Day 482 - Roxy Rolls In & Panic Packing

The gorjuss Roxy showed up this morning for a visit. I’m doing my very best to get organized & everything packed & ready for the big departure. I still had some errands to run in the city, so her & I decided we would go into town & stop by a raw shop she’d discovered, go for lunch at a raw café & then meet Collet at Ikea.

And then I took too long. For everything. Roxy ended up rushing home to sort out a tenant issue, so we missed our stop at the Light Cellar (Bowness – check it out!), as well as our lunch. I did meet up with Collet at Ikea. That seems to be our thing as of late! I think the past 3 times I’ve seen Collet, it’s been at Ikea!

Zeke has grown so much! He is a little cutie! He was very smiley & happy-go-lucky. Ezra, well, Ezra was a handful. He certainly didn’t like me! He went spastic when I tried to push the cart – he didn’t want me to touch the cart & tried to peel off my hands, punch my hands & scream VERY loudly. Oh dear. I’m telling you… Give me girls!

It was a long day & a VERY cold day. I can’t get out of this country quick enough! Give me heat & sunshine!

Oh! I also posted Jaco’s application for Canada! Finally! It’s on its way! We’re one step closer to living in Canada together!

Gotta run… plenty of packing yet to do!

xxxxMaria

Gorjuss Roxy - even at -20 or whatever the temperature was!

Gorjuss Collet - Mama of 2 busy boys & she still looks stunning!

Day 405 - False Alarm!

Well. Thank goodness for that! Dad called this morning & said that I didn't have to move my stuff until Spring. Yesterday April went over & tried to get into the shed to get some of her things & the snow was so deep in the lady's yard that April nearly got stuck & chewed up the yard a bit. The lady got upset & said we could leave it until Spring. Apparently Dad knew yesterday afternoon, but didn't think to call me. MEN! Oh well. So all that fussing for nothing. At least nothing until Spring.

Other than that, it was a pretty low-key day. Mom & I went to town in the evening. We were supposed to go to visit Mike & Nancy at the Tom Baker, as he's just finished a successful stem cell transplant, then to see Collet & family at Ikea & then to Mom2's for boxes. Well, thanks to my own personal time zone, it happened in the exact reverse order!

We went to Mom2's first, visited with Greg until Mom2 got home from work, then to see Collet & the boys  & Peggy & Chris & later Dave at Ikea. Wow! Has Zeke ever grown! After that, we crossed the city to see Mike & Nancy. I used to board with them in Medicine Hat when I went to College. They are some of the nicest people I've ever met. I miss those days!

Mike has to have all of his inoculations over again, he can't be around plants or mow the lawn for a year! Crazy! We currently have the same hairstyle. :o)

I think I over did it tonight. I fell asleep in the car & by the time we arrived home at 2130, I was completely exhausted. I went straight to bed. It was a great day, but I was totally bushed by the end of it!

Here's to more energy tomorrow!

xxxxMaria, Valentina, Oceana & Adios

What a good lookin' Mama! Zeke is sleeping, but he's grown so much!

Day 204 - ANOTHER Long Day In The City

This morning was my big appointment at the Fertility Clinic. I was VERY impressed. Granted we're (Jaco) is paying them $$$$, so they should be awesome, but they certainly were! Dr. Foong is phenomenal. She's so personable & caring. She answered all of my questions & applied for Compassionate Care for our medications, so hopefully we'll have some of them covered. I also met with one of the Nurses, who answered all of my additional questions & listened to me ramble on & on... I don't ramble, do I? Nah, didn't think so! :o) I visited the Sperm Lab & then had some more blood work done. Yeesh. 


Here's the skinny. I am actually so fascinated by all of this... Basically we have to wait until my next cycle. On day 1, I call the Period Hotline. Yeah, I know. Forget Crimestoppers, this is WAY more exciting! On day 2, I have a baseline ultrasound & more blood work. Day 3, I start my meds. A week or so later the Egg Retrieval is done & then the embryos are made. 3-5 days later, we've got Mini-Wee's chillin' on ice! I think the affectionate term is 'Totsicles'. :o)


So what exactly do they do? Well, every month, lassie makes one egg follicle. That follicle breaks open & releases the egg to be fertilized by the lucky swimmer to cross the finish line first. When I take the meds (Luveris & Gonal-F), they are Follicle Stimulating Hormones (FSH) & they do just that. Instead of making one follicle, I'll make somewhere between 8 & 20. The Clinic will do several ultrasounds & more bloods to monitor the progress of the follicles & when they are mature, the Egg Retrieval is done. They use a hollow needle to extract the follicles via ultrasound, which I will get to watch on TV as they do it! 


The eggs will then be fertilized via ICSI. Basically instead of thawing the straws of sperm & letting them do their thing, the lab will manually fertilize each egg. The embryos will then be incubated for 3-5 days. On day 3 there will be 8 cells. If they are healthy looking embryos, they will be incubated for another 2 days to create what's called a blastocyst, which is anywhere from 80-200 cells. A blastocyst has a much better chance at successful implantation, however, you need a hot lookin' 3 day embryo to get a good blastocyst. If the 3 day embryo isn't REALLY good, there's not point to incubate it past that. It's best to freeze it & let it do it's thing once it's implanted. 


And once the embryos have been incubated sufficiently, they will be frozen at -196 until they are needed! And yes, when I'm 40 I will still have the embryos of a 31 year old! If only they could do that with my wrinkles! :o) So there's your Egg Retrieval lesson in a nutshell! 


Essentially I'll be ready for chemo the day after the Egg Retrieval. After anaesthesia you are legally intoxicated for 24 hours, so I guess I'll wait until the anaesthesia hangover is gone! :o)


Pray that all goes well with the procedure & there are no complications.


After I left the clinic I headed towards Costco. The phones we picked up lacked headsets jacks & belt clips. Yes, we use our phones that much. They didn't have much, but I picked up a different set. We'll see if they are any good! 


Next stop was Ikea. I was supposed to meet Dave & Collet there around 1230 - 1430. It was now 1400. I called & Collet didn't answer her phone. As I don't have a cell phone, I said I would call back in 20 minutes. When I called back, she answered & they were just pulling up. They had a busy day planned with plenty of stops, but when I saw her, they hadn't been anywhere yet! Oh boy! 


They were on the lookout for a wardrobe. What a process! It took 5 hours! I was wiped by the time we left! I needed a nap, but still had to get groceries & drive home! I have realized that I am just going to have to say I am tired & I have to go. I'm in need of a lot of rest & relaxation these days, and I'm not used to saying 'no' to anyone. 


I had a great time with them & Ezra has grown so much again! He's talking a lot & potty trained! What a good boy! I got a chuckle out of him, as we walked through the showroom, he had the urge to lick every mirror he came across... Too funny! Collet's got a cute little belly coming along & I'll be very excited to meet the newest Stephan! 


I made my way through Superstore like a zombie & then headed home. I went straight to bed! These 10+ hr days in the city are killing me! Perhaps literally!!! Here's to a good lie in tomorrow!


Maria & Valentina
xoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Waiting in the lab

Waiting in the lab again!

Ezra - lickin', er, lookin' good!

3.5 Stephans in Ikea

Ezra enjoys the stickers from Aunty Jill

Ezra's sled dog training with a monkey on his back!