Sick and Haircut

As I sit here and type I am literally coughing up my lungs.   It all started this past Friday and I thought I was getting the flu.  Well it wasn't the flu but the cold that I had turned into bronchitis.  So far I have had chills, body aches, stuffy nose, drainage, cough, and lost my voice for a day.  Right now I feel like I have worked out my abs for hours because I have coughed so much.  I finally went to the doc and I have bronchitis...duhh!  I knew that, I just wanted the meds to fix it.  Hopefully it will be gone is a few short days!  I had my tonsils out in 2004 and have not been sick since then.  But in the matter of two months I have had the stomach flu and now bronchitis!  I am so over being sick!

Baileys first haircut April 20, 2010

We took Bailey last week to get her hair trimmed.  I either put the front of her hair back in a clip or we put all of it up in a ponytail.  I didn't want to get bangs cut because I am just not a fan of them.  So we are letting the front grow out to be even with the back. 

 I really thought it was going to be a huge disaster.  I got my done first so she would see what it was like. 

As you can tell she was too interested in eating her cereal bar than fighting Danielle.

It also helped Danielle cut it in the seat Bailey was already sitting in.  So we didn't have to fight to get her sit in a real chair.

Honestly, you cant really tell she got it cut.  The main thing was to just straighten it up.  It definitely curls up better than before (except the front is straight as a board). 

Up and down......

I feel like all I get done blogging about is our journey to get pregnant.  But that seems to be the only thing on my mind recently.  It's been a roller coaster of emotions the past few days.  It started Monday when we went to see the Dr for a checkup for being on clomid for 3 months.  I saw my actual Dr. instead of the PA which always makes me feel better.  The appoinment went really well and I was very confident after talking to her.  She reccomended coming in Wednesday (today) for an ultrasound to measure my follicle size.  If everything looked good we were going to take an HCG trigger shot and then have an IUI done.  The trigger shot makes you ovulate 24-48 hours after taking it.  So, that meant that we were for sure going to ovulate and actually know a pretty good time frame.  I am really bad with trying to use the right medical terms for things so here is the definition of an IUI :
IUI stands for intrauterine insemination. Also known as artificial insemination (AI), IUI fertility treatment involves placing specially washed sperm directly into the woman’s uterus through a small tube. The procedure is low tech and completed in the doctor’s office by either a nurse or doctor.

So this was the plan:  Get the ultrasound, take the shot, go back for the procedure, and then hope it worked.  It wasn't a cheap plan either.  Our insurance doesn't cover any of the procedures so it was all "out of pocket" for a chance (not guaranteed to work) to get pregnant.  I had so many emotions in those two days of whether or not to actually do it, but deep down I really wanted to.

Fast forward to today.  We went in for an ultrasound hoping everything was alright.  Well the ultrasound tech measured everything and made us think that my follicles were fine.  We waited to talk to the doc and she was out so we saw the PA.   She told us that my follicles were just a little too big to do the IUI.  From what she explained is the follicles are what turn into the egg.  There is still a chance to get pregnant, but the chance to get pregnant is slim because the follicle is big.  Pretty much it wasn't worth putting the money into an IUI when there was a good chance it wasn't going to work.

She suggested coming back next month and having another ultrasound done to check my follicle size and then if its the right size we can do an IUI. We are still up in the air about where to go from here.  Just to have the ultrasound done today was approximately $200.  So there's another chance we could put $200 dollars into an ultrasound and be told its the wrong size.  If it is the right size we could have the IUI done and that will be approximately another $400 on top of everything else.  We really can't afford to put that kind of money out there for a "chance" at things that are not a for sure thing.  We are throwing all options around right now, even to stop trying and just have one baby.

Sorry if this is all over the place, it is just so hard to explain when I am still so confused on so many things myself.

Bailey...the new photographer!

Not  much going on around The Brouse House.  We went to Jackson birthday party this weekend.  I have pictures of it but have not uploaded them yet.  I will share this week.  We did have another photoshoot with Jackson so his mommy could have lots of pictures to document that cute little face at one year!  This time we ventured somewhere different.  The only way I could do it was because my sister had a doctor appointment and I made her stop by for a few minutes before work to chase one of the kids while I took pictures of the other one.  Bailey would rather check a new place out than stay still for a picture.  So I didn't get many of her, her outfit was so cute and she just wouldn't stay still.  So heres more of Jackson and some of Bailey.

"Seriously guys just let me run!!"

She was saying..."Key" ...."Key"  She really wanted in the building.

Here she is saying "Hold" because I was making her sit there

She is always giving kiss!

When we got home she got her baby and kept propping her against different pillows and saying "cheese" and clicking her tounge like she was taking pictures.  She then saw my camera and pointed to it and watned me to take a picture of her baby.  This is the great shot of her photoshoot.  She then insisted she had to see to see the screen to view her picture afterwards.  She has been doing photoshoots for days now! 

Guess who....

TURNS ONE THIS FRIDAY????

Trying again.....

For those of you who would like to know the full story you can go here.

We were on our second month of taking clomid this past month.  I thought for sure this was the month.  I just had that feeling that everything was going to go as planned. I had passed the days I thought I was supposed to ovulate and Jason went out of town for a few days.  I woke up one night with the worst pain, to the point I couldn't go back to sleep.  I thought my ovaries were going to fall out of me.

Two weeks had passed and it was time to start.  I didn't.  For some reason I honestly wasn't even excited at the thought of being pregnant.  For some reason I got this huge feeling of guilt for having another baby and taking time away from Bailey.  I have wanted to be pregnant again for so long and thought I could possibly be pregnant and didn't even want to be anymore. 

We waited about 3 days and I still hadn't started.  Jason went and bought a pregnancy test.  I took it right away and it was negative.  Then I got another huge feeling of sadness for not being pregnant.  I swear I have the mood swings of pregnancy without being pregnant.  So once again I am dissappointed for not being pregnant.  After thinking back I guess I had just ovulated later than I had expected or was supposed to.  I have always ovulated right on time.

I am now taking clomid again for the 3rd month.  We have an appointment in about a week to discuss things with my doctor.  I desperately want to do something more than taking clomid to help, but insurance doesn't cover much and we can not afford to put the money into it right now and then pay for the doctor bills for being pregnant and having a second child.  The thing that scares me the most is I can only take clomid for 6 months.  I am not sure if there is another pill they can give me or we are just out of luck.  I hate researching it becauase I feel that its always going to happen this month. 

I will update you later when we go to the doctors appointment.  Once again for those of you I talk to in person I apologize for not telling you.  For some reason it is one of the hardest things for me to talk about it. It is easier for some reason for me to just type it and then not talk about it.  If you know me I want what I want when I want it.  This is one thing that is completely out of my control for the most part of when it is going to happen.

Tips for the Kitchen

Here are some GREAT tips for the Kitchen.  I received them in an email and thought you all need to know them.  They fit perfect in our household hope you benefit from them too!

Stuff a miniature marshmallow in the bottom of an ice cream cone to prevent ice cream drips..



Or just suck the ice cream out of the bottom of the cone, for Pete's sake! You are probably lying on the couch with your feet up eating it anyway!




To keep potatoes from budding, place an apple in the bag with the potatoes.......

Or buy Hungry Jack mashed potato mix. Keeps in the pantry for up to a year.


When a cake recipe calls for flouring the baking pan, use a bit of the dry cake mix instead and there won't be any white mess on the outside of the cake.

Or go to the bakery! Hell, they'll even decorate it for you!


If you accidentally over-salt a dish while it's still cooking, drop in a peeled potato and it will absorb the excess salt for an instant 'fix-me-up.'

If you over-salt a dish while you are cooking, that's too bad. Please recite with me the real woman's motto: I made it, you will eat it and I don't care how bad it tastes!'


Wrap celery in aluminum foil when putting in the refrigerator and it will keep for weeks.

Celery? Never heard of it!


Cure for headaches: take a lime, cut it in half and rub it on your forehead. The throbbing will go away.

Or take a lime, mix it with tequila, chill and drink! All your pains go away!


Don't throw out all that leftover wine. Freeze into ice cubes for future use in casseroles and sauces.

Leftover wine?????????? HELLO!!!!!!!

Reading is fun!

Bailey is  obsessed with reading her books.  I thought I would take her to the libary and see how she liked it.  She loved it!!!  She was into everything, luckily no one else was in the kid section that day.

She colored.

She sat in the big girl chair.

And made sure she checked out all kinds of books.

We got a few books to bring home.  Curios Geroge being the favorite!  We got some potty books to look at because hopefully we are going to start with that as soon as school is out and Jackson isn't here.

Happy Happy Happy

Happy Happy Happy..... is what Bailey sings over and over while playing.  She is not the only one that is happy with this weather. We are enjoying the weather and playing outside so much.  Bailey asks to go out and play all the time.  We told Bailey the night before Easter that the bunny was coming after she went to sleep and was going to fill her basket full of fun things.  She actually got it and I was surprised!  She woke up that morning and I was changing her diaper and she pointed outside and said "bunny" and got excited.  She also took a nap that day and woke up thinking the bunny had been here and did the same thing Monday morning. 

We went to my parents on Easter and ate and had an easter egg hunt. 

She liked finding the eggs for a little bit.....

Until she noticed that my Dad got her car out and cleaned it. She played in this all afternoon.

We blew bubbles.

She got a booboo on her knee.

We smiled A LOT.

Chased off all the bees with Papaw

Tried to go up the stairs by herself.

It was such a beautiful day.  We went barefoot the whole day and played.

On another note:  If you have not heard about the mining accident that happened here in WV I would like for you to please keep them and their families in your thoughts.  So far there are 25 confirmed dead, 2 injured, and 4 missing.  A friend I was in sorority with has lost her father-in-law in the accident.   I also know several other that know people that have been affected by the accident.  Just please think of them through this hard time.

Happy Easter!

Hope everyone had a Happy Easter!  This little girl did!

I got so many great pictures from today.  I would share now, but the hubby promised a back massage!!