On the upside

Not being pregnant yet means the following:

• The spousal unit and I can squeeze in a SCUBA certification class and do our open water cert dive when we are in St. Maarten in less than 2 weeks.


• I don't have to drink virgin umbrella drinks while we're there.


• I won't be in the last stage of my pregnancy during the dog days of summer.


• We can now definitely make a trip to Orlando with the niece and nephew in July.


• Delaying morning sickness - yipee!

We spoke to the doctor yesterday and are planning to start another IVF cycle right away. There are plans in place to change the protocol in order to increase our chances.

Apparently even though Fergus and Fergalina looked all nice and symmetrical, they really didn't stand much of a chance. At their stage of development they should have been 8-10 cells instead of 6. So those two just weren't meant to be babies.

Update

Didn't work. Got the call this morning. I'm not pregnant.

So it looks like the fertility posts continue.

Merry Christmas everyone! I probaby won't be back until Thursday.

A first peek

Here you go. The spousal unit has dubbed them Fergus and Fergalina. I'm letting him have his fun for now.

This is what they looked like shortly before being transferred back into me first thing on Thursday morning. 6 cells each, nice size and form. That procedure was a breeze, except....

I had to drink 32 ounces of water 1 1/2 hours before the procedure. Had to hold onto it until they were done. You should have seen me fly off the table into the bathroom when the timer went off. I looked like a star sprinter.

And a parting gift...the little fellas in their new home. I've circled where they were the doc said they were, in between 2 white air bubbles.

Easter in December

I apologize for not inviting you to the egg hunt. It happened inside my ovaries on Monday at my doctor's office. Lucky doc found 20 eggs!

So of those 20:

8 = immature
5 = duds (sperm injected but did nothing)
1 = freak of nature (fertilized, started growing irregularly)
2 = slowpokes (fertilized, not dividing yet)
4 = frontrunners (fertilized, 2 cells as of midnight)

I get to see video of the frontrunners tomorrow right before they shove 2 of them back in. The other 2, if they are still good, get to take a little nap in the freezer.

Come visit on Christmas Eve. That's when I find out if things took.

Play Along - Drink Most Foul

I've come up with a game. Please play with me.

The game is to invent a disgusting drink (alcoholic preferred but non will do) and come up with a name for it. This should provide loads of easy entertainment for simple-minded people like me.

I'll start.

Double Fountain - prune juice & tequila

UPDATES:
Swamp Water - wheatgrass and tequila, by Cat
Teeter Totter - Red Bull and Nyquil by Mur
Bubble Vision - Dish detergent and absinthe by Metro
Licorice Margarrhea - tequila, sambuca and Pepto Bismol by Beckeye

Keep 'em coming kids. Good stuff! Perhaps we'll put these on the menu when the spousal unit opens his bar.

Thank God for dead racoons

Headed out for the daily mail retrieval, kerpupples in tow. I haven't mentioned it yet, but the latest round of injections have me feeling like pure, unadulterated crap. And I'm getting a cold too. So I wasn't entirely with it when we ventured out.

Sasha spent yesterday sleeping and lounging, recovering from several days at the kennel. Today she's gotten her spirit back. All it took was a tired Slave to flub the leash when trying to switch it between hands, and she was off like the hellion she usually is.

I called her sweetly to no avail, and ended up chasing her all around the lake. The other 2 dogs joined me in pursuit.

Ripley managed to catch up with Sasha, and they had a fine time chasing the geese into the middle of the lake. But they made it back to shore and Sasha sashayed off before I could catch up.

My saving grace? They encountered the carcass of a racoon on the path. It's head was creepily, perfectly preserved. Sasha tried to grab it and run off with it but it proved too awkward. I waited near the treasure, and sure enough, she couldn't stay away. I snatched up her leash when she returned and started towards home, cursing and scolding her profusely.

She managed to snatch up what looked like a femur or a lesser leg bone as we left. I had to pry it out of her mouth before she could start crunching on it.