Andy and I are on a slow pitch softball team that consists mostly of members from our bible study. We are in the lowest division which means that we might just be able to surprise a few people and take the championship!! ;) I haven't played softball since middle school and while I'm a bit rusty, I am really excited to be on a team. We will have games every Sunday (with a few holidays off) through August so it should also prove to be a good bit of exercise for us. Hopefully between Softball games and wakeboarding we can get ourselves in some sort of shape this summer???
On another related note. My brother is playing on a Softball team through his work. Jason is a very talented baseball player (unlike his sister) and I'm so excited that he is doing something he loves so much. I know he will be great and will more than likely be the star of his team. I'm definitely planning on making a trip home to see him play a game or two! We grew up with baseball/softball (my dad playing on the mens league and my brother and I playing) so all of this gives me warm fuzzies!
4.28.2006
4.26.2006
34 A
Yes, you guessed it. That's my bra size! :(
My friend Jessica asked me to accompany her to Victoria's Secret for some bra shopping. Since I haven't really been bra shopping since a couple months after I got pregnant with Bella (and quickly outgrew all of my bras) I accepted and off we went. I had a feeling that the news wouldn't be good, but I never really thought I would be an A. I mean, they might as well tell you to go to the girls section and get a training bra! ;P
Anyways, I proceeded to try on a few and ended up frustrated and finally gave up. I know I'm wearing the wrong size bra, but they will just have to do until I can get myself into a bra shopping mood. Why is it that women have such issues with their breasts? It doesn't matter if they are big or small...it seems like their just a pain most of the time!
So, that's my not so good news of the day. You know that one's idea of "boobs" has changed when they announce their bra size on their blog, for all the world to read, not to mention their family and friends! ;)
My friend Jessica asked me to accompany her to Victoria's Secret for some bra shopping. Since I haven't really been bra shopping since a couple months after I got pregnant with Bella (and quickly outgrew all of my bras) I accepted and off we went. I had a feeling that the news wouldn't be good, but I never really thought I would be an A. I mean, they might as well tell you to go to the girls section and get a training bra! ;P
Anyways, I proceeded to try on a few and ended up frustrated and finally gave up. I know I'm wearing the wrong size bra, but they will just have to do until I can get myself into a bra shopping mood. Why is it that women have such issues with their breasts? It doesn't matter if they are big or small...it seems like their just a pain most of the time!
So, that's my not so good news of the day. You know that one's idea of "boobs" has changed when they announce their bra size on their blog, for all the world to read, not to mention their family and friends! ;)
4.16.2006
Happy Easter!
We hope everyone is enjoying their Easter Sunday! Our festivities started yesterday with our 2nd annual neighborhood easter egg hunt. Our plan was to do it outside like last year, but due to extremely high winds it was moved inside at the last minute. We had it at our house which was a little scary, but turned out just fine. Here is a picture of some of the kids going through their "loot"....
Bella was up earlier than usual and couldn't wait to get downstairs to see what the Easter Bunny left her. She was so excited to find her basket filled with lots of goodies including The Chronicles Of Narnia DVD. As she was looking through her basket something caught her eye and she said "Wait a minute Daddy! I think I see an egg!" She ran over to the couch and sure enough there was a egg hidden in the couch. From that minute on the egg hunt was on and she did a great job finding all the eggs. After she was done we got ready and went to church. I know Easter is a busy time for churches but it was awesome to see all the people there today. We actually ended up giving up our seats shortly after the service began because there were so many people looking for seats. While taking Bella into Kidz Rock I noticed that Terri was in the nursery by herself with about 10 kids, so I stayed and helped her out. I was a little bummed to miss the service, but happy to help out due to so many people being at church.
Now we are at home relaxing for the day. It's raining today and has been snowing off and on. The weather here is so crazy...today is cold and storming and by Wednesday it's supposed to be 70 degrees!
Here are a few pictures of our beautiful little girl in her Easter outfit...
*Edited* to add these 2 pictures that I just took...
Bella was up earlier than usual and couldn't wait to get downstairs to see what the Easter Bunny left her. She was so excited to find her basket filled with lots of goodies including The Chronicles Of Narnia DVD. As she was looking through her basket something caught her eye and she said "Wait a minute Daddy! I think I see an egg!" She ran over to the couch and sure enough there was a egg hidden in the couch. From that minute on the egg hunt was on and she did a great job finding all the eggs. After she was done we got ready and went to church. I know Easter is a busy time for churches but it was awesome to see all the people there today. We actually ended up giving up our seats shortly after the service began because there were so many people looking for seats. While taking Bella into Kidz Rock I noticed that Terri was in the nursery by herself with about 10 kids, so I stayed and helped her out. I was a little bummed to miss the service, but happy to help out due to so many people being at church.
Now we are at home relaxing for the day. It's raining today and has been snowing off and on. The weather here is so crazy...today is cold and storming and by Wednesday it's supposed to be 70 degrees!
Here are a few pictures of our beautiful little girl in her Easter outfit...
*Edited* to add these 2 pictures that I just took...
4.14.2006
The results are in...
And much to my relief everything's NOT normal! ;) My suspicions of some kind of imbalance have been confirmed and now we can finally move foward with things!
So, here's the cliff note version of my appointment...
1. Progesterone deficiency, most notably during the luteal phase which leads to a diagnosis of Luteal Phase Deficit Type III (whatever that means??).
2. Estrogen dominance, which is very common in women with endometriosis and is the likely explanation as to why we haven't been able to get pregnant. She said by the time my body actually ovulates my eggs are shot (specifically something to do with the corpus luteum) and therefore fertilization is extremely difficult, if not impossible.
3. TSH (Thyroid) out of normal range. Right now it is not horribly out of range, but enough to indicate that my thyroid is not functioning like it should be. That combined with my low Basal Body Temperatures, leads her to believe that it is the early stages of Hashimotos Disease.
4. My Cortisol levels are out of normal range (too high). Cortisol is supposed to be higher in the morning and lower in the evening and my peaks at night.
5. My fasting insulin is low. This could be do to a number of factors, but more than likely is related to the high cortisol.
6. My SIgA is depressed. This also has something to do with Cortisol and is the explanation for my inability to get healthy these past several months. SIgA is the bodies first defense to viruses, bacterias, etc. and when it is depressed your body can't fight things off as well as it should be able to.
So with all of that information she created a treatment plan for me that looks something like this...
1. Take a supplement called Pregnancy Prep to help support normal ovulation.
2. Use a progesterone cream to treat the luteal phase defect.
3. Take a supplement to for thyroid health. Like I mentioned before, she thinks if I start now I can get my thyroid back to it's healthy functioning state without having to deal with the major symptoms of a thyroid disorder.
4. One more supplement to help with the Cortisol rebalancing itself.
# 3 and 4 she listed as "secondary suggestions" so I won't start those for another month or so. Right now we are going to focus on the fertility stuff and add the rest down the road.
5. Acupuncture which will last for 2-3 months.
So, if your head is spinning after all of that, don't worry, mine is too. And like I mentioned in the beginning, this is the cliff note version. ;)
All in all, I feel really good about things. I've said it before, but my biggest fear was going in and having her say, "everything looks normal". Now that we know there's something wrong, we can work to fix it and hopefully attain our goal of a healthy pregnancy. She is so optimistic about everything and is certain that this will turn things around for us. The really good news is that I only have to be on this regimn for 1 month before we can start actively trying to get pregnant again. I thought for sure it would be at least 3 months, but she said 1 month should do it!
Now on to the fun part. I had my first acupuncture today! Like I've heard so many people say, it really isn't that bad! I was pretty nervous going in and just kept praying that it didn't hurt too bad. For those of you who like details, here's how it works...
First I changed into a gown and laid down, face up on a table with a pillow under my head and one under my knees. She came in, took my chinese pulse, looked at my tongue and then used an alcohol swab to clean the areas the needles would go in. After that she started in my left hand. I felt a little prick the first time, but it didn't really hurt. After that she moved to my legs and went back and forth between my arms and legs. After she was done there she put 2 needles in my belly (right in the middle) and one last one right between my eyes (bridge of my nose). When she was done she turned the heater on and moved a heat lamp over me and told me to try to sleep. She came back in after about 15 minutes, stimulated the needles a little and then left me alone for another 15 mintues or so. After my time was up she came in, quickly removed the needles (I didn't feel a thing), rubbed some essential oils on my feet and hands and left me to get dressed. With the exception of 1 needle in my right leg which she said aches on every women she puts it in I would say that the entire thing was essentially painless. I will say that it was a little weird to look down and see needles sticking out of my body, but it didn't freak me out as much as I thought it would. And as pathetic as this sounds, if I have to get needles stuck in me to get 30 minutes of uniterupted rest during the day, I'll do it! ;P
She is obviously a bit biased as a Oriental Medicine Doctor, but she kept going on and on about what great results acupuncture has with fertility issues. Most of the points she did were dealing with my "conception vessel" (Chinese Medicine lingo), but she also did some to help with the endometriosis. I guess only time will tell, but after today it's definitely something I don't mind giving a chance!
So, that's about it. I've been waiting a loooong time for this information and feel so good to finally have it. I feel like we have a plan and something to work towards. I am excited about getting my body back to it's healthy state and hopefully reaping the rewards of optimal health (not just pregnancy).
I will of course keep everyone updated, but for now, this is where we stand!
So, here's the cliff note version of my appointment...
1. Progesterone deficiency, most notably during the luteal phase which leads to a diagnosis of Luteal Phase Deficit Type III (whatever that means??).
2. Estrogen dominance, which is very common in women with endometriosis and is the likely explanation as to why we haven't been able to get pregnant. She said by the time my body actually ovulates my eggs are shot (specifically something to do with the corpus luteum) and therefore fertilization is extremely difficult, if not impossible.
3. TSH (Thyroid) out of normal range. Right now it is not horribly out of range, but enough to indicate that my thyroid is not functioning like it should be. That combined with my low Basal Body Temperatures, leads her to believe that it is the early stages of Hashimotos Disease.
4. My Cortisol levels are out of normal range (too high). Cortisol is supposed to be higher in the morning and lower in the evening and my peaks at night.
5. My fasting insulin is low. This could be do to a number of factors, but more than likely is related to the high cortisol.
6. My SIgA is depressed. This also has something to do with Cortisol and is the explanation for my inability to get healthy these past several months. SIgA is the bodies first defense to viruses, bacterias, etc. and when it is depressed your body can't fight things off as well as it should be able to.
So with all of that information she created a treatment plan for me that looks something like this...
1. Take a supplement called Pregnancy Prep to help support normal ovulation.
2. Use a progesterone cream to treat the luteal phase defect.
3. Take a supplement to for thyroid health. Like I mentioned before, she thinks if I start now I can get my thyroid back to it's healthy functioning state without having to deal with the major symptoms of a thyroid disorder.
4. One more supplement to help with the Cortisol rebalancing itself.
# 3 and 4 she listed as "secondary suggestions" so I won't start those for another month or so. Right now we are going to focus on the fertility stuff and add the rest down the road.
5. Acupuncture which will last for 2-3 months.
So, if your head is spinning after all of that, don't worry, mine is too. And like I mentioned in the beginning, this is the cliff note version. ;)
All in all, I feel really good about things. I've said it before, but my biggest fear was going in and having her say, "everything looks normal". Now that we know there's something wrong, we can work to fix it and hopefully attain our goal of a healthy pregnancy. She is so optimistic about everything and is certain that this will turn things around for us. The really good news is that I only have to be on this regimn for 1 month before we can start actively trying to get pregnant again. I thought for sure it would be at least 3 months, but she said 1 month should do it!
Now on to the fun part. I had my first acupuncture today! Like I've heard so many people say, it really isn't that bad! I was pretty nervous going in and just kept praying that it didn't hurt too bad. For those of you who like details, here's how it works...
First I changed into a gown and laid down, face up on a table with a pillow under my head and one under my knees. She came in, took my chinese pulse, looked at my tongue and then used an alcohol swab to clean the areas the needles would go in. After that she started in my left hand. I felt a little prick the first time, but it didn't really hurt. After that she moved to my legs and went back and forth between my arms and legs. After she was done there she put 2 needles in my belly (right in the middle) and one last one right between my eyes (bridge of my nose). When she was done she turned the heater on and moved a heat lamp over me and told me to try to sleep. She came back in after about 15 minutes, stimulated the needles a little and then left me alone for another 15 mintues or so. After my time was up she came in, quickly removed the needles (I didn't feel a thing), rubbed some essential oils on my feet and hands and left me to get dressed. With the exception of 1 needle in my right leg which she said aches on every women she puts it in I would say that the entire thing was essentially painless. I will say that it was a little weird to look down and see needles sticking out of my body, but it didn't freak me out as much as I thought it would. And as pathetic as this sounds, if I have to get needles stuck in me to get 30 minutes of uniterupted rest during the day, I'll do it! ;P
She is obviously a bit biased as a Oriental Medicine Doctor, but she kept going on and on about what great results acupuncture has with fertility issues. Most of the points she did were dealing with my "conception vessel" (Chinese Medicine lingo), but she also did some to help with the endometriosis. I guess only time will tell, but after today it's definitely something I don't mind giving a chance!
So, that's about it. I've been waiting a loooong time for this information and feel so good to finally have it. I feel like we have a plan and something to work towards. I am excited about getting my body back to it's healthy state and hopefully reaping the rewards of optimal health (not just pregnancy).
I will of course keep everyone updated, but for now, this is where we stand!
4.12.2006
Oh how we love Sunny Southern California!!
Our visit to So Cal was so much fun as usual. Jessica and Kendra picked us up from the airport on Friday and we spent the rest of the day getting ready for Jessica's baby shower that evening. The shower was wonderful and the gifts were amazing. We stayed up until 1 am going through everything. We had a diaper door prize and Jessica came home with 20 packages of diapers in sizes Newborn to 3. What an awesome blessing that was!!
Saturday we hit the swap meet and found a few fun things. The sun was out and I ended up with a sunburn. ;) Saturday evening we met my mom for dinner and had a great meal at El Torrito's. After that we said a sad goodbye to Jessica and Kendra and went up to our hotel room. Bella cried for a good 10 minutes becuase she was so sad to leave her friend Kendra...it was so sad! :(
Sunday morning we got up, had breakfast and then headed to Disneyland. We spent 2 days going between Disneyland and California Adventure and I have to say, it really is the happiest place on earth! Monday we had lunch with the Princesses and Bella was beside herself with excitement! She got to talk with Belle, Cinderella, Jasmine, Mulan and Ariel. She wore her Cinderella dress to lunch so she fit right in with the other princesses! ;)
After a late night on Monday we slept in on Tuesday and took our time getting ready to go. We had lunch at a fun restaurant called Joe's Crab Shack and then left the hotel for our respective airports. Mine and Bella's travel went smoothly and we made it home as planned. Mom and Anna on the other hand weren't so lucky. Their flight into Redding was canceled so they ended up staying the night at a hotel in San Francisco. They are scheduled to fly out this morning as long as the weather has cleared up in Redding.
Here is a picture of Bella and Kendra on Saturday night...
And here are a few from Disnelyand...
Saturday we hit the swap meet and found a few fun things. The sun was out and I ended up with a sunburn. ;) Saturday evening we met my mom for dinner and had a great meal at El Torrito's. After that we said a sad goodbye to Jessica and Kendra and went up to our hotel room. Bella cried for a good 10 minutes becuase she was so sad to leave her friend Kendra...it was so sad! :(
Sunday morning we got up, had breakfast and then headed to Disneyland. We spent 2 days going between Disneyland and California Adventure and I have to say, it really is the happiest place on earth! Monday we had lunch with the Princesses and Bella was beside herself with excitement! She got to talk with Belle, Cinderella, Jasmine, Mulan and Ariel. She wore her Cinderella dress to lunch so she fit right in with the other princesses! ;)
After a late night on Monday we slept in on Tuesday and took our time getting ready to go. We had lunch at a fun restaurant called Joe's Crab Shack and then left the hotel for our respective airports. Mine and Bella's travel went smoothly and we made it home as planned. Mom and Anna on the other hand weren't so lucky. Their flight into Redding was canceled so they ended up staying the night at a hotel in San Francisco. They are scheduled to fly out this morning as long as the weather has cleared up in Redding.
Here is a picture of Bella and Kendra on Saturday night...
And here are a few from Disnelyand...
4.04.2006
Happy Birthday Grandma McMinn (a day late as usual)!!!
***SINGING***Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to Grandma (and Mom)! Happy Birthday to you!
We hope your day was wonderful and that you enjoy your new horses! We can't wait to see both of them, but especially the baby!
We love you!
We hope your day was wonderful and that you enjoy your new horses! We can't wait to see both of them, but especially the baby!
We love you!
Random bits of information...
1. Andy's boss (the GM) quit yesterday. He has given Andy so much grief over the past 2 years that I was thrilled to hear the news. Andy on the other hand is a little more cautious, knowing that there is always the possibility that someone worse (although hard to believe) could be brought in. Regardless, I'm choosing to be optimistic and pray that this is the start of something really good for their dealership.
2. Our friends Chris and Sierra came to visit us this weekend. We had so much fun and it was great to see them. The 4 of us when to Ichiban for dinner on Sunday night, played some Pai Gow Poker until the Casino had officially taken all of our money and then decided to come home, play Mexican Train (a domino game) and drink Smirnoff's. We stayed up unitl 3:330 a.m. which is something I haven't done in years. We always have such a great time visiting with them and this time was no different. They love Bella and it makes it really enjoyable for us to hang out with friends who don't have kids, but are more than happy to have ours tag along!
3. Bella and I are flying to So Cal on Friday. I will be co-hosting Jessica's baby shower on Friday evening and then we have plans to decorate Drew's bedroom on Saturday. Bella is beyond excited to see Kendra. She keeps telling me that Kendra is a big girl now because she can walk and talk. They should have a great time playing together on Saturday while Jessica and I do "baby stuff". My mom and Anna are flying down on Saturday and we are meeting them at Disneyland on Sunday. We are staying 2 nights and going to Disneyland on Sunday and Monday. Anna has never been so it will be pretty exciting for her. Bella is planning on wearing her Cinderella dress that Grandma and Grandpa McMinn gave her and we have reservations for lunch with the Princesses on Monday. We will fly home on Tuesday after a fun filled trip of visiting friends, baby showers, shopping, Disneyland and as always, my favorite...good food! ;P
4. I have an appt on the 12th to get the results of my hormone tests and to go over my "treatment plan". I also have my first round of acupuncture scheduled. I'm a little freaked out, but my doctor has assured me that it's not bad at all and she couldn't say enough about how effective it is for (in)fertility and other female issues that I suffer from (mainly endometriosis). Assuing I survive the first round, I will be having it once a week for 2-3 months. I'll definitely give a full report next week!
5. I'm trying to grow a live plant in Bella's Betta tank. I don't know why this excites me, but it does. It says it should take 8-10 days to see shoots and 15 days to see blooms. I swear I check the stupid thing 5 times a day. I was reading up on Betta's (yes, I'm a nerd) and discovered that they typically live in rice paddies and shallow ponds. Evidentally Betta's are one of the most controversial "kept" fishes in the freshwater fish hobby. So, because I'm a sucker for guilt, I'm now determined to give our Betta an environment closer to it's natural habitat. My first step is the live plant (they like to hide in the plants). Betta's almost exclusively live off of mosquito larvae in nature so I'll pull the bloodworms out of the freezer and start giving them to him a few times a week. They also live in tropical regions where the water is much warmer (around 80 degrees). When I got our Betta the person at the fish store tole me it wasn't necessary to have a heater because they did fine in cold water. According to the information I found Betta's become increasingly listless in temperatures under 75 degrees. Currently the water he is in is around 55-60 degrees. He is in a 1 gallon tank so I'm not on a mission to find a small tank heater that will not take up a third of his tank. It will be my luck that I'll end up killing him in the process, but we'll see how it goes. Like I said, guilt does a number on me.
That's all the time I have for now. Bella has picture day at school tomorrow. They are taking pictures with live bunnies and she has nothing to wear so we are off to Kohl's to see what we can find.
2. Our friends Chris and Sierra came to visit us this weekend. We had so much fun and it was great to see them. The 4 of us when to Ichiban for dinner on Sunday night, played some Pai Gow Poker until the Casino had officially taken all of our money and then decided to come home, play Mexican Train (a domino game) and drink Smirnoff's. We stayed up unitl 3:330 a.m. which is something I haven't done in years. We always have such a great time visiting with them and this time was no different. They love Bella and it makes it really enjoyable for us to hang out with friends who don't have kids, but are more than happy to have ours tag along!
3. Bella and I are flying to So Cal on Friday. I will be co-hosting Jessica's baby shower on Friday evening and then we have plans to decorate Drew's bedroom on Saturday. Bella is beyond excited to see Kendra. She keeps telling me that Kendra is a big girl now because she can walk and talk. They should have a great time playing together on Saturday while Jessica and I do "baby stuff". My mom and Anna are flying down on Saturday and we are meeting them at Disneyland on Sunday. We are staying 2 nights and going to Disneyland on Sunday and Monday. Anna has never been so it will be pretty exciting for her. Bella is planning on wearing her Cinderella dress that Grandma and Grandpa McMinn gave her and we have reservations for lunch with the Princesses on Monday. We will fly home on Tuesday after a fun filled trip of visiting friends, baby showers, shopping, Disneyland and as always, my favorite...good food! ;P
4. I have an appt on the 12th to get the results of my hormone tests and to go over my "treatment plan". I also have my first round of acupuncture scheduled. I'm a little freaked out, but my doctor has assured me that it's not bad at all and she couldn't say enough about how effective it is for (in)fertility and other female issues that I suffer from (mainly endometriosis). Assuing I survive the first round, I will be having it once a week for 2-3 months. I'll definitely give a full report next week!
5. I'm trying to grow a live plant in Bella's Betta tank. I don't know why this excites me, but it does. It says it should take 8-10 days to see shoots and 15 days to see blooms. I swear I check the stupid thing 5 times a day. I was reading up on Betta's (yes, I'm a nerd) and discovered that they typically live in rice paddies and shallow ponds. Evidentally Betta's are one of the most controversial "kept" fishes in the freshwater fish hobby. So, because I'm a sucker for guilt, I'm now determined to give our Betta an environment closer to it's natural habitat. My first step is the live plant (they like to hide in the plants). Betta's almost exclusively live off of mosquito larvae in nature so I'll pull the bloodworms out of the freezer and start giving them to him a few times a week. They also live in tropical regions where the water is much warmer (around 80 degrees). When I got our Betta the person at the fish store tole me it wasn't necessary to have a heater because they did fine in cold water. According to the information I found Betta's become increasingly listless in temperatures under 75 degrees. Currently the water he is in is around 55-60 degrees. He is in a 1 gallon tank so I'm not on a mission to find a small tank heater that will not take up a third of his tank. It will be my luck that I'll end up killing him in the process, but we'll see how it goes. Like I said, guilt does a number on me.
That's all the time I have for now. Bella has picture day at school tomorrow. They are taking pictures with live bunnies and she has nothing to wear so we are off to Kohl's to see what we can find.
4.01.2006
Quite possibly the sweetest thing I've ever heard...
Bella has recently decided that she wants to marry her daddy when she gets older. We are constantly having the same discussion...I already married daddy but she can marry someone just like daddy when she gets older.
Yesterday I was dusting and she was following me around. All of a sudden she said, "I want to marry Daddy! I don't want to marry someone like Daddy, I just want to marry Daddy!" The enthusiasm in her voice and the look on her face was just priceless!
I find it the sweetest thing in the world that our little girl is just as in love with her daddy as I am!! :)
Yesterday I was dusting and she was following me around. All of a sudden she said, "I want to marry Daddy! I don't want to marry someone like Daddy, I just want to marry Daddy!" The enthusiasm in her voice and the look on her face was just priceless!
I find it the sweetest thing in the world that our little girl is just as in love with her daddy as I am!! :)
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