It's official...we are grown ups!

You see that house? It's finally mine, all mine.
Well, technically it's Mr Jones' too, but you get the idea. :)


We spent all day at the house today replacing the toilet seats and tearing up the carpet in the bedrooms and upstairs hallway...it was SO dirty and gross! The previous owner definitely didn't believe in cleanliness. We plan to re-carpet the bedrooms and put down Pergo flooring in the hallway. I can't wait to see it finished!

Tomorrow, we will be carpet shopping then going over to the house to sand the walls in preparation for priming and repainting.

I will post progress pictures tomorrow night so stay tuned! :)

"Polish Me Up" Giveaway

Sorry, all...my big announcement will need to wait until tomorrow when I'm not completely exhausted. Trust me, it's good! :)

In the meantime, I have a giveaway:

It's been a rough couple of weeks and as a distraction/stress relief, I have been painting my nails with all my new pretty colors!

One lucky follower will win a bottle of China Glaze Side Saddle. This polish is part of the Rodeo Diva collection and is the perfect "vamp" color! It's dark brownish plum with a golden shimmer. In the shade it looks more brown, but, in the sunlight, it's more of a deep eggplant color. Love it!

Source

For one (1) entry, become a follower of my blog and leave a comment saying hi! If you are already a follower, leave a comment indicating this.

For one (1) bonus entry, write a blog post about your favorite nail polish color(s) - with picture(s) please! I am always looking for more fun colors!

I will draw a winner on Wednesday, August 4th.

The little things make me happy

I have new nail polish and I looooooooooooooove the colors!

(Sorry for the subpar pictures...I am still learning how to take pictures that depict the true colors of the polish.)

China Glaze - Street Racing
A fabulous burnt orange shade with a rusty shimmer to it.
It so different than anything else I have. So.much.fun.

China Glaze - Lasso My Heart
This color has so many dimensions! The gold shimmer really changes the color depending on the light. I also found when I added another coat, the color deepened to a golden plum color. So pretty and versatile!
(My picture does not do the gorgeousness this polish justice at all!)

Stay tuned for a big announcement...and fun giveaway tomorrow! :)

We make cute kids...in a virtual world

Mr Jones and I were playing around on Morph Thing the other day. I must say, we make some pretty darn cute kids together!

Now, we just need to make these cute kids a reality... :)

See this? It's my white flag!

No more hospitals. No more doctors.

After 2 hospital visits, 5 doctor visits, and 7 blood draws (my poor arm!) in the span of 3 weeks, I was DONE with anything and everything medical-related. At least for another month or two.

Do you think life was willing to accept this?
Of course not.
Mr Jones added 2 visits to urgent care into the mix.

Last Tuesday, he came home from work with a high fever and chills. After two long days, lots of Gatorade, and a consistent fever of 102.5*, he finally went to urgent care. Diagnosis: gastroenteritis. Sucky, yes, but he now had medication to help him get better.

Right?
Wrong.

We got to visit urgent care again on Sunday because his throat was killing him. Diagnosis: strep throat. Thankfully, he was already on an antibiotic, but...geez. Can't we catch a break??

A week of feeling crappy has left Mr Jones really cranky and moody.

I give up.
I can't take anymore.
I want my happy, go lucky husband back.

Gee, thanks

As if I wasn't already sad enough about losing my baby, eBay had to go ahead and make some "recommendations" for me when I logged into my account...

Sigh. Thanks, eBay.

Saturday BBQs = Fun

...especially when you dress the visiting baby as Carlos (from The Hangover)!

Chelsea trying to figure out the baby carrier...somehow, I don't think it goes on that way!

Getting Aaron, I mean Alan, ready.

The unsuspecting Max...what cutie!

Uh oh! He might be on to us...and our plan.

Baby Carlos!

Good times, good times...

Possession is 9/10s of the law...right?

Mr Jones and I have been cleaning out closets and selling unused items (we'll have a house to furnish soon!!). Because of this, we have a lot of empty shipping boxes hanging around the apartment. To say Sammy has been in heaven is an understatement. He is obsessed with boxes and will climb in one any chance he gets.

Yesterday, Mr Jones went to box up an item and...he found a surprise waiting for him. It's clear Sammy believed this was his box and he wasn't too keen about someone taking it away from him. (My poor buddy looked so worried!)

I don't know what I'd do without him to entertain me!

THANK YOU

I just wanted to say thank you for the outpouring of support and encouraging words over the past week. I can't ever thank you enough for taking the time to say a prayer for me, Mr Jones, and our forever baby. I wish I could reach out hug each and every one of you.

There are a few ladies that deserve a special shout out. Their messages brought tears to my eyes and gave me hope in a time that seemed so hopeless...

Julie - You are the kind of mother I hope to be some day. Conner and Parker are two very lucky boys. I am so blessed to know you. Thank you for telling me it's going to be ok.

Katie - I am so incredibly happy I found you (or did you find me?). Either way, you are my inspiration. I can only hope to be blessed with a sweet baby like Emeline some day! Thank you for following me on my journey and for offering support.

Brittany - Your comment on my miscarriage post touched my heart in so many ways. I can't even begin to tell you how much your words meant to me. Thank you for loving me and supporting me. You are such an amazing woman.

Shan - My mirror twin. I know life has caused us not to talk as much as we once did, but please know I am always here for you like you are always there for me. Miss KP is going to be one spoiled little princess...and you will be a wonderful mom! Thank you for being my friend.

Update on me - 7/10

It's been just over a week since we said goodbye to our sweet baby. I’m generally coping well. I can keep my emotions under control; I don't break down at work. Sure, I have "moments" (like on the way home from work the other day), but that's to be expected.

The worst part (for me) is having to talk about it, to explain to people that no, I'm not pregnant anymore; I lost my baby. As soon as those words are out of my mouth, I can see the pity, the sympathy, and the fact that they have no idea what to say to me. The truth is, I don't want them to say anything to me. I don't want to see the pity. I don't want to hear the cliché sympathies - These things happen for a reason. This is God's way of weeding out the sick/unhealthy babies. The list goes on and on. Don't get me wrong, I know all things happen for a reason, but hearing people say it sure doesn't make the loss any easier to deal with.

The worst was the ER doctor at the first hospital (6/22). He told me, "If you do miscarry, it's your body's way of saying something was wrong with the baby. Maybe it would have been covered in hair with a tooth sticking out the side of its head." Seriously. Who says that to a woman who might miscarry her baby?!? Telling me that my baby could be a deformed insult to evolution that is better off dead is not helpful or comforting. It's just plain mean!

And this is why I abhor needles

The nurse in the ER had a bit of trouble drawing blood...can you tell?

I'm proud to say that I refrained from punching her. And from crying.

When one door closes, another one opens

Sorry for not posting a lot lately...the last week and a half has been somewhat of a roller coaster. Please forgive my format. It's just the easiest way to write it all out for me.

6/22: Experienced a lot of back cramps and some pink spotting. Decided that I wasn't going to take any chances so Mr Jones and I headed to the ER. After 9 hours (4.5 spent in the waiting room alone!), some blood work, and an ultrasound, I learned...I was pregnant! Wow. It sure took some major doctor skills to figure that one out, huh? Needless to say, we were annoyed. The ultrasound dated me at 5w3d. A bit of an eyebrow raise on my part because, according to calculations, I should have been 6w1d.

6/24: Appointment with my OB. She asked if I had gotten the results of my blood work from the hospital and I told her they didn't run any tests on it that I knew of. She was NOT happy. She ordered more blood work (to check my hCG beta levels) and scheduled a follow up ultrasound for 6/28.

6/25: Heard from OB re: my blood work. Thankfully, the hospital still had my blood sample in the lab so she was able to get results from them as well. Betas on 6/22 were 5249. Betas on 6/24 were 6604. They're going up...thank goodness!

6/28: Ultrasound showed a teensy little baby with a faint heartbeat. Mr Jones was completely enthralled and stared at the monitor. I thought he was going to lean so far forward, he'd fall off his seat! At this point, I was measuring 6w0d (ummm...falling even further behind...a bit worried). Met with my OB and she said it was a positive sign that we were able to see the baby and heartbeat. She noted, however, that my progesterone levels were lower than they should be. They need to be at least 10...I think mine were a little over 5. At this point, I knew something was wrong...and started preparing myself mentally for the worst.

7/2: My fears were proven to be true. I lost my baby. Mr Jones and I made another trip to the ER (a different and BETTER one this time). Blood work and ultrasound confirmed that everything was progressing as necessary.

With that being said, I am at peace with what happened. Please, I don't want to hear "I'm sorry" because I know everyone is sorry and so am I, but it's ok. Honest.

Instead of being sorry, please take the time to send positive energy, to celebrate life with me, to say a prayer that I will some day have my "forever" baby. Because I know I will...it's just a matter of time.