We're Expecting!

Mr. P and I found out today that we are expecting. I am still in complete shock. I have no idea how things are going to turn out, but today I am pregnant!

Signed up for my first 10K

In just over 12 weeks I am going to be running my first 10K. I am pretty excited about it, but a bit nervous at the same time. So nervous in fact that I signed Mr. P up to run it also. My oldest sister had asked me to run one with her in April of next year, but since she is a bit of a flake, I expect that she will find some reason to not end up running it.
This race is October 8th, and it comes almost exactly one year after my Achilles tendon surgery and I don't know why, but that means a lot to me. I guess because two days after my surgery when the nerve block had worn off and I got my first sensation of pain, I never thought I was going to be normal again. I honestly felt like I would never get to the point where I was able to run again. So, running in a 10K almost a year later, is huge to me!!
My gym has a training team that starts in August that I plan on signing up for. I hope that will keep me motivated to train harder and maybe I'll meet a few people also. Mr. P and I have been here for just over a year and the only people we have met have been through infertility sources. It's nice to know people who have the same struggles as we do, but it's kinda draining also because it always seems to come up in conversation.
So here's to happy training!

Nothing is finer than family in Carolina!

This past weekend Mr. P and I drove 6 hours each way to Charleston, SC for my family reunion. It was really nice to see and meet so many of my family members. As a kid I didn't grow up near any of my family so I always feel like I have missed out on so much. Being in SC was great I got the chance to meet up with one of my old HS friends who I hadn't seen in a while. She has been re-married since I had last seen her and she has a little boy. He is absolutely gorgeous! Mr. P fell in love with him and is now even more excited about having a child. We are technically on a break cycle right now, but we are still TTC naturally and keeping our fingers crossed.

As far as my weight loss, I'm not doing something right! I haven't lost any weight and appear to have actually gained weight. I really think I'm going to have to crack down on watching what I'm eating and upping my workouts to at least an hour. I think I've been using my Achilles Tendon recovery as an excuse for holding back, but in reality it's been doing and feeling really well. So, I will try to amp things up this week and see where I get.

"You're the Worst Wife EVER!!!"

This is what Mr. P told me today. Mr. P grew up in a house where his mother didn't work, she cooked every meal that they ate, she always cleaned up after everyone, and dinner was on the table when his dad walked into the house after work. I grew up in house where my mom and dad worked outside of the home but my mom always cooked dinner, the kids cleaned up after themselves and had chores. My mom cooked all of our main meals, but we made our own lunches and everyone helped out.

I currently live in a house where this wife works outside of the home, the husband works (from home currently) and when this wife comes home the last she wants to do is cook dinner.

I just don't get it. Mr. P works from home every day. I work from home two days a week, but on days that I don't, I get home after he gets off of work. Why can't he start dinner. Why do I need to walk into a house where he is sitting wait, laying on the couch eating chips and the first thing he says is "what's for dinner?" Why can't I walk into the house and have him in the kitchen having just started dinner and say something more on the lines of "I started dinner for you."

Last month when Mr. P went to his monthly drill for the National Guard he stayed over at one of his Soldiers house instead of staying at the Armory. When he came home he kept telling me that SGT S's wife cooked a home cooked meal for dinner for them. He then carried on about how every morning  she will  iron and laid out SGT S's uniform she packs his lunch, and she even baked some kind of coconut cookies while Mr. P was there. Basically, she is an amazing wife and does all these domestic things that wives are supposed to do.

So today, I come home from work Mr. P is in his usual after work spot on the couch. He looks up and as usual, asks me what's for dinner. So, I answer - I don't know, how about you tell me. Mr. P then proceeds to remind me - as if I had forgotten - how SGT's S wife makes dinner every night. I finally had to let Mr. P know that I was happy that SGT's S wife was able to do all of that, but all that he was really telling me, is that she is good at her job. My job, isn't in our house. I shouldn't have to come home every night and work after I work 9 hours all day. That's when Mr. P told me I was the worst wife ever!!! I laughed. Then I told him that I would become this domestic wife he had always dreamed of, I would just need to quit my job first. Then he laughed.

Happy Birthday America!

So far this has been a great 4th of July weekend for us! Friday night we went out to dinner at a steakhouse in town that I have been dying to go to. It was pretty expensive, but since I have heard nothing but raves about it, I really wanted to try it out. I had scallops and Mr. P had a steak. We then shared a side of chipotle mac and cheese. I was pretty impressed! Mr. P said that it was just like any other steak. Since today is the day that I am starting to eat only organic for my next IVF I don't think I'll be back anytime soon, but I'm glad we decided to go before I quit eating non-organic.
Saturday we left to go camping. I have never camped out without Mr. P and every time we have done it, it was just kinda a go pitch your tent in the woods type of thing. Well Saturday we decided to go to a KoA campground. I have to say that I was okay with it because there were flushing toilets and running water. Mr. P was pissed because it wasn't "rustic" enough. I was okay with that. We were a bit close to our neighbors but again, that didn't really bother me. We spent Saturday night drinking and cooking out. This is supposed to be our last weekend drinking before we do our IVF in the fall also. I think I will be okay with that, but I don't think Mr. P will hold up to his end of that deal.
Sunday we went to a state park and hiked, biked, and Mr. P fished. Then we drove down to the Natural Bridge in VA. Before Mr. P mentioned it, I had never even heard of this bridge so I don't really know what I was expecting to see, but I have to say that it was surreal! I was completely stricken by that natural wonder.
By the time we finished at the natural bridge, it had started storming. I was pretty sure that our little tent wasn't going to make it through the storm, so we quickly tore down our campsite and headed back home. Kinda works out perfect since I have a few things to do for work today. Also, I need to run to the grocery store since I purged our house of many things that weren't organic in light of my new mission so we don't have much to eat here.

Hope everyone has a great 4th of July!

Never Say Never

At the Resolve panel that we went to on Saturday while sharing their journeys several ladies said something that I think many women who struggle with IF have said before. “I said that I would never do that…” I know for me there are lots of things IF related that I said I would never do. When we first started TTC, I said that if I couldn’t get pregnant on my own, that I would never do IF treatments. Then we couldn’t get pregnant and I said I would do Intrauterine Inseminations (IUI’s) but that I would never do IVF. Then the IUI’s didn’t work, and we decided to move on to IVF. Once we started IVF, I decided that I may do IVF, but that I would never do acupuncture.

Well, what do you know; I am deeply considering doing acupuncture to help out with our next IVF cycle. I think at this point, I just need to stop saying that I will never do something because honestly I guess I will do whatever it takes to become a mother.

Resolve Fertitliy Panel

This morning Mr. P and I went to a Resolve Fertility Panel that was held at a library right near our house. Our Resolve group leader had been talking about it for a while and I thought it would be interesting to go. I have to say that I was very impressed with it. I didn't really know how much I would get out of it since we already going through IVF treatments, but it was nice.
There were about 8 ladies there who were on the panel. Each one spoke about different aspects of IF and where IF had taken them. The journey's ranged from IUI, IVF, IVF with donor eggs, IVF with donor sperm, and living child free. Some of the ladies had been successful, some had not and were living child free, some were not and had moved on to adoption, some were dealing with secondary IF, and some were still undergoing treatment. The group leader also discussed ways to cope with IF, and the stresses that IF can put on your relationship emotionally and financially. There were even handout regarding local resources like acupuncturist and counselors who deal with IF.
I think most beneficial for me was the portion on dealing with IF. Right now I think that Mr. P and I would agree that IF seems to be taking over my life. I am spending so much time focusing on what I don't have, that I am losing sight of all that I do have. Two things that were discussed today really resonated with me. The first is that it is not my fault that I suffer from IF and that these cycles have not worked. IF treatments are kind of like the lottery and if I played the lottery and lost I wouldn't be blaming myself, so I can't blame myself for the treatments not working. I am doing ALL THAT I CAN DO!!!
Second, was that I have to see myself for who I am, not just who I want to be. In other words, I might not ever become a parent, but there is still more that I can offer the world. I dont' think that I'm paraphrasing that very well, but hopefully the point is clear. The group leader challenged us to make two five year plans. One if we are successful with treatments, and one if we are not. I think that will be very hard to do.
Another good thing (for me) that came out of the panel, was that another lady attending the session had decided to stop treatment and is moving on to adoption. Since she will not be cycling again and she had leftover meds from her last cycle, she was willing to give them away. She had Menopur and Ganirelix that she didn't need anymore. I told her that we wouldn't be cycling again until September/October so if there was someone cycling before that then they could have it, but she said since no one else asked, I could have it! I was super excited. I don't really know how much Menopur or Ganirelix cost, but since she gave me 5 250 vials of Ganirelix, I am sure that I won't need to order any of that. She only had two vials of the Menopur, and I don't know if they can split up the box of 5, but I hope they can and that saves me some money as well. She also had a trigger shot that she wants to donate, but it was in her fridge and she didn't want to bring it.
I found out that she lives right around the corner from me (literally - we both could have walked to the library today. In fact she did but Mr. P and I are lazy) so we are hoping that we can meet up and get together sometime to talk about things. So, all in all it was a great morning!