I Think I Am Ready!

I think I am officially ready for Sarah Beth to be here now. I knew I wanted to get through this past week and make it to March...after that let her come. I've been slowly doing stuff around the house this week and then Savannah had a surprise invite to spend the weekend with her Grandmama and Granddaddy, so today I was able to pamper myself with a hair trim, and a spa pedicure. I came home and was able to get the house in pretty good order (until Savannah comes home). My sweet husband even cleaned our bathroom. Car seat is washed and adjusted for a tiny newborn. Everyone's bag is packed.

Here is a page I made for Sarah Beth's 1st visitors to sign on to welcome her.
This is the one item I've been able to make special for her and put her name on it.

I was surprised last weekend by Jerry and Susan with this beautiful new diaper bag. It just makes me happy to look at. =)
Can you tell I have a thing right now for the turquoise and pink color combination? =)


This sweet girl is so ready to be a big sister! All week she insisted that she needed to go to Grandma's house in Birmingham to have a birthday party for her baby doll, Annabelle. I guess she got her wish today when she got to take Annabelle to Bham. Oh, and she keeps talking about the baby in her tummy. Not sure if I should be worried about that one or not? =)

This is what I looked like at 37 weeks. Savannah jumped in the picture, but I think her expression is adorable.
After reading hearing about several "wives tales" today, I did indulge in Eggplant Parmesan and pineapple tonight. I'll let you know if labor comes on soon.

Who doesn't love Ice Cream

I just read about a new promotion that Dairy Queen is adding to their menu.  You can't beat the value of these Sweet Deals.  Go check it out!  You may even earn a free treat for choosing to blog about it.  =)

Free Day

I got out and took advantage of some more great deals this week today. I got an envelope of coupons in the mail from my Dad yesterday, that were calling to be used before they expired tomorrow. First stop Publix. Took advantage of the weekend competitor coupon for $5 off 20 from RiteAid (Thanks for the tip Jessalee!) and the $5 off when you buy 20 participating products for the Italian Sale. I picked up the 20 items I needed and then tried to make sure the total would still equal $20 before coupons. I knew the Pop tarts were going to be less than free with $1 peelie manu coupon and Target coupon. The Crest was free with manu and Publix coupon. Also last few days to get money making Revlon and Covergirl products. The cashier got to the end of scanning my coupons and I was down to only owing the tax. I didn't want the $2.50 worth of remaining coupons to go to waste, so I quickly grabbed 2 cartons of strawberries that I was eying on the way in. Right now I'm calling fruit my pregnancy craving, especially strawberries! My grand total or basically the tax was $4.06 and I saved $71.60. That was a fun trip!

Since I had some more Revlon coupons and a Gillette Fusion razor coupon in the envelope, we stopped at CVS and took advantage of the $4 off $20 coupon from email and some good Extra Bucks rewards opportunities. Recycling ECB's I made back more in extra bucks than I spent.

Since I was out, I stopped by Walgreens and got another roll of free aluminum foil.

To finish our next to free outing, Savannah and I stopped across the street at Arby's to enjoy a free Roast Burger sandwich with this coupon, I did have to buy a drink =)

I hope you all have a great weekend! So, who is going shopping tomorrow now? Haha! I've answered a few questions this week about using coupons, maybe this will give you some more to think about.

Thanks for the Coupons Dad

I had a good time in Birmingham for a few days this weekend.  Jonathan had to be in Atlanta for a day, so it was a good time for Savannah and I to go see the Grandma's.  She was so excited to get to go to Birmingham, and then was not ready to leave.  I think everyone was on pins and needles afraid that I might go into labor while in B'ham.  I'm pretty sure I had some random contraction moments on Fri and Sat.  

Thanks dad for saving your extra coupons for me.  I told you I would put them to good use.   I was able to stock up on some items and put a coupon with most every product I bought today.  My total with tax came to $32.31 and I saved $80.38 on this trip.  It definitely helps to plan ahead! Oh, and I will get a $10 Publix gift card for purchasing 15 Pillsbury and Green Giant items. 

I have recently learned about the wealth of information and free coupons on the internet!  While it can be time consuming, it does pay off.  Some of my favorite new sites are Deal Seeking Mom, Freebies 4 Mom, and  Southern Savers .  These are sites you will want to check out and bookmark to come back to often.  I have racked up on free stuff in the past 2 months since I learned about them.  

Check out all the products I was able to buy last week at CVS for about $2.00, using coupons and Extra Bucks, and I still have $6 left in Extra Bucks.  I love playing their little games.

Does anyone else like to collect coupons and play the grocery store savings games? I know my Dad and Grandmother have taught me well. =) If you would like to learn more about saving money feel free to ask.

It is all in the Light

Who is ready for another photography class? I will be teaching the 2nd class in a series at ScrapEtc this weekend, Feb 21, at 10:00.

The cost of the class is $20 and you can call and sign up with ScrapEtc at 205-985-9323

"Light makes photography. Embrace light. Admire it. Love it. But above all, know light. Know it for all you are worth, and you will know the key to photography." - George Eastman

In this session we will discuss the effect light plays on the photographs you take. Learn ways to pose or capture your subject in the "right" light for the most flattering exposure. We will discuss ISO; how to change the setting on camera and how it influences the lighting of a picture. Learn when to use the flash and when not to. Have you ever had a picture turn out with yellow or red tint to it? Learn how the color of light can effect your picture quality. I'll show you how knowing when to change your white balance setting can give you better results.

Since no one gets properly exposed pictures 100% of the time, I will give you a few tips on post processing that will make you love your pictures more.

Elizabeth and Amy are neither "Trained Professional", but we want to share with you how we learned, using the same cameras many of you own, to get Professional results.

Items to bring to class:
Camera(s) and lenses that you use
Camera manuals
Burning questions you would like to ask the "experts"

Upcoming Classes will include
February--Lighting with Elizabeth (Point and shoot & DSLR)
March--Manual modes with Amy (DSLR)
April--Manual modes with Amy (DSLR)

If you do sign up, leave me a comment, so I will know that you are coming!


While I'm talking about ScrapEtc...How would you like to go to the ScrapEtc Event in Atlanta this year for free?? Go check out Margie Romney-Aslett's blog and Melodee Langworthy's blog for a chance at this incredible deal. These are 2 of the incredible teachers lined up for this weekend event.

The Waiting Game

I'm at 36 weeks this week and now it is down to the waiting game. My belly is growing everyday, but I am still not overbearingly huge, so I don't anticipate a large baby to deliver; which is good news. Today my doctor said I have started to progress and the cervix is ready to deliver at any point. She thought maybe just 2 more weeks. She said we could go ahead and schedule and induction date for the week of March 9-13. So that means I could potentially pick out Sarah Beth's birthday. Here are my thoughts on upcoming numbers... Friday, 03/06/09 would make an easy and fun date to remember. We liked having Savannah on a Friday. Then of course the next Friday is the 13th. 03/13/09. Would that be unlucky? If she held out till the next week we could have a lucky St. Patrick's Day baby on 03/17/09.

We had an induction scheduled with Savannah on Mon, April 24 and she came on her own Friday, April 21 (9 days early) So I really do anticipate Sarah Beth coming early.

How many of you all got to "pick" your baby's birthday, or did you just wait and let them come when they were ready?

Happy Valentine's Day

Sending our love to friends and family. I hope everyone enjoyed their day with those that they love most. The 3 of us enjoyed spending time together as a family yesterday. I'll try to post pictures of our day soon

Back Porch Memories

I was honored to get to be a guest designer at Back Porch Memories for the month of February. I got to play with the gorgeous Solo Kit featuring the Mia line by Crate Paper.


The softness of these papers worked well for some pictures that I had been waiting to scrapbook.

Meet my new 2nd Cousin

I had the opportunity to photograph my newest 2nd cousin this weekend. She is 3 weeks old and wasn't due for another week yet. =) Unfortunately I couldn't narrow down my favorites to less than 100. Hopefully Holly and Nathan will be proud of their beautiful baby girl as I am getting close to finishing up the editing process.

We got a bunch with her awake, but I just love the innocence of this this one...

Valentine's with Scrap Etc. Scripts Kit

I was beside myself to see the beautiful damask paper by GCD studios in the Scripts kit that matched perfectly with the Valentine photo session I did with my daughter. I attached 2 of the Valentine cards that I designed this year. The stitched pink heart layers were inspired by the applique that was on the side of the red dress.


Speaking of Valentine layouts....

The Valentine layout that I made for Savannah last year is published in the February edition of Scrapbook Trends Magazine! I found out about this last Sept, and have been anxiously awaiting seeing my 1st layout in print. While I was in Michael's last week, I saw the lady putting them out on the shelf and had to flip through it. To my surprise, I open up the front and see the Editor's page with my layout featured at the bottom of the page.

Of course I turned to page 65 and saw this.

It almost made me cry to see my baby in print for the first time!

February seems like a good month, maybe I should consider submitting this year's Val page when the time comes. =)

Scrap Etc. and Jan Scripts Kit

Amy N and I had a great time teaching the first Photography class in our series at Scrap Etc. this past weekend! I think everyone was able to walk away with some new tips to try when taking photographs. I loved being able to answer so many of the same questions I had when I first really got into Photography. I will be teaching the next class on "Lighting" on Saturday, February 21st. So, if you missed the first class, make sure to join us for the next one!

Of course while I was at Scrap Etc, I got to pick up my kit to work with for this month, and to my surprise I was able to work with the January Scripts kit. I pulled everything out of the bag, and these layouts literally put themselves together, being the perfect mix of products to go with some recent pictures I had taken. If the January kit was this pretty, I can't wait to see what the February Scripts kit has in store!


"Living"
This layout was inspired by the latest One Little Word Challenge: "Living", and the newest Inspired Blueprints #9 sketch. I love mixing red and blue together, and isn't that zebra print from American Crafts just a lot of fun!

The Completed Nursery

I finally got around to taking pictures of everything in place in Sarah Beth's nursery. It was nice being able to use all of Savannah's old furniture and bedding to pull this all together. I did find the cute birdie crib sheet at Target not too long ago that I added to the bed.

I had plans to paint a pink scallop border along the top of the room, thinking I would have to draw it off with a template. When we got up close to the ceiling we noticed there used to be a scalloped wallpaper border that had been painted over. So, I just used it as a guide to paint the pink base layer and then went back with a small paintbrush and painted the black line and then the white line. Yes, the outlining was a little tedious!



Found these white frames in pack of 3 for $2.50 at Target in Dollar section, they even had the black ribbon attached. Cut the Urban Prairie paper down to 4x4 squares. Found a font I liked and printed it out to use as a template to trace letters on black cardstock. Outlined letters in white and glued down. Pretty simple. I may cut out a little butterfly or flower to cover up the hooks.

So far Savannah has been ok with the rocking chair leaving her room.

2 pink gingham panel curtains I picked up for like $1 at a garage sale a while back.

Black mirror I had gotten on clearance for $5 at Michael's. Ended back with it from a family dirty santa game and found a home for it on top of this shelf. I'm thinking about making some flowers to add on top of the shelf. Slightly wrinkled from pulling out of a box, this is the outfit Savannah came home from the hospital in. I will probably use it again.

Wall art I made hanging inside white frame. One of the butterflies was falling off in the process of taking the picture, so I need to tack it back up.


Cute pig chair I got at Kid's market last Spring....for taking pictures of course. =)

I didn't take a picture of the last wall for some reason. It has an empty long white shelf on the wall with a small bookshelf below. We took a yellow bookshelf out of the playroom and painted it black to match the room better.

I've got a few more projects I would like to get done when I get a chance like recovering the cheap lampshade, and making some small framed wall art that will hang from the long white shelf. It can always be done later though. =)

She is so Silly

The other day I was going through boxes of Savannah's old baby clothes in Sarah Beth's room. Savannah was busy taking care of her baby doll, Annabelle. She had taken the plastic baby tub that I pulled out of the attic and was insisting that Annabelle needed a bath. At first she was in the bathroom wanting to put water in the tub, which was not going to happen, so a little while later I walked into the hall and found the little setup she had done for herself, and thought it was quite humorous. She did good pretending to bath the doll without soap and water, but shortly after this scene, I think half a bottle of soap ended up in the watering can, in the plastic tub, in Savannah's hair, and I'm pretty sure Annabelle is clean now. =)




Tonight she found one of her small pillows in my room and told me she wanted to have a "sleepover". I couldn't figure out where she had heard that term or actually knew what it meant. I thought maybe my mom had used that word with her? Then before bed I was reading her a Baby Einstein book she had checked out of the library and on the last page it used the word sleepover, and I knew that had to be the source. I had not read this book to her before, but apparently Jonathan had. It seems like there is always some new word she comes up with or starts using everyday these days!