Has it really been 6 months?!

I got together with some wonderful women a few weekends ago and the topic of my blog came up. Why haven't I been blogging in over 5 months? Because of my super sweet little joy of a son, Eli! I'm not sure if I even know where to start so this post is going to be all out of order.

I'll start with when Eli arrived. This is my post from Facebook:

Elijah's due date was July 18th, 2009 but he decided to join us July 1st! The story starts June 30th at 8:30pm. I was at work when I felt what I thought was my water breaking. I wasn't having contractions so I called David and told him I was on my way home and for him to get the car ready. As soon as I got home we left for the ER. We were both very nervous! When we got to the OB floor they went ahead and put me in a LDR (Labor Delivery and Recovery Room). The nurse checked to see if my water had broken and the strip showed negative. At this point we are laughing because it looks like I peed on myself and still nervous about what is to come. So we call everyone and tell them it's a false alarm and to go home. My blood pressure was 190 over something so they were going to keep me for awhile to monitor that. About an hour later I started feeling pain in my lower abdomen. The same nurse came in and said I was not contracting and she didn't know what the pain was from. I am in tears at this point, it was really starting to hurt! My sister had decided to come anyway and when she saw how much pain I was in called Mom to come. The nurse called the on call to see what she thought the pain was. After about another 30 minutes she gave me two percosets, which did not help. After that I got an IV that helped me breathe through the pain. After about another 30 minutes the team lead nurse came in and said that I was having contractions. So I tried to get some sleep but that was not really happening. About 3:45 my water really breaks. (The next day they admitted they got a false negative the first time they tested me). So David starts to call everyone to come. At this time I was 7 cm along and they came to give me an epidural. After a few minutes it kicked in and seemed wonderful. Wonderful for about an hour...... As the time passed the I started to feel contractions again. This time they were really painful. I tried to breathe through them, to focus on welcoming them and that it was time for Elijah to come. It helped but it was still very painful. So they topped off my epi twice before I started to push. After the second time I started to get awful upper back pain. it was constant and I felt as if I couldn't move. I was 10 cm along around 10 am or so, I don't really remember! So I started to try and push. I tried so hard to push but Eli just wasn't progressing and started to stress on the monitor. Dr. Dykes came in and decided to do a C-section. They got David ready in scrubs and partly prepped me. When they took my to the OR David had to wait for them to finish prepping me before he could come in. They started to give me drugs to numb my stomach. The nurse kept asking if I could feel where she was poking and I could. They tried to give me more and I could still feel. So Dr. Dykes said I was going to have to go completely under. The last thing I remember is breathing in the mask and the next thing I know it's 2:30 and I'm back in my room, I look over to see David and my sweet baby boy. All I wanted to do was hold Elijah but I couldn't wake up enough. It wasn't until 5:30 when I was actually awake enough to hold him. It was the most amazing experience of my life. I was so overjoyed, I can't even explain it.

So that's Eli's birth story, I tried to keep it short! Elijah had jaundiced but was able to come home Saturday (after he was born). When he was born he weighed 6.7 lbs when we left he weighed 6.1 lbs and on Monday he was down to 5.9 lbs. The doctor ordered another jaudiced test and we met with a lactation consultant to work on nursing. She is amazing and I highly recommend Jackie if any of you girls need help! When we went back to the doctor on Wed Eli was up to 6.2 lbs and the jaundiced was much better!

So now that I have his birth story we can move on to the last few months. They have been a whirlwind of excitement. My Uncle Allen told me when you have a child it's like getting on a roller coaster that never stops. The is the best description ever! (They have a son, Smith, who was born in April) Eli has grown so much, at his four month check up he was 15 pounds, I know is his much bigger now. We tried to start rice around Thanksgiving but the organic brown rice did not agree with his tummy and he got sick from a virus. Now we are on regular baby rice twice a day. I am very excited to start trying foods soon, I think he is ready. Whenever anyone eats around him he is very intrigued. Of course we think he is just the smartest baby ever! :) I am planning on making my own baby food, it's pretty easy, cost effective and much better for baby. Also, cloth diapers, I am doing them part time! It's very easy! I have some Haunt Pocket All In Ones that I use every other day. I also just bought a cover and prefold, I'm excited to try it out and see which one I like the best. Cloth diapers have changed so much over the past few years, there are many options now.

What else have we been up to? Well I was number one in our fantasy football league....for about 2 weeks, haha. I am now out of the playoff, thanks David! David has been doing a great job with school, work, and being a father. He is amazing! I have to tell a sweet story. About two or three weeks ago Eli had just nursed and was sitting on my lap looking at me, he heard the door and was trying to turn towards the door to see who/what the noise was. When I said "Daddy's Home!" He smiled really big and got very excited! It was so sweet!!

We had a wonderful Christmas. Eli had a great time opening gifts and most of all playing with the paper! David, Eli and I all received awesome gifts but the best part was spending time with family.

Eli has started on solid foods. He has done pretty good. We started with pears and are now on apples. I am making it at home with the Babycook. It's super easy and doesn't take that much time. I want all of the fruits and veggies to be organic, when possible. My Grandaddy just laughs and says "They've got you fooled!" (about the whole organic food stuff)

We have Eli's 6 month pictures tomorrow and I should probably be getting everything ready for that instead of blogging!

So that is about all for now, again, this is not my best post but it's an update!

With Love,

Mrs. Jones

37 Weeks

37 Weeks 3 Days and no baby yet. We had 3 showers last week. The first was a wonderful surprise from my co-workers. They even had a "cake wreck" cake made! If your not familiar you should check out http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/ They gave us cash which we used to purchase the Pack and Play (which has a bassinet and changing table). Of course there was lots of food, you know we love and excuse to bring food and eat cake! The next shower was given by David's office. We got lots of wonderful things. We received a swing, changing table pad and a Johnny Jump Up. I remember Lauren LOVED her Johnny jump up, hopefully Eli will too. The last shower was given by my sister Lauren and my Aunt Tammy. Lauren made the CUTEST cupcakes ever!! I left my camera at David's parents but when I get it back I will post the pictures. She made whales from rolled fondant with water coming out of their blow holes. She also made rubber duckies and made the icing look like a bubble bath. Every thought they were so cute and two people even asked her to make cakes for them! I think she should get into the cake/cupcake making business. Beside making super cute cupcakes she is also an awesome cook. But back to the shower, it was so great. Every one was relaxed and laid back. Mom and Tammy made a ton of super good food. It was a brunch so we had spinach and cheese quiche, hash brown casserole, spinach salad, fruit salad and spicy grits. We laughed because people actually ate, sometime you go to showers and you get a little cucumber sandwich but Saturday we all ate very well. At the shower we received some great things. My Grandmother put together a basket of organic/natural diapers and California Baby body wash, diaper rash cream, and Caludeuda (that's not spelled correctly) cream. She wrote the bible verse about how to train up a child which of course I couldn't read out loud because I would cry. We also received some super cute outfits and Allie and Kristin gave me a certificate for a pre-natal massage (WHOO-HOO!).

I have yet to start on my thank you cards for those showers, I'm slacking! I go to the doctor tomorrow for the 37 week check. They normally don't check for dilation again until 38 weeks but I am going to ask her to check. I am ready to have this baby! Or at least I think I am. The ligament pain has gotten better but the back pain is still here. I took Monday off work due to my back. Today it is much better. It's funny how some days it doesn't hurt that back and others I feel as if I can't do a thing. We will see tomorrow, hopefully good news!

David and I have the nursery pretty much ready. We put the pack and play together this weekend and couldn't get the unit that attaches to the bassinet to work. It's supposed to have a night light, play music and vibrate. Monday Granny came up and we looked at it again and I realized that there are two different places for batteries. I swear David read the instruction manual front to back, I don't know how we missed that. After I put the batteries in the vibration unit would not work. We took the bassinet completely out and got it to work but as soon as we put it back in the pack and play it wouldn't work. David had mentioned that the directions said to use a D LR20 battery. We had a D R20, I didn't know there was a difference and size D batteries. So Granny drove me down to Harpeth and sure enough, L must stand for lithium. I picked up some lithium size D and that did the trick. The last thing we have to put together is the bouncer seat that my Grandaddy gave us. He picked it out himself! He picked a Graco bouncer seat with all the cool features and a cute pattern.

I am at work and going to make myself get up and walk around. Come on Eli!

With Love,
Mrs. Jones

35 Weeks

Yesterday started off as a normal Sunday, David got up early and went for a run and I slept in. We went to lunch with his parents, brother, Melanie and Aunt Elizabeth. (They were in town for my shower) As we were leaving lunch I stopped to use the restroom (surprise!) and (warning: not for the faint at heart!) lost part of my mucous plug. Since this is our first baby I didn't know what to do, I didn't think it was a reason to go to the ER or that labor would start. This past week I've been feeling a little funky so we decided to call the on call doctor. I left a message with the answer service. We waited an hour and no call back. So after talking to Mom I decided to go ahead and go to the ER. We thought if she calls while we are there we can leave but at least we would be waiting on the call back at the ER. We got to the ER, checked in and waited about 15 to 20 minutes before they came and took us up to the OB floor. Our nurse was super nice to start with. She hooked my up on monitors. The monitors monitor his heart beat and contractions. It was awesome to get to listen to his heart beat for more than a few minutes! I wasn't having an real contractions, his heart rate was great and I wasn't dehydrated. My nurse got a hold of the on call and apparently she got my voice mail and it's her policy not to leave a voice mail. Which I wished she would have tired again, I did not show a missed call on my cell. But moving on, after the nurse spoke with the on call they said I could go home. I felt a little silly but much better being checked out. The staff at WMC was great! It really made us feel good that is were we will be delivering at.

Today I had a normal appointment scheduled. After some scheduling conflicts at work I got to the doctor with in 2 minutes of the cut off time for being late. I was so glad they would still see me. I saw a new doctor today and really liked her. She was great! They tested for Group B strep but I we won't get the results until next week. She also checked to see if I was dilated. I am! Only to one but it's a start. She also said I'm just a little effaced. She said she obviously can't get a time line for when I will deliver but said they it was really good to be 1 cm at 35 weeks. Also the due date on my chart it 7-18-09 instead of 7-20-09. Just a few days earlier but from the way the doctor talked it could be soon! I want Eli to be healthy but I think we are ready for him to be here! Well not really....haha....we still need some things! At the ER they ask if you have a car seat and we had to say no! But we will before he comes. I order the stroller on Saturday so hopefully it will be here soon.

Also on Saturday was our family shower. It was so wonderful! The decorations were beyond cute. I will post pictures later. We got lots of good stuff including a bumbo seat and tray, lots of clothes, bath towels and lots of stuff for nursing. David and I had such a great time and got to see lots of his family we don't normally see. Of course I was excited to see Melanie! (David's aunt, his Mom's sister) She and her husband, Dave live close to Knoxville so we don't get to see them much. We had planned to take a trip this summer to visit them before Eli came but we have run out of time! Melanie teaches school so she will get to come when Eli is born!

Sorry this post kinda jumps around, we have had a busy weekend! I am going to make a list of what is left to do before Eli comes, I think we need to get a start on it!

With Love,
Mrs. Jones

Getting Ready for Baby

Grandaddy and David finished the shelves in Eli's room this week. I am very proud of David, this was his first carpentry project! I'm planning on going to pick paint out tomorrow. I'm thinking a very light yellow/cream that matches the trim in the room. I will post pictures when we are done. Next up, the crib. We have decided to use David's crib, I was hesitant at first since it's 25 years old. But after cleaning it up I think we can make it work. It's in great shape and it probably better built than anything we could afford now. I trust Grandaddy, David and Tom can put it together where it will be super stable. I've washed almost all of Eli's clothes and have separated them into piles by sizes. Tomorrow I'm also going shopping for more baskets. Granny got us some super cute white baskets with blue and white stripped lining. They are going to look so cute on the new shelves with his clothes, bibs and blankets in them. We have two showers left. One is a family shower with David's side of the family and the other is given by my Aunt Tammy. I am hoping we get some of our big items. We still don't have a car seat, stroller, pack and play/bassinet, high chair and a few other bigger items. I have changed my mind a million times about the stroller. At first I was happy with a basic travel system. The I saw a bugaboo in person and fell in love with it. The bee is their base model and would work best for us. The I found the Bumbleride which is less than the bugagoo and just as awesome. The only down side is there is no where close where we can test it out. We also looked at a Quinny in town and found a good deal online that comes with a Quinny stroller and a Maxi-Cosi car seat. Only downside to the Quinny is the basket under is tiny, basically non existent. So we really don't know which one we are going to go with. It will probably be the Bumbleride or the Quinny combo. We've decided to wait until the next shower and then choose. Of course I'm ready to buy everything today but I know I should wait! We also decided to leave the bed in Eli's room. After talking with My Mom, Kathy and my Grandmother they all suggested it would be nice to have a place to lay down or sleep if he is fussing or sick. I will be working part time so I don't want to wake David up. But I know him and I know he will be right there with Eli and me! He has been so incredible this pregnancy. From Day 1 he has treated me like a queen! I remember when I have morning sickness all day and night. Nothing was helping and it was before doctor gave me Zofran for the nausea. He looked EVERYWHERE for the Preggie Pops and couldn't find them but brought me sea sickness bands, it was so sweet and they really helped.

We had an awesome time at the beach. It was so great to be able to get away for a week. We didn't have to worry about a thing but make it down to the beach. The weather was wonderful, not too hot the first few days. I stayed under the shade most of the time but still got a little sun.

On a side note Eli is growing like crazy! As I'm writing this I swear he is trying to stretch his arms and legs as far as they will go!! Tonight I keep feeling an arm in the middle of my tummy and then some legs (hopefully he has turned) in my ribs. I have a feeling he is going to be tall like his Daddy. I am beyond ready for maternity leave. I said from the beginning I wanted to working up until I went into labor but I'm not sure I'll make it. I sit in a chair for 10 hours a day, no problem right? Wrong! Sitting puts lots of pressure of this ligaments I keep talking about and is pretty painful when I stand up. Plus my feet have begun to swell. I have done so good up until now. So even if I keep them propped up their still just sitting so I am get up to walk every 30 minutes to an hour. Either way I'm not having a blast at work. I am continuing to drink as much water as I can without peeing all over myself and trying to stay positive. I'm due July 20th and on the schedule till July 15th....we will see what happens!

With Love,
Mrs. Jones

Beach Pictures

33 Weeks

How far along? 33 Weeks 2 Days

Total weight gain/loss: 36 pounds, the doctor told me to slow down!

Sleep: Very uncomfortable and nauseated at night

Best moment this week: David and Grandaddy finished the shelves in Eli's room

Movement: Not many kicks anymore just moving around

Food cravings: Since I'm supposed to be watching what I eat any sweets

Labor Signs: None

Belly Button in or out? Still pretty much in

What I miss: Same as before, laying comfortably in bed

What I am looking forward to: Still the same again, haha, crib still isn't together

Weekly Wisdom: To get up and walk every 30 minutes at work

Milestones: 47 days to go

Thought and Prayers

I have a request for yall to keep a friend on mine in your thoughts and prayers. Kristin Larkin Crawford is pregnant with twins due in September. She is in the hospital with contractions and will on bed rest until her due date in  September. Please keep Kristin, her husband, daughter and the babies in your thoughts and prayers.

With Love,

Mrs. Jones

What a Wonderful Day

I am sitting on the balcony of our condo with David. The view is amazing! I love the beach, it is such a calming relaxing place. Almost spiritual in a way. Nothing but miles of ocean as far as you can see, the white beach with greenish blackish seaweed spread around. What a sight! Today we...well I slept in and David waited for me to wake up. We hung around the condo a bit before heading down. David's parents rent the lounge chairs with umbrellas and they are worth every penny. It's so nice to just grab beach bag and head down. We have a great chair attendant this year. When we get down he checks to see where we want our umbrellas and checks in every hour or so. He knows I like mostly shade so he changes it whenever the sun starts to move. This is the first year I haven't "worked" on my tan. I am so white! I get so hot that I like being in the shade with the breeze coming off the ocean. I am reading A Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingslover. It's one of Mom's favorites and I can already see why.  The author is so detailed but still keeps on track. I'll give my review when I'm finished. 

Yesterday I napped all day on the beach. It was amazing! Today I read most of the day and took a short nap. I can never get in enough naps these days. Later in the afternoon today we got in the pool. The weightlessness felt awesome! It was like I didn't have these extra 27 pounds. I wonder what if felt like for Eli. David said it must have been like a womb inside a womb. David took me around the pool on his back. I'm so short I can't touch half of the time. 

We are going out to eat tonight at a place called Zeek's. The is a little shop under the restaurant that is so cute, it's Kathy's favorite down here and one of mine. I would post pictures but I am too lazy to get my camera and cord. Maybe later tonight!

With Love,

Mrs. Jones

$75 for what?!

I love online banking. I can check our account and see what has cleared and what is outstanding. Last night I checked before we went to bed and saw two charges from PayPal. One for $1 the other for $75. I haven't used Paypal since March but checked my Paypal account, ebay account and amazon just to make sure. Nothing on any of them. So I call Paypal customer service wait on hold for about 25 minutes (yes it really was that long!) and get disconnected. I try to call back and of course the offices are closed. As soon as I get to work this morning I call Paypal. I get through to a male that can not speak English very well, he finally transfers me over to a female I can understand. She goes through all the verification again and searches their database using my debit card number. Apparently someone has used my middle name and new last name to open a Paypal account. She was very helpful and opened a "case" and filed a stolen credit card report. I called the bank and explained what happened. They had canceled my debit card (Which I live off of! I NEVER have cash). The lady at the bank was also helpful but my new card won't be here until we get back from the beach. Maybe that is a good idea.....with my shopping habits! Another thing is I pay all my bills online so I will have to go through and add my new card. I guess I should be grateful they didn't spend more! Oh and the person that took my card number bought at $75 ebay gift card. The transaction shouldn't go through my bank account (it's just pending/authorized now) So hopefully the bad guy won't get the gift card.

As for this weekend we pretty much hung out. We did go see Star Trek and it was awesome. The special effects were amazing. Eli seems to be growing a lot......by looks of Mommy's stretch marks! In addition to the stretch marks I swear he is going to weigh 20 pounds. I'm having a hard time at work with pain in my ligaments. I think I posted about this before but it really hurts. I sit down for 10 hours a day, which is great for my feel, but painful when I try to stand and walk. I am scheduled to work until 5 days before I'm due. I really wanted to work as long as possible but I don't know how that is going to turn out.

No pictures from last week. I am usually a picture fanatic but I'm been slacking lately. I'll try to post some this week.

With Love,
Mrs. Jones

Beach Time

In a short while I will be laying on the beach! David and I are going to the beach with his family. We went last year and had blast. Last year started our marathon watching of Ghost Hunters. This has become a tradition with David, Eric (David's brother) and me. Now we order pizza, turn the lights off and scare ourselves. Last weekend we were watching it over at Eric's house, Kathy knocked on the door and I screamed! To my defense it was a pretty scary episode. This year we are staying on the ground floor, there is a patio area that leads straight to the pool and beach. No stairs or waiting on the elevator. Everyone knows how hot natured I am and since I've been pregnant it's ridiculous. I'm hoping to enjoy sitting the shade on the beach and watching David wake boarding. He and Eric bought wake boards last year and had a blast. I have a video of them, if I can find it I will post it.

I went to the doctor today for my 30 week check. Everything checked out well. I have gained a total of 27 pounds, which I don't think is that bad. While I am eating everything in site David is doing his best to eat well and exercise. He has been doing a really good job! Since he does not have class he has been working out in the evenings. When I talked to him at lunch today he had not had a Coke! I will say I've been nagging him that Coke is awful for you and you should drink more water blah, blah blah. Me, I've never been a big Coke drinker so I don't really know what it's like to really want one. Back to the doctor. Today I saw different doctor and I really liked her. I think I have one or two more to see before I've seen them all. After I have seen everyone they let you pick a different doctor to see for each appointment. That way we will be familiar with who ever is on call when I deliver.

On another baby related note I have had to take off my engagement ring. I was very upset! It's been a week or so since my hands have swollen but I just did not want to take it off. David said Sunday that I really should take it off so I do not have to have it cut off. So I sprayed some windex and wiggled it off. Even though I am able to wear my wedding band I feel naked without my other ring! In another week or so I am probably going to have to take my wedding band off too. I'm thinking of getting a cheap silver band to wear. I know it does not bother some people but I still want to wear something. We will see what happens. I have always had small ankles...not anymore. They are more like cackles now!

I have started to wash all of Elijah's clothes. Some things he will not be able to wear for a while but it helps me with my craziness/nesting. We still have our big ticket items to get. I went ahead and order the monitor today. I got it from babyearth.com Every hour they have a different Gagadeal. The price starts at retail and drops every second. The only problem is you do not know how many they have in stock and will the product will sell out. The monitor retails for $90, I paid $66 with shipping. Right after I placed my order and the page reloaded it sold out! I think we got a pretty good deal and the monitor we really wanted. We still need the car seat, stroller, pack and play (with bassinet and changing table) and highchair. We still have three showers! haha A family shower with David's side of the family, a work shower given by the girl's at David's office and one at my Aunt Tammy's. A lot of the people that are coming to Tammy's have already been to others so I have told them please don't feel obligated to purchase another gift!

I haven't begun to pack my bag for the hospital. I still want to get a nice nursing night gown to take. Other than that I think we pretty much have everything, it's just getting it together in a bag. We take a nursing class this weekend. Notice I said we, haha. It should be very.....informative :)

Hope everyone has a wonderful week!!

With Love,
Mrs. Jones

30 Weeks

How far along? 30 weeks 2 days

Total weight gain/loss: 27 pounds!

Maternity clothes? of course!

Stretch marks? ewww yes! It started as just one lonely mark but he has friends now

Sleep: Very uncomfortable but still getting some sleep

Best moment this week: My first Mother's Day and my present from David

Movement: A little, I think he is running out of room!

Food cravings: Nothing out of the normal

Labor Signs: None (good!)

Belly Button in or out? Kinda in between

What I miss: Laying down to sleep and being able to get comfortable easily

What I am looking forward to: Getting the crib put together

Weekly Wisdom: Morning sickness returns and again it's not always in the morning.

Milestones: 30 week mark, 10 more to go!

My First Mother's Day

David made my first Mother's Day wonderful! He told me not to check our bank account on Friday because he had been "window shopping". Well window shopping does not involve buying something. Of course I was excited and I did not check the account, that took a lot of restraint! We had our couples shower give by Kelly and Josh Burton and Gail and Kevin Burton. The shower was wonderful, we all had such a great time. We got lots of wonderful things we need. David even got a present from me. A nerf gun! If you haven't heard, every time we go to Target I check out the clearance baby stuff and David checks out the nerf guns. He was so excited. Granny asked what he was going to do with it and I told her as soon as he finds scissors to get the ties off he will be playing with it! And sure enough Ryan came to rescue with his knife and the guys were off to play. After the shower when everything was loaded up, and I made sure I had the rest of the cake, I opened the car door and there was a present in my seat. I asked David thinking it might have been something we didn't open. It was my Mother's Day present. Of course I open it before we can even get the car started. I open the box and see the familiar maroon jewelry box from Jonnie's (Crown Jewelers). Inside there are two charms for my charm bracelet (David started that for me too). One is a heart with Eli engraved and the other is a baby carriage (like the Bugaboo I want!). Both the charms are sooo sweet, I love them! I forgot to take a picture but will post one later. I have not had a chance to take them to be put on so I am wearing them with my flower necklace for now. (My Uncle Allen gave me a beautiful Tiffany flower necklace for me receiving Employee of the Year 2007) After the shower we stopped by my cousin's graduation party and were planning on eating for Mother's Day with Mom, Granny and Grandaddy. I called J. Alexander's and they had an hour wait time, so I call P.F. Chang's their wait time is an hour and half to two hours. This is Saturday night by the way, not even Mother's Day yet. So we end up eating and Pueblo. It was good, as always, and we had a great time.

Sunday David let me sleep (by not annoying me to death while I am trying to sleep) half the day away. It was wonderful! We then went to mall to pick some things up, I got a new shirt and David got some C.O. Bigelow shave cream. I wore my new maternity support belt and it helped with the round ligament pain. If you are not familiar with round ligament pain, it's sharp searing pain in the far lower belly region. It's caused from my ligaments being stretched. By the time we walked around the mall my back hurting but I could still walk. Normally I can't walk that long because my ligaments start to hurt. But moving on, Mom called so I went to meet her for lunch. We went to Cinco De Mayo (mexican restaurant in Brentwood). This is Mom's favorite mexican place and normally the food and service are good. Not Sunday. We had just gotten our food when the waiter came to set more salsa on the table. Instead of setting on the table it slipped and went into Mom's eyes, hair and all over her shirt and pants. It literally looked like he threw it on her. Her eyes immediately began to burn. Even though she had her glasses on it still got into her eyes. She couldn't open them for a few minutes. The waiter apologized and we told him we knew it was an accident. She asked to speak to a manger. The manager was on the phone and did not seem in a hurry to get off so we went to the check out to talk to him. Mom was very polite saying she understood it was an accident. She asked to fill out and incident report in case there was something wrong with her eyes. (They were very swollen at this point) The manger says no if anything happens just me the bill. Mom did not agree with that, she thought there should be something on file stating what happened. Then he asks what happened. Mom explained and the waiter starts talking in spanish. Mom asked what the waiter said and the manger said He said you were reaching for the salsa and he was trying to help you and you dropped it. Well I was sitting right there and can tell you Mom did not reach for anything. So of course that makes Mom upset and worry that now the waiter is lieing about what happened. Mom asked repeatedly for an incident report and he keeps saying no just bring me the bill. We end up leaving and decide not to call Metro for a report. If we did, I'm sure we would have waited 2 to 3 hours for an officer to get there. Mom had to drive back home change, re do her make up and go back to work. Not a very happy Mother's day for her.

I went home and tried to take a nap, I never fell asleep but the rest was nice. Later that night we went to eat with David's family for Mother's Day. Kathy gave me a very sweet card, since the beginning his whole family has welcomed me with open arms and been wonderful!

David went back to the office to work on his paper and I went home to work on laundry (how exciting is that). After I finished laundry I went to organizing Elijah's stuff. We had tons of bags full of shower gifts. I went through and pulled out everything that needs to be washed, sorted the gifts by what they were. I feel much better! The crib is cleaned and ready to go. David and Grandaddy just have to put it together. Grandaddy is also going to put some shelving into Elijah's room and our room and then build closets. We only have one closet and it has an A/C unit in it. (Our house is an 1800's farm house) Everything seems to get coming together. Granny and I still have curtains to make for his room. We are planning on starting those the first of June when David and I are back from the beach. (Only two more weeks till beach time!!)

So that pretty much sums up our weekend, hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day!

With Love,
Mrs. Jones

PS- If anyone is familar with posting pictures in blogspot please let me know. I'm having problems!

Cake from the Butron's Shower

Bruton's Shower

Me, David, Josh and Kelly
(She is pregant too but is still rocking the heels!)

Me trying to get up

Cake from the shower Kathy's lunch ladies gave

Kathy, me and Mom from the lunch ladies shower

Quilling?

Has anyone ever heard of quilling? A brief explication (from Wiki): "Quilling or paper filigree is an art form that involves the use of strips of paper that are rolled, shaped, and glued together to create decorative designs."

Here is an example I borrowed from myscrapbookingmadeeasy.com

When I was younger I remember going to my Great-Grandmother's in Alabama and seeing all the quillings she, my Mom and Grandmother made. They made all kids of lovely figures and flowers. I still amazes me how they can twist up the paper and glue it down where you don't see an thing! The paper just looks as if you have set it upon the other piece of paper. When I find a kit I like I think I am going to purchase and try it!

Speaking of crafts with Elijah on the way I have a whole file folder of things I want to do! The only crafty thing I have done lately is cross stitch some burp pads. They turned out alright. I am going to work on another one today. Being from the South I LOVE anything monogrammed! Anything that I can put Elijah's name on I have. I recently found a few people I know own a monogramming machine, I am super excited! I have a feeling Eli's things with all have his names on it.

All for now.

With Love,
Mrs. Jones

What time is it?

Most of you know I do not have a normal 9 to 5 work day. Instead I work 4 ten hour shifts. So about 7:45 am I wake up a realize "I think I'm supposed to be at work in 15 minutes!" Luckily I live close so I got here just one minute after 8. I take a look at the schedule and I'm supposed to be here at 9am! To some people that extra hour might not be a big deal but to me, that's a lot of sleep! In the end it worked out, one of my co-workers was running late so I signed in and got to work, it'll be a hour of overtime. Can't complain about that!

David has one of his last three exams today. He has been studying like crazy. I quizzed him last night and I think he is going to do great! I know he is ready for summer. I will still be working late during the week but since David's classes are over we can work on getting the nursery ready. I think have finally decided where to put the crib and how to keep a bed in the nursery! It has been driving me crazy!

Speaking of crazy, yesterday I had a total off day. I don't know what was wrong with me but I'm going to blame it on being pregnant. We went to lunch with David's parents and Eric. Which is wonderful because we don't get to seem them during the week so we go eat lunch on Sundays. Then we ran to Target so I could pick up thank you cards and a classic controller for the Wii (more on that later). By the time we got home I did not think I could get out of the car. I was so tired. It's crazy how growing a human can drain your energy. David went back to the office to study and my plan was to go to the grocery store. Lately I've been clipping coupons and actually using them. I'm am straying from the story but I have to plug an awesome website. http://fullmailbox.net/ It is owned/run but a co-worker of mine and his wife. It's the best website for coupons, hot deals and best of all freebies! They also post sweep steaks and instant win games. If you've never clipped coupons you should really check it out. Michele has been great getting me started on the whole coupon deal, you can really save a lot! Okay, back to my story. I am heading to the grocery store and remember I forgot all my reusable bags. They are so much easier to carry. Get to the store, do my shopping, remember everything, go to walk out and it's pretty much pouring rain. I wait for a minute but it's been raining the past few days and this is not going to let up any time soon. So off into the rain I go, get my stuff loaded, be a good person and take my buggy to the buggy holder thing and run/waddle back to the car. I get home and David is still at the office studying so I unload the cold stuff and leave the drinks and water in my car for him to carry up those awful stairs. By the time I got upstairs I was wiped out. I felt like I had run a marathon. I mean hello, I just went to the store! So I decide to take a nap, which ended up not being a great idea because I had a lingering headache that got worse. David came home and was super sweet. I had planned on making burgers and fresh corn on the cob but we eat other stuff instead. Later that night I was cleaning off the massive mess my desk had become and found the safety info for cribs. Since we decided to use David's I wanted to measure the space between the slates. So I get my handy ruler and start measuring. Well it's supposed to be less than 2 3/8 . The way I am reading it, the ruler says almost 3 inches! So I go interrupt David studying and make sure I know where 2 3/8 is on a ruler and have him check it. I'm like, look see it's almost 3 inches! Well hello blondie crazy pregnant wife! I am counting the next slat, not the space in between! At this point I feel so bad for take David from his studying because I don't know how to use a ruler. But as always he was super sweet and made me feel better. Now that I have all that typed up it doesn't seem like a big deal but I swear yesterday my hormones had me all backwards and crazy!

One more story and then I will pack it up for the day. I really want to try using cloth diapers. Not all the time but when I am at home. Most people, including some of our family, think I am crazy. But they have really improved. So I registered for some. My Mom and my sister Lauren have already told me they aren't doing the cloth thing. Mom says she is keeping a pack of Pampers at her house! Which is totally fine with me. It's something I want to try and if I hate it then there will be a listing on Craigslist! So Kathy called Mom last week, they were talking about our registry stuff and Kathy asked about the cloth diapers. Mom told her, she wasn't using the cloth and Kathy didn't have to either. Mom could tell how relived Kathy was. So a few hours later Mom calls Kathy and says "You were trying to figure out how to hid the pampers and get Elijah back in a cloth diaper when Nicole comes to pick him up!" They both died laughing!! I'm sure there will be some posting about my adventures with cloth diapers!

Hope everyone has a wonderful week!

With Love,
Mrs. Jones

1st Sunday in May.....Go away rain!

This weekend is the first Sunday in May. For those of you from the South you might be familiar with a tradition called The First Sunday in May. It used to be pretty big in the South but has since seemed to fade away. A little explanation, on Saturday or Sunday or go the cemetery and decorate your family members' graves. This might seem odd but it's really a celebration of their lives and almost like a family reunion. Then you eat a huge meal and visit with family. My Great-Grandmother passed away earlier this year. She was from Alabama and that is were we went each year for the First Sunday in May. Since this year is the first year since she passed we thought it was very important for Granny, Mom, Lauren and me to go down and put out flowers and eat lunch/dinner with family. I woke up this morning....well David woke me up this morning! But on a side note in all fairness he was feeling for Elijah to kick and he felt two good ones! Back to the story. When I woke up Granny called to say that in Alabama they have storm warnings and tornado watches! So it probably wouldn't be smart for us to jump in the interstate and head down. On another side story, my Great Grandmother's house has been hit 3 times by a tornado!!! The last time it hit it completely destroyed the house and she built there again! So we are waiting to see what the weather does. I'm really sad that we might not be able to go down today. I know this really meant a lot to my Grandmother (Granny). If we don't get to go today I'm hoping later this month we might be able to drive down and put flowers out.

I have some very late breaking but very excited news.....I have a new cousin!! Smith William was born in New York on April 10th. He is absolutely adorable! To help you make the connect my Aunt Karol and Uncle Allen live in New York. (My mom's brother). Mom and baby are doing well and I hear Moose (the big brother, black lab) is adjusting well. I think it will be so much fun to have two little boys together at family get togethers.  We all can not wait to see Smith, for me it will probably be a while because Elijah is due soon!

I have a ton of pictures I want to post so I am going to upload some in this post today and will work on getting more later this weekend

With Love,

Mrs. Jones

Mom, Me, Granny, MalMal (Great-Grandmother) and Lauren 2007

Me 27 weeks, I am now almost 29!

David and I Easter 2009

2 months and 20 days to go....hopefully!

I had an appointment with a different baby doctor this morning. I was a little nervous due to the fact I had heard "Dr. D" is not the nicest person. I must say I was surprised, she is very hyper lady! She answered all my questions and explained why my body is doing the crazy things it is. I still like my primary doctor better but because it depends who is on call when I go into labor I will see all the other doctors in the practice.

Everything is going well with Elijah. I have gained a total of 21 pounds! I feel like I have gain much more. Other than back pain I have been feeling pretty good. I do get tired much sooner but a little rest on the couch and I'm good to go. We are hoping to get his crib set up this weekend. We have all his bedding but are waiting on a mattress. My Grandaddy has a friend that sells Fluffo mattress and he wants to see if they can make one for Eli!

Last Sunday was the Franklin Main Street Festival. Since both David and I grew up here we have pretty much seen most of the vendors. I was talking to a certain friend (don't want to ruin the surprise!) who is giving me a baby shower next month. She mentioned a cross necklace she looked at but would not buy it for herself. So I'm thinking perfect thank you gift! David and I went to lunch with his parents, to target to return some things and off to main street. Well normally we would walk since we are so close. It is such a nice walk from our house downtown....just not in 86 degree weather when you are 7 months pregnant! So we decide to try and find a parking place. Bad idea. We circle around to the Public Defenders office (David's work) and find a close spot. On a note never did I think there would be a point in my life where I get excited about close parking spaces! Back to the story. We get out David walks and I waddle through the square and down Main Street. After a stop for some yummy and expensive lemon aid we find the booth. We pick out her necklace and at this point I am looking at kids in strollers thinking.....they should make a stroller for pregnant women!! haha By the time we make it back down Main Street and around the square I'm not sure I'm going to make it to the car. I waddle like a huge penguin and finally make it the car, and of course crank the a/c as high as it will go.

He has become much more active the past week. I can feel him moving and adjusting all through out the day. Of course by the time I get home from work (pretty late) Eli just does not want to move for his Daddy! We can usually get a kick or two when David talks to him before bed. I think they are going to be a mess! When we go to Target David looks at all the boy toys. I have been educated on nurf guns, water guns, action figures (which ones are super awesome and ones that just are not cool!).

My keyboard at work stopped typing and I had to restart so I've lost my train of thought! Might make another post later today.

With Love,
Mrs. Jones

A blog?

So I have been thinking of starting a blog for a month or so. I figured it would be a great way to keep in touch with family and friends, especially with a new arrival on the way! Let me start by saying that I am an awful speller. Lisa, that I work with, can attest to that! Next comes grammar rules, you can mark that off my list as well. And for being a writer....not so much my thing but I am going to try!

Everyone reading this should know pretty much everything about David and I. We are enjoying life as newly weds! We have our cozy (read: limited space) apartment that we are filing full of wedding presents and now baby presents! It's hard to believe that Elijah is due in only 2 months and 21 days!! It seems like yesterday when we found out. David has been such a wonderful husband to me. I am finally getting to the point where I dread the stairs. (Not that I loved them before!) He has been great about bringing the laundry up and down and groceries. He also gives awesome back rubs! I can't wait for us to meet our little one, I know David is going to be an amazing Dad.

I know I kept telling everyone this but I think David and I are so blessed with our families. We both have wonderful parents and grandparents. I don't think either of us would be where we are today without them. I can honestly say I love my in laws like they were my own parents, and my Grandparent in laws (if that makes sense!)

So maybe this writing thing might work out, if yall can look past all my grammatical mistakes!

With Love,
Mrs. Jones