!

Thank you sir, may I have another?

The next day, I woke up early (4:45 am) and couldn't sleep, so I worked on my laptop for awhile.  After breakfast we started the conference with our group, the Invoicing Associates.  It went well, but I was a little distracted part of the morning, because I'd gotten a call from my mom saying that Tyler had cried most of the morning about going to school.  You guys, I had no idea it would be such an adjustment for all of us!  I sent an email to his teacher to check in and did my best to focus.  Luckily, she emailed me back and said he'd cried when he arrived, but had been much better since then, so that made me feel better.

After the meetings, we were joined by some of the Business Team, who would be joining us for meetings on Wednesday and the group caught a couple of shuttles into town to a great little brewery.  I had sangria and a Bacon Cheeseburger with BBQ sauce and it was really great.  When we got back to the hotel and I had a quick Skype session with the family before going back down to the bar to hang out with some of the group.  Then Nova and I hung out for a bit before bed.

My Invoicing Sista, Nova

Wednesday was our joint meeting day, so we met in a larger room after skyping and breakfast.  I presented two topics by myself and another with a partner and I felt like it went pretty well.  We wrapped up around 3pm and rushed upstairs to change for our "TeamBuilding" event.  We went to the Tennessee Aquarium, which is really nice and boy, did I wish the kids were there. Tyler would have loved seeing it and AJ would have lost his mind over all the "FISHIES!", he's sort of obsessed with them right now.  If he even hears someone say they are going to Walmart, he starts yelling about fishies!

PICTURE OVERLOAD

Outside the Aquarium

Seahorses!

Great view of the Tennessee River

See the boat by the bridge?  We took a ride on that later!

Piggyback Turtles!

A whole family?  Or are they the TMNTs?

This guy was FREAKY, swimming with his mouth open. He's a Paddlefish

Pet the Stingrays!

Bad pic of the butterfly garden

Nova kissing up

Jellyfish!

Some MAJOR crab action

After the aquarium we walked down to the river and took a ride on the Southern Belle.  We ate dinner on board and mingled a little bit.  As we approached the dam at the end of the river (no pics, my phone was almost dead), they waited until the very last moment possible to turn the boat, shutting of the engine and basically spinning it out until we faced the way we came, it was wild.  Once we'd turned, the breeze kicked up and it was really nice.  We had a great conversation with one of the sales reps from North Carolina too.  Once we got back to the hotel, I packed most of my stuff and Nova and I hung out before bed.  At this point the only way I could be cool enough to sleep was with a wet washcloth over my face.

The Southern Belle

 The next morning, I actually slept to my alarm (5:30 am) and I really didn't want to get up.  My alarm is the same as my text message sound, so when it went off I actually said, "Please be a text...ugh not a text." I drug myself out of bed and Nova and I stumbled downstairs.  She smokes, so we went outside first and then our keycards wouldn't work to let us back in the backdoor.  We had to walk all the way around the hotel and go in the front.  We stopped at the desk to tell them that either BOTH of our cards weren't working, or their card swiper wasn't.  They reprogrammed both keys to my door (not sure why) and we stopped at the Starbucks for coffee and headed back upstairs.

Had to snap a pic of the chandelier for my mom

When we got there, my stupid door wouldn't open.  Both lights were flashing and when we went BACK down to the desk, they said the batteries were probably dead.  *facepalm*.  They gave us a new card for Nova's door and we were able to get back in, finally.  We finished packing and got dressed and I skyped with Adam and the kids and then we headed out.  The drive back to Etown was fine, we stopped at Cracker Barrel for breakfast (and I got a few souvenirs at their shop) and Pizza Hut for a quick lunch and then I dropped them off back at their office and headed for HOME!

Unfortunately, there is a lot of construction in Southern Indiana right now, so the drive home was not as uneventful as I would have liked.  By then I just wanted to GO HOME, so dead-stop traffic was not fun.  I'd got a few miles and then there'd be more construction.  This went on for quite awhile and put me about 45 minutes later than I'd thought.

One of my least favorite views.

 Finally I did get back to the car rental and Adam was waiting for me and I could go home and see my BABIES!

And added bonus, Nova and I did a clothing swap and she has AWESOME taste!  New clothes for free!

Over the weekend, we made our yearly trip to the State Fair, tired as I was!  It was fun, a little rainy at times, and somehow we ran out of time (and energy) and I didn't get to sample all of my favorite foods this time.  I toyed with the idea of going back, but really didn't have the funds for it.  Ah well, next year.

Tyler in his little poncho!

AJ riding in style

My boys!

Checking out the campsite

Every picture I took of them (about 5) was blurry!

It was Purdue day!  Checking out the Boilermaker Train!

With Daddy on the slide!

WHEW!  I'm tired just remembering all that!  It was a great, very busy week!  Tyler's doing much better at school, getting more excited about things and more confident.  I think he's even made his first little friend, a little girl who's been helping him across the "shake shake" bridge on the playground!  Thursday is school picture day and I can't wait to see his sweet smile!  Next week is back to school night and he's excited to show us around and talk more about what he's been doing.  He's already doing better with a pencil and working on letters and writing his name.  We read every night and he's recognizing more and more words!  And last nights homework was about volumes and he had a great time in the bath, pouring water to and from different containers!  :)  So proud!

AJ's doing well too, starting to talk more, though it's very hard sometimes to know what he's saying. We have our evaluation with the speech therapist next week that I'm keeping since it's already on the calendar.  We'll see what they say.  Right now, he YELLS everything!  Not mad, but just yelling each word like he thinks he won't be heard otherwise!  He's such a character!

School Supplies and SkyZone

Another weekend over!  They always go so quickly.  This one was fun and productive, though!  Saturday, Adam had to work, so my sister Michelle and I took the kids out to run errands.  We went to a uniform sale and I scored 7 shirts and 6 pairs of pants for Tyler's school wardrobe for less than $60, which I thought was pretty good.  Then we went to Walmart and picked up some essentials and everything on his school supply list.  Check out our loot!

School clothes and supplies, including Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Bookbag, lunch box, and pencil case

 I still can't believe I'm buy school supplies for my BABY, but we'll leave that meltdown for two weeks from now!  After our shopping spree we went to lunch with Angie (twin) and her b/f Jon.  We ordered way too much food!  I ended up with like 4 takeout boxes (one was twins)!  After that we went home and hung out and the kids napped.  Adam brought home pizza for dinner and that was Saturday.

Sunday I did my usual grocery shopping and then met my friends Pam and Gabby for a little girl time.  We went to SkyZone, which is an indoor trampoline park.  It was crazy and man, was it a workout!  It was really fun, though!  We were missing Mandy from our foursome.  Her grandfather had passed away on Friday so she had to cancel :(

We had major fun jumping, playing basketball and dodgeball!  Here are some pictures:

Ready to get our jump on!

Me--Striking a pose!

Gabby's tuck jump

Hard to tell, but Pam was literally bouncing off the walls!

Gabby and I doing what my cousins and I used to call "butt busters"

Gabby and Pam, hamming it up!

Yep, that's me in the foam pit, which is REALLY hard to climb out of!

So much fun!  After jumping for an hour (whew!) we went to get a bite to eat a Panera and I was already feeling sore!  Then we picked up a card for Mandy and went our separate ways.  A quick stop at the grocery store for sour cream and ibuprofen (lol) and then I headed home for the usual Sunday night dinner, laundry, showers, etc.  My joints feel better than I expected them to today, but my muscles are majorly sore!  It was a good time though! 

One more random weekend picture--AJ, who suddenly likes to pull up his shirt and pat his belly!  Not really sure why!

Up next--our 10 year anniversary and our weekend (well, night) away!  Can't wait!!!

Still here! So much!

Wow it's been over a month since I've posted!  YIKES!  I know I know, you didn't notice and that's okay! :)  We've been SUPER busy!  Let's see...

We had a realtor over to start the process of HOPEFULLY selling our house.  She's amazing and I love her and OMG WE HAVE SO MUCH TO DO!  We really want to try to list in in the next few months, but first we need to do a bunch of projects including:

• Kitchen-remove wallpaper, repair (thanks CATS) and paint walls, paint cabinets, paint hinges, replace hardware, possibly re-line cabinet shelves
• Downstairs bath-new flooring, do something about the walls (they are mis-matched paneling and I'm not sure they can all be painted), add drop ceiling, close in heater/water heater
• Upstairs bath-new flooring, new tub surround, new vanity, replace light fixture, paint
• Upstairs hall-remove carpet, put in laminate
• Downstairs hall/family room-replace carpet
• Outside-paint shutters, fix downspout, fix/replace outdoor carpeting on front and back stairs, minor landscaping
• PAINT/WINDOW TREATMENTS-Living room, hall, Tyler's room (with border removal), Master bedroom, downstairs hall, touch up in AJ's room

See?  A lot.  I'm totally overwhelmed.  We tried to get a start on the kitchen, but the wallpaper was apparently put right on top of bare sheet rock--not good.  It's basically like removing two layers of wallpaper and it's impossible not to damage the walls (more than they already were (Thanks AGAIN Cats), so then we are having to go over everything with drywall mud to get it flat.  Adam ended up buying the wrong stuff to repair it too, so that wasted half a day and had to be redone. As it stands we have basically we have managed to get the paper off 1 1/2 walls and he's patched the upper half of one wall.  It's going to take awhile :(

Then I went to Birmingham, AL for work, which went really really well.  I'm helping to develop training for my position.  See, I do all the invoicing for my location and there are between 1 and 3 people at each location that do what I do.  So when a new person starts, we didn't really have a true planned training for them to undergo--they either worked with the others at that location or did some information training at another location.  Since I've been doing this for about 8 years now and I'm always looking for opportunities to do more and hopefully advance somehow one day (tough to do at my company and my location), I was asked to help.

I've been to Birmingham once before, with the whole group of invoicers, but this time was just me and one other girl coming into town.  We were both delayed getting in and slightly delayed leaving, but aside from that, the travel was fairly smooth, the event went well and Adam and my mom were able to manage the kids while I was out of town.

New 'do before the trip

It was cloudy and rainy on the way to Bham, this was my view the whole flight

There is a lake outside the corporate office, tons of turtles, ducks, etc

My seatmate on the flight home!  Olaf!

Sunset going home

Downtown Indy at night from the air

 The weekend I got back my mom and I took the boys to the zoo and had a close encounter with the flamingos!

The tubs had shrimp infested water in them

Tyler loved it!

AJ and Gaga ride the train!

Let's see, I was back at work for a week, catching up, and then we took "vacation" which included work on the kitchen and did responsible things like get our oil changed and get our fridge fixed.  And Easter funtimes.

AJ tries swinging

Found one!

AJ loved wandering around but wasn't that interested in the eggs

But he found some!

Tyler on the hunt!

Oh and we took Tyler to his new school for a meeting!  He did so well, even when we had to leave him in the classroom and go off to a presentation for a bit!  He was soooo cute with all the other kiddos, showing off little "cheers" they'd taught him (he was so not good at them, he is super smart but so not coordinated)!

Blurry picture, but he's in the middle--the shortest one!

Then last week was about catching up at work (AGAIN).  Shew.  Oh and I turned 32 years old HUZZAH!  lol Happy birthday to me and TWIN!

Flowers from my friend Nova for my bday!

And from Hubby and my babies!

Over the weekend Adam took me to the outlet mall in Edinberg and got me a new Coach purse for my bday and then I had lunch with my BFF from college (luv her!) and THEN Adam, the kids and I went to our friend's daughter's first birthday party!  It was gorgeous outside and Little Miss Harley was an absolute doll and everyone had a great time.  The boys were WORN OUT!

He really was having fun, I promise

Tyler and Logan!

The girls: Mandy, Pam with Harley, Gabby, Me

Sunday was about groceries and overdue lawn mowing.  We've been spending a lot of time outside now that the weather is finally nicer!

This house had been living in our garage, but the kids are loving having it on the patio!  The kitchen set on the far right was mine when I was little!  They are crazy about it!

BUBBLES--AJ's new obsession!

Get 'em!

Some help from big brother!

So fun!

Mommy gets in on the fun!

LOVE MY BOYS!

And that leads me to this week.  My mom's birthday is Thursday (we are totally in Birthday season at my house, three down, two to go before the end of the month, plus Mother's Day Sunday) and we're taking AJ to get his hearing checked.  He's still not a big talker, and while I'm not super worried about it, I thought it was time to just make sure he hears okay.  He may be suffering from SELECTIVE hearing lol. He really seems to totally ignore people sometimes, but other times he seems to hear quiet things just fine, so who knows?  Right now, he has a little cold, so I'm hoping that doesn't interfere with the test.  In fact, the poor baby--yesterday, he sneeze and his head went forward and hit a table, leaving him with a "third eye" according to my mom:

Poor buggy!

This weekend we are hoping to work on the kitchen some more and Sunday of course will be Mother's day.

WHEW see?  LOTS going on!  On the weight loss/fitness front, I've been bouncing around this 5 lbs zone, which for me is basically maintaining (my weight naturally fluxuates up and down) for the past few weeks.  I've been as low as nearly 45 lbs down and go as high as around 41 lbs down.  I just haven't been able to make it my main focus, and honestly, I'm not sure I will be able to right now, not with the house and the kids and all that.  I'm going to try my best though. I know I need to go back to tracking my calories.  And I need to workout more consistently.  Lately I've been down to 2-4 times per week (I was managing 5-6 until recently).  I have finally conquered AJ's bedtime, so that will help, allowing me to get him down early enough to still work out after he's in bed (and still be finished by 9pm) when I can't get it done before.  I know I just need to make another good long push to get where I want to be (which is to lose another 25-30 lbs).

So that's a somewhat condensed version of what's been happening! Next post--Considering baby #3 and my thoughts on THAT subject!

WHEW, now I'm tired too AJ!