The Fab Foxes

I am grateful for the health and happiness of all those that I hold dear.  You give me so much strength!

As you know, B and I finally started trying to conceive this month.  I had been taking my Basal Body Temperature at the instruction of my doctor since September.  I felt like I knew my cycle relatively well before ever doing that but I will admit that taking my basal temperature each morning really helped me to understand it (and predict it) much better.  I knew exactly when I had ovulated and it took the guessing game out of the whole process.  So a week later when I started experiencing certain symptoms I had my suspicions but knew it was way too early to tell.  I can honestly say that I've "known" for the last week but today the test confirmed it:  WE ARE PREGNANT!!!!

It is no surprise to me that it happened so quickly.  Most people didn't know but when I went to my Preconception Counseling appointment in September my doctor told me to stop taking the pill and use an "alternate form of contraceptive"  (I can't tell you how much that SUCKS)!!!!  But anyway, we did it and it allowed my body to rid itself of the hormones and for us to get pregnant FAST!  It probably also helps that I come from a family of super fertile people.  I know that so many people struggle to conceive so I know we are truly blessed for it to be so "easy" for us.

I spoke of the symptoms I experienced earlier so I guess I will elaborate.  Last week, about 8-10 days DPO (days past ovulation) I realized that I was extremely tired at the oddest times.  In the morning after breakfast Y and I will typically sit and watch Sesame Street, Word World , Barney and Sid the Science Kid.  We don't always watch all of them but usually the TV is on and we get to see bits and pieces of each between our other activities.  Well I found myself falling asleep during some of these times and I don't mean little nods here and there, I mean full on I-can't-keep-my-eyes-open sleep.  Fortunately Y would be so entranced in whatever she was watching/doing that I could get 10-20 minutes of sleep in and she would be perfectly well behaved.  Another thing I started to notice was just how thirsty I constantly was and how I'd wake up each morning with the worst cotton mouth you can imagine.  I remember that happening when I was first pregnant with Y, I don't normally drink many fluids during the day and it's kind of necessary when you're pregnant so in an attempt to prevent the extreme thirst and cotton mouth, I'd better start drinking more.  And the final two clues came last night.  First was during Y's bedtime routine, B took her to brush her teeth and when they returned (about 2-3 minutes later) I was in a deep sleep.  Finally, and this may be TMI for some, but B and I were watching a movie last night I laughed so hard and I (only the tiniest bit) wet myself.  Well the only time I've ever done this was when I was pregnant.  You see I have a tilted uterus and it tilts right into my bladder.  Now it is normal for the uterus to tilt slightly towards the bladder but lets just say mine tilts more than slightly and as a result I get that urinating issue that so many pregnant women experience so much earlier than most...lucky me!

So with all those symptoms I decided that even though I had a "test day" picked out I would move it up, and so I did.  I know that there are so many people who never "go public" about their pregnancy until much later and I actually did give that a thought, if only for a brief second.  I completely realize that after the first trimester the odds of miscarriage decreases but I also realize that if it happens, I'd rather have the same people that I shared the joyous news with first also be the first people there to comfort me through it.  We're only 4 weeks into this pregnancy and know that we have a long way to go with a million possibilities between now and then but you needn't worry and can rest assured that I'll take you along for the ride with us!

I am grateful for hooded sweatshirts and warm, comfy socks.  I swear I am always cold these days!!!

I am grateful to only have a few more days of this...I didn't know what I was getting myself into! There will most definitely NOT be a repeat performance next year!

I am thankful for all the lights and Christmas decorations and Christmas music!!!  This really is "the most wonderful time of the year."  And yes, I did just sing that while I typed it!

Today I am thankful for all the great deals that I am about to get.  I am also grateful to all those people who work in retail and have been dreading this day for the past 365 days.  Those individuals who get up in the wee hours of the morning just to assist me in making my purchases.  I am also grateful for those who I will hold a conversation with as I wait outside in the cold to get inside a building where the item I am looking for is probably already sold out - you really do make the time go faster.  I am grateful for my MIL and FIL who will stay here and watch Y as I spend the first part of the day shopping and the second part of the day sleeping!

Today I am grateful for turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans (or string beans as we call it in the south), macaroni and cheese, bread, apple crisp, pumpkin bars, and vanilla ice cream!  I would also like to express my thanks for Collard Greens but I don't have any.  Mama, can you mail me some?!?!

I am thankful for my dad.  Yes, I said my dad.  As odd as it may seem, I owe a lot to him.  No matter how much we struggled, he always made sure we had whatever we needed.  We never missed a school field trip, he always found a way to earn a little extra money to pay for it.  We always had clothes to wear, they weren't the most fashionable or desirable and most time they were purchased at a stock yard or flea market, but we were always dressed.  I'm not gonna pretend that he's the most moral man (though he never broke the law, or at least not the laws of the land) or that he was the ideal father, but I'll put it this way:  it is because of my dad that I married the type of man I married.  And for that, I couldn't be more thankful!

Ok, the truth is that I didn't invent anything but I did have a necessity and so I decided to create a solution.  To get to the point I'll give you a little background info.

I picked out Y's Christmas dress really early this year.  By "picked out" I mean I saw it and I knew it was the one I wanted, I went in an bought it a few weeks later, which was still over a month ago.  But from the moment I saw the dress, I knew what I wanted for her hair when she wore the dress.  I wanted a Poinsettia clip that I could either use as a bow or with a black or white crocheted headband depending on my (and her) mood.



The Dress - it's paired with red tights and black shoes.

Seems pretty easy, right??  Yeah, I thought so too.  So I started checking out stores when I first saw "the dress," looking for the bow I wanted.  I never found it and I attributed this to the fact that I was still way ahead of the Christmas outfit game.  So I would look every now and again as I went in stores and I'd also peruse different Etsy shops as well as Ebay and Amazon.  Each time I'd come up disappointed.  And finally, about a week ago, a few options showed up on Etsy and Ebay but then I hit another wall...they were asking $5-10 plus shipping for ONE bow.  I didn't wanna spend that much on a single bow that I couldn't even hold or touch before deciding if I actually wanted it.  (Note:  had it been in-store for $5 I probably would have bought it but when you add in shipping fees - $3.25 to ship a bow that doesn't even weigh 2oz is crazy to me - I had to pass).
So I began looking at craft shops for flowers to make my own bow...this lead to more disappointment and frustration!!!  I kept coming up empty handed at every store I went to...until I went to the store I felt was least likely to have what I was looking for.  And I was right in my assumption, sort of.  They didn't have what I was looking for in the form that I was looking for it but they, unlike all the previous stores, did have something that would help me improvise and CREATE what I was looking for.  They had this:



The first was taken without flash and the second with flash, neither is very good but the lighting was pretty crappy.

And the best part is I only ended up costing me about $1 per bow and I made 12 bows, which I will be sharing with my niece and some friends here locally!

Today I am expressing my gratitude for my Mom. She has been such a strength to me throughout my life and has always been my biggest cheerleader and my biggest reality check. She is also one of my best friends and she loves me in spite of me! I don't think that I could have gone through many of the things that she has and still have so much faith in people, through everything she always looks for the good in people. I could stand to learn a lot from her!

I am thankful for all the struggles of my life, more specifically, my life before the age of 18. We weren't the poorest family but we probably weren't too far from it. There were times we when struggled, in fact most of the time it was a struggle. There were winter months with no electricity, we used kerosene heaters to keep us warm, we ate cold sandwiches every day, we had to make sure our homework was done before dark or we wouldn't be able to see to do it. We would heat water on the kerosene heaters in order to mix with cold water and have a bath each day, if you happened to add too much cold water...well, you had a cold bath. There was one occasion when we were fortunate enough to only live a few houses down from my grandma so we were able to extension cords through the backyard of the vacant houses between our house and her house and have some power.


I was ashamed, but more than that I was afraid. Afraid that if anyone ever found out that we, my siblings and I, would be taken from my parents - so we went on with life and we never said a word about it to anyone. The funny thing is, now when I look back on those times I can see that they were some of the best times of my life. We had so much fun together during those times, it brought us closer together, it made us stronger. Those experiences have molded me into who I am today. I feel more humble because of it and more compassionate towards people who may be going through similar situations. And most of all, it makes me all the more thankful for everything that I have now. In fact, sometimes I even find myself wishing that everyone would have to live through such things at least once in their lifetime.

I am so grateful that the holiday season is upon us.  I often reflect upon past years and the time spent with family.  It's been several years since I've celebrated Thanksgiving or Christmas with my family in NC but I long for the day when I will be able to do it again.  I love this time of year, not only for the shopping and the gift giving/receiving, but also for everything that it represents.  For the love and joy of family, for the birth of our Savior, for the random smiles and well-wishes from complete strangers!  I could go on and on...Tis the Season!!

Today I am grateful for Dora The Explorer and Netflix!  We do not have cable, so the only real children shows that Y watched were on PBS.  And then we discovered Netflix which streams through our computer, Wii, and my iPod!!  It has proven to be a life saver and a time saver.  I don't like the idea of just sitting her in front of the TV all day but it does come in handy when I have a lot to get done.  And now that it's cold again in Michigan, it'll provide another option for when she's bored of me and all her toys.

I am so grateful for a sense of humor, both my own and that of others.  I love to laugh!

What would I do and where would I be without prayer?!?!  I am grateful to be able to have an open communication with my Heavenly Father and receive guidance and direction in all things, great or small.

Five years ago today I moved to Michigan.  Looking back I can still say that leaving my family in NC was one of the, if not THE, hardest thing I have ever done - it took me months to really move past it.  I resented Michigan and decided that I would hate it here.  And that's exactly what I did for a very long time and then I decided that I needed to let it go and learn to accept it.  I have done just that and whereas I can say that I still don't feel Michigan is my home, I have definitely come to accept it as the place I live and am raising our family...for now anyways!  I always find myself holding out and wishing that we will one day move back East.

But for now...I moved to Michigan five years ago and I haven't been warm since!!!

I am grateful that 32 years ago today my parents got married.  It hasn't been the easiest 32 years for my Mom (my dad is a hard man to live with) but their marriage motivated me to do better.  And if you ask me, that is A LOT to be thankful for!

Today I'm thankful that it hasn't snowed here yet.  I dunno how long that will last but we take it one day at a time, right??

I am thankful for my friends, both near and far, for their love, kindness, patience and understanding.  Because I am sure if you are my friend then you've definitely needed to use those four towards me many times (probably patience more than anything else). 

Today and everyday I am grateful for the atoning sacrifice of Christ and the blessings that I have because of it.

Today I am oh so grateful for Naptime!!!

Today I am thankful to have a home which is ours and which holds a lot of stuff!!!

We first purchased Y's potty when she was around 18 months old. My intention was for her to become acquainted with it and then begin to potty train her around 20 or 21 months. I later rethought that plan because I knew we'd be going on vacation and I really didn't wanna undo any progress that could have been made prior to going on vacation. So I decided I would begin right after vacation.

Then we bought our home and moved into it only two weeks before going on vacation. She didn't handle the move very well; getting her to go to bed and nap each day was a constant battle and to say that she didn't adjust to the move very well would be a huge understatement. She quickly learned to climb out of her crib which meant it was time to convert crib to a toddler bed. We left for vacation and she really didn't do too great. Her sleeping habits were shot and she seemed to always be tired and moody which can make for one miserable mommy.

When we returned from vacation we had a super cranky toddler who had discovered new found freedom of a toddler bed and who still had not adjusted to our new place. There was no way I was going to initiate potty training at that point! A toddler is only equipped to handle so much and adding one more change to the list would have been a nightmare. So we put it off.

She eventually adjusted to her bed and came to terms with sleeping in her room once again. And I've known she was ready for several weeks now but I kept putting it off. I checked out books and videos on using the potty from the library for her and some potty training resource guidebooks for myself. Then I procrastinated reading them, then I forgot to buy big girl underwear (still haven't quite remembered that one while I'm in the store).

I guess Y decided she needed to take matters in her own hand to get the ball rolling. And so on Wednesday at the end of her bath, but before we had taken her out of the tub, she said she had to go poopy and wanted to sit on the potty. We sat there for about 15 minutes and she never did anything. It was then time for bed so we put on her diaper and pajamas and that was that - we were just excited that she had asked.

Fast forward to last night, I was on the phone and she said she was poopy but when I checked her diaper there was nothing so I went on with my conversation. Then she said it again but still nothing, only this time I took the hint and asked her if she wanted to go sit on the potty - she did. After sitting there about 5 minutes she stood up and started playing, I'd ask her if she was done and she said no and then I asked her to sit back down. She didn't sit, she squatted instead and not over the potty either. And that's when I saw it. It being her poopy face expression and within seconds of seeing the face I saw the action it represented...on my bathroom floor. Fortunately I was able to react very quickly and we're also very fortunate that that it wasn't a loose bowel movement. But all that aside I was able to sit her on the potty where she finished! We, of course, made a big deal out of her accomplishment, choosing not to focus on her accident on the floor.

This morning while watching Sesame Street after breakfast she told me that she wanted to go sit on the potty. It was just before her bath so she was still in her pajamas so I removed them and her diaper and she sat on her potty. She didn't sit long and then declared she was done. I didn't think she had done anything so quickly so I asked her if she was sure she was done. Then I looked in the pot and sure enough she had gone wet-wet in there! She was really happy when she saw how excited I was. We gave her a bath and then a treat!

I just hope she keeps it up. As for me, I guess I'd better get on the ball because I think she's ready-whether or not I am!

Today I think that it is only fitting that I should express gratitude to and for those veterans, both living and dead, who have served our country throughout the years.

I am thankful for my trials and the strength they give me.

I am grateful that B is employed and that his employment is sufficient enough that I can stay at home with Y.

I am thankful for the abundance of technology which is available to us.

I am thankful that L has landed safely and was able to fulfil a full-time mission.

I am grateful to the people of Argentina who loved, fed, and took care of my brother-in-law for the last 2 years.

Ever since we bought our home we've got the question, "so how do you like your new place."  Our answer varies at times, but only slightly between, "we absolutely LOVE it" and "it feels like home."  So let there be no doubt that I love our home and I am completely satisfied here, well almost.  There is one thing and only one thing that I have come to miss about our apartment.

It's not the awesome view of the lake each and every day, or watching the ducks swim in it.  It's definitely not those loud, annoying and mean Canadian Geese that seem to only honk as they fly over in the middle of the night.  It's not even the ability to have the maintenance guys come fix my every little complaint.  No, it's none of those things.  By now you're probably wondering what it could be.  Well, I miss not having to pay a gas bill each month, more specifically, I miss having FREE heat.  You see, it was like having a piece of Florida in Michigan!  Cold and snowy on the outside but nice and toasty on the inside!  I could, and did, turn the heat up as high as I wanted without a second thought.  If it was one of those really cold, blustery days outside it didn't matter to me...I just cranked the dial up a little higher.  Sure the windows allowed for some cold drafts of air to creep in, but it didn't matter because I just cranked the dial a little higher!

Now I suffer the harsh realities of home ownership...keeping the thermostat at 69 degrees (F).  Might not seem to bad to most but when you're used to setting it between 75-80 it can come as a big shock.  I tell myself that by the time January gets here I'll be more accustomed to it and that 69 will feel pretty warm to me.  But for now I must confess...I MISS MY APARTMENT (if only for the free heat)!

Today I am expressing my gratitude for family, immediate and extended, and for being able to have positive, loving relationships with each and every member of my family.

I am so grateful for Y and the blessing that she is and will continue to be in my life. She is such pure joy!

All Systems Are Go...

I'm pretty sure most of you know what I mean!  If not, then I think it's time you did some catching up on reading our blog!