everyday life

Now & Then

2012-02-14T18:51:00.000-08:00

I have been being nostalgic lately - maybe it's because one of my besties is moving halfway across the world (literally - to South Africa!) but it's re-enforced to me how lucky I am to have these ladies in my life.

I remember watching the movie Now and Then when it came out and hoping that me and my girlfriends would stay friends all those years later - we were 14 when the movie came out, and as hopeful as I was it also did seem so far away. Now - 17 years later we are woman. Closer in age to the parents in the movie then the kids....eek. Hard to believe, but true.

This pic recently resurfaced as we were gathering images for a book to give to Em before she goes away - I remember this day so clearly, it was our last big outing just before we all left for University. We were 18/19 and leaving each other seemed like the worst thing ever. We would spend every day together, by our lockers, going out for lunch, going tanning at lunch (yuck!) and having lattes and bagels together. It was pre-Facebook, pre-internet really...most of our evenings of high school were spent on the phone with each other (a landline) for hours on end. Analyzing, gossiping, talking about what we did that day (even though we were always all together). It was such a familiar routine.

Fast forward 12 years and this is us now. So far there are 4 kids, 4 dogs, 4 husbands and 6 significant others. We each have our own lives - independent of one another, our own careers, homes, lifestyles. We don't see each other every day anymore. But we do stay in touch. There are little ways we integrate into each others everyday lives. Through texting, or Facebook, or emails throughout the day, visits when we can swing it. Remarkably I think we'd all agree that we are closer than ever. Any pettiness or cattiness that plagued us throughout high school is gone - washed away by girls that have grown together into supportive women. What's left is a strong group of woman who I'm so proud to call my friends.

I love that these girls that I grew up with be known by my kids as their Aunties. So special.

Upside-down

2012-02-03T19:38:00.000-08:00

Our lives right now are upside-down -- not in a bad way, but just in a nutty way! We made kind of a rash decision that we would do some reno's to our house before baby #2 makes his way here and are now scrambling like mad to get everything done. Between that and work and family time it's left little time for anything else.
My scrapbooking stuff is stashed away but it will be worth it in the end - part of our renos include finishing our basement with a dedicated craft area - woot!

We have had a great start to 2012 - we visited my parents in Naples - I haven't had a chance to download the pics yet but there are some great ones. This layout is from our visit prior just before I finished up mat leave.
Jonah is such a funny boy these days - he's starting to really get into playing with toys and figure out how things work. He also LOVES to eat - tonight we went for sushi and he ate an entire bowl of rice, an entire serving of edamame, some chicken teriyaki and some udon noodles. Cute boy.
In other news I am obsessed with Pinterest lately - going to add a follow button here on my blog.
Have a great day!

So long 2011

2011-12-30T07:03:00.000-08:00

I am a bad blogger. Since returning to work full time it has just fallen off my radar. I'm a bit sad about it becuase it is a great way to chronicle the everyday - but one of the challenges of being back to work is that I feel like I barely have time to catch my breath let alone pause for a few minutes and reflect.

In all honesty - being back at work and being a parent full time is not as bad as I was expecting. I love seeing my friends again every day. I love using my head and thinking, problem solving beyond domestic duties. But it does come at a cost - I miss my little man. We see eachother during the week for such a short period of time. It's such sweet time, but it is short. By the time we're back at home after work/daycare it's 5:30 and he's wiped from a long day so he's in bed most nights by 6:30.

We have been taking advantage of weekends together and had a lovely December full of fun. Not that it will be chronicled in my December Daily layout because I have no idea when we did what - (going to save that for next year I guess!) but we had a fun month filled with horse rides with Santa, visits with friends, trips to the city and pancake breakfasts at a new spot close to home.

To say Jonah is thriving at daycare would be an understatement. He is LOVING it - and absorbing like a little sponge. He's learned lots of new tricks since he started including clapping his hands and going up and down stairs like a pro.

This past week we were all off together on vacation and savoured our time together. We have one day left and then go back on Tuesday. We have already packed away all of our Christmas stuff until next year - the biggest hit this year was our Elf on the Shelf (Clive Bigsby) - I kind of thought Jonah was too young to enjoy it and it would be more for Kirk and I but he LOVED him - would find him most mornings on his own and squeal with delight.

This year was a big one for our family. As much as we became a family in 2010 I feel like we really earned the title in 2011. We had to learn to work together, to lean on one another, to say sorry when we fell down, to pick ourselves back up, to be compassionate and kind, generous and selfless. It was a wonderful year full of firsts.

I do miss scrapbooking regularly. When I was off and on the Scrapping Turtle design team it was the perfect way to scrap a bit each week. That has definitely fallen to the wayside a bit but I want to get back at it - and also start sharing more regularly on here with what projects I do have on the go.

Here's one layout I did back in the fall when I went away for the weekend to scrap.

Look at this little guy - almost walking! Still has "spaghetti legs" if we let go though - its cute!

December Daily 2011

2011-11-17T06:21:00.001-08:00

So I love the idea of an entire book devoted to documenting all of the holiday magic of December - check out Ali Edward's December Daily if you haven't already - but realistically with going back to work tomorrow (eek!) I just knew I wouldn't be able to commit to an entire album.

This month at The Scrapping Turtle we are working with Christmas papers - I got Bazzil Basics Holiday Style, I love the mix of bright colours with traditional Christmas colours - I also don't have a ton of Christmas photos and can't seem to find our Santa pic from last year - so I decided to do a December Daily two page layout instead - the hope is I'll have something to jot down each day - I left the weekend dates big circles because I'm sure that's where the bulk of the activity will take place.

I am already feeling so Christmasy! We have all of our decorations up inside and out and I have Christmas music streaming all the time.

Jingle Jangle!

One

2011-11-11T06:43:00.001-08:00

This is the eve of Jonah's birthday, tomorrow we've got a full day planned of fun things to do. Last year at this time I was big as a house, knowing I'd be headed to the hospital early the next morning to be induced.

One year ago tomorrow we welcomed Jonah into our lives.

It's hard to know where to even start - to begin documenting this year in our lives. How much Jonah has changed. How much we've all changed.

Jonah is a bright and happy 1 year old. He is all of the sudden super BUSY, all the time. There were a few months between colic and now where he was content to just sit on the floor and entertain himself but it's like in the last few weeks he's discovered there's more to life - and wants to know what I've been hiding from him. So he loves to be carried around. To point at things, to try to touch everything. I think part of it is also that he's been going to daycare in prep for me going back to work so he's probably realizing that I'm not a permanent fixture, that breaks my heart a bit - I can't lie. I know it's good in the long run but he still is just a baby after all.

And so at ONE year Jonah....

Has gotten to be a pickier eater but mostly in the sense that he wants to self feed, and to also feed me. I would say he's gotten pickier but whenever I take him places people comment what a good eater he is so I think for him he's gotten a bit pickier but still overall good. Yesterday I was birdie feeding him at the mall (chewing up some food for him - ;)) - and the man beside me commented on what a great eater he was. I sort of wanted to apologize for what he may have seen but I was trying to be discreet so just let it slide and acted like it was totally normal to chew up food and spit it out and feed it to your child at the mall.

LOVES to search for our elf on the shelf every morning. When he finds him (Clive Bigsby) he will shriek and try to grab him and wave frantically at him. He tends to find him a LOT sooner than I would expect.

Has 10 teeth and more poking through, including 2 molars. Poor lamb - I think that's contributed to some of the fussiness of late. That and his sleep schedule seems to be shifting....I think he's outgrowing two long naps but one just doesn't seem to be enough - still finding our groove there.

Still doesn't seem too interested in walking - will use the walker for a bit but is such a speedy crawler I think he just prefers that for now.

Weighs 23lbs, about the same as he did at 10 months. I think it's just because he's on the GO all the time now so he's just moving a lot more.

Is a real babbler - has his own little language and will just chatter away with me all day. I just answer like I know what he's saying.

Loved Halloween and I think he will love Christmas too - we decorated this past weekend and he's enamored by the tree.

Loves to be pulled around in a plastic toy box with a frisbee as a steering wheel and play "car" with me.

Is our darling little big grinned sweetie pie.

We love you so much little man xoxo

11 months

2011-10-21T04:37:00.000-07:00

Jonah turned 11 months last week - this has been an amazing month with our little guy.

He offically said his first word - "again" - he says it mostly when he wants his dog Scout to sing another song...sounds more like "a-ga"...took me a while to realize that he was saying and meaning it but it is pretty consistent now and so cute. The other words he says pretty regularly are: Baba, Mama and Dada but he uses those pretty interchangeably - "again" seems to be the first one he's using in the correct context all the time.

He is a mean crawler - can cross a room in the blink of an eye, literally.

He pulls up and will walk with the walker for a bit but not overly interested in that part. More interested in the toys on the walker.

Has started getting into everything this month. Figured out somehow how to open the baby gate (what the heck?!!?? - it MUST not have been closed properly...but still!), also got into his first real "mess" - knocked over a candle in a jar and it shattered EVERYWHERE....my fault for leaving it where he could reach, thankfully nobody was hurt.

Started eating a bit more solids, seems back on track after being sick earlier this month - likes to feed himself peas and pancakes.

Got a nasty cold that lasted the better part of a few weeks, but was such a little toughie, would barely complain except for doing this little pitiful cry. Aw, poor dude.

Had a good first "real test" at daycare, was happy as a clam there with the other kiddies and he loves his daycare provider. She makes homemade soup and I was nervous he wouldn't eat it so packed his own lunch but he gobbled it all up. Good boy.

Almost ready for a second haircut!

Headed to my in-laws this weekend with Kirk while I get my scrap on with some girlfriends.

Got SKINNY on us - I think being sick had something to do with it but all of the sudden the 12 month pants that I thought I was going to have to pack away fit. Still has those chubbo litttle cheeks though. Love them and love him.

A little news

2011-10-06T06:21:00.000-07:00

We're on our way to crazy town - expecting a new baby April 5th. We are thrilled obviously, blessed beyond belief. But if I'm being honest....nervous too! Two kids under a year and a half? Ha! That will be nuts. In a good way nuts but nuts none the less.

If any of you have kids close in age any advice is welcome ;) - I know it will be great to have them so close in age but it's the logistics that are making me scratch my head. I guess I'll just live it and see right?

I am going to go back to work this fall until the spring - Jonah will go to daycare and then stay there the first few months the new baby is here which I think will be good for everyone. We'll find out the gender in about 6 weeks time....this time around I honestly don't have a gut feeling. With J at first I thought girl but then was SURE boy.

My brother and sister in law are expecting Jan 30th (a boy) so our kids will be SO close in age. I love that. My brother and I are 8 years apart and his kids are 7 and 4 so I just assumed they were done....so glad they went for a third.

Can't believe we're gonna have another one of these around:

Makes my heart hurt a little less to think that he's already almost a year old

Life is good.

World's quickest layout

2011-09-22T11:16:00.000-07:00

Just a suuuuuuuuuper simple layout from last month's Turtle projects that I forgot to share on here - this literally took me 10 mins max - just punched out a bunch of circles, used foam dots to pop the edges and voila!

My kind of page.

Hope you have a great day

xoxo

In This Family

2011-09-18T10:52:00.001-07:00

I had seen this quote on Pinterest and on a few scrapbooking layouts so for this month's Scrapping Turtle sketch challenge I just copied it directly - I love how it reflects imperfection and forgiveness - and I loved how printing out the photos in 8x12 made it so easy to quickly pull together this page.

Working with Bo Bunny's Forever Fall line:

Have a great Sunday
xoxo

10 Months

2011-09-17T11:12:00.000-07:00

Ok so this first sentence I just need to copy and paste and insert the month #:
Oh gosh - 10 months already? I feel like I just did the 9 month post.
But it's true!

I guess that's life with a baby - always changing.

This month has for sure been one of the biggest in terms of changes - Jonah's personality just seems to grow every day and he's now such a little boy!

At 10 months Jonah:

-Crawls around like crazy, is into everything - exploring, touching, throwing. I have turned our main floor into a total baby jail - blocked off the dining room and part of the living room which effectively cuts the main floor in half and helps to contain him and keep him safe as he toddles around

-We have a sunken front room which is blocked off most of the time...yesterday as I was bringing groceries in I put him in there thinking it would be like a little "pen" and contain him....only to come in and find he'd crawled out and was trying to get back down (eek!)

-Into textures these days - liking food a bit lumpier than last month, not into his purees as much unless they are a little lumpy or have some baby pasta stirred in. Also loving minigo yogurts, has one with almost every meal.

-Plays with Ben so well, will throw the ball for him (pretty far for his age I think;)) and then will also put the ball right into Ben's mouth as well as his own. I'm kind of over the fact that it's really germy. I know it is but there's not a lot I can do to contain it and the vet said as long as we're giving Ben his heartworm medicine then it should be fine.

-Had his first real trial at daycare - I was gone for about 3 hours and when I got back he was out in the backyard sitting in a baby pool filled with animal figurines having a grand old time.

-Makes all kinds of noises and funny faces - almost like a pucker and kiss noise which we think either means "I'm hungry" or "let's kiss". I swear sometimes he says Hi Dada when he sees Kirk but it's pretty sporadic

-Is a great stander and will stand for a looooooong time. Has pulled himself up on his own once but we're not really sure how it happened b/c when we looked over there he was just standing holding onto the railing. He's doing "plank" a lot so I almost wonder if before he pulls up regularly he'll teach himself to stand up but we'll see.

-Still a good sleeper/needs lots of sleep. Goes down around 6:30-7 now and up between 6-7:30 with two naps of varying lengths depending on the day and what time he initially wakes up. Sometimes still wakes up at night and I go in and give him his soother and he goes back to sleep. Got his arm really caught in his crib once. Was so sad - I had to YANK it out so hard. Lil chubster.

-Went for his 10 month apt yesterday - he's 23lbs 4oz and 30 inches

-Loves watching YouTube Disney song videos during mealtime on the computer.
-Closes his eyes and opens his mouth when he's eating something he really likes. Ha. Cute.
-Got his first haircut today :) - I'll have to take some pics, I was worried he wouldn't look like a baby but he still does.

Have a great day xoxo

Blog your heart

2011-09-14T12:31:00.000-07:00

I read Stephanie's blog just about every day - she is an amazing scrapbooker and also a wonderful mom who blogs about the daily adventures with her family that includes 4 little girls.

Today she's challenging readers to blog their hearts - and really for me that's a big part of having my blog. Just to kind of keep record of what's happening every day....although I don't blog as often as I'd like and most days I don't get too "deep" on here I do love looking back on where I've been and it definitely is a slice of real life. I also like what she says about some blogs looking too "perfect" - obviously that's not reality because nobody is perfect but it's a good reminder not to compare yourself and to keep it real as far as blogging goes.

So here goes...

I often struggle with just how much to share on here. I know a few of my "friends in real life" read this blog so it's a wonderful way to share info on our family. I have also met some amazing online friends through the scrapbook world that I love to learn about through their blogs so I like to share back with them...but sometimes the openness of the internet scares me a bit. I worry about putting too much personal details about our family online. I wish I could just share more openly but I do have a bit of concern about the online world in general. Even facebook sometimes is too much for me - I deleted it all together for a while and then when I rejoined just added my "actual" friends instead of the hundreds or so acquaintances I had prior.

I'm feeling more and more lately like life is too short for little worries. For petty things. I have a friend who I have just gotten to know in the last 5 years or so and when I met her girlfriends I was surprised a bit because they were all wonderful but so different from her...(not in a bad way just not what I would have expected....I think sometimes for me since I met the core group of my girlfriends at such a young age we kind of all look/act the same that I have trouble being open minded about new people off the bat) - anyway she said something to me that resonated - that she tries to surround herself with positive people. That really stuck with me and it's something I'm making an effort to do to more of - and to be more positive myself.

In the last little while we've seen a few of our friends marriages break up - for us this is new within our friend group - obviously we know people that had split up but they were never really in our peer group. It has hit home very hard for both of us. We are not the perfect family - far from it, and marriage is definitely not easy but this is just a reminder to me to treat my marriage as a sacred union.

For the first time in my life I literally don't care what I look like. It's liberating but at the same time kind of frightening when I catch my reflection when I'm out sometimes.....I don't want to scare away children or anything so while I don't have a desire to look good out of vanity anymore I do think that I'm starting to appreciate looking nice just for the sake of looking well put together.

I'm nervous about starting back to work in a few months for all of the logistical reasons - worried about how we'll fit in family time along with work time - but I'm also looking forward to it a bit.

Have a great day sweet friends

xoxo

10 years later

2011-09-12T10:21:00.000-07:00

Yesterday marked the 10th anniversary of 9/11. A day that will forever be etched into everyone who is old enough to remember's mind for the rest of their lives.

For me - I was in my second year away at University. Living with friends, starting school again after a trip to Europe that was probably the most carefree time of my life.

On Tuesday September 11th I was in class when my professor told us all to go home, to turn on the TV, that the World Trade Center had been hit by a plane. Ironically at the time I had no clue what she was even talking about. I had never been to New York - although it was a lifelong dream since reading the Babysitters Take Manhattan....(not even joking, I freaking loved those books!)

Obviously in the days that followed I became intimate with the story and joined what felt like a global outpouring of mourning and support.

Four days later I met Kirk. We started dating right away. Everything just all of the sudden seemed a bit more serious. Not to be taken so lightly.

On our engagement night - Oct 2004 at Tavern On the Green

Ten years later we are married and have a baby. I have been to New York City upwards of 20 times. It has become such a special place to me (I always knew it would be!). We got engaged there, honeymooned there and I travelled there numerous times on my own for work. I would travel all over the US and Canada with my job at the time and I have to say there is nowhere that I felt more at home, safer than I did in Manhattan. It has my heart.

We watched a documentary last night of one of the fire crew's closest to the World Trade Centers. There was a camera crew following a rookie firefighter and just by chance was there that day. It is the only footage inside the towers. It was haunting, terrifying and so powerful to watch. Ten years later a lot of the crew was interviewed. There are so many physical and emotional scars from that day but the one that stuck with me was how some of the guys just still feel guilty that they are still here.

I think in a way we can all identify with that. You hear something horrible and I think it's a natural feeling. And that's where I think we have a choice. Not to ignore the sad feelings - but alongside that to not be ignorant of the blessings right in front of you that you do have. To be thankful. To be good. To try hard. To not get caught up on the little petty things in life. To have a bit of perspective. To love others. To be kind. My heart still breaks and always will for those who lost their lives, for those who lost loved ones, for the city that was rocked to it's core that day 10 years ago.

We are going back to New York this fall. I know we'll visit the memorial and it will be a somber and emotional time for us but I think it's important to do - to honour those who were lost that day and to celebrate the city and nation that has prevailed.

xoxo

Quite the day

2011-08-17T12:44:00.000-07:00

I have had quite the day today - yesterday I went on a shopping trip with my girlfriend and her little girl - we had a blast but by the end of the day when we piled out of the car it was a scramble to get everything in the house.

I always lock the car doors - but last night I must have forgotten.

Our car got broken into and our ipod along with a few gift cards and my wallet was stolen - it took me forever to piece it all together...I looked for the ipod when I got in the car this morning but thought maybe Kirk had taken for his drive to work. I just assumed my wallet was in my bag (which I had brought in the house last night). When I got to Walmart I decided to get an iced coffee before I shopped - I realized after I ordered my wallet wasn't in my bag --- so I told the cashier and a nice lady behind my paid for my coffee. She didn't know then the type of day I was having...heck I didn't even know..I just assumed my wallet was in my car - but when I got back to check - nope, not there. Then I came home and thought maybe it was here somewhere and I just hadn't remembered to put it in my car but nope not here. Then I started remembering how it was a bit of a scramble getting the kids out of the car yesterday, how we were hot and tired and excited about our shopping so I probably just forgot. Luckily my diaper bag made it inside and that had our passports in it (which is going to come in handy for replacing everything!)

Moral of the story is...I am disappointed, more annoyed than anything about the stuff I have to replace...but I am so touched by that lady - a total stranger who bought me a coffee...she had no clue what I was going through but it really made a bad situation seem ok, hopeful even - and made me realize that the good outweighs the bad.

Here is most recent Turtle layout - we're using the Authentique line this month and I love it!

Layout 1 - hidden element challenge - I chose hidden journalling:

In other news baby Jonah turned 9 months old on Monday! Eeeeee!!! How did this happen?

My days are now filled with a TON of movement...chasing more accurately. I think this month has been the biggest in terms of changes.

This month Jonah is:

-Crawling like it's his job - from room to room, he's a quick little crawler!
-Saying "babababa" to basically describe everything. He'll do it back to you on occasion - it's such a cute little noise! He alternates between that and almost a clearing of the throat noise - particularly when he wants someone to pay attention to him. It's cute!
-Getting pickier about food - not as into purees at all but much more interested in self feeding. There was a ton of food on the list before but now he mostly just seems interested in what we are eating.....which I know is good but a struggle when we're having typical summer food like salads etc.
-Major flirt - LOVES his ladies, yesterday he put on quite the show at Target for the cashiers
-Loves to stand....can't pull himself up quite yet but if I place him somewhere he'll just hang out there until he eventually falls on his bum
-Loves to play with cars and spin the wheels, can find wheels on anything (open dishwasher as an example)
-Loves to crawl over to the door stop and spring it so it makes a boing noise

Just woke up from his nap so got to run!

xoxo

Authentique Sharesies

2011-08-09T11:13:00.000-07:00

Just popping in with a little scrapbook share:

This month at The Scrapping Turtle the Design Team is working with a fantastic new line called Authentique - I am using the Blissful line and I love it!

We are getting back into the everyday groove over here after a week away with family - there's lots of crawling and babbling going on these days - so cute!

Bittersweet

2011-07-27T16:56:00.000-07:00

We locked down J's daycare for next year yesterday. This is such great news as it's with a daycare we didn't initially think we'd be able to get him into and he'll be going with on of my friend's sons who is basically the same age as him...but now that my return to work date doesn't seem like some distant date in the future I'm already starting to panic slightly.

The thought of rushing through our days
getting ready
packing lunches
commuting
dinner
clean up
bedtime
do it all over the next day makes me nervous. Right now our days are pretty structured and flow easily and because I'm home on mat leave I do meals, cleaning etc when J is napping. I can't figure out how we'll do it once I'm back at work but I just keep reminding myself that millions of people make it work and really there is no point in trying to figure it out now because no matter how I think it will be it will inevitably be different so there's really no point in worrying about it now*.
*lesson above learned earlier this year when I thought I knew everything I needed to know about having a baby so skipped every birthing/parenting class and decided to just wing it ;)

So I am trying to instead focus on this summer. On enjoying this special time that we have just Jonah and I. On going for walks, swinging at the park, playing at the splash pad.

And when he's napping and I'm caught up on chores I scrap. I will miss that a lot when I go back to work ;)

I'm finally getting caught up with my month by month posts:

I'm really loving these month by month pages - I'm proud that I've stuck to it this long. I really wanted to do project 12 this year but only got as far as January so I'm pretty happy I've got 8 months of these done already....even though the thought of that makes me cringe a bit with the realization that my itty bitty baby is now 2/3rds of the way to 1 year old!

sometimes

2011-07-25T17:12:00.000-07:00

Sometimes i go through kind of a rut with scrapbooking. I kind of lose my mojo a bit.

Or i do a page and i just don't feel like it really gels....

Then I look back at my books - at memories from a few years ago - read about how I was feeling then, what we were doing and I remember why I love scrapping so much and why I'll stick to it. It's therapeutic for me to be able to create.

It is SO hard to describe why you scrapbook to someone who doesn't - this video by Shimelle puts it all pretty much into perfect perspective. I have totally run into people that just don't get why I do what I do. I'm sure they think of scrapbooking as just slapping stickers and photos onto a page. It's hard to describe that it's more than just pretty paper. Even for myself sometimes I get sucked into that mentality of thinking that that's what it's all about. That is a fun part of it - but that's not the important part to me.

If i were my friend Meaghan I probably wouldn't need to scrapbook as much - that girl really is a rolodex of dates - she just remembers everything (hi meag!)...but not me - I forget pretty much everything.

And so I'm glad that I scrapbook.

I'm glad i started scrapbooking before i had kids.
I have lots of pages to remind me who i am.

I'm glad that i've continued to scrap now that i have jonah.
I'm not sure if he'll grow to love his books but i know i'll love to look back and remember these early months with fondness.

I'm glad that I write down how I'm feeling at a given point.
I love to be able to appreciate the here and now - to focus on the good things. To remember that although things may be stressful and busy the important things stay the same...that it really is all about the little things - and you can't blink or you'll miss them.

Wordless Wednesday: Beat the Heat edition

2011-07-20T06:55:00.000-07:00

I love having all four seasons - it baffles me that it can be SO cold and then SO hot all of the sudden. Right now it is record breaking HOT! We're doing what we can to stay cool

Swinging:

Sliding:

Hanging out with pals:

Getting ice cream:

Going up north:

Even the dogs are hot:

This pic doesn't really have to do with staying cool but I just love it:

Swimming! J's all time fave thing to do

Ben's fave way to beat the heat is to sleep (look at his legs - ha!)

and sleep some more:

and finally when it's too hot to go outside we just stay inside and play games like Baby Zoo (Ben was a penguin yesterday....today he may be a panda, we'll see ;)):

8 months

2011-07-19T07:01:00.000-07:00

Weighs 21lbs10oz
Measures 29inches
Lovingly called squishy, still so roly.

Total routine baby. As witnessed by last weeks 8 month dr apt where his beloved 2nd nap was missed. Poor thing had an absolute fit @ the drs office -he got to play w the germ toys and we ended up leaving the office in just a diaper (and a dirty one at that) - also reflects where I've gotten to as a mom that I'd travel so light. But note to self - bring at least one diaper and some wipes. His whole weekend was thrown off by that one missed nap - we were away for the weekend and he just did not sleep well. For him (and I am guessing for most babies) tired = not fun. Thankfully he adjusted right back once we were home.

He's sleeping 10-12 hrs a night plus two solid or 3 naps a day if the first two are shorter. Insert hallelujah chorus. We've got a simple plan- when J is cranky I put him down. He just seems to fare better this way. He'll still cry at naps but just for a few mins and then always wakes up happy. Gone are the days where we can go anywhere during naptime unless its an environment equipped for napping - but its worth it.

Loves loves loves his food. Sweet potato, squash, broccoli, chicken, chickpea, avocado, cereals. Not crazy about bottles - stopped nursing completely. Our dr said this is normal and nothing to worry about.
Always moving. Even when he's falling asleep he's rolling around or moving one of his legs or arms.

Really good at crawling position, can turn on a dime. Hasn't mastered motoring yet.

Loves people. Loves to smile and just watch.

Good little babbler.

Still gets stuck sometimes on his stomach at night and naps and needs help tipping back over and getting re-set (thanks for that term Linds!) with his soother and bunny.

Wearing mostly 12-18 month clothes but buying 1year or 2t when I do shop for him. He's so round that it works and I figure better to have something for longer vs something he'll grow out of quicker.

Loves cruising in the Baby Ergo. We do most of our errands this way as he's graduated out of the bucket seat.

So responsive to music. I play it for him almost all day when he's awake. The other day he was fussing a bit and I turned on Taylor Swift's 15 on itunes - after the first few guitar chords and he was smiling away. We listen to iTunes genius mixes almost all day.

Was not a yoga baby. We signed up for classes and got through one. He hated it. The silence, the lack of movement. Wasn't for him. We're now doing a bootcamp class (I workout and he plays) and its much better.

Obsessed with water. Such a water baby. Loves swimming - pool, lake, bath - doesn't matter. We also go to the splash pad almost every day and into our kiddie pool in the back yard. Its his favourite hobby. He squeals when he realizes we're at the splash pad. So cute.

Starting to like to feed himself with a spoon if I load it up for him and put it in front of him. I'm working on not worrying about the mess this creates :).

Can now feed himself a baby mum-mum.

Likes to take Ben's cuz and put it in his mouth. This is his second favourite hobby and why I need hawk eyes because as much as I'm fine with the french dog kisses dog toy in mouth is where I have to (attempt to) draw the line.

Things we're calling him these days - sweet boy, pet, puppy.

Happy 8 month birthday my sweet pet!

In other news good thing I am keeping this record on here - I thought I had my monthly pages up to date and just realized I have only done up to month 5!

Scrappy Saturday and some links to share

2011-07-09T07:48:00.000-07:00

I found this site a few weeks ago via this blog and bookmarked it then - I was excited to see this article on The Star.com this morning stating that it's a site from Toronto (from the TTC pic in one of the photos I had a feeling it was - so neat!)

I'm already thinking about J's first birthday - I want to make to make these amazing Sesame Street cake pops...except this morning I tried to make just regular ones and had a few challenges....so I think I need to practice a few times!

Here's a recent layout using lots of Making Memories Vintage Findings - love this line! I know that pink is not typically a "boy" colour but I love it and I think this page is babyish enough that it's just fine.

Winding down from a busy week and gearing up for another one full of fun and visits...can't wait to see two of my fave girls and these two babe's next week...they'll definitely be bigger than at our last visit

Finally I swore I posted this layout already but I guess not...documenting some of our fave reads of late

Have a happy Saturday!

making your own baby food - it really is easy (honest)

2011-07-07T08:52:00.000-07:00

there was a lot about having a baby that i didn't know (everything) - and there were some things that i just figured i wouldn't be "into"....cloth diapers (check), breastfeeding in public (check) and making my own baby food...but i was wrong on this one. For some reason I had this notion that it would be too difficult to make my own baby food and I figured the packaged stuff was fine.
1. I don't know why I thought it would be difficult because I'm not a lost cause in the kitchen....I'm no Martha but I do like to cook and bake.
2. I didn't realize how expensive the jarred/frozen stuff was.....and honestly? It doesn't taste great. Esp the meat kind (yick!) so...I've ventured into the world of making my own baby food.

So far I've made:
chicken (twice, once breast meat and then I read that babies should have full fat meats so the second time I used thigh meat)
butternut squash
broccoli
pear and apple sauce
sweet potato
carrot
chickpea

The easiest was chickpeas....open a can and whir it up with the handy blender and bingo.
Sidenote I really wanted the baby bullet until I realized that my handy blender is basically the same thing without a little happy face on it (I was still a bit tempted)

The toughest so far was the pear and apple sauce - I followed this recipe and it wasn't tough just took a long time to peel everything.

In case you are interested in trying this yourself here are a few things to get you started
This site is awesome - it has been my go to for figuring out how to cook things

These summer days are just whizzing by...I am having so much fun enjoying this time with my little man. A few things I don't want to forget:
-how J's hair is like a treasure troll's when it's clean - you can make it into several different hairstyles including the comb over and the ever popular einstein 'do
-how when he's lying down and looking towards his toes his mouth goes into a little perfect "o" shape - it's so cute, we can't figure out if it's because he thinks he can see better that way or if he does it to get his lips out of his line of vision
-how he just stopped doing his little "sigh" after his sneezes....he used to do this breathy little "ahhhhh" after each sneeze...and one day this week it just stopped.

Also - for any of you new moms and mom's to be or really anyone who just likes a good laugh you have to check out Amalah's blog...she's one of those people who can just write the way she thinks...and her thoughts are ones that I've definitely had before!

Seven

2011-06-14T10:51:00.000-07:00

Really?

Seven Months? (well it's tomorrow to be exact but I just felt like blogging it today ;))

Look at this giant!

I know I say this every month that time is just rushing by but this month seems especially bittersweet - now I am officially over halfway done my maternity leave - and I know that living in Canada it is such a luxury to get an entire year off but it really is just flying by.

And so - at SEVEN months Jonah...:

Sits! This is a big one and has allowed me a ton of freedom - and an especially big thank you from my back and neck

Naps regularly - equally happy about this one - it has been so amazing, he's actually turned into a "routine" baby....I always felt weird before this month when people would ask me what his routine was b/c I honestly wanted to say to them..."mmmm pretty much whatever the little dictator wants" ;)...but persistance paid off in this case. And by that I mean me lying on his nursery floor for hours with one hand stuck through the crib rails (really? I cannot believe I did that now)
Eats....and eats and eats and eats...3 meals a day and 4 bottles/nursing sessions - eats pretty much whatever is put in front of him, rice cereal, oat cereal, carrots, sweet potato, lentils, chicken, apple sauce, bananas - the list goes on. Weighed 19lbs11oz at his 6 month apt and 21lbs4oz two weeks later. Porky piglet ;)
Loves to drink water - I am very happy about this one and will do everything I can to continue to encourage this one, I don't think I'll offer him juice or anything other than milk or water for the first little while...I don't think there is a need when he's getting what he needs from whole fruit and veggies.
Had his first fever :( - was so sad, poor thing got it on what was our hottest day yet - so we schlepped to the clinic with just a onesie on him sweating all the way - they did a few tests and said it wasn't in his chest or ears (which was good) so we just had to sort of wait it out. Was so sweltering that night that we ended up setting up camp in the family room on the couch cushions where it was a bit cooler and thankfully his fever broke that night.
Thinks animal noises are the coolest
Loves to be naked. Seriously probably his favourite thing ever. Flails around like mad. He's a true boy.
We've started reading two books before bed every night - Bear of My Heart and On The Night You Were Born...both are fantastic, Bear of my heart is perfect for him since he's our little bear.

I'm also behind at posting my Scrapping Turtle layouts from the last few weeks - this month we're working with Bo Bunny - I am using the Blast Off line and I love it - perfect for boyish pages

Have a great day!

Busy Bees

2011-06-08T06:38:00.000-07:00

We are busy summer bees over here.

Not that much time for the computer when it has been so lovely outside (ok and to be 100% honest my laptop isn't working right now and I'm for the most part too lazy to sit in the kitchen and blog/surf :)...hoping to get it fixed soon!).
Not that much time for scrapping either - but I'm making an effort to squeeze some in.

So although I haven't been blogging or scrapping much lately to document what has been going on there have been TONS of fun things going on around here and I'm now really getting why people love mat leave (I joke that I should write a book about having a baby about what people don't tell you about the first 4 months of having a baby).

One of the things that kept me busy this past month was a cake decorating class.....doesn't that just scream mat leave? Before I took the class I always wondered what type of people took classes like this in the middle of the work day...do you want to know what type of people were there? Interesting peeps let me tell you, but by the end of the 4 week sessions I can now ice a cake like Buddy. My girlfriend and I took it together and our boys went to her regular daycare together when we were at our class, it was J's first time away from me and away from home really (with the exception of being with family) but Jonah just loved it - he is such a social kid, I feel so good knowing that about him now because it makes me less anxious for when he will have to go to daycare full time.

I have also been "cooking" up a storm. And by cooking I mean mostly making up lots of salads. Especially salads that are good for lunch the next day.

We are also getting fit...by we I mean Kirk and I, not Jonah and I. His thighs are fine just the way they are ;) K and I both kind of reached our breaking point of being sick and tired of feeling so blah and are now making an effort to be healthy - actually eating all 3 meals a day and not filling our faces with junk at night....we are the classic couple who got married and just got lazy together. But we're committed to changing that - we've been eating pretty clean for about 2 weeks now and also have been doing the Jillian Michaels 30 day shred video when we can (ridiculous we don't fit it in every day since it's literally 20 minutes but some days is better than no days right?) It is so much better being committed to being healthy together than doing it alone that's for sure.

I also had my first weekend away - my girlfriends from grade school/high school and I planned it back in January to celebrate our 30th birthdays together and we went up north for 2 nights and spent all day Saturday at The Scandinave Spa which should just be renamed Heaven on Earth for ease's sake.

It is an outdoor spa with plunge pools, hot and cold and then relax rooms with either steam, sauna or just Muskoka chairs and magazines....I'm sure I've mentioned it before on here because I'm pretty much in love with it. I don't exactly know why or how it works but you basically just do hot/cold/relax circuit a few times and by the end of it you literally feel like butter. We topped it off with some amazing massages and an awesome dinner out combined with tons of laughs and girl talk. It couldn't have been better. I did miss J a bunch but I don't think he really noticed I was gone which is good - he looked up and gave me a huge smile when I got home then went back to playing with his toys.... I am sure he thought it was pretty strange when I picked him up and started crying and smothering him with lots of hugs and kisses ;)

These girls and I have been through a ton together - I feel so blessed to have each of them in my life.

6 months

2011-05-17T14:09:00.000-07:00

6 months. Half a year. Impossible to believe. I knew I would say this when the time came but didn’t realize how unreal it would actually feel.

So now this boy is 6 months old!

He’s fully graduated from 6 months clothing just in time for his half-birthday – he’s now in 12 months and in some things even 18 months. His ham hock legs are just too big for 6 month things, we did the jump and pull a few times with some of his pants but then realized it was all in vain. So now he’s more comfy in bigger pants!

He cut his 4th tooth this past weekend so he is now getting pretty toothy with that grin of his.

He weighed in at 19lbs11oz and measured 27 inches at his 6 month appointment - I think that puts him more mid range -- he just grew so fast there for a few months.

I feel like I’m living on a different planet than I was two months ago – now that J sleeps, I sleep and that makes all the difference in the world. He goes down at around 7 and wakes between 5 and 6 but then goes back to sleep until around 6 or 7 plus he naps! In his crib! This has been the best change by far – he is a happier baby because of it and I’m a happier mom. I’m now getting to do all of the things that I thought mat leave would be full of – cooking, baking, cleaning – it’s been fun. I feel like my house is finally somewhat in order – closets are organized, little repairs around the house are getting done. I love that feeling.

He loves his jumparoo and excersaucer – except hasn’t really figured out the bouncing part.

Has started noticing other babies – for the first time when he saw Keira and Hudson he kind of knew they were there.

He is still working on rolling – I think those big leggies are a bit of a hindrances.

Working on sitting – still a bit of tippage going on

Eating lots of food! He loves brown rice cereal and rice and banana cereal – we tried peas but those were not a crowd pleaser but he just tried sweet potatoes and loved them.

He likes to drink water and has a bottle with his cereal.

I really can't remember life without him :)

One Little word 2011

2011-05-11T07:01:00.000-07:00

Last year I chose Create as my One Little Word

Ironic really because in 2010 we made a baby!

This year I've thought a lot about my word - I chose it a while ago just didn't have time to document it or why I chose it. For 2011 I chose Faith.

I was the most nervous pregnant person on the planet. I read that "what to expect" book every day. I was terrified to tell anyone at first for fear that I would miscarry. I Googled everything there was to Google. Every little kick and flutter of the baby in my belly made my heart race a bit. I read a million books about what to do once baby was here (I retrospect I should just go and publish my own book that basically tells people to prepare not to sleep for a good 12 weeks time and forget about labour pains, after the baby arrives is when you're really in for a treat "down there"..but it's all worth it and after that your life will become normal again!)...but I digress - before I had Jonah I was so scared - felt so unprepared.

I knew then that I didn't want to be a nervous mom. I didn't want to be worrying all the time, raising him to be a person who was scared of everything around every little corner. I am a worrier by nature so I definitely cannot say that I will accomplish this completely - but it is my goal.

I chose Faith as my word for 2011 because it encompasses pretty neatly what I want to have and show for him. Faith that he will be ok, that I'll be ok, that as a family of three we'll figure it all out - that I'll try my best and that will be good enough. Faith that he'll be ok without me - at first in his crib, then as he gets bigger with a sitter, then at school, then living on his own when he goes away to school - faith that I'll raise him to be a strong sensitive loving proud boy - a boy who will turn into a great man. A boy who has a strong sense of worth but is not boastful.

I was laughing the other day because I looked up his horoscope - Scorpio:
Scorpios are the most intense, profound, powerful characters in the zodiac. Even when they appear self-controlled and calm there is a seething intensity of emotional energy under the placid exterior. They are like the volcano not far under the surface of a calm sea, it may burst into eruption at any moment. But those of us who are particularly perceptive will be aware of the harnessed aggression, the immense forcefulness, magnetic intensity, and often strangely hypnotic personality under the tranquil, but watchful composure of Scorpio. In conventional social gatherings they are pleasant to be with, thoughtful in conversation, dignified, and reserved, yet affable and courteous; they sometimes possess penetrating eyes which make their shyer companions feel naked and defenseless before them.

Pretty much sums him up ;)

I guess I am now officially a mommy blogger!

2011-05-07T18:16:00.000-07:00

Today I spent the entire day with my mom. At the spa. It was so heavenly to be able to do nothing for a whole day but it was also so odd (or o-d-d if you've been reading this blog for a while ;)) to have that much time to myself. With Mother's Day being tomorrow I think it was only natural that I started to think about how things have changed this past year - to reflect about becoming a mom. I think the biggest change is how all the little things have changed!

Jonah has started laughing a lot more frequently these days, and each time he does I just want to bottle it up and save it for the days when he's a bit older and upset about something or we aren't getting along....babies laughs are seriously like a million bursts of goodness - just full of joy and so much hope, you can't help but smile when you hear it. Sounds so cliche but it is seriously true. We'll have to settle for lots of footage from our Flip Camera - we made him do "dancing baby" last night from Ally McBeal ...stripped him down to his diaper and made him dance on the kitchen table (ha!)

I think I used to see people who would oogle over their kids and sort of think get over yourself people! I realize now reading this that that sounds so totally ignorant of me but I really didn't mean any harm about it - I think I was just sort of oblivious but didn't mean it in a mean spirited way - and I am by no means saying that everyone who doesn't have kids is selfish - far from it. I am totally one of "those parents" now and ironically I feel like "getting over myself" is just what having a baby has helped me to do - or at least to be more aware of. I used to be so consumed by me, my agenda, what I was going to do, where I was going, with who, how, when - that I sort of forgot about others. I was married for five years before having Jonah but really my husband and I are both pretty independent people, and the relationship between two adults is different than a parent and child obviously - so the transformation for me has been huge. It's not just a "me" world anymore - it's our world.

On the other hand I don't want to be one of those parents that loses themselves completely in their children - I think it's so important for our entire family that we each have our own identity and interests and lives, but what I never could have imagined was how intricately things would be woven, how tightly we would be bound. Our decisions now are about our family vs just ourselves. It has been a beautiful change and is such a delicate dance and I wouldn't trade it for a second. I love love love being a mom.

Scrappy Organization

2011-05-06T19:55:00.000-07:00

This was my week to do a tutorial over at The Scrapping Turtle so posting it here too - I love to read about how others stay organized so I hope this helps you :)
- this is kind of a different type of a tutorial because there really is no "right" or "wrong" way to stay organized so it's more going to be a bit of show and tell about what helps me to stay organized when scrapping and I hope that you find it helpful and get some new ideas.

For a while I wasn't the most organized scrapper - but I find that when I do stay on top of being organized it really helps me with pulling pages together much quicker because I know where everything is and it helps me pull together better pages because I'm not forgetting about things that I already have in my stash!

I do not have a dedicated scrap room in my house - my husband and I share an office in our house that also doubles as my scrap room - since it's on the main floor and is visible I like to keep my stuff out of the way as much as possible when I'm not scrapping (this also helps keep it all safe from living with a dog, a man and a baby hee hee!)

This is the desk where I layout my pages - you can see I have a self healing mat underneath - I got this ages ago and I love it because I never worry about damaging the wood with my glues etc (like I *might* have done to our kitchen table when I used to scrap there.......oops ) - anyway this just stays out all the time even when I'm not scrapping.

Next is my cluster of containers that also stay out on the desk all the time - I don't mind these staying out because the stuff is contained within them and it is also good to keep out a few things that I don’t' want to forget about and also good to keep certain things easy to grab when I'm pulling together a page.

Most of these are just repurposed vessels that I had around the house plus a few cheap milk glass containers from the antique market.

Next I have 3 "embellie" Tupperware’s that I stack when not in use and to the right bags with "kits" - this is kind of where I keep my current projects - either kits that I've gotten, projects that I want to tackle etc...keeping it organized in seperate bags helps me to be able to quickly pick up and scrap when I have a few minutes here and there.

Within the Tupperware's I keep my most used supplies; I keep ribbon in one, embellies in another (bling, journaling cards, stickers etc) and stamps in the third. On top I keep a embroidery floss case - this is probably my "secret weapon" when it comes to staying organized

....this little catch all is where I store all of my buttons and then I put a few flowers in here from my larger containers so that I don't forget about them and can grab them quickly when needed. You'll see my full storage in a second.

The desk drawer houses all of my punches as well as my corner chomper.

Then to the right of the desk I have a few Tupperware drawers stacked

I keep patterned paper in one, cardstock in another and square embellie/sticker sheets in the third.

- one is a special one for scrapping (square shape) that has 3 drawers - If any of these 3 fill up I know it's time to purge because (to me) it means I've accumulated too much paper to be able to manage.

The drawers below are just from a big box dept store (like Wal-Mart but don't remember exactly where I got them - I just repurposed from my basement when I decided to bite the bullet and get organized). In these I have organized all of my alpha stickers, rub ons, slice tool and photos.

I also label each of the drawers so that I remember what is where.......it may seem strange but I organize by "size" - so all of my thickers are in a drawer b/c they are all one size but then Oct Aft mini market letters are in a different drawer b/c to me they are a different size so I think about them differently.

Inside each drawer I like to also organize by colour (a bit crazy I know!)

Anyway - the point of this tutorial is not that you'll go out and organize just like me but rather that you'll be inspired to find a way of keeping your supplies so that they work for you - I'm sure like me you are pressed for time and the time that you do get to scrap is precious so I really feel it's well worth it to go through your supplies and organize them so that you can maximize the time that you do have for scrapping!

I hope you found this tutorial helpful - happy organizing!

Latley

2011-05-04T18:21:00.000-07:00

Latley I am...
Making and eating copious amounts of these Pecan Rosemary Crisps...- I have made twice in the last week (thanks Kel for the recipe!)
Loving Dancing with The Stars, American Idol and Grey's
Obsessing over all things Royal.

Having a hard time beleiving that this little monkey is almost 6 months old...where on earth has the time gone? I have probably said this before but I joke that the first 2 months felt like 4 becuase I literally did not sleep (at all) but now time is just flying in comparison and I get all of those sayings like "the days are long but the years fly by" - so true.

Made using Studio Calico's Singing in the Rain kit

This is my first reveal for the Scrapping Turtle this month - we are using Best Creation paper this month and I am using the Safari Girl line - our product of the month is Fancy Pants paper filters.

Have a great night!

Easter recap and Scrapping Turtle weekly reveal

2011-04-26T10:49:00.000-07:00

Easter 2011 was a big success - we have hosted family before but always stuck to somewhat safe menus like brunches or bbq's - this was our first real fancy meal and it couldn't have turned out better!

It was kind of fun having two events back to back too because the prep work was kind of a 2 for one deal -- we did a little candy buffet (which btw by the end of the weekend gave me a stomach ache from even looking at it - I have since entered a "healthy eating phase" - bought a ton of veggies yesterday and made a soup last night - I think I am officially on a junk food cleanse)

pretty flowers from costco - these are now on their last legs but I can't bear to throw them out just yet - it's not very often that we have so many fresh flowers in the house and they are so nice

my little jonah bunny - he was SUCH a good boy this weekend - it was pretty much a weekend full of his favorite things - people, lots of loud noises and attention...and as much as it's been a learning process for both of us these last few months (like in the sleep department) one thing I know to be thankful for is that he's such a portable, adaptable little guy, he just loves to be carted around and would be perfectly happy being carried around town all day (which came in handy on Thursday when I had to get ready ;))

Dinner #1 - success! Delicious menu courtesy of Dish Entertains cookbook and prepared by us! The only thing that was a bit of a pain is the risotto is a bit time consuming - but we were all visiting in the kitchen anyway so it wasn't a big deal (just requires constant stirring)

Dinner #2 - a bit more simple but just a delicious; homemade burgers and shrimps that we served after an afternoon of walking around town and eating yummy appies.

Me and my fabulous sister in law - I am so happy for Jonah that he'll grow up having so many great people in his life, so special that the people that are dear to me are quickly becoming special people to him as well.

And onto some scrapping news - yesterday was reveal day at The Scrapping Turtle - our challenge was to create a layout using our April supplies based on this ad

it was our last challenge of the month so I was running low on supplies but I actually love the way this one turned out, it is so far from my "typical" style:

Have a great day!

Hello long weekend!

2011-04-21T10:30:00.000-07:00

Welcome back, we missed you :) I love that the Easter long weekend marks the start of monthly long weekends through the end of the summer....I know that summer is still a little ways away but now it just feels like it's within reach.

We have big plans this weekend - hosting two dinners, I must be crazy becuase I left our Costco run until today and took the baby -- we went pretty early in the morning so it wasn't so bad but it was still pretty nutty....think lots of cartjams and people aimlessly wondering the aisles. I have to do one more grocery store run later today (becuase I only need one carrot not 450 and a few other small things) and then hit the bakery on Saturday am and then we are good to go.

I'm making centerpieces for the table - I wanted to do a potted plant for all the ladies but the Costco pickins were slim and I couldn't go anywhere else so I just got a bunch of tulips and small roses and some greens -- I think it'll turn out pretty and spring-y.

Tomorrow we're having herb roasted beef tenderloin, spring pea rissoto and roasted asparagus and Saturday it's grilled shrimps (on the barbie!) and burgers with tons of appetizers....pretty much all of the above comes from this book - I think I have raved about it before but it's seriously amazing. Go buy it. Apparently Trish Magwood has another book coming out soon - I will definitley be getting it...I am a huge sucker for cookbooks in general and I love it when I can turn to any page and love what I see (and be able to tackle it!)

Hm - the afternoon nap I was counting on has been cut very short. I will be back later with a recap of our weekend and a few more crafty shares

Happy Easter!

Scrapping Turtle Monday Reveal

2011-04-18T17:32:00.000-07:00

I finally got around to scrapping J's 4 month page - if only I could get caught up with Project 12 I'd be in good shape - I am pretty much in love with this paper from My Mind's Eye - it made the whole page come together so easily - I have another sheet from this line already in the works for my 5 month page.

Today is Design Team Monday over at The Scrapping Turtle blog - our product of the month was smooch - I am not much of a mister but after having worked with it this month I may be a convert.

Here is a very simple layout of my boy - love these pics and the papers I had to work with were a bit on the girly side so I am pleased with how this one turned out:

I also missed posting last Monday's reveal using Nikki Sivils paper and a sketch - here was my take

Off to watch DWTS - have a great night!

4 and 5 month recap

2011-04-17T10:37:00.000-07:00

I had this 4 month recap typed but never ended up blogging so today is a 2 for 1 kind of post - I still need to do corresponding layouts for both 4 and 5 months but now at least I have the journalling documented.

How is it possible that over 1/3rd of a year has gone by? Yet in a way I cannot imagine life before the chubby baby caterpillar

There was so much I had heard about being a parent before actually becoming one and it all kind of just sounded a bit cheesy but most of it is SO true. Like how I was told that it was the hardest but most rewarding job in the world. and it is SO. True. It is so hard - I think the reason I didn't believe it before is because I was thinking about all of the physical acts - like changing diapers etc -- and that stuff is not hard. The hard part is the surrender of yourself - the sacrifice that you make for another person. And it is a mini person - who is so trusting and dependent upon you - so it is so worth it (obviously) but I think that is the part that you are never really prepared for - at least I wasn't.

So anyway - here is the recap of Jonah at FOUR months!

Went for his first swim in Florida.Loved it.
Started to use his bouncy seat
Started to HATE his car seat
Started to love his stroller.
"Talks" a lot - more vocal than last month and giggles and responds to other people.
Likes to sit up (with help) and stand.
Is sleeping through the nigh for the most part - goes down between 7 and 8 and wakes once to nurse and then up again at around 8.
Still takes a long time to get back down in the middle of the night but the first bedtime is MUCH quicker now
Daytime napping is a work in progress. It happens every day just not always in his crib.
He LOVES to be held, and rocked, and swayed.
He also LOVES to be out and about - I swear if we don't go somewhere where he can meet a friend during the day he is grouchy by the end of the day.
People have started coming up and talking to us wherever we go - I never thought I'd be the type of person that could just visit with a stranger but I can and I do - it also doesn't bug me when strangers touch him (I totally thought it would)- most people are so sweet.
Still loves his soother for bedtime and naps
Started to bat at toys and kicks like crazy

At 5 months

We did sleep training in between 4 and 5 months - it was tough, the first two nights I left the house while Kirk stood watch because I think I would have cracked otherwise - he took about an hour to settle night one, night two was even worse but by night 3 he went down much quicker and easier and ever since then has been able to go down much better at night so tough as it was it was worth it
His downy hair is being replaced by "real" boy hair - I will miss that fuzz!
Not sure what his height and weight are because we don't have a 5 month dr apt but I think he's somewhere between 18-20lbs based on my unscientific calculations (of holding him on the scale) and he's starting to outgrown his 6-12 month clothes
We have started looking at daycare - crazy to me that we have to start now but apparently we are already late and many people start to look when they are pregnant (how crazy!?)
Rolling around - but not quite over yet
Started taking at least a bottle of formula a day - sometimes two along with a little bottle of water and rice cereal (not so sure how he feels about food yet)
Doesn't mind the car seat anymore (thank goodness!)
Daytime crib napping is getting more consistent
LOVES his dog Ben and playing "fetch" with him (translation I throw the ball for Ben and he brings it back)

those cheeks...

2011-04-12T10:57:00.000-07:00

are so kissable and cute and CHU-BBY! I always say I can't believe I had such a big fat baby - and I mean it in the best way possible, he is soooooo chubby and roly poly - I love it! I did this layout for a challenge on the Scrapping Turtle Message Boards - the challenge was the layout had to have:
-home made embellie (starbucks card)
-stamp (starburst stamp)
-pink (cloud and on starbucks card)
-circle (buttons)
-no flowers (well the card has little flowers printed on it but no actual flowers so i think this counts)
- that little card with the tree on it is a Starbucks card that I love - so springy and cute. Can you tell I have an obsession with turquoise? Ha ha - oh well at least I'm branching out from my standard turquoise and yellow and threw in some other colours.

ok - gotta go maximize this nap time
have a great day!

Weekend update

2011-04-11T08:21:00.000-07:00

So of course I had this entire post typed out and some how lost it just before I went to publish it (what the heck!?)

Anyway - I had a terrific weekend, got to see ALL of my high school girlfriends, it doesn't happen very often that I get to see all of them in such a short span of time but I had my kiddo date with Meag and Linds on Thursday and then met the Toronto girls for brunch on Saturday - it's funny because spending time with Meag and Linds is so easy we just talked about kids and other stuff fluidly throughout the day. I'm still getting used to talking to people without kids, and even though these girls and I have been friends for forever and a day and I know I could talk to them about anything I don't want to be one of those people that "onlytalksabouttheirkids".....but honestly? That's really all I have to talk about these days - and not in a bad way, but really that's what's consuming my life these days. I think it's funny now when people ask me "what did you do today" - sometimes I am at a loss at how to answer that question, because frankly my schedule these days is just tough to describe, and if I were to list out all the things that I've done I'm sure I would put non mom's to sleep. But when I really stop to think about it what I'm doing these days is not about me - it's about Jonah - and I am still making an effort to do things just for me but now it's just a different type of balance.

This sequence of pictures from last week kills me - check out how Hunter swipes J's toy from him.....while all the while us girls are totally oblivious (ha ha!)

I will be back later this week with some scrappy posts but J has had enough of his jumparoo thank you very much.

Have a great day
xoxo

Scrapping Turtle - April Reveal

2011-04-06T10:49:00.000-07:00

I am having a lot of fun playing along at The Scrapping Turtle as one of the members of the Design Team.
This month we were given Nikki Sivils paper to work with and some Jenni Bowlin and Maya Road embellies (both of which I was already a big fan of). It's been great so far and is pushing me out of my comfort zone of the manufacturers I always gravitate towards.

Just a reminder there is a stamp giveaway in yesterday's post if you are interested :)

Have a great day!

Bright and sunny & a RAK giveaway

2011-04-05T10:40:00.000-07:00

The weather here has been all over the map the last few days - from snow to thunderstorms to hot and humid yesterday - bizzaro! I'm really looking forward to the summer weather especially now that I can take the little guy for walks in the stroller - this layout was inspired by one by Jen Jockish - if you scrapbook and you aren't already familiar with her work go to her blog and check it out, she does beautiful work, lots of little pieces and always so colourful.

I used my Studio Calico February kit along with some playing cards by My Minds Eye.

And just for fun a little RAK giveaway today - I'm not much of a stamper so haven't been able to put this stamp to good use - if you are interested leave a comment with what you are most looking forward to about spring and I'll do a drawing on Thursday

Happy Tuesday!

Paper banners

2011-03-26T16:21:00.000-07:00

I'm a big fan of paper banners - they are really "in" right now with scrappers - I saw this great tutorial for a paper banner on Nicole Harpers blog - I have a similar punch only larger so decided to try it out and I loved how it turned out:

We are enjoying our weekend - I got my nails shellac'ed with a french manicure that will last for 2 weeks this morning - heavenly! J is working on rolling over - he's almost there. So cute.

Happy Saturday!

3 month layout

2011-03-25T20:12:00.000-07:00

Ok - I am slowly getting caught up with these monthly posts - can't believe my little man is already 4 months old - now I know what people mean when they tell their babe's to slow down. I'm so excited for all that is to come in this little guys life but I already miss his days being super mini.

This is the first layout I've typed my journalling for - it was actually super easy b/c I had documented before I did the layout on my BlackBerry so all I had to do was print it out onto cardstock (although I did end up having to print it about 7 times as I figured out how to use our printer lol - but definitely something I'll be doing again and it's handy when I've got a lot to say like I did for this layout) - I printed two narrow long paragraphs and then just folded accordion style and tucked them into this little KI envelope (which I love btw)

Here is the layout:

And here is the journalling:
@ 3 Months Jonah:

Started going to a mommy and me class - I totally kept feeling like I was in a scene from Modern Family except Cam and Mitchell didn't show up (darn) - and also as much as the "new me" would tell the "old me" to shut up most of the time New Me and Old Me agree that although it was nice for J to go to the class and I do think he liked looking around at the other babies there I really think the whole reading a book aloud and singing group songs was slightly lost on him :)

Will now sit on his bouncy chair on the kitchen island while I prep and cook dinner (this is a win considering a month ago I could barely put him down for 5 minutes)

Is smiling and cooing and laughing every day - it's so sweet - I'm also pretty sure he's straight because he flirts with all the girls (not that I'd care if he wasn't)

has gotten so animated - always laughing and giving BIG smiles - especially out of one side of your mouth (like his dad)

We have found our groove together - we go out most days, to visit friends, to the mall, to the grocery store – he is are SO heavy in his bucket seat

Got a TOOTH! A real genuine pearly white - it's nuts, it came in just shy of 3 months (at 12 weeks) it didn't seem to bother him coming in but he had been obsessed with his hands the last few weeks and I thought it was just because he was trying to suck his thumb

Weighs 16lbs 4.5 oz and measures in at 25 3/4 inches - so still up there but not growing quite as rapidly as the first few months (which I'm happy about because now he can actually wear some of his clothes for more than two weeks!)

We have gone back to the swaddle at night - abandoned the free hands and mitts at about 9 weeks - his arm movements were still too spastic at night and he kept waking himself up.

Still takes a LONG time to get down for the first time at night but it is definitely getting better - we put him down around 8 or 9 and he'll fall asleep between 10-11 - up at 3 or 4 to feed (or 6 if I'm lucky) and then typically up at 6 for the second time and he gets to come into our bed for a little snuggle till about 8 or 9

Is starting to nap a bit in his crib during the day - the nights were so tough at first that that is what I was focused on but now that those are coming together we're working on the daytime crib naps. I wouldn't mind him being downstairs with me but it is SO cold here and the house is drafty so it's cozier up there and I think long term better for him to be used to it anyway

I'm off to give the little guy a snuggle - we are working on sleep training this week and nights are going pretty well but days are still a bit spotty. Wish me luck!

Have a great day

Exciting news

2011-03-23T06:44:00.000-07:00

I am so happy to be able to share that I've been selected for the Design Team at The Scrapping Turtle for the next 6 months. When I'm not on mat leave and working in Waterloo I love to visit the Turtle regularly to check out all the fun products that they have there, I often order scrapping stuff in the mail which is great but nothing beats seeing the supplies in real life. I'm looking forward to a fun 6 months with this great team.

I have been a bit behind with scrapping and blogging lately but just picked up a boatload of prints from Wallymart so now I'm all set to get started again. Here is a "catch up" page that I made of Jonah's second month. I found this great sketch on Davinie's blog so it helped it come together pretty quickly (which I love these days). I took this pic on my BlackBerry but if you want to read the journalling you can click to this post

I am slowly but surely getting caught up with some of my past pages - I'm hoping to spend some time in the next little while organizing my blog a bit and changing the design, I'm not sure why it bugs me so much that it's not very organized but it does.

Got to run - we are off to Baby Zumba this morning....if you don't know what Zumba is look it up on youtube - I wish I had a picture of Jonah's face as he watches me do it....it's one that I'm sure I'll see many more times as a mom but it kills me - he literally looks at me like he's embarrassed (haha!)

2011-03-05T08:11:00.000-08:00

It seems like wherever you go to shop everyone has a "members club" - most of the time I find these a pain and not worth the energy or time but there are a few companies that I love to be loyal to and I think really pay off -

Studio Calico members get a discount and you get a special discount on your birthday month - I used mine last month to purchase the Mossy Knoll add on kit and can't wait to play with it!

Sephora Insiders members get points with every purchase and you don't have to have your card with you which I love because I never have mine. You can also use at stores in US and Canada and while I don't spend a ton there pretty much every time I go I get a little sample and have found a few great products there like this one

(which if you have Dora-esque hair like me I highly recommend - it is the first product I've found that works for me in humid weather)

I also got a super cute Philosophy body wash last month because it was my bday (bonus!)

Here is one of the pages I'm playing catch up with for blogging - I made this mostly with items from my October Afternoon Santa's Sack - this was an awesome deal and the customer service was ah-ma-zing! I am looking forward to printing and creating more new pages soon!

Happy Saturday!

Spring shopping!

2011-03-02T17:53:00.000-08:00

I am slowly getting back to my pre pregnancy weight but there are just some changes to my body that my old wardrobe isn't really a fan of. I'm sick of trying to hold down the back of my shirt every time I bend down and my old clothes don't really do me any favours in the stomach area so I decided to use my birthday money this year to invest in some new "mompropriate but not momish" clothes.

Here are a few of the goodies I picked up (PS the deals at the actual store are way better than what's listed online so if you live near one you should check it out)

This shirt

and this one - both are baggy and long near the dreaded muffin top area but still stylish

these capris

this tank will look so cute under a sweater

and finally here is one of my recent layouts - I love this song by Sugarland but it pretty much perfectly sums up the first few months of life with Jonah - I know to cherish this time because it won't be long before I'll be wishing for it back

Happy Wednesday!
xoxo

39 Weeks

2011-02-28T19:30:00.000-08:00

So where on earth has February gone? I cannot believe tomorrow is March 1st - boggles my mind.

Here are a few things I'm looking forward to next month:

DWTS - I am rooting for Kendra :)
The conclusion of our family trip to Florida (K had to head home for work but he'll be back next weekend)
Testing out my new Slice by Making Memories (scored one for $50 at Winners - I might have cheered in the aisle)
Getting our Mamaroo swing in the mail - we had a FP swing that broke so we got our money back and put it towards this bad boy - I am hoping J will love it considering he's a fan of the bounce and jiggle hold and that's what this swing promises to deliver....so far the customer service has been fantastic so we shall see.

I am so behind at posting layouts on here but here is one from when I was super preggo and convinced I was having the baby at any minute (he ended up coming 9 days after my due date) - but I love all the bits and pieces on here.

Have a great day!

Hello world

2011-02-25T08:04:00.000-08:00

Just popping in to share a recent layout I did - this is one of the first pics of Baby J - was in the hospital still - hard to beleive he was that little because now he is 17 pounds of chubby loving

We are in Florida for a while enjoying some family time - happy Friday!
xoxo

Project 12 - January

2011-02-22T14:18:00.000-08:00

I decided to try to document our year by following Project 12 - here is my January page - not the best pic b/c I just used my phone instead of real camera but I really like this idea! I had a hard time narrowing down the total number of pictures so ended up cropping a few and putting in the envelope

January was such a great month for us!

Jonah @ 2 months

2011-02-21T07:36:00.000-08:00

Here is another post in the accellerated account of Baby Jonah's month by month progress :) (techincally since he's now over 3 months I should re-write this in past tense but I had this all written down at the time so I'm just going with it ;)) I am also planning on doing a corresponding scrapbook page for each of his months and have decided to try to tackle Project 12 although that may be a bit ambitious (but I think would be so worth it at the end of the year).
At 2 months Jonah
Is BIG! 14lbs5oz and 25 inches long
(Finally) went down in your crib before I went to bed!!! (note this only happened once ;)
Still has sporatic freak outs a la exorcist aka if someone heard him they'd think I was torturing him but thankfully these are getting less frequent
Have had less issues w gas than month one but its still a going concern (the amount of time we spend talking about gas as a family is ridiculous)
Smile and giggles like its his job
Loves his monkey mat
Spent two weeks in Florida
Had stellar performances at both family Christmases (slept the entire time)
Had his first plane ride (he slept the entire way!) - on the way home he projectile pooped 3 times and we eventually ran out of outfits so we landed in Toronto in the middle of a snowstorm and had him in a short sleeved onesie with a light blanket wrapped around him - ha! By that point he had fallen asleep - NOW it is funny - hyserical even - at the time not so much :)
Took a bottle of breast milk and loved it
Rolled over from his front to his back during tummy time (on a very soft surface - only happened once so far)
Has started filling out big time - wearing 6 month clothes but still able to squeeze into the 3-6 month ones for the most part (newborn stuff is out)
Has the chubbiest face and legs
Likes bath time
We stopped swaddling and started using a sleep sack w mits
Definitley a more consistant sleeper than the first 6 wks but still has some random patches he will go a few days with few naps and then a day when he will sleep pretty much the entire day!

This pic is from right before we left for Florida - in his outfit from his Auntie Meag!

Happy Family Day to those in Ontario :)

What's the deal-io?

2011-02-19T12:57:00.000-08:00

I love a good deal - here are a few products I would consider "must haves/good deals" for baby -

This boppy head pillow - I just recently found mine (for $12 at Winners!) and actually kind of feel guilty not having one prior b/c J's head would be cocked to one side and since it's so big it would go really far over. I really thought these were a gimmick before having a baby but it is a worthwhile investment - I was trying to wait it out b/c I know before long he'll have that full neck control but decided to get it so he can nap easily wheile we are out and I'm glad I did.

This swaddle blanket

- most of the ones we have are so small and since we have an extra big beefcake these ones just do the trick! We got one as a gift and ended up buying a second so we always have one clean at night. I know it's just a peice of flannel and I'm sure if you were handy enough it would be easy to whip one up (so I guess it's technically not that great of a deal) but for us they have been a lifesaver - there are also instructions sewn into the label which I've found our relatives really like when they are wrapping him up.

I've also recently been introduced to some great deal sites - I think these have been around for a while as I had heard of them but didn't check them out until recently

So - if you haven't already check out:

Groupon
WagJag
Living Social

They are basically all the same premise - daily deals that get emailed to you.

Then these are some other daily deal sites I check out frequently
Scrapbook Steals
Baby Half Off
Baby Steals
Peachy Cheap

Do you have daily deal sites that I'm missing here? I always love a good bar-goon!

And just for fun - have you ever seen such squishable cheekies? I can't keep my hands off!

Jonah month by month catch up

2011-02-18T06:56:00.000-08:00

So I had the best of intentions of blogging these memories AS they were actually happening but....well see prior post - new life took over ;) - I am so happy that I did write them down as they were happening or otherwise I definitley would have forgotten by now!

I don't want to forget
The way you pull your hair in your sleep and wake yourself up
Your furrowed little brow that makes it seem you have the weight of the world on your shoulders
How when you are really relaxed both hands go up to the side of your face
You love car rides
You think sleep is for suckers some days - other days you sleep like a lamb
When you are hungry you snort like a little piggy and root around like crazy
I am finally figuring how to get you to stop crying - getting you to sleep is another story but I just remind myself eventually you will fall asleep
Ben is in love with you - he gives you kisses and lies by you
We have started reading books together - love you forever, guess how much I love you and how to catch a star are some of our favourites
We took you to meet Santa last weekend - you slept the entire time
We had to get passport photos done - it was hard! You had to have both eyes and ears and you can't even hold your own head up yet!
We play games like going on pretend walks to Disney World, the zoo, Florida
You like back massages with catterpillar tickles

Here is the corresponding layout

Old vs New

2011-02-17T14:21:00.000-08:00

I am just popping in to say a quick hello here - I have been MIA latley in a sea of swings, bouncy seats, jiggle walking and all around baby goodness. Jonah is so cute as of late, lots of giggles and gummy smiles and one TOOTH - at 12 weeks eep! I have lots of blog posts/projects planned in my head but the time that I actually have to sit down with my laptop is sporadic (new life) so it will have to wait for today.

I also keep thinking about how dialogue would go between old me and new me:

Old me - I'm sure having a baby won't be that big of a change
New me - shut it

Old me - how hard can it be? my current job is pretty hard - it must be about that hard
New me - you are so dumb, you are really dumb, for real.

Old me - I don't really get baby play dates - I mean babies don't really play do they?
New me - Thank God someone else who understands and we can just sit here and smile through bleary eyes to eachother - case in point - today I had lunch with my neighbour who is also home with her little ones - she was describing one of the kids in her daughters class to me and said she is O-D-D - I said "Oh you mean A.D.D?" and she said "No - o-d-d.....spell it" - and honestly it took me about 30 seconds to realize she meant odd and that O.D.D. wasn't a new illness that I had never heard of

Old me - Baby shoes are so CUTE!
New me - babies shoes can take a hike

I am (mostly) joking though - I do love this new life but it sure is different. On a positive note I have done some scrapbooking of Baby J's first few days/weeks and I love the result - so glad I took up this hobby before he was here and am able to capture some of these great memories right from the start.

Here are a few of the pages I did before Jonah got here - when it felt like I had been prego for forever:

Love that I captured how I had an insane nesting instinct...I also love how I thought it was so clever to arrange by size (new me thinks that is SO dumb and I should have just arranged by type of clothes from the get go - now I have 3 drawers of clothing - one for shirts, one for pants and one for sleepers).

This journalling is from July but the pic is from a bit later - I still can't grasp that a BABY grew in there!

My baby shower was such a great day, so overhwelming! Meag was due a week after me and ended up having Hudson before Jonah!

I did this one for last week's Studio Calico's Sunday Sketch blog challenge - but of course I missed the deadline to enter for a $5 gift card - I will get there one of these weeks though! (Again new life vs old)

I'll be back soon with more to share

xoxo

12th Day of Christmas

2010-12-23T13:40:00.000-08:00

For a little boy who squeeks when he sleeps, shoots things out of his body at warp speed, and loves to be snuggled, who is growing so fast some clothes he’ll just wear once if we’re lucky.

And we are lucky - so lucky - to have been blessed with this big beautiful boy (11lbs11oz at his 4 week apt!). This Christmas is going to be one for the books -- and you know what? I did get Toblerone shortbreads afterall this year (my mom made them for me!) and I low and behold I did wrap my gifts with pretty bags and matching ribbon.

This concludes my 12 days of Christmas Thankful postings -- I'm esp. thankful for automatic postings as many of these were done in the Christmas miracle few snippets I have had here and there vs. doing one per day.

This will be my last post for a while as we are off to enjoy the Holiday - Merry Christmas to all!

11th Day of Christmas

2010-12-22T06:21:00.000-08:00

Thankful for family that has been there in spades to support me. Who will come over and hold the baby while I shower/sleep/catch my breath. For the waiting room FULL of family after he was born. When I got wheeled from the delivery area to the recovery area the nurses warned me that there was “A LOT of people out there” – and there was – they were all there, it was great.

10th Day of Christmas

2010-12-21T15:16:00.000-08:00

Thankful for the little things that make me happy

Hersheys Kisses in Chocolate Mint and Candy Cane Flavours

Reindeer Corn

Studio Calico

Parking for people with babies!

JJ Cole Bundle me carseat cover

9th Day of Christmas

2010-12-20T15:10:00.000-08:00

Thankful for the Benster - who has been my constant companion and such a good pet with the new babe -

What Ben must be thinking......
"mmm lunch" (kidding)

8th day of Christmas

2010-12-19T06:26:00.000-08:00

For a husband who is learning how to be a parent the same way I am. That he is trying to work less and be present more. I know it is so hard for him but I can see that he is trying and that really matters a lot. That he put J down in his crib by himself for a nap, took him while I have a nap or run to get groceries. That they are getting to know eachother.

7th Day of Christmas

2010-12-18T06:25:00.000-08:00

Thankful for our neighbours who when I got home from the hospital had delivered a bit beautiful boquet of blue mums. For me – the new mom and who we can gather with as families to celebrate Christmas together.

6th Day of Christmas

2010-12-17T06:34:00.000-08:00

For “aunties” that are technically friends but whose ties are stronger than blood. Jonah will always know these ladies to be his aunties – we may not be related by blood but we are family.

5th Day of Christmas

2010-12-16T06:30:00.000-08:00

For Lindsay who was the first of us to become a mommy – now that we are mommies together she is there in little ways – texting me with little notes of encouragement and advice. I wish we lived closer but love how we are connected.

4th Day of Christmas

2010-12-15T06:32:00.000-08:00

Thankful for J’s Auntie Em who gave him two Christmas books – so thoughtful and sweet – esp since one had a Ben in it!

3rd day of Christmas

2010-12-14T06:24:00.000-08:00

Thankful for Kathryn who gave Jonah his “Love you Forever” book and who smiles a million miles wide when she holds him and doesn’t get mad when he pees on her couch.

Also thankful for this Kissed Baby sling - I had to return the other sling b/c J thought it was the equivalent of a torture device - he much prefers this one and it buys me a few hours every morning hands free.

2nd day of Christmas

2010-12-13T06:18:00.000-08:00

Thankful for Whitney who got Jonah his own pillow with his name on it, in the same colour as his room, she has gotten one for each of the girls’ babes so far. Of course she would do something so thoughtful – she has always been that way.

12 days of thankful - day one

2010-12-12T06:47:00.000-08:00

I love Christmas – Christmas music, Christmas lights, Christmas cookies – but this year has been a bit different – I realized that Christmas is almost here and I got worried I’ve just about missed it because life has been such a whirlwind since J’s arrival.

We had a big day yesterday – I took Jonah by myself to Toronto to meet his Auntie’s and have a girls afternoon Christmas get together….we do it every year and this year it was amazing – and we did it, just the two of us our first time out together and we made it there on time with all of the things we needed and he was a great boy in the car. . When we were downtown I saw the CN Tower all lit up for Christmas and got so excited. We listened to the Christmas station on Satellite Radio the entire time – and I started thinking about this Christmas, how it IS so special for us – so different than any other Christmas – and I realized that even though I don’t have time for a tree this year and won’t bake toblerone shortbreads or wrap the gifts in fancy paper with matching ribbon that this is one of the best Chirstmases we’ve had, that our lives are so full. That there is so much to be thankful for…..

Like this little boy who was born 4 days earlier than J - and J ended up being born on Hudson's due date. That they will always have that story that binds them. That his mommy and I can get together and take pictures of them together holding hands acting like besties the same way we used to get together when we were 13 years old and take posed pictures of our friends. That she is a great mom – a total natural. I knew she would be – she’s always loved babies, but it made me so proud to see her in her element, almost took my breath away – such a special person and an inspiration to me.

I'll be back tomorrow with more!

Our new life

2010-11-27T13:19:00.000-08:00

We are settling in as a family of 3 (plus Ben) - we've had our moments of adjustment but overall things are going great and now that he's here I can't imagine our lives any other way.

I had expected that it may take me a few days to bond with the baby once he got here and I don't know if it's because we had some compications during his delivery but the moment I saw him I thought he was the most beautiful creature I'd ever laid eyes on and my heart just grew a special place for him.

Things are SO different now. We used to just pick up early on weekends and zip out and about all over town - today we made it out of the house by 1pm and that felt like a big win. Then once we got to the mall all I could think was "this place is so LOUD" "this place is so BUSY" - and then just trolled for other people with babies to see how old thier babies looked.

I've been out a few times without him and every time I go out I want to go up to people and tell them "I have a baby - he's at home" - particularly if I see someone with a baby - I just want to shout "I have a baby too!"

I have never been more thankful for
Grocery Delivery
Walmart Photo delivery
Baby Oxi Clean
The Miracle Blanket

I am also very excited for this:
NKOTBSB
So dorky I know but am totally going to try to get tickets!

My best moment - 11.15.10 - 3:34pm

2010-11-20T14:33:00.000-08:00

He's here! After what felt like an eternity of being pregnant and a bit of a rough delivery we welcomed Jonah Gray into the world on Monday November 15th at 3:34. He's happy and healthy and adjusting well to his new environment.

We chose the name Jonah ages ago and kept from most as a surprise - Jonah means Dove in hebrew which is my mom's maiden name and Gray was K's Grandpa so he has a name that is meaningful - I love that.

We are tired but adjusting well as a family - we just love him to bits.

I knew to expect the long nights and tiredness but what I did not expect was that I'd be so in love I just wouldn't care.

He's the best!
xoxo

D Day

2010-11-06T12:27:00.000-07:00

Today is my due date! Although doesn't look like Baby boy is quite ready to join us just yet (well it LOOKS like it but it doesn't seem like he will hee hee).

In some ways the past 10 months have crawled and in other ways they've flown by. I am now at the point where I am feeling like every minute is an hour - I know in the grand scheme of things waiting another week or two is NOT a big deal and I just keep trying to picture this big beautiful baby that's waiting to come out (and judging by the size of my belly he's a big one) - but to be honest - it's getting tough! My ribs and abdomen feel like they are being torn a part each time I laugh or sneeze - I guess am just physically running out of room for this little guy but at the same time I keep reminding myself that once he is here the time will literally just FLY - that in the same time it took for him to grow inside of me he'll be 10 months old! At Christmas time he'll be almost 6 weeks and by my Birthday he'll be 4 months old.
So in the meantime I have been keeping busy by doing some scrapbooking pages - haven't printed the pics yet so they are only partially done - I figure once he's here I'll have tons to print so will wait and do a big print run all at once.
Have also been doing some last minute shopping - today we got a baby sling - I was overwhelmed with the Babies R Us selection and lack of help so we went to a little boutique near us and I got great service and decided on this one by Blue Celery - I like it becuase you can use it as a baby sling (just using one of the loops) or a full on hands free wrap. I practiced in the store on a doll - I'm sure it's a little more complicated when it's a real baby ;)

I have also developed a really wicked knowledge of all things pop culture and could talk for about 30 minutes straight about Portia on Ellen vs. Portia on Oprah and Ricky Martin finally coming out and Sister Wives on TLC. As much as it has been such a treat to be off work with literally nothing to do but cook, clean and watch TV the last four weeks I do feel like I'm losing a bit of perspective on reality so am ready for this baby to get here...but at the same time I know that this month of pure indulgence will probably really never happen again for me so I definitley am thankful for it (also the fact that I have mid day bouts of narcolepsy have made being home with zero responsibilities very convenient!). I can only imagine these last few weeks of pregancy when you have other little ones to care for - I'm sure it must be extra tough!

This pillow from Etsy took forever to get here but now that it's in the nursery I think it really ties things together! I also love the Manhattan print on the wall - NYC is a special place for K&I - it's where we got engaged and then also went on our honeymoon so I'm happy I was able to work it into the babies room.

Look at all these cute stuffies! Ben totally thinks the squeekie ones are for him.....eek

K's mom gave me this duck on the left for my baby shower - it was his when he was a baby -- the crazy part is the duck on the right is mine from when I was a baby! Such a small world !

Well that's all for today - hopefully I'll be back sooner than later with a Baby update!
xoxo

A baby is such a good excuse for a party

2010-10-21T07:54:00.000-07:00

there is this nice feeling of community that comes with having a baby. i've been fortunate enough to have two showers in the last few weeks - one a few weeks ago with the girls from work hosted by my friend Rima and one hosted by my mom for family and friends this past weekend. At both we were so spoiled - but the nicest thing about the showers was all of the visiting that took place with all of the ladies in my life. i have gone on before about how fortunate i am to have the group of friends that i have but it's so true

these pics make me laugh because although I know how big I am I kind of don't really realize until I see pics like this - ha ha! Bumpalicious! I can remember back when I was first preggo trying on the foam belly at Gap Maternity and doing a ridiculous dance for Kirk and my Mom in it thinking "there is NO WAY I'll ever get THIS BIG" ...hmmm, I was wrong ;)

For hostess gifts for both i gave the hostesses necklaces from Luxe Designs - they are a great Canadian company that my neighbour told me about. On my friend Rima's from work I put her parents names plus words that describe her to me and on my Mom and Aunt's I put their grand kids/great niece and nephew's names plus our baby's name on a charm for them to open once the baby is born. The designers go to the One of A Kind show every year and I'm planning on going this year with my mom and the new babe (might be a bit aggressive since it's literally weeks after he's due to arrive but we go every year so I definitley want to try to make it there). If I go I'll for sure order one!

My friend Meag and I are due a few days a part - both expecting boys so obviously we expect them to be best friends too!

I think it's really kind how people tell me that I look the exact same except for my belly but pics like this are proof that this is not the case - chubby cheekies!

The grade school gang - so crazy and nice how long we've all been friends, love these girls:

Maya was a great helper during the gifts - I was dying laughing b/c with almost every gift she would lift it above her head and spin for everyone to see and also exclaim VERY loudly "OOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHH SOOOOO CUUUUUUUUUUUUTEEEEEEEE" about almost everything including a set of nail clippers with a picture of a bear on them. ha ha. she's so funny/cute.

The world's most delicious cake - we had it upside down for the first little while and were all trying to figure out the design -- then Maya came by and said "oh that's a cute carriage with a baby bottle" and we realized. ha ha.

So the showers have been had and I've made a decent amount of freezer meals. I'd say we are just about ready for this little guy to arrive!

xoxo

Freezer dinners

2010-10-16T08:25:00.000-07:00

I've been off work for one whole week and I have to admit the first day or so was SO STRANGE - to go from the same routine every day for almost 6 years to knowing I won't be back for about a year felt awkward at first.

Throughout the week I found my groove and got some good cooking done for when baby gets here.

I made this Martha Stewart lentil soup and froze a bunch of it in individual mason jars and then this Giada marinara sauce with turkey meatballs - we had it for dinner on Thurs night and it was delish.

Up Monday is this Italian wedding soup also from Giada - I mix it up a bit and put pastina pasta instead of the egg in the broth and then spinach instead of escarole but this is a yummy freezer dinner.

I'm still on the hunt for more good freez-able meals that we can heat up easily once the baby gets here so holla back if you know of any ;) -- my offical due date is 3 weeks today so geting close!

have a great day - xoxo

Tour De Nursery

2010-10-03T03:25:00.000-07:00

i can't believe i only have one week of work left until i start my mat leave - the past few weeks have been bittersweet....i am so excited about what's to come but the thought of not being at the job that i have been going to every day for the past 6 +years seems so strange and as much as i know i will love my mat leave i will also miss my job and all the people that i work with.

the things that i won't miss are how sore my back has gotten sitting all day at my desk or the intense pain that has started radiating through my wrists by mid day - physically i think my body is starting to tell me to wind it down. i think mother nature is also having a say in my repertoire these days....I'm up every 2 hrs to pee which was kind of annoying at first but now I'm just kind of used to it and my schedule has just started to shift to be one where i am just not sleeping through the night....hence the really early morning blogging.

not to say that I'm not enjoying pregnancy - obviously the end goal will be worth it but there are a few other things that i love about it - pull up pants for one....those have come in super handy the last few weeks and although i do look forward to wearing normal clothes again the elastic waist band is a pretty clever invention that i will miss. People are SO nice too, that's another big plus - I have started to get a lot of people asking if they can touch the belly and honestly I don't mind.

onto the baby's room:

we started this project AGES ago - back when my belly was smaller than a small country (see visual reference above ;)) - it seemed aggressive at the time but it took a lot of time for a lot of of what we'd chosen to arrive so it was a good move.
once we decided to abandon our original "baby/lamb" theme and just go for things we liked the process went a lot smoother

this is the view from the door - we did bean board and kept the colour pallet neutral (inspired by Joanna ;)) - it was Kirk's idea to go almost to the ceiling with the bean board....i wasn't sold at first but love the way it turned out.

this is the view from the opposite corner. that pompom cluster is one of my fave. things in the room. we got it from etsy and k. helped me hang -- ideally i would have liked directly above the baby's crib but wasn't sure that was the smartest idea in case one fell down.

(ben is really starting to wonder what's going on)

view of the change table

crib view with baby's cozy quilt and matching pillow

Etsy finds:

Quilt - Modern Myrtle

Prints - Farouche

Owl - BWinks

Pom Poms - Fiesta Pom Pom

Alphabet Print - InkTreePress

The Power of Print

2010-08-26T17:10:00.000-07:00

have you seen this ad campaign about print magazine? i love it
it is clearly an effort by publishers to promote the print medium over the online world but i really like the message.
don't get me wrong - i love the internet. i love to shop, connect, browse online.
but there is something more relaxed about print.

as the internet continues to explode there is something so nice about sitting down with a coffee and a magazine.

latley i've been travelling with hardcopies of Travel and Leisure (even though we have NO trips planned it's fun to read about all the places we may some day go), relaxing with Real Simple and getting recipe ideas from Everyday Food

the internet is still my "go to" quick fix for last minute ideas for dinner etc. but i think there is something to be said about the real deal.

i have been keeping my scrap on (ha!) by participating in some challenges lately like this one over at the Studio Calico blog:

and this one from Crate Paper

i am loving the way these challenges get me to just pick up my supplies and go for it.
have a great day
xoxo

This is What Summer Looks Like

2010-08-20T13:49:00.000-07:00

I don't normally do 2 page layouts but when I got these fab pics from Nicole i combined them with a few of my own and it was just too many to do only one page

we have a fun weekend lined up - can't believe it's one of the last of the summer already!
have a great day
xoxo

Sleepy Saturday Morning

2010-08-12T16:23:00.000-07:00

we were supposed to go up north this weekend but because i had a busy week at work and am heading out west on my last business trip before mat leave early Mon am we decided to stay home and i am relishing in this low key saturday morning (i'll take 'em when i can).

rignt now am blogging in bed, watching he's just not that into you and laughing at lines like "so i also have a magical name - it's brother phoenix east horse"

here is recent page i made of the benster. speaking of ben - he too is enjoying his lazy saturday. he decided to take over my snoggle pillow (aka best preggo invention of all time - thanks meags!) and he's curled up in it in bed ha! makes me laugh.

we get baby's furniture delivered today - so excited!

have a great day
xoxo

b is for boy!

2010-08-10T12:06:00.000-07:00

at first we thought for sure we'd find out if we were having a girl or a boy. then i spoke to a few people who hadn't and wasn't as convinced. in the end we did find out and my gut was right - i knew we were expecting a boy.

in retrospect i'm so glad we did find out for sure - for me this entire pregnancy has finally sunk in but for the longest time i was in a bit of denial so for me knowing has been a great way to be able to bond with the baby and i can't imagine at this point not knowing.

i can't wait to meet our little man and see him for the first time. there is so much i'm looking forward to about becoming a mom.

here are baby's first layouts:
from the first ultrasound -

this is the day we found out he's a boy - he's pseudo waving to us in the top shot - so funny!

and is it just me or is this the world's hottest summer!? Try to stay cool today have a great day xoxo

Right now

2010-08-09T14:16:00.000-07:00

i am

loving: banana nut cheerios and raspberries

wondering: how i can stay on top of arranging photos and printing on a regular basis (hard for me now as i don't have a set "system" but i know will be even harder once the baby gets here)

waiting: for so many etsy purchases to arrive for baby's room i feel like i may burst.

nervous: for one more work trip far away (am going to make someone come with me b/c can't bear the thought of going by myself)

here are some old projects that i haven't shared yet:

my first 5km run (i was SO proud!)

This pic below is one of my fave's - we took it on our last day in Vancouver - the city skyline is in the back. We had to climb up a huge hill in a park to get to this point - at the time I wondered why i was so winded - now I know -- i was pregnant!

Just a simple page of my two little sweetie pies - these two crack me up

Gearing up for a night of trashy TV thanks to the Bachelor Pad! are you going to tune in?

Nesting

2010-08-07T08:49:00.001-07:00

I think i am in full fledged nesting mode - this morning I was up at 5am and HAD to steam mop the entire floor (even though it had been done yesterday), then i had to clean under the sink, i felt like Magda from Something about Mary

....I also made these magnolia bakery cupcakes today for my cousins who are coming over shortly for lunch.

i had tried them once before and didn't think they were as moist as they should be so this time around I added a vanilla snack pack to the recipe and i think it did the trick! the icing was a bit runny - too much milk i think, next time i'll put in less or do a blend of butter and shortening to stiffen it up a bit (thanks J for that suggestion!)

the humidity has finally broke here so i think we are going to be able to enjoy lunch outside!

have a great day

xoxo

why i create

2010-08-06T18:00:00.000-07:00

sometimes i forget why i create. i look at a layout after i'm done with it and i think it just looks like poop and i want to rip it up and start again.

do you ever do that? i do it with photos of myself too. most times i see myself in a picture i instantly decide i don't like it and want to delete it from the camera. then when i go back to my past photos i think -my hair looked pretty like that or those jeans looked goooood. but at the time i NEVER think that!

what i remember about the past are the good things like how it was so fun when we used to go for 2 hr lunches every day in high school and buy a latte and a bagel every day for lunch and how when we were in university how what i was going to wear to the bar that night was a really critical decision in my day. or just sitting and talking for hours. about nothing. about everything.

when i look to the future i do the same thing, i anticipate all the good that will come like how it will be so fun when we all have kids and can all do holidays together or how it will be so great when we dont' have to work 12 hr days and we can go on vacations to faraway places.

when i think about the now i always have something pressing that i'm worried about ....so that's one of the reasons i create.

it helps me focus on the now and appreciate it. and that's really why i scrapbook.

sometimes i get so overwhelmed by all the stuff.

by all the people that are SO good

by the thought that i'll never get it all down on paper

but i won't

there's just no way - life is too full for that

life is too busy for that and life also too big for pieces of paper

but in the pieces of paper i can show pieces of my life

and that's why i create.

Nursery plans

2010-07-29T07:08:00.001-07:00

When we found out we were expecting one of the first things we did was decide what room would be the baby's room and then get beanboard almost to the ceiling. I'm glad we did it so long ago becuase it still smells a bit woody in the room and it's been a few months!

We also got the closet done in that room to have drawers and low hanging space becuase it's not a huge room and we didn't want to have to get tons of furniture.

We painted the beanboard white and the upper trim (about a foot or so) cream and ordered a simple white crib and dresser. Essentially what we had created for ourselves was a blank slate - we did all of these before we knew it was a boy (even though I knew!) but this way we have a gender neutral nursery that we'll be able to use again.

Then we decided to go shopping for bedding and other "decor stuff" for the room. There were all these "baby bed in a bag kits" and although I don't know much (yet) I was pretty sure you didn't need a giant duvet for a baby (i checked with my neighbour and i was right). Then whenever we would go into baby stores to ask what we would need the clerk asked us what our "theme" was. I panicked a bit (b/c we clearly didn't have a theme) and told our our theme was "baby" (ha - i thought this was very clever....I don't think the lady in the store agreed) but then felt silly becuase i realized i should have said "Ducks" or "Airplanes' or something.... as we went to more and more stores i felt more pressure to do a "theme" - boats, construction, whales, lambs, themes were everywhere.....we settled on lambs - b/c it matched the rest of our nursery (creams, whites, browns) but i was never really sold on the lambs. K. liked them the most out of the stuff we saw so I went with it but when we got them home i just felt these particular lambs were a bit fugly. I like lambs normally and no offence to those that do love lambs but I just couldn't picture myself spending that much time in a room with an animal drawing that I would be constantly critiquing (I could just picture myself up at 3am nursing the baby staring at the lambs thinking I KNOW could draw a better lamb!)

then i stumbled upon this site and i realized that baby doesn't really = boring, and it doesn't really need to be all about the baby either - heck i'll be spending a lot of time in there too and frankly he won't even really remember what it looked like. Once I had that revelation I became a lot more "into" the baby's room.

so without further ado here is what the baby's room WILL have:

This cute owl from Etsy
this cute print inspired from this nursery post

this manhattan poster and this brooklyn poster from 3 potato 4 (i ordered these a while ago but felt it was kind of mean to put something in the babies room that he wouldn't really love - but then i realized who am i kidding myself, just b/c the kid wont' be able to read the prints doesn't mean he won't like the colors and frankly i doubt having a picture of a monkey on the wall would have made him any happier anyway)

a custom quilt from this lovely shop on etsy (in turquoise, grey, white, yellow and a bit of orange)

and then i'm planning on moving some of the prints i already have scattered around into the baby's room (again not "baby" prints but they'll work).

so that is that - i'll update with a tour de nursery once we get rolling.

on a seperate note i can't beleive i've got just 3 months to go!

AC Goodies

2010-07-16T09:01:00.000-07:00

I have been bad at documenting my craftiness latley but I have been getting my scrap on pretty regularly these days.

Here is a little project I made using the AC Dear Lizzy line:

Wanted to capture all the foods I'm craving wtih this pregnancy:

Finally this pic of my girlfriends - I have scrapped this one before (or one very similar b/c we got about 500 in this "shoot" haha) but it's one of my all time faves!

Have a fabulous day!

Growing

2010-07-15T18:26:00.001-07:00

bigger by the day!

one little word revisited

2010-06-04T09:58:00.000-07:00

back in december i chose my one little word for 2010.

create.

i didn't at the time know that we would be expecting in early 2010 - but now the word has taken on a whole new meaning.

i am still loving creating a little something every day, a card, trying out a new meal (like this one - a new fave....watermelon, feta and basil salad...yummy!) - but this new adventure we are on gives the word a whole new meaning.

i have had time to absorb what this pregnancy means and the only words i can really use to describe it are awe and wonder - it is such a gift we have been given and i'm so greatful - have felt the first little flutters of movement and that is just SO cool

i have also had to remind myself to take a step back and breathe. to relax. to trust that i'm not in control of this but that that's ok

got this print from etsy to remind me to just take it moment by moment and enjoy each one..

Finally - loving this site for funny week by week chronicles of pregnancy.

After a long hiatus

2010-05-13T14:16:00.000-07:00

I am FINALLY back.

i do have a good reason for being so MIA the last few months.

i am the worst secret keeper - in the world.

i fully had to avoid people because

a- am worst at lying

b- would never say no to a glass of wine

a + b = couldn't make plans with ANYONE for the longest time.....because i'm pregnant!

finally being able to tell was so so fun.

there were a few people that we told before we were at 3 months....

those that offered me wine ;)

aside from that we did pretty good at keeping it a secret.

but thank goodness the gig (or jig) is up - we are thrilled.

k. is so cute - already has the room partially ready (think he had this done when i was still in my "i'm just going to take another pregnancy test just to see" phase).

and then telling my friends was the best.

i waited to tell most in person.

then right before i felt silly that i waited and got nervous about telling them - but then i saw them and i knew it was fine and it was one of those moment's i'll never forget.

first i told lindsay - her cute preggo belly hugged mine and it just came out.

then i told em - who of course heard something going on from a mile away and made a beeline over - and i love her for it.

next was whit - she was so so happy.

then meag. then she said me too. and we are a week apart. and i think i nearly fainted and i don't really even know what i said except for maybe "no way" or "shut up".

then i turned really prego dumb for a few minutes and tried to figure out her due date and even though she told me she was a week apart from me (in november) i thought it was in september..ah ha (also on topic of actually losing my mind tried to make change a few weeks for a cabbie from a $20 and literally couldn't do it. had to get a girl that works with me to do it. i am guessing i will have a really really smart baby and its just borrowing some of my brain power for a while ;))

so that is that. 3 of the 6 of us are preggies at the same time. to think that i have known these girls for 16 years. over half my life. telling them was like when i first saw kirk. was just this vivid happy memory that i'll always have.

ben

2010-01-05T18:27:00.000-08:00

i picked ben up from the dog sitter today and he didn't want to come home with me.

he just loves her so much and so do i, she's just the best but i think it's a bit like how mom's feel when their kids don't want to leave their sitters, like i'm happy that he's happy there but still felt really guilty/sad that he didn't want to leave....so i came home and bought him this hat on etsy.

i'm not sure that he will love it as much as i do.

holiday recap and 2010 one little word

2010-01-01T07:18:00.000-08:00

what a wonderful whirlwind this last week has been - to have had a whole week of together has been so great.

i haven't done any blogging or much scrapping but have been busy with cooking, baking, making home made giftbags and tags and sleeping in.

All the things that make up a great holiday!

This year was our first hosting Christmas festivities - it was busy, it was a lot of work, but it was totally worth it. I'd do it again in a second. For the first time in 4 plus years we used the "fancy china".

As promised here's a recipe rundown:

Christmas Eve Salads (this was the least pressure meal as we were just contributors vs. the hosts):

Arugula and Roasted Tomato Salad - roasted plum tomatoes and served on a bed of arugula with a pesto dressing with parm and buffalo mozzarella.
Pioneer Woman's Warm Spinach Salad - it really does live up to the claim of the best spinach salad EVER - I think primarily thanks to the warm bacon dressing.... except I forgot that we aren't supposed to have meat on Christmas Eve oops!)...this photo was pre-dressing...it got much better with the dressing.

Christmas Day Brunch:

Williams Sonoma Eggs Benedict

Williams Sonoma French Toast - we used Ace Bakery Cranberry Bread and it was so delish!

Boxing Day Fondue:

Cheese, Beef and Seafood with a plethora of sauces followed by chocolate fondue which we somehow messed up because the chocolate solidified - we ate it anyway....

I regularly read Ali Edwards' blog and am constantly inspired by what she does. I have decided to my own word for 2010 will be create.

For 2010 I want to try to do something creative every day - it doesn't have to be to scrap, it could be to cook something new, bake something, etc.

What's your word for 2010?

martha & me

2009-12-22T04:31:00.000-08:00

martha has a christmas village.

i have a christmas village.
martha has francesca and sharkey.

i have ben

i love martha.

on another note this week is a frenzy of christmas prep - have all but one gift and have wrapped almost all.

made my own gift tags this year with kraft paper and stamps and ribbon - was worth it but timely, forgot my camera at my mom's this weekend so photos to come.

have to work up till christmas eve and then it's off till the 4th - we are hosting christmas morning and boxing day so the preparation is already underway.

i will be back with the recipe rundown later this week

ready.

2009-12-19T15:23:00.000-08:00

christmas candles lit.

flower arrangements made.

hair, makeup, outfit, check.

s'mores lollipops.

peppermint bark.

more cheese than is healthy for human consumption.

coloured champagne glasses polished.

ben's sweater.

we are ready.

T minus 24 hours

2009-12-18T18:07:00.000-08:00

in less than 24 hours there will be a party in our house.

candles will be lit, music will be on and we will be toasting another great year.

so much to be thankful for, so many people we love.

we literally have not done one thing to get ready. don't have any wine or food - but all of that will take care of itself tomorrow.

ben will don his reindeer sweater.

it will be great.

(but we will miss you again this year n&p)

xoxo

the list that keeps on growing

2009-12-07T18:04:00.000-08:00

sundays

2009-12-05T05:50:00.000-08:00

i kind of forget sometimes the things to be most thankful for.

last time i was on a plane i was listening in on a conversation behind me (kind of hard not to in close quarters like that) - anyway there was a lady talking about how she knows someone who gets together with their family every sunday night for dinner. she was going on and on about how nice it was and how special and how rare.

we do that in my family except until then i had always just kind of took it for granted really - just something we have always done, part of our family ritual...but when you think about it it is so nice. makes sunday nights something to look forward to and i find the weeks that we don't get together i get that dreaded "weekend's over" feeling.

it's nothing fancy just a day for us to visit and get caught up;

to put on music and give the kids piggy backs around the house
to pack up leftovers for dinner the next night so monday isn't such a busy day
to have my dad say once dinner is done and he's ready for us to go say (without fail) - "alright see yas"

this sunday will be extra special

i'm so excited to see these girls:

(this pic kills me btw)

and these kiddies:

can't wait

it's official

2009-12-04T19:44:00.000-08:00

i am the guest designer this month at The Scrapping Turtle

i'm so excited to play along with the ladies at the turtle this month. this is my first time on a DT and i'm thrilled! it is a busy month with work and Christmas coming up but it has been good motivation for me to stick with scrapping this month.

here is the layout i did for the sneak peak:

...all about the big tree in nyc. As fabulous as it was to go to nyc before christmas last year and to mexico after christmas i am really looking forward to christmas at home this year - this will be k and my first year hosting family so the pressure is on.

lazy sunday morning

2009-11-29T08:05:00.000-08:00

i wish every day could be sunday morning.

i love being able to sip coffee slowly with pajama's on in front of the computer, instead of the usual am scramble where I feel like i have to guzzle coffee to keep my eyes open.

i have some exciting news up my sleeve that is scrapping related but can't share it just yet.

wanted to pop in and share this layout i did using my studio calico kit (i scraplifted the design from one of davinie's layouts from an issue of sb trends):

Have a happy Sunday

Labels and Baskets and Scrapping oh my!

2009-11-15T07:18:00.000-08:00

I bought a LABEL MAKER this weekend. Be still my beating heart. I have wanted one for a while and got one this weekend, i think it was under $45 with tax and now my basement is totally label-ized. It's so nice.

If you are thinking of getting one here is the one I got. Also bought 7 baskets for storage, just random things that were causing clutter; magazines, CD's, photos, etc.

Am rocking out right now to the Glee soundtrack. If you have not yet bought the entire thing from itunes go and do so. Right. Now. It's that good (and I also decided that if I had a gay alter ego it would be Kurt from Glee. Love him, i have also just discovered via google search that he has a Facebook fan page. wicked.)

Here is what's been keeping me crafty:

A few pages from Disney:

(those darn letters took forever to cut out, I decided to mount them on paper and then pop dot them.)

Love that pic of M. with the Mickey cone. I think we have one of me at around that age with the same thing. So cute.
Love this pic and love these girls. This was 10 years ago? I can't even believe it. These girls are still the ones that make up a big part of my heart. I really love them.

Finally this one of K and I - using the new stamps I won from Davinie's blog (love this blog BTW) this chickie is a hand sewing superstar, I am inspired, going to have to buy a needle and some floss for and J and my upcoming scrapbook weekend.

If you are looking for some webby goodness here are some good links I've stumbled upon lately:

The story behind Hollywood logos

Nienie's Blog

Pioneer Woman

here is one more pic - i couldn't resist:

Real Mail

2009-11-14T05:24:00.000-08:00

I like email. But I love real mail.

Traveling pants

2009-11-12T17:36:00.000-08:00

Here's what I love about traveling:

Getting boxed lunches to eat on the plane
looking at (and laughing at) book titles in the airport bookstore (how to have a new husband in one week - not sure how any husband would feel about seeing that title on the bedside table)
that it's an adventure
shopping after work
shoe shopping at nordstroms
J Crew
The courtyard dinner setup; pajamas on, takeout in room, wheelie table pulled out to accomodate my spread of dinner and a laptop
moving into bed right after dinner with PJ's, ugg boots and a towel turban
wondering about people in the airport; where do they live, what do they like to do...
watching movies on the plane that K and i wouldn't watch at home; My sisters keeper; the proposal
having time to listen to my ipod (did you know i know the entire rap in the TLC song waterfalls?)

What i don't like

people who stand up in the aisle of the plane beside you to talk to someone and put thier bum in your face
plane farts
peeing on the plane
missing Kirk
missing Ben
Missing my house
Missing my sissy

Wishing I had more time to do this lately:
Can't wait for Memories Manor 2010 with J and crew - do you know what i meeeeeeannnnn?

My sissy

2009-11-02T18:50:00.002-08:00

My sissy is so cute. she's a little button of a girl, so funny and sharp and sweet. She told me she wanted to be sisters before we went to Florida and it stuck. now we are sissies for life i think. She came over for a sissy sleepover few weeks ago. we had a pajama party. we sat on the couch covered in blankets wearing our PJ's and ate dinner (pasta with pancetta, tomato, basil and boccocini for me, pasta with butter and cheese for her) and we watched HSM3. It was $19 from appletv. i wasn't planning on buying it - was just going to rent a movie but all the kiddie ones to rent were babyish; mickeymouseclubhouse etc - (aka claw my eyes out) plus when i told her it was only availible to buy she said "but sissy we were supposed to watch it in florida remember?" so really i had no other choice. it wasn't half bad.

please return to tiffany & co.

2009-11-02T13:07:00.000-08:00

the first christmas k and i were dating he gave me a jewlery box (which i love) and a silver ring with a teeny tiny diamond in it from tiffanys. i wear it every day. that was 8 christmases ago.

the most ironic thing happened to it. the little stone fell out. i was cheering on the marathoners on Sunday; clapping my hands together and banging them against the metal rails and the little stone must have just popped right out. i have a habit of running my thumb against my rings and when i did so at dinner i noticed it felt a bit sharp; so i checked it and sure enough - crack down the middle, it had literally split in two and the little stone had fallen right out.

i'm ok with it. i'm going to give it to the new york gods. the heart and sould of the city can have it. that's where we got engaged, where we went for our honeymoon and where we were for our anniversary when it happened. yes i'm a bit sad becuase i loved it because it was one of the first thing that K gave me but if it had to be lost i'm glad it was lost there of all places.

why i heart new york

2009-11-02T13:04:00.000-08:00

there are a million more reasons but here are a few:

- sitting on the steps of the MET eating lunch pretending i'm Blair Waldorf (K had to be Serena haha)

- eating magnolia cupcakes; definitley a huge cliche but i'm ok with that

- watching 40k runners run through the streets of ny for the 40th NY Marathon; was so inspiring i just stood there for about 20 minutes like a crazy lady, tears streaming down my face cheering people along. i wasn't alone though; have never felt that kind of love in a huge crowd before

If you weren't already convinced

2009-10-23T10:54:00.000-07:00

that i was a huge spaz then i'm pretty sure this story will do it for you.

so you know how i was training for my "marathon"? (was really a 5k relay as part of a marathon but to me was a bit deal). was SO nervous leading up to it - didn't want to let my team down, didn't think i could run that far, didn't sleep a wink the night before.

it was last sunday and it was a gorgeous day (thank GOD - can't imagine having to run in the rain!!) so i was feeling good. and you know what? I did it, i actually did it - it felt great.

my spaztic moment came at the transfer point. we had to wear this ankle brace type thing and then transfer it to the person who was going next. my friend Rima went before me and of course i made her put it on my leg (nevermind that she had just run up a 1km hill)

at the end of my leg i was supposed to transfer it to one of my colleagues. who i love. like as a friend but also he's cute. and not in a way that is bad just in that he's nice and cute (makes it more embarassing that it's a cute guy). my parents were there and my Kirk and Ben all cheering me on.

i ran around a corner and saw the finish line. i was feeling good, wasn't going fast but i was going, saw my parents and Kirk and was so excited. when i got to the finish line i was trying to figure out what to do, how i was going to get the ankle bracelet off. i was so happy with myself. and so tired. and overwhelmed that i had just done the race. and i got to the tag point and cute co-worker gave me a hug (which was so nice) and i tried to bend down to do the ankle bracelet thing but i couldn't, my arms just wouldn't work. so i just sat down. on the ground. on the course. and the cute co-worker had to remove the ankle brace for me. in front of everyone.

yup. there's a photo.

Fall Fun @ Aunty Extravaganza's

2009-10-13T18:31:00.000-07:00

ahhhhh my fave season is here!

we had an awesome 3 day weekend here - i even (wait for it) went for a run. and did 5k. in 32 mins! not even kidding. i was doing full on dance moves to the jersey boys soundtrack the last km to get me through which i fully plan on recreating during the real race this sunday (anything to get me through). i have some new glee music on my ipod that will do just perfectly.

roasted up some beets for an arugula, walnut and feta salad:

and roasted some asparagus for thanksgiving dinner

had this little birdie over for a visit:
she forgot her hat and mittens but loved borrowing mine

those of you who know me know that i have an auntie extravaganza. she's just fabulous. we affectionately coined the name after her love of all things in excess - lots of food, lots of decor, lots of fun that's her. see exhibit A:

each child got one of these pumpkins FULL of candy.

me and kirk even get one b/c we don't have kids yet.

Fun - told you ;)

I'm a big gleek

2009-10-12T07:52:00.000-07:00

i had heard a lot about the show glee but didn't think it could live up to the hype -but it's so awesome; like half musical and half high school memories all wrapped up into one show. i'm a total convert. i downloaded some of the songs this am on itunes and we are rocking around the kitchen to some walking on sunshine/halo magic.

am totally enjoying the luxury of this 3 day weekend. Fri night went to Couples Retreat - was so funny, i love vince vaughn and the last two days have been full of turkey.

seeing this little girl today for a visit:

excited for her to come over - we have so much fun together.

did this layout a while back to document one great summer day:

happy thanksgiving!

xoxo

the early bird gets the worm

2009-10-10T03:46:00.001-07:00

i taught M. that expression in Florida - she was dilly dallying about something and I told her that early birds wake up early to get the worms - she loved it. Then she wanted to be an early bird. So cute.

i am an early bird today - ironically. b/c K is typically the early bird in our house 9 (i'm more the night owl type) - i love to sleep in when i can and that doesn't happen very often but woke up with the dog at 6 and am too excited to sleep; i love thanksgiving.

There is so much to be thankful for.

Made a few cards yesterday - this one for my neighbours who helped us out this week when we needed someone to check in on the house:

and this one for my nephew - he's already almost 3! Same birthday as my and K's anniversary:

have a happy thanksgiving!

lots to share

2009-10-04T08:34:00.000-07:00

i have been so swamped these last few weeks that blogging has been on the backburner so this is a photo heavy post.

here is a recent layout i did - pic is about a year old but i love it, was holding onto it for a while because wanted to get it "just so" - i'm so lucky to have many great girlfriends; this pic isn't all of them but a few of the great ones. we really have been through so much together, love having them in my life.

i don't have many pics of me as a child - i think my parents just weren't picture people - but love this one of me, my brother and dad dressed up @ halloween.
have started scrapping some of the disney pics - there are so many great ones to choose from! this was really our magical disney moment, maya got to meet the HSM cast (from the musical @ disney) and she was thrilled
k this one may have been mean to scrap but this is what i'll always remember from the trip - how M was so chicken of the rides - so cute, i was the same way when i was younger. so funny b/c she wasn't scared at all to meet any of the characters or even be away from her parents but there was something about certain rides that spooked her
this kid is just the cutest. love him.
finally here is one of the pics from vancouver with a twilight reference (nerd alert)

have a great day

xoxo

addendum

2009-09-24T17:28:00.000-07:00

i need to *ahem* make a errrr slight addendum to my previous post.

it was not 30 mins. in fact it was 40.

math was never my strong suit.

shoot - guess i still have a while to go. i had a feeling it was too good to be true

and just to prove that i'm still cool on some level even though i'm not able to count 30 minutes here's a photo. of me. and justin bobby - of the hills fame. ha ha funny right? (he was a little on the creepy side!)

Guess What?

2009-09-24T14:36:00.000-07:00

I just JOGGED 5km. ok well not quite 5km but almost....honestly! can you believe it? It took me half an hour... my friend Rima told me that's good for my first time but she's probably just saying that. either way i am running in this charity race for diabetes in less than a month so i just need to be able to hold my own, it's a corporate relay so i don't want my co-workers thinking that i'm a couch potato (even though i totally am); i have these visions of crossing the finish line with my hands above my head as though it was the NY Marathon (in fact when i reached my half way point today I did the above the head fist pump) - dramatic i know.

i really didn't think i could do it. all of these much older much fitter people kept passing me and all i could think was they must have been doing this for a long time and how am i ever going to make it and then i did it! slow and steady but still, that counts.

k well that's it for now. hoorah for me.

booya

xoxo

so

2009-09-23T18:40:00.000-07:00

having one of those weeks. where there is not enough time in the day. where i feel like life is passing me by because i'm so busy. it's slightly ridiculous. makes me appreciate when i do have time to do things i enjoy (scrap, watch tv, really do anything besides just work) but honestly those times feel so fargone right now.

am tired. frustrated. grouchy. ick.

the good news (great news) is i have a GOOD weekend lined up. Dinner with my girlies on Fri. Sound of Music Sat with my mom. Dinner with friends on Sat and then a visit with friends and fam on Sun. Thank. The. Lord. Above.