First things first, I uploaded some new stuff. Kylie’s 2009 folder has lacrosse and two proms. Mallory now has a 23 Months folder. I also created one for Barry’s birthday and one for Mother’s Day. Enjoy!
I got about a paragraph into this blog before I realized that it needed a little bit of set up. See, no one in my house, except for me, can seem to remember anything. Nothing. Zip. Nada. If you want to know what the Brandon family is doing on May 23rd, don’t ask Johnathan…or even Kylie (although that is the day that she will actually graduate from high school). You must ask me. My brain retains the catalog of events for the entire family. Call it a gift…or a curse. I call it “enabling”. Whatever you deem it to be, it is my burden. However, there are occasions where I feel a tremendous amount of pressure because of this. If something gets missed, whether it was my event or not, I feel responsible. It’s my job to remember these things. Some months ago, I was completely stressed out over this. I can’t exactly remember the details of the situation, but I was fed up. I accused my family of purposely being lazy and not even trying to keep up with dates and times and schedules because they knew I would do it (I’m still not convinced that this isn’t entirely true). I decided that I would create a calendar and post it on the refrigerator. Monthly, I update the calendar with the activities that I am aware of and stick it up there. If they don’t check, not my fault. I have at least transferred some of the responsibility. So far, it has worked pretty well…provided they actually add things to the calendar that I have not been told. (God did not grant me ESP.)
A couple of weeks ago, I started planning for Kylie’s graduation. I realized that I had thought about, even talked about, throwing a party…but I had done nothing to kick off the effort. (I’m using my standard excuse for now…I’m pregnant) During this process, I was trying to figure out where things would fit in, when family members were coming to town, etc. It was all very hard to keep straight in my mind, so I pulled out the Brandon Family Calendar for 2009. Imagine my surprise…no, that word doesn’t do it justice…umm…what’s a good word for “I totally freaked out”?…anyway, I found that between May 1 and May 27th, we only had 5 days that didn’t have something written in. I am not exaggerating. Then, when I put it on the fridge, Kylie pointed to something and said, “Oh, is that the senior banquet at church?” Oh, snap. NO!! It’s not. When is that? On one of our “free” nights? Great. Now, we’re down to four. Spectacular.
As of today, we have made it through our first two crazy weekends. This weekend alone we have had dinner with some friends at their house, a college graduation party about an hour away and Mother’s Day. Next weekend is Kylie’s party and her baccalaureate. Then, the next week is the fun one. Mallory gets new tubes put in and Johnathan has a board meeting on Monday. We have small group on Tuesday. Family starts arriving in town on Wednesday, and we have the senior banquet at church. On Thursday, we’re taking the entire group to dinner for Kylie’s graduation. On Friday, we will have a family gathering for Mallory’s birthday. Saturday, will be Kylie’s graduation and possibly attend a party for one of her friends. Then, it will be all tied up on Sunday with a wedding about 4 1/2 hours away. Good thing that is a long weekend (Memorial Day). We’ll need that day of rest. I am soooo looking forward to this month being over. Don’t get me wrong. I’m excited about all of the activities, and I wouldn’t miss any of them. I just wish we could spread them out more.
My Mother’s Day has been fabulous! We had coffee on the screened-in patio. With our new furniture, we can actually enjoy the great outdoors (that’s where we are right now). Johnathan fixed breakfast and cleaned the kitchen. It was great. I got an iTunes gift card (more 80’s music..woo hoo!), a half day at a spa that includes a one hour massage, manicure, pedicure and lunch, some candles, a beautiful necklace and Skittles. :) Of course, for Mother’s Day, there is sometimes a really sentimental gift. This year, it was a new bag to carry my bible and notebook to church. It was Donna’s idea (he did give his mother the credit). She searched for a scripture about hands and embroidered it on the front. Then, Johnathan helped Mallory put hand prints all over it. It’s adorable. There is a picture of it on the web album (Mother’s Day 2009).
As far as the pregnancy goes, I am feeling great! I love being out of the first trimester. I’m still tired, but that’s just due to activity overload and lack of sleep. I no longer have that “I’m so tired I hurt” feeling. AND no more nausea! Woo hoo! This pregnancy is very different from the last one. I crave salty not sweet. Vegetables not candy. And I haven’t found any aversions yet. I am still very much enjoying my coffee. :)
We did have a little scare the other day. Johnathan and I were in a rush to get out of the house to go to work. I had on heels (probably my first mistake). Johnathan took Mallory out and put her in the car. I set the alarm and headed down the garage stairs. You know, how things happen in slow motion sometimes? Well, I caught my heel on the first step, and it was all over. There are only about 6 steps, so I didn’t have far to go. All I could focus on was the garage floor that was coming toward me…while Johnathan was yelling, “Honey! Honey! Honey!” I hit my shin on the stairs before my knees hit the concrete. I got my right hand out in front of me, but with only one hand to break my fall, I was off balance when I landed, which made me fall to the side and hit my shoulder. The good news was that I didn’t hit my belly or my any part of my torso. And other than a scrape on my shin, some nice bruises, a very sore right arm and shoulder and some initial anxiety, I’m fine. More importantly, the baby is fine. I have even felt a couple of flutters since the fall.
Mallory has reached the two year old stage. Everything is “mine” and she is pushing the limit on what she can get away with. Sometimes she listens. Sometimes she doesn’t. We are trying our best to be consistent so learns where the line is. But she does step over it from time to time (she’s in time out right now). No major incidents yet. We’re surviving.
I can’t find that I blogged about our new baby monitor so I’ll briefly fill you in. We had a video monitor. Nothing fancy, but it served the purpose…until the people across the street got the same one. No big deal. We just changed the channel (only two were available, so you know). Then, they had another baby and added another camera…using the same channel that we did. Our reception became sporadic. To top it off, our neighbors got one too. That was the final straw that rendered ours absolutely useless. Finally, I had it and went out to buy a digital. It’s wonderful. I love it! And I can actually see my child again.
There is a minor debate in our house over whether or not we need to close Mallory’s door for her to go to sleep. I think she goes to sleep faster that way…but it’s only my opinion. One night last week, Johnathan had put her to bed. Thirty minutes later, she was still awake. When Kylie came home, Mallory heard noise downstairs. While I was watching the monitor, she stood up. Then, she started trying to throw her blankets overboard. Just for kicks, I decided to yell up at her to see what she would do. In a gruff voice, I said, “Mallory.” Her head popped up like, “Uh oh!”. I said, “You need to lay down and go to sleep.” Honestly, the child dove onto her belly and covered up with her blanket. Bwahahahah! Ah, the power. :)

Finally!! We heard Tater Two’s heartbeat today. I know this is our second, but it was still pretty cool. The heart rate was 143 (I looked back…Mallory’s was 156…any bets on the gender??). Johnathan said, “Sounds like a boy.” Dr. E just smiled and said, “Actually, it’s on the borderline between a boy and a girl…if you believe in that.” Next time we’ll have the ultrasound. But before you ask – no, we have not changed our minds about finding out. :)
Mallory has officially made it through the transition period. “They” say it takes about 2 weeks, and “they” are right. The first week, pretty much all of the drop-offs were unfun. She never bawled. It was a silent cry…with a very sad face. She would poke her lip out really far. Just heartbreaking. But as I promised, I didn’t cry in front of her after the first day. By the time I got to work and looked at the web cam, she was fine. There was only one day where I saw her receiving comfort from Miss “Mantha” (her new favorite teacher). But 30 minutes later she was eating breakfast just fine for the rest of the day.
At the beginning of the second week, she knew where she was from the parking lot and wasn’t thrilled about it. But there were no tears that day. And every day got a little better. Johnathan took her 2 or 3 times, which I think helped tremendously. That made it more of her “new place”, not just mommy being mean. :) She still won’t walk into the school, but she wasn’t always big on that at her last daycare.
Today, the drop off was fine. It was no worse than at the old school…so oddly, that’s actually encouraging. She is even talking now. For the first week and a half, Miss “Mantha” was the only one who heard a words…but there still weren’t very many of them being used. Now, apparently, she is a little chatterbox. :) That’s my girl.

…but we’ll get to that in a minute.
First, I updated pictures. New pictures in Mallory – 22 Months and Kylie 2009. New folders for Easter.
As I pointed out in my last post, Dad and Kathy were in town. They had Mallory for three days. Yes, she is spoiled. “Katnanny” is really hard to say, so she calls her “KaKaKuh”. Then, she starts saying “Poppa” and you can’t get her to shut up. But it sure is cute. It was sad to say goodbye to them this morning.
Little Bit had a big weekend. On Saturday, we had a neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt. It was chillier than we anticipated, but I think the kids had fun. Mallory has gotten so bashful, that when we tried to get her to stand up to get ready for the hunt, she started playing opossum. The child closed her eyes, arched her back and went completely limp. It was a good thing that Johnathan had one hand and I had the other or she could have cracked her skull on the pavement. As you’ll see in the pictures, we finally were able to coerce her into picking up eggs (all it took was opening one up to find jelly beans inside). Unfortunately, by that time, most of them were gone. But our neighbor, who coordinated the day, was wise to keep some to the side for just that occasion. Rest assured, Mallory left with plenty of eggs.
After that, we went to pick Kylie up at the airport. She had a really good time visiting her family. You can tell in her voice and demeanor when she talks to them or about them that she is really excited to be back in touch with them. And Mallory was happy to see her. Funny story. The normal course of action on a weekday is that Johnathan gets Mallory up, and they knock on Kylie’s door to wake her up before coming downstairs. At one point during the week, Johnathan had Mallory and they were about halfway down the stairs when Mallory started saying “up..up”. Johnathan had no idea what she was talking about so he said, “Show me.” She pointed upstairs. He “followed the finger” and she pointed to Kylie’s door. She wanted to wake up Kai. :) Too cute. I think she was very disappointed that Kylie wasn’t there.
On Sunday, Mallory woke up crying so I raced upstairs…forgetting all about the Easter Bunny’s overnight visit. As soon as we stepped out onto the catwalk, Mallory pointed at the living room table and said, “What’s that?” She ate chocolate and a candy necklace. Soon she was all sugared up and ready for church. :) Kathy’s kids and grandkids came with us to church. It was so nice to have a great, big family presence. Then, we met our small group for a potluck Easter dinner. This time Mallory was all geared up. She knew exactly what to do with the eggs. :) We ate, hunted eggs and girlfriend played hard. Her big sis had her on the slide and the swings. She chased a cat and played in gravel. No rest for the weary…and no nap. She crashed in the car about a mile into the ride home (her daddy was trying to get home before Tiger and Phil finished the 18th…haha). She only slept for about 45 minutes and then she was off and running again. Just from all of the excitement of the day, and Poppa and Katnanny still in the house, she went to bed over an hour late (note a hint of foreshadowing).
Now, to the real drama…
Johnathan left for New York early this morning for an overnight trip. Normally, he gets Mallory up around 6:15, but that’s after she has been awake and playing in her crib for a while. I went to her room at 6:30 this morning and had to wake the child from the dead. She was no where near being ready to get up. But it was her first day at her new school. I wanted to be there early enough to spend a few minutes before leaving her in a room full of total strangers (guilt? me? what gives you that idea?) Her teachers don’t get in until 9:00. So I dropped her off in a different classroom with different teachers than we met last week. Of course, she stayed latched to my leg…even as I walked across the room to get a book. The teacher told me to let her know when I was ready. (Me? Ready? Okay, let’s try tomorrow.) I said, “You can go ahead and pick her up. She’s not going to get any better.” Well, the minute she touched her, Mallory arched her back, went limp and got tears in her eyes. Of course, I lost it. I had big tears filling up my eyes. Then, another teacher handed me a “First Day Survival Kit”. That was so touching, I cried even more. It had a little note on the outside. On the inside, there was a pack of tissues…with a note, a green tea bag…with a note…and a little bag of Hershey’s Hugs and Kisses…with a note. So sweet of them to think of the parents like that (pretty sure I’m going to love this school). I put the tissues to immediate use. I went across the room so Mallory wouldn’t see me crying. I don’t think I fooled her at all. Finally, I just had to go say goodbye. I kissed her on her head and said bye. As I walked away, she had this pitiful look on her face. Her lip was poked out, and she had tears running down her cheeks. I was miserable, but I had to go. That was best for both of us. I handed in our paperwork and cried in the lobby. When I left, I could see on the classroom monitor that the teacher was still holding her. They told me to call as many times as I needed to. Big mistake. :)
So I called about an hour and a half later. They said she was doing fine. The teacher that I handed her over to this morning said that she stopped crying as soon as I left. She had even eaten her morning snack really well. The director and I tried to get my web cam access set up so I could see for myself. Stupid firewalls. We never could get it right, so I decided to stop by there when I went out to grab lunch. She was sleeping (with another child screaming right next to her…I’ll never understand how they do that). I walked in and stood over her. She looked so peaceful. They told me that she was doing well…up until lunch time. She had a complete meltdown and didn’t eat anything. Miss Samantha (Mallory’s new favorite teacher) said she thought she was just tired (go figure). When they were out on the playground, she would go play…then hang on to Samantha’s leg…then go play…then hang on to Samantha’s leg. :) She ate her entire afternoon snack (cupcakes, cheese and crackers). Poor kid was starving. When I got there to pick her up, she was playing with Samantha and a little girl…and she was fine. She was very happy to see me. But she wasn’t ridiculously clingy. She just wanted my keys. That tells me that she was okay. No trauma. This probably won’t even make the top 10 in the list of things that she’ll cover with her therapist years from now. I was the one with the issue. I had more trouble with this one today than the first time I dropped her off at 3 months old. The difference is that at 3 months old, she has no knowledge of her environment. Now, she does. And she has an opinion. Tomorrow, I promise to do better. If I’m not upset, then she probably won’t be either. It’s hard to keep a stiff upper lip when your mom is a basket case. :)

So this is it. The 13th week. The last week of the first trimester. Hopefully, that will signify an end to the morning sickness and extreme fatigue. The morning sickness has been worse this week. I went on a junior high trip over the weekend, and at some point on Saturday, I started feeling really bad. It hasn’t stopped since. I don’t know if I just wore myself down or what. But I have been especially sick and haven’t had much of an appetite. I’m still eating, but I don’t look forward to it. I just can’t think of anything that sounds good…except Chex Mix.
I took Mallory to meet her new teachers and classmates. She was less than thrilled. She was met by one little girl with a nice smack to the face. No harm done. But later on, when Mallory finally let me walk away from her, the little girl walked up and pushed her down. Mallory made a real “I’m going to cry” face, but she never did. She just kind of rolled around on the floor for a minute. I told the teachers that Mallory has been known to defend herself. They said that was fine. They have been warned. :)
It’s still a little sad for me to move her next week. I know she will adjust…eventually. I have just seen so many new kids in her classroom sit and cry for days until they “adjust”. I hate putting my child through that. The good news, or bad news, is that the new school has web cam access so I can watch her to see how she’s doing. But come what may, she’s moving on Monday. What makes it even worse is that I took her by her current school today while everyone was outside playing (Poppa and Katnanny had been sporting her around town). All of the kids came running up to the fence saying “Mal Mal!” That’s what they call her. It was like they were all excited to see her. Breaks my heart.
Kylie is still visiting family. We have heard from her a couple of times. She has a lot of catching up to do with them.
I have uploaded some pictures. As promised, I created a 2009 folder for Kylie. I added to Mallory, 20-22 months.
Enjoy…I’m going to bed.

While I’m sitting here having cookies and milk, I’ll go ahead and tell you that the doctor appointment went well today. Despite my thickening waist, I haven’t gained any weight, and my blood pressure was perfect. Because it’s still too early to hear the heartbeat using a doppler, we actually got to see Tater Two again. And man was he active! We saw flailing arms and hiccups. Looks like Mallory will have a dance partner…in a couple of years. So everything looks good.
As a follow up to the last post, Mallory did have an ear infection. Absolutely crazy. She lost her tube in her right ear on 2/28 (I know that because I found it). Less than a month later, she already had an ear infection. The left ear still has its tube. We go to the ENT on Friday. We’ll see what he says.
Unfortunately, the worst result of the ear infection was a toddler who no longer wanted to sleep in her bed. And it happened so quickly. One night of putting her in the bed with us just to get some rest and she was ruined. Last Tuesday night, I spent about 45 minutes just trying to get her to go to sleep. I let her cry for a while (stubbornness…she gets that from her dad). Then, I went back in and comforted her without picking her up. I ended up just sitting and rocking in the chair until she fell asleep in her bed. After a week of tapering down our effort, she is finally back to going to bed like the Mallory we know and love…but we still can’t close her door. It causes much screaming. That should be interesting tomorrow night during small group.
On the positive side, just sitting and rocking in the quiet of her room, I felt Tater Two move. That was cool. At this point, it’s still hard to distinguish between him and tummy rumblings, but that one was definitely baby.
I had my first craving this week. Much to Kylie’s chagrin, it was not for King Cake (we still have over 6 months so there’s plenty of time for that). It was mustard. Don’t judge. You don’t get to pick your cravings. So I went to the grocery store to get hot dogs and chili fixings…I left with $150 worth of stuff. At one point, I was on the phone with Johnathan and I mentioned fish sticks, cocktail sauce and popcorn shrimp. He said, “Are you hungry?!” I said, “Well, I wouldn’t have thought so but…maybe.” We did have hot dogs and Frito pies for dinner so I got my mustard fix.
Kylie finally went to the doctor for her ankle. The verdict? She sprained it pretty good. More ice. More ibuprofen. More rest. No Lacrosse…for at least another week. As I said before, she is going out of town during Spring Break, so that should mean even more rest. That will be good.
Saturday was an interesting day to say the least. Johnathan went to help some friends tile their kitchen. Mallory and I cleaned house. She was all over the place. At one point, she literally dove on Cole. The unfortunate thing was that he was lying next to the bed. When she landed on him, the right side of her face smacked (rather loudly) on the wooden bed rail that is hidden by a dust ruffle. She has a nice shiner. I promise to get the picture up as soon as possible.
With the title of this blog, I promised a few firsts. I’ll leave you with this one. Mallory is starting to show a lot of interest in using the potty. She tries to open the door while you’re in there, and she has even asked to sit on the toilet a couple of times. Well, when you’re home alone with a toddler, locking yourself in a bathroom to take care of business is just not possible. What do I get to put in Mallory’s book as her first real sentence? “Mommy make poopy.” Fantastic. :)

I’ll go ahead an admit up front that I did not plan to post tonight. I logged on to look at my first trimester posts from Mallory because I could swear that I feel worse this time. Wrong. But I figured that while I was here I would give an update.
I knew that Johnathan put up the ultrasound picture. What I didn’t know was that he didn’t follow the instructions to actually post about the doctor appointment. Men. So here’s the skinny. We measured right on track (6 weeks and 5 days). It was really cool to see the heartbeat. My old doctor didn’t have an ultrasound machine so we didn’t get a heartbeat confirmation until the 10th or 11th week for Mallory. I can also say what a relief it was to see that little flashing light and to know that he/she was in the right place. I did have a cyst, which she said was normal, but we’ll keep an eye on it. That may translate to more ultrasounds. Cool! We go back on the 30th. I promise that I will personally let you know how it goes…since apparently my husband won’t. :)
Now, back to why I’m on the site tonight. Just like with Mallory, no puking. I just really feel like it. I am taking B6, as recommended by my doctor and multiple websites, but I don’t know that it’s helping. Admittedly, I’m scared to stop taking it for fear that it actually is helping, and I just don’t know how bad I could feel. What is different from Mallory is that I have found no aversions yet. Still loving my coffee (only one cup a day, don’t wig out on me). And although the thought of chicken is kind of gross, I haven’t had any trouble eating it yet. I read that I had trouble with proteins (totally forgot that I did protein shakes the first time around), but no such problem this time. I am exhausted, of course. There has been one incident of me making myself stay up until 8:30. It’s 8:45 right now. Once I’m done here, I’m done for the night.
My belly is getting bigger. I’m at that awkward stage where I’m not ready for maternity pants (yes, I have tried them), but my normal pants are really uncomfortable by the end of the day. I look forward the maternity clothes…mostly because I want people to know that I’m pregnant not just “packing on a few extra pounds”.
Kylie is doing well. She is getting a serious case of senior-itis. Let me just say that it’s a good thing she doesn’t need this math to graduate. :) She did score high enough on the ACT to get the scholarship and has been notified of a state grant that she was approved for. It seems like things are falling into place. She decided not to play tennis this year for some reason, but she picked up lacross in its place. We went to watch her play on Saturday, but she had already rolled her ankle and was sidelined with an ice pack by the time we got there. Nice big knot on the outside of her ankle. She’s getting around on it fine (sometimes better than others). And she is going to go see her family for Spring Break. Hopefully, that will be a good, fun trip for her.
Mallory is a mess. She’s getting so grown up…and is very opinionated. She’s very shy though. Once she has been around someone for a few minutes, she’s fine. But that initial greeting is difficult because she wants to be held and bury her face in your neck. Not really sure what to do about that. Between day care, church nursery and small group meetings at our house, she gets plenty of socialization. Maybe she’ll just grown out of it. Johnathan put her to bed tonight. She has a fever so we’ll be calling the doctor in the morning. I found one of her tubes recently, so I know she has lost at least one. I wouldn’t doubt if we are dealing with an ear infection. At least it’s March and the cold season is about over.
Johnathan worked really hard in the yard this weekend. We got an awesome deal on trees a couple of weeks ago so we bought 12 (seriously good deal). They were delivered on Friday. After all of our running around on Saturday, he mowed, Kylie and I weeded the flower beds, Kylie spread the mulch and Johnathan planted 3 trees. Since I’m sure you guys can do simple math, that left 9 trees to plant after church today. But he got it done. The only casualty was the skin on his forehead…sunburn.

I thought I’d take a moment to share Baby Brandon’s first portrait. Hope you enjoy…

Just when you think they’re not paying attention…
Tonight, Mallory was in the bathtub. I brushed her teeth, which normally consists of me brushing her teeth with one toothbrush and her following that up with another toothbrush. Well, everything was going per usual. I had finished cleaning her teeth, but she was still “brushing” her teeth. Then, she took the toothbrush out of her mouth, leaned forward and hacked (that is the best way I can explain it). I thought at first that she had gagged herself. Then, she looked up at me, brushed again, and hacked again. This time it hit me. She was “spitting”! lol I laughed so hard. She has watched us brush our teeth in the morning. Mommy and Daddy spit. She kept repeating the process. And every time she did, she looked up at me for approval and giggled. I cheered, clapped and laughed.
No update on the pregnancy. I’m just tired. Really tired…and grumpy if you ask Johnathan. No morning sickness yet. We go to the doctor for the first time on the 2nd. Of course, we’ll know a lot more then.
Here’s one for ya. As I am sitting here writing this, Kylie has asked if she can go to an event that starts at midnight…and goes until about 4 am. (sigh) Folks, I can’t make this stuff up.

First, I would like to apologize for not blogging more often. If you remember correctly, this blog was my husband’s big idea. When was the last time HE blogged? Exactly my point. Second, I would like to add this disclaimer that my blogging has absolutely nothing to do with my mom’s friend, Linda Smith, giving me smack about it. As evidenced by my history, I will blog all on my own”¦eventually. (Don’t start with me, I’m a busy person. Keep in mind that it takes a lot longer to write this stuff than it does to read it”¦yeah, it’s a painful process to be this amusing.)

When Johnathan and I were planning to get married, we talked about the number of kids we wanted. He said, “12”. I said, “Find someone else to marry.” Eventually, using negotiation skills that would put Congress to shame, we landed on 2. Really, we arrived at that number based on the desire to maintain a man-to-man defense. Of course, we did not anticipate having Kylie, but she doesn’t really fit that equation. She pretty much takes care of herself. Actually, she helps.
We also wanted our two children fairly close together, maybe about 2 years. So when Mallory turned 1, we decided to start “trying”. Mallory only took about 5 months so I figured it would take about the same amount of time. (If you’re calculating, and you know that Mallory’s birthday is in May, that was about 10 months ago.) Apparently, God didn’t get my two-years-apart requirement, or He did and just ignored it. It’s like He has His own agenda or something. If you know me at all, you know that I was consumed for months”¦especially when I realized that it wasn’t going to happen just like that. At some point, a friend of mine pointed out that Kylie is graduating in May and going to college in August. Being very pregnant or having a newborn at those points in time would be difficult. Yeah, but I had a plan. Johnathan and I went round and round, and we finally decided to just take it easy. I kept charting to be armed with the knowledge, but I stopped the predictor kits and stuff like that. However, a lax attitude didn’t help us reach our goal.

My doctor that delivered Mallory is no longer delivering babies. She advised me to pick a new one since we were trying to get pregnant. Most women will understand this; I put that off for a couple of months. I just hate picking a new doctor”¦more specifically THAT doctor. After much investigation, indecisiveness, obsessing (it is me after all) and canceling at least one appointment, I went to see my new doctor at the end of January. Because I am over 35 (nearly geriatric in fertility-world), and we have been trying for over 6 months, it was time to help the process. She said, “If it doesn’t happen this month, we will try Clomid.” Yep, the “C” word. I know what you’re thinking, because I did too. That word conjures up all kinds of fears. “Am I going to have 6 babies…7 babies…8 babies”¦a whole stinking litter???!!! God! Please, I beg you! I think Johnathan was really kidding when he said 12!” My doctor assured me that the low dosage we would try would only bring 5% chance of multiples, and only 5% of that 5% (bringing the total to .25%) would have more than two babies at once. Whew. I was able to refrain from depositing my breakfast on her shoes.
I called Johnathan as I left her office. After a long pause at the mention of the “C”-word, I told him, “Twins wouldn’t kill us”¦triplets might.” To which he retorted, “Six and your doctor is contributing to the fund.” So we resolved to give it our best effort this month. I think he called it “the old college try”. (I tried to conjure up a witty quip here, but nothing that came to mind seemed even remotely appropriate so I’ll just leave it alone.) I will also spare you the gory details.

Now, if you know anything about charting while you’re TTC ( that’s Trying To Conceive for those of you who have never spent hours on end surfing and reading all of the websites for the brave many who attempt this journey), you know than in the middle of the month, there should be a temperature rise. If not, you don’t have a chance of getting pregnant because there was no egg released. Then, at the end of the month, more often than not, there is a temperature dip, and you get additional proof that you indeed are not pregnant. This month, I got the temperature rise. I also got a positive on the ovulation predictor kit. And, thanks to the “old college try”, things seemed to be timed perfectly. But even with all of that, there is really only about a 20% chance that a pregnancy will occur. For late bloomers like me, the chances are even lower. The point between the temperature rise and the end of the month is called the “two-week wait”. There are websites where women form support groups for this time period. You’ve done all you can. Now, all you can do is wait. It’s agonizing. It’s even worse than the wait I’m putting you through to get to the end of this story. ;)

I expected the temperature dip Tuesday morning. The night before, I had talked to Johnathan about testing on Tuesday. He asked me if there was a chance of a negative. Yes, there was. It was quite possible that, even if I was pregnant, I wasn’t producing enough hCG (pregnancy hormone) to register on a test. But we decided to give it a shot, provided I had evidence that it was possible. My typical routine is ““ hit the snooze, stick the thermometer in my mouth, prop my hand on it in some way to keep it from falling out of my mouth and go back to sleep until it beeps. Of course, that three minutes felt longer than the two-week wait”¦my temperature was still up. I jumped out of bed and went into the bathroom. I don’t think I have ever been so anxious to pee in a cup. I went with a digital test, partly because there is no ambiguity (“pregnant” versus “not pregnant”) and partly because that is all I had in my drawer. Then, that three minutes took forever. It said, “Pregnant” ;) Right about that time, the snooze period was over and the alarm started screaming like a banshee. Johnathan rolled over, cracked an eye open and asked what I was doing. I said, “Why don’t you see for yourself?” And I showed him the test and he just smiled. I had to wait until later when he was actually out of bed to get the “man dance”, but I could tell that he was excited.

As I am sure this one will be quite different from the last one for many reasons, we will try our best to keep you all informed.

Quick update on the girls. Kylie just took the ACT for the third time. All she needs is one more point to get the Hope Scholarship so cross your fingers. Oh, and she wrecked another car. I don’t know if it’s an indication of how bad a driver she is or how cheap our cars are because this one was totaled too. It really wasn’t a bad wreck. And it wasn’t her fault at all. A guy cut in front of her. But the airbags deployed and the front end was smashed pretty good. However, this was actually a blessing in disguise. Her car has been broken down since before Thanksgiving. There was never really a big push to get it fixed because we had an extra car that she could drive. The idea was to get hers fixed and sell the one she was driving temporarily. The insurance company gave us more for the car than we would have listed it for, so Johnathan got to upgrade the size of the new TV he was purchasing at the time (I’ll let him tell you about that). For the time being, she is driving Johnathan’s car, and he is driving a friend’s car until he and this friend can find the time to work on Kylie’s car.

What can I say about Mallory? There’s so much, I really don’t know where to start. She is the cutest thing ever. Prissy beyond belief. She has tons of words. She hands me broken crayons (aka “cowors”) and says “bwoke”. She loves shoes. ;) And books. Something that has been really fun, for me at least, is her starting to put words together. I was so excited when she said, “Hi, Daddy” for the first time. She says, “Bye Cole” every morning after giving him his “cheet” (treat). The other day, I told her Kylie was leaving and she said, “Bye, Kai” even though she couldn’t see Kylie, who was already in her car and pulling out of the garage. But just like any other child her age, she has picked up the all time favorite toddler word. A while back, she was “reading” to me as I changed her diaper. When I was done, I tickled her ribs with my nose. She laughed hysterically, went back to her book, then looked at me, pointed her finger and said, “no”. Ah, yes. Attitude.