Bumpdate Week 13!!!

How far along?  

13 weeks today!!

I wore this outfit out yesterday, thinking I didn't look too noticeably preggars...

 

OOTD:

Top: Express 

Skirt: Kohl's maternity

Tank: F21

Earrings: F21 

However, one of the ladies at the nail salon I frequent for pedicures,
came right up and put her hand on my tummy

and said, "How far? Boy or girl?"
Granted, I haven't gotten my toes done there in awhile.

And then I picked up the dry cleaning later in the day and the girl asked me,

"Are you pregnant?"

So, I suppose the beans have really spilled and my belly's really growing!

:::Random:::

My friend K and I went to Bare Escentuals and got our makeup did'. 

{The above shots I am sans makeup}

This is my after shot:

And I may or may not have bought 

The Happy Place.

Damn makeup boutique and excellent salesgirls!

Maternity clothes? 

Yes.
I didn't want to stretch out my clothes, so I am already in shorts & tops. 

I can get away with mixing flowy non-maternity tops with maternity bottoms and 

flowy non-maternity bottoms with maternity tops...

Luckily I have tons of comfy dresses that fit well and a little looser, so I wear those too.

I can't really get into the whole bella band thing anymore.

Sleep: 

Just started waking up more than once and then unable to fall back to sleep.

 It may be time for the body pillow investment.

via

 Best moment this week:  

Receiving our strip of photos in the mail {I think the Dr forgot to give it to us last week}

so it was a nice surprise. I hung them on the fridge, texted hubs:

"We made this!!"

Miss anything? 

I am not going to lie, I do miss a refreshing glass of Pinot Grigio once in awhile.

And salmon sushi, with a squeeze of lemon over rice....

mouth.is.watering.

But when I do, I rub my belly and smile because something much cooler than wine & sushi is happening.

Movement:  

Possibly? I'm not quite sure if it's the baby or just the 'round ligament pain'.

It's like a poking sensation?

I'm not sure when I'll feel kicking...

Food cravings: 

 Fruit!!

Cheese fries, sweets {donuts, candy bars, ice cream...} 

and Slur-pees--I can't find any around here though?!

Anything making you queasy:  

Not so much any more, but thoughts of certain foods still make my stomach lurch a tad.

{Bacon? Hot sauce? Coffee? Usually love these}

Symptoms: 

Hungry--like, if I don't eat right away then I get crazy. I'm breaking out especially on my chest, which I've never experienced like this before, and I still get tired and hot really easily.

Belly button in or out? 

In

Wedding rings on or off? 

On..I don't ever want them off!?

Mood: 

 Calm and happy.

I could listen to baby's heartbeat all the time {hubs videoed it}

and stare at his/her pictures all day.

Looking forward to: 

Feeling baby kick!

Weight Gain:

Yes, I have gained about 10 pounds already...

not sure how I'm going to stay in the, "gain 25 lbs total" category.

Stretch marks? 

 No, and I'm slathering on belly butter, oil, {Burt's Bees} and Cocoa butter like it's my job!! 

Gifts for baby:

My mother suggested I start some crafts for baby...

So my friend Alison & I hit up Hobby Lobby last week.

Don't laugh, as I may be great in kitchen, I'm not so crafty.

So, I made one of these bake in the oven goodies!

Bunny Sun Catcher

[I have more crafts I'll post about when I do them!]
Gift from Nana & Papa 

{Step-mom & Dad}

They bought this in the Bahamas when we were on the cruise!

 My friend Kristin added to Baby Bean's book collection!
How frickin precious.

{She's a Kindergarten teacher, so Aunt Kristin will hook us up on all the good children's lit!}

  I am loving the growing belly and the second trimester is soooooo much better than the first.

TGIF loves!!!

New Deck Reveal!!

First of all, thank you all so much for the love from yesterday's post!
Clearly life has been a bit busy and full of new and exciting things...and we are ready for them all!
Before we knew we were expecting, we started the daunting task of fixing up our deck.

We knew it'd be costly and would take some time, but we are so glad we did it!

We started it back in March {I pinned about my dream decks here}

and now in June, it is finally complete!!

I am somewhat embarrassed to show how awful it looked before,

but I am so proud of what we've turned it into!

Here are the 'before' shots.

Keep in mind, the hot tub had NEVER worked in the last 4 1/2 years I have been here!
Goodness knows, when this house was a bachelor pad it worked...

and I'll leave it at that.

I had no desire to get it working again!!

I have wanted this eye sore outta my sight since I have moved in!!

Some before pictures...

 

Do you see how the dog sat on this over-sized picnic table?

We gave that to my in-laws who have lots of land out in the country,

and it will be much more useful out there!!
It was awful.
We never sat out there...

Whoever designed this old deck is nuts.
So unsafe--no railing, different steps here and there, odd shapes...

The whole thing was just bad, bad, bad.

There's that disgusting hot tub!

And it's outtt!

Work in progress...

There were three guys and they worked so hard.

We even had custom gates built to keep the dogs in.

Little did we know, it'd be handy for baby bean who was already on his/her way!

Hubs picked out a paint color and I was supposed to paint the spindles...

However, by that point, we found out painting was one task I could no longer do!

Here are some side by sides shots...

 Just a little bit of a difference

And we finalized our deck on Friday with the purchases of a few patio sets...

This one is from Lowes

So comfy.

We decided to splurge on comfort, 

{and we have both already fallen asleep on them!!}

for the lounge furniture.

And for our dining set, we scored a deal at Kmart.

We got this set 7 pc set for $300--and saved over $300 on it!!

We had friends over Saturday night, so we grilled...

and I got to decorate!

 Martini Lights

Even Sadie seems pretty content...

We are so happy to have this brand new "room" for our house!

It's nice because our trees cover most of the deck, so we don't need an umbrella.

The bugs do attack at night, so we're still working on that issue...any tips?

We have a few citronella candles (need more)

and some tiki torches (more of those?)

I cannot wait until next summer when we have a six month old to play with out there!

For now, I will sip my sparkling water out of a wine glass, with a splash of cranberry,

and enjoy the peace and quiet...and relax.

Baby Bean Love

I have been waiting two loooong months to share this;

my husband Joe and I are so very excited to be expecting our first child

ETA January 4, 2013.

EEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep!!

Some of you may follow me on instagram, where I shared a picture Friday.
Some of you may have guessed from my lack of blogging or hints from posts like,

"Going Natural" or maybe you follow via Pinterest and saw that I have been pinning

baby stuff like crazy!

Either way, we had our 12 week ultrasound and heard our baby's heartbeat,

and I am so thrilled to be able to share this news with you!!

To back track a bit...

It was end of April and I was all about my little sister's bachelorette...

Literally, I spent over a hundred in alcohol and was fully prepared to get down and par-tay

{I actually said us Bliss girls were going H.A.M.}

However, I only went as hard as peeing on a stick, and seeing this meaningful word:

Ok, so I had to do two because hubs was shocked and wanted to make sure...

bahaha

It was two days before my sister's bachelorette party and something inside me said, just take one and see...
Better to be safe than sorry...

The bottle of Santa Margherita, that I may or may not have kissed, because I was so excited to break it open...before I found out, {Hey, I figured I was busting my booty with my sister's party, I deserved some vine vino!} was pulled from my fridge and placed onto my shoe-wine holder, and now patiently awaits for me to celebrate the new year & baby! 

Now, those of you who know me, know we have been trying since September 2010.

To be honest, I didn't expect it to happen that month.

In fact, I stopped 'counting days' like a crazy person,

went to acupuncture only for stress relief,

and was working out/eating healthy...losing some pounds for the big cruise...

So when I took that test, it was more than a delightful surprise! 

I had it in my head that after we returned from the cruise, we'd have to start seeing infertility specialists etc. 

However, it happened, the old fashioned way...

and I am so, so, SO, happy!

Now, of course everyone said, "I told you, when you stop thinking about it, it will happen."
But, those of you who have been in my shoes, know that is no easy task.
Every where you look, you see pregnant women and babies.

So I know that it can be frustrating and not easy.

My advice? Plan a party/parties for someone!!

Seriously, all I thought about was the bridal shower and bachelorette party...

 and bam along came baby!!

Here's his/her first photo shoot!

 :::Waving at us:::

Everything measured perfectly and I was indeed right on the dot with being 12 weeks last Friday.

The first trimester was a bit rough...

being on the cruise didn't help much.

I never threw up, but I was nauseous all.day.long.
I wasn't cooking for awhile because the smell of everything made me feel sick!
I started taking pre-natal vitamins right before bed, and that seemed to help!

I hated all veggies, chicken, meat, eggs, bacon, basically food.

I was living on yogurt and carbs.

Luckily, my appetite has returned and I have been feeling fabulous these last few weeks.

I think the best advice I've been given is to listen to my body.

If I'm hungry, I eat.

Tired? Sleep.

For workouts, I have slowed it down, no Jillian Michaels...

I walk the dogs, do yoga, and some weights.

I am starting to show a bit...

a few weeks ago my step-mom and I went shopping and I bought some maternity clothes:

 and they had a fake lumpy bump:

This was last Thursday:

Clearly, more so when I wear tight-fitted clothing as opposed to lose flowy dresses.

I couldn't think of a more perfect timing!
I won't be so huge and uncomfortable, especially since this summer seems to be hot hot hot!

I will be pleasantly round by the fall, yummmmm---donuts!

And when I am a huge, I can snuggle in by the fire with a good book and wait for baby!

I should probably start shopping for Christmas now, otherwise December is going to be cray cray!

Ok, enough with the exclamations...but I am so excited.

We find out boy or girl August 14th, what do you think baby Bean will be??

I love advice from other mommies, so anything you feel like sharing, send it my way!

Yay for Baby New Year
:)

Thankfully OK Thursday!

It's OK & Thankful Mashup!

It's OK ...

...to love hot weather, but I would rather enjoy it lake, beach, or poolside!

...to be obsessed with egg & cheese sammies for breakfast

...to have paid $8 for a quart of cherries and enjoy every succulent bite!

...that my hubs finally has a day of tomorrow (the first since 6/3) and I couldn't be happier for him!

...that I try to like cheap makeup, but I can't help myself around the good stuff (BE)

via google images

Colors: Page Six & Most Requested {yes I bought this}

...my girlfriend Alison & I got our craft on at Hobby Lobby yesterday...

...now that I made jam I will never want store bought crap again...

...that I can't find the energy to make another batch of said yummy jam!

...to walk around my gardens/plants in awe and amazement of my accomplishments...

...that we may be buying water/squirt guns to get Holly to stop barking at every thing! {water is the only thing that works at her misbehavior, and I don't want to do shock collar treatments!}

...that husband and I will probably  need two squirt guns so we can wage a water war against one another!

Thankful

I am most thankful for:

...patience

...faith

...hope

...optimism
...for our new deck and being able to grill out on it with my love!

...finding the good in everything

...tonight is our first real DATE NIGHT in forever

...that tomorrow is finally Friday; I have been waiting so long for you!

...for true friends who love & support me always

...family who truly cares

...this gorgeous August-like weather...

...my flowers beginning to bloom...
 

...life.

Link up with the fabulous 

Neely & Amber

and the lovely Tracy

Remember to have a beautifully blissful day!! 

xox

Coupons: How do you Organize to Save?

Hope you all had a fabulous weekend!!

This week's mission:

Work on my Couponing Skillzzz

Ya heard.

While it is a bit time consuming, I secretly get a thrill, at even saving $1.

And as hubs says, every dollar counts!!

I have a small coupon holder 

which is now too full and a pain to find anything in!

So, I'm on a mission.

I have a very hard time spending the full amount on something when I can get a % off.

Example:
Michaels Custom Framing.

If I had not had my 70% off coupons, my framing bill would have been $438.

Seriously?

I feel bad for anyone who walks in and pays that full price!!

Where do I find my coupons?

• I get the Sunday paper & swap coupons with a friend.
• Magazines 
• Online 
• E-mails
• Facebook
• Smartphone Coupon Apps
• JoAnns
• Target
• Michaels
• Mobile alerts
• Before going out to eat, shopping, or anything, checkout the company's website & see if there are any deals you can get before you go! Doesn't hurt to at least look.
• If there are items that won't spoil, I will definitely stock up! (Soaps, toilet paper, paper towel)
• I am trying to get better at 'shopping around' at different places, 
• Target, Wegmans, Walgreens, Tops, CVS, & BJ's for better deals

I have found Walgreens to be an excellent place to score deals!

It's also very convenient, as there are no long lines and you don't feel bad taking time with all your coupons!

In February I went to Walgreens and bought this:

 Now, I still have body wash (it's now June!)

The Vitamins were Buy one get one Free

& another $2 off coupon printed at checkout, 

so I went back and bought another!
Still using those!

I have had to replenish dog treats & cascade.

Here's my receipt:

So I spent $55.30 and saved $32.99
My bill was not $88.29!!!! 
How great is that? 

Aaaaaaand, I didn't buy anything we didn't need!!

So, I'm ready to upgrade my organization.

I will definitely update when I figure out what binder/organization method I ended up with.

For now, I leave you with some of my Monday morning researching.

Here's a fab blog that's up to date and has lots of great links for printing:

Great Printable Site

I watched the following Vlog

Even if you just play a few you tube videos while toying around online, 

you may learn *and save a thing or two!

What are some of your favorite ways to save?
I'm a lifelong learner, so please share your money saving tips!!

Mulch Madness

TGIF!

Two more days of the Tent Sale & then I have my hubby again!!
I have been a serious gardener these last few weeks.

I am so proud to show off my latest accomplishments!
{With the help of hub's cousin who offered to help a girl out}

So it started like this:

I began pulling weeds, then decided I ought to capture what the jungle looked like.

Before

 After many tedious hours, it started to look better...
Have you heard of Creeping Myrtle?
I think the bish is dead and I hope she doesn't return.
Ever.

During

 Finally, we ended up with this beautiful garden:

After

Now I just need some annuals to add a few pops of color here and there!

I ordered 4 yards of mulch and worried I wouldn't have enough.

 Turns out, we had plenty!

We even had enough to do all around the new deck in the backyard!

We are feelin all fancy pants up in herrrr.

 Front left of house.

Dining room windows.

Now, I know this may bore some of you.

Heck, I could have cared less a few years ago.
But now I feel such a sense of accomplishment 

and truly enjoy the beauty of our new landscaping.

I even love love love our front porch.

 A little patriotic bow.

Wreath: CVS

Garden Flag: Lowes

Patriotic Bow: $1 store

Welcome mat: Bed Bath & Beyond

Planter: From my mother

Garden stones: Wegmans & garden stores

So that concludes my mini garden tour.

Pictures don't do it justice;

or maybe I am just partial since my blood, sweat, and tears went into its making.

Kidding on the tears...I think.

Have a beautiful Friday lovies!!