Waiting, and waiting

I am currently a nervous wreck as we wait for another 5 days to hear if our embryo transfer was a success. This past Friday we were able to transfer 2 embryos, which is 2 more than on the last round of IVF. Getting to that point, however, does not guarantee that they will safely implant and make it to babyhood. So we wait, and wait, and wait, until we either get a positive or negative pregnancy test on Friday. It is just very strange to leave the doctor's office told that you are carrying 2 embryos, 2 living creatures, but don't get too excited or your hopes up that in 7 days you will actually be "pregnant." I mean, if you have 2 embryos inside of you aren't you at that point, officially "pregnant." I tried to resist the temptation to name them, but I couldn't help it: Tweedlie Dum and Tweedlie Dee. Those are names I can't really get too attached to, right?
In the meantime, we keep, (I say we, but really, who are we kidding) getting shots in the ass every night to support the pregnancy. I'd like to imagine that it hurts Fritz as much as it hurts me to have to give me the shots, but honestly, I doubt it. I think he actually likes it a little bit. He says as much, as if he were kidding, but I don't think he is. In the end, if we end up with a baby, it will all be worth it. If not, well, I will have a polka-dotted rear for a few more months.
We went to yet another baby shower yesterday, for my friend Cindy, who I went to junior high with. I was a little bitter over the last few showers, but now I am at a point where I can really enjoy them and they mostly give me a sense of hope. I know we will get there, it's just a matter of when. It was actually fun, with all of the oohing and ahhing over the cute, frilly little girl things. I thought Fritz was going to explode, but I think he actually enjoyed it a little. He even made himself useful by helping get some of the lemons out of the tree, way up on top, where the little brown people couldn't reach. Horray for big white guys with long arms!

Bed Bugs

How many tails can you count on my bed. I'd say 4. Those are Grendal, Aria, Lazarus, and Dino, of course in a big grey ball. And they say we can't all just get along.

Pin Cushion Time

Despite all of the media hype over Octo-mom, Fritz and I have decided to continue with our second IVF cycle. I have been taking Lupron shots and some Dexamethasone steroids for the last couple of weeks. They have made me, in a word, crazy. I have never had such a short temper in my life. I think I almost ripped one of my poor employee's heads off because the bit that holds the tape roll in the dispenser went missing. I have also flung poor Dino off of the bed in the middle of the night because he meows too loudly when I need to adjust my sleeping position. Well, to be honest, he's probably had that coming for some time now.
We are now on to the happy shots. I started the FSH shots 2 nights ago, which are supposed to start stimulating my ovaries to develop more eggs for retrieval. We visited my RE on Monday, who was optimistic about the 12 antrifollicles we have so far, which is 1 more than the last cycle. We are also taking a more aggressive approach in terms of the drugs this cycle than the last. Of course, I am also not going to be dealing with the kidney stones that I did earlier this year. Overall, I have a million reasons to be more optimistic this time around, but to be honest I am not. I think that the more I learn about this process, the more nervous it makes me and the more I just want to forget about it. Thank God that I have a husband that will push me right back into the deep end even if I am desperate to get out of the pool. Its baby or bust, so I'd better get with the program.

Life's not bad in Mt. Washington. I just hope the secret doesn't get out too soon.

More Cabinet Pictures

Here I am getting started with step 1: Cleaning them up. I removed all of the hardware from this first cabinet, including the interior brackets that allow the drawers to slide out. These must have been top of the line in their day, as they have all of the special pull out drawers, lazy susan corners, and special pull out bins. That's Aria helping me in the background. After getting this fella clean and stripped down to the metal, I primered with Rustoleum using a high density foam roller.

St. Charles Metal Kitchen Cabinets

We have been in our little tree house for over a year and a half now and we are finally ready to start working on the kitchen. Fritz and I found a set of old St. Charles metal kitchen cabinets from the 50s and we thought they would fit in nicely to our remodel plans. First of all, they were cheap. I mean really, really cheap. The entire set cost us $100 plus tax and a few trips to Pacioma in my Ranger. We found them at a place called The Re-Use People, which specializes in recycling building materials that would otherwise end up in landfills from other peoples' remodels or tear-down job sites. They have a wonderful warehouse full of doors, cabinets, windows, you name it. We went to see if we could pick up a couple of small cabinets to fill in some of the gaps in the kitchen. We ended up with this entire set after several months because no one else wanted them and so they practically gave them to us just so they wouldn't end up as scrap.

Now I know what some people (mami) are thinking. These probably should have ended up as scrap, as they are hopelessly old and out of date. Yet I can't help but imagine how cute they will look in our little old kitchen. The construction on our house spans from the late 20s to the late 40s, so a 50s kitchen is probably just what it needs, and hey, for the price, I can deal with a bit of elbowgrease. And speaking of elbow grease, I will be chronicling the work that is going into refinishing these cabinets over the next several months. I just hope to get the work completed before we have any additions to the family.