I've been preparing a bit for G's first birthday party. Her birthday is July 13, but the party will be on the 21st as that is when my brother arrives for his visit! I'm so excited for P to get here and that someone from my family will be represented at G's party.
The theme is Minnie Mouse. I found napkins, plate, hats, etc at Wal Mart so things will be fairly cute. I'm going to make chocolate cupcakes - my first time ever making cupcakes! Hopefully they turn out. It's not going to be a huge party - less than 20 people, I think. And it's not going to be long - only a couple of hours. In comparison to my cousin's son's first birthday, this is ridiculously tame. They had over SIXTY people stop by his party. My word. I could not deal with that. Holy moly. But my cousin is a social butterfly and I am not.
I'm looking forward to the party but it is so stressful figuring out who to invite. I feel worse about it than when I was making the list of who to invite to my wedding. This is a much smaller group of people and I would hate for someone to feel left out. I'm not even sure who WANTS to be invited. It's a baby party, not exactly exciting.
After the party I'll post pictures. If I remember to.
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
Sunday, June 23, 2013
The Weekend
This past weekend was mostly great, considering it started off terribly. Friday was utterly awful. G had been up way too late the night before, and then woke up way too early. She was fussy, I was exhausted, and I ended up crying at one point - which she laughed at. I slept through lunch, so I didn't make B anything to eat (which was okay, he had Spongebob Alphagetti), and then much to my dismay I found out that B would be home late from work which meant several more hours alone with the cranky child.
Despite all this, and despite G waking me at 6:30 Saturday morning, I had a great birthday. It was lazy and quiet. I was able to lounge in bed for a few hours just reading fanfiction and being cozy.
Later in the day, we went to Old Navy so I could buy a new outfit with my birthday money. No luck. I only had $45 dollars, and they weren't having a denim sale so jeans were out of the question. I did find a pair for $20 on clearance, but when I stepped into the change room they wouldn't move anywhere above my thighs. Apparently I don't know my pants size. But that's understandable because I am still wearing my maternity jeans from Old Navy and in pregnant lady sizing, I'm an 8. So I thought a 12 in normal sizing would work. Wrong! There were also no tops that really stood out to me, and jeans were really the thing I NEED. So I went next door to Michael's and bought new art supplies! And I love what I bought. It has inspired me.
Next we went out for dinner with E and S at Denny's which was delicious. Afterward, we went home and I chilled some more, hung out with the fam, talked to my Mama on the phone, and then facetimed with my sister, brother and dad. It was a good end to a good 24th birthday.
Today, Sunday, was different. We didn't go to church and instead went to B's work family picnic thing, at the forestry farm zoo place. The bbq wasn't really my scene, but I did really like it when G decided to take some more of her first steps...on top of a freaking picnic table. That's my girl. Then we went into the zoo and saw some cool animals and G fell asleep in an adorably awkward position. At around 1:30 we came home, and all three of us had an hour and a half long nap which was amazingly nice. Then I got to work making dinner, and I tried out two new recipes. One was a simple chicken recipe that involved just oil, vinegar and a few spices. It was simple, and tasty and I made lots so that we would have leftovers for wraps. The second recipe was for twice baked potatoes and it was amazing. I'll have to find the pin but in the mean time, here's the final product:
My Sunday ended with some sketching, cuddles with my G, cuddles with my B, and some time to blog by myself. I'm really hoping this week will be a good one!
Despite all this, and despite G waking me at 6:30 Saturday morning, I had a great birthday. It was lazy and quiet. I was able to lounge in bed for a few hours just reading fanfiction and being cozy.
Later in the day, we went to Old Navy so I could buy a new outfit with my birthday money. No luck. I only had $45 dollars, and they weren't having a denim sale so jeans were out of the question. I did find a pair for $20 on clearance, but when I stepped into the change room they wouldn't move anywhere above my thighs. Apparently I don't know my pants size. But that's understandable because I am still wearing my maternity jeans from Old Navy and in pregnant lady sizing, I'm an 8. So I thought a 12 in normal sizing would work. Wrong! There were also no tops that really stood out to me, and jeans were really the thing I NEED. So I went next door to Michael's and bought new art supplies! And I love what I bought. It has inspired me.
Next we went out for dinner with E and S at Denny's which was delicious. Afterward, we went home and I chilled some more, hung out with the fam, talked to my Mama on the phone, and then facetimed with my sister, brother and dad. It was a good end to a good 24th birthday.
Today, Sunday, was different. We didn't go to church and instead went to B's work family picnic thing, at the forestry farm zoo place. The bbq wasn't really my scene, but I did really like it when G decided to take some more of her first steps...on top of a freaking picnic table. That's my girl. Then we went into the zoo and saw some cool animals and G fell asleep in an adorably awkward position. At around 1:30 we came home, and all three of us had an hour and a half long nap which was amazingly nice. Then I got to work making dinner, and I tried out two new recipes. One was a simple chicken recipe that involved just oil, vinegar and a few spices. It was simple, and tasty and I made lots so that we would have leftovers for wraps. The second recipe was for twice baked potatoes and it was amazing. I'll have to find the pin but in the mean time, here's the final product:
My Sunday ended with some sketching, cuddles with my G, cuddles with my B, and some time to blog by myself. I'm really hoping this week will be a good one!
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Update!
Well, we moved! What. A. RELIEF.
We found an amazing apartment that already feels like home. It may not be in the best neighbourhood, but there are so many families with children around that it feels very safe. I do wish said families with children would teach said children to BE QUIET at a decent hour each day, but hey...what can you do? Seriously though, it was almost nine o'clock tonight and we were preparing G for bed when this posse of six year olds starts hanging out near our front window, just jabbering away at the top of their lungs. And then they decided to peek in our window and dance to the music Sesame Street was making on our TV. Eventually I went and shut the blinds so I didn't have to see that one kid dancing anymore.
Since moving, a couple good things have happened.
1. I am SIGNIFICANTLY less stressed out. The ball of tension in my stomach is gone and it feels GOOD. Honestly, I was crying nearly every single night in MJ and since moving here I've only cried once or twice and it was because of extremely legitimate reasons.
2. I'm back in the kitchen, baby! I cook us dinner and lunch nearly every single day and I'm loving it. Having my own kitchen is fantastic and I'm having a blast stocking it with food and equipment. I finally own a muffin tin! And I got a Gordon Ramsay cook book for Mother's Day (my first!) which I'm looking forward to working through. Below is a picture of the soda bread I attempted:
It looks pretty good, but it was a failure. It didn't cook all the way through, which I didn't realize until after it had cooled down. Next time I'll add less flour, and I think that will solve the problem.
3. I'm no longer making my own baby food. I have the time, but at the same time I don't. Since moving here I haven't been sleeping well, so when G naps I definitely have to nap. When she's awake, I like to be in the same room as her. Most days I'm able to sneak off to the kitchen while she's watching Baby Einstein so I can get some dishes done, but some days she stands at the barrier banging away and screeching at me to give her attention. And how can I resist that face?
We found an amazing apartment that already feels like home. It may not be in the best neighbourhood, but there are so many families with children around that it feels very safe. I do wish said families with children would teach said children to BE QUIET at a decent hour each day, but hey...what can you do? Seriously though, it was almost nine o'clock tonight and we were preparing G for bed when this posse of six year olds starts hanging out near our front window, just jabbering away at the top of their lungs. And then they decided to peek in our window and dance to the music Sesame Street was making on our TV. Eventually I went and shut the blinds so I didn't have to see that one kid dancing anymore.
Since moving, a couple good things have happened.
1. I am SIGNIFICANTLY less stressed out. The ball of tension in my stomach is gone and it feels GOOD. Honestly, I was crying nearly every single night in MJ and since moving here I've only cried once or twice and it was because of extremely legitimate reasons.
2. I'm back in the kitchen, baby! I cook us dinner and lunch nearly every single day and I'm loving it. Having my own kitchen is fantastic and I'm having a blast stocking it with food and equipment. I finally own a muffin tin! And I got a Gordon Ramsay cook book for Mother's Day (my first!) which I'm looking forward to working through. Below is a picture of the soda bread I attempted:
It looks pretty good, but it was a failure. It didn't cook all the way through, which I didn't realize until after it had cooled down. Next time I'll add less flour, and I think that will solve the problem.
3. I'm no longer making my own baby food. I have the time, but at the same time I don't. Since moving here I haven't been sleeping well, so when G naps I definitely have to nap. When she's awake, I like to be in the same room as her. Most days I'm able to sneak off to the kitchen while she's watching Baby Einstein so I can get some dishes done, but some days she stands at the barrier banging away and screeching at me to give her attention. And how can I resist that face?
4. I'm losing weight! Part of this is due to being a little bit more active, but most of it is thanks to our diet. We no longer buy pop for the house. We still drink it, but only when we're out. Occasionally we'll get dollar drinks on the way home from somewhere, but there are no bottles or cans in our fridge or cupboards. This has been very good. We also haven't been buying a lot of junk food. I just bought my second bag of chips since getting here and it was only because I was having an extreme time 'o the month craving for them. Eating healthier is great and I can see results already. I can't wait to continue down this path!
5. I finally get to decorate a baby's room! One of my biggest regrets has been the fact that I didn't get to do a nursery for G. Nesting is SO important, and I would cry every so often because I didn't get to do it properly. It was like something was missing. But now I've been adding to G's room bit by bit and I love it and I feel so much happier.
Now, I'd best get to work on finishing the invites for G's FIRST birthday! I'll do a separate post about that another day.
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Moving
We're FINALLY moving, and I thought I'd take a moment to talk about the move.
Biggest Moving Tip:
Number every box, label the contents of every box, and copy both the number and contents into a notebook. I am ridiculously organized about packing. I have a plethora of blue paper left over from our wedding, and each box has a blue paper taped to it with the number and contents written on it. This makes it easier to read, and really differentiates the current contents from the previous contents as most of the boxes were used before in moves made by either us, or our parents.
It is hard to move with a baby getting into everything at the same time. If you're a stay at home parent, it is invaluable to have your spouse take a week off to help pack. B has been carting boxes upstairs to the garage and also just keeping G out of my hair so that I can get stuff done. Last week G figured out how to climb boxes which would have made things a nightmare for me if I was alone.
Not much else to say. I probably won't update until we get internet in the new place. Hopefully I'll post pics of the new apartment and my progress in decorating and organizing it. It should be a lot of fun! I'm also planning on FINALLY trying all those recipes I Pinned, so we'll see how that goes too.
Biggest Moving Tip:
Number every box, label the contents of every box, and copy both the number and contents into a notebook. I am ridiculously organized about packing. I have a plethora of blue paper left over from our wedding, and each box has a blue paper taped to it with the number and contents written on it. This makes it easier to read, and really differentiates the current contents from the previous contents as most of the boxes were used before in moves made by either us, or our parents.
It is hard to move with a baby getting into everything at the same time. If you're a stay at home parent, it is invaluable to have your spouse take a week off to help pack. B has been carting boxes upstairs to the garage and also just keeping G out of my hair so that I can get stuff done. Last week G figured out how to climb boxes which would have made things a nightmare for me if I was alone.
Not much else to say. I probably won't update until we get internet in the new place. Hopefully I'll post pics of the new apartment and my progress in decorating and organizing it. It should be a lot of fun! I'm also planning on FINALLY trying all those recipes I Pinned, so we'll see how that goes too.
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
A Rant
No one has directly spoken to me, but whenever a post pops up in my news feed about breastfeeding (I have a FB friend who is very pro-breast feeding) it honestly hurts my feelings. I'm not against breast feeding, not even a little bit. I say do it for as long as you want/can because it really is good for the kiddo. But all too often, breast feeding moms are ridiculously smug about it. And when posts where women brag about how long they fed their little ones pop up on facebook, it hurts me because even though none of these ladies are talking to me, they're inadvertently rubbing it into my face that I couldn't keep it up so somehow I'm not as good at being a mother.
I absolutely know with all my heart that THIS IS NOT TRUE. I'm a great mom. I keep Ginny healthy, and she's progressing perfectly. She's happy and I'm happy. And every other minute of the day when I don't see one of those posts, I am absolutely fine. No thoughts about breast feeding and my 'failure' to keep it up. I didn't fail. My body just couldn't do it, and that's nobody's fault. It happens to so many ladies all over the place. But when I see that breast feeding post, in that moment I feel terrible and I hate it.
What can I do about it? Nothing. Nor do I want to. So instead I come over here and rant about it for a couple minutes and when I am done, I'll finish my glass of water and go snuggle my husband.
I absolutely know with all my heart that THIS IS NOT TRUE. I'm a great mom. I keep Ginny healthy, and she's progressing perfectly. She's happy and I'm happy. And every other minute of the day when I don't see one of those posts, I am absolutely fine. No thoughts about breast feeding and my 'failure' to keep it up. I didn't fail. My body just couldn't do it, and that's nobody's fault. It happens to so many ladies all over the place. But when I see that breast feeding post, in that moment I feel terrible and I hate it.
What can I do about it? Nothing. Nor do I want to. So instead I come over here and rant about it for a couple minutes and when I am done, I'll finish my glass of water and go snuggle my husband.
Saturday, March 9, 2013
My Happy Baby
G is one of the happiest babies I’ve ever met. She is always ready to shoot you a smile, and she loves being picked up and played with. She isn’t fussy – obviously with the exceptions of being overtired or hungry – and she doesn’t cry too often. She is a happy, happy baby.
I mention this, because she has a huge reason to be unhappy. G has eczema pretty bad, and has had it so since she was a few months old. It is the worst on her face, scalp and left leg. On her face, it looks painful and raw and is extremely rough to the touch. Her forehead is constantly covered in scratches that bleed and mar her beautiful little face.
At night we have to swaddle her tightly so that her arms aren’t free – which doesn’t work because she’s a wiggle-worm. She wakes herself up in the night because her face is super itchy and she is desperate to scratch it, which usually means that she ends up knocking her soother out and she becomes too frustrated to get it back. It’s hard watching her struggle, and it’s hard to keep from scratching for her.
We were finally able to get to the doctor and he prescribed some cream. Know what? That NIGHT her eczema was fading already. She has been sleeping a little better since starting treatment with that cream. A week later and her skin is CLEAR for the first time in months. I’d grown so used to the giant eczema patches on her face that seeing her beautiful skin was surreal – it looks airbrushed! She’s such a pretty baby and I’m so utterly beyond proud of her for staying completely happy despite the frantic scratching and discomfort and bleeding.
I love my happy baby so much. She makes every day just that much better with her giggles (which are rare but always ALWAYS incredibly uplifting) and her cheeky smile and those big blue eyes that are frequently full of mischief. I love that she reaches for me and wants to sit on my lap or climb on me. I love her so much and I’m proud to be her Mama.
I mention this, because she has a huge reason to be unhappy. G has eczema pretty bad, and has had it so since she was a few months old. It is the worst on her face, scalp and left leg. On her face, it looks painful and raw and is extremely rough to the touch. Her forehead is constantly covered in scratches that bleed and mar her beautiful little face.
At night we have to swaddle her tightly so that her arms aren’t free – which doesn’t work because she’s a wiggle-worm. She wakes herself up in the night because her face is super itchy and she is desperate to scratch it, which usually means that she ends up knocking her soother out and she becomes too frustrated to get it back. It’s hard watching her struggle, and it’s hard to keep from scratching for her.
We were finally able to get to the doctor and he prescribed some cream. Know what? That NIGHT her eczema was fading already. She has been sleeping a little better since starting treatment with that cream. A week later and her skin is CLEAR for the first time in months. I’d grown so used to the giant eczema patches on her face that seeing her beautiful skin was surreal – it looks airbrushed! She’s such a pretty baby and I’m so utterly beyond proud of her for staying completely happy despite the frantic scratching and discomfort and bleeding.
I love my happy baby so much. She makes every day just that much better with her giggles (which are rare but always ALWAYS incredibly uplifting) and her cheeky smile and those big blue eyes that are frequently full of mischief. I love that she reaches for me and wants to sit on my lap or climb on me. I love her so much and I’m proud to be her Mama.
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Different Things
This post is kind of going to be all over the place because my mind is jumbled and I just wanna post something!
We're back at home in MJ, and I am beginning to settle into my life as a house wife. We are planning on moving as soon as we can, but for the near future at least this is home. Since day one here I have been working hard to baby proof everything (G is a roller!), rearrange the furniture, and just do some general tidying. So far, things are looking great (or as great as they can in this ugly cave we live in with limited furniture). I'm getting organized and it feels good.
I can't wait for other friends to start having babies, because I am saving all of G's stuff. There are a few things I'll keep for myself for sentimental reasons, but most of it can be distributed. In addition to clothing, we also have a car seat for someone to take if they want it (my aunt gave us the next size up car seat that will do G til she's 50lbs - it belonged to one of her twins), a breast pump, a Snugli, and I would absolutely lend out the Baby Bullet.
The Baby Bullet. SO MUCH FUN. I love making the baby food myself. G loves my sweet potatoes way more than the store bought stuff. I can't wait til the next batch cooking day so we can try some new things!
One of my favourite parts about being a housewife, is doing the laundry. I've never enjoyed doing laundry, but lately it's been fun. I love sitting on the couch and folding everything out on the coffee table while watching Netflix. Today I put G on the couch behind me and gave her some toys to play with while I sorted her laundry. Just as I was finishing, I felt a little hand tugging on the back of my hoodie and I turned around to be greeted with a big smile and blue eyes. She just wanted a hug.
G is getting to be so much more fun (if that's possible). She sits independantly and the other day managed to stand up on her own! She was holding onto something, but it's still a HUGE moment for us. She's rolling all over the place and I've had to vacuum several times since getting back already. She has favourite toys, and is particular about different things. Another cute story: Naptime today, I heard her make a noise so I went to check on her and she was just chilling in bed with one arm behind her head, staring at her soother. I made a little noise and she turned to look at me and just beamed. Her smile is so big when she sees us after waking up. It really just melts my heart. So I picked her up and smooched her and we went to play and do laundry.
Baby Mum Mums. They're little rice cookie/cracker things and G LOVES them. Warning though: the box says they are not messy and that is a lie. They get everywhere! Mostly in her mouth, but little bits end up embedded in the carpet or her bib and stick to skin like the dickens. They are such a great snack for her though. It's great to be able to hand her something to eat while we eat dinner, to keep her busy.
I guess that's it for now. Not sure when I'll update again, as I'm pretty busy with getting the house into shape at the moment and in my downtime, I'm honestly just playing video games, haha. I have a post about traveling with a baby in the works, so hopefully I can get that done pretty soon and get it to you!
For now, here are a few recent photos:
We're back at home in MJ, and I am beginning to settle into my life as a house wife. We are planning on moving as soon as we can, but for the near future at least this is home. Since day one here I have been working hard to baby proof everything (G is a roller!), rearrange the furniture, and just do some general tidying. So far, things are looking great (or as great as they can in this ugly cave we live in with limited furniture). I'm getting organized and it feels good.
I can't wait for other friends to start having babies, because I am saving all of G's stuff. There are a few things I'll keep for myself for sentimental reasons, but most of it can be distributed. In addition to clothing, we also have a car seat for someone to take if they want it (my aunt gave us the next size up car seat that will do G til she's 50lbs - it belonged to one of her twins), a breast pump, a Snugli, and I would absolutely lend out the Baby Bullet.
The Baby Bullet. SO MUCH FUN. I love making the baby food myself. G loves my sweet potatoes way more than the store bought stuff. I can't wait til the next batch cooking day so we can try some new things!
One of my favourite parts about being a housewife, is doing the laundry. I've never enjoyed doing laundry, but lately it's been fun. I love sitting on the couch and folding everything out on the coffee table while watching Netflix. Today I put G on the couch behind me and gave her some toys to play with while I sorted her laundry. Just as I was finishing, I felt a little hand tugging on the back of my hoodie and I turned around to be greeted with a big smile and blue eyes. She just wanted a hug.
G is getting to be so much more fun (if that's possible). She sits independantly and the other day managed to stand up on her own! She was holding onto something, but it's still a HUGE moment for us. She's rolling all over the place and I've had to vacuum several times since getting back already. She has favourite toys, and is particular about different things. Another cute story: Naptime today, I heard her make a noise so I went to check on her and she was just chilling in bed with one arm behind her head, staring at her soother. I made a little noise and she turned to look at me and just beamed. Her smile is so big when she sees us after waking up. It really just melts my heart. So I picked her up and smooched her and we went to play and do laundry.
Baby Mum Mums. They're little rice cookie/cracker things and G LOVES them. Warning though: the box says they are not messy and that is a lie. They get everywhere! Mostly in her mouth, but little bits end up embedded in the carpet or her bib and stick to skin like the dickens. They are such a great snack for her though. It's great to be able to hand her something to eat while we eat dinner, to keep her busy.
I guess that's it for now. Not sure when I'll update again, as I'm pretty busy with getting the house into shape at the moment and in my downtime, I'm honestly just playing video games, haha. I have a post about traveling with a baby in the works, so hopefully I can get that done pretty soon and get it to you!
For now, here are a few recent photos:
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