It's time raise some money again and beat last year's earnings!

DONATE NOW DONATE NOW DONATE NOW DONATE NOW

Click on the link above to help us help babies again this year. Emma and Mady are here today and doing so incredibly well due to the March of Dimes and their research. Mady received several cutting edge procedures that she might not have gotten otherwise.

Through my business, Lil' LJ, we donate a portion of our sales. BUT we need help with the rest!! Anyone that donates will be sent a coupon from Lil' LJ as a thank you and as we get closer to the march date, we will have a giveaway and all those who donate will be entered.

Live in Pittsburgh? Then join us for the walk. Be part of it all and see and hear what your money does for families. Details are at the above link. Can't wait to share this day with you all again. And don't forget you'll get a slammin' TEAM EMMA & MADY tee :)

Our Holiday Card

This years' holiday card - didn't think I was going to have the time to pull it off, but somehow I did. The girls did NOT want to cooperate in the short time span. Got some cute shots anyway!

Click on the link above to see some of my other design work!

The diagnosis?

I have a small cyst on my right ovary. Small enough that they don't think it's why I'm having these "symptoms". I was given a script for physical therapy and I have actually heard that it does help some women, so of course I'll try it. The thing is trying to find the time for it.

And speaking of trying to find the time... I have tons of photos to go through from Christmas. The girls had a blast. So did we. Maybe, just maybe, between aunts and uncles, grandparents and us, they got a little too many gifts. Yes, it's possible!

The girls are talking up a storm and using the potty a little more. Emma asks to use it throughout the day and Mady will sometimes follow suit. For whatever reason, going in the public bathrooms when we are out seems to be exciting for them. YUCK!

The poop smearing has slowed down a bit (knock on wood). This just as I finally came up for a solution that I have yet to try. I was told to basically not react, just tell them (mostly Emma) that it's not okay and it's yucky. Then, instead of a nice toasty bath followed by play time, I'm going to use cool water and NO play time. Sounds easy enough right?

On the home front, we are slowly painting, updating lighting, etc. I would love to post about that as well... eventually! Lil' LJ is now in store in wexford, pa! I've only sold one shirt in the 3 weeks I've been in there, but hey, gotta start somewhere right? In the meantime online sales really shot up in the last year. I only need make 10x the amount to quit the day job :)

Pics to come from Christmas and as I always promise, hopefully more updates!!

I think my "break" is over

I was pleasantly surprised at how little endometriosis symptoms I had when I was pregnant. I was of course busy complaining of other things pregnancy related :) Now at 27 months past delivery, I haven't been feeling well the last few months. I'm having some spotting in between periods (I take continuous birth control pills with 1 period every 3 months). I've had PMS being explaination. A few weeks ago my entire pelvis felt frozen and I even had trouble waking. A week or so ago I started having pubic bone pain. What it feels like is those last few weeks of pregnancy when all of the girls weight was pressing down on me. I have a doctors appt set up for Monday. I am 98% sure she will tell me it's the endo rearing it's ugly head but I always have to make sure it's nothing else... like a cyst, fibroid, etc. I'm not sure what next steps would be for me regarding handling pain. I try to take as little motrin, etc as possible but I think it may be time to look into having pain meds on hand if I need them. I have always felt that you shouldn't mask pain because your body tells you these things for a reason.

In the meantime, we haven't taken any steps forward yet in trying to conceive again with our frozen embryos. However, I know if we are going to do it, we need to do it within the next year or so because of my age, the girls age and a million other reasons :)

One week ago today we lost Grandma Minnie

My dad's mother passed away last week at 95. She lost her husband almost 30 years prior. She lived a long and full life! The girls will never remember her, which is actually okay because she hasn't been doing well for a few years now. She hasn't been "grandma" for awhile. I will always think of her when I hear polka and will pass down polka to my girls. I hope there will always be at least one polka played at the weddings we attend in the future!

Infertiity and H1N1

Please pass this along if you know anyone going through treatment...

Seeking Infertility Services? Experts Recommend Seeking H1N1 Immunization First

New research from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute for Child Health and Human Development confirms the need for H1N1 vaccines in women before undergoing infertility treatment.

Using data from the National Survey of Family Growth, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and a PubMed search, the number of infertility visits, H1N1 vaccination rate, H1N1 infection rate, the number of obstetric patients hospitalized with H1N1, and maternal death rate from H1N1 were estimated.

It was found that at the current immunization rate of about 24%, up to 17.5 maternal deaths could be prevented by H1N1 immunization. If all women receive the vaccination before infertility treatments, they researchers estimated 72 deaths would be prevented.

Last year, the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) and the CDC issued a joint statement calling for women to be vaccinated for the H1N1 virus prior to undergoing infertility treatments.

Based on these findings, William Gibbons, MD, President of the ASRM, concluded, “We stand by our recommendation and urge all women to receive an H1N1 vaccine prior to undergoing infertility treatments.”