Wow, look at that Barn!

As promised, here are some of the before and after pictures of our freshly painted barn. Somehow we were able to get this honkin' structure painted in 2 days. (Yes, you read that right, TWO days) How we accomplished this I may never fully comprehend. I'll just say that when that husband of mine has his mind set on something he doesn't do anything but work towards that goal. Well, and the fact that we had the use of that gigantic lift and a paint sprayer!

Look at this thing!

Do you see this large machine? It's crazy big, right? Imagine my horror when I realized I would have to operate it. Yes my friends you read that right. K expected me to operate this heavy duty, construction site worthy piece of equipment.

Here's the back story. Our barn? Yeah, it looked like it was falling apart due to the lack of paint. So, K decided this was the year we would side the barn. But, that didn't happen because low and behold his dad knew a guy, who knew a guy, who knew a guy (you get the point, right??) who was in the painting business and died. Well, you can imagine that being in the painting business would leave your relatives beaucoup de painting supplies upon your demise. So, this lovely painter man's widow sold some barn paint to us at cost. Yippie (No, really, I was happy because painting is a whole heck of a lot cheaper than siding this monstrosity we like to call our barn).

So, anyway....yesterday K calls me and says that he is able to borrow a lift from somebody. He asks if I mind and casually mentions that he might need my help to raise and lower him as he paints. Mind you, this lift? Yes, totally not what I pictured when he mentioned that he would need my help! I'm thinking something that is smaller and requires one to push a button. Not something that has monster-truck wheels, a cab and a warning that declares you must be able to handle heavy machinery in order to operate it. I mean look! The thing leaves ruts in the ground! Me? I'm a teacher. I read books. I work in the garden. I shop for crying out loud! I don't operate heavy machinery!

However....I was committed to getting this barn painting. And we only have the lift until tomorrow. So...........I drove it! Almost had a conniption while doing it, but by golly I was able to get that husband of mine up in the air so that he could blast our dilapidated barn with a nice fresh coat of bright white paint.

Next post I will enthrall you with before and after pics of the barn (well, I'll try but I'm not able to get the hang of the photo placement yet)

The newest vehicle to our fleet

I had said that I wanted a new car before the end of the year, so K and I recently started car shopping. I was driving a '98 Cavalier, named Betsy, and, while she is an excellent car, I was ready for something newer (read: 4 doors, remote entry, power windows...etc.). Here's where the eternal debate with myself kicked in. Did I want another car? Or shall I upgrade to an SUV? Both have their merits:

Car: Good fuel mileage, smaller (i.e. easier for me to handle), trunk to haul things

SUV: more capacity for larger things, easier to get things/people in and out

I test drove countless vehicles and basically had my choices narrowed down between a Chevy Equinox and a Ford Fusion. After some internal debate the car won because of the excellent fuel mileage. I also thought that, really, when it boils down we'll be able to get kids/stuff in and out of a car just as easily as an SUV. Also, I didn't want an SUV and be stuck with a big honkin' thing if we aren't able to produce little baby W's.

I must say that I am very happy with my choice! The only problem is I'm not sure what to name her yet. She seems to have somewhat of an elegant persona...perhaps Bella??

Happy Father's Day

Here's a disclaimer for you: I didn't feel strong enough to go to church on Mother's Day. Don't get me wrong, I love my momma and wanted to celebrate her (which we did by visiting with momma and daddy)...but I just didn't want to sit through a church service and risk getting all emotional over the fact that we still weren't pregnant. So, we didn't go.

Alright, so it's Father's Day. I woke up this morning ready to go to church and we even left the house extra early because we thought that there would be more people than normal. Apparently I didn't realize how hard it would be to sit through a Father's Day service either! I really don't know what I was thinking - I hadn't even mentally prepared myself for the potential hardness of listening to Father talk and wishing that K would be able to officially call himself a father. As it was I barely made it through the message without crying but then lost it during the song that followed. Sigh. K was having the same feelings and we both had to sneak out to the basement until we got it together.
Then we just stood in the back of the church till K was able to take communion. Then we left. The saving grace of this whole situation was seeing what I assume (and you know what happens when you assume, but whatever) were two other couples that seemed to be struggling. One even left before we did and I could tell the woman was crying. Although I hate to think of anyone else going through this it does help to know we're not alone.

In other related news...I think I willed myself to ovulate last night. LOL. I woke up this morning with a slightly higher temp and feeling a bit bloated. Literally, I lied in bed and pictured myself ovulating. (Which is very hard to do...what does it even look like to ovulate??) Now, this might be a bit skewed because I definitely had cervical quality fluid and perhaps was going to ovulate anyway. But, I'm going for the whole mind over matter thing at the moment. I'm really praying for a definite mark in ovulation/peak day fluid so that I can for sure get my blood work done on the right day.

Next post will be more lively with pics of my new (to me) car!

Dr. Delightful

So here's the second installment of our new approach to getting pregnant. Last week I saw a new Dr. (we shall here-on call him Dr. Delightful) on recommendation from my Creighton nurse. He specializes in helping figure out what exactly is wrong rather than just moving along to IUI/IVF. I was first pleased with his bio on the website (www.neob.net Oh, and his name is Dr. Parker if you're interested. Although, he might get a kick out of calling him Dr. Delighful.). It really seemed as if his beliefs and practice matched the path we want to take.
Anyway...when I met with him he first took a comprehensive inventory of all my stats (i.e. lifestyle, medical history, etc.) and then reviewed my records from other Dr.s with me. He looked several times at the summary of my laparoscopy and explained that he would have taken out the endo using another method. One, he feels, is better. Sigh. This was a bit frustrating to hear because, duh, I hoped it was taken out the right way the first time!
Then he reviewed Creighton chart I've been keeping. He pointed out that I had abnormal cervical mucus during the lutal phase (time after ovulation and before my period) and that this could point to a hormonal imbalance of some sort. Does this sound familiar to anyone? Remember what Foot Lady said about hormones? I'll have you know that I did not tell him what Foot Lady said...however, both of their diagnoses seem to mesh.
The next step then is to get blood work done days 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11 after ovulation. This will show what my hormones are like in the lutal phase and help us be on the way to conceiving. Most likely if I have an imbalance it would be because of a low progesterone level which can simply be solved by taking progesterone. So, we'll see! If that's the case (and who really knows if it is at this point) than think how much easier (and cheaper I might add) it would be to take that than go through an IUI + Clomid.
That's where we are now...waiting till I ovulate. And, surprise surprise, it's taking me a long time again to get there! We're now on CD20 and just now getting cervical mucus of fertile quality and quantity. I tell ya, it seems like the smallest amount of stress (we just bought a new car, more on that later) seems to affect my ovulation. Quite annoying my friends, quite annoying! However, both K and I are pleased with the current treatment/plan we have. It's nice to know that we're actually doing something and have people that mesh with our current beliefs.
Oh, and, if you checked out that website you might notice that Dr. Delightful's office is in Gahanna. That's near Columbus. 2 hours away from us. However, Dr. Delightful is perfectly okay with getting blood work done around here and then phone/Internet conferencing when the results are in. And that, my friends, is another reason why he earned the name Dr. Delightful!

The Foot Lady (aka I did Reflexology)

It's been a while since I've last posted and some things have changed in regards to my treatment. I visited the reflexologist (aka Foot Lady) last Tuesday and was a combination of totally weired out and awestruck by the experience. It's hard to describe what exactly happened because the experience was just SO different than anything I've ever done. Ever. Anyway, throughout the session she would place one hand on various parts of my body and the other hand on my arm. As she touched these areas she would try to push down on my arm while I was trying to push up. If she was able to make my arm go down than that indicated my body was weak in that area. (This was totally odd...she was able to do this even though I swear that I was always trying to hold my arm up. WEIRD!)
Since she knew my story she mainly checked the reproductive organs and hormones in order to figure out where I needed work. She determined from these little experiments that my organs were functioning properly and it was my hormones that needed attention. Then she went to my feet and started rubbing them. She wasn't grossed out at all by the toe and explained that an herb she was going to give me would serve the dual purpose of helping my hormones as well as my toe. If that would happen that would make it the magic herb! The only problem...I forget which herb it is. I have three. Shoot.
Anyway, back to my feet...Foot Lady explained that there are nerve endings in the feet. As she rubbed she asked questions, such as "Do you like sugar?" HA! Do I like sugar. Is the grass green? When I answered yes she explained that my body didn't like it because she could feel the nerve ending of the pancreas? liver? Ugh, I wish I would have videotaped/recorded/took notes! Thankfully I'm going back next week and can ask her to clarify and answer my questions. In the meantime, I'm taking my (disgusting) herbs, rubbing my ovaries (via my feet) and cutting back on sugar.
On the next post I shall update you about my new doctor and the latest of tests I will have!

Blarg on the insurance company

In December (mind you we're talking 2009 - roughly 6 months ago) I had my laparoscopy done. Going into this procedure we were like 99% percent sure that insurance would not cover it because I don't have infertility coverage. However! They found endo and, therefore, insurance would now magically pick this up.
I got the bills I had to pay to meet the deductible in what I thought was a reasonable amount of time and thought I was done with all of that. Until April. Then, I got this claim from insurance telling me that they wouldn't pick up the anesthesia bill. Alright, whatever. Like most people would do at this point I start watching the mail expecting a bill for an obnoxiously high amount of money come to me. And I wait, and wait, and wait.
It's now June and I still haven't gotten the bill. Six months later! How incredibly ridiculous is that? I called this morning because I would really like to pay this and get it over with (that, and I'm looking to buy another car and would like to have all this settled before I stick a down payment on a car/SUV!). Mind you, I don't know who to call (BECAUSE I HAVEN'T GOTTEN A BILL) and, after getting the runaround, talk to a semi-knowledgeable lady. She explains that since my insurance denied it the first time they thought they would try again. Then, probably because she realizes that it's been 6 months, says she would call the insurance and see what's going on. She tells me that she'll try to have a bill/paperwork in the mail to me by the end of the week.
Now, I realize that my insurance didn't want to pick it up (remember, I wasn't even expecting them to in the first place) and that they want them to pay it. However! Some kind of communication between said parties and myself would have been nice. I would really like to get that stuff paid for soon!

In other news, I have an appointment at a new Dr. on Friday. As I'm sure you can imagine since this is my 4th Dr in a year, I have records of testing at many different locations. I really, really want this new Dr. to see said testing results (why start over, right?) and requested that my records get sent to him. I called new Dr. office on Friday and, as of then, they hadn't gotten any of my records yet. Garumph. So, obviously I called current Dr.'s and asked about this. One office said, yes, we got your fax but since you didn't put when you wanted them by we hadn't sent them yet. Seriously? Is it that hard? Anyway they said they'd get them in the mail (hopefully) today.

Lightning, rain, and wind...Oh My!

Over the past several days we have had some wicked storms filled with lightning, rain, and wind. My friends, I am irrationally scared of storms that are filled with lightning, rain, and wind. Particularly the wind part. Why? Because I'm convinced that a tornado will beeline right towards me and blow my house to smithereens.
I'm convinced this fear manifested itself when my parents were in the process of building the house they currently live in. We had just cleared the land (which is in the middle of a woods) and left the area for the weekend. When we came back, we checked on the land and right where the house would be like five trees had fallen and/or been uprooted. They would have landed on the house! Scary!
So, I give you this background as a frame of reference for something that happened last night. As you may know, a line of super spooky storms made their way across the state late last night. In fact, we were under a tornado watch for about six hours. Quite frankly, I thought people were overreacting...I mean, a tornado watch for six hours? That's crazy! Anyway, K and I went to bed and everything was fine. Until 3:30 AM. I was awoken by a strong gust of wind and saw lots of lightning. Panic mode sets in!
I get up, close all the windows and turn off the power strip for the TV. (My family has had crazy bad luck with electronics and lightning...better to be safe than sorry!) And then I remember the tornado watch. At this point I'm convinced that K and I will have to go down to our creepy basement and bunker down. Unfortunately, K's in a dead sleep and is. not. budging.
I do the next best (rational) thing. LOL, I pack up my laptop in it's little bag and set it by the steps to the basement. Why? Because out of all my worldly possessions in the house this was the one thing I would be saddened beyond all doubt if it got blown away. And then? (Seriously, I DO realize how crazy this sounds) I rooted through my purse and got the other important stuff. You're probably thinking my driver's license...credit cards, stuff like that, right? Yeah, no. I got my broadband card and my USB memory drives. And then? I took them to the bedroom, crawled into bed...and fell asleep clutching them in my hands. Hey, it was 3:30 AM!

P.S. On another (clearly lucid) occasion when we first bought the house I was home alone and we had a tornado warning. I was (again) convinced that I would blow away atop this windy hill and that we would have to prove to the insurance company that we really owned what we owned. So I took digital pictures of everything (mind you, this was in the middle of a storm) so we would have proof. These pics were the ones on the USB memory stick that I fell asleep clutching last night. And yes, I'm aware that I'm slightly crazy (if not a bit paranoid).