Adoption Updates, a New Article, and a Project

Well today was my appointment with my PCM to discuss a piece of our adoption questionnaire. We went over various substance abuse issues and what kind of effects those drugs would have on an unborn child. It was very enlightening. Some drugs that I thought I would be comfortable with I ended up changing my mind and vice versa. We also discussed medical history of birthparents' family, like mental disorders or cystic fibrosis, and what we felt comfortable accepting and not accepting. I didn't realize how uneducated I was about all this until we went to our appointment. But it looks like we've made up our mind about our comfort level with these issues so we plan to fill out that part of our questionnaire tonight while the information is still fresh in our mind.

Today I finally got an article published with Associated Content. This article discusses 13 different resources for adoption fundraising, all with different ways to raise money for your upcoming adoption. My favorite is the Leaves of Love which is the fundraiser I plan on doing if we end up adopting. It's such a wonderful idea and I love the artwork! I plan on working on my next article shortly, which will be a compilation of adoption grant programs.

So to commemorate my lovely adoption fundraising article I've decided to start a new project called Fundraiser Friday. It's a simple enough project, if you're having a fundraiser for something infertility or adoption related, simply email me with the info about the fundraiser and its purpose. I will post the information about your fundraiser either the week before or the week during your event to help spread the word (on Fridays of course, hence the name Fundraiser Friday). I'm not sure how popluar my project will be so I can't say when I'll have my first Fundraiser Friday post but we'll just figure that out as we go along.

Oh, and the Lost Stork Foundation finally has a blog of its own! Check it out here. The design isn't complete yet but we hope to have that done this week so please excuse the "construction" going on. Aly from the Infertility Overachievers has graciously donated her time to help make the Lost Stork's blog beautiful and we can't wait to see the finished product!

Oh, and 48 MORE DAYS!!!!

Random Updates

Well, FET #2 has officially started. I didn't get my period on Sunday (of course) so I started taking Provera. I hope to get my schedule for everything this week but I already talked to Nurse D and my FET is scheduled for Monday, May 2nd. That means that I will know if I'm pregnant before flying off to Ireland but unfortunately my first ultrasound will have to wait until after the trip.

I think I'm going to start writing articles again for A/C. My Article list is a bit short at the moment, though I did remove all the non-fertility related ones from my blogs. I'm currently working on two articles right now, both are related to adoption. One will be a compilation of sources for adoption fundraising and one will be similar to this article (my most popular one) and will discuss adoption grants. But because there are so many adoption grants out there my list will be narrowed down to grants that 1) don't require couples to be a certain religion and 2) apply to adopting all children, regardless of race, age, or special needs status. That article is turning out to be a little harder than I thought, as there really aren't that many grants out there that fit that criteria. I'll be lucky if I find 10 for my article (I think so far I have 8). So I hope to have my adoption fundraising article done in the next couple weeks and the second article will be done in April.

I think when I reach 200 followers (only 1 follower to go!) I won't hold a giveaway. I think this time I'll hold a gift basket raffle, with the proceeds going to The Lost Stork Foundation. So I could use some suggestions for what to include in my gift basket. My next true giveaway will be something from Ireland (63 more days!).

I think there was another update I wanted to put on here but my mind has gone blank and I'm running late for work. Ciao!

Infertility Grants

I want to remind everyone that now is the time that most infertility non-profits are taking applications for adoption and infertility treatment grants. Check out my two articles on the right sidebar for all the info but here's a short list of the ones with open applications.

Parenthood for Me
Cade Foundation
BUMPS
Pay it Forward (takes quarterly grants now)

Also, on the second article I talk about conferences and seminars with giveaways. Here's one coming up with tons of giveaways.

Midwest Family Building Conference - March 12th

And here's some random fertility clinic seminars with free IVF cycle giveaways

Life IVF Center in Irvine, CA - Feb 12th
SIRM (Dallas, TX location) - March 5th and 6th (one awarded at each session)
GIVF in Falls Church, VA - April 9th

And there's only three more days to enter my market basket giveaway from the Posh Peach!

Did You Know....

that pregnancy tests are tax deductible if you itemize your medical expenses? Click here for a $2 off printable coupon from First Response (my fave pee stick brand). Coupons are good till March 2011 and I've been able to print multiple coupons so stock up! Internet coupons are usually only available for a limited number of prints so this offer probably won't last long.

Ever since we've turned into a one-income family I've gotten into the coupon clipping and other frugal habits. I now save an average of $25 a month from my coupons. It's not much but it adds up to about $300 a year. My latest article on Associated Content discusses the secrets to finding more coupons and saving money. Check it out!

I Need Your Help!

I'm working on my second money-saving article and I need some help from my readers. If anyone has participated in the following financing programs I would like to speak with you on your experiences and specific situations:
IntegraMed Attain IVF
ARC Fertility Program
MedChoice Financial
Any other financing (except CapitalOne), including ones that are only available through your fertility clinic

I would like to do a little Q&A through e-mail with those who have used financing for their infertility costs and perhaps include your specific information in my article. I can always keep in anonymous if you would like, and of course you can proofread my article before I submit it. I just want to give some information about interest rates, loan limits, etc for consumers with both good and bad credit. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

I'm a published writer!

My first article has been published on Associated Content, How to Save Money on Infertility Treatments! I'm completely stoked and can't wait to write another one. I started a section on the sidebar that will list all my future articles in case you ever want to reference them. I think I see a new part-time job in my future :)

PS- If anyone has any suggestions for article topics about infertility, adoption, or travel please feel free to share them.