Weekend Recap

This weekend seemed like it lasted forever since I was off sick on Thursday and Friday.  I had a killer headache that I just couldn't seem to get rid of.  Finally Friday afternoon it started to subside.  I spent the days watching Rehab Addict laying on the couch with the dog.  Friday night Joe brought home dinner & we went to bed early, a typical Friday night for us.

Saturday I was finally ready to put on some make up, do my hair, and wear some real clothes.  I used my dual waver and I'm really happy about how my hair turned out and how quickly I was able to do it.  I can't wait til my hair gets a little bit longer, I think it will be even cuter! 

this is what Frank wanted to do Saturday morning

results of the Bed Head Dual Waver

My mom and I did our regular Saturday routine, grocery shopping and lunch, then we went to CNJ Style to pick up a new tank I had them hold for me.  I ended up getting some really cute earrings and my mom got me a fun top for my Easter basket.  

Saturday afternoon I spent the day hardcore hand washing my car, vacuuming out the mess that winter had left, the build up of salt and dirt and snow that had overtaken my interior.  I spent about an hour at the car wash but my car looks amazing.  For dinner we went to Wyanet to a place called Main Street Barbecue to celebrate my aunt's bday.  It's BYOB so we brought beer and makings for Moscow Mules.  Their food is soooo good, I love eating there.  Best pulled pork in the area!

Sunday morning we took a little ride on the bike to get a Chicago-style hot dog.  We had to pick my aunt and uncle up from the airport in Chicago from their trip to Italy so our afternoon was spent in the car... boo. I did make a pit stop at Pier One for a really cute outdoor hurricane lantern.  I have no patio to put it on at the time, but it will look amazing at our new house next Spring!

Today is my doctor's appointment for my baseline ultrasound!  I can't believe how quickly those two weeks went by.  We have so much going on I think it just distracted me from counting the days as closely as I normally would.  I really hope there are no other set backs this time.  I should be starting my injections later this week with IUI hopefully scheduled for next week.  So ready to do this!

Five on Friday

One.  Busiest Day Ever

I definitely overbooked our schedules for Monday.  After work I had to meet someone in the next town over who I had sold something too on Facebook.   Then I had a girl coming to the house who I had sold something to on Facebook, then our builder was coming over, then I had a girl come to the house who I had sold something to on Facebook, then I had a guy coming to the house who I had sold something to at work.  Yep, it’s a crazy and complicated as it sounds.  We put a bunch of stuff up online to sell & ended up selling all of it!  By the time this was all said and done it was almost 7pm.  I was so happy on Tuesday after work that I had nothing to do and as soon as I was about to start dinner, Joe came home with a $5 Hot N Ready from Little Caesars!  #goodman

 Two.  Next Appointment

Monday is our next appointment!  I’m so ready to start this next cycle.  It’s been a long time coming.  The cyst should be gone and there should be nothing else to hold us back.  I have really high hopes for this 3^rd IUI.  I’m going to be using a different medicine, Gonal F instead of Follistim since my coverage changed as of January 1^st.  I know it might seem crazy with everything that we already have going on, selling our house, moving to my parents, and starting to build or new home, that we want to add a pregnancy and a baby on top of all of it, but I’m ready for the challenge.  This could potentially end up being the best year of our lives.  It might be stressful, it might be crazy, but it will be well worth it!

Three.  Treat.

I am thrilled to announce that Treat by Shutterfly contacted me about their awesome greeting card service.  I am still finalizing a few things on my end so I’m not quite ready to reveal all of the details, but I can’t wait to share with you!

Four.  Bed Head Dual Waver

Has anyone ever used this product?  I found it on Pinterest and thought it looked like a fun and easy tool.  A couple times a week I curl my hair, but I have to get up about 10 minutes early to do it and let’s face it, it’s pretty rare that I would sacrifice sleep just for my hair style, even just 10 minutes.  I’m hoping that this tool will be quicker than the curling iron! 

Five. Broccoli Noodle Casserole

Christina @ Forever Young posted this recipe a couple of weeks ago and I finally got around to making it Wednesday and it was amazing!  I will let you check out her post because she is an awesome photographer and my pics would never compare to hers.  I love a healthier pasta dish.  Pasta and pizza are probably my two favorite foods ever, but also like THE MOST unhealthy, carb filled foods you could possibly eat so finding healthier versions is always a plus!

ABC's

I'm off sick from work today.  I'm really hoping that I didn't catch what Joe had last week because it hit him for the entire week, I can't afford to have that many days off sick!  We have way too much to do, and actually I'm kind of wondering if I haven't overexerted myself and maybe that's why I'm under the weather.

I just recently started following Julie @ Just the Joy's and I love her latest post, ABC's.  It's just a simple way to get to know a little bit more about a person so here goes... 

A - Age: 27

B - Birthday: June 8 

C - Color: Blue, always has been always will be!

D - Drink: Moscow Mule

E - Eyes: Blue

F - Flashback: Vacation!  We usually go on a vacation every other year, but with house building starting soon, there are no vacations in the works.  Our next big one (we're hoping!) will be for our 5 year anniversary and my 30th (OMG!) birthday in 2016 to Tahiti.

G - Gent: My husband Joe!  

H - Hobby: Vacationing, camping, Harley-riding, wine-clubbing, blogging, gardening

I - Indulgence: Wine!
J - Job: Been at the gas/electric power company, Ameren, for 6 years.
K - Kiddos:  That's what this blog is all about!  Trying for kids!  Been on a TTC/Infertility Journey for about 2 1/2 years going on 3.  Hoping that THIS will be our year!
L - Love: My husband, my pug, a cup of coffee, a black and tan, my friends, my family...
M - Music: A little bit of everything, Country, Rock, Rap, Bluegrass, Techno, I like it all!
N - Nickname: Lena, or Rid
O - One Wish: To become a mom.  For this next IUI to work, to get pregnant, and have a healthy baby!
P - Pets: My pug, Frankie J, my little shadow, the heartbeat at my feet, my sweet potato.

Q - Quote: if you follow me on Instagram (@lenaridley) then you know I have an obsession with quotes... 

R - Residence:  So excited that this spring we will be starting to build our forever home.  We just sold the house that we are currently living in, we are in the process of moving back into my parents house until our house is built.  We are beyond thrilled to finally be starting this project.  We bought the property in 2010 and are finally making our dreams a reality.  We just hired our builder this week.  Our lot is 1.5 acres on the Little Vermillion River.  The subdivision only has one other home in it and it's been that way for years.  We are looking forward to the tranquility of the days and a sky filled with stars at night.  This is my front yard... 

S - Siblings: I have brother, Ben he's 22 and going to Grad school.  He will have a degree physics and engineering, he's disgustingly smart.  I have a step brother in his senior year of high school and two step sisters that I don't speak to... ever.

T - Temperature: I'm pretty f'in sick of this winter.  I prefer any weather that is warm enough that we can get on the bike and ride, and any weather that I can get my tan on in.  I love laying by the pool and catchin' some rays, but a cool fall night by the bon fire is also a favorite!

U - University: IVCC and ISU, graduated with a bachelors in English.
V - Vehicle: Currently driving a 2013 Ford Escape.  I've always been an SUV girl!
W - Worst Habit - I have the mouth of a sailor... but I love it.
X - X-Rays: I've had a ton of x-rays, mostly after our motorcycle accident.  I had 5 broken bones, 2 in my foot, my ankle, my tibial plateau in my knee which I eventually had major surgery on and now have 2 pins in my knee, and a chip in my pelvis.  The accident was not our fault, a man ran a red light and we t-boned him.  Joe ended up with 6 stitches.  I had all the broken bones, used crutches for 2 months, wore a brace for 4 months and has 8 months of physical therapy.  I'm not 100% recovered back to normal but I can walk, run, jump, and do just as much as I was able to before.  My leg looks different and has never gotten back to where it was originally as far as how muscular it was.  

Y - Yuck: Seafood, spiders or any bugs for that matter, the Twilight movies? lol.
Z - Zodiac: Gemini!

Weekend Recap

What a whirlwind this last week was!  After our disappointing appointment on Monday all I could get myself to do was wish the days away.  Now it's already been a week, 7 BCP down and 7 more to go!  Seriously, it's so much easier to just accept what you can't change (love the serenity prayer!) and move forward.  It makes life so much easier when you just roll with the gravity issues.  I have no control over the fact that I ended up with a cyst, instead of being mad about it I decided I would just take the BCP, be thankful that it was found, and move on with my life.  The time is flying and it's not the end of the world.  A week from today I have my baseline ultrasound and will hopefully be able to start injections late next week with an IUI the following week.  Let's do this!

This weekend went by in the blink of an eye.  Friday afternoon we took the bike out for the first ride of the season.  My little cousin just bought his first bike & got his permit on Thursday so we were ready to get him out for a little cruise.  The weather was about 55-60 degrees so we layered up in leather and hit the road for a bit.  It felt amazing, it was definitely cold, but well worth it.  

Saturday we had to take some family members to the airport in Chicago for their trip to Italy.  Since we had to go that far we decided to stop at Ikea on the way home so that we could look at the bedroom set I found online.  I wanted to make sure it looked as good in person and that Joe liked it.  Joe has never been to an Ikea, especially on a Saturday afternoon in the Chicago suburbs.  He definitely hated every single person in the building, but he dealt with it while we looked everything over.  We ended up eating at Tilted Kilt (an Irish version of Hooters) which was really good.  I had a "hoppy hour" special it was $5 for 5 steak ka-bobs in a Sam Adams Boston Lager glaze.  So amazing.  Joe had a sunrise burger with an egg on it, also really good.

5 bucks for these!  Pretty much an entire steak.

Sunday I spent the entire day packing up the house.  I boxed up as much as I could, put some stuff on Facebook to sell & worked on getting things ready to be moved.  The house is so bare now!  We have a storage unit for now holding all of the furniture that we are keeping and all of the stuff we won't need while we are living at my parents.  I think we are going to end up being there longer than we originally anticipated, but I'm happy to be able to save a butt-load of money not having to pay utilities.  I'm very thankful to my parents that they aren't asking us for rent or anything like that.  I told my mom I would make dinner as often as I could since I normally cook 3-4 times a week at home.  Since it's just my mom and step-dad they don't cook for themselves very often so I think they'll be thankful for home cooked meals on a regular basis again.

terrible quality, but you get the idea, nothing left on the walls!

Hope everyone has a wonderful week.  Seriously, Monday is almost already over!  Tonight our builder is coming over to work out some details, we sold our washer and dryer and they're coming to get it tonight & the rest of the week will be spent packing boxes and moving our lives!! Oy Vey!

Five on Friday

One.  A Bump in the Road

If you read this post then you know the little set back that we are dealing with right now.  I am moving forward from it and trying to be positive about it.  My meds were shipped yesterday and after tonight I will only have 9 more BCP to take before the next appointment.  I'm planning on spending my weekend working on packing up the house to try and pass the time quickly.  We might also make a quick stop at Ikea after we drop off my relatives at the airport in Chicago.  It's been an extremely frustrating week, but every day I'm handling it better.  Prayers for a speedy 9 days!

Two.  A Sincere Thank You.

I have to take a minute to thank all of the wonderful ladies of blogland, Instagram, Facebook, my wonderful friends and family who shared some words of encouragement with me this week after our disappointing doctor visit.  Seriously, there are some amazingly sweet women out there who continue to help lift each other up as we face the struggles that come along with infertility.  You know who you are & I want to extend a heart-filled thank you to all for helping to brighten my days!

one of my IG girls shared this with me!! How perfect!

Three.  TTC Exchange Package

I got my package this week from my girl Heather & it was seriously so cute and thoughtful.  She is from Florida so she sent me a colorful piece of artwork with a yellow fin tuna on it.  The theme of the TTC Exchange this time was local love.  She did a great job!  She also included some candy, a change purse, a few treats for Frankie, The Little Book of Wisdom, some cocktail napkins, a fancy note pad, & of course an adorable card with some words of encouragement.  I couldn't be more proud to be part of this amazing community of women who coordinate these things (way to go Chels!), participate in them, and support each other on a level that only another woman going through a similar situation can understand. 

Four.  The House

We are about 99% sure that we have the house sold & we sold it to a local person so I feel really good about the entire thing.  We are going to start packing this weekend since we will be closing in roughly a month or so & start to move things to my parents house.  I can't believe how fast this is all happening!!

Five. Saddle Sore 

If you've been following along for awhile then you know that Joe and I do a lot of riding on the Harley.  We take it pretty much everywhere as soon as the weather permits us to do so.  Our standards for what we consider to be permissible weather-wise?   We've ridden as early as March and as late as November.  One of my favorite times to ride is when I have to get all bundled up in layers of leather.  One ride that we'd really like to do is called the Saddle Sore as recognized by the Iron Butt Association.  The Saddle Sore is 1000 miles ridden in a 24 hour period.  It can be tough when you have to stop roughly every 2 hours for gas, but we are up for the challenge are are hoping to do the ride before the next IUI and the start of our house.  I'm pretty excited and hope it works out since I probably won't have many other chances to do this once we have kids and a brand new house.  More to come on this!! 

Happy Weekend Ladies!!

Fertility Frustrations

As I said in my previous post, AF finally decided to show up this weekend after 45 days.  I was elated.  It feels funny to be so excited for something we normally hate, but I knew that once it came, we could FINALLY start our next IUI cycle.  Let me remind you, this cycle was supposed to happen Feb 7^th, but due to over stimulation it was cancelled.  I had to wait for my period before I could start the next cycle, then came this 45 day wait. 

I called the office bright and early Monday hoping that I would be able to get in for my baseline.  The nurse told me that I actually didn’t need to come in I could just start injections on Tuesday.  She said since we didn’t trigger ovulation this last cycle that I shouldn’t have any cysts (follicles that didn’t rupture) and should be clear to start.  Unfortunately, I didn’t have enough Follistim to start so she had me come down Peoria for a loaner cartridge and they would do an ultrasound anyway. 

Everything was looking good until he checked my left ovary, there it was, a cyst.  The only way to rid your body of a cyst is to take BCP for two week.  I was so bummed.  I couldn’t believe it, another setback, and another 2ww before I can even start injections!  I was really feeling like throwing in the towel & just saying fuck it.  I know that I was only thinking that out of anger, but it can be so hard not to be discouraged.  I know it’s for the better that the cyst was found.  They don’t want you stimulating something that has no chance of ovulating and I don’t want that either.  I want my body to be perfectly primed for this next cycle so that it is successful.

On top of this, on Wednesday afternoon I got a phone call from Freedom Fertility who dispenses specialty meds like Follistim, Ganirelix, and Ovidrel.  They told me that my insurance will not cover the Follistim.  I called my prescription provider and they told me that the coverage had changed as of January 1.  All I wanted to do was scream!  I’ve been really lucky as far as coverage has gone, but insurance, even for those of us with really good insurance, is a pain in the ass.  There is no better way to put it.  My doctor’s office told me to get an authorization form faxed over to them so they could have the request reviewed and hopefully approved to be covered.  Finally, after 3 phone calls from Freedom Fertility, I was told that my doctor said I can use Gonal F this time instead.  Gonal F, like Follistim is FSH, it’s the same thing, and it’s only costing me $4 instead of the $550 I was going to have to pay out of pocket for the Follistim.  My doctor’s office was going to be kind enough to donate a cartridge to me as well.  How amazing is that that they would offer to do that?!  I’m glad that we found an alternative, but what a headache this week has been.

I don’t know if this comes off as petty, or not a big deal to some, but I really feel like I’m hanging by a string.  I am not a patient person, never have been, and this journey has taught me so much about patience.  It’s starting to wear thin & frustrations are mounting.  You try to take a deep breath and remind yourself it’s only two weeks, then you hear about two more couples who are expecting, and it’s the icing on the cake.  Then you find out your insurance is not only denying coverage for your meds, but also may be retracting all of the bills they've already paid because they say I don’t actually have coverage (yep, that’s a true statement, but there is a mistake somewhere, I do have coverage according to my 2014 BCBS plan book!) and you have to wonder what it’s like to not be infertile.  How much less shit you have to wade through to have a baby.  I completely accept the fact that these are the cards I was dealt and that this process is going to make me a stronger, better, more appreciative parent than it would’ve if I could conceive on my own.  I’m not saying that people who can conceive naturally aren’t strong, wonderful parents, because they are, I’m just saying for me personally, I think I will value parenthood more than I would've if we would get pregnant on our own.

Had this waiting on my desk when I got to work the next day.  I have some awesome co-workers

I apologize for the lengthy post.  All I want is for others out there to know that they are not alone in their frustrations and their struggles.  And for those who don’t understand the process to get a glimpse of the hoops that we have to jump through to have what so many take for granted.

St. Patty's Day Shenanigans & Weekend Recap

The weekends go by entirely too fast.  Who's with me?  This weekend turned out to be great even though we really didn't have much planned.

Friday night we ordered a pizza, had a few drinks, & called it an early night.  I took the afternoon off from work and went grocery shopping and picked up the new Raz-ber-Rita's.  They're pretty good.  Definitely not as sweet as the original and the strawberry, more like the cranberry which I really liked.  They also have a mango one, has anyone tried it yet?

Saturday we bummed around the house all morning.  Joe started a new batch of homemade strawberry wine, and a new batch of beer, a copper ale.  I relaxed until about 3 when we left for the Will Call event at August Hill. I love being in the wine club, we have so much fun every time we go.  This time was even more fun since Paddy's Favorite Sons was playing.  We had a blast laughing, dancing, and drinking entirely too much wine.  Our friends from out of town joined us, I was determined to drink a few green beers so we ended up taking them out to another bar in town to see Paddy's Favorite Sons play their second set. 

Sunday I had brunch with one of my favorite ladies of all time, Alicia.  Her and I go way back and the story of how our friendship blossomed is one I hold near and dear to my heart.  We were at a stage in life that we aren't too proud of, but because of it, we are still great friends!  We went to Brandy's which is one of my favorite places in town to eat.  St. Patty's is my favorite time to go because they have Scottish eggs as a special.  If you've never had them before I highly suggest trying them if you ever see them on a menu. Brandy's is the only place I've ever had them.  Basically it's a hard boiled egg wrapped in sausage battered, and deep fried.  So unbelievable!  

We also showed the house Sunday afternoon and we are pretty positive we have a buyer!  Nothing is set in stone yet, but he liked it a lot, so did his mom!  I would be so happy to sell it to a local person that I know will take good care of it.  Fingers crossed that it all works out!

On the forefront of fertility, AF finally showed!  I read online that a natural way to induce a period is by taking an increased dose of Vitamin C.  I already am taking 2000mg per day, 1000 in the morning and 1000 at night so I took one more dose in the afternoon and I guess it worked.  We will be having our baseline ultrasound done this week and should be starting injections too!  Finally we can move forward!

Five on Friday

One.  House Showings

We had a house showing on Monday that went really well.  She seemed to really like the house a lot, but has not put hers on the market yet.  Our second showing was supposed to be Tuesday but they ended up canceling a few hours before hand.  Honestly, I was so tired from a long day at work, a headache, and fatigue, that I was kind of relieved.  I put ravs in broth on the stove and was really thankful for a relaxing night on the couch with some comfort food, my husband, and my dog.  We really exhausted ourselves last weekend and it was daylight savings so there is still some adjusting going on.

Two.  Provera

Tuesday was my "scheduled" day for AF to show.  Actually my cycle has been about six weeks rather than the typical four.  This is the first time in my entire life that I've had a cycle this long.  I'm waiting to start the Provera until Monday.  I'm going to try and naturally induce my period with hot baths, Vitamin C, and maybe even some baby dancing!?!

Three.  Will Call/St. Patty's Day Celebrations

Saturday is will call and it happens to fall on the night of St. Patty's day celebrations.  One of my favorite bands just happens to be playing at the winery.  They only play once a year, St. Patty's day weekend.  They dress in authentic Irish garb and play all kinds of traditional Irish songs.  They're amazing and so much fun! Also really looking forward to the new August Hill wine Ravat 51, its a dry white made from Illinois-grown Vignoles.  It sounds amazinggg!  Can't wait to try it!  Congrats to all the wonderful staff at August Hill, you guys rock!

Four.  GNO's

I'm lucky enough to have two GNO's this week.  One last night with my friend Jen.  She is like 35 weeks pregnant so we figured we better get one more in before baby Keegan comes!  It was a great bitch fest as we like to call it.  Lots of yummy carbs at an Italian restaurant called Verucchis, our favorite place.  Sunday I'm doing a day date with my girl Alicia.  I can't wait for mimosas and catch up with one of my all time favorite ladies!

Five.  House Building.
What an overwhelming task this has turned out to be (I know, I know, if I didn't think it wasn't going to be overwhelming then I wasn't thinking very well).  We have to have every nut, bolt, and washer picked out before the bank will even get an appraisal started so this entire week has been spent on Home Depot's website picking and printing.   Calling every contractor that we are going to need, plumbers, HVAC, concrete, well drillers, etc. to get estimates sent over ASAP.  It's been a busy, busy week.  On the  plus side we have pretty much everything picked out, on the downside, I think I chose a lot of it out of anxiety about picking things out!  I'll leave you with some inspiration.

yes please! 

Never Give Up

Well, here we are, cycle day 43.  This is the longest cycle I've ever had, and honestly, I’m getting sick of it. Props to you women who endure months without AF showing up.   It seems crazy to want a period, but until it comes, there is no moving forward, especially in the world of infertility.  There are so many women out there waiting for a period, or waiting for ovulation, only to have those things never show.  I consider myself blessed that I've never had that problem, I've always been regular and never had a problem ovulating so this prolonged cycle is foreign to me.

I've been having slight cramping, fatigue, headache, the usual, but yesterday my doc started me on Provera which is progesterone to help my cycle along.  Remember, we thought AF would be here on Feb 25^th and we realized I had actually just ovulated so the date was changed to March 11^th.  No sign of her, hence the progesterone.   Here is where it gets tricky for me.  Since I've already started having symptoms, they told me I can wait to start the Provera to see if I start on my own.  Your period will begin when your body starts to have a decrease in progesterone so if I start taking the Provera, I could be working backwards… (head is starting to spin at this point).  So what I've decided to do is hold off on the meds until Monday.  If I don’t start by then, I will begin taking the pills (I'll spare you the details on how these pills are taken!) for 10 days.  My period could start any time between the end of the 10 days, up to 2 weeks after I've finished taking them.  So in a nutshell, this cycle has the potential of being roughly 70 days. OMFG!

It's a challenge not to be discouraged.  After realizing what my body has endured and is continuing to endure on this journey, I can’t believe I haven’t killed anyone for something as simple as, let’s say... looking at me wrong.  Hormone after hormone being pumped in, I've been really lucky that I've been able to stay as emotionally stable as I have.  Don’t get me wrong, there have been a lot of tears shed, a lot of heartaches, a lot of downs, some ups too, but I think I've (or my body) has handled all of the emotional baggage that comes with infertility pretty well. 

So, as usual, we are waiting.  As soon as AF shows up we can schedule our baseline ultrasound and finally move forward with this next, and hopefully last cycle.  I’m going to be as optimistic as I can about this 3^rd time.  I’m not going to think about what if it doesn't work, I’m not going to think about IVF, I’m not going to worry myself about those things until it is confirmed that I have to.  I will be busy with the selling one house and building another, the weather will be getting better, I should be able to get through this cycle without too much stress & hopefully finally get a lasting BFP.  Fingers crossed.

Weekend Recap

Oy Vey!  What a weekend we had!  It went by so fast & I'm exhausted.  We didn't have anything on the calendar as far as plans, but it was definitely a go, go, go type of weekend.

Friday we went to MJ's pub for dinner.  Pretzel sticks and club wrap, with a yummy Strawberita.  I hate to cook on Friday's so I was happy when Joe said he wanted to go out for dinner.  We ate early, Joe went out for a few beers with a friend and I went to bed early.  Like, 8 pm (my normal bedtime) early.  

Saturday was a normal day of grocery shopping and lunch with my mom.  I came home and decided to get crafty for about 15 minutes.  I made a new wreath for my front door.  We are showing the house a couple times this week (hooray!!) so we spent some time cleaning then we had to be at Home Depot to meet with the Millwright department to finalize on windows and interior/exterior doors.  We were there for about 3 hours.  It was overwhelming, but we are making progress!  By the time we got outta there, we had to be at my dad's for my niece and nephews birthday party.  After the birthday party Jessica and Mike came over and we drank homemade wine & chatted for a few hours.  The entire day was non-stop!  It was fun catching up with Jess and Mike.  We sat around in our PJ's, talked, and watched old Chappelle's Show episodes & laughed our asses off.  By the time we got to bed it was actually an hour later, so it ended up being about midnight.  I couldn't believe we stayed up that late!

Sunday was another up early, work on cleaning, then an afternoon at Home Depot day.  My house has never been as clean as it is now.  I am a very organized person who believes everything has a place.  I hate papers and random stuff laying around in places that they shouldn't be so our house is normally straightened up pretty well, but we really deep cleaned, threw away, and organized spaces that we haven't touched since we moved in in August 2012.  I bought all kinds of fresh flowers at the grocery store, a new orchid, some daffodils, and a bouquet.  I think fresh flowers really add a nice touch.  Between the flowers and the deep scrubbing I feel like we are ready for spring.  I want to open the windows already!  

I seriously feel like my second home is going to be Home Depot.  We are really saving a TON of money by shopping around for the best deal, but it is time consuming.  We had another appointment at 11 today and we didn't leave until 4.  We took about a half hour lunch break between appointments, but it was a looooongg day with the HD folks.  We still have so much to think about.  Little details like door knobs, and door swings I never even gave a thought about, now I'm an expert.  We really have our work cut out for us and it has been tiring, but it has also been fun and will be well worth it!

AF better show up this week!  I'm so ready to start this next cycle!  I know adding a baby on top of building a house is going to be a huge undertaking (if it works out that way), but I'm up for the challenge and we are more than ready to be parents.  Fingers crossed that we can start cycling again this week!