santa jams

warning: major venting post ahead...

we tried to take jaxy to the santa claus parade yesterday and unfortunately it ended up being one of the worst experiences i've had after ten years of living in this city.

the people we encountered were rude and just unbelievably ignorant. i never (ever!) usually say anything to strangers but seriously at one point this woman was practically standing on top of my dad and i had to tell her to back the eff off. i don't understand the incredibly uncontrollable need to take 1 million pictures of Blinky the police car. what is it that makes people forget the concept of personal space? or just manners in general? anyway, after being kicked by the child beside me on her father's shoulders for the 67th time and then actually squeezed out of where i was standing by a mother and her child (no 'excuse me', no nothing) i had had enough and got out of there.

jax had fallen asleep almost instantly so we made our way home about 20 minutes in to the parade. right after i got yelled at by a woman who got coffee spilled on her shoes. yes, because that was MY fault. arg.

i cannot wait to move outta here!!!! i am basically crossing off the days in a giant calendar in my mind.

once we got home we had play time here and the little man decided he would stand up for a while. what happened to my teeny tiny baby?

ps: santa jammies make everything all better :)

baby mine

ok i'm obviously hormonal - this just made me weep



does this get any easier mommas?

last night i finally took a look through our wedding photo book. it only took us one year (and a child!) to get organized enough to choose the pics and have the book made. however, uploading them to fbook seems to be a monumental challenge that my computer can simply not, well, compute. i am lacking in motivation to share with the fbook world these days anyway. or maybe i'm just seriously lazy and impatient. everyone seems to love this pic...

but i think ol' jimmer's trying to steal a peek ;) happy friday!

still really love these guys

after all this time - one of the best live shows i've seen

epic year

finally got our honeymoon pics, my 30th bday pics and our trip to europe pics off of the camera and onto the comp. do i have the patience to upload them onto fbook? that remains to be seen. in the meantime...

2011, boom - done.

hold your little ones extra close

yesterday i sent out an email to the ladies that were in my prenatal class to try and set up a postnatal group for next week. most of the ladies responded saying they'd love to and we're going to get together next week.

one of the ladies, who i realized i hadn't heard from when we were all sending out our email updates after our babes were born, sent us all a note to let us know the worst news i could imagine. her little one passed away after only a few short hours of life.

i felt like i had been punched in the stomach when i read it. i held my baby for 30 straight minutes and just would not put him down.

parents of lost children have to be the strongest people i have ever encountered. and sadly, i know a few.

gone, but never ever forgotten. xoxox

baby chub

dudes. baby weight is a son of a bitch. there, i said it. ugggggggggggggh. who would have known that a diet of mainly pasta and pizza would come back to haunt me after giving birth? especially a c-section which causes your body to blow up like a balloon. a scary SCARY balloon that seems to be something out of a nightmare. but i digress. baby weight - totally my fault and totally something i'm working on but it's a slow slowwww process. although having a 3 month old and having almost no time to eat is helping.

and having a face like this to remind me why i have a bit of extra chunk right now, well that definitely helps :)

early birds

the little bug and i are heading to post natal group tomorrow at the midwife clinic. it's really amazing how isolated having a brand new baby can make you feel, but once that 'scared to take him out' feeling begins to fade away, it's really the best. can't wait to sit and talk to some other mommas about our babes.

the only real problem with this plan is, post natal group begins at 10am and this little reindeer and i like to sleep in until 11. :)

t-gives

we had an amazing long weekend over here - not much sleep in the beginning but jax took it easy on us after a week of his new self imposed bedtime of midnight. thanksgiving was really incredible this year because now more than ever, jimmy and i have so SO much to be thankful for. great family, friends, our girls and of course, our little babe. :)

jaxon james

hello internet! i have been on an extended hiatus from my laptop while learning the daily ropes of being a new momma. after 35 hours of labour, jaxon was born on july 24th via c-section. words cannot describe what jimmy and i were and are feeling ever since that moment. day to day life is amazing and i am more in love with this little man than i ever thought possible.

he sleeps and eats like a dream, we are beyond lucky & totally blissed out.

he seems pretty happy too. xo

one of the best

...movie scenes of all time. plus, hall & oates - can't go wrong.

back!

i finally got my computer situation sorted (miraculously my comp cord just started working again for no apparent reason) so i am back to the land of the technologically living!

i've been off work for abut 5 weeks now and they've been bust prepping for baby's arrival. all home birth supplies are in and being 1 week from my due date, it's safe to say... I'M READY.

baby Jax should be here soon... we hope. although it could be another three weeks.... and in this heat all of my time has been spent indoors cranking up the AC. luckily for me i have the best husband in the entire universe who has been making very sure i am cool and comfortable.

and so the waiting game continues. i cannot wait to see his little face.

First week of mat leave was amazing - I got some sleep and was able to spend a ton of time at home with the fam. I have to admit, I do miss my work peeps but being able to rest has been incredible. Lugging this boy around is proving to be a bit tougher as time is moving along. 5 more weeks to go until the due date so maybe 6 pr so more weeks till Jax? Anyone's guess at this point. This sweekend was unreal, so much fun and all my favorite people. My mom and friends planned and executed the sweetest baby shower of all time and we were ridiculously spoiled. Jaxon already has way more clothes than I've ever had and they are ridic on the cute scale. My oldest friend jacquie got me this necklace - something I really wanted but couldn't quite find the right one - and it is so perfect I never want to take it off. And in even better news, Jules went into labour today and it looks like baby Cole will be here before we know it! Havin a best friend on mat leave at the same time is going to be too much fun. Plus she can help me figure this stuff out :) Swollen face, feet and hands are becoming a reality but with our last pre-natal class on Thursday and the crib all put together it all means our baby boy will be here soon and we cannot wait. Oh, add a birthday pool party to the end of the weekend and that was one of the best times ever. I am such a lucky lucky girl to have so much love sent my way. Thank you everyone who made it so special!! Post on some of our absolute fave gifts for baby coming soon! Xo

you guys!!

today is my last day of work! our midwife, jimmy and i have come to the conclusion that a little down time is sorely needed before the babe arrives. momma needs some sleep and to mentally prepare for what's going to go down in about 6 weeks! i am incredibly lucky to have such a supportive group of managers and co-workers who have taken this decision with the best attitudes ever although i am sure it means more work for them with me gone so quickly. anyway, they're the best and i am SO grateful. 

it's a little bittersweet for sure, it's been almost 4 years of coming in to the same place every mon-fri and seeing everyone that i have become friends with and learned so much from. Proximity, i will miss you!!

oh and if the look on my nephew's face in the photo above doesn't melt your heart... then you got some problems friend.

xo

baby boom

jules, lindsay and i are all 2 weeks apart - looks like i have two incredible mat leave friends ready to go!

such a great weekend with both families and some amazing friends. oh and a very special little boy turned two - happy birthday liam! xoxo

31

waiting for jax to get here is pretty much all i do these days. i am obsessed with tearing apart and cleaning my house and every night i run a mental list through my head of all of the things i have left to do to get ready.

we're at 31 weeks now and i feel terrible for jimmy because i am sure i am a non stop complaining machine. however, i am the luckiest woman alive because not only does he listen to me complain, but he remembers everything that i say and tries to fix every single little thing that i mention is getting me down. case in point: i can't sleep = jimmy takes me out and buys me the most ridiculous maternity pillow of all time. ridiculously amazing that is! no one should love a pillow this much.

while the countdown continues i am trying to be patient when really, i would pay some really good money to get a little peek inside and see how this little man is doing. in the meantime, i'll just keep on waddlin' from room to room and enjoying the last few weeks jimmy and i have as a twosome.

30 weeks

compared to 25 weeks (left pic) 30 weeks feels like a whole other ballgame. hauling this belly around is becoming a workout in itself and i can't say i don't break into a waddle every now and then.

i still feel like he is going to come earlier than expected but hey, that would be A-OK with me since sleeping is all to want to do but it's also the most uncomfortable thing of life right now. i am dying to see his little face!!

countdown is on - jaxon james, we're waiting for you! xoxo


ps: i look the most tired of all time

the to do list

another thing crossed off. must remember to stop adding things to this list and only cross things off of it!

i saw this adorable idea in a blog a few months ago and started collecting cute little baby girl outfits for our good friend Kristy's baby shower. because i had the craziest three weeks of life ever at work over the weekend of her shower, i wasn't actually able to go. but now i've got all 12 (actually 13 because i miscounted) onesies washed in Ivory Snow and ready to make their way over to Kristy and little baby Charley, who will be here on Saturday!

crazy how time has flown. it's really been incredible to have so many of my close gf's pregnant at the same time. it's amazing to have people you can call or text at any time of the day to ask the really weird and possibly tmi questions. can't wait to see this gorgeous girl! xo

and this...

... is what everyday is turning into. "you're only 7 months along? looks like he's going to be a lot earlier than you think!" hmmmmmm. i read in 'what to expect' yesterday that over the next 11 week Jax is going to possibly triple in size. this is both exciting and frightening.

monday monday

40 work days left until it's time for operation: wait for baby. things are starting to wrap up in the household preparation and to be honest my biggest concern these days is why is betty all of a sudden emptying her litter box onto the floor every single day?

i need some sleep and a little fairy to come in and clean up my kitty litter issue.

in the meantime, the random craft projects continue! this weekend yielded a key holder.

i seem to be incapable of putting those hooks in on any kind of level line but, like i said, i need some sleep.

is it weird that james has and has had a lanyard on his keys for the entire 4 years i've known him? i feel like that's the fanny pack of key accessories. riveting stuff eh?

we're attempting to make this for dinner tonight, wish us luck!

love love love love love

silver lining

what an absolutely INSANE 14 days in a row of work. we have been killing ourselves here to try and get a website ready for launch which was set to go tomorrow. due to unforeseen client decisions, it has been delayed. for how long, who knows.

all in all i thought well, at least now i'll be able to make it to the pre-natal yoga class i've had in the books for a month. that's pretty sweet.

and them the instructor called and the space we were going to practice in had flooded. class is cancelled.

silver lining? i am getting a Whopper and going home to spend quality time with my husband and kittens for the first time in 2 weeks.

hells yes.

ps: the "little" one is on some sort of insane growth spurt!

a tree for Jax

between answering emails this weekend jimmy and i finally tackled something i think we had been avoiding due to apprehension of the task at hand - well i know i was avoiding it anyway.

we ordered a sweet little tree decal for baby Jax's corner of the bedroom and it was time to finally put it up.

pretty plain and bare before - the little one needed something fun to look at!

and then we opened the tube it came in and cut out the 1 million pieces. o.m.g.

but it all went up so easily and piece by piece jimmy and i got to do something for the babe and we had a pretty fun time doing it. plus it was straight and nothing ripped - thank the lord! so cute.

the rest of the weekend was work and netflix and playing with the 2 little furballs. best thing about getting bernie well exercised is her dog face - she's been doing it since day one! looks like another work weekend ahead of me, let's hope i can get some sleep this week!

working for...

baby boy had his first bout of hiccups this morning around 4:30am. i think i maxed out at about 2 hours of sleep. weekend plans have taken a bit of a shift and looks like i am making up for having a week off by ... working for the weekend. yeah i did it - you know you love loverboy. whatever, i'm tired.

latest obession

can't lose the love for music ... it's just not possible. especially when it's this good :)

25 weeks down

back to work today after a much needed week off. i started the week with a spa trip with nina, then was able to fit in time with both families and some alone time with jimmy. with me as always, was Garth - or Jax.

things are coming along nicely with the little one. he is constantly kicking and i think trying to find a weak spot in there for his eventual escape. for some reason i have this feeling that he is going to be early. this absolutely must mean that he is going to be super late.

i was able to get some more sewing done for him over this past weekend and have only 2 blankets and 3 bibs left in the 'to do' pile. i even managed to get some curtains made for the kitchen and tear apart the couches so i could wash everything and anything possible. nesting is a strange phenomenon but i feel like i am getting to the end of the mental list i have been keeping for the past few months. 

only 2 more full months of work and 15 weeks to go until it's 'go' time.

craziest day (week/month/year) ever at work and i am 15 minutes away from 10 days off in a row.

happy weekend!

LOVE

we began baby Jax's musical education last night, and what better place is there to begin that with The Beatles? Furthermore, with a compilation of their greatest put together by George Martin & Dhani Harrison. LOVE.

if you haven't had a chance to listen to this album, do yourself a favour on this friday and give it some attention. Jax sure seemed to like it, after it was done he slept, well he slept like a baby!

did I mention we named the little lad? mommy and daddy are debating the spelling (Jackson vs Jaxon) but Jax is the short form no matter which route we choose. we'll see how this debate ends up! (i'm team jaxon)

happy friday!

a lion called Christian

a weakness for cats, a weakness for brits and a serious weakness for this much love makes this 5 part series the perfect tear jerking storm for this girl. i don't even think i could blame it on the pregnancy hormones - this is just such a great story!

part 1


part 2


part 3


part 4


part 5

what a lucky babe

before he's even born, Jax will have attended Noah and the Whale, The Kooks, The National, The Wooden Sky, Great Lake Swimmers and Radiohead shows.













love it.

3 reasons why i...

love LOVE etsy. not only was my wedding 95% etsy made but i've found and ordered a few super adorable things for baby Jax and the apt.

if there was some way i was supposed to resist ordering these little loafers, i am not sure i would have ever been able to think of it. 

cute! cute! cute! cute! cute! cute! cute! cute! cute!

and finally, for Jax's corner of the room a tree and some shelves to baby it up a bit. we've also got all of the (Owl print) baby bedding en route (thank you ebay) and i am in the midst of choosing a mobile although i am pretty sure it's going to be this guy right here:

cuteness overload.

oh and this guy? i'm pretty sure he'll be winging his way to our place very soon. i have a feeling Jax is going to be a Calvin - just like his dad and every Calvin needs a Hobbes!

blah

ok, here comes the only negative things i am going to say about being pregnant:

(keep in mind i am only 6 months along so i am sure around the 8-9 month mark i will be thinking many other things)

1) oh my god, will i ever sleep again?
2) i am still digesting a meal i ate on saturday
3) braxton hicks - well you're a fun little surprise aren't you?
4) zzzzzzzzzzzzz....zzzzz... oh sorry, i dozed off, i haven't slept in 2 weeks!
5) this.kid.is.heavy.

ok i'm done. truth be told the pros far outweigh the cons but if a pregnant woman ever says she has absolutely no complaints about this miracle of life, well, to her i say "liar liar giant elastic band at the top of your pants on fire".

xo

so many thing i want to say but i have to keep biting my tongue. my husband is a much bigger and better person than i am because he has this amazing capacity to forgive. maybe i am just too protective but my first instinct is not forgiveness. it's also not understanding.

but i will say this: the lack of class, integrity and just plain and simple good in people becomes shocking as you become older. i hope so much that my son has better judgement when it comes to friends than his parents have.

"Sometimes we expect more from others, because we'd be willing to do much more for them; and as we grow older we dont lose friends, we just learn who the real ones are." - Unknown

life with kitties

a few weeks ago my bestie lisa asked me how cat owners can stand the fact that their pets break almost everything they own.

and it's true. if they haven't broken it, then they've almost definitely scratched it beyond repair or covered in enough cat hair to have you vacuuming every day for the rest of your life.



my answer? well, the only thing that gets you past the fact that your kitty has broken your favourite lamp, 75% of your drinking glasses and chewed through 90% of your electrical cords is plain old simple love.

whatever i feel like i want to say

flipping through channels last night as we laid low getting rid of the remnants of whatever flu type fun we picked up over the weekend, i came across Napoleon Dynamite. three things about this movie:

1) kip is the best character ever
2) my napoleon impression needs A LOT of work
3) best. soundtrack. of. all. time.

this song came on during the end and i remembered how much i love it. it reminds me of my sister and also seems pretty fitting (albeit cheesy in that wonderful way only the 80's were) with a few things happening these days.



and then this - just because my god it's good.

our boy

is getting bigger and bigger!

another ultra sound today and all seems to be going well in there. and as it turns out, due to the way he is positioned, he has actually been punching me, not kicking me. what a guy. xo

perfect

every time.

ipod shuffle

i don't even mind that it's monday...

after another great weekend like that one - busy but full of all the good stuff.

friday was roman day! jimmy and i headed out to see him and my boys and neens & sum were there too. SO good. i really need to make a trip out to winnipeg one of these days to see him. post baby and most definitely post winter. btw: um, it's FREEZING outside today! what the heck?

sat was another day full of great friends when we met nina at union and headed to p-town where my brother picked us up and we headed to bowmanville for lise's bday party.

(the cupcakes i made totally look more like cat heads than hearts - unintentional!!)

sitting in her apt surrounded by people i have been friends with for 15 years really made me aware of how lucky i am.

i'm so lucky i can bring my brother, my oldest and bestest buddy with me to things like this because it really just makes everything that much sweeter to have him there.

i'm lucky because my husband is a good, kind and loyal person who treats my friends like gold.

i am lucky that i have a circle of people that will always be the same, no matter how much we all change.

and i am lucky for a friend like my lisa who is 31 years of the best stuff a friend could ever be made of.

maybe lucky is the wrong word - maybe grateful is what i should say instead. but hey, i'm definitely feeling both.

"People pay for what they do, and still more, for what they have allowed themselves to become.  And they pay for it simply: by the lives they lead."  ~Edith Wharton

love this.

saying bye bye

i hate leaving my girls every morning but this morning was particularly difficult - look at that little face!