Sibling Rivalry

Today, I have the great honor to be writing a guest post for the lovely, Lavender Luz on her blog, Weebles Wobblog .

When she extended the opportunity to write on her inspiring blog, I jumped at the opportunity--and knew it was the perfect time to bring some feelings to the surface that have been boiling for a while.

I'd love it if you did a hop-skip-and-a-jump over to read all about: Sibling Rivalry.

Wordless Wednesday: Grateful

Wow, so many words I could say about today's Wordless Wednesday post....being grateful. A year ago today (at approx 11:34 am) I heard the words I had been longing to hear for soooo long: "Congratulations, JJ...you are pregnant."

When the call came in from my RE's office, I let it go to voice mail. I have re-saved, and re-saved that message all year long--and its still there. I will need to play it and record it somewhere else eventually, but I listen to it EVERY TIME the little prompt says: "This voice mail will be deleted if you do not resave."

The lovely, kind-hearted, Suzy sent me the desk calendar sheet from June 24, 2008 about a week after we found out--and Ive kept that frame in O-man's room even before it really became his room. It means so much to me-and it will always remind us of the journey that began that day...

Through all the joyous emotions I felt that day, I remember having a hard time imagining I'd have a 4-5 month old by this time.

But look....


He's here...and I still have to pinch myself some days for this precious blessing.

I will shed many happy, grateful tears today.

To my precious little Ron/O-man...may you always know how blessed we feel to be your parents.

Tweety Delivery!

• Last half of drive home was comical. Dog crate almost fell off roof, I almost hit someone, and Oman screamed bloddy murder. NEED COFFEE!
• Time for staff meeting. This should be fun...
• How do you prioritize when the wee-one naps? E-mail, laundry, projects, bills, exercise, shower? Still searching for good time management.

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Tweety Delivery!

• Happy Father's Day to Mook-the Oman and I love you very much!
• Back on the road today. Home again, home again jiggity-jig...
• Convo topic on the car ride home: investing for Oman's future. Anyone have suggestions/ideas to share?
• Another pit stop at the in laws and I just saw the Harry Potter trailer...Im getting so excited!!

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Tweety Delivery!

• Toe is not broken, but chipped. In my opinion, it hurts and sucks just as much, cause there is nothing I can do but wait it out.
• Headed to the #Salty Dog Cafe!
• twitpic.com/7wywt - Mmm salty margarita at Salty Dog

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Tweety Delivery!

• Anyone been #kayaking in Colorado or Montana? Taking suggestions...
• Well, that was a first. O-man just pooped ON me. And I think I've broken my toe.
• twitpic.com/7u08x - Oooowwwwww! And no O-man pooping on me did not cause this. Im just a klutz.
• Everyone is eating watermelon, and all I want is fudge.

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Tweety Delivery!

• Headed into Savannah today! Hopefully I'll get to eat me some Paula Deen food, ya'll :0)
• twitpic.com/7q39p - Walkin along the river front
• twitpic.com/7q5ma - Arrrg! @Mom_30 this made us think of you and C!
• twitpic.com/7qaas - 'Nuff said.

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Tweety Delivery!

• Ahhh just finished getting pampered at the spa!
• Wondering how much trouble Id be in if I push this bratty kid into the pool...
• Its a chocolate chip cookie kind of night

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Tweety Delivery!

I credit Mr. Roger's Neighborhood for a lot of my early knowledge, so in honor of Mr. McFeely, the speedy delivery man, I bring you a tweety delivery of today's happenings!

• twitpic.com/7jfbh - Goooooood Morning! #
• Recipe for crabby JJ: 91 degrees, humid as all get out, and AF in full force. Blech. #
• Oh! And irony strikes again: we are at a coastal museum learning about crabs and about to have a crab boil. Go ahead and toss me in! #
• Dude, Pamprin aint cuttin' it. Heaaaallllllppppp..... #
• Gonna go swim in the pool. Hope it makes me cool. All the bloat should keep me afloat. and, I hope that O-man doesn't poo. #
• twitpic.com/7kfxe - Yummy...pruney fingers! #

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Tweety Delivery!

I credit Mr. Roger's Neighborhood for a lot of my early knowledge, so in honor of Mr. McFeely, the speedy delivery man, I bring you a tweety delivery of today's happenings!

• Must remember Im not a young chicken anymore. I cant stay up late just 'cause...*yawn* #
• This is what all of us have been attempting to learn for the past 30 min--quite the scene around here...tinyurl.com/lhw228 Can you? #
• twitpic.com/7hb8r - This cant be good... #
• twitpic.com/7ie7j - Night walk on the pier... #
• And how silly of me to wear a shirt that says PIER...Im reaaal cool! #

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Tweety Delivery!

I credit Mr. Roger's Neighborhood for a lot of my early knowledge, so in honor of Mr. McFeely, the speedy delivery man, I bring you a tweety delivery of today's happenings!

• Back on the road, playing the state game, cause I95 is soooo boring. #
• #South of the Border weather report: "Chile today hot tomale" #
• twitpic.com/7dsiv - Officially in South Cackalacky! #
• twitpic.com/7dzrp - I always wondered how much those cost... #
• twitpic.com/7esjv - We're here! View from the room...ahhhhhh. #
• twitpic.com/7f4ha - Swimming wore me out! #

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Tweety Delivery!

I credit Mr. Roger's Neighborhood for a lot of my early knowledge, so in honor of Mr. McFeely, the speedy delivery man, I bring you a tweety delivery of today's happenings!

• Does it make me a bad mom that I just took batteries from one of O-man's toys so I could play Guitar Hero? #
• And awwwaaaaayyyy we go! Road tweeting today! #Hilton Head #
• twitpic.com/7a9xo - Watching the world go by... #
• Pit-stop at the in-laws #
• twitpic.com/7bq65 - Not 2 sure about rice cereal. Anyone start by mixing it in bottle first? #

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Tweety Delivery!

I credit Mr. Roger's Neighborhood for a lot of my early knowledge, so in honor of Mr. McFeely, the speedy delivery man, I bring you a tweety delivery of today's happenings!

• Poor O-man: NOT a happy camper after shots--we're all worn out. Nite, nite. #
• Oh but wait! Such an important day: tinyurl.com/ngmvgm #
• Late to bed, early to rise: that's gotta be a baby rule somewhere... #
• Not convinced we are gonna get everything packed into the car for trip to #Hilton Head. 2 adults, dog, O-man, + alotaaa stuff. #
• I seriously get all giddy when I hear the mailman drive up-I <3 snail mail! (except bills-he can keep those...) #
• Whoohoo! No bills today, just season 4 of #Weeds! #
• twitpic.com/781vp - Looking like mommy's favorite super hero! #
• Just heard "Green Onions" by Booker T and the MG's. Its now officially summer for me :0) #
• I'm an orthodontist for the day. Check out new info on the Braces Bunch! tinyurl.com/lpze6u #

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Dr JJ, Orthodontist

Don't worry, Im not comin' atcha with wires to fix your under bite.

And I promise the braces that I can offer you don't hurt-in fact, they are quite comforting.




Not long after we got our male factor diagnosis, I was feeling pretty knocked down. I was slowly getting into blogging, but still felt like I need a little bit more TLC. So, the Braces Bunch was born. You can read about the conception (ha, the only conception that has come easy to me) by going back in time to April 2007 (Link will open in a new window) annnnd the 1st anniversary last year.

The idea: Connecting with bloggers through snail mail--the good old fashioned USPS is our friend. Sending a note, card, letter to a fellow blogger when they need extra TLC, or to celebrate with them.

Here is just a sample of the ahhh-maaa-zinng TLC I have received over the past 2 years...



Over the past 2 years, we've had an fantastic group of women participate in the Braces Bunch-and each year, we re-group to see who needs to rotate out for a variety of reasons. And that means, we would love to invite a new group of snail-mail-junkies to join the Bunch!

Things to know:

• Your info: Don't worry, it's safe. If you want to join, your address and info is protected in an invite-only blog, so Joe Schmoe can't google you.
• Whos Bunchin' It? : If you are starting out on the IF journey, in the thick of treatments, currently carrying, adoptive mothers, parents after IF...etc. I guess I should have just said: all ALI chickies! (adoption, loss, infertility)
• Keeping it real: Please be sure to read the posts I listed above. No exclusion here, since this blogging community is all about connecting. BUT please consider the time you can dedicate to sending out snail-mail before asking me to send you further info. And don't panic-you arent expected to send mail each week! This is just an added bonus to the blogging community we are a part of.
  

I'd like to encourage current and former Bunchers to weigh in--share your Braces Bunch expereince! Can't wait to add some new Bunchers!

Show and Tell: Creation

On this very day, a year ago, you were only visible
under a microscope.
Today, I hold all 15 lbs of you, and thank God that you were
"born" June 11, 2008.

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See what other's brought for show and tell here.

Dirty Martini, Dirty Bastard...

How many of you knew exactly what my title meant?

OR, did you just wonder: "Uh oh, what has Mook gotten himself into?"

It's a great line made famous by Samantha in a SATC episode .

And, rest easy: Mook is not in the dog house. In fact, quite the opposite. He sent me off on a girl's trip that I had been looking forward to for ages...meeting Bee Cee in the flesh: and she is completely and utterly beautiful in every meaning of the word! I've said it before, and I'll say it again: IF sucks big chunks, but the friendships I have made along our journey are priceless.

She and I connected right away when we found each other's blogs 2 years ago, and one of the first things we found we had in common was our love for the show, Sex and the City. So it was only appropriate that we went on a Sex and the City bus tour while we spent time together in the fabulous New York City!



To say we did a lot on our trip feels like an understatement--too much to even fit into one blog post. So, in case you missed me being a "virtual tour guide" on twitter during our trip, enjoy the re-run of activities. I'm still coming down from the adrenaline rush--and the fact that I was brave enough to be apart from the O-man for that long. It was so good to see his sweet face!

Twitter in the City
starring JJ and Bee Cee

Read the tweets HERE

See the tweet pictures HERE

P.S. Whoohoo, this marks my 200th post!

Perfect Moment Monday: June

I sent this tweet into the world on Saturday night:

"In honor of anniv (tomorrow) of the IVF cycle that gave us O-man, I read I'll Love You Forever 2 him tonight. Mascara officially ruined."

I take anniversaries very seriously--they really mean something! I did, however, promise Mook that the day we got married, he was no longer required to recall the anniversaries of: our first kiss, first date, first "I Love You"...even though I remember them and silently expect him to--kidding, dear!

So I have been waiting for you, June. Because last year I was hoping that this June, I would think back fondly of you. I do.

In honor of this anniversary, my Perfect Moment Monday brings together a time to remember, and a time to be thankful.







PS: Would you take a moment and vote in my poll up in right-hand-corner? Thanks!

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