Harper Bolick and Emerson chilling at the fire station
Hayden's 2nd Birthday
My 28th birthday-the scan makes it look a bit crooked but it isn't IRL
This will be the place to read about my 4 journeys as a gestational surrogate and my hectic life with 2 kiddos. I may even share some recipes from time to time. Check it out frequently for the latest happenings. :)
Harper Bolick and Emerson chilling at the fire station
Hayden's 2nd Birthday
My 28th birthday-the scan makes it look a bit crooked but it isn't IRL
Posted by Brandy at 7/31/2007 09:45:00 PM 3 comments
Labels: scrapbooking
Our new home did not come with air conditioning and we looked at that as a good thing. A lot of homes here don't have it because the average high temp for our area is 89. 89 is completely doable without a/c. You sleep with your windows open at night because it gets pretty chilly and then you shut them in the morning before it begins to get warm outside. Around 2 or 3pm, it gets hot but it doesn't last long. Fans are all you need to make it through those few hours of heat. Once 6pm rolls around, it begins to cool down and you can start opening up your windows for a breeze. Well, that is how it is supposed to go anyway. We have experienced a nasty heatwave since we got into our house back on the 2nd. We have only had 2 or 3 days where the temps were below 95. Ugh. It really doesn't help that I am 17 weeks pregnant. We are finally getting air conditioning installed tomorrow. Wouldn't you know it, the temps are only going to be mid 80s today and high 80s tomorrow. That figures.
I am really beginning to show now (I will try to post a pic tomorrow). This little guy tosses and tumbles all around. We got the prelim results from the amnio and we know with certainty that he doesn't have Down's. My IPs are positively thrilled. :)
Posted by Brandy at 7/26/2007 09:42:00 AM 0 comments
I know I haven't posted in a while but this past week was completely crazy for me. My nerves were shot because of the amnio that was to take place on Thursday. The thought of the procedure has always scared me and I really didn't want to go through with it. Well, my fears have definitely been validated. It sucked. I won't bore you with the details but I won't ever put myself through that trauma again (unless I fail the level II ultrasound or have some bloodwork come back abnormal). I have been so sore the past few days. Anyhow, the ultrasound was perfect and there was no markers for Down's. The baby looked extremely healthy and *HE* is a rowdy little thing (yes, it is a boy!). He moved constantly throughout the ultrasound and the sonographer remarked about how active he is. I didn't need her to tell me that. He is a little tumbler. I have felt movements since 11 weeks and now that he is 16 weeks, I feel him a lot more. I believe that my IPs have an acrobat on their hands, lol.Grandma Christie watched the kiddos while I went to Denver for the amnio. She also watched them last night while we went to see Bon Jovi at Cheyenne Frontier Days. We took off before dinner and met Steph & Tom at their house. She made a wonderful apple salsa that we ate the heck out of. It was served with cinnamon tortilla chips. Yum! After stuffing ourselves silly, I drove us all to the fairgrounds since I was the DD. We couldn't get a parking spot at all. It was crazy. ALL of the lots were full. We drove through a nearby park and all of the spots were taken also. I just happened to luck out and see 2 girls get into a car and I got to the spot before anyone else. Thank God! We had to walk a long way from that point but at least we made it to the stadium before Bon Jovi started playing. They rocked!! I ended up sitting out the second half though because I was too tired to keep standing. I can't wait until they tour again. Hopefully, they will come to Denver.
Posted by Brandy at 7/21/2007 12:01:00 PM 0 comments
Labels: surrogacy
Colorado has been going through record highs since we arrived. Yesterday was 95 and today will be 99. Ugh. The only good thing is that we don't have the nasty humidity that NC does. If we did, I would melt!
Clayton's Dad (Steve) and his wife Sandy came by for a visit on Saturday. Sandy also brought her mom Bea. Steve's mom (Virgie) drove down from Estes Park to join us. We had a great time catching up. It's too bad that Clayton didn't tell me that they were coming until Friday night though. I could have made them a yummy lunch or early dinner if he would have given me the heads up. We ended up going to McDonald's (or Micka Donald's as Hayden says) for lunch. Can you believe that they ran out of catsup?? I have never had to eat my fries without any before. Weird.
My MIL Christie will be coming to stay with us on Thursday. I have an amnio scheduled in Denver that day so she is going to watch the kids for us. Friday night is the Bon Jovi concert at Cheyenne Frontier Days so she will be watching the kiddos for us then also. We will be meeting up with my SIL Stephanie and her man Tom for the big event. I can't wait!
Posted by Brandy at 7/16/2007 11:29:00 AM 2 comments
We got our first delivery from the milk man and I am love! It is so wonderful getting 2 gallons of fresh organic milk delivered to my door each week. I cannot stand dragging those huge cartons home from the grocery store so this was a nice change. I also got cream cheese, cheddar cheese, sour cream, eggs, Sara Lee bread and bagels, Starbucks coffee and fresh butter. Soon they will offer cookie dough and we will definitely be getting some of that also. He comes by 2 days a week but I opted for a weekly delivery. The company is called Royal Crest and they are based out of Denver. If you live in the CO area, check them out at: http://www.royalcrestdairy.com/
After finding that I could get my dairy and bread products delivered to my door, I decided to look on the web for other delivery services. When we lived in Atlanta, we had an awesome service called Webvan. They were an online grocery store that I could purchase anything from and then they would deliver it within a 1.5 hour window. The produce was always the best and the service was absolutely awesome. It's too bad that they shut down operations after a year of me being a customer. I don't really understand what happened to them considering that it was an extremely popular service. Anyhow, I was hoping to find something similar in nature here but it's a no-go. Instead, I did find an organic fruit and veggie delivery service from Denver. They deliver weekly or bi-weekly. I chose to get a medium box of mixed fruits and veggies to try out on Monday. Everything is locally grown and completely organic. I can't wait to try them out. If you live in Colorado or in parts of Nebraska or Wyoming, check out their site at: https://denver.doortodoororganics.com/ .
-Steph, they do deliver to Cheyenne, WY.
-Sandy, they do deliver to Sidney, NE.
;)
If only I could find a delivery service for meats and general groceries. I do have Schwan's service for frozen foods but I wish that I could get general stuff through them too. You know, like a can of cream of chicken soup? Oh well, I guess that I can't have it all, lol. It just really stinks to go to a grocery store here considering that they are so far away. My town is incredibly small and it only has a specialty grocery store. If I want to go to civilization, I have to drive about 20-25 minutes away. With 2 kids in tow, I just don't want to.
Posted by Brandy at 7/12/2007 11:55:00 AM 0 comments
Thank the Lord, we finally made it into our new house. It has been a crazy journey getting here and I never want to go through that heck again. Here's a quick run down of what has been going on in the Logan household since I last posted:
7/2-We finally closed on the house. Yay!!
7/3-We got our furniture delivered.
-I had my first OB appt. today. The appt. was a bit boring but at least everything was okay with the baby.
7/4-Clayton woke up in a lot of pain and got admitted to the ER for kidney stones. He was put on 7 or 8 doses of morphine before he finally felt comfortable enough to be alive. I couldn't stand seeing him in such pain. Poor guy.
7/6-We finally got our very first brand new bedroom suit. Our old one was a hand-me-down that we will be using for guests. And yes gals, we finally upgraded from a full to a king.
-I now have a milk man. How cool is that? He was going door to door giving away 1/2 gallon of milk to all new customers. It is a bit expensive but well worth it. The milk is organic and they recycle the containers for us. They also deliver Starbucks coffee beans, butter, cream cheese, sour cream, cheddar cheese, Sara Lee breads, bottled water, Eggland's Best eggs, etc. I am in heaven!
7/10-We got our cable back on. I have been going absolutely nutso without the internet.
I would like to announce that my best friend Tracy had her baby girl Addison on 7/7/07. Everyone is doing well and she is incredibly precious! I would give my right arm to be able to hold that sweet baby. Hopefully, I will be able to make a trip back to Asheville in the near future so that I can see her. Congrats to the Ducker household. :)
Well, this is the first time that I have been able to get on the net in forever. I have many things to do but I will be sure to upload some pics soon and I will be posting regularly once again.
Posted by Brandy at 7/10/2007 05:37:00 PM 3 comments
Well, Friday didn't work out but we will definitely be closing on the house on Monday at 2pm. Thank the Lord!! I am so sick of being homeless, lol.
After getting stuck with needles 3 times on Thursday and the nurse not being able to get my vein, she decided to have me come back on Friday. Guess how many more pokes it took to get one blood draw??? 4! So basically it took 7 needle sticks to get 1 blood draw. Egad. They had even tried to get the top of my hand (which hurts wayyyy worse than your arm I quickly found out) to no avail. I ended up having the nurse switch to someone who was better at finding veins. She simply gave up on me, lol. Once that gal got a vein I was thrilled to finally be done. That was my last blood draw for CCRM. They graduated me and I no longer need any meds to sustain the surrogacy. :)
I hope that you all are having a wonderful weekend. We will most likely be getting our cable back at the end of next week and then I will be back on the net. Wish us luck!
Posted by Brandy at 6/30/2007 11:48:00 AM 2 comments
Can life really be any more exciting than having 2 little kids crammed into a tiny room without their toys for weeks on end?? **Sigh** We arrived here in CO back on the 13th and we have been living at the Residence Inn ever since. Don't you think that the hotel name is kinda ironic? It has served as our place of residence for wayyyy too long. Let me attempt to give ya'll a brief synopsis of our nightmarish move from NC:
13th-We flew out to CO. Sometime into the flight, we realized that 3 hours is just too long for little ones to sit on a plane and be amused.
19th-We were supposed to close on the new house. That got changed when we dropped our initial lender flat on her butt. She disappeared and was impossible to reach 2 weeks before we got out here. Once she finally did call us back, she changed her loan terms and added in all kinds of fees that were not disclosed in her original offer. She purposely waited until we were so close to closing so that we couldn't say no. Well, we proved her wrong and decided to go through the heck of getting another lender. This guy was going to try and get us closed at the end of the week. On another note, our cars arrived.
20th-All of our belongings arrived and had to be put into storage. Thank gosh that Clayton's company paid for that. We were worried about them only paying to deliver it to 1 destination and then we would have to pick up the tab to move it again. Not only did they pay for the storage but they will also pay to have it redelivered to our house once we close.
22nd/23rd/24th-New lender guy can't get us closed that fast. Clayton's loss of his license sure didn't help. He lost it somewhere in the old town section of Fort Collins. Without it, he couldn't easily get a notary to sign a document that he needed so that he could get a certified check from Wachovia. Since Wachovia isn't available out here, we had to have the check overnighted from NC rather than doing a wire transfer. We would have had to walk into a branch to do a wire. Ugh. Anyhow, Clayton's lack of a license also caused him to miss the Fort Collins Beer Fest this weekend which really stunk for him. Lesson learned, lol. Since we missed the festival, we decided to go see my Father-in-law and his wife in Nebraska. It was a wonderful break from hotel living.
25th/26th-We thought that we would close sometime early this week but things went completely awry. It turns out that the guy who inspected our house had his license revoked prior to our inspection. The bank made the inspection company do it again with someone else. Gosh, if it isn't one thing, it is another around here.
27th-Our hotel can't extend our stay any longer so we had to move to another Residence Inn in Fort Collins.
28th-The lender is saying that Clayton has to have his ID at the closing. He ordered it last week and it got here today. Thank the Lord!! I believe that our closing will be Friday at 2pm. I will believe it when I see it.
Today was also the date of my Ultra-Screen with the specialist in Denver. We had an ultrasound and learned that there was 1 healthy baby in there. I had a feeling that I wasn't carrying twins any longer a few weeks ago. It was completely intuitive and I told Clayton that I felt as though there was only one. It's so weird how I knew that. My lack of weight gain was my biggest indicator. I am as big now as I was at 5 weeks. My belly got big really quickly and then slowed down dramatically. If I had of kept growing the way that I did in the beginning, I would be huge by now. Anyhow, the baby looked great and I am so happy for my wonderful IPs. :)
I also went in to do my last blood draw for CCRM. They had me discontinue meds last Monday and they wanted to make sure that my levels were ok without them. I got poked 3 times before the gal gave up on me. She could not get my veins to cooperate and it really hurt. Now I have to go in tomorrow to try again. Sheesh.
I hope to have the internet back on soon. I am so sorry that the wi-fi doesn't work at all in our hotel. 2+ weeks is just too long not to be able to jump on my computer. The only time I can use the hotel computer is to quickly check my email so I haven't been online very much. For this post, I am visiting yummy Panera so that I can use their connection. Like Arnold said, "I'll be back". ;)
Posted by Brandy at 6/28/2007 06:50:00 PM 2 comments
Sorry I haven't been able to update the ole blog. We are still stuck in a hotel at the moment and my wireless connection won't work. I have to use the hotel's computer to check my email for now.
Our closing on the new house is supposed to happen tomorrow but it may be a day or two later. Ugh. Anyway, I have very good news to report. We sold our house in NC this past Friday!! Someone wanted to see our house the day that we were moving out but we couldn't let them due to the movers being there. They ended up coming by that Thursday and loved it. We got the contracts on Friday and I had to negotiate everything from the hotel. Clayton started his first day on the job that day so he wasn't around to agree or disagree with anything. By the time he came home I had already sealed the deal. He was quite surprised and pleased that it all worked out so well and that I had gotten a great price for our house. What a sigh of relief!
As far as communication goes, I have my cell phone still but our minutes have been used up. If you want to chat with us, email me at brandylogan@gmail.com and I will give you our direct number here at the hotel.
I hope you all are having a wonderful week! I will try to update again later this week. ;)
Posted by Brandy at 6/18/2007 11:03:00 AM 2 comments
To see some photos that Joanna took of us the other day, check out her awesome blog at: http://www.tuesdaysfrog.com/journal.html
Posted by Brandy at 6/11/2007 12:02:00 PM 1 comments
Well, the packers are here boxing up all of our worldly possessions. I hate the feeling that our stuff doesn't have a home right now. I realllllllly hate that my scrapbooks are going to be baking in the back of a semi for 7-8 days. Ugh.
The cable will be shut off this afternoon so I won't have Internet access for a while. I will try to update when we get to our hotel in CO. We will be flying out on Wednesday.
It's sad realizing that we are leaving so many wonderful friends and my family. My parents brought Hayden home on Saturday and that was the day that we said goodbye. I was fine until my kids wouldn't let them drive away without just one more kiss. I about lost it when we met the Bolicks for lunch on Sunday. Goodbyes are something that I struggle at and this time around seems to be worse than normal. We have made so many true friends, both us and the kids. It stinks to move so far away from them. Tonight will be my last dinner with my best friends Tracy, Kala and Angela. Tracy will be bringing Austin to see Hayden for the last time on Tuesday and that is really going to stink. They are going to be taking us to our hotel since we will be both homeless and carless after everything gets loaded up. Oh man, I dread that like the plague.
Posted by Brandy at 6/11/2007 11:27:00 AM 0 comments
Posted by Brandy at 6/09/2007 10:46:00 AM 1 comments
Labels: pregnancy photos, surrogacy
The Kitchen (the tiles on the island and the countertops are the same cool ones that are around the fireplace-the floors and cabinets are hickory)
Master Bath
Master Bath-everything is tiled and the ceiling is vaulted
Master Shower (a better view)Posted by Brandy at 6/04/2007 10:31:00 AM 1 comments
Labels: our home
You can just call me a human pin cushion at this point. It's bad enough that I have to give myself an intramuscular shot in the rear everyday but I have also had to have my blood drawn a LOT lately. CCRM is trying to wean me from the estrogen and progesterone slowly so that means that I have to go to the local RE a couple of times each week for level checks. I have several small bruises in the crook of my arm and it looks a bit weird. Hopefully, I will get to stop the meds soon and that will be the end of getting my arms poked so much.
I had my first and last OB appt. with my favorite doctor ever today. It was pretty sad. He delivered both of my own children and I so wish that he was going to be the one to deliver these sweet twins. He is a wonderful man and has always been there for me throughout my pregnancies. If any of you gals ever move to Asheville and need a good OB/GYN, look up Dr. Robert Wright at Asheville Women's Medical Center. I highly recommend him. :)
We got our plane tickets today. We will officially be leaving NC for CO on June 13th. Unfortunately, our house will not be ready until we do a walk through and give the builder 7 days to fix any problems. That's okay though. It will definitely be worth the wait! We are counting down the days now. We have the movers packing it all up on the 11th and then loading it all up on the 12th. It seems so close now. Wow!!
Posted by Brandy at 6/01/2007 02:24:00 PM 2 comments
Labels: surrogacy
Posted by Brandy at 5/31/2007 08:58:00 PM 1 comments
I know I have been kinda cryptic around here and couldn't talk alot about what all is going on. Now that Clayton has put in his 2 week notice at Kimberly Clark as of last Friday, I can finally say it-WE ARE MOVING!!! He took a new job with Kodak in Windsor, Colorado. The house that I posted earlier is indeed ours. We will be living in a small town outside of Windsor called Johnstown. Fort Collins is really close and has tons of cool places to eat and shop. We are so excited! Our move date still isn't set in stone but it will be in the next couple of weeks. :)
Posted by Brandy at 5/30/2007 08:53:00 AM 0 comments
And yes, I am aware that the columns need to be painted, lol.
On a sidenote-I have decided to take a trip home today and I will be back next Wednesday. I hope that you all have a great weekend!
Posted by Brandy at 5/24/2007 09:51:00 AM 1 comments
Labels: our home
I have been dreading today for a while now. It was the last day of the kids' preschool program at First Presbyterian. I was so sad to see the teachers say goodbye to my kiddos. They had tears in their eyes as they hugged H & E. They have been absolutely wonderful this school year and I hate to think that this is my last year with that preschool. For reasons unmentionable, we will be on the hunt for a new one over the summer. I totally hate that. Anyhoo-I will post some pics of the kiddos today or tomorrow.
Another bad thing about today is that it was my last time to chill with my best friend Tracy at the local coffee shop without kiddos. We like to hang out at Terra Nova on Tuesday or Thursday mornings after dropping the kids off. After that we usually run around and do all the errands that we can get done in those 3 short hours. Boy, I am going to miss those 3 blissful hours. Independence is something that you give up once you become a Mommy and so I have always tried to make the most of my free time.
On the pregnancy front, I went to another ultrasound on Monday and everything looked great. My hormone levels were also great so now the clinic is going to try and wean me from all the meds that I have to take. I can't wait to stop taking the intramuscular shots. Hopefully it will only take a few weeks.
Posted by Brandy at 5/22/2007 05:50:00 PM 1 comments
Posted by Brandy at 5/19/2007 10:39:00 PM 0 comments
Labels: scrapbooking
I am experiencing horrible problems with my laptop right now. If I don't post in the next week or so it is because my computer is being fixed.
On a sidenote-
We accomplished what we set out to do last week. If you know what I mean and are curious, shoot me an email and I will try to send you a sneak peek. ;)
Posted by Brandy at 5/18/2007 01:10:00 PM 1 comments
I went in for the ultrasound this morning and was a bit nervous. My mind kept racing and all I could think was that there had to be a bunch of babies in me. The ultrasound tech immediately found a baby and I wondered if it was the only one. As soon as she started to move around we could see a second one. My tension rose sky high as I was afraid that she might find a 3rd, 4th or 5th baby, lol. Two was the magic number though and I am completely relieved. Two babies I can handle. Three, now that is a whole 'nother story. So congrats to my IPs, you guys are having double the trouble!! :)
Clayton and I are about to head out to Charlotte to catch a direct flight to Denver. We will be back next Wednesday. I hope that you all have a great weekend!
Posted by Brandy at 5/11/2007 10:45:00 AM 5 comments
Labels: surrogacy
I will go in on Friday at 10am for our first ultrasound. I will try to update the blog as soon as I get home to report what we saw. Everyone is excited to see how many babes hung around (I feel like it could be a litter, lol). My tummy is already sticking out and I am noticeably preggo. It's a bit ridiculous to look preggo at only 6 weeks. :P
Clayton and I will be flying out to Denver on Friday evening and then we will head up to Cheyenne, WY to see his family. His sister Stephanie will be getting pinned that day. She is getting her nursing degree and she already has an awesome job lined up. Congrats Steph!! We will be going out to dinner with Steph, Tom, Christie and possibly Jack that Saturday night to celebrate. I can't wait! We will be flying back on the 16th. In the meantime, my Mom and Dad will be watching the kiddos for us.
We have lots of other things on our agenda to do while we are there. The cool thing is that we will be staying at a bed and breakfast in Windsor, CO. It is a beautiful Victorian home. We chose to stay in the turret part of it (the squared off tower-looking thing) and we get the cute private balcony. Here's what it looks like:
Posted by Brandy at 5/07/2007 10:48:00 AM 3 comments
Wish us luck! I will post the results when I get them back this afternoon. :)
****Results are in!****
The beta revealed that my hcg level is 379!! As long as it is above 5, I am considered pregnant. Whoo hoo!
BTW, I got positive home tests beginning last Thursday. That was just 3 days after our transfer. It's the equivalent of 8 days past ovulation so that is pretty early. The day that most tests say that you can get a positive is 14 days past ovulation.
Posted by Brandy at 4/25/2007 08:43:00 AM 3 comments
Labels: surrogacy
Posted by Brandy at 4/23/2007 10:09:00 AM 0 comments
I got back from Denver on Wednesday evening and boy was I tired! The transfer was this past Monday and it went very well. I have a beta (blood test) scheduled for this Wednesday and I will know that afternoon whether or not I have any babies in me. I am able to start taking regular urine tests right now but my IPs do not want to know those results so I will not be posting them. Wish us luck!!
Posted by Brandy at 4/20/2007 09:03:00 AM 1 comments
Labels: surrogacy
Why, oh why can I not sleep??? I am still on east coast time apparently. I got up yesterday at 6am and today I got up at 5:30am. Ugh! That would be okay if I were at home because the times would have been 8am and 7:30am. By the time I get used to mountain time I will be back in NC and I am sure it will throw me off.
I have great news regarding the surrogacy. We are going to have a 5 day embryo transfer tomorrow around 1pm!! Everyone is excited and the embryos are excellent. I really think that this is going to be a successful cycle. Please send some prayers or positive thoughts our direction. They are much appreciated!
Posted by Brandy at 4/15/2007 08:04:00 AM 6 comments
Labels: surrogacy
Hayden got to ride his new big boy bike for the first time today. He got frustrated at first because he kept braking as he was trying to pedal. After a few tries, he figured it out and thinks that he is hot stuff, lol.
I need to go back and crop in on Hayden in this one. I will have to take care of that later.
This pic of E would have been cute if it weren't for the snot rolling out of his nose (he has horrible allergies) and my shadow covering him, lol.
E playing with McQueen
Posted by Brandy at 4/12/2007 10:40:00 PM 0 comments
I am not at liberty to discuss my surrogacy journey in full detail but I will say that the embryo transfer will be happening on either Saturday or Monday in Denver. Which day all depends on the quality of the embryos. If they are super then we will hold out for Monday. That is when they will be 5 day blasts (they will be in the process of breaking out of their shells). 5 dayers have a higher chance of sticking around. 3 dayers are good too but the embryologist can't distinguish which ones are the healthiest before transfer. Please keep us all in your thoughts and prayers this weekend as we go through this process to make a baby for some wonderful people. :)
I have other interesting news that I am dying to share but I cannot due to my blog being public. If you are a friend or relative, shoot me an email and I will fill you in. This news is pretty big. ;)
Posted by Brandy at 4/11/2007 11:07:00 AM 1 comments
Labels: surrogacy
Why, oh why can't my kids smile at the same time? In the top pic Emerson is grinning and in the second one Hayden is. Maybe I need to use Photoshop to get smiling kids in the same pics together. Sheesh.
This is my Aunt Judy donning her cute apron as she fries chicken for our Easter lunch. Let me tell you, she is the bestest cook ever!!
Hayden putting together a puzzle that the Easter bunny gave him
Posted by Brandy at 4/08/2007 10:52:00 PM 0 comments