The Flower Mix-Up

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!

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

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

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

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...

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

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!