Christmas 2015 (A Brief Recap)

Christmas was crazy but wonderful!

We did our usual...

Lala's house on Christmas Eve.

Christmas Day:  Heidi and Randy came to our place to open gifts.  Mackel's Christmas morning breakfast.  Dad's wife's daughter in law went into labor early so we didn't get to spend time with Dad :( Lala's for lunch and then ended up at home because Keith wasn't feeling well.  I went into casserole making mode.

Day after we got Perry and 15 other family members invaded for food and presents.

After that I spent days recovering!  Holidays are stressful!

A New Year

Gotta document my "goals" for 2016

1.  Let's get the major one on the list: Get knocked up.  Come on girly parts...make it happen.

2. Get Operation Get Healthy back on track.  Meal planning, grocery shopping and app tracking back on the agenda.  Gyming is definitely becoming a priority again too!

3.  Being a better friend.  Marriage has made me a horrible friend.  I will get better at sending cards, sending texts and scheduling get togethers.

4.  Spending less time on my phone.  Sorry Samsung Galaxy, it's me, not you....

5.  Eating out less.  Ain't nobody got money for that.

6. Purging junk.  I need to declutter my life.  Where does this stuff come from?

7.  Celebrate more, complain less....this might take a small miracle.

8.  Stop drinking milk.  Milk = joint pain....every time I drink a glass it feels like I've been beat in my joints.  I will finally kick the habit this year.

Gotta stop with an even number (wouldn't possibly want to change my OCD) so that's all for 2016 :)  May it be the best year yet!

What Hope Looks Like

Throughout the last few years, we've always made decisions based on "if we have a baby."  We picked a house with enough bedrooms.  We picked a new car that would accommodate a car seat easily and the payment wouldn't cut into day care costs.  Those are the big things.

Even in the small things, our hope shines through.  I did a little art project last year and I flipped it over today and got yet another reminder.  Maybe the new year will be the year we complete our tree...the year the other ornament gets a name and moved to the front. 

I'll ask again this year, Dear Santa, please bring us a baby. (Shout out to the Tooth Fairy, Easter Bunny, Elf on the Shelf and any other creature that can hook us up too)

Torn Between

This year, I'm torn between being so thankful for all I have and a little sad on what I thought I'd have.  

The little Thanksgiving outfits still haunt me....those ribbon feathers ugh.  A few pregnancy announcements mixed in were just the whipped cream on the pie.

In the mix of it all, I'm blessed. I'm thankful.  I'm trying so hard to focus on the good stuff.

I did find one tiny way to clean out the tear ducts, while hopefully bringing another wanna be mama a smile.   Ice cream is always the answer so I'm treating on the pay it forward board.

Happy Turkey Day!!!

What A Day

It's been a Friday for the books.  I surely didn't see this one coming.  I don't expect anyone to read this, but I'm writing it anyway.

6:30: So rudely woken up by the husband.
8:15: Black load of laundry meets tissue in pocket
8:45: Head to Panera for mango iced tea um I mean breakfast. 
10: Hubby informs me he needs emergency root canal. Rush to the dentist and make myself cozy in waiting room.
12: Finally leave the dentist office. 
12:15: Sit down with stoned husband, order food and he realizes he has a 1pm meeting.   Food is boxed up and we leave.
1: Target, Sams Club - great deal on a brisket and Keith's beloved breakfast sandwiches.  
3: Home to put away groceries
3:30: Pedicure with sister (pretty pale pink)
5: Mall with sister to find wedding attire.  Discover missing diamond in engagement ring so drop it off for warranty work.
6:30: Call husband for dinner order.  Doesn't want anything.  I drive near our house to get my chicken salad ole and call him to tell him I'm homeward bound and guess who wants food? From the restaurant beside the mall I just left. 
7:30: Finally swallow my (cold) dinner whole.
8:15:  Discover not one but two piles of dried cat poop under our spare bed. (Just keeping it real folks)
8:30: Climb in bathtub to soak and pray that tomorrow will be calmer lol.

Days off work are exhausting!

Out With The Old, In With The New

Well 2014, you’ve been a good year and you’ve been a hard year. In no particular order:

1. Celebrated 9 years at Mylan.
2. Riggle family vacation to Emerald Isle
3. MOHs and men vacation to Myrtle Beach
4.  Got diagnosed with Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS).
5.  Had my first IUI - BFN
6. Identified my Unicornuate Uterus and changed fertility treatment route.
7. Had my first BFP and celebrated being pregnant.
8. Missed miscarriage at 7/8 weeks. D&C
9. Traveled to Canada; Erie, PA and Philadelphia, PA for business trips
10. Paid off our student loans wooohoooo
11.  Celebrated our first wedding anniversary.
12. Celebrated Perry's golden birthday (8 on the 8th)
13. Landscaped our yard and our marriage survived it lol
14. Met two awesome ladies through infertility support groups. They both have become great friends and support.
15. The hubby got a new job that he'll start in 2015.
16. Healed and survived everything above

2015 - Resolutions

Get healthy - failed miserably in 2014 so let's try it again.

Get pregnant - get with it lady parts.

Get my car paid off and the PMI off our mortgage - the sooner these are done, the sooner I can beef up the 401K.

We will leave it at 3!   They're biggies!

Happy New Year, Blog Friends!

Christmas Craziness

Christmas was a whirlwind (as usual) but we survived and had a great time.

Christmas Eve: Sandwiches and sides at Lala's house.   Gift exchange for kiddos.  Spent the night at Heidi and Randy's house.

Christmas Day:  Exchanged with Heidi, Randy and Keith.   Breakfast at Mackel's.  Lunch at Lala's and back to Mackel's for dinner.   My poor Dad ended up in the ER because of his neck/nerve damage, but he did make it to dinner. 

Day After Christmas: We finally got Perry and the troops invaded our house.  We hosted 14 people for brunch and then opened gifts gifts and more gifts.

I'm still recovering, but I'm so thankful for the time with family. 

Griswolds and Goodies

Saturday morning was spent running errands and feeling sorry for the people with a sheer look of panic in their eyes as they rushed to shop for gifts. 

Stumbling across some awesome coupons at Target for baking ingredients (Cartwheel and text to save) inspired me to attempt peanut butter balls for the first time.  

I quickly learned it's time to invest in the commercial size KitchenAid, but overall it went well.  I of course turned on Christmas Vacation to enjoy while rolling the filling. 

It's nice to enjoy some laid back days before the holidays. 

My Grandma's Super Healthy Recipe
3 sticks of butter softened
1 bag of powdered sugar (2 lbs)
1.5 jars of peanut butter (27 oz.)

Mix together and form into balls. Freeze for an hour or more. 

Melt candy coating bars and dip balls. (I obviously haven't perfected this technique)

Dry on wax paper.

Enjoy!

Christmas Cookies

When I was little,  my Grandma helped us make Christmas cookies every year.  It is one of my favorite childhood memories, so of course it was time to teach Perry how it's done.  

Now don't be too jealous of our artistic skills!  Luckily we bake better than we decorate!  These things are delicious!

Gotta love a good Pinterest recipe (Yes the sour cream sounded nasty to me too, but it made the best cookies I've baked in my 32 years).

Deck The Halls

We've been decorating!  It was delayed and it's nothing extravagant, but it's just right for us! 
 

I love Christmas....the twinkling lights, the scents, the traditions and the reason for the season, make me jolly. 
 

So here's a tour of our home. 

 

First stop:  My Mom's tree.   After she passed away, I inherited this beauty.  She's not pre-lit, the colors on the branches that guide setup are falling off, and she's massive, but she's mine.   Like my sister has said 20 times, "They just don't make trees like this anymore."   (Of course the pic doesn't do it justice).  I've always dreamed of having a real tree, but my aforementioned sister is allergic, so game over lol.

 

 

 

Next stop: The boys' tree (that I hijacked.) There's a battle in our house, colored lights vs white lights, and this year we compromised.  The boys put up a tree in the kitchen nook and I forced them to add ribbon.   Our family ornaments have migrated to this tree too.   I think our 2014 ornament turned out pretty cute!

 

 

 

 

Next up: The random touches throughout the house.  My musical tree that has been in my family forever and other randomness.   Of course the candles and Scentsy scents are all gingerbread, cookies, cinnamon, etc.

 

 

 

The latest addition: An answer to one of my greatest Christmas issues!  My sister found this lovely piece at TJMaxx and I LOVE it!   I love cards but never had the right place for them, until now. 

 

 

 

What's missing: Stockings and a nativity scene.  These are on my "buy during after Christmas sales."  We have mismatched stockings and no holders.  It's a mess.  And I'm still on the search for a perfect yet affordable nativity.

 

Last stop: Our front door decor and light up packages.   We can't have the neighbors thinking we're Scrooges! 

 

 

Merry Christmas from our house to yours! 

These Are A Few of My Favorite Things

I finally got to go to a Favorite Things party!   I've always wanted to throw or participate in one, and the invitation arrived a few weeks ago! 

A small group of 7 ladies got together and we had a blast. There were a few kinks in everyone's interpretation of the directions, but we made it work!

I took 3 sets of Shea Moisture Superfruit soap with loofahs and 2 sets of OPI nail polish with hair ties (my friend, Holly, introduced me to these ties and I'm addicted.)  Apparently I was supposed to take 5 different items oops.

Anyway, the loot was all creative and fun.  There were tons of Bath and Body works items, food, alcohol, pampering items, gift cards, cooking items and other odds and ends.

I left with a wine sippy cup with merlot, a Margarita set (Fresca, tequila, lime and citrus squeezer), Jelly Bellys with a lip balm,  Pumpkin Spice maple syrup, and a Mexican feast set. 

My sister left with a Target gift card, ramekins, one of my soap sets, a hair brush and a coffee mug with a 31 mini bag.

There were steals, threats, bartering and cat fights, but we had a blast.  A B&BW gift set was the biggest hit.  I personally wanted an apron that someone brought!

I can't wait to participate in another one!  Thanks to the Huggins ladies for hosting and for the cute peppermint hot chocolate favor :)

Sitting This One Out

Today was my Grandma's family dinner they have every Labor Day.   The families of the 7 sisters gather for several holidays throughout the year and have a potluck.

My Mackel expects full family participation at each event, but I decided to sit this one out.  Keith had to work and I just didn't have it in me to go alone.  It's inevitable that I'd be interrogated about babies and I honestly just couldn't/wouldn't do it.

After my lung scan on Friday (all clear) and having two people ask me if there was any chance of pregnancy (read my chart folks) and bursting out bawling on the first nurse (I had just given him my meds list that said "anesthesia and meds for d&c" in big letters), I just couldn't bring myself to go.

Today I'm wearing PJs and glasses, petting kittens, watching TV, making spaghetti and doing laundry.  I'm taking care of me.

Infertility makes me feel so selfish and self centered sometimes.   It definitely changes a person. 

Lefty

Well I typed this post once and hit discard instead of publish.  So here's the brief version.  Gggrrr

At our scan yesterday,  lefty woke up, but didn't produce 20+ measurements,  so no IUI,  but plenty of timed baby dance instead.  

I'm off of my AS drugs so I'm creeping around like a 90 year old lady.   I'm hoping the 2 weeks of pain is worth it! 

We're off to celebrate the 4th with family, food and pool time.  Oh and I chopped off all my hair.   It was hot and I needed a change :)

It's The Least Wonderful Time of the Year

Once a year it sneaks up on me..... Mother's Day.   Out of no where a call, email or mailing slaps me right in the face.   Specials on flowers,  jewelry and all the other things women love.... specials on all the things that I have no one to give them to. 

Right after Mom died,  this day was spent in bed hiding from the world.   Last year, it was a bit happier because I was officially a step-mom (even though my husband failed to acknowledge the day.... sore spot).  This year; however, has a new sadness thrown in.   I'm the wanna be Mom who has empty arms.

I refuse to crawl back in bed and hide from the world.   I plan on taking my step-mom her gift,  taking flowers to the cemetery, visiting my Mama Tammy (she "adopted" us after Mom died....I still swear my Mommy had something to do with sending her to take care of us) and getting ready for my business trip to Canada.   I've learned distractions help me cope (yes we call that avoidance).  The sweet card from Perry helped too (Dad did better this year)!

So Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms out there.   I hope you treasure the Mom you have and treasure the gift of the little ones that gave you the title of Mom.

Happy Mother's Day in heaven,  Mommy.  I love you. 

Easter In An Eggshell

What a weekend.  

Thursday: Keith picked up Perry and we quickly realized he had the stomach flu.  Keith's car had to be steam cleaned,  the half bath was temporarily painted purple (I'll never buy grape Gatorade again) and we got very little sleep in between bucket dumps.

Friday: We camped out at home for a LONG day of sanitizing,  laundry and airing out the house (the cats were loving the fresh air).  Perry watched movies,  I caught up on Netflix and Keith channel surfed.  It was nice to be lazy, but I would have preferred to skip the "accidents" and the little dude feeling rough.

Saturday: His energy was back with a vengeance.   The Easter Bunny came a day early to our house since his Mother is too selfish to share a holiday with us.  We unwrapped goodies then headed to PA to see the inlaws and grab dinner before taking the kiddo home.

Sunday: Slept in and spent the day eating way too much with my family.   This was the first year that all of my family's Easter traditions ceased and I'd be lying if I said it wasn't sad and disappointing.  My Mom always made holidays fun and special,  so it's hard to lose all that.  To add to the joy, we got absolutely interrogated over having children, to the point of tears (thankfully no one noticed). 

All in all,  the weekend flew by and I'm still praying we don't catch the stomach flu.  We did enjoy our time with family and the extra day off work.  Most of all,  we're thankful for the real meaning behind the holiday.   Thank you Lord for this life I'm blessed to live.  He is Risen.

This Is Why You Don’t Blog on Meds

 Warning: I’m medicated and weepy. 

I try not to spend too much of my life regretting things that I did or didn’t do. 

The thought does cross my mind sometimes about how one little moment could have changed so many things.  I think about Keith, who asked me out 5+ times before I said yes.  I was working a lot at the time, and kept denying his requests.  I can’t imagine my life right now if it weren’t for him finally suggesting lunch and giving me no choice but to say, “Yes.”  Best decision I ever made. 

That man has made me happier and angrier than any other human has in my 29ish+ years.  I love him in ways I didn’t know were possible.  He just gets me. 

Like earlier this week:  I was sick (again) and he brought me an iced coffee, lunch, throat drops and a surprise to work.  He bought me a baby name book to show me that he hasn’t given up hope.  The sweetness and hope behind his gesture breaks and warms my heart. 

Which brings me back to trying not to regret things.  A while back I bought the supplies to tell Keith we’re expecting.  In a moment of excitement, hope and allowing myself to believe, I bought the items I wanted to use to tell him.  I’ve never been a fan of handing someone a stick I peed on (not judging lol just not my style) so I prepared, just in case.  And now, I keep stumbling across my hidden surprise.  I worry what I will do with it if I never get to give it to him. 

Since the IUI, my body has been freaking out.  I won’t go into details, but let’s just say, my once normal cycles are all over the place and the doctor’s office isn’t being all that helpful in explaining it all to me.  And quite frankly, I don’t know what to do next.  Right now, I am waiting for this horrible sickness to pass and for the results from my recent doc appointments. 

But after all that rambling, Happy Valentine’s Day.  We’re spending a low key night together at home, because I had my husband cancel our dinner plans.  I can’t taste much right now, so why waste the amazing food at Montmartre!  I’m looking forward to spending some quality time with the man that I love and who I hope one day can be a Daddy again. 

Past, Present and Future

Well 2013, you’ve been a good year and you’ve been a hard year. 

1. Celebrated 8 years at Mylan.
2. Wedding prep
3. The Big Day – I became Mrs. Holly Riggle
4. Honeymoon to Outer Banks
5. Family vacation to Myrtle Beach
6. Sold my townhouse.
7. Lived with Keith’s sister for a few months.
8. Bought our new place.
9. Sold my beater car and my Kia.
10. Bought the Honda.
11. Went to Utah with Uncle Bob.
12. Met Keith’s friends
13. Heidi got married
14. Whitney got married.
15. Celebrated our first holidays in the new house.
16. Learned a lot about marriage, parenting, dealing with an ex-wife, and so much more.
17. My normal heath issues: back, thumb, neck, lack of immune system.
18. April got married.
19. Finally made our new house a home.
20. Struggled with trying to become pregnant.

2014 - I’m not usually big on New Year Resolutions, but I’m going to give it a whirl this year.

1. Get healthy – I need to lose weight and get in shape.  We’ve started looking at elliptical machines and the South Beach Diet is calling my name.
2. Cook more healthy meals at home – I’ve gotten a lot better at this with our huge kitchen, but I need to move toward healthier recipes simultaneously.
3. Get pregnant – I don’t have much control over this one, but darn it we’ll be giving it our best.
4. Solve my mystery aching problem – I’ve got the doctor appointment scheduled; let’s see if they can solve the mystery.
5. Pay off Debt – don’t get me wrong, we live very responsibly.  We just have student loans that stress me out.  I’m planning to hit those puppies hard.  I’d also like to get our PMI knocked off the mortgage. 

Happy New Year, Blog Friends!!

Mandatory Christmas Post

Christmas = The best kind of madness there is.

Christmas Eve

• Keith had to work so I was on my own to run 101 errands. Sams Club, last minute gift buying, last minute helping a friend buy for his wife, wedding flower ordering with my MOH, etc.  Not to mention sorting 101 gifts into piles by house.
• Hopped in our PJs and headed to Lala’s house for our annual feast and presents.
• Headed home to open one gift from each other and climb into bed. 

Christmas Day

• Heidi and Randy came to our house to exchange and watch each other open gifts.  I got spoiled by my husband.

• We went to Mackel’s house for breakfast and to open gifts.
• Went to Dad’s house to open gifts.  I unwrapped a quilt from Dad and Lisa that was made of my Mom’s “Jammies” aka Pajamas.  After quite a few tears, we went back to celebrating.

• Went to Lala’s for lunch.
• Headed to Mather, PA to see Keith’s sister, Lori and her husband Mike, who were in town.
• My Secret Santa was unveiled.  Brenda and I got each other’s names in the drawing.  She has good taste i.e. Vera Bradley sunglasses and Bazinga t-shirt.
• Dropped my brand new cell phone in the gravel and busted the screen (hence the very limited pictures on this post ugh).
• Went home to be good little elves and prepare for Perry’s arrival the next day.

Day After Christmas

• Keith went to pick up Perry in PA while I cooked breakfast for his family and mine.
• The whole gang arrived and we devoured food while torturing Perry since his gifts were under the tree from Santa and everyone else.
• Perry unwrapped gifts for a solid hour.



Can you tell he's excited even though this is super blurry?


• The family trickled out the door and we continued our toy marathon.

The rest of the weekend consisted of spending gift cards, running errands, more playing, being lazy, inviting April, Jim and Nathan over for a play date, breaking out the new board games (Fibber and HedBanz), dinner at Heidi and Randy’s house, Law and Order SVU marathon, laundry, chores and a bunch of other excitement. 

It was a great first Christmas as a family in our new home.  We made great memories and enjoyed a simple life for a few days.  We missed those who weren’t with us, but enjoyed celebrating with all those who were there.

Happy Birthday Jesus….thank you for this wonderful life you have graced me with.