Change is good + A joke

The above photo is not from my own home but I love the way that the walls are done. I am a huge fan of wainscoting, chair railing and crown molding. Unfortunately, our home didn't come with any of those. We didn't build the house (someone else did and his financing fell through-that's how we got it) so we didn't get the say-so on those upgrades. Anyhow, I recently decided to remodel our formal dining room and our downstairs 1/2 bath. The dining room is going to be a gorgeous red with dover white 3ft. high wainscoting, chair railing and 6" crown molding. The bathroom is going to be a pretty purple tone (probably) and have dover white 4ft. high beadboard and chair railing. I am so excited!! They wanted to do the work this weekend but we have too many things going on so I have them scheduled for the following weekend. Once we get those projects completed, I will possibly have them come in and paint the rest of our house. We'll have to see. We can do the work *alot* cheaper ourselves so that makes it hard for us to spend all that money on simple paint.

My friend Sarah sent me a joke the other day and I just have to share:

So, I was talking to this little girl, Catherine, the daughter of some friends, and she said she wanted to be President someday. Both of her parents, liberal Democrats were standing there with us and I asked Catherine, 'If you were President what would be the first thing you would do?'

Catherine replied, 'I would give houses to all the homeless people.'

'Wow, what a worthy goal you have there, Catherine.' I told her, 'you don't have to wait until you're President. You can start now by coming over to my house and cleaning up all the dog poop in my back yard and I will pay you $5 dollars. Then we can go over to the grocery store where the homeless guy hangs out, you can give him the $5 dollars to use for a new house.'

Catherine (who was about 5) thought that over for a second, while her mom looked at me seething, and Catherine replied, 'Why doesn't the homeless guy come over and clean up the dog poop and you can just pay him the $5 dollars?'

'Ah', I said, 'Welcome to the Republican Party'.

Ha ha!!!

I'm Hungry!

I am a little bit bored today so now is a good time for me to list out all the Disney restaurants that we are going to go to this year. I am super duper excited!! Only 52 days to go. Here is this year's list of ADRs (advanced dining reservations):

9/19-Kona Cafe-dinner (Polynesian Resort)
We ate there last year since it is located conveniently in our hotel. The food was wonderful and I can't wait to get the banana cream brulee again. Yum...

9/20-'Ohana-breakfast (Polynesian Resort)
We had dinner here last time and it was just okay. You really have to like meat since that is the main attraction. They skewer everything and cook it over a pit. I didn't really care for the meat but the Maui potatoes side and the bread pudding were to die for.

This year we opted to have breakfast here instead. They serve everything family style and there are characters circulating the room (I know Lilo and Stitch are there for sure). I think that it will be a great first morning meal just before we head out to the Magic Kingdom.

9/20-Cinderella's Royal Table-dinner (Magic Kingdom)
I have heard mixed reviews about this place but I am willing to give it a shot. CRT is actually one of the hardest ressies to get since the meal includes photos with Cinderella and it is located inside the castle. It's every kid's dream to eat inside there (and mine!). Hopefully I won't be too disappointed by the food but at least the atmosphere is priceless.

9/21-Rainforest Cafe-lunch (Animal Kingdom)
I have eaten here a few times in the past. The food is always yummy and the atmosphere is so cool. My kiddos are going to love it!

9/21-The Wave-dinner (Contemporary Resort)
This is a brand new restaurant so I don't know much about it. I have seen pics and it is beautiful inside. The food is supposed to be mostly organic and fresh.

9/22-Teppan Edo-dinner (Epcot-Japan)
I have heard rave reviews about this place. I think that the kids will enjoy watching the chefs do tricks at the hibachi and I love this type of cuisine.

9/23-Kona Cafe-breakfast (Polynesian Resort)
This place has an awesome breakfast menu that includes Tonga toast and macadamia nut pancakes. Can I just say yum?!

9/23-Garden View Tea Room-high tea (Grand Floridian Resort)
I did this one twice during our last trip and it was the highlight of my trip. The food is phenomenal and the teas are so yummy. This is a great place to get away from the kids and have some adult time. Mom and I are going alone this time.

9/23-Whispering Canyon Cafe-dinner (Wildnerness Lodge Resort)
I am mainly doing this one for the kids. Supposedly the wait staff does lots of silly antics and they have pony races during dinner for the kiddos. I am just looking forward to seeing this resort again because the inside is absolutely breathtaking.

9/24-Sci-Fi Dine-In-dinner (Hollywood Studios-used to be MGM)
This has always been one of my favorite places to eat and it is now my whole family's favorite too. You sit in a car and a car hop brings you your food. In the meantime, they show cheesy old flicks on the big screen ahead of you. On our last trip this was our most enjoyable meal thanks to the ambience. The food is just okay though.

9/25-Chef Mickey's-breakfast (Contemporary Resort)
This is a character breakfast with Mickey Mouse and the gang. It should be fun but I don't expect the buffet to be all that great (I despise buffets-major ick factor!!). We'll just have to wait and see.

9/25-Rose & Crown-dinner (Epcot-United Kingdom)
I booked this one because the menu looked good and they offer lots of good beer for Clayton. Hopefully it will be as good as I think that it will be!

9/26-Kona Cafe-lunch (Polynesian Resort)
We eat here alot, huh? It is convenient to us since it will be close to our room at the Poly. It's good too so why not?

9/27-Liberty Tree Tavern-dinner (Magic Kingdom)
We ate here for our first lunch on our last trip. It was super yummy and I am thrilled to be going back. This time we are going for dinner so it will be a bit different (it is served family style with limited options). I still think that it will be great though. It is a character dinner and they will be in Halloween costumes this particular evening because it is a Halloween party night. My friend Sandy and her daughter Sage (I met them back in NC and they now live in FL) will be going with us too. How fun!

New cool way to check blog posts

I just discovered on Blogspot/Blogger that you can now add a blog list in a much better form than the regular list option. It is an easy element to add. Can I just tell you how much I love it?! Now it tells you the name of the blog, the title of the most recent post and the time that it was last updated. I even have them arranged in the order of the most recent update. Now I won't have to click on all of my blog links just to find that only 2 people updated in the past few days. I love that!! You can also choose to have an excerpt of each blog's most recent post to be shown on your page. As far as customization goes, you have complete control. You can rename blogs (I like to add in my friend's names), choose to have whatever info. you want displayed, choose what order you want the blogs to be in, etc. Blogger rocks!!

Not Much Going On Around Here

Sorry I haven't had much to write about lately. Life has been a bit monotonous to say the least. I have been busy doing lots of shots, going to the hospital for blood work and napping. Everyday I get super sleepy around 2pm. This happened with the first 3 pregnancies so this one isn't any different. I will gain energy back when I hit the second trimester (which is WONDERFUL timing since we will be in Disney World when I hit that milestone!). I had a couple of days of nauseousness a little while back but I am totally fine now (which may have been a result of the 7 or so pills I had to take in the morning). My body is responding beautifully to the pregnancy and I feel quite good almost all of the time. If I wasn't sleepy, I would feel pretty much normal. :)

We set up the first ultrasound appointment for August 4th. My IPs are going to fly in and go with me. I can't wait to see them! It will be the first time that I get to meet the baby's father. If he is anything like my IM, then I know that we will get along. We plan to get together that Sunday (8/3) for dinner and then the ultrasound will be early Monday morning. Wish us luck!!

I got my new washer and dryer today and they are totally cool. I have never seen such pretty appliances. When you start them up they look like they have a rocketship control panel with all their cool lights and buttons. They also make the cutest noises at the end of a cycle and when I make a selection on the keypad. My first load was towels and they came out so much fluffier than I have ever had before. They looked practically brand new. It was strange to see how different they looked since washing/drying them in the new gizmos. The fibers were actually standing up and were fluffed. From what I have seen so far, LG has majorly impressed me.

We are now 57 days away from visiting sunny Florida again. I can't wait!!! The kids are really excited this year since they now know what to expect. Last year it was a little bit hard trying to psych them up because they had no clue what Disney World was. This trip is going to be so much fun. Emerson will be big enough to ride Big Thunder Mountain and that is a huge deal. Hayden is talking about Space Mountain (we'll have to wait and see on that one!). Hubby is excited about doing Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party this time. Hayden and I went to it last year and we still rave about it. I won't be able to ride the big rides once again but as long as I have a Mickey ice cream bar in one hand and a Dole Whip float in the other, I will be hunky-dory, lol. Yes, I am a glutton. That is one benefit of being preggo. I can eat, eat, eat and then drop the pounds quickly after the birth by pumping milk. ;)

You guys need to check out Pioneer Woman's blog from my sidebar. I made the recently posted zucchini cakes and they were delicious! I really liked the crispy outside and the tender inside. The fresh garlic was a bit much so next time I will cut that down just a little bit or use a small amount of garlic powder instead. Overall, the recipe is a keeper for me.

Hee hee, I have the tv on in the background and it is that episode of Friends where Phoebe goes for her ultrasound and finds that she is carrying triplets for her brother and his wife. I love the fact that her character is a gestational surrogate for them. Being a GS is awesome!

Check these out...

Clayton and I have grown sick of our old washer. It has been getting oil spots on all of our clothes lately so we decided to replace it and our dryer that we have had for 10 years. After reading up on LG products, C knew that they were our best option. We headed out to Home Depot last night and bought this pretty pair. Don't ya just love that color? It is called Bahama Blue. Love it!!! They will get here on Thursday and we will finally be able to have clean clothes once again. Yay for not having to wash the same load of clothes more than once, lol.

It's for real...

I went in today for my first beta test (hcg) and it was positive! The number was 210.9 which is a really good strong number. I go in again on Friday for another beta test to make sure that my levels are rising appropriately. After that we will have to wait 2-3 weeks to get the first ultrasound. That's when we will know if one or both babies stuck around. I can't wait!! Due date is March 24th, 2009. :)

Can you guys please comment on this post and let me know if the 2 tickers at the top of my blog are side-by-side or are they one on top of the other? I have a wide screen laptop so they are next to each other on my screen. I really want them to be that way rather than the other but I have no idea what you guys are seeing. Thanks for your help!

BTW-It may sound weird that I am already 4 weeks along when we just transferred 10 days ago. There is a good explanation for that. Basically, in a normal cycle you don't ovulate until around day 14 (2 weeks after you start day 1 of your period) and that is when conception occurs. By the time that you know that you are pregnant, you most likely just missed day 1 of your next cycle (about 2 weeks after conception). Due to never knowing exactly when conception occured because everyone's period lengths are different, the due date is always calculated from the 1st day of your last period. With IVF, we know exactly when conception occured but it still has to be calculated with the addition of 14 days before the egg donor's retrieval (ours was 7/1 and that was the day of fertilization). It's weird but I could claim to be 2 weeks pregnant before the embryos were ever created, lol.

I hope all this made sense.

Beautiful Colorado-Part 1 (from last weekend)

Poor E. This was how he looked last Friday morning. He woke up with a tummy ache and a fever. I originally needed Clayton to meet me around lunchtime at the spa so I could have a mini treatment but this caused me to cancel. While I was leaving CJ a voicemail not to meet me there, E puked on my bed and I started freaking out. I am sure that was one funny message to listen to, lol. Anyhoo, he took some medicine and felt better that afternoon. Thank the Lord he didn't remain sick through the next day because that was when we went on a family picnic in the Rocky Mountain National Forest.

Here are my boys enjoying a cool area that we found for our picnic (yes I am aware that they just wore these outifts not too long ago, lol).

Mom and Me (you can barely see my new 'do but it floops up on the bottom)

Check the awesome scenery! Isn't it gorgeous?

Beautiful Colorado-Part 2

More tests for your viewing pleasure...

Let me just say that I think that the First Response brand sucks. You can barely see the line on it (the top test). It has gotten a bit darker since I took the picture but still. Ugh. I recommend the EPT regular and digital tests. I got my positives a day earlier on the EPTs.

Whoo hooooooo!!!!

Yee Haw Ya'll!!!!

I just got this lovely test tonight at 6 days past 5 day transfer (that would equal 11 days past ovulation in a natural cycle so it is still early). Yayyyyyy for my wonderful IPs!

I will be back soon, I promise...

I am so sorry that I just blogged and ran off after my journey back home from San Fran. It hasn't been my intentions. My Mom is here taking care of me and I have just been taking it super easy. My days have consisted of lots of naps and chit-chat. I just haven't wanted to jump on the computer lately. Mom will be leaving on Monday and I will then return to blogging regularly, I pinky swear. I will give a surrogacy update and share some pics then too. We are going to Estes Park tomorrow to show Mom around and Sunday will likely be something fun too.

Have a wonderful weekend!! :)

Cool

You guys won't believe who I just had the pleasure of meeting in the San Fran airport. I was sitting in a restaurant eating some dinner when an interesting man walked in wearing a backwards hat, a pair of earrings, had a couple tattoos and a pair of sunglasses. I could not help but stare at him while was eating because he sure did look like a certain famous chef. I sat there googling him for pics in the hopes that I could positively identify him. I even watched clips of this person on you tube just to see if I could get a glimpse of his tattoos so that I could match him up. Sure enough, it was who I suspected-Guy Fieri! You know, the cool guy that won the first season of Food Network Star. Awesome, huh?
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Surrogacy Updates

Hey everyone! I am sitting here in the San Francisco airport waiting for my delayed flight. As of right now I have an extra 2 hours to sit around incubating, lol. We transferred 2 flawless embryos yesterday around 1pm. We know that 1 is a boy and the other is a girl. How cool is that?! Anyway I am going to keep this short since I am on my BlackBerry. I will jump back on here as soon as I can get on my laptop. Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

Keep your fingers and toes crossed for my IPs and their perfect little embryos. :)
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Pirate Play & Updates

The kiddos have been having fun with pirate stuff lately. On Monday I had them take homemade pirate hooks and see how many pretzels that they could scoop up with them. That was a huge hit at snacktime. See how into it they were? lol

Yesterday was the egg donor's retrieval. The RE was able to retrieve 20 eggies for our upcoming transfer. Yay!

My Mom is flying in today to take care of the kiddos while I go to San Francisco this weekend. She should be here around 6pm and we can't wait to pick her up. I hope that she has me some chicken biscuits from Biscuitville stuffed in her suitcase. I miss having breakfast biscuits so much! Colorado really needs to think about getting either a Biscuitville or a Bojangles so that I can get my biscuit fix. McDonald's is the only place here that has them and they are not worth talking about. Blech.