First Ultrasound

We had the first ultrasound this morning. This one is to confirm the presence of a gestational sac and to count how many might be in there. It is still too early to see anything else though. Going into it we were a bit nervous. What if there is nothing in there? That is what happened with the first miscarriage. What if this isn't real? What if there is a problem? I think it is natural to be nervous but knowing that does not make you any less anxious. It is so hard to just relax and enjoy this process. I think mostly because we have spent so much time and tried so hard to get here. Our lives have been divided into neat little two week periods for almost three years now, each one ending in disappointment. It is hard to get out of that place and into a positive frame of mind. There are still lingering feelings from the miscarriage as well. I think I will relax a bit once the first trimester is over. I hope. ;->





The other big question is how many are in there? One is great, two is fine but a lot more work. I've heard it said by people that have twins that it is not twice the work of one but more like four times... Luckily we aren't going to have to find that out ourselves as there is just one sac visible! You can see it in the picture as the dark area marked by two plus signs and a line. That line is measuring the size. It is 44.3 mm. That is a bit on the small side. They like to see a size of 50-70 mm. That does not mean that anything is wrong at this point, it could just be from a delayed implantation or it is just growing a tiny bit slower.

Next Monday we go for another ultrasound. We should be able to see a heartbeat at that point. That is the last major milestone. From then on the chances of another miscarriage drop dramatically each week. Keep you fingers crossed!

Ritual Competition Finals

Today was the finals for the First Degree California State Championship. I am really proud that we have made it this far. There are hundreds of lodges in California, many that take Masonic ritual very seriously. It is really a privilege to take part in this with them.











The competition was held at North Hollywood Lodge #542. There have been many famous masons and several belonged to this lodge. The most famous from North Hollywood lodge is probably Audie Murphy, the most decorated solider in American History. They have an "Audie Murphy" room that contains some of his medals and other artifacts. We waited in there as another lodge was preforming.










When our turn came we passed into the lodge room and met the Grand Lodge officials, all five Assistant Grand Lecturers and the Grand Lecturer were on hand to judge. After a brief period to familiarize ourselves with the layout, the degree began. All of our officers rose to the occasion and turned in outstanding performances. It was a dignified and meaningful ritual.

When it was over, the AGL's and GL congratulated us and thanked us for our hard work. They really seemed like a bunch of very nice guys. I hope to get to know them a bit better in the future. All in all, I think we acquitted ourselves as best we could. We will hopefully find out soon how we placed. Afterwards we adjourned to Jerry's Famous Deli for a delicious lunch and much conviviality.

Second hCG test

Whoo hooo! My beta hCG came back at 698! I am officially, 100 %, without a doubt pregnant! That is way higher than I expected. The hCG level is suppose to double every two days or so. Since I was at 120 on Monday I was expecting something between 400 and 480. Well, obviously 698 is even better than expected! The big question remains, is it one or two? We find out on Monday...

Tall Corn

Man does corn grow fast and tall!! This is my second year growing corn and I'm still amazed at how fast it shoots right up! One day it is knee high, the next it is well over your head.

Obviously the corn is doing quite well. ;-> Another 10 days or so and we should be ready to harvest. There is a TON of corn in there too.

Just to give some sense of perspective; the tomato cage in the front is 7 feet tall. The corn is easily 8 1/2 feet tall.









The Dahlia's are in full bloom now as well. I've brought home huge bouquets for Vanessa several times already.
















The blackberries are just starting to turn red. A few more weeks are needed before we can start blackberrying. I'm going to use some of the crop to make a blackberry ale for Ellen's birthday party.

These are "Triple Crown" blackberries.

First Pregnancy Test

Positive!!!! :-) beta hCG of 120 mIU/mL!! 16 days post transfer. Nervous about the result. Is it real? Will it last? Second test on Friday.....

Embryo Transfer

So of the 12 eggs they retrieved 8 fertilized. Of those 8, 6 developed into five day blastocysts. They transfered 2 and froze 4. These are really good numbers!! We couldn't really hope for a better result so far. Two AA grade blastocysts!! Good chances.

They only transfered two because of the high probability of multiple births with 3 or more.












This is a picture of when they transfered the two blastocysts. The arrow points to the catheter in my uterus. The dark, black spot above is my bladder.

Now I am on 48 hours of required bed rest. I can only get up to pee. After that, I took the rest of the week off of work to take it easy. I want to give these guys every chance to stay put!

Dubl Duck Double Score

The bay was good to me this week! Two very rare Dubl Duck razors. ;->

The one at the top is a "Lifetime" but is better known as the "Grim Reaper". Very few were made or sold. The Lifetime series was the the top of the line made by Bresnick. Like all ducks, they are fantastic shavers. I've been watching ebay for a long time for one to pop up.

The one at the bottom is the super rare "Stainless" duck. As the era of the straight razor came to an end stainless razors made a brief appearance. Pearlduck made this razor for a little while right before they finally shut down. Very few are still in existence. This is the only one I've ever seen. I can't wait to get these bad boys restored and honed up and see how they shave. If my Dubl Duck Satinwedge (my current favorite razor) is any indication they should give fantastic shaves.

Egg Retrieval

The egg retrieval was on Thursday. 12 eggs!! Vanessa did very well, kind of goofy. -Joe

Kind of goofy? More like out of my mind. When you go in for egg retrieval they give you a cocktail of drugs to "relax" you. Then I opted for an epidural instead of being knocked out completely. The last thing I remember before the doctor started was having the anesthesiologist numb my lower back for the spinal block. The first thing I remember after the retrieval was trying to take my bra off because I was itchy. Itching is a normal side effect of the medicine they use in an epidural. I think I gave the nurses a laugh or two. Not sure what came out of my mouth during this time, but I apologize for anything offensive. Joe took me home and I proceeded to sleep off the drugs they gave me. I felt pretty good the next day. My only complaint was a dull ache in my lower back. According to Marilyn, who was there, the anesthesiologist said I had really strong back ligaments. I guess she had to really push really hard to get the needle into my back for the epidural. Wrangling all those animals all these years payed off! I have the back of an ox!

Ritual Competition Update

We won! 98.9%

Now we move on to the State Championship. There are five divisions in the state so it will be a tough competition.