Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Week 14


How Far Along:  14 Weeks

Size of Babies: The Babies are the size of a lemon and weigh approximately 1.5 ounces each

Total Weight Gain: +1 lb [as of my appointment last week]

Maternity Clothes: 2 weeks ago I ordered maternity jeans, along with some tops and dresses, from Gap.com because everything was 40% off with free shipping. The clothes arrived last week and I tried the jeans on and have been wearing them ever since.  I've only been wearing the jeans so far because it's not quite time to break out the other pieces.  The jeans are SO comfortable. I've also purchased a few items from Motherhood Maternity and Target's Liz Lange Maternity line.

Gender: We don't know yet, but I'm guessing it's a boy and a girl!

Movement: I've seen them move on ultrasounds, but I can't feel them yet

Sleep:  Interrupted nightly for multiple potty breaks and mild discomfort

What I Miss: Diet Dr. Pepper and wine :)

Cravings: Pepsi & chocolate chip cookies

Symptoms:  Mainly nausea if I don't eat frequently enough and fatigue

Best Moment(s) So Far:  Getting the cribs set up [it's early, I know], shopping for maternity clothes,  and receiving Christmas gifts for the babies [Baby's 1st Christmas ornaments and a Fisher Price Little People nativity set].

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Crying

I mentioned in my 12 week update that I would post about a crying story...it goes as follows:

One of my friends who is a worship leader at my church, Julie, asked Tom and I to help her lead worship on Sunday, December 11.  She is an extremely talented musician and I always love singing with her.  Around 7am on the morning of the 11th, myself along with several other vocalists and the rest of the worship band began rehearsing.  We rehearsed a combination of worship songs and traditional Christmas songs.  One of the Christmas songs Julie chose was "Away in a Manger."  She had asked that I begin the song by singing the first verse as a solo.  "Sure thing," I told her.

We got to the point in rehearsal where it was time to practice "Away in a Manger."  Julie said she would probably say a prayer before the song, then I would come in after the intro.  The band proceeded to play the intro and I attempted to sing the first verse.  But I couldn't get it out.  I got all out of breath and started tearing up and my voice got really wobbly.  I stopped and apologized to Julie.  She looked at me and another friend/fellow singer, Suzy, looked at  me and they both started to realize why I was getting emotional.  

Julie asked me if I wanted to share my news with the whole worship team so they would be clued in on why I was emotional and I told her to go ahead and share since I was clearly unstable.  So, Julie shared with the team and I turned around and made eye contact with Tom, who was playing bass behind me.  He had this befuddled look on his face. He couldn't figure out what was wrong with me and why in the world I'd be crying.  [Later, after rehearsal, he said, "What happened?? You didn't get this way when you rehearsed this song at home??"] After the post-announcement buzz died down, I looked at Julie and said, "Don't worry, I'll get it in the service."  Then she said, "Well, if you don't, just look at me or Karlie (her daughter) and we'll pick up where you can't."

As the 10:45am service began, I honestly thought I'd be okay when it came time for my verse of the song. But once again, after the intro began to play, my heart started thumping rapidly and emotion began to take over.  Julie started the song [because I think she knew I would lose it again] but then I came in too, so she dropped off and I continued to sing but I only got to the word "crib." Which as you know, is only the 6th word into the song.  "Away in a manger, no crib..."  I pulled the mic away from my mouth and Karlie and Julie took over.  And for the rest of the 3 verses of the song, tears continued to stream down my face.  I  just couldn't pull myself together.  So there I was, vulnerably standing on the stage of the sanctuary in front of everyone in the 10:45am worship service, weeping like a crazy lady.  

I was weeping tender tears of joy out of praise and thanksgiving.  I can't really even explain it in words.  Most people who know I'm pregnant probably just chalked it up to me being hormonal.  Those that don't know I'm pregnant probably thought something was wrong or that I was sad.  

Never before have I approached Christmas as a pregnant mommy-to-be. Carrying two precious lives inside of me struck a new chord with me as I really let myself think about "Away in a Manger" as a sweet lullaby about [baby] Jesus. My perspective is already changing as I have begun seeing the world through the eyes of  a mom.   I've also been thinking more and more about sweet young Mary carrying the son of God, now that I can identify with carrying a child[ren].  I can't even comprehend how she must have felt.

I just want to close with the words to the that sweet lullaby:

Away in a Manger

Away in a manger, no crib for a bed
The little Lord Jesus laid down His sweet head
The stars in the bright sky looked down where he lay
The little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay

The cattle are lowing, the poor baby wakes
But little Lord Jesus no crying He makes
I love Thee, Lord Jesus look down from the sky
And stay by my side 'til morning is nigh

Be near me, Lord Jesus, I ask Thee to stay
Close by me forever and love me I pray
Bless all the dear children in thy tender care
And take us to heaven to live with Thee there

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Weeks 11 & 12

Thursday, December 8, 2011, marked 11 weeks and 2 days, and our first appointment with Dr. Nightingale, our regular OB/GYN.  I absolutely LOVE her!  Dr. Nightingale performed a bedside ultrasound with a smaller, not-as-sophisticated-machine [compared to our fertility specialists' machines], so we didn't get any printed pictures.  The babies looked great.  One was being ornery and kicking the other one in the head.  Uh oh!

Today, Tuesday, December 13, 2011 marks my 12th week.  I am going to post periodic pregnancy highlights starting this week.

[Soon I will have a nicer camera and won't be using my iphone
camera for my tummy pics]

How Far Along:  12 Weeks

Size of Babies: The Babies are the size of a lime and weigh approximately half an ounce each

Total Weight Gain: No weight gain

Maternity Clothes: Not wearing maternity clothes yet, everything still fits except one pair of dress slacks that were snug on me prior to pregnancy

Gender: We don't know yet, but I'm guessing it's a boy and a girl!

Movement: I've seen them move on ultrasounds, but I can't feel them yet

Sleep:  Interrupted nightly for multiple potty breaks and mild discomfort

What I Miss: Diet Dr. Pepper and wine :)

Cravings: Breads, pastas, pretty much carbs in general, Chinese food, Papa Johns [which is weird bc it's usually one of my least favorite pizza places], Pepsi

Symptoms:  From the beginning I started having nausea, heartburn, acid reflux, major fatigue, and occasional headaches. [Please don't misconstrue this as complaining, I'm just documenting.] I'm starting to feel really good most of the time and my nausea has greatly decreased and now only shows up when I need to eat.  I get little 'hungry headaches' when my body tells me I need to eat, but they quickly go away after eating.  Learning to eat frequent smaller meals has helped me manage my nausea.  

Oh!  And my usually "together" self has taken a back seat to a forgetful, emotionally unstable person who repeats herself and cries at the drop of a hat [I have a crying story I will post about later.]  For instance, I will start telling Tom a story about something I found funny or cute and he will say, "Yeah, I know babe...I was standing right there," or "You've told me this story at least twice already, sweetie."  Ooops!  He says he really likes seeing me like this. He thinks it puts us on more of an even playing field.  :/

Best Moment(s) So Far:  Going completely public with our exciting news and having our friends and family multiply our rejoicing.  We are truly humbled by the outpouring of congratulatory wishes, love, excitement, encouragement, and prayers by each and everyone of you. To God be the Glory!

Monday, December 12, 2011

The Details: Weeks 4-10

On Wednesday, October 19, we got the results of our IVF pregnancy blood test. We were pretty sure going into the pregnancy test appointment that we were going to get good news because I cheated with 3 home pregnancy tests (all 3 were positive) on the 3 days leading up to my official pregnancy test. We both left work early that Wednesday and waited for the nurse to call my cell phone.  While waiting at home, I was heating up the iron to make a "Big Sister" shirt for Ruby in the middle bedroom and Tom suggested that we stay in that bedroom so we could get the official news in there, since that is the room that will be turned into the nursery.  I thought it was a great idea.  So together, Tom, Ruby, and I sat in the floor of the middle bedroom and waited for my phone to ring. It rang and I quickly picked it up on speaker and we got confirmation that our lives would soon be changed forever. My nurse told us it was a "very" positive pregnancy test [my hcg levels were at 209, which they usually want to see them in the 100's]!



On Friday, October 21, I went back in for more blood work to make sure my hcg levels had doubled over 48 hours. They more than doubled to 445, which was great news. Our first ultrasound was on Tuesday, November 8, which marked my 7th week of pregnancy. At the first ultrasound appointment, we found out that we are having TWINS!!!  I kept saying, "Oh my goodness, oh my goodness" over and over. Tom and I were so speechless after the appointment that we had to regroup in the parking lot of our doctor's office before we got in our separate cars to head to work. Tom hugged and kissed me goodbye and then he looked at me and said, "I can't even remember how to get to work." After we both got to our workplaces, I got an email from him that said, "I'm hyperventilating, I can't breathe!"  Ha! We are both over the moon excited, but it's taken some time to process going from nearly 3 years of infertility [an extreme roller coaster ride], to finding out we are pregnant, to finding out we are going to have not 1, but 2 babies!


On Tuesday, November 22, the beginning of my 9th week of pregnancy, we had our 2nd ultrasound. We saw both babies again and heard both of their heartbeats for the first time! It was such an amazing sound! One heartbeat was 158 and the other was 180, strong and healthy. They were still measuring a little on the small side as they did at the first ultrasound. Because of that, I was not released from my fertility specialists.  My 9 week ultrasound would have been my last visit with them, but they wanted to see me one more time at 10 weeks to measure the babies again.



On Tuesday, November 29, I began my 10th week of pregnancy and had a third ultrasound with my specialist. It was my last appointment with them for this pregnancy. :( It's bittersweet to not have any more appointments with them because they are all so wonderful, but I have graduated on. :) I will begin seeing a regular OB/GYN in my 11th week. Here are some pics of my little ones. Baby A looks like a little gummie bear! ;) They were moving around SO much and kicking their little feet and waving their little hands. My doctor said they were feisty and healthy! One heartbeat was in the 170's and one was in the 180's. What miracles! It is just completely amazing that there are two lives growing inside of me.  I cannot even fully comprehend it!  God is faithful.



Saturday, December 10, 2011

A Christmas Equation

See if you can figure out this Christmas Equation...



Our 2011 Christmas Card
[front]
[back]

Merry Christmas from Tom, Sara, Ruby, and the Soon-to-be-Born Twin Babies!

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Soup's On!

I recently made two yummy comfort soups and I thought I'd share the recipes. They are perfect for this time of year when it's cold outside and all you want to do is snuggle up and stay warm.

I made the first soup the day before Thanksgiving so we would have something to eat while at my parent's house prepping food for the Thanksgiving meal.  

Crock-Pot Chicken and Dumplings

[Source: Bubble Crumb via Thrifty Decor Chick]

4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 tablespoons butter
2 cans cream of chicken soup (I didn't have 2 so I used 1 cream of chicken and 1 cream of mushroom)
1 can chicken broth
1 onion diced (I used 1/4 to 1/2)
1 tablespoon dried parsley
4 grands flaky refrigerator biscuits

Put the chicken, butter, cream of chicken, chicken broth, parsley, and onions in the crock-pot and cook on high for 4-6 hours.  As the chicken cooks and gets tender, break it up with spoon or fork.  (I used already cooked and shredded chicken.) Get your biscuits and cut each of them into nine pieces.  You can roll them into balls to ensure they stay together, but it's not necessary.  Stir into chicken mixture and cook for another hour.  If it is too thick, you can thin it down by adding more chicken broth.

I made the second soup for tonight's dinner.  It is just so darn nice to come home from work and have your dinner simmering away ready for you to just make the finishing touches and eat it.

Crock-Pot Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice

[Source: Chef Mommy via Thrifty Decor Chick]

4 cups chicken broth
2 cups water
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup grated carrots
1 cup diced celery
1 package of Rice-a-Roni Long Grain and Wild Rice (with seasoning packet)
1/2 tsp salt (+/- to taste)
1/2 tsp pepper
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup butter
2 cups half and half

Mix the broth, water, chicken, carrots, celery, and rice with seasoning packet in the slow cooker.  Cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 4 hours.  Once chicken gets tender (a couple of hours in), break it up into pieces while cooking.  (I used already cooked and shredded chicken.)  At the end of the cooking time, mix the salt, pepper, and flour together in a small bowl.  In medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter.  Stir in flour mixture by tablespoons to form a roux.  While the roux is still on the heat, whisk half and half, a little at a time, into the roux until mixed completely and smooth.  Stir the roux mixture into the soup in the crock -pot then let it cook on low for 15 more minutes.

*Side note: The day before I cooked each soup, I cooked a whole chicken in the crock pot rubbed with salt and pepper and stuffed with carrots, onions, celery, garlic, and 2 Tbsp of butter.  I used the meat from the whole chickens in each of the soups and I also saved the broth to use in the recipes.  I did have to supplement with canned broth for the Chicken and Dumplings because it thickened up after adding the dumplings. Cooking whole chickens takes more prep time but it makes the soups so flavorful.  By the way, I used a brand of whole chicken that I've never used before, a free range Rosie Organic Chicken containing no GMO's, hormones or antibiotics.  I just happened to go buy one on Black Friday and it was on sale for $2.99!  I didn't even know that grocery stores did Black Friday.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Little Birds

I was recently asked to be an "artist in residence" who would make and donate 12 homemade Christmas ornaments to an event held at my church called "The Gift Goes On."  The event was a shopping bazaar with the theme of "purchasing with a purpose". There was a silent auction, vendor booths, live music, and sweet treats.  Proceeds from every item sold went to medical and clean water treatment for villages in Cambodia and Christmas presents for needy children in Oklahoma City, which will be distributed by The ROC (Reaching Our City).  It turned out to be a great success and we raised around $7,500 for some wonderful causes!

I wanted to share the inspiration for the little bird ornaments that I made.  I began searching for something I didn't think would be done by one of the other artists and I came across this tutorial for handmade clay birds ornaments over at jessicajanehandmade.  If you want the scoop on how to made some birdies of your own, follow the previous link.  I made some that were stamped with words and some that were just glittered.  Warning! They were quite time consuming [for me at least].





Friday, October 14, 2011

Timeline Update 3

Timeline Update 2 left off at the beginning of July...so let me continue here with the rest of July forward...

July 2011: On Tuesday, July 19, we had our IVF consultation with Dr. Hansen. He went over the details of the IVF process with us and we had a chance to have any of our preliminary questions answered. Dr. Hansen confirmed that we could begin IVF meds in September. At our consultation, we learned that the first step of the IVF process is to take birth control pills to suppress the ovaries. I found it rather ironic that birth control is the first step of the IVF treatment process.

August 2011: On August 10, I began taking Necon birth control pills. [Btw, Me + birth control = crazy train!]

September 2011: On September 11, I began Lupron injections. Lupron is a medication that prevents ovulation until the appropriate time. I stopped taking Necon birth control pills on September 17. [Hallelujah!] I took Necon for a total of 5 1/2 weeks. [Never again!] On September 23, I added Gonal F injections and Menopur injections to my daily Lupron injections. Here's a pic of all my IVF medications, supplies, and my calendar/paperwork in my Rubbermaid container to keep it all straight. Receiving all the medications and instructions was all quite overwhelming. I need to issue a big THANKS to my IVF nurse, Connie, who reminded me to take it one day at a time. And I would pass that same advice on to anyone else who is going through something similar.  On September 29, I concluded the daily injections of Gonal F.

Scenes from a fertility med junkie...
October 2011:  On October 2, I concluded the daily injections of Lupron and Menopur. I took my hCG injection as the clock struck midnight on the morning of October 3. The hCG injection HAD to be administered exactly 35 hours before the retrieval.  My egg retrieval surgery was done on October 4, and it went really well - 17 eggs were retrieved!  Of the 17 eggs that were retrieved, 12 were mature and usable.  From the 12 that were mature, 10 were fertilized! We did a day 5 transfer (retrieval day is day 0). On October 9, 2 embryos were transferred into my womb. Of the 8 embryos that were left,  2 were candidates to be frozen for the future.  Because we believe that life begins at conception, we are ethically and morally committed to using our 2 frozen embryos and feel very fortunate that we have this option.

I am not disclosing when we will find out the results of this IVF cycle. Unfortunately, we won't really be able to surprise our close friends and family because they have all been on this journey with us.  I had always longed to be able to make a completely "surprise" announcement, but having this journey and being open about it has kind of robbed us of this luxury.  But, it has afforded us the benefit of receiving immeasurable amounts of love, support, prayers, and encouragement - which I am beyond grateful for.  With that being said, we have chosen to keep the exact date of our pregnancy test and the results private until we are ready to share.

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Fall Printables

I know some of you may think the printable subway/word art trend is overdone. But...I'm still riding that train and think it's an inexpensive simple way to add some 'umph' to your seasonal home decor.
I've created two fall printables that I am going to share with you all. To snag one for yourself, click on the image, then click again to enlarge it to its highest resolution, right click, and 'save image as' to your photo library. Now you are ready to upload it to your photo lab of choice. I use the photo center at Sam's Club because of pricing. If you decide to use Sam's Club, make sure to turn off the color correction feature before you finalize your order. The printables below are saved in an 8x10 format.
Do me a favor okay? If you use one of these printables, blog about how you displayed it in your home and send me the link to your post. I could even do my very first linky party. :)

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

New Décor

For quite sometime Tom and I have wanted a little something else to hang on the wall that our TV sits against. And I guess this is the week I was ready to pull the trigger on the ideas that were floating around in my head.
Idea #1:
Every time I've shopped at Hobby Lobby in recent months, I've eyed the gold polystone letters for our living room. So, the same day I bought my 50% off glass cloche, I bought a 50% off "S, " "T," and "&" to hang to the left of our TV.
Idea #2:
I received this idea back when we were shopping for bathroom mirrors for our newly remodeled guest bathroom. I came across a quatrefoil shaped mirror at Lowe's and really wanted to use it for the vanity mirror, but the dimensions were wrong. I couldn't stop thinking of the mirror and its gorgeous shape. I brainstormed of ways to incorporate it into our home, and finally decided it would look great in our living room, hung to the right of our TV.

Monday, September 26, 2011

That's Pinteresting

I completed my first Pinterest inspired "project" - pumpkins stacked under a glass cloche.

The Pinterest Version from Chic on a Shoestring Decorating:

I already had the same Southern Living Home Barley Twist Pedestal shown above. But I did not have a glass cloche. I had been wanting one for sometime now, but wouldn't bite the bullet and buy one. I stalked the one shown below on the Hobby Lobby aisle for weeks, and today it went home with me for 50% off. It will be versatile and useful in all seasons, which is my justification. I already had the fall berry garland that I used around the bottom. You can't really tell, but I used some moss underneath the bottom pumpkin for added texture and height. I love it! It's a great fall centerpiece for my island.
I also decided to stick a little lone pumpkin on some moss underneath my small Arthur Court cheese dome/cloche.

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Assorted Lovelies

Yoga-ta Get this Blue! from the OPI India collection
Honey Goat Cheese spread atop crispy thin 34º Whole Grain Crackers
Talenti Gelato: Sea Salt Caramel Flavor
The appearance of Autumn at my local market

Monday, September 5, 2011

4-Day Weekend

The past 2 weeks at work have been some of the most stressful work weeks of the whole year. I logged some long hours and sacrificed evenings at home and my whole weekend last week trying to meet a deadline. Fortunately though, I was off from Friday through today and I have thoroughly enjoyed having a 4-day weekend with no set agenda. We've been flexible and free enough to make last minutes plans with friends, see both sides of our family, and enjoy this beautiful weather. I slept in on Friday, got an hour long massage to alleviate some of the back spasms I'd been having (from stress and long hours at a desk), and then went to Tom's new office to check out his digs and take him to lunch.
Tom went to the first OU game of the season on Saturday night and I opted to stay home. I ended up going to my parent's house to hang out for a little bit. While I was there, my mom was making an apple bundt cake for my grandma. While it was baking, the smell of spices and apples filled their house. Welcome fall, my favorite season. The cake was yummy and turned out just as gorgeous as the picture on the front of this month's Southern Living, but I would expect nothing less from my mother. ;)
What a gift this beautiful weather has been, it just makes everything all better. We've had a blast this weekend just riding around in the car together with the sunroof open and windows down.
Gotta go to the grocery store and get ready for another dinner with friends! Happy Labor Day!

Friday, July 22, 2011

Guest Bath: Before and After

Guest Bath Before:
Guest Bath After:
The styles and finishes used in the guest bath are mostly the same as the ones used in the master bath. I did this for simplicity's sake and for continuity. It also streamlined the decision making process for me, which was nice because the possibilities are endless!

Happy Birthday...

...to my favorite! I love you! :)