New furniture! 7 1/2 years after the wedding...Part 1

While we have greatly appreciated all the 'hand me down' furniture gifted to us by both sides of our families, the time has come for us to purchase our very own new furniture. We got to thinking about it and how we thought it was our first new furniture, but it's not, our very first new furniture was our kitchen tables and chairs, so even though techincally this won't be our first new furniture, it feels like it!!

We have gone countless places looking for a living room set and a bedroom set. We haven't decided on a bedroom set yet, but we purchased our living room set yesterday at HomeMakers Furniture (owned by Nebraska Furniture Mart) in Des Moines yesterday. We're very excited as it will be coming by mid February. The contemporary couch and loveseat are a very dark espresso colored leather. We purchased two rocker recliners to serve as accent furniture. The pattern, also contemporary, encompasses many fun colored dots. It's called "Crayola Hodgepodge". Fun! I've attached pictures below, keep in mind the couches don't appear near as dark in the photos as they really are. The photos are more of a milk chocolate whereas the actual color of ours will be a dark chocolate.

We still have to find a coffee table or storage ottoman, as well as endtables and some artwork for the living room, but slowly, it's coming together. As I said in the title, 7 1/2 years after the wedding we're finally doing something to make our house more of a home.

Daddy's Handy Helper

Lincoln and Scott worked on a project last weekend together. "They" put the TV mount together and got it on the wall of our bedroom. :) Lincoln wore his Handy Manny shirt for the assembly.

"So Daddy, we'll start by measuring it."

"Make sure it's right."

"I'm 39 inches tall!"

HSG Hysterosalpingogram

Hystero=Uterus

Salpingo=Fallopian Tube

I had my much dreaded HSG procedure last week to determine if I had any anatomical issues as to why I've had miscarriages and why I'm currently not pregnant yet. If you have a queezy stomach, don't read the following paragraph.

The HSG procedure involves placement of a speculum into the vagina to expose the cervix. The cervix is then cleansed three times with a Betadine solution. A thin catheter is insterted through the cervix into the uterus where a small balloon is then inflated to hold it in place. A contrast dye is then pushed through the tube, filling the uterus, and in normal cases it travels through the fallopian tubes where it spills out into the abdomen. You can see all this on a TV monitor because an XRAY machine scans the abdomen as the dye is pushed through. In cases where a woman has a blocked fallopian tube, the dye would not travel through. Here are some pictures:

My HSG showed no anomalies. The dye went through and spilled out both sides. From what I've read, women who've had a blocked fallopian tube say it hurt when the dye was pushed through. I however didn't feel the dye because I had no blockages. The procedure was uncomfortable to say the least. Scott was able to go into the procedure room with me, as I was very nervous. Parts of it hurt, such as the balloon inflation, which is the common complaint. The procedure was about a total of 5 minutes from insertion to removal, so thank God!

It is said that the chances of becoming pregnant increase 30% in the first 3 months following the HSG because it opens everything up, or "Roto Rooters". So we'll see!

TTC Update

I thought I'd give an update because I had a friend recently inquire about the status of our TTC (trying to conceive) and it's just that...we're still TTC. I'll begin Clomid again this month and another waiting game begins. I'm not overly emotional about it at the moment, I know it will happen when God wants it to. Until then...waiting.

"What do you want for Christmas little boy?"

Lincoln went to see Santa just after Thanksgiving. I thought maybe he'd be a little hesitant at first, but nope. When it was his turn he ran up to Santa and plopped on his lap. He apparently told him he wanted a Christmas tree (even though we have one in the living room, and he has his own in his room!), and a Buzz Lightyear. I'd asked him before what he was going to ask Santa for and he said a Christmas tree. I asked him if that was all, didn't he want something else like a Buzz Lightyear? So, that is where that came from. :) Little goof.

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree...

Well, we put up our tree this weekend! Yes, it is very early. Much earlier than I'd usually do it. However, last year Scott and I bought a tree after Christmas on clearance at Hobby Lobby, WITHOUT having ever seen it!! I thought it was a huge risk, but for $60, we thought we'd chance it. I wanted to make sure I'd like it because if I didn't, we'd have to get a different one.

This tree is, how shall I say it? BEAUTIFUL!!! I LOVE it!!! It is rather tall though, 9ft!! We can't put it in the usual tree spot in the corner, because it hits the ceiling. Oh well. It's beautiful. It's very rustic looking. Slender with different tips and little pinecones. We went with a dark color scheme. So pretty.

Lincoln too has a tree. A light blue one. He's excited to have one in his room. We just have to find some fun decorations for it. :)

Anyway, we haven't forgotten about Thanksgiving. We always have a lot to be thankful for. Love, Life, and everything in between.

Happy Halloween 2010

Lincoln was a golfer this year! He loves to ride his cart around on a regular basis, so I thought how fun it would be to make it an accessory to his Halloween costume! He even carried a golf ball bucket Easter bucket we had already to collect his candy in. He had soooo much fun. He decided on the way to the third block that he was done with trick or treating for the year. It was interesting trying to convince him that he couldn't eat all of his candy that night. :)

Remembering 9/11, 9 years later...

I remember this day 9 years ago. I will never forget as I watched from the Kappa TV Room while waiting to walk with people to class, seeing the tragic events unfolding in New York. I remember calling Scott at FarmHouse and saying "turn on your TV!!! A plane just crashed into one of the WTC towers!" Then shortly after, they showed the second tower hit. My heart still aches for those who lost their lives and for those who lost loved ones. May God Bless those that lost their lives in the flights that crashed into the WTC's as well as those on Flights 77 & 93.

On a different note. Today is the fight for the CYHAWK trophy. The Cyclones will face off at 2:30PM with The Hawkeyes in their territory. Needless to say, Scott and I won't be out much today, as we live in "Hawkeye Country" and the traffic is nuts!!! Win or lose, we're Cyclones, through and through.

CYCLONES WIN!

Whoot-whoot! First game of the season against Northern Illinois and our CYCLONES win!!! YAY!!!! Here's a few old pics of us supporting our team. :)


I was pregnant with Lincoln in this picture. Our dearly missed friend Shannon Smith is goofing off in the background. :) Then there's Jill and Spencer Smith, Scott and I.



Lincoln was 2 months old in these pics. No, we're not 'those people' who request that our son be a legacy. We will support Lincoln in whatever college he decides to go to. Although, we may 'encourage', ok, heavily encourage that he go to ISU and be an FH'er. :) Mommy also wants him to be close by. :)

This was at the Iowa State Fair. Lincoln was just 3 months old. It was boiling hot that day!!

This was in Lincoln, NE at an ISU vs. UNL game. We had skybox tickets and it was amazing!!!! Nonie, my mom, got Lincoln the bib he's wearing. It says "I can't talk, but I'm a Cyclone!"

Seven Years!

Happy 7th Anniversary to us! Also, giving a Happy Anniversary wish to Cheryl and John Jarchow!


Right after the big reveal...

At the end of the night, only one of us was sober to drive...(Story of my life, hahahahaha)

Feels like Fall, finally.

I've been really tired of the nasty humidity and weather. Well, Mother Nature has either decided to give us a break, or she is just as tired with the heat of Summer as I am and has decided to end it. The weather has been absolutely beautiful the last couple of days. I've actually enjoyed being outside! I was at a store earlier and the smell of cinnamon filled the air. Ahhhh. Fall time, I'm excited. So, I've decided to change my blog background to showcase my excitement for Fall and all its beautiful colors. :)

"Well Ma'am, no Hysterosalpingogram"

Well, I went to the hospital for my dreaded procedure. I get the gown on, get in the room, and the doctor comes in and starts asking me questions. He finds out I miscarried just 9 days ago and disappears for a bit. He comes back to the room and proceeds to tell me that he's not comfortable doing the procedure so soon after my miscarriage. He's worried there could be 'left over debris' and it could alter the results of the procedure, ultimately leading to me having to do the procedure over to confirm or deny the result from today. So he said it was in my best interest to postpone the procedure.

The labs I had on Thursday aren't back, and won't be for another week or so. So that's it. That's where I'm at. Until next time...

Happy Birthday, Omaha, New Baby, and Nerves.

I want to wish a Happy Birthday to one of my best girlfriends Katie!! I hope you have a great day!

This last weekend we had a great time. On Friday, we headed to the Iowa State Fair. Despite the storming and getting rained on, it was a good time. Lincoln liked seeing all the animals, however, he had no interest in getting pictures taken by their gates. Stinker. We did our usual at the fair and got the 'bucket of cookies'. This year though, we were disappointed as they were barely warm enough to melt the chocolate chips! Usually they're piping hot out of the oven and paired with a glass of milk, ahhhhhhhhhh. Well, hopefully they'll redeem themselves next year. The last thing we hit was the 4H building, which is my personal favorite, as I love seeing what the kids come up with.

Friday night after the fair we headed to Omaha. When we got to Embassy Suites at 7:00 or so, Lincoln had just woken up, as he slept the entire way there from Des Moines. I'm like 'well, what time is he going to go to bed now!' So, we settled into our room and went down to the restaurant, we grabbed a bite to eat, and at 9:00, took Lincoln swimming! Yes, 9:00pm! He got lots of jumping and splashing in. :) Lincoln loves swimming, he's a little fish. So, when we got back to the room and gave him a bath, it was time for bed and he wasn't so sure about going to bed there. He kept saying "I want to go to my bed", he was quite upset. He wanted to go home! Well, come Sunday when it was time to leave, he was quite upset because he didn't want to leave!! He didn't want to go home! Then, as we put him to bed last night he said, "I want to go to bed in the room". Tee-hee-hee.

Also on Friday, our close friends Spencer, Jill, and Chloe Smith welcomed their newest addition, little Landon Jacob into the world! I've blogged many times about the loss of and how much we miss our dear friend Shannon. Well, Spencer is one of Shannon's brothers. To give you a little background info if you don't know already, Spencer was a groomsan at our wedding, all the Smith boys were FHers with Scott, and Shannon worked at P&G and lived with us twice. So this family is very special to us. We love them. So, little Landon weighed 7lbs. 4oz. and was 19 3/4 in. Landon's name was derived in what I think is such a cool idea! Daddy Spencer's middle name is Noland. So, with the switching of some letters, born was the name Landon! Jacob was Shannon's middle name, so Landon is named after both his Daddy, and his Uncle Shannon's middle names! Landon Jacob Smith. Perfect ring to it. :) Congratulations to the Smith family, we love you all!

On Saturday, Scott's cousin Jess got married (to Mikala). It was a great time and very very beautiful. There was definite attention to every detail, as Mikala is an event planner, it was amazing. Congrats to the newleyweds!

On a less positive note, today (Monday) I'm having a procedure called a Hysterosalpingogram (HSG) performed. I'm so beyond nervous I can't even begin to say. I'm terrified. The procedure involves insertion of a speculum into the vagina, cleaning of the cervix, and insertion of a cathether into the cervix up into the uterus. Then a balloon is inflated to hold the catheter in place while contrast dye is administered through the uterus. This is checking for different uterine defects such as blocked fallopian tubes or septal defects present. What we're hoping to see is the uterus filling, followed by the tubes, and the dye spilling out on each side to show no blockages. This procedure is just one of the things my OB starts with (aside from all my labwork, all 15 tubes!) when someone has recurrent miscarriages. We don't necessarily think my uterus is structurally the issue, I became pregnant 3 times already. But nonetheless, an HSG is part of the checklist, just in case.

I went on youtube and watched some of the textbook videos of the procedure. Then I watched a few videos of women who documented what to expect from the procedure. A few of them freaked me out as I read their comments to the video. One lady was like "it was the most painful thing I've ever experienced and I will never, NEVER, do it again!" Great. Awesome. Wonderful. Perfect. I'm supposed to just relax? YAH RIGHT!!!

I really don't want to have this done, but I'm a weenie, and millions of women have gone through it so I know I need to suck it up. I'm just soooooooooooooooo scared!!!! :(

In Joy and In Sorrow

Well I wasn't going to blog about this for the mere fact that not many people aside from family knew about it. I didn't post it on facebook and still don't plan to, but on here, I don't care. I've come to the realization that things in life happen and sometimes you have no control over them.

The truth is I suffered a miscarriage last Thursday. It wasn't the first but the second since we welcomed Lincoln in 2007. I lost a baby in July 2008 and now again August 2010. I've been so down about it that I just need to get my feelings off my chest, so this is serving as my mode of doing so.

This last pregnancy was so 'normal'. It was a lot like my pregnancy with Lincoln. My biggest 'complaints' were light nauseousness and heartburn, just like with Lincoln. The only thing that seperated the two pregnancies were I was peeing all the time and was way tired. But other than that, no causes for concern. Then on Thursday I started bleeding a little. Deep down, I knew what was probably happening. I just hoped I was one of those people who have bleeding with a normal pregnancy. Nope, the ER confirmed I miscarried.

The second pregnancy was awful. I had a lot of problems with that, which would take me a long time to explain. But in the end after a week of labs and vaginal ultrasounds it was determined I had a non-viable pregnancy and had to have a D&C. So needless to say, I've been 'gun shy' about getting pregnant since then. But I finally did and everything was fine, until it wasn't.

So now, twice since Lincoln I've heard "I'm sorry, you've miscarried." Both pregnancies I lost I was almost 6 weeks. Another thing people may not know, and I'm not at all ashamed to say or admit, is I have to take the fertility medication Clomid to get pregnant. Clomid helps women like me who don't ovulate regularly to do so the month/s you take it. It has worked wonderfully with me. I got pregnant with Lincoln on the first cycle, pregnant with the second on the second cycle, and with the third on the first cycle (like with Lincoln). So it definitely works in helping me get pregnant, but why am I now losing babies?

I don't know what is going on inside my body, but I hope to find out something with my OB tommorow at my 'miscarriage follow-up' appointment. I have to say I'm scared. Scared this is the beginning of a battle. I am always grateful for my Lincoln. But now I wonder, ok, was it a fluke that everything worked out with his pregnancy? To lose 2 babies around the same gestation after him is just weird to me. I know I'm very lucky to have Lincoln, but was I physically at that time 'lucky to have Lincoln'??? I don't know, maybe. I know things 'happen for a reason' and such. I also believe with miscarriages that something probably wasn't right, but nonetheless, it is still heartwrenching.

I am so grateful for my beautiful healthly little boy. I just hope I can someday give him a sibling. I know it's in God's hands what will happen and that I have to let go of trying to control what happens with it, it's just hard. Like I said, we'll see what the OB has to say tomorrow and find out where to go from here.

Pillow Pic Memory Lane

After having suggested this little idea to a friend from high school on facebook for his new daughter. I flipped through my album and just smiled. I loved this little idea which I stole from my sister Amy who originally did it with my niece Sophia. So yes, I went tripping down memory lane. If any of you want a little recap and to take the trip, look on. At looking at the pics I realized I decided at "October" to try and theme his outfit and the print on the sign with the holiday/Halloween, but then I don't know why I didn't do a Christmas outfit for December. Oh well, something to keep in mind for the future. :) Enjoy!

As you can see, the older he got, the harder it was to keep him still. Which is why at month 11 he had to hold the tape dispenser for distraction and month 12 Scott's leg and arm made the photo of squirrley little Lincoln. :)

I THINK I CAN, I THINK I CAN...

So usually, parents teach their children how to ride a bike. But hey, where's the fun in that? Why not switch it up a bit...

"Ok Daddy. I'm going to say this one more time, now here's what you do. Put your feet on those pedal thingy's and push them forward to move..."

"PEDAL! PEDAL! You're doing it! Great job Daddy! Now, I won't let go unless you tell me it's ok."

Papa's Plane

This post is kind of an add on to my "Cars vs. Kee Kee" post in which I wished Lincoln would have just one favorite thing he has to sleep with instead of many things he has to sleep with. I completely forgot, there is one thing he frequently requests at bed time. Probably more so than any other toy. "Papa's Plane".

Papa had a lot of little knick knacks on his dresser. One of them was this little Army airplane. Lincoln loved playing with it when he visited Papa. After Papa passed, Lincoln was given the airplane. The little plane has since lost both tiny propellers but still holds Lincoln's heart. :) We keep a very close eye on this plane. I don't really let Lincoln take it out of the house, except when he's requested to take it if we're going to see Nana and my mom (Nonie).

I miss my Papa. I miss seeing his eyes light up when seeing Lincoln. Lincoln most likely at his age won't remember Papa, but I'll make sure he knows about the wonderful grandfather he had and how much his Papa loved him.

Feelin' HOT HOT HOT!!

Today involved some nasty heat, so much so that the power went out a few times. I'd already decided this morning, that knowing we had a heat advisory that I wasn't going out in the heat. I don't and never have handled heat well. But, I knew Lincoln would have fun if we set up a pool. Problem, our pool has a leak, and it was cheap enough I wasn't going to try to find the stupid leak/s to patch.

So, against my desire to not venture outside, I loaded Lincoln in the car and we made a trip to Target, made a mad dash for the pool aisle, grabbed one, checked out, and came home. It was quite possibly the shortest trip to Target I've ever had and probably the only trip in which I came home with the ONE and ONLY thing on my list. :)

It took me forever, but with a lot of my sacraficed air and by the intensity of my headache, I'm guessing some brain cell loss, I got the pool inflated. So we filled it with freezing cold water and bath toys. We sat out there for awhile and even let Ozzy and Jack join in on the fun. :) There's no better way to spend a hot day than with my three favorite boys. :)

Kee Kee vs. Cars

When I was younger, I had a favorite blanket, I called it my kee-kee. My kee-kee went everywhere with me, but most importantly, it went with me to bed. Never have I wanted my son to have a dependency on one thing so much.

Today, as I laid Lincoln down for a nap, he got up to go get some cars. Yes, he sleeps with matchbox cars, this is nothing new. Usually, he gets about 2-3 cars to sleep with. I don't love this little habit of his, but he goes to bed feeling secure because he has his cars.

Well, today he had to get out of bed 3 times. Eventually, when all was said and done, 13 cars and one airplane lay in bed with Lincoln! Ugh, I wish he had a kee-kee... :)

The many adorable faces of Lincoln John...

ONCE UPON A TIME, THERE WAS AN ADORABLE LITTLE BOY, WITH MANY ADORABLE FACES. HERE IS SOME OF HIS STORY...

"OK MOM, CLICK AWAY..."

"HERE'S MY STUD POSE FOR YOU..."

"I'M REFLECTING..."

"THIS IS MY 'DON'T LOOK AT THE CAMERA' MODEL PHOTO"...

"BWAHAHAHAHA, I'M DEVIOUS..."



"OK NOW I'M OFFICIALLY TICKED OFF!"

THE END...FOR NOW. :)