New Blog Design!

Today I would like to introduce my brand new blog design, courtesy of Katelyn Brooke Designs. I found Kate while browsing The Blog Designer Network a few months ago and seen her listed as a recent "grad" of their design workshop. I went and took a look at her designs and I absolutely loved her style. I knew that I wanted to work with her and have her design a layout for my blog. She's so easy to work with and understood exactly the style I wanted based off my question and answer sheet.

Make sure you guys check Kate out at her blog, Stripes and Polka Dots, and if you want a new blog design that is affordable and stylish, check out Katelyn Brooke Designs.

I hope you all love the new look as much as I do! I'm so excited to have it up and running and this week is going to be jam packed with blog posts, reviews, etc. 

New Blog Look Soon!!

I'm excited...I'm getting a professional blog layout done! I've seen the inspiration board and I'm so excited for it!!!

In the mean time, I'll leave you with this bit of information: Beta HCG was 238 today!! Looks to be climbing which is great! Let us hope that this little one hangs on!

Third Beta Draw Today

My third beta draw was today, my veins are definitely feeling violated.

Also, I had an ultrasound today to make sure the pregnancy wasn't in the tubes. So far it looks like it's ok, and I have a nice thick lining. Of course, we didn't see anything yet as it's way too early. I'm hoping that my beta hcg levels have more than doubled today...I've been taking progesterone for 2 days now so maybe that was what was needed to kick start this pregnancy?

Symptoms so far are a little bit of cramping (not much, and it's mostly when I need to use the bathroom) and a fair bit amount of breast tenderness. As I'm typing this, I'm trying not cringe from the breast pain. LOL. Other than that, I've been good. I feel a bit weird in the morning when I wake up, but I think it's just the Progesterone talking.

Anyways, I'll leave you with some pictures I took today in our backyard. :)

Pregnancy Update

I wanted to give everyone an update on my pregnancy since I'm considered high risk with my balanced reciprocal translocation issue. My second set of beta numbers came back at 77. Seeing as how monday they were 62, it doesn't look promising for this pregnancy. I know there is such a thing as miracles and people have had slow rising HCG before and had perfectly healthy babies at the end of their journey...but I want to put it out there that I could possibly have a miscarriage. Friday they are doing another beta draw along with an ultrasound to make sure the pregnancy is not ectopic (classic sign is the slow rising hcg levels). I have to tell you, I'm scared of Friday. I don't want Friday to come at all. If it's ectopic it's still really early and I'll just have to take a pill to stop the growth of the fetus. If they don't see any signs of it (inflammation) and my beta levels are still rising I will continue to hold out hope and continue to take my progesterone until my beta numbers start declining. I wanted to put this on the table so people could pray, or think good thoughts for me. This pregnancy was a complete shock to both Jesse and I, and to have it potentially ripped out of my grasp now is just mind boggling.

7 Questions #10

 I'm doing the 7 Questions link up again with Gentri Lee! WOO! Pay close attention...

Funny photo:
This photo was from last year in Flagstaff, AZ. When Jesse came back from Afghanistan, we decided as a last vacation before we moved we would FINALLY go see the Grand Canyon. We were at the B&B we were staying at (shout out to England House B&B!). I put on the robe and decided to act silly. Excuse the no makeup...

1. You just invented the next big thing! What is it called and what does it do?
 It is called the PurseLight and it is obviously a light that slides onto your purse so you can see what you are digging for inside your purse. LED, small, easy to use. Mmmhmm.

2. Are you a lover or a fighter?
Definitely a lover....at least I think I am.

3. It's almost mothers day- if you could tell your mom anything, what would it be?
Uhm, well I already told her I'm pregnant so that idea is out....I should have saved that for Mother's Day huh? (like how I snuck my announcement in there?)

4. Do you like your hair curly, wavy, or straight?
I absolutely love curly hair...but my hair looks best straight.

5. If it was your last day to live, what would you do?
I would try to see as many of my loved ones as possible and then go sky diving.

6. What color are your eyes? Do you like the color?
Dark brown. I absolutely love my eye color. My grandma used to call me her "black eyed pea" because my eyes were so dark when I was a baby.

7. Fish, beef, poultry, wild game, or tofu?
Poultry. I hate fish so I won't eat it unless absolutely necessary. Tofu is ok but I avoid it if at all possible, and I do love myself some beef...so beef would be second. Wild game? Meh.

$25 Coupon to Anytime Costumes

Happy Tuesday!!! Today is the day, I'm doing a giveaway for a $25 coupon to Anytime Costumes!! This giveaway is open to everyone.It will be up for a week, so make sure you get those points in so you can win the giveaway.

Anytime Costumes Review

This week I had the privileged to review Anytime Costumes. I got to choose any costume I liked under $35 and I chose Lady Gaga Star Dress in Standard size. I received my shipment fast via UPS. I was so incredibly excited, because I was having a hard time deciding what I wanted to be for Halloween this year (yes, I know it's only May...) and when this opportunity came up I was like "Why not be Lady Gaga?"

The fabric is good, it doesn't itch at all and for a standard size it fits me well (except in the bust area because I'm not well gifted in that area)and I love the sequins all over the dress. It is pretty short and rides up a teeny bit when I walk, but I'll probably wear the costume with black leggings since it could be chilly in October anyway. I did have an unfortunate incident where I accidentally tore off one of the silver fringes but that was due to my own fault, not the quality of the costume. Which as a side note, if anyone gets this costume...be careful to not snag the fringe in anything!!

I definitely will be ordering my costumes from Anytime Costumes, they have costumes for all sizes. They have a wonderful selection and I have no complaints about this current costume I received from them.They even have costumes that aren't meant for Halloween and are more for the bedroom. Might have to give that one a go sometime soon!

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

It's Okay Thursday

I'm linking up today for It's Okay Thursday. I need to remind myself that things in my life are ok...so here it goes.

It's Okay....

....to not know what I want to do regarding possible future children.

....to remind myself that it's okay to cry.

....to realize that you have a lot on your plate and get some premade items for the party you are throwing Saturday.

....to sit back and read a good book.

....to be silly every now and then.

....to slack on your workout programs a little.

...to bitch out the office manager of your physicians office because they have yet to authorize your refills on your asthma meds that you need so you can breathe.

...to hate walking through the baby isle because it reminds you of what you don't have. 

If your a blogger, you should link up!! I've found some great blogs through linking up with others. 

7 Questions #9

Ok, this is my first time doing 7 Questions, but I'm excited to start the Wednesday tradition of answering these. The wonderful Gentri Lee thought of this blog hop and, well let's get to it.

I of course must start of with a silly picture:

Of course I had to be a tad silly on my wedding night. We were at the reception and Jesse's brother gave me his sunglasses, and so on they went and the photographers snapped this photo of me.

1. What is your favorite day of the week and why?
I have to say Friday. I always look forward to the weekends, my hubby stays up longer, and I have the whole weekend ahead of me.

2. If you decided to change your name, what would you change it to?
You know what, I used to hate my name when I was younger and planned on changing it to Madison. I have always loved that name and think it would suit me. However, I now love my name and wouldn't change it unless I was running from the law. I mean....*cough*.

3. What is one product you use (it can be for anything) that you feel is a miracle worker?
I absolutely love Burt's Bees Moisturizer for sensitive skin. I literally have the most sensitive skin and usually have a hard time finding drug store products that won't tear my skin up or cause acne flare ups. I had been using Philosophy since I was on Accutane, but the need to not spend so much kicked in and I was forced to choose something lower priced. I found Burt's Bees at Rite-Aid and have been using it ever since. It doesn't make me break out either which is wonderful.

4. High heels, flats, sneakers, or boots?
Flats. I have quite a few high heels and a couple pairs of boots, but my shoe love is flats. They are just so darn comfy and they don't hurt my feet. Heels literally make me cringe sometimes. I guess I just gotta get used to them.

5. You see your favorite celebrity (it can be any kind of celebrity- movie star, singer, writer, political leader, blogger) walking down the street, what do you do?
I'm not really that person who would scream and run up to them and start crying while trying to talk to them. I will tell you that if I saw Victoria Beckham or Leslie Blodgett walking down the street towards me, I would probably just try to chat them up, say hi, ask for a picture with them and be on my merry way. Play it cool Shasta, play it cool.

6. If you could pick one item to never have to pay for again, what would it be?
Coffee. I absolutely love coffee and to never have to pay for it ever again would just be awesome.

7. What was your favorite tv show or movie growing up?
I loved anything that was on TGIF (and if you are around my age you will know what I'm talking about). Boy Meets World, Home Improvement, etc. I also used to love watching Saved By The Bell. I could never pick which guy was hotter, Slater or Zack. Yummy.

Today Saddens Me

I had a blog post planned for today, but I have to hold on to that so I can make this newest post. Some of you have been following Baby Avery and her bucket list blog, Avery's Bucket List. Her dad wrote a post informing everyone she passed away yesterday due to a lung collapse.

I can't tell you how hard I cried. I've never actually met Avery, but that could have been us. With my balanced reciprocal translocation, I have a huge risk of having a baby born with a genetic disorder like Avery did. It breaks my heart that GYN's don't do the proper genetic testing when couple's are thinking of conceiving. I understand that most couple have healthy children with no issues, but the testing should be done regardless. Why not test beforehand so that we can spare parents heartbreak and loss later on?

It makes no sense to me. If I would have known after my first miscarriage that I had a chromosome issue, I would have never tried again. I would have waited until we were stable and I would have done IVF. Maybe with Avery's blog going viral, genetic testing will be put on the OB/GYN's list of things to do first before the "all-clear" for trying to conceive. I only hope it starts making people think about if they should be tested, not only for SMA, but any sort of chromosome issue as well.

Please, go visit Avery's blog and leave some support for her family. I know they have to be absolutely devastated right now, and they need all the hugs and prayers they can get. Show your support!