CVS Savings!!

I've kind of done couponing off and on for the last few years. I really gave it up during this last school year because, frankly, I just didn't want to put forth the effort and planning that it takes to do it well. However, since Michel and I are about to become a one-income family it's really important that I start couponing again, so I've been using this summer to get back into it, and stock up on some essentials. CVS was running great deals on things that we needed/would use in the future.

3 Dial Men's Bodywash, CVS chewable antacids, Renu Contact solution, 3 Hershey snack packs

I only did one transaction today, too! Usually to get the best deals I do several, but today it was pretty simple :)

Select 2 Dial bodywashes and get $2 ECB

I bought 3 Dial Bodywashes priced $4 each

Used B2G1 free manufacturer (mfr) coupon

Stacked with $2 off ANY bodywash CVS coupon

Pay $6 out of pocket

Renu contact solution sale $7.99 and get $5 ECB

Use $2/1 Renu contact solution mfr

Stacked with $2 off ANY contact solution

Pay $3.99 out of pocket

CVS antacids $4.29

This wasn't on sale, but I did have a $2 off any CVS medication or antacids and I'm almost out of TUMS at home and actually needed them (I never bought antacids before I was pregnant)!

Pay $2.29 out of pocket

Hershey's snack size 6-pack sale 3/$2.99

Use $1/1 Hershey's candy

Pay $1.99 out of pocket

Before coupons my total would have come to $29 plus some change. 

I had a 25% off my entire purchase coupon that was in my e-mail that I started with

Then you factor in all my coupons and it knocked my total down to $13.35

I had $12 ECB from a purchase I made last week meaning....

...I paid $1.35 for everything in the picture above!!

Plus I have $7 ECB to put towards my purchase next week! I love CVS shopping!!

Baby Bump Week 29!

How far along are you? 29 weeks

How are you measuring? Right on track!! I went to the OB last Friday, and everything looked good!!

How big is your baby? According to Babycenter.com Audrey is a little over 2 1/2 pounds and over 15 inches long - about the size of a spaghetti squash. I get another sonogram done in a week and a half so I'll be excited to see how big she is at that point!

What major developments is your baby undergoing this week? Her muscles and lungs are continuing to mature and her head is getting bigger to accommodate her growing brain

Heartbeat: I don't know what the exact beats per minute were, but my OB told me it sounded really good! 

Total weight gain/loss: I totally forgot to weigh this week! I would guess around 20ish pounds.

Maternity clothes: 100% in maternity clothes except for a very few things that I only wear around the house. Even the clothes I wear around the house are about to be retired because the shirt I'm currently wearing (which used to be really big on me) is not covering all of my belly anymore! I'm sporting the white trash look tonight :)

Stretch marks: I now have 3 faint ones on each hip. Yay...

Sleep: It changes day by day. Last night I slept REALLY good, but Friday night I couldn't get comfortable at all. I should get used to not sleeping for awhile :)

Movement: I still think she's going to be relatively calm. On Friday she moved like crazy, but yesterday and today I just feel her every once in awhile - which is normal for her. I think she's just chill :)

Food cravings: This week...hot dogs! We're having them for dinner tonight! 

Gender: A sweet girl! Audrey Grace Zoutendam :) 

What I miss: Sleeping on my stomach, sleeping comfortably, being able to get up and down off the ground without looking like I'm 80 (I taught preschool at church today and I forgot how immobile I've become!)

What I'm looking forward to: We're going to the Ranger's game this Wednesday night! I'm really excited about that! On top of that, we got seats in the all-you-can-eat section. We did this last year for Michel's bday, and it was really fun enjoying munchies throughout the entire game and just paying one set price. Is it sad that what I'm looking forward to revolves around eating??

How are you feeling: Pretty good....REALLY thankful for this mild summer weather we've been having! The high today was only 89 and it's pretty much not changing the rest of the week! That's awesome for being in Texas in the last week of June/beginning of July!

Baby Bump Week 28/7 months/3RD TRIMESTER!!

**I forgot to take a picture today. Well, I thought about it after I had changed clothes, but I look pretty tacky, and don't want to take a picture the way I'm looking, nor do I want to change back into real clothes!**

How far along are you? 28 weeks/7 months pregnant/3rd and FINAL trimester!!!!

How are you measuring? Right on track!! I went to the OB on Friday, and everything looked good!!

How big is your baby? According to Babycenter.com Audrey is a little over 2 pounds and over 14 inches long (about the size of a large eggplant)

What major developments is your baby undergoing this week? She can blink her eyes and she's grown eyelashes

Heartbeat: I don't know what the exact beats per minute were, but my OB told me it sounded really good! 

Total weight gain/loss: According to my scale at home I'm +20 lbs....according to the doctor's scale I'm +17 lbs. Either way my OB is happy with my weight gain and wants me to gain another 13-15 by delivery :)

Maternity clothes: 100% in maternity clothes except for a very few things that I only wear around the house. Even the clothes I wear around the house are about to be retired because the shirt I'm currently wearing (which used to be really big on me) is not covering all of my belly anymore! I'm sporting the white trash look tonight :)

Stretch marks: I now have 3 faint ones on each hip. Yay...

Sleep: This week has been better. There was one night where I got up around 5:30 to go to the bathroom, and then I couldn't go back to sleep, so I ended up waking up and staying up around 6 a.m., but other than that I've slept pretty good! 

Movement: I'm thinking she's going to be a rather calm baby (or maybe I'm hoping). She goes through long stretches of time where I don't feel her at all, and sometimes even when I do feel her the movements are not always that strong. Sonograms and OB appointments always show she's growing and developing like she should, so I'm not worried!

Food cravings: I was really craving chocolate chip cookies on Friday....so I indulged :)

Gender: A sweet girl! Audrey Grace Zoutendam :) 

What I miss: Sleeping on my stomach, eating raw cookie dough (it was SOOO hard to resist when I bought the Pillsbury break and bake cookies on Friday)

What I'm looking forward to: Swimming with my very best friend tomorrow afternoon, lounging with her at the pool, and having lunch together...basically just hanging out and having fun!

How are you feeling: Pretty good

I never finished blogging about my vacation....

LOL...I just realized that I never finished blogging about our vacation!

1.) On Wednesday of our vacation was my other favorite day! Prior to going on our vacation I told Michel that I really wanted a prenatal massage. So Wednesday, he splurged and bought me a 50 minute prenatal massage and a pedicure. The massage was AWESOME!!!! Every pregnant woman should get one. The pedicure wasn't any more special than when I normally get them done, but I did love pampering myself for the morning. The rest of the day was spent ordering lunch at the poolside bar, spending a couple of hours out at the pool, taking a long, hot shower, and eating a fancy dinner out at the hotel restaurant. I actually did take a couple of pictures of us when we made ourselves pretty :)

2.) On Thursday, we went to Fredricksburg (about an hour's drive) on the suggestion of his parents. We had fun in Fredricksburg, but it's not really my kind of place. It's a super cute town and we parked in one place and walked a couple of miles to get everywhere we were going, but it's a great place to go if you love antique stores/unique places. We did eat at a German restaurant (Michel loves German food), but I chose an American dish! We went to the Museum of the Pacific War also. I'm not a huge museum fan, but most of this was actually about events happening at Pearl Harbor, and that's interesting to me. After walking around for a couple of hours, we went to an old-fashioned ice cream parlor for a snack and it was delicious!

3.) On Friday, our vacation was over. We went for a nice breakfast in the hotel, and then packed up to leave.

I know I didn't blog about it a lot, or take a ton of pictures, but we had the best time ever! It was so nice to get away and just relax. I'm so glad that we were able to go on one last getaway as a couple!

Working Out While Pregnant

OK, so I've been doing good at working out throughout my pregnancy, and it really hasn't given me any issues. I'll either walk 2-3 miles, or do some lunges, squats, or weightlifting. Last week while we were on vacation we took workout clothes with us, but never once worked out!! :)

Today, I got dressed to work out. I was just going to do some lunges, squats, and weightlifting in the comfort of my own house. I had my routine written out, and it wasn't anything that seemed excessive to me. Pre-pregnancy I generally used 10-pound weights. I also have 5-pound weights at home, so I pulled both of them out this morning. I started with squats, but then once I got further into it I was getting so winded, and my heart felt like it was beating really fast (I've been having problems with my heart starting to beat really quickly for no reason but it passes after just a few minutes). I had to keep sitting down and drink water and cool off before I could continue. In 20 minutes I had done 30 squats, 30 bicep curls, 30 shoulder presses, and lunged across the living room and back.

So my question is when you worked out during pregnancy what kind of exercise did you do? I can't decide if I was just trying to work out too hard, and too excessively, or if I got winded because it's been over a week since I last worked out.

Baby Bump 27 weeks

How far along are you? 27 weeks

How are you measuring? Right on track hopefully...go back to the OB on Friday

How big is your baby? According to Babycenter.com Audrey is about 2 full lbs and around 14 1/2 inches long (about the size of a head of cauliflower)

What major developments is your baby undergoing this week? She's sleeping and waking at regular intervals, and has more brain tissue developing which means her brain is very active now! Lungs are still immature, but would be capable of functioning should she choose to make her grand entrance in the world (but we're hoping she'll stay put for quite awhile longer)

Heartbeat: 157 beats/minute...again we'll know more on Friday at the OB

Total weight gain/loss: Eeeek.....+20 pounds exactly! Not gonna lie...I gained about 3-4 pounds this week while we were on vacation. I didn't work out once while we were on vacation and had dessert twice a day. So I can't say that I'm all that surprised that I gained 3-4 pounds. Heck, maybe I'm a little glad it wasn't more than that :)

Maternity clothes: Yup...I pretty much only wear maternity shirts out in public, but I have some tank tops that I only wear around the house that were big and baggy pre-pregnancy. Now, they're not so big and baggy, but they're not tight either, so they're pretty comfy for house-clothes.

Stretch marks: I now have 3 faint ones on each hip. Yay...

Sleep: Sleep?? You mean that thing that I try to get in between my 3-4 bathroom trips a night? I hoped once we got back from vacation I could sleep in my own bed more comfortably, but it's still hard. I officially cannot sleep on my stomach anymore. I'm grateful I was able to make it work up until 26 weeks, so I just need to make it work for the next 13 weeks. 

Movement: I still haven't figured out her sleeping/waking periods like baby sites say that I should be. I can tell you as I'm typing this she's sleeping because she hasn't moved in awhile. Oh, and I have started feeling baby hiccups! Poor girl has gotten them a couple times in the last couple weeks, but I think it's so sweet to feel!

Food cravings: Dr Pepper. I'm careful to limit my caffeine and not overdo it, but that was one of my indulgences on vacation because there was a bar at the pool, so everyday I would get a Dr. Pepper when we were at the pool! It was soooo yummy and really quenched my thirst!

Gender: A sweet girl!

What I miss: Definitely sleeping comfortably. On the plus side, my heartburn hasn't been giving me too much trouble this week, so at least when one thing flares up something else goes away. I need to stop complaining...I've had it pretty easy so far!

What I'm looking forward to: Getting the house put together. I've bought several things to go in the house in the last month, and some are art projects that I knew would have to wait for summer. Now that summer's here, and we're having our small group friends over to our house next weekend, I'm really motivated to start, and finish, my projects!

How are you feeling: Pretty good

Texas Hill Country Day 3

So sorry for the long delay between posts, but I got off of the blogging bandwagon while on vacation. Whenever we finished our events for the day we would go back to the resort, hang out in the pool for awhile, and then get showered and dressed to go out to dinner, or order room service. Yeah, we totally spoiled ourselves on this vacation!

Anyways, prior to us leaving on our vacation I had told Michel that I really wanted to go to Sea World. San Antonio was about an hour and a half to two-hour long drive from where we were staying. Not exactly close, but closer than we were in Wylie. So on Tuesday we decided it would be a good day because, well, why not? :)

I didn't take any pictures because I hate carrying a purse into somewhere like Sea World, so I just stuck some necessities in my pocket and went in. We were there from about 10:30-3:30. We only were able to see 2 shows in that time - one was a show that didn't even feature sea animals, but dogs, cats, rats, a pig, birds, and ducks! It actually ended up being our favorite show that we saw! All of the animals (dogs and cats at least) had been rescued from local animal shelters and were either strays that had been picked up and taken to the shelter, or owner-surrenders. I liked the show because it really just featured animals doing their own natural behaviors, just in specific ways at specific times. Altogether, there were over 100 animals in the half-hour long show.

The other show we saw was the Shamu show. Normally, it's a favorite. Now, I think it's lame. I hate to say it. Ever since that trainer, Dawn Brancheau, was killed by a killer whale in Orlando in 2010, trainers are no longer allowed in the water. I don't know if all the shows are like this, but the show that we saw was called One Ocean, and was a bit political/tree-huggerish for our taste. Plus, there was very little live whale action, and more video footage of ocean animals in their natural environment. We were a bit disappointed in this show.

We really did have a lot of fun at Sea World, and I'm really glad we went, but we did see that it will be WAAAY more fun when we can take Audrey in a few years. I think things like Sea World will be more fun when we see them through the eyes of a child!

Texas Hill Country Day 1 and 2

For Christmas (of 2012), Michel and I decided not to exchange Christmas presents and instead put that money towards a vacation. We had talked about doing another cruise since we loved our first one so much! However, right after we started looking into cruises we found out that we were pregnant. My OB said that I could travel out of the country up until 27 weeks, and we left for our vacation when I was 26 weeks pregnant. We thought that would be too risky, so we decided to make it more of a local vacation. We looked and researched. I told Michel what I really wanted in a vacation was somewhere with a great pool, a spa for pampering, and some fun activities nearby. We decided to stay at the Horseshoe Bay Resort down in the Hill country of Texas. So yesterday, Sunday, we drove 4 hours to the Hill Country of Texas!

It's hard to explain the ambiance here. We are staying in just your basic hotel room, but I told Michel I feel like we have that cruise-like feeling here. The employees are more than willing to go that extra mile to be of service to you, they're extremely courteous and friendly, and they just look happy and welcoming all the time. I think that's why I feel like we're getting the cruise-like feeling. Also, our hotel really is a resort in the fact that it has several restaurants within the hotel, a bar at the pool to get drinks and bar food, and on-site it has a spa and fitness center, golfing, a marina, etc. The landscape is absolutely gorgeous, too. We're surrounded by some palm trees, a lake, the hills...I truly don't feel like I'm in Texas! It's been a great getaway!

Our view from our hotel room

It's just gorgeous out here!

Anyways, on Sunday when we arrived all we did was hang out in the pool for a short time, and then we decided to order room service because the restaurants were more food and more expensive than what we wanted, and we didn't feel like driving to go anywhere.

On Monday, we decided to travel about 20 minutes away to an "animal safari". It was a little campground/petting zoo/safari tour where you could take a bus on a guided tour and feed the animals. It was so cool! Each time we drove into an area with new animals they all saw the bus coming and immediately started coming over to us. They knew what goodies we had on that bus! We were able to hand feed all of the animals except for zebras - apparently they might bite. We could still touch them, but they take food with their teeth while the rest of the animals took food out of our hands with their tongues.

Little baby emus!

When we finished our animal safari, it was afternoon and we were ready for some lunch! Michel's former captain knew where we were going and told Michel about this restaurant called the Bluebonnet Cafe. They were supposed to have really good chicken fried steak and pie. We took his advice and both ordered chicken fried steak, and he was right - it was delicious!! We were pretty full, so we ordered some pie to go. Michel ordered apple pie and I ordered chocolate cream pie. I'm not typically a pie person - I don't normally like meringue or whipped cream, but this pie was different. It was SOOOO GOOD!!! Look how big it was!

I ate every last morsel of that pie! On top of that, we decided we're going back to get another slice of pie before we have to leave - yeah, it was that good! We spent the rest of Monday cooling off from our day of fun in the pool and then stayed in the room for the night watching a movie and just relaxing. We have had a great first couple of days on our vacation!!!

Baby Bump 26 weeks

How far along are you? 26 weeks

How are you measuring? Right on track!

How big is your baby? According to Babycenter.com Audrey is about 1 3/4 lbs and around 13 inches long!

What major developments is your baby undergoing this week? Audrey's ears are more developed (internally) so she should be able to hear Michel's and my voices better (is this good or bad?? :) also she's inhaling and exhaling small amounts of amniotic fluid to help prepare her lungs for taking her first breath of oxygen.

Heartbeat: 157 beats/minute 

Total weight gain/loss: I forgot to weigh today

Maternity clothes: Yup...I'm wearing more and more maternity shirts with each passing week. It's just more comfortable

Stretch marks: I now have 3 faint ones on each hip. Lovely...

Sleep: This week I haven't had any issues sleeping

Movement: She has her periods during the day where she moves like crazy! Generally it's first thing in the morning when I start waking up; mid-afternoon; and usually as I'm in bed for the night. 

Food cravings: This week...nothing really

Gender: A sweet girl!

What I miss: Being healthy! I'm on my fifth sinus infection and 3rd or 4th round of antibiotics in the six and a half months that I've been pregnant. I knew about heartburn, nausea, tiredness, etc., but I didn't realize that I immune system would be reduced so much! I'm hoping that now that I'm not working and around sick kids I can stay well for the remainder of my pregnancy!

What I'm looking forward to: Being on vacation! Today we drove in, spent a couple hours down at the pool, and then got some room service for dinner (the poolside bar was closed when we were hungry, the restaurant on site was way more expensive than we wanted, and we didn't feel like changing clothes to go offsite to a restaurant).

How are you feeling: Pretty good

Closing a Chapter of My Life...

Since I was 5 years old, my entire life has revolved around the school schedule. August-May/June = school; June-August = SUMMER!!! After I graduated high school, I went straight to college, grad school, and have been a teacher since August of 2007.

June 7, 2013 marked the end of my sixth year of teaching as well as the end of my teaching career. Michel and I had planned on getting pregnant during the 2012-2013 school year for awhile. We knew that if it happened that this school year would be my last one working. When I found out that I was pregnant this past January, I was ecstatic! Not only were we becoming parents, I was kind of excited about not working anymore to be totally honest. I am so excited for my baby girl to arrive in September, and for me to be able to stay at home with her full-time! I can raise her with the morals and values that are so important to Michel and myself (and for anyone reading this who doesn't stay at home please do not take this as me bashing those who don't stay at home - this is totally a personal preference).

I've learned A LOT from teaching! Until I taught pre-k I don't think I realized how important toys are to small children's learning. Toys at a young level are not just for play - they are extremely educational! They teach cause/effect, colors and shapes, and puzzles are incredibly important for teaching problem solving skills. I've had to actually teach so many of my kids how to play, and how to use toys properly.

I want to say that I'm sad to close this chapter in my life, and that I'll really miss being a teacher, but I can't bring myself to say that. I'm REALLY excited about being a mommy and being with my baby girl everyday! I might return to the profession one day; I might not. I'll just have to see where life takes me! But for now, I'm closing the chapter in my life that revolves around the school calendar, and am so excited to open the chapter of my life that is all about baby :)

Baby Bump 25 Weeks!

And just for comparison (and fun!!) here's a picture of me wearing the same shirt from the same side view in Hawaii. Can you see how much I've grown??

Wow...what a difference!! Hope to look like that again one day :)

How far along are you? 25 weeks

How are you measuring? She was right on track when we went for a sonogram this past Tuesday!

How big is your baby? According to Babycenter.com Audrey is over a pound and about 12 inches long. According to my sonogram she was right at 12 inches in length and weighed a pound and a half!

What major developments is your baby undergoing this week? Her skin is starting to smooth out and be less wrinkly and hair is emerging all over her tiny body...maybe that accounts for my heartburn!

Heartbeat: 157 beats/minute at our sono on Tuesday

Total weight gain/loss: +15.4 lbs

Maternity clothes: Yup...I'm wearing more and more maternity shirts with each passing week. It's also partially due to the fact that my regular shirts aren't always long enough to cover that lovely paneling found in maternity pants

Stretch marks: I now have 3 faint ones on each hip. Lovely...

Sleep: Some days I sleep fine. Some days - not. I'm in lazy clothes today because I overslept and missed church. We had pizza for dinner last night, and I felt fine until we laid down and then I had SOOO much indigestion that I couldn't sleep or get comfortable. I had to get out of bed, take some meds, and wait for them to kick in before I went back to bed. Then I was still tossing and turning. When my 7:15 alarm went off, I felt so tired and I was just going to lay back down for a few minutes. The next thing I knew it was almost 9:30! On a more upbeat note, Ninja absolutely LOVES my body pillow! I woke up in the middle of the night and I had rolled off the pillow (or maybe I was pushed off) and Ninja was completely on the pillow with his little paws stretched out onto my belly. It was so sweet! I couldn't be mad at the little booger for hogging my precious sleep space :) I started scratching him under his chin and he started purring...he's so spoiled by us!

Movement: As I'm typing this she's moving like crazy! I'm trying to figure out her patterns of when she's most active, but she keeps changing on me! It used to be at night, but now it seems like she's most active in the morning! Who knows...I just love feeling her move :)

Food cravings: This week...sweet tea. Love me some sweet tea right now! Maybe it's because I'm really not drinking that much carbonated beverages to see if it lessens my heartburn

Gender: A sweet girl!

What I miss: Sleeping on my stomach, and once again I will say it...I miss NOT HAVING HEARTBURN!! It's really no fun! 

What I'm looking forward to: This is the last week of school!!! And in a week from today Michel and I leave for our vacation!!!

How are you feeling: Excited to wrap up this school year!