Sunday, August 29, 2010

Busy, oh so busy!

So tonight I leave for what will start the next two weeks of Wedding Extravaganza! I have mentioned this several times but for my new readers, my BFF and the hubs BFF are getting married over the next two weeks. We are both in the weddings, so that means alot of traveling and alot time away from London. Tomorrow I am leaving for North Carolina where I will stay a few night at Mike's parents house so I can hopefully help London get acclimated with his new temporary home at Abuela's and Juanito's  house. Then on Wednesday night I will leave and be catching a plane to CHICAGO for the first of our very special weekends. Mike's BFF is getting married this weekend to a very amazing woman so we couldn't be more thrilled than to go celebrate with them.

Since I don't have a ton to say tonight, I will leave you all with a little video. This is a video of what happens when you let Mike take London to Walmart alone and without ME adult supervision.

This is London wreaking havoc in Walmart.



Friday, August 27, 2010

New Blog Friday- Slackie O.

It's that time of week again!!!


This week I am featuring Slackie O. from over at My Lazy Ovaies


Here is a little message from Slackie:

Hi. My name is Slackie and I’m infertile. It has been 23 days since my last POAS.

[OK, let me hear you say it: “Hi Slackie!”]

Let me introduce myself! I’m one month shy of 38 years old. Yowza that’s hard to believe! Near the end of 2008, my husband and I decided it was time to expand our family to three, and after the usual responsible preparations, we began to make a real effort to do so in January of 2009. Twenty months and twenty cycles later, we’ve learned more than we ever wanted to know about reproduction and yet we remain a family of two. 


I started my  Twitter  (and soon after that my  blog ) a few months ago, just a couple of cycles back on the wagon post-miscarriage. I was feeling very lost, frustrated, hopeless and alone. I was quickly scooped up in the welcoming embrace of the most amazing community of people all of whom are suffering from a similar crisis, all of whom share my most basic desire. Bad days still happen, I still get frustrated and sometimes temporarily lose hope, but I am no longer lost and I know I’m not alone.

That’s me up there, or at least, my feet. The photo was taken on a recent vacation, and believe it or not, those clouds blew right on past and the day finished beautiful and sunny. I love that photo because it reminds me that in spite of the dim forecast, if I can sit tight in this spot of sun, the day might just improve.

I want to say a huge THANK YOU to Aly for pulling together the New Blog Friday feature! I’ve already found some great new friends through it, and I’m looking forward to finding more. Please feel free to find me on Twitter or stop by my blog and say "Hi"!

Nice to meet you!
Slackie O.  





Go check out Slackie at My Lazy Ovaries
 Give her a big Welcome into the blog world by leaving a comment and/or becoming a follower

Would you like to have your blog featured on New Blog Friday? 
Find out how by clicking here.

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

I got PUNKED!

So as I mentioned a few weeks ago, I got this awesome new phone, Droid X. In case I haven't mentioned it recently, I LOVE IT! Anyway... I found a great application for my phone called MyDays. Basically it is just a little calendar that keeps track of your cycle. It tells you when you're supposed to start and when you're supposed to ovulate. You can also mark a alot of other fertility signs, it pretty much has it all. You can tweak the days in case you don't have the perfect 28 days cycle or don't happen to ovulate on cycle day 14 every month. It works great and has never been wrong. Well AF* and MyDays decided to joined forces this month and PUNK me.  I was supposed to start my period today. Nothing exciting there. I don't even bother to get excited anymore because every 28 days, like clock work, AF makes her grand appearance.

So this morning on the very day the Mydays promised I was going to start, I roll out of bed, headed to the bathroom...and NOTHING. So what do I do? I do what any infertile woman who is officially one day  LATE does, I squeal and reach over to a drawer that contains no less that 5 pregnancy tests. On this particular morning though I didn't have any cheapies, no Dollar Tree tests, not even a regular two pink line test. All I had were digitals, expensive $15 a pop digitals. I weighed my options of waiting until tomorrow to test so I could pick up a few of the handy dandy $1 tests from the Dollar Tree or I could suck it up and waste the digital on a more than likely BFN.

The Decision!
(Did you really think I could wait?)



I wasted $15 on NOT PREGNANT!! Thanks AF, that was a great way to add insult to injury! I got PUNKED! I guess I will start my period at some point. At least I can have that "AF is here" celebratory glass of wine tonight without a silly pregnancy getting in the way.  **SIGH**

*AF- Aunt Flo aka: My Period

Monday, August 23, 2010

Infertility- His Perspective.

Recently I approached Mike about writing a blog post.  You have all heard my side of our infertility story about a million times. But in the over 2 years that I have been writing this blog, Mike has always remained silent. Finally he agreed  (probably because my blog design is no longer pink) and decided to write a summary of his highs and lows over the last 4 years.

Here is our Infertility Journey according to my amazing husband...

It’s April 2008 and all I can do is try and calm Aly down.  Through her tears and sobbing voice over the phone all I can gather is that Dr. T could offer no solace, no alternatives to the struggle we’d been facing for practically our entire 7-year relationship.  I understand at this moment that I’m going to become more familiar with a 3-letter word I wish I never knew—IVF.  In a vain attempt to comfort this beautiful woman of mine I whisper that, no matter what, “we’ll overcome this.”  We’ll somehow come up with the money, I will make the time, I will shake the heavens in order to provide us with the family we’ve both been fighting for.

It’s July 2006 and we’ve decided to go off birth control.  Why not?  The experiences we’ve been through in 5.5 years have matured us to a degree where we feel like we’ve known each other all our lives.  I’m five months out of West Point and cannot wait to start a life with my new bride.  I knew since I was 12 years old that the woman I would spend my days with would be the one I could picture being the mother of my children.  Six weeks into our fledgling romance I knew she would be my wife.  I knew we would be parents together and it was the most intoxicatingly romantic notion to me.  I loved her already and she didn’t even know it yet.

It’s May 2008 and we miraculously already secured an IVF cycle.  While I’m selfishly trying to advance my career by trying to get into the 75th Ranger Regiment over a 3-week period the true Soldier, Aly, is in NC being poked, prodded, and taking daily self-administered shots.  I’m now somewhat familiar with a host of acronyms unlike any I’ve heard in the military: IUI, RE, ICSI, AH…and to be perfectly honest, while I know what they stand for I haven’t the faintest clue what they mean.  The experiences have been odd, make no mistake about that—the nurse laying out a plethora of nudie mags for my “enjoyment”…having to generate a sample in a PUBLIC restroom because there were no other available rooms (yeah, don’t ask how long that one took with people walking in there every few minutes while I was trying to do my part to produce my child). 

It’s July 2008 and after nearly two years the process has taken a toll.  We’d experienced the high and very low of one failed pregnancy (not including the ones early in our journey).  I feel inadequate as a man, blaming myself for not being able to give my wife a baby.  I never tell her this because I feel the need to maintain some semblance of bravado.  I’m not always very receptive or understanding of the range of emotions Aly exhibits after being pumped full of hormone-inducing drugs.  And finally I feel like the almost scientifically designed monthly intimacy is tearing us apart.  For a period of time I wrongly resign myself from the marriage emotionally.  It’s an extremely demanding time.  And all the while I’m failing to acknowledge that whatever is hard for me is actually ten times harder for her.  But it’s all been worth it: on July 4th we get—in my angel’s esoteric language—a BFP.

It’s the early morning hours of February 28 th , 2009 and I’m quickly / gingerly navigating the streets of Phenix City, AL as the three of us make our way to Columbus Regional Hospital while listening to George Michaels’ classic “Father Figure” to commemorate the moment (what can I say, it was on the radio).  In a blur the moments pass by—I know Aly is angry at me for filming her in pain, I know the whole birthing process isn’t anywhere near as dramatic as they depict on TV, and I certainly know that the doctor staring at my wife’s lady parts looks like he should be drinking at a Pi Kappa party instead of directing her to “focus [her] energy into [her] pelvic region” (all the while I curiously stared at the process I had absolutely sworn to Aly I would have nothing to do with in the previous nine months).  And then he appeared in our lives.  London Michael, our IVF Miracle.  Suddenly the pain of the previous two years melted away…the feeling of failure when we miscarried, knowing that was supposed to be our moment…the look I could see on Aly’s face, knowing in my heart that the process was consuming her every day and that this wasn’t just something she was doing, it was the ONLY thing she was doing…the locked feeling in my chest when the nurse told us we’d lost one of the twins…suddenly the pain wasn’t as painful.  Our Journey had ended and here before us was the most beautiful thing we’d ever seen.

It’s the next Chapter in our lives.  London will be 18 months old in a week.  It’s sad but I genuinely fight the urge to cry every time I look at him.  I see my red-headed, green-eyed little man and he represents more than one simple night spent between his mother and I.  He represents an era in our lives unmatched by any struggle the two of us had previously undergone (and buddy, we’ve been through some struggles).  I look back at the experience and smile at the hardship and understand that all along the Big Guy had a plan for us we couldn’t possibly see.  And now it’s time to begin the Journey anew.    -Mike


Big Thanks to my awesome husband for taking the time to write this. (Seriously, how freaking sweet is he?) As you can tell he is the real writer in the family. He might just be showing up here a lot more in the not so distant future.

Sunday, August 22, 2010

IVF with PGD?

**Due to popular demand, I added a few definitions down at the bottom for some of the random acronyms in this post!**

With IVF #2 slowly quickly approaching (UGH, 4 more months) I have gotten back into doing "baby research". For most people this entails looking at the newest carseats and cribs but for us it means scouring the internet for the newest advances in reproductive technologies. When we got pregnant with London we did IVF with ICSI and AH.  This time I am thinking of throwing PGD into the mix. My RE has not recommended this to us yet but we haven't really discussed next cycle yet either. I had an initial consultation and she added me to the January IVF schedule, but we haven't discuss actual protocol.

The reason I would like to add PGD to this cycle to because of our recurrent miscarriages. We had 3 miscarriages before getting pregnant with London and then we lost his twin at 11 weeks.  I would LOVE to somehow cheat the odds and escape from IVF #2 without another miscarriage.

Here are my reservations about PGD though. I have heard that it can sometimes damage the embryo thus making it stop grow. Even the idea of this breaks my heart. There is nothing I can do if some of the embryos that we create from IVF stop growing.  But to think that WE caused it to stop growing breaks my heart. I know this may sound silly to some because I know we are doing it for the greater good of the healthy embryos but I can't help feel bad for the ones who won't pass. The ones who are never going to get a shot at implanting in the uterus. The ones who will begin and end in a petri dish.

So I have a questions for people who have done PGD.  They don't give me details about the embryos do they? They just get a pass/fail grade right? I have this huge fear that they are going to show me this chart on ET day with the embryo's picture/gender/hair color/birth weight/shoe size/and an age progression photo of when the embryo is 21. (TOTALLY KIDDING) I just fear that I will be given too much info thus making me feel even more guilty about the embryos that did not make it. Basically I just want to make sure they don't tell me gender. While I am aching for a little girl, I do think some things should be left up to chance. I want to use the most healthy embryos regardless of gender. I can't imagine if we chose to not use  "embryo London" based solely on his gender. We would have missed so much. Every baby regardless of gender has a place in our family, we just don't know it yet. When we showed up to our ET the Dr used his medical expertise and chose which little guys were getting put back. Knowing personal information about them (like gender) would have always made me feel guilty for the ones we didn't put back. Does this make sense? I apologize if not, this has sort of become a 'random stream of consciousness' post for me. For that I apologize to you, but just writing all of this down has been very therapeutic for me.

Anyway... I think I am going to talk to my RE about doing PGD during our next IVF cycle. Basically I just want to make sure that we have the healthiest embryos transfered at ET. I want to minimize my time at the Dr's office and away from London. I want to minimize the already difficult emotional times that come with infertility and IVF. I want to have a baby with the least amount of heartache. I want to be fertile and get pregnant when my husband bumps into me in the hallway. Since that is not going to happen PGD might just be our next best option.

**Definitions:
RE:  Reproductive Endocrinologist (Infertility Specialist) 
IVF: Invitro Fertilization
ICSI:  Intracytoplasmic sperm injection, a technique where they take one sperm and inject it directly into the egg. Mainly used when there in a issue with the males sperm. 
AH: Assisted Hatching, used to basically crack the shell of an embryo before it is transfered back. It aids in implantation
PGD: P reimplantation genetic diagnosis, genetic testing to make sure the embryo is chromosomally normal before transferring.
ET: Embryo Transfer. The procedure where they put the embryos back inside of you. 

Saturday, August 21, 2010

Welcome ICLW!

Welcome ICLW!!

My name is Aly.  I am 29 years old and SAHM to our IVF miracle, London. 
Welcome to my little slice of the interwebz. 

This is me:

This is the hubs 
(AKA: Mike)

And this is the little man who stole our hearts
 (AKA: London).

Now a little bit about us. 

After 2 years of infertility treatments (due to unexplained IF ) we were finally able to get pregnant with London after our very first IVF cycle.   He was born in February 2009 but I officially have baby fever again. My husband was an Army Captain before getting out and starting a job in the civilian world just a few weeks ago. It has been quite the transition but we are slowly getting used to things on "the outside". The good news is that his new company offers infertility coverage including IVF. So we really lucked out in that department. We have decided to do IVF #2  in January but the wait is all but killing me. 

Feel free to look around and make yourself at home. Here is our complete Infertility Journey starting back in 2006 if you would like to read all about it.  I love comments so don't be shy!
Prop up your feet become a follower and stay a while. 

Thanks for stopping by, I look forward to getting to know you (and your blog).

Friday, August 20, 2010

New Blog Friday- Ana


IT'S BACK!!! That's right after a two week hiatus, New Blog Friday is BACK!!

This week I am featuring Ana at Getting Help Making A Baby

Here is a little message from Ana:

Hi blogettes! I am so excited that Aly has given me this wonderful opportunity.
My name is Ana. My DH and I are in our mid twenties and have been married just over four years. I got the baby bug shortly after we were married and we have been TTC ever since. I was told a long time ago that I have premature ovarian failure. I never have a cycle unless medically induced. So, the journey for a baby seemed never ending.

I started my blog back in May 2010 for me. I needed a place to write down my feelings, thoughts, frustrations and what was happening TTC wise. I never in a million years thought it would turn into this amazing thing. Through my blog I have found support, friends, hope, encouragement, strength and a lot less alone. I have found a group of women we understand what I am going through. It is amazing what a simple blog can bring into your life or mine.

After a long four years we are finally getting closer to having a baby. We were recently told we will need to get an egg donor. Luckily for us the right egg donor was an easy find, someone our RE suggested. We are now rapidly beginning this journey through IVF. We will know around my birthday (mid-October) if we are pregnant or not. What a wonderful gift that would be.
So, please feel free to come, read my blog and be part of this journey through infertility and life.


Go check out Ana at Getting Help Making a Baby.
 Give her a big Welcome into the blog world by leaving a comment and/or becoming a follower  

Would you like to have your blog featured on New Blog Friday? 
Find out how by clicking here.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Change

Civlian Life 101
Good Bye Army
Moving On
Who am I now?


Were all titles I considered while writing this blog post. In some way they all sum up how I am feeling about what I am about to tell y'all.


Just over a month ago Mike got out of the Army. *GASP*

There were a few factors that played a role in this decision, that I would rather not discuss on a my not so private blog. I will however tell you all of this happened very fast.
After Mike officially got out, I wanted to give him a chance to tell all of his friends before I just announced it over here. You know how fast word travels in the Army. Several of his friends wives read my blog and the last thing we wanted was for them to be updated via the interwebz.


This transition into the civilian world happened about 10 months earlier than we expected, but has been amazing so far. W hile very scary at first, this has turned out to be an unbelievable opportunity for our family. Mike was able to get a amazing job with a very large successful company. It was pretty much everything he said he wanted if he ever got out. He still works long hours and travels occasionally for schools and such, but that is just part of life. No more deployments. WOOHOOO!! His schedule, pay, and insurance are all alot better in this job. Our new insurance actually covers 6 fresh IVF cycles and 6 FET's  (including freezing, one year of storage, and all of our medications). How awesome is that? I will be writing a whole post on this subject very soon, I almost passed out when I saw the coverage.


We have been extremely Lucky  and Blessed  during this transition from the Army to Civilian Life . We are now living in Columbia SC, and LOVE it.  It is the perfect place for us, and is located right in the middle of our families who are now only about 2 hours away from us. This southern girl is thrilled about staying in the south, and being only 2 hours from Savannah makes everything that much better. 


I am sorry I didn't tell all of you sooner. I really wish I could have been more open about all of this because lord knows I needed the support while all of this was going on. But n ow that the cat is out of the bag, I will be posting a few entries over the next few weeks about our adjustments into the civilian world. Until then I am going to leave you with Mike's all time favorite song  (and movie), which now seems to be very fitting.





Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Chicago or Bust!

No really, We are going to Chicago for REAL this time. As you may recall a few months ago we had plans to go to Chicago and visit Mike's BFF. Well the Army had other ideas and after buying our plane tickets, we were grounded by good 'ole Uncle Sam. We lost about $300 but thankfully we were able to transfer the rest of the money to our Vegas tickets. Well this time we are officially going. Plane tickets have been bought, dates off work have been approved, and hotels have been booked..."Ain't no stopping us now, we're on the move". I am stoked. This will be my very first trip to Oprah's Turf The Windy City.

London will be staying at home again this time. I feel like I am always leaving him to go out of town these days. In my defense, I have only left him 4 times in his whole 18 months of life. 3 of those times just happen to be in the last 4 months. I guess I'm not going to get Mommy of the Year for 2010, and just when I had started practicing my speech too. Oh well. I just can't take him with us. He has a very strict 6:30 pm bed time, that is just not conducive to exploring a new city. Let's get this straight though, he is the one who is super strict about bed time, not me. He gets hysterical if he is not in bed by 7:30 at the latest. There are only so many things that can be seen and done before 6 pm.  So London will be staying with his Grandparents (again). Besides I think a getaway with my husband is necessary every few months.

It's not like our trip to Chicago is just a little vacation though. This trip has a purpose, at least that is what I keep telling myself when I start to feel guilty. Mike's BFF is getting married and Mike is in the wedding. So you see, we have to make the trip up there. Can you hear me still trying to convince myself not to feel guilty about leaving London again? I do have to say a big thanks to said BFF for having his wedding in such a cool city like Chicago. If we have to leave London to go to a wedding, I'm really happy we get to have a  mini vacay while we are at it.

We are heading up to Chicago (I really wanted to write Chi-town, but I'm not sure if I am cool enough to pull that off) on Thursday September 2 since the wedding is on Friday night. So far we have the rehearsal on Thursday, Wedding on Friday, and Cubs game on Saturday. What else do we NEED to do while we are there?  I know we will do alot of eating because let just be honest, I love new, and hopefully good, food. Everyone keeps giving me recommendations for pizza places on Twitter. And while I fully intend on having some Chicago Deep Dish Pizza, I have a little secret. I don't actually like pizza that much. Strike that, I LOVE pizza but I hate pizza sauce. I usually get a "white" pizza or I end up lifting all my topping and wiping off as much pizza sauce as I can. It's a very messy process, which actually would be easier on the deep dish pizzas since the sauce is on top. At least I have that going for me. Hopefully I can find a pizza place that won't spit in my food when I ask for no sauce. Fingers Crossed!

Any suggestions for things that we MUST-DO while we are there?

Sunday, August 15, 2010

50 Things A Woman Should Never Do

So I totally stole this idea. But I loved it that much!!

A Yummy Mummy on a Pink Park Bench recently posted a link to Joe Carter at   First Thoughts  list of   50 Things a Woman Should Never Do . So I decided to let my readers know how I stack up.  Am I really a WOMAN??? Green means YES... Red means NO!


1. Buy underwear at a thrift store. Nope, NEVER! I've bought alot of other things at a thrift store though, but I draw the line at underwear though.
2. Tell another woman, “You don’t look  that  fat." Are you kidding me? People actually say this?? Remind me to physically hurt you later if you have ever uttered these words. Mkay, thanks.
3. Stab another woman in the chest with a salad fork for saying, “You don’t look  that  fat.” I have not actually done it, however I am pretty sure I would if given the opportunity. 
4. Believe a man who is not making eye contact but says, “Go ahead, I’m listening.” Failure! Yes, I have done this, actually strike that, I do this on a daily basis. My husband NEVER listens, yet always claims that he is. 
5. Get a “tramp stamp” on your lower back. Guilty as charged, you can read all about my super original-trend setting tattoo here. Be prepared though it will blow your mind with its uniqueness. Don't say I didn't warn you.
6. Get a tattoo anywhere. See above!
7. Get a mullet. *Gasp* BIG NEGATIVE!!! I'm thinking of opening a stand at the local flea market just for these people. "Free mirrors" to anyone sporting one of these (Trust me if you have a mullet you probably need a mirror). I am pretty sure it would be the most popular booth there. 
8. Date one of your girlfriend’s exes. OMG! NO WAY!!!
9. Inject a neurotoxin into your face. I can't afford Botox. I wouldn't dare!
10. Expect your relationships to be anything like a romantic comedy. What? You mean my life is not going to be anything like Notting Hill? So making out with the Hugh Grant look alike, local book store owner yesterday was pointless? UGH!!! 
11. Take advice from Oprah’s latest guru. If she would get one who could tell me how to have a baby without IVF then I might listen, but for the last 29.5 years of my life...the answer is NO!
12. Be rude to a server. I am way to picky of an eater to ever be rude. I have already asked for 50, ooo things on the side. Just because I am pretty sure s/he spit in one of them. It is all about minimizing your spit intake people. Y'all just don't get it.
13. Let anyone mentally, physically, or verbally abuse you or your children. NEVER!! I would physically abuse someone before I allowed this to happen. ESPECIALLY to London. I'm hoping one of you out there would bail me out of jail :)
14. Apply eye makeup while driving and/or stopped in traffic. Oh-so-GUILTY!! Before London, I did it driving, after London I always do it at a red light. Who has time to do make up at home anyways?
15. Ask your man, “Do you think she looks prettier than me?” (He doesn’t. He really, really doesn’t.) NEVER...I am way to afraid of the answer. I like to just assume that "I am the fairest of them all!"
16. Eat garlic, spinach, or corn on the cob on a first date. I can't remember exactly, but I am sure I am guilty of this, as those 3 things make up about 50% of my weekly diet. 
17. Wear makeup to bed. All the time!! Well...any time I get drunk anyways!
18. Attend a wedding looking better than the bride. Probably not, I usually never have time to get dressed so I am usually doing my make up in the car (hence # 14)
19. Apologize for being modest or chaste. I have ZERO modesty. I'm not sure you can after IF and delivering a baby.
20. Think anyone wants to see pictures of your cat(s).  I don't like cats. **Ducks and runs to keep from getting hit with flying objects**
21. Let a girlfriend who has been drinking go anywhere with a man she just met. I have some very persuasive friends.
22. Take off your clothes anyplace someone has a camera or video recording device. Who me?!?!
23. Make excuses for your kid’s obnoxious behavior. I make no excuses only apologies.
24. Buy something you don’t need just because it’s on sale. ALL THE TIME!!
25. Run down a girlfriend behind her back. . Then she really isn't a girlfriends then is she
26. Keep a stuffed animal on your bed after the age of sixteen. I was in a long distance relationship for 5 years, sometimes a girl gets lonely.
27. Get on the back of a motorcycle with a man who is younger than your dad. He was family though, does that still count
28. Ignore signs of cancer in the hopes that it will just go away. Thank God No!!
29. Fall in love with a “bad boy.” Sure hope Mike doesn't read this one because I am pretty sure that he would be hurt that I don't consider him a bad boy. 
30. Refuse to tell a man what you really want for your birthday and then be disappointed by the gift you receive. I am very quick to say exactly what I want. 
31. Provide the sole financial support for a man who is not disabled or completing his education. Nope but Mike supported ME!! :)
32. Go more than six months without telling your dad how you feel about him.
33. Agree to be on a reality show with the words, “Real Housewives”, “Bachelor,” or “Bret Michaels” in the title. No but I probably would if I was asked.
34. Dig your key into the side of his pretty little souped up four wheel drive, carve your name into his leather seat, take a Louisville slugger to both head lights, and slash a hole in all four tires. I have definitely wanted to a few times though. 
35. Expect to find a man in the twenty first century like Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy. I was never really fond of Mr Darcy.
36. Tell your man, “You really didn’t have to.” (He did. He really, really did.) Oh, he DEFINITELY had to
37. Expect a man to understand why you like diamonds.
38. Limit your Bible reading to the verses in your self-help oriented devotional.
39. Serve in combat (unless your name is Joan of Arc). No, but I definitely don't think this should be a don't. God bless the women who have chosen to serve in combat. Those women are brave enough to do what I am not. 
40. Flirt irresponsibly. Come on, who hasn't been young once. I think EVERONE should do this at some point while they are young and care free.
41. Give unsolicited advice about breastfeeding. I am very PRO BFing but I know that it is a choice for everyone. So I choose to kep my mouth shut
42. Pierce any body part that is lower than your neck. My belly button circa 1999
43. Write “Hey Cutie. How’ve you Been? I miss you!” on your now-married, former boyfriend’s Facebook wall. OMG!!!
44. Use profanity in any situation where your toe is not stubbed. I unfortunately have quite the potty mouth sometimes.
45. Remain desperately at home inventing lovers who call to say, “Come dance with me,” and murmur vague obscenities after the age of seventeen. I don't have time for this...I'm already on the dance floor.
46. Be surprised when a man is unable to read you mind. I swear I am shocked EVERY-SINGLE-TIME! You think I would learn after being together for 10 years and married for 5.
47. Assume that a stay-at-home mom doesn’t “work.” Those are FIGHTING words in my house.
48. Assume that a work-outside-the-home mom is a bad parent. I definitely don't think this. Just like BFing it is a choice for every woman. 
49. Have a MySpace page after the age of 20. I still have one but I have not used it in several years. 
50. Take advice from a serpent about what produce to eat. Damn you EVE!!!  **shakes fists violently** Child birth could have been a breeze but nnnnooooooo, you had to eat the apple didn't you? Thanks, you are so not getting a Christmas card from me this year!

I've done 20 out of 50 things that a woman should never do. Not to shabby!  How about you? What's your score?

Friday, August 13, 2010

I have a tattoo!

Correction: I have a
TRAMP STAMP!!
(Yes, that is a bruise on my butt, I tried to cover it up, but it just made it worse {it's really not that bad}. That, my friends, is what happens when you back into the open pantry door. My tat also looks crooked in the picture but I promise it's not. Just another example of my poor cell phone photography skills. 

Anyway....Back to my Tramp Stamp tattoo. 

I got it when I was 18 and STUPID! I somehow thought that getting a multi-colored butterfly tattooed 2 inches above my butt crack was going to be original and trend setting. I guess in a way it was. Now, something like 90% of all women my age have an equally original and trend setting butterfly parked right in the middle of their back. Ok so maybe those numbers are a little skewed, but that is what it feels like. However with all of that said, I want to get another tattoo. 

This time I want to get London's name and the phrase 
" Aut inveniam viam aut faciam"
Which means 
"I shall either find a way or make one"

I don't exactly want anything huge. So that phrase is a little on the large side. So what do y'all this of this.


I found this online and really liked it. I would NOT get the blue background. I would just get the black wording. Then I would put London (and any subsequent children) underneath it.

I was going to get it this weekend when my BFF got hers, but I chickened out after Mike told me it looked like something you would see on a store front window.

See I hate my butterfly now and really wished that I had waited and gotten something that was meaningful to me. I feel like this tattoo is VERY meaningful, but I am still afraid of regretting it one day. Oh and there is also that little problem of WHERE to get it. I want to be able to cover it up while I'm at PTA meetings or weddings or church. So my placement options are rather limited. I thought about getting it on my hip, but I don't know. I am so torn.

What ink do you have and where is it at?

P.s. Don't forget to go enter my giveaway to win 48 Shutterfly photo cards.
Click here to enter!

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

I'M BACK!!!

I had an amazing time on my trip. The bachelorette party was a BLAST!! It was a very much needed good time. My two partners in crime best friends are Crystal and Jonnie. We have been through it ALL together over the last 10 years. After I married Mike and moved away from Savannah, Jonnie moved away a few months later, and then lastly Crystal moved about a year after that. So now that we all live in different places, the 3 of us don't get together all that often. I can't even remember the last time the 3 of us went out together. Crystals sister-in-law also came with us, and she fit right into our silly, loud, crazy party. She should have been our get away driver YEARS ago :)

Few days later we had Crystal's Bridal Shower and everything went really well. She got tons of loot. And everyone seemed to enjoy it. Especially Crystal which is all that really matters :)

I spent pretty much the entire trip either car sick or hung over. Which is NOT a good combination, by the way!! Crystal lives in the mountains of Virginia, and lets just say this Savannah girl is NOT used to all of those curvy roads. There are a few stories that involve me breaking around every turn and freaking out over a few road flares (I thought they were fire crackers) but I will save those for another time. Oh and to answer your question, I was totally sober when that happened.

Here are a few pictures.
Not Single anymore!!

Did I mention Crystal got  TATTOO!! 

OUCH!


The finished product. Do you see the S (her Groom-elect's initial)?


Jonnie, Crystal, and Me (already a few drink into the night)

Angie (Aka: The girl in the white shorts) and Crystal


Crystal and Me

Her bridal shower cake


The tables


Jonnie, Crystal, and Me at the shower.


Crystal and her Groom-Elect!



I also announced the winner(s) of the Fertility Ball giveaway. Check it out! 

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Wordless Wednesday- Old School!

20 year old Mike and Aly
2001

You can really see our height difference in this one.
New Years Eve 2001



Summer Break 2002
Yes, I was really that tan and he was really that red!



Summer Break 2002
This was a POSED picture, trust me I was NOT drinking a Colt 45. 
Zima? PROBABLY! But not Colt. 



Spring Break 2003
This is my favorite picture of Mike. 


Engagement March 2005



College Dance Aug 2005



Wedding Day May 2006

Don't forget to go enter my latest giveaways

Monday, August 2, 2010

Leaving town...and another giveaway.

 Life has been a little crazy around here recently. Mike left today for a week to do some training and I am getting ready to leave for my BFF Crystal's Bachelorette Party and Bridal Shower (don't worry I am sure a Bajillion pictures will follow). When I leave on Thursday, I will officially be leaving London for 5 whole days. This will be the longest time that I have ever been away from my little man since he was born 17 months ago. Can you say "seperation anxiety?". I have it, NOT HIM!! My amazing Mother-In-Law will be here keeping him. I trust her implicitly, second only to my own mother. Oh, and London LOVES her too! Well he mainly likes the walks that she takes him on, but every little bit helps right?  :) . I don't know how I am going to handle those day away from him. I will be very busy and having a BLAST with Crystal and Jonnie, so hopefully that helps take my mind off of things. HOPEFULLY!!!!

I promise to be better about posting next week, but this week is going to be super crazy. In the mean time you should all go enter my new giveaway. Enter to win 48 Photo Cards from Shutterfly on my Giveaways Blog The Infertility Overachievers Reviews and Giveaways


Sunday, August 1, 2010

Giveaway Time!

Hello blog readers.

I hope everyone had a fabulous weekend. Date night was a total success, well that is if you don't count the fight that we got into on the way home. I hate it when we bicker about stupid stuff especially at the end of the night. It just leaves a bad taste in your mouth for the entire evening. Anyway back to the evening. I got sushi, Mike gave in to my pleas (oh and the pout lip helped too). I almost didn't get sushi because we couldn't find the restaurant. Our GPS dropped us off no where near a restaurant. But my awesome husband kept looking and found a different one nearby. Inception was AWESOME!!! I love love loved it. Mike and I spent several hours discussing it yesterday but I will spare you our theories.  We also loved our baby sitter and will definitely be using her a lot more often.

In case you missed it, I updated on Saturday about my RE appointment and IVF #2 schedule. You can find that here.

OK now on to THE GIVEAWAY!!! I have joined together with Strong Yoga4Women to do another giveaway. This time we will be giving away The Fertility Ball. Go check it out on my Reviews and Giveaways blog. The Infertility Overachievers Reviews and Giveaways.

I have another giveaway scheduled for all of my readers (not just the ones who are trying to improve their fertility) so check back soon for more details about that.