I have the flu

Yes, I am down and out for the count. Despite me having gotten the flu shot, I think I have the flu pretty bad! On Monday night I started to get a tickle in my throat and knew I was coming down with something. Thankfully with the help of some OTC drugs I slept through the night but woke up to my throat feeling like it was on fire. I decided to be a trooper and go to school, because as most teachers can attest to, it is harder to not be a school than it is to suck it up and be there. That was probably a bad idea, now that I look back on things. I got home around 4:30 on Tuesday (after stopping at the store for lemons, honey, and more OTC drugs) and went to bed. I slept pretty soundly Tuesday night. Wednesday. Yuck. Thankfully school was called due to bad weather. I threw up three times, ran a temperature of 100.8 to 102 all day, had the chills, slept on and off all day, and had no energy to even walk to the guest bedroom. I basically looked like death warmed over. Here it is Thursday. I was about to drive John to work (wiper blades aren't working on his truck, so he needs my car) then take myself to school to do sub plans when I got the call that our 2 hour delay was changed to another day off from school. I'm going to take my butt back to bed and hope to get this crap out of my system. I haven't felt this horrible in YEARS. Thank God for snow/ice days!!!!

A diagnosis...after 3 1/2 years of trying to conceive

Today John and I met with Dr. Mooney. John finally got to meet the new RE! It was a happy day, but a sad one too.

Let me start by saying that I am SO grateful to the two women who suggested I speak with Dr. Mooney at RG. THANK YOU. Because of these two women, I feel I am in better hands than I unfortunately ever was at ORM, and I've only met this doctor twice now.

The results of my blood work came back. Some of the things made me happy...my fsh and tsh levels are great. Even my fasting insulin was very good. But then we got to the Recurrent Pregnancy Loss panel that was run on my blood. First I found out that my body does not harbour any antibodies of the immune system, so that was good. Then Dr. M started to talk about the tests they ran to determine if any of my genes were normal or abnormal. Two tests came out normal, and three came back abnormal.

The three which came back abnormal are the MTHFR 677, PAI 1, and the Factor XIII. Basically, these are heterozygous status which means I got the "bad" gene from either my mother or my father. With these genes missing, and from what I understand, I am at a higher risk for: early miscarriage (possibly why nothing has implanted so far), preeclampsia, IUGR (Intrauterine growth restriction is a term used to describe a condition in which the fetus is smaller than expected for the number of weeks of pregnancy), and pre-term delivery. We can deal with these issues by giving me baby aspirin and heparin after an egg transfer, but the reality is that this isn't something that is easily fixed. Likewise, just because I get an embryo to stick doesn't mean that I won't have serious complications later on in a pregnancy.

I left the Dr. M's office feeling three things: sadness for the new found diagnosis, anger that Dr. S at ORM never thought to test me for these things (and when I did ask for additional blood work he told me they weren't needed) and lastly, a bit of relief that we FINALLY have an answer. No, it isn't the answer we want but it is AN answer. Now I don't have to ask "what if". What if we tried another IVF and the embryo's would be transferred into me? What if we used baby aspirin and heparin?

Now I can begin to ask...when do I get to take the next step on the road less traveled?

The start of our home improvement projects

As we can't sell the condo, we have decided that we are staying where we are for quite a while. While it isn't our "ideal" home, it is still a nice place. This March I will have owned this unit for 8 years! The only room in the entire condo that wasn't painted was the downstairs bathroom. Well, that is not the case any longer. I unfortunately do not have any before pictures. Just picture an all white room. Here is the "new" bathroom:

The mirror is old but the light fixture is new...not that you can really tell in this picture.

John decided to put up an "accent" chair rail. It is just on the one wall. I wasn't thrilled at first, but now it is really growing on me. I like how the white really pops.
A better picture of the toilet. Just what you wanted to see!
I bought this shelving unit YEARS ago. When we, one day, make this bathroom used more often for guests (we will take the furniture in our second bedroom and move to the basement next to this bathroom when it comes time for baby furniture), then I'll have a great shelf to put more towels and some bath items.

Just another view of the wall from floor to ceiling.

Our next project is probably to replace the vanity in our spare bathroom, which happens to be the bathroom we use everyday as it is larger than the one attached to our master bedroom.

A lazy day

I have so much to be doing, but I am really enjoying my day home! Speech and Debate was scheduled to be in SE Ohio today, but due to the threat of bad weather, the school district decided yesterday that we were not allowed to travel today. While it was icy this morning, the 3 to 5 inches of snow predicted is just rain, and there isn't much rain right now. However, it is 4 P.M. and I am still in my pajamas. John and I have been working on the basement bathroom. It is almost done (we've painted, got a new light fixture, and now he is putting up a chair rail - - - don't ask, his idea, not mine). I have school work to do, but just don't feel like it right now. Hopefully tomorrow I'll gain some motivation to do the school work! Until then, I'm enjoying my unexpected day off! :-)

Time is just so short

I hate to put such a shadow on my blog, but I have to write about Amanda. I had Amanda when she was a very rambunctious sophomore back in 1998, which was just my first year of teaching. She was a loud mouthed girl who definitely made an impression in my mind. Shortly after I passed her on to the next grade level she left the high school and moved to a nearby school for various reasons. Yet, in those next few years, when I least expected it, Amanda would appear in my classroom to say hello on one of her days off.

Tonight, via the Internet website Facebook, one of her good friends wrote me a personal message that Amanda had passed away unexpectedly this morning. She had just turned 26 and had so much of her life left to live. Her friend (also named Amanda) sent me the message and told me "I just know how much she respected you and thought she would like me to tell you." I just can't stop crying. I never got the chance to talk to her again. I never got the opportunity to tell Amanda how much I remember about her and how she helped to mold me into the teacher I am today.

An event like this makes me take a step back to look at my life. Time is so short. I think to Amanda and her parents and her brother, who I had the pleasure of having in class just last year. Then I look to my own family. And I am sad for my family. I have family members not speaking to those I love, and even not speaking to me. We just do not know when God is going to decide to take us from this earth as he needs us more with him than we need to be down here. What will happen if God decides to take one of MY loved ones away before I get the chance to say I'm sorry or I love you? What will happen if God decides to take one of MY loved ones away before they get the chance to tell me that they are sorry or that they love me?

Time is just so short.

My Seniors

In one week from today (Tuesday), I will say goodbye to 13 of my seniors. These students have maintained an "A" average for the first two nine weeks, therefore they do not have to take my final exam. On Wednesday I will say goodbye to 15 more seniors (those who have to take my exam) and on Thursday I will say goodbye to the 12 remaining seniors from my other section of Popular Literature. These 18 weeks have just flown by. I have truly enjoyed my second year of teaching this class. What is my class? In my class, students are given a variety of novels (high interest, low level reading) and the time to read. Each and every day they know that they will have 47 uninterrupted minutes to read the novel they've chosen. Sometimes, and this is sad to admit, they will not have read a complete book until they get into my class. And by then end of the 18 weeks they have read eight novels. The students I work with tend to be the "tougher" students in the high school, and for some reason, we get along rather beautifully. They are funny, witty, hard-working, and always keep me on my toes. But there is just something so rewarding to hear numerous students tell me "Mrs. J, I wish your class was year long".

I too wish my class was a year long!

Not too much else is new. Just hanging out, waiting for the semester to end, and for my appointment with Dr. Mooney.

Happy New Year

I just thought I should do my first post of 2009.

May you all have a happy and healthy year!!!!!!