8 1/2 Month Pics

We only have a few pictures back from the girls photo shoot:

We also had to end up taking our house off the market for a while because of all the flooding in Oklahoma. Our yard has been flooded for a few weeks now and it is obviously turning potential buyers away, saying we have a "obvious drainage issue" which really pisses me off. In one month we've had over 18 inches of rain, would wouldn't have a drainage issue? Hopefully we can put it back on the market in a month or so when things dry out some.

This & That Post

The biggest pain in my @ss is coming from selling/buying a home. I never knew what the process consisted of and to be honest, it sucks big time. Our house has been on the market about 10 days. As of today we've had 12+ showings and 3 of them are second showings on the house. Mother nature decided to show us the freaking flood that Noah obviously experienced. Our yard has basically been under water for two weeks now. We were able to get the camper out from the side of shop last night for Memorial weekend because the yard had dried up enough. Then like clock work a huge rain storm is moving in now and our yard will be underwater for the 5:00 pm showing today. I know that I can't change anything and the right buyer will come along and love our house regardless of Lake Rapp, but its been stressful. We are constantly hiding cats in rv, cleaning house, hiding baby toys daily, cleaning off counter tops etc. only to come home and get it back out. People have shown up at our house unexpected because of miscommunication with realtor and we are not getting 24 hour notice like we asked for. I can't tell a potential buyer no they can't look at the house though. Please let this house sell quickly and please let us find a new home quickly.... Mother nature please take your damn flood to states that are in a drought and could use 14 inches of rain in less that three weeks.

The girls are doing fantastic!  Olivia did get a double ear infection last week, but I consider us pretty fortunate that this was her first and they are almost 9 months old. She was so upset and not sleeping well for days leading up to her fever ( that should have been an indication), instead I thought she was teething. After being on antibiotics she is all better and back to her normal crazy self. I also took Lilah and had him check her so we didn't need to go back in a few days. I found out with twins, when one is sick, take the other also.
Olivia is weighing 13lbs 2 oz
Lilah is weighing 11lbs 4 oz 
My little peanuts are growing!

We also had their 8 month pictures done and the girls did such an amazing job!

Cierra is graduating on Friday and starting college in the fall. What happened to my first born daughter, where did time go??

Miss Lilah:

Miss Olivia:

It is official~

Our house is finally on the market~
Fingers crossed it sells quickly and we find a new place

Picture Post ( My Beautiful Life)

Loss

It was mentioned to me many times that when you have a miscarriage, at least you are getting pregnant and you should be happy about that. Today my heart hearts for someone I know who just found out she lost her pregnancy. I think the hurt cuts even deeper when you finally do get pregnant and lose your baby.

I was personally touched by 6 miscarriages. Only one of them did I ever see the baby and the heartbeat, but I do remember all of my losses.

What is?

I posted this question in my mommy group this morning. After all the amazing responses I thought I would post the question here also. I look forward to seeing your answers and hope everyone that follows me will participate.


What is one thing you want for your kids or want to do for your kids that you never had?

Reflections

It's not much, but I made a deal with myself on my personal facebook page that I wouldn't post any pictures of the girls all week and instead post something for infertility awareness daily. I know there is a huge misconception out there about infertility and if we help at least one person get the facts, we are helping with awareness and doing our job. It shouldn't all stop because some of us have went on to have children. Unfortunately I have seen so many woman that have a child and move on, forget their past, their journey and it makes me so sad. Yes I do post many pictures of the girls and our lives because it is part of who I am now, but I also went through a long journey to get them and learned so much. I met some pretty amazing woman, some crazy ones along the trip also. Within the past 5 years I have seen woman going through so many phases of their lives. I am happy to say that 90% of them have went on to have babies, whether through treatments, adoption, surrogacy, fostering, etc. I still think of the woman I know that are in the trenches wondering if it will ever be their turn. I can't say how things will turn out for them, but I truly hope with all my heart that every single woman fighting infertility will end up with a happy story regardless how it happens.

For us it took:

4 years

7 iui's

2 ivfs

6 miscarriages 

2 surgeries

A reproductive endocrinologist

A reproductive immunologist

50+ IVIG infusions

Countless medications

Lots of hope and putting one foot in front of the other

A very hard pregnancy

Premmature babies 

A daughter born with several heart issues

But now I look back and wouldn't change one single thing. All of this helped shaped me into the person I am today. It made me a better mother. I don't think I would have been as in tuned to my girls if we didn't have such a struggle and took having babies for granted. I know I wouldn't have.

We were 1 in 8.

 

NIAW

This was my post last year after suffering through infertility: I still think of our sisters and brothers in the trenches. Not a day goes by that I don't remember the pain Al and I went through.

"After fighting infertility for over four years straight, Al and I are expecting twins later in the Fall. I think it is very important for people to understand what we went through for to get to this point. During our four year struggle we went through 2 ivf’s, 7 iui’s, 6 miscarriages, 3 surgeries, and too many to count injections and medications. Finally last September we decided to go with an alternative treatment and see a Reproductive Immunologist in Chicago. She found that my body was attacking the embryos and I have several immune issues along with clotting factors. We started on daily blood thinner injections and steroids. I am also doing weekly plasma infusions to keep my body from attacking the babies. It all paid off after so many years of heartbreak. I hope that we are capable of giving these babies everything they need, but I know without a doubt they will be loved beyond measure. I will also NEVER forget our struggle or the others going through this daily.

Funny Friday

Hope everyone has a great weekend! We are still working on the few last repairs to list our house. There was a carpet incident and my aunt (just trying to help) ripped up more carpet than we were going to replace. This set us back a few weeks, but we are waiting for installation to be done next week and then the house is finally ready to list. It has been a complete "no go" on finding a house either, so I guess that is good.

Next week is our 5 year anniversary! We are taking the girls to my sisters house for the night and staying at a nice casino resort for the evening. Awww room service and sleep, what else could a girl ask for?

Daycare Fail

Today was suppose to be Lilah's first day at daycare and I couldn't do it. When I walked in with Olivia, everyone was excited and asked me where Lilah was. I just put my head down and said I needed another day. One.more.day.....

Look who turned 7 months on 4/10