Friday

Friday

I really love Fridays.  Of course I could have really done without the all day in-service meetings.  Whose bright idea was it to have training on a Friday?  Teachers really make the worst students.  I really have no attention span when it comes to sitting through meetings and presentations.  I also get frustrated when the presenter gives information we already have or that doesn’t pertain to anything that I do day to day.  I really hate being preached to by someone who has not been in the classroom in the last decade.  Oh well… Gotta love it!

My egg timer finally went off… so to speak.  I had a mature follicle yesterday, but they weren’t sure if I would ovulate on my own.  I had to drive into the office this afternoon to get an HCG injection.  We also finally scheduled my biopsy for Tuesday October 4th.  The only draw back is the fact that we will have to drive to Naperville.  Yuck!  Hopefully it won’t be as bad as I am expecting it to be.

I am hoping to get some scrap time this weekend.  I have to help Chris with a swim meet tomorrow.  There goes my beloved quiet Saturday morning. (  It will be nice to see some of our old swimmers. I am hoping to have the afternoon for ME since Chris is doing CPR training in the afternoon.  I would really like to get some more of my projects done.  One of my co-workers had knee replacement surgery on Thursday.  I want to put together a paper bag book with pictures of everyone on our team with a note.  She was adamant that she didn’t want flowers at all.  She is a great lady, so I really want to do something special.  I am hoping to get the book done so all I have to do is take photos and print them out next week.  She should be home from the hospital by the end of the week and I would love to have it there waiting for her.  

One of the presenters today really struck a nerve with me.  He kept telling us to think of our children, as a parent, etc… I think I might just be really sensitive right now but I really feel that people should be a little more sensitive with this.  Some of you might think I am being ridiculous.  However, you wouldn’t go on and on about other topics- But people will go on and on about their children.  Or ask if you have kids.  When they find out you have been married for almost 10 years, they ask WHY you don’t have kids yet.  Don’t you want kids?  Sometimes I just really want to scream… YES I WANT TO HAVE CHILDREN!  I DON’T KNOW WHY WE DON’T HAVE KIDS YET.  NEITHER DO THE DOCTORS.  But most of the time I am just polite about it and just explain that we have been busy with our careers and other people’s children.  So here is my soap box for the day… Don’t ask every new person you meet if they have kids.  You just don’t know what the situation might be.  And if you do ask and they say no… DON’T ASK WHY NOT?  Please.  Please. Please.  End of soap box.

I have been working out three times a week.  Have to head to the YMCA a little later to meet Chris for our Friday workout.  Of course I have started to GAIN weight… but everyone tells me that is normal.  So I better stop sitting here at the computer and go do something!  (

Being a pessimist

Dh likes to tell me that I am a pessimist. I consider myself a realist. I guess in several ways they really are one and the same. I think infertility really makes a woman question her faith, and makes hope a painful thing. I am always very careful when I hope... Usually pain follows.

We attended the bris for our Best Friends' son. They asked us to take part in the ceremony. Chris and I were honored. It was bittersweet... holding this precious miracle in my arms just about broke my heart right there. Our friends' felt that by being involved in the ceremony, it would help us get pregnant. Not really sure that I believe that at all. But Chris does. I just don't believe in any of that stuff any more. One of my favorite stupid comments came from a family member. He told us, "If you have sex with your eyes open, you will get pregnant." Well, Duh... why didn't we think of that? That's a heck of alot cheaper than all of the procedures and medications we've used.

Five years of this has made me bitter. I have one friend who truly understands this. She was so very lucky to get pregnant on her third IVF attempt. (With the RE that I am now seeing!) She was hesitant to be happy about it at first. I fear that I will also feel the same way. When will all of this finally be over? I can't even get a stupid test done. My body is not cooperating at all. I should have ovulated by now. But no... so back to the Dr again tomorrow. Another 4:30 wake up. For what? Ugh... I really hate being so negative about all of this. But I think that is the way that my defense mechanisms work.

On the scrapping front, I have been a busy little girl. I think it is another defense mechanism... but hey at least it is productive! LOL. Here is a canvas I made for our friend's son. I am pretty happy with the way it turned out. I also did a card for them. I think I was pretty clever with this one. :-) The inside says congratulations on your new addition.

















I am teaching a class at the LSS tomorrow. I have all of the samples done. Did them last night. Here is one of my favorites. Basic Gray, Purple Primas, and Silver Mini Brads. All of my favorites in one card! :-)

Falling asleep as I write this. Worked my butt off at the gym. (If that only really would happen! LOL) Waiting for Chris to get home so I can head to bed. Need to get some sleep before the 4:30 wake up in the morning... :-(

Apples Apples Apples

We had a great time at the orchard yesterday. There were lots of us from school there. It was a perfect day outside as well! I also was able to get some great photos. Here are a few of my favorites:






















I actually took lots more. We are looking forward to returning to pick our own pumpkins! We saw some amazing ones there already.

I forgot my gradebook AGAIN at school. So much for getting any school work done. I was very productive in the scrapbook area this weekend. I finished another paper bag album and over 20 cards! I am planning to sell the cards. We'll see.

Back to the dr in the morning. That means another 4:30 wakeup. Yuck! At least I washed the sheets today so the bed smells perfect! That is truly one of my simple pleasures. As I am typing this, everyone in the house is asleep. Chris on the couch, Romeo on the floor below him, Simba on the ottoman, and Patches in my bedroom. Usually I am the one asleep on the couch... not Chris! IT was a busy week and weekend once again. Looks like it finally caught up with him! He didn't get in until ladter 1 am this morning.

Lots of babbling... guess I need some sleep too! LOL

Another Saturday

I really love Saturday mornings. I always feel so darn ambitious. Chris has had to go in to the Y each Saturday to oversee lessons. This gives me the whole house to myself. My usual routine involves deep cleaning.. ie vacuuming up all of the dog hair from the past week. I am seriously wondering about the feasibility of shaving them. :-) Not really, but hey they shed A LOT!

Threw the ball for Romeo for a little bit. The yard is pretty torn up thanks to his big honking feet. I just love this photo of them. He is such a beast and would absolutely love to be outside 24/7. He thinks that my only purpose is to play with him of course. Good thing he's cute. He finally laid down a few minutes ago and is sound asleep.

Went over and hung a shower curtain for my grandmother. I just love that woman. She is an amazing and strong person. I really can't believe I have been so blessed to have a close relationship with her my entire life. Each time I visit, I get mad at myself that I don't make more time for her. She won't be here forever, and I need to cherish every moment I can.
I have to take Patches to the vet this morning. It seems that we can't go more than 2 weeks without somebody needing to see the vet! She has bad allergies and she has chewed her back feet raw. She now has two open sores... And she won't leave them alone. It is usually this time each year that we have to put her on steroids. Fun Fun!

We are meeting a group of my coworkers to go apple picking this afternoon. It should be great fun. We are going to the orchard where I went growing up as a child. Another one of the great memories I have of my grandparents. I am hoping to take some great photos!

I really planned to get some scrapping done this morning. Instead I sat online reading blogs. Thanks Heather for getting me addicted! :-)

Infertility Sucks!

I haven't really posted much at all about our infertility issues. I have to rant today. So if you have no interest, stop reading right here. :-)

I am in the process of getting the final test done before we make our final treatment decisions. We are planning to do at least one more fresh IVF cycle with the new RE. I need to have a biopsy done and a test called e-tegrity completed. This test looks to see if the lining is missing a protein that scientists believe serves as a "glue" for the embryos. If it is missing, that would finally give us some answers as to why we have had so many "perfect" cycles end up in a negative or a chemical pregnancy. So you would think things would be simple to get this test. WRONG! Not with my body.

We tried to do this process in July, but we were out of town and the scheduling just wasn't going to work. So I took the crazy pills... aka clomid for nothing. Of course I could have gotten pregnant on my own you say... not going to happen with this body! So we went back in August... big cyst on my ovary thanks to the nasty meds. So on birth control for a month. Here we are in August. Took the stupid crazy clomid again and am supposed to be using the OPKs. They have to be used between 12 and 2. Real convenient for a teacher! So I am watching for the big color change which means that I will ovulate. See, the test is only valid if they know for sure that I have ovulated. And since my body has issues doing that on its own, we have to use the clomid to move it along. Big problem is that I don't always ovulate on clomid. See... nothing is simple with me. Nothing at all.

So in this morning to see what is going on. Not much it seems. You see... going in for an ultrasound means that I must leave my house by 5:30 am and drive over an hour. Then pray for light traffic to make it to school before 1st period. So again... not easy. Back to the ultrasound.... nothing brewing on the right. The left ovary has some activity, but nothing that is mature yet. So no ovulation for me yet. That means I have to keep peeing on the damn OPKs and return to the office on Monday. Lucky me. Another 4:30 wake up call.

So I am bitter today. It seems that there are pregnant people EVERYWHERE! I went to get my makeup done at Ulta. (I wanted to try the Bare Minerals.... LOVE IT) Of course the make up tech that I get... PREGGO. Figures. Some days I just think that the world is just one big cruel joke. Why the hell do we have to go through all of this? It just stinks and isn't fair. I want to yell and scream. But I don't. I go on with my day. Of course I have the occasional evil fantasy of tripping every pregnant person I see. (I would NEVER do it... please know that!)

Quick scrapping update... did some cards as a gift for my friend. Here is my favorite one.


I used up some scraps and I have a drawer of stamped images that I use for cards. I love that I can just pull one out and have an instant card! I am trying to get more things done so that I have last minute gifts if I need them. It seems I have quite the reputation for creative gifts, so I have to have some on hand when I forget! :-)

Off to the Y to work out with Chris. Maybe sweating will make me ovulate.... UGH.

Feeling Creative again

So I was in a little creativity drought. I spent most of last Sunday cleaning out my scraproom so I could actually create. I also had a shift in thinking about some things in life, so I have found more mental "space" for my own creations as well. I am trying to create some albums, canvases, etc, to have on hand as last minute gifts. I have even thought about selling some items through school.... we'll see.

Here is a paper bag album I finished tonight:

I am pretty happy with the way it turned out. One of my coworkers has a birthday tomorrow. Trying to decide if I am going to give her this one or if I am going to make one for her. Leaning towards making another one tonight.

Didn't go to work today. I woke up with a scary pain in my chest. I don't think it was anything serious, but it was scary at the time. It started about 4 am, and didn't let up by 6. I decided to make the call then. I went back to sleep and ended up staying in bed till 11. Maybe my body just needed the rest. Who knows. I am so grateful to have a great friend who was able to do my lesson plans for the day and take care of my kiddos. Thanks Beck! :-) I am still a little achy tonight. Hopefully it will all be good tomorrow.

So I haven't worked out since Monday. I was doing so well. I WILL go tomorrow and Saturday. Chris has to work Saturday morning, so that will be my motivation.

Off to create something for tomorrow...

Crazy Weekend!

It was a crazy weekend! I was pooped after the first full week of school, so Friday night was pretty much me snoozing on the couch. Saturday I felt like doing some deep cleaning that needed to get done. Chris was up and out of the house by 7, so I had the house to myself. Of course, my canine companions always make cleaning fun! I vacuumed and dusted the living room... the kind where you actually move everything and get into the little crevices. Was feeling pretty good so I decided to take the dogs out for a run. The LOVE to play catch in the backyard, so I took them out. Since Romeo is a Lab, he will chase that ball anywhere... into a moving train.... or into a hornets nest!

We have a large brush pile in the back that is waiting to be burned. (Haven't had the time when it was wet enough to do it!) The ball rolled deep into the pile and in went Romeo. He came tearing out a moment later with hornets all over him! He was stung just a few weeks ago, so I was freaking out about him getting stung again. I managed to get him away from the hornets and into the front yard. Threw on decent clothes and threw him into the car and off to the vet we went. The vet estimated that he had between 10-20 stings, but we aren't really sure exactly how many. We caught it in time so that he really didn't have too much of a reaction at all. He got a shot of benadryl and another of cortisone and it seemed to do the trick. We got home and I realized that one of the hornets must have crawled into my shirt and that I had 3 stings myself. They didn't hurt until I saw them! LOL. So I took benadryl myself, called Chris to come home and then lost the rest of the day into a benadryl induced dreamland. So much for getting the house cleaned! I still have two nice welts on my arm. Hoping they will clear up soon. I am getting tired of telling the story.

Sunday I cleaned and went to the store. We had my family over on Monday for Labor Day and for my mom's birthday. We also celebrated my uncle's birthday. We had a great day, spent the day outside in the yard. It really was a perfect afternoon. We played Bocce Ball and my 6 year old niece was a natural. Turns out that they played it in PE last year during Kindergarten. Who would have thought? Once everyone left, Chris and I just sat on the couch and spaced out. Too much fresh air and sunshine, I think! LOL.

Mom's present was a hit. It is a series of altered canvases with photos of all of the kids. I really like the way it turned out. I have some individual scans of some of the canvases. Here is the one of Chris and I:























Had to go back to work on Tuesday. Staff Meeting last night, then Open House tomorrow. So tonight I am doing whatever I want to do since Chris is at a meeting and won't be home till later! I suppose I will have to entertain the puppies for a little bit. Wouldn't you think Benadryl would make a puppy lethargic? Not this one!