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.

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.

Friends Like That

If you were to ask me one or two years ago if I ever thought that some of my best friend's could be women I met on the Internet, I'd laugh at you.

Meeting people on the Internet is only for crazies.

Right?

Wrong.

When I started my blog, I really had no idea what blogging could add to my life. I thought my mom might read it. Maybe my siblings. You know, people who I know.

But then I started to find other bloggers with similar interests as me. I started to get to know Taryn, SnoWhite, Shaina, Jenny, Lindsey, Jackie, Kayla, Brittany, and so many others ...

I started to look forward to reading their blogs, getting comments from them, e-mailing with them, tweeting with them, texting with them, and, well ... sharing with them.

I started to consider these women my friends. My dear friends.

Then I started to get sad that I didn't know any of them in "real life" and that perhaps, I might never know some of them in real life.

And then, in February that began to change when I had a chance to meet Shaina and Jenny on a weekend road trip. And in June, I met SnoWhite as she passed through my neck of the woods!

So, this weekend as I hung out with Shaina and Jenny again, here in the great worth north, for part two of bloggy road trip 2010, I realized that it is good to have friends like this. Even if we are all crazies who met on the Internet.

It's good to have friends who will drive up to 10 hours to visit for the weekend and who won't get jealous when their dog would much rather cuddle with you and your preggo belly than with them.

It's good to have (furry) friends who can forgive each other and make up, even after having a few little fights.

It's good to have friends who will go to your favourite ice cream place with you and then sit in the backseat of your car as your husband chauffeurs you around the local area and shows them all the great sites there are to see - including the great Canadian fox.

It's good to have friends whose lives revolve around food just as much as mine does and who are eager and willing to indulge in all sorts of fancy Canadian treats like dill pickle chips, butter tarts, nanaimo bars, poutine, and maple syrup!

It's good to have friends who enjoy roaming around the farm, taking a look at the chickens, and going for a swim in the pond.

It's good to have friends who think it's funny to put on the fake pregnancy belly at the maternity store to send a photo to their husband who has been deployed for the past six months.

It's good to have friends who you can go to an all you can eat Brazilian grill and not worry about being judged for the fact that you may have just consumed the largest amount of food in the history of the planet and have made it so that your unborn child no longer has a single inch of space to move around inside your uterus.

It's good to have friends who will park in the "Expectant Mother's Parking" space with you for the very first time ever (and maybe only time) when you're heading to WalMart to buy a fake wedding band because your sausage fingers won't allow you to wear your wedding rings.

It's so good to have friends like that.

Weekend Recap

This weekend, our friend's ventured up from Ohio to spend their July 4th long weekend in the Great White North. That is not so great and white right now - more like the Hot Humid North. When they arrived on Friday night, they arrived in style.

Yes, that's right, my sweet Rachel came bearing gifts of Chick-Fil-A for her Chick-Fil-A-less friend. Sure, the reheated nuggets aren't quite the same after a long trip in the car, but they sure were better than nothing!

On Saturday, it was a hot, hot day. We just took it easy and chilled out for most of the day.

In the afternoon, it was time to get the party started with the 2nd Annual Steeler Fest BBQ! A bunch of our good friend's headed to our place for dinner and a campfire. Of course there was some horseshoes and baseball thrown in there as well. We had a ton of delicious food thanks to the FD's exceptional grilling skills.


Here we are all chowing down. See that chubby one stuffing her face on the end of the row? Yup, that's me.


Our friends, B&D brought the newest member of the clan with them. Meet Sadie.

We finished the night off around the campfire.

There were chocolate brownie sundaes with homemade ice cream and homemade cherry sauce.

And of course, there had to be some night vision horseshoes - it just wouldn't be the same without it.

On Sunday we headed to church, came home and had lunch and then spent the afternoon by the pool. Having an Aunt and Uncle with a pool is really quite great, have I mentioned that before?

She makes me look so skinny doesn't she?

After our swim, we came home and the boys made dinner while Rachel and I rested on the couch. Then we spent the evening falling asleep watching Edge of Darkness and called it a night. Glen and Rachel headed out early the next morning just after E work and then I headed to the US and A to do some shopping with the BFF for the day. When we got home, we made some dinner, chilled out for a few hours and then headed to see Eclipse. Four late nights in a row and this little lady is tiredddddddddd.

So ends another great weekend!

What Weekends Were Made For

This weekend, I rediscovered what weekends are made for.

Rest, relaxation and rejuvenation.

On Friday night, the FD and I puttered around the house, doing some gardening and some work in the man cave (well - I didn't really venture into working in the man cave, but you know what I mean). We finished the night off enjoying our first batch of homemade ice cream on the back deck with our landlords.

On Saturday, the dude was going to help my bro and SIL move so I got up before he left to make cinnamon buns with cream cheese frosting for breakfast, ate one with him and then crawled back into bed for an hour or so.

When I got up, I puttered around the house and did some cleaning (okay - I know that doesn't really fit in with the R&R&R theme, but when you have the house to yourself and a Saturday with no concrete plans, cleaning can actually seem restful). I made myself a good lunch and while I was eating, got a call from my lady C-Biscuit to make plans for the afternoon. She headed over, we went for a big long (sweaty) walk and then wandered over to her in-laws place where we got more exercise floated around in the pool on giant inflatable lounge chairs for two hours.

When the dude got back to town he swung by to pick me up, jumped in for a quick swim and we headed home to finish the house cleaning. He did some more "work" in the man cave (I say "work" because I'm never really sure what he does in there - the man cave deserves a post of it's own) until C -Biscuit and Bigg Burd came over for a campfire where we chatted the night away.

Our Sunday was spent fellowshiping with our church family, followed by a homemade pizza lunch. While I cleaned that up, the dude went out to wash and wax my car and I joined him and vacuumed and cleaned the interior of the car.

Then, we headed over to my aunt and uncles to spend another afternoon by the pool. Seriously, I could spend my whole summer doing that. The dude out lasted most of the kids in the pool, playing the colour game, marco polo, and some diving board high jumping while I sat on the side and visited with my Aunt Shelley.

We came home, had a snack and the dude is now taking a nap while I catch up on some things on the computer (including writing this post which will be scheduled Monday morning). Tonight will consist of leftovers for supper and a long walk once it cools down a bit.

Having a relaxing, yet still productive weekend like this really helps me enter the week feeling refreshed, focused and ready to go!