The Excitement Continues!

Tuesday should have been an extremely exciting day. Instead, my poor IFs were stressed over a snag in the plans with our California lawyer. As it turns out, she's not nearly as experienced as she made herself out to be and wasn't able to get the PBO like we'd asked. Better to find out now than later, I suppose. The good news is that there's already a new lawyer in place and the contract is being drawn up as we speak. The absolute latest it will be signed is 15 OCT. Awesome!

We spoke more about logistics, including the move to California. The original plan was to move around 34 weeks, but the lawyer is concerned about the possibility of unstoppable pre-term labor and all of the hard work and planning going out the window in the event of a pre-term birth in Missouri. With the new lawyer, however, came a new area of comfortable jurisdiction. Much of my afternoon yesterday was spent researching hospitals and the new area Fat Kid and I will be living. I will admit that I had a terribly productive evening after Fat Kid went to sleep (as accomplishing much of anything is impossible while he's awake) and not only do we have a new hospital chosen, but I've bookmarked a number of possible living arrangements.

N comes home today. We've got quite a bit to discuss once he's home with the new information that's been brought up. One of the biggest decisions now is whether or not to continue with the plans to move on post. All of the original reasons are there, but because there's a minimum 1 year lease, we would be moving in with friends instead of into our own home. It's frustrating to say the least, but it definitely gives me a lot to think about until N gets here.

I've got lots of errands to run before his bus is due back so I'll keep you all updated as things progress :)

Random Thought for the Day

I had a dream last night that I gave birth to the surrobaby. It was a baby girl named Katie and N was a sneaky pete and wanted to keep her because he's always wanted a girl. I still remember the look of disappointment (not to be outdone by my look of sheer joy) when we were told Fat Kid was a boy. A bit of foreshadowing maybe?



Also, Don't Ask, Don't Tell was repealed today. Super excited about that! Fat Kid and I will be celebrating with cupcakes later :)

Another Successful Day

More progress on the surrogacy front! :)

Friday I met with an amazing woman for my psych eval. Tracy Birkinbine is a licensed professional counselor at Counseling with TLC, LLC in Des Peres, MO. She is certified to do evaluations not just for surrogacy (both IPs and surrogates), but also for egg/sperm donation, IVF and just infertility-related counseling in general. [/end plug]
Anyway, the first thing I have to say about Tracy is WOW! What an awesome businesslady. Not only was she extremely professional, but she was also understanding of my situation as the mom of a toddler and was more than willing to help me when it came to bridging the distance between my home and her office. Second, she made the evaluation feel more like casual chatter than anything clinical...which is always appreciated. We met at a bustling Panera bread. It had enough business people in it that we didn't feel awkward, but wasn't quiet enough that sharing things, like how I thought our sex life would be affected by the surrogacy, would be awkward if overheard. Definitely a successful meeting and I hope to keep in contact with her.

One of my biggest worries about the meeting with Tracy was leaving Fat Kid. I was slowly getting him acclimated to a babysitter setting over the summer, but he only lasted a few hours max before naptime hit or he'd want boobies and the meltdown would ensue :( When his sitter went back to work at the end of the summer, he stopped going once a week and was once again a 24/7 mama's boy.
In the last few weeks, I've had a number of random appointments that were a little more complicated with a toddler running rampant so I asked the wife of another soldier in N's company to watch Fat Kid for me. The first day, I was a nervous wreck. I left him for 5 hours and I knew it was probably going to be a disaster for her. Sure enough, she couldn't figure out how to get him to take a nap so she called another mom for reinforcements. Thankfully things got better after that and as I called on my way home to check on him, she told me that he'd happily climbed into her lap, closed his eyes and just passed out. Awesome! It's such a relief having a sitter that he loves and that can get him to nap.




In family, non-surrogacy related news, we're on the housing list to move onto post. N is in the field for the rest of the next week and Fat Kid and I are enjoying the quiet at home and the company of amazing friends who are our families :) Our lives have been harried and disorganized, less than desirable at times and chaotic, but right now, they're perfect and I wouldn't want to be anywhere else.

More Progress

Alas, life continues. In the two and a half weeks since my last update, there's been lots of chaos but minimal progress. The lawyer in California requires a psych eval prior to even drafting the contract. Finding someone locally to do said evaluation was another thing entirely. The closest for me is over two and a half hours away and with a toddler and a busy husband, traveling that far only to be there for two hours and then traveling back isn't an easy feat. The psychologist who will be doing my eval is fabulous. She was the only person willing to work with me and my schedule and even offered to meet me at our home. With that said, Friday I'll be dropping Fat Kid off with the sitter bright and early and driving 2 hours to ensure that I'm stable enough to endure the challenges that come with carrying and delivering a baby but going home alone.

I'm also finishing my will/living will. Such a humbling experience.
Otherwise we're just waiting on the psych eval and we can move forward from there.


In other news, we're likely to be moving on post for deployment. I'm still waiting on N to get me his orders from 18 months ago so we can get on the housing list, but I think it'll be better for Fat Kid and I in the long run. I'm toying with the idea of going back to school to finish my bachelor's degree as well. Lots of new and exciting changes coming! Stay posted.

OMFG excited!

Honestly, I could not have asked for a better day or a more amazing couple. I am so excited right now, it just seems surreal. Yesterday was a fun, yet incredibly productive day. Along with reviewing medical records and sharing baby photos of both Fat Kid and myself, we have a game plan to work from, woot! I still need a psych eval and I'll be mailing a copy of my medical records to them this coming week. I need to work on my living will as well, but we're hoping to have a contract ready to sign by 12 SEP. Once the contract is signed, we're set to move forward. They'll be coming to visit every month until a pregnancy sticks and we discussed maybe going to see their home before N deploys.

I honestly don't think I could've been matched with a better couple. They understand the military lifestyle which is more than I could ask of anyone, but even more than that, they're such an incredible couple. I can't even begin to describe how amazing they are, but the love between them just radiates and you can see how much they desire a child. Watching them interact with Fat Kid, I almost wanted to cry because they were just SO attentive. He took to them incredibly well and C and W are his favorite people now. Only when he got tired did he come snuggle with his mama. Not only that, but N loves them and that's saying something because N is one of those people who doesn't have a high tolerance for new people, especially those he doesn't like. He and C were happily watching YouTube videos while W and I worked out the details.

I have to say that I am actually really sad they had to leave last night. Time just flew past us and before I realized what time it was, midnight was upon us. I felt horrible because their flight out this morning was incredibly early, but I'm so thankful for the time we were able to spend together. They've thanked me multiple times for making this dream come true for them, but what they don't understand is that they're doing the same for me. It's a partnership for both of us and to have such a truly astounding couple in our lives, I feel so incredibly blessed.

My latest cycle started last week. I'm not sure what to expect of this month with the pill screwing with me, but we won't have a contract signed in time to catch this month. I'm hoping it doesn't screw things up too much because I have a chance at another June baby and I'm definitely partial to June babies :P No, but in all reality, being majorly pregnant in California in the heat of summer...not my favorite idea, but I'll do whatever for them.

Bottom line: They're amazing. Our meeting was fabulous. Our game plan is set and there are only a few things left before the fun can begin.

Anticipation!

So...I can't sleep. Haven't really been able to sleep because the anticipation is killing me! Fat Kid and I wrapped up our time in Arizona with a trip to the aquarium (which he loved!) and after a long day of flying, we were both exhausted. He passed out in the car (after running like a banshee through the airport, haha) and by the time I unloaded and helped N find some last-minute things for his Class A inspection, it was well past midnight. And of course, on the night Fat Kid sleeps more than a few hours stretch, I can't sleep. Awesome. As much as I loved AZ, let me just say that I am so glad to be back home. It feels...weird coming home after being gone for so long, but I missed N like crazy and Fat Kid missed his toys, lol

Now for the exciting stuff! I met my IPs :D This deserves like 20 more exclamation marks, but that's overkill so I'll leave it at one. After having Fat Kid run out of the airport bathroom while I was still peeing (fabulous, right?), I met C right by baggage claim. We chatted for a bit while wrangling Fat Kid until the luggage came out. C got in before us (at 845 pm), we landed at 910 pm and W wasn't supposed to land until 10 pm...but he has crazy awesome timing and managed to get in shortly after I got our checked bag around 945. Definitely good considering N had a lot to do and I could just hear the complaints, haha.

And now that brings us to me, sitting on the couch while Fat Kid sleeps peacefully in the bedroom. I alternate between attempting to clean up trivial things and typing this because I know the big things a) don't matter and b) aren't going to get clean anyway. (Whoa, how did my sliding door get so dirty?!?) Thankfully, this has taken up a good chunk of time and I only have another hour and a half or so to wait, but jeez, I'm so excited to see them again! They are such incredible people and...seriously, they're just amazing. Expect another update soon. I'm going to hop in the shower and put the mound of dishes N left me in the dishwasher. Let the day begin!

Adventures Abound!

Things have been kind of quiet on the blog-front. My apologies for that, but I promise it's not without reason. Fat Kid and I had a fabulous two weeks in Kansas. It was nice to see my dad since he's usually away on business when my family comes to visit. It was even more fun to spend time with my younger sister before she goes off to college. Fat Kid LOVES my parents house because they have cats and he's a cat kind of kid ;) It didn't take him long to get into the toys and to start squealing at the cats again. If only N weren't allergic...

Fat Kid caught a tummy bug the first week we were there. Nasty week of icky poops all day long and one horrible night of projectile vomiting and the poor boy spent the next week mass nursing to boost his immune system and replenish the fluids he lost. Rough few days for us, but thankfully no one else caught it.

Saturday started our "big" adventure. Mom, Fat Kid and I embarked at 4 am from Kansas City with the intent of driving until we reached my uncle's house in Mountainair, NM. With a few stops along the way to stretch our legs (and to let Fat Kid run, squealing through the stores, haha), we made it safely to New Mexico before dark. I cannot even begin to express how gorgeous the scenery was! It was incredibly isolated and the nearest hospital was over an hour away, but the views, the huge plots of land and the sheer beauty of the place still astounds me. We were able to see old ruins from a settlement in the 1300s (pics to come soon!). Such an incredible experience and my uncle is a fantastic cook. We saw the renovations he and his wife were doing to their property, played with ALL of their animals (6 dogs, 2 cats and 2 horses) and stuffed ourselves silly. The motel they had for us was renovated by my uncle and while it was a small place, it was so luxurious! I dare say it was probably the most comfortable bed I've ever slept in. Fat Kid slept soundly and Mom commented on how sweet it was to hear him singing to himself in his sleep.

Sunday we drove the remaining 8-9 hours to Scottsdale, AZ and checked into our timeshare. We got unloaded, showered and went straight to sleep. Our days have been filled with crazy 105+ degree days, but plenty of pool time and AC. The resort has a ton of scheduled activities (including a pool party/dinner yesterday with games for kids and adults alike) and tonight we (Mom and I) are going to a wine tasting, yummy!

We also picked my sister up from the airport this morning and got her moved into her apartment. I would be lying if I didn't say I was a little jealous of her. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love my life. My husband and son are my entire world, but seeing all the college students, the cheap-quality furniture and accessories and feeling the energy of all the possibilities in the air just made me flashback to the old days.

Speaking of family, sadly N is stuck back at home. He's currently going through WLC (Warrior Leadership Course), a grueling month-long, 6 day-a-week training program for soldiers to become NCOs. He says it sucks majorly, but he's excelling and making us proud. We're all looking forward to a family vacation soon (our first one as a family of three!). It's kind of sad that Fat Kid has been all of these places, but never with both of us :(

On the surrogate front, the mini pill has somewhat thrown my body for a loop. I have an appointment set when I get home to make sure things are still good. I keep in contact regularly with my IPs and we're all so incredibly excited to meet! 10 days from now and we'll be meeting. Such an exhilarating thought. I'm in love with all of the possibilities and I can't wait to iron things out more. For once, it feels real and I am on cloud nine!

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