GO VACATION

I've been MIA recently because we finally took a vacation! Let me tell you, it was GLORIOUS. My parents rented a beach house in OBX and invited my little brother and his gf and Dr. F, LM & me to go along. What a wonderful and relaxing way to celebrate the end of Dr. F's intern year, recoup a little more from my surgery, and take time to celebrate our anniversary. Oh, and I can't forget to mention that LM is now 99% potty trained! He is still wearing diapers at nap/nighttime, but we've been accident free during the day time for almost a week! They say a picture is worth a thousand words so I'll just leave you with these:

We enjoyed spectacular sunsets

played hard at the beach

enjoyed the sand

and took lots of self portraits.

Celebrating our anniversary with a nice dinner

Then got ice cream for dessert

and capped off the celebration with mini-golf.

Dr. F won. It was embarrassing

We took some time to go crabbing

And made sure to take plenty of time to relax

Nook vs. Kindle smackdown

Sooo, my birthday is still a few months off, but I've been kicking around the idea of asking for an ereader for quite some time. I commute every day on the train and I love the idea of an ereader. The prices keep coming down and I dont have any strong feelings about getting a color screen or particular brand, so I'm turning to you for input. I just read this review and found it pretty helpful, if not a bit outdated. I think I'm leaning toward the Kindle, but could easily be swayed... thoughts?

Nook

Kindle

Back to the real world...

Well, my convalescence was lovely and I was relaxed, productive and generally a happy girl, despite the obscene heat with no central ac. I get my stitches out tomorrow and will have more blood work in a few weeks to see how my thyroid levels are (fingers crossed, they will be normal and I wont need any meds!)

Being home from work also gave me the opportunity to visit with Mary Frances and baby E. Consequently, Aidan insists on praying for MF and her baby every night at bedtime. It is ADORABLE!

We even capped off my recovery with an awesome wedding on Long Island this past weekend. Friends of ours are both only children of two well-to-do Jewish families on Long Island (none of those words describe us!). The wedding was RIDICULOUS and loads of fun.Dr. F and I agreed that we actually liked it better than most Christian/non-denominational weddings we've been to because it just seemed so personalized to the couple. There was plenty of traditional elements to the ceremony and God was very much incorporated, but I felt like we actually learned about the couple and their relationship. Anyway, check out some pictures...if you look closely, you can see my scar, and its not so bad! Additionally, I tied Dr. F's bow-tie and it only took two tries! BOOYAH!

This is Dr. F's serious face...see a resemblance to LM? HOLY COW!

hello!

Thank you all for so many kind thoughts and prayers! I am home from the hospital and happy to report that surgery went well, my dr. was able to leave about 30-50% of my thyroid and I had no complications. I'm in some pain, but that is to be expected and so far, I dont need to be on any medication except paid meds (no hormone replacement!). Also, I may have told my mom that I can't wait to get knocked up soon while I was on heavy duty pain meds in the hospital. And yes, I used those words...umm, yeah :)

tomorrow

Tomorrow is my surgery and I'm so nervous. I've never had real surgery before (wisdom teeth don't count)... I mean, I've never been under general anesthesia so that is scary. I'm willingly allowing someone to cut open my neck. UGHHH. I very well might loose my entire thyroid tomorrow and be on meds for the rest of my life. My metabolism might be gone. Yeah, that will suck. I am terrified that I wont wake up from the anesthesia,(I know I know, soooo unlikely). I'm terrified they're going to cut the wrong thing (my surgeon has done well over 1000 of these...and does a few every week). I'm not afraid of the recovery process or the pain. I'm just afraid of the surgery itself.

However, I'm so excited that we are attacking this head on and doing something about it. I'm excited that as soon as my meds are stabilized, we can begin trying to get pregnant! YESSSS. I'm excited that I wont constantly feel like I have a lump in my throat (it feels like my tonsils are permanently swollen). And I'm soooo excited that I'll get a mini-vacation from work where I do nothing by park my rear on the couch and watch movies. Yeah, I'm ready for that.

Anyway, thanks for your prayers and well wishes. See you on the other side!

cop-out

A cop-out, bullet point post because I'm currently incapable of doing anything else:

1. I have just discovered the band Pink Martini. This is my favorite song.

2. We are officially cloth diapering on the weekends. It is awesome and easy and so much cheaper. I save an average of 15 disposal diapers per weekend. At $.40/diaper, that adds up quickly. Even Dr. F is on board!

3. I have reaffirmed my strong dislike for anything scented (deodorant etc.). All I can smell is my new "classic scent" deodorant. However, I'm too cheap to by another one until I thoroughly use this one up.

4. I am having part or all of my thyroid removed next week. This will be a 3 hr surgery under general anesthesia and an overnight stay in a hospital. I'm nervous as heck about the surgery, but let me tell you, the thought of not having to do ANYTHING but take pain meds and lay on the couch for a week...now that sounds AWESOME.

5. My first ThredUP box was picked and I'm shipping it tomorrow! Wahoo! Thanks Ab for recommending this site to me!

6. I can not wait for the weekend. That is all.

by the numbers

4: the number of times I've had blood work done
2: the number of endocrinologists I've seen
250: the amount dollars I've spent on co-pays (not including lab fees...I haven't gotten those bills yet)
1: MRI
1: thyroid ultrasound
1: radioactive uptake scan. I glowed in the dark for about 24 hrs!
2: hyperactive thyroid nodules
1: surgery scheduled June1 to remove said nodules


The last 3 months have been a roller coaster of emotion and learning and I can't wait to get it all over with! What started as a suspected migraine with auras turned out to be sub-clinical hyperthyroidism and a thyroid gland that has actually completely shut down. Yay me. This is all culminating in thyroid surgery which I'll be having in two weeks. I'm pretty scared... I mean, they are going to cut my neck open...but I'm super relieved that this will all (hopefully) be over soon and if it all goes according to plan, my thyroid should kick back on, returning my body to normal! Of course, worse cast scenario, it doesn't kick back on and I have to take a synthetic thyroid hormone every day for the rest of my life. But really, I'm not that worried about that because what is the difference in that and taking the pill or a daily vitamin? I met with the surgeon this morning and he was really positive about my prognosis and the surgical outlook. I think I'm in good hands.

So why the surgery now? We were advised that we could wait and monitor this through a pregnancy and then have the surgery after pregnancy, buuuut there was a chance I could have to take nasty meds through pregnancy that aren't the best for the baby. Plus, this whole thing could make getting preggers very difficult and then we'd have to get the surgery after several months of trying anyway. So Dr. F and I decided its better to just get it done now, let my body work itself out and we can still be on track to try in August assuming my levels stabilize (they very more than likely will be just fine 6 weeks out from surgery). No possibility of quasi-dangerous meds/difficulty getting pregnant etc.

Now I can actually think about something else and look forward to getting some good pain meds and home cooked meals (that I dont have to make!!) when my mom and dad come to stay with us to take care of Aidan. I'm also REALLY REALLY excited about trying to get pregnant. Did you know that? I mean, I CAN NOT WAIT to get knocked up again :)

So, in the next few weeks any prayers and good vibes you can send my way for a safe, successful surgery and recovery are deeply appreciated.