Fit For Future Families - May 2011

Carina- He will only be with us for about 6 weeks. I know soooooo short! He might come back to us after his break, it will depend on if we get a summer student placement and how long that student is staying. We told the program we only want one student at a time. We have two spare rooms but like having a "guest room" for when family comes to see us from Hawaii. By the way, is that a new hair cut, very cute!

KCurtis5 - when you are at the Coke museum make sure some of the girls taste the "Beverly" soda and make sure you have a camera near by!!! grossest soda I have ever put near my mouth! lol... it is always fun to try the stuff and see how everyone reacts - I think it is an apple soda from Africa is pretty good and of course they have your normal stuff. My DH is a coca cola fanatic - we frequently have a wall of coke in our house just for him. I can't have caffeine so people always laugh when they realize it is all for him. His grooms cake for our wedding was a coke can - lol...

LOL Will do!! Thanks! DH and I are crazy diet coke people! We can't keep a 2L bottle in the house for longer than a few days. LOL Coke can cake LOL

Hi ladies! I know I haven't been too active on this board but I am always reading your posts!
This morning I've had some cramping, and AF isn't due until 2 days so I'm really hoping this is a good sign! I never get cramps until AF actually shows so I'm not trying to get my hopes up, but of course I'm even more anxious now!

Hope everyone is having a good Thursday

I have a question for all the ladies with infertility issues because of the husband... do you feel like when he knows it's because of him, that he looses his sex drive? Sorry, I know thats a personal question. My husband has had none what-so-ever for about a year and half (since he was diagnosed with cancer again right after we were married). It's hard to be married and not have sex. lol. Sorry for the bluntless. He makes up for it in other ways, very cuddly and always doing sweet things for me. And he's very aware of it and aplogizes all the time, which makes me feel 100x worse for wanting to have sex even though I know it's normal. I know it's most likely a side effect of the chemotherapy. It kills everything so I'm assuming it killed his hormones and we need to get them checked out in August when we have him tested again. But, I was just curious if part of it could be emotional and psychological as well. Did anyone experience this when they found out that the hubby has a really low sperm count, or something like that? Or maybe anyone who found out that they will have to do IVF like us to concieve, do you think it made your husband feel like he wasn't needed even though it's still his sperm?

Thanks to all those keeping their fingers crossed for me, I really appreciate the good vibes.

Kim, There’s a Coke place?!? Wow am I out of the loop! DH and I don’t drink soda, so I would never have thought to look for one. The last time we had some in the house (some else brought it) it stayed in the fridge untouched for a month before I finally poured it down the sink, and I only even though of it because I was bringing down the recycling. I did used to like adding a bit of ginger ale to cranberry juice when I was younger though.
Have fun!

Pam, Enjoy the trip to NYC and like Jalara suggested, get a little something for yourself you deserve it!

Katy, FC for you that it was implantation!

Carina, FC crossed for you too!

Karen, thanks for that site, it looks great, cant wait to peruse it tonight. Oh and WTG on the NSV!

Jalara, I hope you have a productive and efficient move (there was no way I was going to say have fun, cause who has fun packing! Really… who?).

MrsHinds, This lack in drive may have more to do with either the chemo, or just simply that every couple looses “steam” after a couple years of living together. I found that after DH’s first SA (and it was a low count) it was really hard to talk about TTC’ing because he took everything to heart, like my frustration or impatience was his fault. We luckily were able to talk about it, and his second SA was in the normal range, so that’s not an issue anymore, but I’m still very cautious about how I vent around him.
If talking to him doesn’t help, be proactive, go and buy a “video” you think he’d like, or an “outfit” or “toys”. Have fun with it, it may be just what he needs to get back into things.

Afm, I’m sooooo sore! I did Pilates last night, first time in a while, and I guess my body wasn’t used to using those muscles anymore! Tonight is cardio only!

Happy Thursday!

Had a great presentation at work today, so I have a few minutes to catch up on here before I'm out with the girls to see Bridesmaids tonight. Poor DH, he says as I'm leaving this morning, "Who am I going to hang out with tonight?". It was the saddest puppy-dog face, but I wasn't swayed.

There were THREE pages of posts since my last one, wow! So here goes...

Jalara: Sorry you haven't been feeling well. A bunch of my team at work has been sick, so I'm hoping something isn't going around. Take care of yourself.

Kim: That business with your friends stinks. I'm glad you are talking to them, though. My maid of honor in my wedding stopped talking to me unexpectedly years ago and it took me the longest time to understand (she still doesn't talk to me). I know it is cliche, but sometimes people just change. We wanted different things out of life and hanging out just wasn't conducive for either of us. But the good news is that over time I made new friends, ones who do value the same things as me, and we're all better off. Hang in there.

Oh, and have fun at the World of Coke, I live just outside of Atlanta so have been there many times. I'm sure your sister has it all planned out, but let me know if you need any fun suggestions. I totally agree with missionchick (btw, great pics, the boas are fantastic!) about the Beverly too. The kids' (and adults') expressions are priceless. Ashley, there is way more than just regular Coke there, it's a museum on the history of Coke and then you can taste drink that the company makes from all around the world.

Fiona, Glad you talked to your hubby. There are so many ups and downs in this process (for both people). A lot of guys deal with stuff internally too, so sometimes you just have to pull a little to get them talking (but not too much). Stay strong! Shannon/Andrea, same thing with guys and motivation. I'm actually the one who loses interest more often, and I feel badly about it, so I'm more aware. The physical/psychological component is most of it, but then again, sometimes you just have to mix things up. Like planning to meet at home in the middle of the afternoon.

Luki, I never was very successful with the temperatures. I don't think my body responded the correct way, even when actually O'ing. In my opinion, the kits are much more reliable.

Karen, thanks for the link. I have to make a ton of food for a tailgate this weekend so I'll definitely be checking it out for suggestions so there is at least one thing I can eat and not feel guilty about.

Pam, have fun in NY!

Katy, how about both sets of pics?

And welcome dcg8r! There is so much good stuff going on here, I think you might really like it!

Ok, that was all I can remember right now - it is the end of the day and my brain is done. Have a great night ladies!

Okay! Here are the wedding pics! the first set are our courthouse wedding pics, before my husband deployed to IRaq. One of the greatest days of my life. The 8 months that followed were the hardest. being with out him during our first year of marriage was hard.... and the next set of pictures are of our big wedding when he got back. that was the best day ever!

courthouse, the one we celebrate- june 26, 2007- i was 18 and graduates just a month earlier.







Big wedding- April 26, 2008








It will be 4 years next month. Everyone thought we wouldnt last or would be a train wreck by now. HA. no one believed that by getting married at 18 i would graduate college.. i graduate in december thnak you very much! I am now getting healthy, i finally feel like i'm at my full potential!

Ok so here are my wedding pictures, I do want to say that we didn’t have a photographer so I don’t have great photos like all of you. It’s a mish-mash of everyone sending me the pics they took. The weeding was also very low budget, I wanted to keep our savings to be able to by a house (still saving). The area of Montreal I live in is more than I can afford to buy in right now (400-700k) and I haven’t let go of hope just yet. So with all that said, the wedding was in my parent back yard in the countryside:

Reg photos:








Oh and this was my father & i's version of the "father - daughter dance"

The girls

Anyone know how to make them smaller? It cut the pictures in half, you cant see the right side of any of them

Anyone know how to make them smaller? It cut the pictures in half, you cant see the right side of any of them

You'd have to adjust their size on the website you are getting the from (photobucket or whatever).

I'm trying to do that, but it doesnt seem to want to transfer over to MFP, i'll keep playing with it

Anyone know how to make them smaller? It cut the pictures in half, you cant see the right side of any of them

You'd have to adjust their size on the website you are getting the from (photobucket or whatever).

I'm trying to do that, but it doesnt seem to want to transfer over to MFP, i'll keep playing with it

Are you replacing the original (on the photobucket) when you do it? that's the only way I can get it to work for me.

I actually am, and sometimes when i refresh MFP some are changed but not all, so i make more modifications & refresh again & they're all big again?

Oh, and on a TTC note: Thanks to everyone that crossed their fingers and toes for my IUI to happen this Monday! It worked! I go in for 9am Monday morning!!!!! Wish us luck!

Abeare - first of all your parents backyard is amazing! And I really loved your dress and bridesmaid's dresses. As far as the pics go I used tinypic and it let me size them for different things like a message board or an email - it scaled them very nicely - you might want to try that :happy:

Jalara - glad to know that things are starting to look up! Keep up the good work it will show!

Katy - congratulations! on your impending graduation!! I have taken some classes since being married and I found it much harder to focus on that task once I was married. My DH is a distraction! I would have to go lock myself in a different room or work on it while he wasn't there.

MrsHinds - thanks for sharing your struggle - I know that it is not easy - I can't imagine the emotional rollercoaster both of you have been on with his struggle with cancer. I can imagine his self-esteem took a big hit and he is wrapping a lot of his self-worth up in his performance in the bedroom without even realizing it. Men have such a desire to be providers and they have a need to fix things - he probably feels horrible that he can't provide for you in this way and that he has no idea how to fix it and make it better. I am sure he knows that you desire him in that way, but he can't bring himself to face the fact that he feels like he is somehow failing you. Respect is also so key in a man's mindset - he may feel that you can't respect him b/c he can't provide. Men are not big on saying these things out loud but their identity is very wrapped up in these ideas. As women, we often forget how different our men are from us and how differently they view their identity. We take for granted that they can read our minds and often forget to try and understand theirs. Shaunti Feldhahn wrote an amazing book called "For Women Only" about insights in to the male mind. She interviewed/polled hundreds of men and wrote about her findings. I read this when my husband was going through a period of apathy and depression about life in general. Really made a difference in how I responded to him and he has thanked me for reading it and applying some of things I read now that he is in a much better place. I applaud you for seeking help and wanting to help DH. I agree that you should find a support group in your area and see what they can offer you in the way of support and help. No one knows better than people who are going through it alongside you. Sending hugs and prayers your way

AFM - thank you guys for praising our pics! Our photographer was awesome - he actually also did my bro's wedding, is doing our family pics this summer and my cousin's wedding in the fall. I think we should get some kickback from all the business we have given him Actually he used to be a teacher and gave us a discount b/c he knows how much teacher's make - which was awesome! We actually had boas, masks and beads for my bachelorette party. I used to live in New Orleans and that is where I met 3 of my bridesmaids. My maid of honor was still living there and she surprised us with them. My photographer saw them in her bag at the church and asked if we could use them in the pics. They turned out to be some of my favorite ones. Still sorting and labeling yearbooks, while choosing my new staff for next year. DH and I are going to Ukraine this summer on a mission trip and we are having a retreat for our team this weekend. I have no idea what to expect from the food over the next 24 hours since it is supposed to help us dive in to Ukrainian culture. So I am going easy on the calories until I get there so I can be prepared. Just praying that our college student remembers to eat while we are gone and doesn't burn the house down - lol... :laugh: last time she tried to make Ramen she forgot about the water boiling and burned my stainless steel pot to the point of no return. So last night I showed her where the sandwich stuff and tuna was located in the pantry

Hello my lovely friends. I just wanted to pop in and let you all know I was thinking about you. I love the support you all give to one another (and had/have to me). You are all inspirations and I hope even on the days you feel defeated by whatever, that you know that tomorrow is a new day and you've all come so far! Missing you all dearly. Please take care of yourselves!

p.s. I LOVE all of your wedding pics!