It's official!!

We're having a boy!! We had an ultrasound yesterday, and everything is perfect, and there is no doubt about it being a boy! Now we have to come up with names. And now, the knitting can truly begin!!

Have a happy Thanksgiving everyone!

KTS4 package received!!

Wow! I came home Friday to a wonderful package from my KTS4 pal, Jo! Inside, were some amazing teas- River Shannon breakfast blend, Scottish breakfast blend and Earl Grey, all from Upton Teas, some cookies- chocolate tangerine and lime sugar, a Red Sox world series T-shrit for Celia, and a Red Sox world series bib for baby, some beautiful yarn from Cabin Cove- so soft!!!, and some lavendar. I was spoiled rotten! I have to say, the breakfast tea is really amazing, especially when paired with the lime sugar cookies. SO good! The chocolate tangerine cookies are really amazing too. Thanks for a fantastic package!! Yours is going in the mail tomorrow!

Auction!!!

Here's the info for the Damascus Y-Women annual auction! I'll definitley be there!!

Damascus Y-Women’s
Annual Rockin’ Fifties
Gift & Craft Auction


LIVE AUCTION
SILENT AUCTION

FREE DOOR PRIZES
FREE REFRESHMENTS

Tuesday, November 13, 2007
6PM
Preview at 5:30PM

First Time at NIGHT!!!

At

Damascus American Legion
10201 Lewis Drive
Damascus, MD
(turn at the CVS on Rt. 27)

Any Questions?
Call 240-723-0473 Or Visit www.damascusywomen.com

I've mentioned before on this blog, that this time, getting pregnant for me was much more challenging. As part of the Infertility community, I'm posting my story below. It's National Infertility Awareness Week, and I'm doing my part here to spread the word.

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Here's my story for Blogatavism, for the My Story Project.

I got married in 2002, and was immediately ready to start having kids. My husband preferred to wait a while, considering we had just gotten married, he just got his Masters, we both started new jobs, and moved 2 states (and 8 hours) away from our families. This made absolute sense to me, so we decided to wait about a year and a few months. The first month we tried to get pregnant, it worked! I had a great pregnancy (minus the gestational diabetes), and gave birth to an amazing little girl (Celia), on February 26, 2004. Just 5 days before our 2 year wedding anniversary. After Celia was about 1 year old, we decided to wait until she was closer to 18 months to get pregnant again, assuming it would be just as fast as last time. We decided to start in October, since we'd be going on a cruise that month, so why not make it memorable? The morning of the cruise, I ovulated, and was SO excited with the timing. 2 weeks later I got my first BFN. And it proceeded to be like that until February. At my 6 month checkup with my OB/GYN, he asked how things were going, and since I was ovulating somewhat irregulary, somewhere between 6 and 8 weeks, he wanted to try me on clo.mid to see if it would help regulate me some. My first clomid cycle lasted 13 weeks...and no, I was not pregnant. I was devistated. At around 9 weeks, I called my OB/GYN's office, and was in a bit of a panic. He immediately said that this was NOT a normal reaction to clo.mid, and he wanted to send me for some more testing, at a Super Giant fertility clinic.

My first appointment with my RE was great! He was so optimistic, considering I had one successful pregnancy already. So we did all of the tests, and went back for another consult. He told me that I have Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (explains the irregular ovulating, and tendancy to gain weight easily but not be able to lose it). The next step was to test the hubby, which given his age and health shouldn't be an issue, and then we'd jump into IUIs as soon as we were ready. Since our insurance policy covered IUIs at 50%, we needed to save some cash, and wait until the following year so we could set aside some flexible spending dollars to help compensate. And that's when we got the letter in the mail- my new primary insurance needed a statement from the RE regarding my husband's sperm count, and the likelihood of it working with IUI. That's when my nurse called, asking us to come in for a consult. We had never talked about his semen analysis, so we assumed all was good. Little did we know, it was very, very bad. Extremely low (at 0.6x10^6, or 600,000) with very poor morphology. Not good news. He wanted to repeat the analysis and send hubby to a urologist to see why this was happening. We saw the Urologist, and there was nothing there that would cause such a low count. Now the question comes in- was it this low when we got pregnant with Celia? What changed in the last 4 years? NO IDEA! Anyway, it was on to IVF with ICSI- do not pass go, do not collect $200, without any other optinos.

On the plus side here, IVF was covered by BOTH of our insurance policies at 100%. This made that much easier to swallow, but emotionally, we knew it would be hard. In May 2007, we started our first cycle, only to have it postponed because of cysts. After my next cycle started, things were clear to start. We got a total of 10 eggs (only 3 of which were mature), and we got 5 little embryos out of it. Two of which didn't make it to transfer, and we did a 3 day transfer of 2 of our little embryos. Both took, but a week later, one had clearly stopped growing, leaving 1 healthy baby growing. I'm at nearly 22 weeks now, and without any complications, I should be giving birth, via C- section, in about 16-17 weeks.

Having insurance coverage made this whole experience a lot easier to swallow. When IUI was going to be covered at 50%, we helped fix it with adding a second policy which hopefully would have helped somewhat with the difference. IVF was covered at 100%, as were most of the meds (minus Crinone, which I paid out of pocket for). It helped me to focus on myself, and my husband and daughter throughout treatment. I didn't have to worry about her not being able to continue with gymnastics classes because of money. Or worry about buying her new clothes, or shoes when she needed them. We took a vacation this summer. All things we never would have been able to manage had we had to pay out of pocket. Most importantly, we're going to be giving her the brother or sister she's been asking for for the last year and a half. When we told her about the baby, she was SO excited. Any time we go to a store, she keeps talking about the things she needs to get for "my baby". It's not mine, it's hers. And none of this would have been possible without our insurance coverage. We are so lucky to have our policies, and I wish that everyone else was that lucky. IVF really took it's toll on me, physically and mentally. But I didn't have to worry about money at all, which made that part of it so much easier. I hope that things change some day, and IVF and other infertility treatments get more coverage, so that everyone else has the option to persue treatements without worrying about paying bills, or putting food on the table.

That's my story. I know how lucky I was, and am. I know how different Secondary Infertility is from primary infertility. But it still hurts, and changes you forever.

Recap

Wow, I can't believe it's been over 2 weeks since I posted! Sorry about that!

Things have been crazy over here! I've been completely exhausted, and have had no energy whatsoever. My trip to San Francisco went well! The conference was great, and at an amazing place, and the food was incredible too! Gotta love a place that has desert for lunch AND dinner!

Here's the rundown of what we did in San Francisco-
Got in around 3, headed straight to Ghiradelli Square. Bought loads of chocolate, went to Cellar360 and did a wine tasting flight, and then had ice cream at the Ghiradelli soda shop. YUMMY!!! The wine tasting was absolutely incredible. For $25, we tried 5 different California Cab sauv., all of which had a retail price between $65 and $115 per bottle. The most amazing wines I've had in a very long time, and I even came home with one. Just so good! Then we went over to the cable cars and rode them up and back, headed to the hotel where we went to a restaurant across the street, that had absolutely amazing pizza. Some of the best I've ever had! Second day we went on a walking tour of Little Italy and North Beach. Had loads of different pastries, foccacia, coffee, truffles, and other things. It was great! Then, was one of my favorite parts- a trip to Artfibers. I was relatively well behaved, and spent a little, but not too much. The varieties of yarn were just incredible! I picked up 3 different silks, one of which is for my KTS4 pal. Then we went shopping in Chinatown, and had a late lunch. After that, we went back to the hotel, relaxed a little, and found a restaurant in the area for dinner (tapas!). Everything was great! I had a wonderful time, and was wishing I had more time there. Definitely have to go back again! And this time, with my hubby. But I'll definitely stay at the same hotel again- it was really nice, inexpensive, and in a great location!

10 more days!

I am really getting excited about my upcoming trip to California! I'll flying in and out of San Francisco, direct flights (yeah!), and did decide to extend my stay by 2 nights! So I'll be in San Jose at the conference for 3 nights, and San Francisco for 2. And, it worked out really well, because my boss is going to be able to stay in San Francisco for the first night too, so we'll get to check out the city together. Makes it much easier, and more fun because she's been there before. I definitely am going to check out Artfibers, which I can't wait to see. And the rest we'll play by ear. I can't believe I get 5 whole days that are husband and child free!

Recap of Stitches East

I had a blast! A neighbor, who I met on Ravelry, picked up up around 8:30, and we headed over to Baltimore. We got there right at 10, which was perfect because it wasn't all that crowded. Yeah! I think we looked at most of the booths, and ended up buying loads of stuff! And, I even spent $50 less than I planned on!! I can't believe I walked out of there with cash!!

Here are some pics of my purchases!

First, we have a skein of STR in a fab colorway that I hadn't seen before!

Then we have some silk Lotus from Interlacements, which is such an intense blue in person. I bought a great pattern (below) to make with this.

Then we have some buttons for a lavendar/periwinkle sweater I'm making for Celia. I am using these as incentive to finish it by the holidays.

And here are the 2 patterns I picked up. The one on white paper is the one I'm using the Lotus for. It's just so lovely!!

And here, is some Lisa Souza, which I fell in love with.

And, since I was wearing my Koigu socks, I had to get some more. I just loved this colorway the second I saw it.

Then, The Ernst's had a booth for their beautiful glass needles. I've been thinking about buying some forever, and after I tried them, I had to have some! Again, with the blue. It would have been purple, but they didn't have any in a solid purple, other than the LimeNViolet ones, which I loved, but they didn't have any with longer cords.

Then, we have some Brooks Farm, which is a booth I can never go into without buying something. This was no different- though I did only get one. I had gotten 4 at MSW which I haven't touched yet, so I felt good about restraining myself here. It's their Fourplay, and it's absolutely stunning!

And last, but certainly not least, we have some Colinette Jitterbug, in a beautiful colorway. I had resisted, until I saw from another blog, that the name of this colorway is "Jay". And for those of you who don't know, Jay was my maiden name. So I had no choice in this purchase whatsoever. It was coming home with me.


Well, there you have it!! My Stitches East purchases! I was very well behaved this year. I didn't go overboard. And, I had a lot of fun! This year, I was there an additional hour, for a grand total of 3 hours. Being pregnant, it was absolutely perfect. Any more time and I would have collapsed! I was so exhausted! And it was fun going with my neighbor! Neat that you find people right around the corner, with several common interests (wine and yarn!!), on Ravelry. I always love seeing what others have gotten, and it always inspires me to look at different things.

Anyone going??

I'm going to Stitches East on Friday!!! Anyone else going??

And the winners are...

Kerry- has won a skein of my handpainted yarn!

Annemarie- has also won a skein of my handpainted yarn!

Mary- has won a set of stitch markers!

Stacey- has also won a set of stitch markers!

I'll be e-mailing you to ask the specifics of what you'd like!

Updates

Well, the Walk was great, and I raised $455 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society!! I'm so excited about that- thanks so much for all of your contributions!! I'll do the drawing tonight!

I had my next ultrasound this morning, and.... it's an IT! As with Celia, this child was stubborn and decided not to show us the gender. It's all good though! I'm still excited, and am looking forward to the next US in 6 more weeks. We did take Celia with us, and she really had a blast watching the images on the screen. Very exciting!

3 more days!!

Thank you so much to those of you who have donated to my Light The Night walk. I really appreciate it, and between you and family members, I have more than doubled my initial goal!! You rock!!

Here's your last chance to donate!! I have a total of 4 prizes, 2 skeins of yarn, in winner's choice of colorways, and 2 sets of stitch markers, again in winners choice of colors. If you donate before 6pm on Saturday, October 6th, you'll get your name in the drawing!!

Thanks again everyone!!

Phew.

Ok, I figured out where the comment came from, or at least why I was picked on. I guess being an SP hostess has it's hazzards. The blog owner who the commenter was talking about actually wrote and apologized for it. No one knows who the commenter was, but it was really nice to get an apology. Thanks!

Not much else going on over in my neck of the woods. Busy as always. Lots of things may be changing, but we'll see what happens. I spent some time doing a few custom orders last night, which was fun. They're drying, and will hopefully be ready to go soon!!

so confused!!

I just saw this comment...and I have no idea what its from! I never leave anonymous comments. Never. WTF?

And this person is rude enough to yell at me about leaving an anonymous comment, which I DIDN'T, yet they left this one as anonymous.

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If you're the one who left the "anonymous" comment on "Yet Another Knitting Blog," you're a piece of trash. Rules are rules, but there's no need to be rude. You also could have had the guts to leave your name, or -- how's this -- send a private email to the blogger. So here's an "anonymous" comment of your own to wonder about.

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And fun was had!

Celia had a blast camping! Here's a pic that Nathan took- she apparently was pretending that the stick was a lawnmower, and kept going around the tent with it.

And here is what I did yesterday!

Perfect weekend.

Yesterday morning, I kissed my hubby and daughter goodbye, got in the car and got a few last minute things for their camping trip, while they went to gymnastics. I grabbed a starbucks on the way out, and decided that breakfast was a must as well, so I hit the McD's drivethru and grabbed an Egg and cheese biscuit and hashbrowns, and headed home. I watched TV while I had my breakfast, and then...went for my massage! I had my first prenatal massage of this pregnancy, and it won't be my last, let me tell you!! It was amazing. By the time I got home, my husband and daughter had just gotten to the campground and were working on the tent. So I spent a few hours in front of the TV relaxing, made some Mac N Cheese, and then did some dyeing. 13 skeins, almost all new colorways. Half of them are in a worsted weight alpaca blend- yummy. Then I thought of ordering dinner (from Waiter on the way, but decided that I couldn't justify the $10 delivery fee for just myself, so I made a cheese quesadilla and had some chips and salsa instead. It was pretty good too! After that, I watched more TV (reruns of Americas Next Top Model were on the DVR), and relaxed some more. Bed by 10, on clean sheets, and I had a great night sleep. The only down fall was waking up at 5 to a horrible smell. Turns out wet alpaca doesn't smell very good, and our bedroom is next to the laundry room. So after I sprayed my room, and closed the door, it was back to sleep til nearly 8. It was perfect. And now, in about 20 minutes, I'm heading out to meet up with the DC Metro Get Together with the ladies I've met who are all dealing with infertility in one way or another. They have been such a great support system over the last few months, and I can't wait to see them again!!!

Guess what?

My etsy shop was featured on the Lime N Violet Daily chum blog!

hmm...

This could be interesting.

DealDotCom.com. Check it out!!

edited: fixed the link. Sorry!!

Light The Night, 2007

Hi everyone! On Saturday, Oct 6th, I'm going to be walking in the Light The Night Walk to support the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Last year, one of my best friend's lost her 14 year old sister-in-law to Leukemia, and I'm walking in her honor. Please help me make my goal of $200!

I'll be holding a contest, for anyone who donates. What are the prizes you may ask?? Well, first off- I'll be raffeling off several skeins of handpainted yarn from my shop, in the winner's choice of colorways! Plus a few sets of stitch markers, and a few other items. Everyone who donates will be entered into the contest! So head on over to my donation page to support this great organization!

Thanks for your support!!

quick post

Here's the pic of my baby's first skein of handpainted yarn. I'm just so proud!!

in training...

This is a sweet pic of my Celia from last week. I was winding one of the yarns I had dyed so I could reskein it, and she just had to help! I'm going to be in big trouble once she starts knitting.