Christmas Decorating

D and I put up our Christmas tree today! Here's a picture:
We also went to the mall. I got a hoodie from Aéropostale because there was a good sale. D bought a couple of tops for going to see shows in NYC. Speaking of NYC we switched our hotel on Friday. We ended up getting an amazing deal on a hotel in midtown that I've always wanted to stay at. We were going to be staying on the upper west side (96th) which was the best deal we could find at them time. Actually it was the ONLY deal we could find at the time. It seems that the recent negative press due terrorist threats may have worked in our favor as tourists who will not cancel our plans. Of course I'm not pleased with what is happening but mostly because I have seen what increased security looks like in NYC and frankly its a bit scary itself. Safe is good but it does take away a bit of the festive feeling when you see machine-gun-toting soldiers.

CD 3

Some things never change.
The clinic seemed busier than ever this morning. D was grumpy. I was tired. I also went in without a full bladder and had to endure a painful u/s to make up for it. I am such a bad Day 3. I think making someone hold their Pee after waking up is cruel. It's a reflexive action to get up and pee in the morning. Sorry, but I just can't hold it and wait for an u/s! Of course (as usual), the water I gulped down to "refill" didn't fully hit me until on the subway and halfway to work.
Oh and the u/s tech asked me if I had PCOS. bleh. I'm so happy be back! My results? 10 small follicles on the left, 10 on the right. I've been cleared for 100mg of Clomid to start on Sunday. I'm trying to decide if I should start at night or in the morning. I have to go back and see which worked best for me.
Anyway...
... my coworker came past work with her 9 month old daughter. She was sooooo cute. I am NOT the type to be all over a child I do not know unless I'm related or good friends with the parents (I think it's weird when people maul children they do not know). However when my coworker asked me to hold her I just about melted. She was so sweet. Sigh. Too adorable. My co-worker is Chinese and while holding her daughter I actually thought "I wonder what would happen if we used an Asian donor"? THAT is how designer babies are made. The possibilities are endless with ART. It's kind of crazy.

Lucky 7

I'm official on try number 7.
AF arrived on time on the 26th and I've booked all of my appointments and ordered our unit of spermies.
I've switched to Xytex and it ended up being $70 cheaper than Fairfax due to a combination of the sperm and shipping being less expensive. They also do not require notarization for using Open ID so technically we saved an additional $50. I wonder why Fairfax requires notarization? I thought it was a regulation they were following but I guess not.
I really like the donor we've selected. I like him more than our previous three so I hope he is the "one". In fact I think I can say now that I didn't like our last donor. Last month I was nervous about trying again and when we found out our donor was sold out I was upset but also relieved. With our 1st and 2nd choice donors I was always picturing what our little one would look like. With our 3rd donor I was really stressing out about him. I was worried our child would look too much like him, etc. Something was just rubbing me the wrong way. With the new donor I'm back to that giddy feeling again when I think about our baby. This is a good thing. I really can't say how off and horrible I felt on my last cycle. I want lucky #7 to be the one!!!

Metformin is a Go!

The prescription is in the mail and I'm so (not) excited to try it but will do what it takes. I wonder if my insurance will cover it? My Clomid and Progesterone are not covered.
Speaking of Clomid. My RE wants me to go on 150 mg. I'm confused because it seems to be doing nothing at all and its possible it screwed up my cycle. My first 2 rounds were promising @ 50 mg but I only had 1 follicle both times. Since I'm able to ovulate and can create follicles around 1.9/2.0 on my own I figured the only benefit would be increased number of follicles. After 2 rounds of 50 mg I went up to 100 mg and my cycle was all wonky but I guess it did work. I'm not ready to go to 150 mg. I do not want multiples. Not even twins.

4 random thoughts

1) Work Holiday Party - Our work party was on Friday night and up until Thursday I hadn't planned on going. That was until I was at my friends desk when her manager came up and gave me a ticket and begged me to join them. I figured there was no harm in going and in the end I'm glad I went! Our work parties have normally been held in nightclubs where dinner was a set of food stations and you would wander around mingling with your coworkers. Not so much fun in my opinion especially when you are trapped in a dark nightclub with loud music. This year they did a sit down formal dinner. It was pretty much the same as any wedding reception that I've been too. The food was beyond amazing including the Tiramisu in a chocolate shell dessert. OMG, amazing. The DJ was good and everyone had a really great time. They had a great midnight buffet that included several large jars of candy. Watching your coworkers and directors get sloshed is a lot of fun. Normally I do not stay for the entire event but this year it was worth it.

2) New York City - When we had originally booked our mini-vacation to NYC we had decided we would not be seeing any shows. Of course this was never going to happen but we said it anyway. Afterall, we've been to NYC over a dozen times and we always see shows. This time we were going to see the Christmas lights. YEAH RIGHT. We're totally going to see the lights and windows but the shows crept in slowly. First we decided that we had to see the Rockettes at Radio City. We booked an early show on the day we're set to drive home. Crazy? Totally. Next up I searched to see if there were any Spring Awakening on stage tickets available. There were. I begged D but she said no because she doesn't want to see the show again (we've seen it 3x). That led to arguing that there really weren't any shows we wanted to see except for Equus (aka Harry Potter's play). Next thing you know we have tickets to Equus. But that is on our first night so it's OK because we'll still have the complete next day to see lights and display.
Ha!
That was until this morning when I logged onto Facebook and got a discount code for Fuerzabruta. $39 tickets - you can't beat that and I've been wanting to see this show desperately since it opened. We've actually been to NYC twice since then but it didn't fit into our schedule. Also, D was so traumatized by De La Guarda (same creators as Fuerzabruta) that she pretty much told me she'd never see it. You'd think after 10 years she'd get over it but as far as I'm concerned if you walk out of a show shaking and are still deeply affected by it several years later it must be good show. De La Guarda was one of the best experiences of my life. I booked 10 pm tickets so that we'd have plenty of time for dinner and sightseeing before the show.
So we went from seeing "no Broadway shows" to seeing Fuerzabruta, Equus and the Rockettes. This is going to be an exhilarating trip!
3) AF - TMI ahead. I woke up yesterday morning and thought I had AF. I even called the clinic and scheduled my Day 3 u/s and b/w. However as the day went on it appeared that it wasn't AF. I have a small cut that was bleeding. I honestly have no idea where this cut came from! I was so embarrassed calling the clinic back to cancel my appointment. I said it was just "spotting". I didn't want to get into the details of my apparently bleeding wound. Hopefully AF shows soon. I was so excited because I need AF to be early this month so we can fit our December try in before the clinic closes for 2 weeks. FX it comes soon!!
4) Twilight - D and I went to see Twilight yesterday afternoon. We both expected it would be awful but to be honest, we really enjoyed it. It's total cheese but if you've read the books you shouldn't be surprised. I know some people are complaining that Kristen Stewart as Bella was "annoying". I agree but I think that is because Bella is annoying so Kristen played the part perfectly. D wants to go again. I think I'll pass but we will buy this on Blu-Ray when it is released.

Here is video of Fuerzabruta. It looks AWESOME. I cant' wait!!

I'm ready

It's been over 3 months since our false BFP/Chemical Pregnancy and I really needed the break. I always knew it wasn't going to be easy but when you get to try #4, #5, #6 and still no luck you feel a level of disappointment that is overwhelming. Up until #6 I felt normal. Now I feel like there is a problem. By try#6 I'd worked myself into near hysteria over getting pregnant so when it almost happened I was so sick with nerves I didn't know what to do with myself.
People keep telling me that I need to relax to let it happen but the fact that I do not like the process will not change. I try to explain this and people don't get it. D and I may both suffer from early wakings but ultimately I'm the one that has to experience a personal and invasive procedure morning after morning.
Hopefully I'm now relaxed and hopefully our new donor works because I really like him.
AF is on its way within the next few days!!!

I'm not done yet....

You know what is really annoying? That my mother found out about our trip to NYC and used that to justify asking for her money back. What does she want? For me to cancel our trip to pay her back? Would she really ask me to ruin my Christmas Plans?

My mother always gets really annoyed when she finds out we're going on a vacation. I've told her numerous times that we work hard for what we have and we choose to spend our money to go on a couple of vacations a year. It's our choice. She really must think we're rich if she thinks we can hand over hundreds of dollars to her on demand. We budget our money. We've just finished our Christmas shopping and are set to buy more sperm in a couple of weeks. She also knows that we have not had good luck lately with Frank's vet bills being over $700 at the end of September and our dishwasher needing replaced. Yes we booked a 2 night trip to NYC (2 freakin' nights) instead of exchanging gifts (which we often go overboard with).

Bleh. Moving on...

Last night we went to Much Music to see the cast of Twilight. D is all into Twilight (the books are OK) and wanted to see Robert Pattinson. It was crrrazy. There were so many screaming girls and it was pouring rain. I gave up and went across the street. I had to get away from it. I ended up going into Tribal Rhythm and I bought a new shirt to put on since mine was soaked. I got some OK pictures of RPatzz for D and then we left. Brrr it was cold. We didn't end up going to the Santa Claus parade because I didn't think I could handle anymore cold weather. Instead we went to the mall which was also crrrazy. It seems like the Christmas season is in full swing.

On that Note: Christmas Meme taken from Stacey & Angele's blog

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?
I prefer using wrapping paper but I sometimes use gift bags.

2. Real tree or Artificial?
Artificial. I like to put the tree up earlier than a real tree would last.

3. When do you put up the tree?
Normally the weekend of the Santa Claus Parade which was this weekend. I'll probably put it up next weekend.

4. When do you take the tree down?
Weekend after New Years.

5. Do you like eggnog?
The Flavour, yes. The drink, no.

6. Favorite gift received as a child?
My little Pony stable.

7. Hardest person to buy for?
My father. He is so hard to buy for. He always has something to say about presents he receives.

8. Easiest person to buy for?
The kids, that's obvious. Other than that D because she wants so much. Unfortunately I'd go broke if I bought her all of the video games she desires!

9. Do you have a nativity scene?
Yes, it's a Precious Moments play set.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards?
Mixture.

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?
Can't think of one. I would never tell someone I didn't like a gift - I'd just return it at Walmart (they'll take back anything).

12. Favorite Christmas Movie?
One Magic Christmas

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?
Early Fall but I often do not finish until December 24th!

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?
No - I return them to Walmart.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?
Pomegranates

16. Lights on the tree?
Lots and Multi-Coloured

17. Favorite Christmas song?
Do they know it's Christmas?

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home?
Stay at Home. I don't think my Father would ever forgive me if I missed Christmas.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's?
No.

20. Angel on the tree top or a star?
Star.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning?
Christmas Night. D and I run around during the day and save our presents for when we get home.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year?
How busy the malls are.

23. Favorite ornament theme or color?
Our tree is multi-coloured. We do not have a theme. Pretty much anything that sparkles.

24. Favorite for Christmas dinner?
Turkey and stuffing.

25. What do you want for Christmas this year? A BFP since that will be about when I'm able to test!