Best Job Ever...Yeah Right

Many people tell me that I have a great job. I sit at a desk working 4 10 hr days, I have management that I am friends with, and I get to fly to exotic (including Phoenix) locations. Well to all of them I say BLAH!!! I was sent to Raleigh North Carolina (RDU) this week to do some work. Well, not only is it the first week in March, but it is also the week of my brother Nathan's wedding. His rehearsal dinner is tomorrow and the wedding is on Friday 3.6.9 (love the date, it is so numerically fun). Anyways, the rehearsal is tomorrow, and I am stuck here in Raleigh, with a broken plane and a flight attendant that will time out (not be able to fly due to workhour restrictions) if we do not take off soon. So, either I fly really late into Atlanta, and stay for 5 hours there, or they cancel the flight here, and I come back at 4am to fly out on a 520am flight to Atlanta, then finally to Salt Lake City. Oh what choices!!!
I am trying to find the humor in it, I promise I am, but if you know me you know that things like this stress me out. Of course it is only happening because I have something to get home to, because I have plans from the minute I get home all the way through next Wednesday. If you ever get stuck in the Raleigh airport flying Delta, the agents are super nice and super helpful. Just tell them you kow Nicole from SkyWest and if they know me, they may be extra super nice to you.
Jessie & Nate, I love you and promise I did not mean for this to happen. I will make it home by the rehersal...PROMISE

My Crazy Wonderful Man

"Honey, I have a great idea for a snack" That is my favorite line these days. My cute husband knows immediately that I am going to ask for something to eat. It doesn't matter that I am actually closer to the kitchen, or that I am such a picky eater, he will look at me and smile. No ladies, he does not get it every time, but he is pretty darn close. He is such a great guy and I wanted to thank him for being that way. He loves me and I could not ask for more. He has put up with not only me, but me on anti-depressents (not pretty), me on fertility medications (even worse) and me in the hospital on multiple occasions (I am actually pretty funny then). He continues to strive to do his best to take care of me and provide for my future. He has recently started a new travel company M&M Photo Tours. He is very excited about it, and I love seeing the enthusiasim in his eyes when he talks about it. Good luck babe. I know you can do anything you put your mind to. Sorry I don't have a picture of you, but because you are photographer, you are always behind the camera.

Just Some More Lingo

I am putting a few of my favorites, but after talking to our cousins Annie and Tallon I have decided to include a link to the complete TTC (Trying To Concieve) Acronym dictionary.

BD - Baby Dance (making a Baby that is)
BFN - Big Fat Negative (Neg Pregnancy Test)
BFP - Big Fat Positive! (Positive Pregnancy Test)
DH - Dear Husband
POAS - Pee on a stick (Home Pregnancy Test)
SMEP - Sperm Meets Egg Plan
TWW - Two week wait (also 2WW-that horrid time after ovulation, until you get a BFP or BFN)

What exactly does "UNEXPLAINED" mean?

Well, as many of you know, Mike and I are unable to have children the good old fasioned way :( I have a mixture of "UNEXPLAINED" infertility and P.C.O.S. I thought I would post a little dictionary for the few of you that aren't sure what I am talking about when I get on a rampage. (Sorry if you have been subjected to one of those, I know it is unenjoyable, Mike reminds me of it all the time) The following is pulled off of WebMD, I think they say it the best.
***Caution - I do use medical terms***
Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (say "pah-lee-SIS-tik OH-vuh-ree SIN-drohm") is a problem in which a woman’s hormones are out of balance. Polycystic ovary syndrome (or PCOS) is common, affecting as many as 1 in 15 women. Often the symptoms begin in the teen years. Treatment can help control the symptoms and prevent long-term problems. For reasons that are not well understood, in PCOS the hormones get out of balance.
Follicle Stimulation Hormone In women, FSH helps control the menstrual cycle and the production of eggs by the ovaries.
Femara This medication is used with other medications to treat certain types of breast cancer (e.g., hormone-receptor-positive breast cancer) in women after menopause. Letrozole is also used to help prevent the cancer from returning. Some breast cancers are made to grow faster by a natural hormone called estrogen. Letrozole decreases the amount of estrogen the body makes and helps to slow or reverse the growth of these breast cancers.(**ALTHOUGH I DO NOT HAVE BREAST CANCER, IT IS THE MEDICATION I AM GIVEN MOST OF THE TIME. THE FDA WILL NOT APPROVE IT FOR INFERTILITY USE, BUT IT DOES THE JOB**)
Hamster Penetration Test The sperm penetration assay (also called the hamster zona-free ovum test or hamster test) checks whether a man's sperm can join with an egg. Sperm are mixed with hamster eggs in a laboratory. The number of sperm that penetrate the egg (sperm capacitation index) is measured. This test is done most often at special fertility centers that do in vitro fertilization (**Yes, we have had this done* Long Live mansters!!*)
Saline Ultrasound A hysterosonogram is done to evaluate the inside of the uterus (endometrial cavity) by filling the uterus with fluid during an ultrasound. This procedure is also known as a sonohysterogram.
Reproductive Endocronoligist (RE) (Dr. Gibson at the University of Utah) Reproductive endocrinologists are medical doctors who specialize in the care and treatment of women who have trouble becoming pregnant or who have other reproductive or hormonal disorders. Reproductive endocrinologists are gynecologists who specialize in infertility.
Semen Analysis semen analysis checks the number of sperm (sperm count), the number of sperm that look normal, the number of sperm that can move normally, the number of white blood cells in the semen, and how much semen is made. For more information, see the medical test Semen Analysis.
hCG If follicles fully develop, you are given a human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) injection to stimulate the follicles to mature.

What is this?

So I have spent the last three days in bed with some form of stupid cold. It all started last Friday, and just has continually gotten worse. It is really starting to make me mad. Taking 3 days off work is something that I just don't do. Any one have any ideas for some remedies? I have tried everything I could think of.

Housing Update

Well, we have won 1/2 the battle with our foundation. The city inspectors came out and decided that the foundation was more than just a "stress fracture". They sent a letter on January 2 to the home builders (Holmes Homes) notifying them that it was their issues, and they needed to replace the foundation, and they had 30 days to do it. YEAH US!!! On January 19th and Mike called the city and their update was: "Holmes Homes is saying because it is the slab of the foundation it not structural and therefore they do not need to fix it." My response was "The cracks in my wall say it is very structural and they HAVE to fix it." They finally came out and it was a lot more work then they had intended. They were told to chip down everything so it was under 3/8 of an inch. Well there was a lot that was over that. They had to pull up one row of tile in the front entry way. and they spent probably 3 hours chipping away! One guy left and came back an hour later with the self leveling cement. They poured that over about 1/2 of the crack, and they filled the rest with some cement caulk. Mike is going to get cement and cover the rest of the crack, so that everything is level for the floor. Although it wasn't a huge win, it was a win and now we are one step closer to having the house put back together!

Yesterday Mike and I decided to paint the celing in the front room. We had primed the new drywall the week before. After 2 1/2 hours of painting, and being only 1/2 way done, Mike and I decided to not be such savers, and we just went to Lowes and got new rollers. We had been using old ones that were not for "textured surfaces", and it was taking FOREVER. Once we bought the new brush, we were done with the other 1/2 in about an hour! That will teach us to be thrifty. Never again!! ha ha Mike did a super job on the celing, doing all of the main painting. All I had to do was tape and do the edges. His poor neck was so stiff after we were done. Thanks Honey!! You are awesome!
(**Sorry there are no pictures. Mike has them all on his camera and I have no idea how to pull them off. I will do some sort of picture post later**)

Our Personal Christmas Miracle

December 11 2008 was a day that I will never forget. Not only because it was my father-in law's birthday but also because it was the day that Mike and I received our own Christmas Miracle. Mike's extended family (the Montgomery side) decided last year ('07) to do an Angel Tree for the Christmas party '08. So everyone got together their change that they had saved during the year and at the Christmas party we counted it up. We were all so suprised at the number. Then, Grandma Montgomery brought out the tree and Ashlee Hansen read who the angel would be:

Some of our loved ones, we pick of this tree
We've saved all year for your specifically
Building a family we know is your goal
We see this desiere, light from your soul
We've thought & pondered "What more could we do"
So please take this gift from our hearts to you
Some of our loved ones, we pick off this tree
These angels in our lives are Mike & Nickie

(written by Cami)

This was our miracle. This was the best Christmas gift we could have ever gotten. What we did not know was a few months before the party "secret" e-mails were sent to everyone, except us, letting them know that there was a slight change in plans. Although there would still be an angel picked that angel would come from much closer to home.

My heart cannot begin to thank you all enough. You have given Mike and I something we couldn't, the beginnings of a family. You have been our Christmas Miracle. We Love You So Much. Thank you for your sneeky little way of showing us you care. You mean everything to us.