Wordless Wednesday: Bath, bath,splash: I love me my baths!

Don't you wish YOU got this excited about your bathtime each night?

I see a nekkid baby!

Don King ain't got NOTHING on this hair!

Lately, K's hair is just wild and crazy. It's so super fine, and fly away, and sticks out no matter how many times I try to wet it and lay it down. I've taken to calling her "Don King" the past few weeks. *giggle*

yesterday, she got into a picture she shouldn't have - an old picture of mama & dada

Making New Friends

So last week, when we met up with Kerry (EA#2), as you know, we also met her family, including her DH, and her lovely 4 children. The triplets just turned one years old last week, so here's a belated birthday wish shout-out to them!

Apparently, CJ made quite the impression on Quinn. While we were there, CJ just jumped in with helping feed and entertain the babies, as well as Quinn, who had a lot of entertaining things to say and show us. After a few hours, Quinn developed a game where he would say, "ready, set, go!",and jump into CJ's arms.

CJ with Ewan

In a correspondence with Kerry last week, she reported to me that Quinn not only made up a song about playing with Keifer and her daddy, but is also inquiring as to when he ("Keifer's daddy") will be visiting them again. Well, I hope the clinic takes note: if the child approves of this match, it must be in the cards! LOL.

I told Kerry after K's 9 month appointment how big she was, and that my girl is just such a crusher, that maybe she could someday be on Quinn's favorite show, "Ninja Warrior". Her response? She said Quinn would say, "you Go, girl" to K. Or, "Go Keifer, bust your way through that obstacle course"!

Separated at Birth? Keifer & Cleo from Clifford

I love when Perez does these!

More more more: Words!

K is on a roll lately in the chatting department.
Not only did she say "pup" over and over yesterday, but last night and today at lunch (I kept her home with a snotty nose and nasty cough), she attempted to say "stop", complete with the sign. You see, she has a tendency to do that raspberry spit thing towards the end of her mealtimes, and both Elaine and I (and CJ) want her to stop it, so we are saying "Stop" along with the sign for it. Well, our little Princess seems to think it's pretty funny when we say that to her, and so she puts her hands together, attempts to say it "dah!", and gives a big giggle. Yeah, so funny, Princess K *trying not to laugh*.

Today we called Papa and Nana and whenever we put the phone next to her ear to hear whoever is on the other end, she gets the biggest grin on her face and so excited. Well, when I was saying "It's Papa", she said "pa", and then kept whispering "pa pa pa" over and over.

And.....in the AM or after a nap, when she's fussy, and wants some bottle, she'll start signing "more" to me, and has started saying "ba", so I think she's saying "more bottle"!

Our Smart Cookie

CJ just emailed me at work, to tell me that our smartie pants has started saying "puppy":
Our girl:

is saying pupa.
they were barking when
i was giving her a bottle and i said puppy. she kept going pup, pup, pupa,
pupa.
she's so smart...

Before, she would just whisper the "pup" sound, but now she's made a breakthrough!

On her daycare note on Friday, Elaine wrote that K was trying to sing the "la la la's" in the song the kids were singing. And she also thought that K "might" be trying to say "thank you" at lunch when she gave her some food. So, Saturday night, at my friend Lori's, I said, "say thank you", and she said "dank doo" in the exact same intonation I said the words in. I swear to you this is true. AMAZING! My mom calls her a genuis! *sigh*

Help? Corner shelving?

Do any of you have corner shelving that you really like? We've wanted to put some corner shelves up in K's nursery for awhile now and I can't seem to find any that I really like. I know, something so simple, yet so complex. LOL.

Something like this, but in a set of 2 or 3?

And this is an old picture, but the shelves would go in this corner, to the left of the window, and that chest is positioned sideways in the corner, so they would go over the chest.

Some Monday Soup

This weekend was fun. Friday night, we hung out with Keifer girl and just caught up on some shows - Criminal Minds and Nip/Tuck. I sometimes question myself as to why we still subject ourselves to Nip/Tuck, as it has been awful the last few years. But, curiosity always wins us over, and we end up watching and fast forwarding through much of it. Criminal Minds is so smart, but I always get creeped out by it - it makes me scared to be a parent and a woman. *shudder*

Saturday, I got up first with our girl, so I went back to bed after her first nap time and ended up sleeping the morning away, when CJ got up with her the second time. I find that if given the chance to sleep, I will waste full mornings dreaming away. But, it feels so good, how can I NOT? I got up and CJ and I cleaned the house, which desperately needed it. Then, some dinner plans fell through, so I ended up packing up Keif after her afternoon nap and driving 50 minutes north to my friend Lori's, to visit her and her newborn baby girl, Isla, who was born in December. Isla *pronounced "eye- lah"* is just precious. So beautiful, and tiny compared to my BAB, and so perfect. She was also the product of successful IVF, so that warmed my heart. Keifer was over the moon excited to meet the baby (she whispers the "b" sound when I prompt her to say 'baby'), and her little hands and legs were a kickin'. She had her "oh" round face going, and was trying her hardest to touch the baby. Whenever she did, I had to remind her to be 'gentle', and at one point, K went to give Isla a kiss, and ended up giving a good, hard head-butt instead, which of course, had baby crying. Ugg. My big, hard-headed girl.

Yesterday, K spent the day with daddy while mommy ran around doing errands and went out to lunch, and then we did a family walk with the fur kids and K in her stroller. All parties involved were extremely happy: the fur kids were prancing, and K was cooing away. Then we gave K a much needed bath (her hair gets so wild these days,and sticky after eating), and then it was night- night time.

Ahh, the night time. K had an awful night, because a cold hit her head on, and her poor little nose is literally DRIPPING like a faucet. Ugg. It's so bad. Luckily, its clear, but it's constant, and it's all over her upper lip. Whenever I try to wipe it, she goes wild as if I'm hurting her. She was up half the night, not being able to breathe, and then getting stuck on her tummy in the midst of her rolling around her crib. It was a sleep-less night for all. Daddy stayed home with her today, as he can sometimes work from home, and apparently she is a happy camper, just congested and drippy.

The Kickiest Legs in the MidWest!

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Wuv, true puppy wuv.......

On a cold winter day, the fur kids cuddle and Sass takes care of her big brother, by making sure he has clean ears. *sigh* It's a dog's life.
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9 Months Stats

We had our big 9 month appointment this AM, a few weeks after her actual "9 month birthday" - and all is great! K - the big BAB that she is - has gone from "off the charts" to the 97%ile in height, weight and head size. Ironically, her boyfriend Christian also had HIS 9 month appointment this AM (at the same time, 8 AM) and they weigh the same and are the same length. It was in the stars, I'm telling you. That being said.........her stats:

Weight: 23 pounds 12 ounces

Length: 30 1/3 inches

Head: 18 1/2

Our girl amazed the doctor with her language and social skills, and she is right on the money for her gross motor, now that she's army crawling around. Her language and social skills are in the upper teen months for development, but I honestly believe all the books we read and the fact that we were blessed with a girl with a wonderful disposition really helps. She smiled and flirted with the nurse and the doctor, and only wailed in protest when her ears were being checked. All was well, no shots, and our next check up will be when she is 12 months *sniff*. The time is going way too fast.

Eating my slipper (no wonder it was on clearance, it won't stay ON!)

Sharing my other slipper with my fur brother

Puppy kisses

Enough with the camera, mom, I'm tired

Dancing & Trying to Catch my Fur Brother

Watch out, Treble!! She's trying to get you!
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Army Crawling

Ahh, the lure of a good doggie bone!
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Who needs the balls, when I have my hands?

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Some new music to groove to.....

Keifer and I were groovin' tonight during our pre-dinner preparations, to the CD "African Playground" - which I picked up at the library (in my attempts to give her a multi-cultural taste of music at an early age). I pictured myself a singing and dancing waitress as I shook my booty, strapped my monkey girl in her high chair, and tried to tease some food into her whiny mouth tonight (she was tired). Hey, at least I was laughing my arse off at myself, and even managed a few giggles and hand claps from my audience of one (not including the fur kids).

After the dancing exhausted me (note to self: must. return. to. the.gym.), I pushed on the Martha Stewart Baby: Sleepytime CD that we had received as a gift from Nana Marge when K was baptised. Oh, what a wonderful collection! Wonderful songs (save for the Barenaked Ladies singing "Close to You", which had both CJ and I cringing), but I've found a new favorite for the week. How I loved Everything But the Girl's version of "Love is Strange". This CD has Nickel Creek, Alison Krauss, and other artists I've never heard of performing. *sigh*. Now I'm all sleepy, just listening to it while I washed bottles.

I haven't laughed this hard in a LONG time...

If any of you are living under a rock, then you might not know about the now infamous Tom Cruise Scientology video, where he goes on and on in his "code" about things that made me scratch my head (as well as wonder how the hell Katie - excuse me, Kate -- managed to sneak in her postpartum meds under his nose).

Anyhoo, I just watched the Jerry O'Connell spoof and just about keeled over laughing my arse off. Keifer is next to me munching on puffs, and she managed to laugh her little head off as well at Jerry, and even said "Hi!", to the video screen a few times. You MUST WATCH IT! OMG!

The whole "KFC, PYT (pretty young thing)" - which he does in response to Tom's use of abbreviations such as "SP' for "suppressed people" - Oh my Gawd, I'm seriously crying with laughter!

It's a Dog's Life

Poor Tboy and Sass. This cold has got them shaking in their paws when it comes time to go outside. Yesterday, after we arrived home, poor Tboy had to go #2 in the worst way. But, the cold was interfering with his speed of deposit. He did his circle dance, slowly creaking as the cold invaded his bones. He appeared to be having some difficulty doing the deed, so I hurried him in the house briefly, so he could recharge with some heat. He liked that, and after a minute of me rubbing his body down, getting the circulation going, he raced back out and did his 'bidness". Yay. Poor guy.
Sass, on the other hand, has begun reverting to her puppy behavior. She is terrified of going out in the cold, and has started leaving us little accidents once in awhile in the basement. I get VERY angry with her, and she knows darn well why I'm mad at her - so she'll slink up to me on her belly, all meek and ears back. Damn this cold. I wish the warmer weather was here sooner than later.

Paperwork

Kerry received her paperwork today (finally) from our Fertility clinic. The ball has left the chute......

Our hungry, hungry girl

I usually hear about how most people's babies don't like foods with texture - or a lot of them have trouble incorporating chunks into their diet once they are old enough to have them. Not our girl. She actually PREFERS food that has texture and chunks. In fact, she isn't too keen on plain old baby food anymore. Oh, no. We have to share our people food with her, and watch her eat it up like a ravenous piggie. Lately, I've been giving her Earth's Best #3 foods, that incorporate that texture that she seems to crave. We have found that she LOVES the spaghetti, and tonight, she almost ate the whole jar of Tender Chicken and Stars. She even has the sounds of pleasure down pat: "mmmmmmm". What a hoot. That's our big girl - eating like there's no tomorrow. We are truly lucky.

I usually try to give her organic foods when I can, because I'm not so sure about all the additives and things that go into our foods. Of course, I need to start eating more organically for MYSELF, but for now, my girl is #1, and I'm going to try my darnedest to keep it pretty clean. I've found that Earth's Best is pretty reasonable, has a great variety, and I can usually find coupons for them in my American Baby magazine or on their boxes.

Keifer & Alex, sitting in a tree....

...K I S S I N G!
LOL.
Well, no, not kissing, but hugging!
There is a little guy at K's daycare - Alex - who is around 19 months or so. He just loves K. When we arrive, he will rush to the door to greet us and usually wraps himself around my legs in a greeting for K. Sometimes he'll assist me in trying to help take her hat off.
This AM, I came through the door, and Alex came over, ready for a hug. I crouched down, with my BAB girl in my arms, and Alex pointed at her and leaned in for a nice, big hug. He was hugging K, with her face over his shoulder opposite me, so I could see her little round moon face just beaming with joy. She had the biggest cheese grin, and out of no where she said, "hi", nice and loud for all to hear. Elaine and I laughed and laughed and I commented that I wish I had my camera for moments like that. *sigh*. What a wonderful way to start the day. Lucky girl, K: Alex is adorable!

Now it makes some sense to me

Mooshie wrote to me the other day, and in her note, she basically summed up the feelings I've been having, moving down Donor path #2, and it made perfect sense. I've been feeling so sad and grieving the loss of not using her body again for this next attempt, and she compared it to her being the "ex" girlfriend, the "first love" that has been moved on from, and now we're onto our second "girlfriend" , if you will. It doesn't affect our relationship with girlfriend #2, but we'll always have our "first" and the bittersweet feelings from that relationship, as we move into our second one.

Here's what she said: What we had and have will always be special. I will always be your first.

She hit the nail right on the head. We all went down the path of IVF cycle #1, babes in the woods, scared and hopeful, and somewhat clueless as to what to expect. We trekked our way through the forest together, and came out the other side stronger, closer, wiser and PG. Thank you, dear Mooshie, for understanding so completely what the feelings I've been having are, and for being able to communicate them in a way that makes sense to other people. Now, it's like we were forced to "break up", if you will, and what I've been mourning is the loss of the "what if's" of our future.

Mooshie is also feeling sad that she isn't able to be our donor this time, but she did tell me that she is so excited that Kerry will *hopefully* be our donor: I think this is the way it's supposed to be. I think Kerry is the absolute perfect option for you....kind, funny, giving, caring, pretty, smart, quirky...and nearby. She obviously has awesome eggs and look at how cute her kids are. I've been following her blog for a long time so feel like I know her, too!! I feel like this is the journey meant for you.

CJ and I are very blessed that we have had these angels in our life offer to help us with a part of themselves, and its still amazing to me. Now let's hope and pray this second journey works as well as the first, and we are celebrating in another year, the possibility of Coco and/or Finn.

Prayer request for Mooshie (aka Egg Angel #1)

Michele/Mooshie is having major surgery on her knee (again) today - so if you could, please take a second and say a prayer of good wishes for her?

Here is what she explains is going to happen: they're grafting some of my hamstring and creating a new ligament from it. He's going to basically lasso it around my kneecap and tether it to the inside of my leg to stabilize my patella. He's going to repair some additional tears, clean up bone fragments and then fix any other issues he discovered during the initial scope. My leg is going to look like a tic tac toe board! I already have a 6 1/2 inch scar down the front of my knee/shin, 8 arthroscopy holes, and now I'll have a couple more 2 inch (I think he said) incisions--one from the inside edge of my kneecap to my inner thigh, and another lower down from my shin to my inner calf.

I'll be in a hip to ankle immobilizer and on crutches for a month!

As you may remember - Mooshie has 3 year old Maddie, and baby Alex, who is still nursing, so let's all hope things go OK for her.

Huge hugs and prayers to you, Mooshie!

My new fave picture of me and Keif

*sigh*. My little buddy and me. I love her so. Thanks to Kerry's DH for taking this picture of us, and for sharing it with us. This girl - she is my whole heart.

Our meeting went well: Egg Angel #2 update

I know many people are wondering, "how did it go on Saturday?". Rest assured, it went very well. CJ and I traveled north to visit our potential egg donor #2 on Saturday, after K's afternoon nap. We got a bit of a late start, as it was a later nap than usual, and we had to stop and fill our gas tank, as it was below zero outside. It took about 45 minutes or so to get to her home, but once we arrived, we both immediately felt at ease.

She has given me the OK to blog about her, so I'll tell you her name: it's Kerry. Yep, the same as mine, albeit spelled differently. Kerry has a 3 year old beautiful son, Quinn, and has three amazing babies: triplets, to be exact. Yep. Triplets. She is a super woman. She had triplets naturally - meaning with no fertility treatments or drugs needed. She is a statistical phenomenon. There are two little guys, Ewan and Noel, and one little princess-in-training, Mairin. To say we were in love is to put it mildly. What a fun house they have.

Kerry contacted me after keeping up with my blog, and I have her blog listed on the side of MY blog- A Womb with a Few. She is friends with friends of mine, and I have enjoyed following her tales of her PG and life with babies. We had never met face to face before, or even emailed for that matter.

We arrived at Kerry's home and immediately were immersed in baby land. CJ and I put K down on the floor and started interacting with the babies and chit chatting with Kerry, as well as interacting with Quinn, who was beside himself to have visitors to entertain. Kerry and her DH also have rescued three Doxie's, so that was a fun little introduction as well, especially as one of them is highly protective of "her" babies. LOL. I think we all felt pretty comfortable, and it was so much fun to watch Keifer in her glory, trying to touch all the babies. Our girl also made her first official moves to crawl - an army crawl! YAY! The stimulating environment really got her going!

After Kerry's DH arrived home, the four of us adults got to the nitty gritty and talked about the donor egg idea. Kerry had emailed me, and to sum it all up, she had a feeling in her heart that spoke to her, that she wanted to donate her eggs to us. Of course, we were bowled over by her kindness, and especially blown away, as it happened to us the same way with our first IVF cycle - which resulted in our angel girl, K. Kerry and her DH had questions, and we all dissected all the if's and buts, and this woman is amazing: she wants to do it for us 3 times if the first few times don't work. We want to be able to do the warranty program at our clinic- which means that if we don't succeed the first 1-2-3 times, then we get a percentage of our money back in the end. We are hoping that isn't the case, and that we are lucky attempt #1. In our first IVF cycle, we pretty much were taking a crap shoot with using Mooshie the first time, as she lives far away, and we weren't sure what we would've done the second or third time around if it hadn't worked. God was sending us all his angels when we were traveling down that road, and I hope and pray he sends them back to us this summer.

Kerry also has help with her children, which is a huge factor, as my RE clinic doesn't allow children, and her appointments won't always be scheduled in stone, depending on how her body reacts to the medications. I'm guessing she won't need a lot of drugs to get her follicles revved up, as this woman is fertile! But- I was worried about the timing of appointments, and the trouble that she might have in finding help to take care of her kiddos. I don't want HER home life to be affected much if she is OKed to do this.

We left on a good note, all of us feeling good about things. Hopeful and optimistic. A bit nervous. On our drive home, K fell asleep and it was just CJ and I in the dark car, silent for awhile, both thinking our own thoughts.

Out of nowhere, I was hit with this sudden weight of sadness, like a ton of bricks, descending upon my chest. Here I was, going home after meeting the next possible egg angel for us, and I started to cry. But I knew why I was crying: I was crying because after I had Keifer, I had this glimmer of hope that perhaps my body wasn't as fucked up as it was before I had her. Maybe the PG had tricked it into behaving like a women's body typically should. But no. My body wouldn't cooperate - it won't ovulate- and it makes me sad. It makes me sad and angry at my body, and pissed off that what comes so naturally to so many, is impossible for me to achieve.

I was also grieving the loss of being able to use Mooshie as our egg donor again. Yes, we knew it wouldn't be possible, most likely, again, but still; it was such an emotional journey the first time, and starting down a new path is scary. Scary and emotional. So I was emotional. I told Kerry it has nothing against her - I'm honored that she has offered her body and her eggs to help us attempt to complete our family. But a part of CJ and I are grieving the loss of Mooshie's body, as well as my own.

I know much of this post may seem confusing right now. I'm hungry and tired. But know that I am happy and pleased as punch that Kerry is in the running. It makes me excited to think about the possibility of having more of an extended, connected network for my children in the future. It makes both CJ and I happy that our possible child/children will be able to also know THEIR egg angel. This is important to us, as Keifer will grow up knowing hers, and we want that to be somewhat special and complete for possibility #2 (and #3!?).

Please continue to pray for our family and for our egg angel #2 (in the running!). We appreciate it, and I'll continue to let you know how things go. And a special, loving thanks to Kerry, for allowing me to "out" her and let the world know just how special she really is.

The girls: Kerry & Mairin, me and Keif

The crew: Quinn, Kerry holding Noel & Mairin, me holding Ewan & Keif

Pictures from our play date

Keifer and I had a fun play date yesterday with my friend Roxy, and her almost 2 year old, Eva. Keifer has been feeling a bit under the weather, fighting a cold and teething, so she wasn't her usual hammy, smiley self, but overall she had a good time exploring all of Eva's toys (much to Eva's dismay LOL). Here are our big girls- our angel girls - our miracles!

K showing Eva she is "so big" Eva gives her a hug
ohh, what is this thing attached to your head? Eva is NOT impressed with K's social skills thus far

just chillin'

Eva says "good job" to Keif Another open mouth kisser......
. ..just like Keifer!

My First Rocking Experience

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Keifer Lynn and and I traveled up to have fun playing with my friend, Roxy, her *almost 2 year old* girl, Eva. What a fun time we had! Keifer enjoyed exploring Eva's toys, much to Eva's dismay - LOL - and especially loved trying out this rocking bug. It was her first "rocking" experience alone, and she loved it.
Check out our other video clip of our friend, Eva! Lots of fun play times in the future, we hope! Pictures to come soon........................

*and FYI, no babies were hurt in the filming of this video! Or, should I say, she did NOT tip out and over after the filming stopped!*

Tough love

My mom and dad were down Thursday night until yesterday afternoon, watching K for us as we didn't have daycare on Friday. They all had a blast and Keifer was a non-stop talking machine for her Papa and Nana. When I got home after work on Friday, she greeted me with her wave and her "hi", and I was told that she greeted her grandparents with her "hi" pretty much whenever either of them came back into the room after leaving. That's our social butterfly.

K loves to laugh, and will giggle her cute little giggle just about every few minutes when she's playing. She loves to play in her Fisher Price Laugh and Learn kitchen, and her favorite thing to do is open and close the fridge - which makes the music come on, to which she dances and claps her little body to. It's hilarious. I am a proud mommy.

When Nana was putting K to bed on Friday night, K went in to give her Grandma a big ol' huggie love/open mouth kiss. Well, her giant Soupy head banged right into Nana's upper lip and managed to give her a fat lip. That is some true tough love. Our girl likes to bang her head on things (is it because of all the rockin' and rollin' mommy did when she was in utero?).

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr: Baby, it's cold outside, and other chatter

No, not our TEETH chattering.........just soupbowl dish. Get it? "Chatter". Ha ha.

It is freaking FREEZING out in MN right now- the warmest part of the day was at 8 AM and it was supposed to get colder as the day goes on This weekend, the wind chill will be far below zero, and in Duluth, where I'm from and my family lives, it's supposed to be -60 below wind chills! *(GASP)*. When I crawled into bed last night, I was cursing myself for NOT putting on our flannel sheets - I love them. I had on my flannel PJs, my slipper socks, and ended up having to put on my Cuddle Duds (thin long underwear) under THAT just to get warm enough to sleep! I'm usually a cold baby, but I've never had to do that. I'm wondering if the King Size bed and lack of CJ's body warmth (he's not a cuddle bug like me) has to do with my need for more layers. Sager is always pressed up against me, under many layers, but she is only 11 pounds of heat, I need MORE than that to warm me up. Oye.

We are meeting tomorrow with our potential egg donor #2, as stated before. She is nervous, and I have to admit, I am too. My heart is starting to race, a little more of a frantic pace than usual, but I know its just excitement more than actual nerves. EA#2 (Egg Angel 2) has told me she feels like she is waiting to be asked to the Prom tomorrow when we come over. LOL. She apparently talked to the highly unorganized schedule coordinator at our clinic this AM; FINALLY. *hurmpf*. I think she passed the tests, especially when she was able to answer that "NO", she has not been offered money or drugs for sex, and "NO", she has not offered anybody money or drugs for sex. Ahhhhh, the hurdles to jump. *it is good to know I won't be possibly using someone who would let their body be violated in that manner* (*Snort*).

Happy (belated) Birthday, Maddie

Happy Birthday YESTERDAY (January 16) to Keifer's 1/3 sissy, Maddie! YAY! Maddie is 3 years old and the most beautiful little girl! We love her so much!

Wordless Wednesday: My Puppy and me

And they called it, puppy love........... Treble was kind enough to let K explore him a little bit and was hoping for some good belly rubs out of the deal.

Sass observing the action and making sure kisses are doled out minimally, since she wasn't the one giving them

Future Cheerleaders: Unite!

All together now: Let's go Vikings, let's go *clap clap*

Notice how she's already got the 'clap hand' formation going without us even having to demonstrate the technique? Ahh, yes, that's my girl. Probably heard me hooting and hollering and clapping for my kids at work enough to innately know just how to cheer a team on.

FYI: Daddy bought this for her. That Daddy. A true Vikes fan until the bitter end.

Why? Well, I'll tell you......

I've heard from a few different people that you are wondering about WHY we canceled our blood work and what is going on. Yes, it's probably confusing, but just to let you know, nothing is wrong with us. CJ and I have a very important (possibly) life changing decision to make, and we want to go forward cautiously with this. Choosing an Egg Donor isn't just about going to the mall and picking one out and guaranteeing that is THE ONE that is for you, or that its necessarily going to work. There is a multitude of testing to be done by all of us, there is paperwork beyond belief to be dug through, and there are meetings with doctors and meetings of the potential parents (us) with the donor-to-be. And of course, there is the certainty in our hearts that this is what we want to do, which comes in to play.

With Mooshie, the process to get the ball rolling started out as such an unexpected thing, and we were clueless as to how the process went. It was very frustrating, as our clinic's coordinator isn't necessarily on the ball as I think she SHOULD be (hell, I've waited long enough to be a mommy, so dammit, I'll crack the whip!). We waited 2 months, until it looked as though Mooshie was for sure going to be able to be our donor - before we told anybody (other than our immediate family members). I remember sharing the news as vividly as if it was yesterday. Many tears of joy were shed.

We have a possibility for an egg donor this time around again as well. It won't be Mooshie, as she lives too far away, and logistically, with 2 young children right now, and a potential move in her future to a city farther out of her city, it just wouldn't work. We are sad about that, but at the same time, grateful to the ends of the earth for her ability to give us her eggs, and for our angel girl, K, being the result of that journey. Mooshie will forever and ever by my long lost soul sister, my daughter Keifer's "egg mama", and K's Godmother. Keifer will forever be Maddie and Alex's 1/3 sissy, and for that, we are blessed beyond belief.

This new journey started with some emails, very much like how it began with Mooshie. The potential donor wrote to us and proposed that she wanted to be considered for this very special job, and would we consider her? CJ and I weren't sure at first how we wanted to walk down this particular path, and we knew if we took some time, and started making decisions, and prayed on it, things would play out like they should and we'd go from there. Not that it wasn't stressful, but we weren't sure of what we were thinking. Thoughts were like swirling tornadoes through our minds (at least mine were!).

The person who may be our donor is actually located right here in our metro area. She actually lives closer to our clinic than we do. She is extremely fertile; just how fertile, well, I'll share more of that later down the road with her permission, and when things might look a little more "green light" to use her. She is going to be filling out paperwork, going through interviews and blood work, and this coming weekend, CJ, Keif and myself will be visiting with her and her brood. *deep breath*

We are excited and nervous. This just isn't a stop at some one's house for a snack and some chatter. This is meeting a woman who may be the next angel on earth for us: the possible woman who will share a part of her being to hopefully give us another chance at bliss with possibly another child (or children!). It's almost like going on a blind date with the man you KNOW you are going to maybe be marrying a few months down the road.

The few tidbits I can share: she is similar in build to me, she has naturally red hair, blue eyes, fair skin, loves to read, loves music, loves to laugh and appears to be smart ass, loves animals and has rescued dogs. She has one of her children already enrolled in musical lessons, the violin to be exact, which warms my heart as I played the violin (*first chair, mind you*) for three years. I'll compare the similarities with myself: I color my hair red, I have green eyes, fair skin, love to read, love music, love to laugh, I think of myself as a smart ass, love animals, and have rescued dogs.

Need I say more? I'll keep you posted (and with her permission, as well, as stated previously).

Shopping with giggle girl: my buddy and me!

Oh, I love shopping with my giggle girl. After K's afternoon nap, I loaded her up and we hit the mall. I had a few things to exchange and shop for, and she had a ball, rolling in her Zooper, chewing on her teething ring thing, waving her arms around, and literally giggling everywhere we went. We went into 2 stores where she literally started WAVING at the sales girls as soon as we wheeled in. To say they were captivated by her, well, that was an understatement. My heart was bursting. The icing on the cake, if you will, was when I got us a pretzel to share at the Pretzelmaker. Yum yum, it was delicious, and I was having a ball, loving that moment in time when my 9 month old and I were hanging out at the mall, sharing a pretzel,and she was making her "mmmmm" sounds in enjoyment. *sigh*. Such bliss.

Then, we quick hit the Gymboree clearance racks, because I love to do that. Oh Lordy, they have yet another new line out with puppies in it, called "Tres Chic", and Lord, if they don't have the most adorable poodle clothes. But I will resist. My girl has tons of clothes, and we 'll wait until the clothes are marked down as low as they can go.

The exciting thing for me, though, is the swimsuits were out there, and I have $25 in Gymbucks to spend in the next week. Coincidentally, Jill called me right before I left and told me her and Corey and the kids joined Lifetime Fitness, where we are members, and invited K and I to go swimming with them this afternoon. Well, K doesn't have a suit. Coincidence that Gymboree had theirs out? I think not *wink wink*. So next weekend, we're picking one out. Which one do you like? I'm partial towards the tulips one, one: because I love tulips (even have on tattooed on my back) and two: because the darker color would look so cute on K. Whaddya think? *(and may I add, that I am beyond excited that they built the latest Lifetime 5 minutes from our house right now, and they have both an indoor and outdoor water area for kids, and I am so excited to spend time there with our family this summer! YAY)*

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