Sunday, August 28, 2011

39 weeks + 1 day!

Keelin was born at 39 weeks and 1 day. SO, not being in labor, this is officially the longest I have ever been pregnant.

I am seriously thinking that Finn is going to be my true wildcard child, be born a week post dates and be somewhere in the range of 10 pounds.


Picture taken at 38 weeks and 5 days.
I'm counting it as my 39 week photo!
:)
It truly feels like this child could fall out in the floor.

Tim and I are enjoying our evenings after the kids go to bed.
We've started watching Sons of Anarchy on Netflix!
We're chowing down on my homemade salsa.
I'm rolling wool dryer balls.

Trying to not get impatient, since I could go for a while longer!
But we're ready whenever he is.

Happy 29th Birthday to Tim!

My husband, Tim, turned 29 on Friday!
He hasn't celebrated his birthday in the states in TEN years.
Gotta love being military, I guess.

Anyway, it was really exciting to have him home.
We decided not to go out to eat and stay in.
BUT that didn't deter me from spending way too much on groceries and inviting the family over!

Now, I'm no photographer, but I had to share.

We had teeny taters!
Sprinkled lightly with my favorite pink Hawaiian sea salt.


Steamed lobster tails!


Asparagus with sea salt and olive oil.


Seared scallops.
Absolutely melt in your mouth!


Buttered and grilled corn on the cob.
One of my favorite summer treats!


3 kinds of grilled chicken.

HUGE, tender ribeye steaks!


Per Tim's request, a German chocolate cake!
I hit up the bakery for this one, since anyone that knows me knows I burn anything sweet that comes into my kitchen!

We decided that his birthday gift would be the motorcycle we bought last month.
He seems pretty happy with it!

Happy Birthday to the best husband and father!
:)
Love you, Tim!!!


Saturday, August 27, 2011

Pasta Sauce, Ketchup, and Tomatoes - oh, my!

Before Kate and I ran away to the beach,
yes, three weeks ago-
we canned tomatoes!

I believe these will be the last tomato products I put away this season, unless I find the time to make more salsa- but I'm not entirely sure that will happen.


My two quarts of pasta sauce-


My two quarts of plain tomatoes-


My one quart and 3 pints of ketchup-

My portion of our tomato goodness!

It was very satisfying to put all of that away!
Hate that it's the last of my tomato stuff...
With the car accident recovery still happening and the baby's birth expected to be any time (I'm 39 weeks today!), I'm pretty sure I'm done canning summer fruits and veggies.

The last of my pickling, from a while ago

Before the accident, I finished off more of my "to do" list and have forgotten to post pictures!


I made HOT pickles

(seriously, the solution heating up was SO spicy that it made me gag, so I wore Tim's mask that he used when he painted his motorcycle!)

And I made dilled green beans!

These are delicious chilled as a side dish... crunchy and flavorful!


7 quarts of hot pickles
(even got to use some of my homegrown jalapenos in them!)


4 pints of dilled green beans
(made with Kate's green beans, so I owe her a couple of jars!)
hehe :)

My friend and doula, Tequita, let me pillage her fig bush!
I was going to make fig preserves, but I ate them all, instead.
lol

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Giveaway Winner is...

DANA!

Random.org picked comment #3

I've already messaged you about your prizes.
Congrats, lady!!

Monday, August 15, 2011

Bye-bye Minivan.

On Saturday-

Tim and I were taking Jackson to see a movie.
We were stopped at a red light and were rear-ended by a 21yr old guy.
He told us he was looking at a shiny car in a dealership lot.
He never even saw us.
Tim saw him, though, and said, "He isn't going to stop."
or something to that effect-
and he didn't.
He hit us going 35-40mph, never braking.

There is significant frame damage to my van.
It's totaled.
It was hauled away on a flat bed truck.

It was a good run, minivan!
I got to enjoy you for a whole 6 months.
*sigh*

We now have to find a new van, replace the 4 carseats that were in the van (already re-purchased 3, still need to get the 4th replaced... it was my niece's seat and she is rarely in the car with us, so there's no rush on that one)

Hopefully, all before I give birth to this baby!

You can't see Keelin's seat in the 3rd row.
Thank goodness she wasn't in the car.
I can't imagine how badly she could have been hurt.
It actually hurts my heart to think about.

Her seat will be trashed- no seat that has been in an accident should ever be reused.
The integrity is compromised.

The baby's brand new seat (new in the box) was in the trunk.
It can never be used.

Jackson was rear-facing in his seat.
He is the only one of us that isn't in pain.

The EMT that examined me and Jackson told me that Jackson would have likely sustained serious spinal damage had he been forward facing (and that Keelin would probably have been injured had she been in the car, just because of how we were hit, even though she would have been in a 5 point harness)... that he wishes more parents would be mindful of the fact that forward facing is NOT a milestone- rear face to the MAX. It can truly save your preschooler's life.

By the way, Jackson is 27.2lbs, 35" tall, and almost 31 months old.


Here is my little guy playing while we waited for Tim to come back for us with the rental vehicle.
(Serious kudos to the folks at Rice Toyota in Greensboro, NC for looking out for us after the accident while Tim took care of getting us something to drive home.)

He went and got our rental, bought a new carseat for Jackson, came back to get me and the little guy, then we went and bought a new carseat for Keelin and a new carseat for Finn.

On the other hand, our rental isn't big enough to fit 3 carseats (it's a Jeep Grand Cherokee), so we really need to work out some details before I go into labor. hehe

We had just gotten his hair cut.
Looks like a different boy!

So poor Jackson...
This weekend, he got stitches, got a haircut, got into a wreck, and STILL never got to go see Cars 2.



Putting Humpty-Jackson back together again...

On Friday-


My baby boy slipped in the bathroom
:(


We took him to Urgent Care, hoping they would tell us a little Dermabond (purple superglue, basically) would do the trick.

No such luck, due to the placement of his injury.


My teeny love had to get 4 stitches. 

I will NEVER forget how horrific it was to watch Tim have to hold him down, all the while him screaming, "Help me, Mommy!" He begged me to go get the car and take him home. I wasn't sure what to do with myself, so I tried not to cry or barf, wiped his tears and tried to distract him with mindless chatter.

He screamed and cried so hard while they were stitching him up that he burst blood vessels all around his eyes. They're just now starting to look somewhat normal.

It was a helpless feeling.
Talk about feeling like the worst mom in the world...
when they beg you for help and you knowing that what is terrifying them is what's best for them.

The stitches come out Tuesday.
UGH!

And I thought it couldn't get worse until Saturday.

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

24 days until my due date- so, a GIVEAWAY!

In honor of the impending birth of our third baby,
The small person we have yet to meet,
The reason I've been a slack blogger lately-
I want to show my readers some love!

I've ordered a lot of great things for him from
In preparing for this baby, I've been making extra cloth wipes, since I know we'll run through a lot more when we have newborn diapers to change!

 I saw these CUTE cloth wipes.

And you know I'm a sucker for rainbows, so I bought myself a pack.
Yes, myself... not baby 
(Oh, yes, and I bought you a pack, too!)

We use family cloth (cloth toilet "paper").
By we, I mean me and the kids.
Tim isn't sold on it, and that's fine. 

When it's clean, I keep it in a basket on the back of the toilet.
Used cloths get put in the bin with the cloth diapers waiting to be washed.
It sits to the left of the toilet.
(a small Rubbermaid tub with a lid is perfect!)


A dozen rainbow wipes- good for you, for baby, for anything!
Two of each color.
They wash up really well
(no shrinkage)
and they're super soft!


Made by Turtles R Us
Purchased by ME!

Just for you!


You have a week, until August 17th at midnight, to enter!
I will announce the winner August 18th.

Also, I will give the winner a little something extra!
TWO different samples of Rockin' Green!
Rockin' Green is my favorite laundry soap and the only soap that touches my cloth diapers and family cloth!

The two scents will be a surprise.
They will be in the Classic Rock formula-
There will only be one winner!
Prize Pack: 1 dozen cloth wipes and enough laundry soap to do many loads of laundry in a high efficiency washer.

Ways to enter:

1. Mandatory entry- follow Where Am I with GFC. Leave me a comment letting me know you do, including your email address so I can contact the winner!

Additional entries:

2. Post about this giveaway on your blog OR facebook
(leaving a link to show me where)

3. Put my button on your blog
(leave a link here to show me where)

Happy winning!

36 week beach trip

Tim was out of town this weekend, so my friend Kate offered to hit the beach one last time with me and the kids!
I was 36 weeks pregnant!

Jackson wanted to share with his sister.


I guess he didn't think a sleeping Sissy might not be interested in a snack!


Getting in some beach time!

Precious!

"Come on, Jackson!!!"
"Immmmmma comin', Sissy!"


I lost my black bathing suit top, so I snagged this swimsuit on sale.

LOL at myself in orange!


Those waves were wild!


Jackson preferred sand creations to the waves!


I kept calling him, but he wasn't particularly interested, but Keelin and I had fun!


Taking a break from getting wave beaten!

Kate taking one for the team!


We got to have lunch at Wilmington's Mellow Mushroom with my friend Jessica and her husband!
Jackson wanted to be in the picture!


Keelin's turn to be in a photo!
Jackson was blowing bubbles in his carseat- LOL!


Baby Power (36wks) and Baby Brock (26wks)

:)

Enjoying the ferry!
(Yes, we do it every time! It's only $5 to put my van on!)

Jackson's hair was wild!


Navigating the ferry, holding hands.


Me and all of my kiddos!

LOL @ the craziness.


They are too sweet!


Kate helping Jackson out with the view!

Jackson sitting on Finn.

Keelin being fabulous!


Jackson looking for sharks-

hehe

Just a few final things for baby--


Beautiful outfit that I won in a giveaway from Green Child Magazine!


West Coast Baby = love!
I wish you could feel how soft this bamboo is!


A natural teether-
no crapola inside that would concern me!
(BTW- purchased as an online return item in store for $8)

(Could someone inform the other companies that you CAN have a good teether/ children's item without it containing BPA and other ridiculous junk?!)


A GroVia OS AIO cloth diaper-
my first of this brand!
I ordered some nursing supplies and used a code for a free diaper.
This is what they sent me!
Exciting.
Oh, and the nipple cream I ordered?
Backordered.
*sigh*


A moses basket!
We're cosleeping.
More specifically, bedsharing.
This will be helpful for naps and such!


Under the Nile rattle for the little guy.
(A company with ethics, people!)


Bright Life Toys
pocket gnome
:)
Super soft organic bamboo velour
(I'm going to order two more- for Jackson and Keelin)


Custom diaper- a minky and sushi print from Ebber-Deeber
This was one of my splurges for our new baby.
It will be the first cloth diaper we put on him!
:)


Basically, this child has a moses basket, a carseat, a few carriers, cloth diapers, some clothes (almost all used, mostly organic materials), some woolies, some organic or WAHM made toys...

Minimalism has made preparing for this sweet boy an absolute joy. I've gotten to purchase some fantastic "crunchy" items, enjoy yard sale season, and I don't have a house full of baby junk!