plan "get a baby"

Last night Bob and I had a meeting with our doctor to discuss what the next step is for plan "baby Barber." We are now in our 5th month of working with our fertility dr. We have done clomid for 3 months, and this is the 2nd month of Femara. Our Dr. explained that since I had surgery to fix my issues and then with the boost from the drugs, my problems should be fixed. Once they are fixed, you should get pregnant within 3 months. Oh ya did I mention we are on month 5? So after this month, continuing what we are doing will be a waste of money. Basically my tubes are having issues since the past 5 months there has been both good eggs and sperm. My Dr. thinks that my endometriosis is affecting my tubes. The only option to get around those dumb tubes is IVF.

I remember leaving one of my first appointments with Dr. Foulk where he told me I had endometriosis and that I may end up having to do IVF. I left his office bawling and I was devastated that I might have to go through IVF to get a baby.

Before going to the appointment last night, I knew that we were headed towards the path of IVF. And I was excited to know that we have that option. It's funny how your perspective changes. I also feel so blessed that we have IVF to help me get a baby, since my tubes struggle.

We are also trying to be hopeful for this month, we haven't given up. We still have this month where we will do insemination with Femara. If nothing happens then the plan is to take December off, and then figure out all of the IVF stuff in January.

And that's our update.

October Craft Update

To occupy my time and distract my thoughts, I have been crafting a lot this month. With the help of my friend Amber, I finally opened my sewing machine that I got for Christmas. She had to show me how to thread the bobbin, and the machine, but I can now say that I know how to use it by myself.

We picked up a pattern and attempted to sew a skirt. At one point I may have unpicked the same part 5 times before getting it right. But in the end, I had a skirt and I was very proud to say that I made it. I wore it to church the following Sunday.

Next up was a craft found on pinterest. We first found the pattern for these cute baby shoes, and then decided to make a dress to go with it. The first shoe took 3 hours, but the 2nd was quickly completed. (After that I made 2 more pairs, in a lot less time. But I do have issues with being able to make the 2 shoes look identical though.

Our next craft was for ourselves and Halloween themed. We spent the afternoon pinning lots of pieces of material to a spray painted pool noodle. Please ignore the ugly door. One day we will repaint it.

Today I put together these candy corns with yarn. I love a simple project that doesn't take much effort or time.

Stay tuned, I am attempting to put together a quiet book. I'm working on the first page this week and hope to do a page a week until Christmas... or until I give up. Haha!

School Days

Once upon a time on pinterest I saw some fall leaves. They were made of crayon shavings. I have TONS of crayons, and we needed an art project to show off at parent teacher conferences. Well, making 28 leaves with an iron in your classroom is basically a disaster. I had to have the kids use sharpeners to get the shavings and somehow they can sharpen a pencil, but a crayon is a lot harder. I feel like it would be a great project for a mom with 3 kids, but not for a teacher with 28 students. (They did turn out cute, but this year will be the only year my students make crayon shaving leaves...)

This last week I got 3 new students, I now have 31 students!!! My 31st student's name is Jayden. I now have 3 Jaydens. At the beginning of the year all of the 3rd grade teachers had 31-32 students on their lists. I only had 26 students show up. Since August I have gotten 5 new students. So I finally have caught up to the other teachers, and won't be getting the next new student!

Here are a few funny things my class has been saying in regards to church...

A cute boy in my class who was in the "developing incident" has been spending a lot of time with me during flex. (Flex is the last 1/2 hour of the day where all of the kids pick an activity, and the teachers can hold back a small group of students to work on math or reading.) Every day his watch would start beeping at 2:00. One day I asked him why his watch went off everyday. He said that he had set his alarm so that he knew when church got out on Sunday. "Church is SOOOO long and I can't wait to get out, when I hear this alarm I get so happy."

I had 3 boys at the back table for a reading group. I was introducing a new book to the kids and we had just learned that the main character had lived a long time ago, was in the woods, and his name was Joseph. One boy turns to the other and says, "I know who it is, it's Joseph Smith, he is from the Book of Mormon." The boys had a discussion about how one thought it was and the other thought it wasn't. The 3rd chimed in listing a few other people who are in the Book or Mormon. We came to the conclusion that it was not him.

And last but not least, we were doing a math assignment together as a class. I was doing each problem on the projector for all of the students to see. Before I started I told them I would be helping them and that it would be WISE for them all to pay attention. One boy bursts out, "I know a wise man, he built his house upon the rock and not the sand."

It makes me happy to know my students are going to primary and church, but I also wonder if they are as naughty for their teachers there as they are for me. haha.

A little bit of this & that

Wow, it has been forever since I have posted but life is just crazy and that's my only excuse. Here are just a few things that have happened in the past month.

Conference weekend was a great weekend. My parents were in Italy so Andrea, Ayrika, and I went to the Trolley for dinner. It was fun to have a girls night, but we also had another person join us. Ayrika is taking a class at school that you have to take a fake baby home for the weekend. She had to feed, change, and burp the baby all of the time. When we went into dinner her baby started crying and Ayrika got so embarrassed and went back to the car to get the baby to calm down. Andrea and I were laughing so hard, poor Ayrika.

After we went to JoAnns's along with everyone else in Spanish Fork that night. We bought some material and spent the rest of the night making headbands. I had to stop after only 3 because the glue gun burnt my fingers a little too much. We tried them on Ayrika's fake baby....

The next week was parent teacher conferences. I was at school for 12 hours, 3 days in a row. I was dead by the end of the week, I am so glad we don't have to do that again until February. More about my class later...

Bob's parents came into town for the weekend. We went to the BYU Spectacular and watched Brad sing with the Men's chorus. The next morning we went to the Mount Timpanogos Temple with Brad, in preparation for his mission to Bulgaria. We stuffed our faces at Tucanos afterwards. And that night we went to the BYU football game. It was a late and chilly game, but I am glad we were able to go especially when we were there to see them win. It was a quick and busy weekend, but we loved every second with Bob's family. (While just trying to download my pictures, I realized that Shannon and I had swapped cameras at the game. They are both so similar. Ooops!)

We found out that our 3rd month of clomid didn't work. This month we did an IUI with the clomid. (IUI is where they take the sperm, clean it so you only have the best, and then inject it around the time of ovulation.) I was so disappointed when it didn't work out. I am trying to be more optimistic this month, and also more patient. This month my Dr. put me on a different drug that will hopefully help with better egg quality. (The past 2 months I got a lot of eggs with clomid, but they weren't the best quality.) So here's to hoping for the future!

Wailea Gold & Emerald

Our final golf trip of the vacation. We made it to Wailea Gold and Emerald. We were excited that we were able to golf these courses. We started golfing on Emerald, but there was a youth golf tournament ahead of us and after 9, they moved us to the Gold course so we could finish before the Sun went down. It was so nice to see both of the courses. They were beautiful. On the Emerald Course Newt Gingrich was a couple holes behind us.

Bob warming up for the first hole.

 Alyse, Bob, and Lowell

Bob teeing off.

Us on the course.

Bob putting.

Our little cutey Coy who we snuck on the course. 

Bob's true love

After the beach we ran to grab some lunch. Ashley and I stopped to get salads, and the boys were off to McDonalds. When they picked us back up, this is what we found.

This might've been their favorite meal in Hawaii. 

Beach Day

One of my last days in Hawaii we went to a beach down the road and spent the morning there. We set up our chairs and laid out our towels in preparation for our morning there. It was a beautiful day. Some people set up next to us said they had been out snorkeling and had seen some amazing fish and a few turtles out in the water not too far from the shore.

Ashley and I rented some snorkeling gear and went out. We snorkeled for 5-10 minutes before we ran into two huge turtles. It was so fun to just swim around them. At one point they were just a few feet beneath us and swam on by. It was so cool. We tried to let others use our gear to go see them, but they weren't able to find them.

In this picture of Bob and I, the people in the water behind us is where we were snorkeling.

 Ty enjoyed playing in the sand, swimming, and racing his cousins on the beach.

Tate enjoyed the beach, even though my only picture of him might not show how much. 

Bob found his place for the rest of the day. 

Coy had the perfect set up, and played in this pool. Then he found something better and realized he could lean over and get into the sand.

Abby practicing her surfing on the sand, and in the water with help from her Mom. 

Brad....

 All in all, we had a wonderful time.

Dinner @ Wailea

One night we went to a burger place at the Wailea shops near our condo. Here are a few pictures from dinner. (Sorry about the sun, we were kind of seated outside.)

 Bob and I (Don't think I plan to match everyday, it just happens.)

 Brad and Shannon

 Little Miss Abby, we had such a good time on this trip.

And cute baby Coy, who was such a good baby on this trip.

Here are a few pictures after dinner. Brad and Bob were goofing around and getting some attention from the other mall goers. 

 Bob the fountain

 Brad and Bob (maybe there is a flag in the distance?)

Brad in full model pose.

And to finish this long post off, here are a few normal pictures of the family. 

 Bob and I 

Brad with Coy, Ty, Abby, and Tate

Brad, Ashley, Bob, and me

Wailea Blue Golf

Another day out on the golf course. Somehow Bob and I didn't look at each other when we were getting ready and decided to be twins!

oh the horror of 3rd grade

I'm sorry that every other post in my life is about school.... but that is my life.

On Monday I had a doctors appointment so I didn't come to school until noon. As the kids came in from recess they were all excited to see that I was back. I got them started on their assignment and one little boy came over to talk to me. This kid is animated every time he talks, he always has a funny face.  So he starts putting his hands into his shirt as he talks to me.

"Mrs. Barber, at lunch today this girl came to our table and she put her arms in her shirt like this, and then she did this (pushes his fists away from his chest in the breast area) and said I'M DEVELOPING!(Picture this boy saying it in a high screechy voice, with a funny face.) *At this point I pull the kid in the hall because everyone is looking and I realize this is serious. Once in the hall, I ask him "So what happened again?" And he puts his arms back in his shirt and repeats the previous story with actions.

"Mrs. Barber, then she said Feel Them! And P (girl in my class) touched them. I didn't touch them Mrs. Barber,  I promise."

So I talked to the other teachers during collaboration that afternoon and found out who it was. Parents were called, principal was involved. Apparently the girl had a few older sisters. And she was excited about going shopping for her first training bra soon. Wow- kids know way too much these days!

Perspective

Yesterday morning I woke up and took what seems like my 100th pregnancy test. And for the 100th time it was negative. I spent a few hours crying on the couch thinking why me? I thought for sure that this was our month. Being on fertility meds and going to numerous appointments steps things up and makes it that much harder when it doesn't work out.  I seriously had a major pity party and could only think about myself and wondered why my life is so hard.

I remembered that it was 9/11 and wanted to watch the Music and the Spoken Word because I knew it was going to be a 9/11 tribute. Before it started I watched some of the news coverage of the 10th anniversary. As I watched the specials on TV, I realized how grateful I am for my life and the trials I have been given. My heart broke over and over again as I watched families on the TV grieving at the loss of their family members. Only a few hours prior I had been thinking of how hard my life was. But then I had an entirely different perspective.

Last month it was my turn to teach in Relief Society. I felt inspired to teach the topic of Having an Eternal Perspective. I want to tell an example that one of our sisters in our ward shared. She said that her 1 year old daughter will ask for a drink when they are in the kitchen. This sister acknowledges what her daughter has said, but turns away from her daughter to get the drink. Her daughter then starts to cry because she doesn't see her mom getting the drink. When the mom is actually doing exactly what she asked, getting her a drink. She compared this to us, and asking for things from our Heavenly Father. We ask, and he is working on it. We just become impatient and aren't willing to accept or are unhappy with the timing.

I won't lie, infertility is a very hard trial in my life. But I know that it is only a small moment in the scheme of things. I am so grateful for the Plan of Salvation and knowledge that my family will be together forever. It brings such comfort when we are hurting. I know that one day I will become pregnant and have children of my own, it just might not be exactly when I want it to happen.

Along with the rest of the world, I want to recall the memory I have of September 11th. It amazes me that it really has been 10 years. The students I have taught this year and the past few, have no recollection because they weren't born, or were born that year.

I remember 9/11 like most others. My mom had to work that day and my dad took me to school at Spanish Fork Junior High. I was in 9th grade and my 1st period was Mr. Loveless. I remember loving him as a teacher because he was so hard to read. He never smiled and was very gruff. It was my goal in life to make him laugh. When I went into his class, he was watching the TV with one of the gym teachers and baseball coaches. I remember seeing the 2nd plane crash into the tower and wondering where that tower was. I had no idea what the Twin Towers were and where they were located. I remember thinking that it was sad that the planes had crashed. But it wasn't until a later class that I realized the crashes had been on purpose, and that our country was under attack.

Snorkel Trip

One morning we went off on a snorkeling adventure. We didn't think it would be a big deal. haha. We got on the boat and everyone just sat on the end of the blue tube with a rope to hold onto. The water was pretty choppy as we rode out to Molokini Island.

 The boys got a little nervous and the captain of the boat had to stop twice to see what they were doing. (Some people in our party weren't sitting.) The captain asked if they spoke English, since they weren't listening to his instructions. It was pretty funny. The ride had a little twist at the end where we rode really close to the island and then did a few donuts. This led to some getting sea sick. Which led to some throwing up. 

Snorkeling was beautiful and fun for those of us who weren't sick. We enjoyed seeing the different fish around the island.

Bob and I before we jumped into the water. 

Heather, me, and Ashley after snorkeling

The boys waiting for our ride home. They were SO glad to be off the boat.

I made it to Friday

I interrupt the Hawaii blog posts (a few more in the making) to bring you a school update:

Naughty boy who got kicked out of computers twice already this year (we have only gone 6 times) was in the bathroom for quite a while this afternoon. I only let 1 boy and 1 girl go at a time with the bathroom pass. Another kid G was "dying" to go, so I  told him to check on T in the bathroom. Just to make sure he wasn't playing around.  G came back while everyone was silently working and announced to the class loudly, "Don't worry, he isn't playing around he is just going poop!"

Last year one of my kids gave me this itty bitty statue from Hollywood that says, "Hollywood Best Teacher." If you need a refresher, you can find it here. I still have it on my desk and I heard some kids talking about it today. On our way to lunch this sweet girl stops me.
"Mrs. Barber, I have a question for you."
--- Yes?
"I heard you got the best teacher in Hollywood award"
--- (I pause, think about it, and reply) Yes, Yes I did.
"Wow that is awesome!"

She seriously thought I had won this prestigious award, it was SO funny. I left the lunch room laughing. It seriously made my day.

Oh and have I mentioned that one of the boys in my class reminds me of Alfalfa from Little Rascals? He is so cute, he always parts his hair and slicks it down. (I'll sneak a pic next week on his best hair day and post it.)

Makena Golf Course

Golf is a big part of our trip to Hawaii. I have loved watching Bob and the guys golf in the past but this year I loved it more than ever. It was so relaxing on the golf cart. Bob played really well, and each course was beautiful! 

This was our first time on the Makena course. I think I took 50 pictures each time we went golfing, I loved each hole. 

My time was spent on the cart reading. I read the Luxe series by Anna Godbersen and loved it. 

 The Barber men, showing off the Barber Pole Putter.

Seriously, I love riding the cart!