Doctors and Diets

In the last 6 months I have seen my primary care physician, my obgyn, and my endocrinologist. All of them are trying to help with our 20 months or infertility. There are all in consensus that I need to lose weight, but these are the suggestions I have gotten from them:

Do water aerobics a few days a week.

Try the HCG diet.

You need a lot of protein, like Atkins.

You should walk at least 5 days a week.

Weight Watchers will teach you healthy life habits. 

A personal trainer could really help.

A lot of people have success with the lap band.

Besides all the bi-polar recommendations, two of them have said my weight loss so far has been "not important" and "a little, I guess". Really?! Last time I checked, that is what you want, but unless I choose your screwed up method, it doesn't count! I have lost 33 pounds, I feel good, and I was happy with who I was before this all started! I don't need them or their approval! 

But really, I do need them. I'm not ovulating, and without ovulation, I can't have a baby. And without medical "help" I don't know if my body will do it on it's own. I just wish they could make up their minds. And I wish they would try to be a little bit nice about it. I know I'm fat, but I'm also really sad that I can't get pregnant. Please try to be a little sensitive!

End of year testing

I feel like I can let out a big sigh of relief now that my students have finished end of year testing. Hooray!! I am confident that many of them did well, but I was slightly worried about a few of them. I thought I would share this story with you, and hope that it explains my class to you a little. 

*all names have been changed to protect the innocent*

First, some background information: The students at my school do their end of year testing on the computers. They get split into three computer labs based on their ability level in English, and if they are qualified for resource. The students that are qualified for resource or are low language level get some of the test read to them, so they are in different labs than the rest of my students, who get none read. Each of my low English level students have a school employee that sits next to them, plus there are 2 other teachers in the room monitoring. I have nine students that have such a low level of understanding in English that they go to the "accommodated lab". There are 11 total adults in that room, with *Mrs. Smith as the monitor. I send two kids to the resource teacher, then go with my other 13 students to the regular lab, where there are only 3 total adults.
Finally, the story: My class was called down for testing, so I took them to the bathroom, and sent them to their correct labs. *Mrs. Smith was waiting at the accommodated lab door for my students and started calling their names so she could give them their log in information. She called *Bobby, but the rest of the students said he was in the bathroom. Being third graders, they all turned around to look towards the bathroom, but they did not see *Bobby coming.*Mrs. Smith called the rest of the students' names, and was getting worried that she had not seen anyone come down the hall. She realized that there was a little boy still standing there and she asked him what his name was. He quickly told her his name was *Bobby. "Well, why didn't you answer when I called your name before?" she asked him. "They said I was in the bathroom," was his reply.

Yes, that is one of my students. Sometimes you are just too proud for words. :)

Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure

This coming Saturday, May 8, I will be participating in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure with my friend Michelle. She lost her mom three years ago, after a long and brave fight with breast cancer.

 

That was the same year I lost my dad, and I couldn't help but think that he was lucky that he did not have to suffer like she did. I  wish that we did not have to watch the people we love suffer, and I am hoping that supporting breast cancer research is one way that we can provide a better future for everyone. Michelle has named our team Tenacious Ta-Tas. I am asking you, friends, to join our team or donate in support of breast cancer research! Just click on the link below to be taken to our page. Thank you in advance!

Tenacious Ta-tas

Crazy Life

It has been over a month since I posted, and I couldn't bear to see April go by without a single post. So you are going to get the short and sweet version of our lives. This month has been busy at work as Brian has been helping people with tax questions and issues, and I have been preparing my students for end of year testing (yuck!). They both sound terrible, don't they? Hopefully, we can leave a lot of it behind at the end of the month!

First thing we did this month was celebrate my amazing brother turning 30. We had a lot of fun, and I think he is finding it less scary than he thought it would be. I love you Broder!!! I took my cute friend Natalie on a "date" to see Legally Blonde at Capitol Theatre and had a lot of fun. In the middle of the month we got to go to an Alumni weekend at my high school. It was SOO much fun to see people I hadn't seen in ten years! I was really glad that Brian hit it off with quite a few people and stayed entertained so I could catch up with old friends. Brian also celebrated his 29th birthday! We were too busy to celebrate properly,  but hopefully we will have the chance soon. It was also Brian's Mom's and sister's birthdays this month too, so Happy Birthday Lynn and Elise, we love you!!

As far as weight loss goes, I have lost 22 pounds! I am feeling great and I am really excited that I am moving closer to my goal of being "a healthy weight to get pregnant" Along that note, we are currently in the midst of National Infertility Week, April 24-May1. I don't know why it only gets a week, when it effects so many people, but you have to be grateful for what you have. I want to share something with you that made me feel like everything I have thought and felt through our struggle to get pregnant is normal. I know we have been trying for less than 2 years, which is nothing compared to many people out there. But it's hard, and it's real, and it's a battle we fight everyday. I hope you will take a few minutes and watch the video she made.
What if? From Hannah Wept, Sarah Laughed

Alright May, I'm ready for ya!

Two gallons

Did you know that two gallons of liquid weighs about 15 pounds? Well, now that you do, I think you should know that I have lost two gallons!! Or 15 pounds, whatever you prefer. That 15 pounds also equals about 10 inches off my body! Thanks for letting me brag! That's all for now.

Don't forget to wear your purple on Friday March 26th!

Wear purple for Epilepsy Awareness!

My sweet husband Brian has lived with epilepsy since he was 8 years old. He has been very lucky in the sense that the worst injuries he has ever come out of a seizure with are a dislocated shoulder and broken teeth. I hope that he will be able to continue coming through his seizures safely, but most of all I wish he did not have to go through them at all. I am asking you to where purple on Friday March 26, "Purple Day" for epilepsy awareness.

-Epilepsy is a medical condition that produces seizures affecting a variety of mental and physical functions. A seizure happens when a brief, strong surge of electrical activity affects part or all of the brain. One in 10 adults will have a seizure sometime during their life.
-Seizures can last from a few seconds to a few minutes. They can have many symptoms, from convulsions and loss of consciousness to some that are not always recognized as seizures by the person experiencing them or by health care professionals: blank staring, lip smacking, or jerking movements of arms and legs.
-Almost 3 million people in the U.S. have some form of epilepsy. About 200,000 new cases of seizure disorders and epilepsy are diagnosed each year.
(information from Epilepsy Foundation)

For more information please visit one of the websites below:
http://www.epilepsyfoundation.org/
http://www.epilepsyadvocate.com/
http://www.purpleday.org/index.php

Confessions of a stubborn woman

Brian and I will be celebrating our 2nd anniversary in June. But March is the 8th anniversary of when we started dating. We didn't get married until we had both finished college, and we were "all grown up" and ready for the future (whatever that means). Before we got married we decided that we would wait a year before trying to have kids. But then we got married, and everyone around us started getting pregnant or having kids, and we realized we didn't want to wait. So we started trying in October 2008, and we kept trying all the way through 2009, and by the time we reached 2010 we were discouraged. We went to see my doctor who had  told us to try for a solid year, then we could come back and start doing some testing to see what was going on. So we went in, ready to do some tests, only to be told that she thinks I am too fat to have a baby. Yes, that really is what she said. So, she told me to come back when I had lost enough weight to be "healthy"(whatever that means). My reaction was to start bawling, and not stop for at least an hour. Couldn't she have mentioned that a year ago?!?! Needless to say, I need a new doctor. But I also need to lose weight. Yes, I knew that before, but having the motivation of not being able to have a baby until I do something about it, changed the picture completely. I have always been confident in who I am, just the way I am. I am happy with myself, and Brian is happy with me, so who else really needs to be impressed? But I don't know how I would feel about myself in the future if I hadn't done something about this. If I had kept myself from having a beautiful little Askew baby, which is what I want more than anything in the world.

So, dammit, I am going to lose weight! I have a lot of friends that have had success with the HCG diet, but the thought of giving myself a shot everyday freaks me out! So I started Weight Watchers at the end of January. I also went to my local rec center and signed up for water aerobics. It has been a small lifestyle change, but one I have felt good about. Now, (drum-roll please) I felt that I needed to share that I have lost 12 pounds!! I don't feel any different yet, but I have had people ask if I have lost some weight, and that is gratifying. So what do I see happening in my future? I have no idea, but I really hope it will someday include a baby.