First fertility specialist appointment

So we had our first appointment at the fertility specialist last Thursday.  It was a pretty busy weekend, so I hadn't gotten around to posting until today.

This post is going to have a lot of medical stuff, so if the word "uterus" freaks you out even a little, stop reading now.  You have been warned.

Anyway, the doctor was very confident in his diagnosis and in our prognosis.  First, looking at the MRI we had done, he said my uterus is not bicornuate, it's just septate.  Which is good.  Basically there's a range of possibilities from a normal uterus to two completely separate uteri and reproductive organs.  Bicornuate is one step closer to normal, it's basically two uteri, but one cervix, vagina, etc.  One step closer to normal is septate.  It means the top of the uterus has come together, but there's still the point of the heart inside.  You can see the septate and bicornuate uterus in the picture below, normal would be to the left of the picture and a double uterus would be to the right.  Ignore the Asherman's syndrome in the middle, that doesn't apply to me.

The reason the radiologist who read my MRI the first time thought it was bicornuate was because on the MRI you can see the heart shape, which is present for both bicornuate and septate.  What the fertility specialist was able to see the dark color (which means tissue or muscle) above the point.

The reason this is good is because with a bicornuate uterus, there is nothing that can be done.  Surgery would cause too much scar tissue, and a baby cannot implant on scar tissue.  With a septate uterus, they can do surgery to cut out the heart point.  There is a risk of scar tissue, but not nearly as much with a bicornuate.  

For the surgery I'll be put under (hallelujah) there will be one scope with scissors and a camera inserted up the vagina and one scope with a camera and dye inserted through my belly button.  I guess the scope through the belly button is so small they don't even have to sew it, they just put tape on it.  They fill the uterus with water to expand it and then when they're finished, they fill a balloon with water and insert it into the uterus for about a week.  Doesn't that sound fun?  That way the top of the uterus doesn't heal together and cause scar tissue.  

While I'm out, they'll use the scope through my belly button to inject dye in the uterus and make sure it flows out through the fallopian tubes like it should.  It's a test they would have done anyway, and it's pretty painful, so the doctor recommended they do it while I'm under anesthesia.  I said the more painful things they do while I'm under instead of while I'm awake, the better.  I don't like anesthesia though, I always cry when I'm coming out of it.

The surgery will probably be July/August, I'm still waiting on the scheduler to call me back.  After that, I get put on hormones for two months.  We have to wait at least a month after the surgery before it will be safe to get pregnant.  Then we begin tackling the completely separate and unrelated issue #2, the PCOS.

So in a normal women, the brain sends Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH) to the ovaries which stimulates the follicles (creative name, huh) to mature an egg.  Once the egg is mature it sends estrogen back to the brain, which causes the brain to stop sending FSH.  The problem is my body has too much estrogen, so my brain stops sending the FSH before the egg is fully mature.

The first step will be chlomid, which is an anti-estrogen hormone.  Hopefully my brain will then send enough FSH to mature an egg.  If it doesn't, we'll raise the chlomid amounts until a certain point.  After that, we'll start injections of FSH in addition to the chlomid.  After that we stop the chlomid and do larger amounts of FSH.  I really hope we don't get to that point because I absolutely hate needles.  And these are shots you have to give yourself basically in the stomach.  I can't even watch when I have blood taken, so this is not going to be fun.  Hopefully the chlomid works and we don't even have to go there.

To be honest, I was hoping that the surgery I had as a teenager (a vaginal septum which is apparently a third unrelated issue) had already fixed the issue and the radiologist had just seen the remnants.  And, ideally and somewhat unrealistically, I was hoping he would see that I was pregnant with the ultrasound.  Obviously that didn't happen or this would be a very different post.  

Stephen keeps reminding me that this was good news, and I suppose it is, I just had higher hopes.  But the prognosis is good and hopefully we'll be pregnant by Christmas.  And not with quintuplets (instances of multiples increase with the hormones....).  From wondering if we'll ever have kids to Stephen's instant basketball team.  And a reality tv show.  :-)

Sugar, dun dun dun dun dun, Oh Honey Honey

Just wanted to post a little bit of an update.  After my initial post about the bicornuate and PCOS stuff, I got a lot of really nice comments and emails.  People sharing stories about their own lives that I hadn't known, or just offering encouragement or advice.  One of those people, I will call her T because I haven't asked her permission to put her name on here, has a kind of complicated family connection to me and I haven't seen her more than once or twice since I was young.  I knew she was a nurse, but it turns out she is a nurse at the Kaiser fertility specialist center that we were going to go to.  She gave her phone number and we talked for a good 45 minutes.

She recommended a doctor and explained a lot of stuff about bicornuate uteruses (uteri?) and PCOS and was very encouraging that while we definitely don't have an easy road, having children is very possible.  I hadn't actually verbally talked to a doctor about the bicornuate uterus stuff, or really even about the PCOS.  I've known I had PCOS since I was in high school, but the symptoms I could see and feel (weird cycles, etc), were treated by birth control.  I didn't realize there are other symptoms, like insulin resistance, that aren't always treated by the hormones in the birth control.

I've been reading a lot about insulin resistance, because I know losing weight will help.  I've actually lost about 6 and half percent of my body weight since February, when some friends at school and I did a mini Biggest Loser competition.  But losing weight has always been hard for me.  There were weeks when I would eat well (and stay within points for Weight Watchers or calories depending on what I was counting at the time), I didn't cheat with anything, and I exercised 4 or 5 times in the week, but then I would stay the same or even gain weight.  And then weeks were I didn't do so great and I would lose weight.

T told me that women with PCOS very often have insulin resistance and therefore weight loss is incredibly difficult.  Do-able, but much more difficult that people with normal body chemistry.  From what I've been reading, my body stores sugars a lot more than it should. So things that I thought were healthy, like fruit, were stored more than they should of been.  The healthy fats and healthy carbs actually help break down the sugars.  So going low fat and low carb, but high sugar (even natural sugar, which I'd never paid attention to) actually made my body store more.  So I'm going to try adjusting my diet to a more diabetic-type diet and hopefully I'll lose some weight!

I read into some things that are supposed to help with insulin resistance, but I'm also balancing the hope that I might be pregnant.  Everything I looked into, like cinnamon pills and apple cider vinegar, either wasn't safe if you are pregnant or the complications with pregnancy were unknown.  I know I can't wrap myself in bubble wrap, but I feel like I should be doing everything in my power to stay pregnant once I get pregnant.  It's been so hard to get pregnant, I don't want to do anything that could jeopardize it.  I haven't had caffeine in months and basically being careful about what I eat and do in case I am pregnant.

I've also been reading a lot of PCOS specific diets.  Many of them recommend eating organic whenever possible, especially meats and dairy.  Organic meat means there's no added hormones (and same with dairy stuff).  My body can't even handle my own hormones, so I guess it makes sense that I shouldn't add additional hormones that don't belong.  The cost is very frustrating (especially for a couponer and deal finder like me), but if it helps us get pregnant, it's worth it.

In the meantime, T has been amazing (or a-maw-zing as Penny on Happy Endings would say) at helping me get an appointment scheduled and I have one for Thursday (happy birthday to me!).  Hopefully we can find something out other than "could be bicornuate, could be septate, we can't rule anything out."

Letting Go

A bicornuate "heart shaped" uterus.  Not mine, though. 

Those of you who know me know that I like to have control.  I like to have things planned out, whether I'm at school or we're traveling or wherever I am.  I've known I have polycystic ovarian syndrome a long time, but it was always treatable with the birth control pill.  Which is slightly counterproductive when trying to get pregnant.  I've learned about some treatments for PCOS that aren't birth control, so that's a future possibility.  But the bicornuate uterus, and not knowing how bad it is or whether they've even diagnosed me correctly, has been really hard for me.  The waiting is really hard.

In my head I know that God is in control and this must be happening for a reason.  But it's so hard to see what possible good could come from this struggle.  When I watch some of the kids in my class whose parents don't give a rip about them, or hear some of the things my kids are told by their parents, it just doesn't make sense.  Why would God give these people a child that they didn't want and don't care about, but not me and Stephen who would adore a child and be great parents?

In my head I knew I was going to have to let go.  But I wasn't.  And I didn't want to.  And to be honest, I didn't think I could.  How could I say I don't want to be pregnant?  That whatever God had planned for me, even if it meant no children, would be okay.  It would be a lie.  I want children.  I want to be pregnant.  What if I told God I was "okay" with his plan and he took me seriously?  (As if I could hide what I truly felt from God, but strange things go through your mind when you're in a funk.)  What if this was a test to see if I could "let go" and God knew I was faking it?  It was much easier to thank everyone for their prayers and move on.  So I sort of pretended and went along with life.

Then last Saturday I went to a women's tea with my mother-in-law, 2 sister-in-laws, and my grandma-in-law.  (lots of in-laws, but I am blessed with both a biological family and an in-law family that I actually enjoy being around).  I was looking forward to it and it was really nice.  There was a speaker, and her her mother, who talked for a while.  I wasn't expecting to get much out of it, being a mother's day event, but I listened.

It's amazing how the things she talked about didn't necessarily all apply to me, but God was still able to speak to me in a real way.  I wasn't running from God and turning to drugs and alcohol, but I was definitely running from God.  She talked about Romans 8:28, which says "we know in all things God works together for the good of those who love Him."  Good little Christians throw out this happy verse a lot, but it often rings hollow when your in the middle of the bad things.

She talked about how easy it is to "play" church when things are going well.  How often do you remember to pray or read your Bible when things are hunky dory?  Not nearly as often as when things are sucky.  So maybe this waiting is just to bring me closer to God.  To start praying more regularly, and reading my Bible, both of which need a great deal of improvement if I'm being completely honest.

So on the way home (this had been in Lodi/Stockton), God and I had a talk.  Well I cried, but I also talked.  I told Him that I don't know how to let go of this.  That I don't know how to not want to be pregnant, or how to be happy if His answer for our prayers is no.  But I am willing to ask for His help to make what He wants my desire.  You may not believe in God, but I do, and I chose to believe that He will work everything out.  Am I okay with not being pregnant?  Not exactly.  It still hurts, I still want to be pregnant, and I'm still going to continue to pray that it will happen and do everything I can medically to help it happen.  But I don't feel the same hopeless and helpless feeling that I had before.  I know I'm going to have to "let go" over and over, but at least I'm walking in the right direction now.

I felt reminded of how truly blessed I am and how many wonderful people love me.  I have a biological family and a family by marriage who love us and are praying.  My church is like another family that doesn't pretend like everything is easy and is standing with us and praying for us.  I have friends who love me and are praying for me.  I am blessed.  And whether I get pregnant, or we decide to adopt, or both, I am not alone.

Lastly, I wanted to share the chorus of a song that has really been a big impact on my life since all of this started.  It caught me off guard because I've had the CD for a while and knew this song, but when this song came up on my shuffle while grading I actually stopped and cried.  (I cry a lot lately, I blame the hormone imbalance).  Anyway, it's called "Something More" by Francesca Battistelli and the chorus says:

God, it's so hard living with a longing heart
Everything I think I need feels so strangely out of reach
So God help me now to understand that this may be how
You show me I was made for something more

Go check it out here: http://youtu.be/kv-2SUruayk

I hope if you're going through something, whether similar or completely different, that this encourages you.  I can honestly tell you that no matter where you're at and whether you feel Him or not, God is right there with you.  Why not give Him a chance? 

When are you having kids?.......

When are you having kids?  It's a question that all newlywed couples are asked countless times, and a question that becomes more pressing as you've been married longer.  It's also a question that has begun to cause a knot in my stomach.

The only posts I've written up to this point have been about traveling.  They've all been pretty surface level, stuff I would tell a stranger on the street.  I've decided to take things a little more personal, although it's still stuff I would talk to to most people (but perhaps not a stranger).  The reason I decided to do this is partly related to that question,"when are you having kids?".  Instead of having to explain the situation to everyone individually, I know some people will read it here.  Also, I haven't seen many blogs about this stuff, so maybe it will help other people or help connect me to people going through the same thing.

First, some background.  Stephen and I got married 5 years ago, and I had a "5 year plan" at the time.  A year and a half to finish my BA and get my credential.  2 years to get tenured.  And a year and half to travel (in particular, a Europe trip).  If you know us at all, you know we've now checked all those things off.  Then I wanted to get pregnant and have a baby in March so I (as a teacher) can go on maternity leave around spring break and then have the whole summer before I go back to work.  So about a year ago, we started trying.  No luck.

I have polycystic ovarian syndrome, a fairly common thing (5-10%) for women.

*If "ovarian" freaks you out, stop reading here.  Fair warning.*

For me, the biggest issue with the PCOS is a totally random menstrual cycle.  Pretty much, I skip a period every other month.  Which is awesome in general because periods suck, but no bueno when you're trying to get pregnant.  No period = no ovulation = no baby.  And having an irregular cycle means when I do ovulate, it could be anywhere in a 50-60 day period of time.

I knew I had PCOS (since high school), so my OBGYN told me after we tried for a year, she would refer me to a fertility specialist.  So she did.  They sent the paperwork, including the cost sheet.  Right now we waive Stephen's health insurance and use mine, which only covers 50% of fertility treatment.  Basically this means the initial visit and tests would cost us around $600.  With Stephen's health insurance, we only pay a $15 co-pay.  But we can't change insurances until my open enrollment effective date (July 1st).  So we wait.

In the meantime, my OBGYN offered to run some tests on her end, including an ultrasound.  At the ultrasound, they found that it looked like I had a bicornuate uterus.  Known as a "heart shaped" uterus, that's exactly what it is.  It's pretty rare, only effecting .1 - .5% of women.  Figures.  From what I've read, it doesn't really effect you when you're trying to get pregnant (that's just my PCOS).  But it does mean that if/when I get pregnant, it will be high risk.  There is a much higher chance of pre term labor, or second and third trimester miscarriages.  Depending on where the baby implants, if it grows into the lobe of the heart, the uterus doesn't expand and it will kill the baby.

We did an MRI a few weeks ago, hoping to get more information.  But the only answers we got were that they confirmed I had a bicornuate uterus and they weren't able to tell if there was a septum or not (a division inside the uterus).  Basically no more information than the ultrasound had given.  So $50, a relatively stressful 20 minutes in an incredibly loud machine, and no more answers.

I am trying hard to remember that God's plans are better than mine.  But I am a planner and I like when things go as planned.  So this is very difficult for me.  Stephen remains positive and optimistic, and I am trying hard to do so as well.

So in answer to the "when are you having kids" question: hopefully soon, but we don't know.

New York: Part 2

This is the view from right outside Matthew's door.
That green, yellow, and pink building in the right center is
the Empire State Building (Easter colors)

On Friday morning we headed out bright and early to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island ferry.  I had made 8:00 reservations for the four of us (Stephen, Matthew, Daniel, and me), but Daniel ended up sick and couldn't go.  It was really hard to get up that early in the morning, but after seeing the line when we got back at noon, I definitely recommend getting up early.

When we got to Battery Park, Stephen realized he had his pocket knife.  The security is similar to an airport security so I slyly (or perhaps not as slyly as I think) dropped the knife into a bush.  We figured if we tried to take it through security, it would definitely be taken away.  By leaving it in the bush, hopefully no one would see it.  :-)

Us on the ferry

The Statue of Liberty was closed for renovation, so we couldn't actually go inside.  So we didn't even get off the ferry, just rode the ferry past her twice.  She was much smaller than I pictured.

Lady Liberty 

Matthew, me, Stephen, and the Statue of Liberty
poking over Stephen's head

I wanted to go through the Ellis Island Museum, so we got off at the next ferry stop.  My ancestry has been traced back to Ellis Island, so it was pretty cool to think that someone from my family had come through those doors.  I also thought it was fitting to come through this museum because I went to the immigration museum in Cobh, Ireland, which was the last stop for many of the boats before coming to Ellis Island.  So I'd been on the starting end, I figured I should see the end as well.

The baggage room.  The audio tour (pretty good) said workers
could recognize where an immigrant was from based on the
type of luggage they were carrying.

The room where initial inspections were done.

I learned some things about Ellis Island with the audio tour and exhibits.  For one, I thought Ellis Island was mostly a sad place, where families were separated and people were rejected.  And that did happen.  But there was also a hospital, where an immigrant was sent if they had an ailment that would heal.  They weren't just sent away and rejected, they were taken care of until they were well enough to enter America.  Most people passed through Ellis Island quickly and without much issue.

Manhattan from the ferry.  You can see the 911 Memorial
building being built (the tallest building you can see)

And Stephen's pocket knife was still in the bush.  :-)

We went back to take a nap after our early morning.  At this point Stephen started to get sicker and sicker with a stomach flu bug.  He threw up before we left, but wasn't going to miss the 911 Memorial.  You have to make reservations ahead of time, so there was no other chance for us to go.  He even threw up on the subway (on the platform) on our way there, but he was insistent that he was going.  He said there were enough trash cans in New York City, he wasn't going to miss the memorial.  So off we went.

Trinity Church off Wall Street

There is, as expected, a ton of security surrounding the memorial.  After going through all of it, having our ID's checked several times, and several other checks to make sure we'd gone through security, we entered a big open area.  The two waterfalls are in the footprints of the World Trade Center buildings, so they are a little farther apart than I expected.  (not that far, but not right next to each other).  It is a very peaceful and somber place.  The names around the outside are separated by building, company, first responders, or plane.  Family members were allowed to request certain names to be next to each other.  Some are next to friends, some family.  Because many of the people who died talked to loved ones after the attacks happened, there are even some names next to each other because of what they went through on 9/11.  People who had never met before, but came together to help one another.  

 

Memorial building still under construction

 

Inside the museum that is still under construction.
You can see tridents that were part of the facade
of one of the buildings.

The Survivor Tree

This tree was in the plaza and survived the destruction of 9/11.  It wasn't found until October 2011, and was badly damaged.  It was nursed back to health and then survived being uprooted in a storm and Hurricane Irene.  It's a symbol of perseverance for the many survivors of 9/11.

We stayed until dark, and the fountains were beautiful with all the lights on.  I want to go back when the museum is open someday.

After leaving Stephen back in Matthew's room, Matthew, Daniel and I headed for Chinatown for some Chinese food.  I wasn't entirely impressed by the food, but maybe I'm just spoiled living near San Francisco and having authentic Chinese places around here.

The next day we were flying out at 5:30 pm, which left us a little time in the morning.  I had wanted to try a bagel place called Ess-a-Bagel.  After finally finding it, we found out it was closed for Passover.  I did get a bagel that morning though, and it was pretty good :-).  We headed to Grand Central Station to see the new (ish) Apple Store there.  If you look closely in the left center of the picture below, you can see a white Apple light.  That platform above it where the people are standing is the Apple store.

 

 

You can see the blue shirts of the employees.

Grand Central Station.  From the Apple Store.

We ended up going back to Times Square to get an M and M's bag.  I left the first one in the Apple Store on 5th Avenue.  In 2004, my family, the Webers, and Stephen went to Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon on vacation.  While there, my parents got an M and M store bag (it's like a gift bag).  They still have that bag and use it all the time to take lunches to school (they're both teachers).  It's getting pretty old and is pretty beat up, so I figured it was time for a new one :-).

After that we picked up our luggage, took the subway to Penn Station and a train out to Newark.  We got to the airport a little late (only an hour and a half before take off, instead of the recommended two), because of weekend routes and construction closures on the subway.  Not that it mattered because the plane was delayed for an hour.  Then we circled over San Francisco until we were cleared for landing (about a half hour).  And then our shuttle was half an hour late.  So by the time we got to our car in San Francisco, we should have been home.  We ended up getting home around 1:30am, so a tough end to a long week.

I enjoyed New York and I'm willing to back, but it wasn't my favorite vacation ever.  For those who don't know me well, I am a planner.  Like a crazy planner.  I enjoy it, and then I don't feel like I missed out on anything.  Stephen says that this trip was God teaching me to let go of my plans sometimes.  There were definitely some rough, not fun times.  We both got sick, we were trying to coordinate schedules with Matthew and Daniel, and things just didn't all work out like I'd wanted it to.  But we made it, pretty much did everything I had wanted to, and I think I learned a little about letting go of plans.  But I didn't like it.

New York: Part 1

Our most recent trip was to New York City, New York over spring break (the first week of April).  I'm a little behind blogging our trips, perhaps I'll catch up after school is out :-).  But New York is still fresh in my mind, and I like to write these while I remember the little details.

We used airline miles to pay for the tickets, so we flew out of San Francisco on a direct flight to Newark.  On a side note, if you ever need to do a Park and Fly package out of SFO, we have really liked the Vagabond Inn Executive Hotel in Burlingame.  Free shuttle to the airport, free breakfast (oatmeal, yogurt, bagels, waffles, juices, etc).  Parking package much cheaper than SFO parking.  We ended up flying into Newark around 5:30.  A few days before, there had been a Groupon for a car service from any New York airport to anywhere in Manhattan, so we had a car waiting for us.  Which was pretty awesome.  It ended up about $10 more than it would have been for both of us to take the train in.  Score #1.

We stayed in a rented room we found off of airbnb.com.  I was a little nervous about this, but there were a lot of reviews and all of them were very good.  It ended up being an awesome deal.  $80 a night, a few blocks south of Central Park.  The Comfort Inn by Chinatown is $210 a night, just for reference.  Here's a picture of the room (there's a bookshelf and table to the left, a closet and the door behind where I was standing).  

We shared a bathroom with the owner, but it was very clean.  We never saw him, except the day we got there and he gave us keys.

We went to the famous Halal Guys halal cart (basically chopped up meat, rice, a pita, and some sort of sauce all in a pie tin.  Very tasty) and met Matthew and Daniel, Stephen's brothers, there.  From the halal cart we headed down to Jack Demsey's, the New York home of the Kentucky Wildcats to watch the national championship.  Stephen is, and always has been, a huge Kentucky fan, so this was very exciting.

It was absolutely packed.  After walking around for a while looking for a table, I asked a guy and a couple who were sitting at two booths that were connect if we could join them (they weren't together and there were a bunch of seats between them).  They said sure, so we were lucky enough to get seats.  The couple is actually from Lexington, KY, and I believe the older guy was an alum.  That's his white hat in the picture below.  Every basket or steal lead to huge cheers from everyone and bad calls were universally boo'd.

Matthew, Stephen, and Daniel at the entrance

The next morning we slept in a little (we were still on Pacific time), and headed to Central Park around 10.  We walked from our room, stopping to get a famous NY bagel :-).  It didn't seem that special to me, but I love a good bagel and cream cheese, so it was still good.  We had an app that made it very easy to tour Central Park, highly recommend it if you're going.

Bethesda Fountain, they were filming a pilot for a new show while we were there, so we ended up being shooed away.

Literacy Walk

Beautiful day!

Looking through one of the bridge's flower decoration

Turtles sunning themselves in the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Resovoir

It would be very easy to get lost in this, the Ramble I think it was called.

From there we headed back to our room and changed to get ready for the David Letterman show.  We had gotten a call the week before (after requesting tickets in January), and they asked Stephen a trivia question (which he got right), so we got free tickets.  

We ended up sitting on the floor level about 10 rows back from the stage.  It is pretty surreal to see the stage that you've seen so many times on t.v. in real life.  We got a long speech to get us ready, were they told us to "laugh now, think about it later" and not to do a "woo."  I didn't realize how much I did "woo" when I meant to be cheering.  I had never thought of myself as a woo girl before, perhaps I should work on that.  The show was ok, funnier in person than it usually is on t.v., but it was the experience we were going for anyway.

Afterwards, we hopped on a bus down to Times Square, had some dinner at Tratteria Trecoli (good Italian), and went to our Broadway show.  We saw Best Man, a political show that just opened.  We were going more for the cast than the show itself.  In the end, the play was pretty good and the cast was outstanding.  Take a look at the cast list below:

Not only was the cast amazing, but we were literally in the very front row, in the very center.  By theater standards these are "bad" seats because you have to look up a little onto the stage.  But I could've touched Angela Lansberry or James Earl Jones or Candice Bergen without even standing up.  Several times.  But then I would be kicked out.  So it wouldn't have been worth it.  Candice Bergen did make eye contact with me though!  At least I think she did.  Every time a new character was introduced, Stephen and I looked at each other like "can you believe this??"  These are people I've grown up seeing in movies and on tv, and there they were in person!  Pretty incredible.

Not too shabby for our first full day in New York :-).

The next day we moved all our stuff to Matthew's dorm room (where we were going to be staying the next three nights).  We moseyed around a little and then Stephen and I headed for the Museum of Natural History.  It made me want to watch Night at the Museum :-).  

This is what a mosquito looks like magnified.  Can I just say, ew.

GIANT blue whale

We headed back through Central Park to catch the last few sights we hadn't seen the day before (we ran out of time because we had to get to the David Letterman show).  Plus, I wanted to eat a hot dog from a food cart in Central Park.  Seems like something you can do while in New York.  So we got our hot dog (and roasted peanuts, also good), and headed to the Imagine memorial.

From here you can see the apartment where John Lennon lived (and Yoko Ono still does) and was killed.  There's a "docent" who gives a little history lesson every once in a while.  We sat near here on a bench and ate our hot dog while we waited for Matthew and Daniel.

We tried to go see the carousel, but it's closed for renovation.  And by renovation, I mean all the horses are off and they've stripped the base down to the wood.  Oh well, next time.  

We took the subway to 5th Avenue and walked down 5th Avenue.  Stephen wanted to get a book from the Barnes and Noble.  

Rockefeller Tower

St. Patrick's Cathedral

Then we headed for the Empire State Building.  Matthew is going to King's College, a Christian University in the Empire State Building.  As a "tenant," not only did he get half price tickets, he also got to skip every single line.  Every single line.  If you've ever been up to the top of the Empire State Building, you know this is a big deal.  We were like VIP's.  Whenever anyone saw our tickets, they would say "oh, you're a tenant, right this way" and let us pass everyone.  I always hate those people when I'm in line.  But it's pretty awesome to be those people.  We got up there right before sunset.  Here's some views:

Stephen messing with Matthew or Daniel looking through the binoculars

After that we headed for Katz's Deli.  I didn't know anything about it and Matthew didn't make it seem like anything special.  But it's the deli in When Harry Met Sally and is famous for it's pastrami.  I had half a pastrami sandwich and matzo ball soup.  It was very good.

 At this point, I realized I had a bladder infection.  For any male reading this, or any female who has never had one, let me tell you, it sucks.  Like majorly.  I called Kaiser and they were able to write a prescription and send it to Walgreens in Vallejo (apparently that's where the call center was).  Once it was in Walgreen's system, we could pick it up anywhere.  But then the Walgreens we were going to ended up be a 24 hour store but not a 24 hour pharmacy.  We were staying with Matthew in his dorm room, and he shares a jack and jill bathroom with his roommate.  And 19 year old college boys are not known for clean bathrooms, either.  (No offense Matthew!)  With a bladder infection, I was desperate for my own bathroom.  We ended up walking to a nearby hotel and staying there for the night.  And then took a taxi to a Walgreen's that had a 24 hour pharmacy.  We slept until 11:30 the next day, so we didn't quite get to everything I'd hoped we would.

The next morning we couldn't get back into Matthew's building until he got back from his classes, so even after sleeping in we had to stop at a coffee shop.  It ended up being a really great little shop called Berkli Parc, and it's owner actually went to UC Berkeley.  I had a breakfast sandwich and a tea, Stephen had a flavored coffee, and they were all really great.

After leaving our stuff in Matthew's dorm, we headed for Times Square.  

The ferris wheel inside Toys R Us.  Yes, inside.

The "cars" of the ferris wheel.

Inside the M and M's store

Matthew and us in Times Square

We hopped on the subway and headed for the flatiron building.

In Madison Square Park there's a place called the Shake Shack that's famous for it's cheeseburgers and shakes.  The cheeseburgers were kind of like In n Out, but the buns were better.  The shake was probably the best I've ever had, though.  I had the caramel one, it was amazing.

Madison Square Park and the Shake Shack

Then we got back on the subway and headed up to 5th Avenue and the Apple Store.  Some people travel around to all the baseball fields or national parks.  We hit Apple stores.  We've now been to the Apple store in the Louvre shopping area in Paris, Covent Garden and Regent Street in London, San Francisco, Cupertino, and the Apple Store on 5th Avenue (we did go to the Grand Central Station one, too, that will come later).

Standing under the stairs looking up

Stephen, Matthew, and Daniel

Brothers!

Mirror room in FAO Schwartz

Giant peeps (stuffed animals)

The ceiling of the mirror room in FAO Schwartz

That night for dinner we went over to Brooklyn and had pizza at Grimaldi's, which is literally underneath the Brooklyn Bridge.  The pizza was good, made with a coal heated brick oven that we could see really well from our table.  I had wanted to walk across the bridge at some point, but it was dark and cold and we were all tired.  We never did get back to do that, but maybe we will someday.