in our back yard

happy camper

Well I just got back from the nutritionist and I lost 6.6 pounds since last Tuesday. I am so excited. I just need to stay on track and keep losing. I feel really good about this. I went to my ob/gyn to get my annual physical done with my pap and now that I am 40 I have to have my mammo done before my insurance switches over. They are all excited for me and cheering me on to lose the weight so that I can start IVF soon. I am really gonna miss those guys there.

dilemma

Last night was my last overnight shift for a while at work. It was such a long one. I thought it would never end. I came home and finally got to sleep around 11 and now I am up again. Hopefully I will sleep tonight.
So here is my dilemma. Since I had to change my insurance plan starting in Jan I have to also change my ob/gyn because this new insurance does not currently have the one I go to on their plan. It really sucks because I have been with my current ob/gyn for a year now and I really love going there. Everyone is so friendly and welcoming there and they treat both J and I really well. I am hoping anyone out there that might live in the Manchester NH area can help me out and suggest a new one. The good thing is my insurance does cover the Ivf center we want to use and the RE that we have already met with but not my ob/gyn. So please anyone that can suggest a good one let me know. I would really appreciate it.

Holiday pics

Our Christmas 2009

Surprisingly we both had Christmas eve and Christmas day off together this year. This does not always happen because of the professions we are both in. Christmas eve started off in the am with us both slowly rising in the morning. J got up before me so she could wrap the rest of my gifts. We had to finish the scrapbook for J's mom for Christmas also. We were able to complete the rest of it (about 6 pages before we needed to get dressed and prepare for our friends Gerry and Andy to arrive from Boston to celebrate with us. Once they arrived and our friend Brian arrived we all headed out to one of our favorite Mexican restaurants La Carita to meet up with our friends Ronnie and Beth. We had a wonderful meal although I did not have my usual taco and enchiladas with the chips and salsa because of the diet but I did have shrimp and scallop fajitas without the tortilla and it was delicious esp since all I had all day was 2 protein shakes. I saw the nutritionist last week and I will explain my diet later. After some good food and drink we all left and came back to our place to play games. I got J a new board game for Christmas (Pictureka) which I let her open early so we could play it. It was fun. We also played Scategories and Scene it. We had a blast. Beth and Ronnie left around 11 and we all were tired so went to bed so we could rise early on Chritmas morning.

Christmas morning we both woke up around 5:30 but stayed in bed and managed to go back to sleep for a few hours since no one else was up not even the sun at that time. Around 8:30 I smelled fresh coffee brewing and woke J up so we could go down and join our guest to open presents and have breakfast. We both grabbed our stockings first to see what was in them. We always give each other stocking stuffers that consist of various things that we use such as razors, hand lotions, soaps etc and sweets. This year I got bath and body works shower gels and hand cream, razors, small hand creams that I can take to work to use, and make up. I got J a small first aid kit to go in her car, shout handy wipes for those little spills on the go, hand cream, shower gel, lindt white chocolates (her fav), and coke a cola gummies another fav. After our stockings we each gave one another Christmas cards and then started to hand out gifts for everyone. We gave Andy and Gerry some lindt chocolates and a new crock pot that has a lid that locks in place ( we knew that they wanted one of these since they are the ones that always bring two of everyones fav dishes to parties Swedish meatballs and clam chowder) so they were happy about this. We got Brian a sweater, fleece shirt, lindt chocolates, and a Julia Childs book (his degree is in culinary arts and he loves her) We received some nice led flashlights from A & G and some homemade chex mix in a Christmas container from Brian. I got from J a pair of jeans, work shoes, 2 pairs of sterling silver earrings, eddie bauer sleeping bag, expandable ice and snow removal brush for my car, and 2 pj pants. I got J a jewelry box, shoes, socks, label maker, spice rack, and her fav gift that was really a surprise a Wii. I loved the look on her face when she saw the Wii pure excitement but I did not catch it on camera. Of course once she got this I could not drag her away from it. She immediatly set it up and everyone started to play. It is still so funny to watch everyone play this I think we look like fools swinging and hitting into the air but its fun. Today we are both sore from playing it. I guess its a good workout. I do plan on getting her the Wii fit soon so we can do workouts with this. We did manage to cook a delicious breakfast for our guest even though I only had a protein shake.

Andy and Gerry left around 11:00 and we started to make scallop potatoes and salad to take to J's grandmothers for Christmas dinner.

We arrived in Melrose at J's grandmothers house around 3:00. Her mother, her brother Liam and his wife and her 2 nephews, her brother Dan and his fiance and nephew, and Brian were all there. We enjoyed a wonderful dinner her mother prepared. Roast beef, ham, potatoes, scallop potatoes, salad, green beans, summer squash, and bread. It was yummy. I did have this meal since it is Christmas and my nutritionist said I should enjoy one meal this day. After dinner we exchanged gifts. The kids all loved their gifts and began to play with them. We got J's mom new work out clothes and sneakers since she joined a gym recently, watch, and the scrapbook of the trip we all took to Canada and Niagara falls back in October. The scrapbook was a hit she loved it. J and I got from her a nice 5x 7 photograph of the wharf in Galway, Ireland which she brought back from her recent trip there and a sports package for the Wii that includes the tennis racket, golf club and various attachments for the Wii. The rest of the evening we all enjoyed playing board games and the Wii of course. We all arrived back at our house around 9:00 pm and hit the bed since we were all tired and J and Brian both had to go to work early today. All in all it was a nice Christmas. We did however miss J's dad deeply this year and it just was not the same without him and his contagious blusterous laugh he was known for.

Today I am hanging out around the house enjoying the quiet with the dogs. I am trying to stay busy to keep my mind off of snacking. I went to the nutritionist last Tuesday. We went over a plan for me to get me started on my weight loss goal. So since Tuesday I have been doing protein shakes ( a recipe she gave me) 4 times a day and 4 -6 cups of raw veggies a day. So far it has gone well except for the meal I had Christmas eve and Christmas day which she factored in knowing I would not want to do only shakes those days. I also drink lots of water throughout the day. I see her again on Tuesday to go over our next plan which I will do 3 shakes a day and a healthy meal. She also checked my resting metabolism which she said was about average. Once I start eating she will set up a calorie intake amt and a balance of carbs, protein and fats for my daily intake which I will track online for her to see. I think it will work for me I just have to stick with it. Having a baby is something I want more than anything and for me to be healthy and able to do it I have to change and I will do whatever it takes. J is being very supportive in this for me. She plans to start eating healthier also. One day at the time that's what I plan to do.

early new years resolution

Well we had our appointment today with the RE. It went really well. The doctor was a very nice jewish man. He welcomed us both and answered all of questions. He was very through. He made us feel comfortable. The bad news is that I have to lose 30 pounds before we can start the Ivf stuff. Thats ok because I really need to lose weight in order to be healthier and to have less chances of a complicated pregnancy. The 30 pound goal is very attainable and hopefully it will get my ass into the weight loss mode I need to be into. J said that we would do this together which will help a lot because its hard when the people you live with are not on the same page. So once I lose the 30 pounds we start all the pre testing stuff thats required for Ivf and do another clomid challenge test to see where my Fsh level is. Oh the other good news is that my new insurance will still approve Ivf as long as my Fsh level is 15 or below and not the 10 I thought. I am going to make an appointment with a nutritionist and get started dieting and excercising. I also want to join either weight watchers or OA for support.

christmas 2009

Here is our christmas card now we just have to mail them all. We just took a million photos before we got the right one.

birthdays and appointments

Well today I hit the big 40. It really does not seem like my birthday. I guess thats because I really celebrated last weekend and I have now slept most of it away since I worked the night shift last evening. J threw me a really awesome surprise party last weekend. I was so shocked. I do not know how she managed to keep it all a secret. All of our freinds were in attendance with exception of a few that did not want to brave the snow storm we were having at the time. She really did a great job planning it all. A few weeks ago she had given me tickets to go see A Chritmas Carol at the Palace theater but she said she could not go because she had to work at the last minute so my mom and I went. After the show was over around 4:00 pm she called to find out where I was and stated to me that she was on her way home from work. She asked me to the grocery store to pick up a few things which included deli meats ( by the way on a Sat afternoon takes forever) which by the way she knew this but wanted to stall me till everyone had arrived by 5:00 pm. So when we finally arrived to our house I parked the car in the garage and grabbed the groceries and started up the stairs from our basement and opened the door and there everyone was yelling surprise. It was awesome and I was shocked for a couple of minutes. I dont know how she did it but everyone had parked on another street around the corner from our house so I had no idea. She really planned well and had all my favorite foods which included ribs and pulled pork from Red Bones, mac and cheese, cornbread, salad, and so many appetizers. A southern girls dream dinner. The cake was awesome it was light purple colored with a picture of me when I was 3 or 4 years old. She had a video put together with pictures of me and my friends that ranged from 6months to now and coordinated it with music. She really made my 4oth very special. I received so many wonderful gifts including a ipod from J which I love.

I just got some beautiful flowers delivered from our friends in Boston. That was really sweet of them.

Tomorrow is our consultation appointment with the RE at 8:30 am. It will be a 2 hour appointment. We are really looking forward to getting some answers to our questions and finding out if we will be able to do IVF. So wish us luck.

The last month has been so busy for us and I am really looking forward to the quiet, quality time I get to spend with J. Christmas this year is going to be low key at our house due to our situation with our dog Max. You see he we got him in late August from a rescue league that we had previously gotten our dog Tollee that passed away. He is a 2 1/2 year old shih tzu. He previously belonged to a 78 year old lady that had him since he was weaned from his mom. Well needless to say he was boss at her house. We of course asked all the questions before we got him about how he was with people including children since we have friends that come over often with children and J has 2 small newphews that visit also. Well since getting him we have noticied that he has been showing more and more aggessive and dominating behavior and has snapped at and even bitten us and a few other people including a child. Needless to say this was very upsetting for us. We have been very fortunate with our other two dogs Sophie and Tollee and have not had to deal with this kind of behavior before. So we are trying to put a stop to it now before it really gets out of hand. So we started private obeidence classes on Saturday for him and we are already starting to see a difference in him with the stuff she taught us. We have to go back this Sunday for another session. He is an affectionate and loving dog but he likes to dominate and try to run the house. How could you not love a face like this.

Our tree is up and the house looks so festive. I still have to do some Christmas shopping. I have not done any yet. It will be here before we know it.

another curve ball

My doctors office called on Tuesday to inform me that my day 3 FSH level was 13.8. Now this is a total curve ball I did not see coming as last year almost to the date my FSH level was 4. So they suggested that we stop the CCT and for me to see an RE sooner than I thought I would. I made the appt with an RE yesterday. I am really worried about this as most IVF centers and insurance companies will not do IVF if your FSH level is above 10. When we got the last BFN I was not as upset and I remained hopeful realizing my new insurance plan would cover IVF but I am really worried now. I know that FSH levels can change and mine might go back down but that is a Huge jump from last year. On a positive note though I found out yesterday that the fertility coordinator at my doctors office is leaving and going to the same Ivf center also. I am really happy to be able to continue to work with her. She always was there for us to answer any questions and she always returned our phone calls promptly. We really like her.
Last night at work was very stressful. Two things I cant stand are inability to communicate and laziness. I had a roomful of both of these characteristics from my coworkers last night. It was so frustrating.
I am really looking forward to my weekend off coming up. We are going to see a Christmas Carol on Sat at the Palace theater. Sunday we are going to get our tree and decorate it. I cant wait. J already put up the Christmas village the day after Thanksgiving and started to decorate but the tree is my favorite thing to do.