Plastic and twins

More and more I'm hearing about BPA in plastic being harmful to your health.  I've read that it's a hormone disruptor, which could be a problem if someone is trying to get pregnant and today while sitting in the waiting room of the fertility clinic I read an article about it making you fat.  Any way you look at it, it doesn't seem like it's helpful.  So, I've been making a conscious effort to use less plastic.  I started by getting rid of my Smartwater bottle that I constantly REFILL.  Apparently, that is one of the worst things I could be doing!  And today I purchased glass pitchers at Crate & Barrel to replace the plastic pitcher I've been using to make iced tea in for the last 6 years (since we moved in this house) and I bought a Lifefactory glass water bottle to replace that Smartwater bottle.  I'm going to miss the sport cap, but I guess I'll get over it.

From Crate & Barrel

Lifefactory

While I was at Crate and Barrel I met my twin.  We didn't look alike but based on our conversation we had an eerie amount in common.  As soon as I said I was looking for glass pitchers she said, "Oh yeah, plastic is bad for you."  Most of the time people just think I'm nuts when I talk about something to do with the environment or chemicals or the food I eat.  We proceeded to have a conversation ranging from kale, to quinoa (which she pronounced correctly), to Chickfila (she shares my love and also appreciates that they are closed on Sundays).  She happened to be pregnant and we got on that topic so I shared that the reason I was looking into glass because of BPA being a possible cause for infertility.  I then told her a little about my experience and she said she'd pray for me and then told me about the medal she wore around her neck, Saint Gerard the Patron Saint of Motherhood.  I resisted my crazy and did not tell her we should be friends.  But I wish we were.  It was just so weird how much we seemed to have in common.  She even said she didn't own a microwave (we own one, but it's in the basement and we rarely use it)!  I mean, come on, we should totally be BFF!  No?

I want a new bed.

Let's start with a little history.  In my apartment in college I had a bed handed down to me from my aunt, she told me it was full size so when my now husband I moved into our first apartment together and decided to buy a new bed, we figured what we had was big enough, so why go bigger?  And so we bought another full size.  Well, turns out what I had before was a queen size bed and we became aware of that quickly when we got our new bed!  It was definitely smaller!  But, it was too late to do anything about it, so we just lived with it.  But, once we had it for four or five years (and have moved it from our apartment to our house) we decided to upgrade.  A family member was selling their queen size mattress and box spring for just $200!  Steal, right?  Especially since they said no one ever really slept on it.  Haha, just because they are family, don't think they won't lie!  Even once we saw it with no sheets we knew they weren't telling the truth.  It looked used and then after we slept on it, we knew it was definitely used often!  But, we'd already bought it and a queen size bed from Ikea, so there was no turning back.  We've now had that mattress for about a year and quite frankly, I'm over it!  My back constantly hurts and the bed is so saggy.  So now I'm trying to talk my husband into this mattress.

C2 Classic Queen by Sleep Number

You're probably thinking, aren't they expensive?  I thought so too.  But, my mom has one and she recently bought my sister one and they both love them.  Plus, the C2 is the cheapest and it's on sale now for $699.  That's a normal mattress price.  I don't need the top of the line, I just need my back to not hurt anymore.  Unfortunately, the free shipping ends tomorrow and I'm not sure about the Semi Annual sale, but I'm sure it's soon.  So, we need to make a decision and my husband is always working so there aren't that many opportunities to go.  I'm hoping we can check them out tomorrow though!  My back needs it!

Miracles and Clean Rooms!

Friday was my IUI.  Now we just wait and see.  We're staying positive about it though!  But we thought since we are waiting for a baby we should make room for one.  So, we cleaned out the spare bedroom which has mostly been to hold extra crap and wedding stuff (yes, we got married in 2009), it had a brief use as a guest room for a couple days last year, but went right back to being a mess after.  No really, it was a mess.

 Before

After!

Of course, a few things still need to be done before a baby can go in there, but it's come a long way in a few shorts hours!  I mean, you can see the floor, that's gotta be good.  That bear on the futon was given to me by my now husband back when we were in college.  That's perfect for a baby room!

While cleaning out this room, I found a few things!  A $50 gift card to Bed, Bath and Beyond from our shower.  Seriously.  A little tin box with letters from high school.  And a few random photos.

On the left we have my little brother, he was like 4, he's almost 18 now.  And on the right is me, my mom, and dad.  This is the last photo of us together.  Memories!

We're hoping to make some new memories in that spare bedroom, I'm thinking late nights and early mornings with a beautiful baby.  Until then, I think I'll be doing some yoga and reading in that room.  I'm hoping it's prenatal yoga, and "What to Expect When You're Expecting" reading though.  :)

Kind of love this...

After the birth, what a family needs

Babies on the brain

With being in the process of IUI (intrauterine insemination for those not lucky enough to have experience with infertility!), I definitely have babies on the brain!  I've already decided on the nursery color (grey, of course), we've agreed on a boy name (which means we'll probably end up with a girl, since we can't agree on a girl name), and I've even started adding things to my Amazon wish list for baby (is that weird?).  I just happened to be looking at strollers on Target.com and I saw these strollers that made me laugh.

Peg Perego Aria Twin Stroller

Peg Perego Triplette Stroller

Twins are 25% more likely with IUI and triplets are less than 5% more likely!  Twins I can handle (hopefully) but anything more and I'm not sure I could handle it.  Of course, you handle what you have to, but I'm small and I have bad balance so I'm not sure my body could actually carry three (or more) babies at once.  That's not to say, I won't be happy with whatever I get, but I'm really just aiming for one!  Something more like this.

Mia Moda Energi Stroller

Cookies and other sweets

It's Sunday night so why not make some cookies?!  I decided to try a few new recipes I found online.  First, I baked some chocolate chip oat protein nuggets and then I rolled up some raw vegan chocolate chip cookie dough balls.  I almost forgot the peanut butter for the nuggets, I had them on the cookie sheet ready to go in the oven when I remembered!  I added protein powder to the dough balls and used actual chocolate chips.  I'm not vegan, so I used what I had.  The dough balls didn't stay together too easily either, maybe because of the protein powder, but I doubt it.  Both are pretty good, different than what I'm used to, but will definitely hit the spot when I'm looking for a sweet treat!  

Yesterday, I met up with an old friend who was doing me a favor.  As a thank you, I brought her coffee and baked a cake.  I had seen this chocolate peanut butter fun cake in my latest Bon Appetit magazine and really wanted to make it!  I didn't realize it at first, but the cake itself was vegan.  The peanut butter icing was not, however.  Either way, it was delicious!  I think my friend would agree.

I guess it was a pretty good weekend for baking!  I didn't even have any plans to bake when I left work Friday.  Funny how what you set out to do and what you actually do are usually so far from each other!

Feeling Guilty

Last week I posted about getting back on track with Livefit but unfortunately, that didn't happen.  I started shots for IUI and found out that I needed to keep the physical activity to a minimum.  I've been waiting too long to be ruin my chances so I can go to the gym, so I stayed home and tried to relax.  I feel guilty about it, but I have to think about what's most important right now.  What's important right now is giving myself shots every night at 10 pm, going for ultrasounds and blood work every other morning before work and putting all my positive energy into making this WORK.  I want this to be a one time thing.  I want to make sure that this year for my birthday, I'm getting good news and not bad.
In other news, I finally finished my personal training certification.  It only took me 2.5 years!  It's such a load off my shoulders!  Of course, I have no idea what I'm going to do with it, but I'm just glad I got it!  I'd love to use it to help me get into writing for magazines etc.  We shall see.