nursery (phase 1)

so our nursery isn't CLOSE to being completed... & my ticker is telling me i only have over 9 weeks left... yipes! single digit weeks left!

but i will go ahead & post pics of what we have going on so far...

our beautiful crib!

the lighting looks kinda weird in the next few pics.

but the walls are an icy pink & the crib is white.

close up of the birdie mobile & PBK bedding

adorable gift meg painted for the nursery! matches perfectly!

close up of the owl/birdie sheets + adorable stuffed animals.

so i am obsessed with owls. it's a fact.

there is our changing tower!

trent will be adding the hutch to the top of it hopefully tonight.

this pic has better lighting &

shows the pink color of the room better.

yay for our glider & valance!!!

okay that's a preview of what's going on in the nursery thus far.

i will be updating as we get the hutch up & actually start the decorating process :)

11 weeks left

can i just say...

look at how close that cute little pink elephant (above) is to the finish line??

ahhh! it's crazy!!!

this past weekend we were in canton, ga for a conference trent was speaking at. trent's mom decided to throw us a baby shower while we were in town & it was such a blessing!! here are a few cute pics to show off her decorating skills from the shower...

cute clothesline in the entry...

abby grace has already received her 1st Texas onesie & bib

(thanks to nat & jas)

& now she has received her 1st UGA tee & cap & booties. :)

"it's a girl" cookie favors - thanks, mimi!

girly floral arrangement :)

beautiful & yummy cupcakes & cake!

so i was still getting ready but here is a belly shot from my baby shower attire.

28 weeks and 3 days in this pic.

thanks, mama lindy, for the beautiful baby shower!! it was such a blessing & we are so appreciative.

$$ recent savings $$

i've been blessed with some exciting savings opportunities lately!

i think i had my best CVS trip to date!!!

i bought $41.94 worth of products for only $1.35 out of my pocket.

here's the proof:

so how did i do this??

here's how (props to southern savers - as usual):

i bought all of these items in 1 transaction...

1 purex laundry sheets ($7.99)

... on sale for $5.99

... used $3 coupon (RP 8/15)

... got back $2 ECBs (paid $0.99)

1 zegereid otc ($12.99)

... on sale for $9.99

... used $4 coupon (all you magazine)

... got back $7 ECB (so i made $2.99 off this item)

1 crest prohealth toothpaste ($4.99)

... on sale for $3.49

... used $0.75 coupon (RP 8/1)

... got back $2.50 ECBs (paid $0.24)

1 glide prohealth floss ($4.49)

... on sale for $3.49

... used $0.75 coupon (RP 8/1)

... got back $2.50 ECBs (paid $0.24)

1 blink tears eyedrops ($9.99)

... on sale for $7.99

... used $1.50 coupon (printable)

... got $7.99 ECBs in return (so i made $1.50 off this item)

1 orbit gum ($1.49) - filler

... on sale for $0.99 (had to spend this to reach $30)

i purchased all of these items, then i:

- used my $5/$30 CVS coupon (emailed to me)

- used my $3 CVS coupon i received in honor of my birthday (emailed to me)

- used my $13.94ECBs from last week

total out of pocket = $1.35

and i received $21.99 ECBs in return!!

so now i can use my $21.99 ECBs & attempt to do this all over again next week by buying the products that are on sale, have coupons, & give you ECBs in return.

i have been trepidatious to try out coupons @ the grocery store but i finally did this past week. kroger was having an awesome mega event sale. i ended up spending less than $35 on over $89 worth of groceries!! praise the Lord!

with the upcoming arrival of our baby, i am striving to be all the more wise with our money and to save in areas that i can. i figure... if there are ways to save over 50% on groceries and even get paid to purchase some items, it's definitely worth my time & effort to learn how!

even in such a mundane thing as grocery shopping, you can give Him glory by being a wise steward of your money. that is my hope!

:) happy couponing!

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!

saved $$$ at cvs!

so couponing is something that i have been trying to do for almost 1 year now. it definitely takes up time and effort and i took a big break over the past several months from couponing attempts.

but now im back!

i saved $50 @ CVS today!

i am quite excited because i still have 19 ECBs (extra care bucks) to use towards my purchase next week! so my hope is i will use my 19 ECBs and buy items that rack up more ECBs... so essentially i would be getting items for free and just keep rolling my ECBs over each week - fabulous!

here's a snapshot of what i purchased today:

2 12pk Cottonelle toilet paper, 1 bayer meter, 1 box tampons, 2 prohealth crest whitening toothpastes, 2 deodorants for trent, 1 schick hydro razor for trent, some gum, claritin allergy pills

doesn't look like too much but they were high priced items and i saved over $50 :)

(oh - and these items are sitting on our very awesome new comforter from kohls! it was $400 retail price and we got it for $160!! adore it!!!)

couponing can be exhausting and tiresome but when you get good deals... definitely worth it!

note: southern savers is my lifeline for couponing help! the site does pretty much all the prep work for you... a blessing indeed!