Take Your Best Guess – When is Charli Coming?

I wanna hear when you guys think this little one will make her debut.

With Grey, and with Bo, I posted this little guessing game at 37 weeks, 2 days. That’s what I am today! Look at that consistency. Impressive.
(I wasn't blogging when I was pregnant with Sam...so sad).

I’m due October 10.
No dilation yet. shockerCharli is low and measuring a teensy bit small (not that you could tell that from my belly size).
I have plenty of Braxton Hicks but no real contractions to mention just yet.

Whoever is the closest to the actual date will get a little something fun!

Book Winner

I've been pretty excited about picking the winner for this book, mainly because I'm already enjoying it so much.

Sidenote: The author describes her house as being like the bottom of a toaster. How accurate is that?!

I'd like to add that my van is also toaster-esque...until Bob works his magic on it.

On to the winner...





Megan!
Congrats! I'm emailing you now to make sure I have the right address.

Magnet Winner

Maybe I should not do giveaways because I want everyone to win.
And I've got this one ending in a few days.

In fact, as I was going back through the comments and writing down names, I was figuring up what it would cost for me to just do some for everyone and mail them out. Bob, if you're reading this, I'm not gonna do it.

Then I start thinking I could give them as birthday presents...

So, if you don't win and you end up getting some for your birthday, don't be surprised. Well really, do be surprised that I remembered between now and then.

On to the winner...






Yay!!
Jessica, I'm emailing you now!

I Forgot But Then I Remembered

I need to pick and post a winner.

My excuses for not having it up yet are that Bob has been sick, I'm currently enjoying Saturday morning Panera with him, and we (the kids and I) were at the zoo all day yesterday.

Check back this afternoon.

This is Where I Am

If you've come into contact with me in the last month or so, you know two things (1), we've been sick for many weeks now and (2) my precious oldest child has been giving me quite the run for my money.

You would know this because I can't seem to keep from whining about it to anyone I am talking to.

Know what I think about that? I'm kinda tired of it. I'm tired of having those things to complain about, but even more, I'm tired of being that person who complains so much.

A friend of mine, Jenna, recently posted about a book giveaway another friend of hers was doing. To enter, you had to write about something you love about your kids.

Wanna know something sad? That particular day, it was hard for me to do that. Not hard to come up with things I love about them, but hard to make myself want to focus on those things. Ugh! If that doesn't earn me some kind of parenting award, I'm not sure what does. I'm pretty disgusted at myself for ever thinking that way about my children. The precious, hilarious, sweet little boys that I've been gifted to watch over.

Anyway. In my comment, I thanked that lady for "making" me focus on what I love about my kids. I needed it. They needed it.

I didn't win the giveaway but did realize this book, Loving the Little Years: Motherhood in the Trenches, is currently buy one, get one with free shipping. That free shipping really pushed me over the edge to go ahead and buy 2. Well that and the fact that I got teared up after reading the first few pages (check out the "look inside" right under the picture of the book).

So, I'm copying Jenny (who also has an adorable son named Sam!) and I'm giving away a copy of this book.

To enter (leave a separate comment for each thing you do:
Leave a comment telling me something you love about the kid(s) in your life. (gotta do this one!)
Tweet about this giveaway.
Facebook about this giveaway.

I'll pick and announce a winner Wednesday, April 27th. (Please be sure I can contact you).

Here's what I said about my three littles:
I love Sam (3 1/2) for calling payloaders, Miss Payloader b/c of a book that asked him to look for the missing payloader, for halting the energy that courses through him to be gentle to his baby brother, for giving awesome “around the neck” hugs and for pointing out to me when he does obey/use good manners/help out like I’ve specifically asked him to.

I love Grey (1 1/2) for the little pouty face he has recently perfected, for telling everyone, every.one, “hi” again and again and again, for running in to give sweet hugs and waiting at the door for his dad every day, for bringing every blanket available to me for his baby brother and for the mischievous little eyes he squints when we tell him to “cheese it up.”

I love Bo (5 months) for his sweet and calm disposition, for snuggling right into the base of my neck, for smiling so easily, and for sleeping so well!

I Love When Pretty Meets Function

I'm a teensy-bit obsessed with pretty glass magnets like these and these or this.
As in, I've browsed on Etsy for them for more minutes than anyone should look for magnets.
I'm a weirdo.

Anyway, I made some the other day.



And I want to give some away.
I'll confer with the winner to see what your color preferences are.

Here's how to enter: (make sure you leave separate comments for each thing you do)
Leave a comment...any old comment (please make sure I can contact you).

Blog, Facebook or Tweet about this with a link to the giveaway (leave a separate comment for each of these that you do).

I'll choose a winner this Friday, the 22nd!

Winner

Some of you were amazingly close and some not so much. In fact, I'm wondering if I need to learn a little more about couponing from y'all! Rebekah? Them giving me $.10? That would've been impressive!

With a guess of $32.94, only $1.58 off, Angela is the winner. Wahoo! Ang, email me with your address and I'll stick the Starbucks card in the mail :).

In case you're curious, here's the breakdown:

Not on sale - black

On sale - blue

On sale and coupon - red
- 1 baguette $1.79

- 1 bag of Doritos $1.99

- 1 box of Lucky Charms $.97

- 1 box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch $.97

- 2 pouches of Uncle Ben's Ready Rice $.97 each

- 2 pouches of Fisher's trail mix $.50 each

- 2 boxes of Betty Crocker Supreme Brownie Mix $.90 each

- 2 blocks of Kraft cheese $1.17 each

- 1 box of Uncrustables (are these gross? never tried them before) $1

- 6 cans of Progresso soup $.42 each

- 6 cans of Green Giant corn $.48 each

- 1 can of Pam $1

- 1 carton of Egg Beaters $.67

- 1 gallon of Publix organic milk $4.99

- 1 pkg. of strawberries $1.67

- 1 pkg. of organic carrots $1.50

- 8 bags of Green Giant Steamers $.32 each

I'm off a couple cents somewhere, but you get the idea.

So, who all is couponing? I'd love to hear about one of your best runs.

A Giveaway Using the Money I'm Saving from Couponing

I started couponing about 2 months ago. It has become a game, a challenge, like everyone says it has to...if you want to stick with it.

This isn't going to be a long explanation of how to coupon. If you're interested in that, I recommend this site. It's awesome and, really, it's all I use. (Check the tutorials at the top right of the page). One thing you'll see here is how beneficial it is to stockpile - buying things are their rock bottom price.

This is a game for you guys!

Below you'll see a picture of the items I bought recently at Publix and a list of everything in the picture just to be fair (in case you can't see everything).


- 1 baguette
- 1 bag of Doritos
- 1 box of Lucky Charms
- 1 box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch
- 2 pouches of Uncle Ben's Ready Rice
- 2 pouches of Fisher's trail mix
- 2 boxes of Betty Crocker Supreme Brownie Mix
- 2 blocks of Kraft cheese
- 1 box of Uncrustables (are these gross? never tried them before)
- 6 cans of Progresso soup
- 6 cans of Green Giant corn
- 1 can of Pam
- 1 carton of Egg Beaters
- 1 gallon of Publix organic milk
- 1 pkg. of strawberries
- 1 pkg. of carrots
- 8 bags of Green Giant Steamers
Total before coupons and tax = $91.37

The challenge is to guess what I paid out of pocket, before tax for all this stuff. I'll send the winner a shiny, new $5 gift card to Starbucks. (Whoever guesses closest, over or under, wins!)

When I announce the winner, I'll tell you how much I spent and how much I saved. So fun, right?!

You've got until next Monday, March 8 at noon CST to guess. (I'm looking for dollars and cents here). I'll post the winner sometime that afternoon.

This Stuff Rocks and I Really Want to Win

The purpose of this post is two-fold. I'll be honest.
First, I want you to know about this Etsy store Lett'er Express It.
And second, I want extra entries in their giveaway!

I've been wanting to get some of this vinyl lettering for the boys' rooms for some time. Maybe now is the time. Do you have any? Where'd you get it? Do you like it?

Ok, that's all.

Free Groceries

Here's a chance to win some free groceries.
Click here.

It takes about 10 seconds to enter. Why not chance it?

Wednesday - Some Info and a Picture

I promise I'm working on typing up my birth story. If you are just DYING to read about it, you can ready my doula's version here. (Thanks Rachel!)

Also, there was a tie between Shilo, who guessed August 6th and Alicia, who guessed August 8th, when it came to guessing when Grey would arrive. You guys, email me your addresses and I'll stick a little something in the mail for ya!

And now for a picture or two...

Sam
Grey

Take Your Best Shot

As of Saturday, I was 37 weeks. That makes me 37 weeks and 2 days today, but who's counting. I probably shouldn't be. That's because I went 13 days overdue with Sam.

All this leads me to my point. I wanna hear when you guys think this little one will make his debut. Here are some factors that may help you make your guess.

My mom went 3 weeks overdue (and then had to be induced) with her first, me.
I went 2 weeks overdue (and then had to be induced) with my first, Sam.

My middle sister is about 21 months younger than me.
My second babe will be about 21 months younger than Sam.

Said sister came on her due date.
My youngest sister came 6 weeks early.

Guess away! And let me know if you've got any questions that might make your guessing easier. I believe it would help for me to mention that my official due date is August 8th.
Whoever is the closest to the actual date will get a little something fun!

It's Only Fitting

I won Camille's giveaway...for some special Dr. Pepper. No, it's not Mr. Pibb, but they are close enough.

And I've consumed quite a bit of Dr. Pepper already this pregnancy. Might as well end it up with a special edition!

Bloomsie Winner

Using the random number integer, I've picked a winner of the Bloomsie Giveaway!

The lucky winner is.....Melissa!! (How appropriate since she's hosting her very first giveaway!)

If you didn't win, remember you can order a Bloomsie from Lauren's Etsy store. Thanks to everyone who participated!

A Giveaway!

Everyone tells you that you HAVE to buy more stuff when you have a baby girl. I believe they're usually referring to all the cute girly clothes, including those adorable smocked dresses, hair bows, bloomers etc.

While I disagree...you don't HAVE to buy anything you don't want to but if you want to spend the money on cute clothes and "extras", you will. One thing I will concede on and that is bloomers. Ya gotta cover up those diapers right?!

Well a good friend of mine, Lauren, feels the same way and has come up with a great idea...it's called a Bloomsie. In her own words, "A Bloomsie serves as a diaper cover or bloomers and undershirt under those precious dresses for your baby girl. This is a cold weather must-have for any baby girl. Without this garment, cold air goes up dresses and makes your little one cold. Wear it in the warm months by itself."

I know many of you don't have kids yet, you may have boys or you might have kids but they're too big for onesies...the good news is, these Bloomsies make great baby gifts. If you're like me, you know a ton of people who are pregnant right now! Bloomsies are perfect by themselves, but can easily be monogrammed to add a person touch.

Well I've got a Bloomsie to give away!

1 - Just leave a comment on this post. Any old comment will do :).

2 - I'll draw a winner (using random.org) on Friday, February 20th and announce the winner that night or on Saturday. I'll also email the winner. (Be sure I can email you!)

If you win, you can choose white or pink and specify which size you'd like (0-6 months, 6-9 months, 12 months).

Not the winner but still need a unique baby gift? Just check out Lauren's Etsy store.

I Hesistate to Share this Information

Mainly because I'm selfish. Honest at least...but still selfish.

I would love, love, love to win this printer. Since we have a laptop and the printer is upstairs, it can sometimes be a bit of pain to print stuff...but having a printer with wi-fi, like this one does, would be awesome! Not to mention the better quality.

If I don't win from that site, I wouldn't mind winning from this one. 5 Minutes for Mom is having a huge Christmas Giveaway. Why not check it out and enter to win. Somebody has to win.

Quick Winner Update

We had a crazy-full weekend! Family, friends, Halloween, birthday party, oh my!

Anyway, the winner of the Starbucks gift card is:

Beth of Tea and Thee

Thanks for participating everybody! (And Beth I'll be emailin' ya.)

Carnival O'Goodies

Once again, it's time for the Bloggy Giveaways Carnival!

If you're a new reader, why, welcome!
If you're a regular reader, holla.

I'll keep it short and simple. Since it was such a hit last time, I'm giving away another $5 gift card to Starbucks.

The rules are as follows:
To enter, leave me a comment, only one, with your favorite/most memorable Halloween costume. (It can be one you wore or one your kids have worn!)
I'll close comments Saturday, November 1st at 10:00 p.m. and draw a winner that night.
I'll notify the winner via email or a comment on your blog (if you have one). If you are a blogger, PLEASE be sure that your profile is set to public. If you aren't a blogger, please be sure to leave an email address. If I can't contact you, or if I don't hear back from you within 2 days, I'll have to draw another winner.
***Edited to add - You must have a U.S. mailing address to enter. Thanks!***

If you do leave a comment like, "pick me!" or "I love Starbucks!", I will delete your comment.
If you do not leave a way for me to contact you, in case you're the chosen winner, I will delete your comment.
If you leave multiple comments, I will delete the extras.

Ok, I think that's it. Oh! Remember to check back here frequently. There will be new giveaways up each day and the later they post, the fewer people will enter, which means the higher likelihood you have of winning, yea!

I'm Being Featured

Over at Carolina Mama, I'm giving away a Charley bracelet and a pair of Palmer earrings.

Take a moment, stop what you're doing and make your way over to that giveaway!

Two Winners

Congratulations are in order...and you have our trusty Random Number Generator to thank ;).

The winner of the first giveaway (hosted by Bloggy Giveaways) and the recepient of a multi-purpose $5 gift card to Starbucks is Jen B.!

Winner #2, and the recepient of my Charley bracelet, is "Charmed"!

These lades have 3 days to get back in touch with me. In the event that I don't hear from them...I'll be generating another random integer!

Thanks for all the participation...it was fun!