Day 3 of blog challenge...

Day 3 - What's in your makeup bag?

This is my makeup bag. Don't remember where it's from, but it's cute and I love it!

And here's all my make-up! Lots of eyeshadow. One blush. One mascara. One eye liner. I'm pretty low maintenance when I wear makeup, which isn't every day. My favorite colors are the browns in the top 5-color shadow kit.

Day 2 of blog challenge...

Day 2 - What's in your handbag?

Here is my current purse - from Kohl's.

And here are the contents!

My Coach wallet (love!) that I got at the Coach store in NYC when I lived there, and my Guess change purse that I got for my birthday from my girlfriend (also love!).

My handy-dandy Chihuahua 2012-2013 calendar book, from my mommy for Christmas. I write down all of our important IVF dates, birthdays, anniversaries, etc. It has pictures of Chihuahuas on each page and is just adorable. A pen, of course. And cash to pay my cell phone bill!

My pink gloves that Doug got me for Christmas, and my Coach sunglasses (also from the Coach store when I lived in NYC... I went through an obsession, I also have them in white!). Can't leave the house without either - it's freezing, snowy and sunny!

Hair schtuffs! A comb, for fixing my bangs. A teeny brush for the rest of my hair. Some bobby pins, and a couple ponytail holders. Necessities!

Hand sanitizer and apparently 2 different things of Sweet Pea lotion - the one is old and almost empty, didn't even know it was in there! That's the curse of a huge purse! Seriously though - LOVE this hand sanitizer (Vanilla Bean from B&BW).. Their stuff doesn't seem to dry my hands as much as other hand sanitizers, and it smells SOOOO frickin good. Also love the Sweet Pea intense moisture body butter. Much better than regular lotion.

Bodycology's Sweet Petals body mist. Smells so pretty and light. And my new FAVORITE scent - Flirt! by Rock-N-Rebel. I think it's supposed to be like an Ed Hardy knock-off, judging by the logo. I've never smelled Ed Hardy, but this scent is great. I just got it for Christmas and it's half gone already! I love it.

Chapsticks, lip gloss and lipstick! I love the Lipsmacker's Strawberry & Milk Chocolate.. it smells and tastes good and gives a nice sheen without being sticky. The two Lipsmacker's chapsticks are okay, but to be honest they kind of give me a sore throat. Weird! I know. But Doug got me like a 12-pack for Christmas lol, so I've been trying to use them. I have NEVER worn lipstick, but I recently got a craving to try red and LOVED it. This one is Loreal - Evangeline's Red. It's gorgeous.

Dental floss! Free from my dentist. Must have. I get everything stuck between my teeth.



There you have it! Not very exciting. Big purse, lots of pink and girly stuff lol..

30 Day Blog Challenge

I'm going to try really hard to participate in this challenge!




Day 1 - What is the meaning behind your blog name?

I've had this blog for a long time, but it used to be named something else (that I can't remember now). I came up with "alohakanoa" on a whim, a few years ago. It's Hawaiian, obviously, and I can't find the exact translation that I was "going for", but aloha means hello, and kanoa means "the free one", so I guess my blog name is "Hello, Free One" lol..

DIY chalkboard!

More details later on how I turned this:

(Sorry so blurry, but it was such an ugly picture that the camera didn't even want to look at it!)

Into this:

(If you can't wait for instructions, click here!)

24/7 = nursery

Truly - that's all I think about, 24/7. It's bad. It's become an obsession. Finding the perfect items, the perfect details, the perfect wall color - I can't stop! I can't imagine what nesting feels like, if this ain't it!!

My latest "dilemma": our nursery is pretty small. There's enough room for everything I need/want, if I plan right. One thing I've wanted to do from day 1 is (have Doug) build some shelves. In small spaces you have to use each inch wisely, and that means building UP!

My first thought was something like this:

Then, my mom reminded me of how (at a super early age) my brother was reaching out of his crib, grabbing things AND pulling himself out. Okay, so this set up would only work for a short time. Not to mention the dusting and the fact that anything above baby's crib makes me nervous.

Then I thought, how about something like this (just the side pieces):

And Doug agreed he could easily do that. But, you still have some of the same problems as the first one.

Lastly, I considered something like this:

You eliminate any safety hazards when the baby is old enough to stand in the crib, because they can easily be moved to the other side of the room (as opposed to the earlier shelving that would be bolted into the wall). However, you also eliminate the main reason I wanted shelving and not drawers - displaying items!

This morning I had a brilliant idea. What about corner shelving?

This would be a lot easier to dust/get to, would be small enough that it's not within arms reach of baby, and would still allow me to display things. But, I don't really want corner shelving on both sides.. so I had another brilliant idea!

I just think these $3.99 Ikea spice racks turned bookshelves are BRILLIANT. Some of the items I want to display are books - this is a great way to do so without them taking up so much room elsewhere, which they would if you were standing them on a shelf.

So, I'm pretty happy with this idea. Pretty corner display shelving on one side, cheap easy bookshelves on the other! Me so smart.

We're getting close now...

BIRTH CONTROL IS DONE! Thank God. Things haven't been so great in the Ackerman-Brennan household. I've been a nasty emotional mess of a person. Just angry and no patience and frustrated and sad and ugh.

Today will be my 6th day on Lupron. Only 3 days left until my baseline ultrasound, where they will HOPEFULLY tell me I can start stimulation injections on Friday. It's all finally happening and I couldn't be happier. Too bad all these hormones have left me unwilling to truly be happy about anything!

I've been trying to be crafty on the weekends. I made the two crafts in this post a few weekends ago, and made the below last weekend.

Truly can't tell you why the first one is upside down, what a pain in the butt lol. Oh well. I followed (for the most part) this tutorial on how to save wedding cards, but using our Christmas cards! Super easy and a great way to save these memories!

So yes, birth control is now OVER.

That was the last pill, yesterday's. I took those every day for 3 weeks. I also started Lupron on Monday. It's very easy. As with most things infertility related, the anticipation is what kills ya.

First, I wash my hands. Then I remove the needle from the package. I clean the top of the medicine bottle with an alcohol pad. I then draw back some air in the syringe, and inject that air into the bottle. I do this so that over time, pressure does not build up in the bottle. I then draw up .10cc of Lupron into the needle, tapping it to release any air bubbles. I clean an area below my belly button with an alcohol pad. Usually I have Doug do the actual injection - he pinches some skin (not so hard these days!) and jabs away! Slowly pushing the plunger to release the medicine. The whole process takes less than a minute from start to finish. We then re-cap the needle and drop it into our "sharps" container that we keep on top of the fridge. Our kitchen truly looks like a lab, between the fridge of meds, the sharps container and the huuuuge box of needles and alcohol pads.

The injection itself stings a little, but it's really not bad. I am starting to look like a pin cushion though. Here's Doug and I being goofy and documenting our first injection!

I will continue taking the Lupron until they tell me to stop. Only about 2 weeks left. I. Can't. Believe. It!!!!

 

Getting close...

So, I start Lupron on Monday. My last day of birth control will be 1/20, and I will have my baseline ultrasound on 1/24, and hopefully start stims on 1/27. It's ALL happening. So crazy. I had my meds teach the other day and it was overwhelming, to say that least. And I've already done all this! Not to mention, researched it recently and knew exactly what I was in for. I can't imagine if Doug would have been there. This was 2 days ago and I still haven't had a chance to sit down and show him allllll the drugs and which ones need to be refridgerated and which ones go with what needles and when to increase the dosages and whatnot. Not that he needs to know, really. But it would make me feel like he's more involved.

It feels like just yesterday that I got the call about the grant and was asked to schedule an IVF consult. That was 3 months ago. Yet now, as it gets closer, I'm getting more and more anxious, and time is going slower and slower. I want to have a bunch of supplies at the house for projects, because I don't know HOW I'm going to get through the first few days after transfer on bed rest, let alone the entire 2ww! UGH! I also need to sit down with Doug and discuss with him if/when we are going to POAS before beta.. I'd kind of rather find out WITH him than tell him. I want to share that moment with him, good or bad.

I'm working on a playspace for Mason. Which will eventually soon become the computer room, which will be turned into the nursery. I'm really leaning towards a gray/pink room instead of pink/white for Avery. Some of the pictures I've seen lately have just been beautiful, and it looks so classy and modern.





This would also solve Doug's biggest fear - a big, pink, Pepto-bismol room LOL.

I haven't seen any examples even CLOSE to what I want in Parker's room - baby boys rooms are ALL THE SAME and so boring. His tan/bright blue giraffe inspired room would be fab.

I started working on my registry again. Amazon is such a BRILLIANT place to register with. You can add items from ANYWHERE - Target, Babies-R-Us, Etsy - you name it. As long as it has a website, you can add it. I have a neat little "add to registry" button on my toolbar, and it's as easy as 1-2-3. At this point there's not a lot of necessity items - breast pumps, strollers, car seats, highchairs, etc. It's mostly "fun" stuff - clothes, crib bedding, books, decorations, etc. There are some practical items, and some items for both, and there are exactly the same number of items for a girl as there are for a boy. :D

I bought a bella band and a maternity shirt that I can wear now. It's just a white, long-sleeved long tee. Comfy and cute. The bella band I can definitely wear now too, considering I'm seriously so fat/bloated that my pants don't button comfortably. And that is NOT going to get any better ANY time soon.

Two days 'til Lupron! My countdowns are going to get shorter and shorter, and then one LONGGGG one (the 2ww). I can't believe that by March 1st I could be officially BFP pregnant. I've never wanted anything so much in my life.

IVF meds came today!

Planning.

Are you an OCD "planner" like me?

Infertility got you down?
Have tons of awesome ideas for your future baby, but you're just not getting pregnant?

Have no fear!

You, my friend, are lucky. Those Fertile Myrtle's that wish to be pregnant, blink, and are - have NOTHING on you! The longer your "infertility" takes - the more time you have to PLAN! What is there to plan, you ask? Let me show you!

First and foremost - how (and when) are you going to announce? If you're like me, you're going to do it in a BIG WAY and probably earlier than most. If you're private, you may come up with a more subtle way to share the big news. The point is - you have TIME to come up with the perfect, "We're pregnant!" announcement that fits you as a couple.



Your pregnancy journal/scrapbook. How boring is a 9-month pregnancy journey, without a little back story! Lucky for you, my friend, your readers will be engaged before they even GET to your BFP! You will have more tales of tears, heartache, and pain than War & Peace! Your audience will be captivated, and just begging for a happy ending.



A gender reveal party! All the craze, these are a great way to get your friends and family involved in one of the most special parts of pregnancy - finding out the sex of your little baking bundle. You will have PLENTY of time to make sure every detail of this beautiful occasion is perfect.



Photo shoots! There are so many beautiful, document-worthy times, from conception through birth, and beyond! Start researching photographers. You may want a photo session soon after you find out you're pregnant to capture the joy that you both feel. You will also most likely want to do weekly photos of your growing belly - these are probably better left up to Daddy, but you can start thinking about where you'd like to take these pictures, and in what outfit (hopefully one that will grow with you!). You will definitely want to have some professional pictures taken when you're closer to your due date, and of course a newborn photo shoot! Let's not forget monthly pics of your little one! These are very trendy right now, and a GREAT way to capture the first year.



The birth! Hospital or at home? Water birth? Labor ball? Medicated or natural? So many things can change in the drop of a hat during labor, but it is good to go in with a plan - one that you can thoroughly research and discuss with your partner, since you have all the time in the world!



And of course, last but not least - the nursery. You'll be able to let your imagination run wild with themes, crib bedding, wall colors and art.



Let's not forget - your registry, your baby shower, whether or not you will have Godparents and/or a baptism, and holiday traditions you would like to create for your child.

Those who are "blessed" enough to get pregnant quickly might THINK they have it good. However, for planners like myself - I've actually appreciated the extra time to make sure every detail of my child's beginning will be perfect.