It's a.....

BOY!!!!!!!

Coupon Crazed

A few months ago, a few of the girls at work were talking about their weekends. Specifically, they were comparing how much each of them had saved at the grocery store that weekend, which sales they found, where they found coupons, etc. One of the girls had saved almost 50% of her original grocery bill! I commented that I wished I could 'work' coupons like that, but I always ended up buying products I wouldn't normally buy, that were more expensive than the store brand, simply because I had a coupon for them, so I never used coupons anymore. But, my lovely coworkers would never let me give up so easily! They gave me some great websites to visit and tips. The best tip they gave me was to visit the following website:
wwww.southernsavers.com, which is a free website for all interested in finding the best deals and coupons! The woman who runs the site, Jenny, also puts on couponing workshops for a small fee ($10) all around the southeast. She is great about posting the major grocery stores' weekly ads, printable coupon links, and posting different sales and coupon scenarios in order to get the biggest bang for your buck. I attended one of her seminars a few months ago and it was GREAT! There is so much to learn, and like blogging, I'm still learning each week I go to the grocery store. Her website is really helpful to those in the southern states- SC, NC, GA, FL, etc. If you don't live in this area but are still interested in couponing, visit her site and maybe email her. She might be able to point you in the write 'web' direction to find a similar site for different areas of the country. I took a few months off (read: first trimester!!) because I couldn't even make a grocery list without feeling gross, much less think about coupons. The hubz and I are back on it, and we saved $25 at Publix last week. Not bad, for just getting back in the saddle! My goal is to save more money each week than I did the previous week. I'll let you know how it goes! Fill me in on any tips you might have-I'm open to suggestions!

:)

Everything is sounding great! The doctor found baby's heartbeat right away, thank goodness, and it sounded beautiful!! We hope to find out the baby's gender in the next few weeks. In the meantime, I'm excited about two major baby consignment events going on in my town. Even though we don't know the gender yet, I am still hoping I can find some deals on basics that don't need to be gender specific. Has anyone else had good luck at baby consignment shops or events? Any advice for a newbie?

16/17 week doctor's appointment tomorrow!

DH and I will have my 16/17 week doctor's appointment tomorrow. I call it that because the docs call it my 16 week, although I tend to measure about a week farther along than what the appointment is called. I am always incredibly nervous about appointments-we can use any prayers that you can spare. Until I hear baby's heartbeat loud and clear, it's very hard for me to relax. Tomorrow they'll only be using the Doppler, and not doing an ultrasound. If any of you moms to be or moms are out there, I think you know what I mean about being scared and nervous. Please say a prayer that baby is healthy and well! Thanks!

DH's Comment of the Week

Throughout my pregnancy, my dear husband has been amazing. He dotes on me, encourages me to rest, has gone to every doctor's appointment, has picked up the slack from my lack of energy and kept the laundry and dishwasher going, etc. He is so excited about Baby, and is genuinely awestruck every time we see Baby on an ultrasound, or by my belly growth. He is absolutely terrified of saying the wrong thing about said belly, because I have been a weepy mess for a while now, at the slightest remarks. So, he generally refrains from commenting on how I look at all, except for this morning. After I showered, DH came into the bathroom as I was getting dressed. He took one look at me (from behind) and said, "Is it possible that as your front gets bigger, your butt gets smaller?" It was so funny, and I know he was trying to give me a compliment in his own way about how my behind is looking smaller (yeah, right!) but the look on his face as soon as the words escaped his lips was priceless! All I could do was laugh. Poor, sweet DH. How I love him!

So, how do I look?

12 week belly picture (red shirt), and 16 week belly picture (green shirt). Lately I've been driving myself crazy, wondering if my belly is still growing, is it growing enough, is everything going okay in there? I know it's just because it's been about 4 weeks since my last appointment and I'm anxious for Monday's appointment, so I'm trying to relax. I have to say, I absolutely love having a pregnant belly, and I can't wait for it to get rounder and bigger! I absolutely want to look pregnant! :)

So far....

Once I got pregnant, I was very hesitant to tell ANYONE. DH, of course, in his wonderful, excited way, wanted to shout it from the top of the Chrysler Building. (I almost wonder if this excitement is in part because he was proud of himself, but who knows. ;) ) But slowly, as the weeks go by, as we've had more ultrasounds with strong heartbeats, we've told more and more people. Now, my students have all figured it out (it took my sixth graders longer than I expected to notice my bump!), my coworkers know, it's out there on Facebook, and my extended family and in-laws know. It feels so nice to have people excited for us and praying for us. That was step number one. As the weeks progress, we're starting to think about the bigger questions, mainly, where are we gonna put this bambino or bambina? We've worked out a plan to rearrange DH's office from the second downstairs bedroom to an upstairs room, and he's working on that little by little. I'm in no rush at this point, because I know we have plenty of time. But each week there seems to be a new topic to discuss or a new plan to make. Generous friends are offering to throw a shower, when would I like to have it? We'll (hopefully, if baby is feeling uninhibited!) find out the sex at the end of March, so when will I register for baby stuff? What in the world kind of baby stuff do I actually need from the plethora of 'stuff' that gleams from the fluorescent-light soaked, albeit somewhat breathtaking halls of Babies 'R' Us?? That place is like walking into an alternate universe, a universe in which each product is irresistible. EVERYTHING is precious. EVERYTHING seems useful. (at this point.) Thank GOD I have a knowledgeable sister who has two babies of her own and is willing and unbelievably able to help me with those decisions. These are just the logistical things. I haven't even touched on the emotional things- what in the world kind of mother am I going to be? How will DH handle everything? I wonder how we'll change or grow as a couple once baby arrives? Like I said before, somedays, I get by simply minute by minute, or hour by hour, because it is so easy to be overwhelmed. Thankfully, most of the overwhelming stuff is wonderful, joyful and exciting.

I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaaack!!

Hello, friends! I am trying to get back into the swing of blog things these days- after lots of pushing, I mean, encouragement from my blogger sister, and after I realized that blogging does actually help with my stress level. Currently I'm 16 weeks and two days pregnant (woohoo!!). Each of my appointments to this point have gone very well, thank the good Lord. My next appointment is next week, and as it's been almost 4 weeks since my last appointment, I find my anxiety growing. I just want to hear baby's beautiful heartbeat again! I am trying to stay positive, to surrender the worries, and to remind myself that everything is in God's hands. But, wow. This whole experience has been a lesson in surrender! There are some days when it is minute to minute, because I have a tendency to worry and let my imagination run wild with all of the negative possibilities. Thankfully, I have many wise, wonderful and positive friends and family members who encourage me to simply be grateful and enjoy my pregnancy. They are absolutely 100% right! I am so blessed, and here I am wasting precious time and energy in fear?? What's up with that? So, I'm going to try and be back on the blog circuit, figure out how to "follow" other blogs and basically everything else that goes on with this whole blog world.