Friday, April 21, 2017

Fly On The Wall At A Renaissance Festival

     Welcome to another edition of Fly On The Wall group blog postings, hosted by Karen of Baking In A Tornado. Today, eight bloggers are inviting you into their homes for a glimpse into their private lives.

     Before I get into the humor part of my FOTW post, I'd like to share an important message with you. This week I am honored to have a special article featured on The Mighty, and I'm hoping everyone will take the time to read it. This was a difficult story to share but one that needed to be told in order to help others suffering from Binge Eating and Body Dysmorphic disorders. A help line number is included at the end of the article. You can read the post here:  https://themighty.com/2017/04/being-eating-disorder-body-dysmorphic-disorder-in-children-recovery/  Please help me spread awareness of these forms of mental illness that have robbed so many women and men of living normal, healthy lives.

     Now, onto some humor......This past month, the pesky fly on the wall followed my family to the local renaissance festival, and oh man, the things this fly saw.........

                                   Anyone up for a game of Jumanji?

                                                 
                                           
                     Someone left their food-deprived baby at the circus      



Either I had one too many mugs of beer or I'm seeing a real life "Ram-Man"




I never could resist a handsome bagpipe player....



The stuff that nightmares are made of.....



This one too......




Not sure what tribe she is representing but I'm digging this outfit. 



I've always said that I have the appetite of a Viking, so I think I just found my spirit people.



Two lovely ladies out for a stroll....but they're probably smuggling flasks of rum under those skirts.




Ronald McDonald after too many frozen mojitos at the Ren-Fest pub




Hubs has been out in the sun too long. This is his war cry for, "GET ME OUTTA THIS PLACE!!"


***WANT MORE MENO MAMA? My first humor piece is featured this week on Post-40 Bloggers! You can read it here: http://post40bloggers.com/then-i-hit-my-fifties/


Thanks for stopping by to see what the nosey fly has been up to this past month. Buzz around some of these other blog sites for a peek into their homes:

Baking In A Tornado                  http://www.BakingInATornado. com
Menopausal Mother                     http://www.menopausalmom.com/
Searching for Sanity                 http://singlemumplusone. blogspot.com
Eileen’s Perpetually Busy            http://eileensperpetuallybusy. blogspot.com/  
Spatulas on Parade                    http://spatulasonparade. blogspot.com/
A Little Piece of Peace                 http://little-piece-of-peace. blogspot.com
Never Ever Give Up Hope                   http://batteredhope.blogspot. com
Bookworm in the Kitchen                 http://www.bookwormkitchen. com/ 

                                         

Monday, April 17, 2017

Your Ship Has Yet To Sail: Postmenopausal Pregnancy

     Think it's too late to get pregnant when you are postmenopausal? Think again! The following is an informative guest post written by Heidi Hayes, CEO of Donor Egg Bank USA.


Your Ship Has Yet to Sail: Postmenopausal Pregnancy

There’s an internal struggle that many women face nowadays; we yearn to challenge ourselves and advance our careers, but we still want to raise a family some day.
Modern women know there is more to life than staying home, raising babies, and ironing shirts, but striking a balance between our professional and personal lives is quite often difficult. In some cases, a woman may find herself going through menopause before she’s even had the chance to think about getting pregnant.
However, thanks to technological breakthroughs in the egg donation process, menopause no longer has to be the end of your journey to motherhood.

The Negative Effect Age Has on a Woman’s Eggs
When it comes to your physical health, there are many things you can do to keep yourself feeling young. You eat right, exercise on a regular basis, and stay away from cigarettes and excessive drinking. But even if you do all the right things for your body, the fact of the matter is still the same; as a woman ages, the quantity and quality of her eggs will greatly diminish. By the time the average woman hits forty, her chances of conceiving naturally are only 5%.
While IVF and other infertility treatments can still be a successful alternative to natural conception, many women find that their eggs just aren’t viable for pregnancy. In this instance, many will begin to look towards donor eggs as a solution.

Deciding to Use Frozen Donor Eggs
Coming to terms with the decision to use frozen donor eggs is not always easy. Many women struggle with the realization that their child will not have any genetic connection to them.
While feelings of sadness, anger, and anxiety are not uncommon, there is one thing that may help a couple find comfort in their decision. When a woman decides to undergo a donor egg IVF cycle, she will have the opportunity to carry that child herself.
The bond formed between a mother and her child in utero is unequivocal. She will get to watch as her belly grows, hear the baby’s heartbeat alongside her own, and feel the sweet movements of her little one from inside. These experiences will not be lessened by having different DNA.

Finding the Right Donor
When you’re ready to choose your donor, frozen donor egg banks are the ideal place to start your search. 
These companies work hard to ensure their patients are getting the best quality eggs possible. Each donor is thoroughly screened before being accepted as a donor. The women who donate must undergo background checks, physical and mental health screenings, and drug tests. Their educational and professional histories are also examined and considered. You will also be able to view photos of each potential donor.
Choosing which individual to go with is a very personal decision. Each couple will have different criteria that they are looking for in a donor. How important is a physical resemblance? Do you want a donor with a similar ethnic heritage? Would you prefer someone with an interest in the theatre, or would you rather a person that loves sports?
Once you decide what is most important to you, you can easily search for a donor who shares those traits.

Beginning the IVF Cycle
Once you’ve settled on a donor, it’s time to begin the IVF process. The egg storage facility will ship your selected eggs to your personal clinic to be stored until you are ready for your transfer. Thanks to a flash freezing technique known as vitrification, your chosen eggs will still be in the same condition they were on the day of collection.
The first step is in an IVF cycle preliminary testing. This is especially important when menopause has already occurred. Through blood work, ultrasounds, and other physical tests, your fertility specialist will have a better understanding of your current reproductive health. 
After your initial tests have been completed you will begin taking medications, including progesterone and estrogen, that will thicken and prepare your endometrial lining. At this point your clinic will also thaw and fertilize your donor eggs and cultivate them to embryos.
When your body and the embryo are ready, it’s time for the embryo transfer. You will watch on an ultrasound screen as your doctor places your developing embryo into your uterus using a thin catheter. The process is relatively quick, and you will go home the same day.
Two weeks post-transfer you will return to the clinic for a blood pregnancy test and hopefully a positive result.

Menopause Doesn’t Have to Be the End
So many people think of menopause as a conclusion. The final step in a woman’s fertility, where her months of having periods are behind her. While this isn’t completely wrong, menopause does not have to be the final stop on your quest to have a baby. By using donor eggs, many men and women have seen their families grow throughout their forties and even fifties.

Science has grown right along with our changing society. The rules are different and couples find themselves with more options than ever before. Your next best step could be right around the corner.





BIO:

Heidi Hayes is the CEO of Donor Egg Bank USA. She has more than 20 years of healthcare experience and has worked extensively in the field of reproductive endocrinology. Having been unsuccessful at traditional IUI and IVF treatments, Heidi personally understands the struggles of infertility. After many years of trying to conceive, she ultimately built her family through adoption and donor egg treatment. She always believed that if she didn't give up, her ultimate goal of becoming a parent would someday become a reality.

Friday, April 14, 2017

Super Spring Writers Series: Guest Post By Kathryn Mayer

     My guest blogger today is a very talented writer I met at the Erma Bombeck Writers Workshop in 2014 and again in 2016. Kathryn (Kate) Mayer and I hit it off immediately when we ended up sitting next to each other at the lunch table, and she has kept me entertained with her funny stories ever since that first day. In 2016 we connected with several other writers at the conference, and our special group, "the women from room 473" was formed. We bounce creative ideas off each other, seek career and personal advise, and support one another in all of our writing endeavors. I am so fortunate to know Kate and all the other talented writers I met at the conference!

     Today, Kate is sharing her colonoscopy story with us while spreading a message about the necessity of having the procedure done. Please welcome her to Meno Mama's site with lots of comment love.... and spread the word!

        NOT YOUR TYPICAL ASS STORY


I should have an EZ Pass to the local surgical center, or at least a customer rewards card. Having been bottoms up more times than I can remember, the least I could get is a free sandwich? Cup of clear fluid? Anything?
Just completed my umpteenth colonoscopy, and lived to tell about it.
Way back when, after having “symptoms,” I met with a gastroenterologist who quickly said, “Four kids? You’ve got hemorrhoids, but we’ll poke around up there to take a look to make sure.” (“Symptoms” is the polite way of saying blood in your shit, which is the polite way of saying blood in your “stool” – because who beside medical copywriters calls shit stool?? Shit is shit, stool is to reach high shelves.)
And with that look, he saved my life. Because had I waited until 50, I’d be dead. So instead, I got the first of many colonoscopies at 42, pending accessible health benefits and/or a ride home.
So this week I went in again to see my favorite ass doc.
“I so wish you wouldn’t call me that,” he said to me. Prude, even after all these years.
I did my hair because after the ass exam, I had a GVP protest to attend, then my kid’s basketball game, then my writing group. ‘Cuz you just can’t let a little scary polyp party hold you back.

Did I mention I had really, really good hair? I was hoping to draw the ass doc’s eye upward, like they teach you on Fashion Police and Project Runway, far from the 50 year old crater staring him straight in the face.
I don’t think he noticed. The hair.
What he did notice was a clean as a whistle colon, and a reprieve of seeing him again for 4 years. Which I might or might not do, pending health benefits.
Here’s the thing about colonoscopies: they’re not so bad.
Sure the drink is gross, but not intolerable. The pissing out your asshole is alarming, but doable – with baby-wipes (trust me on this). There’s no stomach cramps to accompany the explosions, which they should tell you but they don’t. Pain free diarrhea, what a bonus.
Just stay close to the bathroom and all is good in the world. The worse thing is being hungry, yet we could all stand to be a little hungrier here in fat-pants USA.
So bring a funny friend to laugh it out, and take care of yourself.
The worse thing about colonoscopies is waiting too long to get one, because then it’s too late to do anything about what they find, and no one will care how nice your hair looks.


BIO:


Kate Mayer potty-mouthed, irreverent writer, humorist, and activist writing out loud at www.kathrynmayer.com, and occasionally funny on FacebookInstagram & Twitter as @KLMcopy. She writes with humor, wit, and a great dose of levity about teenagers, aging parents, midlife, social issues, and, sigh, gun violence prevention. Her essays appear on line at Cosmopolitan, Good Housekeeping, Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop, BluntMoms, Scary Mommy, BlogHer, Grown & Flown, Purple Clover, Midlife Boulevard, and she is a proud Listen To Your Mother NYC alum.

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