Pass the Soup

I can fully admit that generally when it comes to illness and pain, I am a wimp.  However, the last few days have really knocked me off my feet.  I lasted a whole 30 minutes before being asked to leave work.  So for now I'm enjoying my day of napping.
In other news, we have gas!  Natural gas is pumping through lines and into the appropriate appliances. It only took nearly a month, $320 in supplies, and eight trips by the utility workers to find out the regulator on the outside of the house was broke the entire time.  The good news is everything but two feet of piping has been replaced and should be leak free for quite some time. We are happy to finally be taking showers that don't require boiling water on the stove.
Liz has been promoted and is now working as both a nurse educator and charge nurse.  I admire how hard she works.  She is a great nurse and I know she will make a big difference in the hospital.  I could go on and on about her.  I love my wife with all my heart.  She treats me so well, and I am incredibly lucky to have her in my life.
We are hoping to narrow down our donor choices this weekend. AF keeps popping around and confusing me.  I had such textbook cycles before and since we started TTC my organs have revolted. We're so excited to get started again. The overanalysis has already started and we aren't officially in a cycle yet.

We're Alive!

It's been a busy two weeks, even though it doesn't look like it. Currently we are battling gas... natural gas. It all started with a slight smell of gas. Now after 3 shut offs, 2 turn ons, 1 full new set of pipes, and countless visits from a handy friend; we are hoping it will be finally resolved tomorrow. This nightmare just goes on and on.  We are actually trying to be positive about it. We have hunkered down in the living room with sheets blocking drafts and the rest of the house. We dragged the bed in and rearranged all of the furniture. Surprisingly our two little heaters are keeping us nice and toasty.


Tie-dye throw back from high school

Now for some news that actually relates to the creation of this blog. We are back in the planning stages of ttc.  Why planning?  Well, our sperm bank (and subsequently our donor) is in the middle of a giant disaster. We have no clue what it is, why it is, or if/when it will reopen. What we do know is we don't have time to wait around.  We really felt comfortable with our donor, costs, and the bank itself.  That just wasn't enough to keep us hanging around. Granted if they opened tomorrow and had their act together, we might consider going back. But for now we're looking at using Northwest Cryobank. There are a lot more options with this bank but they come with a price. We're both excited to get back on the path to building our family. Hopefully this change of direction will keep me more attached to this blog.
~Aiden

Snowageden!

Here in the Midwest we've been bracing for "a storm for the history books."  It started Monday with freezing rain, overnight some icing, and now lots more freezing rain and sleet.  Today is supposed to bring more icing and the start of 10-20 inches of snow, depending on who you're listening to. I don't want to jinx it but so far it seems to not be developing as horribly as predicted. Although you never know. The city had been declared a state of emergency before anything arrived and there are 600 guardsmen ready if the need should arise.  Stores ran out of food, ice melt, and other random stuff. Mass hysteria followed. Honestly it was kind of comical, in a "oh I hope this doesn't really happen" kind of way.



Riding out the storm



So what does all of that mean for us personally? Liz was scheduled to work Tuesday and Wednesday.  Rather than risk safety driving on ice early Tuesday morning, she set up camp in the hospital and hopefully she'll be home soon- as in late Wednesday evening. Myself and the furry kids are camping out at home and praying the power doesn't go out. We tend to loose power easily here and it takes a while to get back on.  In the midst of packing our bags in case we had to go to the in laws I noticed a gas smell by the dryer. This turned into a nice evening of having the gas company fix 5 leaks that had developed in almost every union of our piping.

As far as life outside of the winter storm, we're still working on some changes. It's been nice to enjoy each other and our life at a little more of a slow pace.  I had been staying away from the message board of our bank, and when I finally peeked was shocked.  Apparently they are closed until further notice for "reorganization."  I'm really hoping they are open and running by the time we need them.  They are the most affordable, accessible, and varied for donors.  I hope we don't have to switch.

*edit- I think I jinxed it. The sleet is really coming down now and there are nice icicles developing on the  power lines. Also there is one lone bird hanging out in a neighbors tree. The bird is either crazy or sick.