{Happy Birthday}

We celebrated Trev's birthday in Cuba with a great a la carte dinner and then again when we got back with BBQ'd hamburgers (with all the fixin's) and carrot cake with cream cheese icing.

As soon as I lit the candles, Denay started blowing and she did a great job helping daddy blow them out.

To say I'm lucky, blessed or fortunate to have the husband I do is a gross understatement. Trevor is a loving father, an attentive and strong husband. He is helpful, supportive, patient and giving. He makes me want to be a better mom, wife and person every day.

Happy Birthday Babe!

I love you...........

To Make You Smile.....

Kids really do say the darnedest things.

We were just hanging out with Denay on Tuesday night, enjoying being home with her and she somehow got a hold of a loonie. She was playing with it for the longest time when she suddenly exclaimed "Oh! Duck! Wacka-Wacka (quack quack)". I laughed, surprised that she was able to make out the loon . So I turned the loonie over and asked her who was on the other side......

......and she replied, very matter-of-factly, "Oh, Jesus!".

After a very good laugh, the next thing we know, she's holding the loonie on edge and is running it down the length of our phone, then pressing the buttons and saying "devit, devit". We couldn't figure out for the longest time what she was doing until I finally realized she was saying "debit" and swiping the loonie and typing in her numbers.

Never a dull moment with this girl!

From Fun In The Sun, To Home On The Range

We were here.............doing this.......
......and now we're home and in serious catch up mode.
On the 18th, my husband, myself and two other (fabulous) couples jumped aboard a very large plane and spent the next seven days and eight nights having the absolute time of our lives in Varadero, Cuba at a gorgeous resort.

I'm still completely exhausted but have settled back into stay-at-home-motherhood without a hitch.

And boy, did I miss my baby!

I'll get a full recap done soon but for now, check out the 17-week baby belly update below!

Buenas Noches mis amigos.....

The Baby Bump Chronicles | Week 17

And......voila!

My lovely lump at week 17, taken by my wonderful husband at gorgeous Cayo Blanco in Cuba.

Other than being the only one in our group of six that couldn't have anything alcoholic to drink, international trip #2 while pregnant was amazing. I found myself very tired in the evening (after a full day of doing nothing of course) and combined with the overwhelming amount of cigarette and cigar smoke everywhere, retreated to bed at a decent hour most nights.

Other than that, nothing new to report. We saw the midwife before we left and all was well. I also got my ultrasound appointment for mid-May and I can't wait!
Love you baby!

Parents Unite!

After our last visit to the mainland (during which I experienced my first swap meet) I promised myself I would make a point to attend the biggest one held here locally when it rolled around.

Saturday morning the three of us, my pockets filled with toonies and loonies, were up, fed, dressed and out of the the house to be there at 8:30 and were even fortunate enough to run into our good friends in the parking lot.

After less than an hour, we had 41 items.......

......and spent a total of only $47.

We definitely came home with a complete summer wardrobe for Denay plus a few pairs of jeans and an absolutely "dorable" (Miss D's word) Old Navy button down jacket for the fall (first collage, lower right corner) complete with embroidery and a funky patterned lining.. And the precious pink knit Mexx sweater dress beside it? Yeah, paid $1.50 and it's never been worn.

My SIL will be so proud to hear I even tried my hand at a little bartering and wasn't as terrible at it as I thought I would be.

I was very pleased to find out that the sale comes around again in October......by then we'll have a newbie and if that newbie happens to be a boy we'll be able to save a bundle by going used on a wardrobe full of blue!

Again I stand, full of thankfulness for God's everyday provisions!

:: Our Week ::

For the past month and a bit our clothes have been coming out of the washer dirtier than when they went in. The clothes that were in direct contact with the drum during the final spin would be covered in oily spots in the pattern of the drum. If we didn't catch the stains before the clothes were dried, I have found it impossible to get them out no matter how long I soaked them or what detergent I used.

My dad came over on Monday to drop something off and somehow the issue came up and before I knew it, him and Trevor were stuffed in our tiny downstairs bathroom tearing the machine apart (for three hours).

Long story short, Trevor finally got everything back together on Saturday after a spending a good chunk of cash on a new part. Normally he can be a little impatient when it comes to home repair projects but he did so well and saved us all the money it would have cost to buy a new washer (which is what the parts guy originally told us to do). I have to say that I really missed having a washer for a week :) Thanks to my momma who let me do three loads at her place on Friday! After it seemed Trevor was totally finished with the washer on Saturday, I asked if he would have a look at my vacuum cleaner as it had been smelling like burning and was shorting out when I used it the day before. We popped the handle out of the wand and out popped a very fried prong.......bang-o, no more vacuum.
Sigh.
I started my research immediately and after dinner we were shopping. We found the unit we wanted at Canadian Tire but wanted to check out a couple more stores before we bought. We ended up at London Drugs and found what we wanted on the very top shelf with no price (of course). After hunting down an employee who hoisted the huge box off the shelf and checked the price, we were delighted (and frankly I thought the guy was teasing me) to find out that it was on sale for $75 less than the Canadian Tire price!
Thank you LORD!
We came home with a Hoover WindTunnel that was rated very well on Consumer Reports.
Even though we in no way wanted to spend a few hundred more dollars right before our big trip, we are so grateful for the small provision of an unexpected sale that saved us a little bit of money during an expensive week!
I know it's common for things to come in threes......I'm holding out that the third might be the sale of our queen bed set or winning the lottery......

(Raw Truth)

This week I sat around at table, with eight other (fabulous and amazing) moms of various ages, and cried.

I shared that I felt like a failure as a mother.

Maybe I can blame it on the pregnancy hormones, but I was abruptly struck by the brief amount of time I have with my sweet girl and deeply convicted by so many things that devastated me.

As I sat there weeping, I was surrounded with love, support, and encouragement and tears.

I left that morning feeling uplifted and with a concrete belief in a statement I heard twice that morning......

"You have everything in you to parent your child."

I have everything in me that I need to raise Denay.

I was totally overwhelmed at the caliber of mothers I was in the company of, not allowing me to believe the way I was feeling. Coming alongside me to fight against the lies I was being attacked with.

I left feeling empowered and loved and rooted in the knowledge that Denay is not just my child, she is a daughter of the King and I've got Him on my side.

Some of the moms at that meeting read my blog. You know who you are........thank you.

And to all you moms out there that have ever felt discouraged, oppressed, hopeless, angry, frustrated and like a total failure, know that you have everything in you that you need to parent your children.

If you are like me, sometimes it is an hourly battle (on those really rough days) to give all you have to your kids. And on those days that you feel like you don't have anything to give, never forget that you have a Father who can fill you to overflowing with everything you need.

|| Easter 2010 ||

The first long weekend of 2010 has come and gone and left me eager for all the other ones left to come!

Friday was the Good Friday service at church followed by a lot of rain and wind that kept us huddled inside for the day. Saturday we got ourselves up and out of the house nice and early for a trip down to Victoria to do some stroller shopping (more on that in a soon-to-come post) then an after dinner walk to Walmart and the park that caught us in a major downpour and had us totally and completely soaked by the time we got home.

Sunday I was up way too early to be at church to dance and be part of a scripture reading that left me ready for a nap by 10:00am. After church we ate our packed lunch and went to the BC Forest Museum to take in their Easter event. There were crafts, a bunny, scavenger hunt, unlimited train rides and a little bag of treats for the little ones at the end. We took Denay, still in her lovely Easter outfit (thanks Oma) and wandered around the grounds, completed the scavenger hunt and of course took a ride on the "choo-choo".

It was straight to Oma and Opa's for a nap after that.....for Denay only unfortunately.
When she finally woke up we dined on a feast of roasted whole chicken (filled to overflowing with stuffing of course), corn on the cob, herb and garlic mashed potatoes, gravy and homemade apple sauce and all topped off with yummy, yummy (best ever) Dutch Apple Pie (with french vanilla ice cream).

Here I am, 9:07 at night and I'm making myself hungry again :)

It was such a day full of joy and celebration and thanksgiving for the gift of Christ's ressurection.

What a good, gracious Father we serve!

Happy Easter.

{Big Girl Bed}

We had a pretty anticipated event take place around here last night. Back in summer, Trev's parents got Denay an extendable bed for her birthday. It's been sitting, badly needing a paint job, in our back shed waiting for me to get around for Denay to be ready to use it.

We hauled it out a just over a week ago and freshened it up with a coat of white. It took a little digging to figure out that the mattress Ikea makes for it's extendable beds was the wrong size. So a trip to the local foam shop got us a great mattress that arrived yesterday. Bedtime rolled around and Miss D* was all too ready to be in her "beeg gir bad" (big girl bed) with her "blah blah" (blankie) and "pilwoah" (pillow).

The transition was very smooth aside from a stuffy nose and a couple trips for a cuddle (which mommy doesn't mind at all). She's still also doing what she was when she was in her crib, waking up after we put her down but we got up this morning and she hadn't even gotten out of bed when she woke up to play.

Nap time was a little more complicated with her being able to see all her toys and how she can get out. We're so pleased we won't have to buy another crib for when the baby comes and relieved that Denay made this so easy on us!

It really, finally feel liks Denay's room is done, done, done!

Now, onto the baby's room......

:: Feedback ::

Okay......

I need some reassurance from all of you second (and third and fourth) time mom's out there and maybe my genius/counsellor friend M*.

Make me feel normal.

Did you experience abnormally clingy and want-mommy-all-the-time behaviour from your first before your second was born?

Yesterday in church Denay cuddled on my shoulder (which never happens unless I have blankie) for almost a full half hour before becoming completely hysterical when I tried to bring her to nursery (which is never a problem). Then when I tried to pass her to Opa to run out for a second, she got frantic and started to cry and reach for me. She never doesn't want to go to Opa.

This coupled with more hysterics before bedtime for the past two weeks, crying for mommy every time I put her in her crib and then waking up an hour or more after we put her down crying for me. We've had to bring her into our bed a couple times just to get to breathing normally again she is so upset. And she never wants Trev, just me.

Last night I had to get her lying down, cover her up, sing to her and hold her hand until she would relax and stop crying.

Now, don't get me wrong. I have no problem consoling my baby if she is upset and can't even tell you much I love having her breathing softly next to me in bed, these are some of the moments I treasure most. It's the out-of-character behaviour that's got me wondering if she understands this pregnancy more than we give her credit for. Denay is normally confident, and reasonably independant and a good go-to-sleeper and all this just isn't like her.

Anyone else been there?

As a general side note: when I was preggers with Denay, I pretty much lived off of peanut butter and banana sandwiches. This time, it's chocolate milk.

Just Because....

.......she's beautiful.

I've mentioned before on here that I am a big fan of, and use all the time, Febreze Noticables plug-in air freshener. I am constantly getting compliments about how good our house smells and considering we have an indoor cat, that's a good thing.

A few months ago I was picking up some refills and came across a new line of spray fresheners and I fell head-over-heels for their new scent Brazilian Carnival. Long story short, I've checked our numerous stores over and over again since then trying to find the scent in plug-in form. Trevor and I were grocery shopping this week and I just glanced down the aisle not expecting to see anything new but alas, I spotted a differently colored box and to my delight the scent was finally available (so I bought three in case it didn't last)!

It's not like any other scent I've ever used but it's not too sweet or fake or overpowering.......

I am in love.

{The Most Perfect Sound In The World}

Yesterday was a very, very special and happy day around here. We had our second midwife visit and we got to hear our baby's little heart beating for the first time. I honestly didn't expect to be as overwhelmed with joy as I was and even looking at the pictures makes my eyes a little watery.

Denay was so sweet and got very still when she heard the noise. Kate, our midwife, said it was time to say bye to baby and she walked over and waved at the heart rate monitor.

:: What a beautiful number ::

:: Mommy teary and excited telling Denay that the sound was baby's heart ::

And I will add that my husband did a fabulous job setting the camera by himself to get these great shots for me!

Things pregnancy-wise are still going really well. I'm feeling good and loving having another life making home inside me. Today I am 13 weeks and baby is about three inches long......I am daily overwhelmed by the beauty and miracle of life and humbled with gratitude that I was chosen to carry and care for this baby.

What a journey!

:: Easy Turkey & Stuffing Bake ::

Last night I ventured out and tried another new recipe from my Better Homes and Gardens special Comfort Foods edition and this time it was Turkey Stuffing Bake. The recipe makes enough to fill (almost to the top) a 9x13 baking dish so it's really good that Trev likes it cause he's going to be taking it for lunch for a while!

I did find that the turkey was little bit dry after being cooked through and then baked but definitely not enough so to make it unpleasant to eat.

I also added some frozen peas and corn for some extra veggies.....

Turkey & Stuffing Bake

3 cups water

1 cup chopped red pepper

1/2 cup chopped onion

*the recipe called for 1/2 long grain rice but I substituted in a cup of brown rice*

2 boxes stuffing mix

4 cups diced cooked turkey (or chicken)

3 eggs, lightly beaten

1 can cream of chicken soup

1. in medium sauce pan, bring one cup of water to boiling. add pepper, onion and uncooked rice. reduce to low heat and simmer until vegetables are tender and water is absorbed (approx. 20 minutes)

2. preheat oven to 350. in large bowl, combine stuffing mix and two cups of water. add in turkey, eggs, soup and cooked rice mixture (and this is where I added frozen peas and corn). spread into greased 9x13 baking dish.

3. bake uncovered for 35-40 minutes

4. Serve! I also shredded a little cheese and sprinkled it over top.

Bon Appetit!

Update

A few weeks ago I put up this post about some uber-cute goodies I found at Lonsdale Quay for Denay and couldn't find a website for the adorable mousey hat I bought her.

Thanks to an anonymous commenter, here is some contact info if you are interested in Knitty Bitty hats - http://knittybittyhats.blogspot.com

{Way Overdue}

Okay, I think the last time I switched up my my blog colors and pictures was, well, way too long ago. So on this quiet Saturday, while my husband played his new PS3 game and the baby slept, I tortured my eyes and gave my self a headache but managed to come up with something I like quite a lot!

Trevor helped me with a new name to go with the new look. A name that will be changing again in a few months of course.

There's nothing like a little freshening up for spring.....

:: 12 Weeks ::

I can't even tell you all how joyful I am to be writing pregnancy updates again. I am so very, very excited about this baby (which I totally think it a boy, by the way).

Thursday was the official last day of my first trimester and I can definitely say that I am feeling less tired already. This pregnancy has affected me much differently than my first in that regard; I don't remember being so exhausted with Denay. It also took me much longer to show with her :)

I have my second midwife appointment next week and we'll get to hear baby's heartbeat for the first time......and I can't wait.

:: So here's me, in all my 12-weeks-pregnant glory ::

If you go here, you can check out my 6 week and 12 week pictures from my pregnancy with Denay.
I counted today and I get to take my 16 week picture on the sunny beaches of Varadero!Have a great weekend friends and be sure to check back next week for an update on our midwife visit!

{Creamy (Yummy) Baked Potato Soup}

While at my inlaws this weekend, I came across a magazine with this recipe on the cover and I couldn't help but pick it up.

{I will add here that I am really not a magazine reader, at all}

I ended up flipping through the whole thing, making myself very hungry in the process. Just before we left I very casually ask my mother-in-law if she would notice if the magazine disappeared. Turns out she'd thought of me when she bought it and graciously let me take it home (thanks mum!).

The entire ferry ride home I was earmarking and starring each recipe that caught my eye but I wanted to try this one first.

Here's how mine turned out.......

Yummy. Yummy.

This soup eats like a meal for sure! I went the more calorie friendly route and used turkey bacon and we really didn't notice the difference!

This is a great quick meal that is ideal comfort food for sure.

You can check out the recipe here and I would love to hear if/when any of my friends out there give it a try.

{Swap Meet}

On Saturday morning my MIL and SIL took me to a little kids swap meet at a church nearby. My SIL swears by swap meets and always finds the greatest deals on clothes for her two busy boys. I went not expecting much and knowing that Denay did really need anything knew if the least that happened was that I got to spend sometime with my MIL and SIL, that would be more than enough. Little did I know......

I came home with 12 baby girl clothing items and only $42 was spent. Most of the items seemed totally unused and the best find (thank Joanne!) was the adorable white and cable knit Gap winter jacket that I think I paid $10 for and it is completely spotless.

To say the very least I am a believer in Swap meets and fully plan to attend the biggest one held here in a few weeks.

Thanks for the great day J* and S* and thanks for helping me with all the great finds!

:: Bob-Bob's Birthday ::

We were on the mainland this weekend to celebrate my father-in-laws 57th birthday. Pretty much any kind of activity exhausts me these days but we just spent lots of time relaxing and watching the little ones play together. Since we weren't going to be together for Easter, my MIL had an egg hunt for the kids. I was surprised how quickly Denay picked it up and I think her bucket was almost the fullest out of the kids (not that that had anything to do with me helping her). We also enjoyed a very nice steak dinner and my SIL Shawna's amazing carrot cake.

On Sunday we enjoyed a great service at CLA, where we got to see lots of friends, and then were back at Trev's parent's for a yummy yummy brunch. Paul came inside just before we ate and told me I needed to bring my camera, so out I went to find this.......

......Denay was all ready for a quad ride with Jacob. She got to the end of the driveway and onto the road and then the breakdown happened. Auntie Shawna saved the day and tried a couple more times to no avail. Then Paul came and got me again and I arrived outside to see my husband squished into a toddler toy with Denay on this lap and that was the only way she wanted to ride!

It was so good to see Denay having fun with her cousins and to see her cousins mushing her with kisses and love.

Ahh, I am blessed with marvelous family.