Muscadine/Scuppernong Grapes Picking!

What a great day we had here in Florida yesterday not too hot and there was a nice breeze! Now we are waiting for tropical storm Fay to arrive here in NW Florida where we live.

We went to pick grapes (Muscadines) in our backyard and we all had a good time. I really like Muscadines, we all do but we usually just wash and eat the fruit. About 7 years ago was the exception, however, because Jeff made some wine out of those grapes. It was actually a really good wine!

This year I really want to try to make some Muscadine jelly or jam and maybe even try to use them as a pie filling. I hear that “Muscadine Grape-Hull Pie” is very delicious, so I will try to find an easy to do recipe for that!

August 22nd, 2008 - Posted in Mommy Stuff! | | 0 Comments

Treatment in the Czech Republic – Part I

I have lately received some emails requesting more information on the clinic we used in the Czech Republic for our latest fertility treatment and also about our experience and trip.

It will probably take me more than one entry on the subject. So if you want to learn more about fertility treatment in the Czech Republic just keep an eye out here.

I think that a good place to start is our reasoning for choosing treatment abroad!
And I have to tell you that “money” was the main reason and the lack of it our greatest motivation to try to find a way. After my last IVF cycle we learned that we would need egg donation if we were going to have a second child and we could not afford the high cost for an egg donor IVF cycle at a clinic in the US without getting in too much debt.
An egg donor cycle in the US can cost close to $25,000 so obviously it is not for everyone!

We were not new to the idea of treatment abroad since I have had three IVF’s already over-seas in Brazil for which the second try gave us our daughter. I would have done an egg donor cycle in Brazil but they just allow shared donation with patients who are going through IVF themselves, and I didn’t like that too much. I think anyone going trough IVF to try to conceive will probably need all the eggs they can get.

I found clinics all over the world where it might be a possibility for us to go for treatment and I contacted many of them. But not all of them replied back to my emails and some replied they required a first visit to go see them before treatment, and I didn’t want to do that. I want to be able to do any medical pre-tests locally and not have to travel overseas twice to be able to have a cycle. In the end we narrowed down our search to Argentina and the Czech Republic. With both clinics I experienced great communication directly with the Drs. but the Dr. from Argentina requested tons of tests/exams that in my opinion were unnecessary (I know I’m not a reproductive endocrinologist but after 15 years trying to conceive I have had too many tests before and I know the game - as soon as you want to move to another clinic/Dr, most of them want you to have all types of tests done all over again.

I researched the Dr. from the Czech Republic and found out that he has many publications out there and has presented his work at many conferences, and that for me was a good thing just to know that he was very active in his field of work.

I also found a great online-community from the UK and many of the women were going to the Czech Republic for treatment and they were all very helpful and knowledgeable and helped me a lot!

It took us about 6 months from the time I started looking for a fertility clinic overseas for us to commit to our treatment with the clinic in the Czech Republic and start organizing our trip for our first try at IVF with the help of a egg donor!

August 21st, 2008 - Posted in All Things Fertility!, Czech Republic | | 0 Comments

A source adds: “They were too impatient.”

We saw on the news today that Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s Twins pictures will soon be released to the media. Not that I care one way or another about celebrities babies pictures but this announcement was followed by a comment by my husband: “Do you know that they used IVF to conceive their twins?” “Why?” I asked and he didn’t know the answer so my curiosity got the best of me. I had to find out “why” and it turns out that Angelina chose to have IVF so “she wouldn’t have to deal with the stress of trying to get pregnant,”

“What?” I’m shocked… In vitro takes all the stress out of conceiving? Really? Maybe for celebrities like “Brangelina” who don’t really need it, and have the money to blow on treatment and who carry the infertility diagnostic of being too impatient to conceive naturally, “They both desperately wanted more babies soon,” a source within their camp told Us Magazine.

Don’t you love the way the media makes IVF sound so glamorous when it has to do with celebrities? When they report on real people’s infertility challenges they picture us as second-class human beings, perhaps “freaks” that would do anything and everything to have a baby….

I am speechless….

August 2nd, 2008 - Posted in All Things Fertility!, Uncategorized | | 0 Comments

When The Road to Motherhood Is Anything But Smooth

August 1st, 2008 - Posted in All Things Fertility! | | 0 Comments

Making a Baby

I had this forwarded to me and I almost missed it because I never read any forwarded emails (just don’t have the time) but due to the subject “title” it caught my attention and I ended up reading it!
Even though infertility is no laughing matter I was laughing while reading it and decided to share the story here. There is not one dirty word, and it is definitely funny.
Also the email does not give information on who wrote this, so if someone who read this has knowledge about where it came from or who wrote this please let me know!

“The Smiths were unable to conceive children and decided to use a surrogate father to start their family. On the day the proxy father was to arrive, Mr. Smith kissed his wife goodbye and said, ‘Well, I’m off now. The man should be here soon.’

Half an hour later, just by chance, a door-to-door baby photographer happened to ring the doorbell, hoping to make a sale. ‘Good morning,
Ma’am’, he said, ‘I’ve come to…’

‘Oh, no need to explain,’ Mrs. Smith cut in, embarrassed, ‘I’ve been expecting you.’

‘Have you really?’ said the photographer. ‘Well, that’s good.
Did you know babies are my specialty?’

‘Well that’s what my husband and I had hoped. Please come in and have a seat’.

After a moment she asked, blushing, ‘Well, where do we start?’
‘Leave everything to me. I usually try two in the bathtub, one on the couch, and perhaps a couple on the bed. And sometimes the living room floor is fun. You can really spread out there.’

‘Bathtub, living room floor? No wonder it didn’t work out for Harry and me!’

‘Well, Ma’am, none of us can guarantee a good one every time. But if we try several different positions and I shoot from six or seven angles,
I’m sure you’ll be pleased with the results.’

‘My, that’s a lot!’, gasped Mrs. Smith.

‘Ma’am, in my line of work a man has to take his time. I’d love to be in and out in five minutes, but I’m sure you’d be disappointed with that.’

‘Don’t I know it,’ said Mrs. Smith quietly.

The photographer opened his briefcase and pulled out a portfolio of his baby pictures. ‘This was done on the top of a bus,’ he said.

‘Oh, my God!’ Mrs. Smith exclaimed, grasping at her throat.

‘And these twins turned out exceptionally well - when you consider their mother was so difficult to work with.’

‘She was difficult?’ asked Mrs. Smith.

‘Yes, I’m afraid so. I finally had to take her to the park to get the job done right. People were crowding around four and five deep to get a good look’

‘Four and five deep?’ said Mrs. Smith, her eyes wide with amazement.

‘Yes’, the photographer replied. ‘And for more than three hours, too.
The mother was constantly squealing and yelling - I could hardly concentrate, and when darkness approached I had to rush my shots.
Finally, when the squirrels began nibbling on my equipment, I just had to pack it all in.’

Mrs. Smith leaned forward. ‘Do you mean they actually chewed on your, uh…equipment?’

‘It’s true, Ma’am, yes.. Well, if you’re ready, I’ll set-up my tripod and we can get to work right away.’

‘Tripod?’

‘Oh yes, Ma’am. I need to use a tripod to rest my Canon on. It’s much too big to be held in the hand very long.’

Mrs. Smith fainted.”

August 1st, 2008 - Posted in Fun Stuff | | 0 Comments

Seven years old!

Happy birthday AJ! You have grown into one of the most wonderful little girls I have ever known. You always have a sweet smile for everyone and in your innocence as a child you believe the world is full of magic and happiness! Please as you grow up, never forget what it is like to be a child! Keep on dreaming, wondering, hoping!
Love, Mom

Ist Party

2nd Party

July 29th, 2008 - Posted in Mommy Stuff!, Uncategorized | | 0 Comments

Worth reading!

I wanted to share a link to an article by Elliott J. Anderson that I just read. I never heard of him before so I don’t know anything about him with the exception of what I learned from the article. So what I know is that he is a pastor, husband, and father of four kids (two adopted and two biological), and he writes the article from the point of view of someone who is an adoptive father and someone who experienced infertility for almost a decade.
I found him to be very human and down to earth in his writing and not preachy at all.

In his struggle with infertility and his search for answers he was led in his own words to “some surprising revelations about God’s plan—especially how infertility and adoption played key roles in Bible history.”

I found it to be an inspiring read!

Find the article HERE!

July 10th, 2008 - Posted in All Things Fertility! | | 0 Comments

Cleansing anyone?

I should be starting a herbal body-cleansing program within a few days. I’m now just waiting for the packet to arrive! I looked at many different products but decided to give the one from DrNatura a try!

I have being wanting to do a body cleansing (detoxification) for a long time now and today I decided it was the day to buy the program. So I placed the order! Today was the day because I have been feeling so completely drained of energy lately, that I can’t imagine getting pregnant with the level of energy I’m experiencing, I don’t think I should try to get pregnant feeling so awful like I have been lately and the cleansing is supposed to help to increase energy levels. So we shall see if it will help or not.

I also have been finding more and more information everyday on the importance of cleansing your body if you are trying to get pregnant. “Cleansing is an important part of preparing for pregnancy. All the toxins that you ingest, drink, breathe in, and absorb through your skin end up in your liver and gastrointestinal (GI) tract. If they are not expelled from your colon and liver as quickly as possibly, they can wreak havoc on your reproductive and other systems.” (puristat.com).
So I decided that I have more to gain than lose by trying this before my next FET in September! If this does help me improve my general well being, it may help me to deal with all the emotional and physical strain that a fertility treatment cycle brings to ones life.

The herbs from the product are designed to remove dangerous chemicals like mercury and lead from the body’s organs and bloodstream, as well as parasites, by cleansing the GI and hopefully leading to better health. I just hope I don’t see any parasites after using the bathroom. That would definitely freak me out!

I will be doing it for two months and I should be done a couple weeks before my FET starts in September!
I’m planning to post about my cleansing experience here!

June 26th, 2008 - Posted in All Things Fertility!, Help Yourself! | | 0 Comments

Am I being too sensitive?

I read an article on babble today by Keri Fisher that really left an impression on me. I had to read it, the title definitely caught my attention: “The Not-So-Happy Accident - I wish I wasn’t pregnant.”

I really felt like cursing when I was reading her story! But what else should I expect, she posted her story at the “Bad Parent” column. So at least she doesn’t try to deny it, and I give her some credit for that!

In my opinion anyone has the right to plan their family and stop having kids when they see fit, but if they find themselves with an unplanned pregnancy, just make sure to have your tubes tied during that baby’s delivery or even better get your husband to have a vasectomy. But to say that you don’t want that unplanned baby just because you thought you were done having kids and according to her, her new pregnancy would delay her “freedom,” it quite amazed me and probably tells a lot about her character.

Here is what she sad: “It seemed silly and shortsighted to think about how close I had been to being done with babies. This summer my boys were going to be in camp full time. I had been looking forward to my freedom. With every milestone Ronan crossed, I had felt excited rather than sad. No more nursing? Hooray! Done with the high chair? Good riddance! Sayonara crib! See you later sippy cup!”

Oh for goodness sake, her other two kids are 3 and 2 years old (it is posted on her website), so go figure what freedom she will be delaying at this point in her life by having another child!!! It is to me quite shocking that someone would reject a child on those grounds…. Huh! Full time summer camp for 3 year old and 2 year old toddlers? Really!!! I didn’t even know this was an option!

It is not that she was someone at a difficult place in her life when she found out that she was pregnant again. According to her she had no reason to not keep her baby with the exception that she didn’t want it…. “I was married, two wonderful sons, fairly young and fairly stable. I had no reason not to keep this baby. Except, of course, that I didn’t want it.”
Can she be any more selfish? Probably not! Her new baby will take too much of her time, and she will not be able to keep up with the news from the tabloids that she reads! What a pity!!!

She definitely made me sick, especially when I think how hard it is for so many women to get anywhere near where she has.

June 21st, 2008 - Posted in Uncategorized | | 1 Comments

They make me scream!

We had an unexpected encounter of the scary kind in our back yard today: a “SNAKE”!!!
Big one too, over 40 inches long I think! Oh my… oh my….

Dear Mister snake, what are you doing in here? Of course Jeff had to get the camera and try to take a few pictures. I was terrified and of course AJ was very excited. So much so that she spent the rest of the day talking about it and drawing pictures of the snake.

I don’t know anything about snakes, the only thing I know is that they make me scream!!! So after we downloaded the pictures on the computer we started searching for “Florida’s Snakes” to try to find out what kind she was. At this moment we suspect that she is a harmless brown water snake but we are not 100% sure yet!

Because of my daughter and our pets, it is a scary thought to have something venomous inhabiting our backyard. So I’m really hoping she is just scary but not any kind of a danger or that she has by now moved on!

We will try to find out more about her tomorrow and see if we need to be concerned, and if so find someone to come here to rescue her from us!

June 20th, 2008 - Posted in Uncategorized | | 0 Comments