Wand.er.lust

A Journey of Epic Proportions

2012-01-21T14:59:00.003-05:00

One of my goals last year was to compile all of my Kilimanjaro videos into one. Over Christmas I finally had a chance to sit down and learn how to do this using iMovie. Once I got the hang of it, it wasn't too difficult at all. I'm so happy to have this video to look back on. It was truly a journey of epic proportions! I'm embarrassed because I never realized this before but I am a total up talker. I need to work on that. Oh well. Enjoy the video!

See my other posts about Kilimanjaro here:

That's a Lot of Walking!

I Feel Like A New Woman

2012-01-18T07:55:00.005-05:00

This past month has been.. how can I describe it? Excruciatingly tiring. Since before Christmas, Little m has been an even more horrible sleeper than usual. We're talking about waking up 4-6 times (or more!) every night, taking no daytime naps, or if I could get her down for a nap, waking up 10 minutes later. I was this close to losingmyshit. I can't begin to tell you how frustrating it is to spend 45 minutes (or more!) trying to get her to sleep, then having her wake up as soon as she hit the crib sheet. Rinse and repeat. I would spend my entire days trying to get this girl to sleep. Something had to be done or I was about to send myself to crazy town for an extended vacation.

All I could think to do was begin sleep training. I was wracked with guilt and it's so painful listening to your baby cry but I feel like I had no choice. Last night was night number three and holy moly I feel like a new woman because I got 5.5 hours of sleep.. like I mean.. in a row. In one chunk. At one time. Plus another 3 on top of that! I almost jumped for joy when I layed the peanut down after feeding her and she turned her head, closed her eyes, and went to sleep. IT'S A MIRACLE!!! I'm ecstatic if you couldn't tell.

I am a much happier person after getting sleeping, mostly because sleep is so freakin good but also because Little m is happier and well rested! I can't help but share some pictures I took earlier this week because they're so darn cute. I love this little girl but I love her even more when she lets me sleep!

My mom's friend sent us this cute hat after Little m was first born and it finally fits! Thanks Mo!

36 in 356: 2012 Edition

2012-01-14T07:35:00.002-05:00

As per tradition, here's my list of 36 goals I'd like to accomplish in the 365 days of the new year. I've tried to make my goals more manageable this year and included a few important things I must get done that I've been putting off for years. This is the year, right!?

36 in 365 Goals (Round Four):

Get Busy:

1. Put on a themed 1st birthday party for Little m. I'm feeling rainbows.

2. Take monthly pictures of Little m and blog about her developments.

3. Comment on someone's blog everyday for three months (0/3).

4. Keep a calendar of Little m's daily occurrences.

5. Read 40 books from my Goodreads list (2/40).

6. Discover three new musical artists (0/3).

7. See the CTA holiday train in December.

8. Make ten new savoury recipes (0/10).

9. Make five new sweet recipes (0/5).

10. Buy a hawt pair of boots.

11. Buy a wall map.

12. Buy a rug.

Get Crafty:

13. If home in the month of December, buy and decorate a real Christmas tree.

14. Add 25 more items to my list of 101 things (28/101) that make me happy (0/25).

15. Make three things from my "For the Home" board on Pinterest (0/3).

16. Make a really cool gift for my Goddaughter's first birthday.

17. Make a piece of artwork using old passport stamps.

18. Create a wedding album for both sets of parents. For real this time.

19. Make a first year photo canvas for Little m.

20. Frame a wedding photo and hang it up.

21. Start an anniversary scrapbook.

Get Places:

22. Rent a convertible and drive through California.

23. Explore three Chicago neighbourhoods (0/3).

24. Travel to two American states (0/2).

25. Visit the Chicago Art Institute.

26. Drink myself silly in Sonoma.

Get Healthy (Mentally and Physically):

27. Try to enjoy every moment with Little m, even the really difficult and tiring ones.

28. Make and stick to a dinner meal plan for a week (0/5) and try to continue.

29. Stop letting people and things live rent free in my mind.

30. Take Bama for extra long walks once a week (0/52).

31. Complete Jillian Michael's Ripped in 30.

32. Try the 100 pushup challenge.

33. Try the 100 situp challenge.

Get Giving:

34. Send the great grandparents pictures of Little m more often (0/3).

35. Send my close girlfriends birthday cards (0/6).

36. Volunteer once a month (0/12).

2011 Goals... How'd I Do?

2012-01-13T09:17:00.000-05:00

Sadly, I didn't do all that well on my 2011 goals. I overestimated my ability to get anything done with a baby in tow. I have a hard enough time eating breakfast before noon on most days.. how I thought I'd have time for anything extra is beyond me! Oh well. I fully completed 21 goals, partially completed 3, and failed miserably at 12. Here's the roundup:

36 in 365 Goals (Round 3)

Get Busy:

1. Leave a comment on someone's blog everyday for two months (2/2).

2. Compile and edit all of my Kilimanjaro videos into one.

3. Blog a total of 200 times throughout the year (83/200).

4. Make Julia Child's boeuf bourguignon.

5. Go to a couple of concerts (2/2): City and Colour, Coheed and Cambria

6. Go fishing for my first time.

7. Try 10 new recipes (10/10): Annie P's Granola Bars, Apple Pie Muffin Tops,Banana Rhubarb Muffins, Peanut Butter Parsnip Fries, German Chocolate Cake,Mango Banana Bread, Peanut Butter Pie, Dough Balls, Balsamic Green Beans, Tapioca Rhubarb Pudding (mom's recipe)

8. Bake a rainbow cake.

9. Host a party: Baby shower for my sis-in-law

Get Places:

10. Go to Kingston Mines to listen to a blues band.

11. Bring Bama to the dog park more often (11/20).

12. Try two Man Vs. Food restaurants (2/2): Vortex, Lucky's Sandwich Company

13. Go to an outdoor concert in Millenium Park.

14. Explore two different American states (2/2): Atlanta, GA and Cassopolis, MI

15. Attend Chicago summer festivals (2/2): Sheffield Garden Walk, Jazz Fest

16. Get a cocktail at the Signature Lounge.

17. Ride the ferris wheel at Navy Pier.

18. Visit the Art Institute of Chicago.

Get Giving:

19. Send a birthday card to each of my siblings and parents (9/9).

20. Volunteer in a soup kitchen once a month (12/12).

21. Leave Operation Beautiful notes (10/10).

Get Crafty:

22. Complete a list of 101 things that make me happy (28/101): #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6,

23. Create a wedding anniversary scrapbook with highlights from each year.

24. Make a piece of artwork using old passport stamps.

25. Create a wedding album for both sets of parents.

26. Buy and decorate a real Christmas tree!

27. Make a special someone a Blurb book.

28. Learn something about photography.

29. Finish my wedding scrapbook.

Get Healthy:

30. Floss or use the Oral B cleaner everyday for a month (and try to continue).

31. Skate on the Rideau Canal in February.

32. Complete a 30 day Wii Fit challenge.

33. Take a long bike ride (2/2).

34. Walk to work or anywhere else that's 35-40 minutes each way (10/10).

35. Go rock climbing.

36. Go hiking (2/2): Bloomingdale Trail, Lake Matheson

Better luck next year?

Month Four With Little m

2012-01-12T14:47:00.001-05:00

Wow, I'm so behind! This post has been sitting in my draft box for almost a month, so it's quite outdated, but I figure better late than never. It will be nice to have these monthly updates to look back upon so I must persist.

Little m spent the majority of her fourth month in New Zealand. I must say, she is an amazing traveler. Give me an airplane ride any day over a car ride. Car rides with this darling girl make me want to stab myself in the eye. Maybe one day she will learn to love her car seat, but I don't think it's happening anytime soon.

Her fourth month was my favourite thus far. This little peanut is so smiley and her entire face lights up, making my heart melt. She likes to talk a lot still and one day I heard her say dada, clear as day! Haven't heard it since, but that was fun even if it was a fluke! We think she often looks like a tiny elf. Little m's new favourite thing is being carried around facing outward. She loves looking at the world around her and being her usual nosy self. She's also now beginning to amuse herself and often times we'll lay her on a blanket next to us while we're eating dinner. This is a fantastic relief for me because I can actually have ten minutes to myself a few times a day now! Thanks little one.

At her four month check up she was hovering somewhere around the 9.5 lbs range. Her weight gain is a constant worry for me but she's well on her way to doubling her birth weight so I need to relax a bit. Her sleeping ranges from bad to horrible to okay to awful, but I will get sleep in ohh, 18 years, so I'll survive :)

One thing I know is that no one can understand how difficult being a parent is until they're faced with it. I certainly didn't at least. You take the bad with the good and the good with the bad and all that nonsense. Thank goodness this girl smiles a lot and erases (most) of my frustrations with one big goofy grin.

Baptism Day

2011-12-24T17:18:00.006-05:00

On Thursday morning Little m was baptized! The deacon made an exception for us since we were coming in from out of town and he agreed to celebrate the Christening on an unusual day and time.

It was a really nice ceremony and Little m was a complete doll the entire time. She smiled non-stop. I think the deacon fell in love with her a little!

We're so grateful that our family and friends could support us on this special day. Even M's nannies from Halifax flew in for the occasion!

Special thanks to C&R for being Little m's Godparents. We couldn't ask for a more loving couple to be a part of our peanut's life. She's one lucky girl to be loved by so many people!

Many thanks to M's parents for hosting the party afterwards and also for providing us with the family Baptismal gown. I think it's pretty cool that Little m was able to wear the same gown as her daddy did!

New Zealand: Days 12-13

2011-12-18T12:08:00.011-05:00

Carrying on in the South Island, we made an overnight pitstop in the small town of Twizel so that M could go to another Lord of the Rings tour. While he was exploring Pelennor Fields I took advantage of free wifi at the town's bakeshop and sat in the sunshine while the little one slept on my chest. Once the tour was finished we took a drive from Twizel to Te Anau, and from there onto Milford Sound. This is technically a fjord, not a sound, and one of NZ's most famous tourist destinations and also a World Heritage site.

There is only one long windy road that goes in and out of Milford Sound but it's definitely worth the trek. We took a Mitre Peak boat cruise and it's probably my favourite thing we did in all of New Zealand. So gorgeous. And now for way too many pictures:

We took an early morning cruise and it was very chilly! There's a baby in there somewhere!

Even Kymani made the trip!

After enjoying Milford Sound we took the coastal drive to Queenstown, which is sort of like the village of Whistler. I kinda loved it there.

We asked for a recommendation for lunch and were told to visit Fergburger.

ZOMG so good. We ate there twice of course.

Bear with me, I'm almost done the New Zealand recaps. Two more posts to go! Then we can move on to more Little m :)

New Zealand: Days 10-11

2011-12-18T11:44:00.011-05:00

Time to finish my New Zealand recaps before I forget what we did!

On our tenth day we left Kaikoura, which was one of my very favourite cities. I'm not sure you could even call it a city, more like a sleepy beach town with amazing scenery. Before leaving we stopped to see another seal colony but unfortunately the tide was out and so were the seals. There wasn't much to see other than a few loners.

The gorgeous view was worth the stop though. Gosh, now that I look back on our pictures I can't believe how beautiful New Zealand is. The pictures simply don't do it justice.

From Kaikoura we continued on to Ashburton but decided to split up the long drive (with our screaming infant) with a stop at Waipara Springs Winery for lunch and a tasting. I've had a craving to guzzle down a whole bottle of wine so many times since Little m was born, but haven't had the chance. This time I was prepared and fed her before we started drinking and I also had a bottle of pumped milk to give her, so I had a grand ole time, finishing off my tastings plus M's!

We spent the evening in Ashburton and got up the next morning to drive through Mount Cook National Park. What a scenic drive! I couldn't believe the colour of the water of Lake Tekapo - a bit difficult to tell from the picture below, but the most beautiful turquoise I've ever seen. The lake is fed by glaciers and the rock dust particles mixed with sunlight create the beautiful colour.

While continuing our drive to Mount Cook we came across sheep crossing!

Tons and tons of sheep coming right for us!

We stopped for lunch in the valley of Mount Cook and this was the view from our table:

You can't get much better than that!

We also took a walk up to the terminal face of Tasman Glacier and what we thought would be a trail walk turned into a steep climb up a mountain! With a baby! Eek!

Glorious!

Stay tuned next time for Twizel.

Getting the Beats

2011-12-14T21:08:00.004-05:00

My little cutie is already getting picked on by her older cousin!

Life is busy but good. Be back soon :)

Month Three With Little m

2011-12-04T14:23:00.007-05:00

Little m’s third month of being was a busy one!

She is now a world traveler! At ten weeks old, Little m took her first flight from Chicago to Toronto, and at twelve weeks flew from Chicago to San Francisco to Auckland. She is a very easy traveler and everything went more smoothly than expected.

Not gonna lie, this was probably our most difficult month yet due to her sleeping, or should I say lack there of. Sleeping? What's that? Some nights she’d be up almost every hour. Some days she wouldn’t sleep at all between 9am-9pm. Things have definitely taking a turn for the better now and perhaps all of the craziness was due to a growth spurt? Blame everything on growth spurts, that's my motto.

Little m talks and smiles and kicks her legs a lot now! I’ve heard a few giggles too. She is happiest in the mornings. She absolutely loves being naked. She doesn’t love tummy time. She is very nosy and wants to look at everything around her. Her neck is getting much stronger but still needs support. She loves when I lay down beside her and hold a book above our heads and read to her. Eating her fingers is her favourite way to pass the time. Driving in the car is the worst thing in the world to her. Unfortunately, sitting in her car seat for a stroller ride is the second worst thing. She loves being carried in a sling or moby wrap. Bouncing on the exercise ball is the number one way to calm her down when she’s upset and I was so close to bringing it to New Zealand with us.

She’s still a tiny girl weighing somewhere around eight and a half pounds. She’s long and lean and outgrows the length of her clothing way way way before the width.

She’s our not perfect, yet perfect to us peanut.

My Wish List

2011-12-03T16:29:00.011-05:00

Christmas is coming soon! My birthday is sooner! All I'm really wishing for is a full night's sleep but that's likely impossible. It's hard to think of things I want or need but using the wishpot website makes it easier and when an idea comes to mind I try to record it before I forget. Look at my full list here.

1. I already have a necklace from The Vintage Pearl with mine and husband's initials and now I'd like another M charm for the little one.

(source)

2. I enjoy reading Mama Pea's blog and would love a copy of her new cookbook!

(source)

3. I'm not sure if there are any donut recipes in that cookbook but I've seen a few on the internet that I've been wanting to try, but alas, I don't have a donut pan. If someone buys me this I promise to make them donuts!

(source)

4. I also wouldn't mind a tea infuser mug of some sort. I recently bought of bunch of different teas to try and this would be perfect to test them out in.

(source)

5. M's friend from high school has a new album out called Hibernation Nation. I first heard Andrea sing a few years ago when we traveled to Colombia for a wedding. Her voice is heavenly and I'd love a copy of her CD.

(source)

I also added a few things that Little m's wishing for, but they're mostly practical (boring) items like bibs and diaper cream! Poor girl.

Her daddy would cringe at this but I think she'd look super cute wearing some babylegs leg warmers, and they're still on sale from Cyber Monday:

(source)

What's #1 on your wish list this year?

New Zealand: Days 8-9

2011-12-01T15:30:00.009-05:00

I really enjoyed our time spent in Wellington. It's an extremely walkable city with lovely scenery, a terrific waterfront, and tons of shops and restaurants. They say Chicago is the windy city but it has nothing on Wellington. The wind there is unbelievable. It rained a bit during our stay and we learned there’s a reason why no one in Wellington uses umbrellas – they turn inside out in seconds! The rain blows sideways. Luckily, weather moves quickly in

New Zealand

and the dreary morning we experienced on our ninth day turned into an afternoon filled with blue skies.

After M met up for lunch with some NZ colleagues, we took an old cable car up to the botanical gardens. The view of the city was great and we could even see the cruise ship that was in port.

After walking around the gardens and cable car museum for a while, we needed a rest. I asked M to take a picture of me in that moment because I wanted to remember it forever - sitting in the sunshine, drinking a bevvy, doing nothing! Ahhh, I miss those days!

On our tenth day of vacation we got up early to catch the Interislander ferry, which took us from the North Island to the South Island. The ride took around four hours and once we were a bit closer to the South Island and had entered the sounds, the views were incredible. I stood in awe at the back of the boat for an hour, just taking in all the scenery.

I love how the sun shone on the water, making it sparkle.

As per usual, it was a tiny bit windy.

When we got off the ferry we drove to Kaikoura, which is a popular place to go whale watching. Ever since experiencing sea sickness multiple times in Thailand, I am petrified of boating in rough waters so I knew I didn’t want to go whale watching. Instead, we decided to go swimming with seals. Unfortunately, because of the water and weather conditions plus time constraints on our end, this plan didn’t work out. We did get to see a seal colony up close when we stopped along the side of the road at Ohau Point.

The baby seals were terribly cute! We got so close to them, only to read a sign later that said stay 10 metres away! I'm pretty sure we could have outrun them if we needed to.

In this small area shown below where the waterfall is, we counted over a dozen seals frolicking in the water. Ahh, the life of a seal. They looked like they were having so much fun, swimming and flipping through the water without a care in the world!

Up next: more Kaikoura and onto Ashburton!

New Zealand: Days 6-7

2011-11-28T02:57:00.008-05:00

On our sixth day in

New Zealand

we left Rotorua and began the drive to Ohakune. We took our time driving through Tongariro National Park, and after the millionth windy road, reached the ski resort at Mount Ruapehu. It was so cold up there!

For any Lord of the Rings fans out there, did you recognize this range as Mount Doom?

This was one of our longest days of driving, so we made sure to take a few pit stops along the way, including a walk to this pretty waterfall.

Here's what Little m thought about it:

Another pit stop was to see the stream pictured below which is apparently where Gollum catches a fish in one of the movies. I stayed in the car for that one, hehe.

Once in Ohakune we ate dinner at The Powder Horn Hotel, which is where the LOTR cast stayed when they were in town. See a pattern here? Someone is a bit obsessed, me thinks!

After staying overnight in a sketchy motel that smelled like green peppers, we drove to Wellington. What a nice city! The peanut and I spent the afternoon exploring the Harbourfront while M went on a LOTR tour that brought him to a bunch of filming locations. More on Wellington next time!

New Zealand: Day 5-6

2011-11-23T02:45:00.008-05:00

Catching up? Read about our trip to New Zealand here and here.

On the fourth day of our vacation we left Waitomo and drove to Rotorua, which is a city known for its geothermal activity. While we were there we explored the thermal reserves, including Te Puia, a Maori cultural centre. It's home of the Pohutu Geyser, the largest active geyser in the southern hemisphere. It reaches heights of 25-30 metres and is quite the impressive sight.

After taking a guided tour, we spent a while walking around on our own, looking at the boiling mud pools and thermal springs that reach temperatures higher than 100 degrees celcius.

We also went to Wai-O-Tapu, another thermal reserve, where we walked through trails at our own pace. Here is the Lady Knox geyser in all her glory.

Here's M&m in front of the Champagne Pool.

While in Rotorua we also took a Skyline gondola ride up Mount Ngongotaha. This is one of the few sights that Little m's been awake to see!

While I stayed with the babe, Mike took a luge ride down the side of the mountain and then a chair lift back up.

Then he proceeded to eat a very long hotdog. That’s what she said.

Rotorura was a lovely place to visit and not nearly as smelly as I had heard it would be! Good times.

New Zealand: Days 3-4

2011-11-18T13:55:00.005-05:00

Catching up? Read about days one and two of our trip to New Zealand here!

On the morning of Day 3, we picked up our rental car and began the drive from Auckland to Matamata to see Hobbiton. I think this was M’s dream come true. Mine too actually (it was way cooler than I imagined) and we picked a perfect time to go. Filming for The Hobbit in this location wrapped up a week earlier so the set looked perfect. And unfortunately that’s all I can say about that because they made us sign paperwork saying we wouldn’t disclose any information or share pictures.

After the tour of the set we watched a sheep get sheared. It was nuts! The farmer said the key to a good shearing is to keep the sheep relaxed. He just sat the sheep down like you see in the picture below, cut away, and the sheep barely moved at all!

I also got to feed a lamb some milk! It sure had a powerful suck.

From there we drove to Waitomo and stayed at a cute B&B. Bright and early the next morning we took a tour of the glowworm cave. First we walked through the cave and learned how it was formed but the best part came next when we boarded a little boat.

It took us through the darkness with the only light coming from the million glowworms surrounding us. It was really beautiful. Everyone was silent, just enjoying the magic of what looked like hundreds of tiny stars lighting our way. Thank goodness Little m didn’t make a peep the whole time.

We also took a two hour tour through the Ruakuri Cave which was also very cool. It had lots of crazy formations.

That pretty much sums up the highlights of days three and four! To end, here are some (interesting to me) things I’ve noticed about

New Zealand

so far:

-It’s windy here all the time.

-It’s very hard to dress properly. It’s cold in the mornings, boiling hot in the sun, and cool when there’s cloud coverage. The sweater goes on off all day long. One tour guide says this happens because the sun’s heat goes directly through a hole in the ozone.

-The names of places makes me think we’re in Hawaii.

-There are way more Asian people here than I imagined and they run a lot of the shops in the bigger cities.

-The people are just as friendly as I guessed!

New Zealand: Days 1-2

2011-11-17T14:09:00.006-05:00

We're in New Zealand!

Here is where I'll document our trip and seeing as we have an infant who goes to bed by 9pm, I should have a bit of time at night to keep up with my blogging!

Auckland is a beautiful city! If it weren't so far away from family I could totally see myself living there! We allotted ourselves two full days in Auckland and I think that was exactly enough time for our liking. It's a very hilly city, which is something I was unaware of. Over the two days we walked a lot, which to me is the very best way to get to know a new place.

Some of the highlights of our two days include taking an hour and a half harbour cruise that stopped at Rangitoto, which is an island created from volcanic eruptions.

With our harbour cruise ticket also came a return ferry trip to Devonport, a suburb of Auckland. I loved Devonport! It was a really cute place with beautiful tree lined streets, lots of park space, a gorgeous waterfront, and a main drag with plenty of shops and restaurants. M and I decided to climb Mount Victoria, and I’m sure we were quite the sight walking up the steep hill, M pushing the empty stroller and me feeding the baby. The climb was well worth it and we were rewarded with breathtaking views.

Once back in Auckland, we took advantage of the free city bus (with free wifi!) and rode out to Wyndham Quarter, right along the water, where there’s a ton of restaurants that serve fresh seafood. We ordered fish and chips from one of the markets and it was so delicious! We also checked out the super yachts, one of which is rumoured to belong to Tom Cruise.

Our first two days in New Zealand were great ones. Great weather, great food, great sights - a really lovely place to visit! Next up, M's dream come true - Hobbiton!

Bloomingdale Trail

2011-11-05T19:40:00.005-04:00

I learned about the Bloomingdale Trail one day while searching for "hidden gems" in Chicago. From the yelp reviews, it sounded like a cool place to explore. It's an abandoned, elevated rail road track that provides a getaway from the busyness of the city. One lovely afternoon a few weeks ago, M and I decided to go explore it while my parents watched the babe. It was really interesting to walk in line with people's rooftops and look down at street level. Chicago is full of rooftop patios that I wouldn't have know existed otherwise!

Here's a view of the trail from street level - it's the overpass with the big sign on it.

Entering the trail can be a bit difficult in some areas and we had to climb a fence to get in. You have to dodge broken glass, empty beer bottles, and lots of garbage, but it's totally worth it!

In the near future, the city is supposed to be pumping a lot of money into making this trail an elevated park, which will be really nice when finished. But, for the more adventuresome, right now it's a pretty cool place to explore, as is!

Month Two With Little m

2011-11-04T16:14:00.004-04:00

Month two with our little peanut was a good one. Baby girl learned how to smile and already knows when to break out the big ones; for example, during 4am diaper changes or when she's stayed up way past her bedtime. She seems to know that one smile can erases her parents' frustrations in a second.

At her two month appointment, little M weighed 7 pounds, 7 ounces. Although she seems to constantly be eating, she only gained half a pound this month, so we're giving her an extra bottle of pumped milk each night at bedtime to help beef her up. The doctor said she gained an appropriate amount, but if it was any less, it would become worrisome.
After the six week point, Little m began sleeping SO MUCH BETTER, thank goodness. For a couple of weeks she would sleep at night in 4 to 5 hour chunks, which was amazing. That hasn't seemed to last though and now she's back to waking every 3 hours, 4 if we're lucky. Perhaps the best thing that's happened this month is that the little peanut started sleeping in her crib. It's so nice to have our bed back!
Baby's new favourite thing is being bounced on the exercise ball. She likes this so much that I may never leave home again without one! She also still really enjoys the sound of the vacuum cleaner and it calms her instantly.
This month was a busy one! Little m experienced her first Cubs baseball game, met numerous friends and family members, went to an Apple Festival, crossed the border to Canada, survived the long drive home to my parents', and was babysat by her Grandma and Grandpa so that M and I could enjoy a few date nights!

Time sure flies when you're havin' fun!

Photo Challenge, Day Six: From a Low Angle

2011-10-14T22:01:00.002-04:00

Day six in the photo challenge was to take a picture from a low angle. Here's my boy, Bama, laying at the top of the stairs. What a sweetheart.
A lot of people ask me how our dog has adjusted to having a new baby sister :) In short, the answer is quite well! For the first week or two he was super anxious, running toward the baby every time she made a sound. He was really confused with the new crying creature, but he's gotten used to her and ignores her for the most part.

I feel guilty that Mr. Greybeard doesn't get the same attention he once did, but I try my best to give him a little love every time I walk past him. Hopefully once baby girl gets on more of a schedule we can make taking Bama for walks a priority. I think he's getting used to being #2. Sob.

Photo Challenge, Day Five: From a High Angle

2011-10-08T14:06:00.004-04:00

Day 5 in the photo challenge was to take a picture from a high angle. When I walked out onto my patio this morning, I looked over the banister and saw something that might make an interesting picture.

The bottom of the picture shows the courtyard that is shared between the six units in our condo association and the top part is our next door neighbours' yard. Quite a difference between the two, no?

I am truly getting sick and tired of sharing space with people. Who knows when it will happen, but I cannot wait to buy our own house, with our own yard, no matter how tiny it has to be. One where Bama can run free, I can plant my own flowers, and I don't have to deal with annoying neighbours.

What you don't see in this picture is how hideous our courtyard actually is. One of our neighbours has no fewer than 20 wind chimes hanging, 50 magnets stuck to his eaves trough, rubber duckies????, dead plants, cow bells, and pinwheels. Lord help me.

Funny story. A few weeks ago, the weather started to get cooler and we started having our windows open at nighttime. It was rather windy for a few nights and I was half insane due to lack of sleep with a newborn, and of course, all I could hear was his #@$%&^* wind chimes. There is nothing more annoying than wind chimes keeping you up when you're trying to sleep. One night I got so fed up, I went down in my bathrobe at 3am and stood there until I found out which wind chime was the loudest, then took it down. I placed it on the dude's chair outside and of course it was back up the next day.

Well, the next night I went downstairs and took it off again, placing it on his chair, again. Funny thing is, this wind chime was hanging up really high, so there I was in the middle of the night, standing on a chair in my bathrobe, trying to remove it. And yes... back up the next day.

The next night, windy again. Damn windy city. I was seeing red. This might be a bit ridiculous on my part, but hey, that's what no sleep will do to you. I took it down again, this time writing a note asking for it to be permanently removed, and placed it on his front doorstep.

It's been down ever since, which I'm amazed about, because this neighbour is a real piece of work, to say it nicely.

I hate wind chimes.

Photo Challenge, Day Four: Something Green

2011-10-07T09:42:00.003-04:00

The challenge for today was to take a picture of something green. There was lots to choose from but yes, lettuce was the winner.

Lately I'm loving this artisan lettuce from Costco. It's super cheap and comes with six heads of lettuce, three different types. I find it stays fresher longer than the typical romaine hearts that I buy, and bagged salad just tastes gross, don't cha think?

I'm really trying to step up my healthy eating, for a couple of reasons. Mainly because it's good for me! But we're also going away on (our first family) vacation soon and I hate looking back at pictures of flabby ole me. Maybe if I buy healthy foods that I actually like, I'll make better eating choices.

There you go, my public service announcement for the day :)

Photo Challenge, Day Three: What I Wore

2011-10-05T17:32:00.003-04:00

This sums up what I wear each and every day!

Today's photo challenge is to show what I wore. One sure way to make the baby fall asleep is to bring her for a walk. I have a moby wrap and I like it very much, but this seven sling is super handy, quick to put on, and best of all - I can nurse Little m while I carry her! It is one of my greatest buys. The other night I actually fed her while shopping in Costco. Last week I walked down the sidewalk feeding her. I'm not sure if people realize that I'm breastfeeding because I do drape my shoulder with a blanket, so it may just appear as though I've covered up my sleeping baby? Do you think people clue in? Not that I care :)

Photo Challenge, Day Two: Clouds

2011-10-04T20:22:00.003-04:00

The weather this week has been glorious. We deserve it after putting up with such a dreary September. The photo challenge today was to take a picture of clouds, but alas, not a single one in the sky. The leaves are beginning to turn lovely shades and I've enjoyed taking Bama for long walks. It helps that the dearest darling daughter naps while we walk, and perhaps that's why we took two of them today! Speaking of naps, I could really go for one...

Photo Challenge, Day One: Self-Portrait

2011-10-03T23:58:00.009-04:00

I've decided to participate in a photo challenge throughout the month of October, along with a whole bunch of other bloggers. I wanted to do this because 1) maybe I'll learn a little bit about photography, and 2) it gives me something to write about other than the baby! But as you'll see, I included Little m in my first picture, so that didn't work out too well, did it?!

Day One was to take a self-portrait. I've been wanting to take a recent picture of me and baby girl to compare to my last bump picture, so this was the perfect excuse.

I took the picture on the left on August 14th, three days before baby girl was born. I was 39 weeks and 2 days pregnant. The picture on the right was taken today, 6 weeks and 5 days after giving birth. It's still so surreal to think that Little m was the thing growing inside me for nine months, kicking me all the time, and making me have to pee every half hour. I've said it a million times, but I still can't get over how amazing the human body is!

Date Night(s)!

2011-10-02T08:06:00.000-04:00

My parents were visiting this weekend and baby girl is somewhat proficient at taking a bottle now, so you know what that means? Date night!

On Thursday night, the husband and I headed to Gyu-Kaku, a Japanese BBQ place just off the Magnificent Mile. My parents actually gifted us a Groupon to this restaurant, and our first date night since Little m was born was the perfect excuse to use it.

I started the night off right by ordering a lychee shochu, which was quite tasty.

Notice the pinky? I'm fancy like that.

We ordered the prix fixe for our meal, and were served miso soup, salad, and a tuna volcano (basically a rice ball with spicy tuna on top) to start.

M took a picture of me taking the picture!

Our main meal included bibimbop, plus veggies and four different meats to grill on the bbq.

The food took between 1-4 minutes to cook and there were three types of dipping sauces to try. The filet was my favourite, mmm mmmm good.

And for dessert - smores!

I had dark chocolate and M had milk chocolate. Just like being at the campfire!

Overall, our meal was very good! Tabletop cooking is a fun experience, although I feel that it makes the meal a bit chaotic. You want to eat the food while it's hot but you're also concerned with putting more meat on the grill and flipping it at the appropriate times. You can't just sit back and relax! Well, I guess you could take your time eating and cooking, but we're piglets and like to eat eat eat!

Little m was so well behaved with my parents that we went out to the movies on Friday night for Date #2! It was so nice to get out, have a break from baby, and spend time with the husband!

My October Goals

2011-10-01T10:12:00.003-04:00

Holy smokes, it's October! You know what that means? Only three more months to complete my 36 in 365 goals! So far I've fully completed 10 goals and partially completed 8. Yikes! I have a lot to do in the upcoming months! I've decided to break it down into somewhat manageable chunks, so here's what I plan to do in October:

1. Leave a comment on someone's blog everyday. I actually started doing this in August, then had a baby, so that screwed it all up :)

2. Bring Bama to the dog park more often. I'm going to try for 5 times this month.

3. Leave Operation Beautiful notes. I've had the notes written since summer, now I just have to find places to leave them!

4. Complete a list of 101 things that make me happy. I'll try for 20 this month - 5 a week?

5. Take a long bike ride. I hope to do this when I'm at home visiting my parents, if the weather cooperates.

6. Complete a 30 day Wii Fit challenge. I'll start this today, but the 30 days will have to be broken up since I'm visiting my parents for a week.

7. Go hiking. Well it's not a typical hike, but I'd love to walk the Bloomingdale Trail sometime this month.

8. Blog a total of 200 times throughout the year. Hmm, pretty much impossible since this is only my 63rd post of 2011. Anyway, there is a blogger photo challenge going on this month that I'll like to take part in, so that would be 31 more posts if I can actually get my act together!

Oh my goodness.. these are lofty goals but I'm up for the challenge! What are some things you'd like to complete before the end of the year?

How Quickly Things Change

2011-09-30T23:42:00.007-04:00

Way back in June, my siblings and I organized family photos to be taken as a gift for my parents' 40th wedding anniversary. We hired Brent Foster and I think he did a great job! I was looking at the pictures today and realized how drastically things have changed over a matter of a few months.

Here's the clan in it's original state...

and now with the spouses and children.

Except, now there's a new family member to add to the pot! These were taken when I was thirty weeks pregnant. I can't believe how tiny I was - I hardly look pregnant at all!

Other changes? I can hardly recognize two of my sister-in-laws in these pictures! They've both lost so much weight since these pictures were taken! So proud of both of them.

My youngest niece looks so small here! She has grown so much since June.

I love how the photographer captured my crazy active nephews,

and the major cuteness of my niece.

I think getting family pictures taken was a great idea, especially as a gift for people who already have everything. Seriously, everything. Have you seen inside my dad's garage?! The last family picture was taken when I was about ten years old. I was wearing a purple sailor's outfit. My mom had frosted grey hair and looks way older in that picture than she does now in real life!

Don't you love looking back at old photos and seeing how things have changed?

When were your last family portraits taken?

Month One With Little m

2011-09-29T21:31:00.000-04:00

We survived our first month of parenthood!

Life with a newborn is something else! The simplest way to explain it is that you can't understand it until you've experienced it. Here are some of the highlights of Little m's first month of life:

Little peanut's weight has increased quite a bit, with her lowest weight at 5 pounds 2 ounces when we left the hospital and the highest at 6 pounds 9 ounces on her one month birthday. Slowly but surely, right? She's up to the 5th percentile!

Little m had a very social month and met tons of family - both sets of grandparents, a couple of aunts, uncles, cousins, all of M's work colleagues, and an assortment of our friends. She's been quite popular on skype! She's gone to numerous restaurants, coffee shops, the Lincoln Park Zoo, and the Jazz Fest in Grant Park. She's been on the L and the bus quite a lot as well, which is a bit nerve wracking during rush hour for this germaphobe!

Baby girl's most favourite things in the world include:

1) eating (like mother like daughter)

2) the sound of the vacuum (how long can you run a vacuum before it creates a fire?)

3) pooping (wow, wow, wow so much poo)

4) and sleeping (especially when being held)

She loves any type of movement, which I blame on my excessive amount of walking while pregnant. Little m loves snuggling close to my chest in the moby wrap when we take her brother Bama for a walk every evening! She also loves listening to music with her dad and "dancing" to the beat. Tummy time is not her favourite and she's been rolling from her stomach to back since week two. She screams during car rides or pretty much anytime we try to put her in her car seat.

We adore the way she stretches when we take her out of a swaddle. Her facial expressions are adorable, especially the sleepy smiles she gives when waking up or falling asleep. Little m, you are the most beautiful baby and I can't imagine our lives without you!

***Thanks, Aunty Steph for the cool elephant! Should we call her Wannalee?

***These pictures were actually taken today, at six weeks. Ooops.

What Makes Me Happy #6

2011-09-22T22:49:00.001-04:00

Time for what makes me happy, numero seis.

(go here to read round #1, #2, #3, #4, or #5)

I have a lot to make me happy these days, it's true. Here are a few random, perhaps only funny to me, things I've thought about recently that brought a smile to my face!

25) I dearly, dearly miss my Toronto friend and mentor, Patrish, who I worked with for the last four years of my teaching career. Yes, she is my mother's age but that doesn't matter one bit! We went to a reading conference together a couple of years ago and I remember her getting tired of chewing her piece of gum, so she stuck it on her shoe, like it was a completely normal thing to do (because it probably was completely normal for her). This is just how she rolls and it seriously cracks me up. She walks to the beat of her own drum, 100%.

26) Back in March, I went to a City and Colour concert and it was superb, especially when the show started with Gord Downie coming on to sing his part in Sleeping Sickness. Two great Canadian artists on stage, at the same time, for one of my favourite songs. Bliss.

27) Someone in the city of Chicago goes around to wet concrete and writes into it the word "smile". Well, this is just about the best thing ever and without fail, every time I walk past this piece of sidewalk, I do indeed smile! Good work, person. I've noticed this in two different spots so far - I wonder how many more there are?

28) Of course I had to include a picture of my babes.. Now I see where she gets the t-rex pose from! Like father like daughter?

So, please share, what's been making you happy lately?

Baby Boo-Hoo Blues

2011-09-21T11:22:00.003-04:00

The hospital I delivered at organizes a moms' support group once a week and I love it! It's so nice to meet other moms with newborns who are going through the same experiences that I am. Last week there were two really new moms there with week old babies and man, oh man, I felt so bad for them. Both of them had the baby blues something terrible - weepy, sad about everything and nothing, eyes filling with tears in one second flat. And oh, do I ever know what they are going through because I was hit with the baby blues HARD.

Everything was peachy keen for the first week - my parents were visiting which means the dog was walked, the house vacuumed, meals prepared, laundry done, bathrooms cleaned, baby held whenever I wanted a break, etc x a million. Then they went home, M was back at work by this time, and it all went downhill from there.

If I was sitting down nursing and needed something, there was no more, "Mummy, can you bring me ___?" No more dinners ready to be served to my hard-working husband when he walked in the door. Forget about a clean house! Bama's learned how to cross his legs until I'm ready each evening to strap the baby on and take both her and him for a walk. And goodness, forget about blogging - it's impossible to do with only one hand!

Anyway, my point is - I was in for a real shock once my parents left. I had to take care of a baby myself, which wasn't even the worst part! I was homesick and lonely. We live far away from our family and the friends that we have here aren't exactly the baby type. I just imagined myself alone all day, every day, with this unknown creature called little m. I was a basket-case and complete emotional mess. That craziness lasted one week and now everything is good, but seriously... the baby blues are nothing to kid around about. I think I cried more in that one week than the rest of my life combined.

So... at this mom's group.. I just wanted to hug these two new moms, look them in the eyes and tell them things.will.get.better. Yes, they will. Right now it doesn't feel like they will, but the blues will go away (unless they don't and that's a bigger issue) and you will survive!

I've always been a super emotional person and I get homesick on a regular basis after visiting with friends and family (even when I lived so close to them!) so through my pregnancy I was very concerned about how the baby blues would hit me and even wondered if I'd get postpartum depression. So far though, since that one terrible week, life is good, or as good as it can be with a newborn who doesn't like to nap during the day.

So thank you friends, for the emails, the facebook messages, the phone calls, the skype calls, and even the tweets. I have not had the chance to respond to everyone, but just knowing that someone out there is thinking of us made things better and was/is much appreciated!

C-Section Recovery

2011-09-11T10:37:00.003-04:00

It's hard for me to believe, but it's now been three and a half weeks since my c-section. So, how was it? Well, not nearly as bad or painful as I imagined! I know everyone is different, and this is my experience only, but I thought I'd share and document it so that I can remember.

The weirdest part about the c-section was getting the spinal epidural. As it wore off, my legs were tingly and fuzzy feeling and I remember trying so hard to wiggle my toes, to no avail. It was such a strange feeling! Eight hours after my surgery, two nurses helped me out of bed and into a chair. They told me that sitting helps something or other, and that I was to sit in the chair for an hour. Getting out of the bed for the first time and walking three feet to the chair was... painful. I think I had remnants of morphine in my system at this point still, and I'd say the pain level was maybe a 6 out of 10. So not horrendous, but uncomfortable for sure.

(insert cute picture here so that you'll continue reading)

I started sitting in the chair at 3am, half of the time sleeping and the other half playing on my phone. I watched the clock turn to 4am.. no nurses. I watched the clock turn to 5am.. no nurses. So, I kept sitting. I did not want to maneuver myself back into the bed alone. At 5:30am a nurse finally came back in, thank goodness, because by that time I really needed to use the bathroom. The walk to the bathroom was maybe 10 feet, which I took very very slowly. It hurt. Sitting down on the toilet was worse.

The first day after the surgery was the hardest, but day by day the pain lessened. For pain relief I took motrin, every six hours. I was offered percocet as well, but I had horrible experiences with that drug when I got my wisdom teeth taken out, and I refuse to go near it again! Sitting still, I had no discomfort. When moving around, the pain was basically a dull ache near my incision. Laughing and coughing hurt the most out of anything.

Three days later when I was allowed to leave the hospital, I felt good, not great. I actually thought I felt great, but judging how I feel now to how I felt then - no comparison. I guess you could say I felt great given the circumstances. The doctor told me I wasn't allowed to drive or go up and down stairs for two weeks. Obviously they weren't aware that I don't live on ground level! I also wasn't allowed to carry anything over ten pounds. No exercise for a long time, and absolutely no ab workouts for three months!

So yeah, although recovery is ongoing and will be for a while, it really wasn't as bad as I thought it might be! I am counting my lucky stars. One thing for sure though is that you will need help if at all possible. My parents were an absolute lifesaver. A couple of days after returning home, I stopped taking any medication because I didn't feel like it was necessary, plus I kept forgetting. My lower stomach is numb to the touch and it will take months for the nerves to grow back. I can walk at a fair pace, but nowhere near as quickly as before. The way my belly hangs now is really weird and kinda moves around while I walk, so the faster I go, the more jiggly it becomes, causing pain. Just the thought of jogging hurts.

I'm excited to be able to get back into exercising and I dearly, dearly miss going to yoga classes! Downward dogs are not in the books for me yet though. Soon enough!

A Hefty Eater

2011-09-01T13:50:00.003-04:00

I'm so proud of my baby girl! M and I took little m to her two week doctor appointment today and she's up to 5lbs 15oz! When she came home from the hospital she was at 5lbs 2oz, so she's put on quite a bit of weight in a short amount of time. What a little piggie. That puts her in the 3rd percentile for weight now :) She's also grown 1 inch! I predict in two weeks she'll be too big for her preemie clothes, haha.

Many people keep asking for pictures, so here are a few of my favourites taken with my iPhone.

(T-Rex?)

(Googly Eyes)

(Yaaaaaaaawn!)

(Milk Drunk)

I will blog about non-baby related things one day.. maybe.... if I can tear myself away :)

Birth Story, Part 3

2011-08-30T11:17:00.006-04:00

Did you miss Part 1 or Part 2?

After meeting my baby girl, it was time for her to go to the nursery with her daddy and time for me to be put back together. The entire surgery took about an hour but over half of that was to close me up. It's very much a blur and seems like it took no more than five minutes before I was transferred to a new bed and sent to the recovery room. I've always wondered what it would feel like to be carried from one bed to another bed, like you see on tv, and now I know!

I was required to be in the recovery room for two hours and I watched the clock the entire time. I couldn't wait to get out of there and hold my girl! I kept telling M to go sit with her, skin to skin, because that's exactly what I would have been doing if everything went according to plan! I didn't want the poor girl to be alone in the world during her first hours.

My doula stayed with me in the recovery room, massaging my shoulder which was still in a lot of pain and helping me stay relaxed. I was given a morphine drip that I could press, which I actually forgot about until M reminded me the other day. No wonder I was so out of it and can hardly remember anything! The one thing I do remember was shivering and shaking like never before. Uncontrollable shivers, which they told me is normal, that lasted a good hour. M came to check on me a few times and show me pictures of our daughter, like the one below.

Finally, finally, finally the two hours in recovery were over and I was wheeled to my room. M brought little m in from the nursery and I got to hold her for the first time! Ahhhh! I took off her clothes and layed her on my chest for some skin to skin contact.

I loved every moment of it!

At some point I called my BFF and emailed a few people, and I apologize if I sounded crazy but I blame the drugs!

So there you have it, the story of how our little girl came into this world! Was it what I expected? No! Was it memorable? Yes! I've actually shed quite a few tears while writing these blog posts. Baby girl's birth scared the daylights out of me but it's also brought me so much joy. Half the time I'm not sure if I'm crying out of happiness or from reliving this semi-traumatizing experience!

I'm just relieved it had a happy ending :) Today is little peanut's 13th day of existence and she is the sweetest little thing!

Birth Story, Part 2

2011-08-29T10:45:00.006-04:00

If you missed Part 1 of the birth story, catch it here!

Around 6:30pm I found myself being wheeled into the operating room. It was surreal to say the least and although I knew it was a possibility, I never imagined this is how my baby would enter the world! I tried to stay as calm as possible and focused my energy on breathing and praying and hoping that my baby was healthy.

M was not allowed to join me in the operating room until my spinal epidural was in. All of the doctors and nurses introduced themselves to me and I found it interesting to watch them help each other put their surgical gloves on... the things you remember, eh? The crazy anesthesiologist came in (she was a super fast talker and absolutely nutty) and started preparing me for the epidural. I sat cross legged on the bed and did my best deep breathing because frankly, needles freak me out, especially big ones. All I felt was a tiny pinch and shortly after, my legs started to feel fuzzy. The doctors layed me back down, someone came over to insert a catheter, which also did not hurt a bit, and they started putting up the curtain. I remember the doctors poking my belly and asking if I could feel anything, and eventually I couldn't.

Dr. Jill, whoever she is, was the doctor who stayed by my head the entire time. She was very comforting and somehow found out I'm Canadian. She started to sing the national anthem and made me continue on when she forgot the words. Then she started trivia with the other doctors, asking them if they knew the capital of Canada. Oh dear... some said Quebec, some Montreal, and others... Ontario. I was laughing my head off, especially when they realized their mistake and talked about Ontario being one of the states, not the capital :)

At some point, M came in and we were ready to get this baby out. Through the procedure I felt a bit of pressure, then a whole lot of pushing on my chest near the very end, I'm assuming when the baby was being pulled out. The pushing caused a lot of referred pain in my right shoulder and one of the nurses came over to massage it. I also started feeling nauseous and I remember Dr. Jill saying, okay, I can give you something for that, and I instantly felt better!

We told the doctors that M was to announce the sex of the baby, but Dr. Jill accidentally slipped up said "her" just a second before she whispered that it was a girl into M's ear. He then told me, but it's all a bit of a blur because I only cared about whether or not my baby was healthy. We heard our baby girl give a cat like meow and M and I looked at each other thinking, was that her cry?! And yes it was, we heard it again a second later and then I told M to go over and meet our girl!

Baby girl underwent some suctioning because she had passed merconium and when M told me she was okay and healthy, I don't think I really believed him at first! I probably asked him over and over, she's okay? she's alright? Oh sweet relief!

M brought over the pictures he'd taken with his iPhone and showed me our daughter. Beautiful! A tiny package, weighing in at 5 lbs 9.5 oz and measuring 19.5 inches. I was shocked she was so small, considering the size of both her parents, and my doctor estimating she'd be around 7lbs! She scored a 6 and a 9 on the apgar tests.

After a few minutes, I got to meet our little peanut and I remember kissing her head a million times!

Here's our first family picture!

That's where I'll leave off for today.. one more part should finish it off!

Birth Story, Part 1

2011-08-24T23:57:00.002-04:00

She's here! She's here!

(actually a yawn, not a scream!)

I thought for sure I was going to go overdue, but little peanut surprised us and was born one week ago at 39 weeks and 5 days, on Wednesday, August 17th at 6:54pm. When I say surprised us, I really mean surprised us. I don't want to forget any details of her birth, so here they are, the good, the bad, and the ugly!

Over the weekend of August 13th and 14th, baby felt like she was having a party in my belly - moving around more than ever before. On the Monday she slowed down and on Tuesday I noticed almost no movement at all. Somewhere I had heard that babies slow down close to the time of delivery so I figured that labour was pretty imminent. On Wednesday I started to get a bit nervous about the lack of movement and told M that something didn't feel right. He suggested I drink something cold, lay down, and count the number of kicks. I made myself an iced coffee, thinking that the caffeine would give the baby some oomph, plus ate an apple. I layed down for over half an hour and still felt next to nothing. Very strange. At this point I decided to do a bit of googling and found mixed opinions, but mostly people saying that babies should never slow down their movements, no matter how close to delivery they are.

Cue the panic attack! This is when I started seriously getting nervous. My doctor told me from the very beginning that if I ever saw changes in movement, to call her. I'm not sure why it took me a day and a half to decide to do so, but after speaking with her she told me to get myself to the hospital to be monitored. I took a shower, sobbing the entire time because I couldn't stop thinking about getting to the hospital and finding no heartbeat. Waiting for M to get home from work to drive us there was torture! I was very, very scared.

We arrived at the hospital around 2pm and had to wait an hour (how ridiculous) to get hooked up to the fetal monitors. The nurse found the baby's heart beat right away and I burst into tears because it was the best sound I've ever heard! I stayed hooked up the monitors for about half an hour and thought everything was going splendidly. I emailed my mom, my doula, and a friend and told them everything was fine.

M and I watched the monitors and noticed the baby's heart rate was beating around 150 but would go down around 120 after each contraction I had. I think the contractions were actually Braxton Hicks because I could hardly feel them and was in no pain whatsoever. I had three contractions in a row and all of a sudden we watched the baby's heart rate dip below 100. The alarms went off and a minute later there were five nurses and doctors in my room. Then they told me I was going to have a baby by the end of the day.

A doctor came in and did a thirty minute ultrasound where she looked for the baby to perform ten specific things. We sat starting at the screen, silently pleading for the baby to move around. By the end of the half hour the doctor saw only four out of the ten things on her list, including zero fine motor movements.

At this point the doctor basically gave us two choices: 1) have a c-section, or 2) they could break my water and induce labour. The problem with the second option was that the baby was already in distress from my very light contractions and they feared I'd end up having an emergency c-section because the baby wouldn't be able to handle stronger contractions. M and I weighed the options and came to the conclusion that it wasn't worth risking the baby's health and we should go ahead with the c-section.

At first I was seriously pissed. I had done so much research and preparation for natural birth and felt I was really ready for it. I absolutely did not want a c-section for a million reasons - being separated from baby for two hours, the inability to breast feed immediately, the side effects and risks of surgery and the spinal epidural, the recovery associated with the surgery, etc.

I quickly came to terms with having the surgery because I had other things to worry about. Mainly, why isn't my baby moving??? My head was racing with terrible scenarios about what could be wrong with my baby. We tried to stay positive but it was quite an emotional time. I wanted the surgery and I wanted it now! We had to wait for my doctor to get to the hospital but by 6:30pm they were wheeling me into the operating room. I felt like I was on an episode of ER.

And that's where I'll stop for today! The story has a happy ending of course, so nobody panic!

What's Wrong With Chicago? (Example #1)

2011-08-08T10:32:00.009-04:00

I am particularly annoyed at the moment. While walking my dog this morning, I got told off by a police officer for crossing the street improperly. Let me lay out the scenario for you:

I'm at a street corner, about to walk across it, using the clearly identified crosswalk. It's a four way stop, and there are cars approaching from a few different ways but none are already stopped and waiting to go. I start walking across the street. One of the cars slides through the stop sign, guns it, then has to stop mid-way in the intersection so that I can continue crossing. A police officer then pulls up and tells me I need to wait to cross streets until every car from every direction has gone through. Say what? If I follow that rule, it could take me hours to cross one little side street!

Let's see here... I'm quite familiar with the laws of the road, having taken and passed an Illinois driving test recently, but to be sure, let's review the Secretary of State's driving handbook:

Pedestrian Right-of-Way:

A driver must come to a complete stop (and yield):

• When a pedestrian is in a marked crosswalk.

• When a pedestrian is in an unmarked crosswalk on the driver’s side of the road and there are no traffic control signals.

• When making a turn at any intersection.

• When making a lawful turn on a red light after coming to a complete stop.

• After coming to a complete stop at a stop sign or flashing red signal at an intersection.

• When a pedestrian enters a crosswalk before the traffic light changed.

• When a pedestrian is walking with a green light, to a walking person symbol or a walk signal.

• When a pedestrian is leaving or entering a street or highway from an alley, building, private road or driveway.

Clearly, the car was in the wrong. I know how to cross a street properly and I'm quite surprised that a police officer would take the time to stop ME, when all I did was follow the rules and almost get run over! Shouldn't people, especially those in positions of power, be trying to make their city more walker friendly?

As much as I love Chicago, there are SO many things backwards about it. This is just a silly, small example, but I can think of a hundred more. I should start a series of blog posts titled "What's Wrong with Chicago". Next week's post? The lack of recycling. It's disgusting.

picture source

38 Week Update

2011-08-04T13:31:00.001-04:00

Well, it's official! Baby has reached what is considered to be full-term! He/she will be coming sometime in the next 3 to 4 weeks maximum! I've actually had mini heart attacks three times now, thinking I'm going into labour, but of course they were all false alarms! I can't have this baby yet, my mom is on a golfing trip!

Let's see some updated baby bump pictures, shall we?

July 1st (33 weeks) VS July 22nd (36 weeks)

And now today, August 4th at 38 weeks...

Here are also some regular clothed pictures, comparing July 22nd to August 4th.

Is it SHRINKING???

I've been going in for weekly checkups and the internal exams have begun, which is so much fun. Yesterday I was 2cm dilated and 50% effaced, but this doesn't mean a lot. I actually lost weight over the last week, so now I'm up 10lbs total, which is just insane. Don't worry though, my doctor says I'm measuring perfectly and that it's normal to lose weight in the last couple of weeks. Seriously though, how I'm losing weight I will never ever understand. I have been starving this week and eating like it's my job! Sometimes I get up in the middle of the night to have a snack and am famished again by morning. Baby must be working hard in there. If there's anything at all I can say I crave, it's fruit. This week in fact, I polished off a huge watermelon all by myself.. in two days! Does anyone have hidden messages into what this addiction to fruit means?

For a month or two it's been physically impossible to bend over. My body cannot move in the forward fold direction any longer. I mean, it makes sense, but I didn't realize this would happen! (It's not just me, right?). I'm also quite uncomfortable sitting down and find that I need to do so with perfect posture, like in the picture below. I've gone to see a few movies lately, which makes my body ache, but I must say, Harry Potter was so worth the sore back :)

Last week I realized my usual sleeping method was all wrong. I used to sleep on my side with my legs bent and stacked on each other, with a pillow between them. No, no, no. It's so much more comfortable to take a "runner's position" and put my top leg forward, bottom leg backward, and belly tilted onto the mattress a bit. So much better! I've been getting up at least four times a night to use the washroom, which is exhausting in itself, but I guess good practice for when Baby comes, right? And you know how everyone tells you to sleep now while you can? Well I can't. I go to bed later than ever, get up early, and often for an hour at 4am to read. What is wrong with me? I'm just not that tired!

Maybe all of that loss of sleep is catching up to me because earlier this week I absolutely hit a wall, energy wise. I spent the majority of Monday and Tuesday laying around with the beginnings of a cold, but I'm feeling much better today and my energy is back! Thank goodness because there's still so many things I want to do, like try out the new Chick-Fil-A restaurant downtown. I can't get it out of my mind!

Recently I've noticed that Baby is getting the hiccups! It's happened three times so far, fortunately once when M was home, so he got to feel them. Also, every time I think of Baby, I picture her as a girl. This started happening only a few weeks ago. Before then, I had no inkling of what the gender could be. I'm not sure why, but if it turns out to be a boy, I'll be quite surprised.

I've been preparing myself for natural birth by reading lots of books, including the Bradley Method, which talks about the birthing techniques of animals, and how using similar methods can create a stress-free, natural environment for humans. I've also been listening to the Hypnobabies soundtrack, which is a form of self-hypnosis, and sounds wacky, but may work with me because I can become zen really, really easily! It sounds funny, but it's true. One of the nurses told me I could be a professional meditator, whatever that means.

After spending a lot of time researching doulas, M and I finally chose one to work with through an organization called Birthways. I really want a doula for extra labour support and guidance. If I was still living in Canada I most certainly would have a midwife, but here, a doula will have to suffice. I'm sure I'll have a lot more to say about my experiences after the baby is born!

So, with two weeks til my due date, I'm ready, both physically and mentally, to have this baby. Over the last few months I have gone through many emotional states. To be completely honest the most common being.. oh lordy, why am I having a baby, I enjoy my freedom too much, I'm not ready for this, I don't want to be so tied down, etc. etc. Now my mindset has (mostly) changed to being excited for this next stage of life and finally finding out if this thing inside me is a boy or girl!

Mostly though, I am just content in the fact that I've had a wonderful pregnancy thus far! There are so many people who struggle with fertility issues and I'm feeling a whole lot of gratitude right now about how beautiful this process has been. The human body is so amazing!

Marine City Fish Company

2011-08-03T20:13:00.000-04:00

Back a few weeks ago when I was visiting my parents, we went out for lunch/dinner/linner at Marine City Fish Company to celebrate my brother and sister-in-law's eleventh wedding anniversary. I feel the need to write a blog post about it because man, was our meal ever delicious!

We rode the ferry from Sombra, ON to Marine City, MI which is something I haven't done in ages! Pictured below is the small ferry, but there is also a bigger one that runs back and forth.

It's a short ride, but fun nonetheless, especially for kids.

We ordered two appetizers to start. Thinking about the Fish Company Spread, shown below, still makes my mouth water. It was heavenly. It's a mixture of smoked salmon, onion, and herbs, served with baguette crackers. A party in my mouth.

The second appetizer was Smoked Fish and Cheese, which consisted of smoked salmon plus dill havarti and asiago cheese. Very nice as well.

For my main entree, I'm pretty sure I ordered perch, which I didn't take a picture of because I was too busy devouring it. I did capture my bowl of clam chowder though, which was quite possibly the best I've ever had. In my whole life. That's big.

The food at this restaurant is quite reasonably priced and if you're a fan of fish, this is a place you must try if you're in the area!

Sadly, I rarely cook fish at home because it's too stanky, but I do enjoy when someone makes it for me! Don't even talk to me about my love for sushi, or I'll want to make a trip to Toronto where you can actually find good, cheap stuff. What say you? Are you a big fish eater?

Summer So Far...

2011-08-01T12:09:00.000-04:00

I've been off work for a month and a half and I'm loving every minute of it! I feel like the last few months have been busier than ever and just this week, I'm feeling a bit more relaxed and that I actually have time to sit down to chill for a few minutes. What have I been up to, you ask?

Baby Related Things

Getting ready for a baby takes a lot of work! Organizing the nursery took up a lot of time, as did washing everything baby related - clothing, cloth diapers, sheets, etc.

I was a good wife and watched M install the car seat, which the inspector said he did perfectly!

I've also been reading a few books on natural birthing, taking childbirth classes, and researching doulas.

Tutoring

In the spring I took on a job with a tutoring company. I'm currently working with only one student until the baby comes, but it is nice to have a bit of extra income coming in.

Volunteering

One of my 36 in 365 goals is to volunteer once a month. Since I've had the free time, I've been volunteering a couple mornings a week at a local soup kitchen. I think it's time to slow this down a bit because standing for 2 1/2 hours is getting a tiring.

Exercising

I've been taking two or three prenatal yoga classes a week, which I absolutely love. I also try to walk at least an hour a day and have taken over dog-walking duties, which seriously, becomes such a chore in this heat and humidity. I feel so sorry for black dogs in the summer.

Nesting

I'm not sure if I'm nesting but I have been very busy cleaning the house and completing random things that have been on my to-do list for ages. Right now my list still has 15 things to finish up, but considering it probably started with 40, I'm not doing too badly!

Cooking

M and I have been trying to eat more "real" foods, so instead of buying things like granola bars (have you ever looked at the ingredients in those?), I've been making my own. We absolutely love Annie P's recipe for 5 minute granola bars. This recipe is so easy, although saying it takes 5 minutes is a bit misleading... I would say 15 minutes from start to finish is more like it!

Having Fun!

I know my life is about to change drastically, so I'm trying to enjoy the freedom while I still can! For example, last week after getting a prenatal massage I went to the Lunchbreak Music Series in Millenium Park and enjoyed a picnic lunch while watching a jazz band perform. This is something I've wanted to do for over a year now!

M's birthday was last weekend, so we went out with friends to celebrate and this pregnant lady stayed up till 5am! Wheeee!

For his birthday dessert, I made my peanut butter lovin' husband this pb pie with oreo crust and real whipped cream to top it. It was too sweet for my liking and I happily left it at our friend's apartment for others to finish off!

Chicago in the summer is all about weekend festivals. On any given weekend from June to September you can find a neighbourhood festival (or 5) going on. Last weekend near our 'hood was the Sheffield Garden Walk and the weekend before that was the Lincoln Park Arts & Music Fest. It's nice to stroll around on a Sunday afternoon and I must say Chicago is a pretty amazing place to be in the summertime.

As I mentioned before, things have finally slowed down this past week and I've had time to read! I've been knocking books off my reading list like crazy. I love finding books I can fly through and finish in a day or two. My recent faves have been Night Road by Kristin Hannah and The Murderer's Daughters by Randy Susan Meyers.

I've also been putting my Groupon addiction to good use and, while using up my vouchers, have become a frozen yogurt connoisseur. Forever Yogurt is the best I've found in the city so far - self serve with 14 flavours and 40 toppings to choose from is simply genius.

So there you have it.. I've been doing a lot of monotonous chores mixed in with a lot of fun activities, which means I've been having a great summer so far! What's up for next month? I think I shall have a baby!

What have you been doing lately?

Funny Family Fotos

2011-07-31T14:08:00.000-04:00

Earlier this week I posted a family photo from our week at the cottage. The below picture is pretty much as good as it gets when you consider what you're working with :)

The process this year was actually pretty painless. We set timers on three different cameras to take ten consecutive pictures each. When you have five children, ten adults, and one dog, the outtakes can be pretty funny.

Run, dad, run!

Oh no, one of the children in the bottom left has escaped!

Bama, smile and look at the camera!

Are we good? Almost!

And just think, next year there will be one more child to contend with!

Gone Fishin'

2011-07-29T10:48:00.001-04:00

One of my 36 in 365 goals this year was to go fishing for the first time. Well little did I know, I have been fishing before! While flipping through some old pictures, I found this beauty...

I look to be around three or four years old perhaps? I have no idea where this picture was taken but I'm hoping my dad remembers some of the details. He's got a pretty sweet moustache going on, eh?

Before I found this photo though, I was determined to fulfil this goal during my week at the family cottage. And so I did! Armed with my nephew's Buzz Lightyear rod, M and I went fishing off a pontoon boat with two of my brothers and their kids.

How was it? So very boring, but then exhilarating! I didn't catch anything but I did get quite a few bites. The water was so clear that I could see the little fishies coming and stealing my worms. And speaking of worms, ew! Have you ever seen the guts and goo that come out of those suckers when you spear them onto your hook? Thank goodness my oldest nephew acted as my right hand man and loaded me up with bait every time.

Am I going to become a fisherwoman? That's a big NO! But, it was fun and I'm glad I completed this goal (for the second time around?).

Cottage Week 2011

2011-07-28T18:39:00.000-04:00

Another family week at the cottage has come and gone!

This year was especially fun for a couple of reasons: Bama the dog came, plus we rented a cottage in a new location, which means different places to explore!

Along with the regular house, we also got a log cabin, steps from the lake. There wasn't much of a beach area and it was quite murky close to shore anyway, so thankfully we had a pontoon boat that we'd drive to the middle of the lake to go swimming each day. The water was beautiful! Clear and warm!

Here's my dad, taking us out for a ride. Do you like his du-rag? He forgot a hat so he made a killer looking du-rag from a kitchen hand towel. HAHA, what a special guy.

There was a nice playground area for the kids to run around in plus lots of walking trails in the backyard area.

Being able to leave Bama off leash for the majority of the week was spectacular. He absolutely loves water and could swim and play fetch with his frisbee for hours.

I spent the week relaxing in anti-gravity chairs, reading, sleeping in, biking, eating amazing food (including smores of course), and relaxing with not a care in the world. It was grrreat.

One night, we took the boat out for a sunset cruise and my sister-in-law got some pretty nice pictures! I like how our clothing sorta matches the background.

And, what would a family vacation be without a family picture? Here's the whole gang!

I'm looking forward to next year's cottage week already!

33 Week Update

2011-07-22T21:20:00.008-04:00

I should have written this post a few weeks ago but didn't have the chance, so even though it's now outdated, I figure better late than never! Time for belly comparisons!

June 10th (30 weeks)

June 17th (31 weeks) vs July 1st (33 weeks)

The picture below is also from July 1st, but this time while I'm wearing regular clothing rather than my cat burglar outfit:

It keeps growing and growing and growing! I didn't realize the belly growth that occurred over those three weeks until I compared the pictures just now! The human body is truly amazing.

At 32 weeks I finally received my first comment from a stranger about being pregnant! And guess where I was at the time? The beer store! I was helping my mom return a bunch of bottles and the cashier told me I shouldn't be carrying something so heavy. I almost jumped for joy even though the comment was completely unnecessary! Being pregnant does not make me an invalid and I'm pretty sure I can handle maneuvering ten pounds of beer bottles around :)

Baby's movements at this time were becoming rolls and turns, rather than kicks. I could lay on the couch and be content watching my belly flip flop around for hours. Other than Baby bumping into my ribs sometimes and the occasional bout of heartburn at night, I truly felt great. During weeks 31-32 I visited my parents at home and having access to their pool was wonderful. I'd often lay weightlessly on a pool raft on my belly! I haven't been able to lay that way for a long time!

The only bad thing about visiting my parents was that when I went back to Chicago and had my next doctor's appointment, I learned I had overindulged a bit much (it seems to be a common theme when I visit home) and gained a few pounds in a small amount of time, for a total of 12lbs overall. Which now when I think about it.. who gives a rat's a$$! I visited with family or friends almost every single night, ate really good food, and enjoyed myself immensely!

In the next few days I hope to post my 36 week update so if you think I had a belly back on July 1st, you should see it now!

The Doughnut Vault

2011-07-20T21:05:00.002-04:00

Remember this post where I mentioned wanting to go to the Doughnut Vault? Well, a few weeks ago when my parents were visiting Chicago, we got up early to stand in line for what turned out to be pretty darn delicious donuts!

We drove the fifteen minutes to River North, easily found street parking, and claimed fifth spot in line at 8am. The Doughnut Vault opens on weekdays at 8:30am so we didn't have to wait too long and by the time half an hour passed, the lineup was winding around the corner.

Here we are, in the bakery, or shall I say hole in the wall. This little alcove is quite truly the entire place. It can hold four or five people total - you step up to the counter, order, and get out quickly!

We ordered one of each donut plus two coffees, which totaled $16. Expensive but do I dare say worth it?

Starting in the top right corner and moving clockwise we have pistachio, vanilla, chocolate, a 3-piece stack of gingerbread, and buttermilk old fashioned. I was extremely surprised at the hugeness of these donuts, but I guess we are in America after all!

My parents and I decided to cut each donut into four because the plan was to bring M the leftovers at work. Yes, I brought my own knife and it was the best decision ever.

We decided that a quarter of each donut was way too much, so we ended up eating an eighth and here is what we were left with after filling our bellies to the max...

That's a lot of donut leftover!

We took a nice walk (not nearly long enough to burn off those calories!) along the river to M's work and dropped the leftovers off to him to share with his colleagues.

Now, for my favourite? Hmm, all of them were truly delectable, but the pistachio was so unique tasting that I'm leaning toward that one simply for its creativity! I just asked M what his favourite was and he said vanilla (why? because it tasted good). Men! Overall, I would highly recommend trying a donut at this place at least once! Would I go back? Not likely, simply because I don't eat donuts very often, but I could be swayed if someone visiting had a big craving for donuts and really wanted to go!

PS - I just looked at the Doughnut Vault website and saw they posted two pictures of my parents and I filling our faces. We're famous!

Baby Nursery Complete!

2011-07-19T20:00:00.000-04:00

Well, it took a month or two but I now I can cross a huge task off my to-do list - the nursery for Baby is done done da done! I wrote here about how our nursery isn't a traditional nursery per se, more of a shared room for guests and Baby, so keep that in mind when you look at the following pictures! There is no theme, but we tried to use browns and greens as our colour scheme.

Here's what it looks like from the door. Tight squeeze! We have barely enough room for the crib, bed, and chair with ottoman.

And here's a view of the room while standing at the windows. It's nice that we can close the closet doors and the clutter disappears!

Now for the details! There are two shelves in this room that I would love to tear down because they're ugly and in the most awkward spot ever. But, filled with old teddy bears and a few new gifts from our baby shower, they are much less hideous! I'm in love with the three soft blocks my sister-in-law made for us. She's so crafty.

One of the most difficult things when completing the room was deciding on window coverings. The blinds we currently have let in every bit of sunlight and I think it's really important that the room be dark so that the baby can sleep easily. We searched and searched for drapes but because of the way the windows are placed, they would have to be hung from the ceiling. Instead, M found what I think is the best alternative - blackout Redi Shades. These are temporary blinds made of what feels like construction paper that stick with adhesive to the top of your window. The downfall is that there is no cord to pull them up, they need to be pinned with clips. At $6 a piece, you really can't beat the price and they block out all of the light. Because our windows are so huge, the Redi Shades are technically a couple of inches too short, but seem to get stretched out nicely, which works perfectly for us!

Our crib is the DaVinci Emily 4 in 1 convertible and mattress is by Safety 1st, both gifted to us by M's parents. I love the espresso colour of the crib. The picture frame you see sitting inside of the crib is one of my favourite purchases. It's a Wish Tree from Stinkerpants, a blogger I follow who specializes in artwork, stationary, clothing for babies, and a ton of other cute things. I'm going to ask everyone who comes to visit the baby to write a wish in one of the leaves and then when it's full we'll hang it in the space above the crib!

My brother and sister-in-law gave us a First Year calendar where you can fill in milestones and daily events. This was a nice surprise because I used to be obsessed with Flavia calendars and greeting cards!

Since we don't have space for a dresser, we really needed an extra storage place to put random stuff in. We found this green over the door organizer at Crate and Barrel and while not exactly what I was looking for, it'll do!

The picture below shows the inside of the closet. What you see hanging are all of the baby clothes we have been gifted with from baby shower guests and my mom who found a few really nice gender neutral things for $1/each at some flea market. It's so difficult to find gender neutral clothing so I haven't bought anything myself yet. When it's time though, I'll definitely be hitting up sales because I cringe at the thought of spending so much money on clothing that will be worn for only a few months.

The white shelving units in the closet are filled with my junk but the metal shelving unit is where all of the folded clothes, blankets, towels, washcloths, etc. will be kept. You can see the newborn cloth diapers that I've bought in the top compartment, which come to think of, I've stayed away from discussing on this blog because people have big issues with using cloth that I don't want to get into.. yet.. until I can proudly exclaim from personal experience, how cloth diapering is the best thing since sliced bread :)

There is no room for a change table, so we will be using the end of the bed. My mom bought us the lime cooshee changer which I'm very excited to use since it has great reviews. This changing pad is quite expensive ($65) but one of the magical things about it is that it requires no pad or cover, which means less laundry! The material stays warm, it's made with anti-bacterial foam and can be cleaned with a baby wipe. It's also waterproof and can be used for sponge baths when the baby is small.

Doesn't poor Bama the dog look so sad? He has no idea what is about to come! He's actually not too sad, just enjoys sleeping with his head hanging off the bed. Bama used to be forbidden from coming into the guest room but since we don't want him to hate the baby, he's now invited into the room all the time. Don't worry (mom) I always put fresh sheets on the bed when guests come over.

When M and I were shopping on the weekend, I saw the frame below at Bed Bath and Beyond. I passed it up but went back yesterday because I thought it was too sweet, and with a printable coupon I found online, it was cheap! The little quote says "When they placed you into my arms, you slipped into my heart." Awww :)

And that is pretty much all there is to show! Now that the room is finished I can focus on other things like.. laundry! Oh joy.

Godmother Duties

2011-07-07T21:47:00.007-04:00

A few months ago my brother and sister-in-law asked me to be the Godmother for their newest little addition. I was THRILLED! This past weekend was the baptism. Doesn't my little Amish niece look so cute in her gown and bonnet?!

My sister-in-law asked her brother to be the Godfather, and here we are before the ceremony, preparing for our duties.

This precious girl has the funniest facial expressions I've ever seen. When the holy water was poured over her head she started to wail! She has a good set of lungs, that's for sure.

And now presenting... Simba?

The ceremony was very nice - small and personal, with one other baby being baptized at the same time. The priest even involved the grandparents and great grandparents, which I thought was a nice touch.

And here's the happy family!

The happy family plus Godparents!

And what's a baptism without a cake?

I am so honoured to be this little one's Godmother! Thank you C&S for thinking of me! I promise to be the best Godmother around!

A Woman's Work is Never Done

2011-07-06T21:04:00.001-04:00

My dad often decides to start huge projects at the oddest times. For my wedding three years ago he decided to redo the whole upstairs level of my parents' house. This year, for my baby shower, he decided to put a new liner in the pool, get a crazy space age cover, plus cover the wooden deck with all weather tiling.

Of course he was running around last minute trying to finish up this huge project in time, so I offered to help click together the deck tiles. So yes, at exactly 32 weeks pregnant, I can boast about how I installed the pool deck flooring :)

It actually wasn't very difficult at all. After 3-4 hours and with a little help from my BFF (poor girl just stopped by to drop things off and I put her to work) the deck was complete! The tiles clicked together easily and just needed a little hammer action to fasten them together.

After covering the sides of the deck and doing what felt like 300 squats, I got smart and finished the largest part of the deck by sitting on my butt in one place and pushing the completed tiles down to the end. This was so much easier than kneeling and continuously moving myself backwards!

After all that hard work, I spent the rest of my days like this...

or this...

and sometimes like this...

and this!

Having a pool to deal with the summer heat is WONDERFUL. I really don't know how I'm going to stay cool now that I'm back in Chicago and pool-less!

The Flower Mix-Up

2011-07-05T22:16:00.000-04:00

Last week I walked into my parents' house and saw a beautiful bouquet of flowers sitting on the table. I saw a happy birthday balloon attached to the vase and figured someone sent my mom a belated birthday gift. When my mom told me the flowers were for me I was so confused - my birthday is in December! I opened the card and saw the flowers were sent by my mother in law and sister in law, wishing me a happy baby shower. How thoughtful!

At first I thought maybe the happy birthday balloon was just an early birthday greeting for the baby - the shower was the next day, after all. That made a bit of sense, but why not just get a congratulations balloon or actual baby shower balloon?

Then I figured the flower shop must have just gotten confused, which after talking with my mother-in-law, found out that was exactly the case. The flower shop was actually really good about it - they called and told me they could either replace the balloon or bring me extra flowers for the mix-up. Given this choice, who would actually pick a replacement balloon?!

And that is how I ended up with two lovely bouquets of flowers and a good laugh! Thanks Nanny Marina and Aunt Samantha! It made my day :)

Happy Birthd'eh!

2011-07-01T19:24:00.008-04:00

HAPPY CANADA DAY!

Canadians aren't generally in your face, outwardly patriotic people, but that doesn't mean we aren't proud of our great country! I'm so happy to be back at home to celebrate Canada's 144th birthday and kick off the month of July.

Every year possible, I hit up the parade and fireworks celebration with my BFF and her family. This morning, bright and early, we set out to the park to claim front row seats for the parade. The weather (in the shade) was wonderful. I could have sat there people watching for hours and hours. Let's just say this town is full of "interesting" individuals.

Inside the park there are booths set up with lots of ethnic foods to choose from. Seriously, I don't know if the people who run these booths come to this small town only on Canada Day or what, but if they actually live here, they must do so in hiding. It's typically not what I'd consider a multicultural city.. but either way it doesn't matter, the food is good!
While waiting for the parade to start, I stopped at the Polish stand and ordered homemade pierogies. These weighed five pounds in my hand so I can just imagine what they're doing in my stomach, but obviously they were really delicious!
My favourite parade float includes the guys below who, although you're unable to see it clearly here, wear huge elf shoes. I want a pair.
I also enjoy the dudes below who drive around in their mini cars. It must take a lot of practice to get in and out of these cars gracefully. In previous years the drivers would just about give me a heart attack and drive all crazy fast in circles, but maybe they're not allowed to do this anymore?
Now I'm sorry to say, but the parade is really.. I don't know how to say this nicely.. awful? Perhaps it's because we sit near the end of the route and by the time the parade passes by, all of the musicians are sweating up a storm, the gymnasts look like they're ready to faint, and 3/4 of the people sitting on the floats aren't even cracking a smile. This year it also seemed like the floats sped by so once a band started playing, I could only hear five seconds of their song before they were long gone. Maybe I am just a parade snob.

But you know what? Watching the parade is a tradition that I never want to miss. I love it - everyone is out enjoying life, spending time with family and friends, and celebrating being Canadian!

Have a happy and safe Canada Day!

Berry Picking

2011-06-30T23:36:00.000-04:00

One of the best things about my parents living out in the boonies is the U-Pick fruit farms. Apples, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries - you name it, you can find a place not too far away to pick your own.

Earlier this week my parents and I found ourselves at Millar Berry Farms, hitching a ride on the tractor to be brought out the strawberry patch.

The strawberries were bright and beautiful and the pickings still aplenty.

The fragrance of a strawberry patch is amazing and if you've never tasted a freshly picked strawberry, straight from the plant and still warm from the sun.. well you are missing out.

For some reason, every time I look at the below picture of my mom I think she's in Africa. It might be the shirt. Rawr.
Here I am trying to hide and eat my strawberry in peace. You have to try at least one to make sure it's not rotten, right?
Half an hour later and $17 poorer, we were set with a load of strawberries to last a normal family two weeks, but mine, more like two days :)
I've been eating copious amounts of strawberries on my morning oatmeal and loving every bite. Strawberry picking will last another week or two, so get out there before it's too late!

Baby Shower Time

2011-06-29T23:27:00.000-04:00

This past Sunday I had my baby shower or "baby'que"! The weather was perfect for a backyard barbeque and pool party - clear blue skies and although it started off a little cool, the temperature heated up nicely throughout the day.
My party was at my parents' but hosted by my beautiful BFF and Aunt and I know my mom did a heck of a lot of work to help out too! I hardly saw my best friend all afternoon so I know she was pretty busy running around making sure everything was perfect!

Mostly everyone invited showed up - lots of family and friends! I think the last time my high school girlfriends were all together was July 2008 at my wedding (not including the night before the shower for a birthday party)!
We had all the fixings of a good BBQ - mini burgers and sausages, potato and pasta salad, deviled eggs, rancho beans, tutti fruitti, watermelon, lemonade to drink and of course cake for dessert!

The kids had a blast running around the yard, swimming, and going on frog hunts.

And, the sweetest way to end any party, especially because of the pregnant girl's sweet tooth? A candy buffet filled with tootsie pops, skittles, starbursts, hershey kisses, licorice, and Baby Ruth chocolate bars :)

It was a really lovely party and thanks to the guests' generosity, we are much more prepared for Baby's arrival!

Preparations

2011-06-27T13:07:00.000-04:00

I've noticed a favourite question for people to to ask pregnant ladies is, "How's your nursery coming along?"

What do you mean, what nursery? I have to make a nursery? Hrmm.

M and I currently live in a two bedroom place, which is perfectly fine for the time being. We use the second bedroom as an office/guest room. Now with baby coming though, two bedrooms doesn't seem like enough! Two plus a den, like we had in Toronto would be perfect, 3 bedrooms would be even better, but what can ya do? I have no interest in moving, yet again. Our 100 year old apartment is quite large, but the space is not designed well - we have a huge living room, a massive kitchen, but the bedrooms are fairly small. So, our second bedroom is now becoming the baby/guest room and we've moved our desk to a spot in the living room.

But here's my secret - I have no interest in designing a nursery. What's wrong with me?! I see pictures of cute nurseries everywhere on the internet. My brother and sister-in-law have one of the most gorgeous nurseries I've ever seen. But personally, I have no motivation to make a beautiful nursery for our baby! Maybe if I owned a house and had a specific room for a nursery I'd paint and make it all cutesy, maybe not. My life calling is definitely not to be a decorator. I kinda feel bad about this, but not really, and definitely not enough to do anything about it.

And so, here is what our nursery currently looks like:

So lovely, right?!

Those first pictures were actually taken a month ago and some progress has been made since then. M's parents bought the crib and mattress for us and my talented husband put all of it together, so the room is coming along, slowly but surely!

Do you have any tips for making the baby/guest room a bit nicer, but requires little effort and moolah?!

Friday Thoughts...

2011-06-17T12:00:00.001-04:00

Three random thoughts on this lovely Friday...

1) How do you properly pronounce Chi-Town? I've heard some say it like "chai" as in the tea, and others as "shy". I'm so confused. Someone please help.

2) I keep hearing about a magical place called The Doughnut Vault. This place has huge lineups, opens at 8:30am and is sold out within the hour. To what lengths would you go for the most delicious donut in the world?!

(picture source)

3) Why do so many drivers in Chicago turn left or right from the centre of the lane? Do driver's ed teachers not explain that when turning you should 1) use your gd blinker, and 2) move the eff over? Oh my goodness.. did I just say that?

30 1/2 Weeks Update

2011-06-15T10:29:00.000-04:00

Two months and four days till baby's expected due date! Since my last update three weeks ago, there have been major, major changes with my belly. I'll let you see for yourself.

May 18th (26 weeks and 5 days) VS. June 10th (30 weeks)

Um.. yeah. I'd say I officially "popped" around 28-29 weeks. I really wish these bathrooms pictures weren't so terrible - dark and I'm in different positions each time, but well.. I take them around 6:30am and it's the best I can do!

Here are a couple more I took that same morning and you can see that I look different in each picture. The size of the bump totally depends on the angle you're looking at and what I'm wearing.

I still fit into most of my regular clothing, tops for sure. I haven't tried on non-maternity pants recently but I'd guess they be difficult to zip up. If I could give advice to someone, it would be this - wear maternity clothes as soon as possible! Even though I fit into my regular clothes they make me look frumpy. My maternity clothes are more fitted around the belly and accentuate the baby bump, which in turn makes me look pregnant rather than lumpy.

I still haven't gotten any comments from strangers, but I have noticed a lot of people staring at my belly and smiling as I pass them on the street.

I went for a checkup yesterday and the doctor said I'm measuring perfectly. I gained one pound which puts me up to 8.5 lbs of total weight gain. The doctor is very happy with this number and says it's completely healthy so please don't tell me to eat more (mom)! The baby's heart rate was between 144-148. She confirmed my suspicions of Braxton Hicks contractions, which are occurring a few times a day, mostly while I'm walking. All of a sudden my belly will get really tight and a bit sensitive to the touch. I didn't really think anything of it until the teacher at my prenatal class explained this is what Braxton Hicks might feel like! So there, at least I've learned one thing from attending prenatal classes!

The baby has definitely moved positions and makes my belly extremely lopsided sometimes. M and I had a laugh last night as we were going to bed - my belly looked completely deformed. So weird. The baby is still moving around a lot and ow, often kicks or pushes into my ribs. I'm sure that'll only get worse :)

Overall, I am feeling super and have an exciting few weeks ahead - summer vacation is beginning soon, I'm going home for a nice long visit where I can swim and relax in my parents' newly renovated pool, AND my baby shower is in a week and a half!

The Great Cake Challenge

2011-06-14T09:47:00.007-04:00

When we were youngins and all living under one roof, my family had the tradition that on your birthday, you get to choose a special birthday cake. I remember my dad requesting German Chocolate quite often.

I always like an excuse to bake something new, so when my parents' 40th wedding anniversary/retirement party rolled around I knew German Chocolate was at the top of my list. I asked my mom for her recipe, which she actually couldn't find, but she sent over a similar one found here.

Now let me set up the real story. M and I planned to start the drive from Chicago to my hometown at 7pm on Friday night. The drive is 5+ hours, so I figured we'd make it to my brother's house by 12am, which is actually 1am Ontario time. Fine. That meant the cake must be baked by 6:30pm so it would have enough time to cool before starting the drive.

I got home early from work, around 3:45pm and started on the cake right away. I thought I'd have plenty of time to finish everything before an appointment I had to leave for at 5pm. I thought wrong. Never underestimate how long a cake actually takes to bake. Forget about what the recipe says! Leave yourself a good two or three hours, I say!

I started by making the frosting, which was relatively painless. Good start, good start. See, I was so optimistic that I took the time to document with pictures! Note how the pictures end here...

The ingredients are all set out.

The pecans are being roasted!

The frosting is complete! (P.S. Next time I'd make two batches.)

Then I started on the cake batter. It took FOREVER. As I whipped the butter and sugar together I nervously watched the clock creep closer and closer to 5pm. The cake still had to bake for 30-40 minutes. I contemplated cancelling my appointment. I started to mix up the vinegar and milk to create buttermilk. In my frantic rushing about, I spilled the entire thing. At 4:59pm I was wiping up stinky buttermilk off the floor. I swore. A lot. At 5:05pm I gave up and threw the half finished cake batter into the fridge so I could leave for my appointment.

I rushed around and made it back home for 6:30pm. Half an hour till departure time and I had to finish mixing the batter, bake the cake, plus pack my luggage. I told the husband to get comfortable, this might take a while. I didn't actually say it that nicely though, if you catch my drift.

After 30 minutes of baking, the cake was still very wobbly. After ten more minutes.. just as wobbly. Twenty more minutes.. not quite baked, but I took it out of the oven anyway, covered it with tinfoil, set it on a cutting board, carried it out to the car with oven mitts, and rode home with a steaming, slightly undercooked cake on my lap. We rolled into my brother's driveway at 2:30am!

I was really very nervous for people to try the cake, but for the ordeal that it went though, I must say it turned out better than expected! Not the BEST I've ever had, but pretty darn good!

(picture source)

This is obviously not a picture of my cake, but if you follow the recipe, yours will end up looking something like this!

Boy or Girl?

2011-06-13T15:00:00.004-04:00

Is it a boy or a girl? is the #1 question I get asked.

(picture source)

When I was only a few weeks pregnant I had a dream about a baby girl, so I thought for a while that must be what we're having. Now half the time I think it's a boy and the other half I have no flippin' clue. M thinks it's a girl. I'm not sure if he has reasons for this or it's just his sixth sense!

I keep seeing this survey all over the blogosphere and thought I'd join in. By answering the following questions, let's find out what the stars predict for the gender of our baby :)

Here we go...

Sleep Position
Pay attention to which way you lay down in bed tonight. If you prefer sleeping on your left side, you’ll have a boy. Right side? You're pregnant with a girl.

Right side, always = GIRL

Upset Stomach
Little girls aren’t always sweet. Extreme nausea means you are having a daughter.

No nausea, thank goodness = BOY

Soft or Dry Hands
If your hands are dry during pregnancy, you are having a boy; soft—expect a girl.

Hmmm, how does it work if my hands have always been and continue to be dry? = BOY

Food Cravings
Your favourite pregnancy foods may tell you what sex the baby is. If you’re craving citrus while pregnant, you’re having a girl.

Well I do enjoy a good orange quite often but I wouldn't say I crave them = BOY

Adult Acne
If altering hormones makes your skin break out, expect a girl.

Oh Lordy, my face has never been worse = GIRL

Graceful or Clumsy Pregnancy
If you feel as though you’re gliding through the day, you’ll have a girl. Stumbling? It’s a boy.

I definitely have the dropsies on a daily basis = BOY

Face Weight Gain
If your face gets fuller, it means you’re having a girl.

I'm not entirely sure, but I think it's stayed kinda the same = BOY

Sugar and Spice Food Cravings
Craving salt during pregnancy? Potato chips, pretzels, and popcorn means a boy is on the way. Need a little something sweet? Ice cream, chocolate, and candy means you’re having a girl.

Give me candy for breakfast, lunch, and dinner please = GIRL

Mood Changes
If you’re experiencing pregnant mood swings, expect a baby girl to arrive soon.

I don't think it's THAT bad, but my husband might say otherwise?! = GIRL

High or Low Pregnant Belly
If you’re carrying the baby low on your stomach, expect a boy. If it’s high, you’re having a girl.

Very low = BOY

Baby Weight
If you’re carrying the baby in front, it’s a boy. Is the baby weight spaced all around your middle? It’s a girl.

Um, I think it's just in front but it's hard to tell? = BOY

Pendulum Test
Dangle a chain with a charm over your palm. It swings back and forth: boy. In a circle: girl.

Circle = GIRL

Model Your Hands
“Show me your hands.” If you would hold your hands palms up, it’s a girl. Down? You’re having a boy.

Palms up = GIRL

Toddler Advice
Get baby advice from a nephew or from a friend’s little boy. If a toddler boy shows interest in your belly, you’ll have a girl. If he ignores you, it’s a boy.

They aren't really toddlers, but my nephews aren't very interested at all = BOY

Key to Pregnancy
If you pick up a key by the round end, you’re having a boy. If you pick it up by the long end? A girl.

Round end.. because it's bigger and easier, duh? = BOY

Even and Odd Numbers
If your age and year of conception are both even or odd, it’s girl. One even and one odd means a boy.

28 in 2010 = GIRL

Baby’s Heartbeat
If the baby’s heart beats more than 150 times per minute, you’re pregnant with a girl. Less than 150, it’s a boy.

Consistently higher than 150 = GIRL

Dream Meanings
If you dream about having a girl while pregnant, you will wind up having a boy and vice versa.

Oh my! (see first paragraph) = BOY

TOTAL GIRL: 8

TOTAL BOY: 10

Holy smokes, I guess we're having a boy!

An Exceptional Weekend

2011-06-06T14:15:00.000-04:00

This weekend held the perfect balance of relaxation and productivity. Summer weather is definitely here and I'm loving spending as much time as possible outdoors. Gotta soak up the sun while it's here, right?

After work on Friday I headed downtown to Zed451 to meet up with M and some friends, one of them who was working the bar that night. He made me this super delicious strawberry kiwi minty drink that tasted like heaven on such a warm evening.

We sat up on the rooftop patio for a few hours chit chatting and catching up with our friends,

(why does my hand look so manly and ape-like?)

and eating fondue! Perfect meal for sharing.

Saturday was busy busy and included volunteering, a weekly to trip to the farmer's market, lots of frolicking outside, a road trip to the drive-in movie theatre, etc. etc. etc. Sunday's weather was more bearable so M and I took a long long walk through Lincoln Park, dodging goose turds the whole way :)

Something that's been on my to-do list for quite some time is to visit the Alfred Caldwell Lily Pool which I see as a little hidden gem in this grand city of Chicago.

I loved it. So very peaceful and pretty. Definitely worth a walkabout.

And ta-da, look at my baby bump! It's massive, or as M so nicely puts it, I'm looking robust!

Perfect, perfect weekend. Can't wait for the next one!

Hot Diggity Dogs

2011-06-02T10:10:00.000-04:00

There are quite a few things I miss about living in Toronto, one of them being the food! Street meat to be exact! I am one happy girl when I see the street meat vendors out, signaling that spring has come, which I guess means that hot dogs should be consumed. Chicago also boasts having great hot dogs, so which city does it better? Let's discuss...

Toronto:

Street meat vendors are everywhere in Toronto. Some vendors stay out year round but most pack up for winter and come back in full force as soon as the nicer weather hits. The vendors typically sell hot dogs and sausages, ranging from $2-4. The toppings are in plastic containers on the side of the carts so you're free to add whatever suits your fancy.

picture source

In my opinion, the absolutely best topping available is sauerkraut. This MAKES the dog. Street meat is not street meat without the sauerkraut. What else do I put on my hot dog or sausage? Well let's refer to the picture below, which I took this past weekend, while I was in Polish sausage heaven. Since I haven't had street meat in a loooong time, I decided to go big with the toppings. Sauerkraut, pickles, olives, ketchup, spicy mustard, bacon bits, corn relish, and regular green relish.

Chicago: There are no hot dog stands in Chicago but there are tons of hot dog restaurants with pick up windows and small seating areas. The typical "Chicago style hot dog" is made very specifically, which you can read about here. The toppings are as follows:

picture source

You will notice no ketchup. Ketchup is a big no-no in Chicago. I can't remember the prices exactly but I'd say they're similar to Toronto. The Chicago dog is the basic hot dog but the restaurants have many options if you like to add cheese or other toppings.

The Verdict: Who Does it Best?

Well, in my humble opinion, there is no contest. Toronto is the clear wiener! Why?

1) The Chicago dog is too difficult to eat with big spears of pickle and tomato. I have to take these off and eat them separately because they won't fit in my mouth otherwise.

2) Why is the relish on a Chicago dog neon green? Scary.

3) The self-serve method and variety of toppings in Toronto makes everyone happy. And you can eat ketchup without getting heckled :)

That settles that! If you've tried both styles of hot dog, which is your fave?

When Husband's Away...

2011-05-25T10:43:00.000-04:00

M was out of town this past weekend and I kept myself ultra busy! I often find that I'm most productive when I'm on my own because I don't want to get bored. I need to try harder to be just as productive when he's around but honestly, we make each other lazy.. or maybe he just makes me lazy, I don't really know :)

On Saturday morning I woke up bright and early and headed to a nearby church to help make sandwiches for their soup kitchen. Seven hundred sandwiches in two hours! After volunteering I picked Bama the dog up and walked to the farmer's market where I treated myself to a lemon poppy seed muffin (I cannot get enough lemon flavoured foods lately - so good) and bought a few fruits and veggies for the week. I dropped the boy off at home and caught a train downtown to get my ring appraised so that it can be insured. That's been on my to-do list for almost a year! On the way back, I got off the train before my usual stop and FINALLY did something I've been wanting to do for a while - explore a new Chicago neighbourhood! I found a blog series called "My Chicago Vacation" where the writer talks about where she would go if visiting Chicago, from the view point of a Chicagoan. I followed her Old Town plan and walked around this area all afternoon.

Old Town is quite an affluent area and I really enjoyed walking down Wells Street with it's cute shops. This is the place to go if you want to eat outside as there are at least 20 restaurant options that have patio seating. The walking only alcoves that connect streets are really quite charming and now that spring is finally here, everything is beginning to bloom!

Some of the houses are cute and quirky,

but turn onto a new street and you'll see multi-million dollars homes!

The weather was gorgeous and I got to see a new part of this amazing city. Love!

Third Tri

2011-05-22T17:25:00.005-04:00

I have officially graduated into the third trimester!

We are less than three months away from baby's due date. AHHHH. Nothing much is new to report and I continue to feel good, but people constantly ask for updated baby bump pictures, so here goes nothing! As you can see, I look pretty much the same even though these pictures are taken over a month apart. The first one is from April 16th (22 weeks and one day) and the second one is from May 18th (26 weeks and 5 days).

Although the bump doesn't look much different, I *feel* bigger. I find that I'm walking slower and need a pillow to support my belly in order to sleep comfortably. I have a new talent of being about to produce tears in less than one second. HA. My husband loves that new trick. I'm ravenous during the day but, similar to how I was in the first tri, don't have much of an appetite in the evening. Over the past few weeks I've experienced bad heartburn from eating grapefruit and possibly from drinking orange juice. Ow. The baby continues to move around a lot but it's a much different feeling now. It's almost like I can see the movements just as well as I can feel them. I lay on the couch at night and watch my belly move around and it's really very weird.

The most exciting thing that's happened over the last week is that I passed my glucose tolerance test which means no gestational diabetes for me! I wasn't really nervous until I was on the phone getting my results, but thankfully I passed and it's one less thing to think about now.

This is a picture of the sugary drink that I've heard people complain about gagging down, but I didn't think it was terrible at all. It was almost enjoyable.

And there you have it, that's the latest and greatest :)

Good Reads

2011-05-17T09:00:00.002-04:00

I've been impressed with a few books I've read lately and thought I'd share! Finding a book you can get lost in is one of life's great pleasures, isn't it? All of these books have been recommended personally or on someone's blog and I copied the book summaries and images from goodreads.com.

Same Kind of Different as Me by Ron Hall

Summary: Meet Denver, a man raised under plantation-style slavery in Louisiana in the 1960s; a man who escaped, hopping a train to wander, homeless, for eighteen years on the streets of Dallas, Texas. No longer a slave, Denver's life was still hopeless-until God moved. First came a godly woman who prayed, listened, and obeyed. And then came her husband, Ron, an international arts dealer at home in a world of Armani-suited millionaires. And then they all came together...

Pictures of You by Caroline Leavitt

Summary: Two women running away from their marriages collide on a foggy highway, killing one of them. The survivor is left to pick up the pieces, not only of her own life, but also must go back and deal with the devastated husband and fragile, asthmatic son the other woman left behind. Together, they try to solve the mystery of where April was running to, and why...

Her Mother's Hope by Francine Rivers

Summary: This sweeping story explores the complicated relationships between mothers and daughters over several generations. Near the turn of the 20th century, fiery Marta leaves Switzerland determined to find life on her own terms. Her journey takes her through Europe and finally lands her with children and husband in tow in the central valley of California. Marta’s experiences convince her that only the strong survive...

Secret Daughter by Shilpi Somaya Gowda.

M's mom recommended this book and indeed it was a good one!

Summary: On the eve of the monsoons, in a remote Indian village, Kavita gives birth to a baby girl. But in a culture that favours sons, the only way for Kavita to save her newborn daughter's life is to give her away. It is a decision that will haunt her and her husband for the rest of their lives, even after the arrival of their cherished son...

Have you read anything good lately?

The Bain of my Existence

2011-05-16T10:22:00.000-04:00

M and I are the type of people who try and get by on the bare minimum (excluding electronics for him and yoga groupons for me). I don't like clutter, I don't like junk, I don't like buying things unless those things will be well used. For the most part, I place little value on material goods. I'd rather spend money on travel and experiences. I'm not saying this is better or worse than any other lifestyle, it's just how I am and how I strive to live my life.

This being said, I am very afraid of baby crap taking over my life and my house. I'm bringing this up because for the last few weeks I've been working on completing our baby registry. There are so many choices out there it's disgusting. Does a child really need a swing, play mat, bouncy chair, bassinet, pack and play, or the hundreds of other things that some parents swear work miracles? No, no, and no. Well at least our future child doesn't!

I fully know why completing the registry has been so difficult. Each and every thing on it has been hummed and hawed over. I've poured myself into reading reviews and comparing products because I only want the bare necessities, but I want them to be the best quality possible. I really don't know why I do this to myself. If people are going to buy your baby a gift in the first place, a lot of them will buy whatever they want and pay no attention to a registry, making all the time I spent researching a waste. Oh well...

I'm having a hard time writing this because I don't want to sound greedy and ungrateful, but I'm just being honest. What's the point in registering if people ignore it? Yes, yes, yes I am thankful for any gift the baby receives, but I will be extra happy if it's something off my list that we will have to buy anyway if it's not gifted :)

Moving on... M and I are in a peculiar position. We live in the States but the baby shower is in Canada because that's where all our family and friends are. It becomes tricky because I'm traveling to and from the shower by train, so how the heck am I supposed to bring gifts back to Chicago with me? If people choose to buy gift cards they will be in Canadian funds!

We've tried to come up with the best possible solution and that is to make a baby registry on amazon.com. This way, people can buy products for cheap (soooooooo much cheaper than any physical store, especially right now when using Canadian currency) and have them shipped directly to us in Chicago, eliminating the need for me to carry everything across the border on a train. I really don't know how well people will respond to this and I guess only time will tell.

For now, I'm just so happy to be done with the registry! I am done test driving strollers, done reading reviews, and done making choices. Thank goodness.

Done and Done!

2011-05-13T10:14:00.006-04:00

I bought this book over five years ago with absolutely no idea what I was going to use it for, but I liked the design.

I am so happy to report that I found the perfect use for it – a wedding scrapbook! I actually began this scrapbook a long time ago. One of the best things about having a blog is that I can look back and see that on May 18, 2009 (wow, almost two full years ago) I wrote about starting the scrapbook and being so happy that I was half-way finished. Little did I know!

Now I am not huge into scrapbooking at all. I don’t do the fancy papers or use cool scissors to cut different designs. Give me a few decoration thingies from the dollar store, a marker, photos, and tape and I’m all set. Except do you know how long it takes to sort through hundreds of pictures and choose only a few? I had to scour friends’ facebook pages for random pictures I didn't have personal copies of and print off terrible quality photos, but such is life. AND, rejoice, it's done and I am so relieved! It's lovely :)

Pretty much every detail about our wedding is included in this book from the engagement to celebrating our first anniversary. I think it’ll be really nice to look back on it to remember our wedding day.

I know they're small pictures but here's a few sample pages so you can get an idea of what the book entails.

I'm pretty proud of the finished product!

I can finally cross this off my 36 in 365 list! Ahhh, feels good!

24 1/2 Week Update

2011-05-04T10:14:00.000-04:00

One thing I never knew about my pregnancy is that I'd be five and a half months along with no noticeable baby bump (to the public). Honestly I'm a bit disappointed that I'm more than halfway through this pregnancy with nothing to show, so to say. Yes I'm aware that when I'm ready to burst I will come to regret saying this! I always thought that I'd have some big bump by 4 months but boy was I wrong. At least I'm sleeping comfortably and able to wear my regular clothes still. I'm very much looking forward to the day a stranger notices and asks me when I'm due!

The first picture was taken on April 6th (20 weeks and 5 days) and the second on April 16th (22 weeks and 1 day).

I know you can see a bump in these pictures but that's because I'm wearing spandexy clothing. Yesterday morning when I put my regular clothes on I was excited because I thought I actually had a noticeable bump! But really, unless I put my hand on my belly like you can see below, it just looks like I've eaten a big meal :)

I'm trying to be patient and the most important thing is that I'm feeling really great. I went for yet another ultrasound two weeks ago and although baby was hiding its face AGAIN, the doctor could see that the palette and everything else looked normal. I was debating going to that ultrasound and although it gave me some peace of mind it was ultimately a waste of time and $610. I miss you Canada. At that appointment the baby was weighing 1 lb, 4 oz and the heart rate was still in the 150s.

The baby has a definite sleep schedule and it most active between 8-10am and 4-6pm. I'm feeling tons of kicks and punches and a few weeks ago M was also able to feel them from the outside! That was pretty exciting.

Last week at my monthly doctor appointment the nurse asked me to get on the scale to see "how good my Easter was". I had been watching the scale creep up over the weeks but it was still obnoxious when she muttered "WOW, I guess it was really good." So yeah, up 6 lbs in 3 1/2 weeks for a total of 8 gained, which I think is not bad at all for 24 weeks of pregnancy! Unfortunately I feel like I'm obsessing a bit over weight gain but I cannot stop myself. I've struggled with weight my whole life and it's difficult to watch the scale go up and up and up, even if I know I must gain weight for the baby's health. Sigh. I need to throw out my scale and adopt an I don't give a @&*% attitude.

One very good thing is that M wrote his exam last Friday so now he has more free time and we've started cleaning out the guest room to make it into the baby/guest room! I want to get a lot of things done while I still have the energy. M and I stopped at a stroller store to give some a test run and have had a chance to discuss what we need to buy and register for. My mammy tells me that the shower invites will be going out soon!

All in all, life is good!

My Boy's Birthday

2011-04-28T06:50:00.001-04:00

Bama boy turned seven years young on April 5th. That's actually his made up birth date since he was adopted from a shelter and all they know is that he was born sometime in April. I chose that day because I like 5's. My birthday as well as my dad's is on the 5th, my wedding was on the 5th, and now the boy's birthday is on the 5th.

I am now a crazy dog lady and I love it. HAHA. It's a bit embarrassing how much I love this dog. I never in a million years guessed I would become a dog lover.. until I met Bama... and then it was truly love at first sight. Seriously, look at what a cute pup he is.

Here is the story of how we acquired Bama:

When M came to Chicago a year and a half ago he moved into an apartment with two guys, one being the owner of Bama. M warned me that when I came to visit him in Chicago there would be a dog there, which was okay since I really had no choice and my visits would be short. I mostly didn't like dogs because of all the hair and I was once traumatized by a neighbour's dog who pulled at my Halloween costume. Plus, sometimes they stink and have bad breath. I would often avoid walking close to dogs on sidewalks. You can actually read about how I did not want a dog he re.

The first time I came to visit M, I don't know what happened, but I just loved his roommate's dog. I took Bama for walks, played with him a lot, and generally fell head over heels. When I skyped with M I always asked to see the dog too. Ha ha, I know how pathetic this sounds, believe me. I spent so much time with Bama when I was visiting that he'd be depressed for a few days after I left.

M's roommate worked really long/late/odd hours and painstakingly made the decision to give Bama to us to essentially give him a better life with more walks, more time outside, and more attention. It was a really hard decision for him to make and he misses Bama like crazy. I think it's a win-win situation though because Bama is happier now AND still gets to see his old owner quite often.

I am so so so so happy times a million that we found Bama and became his new owners. It really is a lot of responsibility having a dog but coming home to his love and affection each day makes it all worthwhile. Even on rainy days or when I have to walk him in -20C temperatures!

Bama is "the boy", also affectionately know as Bam, Bammie, Bamster, Bammers McGee, Bama Louie, Bama-lama-ding-dong, grey beard, precious, prince, and turtle (because of the way he lays, shown in the above picture). If Bama's old owner knew I called him some of those names or saw that I put a birthday hat on him, he'd surely take Bama back.

I told you I am a cRaZy dog lady.

Introducing...

2011-04-20T21:25:00.008-04:00

Introducing the newest member of my fam!

My brother and sister-in-law had a baby girl in mid March. How exciting and what a cutie! The above pictures were taken by Brent Foster when the little babe was only a couple of weeks old.

Last week I finally got to meet her and it's so hard to believe how teeny tiny she is. It *almost* makes me want to have one of my own. Wait a minute...

My mom and I organized a baby shower to welcome the newest addition and I have to say I quite liked the idea of having the shower after the birth since so many of our family members were able to meet her!

Cake, of course. It was delish.

My niece looks a lot like my brother. Poor child :)

After the baby shower the boys and men of my family showed up to have Easter dinner. Oldest meets youngest here. My nephew was soooooo excited to meet his cousin.

The kids went outside for an Easter egg hunt and then..

back in for dessert. Orange sherbert. Wow, that stuff is magic. Quietest 10 minutes of the day!

That was the most family filled day I've had in a long long time!

Hotlanta... Not So Much.

2011-04-14T22:00:00.009-04:00

A few weeks ago M had a training session in Atlanta so I took some time off work and flew there to meet him for the weekend. Thank you MasterCard points for my free flight!

Although it wasn't "hot" in Atlanta, it was definitely warmer than Chicago and I busted out my flip flops and capris. On the first night I joined M and his colleagues at a bar where the beer was flowing, and I'm pretty certain I was the only sober one there. After a late night out I was happy to sleep in the next morning while M attended more training. Sucker! For I think the second time in my life, I ordered room service for breakfast. It was magnificent.

Why do so many restaurants in this country insist on covering everything with cheese? Does my egg white omelet really need a thick later of grease? I digress...

After M's training finished up on Friday afternoon, we headed to Piedmont Park, where we relaxed on a swing set overlooking the water while we made a game plan of what to see and when to see it. Since the weather was nice, we took the MARTA (holy terrible transit system) to the Martin Luther King, Jr. historic site and wandered around there for a while.

At some point over the weekend we walked around Little Five Points neighbourhood which is full of hippies and homeless people. I have never seen so many homeless people in such a small radius. I liked the little area in the picture below the best, with its outdoor seating around all of the restaurants. Very laid back atmosphere where I'm sure a lot of pot smoking takes place!

We decided to eat lunch at The Vortex, which is known for its no idiots allowed policy and good burgers that have been featured on Man Vs. Food. I thought my burger was tasty enough, but nothing extraordinary and it certainly wasn't as good as DMK :)

Over the weekend we also made it to a hockey game, Atlanta vs. Ottawa, with the Sens being defeated in a shoot out. We got amazingly good seats for $15 each. Ridiculous!

We took the CNN studio tour which was pretty interesting but rather short (45 min) for the admission price ($15). BUT, we did get to ride the world's longest freestanding escalator, so it made it all worthwhile!

We were also able to visit with M's friend for a night and he took us to the Brick Store which is a really cool pub, especially if you're a fan of beer. We sat upstairs in the Belgian Beer area and M was pretty much in heaven with the pages and pages of beers to select from. I was in heaven because I finally got to eat the fish and chips that I'd been craving for a long long time. Win, win. If I lived near Atlanta, I'd like to live in the area where this restaurant was - Decatur - so cute!

Kymani also came along with us and here he is at the Centennial Olympic Park which was used as the "town square" in the '96 Olympics, also the site of the bombings that took place that year.

Of the four American cities that M and I have travelled to in the last year (New Orleans, Philly, Nashville, and now Atlanta), Atlanta is our least favourite. I think the reasoning behind this is that there's nothing really special or different that distinguishes Atlanta from any other large city. It's not really known for any particular must try foods or tourist attractions, which makes it a bit blah, if I can be honest. Now, this isn't to say that I didn't have a great time or I didn't enjoy my Atlanta experience, it's just that it wouldn't be the first city I'd recommend people to visit!

ETA: I forgot to mention that Atlanta does house the Georgia Aquarium which is the world's largest aquarium with more animals than any other. This is a huge tourist attraction, but we'd recently been to the Shedd in Chicago and weren't interested in walking around another aquarium so soon. So there ya go, a redeeming quality for Atlanta!

Have you ever been to Atlanta and if so, what'd ya think?

Cocktails and Mocktails

2011-04-11T13:00:00.002-04:00

One thing I've wanted to do since moving to Chicago is to go up to the 96th floor of the John Hancock Centre and enjoy a cocktail at the Signature Lounge.

In fact, M and I attempted to do so once but were faced with a huge lineup of Midwestern tourists wearing cowboy hats. We decided to try again another time.

When the BFF was visiting last week, we did exactly that. We hit up the Signature Lounge early and there was no line at all, in fact it was quite empty for a weekend. We got a table next to a window and enjoyed a nice view of Lake Michigan and the north end of the city.

Michelle ordered the Windy City Martini - Bacardi Limon, Grand Marnier, fresh lime and cranberry juice. It was s t r o n g and I'm pretty sure she was feeling good by the last sip :)

I had the Easy Street Martini made with pineapple, cranberry, and orange juice. I live on the edge and clearly, I should have ironed my shirt that morning.

Other than the crappy slow service, I'd recommend going up the tower and having an overpriced cocktail as part of the Chicago experience. It beats paying the $20 admission for the Hancock observatory plus you don't have to deal with hoards of people and crying kids.

Time to cross this goal off my 36 in 365 list!

Half Baked

2011-04-07T07:16:00.000-04:00

As of last Friday, baby is half baked!

(18 weeks) VS (20 weeks, 5 days)

I'm getting a little rounder and am actually beginning to feel pregnant! I'm very happy that I've only gained two pounds in twenty weeks, and the doctor's suggestion of 15-25 total pounds gained should be doable, if I can resist my current candy addiction! I bought my first few pieces of maternity clothing and can't wait to have a bump big enough to wear them!

I've been feeling tiny flutters in my belly for the past two weeks or so, but finally this weekend felt movement that was unmistakeably baby. Often its movements make me feel as though I'm on a roller coaster and my stomach is dropping out. Baby must be doing some major aqua aerobics in there.

M and I went to the twenty week anatomy ultrasound last week. Baby was sitting with its head at belly button level and it's bum near my pelvic bone, facing my back. This position did not make for pretty pictures and we wouldn't have been able to find out the gender even if we'd wanted to. Because its face couldn't be seen clearly, I'm being sent back for another ultrasound in a month so that this area can be checked out, making sure of no cleft palette. The baby's heart rate is supposed to get slower in the second trimester, but it was still clocking in around 150, compared to mid 160s in previous months. Girl for sure :) I actually have a feeling that it's a boy, but only time will tell, and I'm looking forward to this big surprise.

That's pretty much it for pregnancy updates. I've been feeling great and I'm super ecstatic that my bad acne has cleared up and I have enough energy to stay up past 9pm each night. Pregnancy suits me just fine *knock on wood*.

Second City Pizza Tour

2011-04-06T10:33:00.002-04:00

This weekend my BFF was visiting me here in Chicago. When I saw a half off deal for a Second City Pizza Tour on buywithme.com I snatched it up, thinking it would be something fun for two pizza loving gals to do.

First stop on our tour was the original Giordano's on Rush Street where we ate a slice of cheese stuffed deep dish. Look at the obscene amount of cheese in one piece. Insane. I was not all that impressed to have to eat my pizza on the side of a street with homeless people walking by, asking for money to buy food. Awkward.

The second stop was at Gino's East, which I never knew, is full of graffiti! I liked the atmosphere of this place, even if the writing everywhere makes it a big grungy looking.

Here's my hugh jass piece of cheese deep dish. The cheese to sauce ratio is much different than Giordano's. At Gino's there's way less cheese and way more tomatoey rather than garlicy sauce, plus the crust is made with cornbread rather than white flour.

Honestly, deep dish of any kind is pretty much my least favourite type of pizza in the whole world. I don't think it should even be called pizza. To me, it's so heavy that it reminds me more of lasagna than anything else. There is just SO much cheese it's ridiculous. It hurts my arteries thinking about it. All of this doesn't stop me from eating it once in a while though!
Everyone asks what place in Chicago makes the best deep dish. I have to say that I preferred Giordano's when it was hot and Gino's when it was cold. So there, no clear answer for you! I think the all time best deep dish I've had was the first kind I ever tried at at Pizzeria Due.

Next stop was La Madia, a more upscale place that pairs pizza with wine. Now, this is my type of place! I'll have to stop back here when I'm not pregnant because the walls of wine were making me drool.
This pizza was amazing, although a bit too greasy, but definitely my favourite of the day. We tried three different kinds... triple pepperoni, goat cheese something, and mushroom something. This would be a nice date night place.

The last stop on the tour was State Street Pizza, which has a small eat in area, but is more of an order a slice at the take out window kinda place. We were so stuffed we took our pieces to go, but had a bite when we got home and honest to jeebus, it tasted like DIRT. It was some sort of spinach goat cheese pizza on whole wheat crust and even the husband who will eat anything said it was the worst pizza he's ever tasted.

I really cannot recommend taking the Second City Pizza Tour, mainly because of the steep $48/person fee. I don't even think it was worth the half off price that we paid, although it was a fun way to spend an afternoon. Basically the guide leads you to four different pizza joints, gives you maybe one or two pieces of information about each restaurant, then eats pizza with you. I'd say skip the tour and eat at La Madia for the same price, including cocktails!

I guess one good thing about the tour is that we took lots of leftovers home because there's no way you can eat that amount of pizza in such a short period of time!

Missing Teaching

2011-03-21T09:06:00.001-04:00

I'm currently on my seventh month of taking a leave from teaching. When I moved to Chicago I decided to take a year off and during that time, write my Illinois teaching tests. Then I got pregnant. I'll take the tests eventually but I'm really in no hurry, considering I'm taking a full year off of work for maternity leave.

I really did not miss teaching until, hmmm, December or January. I absolutely did not miss writing report cards. I did not miss yard duty in the dead of winter. I did not miss paperwork or bureaucratic craziness or hyper kids or marking work or EQAO test preparation.

What I do miss is the fun stuff. Making artwork for the different holidays. Friday treat days. Assemblies. Eating lunch with the staff. Having adult conversations. Using critical thinking skills. And most of all, working with kids that I can talk to! I love, love, love joking around with the kids I teach. They think I'm some sort of comedian. Seriously. I know, I can't believe it either.

Don't get me wrong. There are definite perks of my current job too, it's just different from teaching.

Anyway, now I really appreciate the time I spend with my nephews and niece. Nieces as of last week, but that's a story for another day. The pictures below were taken over Christmas break when the kids were sleeping over at my parents' for a night. I bought them a set of make your own rubber balls, just for something to do. I relished in the few minutes of pretend teaching, giving instructions and having them actually listen to me!

Love these kids!

Catfish

2011-03-17T10:05:00.001-04:00

Yesterday in the mail we received a movie from our netflix queue, Catfish. Have you seen it? A friend recommended this movie to me and M and I had a chance to sit down and watch it last night.

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***I've tried not to contain spoilers, but if you're really interested in seeing the movie, you may not want to read the rest of this blog post, just in case.

Catfish is a documentary about a long-distance facebook relationship. The movie brings up a lot of questions about social networking and in the bonus materials on the dvd, there's an interesting interview with the directors/stars of the film. One of the questions the guys were answering was whether of not their facebook profile shows a true picture of themselves. They all answered no - they want to portray themselves in a good light, so they only post information and pictures that will do so.

Later, I got to thinking about whether or not this blog portrays my true self. It's interesting how many readers of my blog tell me they think my life is so interesting, I'm always doing fun things, and they live vicariously through me. HA! I am pretty much shocked when people say this because I know I'm just a normal joe who, for the most part, lives a pretty boring life. After work I go home, walk the dog, eat, and sleep. Throw a little tv watching in there most nights. That's it!

Yes, yes perhaps in comparison to other people my age, I have travelled a lot, but that's because I make it a priority in my life. Some people don't care about seeing different parts of the world, put their money towards other things, have kids and can't/won't get away, etc. etc. etc.

My blog shows only a minuscule part of my life. I think when I write, I write honestly, but often with sarcasm that some people might not catch. Often my posts are happy, happy, showing all the fun things going on in my life and great restaurants I'm trying out. I don't write about how I ate cereal for dinner last night because I mean, who wants to read about Kashi Autumn Wheat topped with fruit?

So yeah.. wow, that was a bit of a rant :)

Do you portray your "true" self online or on your facebook page?

PS - I liked the movie, watch it!

A Reminder To Myself

2011-03-14T10:00:00.000-04:00

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Yesterday I was a bit sad. My parents just left after a 5 night stay and with all of the craziness that comes with them, it feels a bit empty with them gone.

It's so nice coming home after work to a bustling house, dinner in the works, and the dog walked. It feels like I'm on vacation when they visit! Now, this doesn't happen every time they come - I think they like to help out especially with me being pregnant now. But seriously, coming home to a house that's been vacuumed, the laundry done, and both bathrooms cleaned spotless is the highlight of my year! I am spoiled.

So, while I was feeling sad and sorry for myself, I started browsing the internet and of course stumbled upon footage of the earthquakes and tsunami in Japan. I wanted to slap myself silly right then and there for moping about my obnoxious "white girl problems" while people in many other parts of the world have serious, serious issues to deal with.

Sometimes I need a reminder...

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