Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Back to Blogging!

It has been FOREVER since my last post! Rob came and left, but we had an amazing time together while he was here. It was soo busy and felt like a whirlwind. Here is how it went:

Sept 1: HE'S HOME!! I got all dolled up and went to the airport to get him. I was an hour early and paced around until the plane landed. Then I stood by the escalator and totally freaked out when I saw his boots! I held him and it felt like we were the only ones in the busy NYC airport. Once the butterflies settled, we headed to a luxury hotel for the night. We were treated like celebrities when they heard he was home from Iraq. The staff was super attentive and strangers even bought us wine. We had the best time and it was great spending the first 24 hours alone..something we never did in the past.

Sept 2: My nanny had her breast surgery, so we drove the hour and a 1/2 to my parents house to see her. It went well and we were pleasantly surprised to see that a few hours after surgery she was sitting up playing cards, eating dinner with us and complaining of no pain.

Sept 3: Back down to Long Island to spend the day with Rob's mom, who took the day off of work. We had lunch at P.F. Chang's and did some shopping.

Sept 4: Nanny decided last night that her bandages were uncomfortable, and at 1 a.m. ripped them off...so we drove back up to my parents to be there for her second surgery to drain the fluid and swelling that occurred. This time she had to have a drain put in, but was sent home a few hours later.

Also, from the hospital we went home, showered and attended Mike & Amy's rehearsal dinner. It was a good time and everyone was excited for the big day.

Sept 5: Pretty much our only "non-travel" day. We were at my parent's house and didn't go out all day..it was great to not be in the car! Rob has become somewhat gym-obsessed and decided he needed to workout. He convinced me to join him, so we searched the house for some weights and other random equipment we could use. Needless to say, I ended up being the barbell...

Sept 6: Mike & Amy's wedding. It was a beautiful day out and most everything went perfectly..let's just say it was a good thing Rob was around to chauffeur the girls in the morning to hair and makeup appts. Thanks, love, for being a good sport!!

Sept 7: We drove out to CT to visit some of Rob's family.

Sept 8: First Yankee game at the new stadium!! We loved it, but of course miss the nostalgia of the old stadium. Oh, and the Yankees won =)






Sept 9-11: We rented a beach house on Long Island to getaway for 2 nights. The weather was cold, windy and rained the last day, but we still had fun. We played cards, went to a wine tasting, peach picking, had a clambake and visited an awesome aquarium.
















Sept 12: Rob went to another Yankee game to spend some quality time with his dad and brothers.

Sept 13-14: We drove down to Cape May, NJ where my parents were on vacation. It is a beautiful Victorian beach town and we had GREAT weather! We went on a horse and carriage ride, ate delicious seafood and got some sun, finally!!















Sept 15-16: Back to Rob's parents house to spend some time with his family & friends.

Sept 17: Time to say goodbye. I dropped him off at the airport and of course cried like a baby =(
Only two more months to go...

For those of you who have asked about the baby making...unfortunately this month wasn't it. Peeing on a stick has become so heartbreaking for me, that I almost dread it. I had to take a test this weekend because my doctor said if it was negative she wanted me to start IV antibiotics. So, it looks like I will be doing that this week. ::sigh::

Rob and I talked about it though and he did make me feel better. We have this big PCS move coming up and we want to take a trip to Italy in January, so maybe the timing wasn't right. Plus, the IV should get my weight and PFT's up which will be better for pregnancy. That is what I am holding on to for now, and if we don't get a positive test before we move, then we are going to see an RE in Georgia.

Well, that is all for now! I will keep you posted on the IV and such! xo

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Kreativ Blogger Award


I received this award from my cysta Somer. She is an amazing, strong woman with Cystic Fibrosis and I am so glad to have her as my friend!

Here are the rules for the award:

1. Thank the person who nominated you for this award.


2. Copy the logo and place it on your blog.


3. Link to the person who nominated you for this award.


4. Name 7 things about yourself that people might find interesting.

5. Nominate 7 Kreativ Bloggers.

6. Post links to the 7 blogs you nominate.


7. Leave a comment on each of the blogs letting them know they have been nominated.


7 Things About Me

1. I got a tattoo 3 years ago representing my CF (purple roses with the word "Breathe" on my lower back)

2. At 22, I got married and became an Army Wife

3. My favorite place to be is on the beach

4. No matter where the Army sends us, New York will ALWAYS be home!

5. Rob & I have been struggling with IF, but I really hope to be a mommy one day soon

6. I am obsessed with making lists, dunkin donuts iced coffee, my dogs & chocolate.

7. I love anything to do with food - grocery shopping, cooking and of course, eating!!







Saturday, August 22, 2009

Some bad news...Some good news...

...The Bad News...

Two days ago, my nanny was diagnosed with breast cancer. She is 86 years old. It is hard on my family, especially my immediate family because she has been living with my parents, sister and I for the past 18 years (since my grandpa passed away). We have been very close to her and have been taking care of her, even more so these last few years. She is still active and healthy otherwise so this came as a huge shock.

I spent 4 hours at the doctor yesterday with her and my mom. The doctor wants to do a mastectomy on September 10th. She has to go through a lot of tests and get clearance from her doctors before the surgery will be possible. She got some of those done yesterday and has the rest scheduled throughout next week.

At first, she accepted it and said she would do whatever needed to be done. She even joked around that she would get double D implants. Now she is in denial and fearing the surgery a little more. My mom has decided to take her to another doctor tomorrow for a second opinion and so that nanny can hear someone else say that this is necessary.

I felt sad when we got the news, but somehow medical diagnosis and procedures seem to affect me different than most. I guess that is due to CF experiences. I just want to deal with it, take the meds, do the tests and have it be done with. I think she should get the surgery as soon as possible and not have to worry about it any more. The doctor said once the breast is removed the cancer should be gone completely. We will see what the other doctor says tomorrow.

I just ask that you please keep my nanny and my family in your thoughts and prayers. It is always difficult to get news like this and its hard to know if you are making the right decision when it comes to someone's life.


...The (sort of) Good News...

I haven't posted about this much before, but Rob and I have had difficulty trying to get pregnant. We tried for 13 months last year (in between deployments) and were unsuccessful.

Towards the end of that year of trying we started to seek help. I saw a Reproductive Endocrinologist and had some tests done on both Rob and myself. They didn't find anything, which was frustrating. The doctor wanted me to start Clomid, but because Rob was deploying, it was pointless. Needless to say, it has been very heartbreaking and difficult for us.

My periods have been VERY irregular, which makes figuring out when I ovulate nearly impossible. When I was 16, I was put on birth control pills to regulate my cycle...but now that I am trying to conceive and am more educated on the subject, I realize that BCP prevent you from ovulating altogether. I am wondering now if being on them for 7 years is affecting my fertility. Or maybe it is CF related.

The good news is that I got my period yesterday..which means I will be ovulating in 2 weeks when Rob is home for R&R!!!!

Either way, please keep your fingers crossed that next month is THE cycle for us!! There is nothing more I want out of life than to have a baby with my husband.

Thursday, August 13, 2009

A little help, please??

Can't believe it's been almost a month since my last post! I guess the summer has a way of keeping us busy and making time pass much more quickly. A couple of weekends ago I was in Seaside Heights, NJ for Amy's bachelorette weekend. I had a great time with the girls - drinking, tanning & making new friends =)


In other exciting news. . . Rob leaves Iraq for R&R in 2 weeks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OMG I can not wait to have him here with me!!!! He has already been gone for 8 1/2 months..and they have been draggging.

Okay, so the main purpose of this post is because I need some help from my fellow CFers. I've lost over 10lbs. since last year. I haven't been sick or anything, I think the deployment has a lot to do with it..stress and such. Anyway, I need recipes, tricks, or ideas that have helped you to gain weight. Thank you all in advance, I know I can always count on you guys! xo

Friday, July 17, 2009

We're PCSing!!


For those non military friends, that means Permanent Change of Station. Rob and I will soon be saying our goodbyes to Fort Bragg, NC and moving on to a new Army post. Here is how it went down.

So I was messing around on the computer this afternoon waiting for Rob to come online like he usually does. As I was mindlessly reading statuses on my facebook pages, my phone rang. It was him. When I answered I said "Hey babe! How come you're calling??" He sort of laughed and I immediately knew something was up and I called him out on it. "Baby, what is going on??" Then he said, "I got orders." I was in shock. He then told me his orders are to Fort Benning, GA and he reports in February. As in, 7 months from now!! He won't even get home from this deployment until mid November. After he told me I was laughing and crying at the same time. I didn't know how to feel and honestly, I still don't. I am happy because it means he won't deploy for 4 years, and he will be home a lot. I am also excited to be moving to a new place and living in a different part of the country although I am nervous about it as well. It is an 18hr drive from my parents house in NY, it will mean finding all new CF doctors, and depending tremendously on Rob. I have a million questions and worries and concerns, but they will all get figured out in time. Right now I am just celebrating the thought of having Rob all to myself for FOUR years!! This is amazing!!!!!!!!

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Go GREEN

Yesterday I went over to Amy's to have lunch. She showed me a video that she had to watch for a grad class. It was about the effects we have on the environment and how much energy and resources we use for the things we buy. The past year or so I have become more conscious of my own carbon footprint - bringing reusable bags for shopping, using less paper goods such as dishes and napkins, turning off appliances when not in use. It may not be a lot but I believe that if everybody does a little it will make a difference.

We are so wasteful and the video talks about the disposable society we live in. It is sad to think that we throw out things without giving it a second thought of where it will end up. I saw a show on Oprah awhile back about this. The guest speaker said that there is a mound of garbage the size of TEXAS in the Pacific Ocean! They showed pictures of turtles and birds caught up in plastic bags. It was so sad. Another videoclip they showed was of a garbage dump and all of the things in it that could have been recycled or reused.

I just hope that people will watch this video and be aware of our impact on this planet. If our ancestors were this selfish and wasteful, where would we be today?

You can view the video at www.storyofstuff.com. It is worth the 20 minutes of your time when you consider our future and that of the generations to come.

Sunday, June 28, 2009

Amy's Bridal Shower

So my best friend Amy is getting married in September and I am the maid of honor. I've been nervous and excited at the same time. I don't usually like attention being on me and I am already panicking about giving a speech at the wedding!! HAHA. But on to the fun stuff, her bridal shower was yesterday. I have spent months planning and trying to make it special for her. (A little background - Amy lost her sister when we were in the 6th grade and hasn't talked to her mom much since.) It is a said situation and I really wanted to show her how loved she is and how much she deserves to be happy. After the shower was over I came home and literally crashed. The anxiety of everything running smoothly along with the physical planning, setting up and carrying presents, chairs, etc wore me out! I spent all day today relaxing and even took a nap. We had a great time, but I am glad it is over now =)

Chair I decorated


Me with my friend Nicole

Amy showing off the lingerie clothesline

Bubblegum Interview game

I was so excited about the chapstick favors!

Silly pic with Brooklyn when I got home