lm3boys

LM3B's Bio

Jeff & Kerry | Married 8.29.03

Jeff and I met (in 2000) while working together at Nextel Communications. It wasn't exactly love at first sight, since I was in a relationship, and he thought I was arrogant and annoying (what?!?!). But, I got dumped, and he realized what a catch I was, and that was the beginning of our wonderful, whirlwind romance. Every day I love this man a little bit more...I'm so lucky!

- A few obligatory wedding pics for your viewing pleasure -

"I now pronounce you man and wife..."

After the ceremony - I was elated and Jeff was emotional!

My sister, Kristy, made this for me for the big day. It is my something old (material from my grammy's "going away" dress from her wedding day), something new (Kristy hand-beaded all of those crystal beads on the purse - over 30 hours of work), something borrowed (she sewed in my "borrowed" new initials in the inside of the purse), and something blue (light blue raw silk lined the inside of the purse). Isn't it beautiful?

My sister and best friend in the whole world, Kristy.

Jeff and I and the city lights of Denver in the background.

- Our TTC journey -

When this + this + this

equals this...

...you are officially infertile.

We TTC for almost three years, to no avail. After many, many months of fertility drugs, 4 failed IUI's, and three RE's (reproductive endocrinologist), we finally got our long awaited BFP on August 20, 2008! We did IVF w/ICSI and transferred two perfect blastos on August 9th. EDD is April 26, 2009.

UPDATE - IT'S TWINS!!!!!! We got our BOGO (buy one, get one)!!!!!

Our two perfect blastos become our two perfect babies!

On Friday, September 5th, we saw and HEARD two little heartbeats. Baby A (Bo) measured 6 weeks, 4 days, and had a hb of 120. Baby B (Go) measured 6 weeks, 5 days, and had a hb of 135. We are in love!!!

29 week belly 26 1/2 week belly

UPDATE AGAIN - THEY COULDN'T WAIT! Maxwell Allen and Weston Skinner came 10 weeks early on Monday, February 16, 2009. After spending 43 and 51 days in the Swedish hospital NICU, they are finally home with us, safe and sound, where they belong.

Max - one day old

Wes - one day old

Max's first day home - March 31, 2009

Wes's first day home - April 8, 2009

Both boys together at home - FINALLY!!!!

You can follow our IVF/pregnancy/parenthood journey at http://ourstorkgotlost.wordpress.com/.

- Our dog -

This is Rex at 12 weeks old. He was born on 12.10.03. Jeff bought him for my 28th birthday, and he was the best gift a girl could ask for. I had never had a dog before, so it has been an exciting journey!

Here's Rex and his daddy.

And Rex wishing his daddy a happy birthday!

Finally, Rex in his super cozy coat - this was his first snow...he was so enthralled!

Rex welcoming home his little brother, Max

Rex welcoming home his other little brother, Wes

- Our home -

We bought our first home in December 2004. It has been a little bit of a work-in-progress, so I will include before and after pics of any projects or rooms we have done. The previous owner was kind of a jackass, he did a lot of "improvements" that were really only "cover-ups", so we have kept busy "fixing" these things the last three and a half years.

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This pic was taken on the day of our last walk-through. We haven't really done much with the front yard, other than rip out those ugly ass juniper bushes. We are planning on planting new bushes and flowers sometime this summer, so I will post after pictures when that project is complete.

The living room before with the previous owner's paint job. A little too country for our taste.

The living room after with new paint and a whole lotta stuff. Sorry about the clutter, we have too much junk, and not enough room to store it!

Another view of the living room after.

This is the kitchen before.

The kitchen after with new paint, hardware, switchplate covers, and all of our stuff in it.

The new kitchen pulls we just bought (on the right, along side the old brass ones, on the left, for comparison). Seriously, how was brass ever "in style"? Ewwww. I know it doesn't look like a big difference, but believe me - it's a vast improvement, and has made our kitchen look way less dated!

The ugly kitchen sink before. It has leaked since the day we bought the house, so we finally broke down and bought a new faucet.

Kitchen sink with new faucet (and soap dispenser) after.

The eat-in kitchen area before.

The eat-in kitchen area after. We finally found a kitchen table we agreed on!

Right side of the master bedroom before. Gotta love royal blue paint!

Right side of the master bedroom after. We painted three walls a light lavender, with a smoky purple accent wall (yeah, I won that one). Maybe someday we will get a grown-up bedroom set, but for now everything is hand-me-down furniture from Jeff's parents. And yes, that is a staircase for Rex on the side of the bed. Spoiled much?

Left side of master bedroom before. So.damn.ugly.

Left side of master bedroom after. A little improvement, but again, this is also a work-in-progress.

Upstairs bathroom before. The previous owner had done a number on this bathroom - peel-and-stick tile, and the tub enclosure was secured with, get this, dry wall caulk. WTF? This project was one of our favorite ones to date because the before and after was a HUGE difference!

Upstairs bathroom during. We had to rip out about half of the drywall due to mold and rotting around the tub. And the flooring...there were 6 layers of flooring that we had to pull up!

Another during pic...doesn't Jeff look happy?

Finally, the upstairs bathroom after! Jeff's tiling job looks fantastic, and I just LOVE our new, big soaking tub! We also got a curved shower curtain rod for an added bit of elegance.

Another after...

And a view of the wonderful tile job - no more peel-and-sticks!!!!

This is our backyard deck. I will never understand why whoever built this would choose to build such a narrow deck. One day, we plan on stripping and restaining the deck, and possibly adding on to it.

Rex and Freddie's backyard - our house sits on an 11,000 square foot lot. Since we bought our house in the winter (and the lawn was covered in snow), we didn't know what a POS our yard actually was. Unfortunately, until the money tree sprouts up in our massive back yard, we will not be doing anything with it, as it would cost an arm and a leg (and a head and a back...).

I guess I didn't get a before pic of Jeff's office, so here's what it looked like when we first moved in.

(This spot is reserved for Jeff's office after photo. If ever there is a photo in this spot, please call the authorities immediately because I will likely be dead of a heart attack.)

Downstairs bedroom #2 before.

Downstairs bedroom #2 after. This was supposed to be our baby room, but at the TTC 2.5 year mark, I decided to do something drastic - and FUN! I swear it's not as bright in person as it looks!

Downstairs bedroom #2 after again. Wouldn't you know we'd just have to turn around and create the nursery we had always dreamed about...

Downstairs bathroom before. This was another gem.

The downstairs bathroom after. We ripped out the peel-and-stick tile, and the old toilet and vanity. The tub is in pretty good shape, so we didn't do anything to it.

The shower curtain that Jeff picked out - can you believe it?

I just LOVE our new pedestal sink!

This is the back part of our family room downstairs before. I know, I know. Are you jealous of the red brick and pastel wallpaper?

And the back part after. This is Jeff's workout area since we don't have a spare bedroom to put it in. I have dreams of new carpet and no workout bench, but I know the liklihood of that happening is slim to none.

This is the main space in our downstairs family room before.

And an after shot complete with poor man's stadium seating!

And the whole reason for the stadium seating...the 72" projection screen!

- My weight loss journey -

My "before" picture (May 2006) - me with my Grampy weighing in at 173 pounds.

And an "after" picture of me (around 143 pounds). Up until when I got pregnant, I had been maintaining my weight loss for over two years! This pic was taken in June 2008 and it's my FIL holding my nephew, Jeff, me, my SIL, BIL, and MIL.

I cannot say enough good things about Sparkpeople.com - first of all, it was FREE! It really taught me how to eat "right", and reminded me that my body needs exercise in order to thrive. I never looked at it as a "diet" b/c diets almost always fail - I looked at it as a LIFESTYLE CHANGE - and boy, has it been! My husband and I lost a total of over 65 pounds just by changing our lifestyle from lazy and unhealthy to active and healthy! These are some simple things I did in order to lose those 30 pounds: cut out soda completely, and only drink water (about 100 ounces a day) and herbal tea; eat 6 or 7 smaller meals throughout the day, and always make sure to get in my RDA of fruits, veggies, lean proteins, and whole grains; workout 3-5 times per week, and SWITCH IT UP - if you do the same ole' thing every day, your body will not change; strength training twice a week with lower reps (6-8) at a challenging weight; and finally, I always gave myself a "cheat" day where I eat whatever I want and don't feel guilty doing it - I think this is KEY in being successful when trying to lose weight! Please page me with any questions!

- Our Family -

Family is so important to Jeff and I. We are so fortunate to both have loving, supportive families. Jeff's family is pictured above (in the "after" weight loss pic), but here are some more recent photos of my cool family members (taken Christmas 2007)...

Here's my daddy and me.

My mom and dad - they are still so in love!

I call this one "four eyes" - Jeff, my daddy, and my sister, Kristy.

My mom, sister, Grampy, me, and my favorite aunt, Jan.

- Asher -

Yes, our nephew gets his own section of my bio. He's certainly cute enough to warrant that!

Asher Charles | 10.28.07 | 6 lbs 11 oz, 19 inches

Here with proud parents, Jeff's brother, Marty (no really, they're related?) and my SIL, LeAnn.

Ash's first Christmas with Grandma M.

Jan 2008 looking more and more like his daddy.

April 2008 looking more like his mommy (and sitting up all by himself!).

May 2008 with his favorite uncle Jeff.

August 2008 hamming it up for his favorite auntie!

January 2009 playing the piano at our place

- Some of my favorite Nesties (and their kiddos) -

If I don't have your picture here it's because I don't have one. Also, please feel free to ask me to remove your pic if you don't want it broadcast for the world to see!

DenverBride2004 & taratru Ondrea & me