Unexpected News

So, I have news.

I'm pregnant!

Quite frankly, I'm still in shock but the husband is beside himself with excitement. If all goes well, we'll have company around February 23rd.

There's a hitch though and that's why I'm writing this post. All may not go well.

My bloodwork showed my HCG levels rising but not quite doubling as they would like and my progesterone was a little on the low side but they started me on prometrium to help fix that. There is a great chance that everything will be FINE, especially with my doctor being proactive and starting the prometrium BUT there is also a very large chance that we didn't catch it in time and I could lose the baby.

This is has been my one place where I could be totally honest and because of this I feel comfortable telling you that I am TERRIFIED. Scared shitless. There is a sweet little baby growing inside of me and I am doing everything within my power to ensure that it continues to thrive. But I guess what scares me the most are the things that I don't have control over. Not a whole lot I can do about those things except hope and pray for the best.

I have to go back on Monday for another round of blood work so we'll know more then. PLEASE keep us in your thoughts...

The Year That Was

One year ago today I was crammed into a too small room in the corner of the hospital, staring off into space as the doctor told my family there was nothing more they could do. I remember the sensation of losing all feeling in my body as I stared at the doctor's moving mouth and wondering why I could not longer hear him.

One year ago today...a piece of me died.

Death causes a sticky kind of pain that clings to your insides with ferocity. It's an overwhelming kind of pain that takes you by surprise and creeps up at moments you least expect. It's a hurt that I've learned to live with.

There aren't enough words to express how much I miss my Daddy or what I would give to have one more day.

Just one more day.

A Sneak Preview of the House

I know you're anxious to see the inside...good thing I've got pictures!! These were taken while the previous owners were still living there so none of the furniture is mine but I told them they were welcome to leave it all. :)

Formal living room and dining room. I've never really been a fan of the duel formal and informal rooms but seems like every house we saw had them and at least these were open and warm vs. all the walled off rooms we'd see elsewhere.

So one of the main things I'd been looking for in a house was an open floor plan. Seems like every house we went to was nothing but a bunch of boxy rooms and I hated it...so this was a breath of fresh air when I saw it. It's hard to see but there's also a little breakfast area in the kitchen. And on the opposite side of the living room where I was standing, there's a fireplace and the stairs leading to the 2nd floor.

Master bathroom...LOVE this! There's a big garden tub to the right, seated next to a window (hope there's no neighborhood perverts), straight ahead is a double vanity and the toilet is in a little room with it's own door...lol. To the left is a humongous walk in closet.

This is the master bedroom and it's very dramatic b/c when you walk up the stairs...the first thing you see is are these two door thrown open to reveal this huge bedroom.

Now THIS is one of the main reasons I fell in love with the house. Off the master bedroom...there are two french doors that open up into this BEAUTIFUL office complete with fireplace. I have always wanted an office, a quiet place for me to write and think...and now I finally have it. The hubby got a spare bedroom. :)

The half bath downstairs. There are 4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths and the office. Just over 2,700 something square feet.

Bonifide Homeowners

Allow me to introduce you to our new house.

We finally go it!!!!

More to come later but just wanted to share the good news!

First Big Grocery Trip

I decided to try my hand at a couponing trip for groceries this past weekend and actually did pretty good I think for a first time. Everything you see here plus 5 bottles of body wash and fruits and veggies.

Retail was $133.56

I paid $58.03 for a total savings of $75.53. :)

Favorite deals of the week: $.97 for the Purex laundry detergent, $.13 for Colgate toothpaste, $.13 for Colgate toothbrush, $.79 total for TWO boxes of Honey Nut Cheerios, free Scotch tape (3 rolls that are tucked away into my wrapping paper box), free body wash and Lowrey's marinade for $.49.

So all in all a pretty good weekend but definitely shooting to do even better!!! Want to get that bottom line down even lower. I likes a good challenge, I do.

Gettin' There

Had to show off my week 2 attempt at couponing. Getting better! Still have to work on saving on food items so a friend is giving my sister and I tips on stores that are friendly to price matching and taking competitor coupons so maybe in the coming weeks I'll have that down.

In the mean time I'm saving on health and beauty items which we won't have to pay for on upcoming shopping trips for quite awhile. Wait til you see how I did this week!!You are looking at 3 packs of heating patches (for the hubby), 5 packs of razors, 5 packs of girlie liners and a 3 bar pack of soap which retail for $60.50. Guess how much I paid. Go on...guess!

N-O-T-H-I-N-G!!

I got them all FREE!

For $60.50 worth of stuff...I paid a measley .70 cents in sales tax! :) Woohoo!

For the Love of Coupons

Thanks to the husband's unexpected surgery, Uncle Sam and home buying, the husband and I are, for lack of a better term...in the hole. So, to make the most of our pennies I jumped on the coupon band wagon and now I wish I'd started this ages ago!

For the record, let it be known that I'm not one of those crazy people who buy 93 bags of croutons or 114 bottles of Excedrin PM. I buy only things we will use and I'm courteous to other shoppers and get only what we need to get us by for a good bit instead of clearing the shelves.

I warn you...it's addictive though.

The rush when you score a super good deal.

The absurd happiness that comes from watching to total go down down down down.

All the FREE STUFF!!

These are a few of the things from my very first venture last week. The retail price for everything came to about $71 and after coupons and sales prices...I paid $29! Not too bad for my first time out but wait til you see what I've got planned for next week!!