The Week in Review

So this week's activities can be summed up in a few words/phrases - shopping, baby shopping, pizza eating and, of course, taxes. We'll even throw a little wedding in there for you just to spice things up. So, yeah, in general, not a very exciting week per se in the lives of "normal" people, but since when have Mark and I ever fit that category? Don't answer that. ;)





So, because all girls love shopping (well, okay, I'll admit I'm not the biggest fan unless I have something I'm trying to find), we'll begin there. I bought more maternity clothes this week. Because the whole tax thing pretty much saps all my time, I did it online at Penney's. I'm usually not a big fan of ordering things off the internet, but I've usually had good luck with Penney's catalog and online offerings and they make it easy to give things back if they don't work for you so I figured it was a good place to go to see if they had anything I'd like at a price that I'd like because afterall I'd rather spend more money on the sprout (or Rocky as my mother has recently taken to calling him since we're still not spilling the beans on the little tyke's name...which we technically can't because we haven't officially decided, but there is a front runner).





At any rate, all the name stuff aside, I was pleasantly surprised to find that not only did they have a pretty decent sale going on, they had some pretty cute looking stuff that was on sale. And, not only that, but I happened upon a page where I found a coupon for 25% off...and wouldn't you know a lot of things I ordered actually qualified for it. I think I figured out that I saved about $175 with the selections I made. Another reason I chose Penneys was my height. I wanted to invest in talls size clothing since as my little guy grows, my typical buy a size up and they'll ride lower and look longer method doesn't seem to work so well...my hips are somewhat altered. :) Oh, and lest I neglect to mention it, the impetus for my going shopping was that I've had two pairs of maternity pants sustain "injuries" which I simply do not have the time nor motivation to deal with and another pair has just become downright uncomofortable at this point because I'm not into even remotely "hugging" pants right now. So, I'm kind of down to about 3 pairs of pants that I actually can/will wear. Not so good...and a bit of a pain when it comes to doing laundry.





Anyhoo...I'm on a tangent roll today, but I bought 6 pairs of pants (2 each of 3 different types in my current size and a size larger in case I outgrow my current offerings which definitely isn't the plan, but you never know), 6 camisole tops (which I needed because my regular ones are starting to not fit so good at all), 2 cute sweater cardigans and some pantyhose that should, I hope, fit me even as I continue to grow so that I can wear some of the cute maternity skirts and dresses I bought. I've never been able to get out of the pantyhose wearing thing. I can't stand it when my shoes stick to my feet... So, that was the shopping for me.





As far as shopping for the sprout, I spent a good chunk of time yesterday (because at the last minute it was determined that there wasn't enough work for me to bother coming into the office - yea!) looking at bedding sets. I have finally found the one I think we'll go with. Here's a sneak peek:



It's called "Bubbles" and is made by Lambs and Ivy. We've both been going a bit gaga over sea-themed items and this bedding set is the cutest - not too girly, lots of colors to play upon and lots of neat little accessories to add to the mix. The only regret I have? That I don't really have a nursery to set up. Baby will be staying with us in our room. In a way, I guess it is a good thing since it will keep me from going to crazy buying stuff to decorate with...curbing the whole nesting thing is probably not a bad thing in its entirety. ;)

Other than this shopping, I have been checking out some clothing sites that a book we bought called Baby Bargains suggested. I found a couple that seem to have excellent merchandise at pretty affordable prices and I also found the cutest baby shoes that won't cause any problems with baby's feet since they're soft leather. Perhaps I'll post a picture of some of the ones I like at a later date.

And, then there's the pizza experience which I know has you all on the edge of your seats if you've been following my allergy journey at all. I think, my dear friends and family, my exile from the land of pizza is over. We tried the crust mix that I purchased from the Gluten Free Mall place and it worked fabulously...well, other than the fact that I didn't grease the pan enough and was sort of chiseling off the pieces last night. Hee hee...that amused Mark immensely and scared the cat to death! I'll be a little more careful next time I imagine! So, yes, I can have my pizza and eat it too without feeling like I have been hit by a mack truck afterward. This is defintiely a good thing...especially since pizza cravings have been running rampant as of late...I better go order some more crusts!

As for the other foods I purchased from the mall, we've had some great ones and we've had some duds. A caramel apple snack bar I got to try was in the pretty darn near a dud category...it's texture, it's flavor, etc...just not something I would get excited about. The worst so far has been the shortbread cookies I tried. I've decided that maybe if I crushed them up and made a pie crust out of them or something of the sort, they would be more palatable. The two winners so far have been the snickerdoodle cookies I bought which have a little weird texture but taste fabulous and the boxed macaroni and cheese stuff. I had that for lunch yesterday and was totally psyched that it only took 3 minutes to cook the pasta...well, I think it took 4 to get it to where I wanted it, but still...less than 5 minutes and you have mac 'n cheese. It was pretty tasty, too...all things considered (meaning you don't really expect gourmet mac 'n cheese out of a box, but then if I wanted gourmet, I would have made it from scratch!).

And, now, finally the wedding thing. I got a call at work on Friday about coordination. I seriously don't think the lady will email me as I suggested a location to meet on Tuesday. She could surprise me, but I just don't see it happening. I was so totally not in a customer service mindset...but that's because I was in the middle of a tax return and that tends to turn me into a drone. Whatever. At any rate, it was exciting since it was the first call I've received from someone based upon one of the print ads I paid for. So there you go. :)

And, with that,I think I will go jump in the shower (I've been taking it easy this morning) because my dear Mark and I are going to go to lunch, I think, this afternoon and then maybe we'll go see a movie...we'll see on this last one. Lunch will be our weekly Sweet Tomatoes run and I'm naturally looking quite forward to it. There's nothing like a big plate of salad followed by a big dish of ice cream with strawberry and caramel sauce to make you a happy pregnant lady. ;)

Hope you all have a great week!