The Deal's Been Made

Ha! Did you guys ever play that card game, Cops and Robbers? Each person draws a card from a pile face down in the middle. The King is the Cop, the Jack is the Robber and the other cards are random numbers. The Jack has to wink at someone else at the table to indicate a "deal". This person then says, "The deal's been made", and then the Cop reveals him/herself and has to guess who the Robber is. Each wrong guess results in the amount of drinks per the random number on their card. Great game in the good old days! Anywho.....that's totally not the deal I made.

I went to my OB doc's office yesterday and received a Depo Provera shot. I know it is a birth control shot, but for me it is the first of 3 steps to guarantee that our family is complete. Joe and I had originally agreed that after Myer was born, he would immediately schedule the male procedure to stop reproduction (you know what I mean), but if anyone knows my husband, he is the epitamy of procrastination. You have to remind him almost hourly to assure things are completed, unless it's his idea, or they don't get done (I'm actually thinking of investing in a cattle prod). That being said, I'm sure you can guess that by my 6 week postpartum checkup, there was still no procedure appointment made. So when my doc asked me about birth control, I told him our plans and he told me about a relatively new procedure. Essure. A small coil is placed at the entrance of each falopien tube, and the cells of the tubes grow into the coils, therefore blocking the passing of eggs. He said it is the most permanent method at this point to insure that you won't have more babies. It is in office, quick and virtually pain free (other than maybe a few cramps). Doc said the only way to reproduce after this is implantation. He also said that while the male procedure is also outpatient and virtually pain free, men are more likely than women to milk the situation and need sympathy (and just so you know, my doc is a man). I told him I would discuss the options with my husband and call back, since you have to be 8 weeks postpartum for the Essure procedure anyway. I'm sure you'll be shocked to know that Joe's choice was for me to have the procedure done. And that's what I'm doing. Step #1 is to have a Depo Provera shot which not only provides birth control until your coils are placed, but will also thin your inner walls for good visibility to place them. Step #2 (April 21) is to have an ultrasound to make sure the Depo has thinned everything properly and your body is ready for the coils. Step #3 (April 28 - Joe's birthday - serves him right) is placement. I will go into the office, receive a local anesthetic, have my coils placed, hang out lying down for a bit and then go home. After 3 months, I will have another ultrasound to make sure my tubes have grown into the coils.

DONE. Sweet, huh?

Gosh, I guess I sounded a bit resentful towards my husband in the above procedural explanation. I'm working on this.....actually, we both are. Don't act like you haven't ever taken your significant other for granted, we all do it. Joe and I are taking the steps to try not to. We go to a couples group every Tuesday night and learn about the Love women require and the Respect men desire. We have a book that we read chapter by chapter at home and we watch a DVD of the book author's conference to coincide with what we've read.

Then we all discuss what we interpretted between the two, how we related and what we may be able to do to better Love/Respect our partners. You never really realize how different mens and womens' actions and thoughts are until it is pointed out to you. It's out of this world. Ultimately, we will learn how to accept our differences and support each other through them. We will learn that we are not wrong, just different, and our love will grow for eternity. I love my husband VERY much and would do absolutely anything for him and for our marriage and our family! Speaking of which, our 1 year wedding anniversary is this Sunday, March 28th! We are going on a date this Friday night and hanging with our beautiful children the rest of the weekend to celebrate!

Our wedding day was crazy. We planned for this beautiful spring wedding, after wrestling season but before mowing started, complete with a balloon release as we ran to our car. We got rain, thunder, lightning, sleet and snow. Too funny! I'll tell you what, though, we went with the flow, as did our wedding party and all of our family and friends. It was a magical day surrounded by the most amazing people in our lives! We definitely made a memory. In May, we had a We Did It session with the wonderful Kathy McCloy, so we got our outside wedding pictures along with our indoor ones taken by the fabulous Tammy Kerksiek. We had the best of both worlds! This is my favorite of ALL of our wedding pictures of the 2 of us. A friend pointed out to me that our body placement makes a heart between us!

Wasn't Kailyn the most adorable flower girl on the face of the planet?!

We have had such a great first year of marriage. A new house, a new job for Joe, a kindergartener, a new truck, a new baby! Whew, maybe we'll slow down a little this next year.....NAH! We LOVE our life! Happy Anniversary, Joe. I love you!