Updates and such!

Once again, I fell off the wagon and didn't blog for a long time.  Life takes over, computers spaz out, and phones just don't cut it for blogging.

As is a custom, this is a list post.  Too much has happened to just move on without a post about the big things that have happened in the past 3 months.
So here goes!

January

Baby at 8 weeks!

• Announced pregnancy to friends and family
• First appointment. Got to see baby!
• Started having morning sickness
• Started spring semester of school (18 credits!)
• First trip to the ER for fluids after being pretty dehydrated from being so sick

February

• Dropped out of school after missing 1.5 weeks and realizing this may not work out
• Second and third trips to the ER for fluids/Meds via IV
• Second and third ultrasounds!
• Officially diagnosed with Hyperemesis Gravidarum
• Over two weeks straight of laying in bed, except to run to the bathroom to puke

March

• Said bye to Daddy for four months as he serves in the Navy
• Family ski trip (No boarding for me!)
• Felt pretty good after being sick for so long, so I took off to visit family for a few weeks (no school or work tying me down!)
• A good week or so hanging out with family, seeing Jon on the weekends (just like when we were dating!)

Baby brother :)

Games with the sibs (little guy thinks he knows how to play!)

•  Fourth trip to ER for fluids while visiting family
• LESS than 12 hours later, Fifth trip to ER for fluids/Flu (Went in for trouble breathing/high fever)
• Sixth trip to ER (3 days after the last) for fluids, admitted that night to hospital
• Four day, three night stay at the hospital near my parents (after not eating for 8 straight days)
• New course of meds!  Hey!  They work!
• Found out baby is a GIRL!

4D Ultrasound!

• Turned in official offer on a house to BUY!  Moving back home to family!

New home!

• Return home with Jon
• Offer accepted on house!!

 It was not the most glamorous couple of months, but it is ending well. We are closing on our first house that is 5 minutes from my parents and 15 minutes from Jon's.  We are having a beautiful baby girl in August (yay team pink!), and I am on the mend with my new medicine.  The nausea is definitely still there and the mental/emotional part of being sick for so long will be there for a while.

As rough as I have had it this pregnancy, I am grateful for a healthy baby.  She is thriving and growing like a weed (and sucking the energy out of me!).  We are SO excited about moving next month and settling in.  I get to nest in my very own home before baby girl comes in August!  Plus!  I am halfway through in 12 days!

The view from the top! HA!

I'd appreciate prayers for...

• ENERGY to pack up our 3 bedroom rental
• Continued weight gain (but not too much).  I'm still negative from the beginning of my pregnancy
• Our house closing, the home inspection is tomorrow--pray for no major repairs!
• Good transition at work for Jon--going from full time in office to full time telecommuting

  Well, that is a long enough post.  I forgot I was eating a mint Klondike ice cream bar...it's a puddle now.  Hopefully now that I have a little more energy I can update more frequently!








 DANI

Oh Baby Baby!

For the cliffhanger that came before this post, go HERE.

 A few posts ago I announced we had been trying to get pregnant.  I was starting round two of fertility meds and was optimistic, but scared.  It had already been nine months of trying and I was so tired of seeing test after test come up negative.  

I had been tracking my ovulation (assuming the medicine was going to work) with ovulation tests.  I FINALLY got a positive and was SO happy.  However, I was convinced in October that I had ovulated, so I was afraid it was somehow a false positive.

I had to wait until day 21 to get my blood work done.  Then I had to wait a few days for the results.  That was when I first found out I had officially ovulated and one step closer to getting a positive.

Then the mind games began.

I started feeling pregnant.  Making myself believe I was craving a ton of stuff and was tired all the time.  I still had to wait a few more days until I could begin testing.

Six tests later (all gradually getting darker), I am happy to announce that there is a bun in the oven!  Baby Doughty is due August 26th and is already loved to death.

Here is a picture of our little one a few weeks ago @ 8 weeks, 1 day.

It's just a lil jellybean for now!

This week, Baby Doughty is the size of a grape!

We are so overjoyed at this news and are grateful to God that his timing is perfect.  We found out right before our 2 year anniversary and a week before Christmas.  We got to tell our family during our Christmas visit, which was awesome.

So here are some prayer requests for right now.  Please pray that...

• Baby continues to grow healthy and strong (our next peek is Feb 13th @ 12 weeks)
• I am able to function and do well in school this semester as I struggle with morning sickness
• Jon desensitizes himself to blood and needles or we will have a problem in 7 months

That's all, folks!

DANI

It's Christmas Time in the Country...

I LOVE Christmas.  I love the sights, smells, sounds, tastes...everything!  Plus, the fact that the reason for the season is so close to my heart.

This is our first year having a house, as opposed to a basement.  We took full advantage and decorated outside.  In the interest of saving money (I just recently found out it does not actually grow on trees), we re-used pumpkins, lights from my birthday party, and a sled my brother made me a long time ago.  Here are some pics!

I LOVE this sled.  Caleb (and Daddy) did a great job!

I also re-used some wedding decor.

Red and green was all I had, but they turned out alright.

***Christmas flag coming soon!***

Love my quilted snowman that I got from a craft fair last year.

Someday we will get all fancy with icicle lights stuff, but these work for this year :)

Dani

Hey all,

This post is particularly difficult for me.  I am going to be very vulnerable and honest with everyone.  With that being said, I am sharing this on Blogger, but not posting to Facebook   I don't mind if some friends see it, but I don't want it blasted to the nations, if you know what I mean. I have not even told all of my family, but I need a way to vent and seek support, so here goes...

Jon and I have been trying to get pregnant since April.  It has been over eight months of trying.  We tried over the summer with no results.  I did not "track" anything because I am already very irregular.

I had gone to a gyno in February for the irregularity (that I have had since I was young) and was told I was just young and my blood tests were normal.

So in September, after trying all summer, I went to a new gyno in our new town.  She scheduled an ultrasound just to make sure everything was clear and there was nothing wrong.  A week later the doctor called and said I have PCOS.

Having PCOS basically means I rarely, if ever, ovulate.

This was SO hard to hear.  I have dreamed of being a mother since I can remember and to find out it will be pretty difficult, and even possibly impossible, was an enormous disappointment.

So moving forward from that, I was prescribed the fertility med, Clomid.  Clomid, for those of you that don't know, is prescribed to get you to ovulate.  My first round in October was at 50mg.

I did the round, had crazy mood swings (ask Jon!), and waited to find out if it worked.  I was SO sure I ovulated.  It'd crazy what your mind can make you believe.  I went in for my bloodwork and was told I did not ovulate.

Another disappointment.

So here I am, about to start round two tomorrow.  They upped the dose to 100mg, and I am praying it works this round.  I'm not necessarily praying to get pregnant this round, but that I actually ovulate.

So with all that out, I have a few prayer requests for this difficult time in my life.

I'd love prayer...

• That I will ALWAYS remember God is in control and nothing I can do will change His perfect plan
• That I will be happy for those around me that are experiencing the blessing of pregnancy and childbirth
• That I will ovulate this round, Lord willing

I would LOVE support from other women who have had/have fertility problems.  It is the hardest thing feeling like you are not able to do what you, as a woman, were designed to do and having support makes it so much better.  

    
Love to all!
Dani

Pumpkin Patch!

Hey there, this fall has flown by!  Between school and other stuff, October and November flew by!

I FINALLY turned 21!  It feels great to be married AND legal, but my life hasn't changed astronomically.

In October Jon and I went to a pumkin patch with my mom and (almost) all of my siblings.  It was probably close to 80 degrees that day, but it was still a blast.

Here are some pics!

Also, I am going to try REALLY hard to blog regularly!

Worst group picture, I know.  The sun was SO bright.

Happy Thanksgiving!
Dani

Fall!

It's FALL!  

How is it already almost October (my favorite month, by the way).  Midterms are coming up already!!  I have some great blogging ideas coming up, so get ready!  

As per usual, I will be giving you a list and a preview.  Lists are great ways to catch up really quickly, so that is always my fall back. 

So what have the Doughtys been up to?

1. We got a kitten!!  I probably blogged about this, but it's important so I'll say it again. :) 

2. We got another kitten!!  You can't have just one kitten.  With me starting school in August and both of us being away from home 2 days a week for long periods, we needed a friends for our little kitten.  So that is what we did.  

They are best friends now.

3.  We visited an Alpaca farm.  This past weekend we took a second trip to the farm to help with health day.  If you want a good story, ask Jon why he did not help with health day.  Here's a hint: it involves needles and almost fainting.  Here are some pics:

4.  I made these pumpkin snickerdoodle cookies twice.  They are SO good.  Recipe HERE

  

5.  I cut my own bangs!  I was really scared to botch this because anyone who has done this before knows if they are to short, you're in for an awkward haircut until they grow out.  I think they turned out alright.

Yes, I'm wearing a wife beater.  Also, I am wearing Jon's  super comfy Star Wars  pajama pants.  It was late and  I had already settled in.  And yes, I did my makeup for the sole purpose of taking the picture to post online.

So not a whole lot is new.  I'm plugging along with my classes and looking forward to winter break already. :)

Fall is my favorite season, so you can look forward to (hopefully) more blogging about this beautiful season!

Dani

Jake's Law

mur·phy's law/ˈmərfēz/

A supposed law of nature, expressed in various humorous popular sayings, to the effect that anything that can go wrong will go wrong. ________________________________ You are all familiar, I hope, with Murphy's law.  Well, ladies and gentlemen, its new name is Jake's law (Jon's term). My brothers, Jake (9) and Sam (8), came back to our house with us this past Sunday night.  We live over 2 hours from my parents.  We arrived late Sunday night and we all went to bed.  The boys woke up promptly at 7:30am.  They played with each other while I dragged myself to the shower to get ready for the full day of fun we were going to have.  We cleaned out my car and jumped in. My car's check engine light was blinking and there were funny noises/rumbling coming from the engine.  Great. So, instead of all the fun we had planned, we managed to get the car to the the shop that was under a mile (.9 to be exact!) away.  On the way back we stopped at the restaurant on the corner and ate lunch, stopped at the ATM at the gas station across the street from the restaurant, stopped into the little food store to get dinner stuff, the finally at the "junk store" to get a movie.  We live in a very small town. The walk back wasn't bad at all and the boys seemed to be having a good time. All in all, Monday wasn't bad.  It was a bummer we couldn't do the things we wanted to, but the alternative wasn't bad either.   Tuesday was a doozy. My morning started at 4am with a tap on the shoulders from Jake.  he was having an asthma attack.  Oh, also he forgot to pack his inhaler.  Fantastic. So, 30 minutes later we are on our way to the ER to take care of that. It takes 3 hours, 2 breathing treatments, and more meds to get him breathing right again.  Finally we get to go home and out of the FREEZING hospital. With this sudden turn of events, it is decided that he has to go back to my parent's house since it was,  most likely, the cat that messed up his breathing (our cat is more fluffy than theirs). Jon worked from home to allow me to use his car.  I already had to go to traffic court in Richmond for a speeding ticket I got in June (while I was lost over an hour from home, looking for a stinking Michael's Arts and Crafts!). So I bring the two boys to court with me--talk about a fun time!  But I decided we would stop at Busch Gardens on the way home and make a fun day out of it.  So that is what we did. Riding the tram to the park. But Jake's Law strikes again.  While we were eating dinner a HUGE thunderstorm came.  It literally downpoured  for an hour.  The park was flooding, all the rides were closed, and we were hiding under an awning waiting for it to stop. We decided to win a few prizes while we were waiting for the rain to stop.  I now own a Jamaican banana.  Be jealous. This doesn't even begin to show you how much rain there was. So we ran to the car while the rain was not as hard.  Jake was crying because he was sad I had to bring him home (also, he had been up since 4am so he was probably a little tired). I dropped them off at home, said hi to everyone really quickly, then grabbed a Monster energy drink and drove 2 hours back home. Then I passed out.  That was one of the longest days with a lot driving I have ever had.  I love my brothers! But seriously, Jake always has the worst luck.  He has the most broken bones, asthma, he always gets hurt playing outside.  Poor buddy. I am grateful I can rest today and maybe catch up on sleep/refill my energy :) Dani

Gold Mining Like a Boss

Saturdays at home (not to be confused with "home") are a rarity.  We seem to be at our childhood homes more than at the one we pay for every month.  Since we had not been home for a whole weekend in 6 weeks or so, we decided to soak up the local history and visit the local Gold Mining Museum.

I was excited to go, but never thought I would have as much fun as I did.  We were the ONLY ones at the museum.  It consisted of three buildings: the main office, bunk house, and mess hall.  All were staged pretty well and were fun to look around.

Enjoy the pics (there are a lot of hubby pics)!

Jon liked dressing up.

These were what tumbled the gold and ore.

Panning for the gemstones

It was super fun!  Also, it was free (minus the small donation we gave and the sand/gemstone packs we bought, which made it a $11 date).

Check out what local history museums are in your neighborhood, you might be surprised!

Dani