Life as we know it

I realize it has been a long time since I've updated and I've been meaning to do this post for a while, but just always put it off! Which is funny because it never is as much work to update as I imagine! So much has changed since I last updated! My newborn baby is now 3.5 months old!! I will write a little bit more about him later!

Life has been pretty awesome this last few months! I had a TON of help from my Mom with Declan and Justin has been able to take October-January off so it has been so great having him at home! We have been able to spend lots of time down in Surrey since Justin has been off too wjhich is really nice! Especially when it comes to Christmas shopping since we have so little options up here!

We are spending Christmas this year with my family in Surrey! The past 2 years we have had them come up here for Christmas since Justin and I have had to work, but this year we are freeeeeee! So down we go this Friday! I will really miss having a good dump of snow for Christmas though, it just isn't the same with rain, sunshine or even Surrey snow. But it will be a nice change! It is Declan's first Christmas, and although he is too young to really have any grasp of what is going on, it brings a new dimension of excitement! Let me tell you, was it ever weird to sign some presents "Love Mom & Dad" talk about reality check!

We have been using cloth diapers exclusively for about 1.5 months already and I LOVE it! Cloth diapering is not as much work as everyone thinks it is! Plus it is really nice to know that I won't run out of diapers in the middle of the night or something horrendous like that! As long as I do my laundry every 2nd or 3rd day I have plenty of diapers to last me! I am loving the night time diapers I got too, I can comfortably leave him in them overnight and don't have any leaks! Woohoo!! No leaking after his weekly or bi-weekly poop either! Plus he looks SO cute in them, come Summer he will be a pant less baby I think!

A little about Declan

-he recently discovered his hands and mouth and is always putting his hands in his mouth, or his Sophie the giraffe in his mouth!
-the downside of discovering his hands is that he has mastered a mean pinch and can effectively grab my hair now
-he is a really alert baby & keeps his focus on something for quite some time
-he is loud, he loves to squeal and talk to us and is increasing in volume and pitch!!
-he goes to sleep on my shoulder best with a blanket draped over his head
-he is a PUKER! I laughed at how many receiving blankets we had before he was born thinking I would never need that many….I am currently waiting for the dryer to finish so I can have clean ones…
-he has just become bashful, like in the past day or 2. He will smile at Justin, or a stranger and then throw his head into my shoulder like he is embarrassed. It is adorable!
-he sleeps in his crib at night, and usually sleeps from 9 pm - 5 or 6 am which is fantastic!
-he is a tummy sleeper, and although it is "forbidden" he sleeps WAY better and longer on his tummy :)
-he is over 13 lbs already, which is crazy!
-his eyes I think are gonna be brown. They still look blue, but when I see them in the light they have a brown tinge, so we will see!
-he changes his emotions SO quickly! One minute he is cooing and giggling and the next he is crying, its a little ridiculous!

I obviously could go on forever bragging and ranting about my child, but I shall stop myself there!

Speaking of which…the coos have turned to cries so I should go!

I know I say this every time but I will really try and blog more! That way it wouldn't have to be such a crazy long post every time!!

Declan's Birth Story

Let me start off by saying that this post will involve birth details and info that some of you might not be comfortable with, so if you don't want to know...don't read! :)

Basically the whole labour process started on Wednesday morning, September 4. I woke up with mild contractions but didn't really want to acknowledge that they were contractions because I had a hair appointment at 2, and hadn't gotten it done since April...so no matter what I was getting my hair done! My Mom flew in that morning, which was nice because at my OB appointment on Tuesday he had said that we would be having a baby by the weekend so she made sure she got up here as soon as possible! Of course once Mom got here she insisted that I start timing my contractions, so I did...while I made a batch of soup and cleaned my house! :) They were fairly steady coming at 4 or so minutes apart, but for the most part they were completely bearable! So I was able to go to my hair appointment...woohoo baby! But during my appointment the intensity of the contractions grew, so after I decided I would go to labour & delivery to get checked out and see how I was progressing. When I went in my doctor checked me and said that I was about 1.5 cm dilated but that my cervix was short and soft and he did a sweep on me. He told me to go home and that he expected that we wouldn't be sleeping that night and that he would see us later. He told me to have a good meal and get some rest! I called Mom and Justin and told them I wanted some decent food, so I suggested BP, my oh so generous husband decided that BP was too expensive for my last meal and we went to McDonalds instead...we had coupons! After that we went home and Justin went to "Canadian Tire". Mom and I had planned to walk the neighbourhood and try and get things moving with the labour. When Justin came home he gave me what he called a "baby pushing present" of a Canon Rebel T3i!! EEEEEEEE!!!! I have wanted a DSLR camera since 2005 when I had one and it broke! It was honestly the best timing ever, because we had it for my labour and Declan's arrival! Sadly after walking and even going on the elliptical my contractions died down and I had a great sleep.

Thursday was much the same with contractions, I had them all day, but they didn't really seem to go anywhere and I was getting frustrated! Thursday night Mom and I went to Walmart and did some grocery shopping and just walked trying to make things move along. After walking for a little bit I decided I should probably check my blood pressure, it had been creeping up lately, so after sitting for 10 minutes I checked it and it was 149/98...kinda high. My OB had told me that if I have high BP again to come to the hospital and get checked. So we came home, ate dinner and then all went to the hospital. They hooked me up to a non-stress test machine, which checks my uterus for contractions and checks baby's heartbeat to make sure they are doing okay! My BP stayed pretty high and baby was sitting really low so he decided it was best to induce me so that we could get him out and get my BP back down! So they gave me a prostaglandin gel, which is just a cervix ripening gel that they put behind my cervix. After that, it was about 10:30 pm and I got moved to a room for the night and they gave me something to help me sleep! I was able to sleep for about 6.5 hours!

Friday morning I woke up and had my BP checked, which was still high. Since I hadn't really progressed from the night before they decided to give me another dose of the prostaglandin gel at 8:30 am and monitored me and baby again to see how we were doing. Baby was still doing great, but my BP was still really high. I had a shower and came back to the room and at that point my contractions really kicked into high gear. I was having fairly regular contractions at this point so I was moved over to the delivery room around 2 pm. I was frequently monitored for my BP and to see how Declan was doing in there. I was having pretty steady contractions by this point, and because of the gel I didn't really get breaks between them. I was generally having 2:45 long contractions with 30 second breaks in between them, but when we told the nurses about my contractions they said that "it wasn't possible" for me to be having contractions like that. Ummm....pretty sure it was happening! It was quite frustrating because then when they would come and check the machine it would not record most of my contractions. They said that I was having "tone" which is different than a contraction...they felt EXACTLY the same to me! By 5:30 the OB came in and checked me and I hadn't really progressed dilation wise but my cervix was looking really good. He told me to get up and get moving to help my body along. Standing was honestly the last thing I wanted to do, I found during my contractions I would just close my eyes and melt into my bed and that wasn't very easy to do while upright! So I got up and sat on the ball and my Mom rubbed my back as Justin went out for food. While sitting on the ball I pretty much had one steady contraction for 20 minutes...no joke. I was just crying asking for a break, because one would end and probably 5 seconds later another one would start up again.

At 9 pm my OB came and checked me again and I was still only 1.5 cm dilated, I was CRUSHED! I had been working SO hard all day and nothing had really happened! My cervix, once again was progressing well and looked ideal but I wasn't dilating. So my doctor talked about giving me something to relax my cervix and sending me home and waiting for it to happen naturally! Are you for real?! That would be the worst thing ever, I was so upset, I had pretty much been having contractions for 3 days at that point, and had been in proper labour for 12 hours already. He brought in the OB that was working that night to check me and he decided to break my water! WAHOO!!!!! Instantly I dilated to 3 cms and then made the switch out of my cutesy(water soaked) dress to a hospital gown and all the "sexy" garb that goes along with it! I was not feeling very well at this point, I had a headache and still had really high BP so they put me on an IV and gave me morphine for the pain. At 10:50 they took my BP and it was down to a normal level once again! At 11:30 I started to feel really sick and started vomiting for about 25 minutes, I was also feeling really groggy and tired. At 12:20 I decided to start oxytocin so help move things along and at 1:15 I wanted an epidural. Oh my gosh, best thing ever!! It made me feel like a human again!! Below you can see a before and after photo! Obvious difference! hehe! Mom, Justin and I were then able to get in a much needed nap and get up our energy!

The machines were still saying that I wasn't contracting regularly, and I apparently was having mostly "tone" and not legit contractions so we didn't really expect anything to happen. I had been disappointed so many times during the day so I didn't want to get my hopes up! At 3:50 my nurse decided that she would just check my dilation, she figured I would either be fully dilated or not at all since I had been complaining about the urge to go poo. She checked me and said, almost in a song, "you're gonna have a baaaaabbbyyyy" and we all cheered! It felt like such a long process to get there I was so stinking excited! I also had a wave of "crap....I have NO idea what I'm doing...how do I even push?!" At 4:15 we decided that I would try pushing to see how I did and how quickly we needed to call my OB to come deliver baby! I gave a couple good pushes when I felt the urge and my nurse decided that we should call the OB right away because I was a "good pusher" :) *pats back* They told me that I couldn't push until he got there because baby would have been born before he could make it. So I had to resist the urge to push, which was not easy! I asked for the birthing bar to be put up so I could use that to help push, so we set it up as we waited for my doctor to get there. Before he was there I decided that I didn't want to wait anymore and pushed a bit more, when he finally got there they told him that he needed to hurry up and get ready because I was almost done! I pushed until they told me that I needed to stop, at which point Justin had a looky loo and saw baby's head crowning! They asked me if I wanted to feel it...I certainly did not :) Quickly after I pushed his head out and they got me to look down to which I responded "OH MY GOSH!!" such a weird thing to see!! I pushed the rest of him out and he was born September 7 at 4:44 am after 20 hours of labour and about 30 minutes of pushing(including when I stopped to wait for my OB) plus I had the full effect of an epidural then too. When Declan was born he didn't have good oxygen levels, they put him on my chest to do their tests on him while we had skin on skin but he wasn't crying well and seemed a little lethargic. So they took him over and put him on a cpap machine, which for those of you who don't know what that is...its an oxygen machine! :) After he was on it for a bit he had a lot better colour and was able to cry and clear out his lungs! He weighed 6 lbs 4 oz and measured 18.5 inches long!

I went in to labour with a birth plan which I totally didn't stick to, but I am so happy with the results and the fact that I have a happy and healthy baby! Giving birth was honestly the hardest, most empowering thing I have ever experienced! I did end up with 2nd degree tears and got stitches, but it just makes the glam of it all (sarcasm) so much better!! :)

Having some fun with lunch

Justin passing some time

Before epidural

After epidural :)

Right after he was born, poor guy is all purple

Getting checked out

Happily swaddled

My thoughts on the Hospital Bag

Okay, so when I was looking to pack my hospital bag for labour I searched google and found tons of blog entries on the hospital bag and thats what gave me my ideas for my list! So I figured I would do my own! I had a very classic "First Time Mom" hospital bag, technically it was a suitcase at first...and then when I was in labour I realized how ridiculous I would feel wheeling that thing in! So I'm gonna break it down for you...what I packed and why I initially thought I would use it and whether I actually did or not!

Stuff for me during labor:

Slippers & socks: never once did I even think about taking these out of my bag. Maybe because I had swollen up so much I could barely fit in my flip flops, but most of the time I was quite happy with my flip flops or in bed!

A cutesy dress for in labour: I actually really liked having this for the first half of my labour! I felt pretty, and I didn't have to worry about my butt flapping in the breeze if I had to walk anywhere! It was  just a cheap dress from Walmart, but I loved it up until my water broke in it!

Chapstick: Any of you that know me know that chapstick is a no brainer for me to have always. But it is generally drier in the hospital, so chapstick is a definite must pack!

Snacks: Not all hospitals let you eat while you are in labour, but ours did! And it was SO nice for me, and mostly for Justin and my Mom to have some decent snacks! I suggest something bland for you, I ate a muffin...my initially packed snacks of chips and candy didn't so much appeal to me! Hehe!

Powerade: Probably one of the best things you can pack in my opinion! I went through 3 I think during my 20 hours. I didn't necessarily feel like eating, and I am a water snob...so the water they give you at the hospital just wasn't good. Plus it gives you electrolytes, and you need whatever sustenance you can get!

Elastic & Headband: I definitely used my elastic but not my headband. But really, who wants their hair smeared to their face while working hard? Not me! I'm not much of a head band girl to begin with...but if you like them bring one!

Toiletries: I loved that I had my stuff to clean up after having a shower! I really liked being able to have my hair and make up done in the hospital! After giving birth I just didn't feel glamorous so putting myself together made me feel better when people came to visit or wanted to take photos! I didn't go hardcore or super glam up, but just enough that I felt freshened up!

Calming music: I initially thought I wanted soft relaxing music playing while I was in labour, so I packed a cheesy ocean sounds cd. It totally was the last thing I would have wanted to listen to! We ended up just playing worship music the whole time! Which, since our hospital has no wifi we had to use 3G. So if worship music relaxes you, don't make the same mistake we did and pack some cd's!

Cell phone charger: MUST PACK! The last thing you want while in labour or after having a baby is to not be able to have your phone! You want to shout it from the roof tops that you did it and want to show off your adorable offspring! Plus my cell phone provided me lots of entertainment during the nights when I was by myself!

Birth plan: Haha!! I think we talked about my birth plan with our nurses like 3 hours before I actually gave birth! I totally think its good to have one, and I had shared with Justin, my Mom and my doctor what I had wanted. But most of it they just asked as I went and were really good and not pushy! I think the most important thing to remember with a birth plan is that it is just a plan! So many things happened different than I had planned on my birth plan but I am okay with it! I knew going into labour that I had NO clue what would happen or how I would react to the pain, so I had an open mind!

Stuff for Hubby:

Change of clothes: If your hubby is staying at the hospital with you this is a good idea. Mine was lucky enough to get to sleep in his own bed, so was able to change at home!

Bathing Suit: If you think you might like to labour in the shower a bathing suit for your man would be a good thing! That way he can hop on in with you and give you a massage or hold you up, whatever you need! I found it much better labouring in bed so we didn't need a bathing suit for Justin.

Camera & Camera Charger: So good to have! It was really nice to be able to take photos during the labour, even though I look like I'm in labour it was nice to be able to flip through them and see things progress! Also it offered some entertainment for my Mom & Justin as they sat there!

Contact List for after: We made a list of people to notify once baby was born, some people to call and a bunch of people to text. I left it to Justin...but I'm pretty sure he didn't notify like half of the people. :) So make sure if you make this list that it actually gets used! hehe!

Flip Flops: These are good especially if your hubby is going to be in the shower with you. Or if he just wants easy comfy shoes to slip on and off while in the hospital!

Stuff for after birth

Going home outfit: Make sure you pack something that is loose and comfy to wear home! You will want to feel like a normal person again, so bringing a decent outfit is a good idea. Also keep in mind that you will be wearing mesh underwear and have a mondo pad...so that might affect the way that your pants fit! :)

Nursing bras: Bring at least 1 sleep bra and 1 regular nursing bra to wear home. I wore one of my sleep nursing bras when I gave birth, and they laid him on my chest right after so that bra was a no go for the rest of my stay. So I'm very glad that I packed 2 sleep nursing bras!

Breast pads: I packed some, but didn't really find that I needed them. You don't usually start leaking until your milk comes in, and generally by that point you are at home. But they don't take up a lot of space, so there is no harm in packing some...especially if you are using nipple cream they keep things a little cleaner!

Maxi pads: I thought I would bring my own because I didn't know how many they would provide me. There is no way I even considered using mine! The pads they have at the hospital are like the length of your arm, and sorry to be graphic but you need them. I don't think any pad I could have gotten in the store would have been sufficient.

Towel: I had planned on packing my own towel or towels because the ones they give you at the hospital are garbage, but I just never got around to it. If you are a towel snob then by all means bring some! They give you cheap towels just a little bigger then a hand towel to use, but by that point I didn't really care about a nice cozy towel.

Packs of black underwear: I packed a bunch of nasty grandma panties to wear in the hospital after baby was born, but totally never needed them. They give you these glorious mesh panties, and I know when you aren't in the hospital the idea of wearing mesh panties is just not appealing at all...but trust me, you will LOVE them! They have endless supplies of these underwear too, so you don't need to worry about them running out!

Nipple cream: MUST PACK!! The start of breast feeding is not glamorous, and it hurts like no bodies business. Nipple cream offers some sort of relief for your tender boobs! I used lanolin cream, but I know there are a couple different kinds.

Baby book: I wanted to pack this because I thought I could update everything in it during down time, or if I got bored. Let me tell you, with visitors and the need to sleep, and trying to master breast feeding I didn't really have time to write all the details in his baby book. I have yet to open his baby book :)

Nursing cover: I am SO glad that I packed this!! I got a really cute nursing covers off of uddercovers.com that I have been using a lot! It is really nice in the hospital to have a proper cover instead of just using a receiving blanket. Sometimes you need both hands free to get a proper latch and having something tied around your neck that isn't going anywhere is really nice! Plus it is nice to maintain some sort of privacy if people are visiting and your baby needs to feed!

Nursing tank tops: I honestly didn't wear any of my clothes I brought from home. It was just so much easier to wear the ugly hospital gowns! Especially with the amount of times they check you, it is just easier to have everything easily accessible!

Stuff for baby:

Car seat: This, for obvious reasons, is mandatory! Before they let you leave the hospital they will want to see baby in their car seat and make sure your child is SUPER tight in there!

Going home outfit: Make sure you bring an adorable going home outfit for your baby, you will be taking lots of photos so you will want baby to look good! Make sure you bring a bunch of sizes too! We NEVER expected to have such a small baby, so we really didn't have anything that fit him!

Sleepers for the hospital: This is pretty much the same as above! Make sure you have a bunch of outfit options, and sizes for your little bundle! People will bring you baby clothes and presents once they are born, but depending on you, you might want to wash them before putting your baby in them!

Warm blanket: Sometimes the hospitals are pretty cool, and you want to make sure your little peanut is nice and warm! Also for when you leave the hospital, who knows what time you will get discharged so it might be a little cool outside!

Diapers: Don't bother packing any! They offer them at the hospital, and why not use free ones?! Heck, we even took the open little package they give you home with us!

Socks: We packed a couple different pairs for Declan, and I'm glad we did! His hands are SO teeny that the scratch mittens were too big and fell off, so we just used some socks instead! I also liked to have them under his sleeper on his feet, just to make sure he didn't get too cold!

Swaddling blanket: I am seriously in love with our swaddling blanket! We got a couple really nice muslin swaddling blankets and Declan loves being swaddled! It is nice to be able to swaddle them tightly and put them back to sleep! The swaddle makes them feel secure, like being in the womb again and they generally sleep better swaddled! Plus the blankets are stinking adorable!

Receiving blankets: These are another must pack! Babies eyes are often larger than their shrimpy stomachs at birth, so they spit up quite a bit! Bring 4 or so! Because once they have a good puke on one you really don't want to have them laying in it!!

Soothers: There are conflicting opinions on a baby having a soother right away but I am a fan! I think as long as they are latching well that you are okay to introduce a soother. If you have a baby like Declan they find sucking to be soothing, so unless you want to have them on your boob 24/7 I suggest a soother. Declan loves his soother and his still feeding VERY well, its just a matter of what works for you and your baby!

Wipes: Our hospital didn't provide wipes, so I had to send my Mom to bring our box of wipes to the hospital! Your hospital may be different, but ours just provided diapers for baby, thats it!

Scratch mittens: I highly suggest scratch mittens! Babies when they are first born have sharp little nails and like to grab their face and eyes, so having their hands covered helps from them jabbing out their little eyes and cutting themselves up!

Vaseline: We packed a little thing of vaseline to put on his bum right when he was born! It helped when he had his first meconium poop! It obviously was still sticky and gross, but the vaseline made it a lot easier to get off his bum!

So, I'm pretty sure I covered the basics and more of what people bring to the hospital! Feel free to add any comments on what you think I missed!! Hopefully this helps at least one person with packing their hospital bag! :D

The Nursery!

We got our wall decal for the nursery yesterday, Justin was surprised just how excited I got. Literally jumping up and down and squealing! So we stayed up late putting it up and now I can finally post proper pictures of baby's room!! My mom made a crib skirt & crib sheet which is going to totally pull it all together, I can't wait to get it!

I still have to make a photo for above baby's change table! I think I'm just going to end up making them in separate frames since I have had some difficulty finding a frame with just 4 openings! Plus then I can space it as I like! So that is next on the DIY list!

For any of you who may be curious where baby's clothes are going, we have the dresser tucked inside the closet!! We had planned on it being in the room but it ended up feeling too crowded and there is a decent amount of space in the closet anyways!! :) 

The view when you open the door

Baby's crib & our fabulous wall decal!

The cuddling corner

Change table

The swing will also be moved out of the nursery once baby comes and will take its permanent home in our living room :) But for now I am too lazy to disassemble it, so in the corner it stays! :D

I'm so excited with the way it all turned out! It is so weird to think that in 7 weeks, give or take, we will have a child sleeping in there! Eeeeeee!! Anyways, wanted to share some photos for those of you who have been asking for them! :D 

The littlest monkey

I just want to start by saying I plan on doing a legit update with good pictures of the nursery soon, I just have stuff for the hospital bag on the floor and am too lazy to clean it up to take some photos :) hehe!!

I wanted to do a little belly update, and post a crazy video of the little alien inside my belly! Warning, if you do not want to see my bare belly don't watch the video, and don't go to the beach with me ever :) hehe! 

Baby has been doing really well and is moving A LOT! Baby tends to favour my right side and is head down and generally stays that way. Baby gets the hiccups pretty much every time I eat, which is a good sign and a super weird feeling! Baby likes to move a lot in the morning when I wake up and in the evening from about 8-10. I find that I spend a lot of time just watching my belly, I probably look like a psycho to people who just see me hanging out, but OH well! 

You have to wait until 15 seconds(or so) in before it gets good! 

I am currently 32.5 weeks, which is exciting because I am in the single digits for counting down the weeks! I have started to get Braxton Hicks contractions which is good because it means that my body is preparing for the real deal, but its also really annoying and uncomfortable! 

I am finished work August 15, which is coming up SUPER quickly! HOORAY!! I find I get contractions whenever I work, or am on my feet for a long period of time, so it will be nice to be able to take breaks whenever necessary! 

My OB appointments have been pretty boring, as baby and I are very healthy, but this past week we had some excitement! I have been measuring exactly as I should be, but this past appointment I didn't really grow from my last appointment 2 weeks ago. So we have to go for an ultrasound to make sure that baby is growing as it should! I am fairly certain that baby dropped since the last appointment, as I am feeling a lot more movement farther down as well as pressure! Baby dropping would definitely affect how my tummy is measuring, so that is reassuring especially with the amount of movement I still feel! 

Here is my photo from Tuesday at 32 weeks! :) 

Well off to bed for me! Don't worry, I haven't turned 90 just yet. I read in bed before falling asleep especially when Justin is on night shift :D

Reno Photos

As per Vanessa's request I decided I should post some photos!!

Here are the BEFORE photos:

The Spare Bedroom

The Master Bedroom

The Office/Nursery

And here are the AFTER photos:

The Hallway

The Spare Bedroom

The Nursery (so far)

The Master Bedroom

It's crazy when I look through them like this to see the differences in before and after!! I am excited for our main bathroom reno sometime after baby is born, and then our whole upper floor will be updated! Woohoo!! Not too bad since we have been here less than 2 years so far!

The good, the bad & the ugly

Well, I officially suck at this blogging thing....but I think we all realized that quite a while ago! There are so many times when I think about writing a post but then feel like I have nothing to say. But then I get to posts like today and feel like I have tons to talk about! haha!

We have been keeping pretty busy in the last little bit! We did renos last month, which I don't think I will ever do again while decently pregnant. We repainted our Master bedroom and ripped up all of the carpet in our hallway & 3 bedrooms upstairs. Well mostly I painted, and Justin ripped up the carpet as he won't let me lift anything heavier then Lexy :) I did, however, roll around on his creeper from his shop and pull up staples! hehe! Way better than scooting!! We got carpet installed as well and it is super magically soft and beautiful! I am so happy with it! Plus now our floors don't smell like cat urine! WAHOO!!

My parents came up to visit last weekend, which was fantastic! On Sunday we decided we would take our boat out for a little test run and maybe the boys could wakeboard or go tubing! But once we got out into the middle of the lake something went wrong. Now, I am a mechanics wife...but that doesn't mean I have ANY idea what the info he tells me means. :) So basically something broke through the side of the motor that is supposed to stay inside...bad news! I want to say a piston! Anyways, this basically means our engine is shot. BOO!! So after tinkering for a little bit we putted back to shore and didn't get much of a boat ride. Luckily my husband is a mechanic and found a cheapish boat with a really good engine and we bought it and he is just doing an engine swap and then selling the crappy boat with the trailer and we are ending up with a pretty good deal!! So hopefully we will be able to get out on the water before this baby comes!!

Speaking of this baby, it is crazy how fast time is going now! My first trimester felt like it dragged on forever, but these two are flying by! I'm already at 29 weeks....next week I am 30 weeks! How the heck did that happen!? Baby has become really active in my belly, especially when I am in bed and it likes when I watch TV too...a baby after my own heart :) It has taken to tumbling more so than kicking me lots...which is nice! So I can sit and see my belly roll and move as it flips from side to side! It totally looks like an alien is living in there, it is so cool! I literally can sit and watch my belly for hours when baby is active! Little peanut also has started experiencing hiccups!! Which is neat because it means it is getting ready to breathe when it is born! I'm pretty sure baby is already head down because whenever it has the hiccups I can feel them veeeeery low down! Baby is also shy and once someone else watches my belly it freezes and stops moving, or if I try and videotape it! Sneaky little monkey!

I am really excited because the 20th weekend is a McCracken family get together, I love my family and can't wait to see everyone again!! We also are getting our pack n'play, change table & dresser for baby that weekend! I'm honestly so excited to be able to put together baby's room and organize its clothing that we have!! It will be so cool to be able to open the door to the nursery and have it all good to go!! Next step will be actually putting together our hospital bag, now that I have a decent list of what I want to bring!

On the other hand I am not excited to go to the coast on the 20th because the last time I was down I got cankles every single day! It was HORRIBLE!! I felt so insanely unattractive, and they hurt like no bodies business! Thankfully I haven't had them at all in Williams Lake, so I am wondering if it is the humidity down in Surrey? Since I definitely am just as active up here and have had long days on my feet without any swelling! Here, let me show you how gorgeous they were!

Don't be afraid though, Mommy & baby are in perfect health! So my swelling is not a sign of pre-eclampsia, just good old water retention! 

Anyways, I am cooking dinner while Justin mows our lawn, so I probably should go double check that everything is A-Ok. And then hopefully spend the evening in our room with the AC cranked watching a movie :)

Why?!

First of all I want to start off by saying that this post isn't directed and anyone in particular so please don't take offence to anything I write! I am just pregnant and hormonal and need to vent! :)

Why is it that people think it is necessary to bring you down in pregnancy? I am finding more and more that people when they know you are pregnant feel it necessary to tell you all the dramatic horrifying stories of their pregnancy or birth or someone that they know's pregnancy or birth?! Very very rarely do they come up and tell you the stories about their friend who had a fantastic pregnancy, or a very easy birth...its always the blood and gore stories. Is this supposed to encourage me? Like a congratulations your pregnant...you fool...if you only knew how miserable your life is going to be! :)

Especially since I have started doing some research and am leaning more to a natural birth. Not like a hippie, chanting, burning incense kind of birth but a birth where ideally I don't use pain medication. I realize that nothing can ever prepare me for labour and the pain or discomfort I will experience. But I know that there are people out there that have done it, people out there who have even had moderately pain free labours. I realize that birthing a child is not a walk in the park, but how about some encouragement. Like a good for you, I know so and so who had a medication free birth. Not necessarily always "HA! Good luck with that one". And I am not naive to the prospect of things going wrong, or me not being able to handle the pain, or me needing a cesarean. The point is that I would ideally like to bring my baby into this world in the nicest way possible!

This is just my ramble as I have been feeling a bunch of negativity towards labour and being a parent. Even comments on how I won't be the parent I think I'm going to, or how I need to cherish life now before baby because basically it blows after baby is born. Where are the parents who LOVE parenting and who have been able to be a similar parent to what they expected...do they exist?!

Anyways, I'm sorry if I rubbed anyone the wrong way, but this is my vent! I know all these people who tell me these things love their children and that they are just trying to prepare us foolish pregnant ladies. But I encourage you to say something nice to a pregnant lady next time you see them, tell them a hopeful story, and build up their expectations, not burn them down! :)

I love you all, and I already feel better. *sigh of relief* Now I am going to go make a sandwich and put up my feet  :D

Rain

Praise God for rain! And praise God for my two skylights. I may be alone in this, but I seriously love the rain. One of my most favourite things is to sit in my living room, wrapped up in a blanket and listen to the rain falling on my skylights. I find the rain soothing, like if I listen long enough it will just lull me into a sweet slumber.

Plus, how great is it that we don't have to water our gardens or our lawns because God gives us the rain!

I also find the rain romantic, Justin does not indulge me in my desire. But I LOVE walks in the rain, I just find it incredibly sweet. And honestly, what girl does not dream of having that movie moment making out with her love in the pouring rain?! Okay, maybe that was a TMI, but it is getting late.

Anyways, I just wanted to pep up anyones dreary day with a rant about my love of rain! Woohoo!

Now I will go fall asleep to the glorious sound!

Baby Pool!!

We set up a baby pool online for everyone to play with!! I have enjoyed other people having them so I figured we should, plus it will be cool to see everyones guesses and how close the winner gets to being correct!! We have also decided to send the winner a gift! Not too sure what it will be, but we are planning on candy or something delicious and a couple other fun things! Plus then there is incentive for doing our baby pool! Hehe! This is the link for the baby pool: http://www.untilithappens.com/lamarchebaby

We had our 20 week ultrasound on Tuesday and there is nothing better than seeing our baby on a screen! I was worried about my ultrasound tech because you hear horror stories about cold awkward tech's but mine was amazing!! She explained not to read into her calling the baby a him because she calls all the babies him, and that she talks to the babies too! We chatted as she took all the measurements and clarified that the baby has all of its vital parts and that they all look good and work! She also said that baby is already head down! Wahoo!! And that it was the only baby she had seen all day that wasn't breech so hooray for not having to worry about it flipping later on! When Justin came in she showed us our baby's brain, pumping heart, kidneys, bladder and all the other goodies! She made sure to skip over baby's lower regions, but showed us baby's feet! Here is what baby looks like for those of you who haven't seen my profile picture:

For any of you McCracken's reading this...check out baby's nose! Its a total McCracken nose! I think it is hilarious that the picture we got of our baby it's mouth is WIDE open. My Mom also thought it looked like the white glow from the ultrasound above the baby's head looked like a unicorn horn...so baby has now gained the name "Baby Unicorn"

I'm feeling good again and haven't gotten sick in a while, and am able to eat sort of healthy things again!! Wahoo! The baby has been moving a lot more and realized that what I thought were kicks the whole time are actually punches, vicious little peanut! Justin even thinks he felt a little "punch" the other day too so that is really exciting! I can hardly wait for it to start moving more and for him to feel it all the time, and maybe even see it!

Here is my most recent belly photo:

We finally set up our backyard for summer too and I am so excited for it! I spent a good amount of Monday relaxing in my hammock, and realize as the months progress that it won't be as easy to get in and out of it as last summer so I'm going to enjoy it with ease while I can. I've heard lots of negative things about being pregnant during the summer so I have decided to be positive about it and maybe it will make my experience a happier one! Here are the reasons I am excited to be pregnant during the summer instead of the winter:

-I get to wear flip flops and easy slip on shoes all summer
-I do not have to worry about stuffing my swollen feet/legs into boots for our freezing winters
-I get to wear maxi dresses and comfortable cute clothes
-I don't have to layer and wear thick clothes outside, just to get inside and fry to death
-I don't have to buy a maternity coat
-Not being able to reach my feet is a fantastic excuse for regular pedis
-I get to go to the PNE and eat all their delicious food while pregnant(obviously WAY better than while not pregnant)
-I will have a baby to keep me entertained this winter while I'm trapped inside during snow storms
-I don't have to worry about sucking my tummy in, or my muffin top in my cute summer clothes this year
-I will have a cute baby bump for my bathing suit

And I'm sure there are more that I could come up with so I feel excited, not uncomfortable about the thought of being pregnant this whole summer long!

Plus in the end our baby will be so stinking awesome that it will be worth it!

Well,  I should go get ready for work. Have a fantastic day & happy baby pool guessing!!

Almost half way!

Woohoo!! I can't believe I'm already 19 weeks! It's crazy how fast time has gone so far! Next week we have an ultrasound again and I can hardly wait to see our baby looking more like a baby than a blob with limbs! :)

I've been getting sick more in my 2nd trimester than I ever did in my 1st, which is strange. I'm wondering if it is from my prenatal or if my baby just hates healthy foods! I've gotten sick a couple times this past week and it has been after I have eaten something healthy or taken my prenatal. It's weird, I get sick after eating chicken and veggies but can eat McDonald's and have NO problem! Silly little peanut.

This past weekend was my best friend Vanessa's wedding in Surrey. Justin and I spent the latter half of the week in Surrey visiting and getting ready for everything. It was such a gorgeous wedding, and such an honour to stand beside her on the day! The weather, however, was not super nice for the first part of it. It was pouring for the first set of our photos but on the upside we won't have glare in our eyes and have squinty eyes! I barely even looked pregnant in the dress, and Cindy didn't even have to put in a belly panel!

She looked so stunning, and I am super happy for her and Joel to be married! Being engaged, I feel like is the hardest time on a relationship. You are kind of in between dating and spending forever together, and planning a wedding is such a strain on any relationship. So yippee for a new life beginning!! 

Oh.my.word. Let me write a little paragraph about the most amazing thing I have purchased thus far...a SNOOGLE! When you are pregnant, or maybe even when you're not pregnant you should own one! I am a belly sleeper and was beginning to get a little uncomfortable during the night. Thankfully we have a 1.5 inch memory foam topper on our bed so I've been able to get away with it. But when we went down to visit my parents and I went to fall asleep and felt like I was laying on a board...not comfortable. So I used a couple pillows and managed to sleep on my side not so comfortably with kicking them out a few times during the night. Then the next day we went to Toys R Us and scanned a registry...mostly because I heard you get a sweet gift bag, but I saw my snoogle and purchased it! Now I sleep like a baby on my side and LOVE going to bed with it every night. It is a super weird looking pillow but it works like magic!!! Okay, I'm done my rant of love! 

Well, I should really go finish tidying my house and making Justin's lunch. He's on night shift AGAIN. Which sucks because I'm all alone, but is also good because I got to rest up from my weekend. OH and I get the WHOOOOLE bed to myself. Just me, my fuzzy dog, and my glorious snoogle! hehe! I will update next week after our Ultrasound on Tuesday! Yippee!! 

Life Update

So as my friend kindly pointed out I haven't been blogging well, or updating anyone with baby info! So that's what this post is for! So if you aren't interested in my baby/pregnancy info this probably isn't the blog for you to read! :)

I've been trying to limit my posts about my baby and pregnancy so I don't swarm everyone's feeds with info about it, so maybe a blog post here and there is the way to go! :)

I am almost 17 weeks already and I can't believe how fast the time has gone! I feel like it was yesterday I was jumping up and down in our bedroom with the positive result! But here we are, over 4 months along! I have noticed a couple changes lately, which are really exciting! I feel like my belly has dropped over the past couple weeks, that I am definitely beginning to carry low, but maybe that's just me! I will post a before and after belly photo and you guys can all decide! I also started to feel baby move a little bit in there, which is the coolest and weirdest feeling ever!! I know its really early for me to be able to feel the baby, especially in my first pregnancy. But I am a google nerd so I know what I am looking for and not to just pass it off as gas! Hehe! Plus, I have never felt gas in the lower right side of my abdomen anyways!

Me at 12 weeks

Me today at 16.5 weeks

I have been having more cravings then I did in my first trimester and eating really weird things! Like last night I had an insane craving for sloppy joes, so I went out to the store and bought the stuff for it! Of course I had to cut up some pickles and mix them in there, what kind of pregnant lady would I be if I didn't add pickles?! And then I proceeded to drink 4 large glasses of milk (which I used to hate) and eat 1/4 of a jar of pepperoncini peppers! Justin described being pregnant like being high, he said out of no where you think of something you want to eat and then you have to have it, like right that moment and can't stop thinking about it. He said its like having the munchies, which I found quite humorous.

My best friend Vanessa is getting married at the end of this month, and I am crazy excited for that to happen! I was a little worried about my bridesmaids dress though, but thank God it fits! We measured me at 8 weeks pregnant and then ordered a size up, luckily it fits everywhere but is just a little snug on the belly. But Vanessa's mom is really good at sewing so is just going to cut out a panel for my belly and put in stretchy material! Woohoo!! There is a layer of chiffon overtop of the material so no one will even know. Well...no one would have even known if I didn't just tell everyone! hehe!

I have been feeling really good still! And am so thankful I didn't suffer with any morning sickness so far this pregnancy! I am just finding I'm grumpy and emotional. Its especially hard when Justin is on night shift and I just feel lonely. I can't eat cooked vegetables with this baby,  they do not sit well with my stomach. So I have been eating raw carrots, and a lot of meat and cheese! :D

We finished painting baby's room! I LOVE how it turned out, I am so excited with it! We did the main back wall with the stripes, which is the wall baby's crib & change table will be up against, and the rest of the walls are the light green! Now we are just going to paint our bedroom and then we can lay down carpet in that part of our house! We are getting a nice big tree wall decal for behind baby's crib that I think will look really good! And we got a bunch of baby stuff from friends and family which are super appreciated and take the load off a bit! We bought a crib and a stroller already, so I feel like we are making a bit of progress there! I can't wait until I can put together everything in baby's room!

Oh and we bought a boat! Justin found a really good deal on a boat down in Aldergrove so we came down last weekend and picked it up! It is a 16 ft Malibu bow rider with a wake tower but it isn't currently running. Justin did a couple of tests on it so he thinks that he can get it up and running pretty easy!! Plus, with being like 7 months pregnant this summer I won't really be able to hold onto him on the back of the Sea Doo this year either! We we figured this was a better option, plus then we can bring more people out with us!

We had our second appointment with the OB and it was really good! I found out that all my blood work seemed normal, but after this baby comes out that I need a booster for Rubella because my levels were really low! So that's kind of crazy! But we got to hear baby's heartbeat again, which is easily the best part of the appointment! This time he had more trouble finding our little peanut because baby was super low!! But he found it and baby's heartbeat was 163 bpm this time! I don't believe in "gender fetal heartbeats" so I know people may think that over 160 is a girls heartbeat but it has been proven to be totally false! So that is a clue we can rule out! Anyways, I am thinking of doing a online baby pool! So that everyone can guess what gender they think our baby is, when its going to arrive and how big he/she will be! But I'm just trying to find a good site and what exactly I want the pool to look like!

Well, Justin will be getting up from his sleep very shortly so I should go so I can spend time with him out of the 1.5 hours I get with him today! Wooooo night shift.

Goodbye Money

I started looking into strollers and the basic baby stuff today and can I just say holy cow! The stuff is so expensive! We think we found the nursery furniture we want, but I started looking at strollers and a cradle or bassinet for the first 3 months. 

First let me rant about bassinets...why are they all so ugly?! I just found that most of them I looked at are frilly and overly patterned and just not my style at all. Plus they are like $200 or more. I'm sure they can be found at a lesser price but most of them are crazy expensive! Especially since the baby is only in it for the first 3 months or so. At least our baby will be in it for the first 3 months while Justin is off work and then get moved into its room and crib when he goes back. Needless to say I think I might be more of a cradle lady

I'm finding it hard to find a stroller that would really fit our needs. Since we live in Williams Lake I would really like something with bigger wheel or that is good in snow in case I want to go for a walk. Very unlikely...but still it would be nice to have something I can easily push from my car to the store if there is snow on the ground. I really like the travel system strollers though, and they often don't come with good wheels for outside. I like getting a matching car seat and stroller and being able to just have one stroller for baby's whole time needing one! 

I am looking for crib bedding too and maybe I am just a diva but I have found maybe 3 that I like. Or maybe I just have a specific idea about what I want it to look like. I don't want bumper pads, so I don't really want to spend extra on a set that comes with them. Also since we are not finding out the gender of our baby I want bedding that is gender neutral. We are getting espresso furniture for the nursery and the walls are green, so something that goes with that as well. 

That is pretty much it for my baby rant. It is the first of many I am sure, but I figured hey isn't this what a blog is for? To get the silly thoughts in my mind out into the world!! Plus if you have any ideas I am more than happy to receive them. 

Our Peach

So I think its fairly safe to say that most of you by now know that I am pregnant! I am 13 weeks tomorrow so that makes our baby about the size of a peach! The whole concept of pregnancy is so intricate and amazing I am just blown away every time I get my weekly update on what's new with my baby. Already our baby has fingerprints, reflexes and its vital organs have formed which is crazy for something that is only 3 inches long!

I am still feeling great which I am really happy about and my belly definitely popped while on the cruise. Justin says he hates the term "popped" because it sounds like something exploded in my belly! Haha! So I try to use a different term around him :) 

I have been keeping a belly book for info for me and I also am making a book for baby. I update baby on stuff every week, like what I have been up to, what I have been eating, or if we saw the baby that week. Just little things that I might forget when the day comes and baby is finally here! I feel like I need a nickname or something for our baby, I feel silly just calling it baby all the time. I suppose thats what it is, but I might have to start trying new names for him/her! 

This past week I had my 12 week check up at my OB, which was good, and definitely informational. We got a huge book with tons of info on pregnancy and all the resources in our town for it! I had my physical...oh joy. And then we went to listen for baby's heartbeat. The doctor warned us that at 12 weeks there is only like a 30% chance of hearing the baby's heartbeat so not to be too concerned if we can't find it! So I was all ready to not hear the heartbeat...because 30% isn't that big a percentage, and he put the cold jelly on the doppler and stuck it down in the middle of my belly and BOOM! There was baby's heartbeat, he said "Wow...that was easy". There are no words to describe what it is like to hear your baby's heartbeat for the first time, or probably even the second time! He let us hear baby's heartbeat and then he moved it so we could hear mine and hear the difference! 

I have noticed that anytime I sneeze my stomach feels tense for like 15 seconds after the sneeze, its like baby is saying "Holy crap, what was that!?!" Its so funny! I can hardly wait until I can feel it move around and kick in there. I'm sure once it starts kicking me in my ribs I will take back that desire, but for now I'm pretty stoked! 

I have felt pretty good my first trimester so I am looking forward to feeling amazing during my second. And possibly even doing my prenatal workout video more than 2 times :) hehe! Here is hoping!! But only after I enjoy my DQ tonight. Yum Yum Yum!!! :D

The Cruise!

So as many of you know we just came back from a fantastic 7 night Caribbean cruise...*sigh* It was so nice to be in the sun and heat, especially since I live in Williams Lake where it has been snowing ever since we got back!

We went as a family to celebrate my parent's 30th wedding anniversary! Woohoo! But of course who really needs an excuse to go on a cruise! There were 12 of us that went: My Mom & Dad, Jordan, Justin & I, My Uncle Gary, Aunt Karen, Cousins Mark & Greg, and Mike & Katie with Estelle! We were really looking forward to cruising with other people as last time we went was our honeymoon and we were alone...obviously. But we just thought cruising with people would make it so much better!

For those of you who don't know the Bonderud's this story might not be as entertaining to you, but that is just too bad! :) So at the time of booking the cruise my cousin Greg didn't think he would be able to come. He was in between work and had an other trip planned for later this year and just couldn't see it happening. So we were all sad but planned our cruise anyways. A couple months later in September of 2012 Greg changed his mind and decided that he pretty much just didn't want to miss out on the cruise and booked his tickets to stay with Mark and Jordan. The plan was to keep it a surprise from everyone until the cruise came, but slowly the cousins found out. Our main goal was to keep it from Karen & Gary which we were highly successful in doing!! Greg works as a paramedic out of town so he told his parents that he would be gone the week we were on the cruise as he had to go to Oliver to work so he couldn't watch the house. This was completely normal as he goes up for work quite often. So they found someone else to watch the house while they were gone. The morning we all flew out for Miami Greg offered to cook everyone breakfast, but we had to be at the airport at 6 so breakfast was at 4:15...what a trooper. So we went over and had pancakes, fruit salad and bacon...it was so awesome. And we all talked about how we would send Greg postcards and flash his picture around and find him a bride! We all headed off to the airport, or at least that's what Gary & Karen thought! Our car drove around the block until the other Bonderud's were long gone and picked Greg up and went to the airport! We all got through customs and walked around a bit and then found Gary & Karen and had Greg turn the corner last. My Aunt Karen's response was so epic, if you know her you can only imagine how loud it was! It took her a while to process that Greg had gotten through customs, she just thought he came to say goodbye, but when she figured it out she freaked out! It was so awesome!!

Justin and I got to Miami and went to our hotel, lucky for us we were in time to catch the free shuttle from the airport back to the hotel and went up to our room. By this time we were exhausted and really hungry so we searched through our tacky pizza flyers thrown under our door and ordered some pizza. We figured since my parent's plane came in only an hour after ours that they would be at the hotel soon and would probably be hungry! So we called the front desk and told them to pass on the message for my parents to come to our room. We called around 11:30, and by 1:30 we had heard nothing from them. We figured that they had probably waiting for Karen & Gary and then for Mike, Katie & Estelle who came in at 12:30 so that they should be there soon. By the time 2 am rolled around I was too exhausted to stay awake any longer and we went to sleep. Turns out it was a good thing because they had a heck of a time with their shuttle and it took them a long time and a decent amount of money to get to our hotel.

The cruise itself was fantastic! We had brought walkie talkies so we could all communicate which worked sometimes, but not that often...or people didn't have them on! We got to eat dinner most of the time together, which was really fun and we had fantastic waiters as well! For my Mom's birthday they even got her up dancing Gangnam Style at dinner with all the staff, I wish I had recorded it with my phone instead of hers because it was hilarious. Especially since the poor lady had broken her toe earlier that day snorkelling! I ate tons of food, especially from the Guy Fieri burger bar and the taco and burrito bar! Yum yum! Oh, plus I definitely visited the candy store almost every day. It definitely is expensive Carolyn, but I got little bits and figured since I was only drinking water I could splurge on candy!

I think everyone should go on a cruise at some point in their life. There is just so much to do, and so many food options! It was definitely way better going with family then just going as a couple. But at the same time it was really nice to just come home and be alone as well! We went to Cozumel, Mexico; Costa Maya, Mexico; Isla Roatan, Mahogany Bay, Honduras; and the Grand Cayman Islands.

We did this super sweet excursion where we rode on a 1000 horsepower speed boat to a private island for the day. But the boat would do 180's and soak us all! It was so awesome! And then we got to lay on the beach all day and Greg and Jordan did a water balloon toss which turned out to be hilarious!!

We were lucky too in sailing with Carnival that our ship didn't have any issues. They have had a couple issues with their ships lately and ours seemed to be perfectly fine, so thanks God!!! :)

It was a nice much needed warm break and now I can't wait for summer!

And baby makes 3!

We are so excited to be able to announce to the world that I am pregnant! YAAAAAAY! You may have noticed I've been a little quieter with my updates and my blogging, but that is because I didn't want to give anything away!!

So I figured I would write this blog to answer the general pregnancy questions and show you our adorable little bean!

I have been feeling really good! God has been good to me this pregnancy and I haven't had any sort of sickness or constant nausea! I have had a day here and there where I feel sick, but for the most part I just feel fat! I feel more tired for sure, but not the exhausted, crumple to the ground, can barely move kind of tired...so that's good! I mostly am just a bottomless hungry pit who has to go to the bathroom all the time!

I am due September 24, 2013 which make me currently at 10.5 weeks. And was going to wait until I was out of my first trimester to announce it but figured what the heck! After I had my ultrasound today and baby's heartbeat was at 167 and it looked good, I was just too excited not to share the news. Plus my parents have been dying to tell people about it too!

We are not planning on finding out the gender of our baby and waiting until it is born to find out! I know a lot of people now a days aren't waiting because they want to know and want to plan. But for us, we just didn't think that was necessary! We painted baby's room green and plan on buying gender neutral black and white bedding! As for clothes, baby will be in onesies for the first little bit anyways and then I can go crazy shopping! Plus I figure if we don't know what gender our baby is we won't buy a pink flowery stroller or a blue cars carseat and can reuse it for baby #2! Also since baby clothes are the cutest things basically in existence I won't be tempted with every adorable baby girl piece of clothing I see to buy it for baby, hopefully saving us moolah! No judgement on those who find out, these are just our reasons!! :)

I can see no better way to celebrate than to go on a Caribbean cruise for 7 days starting Sunday!! Talk about a pregnant ladies dream! Unlimited delicious food...I think yes! 

                                                                     Our little monkey

Now I am free to blog once more!! Looking forward to updating you on my week, and making you all jealous! he he he!

A Busy Surrey Weekend

Home sweet home! I always love to go to Surrey for a visit but I am always really happy to be back home after it. Especially if I have to leave my husband here! 

I flew down on Thursday at 11, and from there Vanessa picked me up and we went for lunch at Jenn Brooks house! It was fantastic because I haven't seen her since our wedding, and we just got along as if it hasn't been 1.5 years! After lunch Vanessa and I did some running around shopping and then went back to my parents house and hung out with them for a little while! 

Friday was another day spend shopping, but it was with my second family! Pindy, Vanessa, Alex and I went to Metrotown to find shoes for the wedding, we got frozen yogurt too...which is always a good idea! Friday night I was supposed to go over to the Botha's for dinner and bonding but they had the flu so that was a no go. So sad! So I got to go out with Vanessa to watch the Christmas production with a bunch of ladies! Woop woop! 

Saturday was a crazy busy day! Saturday morning I had breakfast with my family and then met Calla for coffee, which was fabulous as always! After our coffee date we met all the girls at David's Bridal for bridesmaids dress shopping for Vanessa's wedding! We had to go to a bunch of places to try and find a dress because we just couldn't find a good enough one in the colour we needed!! After dress shopping I headed over to Ashley's house for another bridesmaids get together for her wedding in November! We made plans for everything for her wedding and had food and just hung out! A couple of us spent the night, which I haven't done in a looooong time! 

Sunday was church, which I was really excited about because I never get to go to JH and Clint was speaking, but after the first song I got called down to work in Children's Church because the girl who was working there was crazy sick! Oh well! After church Mom, Jordan and I went to the mall to buy brother new shoes, and then I met a lady about buying her computer! Which I did and am super stoked about!! It is a MacBook Pro in super awesome condition, thanks to Justin for finding it on Craigslist! :)

It was a super awesome weekend, but definitely not restful!! To top it off I woke up this morning and was having an allergic reaction to something!! :( My legs and hands were super itchy and red, and my face was red and blotchy and my eyes were almost swollen shut! Definitely not how I wanted to see Justin for the first time after a weekend away! But Benadryl saved the day and it is gone down, especially in my face!! I have NO idea what I am allergic too but hopefully it doesn't happen again!

Now off to a baby shower for one of my very dear friends and then home to bed! 

Excuses

I have been thinking about how easily we as humans make excuses for everything! Mostly because I keep making them! Excuses about not wanting to clean after I work and just wanting to rest, excuses about not putting the laundry away, excuses about not eat healthy, and mostly excuses about not working out.

I know once I get in the habit of doing all these things that it will just become second nature, its just a matter of actually getting in the routine. I just find it interesting how we can so easily come up with excuses as to why we shouldn't do something that is good for us and so many reasons to be lazy!

Justin always impresses me with his work ethic. He works 12 hour days, leaves our house at 5:15 in the morning and doesn't come home until 8 at night. Still he will often plow the driveway, or I will wake up to the dishwasher being run, or a new load of laundry in. If he can do it there is no reason why me, who works about 20 hours less than him a week can't do it as well.

This is a completely random post, and more so about motivating myself to become a better person and a better spouse! But maybe it will be an encouragement to someone else.

We can do ALL things through Christ who gives us strength. If we ask for it he can give us the help we need to become the person that He wants us to be!

Changing it up

So I figured I might as well blog! Its been a while! I came to the realization that I never blog because I never feel like my life is exciting enough for people to want to hear about. But then I realize hey! No one else's is exciting either! We are all generally just as lame! So I shall too will bore you with my daily life tasks! Hehe!

Recently Justin and I decided that it would be wise for us to make a budget and stick to it. Together we bring in a decent amount of money and sadly didn't pay much off of our debt last year. So maybe if we got a better idea of where our money has been going and make a payment plan we can stick to it and have financial success! So here is hoping that we can stick to it this year!

We also decided that in helping budgeting we should do a meal plan, I know that meal plans cut down on the amount of groceries purchased as well as make life easier by not having to decide every night when I get off work what I am going to make us for dinner. So I sat down and put one together! I've followed meal plans for myself when I've been dieting before but never necessarily had to put one together for myself! I'm sure as time goes by it will become second nature and it won't take crazy long to put one together!

I also have started to want to use my crockpot more! When we were doing our registry both of us were very anti crockpot. We didn't scan one, we didn't want one(we got 3 for our wedding), we thought they were silly. But now...good old pinterest...I have seen a couple crockpot recipes that peak my interest. So if you guys have any awesome crockpot recipes send them my way and ignite my love for this household item!

The new year has just begun and already I am so excited for what the year has to bring! Last year brought many adventures and I am looking forward to the ones that will come along with this year!

Here is to boring you more with the mundane activities of my life this year! Wahoo!!!