Why IVF?

It's moments like this (finding Chase sleeping with his feet up on the wall) that keep me going & keep me smiling even through the intramuscular shots. Can you imagine sticking that size of a needle into your hip every night? Even better, every 3 nights there's 2 of those . . . one in each hip! Boy, I'm sore & bruised, but Jeff finally found the right area for the injections that doesn't hurt AS much. Tomorrow's the big day for the invitro transfer . . . wish us luck!

Thank you's all around!

A giant THANK YOU to Vicky Collins for getting us a great refund again this year! She knows exactly how to get the best deals for those of us with our home based businesses and does a great job (www.deductiondiva.com).

Thanks to the great refund we have coming (which will be going directly into paying down our student loan), now we KNOW we'll be debt free (except the house) by the end of this year!

Thanks to mom & dad & Dave Ramsey (www.daveramsey.com) for the inspiration to get out of debt!

no-no-no-no-no-no

This week we've been working on discipline! I used a great book called On Becoming Baby Wise (given to me by my great sister-in-law, Sheri) when Chase was first born to get him into a routine. I loved the results since it meant my 7 week old was sleeping through the night & I could get my sanity back!

So, I started realizing the need for some instruction in this new pre-toddler phase that Chase is in and turned to Baby Wise again -- this time to Book 2 that deals with 5 to 15 months. Well, we're very late in turning to the wise counsel in this book, but have gained so much from it already!

We had done one of the things mentioned in the book that you shouldn't do. We baby proofed the house to the point that there was nothing within Chase's reach that we didn't want him getting into. That meant that every morning we had to pull the blinds up out of his reach, unplug the nightlight & recently had to cover up the tv buttons in the family room & have started "locking" the oven so he couldn't pull it open.

When I started reading the book, I realized that we weren't teaching him anything by doing this . . . this cute kid had not learned what "no" means or how to obey or have self-control. Now, granted, he's only 13 months old, but in the last week, following the guidelines in the book, he will now leave something alone if we say "no" and stays away from the items that we've already taught him to keep out of.

We have a much happier household now, even though Chase wanders around the house saying, "no-no-no-no-no-no"!

Vote for Chase --- cutest kid contest!

Help us pick Chase as the winner of the Cutest Kid Contest held by our local radio station. Unfortunately, they cropped the pictures so you only get a close up of their faces; it was tough for even me to find my own kid! (This is the picture we actually submitted; he is rather cute, don't you think?!)

Go to www.wpoc.com
click on the cutest kid contest icon on the top left
select "group 2"
then vote for Chase M.!

He's on the 20th row
2nd from the left
marked "Chase M."

Or hit "control" & "f" on your keyboard to bring up a "search" box. Search for "chase"; he's the only one on the page.

Once you find Chase, click the button next to his name, scroll to the bottom of the page & enter your e-mail address & click on "vote". You'll get an e-mail with a link that you have to click on in order for your vote to count. You can vote as many times as you want, but have to use a different e-mail address each time.

We appreciate all votes! Please pass this on to anyone who might vote for our kiddo!

From Snow to Sun and Back Again

The cold weather has kept us inside a lot, which has meant lots of having fun & goofing off while playing with Chase. A couple of weeks ago, we were supposed to spend the Saturday on a family outing. With no ideas of what to do, we took the advice of a family friend & drove up to Boyd's Bear Country in Pennsylvania. Its this huge barn that is set up with Boyd's Bear brand stuffed animals in all sorts of different & fun displays. We just walked around, took pictures & bought Chase the cutest stuffed hedgehog that he just loves.

The next night, it started to snow. We got enough snow over the night (Sunday night) that Jeff's work was closed for the day. Again, we stayed mostly inside & played with Chase . . . well, at least Jeff did. I got to spend the day putting our taxes together . . . at least they're done now! We also ventured outside for some pictures & video of Chase in the snow.

By the end of the week, it had warmed up and all the snow melted by Saturday. We decided to take advantage of the warm weather (who knows if it would come again before the end of the month or not?). So, we drove to Pennsylvania again, but this time to Philadelphia. We got a little lost coming into downtown, but ended up finding our way back . . . using the scenic route which involved an extra $4 toll to cross the Ben Franklin bridge. We stopped by the Reading Terminal Market - but it was too busy & crowded to be able to stop & eat with having Chase in the stroller. So, we headed on to the historical sites. We saw the Liberty Bell and headed to Independence Hall (just across the street). By the time we reached our tour time for Independence Hall, Chase was soooo ready for a nap. Tired & cranky and not falling asleep, so we missed out on the tour & headed home instead. Guess we'll have to make another trip another time.

Just playing . . . all cooped up inside during the cold weather. Chase brought over this ring, stuck it in my mouth & then bit the other side -- makes you wonder what they think about when they come up with funny stuff like that.

Don't know what this is exactly . . . just Chase being Chase!

Chase & his hedgehog from Boyd's Bear Country.

The 4 story high Boyd's Bear Country barn.

More playing inside while its snowing outside. Chase has been quite fascinated with his tongue lately & all that it can do!

The view of the snow from Chase's bedroom window.

Chase tries to balance in the snow.

Doing pretty well!

Ooops; lost that balance after all!

Play the above video to see Chase's first experience with snow.

Jeff & Chase in front of the Liberty Bell.

Independence Hall

Chase has that same heavy, furrowed brow that his dad gets!

Play the above video to see Chase playing outside of Independence Hall in Philadelphia. He's a little bit of a chatterbox here and still trying to figure out how to walk in those new shoes.

Giving Makes the Giver Happy Too!

Making handcrafted items is a dying art, but they are so fun to make & get! So, here's a little game to encourage the handcrafting to live & thrive!! The first 5 people to leave a comment on this post will receive, at some point during the year, a super-duper handmade gift from me.What it will be and when it will arrive is a total surprise!The catch is that you must participate as well-before you leave your comment here, write up (or copy & paste as I did!) a pay it forward post on your blog to keep the fun going. Then come back, let me know you're going to play, and sit back and anticipate the arrival of your gift! Remember that only the first FIVE comments will receive a gift from me, so be quick!

This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:1. I make no guarantees that you will like what I make!2. It will be done this year (hopefully sooner than later.)3. You will have no clue what it is going to be.

C'mon, you know you wanna play!

Things I love!

I started thinking about all of my "favorite" things the other day, as I went throughout my day. I made a list & thought I would share it:

1. Netflix -- we just got a subscription & are using it like crazy! Its a nice break to have a movie to watch either online or with a dvd after Chase has gone to bed or for a date night.
2. Ken's Steakhouse Honey Mustard -- I just love honey mustard but have never been able to find a restaurant style honey mustard at the store. When I found this brand, I knew I wouldn't miss going out to eat this year!
3. Dove chocolate!
4. Taste of Home magazine & cookbooks -- awesome recipes for real people!
5. Clorox toilet brush
6. Swiffer sweeper - great for picking up all my hair that I lose; I keep it in my bathroom & use it every day after I do my hair.
7. Manicures -- I just got my first one a few months ago. If you've never gotten one, you just have to do it!
8. Wii -- we love playing on our Wii and being a little more active some evenings; we love just the basic sports package that comes with the Wii; tennis is the best!
9. Jon Schmidt -- incredible piano music; I love his stuff!
10. NCIS -- a new favorite tv show; a little quirky, but lots of fun
11. Altoids -- the new chocolate dipped creme de menthe ones are sooo good!
12. Baby Wise -- great book that gets your baby on a schedule; Chase was sleeping through the night by 7 weeks thanks to this great book!
13. Homeology -- all natural cleaners that I sell through Gold Canyon, incredible fragrances, so natural & they work!
14. What Not to Wear -- a favorite tv show on TLC
15. Brite Music -- great music for kids
16. Anita Stansfield -- a favorite author of LDS fiction
17. Sandra Boynton -- a great author of children's board books
18. Gold Canyon candles -- of course I sell these, but I do it because I love them & so does everyone who tries them!
19. Reflections of Christ -- this is the cd I'm currently listening to; can't get enough of it!
20. Weight Watchers -- you can find all sorts of great weight watchers recipes out there that taste great & are good for you
21. Emerge -- body products by Gold Canyon; I love that this stuff keeps my skin moisturized!
22. Kohls -- favorite clothing store to shop!
23. Loreal mineral makeup -- more expensive, but the stuff lasts forever & I love it!
24. Max Factor Lipfinity -- this stuff stays on ALL DAY; no joke - won't come off when you kiss someone, take a drink, etc.

IVF - could we end up with octuplets?!!

Of course, the story of the octuplets conceived through IVF has been widely publicized and debated. I just found out about an article that addresses some interesting stuff & the doctor that they quote is actually a dr. with the clinic that we use: Shady Grove Fertility

Here's the link for the article: http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2009-03-03-invitro-fertilization_N.htm#uslPageReturn

We will most likely be using 2 embryos this time, though we used just a single one when we got Chase. As is addressed in the article, ours is an issue of insurance. Insurance covers 50% of the costs for us (but doesn't cover the medications at all) and also has a limit that when we reach it, they won't cover any more. So, we're willing to take the risks associated with twins, but not more than that. Shady Grove is excels when it comes to fertility treatments & we have been so impressed with their concerns over multiple birth possibilities as well as their advancements in technology. We're thrilled to be doing our procedures with them!