appointments.

The 18th was a big day for me as far as the surrogacy goes. I had not one, but two appointments that day to discuss the pregnancy. For some reason, I was SO nervous about both of them. Now, I'm so happy they are both completed.

My first appointment was at the good ol' Naval Hospital here on base to discuss ordering some tests needed for the surrogacy. I love my new (since May) doctor, and was hopeful that she would still be supportive of the surrogacy. Thankfully, she was. She remembered seeing me in May and discussing the surrogacy then, and as soon as I told her I had blood work I needed ordered, she got on the computer and started putting them in. She even went as far as to call the fertility clinic herself to clarify one of the orders. She also looked over my prescriptions an did her best to get them filled. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to get the Lupron for me, but at least she tried. She even put in a call to the head pharmacist to see if he could order it. Since IVF is not done at the Naval Hospital, they said they could not order it.

NHCP

My second appointment was with the IVF coordinator from the clinic. Since the clinic is in Arizona, we had a phone consult. It was great to finally talk to her myself, after playing phone tag, exchanging a few emails and using Ali as a go-between a few times. I finally have an actual understanding of all the procedures that have to be done prior to the embryo transfer, the medications, the transfer and the follow up care. Knowing everything and having somewhat of a "timeline" makes everything so much more exciting and real.

Stay tuned for scary fun information on medications and tests!

P.S. Check out my story on All Things Surrogacy!!

friday.

I'm linking with Jeannett at Life Rearranged for InstaFriday!

There isn't much news to report so far on the surrogacy this week. I'm anxiously waiting for my phone consult with the IVF coordinator at the clinic next week so that I can have a better understanding of the whole process. Ali found a grant she qualified for yesterday, so we are all praying that they get accepted! It would be a huge help if they did.

Over the weekend, we went up to Temecula for Ethan to get a haircut. Unfortunately, I was NOT happy with the cut because it wound up too short, but there was a huge thrift store right next to the barber shop, so it all worked out. Olyvia and I had a great time searching for dresses for her to use for dress up. She found a hat too, and loved looking at all the "glass stuff." 

We decided this weekend that we were in need of new towels. Ours are old and it is time. I decided to push the envelope a bit and started shopping for a new shower curtain, curtains and accessories. I love our shower curtain, but it was a wedding present six years ago. I'm ready for something new, and thankfully, so is Carlos. This lovely curtain will be stored away once our new one arrives next week. I can't wait!

Olyvia will be starting "big girl school" this fall, so we hit up a park with her new friend Sydney, who will also be in her class. They had a blast, and we wore the kids out...that is a successful park trip! Aren't they adorable?

The kids have been in VBS all week, and I'm not sure who is loving it more, me or them! It has been great to have a few hours to myself every morning, but I'm really loving hearing about everything they learned each day. Here is Olyvia, wrapping her broken wand with white paper, "just like they wrapped Jesus in a white cloth after they took him off the cross." 

That's it for this week. We were so busy with things, we didn't really take a lot of pictures this week. Can't wait to share all the new bathroom details next week!!

last 2 weeks.

I'm linking with Jeannett at Life Rearranged for InstaFriday, but since I missed last week while we were camping, I'm posting for 2 weeks worth! 


Carlos and the kids made the dogs this lovely house...he forgot to buy paint, so he let the kids color on the wood while he cut other pieces. The dogs don't like it much...that is pee outside from when we tried to force them in.

For those of you who don't know...we went camping! It was our first family camping trip and we loved it. Here are the kids all ready to head out (note the awesome Smokey The Bear hat that Ethan is wearing, it used to be mine when I was his age)! Do you think we took enough stuff??

These sweet faces melt my heart.

"Now, I am Hawkeye!" Check out his war face!

Story time before bed...even when camping! The only difference, this included a ton of dirt and some really sticky faces/hands from snacking on s'mores.

Famous last words, "we don't need to take a nap, we aren't tired."

We rode the chair lift to the top of Snow Summitt and then hiked around up there. The kids LOVED it and it was the hubbies first time on a lift as well. While I was scared to death being up so high, the view coming down was amazing.

The day after we got home from camping, I went to one of my oldest friends wedding. We have known each other since first grade, and I love Amber like a sister. Her wedding was amazing, and it was great to catch up with her and our friend Jamie. I can't wait to see her next month after her honeymoon to Malaysia.

The kids had such a great time with their stick bow and arrows, that Carlos bought them real ones. He even took them out on the 4th to get new targets. Here is Ethan taking his best shot while Ali, Brian, Carlos and I sat around the fire to watch.

We were lucky enough to "kind of" be able to see the fireworks from the backyard. The kids jumped in the trampoline as they watched. Olyvia said she loves fireworks because they remind her of Disneyland! She also asked if Tinkerbell would be at the fireworks and was pretty disappointed that she didn't make an appearance.

Sorry for the insta-overload. It was a great two weeks of family time!

progress.

Progress is being made. So far, it has seemed like things have moved so slowly. Suddenly, I feel like we have shifted into overdrive. This past week, I received my information packet from the fertility which is both incredibly exciting and overwhelming.

The packet is HUGE. When I first found it sitting on my dining table, I was so excited to see it. When I opened it up and started looking through it, an overwhelming sensation of nerves came over my body. There are so many pages of information, multiple consents, lab orders, procedure orders and prescriptions. I don't even understand what most of it means or what it is for. I feel like there are papers in there that do not apply to me at all. So, I'm waiting for a call-back from the IVF coordinator to help explain what it all means. I'm also not sure on the timeline of everything in there. The lab orders say to get them done immediately, but then in all the other paperwork, it says that the labs have to be done x amount of days before a certain test!? I cannot wait to hear back from them so I can get a little clarification on the whole thing.

I also am feeling lost as to how to make this all work. What all has to be done at the clinic in Arizona? What can I have completed here at the Naval Hospital? Do I just take those orders to the lab at the Naval Hospital, or do I need to make an appointment with my doctor so she can order them first? When do I do the mock cycle? Aside from the Lupron, am I going to have to do any other injectables? Will I be able to inject myself? So many questions are running through my head right now, and I just want some answers...Unfortunately, I'm not a patient person, so this is killing me.

As scared as I am, I feel like I am ready to get this going. I want to start the testing now. I want to be pregnant as soon as possible. Hopefully soon, I will have an actual timeline for my part in the whole process. For now, all I know is that the plan is to harvest Ali's eggs in September! They decided to harvest and freeze so we don't have to sync both of our cycles together for the transfer...less stress equals better results.

Here's to hoping for some good news after a phone call with the IVF coordinator this week!