Are you ready for some FOOTBALL!?

The UT season kicked off with a home game against Florida Atlantic and was victorious!! Hook ‘Em!

The tailgate for us started at noon for a 6 o’clock kickoff (reasonable start time as it used to be 8am…I am not complaining).  It was an extremely warm day so please excuse the sweat in the pics below!  This tailgate was different from others as my friends outnumbered Gary’s at one point! Way to go girls!!!!!  It was a great beginning to what should hopefully be a successful season for the LONGHORNS!

Sweaty Perez’s

Kim, Suz, Jen, and Carson (in her Georgia Bulldog gear!)

Jan convinced Ryan to tailgate!

Blakeley made a drive by! She was dressed in her orange as well!!

Go away, Gustav!

With Katrina making landfall just 3 years ago, New Orleans is now preparing for Hurrican Gustav.  Many of my friends lost their homes during Katrina and have finally rebuilt their homes and lives. In addition, I learned first hand how much damage 6 inches of water can do…YUCK  I just pray that everyone is safe and that their homes are spared.  Oh, and friends who are reading…you are welcome to Austin for a visit! You’ve got a place to stay here!

My mom is away in Denver helping with my Grandfather, so my poor dad is trying to move things upstairs and prepare all by himself.  He is not sure where he will be going because supposedly rooms are booked all the way to Tennessee. Although he knows he has a place in Austin, I think he wants to be closer to home.

My 8th first day of school…

First off, I can not believe I have been teaching 8 years already! Comparatively speaking, today was a pretty good first day with only a couple minor gliches.  My goal of every first day of school is to survive and keep the my students safe…fyi, I teach PPCD (3, 4 and 5 year olds with disabilities) so safety is a valid concern!  Only once today was I literally needing to be 3 places at once!  While I did survive, I am completely beat down and my brain hurts so it is off to bed for me…yes, I know it is only 7:30.

Amazing.

I just wanted to say that I work with amazing people.  As a teacher, I am surrounded by women at work, so when I talk about female issues they relate.   I have been back at school for 2 weeks now and so many people have asked how I am doing and how things went over the summer…administrators checking in and offering comforting words, encouragement from those who have been through this very journey, a shoulder to cry on if needed, and understanding when I just have a down day.  It is truly amazing.

Today a friend at work lent me a 10 minute video that is so inspirational (NOOMA). She has been through this journey and said that it helped her…after watching it, I think I may hang onto it for a while. I know I needed this reminder in the past when cycles have failed and will watch it in the future if needed.  Thank you so much.

My family and friends have been so great through all of this but it is just so nice to know that I have such a great support system…even at work.  I know not everyone can say that about work.

Status update….I took an Ovulation Predictor Kit (OPK) this am and it had a faint second line meaning that the LH is present and ovulation should take place anywhere from 24-36 hours, so the best chance to become pregnant is within the next 48 hours.  Well, Gary went out of town today. So I am not expecting much from this cycle but would welcome a extra special miracle in a heartbeat!

I got tagged!

First of all, thank you to everyone who commented last week.  Your comments are definitely lifting my spirits and are keeping hope alive in this ongoing journey through IF. Now onto the tag…

I have been tagged by Betsy to list 6 quirky things about me! Here I go…

1) I have to chew gum when working out…I don’t know why but if I don’t, all I think about is that I wish I had a piece throughout the entire workout!

2) I HATE SMACKING! Or really any sound made when eating…we eat with the TV on because I need noise!

3) I strive to finish shampoo and conditioner at the same time.  I think I have only done it once.  Don’t know why but it bugs the heck out of me when I finish the bottle at different times!

4) If one hand gets wet, I have to wet the other one.  Strange sensory issue, I know!

5) Tank’s belly (my pug) is irresistible to me…it is so soft and squishy.  Luckily she loves belly rubs and belly kisses just as much as I love to give them to her!

6) My default punctuation is the exclamation point!!!  I am sure you have noticed if you ahve been reading for a while! I have to consciously think about it when I need to put a period. The exclamation point just happens naturally!!!

I could go on forever I am sure with quirky things, but I will tag Kelley and a new commenter, Bonnie over at The Angry Infertile!

SEPTUPLETS!!!!!!

Yeah, SEVEN!!! OMG! And yes, she took fertility drugs…don’t know what kind, but geesh! I just want one…ONE, but she gets SEVEN….ARG!  She is already the mother of three.  7+3=10!

I am glad to hear that they are all in good condition and mom is doing well also…they were all between 3 and 6 lbs.  WOW!

Source.

Yeehaw!

Ashley’s sweet little guy, Grant, is sporting his Cowboy Boot socks!!!  I figured he needed a little Texas influence!!  He is so darn cute!

Keep those pics coming my way, Ashley!!!

Zip, zero, zilch.

It’s a big fat negative.  I went and got the blood work done before our faculty retreat and got the dreaded phone call around 11:30.  I stepped out to answer and was told that the test was negative.  The nurses are always so nice when they call, but geez it hurts so much when they say those dreaded words…”I’m sorry”.  Although I had taken a HPT (home pregnancy test) earlier that morning and it resulted in a negative, I was still holding out hope that it was wrong.

It was hard walking back into the library to continue our staff retreat with teachers who just announced their pregnancy, but I guess I am glad I was busy…I did not have time to dwell on it. Tank and Vader have been such great companions since I have been home and while Gary is out of town.

I am not sure what we will do for this next cycle.  If we did another medicated cycle next month, I anticipate the IUI’s would fall on the first few days of school.  I am debating whether to try on our own, but want to talk to Gary and see what he thinks as well.

My sweet pug babies spoiled? Nah!

Okay, so maybe they are! I was doing a routine cleaning of their beds yesterday and they just didn’t know what to do with themselves when they couldn’t find a single bed to lay on for an hour or so!  Yes, you heard me correctly…I said beds…plural.  I’d say they have 4 beds total (our bed and 3 different pet beds)… and we live in a 1600 sq ft house!!!!

Our bed…

Pet bed 1:

Pet bed 2:

Pet bed 3:

As you can see they can snuggle just about anywhere!

B2S: Back to School

I actually ended up going into school yesterday to drop off a few things and did more than I expected.  Once I started, I just couldn’t stop!

This is why I was so hesitant about going in the first place…a big pile of stufff…

This is the way I left it…still a lot of work to be done, but I’ve got a little head start!

Note: I teach a special education preschool class.