Busy Weekend

On Saturday I went to a baby shower for Laura, a friend from college while Danny and Owen spent a few hours together. It was a very nice shower with lots of yummy food and fruit! Laura received lots of great gifts to help her prepare for the baby-to-be (due in October.) It was so nice to get out of the house and do something girlie and to see some girls I haven't seen in years.


That night we made a trip to Target, because I felt we needed to, to get all the little things I felt we need for Ben (gas drops, Tylenol, etc) and all the postpartum things for me. I even picked up two really cute soap dispensers for the kids bathroom.

Sunday, we got up, made breakfast and then headed to the other house to mow the grass and clean the carpets. While Danny was mowing the grass, I took Owen over to the playground to play with the Fisher's. When we got back to the house, Danny had started on the carpets. The carpet in that house is almost white and we thought it still looked pretty good. We never wore our shoes in the house and we always spot cleaned with my favorite Little Green Cleaning Machine. With this said, we were amazed at how black the water was after cleaning the floors. GROSS! I can only imagine if we had wore our shoes, didn't spot clean and never vacuumed (although, I guess the Dyson still doesn't get all the dirt.) Needless to say, the carpets are now an even brighter shade of white.

When we left the house, we stopped to get gas and Danny left the car on, but not running. This way, we had air, radio and Owen had Mickey on the DVD. OK, not a good idea.... When Danny went to start the car, it wouldn't start. There we were stranded at the gas pump with no jumper cables. We called Roadside Assistance and waited for over an hour for the towing company to spend all of 45 seconds jumping the car off. We had plans to go to the pool, but our time was cut short and we had a birthday party to be at by 5 pm.

We got home, showered and headed to Meredith Peek's 2nd birthday celebration. Owen had a BALL!!! They had a big bucket of bubbles, a kiddie pool, a HUGE sand box, a bag toss, sidewalk chalk and lots of yummy food. Owen and Meredith were giving each other the sweetest kisses. Hopefully Laura will send me copies of the pictures to share.

36 weeks

Today I went for my 36 week appointment. Little Ben's heartbeat is around 130 beats/minute and I measured at 33 cm. Dr. Horton was a little concerned that I didn't measure 36 cm and that I had lost 1 lb, so she scheduled me for an ultrasound. Meanwhile, she checked my cervix and I am 3 cm dilated and 50% effaced with Ben head down.

I went to have the ultrasound and what a treat! I got to see Ben's little lips, eyes, chin, his feet and toes and the tech pointed out that he has hair and is indeed still a boy! He was moving just a little; mostly putting his fingers in his mouth and stretching with his little feet poking me in the left side.

As for what Dr. Horton wanted to see from the ultrasound, everything looked OK. She was afraid he might not be growing like he should, but everything measured at 36 weeks and his weight is estimated at approximately 6 lbs 5 oz. The tech feels he will be pretty close to what Owen weighed when he was born.

Cover Model Search

I have entered Owen in the Parent's Magazine cover Model search. Please vote for Owen. The more votes he gets, the closer he could be to the next cover model :)


Gallery Link:

http://www.parents.com/app/sharemy/photoDetails.jsp?photoId=219800529

Back on the market...

Today we are signing the paperwork to officially terminate the "to good to be true" contract we had on our house. Our buyer, the ones with no contingency and who were paying cash, pulled out of the contract when their buyer lost his financing in Florida. So now we are out the profit we were going to make on the house, we have had to turn back on the utilities, maintain a second home, pay a second mortgage, we have TWO sets of washers and dryers, a baby on the way and the headache of going through the whole selling of a house again.

Someone please tell me what the point in having a contract is for if there are no repercussions for breech of contract. Honestly, they are walking away scott free, other than $1000 earnest money, which doesn't come near paying for our losses and money spent. We spent that buying a new washer and dryer.

We really need to sell this house, so if you know of anyone interested, please send them our way. Also, if you need a washer and dryer, we have a 4 year old set that we would like to sell.

Here is the MLS link http://www.beverly-hanks.com/propertysearch2/detail/394449

** The washer and dryer are a matching Whirlpool Gold set. Super Capacity. They have the silver panel behind the knobs and the door handles are silver. We bought them in July of 2004. I'll try and take a picture of them when we go back over to the house on Thursday. We would like to get $450-500 for the set if possible**

Shower for Ben

I feel so lucky to have such wonderful friends! Yesterday, our good friend Julie threw a baby shower for our little Ben-to-be. Everything was just perfect and she had thought of EVERYTHING! There was tons of yummy food, punch and a very delicious cake from one of my favorite bakeries. Julie couldn't actually be at the shower (which was at her house) because she had been nominated for an Emmy and was in Atlanta for the ceremony and celebration. Our good friend Sara and one of my best friends, Ali, stepped in and helped execute all Julie's plans for the shower and helped to make this a very special day for me and something I can't wait to share with Ben.

The Yummy food

Me, Ben, my 12 chins and all the wonderful presents people brought!

We were showered with tons of diapers and wipes and some really adorable blankets, toys, keepsakes and little clothes.

Some of the most wonderful girls you could ever meet!
Unfortunately, my two gracious pseudo hostesses were taking all the pictures, so I have none with Ali and Sara :(

Thanks to everyone for celebrating little Ben's upcoming arrival with me!

** Just talked to Julie and she WON her Emmy!!!!! She said the station won 7 out of 9 nominations and she was able to take home one of the big gold awards like you see on TV. I am so happy for her and the Emmy couldn't have gone to a more deserving person!!!!!! **

Brace yourself...

for the largest "honey dew melon" you've ever seen. That's right, according to my Baby Center weekly update little Ben is approximately the size of a honey dew melon. OK, I think he's more the size of a large watermelon.

Did anyone happen to notice the ticker on the right? I am officially 35 weeks along. That means in 5 +/- weeks I'll have a little baby to take care of, hold, love and nurse around the clock. Am I really ready??????? AHHHHHHHHH. Where did this pregnancy go? Didn't I just tell everyone I was pregnant???

Here is what I look like at 35 weeks. Perhaps I should add a video clip of the way I waddle...



I decided I, I mean Ben, needed cupcakes. When I mentioned to Danny that I would really like some cupcakes (notice cupcakes is plural), he asked me if I wanted him to go get me some cupcakes. I said, "no, that's OK," "well yeah." And the next thing I know, I have these yummy cupcakes downstairs waiting for me, I mean Ben. OK, one for each of us.

Father's Day

For Father's Day, Owen and I let Danny sleep in , after Owen gave him his gift that is. "Owen" made Danny a coffee mug with a collage of pictures of them both together from the time Owen was born until now. Owen carried it Danny and handed it to him in bed. It was really sweet and Danny seemed to really like it.

When Danny got up, he immediately started working out in the garage. This weekend was mission garage organization. He started by clearing out the garage yesterday and cleaning and coating the floor. He finished that part this morning and at 9 pm, he started hanging things on the wall. We are hoping to put some cabinets and a work space out there once we close on the other house (until then, major $$ projects are at a stand still.)

While we were waiting for the floor to dry, we headed off to Weaverville for brunch at one of our favorites, Stoney Knob Cafe. While there, we ran into our friends Kelly and Koli and there adorable little ones, Charlotte and Barrett.

We left there and a quick stop at Lowe's for the 2nd time this weekend and then headed home. I put Owen down for a nap and Danny finally went and took some time for himself at the driving range.

Fence

When you have two dogs, a 19 month old and baby on the way, a fenced in yard is a must! At our other house (and I say other because, yes, it's still ours.... but that's another post for another day) we used the same fence company to construct a privacy fence. We loved it. It had 6 foot pickets with 1 foot of lattice at the top. When we moved into this house, we fell in love with the tree line at the back of our yard, and we didn't want to obstruct the view of any trees. So, we opted for a shorter fence. I had seen a few spindle fences that I liked when I use to walk the Biltmore Park trail, so I looked online for spindle fence designs and found one that I liked. We didn't want anything fancy or ornate, which you tend to get with spindle fences and we didn't want nor can we have a vinyl fence.

Here is what we came up with....


The gates were supposed to be a little different than the way they were made, but I still think they look fine. We had also opted for wood post caps (due to cost), but they used cooper caps instead, which look so much better.


I watched James and his crew build this fence, and I was amazed. They pulled up with a truck load of wood and hand cut every spindle, post and gate. They took very few breaks and built the entire fence in 1 1/2 days (not including the day it took them to set the posts.)

Sneak peek

Guest room
Kitchen
Foyer light

last year at Carowinds

Little Gym

Rather than signing Owen up for Kindermusik this summer, we thought it would be fun to sign our little monkey up for Little Gym. I took him today for a trial class, and he loved it.... Well, not at first. He clung to me the first 10 minutes or so, but soon after he warmed up and was all over the place.

The structure of the class reminded me a little of Kindermusik, which was good. They sing songs and work on developmental and behavioral skills as well as the physical components you would expect at a "little gym."

Owen did his first somersault and attempt at a cartwheel (both need a lot of work :))


Here Owen is eating his "Breakfast of Champs." OK, it was a quick breakfast including an Eggo and a banana (notice which one he ate first.)

Ready to go.... See the "tears" on his face? We hang our keys to the left of Owen in this picture. He was upset that I wouldn't let him have them.

Loving playing on the parachute!

and the little tunnel with his buddy Miles!

I am not sure what you call these bars, but he seemed to go to them a lot.

What were we thinking?

While we were in the Charlotte area this past weekend, we decided to take on Carowinds and the HEAT on Sunday. It was me, Danny, Owen, mom, Chip, and my cousin Lesa and her husband Ken. I can't ride the rides seeing as though I am super preggo and mom and Chip don't ride as it is, so Lesa, Ken and Danny set off to ride their first roller coaster as we sat in the best shade we could find. It didn't take them long to wait and ride the first roller coaster, so they headed off to #2. Ok, at this point we should have made a better plan than us sitting and waiting. After about an HOUR, and Owen being super fussy, me, mom, Chip and Owen headed off to the waterpark, just hoping the three thrill seekers could find us. Come to find out, they waited almost two hours to ride the ride. Thank goodness we didn't wait much longer.

They only rode the two rides and luckily found us in the kiddie section of the waterpark. It was at least 100 degrees and none of us were up for much other than being in the water, in the shade and drinking lots of water.

Shower for Ben

This past Saturday I celebrated Ben's upcoming arrival with the women in our family and a few close friends. My mom hosted an afternoon tea at an adorable tea house in Cornelius. We had delicious scones, a few finger sandwiches and an assortment of yummy desserts.

We received some really cute clothes, blankets, play mats, essentials and gift cards and $$$ to put towards getting a double stroller. I really didn't expect to get so much. It's nice to know little Ben is loved by so many before he is even born!

Danny brought Owen by at the end. He is such a mama's boy :) This was his 19 month birthday. Doesn't he look adorable with his new haircut and plaid shorts!

Catching up...

Visitors and play dates

and all things in between

Last week was a busy week for us. We were so excited when we found out our good friend Kristen and her daughter Erin were in town. I had an appointment to get my hair cut and Julie was kind enough to come play with Owen, so I could actually get a hair cut. While at the salon, Kristen's mom dropped her and Erin off and I brought them back to the house for a short visit. Owen LOVED playing with Erin. She's a silly girl and is full of ENERGY, just what Owen needed, since I have been less than energetic lately.

Here they are as they winded down a bit.



On Wednesday, I had my 33 week check-up. Everything is looking normal and I am measuring right where I should be. I hadn't gained any weight (probably since I have been non stop since we moved) and little Ben's heartbeat sounded great. I imagine starting either at my 35th or 36th week check-up, I'll start being checked for dilation and effacement.

Not long after I got home, our neighbors from the house we just moved from, Amy and her youngest son Adam from came over for lunch. They only stayed for about an hour, and I believe Owen LOVED every minute of it. He really enjoys playing with other kids.

Thursday, Danny came home for lunch while I went for a pedicure. It was WONDERFUL!!!! It was an hour long-heavenly and much needed escape. I had everything from a foot massage and scrub, leg scrub and massage, my feet dipped in HOT wax and put into these warm booties and finally, painted toes. All the while sitting in one of those massage chairs. It was something I should treat myself to more often. This was actually part of a package Danny put together for me for Christmas. I had already had a 90 minutes massage and I still have left a 60 minute facial. I'll probably save that for after Ben is born.

Friday we signed the seller documents for the house we were supposed to have already closed on.......It looks like it will be later this week before the actual closing will take place. AWWWWWW. And then later that after noon, Owen and I went and visited with our friends Maggie and Miles. Owen LOVES Miles. When we got to their house, Miles greeted Owen by saying, "Owen, I missed you!" It was the cutest thing I have ever seen. They play so well together and I had never heard so much squealing and giggling from two little boys.

Ben's Bed(room)

We finally got it put together the other night. I was dying to see what it all looked like out of the box and dressed. We still need to purchase a mattress and some decorations, but other than that, it's almost ready for the little guy.

Here's the chair I used with Owen. I decided I would put it in Ben's room for nursing.


As for a theme.... I hate to waste things I barely used with Owen, so I am sticking with farm animals. I wanted to reuse the Pottery Barn Farmyard Friends mobile and I have a girlfriend from high school making a picture with animals to go above the bed. I did go and buy letters spelling B-E-N at Michael's yesterday. I am hoping to get them painted and hung before he is born.... It will probably be pretty simple, but cute still....I hope.

The "Greatest" Show on Earth

This afternoon Owen and I met Katherine and her son Caden, whom we met a few months ago at Kindermusik, downtown for the circus. Owen and I had to park about a mile away and I didn't know how difficult it would be to take a stroller into the Civic Center, so I carried him..... pregnant and in 78 degree weather. When we got to the Civic Center, we waited for a few minutes for Kathrine and Caden to arrive and then we went to go in. Not that easy... The tickets we had were complimentary vouchers, not tickets, so they needed to be traded for seat assigning tickets. This meant both of us had to get in that LONG line of ticket buyers and hold two very squirmy toddlers. I think at this point we both wondered how good of an idea it was to actually be going.

Once we got our tickets, we headed to our seats. We had a great center view of the "one ring" circus.

Owen seemed to love the first half of the show, especially the music. They played the "Hot Dog" music from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse during a dachshund performance. He really liked the elephants and the man on the bicycle.

After a very brief intermission, I think both he and Caden were tired and ready to go. We left just after the tigers and headed home. Owen was asleep before I was even to the interstate. That was a little after three. It's 7:10 pm and he is still asleep. Probably should wake him so he'll sleep tonight. Poor guy has been drug all over this weekend! He's been to Dick's Sporting Goods, Bed, Bath and Beyond, Barnes and Noble, Lowe's and Target (for the millionth time.)


Here's Owen in the car on the way to the circus...

Watching the elephants, his favorite...

Sitting next to me for a SHORT period of time...

Not too sure about sitting in the seat...or maybe it was the acrobats?