A big decision!

A lot of my close friends and family already know about my decision...I wanted to have the chance to talk to my parents about it and also for P to tell his family first before I shared it in my blog.

P and I are now officially trying to get pregnant!

We had thought that we would start trying in the spring, but now in light of my mother in law's health situation and the obvious fact that not much is going to change for us financially, physically or otherwise, in six months (other than I will be six months older and have six eggs less!), we have decided to advance that just a tad and start trying now. I went off the Pill about two months ago in anticipation of this. And who knows? It could take us a while to get pregnant.

Or it might not take any time at all! Isn't it amazing how things change in the blink of an eye?

I know most people don't say anything to anyone until they are definitely pregnant, but I've just never been one to keep secrets...and I want to share my happy decision! Besides, what good is a blog if I can't talk about this, right?

P went to his parents' house tonight (I stayed home to work) and said that E seems to be doing better. She was in a good mood and was upbeat and was able to eat some potato today. They are going to do an endoscopy tomorrow and try to figure out what is the problem and why she can't eat. P said though that when he told her about our decision, it was the first time anyone had seen her smile in days. Out of her five children, we're the only ones that are childless. My brother-in-law R and sister-in-law M are also trying to get pregnant...it would be their third...and told her as well tonight, so if it lifted her spirits, that makes me happy. Thank you all so much for the positive comments you left...I sure do appreciate it! It means a lot. She told my husband tonight that the best thing that we can all do for her is to stay positive, upbeat and not dwell in what might happen, as it makes her sad to see us all so sad. She's a strong fighter and a brave soul...we just have to pray that her body responds and that God will take care of her.

I've had a few weeks to get used to the idea now of becoming a parent...which surprisingly doesn't scare me near as much as the changes that are going to occur in my body! We've always wanted kids, but hadn't really felt the urge to procreate and have any of our own until the last few months...and I'm starting to be painfully aware that I'm getting older and the longer I wait, the harder it will be to get pregnant. I don't want to be suffering with fertility treatments in five years because I was selfish about wanting my time to myself for my career and missed my window. We want a family. I want grandchildren! And when things like what is going on with my mother-in-law happen, it makes you really start thinking about how short life is and what the important things really are in life. I have the rest of my life to stitch, pay off our debt, remodel our house and diet. I don't have the rest of my life to start a family. And from what I've heard from everyone I know that is a parent, including my own mother and father, it is one of the most rewarding wonderful things that you can ever do. Yes, things will be tight. Both of my parents have told me seperately that things were really stretched thin when I was a baby, but that they made it work and wouldn't have had it any other way. There are people out there that raise families on salaries much less than mine.

I know it can be done! And will I ever really be ready? I don't know. But this is a GOOD time to find out. I'm healthy. I lost the weight that I needed to. I'm in excellent cardiovascular shape for labor and have already established healthy eating habits and exercise habits that I can carry on through my pregnancy. I work at home and have a job that is very flexible, that I'm good at, and that I make a good living at. Philip is going to be laid off sometime next summer, which by the way is PERFECT for our plans to turn him into Mr. Mom by day, college student by night. One car is paid off, the other is close. Our dogs are grown up and trained. I'm 29, P is 34. We've been married for five years.

The time is right! This, of course, means no diet. I'm going to continue to eat very healthy and limit the junk, but from everything I've read in my research on pre-pregnancy health and dos and don't during pregnancy, the time when you are carrying a child is NOT an appropriate time to be dieting, and since most people don't know they are pregnant for at least a few weeks, I'm not going to stress about it. There's plenty of time to lean down later. I'm also going to continue to work out like I am now, but probably when I actually DO conceive, I will drop the weights to lighter weights and increase my cardio. I'd like to have a natural childbirth if possible and I'll need to be in great shape for it.

So. That's my big news! Due to the number of mothers that read my blog, I'm sure I'm going to get a lot of virtual high-fives, and I thank you in advance! I'm going to really rely a lot on others' advice in the future, I know. I'm already moving in the right direction. I discovered that my multi-vitamin that I've been taking for over a year has 100% of my folic acid necessities, and I already found a new OB/GYN that I want to start seeing. My regular gynecologist is great and I like him a lot, but his office and hospital where he has privileges is forty minutes away from my house. I don't think I want to be driving forty minutes downtown to every check-up, not to mention when my water breaks! No thanks. I'm trying like hell to give up caffeine right now. It's a lot harder than I thought it would be...I really love my iced tea and my diet Coke. *sigh* I'm going to get some decaf tea and diet Coke tomorrow to ease the pain. It's hard for someone to go cold turkey who doesn't like water!

The rest of my day was very uneventful. I went on a claim with C today and watched her do her thing. She's going to be GREAT, I know it!

Memes!

Wednesday Matinee

1. What's your favorite disaster movie? Armageddon. I love that end of the world stuff.
2. What's your favorite John Travolta movie? I have to pick just one? Hmm. Pulp Fiction!
3. What do you think of celebrity endorsements for political office? I don't. How's that for an answer?

What's On 'your lunch menu' Right Now?

Monday, I ate banana bread for lunch...egg whites, oatmeal, and banana baked into a loaf. Today, I got Chick Filet through the drive-thru...I slept in really late and didn't have time to pack lunch. So a grilled chicken sandwich and fresh fruit it was with a diet lemonade. Tomorrow, I'm meeting S for sushi! Friday...probably a packed lunch since I've heard there is a fire for me in the pipeline in Wichita Falls which is three hours away from Dallas. Fortunately, Queenie is sending another adjuster up there FIRST to make sure it's really big enough to send me up there...so I don't drive three hours for something one of the other adjusters could easily handle. Ah...I love being taken care of!

That's all I've got. Sleeping Beauty is sitting next to me, waiting patiently for me to stitch on her, and Gabrielle is sitting with her just enjoying laying with me. I took her to have her teeth cleaned on Monday, and she's just been a ball of love ever since I brought her home. I guess her teeth must have really been bugging her!

Send me good vibes that I'll get pregnant soon!