Leap of Faith

Merry, Merry Christmas!

2011-12-26T21:40:00.000-05:00

This is my most favorite time of year. This year Stephen and I reflected on all the miracles that have happened in our lives. We have had some pretty rotten years in the past, but we are finally over the hump. We have a beautiful home, Stephen has a fantastic job, and best of all, we have two incredibly wonderful children to share our life with.

Little Stephen was so excited about Christmas this year. It was the first time he truly understood what was going to happen. His top three gifts were: the Nintendo DS and all the games, a pogo stick, and a Batman cave. Jillian's top three gifts were: a vtech play jewelry box, a lady bug rocking seat, and a new bouncer/exercise seat.
My favorite gift was a bike seat attachment and my hubby got a new bike... for his exercise regiment... we'll see.

Anyway, we are in NJ, having a great time with friends and family. We laughed so much on Christmas Eve, it was much needed and enjoyed. The best part of the night was the Dirty Santa gift exchange. What fun and so sorry I'll miss it next year. (We alternate families).

Here are some pictures, hope you enjoy!

November

2011-11-30T22:01:00.001-05:00

November was a busy month for us. We had a family wedding in NJ, Thanksgiving in Winston and lots of stuff in between. We have so much to be thankful for this year and just wanted to share some of our thoughts. First and foremost we are thankful for our family and friends. Without family and friends, there's not much to life. We are so thankful for our two wonderful children and thankful for the joy they bring into our life. I am most thankful that Jillian is sleeping through the night and I get to also! We are thankful for Stephen's job and all that he does to provide for our family and my lack of a job and all that I can do to provide for my family at home. We are thankful for our parents, that they are so loving to our kids and so generous to them. Lastly, we are thankful for our home. We really feel like we finally have a home, (as opposed to a house). This neighborhood is where we are meant to be and we did take the long, scenic route to get here, but we are here. We have fantastic neighbors and have enjoyed our time here so far.

I am thankful for all my blog followers and friends from the internet. Without you and your support, these last few years would have been much more difficult, lonely, and uninspiring. I'm sorry I'm not on your blogs commenting as often as I would like, but I'm trying. I pray for you all each and everyday to have your heart's desires come to fruition.

Please enjoy some of our pictures from this month...

Daddy and Jillian

Uncle James with the kiddos. Not even funny how much Stephen LOVES Uncle Jamesy Wamesy

Muscle Maker food is paying off!! How funny is this face!!

Will they ever both look at the camera?

Cutie Pie!

Newest Endeavor

See what I mean? Looking different ways again...

Happy Thanksgiving!

Ready for Santa!

Thanks for reading and happy holidays!

Dear Santa...

2011-11-14T22:01:00.011-05:00

For all family and friends, we decided to make it very easy and post Stephen's and Jillian's Christmas list here. If you get something, please let me know and I will cross it off the list. Sorry for all my other blog followers, please ignore this post :)

Stephen:
Disney Pixar Cars 2 Action Agents Combat Ship Playset

Disney Pixar Cars 2 Memory Deluxe

Disney Pixar Cars 2 Movie Exclusive Die Cast Car Racing 4 Pack

Disney Pixar Cars 2 Trouble Game

Go!!! Disney Cars 2 World Grand Prix

~~Fisher-Price Imaginext Disney Pixar Cars 2 Tokyo and Villain Playset~~

~~Rio for Nintendo DS~~

Carnival Games for Nintendo DS

Disney Phineas and Ferb for Nintendo DS

Disney Pixar Cars: Mater National Championship for Nintendo DS

Melissa & Doug See & Spell

iTunes gift card (for iPad games)

~~Llama Llama Home with Mama~~

~~Madagascar Kartz~~

Jillian:
Enfamil AR Ready to Feed

Pampers Swaddlers Size 3

~~Tiny Talk Light up Phone~~

~~VTech Fun Shapes Jewelry box~~

Alex Toys Jr. Stack-A-Cake

~~Fisher Price Hug 'n Giggle Baby~~

~~Sesame Street Talking Abby Plush~~

~~I Wished for You: an Adoption Story~~

~~God Found Us You~~

~~Honey Bunny Funnybunny~~

Sesame Street Abby Cadabby~Bedtime Stories~ Bath Time Bubble Book

Octoberfest

2011-10-23T22:45:00.000-04:00

What a great month October is turning out to be! Hubby had a birthday, Stevie had a great month with his t-ball team, and Jilly has started eating cereal and sitting in her exasaucer (now known as stationary entertainers).

We also had a visit from my mom and dad that was too quick. The greatest part of their visit was Stevie also had a t-ball game while they were here. So, my parents and Stephen's parents were there to watch his game. Now, in some families, that may be a common occurrence, but in our family, (because of location) it doesn't happen very often. Those are the times I am most happy for our children. It is wonderful to see them with all four of their grandparents. Too sweet!!

Next we celebrated my hubby's bday and I made him this:

Yes, that is a chocolate, peanut butter cake, complete with fudge in the middle with chopped pieces of peanut butter cups, then iced with a thin layer of fudge and peanut butter icing, decorated with peanut butter cups around the cake. See, hubby is a peanut butter cup LOVER!! But... he's not the only one...

I wonder who that could be...

Caught in the act! He loved the cake as well. In fact, he already requested one for his birthday in May. Gotta love my peanut butter men!!

A few days later, our doorbell rings and there is the FedEx man. Stevie loves him because he knows that it usually a gift from his Aunt Jackie. Well this time it was a gift for Jilly from Aunt Jackie. (His came a day later!) But he enjoyed her gift I think more than she did at first. She has since gotten the hang of the exasaucer, but poor thing can't reach the bottom to rotate herself. :(

A few days later, we attended the NC State Fair. This is a stretch for me. Fairs are just not my cup of tea. I like places that are clean, not crowded, and a fair share of healthy food choices. Well, we got skeavy booths, way too may people, and fried everything. It amazes me how people walk around the fair with no shame. Eating crazy things like turkey legs (hubby tried one), funnel cake (not zeppoles, but close enough), fried anything and everything. We did try the fried oreos. I've lived in NC for six years now, I've heard a TON about them, so I caved under pressure. They weren't half bad, but I'm sure they are terrible for you. Stevie even gave a thumbs up to them. All in all, when the night was done and we used all our tickets on fun rides with Stevie, I have to admit we had a good time. Maybe next year I won't be so reluctant to go. :)

Our neighbors turned 50 and threw themselves a party. I volunteered to make some cake pops, because, quite frankly, I am in love with these cutie pie cakes. Take a look at these yummilicious cake pops...

We are off this weekend to visit the Cav's and celebrate some more birthdays and babies. We both have two kids now, born the same years, both sets of kids are four months apart. Gotta love how family keeps going on and on. Pictures to follow :)

Jilly Giggles...

2011-10-02T20:38:00.000-04:00

Enjoy!

Two Cutie Pie Pics!

2011-09-30T21:17:00.000-04:00

Not too much new going on here. Stephen is loving his new job, although he is working non-stop. Life gets a little hectic when he travels, but I am settling in to it again. Stevie has been learning how to write his letters in school. This week was "B" and today for show and tell, he brought in his blankie. This is by far his most prized possession! Love it! Jillian is doing great, sleeping more and more in her crib (her room is almost finished)! We haven't made the jump to the over night sleep yet, but it will be coming soon. She is giggling up a storm and using her voice for more than crying. Here are some new pics of her. Sorry so short, but I'm exhausted! More to come in a few days...

School, T-ball, and Jilly, Oh My!

2011-09-19T21:52:00.006-04:00

That's right, school is back in session. Although, Stephen is the only one going to school this year. I am staying home with our little Jilly Bean. Stephen is absolutely LOVING school. He has made some new friends and is crazy about his new teacher. He even had homework tonight. He had to trace the letter A in upper case and lower case form. Ummm... it took 20 minutes! Is this payback for all the homework I've given over the years? Just kidding. He really enjoyed doing his homework and proceeded to tell me that he wants homework every night. If he only knew. ;) He is also playing t-ball. Granted, we only made it to 2 practices and no games yet. This is the craziest league ever. The first game was cancelled because of the hurricane, the next weekend was Labor Day, then we were at the beach, and this past weekend, it rained. So, we have a game Saturday and then a double header on Sunday. Stevie may just be baseballed out this weekend.

T-ball Practice

Stephen, my hubby, started his new job today. He is now working for a new company that is business partners with IBM. He is excited for the possibilities at this company and I am just so proud of him for getting to where he's wanted to be in his career. <3

First Day of School, practice smiles

Jillian is growing like wild. She will be three months on Thursday. She probably weighs around 12-13 pounds. The cutest thing of all is that she is giggling and smiling all the time. She also blows bubbles and makes raspberries with her lips. Super cute! Love, love, love her!! She is getting on a regular schedule, which is really starting to help out here with our daily routine. Jilly is also sleeping through the night. Her last bottle is around 10 PM and she sleeps until 6 AM. I'll take that!

Smiles!!

So, finally, the update on me: I think I rebroke my toe. I don't know what the deal is, but I'd like to chop it off. It's the pinky toe and I've been told that it is a wasted appendage. Haha! I just wish that it would get better. It is affecting my exercise regiment. I have been turning into a Suzy homemaker lately. I painted Jillian's room. Just waiting for the trim to go up and then I will post pictures. I have been making chicken soup for the fall. Yum! Also, I made a yummy-licious apple pie (with the wrong apples). I used the wrong apples because it was our turn for snack for Stevie's t-ball game and it was cancelled. So, what was I going to do with all those sliced apples? We couldn't eat them all in a day or so. The pie came out delicious!!

First Day of School!

Lastly, I visited my favorite doctor, Dr. Lipscomb, for my annual visit. It was a really special visit because we were able to introduce him to Jillian. He has been down this journey with us and had celebrated our positives and then listened to the stories of the negatives. It was so wonderful to let him see us come full circle and be triumphant. We also had a great discussion about more naturalistic medicine treatments rather than pumping our bodies with hormones. I have become a big advocate of this in the last year or two (as much as my family thinks I'm crazy). It was nice to have a doctor actually see a patient as a human that deserves the best treatment medically and emotionally. He discussed a more natural method for birth control and also for family planning. Unfortunately, neither of these two topics pertain to my "situation" down there, but I'm sure it does apply to some. He has a medically proven way for women to come off the pill and use their own hormones to regulate their cycle, plan pregnancies, and prevent pregnancies as well. If anything, it is something to THINK about!

Routines, Routines

2011-08-31T22:38:00.000-04:00

Next week our lives will settle into the normal routine of life. Stephen will be starting preschool and will need to be there at a regular time. That mean I need to feed Jillian at a regular time so we don't have a hungry, screaming baby on the way to school (like we have had in the past for summer camp). Which means that I need to get up at a regular time to make sure she is up to feed to make sure we make it out the door on time. Sounds crazy... you have no idea!

Stephen will also have his t-ball practices and games to throw in the mix. He has practice during the week at dinner time (this makes me really mad, but, whatever!) and then games on the weekends. We are getting ready to throw church back in the mix and I feel like my opportunities to steal a late morning sleep in are becoming less and less likely. Sometimes hubby lets me sleep in, but with our crazy schedule coming up that would mean missing something. Not ready to do that over a few hours of shut eye. I try to nap during the day, but it doesn't happen as easily as it used to. When Jilly is asleep, Stephen is wide awake and wants to play with mommy, even though I am barely keeping my eyes open. Sometimes he'll let me "rest my eyes" if he is playing Wii, but he ends up waking me up to help him change cars.

Not sure what prompted this sleep discussion, it surely wasn't the focus of my thoughts when I first laid down (in bed) to write this post. I guess it is what my body is craving the most. Good thing is that Jillian is down to one feeding during the night. We have a new diaper, full belly, and back to dream land in 45 mins or so during the night. Hubby used to offer to get up on the weekends so I could get a full nights sleep, but that became a catch 22. He would be so tired the next day, it almost became a nuisance. He would need a nap or get super cranky. Well, that in my eye, defeats the purpose of helping my out. So, I kindly suggested that he didn't have to get up with her any more to save our weekends and keep the peace! :)

Anyway, here are some quick updates with the kids:

**Stephen is loving t-ball. He has made new friends and has play dates regularly now. :) He is a fantastic big brother and calls Jillian his "honey bunny." He is such a big helper, I don't know what I'd do without him some days!

**Jillian is a champ at her feedings. She is gulping 6 ounces pretty regularly. She was 11 pounds and change at her last check up. She gets up around 4 or 5 each morning for a feeding. She is smiling and giggling (which melts our hearts!!) and she has started to ohhhh and ahhhh.

Of course, here are some photos we'd like to share:

BIG smile from Jilly Bean!

First day of T-ball practice!

8 weeks

2011-08-15T14:54:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow Jilly Bean will be eight weeks old. It is hard to imagine that time is moving this quickly. We have been enjoying every single moment with her. Most recently, she has just begun to smile and giggle (in only a way that a baby can giggle). She has been taking four to six ounces per bottle every three to six hours. Not exactly as on schedule as Stephen was. She loves, I mean LOVES to sleep! She could sleep the whole day and night away. We try to force her to stay awake a little more now during the day. She does really well at night, only waking once for a feeding.

Big brother Stephen is loving his baby sister in a way that I've never seen. He is so gentle, kind, and protective of her. He enjoys holding her and laying on the floor with her looking up at the Rainforest gym that used to be his. I swear he enjoys it more now than back then! ;) Stephen has also been going to summer camp at his new preschool. When I pick him up and ask him how school was, he has the same response: fantastic! Who could ask for more than that?

We have had a ton of visitors and spent a week in NJ to visit my family. It was so nice to be back home and share Jilly with everyone. We saw more people that week than I can ever remember seeing during our visits. There was a lovely barbeque to celebrate her arrival and she slept through the entire party! I'm talking from 3 to 9. Ok, she woke up around 5 or 6 for a bottle, but then right back to sleep. She received many gifts since she has been with us and let's just say that she has a fashion forward wardrobe for her first year of life. We are so appreciative of everyone's generosity and love for this little peanut.

Here are some recent pics, I will make an effort to post more frequently, but lately, I'm happy if I can check my email. Life changes when we went from one semi-independent four year old to two children where one needs are more demanding.

Thanks for reading and chat soon!

Jillian, 7 weeks

Jillian, ready for her big "Welcome to the Family" barbeque

Stephen, our little fishy, LOVES to swim!

Jillian, mad, hungry face

Pictures!

2011-06-22T20:41:00.000-04:00

Sorry it has taken awhile to get these up. We had some visitors and internet issues. Hopefully tomorrow we will be discharged and able to head back to the condo. I can't wait to get back into regular life!

Thanks very much from the bottom of our hearts for all the comments. It is just such a nice feeling to see so many people wanting good things for us. We wish you all the same luck in your journeys!!

So, here she is:

It's a ....

2011-06-22T00:21:00.003-04:00

GIRL!!!

Jillian Elizabeth
6lbs 13.5 oz
18 inches
June 21, 2011
9:11 pm

Pics to follow :)

Pushing

2011-06-21T23:58:00.001-04:00

Pushing!

Niner, Niner!

2011-06-21T23:38:00.001-04:00

Niner, Niner!! She's at nine and plus two (for those of you that get that)!!

Shouldn't be long now!!

We Have a Fiver

2011-06-21T22:55:00.000-04:00

Five, yes, I repeat five!! Slowly but surely!!

Sorry about the last post, that's what you get for auto correct and bad eyes! ;)

No Progress

2011-06-21T21:28:00.000-04:00

Nothing new to report, except we are the ome delicious pizza for dinner. Sound familiar? ;)

Almost 4

2011-06-21T18:25:00.001-04:00

Labor is going slowwwwwwwwww. She is almost 4. Water has been broken, but not much mor progress yet. Poor thing!

3 and Counting

2011-06-21T13:50:00.000-04:00

BM is dilated to 3 cm already. She is on a pitocin drip and has the epidural in place. We are in a separate room and just found out that we get to spend the night!! Woooohooo! We were not aware of that earlier. Please check back here for updates throughout the day. Thanks for all the emails, texts, bbms, and messages on FB today. It is wonderful to feel soooo loved!

So Close...

2011-06-21T00:50:00.000-04:00

Today is the day! Our BM is going to be admitted at 6am and we will arrive shortly after to pace the halls and keep her company. We had a fabulous lunch with her and her mom today. They told us a lot of their family history and funny stories we can share with our child when the time is right. After that, we spent the evening at he pool. We both got workouts in and are getting ready to try to sleep. I will update ASAP, I promise!!

Quickie Update

2011-06-16T22:39:00.000-04:00

No big news yet, still planning on flying to Arizona on Sunday unless our little peanut decides to come earlier. Unlike surrogacy, you are less privy to information about the pregnancy and doctor reports. We are still waiting for an update from Tuesday's appointment, maybe we will get it tomorrow. However, we remain in good spirits and continue to surround ourselves with positive people.

Just want to say a big THANKS to all my loyal friends leaving comments. I was a little nervous how our news would be received in the surro community, but you guys never fail or cease to amaze. I wish you all the best of luck on your journeys, wherever they may lead you.

I will continue to update as I receive the information. We are excited about going to AZ, as I have been there once previously, but hubby has not. And the best part of all is... we get to meet Rhonda and her family! We have been friends and supporters of each other for a long, long time now. It is just wonderful that they live in the general area that we will be staying in. Talk about a small world.

Off to bed, dreams of baby days again! :)

We've Been Keeping a Secret ;)

2011-06-12T22:30:00.000-04:00

Yes, we have been keeping a very, very big secret. We are ready to share because we are about to burst! We were matched with a birth mother (or expectant mother) a week after we received our completed home study. That was April 20th. It was the craziest day!!! My dad had just come into town to visit, Stephen's parents were here to have dinner with us and we were secretly completing paperwork and sending off our profile to be viewed by a birth mom. It all happened within 36 hours. Talk about craziness. It happened so fast, that we were scared it was too fast.

But, as the next few weeks turned into months, here we are, about WEEK away from a scheduled induction! We are so happy to share this news with our family and friends. Our birth mom will be induced on the 21st if she does not go into labor sooner. We will be flying to AZ next weekend or earlier.

We are on cloud nine, for months now. It is such a nice feeling to let our hearts open up to these emotions again. Please continue to pray for us and for our birth mom to continue with her adoption plan. Stay tuned! Exciting things are happening for us!!!!

Hey All!!

2011-05-02T09:59:00.001-04:00

Ok, ok, I have neglected my blog long enough. I've had two friends in the past two days email me and say "Update please!!" So, here it is...

After many days and weeks of considering our next move, we have decided to step away from surrogacy for a while. The emotions were just getting to be too much. We would receive a positive phone call and then with in the next few days/weeks, we would get the "I'm sorry" call. No one's fault, but just getting harder to swallow each time.

So, we thought and thought and have decided to move onto adoption. We would love another biological child, but more than that, we want a sibling for our son. We are going to adopt a newborn and then in a year or so, try to unfreeze our leftover embryos and give them a whirl.

I hope you all understand where we are coming from and can support us still the same. It has been years of crazy emotions, ups and downs. When we decided to adopt, we felt a big sigh of relief for some reason. I will continue to update as we walk down this journey, but for now, I'm setting up our house and painting.

Best wishes to all and thanks for reading!

PS- Max did make it back to our house a few days later :)

Bad Day

2011-03-01T19:52:00.002-05:00

I can't wait for this day to be over. It started with a phone call that we lost our pregnancy and got worse from there. There seems to be no rhyme or reason as to why we keep losing our pregnancies, but I'm at the point where I am almost numb to it. How sad! :(

Then, the Directv guy is here installing our tv service all day and our cat, Max, escapes. We have searched the neighborhood and left food out. He has not come home.

Can't wait for this friggin day to be over!

And the Phone Call Said...

2011-02-23T18:28:00.002-05:00

POSITIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bittersweet Wednesday

2011-02-20T15:04:00.000-05:00

Wednesday can't come fast enough, but I don't want it to come too fast. Wednesday will be 14 days since EPU and theoretically, we should hear our good news from the doctors. This may have been our best quality transfer yet, as all three embryos were 8 cell, grade 1/A. But, also, Wednesday is the last day we are living here with my parents and family around. We leave for NC on Thursday morning. So, Wednesday is bittersweet. I want to hear from the doctors, but I want to savor the moments we have left here in NJ. We have spent the last two days packing up our moving pods. We are down to the bare bones of survival needs here. We came up with 6 pods and we are moving down with 8 pods. Can you believe that we accumulated more stuff while we were here? Unbelievable!!

My Feelings on Jet Lag

2011-02-14T09:53:00.000-05:00

So, we have been home since early Friday morning. Since then, I have not had a full night's sleep. I am suffering from the worst case of jet lag ever! My husband is fine and dandy. He sleeps through the night without a problem. My usual waking time is 2 am. I have to sleep through the night tonight, even if it means taking a swig of NyQuil. That should do the trick.

Some other, better news: we have transferred three, grade 1, 8 cell embryos into our surrogate. We are beyond excited at this possibility of this pregnancy. We have about a week and a half or so until we get "the call." We are remaining very positive for our pregnancy and for the other couples that we met transferring right around our time also.

There seem to be a lot of babies due within the next 4-6 weeks, so Mumbai should be hopping! Good luck to you all and best wishes for happy, healthy babies!

Leaving on a Jet Plane

2011-02-10T08:56:00.000-05:00

Goodbye, Mumbai!! We will be back in 9-ish months for baby(ies) pick-up!!! You have not seen the last of the Craters!!

EPU

2011-02-08T19:18:00.005-05:00

On my way to Lilavati, will update this afternoon. Say a little prayer for many, many, many good looking eggs and successful fertilization rates!!

After a long day at Lilavati, I am happy to report a collection of 12 eggs. We are overjoyed and anxious for transfer news.

Also, had a lovely dinner this evening with our friends from Canada (on baby pick-up) and Dr. Sudhir and Dr. Yashodhara. What a perfect way to end our trip. Stephen and I have agreed this time was the most enjoyable yet. Next trip will be enjoyable also... it will be a baby pick up!!! (everything crossed!!!)

More info and pics tomorrow. We are exhausted! Thanks for all the love from our comments and also on FB. Feels so good to have so many people wishing good things for you!!

Grow Embies, Grow

2011-02-07T09:06:00.002-05:00

Today was a very, very good day. Not only is my husband here, but we had a second scan. Even with my sluggish left ovary, I am currently hosting my highest embryo count since we have started this baby making marathon! They are able to see 16 eggs. I am beyond ecstatic! If my left ovary was a team player, it would've jumped more to the neighborhood of 20 or so. Can you freakin' believe that!! We are super excited for the next few days to come. Tonight is my trigger shot (wooohooo) and Wednesday is EPU.

Tomorrow, is the best day of this entire trip. It is the day that we meet our surrogate. Being that this is our 4th attempt, we wondered if we really wanted to meet our surrogate. It becomes so personal and there is a great emotional attachment. Especially when you hear why they are volunteering their bodies to this. We were really touched by our surrogate this past summer and it was hard to let go of her when we did our FET. We waited and waited for her body to get ready, and it just wasn't. We had to let her go and select a new one. It was almost like a break-up. We wanted so badly to help her family, like she wanted to help ours. That is the beauty of this deal. I know I say it every time we are here, but there is something about helping the people who are helping you. They want this to happen just as badly as we do, but for other reasons.

Switching gears, Stephen and I had a fun time by the pool today. We were only there for an hour or two. He is already winning the tanning contest. I have been laying by the pool for five days now and he beat me in two hours. We have very different skin tones. He is a bit red, but it will tone down tomorrow. He suggested I share a funny story I told him today. The first day I was here, my driver was bringing me to the clinic for my initial scan. While we were driving there, he hit a car and motorcycle. Now, if you have been here, you know how easily this can happen because of the erratic driving and ignorance of those white lines that form lanes. haha! All joking aside, he tapped the car and threw the motorcycle man off balance. He had to jump off to regain his balance. I was getting nervous at this point, but didn't say anything. He kept peeking in the rear view mirror to see if I was reacting to his driving. It was pretty funny.

All in all, we are enjoying our time together. It is always nice to have time to recharge our batteries and reconnect. Life just gets so busy at home and we tend to overlook those moments we should savor.

Thanks for reading and talk soon!

Engagement party

Local florist

Local General Store

Produce Stand

Man Transporting Stuff

Local Barber

Another Produce Stand

Woman's Clothing Store (where I got my dress)

Fast Food (Indian, of course)

Local Chemist (Pharmacist)

Taxi, anyone?

Road for Hotel

Off to Market

2011-02-05T22:08:00.001-05:00

Not too much exciting news today other than Stephen is arriving tonight!! Yay! I miss my hubby a lot and I can't wait for him to join me. This trip has been so relaxing and peaceful that I can't imagine not sharing it with the love of my life. We don't get to lay by the pool and soak up the sun very often at home without taking turns watching/playing/swimming with Stevie. I love nothing more than to lay in the warmth of the sun and read a book. And, with all that has been going on in our lives lately, Stephen could use a few days to relax.

Once he gets here though, things will start picking up on the medical side. Monday I have another scan. I can tell the eggs are growing because I am having some discomfort. For those of you who have gone through this, you know what I mean. Also, I have been receiving a second shot to help the eggs develop. That shot is intramuscular, so SI sends a nurse here every day to poke me. I am really sore from that shot. They alternate sides and I am dreading the shot this morning. So, I am up to three shots a day, hopefully for another day or two only. After my scan, I have the fitness test with the anesthesiologist. I believe after that, we will be done for the day.

I'm sure we will visit our friends (who are moving to a different location today) and hang out with them a bit more. They invited me along last night to walk around the local streets and markets. We ventured into a woman's clothing shop and we had a great time try on some dressing and such. Funny thing, I had a hard time getting my "big" head in the small neck openings of the dresses. I finally settled on one and they are tailoring it for me. I will be able to pick it up today. I am very excited to wear it later this week. We also went up to some local street vendors. They have American movies on DVD. They put four on a DVD and sell it for 100 rupees (just over $2). What a bargain. We also bought some books of the street. I bought two books for 250 rupees (about $6). They are photocopied and my friend said hopefully the whole book will be included. She has purchased books that have not ended at the ending, but before that. Haha! Such is life in Mumbai. Overall, I had an excellent time with them. I am going to miss their company when they leave today.

Saying that, it is time for breakfast. I have been loading up on breakfast. It is just fabulous here. Most days I skip lunch because I'm still full from breakfast. Then pizza for dinner or one of my meals in the microwave from home. I've still got a lot of snacks and I'm sure Stephen and I will take care of them this upcoming week.

Thanks for reading and to the new followers/commenters: enjoy our story!!

Relaxing Again

2011-02-04T06:54:00.000-05:00

Today was a great day, very enjoyable and very relaxing. I had to go to the Lilavati Hospital for a scan around noon. I was supposed to see the anesthesiologist but that was postponed until Monday. It seems that my EPU will be on Wednesday. Good news though, they found more eggs!! Yay!! I am hoping this will be my highest count EPU yet. So they still have some growing to do, but otherwise things are progressing well. The rest of my day was spent by the pool. I stayed in the sun a bit more. It wasn't as hot as yesterday. I found out that yesterday was 97 degrees. Today was much more enjoyable. Tonight I will be hanging with my two friends to watch a movie. Good thing I packed popcorn! ;)

Sun Day, Fun Day

2011-02-03T08:19:00.000-05:00

As I predicted yesterday, I sat by the pool today and read a book. I arrived at the pool shortly after 1 pm and stayed there until about 5 pm. It was so hot in the sun, so I ducked under cover and sat in the shade. I will slowly work on my tan over the next few days. The pool area is very relaxing. I was able to read an entire book today. I am running out of books, I have read two since I've been here (thanks, Tiff!). I may have to venture out to a book store tomorrow to buy some more. This is almost starting to feel like a spa vacation: pool, sun, books, etc. The only things missing are my family and some pina coladas.

The room I am staying in is comfortable. It is your standard hotel room, king bed, tv, smaller bathroom. Looking outside the window, directly below is a dirt pit of some sort that some Indians are excavating. They excavate all day, every day. It is loud and bothersome. Not good when I am trying to take an afternoon snooze or think. To the right of the huge dirt pit are some "slums." Makes me really sad to see the people walk in and out of this area all day long. There are adults and kids and random dogs that walk the path from their shack to the road. It is cute to watch the little kids try to climb the huge dirt piles they are making. They have no fear, they will try to climb up the piles as the machines are swinging their huge crane arms around loaded with dirt and rocks. Makes me nervous as a parent, but the kids are often under loose supervision.

For the evening, I will be catching up on the Bachelor, London Calling. That's right, Brad Womack hasn't struck in India yet. I am watching the reruns of Shayne Lamas and Matt, the Limey from London. There sure is some drama on this series!!

On the agenda for tomorrow is a trip to the hospital. I need to be approved by the anesthesiologist for my egg retrieval and have an egg check up/scan. Dr. Yash found 10 eggs hiding out yesterday in my ovaries. I hope that a few more pop out like the did in the summer. I'll keep ya posted.

Thanks for reading!

Right Time, Right Place

2011-02-02T09:49:00.000-05:00

This morning, I was walking to the elevator to head downstairs to begin my day. I was going to have breakfast in the hotel dining area. There were so many thoughts going through my head about what my day was going to be like and what I would get done. I was thinking how I had gotten more sleep in the last 24 hours than I had in a very, very long time. I was refreshed and ready to go.

As I stepped off the elevator, there was a couple a few feet ahead of me. I instantly recognized them as friends from our last trip here in the summer. They stayed at the same hotel (Novotel) as us in June. Talk about right time, right place. I called over to them and they turned around to greet me. She had sent me an email a few days ago asking when I would be back in Mumbai and where I was staying. Due to the craziness of Monday, I did not get a chance to see her response. She knew we were staying at the same hotel. It was such a lovely surprise to see them both today. They are here on baby pick up. Their SM is in the last stretch of the pregnancy and I wish them nothing but the best of luck for the upcoming weeks. I secretly hope that I am still here when their SM gives birth. I just love seeing babies here, it really brings the trip full circle while here.

So, we sat for breakfast and we caught up. We talked about last time, this time, the in between time, moving, India, work, and then being first time parents. They will be great parents. They are so kind-hearted and patient. They seem nervous, as any first parent would be. It is funny how your instincts kick in when a little baby is in your arms.

They really understand the culture here and I feel like you almost have to embrace some of it eventually. This is my third time to Mumbai and I feel like I understand it more and more each trip. I am familiar with the customs, the head bobble, and I'm really good at converting the money from Rupees into USD. Haha.

Later, in the afternoon, I had a meeting with the doctors. I have been to their clinic/office now three times and each time it has been decorated differently. It is very evident that their business is expanding. They have many people on staff and many clients to keep happy. It was a pleasure to see them today. We had some small talk and then then a quick exam. My blood was drawn very quickly and my ultrasound results look very promising. My largest egg was 11 mm, so it has a while to go. I go back to meet them on Friday for a second check.

After returning to the hotel, I walked around a bit. The pool was closed today due to some maintenance, but will be open tomorrow. That is where I may spend a good amount of time on this trip. The temperature is hovering around 90 degrees each day and it feels great. I love to feel the warm sun on my very pale skin. I may just be the whitest person the Indians have seen lately. ;)

Dinner was my usual cuisine here in Mumbai. If you have followed my previous trip(s), you know what we eat. There is a Domino's right next to the hotel, literally. Way to go, Amit!! We also requested a microwave in our room and brought lots of snacks along for the trip.

Overall, I had a great first day. Tomorrow I am going to have breakfast with my friends and lay out by the pool. I miss home terribly and it is twice as hard to be here without my hubby. I can't wait for him to arrive here and finish the trip up with me.

Thanks for reading!

Last Minute Switcheroo

2011-02-01T13:28:00.001-05:00

Well... I am already in Mumbai. It all happened so fast, I can't believe it myself. I was checking my flight Monday afternoon and it said it had been canceled for Tuesday night. Stephen helped me and immediately got on the phone with Continental. They said due to the storm, the flight had been canceled. They were not able to rebook me until later in the week. Or, I could fly another airline Tuesday night, but she couldn't guarantee that it would still go. So, we did the next best thing and booked me for the Monday night flight. Talk about craziness!! I had about a half hour to get my stuff together, and get on my way to the airport. It was such a whirlwind of events, I can barely remember it. I do remember being upset because most likely, I will be away from my little man another day. It is so tough on him at this age. If he only knew what we are going to accomplish here!

So, here I am at the beautiful Courtyard Marriott. Much thanks to Amit and his colleague, Gangadharan. They were able to arrange a room for me a day early and provide a personalized pick up at the airport. Once I was settled, I was able to speak to Stephen (back at home) with the help of Amit, to let him know I had arrived safely. I will never be able to speak enough about Amit and his colleagues and how easy they make this travel for us. He is truly a fantastic person to work with!

Anyway, back to the hotel. The lobby is gorgeous! I feel like I am back at the Intercontinental. I believe that they are on the same road near the airport. My room is just lovely and I can't wait to see the view tomorrow when the sun is out. I will take some pics and post them for all to see in case other IP's are considering staying here.

I received a beautiful floral arrangement from the docs. I am assuming that I will be contacted by them tomorrow in the morning to set up some schedules and such. It feels nice to be back in Mumbai and I am looking forward to a very, very successful trip this time!!

Thanks for reading and talk soon!

Busy bees

2011-01-23T21:46:00.000-05:00

I don't know why our life is so often like this, but it seems that we like to do major things in a short amount of time. In the next four weeks, we will: leave a job (me), start a new territory (Stephen), fly to India, get a ton of eggs that will fertilize, fly home from India, move all of our stuff out of storage, drive to NC, close on a new house, get "the call", unpack, paint, and enroll Stephen in a new school. Plus hold back the tears when I leave work, leave my son to go to India, and when I say goodbye to my family and friends. Not really sure why life is like this for us. Maybe we could've tried to spread things out a little more, but we are used to life like this!

Our trip to Mumbai is creeping up on us. I start meds on Friday and fly out next Tuesday. Stephen will join me later that weekend. So many have asked if I am ok to fly to India by myself and I think I definitely am. I feel very comfortable with our doctors, their drivers, and our travel coordinator, Amit. He makes traveling to Mumbai a breeze. I will admit, it will be so weird to be half a world away from my hubby and son for a few days. I will be communicating with them through Skype and email, but it will still be tough.

I have fallen asleep a few nights watching The Secret on youtube.com. I can't find my dvd (it is probably in storage), so I watch it any way I can. I also just purchased The Law of Happiness. It is a book about spiritual wisdom and modern science. It looked great when I flipped through and I am excited to read it. I'll keep you all posted on how it is.

Check back for posts next weekend once the meds begin. Oh, how my hubby loves those meds ;)

Thoughts in My Head

2011-01-16T22:14:00.003-05:00

Within the past two weeks, the topic of visualization has been circling around in my life. A few weeks ago, Stephen and I were talking to a pastor about our situation and how we should continue to stay positive and wish for the best. He told us some advice that we have taken to heart. He told us to tell God that we are ready. Meaning, ask him for what we want... another child or two. We have prayed and prayed for years for this to happen, but we have never asked for it to happen. The pastor said it is like putting the ball in God's court. So, here we are, asking and putting it in God's court.

Then, the other night, while watching Oprah (thanks to DVR), Bob Greene was talking about having the life you want. That you need to know what you want (a baby or two) and then visualize this. I have been doing this with more concentration every day since then. This really focuses on a book that was brought to my attention when we began this journey and one of my most supportive friend quoted to me every day while we were together while we were in Mumbai. She was there on baby pick up and we were there on baby making. The book I am talking about is The Secret. I have read this book so many times it is worn through. I have watched the movie when I didn't have time to read the book. I have really made changes in my life to be more positive and visualize our dreams and make them realities.

I am just putting it out there, for everyone to see and read and visualize with me. I am making it super clear to the powers that be of the universe and God that we are asking for another baby (or two). We want a sibling(s) for little Stephen to grow with and have a great bond with. Please, whoever is out there listening, let this be in our future this year. Even little Stephen is asking when he can have a brother or sister.

Moving... again

2011-01-13T20:17:00.005-05:00

That's right, you read it. We are moving back to NC at the end of February. Stephen was assigned a new territory after his company was bought out by another company. Since there are already regional sales executives in the Tri-state area, we are getting bumped on down the road. We will be moving to a different part of NC, which will be closer to my parents and a few hours from his. We have already bought a house and we close at the end of next month. Here is a picture of our new house:

We are really excited to get back into our own space. We have been living with my parents since July. While it has worked out very nice, we are ready to be back on our own. I am kinda upset about leaving my job. I found a fantastic school district that I have been working in since September. The staff is great, the kids are great, and the parents are supportive. I was really able to spread my wings a bit there and I enjoyed it.

Moving onto the million dollar question: We are going back to India in about 2.5 weeks. I am very confident that this will be THE time it all comes together for us. I've had good numbers, good scans, and a great, positive attitude. We decided we would pick a SM that was young, had two kids or more, and was experienced as a surrogate. Guess what! We got all three requests. We couldn't believe our eyes when we read her profile. But here is the best part, she shares the same birthday as our son. Once we saw that, we knew for sure that she was the one to help us grow our family. We are very excited. I am nervous to leave my son again because he had a tough time while we were away, but he will continue to go to school while we are gone and hopefully that will keep him busy. Also, I am arriving in India earlier than Stephen. He is going to stay behind until he has to be there to deliver his goods.

There has been a big baby boom and BFP's all over the place lately. Congratulations to all of you who have picked up your bundles and those who are watching them in the scans. I wish for you all a happy road with your children. Please keep us in your thoughts over the next 4-5 weeks. We have a lot going on and we want the best outcomes out for all situations!

Christmas Eve in our new pajamas ;)

Thanks for reading :)

Where Is the Time Going?

2010-12-14T21:50:00.002-05:00

Time passes so quickly lately. I can't believe that it is already December and 2010 is about to come to an end. There is not too much to update. We are still living with my parents. Stephen's company was bought out a few months ago and we are riding out the wave to see if his territory is going to change. The company that bought his has a few reps in this area again. Time will tell! Funny how sometimes it feels like days fly by and sometimes it feels like they aren't moving at all.

Congrats to all my surro friends that have had their babies in the last few months. What a big sigh of success!!

We have plans to travel over the holiday break and I am excited to get into some warmer weather. Now I remember why I wanted to move to NC, because the winters in Jersey are horrendous! It was 8 degrees today with the wind chill. That is freezing! That is beyond freezing! I wanted to hop on a plane to the Bahamas today. Hint, hint, honey!!

Hope you all have a happy holiday (or have had a happy holiday already) and a very festive New Year!! Here's to 2011, a year for lots of babies!!

Just For Fun

2010-10-12T00:22:00.004-04:00

Just wanted to try this for fun and see what was displayed!

Stand up and listen

2010-09-18T00:26:00.003-04:00

Do you ever feel like you are in a room full of people screaming at the top of your lungs and no one is listening? That is how I feel after reading the comments on this article about surrogacy and India. Seriously people, if you are not involved in the situation, don't you have a better way to spread your negativity? Do they understand what it takes to muster up the courage to embrace a journey like this and to tell people how you are going to create your family, since it is not the least bit traditional?!? Don't they understand how the women in India seek out the clinics to pursue surrogacy to also help their life situation improve. Maybe if they got on a plane themselves, took a forever flight to India, looked around a bit and ate their own piece of humble pie as they see how other people in the world live day to day, maybe then they would think before they speak.

Surrogacy has been a topic in my life and marriage now for three years. I've defended it to the end, I've been an advocate, an educator, and gabby gab to anyone who will listen. I've dealt with the questions, the reactions, and the "are you sure you want to do this" conversations. I've stayed positive even though we have lost two pregnancies. I still support each and every one in our little "surrogacy world" whether they are from blog land or forum land. Open your eyes people and look a little closer. There is a whole world that exists that you have no clue about. And until you have experienced it, then shut it! Just shut it and keep your opinion to yourself. Who is anyone to judge another for the choices they make in life? So to all those people who say we are exploiting the poor, taking advantage of Indian women, or outsourcing a pregnancy, try listening to our stories and feeling some empathy before you open your mouth and shove your foot in it!

http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/parenting/outsourcing-pregnancy-to-india-this-is-just-the-beginning-1753055/?pg=12#comments

Thanks to all the people who supported my comment and said their peace on this article. Love, love, love my surrogacy family!!

Third time a charm?

2010-08-19T10:06:00.002-04:00

It's official, we had a blighted ovum. Boohoo!! We were really hoping this was going to be the real deal. Thankfully, we have some frozen embryos and can try again in a few months. Third time is the charm, right?

updates

2010-08-06T09:16:00.002-04:00

It's been a while, but here are our updates:

We found out earlier this week we did not have a viable pregnancy, we had a blighted ovum. We are upset, but not wrecked like last year. We do have five frozen embryos that we can try with when Ms. S is ready to go. We will have a successful pregnancy sometime this year! I can just feel it!!

I have been offered a teaching job in Wyckoff, NJ. I am rather excited about it and looking forward to the start of school.

We enrolled Stephen in a preschool that I think will fit him well. We toured the school and he seemed to really like it, especially the basement gym filled with toys for rainy and snowy days.

We have not found a house to our liking yet. We have probably walked through 50+ houses now. We are being patient and know that the right house will come along. Thankfully, my parents don't mind that we are staying a little bit longer.

Over the next few weeks, we have a bit of traveling going on. We are headed back to NC to visit Stephen's parents and our friends and I am going to Michigan with my son and dad to visit his side of the family. I am so very excited to be going there. It has been too long and I really miss them.

So, please keep us in your thoughts, as well as our surrogate. I am sure she is very upset also. We know this will happen when the time is right.

Coming Clean...

2010-07-19T09:22:00.002-04:00

We have been dodging our blog for the last week, but we are ready to come clean. We received our results last week about our attempt with SI to get pregnant again. The results came back positive! We just received our first ultrasound report and it noted a single embryo that was well-defined. Our betas were great all week and we are so excited. We were a little reserved telling everyone, but we want to share our happy news with our friends and family. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers for an easy pregnancy. Looks like we'll be back in Mumbai in March. Just wanted to say thanks to all of our supporters, it helps us more than you know!

Say Goodbye to Bollywood!

2010-06-28T02:35:00.004-04:00

I am sitting here in our hotel room, get ready to pack up our things in order to leave this evening. We have tried and tried to change our flight with no avail, so we will be on the late night-16 hour-get me back to the US-so we can see our little man- flight. I am a big believer that things happen for a reason and feel that we are supposed to be here for the transfer today. We did not stay for the transfer last year because at that point we were away 11 days and we were really home sick. But today has just marked a week in Mumbai and although we are home sick, it has been much easier to manage.

Being a believer in signs and things like that, I just want to add that I did see two butterflies while I was here. The first was a few days ago while we were driving back from the doctor's office. The second was on my egg pick up day. The day before EPU, I watched The Secret. This is a way of life for some and I have tried to adopt these beliefs as much as possible. Stephen is following, slowly. Anyway, I used the visualization technique and kept visualizing positive results, a pregnant Ms. S, and good egg numbers. Like I said, all week, we were told I had only 8-9, but I kept saying in my mind there would be more. I also asked for a sign to suggest my prayers/thoughts were being heard. Fast foward to 7am on EPU day. SI sent a representative to help "navigate" the admission process. She was a lovely young woman who did speak some to us, but not much. While I was talking to her, on her finger, she wore a butterfly ring. At that precise moment, I knew that everything was going to go smoothly and things were lining up for us. I know I am going out on a stretch here, this is typically a taboo subject, but I am a believer of the "secret", of God's intervention, of the stars aligning in the universe for us.

Anyway, shifting gears, in a few hours we will be off to Lilavati Hospital to meet Ms. S again and tell her how much we appreciate her doing this for us. Ms. S is a beautiful, young mother of one. Her husband is very genuine and caring. They are very much in love and still giddy. Mr. S carries a world load of problems upon his shoulders and feels the pressure of the economy daily. He is doing the best to support his family and knows that this will help ensure his daughter has a great education which will hopefully perpetuate some success for their family. With that being said, our meeting was sincere and sweet. We told them how we longed for another baby or two. They told us how they wish better for their family. We were both very grateful to each other for different reasons. That is what I love about surrogacy in India. The families are so appreciative and humbled at the same time. They feel like we are doing them the greatest service, when we, IP's, feel the exact opposite. I would never be able to tell Ms. S enough what this means to us.

During our meeting, we spoke back and forth about careers, family, and hobbies. She is a stay at home mom now and cares for their daughter. It seemed as though we hit it off right away and we couldn't have asked for a better match. Ms. S told me that she "would take care of our baby" and I just lost it. I teared up through most of the meeting and it really warmed my heart when she said that. She is going to be a great surrogate and I am looking forward to seeing her again this afternoon.

Otherwise, we'd like to report that this has been a welcome adventure as always. We enjoyed our time here in Mumbai and at the Novotel Hotel. We especially enjoyed watching the waves pound into the beach from our room and also from the lounge. It is amazing how soothing the sound of the crashing waves can be. Stephen has faired very well on this trip. He has been very relaxed. It seems that it is time to come home because we are starting to dream and talk about the food we want when we get home. I know that most people are not as crazy as us when it comes to trying the food here, but we both had a horrific time last year after sampling food at the hotel restaurant. We, especially me, like to stay with safe foods while traveling abroad. Call me a wimp, but I like to feel good when I am away from home.

Finally, we would like to take this time to tell all you readers how much we appreciate and are grateful for your love, support, help, and wonder about our lives. We have always tried to share and be real about what is going on in our lives when it comes to India and our baby mission. Some people receive it very well, some not so well. But, again, a big thanks to you all. We love you and will talk to you again when we are back in the States!!!!!

Baker's Dozen

2010-06-26T08:47:00.001-04:00

Today could not have gone any better! We arrived at Lilavati Hospital on time and got into a room in a rather timely manner for India time standards. Right at 10 am, they took me to the OR to get ready for egg pick up. The procedure takes longer to prepare and recover from than the actual egg pick up. All week, my scans were showing 8-9 eggs, but today they retrieved 13 eggs!!! I was in shock when I woke up and Dr. Yash told me. I started crying and looking at Stephen in disbelief. Thirteen beats my number last year and far surpassed our expectations for this attempt. Since I am another year older, had a cyst, showed smaller numbers in the scans, this was a welcome surprise.

We feel very confident with our surrogate and the transfer will take place on Monday. Because Continental doesn't have "M" class tickets (a code for a coach seat at a certain price point), we will be here for the transfer. We are both anxious to get home to our little man, but it is ok that we will have to wait. I am glad that we can be here for the transfer and see our lovely surrogate again.

Please keep us in your prayers, as this is the time when we need them most. We have done all that we can possibly do to increase our chances, the rest is out of our hands. Tomorrow will be a relaxing day for us and we are looking forward to it. I didn't post yesterday, because we slept all day. Literally. We came back from breakfast with another SI couple here around 11 and slept until 8 pm or so. We did sleep through most of the night, but were disturbed by a 2:30 am knock at our door from the laundry man (?!?). We told him to go away and had a hard time getting back to bed.

We have been eating pizza every night for dinner. Breakfast is usually at the buffet downstairs. The eggs are made to order and we grab a ton of fresh fruit. Lunch is usually a microwave meal that we brought with us. We are out of ravoli, so it looks like tomorrow is macaroni and cheese. Yum!! While we were waiting to be discharged this afternoon, we started talking about the meals we want when we get home. Stephen wants a big juicy porterhouse steak and I want some chicken. It has been almost a week since we have had meat. It is starting to affect our thoughts! :) haha.

Thanks for all your support and comments. We have received a ton of emails and facebook comments also. We try to get back to you all, but the internet is in and out at the hotel. We love and miss you all. Can't wait to see you when we get back to the US. Stevie told us this morning as we skyped, three days left!!!!

Sweetest Day

2010-06-24T04:50:00.002-04:00

Today is going to be a sweet day because we get to meet our new surrogate!! We did a last minute switch upon the doctor's advice. The first surrogate we picked was on the smaller size, so they suggested someone a little taller. We were fine with that and had two women to chose from that will be ready for egg implant on Monday. Yay! Fingers crossed!!

Stephen went for a massage today at the spa. He said he really enjoyed it. He came back smelling like a satchel of spices. It was pretty funny. The room stills smells of the scent because it is on his clothes. He is asleep now and snoring a bit. Haha!

Good news on the egg retrieval, but bad news from Continental. We tried yesterday to change our flights to Saturday night, but they don't have the same class ticket in inventory. So, if we wanted to fly Saturday night, it would cost us a fare difference and change fee. That was over $3000!!! So unless "m" class seats become available, we are hanging in Mumbai until Monday night. We are going to keep calling Continental, hoping for a miracle to happen!!

I'll post more when we get back from meeting our surrogate!! :) :) :)

Good News!

2010-06-23T07:54:00.002-04:00

Good news!! Good news!! Egg pick up is on Saturday!! Yay!! That means tomorrow is my last day of injections. Tomorrow night is my trigger shot and then it's off to Lilavanti hospital Saturday morning. Woohoo!! We are happy with our egg count prediction and our odds of success!

We had a last minute change in our surrogate selection. Dr. Yash suggested a different surrogate because our first pick is a very, very tiny woman. She suggested someone (who is still tiny) but a little larger than they first in height and weight. We will meet her tomorrow when we head off to the doctors' office.

If everything goes well, we will try to head out Saturday night on the late flight and arrive home in the US on Sunday morning. Stevie will be so excited!! We are both drained, so we are taking a late afternoon nap. I am starting to feel some discomfort from my ovaries being so full. I hope a good nap will dull the aching for a while.

Thanks for reading... more later :)

Easy Day :)

2010-06-22T02:58:00.003-04:00

What an easy day today has been so far! We had an appointment for blood work this morning at the doctors' clinic. We were in and out relatively fast. Also, the rickshaws are on strike today because of rising gas prices, so there was no traffic! It took very little time to get back and forth to the hotel. And now, the rest of the day is ours to relax and catch up on sleep.

Funny comment about the pizza. In fact, we did have pizza yesterday for lunch. The pizza is from Pizza Hut and is pretty comparable to US Pizza Hut. Plus, it's cheap and they deliver. We got a pizza, bread sticks, and two cokes for under $10. Last night at dinner, we paid $15 for a bowl of plain bow-tie pasta. Tonight we are probably going to eat one of the meals we brought with us.

We are staying at the Novotel at Juhu Beach. We did stay here last year for a day and then switched to a different hotel. It had just opened when we arrived last year and they were still working out the kinks. It has been a pleasurable stay so far. There are a few restaurants open now and a outside lounge that overlooks the beach. We sat out by the pool/lounge area last night and enjoyed the breeze off the sea. It was very enjoyable. There is a spa on the second floor and we are going to look into their services today. Stephen has a weak spot for massages. He's already mentioned that he thought we should "test out" the spa. I'll keep ya posted!

Tomorrow, we are headed back to the hospital for another scan and the freezing of Stephen's swimmers. We are still hopeful for a Saturday egg pick-up and departure shortly after that. We are anxious to get home and see our little man. We discovered yesterday that he reacted better to us calling first thing in the morning instead of at night. He was running a fever, but that is gone. Philly took him to the doctor to test for Strep, since his cousins came down with it. They spent all last week together, so maybe that was the reason for the fever. He told us that he has been playing golf with his Pops. We can't wait to see him on the course "playing" golf.

Keep your fingers crossed for a good scan tomorrow. Hopefully my eggs will have increased a good amount in size. We have taken a few photos and hope to get them up in the next day or so.

Cool and calm

2010-06-21T09:46:00.001-04:00

First, I'd like to thank you all for the comments and support. We are very blessed to have such wonderful family and friends who make this trip a lot easier. We are encouraged every time we read your comments. They are like the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

We were able to fall asleep for a few hours before the doctors were calling to set up our first appointment. We met them at the Lilavanti Hospital for my scan. So far, so good. I've got about the same number of eggs as last summer. So, I will continue my injections and let them grow to the desirable size needed. Dr. Yash commented that my egg pick up could be Saturday or Monday. We will just have to wait a few more days to check them again. We met another couple from Australia at the hospital that were going through the same process as us. They are a few days ahead of us, nearing the end of their time in India. I hope we will see them again before they leave. If not, we suggested we all meet back up in 9 months. That's the mantra around here, believe it will happen and it will. We believe that this will be a success again and we will be back in 9 months for baby pick up.

It feels like a different trip this time. We knew what to expect from last year. Stephen is much more calm and relaxed, which makes it easy for me to stay calm and relaxed. We are not as nervous about being here or what we need to do. Things seems very familiar to us this trip and we recognized and remembered a lot of places and things from last year. We are back in the original hotel we stayed in last summer. It was just opening last year and a lot of things had to be ironed out. We have been assured that the wrinkles have been smoothed and we are looking forward to our stay here. We are on the beach and look forward to spending sometime walking up and down the shore.

We spoke with Stevie this morning. He did much better this time with the conversation. We were almost hesitant to call because he has been getting so upset. Stephen's parents are taking great care of him and keeping his as busy as a bee. Although it is tough to be away from him, we realize it is a short time in the grand scheme of our lives and will provide us with the family we want.

It is almost dinner time here, but we are on such a delayed schedule, that we hardly noticed. Having a layover in Germany was tougher than we thought. It's really hard to grasp the concept of time when you cross so many time zones and are in certain places for meal times. Luckily, we brought an entire suitcase of food with us and our travel coordinator, Amit, set a microwave up in our room. We will be able to eat a lot of the food we brought for our meals and keep our appetites in order. We had a hard time last year with the food agreeing with us, that we came prepared.

It was nice to chat and we will update again tomorrow. :)

Touch down in Mumbai!

2010-06-20T18:24:00.002-04:00

After almost 24 hours of travel, we have arrived in Mumbai. We had a lay over this morning in Frankfurt, Germany. Germany was very interesting. I noticed two things immediately about Germany: 1. the people are very tall there and 2. they drink beer with breakfast. I couldn't get over watching men and women eat their breakfast and down a beer. It was hysterical. Even on the flight to Mumbai, they offered (for free, in coach) beer, wine, Bailey's, and something else I can't seem to remember right now.

We are exhausted to say the least. We did not sleep much on the first flight, but we did catch up on sleep on the second flight. We arrived here in the middle of the night and it was humid and damp out. The car driver said the monsoons have been pretty bad so far, let's hope the rain stays away while we are here.

We contacted our parents and told them we were here safely. We talked with Stevie and he cried for the second time since we've been away. That has been the hardest on us so far. He makes me just want to get on a plane and turn right around and go home. Please keep us and our families in your prayers this week as it is going to be hard to be away from each other. Thanks and talk more tomorrow!!

Packing Our Bags

2010-06-19T00:03:00.003-04:00

Here we are, in NJ, getting ready to leave on our big trip to India tomorrow. We have so much to do before we get on the plane, I'm exhausted even thinking about it. We spent most of today unpacking what we brought with us and then had a lovely dinner with friends and family.

We have already skyped with Stephen and we miss him tons already. I would love to write more, but I am exhausted and need to get to bed. Just really wanted to say....

WE LEAVE TOMORROW!!! YAY!!!

2WW

2010-06-06T21:54:00.002-04:00

We are in the 2WW as in.... getting to India. This time, two weeks from now, we will be landing in Mumbai. It is crazy to think of how fast it has come again. We are praying for a wonderfully successful trip. As many of you know, there is a lot of planning involved in a trip like this. It consumes your life as you scrutinize the blogs and forums for more information on your docs, friends, and results. It is also very emotionally taxing. We are gearing up for our journey and starting to get all the little details in order.

Tomorrow, we close on our house. We will be "homeless" technically. We will also be without the general monthly expenses. That sounds nice, even if it is just for a month or so.

I have been watching the news tonight and am happy to see that Joran van der Sloot has been captured and is resting comfortably in jail tonight in Peru. I hope they nail his ass to the wall. I always followed the Natalie Holloway case and wondered how they let that guy go free. I hope that he gets what he has coming and these two families can have some peace in their life, knowing that justice has been served. Now, if you know me, I never speak about things like this, but I can't hold it in. Every dog has its day!

We've got a lot going on this week. This is my last week of school with students. It is kinda sad because I am going to miss them. I always miss my students. Also, because I will not see them again for a while. I'm sure when I visit, I will stop by school to say hi to all my friends. I have a small procedure happening Tuesday. So keep your fingers crossed for me. Nothing big, just necessary to help out with our results in India.

Stephen made it through his surgery just fine. I did break down and cry when they wheeled him away to the OR. My hubby comforted me just as he should. Before we knew it, the doctors were coming out telling us that he was out of the OR and in the Recovery Room. After one good vomit, he felt much better. By noon, he was riding his bike and jumping on his trampoline.

Well all my blog friends, it is time to say goodnight. Hope you all have a good week and talk soon!!

New places, new faces

2010-06-01T22:17:00.003-04:00

Ohmygosh!! Life has been beyond crazy for us these past weeks, but more specifically this weekend. We moved out of our house and have relocated into my in-law's house. They have graciously invited us (me, Stephen, Stevie, Buddy, and Max) into their home. We are calling this home for a little while and Stevie doesn't understand why we can't go to our "home". It's time for new places, my son.

Buddy has already fallen into the pool. He tried to walk across the cover and realized his mistake very quickly. Thankfully, Stephen was there to the rescue. We are the only couple with a lab who does NOT like to swim or even get wet! Other than that, we have been lucky moving in.

We leave for India in just over two weeks. We are very excited, nervous, anxious, basically a whole gamete of emotions. We have our flights booked, working on the hotel, and I have all my meds.

Before I close this post, I would like to ask for you to say a special prayer for our son, Stephen. He is having a minor surgical procedure tomorrow to open his tear ducts and to have his adenoids taken out. It does not take long for both surgeries (the eye dr. and e.n.t. dr. are working together so it is only one procedure). He will only be under for about an hour, but I'm sure it will feel like the longest hour EVER!!! Thanks for the prayers and positive thoughts. :)

Is it time to stress yet??

2010-05-17T21:15:00.003-04:00

We just got through an important week: Stephen's birthday week. Yes, his birthday was on the 11th, but we celebrated for an entire week. It started off in NJ last Friday night. It was a small, quick celebration. It was a birthday weekend, Jackie, Stephen, Uncle John, Uncle Ed, and Meaghan all celebrated birthdays last week. When we got home, we had a family dinner on Tuesday night with Stephen's mom, dad, sister, and grandma. Then this weekend, we had the little kids celebration, complete with a bounce house! It was soooo much fun. The adults got in and bounced also. He thinks it is still his birthday.

We can't believe that he is three already. I cannot believe how fast time goes by. He is such a sweet boy, but definitely testing the water with us. He says or does the opposite of what we ask. Sometimes it is humorous, sometimes it is frustrating. For example, at dinner tonight, we asked him to sit down in his chair the right way. He responded that he would sit down the left way. We couldn't help but laugh. It was kinda funny.

So, should we talk about stress? We are closing now on the 7th of June. That is 3 weeks from today. That is two weekends to pack. We will be staying with my in-laws for a few days because I won't finish school until June 15th. We went house hunting last weekend while we were up in NJ and put an offer in on a house. But, we lost it this week to another offer! Whatever!! Not much more I want to say about that. It wasn't meant to be.

We are on track with our trip to India. We are leaving on June 18th. We are hoping to stay 10-11 days. Once we get back to the US, we will be moving up to NJ. To my parents' house. We thought we'd live with our both our parents until they kick us out! hahaha. Kidding. We are thankful that they will both let us reside with them here in NC and in NJ.

Random thoughts

2010-04-27T20:46:00.005-04:00

There are so many things on my mind lately, it's hard to remember if we are coming or going. The first piece of great news is that we are under contract with our house in NC. This happened way sooner than we ever imagined!! We put it up on the internet Monday, had a showing Wednesday, offer Friday, and contracts signed Sunday night. Wow... talk about fast paced! So Friday night came in with an offer and it was bittersweet. I actually had tears in my eyes. Although I am very excited about going back to NJ, I am really going to miss this house. We had it built, we picked out all the extras, we have done a ton of work to it. Plus, the biggest is Stephen's room!! He has the cutest mural painted on the walls. He is out growing it, but I still love it. I would love to have it replicated in our new house for our future children. We are also going to miss our family and friends. Saying goodbye is never easy. I feel a lot of tears coming on over the next 6 weeks. :(

Stephen has been traveling quite a bit over the last few weeks and I really just want him home. We have to start packing and making our plans to move and go to India. Speaking of India, we have chosen our new surrogate. We are very excited to meet her and let her help build our family. But today, for some reason, I thought about our visas to get in to India. Well, much to my dismay, our visas expire on June 22, 2010. We were planning on going to Mumbai on June 18th. Hmmm.... Big problem here. I am not sure how we are going to solve this one. I have read that you have to wait a month after the expiration date to apply for a new visa, which would put us into August. But, I've also read that you can apply earlier, while your current visa is still legit. Please advise if you know! We are going to try to apply early.

I am running a 5K this weekend. It is for two great causes: 1. Girls on the Run and 2. Susan Komen breast cancer research. Girls on the Run is a great program that is in my school. I've been asked to run by a girl in my class. She had to have an adult complete the race with her. I was really honored and excited that she would ask me to do this with her. I have been training for the past few weeks, but wouldn't you know that I have a cold this week! UGH! I am taking it easy and saving all my energy for Saturday morning. I am happy to support breast cancer research because so many women (including my dear Nana) are stricken with this. There are many survivors in our school and I am happy to run for them!

I have had the "why can't I just get pregnant" talk with so many friends lately. It seems like everywhere I turn, women are dealing with infertility issues. I am no different and the advice I can give is to hang in there, stay positive, and believe. We make life what we want it to be for ourselves. I am a big believer of visualization, positive thinking, and prayer. I had the most wonderful dream a few weeks ago about my Nana. She is in heaven now for two and a half years. I was laying in bed in my dream and Nana came and hovered right above me. She looked radiant. Her hair was done in curls and she had pink lipstick and was dressed in a white and pink striped shirt. She had a conversation with me that went something like this:
N: "What it is that you want?"
D: "Nana, I just want a brother or sister for Stephen."
N: "Which would you rather have?"
D: "I wouldn't mind a boy again, we have all the clothes and toys. I wouldn't mind a girl either."
N: "Well, it's going to be a girl. Get ready." "Now, stay calm, don't stress, and relax."
D: big smile on my face when I woke up

This is Nana with Stephen at 3 mos.

I believe that good things are ahead for us. Last year our big dilemma was if we should stay here in NC or go back to NJ. Well, that has been answered. I think this is the year when things start falling into place for us. The stars are lining up just like they have throughout my life. We are ready for the ride again!

Here We Go....

2010-04-16T23:20:00.004-04:00

Stephen celebrating Easter

Me, Emily (cousin), and Stephen dying eggs

So many updates to share with you all!!

First, school has been beyond busy this year and I have been under lots of paperwork for most of the year. Thankfully, we only have 41 days left! Woohoo!!!!!!

Second, Stevie is turning 3 next month, on May 11th. Wow, time really flies. It seems just like yesterday that I was pushing that little man out. He has really grown into the terrible two's lately. Every answer is "no", "I don't want to", but we are managing well. Hopefully this will not last long.

Next, we are moving back to NJ! Yay! We are relocating for Stephen's new job. It was an opportunity he just couldn't pass up. He actually has been working from here for the last month with his new company and loves it. It is nice to have him loving what he does :) We are planning on moving to NJ early July. I get out of school June 15th, so shortly after that. We have been having an open house as often as possible to help sell it as quickly as possible. We are listing in on all the common websites to help gain exposure. St. Joseph is already hiding in the bush to help attract buyers. He has worked at the last three houses.

We are waiting for July to move because we are headed back to Mumbai to visit our good friends at SI. In fact, we just notified them of our surrogate choice tonight. We are going to leave hopefully right after I get out of school. We will spend our 2WW packing, driving, and unpacking, which will unload a lot of nerves. We are hoping again for a positive and a better experience after we receive that positive. Please keep us in your prayers and thoughts.

I would love to blog more often, but things are just a little bit crazy right now. I have been applying online for teaching jobs in a state where the governor slashed the budget and is now threatening the pension system. Online applications take forever to fill out and you attach a resume on top of that! I hope that I get something, but secretly wouldn't mind spending sometime with my little man. So between current job, looking for a new job, moving, packing, and planning a trip to India, we are limited on free time. I have to secretly admit we do spend a lot of our free time on FB playing bejeweled ;) What a great way to de-stress!!

Christmas and 2010

2010-01-19T13:22:00.003-05:00

So we are a bit late with sharing Christmas photos, but better late than never. We celebrated Christmas with Stephen's family the weekend before Christmas. It was a lot of fun to watch Stevie and his three cousins play. They had such a great time and Stevie keeps asking when they are coming back to NC. We received wonderful gifts from Santa with the Craters. The gift we were most excited about giving to Stevie was his Curious George. He is beyond obsessed with Curious at the moment. We also celebrated with Stephen's extended family at the Petree Christmas party. It was nice to see everyone and catch up.

After leaving the Petree party, we packed the car and headed to NJ. We usually stop in DC to spend the night with Laura and this time was no different. When we got to Laura's (she was already in NJ), there was roughly 2 feet of snow on the ground. It was exciting to see because we just don't get snow that often where we are. We got NJ early the next afternoon and started unpacking our truck. We thought it was full then, but we had no clue for what we were in for coming home.

We had a great time at my family's Christmas Eve party. It was nice to see all my family. We all try our best to make if for Christmas Eve and then go separate ways on Christmas Day. Stevie got to play with my younger cousins and it was so cute. He really likes hanging out with them and playing. I love to see the interaction between them all. He had a great time opening his gifts and got to bed a little past his bedtime that night. Some members of my family convinced us to go the Zoo for a drink or two after Stevie was asleep. That was a crazy idea, considering we did even have our gifts wrapped. But we went anyway. I think we got to bed around 2 or 3 that night.

Christmas morning was so exciting this year because Stevie was really excited about opening gifts. He received a lot of gifts from Santa. Grandma and Grandpa also indulged in giving Stevie gifts this year. Jackie and her family came over later evening and exchanged gifts. It was at this point that we realized it was going to be a challenge to get home.

Stephen gave me the best gift this year. He surprised me with tickets to Jersey Boys on Broadway and booked a room at the Hilton in Times Square. We did something very similar last year, but I knew about it. We had a delicious dinner in the city, at a restaurant recommended by James and Tiffany, a great time at the play, and then fun walking back to the hotel in the pouring rain. It was one of the yuckiest days I've ever seen in the city. Thanks babe for such a great surprise!

We spent the rest of the week ripping up my parents' bathroom on the first floor and re-tiling it. All I'm going to say about that project is too many cooks in the kitchen. Otherwise, it came out beautiful! We spent New Year's Eve with my mom, dad, Jackie, and Rich. We went to Que Pasta, a good Italian restaurant that serves homemade pasta. I love homemade pasta! We rang in the New Year and went to bed. My family came over the next day to celebrate 2010 and also a quick happy birthday to me.

We were sad to leave, but it was time to get home and back into the swing of things here in NC. We won't be back up in NJ until the spring and that seems like forever away! We did enjoy a visit from Meaghan right after we got home. Poor Stevie had a stomach bug while she was here. It didn't ruin the weekend, but it put a damper on things a bit. We enjoyed having Meg here and were very sad to see her go!

We're back...

2009-11-07T21:48:00.002-05:00

We're back in the saddle again...

That is a funny song my dad used to sing when we were all driving in the car on summer vacation. I always think of it when things start to kick off, no matter what they are. We are getting back into the swing of things in our life. We just wanted to thank you all again for your love, support, and patience during the last 6-8 weeks. We are not defeated as we were once feeling, which is nice. We do have loose plans for the future, but are not up to sharing right now. Sorry!

So, Stephen has been in school for about 3 months now. It is amazing to see how well he is doing there. He wakes up everyday and asks if he can go to school. I hope that sticks! His sentences are getting longer and his vocabulary has quadrupled! It is unbelievable. He has made a few friends that he talks about regularly and gets excited to see them. It is just so cute. The best part of Stephen being at school is at the very end of the day, when we get to pick him up. He comes running with his arms open and hugs us. It is the best feeling in the entire world.

We spent Halloween up in NJ with my family. We went trick or treating with some of my high school friends and their children. It is hard to believe that we have kids now! It was nice to spend time with them and catch up. We got a chance to see lots of friends this time. Most of our meetings seemed to be at the Pub. Speaking of the Pub, I was able to bartend with my sis one night! It was so much fun. I helped her out for a private party. I am not sure how well the drinks tasted, but no one really complained. It was my first time mixing drinks and really bartending, and I really enjoyed it. I enjoyed the stupid conversations that the customers were having with me and I enjoyed spending time with my sister! She is the bestest :)

It feels good to be back in the blogging world. I have been writing blogs in my head for a week or so now, so I knew it was time to give a little TLC to this site. Thanks, as always, for your love and support. Check back for regular posts now!

Hanging in

2009-09-03T21:21:00.002-04:00

That is how we are doing. We are hanging in there, some days better than others. We can't thank you all enough (family, friends, and friends of friends) for your love and support during this time. It is incredibly difficult to still think about, but we will get through this. We have a little two year old that is gives us more joy each day. He has helped us laugh a little this week. We are trying to stay positive and encourage each other as much as we can. We spoke with Fr. Joe, which is also the priest who married us. He was a good sounding board and blessed our two angels that are in heaven. It was very emotional, but very healing. Please keep us, our surrogate, and our doctors in your thoughts. They are just as upset as we are. Stay tuned, we will be back.

:(

2009-08-29T22:25:00.002-04:00

We lost our twins today. Please pray for us and our surrogate. She had a fall and miscarried. This is devastating news for all involved. :( :(

Summer fun

2009-08-23T21:14:00.005-04:00

Stevie and I went to a museum two weeks ago with my friend, Jen, and her two children. Stevie had such a great time there and we are looking forward to going back soon. Here are some cute pics from that day :)

Stevie on the Magic School Bus

Yes, he is drilling into an enormous set of teeth!

Playing alphabet puzzles :)

Then last weekend, Stephen played in a softball tournament out in Mocksville. Stevie and I went to the first game and then went home. Stephen's team ended up winning the tournament. He had a great time swinging the bat. Here are some pics of Stevie at the tournament, in his Yankees' helmet, of course!

जुड़वा

2009-08-18T22:29:00.008-04:00

There is no better way to start a day than seeing a little skype bubble pop up from SI. Although we do have regular updates from the wonderful docs, we always are hungry for more information. It had been about a week from our last contact with Dr. S and Dr. Y about our lovely beta numbers and we were getting antsy! We knew the numbers were a bit on the high side, but still well within the singleton statistics. We desperately wanted to know how many little embies were hanging out with us for the next nine months. We checked our emails, did research trying to predict it ourselves, and even test drove cars that are a bit bigger, just in case.

Well.... Dr. S asked us today how we would like to have twins, because that is what we are having!!! I had an exciting conversation with him this morning and he told us the news. I was so excited and overwhelmed, that I cried all the way to work. I called Stephen (who is out of town) and told him the news. We were both elated. This is just what we wanted. We wanted a family of three.

Over the course of the day, things started piecing together in my mind from the last two years. Many people have told me today, "When God brings you through troubles, he doubles the blessing." Ok, I am not sure if that is it word for word, but it is the meaning that counts. I know why those horrifying things happened to me, I know why the other surgeries to open my uterus were not successful, I know why we are where we are in our life. I know this because it makes sense now. We are bringing two beautiful babies into our family, into this world, that were made out of a love so strong between Stephen and I. We are helping Ms. K. and her family to give them better things in their lives. What better way to live than helping people? Stephen and I will never find enough ways to thank the SI docs, the SI team, and Ms. K. for what they are giving to us. They are giving us the greatest gift, a miracle, well... two miracles. Long before that though, they gave us hope. They gave us hope that we could have the family that we wanted, that I could have more children, most importantly, that I was not broken.

Not too many people know how we struggled after Dr. I-don't-care-that-you-are-bleeding-to-death sent us home, only to be rushed back again the next day. We went through endless boxes of tissues, crying and wondering why. Why did that happen, how could he let it happen, and most of all, we wondered how we were going to pick up our pieces and move on. It was not pretty, it was not quick, it was not over until very, very recently. But, it is clear to me now, so very clear. It was to bring us to this. Was it the best road to get here? No way! But, it is bringing us children that were meant for us and meant to happen this way. I will be grateful for that always. I could never have duplicated these two blessings that are coming into our life, even if I could get pregnant. That is the true miracle.

Enough with the reminiscing, I have to get back to school work. My mom told me that I had to blog today for the ladies at her work!! Shout out to AW Meyers!! Thank you again for reading this and supporting us. Please pray that we have a very, very boring, uneventful, and healthy nine months! P.S. the title of this blog reads "twins" in Hindi ;)

Life, even in the hardest times, is full of moments to savor. They will not come this way again, not in this way.
Paula Rinehart

Randomness

2009-08-09T21:43:00.007-04:00

We are still on cloud nine over our news! Our prayers have been answered, our wounds are healing, and we are so thankful for what is happening in our life right now. Stephen and I celebrated our 4th anniversary this past Thursday. The night before, we found out we were pregnant. There will never be a better anniversary gift than that! For all of you who inquired, our first HCG (or beta) was 574. Pretty strong for a first number. We pray that Ms. K. is feeling good and as excited as we are. We have asked SI how she is doing and we have been told that she is in good spirits and otherwise well. Thank you for ALL the emails, phone calls, PM's, text messages, and every other way we were contacted. We are so happy to share this wonderful news with you :)

Back to our anniversary, I told Stephen that it felt like we have been married for much longer just because of all the things we have been through so far. Our marriage has been tested time and again and has only strengthened. We have been through 3 houses, 2 cars, deaths, birth, emergencies, 30th birthdays, numerous surgeries, and everything in between. We both feel like our wounds are healing and we can really put the past in the past, where it belongs. We have changed the way we think of things, how we perceive what has happened to us, and feel that there is only more good to come out of our life together. We are so grateful to have each other and truly know that we were meant to be.

Stevie has an update of his own, tomorrow he is "unofficially" starting preschool. We are starting him with two days this week and then full time next week. We all went there on Friday to let him look around and get comfortable with the new surroundings. He saw some friends that he knows and immediately went to the "beep beep" car. He had a great time. He kept telling me today that he was going to school tomorrow to do work. How cute! If he only knew how many years of "work" are to come. Otherwise, he is enjoying his summer and his time with me. We hang out in the morning and then swim or play in the afternoon. He is finally back to a regular bedtime schedule in his crib (thanks mom and all others who skipped the crib)... ;) Just teasing. It was somewhat of a challenge to get him into his routine.

So, Stevie and I are both going to school tomorrow. I decided to pop in my room and start getting things set up. It should be quiet and those are usually the best days to work. I am still thinking of a way to explain to my students that we are having a baby, but I will not look pregnant. hmmm.... any suggestions, let me know.

We have decided to repaint the dining room. It is a beautiful red, but a few weeks ago, I found new linens that are brown and blue. I am in love with these linens and want to repaint to show them off. Thankfully, Stephen is pretty easy about that stuff and agreed. I just have to get the time to do it now.

I think these are all the thoughts that have been wandering in my mind for my latest post. Hope you all enjoyed reading thus far and you have a great day :)

Stevie in my dad's 54 Ford, cruisin' for chicks...

Peter testing the riding lawn mower... I believe he liked it! Pete, you can mow ANYTIME!!!

Stevie in his "beep beep" car at Gamma and Umpa's

Stevie with my glasses, going to do "work"

Drum Roll Please............

2009-08-06T08:14:00.003-04:00

We received a phone call about 11:30 pm last night with the results of our transfer and..... we have a POSITIVE pregnancy!!!!!!!!!!! We cried and cried and cried. Most of you know the struggles we have gone through since Stephen's birth. We are just so thankful for all the great things that are in our life right now and for all the things to come! A big thanks to all of our family, friends, "surro" friends, and of course the wonderful SI team!!! Without your love, support, and comments, we wouldn't have been so strong and determined! Thank you again :) :) :)

Patience

2009-08-01T23:59:00.002-04:00

is one of my best virtues, not Stephen's though. Surprisingly, we have been very calm during our two week wait. It may be that we have a two year old running circles around us. He doesn't leave much time for our thoughts, so we stay positive.
I recently received a book called Happily Grateful from my mom's boss. She gave it to us for our trip to India. I read through it again tonight and came across my new favorite quote. It sums up our attitude for the next few days!

"Today I live in the quiet, joyous expectation of good."
Ernest Holman

Enough said, we patiently wait :)

Transfer

2009-07-23T08:09:00.003-04:00

We are caught up on our sleep for the most part. We slept almost 2 days straight. I tell you, the time difference really hurts on the way home. We have been spending a lot of time with Stevie and he doesn't usually want to leave our side.

Yesterday we spoke with Dr. Sudhir and Dr. Yash and we were told that they transferred three "really good looking" embryos. So, ladies and gents, keep your fingers crossed and say some prayers for us, because the two week wait is on!! We should hear something early August.

We are really touched by how many people are following our blog and the amount of comments and emails we have received. It means a lot to us and helps us stay focused on our goal. We were very skeptical about telling people other than our family because it is such a foreign concept for building a family.

So, we will continue to post, not on a daily basis, but every few days. Stevie occupies all of our time, so we will do updates on him. We are going back to NC this weekend because Stephen has to get back to work on Monday and my summer is slowly slipping away. We start school on the 17th of August. I'm not sure when the kids get there, but it won't be too long after that. Why can't we go back in September?!?!?

Home, Sweet Home

2009-07-21T09:17:00.001-04:00

We have arrived safely in Newark this morning and are resting at my parents' house. We woke Stevie up as soon as we came home and words can not express how happy we all were to see each other. More later, after we catch up on sleep. Thanks for all the great comments yesterday :)

Great news!

2009-07-20T07:50:00.003-04:00

We have two pieces of great news to share....

1. EPU went fabulously. It was quick and flawless. They were able to retrieve my eggs and hopefully they have already been introduced to Stephen's swimmers... haha. Transfer will be on Wednesday sometime. Stick, babies, stick!!

2. We are flying home tonight!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I feel fantastic, we've spoken with the doctors, and most importantly we are all packed. So, we are off to the airport in 90 minutes or so to check in. We are very excited to get home and see Stevie. We miss him so much.

So, to all our of family and friends, thanks for the support and positive vibes sent our way. We will catch up with you guys when we are back in the US!!!!

Hospital Tour

2009-07-19T09:04:00.003-04:00

Today, Stephen and I decided to visit the hospital where our baby(ies) will be born. It is a different hospital than where we have been visiting and getting our lab work done. It is a more modern hospital, built within the last 5 years and is very nice. We were able to see a L&D room, where a C-section would take place, and the regular room where we will stay with our baby. It was very reassuring to visit this hospital and it helps us keep focus on our goals.

While we were there, we were able to visit with another couple here for baby pickup. They also had a daughter a few days ago and she is precious. Dr. Yash told us that all 4 babies that have been born so far have been girls.... hmmm... is there a pattern? She said to Stephen that they pick the best sperm and that they are always the girl sperm. We all got a laugh. He told Dr. Sudhir to pick the sperm for us and to pick a boy. It is all in good fun. We will be happy with either a girl or boy, or both!! The fact of the matter is that we just want a sibling for Stevie. We did joke with Dr. Yash that if we had a boy, we would name it Dominic and for short, Dom. That would be after all the Domino's pizza we have eaten here.

We are both SICK of pizza!! I mean, we have had it everyday. I don't want to see pizza for a very long time. I had a second dream last night about a ham and cheese sandwich. Yum!!! We can't wait for a glass of milk either. We are in the home stretch though. Tuesday we are getting ready to fly home.

Last night I did my trigger shot, well I should say shots. It took seven injections to get all the medicine in. Talk about a tender stomach. I am so glad that my injections are all over. In total, I have taken 42 injections in the last 3 weeks. That is a lot for me, but I realize not as much for others. Tomorrow morning, bright and early we are going to the hospital for the egg pick up. I believe my surgery time is scheduled for 930 am. It is a quick procedure, usually about 20 minutes. Stephen will also give a fresh sample of his swimmers tomorrow. Then, shortly after, we will come back to the hotel. Our transfer will be on Wednesday. The eggs should be in by the time we get back to the US on Wednesday morning. We are beyond excited and just very positive right now!

We are venturing out to the Leela hotel tonight for Italian. We are going with Chaya and Sam and their kids. The hotel is right across the street and we should have no problem getting over there. It is going to be nice to see another hotel and have a change of atmosphere. That's all for now, I will post again tomorrow after I get back from my EPU!! Here's to lots of follicles that form into embryos :)

Trigger shot!!

2009-07-18T05:35:00.004-04:00

Today was an exact repeat of yesterday. Tons of extra sleep, sat by the pool for a while with friends, and hanging out in the room.

The really good thing about today is that I officially had my last injections of Lupron and Gonal-F. What a relief, my stomach is bruised up a bit. Tonight is the trigger shot and no other needles until the IV on Monday!! The trigger shot, for those who are lucky to not be challenged in the fertility department, is to help all my follicles mature and get ready to be released. You have to take your trigger shot appoximately 36 hours before egg pick up. Three weeks of injections has worn on my body and I am ready to feel like myself again :)

Hope you all have a great day and thanks for the continued support, cheer, and comments. We look forward to them because they really keep us going!!

Hanging out

2009-07-17T09:24:00.003-04:00

We had a very relaxing day today. It started off early though, a 530 am call home to skype with Stevie. He talks just for a few minutes and then we pass the computer around to anyone that is there. It is great that we are able to see him, because we are both at the point where we really miss him now. A very comforting fact is that he is having a great time in New Jersey. Somehow, he suckered my family into letting him nap on the couch and not the crib. hmmmmm..... spoiled a bit? It is ok, we don't mind as along as he is happy and comfortable. My dad is handling him Friday by himself though and that should be real interesting. I think they are going for a haircut, just a trim dad, no buzz, please!!!

We had breakfast with our friends and then came back to the room and slept until 230 in the afternoon. We headed down to the pool after that because it was sunny today! We were hanging out at the pool and ran into our friend Dave from Tennessee and decided to go sight seeing with him again tomorrow. Then our friends Chaya, Sam, Justin, and baby Ella, came to the pool to hang out for a while. We are very grateful to have met all these people and enjoy their company immensely. We were also informed that another member of our online surro family is coming here in the next day or so because their baby was born this morning. Hopefully we will be able to meet her and her husband and congratulate them in person!

After the pool, we came back to the room and we are just hanging out. Thankfully, we have a better internet connection today, so we were able to catch up on email and things like that. We officially changed our flight to depart Tuesday night and arrive in the US on Wednesday morning.

We are not scheduled to do anything with the doctors until Monday, which is for sure, my egg retrieval. Dr. Yash saw a few more developing, so it looks like maybe 12-14 eggs. She was very happy to see this and told us we will have several to freeze if we want to have more. We were also excited to see that things are progressing properly, even if it is a little slower than expected.

So, that's all for today. More updates tomorrow. I am going to try to see the cathedral here tomorrow, as I have read that it is beautiful. I have my St. Gerard medal around my neck, which was given to me by Kelly and Gerard, which was originally Nana's. I have been praying everyday and will continue to. For those of you not familiar with Catholic saints, St. Gerard is the patron saint of expectant mothers. Positive thinking brings positive results! Also, we saw another butterfly today!!! ;)

Thursday

2009-07-16T13:03:00.003-04:00

This is going to be short and sweet. We have had a long day and the Internet was down most of the day. We went for the anesthesia test and everything looks good. They just ask some simple questions about your general health and past surgeries. My number of surgeries is getting longer and I definitely want this egg pick up to the be last one for a very long time. Then we went for a follicle scan. Wouldn't you know they still are NOT ready. They are still growing. So, Monday is THE day for the pick up, no doubt. Trigger shot is Saturday night and EPU on Monday around 930am. That means we will leave here on Tuesday and be in the US Wednesday morning. We are anxious to get home at this point. We miss Stevie and the comforts of the US more than you can imagine. So, we are off to bed and will have some more tomorrow.

Good things come to those who wait...

2009-07-15T07:58:00.010-04:00

Today was the day we have waited over a year for. We finally met our surrogate!! She is a beautiful, 26 year old Indian woman with a husband and two children. She came with her husband and her 4.5 year old son to the doctor's office this afternoon. We signed all the necessary paper work and then sat down to chat. I was so overwhelmed and overjoyed that I started to cry. Stephen had a few teary moments also. We are just so grateful for what Mrs. K is going to be doing for us. She is going to complete our family puzzle with another child or two. She was very shy and quiet, but was very pleasant to talk with (through the help of Ravi). We found out that she is a seamstress, so to speak. She does it as her profession and her hobby. She told me she would make me some clothing. Her husband is a waiter at a restaurant near where they live. Her son was the cutest little boy ever and he is the same size as Stevie. Her daughter was with the grandmother to help look after her and attend school.

We gave them some gifts as a token of our gratitude. Not that we could ever give them a gift as great as they will give us, but, we gave the children lots of coloring books, crayons, colored pencils, and construction paper. We gave her husband chocolates and then found out that he is not to fond of chocolate, but she and her children are. We gave her some various scented lotions that she seemed to enjoy. It was truly an amazing experience to try to tell this woman (without crying too much) how we appreciate her and are so thankful for what she is willing to do for us. I know she gets compensated, but it is not enough. It is truly a selfless act. She is already a special part of our lives.

After she left with her family, we ate lunch with the docs and their office staff. They had some delicious Indian food, while we had... well, you can guess. Pizza.

It is getting to be an old joke...
D- what do you want for lunch?
S- I don't know, what do you want?
D- Well, if we have pizza now, we can have pasta or hamburgers for dinner, OR, we could have pasta and hamburgers now and then pizza for dinner. Which do you want?

I don't even know why we bother having the conversation, we should just have them deliver automatically. hahaha. Stephen misses American food so much, that he had a dream about eating hot dogs last night. He told me that he wanted like 7 Ball Park hot dogs when we get home. He is silly, I know, but we do miss real food!!

I went to Dr. Yash's clinic after lunch, which is downstairs from her office. It looks like we can harvest 10-12 follicles, which it the number they aim for. They don't want too many more or less. But, they are still on the smaller size (16mm) when Dr. Yash would like them to 18-20mm each. So, I am stepping up my shots, I just gave one when we got back and then I will give another one tomorrow morning. I go for my anesthesia test tomorrow and she will scan again tomorrow. This will set us back for EPU on Saturday morning and egg transfer Monday. So, it looks like a flight home Monday night, arriving in the US on Tuesday morning.

Stephen had the pleasure of giving a sample of his little swimmers today. I asked him permission if I could post this and he agreed, with very limited details! He said the room was disgustingly disgusting. They will freeze this sample as a back up and take another fresh sample on Saturday morning when they collect my eggs. And that is all I am going to say about that. If you want more info, question him ;)

We are having dinner tonight with some friends from Canada that have been here to pick up their baby. She is almost a week old and sooo adorable! I can't remember if I posted about them or not, but we hung out in their room last night until about midnight. They are so cool and we all have so much in common. It is nice to sit down and talk to people that were where we are in this stage of the game. They give us tips and things to be aware of. We really enjoy spending time with them. It will be sad when we have to say goodbye. I feel like we will be lifelong friends that have been bonded over this experience. We may not see each other again, but will we remain in contact.

Aunt Julie wanted to see some photos of the place that we are staying. The name of the hotel is The Intercontinental at Lalit. We have not been able to take a picture of the outside or pool area because it is still raining. I did take some pictures of the lobby, which is gorgeous and our room. It is the basic room. Enjoy and talk to you tomorrow:)

Lobby

Lobby

Lobby

Stephen in the bed snoozing :)

Bathroom, which is lovely, separate shower and tub :)

Rain, rain, go away

2009-07-14T05:25:00.003-04:00

Well, we finally experienced a true "monsoon" day today. I was up about 6am and it has been raining, well, pouring, since I have been up. It is raining so hard that it is almost impossible to see in front of you. Some of Mumbai has flooded already and many things are beginning to close early so people can get home safely. That is exactly what happened to us. We were in the car for 5 minutes with Ajit when we got the call from Dr. Yash at the hospital that the lab was closing and we would have to reschedule everything for tomorrow. So, no scan today to see my follicles. After increasing my medicine the other day, I have begun to feel some discomfort in my abdomen. Today has been the most uncomfortable so far, so I was a little disappointed the scan was cancelled, because that may mean my EPU will now be Friday. So another injection of meds tonight and another 2 days of being uncomfortable. It is all worth it though.

Dr. Sudhir and Dr. Yash are going to try to come by tonight and visit with us to discuss the rest of the week's events. We are looking forward to seeing them and hearing what is in store over the next few days. We are going to be quite busy tomorrow because we will have the scan, the anethesia test, meet our surrogate and her hubby, and the signing of the contracts.

We skyped with Stevie yesterday and were able to talk to James, Jules, Meaghan, and my dad. Sorry, Mom, take lunch earlier ;) If you have not tried skype, you need to. It is really cool!! My mom and dad told us two days ago that Stevie climbed out of his crib the other night. OMG!!! I can't believe he is doing that. Stephen and I have talked about it, and it is probably time to get him a regular bed. We do not want him toppling out of his crib every night :( Ouch!! We are eager to hear if he tried it again.

That is it for now, it is kinda a boring day here. We have laid in bed and watched tv most, well, all of the day except for meals. If anything super exciting happens here, I'll surely post it ;) We just wanted to say how thankful we are for the support and love that we have felt these past few days while we have been here. We have heard from friends that we haven't talked to in a while either by comments, emails, or on facebook. It means a lot to us and helps us feel not so far away from home. Thanks everyone!!!!

Gateway of India

2009-07-13T08:20:00.009-04:00

Today we ventured out to downtown Mumbai. We were guided by Ajit, a wonderful tour guide and driver. We were also joined by a man named Dave, whom we met this morning at breakfast. He is also from the US and here on business. We left this morning at 11:30 and just returned a little after 5.

Stephen, Daria, and Ajit

We started out at the Gateway of India. What a beautiful monument to celebrate the British exiting India after giving up their control in the 1940s. Right behind the gateway of India is the famous Taj Mahal Hotel. This hotel is breath taking. We explored inside the hotel and a little outside. They had a beautiful garden and pool area where I saw a butterfly!! My guardian angel made it to India!!

Gateway of India

Taj Mahal Hotel

Beautiful gardens and pool at Taj Mahal Hotel, this is where I saw the butterfly

Gorgeous lobby in Taj Mahal hotel, the marble used was unbelievable!

We then traveled to Ghandi's house and saw where he lived while in Mumbai. There was a very interesting exhibit of clay made statues that displayed all the important dates and events in his life. On the upper floors, they showed some of his writings on display and they had a love letter on display. It was the sweetest thing I ever read. We really enjoyed this museum and learning more about Ghandi and his mission.

Ghandi's home in Mumbai

Afterward, we had lunch, which was at a pizzeria. Surprise!! Are you catching on to our pattern? Pizza is a safe food for us here. Our new friend, Dave, had some Indian toppings on his, but Stephen and I stayed safe with the plain cheese.

We also stopped at a market and silk shop on the way back to the hotel. The market had lots of produce and such things. It was not what we were thinking of when we told Ajit that we wanted to go to a market. We were thinking more of local vendors that were selling local art and things like that. I did purchase a "Star of India" pendant from the silk shop. It is a beautiful blue stone that shows a white star as you move it around in the light. My description does not give it justice, but it is beautiful.

We were talking to Dave about the India people, as this was his first day out and about. He only landed last night. It is amazing how happy they are and how little they are able to get by on. Most of the cars are older here and many use public transport. Water is being rationed in many areas due to the lack of rains from the monsoons. Electricity is only allowed for 8 hours a day in some areas around the city. It is just amazing that the people are still vibrant even though they face these daily struggles. Many people here have referenced Slum Dog Millionaire but we have not seen it yet. We have been told that it is very true to form as to what goes on here. It is so sad to see the children beg for food and money. Most of them are barefoot and poorly clothed. They come right up to you on the street or in the car. It doesn't matter to them and they do not take "no" as an answer. They continue to beg until you enter a building or move in the car. It breaks my heart to see these children have to live like this. It makes me so thankful for my family and for what we have. Compared to the people who live here, our problems are minuscule.

So, here we are, ready for dinner. I am not sure what we are going to eat, because we have already had our pizza for the day. haha. Stephen is taking a nap and I am going to join him. Hope everyone has a great day. Tomorrow is another scan and some other things with the doctors. On Wednesday, we get to meet our surrogate!! :):):)

*pictures will be posted later, blogspot is not letting me upload them right now*

Sunday

2009-07-12T12:12:00.009-04:00

We have ended another day here in Mumbai. We are just waiting for our dinner to arrive here, tonight we are trying Dominoes. Stephen experimented a little too much at lunch today and wanted to play it safe for dinner. We are eating kind of late tonight because we took a very long nap this afternoon.

This morning after breakfast, we went out on the patio of the hotel to look at the ocean and beach. It was so windy. We sat outside for 30 minutes or so and the wind did not stop blowing once. The wind was strong, almost like a weak hurricane wind. It was really funny to see the birds try to fly against the wind and then succumb to the direction the wind was blowing. There were crows everywhere outside today. Stephen told me I had to forget my superstition about crows for the time being.

For lunch, we went to the Intercontinental Hotel by the airport to meet Chaya and her husband, Sam. Chaya is here on baby pick up. She also traveled with her son. We were able to see and hold her little girl and she is such a cutie!! She is three days old and a little peanut. We wish them nothing but the best for their family. We were also joined by the doctors at lunch. The hotel was so beautiful and there were many restaurants to choose from, that we decided to switch hotels. Amit was here with us today and he made all of the arrangements. We felt terrible for cutting our stay short at the other hotel, but they were still working the kinks out.

After we got settled at the hotel, we both took a nap. We just woke up in time to skype our parents and talk to them. Stevie is doing great and he talks to us for a few minutes each time. Today, he kissed us goodbye on the computer and we both cried. It is so hard to be away from him, but we remind ourselves our purpose for being here. This was the second time we called and missed Steve and Philly! But we have been keeping in touch with them through email.

We can't wait for Tuesday to come so we can see the progress of my follicles and see what day the EPU will be. We are also looking forward to meeting our surrogate in the next few days.

I have some pictures below that capture what we have been seeing here as we travel around. They were taken from the car, as we have not had time to really get out and walk around yet. We may try to do some shopping or something like that tomorrow. The people here have been very accommodating and friendly. They are very eager to please and polite. Most of the people we have encountered are fluent in English, which makes it really easy to communicate with them. Sometimes their accent gets in the way of what they are trying to tell us, but I am sure that goes both ways. Especially since Stephen and I have different accents too. Ahhh, pizza is here!! Thank you for all the comments, messages on FB, and emails. We appreciate your support and prayers :) Talk to you later, love to you all from India ;)

Local produce stand

Housing shacks

Beautiful architecture

Rick shaw, or cheap taxi

Buildings in the financial district, I believe

Learn to speak English

Hello Mumbai Traffic

2009-07-11T11:47:00.002-04:00

We had a fantastic day today. We started off with a walk on the beach after breakfast this morning. Our hotel is next door to Sun and Sand for those of you who have been here. The walk on the beach was nice and we caught a few minutes of an adult men's soccer league. We were surprised to see how many stray dogs hang out on the beach. One took a liking to us and sat next to me, as if she would protect me. It was cute.

We also went to the doctors office today. It was atleast 45-50 minutes away from our hotel with the traffic. There is traffic here that could rival tri-state traffic any day. I think Mumbai would win. First of all, they get a close as humanly possible to your car and surprisingly, no one seems to get in accidents. The other thing that drivers love to do here is beep their horn. It was as if they were trying to play a song, that's how many horns are being beeped while you drive.

The visit to Dr. Sudhir and Dr. Yash went wonderful. We chatted for a few minutes and talked about all the necessary events that are happening over the next few days. After giving some blood for routine blood checks, I had an ultrasound. Dr. Yash saw 4-5 follicles in each ovary, which I think is a good number. She increased my meds just a bit to help them develop a little more. She also commented that we may have the EPU (egg pick up) as early as the 16th. That means transfer would most likely be on the 18th and we could catch a flight home that night. We will see how things play out. We see the doctors again on Tuesday to have another scan done.

We ventured out a little tonight to get something different for dinner. We ended up at Pizza Hut, I know not real original, but I have a weak stomach and even though we have been here only a day or so, I am having some food issues. I am pretty sure I am going to lose those last 5 pounds I put on this year. haha... Stephen on the otherhand, is venturing into a little bit of Indian food. He is much more adventurous with food than I am and has a better stomach for it.

We are so tired and want to sleep constantly. It is like our body doesn't know if it is coming or going. It is only 9:30 here, but we are ready for bed. It is about 12 noon at home. We talked to Stevie a little while ago and it was good to see him still enjoying himself. Well, that is about it for now, we are ready to go to bed. In fact, Stephen is already snoring ;)

Welcome to India

2009-07-10T16:15:00.002-04:00

We have arrived safely in India tonight. It is early Saturday morning here, like 2 AM. We just skyped with both our parents to tell them we arrived here with no problem. We also got to talk to James, Jackie, and most importantly, Stevie. There is a webcam at my parents, so we were able to actually see him waking up from his nap with Aunt Jackie. We didn't get to talk to my mom yet because she was still working, but we are calling back around 8pm tonight.

The plane ride felt never ending. It was 14 hours in total and we saw a sunset, a sunrise, and then another sunset. We lost a complete day on the plane. It was really weird to look at our watches (still on EST) and see it was the middle of the night and then look out the window and see the sun shining brightly. How amazing!

We have read all the comments and appreciate them, keep them coming, as we love the support and prayers. We are going to the clinic to meet the doctors and we are really excited. We also wanted to say a big thanks to Amit!! He made our reservations flawlessly. I highly, highly recommend you contact him if you are ever coming this way... Hey you never know, we never thought we'd be in Mumbai ;)

We will write more tomorrow, we are going to try to get to bed now. Good night!

Last minute things

2009-07-08T23:26:00.004-04:00

There never seems to be enough time in the days lately. We have traveled from NC to NJ in the past two days and we are exhausted, only to get on a plane to Mumbai tomorrow night. We have been running around like crazy people trying to get everything in order. It seems just when we think that everything is crossed off the list, something else pops in our head.

Stevie had a rough time going to bed the past two nights and it breaks my heart to hear him cry for mommy and daddy because we will not be here tomorrow night if he does. My mom will answer his cries and he will eventually fall asleep, but it still breaks my heart.

This time tomorrow night, we will be above the Arctic Circle. It still blows my mind that we will be taking that flight path.

We were able to see some friends and family today that wanted to wish us well. We appreciate, as always, the love and support and prayers that have been coming our way. This was not the way we intended on building our family, but we think it will work just as well. Please check back here over the next two weeks for updates from Mumbai and if you want to chat and have Skype, email or message me and we can get in touch!

The moon

2009-07-04T22:17:00.002-04:00

This was possibly the cutest conversation we have ever had...

Stevie: I see the moon, momma.

Mommy: I see it too.

Stevie: I wanna reach the moon, momma.

Mommy: Do you think you can reach it?

Stevie: Yes, mommy, I use daddy's ladder. I climb daddy's ladder and reach it. I reach the moon.

Mommy: Ok.

Stevie: I be careful.

Mommy: Ok.

Stevie: Ok.

Mommy: Will you come home quick, because I'll miss you.

Stevie: Yeh, momma.

How cute is this conversation! He is the sweetest little boy ever. We were driving home from Pops and Philly's house and he was completely exhausted in the car. I tried to get it on film, but he wouldn't repeat it. We love our little man so much!!!

Ready, Set, Shot

2009-06-30T21:12:00.005-04:00

This is a mischievous grin if I ever saw one!

Wearing Daddy's cowboy hat ;)

Stevie is growing up so fast, I can't stand it! He said the best words a mom could ever hear the other day. We were driving home from the grocery store and we were talking in the car. All of a sudden, he said, "Momma, you make me happy." I thought that is what I heard, so I asked him to repeat it and he said it again. It melted my heart right there and then. He is just such a good little boy. He has such a great combination of Stephen and I in him.

For his final birthday gift, we bought him a Jeep Wrangler, a miniature one that he can drive. It is blue, his favorite color. It was bought with all the birthday money that he received, so thank you to all that gave him the gift of money!! He loves to drive it, although he does not understand the concept of steering. So, we have to help him steer, but that is very difficult when he tells you, "I'LL STEER BY MYSELF!!!!" And he does shout it at you. It is quite a comic skit! So needless to say, we go around our semi-circle and then park in the garage and disconnect the battery so he can have some "pretend" drive time. He is just as happy with the "pretend" drive time as the "I can't steer well and no one is allowed to help me" drive time!!

Our trip to India is 9 days away. There will be regular posts on our blog once we get there. This is the way we are hoping to keep in touch with everyone and let you know what is going on a daily basis. I bought a book on India this past weekend and have been reading up on the culture and what to expect. I think that we are in for a culture shock to say the least. I am really thinking in my head that is it going to be like our trip to Santo Domingo when we first met. The conditions were so different from what we are used to living with. It is such a humbling experience though and I am ready for it. We get caught up in so much of the day to day life here, that there are times we forget what is really important. I am really going to miss my DVR though. Haha, I'm not kidding. I am so dependent on DVR. We record everything and anything! We start shows late to skip over commercials. I am not even sure what kind of programs we are going to get in Mumbai. Let's just say, I am happy RHWofNJ is over, or I might have called Meaghan and listened to her tv in the middle of the morning!! hahaha....

Ok, so this is the first time I have ever had to stick myself with a needle. I didn't quite know how to handle it at first and Stephen wasn't able to help because 1. he is out of town, and 2. because he told me he can't even watch me do that, let alone help. So, yesterday I got courageous and stuck myself in the stomach. Well, it wasn't that bad at all. I don't know what I was worried about. It doesn't really hurt at all going in and when I think about the reason I am doing this to my body, it all makes sense. I have had two injections now and the only side effect I have felt is hot flashes that make my feet feel like they are on fire!! Otherwise, everything is good.

We are leaving to drive to NJ next Tuesday. We are spending the night in DC with Laura (hopefully, I have to call her and see if she'll be around). So, we will arrive in RP Wednesday morning/early afternoon. Then we fly out on Thursday night. I am probably going to cry my eyes out leaving my little boy for so long. We have been away from him before, but never for this long. We are on a direct flight out of Newark. Stephen and I have been tracking the flights online and the flight pattern is freaky!! We fly out of NJ, up over Canada, over Iceland, over the Artic Circle!!!, then down through Europe. It is about a 15 hour flight. We are planning on bringing tons of dvds, music, and books to keep busy. That is probably when Stephen will read about Mumbai!! haha!! He has just been super busy at work. It will be good for him to have some time off to clear his mind from deadlines and such.

We can't thank our family and friends enough for continuing to ask about our progress and support our quest to add on to our family. I have been a part of a great surro-online-family and I have learned more there than in the 5 years I spent in college. There are ups and downs everyday on the forum and there is constant support. It is unconditional support that means the world to Stephen and I during this time. There are days where we are so excited about all that is going to happen, then there are days where I am a nervous wreck. I get nervous about everything.. the flights, being away from my son that long, all the meds I am giving myself, going under anethesia again, and lastly the monsoon season. I know that is just about everything that will be going on in my life the next three weeks. Hopefully my nerves will settle down a little bit.

Away we go....

2009-06-17T22:43:00.003-04:00

I can't believe it!! We have booked our flights, I have medicine shipping to the house tomorrow, and we are sending away for our visas. This started as a "you're not going to believe my crazy idea" to leaving in three weeks! Yay!!

Stephen's Second Second Birthday Party

2009-06-14T22:32:00.006-04:00

Stephen and Mommy

Jeffrey, Stephen, and Daddy enjoying an ice pop with Papa in the background
PS- nice glasses Jeff ;)

Stephen and Uncle James playing airplane

Champy cooling off in the kiddie pool

Yes, a second, second birthday party. This time it was in New Jersey with my family and friends. The day started out chilly and rainy, but the skies cleared up and the sun came out for a while. We had such a wonderful time and all the kids enjoyed themselves. The pinata was the best part!! Here are a few pictures :)

Here's the long awaited India update. We have a date, we are leaving July 9th or 10th. I will have my eggs harvested on July 19th. We will be back in the US a few days after that. We have had all our preliminary blood tests done and are in the process of applying for a visa to enter the country. I begin my medicine treatment at the end of June. We have also picked our surrogate. She is a beautiful, young mother of two. We are so excited that she will be helping our family become complete. This journey is finally here for us. We have been waiting for so long and talking about this for many months now. It is very overwhelming and exciting at the same time. I have spent many nights lately working after Stephen goes to sleep until 11 or 12 filling out paperwork and transferring test results to the doctors in India.

We are very humbled that women across the world are willing to help families like ours. We are excited that she can help us fulfill our dreams and we can help fulfill her families needs by providing them money for a solid future for their children. Although their actions are not completely altruistic, there is no greater gift these women can give. We are very excited about our future and how our family may be expanding. Thank you for reading and continuing to support us. We appreciate all your good thoughts and well-wishes. While we are in India, we will definitely update our blog.

Mumbai, here we come!

2009-05-31T23:24:00.003-04:00

We have a date! We have a date! We have a date!

We are beyond excited! Mumbai here we come!

Memorial Day Weekend- Chillin'

2009-05-25T21:53:00.012-04:00

We want to start by saying thanks to all the men and women who have served this country. We hope you had a great day! We'd also like to thank Dr. Lipscomb on this day for saving my life two years ago. There will never be enough words to express how we feel toward him. He is an amazing, caring doctor and is still working with us very closely on our journey to India for surrogacy.

With that being said, Stevie had a funfilled weekend. We spent some time at home, completing some of our landscaping plans, beautifully created by Mr. Weiss of Greenland in Paramus. Stop by there and pick up your everyday gardening needs to make your home beautiful outside! He was so generous to draw up such detailed and well-thought out plans for our property off of a few pictures. I was amazed how well he got our house shape correct, out of all things. Like I told Krista, we will try our best to complete his dream for our land. Thanks again Mr. Weiss, we will be stopping by on our next trip to NJ!!!

We also went to Badin Lake to spend time with Popsy (Steve), Philly, Dana, and of course, Mom-o. It was Steve's birthday. Ok, follow me here... Steve (father-in-law), Stephen (husband), and Stevie (son). I know it gets confusing! So, we got there after an hour drive which consisted of Stevie's entire nap for the day. To say he had his moments was an understatement. The first thing he wanted to do was to ride Mom-o's boat. He was a little unsure at first, but then said, "I like it." Everything now is, "I like it" or "I don't like it". He will say, "I don't like it" even if it is something he has loved for a while, like watermelon. So, he decided to help his Daddy drive the boat. It was such a sweet moment. It is hard to catch him with a smile on camera lately, but I think we got a cute picture of daddy and son.

He did not want to lay down for a nap while we were there and who can blame him. There is so much to see and try for the first time as a toddler. He has been there every summer since his birth, but he really enjoyed himself this time. He wasn't too sure about fishing though. He didn't like the fish, but did laugh if they flopped on the dock or grass by accident. He fell asleep instantly when we got in the car for the ride home. He was snoring and everything! He had a fantastic day!!

Overall, we had a great three day weekend and wish that I didn't have to go back to school tomorrow. We are almost done and thankfully we all lived through EOG's!! If you got this far, thanks for reading and stay tuned.... exciting things are right around the corner ;)

You can see the rest of our pictures at
http://share.shutterfly.com/share/received/welcome.sfly?fid=90d3be8744462a75c7e45aad1e0cdff4&sid=8AatWjly0buWOD

for some reason, I can't get it to link there, sorry!

Birthday Parties!

2009-05-16T22:14:00.004-04:00

Stephen has had a party week! We started off by celebrating his birthday on Monday, which was his actual birthday. We had Pops, Philly, Dana, and Momo here for dinner and cake. We had Stephen's favorite dinner, pizza, of course! He opened his gifts and then we got ready for the cake. When it was time to sing happy birthday, we had Gamma and Umpa on my cell phone and Uncle James on the house phone to sing with us. Stephen had a blast. He didn't quite understand how to blow out the candles, but he enjoyed the birthday cake.

I baked the cake myself and it did come out pretty good. I put extra icing on it, at my hubby's request. The only thing that came out crazy was the icing for the writing. I bought a decorative icing that comes out of a can. Well, it is not as easy as it looks. In fact, I don't think anyone can make decorative letters look good with icing that comes out of a can. So that was the big laugh of the night. I would call it creepy crawly font.

Then on Saturday afternoon, the real fun began. We had some of Stevie's little friends over for his 2nd birthday party. We filled our backyard with every toy imaginable. We had kiddie pools, a ball pit with a tunnel, basketball, baseball, golf, Tonka trucks, sand and water table, little race cars to zoom around the patio, and the hit of the show... the police car (thanks Jackie!). All the little boys wanted to ride the police car, even Jessica's big boys took it for a spin.

We had a great time celebrating Stevie's birthday with our friends and their children. The food was great, we had two cakes to choose from, and lots of laughs. Stephen is starting to think that his birthday lasts for a week. We can't wait to celebrate again when we get to NJ in the next few weeks ;)

Happy Birthday, Stephen!!!!

2009-05-10T21:49:00.006-04:00

We can't believe how fast two years has gone. It seems like yesterday Stevie was born. Now he is a big boy, running, playing, and talking non-stop. We are so thankful to have Stevie in our lives and love the family that we have become. With everything that happened to me after Stevie's birth, we rarely reminisce about that day. So here we go, a lovely trip down memory lane.

It really started on May 10th, when I thought my water broke and Stephen was out playing golf. He was actually playing a really good game too when I called. He came home and we went to the doctor's office. They checked me out and said my water didn't break, but I might of had a high leak, since I was close to 4 cm. dilated. They told me to go home and see how I felt in the morning. They also wanted me to go in for an ultrasound the next day to check the fluid levels. Well, nothing exciting happened that night and I woke up fine. We went to the doctor that morning and found out that my fluid was a little low, so they could admit me to the hospital. I was also having light contractions.

Stephen and I went home, took our time, got our things and had lunch before we went to the hospital. I think we checked in about 3PM and were in a room by 4PM hooked up to the monitors. My water was broke and then the contractions really started kicking in. Since it was around dinner time, Stephen decided to run to Subway to get a quick sandwich. It was only across the street from the hospital.

The nurse told me that we shouldn't expect to have the baby until after midnight. By the time that Stephen got back with dinner, I was having trouble with my epidural and felt a lot more pain. I could barely keep up with the conversation. Then I got the chills. The nurse came in to check my epidural and decided to check me. She said, "I don't believe it, you are at ten centimeters." It was time to push. I called my mom to tell her the baby was on it's way and I remember saying to her, "You didn't tell me it would hurt this much." I hung up with her and got back to pushing.

I pushed for a half hour and the head finally came out. I felt so much better at that point. My epidural stopped working because I had dilated so fast. The medicine could not keep up with my body. I even asked the doctor at this point if he could just pull the baby out. I really didn't want to have to push again. But, I did and I was fine. Stephen was the first to say, "It's a boy!!!" We were both so overjoyed, there are no words that will ever express the elation that we felt at that moment. Stephen Grey Crater, III entered our lives May 11, 2007 at 10:40 PM, weighing 7lbs and 0.5 oz., and 21 inches long. So, that is our story, that is how our family started. Happy Birthday, Stephen!!! We love you more than you'll ever know :)

Spring is finally, truly here!

2009-05-03T21:09:00.006-04:00

We had such a great time in NJ over Easter break. Stephen had a great time playing with his cousins (second cousins, but whose counting). We spent some time with Lisa, Jared, and the rest of the gang. Stephen and Jared played so well together, although Stephen got a little cranky by the end of the night from exhaustion. We are so busy when we visit in NJ, that he runs all day and night. We try to adhere to his schedule as best as possible, but it doesn't always work.

We also went to Brewster park with my dad. Stephen had a great time going down the slide after he conquered his initial fear of it. This park is right by the train tracks and he was really happy when he saw a real life "Thomas the Train".

We are so happy that spring is finally here! This is my favorite time of the year. Flowers and trees bloom, we spend a lot of time outside, but most of all.... school is almost OVER!!! I am so looking forward to summer vacation. I had a great year back teaching after taking a year off to spend with Stephen, but I am ready to be off for a while. We do not have any serious plans for the summer. We will visit NJ hopefully twice, late June and mid-August.

We are continuing to save for our trip to India. Our tax return really gave us a boost and Stephen also closed a deal! Yay! He is really excited that he closed the deal with the state of the economy.

Little Stephen is continuing to amaze us. His second birthday is a week from tomorrow. I can't believe that he is going to be 2!! We are going to have a little party for all his friends. It is so rewarding to see him play with other children and be able to communicate with each other.

Stephen has discovered that he loves to eat corn on the cob. We have it atleast once a week now. He is also enjoying fresh pineapple and watermelon. They are both so sweet right now.

He really enjoys playing with his Thomas trains and his train table. He received the battery operated Thomas and James from the Easter bunny at Gamma and Umpa's house. He has played with them so much, we have had to replace the batteries already.

We just wanted to say thanks to all of our family and friends for continuing to support us and send us positive messages. We are definitely on the road less traveled to building a family. I have several friends I have met on a surrogacy forum who have also become a great support system. Please just continue to pray that our journey will be successful and we will have healthy baby(ies)!!!

Easter break

2009-04-13T12:00:00.010-04:00

We are up in NJ visiting my parents for Easter break. I have this week off from school, so we decided to drive up this past weekend and stay for a week. We haven't been up to see my family and friends since Decemeber, although it has felt longer than that. Stevie enjoyed his 10 hour car ride by watching Nemo, Cars, Backyardigans, and Dora in the car. What a great Christmas gift that was! I was able to pass the time by reading and Stephen listened to a book on tape as we alternated driving. Buddy slept in the back. All in all, it was a good ride up.

Stevie was very happy and excited to see his "Gamma" and "Umpa". He has been having a great time playing with my little cousins and his Uncle James. My parents bought him a basketball net that is adjustable as he grows. Well, his daddy and uncle are getting more use out of it than anyone right now. They have been playing "horse" in the living room for two days now.

For Easter, we had a fantastic dinner with Gerard, Kelly, Adam, and Mary. It was nice to spend some time with them. Then more family came by for dessert. There were so many good desserts and so little room left in my belly. One of the things we look forward to most when we visit is the food. There are certain spots that we have to hit to get our fix. We always get a bagel with egg, taylor ham, and cheese, the 101 Pub sunset wings, IGA deli rolls, pizza, and my mom's meatballs of course. We are also celebrating St. Patty's Day again on Thursday so we can have corned beef and cabbage. Yum!!

We have been super busy and that is why I haven't posted in a while. Stephen built a fence with our friend, Mark. They did such a wonderful job and it is relaxing to let Buddy out and not worry about him venturing into the wild. Also, Stevie is locked in the backyard now! We can move his club house into the grass and free up the space on the patio.

We have decided to postpone our trip to India until November. There are a few reasons, but the most important is that we did decide to go with a different clinic and doctors. They have been wonderful so far and we only expect great things to happen with them. We do need to save a little bit more and the timing is just better. We will not need to be in India for three weeks, but only 10-12 days. That is much more reasonable amount of time away from our little man. So, we are still very excited to set out on this journey for our next child and are will to wait until the time is right. Thanks for all your questions and concerns about our trip.

The most frequently asked question is how does it work? It is pretty simple, I guess. I will start hormone injections that are used for women doing an IVF cycle. I will start the medicine here in the US and be monitored by my ob/gyn. We will travel to India two weeks after I start the injections. We will meet with our Drs. in India and they will take over my care. They will adjust my medicines according to how well my body is producing eggs. After a certain amount of days, they will retreive my eggs and match them with Stephen's sperm. From that point on, we are done medically speaking. They let my eggs develop and transfer after 3 and 5 days. There are different statistics for success rates for day 3 and 5 implantation. Finally, we enter what is known as the "2WW" in infertility land... the 2 week wait. After two weeks, we hear if our surrogate is pregnant or not. I hope this paints a good picture. If she does become pregnant, then we do not return until the baby is born, unless we want to go to visit in the meantime. So, please keep us in your prayers. There are many things that need to fall into place.

To see all of Stevie's pics, please copy below: http://share.shutterfly.com/share/received/welcome.sfly?fid=a73c0cdd8f4612bdf12f12eb75ef82b5&sid=8AatWjly0buWNt

Confusion

2009-03-09T16:20:00.006-04:00

Well, we finally received an email back from the Dr. in India. For some reason, things were just not adding up for this trip to Anand. Some of my surro-buddies have been clueing me in to what it is really like there and some issues that made us a little leary. Believe me, we did our research, spoke to references, and emailed a ton, but lately things have just been turning in my head. We are contemplating going with a different clinic and doctors. We have heard so many positive reactions about this facility and staff, that it is almost a no-brainer. The only draw back that we can find is it is a little more expensive. I will also have to get my own IVF meds. I don't think that will be much of a challenge. The one very big positive about that is I can start my meds here and fly to India in the middle of my cycle. This would mean less time in India. We have a lot to think about right now. Unfortunately, we don't have too much time. We don't want to miss the chance of a June cycle. It's times like this that I wonder why these things happened to me from the beginning. It would be so much easier if I could just get pregnant on my own... but life's not perfect. We have to take the good and the bad. (Enter sappy moment here.)

On the other hand, Stephen had a great weekend. We played outside almost all weekend because the weather was simply gorgeous here. He already has a skinned knee and a bit of a tan. He loves to push his little lawn mower and take "Buppy" for a walk around the neighborhood. We went to one of our favorite parks this weekend. We met some of my mommy group friends there and Stephen saw some of his little friends. He had such a great time and learned how to go down the slide.

Last week, I felt very crafty. I made a seat cushion for our "mud area." This is really just a three foot wide cut out of the wall with two hooks, a shelf, and a bench. Well, I went to the craft store, bought foam, batting, fabric, and wood. And.... there you have it, a beautiful cushion. Stephen likes to try to lay on it (with our help). Then... Stephen and I decided to bake an apple pie. I know.... I was baking. He loved it. He stood on a stool right next to me for an hour or so and mixed ingredients and ate apples. He loved cooking with me and now always wants to be in the kitchen when we are making anything from chocolate milk to chicken cutlets.

Here's another picture of Stephen. We were getting ready for church and he kept running away from me. I couldn't get him to sit still to put his shirt on. Yes, he is still super skinny, and yes, Aunt Cathy, we are feeding him. hehe. He must have some of those Schreck genes ;)

Next Step... India... here we come!

2009-03-02T14:00:00.004-05:00

It has been awhile since we have had any new news about India. Well, not a lot of news, but I am awaiting an email back from Dr. Patel to tell us what our next steps are. She told us to contact her in March, and of course... I was counting down the minutes. Stephen and I are both ready to start this journey. We are enjoying watching Stevie grow up, but we want to give him a sibling (or two). We are planning on going to Anand this June. We have made arrangements for Stevie to stay here in the US with our family. We did not want to bring him on a trip like this, but we will miss him dearly. Three weeks away from our little munchkin is incomprehensible right now.

With that being said, here is the update on Stevie. He is 22 months old. I can't believe how fast he has grown. This second year went much faster than the first. He is speaking in sentences now with 3-4 words or more. He has become very demanding and good at throwing tempers. Stephen says he is stubborn, like me, but I don't see it. Haha. We actually had some real deal snow today. We got about 3-4 inches. He loved playing in the snow. We took out his Tonka trucks and let him drive them around the backyard. He is asleep now, this is our second attempt at a nap. We are cutting him back to one nap a day, but it doesn't always work. Earlier this morning, I went through all his baby clothes and started organizing them. We decided to save all clothes for his siblings. It wasn't until recently though that I have had the strength to go through them.

Stephen and I have been through more in our 3 years of marriage than I ever want anyone to go through. He has stayed true to our vow of "sickness and health." It seems like half our marriage has been getting through my "sickness" so to speak. I don't know how I would have ever gotten through this without him. I have had 3 surgeries and many other "office procedures" that he has stood by my side. It still makes me cry everytime I think of what he has gone through. We don't dwell on the negatives as much as we used to. But, we are human and every so often, we have our down moments. We never thought that we would be going to India to have our next baby, but hey, we are ready for the ride!!

Decision Made!

2008-11-15T21:25:00.000-05:00

After months of thinking and planning, we have set a date to go to India. We are scheduled to go in June of 09. We are going to visit with Dr. Patel and a surrogate that will hopefully carry our next child(ren). I have very recently found an online support group that is absolutely fabulous! They are couples like us who for one reason or another have come to need the use of a surrogate. Some of them are over there right now, in fact. It feels like we can finally speak to others that understand our situation. There is actually a couple from NJ that we are hoping to meet up with during Thanksgiving weekend or over Christmas break. We are so excited for all this to take place. I think that we would go tomorrow if we could. We appreciate all your love and support and well wishes. Please pray for us that when we do go, we get positive results!!!!!

Packing

2008-07-28T21:45:00.000-04:00

Is there life after packing? Is there life during packing? We have been packing for a whole week now and we are about half way done. Meaghan is coming down tomorrow to help out with the move and the baby. We are excited to see her!! We close on the new house on Wednesday. After many trials and tribulations, I think that Scenic Homes may have gotten it right. Tomorrow, the rest of the carpet is being installed (yay)! And, it is the right color. We are going to be laying tile this week and painting this weekend. You are all invited to visit our house, stop in and say hi!

Here we go!!

2008-07-25T10:06:00.000-04:00

Well, I finally succumbed to the pressure and started a blog for our family. This will hopefully be a great way to link our family to your everyday life. Stevie is taking his first nap of the day and it is so peaceful right now. He is getting so big, we can not believe it. I bet he weighs around 24 or 25 pounds now. He is really tall and in need of a hair cut. Yes, I agree, he finally needs a hair cut. Stephen has wanted to cut his hair for a while, but I have been putting it off. I guess it is like saying that he is no longer a little baby, but a little boy.

We have a few exciting things going on. We are almost ready to close on our new house. We have some volunteers that are coming to help us out. Meaghan is coming for two weeks to help with the baby while Stephen and I lay tile flooring and a back splash in our kitchen. I also plan to get a lot of painting done while she is here. Then my mom and Maryann are coming for a weekend to help us move in and get organized. I am excited that my family is coming to help us during this time.

Today, Stevie and I are going to Tanglewood Park to have a play date with some new friends. I am getting sad because my time home with his is dwindling away. I am going back to work in a few weeks and I am excited and upset at the same time. I am excited to get back into my career and see some of my "teacher" friends. I am upset obviously because I won't spend every minute with my little monkey moo.

I am waiting for Stephen to come home. He was flying in from Atlanta last night and decided to take a voucher for free travel and fly home today. He spent the night by his sister's house and was excited to surprise her kids this morning. I am anxious for him to get home because we miss him. Stevie kept looking at Stephen's pillow this morning and said "dada" over and over again.

Well, that is all for my first entry. Hope you enjoyed it and we'll be back with stories real soon!