Winter Wonderland

It snowed last night. It's so pretty outside so I decided we couldn't pass it up. I've felt kinda guilty lately because it has been so nice and I haven't let Abby play outside hardly at all. So I bundled her up in her snowsuit (complete with bear hat) and off we went. It was a little colder than I thought, but it was still fun and good to see Abby run around. And a good excuse to use the camera some more!






And now it's time to relax...

Working for The Weekend!

I am ready for this week to be over. Last Friday night I got a cold. So instead of getting the house more ready for the baby, I napped and spent most of the weekend on the couch. I thought I was feeling better yesterday but today I was back feeling tired and stuffed up. Mark spent Saturday morning at the school working hard getting ready for exams and the upcoming semester. Good news is after today and a three hour session at the photocopier, he's nearly ready! This weekend we're going to try and take some stuff down from the attic (again) and this time I hope I'm up for it. There's a lot to do and with every day that passes, we're getting closer. It seems so weird to be almost there since it's felt like forever for so long! I'm officially into my 3rd trimester and that means there's less than 12 weeks left. Assuming I don't go late. And it's time to get serious about getting ready.

The weather has been so wonky lately. This "Winter" has been more of a Spring. We had a cold snap where I had to wear my big winter jacket. Good thing it didn't last too long because it was getting uncomfortable to zip up! Now everything is melting but it's at the point where the ice is really bad. I have slipped so many times I have lost count. And I am so paranoid about falling. As much as I want this baby to come, I really don't want it to come right now! Last night, as I picked up Abby from clubs, I stepped out of the Jimmy and slipped on a patch of ice. I almost went down but I grabbed the door to catch myself. But in doing so, I really hurt my back. Like my back needed anything more for it to hurt. It's not too bad during the day, but tonight it started to stiffen up and really feel sore. I am so glad it's Friday tomorrow.

Also, our hot water heater has been acting up. The pilot light goes out and leaves us with cold water. Mark thinks he knows what the problem is. There's an orange wire and something called a Thermalcoupler. It's not an expensive fix but it is going to be some work. Until we get it fixed, Mark just relights the pilot light every time we need hot water. Strangely enough, it's not that often. Mark lights it in the morning for our showers and again in the evening for Abby's bath and the dishwasher. We use cold water to wash laundry anyway and don't use hot water throughout the day very often. It's annoying but livable. So that's another job for the weekend! Yeesh, it's going to be a busy one.

P.S. I just took the dog and the garbage out and lo and behold, it's snowing. Looks like tomorrow will be a Diego Day.

So Long Air Miles

We decided to get rid of our Air Miles. There was a report that Air Miles were going to have an expiry date so that got us thinking that maybe we should use some of ours. Turns out we don't have too many. And the things you can buy weren't all that great. The only thing we found that we could really use were some Boston Pizza gift cards and a digital camera. I got my last little digital camera when Abby was born. It still works, but it's slow to turn on and when you have an adorable toddler who doesn't sit still or do that adorable thing more than once, it's tough to get a picture of it. The cards came in the mail a few days ago (we already used one on Friday - good date night out and Abby was a good girl!) and the camera eventually arrived too....


It turns on right away and is ready to take pictures. I really like that feature. And I think it takes some nice pictures too...

There is even an effects option. Here's the pinhole option... See how the edges are shaded...

And the drawing option...pretty neat...

One Week Closer...

Pregnancy Update #??
Good news: My incision is not in danger. Baby is looking well, growing lots and is healthy.
Bad new: Round Ligament Pain. I had it with Abby, but only for a little while. It would hurt really bad if I got up too fast or turned around quickly. But it went away after a few days. But this time, it's different. It always seems to be sore. Not the stabbing, momentary pain, just a general constant soreness. If I find myself walking too fast, it'll call out to me to slow down. The day before my doctor's appointment was actually busier than usual with playing in church, getting groceries, and a potluck with friends in the evening. When I was in the waiting room, I started getting dizzy and very tired. When I told him that, he said I should take it easier and maybe take a day or two off. I didn't know what to say. I only work three hours a day! And not all that hard! But chasing after Abby, getting her to her Story Time at the Library, and wrangling her home. Driving her to Clubs in the evening and wrestling her back. And I can't really take time off from that! But I'm not going to put her in the next round of Story Time and I'm not going to start any new activities. And hopefully try and relax while I can.

Speaking of not doing anything and relaxing... in preparation for the new baby, I have to thin out some toys around here. I have to go through all of Abby's toys and separate the ones she still plays with, the toys more appropriate for a baby and the random junk she has collected and turned into toys, and the garbage. I spent most of the morning sorting while Abby watched Diego. The living room and Abby's room look a lot better but there's still the basement to do and Abby's room to finish. Not to mention all the baby clothes that have to be prepped. I have a few boxes of clothes in the house, but the majority of them are in the attic of the garage. Well, I'll go through the ones I have and see what I got. We can't really put much more into the house until we take more out. And who wants to climb through an attic in the middle of January while there's a cold snap on? Mind you, on Sunday, it's supposed to be 0 degrees out there. Back to our Winter/Spring.

The Things I've Learned

I'm starting to get myself ready for the arrival of the newest member of the family. This has brought me to the realization that I have learned a lot from Abby in the past 3+ years...

Most problems can be solved with a good snuggle
Play-doh must be played with on tile or laminate flooring. Never carpet
The best stories are told when you shut up and listen to them
Geese are amazing
If Dora does it/is on it, it's cool
It's more fun to pain on arms and legs than on paper
What phrase/sound/word you use to express frustration will be parroted back
Whatever you eat will be way better than what you serve them
A child can be both a puppy and a shark at the same time
Rocks have personalities and families
They are stronger than they look
The phrase "poop coming out" demands immediate attention
Vacuum cleaners are scary
Vacuum cleaners are fun
"Now" is a subjective term
"No" is negotiable
Humour will get them off the hook 9 times out of 10
If they weren't so cute, no kid would have a sibling
The phrase "small people, small problems, big people, big problems" is accurate but provides little comfort
It is possible to be angry and laugh at the same time - at the same person
Cracks in a sidewalk must be investigated. Every crack
Apple juice tastes differently in different cups
It really doesn't matter what surface they eat off of as long as they are eating their supper
Dishes will stay dirty, clothes will stay piled up but Tickle Time will go away
Take as many kisses as you can while you still can
Bare bums are adorable
Keep the curtains closed and no one will even know if they are still wearing their pjs, or that old Halloween costume, or nothing at all
Breakables are breakable and gravity is a law
Theories are great. In theory
Candy works
The phrase "It's only a phase" is less helpful than "Aww man, that DOES suck!"
If sleep could be sold, it'd be priceless and sold out
Fingers are made to touch things. Fingers can be washed
Einstein was right. Time is relative
Saying "No" won't kill them. Saying "Yes" won't kill you
Silence is golden. And terrifying
"No" might just be their default setting. Rephrase and try again
Yes, it stains.

Happy New Year!!!

And time for another update. Yea, I've made a few resolutions. Along with last year's (to regularly update this blog) and a few I made in the fall (to be less stressed about things ie. children and pregnancy, to enjoy the good moments and let the bad moments pass) I've added a resolution to read more. And better quality books. I've started with The Chronicles of Narnia. The entire set. Not just The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. So far I've finished the first two and started the third. This is where I left off last time I tried to read it, but with the resolution, I feel more confident I will get through it. And then after that, I have all my old classics from University. Except Kim. I will never read that book again. I've read it twice for two different classes and I still have no idea what's going on. I was going to resolve to walk more but I know that's never going to happen. Maybe once the baby comes? Nah.

I hope everyone had a good Christmas. I did. I'll give you the highlights (since most of the people reading this were actually there!) We drove to Moose Jaw. got to spend some time with Mark's sister and her husband. We went to this restaurant called Deja Vu. They serve wings and chicken fingers and the best milk shakes ever!! The wings are amazing, the chicken fingers are huge and the shakes are unbelievable!! They have over 50 flavours of wings/fingers and I lost count for the shakes. I had a chocolate cheesecake shake and Mark had the chocolate peanut butter banana. I'm already deciding on what flavour to get the next time we're in Moose Jaw. We had a great time in Moose Jaw and got to see more family as the days went on. We went to the Christmas Eve service which went pretty well considering Abby is not used to sitting through church for an hour! On Christmas day, we all opened our presents. It was such a mad house with all the people. Kinda fun! The next day, we packed up (most of our stuff) and drove into Regina. Again it was a crazy time of kids and presents! And food! Abby got along right away with her cousins who loved playing with her. It was nice to see them playing so well together. The next day we went to the Science Centre. There was an exhibition on the Titanic. What was really neat was that they gave you a boarding pass when you walked in and it gave information of an individual passenger. Like what their name was, who they were travelling with and why, and from where to where. We each got a card and at the end, we could see if we survived or not. My person was a woman (2nd class) with three children. And we all made it. Mark was a single guy (3rd class). He didn't make it. In fact, none of the men made it. Even the husbands or brothers of a passenger. The next day, we travelled to Swift Current. The weather started getting nasty, but we made it. We had a nice visit with my grandma and family. Driving back to Moose Jaw was less fun. Mark and I had planned to drive back to Estevan after we got to Moose Jaw but with the weather being the way it was (slush and snow and rain) we had our reservations. When we got to Mark's parents house and learned that they hit the ditch coming back to Moose Jaw from Regina, that made up our minds! The next day was freezing rain so we spent the day with his parents and sister and her husband. We even went to a hockey game. It was a great game. It even went into overtime and ended in an exciting shoot-out. I haven't been in that new rink before. It is very impressive. We finally made it home the next day. It seems like we got the only nice day since the next day was incredibly windy.

We've been talking it easy the last few days. I've been pretty tired lately and I've noticed my scar (from my C-section) has been kinda sore lately. I don't know if it's because it's stretching or what, but I'm going to tell the doctor on my next appointment. I've also been having trouble standing for any period of time. The other day at work, I was standing in line at the bank. The line was really long. I was about 8 or 9 in line. It was hot in there and I had to take off my jackets. I was the second in line when I started feeling really bad. I really wanted to make it to the front of the line but figured I could wait from the chairs. I barely made it to the chairs before things went fuzzy. Right away, a manager was there beside me offering me a glass of cold water. She also got my banking done! I sat there for awhile before going outside. The cold air sure made me feel better. And today, we went to Staples to buy a filing cabinet. I spent all of five minutes looking at them before I sat in one the chairs. I didn't want to pass out in the middle of the store. I still feel kinda weak but it's Saturday so I'm taking it easy. We did a bit more shopping this morning. I got a gift card for M&M Meats from my boss for Christmas so now my freezer looks like a M&M store!! It's awesome.

I've also been having Braxton Hicks lately. Apparently you can get them in the 2nd trimester so it's not that out of the ordinary. It's just uncomfortable. I didn't get them with Abby until the very end.

Structure: The Name of the Game

Last week I was feeling a little off. Nothing major, just felt lost. Then I realized it's because I had no plan, nothing to do, no reason to get off the couch. So I decided I needed to be a little more active. I searched Google and found some crafts for Abby to do. I know, crafts are not my forte but we gotta do what we gotta do. She's been making decorations for the tree. She is really enjoying it and it keeps her occupied. And I'm feeling better too. Abby's had a bit of a stomach bug (I think she's getting over it now) so she hasn't slept well. That part is improving. Her bum is really red and sore. That is improving as well but not as fast and it hurts so much for her that it's breaking y heart. I'm airing it out in the mornings so I'm trying to keep her away from the windows!! Here's a few pictures of Abby doing some crafts. And in the last one, that's Baby Hat in her pocket like a kangaroo.





It was pointed out to me that I haven't taken maternity pictures in awhile. I think the last one was at 18 weeks. And I've grown since then. So much so that my favourite and most comfy pants don't really fit so well anymore.

Here's me at 22 weeks...