Expansion

I think there has been growth! Today marks the beginning of the 18th week.

(As you can see the nursery has been painted!)

Healthy Baby Girls

Today was our "long" Dr.'s appointment where we basically had a 2 hour sonogram, which was fun. We got to see them a lot and they are both healthy. They each weigh 7 oz. which sounds so tiny especially compared to my weight gain, but their weight and mine are perfectly normal and on track. The Dr.'s were happy to see that they weigh the same and there isn't Twin-Twin going on (where one twin gets/steals more of the nutrition). On the screen though they look so much bigger than 7 ounces.
Their hearts checked out perfectly along with all of their organs and whatever else was checked today (we lost track). They do like to hover by each other...at one point they couldn't measure their leg bones because they couldn't decipher which leg belonged to who because they are so close. They move a lot which is fun to see and I'm starting to feel movement. Though their movement makes me nervous, I don't want them to get too tangled, I do enjoy the peace of knowing they're alive and well.
We got a lot of amazing sonogram pictures today including one of their lips.....they are HUGE. Haha....definitely got that from Dustin and not me.

Baby A and Baby B is for their marking only. The first one out of the womb will be Claire and the second one will be Caroline.

Significance of the names: Caroline was my mom's grandmother's name and her middle name Emalee comes from my dad's grandmother Ema and my grandmother's middle name Lee combined together. Claire was a name we liked and Elizabeth came from my dad's side somewhere and of course from Dustin's family they're getting Brooks. We essentially had to pick out 4 names and that was time consuming especially trying to find a name we liked that had family significance.

Our sitting area has turned in to the baby supply area for the time being. The nursery is under construction. The painter comes Wednesday and the carpet comes next Monday so in the meantime the goodies are in our room. Our cribs and furniture are supposed to be in anyday!! I love anything baby and decorating so this has been such a fun time for me. We just got in our double-decker stroller. They are seats when they are older and for now we can pop on a metal bar to hold the car seats -- this is going to be such a great asset as they can truly grow with this stroller---and it's user friendly! Thanks Momsey and Pops!

Christmas:
What a wonderful time of year. I love everyone's spirit, the smell and decor of the house. We started early this year but have moved slowly -- I am close to finishing up shopping. The weather has been extra Christmasy this year with cool days and nights, overcasts and rain....for San Antonio that's as close to snow as we're gonna get!

It takes all I have to keep Dustin from adding on to our outside decor....so I'm enjoying the simple lights on the house. I'm sure next year we'll have blow up Santa's, wrapped tree trunks, etc. We're going to give that family on Capitol street in Levelland a run for their money.

I hope you're each enjoying the holiday season. : )

Watch me Grow...

We had a wonderful and relaxing Thanksgiving in San Antonio. I got lots of rest -- literally to bed by 9 and up around 8.....my kind of schedule! My mom came for most of the week and my dad followed midweek for Thanksgiving festivities. This year we had a traditional Thanksgiving with all of the trimmings, gravy, pies, etc....just for Dustin. The Yates' came the Saturday following Thanksgiving and we all had some Red Raider quality losing time and dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, The Grill at Leon Springs between here and Boerne. MM MM MMMMM!

Updates to the nursery: We have torn out the carpet, my dad and Dustin have sanded the base boards, paint has been sort-of selected and the room has been taped off. Before I proceed too much further I do want to have another confirmation that these really are girls....I hear this is a common worry and I may be one of the biggest worriers in a 10 mile radius around here so this is super normal for me! We have ordered the furniture and found the type of chair we want -- we just need to select the fabric. Since knowing I was pregnant I have pretty much baby shopped online nonstop. Immediately I found this bedding called the Mackenzie and I'm just in-love....and so is Dustin. The designer is out of Houston and I have spoke with her -- her inspiration for this was a Mackenzie Child's catalog....and if you've been to our house you know I'm pretty inspired by her things as well. I'm almost 100% certain we're going with this crib set...or I hope at least since we ordered antiqued black furniture!

P.S. that bedding is on the crib that we ordered....it must be fate!

I have taken photos of my tummy every two weeks for the past 6. Sometimes I wonder if I am growing or not, but this is a fun way to watch my growth...so I'm going to share with you all as well. Today at school I had a student tell me "I knew they were girls!" when I announced the genders to my class and I asked him how he knew. We have another teacher that is pregnant in our department that is 2 months ahead of me and she's having a boy and obviously she is a little bigger than I am since she is further along....so his rationale was..."she's bigger and she's having boys so you must be having girls!" Ha--loved this!

It's a girl.... times two!

We are happy to announce the addition of Babies Caroline Emalee and Claire Elizabeth to our family in late March of 2012.

1/80,000

1/80,000 twin births results in mono/mono twins. So, yeah, we heard it was rare, but numbers really help put this in perspective. Our "twin" doctors have seen a handful of cases (9 or so) of mono/mono twins in their time practicing....and they each tipping mid-50's. But we know we're in good hands with them. No wonder we get so much attention when we go to see our doctors....we're like a textbook scenario that 98% of ob's will never see in their lifetime of practicing. (I'm not that good with numbers this all came from our twin Dr.)

Wednesday will conclude our 13th week. Our babies are doing great -- their heart rates are solid and they are on target growth-wise. So far so good!!!! We're still looking at 26 week hospital check-in for constant monitoring.

Our next appt. with them will be three weeks from today. We should be able to find out their sex on this day!!!! So exciting!!!!

This weekend we're going to relax and get the house ready for Christmas....and our traveling days are now over. This past weekend we went to Austin for the Tech/UT game with the Brookses and well...we all saw how that turned out. Dustin said he had never been so sick of hearing the Texas Fight Song.....too bad, I actually had bought a cute red and black dog collar for Polo...guess he will still be sportin' the faded burnt orange collar for another year.

11/7/2011

11/7/2011 Baby B is always shy...I don't think we have seen his/her face yet!

Hook 'Em

Happy Tech/UT Weekend!

Love,

1 of the Baby Brookses

Halloween & Pictures

It's been a whirlwind of events these last weeks...and finally I'm going to catch you up on things.

In September we took a Levelland girls trip to Fredericksburg for shopping and food! Last year was a little excessive starting off our tradition with a trip to Vegas for Amber's Bachelorette but we hope to keep the tradition going in the years to come.

We celebrated my mom's and my birthdays in Dallas at the Gaylord in October but sadly I didn't take my camera. She turned....KIDDING MOM--like I would sell you out like that!

This past Thursday Brent and Leslie had their baby girl, Emery. She's healthy and beautiful!

Today we celebrated Halloween at school and our department decided to dress up as various fish. I was two fish from Dr. Seuss and my co-worker that is pregnant with 1 baby was 1 fish. See if you can guess the other types of fish people dressed up. I'll give you a hint: the guy to the right of me was "gold"fish.

Tonight Dustin is handing out the Halloween candy to all of our trick-or-treaters. Summed up it's hilarious. The kids open up their bags and Dustin has seen everything from giant M&M bags to king size snicker bars....hahaha...I'm sure we'll be boycotted next year after handing out our suckers, bubble gum and starbursts. Needless to say we're almost out of candy (it's almost 8) because Dustin has felt the need to overcompensate for our mini-me candy servings! And btw....when was it ok to trick-or-treat when you were over the age of 14??? We've had some freakishly old trick-or-treaters.

Below is a picture of Ms. Aly for Halloween. : )

Dustin is still loving his job at Burleson. When you make a major change in your life you always contemplate whether you are making the right decision or not but this couldn't be a better fit for Dustin. He is truly happy and feels much appreciated. He's set to take the February New Mexico Bar as of now but given what we know may be in store for us this could be pushed back to July. Fortunately, he and his bosses are flexible and understanding of this time.

Today marks the end of my injections and patch regimen!!! My body is worn out and thus far my blood levels have been great with me lowering my doses. I'm pretty sure I've had at least an injection a day since April. I feel great other than I am exceptionally tired but don't worry about me....I am sleeping...A LOT!
This past weekend we got a lot done! We cleaned out what will become the nursery and made a nice "grandparent" room upstairs. We ordered our cribs, cleaned out closets and made a very generous donation to goodwill!
Alright here is the first baby bump pic....11 weeks and 5 days. The second trimester will begin on Wednesday!!! This bump has been pretty consistent over the last 6 weeks or so....this grew almost immediately which sent me in to a panic when I thought it was just one baby....but now that there are two I feel it is entirely justifiable. I think the crazier part is just how long my hair is...thank you vitamins!

Hope you had a wonderful Halloween!!

Mono/Mono Twins

Monday we had a follow up appointment and everything is going perfectly with the twins and myself. They are growing at a steady rate and have very strong heart beats at 164 and 163 beats per minute. We found it was very hard to photograph them individually they love to be together and they love to do just about the same thing and to be in the same positions. It's so fascinating. We got to see them twirl and swim around on the sonogram screen and seeing them interact like that will melt your heart.

This is my favorite picture. <3 We were referred to a perintologist, Dr. Gordon, that will be with me throughout my pregnancy along with my ob/gyn, Dr. Hasty. Fortunately for us, all of my Dr.'s seem to be in constant contact with each other and work with each other daily so that is a relief. Dr. Gordon was pretty blunt with us regarding how risky of a pregnancy this is. Twins itself are risky and the risk only goes up as you get in to twins that are monochorionic (share the same sac) and monoamniotic (share the same amniotic fluid and are not separated by a membrane) and we have monochorioinic/monoamniotic twins which according to Dr. Gordon (aka Dr. Happy) this is the most risky twin pregnancy. At this point I need to reemphasize that everything is going smoothly and I feel wonderful. I will be under constant care and will be going to my ob/gyn and Dr. Gordon every other week. I am ok with that though, as I will be constantly monitored. I will also be placed on hospital bedrest beginning early February as I conclude the end of my 26th week until the twins are born. This is only precaution and seems to be more standard procedure given the type of twins we are having. We left this Dr.'s appointment a little shaken up and scared but we keep reminding ourself just how healthy they are now. We have made a promise to not google and read the crazy stats that are associated with this type of pregnancy and I urge you not to as well. Dr. Gordon said this type of twin pregnancy is very rare and there really isn't a large enough pool for the stats to be accurate. But there certainly are a lot of risks involved but we're going to remain positive and honestly feel pretty fortunate that I will be under daily care by both of my Dr.'s while I am at Methodist. They hope to monitor me week 26 through week 33-34 and they will deliver the baby's by C-Section at that time. I am in search for hobbies to take on in a bed-rest type setting. I am such a busy body -- I'm sure you're laughing uncontrollably at the thought of me being in a hospital, in a bed for 8 or so weeks. (I cry at that thought).

So...going to the hospital um....14 weeks early has sent me in to a frenzy to get this nursery semi-together. This will only add to book of stories Dustin and I already have. I've had the Kanye West song "Stronger" in my head all day today and I'm pretty sure this will be our theme song until we get these babies here healthy. "Work it, make it, do it, makes us; harder, better, faster strong. N-now that that don't kill me can only make me stronger." (I hope these Brooks Babies are just as rap friendly as us)!

We couldn't get a shot of them by themselves.

Tomorrow we're going to order our cribS .... yes.... plural; more than one! cRaZy!
I've wanted an iron crib from day 1 and we're going with a gender neutral finish since we don't know their sexes yet and the crib takes 3-4 months for it to arrive! EEEK!

We finally found a stroller that has the capacity to hold two infant carriers.....now that was a task to find! You can check out all this sucker can do at: http://www.babyjogger.com/city_select_lp.aspx

Happy 6th birthday to Polo...what a sweet and loving companion he has been for us over the last 5 years.

Poor baby is still camera shy so we have to sneak the pics when we can.

Each day we go without a complication is a blessing and we thank you all for your out-pour of love, support and prayer! These are the miracle babies and clearly they are fighters!

Twin Talk

I cannot stop watching this youtube video and googling all sorts of other "identical twin" stuff. This is going to be so much fun! From the matching outfits to how much fun the holidays will be, to squaring our family size from 2 to 4. I am so excited about this as I know whatever sex they will be they will have a forever partner in crime and best friend; how special is that!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbqioNKCpoA

Twice the Blessing - Identical Twins!!

Today was sonogram #2 where we found out we are expecting IDENTICAL TWINS! I'm sure you're thinking....whaaaat??!! Where was that sucker in the last sonogram -- that's the million dollar question!
To bring you to date on the whole fertility situation and now we're expecting "monozygotic" (identical) twins here is how it goes: we transferred two embryos in August. We found out on September 26th that only 1 embryo made it and the other one did not survive -- we were accepting of this -- we were PREGNANT! Somewhere in the midst of it all the surviving embryo split -- giving us two babies in one womb. We've learned a lot over the last 5.5 hours and are still learning a lot! Monozygotic twins are always the same gender so we will either have two boys or two girls -- as if we care at this point!?!? HEALTHY is our only priority!! My dad's side of the family has a history of twins (3 sets) so this isn't completely from nowhere but it did catch us by surprise. Both babies are growing as expected and their heart rates are strong at 158 and 161 beats per minute!
In a couple of weeks we will know if they are diamniotic (each having their own membrane around them) or monoamniotic where they are enveloped by only one membrane. We want diamniotic as this is a less risky of a pregnancy and less opportunity for them to push, punch and get tangled in each other's umbilical cords. Below is a diagram of what I am talking about.

Baby "B" is mooning us and Baby "A" is kicking back and laughing.

Either "Best Buds" of "BFFs" -- they are hanging out together on the far left (the circle on the far right is an amniotic sac)

My brain is on overload right now; we will post more information soon....for now I need a nap and some time to digest this all! This now explains my EXTREME INCREASE in appetite and my belly already rockin' a bump! We're overwhelmed with joy -- what a fun journey this will be!

Full term for twins is 36 weeks and they can arrive as early as 8 weeks so our due date has been bumped from between March 16 & April 16 of 2012!

Bite Size Snickers

Today was our first sonogram and we got to see the heart flicker and hear the heartbeat! It was breathtaking and summed up is a miracle! Everything went great today and is right on track. Dustin, as you can imagine, was quite the emotional one this afternoon. We're still not sure how to refer to it (meaning the baby) since it is gender neutral at this point....but Dustin is running with the "bite size snickers" nickname for he/she. Those of you that know his snickers story and how he obtained his nickname knows this may just be the perfect fit.

This picture leaves me speechless. It is so real! I feel like bite size snickers is crawling here and you can see the growth of his/her arms and legs. If you look close at it's head I swear it already has a boof of hair. I've read in numerous publications that the baby won't grow hair until week 10 but I'm sure there will be a 5 o'clock shadow by then. HA! The more hair your baby has the more heartburn you are to expect........boooooo this isn't going to be good for me!
We feel so blessed and much more at ease since we've seen the baby!

Things I have learned so far:
**It really scares Dustin when I get up in the middle of the night for cereal and chocolate milk. Historically I don't wake up for anything so this middle of the night raiding of the pantry is a change in our sleep patterns. And uh, when did I start drinking milk? DISGUSTING...but it is sooooo good right now!
**Don't take pregnancy tests when your hcg levels are skyrocketing! Yes....I broke 2 tests simply because my hcg levels were so high that it pulled dye from the "not pregnant" line to enhance the brightness of the "pregnant" line. You all know me....I'm a thinker, planner and a worrier....as if I wouldn't pee on a family pack of pregnancy tests from SAMS.
**Don't go perfume shopping. Over the last several months I have been using the last of many perfume bottles and am in the search for a new signature scent....except shopping for perfume at this stage is impossible. Not only am I indecisive, naturally, but my minutely change of likes makes a purchase practically impossible.
**Overall I feel great...which caused me to worry and take a boatload of pregnancy tests. I have occasional headaches, my clothes are a little snugger, I nap daily {love this!} and I eat like a horse.

Dustin's progress:
**He's been THE MOST helpful husband. He prepares and cleans up most meals while I snooze on the couch. He takes care of Polo, makes the bed in the mornings, is proactive in his baby daddy readings & tells me how pretty I am....even though I feel like my face is retaining all of the animal crackers I am consuming. How did I get so lucky!!??

Bite Size Snickers is expected to arrive May 16, 2012!

P.S. We have started daycare shopping. Yes -- one of the places we are touring is booked through June....ummmmm so basically you have to be on the waiting list before you're pregnant....I'll remember this for next time. Thankfully Bite Size won't be checking in to day care until mid-August of next year. : )

An Answered Prayer...

We found out early Monday morning that we are PREGNANT! There were lots of tears shed and my family was in town to share in the joy. I did cheat....at 5 am on Monday morning we got the positive result....we knocked on the door where my parent's were staying to share the good news and phoned Dustin's parents.

Yes, it's for real!

Elaina, one of our favorite nurses, called around noon time that not only was I pregnant but my hormone and hcg levels were beyond perfect. A blessing! We are both so happy an answer to so many of our friends, our family's friends and family's prayers. We have such a great support group that have been there for us through thick and thin. Thank you all!

September 26th is our first ultrasound when we will find out if it is 1 baby or more than 1. We don't care either way -- a healthy baby is enough for us! I did additional blood work this morning and my hcg levels are progressing at a great rate.

Thank you all for reading, praying, texting and calling. The amount of support and outreach on Monday was beyond comprehension for us and we know how much we are loved and how much this baby will be loved by you all.

Dustin got his first "dad" gift on Monday afternoon and I received my first "mom" gift.

Pregnancy Symptoms: Well I had some early signs but as I said in my previous post I didn't want to get worked up or carried away. I have been having headaches and I just feel different -- slightly off balance, but they say it is normal and in my opinion all good signs of a healthy pregnancy! I don't care if I am sick or how difficult the first trimester is -- happy to have the opportunity. (Someone will probably need to remind me of this post in the weeks to come!) : )

3 more days...

Monday is our blood-pregnancy test....and this time I am going to cheat! They told me it was "pretty," accurate to do the home pregnancy tests the morning of.....so yes my anxiety got the best of me last time and I am cheating!!!!
Thankfully, my parents are coming to SA this weekend through Tuesday to be with us. I'm taking off from work on Monday; it's really in my students' best interest more than mine, haha. We're positive and optimistic.....but your head does play with your emotions. At the end of the day it is practically impossible to "feel," pregnant so I am trying to stop analyzing everything.
Dustin is loving Burleson! It seems like a perfect fit for him and it's amazing how much more pleasant he is the evenings to be working in such a positive and upbeat work environment. The move was a good move and we're very thankful for the opportunity.
So from our blog readers: please pray that this round is a success!!!

All went well!

Yesterday went very smooth. It was a relaxing morning, we did the transfer at noon and then I went to the acupuncturist for my my post-transfer treatment, followed by lots and lots (too much) bed rest. I am literally sick of my bed and TV.
Dr. Dustin did let me out of the bed today at 4 pm and took me to get a pedicure : ) and then we had dinner. Tomorrow I return to work while Dustin gets to enjoy one more day off before starting at Burleson.
The sonogram picture is pointing to the two embryos post transfer and the big embryo picture is of one of the embryos under the microscope prior to the transfer. The lab docs came in and we did the whole verification thing and they told us how perfect everything went in the thawing process. The two embryos that were thawed, survived and continued to grow....so this time we actually inserted blastocysts. We are blessed to not have lost any of the embryos in the thawing process and still have 5 remaining Brookses in the lab in the medical center. : )
We're praying this works....we feel good about it and as my acupuncturist (and sometimes even acts as my life coach) told me on Sunday....I have the best doctors, have followed all of the rules, been faithful with my drugs and have prayed about it...now I must turn it over to God.

The Big Day!

The In Vitro transfer is set for tomorrow morning! Dustin and I are both off for the next two days so that I am on full bed rest. We are really excited, but I am very cautious again with this. All of the Dr. appointments leading up to this have been perfect and so we're ready to rock and roll! We will know two weeks from Monday if I'm pregnant or not. We're of course praying for success but for peace over these next two weeks. I have had so much support from friends and co-workers here. It was impossible not to tell people at work on this round....because two planned days off the second week of school with no explanation is just weird. I've been added to my friend Michelle's prayer box at their church where they will send out cards with their prayer warriors to be prayed for at noon tomorrow and another co-worker has worn the pin for St. Anne for me this week in hopes of conception. (I hope I have that right....I'm not the best at remembering the Saints and their roles).
Dustin starts his new job at Burleson LLP on September 1st. He will be in the Weston Centre downtown (the building on the left).

Friday was his last day at his old firm. The timing couldn't have been more perfect for this all. (Needless to say I'm sure he will be able to keep himself busy over the next two weeks). http://www.burlesonllp.com/ This is a good move for him, career wise. It's a national firm with offices in San Antonio, Houston, Pittsburgh and Denver. They value publishing, sitting for additional licenses in other states as well as encourage you to bring in business all with incentives. Dustin works well under an incentive based business model. Dustin was given a partner track along with 4 weeks of paid vacation / leave time!!!! For me, that is huge....it really does no good to work and make money if you are not able to enjoy it. Life is just too short!
Yesterday afternoon a house in our neighborhood caught fire. It was a house that we had looked at when we were buying and that I had wanted since it was a foreclosure and with so much potential. Of course we decided against it, but still pulling up on the fire trucks, ambulances, police cars when going home makes your heart sink. Everyone was able to get out except for their dog. : ( I can't help to think...what if that had been us? Hopefully, we have already paid our dues in the home destruction category. : )
Wish us luck tomorrow! This afternoon we're taking it easy and getting the house in order for us to truly relax over the next two days. Thank you for all of your support and prayers.

Grateful

Oprah's facebook post read this this morning, "It's not easy being grateful all the time. But it's when you feel least thankful that you are most in need of what gratitude can give you." - Oprah.
Levelland & Lubbock lost THE most faithful person I have known this week. Though we were semi-prepared the thought of the truth, the days ahead for her young family and the reality of how life can change on a dime has had Dustin and I shaken a bit this week. Christie Devitt, only 33, passed away this week after a battle with breast cancer and then the cancer returning in her bones. I am so truly sad for this family, but she was such a special person and I was so connected with this story as many Levellanders were/are since many followed her care page for the past 4 years. You know you are special when your story is aired for your faith and your ob/gyn makes the last post on your care page ending the battle with cancer. You can watch a piece of the story that aired on the Lubbock news: http://www.kcbd.com/story/15272718/christie-has-won-her-battle-with-cancer.
This has put life in perspective for us and helped us redefine all of the wonderful things in our life we have to be thankful for and may have not been fully grateful for. Bless the Truelock and Devitt families.

Round 2

Tuesday officially started Round 2 of In Vitro. I guess technically it started a month ago, but I count from when the injections start. For the next two weeks I have 1 injection in the morning in my stomach. Not too bad....the smallest needle to date I've had, but sometimes I think the smaller the more painful? After these two weeks I have a round of hormone patches...which are just goofy so I've been getting my pool time in this week. : ) Doing a round of in vitro with frozen embryos is a much more structured process (and you all know me...I LOVE STRUCTURE). I pretty much know everything that will happen and the date it will happen. Blood levels can change things by a day or two but this isn't near as volatile of a process as the first trial in May/June. So with that I'm pretty much guaranteed to have the transfer August 29th or 30th. I will be missing two days of school the second week of classes and Dustin will likely conclude his quarter from home. We're both so determined and focused on this that neither is really a big deal to us -- we have learned a lot in this process and priorities has been a crucial lesson for us. We're positive, optimistic but of course nervous because the unthinkable does linger in our thoughts. But with the start of school I anticipate this round to go more quickly as I will be preoccupied with all that a new school year brings. Not to mention this round has less meds too. :)
Saturday I am having Leslie and Baby Emery's baby shower at my house. I can't say before these last two weeks that I had got much done around the house, but I've certainly made a dent in my list lately. Sadly, our yard is just blagh this year. I water every day but just can't keep anything alive. I'm sooooo over this heat. I know you all are too....every morning on the Today show Al has lots of sunshines on the southern states and few rain pictures. : (
In September, Baby Beck (well not really a baby he's officially 13 months) will have an eye surgery. I don't know enough of the details to post it on my blog, but they have tried other measures to avoid surgery but received the news this week that so far none of them have worked. Pray for them and Beck---I can't imagine how they feel, but they certainly are strong and can make it through this!
Next Monday is my official first day back to school. I have two additional weeks on my contract now that effect my start and end date. Dustin is SUPER ready to get me back in school. A) I spend too much money and B) I never sleep at night because I nap in the day, stay up late at night and sleep in in the morning. Poor guy....I've exhausted him. This summer has just been weird....we couldn't put our finger around what's so different this year....of course in vitro but also Dustin has had to work. We've not been able to escape to the lake for more than 3 days or have a long retreat back to Levelland/Lubbock to see family and friends and he's found very little time for golf. Kinda stinks being all grown up now.
I finally decorated our downstairs guest room. Yes, eventually it will be a nursery, but for now it won't be such an eye sore. Oh and I bought a new car (reason number 2,386 why Dustin is ready for school to start). I am so proud of this purchase just because I did it all by myself. I negotiated, told them what my bottom dollar was for my trade and got a super low interest rate...ALL BY MYSELF. Obviously I communicated with Dustin before signing on the dotted line but just going and doing it by myself was such an accomplishment for me.
Well summer is officially concluding....will I miss the time off? Sure, but I'm so much more organized and truly get more done during the school year. I wish I could work year-round 8-2...how nice would that be??!!

Our guest bedroom....come visit!

Check out that newly organized garage. ; )

Not too bad, huh?

Facation 2011

"Honeymoon or facation?," was the question we were asked our entire vacation. We spent 5 days in the Riviera Maya at Royal Hideaway, a couples resort. I would say 25% of the guests were honeymooners so being younger we were asked that question over and over. "Facation," is how the natives say vacation....and we thought it was so cute! We had a wonderful time and this trip was planned for relaxation purposes only. We got a couples massage and spent most of our afternoons at the pool and beach. Neither of us had been to Riviera Maya and I have to vouch that these are the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen in Mexico. The locals and resort staff were so accommodating and so happy to have Americans visit their country. Though it is an iffy time to go with all we hear on the news; I feel the deeper you go in to the country especially in to resort cities the safer and more accommodating the people are. Overall a great trip and much needed relaxation time for us before the new school year starts.
This week I have workshops; I always save them for the later part of the summer to pump me up before the school year kicks off. I also got the news today that in vitro round 2 injections start next Tuesday! This snuck up on us....and we're very excited to start this again. It was nice to have July off to catch my breath and do some of the summer stuff I enjoy -- i.e. mojitos....so this weekend marks the last whoorah....alcohol-wise for me. Soooo I'll have to come up with something -- I'm sure we'll try to head out to the lake for a couple of days.
Yesterday was round 1 of acupuncture. I have read a lot of articles correlating acupuncture with increased success rates for in vitro and hey for 80$....that's practically free at this point! I can't describe acupuncture in words....it's different for sure and certainly more relaxing the second day than immediately following the treatment....I don't know if this is something I will continue in my regular life but hey my Dr. said it couldn't hurt me and if does nothing more than raise my spirits, attitude and confidence with this round then it is worth the time and money. I'll do one more long treatment and 2 shorter treatments the night before the embryo transfer and one immediately following the transfer when I leave the Dr.'s office and before I begin the bed rest stage. (The transfer is expected to take place the last full week of August). So summed up it's a new approach, new types of drugs, a new regimen and I'm a problem-solver type of person with a scientific mentality....I need new variables in my equation when doing something for the second time. : )

4th of July!

We spent the holiday weekend in Ruidoso with Dustin's dad, Lisa, Dallas, Katie, Ashley, Amber, my mom and dad and a slew of other Levelland-ers. I got to meet Kyna and Nate's sweet baby boy, Gage, while we were in Ruidoso --- aka Jimmy Martin Junior. He is absolutely adorable and is such a good baby.
We went to the horse races, did some shopping in town and spent our evenings / early mornings in the casino. This was the first time ever I had been to Ruidoso and practically everyone won!
The weather was cool and at night COLD....a great change of pace and scenery for us! On the 4th we watched the Brooks' horse run, Chochaluco (spell check!) -- pictures above.
Dustin had to return to San Antonio to work on Tuesday morning and I stayed for an extra day to see my friends. We had a great dinner catching up with each other and got to see Finley all grown up (from the last time I saw him). He's beginning to say a few words, very active, walking and curious.
This morning I had my Saline Test to check for polyps and I am perfectly healthy and polyp free!
We've been yearning for a break from it all... a getaway of sorts so last night we booked The Royal Hideaway for 5 days in mid July. http://www.royalhideaway.com/index2.asp It's adult only and well we hope this is the last trip we make that we can book an adult only resort.
: )
Hope you all had a wonderful 4th with your friends and family!