Happy Day

Two years ago today Mr. O was created and our journey together began. I had such hope and a tingly feeling when I hopped off the table after the IUI. Today that little bundle of cells is just as busy as he was then. He took his first steps 2 weeks ago and in the last few days he's been working really hard to master walking across the room. He still needs to hold on to something in order to get to his feet but I'm sure it won't be long before he can do it without assistance. O has been talking up a storm and I was amazed the other day when I started listing the words he can say and understand. I counted up to 40 words! Mama, Star, Duck, Mickey Mouse and Flower are his favorites and he points them out whenever and where ever he sees them. He knows some of his body parts and will point to them when asked - nose, eye, ear, mouth, tongue, teeth, BELLY, knee, fingers and toes. Toes are the cutest because when you ask him where they are he wiggles them for a bit before grabbing them. Another cute for now but I'm sure it will get old fast trick of Mr. O's is a new found love of the word NO and temper tantrums. If you take something away it's No, No, No! I tried to take away a spoon that he was using to steal ice cream from my bowl and he started flailing about while shrieking NO NO NO! Peek-a-Boo is still his #1 game but playing catch with a ball is a close second.

30 Day Non-Challenge Day 9
Want to play along?

Day 9 – What is the most important lesson you learned from your own mother (or other primary caretaker)?

I was raised by a single mother and the most important lesson she taught me was that women could do anything a man a could and if you were willing to put in the hard work then there was nothing that you couldn't accomplish. The second most important and really just about tied with the first is that nothing is more important than family.

30 Day Non-Challenge Day 8

30 Day Non-Challenge Day 8
Want to play along?
Day 8 – If you had to teach something, what would you teach? (If you DO teach, when did you discover your love for teaching/the subject?)
If I know how to do something than I'm pretty good at showing others how to do it, too. I'm pretty good at translating technical babble into understandable instructions. Of course there are some folks who will just never understand (my mother!) how to use gadgets.

Day 7 of the Non-Challenge

I've decided to participate in The new 30 Day Non-Challenge! to get my blogging rolling again. I'll catch up with the days I missed hopefully this week. Want to play along? Some of the questions are 2 Mom focused but I'll just make those fit my SMC life.

Day 7 – What’s your favorite thing to eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner? If you have children, what are their favorites?

Breakfast - Me: I don't normally eat breakfast but I do love eating out for breakfast. Love going to a diner and ordering two eggs over medium with homefries and toast. If I'm extra hungry and the grill is extra greasy I'll order a grilled bagel with cream cheese.

O: He seems to be a fan of scrambled eggs with cheese and a green veggie mixed in. Most days he has a banana or apple with a handful of cheerios and sometimes cheese or yogurt.

Lunch - Me: I'm a sandwich kind of gal. Salami with cheese on white bread w/ mayo is my favorite but I don't have it very often. It reminds me of when I was kid and would have lunch in my Nana's air conditioned tiny kitchen.

O: His naps usually fall right around lunch time so middle of the day is usually just a snack. Cheese stick, some kind of fruit, or leftover eggs from breakfast.


Dinner - Me: Honestly I should have answered all 3 meals with this... PIZZA.
O: A 3 way tie with pasta with scrambled hamburger, steak and an orange. Oranges are the only food that never ever get tossed onto the floor.

Catching up on Days 1-6 of the Non-Challenge

All caught up! Want to play along?

Day 1 – Provide a picture of the space where you normally blog
I'm going to skip the photo because the space that I normally blog is in serious need of some cleaning. I have my laptop on top of an orange storage tub beside my bed. It allows me to get my internet fix while laying down in bed so while not very pretty it works.

Day 2 -Describe your high school self. What extracurricular activities, if any, did you participate in during high school?
High school me was happy. I had great friends, great hair and a pair of kick-ass acid wash jeans.

Day 3 -What are your guilty pleasures?
Chocolate shakes. I started drinking them while I was pregnant because they would stay down more often than other food and it's been a hard habit to break (...is that Chicago I hear?).

Day 4 – (for parents) What has most surprised you about parenthood?
(for parents-to-be) What has most surprised you about ttc?
I've been surprised at how easy it has been to have my life completely changed. I think that it's felt easy because I expected it to be so much more difficult.

Day 5 -What do you prefer to do on your birthday? If you have children, what do you prefer to do for their birthday?
Every year my Mom calls me at the exact time that I was born. I like to drive up to Maine and have lunch or dinner at a diner that makes an outrageously delicious chocolate chip cookie dough pie and do some outlet shopping.


Day 6 – When was the last time you tried something new? What was it and what was the result?

I tried brussel sprouts for the first a few weeks ago and I was surprised to find that I liked them. I'm trying to keep an open mind about what I feed Mr. O and model a willingness to try new things.

"Donor Unknown" documentary streaming for free on Friday

The documentary "Donor Unknown" is part of the tribeca film festival and will be streaming online for free this Friday.


Here is a synopsis from the film's site

..."Donor Unknown follows JoEllen from her discovery of her siblings, to the moment Jeffrey steps forward to identify himself as Donor 150, to her decision to travel to California to meet him. Along the way, we meet Danielle in New York, who was not told by her parents that she was donor-conceived till the age of 14, and is uncertain of the kind of relationship she could ever sustain with Jeffrey; Rachelle in Memphis, who is not sure if she ever wants to meet him; Ryann and Roxanne, who live in California and have already established some kind of relationship with Jeffrey; and Fletcher, 19, who decides the time is right to follow JoEllen on her journey to meet their donor father.

At the centre of the film is Jeffrey, living with his dogs and his pigeon in a car park by the beach, and preparing his broken-down RV for the arrival of JoEllen and Fletcher. At 52, his sperm donor days are over but his story has cast him in the role of an unlikely pioneer. His decision to cast aside his donor anonymity to meet them is a step few donors have taken.

Donor Unknown is a film about a new kind of ‘family’. Linked by their connection to a single sperm donor – 150 - parents and children are creating and navigating a new set of relationships. They are discovering first hand what a close biological connection to a stranger means for themselves and their identity. What happens next opens up some fascinating questions about nature and nurture, the responsibilities of parenthood, the moral integrity of the cryobanks, and the hazards of genetic inheritance. As the laws on donor anonymity change in some countries, there are fewer sperm donors and there’s a roaring trade in ‘fertility tourism’, for overseas sperm and egg donation."

In order to watch it you will need to create a log-in and "reserve a seat"

If anyone else watches it I'd love to talk more about what you thought of it.

Registration now open for the Boston Choice Mom networking event

Registration is now open for the Boston area Choice Mom networking event to be held on June 26.

For more information check out the Choice Mom website.


ETA: This is event is for everyone no matter where you are on the Choice Mom/SMC journey - thinkers, tryers and already moms