tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-971174249919011002024-03-06T12:10:23.155-07:00Misconceptions About ConceptionOne woman's journey through TTC after 35, from unexplained infertility to pregnancy and parenthood via donor egg IVFShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08872513410814268769noreply@blogger.comBlogger749125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-97117424991901100.post-14212127994010672642018-01-19T10:34:00.000-07:002018-01-27T11:43:47.002-07:00My sons are 6!This blog is mostly abandoned these days, but I felt moved to post today for my sons' sixth birthday. Every year with our sons gets better and better. We are so fortunate to have these wonderful boys as our children.
The boys started kindergarten last fall and are both doing well! AJ is an independent introvert who nevertheless makes friends easily. He has an advanced sense of humor for his age,Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08872513410814268769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-97117424991901100.post-22016545242355606292017-10-13T09:36:00.000-07:002017-11-02T11:17:36.146-07:00Do genes matter?
[EVEN THOUGH TAKING DOWN THE ORIGINAL PHOTOS CHANGES THIS POST, I REMOVED THE ORIGINAL PHOTOS ON 11/2/2017 -- IN THE INTEREST OF NOT HAVING PHOTOS OF MY SON DISPLAYED INDEFINITELY ON THE INTERNET -- AND REPLACED THEM WITH THE PHOTO YOU SEE NOW, WHICH DOESN'T CLEARLY SHOW HIS WHOLE FACE.]
These recent photos of my son MJ and me were taken during our annual family photo session (the secondShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08872513410814268769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-97117424991901100.post-67941504951103424412017-08-19T22:47:00.001-07:002017-08-19T22:49:14.741-07:00The Days Are Long but the Years Are Short
With my sons starting kindergarten and after seeing photos over the past two weeks of so many children of my friends who are going off to college, or starting high school, I was thinking tonight that I should really be cherishing this time with my sons. They still tell me that they love me multiple times a day, love to give me hugs and kisses, tell me I'm "the best mommy in the world," and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08872513410814268769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-97117424991901100.post-42339748154713841102016-12-16T15:31:00.000-07:002016-12-31T15:00:11.072-07:00Anyone out there?It has been nearly a year since my last post here. Although I wrote in my last post about whether I should abandon the blog or continue to post here, I don't know that I necessarily made a conscious decision to completely quit the blog. It was more that it had begun to feel like one more task that I couldn't quite stay on top of and that I felt I had moved far from my original reason for Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08872513410814268769noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-97117424991901100.post-83346318602905562362015-12-29T10:58:00.003-07:002015-12-29T10:58:34.729-07:002015 RecapIn looking back over 2015, I see that this post is only my 37th of the year. That's less than a post a week and the lowest yearly total I've had since starting this blog back in 2009.
I sometimes think that I should just shut this blog down entirely, as I seem to post here only sporadically and the posts I do share are hardly a true (or at least complete) reflection of my life or my feelings. InShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08872513410814268769noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-97117424991901100.post-68878362299057702132015-12-22T13:42:00.004-07:002015-12-28T11:21:12.508-07:00Happy Holidays!
[PHOTOS REMOVED AS OF 12/28/2015. IF YOU MISSED THE POST AND WOULD LIKE TO SEE THEM, EMAIL ME AT THE ADDRESS IN MY PROFILE.]
THIS YEAR'S HOLIDAY CARD
THROWBACK TO TWO YEARS AGO--OUR BIGGEST FAILED VISIT TO SANTA
Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08872513410814268769noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-97117424991901100.post-66500220201350991692015-12-02T12:16:00.000-07:002015-12-02T12:16:11.076-07:00I think I'm aheadI'm so far behind at present, I think I'm ahead. Work has been exceptionally busy for the past 6 weeks or so, with no end in sight. Add in my sons and the holidays, and I am feeling quite swamped.
Here are the main things going on in my life of late apart from work:
Traveled to Mi.ami Be.ach for work and got one glorious night of uninterrupted sleep in a hotel right on the beach
Had a good Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08872513410814268769noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-97117424991901100.post-1483699751229149222015-11-13T21:41:00.001-07:002015-11-30T14:33:00.848-07:00Little Boys of ThreeLook tenderly on little boys of three;
Their softness is as fleeting as a flower,
The cheeks like petals such a little hour,
The deepest dimple, theirs so transiently.
Even tomorrow softness may be hard;
The little cotton cushions on the knees,
Turned into bony knobs for climbing trees,
The fists, so like a rose, grow lean and scarred.
His full moon cheeks will narrow to a line,
The silken hairShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08872513410814268769noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-97117424991901100.post-49704405449568364732015-10-22T13:57:00.003-07:002015-10-22T13:57:42.573-07:00Top TenThese are the current top ten most commonly heard phrases from our sons, age 3 years 9 months:
10. Because I said so
9. I'm not your friend (only by AJ)
8. Can somebody wipe my bottom?7. I want a treat6. There's no monsters? (only by AJ)5. Watch this, Mom!4. I want to watch something on the TV (only by MJ)3. I want to buy that!2. I'm Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08872513410814268769noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-97117424991901100.post-31866404086247902632015-10-21T10:46:00.000-07:002015-10-21T10:46:11.237-07:00When It Rains. . .it pours. Monday night MJ woke us up with a croupy cough and wheezing. And then AJ woke me up with ear pain (he'd had ear pain and fever earlier in the day as well). And MM woke up vomiting.
Because MM was so sick himself, it fell to me to take the boys to their pediatrician first thing in the morning on Tuesday. (Fortunately, the NP was able to examine them both even though only AJ had an Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08872513410814268769noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-97117424991901100.post-25885268042277739942015-10-19T10:12:00.000-07:002015-10-19T10:12:52.749-07:00#MicroblogMondays 60: Steroids EditionThe day after my last post, when it was clear I wasn't getting better, I finally broke down and went to urgent care. (I hate going to the doctor when sick and will usually avoid doing so until/unless it becomes obvious I won't get better without some type of intervention.) I was diagnosed with bronchitis and prescribed a ZPak, steroids and a cough suppressant, and on Friday night, I had my first Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08872513410814268769noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-97117424991901100.post-57004400196249644992015-10-15T11:03:00.001-07:002015-10-15T11:04:36.421-07:00I hate being sickAs of today, I have been coughing for two weeks straight. I caught a cold at the end of September and was just getting over it, with the cough still lingering, when I came down with another cold (this one more severe--worse sore throat and ear pain in addition to congestion) last Saturday.
My cough has been so bad the last three nights that I've hardly slept. I've tried everything that is Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08872513410814268769noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-97117424991901100.post-3268200745099608432015-10-09T11:10:00.001-07:002015-10-09T11:10:34.464-07:00Playing catch-upThe title says it all: that seems to be the theme of my life these days. As I said in a comment on one of gwinne's posts recently, I fell behind on a variety of things when I was pregnant with my sons and have never been fully caught up since.
At the moment, I have a number of items that need to get done TODAY, both at home and at work. The work items have accumulated due to my secretary's Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08872513410814268769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-97117424991901100.post-65616589980180032842015-09-28T10:52:00.002-07:002015-09-28T10:52:42.204-07:00#MicroblogMondays 57
The day after I wrote the last post, MM and I had a long talk about our plans to list our house and buy the larger house we'd found and decided that now just isn't the right time, for a number of logistical and financial reasons. So that plan is on hold for at least another 18 months.
We were both a little bummed to miss out on the house we liked, but in the short term, I'm really glad to not Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08872513410814268769noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-97117424991901100.post-34943362706737657232015-09-22T16:50:00.001-07:002015-09-22T16:50:28.744-07:00More space
[THIS POST IS COMPLETELY UNRELATED TO INFERTILITY. CHILDREN BRIEFLY MENTIONED.]
MM and I have talked often about wanting to get a larger house when the boys are a little older. Our current house, where we have lived over seven years, since before we were married, is more than adequate to our needs at present -- 1500 sq ft, 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms -- but the bedrooms are pretty small. Two Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08872513410814268769noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-97117424991901100.post-37081903902761973902015-09-15T11:56:00.001-07:002015-09-15T11:58:47.887-07:00"Childless" or "Childfree" = Insult?I wondered if any of you read this article with excerpts from an interview with actress Kim Cattrall where she talks about being a parent because she mentors young actors/actresses and has nieces and nephews to whom she is close.
I have not had time to listen to the full interview (which is 58 minutes long), and there are parts of what she says with which I don't disagree -- like the fact that Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08872513410814268769noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-97117424991901100.post-67105880125891944212015-09-14T16:35:00.003-07:002015-09-14T16:35:39.143-07:00#Microblog Mondays 55How I'm doing, in haiku. . .
I finally walked
Four mornings last week pre-work
Exercise should help
Need to get away
But I'm too busy at my job
Answer? Suck it up
Often so fatigued
No matter how much I've slept
Doctor says I'm fine
[beginning first week of October]
Boys playing tee ball
(AJ said no more soccer)
No free Saturdays
Mom is coming soon
She will stay through Easter time
Yea for Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08872513410814268769noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-97117424991901100.post-66026635381523113412015-08-17T05:30:00.000-07:002015-08-17T05:30:00.376-07:00#Microblog Mondays 51
School has started again where we live. In two years' time, my sons will start kindergarten.
A friend at work was talking about his daughter who just turned 6 months old last Thursday and how she is trying to crawl and to talk. It's crazy to think that, at three-and-a-half years of age, my sons are now closer in age to the kindergarten-starting kids than to his baby. How can that be??!!
MyShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08872513410814268769noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-97117424991901100.post-6689082809519083882015-07-27T17:04:00.002-07:002015-07-27T17:04:47.116-07:00#Microblog Mondays 48
I keep reading about how terrible the job market is for people in my field, and yet for three weeks running, I have had one or more emails a week from recruiters wanting me to apply for positions. (Today's recruiter, who is someone with whom I have history vs. just a "cold call," actually pressed on after my initial reply of "thanks, not interested" and asked if I'd change my mind if he could Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08872513410814268769noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-97117424991901100.post-79720575252131396142015-07-20T11:59:00.003-07:002015-07-20T11:59:36.454-07:00#MicroblogMondays 47I think I have figured out what at least (part of) my problem is: I am suffering from serious burnout at work. (I stumbled across this article in the Was.hin.gton Post a few days ago, and it describes me to a T.)
I am majorly stressed out a lot of the time, and it is definitely affecting my health and happiness. However, I am also extremely busy at work at the moment, with a couple of major Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08872513410814268769noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-97117424991901100.post-81745261780745707472015-07-06T11:01:00.000-07:002015-07-06T11:01:24.366-07:00#Microblogs Monday 45
Starting today, I'm working on cleaning up my eating again and exercising, for what feels like the bajillionth time (is that even a word?). I've tried just about everything else under the sun to increase my energy EXCEPT eating completely "clean" and getting regular exercise, and nothing has worked, so I think I'm just going to have to find the time in my schedule for these things.
I Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08872513410814268769noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-97117424991901100.post-53373657115016874472015-06-29T11:59:00.001-07:002015-06-29T11:59:12.126-07:00#Microblog Mondays 44
Although it has no direct effect on me whatsoever, I was happy to hear about the Supreme Court's ruling on the issue of same-sex last Friday. (I summed up my feelings on same-sex marriage in this post from October 2008 on my old, pre-infertility blog.)
Despite having plenty to do at work, I am feeling decidedly unmotivated today. I thought a Star$$ caffe mocha would help: nope.
Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08872513410814268769noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-97117424991901100.post-26886733474216433362015-06-08T11:09:00.001-07:002015-06-08T11:09:27.197-07:00Microblog Mondays #41Am I the only one who still has moments where she doesn't feel like a real grown-up?
Or maybe it isn't so much that I don't feel like an adult as it is that I don't want to be an adult sometimes? I don't know.
I have been feeling mildly discontented at work for the past month or so. There are things I like about my career field, and my specific job is pretty good insofar as my boss Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08872513410814268769noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-97117424991901100.post-56410938948592309502015-05-11T13:02:00.000-07:002015-05-11T13:02:04.775-07:00#Microblog Mondays 37For Mother's Day we were fortunate to have unseasonably cool weather for us, which allowed us to take our sons to one of their favorite places yesterday morning, the train park. Given the usual May weather here, I would anticipate that this trip to the train park will be our last until the fall.
In the afternoon, we visited my inlaws for Mother's Day. The boys gave me gifts they madeShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08872513410814268769noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-97117424991901100.post-20161181805506850052015-05-04T12:02:00.003-07:002015-05-05T12:02:51.946-07:00Microblog Mondays 36: Medical Mystery Edition[READING BACK OVER THIS POST, IT'S WAY TOO LONG TO BE A "MICROBLOG," BUT I'M GOING TO POST IT ANYWAY. TOTALLY UNRELATED TO INFERTILITY OR PARENTING.]
A week ago today, while I was sitting at my computer at work in the middle of the afternoon, I had a pain on the right side of my neck that radiated up to the base of my skull. Initially, this pain was little more than a mild annoyanceShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08872513410814268769noreply@blogger.com10