I Heard it Through the Grapevine

Have you ever had one of your children spill a secret to the rest of the world, a secret that you weren't ready to share? I myself, have not, but I'm sure some of my readers have had loose lips sink their ships, or at the very least that let the cat out of the bag a bit earlier than was desired.

*As a younger lad, a little someone I know from work did that to his parents in a public place. He outed his parents to a family member. "Mommy has as baby in her belly!" he whispered. Wow! What a revelation. Bam. There it is. The chips are on the table and the cards are down. Baby number XYZ is on its way! And then you don't say anything to anybody, so that it doesn't get around, but you smile inside, with the knowledge of a piece of someone's secret happiness inside you. That's pretty neat.

*Circumstances have been changed to protect the identity of the actual people in this story.

I Have Discovered that I Do NOT Want to be a Nanny.

After going for my first nannying interview via http://www.nannies4hire.com/ (a very reputable website) I began to ponder the implications of an hour plus round-trip drive four days a week, the gas money required to make said trip, and the duties I would be performing for about four children, and I thought to myself: "Self! If you take this job, you will be giving up your free time in the evenings and Saturdays and you will be spending more money than you will be saving."

Any nannying position I would find would be found in the same vicinity (where people can afford to hire nannies) and the trip and duties just became less attractive the more I thought about it, so sadly, I let the family know of my decision, apologized for any inconvenience it may have caused them, and I withdrew my application from Nannies4hire.com

Next opportunity to explore....tutoring. I wonder what the going rate for a tutor in our area is...if they have a teaching certification and an M.Ed.

Hmmm....I'll have to investigate and let you know. If you think you know...feel free to share.

Hysterosalpingogram

Disclaimer: This is not an image of my parts.  What you are looking at is an xray of radioactive iodine solution being injected into a uterus and fallopian tubes and it's spilling out of the ovaries (indicating no blockage and clear passage).

The Hysterosalpingogram turned out to be less scary than originally anticipated (after my Hysteroscopy). I arrived at 10:20 a.m. (I was supposed to get there by 10:00 for paperwork etc. but I got caught in traffic. Someone was trying to cut a tree down and forgot to tell my GPS to send me another way.). I got to the parking garage, and wound all the way around to almost the top floor to find a spot. I made it into the hospital, and found the information desk which directed me to radiology, where I signed a couple of forms, was shown to a dressing room that has seen better days, had a 3-4 minute wait, and then the radiologist came to get me.

The HSG began like a pap smear again, speculum etc. The radiologist then put this long syringe with a tube attached instead of a needle and they put that up inside, I then scooched back about 3 ft. and he got me centered under the xray machine. Then he injected the dye. I got to watch the dye successfully circulate up into my uterus and out BOTH of my fallopian tubes. This is what I wanted to see happen. No pain, no cramps, and a good result. Back to Abington tomorrow for bloodwork!

Hysteroscopy

I did it. I got my uterus powerwashed. No. Not really. It was really a Hysteroscopy. A Hyster--oooo, what? That's right. I said it. A Hy----ster----o----scopy. It uses a speculum, telescroping camera, sterile saline solution and pain to give the doctor a view of the inside of your uterus.

I'll save you the long laborious story about the drive down, the search for suite 35 and the misfiling of my patient file, not to mention the marathon wait in the waiting room. I'll skip to the part where I accidentally left my fertility folder paperwork and completed patient quesitonnaire in one of the unisex bathrooms at the surgical center. Yeah. Oops.

Good thing I remembered it...after I was already called away from the waiting room vending machine to the pre-op room. I dashed out of pre-op, waited for the restroom to free up (doing a little foot stomping dance of irritation for the person in their to hurry up), and then dashed back in, folder in hand.

Despite the wait, the staff was really great from intake (AnneMarie) to recovery (Sally). The wonderful angels in nurses outfits in the operating room were AMAZING. They all had hairnets that matched mine...with tropical palm trees on them. A nurse named Christa held my hand the whole time. That was her job, to talk to me and reassure me to keep me occupied and distracted as much as possible, to get my mind off the pain happening in my innermost never-neverland.

I'm free bird from the waist down, wrapped in a short robe. They helped me up on the table after introducing me to the group. They covered me in warmed blankies and then I got into position on the table. The nurse showed me the remote control for the operating table. This baby had more bells and whistles than a craftmatic adjustable bed. I ended up on my back, head lower than my body, legs up in calf-to-ankle stirrups, legs belted in, with a drape over my pieces parts. Totally vulnerable and nervous.

I got to watch the procedure on a TV screen. I couldn't watch the whole thing though, because of the pain!!! I had to lie back down and do some controlled breathing to work through the cramping. I had a bloodpressure cuff on my arm and pulse-o-meter on my finger. I could hear my heartbeat accelerate with the pain and stress. It was the longest 15 minutes of my life! I am so thankful for Christa! As soon as that water pressure went away, the cramps began to diminish. I have to admit. There were a few tears on my face by the end.

I got some souvenir photos out of the deal. The doctor did some laproscopy while he was in there. He got rid of a polyup for me. He said he thinks it's benign. When he did the laproscopy and the biopsy it hurt a bit. The worst was the water pressure. The evil powerwasher. My uterus got a little riled up under pressure, but the doc says it's healthy. So there you go.

After all that, I don't even want to think about the HSG. I think it's supposed to be worse. :(

If You Were Me...What Would YOU Do?

If you were me, what would you do? I need to make some money to supplement my income. I'm looking at a few different options and I want to solicit your feedback/opinion on some choices. You may even be so bold to make your own suggestions.

Option #1. I'm considering becoming a Pampered Chef consultant. I like quite a few of their products, but not all of them. I've been wanting to expand my cooking repetoire and this is a great incentive to do so. I'm just worried I won't devote enough time to grow my business or I'll spend too much money on increasing my business instead of banking it. It's definitely a commitment to consider. If you do well, you can grow your own team, develop a good client list, and you can go on trips etc. This job also hones your marketing skills and confidence! Would YOU have a PC party with me as your hostess with the mostess?

Option #2. Tutoring. I have the degree, the challenge will be building a client list. Any ideas?

Option #3. Babysitting/Nannying. I almost have an interview for this Friday after school. I am waiting for a confirmation. It would be steady work.

So I'm curious as to your thoughts on each of these endeavors.