From Shopping Bags to Diaper Bags

What an Inspirational Woman.......

2011-10-18T20:43:00.003-05:00

I can honestly say I got goosebumps when I heard the following story:

Giuliana Rancic Reveals Battle With Breast Cancer

During everything Husband and I have endured in the past 2 years, I have constantly looked up to Giuliana for the way she handled her own struggles with such dignity and was so open about all of her feelings. She made it ok to talk about infertility and helped spread awareness to so many.

I am a strong believer in the saying "things happen for a reason" and I know God always has a plan, but sometime you are just left wondering WHY?

Our Return

2011-09-21T10:44:00.003-05:00

First of all, I cannot express to you how nice it is to be back in the blogging community (once again)! I have enjoyed waking up in the morning and catching up on what so many of you have been up to over the past couple of months! I am just as excited to share what we have been doing (or not doing) as well and hope to have lots of pictures from our trip to Europe up soon.

I wish I could say I am returning to blogging on the best of terms (with Baby Hill on the way), but sadly that is not the case. Husband and I have been doing great the past couple of months- taking time to travel, spending lots of time with family and friends, and focusing on our careers and other goals. I have been wanting to blog these past couple of months, but I honestly have not had the time- and I worried what I would even blog about: we are no longer seeking fertility treatments, we have put a hold on in-vitro, and for a while I even had to stop thinking of babies all together to just enjoy our summer.

But a lot of that changed recently when Husband and I were faced with our greatest test yet: a VERY close family member is expecting a baby. Out of respect to our family, I will be keeping the name, relationship, details, etc out of my posts- BUT since this a blog I created to express our frustrations and difficulty while trying to conceive I think its only fair for me to be able to express my frustrations here (if I cant do it here, where can I??) Husband and I were completely shocked when we learned the news and it is still very new and hurtful to us. We are very grateful for this new life in our family, but have no idea how we will handle all the excitement and happiness that will be around us. What will this upcoming holiday season be like? How will we attend family functions with a smile on our face? Is it wrong for us to ask for space from our family members while we process the news? How do we ask for sensitivity from our family members during this difficult time?

I quickly realized how much I cherish the relationships I have made with so many of you through blogging and how helpful it is to have the support of others around you. Husband and I feel like at this time we are unable to talk to any of our family about our feelings so we have been forced to turn to friends and peers for advice. I know we are not the first infertile couple to struggle with this type of situation and I would love advice from any of you who have been through similar experiences. What worked for you and how did you overcome any feelings of anger, hurt, frustration?

As always, thank you to all of you who have expressed support and encouragement to both Husband and I. We have learned to take these difficult situations 1 step at a time and know that during these hard times our relationships with others and with each other grow stronger.

Tears and Hope

2011-09-18T23:15:00.002-05:00

For those of you who are still struggling (or have struggled), I recently found this video that has helped me through some hard times:

Tears and Hope- Empty Arms

The video is a bit slow but it puts into words how so many people feel. Its always nice to know you are not alone :)

**More to come on my return to blogging--thank you so much for all the recent emails, they really helped push me to return! :)

Skinnygirl!

2011-05-21T17:32:00.010-05:00

NORMALLY, I am not the type to obsess over a celebrity and do crazy things for them........BUT I definitely broke out of my shell Friday by waiting for 2 hours outside in freezing cold rain for a chance to meet Bethenny Frankel!

Yep, she came to Dallas on Friday to stop at several liquor stores and sign bottles of her famous Skinnygirl Margaritas. One of her last stops for the day was a store in Addison, which is where I, along with 1000 other people, camped out for a chance to see her. I went with one of my besties and neither one of us were prepared for the thundestorm that rolled through as we waited outside of the store. We must have been such a sore sight to see as we huddled underneath 1 umbrella together while we sat DRIPPING with rain! :) It was definitely an experience.

After my 2 hour wait, I was finally able to get into the store (soaking clothes and all) and finally was able to meet Bethenny while she signed my bottle. Her security had everyone moving so quickly through the store that you basically only got a chance to say hi, then have a photographer take a quick picture, before you were escorted out. The pictures the photographer took are supposedly going to be uploaded to Facebook, but so far they have not been posted :( Either way it was totally worth it--especially now that I have my signed bottle proudly displayed in my kitchen!

NIAW and a Recap of Our Story

2011-04-27T15:57:00.004-05:00

I have had quite a few bitter-sweet moments over the past couple of days while researching and following information on NIAW: National Infertility Awareness Week. It saddens me that more people are not aware that this even exists- although up until very recently I was one of the many people oblivious to it too. I find it very ironic considering that around this same time last year Husband and I made the very difficult decision of seeking fertility treatment with a specialist. At that time I had no idea how greatly our lives would be changed by infertility, I had not started my blog as an outlet for our frustrations, and I certainly did not imagine I would still be sitting here searching for a way to add to our family.

For those of you who are new to my blog (or those that wish to hear more details on our journey) here is a recap of what Husband and I have endured during our struggle with infertility:

Husband and I were married in September 2009 and almost immediately began trying to add to our family (we had dated for 5 years before marriage so we were already desperate for a little one). After 2-3 months of no luck and no positive ovulation tests, I requested to have a consultation with my doctor and asked that some tests be run (I had some suspicions that things may not be "alright"). I will say this over and over: I am VERY LUCKY my doctor was willing to test me so early- most doctors will not take the time to go through everything until at least 6 months of TTC. After another 3 months of bloodwork, ultrasounds, and other tests, I was officially diagnosed with PCOS- polycystic ovarian syndrome. At this time my doctor felt she was no longer able to help us and strongly urged that we seek the care of a specialist. This was in April 2010- probably around the same week of NIAW :)

We researched doctors in our area and quickly found an Infertility Center and doctor that we felt would be right for us. Over the course of the last year we have tried Clomid, Follistim injections, and have struggled through 3 failed IUI cycles. In January of this year, our doctor decided that it would be too risky to continue moving forward with these treatments (for several reasons) and we learned that IVF would likely be our best option moving forward.

Now, several months later, Husband and I have still not realized our dream of expanding our family. We are very hesitant to move forward with IVF, for various reasons, and have decided to learn how to be happy with just the two of us for now. The past 1 1/2 years have been such an emotional rollercoaster and have taken such a toll on the both of us. We realized that we were going through each day hoping for some kind of answer to the question "why us?" and were worried that we were headed down the wrong path emotionally.

We are still very much hopeful that we will have Baby Hill soon and still plan on moving forward with IVF sometime within the next year. BUT for now, we have had to learn how to appreciate what we do have in each other and how to enjoy what we do have already. Is it still hard? YES! Do I still have days where I just break down and cry? YES! But I have learned to not have those days everyday and that there is still plenty to be happy about around me.

Reading information and seeing segments on the news about things like NIAW have been such a big help for me. I love knowing I am not alone-- according to research there are over 7 million people struggling with infertility. More and more research is being conducted everyday and awareness of this very difficult "disease" (as it is now being called) continues to grow. As hard as it may be to talk about at times, I love being able to help spread awareness and share our story to others! Now, if only we could find our happy ending :)

To learn more on NIAW and Infertility go here: NIAW

Happy (LATE) Easter!

2011-04-25T20:59:00.005-05:00

Before eating their dessert:

After eating their dessert (with chocolate all over their faces!):

........and much more on our hectic life coming Wednesday! Hope everyone enjoyed their holiday weekend :)

Top 2 Tuesday

2011-04-11T20:43:00.002-05:00

This week's topic is a fun one: Top 2 Drinks! I actually chose to go the non-alcoholic way since I drink these on a more frequent basis :)

1) Iced Tea-Im pretty "plain jane" when it comes to my tea- no fancy flavors for me, just give me some basic Lipton! And in case you guys dont already think Im weird from some things you have heard in the past.........I hate sweet tea, but cant drink tea without sugar in it! I know, you are probably confused but: I have to be the one to put the sugar in and I let it sit at the bottom and drink it with a straw so I get a couple of crystals of sugar with each sip :) Yep, Im weird- but I promise its soooo good! 2) Caramel Frappuccino- this would really just say "anything Starbucks", but I guess that would be cheating so this is my favorite drink of theirs :) go to Taylors blog to play along :)

April Birthday Fun!

2011-04-10T20:25:00.011-05:00

As I have probably already mentioned, April is quite the busy month for the Hill family between all the birthdays and parties planned over the next couple of weeks. Last weekend we kicked off the month with a weekend celebration for Husband's birthday (#24). We started with sushi and drinks with some good friends Friday evening and finished Sunday afternoon with a birthday lunch surrounded by 20+ of our close family and friends. It was such a wonderful and fun weekend, except for one little problem.............I forgot to take pictures!!!! I have ZERO pictures from our fun sushi night and only took a couple from his Sunday lunch (I know, I am a horrible wife!). So here is what I managed to take: Me and Husband Husband's "birthday cake"- Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake (my new favorite thing to eat!)

Husband with his parents :)

Yep, those are pretty much the only good pics- I told you I was horrible!

This weekend we helped celebrate the birthday of a very special, sweet little girl! Our friends have the cutest baby named Adelyn and she turned the big 1 this weekend.

She had the most adorable cake (a pink and white bear!)

She was so excited when her mom handed her the cake to eat! Doesnt she have the cutest smile?!?!

One of our friends did an amazing job baking all the cakes and cupcakes!!

Me and the birthday girl---- I am looking forward to having some playdates with her this summer! (she was too busy looking at balloons to look at the camera)

Coming up this weekend: a baby shower and helping some friends celebrate their engagement! :)

Getting to Know Me (DBM)

2011-04-07T21:33:00.002-05:00

I am actually doing this post for the Dallas Blogger Meetup- but its fun for anyone!

I know I have done a couple of these in the past so I tried to think of some new things that I have not shared (but forgive me if I have already mentioned these before!)

*I strongly dislike Chocolate

*My husband thinks Im crazy because I love Ramen Noodles

*When putting away my laundry, the freshly washed clothes have to go at the bottom in my drawers so that everything is used evenly (like t-shirts, underwear, shorts, etc)--The same rule goes for our dishes

*I have 2 adorable dogs- one doberman mix, the other is an australian shepherd mix---both were rescued and we have vowed to rescue all of our dogs in the future (I think I have posted this on here before)

*I am weirdly obsessed with the tv show Sister Wives (on TLC)--- if you dont know what I am talking about go watch it!

*I hate change-- or not having control in situations

*I met Husband in our high school Psychology class :)

*I HATE working out

*I dont understand why I cant be a princess (how did Kate Middleton get so lucky?)

*I have never broken a bone/had any surgeries (except for my tonsils)

*My favorite number is 8

*I am very indecisive---mainly because I will weigh the pros and cons of every decision! Then I worry I will make the wrong choice

*I am a worry freak!

If you are attending DBM and want to play along link up here

Top 2 Tuesday- Ipod picks :)

2011-04-04T20:22:00.003-05:00

Its about time that I join back in on the Top 2 Tuesday Fun!!! This week's topic is your favorite Ipod songs:

Since I tend to change my "favorite" song a lot, I decided to let you know my CURRENT favorites:

1) Adele- Rolling in the Deep

I am insanely obsessed with this song right now and cant help but sing along at the top of my lungs whenever it comes on---- and in case you are wondering, I have THE WORST singing voice (Husband even says so!)

2) Katy Perry- E.T.

I decided not to post this video because I just watched it for the first time today and it totally freaked me out! (Seeing "aliens" will make me have nightmares!)

Go link up at Taylor's blog to join in! :)

What We Have Been Up To.......

2011-03-30T10:29:00.007-05:00

Wow, this month is turning into quite a busy month for me! Time has been flying by and all of a sudden I realized I have not been a good blogger!!! :( Over the next couple of weeks I have: Husband's birthday, several friends birthdays, a baby shower, some work events and 2 tests for school!

In between preparing for all of these upcoming events, Husband and I have been trying to come up with some new ways to enjoy ourselves.........like having long talks over Sunday Brunch, driving aimlessly to explore new parts of the cities around us, and taking our dogs for hikes around the nearby lake:

Between our two busy schedules (and Husband working weekends), we have learned it is hard to find "down-time" where we can just enjoy each other's company. With the warmer weather approaching, I am hoping we can start exploring some nearby parks and maybe even enjoy a picnic or two! :)

And, most importantly, I need to show you my new obsession..........OUR NEW CAR!

Husband and I had been debating on buying a new car for quite some time, but kept arguing over which car to buy. We finally settled on my dream car- the Infiniti EX. I have been dying for one for about 2 years now, but it took some time to convince Husband that we really needed it! Luckily for me, Husbands car started experiencing some problems- so instead of paying to have it fixed, we traded it in for this beauty!

Of course, its always a battle to determine who gets to drive it each day! :)

Happy Wednesday!

What Im Loving Wednesday

2011-03-09T13:02:00.008-06:00

Yep, Im a little behind the times because this is my very first "What Im Loving Wednesday" post! Not quite sure why I did not join in on the fun before because I always love reading all of your posts whenever you do it!

This week I am loving:

........These Steve Madden wedges I just HAD TO HAVE! (I bought them in black)

.......that we ate dinner at Maggiano's with a group of friends last night! Good Italian food, some wine and laughter---Perfect!

............Taylor's amazing candles! I have Apple Cinnamon Brown Sugar burning in my kitchen right now and it smells sooooo good!

........AND I'm loving that after a long morning of cleaning out our garage, Husband and I are spending a relaxing afternoon on the couch catching up on our DVR :)

Happy Wednesday!

Wordless Wednesday: Girls Night Out!

2011-03-02T10:05:00.006-06:00

We Are Going To..........

2011-02-23T09:11:00.009-06:00

EUROPE!

We have officially booked our trip for our anniversary in September! Spain, France, Italy- check, check, check! Since this is our first trip to Europe, we have decided to take a cruise so that we can see multiple countries, but the best part is that after our cruise we will be spending an extra day in Rome! I cannot tell you how excited I am to see all of this:

This is such a huge deal for Husband and me--- we have been wanting to go for several years and we just kept thinking "maybe someday". Now, with our new outlook on life we just figure WHY NOT? **plus it helps that I had some miles saved up for my ticket :) All I know is September cannot come fast enough!

You All Rock!!!

2011-02-20T18:44:00.003-06:00

All I can say is WOW! Thank you all for those awesome comments from my depressing post last week! I got a smile on my face each time I read one of your comments and they really helped me realize I am not alone in this. So many of you have felt the exact same way and those of you that havent, you have been so supportive!

Last week was definitely a rough week, but I am putting that all behind me. I have learned that I need to get out more and just enjoy myself, without staying home and worrying about what may or may not ever happen. I think Husband and I were both kind of in a funk these last couple of weeks, but we have now made a pact to try and enjoy what we have even more!

So, thank you- all of you! You all helped me make it through last week with a smile! I have some exciting events coming up within the next couple of weeks and I cannot wait to get back to writing some happier posts to share with you all! :)

WARNING: Depressing Post Ahead!

2011-02-13T15:06:00.002-06:00

I promised myself when I started this blog that I would not write any depressing, "poor me", "I hate infertility" posts, but today I cant help it and I really need to vent so here it goes..........

I have officially reached the "Everyone is pregnant but me" stage :( Literally, everyone IS pregnant but me! I feel like I woke up one morning and then Bham! everyone is pregnant! Dont believe me? For starters, I now have 3 co-workers that are pregnant- yes, THREE!- and keep in mind I work in a small office consisting of only about 15 people. That means there is quite a bit of talk every day that involves baby showers, buying baby clothes, baby names, pregnancy cravings, pregnancy sickness, etc the list goes on and on. And that is just at my work! Outside of work I have continued to watch women battle their own inferitlity struggles and succeed with pregnancy all during the time I have been endlessly waiting for my own.

The worst part of this is, I am happy for all of these women- GENIUNELY happy! I want to be able to help them celebrate their excitement. I want to be able to disuss baby names with them. I want to go buy them lots of onesies, bottles, and burp clothes. BUT, at the same time I dont understand why I cant have a piece of that fairytale as well. If everyone around me gets their "happily ever after", why not me? And as much as I really, truly want to believe everything happens for a reason, I cant help thinking at the same time what did I do to deserve this?

So while I was feeling down earlier today I texted Husband to let him know and here was his exact response: "I know it will happen. I just know babe. You and I are just too awesome to not have a kid. It has to happen." As much as that makes me smile, I also feel so sad because Husband has been so great through all of this and has continued to hold his head high. He still remains so positive and is completely sure that we will end up happy when all of this is over. How am I supposed to respond to that?

So now that I have vented, I hope I havent lost all of my followers :) I really have tried to embrace our infertility and I do feel very grateful for what I have learned through all of this and all of the wonderful people I have met. But I feel that my time should be over, I am ready to move on already! What did all of you do when you were struggling? I have been trying to come up with ways to keep myself busy and Husband has agreed to let me plan a big vacation for us this year so we can just get away for a bit. I would love to hear what worked for you guys to get your mind off of it.

**Oh, and those of you that are pregnant or have kids, please know that I love reading your blogs and I love the comments I receive from you guys. I dont want anyone to think that I am mad or upset towards those who have children--- this vent was totally for selfish reasons and is about our particular situation. Please still send me your stories because I always love reading about others who have been blessed with "a little one"- they continue to give me hope and something to look forward to! :)

In Shopping Heaven!

2011-02-09T10:05:00.004-06:00

After being stuck inside all last week (because of all the crazy Texas snow!), I finally ventured out this weekend.........and of course my first destination was the mall!

Most of you already know, but Im OBSESSED with Nordstrom! So Saturday I met up with a friend for lunch and a bit of shopping------------Husband was not happy when he saw that I came home with this:

Maybe I went a little over the budget we had discussed before hand :( BUT, as I explained to Husband, I got some great things! Now that a lot of the spring clothing is coming in to stores, I just cant help myself! :)

Oh, and I thought I would throw in a picture of me and my bestie from Super Bowl Sunday :)

*** The scarf I am wearing is one of my purchases from my shopping trip :)

Winter Wonderland!

2011-02-04T08:34:00.005-06:00

For those of you that do not live in North Texas, we have had some crazy weather this week! On top of the the inch or 2 of ice that we already have covering everything from earlier this week, I woke up this mornig to see this outside..........

This is the 4th day in a row that schools and businesses have been shut down! I had every intention of FINALLY venturing out to the mall today- but now it looks like that wont be happening :(

Its looking like today I will be cuddled up by the fire with my Kindle instead!

Back to School I Go!!

2011-01-24T20:22:00.002-06:00

Well, I have officially given up my Saturdays! About a week ago I "lightly" mentioned it, but for those of you that missed it...........I am finally going back to school! I made it all the way up until my senior year of college and then just stopped before finishing--- mostly due to planning a wedding. Then after the wedding, one thing led to another, we started thinking babies (we all know how that went), then before I knew it a year and a half had passed!

I am only about 5-6 classes away from graduation so I am determined more than ever to finish! That, and Husband has been talking A LOT lately about getting his Masters, so I am taking that as my hint that I need to hurry up! :)

I went to my first class this past Saturday and it went great! I actually think taking the time off helped-- I am actually excited about going back to school and learning new things! For anyone who is interested, my degree will be in Marketing and I am currently taking a Real Estate/Investment class (Im starting off slow with only 1 class this semester).

Wish me luck!

I-V-F

2011-01-19T17:51:00.003-06:00

Well, its looking more and more like Baby Hill will be a "test tube baby".......... Today Husband and I officially entered into a new world of infertility---- the world of In Vitro Fertilization, or IVF. We sat down for our first IVF consultation today and to be honest, I think both Husband and I are still in denial about everything. Seeing pictures like the one below and thinking about everything involved in the whole process is kind of freaking me out at the moment........

I created this blog with the intention of recording our infertility journey and wanting to spread awarness on this "taboo topic". Up until I started this blog I personally had not known anyone that experienced infertility (to my knowledge) and I feel that many of our friends and family had no idea how to approach the subject when learning that we were struggling. I love that many of you have emailed me to ask questions or show support and in return, I know I will probably be emailing some of you that have experienced IVF because all of this is so new to me!

So here's where we stand: We have now endured 3 failed IUI cycles and our doctor highly doubts a 4th attempt would be successful. Knowing this, Husband and I have decided we will not move forward with an IUI again--- instead, our next step will be to begin IVF. Honestly, we are still completely unsure of when we will move forward. Between the costs, emotions, and everything else involved neither one of us feel comfortable beginning within the next month or two. But we are very hopeful that before the years end we will be ready!

For now, thank you all for your support! You will all be hearing more details as we get more comfortable with the idea of it, but for now Husband and I have many discussions and debates ahead of us!

Blogger Awards and Meet Up!

2011-01-16T18:55:00.002-06:00

I would like to say a big, BIG thank you to Stephanie from Houghton Happenings and Al from Traffic Jelly for awarding me with this:

Both of these ladies are great and I enjoy reading their blogs so much! Stephanie is currently preggo with her 2nd little one and its a baby girl! I just cant wait to see pictures when she finally arrives!
Al has been such an inspiring woman with everything she has overcome in this past year. She has learned to roll with what life throws her way and she has held her head high through it all! I really hope to see some great things come her way in 2011!

With this award, I am to list 7 things about myself and award it to others, so here we go:
*I am headed back to school (more about this to come later in the week!)
*I love all things pink- its my favorite color
*Husband and I have made a pact that all of our dogs will be adopted (because there are so many good ones out there deserving a loving home!), but I understand that not everyone wishes to do this
*I am watching the Golden Globes while writing this post :)
*I am currently obsessed with eating organic yogurt with sliced fruit for breakfast each morning- it makes me feel like I am starting my day off right!
*I absolutely love traveling-- and will finally get to travel outside of North America on our anniversary trip in September! (some of you may know where, but I am not officially sharing until we get the trip completely booked!)
*For new readers: I have now been struggling with infertility for 1 year and 3 months

Blogs I am tagging:
Brittany's Blessings
The Kubeczka Family
The Schulers
A Complete Waste of Makeup

Lastly, I am getting super excited for this:

Yes, I will be attending for the ENTIRE WEEKEND and I hope to see many of your faces there! One of my besties, Taylor, is putting it together and I am looking forward to helping her organize some of the events! Everyone start getting excited because it will be AMAZING! :)

Top 2 Tuesday

2011-01-10T20:15:00.003-06:00

This weeks topic is..............Strange Addictions!

Apparently this topic was a little too hard for me :) Every addiction that I kept coming up with was not a STRANGE addiction (coffee, iced tea, shopping), so I had Husband answer for me and here is what he says are my 2 Strange Addictions:

1) Picking the skin on my fingers/lips------ Yes, this is probably gross to most people, but I cannot help constantly picking at the skin around my fingers or picking at my chapped lips- even to the point of making myself bleed :( It drives Husband crazy!

2) Every time I eat popcorn (which is several times a week!) I HAVE TO lick the butter off the popcorn bag! I know this is probably absolute worst thing to do, but I just cannot help it!

3rd time's a charm??

2011-01-09T19:39:00.005-06:00

Today we officially began treatment for IUI #3. After going to the doctor early Friday morning for a sono, I received some very good news--- No Cyst!! This meant we were able to jump right back into treatment without having to wait another month for the cyst to go away (like we have had to do the last 2 times). We are hoping this is a good sign of what is to come!

On a completely seperate note, IT SNOWED TODAY! I absolutely love how everything looks in our neighborhood when its dusted with some snow :)

Bachelor Night!

2011-01-05T09:15:00.002-06:00

Monday night we went over to Taylor's house for our normal "bachelor night" now that the show is back on!

This has become a favorite tradition of mine over the past couple of years---- every Monday night we get together, watch The Bachelor, and our husbands join in while endlessly making fun of every single contestant on the show! This always makes for a fun-filled night!

Although, I have to say I was not impressed with any of the women so far! Do any of you have any favorites already? There were obviously some drama-makers (which will be fun to watch) and the Vampire Girl scared me to death, but so far I do not have any that I am actually rooting for. We will have to wait and see.........

2011

2010-12-31T10:49:00.002-06:00

I may be a day early in saying this, but I wont have a chance to post it tomorrow, so........

I am VERY ready to close the book on 2010 and start fresh with hope in 2011. This past year has been a whirlwind for us and while a lot of the negative events tend to stick out in my mind, there were definitely some good times as well. So rather than dwell on the bad, here are some of the good that 2010 brought for us:

*Our first year of marriage :)

*Husband graduated in May

*Husband got a new job

*We took some amazing trips (Vegas, California, and River Floating!)

......and best of all, I learned to find peace just enjoying time with our current little family: me, Husband, and the 2 pups!

I wish everyone a happy and healthy 2011! :)

Christmas Recap

2010-12-29T15:26:00.008-06:00

Whew......Now that the holiday season is finally coming to an end, I feel like I am finally getting my life back! Between shopping, holiday parties, weddings, family gatherings, doctor appointments, etc I was running around non-stop these past 2 months!

Now that everything is over, I can say that we had quite a fun filled holiday season!

Here's some pics from over the holidays-- I really wish I had taken more :(

Some of my work family-- I love every single person that I work with and am so blessed to have them in my life :)

Me with Husband's grandma, my MIL, and some other girls in the family

And, of course, I just HAVE to show everyone what I got for Christmas (Husband really outdid himself this year!)................

Yep, its my pride and joy right now- I have been walking up to every person I know and asking them if they are as much in love with it as I am :)

The only downfall to our holiday season was that we are still without Baby Hill. I completed a round of treatment 2 weeks before Christmas and once again we were let down with the results (which has contributed to my absence here). Our doctor even spoke of the 3 letters we have been dreading........IVF. While we dont have to jump to it right away, he said he would like for us to at least begin discussing it as a possibility. Husband and I have thought about it a lot these past couple of weeks and we are definitely warming to the idea, but still have some concerns with that type of treatment. I would love to hear from any of you that have gone through IVF!

Send Some Love to Taylor!

2010-12-14T20:51:00.004-06:00

Ok, this is going to be short and sweet because I have had a long day, so here it goes........

I know most of you are already friends with and follow Taylor's blog at The Undomestic Momma, BUT if you dont or if you havent visited her page recently please go send her some love and prayers! She is going through a lot right now and I cannot tell you what a wonderful, strong woman she is! Most of you already know that from reading her blog, but I am lucky enough to be friends with her in my everyday life (outside of blogging) and she is just as sweet, funny and kind in person!

I wont go into details here- I'll let you go to her page and read all about it in case you haven't already :)

Gone for some retail therapy........

2010-12-10T08:34:00.002-06:00

So, I officially sound like a broken record :( Every month we go through the same cycle: start treatment, get our hopes up, go to daily doctor appointments, encounter lots of needles, get the bad news, then Cait does a lot of shopping. Well, we are at the shopping part right about now........

I had another appointment this morning (at 7 am- yuck!) and it seems this cycle of treatment will likely be a bust. I am not even sure we will be able to try an IUI this time. Instead of growing follicles- my ovaries somehow got it backwards and have now decided to start shrinking them! Yes shrinking!! I did not even know that was possible- especially considering I have been injecting meds into my body to speed up the growing process!! The doctor is supposed to call me later today to let me know what our game plan from here will be- but I knew it wasnt a good sign when all the nurses I encountered were scratching their heads trying to figure out what to tell me! It seems I have become some sort of science experiment because every time we try something with treatment my body does the exact opposite of what it should do! I think I have now stumped everyone in my specialist's office!

So with that being said, Husband has been instructed to take me on a very nice date night tonight and in the meantime I will be making best friends with our ATM card :)

Wedding Bells and Sonograms!

2010-12-06T20:38:00.008-06:00

Yep, thats exactly what my weekend consisted of!

One of my besties got married this weekend and both Husband and I were in the wedding- it was here in Dallas, so it was nice to get away for 2 days, but not have to actually worry about traveling.

The wedding extravaganza started Friday evening with the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. The dinner was held at a nice steakhouse in downtown and we enjoyed some yummy steak, potatoes, cheesecake and creme brulee!

Here we are with the excited couple- soon to be Mr and Mrs!!

All of the girls- after a full day of making ourselves pretty :) The theme was a winter wedding so notice our fur wraps over the dresses!

Me and Husband in the limo on the way to the reception- yes, my eyes looked HUGE all night, thanks to some fake lashes (not sure if that was a good thing or bad thing)

Having some fun at the reception :)

My weekend then ended with a very early doctor appointment Sunday morning. The good news is that the sonogram was neither good nor bad. This is what we saw:

If you look carefully in the upper left corner you will see that the tech noted that there are 17 follicles they are watching- yes, 17! And this is only on one ovary- there were about 20 on the other side. While this may sound like wonderful news, it can actually end up being bad at some point. Here's our dilemma: without the injections I do not ovulate at all on my own, but with the injections we end up with 20 follicles per ovary that start to grow- which is not safe. Not to mention I would prefer to not be the next celebrity mom for having 20+ kids!

So I'll be going back bright and early tomorrow for another sono and more bloodwork (as usual) and in the meantime we will just hope that the injections work their magic!

We Got The All Clear :)

2010-12-01T17:06:00.004-06:00

Today's doctor visit went great! The sono looked perfect and we were given the "green light" to begin injections tonight! We are going to do the same exact routine as last time (daily injections and sono's every couple of days leading up to IUI), with the exception of the injection dosages being slightly higher these first couple of days. Hopefully the extra dosage amounts will be just what we need in order for this IUI to be successful!

After receiving the good news, Husband and I enjoyed a fun day together:

We had lunch, grabbed some ice cream......

......and finished off with some shopping at Nordstrom and Nordstrom Rack :)

Our next doctor appointment is bright and early on Sunday!

Yep, Im Back.......and here's what happened:

2010-11-28T17:25:00.003-06:00

Long time, no blog, right? I know, its been FOREVER since I was last on here and believe me, it was not intentional! Remember a couple posts back when I mentioned Husband and I had decided to take a month off of treatment to destress? Well, to be honest I did not realize how badly I had needed that time away from everything.........including blogging.

Dont get me wrong, I absolutely love blogging- I love the friendships I have made through this, I love the release of writing things that are on my mind, and I love being able to get wonderful advice from wonderful people! But, the time away was necessary. The whole "Baby Hill Situation" was starting to take a major toll on me and I definitely did not want to end up posting post after post of how sad, angry, frustrated I was.

I think the main factor that contributed to this "get away" time was this realization: a lot of my friends and acquaitances are now expecting or planning for baby #2, I cant even get baby #1. And trust me, I hated having these types of thoughts. I told myself early on that I would face our fertility challange in a positive way and not bring myself or others down because of it. But I think I have learned a lot from this reflective time and I feel a lot better now because of it.

So, Husband and I are very happy to announce that we are moving forward with treatment once again! I am very excited to be going back to our specialist for an appointment this week and (pending his approval) we will pick back up with the daily injections. Our fingers are crossed that this will lead to IUI #2! And, of course, this means I will have much to blog about as we start this whole process over again!

Oh, and I thought I would share this picture with you all (it was taken on Thanksgiving)- just to prove to you that I am still alive! :)

Im off to read your blogs- I have missed you all! :)

Top 2 Tuesday!

2010-11-15T19:46:00.004-06:00

Geez, its been a couple weeks since I last did Top 2 Tuesday! I am excited to finally join back in again! This weeks topic is Top 2 Favorite Jobs:

1) My current job (which I have briefly talked about before): working in a dental office

I know, cheese-y picture, but it made me smile :) 3 days a week I spend my time with the most wonderful people! I work in a family run dental practice and help with all aspects of the front office/business needs: filing insurance claims and payments, going through accounts, scheduling patients, helping with any events, etc. This job is so different from anything that I have ever done before and I would have never guessed that I would end up in the dental field (I had my eyes set on the fashion industry!!), but I would not trade it for anything! I love having 4 days off each week (for shopping!) and love my work family!

2) The job I sometimes miss: before joining the "dental world" I used to spend my days working here:

Yes, I worked at my favorite store (and the 2nd love in my life, after Husband!). I used to sleep, eat and breathe everything Nordstrom! For almost 3 years I was able to shop as part of my job and eventually I ended up becoming an Assistant Manager for women's clothing in their largest Dallas location. This job was amazing: each day I got emails on the latest trends, discussed issues with buyers, went shopping throughout the mall to scope out the competition, and got to decide where the all the merchandise was placed. The ONLY downfall with this job was the amount of hours required as one of the managers- when I would come home at the end of the day, work came with me. I would end up making schedules and putting together spreadsheets on my days off and that was after already putting in 50 hour work weeks. I ended up giving up my dream of moving up the ladder to Buyer so that Husband and I could start a family (which we are still working on......). Leaving this job was one of the hardest decisions, but there is nothing more important to me right now than starting a family.

Link up at Taylor's blog so I can read about all of your favorite jobs!

Staycation!

2010-11-12T07:34:00.002-06:00

I cannot explain to you how excited I am for this weekend! I am continuing with my plan to de-stress, so Husband took a 4 day weekend so that we can relax together! At first we had planned on going somewhere for a weekend getaway, but I couldnt decide where to go and then before I knew it the weekend snuck up on me and I never made reservations anywhere :( So now our plan is to have a wonderful "staycation"! I am very much looking forward to trying some new restaurants, seeing new things, and of course, relaxing with some shopping!

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend ahead!

Fun Times at the Farm!

2010-11-10T09:00:00.012-06:00

So, here is the reason I have been gone for so long...........I spent a wonderful long weekend relaxing at our family farm :)

My grandma, aunt, cousin and I all took a girls road trip to my uncles farm in Arkansas this past weekend for some time to relax and enjoy ourselves. It was the most perfect trip and just what I needed- I just wish we could have stayed even longer!!

I started my morning off with what I called my "farm breakfast": barley, cream, walnuts and fresh raspberries! I didnt even realize you could eat barley, but it was delicious!

Our first day there, my cousin and I realized we were dressed alike :) (Notice the guns on the wall in the background)

My uncle has THE MOST BEAUTIFUL property! It is so relaxing to wake up every morning and see this view outside!

Each morning, dressed in our pajamas and sweatshirts and holding our cups of coffee, we would go out to see all of the animals:

We would play with the cows for a bit:

Then head on over to the horses:

.....and then finish with the chickens (and peacocks!)

As a kid I used to visit the farm every year, but lately I have been so busy that I have not been up there for several years- I completely forgot how relaxing it is there! After this weekend, I came home begging Husband to let us buy some land up there and build a cute little farm house :) He's not going for it yet, but he seems to be warming up to the idea! The only problem I see is where would I go shopping?? But I guess thats what online shopping is for, right? :)

Our Very Hard Decision.......

2010-11-03T19:13:00.002-05:00

Over the past couple of days, Husband and I were forced to make a very hard decision regarding our pursuit for Baby Hill. Now that I am cyst free (once again) we were given the option to start again with treatment and attempt IUI #2. However, after many long talks, Husband and I have decided we will be waiting another month before moving forward.

There were many factors that led us to this decision: 1)my crazy schedule for the next couple of weeks does not allow much room for constantly being in a doctor's office 2)this gives us some extra time to save more money for treatments 3)we will have a couple weeks to just focus on US for a bit without the drama of fertility treatments

But, most importantly, I am going to try to take the next couple of weeks as a time to de-stress. The constant worry of "are we going to get pregnant?" and the constant pills, shots, tests, etc have really started to take a toll on me lately and as Husband so delicately put it my stress is now starting to stress him out too!

I am hoping this is the right decision, I am hoping we do not take a step backwards by using this "down time", and I am really, really hoping that after having a couple of weeks to relax my body will fully cooperate with treatments.

I have already had several people tell me this is just what my body needs right now and that it will probably end up helping us get pregnant, but right now I can only hope they are right!

Happy Weekend and Happy Halloween!

2010-10-29T10:52:00.002-05:00

I hope everyone has some great plans for the weekend! Sadly, I am not dressing up this year :( We dont even have any great plans for the holiday- probably just passing out some candy to the trick-or-treaters. BUT I am looking forward to some other fun things we have planned for the weekend: tonight we will be celebrating my father in law's bday and tomorrow night we are going to have a night out with some of our best friends. Oh and I almost forgot the best part of this weekend- lots and lots of shopping! Husband's bonus check this month was more than we anticipated and you know what that means- I am hitting the mall :)

Hope everyone has a wonderful AND SAFE! weekend!

What I've Been Up To.........

2010-10-27T12:14:00.013-05:00

Wow, its been quite a few days since I last posted! I had such a busy weekend and am just now getting a second to breathe..........

My entire weekend consisted of putting together THE PERFECT wedding shower and bachelorette party for one of my besties! They both turned out to be a huge success and I, of course, have to share the pics with all of you!

I didnt get too many pictures from the wedding shower because most of the time I was running around playing hostess, but here are some of the pretty decorations:

Picture of the groom and bride with some beautiful flowers

Our food table

The adorable cupcakes I ordered for the shower

Once the shower was complete, I was able to let loose and enjoy myself for the bachelorette party!

The beautiful bride and me

Our bachelorette party girls- ready for a wild night out in Dallas

We enjoyed oursevles at dinner,

Had some fun in the limo,

And got a little crazy dancing at some bars

What a great night out! :)

I enjoyed spending several hours this morning catching up on all of your blogs as well- I missed all of you over the past couple of days!

Day 12 and the Weekend!

2010-10-22T09:28:00.002-05:00

Todays topic for the blogger challange is What Do You Believe?

I believe:

Husband is my perfect match

laughter is the key to a lasting relationship

my family consists of the most amazing people

shopping is the best way to have fun

being nice to others goes a long way

you should say I Love You every day

But most importantly, I believe that Husband and I are ready to be parents and that there is a reason for our struggle; that this hardship is making us stronger and has helped us realize what is truly important to us in life.

I hope everyone has a great weekend to look forward to! Mine will consist of throwing a wedding shower and bachelorette party for one of my besties!

I have been planning this weekend for a long time and cannot wait to see everything come together! I have so much shopping to do today for the big event tomorrow :) Pictures will be coming your way!

Something You're Afraid of........

2010-10-20T16:15:00.004-05:00

Hmm.....what am I not afraid of? That would probably be an easier question for me :)

Here are some of the things that scare me:

Spiders

Crickets

....basically any kind of bug- I cant kill them either when I find one in the house. Last night I found a cricket in the kitchen- I tried forever to get the dogs to kill it for me, but they werent interested in it at all. So instead I ended up putting a cup over it and waiting for Husband to get home :)

People touching my neck- I know, its very weird. I cannot stand people touching my neck! Whenever I watch a scary movie I have to wrap my hands around my neck to "protect" it. And when I go to sleep at night I pull the blankets up around my neck so that it is covered and "protected" while I sleep.

The dark. Yep, I still act like a 5 year old if all the lights are out. I go into full panic mode if I am ever trapped in a dark room- which Husband thinks is funny to do sometimes.

Small spaces. Especially if other people are in them- aka elevators. I get very claustrophobic in these type of places.

So, yes, I am a big fat scared-y cat (or however you spell it). I also get scared when I am home alone and the list goes on and on, but I will just leave it with the ones above.

Go to Katie's blog to link up and play along in the blogger challange!

Day 8

2010-10-18T20:11:00.007-05:00

Today's topic for the blogger challange...........A Place You've Traveled To:

You guys already know all about my most recent trip- Vegas- so I've pulled some pictures from our big trip from last year......our honeymoon!! We took an amazing Caribbean cruise and visited St Lucia, Barbados, Antigua, St Thomas, Dominica, and St Kitts- this was the MOST AMAZING trip ever and I would highly recommend it to anyone that loves beautiful beaches!

Beautiful Dominica:

Overlooking St Thomas:

Ignore my silly arms in this pic- just look at how clear the water is! This was Barbados:

Boating and Kayaking in Antigua:

And playing with some local monkeys in St Kitts:

Looking at all of these pictures really makes me want to go back- or at least go on another trip somewhere! :( I think I may spend the rest of the night on Expedia..........

Days 6 and 7

2010-10-17T10:49:00.007-05:00

Oops! I didnt get a chance to post yesterday, so here is Day 6: a picture that makes you happy......

My sweet little family:

We are just missing a "little one" to make us complete!

Day 7 is all about Your Favorite Movie- I dont have just one movie that is my favorite, but here are the ones that I can continue to watch over and over and still love every single time:

I still have to watch Elf every holiday season and it still makes me laugh hysterically every time I see it!

I am looking forward to reading everyone's answers for the 30 Day Blogger Challange!

My Siblings and a Blog Award :)

2010-10-15T11:14:00.006-05:00

Day 5 of the blogger challange is all about your siblings:

I am very lucky to have 4 amazing siblings whom I love very much! I am the oldest and have enjoyed watching each one of them continue to grow and develop their personalities.

I am the only child from my mom and dad, which at times can have its perks! BUT, there are also some downfalls: 1) I do not look like my siblings (since each one of them has had 1 different birth parent) and 2) It can be harder to develop as strong of a sibling bond because of our age differences

I do share a special relationship with each and every one of them, though, and would not trade that for the world!.......

My brother, Jordan:

(me, Jordan, his girlfriend)

Growing up Jordan and I were very close! We are only 3 years apart in age so practically all of my childhood memories include him. Out of all of my siblings he is the only one I actually played and fought with. Now, at 20, he is living on his own and going to college- I am so proud of him for getting on his own 2 feet!

My (only) sister, Maddison:

Maddison and I are 9 years apart. This means that most of my memories with Maddison include me helping take care of her- rather than actually growing up with her. Since we are each other's only sister, we have a very special bond: she asks me for advice and I always want to make sure she is taken care of. At almost 14 years old, she is in the 8th grade and spends most of her time cheerleading.

My brother, Teagan:

Teagan is my little "goof ball". We are 18 years apart so by the time he was born, I was already living on my own. We have never lived in the same state, which means our time together is very limited (and that makes me sad). Everytime we see each other we have so much fun just being silly together. At 5, he is in pre-K and I am looking forward to watching him grow up.

My brother, Christopher:

Christopher and I are also 18 years apart. He is the only other child from my dad, which makes it easier for us to have a close relationship. He is my baby brother so I probably worry about him the most. He is almost 5 and is also in pre-K.

I love all 4 of them so much and definitely wish they lived closer! Its been very hard to go such long times without seeing any of them!

On a completely separate note, I received another blogger award! Al from Traffic Jelly gave me a Lovely Blog Award! Al has recently gone through a life changing event and is learning how to start over on her own. I love reading her blog because each day I see her getting stronger and she is starting to learn even more about herself during this difficult time.

Thank you Al!!!

For this award, I am going to list some of my new favorite reads: A Babbling Brunette, Katie's Journey (host of the blog challange), More Than Enough, and The Smelly Life.

Meet the Parents

2010-10-14T20:25:00.005-05:00

Day 4 of the Blogger Challange at Katie's Blog is all about the parents!

Hmm......where do I begin? There are quite a few to discuss........

1) My stepmom, Michelle, and my dad, Cory:

These two are my support line- my dad has always backed me 100% on any decision I've ever made and when Michelle joined the family she did the exact same. I did not live with my dad growing up so he has had more of an influence on my "adult" life and I am so grateful to have his encouragement every step of the way. These two have definitely helped me get where I am today and have always offered unconditional love to both me and Husband.

2) My mom, Gina, and my stepdad, Rich:

These two are the ones that raised me. My stepdad has been in my life since I was 1 year old so he was involved in most of my childhood. I lived with them until I moved on to college and I learned from them who I wanted to be as a person. My mom was my best friend growing up and I could always talk to her about anything. They have both taught me so many important life lessons and I can not thank them enough for helping me become ME.

3) My "adopted parents" Penny and Alan (aka the in-laws)

These two are the ones that took me in. When Husband and I met 6 years ago, they immediately treated me as family (little did we all know that I would become an official member several years later). When I left for college, both sets of my parents ended up in different states. Penny and Alan stepped in so that I had someone to fall back on during the difficult years of college and becomming a "grown up". They opened their home to me, helped Husband and I get on our feet, and have been there every step of the way since. I love them as if I have known them my entire life.

Now, obviously I could have gone the easy route and just done my "mom and dad", but that wouldn't have been fair because each and every one of these people have helped shape me into the person I have become. I am beyond blessed to have such wonderful people in my life and I have seen that even more in light of our recent events. Thank you to ALL of my parents- all 6 of you are truly special people :)

Im a CopyCait

2010-10-13T09:59:00.002-05:00

I know......cheesey title......but I thought it was cute!

Yes, I am following everyone else and joining the 30 Day Blog Challange that is being hosted by Katie. This seems to have come at the perfect time since I wont be able to blog about our infertility for several weeks. As I mentioned a couple posts back, Husband and I are trying new things during this time so I figured it would be fun to join this challange- but I will also be mixing in posts about what we are up to :)

I have to catch up a bit, so I am going to cram the first 3 days into this post........

First, introduce yourself with a recent picture and 15 facts:

**This is not the best picture, but its the most recent one I have of just me (it was taken in Vegas)

Fifteen Facts- I am going to do short ones since I am trying to catch up:

I have a unique name- Caitrin, I am 23 years old, Husband and I have been married for 1 year and 1 month, we have been TTC for almost that long, I have to have a cup of coffee or iced tea everyday (caffeine!), I was born in California, but have lived in Texas for the past 17 years, I am the only child from my mom and dad, but I have siblings from both sides, I watch waaaayyy too much tv, I have to plan everything in advance, I hate to exercise, I love to travel, I am addicted to shopping, and I am fairly new to the blogger world but have loved every minute of it so far!

2nd- Meaning Behind Your Blog Name:

As you already know, I love shopping! So when I was trying to come up with a name I knew I wanted to incorporate that somehow. This blog was started as a way to discuss our infertility struggle and our long journey towards parenthood. I began thinking of names that included shopping and babies and then one night came up with this!

3rd- Your First Love

Quite a few people have debated on what exactly this one is supposed to be about, so I am going the easy route and using a person in my life- Husband :) Since we met in highschool I didnt really have the chance to truly love anyone else before him. I had said it to other boyfriends, but never knew what it really meant. He is my best friend and has supported me unconditionally for the last 6 years- and I know he will continue to do so for many more!

Now, hopefully, I can keep up with this challange everyday! I am so excited to meet new bloggers and learn more about the ones I already know!

Golfing and My Top 2!

2010-10-11T20:04:00.008-05:00

This week's top 2 topic is: Top 2 places in your home

1) Since our wood floors are coming along, the family room has now become my favorite spot in the house.........its amazing how different the room looks now:

The room/hallway that we were working on are still not entirely finished (as you can see in the pic below) but we are slowly getting there and this whole process has definitely been worth it!

2) My other favorite spot is here:

Technically, this is OUTSIDE of my house (on the front porch) but I figured I can cheat a bit :) I definitely do not spend enough time out here, but now that the weather is cooler, I will be finding my way out here more often- with my Kindle in hand! (Oh and ignore the wood scraps on the swing- we are still in construction mode here)

And, of course I have some pics from my attempt at golf on Friday!

Here is my "before" pic- see how I am all happy and excited about trying golf??

Now here is my attempt at golf:

There are several things very wrong with this picture.............First of all, my form is HORRIBLE! I now know that after seeing this picture! 2nd, I am pretty sure I missed the ball after this picture (and the next 50 times too!). 3rd, I did not realize that its not really appropriate for me to wear flip flops to the driving range- Husband pointed that out very quickly upon our arrival!

Husband, of course, looked great trying his swing:

I did end up enjoying myself quite a bit and I did not hit anyone (which I thought was a major plus in my favor!).

Trying New Things

2010-10-08T10:53:00.003-05:00

Let's be honest: I have been in a rut lately. With all the stress from trying for Baby Hill and then all the bad news we have received recently, I have not been my normal self and was worried it would then reflect on my blog too. I hate when I am a "Debbie Downer" (as Husband calls it) and over the past couple of days I have been thinking long and hard for a way to adjust my outlook on life- because I definitely do not want to be bitter over this whole baby process.

So, Husband and I have decided to use this waiting period as a time to just enjoy life. We both want to try some new things (things we couldnt do if I was pregnant) and we think this could be the perfect way to help us give this hard time a positive spin! For example, today I am going to give this a try:

Seriously, I am not a very athletic person- and I definitely have not actually played golf before (only the miniature kind). Husband is the most athletic person I know (he can play practically any sport) BUT the one sport he always has trouble with is golf- its actually quite funny to hear him get frustrated by the fact that he's not good at it. So, we will be hitting the driving ranges today (we are going to start there because I dont think I could actually start on a golf course- baby steps!).

We have some other ideas of fun things we would like to try (wine tastings!) and are actually looking forward to making the best of this time. Hopefully, all of you will enjoy watching me try my hand at some of these new things too!

Have a happy weekend everyone :)

Here We Go Again.....

2010-10-06T12:32:00.003-05:00

Ok, I am sure a few of you are wondering what exactly happened with our last round of treatment and what this means for us now. Husband and I went to our appointment this morning and now that we have gotten some more information on where we are headed, I feel more comfortable sharing......

Not only did last months treatment not work, but my body (once again) is not wanting to cooperate. At today's appointment, the doctor confirmed what I have been fearing for several days: I have another cyst. This one is even larger than last time, but again (luckily) our doctor is hopeful over time it will shrink and disappear. It seems this is just my body's way of rejecting the treatment we are doing. We know that we can (and will) continue trying the injections/IUI's for several more cycles, but at the same time Husband and I are starting to consider if we will ultimately have to move into more aggressive treatment.

For now, we are back to the waiting game- no more treatment until the cyst has gone away! This means over the next several weeks I will probably not have any "baby updates" and during this time I would like to incorporate some more fun things into my blog- so suggestions are welcome!! Hopefully you all enjoy reading about our lives outside of our "baby drama" because thats mainly what I will be posting for a while :)

Emails and Top 2 Tuesday

2010-10-04T20:31:00.002-05:00

First of all, I wanted to thank all of you who have emailed me recently for advice/input on infertility. I have received several emails lately and I can honestly say this is why I am so open about our struggle- I love that I can bring light to such a taboo topic and it has made me feel so much better knowing that I can help others that have similar struggles to ours. If any of you EVER have any questions or need to vent to someone, please feel free to send an email my way- I love reading them! Husband and I did face another setback over the weekend, but I probably will not share more information until Wednesday after my next doctor appointment- in the meantime just know our struggle is nowhere near over yet and I will look forward to spreading our story to more people as our journey continues to lengthen.

Now on to Top 2 Tuesday- this weeks topic is Top 2 Dream Kitchens:

I do not really know what my dream kitchen would look like because I tend to like lots of different designs, but I was able to narrow it down based on the following criteria that they must include: dark cabinets (both Husband and I prefer dark colors in the kitchen), big island, stainless steel appliances, and A WINE RACK (for all my fancy bottles of wine I would be able to afford- cuz we are talking about DREAM kitchens, right?)

So here are 2 pictures I found that definitely represent this criteria well.......

1)

2)

I have already enjoyed looking at everyone's picks and cannot wait to see more!!

Weekend Recap (Finally!) and 1 Week Appointment

2010-10-01T09:00:00.010-05:00

I know, I know- I am about 5 days late with my weekend recap- BUT this week has been extremely busy for me! And I still wanted to share our weekend with everyone because it was quite eventful!

First of all, Friday night I enjoyed some much-needed girl time with these lovely ladies:

Since our last Bunco night was so much fun (I posted about it here) we decided to have another one- this time with some yummy Greek food :) Oh, and of course, there were still plenty of margaritas on hand! Although, Husband has made it very clear that I am not allowed to drink any of those until we get our pregnancy test results next week (more on that below).

Saturday night was a very special night for Husband's parents: they celebrated their 30th Wedding Anniversary! They rented out a private room at delicious restaurant to celebrate along with 40 of their closest friends. Husband and I enjoyed meeting everyone and spending some time with his brother and his brother's girlfriend:

Here's our happy little family:

Husband's parents have been such an inspiration to us and we can only hope to be as happy as they are 29 years from now! It was so sweet to see how much their love for each other has grown after all this time.

Then, on Sunday we started a MAJOR home project:

Yep, we are laying wood flooring (and yes, we are doing it ourselves). Call me crazy, but I thought it would be a great way to save some money by not having to pay a professional to install it. The floors definitely look great so far.........

.......but in the meantime my house has been a disaster! There is dust and mess EVERYWHERE but I havent been able to clean yet because the room is still not quite done. Hopefully within the next week everything will be complete and I can post some pics of the room for everyone to see!

Finally, here is an update on Baby Hill: we had our 1 week appointment on Wednesday (1 week after our IUI). I had some bloodwork completed to check my hormone levels- and so far everything is normal :) Which means, I finally ovulated (after 11 months of trying to get to that point), now we just have to see if everything worked. We will be going back this coming Wednesday for the official pregnancy test- and hopefully I will get the results by the afternoon that same day! We are praying and thinking good thoughts each and everyday hoping that we will finally get the answer we have been waiting for!

Happy Friday to everyone!

Top 2 Tuesday

2010-09-27T20:17:00.004-05:00

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

2010-09-24T08:52:00.009-05:00

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.......

2010-09-22T09:10:00.004-05:00

.....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

2010-09-20T20:36:00.002-05:00

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

2010-09-19T17:37:00.002-05:00

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

2010-09-17T14:05:00.008-05:00

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 :)

2010-09-15T16:36:00.002-05:00

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

Happy Wednesday!

Getting back to my REAL blog!

2010-09-13T20:56:00.004-05:00

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!!

2010-09-12T20:10:00.008-05:00

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!

2010-09-09T10:26:00.012-05:00

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!

2010-09-07T19:38:00.005-05:00

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!

2010-09-06T17:08:00.005-05:00

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!

2010-09-05T23:55:00.006-05:00

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........

2010-09-04T16:18:00.011-05:00

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!

Top 2 Tuesday!

2010-08-31T09:13:00.007-05:00

This weeks topic at Taylor's Top 2 Tuesday is..........Top 2 Cities!

I am going to try to stick with only the cities I have been to because if I dont, the list would be endless! There is no way I could only pick 2 of the cities I am desperately wanting to go to!

So here are my top 2 cities that I have visited.........

1) I sort of cheated on this one, but I pick any of the cities in Orange County, California:

Ok, see where Aliso Viejo is listed on the map, right next to Laguna Beach?? That is where my daddy lives :) It is absolutely beautiful there! His house sits on a cliff overlooking a gorgeous state park and it is breathtaking to stand in his backyard and look out below! I will have to take pictures to share from my trip this weekend! I cannot wait to get out there!

And even better, he is just a short drive from the beach- I love just driving down to Laguna Beach to visit their shops or grab a quick lunch! Dana Point is also beautiful along with several others: Newport Beach (one of Taylor's picks), Anaheim (where Disneyland is!!), Huntington Beach.......see why I couldnt pick just one- I had to pick the whole county!!

2) My 2nd pick is Breckenridge, Colorado!

This is BY FAR the cutest little ski resort town! I started visiting Breckenridge as a kid with my family, but now Husband and I have made it a point to try to visit once a year for a quick ski vacation. The town itself is very small, but I love the feeling of getting away from all the hustle and bustle of everyday life and just coming here to relax! I myself am not much of a skier, so I come mainly to visit their shops and restaurants- and enjoy a massage too (while Husband is snowboarding, of course!)

I couldnt find any of our ski trip pictures on this computer, otherwise I would have posted some, but these will at least give you an idea!

I cant wait to read everyone's picks!

The Countdown is ON!!

2010-08-29T18:18:00.003-05:00

Thats right.........I leave for my trip Saturday morning! I have officially started freaking out because I want to look good as I spend my days here:

I know, I know, I probably should have thought about this say....a couple months ago when I first planned this trip, but for some reason I kept telling myself I had plenty of time- that is until I woke up this morning and realized its less than a week away! I have been trying to stick with my running pact I posted several weeks back, but lets be honest: lately I have been slacking a bit. I did go for a run this morning and will try to get several more in before I leave.

I know this sounds silly, but seriously- I am going to be in LA and Las Vegas! Its like a rule that you have to look beautiful there! And honestly, with all the hormone treatments I have been through lately, I feel like I have not been my normal self. Between my face breaking out and adding some extra pounds in the thigh/behind area I feel like I am going through an "ugly" phase- yes, even I realize how ridiculous that sounds. Husband has been very quick to point out that those type of comments that I have been making around the house lately are stupid :)

I am sure I will feel much better after a shopping trip this week :) Wish me luck on keeping up with my running!

Fill in the Blank Friday :)

2010-08-27T08:23:00.005-05:00

1) The most adventurous thing I've ever done is: Honestly, I am not sure..........I am not a big adventure seeker or risk taker. I am the type of person that will sit and list the pros and cons before taking a big risk. With that being said, I hope to start trying new adventurous things as Husband and I travel more (like ziplining, parasailing, etc). Husband loves this type of stuff and I am going to try my best to branch out so that I can do these things with him. Maybe I will have a better answer to this question within the next couple of years :)

2)If I were a pair of shoes I would be: a cute pair of strappy sandals! I LIVE in these during the summer and love that you can either dress them up or down!

3) My preferred mode of digital communication is: TEXTING! It is so much easier than having to talk on the phone with someone! Husband and I will call each other maybe once throughout the day, but we will text dozens of times! Its so nice to be able to ask a quick question or send a quick "I Love You"- short and sweet :)

4)I feel happiest when: Husband and I are laying in bed at the end of the day and just talk about whatever is on our mind. Normally the 2 dogs are cuddled in there with us too and its so nice to have those "family" moments!

5) A little dream I have for my life is: To have a couple beautiful children and enjoy life as a "soccer mom." I look forward to the days when I can wake up on a Saturday morning and go watch my kids play little league as Husband is coaching their team, or watch my little girl in a dance recital. Its such a normal thing for most people, but I think over the last 9-10 months it has become a dream to Husband and I.

6) The one modern convenience I could NOT do without is: My Blackberry! I am on this thing constantly throughout the day: texting, checking emails, looking at Facebook updates, "googling" things, you name it!

7) Music, Movies, TV, or Books: If I could only choose 1 to enjoy I would pick: BOOKS! I love curling up on the couch and getting "lost" in a good book. It is such a great way to pass a rainy day or enjoy some lounging time by the pool. (preferrably it would be a book on my Kindle :))

The rest of my weekend......

2010-08-25T20:29:00.006-05:00

After being so good and taking so many pictures Friday night, I am so mad at myself for not getting good pictures from Saturday and Sunday! But here are some of the ones I was able to take.......

Saturday a co-worker and I hosted a pool party for everyone from our office. It was so much fun getting all of our families together outside of work! (For those of you that do not know I work a couple days a week in a dental office- at the time I had decided to work there as a way to cut down on hours and stress because I had just come out of a crazy job in the fashion industry. I heard my dentist was in need of help in their front office and thought "that would be perfect: less hours, less stress, more time for me to focus on a baby!" Little did I know that I would absolutely fall in love with everyone there and find such an amazing "work family") I had been planning this party for quite some time now and I am so proud to say it was a huge success! We themed it as a summer fiesta/luau (I know weird combination) but it was so fun because we had TONS of mexican food and everyone wore leis! I just wish I had taken more pictures! And by the way, you cannot tell from the pics, but we had 30+ people at this party- it was such a fun group of people!

Here are SOME of the kids, having fun in the pool:

Me and a co worker

Husband (left) being a trooper and entertaining some of the kids:

Then this is how I spent my Sunday:

I layed out at the in-laws :) We cooked some delicious hamburgers and listened to some music while relaxing by the pool- the perfect way to wind down the weekend! Again, I wish I had gotten more pictures :(

Happy Wednesday!

Top 2 Tuesday and Day 1 Weekend Recap!

2010-08-23T21:17:00.007-05:00

I just want everyone to know I did NOT intend to copy Taylor's picks this week for Top 2 Tuesday, but I cannot help that we are exactly the same when it comes to this week's topic! :) This weeks topic is.......Top 2 Indulgences

1) Shopping......enough said! I am sure you guys are tired of hearing about this by now :)

2)Vacations! Husband and I try to go on several mini vacations a year (sometimes even quick 2 day trips) and then we always have one BIG trip as well. This year our big trip is Las Vegas (Husband has never been so we are going all out!) Here is what our hotel will look like:

We booked a suite in the new tower of Mandalay Bay, we have a pool cabana while there (thanks to my daddy :)), there will be quite a bit of gambling (mainly by Husband) and Husband and I plan on trying some of the top restaurants each night.

Depending on when Baby Hill makes their debut, we are already thinking of next year's big trip: either Argentina or somewhere in Europe!

As mentioned on Friday, this past weekend was busy, busy! Here are some pics from Day 1 (Friday). Husband and I got together with Taylor and her hubs to go to the North Texas Rodeo and take some country music!

(I have to let you all know that this was my first true country concert and first attempt at "western" clothes- hence the random sundress and boots :))

This was the CUTEST cow ever! Her name was Elsie and she is the "Borden Milk Cow"

Me and Husband :)

Taylor and I had to get a picture of our cute boots!

I will have Day 2/3 recaps posted tomorrow evening. Hope you all enjoyed your weekends too!

CAUTION: Busy Weekend Ahead!

2010-08-20T16:27:00.003-05:00

Whew, I am tired just thinking of the weekend I have ahead of me! But at the same time I am very excited for the upcoming activities! First of all, this weekend is Tax Free Weekend- aka: weekend to do lots of shopping because there is no tax added on :) I already hit the mall this morning with Taylor from The Undomestic Momma and we each scored some great deals- I bought a pair of pants, a top and 2 rings all for $45!!! Husband should be so proud.......

Next up: Husband and I are meeting up with Taylor and her hubs to go to the North Texas State Fair and take in a concert! There will be greasy food, fun games/rides, and good music! I cant wait and will be sure to share some pics :)

Tomorrow: I have gotten together with some girls at my work to throw an office pool party! All of our spouses/families will be coming and we are sure to have a great time with plenty of mexican food and margaritas!

Sunday: Time to spend some good quality time with Husbands parents. We haven't seen them in several weeks and that seems like just too long because they only live 45 minutes away! I'm thinking some pool time and relaxation with them sounds like the perfect way to wind down the weekend........

Hope you all have a great weekend ahead of you! I cant wait to come back next week and share plenty of pictures from my crazy-busy weekend!

Recommendations??

2010-08-18T19:59:00.004-05:00

I know quite a few of you that read this blog are either experiencing or have experienced infertility struggles and I really need your help! Knowing that I am once again at a standstill for several weeks with fertility treatments, I think that now would be a really good time to start reading a book about infertility. Husband has told me several times that he feels this would help- because lets face it.......there are days that I struggle with it and Husband does not always have the right comforting words (although he does try real hard sometimes). I am sure that some of you out there have read books on it as well to cope during the hard times and I would love to hear if you have any recommendations!

I have read some reviews online and have found a couple that seem to have really good feedback:

........but of course I would rather hear from you guys instead of reading through a ton of reviews online! Any thoughts would be much appreciated :)

The Big 1-0-0!!!....and some blog info

2010-08-17T21:30:00.004-05:00

Man, this has been quite the week for my little blog- first the new design and now 100 followers!

Thank you all so much for listening to me ramble every day! I have had quite a few ups and downs lately with all the baby stuff and love all the support I receive from all of you! The fact that you guys continue to stop by my blog and offer such kind words has really helped me these past 2 1/2 months :)

And I am sooooo happy you all have loved the new blog design! Throughout the whole design process I kept wondering "what will everyone think???" I just couldnt wait to hear all of your thoughts! Some of you have asked about the cost of getting a design for your blog......Bailey (the designer for my blog) has her pricing listed on her website here. There are several different package options and other "add ons" to choose from. I will admit, I went all out on mine. I figured if I am going through all the trouble of having a design made I might as well get what I want and not have to worry about re doing it any time soon. I also had to pay to use some of the pictures in my design (like the girl and the baby bottle/pacifier) so that did add to the cost some- but it was worth every penny! Again, I could not be any happier with the outcome- the new design is so "me" and I love being able to express my personality that way!

Top 2 Tuesday and New BLOG!!!

2010-08-16T20:16:00.005-05:00

Hooorrayyy for my new blog design!!! Dont you just love it?!?! I seriously could not have imagined anything more perfect than this design for my blog- it fits my personality 100% :) Bailey at B's Blog Boutique did an amazing job and if you are need of any new blog designs I would HIGHLY recommend her! I knew absolutely nothing about putting a blog design together and had no idea what I wanted so after talking with me a couple times and asking several questions this is what she came up with- and its perfect!!!

Now on to Top 2 Tuesday......This weeks topic is: Top 2 characters you would like to play on a tv show/movie

1) Carrie from Sex and The City

All those clothes and that amazing closet......I get excited just thinking about it! If only I could spend a day in her shoes..........I would be one super happy girl :)

2) One of the Kardashian sisters

)

They own their own clothing store- how perfect is that?!?! I will admit, each one of them has their own drama and issues, but still it would be fun! Not to mention, all of them have amazing bodies.......and mine does not look anything like any of theirs :)

Good Times in Dallas

2010-08-15T18:13:00.006-05:00

After the news we received on Friday (see post below) Husband and I really needed a fun night out! Saturday night was exactly that for us! One of Husband's besties was celebrating his birthday and we drove into downtown Dallas to hang out with some amazing friends and enjoy a great time!

Husband (far right) and some of his besties

Husband (left) and the birthday boy- singing some karaoke :) They were hilarious! The first song they sang was "Dont Stop Believing"

Then another friend joined in to sing some "Fresh Prince of Bel Air"

Having fun at the end of the night :)

With all the craziness while trying to make Baby Hill, Husband and I had not enjoyed a night out like this in quite some time. I will admit I was moving a little slow this morning, but it was completely worth it :)

Several hours before going out Saturday night I did receive a phone call from Dr Ku (our RE). He had the results of my bloodwork from Friday and it turned out not only is my cyst active, its EXTREMELY active. This means trying for Baby Hill this month is completely out of the question. I will be starting another birth control pack- oh joy :( - and then we will cross our fingers that the birth control has helped the cyst "disappear".

In happier news though, my blog design is now complete!! YAY! As long as everything goes smoothly it will be up within the next couple of days- so keep your eyes out for it! I am so excited!

--Cait

Hmm....that shouldnt be there!

2010-08-13T15:40:00.005-05:00

This morning Husband and I went back to the specialist for yet ANOTHER sonogram so that we could get the "all clear" to begin injectionables once again. We had no reason to be worried because the last couple of times we have gone through this it has always been a quick in and out appointment- we go in, they do the ultrasound, say "yep everything looks fine" and then we are on our way ready to start the next round of treatment.

Today's appointment didn't exactly go that way........I'll get to that in a sec. First here is a pic Husband took while waiting in the sono room:

First we looked at the uterus: perfect. Then we looked at the right ovary: perfect again. Finally, off to look at the left ovary: far from perfect.......this was what we found:

See the HUGE black circle with a "c" on it?? That lovely polka dot is a cyst- a large one :( Good news is I have sonograms so often that is very unlikely the cyst could be in any way harmful- since it wasnt there before. The tech said that it likely developed as a late reaction to the clomid I had taken last month. It is fluid filled and about 1 inch in size- which to me seems weird because wouldnt I notice something that size developing? Apparently not, if it continued to get larger (to about 2 inches) then I would start to possibly feel some pain or have other reactions to it.

So now the bad news- it is very likely we will NOT be able to do treatment this month. After finding the cyst, the tech decided to draw some blood to run some tests and told me they will call me within the next 24 hours. Since my appointment today was just with the tech (because it should have been an in and out type of appointment) I wasn't able to speak with my doctor and will have to wait until he has reviewed the sono and bloodwork results.

I hate the thought of going ANOTHER month without treatment! These past 4 weeks have been rough knowing there was nothing I could do while I sat and waited to complete the birth control pack. Now its even worse because I have all the new injectionables waiting patiently in my fridge. Husband and I are just hoping that the bloodwork results will come back positive- until then I am anxiously awaiting the phone call!

--Cait

Sorry for my "M.I.A-ness"

2010-08-10T19:59:00.007-05:00

Combine working extra for a co worker that is on vacation, with planning some parties, along with some other activities thrown in there too and you have one very busy Cait! On top of that Husband has been putting in 50 hour work weeks at his job these last couple of weeks :( Its been a little crazy in the Hill House lately!

The good news is.....I'm Back! I plan on catching up on all of your blogs over the next couple of days and I should not be going MIA again anytime soon! I have really missed reading all of your blogs and have felt like something has been missing in my life lately :)

On a completely seperate note........today was a "kind of" anniversary for Husband and I. Our actual WEDDING anniversary is not until September 5, but on this day (August 11) last year we went to the courthouse to legally retrieve our marriage license- since we were married in Puerto Rico it was a lot easier to have it done here in the states first. Husband was NOT going for the idea of 2 anniversaries (I really tried to get him to fall for it!) so we will actually full-out celebrate our anniversary in September. But its also nice to have this day to look back on where we were exactly 1 year ago :) We went out to a romantic Italian dinner tonight and talked about all that we have been through this last year- it was a very nice, reflective night!

Here are some pictures from 1 year ago today..........

In this first picture I am trying very hard not to giggle during the judge's speech (I have told you guys of my nervous giggling problem before!)

Our very first kiss as Husband and Wife!

The new Hill family- Husband and I with his parents :)

--Cait

Fill in the Blank Friday!

2010-08-06T15:18:00.002-05:00

Ok, lately on Fridays I have been "vegging out" at home so I normally dont have anything exciting to talk about. I am very much liking these Fill in the Blank Fridays at The Little Things We Do because they are always fun to answer and they give me something to post about on my non eventful Fridays!

Here are this week's questions...........

1. Today for breakfast I ate: a bagel from Einstein Bagels with honey almond cream cheese- yumm!

2. My go-to/never fail recipe: Chicken Dorito casserole- Husband's favorite! I dont have an actual recipe- I normally just "wing" it, but it mainly consists of: shredded ckn, velveeta, rotel, corn, black beans, and crushed Doritos. DELICIOUS! I think there are plenty of recipes out there on the internet

3. Something I eat that other people think is weird: not too sure on this one........maybe Ramen noodles?? Husband thinks I am very weird because there are times when I will CRAVE them!

4. My worst cooking disaster ever was: Honestly, I normally dont have too many of these. My main problem is that I always think that I can "guess-timate" measurements- which for cooking is normally fine, but if you are baking that becomes a big problem!

5. If I could only eat one flavor of ice cream the rest of my life, it would be: I normally change my answer on this a lot. For the longest time it was Mint Chocolate Chip, but lately I have been loving Cookies n Cream and Peaches n Cream

6. One food I hate and avoid at all costs is: nothing comes to mind on this one.......but I am VERY picky with any meat I eat- especially chicken! I always have to cut all the fat off and I will never eat any piece of chicken that has any type of "color" or dark spots- it has to be 100% white meat

7. What is your favorite meal- breakfast, lunch or dinner? Dinner- this is the meal you normally eat with your loved one(s) and the meal Husband and I most commonly go out to a restaurant for!

--Cait

Getting Fit!

2010-08-04T19:11:00.006-05:00

If you know either Husband or I, you would know that we are NOT very good about getting excercise! We have been slacking quite a bit lately- I guess what they say is true, you let your body "go" after getting married. Looking back just 1 year ago, we both were in relatively good shape. Now.....not so much. We by no means think we are overweight, but we definitely are not in the physical shape we should be in for our age (22 and 23). I think the main reason it has started to bother us so much is because we were both VERY athletic in our childhoods all the way through high school. Husband played every sport imagineable (football, baseball, basketball, soccer, etc) and I danced daily for 10+ years.

Another main reason I wanted to start getting back in shape is for Baby Hill. I've read in several places now that being physically healthy will increase your chances of getting preggo and will then help during your pregnancy. Obviously I have some strong odds stacked against me on the fertility side (due to medical reasons), but anything could help right?

So, our plan is to start running as a "family" (meaning with the dogs) several times a week. This combined with eating a little bit healthier (meaning Husband is no longer allowed to have ice cream for dinner!) should help us get back to a place where we feel content (aka: I do not get winded every time I have to climb a couple flights of stairs!)

Here is a picture of me with the puppies getting ready for the run. Please ignore the awkward position I am in.......Husband is not the best picture taker- he really needs to work on his timing!

Worn out puppies! This one is Diohgee (D-O-G......get it?? Husband named him)

And this is Miss Mollie......

And here was our healthy dinner for the evening- grilled chicken (with teriyaki glaze) and salad. Please notice how Husband's salad (on the right) does not have any tomatoes- that was too much "healthy-ness" for him! And we may have added some cheese and ranch to the salad, but hey baby steps right??

Lets see how long this healthy lifestyle lasts.........hopefully we can make it longer than a few days! Of course we will throw in some splurge days each week as well, but with how picky Husband is this may get a little hard!

--Cait

Updates!

2010-08-03T14:14:00.001-05:00

Since its been a while (a couple of weeks) and I have some new followers since my last "baby-related" post, I thought I would give you all a quick update on our current status and whats to come! No, I haven't forgotten why I created this blog or what I devoted it to (making Baby Hill), but we have been at a stand-still the last couple of weeks so that I could go through a birth control pack. I still have a little over a week left on The Pill and then we can FINALLY move forward with another round of treatment. So, if you have been as anxious as I have been these last couple of weeks for some new news, then hopefully we will hear something by the end of next week. I am hoping to get some more pictures of the injections again, so look forward to those coming your way once all the maddness starts over again!

Another update: my new blog design is still coming along- and so far it looks GREAT! I am sooooo excited and cant wait to show you all! I would love to think of a fun way to reveal my new blog design (like maybe once I hit 100 followers???), but we will have to wait and see when it is complete. Who knows- maybe I will have some exciting Baby News to share- wouldnt that be the perfect transition!?!?! Only time will tell........

--Cait

Top 2 and a Couple Family Pics

2010-08-01T20:39:00.005-05:00

This weeks topic for Top 2 Tuesday at The Undomestic Momma is: Simple Pleasures!

1. Summer! I LOOOOOVE summer! I feel like I am automatically always in a better mood during the summer- I think its the combination of warm weather and super cute sundresses :) I get cold super easy so you can imagine how miserable I am during winter- not to mention I HATE big, bulky sweaters! So its either freeze my butt off wearing something semi-comfortable, or look horrible in a big sweater while trying to stay warm!

2. Going on walks with my family. When the weather outside is nice, Husband and I will take our dogs on walks quite often. Its so nice to just spend that "down-time" together with our "babies" :)

Others that made the list: a glass of wine after a long day, game nights with friends, random "i love you" texts from Husband, and ice cream before bed!

Over the weekend, some of my family got together to celebrate one of my cousin's birthdays. We had quite a good time and took some pictures, so I thought I would share a couple here:

Me with my aunts:

Me and my grandmother:

And me with my beautiful cousins (the one on the far left is the birthday girl!)

Hope everyone had a happy weekend!

--Cait

Fill In the Blanks and My New Love

2010-07-30T16:05:00.003-05:00

Hooray for the weekend! Hopefully you all are just as happy as I am that its Friday!! I have been enjoying a wonderful day with Husband today, but we came home to rest and cool off for a bit (its 100+ outside today!) so I decided to get a post in. I always enjoy doing these link up things (Top 2 Tuesday, Fill in the Blank, etc) because I think they are the perfect way to get to know everyone better. So here are my answers for this week's Fill In the Blank Friday.........

1. The last thing I do before going to sleep is: say "I love you" to Husband- seriously, we do that every night!

2. When I cant sleep I: watch tv

3. The first thing I do when I wake up is: go to the bathroom- I know, TMI, but its the first thing I do!

4. My dream bedroom would be: hmm.....Im dying to re do our bedroom in grays and slate blue so I guess any bedroom in these colors.

5. If I could wake up anywhere tomorrow it would be: on a cruise ship! I have been getting anxious lately to go on another cruise! Im really starting to miss the Caribbean......

6. The longest sleep I've ever had was: I dont remember when, but Im pretty sure one time I slept for over 12 hours- our dogs dont let us do this anymore :( They always wake us up by 8 or 9 am.

7. I sleep on my: stomach, but according to Husband I roll all over the place while I am sleeping! Sometimes I will wake up and be on the opposite side of the bed than where I started- I will always ask Husband what happened and he always responds "you were moving too much so I had to get up and switch sides"

8. When I sleep I like to wear: normally a tank or t-shirt of some sort and cute undies

9. My bedtime is usually: 10 pm if I have work the next morning, later if I dont

Ok, that was fun! Now before I finish, I will leave you with this:

This is the new love in my life- my Henri Bendel bag that Husband FINALLY let me buy! I had to drag him along on a 1 hour drive today because there is only 1 of their stores in our area and its all the way in downtown Dallas. Husband was actually pretty good about the whole thing- he only complained a couple times and afterwards he said it was worth it because of how happy I was! He is the best!

--Cait

Let Me Tell You About......

2010-07-29T20:22:00.002-05:00

.......one of my besties- Taylor from The Undomestic Momma. She had included me in her post today, so I figured what better time than now to write about her!

First of all, she is one of the sweetest people you will ever meet! Her and her hubs are both the kind of people that are just "good people". They are always the first ones to lend a hand anytime Husband and I need help with ANYTHING! Of course, it helps that we only live 1 street away from each other, but I think even if we lived 1 state away from each other that wouldnt stop either of them from offering to be there when we need them. And I love that we spend our times together just hanging out at home. Husband and I always go over to their house to have game night or watch the newest reality tv obsession and it gives us a chance to just enjoy each other's company :)

Second, she has been a big help with everything we have been going through lately. HUGE! I can always let off some steam with her and I dont hide how much I am struggling with the whole "baby issue" from her. She has had some struggles of her own too (which I will not go into here), so it's nice to know that she is able to understand where my frustrations are coming from- although it would be even more nice if her and I both could have lots of babies without any issues stopping us!

Third, she has THE CUTEST DAUGHTER EVER. PERIOD! Seriously, Husband and I both cannot get over how adorable she is- and she has the best personality!

Now if this does not have you running to her blog already, guess what!?! She gives away tons of free stuff on her blog too! Honestly, I know most of you probably already follow her blog, but if you don't you should definitely stop by!

**On a completely seperate note: I am very excited for this upcoming weekend! Husband and I are spending the day together tomorrow (and seeing his parents for lunch too!). Husband has indicated that I can shop some also, which I am thrilled about! And Sunday, my family is having a get together! You know what this means- pictures are coming your way!

Happy Friday to everyone!

--Cait

Top 2 Tuesday and Bunco Pics!

2010-07-26T20:25:00.006-05:00

The topic for today at Taylor's Top 2 Tuesday is Favorite Cologne/Perfume. I have a slight case of eczema that flares up whenever I use scented things, so I hardly ever get to use perfume anymore. I normally have to stick to Dove soap and occasionally can wear a "fresh smelling" spray :( So, in order to still play along, I have listed Husband's top 2 favorite colognes- because he normally smells great!

1) This one is by far my favorite for him!

2) Another great one that I love for Husband to wear!

Bunco night was a blast! Maybe it was just the company I was with, but I really enjoyed myself Friday night! Add in some margaritas and mojitos and you have the making of a perfect evening :)
Here are just a couple of pics from that night........

Love all of these girls! They have all been so helpful with everything I have gone through and I know that I could turn to any of them at any moment to "just vent". I am already looking forward to our next game night.....

Hope everyone enjoyed their weekend!

--Cait

Blogger Award and Temporary Design

2010-07-24T11:58:00.004-05:00

Wow! I received another blogger award! And you know what makes this blog award even more special?? It was given to me by another Cait! How cool is that!?!?

If you havent already, you should check out Cait's blog here. I love reading her blog because she is always fun, sweet, and SHES GETTING MARRIED! I cant wait to see what her big day looks like- but for now I love reading along as she puts it all together!

This award comes along with these two questions:

1)Why did you start blogging? By now I am sure most of you already know, but the purpose of this blog is to write about our journey through infertility (and hopefully to continue once we have Baby Hill). I had several people encourage me to start one and I am so very happy that I listened to them! Blogging has helped me so much with everything we have been through in the last 2 months and I am so lucky to meet such wonderful people every day through this blog.

2)What are your blogging rules? The only main one that comes to mind is: BE OPEN AND HONEST! Husband and I decided from the very beginning that we would share our journey with those around us because most people we know have not experienced these type of struggles. We thought it would be a great way to bring light to the issue of Infertility and in return we have received so much support! The other part of that rule is honesty: I really wanted this blog to be a true reflection of myself. Whatever you guys read on here are my true feelings and thoughts- hopefully you all like me for the "true me" :)

Now the hard part........I have chosen to pass this award along to these ladies:

1) Lori at Bringing Up Brooke

2)Mrs B at Life with the Bruneaus

3)Hilary at The Tale of This Newlywed - she has been going through some rough times lately and I am so sad that she may be taking a hiatus for a bit :(

**One last thing, you may notice that my blog looks different- this is just a temporary design until the custom one is up. Hopefully I wont have any other "design surprises" like earlier this week!

--Cait

Now I remember......

2010-07-23T11:40:00.004-05:00

.......how much I hated taking birth control the very first month I started it! The pill and I are NOT friends! Whenever I take it for the first time (or in this case after a loooong break) I am miserable with constant nausea. I've been up since 4 am (on my day off!) because of it and was unable to eat anything for breakfast. Hopefully this will go away within the next couple of days, but as Husband has pointed out- its great practice for whenever I finally get preggers!

On that note, Husband is taking me out to lunch because I am in need of some major greasy food to fix this!

And for tonight's festivities: BUNCO NIGHT! I have no earthly idea how to play (I actually thought it was a card game, but was later told that I was way off and it is in fact a dice game), but regardless it is going to be loads of fun! Great girls, great drinks, great food and great fun! I am sure I will have plenty of pics to share later :)

Happy Weekend!

--Cait

Stupid Blog Design......

2010-07-21T18:24:00.002-05:00

This week is just not my week! I logged on this morning to find a nice little icon at the top corner of my blog stating that my blog design would be pulled on friday- this came out of nowhere! Soooo.....since I didn't really have time to prepare, my blog is going to look horrible for a little while- sorry :(

This did prompt me though to do something I had been thinking of doing for a while now.......get a custom blog design. I got a free one in the beginning because honestly I wasn't too sure how I would take to this whole blogging thing and seeing how I have quit many hobbies before in life, I wasn't too sure how long this blogging hobby would last. Recently I had been thinking about contacting a designer, but was wanting to put it off until I reached another big milestone- 100 followers! Wouldn't that have been the most exciting way to celebrate?

Anyways, whatever I end up with, I want it to be amazing! This blog has been such a great outlet for me with everything that has happened lately and all of you have become so important in my life. That means it may take me a bit to get the perfect design up......so please hang in there with me! I have already contacted some designers so hopefully I can get all of this going soon!

Hope everyone enjoys the rest of their week!

--Cait

Not the news we were hoping for.....

2010-07-19T21:31:00.005-05:00

Due to the content in part of this post, I have decided to finish the post with Top 2 Tuesday, rather than start with it- I figured it would be better to end on a fun note! If for some random reason you are only wanting to read this post for Top 2 Tuesday, feel free to scroll down a bit.......

As I mentioned before, today was the day of our ultrasound to see if all those injections I did last week paid off. Husband picked me up from work this morning so that we could rush over to our appointment- only to find out they were running very behind at my fertility office. Here is the before picture (while we were waiting for the assistant to come in 40 minutes past our appointment time!)This is my nervous look......

Now for the news: we did not have any change with the Clomid and Injections :( My follicles (on my ovaries) were not measuring anywhere near large enough to indicate that any eggs were ready. Which means this month was a big, fat bust! So what happens next? We move forward with DAILY injectionables now- not something I am looking forward to! Husband and I are going in for a consultation once again on Friday to get a new game plan together to increase my dosage and start "dailies"- and this time we are going to completely rule out Clomid- since apparently Clomid is like candy to me and does absolutely nothing!

This news was hard for me- I mean really hard. With each month that passes and we receive the bad news, I worry more and more that maybe this will not happen for us. Luckily, I work with the most amazing people ever! I had to return to work after the appointment- which turned out to actually be a good thing because it distracted me- and I was given nothing but unconditional support from all of my co workers. I also know that I have the most wonderful family and friends (blogger friends, too!) and cannot express to everyone how much your support really does help! Of course, I will continue to update you all as I learn more about what our next step will be- but in the meantime I will be starting a birth control pack (weird, I know) to try to "restart" my hormones.

**Brutally Honest Moment Here- The song "Fix You" by Coldplay has been my go-to song today and it definitely helped to come home, turn it up and cry a little by myself before Husband came home. It was so nice to get some of the emotions out that had been bottled up inside all day.

Ok, enough sad stuff.........on to the fun part of my post- TOP 2 TUESDAY!
Todays topic over at The Undomestic Momma is Top 2 things you would like to purchase- what the perfect topic to put me in a better mood!

1) This purse by my new love- Henri Bendel

I am actually very excited because I think this dream purchase will become a reality sometime this week! With everything that has been going on (especially after today) Husband has given in to me splurging for a new purse! Last year I bought a beautiful Kate Spade bag- now, this year I am obsessed with this one! Hopefully I will have real-life pictures of it to share soon!

2) This beautiful car........

Husband and I have been debating back and forth on one for a couple months now. Due to his new job (we still dont know exactly what he will be making) and the constant $ required for treatments we have had to hold off for a little, but hopefully this one will become a reality before the end of the year too!

One last thing, I have not had time to sit down and read everyones blogs since Friday! I feel horrible about it and am dying to know what is going on in all of your lives! I 100% plan to catch up on Wednesday and will probably spend hours reading what everyone has been up to- but in the meantime, Im very sorry!

--Cait

"Quickie" in the car

2010-07-18T18:35:00.002-05:00

Wait! Before you jump to conclusions, it is NOT what you think........

So by now you all know that I am taking injectionables as part of my fertility treatment, right? What you may not know is that they have to be taken at a very precise time each evening (giving us only a small window of opportunity to drop what we are doing). This became a bit of a problem for Husband and I Friday evening as we were trying to enjoy a "date night". We were attempting to have a nice romantic dinner and be back home in time to do my injection, but due to a long wait at the restaurant, I quickly realized we would not be home in time. Luckily, I had brought everything for my injection in case we had to do it before we returned to the house.

In a very awkward conversation, I explained to the hostess that Husband and I were going to run out to the car and asked for her to hold our table. Of course she looked at me as if I was crazy! So to avoid any further weird looks I explained the situation to her (I have to take shots at a certain time each night) and she very kindly agreed to hold our table. Husband and I rushed out to our car, I had to lay in the backseat and Husband quickly gave me my "shot".

From there I can only imagine what went through people's heads as in the middle of a VERY BUSY parking lot, Husband and I left the backseat of a car, with me pulling my top into place! I was very embarassed, but what else was I going to do? I was definitely not going to waste this whole month's worth of treatment just because of a long wait at a restaurant!

I guess this will just be another interesting story to look back on once this is all over!

--Cait

THE sale of the year!

2010-07-16T10:00:00.003-05:00

First off, thank you all for the very sweet messages! While Husband and I would never have wanted to go through all these obstacles to make Baby Hill, it has been so much easier to go through it with the support of all my blogger friends! :) We are taking it a day at a time and trying to not get our hopes up too much (in case we are let down once again). Tonight will be injection #2 and I am sure I will have a pic or two to post later!

On the other hand, I am sorry this is such a short uneventful Friday post, BUT I will be spending my day here.........

So hopefully you all understand!

--Cait

1st Injection!

2010-07-14T20:39:00.007-05:00

Today is the day we have been waiting for in the Hill house- the day of my very first injection! I am relieved to say everything went smoothly (for the most part- there was a mis-hap when I was putting together the injection cartridge, but no biggie!) and I feel much more relaxed knowing the first one is done and it will be easier from here on out. I could tell Husband was very nervous about making sure everything went PERFECTLY- he asked probably a bizillion questions and watched my every move as I put everything together and re read instructions several times.

Today was also Day 3 of my treatment! Notice one of my puppies is in the background watching his "momma"

Very nervous about doing this......

My Enemy! Although I must say this is a very small needle! I normally have no problems with shots, but for some reason I could feel this one. I think my mind was just playing tricks on me because of how nervous I was!

Husband at work! I am going to throw this out there....I ate dinner right before to have some extra "cushion" on my stomach for the injection! :)

All Done!

So glad we have now started! Just several more days of treatment and then I will go in for another ultrasound Monday to see if all of this has worked- its going to be a VERY long weekend counting down until Monday morning!

--Cait

Top 2, Treatment and Husband in the Kitchen!

2010-07-12T20:46:00.008-05:00

Wow, I have a lot to share with you all in my post today!

First things first, lets start with Top 2 Tuesday over at The Undomestic Momma ! This weeks topic is Top 2 Summer Recipes!

While I thought this was a great topic, I totally cheated- because lets face it: I am not a great cook. I am not creative in the kitchen and I have the world's pickiest eater for a husband so those two things combined do NOT equal fun meals in the Hill household!! And while I am sure many of you are thinking "Really? You have the world's pickiest eater? Not likely!", let me leave you with this: Husband does NOT like the following:
any vegetables- with the exception of corn and ICEBERG salad
any fruits- there is not an exception on this one!
anything "fancy"
anything potato related unless it is french fries- no baked or mashed
and he is very weird about the "texture" of his food
Yes, this is how much I love Husband! And I love trying new foods so there are quite a bit of arguments over this topic! BUT, I will say Husband has been trying VERY hard lately to step outside of his box and branch out a little!

So with all that said- my two picks are things that I make year round (not just during the summer)- please forgive me!

1) Ginger Dressing
This one is actually Husband approved!! Even though there are probably 10 different items in the recipe that Husband would never eat outside of this dressing!

1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 TBSP rice wine vinegar
1 TBSP water
1 TBSP chopped ginger
1 TBSP chopped celery
1 TBSP soy sauce
1 1/2 tsp tomato paste
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp salt

Combine all ingredients in blender or food processer. Process until smooth then serve cold over salad.

2) Spinach Artichoke Dip
This one is NOT Husband approved- but, again, I am pretty limited. This recipe is by far my favorite of all the ones I have tried in the past for this dish!

1 cup thawed chopped frozen spinach
1 1/2 cups thawed chopped frozen artichoke hearts
6 ounces cream cheese
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder

Boil spinach and artichoke in 1 cup of water until tender; drain. Heat cream cheese in microwave for 1 minute. Stir in all ingredients and pour into baking dish. Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes.

Yum!! I found this recipe on Food Network :)

-------------------------------------------
Now onto my next topic- I started some of my treatment today! I have officially started Clomid (again) so today is Day 1!

I thought it might be fun to take pictures each day through this process so below you will find my "Day 1 picture"- please ignore that I look silly in this pic- Husband was the photographer and thought it would be hilarious to yell out random things such as "Work It Baby!"- needless to say, I was laughing quite a bit! (Also, you cannot really tell, but the necklace I am wearing in the picture is my "believe" necklace that I had made- I have had some requests to post a picture of it, but cannot get a good one! They always turn out blurry! But it looks exactly like the one in the picture I posted before)

Stay tuned for more!

---------------------------------------------

Finally, I thought I would leave you with a good laugh........

As I pulled out things to prepare dinner tonight, 1 of the items I removed from the fridge was eggs. (Side note: Husband has always been obsessed with the Hibachi cooks anytime we go and eat at one of those types of restaurants! He is dying to be able to do all of the cool tricks they do with knives, food, etc!) So as Husband is standing in the kitchen watching me put things together, he decides that it is time for him to try his hand at becomming a Hibachi chef! He wants to start by learnig the trick where they roll the egg on the table then flip it in the air with a spatula and have the egg land down on the spatula in the exact perfect position to where it neatly cracks open the egg on the tabletop below. You can already see where this is going, cant you?
Here is his prep- the spinning of the egg:

Now time to flip the egg in the air with a spatula:

At this point the egg is nearly hitting our ceiling (notice how he threw it so high it is nowhere in the shot!)

And here was our final result:

Husband attempted a couple more times and I can say very confidently, after we had gone through several more eggs, that Husband will not be a Hibachi chef anytime soon!

--Cait

WOW 5-0!!!

2010-07-11T19:27:00.002-05:00

You guys are awesome! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!

--Cait

Fill In the Blank Friday!

2010-07-09T14:54:00.003-05:00

After wandering around some blogs today, I saw this and thought it might be a fun post for today- since I am STILL stuck on the couch being sick :(

Lauren over at The Little Things We Do hosts this every Friday!

1. My favorite thing about this week has been: going to have another sonogram this morning and learning that I have been given the all clear to start my treatment on Monday!

2. The weather this week has been: DISGUSTING!!! Every day it has either been raining or very, very humid! All you have to do is walk outside and you instantly feel sticky- yuck!

3. The last (interesting) item I received in the mail was: my necklace that I ordered! (you know, the one I blogged about on my top 2 favorite purchases?) It just arrived in the mail today and I already have it on :)

4. The last movie I saw was: Eclipse!! I went to go see it last weekend with some friends and let me tell you it was AMAZING!!

5. If I could be doing anything I felt like today I would: do anything that does not require laying on my couch any longer. Maybe some shopping, perhaps?? :)

6. As a teenager I was: very confused! I had no idea who the true "me" was and spent many years wandering aimlessly from different groups of friends to figure out where I fit best. Luckily, I meet Husband when I was 17 and he helped me find "me"

7. I wish I could trade lives for the day with: anyone who is not sick! just kidding........probably any celebrity that has an amazing wardrobe (there are so many!)

There are my Fill in the Blank Friday results! Hope you all have a wonderful weekend- and I hope I am back to my normal self soon! Thank you for all the get well wishes!

--Cait

My Very First.......

2010-07-08T20:42:00.002-05:00

........BLOGGER AWARD!!!!!!!!

OH MY GOSH!!! Now that I have finally stopped jumping up and down with excitement and I have had a moment to catch my breath, I can actually sit down and let you guys know just how freaking excited and honored I am! This is my very first Blog Award and it was presented to me by Ashley from My Carnival Ride! Please go check out her blog if you haven't already because she is now my newest blogger best friend! :)

I still cannot get over how lucky I am to have all of you! Every day or so I sit down and ramble about random happenings in my life and you all still continue to come back and leave wonderful comments on my page!

Now on to the award stuff.......

Rule #1: List 7 facts about yourself

1) I live by my daily planner! I have briefly mentioned before that I like to have everything planned- and I really do mean everything!

2) Dance was my hobby throughout my entire childhood. I was in dance classes, on competition teams and went to numerous recitals for over 1o years of my life! I now miss it very much.......

3) I am addicted to caffeine- in the form of coffee and iced tea (not sodas!).... I have to have a cup of either every morning to start my day. I still havent determined how I will cut this addiction if I ever get preggers :(

4) I am one of the few people that actually LOVES their job! I havent talked about my job before on this blog, but I work in a dentist's office. I originally started the job because of the shorter hours and flexibility (this was after leaving my fast paced career at Nordstrom). Little did I know that it would turn into the perfect fit for me! I work with the most amazing people and in them I have found a 2nd family!

5) I still get scared of the dark. Any time Husband is not home at night I have to fall asleep with the tv or some kind of light on- and I hardly get any sleep because I worry about every little sound that I hear.

6) I love everything that is pink! It is my favorite color and really shows that I am definitely a "girly-girl"

7) I AM NOT a fan of chocolate! (I can hear all of you gasping when you read this one!) I am Team Vanilla all the way!! Husband knows better than to ever surprise me with a box of chocolates- instead he should bring me some Cookies N Cream or Butterfinger ice cream!

Rule #2: Nominate new blogs that you love!

This part was really too hard for me- I mean how do I choose?? So instead of picking just a couple.......I have chosen everyone on my must read list! Please go to my side bar for a list of all my favorite blogs and if you come across one you haven't seen before- Click On It!!

Again, thank you for all the support!!

-- Cait

Sick, Sick, Sick

2010-07-07T16:16:00.005-05:00

Ugh! I am a hot mess right now! My throat feels like its on fire, I'm all ache-y, and very, very tired. All of this started yesterday, right before Husband and I were supposed to have a fun day at the waterpark today :( Now instead of the enjoying the fun day I had planned, I am cooped up in the house catching up on these:

Husband has done a somewhat decent job of trying to take care of me today (but I think he is still secretly pouting that I ruined our day together)

I am very sorry to say I do not have an exciting post planned for today- feeling like this, the most exciting part of my day today is going to be when Husband and I make an ice cream run this evening. For the time being, I am pretty much a couch potato!

Hope you all are having a better Wednesday than I am!

--Cait

One Month Later and Top 2 Tuesday!

2010-07-05T17:48:00.005-05:00

This weeks Top 2 Tuesday is..........

Top 2 Favorite Purchases Made This Year!

You would think with all the shopping I do this would be really easy or that I would be able to come up with too many to list, but I am actually struggling with this one. As I sit here trying to rack my brain for 2 items to post about, I have realized that I have not shopped enough this year! (shocking, I know) I was trying to think of 2 big purchases that we have made this year and I am completely drawing a blank! Everything that I can think of that I love was purchased last year! Do you think I could use this as an excuse to persuade Husband to let me do some more shopping??

With that being said, here are my top 2 (bear with me, one is a little cheesy and the other I haven't even received yet!)

1) Husband's College Degree

Yes, a degree is a 4 year (or longer) process, but this spring Husband finished his final semester of school for his Bachelors of Business- Marketing degree. I am so relieved that with a lot of hard savings we were able to get all of his schooling completely paid off! It is such a huge weight off of our shoulders to know that we no longer have to worry about this extra expense (especially if we end up having a baby on the way soon!).

2) My 2nd top pick is an item that I haven't even received yet (I actually just bought it today!), but I already know it will be my favorite purchase of the year!........

I wish I could take credit for this wonderful idea, but I actually stole it from a fellow blogger, Ashley at For The Love of Shoes and a Baby Too. She had posted pictures of her wearing a similar necklace to all doctors appointments and I fell in love with the idea! I had been wanting to find something as a token of our journey and when I found this necklace I knew it was perfect! I am hoping it arrives soon since I have quite a few doctors appointments lined up over the next several weeks and I would love to have it as we begin treatment with injectionables.

On a seperate note, I would like to send out a big THANK YOU to all of my followers for all of your support so far! I cannot believe that only a month ago I started this blog with hopes of venting some of our frustrations and other emotions while enduring this long journey towards Baby Hill. All of your positive feedback and kind words continue to astound me every day and I am so grateful for all of you! It has been so encouraging to read stories of other people who have experienced very similar journeys and have come out on the other side! While Husband and I may still not have the news we are wanting, we know it will happen for us soon and we have all of you to thank for reminding us of that.

I look forward to what the next however many months will bring- and am very anxious to get to the big 5-0 for followers (hint, hint!) :)

--Cait

Happy 4th Everyone!

2010-07-04T17:57:00.007-05:00

Whoa! I have been a bad blogger lately (which I am very sorry for!), but in my defense, I was trying to enjoy a long holiday weekend with Husband before he begins working weekends once again :(

To celebrate our last weekend together (for a while at least), Husband and I planned a "fun date day" yesterday. We started off our morning with a wonderful brunch at a restaurant we had been dying to try for a while now (and by "we" I really mean "I"). Husband is usually NOT a fan of brunch, but it was so nice to enjoy some coffee, pastries, and other delicious foods together on a Saturday morning- instead of what we normally do: sleep in until the dogs wake us up.

Brunch was followed by some shopping (of course) and then we were headed off to the zoo!! Before we left the house, though, I had Husband take a picture of me in my "safari shorts" as I kept calling them:

The Dallas Zoo!

How Cute!

Today was a lazy holiday for us- Husband requested that we have a more relaxing day- so we enjoyed taking the dogs out to play frisbee, going on a long walk, and being lazy on the couch.

Hope everyone is enjoying a long weekend as well!!

--Cait

Look at what came in the mail......

2010-06-30T13:35:00.007-05:00

Yes, that's right, I have now become our own version of a home science project! A package was delivered today with all sorts of needles, vials, etc that we will need while I am taking hormone injections. I am unable to start these injections for another week or two, but am very anxious and nervous to begin!

I actually laughed out loud a little when I opened everything because all of this still seems so surreal to me. A year ago I would have never imagined I would be standing in my kitchen opening all kinds of needles and medications just to try to do one of the most natural things a person can do- have a baby! But, as I told my mother in law today, one thing is for sure: there will be plenty of stories to share with this kid whenever he/she decides to finally arrive!

And of course, I could not resist taking several pictures to share with you guys!

Here is the "cute" carrying case to store some of the stuff:

And this was by far my favorite part- our very own hazard box!!

--Cait

Top 2 Tuesday!

2010-06-28T20:10:00.005-05:00

This week's Top 2 Tuesday theme at The Undomestic Momma is..........Deserted Island! 2 things (not people, thats cheating!) you would take with you to a deserted island- and mine are.......

1) Kindle!

You guys read about my Kindle obsession not too long ago on a previous Top 2 Tuesday, so I will not bore you with another post about how much I love my Kindle (but in case you didnt read that previous post, I LOVE MY KINDLE!!!)

2) I had a hard time with picking one more item (since I obviously wouldn't be able to take a mall with me- wait Taylor, would that be cheating?? :)) so I let Husband pick the 2nd item- since he knows me better than I know myself sometimes. So Husband said my 2nd item would be........

Popcorn!

I do LOVE popcorn too- I eat it a lot! Husband likes to make fun of me too because when I eat popcorn I always have to lick the butter off the bag, too- I know, gross, but at the same time its sooooo good!

Now, I did ask Husband how he expected me to be able to cook popcorn on an island- and he said that the island would be hot enough that I can just leave a bag out in the sun :)

Now normally, I try to combine Top 2 Tuesday with a post about something else as well, but to be completely honest- I am beat! So my bed is calling my name right about......now!!!

--Cait

Me and My Daddy :)

2010-06-27T18:11:00.007-05:00

This weekend Husband and I were able to enjoy some great family time with both his parents and some of mine (a very rare event)! In honor of my dad's visit (and Father's Day being last week), I thought I would devote this post to him and let you know a little about my daddy.....

My parents divorced when I was very young (just 1 year old) so spending time with my dad was always a special treat- since I did not get to see him every day. In the beginning, I lived close to my dad so I was able to see him every couple of weekends and I was young enough that I dont think it was as hard on me. Several years later, though, my mom and I made the move from California to Texas and spending time with my dad became much more of a challenge. I was limited to seeing him around school breaks since we were not as close anymore- and anytime I went to visit I had to fly (which can get quite expensive). Over the years and my many travels back and forth, I learned how amazing my dad truly is! At a time when he could have backed down because of how "hard" it was, my dad stepped up: keeping in constant contact with me, always wanting to know how school was going, and buying me a plane ticket anytime I wanted to come see him. He continued to support me throughout college and helped me "get on my feet" when I was ready to finally get my own place. He has always supported EVERY decision I make and has given me nothing but unconditional love- and I could not ask for a more supportive or understanding dad. I will admit there were times that I hated life because I did not have my parents together like other kids in school and there were times when I would feel like my heart was breaking whenever I would get back on that plane to fly home after visiting my dad, but I now know that all of that sadness and hurt just made me appreciate my dad even more! I can only hope that Baby Hill loves his/her dad as much as I love mine!

Here are a couple of pictures of me and my daddy years ago.....

And now present day:

And some other pictures from this weekend........

Husband's mom, me and my stepmom:

My baby brother, Christopher and me:

Husband and me:

Husband and I are constantly reminded of how blessed we are to have such wonderful families!! This weekend was absolutely perfect for both of us!

Hope you all had a great weekend too!

--Cait

Doctor's Appointment :)

2010-06-25T14:37:00.003-05:00

This morning the moment I have been anxiously awaiting was finally here: I was able to meet with Dr Ku again and I am so excited to say that Husband and I can finally begin treatment! After discussing different options, we were able to formulate a "game plan" for the next several weeks that will go something like this.......

First, I get to start the progesterone pills- again. Once I have completed those, I will go in for an ultrasound to make sure everything looks ok to move forward with treatment. As long as everything looks normal, I will begin another cycle of Clomid. Since Clomid alone has not worked in the past, I will be taking hormone shots as well at the same time. Then after both the Clomid and shots, I will go back in for another ultrasound- and this time they will see if there are eggs ready to be released. After that.....we say a lot of prayers that everything works!

Of all the options we discussed, we chose this because while I may be desperate for Baby Hill, I am not desperate for 10 Baby Hills- no octomom here! So this is a big step forward for us, but at the same time we have chosen a "conservative" option. (This is probably the time where I should point out that everyone is different- this plan may not be the most logical for others. I use the word conservative lightly because while this seems like a more safe route to take, I would never judge other people's decisions to pursue more aggressive treatment- and it is very possible that I could end up pursuing other options as well. I know that some people may read this that have chosen different paths, and to that I say "great! whatever works best for you!")

So, Husband and I are looking forward to what may come of the next couple of weeks! It feels so good to know that we are finally moving forward (rather than standing at a standstill while we complete all kinds of tests). I am also anxious to share everything with all of you along the way!

Now, I have put cleaning the house off long enough- I think its about time to actually go do it! My dad is coming to visit for the weekend and I am so happy I have some good news to share with him :)

Happy Weekend!

--Cait