I've been keeping to myself

Hi all. The last few months have been a whirlwind of emotions and disappointment. The main thing that has kept me away has been our 3rd round of IVF which we found out last Thursday was unsuccessful. Such sad and depressing news. I can tell you that it was a little easier to handle this time since I didn't even get pregnant at all (I got pregnant with both of the other IVFs later to miscarry). John and I hold our head up high, will evaluate our options and continue with adoption classes in September. Thank you for all of the prayers and encouragement that you have given us though our years of infertility troubles. xoxox

Some fun news... a few weeks ago I got a request from Creating Keepsakes for 3 (yes THREE) of my layouts. They want to publish them in an upcoming special issue! I have been published in other magazines but this is my first time in Creating Keepsakes Magazine. WOOOOOHOOOOOOO.

I am sorry that I never posted my PDW June layouts... like I said the IVF kinda took over for a month or two. Here they are! Speaking of Polka Dot Whimsy, you HAVE to go check out the new website. Isn't the logo SO cute! In the coming weeks, the message board will have more functionality and their will be a member gallery where everyone can share their creations. While you are over there sign up to be a member.. that way you won't miss a kit, you will be guaranteed PDW goodness EVERY MONTH!

Polka Dot fun!

As I came here to post Polka Dot Whimsy June Sneaks I realized that I never posted my May PDW projects. DUH. I will post them at the end.... Here are my June sneaks. The kit is so awesome that these projects pretty much made themselves! LOVE!!!! I am so excited to see the new site. Soon… very soon!!!!

Here are my May PDW projects...... Sorry for the yuck pics. i am having serious camera issues!

Here are the beautiful June sneaks!!!!!

National Scrapbook Day has come and gone. I rocked it OUT over at Studio Calico, completing all 19 of their challenges, Crazy right.... I made 5 layouts and 1 card to fulfill all of them. For each challenge you completed you were entered into a random drawing to win a $10 SC gift certificate. All of those chances to win and I won.. wait for it.. wait for it... ZERO. Guess luck wan't on my side. That's okay, I Love the projects I used a some of them really got me out of my comfort zone!

On a fun note, the hubs and I went out a few weeks ago with a bunch of friends and we had a blast! Here is some proof

The daughter was sick. Fever was 104.5 at midnight on night. UGGGG. She is FINALLY back to school today! YEA for me!. Good times over here in the Stanton house!

Happy Mother's day all!!!

Hope.

Phew, It has been busy around here! Sarah had her Spring Break and John took the week off.... We had a great week. We went to see How to Train your Dragon, Enjoyed Busch Gardens, Took a back stage tour of Raymond James Stadium (where the Bucs play), Had a beach day, plus some other fun stuff. It was a great week.

We also went to the Doctor (what's new, right?) Here are the basics... Based on my hormone numbers the doctor thinks I am about 5 years away from menopause. Great, right???? BUT the good news is that I told the doctor I still wanted to take that 5% chance of getting pregnant through IVF and go for it. He agreed! John and I figure that since our insurance covers 90% and we budgeted for the other 10% that we really have nothing to lose. We need some major prayer, magic, baby dust.. whatever works! We are also getting ready to take some adoption classes (MAPP) through the state that will allow us to begin the adoption process through the state. We are super excited and encouraged by everything!

I haven't been scrapping as much as I would like lately.... These may be the only 3 layouts I have done in over a month! My MoJo has been clouded by my thoughts. All of these were made using Studio Calico kits.... (love)

HSM obsession layout products used: patterned paper and embellie stickers - Sassafras, cardstock - Bazzill, wood veneer - Studio Calico, chipboard letters - American Crafts, red letters - October Afternoon

JAM layout products used: patterned paper - crate paper, Studio Calico, Sassafras, embellie stickers - Sassafras cardstock - Bazzill, wood veneer - Studio Calico, chipboard letters - Cosmo Cricket, Banner - Jenni Bowlin

PROUD layout products used: patterned paper - Sassafras, embellie stickers - Sassafras cardstock - Bazzill, , chipboard letters - Cosmo Cricket, Flowers - American Crafts,wood veneer - Studio Calico

Sometimes I get caught up

My own little world over here. I haven't entirely dropped off the face of the earth.. just mentally. Hang in there with me. Here are some projects I made with the PDW Apil kit. Cute stuff huh? You should see that gallery this month. I am amongst some amazing talent. Check it my fellow polkadots here!

Looking for some strength

If you know me or have followed my blog you know the fertility heartache that John and I have gone through over the last 4 ½ years. We have done 3 unsuccessful IUIs, 2 successful IVFs both resulting in miscarriage and countless tests trying to find some sort of explanation as to why we are not able to have a second baby. All the tests have come back fine…. Nothing has ever been wrong with John or me…. UNTIL NOW. Over the last few months we have been gearing up to proceed with a third IVF (they say 3 is a charm ya know)… more tests… all fine….. Then I go for my regular blood work that I have done MANY time before that measures hormone levels. In the infertility world this is commonly known as day 3 blood work (it is done on day 3 of your period). My results came back... BAD… when I say bad I mean BAD. My FSH (Follicle stimulating hormone) came back CRAZY high. 22 to be exact. 10 is the high side of normal. This is the worst possible news that we could have gotten. A high FSH level indicates that I have poor ovarian reserve… which means I am no longer an IVF candidate. We are going to repeat the test on day 3 of my next 2 cycles. Let’s hope its lab error or a fluke…. Let’s hope and pray.

This all just went down right before our 4 day Springfest trip, which was a fantastic getaway. Now that we are back home, the reality has set in… we have LOTS of research to do as far as next steps…. And if Adoption wasn’t so expensive we would have been on the waiting list long ago. We will figure this out, I know we will.

Updates and backlog

I realized that I have a few layouts that I never shared. Figured you may want to take a peek. Enjoy! I created all of these layouts using Studio Calico Kits


An IVF Update: Our tests are finally done so that we can start the IVF process again. We will know the results of the last one in about a week. We are anticipating starting process in the next 60 days or so. We are SO ready. As I have said before we are NOT getting any younger. This will be our 3rd IVF attempt (the last 2 were successful but ended in miscarriage). Everyone keeps saying third times a charm. We always try to be positive.. so that is what we will do... STAY POSITIVE.

paper pleasure

Here they are.... my Polka Dot Whimsy March layouts. How much fun this kit is to work with!!! Michelle at PDW does such a great job of putting together a fun and different kit... a great mix of super hot and trendy products as well as unique, fun different supplies... How about those fun flowers I made in the Mom layout!. 1 of the flowers are made with paper, 1 with fabric and 1 with ribbon. Yep.. I made all 3 of those pretty little things! I used the tutorial at this cute blog http://morepaperplease.blogspot.com/ . It's my first time making them so be gentle! I hope to get a few more projects done with the March kit before April's comes knockin on my door. I am so sorry for the wonky photos.. we are having some camera issues... we really need to take it to the shop.A few more layouts to share. This time Lily Bee. I can't wait to get my hands on their new CHA lines but for now I have fun what I have.

We are going out to dinner tonight with my mom and Joe for a late birthday dinner. I am looking forward to it as it's a local non chain eatery in Tampa that we have never been to. I love trying new places!

I'm getting stuff done!!!

Where does the time go? Really.. where? Anybody know?

Good news: I have been playing with the March Polka Dot Whimsy kit, pinwheels, and have been LOVING IT. I mean the colors are blowing my socks off. I have made 2 layouts so far. I'll show you some sneaks in a minute. So much fun new CHA stuff to create with. Ahhh.

I also painted the loft upstairs (Pottery Barn Hawthorne Yellow) and got the Gianormous Expedit from Ikea to rein in my stuff. the 25 cubbies are really helping me to get organized. We also got a desk for Sarah to put up there so she can have her own space...

I feel like I have been SOOO busy organizing lately, one of my goals for 2010. A few things that have been taking up all my time in the organizing area... labeling all of my scrap drawers and albums. purging my scrap supplies. At this point I think I have more to give away then I kept. ahhhh.

On the Sarah front.. all of a sudden she is going though this new "big girl" discovery. In the past week she has become obsessed with High School Musical, Kelly let us borrow the movie and she was reluctant to watch it but once we started she did not move a muscle.. she watching the entire thing in awe.. Yea.. she wants her 6th birthday to be High School Musical.

Another new discovery is American Girl Dolls. We got the catalog in the mail and she found the doll KIT that she was freaking out about cause the doll looks just like her (people have actually told me that before ). Those dolls are CRAZY expensive. She is currently working to earn the doll which according to my calculations will take anywhere from 2-4 months. I will post about that another day.. we have a whole system down for that.

She has also been jammin out to her CDs in her room. Taylor Swift is her Fav and I swears she knows all of the words.

Yesterday she told me she want to throw away all of her "baby toys" and get big girl toys. Huh? I think I will use this as an opportunity to clean out some of the crap I have been wanting to get rid of.... as far as the new toys.. I say "put it on your Christmas list".

don't grow up so fast.. please stop!

L.O.M.L.

LOML. It's what John and I call each other... It stands for love of my life. That is truly what he is to me. I just had to mention that being that is was just Valentine's Day weekend and all.

Valentines Day is a busy one since it is also my birthday. I know, i know, I am so sweet aren't I - LOL!. IT still sounds weird to say I am 38. Weird I say. We had our big day of fun on Saturday. Sarah went to her Grammy's for the day and spent the night so we had ALL DAY to ourselves.

*We started at the Cinabistro in Hyde Park to see the movie Valentine's Day which was a really cute movie. It's not winning any awards but it was a fun lighthearted movie. We were able to enjoy some DELICH hummus, popcorn and beer while chillin sitting in these awesome comfy seats ahhh...

* Next we headed to Samari Blue for Sushi.. mmmm.. Had Mexican roll, Eel, and Japanese Tempura Bagel. we LOVE Sushi!

* Then we went to see Yonder Mountain Sting Band (I call them a Bluegrass jam band) at the Ritz in Ybor. What a super fun, energetic amazing show.

* Guess where we ended the evening?

WAFFLE HOUSE!!! LOL! We used to go there after many late nights so it was fun for us to revisit. Waffle House may be one of the best people watching ever! We had breakfast (12:30am) there. Never let's me down. extra crispy bacon is yummy!

Whimsy Wednesday

It's my turn to host Whimsy Wednesday over at Polka Dot Whimsy! Come over and take a look at what I came up with..... It's all about using an entire package of product in one go! Here is a peak of what you will see:Don't forget to upload your project on the PDW Ning Site for a chance to use a Whimsy Prize.

FOOD FIGHT!

If you know my 5 year old you know she is a picky eater. I have NO idea where this came from as when I was her age I was ordering off the adult menu and most of the time something expensive like Lobster tail or steak! NO not her.. she likes PLAIN food and nothing mixed or touching - UGGG. When I cook dinner I cook ONE dinner. No short order cook here.. I have always been like that so I wonder why getting her to eat is such a struggle. We make her take one bite of everything and if she doesn't like it she doesn't have to eat any more.

SOOOO what I have learned to do is this.. Before I start on the recipe for the evening, I take a little bit of each ingredient and leave it out for her. For example the other night I made a Chicken biscuit casserole.. before I put it all together I cut up some chicken, took out a little of the frozen mixed veges and some shredded cheese and plated it up for her dinner. I then made the recipe and cooked it. When we sit down to eat she has to TRY what I made but then she has the plate of food that I had but together before I mixed it all together(all ingredients from our dinner).

Here you can see what Sarah's dinner looked like. The hubs and I also had salad but she doesn't eat lettuce so she just got the tomatoes.Here is what John and I ate.
I think this is working well for us.... it prevents A LOT of drama at the dinner table. She is still tasting new things since she still needs to have a bit of the main recipe.. and sometimes she likes it.. but not often.

I am ALL ears if anyone has a picky eater and has any suggestions for creating peace at the table!

LIVE

Did everyone have a fun weekend? Ours was busy and fun! I was happy to get our Master bedroom closet cleaned out and organized. When it was all said and done we ended up with 6 garbage bags full of clothes and shoes to donate to charity! WOOHOO! We did a lot of hanging out with friends also which is always a guarantee for lots of laughs!

Polkadot Whimsy February kit went live on the 28th. Such cuteness! The design team did such a great job creating with the kit.. you are going to want one for yourself! Head on over and check it out! You should also come chat with us on the Ning social site. We have fun over there! Here are my layouts in full. Hope you like. I was a bit nervous since this is my first design team... Eeekkk. But I am already loving being a part of it and getting the chance to inspire others!