2010 In Review

Just like last year, I thought it would be fun to do a little "year in review" here at JtoT.

January

* Drew and I went on a double date night with Matt and Sheena

February

* I turned 25 and Drew and I did something for the first time as a couple
* We got a new bed. Woot!
* Drew turned 30!

March

* I had my first acupuncture appointment.
* Our "tenants" moved out.
* Drew got a new job.

April

* We started car shopping.
* I thought we were making progress with the acupuncture.

May

* I got a new toy.
* My cousin became a Dr.
* I went to the 2nd concert I've ever been to, with my sister.

June

* I co-hosted a baby shower for Jessica and made a super cute wreath.

July

* We got a new car!
* Angela had her bridal shower.

August

* I had my first appointment with the RE.
* Angela's bachelorette party. Oy vey!
* Angela and Cody's wedding.

September

* The RE's office went and screwed everything up, so I had to miss a cycle. Stupid!
* Drew and I went and picked apples.
* I started the journey to getting braces. (I still haven't made it any further. Lay off! I'm scared of getting my teeth pulled!!)

October

* I blogged about getting fired.
* Drew and I went on vacation to Florida and Georgia.
* We celebrated two years of marriage.

November

* I finally made some progress at the RE and had an IUI.
* We hosted Thanksgiving.
* We cut down a real Christmas tree!

December

* I made a super cute holiday card hang up and was featured.
* The IUI didn't work :(.
* Christmas celebrations.

It's been such a busy year with lots of excitement and changes. I hope that 2011 is even better for us. Bring it on!!!

Christmas 2010

Another Christmas has come and gone. I can't believe that we're already at the end of another year. We celebrated Christmas with Drew's side of the family on Thursday. Here's a cute video of little Wes laughing.

After he had gotten dressed, and was fed, Jessica wanted to take some generation pictures.

This is Drew's parents, Drew, me, Jessica, Eric, and Wesley.

Then, we opened presents. Of course, Wes was spoiled like crazy!!

Drew's parents gave us webcams. Yes, our computer is so ancient that it doesn't have one. I can't wait to Skype!!

Jessica made a photobook give to Drew's parents and grandparents. Drew's dad cried! I love gifts that bring tears to the eyes.

Please note the onesie. It speaks for itself.

(It says "My Auntie is awesome")

Nom, nom, nom on my toes.....

Baby's first snowfall.Drew and I hosted Christmas Eve for my side of the family on Friday. Can you believe that I didn't take one picture? I'm so disappointed with myself. In my defense, I was busy playing hostess.

I didn't do anything on Christmas. Drew had to work, so I hung out at home, all by myself. Lame!

The new year is less than a week away. I can't believe it!!

I'm Being Featured!

Remember my post about how I solved my dilemma with my holiday cards? Well, it's being featured over on Polly Want A Crafter today!

Cassity has a fantastic blog that features a lot of super neat craft ideas. Be sure to head over there and check out her blog. You won't regret it!!

AYKM: Just Hit It With a Hammer

Our furnace went out tonight. Not such a big deal if we lived in a place like Florida or Hawaii or the Equator, but a huge deal if you live in the frozen tundra known as Northern Illinois.

I called Drew to let him know that the furnace was obviously not working because the thermostat read that it was 61 in here when I had it set at 68. Brrrrr!!!! He came home for dinner and started working on it. After talking to some people, including his dad, they decided that a certain part needed to be replaced. Luckily, Drew's dad had one. He came over. Bad news. The part didn't work.

Drew and Mark worked on the furnace for about an hour and a half, where Drew got progressively more and more frustrated. They came upstairs and decided that they couldn't figure it out so we would need to call a repairman.

The repairman called Drew back and started to walk him through the furnace. I guess that the guy didn't have the part that was broken and told Drew about something that needed to be reset. I don't know what happened with that, but the next thing I hear is a bunch of banging. I guess the guy said to "bang the shit" out of a certain part. Low and behold, the furnace started working!

Our house is slowly warming up again. I'm pretty thankful that it seems to be working for now because the repairman was "nice" enough to inform us of his fee to come out. $60 just to come out and then $23 for every 15 minutes he's here. That's one hell of an hourly wage!

How To Not Put Your Foot In Your Mouth

I have been doing a lot of serious thinking lately. I've had a few things happen over the past couple of weeks that have made me think about the taboo subject of infertility. I have had a couple of conversations with close friends that have made me want to speak out. I realize that this is not an easy thing for anybody. It's certainly not easy for me, and I've come to realize that it's not easy for the people in my life.

I was talking to a close friend of mine, and we were airing a couple of grievances that we had. I told her that I was really upset because it doesn't seem like she cares about me or my treatments because she never asks about them. I mean, I have people that I'm not nearly as close to who ask more frequently. And it's not like what I'm going through is a secret. She paused for a minute. She then told me that she was really sorry, but she didn't always know what to say. Now, let me just tell you, this girl can talk and is hardly at a loss for words. I never suspected that she wouldn't know what to say. But it makes sense now.

Unless you've had the unfortunate experience of infertility, a person can't possibly understand what is involved. And I'm sure it's difficult to try to say something when you have no knowledge of the subject. That would be like me trying to talk about aircraft maintenance. Ain't going to happen!

But, you're in luck! I'm here to save you from yourself. It is so easy to say something that you think that help and be supportive, but it really does just suck. Point blank, it sucks

1. "My friend's brother's wife's cousin's sister saw this doctor and she got pregnant right away." - Thank you. I would just love to go to another doctor to run more tests that may or may not have already been done. Not to mention the time that it will take to get in for an appointment at that new doctor.
2. "You should take a vacation!" - Is there a Fertility Island that I don't know about?
3. "It'll happen if you just relax" - Been there, done that. I even did the acupuncture to try and relax.
4. "Maybe you should think about adoption." - I, in no way, look down on adoption. And adoption may very well be a path that we have to pursue. However, I do NOT want it suggested to me before I am ready to consider it. Adoption is not an "easy fix" to infertility. It takes a long time and a lot of money to adopt a child. We're talking two or more years and tens of thousands of dollars. You are not even guaranteed a child at the end. There is nothing to say that the birth mother won't change her mind.
5. "You do know how to have sex, right?" - Wait! You mean that I can't get pregnant by swallowing?!? Well, damn. My husband won't be happy about that one.

And there are about a gabillion more, but I'll spare you. Do you want to know what TO say to somebody who is struggling with infertility. "I'm sorry that you have to go through this." "I'm hear to listen anytime you need to talk/cry/vent/yell/whatever."

There are a couple of infertility blogs that I read that really help to make me laugh through the tears.

Busted Plumbing - Kate just welcomed a beautiful baby boy into this world. She had a very difficult infertility journey and her humor is wonderful!

999 Reasons to Laugh at Infertility - This blog makes me laugh with practically every post!

There are many, many more, but these are two that I follow right now. I really hope that this has helped when it comes to talking to someone who struggles with infertility.

Our Christmas Card 2010

I'm pretty sure that at this point, most everybody has received their card. So, I though I would share on here the design that I decided to go with after sharing about using Shutterfly for our cards this year.
I think they turned out great! I am very pleased with the quality and the printing on them. They are printed on sturdy cardstock, which I was really impressed with. I do need to mention that I ordered stationary cards, as opposed to the photo cards, so, I'm sure, that contributed to the "heavier" quality of the paper. I love the fact that it said 2010 on it. I don't know how many people actually keep the cards after the season, but I probably will keep all the ones we receive this year.

Failure

I am so heartbroken to announce that I am not pregnant.

I went in Tuesday for a blood draw and received the call that afternoon. I honestly didn't have too high of hopes because I had already tested with an at home pregnancy test and it came up negative.

I'm numb.

I remember feeling so confident two weeks ago that this was going to work. I remember thinking that we would be able to make an announcement at Christmas that we were going to be parents. I remember feeling hopeful.

Now, I just feel pain.

It is so hard to keep trying for something month after month and keeping seeing that stupid no. It is so hard to want and desire something so badly that you can't obtain. There are two friends on Facebook who have very recently had babies, and while I am so overjoyed for them because they have had a long struggle, it's so difficult to see the pictures. I want that joy that they are feeling.

I have to take a break this cycle because the doctor's office doesn't do any treatments in December. That means at least two more times of getting miserably sick. I hate this.

AYKM: Don't You Wish Your Neighbor Was Cool Like Mine?

Ok, so this guy isn't really my neighbor, but he does live in my town. I have no idea who he is, but his house, decked out in Christmas spirit, humbles any other house that tries to.

Drew and I discovered this house yesterday when we went to rent some movies. After watching for a few minutes, I knew we had to grab the camera and record the show.

I don't know who the owner of this house is, or how he did this, or exactly the reason why. But I do know that this is cool!!

Holiday Card Hang Up

I knew I had to come up with a solution for my holiday card dilemma. Last year, I just sat them on a shelf and, since a good majority of them are photo cards, they just fell all over and were a constant annoyance. This year, ahhhhh this year, I have the perfect solution. I got this idea from some girls on a message board and just kind of ran with it. (Thanks girls!)

First, I went to Michael's and got 4 different sheets of scrapbook paper. It's important to select a paper that has a small design because the paper is going to be cut into small strips.
Then, I cut the paper into strips using my paper cutter.

The strips were cut just big enough to cover a clothespin. I attached the paper to the clothespin using rubber cement.

This was my first time buying rubber cement and when I got to the check out and scanned it, it told me to wait to cashier assistance. The cashier came over and asked my age. Apparently you have to be 17 to buy rubber cement. I figured out why after I opened the bottle. I'm surprised I didn't die from the fumes.

Here's what the finished clothespins look like.

Then, I made some bows with a long tail to hang on the wall. I hung the bows using those 3M hook things.

I finished the project just in time to receive our first holiday card.

What do you think? Cute, huh? Now, I just have to keep the cats (Luuuuuucifer) from attacking the hanging ribbon.

Just Call Me a Pharmacy

Yesterday, I went back to the RE's office for a blood draw to check my hormone levels. The nurse called me that afternoon and told me that my levels "weren't bad". I have now been put on estrogen and progesterone because the nurse says that we've got a very good chance of being pregnant. Oh, and a vaginal suppository. I'm just ecstatic. Overjoyed, I tell you.

For anybody who is reading this that is going through the same thing, I am taking Estradiol and Prometrium. And the vaginal suppository. Can't forget about that, now can we?

I know that there are worse things in life. And Sheena made me well aware of that when she pointed out that it could be an anal suppository. Thanks for seeing the glass half full Sheena!! But folks, I'm seriously going to be so pissed off if I'm not pregnant.