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Endings

Well, after some reflection, I've decided to end this blog.  It's been a place for me to vent and share and even a place for me to be flamed be "anonymous" people (and I put the quotations because I know exactly who "anon" is, even though that person thinks I don't).

I've become uninspired here.  I need to start fresh.

Thank you to all who have read and commented and all who have read and stayed lurking.  I appreciate you taking the time to read :)

It's been wonderful!

Quiet Reflection/Dream Vacation Dreamboard

And so it begins...

I've begun my third surrogate journey by giving 17 vials of blood on Wednesday for my preliminary testing :)  I'm very excited as this process is probably going to go very quickly.  My IP's have 6 totsicles waiting in the freezer for us and sometime around mid September I'll be transferring a 9 cell, 3 day embryo in to my comfy womb!

The next step at this point is to wait for my cycle to start and then call and get appointments for my HSG and endometrial biopsy and while we're waiting for that, work on contracts.

So, stay tuned for updates, I'm hoping to start posting more here again now that things are moving in my life again!  Things were pretty content and normal for a while there, nothing really to write home about and so I wasn't inspired.  Now I have things to share so hopefully it will pick up again around here!

Hope everyone is well :)

Busy Busy Busy Busy Busy.....and more Busy.

It has been a very busy couple of months!  I've barely had time to think.  I quit the job I got that I mentioned the interview for in the last post, it was a terrible place to work in my opinion but that's a whole other blog post.  I got another job in place of it though and I'm just finishing up training and doing my testing on Tuesday :)  It's a part time/full time job that I can bring my daughter with me and still have time to do all the stuff I have to at home, it's perfect!

On top of that, I've also matched with new IP's for another surrogacy!  YAY!  I thought I was done but the more I thought about it the more I felt like I could do it again...especially now that I know for sure I won't be having anymore for myself (Jer was snipped and it was successful).  They have some frozen embryo's and I have an appointment at the clinic on the 27th to get everything started.  Lawyer stuff will start next week and if all goes well with no snags I will most likely be transferring by mid-September!  Soooo excited!  I will be due toward the end of the school year so I won't have to take much time off and I will be able to go back to work in September again.

Also, my oldest kiddo James graduated from Grade 8.  Already!  I was so proud and he was so handsome and is very excited to be starting Grade 9 in September.

Marryn also turned two last month (holy hell did that ever fly by!)...she's great, talking up a storm and as adorable as ever.  She won our city's Rose Festival baby contest at the beginning of June and was Rose Bud Queen in the parade.  Talk about proud!!!

Jonah is also well, with no front teeth but one adult tooth finally starting to grow in :)  He turns 7 in just under 2 weeks.  He's very excited to be starting Grade 2 in the fall and is doing well with his reading since we switched him over to English school.

Jer and I are well also, just focusing all of our energy (and what extra money there might be) on finally getting out of debt and working towards starting to look at buying a house by next summer.  This Saturday will be a year since our stag and doe and our 1st anniversary is coming up shortly in October...this year totally flew by!  Things are going wonderful and everything is looking up.  I'm loving life and the things that are coming my way!

Now we're off to a BBQ with friends so I will say so long for now!!  Happy Summer!!!



Luck and Happiness and Hard Work

Things have been going so well over the last while minus finances.  However, I worked hard and finished my three courses in three weeks and am now a high school graduate with an interview at the company I spoke about in the last post, tomorrow at 11am.  I'm excited about it although a little sad as I love my stay at home mom job!  I love baking bread (I haven't bought store bread in almost a month) and muffins and cooking homemade, from scratch dinner everyday.  I love being here to fix the boo boo's and sing the Itsy Bitsy Spider while my daughter sits on her potty and we wait for her to eventually pee on it lol.  But, money is a necessary evil and we want any chance of buying a house in the next two years, I need to work for a while.

So, I'm comitting to a year of full time work to help dig us out of debt and start some savings.

After a year we'll be much better off financially and I should be able to return to being a SAHM.

I'm excited about it, apparently it's a great place to work!

Jer is doing well also, he gets a small raise in the next few weeks and than a larger one in July.  He has two full years left and then he's a journeyman!  He's doing great on the job, he's sought after and being fought for by guys who like his work.  I'm happy he does such a good job supporting our family :)

James is doing well, same ole same ole, sports and stuff.  He graduates in June (already!).

Jonah has switched to english school and he's doing well.  He recently lost a front tooth and the other one is about to come out anytime!  He's so cute missing a tooth in the front and he talks a little funny :)

Marryn is working on potty training and talking up a storm (most of the time in foreign languages lol).  She's repeating lots now and is so cute when she does :)

Life is pretty normal and quiet.  Jer's had quite a bit of luck recently though winning his card draw (a pool they do at work) twice since Christmas.  The first time was over $900, the second over $300.  Then he won the safety award at work, $100 gift card to the Kep  Then yesterday he won on 97.7 (our local radio station to which we are very loyal listeners!), a $50 gift certificate to Dicken's Pub and a 1/30 chance to win a trip to Dublin, Ireland!  That's our dream vacation!!!  They draw the winner Monday morning, I'm so excited!!  We're gonna win!!!!!  I hope the luck continues!!!

Cross your fingers for us, we'd be taking the Ireland trip in October for our 1st anniversary!!!!  :D

Woah.

Apparently March was No Blog Post Month for me lol...

Things are ok, just super busy.  I applied for and ALMOST got a job.  The only thing holding me back?  3 elective credits for high school.  That was two weeks ago...I'm now in the middle of the last course I need to finally be a high school graduate.  And because I have a friend working at this particular company, I still have a shot at the job as long as I can prove I have done these courses to finish my OSSD requirements!

Other than that, the kids are good.  I found daycare at a reasonable price for Marryn with a friend of mine who's kids bowl with the boys and who is also Jonah's beaver leader.  I'm excited for Marryn to be around kids all day but I'm also sad that I won't be with her full time anymore.

But, we have a plan.  The plan is for me to work for a year and get rid of our credit card debt, put some money away and start looking at buying a house...as well as take a short vacay next April.

I'm excited about all these changes but a little weirded out that I'm moving on to this section of my life.  I'm trying to find my place and meaning...I'm no longer "child bearing", so now what??  It's a bit unnerving.

But I'm working on it.  I'm doing what I need to do to help us get to where we wanna be!  We're happy and content and that is all I can ask for :)

"Sending it to the Universe" List

1. Full work weeks for Jer....I know that this is something that should resume as of this week but the holidays and January (and most of Feb) were brutal...no more illnesses or recovery periods for him...or any of us really!
2. More Epicure shows for me, I already have 4 booked for March, a couple more would be great!
3. A bit of savings...we're living pay cheque to pay cheque since Christmas...I just want to be able to get through the week without having to wait for Thursdays.
4. SPRING!!  Please?  Can it be right now?  I walked Jonah to the bus today and had puddles in my boots just halfway down the street...this wouldn't be so bad if the puddles were slush!!
5. Again, spring, so we can start going on our Sunday drives to get fresh local fruit and veg.  I soooo miss that!!!
6. A good plan at the Dr. for James tomorrow.  It's been going on forever and I know we'd all feel better if we had some resolution, even if it's bandaid for now.
7. And, just puttin' it out there, the lottery would be friggin' sweet.  I have a lot of people I wish I could help right now, including my good friend Sarah who is putting her house up for sale today...if we won, I'd pay her mortgage off so she didn't have to move...and that's not all...

What do you wish for these days??

Lists

I'm good at them...I like to make them.  This is my list of current things I want.  In no particular order.

• I want to return to a time or place when I wasn't even thought of yet (think 17th/18th century Ireland and 19th century North America).  Lately I can't help but think about the past and our history and wonder how on earth we got to the "place" we're at now on this earth.  My fascination with history grows everyday...I long for simpler times and basic household living.  Don't get me wrong, I love my computer, but baking a simple loaf of bread gives me more pleasure than buying a new purse or pair of shoes or video game.  I want to can jam and pickles and make apple butter.  I want to make clothing (even though I don't even know where to begin)...I hope to one day be a "1950's housewife" yet still maintain my own identity and not "obey" my husband but work beside him to run a happy household.
• I want, and need, to visit Ireland.  In the last 5ish years I've been trying to piece together my family tree.  I'm at a road block right now but for as far as I did get, I'm a whole lotta Irish.  Throw in some Acadian and French Canadian and Native in there....and I'm pretty sure some Scottish as well....but all in all, mostly Irish.  I have found a certain "village" in Ireland where my mother's family originates from and I have a very strong urge to visit there...particularly the graveyards.
• I want to learn.  There are so many things that I am interested in doing and learning about...the list is virtually endless.  Before I'm 50 I hope to take a number of courses at the local college.
• I want more time to bake.  I love baking.  I love seeing the joy and satisfaction on people's faces when they're eating my baked goods.  I want to learn more about it (see above) and hope to take the baker's certification course in the future.  I don't plan to have it as a career because I don't want to HAVE to do it...it is a hobby and I fear my love of baking would diminish if I were forced to do so everyday.
• I want to learn to sew (see the first "I want").  I want to make my children's Halloween costumes and sew my own clothing/costumes.
• I want to join a "living historical group" such as the Lincoln Militia.  This ties in with my growing love and fascination with history of course.  This also ties in with learning to sew.
• I want to sharpen my tarot skills.  I know how to read them as a basic, I would like to be able to rely on them when I have a difficult decision or be able to help my friends in the same situation.
• I want my good friend Sarah's son to get better.  If you're new here, you can read about him in previous entries but as a quick recap, he's suffering from AML.  He's 9 years old.  He just had a bone marrow transplant with the marrow being donated by his little sister.  He is currently dealing with Liver Failure.  He has been through a ridiculous amount of crap in his short life and I just want things to go back to normal for him and his family so that he can enjoy life again.  He is constantly on my mind and I am praying that he recovers quickly from this setback.

I'll be back with more lists in the near future.  I find it's a simpler way for me to get my feelings out of my head.  I like it :)

Update on random things happening currently (and some recent past things)

So, the fundraiser didn't go as I'd hoped.  There weren't many people there and for the amount of people that RSVP'd that they were coming, I was disappointed. We did manage to raise close to $800 for Sarah and Lyric and their family though and I know that there were several people who were going to donate through her bank account so I'm not sure what the final total was.  I'd hoped for double that but Sarah was very grateful and appreciative of what was raised (of course, she's so awesome!).  So, who knows what my fundraising future holds but I hope to plan/participate in other fundraising efforts in the future.

In other news, we're done having babies now.  My husband went and got the big snip last week.  We have a lot of friends and family who are either trying or will be in the near future and we figure, rather than have more of our own, we'll borrow theirs for our baby fixes!  That being said, I feel old.  My reproductive days are over.  I am no longer in need of my uterus.  Next comes menopause!  Though if my aunt is right I have another 15 or so years before that happens but still...no longer needing my fertility has made me feel the age factor.  It's "the end of an era"!  I've been having babies for 14 years!  So yeah, bittersweet but I feel we made the right decision (and there was a LOT of contemplating).

As for the kids, they're all good.  James is super active in sports at school, first was soccer, now it's basketball and then the spring will bring volleyball, badminton, ect.  He's graduating grade 8 this year as well.  I can't believe it!  He's grown up so fast (in more ways than one) and next year he'll be venturing into high school and foot ball and advanced classes (that he chose...I know he can do it as long as he does his homework which is an uphill battle with him).  On top of that he bowls every weekend and has made it into a number of tournaments...he needs his ball fixed and once that happens he has the potential to be an EXCELLENT bowler...he's already great at it!

Jonah is doing well, though struggling with some of his french work.  He's not reading yet (though we're working hard on that with him) and he needs "considerable help" to complete tasks...in french that is.  Jer and I are...I don't want to say arguing because that's not the right word...differing?...about whether or not we should wait this year out and then send him to english school.  He's a smart kid, picks things up quickly, but he's struggling with the french language.  I know being bilingual (which he will still be, just not AS bilingual as if he were to complete grade school at a french school) is important but is it as important as excelling in an language that you do know??  So, we'll see what the summer brings and if he's still not reading I think he'll be changing schools, a prospect he's certainly on board with.  Other than that and being sick for the majority of the winter, he's enjoying Beaver's now and of course he's still bowling every Saturday...he loves to participate and this Friday he'll be racing his "Beaver Buggie" at the mall, he's sooooo excited!

Marryn is starting to enter her terrible two stage already and is adorable as ever.  Her newest word is "Dude!" which is so cute you just want to drop dead right there on the spot!!!  We're thinking we're going to put her into daycare one day a week starting in the late spring.  She doesn't get to be with kids other than her brother's much and I know she would really enjoy it.  We'll put her into a french daycare to get her ready for kindergarten.  She'll be 2 in June already...these two years have flown by!  Probably more so because I know this is the last toddler for us.  I'm going to try to start potty training in the summer too.  Surprisingly enough she's still in her crib and hasn't yet tried to climb out (KNOCK ON WOOD!!).  We have her toddler bed already set up and in her room though so when she does, she'll be familiar with it.

Jer and I are doing wonderful as well...we've been married for almost 4 months and it is bliss :)  We're planning a trip to Salem, MA for our 1st anniversary weekend.  I'm very excited!  We had originally hoped to stop there on our way to Virginia for our honeymoon but it seemed far out of the way and we wouldn't have had time to really enjoy it so we decided to bypass it.  This year though we'll leave early Friday morning and come home on the Monday (Halloween day) so that we're home to take the kids trick or treating.  I think it will be a fantastic weekend :)

Well, that's about it for now...I'm sure there is more but I've been writing this for about an hour between getting Marryn a snack and changing the laundry and what not...I'll be back again soon! 

Fundraiser

Well the fundraiser is less than two weeks away.  Lyric and Sarah just checked back into the hospital yesterday to start preparing for the bone marrow transplant.  You can read about their journey here.

I've had a lot of people donating things and baking things...it's really great to see everyone come together and help out for people they don't even know.  Some of them even I don't know!!!

So, I'm hoping to have a successful afternoon on Saturday February 5th.  It's being held at Central United Church, 12 Young St., Welland from 1pm until 4pm.

Again, if you can't make it but want to donate, Sarah's information is in my post below.

If you can't make it AND can't donate, take a few minutes and send your thoughts or prayers or healing vibes or whatever you have to Lyric.  He's in for a tough tough fight in the coming months.

Thanks!!!

It was a good Christmas!!

Hello there!  Happy New Year!!!

I hope everyone had a good Christmas!  We certainly did.  I love getting together with the family and eating and talking and laughing and loving.  It was so warm and wonderful!!!!

Not much is new around here, just getting things in order for this fundraiser I'm trying to pull off.  I hope it's a success because my friend could REALLY use the help!!

I have lots of baking to do in the next several weeks, I hope I can get it all done!  I have some volunteers to help with the baking part as long as I can make the cookie dough so that should help me!

I've also recently become an epicure consultant to help supplement the little income I bring in and I have my first show on the 14th.  I'm really looking forward to it!  I used to be a PartyLite consultant and I really enjoyed it...I think this will be even more successful because of the type of product it is (spices, dips, mixes and kitchenware).

Anyway, I hope everyone had good holidays!

No financial aid (or, how the govt has their heads up their asses)

A good friend of mine has a 9 year old son who is fighting for his life from AML leukemia.  He was diagnosed in August of 09, went through intense treatment and was in remission for only 6 months before relapsing.  He's now just finished his first round of chemo during this relapse and is currently waiting to build his immune system back up so that he can receive a bone marrow transplant donated from his little sister.

His mother has quit her job to care for him.  They are back and forth from the hospital several times a week when they aren't admitted.  A 45 minute drive each way.  When they are in the hospital, she pays out of pocket for parking and food, ect..  He is currently in the hospital with an infection and has been there more than a week.  You can imagine what kind of expense this must be for her.  She has no income other than a small disability that she receives for him while he sick...and when I say small I mean less than $500 a month.  From another source pertaining to her son being sick, she receives $15/day to help cover her cost of food while she's with him in the hospital.  She does receive child support but with a mortgage and bills, I can't imagine trying to make ends meet with this.

There is NO financial aid for families in such situations.  Ontario Works won't even help her.  There is nothing anyone can do unless she sells her house and uses the profits from that to live and when it runs out THEN OW can step in and help.

It's like punishing her because her son is sick.

This is disgusting and we need to get the word out there that SOMETHING has to be done.  Something needs to be put in place to help these families out financially!  They have enough on their plates with a sick child let alone worrying about how they are going to pay this bill or get some food on the table for the rest of the family.

All things aside though, it is this reason that I am organizing a Bake Sale and Silent Auction for my friend and her family.

I have booked a church hall for February 5th, 2011 from 1pm until 4pm.  There will be tons of baked goods for sale as well as coffee, tea and water.  Lots of stuff for the silent auction such as a Men's Tungsten ring, some silver ladies jewelry, a DVD/VCR combo, hand painted items and many other items.  We will also be having half and half draws.  All proceeds will go directly to my friend and her family so if can come please do!

Bake Sale and Silent Auction in honour of Lyric Jarvis
Central United Church
12 Young Street
Welland, ON
1pm-4pm

If you can't attend but you still want to help out, please feel free to make monetary donation to:

Sarah Jarvis
Scotia Bank

Account # 0398780
Transit # 91710
Institution # 002

Any amount, however small or large, will be an amazing help to this family who has already been through so much.  It is very much appreciated.  We are all so grateful for any help from anyone in any form!!!!

If you can't donate or attend, please send all your prayers and positive thoughts or vibes to Lyric.  He's had a tough fight this second time around and he could use all he can get!!!!

♥

Married Bliss!

Well, tomorrow is 2 weeks married!

Our wedding was wonderful.  Beautiful.  Perfect.  Everything went according to plan except one thing...the church lady couldn't get our CD to play the song we were supposed to have as the recessional but that was the ONLY thing that went wrong and the harpist played us out instead.

The weather was beautiful if a little cold and windy.  Everyone had a great time, the food was awesome, the DJ was great, the speeches were heartfelt and emotional.

I could not have asked for a better day for us.  Our memories of that day will always be warming.

Our honeymoon was great too.  We hit a couple of snags including a passenger side window that wouldn't go up (it was just the wire came loose, we were able to fix it pretty easy) and then on our last day when we were driving home, Jer had a bit of a lead foot and we got a speeding ticket in Virginia but even that, it was only $124 and it couldn't ruin how great the rest of the week went!

Our first stop was in Winchester, Virginia and we only stopped for one night to sleep.  We stayed at the Hampton Inn there and it was nice and pretty cheap for walking in with no reservation.

Then Tuesday was on to Williamsburg.  It's so lovely and quaint and filled with awesome history there!!  We did a ghost tour and went to a historic pub where they had a fiddler and games from the 1800's.  It was a great experience.

Wednesday we were able to fix the window (it stopped moving on Tuesday on our way to Williamsburg) and we then ventured to the BIGGEST YANKEE CANDLE STORE EVER!!!  I am not joking, it was like a mall but all Yankee Candle and accessories!  It was awesome and we spent quite a bit!!  Then we went for dinner at Wasabi, a local sushi, Mongolian BBQ and chinese buffet.  Then in the evening we took part in the "Cry Witch" show in which they reenact one of the only Witch trials they had in Virginia. It was great as it was an audience participation show...we had a great time.



Thursday it rained.  So we went and did some laundry and then we went out to lunch at IHOP which was AWESOME!!!  Then we went a looked around town a bit but my feet were wet and it was cold so we went back to our room.  There was a tub in our room so I had a bath and we watched some tv and then played some backgammon.  We played a lot of backgammon through the week...one of our favourite things to do with each other!  In the evening we had Retro's for dinner which was apparently famous for it's hot dogs lol.  I had grilled cheese and fries and rootbeer on tap!!  Jer had a pulled pork sandwich with fries and also rootbeer...then he finished it off with a sundae which was awesome and huge!  In the evening we took in a harpsichord/organ concert in the old church.  I can't even describe the ambience.  It was great!

Friday it was time to leave Williamsburg but before we did we caught a concert.  Dean Shostak's Crystal Concert.  It was by far one of the coolest things I've ever seen.  He played an Armonica, a Crystal Violin and Glass handbells.  The music was beautiful and very soothing.  Then we decided to go to IHOP for lunch again before making our way to Virginia Beach.  It was just as aweome as the day before!

We got to VA Beach and the view from our room was just incredible.  The waves of the Atlantic crashing on the shore, people still surfing and boogie boarding even in November.  We went for dinner in the hotel restaurant and it was good.  I wasn't very hungry so I just had some mozza sticks and wings and Jer had prime rib and a pound of shrimp...the prime rib was soooo tasty!  Tastiest prime rib I've ever had anyway!

Saturday morning we got up and had some breakfast...our hotel had a complimentary buffet...it was pretty good but not as good as at our bed and breakfast in Williamsburg, that's for sure!  Then we went and got a couple of things at the grocery store.  We had a small fridge and microwave in our hotel room so we picked up some yogurt and snacks.  Then we lazed the day away in our room, Jer napped and I watched Nights in Rodanthe and watched the waves.  When Jer got up we started getting ready for our dinner reservations at a place called Rockafeller's at 7pm.  Jer had 1 and a half pounds of steamed crab legs and I had filet mignon.  It was great!  Then we went back to our hotel room for the last night of our trip.  We decided to come home a day early on the Sunday instead of the Monday...we missed the kids terribly!

Sunday we got up and just ate some of the yogurt we got the day before so we could get an early start, we figured we'd stop on the way home for something to eat.

The drive was long.  13 hours but worth every minute!  Jonah cried when we got home...they were all so excited to see us!

Now life is blissfully back to normal and we're all starting to gear up for Christmas!

James turns 13 in a week.  THIRTEEN!  He's such a good kid despite the normal teen attitude!  He gets braces in the new year.  We were going to get them before Christmas but then we found out that as of January Jer's benefits will cover part of them so we're waiting till then.

Jonah keeps telling us he wants us to have another wedding because he had so much fun....but not a honeymoon because he missed us too much lol  I'm hoping to plan a trip with the kids for this summer or next so we can all travel together.

Marryn is great too, getting bigger and better everyday!  She's starting to talk now and it's soooo adorable!

So that's life!!!  I'll end there, I've rambled long enough ;)
Lots of love!

Wordless Wednesday