I had a doctor’s appointment, and when the unlucky thirteen tubes of blood he sent away for tests were returned, it was decided that I had a certain syndrome that would prevent me from having more children. Options like IFV, and various other fertility treatments would probably work, but there would be no easy, old fashioned baby making for me.

Of course, people assured me that I was lucky to have the two I have, and I am. That doesn’t mean I had to be happy about being done. If I am going to be done having children, I’d like to do it on my own terms.

The thing that really got my goat was that I was having pregnancy symptoms! Great, I thought, you’re so disappointed you’re psyching yourself out and exaggerating every little pms symptom. This is pathetic.

Two weeks later the symptoms were still there, and driving me crazy because I couldn’t believe them. To top it off, I was late. Again. This was two-thirds of the reason behind the initial doctor’s visit to begin with, and here it was, mocking me with yet another fake pregnancy symptom.

I was bloated and late, breaking out like a teenager, and my cups were running over by about a size and a half. Now, anyone can be bloated and gassy. It is a symptom of many things. Being late, well, that’s been explained to me in many scientific terms. And a sudden bout of acne, well, it happens. These symptoms were liars. LIARS! However, the boobs don’t lie. Breasts are very truthful, and after puberty there is only one really legitimate excuse for rapidly jumping cup sizes and being so sore you can hug anyone. Pregnant boobs announce themselves with a bullhorn, perky, loud and honest.

I was so ticked off. How dare I have all these symptoms and not have it be possible? That’s just rude. I told Chris I would go in for a blood test, another futile disappointment on the horizon, another round of getting my hopes up when I know better. Then, I got so miffed I told Chris to just pick me up a home pregnancy test so I could suffer my disappointment in the privacy of my own bathroom.

I bitterly unwrapped the test, did my thing, and expected to set it down and wait. I didn’t even get to set it down. It was the fastest positive pregnancy result I have ever seen in my life, and I sat there, entirely gobsmacked, almost disbelieving.

Every other pregnancy I thought up some cute way to let Chris in on the big secret. This time I just walked up to him, test in shaking hands, goofy grin on my face. After asking me if I was serious about ten times, he finally understood I wasn’t joking. That was a really positive test.

I’m pregnant! Whoa!

And I’m thrilled.

Did you have any idea I could make a simple card? A card that didn’t take me two hours and make me break a creative sweat? Occasionally it happens.

I did these up quick with Cosmo Honey Pie

Quickutz goodies and an old pic of Maggie.

I have been holding on to these photos for two years now, waiting waiting waiting for a company to come out with a Halloween line worthy of Maggie’s supreme cuteness. When Cosmo handed me Haunted, it was love at first sight! Plus, check out the new Gracie mini album! Pretty sweet, huh? I think I’ll need about five more of those! Thanks for looking!

I have a little sister named Janice. We grew up ignoring each other or trying very hard to get the other in trouble. Or I should say she tried. Janice was an expert at getting me in trouble for doing absolutely nothing. One time she must have been in a bad mood because when I walked by her on the stairs and smiled and patted her shoulder in a very friendly, sisterly manner, she gave me the look of death and walked calmly and deliberately down the stairs. When she reached the bottom step, she smirked at me and then with every ounce of energy she possessed, she screamed bloody murder that I was beating her.

I was severely punished, and yet in awe of her power.

When she was about two years older she made another attempt to get me in hot water by writing on my bedroom door in teal Crayola marker the words, “Leah’s Room”. My mother saw it and she was not pleased. She stared at me, stared at the handwriting and then very quickly realized that it was far too neat to be my ten year old self’s handwriting. It had to belong to my six year old sister. Ha!

Jan and I grew up and right when she turned into an interesting person, I turned into an adult and ran off to college, and then to marriage and motherhood. We spoke on the phone a bit, but not much. I like my sister. We just never had much in common.

Then she turned into an adult and married a Brit and ran away to jolly old England. All it took was the phone calls turning into $20’s a pop and suddenly we just can’t stop calling each other (yes, we both got very reasonable international plans. $2 a minute is INSANE AT&T. This is not the dark ages, this is the 21st century. Calls should be cheap).

All this calling back and forth and e-mailing quickly took my sister and turned her into my best friend, so how lucky was I to have her come all the way from England to visit me? For ten days we played. We went to every scrapbook store in a 60 mile radius. We went to a crop. We saw movies. We went to the temple. We hung out and totally enjoyed each other’s company, and I was so sad to see her go. Why in the world won’t the Air Force station us in England?

It had been three years since we saw each other. That is way too long, and sadly, the reality when you live on different continents and plane tickets are upwards of a grand. I’m still hoping it won’t be that long again.

Luv ya, Sanisi!

I’m been in a cardmaking mood lately . . .

Had to use up my Gretel scraps

I had to keep quiet for a few days, but as you can see on their blog now, Cosmo Cricket has asked me to design for them, and of course I said YES! And then I jumped up and down doin’ the happy dance and pinching myself!

Now I’m scrapping like mad to be ready for CHA next weekend! The new Halloween line “Haunted” is absolutely gorgeous and I’ve done quite a bit with it already. Can’t wait to share all of it with you guys, and if you happen to be dropping by the Cosmo booth at CHA- take a picture for me!

I recently read “Nana Star” and the sequel “Nana Star and the Moonman”. These are very clever and cute picture books! The book’s heroine, Nana Star, finds a lost baby star and promises to help him find his way back home. Their journey together is very sweet, and the book’s simple illustrations are fun to look at. The story is beautifully told and expresses a safety and security that all children could benefit from. You really get the feeling that there is always someone looking over you from these books, and yet they are not religious in the least. It gives comfort, hope and friendship fun new faces without being didactic or trite. That is growing hard to find in today’s world where morality and hope seem banned to the relgious sector! It is great to find a book with a positive message that is completely nonsecular.

The books are also unique because they each inlcude an error in the text. The mistake is there on purpose for the children to find, and when they do find it, they can go to the Nana Star website and it will let them into the “Little Twinkles Club”. Additionally, each book comes with a cd that reads the story and also sings a song. I am excited to use these on our upcoming road trip!

In addition to the books, Nana Star and Moonman are lovable dolls. When we opened our box with the books and the toys, I really expected Maggie to love Nana Star since she was a pretty little dolly, and she does, but not nearly with the same affection she has for Moonman! In fact, my kids have been fighting over him for about two weeks now! He plays a little song and is incredibly huggable and sweet. His bright face lights up as the song plays and Maggie has spent many nights snuggled up with him.