POM Power

It's official. I'm a green tea drinkin', pomegranate juice sippin', pineapple core eatin' bo-hag! Thursday marked the start of cycle 4, TTC, and I've decided to kick it up a notch. OPKs and temp charting are for mere amateurs. I'm moving on to the big time, or is that crazy town? Mr. H and I were at the grocery store yesterday, and I decided to pick up my very first bottle of pomegranate juice. I didn't spring for the pure stuff, which was $4.99 a bottle, so hopefully my Minute Maid Blueberry Pomegranate juice packs just as much uterine lining thickening PUNCH. If all else fails, the packaging says I'm nourishing my brain, so there's that. I'm not sure if I really believe that it's going to help, but I'll try almost anything once...so long as it doesn't involve illegal substances, public nudity, going to a Celine Dion concerte...okay maybe not anything! Mr. H seems to think it's all a bunch of myths, and I can't blame him. When I started drinking green tea last cycle I was joking with a friend, that after I finished my cup of tea I should take it to a psychic to have my tea leaves read. I guess I'd rather be slightly suspicious of all the odd tips and tricks of TTC and still maintain my optimism about our chances, with the start of each new cycle. If that means eating 1/5 of a pineapple core from day 1 to day 5 DPO, well bring it on!

The Dollar Tree Saved Me

I had a moment of weakness this morning when I decided that I needed to POAS, at 11 DPO mind you. After disassembling my bathroom cupboards at 6 a.m. hoping that one of my OPK boxes was actually an HPT box, and finding not a one, I vowed Mr. H and I would go by the Dollar Tree tonight after work. All of this, after I had already promised myself I wasn't going to test until 16 DPO this cycle. I have no patience, what can I say!

Well, after work Mr. H and I went by the Dollar Tree near our office, and I headed straight for the gettin' place. There was not a single test hanging on the wall. I proceeded to weave in and out of all the check out stands trying to find my beloved tests. I was like a sugar addict in a cupcake shop. Finally after scouring everywhere I knew to look I asked the girl at the counter, with a crazy look of desperation in my eyes, where the HPTs were. I heard her words in slow motion...Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeere Auuuuuuuuuuuwt unteeeeeeeeeeeeeel Thurrrrrrrrsdeeeeeey. Thursday, huh? Well, it's just as well. Thank you, Dollar Tree, for saving me from myself!

Cycle 3 - I Have My Crosshairs!

So, we are in the midst of cycle 3, TTC, with CD 20 coming to an end. I have my crosshairs! Fertility Friend decided to mark my purty chart on Sunday morning. I was pretty excited because I woke up later than usual, and I thought I was going to have to wait until this morning to see them…not that it makes a difference…but it does! It’s all a part of the hurry-up-and-wait process. It goes something like this:

1. AF arrives. Boo!
2. Wait for that mean Ho to finish!
3. Start the OPK madness...come on O signs! Get busy!
4. Get busy some more!
5. Hope you O sooooon and wait for those crosshairs to pop on your chart.
6. Aww....the two week window (really, there's nothing cute about it). Now cross your fingers your temps don't dip, all the while trying to refrain from testing too soon!
7. Cycle. Rinse. Repeat. We're all hoping to skip the "Repeat".

I think I must be insane, but surely I'm not the only woman TTC who does this to herself. During the two week window the insanity reaches a special level. Okay, so if I can fill my soup with water, get out the plates and napkins, and mix up a water and Crystal Light (flava' flave') before Mr. H's soup finishes in the microwave, it means we're PG. If I can get all the candles lit and set out Katie's wet food before Mr. H walks back into the room, we're PG. Perfectly normal, right?! Okay, so maybe a little more crazy than women with their phantom symptoms, but at least I'm not kidding myself. For instance, if the microwave dings before I'm done...complete hogwash! My little game didn't mean a thing!

At least it keeps the waiting fun. I wonder if I should get Mr. H in on my nutty head games? I know when I read this to him, he is going to be afraid, very afraid. I lurve you, Mr. H, sooooooooooooooo much! Remember that!

Don't forget to check out the crazy lady's chart!

Weekend Visitor

So this past weekend we had record low temperatures. I’m talking 16 degrees with 40 mph winds,and a wind chill that made it feel like it was in the single digits. Very unusual for central Texas! There were tons of stories on the news all last week about the animal shelters bringing their animals indoors, and the local zoo taking extra precautions to keep their animals safe and warm. I can’t even imagine someone leaving their pets outdoors in such freezing temperatures. Well, that’s where our weekend visitor comes into play.

Mr. H’s grandparents have been feeding a sweet kitty in their neighborhood, named Goldie, for several months now. Goldie’s owner moved out to the burbs, and left Goldie behind. She still owns the house and her stepson lives there, but he does not take care of that cat, at all. When Mr. H and I saw how cold it was going to be we were very concerned for Goldie. We called Mr. H’s granny to check on him. His owner hadn’t been out there to check on him that week, and it was Thursday night. Mr. H’s granny didn’t want to take Goldie inside because they have a feisty cat named Sissy and Granny was worried about how Sissy would react. I’m guessing not well. That is one mean cat (and I love cats)! We could not bear for Goldie to be outside, so we drove over to their house to pick him up and keep him at our house until the temperatures warmed up. Mr. H’s granny is funny. She let us take Goldie because she didn’t want anything to happen to him, but she was convinced that A) We could be arrested, and B) Goldie’s owner was going to sue her!

Well, Goldie came to stay with us from Thursday night until Monday morning. He is one of the friendliest, sweetest, laid back kitties I have ever met. It felt so good knowing that Goldie was cozy and toasty, and inside with us. I hated having to take Goldie back on Monday…absolutely hated it. Poor Goldie has a cold (sneezey and coughy), goopy eyes, waxy ears, and fleas, and that’s just what I could see on the surface. We had to keep Goldie separated from Katie and Sebastian, and I had to sanitize and wash everything in Goldie’s space after he left, just to make sure they wouldn’t catch anything (that included getting a fresh dose of Advantage).

It just isn’t right that Goldie’s owner doesn’t take care of him. She lets Goldie run around without a collar, and without regular medical attention. Mr. H and I would make sure that Goldie had regular visits to our vet, lots of love and attention, and an inside home. We are firm believers that kitties have no business being outside, unsupervised. It’s a sure way to shorten their lifespan. Our big orange fur ball, Katie, loves to go outside and she does…on walks, on a leash.

We went by on Monday night after work to check on Goldie. He seemed to be doing good. And it was much warmer. We talked to Mr. H’s granny and asked if the next time Goldie’s owner came by, if she would tell her that we would love to take Goldie in. We told her to tell her about Goldie’s cold, fleas, being left outdoors, etc. Well, she came by there yesterday morning, and Granny talked to her. She did not tell her about Goldie’s fleas. She said she hoped they crawled all over that woman! Goldie’s owner said she would think about letting us have Goldie, but she didn’t know if she could do it because her two little girl’s would really miss Goldie. Well, if that’s the case then why isn’t Goldie home with you, crazy lady?! Mr. H’s pa said that we should just take Goldie because that women doesn’t care enough to take care of him. I like how Pa thinks! Of course Granny brought up the whole getting arrested thing again!

All joking aside, I really hope that Goldie’s owner takes time to seriously reflect on the life that she is providing for him. Right now, it is Mr. H’s granny that is taking care of Goldie, not her, not her little girls. She may love Goldie, and she may feel that she isn’t doing anything wrong, but I honestly don’t believe that it’s fair for her to have any say in what happens to Goldie. She hasn’t demonstrated any ability to make smart, sensitive choices on behalf of Goldie. He deserves to have the best, longest life that he possibly can! Mr. H and I are not going to give up hope that we will be able to provide that to Goldie, and with any luck it will be one day really soon.

Holiday Dwindle

Well, the holiday season has dwindled away. Goodbye vacation! We have to go back to work tomorrow and that makes me a little sad. No more weekday morning Wii in the PJs, sleeping in, or extra snuggle time with Mr. H. I'll miss my snuggle time the most! I suppose I could set the alarm clock for an earlier wake-up time, and then I could lay there longer. Hmmmm....

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! I'm posting an image that makes me smile, even in the midst of the Monday morning blues!