Friday, November 5, 2010

Quotable.....

I started this post in February of this year. I got a little distracted. 

What is it about some people that we find them so quotable?

For instance:

"The first requisite of success is the
ability to apply your physical and
mental energies to one problem
without growing weary."
- Thomas Edison

"Unless you try to do something beyond
what you have already mastered,
you will never grow."
- Ronald E. Osborn



My personal favorite quotes come from people I know:

Well, now that I know I don't have to tip I just may start having 85 pound little girls help me load my car. ~Fifi

or

Now I'm experiencing mid-life crisis and everything is by the freakin' book. ~Fifi

or then there is this that really speaks to me:

It would have been perfect for this post but even though, I am a mommy blogger, I have to draw the line somewhere. I think that its making my kids wait while they are in pain for me to get a picture is where I am going to draw it.
For now. ~ Jen


And then there is this:

-- Mike is always telling me I'm not allowed to use quotation marks all willy nilly -- that I must be sure I am truly quoting. Of course I say, "Bah" to that, but I figured I would take a moment here to clear myself of any and all future quotation mark abuse. ~Nancy

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Channelling Helen Par

Disclaimer: All right, all right. I know it has been a long time. I thought I could blog about the whole infertility thing. Turns out, it bores me to blog about it. (Not to mention, zaps my creative energy.)  The topic still interests me and if I happen to figure it out, you all will be some of the first to know. With that out of the way.....

What I am wanting to know is........when you tell your spouse you have been thinking, does it mean work for them? (Please say yes. I would really hate to be alone on this one.) It seems that every time I speak to the RS lately, "I've been thinking" comes flying out of my mouth. Which roughly translates to I just doubled your "honey do list." I feel a certain amount of guilt over this. Nobody wants a list a mile long, but friends, we have been in this house now almost 4 years. I am ready to finish moving in. What you say?.....still not moved in. For my fellow parent's out there who have seen Disney Pixar's "The Incredibles" a bazillion times, it is kind of like where Helen calls Bob at work and tells him, they have finally moved in, because she has finally unpacked the last box. Even though they have been the house for some time. I feel that way or I mean, I want to feel that way. I am so ready for everything to be put away. Boxes emptied. Everything with a place and in it. Of course, putting things away, requires some painting and hanging and building and moving of pianos and climbing very tall ladders for this week. Next week will probably include a trip to Ikea and some assembling and moving of things and lifting heavy things and hanging some things. 

Now is the time for you  to come clean. Do you torture the one you love with a list that would make even you shudder? Please tell me that I am not alone.

Until I make here again.......Karen

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

I Smell Like a Cow......

I don't know about your house, but at my house there are sea monkeys that get songs stuck in their sweet little heads. When that happens, of course they are kind enough to sing it over and over and over, well you get the point.

Courtesy of the Wild Child, the song of the day is Hungry Like the Wolf, by Duran Duran. The lyrics however, will be sung like this. "I smell cow, I'm lost and found and coming after shoes. I smell like a cow, I'm lost and I'm found and I'm hungry like the Wolf".

No need to thank the Wild Child for these new lyrics that will no doubt be stuck the same way in your head. I am sure given a few more days, she will find something to replace it.

Saturday, February 13, 2010

We meet again....

Based on how I feel today, I am pretty sure there in nothing cooking in my oven. Well other than a toxic combination of hormones resembling a raging case of PMS. No matter how this month turned out, I was going to be happy and sad. Happy to have more time to improve my health and possibly have a quick family vacation to the Happiest Place on Earth. Sad that, once again, I have failed to figure out how to get pregnant. Sometimes I wonder if it's more about the failing and less about being pregnant. Then I realize there is some part of me that feels gypped to not have experienced this uniquely female adventure.

Those of you who know me well, know that I lean towards the natural side of medicine. There is a long list of reasons why, but I am not going to get into that today and not likely here anyway. A little disclaimer here though, I am not anti-modern medicine. I believe it has its place and does a lot of good. Back to the topic at hand. I am working on the natural route first. This being because the Rocket Scientist is looking for new employment and we all know how medical insurance can change drastically from one employer to another. So, natural is a good place to start. I have been reading a few books and doing some research. It is believed that I have PCOS. To my understanding the only way to confirm this is with actual pictures of cysts on ovaries. I believe I have enough symptoms that I am just going to assume that is part of the problem.

So, I have been reading about Qi and herbs and the evils of microwave ovens. Seriously....sometimes I wonder if people honestly can do what they write. I am just sayin'. All that said, I think I will try a total body cleanse this coming week, walking for an hour everyday and buying organic as much as possible. That is about as much as I am willing to commit to this week. I still plan to use my microwave to reheat leftovers and use my shower with out a water filter and only sleeping 7 hours at night. (I just haven't figured out how to get one more hour in.)

In the past few days, I have also learned that there are some medications that may be interfering with the goal at hand. So that will need to be addressed.

I'm wondering, for those of you who have struggled with getting pregnant, did it consume your thoughts? It is absurd to me that it is the first thing on my mind in the morning, the thing I dream about, the thing all conversations lead to......? Really, I wouldn't mind thinking about something else.

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Thank you.

I have been wracking my brain to come up with a clever way to say, "thank you" and that my friend, "Red", rocks!!! Sad to say, I have nothing. Red found the missing hearing aid and relief can be felt for miles around us. Thank you for your prayers. They are much appreciated.

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

HELLLOOO, where were you made and other randomness?

The other morning while I was straightening the Wild Child's hair, I notice that she continually is admiring herself in the mirror. I reflect back to when she was a baby and people would stop me and tell me she was the most beautiful baby they had ever seen. In fact her dad, the Rocket Scientist, has mentioned from time to time that her beautiful china doll face never leads one to believe how calculating and feral she really is. Suddenly the Wild Child makes eye contact with me in the mirror and says, "Mom, it looks like I am made in China.."When we load in the mini-van to take the kids anywhere, I holler, "Seat belt check." If the Sea Monkeys have their seat belts on, they holler back, "CHECK." This has been working really well, since then I don't have to question them one-by-one to see who has their seat belts on and who we are waiting for. Yesterday morning, I forget to yell "Seat belt check." The Little Jamaican was not having a change in the routine. She starts yelling, "Check!", from the back of the mini-van and continues to yell it at me until I acknowledge that she has her seat belt on AND say, "Seat belt check." This is when I realize that the 1st One is growing up. "Little Jamaican, the seat belt check is getting really old.", I hear her say. She speaks of it as if it is a catch phrase uttered way past it's time. Next thing you know, I will be embarrassing her with out trying. Oh.....wait, I already do that. She was mortified when I forgot to put on a certain piece of support wear to drive her to school last week. She told me to zip up my coat so no would notice. She kept reminding me that I didn't need to get out of the car. Like I wanted to....It was 24 F.

The Little Jamaican wanted to go out and jump on the trampoline. I am fine with that, I just wanted her to put some clothes on since she was wearing her a "cheerleader" skirt and shirt. When I reminded her she needed on something more than she was wearing, she responded with, "HEEELLLLLOOOOO, Why do you think I am wearing this?" Ya, I'm not sure this is the tone I want to hear from my 5 year old. "Heeellllooooo, it's below freezing out there. Put on your snow pants and a coat." Oh, wait, that isn't actually teaching her to speak respectfully. "Hey, I was thinking that maybe you would put on your snow pants and a coat."
In the past few months, we discovered that My Son has some permanent hearing loss. It is suspect that it is congenital. Strangely, this bit of information brought a thrill of excitement around here. Truly a blessing to find something that, when corrected, would make a huge difference for him. The day he got his hearing aids, his voice level was half as loud. You could see that he was hearing some things for the first time. There was much joy and celebration in our home. The only down side to all of that is.......he is a little boy.......which in this case, translates to one of them is already missing. At $1250.00 a piece used, they are not easy or economical to replace. We have torn the house apart looking for it, scoured the school, harrassed the local library and friends, and actually cleaned out the dumpster on wheels (a.k.a. mini-van). Amazing how in a short period of time there are so many variables of where that missing hearing aid could be. Anyway, if you all wouldn't mind, say a little prayer for the wayward hearing aide to show up. Thank you.

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Misread....

I first have to say thank you to you all for your words of encouragement. It means more to me than I am able to express.

I was under the impression that the Rocket Scientist was on the same page as me. Now I am wondering how I could have mistaken being male with being on board. I have a cold. It isn't horrid, but it's not comfortable and well I did manage to ovulate all on my own this month. Naturally, we "tried" to get "knocked up." This brings me to, I want to take some medicine for this said cold, but won't risk it on the off chance we actually succeeded. We won't really know for about another week. I am really not counting on succeeding already, but I am not willing to play "Russian Roulette" either. So I am lamenting this dilemma to the Rocket Scientist, which really isn't a dilemma, I already know I am not going to take anything. I just wanted someone to agree with me. Being that he is a "Rocket Scientist" and not a "Woman Scientist" and certainly not an "engineer," this is what he says to me. "Or you can quit trying to get pregnant." (You know I had finally quit being mad 'til I just typed it. ARGH!) Clearly, I mis-read his cooperation in this little exercise.

As my editor was "editing," he mentions that I took the quote out of context. He said he was merely pointing out that everything is a trade off. (My poor keyboard was taking some abuse.) I'll let him off the hook this time.......next time though, I would remind you that you are dealing with a woman with fluctuating hormones. There is no telling how I will take such obvious, logical information.

I love you, RS. Always.....

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Things to come.....

I really am struggling to keep my blog up these days. I have thoughts that I want to put there, yet, there is some fear about doing that. You see when I speak, I rarely have time to think through whether or not I am going to offend someone, but when I write.....well I have way too much time to over think it. Speaking of which, if I have offended you, I am sorry. It was never my intent.

I turned 38 recently and I am re-examining my life. I think that is common for mid-life. So maybe this is part of MY mid-life crisis. I am forming new opinions on things rapidly and changing my perspective on things I have only seen one way for decades. Knowing all this also makes me reluctant to put it all out there. If I were naturally funny, it would be easier. However, I am not. The things that happen around me are what is funny in my life. (My sense of humor is intact.)

So I have decided that without a doubt, I am going to try and have a biological child. Here is where the wording is going to get tricky.......I am not attached to the outcome. It is the trying, err...the effort,......eh.......where is the right word........that I am attached to. (You see what I am saying?) Yes, I want more children, but they don't have to be biological. I have never NEEDED them to be biological. So I am sure you are now asking why would I try for a biological child then. As it turns out, I am not a fan of regret. Nope.....not a fan at all. I am worried that when I am 80 I will look back and REGRET not trying or giving it an honest, no holds barred, try to get pregnant.

So here's the thing, I really would like to blog about this. It is going to be tricky. It is such an emotional, tricky, personal subject, but I want a record of it, and I think it couldn't hurt to have a few outside glimpses of what I am embarking on. So, I will try to be respectful and pleasant and all I ask is please try not to judge me for the wacky thoughts I have or the things I try.

So here is where I am starting. I have recently lost about 30 pounds. It is a good start, but another 50 to 70 would be helpful I am certain. In the mean time I have been reading a few books on the subject. Let's just say that I have been learning things about the female body and the way it works that no one, and I really mean no one, should have to know. One of the authors opinions was that one way, out of about a million, to improve your fertility is to never leave the house with wet hair and always wear a hat when it's cold outside. This should be interesting.......

Sunday, January 10, 2010

"H-horange"

The the other day, we were doing some of this and loving it.


My Son starts tugging on my coat and keeps telling me, "Ook, its h-horange. Ook Mom. OOK!" Turning to see what he is pointing to, I see this:

Thursday, January 7, 2010

I Can't Make This Stuff Up.

I will try to approach this subject with finesse and humor. In no way am I intending to offend anyone. (especially my proof reader)

Let's say I know of this couple. If you knew them, you would think that they were madly in love and you would be right. You would also be likely to think that they are living happily ever after. You would be mostly right.

So this couple has a few kids. They are in their late 30's. So the likelihood of what I am about to tell you goes up a bit. You see the man in this relationship has a job that he is not happy in. He has also decided that he is not sure about his chosen profession in general.

So the man and woman are in their kitchen one night after their children are in bed. The wife had removed some pork chops from the freezer the day before and put them in the refrigerator to defrost. Not thinking, the wife did not put a plate under the defrosting offender. There a was a fairly slimy mess that had to be dealt with. The husband is the one to discover this mess. Being that he is the sweetest man to walk the planet, he begins to clean it up with out complaint or ridicule of the wife who so thoughtlessly ruined a fair amount of fruit. Certainly the wife will not allow the husband to clean up her mess alone.

As she begins to help, she notices some clementines on the counter and asks if they were in the drawer that was contaminated. The man responds with, "yes." Any smart wife would have just tossed them.....but not this wife......she begins to check them. It seems that a few of them may have missed the mess since they were in the front of the drawer and on top of the bag. Contemplating that there may be a way to salvage a few of these clementines she asks her husband his opinion. He responds with a very non-committal answer. This is a sore spot with the wife. She tells him he is such an "engineer" that he will not give a definitive answer on such a simple question. To which he responds with something that had the terms, "variables and outliers" in it and something to do with he "gives enough information that someone ought to be able to come to the conclusion on their own." To which the woman responds with, "Can you just give me a definitive answer?" Now the husband is getting a bit irritated. So the wife tosses out the clementines. As the conversation continues, the husband tells the wife to go, he will finish the job. Clearly he is angry. He states somewhere in this discussion that he doesn't like it when he is called an engineer. This of course hits a funny bone with his wife since she has seen his business cards which clearly state he is a specific type of engineer. At first the wife is just snickering, but then, as the whole thing continues to play out in her head, the full-on "cackle," as the husband puts it, comes spilling out.

The wife goes upstairs and washes her face and puts on her PJ's. She can now hear that he has finished cleaning up the mess. The husband makes no attempt to come up to bed even though it is late. Slightly irritated the wife crawls into bed. A few hours later the "non-engineer" makes his way up to bed. The husband is typically the type to be very careful not to wake the sleeping, but not this night. So the wife is awakened. She lays there trying to go back to sleep. Sleep will not come. She finally decides it would be a good idea to climb into the guest bedroom bed and read the letters from when they were dating. The hope was to find reminders as to why she thought this relationship would be a good idea. Would you believe that the first TEN letters read infuriated her more. There was a lot of indefinite-ness in them, at which point, the husband walks into the guest bedroom. He reiterates what was discussed earlier. When he is finished, he asks what he should do now. She suggests he go back to bed and get some sleep. He goes back bed. The wife picks up the eleventh letter and is instantly reminded why she committed to this man. His words, "You are so beautiful. I see your face everywhere. It's in my mind. I look at your pictures as often as I can. None of them do you justice. You have so much grace and class it's unbelievable. I know to you this doesn't seem like anything, but if you knew how it makes me feel inside you'd see a whole side of you that you didn't know existed. I love you." So when the husband came back into the guest bedroom a few minutes later and requested that the wife come sleep next to him so he could sleep, she responded with, "In just a minute. I'll be right there." See, mostly happily ever after.

This should be the end of this post, but the stuff just kept coming. So few days later, the wife is sitting in bed checking e-mail and facebook before going to sleep. As she finishes up she looks over and realizes that the man she married is, and has been, working on something quite intently for a while and is showing no signs of letting up anytime soon. Curious, she asks what he is doing. He responds with all the football teams he has picked to win in college bowls have won. He continues to tell her he is making an algorithm to help him pick the rest of his teams. Remembering the conversation from a few nights before, the wife quietly chuckles to herself. She softly tells him he is making it really hard on her.

A few days after that, one of the couple's children has drawn a picture that so far had included three people. The daughter asks her mother if she knew who the people were. Before the mom could answer, the non-engineer in his mid-life crisis, answers and says, "Is this you and your sisters?" To which the daughter burst out in tears and wails, "I'm not half bald! That's you!"

Like I said, I can't make this stuff up.