Up eating cereal at 4:45am? That'd be me.

That's right. I woke up around 4am with that awful empty stomach rumble. I've never been able to fall asleep on an empty stomach, so I knew I wouldn't be able to fall back into a much wanted deep snooze this morning. So here I am, on the 'puter, a good hour or so before the sun will join me.

So first of all, WOW... thank you SO much for all the awesome comments on my last post. You ladies are amazing and so very uplifting! I can't even begin to tell you how much your prayers have meant to me. I've been thanking God daily for all my fabulous prayer warriors out there!

Today we're 4 weeks, 2 days... so yes, VERY early on - which means I'm just praying like crazy! We took a pregnancy test on Thursday morning, which was the first "safe" day to take one after having the HCG trigger shot. Anytime before that, we were in danger of a getting a false positive. As soon as my alarm went off that morning, I took my temperature. Flo was due to arrive any day, so I knew that morning's temp would be rather telling. And sure enough, it had dropped significantly (which is a sign that Flo just pulled into the neighborhood and is rounding the corner). So after seeing that, I was fully prepared to get a negative pregnancy test. But at 5am on Thursday, May 28, 2009, we saw this...

So that's what two lines look like... wow. Sure haven't seen that before. Actually I couldn't even tell you the last time we took a pregnancy test. Way early on when we started trying, I'd take them before ever missing a period, but after a while I just stopped testing altogether unless I had a reason (like being several days late - which is odd for me). Seeing negative after negative after negative REALLY took a toll on me. I was even dreading testing this month, but knew we had to this time. I had to face reality. And seeing two lines is NOT the reality we're used to!

The hub called my RE a little later with the news and he was told that if I could get in there by 11:45am for a blood test, they could get me same day results. Two seconds after he calls to tell me this, I'm in my car (safely) racing to Sandy Springs. I got there at about 10:30am. The hub called back at 2pm (I tried too but he has this way of getting through and getting answers whereas I just get voicemail). And sure enough, it was positive!

It's weird... going from *wondering* (and wishing, hoping, thinking, praying) to *KNOWING* in like a matter of hours is pretty surreal. I still don't think it's hit us yet. I've made several people cry, but I've yet to cry. We've definitely laughed a lot. But I think we're just in shock right now.

When I was checking out at the doctor's office, they were like, "OK well this isn't infertility anymore, it's pregnancy, so it should be covered." After being in and out of that office for the past 2 1/2 years, I gotta tell ya... that sounded good. And weird!!!

Thursday night we told my parents. I've had to kind of let go of having that "moment" of true surprise when breaking the news to my mom and dad. That was hard for me... for a long time, every month I thought there was a chance, I'd look at the calendar and figure out when and how we'd tell my parents. I'd come up with some fabulously creative way to do it. There are so few real surprises in life and I really wanted to make a BIG deal of it. But obviously, since they know every detail of what we're doing at the doctor's office, they knew an answer was coming at he end of this particular month either way. But, my mom didn't realize it's be quite so soon. Needless to say, she was blown away. She completely lost her appetite at dinner and kept saying, "are they SURE?!"

That night we started giving the good word to others... we called the hub's parents and his sister. And we've also told our friends that knew what we were doing. We're pretty open about it (our infertility that is), so anyone close to us knows what we're up to. Every young married couple gets nagged about starting a family, but once you tell people your girly parts are messed up, they shut up. So yeah, a lot of the people around us know. And I realize it's WAY early and anything can happen - trust me. If we were a "normal" pregnant couple, we'd probably stay mum till a good 10 weeks or so. Well, I say that, but the hub can't keep a freaking secret so that's probably not true. It's actually quite endearing... he just gets so excited about stuff and can't contain himself. So a lot of close friends know, but we're not "out" in general yet. I'm definitely keeping it on the DL at work till I'm forced to out myself. And I'm not posting ultrasound photos and all that shit on facebook, etc. So it's not a secret, but it's also not "public" knowledge, per se.

So next steps? I've got a 7am (yep, 7am) appointment Monday morning for some more bloodwork to check my hormone levels. I'll be in and out of the doctor's office a good bit the next couple of weeks doing just that. And then at 6 weeks (a couple of weeks from now) we'll have our first ultrasound. I think I will feel a lot more at ease after that because we should be able to see the heartbeat at that point... so it's gonna be a long two weeks waiting for that appointment! The good thing about being prego-challenged is that I get LOTS of attention up front. Because I'm at a higher risk for miscarriage than most, my doctor will be watching me like a hawk for the first trimester before handing me over to my OB/GYN.

So right now I'm just praying like crazy that this little tot will stick like glue. It's hard though... one minute I'm like oh yeah, I have absolute faith in this baby. And the next I'm googling miscarriage rates. But I'm not going to live in fear. Fear accomplishes nothing... neither does worrying. I can only control what I can control... making sure I take all my meds, eating right, not eating things I shouldn't... the rest is not up to me. I really do have tremendous faith in this kid and I'm praying not just for this baby, but for my faith to be renewed everyday. My friend Jill told me it's really about "celebrating each step." And wow, have we made a HUGE step. A freaking high jump hurdle, rather. So no matter what happens, we're so grateful to be where we are right now.

Again, thanks so much to all of you bloggy pals who have been in the passenger seat along with me on this journey. It has been quite a ride so far and your support means more to me than I can ever express in words. Prayer is so incredibly powerful... I can't even tell you how many friends told me, when I shared our news, that they had just prayed for us the previous night and that we were on their hearts. It's truly amazing. And I'm telling everyone to switch gears and ramp up the prayers now for Buford Baby to stick, stick, stick! So that's my big top-of-the-list prayer request, but really, I'm just incredibly thankful. We obviously didn't think we'd be here this soon. We're just trying to take it all in... one day at a time!

I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him.

-I Samuel 1:27

Mathematics 101

Happy Memorial Day, y'all!

Oh, do I love me a 3-day weekend, or WHAT?! I think they should be standard. Four-day work weeks, three-day weekends. I'd work 10-hr days to get that done - no question. So anyway, we've got like cookout-palooza this weekend. We are totally party hopping today starting at 2pm. Cookout at one friend's house... then we're hopping over to the hub's boss' house for a luau, then stopping by a graduation party for the hub's old boss' daughter... then finally a neighborhood luau after that. (What's with the luau theme?) Anyway... I expect to be FULLY exhausted come 10pm. Then we've got another cookout at another friend's house on Sunday afternoon. We are gonna be cooked out.

I hope you all have fabu holidays... a special heartfelt thanks to all of the men and women who lost their lives defending our fab country. I hope everyone takes a minute between BBQ's this weekend to toast to them!

And now I'm just trying to figure out what the heck to wear today... can one outfit make it through FOUR parties? Especially outdoor ones? I'm thinking a refresh might be necessary before the neighborhood luau. Plus I feel like a beached whale because I'm pretty bloated from that damn shot I had to take last week. It gives you early pregnancy symptoms - which is rather cruel, really. So my sore boobs and fat belly are a total tease. The drugs should be outta my system in the next couple of days, so if these little symptoms stick around, I'll really start to wonder. But right now I'm not putting much stock in them.

OK off to get ready for our gazillion parties! Have a great one!!! xoxoxo

BabyFit

So I'm going ahead and making the jump from SparkPeople over to BabyFit... which is basically SparkPeople for baby mommas. The hub's already got me off of caffeine and artificial sweeteners. And alcohol too, of course. Yeah he's been rummaging all over the internet since this weekend and my list of things I can't have is growing everyday. The artificial sweetener thing? Well apparently he read somewhere that particularly with IUI, consumption of sweeteners can cause problems. Whatever. I don't know if that's true, but I figure, what the hell. I don't want to hinder anything in any way, so I ditched my Crystal Light tubs... which I LIVE on, by the way. Drinking plain water is awfully boring and I'm having a hard time getting it down. Other than that, I don't use them all that much. I have the occasional diet coke, but that's rare. So I won't miss those too much. And I sweeten my (now decaf) coffee with my french vanilla creamer (full fatty version - anything else is pointless). So no change there.

Anyway, I will be counting my calories over at BabyFit now since we're in high gear. There are lots of "teams" for wannabe mommas, so it's not like everyone on there is already pregnant. I'm just trying to go ahead and get in that mindset and start weeding out the no-no's. I know there are a million online communities for moms, but this one is all about health and fitness and is set up very much like SparkPeople... except with pastel colors and no boys. So if any of you ladies are on BabyFit, leave me a comment with your profile name and I'll come be your buddy!

The Waiting Game

Yeah so after a whirlwind weekend of IUI fun, the hub and I are now in the visciously long wait to see if it was a success.  Actually I'm quite cool with the wait... it's nice to have a couple of weeks to chill with no doctor visits.  Just trying to put all my trust and faith in God here and let him take the driver's seat.  All of the "elements" going in, from my potential eggies to the hub's applause-worthy sperm count, scored an A+.  So we're both very hopeful, but not overly so.  If it works, AWESOME!  If it doesn't, it's just a step closer to the time when it does work.  So that's where we are...  just waiting.  Praying hard and cheering on my uterus to get its shit together.

Big up's to the hub...

..for bringing 21 million boys to the table this morning. Dr. Toledo called the number "impressive" and a high five followed. I've already lost count of how many times "21 million!" has graced the hub's lips with a true look of pride on his face. Good job, honey!

At the doctor's office...

Operation Buford Baby is in full force, girls! Let's hope it fairs better than Operation Fierce Booty has to date. Had to do the shot last night... Poor hub. I was a flubbering mess and totally wimped out and had him give me the shot. Then I just cried myself to sleep for no good reason. The emotions of it all just hit you at totally weird and random times. And like this morning I'm totally A-OK. Anyway, say a little prayer girlz... We're doing this gig today and tomorrow. More later... XOXO

Survey

One more thing, mommas... my survey on baby registries closes tomorrow! I'd love to get your thoughts, so if you're interested, hop on over to www.makeroomforstyle.com and find the link to the survey on the sidebar. Many thanks for your time!

Oh and I'm doing this post by email... how fabu is that? Great for when you can't access blogger. But it will post the exact font you're typing your email with (and any sigs you have on your outgoing emails will show up too - so be careful). It seems to work pretty well though! OK back to work...

Shecky's Find: Lia Molly

I know I'm totally behind on my Shecky's update since that was like over a week ago! But the event was fun as usual. Great goodie bags (although, Gertie ate one of my bath fizzies), fun drinks, and two ginormous ballrooms filled wall to wall with clothing and accessories. There was a ton of jewelry and lots of handbag retailers... it's very heavy on accessories (which I love). But the one clothing collection that really caught my eye was Lia Molly from New Orleans. It's a fab sweater collection that you must check out... some really gorgeous pieces and so different. Here are a few looks, but go check out the site for more...




Definitely my favorite find of the night. Did any other Atlanta girls make it out? Did you snag any fun things? I didn't buy anything of course... just ooohed and ahhhed and sipped. Good girly fun!

In other news... looks like Friday is GO-day for my IUI... I'm hoping I'm able to detect my LH surge today or I'll have to give myself a shot tonight. I'm such a wimp... I'll probably have to get the hub to do it if it comes to that... either way, we'll be at the doctor tomorrow and possibly Saturday. It's exciting! Still not expecting anything to come out of it, but it's just exciting to be doing something. So say a lil prayer for Buford Baby tomorrow! Thanks, girls...

More pics from filming...

So Saturday was a totally cool day in the 'hood with the filming going on. They were right in front of our house a good bit of the time, so I had to work my grocery trip around that... at one point I tried to leave for Kroger and was promptly told to get my ass back in the garage and shut the door. Hahahha... I was almost a "bogie"... apparently that's what they call scene killers. I have to get the Hollywood lingo down.

One of our neighbors got some really great shots from his side of the neighborhood when they were filming - up close and personal style...

This is the director (in the shorts talking to the stunt guy), Robert Luketic, who also directed one of my all-time faves, Legally Blonde.

Here he and the stunt guy are again... notice the fake blood. Hmmm... ketchup?

One of the three Trans Ams used for the chase scenes... this one has the front windshield missing - there's a shootout during the chase.

One of the Trans Ams with camera equip mounted to the front.

Another look at the Mercedes that films the chase scenes.

Katherine Heigl and Ashton Kutcher's stunt doubles. Apparently Katherine's double has known her since she was like 14 and has been her double in all her films.

As far as I know, no one spotted the stars, but they were rumored to be having lunch nearby with the director at one point. And of course they're in town for a while for filming, so maybe some of you local gals will spot them! Do tell!

Alright... gotta get a move on. I've got an early morning doctor appointment today to do my mid-cycle check. Should be easy peasy, but I'll let you know if I learn anything new. OK, that's a wrap.

A very special day.

I'm wishing you all a very happy Mother's Day! To all the moms, enjoy today and I hope you get spoiled by your loved ones! To all the first-time moms and moms-to-be, may your first Mother's Day be a memorable one. To all those who are missing their moms, I'm thinking of you and I hope today will bring you happy thoughts and memories. And to all those who desperately want to be moms, you're not alone and I'm especially praying for you today. Lots of love to you all!

Film crew in the 'burbs.

Craziness on our street all day today! I thought they were just outside our house, but they are ALL up and down our street with cops on either end blocking off cars. The hub of course was chattin' it up with one of the production assistants and learned that there are like 40 movies being filmed in Atlanta this year... apparently the state gov gives some kind of refund or assistance on production costs spent in the state. Very cool.

I hope we can get some more pics... there is equipment and trucks and people everywhere in our 'hood, so this pic hardly gives you a glimpse, but it does have the cool camera-mounted Mercedes that films the chase scenes, and I think that truck is actually one of the vehicles in the scene. This is the same pic I uploaded last post, but closer up. The other car they've been filming (not pictured obviously) is an old Trans Am... the stunt driver was pretty hot. I wonder if he's supposed to be Ashton Kutcher? Hmmm...

We've gone all Hollywood.

Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Real fast like.

That's how this update's gonna go, cuz I gotta run. But anyway, Shecky's was a blast last night! The goodie bags are rockin' and my girls and I had a great time. Atlanta girls, drop by tonight if you can for the final night! Advance tickets are sold out, but you can still buy them at the door. Lots of great jewelry and accessories again this year... but if you're really on a mission to find something, get there right when it opens at 5pm because the crowds start pouring in soon after and well, I don't know about you but I cannot shop in crowds.

Tonight kuntry bride and I are hunting down wedding gowns with Lucky... can't wait! Thanks for the tips on New Natalie's and other spots. I will pass the good word on! Alright, later y'all. Gotta go dry my hair and scoot.

Almost Famous. Again.

OK so you remember this cool happening last fall? Well, la casa de Buford Betty is about to hit the big screen. We're sooooo past commercial spots, y'all, seriously. It's time for the big leagues. This week our 'hood is about to get all Hollywood... are you ready? Get excited, 'cause a big chase scene is being filmed in our neighborhood for the movie Five Killers with Katherine Heigl and Ashton Kutcher. AND, it'll be going right past our house, so we're sure to get a good hundredth of a second of screen time! I'm thinking our house should have its own imdb page... I mean, we are building quite a resume here. How they find these random neighborhoods up here in the 'burbs, I have no clue. A few years ago a scene from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was filmed in a 'hood right across from us here. And I feel the need to tell everyone that when we drive by (I know you're laughing, bestest.)

I think the crew is coming out today to start marking stuff... not sure exactly what their schedule is, but I know the actual day of filming will take a good 12-14 hours. I'm sure it'll just be like stunt people and the *stars* won't even be there. But whatev, it's still cool. We've already had two people from Lionsgate stop by our house to go over some details and get our sigs on a release and to ask if they can put equipment in our yard and stuff. I'm really not sure how to handle all this new found fame... it's getting pretty mayjah, for real.

Anyway, I'm sure the hub will take tons of pics - as he tends to do - so I'll be sure to share those later. Alright, stardom awaits and I must get a move on...

Oh yeah, it's Cinco de Mayo!

I kinda forgot that was this week... I've got lots of random things going on all week, so it slipped my mind. Don't think we're doing anything though - we ain't got no margarita cizzash. But a very happy 5/5 to you all... may your bellies be filled with excessive amounts of cheese dip, 'ritas, and Corona.

So I had my first doctor visit yesterday for this first IUI cycle... did the clomid check ultrasound, some bloodwork, and met with one of the nurse practitioners to go over the deets. The hub also came in to do some bloodwork. Poor guy got stuck in over an hour's worth of traffic for a 30 second finger prick. But all went well and when I checked out they told me I had a $100 credit toward my bill - sweet. That's always a fun surprise. Anyway, so I started my clomid last night. I really don't remember if I had any side effects the last time I was on it, but I guess we'll see! I go back on Monday for another ultrasound to make sure I'm where I should be in my cycle, etc. Then I probably won't have to go back in till they do the actual insemination. And then it's the waiting game... and if Flo decides to pop in again next month, we'll start over.

I was talking about this all with my good friend, Jill (who is expecting her first through IVF!!), and it's funny how my attitude is with this whole IUI thing. And I think Jill had sorta the same thoughts as I do. The other day my mom was like, "well, we'll just be praying hard and keeping our fingers crossed and oh I hope you're not going to be heartbroken if this doesn't work," etc, etc... But the thing is, I'm totally not going into this with any sky-high hopes. That's not to say I'm pessimistic about it at all - definitely not... but I'm just not banking on anything coming out of this. My attitude is more like, OK... we'll give this a good solid try. But still, in my heart of hearts I just feel like we'll end up doing IVF before it's all said and done. So right now I'm just praying for God to boost my faith up a notch. I absolutely have faith that he can do anything and this certainly could work for us, but it'll be a shocker to me if it does. So we'll see! Either way, even if it doesn't work, I think the process may give my doctor a clearer picture of what's (not) going on in my busted oven.

Well enough baby talk... this week is jam-packed with some good quality girl time, so I'm definitely looking forward to that. Tomorrow we're hitting up Shecky's Girls Night Out and then Thursday, kuntry bride and I are going with Lucky to look at wedding gowns!!! The first spot she wants to try is New Natalie's. Any Atlanta girls have experience with them? I have never been, so I've got nuthin'. This is just her first stop, so I'm sure there will be others. She is not wanting to spend a gazillion dollars on a dress... I'm thinking she's shooting for the $1000-$1500 range tops. I really want to get her into the Nicole Miller boutique here because I think her bridal gowns would suit Lucky so well, and they're affordable... we'll see! Any other bridal salons in town in that price range that you all would suggest? It's been over 7 years (wow) since I shopped for my dress and I only hit a couple of places (Bridals by Lori and Saks). So we're SO looking forward to that! Can't wait to see my dear friend in a wedding gown...

OK y'all... gotta go dry my hair and get this show on the road. Hope you all have a fab Tuesday! I'll catch you on the other side... xoxoxo

Shecky's Tickets - Last Chance!

So prom was totally fun... it was kind of a low turnout, but it was the "1st annual" so hopefully the "2nd annual" will create a little more buzz and bring some more prom-goers. The prom queen was this grandma who parked herself on the dancefloor and busted it all night long. It was hilarious. A well deserved crown, indeed. We got some classic prom pose pics, so I'll have to show you bits and pieces of those when the hub gets them uploaded.

Anyway... just wanted to get out one last reminder that Shecky's is coming to Atlanta THIS week for a two-night shopping extravaganza! The Biltmore Ballrooms will be packed wall-to-wall with fab finds, free drinks, and up-and-coming designers on May 6th and 7th. There are still some goodie bag tickets available for Shecky's Girls Night Out for only $15 each (regular $25), so grab your best girls and c'mon out! My gang and I will be there Wednesday night. Hope to see you there! To purchase your tickets, click the image below. If you're not in Atlanta, check the site to see when Girls Night Out will be stopping by your town!

Economy got you down? Grab your BFF's and de-stress at Shecky’s Girls Night Out – the only event where you can sip complimentary cocktails all night long, grab chic fashions at amazing prices, sample new products and score fab freebies inside Shecky's Famous Goodie Bag – all under one roof!

Prom night.

The hub was so totally last minute, but he asked me to the prom! OMG. Hahaha... Yes, this is where we'll be heading tonight...



The Buford Business Alliance is putting this event on and we've known about it and thought it'd be fun (I totally love any chance to dress up, you know), but the tickets were like $70/couple. No thanks... Dave said, hell no! But Wednesday one of our good friends called us to tell us she scored a second pair of FREE tickets and did we want them? Hellz yeah! We loves free, you know.

But getting ready for prom in two days is no easy task. Thank goodness it's black tie optional... the hub's just going to don a nice dark suit. And sadly, I have given away most of my occasion dresses. So I have very little options in that department. Most of my cocktail dresses are wintery because I usually get them for holiday parties... so I'm resorting to just a plain black dress. I'll play it up with some fab shoes and fun accessories to make it a little more fun. Gosh, the old me would have run out and dropped some dollas on a new frock as soon as I found out I was going. I'm just too gosh darn sensible now. So once again, we're shopping in my closet. It should be a really fun night though - I'm excited. And a little birdie told me I might be getting a wrist corsage... hehehehehe!

Other exciting things today? Auntie Flo arrived late last night. She's a bitch, but I was glad to see her. Because that means it's time to get this Buford Baby show on the road! I'm calling my RE this morning as soon as the office opens to see when I need to come in. I'm guessing they'll either have me go ahead and come in today or Monday at the latest to do an ultrasound and bloodwork and get my Clomid fix. And no worries... I'm not going to take you through every grueling detail of this process and the next, but I'll let y'all know where I am.

Hope you all have a fantabulous Friday! Time to get my hairs dried and out the door... xoxoxo