Celebrating Week 28!

How far along? 28 weeks, 4 days.
Total weight gain/loss: + 21 lbs.
Maternity clothes? Yep. You know it has to be a maternity dress when you take a 2 hour nap in it. Nothing else can be that comfy!
Sleep: Really good. Wow, I’m so thankful for that!
Best moment this week: Going to Disney on Ice with Granny and my girls. There just isn’t anything that makes me as happy as watching them be so happy.

Movement: Yeah – all over the place.

Food cravings: None, really. But Little Debbie Christmas Tree cakes are back. And they are good.
Anything making you queasy or sick: Papa John’s pizza.
Have you started to show yet: Yep.

Gender Predictions: It’s a boy!

Labor Signs: A few more contractions this week. Enough to make me a little nervous, but also not enough to make me do anything except drink some water and ask for a foot rub.
Belly Button in or out? IN
Wedding rings on or off? They have officially made the switch. It’s been 9 months since my rings were on my left hand!
Happy or Moody most of the time: Really good except for the “birth plan talk” night.
Weekly Wisdom: Christmas Tree cakes help everything look better in the world.

Milestones: Kyle is over 1 pound! This is a HUGE deal – There are several medical intervention options that aren’t even really options until he hits a certain weight…so seeing him grow 5 ounces in 2 weeks was fantastic news.

Exercise: Nope. But I really want to. Maybe I’ll get some walks in this week.

Weekly Prayer Request: We have to make a decision about what hospital we’ll deliver in this week. One hospital provides an incredible NICU, but none of the doctors I’ve seen so far can deliver there. The other hospital has just what we need, but isn’t equipped to handle NICU baby cases. BUT, we could have the exact birth experience and doctors we wanted. It’s just a big decision at this point. There will most likely be another hospital visit coming up as well as a few more meetings with doctors to help us make the best decision.

Hey there, little guy!

I was SO happy to see you again this week – you’re getting bigger! And you’re moving all over the place these days. You’re definitely starting to make me feel pregnant. I had to ROLL out of bed after a nap this afternoon! I hope your first Thanksgiving was happy for you like it was for us. We opted not to cook – something about being on my feet all day – and even though it pretty much killed me not to be cooking with your sister, it was nice to not have to do any dishes after dinner was over.

I am thankful that you are still with us. Kami was thankful for breakfast. Chloe was thankful she got to go to Disney on Ice with Granny. And Daddy was thankful for all of us. Together. I’m guessing if you could talk you’d say you were thankful for that big piece of pumpkin pie I ate for dessert.

We decided on your birth plan this week. That was the hardest conversation your dad and I have ever had. Ever. But we did it. And we feel at total peace about our decisions. We still have one big decision to make though. Which hospital gets to have you inside their walls. It’s such a complicated decision! But we keep trusting that God will order our steps. He won’t let us mess up.

This whole situation is so strangely numbing at times. I glanced at my google history to find something the other day, and I was kinda shocked at what I saw. “Christmas tree chocolate cookies” (for Kami – she really wants to make some.); followed by “trisomy 18 birth plans”; followed by “funeral services for infants”. All in about 6 minutes’ time. And kinda without even really thinking about it. Like, this was just what any other pregnant mom does. Plan a birth; plan a funeral; find a cookie recipe.

Sometimes I just hold my stomach and wish I could fix you. Make you better. Sometimes, I don’t even want to talk to you – for fear that I’ll fall even more in love. Usually in those times, though, you give me a good kick in the gut. Literally. And I get over my own selfishness and open my heart again. I can’t ignore the many doctors who keep saying that you shouldn’t be here. But you are. And that they don’t know what to do with you – because they’ve never seen a baby this severe last this long. And I can’t ignore you. Partly because as I fall asleep you’re practicing your drop kicks. But also because you’ve grown so much bigger than one pound, 2 ounces, in my heart. In all of our hearts.

I can plan all I want. I think it’s how I cope. But, I can’t promise anything will happen like I’ve planned at this point. I can promise you, that you will never be forgotten. And the lessons you have helped me learn about my God will never be forgotten.

That’s why I was thankful for you this Thanksgiving.

I’ll get to see you again this week. But until then, know that I love you, and I always will.

XOXO,

Mom

My cupcake decorating secret! (and a great deal on it!)

The cupcake tips I use for decorating are on sale on Amazon right now – not sure for how long – but I thought I’d mention it while it was at an all-time low price!

I use the really big tips when frosting my cupcakes – instead of spreading the frosting on with a knife or a spreader – that gives them the really nice “bakery” look – and it’s really fast and easy. It’s much faster than spreading with a knife!

This set comes with 8 decorating bags, 4 decorating tips, and and easy to follow instruction booklet.

And the price is only $4.85 – down from $8.99!

It likely won’t stay this low for long, so get in on it if you want while you can!

Frugal-er Cranberry Christmas Centerpieces

I had the sheer excitement of cooking breakfast for 40 college kids yesterday. Boy – is that fun. Because, not only are they super grateful for food they didn’t have to cook themselves in a hotpot, but they’ll eat it – wether it’s good or not. And they eat it so fast, if it were bad, they wouldn’t remember.  It’s the ultimate confidence booster for a cook, for sure.

I didn’t have much time to set up a nice table display like I wanted – they were pretty much hovering around the table of food like kids around the birthday girl at present-opening time.

I did manage to put together a little centerpiece though for my strawberry muffin platter….and it was pretty inexpensive too, because of a little trick I learned somewhere online – and, actually, believe-it-or-not, it wasn’t pinterest.

It starts with something as simple as a paper towel roll (or a toilet paper roll). And a little bit of paper – scrap works fine. You’re gonna stuff your paper towel roll with it so nothing falls inside!

Then you’ll need a few other things: A glass jar or vase, one bag of cranberries, and your paper towel roll.

Go ahead and cut that roll down to the size of your vase – so it comes right to the top – and put it in your vase.

Now you have a cheap-o piece of cardboard taking up all that space…instead of an extra bag of cranberries! (Or whatever other filler you’re using.)

I didn’t even use a whole bag to fill up this vase!

At this point, the possibilities are endless! If you stuffed your roll with paper, then you could put a few cranberries on top, then put a votive candle on top of that! Or you could put together a pretty little flower arrangement.

And no one will ever know you have a big paper towel roll in there!

Here’s a couple of other arrangement ideas I saw online that this idea could work for – and you can make them with less of your expensive filler – but they’d still look just as beautiful!

You could use all sorts of things in your vases – jelly beans at Easter, Christmas M&M’s for a kids party…

Think of the money this could save for an entire wedding reception!

Happy Christmas Decorating!

4 packs of Huggies Diapers and Deoderant for $15! :)

Coming soon to a Walgreens near you!

It is being reported that Huggies Diapers are going on sale next week (beginning 3/8) at Walgreens!  Their jumbo packs are $10 each, and when you buy $25 worth of Huggies Diapers or wipes, you’ll get $10 in Register Rewards (RR) back.  You can use these like you would aWalgreen’s giftcard – on anything else you might need!

But, to make the deal even sweeter. . . Here are 2 coupons for Huggies Diapers – a $5/1 Huggies Gentle Care and $3/1 Huggies Natural Fit.  And you can print them twice per computer (hit your browser’s back button then refresh.)   Of course, you can use these coupons sooner, but I’m saving them for next week.    (BTW, if anyone feels sorry for my having 2 kids in diapers and wants to print some coupons for me. . . AHEM. . . MOM. . . feel free.

Here’s how I plan to make my deal work. . .

1st Transaction:

3 packs of Huggies diapers = $30

I’ll use 2 $5/1 coupons, and 1 $3/1 coupon = New Total: $17

I’ll get $10 in Register Rewards Back.

2nd Transaction:

1 Pack of Huggies Diapers = $10

1 Right Guard Deoderant = $2.99

I’ll use a $3/1 Huggies coupon = New Total – $9.99

I’ll use my $10 in Register Rewards from Transaction #1  = New Total – $0.00

And I’ll get $2 in Register Rewards from the Deoderant.  I’ll just save these for another round, I think.

** Special thanks to Money Saving Mom and Hot Coupon World for the head’s up!

UPDATED!! Have a date night with this AWESOME coupon for local Greenville high end restaurants!

 

UPDATE:  After using this coupon on Thursday night, my husband and I received ANOTHER $25 off coupon in the mail (no stipulations, except one per family, or limitations, exclusions just like the last one!) for Soby’s – but this one’s good for the month of February – ummmm. . .can anyone say “Valentine’s Day?”.  Thanks, guys, for the $50 in free food at two of the most amazing restaurants in Greenville!

Here’s a great coupon my husband and I just used at the Lazy Goat last night! It’s for $25 off your meal – with no minimums, limitations, exclusions – unheard of, right?

You can use it until January 31st at any of the following local Greenville restaurants – The Lazy Goat, Soby’s, or Devereaux’s. All of these are amazing restaurants here in Greenville, and with this coupon, their prices can be almost as amazing as their food!

You can check out the menus for the three restaurants here, to help plan your best frugal strategy – or you can do what my husband and I did – we just ordered what we wanted (for once – without looking at the prices!), and still came out cheaper than going to Olive Garden and ordering soup and salad for the two of us!

Have fun on your date nights – and don’t forget to go before the end of the month!

Where have we been?

Well, to Virginia and back for one thing, and really busy with other things for another!  However, I have been able to get all my coupons clipped (I was several inserts behind, and tired of missing out on all the deals!!), and Chloe wanted to help.

She just loves playing with the extra paper after I’ve clipped all the coupons out – don’t you wish they would just come prepackaged in a little box already cut out for you?  That would be nice, but then, what would Chloe play with?

 

 

Then I scored an amazing deal on some bread – like 32 loaves of white and wheat bread (Nature’s Own!) for $3.00!  There were also lots of dinner rolls in the mix, and while I was finding places in my freezer for all of that bread, here’s what Chloe got into. . .

Just a little shout out for my friend’s new blog!

Especially if you live in the Greenville area, you should check out my friend’s new blog – www.savingingreenville.com.  There’s lots of really neat deals that are mostly specific to our neck of the woods, but some of the deals may be available elsewhere (like the world wide web ones!).

Of course, you’ll never see pictures of our adorable little bug over there, so you’ll have to still check here often for that!

SUPER CHEAP (or free!) food at Publix this week!

• Publix large eggs are $1.29, use with this $1/1 Food Lion coupon, and get them for $.29 each!  

          BTW, I bought 4 dozen eggs today, and don’t worry – the ones I got don’t expire until November 8th! 

 

• Muir Glen organic diced tomatoes ($1.39-1.59 per can) can be used with this or this coupon for $1/1 (you can print each coupon twice for a total of four), and you can use them with two of the $1/2 coupons in the Greenwise Publication (in the front of Publix stores) for a total of $.36 for all four, or $.09 each!

 

• For a cheap dinner, purchase a rotisserie chicken (already cooked – the whole thing!) for $7.09 from the Publix deli.  Use this $2/$5 deli purchase Food Lion coupon to get it for $5.09.  How many meals can you get out of one chicken?

 

• Need a side item for that chicken dinner?  Try some of the Knorr sides plus veggies that are on sale buy one, get one free which means they’re $1.53 for two!  Go here and print off this $.60/1 coupon (just search through the pages until you find them – mine was on page 6 – and you can go back and print at least one more) to make them $0.33 for two, or less than $0.17 each!!

 

• Want a way to use some of that chicken?  Make a pizza!  You can get Pillsbury Pizza Crust (in the refrigerated section) for $1.67.  Use this coupon for $1/1 (you can print two by going back on your browser and printing again) and get two for $1.34, or just one for $0.67

 

• Then, if you printed the eggs coupon from above (this one!) you might as well $5 worth of fruit and veggies, ’cause you’ll have a $2/$5 purchase coupon!

• Oh, and don’t forget that you can print these coupons from Food Lion to get $1 off any Gerber Baby Food and $1.50 off any Food Lion Wipes or Diapers.  Use them on the Gerber Baby Food at Publix ($0.55) and the travel pack of 12 wipes ($0.99) and you’ll make almost $1 in overage on each transaction to use towards something you don’t have coupons for.  Have fun!

These are just some of the deals that I’m doing later this afternoon at Publix – many thanks to Sarah – check out her blog for even more Publix deals with coupon matchups!  Happy Savings!

Frugal Christmas Gift Ideas

 

So, over on my favorite blog ever, Money Saving Mom, a poor distressed lady wrote in asking about how to get through Christmas without crying over her gifts “not being good enough”, or stressing over the perfect gift for each person.  I know it’s just October 3rd, but this isn’t the first I’ve heard comments like this already this fall!  For some people, Christmas is so stressful – not because of what they do, but because of what they feel they “have” to do for others in order to make them happy.

I’m pleased to say that there were several comments listed in reply to Ms. Distressed’s questions with some AMAZING ideas of how to give extremely thoughtful gifts without spending a lot of money.  Some people even gave up giving and getting gifts altogether!  Go here to see all the comments listed, but for a short selection of some of my favorites (not including the ones I’m going to do, so I’m not saying them here!). . .  And if you have any ideas, please feel free to share them as well!

• It’s impossible to please everyone. Simple homemade gifts show you put time and love into your presents. Try giving a family gift (instead of individual ones) of homemade cookies, bread, or canned goods, add a homemade oranment and you’ve given a wonderful gift that you can feel good about. – Beth

 

• My mom has a stepsister who has everything and things on her list are either too expensive for us to give or she turns her nose up at them. She doesn’t even says thank you. Many years ago my mom started to donate her time to a charity. The charity made up a certificate saying 40 hours of service were dedicated in Stepsister’s name by my mom’s name. Now they are in a different place and my mom makes a donation but the certificate recieved never says the amount. She picks a charity for a cause that impacts her stepsister. This year is American Cancer Society because her father was recently diagnosed.  – Angela

 

• My teenage niece is getting a “Death by Chocolate” gift basket – with homemade Chocolate Chocolate Chip cookie dough and a cookie scoop so she can make cookies whenever she wants, along with a jar of homemade hot cocoa mix.
  My sister-in-law and her fiance are getting a Home Cooking basket – with the ingredients and a recipe card for my favorite Chicken Tortilla Soup, along with 2 soup mugs & spoons from the dollar store.
  Another family member is getting a gift basket with the recipe & ingredients for homemade caramel popcorn.
  (Once I thought of a theme to fit their personalities, I ran with it!) – Leisa

 

The biggest key is to think of each person personally – when you shop off the clearance rack for people, albeit you can find great deals, sometimes you have to try to make the person fit the gift – I think this is what causes all the stress of wondering if they’ll like it or not while you’re watching them open it.  Believe me, ahem, I know this from experience!  That’s why this year, everyone is getting a home-made gift.  And, thankfully, I know everyone in my family will like them – because they’ll each be a perfect gift for each of them, that they’ll know I put a lot of thought and time into.

** oh yeah, and for an added special touch, wrap your presents up really pretty – it doesn’t have to be expensive, but a little ribbon with a favorite candy bar or homemade ornament makes everyone smile.  BTW, you can buy ribbon really inexpensively at craft stores – skip the Christmas stuff which can run you $5 a roll, and go for the pretty solid colors that will complement your paper, and there you have it!

Thanks to everyone who posted – and the winner is…

Leslie!  

Congratulations!  Her Mystery $$ Target Gift Card will be in the mail today!

In case you are ever going on a beach vacation, or even need some frugal picnic ideas take a look at some of those comments down below – I feel like I could write an e-book on the subject, complete with special tips and recipes and meal plans for over a week after all the suggestions I got!  Hmmm. . . maybe I will. . .  

We’re looking forward to our vacation, and will have lots and lots of pictures posted soon – here were some of my favorite “beach Picnic” ideas – you know, the ones that my pregnant, non-creative mind has been drawing blanks on:

1. Wraps – we’re having some roasted chicken ceasar wraps.  Yummy!

2. Crockpot dinner in the hotel room.  I was planning to bring our toaster oven for some chicken wings, but this might be a little easier – and will probably end up taking up a lot less room.

3. “Skewered” snacks – put everything on little toothpicks or skewers!  You don’t need plates or napkins or forks, and if one falls in the sand – oh well!  Grab another one.  I can see kids really going for this too!  You could even let them all make their own skewers at home - what fun!   (Mine would be all pickles, I think!)

 

Thanks again everyone – I hope you all have a fabulous last few weeks of summer!