BOHICA!!!

In one of my past lives, I was a training consultant for an HR consulting firm. I was once leading a five-day workshop that trained the trainers from client companies on how to implement & train our products. A part of their tedious certification process was to present two different training simulations. During these simulations, my job was simply to observe and take detailed, copious notes of exact dialogue used and categorize it all into different behavioral dimensions.

During a presentation of one man, who had to be about ten years my senior, he used the term "BOHICA". (pronounced BOE HEE KAH) As I was trying to figure out how to spell it and what it meant before I wrote it down, another participant in the workshop asked him the same question running through my mind.

"BOHICA? You've never heard of it? Oh, we've all heard of it and experienced it!!!" he replied with some glee in his voice, "It's BOHICA = Bend Over Here It Comes Again. BOHICA." I immediately stopped my timer and put my head on my table while laughing so hard I was crying. I was not the only one in the room crying either - men and women alike! Yep - time for a break! It took us a while to collect ourselves and get back to work.

I've since adapted the term BOHICA into my semi-regular vocabulary and used it often - especially in stressful times or times when I know I'm being taken.

With that, here is today's BOHICA for me. See, we've all experienced it!

Damn gas & oil companies!

Another Inch Closer

I can't post today without including at least part of our menagerie! Tonight Mindy and Steve came within inches of one another. Inches = TV remote. :)

Miracle of miracles! Notice Mindy watching Steve and him acting non-chalantly.

Then the party of love ended. Steve decided to sniff Mindy's butt and she hissed and hit him in the nose. It made him sad:

The other day I got bored and gave the big dogs covers while they rested on our (their) leather couches. They liked them - especially rottenbutt Steve.

Yep, exciting times in our home. At least I don't dress up my pets. Like they'd let me!!! Please, no nasty comments for the crazy animal lady that mention how bad I'll be if/when we have kids.

Sometimes It's the Little Things

I bought an armoire off Craig's List last weekend. It is a computer armoire (which I wanted), so I can organize & store my scrapbook stuff, work on scrapbooking, and then close it all up. So far, it's great! It's really big - about 7 feet tall, 4 feet wide and a few feet deep! Here's a view of it closed. (Note: all photos in this blog entry were taken w/ my phone's camera.)

Here's a picture of it open. The lower portion slides out to the right to set up the desk and there are shelves/storage below the desk as well. I want to get some bags or something to hang on the insides of the doors to use for storage.

To inaugurate my new work-in-progress workspace I scrapped a few pages for Shaun & Lisa, friends of ours that had twin girls after Thanksgiving. They're coming over Saturday, so I'm going to give her a book with just a few quick pages I did for the girls. They aren't my best pages (esp. since I left them in the protective covers & used my phone for pics), but they'll give her a start. I'm trying to suck Lisa into the cult known as scrapbooking! :)

Our Traveling Dog Show

Steve and Pippin LOVE riding in the car. I enjoy it, too, because there is nothing cuter than my pups hanging out the windows with their ears and mouths flapping in the wind. The biggest challenge: me taking pictures while driving. :) All of these pics were taken standing still. Most of them were too blurry!

Pippin (L) and Steve (R) checking things out while we ran errands.

"Is this my good side, Mom?" Steve knows he's handsome.

"Hey Mom! Get a close up!" Pippin's such pretty princess.

It's okay if you call me the crazy animal lady. I gotta get my kicks somewhere and our three dogs and one cat give me smiles and love on a constant basis. Bigs licks & tail wags to all!

The Third Time is NOT a Charm . . .

. . . at least for us.

Thursday, 3/13 - we're pregnant. Numbers look good. Go Todd & Kristin! Monday, 3/17 - numbers don't look good. Chemical pregnancy at 5 weeks. Miscarriage #3. Shit.

My amazingly wonderful doctor called me after 5pm on Monday with my results. I don't know many doctors who will stay late to call a patient to tell her she's lost yet another pregnancy. My voice cracked and I asked him, "What next? How many times do I have to do this?"

What's next? Hell, I don't know anymore. Surgery is first. Most likely in the next few weeks. The name of the procedure is an acronym of four letters that I can't remember (when the doctor tells you that you're losing your third, your mind kinda shuts down). I'll be put under and the doctors will check all of my parts to make sure they are in working order. They will also remove a fibroid from my uterus that may be part of the problem. That's two of the four letters. I don't know the other two.

I'm a bit lost, but I'm in a fairly decent mood. I'm pretty frustrated, but I've had a pretty good attitude. I'm definitely in physical pain right now, but I thought this one would be easier since it's an early loss. In some ways it is easier, but I feel like absolute crap right now. The cramps keep hitting me like a ton of bricks. I have a pretty high threshold of pain, but they come out of nowhere and I just begin sobbing. Advil helps but only after about 800mg. I finally broke & called the on-call nurse tonight and she said it's okay to take my beloved pain pills. :)

Todd has been extra-sweet and so caring. How could I get through any of this without him? God, I love my husband. He's just an amazingly wonderful man. He's truly my blessing.

Am I sad? Sure. Will I survive? Yes. Oh, I've done this before ya know . . .

When will God hear my cries? Will we ever have the family we so badly want? Once again, I dont know. The one thing I do know - this sucks. Times three.

Stevie's New Friend

Our friends Glenn & Laurie and their three boys are visiting us this weekend. Josh, the youngest son who is two and a half, is very interested in Steve. He keeps calling out, "Steve-O!"

Steve-O just watches Josh and seems a little perplexed by this mini-person in his home. However, Steve has been very good with the boys (as have Mackey & Pippin). Judging from this photo that Laurie took yesterday, I think they've definitely made some new friends.

Kids Are So Funny!

We went to my mom's last night to celebrate my birthday. I told her I just wanted our family together since we weren't able to be together for Christmas. So my mom and Rick, Todd and I, Jeffrey, and Michael, Danielle, Aeva, and Will were there. (Pics to come) Mom made pizza & salad and there was cake & ice cream for dessert.

Well, little Aeva Claire has always had a wicked sense of humor. Although she's a few months from being five, she's been a funny kid since she learned to talk. Last night as we sat down for dinner, Aeva said, "I don't want the salad because it's icky." Danielle responded, "Aeva, it's nicer to say, "No thank you. I don't want any salad."

Aeva then turned to look at me and politely said, "No thank you. I don't want any salad because it tastes gross." I busted out laughing at that point. Sweet, funny little girl!