Oh baby bird!

Today, I stumbled upon this cute, quivering little ball of feathers. He was sitting on our sidewalk beneath a giant pine tree in our front yard. His little mouth gaping, just asking for love and food. After popping him in a box and doing some online research, I figured out what was best for the fallen angel. Supposedly, his age makes him a 'fledgling', which means he's too old to return him to the nest. The best thing to do is put him back near the site I found him, but try to get him out of harms way. The idea is that the mom will continue to feed him for the next 1-2 weeks until he can fly.

My mom had the brilliant idea to nail the shoe box to the tree he fell out of. It was pretty hilarious trying to nail up the box while my mom held a very unsteady ladder.

I hope he's doing okay tonight. It makes me sad that he's all by himself up there.

This reminds me of the time I tried to nurse a baby 'squirrel' back to health. After 2 days of trying to help he passed. That same day, an expert online got back to me and said based on my description the so called 'squirrel' was actually a rat. Ha!

One, two, skip a few... months

Ahh there I go again, abandoning my blog. I don't know that I can actually call it a blog when I only have a few posts.

Anywho, here's what we missed...

I got in a stupid car accident, slamming into the car in front of me. I have scarred any trust I had in my driving skills. My car took over a month to get fixed and is now on the market. When it came back, it just didn't feel like mine anymore. Plus, Theo and I decided I could use something newer with better gas mileage since I drive so much for my job, and we're approaching that "let's get a family car" stage. So voila! A family car is what we got, and I'm in love!

Then came my birthday. Oh how old 25 feels! Theo was amazing in planning my birthday. It was one surprise after another. First was an Ipad that we both have been dying for. My favorite function right now is iBooks. Then he took me to surprise dinner in West Lake Village. We ate a gourmet meal right on the water. Despite a cloudy windy morning, the weather at dinner was the best you can ask for. In fact I remember getting a nasty burn on my shoulders. Then we finished the night by coming home to my close friends yelling, "Surprise!" as they popped around the corner in my backyard. I've never had a surprise party before, about time! My parents worked so hard to get everything ready while Theo and I were at dinner. I have a beautiful family.

Oh and that pretty blue dress was a surprise from Theo that he picked out on his Hawaii trip. My man has great taste.

Here's a couple pics from a random Jeep adventure Theo and I took around Chatsworth.

Then came Theo's birthday. I was really feeling old for those 16 days that I spent at 25, and him 23. His birthday didn't go quite as planned since the weather did not cooperate with my surprise fishing day trip. The wind could not have gotten any worse. But we made the best of it, stopping in Ojai to find some beer tasting. Oh and how could I forget? I took Theo to pick out a new golf club set on his birthday. They seemed like a fortune, but he's already getting so much out of them. He proudly told his friends that it was my birthday gift for him, and they all ooohhed and ahhhed in jealousy. I love playing that role of the awesome wife.

Toward the end of May, I headed to Vegas with 12 other girls to celebrate the last days of my good friend Mo as a single lady. I had never been to Vegas with all girls before, and it was such an adventure! We trampled through the casino checking off tasks in flirty scavenger hunt. I happily played the role of amused by-stander. Then danced at our own private table that night for the cost of ZERO! What luxury it is to be in Vegas with all girls and have things handed to you because, well they want more girls in the club and go to surprising lengths to get them in. Another first? I rode a bull! And like a pro I might add. I got a nice little scrape on my arm and got to check off a task on my own unofficial bucket list. Mo is going to be such a gorgeous bride, and I'm so lucky to have her as a friend.

A few weekends ago, Theo and I jumped at the opportunity to spend the weekend at my aunt's house on Balboa Island while they were away. I spent countless summer days there with my family when I was younger and still make an effort to get out there at least once or twice each summer now. Theo fishing in the early morning, walks to main street for coffee, a large house all to ourselves, sunbathing on the dock, a trip to the fun zone (not as fun 15 years later), and champagne with frozen Bananas for our last night. One of the best times of the trip was when one of my Aunt's neighbors, a 7 year old girl, stumbled upon us fishing off my Aunt's dock. Her and her friend were absolutely giddy as Theo taught them to fish for the first time. I was just as giddy on the inside, watching my husband in "daddy" mode. What an amazing father he'll be one day.

Really? Cait?

And last but not least, a new summer 'do.

Descanso Gardens

Last weekend started off pretty rocky. After a couple days of bad news, Theo and I definitely needed something relaxing and fun to do. Theo had never been to Descanso Gardens so I decided to surprise him with driving there Sunday morning. We meandered through the woods and fields of flowers, enjoying the quiet and peacefulness of being surrounded by nature. As we walked, we talked optimistically about how we will bring a little one there one day. The trip was a tall glass of sunshine for our souls.

Spring has sprung!

My sweet peas have made their return for 2011. I love seeing that first bloom of the year, which actually came up last week but I forgot to post. What's really neat is that my sweet peas are from seeds from my grandma's garden. My grandma has sent sweet pea seeds to my cousin in Seattle, my cousin in San Fransisco, my aunt in North Carolina. They've definitely gotten around the block.

Being diagnosed

I received a call from my Ob/gyn on Friday afternoon, and listened to the voicemail she left while sitting in my boss's office. I heard my doctor say the lab results look good, sugars, thyroid, cholesterol all good. The next statement made my heart sink and tears well in my eyes. My boss watched my face changed as the news poured out of my phone. My doctor said, "Your hormone levels show that you have what is called Polycyctic Ovarian Syndrome." Those three words meant one thing to me, infertility. My boss excused me from work for the rest of the day and I raced home, balling my eyes out the whole way.

I told my husband, my parents, my best friend, my cousin. I thought the more I said it out loud, the less alone I would feel. Of course they were all amazingly supportive, especially my husband. But it didn't change the fact that this problem inside of me was making my life long fear of infertility a very real possibility. Second to finding a partner in life to love and love me back, the only thing I ever wanted was children. All my dreams of being pregnant and raising a child with my husband's good looks flashed before my eyes.

This past weekend was spent reading and crying. My husband was next to me, reading over my shoulder and holding me tight so I could cry on his. I can't say enough how amazing that man is. Through the reading I would go back and forth between encouraging and scary information. The ladies on my board have been very encouraging, some have been through this before and showed me I'm not alone. I've found out that PCOS effects every woman differently, some get pregnant easily, and some are unable to even with the best treatments. Statistics are a perfect example of this.

- PCOS affects 1 in 10 women: Encouraging (that's a lot of women)

- 50% of pregnancies in women with PCOS end in miscarriage: Earth shatteringly discouraging

I finally spoke with my doctor this morning to get more information. She was so relaxed about the whole thing, like she sees it all the time. She set up a plan for us including birth control pills (regulates hormones) until we are ready to start trying, then Clomid (induces ovulation).

It may be common, but it is new to me. It's a diagnosis that could effect my entire life. Untreated it can cause diabetes, endometrial cancer, coranary artery disease, etc...

I will be optimistic soon, but until then, I'm scared. There's a huge dose of self pitty that I'm waiting to wear off.

My husband is key to my survival. When my sadness and fear make it seem like our dreams are floating away, he grabs hold and shows me we can face anything if we do it together. I believe in him and I believe in us. I just pray the rest falls into place.

Missing this...

Theo is gone this weekend in Hawaii. Not for vacation but for work, because his team is playing University of Hawaii. He's been gone since Wednesday, and even though I started missing him the minute he left, I guess I'm missing him more than usual right now. Whenever I'm feeling far away from my love, I look at some of my favorite pictures of him. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy.

I took this picture last weekend right after he got home from his last work road trip. I was on-call and working on the computer when I turned to say something to him. He was fast asleep and much to my surprise, keeping himself warm with my Blankie. He HATES Blankie and always chucks it across the room if it accidentally makes it's way to his side of the bed. And there he was, sleeping like a baby, under my baby blanket.

Oh and let me make a note that this well kept Blankie is actually Blankie #2 given to me on my 13th birthday. It was the exact same blanket from Neiman Marcus that I had from baby-13. The remains of Blankie #1 are stuffed in a shadow box courtesy of my mom.

I can't wait for baby to come home tomorrow night. Until then Blankie will have to keep me company at night.

Catching up with Sunday

Oh how I love Sundays. Especially the mornings. When the sun is out, and we have the time, there is nothing better than soaking up every minute of a beautiful Sunday.

Growing up, we lived only a block away from the state college, so I spent countless days bike riding with my dad, and exploring the campus on the weekends with my brother. Theo and I both attended this school, and Theo now coaches there. Three weeks ago, my dad, Theo and myself went there on a mini adventure.

The three of us had a great day roaming the grounds and discovering corners of the

college that we didn't know existed.

I think our dogs Dre and Ruby had an even better time than we

did.

Ruby was queen of the campus.

She ran, she jumped, she flew as far as she could the second the leash came off.

Then sprinted back to us to for a little pat to insure we hadn't left her.

This tree reminded me of a wrinkled hand. I had walked by it every day when I was in school, but I hadn't noticed how beautiful it was.

I used to love finding time between classes to run to the library. I would curl myself into a quiet cubicle and listen to my iPod or dig into The Pillars of the

Earth.

It may not have the funds of a UC school, but this commuter college of ours

really is beautiful.

I had always known the college had an orange grove, but why hadn't I walked through it before?

I breathed deeply through my nose the entire walk through, enjoying every sniff of crisp oranges and dirt. The smells lingered with me the whole day.

Smack in the middle of the orange groves was a little pond, housing turtles and koi fish.

Ruby was thoroughly intrigued by the pond creatures.

Two Sundays ago, Theo and I decided to finally make use of one of my favorite bridal shower gifts, a picnic basket. My friend Melissa stocked it full of wine, glasses, silver wear, and treats. Theo and I added hot cheetos and sandwiches.

Top it off with towels, big sun hats, a quiet park and blue skies= perfection.

We spent the afternoon talking about our future... the kids, the house, the

struggles we may face... the happiness and love we feel that will only multiply as the days pass.

My sunshine.

Classy.

What I wouldn't give to have days like this every day. But maybe what makes them such special gifts is that they follow a week of hard work.