Weekly Menu

Weekly Menu

I typically do the bulk of my grocery shopping once every two weeks.  On the off week, I usually only pick up a couple of extras, such as fish, fruit, etc.

This week is going to be pretty low-key.  We have a couple of friends coming over tonight for Halloween.  The rest of the week will be quick meals since I'm working very late on Tuesday and Wednesday.  We're going to Caleb's parents' house for dinner on Thursday and then we're leaving Friday afternoon for VA where we'll visit my aunt, uncle, and cousin.  Easy peasy!

Weekly Menu:

Breakfasts: I'm going back to my staple- 2 scrambled eggs & a piece of fruit

Lunches:  Leftovers. I'm going to make a huge pot of soup so hopefully there will be lots left over. :)

Dinners:

Monday: Sausage & Sweet Potato Soup w/ Biscuits (recipe to follow)
Tuesday: Fish w/ rice & broccoli
Wednesday: Chicken quesadillas w/ rice & beans
Thursday: Dinner @ Mom & Dad's
Friday: Fast food- driving to VA
Saturday: In VA
Sunday: Fast food- driving home

Hot Spots Revealed

Over the next several months, I am going to determine hot spots that need to by systematically cleaned. Each hot spot may take different amounts of time to clean, but I will keep you updated regularly. Most of these hot spots are rather small, targeted areas. This is done on purpose so I don't feel overwhelmed by the task at hand.

To start, I'm going to identify several hot spots that I'd like to address in first. More will follow, but in view of the upcoming holidays and the resulting entertaining, these first hot spots will be dealt with first.

1. Kitchen shelves

2. Pantry

3. Downstairs bathroom

4. Kitchen cabinets

5. Storage area under stairs

6. Media in living

Wish me luck!

Our Infertility Story, Pt. 2

Ok, so where did I leave off yesterday? Oh yeah, we decided needed help. So, we started to see a fertility specialist- also known as a reproductive endocrinologist (RE). As these sorts of specialists are not common, ours is a grueling hour away from us. This really sucks, especially when you have 7am appointments! Still, our RE and his staff are fantastic and we feel lucky to have such great people on our side.

After speaking with the RE I was diagnosed with PCOS- poly cystic ovaries syndrome. This is a fairly common problem and after a battery of tests we found out that we are lucky enough to have no other problems. Our tests included multiple internal sonograms, an HSG test where they push dye through your fallopian tubes to ensure they are open (which was the most painful test BY FAR), blood work, and genetic testing. Caleb had blood work and a semen analysis done, which both came back normal.

We decided to spend the first several months working on my weight, which is much more than ideal. I went to a special nutritionist and gained a ton of helpful information. Unfortunately, it wasn't working so we decided to stop going after several months. Then, in June we started using medication to trigger ovulation. I take both Clomid and Ovidrel to accomplish this. That same month we did an in-utero insemination (IUI). It was extremely painful because my cervix was pointed in the wrong direction and they had to use forceps to move it. Ouch!

Obviously, it wasn't successful or I wouldn't still be typing. Sigh. We decided to keep pushing forward. Unfortunately, in July my ovaries overstimulated due to the drugs. This meant a higher risk of multiples. After hearing what selective reduction entailed, we made the difficult choice to cancel the IUI. Did you know that selective reduction isn't done until after the fetuses are 10 weeks old? At that point, the fetuses are fully-formed super-tiny babies? In order to abort the "extraneous" fetuses, they inject some sort of chemical into the fetuses that prevents them from continuing to grow. However, the fetuses remain in your uterus- along with the remaining, growing fetuses- and you eventually pass them when you give birth. Another sucky thing? This is NOT covered by insurance. With a price tag of $5,000-$8,000 we knew we couldn't take the risk.

September brought us new hope and new sorrows. The RE reduced my medication and I under stimulated. We decided to cancel because we didn't feel it was worth it. We had timed intercourse and waited to see what would happen. In the end, it was another negative.

That brings us to this month. I was feeling positive and we were prepared to try an IUI again. We got all the way to our appointment and Caleb started to have a panic attack. I think the stress and pressure of having to produce was too much for him. We ended up having to cancel our appointments and leave. So, this month will probably be another month wasted. This is the story of my life these days.

So far, this journey has been incredibly difficult- emotionally and physically for both myself and Caleb. It's tough to stay positive month after month when you repeatedly fail. Despite my growing pessimism I keep pushing forward. It's the only thing I can do- quiting is not an option. At least, not yet.

Please feel free to comment or share your own experiences if you are also going through or have gone through your own infertility story. I'm always looking for more people to receive support from and return it in kind.

Our Infertility Story, Pt. 1

I thought I'd take a minute to share our infertility story:

Caleb and I decided to start trying to have a child at the very beginning of October 2009. I've known since I was 14 that I would have difficulty getting pregnant. My brother and I are 7 years apart. My mother and her sister are 11 years apart. My father and his sister are 6 years apart, and my cousin is 14 years younger than me, born when my aunt was 37. Needless to say, we are not an especially reproductive family! In many ways this has been a blessing- I am very close to all of my extended family because we are such a small family. On the other had, it has made me painfully aware that poor reproductive genetics run rampant in my family.

To make things worse, Caleb's parents also had problems conceiving Caleb's younger brother, who is 4 years younger than him. They originally wanted 3 children but decided to stop at two because of how emotionally draining having their second was. Now that I'm going through it myself, I completely understand!

Anyway, 2 years ago we decided to start trying. Caleb had just turned 28, I was 26, and we'd been married for 1 1/2 years. We owned our own home (we closed on our condo the same day we became engaged) and we both have decent-paying, reliable jobs. I knew it would take us a couple of years to have a child and I was anxious to start. Caleb wasn't really ready, but he knew how important this was to me so he agreed to start trying.

After over a year of trying on our own, we decided to see a specialist. The next day, we got the both exciting and crushing news that Caleb's younger brother was expecting. As anyone who has had difficulty conceiving can tell you, having close friends and relatives become pregnant can be terribly painful even while being joyful at the same time. I was very excited to become an aunt. However, it was also painful to have been trying for so long and have someone else succeed where we were failing. I know that may sound awful to some people, but that's how I honestly felt.

Well, that's enough for today. I'll continue on tomorrow...

It's been a while....

Woah, boy it's been a long time! Life has been going pretty well. Caleb and I have both gotten promotions and we are happy in our new positions. I've been cooking a lot and I've been working on cleaning the house.

Now that Halloween is around the corner, I've already been thinking about Christmas. I have a lot of great gift ideas that I hope to share with you over the next couple of months. I've been crafting a lot and I plan to share those with you, too.

I also hope to chronicle my journey to a tidier house. We entertain frequently, which helps keep the junk relatively under control. However, I haven't done a ton of deep cleaning. This has been on the agenda for some time and I really need to get on it.

The main reason for some serious deep cleaning is that Caleb and I are trying to have a child. We've been trying for over 2 years and we've been going to a fertility specialist for just under a year. It's been a tough couple of years and I often feel like there's no hope. It always helps me to share my experiences and so I''ll do that here.

I hope you guys stick around- and I'll try to do the same.