Top 2 Tuesday

This week's topic at Taylor's Blog is.............Top 2 Favorite Songs

I love this week's topic! It was very hard for me to choose just 2 songs, but my picks are:

1) Dave Matthews Band- Crush (ACOUSTIC VERSION!!)

This was a hands down pick- because it was our first dance at our wedding :) If you have not heard the acoustic version of this song, you definitely need to google it right now!! Its amazing! Husband and I are OBSESSED with Dave Matthews and I cannot believe that we have not yet seen them in concert (everytime they are in town we already have plans). So you can bet we will try to see one of their shows very soon!




2) Coldplay- Fix You

You all may remember me talking about this song before- its basically become my soundtrack for our whole fertility struggle! This song is so pretty and even though the lyrics do not completely portray what we have gone through, I can definitely relate to them at times!



I cant wait to see everyone's picks for this topic- there are so many great songs out there! I have some pictures to share from this weekend as well, but I have had an insanely crazy day- so I will share those either tomorrow or Wednesday :)

IUI #1 and Questions

First of all, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for all of your sweet comments and support for our big day yesterday! I cannot express to you how much it meant to me (and Husband) to know that we have such wonderful people thinking great thoughts as we go through this difficult journey. I read through each and every one of your comments before my appointment yesterday and they gave me the strength to go through everything with a smile on my face :)

Yesterday went as well as we could have hoped for at this point. Husband went in earlier in the morning to "do his stuff" and we came back 1 hour later for my portion of the appointment. (In between those times they had to process and test Husbands swimmers)



All of Husband's swimmers came back with great results. The doctor actually said that they were higher than he had hoped for- so we were off to a great start!

That itty bitty syringe below is holding our future baby (hopefully!)

Everything with my portion of the appointment went well also. Our doctor believes that there are 4 potential eggs so we are hoping that 1 of those will work! The procedure itself was a little uncomfortable, but not too painful and it took only a couple of minutes to complete. I learned that I will be going back again next Wednesday for my first round of bloodwork, but they will still be unable to do a pregnancy test at that time- I will have to go back again the following week for that. All I know is these next 2 weeks are going to be the longest 2 weeks of my life!

Now onto the "questions" part of my title.........

A couple of you have tagged me in things on your blogs recently- I just want to let you all know I HAVE NOT FORGOT! I always love taking part in these and answering the questions, but I got a bit behind with all of our doctor visits this week!

So, over the next week hopefully I will be able to catch up on these. First up, Hilary from The Tale of This Newlywed tagged me with 8 questions:

1) Which season is your favorite?

That would definitely be Spring! I love the beautiful colors from all the flowers and LOVE the warmer weather after all the cold from winter. I am definitely not a fan of cold weather!

2) What is your dream car?

That would be this beauty:

I probably wont have one anytime soon though :( BUT Husband and I are still looking at new cars and hope to get one soon, so maybe I can talk him into one (very unlikely!)

3) What is the last book you read?

Honestly, I usually read several books at a time on my Kindle- normally they are all about different things. At the moment, I am reading a book about coping with infertility- it is called "When You're Not Expecting"

4)What is your favorite weekend activity?

This sounds really lame, but I really just enjoy spending a day out with Husband- going out to lunch, doing some shopping, running errands. His schedule is so crazy that we dont always get to have these type of days and I always cherish them when we do!

5) If you could only save 1 pair of shoes from your closet, which ones would you choose?

I am not a big shoe person (shocking, I know considering my love for shopping) so I probably would just pick a pair of cute Steve Madden sandals- the kind that can go with pretty much anything

6) What do you do for a living?

I work in a dental office doing all of the front office work- insurance, scheduling, etc

It is completely different than anything I ever thought I would do, but I love the people I work with and love that I work only a couple days a week!- a huge step down from my previous retail career

7) What is your best memory from high school or college?

Meeting this man in my high school Psychology class :)

8) What was your first job?

I was a checker/bagger at a grocery store. I absolutely hated it, but it was the only thing I could find when I was 16 and had no work experience.

I am tagging:

Lori from Bringing Up Brooke

Alexa from A Path Made by Walking

Kelly from Life in a Small Town

Jess from When the Music Fades



Sorry this is the longest post ever!!

D-Day Tomorrow.......

.....or at least thats what I am calling it. Tomorrow is a BIG day for us! A make it or break it type of day :/

Here's why.........

I went in for my 1,000,000,000,000th doctor appointment yesterday (ok, maybe I am exaggerating a little) and we saw this:

HOPEFULLY, those are some eggs ready to be released and make Baby Hill. I am still not quite where I should be after having taken all those injections, but my doctor feels that I am close enough for us to try moving forward with our first IUI (or insemination). I took my last injection yesterday after my appointment and then took an injection of Ovidrel (which helps trigger the release of the eggs) last night and tomorrow we will go in for the insemination!

I am beyond nervous about tomorrow! I have no idea what outcome to expect- of course, I want to jump up and down with joy at the fact that we are finally getting to move forward, but I am also a little pessimistic since I know that I did not get as far along as my doctor had hoped with the injections. The assistant who did my sonogram yesterday said that she has seen quite a few people with similar results end up pregnant- so I can only keep my fingers crossed that I am added to that list of lucky women!

Husband has been more of the "realist" in all of this so his very first comment to me was " DO NOT get your hopes up"- he hates seeing me so disappointed everytime things do not work out. I know that he wants to get excited about this too, but the poor guy is trying so hard to keep a straight face for my sake

Our gameplan for tomorrow is this: Husband will go in tomorrow morning to do his "business." Then an hour later at 11:00 am I have my appointment to have the IUI completed. I am very bummed that Husband is unable to be there for this (since we just found out yesterday that we would be going in tomorrow he is unable to get out of work at that time) but I am happy that my MIL will be there with me for some support :) Of course I will not find out any results tomorrow, but I am hoping to get some more details from my doctor about what to expect over the next couple of weeks and how soon we can see if it works!

Now, if only tomorrow could come sooner...........

Top 2 Hair Products

Isn't everyone so happy Monday is OVER?? :)

This week's Top 2 Tuesday topic over at Taylor's blog is.........Top 2 Hair Products!

First of all, before reading my top 2 picks, there is something you should know- I have the world's most annoying hair ever! (Okay, maybe not the most annoying, but pretty close!) My hair is VERY FLAT, VERY FRIZZY, and VERY THIN! Oh, and it normally wont hold any curl because I live in Texas where it has been very humid lately- aka: Cait's hair is a mess! That was another reason I loved Vegas so much- it was very dry there which = great hair for me!

So finally, after 23 years, I have somewhat figured out how to tame it- and these 2 products have definitely helped:

1) Bumble and Bumble Thickening Spray

This stuff is an absolute lifesaver! I am pretty much a fan of anything Bumble and Bumble because all of their products seem to work very well with my horrible hair. I own quite a few other items from this brand, but I actually just recently started using this spray- thanks to the advice of my "hair person." It not only makes my hair feel thicker, but it also helps with some of the frizz :)

2) Paul Mitchell Extra Body Finishing Spray

Now this spray I have been using for quite some time now. I am sure there are a lot of other Finishing Sprays out there that are just as good or better, but I have been too scared to try anything else. I love the fact that this one never feels very heavy- the whole point is for it to give your hair extra volume, not weigh it down!

I am looking forward to hearing what all of you use too!

Goodbyes and Hopeful Thoughts

Thank you all so much for sending positive thoughts my way over the past couple of days! Whatever you have all been doing, please keep it up because this is the furthest Husband and I have gotten in a treatment cycle and so far things are still looking decent.

I had to wake up at 7 am this morning for another doctor appointment (yes, on a Sunday-crazy, I know) and have another sonogram done. Things are still not moving quite as quickly as my RE would like, but I am still having some progress with the medications so we are going to continue pushing forward with the treatment. I had another round of bloodwork done (at this point I am getting a little tired of needles!), my doctor gave me instructions to continue injections (we are now at the 1 week mark with those), and I have yet another appointment on Tuesday (I am starting to feel like I see this doctor more than I see Husband). I would have taken some pics at the doctor appointment, but lets face it: it was 8 am on a Sunday morning= things were not looking too pretty!

I also got to have lunch with a great friend of mine, Alexa, who is leaving on a several month trip to travel through Europe! I am so sad to see her leave for this long of a time, but could not be more excited for her- she is going to see so many beautiful places! In fact, she is going to blog about her journey as well, which I am very excited about because I will be able to see all of her gorgeous pictures! If any of you are interested in reading the exciting stories of a fun brunette traveling through Europe on her own, you should definitely check out her blog here. Or if any of you have traveled through Europe yourselves and have some great tips to share, I know she would greatly appreciate them! She doesnt leave for about a week, but I cant wait to read all about her stories once she arrives over there!

Here is a pic of us after lunch and some makeup shopping:

Good luck girl- I know this will be an experience of a lifetime for you!

Hope everyone enjoyed their weekends :)

Another Doctor Visit= Shopping

This morning was the morning I have been dreading all week: time for another sonogram to see if this round of injectionables is working so far. Due to several events earlier in the week, I have been an emotional wreck while waiting for this appointment to arrive. Luckily, Husband was able to be there with me- he had a meeting bright and early at 7 am this morning, but was able to get out of it just in time to meet me for the appointment! He has been so great this past week- I have been a basket case and he has been so extremely supportive and positive- I have no idea what I would have done without him!

Here I am waiting for the tech to come in for the sonogram:


Unfortunately the news was not all that we had hoped for today. While it was not all negative, we still have a ways to go if we are hoping to see any results during this cycle of treatment. Thankfully we are still cyst free (hooray!), but I have not progressed as far as they would like to see with where I am in the injectionable cycle. After the sonogram I had some blood drawn so they can run some more tests and to my surprise they asked for me to come back Sunday morning for even more testing. Apparently they want to closely monitor me over the next week to continue to watch for any cysts and see how my body reacts with more injections. So, we are back to playing the waiting game again :/

Since Husband had to go back to work for the day, I decided to try some retail therapy here:

Can you tell I was in a "grey" kind of mood??

I got a couple other things as well, but was surprised by how much grey I had bought!

I hope everyone has wonderful weekend plans! I am very much looking forward to some down time with sweet friends and relaxing until my next appointment Sunday morning!

Wordless Wednesday :)

Yep, yesterday I turned 23 :) These were some of my pretty flowers from the day

Happy Wednesday!

Getting back to my REAL blog!

Yes, I have had to take a detour from what my blog is truly about these past couple of weeks. As you may (or may not) already know, I was on birth control for most of the past 2 months, which meant Husband and I had no opportunity to continue trying for Baby Hill. Well, after much waiting...........WE ARE STARTING TREATMENT AGAIN!

**For new followers: I have quite a few new followers since I was last on treatment so I thought it would only be fair to give you a heads up: I am pretty open about what Husband and I are going through to make Baby Hill. I have mentioned this in the past and will always stick by this: everyone has the right to make their own choice on how they choose to deal with infertility. For Husband and I, we decided it was way easier to be open and forthcoming with our details- and it was a way for us to teach family members about it since we are not close with anyone who has struggled like we have. BUT, I know and completely understand that for other people it is not that easy and I completely support their decision to not discuss infertility as openly. With that being said........I post pretty much everything that we go through (although I dont go through any nasty details). Yes, a lot of what we go through has been very hard, but I still always want to share it with all of you :)



Husband and I could not have planned our trip any more perfectly........it was at the perfect time for us to get away from everything and "de stress" from all the emotions we have gone through these past couple of months. Right before we left, we had officially entered month 10 of trying for Baby Hill with no success. Husband and I took last week as a chance to take a step back and really think about what we have been through and how much longer we wanted to keep at it before pursuing more intense treatment. Before returning on our trip we made this decision: we will give injectionables 2 to 3 more months- and if we still have nothing, we will likely start saving for IVF.

I had spoken with my doctor's office several weeks before leaving and they had wanted me to call immediately upon returning (and finishing the birth control) so that they could check the cyst once again. I called first thing this morning and they strongly urged for me to come in immediately for another ultrasound since it has been several weeks. I went in today and.........NOTHING! The cyst has completely disappeared (thank goodness!) and in even better news everything looks better than it ever has- apparently 2 months on bc helped "tame" my PCOS a bit.

This means we are starting with these again.........



My injectionables! We are going to have to do some creative planning because there is only a small window of opportunity to take these each night and Husband has a different schedule than he did the last time we did them (meaning he sometimes has to work more late evenings). In fact, I am about 99% sure we will have to do a couple of these injections in various places outside of our home because I cannot stand the idea of giving them to myself!

With that, here is Husband giving me my first shot of this round:

Cross your fingers everyone! :)

Im Back!!

Whew! What a fun filled week I have had! I finally made my way back to Dallas yesterday after spending the week in California and Vegas. I was very sad to leave (dont vacations always seem too short?!?), but have spent all day today catching up on laundry and housework so that I can be ready for the upcoming week!

Here are some of the pics from our last 2 days in Vegas.........we spent most of our days relaxing out by the pool and under the shade of our cabana:



The 2nd night we were there, Husband and I dressed up for a date night- we enjoyed a sushi dinner before seeing David Copperfield's show. It was a very fun night for the both of us! I actually ended up being part of the show (Mr Copperfield came down and asked for me to go up on stage to do a trick with him). I was soooo nervous- Husband told me that he could see me shaking the entire time I was up there! But he was very nice and even though I was standing up there the entire time, I still have no idea how he did the trick! *we werent allowed to take any pictures during the show, so I dont have any of me on stage :(

On our very last day we did some more sightseeing and stopped at the M&M World store. My baby brother was excited to get some candy:

And Husband and I had some fun taking silly pictures:

We then had a delicious dinner at an Italian restaurant in Planet Hollywood's resort.

I tried my very best to keep up with everyone's blogs while I was gone, but fell a little behind the past 2-3 days (oops!). So I am now looking forward to catching up on everything that everyone has been doing these past couple of days!

Hope everyone has a great week!

Finally!

We are finally in the city that I have been talking non-stop about.......Vegas!!! I am so happy to finally be here and finally get to see Husband again! (We have a new rule that we are no longer taking trips without each other........we'll see if it actually lasts though)

We packed up early yesterday morning and made the drive from Orange County, California to Las Vegas (only about a 4 hour drive). Here me and my little brother are being silly on the drive- he kept laughing so I couldnt get a good picture with him :)

And of course, no trip to California would be complete without one of these burgers so we stopped for lunch here:

Husband flew directly into Las Vegas to meet us when we arrived. This is his first time here so him and I checked into our room (which is gorgeous!) and then headed off to walk around the resort. I played some slots as well.........

And I am already up $40- woohoo!

Then we got ready to go out to dinner and walk the strip! I am in love with this shirt I bought from Forever 21 so I made Husband take a picture before we left:

Husband and I finally reunited! :)

The strip!


After eating a delicious dinner and walking most of the strip, Husband and I spent quite a bit of time here:

The Venetian is sooooo beautiful! I have seen it before on previous trips, but I think the resort took on a whole different meaning when I walked around with Husband- it is just so romantic.

While walking around we had to make a quick ice cream break:

And of course, check out the shops! I was in a shopper's paradise! I haven't bought much yet, but plan on making Husband take me to some more shops before this trip is over!! :)

On today's agenda: laying out at the pool and sipping some drinks! I am looking forward to some relaxation in the sun before going out again later tonight!

More California Fun!

My time in California is coming to an end :( And as much as I really want to see Husband again (and go to vegas!), I am really going to miss being here! Seriously, who doesnt want to wake up every morning and look out at this:



This is the view from my dad's backyard- its so beautiful! Their backyard overlooks a state park and it is absolutely breathtaking to step outside and see this!

Yesterday was a bit of a relaxing day. We headed to lunch at my all time favorite restaurant called Opah- their food is soooo yummy! I had Chicken Arthichoke Pasta- DELICIOUS!!

We dined on the patio because yesterday's weather here was perfect!

Then did some shopping afterwards- here's a picture of me and my baby brother as we were leaving the restaurant (which you can see in the background). He was being a little camera shy :)

We will be seeing several other family members for dinner tonight, then next stop: Vegas!!! We will be leaving bright and early tomorrow morning! :)

Top 2 and Q & A Game!

Today's topic at Taylor's blog is: Top 2 favorite things about Fall!

I am not quite ready to transition to fall (summer has always been my favorite!), but there are a couple of things I am already looking forward to............

1) Thanksgiving- this is my all time favorite holiday! I love that everyone can get together but there is no pressure of exchanging gifts- this day is just about spending the day with your loved ones, thinking of everything you have to be thankful for, and eating some delicious food!




2) Football- Husband is quite the lucky man since he is OBSESSED with sports and I actually enjoy watching football with him! Here are the teams we can always be found cheering on:

Texas Tech Red Raiders



And of course the Dallas Cowboys :)

Next up: Q & A game!!

Ashley was kind enough to tag me in this game she played- she must have known how much I love answering these type of questions! Here are the questions I was asked (along with several other fellow bloggers):

1) If you could pick any decade to have grown up in, which would you choose?

That would probably have to be the 1950's. I love the idea of how family life was back then- mom's stayed home and everything seemed peaceful. I know that it probably was not all as perfect as it seems, but it would be fun to see how different my childhood would have been during those times.

2) When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I had really wanted to either own my own dance studio or become a oceanographer/marine biologist. I have always been fascinated by sea life!

3) If you had to change your name, what would you change it to?

I am not too sure how many of you have already noticed this, but I already go by a "different" name on my blog- Cait. My full name is Caitrin and while I love having a unique name, it has always been a problem as well. Most people can never say my name correctly or remember it because it is one they have never heard before. I have noticed over the past couple years that it is just easier to use Cait or Caiti instead. When I was younger, I used to wish my name was Jessica because it is such an easy name that no one can mess up and I thought it was very pretty!

4) If you could go on a road trip with anyone, dead or alive, who would you choose and where would you go?
I may be cheating, but I would honestly choose my husband over anyone else- I just love road trips with him! He may not agree (he gets annoyed with my constant singing/talking in the car and is not a huge fan of long road trips) but I always have so much fun! If I could choose a place I would pick to drive from Dallas to Maine- I have really been wanting to do this over the last couple of months!

5) What is the best concert you have ever been to?
I would have to say the Spice Girls when I was in 5th grade- only because it was my very first concert! It made me realize how much fun they are and Husband and I try to go to at least 1 every year.

6) What is the weirdest thing you have ever eaten?
NOT INTENTIONALLY: I ate dried squid :( My stepdad had told me it was chicken to see how I reacted.........lets just say it was disgusting!

7) What is your all time favorite song and why?
I thought long and hard on this one and I could not pick just one :(

8) What is your biggest phobia?
This one is a toss up: I absolutely hate people touching my neck! For some reason it terrifies me! Whenever I get scared I have to hold on to my neck too- weird huh? Its so bad that Husband isnt even allowed to touch it!
I also get claustrophobic quite a bit- maybe this goes along with people touching my neck- I dont like my personal space invaded. Crowded elevators, lines on a cruise ship when people are trying to get off the boat, "the pit" at concerts, etc can all be problems for me sometimes.

Happy Labor Day to everyone!

Boat Fun on Day 2!

Ok, before diving into a recap of whats been happening on my trip I have to start with this picture:


Yes, my amazing husband had flowers delivered while I am out here in California and he is still back in Texas. It was such a wonderful surprise to come home (to my dad's house) and see these! I really miss him........


So now onto my trip..........Just to avoid any confusion, I thought you guys might want to know some of the "backstory" on why I am in California: BOTH SETS of my parents live here- dad and stepmom (along with a baby brother) and also my mom and stepdad (along with 2 brothers and a sister). Yes, I am originally from California- and proud of it!- but early in my childhood my mom and I moved to Texas. Right after I graduated high school she decided to move back to Cali, but I stayed behind because by that point I had met Husband and we were pretty serious.

I am staying at my dad's house during this visit, but am visiting lots of different family members over the next couple of days. Today's visit: seeing my mom, stepdad, and siblings. I havent seen them since my wedding- which is ironic that I spent my wedding anniversary with them :)

We spent most of the morning on my "Nana's" boat. Oh how I have missed the ocean and just the relaxation of being on water! Here's a picture from her boat looking out at the other boats in the marina:



My baby brother Teagan sitting on the front of the boat:

We found a cute restaurant on the water to have lunch. Here I am with my other brother, Jordan, and his girlfriend:

And with my sister Maddison:

My mom got most of the good group pictures on her camera and I just noticed that I dont have any on mine with the whole group :(

We had such a fun day catching up! Its hard not being able to see my family anytime I want.......they are so far away and I wish they could be closer so that I could visit them a lot more! I must say though, if they are going to live far away I am glad it is in California- what a beautiful place to always come visit!

1 year later........

I cannot believe that 1 year ago tomorrow (September 5) I was here:

Doing this:

With these lovely girls:

Guys:

And our family:

Since I left for California this morning, Husband and I enjoyed a nice evening together last night since we will not see each other until he meets me in Vegas on Wednesday. Yes, this means we will not get to actually spend our very first wedding anniversary together :( It was a hard choice, but I needed to come see my family in California and Husband was unable to take off the extra time since he just started his new job. We will definitely make up for it in Vegas though!

Last night we tried a new pizza restaurant:

These were our 2 "pies".........yummy!

We also celebrated with the ritual of eating your leftover wedding cake. Here is what it looked like all wrapped up and fresh out of the freezer:

And me trying the first bite (excuse the awkward pose). The cake was actually not too bad- considering it is over 1 year old and has been frozen this entire time!

So now I am officially in California. As you can tell, I have brought my laptop with me and am going to try to blog throughout my trip- the keyword here being TRY. We will have to see what the internet options are like at our hotel in Vegas. But I thought it would be fun to update you all each day during my trip, rather than having to do 1 large post when I return!! Hopefully this makes up for me being a slacker blogger last week too ;)

Happy Weekend Everyone!