pregnant lady on another rant...

This past weekend, I turned from a happy preggo into a grumpy preggo. I had been looking forward to this weekend for several months. It was a weekend to be filled with pampering and relaxation... any girls dream... a manicure, pedicure, and a hair cut. I was in definite need of all of them! It is sometimes hard to find the time to pamper yourself - especially when you are running around after a 20 month old - and at this point, trying to paint my toe nails is next to impossible because of my belly. Last Valentine's Day, the hubby had purchased this preggo a spa package. I was so excited when I knew my girlfriend also received the same package, we decided it would be the perfect girls day to spend together.

Saturday arrived and we jumped into the car to head to our appointment. We chatted on the way there about what we were going to do with our hair and couldn't wait to have our nails painted now that it is sandal weather. We stepped into the salon with big smiles on our faces as the day had finally arrived when we would walk out the salon door all beautified. We were greeted with "Hello. How are you? You got my message? Are you ready for your pedicure?" Oh, back that up, what message? I never received a message from the salon and neither had my friend. The lady proceeded to tell us that she called us to inform us that we would not be able to have our hair done because her employee was unable to come in and she did not have any open spaces available with her other stylists. My heart sunk as I realized after waiting months and months to have a new do', I would be walking out with my lifeless hair that was in dire need of some help. After the initial shock wore off, we still had a manicure and pedicure to enjoy.

The manicure/pedicure was not exactly what I expected, and I have to say that two days later, my nails are chipping already! Grrr, how frustrating?! This preggo is so not happy. Do these people now how much this preggo wanted to walk out of the salon with a new do' and beautiful nails that would last more than a week? After such a disappointing day, the only thing that made this preggo happy was spending time with her girlfriend. Maybe next time around Meg, things will work out!

Asked the manicurist to take our picture, she wasn't sure how to use the camera.  Came out blurry , just added to our experience. I loved spending time with my girl though.

Choices, choices- so many colours to choose from. What is your favourite colour this spring?

My girl showing off her pedicure.

29 weeks

Weekly e-mail update: His muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and his head is growing bigger to make room for his developing brain. To meet his increasing nutritional demands, you'll need plenty of protein, vitamins C, folic acid, and iron. And because his bones are soaking up lots of calcium, be sure to drink your milk (or find another good source of calcium, such as cheese, yogurt, or enriched orange juice). This trimester, about 250 milligrams of calcium are deposited in your baby's hardening skeleton each day.
How far along?: 29 weeks
How big is baby?:Your baby now weighs about 2 1/2 pounds (like a butternut squash) and is a tad over 15 inches long from head to heel.
Weight gain?: Hold onto your hats everyone- I am up 16 pounds!
Stretch marks?: Not yet. Lathering up the lotion.
Maternity clothes?: Sigh, I started breaking out my maternity clothes.
Food cravings?: I haven't really had any this week.
Sleep?: The bathroom breaks have started again.
Gender?: Son...son...son.
Exercise?: Now that the weather has started to co-operate, I am going back to my 30 minutes of walking each day. This week has started off well, I have even been able to add a few more minutes here and there.
What's been going on?: Okay, let me start off by saying that I PASSED my glucose test! Yes, that means I won't be going to the 3 hour test, and I am over the moon. I met with my ob/gyn on Tuesday and was informed that I passed my test, my thyroid is stable and doing well, and my hemoglobin is excellent. I am a much happier camper after hearing such great news. Baby is right on track, and I was able to hear his strong heartbeat. I really can't believe I am in my third trimester - this pregnancy is flying by. I am somewhat starting to freak myself out a bit, remembering what labour was like. I think back to the aftermath of everything and how difficult my recovery was. I just keep reminding myself how everyone says the second time around is a lot easier - you guys better be right! The house has been coming along nicely and we are slowly working on the nursery. Little Miss L. continues to talk to her brother, and gives lots of hugs and kisses. I hope this continues once he is out of my belly. Life is good and I can't complain :)

29 week belly. I am carrying a lot lower this time around.

29 week belly with pregnancy #1.

I had to share this picture...love her so much!

blueberry banana bread

I love love love a yummy loaf of banana bread. Last week they had blueberries on sale at the local grocery store so I grabbed several packs, threw them into the cart and was on my way. Once I got home, I realized I wasn't sure what I was going to do with all of them. Then the light bulb came on in my head and I decided why not add some blueberries to a loaf of banana bread?  Let me tell you, I was not disappointed. The two flavours compliment each other and the blueberries add a special kick for the summer. This is a great recipe to serve if you are having guests over for coffee/tea.

Ingredients

• 4 ripe bananas, mashed
• 1/3 cup of melted butter
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda
• Pinch of salt
• 1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup fresh blueberries (you can use frozen if you don't have any fresh on hand)
• 1/4 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)

Preparation

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees (175 Celsius)
• In a large bowl, mash bananas.
• In separate bowl, beat your egg. Once egg is beaten, add vanilla and sugar to the bowl. Stir until they are mixed together.
• Sprinkle baking soda and salt over the egg mixture. Stir until they are well combined.
• Add liquid mixture to mashed bananas. Stir well. Then add flour to mixture, mix well.
• Pour mixture into a buttered 4x8 inch loaf pan.
• Optional - you can add chopped nuts on top.
• Bake for 1 hour (usually check at 45 minutes, it all depends on your oven)
• Allow loaf to cool, remove from pan.
• Serve with fresh fruit, coffee/tea, or it is great just by itself.

All you need are these yummy fruits and you are all set.

Mixture just before going into the oven. Remember to butter your loaf pan.

The final product. I love love love my blueberry banana bread!

crazy hair day...we finally have some!

I never thought the day would finally come when I could say my daughter was having a crazy hair day. Little Miss L. has been waiting 19 months for this special moment. During my pregnancy with Little Miss L. I had severe heartburn. Many people informed me that if I was suffering from heartburn then my child would be born with lots of hair. After hearing this over and over, I prepared myself for a child who would pop out and I would be able to put her hair in a ponytail right away. Boy, did I have surprise...Little Miss L. had very little hair! Month after month, I would wait for that moment I would walk into her room and lift her out of the crib to see a full head of hair had grown overnight, but that was never the case until a few weeks ago. All of sudden, Little Miss L.'s hair came to life and this is what we are dealing with now...

This is what happens when I have a crazy hair day - watch out!

Finally we have some hair at 19 months.

Little Miss L. 7 days old.

6 months old and still the same length. 

9 months old, starting to see a little more hair.

12 months old and still no change.

Finally starting to see a difference at 17 months and it doesn't look like it is stopping any time soon!

projects...projects...projects

This past weekend was a busy one. It was time to start some projects around the house. We are still unpacking boxes, and finding new homes for our belongings, but it is starting to feel more like home. I am one tired momma. Here is a sneak peak at what went down around here... more to come soon.

This weekend, I decided to get my bake on. I decided to make some yummy blueberry banana  bread - I will post the recipe later this week.

The hubby started the transformation of our change table for the nursery.  My mother-in-law was able to find this change table in light oak, but we wanted something a little darker as the baby's crib is espresso. We decided to stain the table in a dark mahogany colour. The first coat is complete, hopefully we will have this project finished by next weekend. Pictures will follow with steps on how we stained this piece of furniture. 

We have been experiencing lots of rain in the last few weeks.  With all the rain, we noticed our underground downspout drain was not working. We were noticing the water backing up and it was not traveling far enough away from the house. I will let you in how the hubby fixed our problem in a later post.  

I had a few minutes to put my feet up, and when I did, I realized the wall  between our closet and bathroom in the master bedroom was in need of a little something. The wall was bare, lacking character and charm. I was able to find the perfect solution to solve our problem... our wall is bare no longer... pictures coming soon.

28 weeks

Weekly e-mail update: He can blink his eyes, which now sport lashes. With his eyesight developing, he may be able to see the light that filters in through your womb. He's also developing billions of neurons in his brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world.
How far along?: 28 weeks
How big is baby?: By this week, your baby weighs two and a quarter pounds (like a Chinese cabbage) and measures 14.8 inches from the top of his head to his heels.
Weight gain?: I don't have a scale at our new place- will have to get to the store to get one.
Stretch marks?: Not yet. Lathering up the lotion.
Maternity clothes?: Still using the belly band with my normal clothes. Pants are starting to get tight, might have to open my box of maternity clothes.
Food cravings?: I love love love any kind of ice cream.
Sleep?: I can't seem to get comfortable. I find if I place a pillow behind my back and under my belly, it does help a bit.
Gender?: Boy...oh boy!
Exercise?: My exercise consists of cleaning, unpacking, more cleaning, and more unpacking.
What's been going on?: Can I get a hip-hip hooray? I am in my third trimester! At the start of the week, I went to my dreaded glucose test. I was extremely nervous about forcing myself to drink that awful orange flavoured concoction. I have to admit that it was not as bad as I remembered it; with that being said, having my first pregnancy overseas, I would say the drink looked and tasted similar but the one I had to down in Portugal seemed to be of thicker consistency and definitely had a sweeter taste. It was much harder to down, and all I kept thinking about was forcing myself to drink it in five minutes without getting sick to my stomach or I would have to do the process all over again. This time around, I made it through and I will receive my results next week at my ob/gyn appointment. The little one has been consistently active this week, it feels less like kicks and feels more like he is a little worm moving about. It sometimes feels like his little foot is going to pop through my belly. Little Miss L. was lying with me on the couch the other day with her hand placed on my belly and was finally able to feel her brother kick. She informed me that she didn't like it and now is timid to touch my belly. I can't believe I have already made it to the third trimester... now it is crunch time. We definitely need to get our butts in gear to finish the nursery and find a name for our son.

28 week belly.

28 week belly with pregnancy #1.

baby e

This post has been a long time coming... I had the opportunity to snap a few shots of baby E awhile back, but with our move and busy schedules, I haven't had the opportunity to post them. The wait is finally over! I couldn't pass up the chance to share a few pictures of this adorable baby girl. You might recall some of the photos I took of her parents just before baby E's big arrival. Enjoy, she is one precious bundle of joy!

we love tulips

Last week, the hubby and I had the chance to take Little Miss L. to our local tulip festival. The weather was gorgeous, and the tulips did not disappoint. This tulip festival is known as the Canadian Tulip Festival, which is in its 59th year, and has grown to become the largest Tulip Festival in the world. It preserves the local heritage of Canada’s role in freeing the Dutch during World War II, and the symbolic tulip; a gift in perpetuity to the Canadian people for providing a safe harbour to the Dutch Royal Family at that time. You can learn more about it here http://www.tulipfestival.ca/history/.

Little Miss L. enjoyed every minute of it, pointing out all the different colours of the flowers, smelling them as she walked by, and she was in absolute love with interacting with everyone who passed by her. I love love love when the weather permits us the opportunity to get outdoors and enjoy the fresh air. I guess everyone felt the same way as the park was packed with people doing the same thing. For those of you in the Ottawa area, if you are looking for something to do with the kids this long weekend, then hit up the Tulip Festival because it closes after this weekend. If you haven't had a chance to get down and check out all of the different kinds of tulips...you won't be disappointed. You will be amazed with all of the vibrant colours, they have every colour of the rainbow.