My first two weeks getting CVS deals...

OK,my first trip I don't have a picture of but here's what I got...

2 pks Orbitz gum $3

3pks mechanical pencils $1

Colgate toothpaste $2.99

Peanut butter M&Ms $3.49

Reese's PB cups $3.49

Subtotal $14

1 CVS coupon -$3.00

Total spent $11

Total saved $12.56 - almost everything was on sale already

What I got back - $7 in ECB

$5 ECB if you spent $10 on candy and $2 ECB from the toothbrush

Trip #2 items- reg price of items
Advil Childrens $6.49
Advil Infants $6.49

Scott TP $11.99

Subtotal $ 24.97

Scott coupon - 1.00

ECB - 2.00

ECB -5.00

TP on sale -5.50 (price marked wrong but they gave it to me anyway)

sale on advil -.70

sale on advil -.70

Total spent $11.07 with tax

What I got back $ 11.58 in ECB so essentially the trip paid for itself in ECB!

Trip #3

Huggies supreme jumbo ct 11.49 (working towards $5 ECB after $25 spent on baby stuff)

JJ head to toe body wash 4.29 (towards $5 ECB)
Desitin Ointment 4.99

Dry idea deodorant 3.29

Dry idea deodorant 3.29

Total of reg price items $27.35 before tax

Coupons used

deodorant was bogo - 3.29

dry idea coupon -0.75

dry idea coupon -o.75

huggies coupon -1.00

desitin coupon -1.00 this one was an instant coupon attached to JJ head to toe

CVS coupon -2.00 $2 off $10 purchase

ECB -11.58

Total spent on items $1.99!!!!!!!!!

Total saved $26.17

Trip #4

2 oxyclean face wash 5.99 each (buy 2 get $3 ECB back)

Total spent11.98

oxy coupon -1.00

oxy coupon - 1.00

Total after coupons $9.98 and I got $3 ECB back

Trip #5 items
Huggies supreme 11.49
Desitin Ointment 4.99
CVS toothbrush 1.99
Subtotal 18.47
coupons
huggies coupon - 1.00
desitin coupon -1.00
free cvs tbrush -1.99
cvs coupon -2.00
ECB -3.00
diapers on sale -2.50
desitin on sale -2.00
Grand total spent $5.79
Total saved $13.49





Trip #6 - this trip I got a bunch of stuff off their clearance table that was priced at least 75%off
2 pacifiers $0.54
2 CVS cold/cough $1.15 each
CVS flu relief $1.15
shower gel $1.24
vicks cough supp. rub $1.25
Vicks vaporub $1.40
Vicks multi symptom liq $1.50
Vicks expectorant liquid $1.50
coupons used -$2.00 ($2 off $10 purchase)
Grand total with tax $9.87!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Actual value of items $45.02!!!


I know all this medicine will get used up this winter on little colds and coughs
Got back $3 in ECB not sure for what, but who cares

After all these trips, I still have $8 in ECB to spend! Yippee I love CVS. Trey thinks I am crazy for going to the drug store this many times in about 1 1/2 weeks, but it takes a little while to get the hang of all this.

Baby Countdown!

I am in total countdown mode with this pregnancy now. I am 34 weeks and 1 day! Yippee! We are getting so excited to meet our new little bundle. And no, we still don't know what the sex of the baby is. I think it is funny the looks you get when you tell people you don't know if you are having a boy or girl. Most people give you this crazy look and say something like, " What, can you not find out yet?" With a quick glance down to my ever growing belly, I laugh and say, "Oh, we just decided to let it be a surprise." I do have to say that lately, I have been getting more positive reactions from older women who never knew what they were having. It's nice to hear a few people tell you how much fun it will be in that moment of surprise and joy. I can't say that I haven't had my moments of weakness. I definitely begged trey around 30 weeks to come with me to an ultrasound so we could find out. Of course he said, "No way, we've waited this long, we are not finding out now." I am so glad he didn't let me do it. I will say, they only negative thing has been not being able to do the nursery ahead of time. I am such a planner and love decorating anyway. I also didn't want to do a totally gender neutral nursery, so that has been frustrating at times, but I still think it'll be worth it.
It's wierd, this pregnancy has been similar to my pregnancy with Sophie, yet so different. Because of my job, I have a totally different mindset about childbirth, a different doctor, a different hospital, and it's a surprise. With Sophie, I was pretty much planning my induction at the moment of conception. I ended up being induced at 38.5 weeks and had all internal monitoring, epidural, episiotomy. . . and I still felt like it was a great delivery. For some reason I have had a huge desire to have an unmedicated delivery this time. I also don't want to be induced, but that is easy to say at 34 weeks. We'll see how I feel at 39 weeks when that induction is sounding so good! After having such a big baby the first time (9 lbs) I have no desire to find out just how big of a baby I can deliver if you know what I mean. Especially since I want to try to do it without drugs! (BTW, I am totally not knocking all the medical interventions we have available. So it you are pregnant and going to have an induction etc... I say go for it. You should do what you feel led to do with your baby and your body.) I really hope that this delivery goes how I want it to, but ultimately I have really had to let go and realize that no matter what, I am not in control and God is!
I am sure I'll be blogging about the delivery afterwards, so stay tuned. I have been addicted to reading people's birth stores lately, so it'll be fun to write my own.

God is so good!

Do you ever have one of those weeks that you want to say, "God, what are you doing to me?" Well, I have had a week like that. It seems to have been one thing after the other. I am exhausted from work and my seemingly endless "to do" list. To top it off, I was rudely awoken this morning (at 5 am) by our smoke detector beeping every minute. Of course Trey slept right through it, so I drug my pregnant self out of bed. I climbed on top of sophie's booster seat that is strapped to a chair and started trying to take it apart. I don't know what I did, but the thing quit beeping finally. Well, of course I get back in bed and can't sleep! Great. So I get up and get online and check my email. Then I decide to have a quiet time since I have a little peace and quiet. I started reading my one year bible and all these other verses are popping out at me, feeding me. I am listening to a playlist I made last night of praise/worship music. All of the sudden I am overwhelmed with God's presence and love. Do you ever have those moments where you feel so surrounded by Him and loved it brings you to tears. Well, I am pregnant and very emotional, so that may be where the tears came from, but I deeply needed to feel His presence. It seems like God lets us go through hard days and watches us fall, but He is always there to pick us up like a loving Daddy! It is so worth it to be reminded of exactly how much our Heavenly Father loves us and cares about even the small things in our lives! I am so blessed and cannot imagine going through one minute of this life without His love. God is amazing!

"And if the world caves in around me, to You I still hold on....Jesus, because of You I'm free!" Free - Hillsong

Beach Drama 2008

Family Beach Trips are always full of ups and downs. This year was no different. . . . .



Let's start with the basic components of this trip:
1. Great-grandparents in their 70s that don't like sun/sand. Check!

2. Father in law who just had knee surgery and no elevator. Check!

3. 5 hour car trip with a 2 year old and a pregnant woman. Check!

4. A condo that ended up being 3/4 mile away from the beach. Check!

It all worked out in the end and we had a great time. We did end up having to leave our original condo in Blue Mountain Beach and drive to Gulf Shores. But, my parents graciously let us stay in their new condo which was actually on the beach. We were a little tight, but isn't that what family trips are about? And, after driving back and forth, we were ecstatic to be able to see the ocean and sand at all from our condo. Thanks mom and dad!





Here is Sophie when we were in Blue Mountain. She is preparing for that first day at the beach. I promise she had a bathing suit on. She has all the necessary items for enjoying a day at the beach. Pink sunglasses, pink hat and a dora towel. What else does a 2 year old need?



I love these pictures of Trey and Sophie. The second one reminds me of Forrest Gump when he and his son both tilt their heads to one side.

Sophie loved playing with all her toys and building sand castles. She did however feel the need to rinse the sand off her hands very frequently! She let us braid her hair almost every day, which I loved!

On the way down to go crabbing!

Sophie thought this was the greatest thing ever to get to put her bathing suit on at night and go down to the beach! She was a little scared of the crabs, but she loved having running around with her net and flashlight. Then we went swimming in the pool, which she was probably even more excited about. Having kids at the beach, although not as relaxing, is very fun. You get to relive your own childhood a litle bit!

All in all, it was a great trip. I sure learned a lot of lessons when booking a condo. Never ever let someone tell you "oh yes, it's within walking distance." Ask them how many steps it is to the beach! Apparently 0.8 miles is "walking distance" to some people. I can't wait to go again next year with our new baby! Wow, two kids at the beach, that will be busy!