it's a girl!!!

that's right... our little baby is a GIRL!

we found out friday morn that we are expecting a girl! we are very excited! i think i said to myself/Trent at least 10 times, "i can't believe we are having a girl"... it's crazy actually knowing. and now continues our extensive baby girl name search. we are having quite the challenge so feel free to make any suggestions!!

here are a couple pics of our beautiful girl...

we love how she is already so modest with her legs crossed all proper-like :) trent especially loves that.

right after we found out, we went to target to buy our 1st baby girl outfits for her. it was actually hard at first just b/c we aren't naturally drawn to all the frilly, over-the-top girly things... but we eventually found 2 outfits we both adore!!

this 1st outfit actually has a monkey on it!! it is very hard to find a girls outfit w/monkeys bc most of the boys outfits have those. so we had to get this one!

this one is just adorable! the elephants are too cute.

okay & here is a belly shot from the day before our big u/s. i am 19wks & 2days.

thanks for celebrating our joyous news with us!!

hmm boy or girl?

so here is my 1st actual pregnancy update... it's about time. i'm 19 weeks as of yesterday!

i am finally getting some good rest @ night which is a huge blessing! i was excited for the 2nd trimester for this reason... but weeks 14-16 were horrendous for me due to severe allergies & little sleep! more so than my nausea during weeks 6-8. thankfully, the allergies died down & now it is getting hard for me to wake up early whatsoever.

here is a cute idea i got from my cute prego friend, kendall.

Food Cravings:

1. coke icees!

2. grape slushies from sonic

3. sonic tater tots

4. chocolate carnation instant breakfast w/skim milk (look forward to this every morn!)

5. pasta salad, pasta salad, pasta salad (& i never liked the stuff pre-pregoness)

6. chick-fil-a lemonade (let's be honest, that's always been a craving of mine)

7. dill pickles, extra crunchy

8. subway grilled chicken sandwich (honey oat bread, cheese, lettuce, tomato, extra pickles, mayo, red wine vinegar, salt & pepper)

9. sushi - california roll (fake sushi)

10. chips & salsa (preferably @ el toro)

Food Aversions:

1. beef stew

2. meatloaf

3. lasagna

4. steak

5. hamburgers

6. browning ground beef (hmm i see a trend)

7. BBQ

8. really, any creamy beefy things

9. supreme pizza or mighty meaty wick

10. roast beef

we find out in 2 days - this Friday (our 5th anniversary!) if we are having a boy or girl. so based on some old wives' tales, let's see what i am predicted to have.....

* You didn't experience morning sickness in early pregnancy - BOY

* Your baby's heart rate is at least 140 beats per minute - GIRL

* You are craving salty or sour foods - BOY

* You are carrying low - BOY

* Dad-to-be is gaining weight, right along with you - BOY :)

* Your belly looks like a watermelon - GIRL (well... not sure yet, but it's shaping to be more of a watermelon than a basketball)

* You are having headaches - BOY

* You don't look quite as good as normal during pregnancy - GIRL (girls supposedly suck the beauty away from you, while boys add beauty to their mommies)

* Your breasts have really blossomed! - i wish! this is true if you're having a GIRL, so this a BOY point for me

* Your face breaks out more than usual - GIRL (awesome!)

* You add your age at the time of conception and the number for the month you conceived and the sum is an odd number - GIRL

* You are craving protein -- meats and cheese - true for a boy... NOT true, so - GIRL

* Had Trent look at my eye & tell me which eyeball had a split blood vessel - in my left eye - BOY

**grand total.... BOY: 7, GIRL: 6**

hmmm... well we will see if the old wives' tales are correct in 2 days! will keep you posted!

below is a pic i took of myself today... decided to treat myself to a shorter do & my baby bump is starting to look more like baby and less like mexican food! yay!

& yes that is a coke icee in the pic. mmm.

best savings yet!

so i know a lot of you may not be interested in my couponing endeavors... but... i can't help but share my awesome week of savings! perhaps it will inspire you to save where you can. i am grateful for the Southern Savers website which i would be lost without. here is the snapshot...

Savings #1 = ~$79 in savings

Medco was doing a great deal of $10 off any purchase with only .99 cent shipping. this means, you could put $10 worth of items in your cart, use the -$10 off code and essentially pay .99 cents for shipping to get your items. you have to enter a new email address each time & luckily trent & i together have many many email addresses.

(props to medco... placed 4 of these orders on June 4th

& received those 4 orders today, June 9th)

so here is what i got:

(1) charged $3.07 for... tylenol allergy pills (24c) & neutrogena body wash (typical cost: ~$15)

(2) charged $2.47 for... aussie gigantic 33oz shampoo & normal conditioner (typical cost: ~$14)

(3) charged $2.96 for... 3 glade sense n spray refills (typical cost: ~$12)

(4) charged $1.68 for... neutrogena oil free moisturizer (typical cost: ~$11)

(5) charged $3.48 for... 2 large bottles of contact solution (typical cost: ~$20-30)

(6) charged $1.68 f0r... huggies ultratrim newborn diapers (36c) (typical cost: ~$13+)

... yes - this is my 1st official purchase for baby chambers!! crazy!!

Summary:

... Bought $95 worth of items (all which i needed!)

... Spent $15.61

Savings #2 = $80.11 in savings

Okay here is the rundown of my CVS success... definitely the best ever.

yes, all of these products = $84.23 (!!)

can't believe how much these items cost full price!!

(though i definitely used to pay full price for them!)

Transaction #1

(1) Bought these items...

Gillette ProGlide Razor ($10.99, on sale for $9.97)

6 Deodorants (4 degree, 2 dove) ($3.79-$4.79, on sale for $2.50 each)

2 Windex MultiSurface Cleaners ($4.29, on sale for $2.50 each)

2 Glade candles ($3.99, on sale for $2.50 each)

(2) Used these coupons...

-$4 off Gillette coupon

-3x $3/2 off Dove/Degree deodorant coupons

-$1.50 off Glade coupon

-2x $1 off Windex coupons

Used these ECBs (essentially, CVS gift card)...

7 ECBs + 4 ECBs + 4.99 ECBs + 3 ECBs = 18.99 ECBs total

*Total $ I gave the cashier: $1.73

***Total ECBs (gift card) I got back: 5ECBs + 5ECBs + 5ECBs = 15 ECBs total

Transaction #2

(1) Bought these items:

2 Old Spice Deodorants ($5.49, on sale for $3.99 each)

1 Old Spice Body Wash ($4.99, on sale for $3.00)

1 Venus Breeze Razor ($9.99, on sale for $8.99)

2 Dawn dish soaps ($1.99, on sale for $0.97)

(2) Used these coupons:

-$5 off purchase of $15

B1G1 Old Spice Deodorant

Free Body Wash wyb Old Spice Deodorant

-$2 off Venus razor

-$0.25 off Dawn dish soap

Used these ECBs:

5ECBs from Transaction #1

*Total $ I gave the cashier... $2.39

***Total ECBs I got back... $4ECBs + $2ECBs = $6ECBs

***TOTAL ECBs for my next purchase = $16ECBs***

Summary:

... Bought $84.23 worth of products

... Spent $4.12 out of pocket

... Have $5 rebate to send off

** Essentially, CVS will pay ME $0.88 for $84.23 in products**

... Received $16 ECBs for future use

wow. i praise the Lord for giving me the time to coupon & save $ as i can.

some of you may be wondering... what am i going to do with all of that deodorant?? well, we will use some of it, we will keep some for a "bed & breakfast" basket for guests, and as we increase our 'stockpile' we will most certainly give the surplus to those in need.

happy couponing!