6/52

Finally getting week 6 up! I am so bad about doing this on time!

We had a great Valentine's weekend. Friday afternoon Finley and I made cookie to go with her Valentine's cards for her friends at church. That girl loves to bake and help me in the kitchen! Friday night I was able to go out for a "Galentine's" night with some girlfriends. 

Saturday morning we woke up and Matthew suggested we go to breakfast. I am always about going out to eat and not having to cook! That afternoon Matthew helped some friends move into their new house while I got ready for our date night!

Finley got to spend the night with Kylie on Saturday. They have been asking to have a sleepover for weeks now and we have been telling them no. They haven't spent the night together since Finley's birthday last year when Kylie started to get sick. So this was a big treat for them!

Saturday night Matthew and I had a double date night with some friends. We went for sushi at Matthew's favorite sushi place. We had a great time and ate way too much! After dinner we came back to the house and had a relaxing evening just the 2 of us. It felt strange to not have Finley in the house.

After church Sunday we came home and relaxed some more. Finley was having a hard time at church and I could tell she desperately needed a nap. We were also on a winter storm watch. So we decided to just stay home and wait for the storm to hit.

The storm never came. The weather guy kept pushing the arrival back and we were suppose to wake up to snow Monday morning. All we got was rain. They said the rain was going to turn to ice, but again nothing happened. It was nice to stay at home and hang out though. We stayed in our PJ's all day. We watched a lot of TV. We played with every toy Finley owns. I made beef stew for dinner and we cuddled on the couch. 

I was very disappointed that the weather never developed into anything other then rain. But this is morning we woke up with snow!! There is nothing like an excited southerner when it snows :) Finley's face this morning was priceless. Her eyes lite up when she looked outside and instantly asked if we could build a snowman. Hopefully we will get enough today that we can make that happen!

Have a great rest of the week and stay safe if you are where there is a ton of snow!

5/52

We had a very busy week this past week, Lots of doctors appointments, meetings and errands to run. I think we had somewhere we needed to be every day by 10 am and something to do every night!

We hit up Target one day while we were out. We live about 25 minutes away from the closest one (I know, blasphemy!). So We only head out there once every 2 weeks. Finley loves to walk around the seasonal isles. She saw this mustache lollipop and said "Look! I look like Daddy!" She must have also looked particularly cute this day, because everywhere we went I constantly heard people say how cute she was as we walked by!

Finley had a dentist appointment this past week. She LOVES the dentist and brushing her teeth. While we were waiting for her to get called back, I snapped this picture. Something about this simple moment makes my heart happy. She loves to build and create. Her 2 favorite toys currently are play-doh and legos.

We had to make mud slime for an activity at church this weekend. Finley really got into it and has not let me throw it away yet. She has really enjoyed getting her hands in it and squishing it around. It personally makes me want to dry heave. 

All these were actually taken with my phone. We were so busy I didn't have the chance to pull my big camera out. 

On to week 6!!

4/52

Week 4 is just in time for me to do week 5 tomorrow!! Oops! It has been a busy week with being gone the week before and doctors visits all this week. Here are my pictures for this week.

Finley watching it snow and asking if we can build a snowman. Sorry baby... it will have to snow a lot more then that!

My niece is in there somewhere. My parents bought Finley and my niece a giant tiger each. Because you know... who doesn't need a tiger that is as big as they are! Finley loves this thing. She drags it around with her and has asked to sleep with it.

Getting to sleep with Finley. We do not co-sleep, but when it is just me and her I like to have her in the bed with me. She is kind of a wild sleeper and I get hit and kicked A LOT. Then there are nights where she rolls over and I can feel her search for my hand to hold or her put her hand on my face. Those are the moments I cherish and make the foot to the rib worth it!

When it is no longer your choice

If you have been reading for a little while, then you know I have been having some health issues. I have been in and out of doctors offices. I have had my blood drawn more in the last 2 months then I have had in my entire life and I have had every type of scan possible, except a PET scan.

Originally, just before Christmas I made a trip to the ER for pain in my side. We were expecting them to tell us in was my appendix. They quickly came back and said it was a blood clot in a vein going to my right ovary (Ovarian Vein Thrombosis). They sent for more testing and came back and said it was actually a ovarian cyst and instructed me to see an OB as soon as possible. Due to the holidays and it being so close to the end of the year, getting an appointment took a bit longer then wanted. But within a week I was in a OB's office having another ultrasound down. He left the room and took a bit longer then he should have if everything was normal. When he came back in the room he told me the original diagnosis of the blood clot was correct. The thing is, this type of blood clot doesn't just happen on its own. There is usually another medical issue that is causing it. I was told to take an aspirin a day and the clot should break up on its own. But my doctor wanted to find out what could have been causing the clot. So off for more scans and a full panel of blood work to find any kind of clotting disorder.

My scans came back fine, with no infection which was good news. A few weeks had passed since I had the blood work done and I was getting ready to call my OB to find out what the results were. That day I got a call from an Oncology and Hematology office with a referral to see them. I was confused because I hadn't had any results reported to me. I call my OB office and they explained that some of my blood work came back with a mild clotting disorder and they wanted a hematologist to take a look at my records. So off to another doctors office for more blood work.

I arrived and sat down in the room. The doctor came in and began the normal questions as he went of my file.

What brought you here?
Do you understand what is going on?
What is your medical history?

Then the less common questions began....

Have you been pregnant before?
How many miscarriages have you had?
So only 1 pregnancy and 1 live birth?
Were there complications?
Hmmmmm.... so no miscarriages? Really?

He then called his partner in to the room and we repeated the same conversation. Then they began to talk like I wasn't in the room. They are both Indian, so they were talking so fast to one another and I was having a hard time keeping up. I was able to catch bits and pieces of the conversation. They were talking about how it wasn't a severe clotting disorder, but it should have presented by now. They said I should have had a harder pregnancy and both seemed very surprised by the fact that I had had a successful pregnancy. They kept asking if I was sure that I had had no miscarriages. I told them I had taken several tests over the past few months before getting a positive test. And only had 1 positive test followed by a great pregnancy and a birth.

Then they began to talk about medications. The hematologist explained that if I were to want to get pregnant again it could be difficult and dangerous. The clot could effect my right ovary and make it stop working and the clotting disorder could put me and a new baby at risk. He wanted to start a round of blood thinners in order to "protect my fertility." The blood thinners would help break the clot up and keep another clot from forming. He said this should have presented before now. It should have been harder to get pregnant and stay pregnant for me in the first place. They were surprised to see the disorder present so late.

The things is, Matthew and I are more then likely done having kids. I would love to have a second baby and have always thought that we maybe would at some point, but I am also content with just Finley. But there is something about being told you can't, you shouldn't or if you do it could be dangerous to have another child that makes me say "but what if I wanted more?" Matthew and I are also kind of system buckers. So if you tell us we can't do something we respond with a "you don't know me!" (Not that this means we will be having a second baby any time soon!!) But your heart plays a funny trick with your brain when you hear those words and you start to run all the reason you want another baby and what it would be like. But now it is no longer your choice to not have another child. It was a choice that was made for you. There is something satisfying when you say I am done. This is a choice I am making for me and my family. We are happy and content and complete. There is something that breaks a little inside you when you are told it is no longer your choice.

15 in 2015

When I made my original post I mentioned I had seen it on another blog. I couldn't remember which one and wasn't able to go back and find it at the time to give credit. She just recently posted an update. So I am now able to link back to her blog and can give credit where credit is due!

The original blog and blogger  is Kasey at the Bat. She is super cute and I came across her blog through a giveaway. You should check her out! I really enjoyed her post about #deflategate. The image of Marshawn Lynch dancing made my day!! 

15 in 2015 l vol. 1

Last month I made a list of 15 things I would like to do in 2015. I have been working on doing some of them and I wanted to do an update to help keep myself accountable.

1. Do a different kind of family vacation other then the beach. Matthew and I have tentatively planned a long weekend trip to Nashville for this fall! I would have liked to go this spring, but October seemed the best time for us to go. Spring was too soon for us to set aside the funds and I refuse to do anything that involves being outside and not near water during the summer. We are also talking about doing an over night camping trip close to home in the spring. Finley loves camping, so I am sure she will be thrilled!!

 2. Make one craft project a month. I kept my project simple this past month. I got new make-up brushes and wanted them out and looking pretty. So I made these super simple mason jar holders. I wont lie... I am still finding silver glitter all over the house, but I like them and I already had the stuff to make them. So easy peasy.

3. Learn a new skill. I haven't started this yet, but I did have a friend invite me to a knitting group she has been going to.

4. Double the size of our garden, plant something we wouldn't normally eat, and can enough veggies to last us at least half the year. We can't do this until the spring.

5. Slim down my closet. ummmmm.... I sorta did this...... I did pull out a bunch of items to donate..... but I may have purchased a few new items... I did get rid of more then I bought. So that counts for something, right?

6. Clean out and organize the whole house. I am doing well with this. I did miss last week because I was in Atlanta for the week visiting family. So I will have to catch up this week or work on it another time. The nice thing is, last weeks room was our master. Which is small with minimal furniture and storage. So we don't have too many places to put things!

7. Eat at one new restaurant a month (and possibly blog about it...).  We did eat out several times this past month. Probably more then we normally do. We ate at 2 chain restaurants, a local Mexican place that I don't recommend, and a coffee house called The Camp House. This was probably the most interesting. I didn't take any pictures because I decided to blog about it after we went. We didn't eat dinner there, but we did have an appetizer and drinks while we watched our friends band play. The service was a little slow. I ordered a Vanilla Latte and it took around 20 minutes for me to get it, and then it wasn't that great. I had to had a ton of sugar, and even still it was hard to drink. Our friends ordered a hummus appetizer which was pretty good. It is a very hipster place and I feel like it is hyped up a lot among locals and it wasn't really deserving of it. It had great atmosphere and nicely decorated, the food was good but not outstanding, I didn't finish my coffee because it was so bitter, and most of the entertainment was questionable. Our friends band did a fantastic job and was the most entertaining!! They had some "story teller" between the 2 musical acts. The "story tellers" were slow and the topic was Greek Mythology. Things got very adult at one point and I was left feeling a little uncomfortable. I would go back to see our friends play again, but I am not sure I would choose to go there just because I wanted to.

8. Complete the 52 week photo project.  So far so good, but we are only 4 weeks in! I am a little late on week 4. I am hoping to get it up today. Being gone all week really threw my days and schedule off!

9. Read my Bible and journal everyday.  I am doing OK with this one. I took last week off, but I am back at it today. I haven't started to write in a journal yet. I have one picked out on Amazon, but we need to order a few other things. I am hoping to get get it this week or next!

10. Read through The Story Book Bible with Finley. We have made it a point to read at least 1 story a week with Finley. 

11. Drink more water (as always). I was doing well with this until we went out of town last week. When I am with my family there is usually an unlimited supply of diet coke. Today I am back at it though.

12. Go to the gym 2-3 times a week. Womp-womp-womp. I have only been going once a week. 

13. Grow my hair out. This is a work in progress. I actually need to go get it trimmed soon.

14. Ride our bikes more. This is one of those that has to wait until it warms up.

15. Run a 5K. This is another womp-womp. Well sorta... I just haven't signed up for yet.