valentine's day 2009

So what is everyone doing next Saturday? Normally I just get Brice a card, and he'll buy me flowers and cook dinner, but this year we made reservations at Benihana's with two of my most favorite people in the whole wide world- Chad & Kristi. I am really looking forward to next weekend so I can see my favorite preggo lady:)

Texas here I come...

Right back from where we started from! Crystal and PJ (don't forget Nathan) have officially started their cross-country road trip from Washington to Texas. Along the way they are stopping at many beautiful places. Most recently was visiting Uncle Matt in Beverly Hills, CA. Uncle Matt acted as their tour guide and took them all over L.A. Crystal texted me all excited she saw the paparazzi following some "dark haired girl" at the Grove. And apartently Nathan got into trouble for playing and hiding in thousand dollar clothes at Barney's! Crystal took a stroll down the famous Rodeo Drive and said she bought me two shirts from a "reasonably" priced store that apartently Eva Longoria shops at. I told my husband and he responded with "Who's that?" Ugh, men. Anyways, now they are heading South and right now staying in a cottage on the beach somewhere in California. Nathan has become a pro at peeing on side of the road! Crystal said he has done it five times already! And he enjoys stopping at the gas stations to buy chips and junk food. They should be crossing the Texas boarder around February 15, just in time for Nathan's third birthday on February 18. They will be staying for two weeks and then heading to Kansas City, KS where they will live for the next few years. I will update with their adventures as I hear more.

is it too late...

to post a picture of our Christmas lights from 2008? I forgot to share and so many of you wanted to see. We didn't win the contest of course. Some lunatic with 80,000 lights on his house and surround sound Christmas music outside won. He deserved it, though!

Our new doctor

Our appointment was originally for February 6th, but they called yesterday and said we could come this morning. Since it was last notice and I wanted to go now, Brice wasn't able to get off work so my mom and I went. Let me just say I LOVE Dr. Hardwick-Smith at Hermann Hospital. Her office is decorated with the most beautiful life-size baby and maternity pictures you would ever see.
When they called us back I expected to wait on her in a typical medical waiting room. Instead they directed us to Dr. Hardwick-Smith's personal office. We sat there and waited on her for 5 minutes. When she walked in the first thing she told me was my urine test was negative for pregnancy. No big deal, I knew it would be. She wanted to know all about me and asked a lot of questions about my NF and brain tumors. She said I can continue to take my pain meds for now as they will not prevent us from getting pregnant or have another miscarriage. She is not worried about my progesterone level and told me to stop using the cream. But she did say to come back on cycle day 21 and she will draw my blood and test my levels just to be on the safe side. She said it's unusual to get pregnant on the first try like we did, and we're right on schedule where we should be because she said it takes a good 6 months before most people get pregnant.
I'm so happy we found a great doctor at a really great hospital. I will never go back to Texas Women's after the way they treated us, not to mention nobody in that hospital seems to know what they're doing. Everyone at Hermann today were so nice and classy- I can't wait to be treated there during my pregnancy. Hopefully soon:)

camp fief

My cousin Ashton came to stay with us last weekend while her parents went to Dallas. I love being around Ashton- I have worked with her since the day she was born. My aunt Kat taught me everything I needed to know about taking care of a child with cerebral palsy. And even though I don't work with Ashton full-time anymore, she still comes to stay with us a lot. Raven loves her and sits on her pillow and watches over her- just like a guardian angel:)

progesterone defect...

I've been doing a lot of research lately. Mainly because I keep getting this nagging feeling something isn't right. I've been charting and temping since my miscarriage. When I got my BFP the highest my temp got was to 97.8 I didn't realize at the time that was kind of low for someone who is pregnant. We started trying again in October 2008. In October and November I still noticed my temps were really low (97.8) after ovulation. I did some research and learned that low temps can be a sign of low progesterone. Progesterone is very important in early pregnancy because it's the hormone that controls everything till the 2nd trimester. Progesterone also thickens the uterus lining after ovulation to hopefully allow a healthy bean to stick. A drop in progesterone will cause a miscarriage- or for those not TTC- it will make your period start. So in December I bought an all natural Progesterone cream that I apply twice a day after ovulation. I noticed in December my temps were way up after ovulation- around 98.3 Now it's January and I ovulated 4 days ago and started my cream. Now my temps are even higher- 98.6! I really hope this is what I need to get pregnant again and make that little bean stick this time. Wish us luck, we really need it:)

And feel free to stalk my chart on Fertility Friend
http://www.fertilityfriend.com/home/2171e2

missing my nathan

Crystal sent me these new pictures of Nathan. I miss him so much. They will be here in February for a whole month! We'll even get to celebrate Nathan's 3rd birthday, February 18. My dad just got back from Seattle. He spent a whole week there visiting. Nathan loved seeing his Papa. I can't wait to see my sister, nephew, and even PJ:)

2009

A new year with new friends. Not that I don't still love my old friends, but I have a new friend I'm enjoying hanging out with. Yes Kristi I am talking about your sexy pregnant ass.
I cooked dinner for NYE and invited Chad and Kristi to come eat with us. We even made sherbet punch that started looking like a green swamp after a few hours. Chad and Brice drank beer, while us girls googled baby stuff on the computer all night. I get to help Kristi decorate the nursery and I'm very excited about that. Though I think Chad is going to kill me because my expensive taste is rubbing off on his wife. :oops:
I hope everyone had a fun and safe new years. May 2009 bring everyone the joy and happiness you all deserve.
Love,
Maryann & Brice

Baby Buswell- part 2

It's a GIRL! And she has a name, but I'm keeping it a secret in case Kristi and Chad aren't ready to tell. Kristi came over today and raided my closet of all the pink Juicy Couture baby outfits I had bought for my first pregnancy. It felt good giving them to her. It's hard for me to look at those outfits because it reminds me what was taken away from us. This was our 3rd month of trying to get pregnant. We're going to our new doctor in January, just to talk to her, and make sure everything is okay.
Here is a video of baby girl Buswell. She is a thumb sucker already.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yI2UYGjyGzY

Click on the above link

Merry Christmas

Belated I know, but I hope everyone had a very merry Christmas. And Happy Birthday to my Papa today, December 26.
I can't believe it's almost 2009. I'm a little sad because I thought I would be pregnant by now. This month was only our 3rd try since my miscarriage, and I know on average it takes 5-6 months. We hit the jackpot the first time, so I know the odds are slim that was going to happen again. I've been worrying lately that my progesterone levels are too slow. I have a border-line too short luteal phase (the time from ovulation till your next period). Progesterone is the hormone that takes over during this time, and if your levels are too low, it can keep you from getting pregnant because your uterus sheds it's lining before an egg has time to implant. Or if you do get pregnant like I did in June, and your progesterone is low or drops, you will have a miscarriage. So right now I am using an all natural progesterone cream. I plan to see my doctor asap to have blood work done to see if I even need it. But this could be the reason for my previous miscarriage and the reason I haven't gotten pregnant yet. If I do get pregnant, I have to continue to use the cream till the end of my first trimester because a sudden drop in progesterone could cause another miscarriage. I am 8 days past ovulation today, and haven't tested yet. Will update as soon as I do. Fingers crossed:)

bikes for tikes

The Brazoria County Harley Davidson group raised money to help a few local needy families. Two weekends ago (yes I am behind) we had a Christmas party for the families and their kiddos. All the kids got gifts and a brand new bike! They even got to meet Santa Claus (my uncle Thomas)! The party was a hit and it felt wonderful to do something for those in need. Here are some pictures I took of the families we fed and gave gifts to.










And my dad, the chef for the evening

Secret Santa???

We had a secret Santa gift exchange on a message board I have been a member of for 5 years :insert shocked smiley face here: Wow, I can not believe how the time flies. When I first joined, I hadn't even met Brice yet. How cool is that? So anyways, I joined the gift exchange this year. We had to make list of items we wanted. My SS got me the two items off my list I wanted the most. Here are some pictures...


I LOVE Woodwick candles. Brice tells me they sound like a fireplace crackling. I just love the smell, and they burn forever!
Sophia and Raven even got some homemade dog treats

House

So does anyone love this Fox hit TV show as much as I do? My mom comes over every Tuesday night and we watch it together at my house. My sister is the one who told me about it when it first came out in 2004. She knew I could relate to House. He lives in a lot of pain due to a leg injury and sadly seems to be addicted to vicodin and percocet. But yet he is the smartest doctor at the hospital, the one everyone looks up to and respects the most.
I've been on Vicodin every day for the past 2 years. And recently started on percocet as well. My doctor at MD Anderson gives me both. I don't think a lot of people realize what it's like to live in pain. Like real pain. Like honest to goodness somebody shoot me pain. I see how easy it is to become addicted to these pain medications, espically the percocet. But those tumors are always going to be in my brain attached to nerves. We don't want them to grow and have to be removed. Let them sit there and cause me pain I guess, but in the meantime I have to be strong and have a lot of faith I won't become a pill popping junkie like House. It's only 10am, but I am so ready for 7pm to roll around!

Ladies Night Out

The Angleton chamber of commerce sponsored the first annual ladies night out party last weekend. The price of each ticket included dinner, a tote bag full of goodies, a ticket for a free bar drink, and one free pamper pass for a massage or hair cut. The massages were given right there at the party by the same lady I pay to do my massages monthly. So I was excited to get a free massage! There were also lots of really cool vendors. I managed not to buy too much stuff. The guest of honor was a "sexy" Santa Claus. I think the "sexy" part was meant to be a joke. Donna and I had a good laugh sitting on his lap...

Here is a picture of my mom and me. I am framing this picture and giving it to her for Christmas. She hasn't seen it yet, and since she doesn't know how to work a computer, I don't have to worry about her seeing it on my blog:)

Is that SNOW?

Yes, that's right- SNOW! It snowed here today which had every cowboy and cowgirl asking "Is that snow?" Us Texans don't even know what snow looks like! Last time it snowed here was Christmas eve 2004 which was a miracle of course. We drove down to the beach the next day and there was 10 inches of snow on top of sand. And of course someone had built a snowman with a bikini on! Anyways, today was only snow flurries, but it was a lot and continued all day. It's been melting as it hits the ground, but very exciting for us down here on the gulf.
I'll leave you all with my favorite Christmas song....

When its christmas time in texas
Its a very special time for me
In texas well go swingin round the christmas tree
Dancin to a christmas melody
When its christmas time in texas
It might look just like a summer day
There may not be snow in san antonio
But its a texas christmas to me

[chorus]
When santa claus slips over the border
Itll sound a little different when he sings
cause hell hear those twin fiddles playin
Christmas songs with a touch of western swing
There may not be snow in san antonio
But its a texas christmas to me

When its christmas time in texas
I love to hear those christmas carolers sing
People on the go childrens faces all aglow
Grandpas been chasin grandma around
Tryin to catch her neath the mistletoe
Everything is right the lone star shinin bright
But its a texas christmas to me

Frosty the snowman knew the snow was hot that day
So he said lets run and have some fun before I melt away
Down to the village with a broom stick in his hand
Runnin here and there all around the square
Sayin catch me if you can

[chorus]

And heres wishin you all a merry christmas
Merry christmas from texas and me