Charleston trip!

My mom and I went to Charleston this past weekend. I hadn't been to the beach in about 5 or 6 years and was looking forward to going back. The weather really wasn't that bad...but next beach trip, there are definitely things we'll remember to bring (such as our canopy, my beach volleyball, and a bigger cooler).


We found some parking along Palm Blvd that was free - woo hoo - and was right next to the public beach access.

Ladybug's first trip to the beach!


Ladybug served as a great umbrella holder for some shade. :)

Mom and I

After the beach, we were looking for somewhere to eat for lunch and stumbled upon the Cupcake store - $2.75 is a lot for one cupcake but man are they delicious!


By some miracle, I was able to wait outside in the heat for this yummy food - Jestines...downtown Charleston - so good! We ended up getting stranded inside because of a really bad thunderstorm - thus ruining our plans to go back to the beach that evening. We did get to go to Paolo's or something like that...it's gelato ice cream - not as impressed as I thought I'd be but it was good.

Sunday before we left, we hit the outlets. We found some really good deals at Carters and Gymboree. This is Ladybug's coming home outfit! I was SO excited to find it! Uh hum, notice, it's pink. ;)


I think I may have actually convinced my anti-beach husband to come to the beach next time. :) We had a really good time...so thankful we were able to go. Oh, and a big shout out to my good friend Kris for letting us crash at her house so we could spend money other fun places!!!

26 weeks

Week and day: 26 weeks 0 days - ladies and gentleman...I'm now in the single digits in my countdown - 97 days!!!

Belly Button in or out: definitely out

Wedding rings on or off: still off - although I tried my engagement ring on the other night and it seemed to fit ok but am still scared with this hot weather, they'll get stuck

Food cravings: steamed squash, sandwiches with cheese, lettuce, tomato, and big, juicy pickle!

Food aversions: none!

Nausea: gone!

Energy level: I've resorted back to a few naps here and there

Weight gain: I think close to 30 pounds - doctor said I was gaining healthily though

Mood: definitely starting to anticipate Ladybug's arrival!!

Maternity clothes: I plan to go to Miracle Hill to look for skirts and more shirts today or tomorrow...the store has been closed for a week or so due to storm damage - excited about what I may find!

Size of baby: eggplant

Changes of baby: weighs about two pounds - double from my last post! She's inhaling and exhaling amniotic fluid as lungs develop, eyes fully developed (starts to open eyes and blink), brainwaves detectable

Next appointment: July 10th at 8:30AM - glucose screening test!!

Other: my ankles are almost gone and if I'm on my feet a lot, they will ache; tailbone hurts if I sit too long, her movements feel more like jabs now and I LOVE it :) So far, I've loved being pregnant....the comfortable and the not so comfortable - it's an amazing gift!

Here's a pic from Sunday...I was 25 weeks and 5 days

Pink - it's my favorite color

Ok so pink really isn't my faaaaavorite color - per se. But I've come to realize that many people are a bit timid or - dare I say - scared to give me anything for my Ladybug that even resembles the color pink. Please hear this: the color pink and I get along just fine. I would say we've become quite close friends these past few years. I may have misled some when I mentioned I hope if I have a girl, everything isn't completely pink. Allow me to clarify...I think pink is cute and believe Ladybudy will look absolutely gorgeous in it. In fact, I will welcome pink things of any sort. All I meant before was that I didn't want EVERYTHING (and I mean everything) to be pink. I mean, c'mon let's face it - too much of one color can be quite overwhelming; even downright boring. I guess I had nightmares about everything just being completely and utterly solid pink...like a huge bottle of Pepto exploded - leaving no traces of any other color. I don't mean I don't want anything solid pink...I just had these visions of my nursery and house turning into the house of pink.

All that to say, bring it on. Bring on the girly things - I'm ready! I realize I'm not the girliest of girls but I will help my Ladybug fully embrace her girliness to the best of my ability.

P.S. Please note: anything saying "I'm in charge", "I'm the boss", "attitude", "spoiled" or anything of the sort will not grace my Ladybug's precious caramel-colored skin no matter what color it is...sorry, but I just personally don't think it's cute and it's not the message I'd like her to send to others no matter how old she is.

P.P.S. Does this post make people want to get me absolutely NOTHING??? Perhaps I may find myself shopping for my own clothes for my Ladybug.

Ralphie Update

So I meant to type this a while ago - shortly after my post about our little stray doggie friend, Ralphie.

I did find a home for him - well, sort of. A lady contacted me from a rescue: Animal Welfare of Laurens County, Inc (and yes, it was legit - I researched it) where they have 3 acres of land for the dogs to play during the day and sleep in their kennels at night - which I'm sure Ralphie loved because he took to the kennel we put him in very nicely. They update all shots and take applications every weekend for adoptions. The adoption process is very strict - interview, visit home, contract involved. They do their best to make sure the dog will go to the best home possible.

I found his listing - she kept his name...Ralphie. :) Click here to see him. I think he's gained some weight...looks good.

She emailed me afterwards and thanked me for finding him a good place and not just dumping him at the pound where he'd hardly have a chance to make a family happy. I emailed back and asked how he was. She said he was doing fine and was her new shadow and he was, indeed, a very sweet lil guy. I haven't heard anything else but wish Ralphie the best. I cried when he left. Yes, I know...but he was so cute and sweet. And I'm pregnant.

Suka was actually kinda sad to see him go I think. They were playing very nicely before Ralphie went to the rescue. The next morning, she sniffed all over the front porch and garage for him.

I hope wherever Ralphie is, he's happy.

not my brightest idea

I was wearing a white shirt yesterday so I thought I'd zip up my favorite light jacket while eating lunch so if I spilled anything (there was ketchup involved), I could more easily get it out of my jacket than my white shirt. It didn't quite work out how I planned. It was zipped up completely for about a mili-second. Then this happened:


I had to slip it over my head to get it off...zipper wasn't budging. I've since been able to get it almost all the way back down and fixed except for this one last little nitch! Poor lil gray jacket.

CVS Pampers UNADVERTISED deal

***UPDATED***
I went at lunch to the CVS on State Park Road. They were SUPER helpful! I found out you can only use the Extra Care Bucks on more deals for Extra Care Bucks on the same card. Although, I was able to use my husband's card to get 3 more packs of Pampers (cause it's a limit of 3 packs per card). Then I used some ECB I got from yesterday's diaper deal - from my card - to buy a razor and 2 Dawn dish detergents (also used manufacture coupons for razor and soap) and only paid $0.75 for the razor and soaps! Plus, I got $4 more ECB for the razor and $1 ECB for the soaps to use later on from my card and still have $15 in ECB on my hubby's card to use later too! I'm starting to really want to figure out this CVS thing more now. :)


I haven't been all that great at figuring out the CVS thing - knowing what to buy and how to use my Extra Care Bucks. But I for sure couldn't pass this deal up! I'm tryin to get a stockpile going of disposables (see this post) whenever they're on sale. I heard about a really good one and then Shawna told me she was able to do it at her CVS so I gave it a try yesterday afternoon and it was, indeed, true!

Here it is!! I went to the CVS on Five Forks and they DID ask for the print out of the coupon so you might want to print it out and take it with you just in case (follow instructions to print out coupon).

www.southernsavers.com is a great resource to save money with coupons by the way.

I got Septtro a card for scenarios like this one because they only allow you 3 packs at the sale price with each card so I will use his card to get 3 more. What I'm not certain of is whether I can use Extra Care Bucks from my card to make a purchase on his card. I'm thinking not but who knows.

Has anybody else tried this deal? What all did you get? Any tips for others?

Safety First!!!

In My Face

Monday night, Septtro informed me that Ladybug's skin was still see-through. I told him it was not. I had seen a picture of a baby born around 22 weeks and their skin did not look see-through. I was very sure I was right and felt sorry for how misinformed he was - you know, the poor pitiful dad who doesn't know much about what's going on because they're not experiencing it on the same level.

The next morning at work, I flipped over my daily baby calendar to find this interesting fact:


Nice sense of humor, God. Humbless needed - noted.

So I've come to realize that Septtro may know more about what's going on with Ladybug and me more than I do. And that's ok with me...he's more in tune with how I may be feeling physically and emotionally which has definitely been a plus!

23 Weeks

Week and day: 23 weeks 0 days

Belly Button in or out: yeah it's out - and you can tell if I wear a shirt that's clingy

Wedding rings on or off: off! I had to before they became too hard to get off..I was afraid I'd wait too long and they'd have to be cut off or something :)

Food cravings: honey nut cheerios and milk, pickles (claussen!)

Food aversions: nope

Nausea: gone!

Energy level: I can feel that nesting starting to creep in - wrote out a to-do list the other day and anxious to start crossing things off!

Weight gain: I don't know really - probably bout 20 pounds or so

Mood: I told Septtro the other day how frustrated I was that I feel so sad all the time. I feel like I shouldn't be that way. This is a happy time. He was very understanding and said I shouldn't feel bad for being sad a lot cause that's just the hormones. But this past week, I've felt more happy...although I'm sure I can still cry at the drop of a hat.

Maternity clothes: I can't fit into ANY normal clothes now - well at least pants. I went to Miracle Hill and got some pretty good shirts that were just a bigger size and that's worked out quite nicely so far.

Size of baby: large mango

Changes of baby: starting to build fat, now weighs around a POUND - no more ounces!, skin becoming less see-through, practicing breathing by sucking amniotic fluid in and out of her lungs

Next appointment: June 9th (week from today) - measurements and hear heartbeat

Other: I can't say enough how amazing it is to feel her move around. I could just sit around all day with my hands on my belly - feeling her dance around in that secret world of hers. Septtro said her name the other night and she moved right away - made his day! :) I love watching him connect with her in that way. In other, less exciting news for most, my skin seems like it's starting to clear up a little bit - just in time for summer so yay! Speaking of summer, I think I'll be wearing skirts and dresses more than ever...it's SO much more comfortable when it's hot and humid out.