Ever have one of those photo sessions where nothing goes right? Well, I tried to take a pic of the boys in the cute matching pjs that Grandma Ronda made them. Emerson cried, Hayden argued, neither one of them would sit still and I got frustrated. This is the best I got:
Hayden's picking at his nose, Emerson's hair is sweaty from crying so much, and you can't even see their pajamas. Ugh! Maybe next time.
Anyway, I did get this silly pic of Hayden:
Emerson's new thing is to quickly blow through his lips (like he is blowing out a candle). He thinks that it is so funny (and it is!). I just happened to catch him in the middle of doing it. Cute, huh? 
I will give you a hint-no, it's not a zit. That, my friends, is a bump associated with varicella (otherwise known as chicken pox). Now I know that you all are wondering who in the household has this lovely mark of distinction? Um, that would be me. I never had chicken pox as a child nor did I get the vaccine. I have been in contact with the nasty disease 3 times in my life and managed to never get it. Just a year or two ago, my cousin Rachel got it and I touched her bumps trying to figure out what they were. She had already had the pox, so we figured that wasn't it. After going to her doctor, she found out she was going through a second bout with it. Ugh! I was pregnant with Emerson at the time and getting that disease could have killed me and caused my baby to be born serious problems.
Anyway, I had tried to get the vaccine after having Hayden. When I got pregnant in Atlanta, they run lots of routine blood tests. Mine showed that I was not immune to varicella, so I was supposed to get the immunization right after I had him and was done nursing. I managed to move to NC just before he was born, so my new OB did all the bloodwork on me again. They said that I was immune to it. I was pretty confused. I was still worried that I wasn't immune, so I called around to see if I could get the vaccine anywhere. It turned out that only pediatricians and the health dept. had it. Doctors that deal with adults usually don't carry it because most adults had it when they were kids or had already had the chicken pox. After calling the health dept. and finding out what a pain in the butt it would be to get, I decided to just go with what my last bloodwork results were and quit trying to get the shot.
Fast forward to now-When I went to Denver to do all the preliminary testing for the surrogacy back in May, they told me that I was not immune. I had to go get the shot. This just baffled me. I searched around on the CDC website and it turns out that different labs do different versions of the test for varicella immunity. Some tests are more sensitive than others. So, I went into our nasty health dept. (and I do mean gross!) and got the first round of the vaccine back on May 30th. Some people are lucky enough to have no reactions to it and others (like me) actually get a few souvenirs, lol. I have a grand total of 3, so I really have nothing to complain about. Hey, at least I am now immune ;)
Last week, we had the pleasure of having Grandma Jacobsen (Clayton's mom) stay with us. The kids absolutely adore her! They miss her everytime she leaves, but the good news is that she always makes her way back ;)
Our kids love to play in the dirt pit that is bordering our backyard. There is a grate there that E is fascinated by. He throws a little fistful of dirt in there and then tries to see it hit the bottom. He is so cute, lol.
Emerson has been walking consistently for 3 weeks now. His physical therapist is now going to be seeing him only twice a month rather than twice a week. Yay! If after 3 months he is still walking on the insides of his feet, we will be referred over to a foot doctor to get some inserts for his shoes. That's not so bad. I am soooo glad that he is finally walking :)
Man, I am so psyched about the July kit that I just got in the mail from C&H! I LOVE this kit!!! I just did this quick layout tonight:
Here's another quick layout I did with the June C&H kit. Emerson was enjoying his first romp in the jumper. He was so happy!
Emerson was so tired this afternoon, he actually put himself to bed. Hayden would be mad if he knew that little bro was sleeping in his bed, but I just couldn't bring myself to put him in the crib. I moved him so that his legs were all the way on the bed and covered him up. I wonder what he will think when he wakes up???
These were done using the June kit from C&H Scrapbooks. They are simple, but I love them :)
I am so sorry that I haven't been updating my blog. Life has been crazy lately. Here's some updates:
Surrogacy Stuff
Clayton and I flew out to Denver on 5/23 (Tues.) and came back on 5/25 (Thurs.). We weren't even there for 24 hours if you don't count the time we spent waiting at the airport. It was insane. We spent all day Wednesday at the clinic (CCRM). It was really cool to be in the #1 clinic in America for infertility. They made us take drug tests, blood tests, and have a psychological evaluation. I also had to do a routine exam, internal ultrasound, the MMPI (a 500+ question personality test), and a hysteroscopy. We left at 11:55pm that night and got home at 8am the next day.
I found out that everything checked out okay this week with the exception of not being immune to Varicella (chicken pox). I have been exposed to them on 3 occasions, but have never gotten them. Yesterday, I got the shot from the nasty health department. No one else had it in stock because it is a vaccine that needs special storage and it expires quickly; therefore, not many doctors have it on hand (except maybe pediatricians).
Around the 13th of this month, we will do a mock cycle to see how my body reacts to the drugs. Hopefully, that will all go well and we will be able to move on to the real cycle :)
Emerson
He has been going to physical therapy for the past month and I am happy to report that he is walking. By walking, I mean that he is choosing to walk rather than crawl so he is finally up off his knees. Thank the Lord! His therapy will continue for several more months to make sure that he quits walking on the inside of his left foot. All in all, he is doing really well.
Grocery Gaming
You guys that haven't tried this, really should. I can't believe that people still think that you can save more at Wal-Mart and by buying generics. That is what they want you to think. I have been gaming religiously since September 2005 and I have saved a ton of money. Last week, I spent $50 and saved $94. That is $144 worth of groceries for only $50. So far for 2006, I have spent a total of $971 on $2407 worth of groceries!!! That is a savings of $1436 and my percentage is 60%. I have a program that figures all of that out for me. Anyway, I don't buy generics nor do I shop at Wal-Mart. I shop at Harris Teeter and I buy all name brand products. HT is one of the more expensive stores, but that means that they have the best sales. When you use coupons on top of the sales, you really save big. To try the grocery game, click on my link listed on the right and feel free to use me as a referral ;)
Special Visitor
Grandma Christie (Clayton's mom) will be visiting us next week. We are excited to see her again and the kiddos are anxious to be spoiled rotten for a few days. It will be a fun week.
What was once lost is now found
I found my Digi Rebel charger so I should be posting photos again soon. Yay!
I am so senile. I cannot find the charger for my Digital Rebel anywhere!! It is driving me crazy. The last time I had it was when I went to my Aunt's house in High Point, but it isn't there. I have a knack for putting things where they don't belong and then not finding them for a long time. Ack! Why don't I just put things where they belong?! Anyway, this is why I haven't been posting pics lately. I simply can't. My camera is dead. I will head on over to ebay to see if I can locate me another one for a decent price and then I can astound you guys once again with my amateur photography :P
Hayden called me this morning and wished me a happy day and then told me he loved me. How sweet is that?! I was so thrilled to get that call. He is such a good little guy. The boys bought me a set of chairs and a little table to go on the front porch. I am thrilled! What a lucky gal I am to have such wonderful boys :)
Yesterday, the intended parents made the trek from Atlanta to meet us in person. They were fabulous!!! Clayton and I are so happy that we are working with them. We all seem to get along really well. The IM (intended mom) and I are both super chatty and the IF (intended father) and Clayton both have a sarcastic sense of humor. We loved them! Hopefully, we can get through all the tests in Denver on the 24th and then move on to cycling. I can't believe that we are moving ahead so quickly at this point. I am sooo happy about that. All the pregnant people around me are making me incredibly jealous. My body is ready to carry a baby and I am itching to get this surrogacy going. Wish us luck ;)
On Monday, Emerson went to see a cardiologist. After the doc listened to his heart, he said that there were 2 murmurs (holes)-1 innocent and the other he couldn't tell. That's when we had to get an ultrasound. You guys have no idea how sucky it was to hold him on an exam table for 30 min. while this gal kept running the transducer all over his chest. It took forever! They played a movie for him to try and keep him occupied, but he couldn't stand it much longer when the tech was almost done. We were lucky to get the last photo that was needed. It turns out that both murmurs are innocent and he can live a normal life. I am so thrilled beyond words to know that he will be okay and that the murmurs are nothing to worry about.
A shout out to all my readers, I appreciate all of the support that we have been given :)
On Wednesday and today, E went to physical therapy. The gal that is working with him is really nice and good at keeping him entertained. We couldn't get him to walk for her at the first appt. to see how he does it, but she did get to see him stand. She showed me that his ankles are very weak and that he walks on the inside of his feet. It sounds strange, but it looks even weirder, lol. We are going to have to get him to correct that so that he will walk more consistently and so that he doesn't have bigger problems down the road (bad legs/achy hips/bad back). She showed me several ways to help build his muscles up and so we have been doing that. He seems to do the exercises really well. At today's appt., he walked and stood around for her. She doesn't think that it will take too long to get him walking correctly. Yay!
I am so excited to say that the surrogacy is going along fairly well at this point. I am meeting the intended parents tomorrow. They are driving up from Atlanta to meet us. We are looking forward to talking to them face-to-face. On the 23rd, Clayton and I are flying out to Denver, CO. We will be going through the screening stuff for the clinic to make sure that neither one of us has any diseases and that we aren't insane. I am so excited to get through this part with our new couple. After the tests are over and we pass inspection, we will be on our way to doing the injections again. Yay!!! Wish us luck! We won't be back until the 25th. I will update the blog as soon as I get back to let you all know how it went ;)
After getting the Basic Grey Silly line in the May kit from C&H Scrapbooks, I couldn't wait to play with it. The colors are so pretty and the patterns are really cool. I had fun putting together these 3 simple layouts. Laura really loads her kits down with lots of fun embellishments too. Don't you love the flower chipboard pieces from Fancy Pants?
http://www.pilsbury.com/recipes/showRecipe.aspx?rID=41135
A gal was awarded a million dollars by entering it in the Pillsbury bake-off this year. It looks really good, but the ingredients are a little strange. I will try it out soon and give a review.
Speaking of recipes, if you haven't checked out the new magazine Everyday with Rachel Ray, you really should. I have been doing recipes from the newest issue everyday this past week and most of them have turned out to be very yummy. She includes a 7-day menu planner complete with shopping list in each issue. Because her recipes are simple and don't require a bunch of ingredients, it doesn't cost an arm and a leg to get everything. I made mozzarella stuffed meatballs last night with garlic bread and spaghetti. It was easy and delicious!
Check it out:
Clayton got me a cool new RAZR phone in pink. It is so freakin' cool! My hubby was so nice to get me the pink one rather than the others. He knew that I would have gotten the pink one if I was the one ordering it. The bad thing is that sometimes he carries my phone because it is our main household line. He is already dreading that, lol. Come on, cool guys carry pink phones too :P
Emerson had his 18 month wellness check-up today and now we have 2 new appointments with specialists next week. He will see a physical therapist on Monday to find out why he isn't really walking. He has just started to stand in the middle of the floor and then walk, but he isn't doing it enough. I know he can do it though, so I am not too concerned about it. The other appointment is for a cardiologist :( He has had a heart murmur since he was born, but it should have went away by the time he turned a year old. We are going to find out just how bad it is and if surgery will be needed. If it is bad, the pediatrician said that it will need to be patched. On top of all this, he almost got referred over to a speech therapist also. I don't think that one is really necessary. He can say a few words like tree and ball. If he can't say at least 50 words by the time he is 2, we will see a therapist for that also. Sigh....
You know, Hayden was so fast at everything. I am so saddened to see my little guy so far behind. Here's how the 2 compare:
Hayden/Emerson
rolled over-1 month(exactly)/4 months
crawl-7 months/10.5 months
walk-10.5 months/not yet
say 50 words-14 months/not yet
I know, I know. You are not supposed to compare, but I can't help it. I sure hope E is okay and catches up soon. Please send him prayers. He is so sweet. I can't imagine anything being wrong with him. He is perfect in my eyes.
Yes, that is catsup all over my little man. This is what happens when Hayden isn't around to tattle on everything Emerson does. I guess that he thinks that it is hair gel or maybe he just needed to find a way to get Daddy to give him a bath tonight :D
My friend Shirley tagged me a while back and I didn't realize it until today. So here goes:
5 snacks I enjoy:
-Doritos
-mango Italian ice
-bananas slathered with peanut butter
-cheese
-saltines (sometimes topped with cream cheese)
5 songs to which I know all the lyrics:
-Each and every Bon Jovi song ever made
-One Week (Bare Naked Ladies-I can even sing the incredibly fast parts)
-Inside Out (Eve 6)
-Mr. Brightside (The Killers)
-Lonely No More (Rob Thomas)
5 things I would do if I were a multi-millionaire:
-Cruise around the world on a pricey cruise ship with my whole family (yes Christie, that includes you!)
-Pay off all debts owed by us and our closest family members
-Build a house in Wyoming so that we could see Clayton's family more often and have a place of our own
-Move my parents near us and build them a really nice home that they have always wanted and deserved
-Donate a lot of money to people that have really been down on their luck (this would make me happier than anything else)
5 bad habits:
-cursing
-sitting on the net a lot
-being a slob
-drinking Coke
-moving to another task before I am done with the first one
5 things I like doing:
-SCRAPBOOKING!!! duh
-cooking (though I rarely do it)
-exercising at the gym
-surfing the net
-going out to eat
5 things I would never wear, buy or get new again:
-hose
-cropped pants
-jelly shoes
-sexy lingerie (I never wear what I do have-too bad for Clayton, lol)
-maternity pants with the huge belly panel (all of my future pants will be below the belly)
5 favorite toys:
-laptop
-iPod
-DVR
-digital Canon Rebel
-Does my husband's checking account count? lol
I have been tagged by Cheri. I am going to tell you 6 random things about me:
1. I have a problem with perfection. I want things to be perfect, and since I cannot seem to do that, I don't do them at all (ie. cleaning, organizing, etc.). It really drives me nutso! I have a cleaning service come out every other week to help keep my place clean and I guess I need to get me a professional organizer too, lol.
2. I must always put my socks on before my pants or shorts. It just doesn't feel right to do it the other way around :P
3. I adore being pregnant and this is why I am a surrogate. Another interesting fact concerning pregnancy is that I never wanted kids. Clayton didn't want them either. We never planned on it happening, but we are glad that it did. When we initially found out, I just knew that Hayden would be a boy. I prayed for both my kids to be boys and I am so glad I have them :)
4. I have a birthmark in my left eye.
5. I am an only child. While I enjoyed being an only as I was growing up, I wish I had a sibling now. That is the main reason that I had a second child.
6. I can run 3 miles in 27 minutes right now and I try to do so 4-5 times a week at the gym. That simply amazes me! As a kid, I was never able to run a mile under 20 minutes, lol. When I was in high school, I ran the 110 meter hurdles because I didn't have the endurance for any of the longer distances.
And now I must pass the torch on to 6 other bloggers:
Jennifer Frye
Joanna Bolick
Heather Preckel
Renae Burt
Shirley Standifird
Angie Hagist
Here are the rules:
1--If you are tagged, you have to post six things about yourself on your site.
2--Then you should leave a comment on my site to let me know that you have posted.
3--You can then tag at least 6 more people. To tag, just leave them a comment to let them know they are IT!
Here's another quick layout I did using the Winnie's Walls collection. The pics are of my favorite Aunt (Judy) and Hayden in her backyard. She has the prettiest flower garden and goldfish pond. They were out there feeding the fish and had no clue that I was behind them snapping away, lol.
Yee haw ya'll, I just made the design team for an awesome kit club at C&H Scrapbooks. It is a fairly new club that is run by a really sweet gal named Laura. Her kits come loaded with oodles of goodies and she will ship other items from her store along with your kit for free. Check it out :)
This layout was made with the Winnie's Walls collection from SEI. I got it in my customized kit from The Scrapbook Club. Jen does the best job putting together kits especially for you. She has never put together a kit that I wasn't thrilled with :)
Here's Hayden and his little buddies playing at the park this past Tuesday. He has known these 2 since he was 4 months old. Aren't they cute? The one on the left is Jackson and the one on the right Austin.
Hayden had his preschool Easter program today. He was so cute sitting in the front row singing songs. All the kids were lined up in front of the sanctuary and the 2's class got to sit in the front. Fortunately, I managed to get a seat directly in front of him. I really didn't know where he would end up because the parents were seated before the kids came in. I got a few pics and will post them tomorrow. I would also have video-taped it, but I accidentally left my battery in the van. Oh well, I will get him on tape next time ;)
After H's performance, we went to a nearby park with a couple of his buddies. I think that I got a few cute pics there too.
Oh, I forgot to mention Hayden's new watch. I found him a Spiderman one and he loves it. He has been asking for one since his Grandma Christie was here a couple of months ago. She had a watch that he really liked and asked for one every day since then.
I don't know what is going on. My life is just zooming by right now. I wish I could pull the reins and say "whoa" to slow things down a bit. This week is going to be quite hectic. I have Easter programs, a couple different egg hunts to attend, dinner with friends, pre-school, gym workouts, phone consults, grocery shopping, house cleaning before the maid gets here (lol), a Mom's club meeting, a playdate, and our best buds Jason and Natascha are coming to visit this weekend. Sheesh, I am tired just thinking about how fast this week is going to go. At least it is filled with lots of fun things to do!
An update on the surrogacy front
The IPs (intended parents) that I have been working with are now my former IPs. They have made the decision to adopt and I think that is just wonderful! I am so happy for them and I hope that everything goes smoothly. They deserve this so much. Please say a prayer for them ;)
The cool thing is that my former IM (intended mother) got me hooked up with another couple in Atlanta that she is friends with. This couple has been struggling with infertility for quite a while now and they don't have any children at all. I spoke with the potential IM last week and I am now happy to say that we are going to work together! She was the sweetest gal ever and it was like I had know her forever. I definitely think that I have made another great match and I am so thankful for my former IM leading me to them. We are now in the process of getting my paperwork shifted to the right place. What a hassle! Anyway, we will be working with a clinic out in Denver, CO (yes J-fer, that means I get to visit ya!). The RE (reproductive endocronologist) there is one of the best in the country. I am so excited! I just hope that they approve me to work with this lovely couple. That's always the first obstacle that a surrogate must pass after finding her IPs. This place is kinda rigid, so please keep your fingers and toes crossed for us.
Working with a clinic in Denver will definitely have some advantages for my Mother-in-law. I hope that we can arrange to take the kiddos with me and meet her there. She lives in Wyoming (6 hours from Denver) and we rarely get to see her. This may just work out perfect! Clayton's sister Stephanie lives in Cheyenne (1 hour from Denver), so we would be able to see her too. Yay!!!
I haven't been meaning to neglect my blog, but life has been rather difficult over the past week. Emerson has been sick since Tuesday and it has sure been a doozy. On Friday, I thought that he was okay. We went to Chic-Fil-A for lunch and he ended up chunking all over the van before I even got there. Ugh. I am sure that the patrons eating lunch there were watching me and laughing while I was cleaning up what I could in the parking lot. His seat was covered, he was covered, and my van smelled so bad I couldn't help but gag everytime I stuck my head in there. Let me tell you, the big car seats aren't very easy to clean. There was throw-up inside all the latches and every nook/cranny the seat had. It took me 30 min. just to get the cloth off of it so I could wash it. Dang, you would think that they would make it easier than that. I am sure that Emerson isn't the first kid to completely dirty up his seat. Grrrrrr....
On top of Emerson's sickness, I have been feeling rather bad lately. After 5 days of constant pain in my legs and butt, I went to the doctor. All I could think was that I was gonna die from a pulmonary embulism from blood clots in my legs. The doc diagnosed the pain as sciatica. I was so happy to hear him say that rather than blood clots! It is so weird. I have a tingly feeling going from my lower rear down to the backs of my thighs. It is really painful and annoying at times. At night when I am in bed, the pain will extend down to the backs of my calves and into my feet. Supposedly, I will be fine in a few weeks. Sciatica is a common problem and it will get better with time.
Clayton and I have joined the Y. We have a brand new facility that totally rocks! We are both so out-of-shape. Hopefully, this will be something we do regularly and we will get back in shape before my high school reunion (if we are freakin' having one). One thing I lack is yoga pants and workout tops. Old Navy has the best pants, but they just clearanced them out. Ugh!!!! I have been searching all over ebay, but no luck thus far. Anyone have recommendations?
"Take a picture of me Mommy!" is what I heard after taking the photo of Emerson on the floor. Hayden just had to have his photo taken today, so I obliged. I know that there will come a time that he will run from me when the camera comes out, so I may as well take advantage of his willingness while I can ;)
Oh man, Emerson is super sick right now. I think I know where he caught it. We were at the mall playground the other day and I saw a kid with snot dripping down past his chin. It made me sick just looking at him and I cannot believe that a parent thought that it would be okay to spread his germs every freaking where. Ugh!!! It all started this morning. I went to get him out of bed and he had been swimming in puke all morning. I had no idea. The poor thing was so gross, I didn't know what to do first. His crib was covered. Now I wish that I hadn't of bought Pottery Barn bedding. The stuff is too nice to get dirty, lol. He wouldn't eat and he was definitely running a fever. I kept medicine in him all day long. He puked twice more, once around lunch and once after Daddy was home (and he was the receiving end of that one, lol). This is totally nasty to mention, but he also pooped and it came straight over the top of his diaper. Unfortunately, it looked like pea soup and about gagged me when I cleaned it up. The poor thing went to bed early. I felt so bad for him. I wish I could take it all away.
That has been my motto over the past week. I have been trying to get Hayden's first year album done so that I can work on getting our family albums caught up. Now, I am aware that the layouts I have cranked out over the past week aren't publish-worthy, but do you really think that my son will ever notice? Nahhhhh. Anyway, the layout above is the latest one that I have done.
I am amazed at how content Emerson is to 'walk' on his knees. He hasn't shown much interest in getting up on his feet until recently. He can go into a standing position from the middle of the floor now, which is good, but he rarely ever tries to walk afterward. We were at Kala's house yesterday and he stood up on the back deck. I cheered him on and then he suddenly took about 20 sure-footed steps. I about died! You mean to tell me he has been able to do this all along?! What a stinker. Anyway, that was the first time that I have witnessed him really walk. It is about dang time. He is 16 months old, for Heaven's sake! I will try to get him to do it again today and get some photos of him in action ;)
Congrats on becoming a Hall of Famer gal!!! I am so happy for ya :)
The Creating Keepsakes 2006 Hall of Fame winners are going to be listed sometime today. I am so sick of refreshing their contest page! No, I did not enter, but I am cheering on a few of my friends. I just know that these gals made it- Alexis Hardy, Heather Preckel, and Tracey Odachowski. The winners were called last week and have had to keep their lips sealed until the official announcement. That has got to be sooooo brutal! Here's my list of picks for this year:
-Alexis Hardy
**-Heather Preckel
-Tracey Odachowski
**-Kelly Lautenbach
**-Vicki Boutin
**-Angelia Wigginton
-Sarah Klemish
**-Jessica Sprague
**-Angi Stevens
**-Shannon Freeman
**-Greta Hammond
-Susan Cyrus
-Mindy Bush
-Heather Burch
-Jen Johner
-Wendy Inman
-Debbie Van Marter
-Stephanie Klauck
Good luck ladies!!!
***Edited to add: The ladies with 2 stars won! You go girlies!!!
I just got a copy of the Michael's wedding book that I worked on last year. I was beginning to wonder if it was ever going to come out! Anyway, I am glad to see all of my projects finally in print. It should be in stores soon, so check it out. If you are a friend or relative of me, you may just find your name in there. I know I used Renae and Ryan, Laura and Steve, Leslie, Virgie, Christie and Jack, Stephanie and Tom, Joanna and Mark, Ashley, Natalie, etc. I really
did mean to use everyone's names, but a lot of them got cut out because they cut one of my projects in half. I had everyone in my family on cards for 2 boards that was for seating at a reception. Well, they nixed one of the boards and just pulled enough cards to make one board for the 
photo. Most of the names that are missing are from my Dad's family :( Also, just so you know, some of you guys have wrong last names when I used you on an invitation (Laura and Steve-you were one of them). I did that on purpose when I first began designing because I was afraid of giving out too much info. After a few projects, I realized that it really didn't matter because the locations and other info. were wrong. Anyway, I didn't want anyone to feel left out if your name didn't get in there, but it was their decision to do that. 
Sorry I have been missing in action from my blog over the past 7 days. After all the bad happenings from last week, I decided to take some time for myself. I feel better and ready to move on. Hopefully, my intended parents will decide to try another transfer in the near future. I really want to do this for them. I will keep you all posted as soon as I know anything.
Hayden is at Mom's house this week. He is having a grand ole time, last I heard. I will probably go down there on Wed. or Thursday to stay a night or two. We'll see.
