It's 1000000000000000000000% definite that it's a boy!! :)

We are *definitely* definitely having a boy! :) I am so excited... it makes it so much more real now knowing that we can for sure that it's little Colin moving around and growing in my belly. ;)

I think it will be so much fun having a boy and a girl...and Katie will be the big sister bossing her little brother around! haha! ;)

So do you see how completely covered my fridge is with his ultrasounds? Aww, I love it! And if you look reallllly close, you can see Katie's marker "artwork" on our wall! haha! The super weird thing is that she always writes what looks like a K..who knows, maybe she's just leaving her signature. ;)

So I'm almost 21 weeks now, Colin has been moving around a lot more lately. He keeps kicking the same spot in my belly every night over and over until it tickles, so cute :)

I just registered at Wal*Mart today, at the insistence of my Mom :) Nearly every time I would talk to her she would say "So, have you registered yet??" haha :) I forgot how much fun that is though! I wish I could do my real shopping like that, just scan it and be done!

We haven't made much progress on his room yet, and it's definitely time to get serious about that! And now that we know that we're having a boy we can start painting and all of that, so exciting! :) I can't wait for him to get here.

I also wanted to share some new scrap pages, I've been scrapping more lately since I've been feeling some better and that makes me really happy! :) I finally ordered some 6x12 page protectors from American Crafts and I can't wait for those to get in...6x12 is my new favorite way to scrap. ;)

I was also tagged by Brandi to list ten things I love but may never say outloud, and by Joy to list seven random things, so I'm gonna combine these two! :)
Here goes...

1. I love love love drinking hot cocoa and cappuccino..in fact, I just got done drinking some mint hot cocoa, yumm!
2. I like the *idea* of hot tea, but in actuality I don't like it at all.

3. I love watching old movies, like Doris Day movies or the Sound of Music :) I love that they leave you with a good feeling instead of being scared, depressed etc.

4. I am constantly writing to do-lists on Microsoft Word, and I love being able to delete those! :) p.s. We started using Microsoft Word to make those notes instead of paper...just a little way of going green I guess. ;)
5. I love being in the middle of a good book. The middle's the best part ;)

6. I love opening my e-mail inbox to see an e-mail from a friend :) Really love it!

7. I love having a good stock of the following-chapstick, ink pens, scrapbook glue and toothpaste ;) Haha! How's that for random?
8. I love rocking Katie to sleep....I probably shouldn't still do that, but I love it. She won't always be this little!
9. I love sorting through mail and being able to throw away all of the junk

10. I love it when I don't have to fill up the gas tank...hint, hint Kevin! :)

Well, I think that's it for now! I am going to try to get to bed soon since it's almost 11.

Oh! And I do plan on getting some belly shots soon, I've had a few people asking about that...I just have to find a day where Kevin can take some for me :)
Have a great week everyone!
Charin

Halfway there!! :)

I am officially halfway through this pregnancy, 20 weeks today! :)
I'm soooo ready to meet this little one, I can't wait.
But I'm also starting to get major nesting/panicky feelings because the babies nursery isn't anywhere *near* ready, in fact it still needs to be cleaned out before we can even start painting it and all of that good stuff.
I'm trying to work on that as much as I can in between work, spending time with my sweet baby girl and life. :)

Yay for the halfway mark! I'm finally over (for the most part, as long as I remember to take my medicine!) all of the icky being sick to my stomach 24-7.
I've started to feel this little one kick a lot more, mostly at night when I'm laying down and not distracted by a million other things...and I love it. That is one of the greatest feelings in the world!
I'm also about to have to move into maternity clothes, my jeans are starting to get uncomfortable in the belly section. ;) It seems like half of my maternity clothes from when I had Katie are mysteriously missing, so I'm going to have to find the time for a lil' road trip to Branson soon to pick up a few necessities. Normally you would think that a girl would be really excited about shopping, but I'm actually kind of dreading it! Oh well. ;)

This Friday is my ultrasound to say "for sure" if we're having a boy! I'm really excited about that...we may still get a surprise. My sister-in-law Brandi was told that they were having a boy up until about this point and they have a very pretty little girl Zoe. :)
I will be happy either way, I can't wait to find out!

Happy Monday that feels like it should be a Friday!
Charin

Complete cuteness :) :)

This company has *the* cutest accesories for the little girls in your life! :) And they're very affordable, I've been spending much more on bows for Katie at our local boutiques.
I'm having an online book party starting Monday, you're invited! ;) They have free shipping, too!
Thanks!
Charin

You're Invited!!
What: Oopsie Dazie Hair Accessories Virtual Party

Oopsie Dazie is a Stay-at-Home-Mom run company that specializes in creating unique and affordable hair accessories.
Hostess: Charin Reed
When: Monday-Friday, October 13-17
How: Place your order through the website (http://www.oopsiedazie.com//), and pay through PayPal. **In the comments section of PayPal enter: Charin Reed's Party** Orders will be shipped directly to you.
**If you should encounter any problems with the online ordering process, please email your orders directly to: http://us.mc554.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=oopsiedazie@mac.com
Thank you so much for participating, and we hope you enjoy your beautifully unique hair accessories!

Fall afternoons...

I love afternoons like this one :)
I got off work at 2, made a pot full of Taco Soup (my friend Candace gave me the recipe, she's an awesome cook!) and while it was simmering we took Katie outside to play "throw the ball" ;)

I also made this super simple card using Angie's tags. :) I have moved my scrap stuff into the dining room, to get the spare bedroom ready for little Colin :) And it's driving me nuts! I need to get it organized *badly*!

Anyway! ;) I wanted to share the recipe for the yummy taco soup, you should give it a try!

• 1 - 1 1/2 lbs. of hamburger meat
• 1/2 onion
• 1 can of rotel or spiced tomatoes
• 1 can of pinto beans
• 1 can of kidney beans
• 1 can of hominey
• 1 can of corn
• 1 packet of dry chili or taco mix
• 1 packet of dry ranch dressing mix

Cook hamburger meat and onion, salt to taste. Combine with all other ingredients in crock pot. Add desired amount of water to make more soup-like.

I hope the rest of your week is great! :)
Charin

Oooh!! I scrapbooked! :)

I am a little amazed! This is the first page that I've made in MONTHS! I've really missed scrapbooking, I just haven't felt like it since I've been so sick.

I photographed the page a little crooked, but you get the idea ;) I used some precious Love, Elsie goodies that I've been stashing and some new Sassafras Lass, love their products!

Goodby and Hello

I'm a little sad today, because we gave away our sweet dog Emma :( She was the sweetest dog in the world, and Katie loved her lots...but we could *not* get her house broken. She's almost 5 and we've had her for a few months now, so I'm afraid that she's just too old to be training.

Anyway, a toddler and a newborn on the way don't mix with a non-house broken dog!

We had a chance encounter with a lady at our local pharmacy, and we started talking dogs...she asked us to please call her if we ever decided to get rid of Emma. We had been talking about it quite a bit lately, even though it made us sad to do it.
But she's going to be better off now, her new "parents" are retired and will have lots more time to play with her, and she'll have a new dog friend.

But I'm not going to lie, I cried a little bit on my way back home from taking her to meet her new Mama. :( Katie hasn't noticed her absence yet, so I'm hoping she'll do ok. That would be the hardest thing, if she gets upset about her being gone!

In happier news, I finally met the super sweet Rachel! last night :) I met her online through Elsie, and we found out that her husbands grandparents live about 30 mins. from here :) I'm always amazed what a small world it is! They were down for quick weekend trip and we met up at the local fall festival...and being the dork that I am, I forgot to take any pictures of us together even though I was carrying my camera around on my shoulder!

But she is super super sweet and Sebastian is even cuter in person :)

Katie was dressed up as a pirate for the festival, I'll definitely have to get some more pictures of her in her costume to post on here. ;) She had a really good time...even when she nearly fell all the way into a duck pond game! Oh my! :)

I am going to try to get some stuff done around the house before Katie wakes up...she has been having the WORST sleep schedule lately! She's been waking up anywhere from 1-3 and not wanting to back to bed at all. I guess she's just getting me ready to have a newborn in the house again ;)
Charin