14 Weeks.

How far along: 14 weeks, 5 days
Maternity clothes: None... any ideas where to shop?
Stretch marks: No
Sleep: Sleeping great! Usually on my side or stomach (it'll be a sad day when I can no longer sleep on my stomach though!)
Best moment this week: Hearing the heartbeat! It was the first time we heard it and quite honestly the most amazing sound ever. Grant told me that was the first time it actually became real for him! The little heartbeat was about 140-144 beats per min- so fast!
Have you told family & friends: Yes!
Miss anything: Turkey sandwiches from Port of Subs & Sushi! For some reason it always sounds more appealing knowing that I can't have it...
Morning sickness:  None
Movement: Hmmm... I could have swore I felt something ONCE but I wasn't quite sure. Probably just my imagination...
Food cravings:  Lemon-lime Gatorade, cucumbers, and pickles <-- typical right?!
Anything making you queasy or sick: Frozen dinners in the microwave... Yuck!!
Have you started to show yet: Well I totally think so but when we were at the doctors this week listening to the heartbeat I was laying on the table and curious little Grant asked the technician if she thought I was showing and she looked at us and said "Nope! Not yet." Pshh... there is so a little bump there!
Gender prediction: Boy
Labor signs: No
Belly button in or out: In
Wedding rings on or off: On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy... I did have a random meltdown this week though. I was watching American Idol on my lunch break at work when I just started crying for no apparent reason. The thing is, I don't even watch that show normally!? Weird prego hormones!
Looking forward to: Finding out the gender! Looks like we'll be finding out at our next doctor appointment in another 4 weeks... if I can hold out that long! I might give in and totally go to one of those 3D ultrasound places or something. Any guesses on what it might be??

Homemade Chalkboard {Tutorial}

It's amazing the things you can find on Pinterest!!

That website is completely addicting...

and if you've got a pinterest account

you know EXACTLY what I mean.

I have a lengthy "to make" list that only seems to get

longer and longer each time I'm on that website. 

The other day I finally found myself buckling down

and getting my craft on... I wanted to make a chalkboard!

**I actually ended up making 2 chalkboards- the first one didn't end up being quite
as big as I wanted it to be but I didn't even realize it until after I was finished.

Here's what I did:

 The first time I bought a random picture frame that I liked at the store.

JoAnn's craft was having a sale that day
and I got the picture for 60% off. (Love a good deal)

The frame I found measured 40 x 16.
 Since it only had a cardboard backing,

 I needed to get a piece of wood. I measured

the frame and headed to Lowe's for some help.
They had lots of options and luckily

 cut the wood for me right there in the store

for FREE. The whole thing cost $8.

 I painted the wood with Chalkboard Paint 2x

and let it sit for 24 hours.

 Then I used a staple gun to staple the wood to the frame.

Here's what it looked like all finished:

Once I decorated it I realized I actually wanted something bigger!

So I went on a hunt (again)... I literally went everywhere from
Good Will to Ross to Big Lots and there was NOTHING!
Finally I went to Hobby Lobby and they happened to have some better choices...
Plus there was also a 50% off sale which only made the deal sweeter.
So I ended up getting this frame measuring 44 1/2 x 20 1/2.

The actual picture ended up being wood so I took out all the staples on the back
and then painted the back of the picture with chalkboard paint.

Then I put it back in the frame and went to work with the staple gun.

Here's a comparison of the size difference...

The bigger the frame, the more you'll pay.

You can always go to Lowe's or Home Depot to have 

the wood custom cut to whatever size you want.

You might see some grain in the wood which you could have sanded down 

or it just might add a little character.

 From there you can have a frame made if you don't find the

right size frame that you want. There are SO many options!

Enjoy!

Hellllllo 2nd Trimester!

I wanted to do something to document my pregnancy and be a little more consistent with blogging too.... With so many fun ideas posted around the internet I came across some seriously cute ones on that in-sanely addicting site called Pinterest! So with that I decided to get my craft on and make a chalkboard to help document all the fun for the next 6 months...



How far along: 13 weeks, 5 Days
Maternity clothes: None yet... I'm trying to hold out as long as I can!
Stretch marks: No
Sleep: Sleep schedule is completely off due to my work schedule (graveyard)... I go to bed at different times every night (usually around 4-4:30 am) and mostly wake up around 1pm or 2 pm. Totally not normal!
Best moment this week: Getting to share the big news with my Aunt & Uncle in person- Those two are angels. They've been going through some rough times, so it was especially nice to share good news.
Have you told family & friends: Yes! Just last week we spilled the beans with the world.
Miss anything: Energy!! I'm tired allllllll the time. This whole pregnancy fatigue thing has hit me so hard.
Morning sickness: None actually!
Movement: Nothing to be felt yet... but when we went to our 10 week ultrasound the baby was dancing around like crazy (coolest thing to see!)
Food cravings: Pineapple, popsicles, and lemon-lime gatorade.
Anything making you queasy or sick: Grilled chicken, chocolate, and the WORST are frozen dinners (people heat them up in the breakroom at work and I'm literally gagging while running out of the room!)
Have you started to show yet:  A little bump... Pretty much looks like I ate too many donuts. 
Gender prediction: Boy
Labor signs: No
Belly button in or out: In
Wedding rings on or off: On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy unless I'm sleep deprived...
Looking forward to: Hearing the heartbeat this week at our ultrasound!

New Year = BIG changes!

A few things that I find a little shocking...

1) We are already over a MONTH into the New Year...

(where has the time gone?!)

2) I can't believe how much life has changed

with just ONE year.

and......

3) Our lives are about to change in a BIG way

because we're having a

BABY!!

Yep... there's a little bun-in-the-Cropper-oven!

Here's how the news came about...

It was about a week before Christmas and I was a few days "late"

I was running errands at the store and I thought,

"why don't I pick up a pregnancy test just in case..."

So there I was at home alone & peeing on that little tiny stick...

When low & behold the word "PREGNANT" pops up!

I went into shock... Pretty sure I screamed and then started pacing

 back & forth having a mini freak out session saying, 

"OH MY GOSH! OH MY GOSH! OH MY FREAKIN' GOSH!!"

Since Christmas was just ONE week away and KNOWING how my husband

is a huge sucker for surprises I decided to wait until Christmas morning to

spill the beans...

(talk about the looooongest week ever!!)

Here's how it all went down:

(quick side note: I kept teasing Grant that I was going to buy him and ipad for Christmas... if you know Grant he is VERY practical & loves saving money. He kept telling me that "we already have a laptop & don't need to spend the money on an ipad"- this ipad debate went on for a good month... therefore I thought it would be PERFECT to wrap "the big news" up in an empty ipad box to throw him off)

This is what he opened Christmas morning:

And yes... you better believe I got it on video!

So there you go!

Little baby Cropper has an official due date of

**August 20th, 2012**