We're Having a Baby!

That subject line says it all doesn't it?

Here's the story if you care to know:

We started trying in March, which was a bust because I thought I ovulated and in reality we actually missed the window. I started taking my temperature with a a Basal thermometer that month, but didn't start until after I ovulated. Plus my temperatures were all over the place as I was getting into routine of waking up early (even on weekends..EEK!) at the same time everyday and I wasn't always successful!

Then April rolled around, and I added in using an Ovulation Predictor Kit to check levels of luteinizing hormone through out my cycle. For those of you that don't know, LH surges a few hours (it varies by person) before an egg is released. Basal body temperature spikes after ovulation, but luteinizing hormone surges before. With the combination of these two tools, I was able to really find the window of ovluation to maximize our chances of getting pregnant. I didn't want timing to be the reason we didn't conceive- timing I can control to an extent, everything else is out of my hands!
It was a long two weeks waiting to see if we were successful, but ultimately we were not.

"On to May!" I thought- a good month :) My birthday month, and my sister's baby shower that I was hosting at my house. I was excited to see her, and was hoping to have good news to tell her when she came in from LA....and we did!

May was our 3rd cycle trying. I decided to try the Sperm Meets Egg Plan. Sounds weird, I know, but I figured why not? I still used the temperatures and the OPK test strips, in addition to the SMEP. I also cut out caffeine the few weeks before. After an agonizing two week wait of checking temperatures every morning and hoping they didn't dramatically drop to signal that I wasn't pregnant, I got myself to 9 days post ovulation, May 10th, when I was laying in bed. I sleep on my stomach, and that night I noticed that my stomach didn't feel quite right. It almost felt like the covers were bunched up under my stomach, but they weren't. I told Tommy about this feeling, and after talking through it, I figured that I was just hungry or something from not having a real dinner. I ended up going to sleep and not thinking about it until morning.

The next day, May 11th, 10DPO I woke up early and took a cheap pregnancy test in the second bathroom. I thought I saw the faintest of lines on the test and brought it into Tommy. He looked, but didn't see anything, and I thought maybe I wanted to see it so bad that it wasn't really there either. I even texted a picture of it to my friend Liz and asked if she saw it, which she didn't either! My temperatures were still elevated, so I still had hope that maybe it was just too early to test.
The next day, May 12th, 11DPO I tested with the same cheap strip in the morning, got the same faintest of faint lines, and took her advice from yesterday to take a legit test. I ended up using a Clearblue digital test, and after what felt like forever, I got a positive reading- "Pregnant" and OMG! I took a video while sitting there waiting, and I'm glad I did because it took a while for it to sink in!

{You see the line? Crazy right?}

{I said, "Holy Sh*t" directly after taking this picture}

I didn't tell Tommy right away that morning. I wanted to tell him in a cute and surprising way....as surprising as you can get when you and your partner are trying to make a baby! So I went to work with the BIGGEST secret and made it through the day. I left right after dismissing the kiddos and stopped at Jewel to get a 2 pack of pacifiers, and then Lovin' Oven to get two cupcakes and brought them home.

Lovin' Oven has some special meaning to us in our relationship journey, and it's where we got our wedding cake :D

I put the pacifiers on top of the cupcakes, and wrote a little note in the lid of Tommy's cupcake box that said, "You're going to be a dad!" and the other box said, "We're Expecting!" Then I sat at home on the couch and waited for what felt like forever for Tommy to get home! I had my phone ready when he walked in and gave him his cupcake, and tried to discretely start up a video. He totally knew what was going on...he said the phone gave it away!

Then we went out to dinner to celebrate our little nugget! And there ya go!

Currently

Watching/// 90 Day Fiance. Why, Amy, why? This show is dumb, but here I am binge watching the whole season On Demand. Probably because I'm done with all of my other shows #thankyousummer
I'm also watching Game of Thrones {DUH} which is only one episode into the new season. It's glorious as usual. 

Drinking/// So much water. I hate drinking water. Actually, I generally hate drinking. I'm super trying to up my water intake, and it's harrrrrrrrrd. I am learning that the following things make it easier:
- A cute cup
- Crushed ice
- A reusable straw
- Lemon

Feeling/// Great! Not a super eventful day. I woke up early and had breakfast with Tommy, did some stuff around the house, watched a million episodes of (0 Day Fiance <facepalm> and took a nap. Planning on going for a walk tonight when Tommy gets home. Ahhhhh summerlife.

Wishing/// My new school/life planner was here already. LOL I don't want school to start, or life for that matter, but I am super stoked for my new planner and the new pens I'm eyeing at Target :D 

Sharp Objects- A Book Review

This book is the third book written by Gillian Flynn....but not the third book in a series of books written by her...sorry, that was confusing.

I think it's important though to stress that this is the third book she has written, and I'll tell you why. It's her third best book, lol. Which is also her worst book....technically....in my humble opinion ;)

I have read hew two other books, starting with Gone Girl. I first stumbled upon this in my Goodreads circle. (If you don't know what this is, and you're a booklover, please for the love of God, click this link)

I started to read some reviews and decided that I totally wanted to read a book about a guy who kills his psychopathic wife with my same name and says he is innocent and stuff happens. That sounded great! So I asked for it for Christmas, and immediately started reading it and finishing it in like 15 hours. It was fantastic. And also the just right amounts of creepy and infuriating.

So when her next book came out, Dark Places, I thought: YES! ANOTHER CREEPY MUST READ! And I was wrong. It wasn't creepy, it was downright messed up. Like so, so, twisted and f*cked that when I heard it was going to be made into a movie like Gone Girl I immediately decided that I was not going to see it. I don't do that a lot with movies so take that how you will.

|||||||In case you're thinking, "Amy is such a baby, that book couldn't have been that bad! I wonder what it's about..." Here is a summary that doesn't give too much away. Enjoy you weirdo.|||||||||

So then I saw Sharp Objects and was.....hesitant....to say the least. Because do I read a book by an author that is equal parts great and messed up? In the end I decided I couldn't NOT read it so I picked it up cheap at Target and was on my way. I thought it was intriguing for sure.

It's basically about a woman named Camille who comes back to her hometown to write about the murder of two young girls. She is plagued by the death of her sister, from when she was younger, and copes by cutting words into her skin to describe how she is feeling and what she is thinking. WTF.  When she returns to her hometown, she has some issues with her mother that resurface and her small town starts to creep back into her already f*cked up life so that sucks.

It's a pretty psychologically dark book, similar to the other ones Flynn has written soooooo yep. I'd skip it if you can help it {unlike me}

**UPDATE: I also just read Gillian Flynn's The Grown Up and it was also messed up. Just FYI.

New Year |||| New Goals

Happy New Year {five months later}!

This year we went to Joe and Emily's house to ring in the new year. They recently bought their house and are rennovating the entire thing. I loooooove going over and seeing the different stages! When we went over there I got to see the new kitchen! (It's beautiful btw)

We mostly played games, drank, and had the various New Year's Eve tv shows on in the background. Emily and Joe made lasagna for dinner too, and it was nice to sit down and catch up!

We ended up leaving well after midnight. It was a great way to start 2017 :D

{NYE2016}

So this brings me to current time, 2017, and the goals I have for this year.

This year feels like a big one for me, or at least, I have big expectations for it. 

This year I will be turning 29, which feels big, but isn't really. The thing with the number 29 is more about where I pictured my life at this point. I have to say, the dream and the reality are pretty close. What I did not expect is how much involved with the world I would want to become. 2017 is the year for getting involved, just showing up and seeing where it takes me, and doing it if it is something I want to do. I won't lie to you, it's currently on the weekends because work #weekdaysareano

Sometimes I have these grand notions like, "I'ma organize a protest at so and so's office to let him/her know that this topic is important to me!" and then I look at my kitchen table and realize that there's a stack of books that have been there for a month and I think, "Maybe I should just clean off my kitchen table first?" and I settle for calling a senator and hanging a picture I've been meaning to put up for three weeks instead. EDIT: Those books are still on my kitchen table....eek.

I read these blog posts, news articles, and posts in Facebook groups that are all, "Showing up is not enough! You have to do more than just arrive!" and I agree with that. I also think that there's a place for people just beginning this involvement and people who are learning how to navigate it. That's where I am. I've always done the research, and exercised my right to vote. I've talked to people in my bubble about why, and who, but 2017 for me is all about showing up. 

I'm not just talking politically, but in all areas of life.

Showing. Up.

Women's March in Chicago 2017

This has been an eventful year so far, 2017 has.

And what a weekend this was!

Tommy and I went to the Women's March in Chicago. We left on the 7:10 train and it was packed! We got to Northbrook, and then became an express train to the city. The train got into the city early enough to stop at McDonalds for breakfast and coffeeeeeeeeee to enjoy on the way to the starting point of the march.

When we got there, we walked right up to the intersection of Columbus and Jackson. We stopped behind a small group of people that were fenced off from the intersection. We were close enough to the stage that on my tippy toes I could see some people on stage and their gestures, lol. We spent most of the time standing and listening to songs, speeches, and chatting with people around us. At some point, people started to chant "march!" over and over again because they were getting restless.

Somewhere between 11-11:30 the speakers announced that the event was filled to capacity and that there were more than 150,000 people there. [It wasn't until much later that we saw on the news that there was more like 250,000 people in attendance!] The speakers told us that we would need to stay where we were standing and that we wouldn't be able to march because there was no where to march. The entire route was filled with people I guess! Well, the people around us didn't love that. Some ended up leaving, others started chanting "march!" again. At one point, when more speakers came on stage to try to fill in the time, since we weren't going to march I guess, the people ahead of us started to try to get people to turn around and start walking back the way we came. I don't think anyone really understood how packed it was because it was hard to get internet and actually see what the place looked like from above. [Checking this out later....omg! Crazy packed!]

I think that was the only time I felt a bit anxious about the situation surrounding me. It was waaaaay less than anything I experienced at the Farewell Address, but I think it might have had something to do with the fact that at the Women's March I had plenty of space the whole time, and then all of a sudden I had a lot of people around me chanting loudly "Turn around!" and "Walk! Walk! Walk!" and I thought to myself, "Ok. If these people behind me start to actually walk and there's no where to go...then I don't like the sound of that." And, it never actually happened that way, but I was feeling like I wanted to get out of the middle of an extremely crowded street with no visible beginning or end. So Tommy led the way and we made it to the side of the street, which was way more spread out. We asked some police officers where to do, and ended up leaving the staging area.

We stopped at the Art Institute to get our bearings, and then left and started walking towards Michigan Avenue. When we got there, there were a bunch of people with signs and the pink knitted hats of course! We stopped to watch a little bit and take a few pictures as people walked by. People were pouring in from all over. Then we jumped into the street with them and started walking. We ended up being right behind a group of people that had a stereo and were playing Beyonce's Formation which was pretty perfect, lol. We walked a bit down the road with the group, listening to chants, reading signs, etc.

We got to the Trump Tower and listened to a bit of the protesters, and then decided that we needed to eat something FAST. At that point we had been on our feet for almost 4 hours, and we had a train to catch. We ended up walking a little further to Shake Shack, which is becoming a city staple for us! The place was packed, but we snagged a four person table and shared it with another couple of two that were also looking for somewhere to sit. The waitress there told me she liked the gay pride pin on my hat and showed me the gay pride tattoo on her hand. She eventually asked me where I got the pin, which was from Etsy from a shop called Brooch Motel and has great choices, and quick shipping. (Not being paid for an endorsement here, I just had a great experience!) I ended up giving the pin to her. It was a small gesture that felt like the perfect way to end such a strong, inspiring, and people-powered day.


Tommy and I left after that because we had a train to catch. As we walked around the city, we occasionally heard chants and cheering from people who were still marching, and even stopped for a brief moment by Trump Tower before continuing our walk.

When we got to Union, we were early for our train, and ended up hanging out while waiting around. On the train ride home I checked some of the news coverage of the different marches that went on around the world. It was amazing! I'm still reading articles about the marches from that weekend! It was a great day, an interesting experience, and I'm glad my husband and I were able to go together :)

#37 of 101 in 1001- Photograph my favorite tree in all seasons

Yes, this is a thing on my list.

Yes, I have a favorite tree. 

No, it is not my only favorite tree- I have four favorite trees, except one of them was cut down :/

Yes, you can have more than one favorite thing. 

No, my favorite trees are not in my yard, but the one I photographed is in Libertyville, and I probably have a BOLO out on my vehicle because of how often I slow drive-by it trying to catch when it's leaves turn, or see it when the snow gingerly covers it's branches, or when the leaves fill out the whole top of it like a giant green muffin. 

Can we still be friends even though I fiercely love four trees? 

Here is mah arbol favorito in Libertyville:

Winter

Missing: A Spring picture!😩

Summer

Fall

And here are the other two I have pictures of...I don't have a digital picture of the one that was cut down :/

The Maui tree that is at Old Maui High school where my grandpa graduated. 

A tree on the ISU quad where I studied, fell asleep by accident, and read library books for hours:

2016 Review

The year in review:

1. I started the Project 365 this year on January 1st. I took a photo every day for a year and posted it on my Instagram account to chronicle the year. Flipagram coming soon....it's sooooooo looooooonggg!
2. Tommy and I went to our first ever Bears game on Jan. 3rd!
3. Tommy turned 28 on January 8th. 
4. My dad and I went to see Star Wars The Awakening in 3D together and it was truly magical.
5. We celebrated Kyle's birthday at Headquarters
6. My sister Chris and I went to the Trump rally in Chicago. I learned I'm more of a "fighter" than a "flighter"...good to know right?
7. I voted in the primary election. Woot.
8. I tried glass working with my mother in law and made some cool shit.
9. We visited Megan, Jeff, and Danny in central Illinois with Emily and Joe. Is this becoming a yearly thing? I hope so.
10. I celebrated Kelsey's birthday in Chicago all day with her and friends!
11. We had a beautiful Easter at my Grandma's house with my family, and also celebrated dad's birthday.
12. Tommy and I went to hang with Liz and Lauren at Liz's new house!!!!
13. We bought a treadmill for the basement and nicked the shit out of our walls..lol
14. Went to PA to celebrate Nick and Rachael's wedding! They are cousins that I don't get to see nearly enough!
15. I celebrated my 28th birthday with Tommy with dinner at Tsukasa!
16. Hosted Kelsey's wedding shower at my house and it was wonderful to celebrate her!
17. Traveled to Travers City to partake in Kelsey's bachelorette party complete with sleepover and winery tours!
18. I went on the 7th grade Springfield trip as a chaperone again this year!
19. Got to see Katy and Buck when they came in for the Tough Mudder :D BONUS
20. Celebrated Emily's graduation this year!
21. Tommy and I hit 5 years of marriage in June. We spent the whole day together and had dinner at Flemming. It was perfect.
22. Tommy and I went on a cruise to the Bahamas with Royal Caribbean. The first two days were very very rough on the boat, but we both survived and things got better by day 3. Overall, it was a super fun experience and we got to do many things that we had never done before! 
23. We went to Ravinia shows and drive in movies at McHenry Outdoor Theater.
24. Tommy and I spent 4th of July with Kelsey. It's always nice to hang out with her!
25. Kyle and Kelsey got married on 7/9/16!!! It was hot, but so so beautiful and so much fun! It was a pretty perfect night :D
26. Tommy and I spent an entire day at Brookfield Zoo. Seriously, an entire day. Like, 7 1/2 hours. It was something.
27. Kelsey and Kyle had a fab housewarming party....and a friend of hers and I hid cans of black beans all over their house. It was amazing. I highly recommend it.
28. Hayley got a new job in a different school district and I had to work without her and it sucked. Miss you Hayley! ;)
29. Tommy won tickets to a Sox game. The seats were the first row behind the dugout. It was sooooo cool! And I got a foul ball from Adam Eaton tossed to me by people in the dugout. 
30. Emily and I drove to visit Alyssa in MN for her bday. It was Emily's idea and super spur of the moment and I'm so glad it worked out!!! Miss you girl!
31. We had a semi-surprise birthday party for grandma at my house this year- she turned 85! 
32. Tommy and I went to the Chicago marathon to cheer on the LRC and I made a sign that was magic.
33. I saw Sara when she came into town for her baby shower! Yes, she's having a baby in January! It was sooo nice to see her and reminded me of how much I miss her :)
34. Tommy and I FINALLY went apple picking. See blogpost on that one.
35. My cousins Kevin, and Jason came to visit. Jason brought his wife, Abbie, and it was so nice to meet her! It's been too long since I've seen them.
36. Tommy and I dressed up for Halloween and went to the LRC Halloween get together. He was a ghost and I was a ghostbuster, duh. 
37. The Hot Chocolate 5k came back to Chicago and we ran it for the 6th year in a row. 
38. THE CUBS WON THE WORLD SERIES!!!!!!!
39. I voted in the November 8th election for Hillary Clinton. I learned a lot about myself from this election. I learned a lot about my country from this election. I learned a lot about my friends both in social media and in physical life from the outcome of this election. I have many opinions on this topic that I do not feel comfortable silencing for the sake of my friend's newsfeeds. The next four years will be interesting and frustrating to say the least. 
40. We went celebrated Thanksgiving four times this year. It was delicious. One of them being a Friendsgiving that I hosted. See blogpost!
41. Tommy and I went to Melissa and Travis' apartment to hang and celebrate their moving in together! We had to bring three of our favorite things to share. I brought three small baskets of my favorite kitchen items. Tommy brought three framed pictures of our cat. Typical.
42. We bought a real Christmas tree again this year. Every year we name our tree, a tradition that started when we first moved in together...the first Grover lived with us until the beginning of March! We even decorated him with hearts for Valentine's Day, lol. This year we had Grover the Sixth.
43. Kyle and Kelsey hosted their annual ugly sweater party, so of course we attended! I wore my Mewey Christmas sweater again this year, and Tommy wore his Kyle face sweater....and won 3rd place in the ugliest sweater contest! ;)
44. Aunt Janet's Christmas brunch for the ladies in the family was at Gail's in Arlington Heights this year! It was delicious!
45. Tommy and I saw Star Wars Rogue One and it was ahmazing. Seriously.
46. I completed my goal of reading 16 books in 2016!!!!!!!!! I actually made that goal this year!!!!! The past three years I have failed, but not this time! Woot.
47. On December 24th, I took my dad and my grandma Feight to see The Phantom of the Opera in Chicago at the Cadillac Palace Theater. It was so good! Here's the blurb I wrote on Instagram for my 365 Project: I first saw this show in London with my parents and my sister Katy and it was one of the most amazing memories that I have. It was the first show I ever saw on broadway. My grandma saw it when it came to Chicago in 1986 (I think that was the year) and like me years later, fell in love with the music. It was so wonderful to see this show with the woman that piqued my interest in music and the man who supported it wholeheartedly as I grew up. We are a musical people, and I'll cherish this memory forever. Not to mention the notes grandma sang under her breath and the tapping of my dads hands on his leg as he recalled the beat for a whole threeish hours **Insert laughing/crying emoji here y'all***   
48. On December 25th Tommy and I went to his parent's house to have breakfast and exchange gifts with the family. The siblings and I all got his mom the perfume she wanted, and his dad a blu ray player he wanted! We also brought Fannie May chocolates for his mom, and the new Pentatonix Christmas CD for his dad.
49. For the rest of Christmas we went to Tommy's aunt Gretchen and Uncle Pat's house. We hung around with the family, took the big family photo, chatted, and watched various Christmas movies on TV while waiting for dinner. It was nice to be able to stay longer with everyone instead of rushing off to be with my side.
50. My mom and dad hosted Christmas on the 26th again this year. I went over early to help get the table and things ready, and Tommy, Katy, and Buck all came shortly after. It was super fun this year because Aunt Diane, Uncle Larry, Shannon and John, and Corinne and her BF all came for dinner! We haven't seen them for a while (but seriously, it's been too long!) and it was fun to get together, play games, chat, and catch up on life. 
51. The rest of the week was a mixture of Katy, Buck, Tommy, and I going to breakfast at Egg Harbor, watching movies, napping, playing games, and reading books by the light of the fire and/or Christmas tree, which was perf. We also had dinner at mom and dad's again and did presents together with Chrissy on the 27th at their house. It was fun :) 
52. We celebrated NYE during the day by going to lunch with Chris and Dad at Portillos, and then we went to Emily and Joe's house for dinner and games! It was super fun to see their house and how it's coming along! We stayed sooo late and drank, had a delicious dinner, played some new to me games, and Mario Cart on the Nintendo 64. It was a great night!