Unfortunately, I am a day late on posting this, my baby Angel. I am sorry for that...but time for me is becoming less and less available these days.
However, what DID happen yesterday, in your honor, of sorts, was to have my new template uploaded for my blog.
My new template - thanks, Courtney! - includes my two angels I hold every day here, my three in heaven that I hope to hold someday..., and my Hubby in a setting that is the most peaceful to us. The beach.
I have a little moving around in the lists to do yet...but, overall, it is just perfect.
I miss you and miss all of my angels. But, I do carry you every day with me, as well as Christopher and Gabriel, on my charm bracelet. Whenever I hear that twinkle as the charms hit each other with the move of my hand...I remember.
Showing posts with label Blog. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Blog. Show all posts
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
Please be patient....
...as I am awaiting a new blog template to be designed. As you can tell, my old one is now removed since the designer went by-by - and it looks horrible right now.
I will begin posting again once my blog is up and running...
I will begin posting again once my blog is up and running...
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
A message to Rachel in California
I am looking for Rachel in California, who left me the following comment yesterday on my post I finally have an answer for these losses...
First, I wanted to say I am so sorry for your losses. As you can see from what I have written here, learning to accept things as they were for me was not easy - and I am sure they have not been easy for you either. I am not surprised you are scared now with this surprise PG - and I hope I can help you a bit here to get this one to term.
With a homozygous MTHFR gene mutation, I must say that you SHOULD be on higher doses of Folic Acid/B vitamins AT ALL TIMES, not just when TTC or PG. As you age, this is going to set you up for heart disease, blood clotting, etc. and the Folic Acid/B vitamins will help to prevent this. You should also look to be on a low-dose baby aspirin regimen. I have been on my Fabb Tablets/baby aspirin since 8/06 and have not stopped (although the baby aspirin will be temporarily halted for labor/delivery around 37 weeks).
Homocysteine levels ABSOLUTELY should be checked, regardless of what medications you are on. My MFM clinic has checked my homocysteine levels throughout this PG because they can naturally rise during PG - and, since I presented with elevated levels when this condition was first caught, they want to watch it to make sure it doesn't go up into the dangerous elevated area again. Anyone that says it should not be checked is full of crap.
Heparin will not control homocysteine levels - it prevents the blood clotting. Folgard (or similar meds - I am on Fabb Tablets), or Folic Acid, is what actually brings down the homocysteine levels. You should start back on this as soon as possible.
Please e-mail me with any other questions... I am hoping to get in touch with you to make sure you get the right care!
"Hi, I was glad to find that you have Doctors that know what they are doing. I've had 4 miscarriages 3 had gone by before I was tested for MTHFR I have the double mutation c677t.I have no way of getting back to you on this since your comment did not leave me an e-mail address and I don't see a blog associated with your profile. So, I will go back and answer your questions here until I can get in touch with you.
We got treatment with my 4th pregnancy I was injecting Heparin,taking 81mg of asprin,prometrium and Folgard which is high does folic acid and B vitamins. My pregnancy only lasted a week or two longer then the others. I planned to lose pre pregnancy weight before we tried again and taking folgard 3 months prior to ttc. But Surprise I am pregnant just took the test this weekend my Specialist is on vacation and I am stressing out on getting my meds started. I noticed on your blog that you were tested for your homocysteine level. My Doctor told me there was no need to test it since I was taking the folgard and heparin. Maybe I should stress this again can you recommend a way I should word it so that I am not at the losing end of an argument. Thank you so much for posting your story it is great inspiration and I know how much pain it cause to get you to where you are today. God bless you and your family. -Rachel in California"
First, I wanted to say I am so sorry for your losses. As you can see from what I have written here, learning to accept things as they were for me was not easy - and I am sure they have not been easy for you either. I am not surprised you are scared now with this surprise PG - and I hope I can help you a bit here to get this one to term.
With a homozygous MTHFR gene mutation, I must say that you SHOULD be on higher doses of Folic Acid/B vitamins AT ALL TIMES, not just when TTC or PG. As you age, this is going to set you up for heart disease, blood clotting, etc. and the Folic Acid/B vitamins will help to prevent this. You should also look to be on a low-dose baby aspirin regimen. I have been on my Fabb Tablets/baby aspirin since 8/06 and have not stopped (although the baby aspirin will be temporarily halted for labor/delivery around 37 weeks).
Homocysteine levels ABSOLUTELY should be checked, regardless of what medications you are on. My MFM clinic has checked my homocysteine levels throughout this PG because they can naturally rise during PG - and, since I presented with elevated levels when this condition was first caught, they want to watch it to make sure it doesn't go up into the dangerous elevated area again. Anyone that says it should not be checked is full of crap.
Heparin will not control homocysteine levels - it prevents the blood clotting. Folgard (or similar meds - I am on Fabb Tablets), or Folic Acid, is what actually brings down the homocysteine levels. You should start back on this as soon as possible.
Please e-mail me with any other questions... I am hoping to get in touch with you to make sure you get the right care!
Thursday, March 06, 2008
In search of a new blog designer
So...I found out today that the designer of my current blog template is no longer going to be supporting the images of the designs she had done past June 2008.
Crap.
So, I am looking at replacing my template now...which is okay, because I had been thinking it might be time for a change anyway. My life is moving in a new direction now - new baby arriving in June, Chris starting Pre-K (OH MY GOD!!!!!) in the fall, the formal end of TTC because I just don't think I could handle the stress and worry of trying for a third child.
So, any suggestions of a reputable custom template designer would be appreciated. :) I need a makeover...
Crap.
So, I am looking at replacing my template now...which is okay, because I had been thinking it might be time for a change anyway. My life is moving in a new direction now - new baby arriving in June, Chris starting Pre-K (OH MY GOD!!!!!) in the fall, the formal end of TTC because I just don't think I could handle the stress and worry of trying for a third child.
So, any suggestions of a reputable custom template designer would be appreciated. :) I need a makeover...
Thursday, November 08, 2007
My IF and RPL Story
From when I was a very young child, my dream was always to be happily married, financially well off just enough that the bills were paid without worry, and to be a stay-at-home mom to several children. As I grew older, most of that dream remained...although the details of it became a little hazy with going to college, getting a degree, starting a job, marrying later than I had hoped to, and starting a family later than I had ever planned on. The attempt to start a family later is when my dream began to really fall apart...and so did my heart. No one ever expects Infertility. No one ever expects Recurrent Pregnancy Loss. Why was this delivered to OUR doorstep? What did we do wrong in our lives to deserve this? Why did I have to become a part of that 12.5% of the population experiencing infertility and recurrent pregnancy loss...which, statistically, ranks right up there with so many other medical "epidemics."
I have gone to three ob/gyn's in my lifetime - but, only Dr. D (my third and current ob/gyn) was ever concerned about my long, erratic cycles I had lived with all of my life - by Jove! Someone was finally concerned! He did some preliminary testing, but could not really find anything wrong that would be causing them. So, we just waited a bit with the caveat that 1) when we were ready to TTC, that I call him and let him know when we were going to start trying so he could re-run the testing he had done and 2) that whenever we started getting frustrated if things were not happening, that I call him (even if it was under the 12 month TTC wait for someone under the age of 35 years old) so he can really start running the full IF testing. We started TTC in January 2002 - by November 2002, nothing was happening and I had probably 4 cycles in that time period. So, we called and scheduled the TTC consult that month...and testing began immediately. By June 2003, all testing was complete - problem was ovulation, as in I wasn't at ovulating at all and was told that if I did finally ovulate in a very long cycle, that the chances of the pregnancy being viable would be slim to none since the uterine lining would be too old to support a healthy PG, making miscarriage inevitable. Hearing that the chances of me ever conceiving naturally just broke my heart. For someone whose dream was essentially to be a mommy, it was the worse news you could receive. After that, we started our first Clomid/IUI cycle in July 2003 with Dr. D - and, so thankfully, it worked and Christopher was born in May 2004.
Dr. D, after Chris was born, had told us that when we were ready to TTC #2, to let him know immediately - since I have the erratic cycle history and documented ovulation issues, that I would not have to TTC for 12 months before he could intervene. So, we contacted him in June 2005 to start TTC - and my dreams began to crumble when even what worked to conceive Chris didn't work now. Our first cycle in July 2005 of 50 mg Clomid never even produced an ovulation. Our second cycle in September 2005 of 100 mg Clomid finally produced an ovulation - but, so poorly and without warning even on u/s, we scrapped the IUI. But, I ended up getting PG, only to start bleeding a week after my BFP... Three weeks later, a blighted ovum was finally confirmed 100% and a d&e was done on 11/22/05. The Thanksgiving weekend was the worst in history...facing the family was horrible. I couldn't escape the pity in their eyes...and the total lack of mentioning what had happened, for fear I would break down at the beautifully decorated table. In an attempt to "recover" from the loss, we pushed forward into the next cycle in January 2006 - yet again, 100 mg Clomid and IUI. But I never made it to the IUI because I couldn't recover from the stomach virus DS had gifted to me. The IUI was canceled. When I finally felt better, I found I did ovulate (checking OPKs and temping) - Hubby and I made due, and DTD. Two weeks later, I got the BFP. This time, I felt PG - so, although very guarded, we went into the first u/s with joy and laughter...only to be swatted down again when no heartbeat was discovered and the baby was measuring more than a week behind. I had a missed m/c...although I still had all of the symptoms. Of course, my doc did another u/s a few days later to confirm...and I asked for the d&c right away. I was just devastated... This was now my third loss total. How could that be, after having a perfectly normal, successful PG with my DS? I ended up spiraling into anxiety for more than a year...and only with counseling and medication did I finally begin to learn how to deal with it all and accept where my life was going.
The most amazing thing - and I know I am in a very small the minority for this - is our insurance coverage came through with flying colors during all of our experiences of heartbreak and joy. I am a State Employee in NJ - and the medical benefits makes working full time so worth it. The ONLY things not covered by my insurance were OPK's and HPT's. All of my IF testing (loads of b/w, HSG, pelvic/trasnvaginal u/s's, etc.) with the exception of the prerequisite co-pays ($5 in 2002 - $15 now); the IUI cycle that resulted in my PG with Chris, including the semen wash/semen analysis and the monitoring u/s's; all of the prenatal checks and birth expenses of Christopher, again with the prerequisite co-pays and with the exception of the additional cost of the private room I wanted; both the d&e in 11/05 and the d&c in 3/06, along with the genetic testing of the fetal remains removed; all of the recurrent pregnancy loss testing (viles after viles of b/w and other tests); and, finally, all of the care (so far) of this very surprising, high-risk pregnancy - ALL of it was covered. I cannot even fathom how much money all of these tests, procedures, medications and care would have cost me out of pocket. My insurance covered it all, except for the simple co-pays. I don't think DH and I could have come this far without the coverage - coverage that, quite frankly, if mandated correctly by the States of this country, should be available to all of us. I was able to get IF testing done earlier because of coverage - so, it did not take me nearly as long as some women TTC to get PG because the resources and money were there. I was able to get RPL testing done much earlier with my coverage - saving us from longer-term disappointments and heartache, not to mention, allowing me to be TREATED for the medical conditions I have that will affect me later in life. Our coverage, in the end, not only saved us financially...but also gave us peace of mind that we didn't need to worry about the expense of it all during our journey. Less worry = less stress.
It is heartbreaking - and unfathomable - that couples in the US have to risk it all to have a child. Having a child is a natural part of life - or should be made as natural as humanly possible with the appropriate resources and coverage. But, with a statistic of 12.5% of the population experiencing infertility and recurrent pregnancy loss...insurance coverage needs to step up and start helping people become families. IF and pregnancy loss is not only a physical condition - but, eventually, they become emotional conditions as well resulting in lost hours with family and at work. The coverage I have - which includes 4 IVF cycles lifetime (which I wish I could gift to someone who could really use it) - should be the model for all States to copy from.
I have gone to three ob/gyn's in my lifetime - but, only Dr. D (my third and current ob/gyn) was ever concerned about my long, erratic cycles I had lived with all of my life - by Jove! Someone was finally concerned! He did some preliminary testing, but could not really find anything wrong that would be causing them. So, we just waited a bit with the caveat that 1) when we were ready to TTC, that I call him and let him know when we were going to start trying so he could re-run the testing he had done and 2) that whenever we started getting frustrated if things were not happening, that I call him (even if it was under the 12 month TTC wait for someone under the age of 35 years old) so he can really start running the full IF testing. We started TTC in January 2002 - by November 2002, nothing was happening and I had probably 4 cycles in that time period. So, we called and scheduled the TTC consult that month...and testing began immediately. By June 2003, all testing was complete - problem was ovulation, as in I wasn't at ovulating at all and was told that if I did finally ovulate in a very long cycle, that the chances of the pregnancy being viable would be slim to none since the uterine lining would be too old to support a healthy PG, making miscarriage inevitable. Hearing that the chances of me ever conceiving naturally just broke my heart. For someone whose dream was essentially to be a mommy, it was the worse news you could receive. After that, we started our first Clomid/IUI cycle in July 2003 with Dr. D - and, so thankfully, it worked and Christopher was born in May 2004.
Dr. D, after Chris was born, had told us that when we were ready to TTC #2, to let him know immediately - since I have the erratic cycle history and documented ovulation issues, that I would not have to TTC for 12 months before he could intervene. So, we contacted him in June 2005 to start TTC - and my dreams began to crumble when even what worked to conceive Chris didn't work now. Our first cycle in July 2005 of 50 mg Clomid never even produced an ovulation. Our second cycle in September 2005 of 100 mg Clomid finally produced an ovulation - but, so poorly and without warning even on u/s, we scrapped the IUI. But, I ended up getting PG, only to start bleeding a week after my BFP... Three weeks later, a blighted ovum was finally confirmed 100% and a d&e was done on 11/22/05. The Thanksgiving weekend was the worst in history...facing the family was horrible. I couldn't escape the pity in their eyes...and the total lack of mentioning what had happened, for fear I would break down at the beautifully decorated table. In an attempt to "recover" from the loss, we pushed forward into the next cycle in January 2006 - yet again, 100 mg Clomid and IUI. But I never made it to the IUI because I couldn't recover from the stomach virus DS had gifted to me. The IUI was canceled. When I finally felt better, I found I did ovulate (checking OPKs and temping) - Hubby and I made due, and DTD. Two weeks later, I got the BFP. This time, I felt PG - so, although very guarded, we went into the first u/s with joy and laughter...only to be swatted down again when no heartbeat was discovered and the baby was measuring more than a week behind. I had a missed m/c...although I still had all of the symptoms. Of course, my doc did another u/s a few days later to confirm...and I asked for the d&c right away. I was just devastated... This was now my third loss total. How could that be, after having a perfectly normal, successful PG with my DS? I ended up spiraling into anxiety for more than a year...and only with counseling and medication did I finally begin to learn how to deal with it all and accept where my life was going.
The most amazing thing - and I know I am in a very small the minority for this - is our insurance coverage came through with flying colors during all of our experiences of heartbreak and joy. I am a State Employee in NJ - and the medical benefits makes working full time so worth it. The ONLY things not covered by my insurance were OPK's and HPT's. All of my IF testing (loads of b/w, HSG, pelvic/trasnvaginal u/s's, etc.) with the exception of the prerequisite co-pays ($5 in 2002 - $15 now); the IUI cycle that resulted in my PG with Chris, including the semen wash/semen analysis and the monitoring u/s's; all of the prenatal checks and birth expenses of Christopher, again with the prerequisite co-pays and with the exception of the additional cost of the private room I wanted; both the d&e in 11/05 and the d&c in 3/06, along with the genetic testing of the fetal remains removed; all of the recurrent pregnancy loss testing (viles after viles of b/w and other tests); and, finally, all of the care (so far) of this very surprising, high-risk pregnancy - ALL of it was covered. I cannot even fathom how much money all of these tests, procedures, medications and care would have cost me out of pocket. My insurance covered it all, except for the simple co-pays. I don't think DH and I could have come this far without the coverage - coverage that, quite frankly, if mandated correctly by the States of this country, should be available to all of us. I was able to get IF testing done earlier because of coverage - so, it did not take me nearly as long as some women TTC to get PG because the resources and money were there. I was able to get RPL testing done much earlier with my coverage - saving us from longer-term disappointments and heartache, not to mention, allowing me to be TREATED for the medical conditions I have that will affect me later in life. Our coverage, in the end, not only saved us financially...but also gave us peace of mind that we didn't need to worry about the expense of it all during our journey. Less worry = less stress.
It is heartbreaking - and unfathomable - that couples in the US have to risk it all to have a child. Having a child is a natural part of life - or should be made as natural as humanly possible with the appropriate resources and coverage. But, with a statistic of 12.5% of the population experiencing infertility and recurrent pregnancy loss...insurance coverage needs to step up and start helping people become families. IF and pregnancy loss is not only a physical condition - but, eventually, they become emotional conditions as well resulting in lost hours with family and at work. The coverage I have - which includes 4 IVF cycles lifetime (which I wish I could gift to someone who could really use it) - should be the model for all States to copy from.
Monday, November 05, 2007
Helping out a fellow Stirrup Queen
Mel over at Stirrup Queens and Sperm Palace Jesters sent out the following call for assistance.
Go on over and give Mel a huge assist with this! It is for a good cause we all, unfortunately, share in.
==============================================================
So you're receiving this because you are a stirrup queen and I am a stirrup queen and I need your help. I was nominated for an award and at first, I was just touched and it was really nice. Then, Flicka wrote her post this week (http://vacantuterus.typepad.com/vacantuterus/2007/11/you-should-see-.html)
and it gave me an idea. Do I want to win? Hell yeah. But do I see a larger thing we could do with this? Yes.
This award thing will probably get press and I've certainly seen a rise in hits this week since it was announced. Flicka wrote about drafting a letter that people could use. I'd like to win this and use the glance that the general population will give to the winner to draw attention to the IF/pg loss blogosphere. To our issues (especially in an election year). To the reality of IF. Not a letter about how hard it is, but the reality of what it is like to have to pay thousands simply for a chance to get to the parenting starting line. What we need in terms of mandated coverage or job leave. The facts of IF (in numbers and statistics) laid bare.
And then post this letter if I win. Post it even if I don't win, but the winner will be announced at the end of the week/this weekend (I think) and we would need it ready to go up when the most people would be looking. With the blogroll list highlighted (take a look at 1000 stories if you need faces on the issue).
So the help from you--if you can give it this week--is two-fold. Flicka, if you can spearhead this, can you organize anyone who wants to participate (hit reply to this email and I'll compile the list of email addresses and pass them along to Flicka) and get multiple people to do research at once. And start writing this (I'll help you). We just need to finish it by Thursday-ish.
The other thing I need you to do is to ask you to use your blog to get other people to vote. It's three clicks (click on the link, click on Stirrup Queens, and click off the site) and you can vote once every 24 hours. The link to the voting site is http://2007.weblogawards.org/polls/best-medicalhealth-issues-blog-1.php. Voting goes until November 8th. I'm posting this letter regardless, but if we want to take advantage of the general population's attention, I have to actually win.
So, um...begging for your help since I feel like my blog is a community space regardless. It is, after all, your virtual living room/bar...minus the pee bucket. If you know of other people who
would want to participate and you're not sure if they got this note (sorry, did a BCC because I'm squeamish about privacy and don't like sending out other people's email addresses unless they say it's okay), pass it along. We just need to move quickly.
Wow...I feel like an activist. Just in time for National Infertility Awareness Week!
Mel
Go on over and give Mel a huge assist with this! It is for a good cause we all, unfortunately, share in.
==============================================================
So you're receiving this because you are a stirrup queen and I am a stirrup queen and I need your help. I was nominated for an award and at first, I was just touched and it was really nice. Then, Flicka wrote her post this week (http://vacantuterus.typepad.com/vacantuterus/2007/11/you-should-see-.html)
and it gave me an idea. Do I want to win? Hell yeah. But do I see a larger thing we could do with this? Yes.
This award thing will probably get press and I've certainly seen a rise in hits this week since it was announced. Flicka wrote about drafting a letter that people could use. I'd like to win this and use the glance that the general population will give to the winner to draw attention to the IF/pg loss blogosphere. To our issues (especially in an election year). To the reality of IF. Not a letter about how hard it is, but the reality of what it is like to have to pay thousands simply for a chance to get to the parenting starting line. What we need in terms of mandated coverage or job leave. The facts of IF (in numbers and statistics) laid bare.
And then post this letter if I win. Post it even if I don't win, but the winner will be announced at the end of the week/this weekend (I think) and we would need it ready to go up when the most people would be looking. With the blogroll list highlighted (take a look at 1000 stories if you need faces on the issue).
So the help from you--if you can give it this week--is two-fold. Flicka, if you can spearhead this, can you organize anyone who wants to participate (hit reply to this email and I'll compile the list of email addresses and pass them along to Flicka) and get multiple people to do research at once. And start writing this (I'll help you). We just need to finish it by Thursday-ish.
The other thing I need you to do is to ask you to use your blog to get other people to vote. It's three clicks (click on the link, click on Stirrup Queens, and click off the site) and you can vote once every 24 hours. The link to the voting site is http://2007.weblogawards.org/polls/best-medicalhealth-issues-blog-1.php. Voting goes until November 8th. I'm posting this letter regardless, but if we want to take advantage of the general population's attention, I have to actually win.
So, um...begging for your help since I feel like my blog is a community space regardless. It is, after all, your virtual living room/bar...minus the pee bucket. If you know of other people who
would want to participate and you're not sure if they got this note (sorry, did a BCC because I'm squeamish about privacy and don't like sending out other people's email addresses unless they say it's okay), pass it along. We just need to move quickly.
Wow...I feel like an activist. Just in time for National Infertility Awareness Week!
Mel
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Great Cake Day!
Just wanted to shout out to Mel over at Stirrup Queens and Sperm Palace Jesters and wish her a Happy Blogaversary!!
Below is my special creation - uh, more than half eaten! (Sorry, I forgot to take the pic BEFORE we set it out for dessert!)
This is a very special cake - Sour Cherry Streusel Cake, made with fresh sour cherries from our cherry tree in the back yard! This is the very first edible creation ever made from this tree - Why? Because Hubby's grandmother was afraid to! (Don't ask...)
What better occasion to make this cake - had my parents and my IL's over for an impromptu dinner with the family (not really impromptu, really - we had to celebrate Father's Day again because my parents were busy for actual Father's Day), which consisted of grilled chicken and ribs, roasted Red Bliss potatoes seasoned with the Rosemary from my garden, and Lemon Dill steamed carrots with, you guessed it, dill from my garden.
So, the cake rounded off the theme of real "homemade" and was made with the sour cherries from our cherry tree.
And, yes, it really WAS yummy! So good, in fact, Chris ate two pieces!
Wish I could send you some, Mel.
Oh, and while we are talking about cakes... I forgot to post pics of the birthday cake I made for my godson Matthew's birthday party earlier in the month. Here they are:
I was told by a few of the parents there I should start a business creating children's birthday cakes... It was a fleeting thought - and then I realized I would have to create things for the parents like in that neighborhood, and that would take the fun out of making the cakes. So, there goes my idea of a side-business....
Below is my special creation - uh, more than half eaten! (Sorry, I forgot to take the pic BEFORE we set it out for dessert!)
This is a very special cake - Sour Cherry Streusel Cake, made with fresh sour cherries from our cherry tree in the back yard! This is the very first edible creation ever made from this tree - Why? Because Hubby's grandmother was afraid to! (Don't ask...)
What better occasion to make this cake - had my parents and my IL's over for an impromptu dinner with the family (not really impromptu, really - we had to celebrate Father's Day again because my parents were busy for actual Father's Day), which consisted of grilled chicken and ribs, roasted Red Bliss potatoes seasoned with the Rosemary from my garden, and Lemon Dill steamed carrots with, you guessed it, dill from my garden.
So, the cake rounded off the theme of real "homemade" and was made with the sour cherries from our cherry tree.
And, yes, it really WAS yummy! So good, in fact, Chris ate two pieces!Wish I could send you some, Mel.
Oh, and while we are talking about cakes... I forgot to post pics of the birthday cake I made for my godson Matthew's birthday party earlier in the month. Here they are:
I was told by a few of the parents there I should start a business creating children's birthday cakes... It was a fleeting thought - and then I realized I would have to create things for the parents like in that neighborhood, and that would take the fun out of making the cakes. So, there goes my idea of a side-business....
Monday, May 14, 2007
My Blogs of Note: May 2007
Mel over at Stirrup Queens and Sperm Palace Jesters had a great feature on May 4th called Name That Blogger and Thank Her in which you read her description of the blog and you try to guess which blog it is. I got 5 out of 12 right - not bad for a blogger who doesn't always get to post - and get to post this on my blog now:
HeeeHeee! I feel like a kid again!!!
Melissa: Hope you do this often! Really keeps us on our toes and reading!
Anyways, I decided that, based on Melissa's idea, each month I am going to write a special post about a blog I have linked in my ever-growing sidebar (if you note, I added a new section on Mommy's Garden - post will be up soon about my new "little" endeavor). I am going to write why I link to that blog and why that person may need the extra support right now. I hope that anyone who reads this post each month might share the love you have given me over the past year or so...
Today's "innaugural" post will be for one of my BG members (Dianne) whose Leah Ann was born to heaven on October 5, 2006. Dianne's blog is It's My Life.
Di is new to blogging here on Blogger (although she had one on MySpace for a while) - so, she is just learning the "ropes" of it. But, she is not new to infertility and pregnancy loss. She was a huge support through my own losses, and I would like to see her get some support in return. Leah was born too soon due to a cord accident: Her umbilical cord was wrapped tightly around her tiny little neck four times. Leah's loss has been devastating, to say the least, especially because everyone has forgotten seven months later, except for her. Di has been TTC again and she just went through another failed cycle (sorry, Di - I was soooo hoping that was not going to be the case). She could use some support right now - for the failed cycles, but more importantly, for her loss of Leah. It is hard to work through loss alone.
I hope some of you could pop over and give her some support.
HeeeHeee! I feel like a kid again!!!
Melissa: Hope you do this often! Really keeps us on our toes and reading!
Anyways, I decided that, based on Melissa's idea, each month I am going to write a special post about a blog I have linked in my ever-growing sidebar (if you note, I added a new section on Mommy's Garden - post will be up soon about my new "little" endeavor). I am going to write why I link to that blog and why that person may need the extra support right now. I hope that anyone who reads this post each month might share the love you have given me over the past year or so...
Today's "innaugural" post will be for one of my BG members (Dianne) whose Leah Ann was born to heaven on October 5, 2006. Dianne's blog is It's My Life.
Di is new to blogging here on Blogger (although she had one on MySpace for a while) - so, she is just learning the "ropes" of it. But, she is not new to infertility and pregnancy loss. She was a huge support through my own losses, and I would like to see her get some support in return. Leah was born too soon due to a cord accident: Her umbilical cord was wrapped tightly around her tiny little neck four times. Leah's loss has been devastating, to say the least, especially because everyone has forgotten seven months later, except for her. Di has been TTC again and she just went through another failed cycle (sorry, Di - I was soooo hoping that was not going to be the case). She could use some support right now - for the failed cycles, but more importantly, for her loss of Leah. It is hard to work through loss alone.
I hope some of you could pop over and give her some support.
Monday, March 05, 2007
Barren Bitches Book Brigade #2: Children of Men
I decided to participate a book tour (after years of starting and never finishing books!) to discuss the novel "Children of Men" by P.D. James. The topic of infertility, of course, was interesting. But, the plotline of global infertility really made me curious about how the topic of infertility would be handled in the book. There is a movie of the book now. However, after reading the book and knowing that some of the plotlines have been changed in the new movie version, I have no plans to see the movie.
There are 22 questions presented by the readers in the book tour. We get to choose 5 questions to address per blog. Below are my answers. Please feel free to comment and discuss your opinions.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Though there are interesting female characters in the forefront of the novel, the cast of thousands of infertile women in the background are portrayed as crazy, desperate, and delusional. Did you feel P.D. James captured the emotions of infertility or do you think she merely repeated the image presented in the general media--infertile women are desperate and single-minded and obsessed with babies and pregnancy?
No, I don't feel she did a good job. Infertility is dealt with in so, so many ways (all you have to do is read through five to ten blogs to see how some handle it with humor, some handle it with anger and rage), there can never really be a "stereotype" of how women react. Would we put a stereotype on people who suffer with cancer? No. I am sure there are women out there who deny their infertility and act the way these women did in the book - but there are many more who deal with infertility and have themselves a little more "together" than to walk around with kittens in a stroller on their way to baptize them.
Besides, the author could never really get into the real "feel" of what we go through with the scope of the novel the way it was -- this novel did not focus on the infertility, but how infertility was dealt with in the gobal society. I don't think the novel ever really intended to cover what individual women go through with infertility - and I don't see how it could either.
My life dealing with IF does not really coincide with the author's image of it in the novel. Although there were times when I felt desperate to have a child (really, before I finally conceived my son), I doubt I would have pushed around a kitten in a stroller to satisfy the want of having a child.
5. In Chapter 7, Jasper Palmer-Smith says to Theo within a tyrade about society, "Now, for the rest of our lives, we're going to be spared the intrusive barbariam of the young, their noise, their pounding, repetitive, computer-produced so-called music, their violence, their egotism disguised as idealism. My God, we might even succeed in getting rid of Christmas, the annual celebration of parental guilt and juvenile greed."How do you feel about this statement? Do you agree in certain respects with it (and the rest of his statements, not quoted here)? Do you think this has become a true generalization of the youth in America today? If you have children now, how do you plan to raise your children so that this statement does not pertain to them? If you do not yet have children, how would you parent your children so that this description does not fit them?
In a way, I do agree with the statement.
When I am out with Chris and I publically reprimand him for something (say, I tell him he either has to sit in the high chair at a restaurant or we have to leave the restaurant if he is going to continue to whine to get out - and we do leave if he does not stop), I get stared at as if to say, "Holy cow! She really followed through with her consequences!" People are astounded that I really do what I threaten - and none of my punishments need to be physical to get my point across (although, I think a slap on the hiney if Chris was about to run out into the street with a car coming is not unreasonable).
There was a time I was out shopping with my mom (when I was still expecting Chris) and this lady followed us throughout the store with her two screaming kids in the cart. She gave them no real punishment, no real parenting. By the time we left the store, my mother and I had a twitch - and the kids were still crying. That is not appropriate - and, in the end, what benefit does it have for the kids?
There are good children out there in the world - polite, sweet, loving. But, there are also more children now who are rude, expect they deserve things, have no respect for others and their property, and the laws that govern our society. I am tired of people (and I won't just pin this on the young because I see people my age doing it too) just bolting out in between the cars, expecting you to stop for them - or, better yet, never even bothering to look that a car is coming in the first place and just step out expecing you to stop! I can't stand those sneakers with the built-in rollerskates and the kids who crash into you with them on (and the parents who look at you as if YOU should have moved!). I can't take the "I need" attitudes about cars, iPods, cell phones and Playstations. What happened to working for what you get?
Chris is being raised "old school" - He has to say "Please" and "Thank you" for things. He has to say "Good bye" when we are leaving. He does not just get something when we are out at the store. He has to clean up his toys (or at least help) when he is done playing. We leave parties if he has to take a nap. I want him to be polite, have manners, be kind and loving. But, I also want him to be able to stand up for himself when he needs to. I won't allow him to just expect that he will get something because he wants it. I think that just leads to false expectations of your future.
8. What do you think is the significance of the fact that the two people who are finally able to conceive are both considered "flawed?" (Luke had epilepsy and Julian had a deformed hand)
I think it this part of the novel is very "real" - and for a variety of reasons.
It speaks about how our society has become in the past few decades - how the "pretty people's" children will be beautiful and how the "pretty people" will succeed in life, and will be more accepted, more popular, more perfect. I think it was Conan O'Brien who had the skit on late-night TV where they mash the likings of Billy Bob Thorton with Angelia Jolie and come up with a weird, baboon-like child concoction on the computer? What does that say about how we view people? Strangers still look at special needs children as the thorn in society - even with the efforts of mainstreaming the "trainable" children, these children are still not always accepted for who they are but what they look like.
I am sure I am going to offend someone in the blogosphere for this, but I find it disheartening when people choose to go through IVF specifically so they can have beautiful, blonde-haired, blue-eyed, unflawed children (and of a specific gender, of course) who will do excellent at math, science, literature, who will excel in school and have a great career, who will always be let into the elite programs, etc.
All I want is another child - and there are other women who just want one child to love and hold. What right do we have to "shop" for a child like we do for packaged meat?
No one is "perfect" when having a child (physically or emotionally) - and, sometimes, those who are not deemed as "physically the best" can be emotionally the best at parenting. Julian (and Luke) did what was best for the child - not for the power or prestige of being the first to usher in a new generation of children. With how society became after the Omega, there were not many genuine, perfect people left to "parent" the "new world". I think it was rather fitting that someone who loved the child for the right reasons was the first to bring new life into the world.
17. James' book makes much of the role of history--what should be (and so, is) kept and what should be discarded. These concerns seem a question never far from the handling of infertility and loss--how we reckon with our bodies' past failures, what we carry of that into our daily lives, and what we choose, instead, to put away. James' character Theodore writes in his diary of the "half-demented women" who fawn over dolls as replacement children in this invented, infertile world, but in our real world, infertiles are often cast as desparate, insane, ready to look madly for any replacement for a child. How, then, do we make known an "appropriate" history, of our hopes and failures and losses as we struggle to make a child when the body--and seemingly, at times, whole world won't allow it? How do we keep more than we lose, keep more than we hide, deeply, away?
I think part of the answer is education - just like how education has given more liberation to those who suffer from AIDS and AIDS related illnesses, and those who suffer through cancer.
Blogs such as ours, message boards, books, articles, conferences, news segments - all of these venues are appropriate paths to making a new history for infertile women or women who suffer through pregnancy loss. No one can begin to understand what we go through until we are willing to come out of the shadows and TELL PEOPLE how we really feel, what we really go through emotionally and physically to have a child - which is something that comes easily to most women.
And, I think women who really do suffer with IF need to be willing to stant up for themselves when other women start whining they have not become PG in three months time (or similar scenarios that we have all heard first-hand) - that is not suffering with infertility. Not being able to conceive for months and months on end, years and years on end - who's marriages, other relationships, jobs, lives suffer because of it - is what real infertility is. It is not a "club" to join. It is not a "popular" thing to have to suffer through.
19. In the book, there is a passage (Chapter 16, p 116) in which Theo describes the majority of the population's attitude towards intercourse. With the decline of humanity's fertility, there is also a decline in the physical pleasure of intercourse. The State has to actively encourage pornography to get people to "enjoy" sex. In the novel Theo assumes that because people are freed from the act of trying to conceive, people should be "liberated" and more uninhibited, yet the very opposite happened. Sex becomes synonymous with comfort rather than physical pleasure-in fact, it's relayed that women associate sex with physical pain rather than pleasure. As infertiles, the very act of intercourse suddenly and irreversibly has a different meaning for us-especially those of us who have been raised in religious faiths which stress that sex is for the main purpose of conceiving children. So, here's my question.........how has infertility affected sex for you? How has it affected your relationship with your spouse or partner? And, how have you worked through those feelings?
Infertility has had a positive yet negative affect on our sexual life.
On the positive side, since I don't ovulate on my own and you need to ovulate to get PG, avoiding pregnancy with birth control has not been necessary - so, we save money on condoms, the pill, etc. We just don't need it and don't have to worry about it. So, the "Oh, stop. We need to put a condom on" times are non-existent, making sex a little more spontaneous and worry-free.
But, on the negative side, it becomes very hard to distinguish the difference between "pleasurable" sex and "necessary" sex. When you have to live your life depending upon when you are going to ovulate (via OPKS, the wandings, the bloodwork) and when the best time for intercourse would be to catch the egg, spontanity is out the door and the act becomes full-time employment. That view of sex - as work - is something that can begin to eat away at a marriage.
Hubby and I handled the issues by being open about what we need and want in that part of our relationship, and how we are going to go about changing the "ritual" sex. It took us a while to change our mindset away from TTC to just having sex for sex sake - but it is possible to do.
Also, by taking such a long break from TTC and beginning to straighten out other lingering issues due to my pregnancy losses, we were able to have sex only for pleasure again - and it has become like a second honeymoon. There is no pressure to time it right, to make sure everything is done right, etc. It is what it is, and it is in the moment.
===============================================================
Intrigued by this book tour and want to read more about Children of Men? Hop along to more stops on the Barren Bitches Book Tour by visiting the master list at Stirrup Queens (http://stirrup-queens.blogspot.com/). Want to come along for the next tour? Sign up begins today for tour #3 ( The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger) and all are welcome to join along. All you need is a book and blog.
There are 22 questions presented by the readers in the book tour. We get to choose 5 questions to address per blog. Below are my answers. Please feel free to comment and discuss your opinions.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Though there are interesting female characters in the forefront of the novel, the cast of thousands of infertile women in the background are portrayed as crazy, desperate, and delusional. Did you feel P.D. James captured the emotions of infertility or do you think she merely repeated the image presented in the general media--infertile women are desperate and single-minded and obsessed with babies and pregnancy?
No, I don't feel she did a good job. Infertility is dealt with in so, so many ways (all you have to do is read through five to ten blogs to see how some handle it with humor, some handle it with anger and rage), there can never really be a "stereotype" of how women react. Would we put a stereotype on people who suffer with cancer? No. I am sure there are women out there who deny their infertility and act the way these women did in the book - but there are many more who deal with infertility and have themselves a little more "together" than to walk around with kittens in a stroller on their way to baptize them.
Besides, the author could never really get into the real "feel" of what we go through with the scope of the novel the way it was -- this novel did not focus on the infertility, but how infertility was dealt with in the gobal society. I don't think the novel ever really intended to cover what individual women go through with infertility - and I don't see how it could either.
My life dealing with IF does not really coincide with the author's image of it in the novel. Although there were times when I felt desperate to have a child (really, before I finally conceived my son), I doubt I would have pushed around a kitten in a stroller to satisfy the want of having a child.
5. In Chapter 7, Jasper Palmer-Smith says to Theo within a tyrade about society, "Now, for the rest of our lives, we're going to be spared the intrusive barbariam of the young, their noise, their pounding, repetitive, computer-produced so-called music, their violence, their egotism disguised as idealism. My God, we might even succeed in getting rid of Christmas, the annual celebration of parental guilt and juvenile greed."How do you feel about this statement? Do you agree in certain respects with it (and the rest of his statements, not quoted here)? Do you think this has become a true generalization of the youth in America today? If you have children now, how do you plan to raise your children so that this statement does not pertain to them? If you do not yet have children, how would you parent your children so that this description does not fit them?
In a way, I do agree with the statement.
When I am out with Chris and I publically reprimand him for something (say, I tell him he either has to sit in the high chair at a restaurant or we have to leave the restaurant if he is going to continue to whine to get out - and we do leave if he does not stop), I get stared at as if to say, "Holy cow! She really followed through with her consequences!" People are astounded that I really do what I threaten - and none of my punishments need to be physical to get my point across (although, I think a slap on the hiney if Chris was about to run out into the street with a car coming is not unreasonable).
There was a time I was out shopping with my mom (when I was still expecting Chris) and this lady followed us throughout the store with her two screaming kids in the cart. She gave them no real punishment, no real parenting. By the time we left the store, my mother and I had a twitch - and the kids were still crying. That is not appropriate - and, in the end, what benefit does it have for the kids?
There are good children out there in the world - polite, sweet, loving. But, there are also more children now who are rude, expect they deserve things, have no respect for others and their property, and the laws that govern our society. I am tired of people (and I won't just pin this on the young because I see people my age doing it too) just bolting out in between the cars, expecting you to stop for them - or, better yet, never even bothering to look that a car is coming in the first place and just step out expecing you to stop! I can't stand those sneakers with the built-in rollerskates and the kids who crash into you with them on (and the parents who look at you as if YOU should have moved!). I can't take the "I need" attitudes about cars, iPods, cell phones and Playstations. What happened to working for what you get?
Chris is being raised "old school" - He has to say "Please" and "Thank you" for things. He has to say "Good bye" when we are leaving. He does not just get something when we are out at the store. He has to clean up his toys (or at least help) when he is done playing. We leave parties if he has to take a nap. I want him to be polite, have manners, be kind and loving. But, I also want him to be able to stand up for himself when he needs to. I won't allow him to just expect that he will get something because he wants it. I think that just leads to false expectations of your future.
8. What do you think is the significance of the fact that the two people who are finally able to conceive are both considered "flawed?" (Luke had epilepsy and Julian had a deformed hand)
I think it this part of the novel is very "real" - and for a variety of reasons.
It speaks about how our society has become in the past few decades - how the "pretty people's" children will be beautiful and how the "pretty people" will succeed in life, and will be more accepted, more popular, more perfect. I think it was Conan O'Brien who had the skit on late-night TV where they mash the likings of Billy Bob Thorton with Angelia Jolie and come up with a weird, baboon-like child concoction on the computer? What does that say about how we view people? Strangers still look at special needs children as the thorn in society - even with the efforts of mainstreaming the "trainable" children, these children are still not always accepted for who they are but what they look like.
I am sure I am going to offend someone in the blogosphere for this, but I find it disheartening when people choose to go through IVF specifically so they can have beautiful, blonde-haired, blue-eyed, unflawed children (and of a specific gender, of course) who will do excellent at math, science, literature, who will excel in school and have a great career, who will always be let into the elite programs, etc.
All I want is another child - and there are other women who just want one child to love and hold. What right do we have to "shop" for a child like we do for packaged meat?
No one is "perfect" when having a child (physically or emotionally) - and, sometimes, those who are not deemed as "physically the best" can be emotionally the best at parenting. Julian (and Luke) did what was best for the child - not for the power or prestige of being the first to usher in a new generation of children. With how society became after the Omega, there were not many genuine, perfect people left to "parent" the "new world". I think it was rather fitting that someone who loved the child for the right reasons was the first to bring new life into the world.
17. James' book makes much of the role of history--what should be (and so, is) kept and what should be discarded. These concerns seem a question never far from the handling of infertility and loss--how we reckon with our bodies' past failures, what we carry of that into our daily lives, and what we choose, instead, to put away. James' character Theodore writes in his diary of the "half-demented women" who fawn over dolls as replacement children in this invented, infertile world, but in our real world, infertiles are often cast as desparate, insane, ready to look madly for any replacement for a child. How, then, do we make known an "appropriate" history, of our hopes and failures and losses as we struggle to make a child when the body--and seemingly, at times, whole world won't allow it? How do we keep more than we lose, keep more than we hide, deeply, away?
I think part of the answer is education - just like how education has given more liberation to those who suffer from AIDS and AIDS related illnesses, and those who suffer through cancer.
Blogs such as ours, message boards, books, articles, conferences, news segments - all of these venues are appropriate paths to making a new history for infertile women or women who suffer through pregnancy loss. No one can begin to understand what we go through until we are willing to come out of the shadows and TELL PEOPLE how we really feel, what we really go through emotionally and physically to have a child - which is something that comes easily to most women.
And, I think women who really do suffer with IF need to be willing to stant up for themselves when other women start whining they have not become PG in three months time (or similar scenarios that we have all heard first-hand) - that is not suffering with infertility. Not being able to conceive for months and months on end, years and years on end - who's marriages, other relationships, jobs, lives suffer because of it - is what real infertility is. It is not a "club" to join. It is not a "popular" thing to have to suffer through.
19. In the book, there is a passage (Chapter 16, p 116) in which Theo describes the majority of the population's attitude towards intercourse. With the decline of humanity's fertility, there is also a decline in the physical pleasure of intercourse. The State has to actively encourage pornography to get people to "enjoy" sex. In the novel Theo assumes that because people are freed from the act of trying to conceive, people should be "liberated" and more uninhibited, yet the very opposite happened. Sex becomes synonymous with comfort rather than physical pleasure-in fact, it's relayed that women associate sex with physical pain rather than pleasure. As infertiles, the very act of intercourse suddenly and irreversibly has a different meaning for us-especially those of us who have been raised in religious faiths which stress that sex is for the main purpose of conceiving children. So, here's my question.........how has infertility affected sex for you? How has it affected your relationship with your spouse or partner? And, how have you worked through those feelings?
Infertility has had a positive yet negative affect on our sexual life.
On the positive side, since I don't ovulate on my own and you need to ovulate to get PG, avoiding pregnancy with birth control has not been necessary - so, we save money on condoms, the pill, etc. We just don't need it and don't have to worry about it. So, the "Oh, stop. We need to put a condom on" times are non-existent, making sex a little more spontaneous and worry-free.
But, on the negative side, it becomes very hard to distinguish the difference between "pleasurable" sex and "necessary" sex. When you have to live your life depending upon when you are going to ovulate (via OPKS, the wandings, the bloodwork) and when the best time for intercourse would be to catch the egg, spontanity is out the door and the act becomes full-time employment. That view of sex - as work - is something that can begin to eat away at a marriage.
Hubby and I handled the issues by being open about what we need and want in that part of our relationship, and how we are going to go about changing the "ritual" sex. It took us a while to change our mindset away from TTC to just having sex for sex sake - but it is possible to do.
Also, by taking such a long break from TTC and beginning to straighten out other lingering issues due to my pregnancy losses, we were able to have sex only for pleasure again - and it has become like a second honeymoon. There is no pressure to time it right, to make sure everything is done right, etc. It is what it is, and it is in the moment.
===============================================================
Intrigued by this book tour and want to read more about Children of Men? Hop along to more stops on the Barren Bitches Book Tour by visiting the master list at Stirrup Queens (http://stirrup-queens.blogspot.com/). Want to come along for the next tour? Sign up begins today for tour #3 ( The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger) and all are welcome to join along. All you need is a book and blog.
Thursday, March 01, 2007
Happy Blogaversary!!!
Well, today's post marks one year of writing and blogging...which is a huge feat for me! As I have said before here, I am not a writer - especially my own baggage. But, this has been a very theraputic process for me now, and I am glad I stuck with it for a year. Guess we will see where this leads me...
My mood and outlook has certainly changed so much over the past few weeks - between the counseling, the meds and the relaxation (yoga and guided imagery), people on the "outside" are starting to tell me I am more cheerful, more relaxed, funnier again.
For example, on Tuesday before I left for the day and work from home the next, I realized we had two reports due on Friday to the NSF. As background, the NSF changed their protocol in December (of course, without notifying us first) on when reports are due - so, now we can no longer submit a report before its' due date. And, we have a three month window of when we can submit the report: either on its' due date or within three months of the due date so it is not considered late (which, in essence makes the later date the real due date....gotta love the federal goverment for this one!). So, I sent out a reminder to two of our Associate Directors that we needed to scramble to get the reports done. But, for some reason, the date didn't seem right - and when I checked again, I realized we had 3 months from Friday to submit the report. I resent the message saying to disregard the first message.
First thing I noticed is that I didn't freak out when I first thought the reports were due on Friday. I was like, oh well. They will get done when they get done.
Then, I get the following in my e-mail from one of the Associate Directors:
I like this particular Associate Director's outlook on life: "Is anyone sick or dying? No? Then, why freak out about it."
That is how I want to live my life now - in the now, not fretting over things I just can't change. I think I am starting to really get it.
My mood and outlook has certainly changed so much over the past few weeks - between the counseling, the meds and the relaxation (yoga and guided imagery), people on the "outside" are starting to tell me I am more cheerful, more relaxed, funnier again.
For example, on Tuesday before I left for the day and work from home the next, I realized we had two reports due on Friday to the NSF. As background, the NSF changed their protocol in December (of course, without notifying us first) on when reports are due - so, now we can no longer submit a report before its' due date. And, we have a three month window of when we can submit the report: either on its' due date or within three months of the due date so it is not considered late (which, in essence makes the later date the real due date....gotta love the federal goverment for this one!). So, I sent out a reminder to two of our Associate Directors that we needed to scramble to get the reports done. But, for some reason, the date didn't seem right - and when I checked again, I realized we had 3 months from Friday to submit the report. I resent the message saying to disregard the first message.
First thing I noticed is that I didn't freak out when I first thought the reports were due on Friday. I was like, oh well. They will get done when they get done.
Then, I get the following in my e-mail from one of the Associate Directors:
"Good! The new Chris, light in weight, light of heart."So, people are noticing the changes.
I like this particular Associate Director's outlook on life: "Is anyone sick or dying? No? Then, why freak out about it."
That is how I want to live my life now - in the now, not fretting over things I just can't change. I think I am starting to really get it.
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
Interrupting the regularly scheduled bloggings for some Halloween fun.
I am interrupting my regularly scheduled bloggings for some Halloween fun... Since Halloween 2005 was probably the worst Halloween ever (considering I was just finding out about my November 2005 miscarriage on Halloween Day 2005), I resolved to make this Halloween (and all of the upcoming holidays for that matter) much better for all of us!
Halloween morning was spent shopping for shoes for Chris since Men's Warehouse does not carry children's wide shoes for their tuxedo line (Chris has some chunky feet!). Yuck! But, Chris was quite the trooper trying shoes on.
Then we went to visit Papa (Hubby's dad) at work, where he flirted with the ladies like mad (am I in trouble when he gets older!). Then, on a whim, my MIL and I took Chris over to see the Irvington Fire Department fleet (since the Fire Department is right next to town hall, where my FIL's office is). He loved it!
After a much battled-over nap (yep, Mommy won!), Hubby got home early from work and we got Chris dressed in his costume...
Chris heading up the stairs to Grandma and Pop-Pop's house (my parents). Don't you love the Pablo butt!!! (Don't look at mine....I have none!)
Chris beaming in his costume.
Chris sneaking candy from Grandma's stash...
Chris saying Hi! to "The Great Pumpkin"
Chris scratching an itch...
The Pensive Pablo
Chris waiting his turn to Trick or Treat.
Chris eating his dinner in his costume at Nanny and Papa's (my IL's)
Chris finally made the connection this year as to what Halloween is all about....and stayed in his costume for over 4 hours straight!
....Can't wait to see him ham it up at Suzi's wedding in the tux on November 12th!
Halloween morning was spent shopping for shoes for Chris since Men's Warehouse does not carry children's wide shoes for their tuxedo line (Chris has some chunky feet!). Yuck! But, Chris was quite the trooper trying shoes on.
Then we went to visit Papa (Hubby's dad) at work, where he flirted with the ladies like mad (am I in trouble when he gets older!). Then, on a whim, my MIL and I took Chris over to see the Irvington Fire Department fleet (since the Fire Department is right next to town hall, where my FIL's office is). He loved it!
After a much battled-over nap (yep, Mommy won!), Hubby got home early from work and we got Chris dressed in his costume...
Chris heading up the stairs to Grandma and Pop-Pop's house (my parents). Don't you love the Pablo butt!!! (Don't look at mine....I have none!)
Chris beaming in his costume.
Chris sneaking candy from Grandma's stash...
Chris saying Hi! to "The Great Pumpkin"
Chris scratching an itch...
The Pensive Pablo
Chris waiting his turn to Trick or Treat.
Chris eating his dinner in his costume at Nanny and Papa's (my IL's)
Chris finally made the connection this year as to what Halloween is all about....and stayed in his costume for over 4 hours straight!
....Can't wait to see him ham it up at Suzi's wedding in the tux on November 12th!
Monday, October 23, 2006
Check out Blogging Chicks
For those who love to visit other blogs and catch up, please check out:
You can be added to the Blogging Chicks roll....and connect you to other women who blog and share stories such as yours.
Enjoy!
You can be added to the Blogging Chicks roll....and connect you to other women who blog and share stories such as yours.
Enjoy!
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Here it is... The new Blog!
Hope everyone likes the new blog... I am very happy with it!
BTW: Because Netscape can be fickle, please view this blog in IE or Firefox. Netscape doesn't want to play nicey-nice.
Tina
BTW: Because Netscape can be fickle, please view this blog in IE or Firefox. Netscape doesn't want to play nicey-nice.
Tina
Like they say on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition: Move the Bus!
Please be on the look-out for the reveal of the new appearance on my blog this week...
I am working with Ro from Caio! My Bella! Custom Blog & Web Designs on a new skin for my blog - none of the basic blog skins really fit what I wanted for My Many Blessings.
The new look is going to be just beautiful. Can't wait for all of you to see the big reveal. Now, move the bus!
I am working with Ro from Caio! My Bella! Custom Blog & Web Designs on a new skin for my blog - none of the basic blog skins really fit what I wanted for My Many Blessings.
The new look is going to be just beautiful. Can't wait for all of you to see the big reveal. Now, move the bus!
Wednesday, July 05, 2006
I've been Tagged...
Okay... I will have some fun and play tag. :) After all, can't have my blog be a total downer, right?
7 Things I'd Like To Do Before I Die:
1. Be a stay at home mom to my Chris and (hopefully) at least one more child
2. Actually HAVE that at least one more child someday soon
3. Finally decide where we want to live for the long-haul and MOVE there!
4. Go to Ireland, and the other countries that I have heritage (Ireland, England, Germany, France, Poland, Ukraine)
5. Do volunteer work
6. Be financially secure and leave no debts behind to my child(ren)
7. See at least my grandchildren be born
7 Things That I Can't Do:
1. Swim
2. Play an instrument (although I tried to play Flute in 4th grade)
3. Stop trying to control everything I can't logically control
4. Sing in public (although some have said I have a decent voice)
5. Get over the fact I can't stop others from doing stupid things to their children
6. Ovulate on my own
7. Drive a manual transmission car (nor do I want to!)
7 Things That Attracted Me To My Husband:
1. His sense of humor (how can you ignore someone who intros themself as "Ken, which is neck spelled backwards, drop the 'c' " ?)
2. His blue eyes
3. His guitar playing abilities
4. His concern for our relationship during hard times
5. His ability to admit his faults and try to work on them
6. His drive to start his own business
7. His pure adoration of our son
7 Books (or series of books) That I Love:
1. The Phantom of the Opera (Gaston Lerox)
2. The Once and Future King (T. H. White)
3. Coming to Term : Uncovering the Truth About Miscarriage (Jon Cohen)
4. Miscarriage after Infertility : A Woman's Guide to Coping (Margaret Comerford Freda, Carrie F. Semelsberger)
5. --
6. --
7. --
7 Movies I'd Watch Over & Over:
1. The Phantom of the Opera (1920's b/w version with Lon Chaney)
2. The Phantom of the Opera (last version released in 2005)
3. White Christmas (with Bing Crosby, Danny Kay and Rosemary Clooney)
4. The Princess Bride
5. Spaceballs
6. Logan's Run
7. Dirty Dancing (that was the first movie I saw with Hubby)
7 People I'd Like To Tag (and if you don't do it, I totally understand): Since most of those I know in Blogger land have already been tagged, here is who I can tag!
1. Joy (El Mundo de Mamacita)
2. Lindy (Infertility 2.0)
3. --
4. --
5. --
6. --
7. --
7 Things I'd Like To Do Before I Die:
1. Be a stay at home mom to my Chris and (hopefully) at least one more child
2. Actually HAVE that at least one more child someday soon
3. Finally decide where we want to live for the long-haul and MOVE there!
4. Go to Ireland, and the other countries that I have heritage (Ireland, England, Germany, France, Poland, Ukraine)
5. Do volunteer work
6. Be financially secure and leave no debts behind to my child(ren)
7. See at least my grandchildren be born
7 Things That I Can't Do:
1. Swim
2. Play an instrument (although I tried to play Flute in 4th grade)
3. Stop trying to control everything I can't logically control
4. Sing in public (although some have said I have a decent voice)
5. Get over the fact I can't stop others from doing stupid things to their children
6. Ovulate on my own
7. Drive a manual transmission car (nor do I want to!)
7 Things That Attracted Me To My Husband:
1. His sense of humor (how can you ignore someone who intros themself as "Ken, which is neck spelled backwards, drop the 'c' " ?)
2. His blue eyes
3. His guitar playing abilities
4. His concern for our relationship during hard times
5. His ability to admit his faults and try to work on them
6. His drive to start his own business
7. His pure adoration of our son
7 Books (or series of books) That I Love:
1. The Phantom of the Opera (Gaston Lerox)
2. The Once and Future King (T. H. White)
3. Coming to Term : Uncovering the Truth About Miscarriage (Jon Cohen)
4. Miscarriage after Infertility : A Woman's Guide to Coping (Margaret Comerford Freda, Carrie F. Semelsberger)
5. --
6. --
7. --
7 Movies I'd Watch Over & Over:
1. The Phantom of the Opera (1920's b/w version with Lon Chaney)
2. The Phantom of the Opera (last version released in 2005)
3. White Christmas (with Bing Crosby, Danny Kay and Rosemary Clooney)
4. The Princess Bride
5. Spaceballs
6. Logan's Run
7. Dirty Dancing (that was the first movie I saw with Hubby)
7 People I'd Like To Tag (and if you don't do it, I totally understand): Since most of those I know in Blogger land have already been tagged, here is who I can tag!
1. Joy (El Mundo de Mamacita)
2. Lindy (Infertility 2.0)
3. --
4. --
5. --
6. --
7. --
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