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A Plentiful Life

Money Saving Tips

Big News for A Plentiful Life

October 16, 2019

It’s been very difficult to keep this big SECRET! This such an interesting time since we are overjoyed but are keeping the news very close to our hearts. I realized by telling people it would make it real and I was having a hard time. This pregnancy has brought a lot of anxiety, more than I imagined since we became a high risk pregnancy. I always thought in terms of weeks, we have to make it to 12 weeks and then everything will settle down. When you become a high risk pregnancy that changes. Now we have to get to 37 weeks. Although this journey has been different than anticipated we are so very thrilled to be growing our family and to finally share the news with all of you.

I know this is not an easy topic to discuss. There are others out there trying to get pregnant or struggling. This road was not an uncomplicated one for us. It took us a little longer than we thought to conceive and had a few bumps in the road. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me. I would be happy to offer support or encouragement to anyone trying to have a baby.

Here’s the really BIG NEWS! You’re probably wondering why we are a high risk pregnancy, besides my age, I will be 40 when I deliver, there are two! What?!? Yes you read that right, we are having twins!

Here is how we found out. When we were at our first ultrasound at around 8.5 weeks the ultrasound technician was looking at my uterus and kind of scowling, which made me nervous. I asked if everything was ok, she responded it all looked good. She then asked if we had done IVF, and I said no. She was still scowling. At this point I was getting a little worried. I looked to Mark and asked why? He could see the screen and said, “Because it looks like we are having twins.” My response, “Holy f*ck” I started laughing hysterically and then crying. There wasn’t one little babe but two?!? It was something I couldn’t wrap my head around. I am obviously beyond excited to welcome two little babies into our family and feel so lucky to be having twins.

I will answer the most common questions I have had so far, because I am sure you will have them!

DO TWINS RUN IN YOUR FAMILY?

No. We are having identical twins which are not genetic. The egg and sperm simply split in two. The odds of this happening are 0.3%.

HOW DO YOU KNOW THEY ARE IDENTICAL?

The kind of twins we are having are called mono/di. Which means they share the same placenta but have their own sacs. This tells us they are identical. Which is so crazy! They have the same DNA! The only difference will be their fingerprints, since that develops later in the pregnancy.

DID YOU DO IVF?

No. Although I am older and this is obviously an option we discussed in case we needed to go that route, we were very fortunate to have conceived naturally.

YOU MUST BE SO SICK.

Don’t hate me. Before our 8 week scan, I felt totally normally. I had a migraine for a couple weeks, but I am prone to migraines so I didn’t really think anything of it. Between around weeks 9 to 13 I would get nauseous at night. Mark and I had a time we called the witching hour. This is when I would need to go to bed, before I started to feel nauseous. It was usually around 8:30pm. Funny enough I’d fall asleep right away and sleep for 10 or 11 hours. From weeks 14 to now I basically fell like myself except I have a really big belly.

DO YOU KNOW THE GENDER?

We do, should I keep it a secret, or tell everyone? Our friends and family know, but maybe I will wait for the nursery reveal to tell the whole world!

I promise this blog will not turn into a twin mom blog, but you will definitely see some maternity fashion, a nursery reveal and tips on how to buy items secondhand, which won’t only apply to babies. I can’t even put into words how happy we are to be pregnant with twins. It feels like a miracle.

affordable pregnancy budget family budget mom frugal mom growing family pregnancy pregnancy announcement twin mom twins

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Tijana Popovc

A frugalista who hunts for great deals, try's her best to budget and navigates life as honestly as she can. I love thrift shopping, do it yourself projects, exploring the trails by our house, all the flowers, and spending time with the love of my life Mark.
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Hi I am Tijana and my mission is to show you how to live your best life on a budget to create A Plentiful Life!

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03.10.18 5 Years. 1. Our wedding dance. A random 03.10.18

5 Years.

1. Our wedding dance. A random, simple picture I saw on my computer. I feel like it could be a regular Tuesday night in the kitchen with Mark saying something funny and me laughing. Add in two toddlers, probably screaming for a group cuddle, just out of frame.

2. Second Date, 9 years ago.

3. DIY photobooth photos. I love these photos. We look at them every year. I always roll my eyes where I can see the night takes a turn and the backdrop is halfway ripped down, but it cost $40, sooooo...worth it. 

4. Evie, Poppy, and Mama. The photobooth was supposed to be an early surprise for our anniversary as the 5th year is wood. It's an old-school wooden photobooth that happens to be set up in North Van right now, but Mark got really sick. Instead, we did a girl date, had croissants, bubbly water, photobooth photos, and a craft session. 
 
I'm posting this early because I'm signing off social media for a bit. Life with two 3 year olds is full and takes a lot of energy. Marks business is thriving, and I need to be able to support in any way I can. Plus, if I have an extra 10 minutes, I probably should be doing some self care, not scrolling on my phone. 

✌️
Have you ever been shopping at your local Salvatio Have you ever been shopping at your local Salvation Army thrift store and looked up? There is so much to discover in the aisles above the racks. Everything you need for a fun and connected long weekend with the family. 

Games, puzzles, colouring, and more! I was excited to find a floor puzzle and a few games for our younger kids. All 3 games and the puzzle only cost $12! A great investment and definitely something that will get good use in our house for many years. 

Any plans for the long weekend? Going out of town or staying home, I would definitely suggest a quick stop at your local Salvation Army thrift store to discover all of the wonderful items to keep your family entertained all weekend long.

#aplentifullifethrifted #thriftstorefinds #thrifted #salvationarmythriftstore #thriftedgames #thriftedpuzzles #thriftkids #thriftkiddies
Last one, I swear! 🤭 Swipe to see the inside o Last one, I swear! 🤭

Swipe to see the inside of the rainbow cupcakes. Honestly, so easy, and they look great! Next time, I might reverse it and make rainbow icing and plain cupcakes, a bigger wow factor. BUT three year olds LOVE sprinkles, so this worked.

🌈✨️🧁
THREE! 🦄 🎉 🌈 I had a lot of fun with thi THREE! 🦄 🎉 🌈

I had a lot of fun with this one! Do you think I accomplished this on a budget? You bet I did! The only thing about being on a budget is that it can be a bit more labour intensive. 

I used cookie cutters again, which makes for easy prep. I cut out all of the sandwich pieces in advance and froze the rice krispies oncee they were made. The rainbow cupcakes I baked in advance and froze, so it was easy to take them out and ice the day of the party.

As for the decor, from the dollar store: 3 bags of balloons, 10 streamer rolls, and 2 unicorn felt banners. Plus leftover string, tape and a Happy Birthday kit, which included the foil balloons and rainbow balloons. Total: $32.50

Now that might not be the cheapest decor but when balloon garlands sell for hundreds of dollars, I think that's a pretty good budget
Yup, I'm that mom. 🫣😂 My kids will be embar Yup, I'm that mom. 🫣😂

My kids will be embarrassed by my enthusiasm one day, but until then, I'm bringing it full force. A few friends sent me photos, and I looked like this in most of them.
TWO! I thought we'd have a big party to FINALLY ce TWO! I thought we'd have a big party to FINALLY celebrate our girls last year but then another lockdown. We had a few family members, and it was nice, but I still went all out! 

Super affordable decor: cookie cutters, $1.99 plants, and butterflies (I think this was a set of 50 for not that much). I also bought secondhand butterfly wings for the kids to wear. 

The cookie cutter adds a level of fun to the food and a bit of themed decor to the table. Butterflies were easy to add throughout our house. Plants ended up outside on our front stoop afterward. 

PS I won the balloon garland! That would be a big party splurge.
The kids have taken over the bath! I wanted to fin The kids have taken over the bath! I wanted to find a nice storage solution for my bath essentials that didn't take up a lot of room. To find what I needed, I headed to the kitchen section of my local Salvation Army thrift store. You might not think the kitchen area is where you'd find bath supplies, but I was looking for something different.

I was so happy to find this heavy cheese plate with dome. It would keep all my bath supplies safe from small children. Then I fell in love with this terracotta pot for my Epsom salts, along with a porcelain spoon, simple candle, and small glass vessel for the matches.

The matches I found at the dollar store, they were long bbq matches, so I cut them to size and taped the striker onto the bottom. I love how it turned out, and I was able to use this secondhand glass jar in a new way!

Don't worry, the kids' toys are still there, I thrifted a small little basket to keep everything contained and in ONE corner.

#aplentifullifethrifted #thriftstorefinds #thrifted #thriftedbath #relaxingbath #momtime #selfcare #budgethome #affordabledecor
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