Springtime

I know, I know it has been spring for over a week now. But after the past few weeks I've had, it feels like the sun is just beginning to shine here. Two Thursdays ago I was looped into this project at work and it has been taking over my life. We are writing a grant proposal and have written the whole thing in 2 weeks! I truly can't believe we did it. We will see what happens and if we actually get it. It would be an interesting project. But I was feeling quite overwhelmed with it all.

So overwhelmed, in fact, that I may have outed myself to someone I work with. Yet another I was trying to accomplish last week was resolving some insurance and billing issues related to our IUI. In the process I had to fax something to the billing office at my clinic. No problem, right? Well, I was too rushed to wait to get the confirmation that the fax went through and went straight back to my computer to work feverishly again after sending the fax. I forgot all about how the confirmation page usually prints out the cover page again. A whole two days after I sent the fax, a co-worker came and gave it to me. I hope she didn't pay attention to the "about" line! This is a little used fax machine, but it is right next to the fridge, so many people could have seen it. Ugh. I hope people are just as oblivious as I am. I did not want people at work knowing about this.

More randomness

My second acupuncture appointment is done. Today he tried something different and had me lay on my stomach while he put needles in my back. Still very relaxing.

I have two daffodils blooming in my yard! Last fall was my first attempt at planting flowers for spring color. I'm so proud. They look great. The only problem is that I can't figure out why only the bulbs I planted on the right side of the house are sprouting, none on the left side. It's a puzzle to me. I haven't seen any budding on my blueberry bush, so I hope that survived it's first winter in my yard. It was a very cold winter.

Speaking of cold winters, our heating bills have actually gone down due to insulation we put in last fall. Our February bill went down 17%, even though the number of days between readings was 10% higher and the temperature was colder this year. So our investment was well worth it.

Marathon training has not been going so well. My left hip muscle is hurting me. Ugh.

Roundup

I have a bunch of thoughts going through my mind today.

1. Did anyone catch the latest episode of Giuliana and Bill? Yes, I can't stop watching this train wreck. At the beginning of this week's episode, they found out the results of their first IUI. Negative. They spent most of the episode learning about IVF and debating whether to do it. My reaction to this show has been that Giuliana is an idiot and/or extremely superficial while Bill was the one I liked. But after Bill tried to guilt Giuliana into IVF, my opinion of him has gone way down. At least in the part the editors showed, he completely disregarded her fears about IVF and didn't recognize that she had some doubts. If a couple decides to do IVF, that's great for them, but this discussion was all about her expressing doubts and concerns about it and him reinforcing how much he wants a family.

2. Up. I finally saw this movie. It was a cute movie, but honestly my interest went way down once we passed the miscarriage scene. After about 10 minutes in, I was like, "oh, are we really going to watch the rest of the movie now?" I am having a hard time getting over my obsession with all things IF.

3. The Census Bureau is not helping. Since our integrative health workshop last month, I've been thinking about what makes a child "our own" child. Theoretically I am open to adoption but am still at a point emotionally where I would use terms such as "adopted child" and "my own child." I've been trying to work beyond this. And then today I open up our Census form, and guess what it asks? In asking about the relationship between individuals in a household, they make a distinction between biological children and adopted children. Why do they need to do that? I can see distinguishing foster children (although there is no option for that), but why do they need to separate our adopted children?

4. Second acupuncture appointment tomorrow. Actually looking forward to it.

5. I am at a point where I long to do things with children. I really do believe these activities are fun but that you kinda look funny if you show up without kids. So I'm borrowing my nephews and nieces to go kite flying with them on Saturday. DH can't go to that, but he has his own special event on Saturday. My BIL is out of town, so DH is standing in for him and taking our niece to a father-daughter dinner.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

Still in bed

Well, after how well I was feeling Wednesday night and Thursday morning, I thought for sure this would be a quick recovery. But I stayed home again today because I still not feeling well. More cramping today and pain at the two incision sites. But DH did say I was looking much better today than yesterday. And staying home means I get to skip out on the baby shower at work. So it's a win all around I guess.

All clear!

Well, the laparoscopy and hysteroscopy are done. Turns out, both tubes are clear. So I don't know what happened with the HSG. The RE did say sometimes there can just be a spasm that makes it looked blocked. I had no adhesions or anything to worry about. And no endometriosis. All in all, very good news. The only thing the doctor thought was out of the ordinary is that I have a very small (minuscule he said) cervix. But that might be because it is early in my cycle.

After I found this out, I thought, "hmm, so really there was no reason for this surgery?" I guess it is good just to know and have more answers.

I am feeling really well. I thought I would be more tired than I am. I'm resting on the couch and a bit weak, but not feeling sleepy. Not too much pain. DH is taking good care of me.

Now to finish off my week, I just need to make it past the baby shower at work on Friday. I would skip it, but it is literally right outside my office. I could hear it anyway if I stayed in my office. My plan is to show up, eat some cake, and pretend I have a meeting in another building. I am supposed to get walking in everyday for my marathon training, so that would be a good opportunity.

Acupuncture

It's done. I've started down the rabbit hole of eastern medicine. I did feel a little odd during my appointment. Not because the needles or anything, just because I felt like I was doing something different. I almost started laughing when he was putting the needles in, as in a nervous type of laugh where you think, "what the heck am I doing?!"

But in reality it was extremely relaxing. And nothing to be worried about at all. It did not hurt. I barely felt pricks when the needles went in. I stayed nice and toasty with a heat lamp on my feet. Soothing music played in the background as I laid there for 30 minutes or so. All in all, it was nice. I will go back next week.

One odd thing is that he suggested I eat more animal products, such as chicken, eggs, fish, meat, etc. I guess animal protein has been related to uterine lining and is linked to body temperature. It warms you up, which is good because if you are cold, your body conserves heat by taking it from your less vital organs, such as hands, feet, and reproductive system. I had been trying to eat less animal product because it is so hard to find it without buying animals that have been loaded up with hormones. So this might mean more trips to Whole Foods for us.

Now I just need to get through my lap. Thanks for all your feedback. I will definitely ask for full anesthesia if I have a choice.

Weekend

I've had a busy couple of days. Thursday I had my pre-op appointment for the lap. Everything seemed to go fine, but I have a question for all of you. My assumption was always that a lap involved regular (i.e., full) anesthesia. The pre-op nurse practitioner that I spoke with indicated that sometimes they do full anesthesia, but sometimes they just do a regional block. Is that right? Maybe she was just getting her procedures confused. She did say the anesthesiologist would confirm with my doctor what exactly was involved and decide what type of anesthesia was appropriate, but that I might get a choice. I think I want to be out completely. Is that crazy?

We live in a cute older neighborhood. There is a neighborhood association that I am nominally involved in. There is a fundraiser for the neighborhood association that is a home tour of a select group of homes, usually the more impressive homes in the neighborhood. On Friday, we were asked if we would allow our home to be shown. At first I was thinking, umm, you must have the wrong house. Don't get me wrong, we love our house and I do think the parts we have decorated are really nice (our strategy is decorate one room really well at a time, so only half the house is done so far, the rest is functional but not pretty). But I don't think it is something that the whole neighborhood will be impressed by. But it sounds like fun, so we are going to do it. Now I want to hurry up and decorate one more room before then!

Tomorrow afternoon I have my first acupuncture appointment. I guess I would be nervous, except my lap on Wednesday is taking up so much of my nerves that there is no room to be worried about this.

Limerick fun

Well, somehow I missed out on the Limerick game that Weebles Wobblog is hosting. But after enjoying all the rhymes my friends are making and even starring in one myself (Thanks, Emmy!), I figure it is never too late to join in the fun. This is not an official entry in the contest, but here is my rhyme:

Another month ends and brings a big nope,
After taking these drugs I want to reach for a rope,
But they're making me mom,
So I try to stay calm,
And reach deep inside to bring out more hope.