New Focus

So, I am now blogging about my scrapbooking (on another page) which has really become a HUGE focus for me this last year. Leave it to having a baby to start focusing on getting all pictures in order. Most of my efforts have been in putting together Erica's albums (I have the first 5 months of her life done - there are so many pictures!!!). I am behind, that's a given, but it's kind of like writing a love letter to her. When she is older and has these albums as memories (or even to tell her what happened in the beginning) she will know how much she is loved :)
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Here are some pages I have done over the last 2 weeks (a variety of things and from different years/events). I'm getting my scrap on!

I Have Joined the Best Club Out There - Motherhood!

It seems like I am destined to only blog once in a Blue Moon, especially now that there is a little one to watch over. Oh well...

January 9th, 2009 at 1:17am the most beautiful little girl was born and took over our lives. Yes, Erica finally decided to come out of that warm tummy of mine and bestow all her best qualities on us. Since Day 1 she has been an absolute joy. In so many ways she has been such a great baby that we definitely look forward to Baby #2 (and realize that chances are the next one will not be as easy). Erica is a cute little girl with a HUGE grin that is just a ray of sunshine. She is almost 7 months old and has the sweetest disposition and the cutest personality. She loves to attack us with kisses (well, her version of a kiss, which is really just her grabbing onto you and sucking on the apples of your cheeks...lol), "talks" a lot (if only we could understand gibberish) and has the cutest gummy grin you have ever seen (we still have yet to see a tooth). I am completely enjoying my maternity leave and thank my lucky stars that I am Canadian as we get a year off (and Daddy got 5 weeks of paternity as well). When you wake up to a smiling baby most mornings, how can you not start off on the right foot?

I always knew I wanted to be a mom, even at a really young age. It astounds me that it is even better than I could have ever imagined! I love being a mom and I absolutely adore my little Sweet Pea. Watching her grow and seeing that smile is enough to bring tears to any proud Mommy's eyes...

Almost there!

I have been really bad about keeping up with my blogging...I guess I can always use my excuse of the past months: "blame it on Baby Brain". We are almost there! I am now 34 weeks along. I can't believe that we will have a baby in about 6 more weeks! I begin my maternity leave in 2 1/2 weeks and cannot wait! We are having a little girl and have just finished putting together the crib and rocking chair today. Now we just need to actually put the room in order (the change table was done last week). Our new place is definitely shaping up (I refuse to put up "Christmasland" until everything else has been put in its spot). We moved from our apartment to a townhouse in October and are loving it. The amount of space is great and we plan to stay here for a while. It's a great neighborhood for a little one and it is a very dog-friendly place so it's great for our 2 dogs. We also just got a car, so things are definitely moving in the right direction. Now if I could just completely wrap my brain around the fact that motherhood is right around the corner...I know there is a baby in this tummy of mine because she moves around all the time and likes to kick me to remind me...but really grasping the changes that are coming into our lives...that's another story!

And So Begins Yet Another New Phase...

Wow! I have apparently been neglecting my blogging responsibilities...
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Well, married life is going well. So well that we are embarking on a new phase...Yup, I am pregnant! This week I got confirmation from the doctor and have my first Ob/Gyn appointment on June 10th. Rob and I are thrilled and he can barely keep himself from getting on the rooftops and shouting it to all the world. Now, I know we are in for quite the ride, but had no idea how quickly some changes come into play. Right now I am dealing with 3 things...
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I always thought that the getting up to pee in the middle of the night thing happened when the baby was big and pushing on your bladder. I had no idea it would kick in immediately! I have not slept through an entire evening in over a week because I have to get up once every night. Absolutely crazy!
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The next thing that I noticed was my aversion to breakfast. I am not nauseous per se, but have a hard time motivating myself to eat because nothing seems appetizing. I am counting my lucky stars that I don't have full-fledged morning sickness!
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And last, but certainly not least...MY BOOBS HURT!!! Holy cow! They have never been so f#$@ing tender. I have a hard time finding a comfortable sleeping position because pressure on them does not work. Don't even get me started on what it's like riding in a car and hitting bumps...OUCH!
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As much as this sounds like a rant, I am extremely excited about the prospect of being a mommy. All this other stuff will certainly be worth it in the end. I read Jenny McCarthy's book Belly Laughs yesterday and was glad to know I am not the only one with these thoughts going through my head. I highly recommend her book to any first-time moms as it is hilarious and very frank.
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So, here goes nothing...motherhood, here I come!!!

The Deed is Done

Yes, I am now a married woman. The day itself (September 29th) could not have been more beautiful. After raining Thursday and being overcast Friday, Saturday the skies opened up and the sun was shining full force! Thank goodness as that was the one thing I couldn't plan for. Speaking of which...

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I learned that being as organized (actually "anal" is a better term) as we were, there was nearly no stress the week leading up to the wedding. Why? BECAUSE EVERYTHING WAS DONE AND TAKEN CARE OF!! What a crazy idea...I know. Imagine actually having the details taken care of so that all you have to do is show up at the church and then the reception hall...whoa! Although there was a small incident with the church flowers that I learned about from my husband after the ceremony...they almost weren't at the church (he forget them at home and then rushed back to get them only to arrive at the church 5 minutes before me...with the help of my brother). I'm sure it was a hilarious series of events, but I am glad that I was blissfully unaware of what was taking place.

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The ceremony and reception were just amazing. Both sides of the family had one heck of a party...I loved every minute of it!

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It goes by so quickly...If there was one thing I would say to future brides it's this: take the time to enjoy what is happening around you. Every once in a while take a step back and just take it all in. I did and I am glad that I took that time because I got to observe everyone who loves us having a great time celebrating one heck of a union ;)

Stress is Starting to Kick In...

I actually had a dream (okay, more like a nightmare) last night about the wedding day. This is what happened...

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It was the day of the wedding and I was running out of time to get ready. I realized I had never had my make-up trial and had to call someone and just trust that they would do a good job. When the girl was done I had teal eyeshadow and bright orange lipstick! Shades of Mimi, anyone? I was horrified and saying how I looked awful and of course the bridesmaids were saying I looked fine and that it wasn't so bad...Next thing to upset me: my bouquet. It was smaller than the ones the bridesmaids had and it was not at all what I wanted. It was a huge puffy white bow with 3 flowers attached that were not even close to my color scheme or flower choices. Then as I was getting ready for my grand entrance, we realized the groom wan't there. He was actually still in bed sleeping! And to top it all off, it was pouring rain outside!!!

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Okay, I have been calm, cool and collected right up until now. It seems that my subconscious is going haywire. Only 11 days to go...I can do this...I really can! I am not nervous about getting married, just that I am going to forget to take care of something along the way..

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Breathe in...breathe out...breathe in...breathe out...I just need to make sure I do it evenly enough to keep from hyperventilating...ha! ha!

1, 2, 3...again!

We are now 2 weeks away from the wedding and we decided that we would like our first dance to be a nice one...preferably with both of us following the same rhythm. So, we looked up a dance instructor in the area and decided to invest in a block of 10 classes. Our first night we brought in the piece of music we had chosen and asked to be taught to waltz. Because of the song we chose we had to learn the Viennese Waltz, which is a much faster waltz. Talk about jumping right into the deep end!

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I never realized just how much pressure really is on the man, but now I do. It's true that the man really needs to be the lead or else the woman can't do her thing. So now Rob is starting to feel pressure. Oh no, not about the wedding, but about the first dance. I think we walk around with this mantra going around our heads "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6...1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6...left turn, right turn". AAHHHHHH!!!

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We have had 4 lessons and have an entrance (practicing since the first class), two runs of the left turn (the second and third classes) and then 2 runs of the right turn (which we just learned last night). Thank goodness we both love our instructor. We hit it off right from the beginning and are thinking that we'd like to take more lessons after the wedding (maybe salsa). We would highly recommend him to anyone interested in taking dance lessons as his criticisms are extremely constructive and he has a wicked sense of humor.

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We are taking 2-3 lessons a week hoping to cram it all in before the big day. Our very last class before the wedding will be the day before and at the hall. Our instructor was the one who said that he had no problem with meeting us at the reception hall to do the last hour on the actual floor we will be using for the dance. Considering that the reception hall is 30-40 minutes away, we were quite impressed that he had no problems with that (and the staff at the hall were very accommodating as well).

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So, for the next 2 weeks I have to practice being elegant (ha!) and have to make sure that I let Rob lead (a common problem for most women). Keep your fingers crossed that we can learn when to cross the feet and when not to or we may just end up being in a large heap on the floor (looking like a large white and black mess).

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That's what we get for choosing a song that we saw used for a waltz on "So You Think You Can Dance"...Ha! Ha!