Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Shopping Carts

Some of Jack's most entertaining moments happen while we're out shopping and he's riding in the cart. Here are a few of them....

This one is from Ikea. Jack absolutely hates Ikea and so we are constantly trying to find new ways to entertain him while we're there. We turned a colander into a hat. And yes, we bought it.




This was taken at Target. He really liked the floppy straw hats. When we put it on him, he kept saying "Like CHUCK!" I can only assume that my mom's fiance, Chuck, has a straw hat similar to this one. Don't worry, Chuck, we won't tell anyone.



This was taken at Sam's Club. Jack has a slight obsession with all things musical. So when we saw a couple of guitars on display at Sam's, we walked by them and I started strumming. Jack thought it was the funniest. thing. ever. EVER. He couldn't stop laughing.

Monday, April 28, 2008

Menu Plan Monday


I am trying something new! :) This blog has a Menu Plan Monday every week and I love clicking on the different links and seeing everyone's menus for the week. So, I decided to join in! Here is our menu for the week:


Tuesday - Cabbage Rolls with garlic bread

Wednesday - Ground turkey stroganoff with salad

Thursday - Gaucho Burgers (from Rachael Ray magazine) with potato wedges

Friday - Chicken & Veggie Quesadillas with spanish rice

Sunday - Eating lunch out...so probably leftovers or something light for dinner.


Check out Menu Plan Monday here for more menus!

Saturday, April 19, 2008

5 - It's the new 7

For about a week now, Jack has been waking up waaaaaay too early. Today it was 5:00 am. Earlier in the week he's woken up at 2 am and 3 am, but thankfully went back to sleep - only to wake up again before 6 am. I am so tired. He is so tired. He's grouchy all day long and we're all miserable. This started when we took the front rail off of his crib to transition it to a bed. Now that he can get out of bed, I guess there's more exciting things to do than sleep. Today we'll be taking ALL toys out of his room (there's only a few in there right now anyway) and I think I'll put a radio alarm clock up there and tell him he can't get out of bed until the music comes on. I doubt this will work, but it's worth a shot. I seriously don't know how much more I can take.

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Color Blind

For those of you that don't know, my wonderful husband is fairly color-blind. Not enough that it impairs his every day functioning, but just enough to make me laugh. (I'm totally joking...I don't laugh at my husband's expense. I love him very much and completely respect him.) So, when I saw this picture today, I knew I had to share it with everyone...


Monday, April 14, 2008

MN Children's Museum






We found a great place!!! Last week Jack and I went to the MN Children's Museum with some friends that we've met through our local MOMS Club. It was so much fun. The kids had a great time and I think they thoroughly enjoyed themselves. We (uh, Jack) had a few meltdowns, but still managed to make it through in one piece. We will definitely be visiting this place again!


Thursday, April 10, 2008

Some Pictures, That's All...

I'm not embarassed to say that we went to the Spam Museum last month (yes, they really have a museum for this stuff). We actually had a fun time. And, it was free. I've never tried Spam, and I don't plan on it in the near future, but I still had a good time.
Before
("Hm? What was I doing? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. What's in my mouth? Definitely not your soda that I grabbed off the table. Definitely not that.")

After
("How you doin'?")


Tuesday, April 1, 2008

When is Jack going to be a big brother???

We get this question sometimes. And, I'm sure that as Jack gets older we'll be getting it more often. This could be a fairly simple question to answer for most people. For us, it's not so simple. We want Jack to be a big brother. It's something we pray for all of the time. But, we are not able to "make" Jack a big brother right now. We are struggling with secondary infertility - something that affects over 3 million Americans.*

Secondary infertility is defined as the inability to become pregnant, or carry a pregnancy to term, following the birth of one or more biological children.* We conceived Jack through the assistance of fertility drugs after a year of "trying." We were very fortunate to get pregnant with Jack. I (Stephanie) have a fairly common medical condition that prevents me from ovulating and getting pregnant. Without fertility drugs or procedures, our chances of conceiving naturally are very, very slim.

We recently decided to once again pursue treatment for infertility. Unfortunately, the fertility drugs did not do what they were supposed to do during the time that we used them. We prayed about what to do. Continue treatments or put them on hold? We both felt that it was the "right" decision to stop treatments. I say "right" decision, because it's a decision that will never feel right...it's one of the hardest decisions we've had to make. There are several reasons for that decision...one is financial. Although you hate to put a price on having a baby, our current financial situation just doesn't allow us to pursue more extensive treatments. We want to be wise with our finances (after years of being not-so-wise) and feel that it is important to be able to afford treatments. Especially now that we have Jack depending on us - we need to be financially secure for him as well. Another reason for stopping treatment is the emotional toll that it has taken on us, both individually and as a couple. You can't imagine the emotional rollercoaster that infertility puts you on until you've been there yourself. It's one disappointment after another. We've gone through so many ups and downs, and we're back where we started.

We want Jack to be a big brother. I want him to have a playmate, to have someone to share secrets with and someone to get in trouble with. I want him to be able to give his sibling that "look" and they'll know what the other is thinking without saying anything. I want him to be able to roll his eyes to his sibling about something I've said or done. I want him to know the love of a brother or sister. I want him to grow up knowing that there's someone else in this world who went through the same exact things growing up and understands him a little better because of that. I want him to have someone to stay up late with. Someone to sleep under the Christmas tree with. Someone to share a room with.

Since we've come to the decision of not pursuing infertility treatments, watching Jack grow up has become more bitter than sweet. Where I was once excited about his milestones, I find that I am more sad about them. I don't want to take him out of his crib. I don't want to throw the pacifiers away. I don't want him to stop mispronouncing words. I don't want him to go to school so soon. Coming to terms with the fact that he might be my only baby is difficult. I took for granted the thought that we would have multiple children.

In the meantime, we pray. We pray about where God is leading us next and for strength through the journey. Right now, I am grieving the death of a dream. While it may come true someday, and we don't know what God has in store for us down the road, we are sad for what we've lost for the time being. Our reality is much different than our dreams. But, God's plans are bigger than our own.

"'For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD.
'As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.'" Isaiah 55:8-9


"'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'" Jeremiah 29:11



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