Week 18: Gender Determination!

Happy 18th week of life, baby!  Our baby is now 5.5 inches long and resembles the size of a bell pepper.  I am now on the weight gaining streak which I am not so excited about but obviously, know it is necessary in order to grow a life.  I am up a total of 5 pounds which is really great in the grand scheme of pregnancy weight gain, but it seems that now I am consistently gaining a pound a week.  It is really hard to see that scale creep up and up as the weeks go by!  I am still tired at night after a busy day at work.  Our sweet Dixie dog did Mark's job the other night by breathing in my face in order to wake me up on the couch. I think she was telling me to go to bed!  Sleeping on my side is hard to do since I am a belly sleeper but I want to make sure both the baby and I have good, strong blood flow (according to all the books).

We find out the gender today (Friday).  I am BEYOND excited. I can barely stand it!  I truly have no idea if it is a girl or boy anymore.  I was sure it was a boy at first but now, not so sure.  All the Old Wives tales point to girl (Chinese calendar, ring test moved in a circular motion, looking at symptoms and cravings) and friends, work mates, and family are just sure it is a girl but only a sonogram will tell!  Lots of people have asked what I want and I am really OK with whatever God has decided to bless us with.  Mark is terrified of the idea of a girl though he will be such a great Dad to a son or daughter, I am not too concerned either way!

I have had more cravings for sweet things than salty the past two weeks so I made my favorite fall cookie treat this weekend.  I had so many cookies that I decided to share with my friends and bring the rest to work.  Pumpkin cookies with cream cheese frosting are so delicious!  They have yet to meet a mouth that didn't love them!

I also decided to be resourceful and make our own ice cream sandwiches with some left over cookie dough and vanilla ice cream.  I made enough that now we have enough to enjoy the treat whenever we please!

Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we not only find out the sex of our baby, but also if he/she is growing into a baby with a healthy heart, body, and brain.

Let the Nesting Begin!

All of the baby books say the soon-to-be Moms (that's me!) begin the nesting process early in their pregnancy.  I have begun putting all of my little sticks in order around our house, that's for sure!

First, I decided to tackle our closet.  I had let the organization go so it needed more than a little face lift.

I decided to start by separating maternity versus non-maternity clothing, going through all the toiletries and throwing away unnecessary items, sorting the shoes, and starting another pile for a future garage sale.  I came away with quite a bit of trash!  Mark ordered another piece of shelving for our closet so we can store all the toiletries in the closet rather than in various places around the house.  We are just waiting for its arrival on our doorstep!  I think the almost-final product looks much better!

Second, I began to sort all the baby items we had been gifted.  We have such sweet friends who were kind enough to give us a variety of items that they are no longer using.  I sorted, washed, laundered, and re-sorted and ended up with this....lots to be thankful for, huh???

Third, I re-organized and added to our dining room cabinet.  It was a mess before and looks beautiful after!  I was able to get all the birthday dishes, placemats, and other less frequently used dining items in this cabinet where they were spread about before.

 

 I still have lots of areas to clean out (guest room closet, Mark's man room (i.e. future nursery), pantry, and dresser) but I am happy to have started on this project!

Free or Almost Free!

I got some great deals on maternity clothing the past week!  I was lucky enough to score all of these items from the Cottonwood Creek Baptist Church baby and maternity sale for just $35.  All are Gap brand maternity clothing and in excellent shape!

I also got these items from a lady off Craigslist for a total of $20.

I decided that I really wanted fish and fresh veggies for dinner one night but had none of those items in my refrigerator so I opted to use a Whole Foods deal I bought on Living Social awhile ago.  I had bought a coupon for $20 worth of items from this swanky market for just $10.  This is what I got for a total of $22 (before coupon):

Not very much, huh?  It is amazing to me that people do all their shopping at this over-priced store.  These items weren't even organic!  Luckily, I only paid $12 since I had the coupon which I felt was fair for a good sized piece of salmon, quinoa, a yummy salad, and some fresh fruit.  A good reminder of why I coupon, that's for sure!

17 Weeks Pregnant

Oh baby, this belly has officially popped out!  I am full on preggars now!  It literally happened overnight.  I came to work Monday looking sort of pregnant and Tuesday morning, people starting rubbing my hard belly because it was so obvious.  This is a picture of me last week (I forgot to post it) but the belly is much rounder now!

This week our sweet baby is the size of a turnip.  He/she can hear a lot more, his/her skeleton is hardening, and the umbilical cord is growing stronger and thicker.  We go to find out the gender of the baby in 8 days.  Mark is terrified it will be a girl.  I have changed my tune and am truly unsure of what it will be.  I wish those 8 days would fly by for I am ready to know if this is a girl or a boy!

My weekly e-mail said my dreams would become very vivid and they really are!  I had one horrible nightmare this week that woke me up twice.  I couldn't stop thinking that the baby (it was a girl in my dream) was already here and I chose to sleep instead of feeding it.  I kept waking up in a panic over the fact that I neglected to feed my child - it was horrible!

No real food cravings still though I still love drinking my orange juice in the morning and having fruit as a snack.  For some reason, fruit tastes like candy to me these days!  That never happened before!  Not to say I am not still enjoying some real sweets too....

 These 17 weeks have been really enjoyable.  I really wouldn't know I was pregnant except that I am really tired at the end of the work day and am growing a bump!

Lonestar's First Weekend

Oh boy, am I in love with Lonestar!  I am such a dog person it isn't even funny.  If I love my pets THIS much, how much am I going to love my child????  Yikes!

Lonestar had a great first weekend at her new home.  Dixie really wanted her to play and chase her, and Lonestar humored her, but in very small bits.  I think Dixie misses Bandera who would chase her for hours.  One thing is for sure, Lonestar loves to sleep.  I think her new favorite spot is laying on the couch with me or Mark while we watch TV.

 She even made an excellent travel companion for Mark.  This is a picture he sent me while he was
driving home with Lonestar from Austin.  He said she just sat there the whole time and shared his snacks. So far she is winning "the best dog" award in our house.  We have never had such a well-behaved, chill dog before Lonestars arrival!

Lonestar made us laughmultiple times this weekend.  First, she thought her new bed was Dixie's large bed.  Dixie seemed to think otherwise....love this look she is giving Lonestar!

 

This is a video of Lonestar picking out her food and only eating the pieces she liked (Dixie's food that we gave her a few pieces of) and leaving her regular food to the side.  Mark and I were literally cracking up because she did this with such purpose and intent.  She did eat all her food but wanted to eat the tastiest food first!

We bought Lonestar a small bed that would fit her and look who decided this new bed would be the perfect spot to take an afternoon nap.  Dixie cracks me up!  She truly doesn't realize how big she really is!

I asked Mark to take a picture of me and my girls.  He said I am now officially the "crazy dog lady" because I am so happy to have my house filled with wagging tails!

Free or Almost Free!

Not to worry, just because I am writing a lot about our dogs and my pregnancy doesn't mean I am not still couponing away!  Kroger has ruined my major savings now that they won't double or triple coupons but I am still coming away with significant savings which makes our grocery fund very happy!

I had two great deals this weekend:
1.  Bath and Body works had their Halloween stock at 50% off.  I used the pumpkin scent soap at a friend's house and wanted some but wasn't going to pay $5.50 a bottle for it!  After the discount, a card for a free travel size item of my choice, and an additional 20% off, I managed to get $16 worth of stuff for $4...less than the cost of the soap or lotion by itself!

2.  I scored two razors, a box of popcorn (salt makes this pregnant girl very happy!), and a pumpkin shaped Butterfinger treat for $3.33 instead of $22.  It is so crazy to be paying $10 for a razor when you can get it for less than $1!!!

Baby's Heartbeat at 15 Weeks Pregnant

I went for my 15 week doctor's appointment this morning and got to hear the baby's heartbeat again.  I decided to try to take a video on my phone in hopes of sharing it with Mark and our family so they would get to hear how cool it sounds.  It worked pretty well....except that the camera was upside down the whole time.  Ooops!  I never claimed to be a videographer!  You can really hear how strong it is towards the end so skip to that part if you aren't interested in the whole thing.  And, please ignore my unpainted toenails - a pedicure is in this girl's future this weekend!!!

My doctor said the baby is growing and has a very healthy heartbeat at 152.  It was 142 the first appointment and 160 the last appointment.  If we are following old wives tales, this indicates a girl's heartbeat though I am still feeling that we are having a little boy.  I made the gender appointment for the end of October so the mystery will be solved in 3 short weeks!  I can't believe how quickly time is passing.

I still haven't gained any weight though my belly is growing so the doctor said all is well!  I am sporting maternity pants and skirts and some tops so watch out for this fashionista!

Our "New" Dog Lonestar

We are getting a new-to-us dog and I couldn't be more excited!  Her name is Lonestar and she is a Boston Terrier.  She is 8 years old and couldn't be a sweeter dog.  She was originally Mark's sister's family's dog, but Alicia asked if we would like to have Lonestar since she has three kids to chase after and they moved to a new house with three levels which isn't great on Lonestar's joints.  She didn't have to ask me twice - of course I said yes!  I actually said yes before even talking to Mark about it but I knew how much he loved Lonestar so I wasn't too worried about him saying no to this request for a dog (although I have received MANY no responses in the past!).

Mark's mom was kind enough to fly home with Lonestar.  Mark was able to pick her up yesterday from his parent's after a belated birthday dinner.  She will come to her new home on Friday and I can't wait!  This is the picture Mark sent me just after picking her up.  So funny!

I already love Lonestar and can't wait for her to join our little family!  I know Dixie is going to be so excited to have a new sister.  She has really missed having another furry companion since the death of Bandera.  Lonestar may get too much love at the beginning between Dixie and me, but hopefully she will like her new home!  Thank you to Alicia, Tim, Mark Garrett, Luke, and Caroline for trusting us to love Lonestar as much as you all do!

A Weekend Together

Mark and I spent the weekend in Austin together.  Although I didn't take any pictures, we had a great time together!  Time apart has taught me to really, really appreciate the time Mark and I have together and that I made a really good choice in marrying him.  While I am overly organized, a planner, a total worrier, and a nights-at-home kind of girl, Mark is none of those things.  He is always up for a good time, lives weekend to weekend, knows how to really experience and enjoy life, can easily make people laugh, and makes the best of not so great situations.  We balance one another out which I could not be happier about.  I was really reminded of that this weekend.

The only thing I really wanted to do while in Austin was to go to Amy's Ice Cream.  That ice cream is beyond good!  Mark was a total trooper and walked over a mile with me to get the ice cream then walked back to the hotel.  The dark chocolate with graham crackers and marshmallows was worth every step in my eyes!

When we weren't eating breakfast, lunch or dinner, we hung out with some of his friends.  We went over to one friend's house while they watched the Alabama football game (I played the their dogs).  After that we went to the Lucero concert which was really good.  Mark has good taste in music, and, although I am not that into music, I always enjoy going to concerts with him!  This girl was up until 2:40am so I must have had fun!

 I will say, being pregnant and limited to drinking water everywhere we went really makes for a different vacation experience.  I was never a heavy drinker before, so please don't misunderstand me, but I always enjoyed having a drink or two while with friends at dinner or at a bar.  Not this time!  I told Mark that my eyes and ears were opened to a lot more, especially at 2:30 in the morning in downtown Austin!