{table rock}

My family has been going to Table Rock Lake for about a million year now (well...20 at least) and we have been wanting S+C to go with us for a while. They finally got the opportunity to this last weekend. Really, who could say "no" to pure relaxation on a clear blue lake with a few of your best friends?

Here are some of my favorite shots from the weekend....Thanks Carlos for the great photos!

 

{good news}

Tim and I went in for my post-op visit. We went in expecting what we heard last time...

I would be given Lupron, a drug that would prevent any ovulation or period for three months so that my lady parts could heal and prepare themselves for a baby. The drug would essentially induce menopause and all of it's lovely effects.

Instead we heard this...

Lupron is only given to patients who are either stage three or stage four. Since I am only stage two, I don't need it. Instead, we will be going on a drug called Letrozole. This drug would induce ovulation and prevent my body from producing too much estrogen , which in turn, makes my body release and egg and also prevents the creation of endometrial tissue that could prevent the egg from finding its way down the fallopian tube. Dr Starks prescribed me 5mg of Letrozol for 5-days at the begining of my cycle. On day 15, I will go in for a sonogram to be sure that the egg has reached its way down the fallopian tube. At that point, the doctor can tell if an egg is ready to be fertilized. If it is, from what Dr. Starks implied, we will go home that evening and make a baby, guaranteed!

Long story short....in a few weeks Tim and I will be with child (for some reason I think that phrase is funny..."with child" heh). We walked out of Dr. Stark's office like giddy kids, jumping up and down and smiling and kissing!! The high hasn't left us since. I know it might take a few cycles, but knowing that we will be parents within the next year is an amazing feeling.

I feel so blessed that we got the good news that we did! 

{kids in town}

We have another thing to check off of our summer "to-do" list. Our niece and two nephews are growing, growing, growing and Tim and I have been wanting to get in some fun time with them before they get too old and start thinking we're obnoxious and weird (which might, actually, be an appropriate thought). They came to visit last weekend and we had a blast.

Who doesn't love a Royals game on Friday night when it just so happens to be BUCK NIGHT!?! and....wait for it...FIREWORKS!! We decked the kids out in Royals gear and headed to the game. The Royals didn't pull a win, but the fireworks made up for it. It would have been a total winner if we hadn't been to excited to go in that we didn't look to see where we parked - the five of us wondered aimlessly around the parking lot for a good half hour. Not the highlight of our night. 

Saturday morning we headed to Swope Park. Our plan was to hike for an hour, grab lunch at the Whopper Bar (classy, I know), and go to the movies. We ended up hiking for 3 hours, missing lunch, and racing to the movie. Kids can live without food, right...?

Following our full afternoon, we decided we just needed to relax. We ordered pizza and sat on the patio playing Monopoly until midnight.

Oh yeah, and I decided I wanted sons...lots of them! Andrew and Cody amazed me by putting together our table decor (I was in heaven). I hate to admit, but watching them cut flowers and arrange leaves was, BY FAR, my favorite part of the weekend! It even beat out watching Tim hang like white-Tarzan from the vines with a smile reaching from ear to ear.

Thanks Gwen and Tessa for letting us steal your kids for the weekend!!! 

{yankee doodle bbq}

{laparoscopy}

In late May, Tim and I met with a fertility doctor. We didn't know what the outcome would be, we just knew we needed someone to either say "You guys are doing everything right, keep it up!" or "There is a problem, I'm here to help." Either answer would have been fine with us, we just needed confirmation. Up until that point we were taking advice from friends which mostly consisted of "Don't let it stress you out, stress is a huge factor in conception" and "You need to gain weight, you're too skinny" or "It just takes some couples longer." None of those suggestions/answers were cutting it for us.

After meeting with Dr. Starks, Tim and I immediately had a load of stress tumble off of our shoulders. The first thing he said to us was "There is a reason you haven't conceived yet, and I am here to fix it." Just hearing that made us feel so good. We weren't crazy and we weren't doing something wrong, we just needed help.

Once Dr. Starks knew my medical history and we got tested for everything possible, it was determined that I have Endometriosis. He wasn't sure how bad or to what extent, the only way to determine that was through a routine laparoscopy. During a laparoscopy they make a small incision near your belly button, and fill you up with air so that they can see everything. Once in, they assess, then clean off anything that might have cysts or scar tissue on them.

I had my laparoscopy done yesterday. Everything went very well and I am recovering nicely. I only have a small incision near my belly button and I feel like I have been doing major abdominal workouts. One uncomfortable part of recovery, though, is the air that they filled me with - some of it gets trapped inside. It has been slowly rising up and is now in my shoulders creating a really uncomfortable pain. They said to expect this to be gone in a day or two. He also said that my Endometriosis was at Stage 2, which means that I had several small cysts and some scar tissue, but isn't nearly as bad as it could be.

At this point I just keep smiling. I couldn't care less about the pain - this is our first major step towards becoming parents.

The next step? Induced menopause...WOO HOO for baby-making!!!

{my mantra}

{dinner with s+c}

I feel every opportunity should be taken to make things special. Even if it's just having friends over - why not make it beautiful? Last night we had Sara and Carlos over for dinner. On the menu?

• Fresh Caprese Salad
• Grilled Corn with Cilantro and Lime Butter
• A Combination of Cowboy, Cowgirl, Hawaiian, and Santa-Fe Grillers
• Homemade Raspberry Sorbet with a Chocolate Mint Garnish

Since we don't have a formal dining room, we always entertain on the patio. It has also become my only place for table decoration. To be honest, we probably use the table outside more often than we would use one in a dining room. When the weather is nice, we eat breakfast and dinner out here. Since it's outside, when decorating I have to think of things that make sense outside. I can't do cutesie place mats or really cool centerpieces because they either blow away or just seem too yuppy for the setting. I have seen this place mat idea many times, but never had a chance to use it. With my free time, I actually had time to make it yesterday. I think it turned out really nice. It complimented the setting by embracing the fact that we were outside. 

{lanterns}

{let the fun begin}

School is out - FINALLY! We had eleven snow days to make up, but the time has finally come and I am sitting, at 9:10 in the morning, basking is the great outdoors of my backyard oasis drinking my second latte of the morning. This is the sweet beginning of the Summer of Sam. (Tim has tagged each summer to be the "Summer of Sam" because, let's be honest, most of the time they are) Yesterday was day one and I would have to say, if every day is as good as yesterday, this might be the best one to date. I woke up and got right to my "to do's." First thing, clean the heck out of this house. After that, the fun began. I painted, did some projects, made our summer wish list, ate wedding cake for lunch (thanks Josh and Rachel), took the dog for a walk, watched the iris' bloom and painted my nails!

This is our summer wish list. The most exciting thing on the list? Chicago! Tim and I are...wait for it...attending the 2011 HOW Design Conference!!!! We are so flippin' excited! I have been so inspired lately that I just think this conference is going to be the icing on the cake. It's going to make me move! I'm not sure which direction, or how, but I'm ready to go.

Happy Summer!!!