Emerson and Clayton 

Catching Up

We went to get some pumpkins last Saturday. Clayton is planning on carving 5 for Halloween and he is so excited about it. He already has his designs planned out and I believe that he is going to carve one a day beginning tonight. As he finishes them, I will post them here to the blog for all to see. ;)

After getting our pumpkins, we went out on the Blue Ridge Parkway to see the trees. It was beautiful, but there was way too many tourists out there. Here's a pic:

Here's the view from our house:

Our Entry

Here's our entryway after getting painted last week. It is a funky brown color that looks purple at certain times of the day. We love it! Now we need to get some stuff up on the walls.

Just shoot me and get it over with

Oh man, I had a bad dentist appointment on Wed. I went because I had been experiencing sensitivity in multiple areas of my mouth and a throbbing molar was killing me. The molar had a root canal when we lived in Atlanta and it was crowned in gold (Clayton refers to me as "Grand Master Brandy" because it makes him think of a rapper). I thought that a root canal would mean that the tooth should never hurt again. My gosh, it has no nerves so how could it? Go figure. Anyway, the dental hygenist prodded around in my mouth and I about jumped out of my seat because it hurt so bad. It wasn't the gold tooth that time. Unfortunately, I have a molar on the other side of my mouth that is being ruined by the wisdom tooth pushing behind it. All 4 of my wisdoms are in and they have never been a problem until now. So this is what I am currently dealing with and what is going to be done about it:

-All 4 wisdom teeth and the gold molar are being extracted. I have a consultation appointment with an oral surgeon next Thursday.

-The molar that is being ruined by one of my wisdoms will have a root canal and then be crowned.

-I have 2 other teeth that have mercury fillings in them. The dentist insists on removing the old fillings and re-filling them with a safer metal. He refers to mercury in you teeth being like asbestos in a house. Yikes.

-Since I will be removing so many teeth, I am finally going to see an orthodontist for braces. I have always wanted straight teeth but my parents could never afford it and I have always been too chicken as an adult to have my teeth pulled for it. I guess I will have no excuse now.

The good news is that I have some Vicodin to help alleviate the pain. My gold tooth is absessed and it is killing me. Everytime I feel the pain coming on, I begin looking forward to the surgery. I guess that is helpful, lol.

BTW, in case you are wondering why I chose a gold crown for my tooth, it wasn't because I thought it would be cool. The dentist chose to crown it with gold because the tooth was whittled down to almost nothing. Supposedly gold was the strongest and best solution for it. Too bad that after $3000 worth of work the dang thing is still getting yanked. Ugh. Maybe I could pawn it? LOL

Wow!

We are having our entryway painted and it is looking so good! The painters (which happen to be my friend Tracy's parents) did a fabulous job putting on the first coat yesterday. It was nice to not be the one to do it for a change. I painted our whole last house and most of this one, but I cannot possibly reach the top of our foyer to do the job. It is open to the second floor and both floors have 9 foot ceilings. It is way too high up. They will be coming back this morning to finish it with a second coat. I can't wait! It is amazing what a difference it has made. Our house now feels like a home. I will post some pics this weekend.

Totally unexpected

A while back I sent in some layouts for a design team try-out for 3 Scrappy Boys. I have been a long-time subscriber and have always wanted to design for them. Well, I surprisingly got an email yesterday telling me that I had made the team. Wow!!! I am just amazed to have made the list!

Preschool

Emerson has been really enjoying his first year at the preschool. I can't remember his friend's name on the left, but I know that they pal around quite a bit. In the photo, they are sitting in a 6-chair stroller waiting for their mommies to pick them up. The teachers were blowing bubbles at them and I could hear them giggling before I made the turn into the hallway. 

New layouts for TSR

These layouts were all made using the latest kit from The ScrapRoom. I just love Tammy's kits! The papers and embies are just perfect.

Ready for the Holidays

Every year starting in September, I begin to get excited about the upcoming holidays and seasons. The changing of the leaves, going to the pumpkin patch, trick-or-treating, and hot apple cider are all things that I associate with the Fall season. I love the cooler weather that accompanies it. People come here to Asheville to see the changing leaves and it is quite beautiful. I am so happy that I don't have to travel anywhere to see such gorgeous views. If you haven't been here during this season, I highly recommend it. The Blue Ridge Mountains are a sight to behold.

Halloween is the first holiday and it is one of my favorites. I love getting the kids dressed up and going door to door in our neighborhood. We have several decorations already put out and I will quickly be adding more as I can't seem to be able to stop buying them. We are going to throw a Halloween party with a few neighbors and some of Hayden's buds this year. I plan on serving a light dinner of some sort and having cool festive foods/goodies. Afterward, the kids can take off trick-or-treating. The good thing is that our neighborhood is *the* place to be for TOTing. There are so many houses here that it is a one-stop-shop. I love that! I will probably send Clayton with the kids and I will stay behind to hand out candy. That is one of my favorite things to do.

Shortly after that, Emerson and Clayton's birthdays come around. E is at the beginning of November and C is at the end. Both of their gifts have already been bought and E's is even wrapped. I went ahead and gave C his gift last week (an XBox 360). I know it was way early, but he has been so wonderful to me. He has also been pretty bored since his XBox went kaput recently, so I just had to give it to him. He was thrilled, to say the least.

Anyway, Thanksgiving comes next. We take an annual trip to the pumpkin patch for pictures and then we buy some pumpkins from a really nice old guy that runs a roadside stand. He is the nicest guy ever and I will continue going back to him every year. For our holiday dinner, I always make a huge meal with my parents and grandparents. I am so glad that I get to be the host each year. Cooking is one of my hobbies, so this holiday definitely suits me. Clayton and I are both huge turkey fans and we always manage to eat every last bite of the leftovers. Yummy, I can't wait for the feast to begin!

Christmas is the grand finale of the year. This year, I am well prepared. I have already addressed my cards, bought everyone's gifts, gotten the Hallmark ornaments, and the homemade gifts are almost done. The only thing left to do is buy the Christmas jammies for each of us. After that, we will be able to enjoy the holiday without a lot of stress. Yay! I am so looking forward to the festivities. We are most likely going to do a trip with my parents on the Polar Express to see Santa. The kids will get a big kick out of that! We will do Christmas morning at home and then have dinner with my family in High Point. It's always so hectic, but we really enjoy it.

LOL, I didn't mean to ramble so much, but I am super tired. Clayton is in Wisconsin this week and I can't sleep without him here. Ugh. I can't wait for him to come back on Friday.

New layout

The ScrapRoom had us all make a layout about ourselves for the design team section of the website. I have been wanting to use this beautiful KI paper forever, so I finally did and the above layout is what I came up with. The picture stinks, but it was the only one I had (Joanna, I need you to come over here for a photo shoot!). 

OMG, you have to see this!

Click on this link and then click on the top video with Elmo: http://abcnews.go.com/Video/guide?category=Top%20Videos&subcategory=&id=2462444#2462444

I chuckled the whole time the new Elmo TMX laughed. It is so freakin' cute! I had no desire to get this thing for my kids until I actually saw it. He has 3 cycles of laughs. If you watch all 3 on the video, you will see that he gets funnier with each cycle. He rolls, slaps the ground, slaps his hip, and doubles over with laughter. What's amazing is that he gets right back up on his feet after having a contagious laughing fit. He is absolutely hilarious.

Here's a complete description of what he does:
-Elmo will tickle America's funny bone with 3 interactive tickle spots on his chin, tummy or toe
-When kids tickle Elmo once on any of the tickle spots, he starts to laugh and slap his leg twice, then falls down into a sitting position and rocks himself back up to standing while laughing
-Tickle him a second time and he repeats the pattern even more, then sits down again and falls backwards onto his back and starts kicking his feet while laughing even harder before standing up and asking to be tickled again
-Tickle him 3 times and he absolutely lets loose going through the first 2 patterns and then rolling over onto his tummy where he starts hitting the floor with his hand in gales of laughter, then rolling onto his back, standing up again, and ending with a deep sigh

If you are interested in getting one for the holidays, good luck. They debuted yesterday and no stores around me have any left. I was so upset that I was a day late and a dollar short. Ugh! It's sad, but alot of them got swiped up by people reselling them for ungodly amounts on ebay. Well, thank the Lord for my wonderful Mom because she called around her town for them and everyone was out. She then tried a Toys 'R Us in Greensboro (about 30 min. from her) and found out that they had 16 left. They would not hold an Elmo for her so she raced out there to get one. Fortunately, there was 3 left when she arrived. She swiped one and my Aunt got one too for my cousins. Yay!!! I can't wait for Emerson to get it for Christmas. He is going to love it. :)

My silly boy

Emerson is growing up too fast. Doesn't he look so much older in this photo? I took it over a month and a half ago. Sheesh. Slow down little man. 

Forgot to post this one

Clayton took this photo of me and the kiddos back on my birthday. We were goofing around in the the playroom. 

Crap...

I tell you what, I did the dumbest thing yesterday. We went to the fair with Tracy and Austin. I took my camera so that I could get some fun shots of the kiddos. When I tried to take a pic of them on a ride, I realized that I left the stupid memory card in it's dock at home. Ugh! This is the first time that I have forgotten the stupid thing. They were so cute. Lesson learned.

I forgot to mention...

I made the design team for The ScrapRoom!!! I have wanted to design for this club forever! The owner, Tammy, has a great knack for putting together page kits. Her kits come loaded with 4 mini kits that guarantee you at least 8 layouts. I can get 10-12 out of them sometimes. She always picks the latest/greatest papers and embellishments. I have been a subscriber of TSR for a long time now, so I know just how good the kits really are. They ROCK! Check out the monthly idea page here: http://www.scrap-room.com/ideas.htm . It is so exciting to see that I have 4 projects there with my name in lights. What an honor! Anyway, the layouts that got me a spot on the team can be see at that link. Mind you, they could have been better. I did them all within 24 hours because I had to leave for Denver and wouldn't be back home to work on them before the deadline. There is another double page layout that I did, but I can't post that one because it is a part of an instruction card that can only be seen exclusively by kit subscribers.

Also, I am happy to report that my friend Shirley also made the team! Yee haw!! I used to design for her when she owned The Scrapbook Stand. She rocks and I am so glad to be working with her again. :)

Re-Cap of Denver

You know, I wrote out a HUGE re-cap of my adventures in Denver and somehow it all got deleted before I could post here on blogger. Dang it! Be sure to scroll down the page as I have added several new updates to my blog. Anyhow, here's how my trip went:

Wed. 8/23-My flight from Asheville got delayed and so I missed my second flight from Atlanta. It made me really late and I ended up getting to the hotel after midnight and chatting with my IM until 2am (MST), although it felt more like 4am (EST) to me. She is so sweet! She had cookies, Body Shop goodies, and a beautiful card waiting in my room for me. Needless to say, we slept in the next morning, lol.

Thurs. 8/24-We went out to the local mall to kill some time. That place is so cool! It looked like a lodge inside. I was pretty impressed. We caught a matinee and saw "Little Miss Sunshine". That movie is really cute and I highly suggest it.

Fri. 8/25 and Sat. 8/26-We transferred 3 embryos at around 2pm that Friday. Everything went well. I had a valium before the procedure so I ended up sleeping the rest of the day. I was ordered to be on strict bedrest for the rest of that day and the next. My IM took great care of me, but it was still rough. I couldn't stand not being able to get up and walk around. My body ached from being in the bed so much. At least I had good company. ;)

Sun. 8/27-My IM flew back home to Atlanta that morning, so I went out and toured the Denver Tech Center area that day. It felt so good to be back on my feet! I walked everywhere and the weather was so nice. The photo above was one of the pretty fountains that I passed on one of the main roads near my hotel. That night, I met one of my college buddies that now lives in Denver, Jennifer. I miss her so much. When we got together, it was just like old times. She was just as beautiful as I remember. We had a great night reminiscing about our college days when we both worked for a student textbook store called Packbackers. Man, those were the days! We had a wonderful dinner at PF Changs and I really enjoyed her company. Clayton and I have been toying with the idea of moving out to Denver. It would be great to be near J-fer, but she would likely move back to NC if and when we did that.

Mon. 8/28-I couldn't help but fear for my life on the 2 plane rides back home. A plane had went down the day before and I couldn't help but think about it the whole time. It was such a tragedy. Those poor people. I luckily made it back home and I was so happy to see my family waiting for me outside the airport doors. I had missed them so much. I felt such a sigh of relief to finally be back home again.

First Day of Preshool

The boys had their first day of preschool this past Tuesday. Both of their classes seem to be really fun. They both come home exhausted, but happy. Hayden's class will be doing some fun new things this year like cooking and taking field trips. Emerson has a cute gal pal in his. Her name is Bailey and the teacher said that they stick together like glue. That's my chick magnet boy!

In the photo the boys were ready to go and didn't want to take the time for a pic. That's why Hayden has a "come on already" look on his face, lol. 

Mango Madness

Ok, so I normally don't look this way, I swear. The last time I posted a pic when I had hives, I had assumed that it was from a mango. Well, I ate several pieces of fresh mango while I was in Denver and I did not develop a reaction. I decided that the hives must have come from something else since I appeared to be fine the last time I ate them. This past Tuesday, I decided to make a recipe for a yummy mango taco salad. Let me tell ya, it was pretty good. I ate every bite on my plate. The next morning, I started to scratch my armpits because they were itching me to death and that is when I felt little bumps everywhere. Ack! My whole body is covered with them. The rash on my face is hideous and one of my eyes is incredibly swollen. See how my left eye looks in the photo? That isn't normal. It looks like I got into a street fight. Geez. I have hives all over me. The bumps are even in my butt crack, lol. The good news is that I can continue to eat mango. I just can't cut fresh mango myself. After doing some research, I found out that the peel of the mango and the sap that may come out of the stem have the same chemical that poison oak/ivy have. I am severely allergic to poison oak/ivy, so my body reacted to the peel of the mango. It's a good thing that I didn't eat the peel, lol. Next time I buy fresh mango, I will either use gloves when I cut it or I will have Clayton do it. This was a nasty lesson to learn, but I am so glad that I can still eat it.

Surrogacy Update

I talked with my IM last night and I am so excited that they may use an egg donor to try having a baby again. I happily agreed to carry for them if they decide to travel that path. I have enjoyed being a part of their journey to parenthood and I would love nothing more than to work with them again. All they have to do is tell me when and I am there. They may change their minds and do adoption though, so I am not getting my hopes up too much just yet. In 2 weeks, they will let me know their decision as they have a lot of research to do before making up their minds. No matter what they decide, I will stand behind them and cheer them on. They are the sweetest couple and I just know that they will make wonderful parents.

If they decide to go the adoption route, I am going to give a third and final couple a try. I really want to be a surrogate and I feel like it is my calling. Nothing would make me happier or make me feel more worthwhile than to help a couple achieve their dream of parenthood.

Hayden's New Toy

Hayden just got his first Big Wheel last weekend. Boy, that thing sure does bring back memories for Clayton and I. We both had one when we were little. They are so fun! 

So Incredibly Sad...

I am sad to say that our embryo transfer was unsuccessful. I don't really know what to do or say at this point. Please keep my IPs in your prayers because this was their last try at having their own baby. :(

Leaving on a jet plane

I am heading out to Denver tomorrow. Our transfer is most likely going to be Friday. Wish us luck!

Tagged

I was tagged by Shirley via TSR. My answers are in bold red.

YOUR HOME:
Coffee table or soft ottoman?
Flower arrangements or candle-scapes?
TV/DVD/stereo black or silver?
Garden annuals or perennials?
Both Antiques & flea finds or matching sets?
Office or junk drawer?

YOUR SELF:
Pony tail or butterfly clip?
Make-up or nada?
Cotton or synthetics?
Flip flops or leather sandals?
Silver or gold? I really prefer platinum ;)
Purse or pocket?

WITH HUBBY:
Fine dining or picnics?
In jammies or unmentionables?
You click the remote or he does?
Theater or rent?
Lowes or the mall?
House work or hire it out?

Getting ready to go!

My trip to Denver for the embryo transfer is right around the corner. I can't wait! My IM is getting her hcg trigger shot today and she will have her eggs retrieved on Tuesday morning. I begin the huge PIO shots tomorrow night and will fly out to meet her on Wednesday. The clinic says that the transfer could be on either Friday or Sunday. It all depends on how the embryos do in the lab. We shall see. I have already gotten a few of my things packed and I am looking forward to this adventure. Wish us luck!

BTW-I have several new layouts to show you all, but I can't post them just yet. They are all for phase 2 of the design team competition on The ScrapRoom. I think that I will be able to unveil them on the 1st. ;)

3 Layouts for C&H

I did 3 quick layouts last week using the August kit from C&H Scrapbooks. It included one of the new cool white Sharpies that everyone seems to be looking for and I had fun learning to use it. It is fabulous for doodling. If you want to read my article that I wrote on how to use it, click on this link: August Newsletter.

If you want to read the journaling, click on the photo and it will enlarge it. ;)

Layout #2

 

Layout #3

 

Wow, I am a complete slacker

Things have been nutso lately, so the ole blog got put on the backburner. Let me catch up quickly right now and I will post some photos tonight or tomorrow.

The Surrogacy
Everything is going according to plan as of right now. My intended mother (IM) begins her drugs today for her upcoming egg retrieval. This Friday will be my internal ultrasound to check my lining and bloodwork. Hopefully, it will all be perfect. I will be flying out to Denver on the 23rd and our embryo transfer will be sometime between the 24th-26th. I will have 2 days of boring bedrest, but I hope that my IM and my computer keep me company. We are so excited! Please keep my intended parents in your prayers. I really want to make this happen for them, but I realize that once the babies are in me, it is up to God.


Scrapbooking
I am thrilled to announce that I have made it to Phase 2 of the competition for the new design team for The ScrapRoom! Best of all, my friend Shirley made it too!! She is the previous owner of The Scrapbook Stand where I was lucky enough to be chosen for her first design team. Cool, huh?

The Kiddos
They are both doing well. Hayden is going through a VERY annoying phase though. He whines and cries all the time. He is a total drama king. Emerson is going to the physical therapist next week and we will find out if he needs to see a foot doctor. I sure hope not!

My Birthday
My birthday was a week ago on the 2nd. I got lots of cards and well wishes that made me feel special. Hubby took me out to eat Mexican that night with our friends, the Smiths. It was excellent as always. On Friday, Clayton arranged for the kids to go to Parents Night Out at our YMCA. We got to go out to Olive Garden and Barnes & Noble by ourselves! Now that was a treat :)

Oh, and I forgot to mention that I am 28 this year again. No, seriously. I mean that. Stupid me thought that I was 28 all last year until I saw my page on myspace. It said that I was 27 and I thought that it was wrong, lol. I looked in my profile to see if I had entered my year wrong, but it was right. After doing the math, it occured to me that I skipped being 27 for almost the whole year!

Gotta love SEI!

I made these 2 layouts the other day using this cool SEI paper that I got in my latest customized kit from The Scrapbook Club. I just *LOVE* this photo of Emerson and his Grandma Jacobsen. I didn't photoshop it or alter it at all. It just came out like that. It has the nicest glow to it, dontcha think?

Baby E

 

Watch GMA tomorrow!

The surrogacy story that I posted about on the 10th is going to be featured on Good Morning America tomorrow morning. It should be featured sometime around 8am EST.

Catching up...

Sorry I haven't updated lately. The kiddos and I were in High Point with my family all last week. I couldn't get online because my Uncle lost his password to his Internet account. His computer won't go online any more, so I was just going to connect my laptop to his connection. I remember doing it before and the password was written down, but we couldn't find the paper anywhere. Ugh. Anyway, my Mom had a pretty invasive surgery done last Monday and she is doing way better than expected. I am so glad that she isn't hurting.

I have great news on the surrogacy front. I begin injectibles (Lupron) and antibiotics on Thursday. Yee haw! It's weird to be excited about sticking needles in my stomach again, lol. We are going to transfer the embryos sometime between the 24th-26th of August. I cannot wait!!! My intended Mother is over the moon and is anxious to get to that point. I have my fingers and toes crossed that this all works out and that the intended parents have a baby to bring into their home. These 2 people are just the nicest you will ever meet. They are so fun and easy-going. I know that they will be awesome parents. Please keep them in your thoughts/prayers over the next month. They want this more than anything and this is their last chance. They have already used a surrogate for 3 other transfers and they are still empty-handed. We hope that this time will be different since we are using the best RE (reproductive endocrinologist) in the US for this transfer. I will keep you all updated.

J-fer, plan on me being in Denver from August 23rd-28th. We need to get together. I will have to be on strict bedrest for 48 hours after the transfer, but I don't know which day it will be until I get there. I will call you when I know more. You need to email me your phone number again.

And this is why I am a surrogate...

Click here to read a newspaper article from the Raleigh News & Observer about a couple who had a long and hard battle with unexplained infertility. The awesome thing about this couple is that they finally did end up with two children-1 via the natural mother and the other via a surrogate. The clencher is that they were both pregnant at the same time so the kids are twins that developed in separate wombs. It is truly a sweet and interesting story.

My All American Boy on the 4th 

Emerson watering the lawn 

Hayden 

Hayden playing in his pool