Almost 1/2 way there.

Baby Buckley is the size of a large mango 

(or a Chipotle Burrito). 

How far along?  19 weeks - 20 weeks on Monday.

Total weight gain: 18 lbs (whoa!)
Maternity clothes? Love wearing leggings, my maternity jeans & a few other maternity tops that I bought at Destination maternity. I went to their grand opening at the Mall of America and got a bag full of free stuff! 
Stretch marks? No
Sleep: Pretty good... very vivid dreams though.
Best moment this week: I'm really looking forward to my ultrasound appointment on Friday. It will be fun to see how much Baby Buckley has grown since our last one. 
Miss Anything? I've noticed that some of the stretches I do with my dancers have become a lot more difficult. Bending over to put on shoes easily, I miss that. 
Movement: The little flutters I was feeling have now turned into kicks that you can feel with your hand. This started Tuesday, Feb. 21st. I could lay around and feel it kick all day, it's very cool. 
Food cravings: Not really, but those darn Girl Scout cookies are already gone, we/I ate them all! (Tom helped)
Anything making you queasy or sick: No. But the heartburn hasn't been fun.
Gender ideas: Tom had a dream (Feb. 18th - State Dance Team weekend) that he was singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star to our baby girl! I got a little emotional when he told me that. Tom's family is pretty certain that it's a girl, and now Tom seems to think the same. I haven't really had any feelings.
Labor Signs: No.
Symptoms: Growing pains, heartburn, sleepy.
Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Cheerful - Spring is almost here and I'm almost to the 1/2 way mark!
Looking forward to: Getting started on the nursery. 

  DIY Project - Scrabble Fun!  

For my cousin's Bridal Shower I made her scrabble coasters and wine charms. Below is a picture of the wine glass charms I made. I forgot to get a picture of the coasters, but they also turned out very cute.
* Tip: Keep your eye out for scrabble games at garage sales and thrift stores!

Supplies:

-Jewelry wire   -Beading pliers with wire cutter    -Beads   -Scrabble pieces  -E6000 Glue  

-Blank metal charms to glue the letters on. (http://www.artbeads.com/hts437.html?icid=reccat)

Directions:

-Glue the scrabble pieces on to the blank charm. 

-Measure the wire the length you want it, remember you will have to fold over the ends so they hook together around the glass. 

-Make a loop on one end of the wire, add beads 1/2 way, then add the dried scrabble charm, add more beads then fold the other end of the wire so it can hook through the loop.

Here's a website with directions on how to make the coasters:  http://craftingagreenworld.com/2011/06/18/how-to-scrabble-drink-coaster/

I was able to make 5 coasters and about 20 wine charms out of one Scrabble Game. Now I just need to figure out something cool to do with the board. Any ideas?

Let the 2nd Trimester Begin!

Hooray! We are finally out of the 1st trimester! Today is the 14 week mark, and yes I do have a baby bump. The baby is about the size of a lemon now and weighs about 1 oz.

How far along?  14 weeks

Total weight gain: 11 lbs
Maternity clothes? Not really... I did have to buy some more dance pants that are a little bigger around the waist. 
Stretch marks? No
Sleep: I've been sleeping really good.
Best moment this week: Carrie & Joe Wiita's Benefit. Hard work paid off for a really good cause. It's also been fun telling the rest of our friends. We are so thankful for all of the love and support we've received so far. 
Miss Anything? Red wine.
Movement: I swear I've felt some flutters. 
Food cravings: Not really. I do enjoy eating though.
Anything making you queasy or sick: No.
Gender ideas: Tom is still certain that it's a boy, I think it's just wishful thinking. 
Labor Signs: No.
Symptoms: Growing pains.
Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Mostly happy.
Looking forward to: Not being so tired in the 2nd trimester.

Here are the videos of our families finding out at Christmas:

The Buckley's-
The 1st minute or so of this video is the best, check out Ed's face!

The Caughey's -

This video doesn't get good until about 15 seconds in... I had to fire my cousin Colin from video taping.

Grandma & Grandpa Caughey-

Grandma reads the whole poem, it's a bit of a tear jerker.

We wrote a poem/letter from the baby... I found it online and tweaked it a bit. We put the letter in a box with a baby item like a bid or socks. Our parents also got ultrasound photos of the baby. 

1+1=3

I'm very excited to announce that Tom & I are going to have a baby!!! 

Which is one of the main reasons I started this blog. I plan on sharing my journey with friends and family as I grow and so does our family. 


Tom & I found out the exciting news when I took a pregnancy test the night before Thanksgiving, we didn't believe that it was positive so I took 2 more. All 3 were positive!! Now the plan was to keep it a secret and surprise our families at Christmas. Man was this hard! But we did it, no one had a clue! I even was able to fake having drinks at my sister's bachelorette party by drinking juice in a wine glass and ordering small glasses of pop at the bar (with a lime in them to look like Rum & Coke). 


At about 6 weeks we had a bit of a scare and spent a night in the ER. At first they thought I was miscarrying, which was sad to think about. After a few tests and our first ultra sound (at 2:00 a.m.) we found out that I had subchorionic hemorrhaging which was what was causing the pain and bleeding. All I kept thing was "is this what it's going to be like for the whole pregnancy!?" After a few weeks I started to feel better. I think this night in the ER was when it really hit Tom that he's going to be a dad! He was so helpful and sweet that night, he took very good care of me.

These pictures were taken at my sisters wedding on New Years Eve. We told most of our family on Christmas because I knew there was no way to hide that I wasn't drinking at the wedding. Plus we just couldn't keep it a secret any longer!

Due date: July 31st, 2012

How far along?  13 weeks

Total weight gain: 8 lbs
Maternity clothes? Maternity jeans were my first purchase, LOVE them! I can still wear most of my normal clothes, but I do have a little bump starting.
Stretch marks? No
Sleep: All the time, I've been really tired!
Best moment this week: On Wednesday I had my 12 week appointment, my mom came with me and we got to hear the heartbeat. 150 is the heart rate, so fast! I've also really enjoyed telling my dancers at the studio & the high school. They are all so excited! 
Miss Anything? Red wine, so I just smell it when people have a glass.
Movement: Not that I can feel. We got to hear it move around when we heard the heartbeat.
Food cravings: Not really, I've been more hungry than normal though.
Anything making you queasy or sick: No.
Gender ideas: My sister in-law Andi had a dream that we had a boy. 
Labor Signs: No... scary to think about.
Symptoms: Just tired and feeling bloated.
Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: A little of both... mostly tired did I say that yet?
Looking forward to: Spreading the news to the rest of our friends.


*Videos of our families on Christmas finding out the news - coming soon! 

Just over 2 weeks till Christmas

Can you believe it!? Christmas is in almost 2 weeks!!! So much to do and so little time!

Here are some more great websites with fabulous deals to help you finish your Holiday shopping:

Haute Look - Designer clothing, shoes, jewelry and more for a steal!
https://www.hautelook.com/login

Gilt - 60% off Designer items!
http://www.gilt.com

One Kings Lane - I first heard about this website on a TLC TV show and had to check it out. I've baught some wedding gifts and other items for myself off this website.
https://www.onekingslane.com

Etsy - If you don't have time to make something special why not purchase a beautiful handmade gift. I love Etsy & could spend hours looking at the site.
www.etsy.com

Vista Print - FREE Custom mug, just pay shipping! $5.79
http://www.vistaprint.com/vp/ns/studio3.aspx?pf_id=A0W&combo_id=156924&free_studio_gallery=true&referer=http%3a%2f%2fwww.vistaprint.com%2fvp%2fgateway.aspx%3fS%3d2445789883%26AFFID%3d48&GNF=1&rd=2

DIY Gifts - There are so many GREAT ideas on Pinterest (my new obsession) - www.pinterest.com 

Spray paint lace onto a clear glass ornament, or jar for candles~

     

Used Corks made into a cute Christmas Tree~

I will be trying these things... pictures coming soon.

HAPPY SAVING & HAPPY SHOPPING!

Friday's First Post

For my first post I wanted to share some of my favorite shopping secrets for great steals & deals! 


Jill's Steals & Deals on the Today Show- 

http://hip2save.com/category/jills-steals-deals/
I'm always watching for these! Today I'm looking at purchasing the Kenneth Cole Wallet for just $16.00. Check out the one with the cheetah print inside, very cute! 

Kenneth Cole Reaction Women’s Wallets

Retail price: $60   Discount price: $14     Percent discount: 77% off!
Promo code: TODAYWALLET
(To purchase the wallets, click on one of the two links above. On the landing page, enter the promo code. Select the desired wallet style and click “Add to shopping cart”. On the upper-right corner, click “Proceed to checkout.” Then complete the checkout process.)

Kenneth Cole is offering three different styles of women’s wallets for TODAY viewers. All styles feature a faux leather exterior and nylon interior and are only available in black. Check out the website for the full range of products. Kenneth Cole says all sales are final, the estimated shipping cost is $4.95 for one wallet and the product will up to three weeks to arrive. For more information and to buy the $60 wallets for $14, click here.

Check out the rest of today's great deals on the website, including an iHome for 67% off!

Extreme Couponing - I'm obsessed! There will be more posts on this in future, but for my first I thought I'd share some of my #1 go to coupon sites. Seriously... this WORKS! You CAN indeed get free stuff with coupons!

1. Coupon Katrina - http://couponkatarina.com/ Check out the section where it says FREE! 

2. Couponing 101 - http://www.couponing101.com/ Everything you need to know about couponing and getting the best deals.

3. Bargain Briana - http://bargainbriana.com/tag/15-days-of-couponing  15 days of couponing.

4. Both Target & Walmart always have great coupons on their websites as well, coupons you won't get in the mail or with your Sunday paper. 

HAPPY SHOPPING & HAPPY FRIDAY!