Before we cut the fat ones down to size

A few odds and ends:

I have nine days of school left before summer vacation. NINE. And thanks to Memorial Day, I only have one Monday left! The last three days of school don't involve any instruction, plus we have an all-day field trip next week, and the two Fridays will involve minimal instruction as well, so it's really like I  only have three full teaching days left. The end is so close I can taste it. However, this has the unfortunate side effect of me not wanting to do anything productive once the students leave at the end of the day. And the students don't really want to do much of anything, either. Alas.

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Speaking of side effects, if anyone was taking bets on when I'd have my first hormonal breakdown after starting the pill again, and you guessed six days, you may collect your earnings. Last Friday I became extremely angry at Jacob because he suggested going to the gym and that meant I had to change into a sports bra. The audacity of it all! Then later that day, when I said we needed to go on more dates, Jacob asked what I wanted to do. I told him to guess, and when he guessed correctly (have a picnic and play badminton), I burst into tears.

Oh, the drama. It was like a flashback to our first year of marriage.

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A few days ago, one of my students accidentally smashed two of his fingers in the classroom door right before lunch recess. It looked incredibly painful (and he was in tears), so I sent him to the office to get an ice pack. On the way back from lunch, I passed him in the hall and asked him if he was feeling okay.

Student: I'm fine. When I was in the office, two girls kissed me on the cheek five times!
Me: Oh my! Were you embarrassed?
Student: No. I liked it! . . . But don't tell my mom!

I had to walk away pretty fast after that so he wouldn't catch me laughing.

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I've been telling Jacob for ages that he should read The Hunger Games series. We watched the movie when it came out, and he finally picked up the first book earlier this month. He whipped through them pretty steadily. I warned him that the last book wasn't my favorite, and I didn't really love the way it ended. He came home from work one morning and told me he finished the last book. I was still mostly asleep, but I do remember him lamenting that the ending was terrible because (SPOILER!) "everyone died" and "she ended up with the wrong guy!" Bahaha.

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As of our latest paycheck and donations to the cause, we officially have enough money in our IVF fund to at least pay for the regular cycle, so it looks like we'll be moving forward with that this summer! We'd still like to get enough for the single cycle guarantee, so we're pulling some strings (and in Jacob's case, working a TON of overtime) in hopes that we'll be able to go that route. Again, if you'd like to contribute to the cause, we have a donation button on our blog! (And to those of you who have donated, a huge thank you, again! Your poem/babysitting services/foodstuffs will be forthcoming.)

Humble pie.

I took my first birth control pill in over two and a half years just minutes ago. On Mother's Day.  When I was on the pill the first time, I was a hormonal, emotional mess. Right before I took it today, Jacob said, "Don't turn crazy this time." Immediately after swallowing, I pretended to burst into tears and began to wail loudly.

Sometimes you need a little humor to get through infertility. Especially on a day like today, when the world is celebrating mothers. I'm pleased to say that I shed fewer than ten tears today at church, opposed to last year when I shed about ten million. So, that's progress.

I am not a mother. Yet. We're still trying to gain the necessary funds to pay for IVF. Somebody in Arizona must've coordinated something, because in the last week we received checks from five family members contributing to the fund. It was quite unexpected and we were touched by their love and support.

 If you'd like to help out, there's a button on the right side of the screen where you can contribute to our IVF fund. In return, you can expect our undying gratitude and possibly some baked goods or homemade ice cream or babysitting services or even a terrible poem dedicated in your name on my blog. (I'd go for the ice cream, myself, but maybe terrible poetry is more your thing. I did once write an ode to Blistex, to give you an idea of you could expect.)

My friend Kristin has offered to help me set up an online auction to raise money as well. In order for that to be successful, I'd need quite a few people to help contact companies for donations and spread the word. So if you'd prefer to help in that way, let me know!

Again, we thank you for all of the love and support that you have shown us these last few weeks. It isn't easy for me to ask for help (I once walked four miles to a stake center because I didn't want to inconvenience my neighbors by asking for a ride), but we do so appreciate the support we've been given.