Unbelievable...second post of the day

I just had to post this. I was driving to church when at a house I passed, there was a Christmas tree.

Yes, you read right....a Christmas tree.

I thought maybe I was hallucinating so I asked my parents about it. Sure enough, it is indeed a Christmas tree and has been up for a couple weeks, all lit up and everything.

I'm speechless.

Stupid AF

I was really, really hoping that I wouldn't be one of those women who didn't get AF after stopping the BCPs, but I wasn't. She showed. But, on a good note, I do know things are on track and normal, so I guess I can't complain too much. Luckily, Cramping and Bloating decided not to make the trip this time...yeah! But, if you ask Mark, Crabby made a strong appearance this time. Oops...poor Mark. :(

I am now on day 8 of Lupron. On day 10 of Lupron, which will be Tuesday, I have an estradiol level drawn and an ultrasound to see how my ovaries are doing. Both Mark and I are excited to see our potential babies again. If we're this excited to see a bunch of follicles, can you imagine how we're going to be when I'm actually pregnant? :) We are such dorks.

Next Friday, we start the stimulation medications. I can't believe it's almost here already! Whoa!! Then, on Sunday, 10/05, I have another estradiol level drawn. Normally they don't draw that again but because my FSH was a little high, they want to. Then, on 10/07 we have another estradiol level drawn and an ultrasound. Then, on 10/09, another estradiol and ultrasound. From there, we see how my follies are growing to see what the next step is.

I wanted to give everyone an update as to what was going on and our next appointments.

Here is some encouragement I got from my friend, Choco, which I thought was pretty cool:

When the world says 'give up',
Hope whispers 'try one more time'

Hope you're all having a wonderful weekend!!

I'm done with the BCPs!!!

Yay!! Thank goodness! I did not like those things at all and I'm so glad to be done with them!

My daily dates with Lupron are going really well. Mark has been giving me my shots and he's done so well. He's so gentle and does such a wonderful job. There was 1 day that he had an insulin reaction and was kind of out of it. I ended up having to give myself the shot. It really went well and wasn't too bad. However, as long as Mark can give it to me, I'm all up for that. :) He did feel horrible that he wasn't there to give me my shot, but it all ended up good. :)

I've been doing acupuncture and have had 4 treatments so far. That's going really well. I'm not as tired as I used to be. I find I'm sleeping much better and I find that I'm not as emotional as I have been. All are contributed to the acupuncture. I'm really glad I started it.

I talked to my acupuncturist/chiropractor yesterday. She's so awesome. I'm so blessed to have found a Christian one who really cares about patients and isn't just in it for the money. She was very encouraging yesterday. I was telling her how I was praying so much that this will work. She said it'll help to pray for the blessings that we will have babies. No matter what, through this, Mark and I will have babies....we will be parents! God will provide us with babies. Some will go to heaven and it'll be hard, but we'll see them again. Hopefully 1 or 2....maybe 3 (whoa!)....will stay here with us and what a joyous day that will be.

That talk with her really helped. We are so blessed.

Thank you God for:
1. Giving us our babies.
2. Giving us this opportunity to be able to become parents.
3. Making this a "joint" effort by letting Mark give me my shots and making him feel more involved.
4. Giving us time to be together and have a great time. Our drives are so long, but we spend so much time together and laugh a lot. This is time Mark would otherwise be sleeping at home and not spending together.
5. Providing for us financially. Money has always been there for us.
6. Loving us and showing us we're not alone through this.

My observant husband

Last night while we were eating, he points to his lip:

Mark: You've got something right here.

Tammy (goes to look in a mirror and comes back): Ah, that's something called a birthmark. I've had it for 32 years now.

Mark: No, that's not a birthmark!

Tammy: Yeah, it totally is! Look!

Mark (looks): Oh, yeah, I guess it is. Funny I never noticed that before.

Okay, seriously??? After 7 years of marriage??? Thanks honey.

He also told me last night that I act just like someone and he started laughing when I asked him who:

"You know that lady on the progressi.ve.com commercials where she's like pointing up in the sky and she's like 'surprise! let's bag these up!' and 'or a tripped out nametag'".

I don't think I'll comment on that. Not even sure what to say....not exactly the person I want to be compared with.

I've been tagged: 5 Ways Blogging Has Affected Me

I've been tagged by Trace .

The Rules:
1. Write about 5 specific ways blogging has affected you, either positively or negatively.
2. link back to the person who tagged you
3. link back to this parent post
4. tag a few friends or five, or none at all
5. post these rules— or just have fun breaking them

FIVE WAYS BLOGGING HAS AFFECTED ME:
1. I started blogging over a year ago to talk about our struggles with infertility. Through blogging I've realized I'm not alone. Infertility is the most lonely thing. You watch your friends, family, strangers get pregnant on their first try and every stick you pee on, every temp you take, you feel so alone and like you're the only one in the world who has to go through it. Through blogging, I've realized I'm not alone and that there are people who truly understand.

2. I've made so many friends through blogging. It's been amazing to me. Many friends whom I never would have met if it hadn't been for blogging. These friends understand me and know me better than my own family and I talk to them sometimes more than my own family. Even though I've never met them in person, I care about them like my sisters.

3. Blogging is a way to get out my feelings and it's like a personal diary. I can vent and say anything I want. A great therapy for me.

4. I have met a lot of Christian ladies, too, that I otherwise wouldn't have met. Some of their blogs have such powerful messages and I learn so much just by reading their blog. I've met one friend who has dealt with infertility and also has a husband named Mark who has had a transplant....pretty cool, huh? :) I have met wonderful friends who have sick husbands who have helped me and I hope I have helped them by being there for each other in tough times.

5. I wouldn't have had the strength to go through all this alone and learn what I have. I don't know if I could've gone through this without your help and blogging has helped give me that strength. You guys give me so much strength and encouragment. Thanks guys!

I tag: Michell, Michelle, The Milk Maid, Redsoxfan, Montana's Mommy, Faith, Meg and Kris, Amy and Sharon, Cindy, Rachel, Kathryn and Heather, Steph.

Okay, so I went a little overboard on the tagging....oops. You guys don't have to do it if you don't want to. I would just love to hear how blogging has affected you. It was fun for me to think about it. :)

Anyone else who wants to do, I'd love it! :)

My first shot of Lupron

Well, this could be interesting. I guess it's true....a picture is worth 1000 words:



Ouch, huh? I really feel sorry for that person.

Yeah, that's right...that's not me. Did I fool anyone? :)

Actually, it went great. I hardly felt it at all. Yeah, it stung a little and burned going in but it went very well. Mark was such a trooper and was so careful. He was so afraid of hurting me so he was so gentle. His eyes are really bad so he had trouble seeing the needle. He had the needle right against my skin and it was poking me. After a little while, he asked if I was ready for him to go in. I didn't have the heart to tell him it had been poking me for a while.

It went very well...I was surprised. I actually felt like a tough chick afterwards and ready to go for it again tomorrow. :)

Hope you're all having a wonderful weekend!!

Pictures of my meds

First of all, I want to share a couple funny Peyton stories. She is so cute and so funny sometimes.

I was helping her get dressed and I let out a silent fart. Yes, I do that. It's my nature. I could smell it but was hoping it would go past Peyton. No such luck. She announces to Mark, "Tammy smells like poop!"

Thanks sweetie.

Then, all day yesterday I would tell her how cute she is or how irrestible she is. I always do that. It's hard not to. Anyway, I would tell her "You're so cute!" to which she would respond in a very loud voice, almost yelling, "I'M PEYTON!". I would simply nodd and apologize for the error.

I love her so much. :)

Peyton was there when the meds came so she got to be in some pictures which I loved. Tyler came a few hours later. Here are pictures of the meds:

Peyton with the box

The display of meds and syringes

All the meds and syringes

Some of the meds had to be refrigerated so it came in a package with ice packs to be put in the refrigerator upon arrival. Peyton loved the ice packs and thought they were toys. Her favorite part was walking on them.

Tyler's favorite part was putting them on his face and head

Here they are both standing on the ice packs

Now being a responsible aunt, you would think, I would put a stop to the playing....but of course not. Instead, I came up with a game:

Throwing the ice packs into a basket. It was fun until one broke open and gel came out so we threw them away. Tyler couldn't understand. I told him I didn't want him playing with them anymore in case there was some poisonous gas or something in it. Of course Tyler wanted to know what poisonous gas was. Mark came to the rescue with this answer "You know, like Tammy's farts!"

I think Peyton can testify to that.

Nurse consult

We had our nurse consult yesterday. It was pretty overwhelming learning about all the medications and stuff. They went over a little bit more about the retrieval and transfer and said they will go over that a little more as time goes on. They have a nice little calendar book with the dates and medication dosages so it’s actually really easy. I think they had me in mind when they made that. I think once we get going on the medications, I’ll be okay, but the thought was kind of freaking me out yesterday. We start the Lupron on Sunday! That’s 2 days away! All my medications will be coming today so I’ll be sure to take a picture when they come.

I did make a fool out of myself yesterday. It wouldn’t be a day without making a fool out of myself. We were talking about freezing the embryos and she said she had to hold a credit card for the amount when/if we had embryos to freeze. She asked if we didn’t have any to freeze if we wanted her to shred it.

Me, being the blonde I am, said “Well, I think we’ll want it back and not shred because we’ll probably need it.”

The finance lady smiles. You can tell she’s trying not to laugh. Meanwhile, Mark is shaking his head. Immediately I realize the mistake I’ve made and just said with a beet-red face, “Aw, shredding would be good.” We all start laughing and the finance lady says I was cute…aw, thanks. I told her that I was never going to live this down and the whole family was going to hear about this. I’m sure the whole office had a good laugh when we left.

I’ll be sure post a picture when we get the medications! I can’t believe this is happening!

This weekend I will be getting caught up on blogs. I apologize as I haven’t been there like I want to be. I hope everyone is doing okay!

Fun pictures :)

We baby-sit Peyton on Fridays. I have my desk and she has hers. :) It's so cute and she's so good.

Peyton on the potty. She was sitting there and then asked for a book because she said it'll be awhile. :)

Mark and Peyton. I love this picture

Tyler making juice at our house. He loves doing it and it's his job...no one else's. :)

Tyler and me

I wanted to apologize if I haven't been as talkative in e-mails or blogs like I usually am. These BCPs are making me very emotional and just not myself. Not that I'm overally depressed or suicidal by any means...just not myself and just feeling down. I have heard that for some women, they had problems with the BCPs and not the stims, so I'm hoping that's me. I'll be fine...I always am, just not quite myself and just hanging low I guess.

On top of the BCPs, Mark's been having more trouble with his blood sugars and has been having a lot more insulin reactions, mostly at night, so I haven't been sleeping the best. And, my neck has been out so I've been waking up with headaches. Yesterday it was so bad that I was throwing up and had a really bad headache. Tomorrow I get adjusted so hopefully that'll help. :)

So, don't give up on me. :) Hopefully soon I'll be back to my old self! This process is really tough...tougher than anyone will ever know unless you've been through it.

Saline sonogram and trial transfer

Yesterday we had our saline sonogram and trial transfer. It was so simple and took about 5 minutes. It was just a long Pap smear. The first was a trial transfer to see how easy the catheter went through my cervix and it went very easy, no problems at all. Then they did the saline sonogram to check out my uterus and ovaries. Everything looked great and the doctor said all my parts looked wonderful. There were 9 follicles on my left side and 8 on my right side which he said was a great number.

The only concerning part was that my CD3 FSH blood work was a little high. This means that I might not respond as well to the fertility meds. However, with the amount of follicles I already have, he's not too concerned about it and thinks it'll be okay. I pointed out about the Clomid and how the Clomid seemed to produce bowling balls and he agreed that it shouldn't be a problem. I sure hope he's right.

Thursday is the nurse consult when we find out the medication protocol. We did watch our DVD explaining the shots and it made me nervous all over again. I sure hope this all goes okay.

I have to tell you this story. During the appointment, Mark was pretty sick to his stomach. I could tell that he was ready to lose his cookies the whole time we were in the office. Sure enough, as soon as we got out to the car, he loses it. Right about where we had our frozen puke last winter. I asked him what he thought brought it on and this is what he said:

"I'm not sure. Maybe it was the mashed potatoes I had for lunch. But the minute I saw your uterus, I was about to lose it."

Thanks honey. He was teasing of course....just trying to make light of the situation.

Also on the whole home, I freaked him out:

Tammy: Do you realize that we just saw the first picture of our baby?

Mark (slight pause): Really?

Tammy: Yeah. Those follicles are the first step in our baby.

Mark (slight pause and face turning slightly white): Wow......

It was so funny to see his reaction. :)

I did also have my first round of acupuncture yesterday which went very well. I did hear from my wacky psychologist that we were forced to see that if you have acupuncture right before and after the transfer, it increases your chances by 50%. So, question here.....if I do that and my acupuncturist is 45 min away, with me supposed to be on bed rest after the transfer, how does that work? Am I allowed to drive that far and go through that or would I be better off not doing that and going straight home to bed?

Thanks so much guys. :)

Our psychology appointment

Thanks SO much to everyone for all your support and comments! It means the world to me! (((HUGS)))

Yesterday, we went to see a psychologist for the IVF process. It was mandatory and I was so unhappy that we even had to go. I've been seeing a therapist since we started dealing with infertility. Alot of people who see a therapist are often labeled "crazy" or "weird", but after seeing one myself, I've realized it more normal to be seeking help and that everyone needs help once in awhile. I don't know what I'd do without my therapist.

Anyway, getting off track here. :) I was annoyed that we had to go and it seemed like a waste of our time...and it was. We had to drive over an hour on a Saturday. It was raining and all I wanted to do was cuddle up with a good book and blanket at home. I was pretty crabby, but Mark and I had a good time on the way there. He sure can make me laugh. I do enjoy the car trips as it gives us more time together and more laughs. Otherwise, he would be sleeping at home, so this way we get to spend more time together.

Basically the psychologist went over our history and asked about our likes and dislikes and stuff. She asked all the basic questions and asked about our families. Then, she asked about how we're going to tell the child about about he/she was brought into this world. Well, apparently we didn't say all the right things because she was very opinionated about a few things. She kept bringing her own experiences into it. I left feeling like a horrible mother already and when you leave a therapist's office, you're supposed to leave feeling better, not worse, right?

Before we left, she also gave us brochures on some of her retreats and classes she offers. I kind of felt like we were being pushed into it even though she kept saying it was our choice and if we needed the support, she was just throwing it out there. But Mark and I both agreed she was a little pushy. At one point when she said we might have enough support, I said, "Yeah, I've got a lot of support, my family, friends, online support and my therapist is always right there. I've got her home phone number, work number, cell number, pager number, work e-mail address, home e-mail address. I see her sister for chiropractor and acupuncture and her husband is my husband's doctor so in a pinch, he can always get sick and go into the hospital and I can get a hold of her that way."

She just nodded and told me that was great. I think she was a little disappointed, though. :)

Anyway, yes, a waste of our time and now, I feel like a bad mother already....but that's where MY therapist comes in and I'll be talking to her about it at the next appointment. :)

I'm crossing this off and moving onto Monday when we do the sonogram. This is one step closer to our peanut. :)

Very emotional....

...and I'm not even on the stim meds yet. :( I just don't know what's wrong with me. Well, actually I do. There are some things that I've been thinking a lot about and it's getting me down.

I don't want to get too personal here. It is my blog, but it's also public so I don't want TMI here. To be very general, one thing that is getting me down is the fact that Mark and I can't have a baby the way "normal" couples do. We have to drive 100s of miles for a "chance" and pay 1000s of dollars for a "chance" while other couples can do it for free, in the privacy of their own home and out of love. We don't have that luxury and it's been really getting to me lately...making me very emotional.

Then, in the last couple days, I've heard of 2 pregnancies of family and friends. I'm very happy for them, but of course, it brings the feelings of failure and low self-esteem for myself. As happy as I am for them, it makes me wonder when my time will be. Why can't I just get pregnant? Why can't it be easy?

Then, when I was picking up Tyler this afternoon from kindergarten, I had 2 people ask me if I was picking up my child and which one it was. The painful response of "I don't have a child here. Tyler's my nephew." hurt more than it ever has before today. Isn't there an unwritten rule that you just never ask about children and rather just who they are picking up?? There should be.

Then, Mark's son, Chad, called today and I gave Mark the phone and went into the other room. About a minute later, I heard things dropping. I thought it was Tyler so I went out to see and here Mark was in an insulin reaction in the kitchen, having seizure activity and dropping the phone. Luckily, Tyler hadn't seen him, but when he saw me over Mark, he realized something was going on and started to get scared and was worried about Mark. I had given Mark 2 extra units at lunch because his sugars have been so high at supper. So, I felt so bad he went low, felt very responsible and plus I feel horrible that I didn't even realize he was low when I handed him the phone. What kind of person am I? I put both Tyler and Chad in a situation where they were scared. I feel like the worst aunt, wife and stepmom.

I just don't know how to make myself feel better. The main thing is the fact that we can't make a baby the way God intended, in our bedroom and out of love. The other things are just "icing on the cake". For those who are in my situation, please give me advice on how to get through this.

I do realize how lucky I am and how grateful I am to have Mark. Nothing we're going through is his fault and his support is wonderful and I'm very grateful for him. We have gotten closer and we have a stronger marriage because of what we've been through. I try to focus on that, but it's so hard. I've read over past positive blog posts which usually help, but it just doesn't right now. All I want to do is cry.

And, the stim meds haven't started...yikes. We're really in for it, aren't we? :( I am on the birth control....would that make me more emotional?

Thanks for listening guys. :)

Some baby stuff we got :)

Remember awhile ago when I was talking about the store that had a bunch of Prec.ious Mom.ents stuff and I had almost strangled that one lady? Well, Mark and I went into the store the other day. He said I could buy whatever I wanted....I was in seventh heaven. :) He said he couldn't say no to the glow in my face....awwwww. :)

I grabbed some stuff and we went up to the counter. I was kind of bumming that it wasn't the same cashier as she would've seen me with my "old" hubby and that would've shut her mouth. :) Oh, well....it was another lady. We had bought some girl and boy things because we obviously don't know if we'd ever have a boy or girl and figured we could just give the others away if we wanted.

So, she was ringing up the purchases and said "So, is someone expecting twins?" with a big smile.

Not really wanting to get into the whole story, I just simply smiled and said "I really love Prec.ious Mom.ents".

She said, "Aww, that's nice". I was so grateful she didn't say anything more.

Of course, Mark can't keep his mouth shut and says "Well, we might be expecting twins!"

The lady's eyes go wide, but you can tell she just doesn't know what to say. So, I hurry up, sign the credit card slip and we hurry out the door. I look at Mark right when we get out "Really? You just HAD to say that?"

Mark says "Well, yeah! We might be having twins...maybe not...maybe triplets! We don't know, now do we? I just had to say something!"

He can be so funny.

Anyway, here are some pictures of things we got:



Hooded towels, both boys and girls

Boys and girls sippy cups, a rattle and spoons

Boys and girls sleeping suits

Shot training

I gotta first tell you guys a cute Tyler story. I have an "IVF folder" where I keep all my IVF info in it. On the front, I have pictures of Tyler, Peyton and Adelaide and some cute pictures they made for me as inspiration. Tyler had seen the book.

Tyler: What's my picture doing on there?

Tammy: That's for strength for me.

Tyler: What's strength?

Tammy: Well, you know how Mark and I are trying to have a baby?

Tyler: Yeah?

Tammy: Well, sometimes it gets really hard. We have to go through a lot to get a baby and it can be really tough on us. So, I look at the picture of you and I know that I would go through all our pain and tough times for you and I know I can do this and go through all this stuff for our baby because of you. I look at your picture and it helps me to keep going to try and get our baby.

Tyler: You get all that from one little picture?

He's soooo cute. :)

Shot training went well today. It wasn't too bad. The nurse did hands-on training with us and another couple. She showed us 5 different shots we'd have to do:

1. Lupron: Stimulation and prevent untimely ovulation. This was drawn up just like the insulin shots I give Mark every day so I'm thinking Piece of cake...no problem...I can do this!!

2. Menopur: Stimulation. This has 2 vials that has to be mixed. It's just like the glucagon shots I have to give Mark when his sugar goes really low. Sweet! Piece of cake....no problem!

At this point, Mark and I are looking at each other thinking this isn't going to be so bad.

3. Follistim: Stimulation. This is a pen that involves just dialing up the units and injecting. For a "normal" person, this would probably be the easiest of the shots, but I wasn't used to it and liked the Lupron and Menopur more. For some reason, I had more trouble with this one than the other 2, but I'm sure it'll be fine. The other couple had no problems at all, even had to help me a little, and asked "Why can't all the shots be like this and so easy?"....show offs :)

4. HCG: This has to be given 36 hours before retrieval to initiate ovulation process. I didn't pay too much attention to the nurse explaining this one. It has to be intramuscularly and all I could focus on was the HUGE needle. I've had the HCG shot before, but our clinic's nurses were kind enough to do it for me and I would just lay on the bed and they would do it for me so I never saw the needle. However, when this nurse showed us the needle, both Mark's and my eyes were popping out of our heads. I said "That's one BIG needle!" The other female in the class also nodded. And the nurse, being very supportive (big use of sarcasm there) said "Actually, this isn't that big....they are actually much bigger. We just use this for training." Thanks for the encouragement.

5. Progesterone in oil: This is to be given after the transfer to support pregnancy. Just like the HCG, this was a huge needle and has to be intramuscularly. I once again pointed out that this is a huge needle to which the nurse just nodded. I'm sure I'm getting a big red flag in my chart "Annoying!!" :)

During stimulation, there will be up to 4 shots a day...and the worst part is, I can't complain about it to Mark because that's how many he gets.....sigh. Mark has agreed to help me with giving the shots. I'm going to be mixing it up and drawing them up but he's going to assist in giving them to me...thank goodness. He is nervous about hurting me, but I'd much rather him do it than me. :)

Today is CD3 and I start my BCPs (birth control pills). I will be on these for 3 weeks.

Hope everyone is having a great day! :)

Chad and Peter's birthday party

Today we celebrated Chad and Peter's birthdays. Chad turns 20 tomorrow (yikes!!) and Peter turns 17 on September 19. Peter did get his driver's license this last Tuesday! He's very excited.

Here are a few pictures:


Chad and Peter with their brithday cake. I remember when they could barely hold onto the cake and I was so worried they were going to drop it.....they're getting so old!

This is Peter opening up his presents. I thought it was so cute that Tyler and Peyton had to grab chairs and sit right in front of Peter and watch him. :)

The four of us. This will probably be our Christmas picture. However, we were informed that the shirt Chad is wearing is from a strip club....found that out later tonight. So, I'm not so sure about handing out Christmas cards with a strip club plastered all over it. :)

Hope you all had a fabulous weekend! :)

CD1!!!

That's the last time you'll see an exclamation point by CD1. :) AF was teasing me yesterday, poking her head in the window but not coming in. Today, she's here, annoying as ever. Once again she brought along my cousins, Cramping and Bloating and of course we can't forget Fatigue. Fatigue is extremely annoying this month.....like "go-to-bed-before-I-fall-over".

But, it's all good as now things officially get going! I start BCPs on Monday along with my CD3 labs. I also have my wonderful shot class on Monday.

Wow....this is really happening. :)

M.D. conference

First of all, I want to apologize if the IVF posts get a little boring. I want to mostly jot down things and keep them together so it might get a little boring with stats and stuff....but I'll try to spice things up. :)

One good thing about this trip down was there was no frozen puke! We were super excited about that! To read about that story, go here: http://twondra.blogspot.com/2007/11/appointment-and-wild-couple-days.html

So, anyway, when we first went into the doctor's office, I thought we were in for it. We all sit down and he's looking over my chart and it's a little quiet. So, to break the ice, I say "So, we've decided to take the plunge!". He looks over at me over his glasses and just gives me a little grin and goes back to my chart. Mark smacks me on the leg and just shakes his head. I just shrug.

The doctor must think I'm an idiot....oh, well. At least he gets to know the real me.

Anyway, we talked a lot about the process and what to expect. Oddly enough, it didn't overwhelm me at all. Usually things like this get me all nervous and flustered, but I am super calm about this which makes me nervous because it's soooo unlike me. :) But, it makes me feel good that I'm so calm. He described the process and what to expect. Most of it I knew from talking to others.

Here are a few things we talked about:
1. There is a 10% chance we will not be able to go through with the cycle, either because there aren't enough follies or too much (in the case of OHSS where I'm overstimulated). But, there is a 90% chance everything will go okay.
2. The goal is to get 10-12 follies.
3. We talked about transferring 1 or 2 embryos and the advantages and disadvantages of both scenarios. Mark and I had already talked about this before and we have decided to transfer 2 no matter what. The chances are higher for twins but we'll cross that bridge if it comes to that. We want our best chances and God knows the outcome already anyway.
4. With IVF, there is a slightly higher risk for birth defects and risks in pregnancy. The risk for "normal" pregnancies is 2% and the risk for IVF is 4%, so it's really low and Mark and I aren't too concerned about that.

That's mostly what we talked about. Next, we wait for me to get AF, which should be tomorrow....she better not be late. :) Then, we have our shot training class on Monday.

Thanks again for all the support you guys! It means a lot!! (((HUGS)))

Tyler's first day of kindergarten

It was a sad day for our family....well, sad in some ways. :) Tyler had his first day of kindergarten. That was so emotional. I can't believe how old he's getting. It was very evident this little boy has grown up. When I gave him a kiss on his cheek and told him to have fun, he wipes it off and says "yeah, yeah, yeah".

Sigh.....why can't kids just stay young and cute? :)

Here are a few pictures of his first day:


Tyler and Peyton. Peyton wanted to go to school, too, so she had her bag also. :)

Tyler and Peyton with the proud parents

Tyler and Peyton with the proud grandparents

Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of him getting on the bus. I was too busy videotaping him and forgot to actually get a picture....duh....but at least I have it on videotape. :)

Hot and bright

This morning Mark wakes up to the sun shining in our bedroom:

Mark: Wow. Is that sun hot and bright!

Tammy: What did you say? Tammy is hot and bright?

Mark slowly nodds and pats my shoulder: Yeah, you just keep thinking that, Tammy.

Hope you all have a great Labor day!