Our Struggle with Infertility (Part 1)

Let me begin by saying a few things before diving into our story.

1. Infertility is much more common than people realize. According to RESOLVE, an infertility awareness and support organization, 1 in 8 couples experiences fertility problems. Why is that important? Because it means that unless you are a hermit (and we won’t even discuss how you could be a hermit yet reading a blog, lol), you know someone who has or is struggling with infertility – whether you know it or not.

2. The other seven couples who don’t struggle with infertility often don’t realize how common it is. My purpose in telling our story is in the hopes of making this group more aware so that they can be more discerning, supportive, and encouraging rather than inadvertently hurting someone with thoughtless words.

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But There is Hope… (Part 2 of our infertility struggle)

(Read part 1 of our struggle with infertility here.)

Emotions can be terrible things. They are not logical or rational. And as our struggle with infertility continued, I struggled with my emotions. A LOT. I even asked God if I had done something wrong that caused my infertility, even though I knew better (in my mind) because of what Jesus said when He healed the man blind from birth (John 9).

But even as I struggled constantly with my emotions, there were things that brought me hope.

Gold Nugget Cookies

I’m on a restricted diet right now for some fertility treatments. I can’t have several things, but the one that is killing me the most is not being able to have chocolate! I never realized just how much chocolate I eat until this past month… apparently every dessert I love has chocolate in it! Chocolate chip cookies, chocolate cake, chocolate cheesecake, brownies, sundaes… *sigh* So I’m having to get a little more creative in my dessert options (because let’s face it, I have NO willpower against sweets, so giving up sugar is not an option).

Budget-Friendly Racecar Birthday Party

My munchkin turned two last week. I am really not okay with that!  Kids are so much fun when they reach this age, but I’m really struggling with the fact that my baby is two!  He’s growing up too quickly!  It seems like just yesterday I was planning his Mickey Mouse first birthday party, and here we are celebrating his second!

The Secret Pain of Mother’s Day

Mother’s Day is coming up. Most of us will spend the day with our moms, celebrating the sacrifices they’ve made in raising us, giving them flowers and candy and jewelry, and eating dinner as a family.

Those are all good things. There is, however, a secret pain lurking behind the celebration of Mother’s Day. It may not be present in every family, but chances are, it is. For some, Mother’s Day brings more pain than joy.

The Gift That Keeps on Giving: Paying It Forward on Your Birthday

I don’t know about you, but since becoming an adult (and especially since having a child), I really haven’t cared about celebrating my birthday. Sure, I want to go out with my family for a fun activity and dinner (who wants to cook on their birthday?!), but I don’t want cake or parties or gifts. In fact, since I hit 30 this year, I wouldn’t mind ignoring it altogether… but then my best friend Sarah came up with a great idea for celebrating.

We wanted to get together to “celebrate” since we both turned 30 this year, but she came up with a great idea based on a blog she’d seen – doing random acts of kindness as our birthday celebration! You can view the original post here.

You’re the reason I’m unhappy (an open letter).

I know happiness is a choice, so I know I should be able to be happy regardless of what you say, but you certainly don’t make it easy. To be honest, sometimes, I can’t. Do you know how hard it is to be happy when you’re spewing hateful words at me? When you criticize my every opinion? When you attack me? When you insult the very core of who I am? I can’t help but be upset by that. I can’t help but get frustrated with you when you are blatantly disrespectful.

“Child” Approved Cooked Carrots

If your child is anything like mine, he did a great job eating those pureed veggies as a baby, but is becoming much more picky as a toddler. To be honest, it doesn’t help matters that my husband and I aren’t big veggie eaters – the only veggies you’ll find on our dinner plates are green beans, corn (if you count that as a veggie), and potatoes (if you count that too). Sure, Hubby will eat other veggies, but I won’t – so I don’t fix them. Unfortunately, that means Munchkin has had far less exposure to veggies since he started eating whatever we’re having, and the small number of possibilities means he’s getting burned out on some things.

Melt-in-Your-Mouth Velvet Fudge

Ah, Christmas. That season of the year when everything we eat goes straight to our waistline… you know, iced sugar cookies, pumpkin pie, mashed potatoes, Christmas candies… and one of my favorites: fudge. However, I don’t like most types of fudge. They’re too sweet, too grainy, too rich, etc. That’s why I love this recipe.

Ten Tips for Visiting the Wizarding World of Harry Potter (and some extras for the rest of Islands of Adventure)

Update: This post only covers the area of Hogsmeade and Hogwarts, NOT the new Diagon Alley or Hogwarts Express. Obviously some tips in this post are now outdated. However, many still apply. If you have purchased the 2-park ticket so you can access the entire Harry Potter experience, then I would suggest the following:
1. Enter Universal Studios first. With Diagon Alley being new, it will fill up very quickly.
2. Hit Ollivander’s (now located in Diagon Alley, it appears) and the new ride, Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts, first. Again, it’s new, so it will attract riders quickly. Don’t forget that Ollivander’s also quickly gets a long line.
3. When you are finished in Diagon Alley, take the Hogwarts Express over to Hogsmeade and enjoy your time there. I’m guessing that the new area will be more crowded than the old, but remember – if it gets more crowded than you like, return late in the day.

I’ll be honest: I don’t for a second think that I have the most wisdom to offer when it comes to visiting theme parks. I have only been to Islands of Adventure and the Wizarding World of Harry Potter one time. However, here’s the caveat: I did my research. I read numerous blogs featuring dozens of tips, and I still had issues and obstacles when I got there. So, I am posting purely for the benefit of those people who plan vacations like I do, who will read every blog post on Pinterest hoping to find the best way to seamlessly enjoy their vacation.

Pumpkin Sensory Play

This year, I tried my first attempt at carving a pumpkin. I know, I know… you’re thinking how I haven’t lived if I haven’t ever carved a pumpkin. Well, my family didn’t celebrate Halloween. And while I do NOT want this to get into a debate on whether or not Christians should participate in Halloween (I could point you to many other blogs for that argument), my husband and I feel that there is an element of innocent fun that we enjoy participating in with our son.

Sensory Blanket Tutorial

I’ve learned a lot of tricks the hard way when it comes to making sensory blankets (commonly known as taggie blankets) as baby gifts, and I want to pass on those tips to you! This will be a very detailed tutorial. Most tutes I looked out apparently assumed I was an incredible seamstress… and I’m not.