my village

They say it takes a village to raise a child.

This is my village.

(Or at least, part of it.)

In my village there are friends who take each and every step of the motherhood journey alongside me. There are people who I can call at 3 am if I need to – without questions asked. There are people who offer to watch my kids at the jump of a hat when I am in need. There are people who go out of their way to care for us, to love us, to pray for us. There are people who deliver me iced coffee. Bring us food when we’re sick. Stop and pick up groceries because they know it will take a load off my shoulders. There are people who know my favourite treats, my bad habits, my strengths and my weaknesses – yet still accept me as I am. In my village there are children I have prayed for since before they existed. Children who I eagerly anticipated alongside their mothers. Children I love beyond words, even if they don’t belong (entirely) to me. In my village, there are best friends for my babies.

In my village there are prayer warriors. There are secret keepers. There are babysitters. There are encouragers. Supporters. Mentors. In my village, there are funny people with whom I love to laugh. There are people who have seen my in both my brightest moments and my darkest hours. In my village, there are faith builders and role models. In my village, there is a great deal of wisdom to be imparted.

In my village there are parents, grandparents, sisters, bothers, aunts, uncles and best friends, all who support us every day, in each decision. There are people who care for my babies as though they were their own. People I’m proud to know and love.

They say it takes a village to raise a child.

This is my village.

And I’m pretty darn blessed to be belong to it.

Ho ho ho!

Yesterday was a big day for us. We kicked off the holiday season with a bang by going to the mall to visit Santa and take a ride (or four) on the Polar Bear Express. Before I go further, let me mention that this was Eva’s first trip into real public wearing undies since she’s been potty trained. She has gotten out of the house a lot but just to school, church and friend’s/family’s homes. It was the first time in a store or mall or anything like that. So, it could have been a disaster. But of course, it was not. She did great on the 45 minute drive there. Told me she had to go potty when we got there so we raced into Old Navy and she went. Of course she went a few more times while we were there … I’m pretty sure the novelty of going into the bathroom was a big part of it because she never has to pee that often, but hey. Along with that, she behaved so well which sometimes isn’t always the case when you try to contain a toddler in a stroller in the mall. She sat nicely for dinner and listened to me and the bestie’s the whole time. What a sweet girl. On the way home, I told her how proud I was that she was such a good girl and listened and obeyed the whole time we were out. She said… “And Cindy, too. I proud of Cindy. She a good girl, too”. Well, props to Cindy.

Now onto the good stuff. We had heard that the mall had a pretty sweet Santa display so we decided to hit the town and take the kids. The day before, I started prepping Evalyn because I had a feeling she might not be too pumped with the Big Guy once we got there. When I showed her the picture of her sitting on Santa’s lap last year, she looked at me like I must be crazy. Like, “waitaminute … you’re going to make me sit there with that big creepy guy"? But, despite that, she seemed excited. She asked over and over again when we were going to see Santa. When she got up yesterday she was a bit confused and asked “Can we go see Jesus now?” Erm, gotta get this straight, I guess. I took her to preschool in the morning and she excitedly told her teacher that she would be going to see Santa after nap.

When we got home, I’ve never seen her eat lunch that fast and be that eager to go to sleep. On the drive to the mall she asked me if we were at Santa’s house yet about 483902483 times. Asked if he would be on a big chair. If he’d have a beard. If she could say “Merry Christmas” to him. Once we got there, she was excited but waited pretty patiently while I went to a store to do a return. We met up with the girls and the babes and headed to Santa. I was still pretty confident that she might totally back out as soon as she saw him.

When we got there, there was no line up but one child already speaking with Santa, so we were up next. That’s when the positive self talk started. She was like, “I want to see Santa. I don’t want to see Santa. I don’t want to sit with him. Is it my turn now? I don’t want to see him. Can I go say hi now?” When it was our turn, I was holding Gwen so I took her hand and started to walk toward him. Then she started back pedaling. She put the breaks on. I told her that she didn’t have to sit on his lap, just say hi. So Gwennie sat on his lap and Eva hesitantly got up beside him on the bench.

She was just so cute. She was obviously nervous and hesitant of him but wanted so badly to enjoy it and have fun. At one point, she even said, “Dis is fun. Sitting wis Santa is fun” with a shaky, kind of whimpery voice. Despite her reservations she was so polite to Santa. Wished him a Merry Christmas and thanked him for the candy cane and coloring book.

As soon as she was done with Santa, she wasted no time in getting in line for the train ride. She had fun yelling “ALL ABOARD” and looking at all the directions around the track. Mr. Conductor made the ride even better with his excitement and animation. And of course, the girls and I kept ourselves totally reserved and quiet. Pause, not. It was like housewives gone wild. We were hooping and hollering like we were on the biggest roller coaster of our lives. We’ve already made plans to go back next week. Without the kids. Okay, maybe not. But, seriously … we are taking the kids back at least once more before Christmas and are intending to wear that train ride out! We may even make it a goal to get banned.

 

After Santa, we went to grab some dinner. Hello, Poutine! Best friends, Santa, train rides and poutine all in one afternoon? I can hardly handle it! During dinner, Evalyn kept asking over and over again if we could see Santa again.

So, duh. We did. And this time, we managed to snag this beauty …Imagine a world where you get a picture of Santa with three moms and four kids and everyone is looking at the camera! My pictures aren’t the greatest because I only had my phone. I figured we wouldn’t be allowed to take our own photos so I didn’t even bother with my camera. I will know better for next time. They let us take as many as we wanted and we didn’t have to pay for their over priced lame photos.

Before heading home we may or may not have taken another spin around the train. Can you blame us? I mean, really.

If this wasn’t enough to get me in the holiday spirit, we have been wearing Christmas PJs, watching Christmas shows, reading Christmas books, playing with Christmas toys and wrapping Christmas presents like crazy around here. We don’t have our tree or decorations up (this weekend, folks) but we are in the spirit around here, nonetheless. I am so excited for this year – Gwen’s first Christmas, our first Christmas in our new home and the first year that Evalyn is showing some major excitement and understanding about the holiday season.

It’s going to be a fun, fun month.

we’ll call this the kick off

It is absolutely no secret that autumn is the favourite time of year around our home. The smells, the tastes, the colours – we love it all. This year I haven’t gotten as “in” to fall as I normally do. Because I’m still working on basic every day settling around here, getting out fall decorations has been the furthest thing from my mind. It would be kind of hard to decorate when there’s not much to put decorations on as we don’t have shelves or anything up yet. Anyhoo – I wasn’t feeling my normal sense of peace and contentment that comes with the fall this year and that was starting to bother me. But then this weekend happened and I was reunited with my favourite time of year.

Saturday was a beautiful day. Sunny, cool and crisp. The token autumn day. I spent my morning baking four pies (which has not happened around these parts in a long time), making a pot of chili, washing and hanging laundry on the clothes line. I felt productive, organized and all together good.

And then it got even better when the girls woke up from their naps and we headed out to the Pumpkin Patch with a few friends. Evalyn was so excited about it - she had a blast leading everyone through the corn “amazing”, seeing the animals in the barn and picking out her favourite pumpkin. Gwen had a blast too, clearly.

It was wonderful time spent with our dearest friends. And don’t worry – no one got hit in the head with the “falling” acorns. Although there certainly were some close calls (um, yeah, my husband is definitely the one who thought it would be funny to chuck acorns at people’s heads while in the hay maze).

And of course the day wouldn’t have been complete without three crazy mothers attempting to wrangle their four children into a pile of pumpkins for some pictures. Never mind the fact that only one of these children is remotely able to follow instructions and 2 of them cannot even move, let alone support their own heads. As you can see, that turned out well for us.

(Aren’t my besties perrrrrdy?)

It was a lovely, perfect day. We shall call this the kick off to the fall season.

I’d Like to Thank….

The last few months have been crazy. To say the least. My sweet friend Lindsey said once that this an experience we’ll look back on in 20 years around a table with friends and laugh at. “Hey, remember the time we bought a fixer upper, renovated, had a baby and moved all in the course of two months? Remember that? Ha. That was so funny.” I hope she’s right. Because I sure ain’t laughing just yet.

Needless to say, we have survived. We are all still alive, happy and thriving. Neither Evan or I have killed each other or done each other any permanent harm. My babies are healthy and happy. Our home is coming together nicely. We have survived. But, not alone. Not even a little bit alone.

So, right now I’d like to thank….

Barney, Diego, Dora and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse … for occupying my toddler for many, many, many more hours than I’d care to admit.

McDonald’s Vanilla Iced Coffee and Pepsi Cola … for giving me a daily boost of caffeine. Or seven.

Our friends and family … for every little thing you’ve done. For babysitting, for packing boxes, for unpacking boxes, for cleaning, for bringing food, for laying shingles and hardwood, for painting, for keeping me company while Evan was working around the clock, for the hours and hours and hours of time you’ve given to us. I thought of including some names here, but I know I would forget someone.

My babies … for sleeping well, for transitioning well and for smiling even when I am the most boring Mama in the world and spend too much time working and not enough time playing.

My husband … for busting his booty getting this place ready for us to call home.

My tweeps … for keeping me sane. All the time.

Our church family … for two weeks of wonderful, wonderful meals brought to us daily – making it so that I didn’t have to cook for the first 5 (yes, 5) weeks of Gwen’s life.

Our dreams are becoming our reality but we couldn’t have done it alone. Really, we couldn’t have. And we are so deeply and forever grateful for the support we are constantly shown by our loved ones.

I have so many posts I want to write. I want to answer your questions about homebirth, I want to write a post explaining the significance of Gwen’s name, I want to show you what both my kids are up to, show you some pictures of our house, and share some stories about the adventures of our new life. These will all come in time, I suppose. For now, I’m still trying figure out which way is up.

Zoo-rific

Yep. I titled this post “zoo-rific”. If that doesn’t make me a toddler mom, I don’t know what does.

Last week, Evalyn and I had the pleasure of spending the morning at our local zoo with our very best mates, C-Biscuit and Willmo. The weather was absolutely perfect – not too hot but not cold, either.

Neither C or I had been to this zoo before but we were both pretty impressed. It’s not huge – we were able to cover the entire thing (including a longgggggggggggggg, unnecessary detour through no man’s land where there were zero animals) in just under two hours, which meant we got to see everything but not have to drag the kids around for longer than they would be happy.

There was also an awesome looking playground, splash park and ropes course but we didn’t spend any time there this time.

Willmo is a wee bit young to really grasp the full beauty of the zoo, so he just chewed on his hat the whole time, but the girls sure loved it.

It was so exciting for me to see how much Evalyn enjoyed it. The monkeys were first on our path and she was so giddy with excitement. “Yook Mommy! Monkey” and “See it? Touch it? Hold it?” She also quickly figured out that there was so! much! to! see! and didn’t want to waste any time. She would spend a few seconds looking at one animal and say something like “Cute monkey” or “Hold it, monkey” and then look up at me and say, “Okay. Noser [another] animo!” and when we walked past cages that had nothing in them, she’d say, “Uh oh. Nobody’s der!”

The giraffes really excited her which I was happy about since they are one of my favourite things to see at the zoo. She wanted to stretch her neck to make it long just like them and kept asking me to “touch it, hold it”. Unfortunately, her desire to “touch it, hold it” was completely reversed just as soon as she got her wish. These guys were friend-ly! and when one leaned down and licked Eva on the cheek, she flipped.

It was a perfect morning. I love Evalyn’s age, where she is old enough to get excited and enjoy these types of things. The things that I’ve been waiting my whole life to experience with my children.

Oops. I wrote a weekend re-cap

This weekend was good. Just oh so good. I don’t normally do weekend recaps but here I am, 8:20 on Sunday evening, with my husband snoring his face off on the couch, and I can’t help but think that so much good happened this weekend. Nothing overly spectacular, but just good. It started out with a quick, impromptu trip across the border with my two favourite people – the hubby and the child. And let me tell you, successful trip indeed. We picked up the first year photo book that I put a ton of time into making for Evalyn. I had been so anxious to get my hands on it. And? I am so, so happy. It turned out so well that I may or may not have cried when looking through it for the first time. And second time. And hundredth time.

After that, the night got even better as I scarfed my face with my beloved Chipotle. It’s probably a good thing that this chain doesn’t exist in my country. That, my friends, could be bad news. Pass the guacamole!

Once I had my fill of chips and guacmole, I rolled myself two doors down to Carter’s where I totally scored some sweet deals on Evalyn’s wardrobe for next fall/winter. I realize I am so lucky that I have been able to fairly accurately predict her sizes for upcoming seasons. Because, 12 pairs of leggings, 6 PJs, a skirt, a poncho, 2 sweaters and 3 tops for $96? THAT is a darn good deal.

We finished the night off with a quick trip to Target. Considering I only get to go there once every few months, it was kind of a flop. But, what can you do when your shopping partner is having a meltdown and whining to go home? (Oh, and Evalyn was ready to leave, too). I did snag myself a lovely, much needed, new pair of maternity jeans.

When a weekend starts like that, with a trip to the states with zero wait at the border, delicious food, and great deals? You know it’s gonna be a good one.

Saturday got even better. We had a quiet day at home and Evalyn and I played, and played, and played. We found out that my mom is planning to make a quick visit down here this week, so that added to the loveliness of the day. I caught up on paper work at the beginning of her nap and then climbed on in bed with my newest read: Divergent. (Read it? No. Go. Now. Start).

Saturday night is where it got really good. Our BFF’s Bigg Burd and C-Biscuit came over for dinner with their sweet little five week old William (or, Me-ooo, as Evalyn calls him) and I got me some newborn baby snuggles. When we spend time with them it makes me even more excited about the arrival of #2. Also, a little more nervous as the pre-bedtime portion of the evening was spent with me saying, “Oh. Be soft. His eyes are special. Don’t poke his eyes! No, honey, don’t sit on the baby’s face. Oh no, Eva, that ball is too big for William to play with. Don’t put it on him”. At least we’ve got lots of time for her practice and make him her guinea pig so she won’t do any real damage to her own baby. Kidding. Despite the craziness of trying to wrangle her off him the entire evening, once she went to bed, I got to spend hours laying on the couch, breathing in his sweet newborn smell, while he dozed and we watched movies.

And the best part? The very, very, very best part?

While we were snuggling, Baby C #2 seemed to get a lil’ jealous because I felt him/her move! Like crazy. I have been anxiously awaiting feeling movement since I know how amazing it is. I didn’t feel Evalyn until close to 22 weeks because of anterior placenta so I knew it could still be a while but I was hopeful that this one’s squirms would show up sooner. And looks as though my hope came true.

Today was church and lunch followed by a glorious three and a half hour nap for the babe while I snuggled in bed and polished off the last few chapters of Divergent. It was just all together a restful, enjoyable, satisfying weekend.

It’s these kind of weekends just make me feel all kinds of full heart happy.

Mom-munity

Sometimes I find myself feeling down about the judgement that moms pass on other moms. We all know it happens. We all know the issues. Natural birth versus medicated birth. Breastfeeding versus formula feeding. Co-sleeping versus sleep training. Purees versus baby led weaning. Immunizations versus delayed or no immunizations. Working versus staying home. And the list goes on. And on, and on, and on. These are only the issues that I’ve come face to face with in my short 15 and a bit months of parenting. I’m sure these things won’t stop once we enter early childhood years, and middle childhood years, and then (gulp), the teen years.

And, let me be straight up here. I’m not innocent. Admittedly, but unfortunately, I am guilty of passing judgements on other mother’s based on the decisions they are making for their children. It’s not cool, but it’s reality. I’m not trying to play off like I’m blameless.

But, there’s another side to the story as well. I’ve had so many experiences lately where I realize that I am so lucky and so blessed to have found myself a place in this community – or mom-munity, perhaps – where I have support, encouragement and friendship with other mothers.

This mom-munity has been blessing me tremendously lately. From excitement and care regarding our next baby being born, to prayers for health when we’ve been sick, to blog friends sending me maternity clothes to borrow and just all around friendship encouragement. A while back I wrote a post about feelings of guilt I’ve struggled with since becoming pregnant with #2, then just last week, I wrote a post about weaning my baby girl. Both raw, honest, difficult posts to write. And the response and support I got through comments, twitter and e-mails? So encouraging. Knowing that all of you other Mamas care about the struggles I’m facing, and that I’m not alone, that you’ve been where I am right now? These things remind me just how wonderful this mom-munity can be.

Randoms for Monday

* I do not understand daylight savings time. I had to ask Evan approximately 4902882 times if it meant Eva would sleep in later, get up earlier, go to bed later, or go to bed later. “So, when she goes to bed at 7, it will feel like 6? Or 8? Or what?” Sorry but my brain haz a tiny.

* Thankfully, even though E did try to wake up hours early on Sunday morning, I was able to trick her back to sleep and we all ended up enjoying that extra hour to the fullest.

* This weekend I spent Saturday morning at a baby shower. I put Eva down for a nap before I left and when she got up, Evan told me she said “Oh dada. Mama go?” See? She does miss me when I’m gone.

* We got to enjoy a super last minute impromptu (childless) double date with our good friends on Saturday night. Let me tell you, that night out? Was needed. What a great time. And I would be lying if I said that live in baby sitters weren’t the most awesome thing on the planet.

* The weather has been beautiful lately. We’re enjoying fall to the max. Trying not to think about what’s around the corner.

* Cinnamon Pastry K-Cups? Yes please.

* My mom is here for a visit. We look forward to these days so, so, so much. Spending time with Nana is good for the soul.

Happy Monday, Friends!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween from the cutest little peacock you ever did see!

I took her out for her very first trick or treating adventure on Saturday, since I have to work Mondays. And girlfriend rolled in the goodies! Her bag was full of bubble bath, raisins, chocolate, sour candy, and of course – apples! Don’t worry, I took care of the chocolate and sour candy right away so she wouldn’t get into it. But, thanks to Uncle Big Burdd and Auntie Marica, Evalyn now knows the beauty of Sour Patch Kids and Caramilk bars.

How many Halloweens do you think we’ll get where she chooses the apple over the candy?

Happy Halloween!

it makes it okay.

It’s been about a month since I began the transition from full time SAHM to part time working mom. Funny how when this happens, you don’t suddenly become a part time mom. Rather, you are still a full time mom and you just have to figure out how and where to add employment into your life, fitting it around your duties as wife/mom as best you can.

I’ll have to admit, in the weeks leading up to my return to work, I was scurrrrrrred. I had no idea how I’d find the balance between work life and home life. I didn’t know how I would feel about leaving Evalyn with someone. I didn’t know how Evalyn would do away from me. If you read my whiny posts, you’ll know that I was struggling. Of course, just like any situation in my life that I worry about, looking back I realize there wasn’t much to worry about. So far, the transition has gone very well. I’m thankful that my work load has increased (and will continue to increase) gradually. I was able to dip my toes in and slowly wade in rather than taking a huge belly flop of the high dive.

What I’ve learned is that there are some things that have made my transition to work okay. Some things that have really, really helped and, believe it or not, even made me look forward to and enjoy the challenge.

I mean, first of all, and obviously, having a second income has been a definite bonus. But that’s not what I’m talking about. There are other things that make it okay.

I have loved, absolutely loved, getting to choose real person clothes to wear to work every day. I don’t have a dress code at work. I can wear sweat pants and a tshirt if I want. But I choose to look a little better than that because it’s one of the few times that I can. I don’t usually do dress pants, often jeans, but I like to make myself look (somewhat) put together. It’s fun being able to pick out outfits that I don’t have to worry if I can nurse discreetly in, or if the snot that Evalyn wipes on my shoulder will show up, or if she’ll strangle me when she pulls on my necklace 45825 times in the first three minutes after I put it on. It’s nice to be excited about style.

Another thing that makes it okay is having a kid who has done so very well with the transition. She hasn’t gotten upset when I leave her yet. She has napped well almost every time she’s been away from me. She goes to bed just fine for Evan, my mom, her aunties, the girls upstairs – no one has ever had an issue putting her to bed. She flips back and forth from sippy cup of cow’s milk to nursing like it’s no big deal. My worries about how she would do without me? Ha. Enough said.

Right now, she’s spending most of my work days with one of my best friends. Can I tell you how much more at ease I am knowing that she in the hands of someone who I would trust with my own life? I know that C knows Evalyn’s schedule, habits, likes, dislikes, and habits almost as well as I do. She has spent a lot of time with her since we see her multiple times per week, even before she started watching her. She knows when to put her down early, or keep her up a bit longer. She knows just how much fussing is okay before going in to check her. She knows her favourite toys, songs and games. She just knows her. And that? That makes leaving her 100% easier.

And, of course, the last thing that I’ve found that makes it okay is getting to experience the excitement Evalyn shows when I pick her up. Before I started working, I was rarely away from her during the day. Most of the time when I , went out, it was in the evening. Either after she went to bed or for dinner or what not, which meant she’d be sleeping when I got home. And, you know, by morning time, she doesn’t remember that I was away the night before. Now? When I get to C’s to pick her up, she remembers that she missed me. I get a little taste of the excitement she shows when Evan gets home from work each night. She smiles, laughs, sometimes claps her hand and boogies her little tooshie over to me to give me a hug and cling to me like I am the most prized possession in the world. And that feeling? It makes it okay.

things that are awesome

Today is Friday. That is one thing that is awesome. That means Evalyn and I survived the week without Daddy. Wait, I didn’t tell you? He’s been gone since last Friday. He had a moose hunting trip planned and was actually supposed to be gone for almost two weeks, but left later than anticipated due to Gram’s funeral. Evalyn and I filled our week with tons of stuff so it flew by. But, even so, we are ready for Daddy to come home. More than ready.

So, aside from it being Friday, what else is awesome? I’m going to tell you.

Shopping with my mom is awesome. Has there ever been a better shopping partner? I think not. Having a baby who does well while shopping and acts like an angel even when you tote her all over God’s green earth? Also awesome.

Along the same lines, having small feet that fit into kids shoes is awesome. When we were shopping I was searching for boots. I searched high and low and found nothing I liked. I wandered into the kid’s section at Target to look for shoes for my little, and whatddya know? I found myself some boots. That fit. And are comfy. And were $22. Three pairs of boots for under $70? Um, yes, that is awesome.

Bonefish Grill is awesome. I’ve been waiting over two years to try that place. There is one in the mall where I often go shopping in the states, but the problem is that it’s only open for dinner and I am usually there during the day. When I drag my child around the state of New York take Evalyn shopping in that states, it usually works out to being too long of a day for her if we try to stay over until dinnertime. So, no Bonefish Grill. But? On Sundays? Dinner starts at 3pm. 3pm is not too long of a day, especially since Eva took an hour and a half nap in the Walmart parking lot {fear not, I stayed in the car while my mom shopped and then we swapped}. We had a light snack for lunch and an early dinner at Bonefish. And I was not disappointed. Not even a little bit. I will be returning. Even if it takes me another two years.

Having a baby who says HI to literally every single person whom we pass in the grocery store, mall, library, or street is awesome. Especially when she says it over and over again, louder and louder each time if they don’t respond.

This is awesome:

Having a tight knit family is awesome. Both Evan and I come from large families that are very close. Siblings, nieces, nephews, parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents – the whole shabang. I’ve been reminded of the blessing that a tight knit, supportive family is a few times in the past two weeks. Family is awesome.

And, good friends are awesome. I’m sure I’ve said it before, but I will definitely say it again: I have amazing friends. Not just decent friends. Amazing friends. Friends who will babysit my kid at the drop of a hat, friends who give me a gift card for a massage on my daughter’s birthday because they want to spoil me, friend’s who call me unexpectedly just to chat, friend’s who love my kid like she is their own. Those kind of friends. Seriously, awesome.

Having a baby who walks up to me, hugs me and says “Mama” is awesome. Actually, it’s even more than awesome.

Having a nightmare about getting chased through a very odd apartment building with my girl Crystal and waking myself up at 3am when I yell “HURRY, open the door” and then laughing at myself when I realize the stupidity of it all is awesome.

Pepsi is awesome. Chips and salsa are awesome.

And, once again, Friday is awesome.

A Bushel and a Peck Birthday

I started thinking about Evalyn’s birthday party a few months ago. I was racking my brain trying to think of a creative, personal, cute theme that we could center her party around. We were out for a walk one day and I was looking around our farm and the area surrounding it and thought that it would be fun to play on the fact that we live in the country and her birthday is in the fall. My first thought was to do a pumpkin patch or harvest party. But, I just wasn’t feeling it. A few days later, she and I were playing together and I started singing, “I love you a bushel and a peck, a bushel and a peck and a hug around the neck…”

And I knew. THAT would be the most perfect theme. I even knew that I already had a dress for her to wear that would fit so well.

The next few months were full of ideas and planning and craft and, you know, LOTS of list making. And in the end, I was so happy with the result. I loved her party. It was absolutely perfect. A day where we were gathered with our friends and family, celebrating the first year of this sweet angel’s life.

Most of the decorations were handmade, whether by me or someone else. A friend of mine from church used her die cut machine to cut out the letters and apples and I made the two sided banner using coordinating scrapbook paper and jute. It turned out 195893 times better than I pictured. The photo display was made using a frame that Ev built, painted and distressed. I printed her monthly monkey photos in sepia with a white border and used small apple die cuts, with brown letter stickers to mark the months. (And, um, yea, both the banner and the photo display are still hanging. And will be for a while). The beautiful painted canvas was a very special gift from my dear friend Gina. This was the first decoration that I had, and so, everything else was centered around it. And I love it. The tin flower pots were bought at Ikea and, again, I used a small apple die cut and brown stickers to personalize them a bit.

For the guestbook, I got a copy of the kid’s book version of the “Bushel and a Peck” song. I stuck some yellow cardstock inside the covers, and had it sitting out with pens so everyone could leave a message for the lady. I also used her first birthday portrait, caramels and other little apple decorations to put finishing touches on the decor.

The centrepieces were made with miniature bushel baskets from Michaels, filled with fall mums and handmade tags, done by me. There were four of them. I love you. A Bushel and a Peck. A Hug Around the Neck. A Barrel and a Heap. I gave these away as the prizes for the people who got the most points on the All About Evalyn quiz.

For the favours, my girlfriends and I busted our butts making beautiful, delicious caramel and chocolate apples. We used peanuts, skor bits, and reese pieces as the toppings. Yum. Tied them up with cellophane, coordinating thank you tags and jute – and there you have it. I also had brown paper bags filled with sweet and salty kettle corn – as that stuff, thanks to my friends, helped me survive the first year of motherhood. They were stamped with a small apple stamp, tied with jute and had a thank you tag as well.

The (gorgeous) smash cake was made for Evalyn by her ever so talented Auntie Caley. And the cupcakes were made by my mom and myself.

Now let’s move on to the party itself. Evalyn was surrounded by her cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents and friends as we celebrated her life. What a fun day! The weather was gorgeous. We couldn’t have asked for a more perfect day.

Tons (read: way too much) yummy food.

And a snoopy girl who wanted to dig into the gifts.

A few photos of the birthday girl and my family on party day.

She had so much fun opening her presents and definitely had some help from her cousins. The singing Mickey Mouse card? Highlight of her life. The chair she is sitting in so proudly was her birthday gift from her daddy – built with his own two hands.

Watching her smash her cake was hilarious, since she hates to have anything messy on her hands. She wasn’t so pumped. She would grab a chunk of icing and then shake it off her hand as fast as she could. Girlfriend doesn’t know what she’s missing.

It was such a special, perfect day.

I’m not here. I’m there. Or something.

Thanks again for all of the prayers being offered on behalf of our family. We greatly appreciate them and they are truly being felt. Thank you also for all of the happy birthday wishes for my little lady yesterday.

I won’t be around here today but you can head over to Loves of Life where one of my very besties, Katie, writes and listen to me spout off about all the things I wish I knew about becoming a parent. Now that I have an entire year under my belt, I figured I might have some wisdom to share. Or not.

Katie is witty, and funny, and real – and definitely one of the best writers I know. I’m honoured that she’s given me the chance to invade her space while she’s off enjoying fun in the sun with her husband – sans baby. Hello, jealous!

So, go on. What are you waiting for? Head on over.

Silent Sunday: It’s HERE!

The decorations are made. The menu is planned. The guests are on their way.The day is finally here.

This afternoon, we’ll be kicking it autumn style with our family and friends as we celebrate the big FIRST BIRTHDAY of our Evalyn.

Stay tuned next week for a whole line up of birthday posts. I’m going to tell you about the theme, the dress, the inspiration, the invitations, the food, the decorations, the guests, the planning, the games, and on and on and on. I’m going to over do it. I’m going to annoy you. I’m going cherish the last week that my first child is a baby. I’m going to celebrate her life to the max. What can I say? My firstborn will only turn one once. Can you really blame me?

This one’s for you…

A few years ago, if anyone had told me about this crazy thing called Twitter, I would have laughed in their face and told them I’d never get sucked up in something so stupid. Who would care if I had grilled cheese for lunch or if I peed three times in one hour or if I stubbed my toe on the side of my bed?

But then I got pregnant and I started “meeting” more and more Mommy bloggers as well as a bunch of non-Mommy bloggers who raved about the Twitter so I decided to check it out. While I was pregnant I asked a lot of questions to my twitter friends (who will be referred to as my "tweeps” from here on in). They eased my worries when I was unsure of something, they got excited with me when I felt the first little kicks, they tossed around baby names with me and they eagerly anticipated the birth of my babe right along with me.

And then, after I gave birth to Evalyn, my tweeps became even more important to me. I remember signing on shortly after her birth and seeing the many, many, many messages wishing me luck and cheering me on throughout the day as people started to notice I wasn’t around and figured out that I was in labour. I remember the congratulations when I introduced my little girl to the twitter world. I remember the help I got through the difficult days of the baby blues, how I had boobie cheerleaders supporting me and encouraging me when breastfeeding was difficult, how I had people help keep me sane and overcome many sleepless nights and how I have had an unending support system through every single challenge I have faced as a parent.

My tweeps, I thank you. We’re creeping up on the one year mark since I became a Mama. And I don’t think I could have done it without you. I’m not sure I would have survived the year without you. Maybe Eva wouldn’t have either. Some of you I’ve ‘known’ since long before I got pregnant with Eva, and I can remember sharing my big news with you. Some of you I got to know during my pregnancy. Maybe we were pregnant together. Maybe you already had a little (or two, or three, or four…) and I was looking ahead to what was in store for me through your experiences. Some of you I didn’t meet until my little girl had already arrived. Many of you I have picked up along the way.

But all of you? All of you have helped me, given me advice, eased my worries, celebrated my joys, and laughed at (some) of my jokes. I have made friends who have babies who were born within days of my own. Babies who have an identical wardrobe to my kid. Heck, I’ve even found a few prospects for future son-in-laws.

People outside the Twitterverse don’t understand what it’s all about. They don’t get how people can form a connection by sending 140 character messages back and forth. But they can. So many days during the past year were spent without seeing or speaking to another human being that weighed more than 20 pounds. On those days, my tweeps have been my lifeline. A connection to the outside world, if you will.

You have all been there with me as I have watched my baby girl transform so quickly from a teeny, squishy newborn to a spunky, determined, energetic little girl. And, likewise, I have watched your babies grow and learn and be so super cute all along the way. I have been filled with excitement over pregnancy announcements. I have checked in incessantly when I know a twitter baby is being born. I have cried happy tears when your babies turned 1. I have mourned over loss and heartache with you. I have congratulated you and been proud of you for accomplishments in your work and academic fields. I have prayed for you and you have prayed for me.

So, my tweeps, my friends – this one’s for you.

What Life is Made of

Forgive me in advance as I’m about to embark on the sappiest of all sappy posts. But? I just can’t help it. My heart is just so full. So deal with it.

It’s Monday morning. Usually Monday mornings are filled with rumbles and grumbles about starting a new week. But not today. Today, I’m eager to get things accomplished and have a great week. That’s what happens when you have an amazing weekend that fills you up with energy and life. (See? Uber sap. Don’t say I didn’t warn you).

On Saturday night, Evan and I got to spend the evening out together celebrating our fifth wedding anniversary. The actual anniversary is not until the 12th (so no worries, you still have time to get those presents in the mail), but we celebrated early because of other commitments next weekend. I got dressed up. I (gasp) did my hair and makeup. We dropped the kiddo off at her auntie’s midafternoon and headed out. We scarfed down enjoyed a delicious Italian meal. Salad, Italian wedding soup, rice balls, calamari, crispy ravioli, surf and turf ravioli and penne rustica followed by – are you ready for this – a dessert pizza smothered with nutella, strawberries, bananas and whipped cream. Could there be anything better? I think not.

After dinner, we waddled back to the truck and headed to the movie theatre. Seeing a movie wouldn’t be our traditional anniversary date – I always want to do something a little more interactive, but now that we have a kiddo? Seeing a movie? Bliss. Especially when that movie is the final instalment of Harry Potter … a love that we’ve shared since the beginning of our relationship.

We’ve come to appreciate nights out so much now that we have a baby. Obviously. No screaming to control during dinner, no one throwing food on the floor, no faces to wipe (well, except mine, since Evan pointed out that I had managed to get sauce all over my forehead), no butts to wipe. Just us. Me and him.

The best part of a date night is coming home and finding out that the kiddo was an angel for her aunties. No fussing. No trouble. No acknowledgment that mommy and daddy were even missing. That makes the date even better.

And as if that wasn’t enough, the weekend got even better. On Sunday, we packed a picnic and headed to Happy Rolph’s Petting Zoo after church. Evalyn fell asleep on the way and snoozed through half of the picnic but woke up just in time to see all the fun animals.

At first she wasn’t sure about the goats, but quickly got excited. We saw baby goats, sheep, pigs, llama llama red pajamas, donkeys, a cow, a horse and chickens. She was pumped. Although, as you can see in the middle right photo, she thought those chickens were old news!

Our weekend finished off with an afternoon and evening spent with our best friends. The boys did work, and the girls watched some Wiggles (keep your eyes peeled for a supah cute video of girlfriend getting down to the Wiggles), we ate Chinese food, went for a ride on the swing and enjoyed our day.

After weekends like this, I realize how blessed I am. To have family and friends to enjoy life with? There’s nothing better.

Baby Muffins and More

On the weekend, I tweeted about making some baby friendly muffins for Eva and quite a few of you said that you’d like the recipe. I got this recipe from my friend, Trish, who makes them for her little girl. (Trish – if you’re reading, thanks for the recipe!) My sister also makes them and has had good success with them.

They are a great on the go snack and are perfect for letting your little one practicing feeding him/herself. Eva wants so badly to feed herself but has trouble coordinating herself to get food into hand into mouth. Especially since many of the foods she is eating are slippery and difficult to pick up. Little pieces of these muffins on her tray have been working perfectly.

Here’s the recipe:

2 cups mashed banana (about 5 bananas)
1/3 cup applesauce (I added a bit more)
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 cups brown rice flour

Mix all ingredients until well blended and smooth. Pour into greased muffin tins. Bake at 350 – for about 20 minutes (regular muffins), or 8 -10 minutes (mini muffins).

I plan on experimenting with throwing in some grated carrot and/or zucchini and possibly blueberries. My sister said she adds a little bit of butter and sometimes chocolate chips. I’m sure there are lots of variations that would be possible.

***

What else is new with us?

We enjoyed an amazing weekend full of time with our friends. Glen and Rachel ventured up from Ohio for a visit before their little one makes her arrival in September. On Saturday night, there was a house warming party for C-Biscuit and Big Burd so we all enjoyed that. The theme was “Superheroes” and we were supposed to dress up.

I got really creative and went as Super Mom. And do you know how hard it is to come up with a superhero costume for a baby?

One trip to Once Upon a Child and $2.50 later, Eva made her appearance as “Super Peacock”.

***

I had a wonderful first Mother’s Day. Eva surprised me with a beautiful gift of sleep. I brought her home from the party to put her down around 7 on Saturday night and then left her with a sitter when I went back. I only stayed a few more hours, and came home so I knew I’d be back in time to feed her. But, she never woke up. So I went to bed. And then … it was morning. For the first time ever, she slept straight through the night. 7pm-7am. Happy Mama’s Day to me. (For the record, it did not continue last night).

Evan and Eva got me a new bread maker for Mother’s day so I am very excited to resume my bread making. By 8:15 this morning, I already had a batch of cheddar beer bread in the oven. Yeah, that’s right, I cracked open a Bud Light at 8 am on Monday morning.

***

The weather this weekend was beautiful. So beautiful, in fact, that I have a sunburn. Yikes. Time to start being careful. The forecast is calling for a string of nice days, so I’m hoping to get out lots and lots.

Bring on the sunscreen!

Happy Monday, friends.

Little Fishy

Yesterday Eva got to experience swimming in a real live swimming pool for the first time. I’ve been looking forward to getting her into the pool for a long time and was hopeful that she would love swimming as much as she loves her bath time.

About a month ago, I started looking into Mommy and Me swim classes. Sadly, the only ones that I could find required the baby to be at least 6 months. That meant we couldn’t start until March. And, the session runs January-April. I figured that we wouldn’t be able to start until the next session, which starts in May. And by then? I might as well just wait for summer weather and get her into my aunt’s pool all.the.time. I’d love to do the lessons to help her with water awareness and comfort – but I’m not expecting them to teach her the front crawl so for now, I think I can handle teaching her what she needs to know.

But, despite the lack of formal lessons, I didn’t want to wait until June to get her in the water. My friend Karla let me know that the Y was running a two week trial period and we could get a temporary membership for free. We decided to take our babies and head to the pool for a dip.

So yesterday, Karla, her little one, C-Biscuit, Evalyn and I headed to the pool.

At first when we got in the water, Eva let out a little cry. I don’t think she was expecting it to be colder than her bath. Thankfully, the pool is heated so it was not much cooler than her bath and she got used to it quickly.

We didn’t spend a whole lot of time in the water, but while we did, she went back and forth between loving it and hating it. We were getting close to naptime so she wasn’t extremely pumped by the end.

I wish I had more pictures but, unfortunately, I was only able to sneak this one quick one of Kar, L, Crys and Eva before the lifeguard told me picture taking is not allowed in the pool area (sidenote: I totally understand and respect that rule because, well, I would not want some creep-o snapping photos of me or my daughter while swimming but HOW SAD is it that we live in a world where there has to be a no photos in the pool area rule?).

Hopefully I’ll get a chance to get her in the water a few more times to get use to it before summer comes along because this girl better be ready for it. We’re going to turn her into a fish.

Gettin’ a Little Crazy

On Friday night, I got to enjoy a girl’s night out. A real live girl’s night out. And I got a little crazy.

First, C-Biscuit spent the afternoon at our place. Then her hubby, BiggBurd joined us in time for dinner. After dinner, C and I got ready to head out for a night on the town.

When we left, The Dude was bathing Eva and BiggBurd was doing the dishes from dinner. Very nice. As I was walking out the door, the Dude told me to “not come back too soon”. He knows that even though I had planned an evening out, it would be so like me to turn around and head home in an hour.

C and I got in her car and started cruising down the road. We made our first wild stop at the post office depot, where I picked up my Shutterfly photobook. Then? We ventured all the way to Dairy Queen to get blizzards. I know. It’s hard to believe.

After we finished our blizzards we … hold on to your hats … it’s about to get even crazier than you ever imagined … went to the Superstore. Yes, that’s right. We went to a grocery store. But, there are clothes, and toys, and kitchen gadgets there, so it’s not that bad.

We wandered the aisles for a while and each picked out a few goodies. Finally, I had to break it to Crystal that we had to go home like now because I needed to be reunited with my pump.

Okay, so maybe I’ve lost my ability to live a little since becoming a mother but I’m working on it. I’ll get it back someday. Maybe?

There she goes, there she goes, there she goes again

This isn’t the first time I’ve written a post like this.

Just over two years ago, I hugged the BFF goodbye as she ventured off to Scotland to live for a year.

On Tuesday night, I hugged that same hug and cried those same tears as we said goodbye. This time, she’s journeying out to Western Canada to live in Calgary to go to school.

I was really hoping to get a night out with her (without baby) before she left. She was not supposed to leave until closer to the end of the month but on Monday plans quickly changed and she ended up having to get all her ducks in a row in order to leave yesterday. That left precious little time to make plans. Which meant, spending an evening on my couch in our pyjamas would have to do. And it did.

While I’m sad that she is gone and that we won’t get to spend our days together eating cookie dough, shopping and chit chatting, I am so happy and proud of her for, once again, following her dreams! I know, from our past experiences, that all the miles in the world cannot separate us as friends.

And hey, I got to see Scotland, England and Rome as a result of her adventuresome nature. Maybe this time Western Canada is calling my name?

Good luck to you my sweet friend.

I’ll see you when I see you!