Just more pictures :)

2 weeks old!

My grandparents sent Keaton a John Deere Gator...He liked it...

But he LOVED the bag!

So sweet...

geeentle....

Teaching my boy about couponing....

The most fun all weekend!

Like father, like son!

First outing...#12....

Well, we survived our first outing today! Technically, I'd already gone out with both of them, but my mom was there to wrangle Keaton ;-) We had Benjamin's two week check up today and it went great! Lil peanut weighed in at 8lbs. 6oz!!!! Yay!!! Surpassed birth weight! And that was about 90 minutes after a feeding and moments after a HUGE blow out! I was super excited :) So, since last night was a calm night, I'm thinking that he was, indeed, going through a growth spurt earlier this week :)

Keaton did great until the nurse had me hold Benjamin while she measured his head (ding dong left the door to the exam room open!) and next thing I know, I see Keaton running into another exam room! One of our favorite pedis was just laughing saying it happens all the time and that it would indeed get easier! (yeh, if ding dong would close the door!)

Unfortunately, the thrush has traveled through B's system and has turned into...diaper rash! I feel SO bad for this little guy!!! But, the pedi assured me it would disappear in about 2 weeks (great)...so no cloth diapers until that's cleared up (b/c I don't feel like messing with liners and washing them separately, blah blah blah)

We go back on the 12th for his one month appt (in only 2 weeks!) Time is just flying by!

#12...yes - I was holding Keaton upside down today (not as bad as it sounds!) and I noticed his top, left, "fang tooth" is coming in! As bad as I feel for him, I really need the left side to catch up...this will drive me bonkers!

Well, both guys are down for a nap after the big adventure out...I'm going to rest a bit myself! :)

All Alone, Day 1...#11!

I survived!!! I was very nervous this morning...over what? Was I really threatened by a 16 month old and a newborn? ...Have you met said 16 month old?!? HaHa! But, the day went great! Pretty much, it was still "man to man" throughout the day, except for lunch and about the last 30 minutes before Zach came home!

We had a GREAT start to the day...backing up...Benjamin has either:
A) been going through a growth spurt - it is "time" for one...
B) decided to be colicky like Keaton was...
or
C) just completely inconsolable from about 430pm - 1030pm!

It was a rough couple of days of non-stop screaming in the evenings combined with non-stop nursing! Last night, Zach gave him 4oz. of formula to give me a break (bad mommy!!! haha!) but then...I nursed him again at 1130...and off to sleep we went....until 6am!!!!!! HOW sweet that sleep was!!!

Keaton woke up shortly after and Zach got his breakfast going...

Benjamin finished nursing and went back to sleep until about 9am...

Keaton went down for a nap around 9am until 11am...

Benjamin was awake from about 9-1045am...

I fixed Keaton's lunch, he ate, Benjamin woke up and Keaton "played" with him (he likes to "hold" him and point out his nose!) ;-)

I nursed Benjamin and he fell back asleep...

Keaton went down for a nap around 130pm (didn't go to SLEEP until 230!! ugh!)

Benjamin woke up about 3 to eat...

Keaton woke up about 330, had snack...

Zach got home about 415...

About 430, Zach took Keaton to WalMart for groceries...

Benjamin started his screaming, he just wanted a brief snack and is out for the count in his swing!

Dinner's on the stove and I'm waiting for Zach and Keaton to get back from Wally World!

I survived!!!! :-D

#11 - yesterday, I noticed that Keaton got another tooth! Finally - we've been waiting on that for a long time now! Poor kid, hopefully that is it for awhile, that was a rough one to get in! (front, left, next to front tooth...bad explanation - It's not his "fang" tooth, but the next one closer to the front...)

My grandparents sent Keaton a John Deere Gator (not a REAL one...that would be awesome though!) - it's a little plasticy one and if you open it up, there's a book inside (what real Gator has THAT?!?? The book makes it so much better!) ;-) Well, I gave that to him after lunch today...and all afternoon, he pushed it around, saying "Beep Beep"...it was awesome :) The other awesome gift was the tissue paper it was wrapped in (Keaton shredded it into small pieces and handed them to me and we counted to three and threw them in the air! It was fun until he started to eat them...the fun had to end then!) and the bag it all came in (I don't even have to tell you how fun that was!) :)

It was a great day all in all.

However, tomorrow we have our first outing! Benjamin has his two week check up. I was going to try to find someone to stay here with Keaton, but I decided that I just need to bite the bullet and go! So, hopefully that'll go well! :) I'm hoping my little peanut is at least 8lbs tomorrow! I will update as soon as I can! :)

Some new pictures :)

Just some updates

*Benjamin's nursing is going SO much better!!! He never screams when I try to get him into position, he latches great and for the most part stays on until he's done...We haven't been back to the chiro yet - I'm going to try to get us in beginning of next week. But I think another trip or two and his jaw should be all aligned and he'll be as awesome of a nurser as his big bro.

*Benjamin's thrush is clearing up! We still have to continue the treatment for about 2 more weeks, but if we can get this behind us we'll be golden!!! (And thankfully, I still don't have it!)

*The van started Monday night. Zach jumped it and took it to praise band practice no problems. I haven't tried to drive it since, but hopefully it was a fluke thing!

We've got T.S. Fay remnants here today. It's pitch black outside, rainy, windy...and just a good snuggle day - too bad Keaton doesn't understand that! ;-) In a year or so, we can spend days like this snuggled on the couch watching movies...wait...I don't think Keaton will ever sit still that long!

Today is my last day with my mom here! She heads back this afternoon and tomorrow I'm all alone with two crazy kids under two! Hopefully, it'll be a calm day with no surprises!

On Friday, I take Benjamin in for his two week check up! I'm anxious to see how much he weighs now... Last Wednesday, he was 7lbs. 13oz. and Monday he was 7lbs. 15oz. - the nurse, pedi and Lactation Consultant were all happy with that, so I guess I am too! :)

Well, since the guys are both down, I should be resting too!

Pray for us...

Just a quick note...Benjamin has thrush (basically a yeast infection in his mouth) Thankfully I don't have it myself. We went to the pedi (And lactation consultant) this morning and got some medication to clear it up...but, just one more thing!

Also, when I went to go, our van wouldn't start! Thankfully, my mom was here and I could take her car...but still...It's a Monday! ;-)

Oh, what a night...

Well, we had great intentions of making it to church this morning!! I so missed being away last Sunday and was so looking forward to making it back today...

But as Zach said, "Once we were up 5 times before 3am, I didn't think we'd be making it..." If Benjamin was awake, Keaton was asleep. If Keaton was awake (which is RARE anymore...dang jalapeños!), Benjamin was asleep! We just could not win last night!

And to top it all - I now have a head cold! Keaton's had a bad cough the past couple of days. I woke up this morning with a sore throat, congestion and his yucky cough...So I'm trying to keep even more hydrated than I already am to nip this in the bud as quickly as possible!

In other interesting news. I went to change Benjamin after a feeding this morning. I didn't turn his room light on, I just changed him by the light of the night light. I thought that I saw his cord stump had fallen off. I was too tired to think too much about it, but when I got back in bed, Zach stirred and I mentioned my finding. He just casually said, "Yeh, it fell off earlier..." ok, then! haha! When I was talking to my mom on the phone earlier today, I mentioned this to her and Zach was sitting near by and he laughed and said, "That stupid thing...it kept falling on the floor..." I wish I could have seen that! I'm excited about this "milestone" for three reasons.

1- We can cloth diaper full time now (his cloth diapers kept rubbing on the cord and I didn't think it looked too comfy, so I only did one or two cloth dipes a day...
2- He can take a REAL bath now!!!!
3- Keaton's took 6 stinkin' weeks to fall off and only then it came off when I took him to the pedi and they put silver nitrate on it (it fell off 24 hours later). When we were at the Lactation Consultants on Wednesday, she mentioned that it looked like it was going to come off soon. I told her about our ordeal with Keaton's cord and she said that whatever they did at UNC they did it right!

Well, both guys are sleeping...I'm going to rest for a bit!

Some confessions...

Ok, I really wanted to share this story but, decided that before I could, I needed an embarrassing Zach story to make it fair (fair for me!) ...fortunately, he granted that for me this morning! Last night, we're both sound asleep and (I'm not sure if Benjamin was crying for real or not) but in my dream, Keaton AND Benjamin were screaming at me that they wanted to nurse...I rolled over and said to Zach (I REALLY said this, this was NOT part of my dream) "I can't nurse them both..." He said (while laughing) "You don't have to..." I was hoping he'd forget that I said that by morning....but of course, he hadn't! But it was SO vivid that they were both demanding to eat...it was scary!

Zach's story...He cried during the movie Deep Impact today! (Insert belly laughs here!) I will say that it was during the part where the astronauts were saying good-bye to their families...but still...he cried during Deep Impact. Looks like I'm not the only hormonal one around here!! ;-) ((love you, honey!!!))

We were blessed with a yummy meal tonight! One of Zach's co-workers brought over chicken enchiladas and salsa. We decided to let Keaton try the meal as well (though I was a bit worried about the spices - mainly the jalapeños) Well, of course, in the midst of this yellow/bland colored meal, there's the bright green jalapeños...Keaton is going to town digging them out and eating them. Zach gets out the chips for the salsa and Keaton is begging for the salsa, so we let him dip a couple of chips. After about 5 minutes, he's holding his face screaming (I have tears I'm laughing so hard thinking about it) This child has never drank milk so fast in his entire life. He continued to dip the chips in his salsa and dig out the jalapeños ... he drank 2 huge sippy cups of milk at dinner!! But kept saying, "mmmm-mmmmm" throughout the meal!! Too funny!

Well, Little B man...Sugar Lump...My second dose of sweet pea is waking to eat...must tend to the needs! :)

This is the face of...

Relaxation!

I took B to the chiro today because we're having some nursing issues. Basically, he'll scream bloody murder when I try to get him to nurse on one side. We met with the Lactation Consultant and she agreed with me that it was most likely an alignment thing from his positioning (being transverse for so long) because there really isn't an issue on the other side. So, we made the trek in and everyone was so excited to finally meet the little man! Dr. Davis was awesome - as she has been with me and Keaton. Basically, one whole side of him is off and making it hard for him to turn his head to that side to nurse. Another issue is with his jaw being really off making it hard for him to keep the "nursing motion" going for long amounts of time. So she did all she needed to to him (basically, very light massage...and I was very jealous!) and she said with a couple of adjustments we should have this resolved. Although it was still a long and frustrating evening (we don't seem to have any problems during the day) and night, I could see some improvement.

We all go back in on Monday and I'm so looking forward to relieving these aches from the delivery (and sleeping on the hospital bed!!)

Keaton took my tank top and started wearing it like a cape...our super hero! :-D ((can I say again how thrilled I am to be a mama to boys!!!))

My Sugar Lump (I kept calling him Sweet Pea ...and I already have one of those so until some other name comes along, B is Sugar Lump!)

Keaton rockin' out on his guitar :)

Thank you for your patience! :)

It's been a crazy few days!

We were able to come home from the hospital on Sunday (got home about 3pm). We could have left on Saturday, but figured we'd get more "rest" staying there! (Isn't that sad! haha!) I was glad for the extra time there, but still very glad to come home - home to my bed, my couch...my baby!!! I was so glad to see Keaton for more than about 5 minutes! I missed him terribly. He wasn't too sure what to think of me at first and pretty much avoided me for about 24 hours (I tried not to take it too personally!) But today, he's been much more snuggly with me, which I am really enjoying :)

**From this point forward, because half the time, I may be typing one-handed, Keaton is "K" and Benjamin is "B"** :)

K has been awesome with B! I was so glad that we worked on "gentle" and K patting my belly. He has (minus 2 times) been very gentle with B. He loves staring at him while he (B) is in his swing. He's given him a handful of kisses and been very proud of himself for being gentle :)

B is doing...well, he's being a newborn! :) We're having some nursing issues (which is very hard for me because I had virtually no issues with K) It's made for some long evenings but we were able to meet with the Lactation Consultant after his appointment yesterday and she was very helpful and encouraging (like always!) We'll go back tomorrow and do a re-check of his weight (he did lose a little, which is typical in the first days, but not at all enough to be "concerned" about) and re-evaluate how he's nursing (his latch, position, etc...) Other than that - he pretty much eats, sleeps, and poops (and pees)...typical newborn behavior! :) We're trying to get him to realize that being awake from 9-1am is not what we have in mind (atleast he's not awake screaming from 1-5am like Keaton did!)

I will be posting more details about the birth for those interested in knowing them in the next couple of days...

For now - here's what everyone has been waiting for! :)

B resting on my legs after a good feed...

K thinking "WHAT is going on?!" :)

4 day old cloth diapered bum :-D

Sleepy man!

Yes, he does open his eyes...

For a short time ;-)

K giving lovin' to his brother!

Thumbs up! This guy's not so bad!

Announcing ...

Benjamin Cai Jones!!!!

the short of it all - after about 12 hours of labor (not counting all the pre-labor "labor") Benjamin made his arrival!!!

He weighed in at 8lbs. 5oz. and is 21.24inches long. He has a bunch of dark, brown hair! I think he favors Zach greatly :) And, I was able to have my completely natural VBAC!!!!

I will post more details and more pictures later but I wanted to announce him to everyone!

My poor baby...

Is teething something fierce! Ugh. He's showing all the typical signs for him - SUPER cuddly, taking lots of naps, not wanting to eat, gnawing on his hands, spitting up, and..."lots of diapers" (email me if you'd REALLY like more detail! haha!) yesterday he was also running a slight fever, 101.2.

He was acting in so much pain, we gave him Motrin before bed to help with the pain and the fever.

Well, mama bear was up all night going to the bathroom (because I just HAD to have salty popcorn before bed (ie: LOTS of water!)) and dealing with contractions & leg cramps.

Well, about 5am, I was finally getting settled after being up since 3 dealing with all this...then Keaton starts whimpering. We let him fuss for a bit but before long he was screaming bloody murder. Zach went and got him and brought him in bed with us...This child never ceases to amaze me with his constant movement! He flopped around the whole time, even when snuggled up against Zach or me, he'd be kicking a leg or flapping an arm! haha! I love it.

However, when Zach brought him in, he was even warmer than when we put him to bed.

So, I really thought at one point he was going back to sleep. Then. It happened. He popped his head up, got about 3 inches from my face, waved his sweet little hand and said, "HEY!" And then rolled over to Zach and did the same thing. I was crying I was laughing so hard :)

Then, he settled back down and I felt the bed moving a little bit. I opened my eyes and I could see Keaton's outline and he was oh-so-quietly signing, "eat." It was hysterical. He'd look my direction and sign it...he'd look towards Zach and sign it...stare at the ceiling, then point towards the door and sign it again. He was quiet about it for about 10 minutes and then he started to verbally let us know what he wanted.

He's been semi-snugly this morning, not as warm, but I can see the tooth (I think maybe teeth) coming in...

What great timing, son...He's had it since day 1 :)

A new baby & random pictures :)

No, no, no - Benjamin has not made his arrival yet (though, I'm timing contractions as I type!) However, some sweet friends of ours, Mat & Daisy had their sweet baby girl this morning! And what a story! They were here Saturday night for dinner and I was the one having contractions 8 minutes apart for some time. She was asking what they felt like because she didn't think she'd had a contraction yet. I tried to explain it to her and she agreed, she had not had one. Well, her contractions started Sunday morning before church and continued throughout the day. That night, they continued to get closer and closer together. They got to the hospital around 3am and she was already 9cm! She went on to have sweet Keziah around 410am - drug free!!! Way to go mama! :)

I'm hoping that we'll still be tag-teaming (ie: no Benjamin!) and able to see them in the next couple of days! CONGRATS Mat & Daisy!!!!! :-D :-D

Other than timing the contractions, we're just waiting! :)

So, we take pictures while we wait...

Keaton loves rubbing mama's belly - now that we've mastered "Be gentle!"

Keaton saying, "Baby!"

You don't have to be gentle w/ Mellow Yellow boxes though! :)

My sweet, silly boy!

Maybe he'll be a dentist?

I was tagged by Erin...

So I feel obligated to do this...she's going to make me think ;-)

1. Answer the questions using only one word.
2. Tag four others. (Becca, Angela, Whitney & Kacie)

Where is your cell phone? couch
Your significant other? phenomenal
Your hair? flippy
Your mother? awesome
Your father? around
Your favorite thing? rain (? haha)
Your dream last night? weird
Your favorite drink? tea
Your dream/goal? in-progress (I cheated, haha)
The room you’re in? chilly
Your hobby? Keaton
Your fear? bridge
Where do you want to be in 6 years? ...better
What you’re not? perfect
Muffins? strawberry
One of your wish list items? house
Where you grew up? hardy
Last thing you did? ate
Favorite gadget? iPod
Your pets? non-existent
Your computer? fabulous
Your mood? tired
Missing someone? yes
Your car? gone :( haha
Favorite store? target
Like someone? yup
Your favorite color? blue
Last time you laughed? today
Last time you cried? today

What?! We bought a WHAT?!

So, since we have known of another baby coming, we've talked about buying a van. Actually...after Keaton was born we talked about it, just for trip purposes - we're not what you'd call "light packers" :) Well, we knew this would definitely have to change with #2 on the way.

About 2-3 months ago, we went and test drove a Kia Sedona and really liked it! Unfortunately, it was a 2008, amazing and way out of our price range! So, we continued to look around, but not super hard. We knew this wasn't something that had to be done before Benjamin was born, but it would be nice (especially since we bought a double stroller and it wouldn't fit in the trunk of my Saturn!)

So, it's been on Zach's "to-do" list for a couple of weeks to call the Kia dealership and see what kind of deal we could get on a used Sedona. I found one this morning on their website that I really liked and wanted Zach to call about it...that was at 820am. It's 116pm and we own a van...

WHAT?! WE OWN A VAN!?

Unfortunately, the black one that I saw on the website had already sold, but the salesman was more than happy to show us another one "in the same price range." Since we didn't have a sitter for Keaton, I had to go on the test drive myself with the guy - insert 15 minutes of awkward conversation here ;-)

I really liked it - it drove great, some of the parts of the carpet are already colored, so I don't have to have a conniption when Keaton leaves a crayon to melt on the carpet ;-) The damage has already been done! :)

It definitely hasn't sunk in yet...I'm now one of "those mom's"...I did shed a couple of tears as we left my Ion behind in the Kia parking lot. I truly loved that car! It was such a blessing & it was such a faithful car! I just pray that this van will be the same...

I've now left Georgina (my 91 Civic) and Zoe (the 05 Ion) behind...I need a name for my new silver beaut :) ((Pictures will come, just not at the moment))

For now, I'm just going to sit and enjoy the Olympics and do a little house cleaning as we're having our friends, Mat & Daisy over for dinner this evening.

39 Week Appointment

Well, Zach got the chance to try to get to UNC again! We succeeded! After Wednesday, we really weren't sure we'd have the opportunity today!

I had a great appointment with one of the midwives, Jane (last appointment I had with her, I called her a gruff grandma, but today she was fabulous!). My only question for her was "how far overdue can I go?" Dr. Segal was going to give me a week and then do a c-section again. Before I could even ask, Jane started in on how I was allowed to go two weeks over and then we'd schedule an induction! I was really surprised that 1- they'd allow me to go 2 weeks and 2- they'd induce (but thankful because the risk of rupture doesn't increase much at all - I'm still more likely to have a surgical instrument left in me after a c-section than rupture! ...pretty good odds if you ask me! haha!)

Benjamin is VERY head down, I'm measuring right on (or "getting towards the end of the tape" as Jane said) and heartbeat was wonderful!

So, now we just wait and see if I make it to next weeks appt! She didn't offer to "check" today and I didn't ask! :) ((Sticking to my guns here!))

Right now, I'm getting ready to watch the opening ceremonies!!! I'm so excited for the Olympics!

We'll see what the weekend holds.... :)

There's a lima bean in here...

I'm going to make you wait for that story!

Well, exciting news...

The Olympics begin tomorrow!!!! I've been waiting for this since the winter Olympics ended...and then, some time passed and we found out we were pregnant again...we found out I was due 8/16/08 - 8 days after the Olympics begin. This may not mean much to the average NBC watcher, but when most of the shows you watch are on NBC and every night you hear, "10 days until the Olympics begin..." it becomes a little nerve wracking! Major freak-out session last night..."2 days until the Olympics..." ACK!

Let me just say - at this point with Keaton...the car seat had been in the car for 6 weeks, bags were packed and taken to every appointment "just in case", the diaper bag was also ready to go, the birth plan had been written, revised, and given to all the OBs in the office, his room had been set up for MONTHS...

This time...The car seat is in Benjamin's room...our bags are NOT packed (although one bag is STILL packed from Keaton, hahaa!!!) the diaper bag is....has anyone seen the diaper bag??!, There is a trash bag, a box of share shop items and another randomly filled box sitting on his changing table, I'm still looking for a glider/rocker on Craigslist (to replace the one in Keaton's room that will go to B's room...) birth plan...yeh, haven't gotten there yet...much less given it to even one of the midwives...wow...we're SO far behind! Seriously, if labor were to start right this second...I don't know what I'd do!

The crazy news - yesterday (Wednesday) was FILLED with contractions. Nothing "timeable" - they were anywhere from 5 minutes to an hour or so apart. However, they were all real and, hopefully, all doing something.

We went to the chiro this morning. Benjamin is head down still (EXCELLENT news since he tends to flip between visits!) and my chiro sat down to have a "Serious" talk with me. She informed me that should labor stall (either at home or UNC), he should flip posterior (as Keaton did, so there's like a 79% chance he'll do the same thing...thanks Keaton!) or I just "need" her, to call! Day or night! As soon as she could get away and come to me she would! One more number to add to "the list" :) But it was very encouraging and meant a lot that she would go through that "trouble" (She was mad at some patients this week - she had 2 ladies end up in unnecessary c-sections because their babies went posterior and they [the moms] just gave up/in to the surgery! She couldn't believe it!) She showed me somethings that Zach and/or Faye can do until she can get there (or in case she can't come)

Keaton got adjusted as well and even said, "oh wow" haaha! He must have heard me say it enough times over the past few months! :)

OK, ok, the lima bean...

So, I went to make chicken divan for dinner tonight. Zach had already prepared the chicken for me last night and I was going to throw it together during lunch, put it in the fridge and then put it in the oven at dinner time. So I'm pulling out all the ingredients and I realize we don't have any broccoli. The only frozen veggies we have are an "Italian mixture." I sent Zach a text and he gave me the go ahead (I already knew that I couldn't stomach chicken divan and wasn't planning on eating it...at this point, I was very glad that I had already changed my dinner plans!) So I threw in the mixture, looking at the picture on the bag, I really wasn't sure if Zach would eat it or not...

Dinner time came, he's eating away and all of a sudden he looked at me and said, "There's a Lima bean in here!" He goes through and starts picking them all out...

Then...

He gave them all to Keaton!! Keaton loved them and ate a HUGE serving of this version of chicken divan.

He may have liked it....but I will make sure I have frozen broccoli on hand from here on out!

No more stories...too tired :)

10 days and counting...

Well, starting at midnight! I can't believe it! This pregnancy has definitely flown by! With Keaton, I was only working very part-time, I could sit around and agonize over every movement, feeling, twitch and wonder what was going on...This time around, I've been so busy with Keaton and the move, I only know I'm pregnant because of the aches and pains...and random jabs to my ribs! It's been nice not "agonizing" over everything, but I so love being pregnant that I feel like I missed the past 9 months!

Our doula, Faye, came over last night. It was Zach's first time meeting her and things went great! I "found/met" her through the ICAN network/yahoo group, we had a playdate and found out that our first births were very similar (ie: long, long, long labors ending up in c-sections for reasons they didn't have to...ultimately) She went on to have a VBAC at home with her 2nd who is now about 18 months. She's super sweet & spunky, and the fact that she has had a VBAC and the training to be a doula really encourages me - hence why we picked her :) But she was very encouraging about having a natural birth (which, as each day it gets closer, I get more and more nervous about it!) She made note of my "birth preferences" and we just had an all-around great time of talking and goofing off :)

So the story of the day. I got Keaton all set up for his snack and ran to the bathroom. When I came back, he was sitting there with his hands over his mouth with his "uh-oh/amazed" look on his face. I asked what he did and he did his innocent giggle and the look again. After about a minute, I finally figured out what he was up to...(see below)







I couldn't help but laugh at that sweet, innocent face! He is just too much some days! :)

I'm too tired to think of anymore stories from the day and I really just want to go lay down (yes, at 7pm!...but Zach just left for praise band, so I can do that if I want to! haha!) :)

No appointments until the end of the week - Chiro on Thursday (if I can wait that long!) and Midwife on Friday afternoon at 4pm...with Zach driving ;-)

Simply Amazed!!!!

Ok, those who know me know that it doesn't take much to amaze & excite me! It's the simple things in life, right? :)

Well, there's a website that I check daily, babycheapskate.com. This site is part of the BlogHer network (community of women bloggers) and everyday, they post links to 4 sites "of interest." Usually, I find some random giveaway (how I won that huge prize package the other week!) or a site that I just love (see Petiteplanet.com on my link list). However, one of today's links took me to something that just astounded me! I even voiced an audible "SHUT UP!" as I read it (ie: you know it's good!)

The link took me to the blog, northerncheapskate.com and an entry entitled, "Saving Money With My Dishwasher." Now that we are proud "owners" of a dishwasher, I was very curious! In the blog, she went on to say that she [the blogger] hits the delay start button on her dishwasher so it doesn't start until "off-peak hours" with her electric company! I quickly went to our electric company's site and searched for what that would be!!

Not only did I found out the hours, but I also found out that it's SO much cheaper to wait until 9pm (or between 1-4pm!) to do "big" things (ie: dishes, laundry/drying, etc...) And when I say cheaper, here's what I mean:

MONTHLY RATE
I. Service used during the calendar months of June through September:
A. Basic Customer Charge: $21.00
B. kW Demand Charge:
1. $10.10 per kW for all kW of on-peak Billing Demand
2. $ 1.00 per kW for all off-peak excess Billing Demand
C. kWh Energy Charge: 5.329¢ per on-peak kWh 4.126¢ per off-peak kWh

II. Service used during the calendar months of October through May:
A. Basic Customer Charge: $21.00
B. kW Demand Charge:
1. $7.48 per kW for all kW of on-peak Billing Demand
2. $1.00 per kW for all off-peak excess Billing Demand
C. kWh Energy Charge: 5.329¢ per on-peak kWh 4.126¢ per off-peak kWh

I was simply amazed!!!!! (For those in the Raleigh area that use Progress Energy, here's the link to the pdf file that contained this info: http://www.progress-energy.com/aboutenergy/rates/NCScheduleSGS-TOU.pdf)

Too bad I had already washed/dried diapers for the day! But now I know!!! :)

A Ticking Time Bomb

I decided that's what I feel like. I don't know that I really felt this way with Keaton, but right now, I feel that way. "13 days" seems so much more "real" this go round!

This morning, getting ready for church, I resigned myself to the fact that I am going to live in my comfy gauchos for the next "13 days" (quoted because it could be more...or less...eek). (For those who are unaware what gauchos are...they are the silliest looking pants, but I swear, I have never been more comfortable! They're super stretchy and just amazing!)

I had asked some dear friends from church to borrow some maternity clothes. My main concern was shirts (now I'm down to the one pair of pants and I don't care!) I got a lot of dressy/cute shirts, but, I don't have any pants to wear them with! However, one friend (Carrie P!) lent me a ...ugh...Florida Gators shirt. I don't like Florida and at first I said, "Nah, I'll pass..." but then, I felt the shirt. Wow. It was the softest shirt I'd ever felt! I then said, "OK, but I'm not wearing it in public!" ...48 hours later, I found myself in Babies R Us in said shirt! (The shirt, by the way, has the Gators emblem and reads, "Future Champion"...please...haha!!) I had comment after comment of "Go Gators!" "Alright Gators!" Seriously people...we're in Tarheel country!!!!!!!! Well, I have sense found myself wearing this shirt everywhere because it's the only thing that covers my belly! (EXCEPT to my appointments at UNC...no way will I wear it there!!) I feel like a complete traitor wearing this shirt...I'd turn it inside out, but then it's just Duke blue and that's not appropriate either!

We went to Applebee's for lunch today, yes, another craving! :) And Zach got a chocolate mousse thing for dessert. It was covered in whipped cream, so we were letting Keaton eat some of that part. Then Zach had a brilliant idea, "Give him a bite of the chocolate..." Preggy brain over here said, "OK!" and gave Keaton a bite. He hadn't even swallowed it and he was "mmmm'ing" up a storm!! We reaped the wrath of chocolate-induced-Keaton for a couple of hours...then he crashed at bed time :)

Funny story time (maybe). We listed a bunch of items on craigslist this weekend to clean out the storage unit/some of our closet space here. Well, this was one item we listed:
And I listed it as a "Swordfish Snout" - totally not expecting to get any takers. It was one of the first items to get a response! I was really looking forward to meeting the person coming to pick up this item! Who searches on craigslist for such a thing! He gets here, takes one look at it and says, "You know what this is? It's not a swordfish...it's a sawfish..." Stupid preggy brain again!!! Duh!!!! Because it looks like a SAW not a SWORD...stupid! He drove 30 minutes to buy this thing...for $10!!! Whatever - we got rid of it! He was all excited to take it to his "beach house" to display it...I can imagine the story he'll tell when people ask where he found such a treasure...

I'm too tired to come up with anymore stories, so I'll just share my newest, most favorite picture of Keaton. We had to run by the storage unit to pick up a couple of things/measure some stuff/take pictures and he oh-so-patiently waited for us...

Our Saturday

Well, our Saturday started like everyday - nice and early, thank you son ;-) Keaton definitely got my "early riser" (pre-baby) genes! So Zach made pancakes, we had breakfast and then headed to the Farmer's Market. We are currently (and hopefully not much longer!) using WIC and they give out vouchers in the summer to go to the Farmer's Market and get yummy fruits and veggies! We wanted to make sure we got there early to beat the crowds and the heat!

Well, we definitely beat the crowds (or missed them! haha!) but the heat...definitely caused a good number of contractions. I was in tears by the time we got home thinking today would be "d-day!" I drank up lots of water and did my best to rest between loads of laundry. Zach oh-so-kindly took Keaton out for a stroll in his "new" double stroller and to play on the playground here at the apartment complex. Later in the day, the guys made a Wal*Mart run (on tax free weekend, nonetheless! Had I gone with them, Benjamin would without a doubt be here!)
Over the course of the day, the contractions subsided, but I continued to try and rest.

We had $24 in vouchers to spend at the Farmer's Market. We got some yummy watermelon, cantaloupe, peaches, sweet corn, blueberries, squash and cucumbers...and nothing got left in the car this time! :) As annoying as WIC is (the appointments and never-ending problems when trying to check out of grocery stores!) I am so thankful for this little "treat" of free fruit & veggies.

After dinner, Zach gave Keaton a bath and they cleaned up his room and the living room and then Zach put him to bed. While I was putting away towels and sheets in the linen closet outside of Keaton's room, I heard a sweet noise. I motioned to Zach and he came over to the door - Keaton was singing to himself! He did this for about 90 seconds, and that was it. He was out for the night! So cute!!!

OK, some funny stories from yesterday & today:

1- Last night, we had Hamburger Helper for dinner. For those who know Zach, they know that pre-marriage, he lived off this stuff. Pre-baby, not much changed ;-) Post-baby, we rarely eat it anymore. And since Keaton has been eating whatever we're eating, we NEVER eat it. But, I just couldn't bring myself to fix a meal last night, so we pulled out a box of Cheesy Enchilada Hamburger Helper mix and Zach went to work cooking dinner. I didn't even think about what Keaton would eat until we were sitting down! We decided just to let him try it. He'd had taco meat before, he loves my taco bake..."same thing" (!!!) He took one look at it, stuck his tongue out and made the WORST face ever! And then...it started! The screaming! "NO NO NO!!!!" He had real tears and everything! It was amazing!!! This coming from the child who has yet to only refuse peas (again, I say, who can blame him?!) I gave him a spoon to play with, er, um...eat with...and after a few minutes, I noticed he was basically copying us! We put tortilla chips in our hamburger helper and mix it all together. Keaton was sitting there stirring up his meal and then taking a bite! It was great! He did go on to eat a decent amount :)

2- NOT a Keaton story! (gasp!) So, last night, Keaton was in bed...it was about 830pm and I was brushing my teeth getting ready for bed. All of a sudden there was this super loud banging on our front door (not that we have a back, but whatever!) I run out there with toothbrush/paste all over the place and look through the peephole - It's Brown!!! (aka: UPS) at 840pm!!!! I opened the door and the guy said, "Jones?" giving me the strangest look...ever! I nodded and he said, "Here's a package..." Had I not had toothpaste foaming out of my mouth, I probably would have said, "At 840pm??? PM??" (OK, so I'm showing how dorky we are and that we go to bed at 830 at night, but that is NOT the point of this story!) Anyone else get packages this late at night?? OH - what was it? The diaper cake I won from my BIG giveaway!!!! 3 layers of Seventh Generation, Size 1 diapers, some baby powder (that you're ...not supposed...to use....on babies...) and a brown teddy bear - super cute! :)

3- On our way to the Farmer's Market this morning, my news-nerdiness became very apparent. We ended up going a much different way than I had planned, thank you Google and your weird directions that seem to always put me in the wrong place! We were driving down this one road, looking for another road and then I see it. In all its amazing glory...WRAL news station!!! MY FAVORITE news station!!! I was SO excited, I completely missed our turn! Luckily, our turn was down that street, so I got to drive by and admire it...twice ;-)

Ok, no more stories :) That was our Saturday. Hopefully our Sunday will be a little less exciting! ;-)

38 weeks!!!

Well, the two trips to the chiro yesterday and well over 3 hours with my tush in the air did some good! I had an appointment with my midwife today (I call her mine, there's 5 or 6 there, but I happen to see this one every time! haha! She great! She loves Keaton! That's all I care about!) :) I immediately asked about his position and we checked (Benjamin must love Deb too, because he is ALWAYS head down in PERFECT position for her!) And she once again was amazed that he moves around so much! He did flip sides (last visit, his spine was on the Left, this time it was on the Right, but that's apparently unimportant!) She encouraged me to spend as much time as possible in the "hands and knees" position to keep him where he is.

I declined the fabulous "check" to see if I have dilated or effaced because, I learned with Keaton, it means nothing. (My OB did the check and informed me, at 36 weeks, that I was 1.5cm and 50% effaced and told us we'd most likely be having a baby that weekend! ...4.5 weeks later, Keaton was born. I decided after that I would refuse all "checks"...stupid dr.!) I have been having a lot of contractions, mostly "fake" "practice" ones (you KNOW a man came up with the idea of Braxton-Hicks being "practice ones"...he never had one!) However, about 1-3 real ones a day. Deb was SO excited to hear this and was all giddy and reminding me that my body knew what to do!

Other than my 15 minute appointment, it was a fairly uneventful trip to UNC (thank goodness!) I did forget if I parked on 4C or 4D, but I had sent Zach a text message telling him, so I'd have a reminder! haha! :) My BP was good, I've only gained 9lbs! (Not to mention the 15lbs I didn't lose after Keaton was born haha! Deb was SUPER proud of this...I'm too tired to care!) And, I go back next Friday afternoon and Zach will actually be able to go with me due to a slight change in his work schedule! He gets a free pass and an extra trip/try to get to UNC! ...assuming Benjamin doesn't get any crazy ideas between now and then!

Well, it's officially August! 16 days til I'm due...8 days til the Olympics (Can I just say, I'm excited to watch the Olympics while I'm laboring! haha!! It'll give me something to focus on...for some reason, The Weather Channel and Little House on the Prairie didn't do it for me with Keaton! haha!)

And I must brag on my sweet boy! He was AWESOME, once again! at my appointment! He just sat in his stroller, ate his O's (Cheerios) and drank his water...and pointed out the lights to Deb about 900 times - and each time she was just as amazed that it was a light as he was! haha! The highlight (because, you know, there has to be one!) She pulled out the Doppler to listen to Benjamin's heartbeat. Keaton's jaw dropped. He looked at me and said, "WOW WOW WOW!" I couldn't stop laughing!!!