Hello Second Trimester!

Well, we made it! Woot! I can honestly say the past week I have felt my energy returning. I think I may be able to cut out the lunch pill, which is great. If I can get to one, that be good. I was only taking one for the rest of my pregnancy with Ariel, but I still needed that one pill to keep from being sick. I will try in a few weeks going off them completely to see if I do in fact still need them, but at this point, I am still quite nauseous when I grow close to the time I usually need another one.


I managed to take a picture this morning and even put on make up! I will be using my pink dress for the second trimester pics since its so pretty. My face right now is reminding me of high school days, I have so many blemishes I call myself pizza the hut. (Little Spaceballs joke for those who get it). Thank heavens for cover up. I actually got some maternity make up in my swag bag from the Oscar party. They are colors that help you look like you are naturally glowing, which I totally need since I never seem to actually glow. I am also letting my natural curl out a bit more since my hair is so limp and icky right now. The curls seem to mask it better.


Today was PINK Shirt day, to wear it to stop Bullies. Ariel and I both got our pink on for the occasion. I was bullied for years so I feel very strongly about this. I think back to how I took my time getting my things together before going home because there was this boy and his friends that would wait to chase me home, push me into a bush and throw things at me. If I waited long enough he would just go home...


I was too shy to speak up and embarrassed to say what was going on. Not to mention back then you just 'took it'. The whole ignore them and they will leave you alone was the norm. I hated those few years and I can't imagine someone doing that to my daughter! I won't stand for it, so next year join us and get your pink on!


Well, need to get dinner finished! Have a good night!

Back on the Air!

I can't believe its been a whole week since I posted, yikes. Sorry everyone, life got crazy... really crazy. So sit back, grab some snacks and see what we have been doing around here.

Last Wednesday marked the big 12 weeks and the last week of the first trimester. I was feeling EXTREMELY gross that day and so I skipped the picture, but here is a little look at the belly growth during these 12 weeks. Crazy!


Thursday was a blur of packing and preparing for our trip to Port Alberni on Vancouver Island for my cousin Ross' wedding to Kailey. It also became a day of panic because the outfit I had planned to wear wasn't looking so great on anymore. Basically, the 'girls' grew a bit more than I thought and lets just say I looked more like a waitress at hooters than a nice respectable girl going to a wedding. Haha.

So Friday morning Ariel and I rushed out to Richmond to hopeful find SOMETHING for me. Thank heavens Old Navy had a maternity dress in a beautiful berry color that was perfect! It was literally an answer to prayer. It was so pretty, and fit perfectly and I felt lovely. For a girl who hasn't felt very attractive lately, it was the cure. Yay!

Ariel wasn't going to be left out, and we found this cute little dress on sale, and of course she was pleased as punch!


She even got a little snail purse that matches her shirt as a potty princess reward. I am proud to say Ariel is the master of #1, on the BIG potty now!!! Poop is still a bit of an issue, but at this point, she has accomplished so much in such a little time that I am so impressed, as is she.


Friday afternoon we met up with Aunty Kara! She showed us her new car, a cute 2000 Echo, I love those cars! Ariel seemed to as well as she wasn't wanting to get out of the back seat. Haha.


We had lunch out and it was nice to catch up with Kara as we haven't seen her in ages with all the busy schedules.


On the way home we got to pick up Ariel's quilt from the quilt shop! Oh my goodness, the gal who quilted it did such an AMAZING job, it has totally brought another level to it and I was practically speechless when I saw it. All that's left is the binding, and then we have a finished quilt, yay!


A few close ups on the details, the cupcakes...


... and the 9 patch blocks.


The rest of the day was last minute packing and loading the car up for our trip. We picked Ken up at the loop and drove to the ferries and caught the 6pm boat to Swartz Bay. We would have preferred to go directly to Duke Point, but the times of that boat were not great and we didn't want to be up super late so we opted to do a longer drive up the next morning.

We stayed in Saanich overnight at this cute hotel called the Waddling Dog. They even had a real dog mascot that greeted you when you arrived. His name was John the 4th. Ariel was a little bit shy around him, but John really wanted to give her kisses. Such a sweet puppy, only 9 months old. Aw!


The rooms were cute and old fashioned and we tucked in for a quiet night.


We were up early to eat our free breakfast and get on the road to Port Alberni which was a 3 hour drive from where we were. Although, it was a long drive, it was sure beautiful. Everything was great until we hit Nanaimo and the winding roads got the best of Ariel and she threw up. Poor thing totally freaked out and kept yelling 'I coughed!' We pulled over and got her cleaned up and changed and headed on our way, only to have her do it again shortly outside of Port Alberni. There was no place to stop since it was all forest, so we had to keep driving while she wailed. It was heartbreaking.

For some wacky reason the directions we got online suddenly weren't making sense as we came into Port Alberni The road it said we were to turn on didn't exist! We had to get some directions from the gas station and thankfully arrived at the hotel on time! We thought we were going to have enough time for lunch, but they wanted the families for pictures before the ceremony, so we ran inside, and got changed and cleaned up in under 15 minutes. Got the the photo site, stood for our 3 pictures and made our way to the church. Ariel was happy to run around and showed no signs of being sick anymore, yay! Although everyone she talked to, she mentioned that she 'coughed' in the car... good thing that they didn't know what 'cough' really meant. Yuck! So if she tells you she needs to cough, better grab a bucket.

When the mother's lit the candles to start the service, Ariel started singing happy birthday, haha! It was a lovely wedding and Ross and Kailey looked very happy. I am so happy for my cousin, he has found a wonderful girl and we wish them the best!


The wedding party...


At the reception we stuffed ourselves with sandwiches and fruit, as we were starving. I even got Mike to steal more food from the table that no one was at, haha, the pregnant gal was hungry!


Ariel and Me, after many fancy sandwiches, we were very happy, hee!


When things wrapped up we stuck around to help clean up since we couldn't help with set up on the Friday. Ariel spent most of her time trying to eat all the left over chocolates.


Ken had some cuddle time with Ross' son Ethan. Such a cutie!


We came back to our hotel and had a wonderful steak dinner with Dad (Rita had gone to bed already), who was kind enough to treat us, thanks again! Ariel was still very hungry and made her huge grilled cheese sandwich disappear. Since we had promised Ariel a dip in the pool we took her, but only stayed a moment as it was REALLY COLD! It was enough to please her though, so that was good.


We tucked in for the night and I watched the Food Network while Ken and Ariel played on the computer. There was a guy making a southern breakfast hash that looked great.... then he topped it with fried chicken! GACK! I am still laughing about that one, just kinda funny for some reason. We slept well and were up for breakfast, again someone paid, we have no idea who did, but thank you! We also got to see and say goodbye to Ross and Kailey. They were on their way to Victoria for a honeymoon and we headed to Nanaimo to take the ferry home.

On the drive, we noticed that the car was a little bit weird, not totally having lots of power when going up the hills. Thankfully we made it on the boat and home with no problems... that was until we left for the evening to go to our Oscar party. After dropping Ariel with Dad and Rita, we got into Vancouver only to barely pull into the corner gas station. UGH!

Called Dad who came as well as the BCAA guy. Turns out our alternator that we though was ok, really wasn't. It was completely dead now, so Dad was kind enough to lend us his car so we could get to our event and had our car towed home. I can even express how terrible I felt that Dad came out to stay with our car and get it towed. I am so thankful for my Dad and all his help, we both are. We are also very blessed this didn't happen on the island, I can't imagine how expensive that would have been to get the car back here.

We made it to the party by 530pm, just missing the opening of the show (we did catch it later online). After filling up on a fabulous steak dinner, we went to watch the show on the big planetarium screen, it was crazy huge! Both of us really enjoyed the show this year, I loved the changes and it made for a fun night, even though both of us still were thinking about the car. After the show, we collected our swag bags and headed home. We brought Dad a bag for all his trouble that night and got our sleeping girl home. I didn't end up taking many pictures since we were late, but I did get one of 'Oscar' himself, haha.


Today I took Ariel to dance class, although I was feeling pretty gross this morning. When we got home we got a call that the car had been fixed, and we are all hoping that its the last of the trouble for a long time. Well, I am going to get back to cleaning up all the junk we just dropped in the living room when we got home yesterday. Will be a better blogger this week, promise!

Much Overdue Update!

... do you hear that? Its silence... yes, the house is empty... except for me! My friend Brenda from church came and took Ariel home to play with her 3 kids until supper time! Talk about a lovely gift and I am enjoying it to the fullest. I am going to blog, have a bath and a rest. Easy dinner tonight, so no prep work, whee!

Well we have left so much to talk about, first off.... THANK YOU for your prayers for Dianne and Chris, third times a charm I guess as they are now the proud parents of little Elena! I woke up at 5am Thursday morning and walked around our house praying. Finally at 630am I went back to bed and fell asleep and woke up right at 830am. I ran to the computer and checked Dianne's blog and saw that beautiful little girl's face smiling and I wept and shouted for joy. I can't wait till we have the honor of meeting her in person, what a day that will be. I made the calls to Nana and Ken, and everyone was so excited. Yay. (Dianne was kind enough to let me post her picture, isn't she darling!)


Also when I left you all, we were just making some dramatic progress in the potty training adventure. Can I just say, my little girl is doing AMAZINGLY!!! I am shocked, really, after day one I was so ready for the worse. Ariel is just wearing panties now, and even has gone through the night and woken up with dry pants! Mommy and Daddy are so excited and Ariel has been given some little rewards for her efforts, a new My Little Pony toy and a big coloring book. We started dressing her in clothes by the weekend so she could work on getting things off and on, and she has done very well. Then on Sunday night she really blew us away when she did a poopy on the potty. Crazy! Good bye diapers and pull ups, we will see you when the new baby arrives.


Friday morning we had breakfast with Dad and Rita at a restaurant to celebrate Valentine's. Ariel was excited to see them and didn't have any accidents at the restaurant, woot. She stuffed back a big breakfast of a pancake, eggs and 2 pieces of bacon. She loved her little bag of goodies, especially her Mr Mutt, a dog that has a magnetic bone to make him do tricks.


We came home and had a lazy afternoon. I had fun taking some pictures of Ariel since she was in a photogenic mode. She has mastered saying cheese and not looking silly. Haha.


Talking to our neighbor who was coming home from work. We have some lovely neighbors who love chatting with her, which is very sweet.


Saturday, Ken went off to teach and Ariel hit the store to pick up the last items we needed for our fancy dinner we were making Daddy for his Valentine's present. We then had lunch with Nana and Papa, fish and chips - yummy! Don't these guys look like two peas in a pod? Haha.


Ariel loved her little gift of a red bear, chocolates and the card. This girl loves cards, can you tell?


We came home and prepped for dinner. Ariel helped me dip the strawberries in chocolate and set the table. Here is the final look, very pretty. Its amazing what a scrap piece of fabric can do to add some color. I got this great bag of organza materials from Stella one time, and I use them as table cloth overlays, so cool.


Ken got home and surprised me with a single rose and a box of chocolate! Woot! He was so cute with his card, as he printed out an old picture from when we first were dating to tape inside. Such a sweetie!!! He even got me an itunes gift card, so unexpected but a lovely gesture. I got him some jelly bellies Valentines mix to go with his fancy dinner, that he was eager to see. So lets begin the dinning experience. Whee.


First course was a tomato and red pepper soup with sour cream heart. It was from the new line of Knorr soups in the color line. This one is called red and I thought it was right for the occasion. Ken loved it and my added touch of adding the heart.


Next we shared a portobello mushroom that was stuffed with Italian Sausage. I picked it up from our new fancy meat counter at Safeway. Thought it was worth a try and Ken loved it!


Then the main course was one of our favorite recipes of Cornish game hens with apple sauce glaze baked over the stuffing. Its from one of my favorite Company's Coming books, Cooking for Two. Very, very yummy! Then added a baked potato and veggies.


Dessert was our chocolate covered strawberries and some heart shaped sugar cookies we picked up at the cafe. The perfect way to end a yummy meal.


Ken was full and very happy from his meal made with love by his girls. Sadly our evening took a nose dive shortly afterwards as I got a nasty headache and went to bed early. Perhaps a food hangover, haha.


Sunday morning I still had a sore head but had to be in the nursery. Thankfully it went well and fast and by lunchtime I was feeling better. I went to the bridal shower for Kalia at church and had a wonderful time visiting and snacking on goodies. Nothing better than getting away for a few hours. Ken had taken Ariel to the park since it was a beautiful day, so I knew they were having a good time too. When I got home at 5pm, this is what I found. Tired out from all their fun, awww.


Today was ballet class and Ariel again did well. Miss Nicole told me Ariel is getting more confident every time, so its great to see. Its weird since she is so lively at home and yet when she is with other kids sometimes gets shy. Guess she is like her mother a bit that way. After class we drove to Costco to FINALLY get the toilet paper and paper towel we desperately needed. Ariel didn't have any accidents and went on the big potty when I helped her. Yay! We had a hot dog before leaving, Mommy needed a pick me up. Hee.

That pretty much leads me to now and my house of quietness... ahhh. Ok, time for a bubble bath and a nap. Byeeeeeee.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Lots to share, but will post more later, working on my big Valentine's dinner for my family. Whee!

Lockdown Day 2

First off, its week 11! Almost out of first trimester! Woot! Still on the full dose of pills but I have had more energy than I have had in the previous weeks, so I hope that it continues. I have an appointment with the doctors next week, and hoping I get to hear a heartbeat, eek!


Yes, I decided this week I had 3 days with nothing booked, so we would lockdown the house and commit to potty training Ariel. I will admit, after day one I wanted to quit. It wasn't pretty, we would take one step forward then 2 back. The only time she peed on the potty was when I had her sit there and drink juice. Then it was like the moment she stood up, pee everywhere. I had her clean it up of course, but then that was fun to do, so that wasn't helping the progress. We tried treat rewards, but frankly, she could care less. Sigh...


I went to bed very defeated, frustrated, and on top of that I had a huge head ache and wasn't feeling great in general. Blah. In the morning we started Day 2, and it didn't start well. Ariel wasn't excited about being in underwear again, it was like she knew what that meant. We had several accidents and even a 'poop on the floor' moment. Then I thought to try the reward chart with stickers. I found one with the Disney princesses, and surprisingly, that seemed to spark her attention. After every pee in the potty she would get a sticker to add to her chart. For the most part she did well, and of course there was the odd accident. Her biggest problem is she plays and frankly I don't think she realizes that she goes. Thankfully Mommy stock piled uber amounts of underpants before we took this on, lol.


Then the big surprise was she came upstairs when I went to grab something to tell me that she went on the potty! I ran down and sure enough there was a potty of pee. She was so proud and even had her panties back on! I nearly died, could we finally be on the road to true success! I think tomorrow will be a good experiment to see, so keep send positive thoughts and prayers.

Tomorrow is also D-day for my friend Dianne. Praying for some good news in regards to their 3rd court date for adopting their little sweetie from Ethiopia! Its been a rough road for her and Chris, and we are hoping everyone sends out some strong prayers tonight for them and little Elena. Family Day in Alberta is coming up, so it would be a wonderful way to celebrate for them to have the news that she is officially theirs. Love you guys!

Not much else to say, just planning my menu for our Valentines dinner at home this Saturday. I plan on cooking something yummy, so looking forward to that. Plus, we are confirmed to be attending Vancouver's biggest Oscar party at the planetarium! If you are in the area and are interested in going, click HERE for ticket info. The cost includes a 3 Course "Steak Oscar" dinner, swag bag, Oscar contest and prizes! Not to mention watching the show one of the largest screens possible. I can't wait! I will take lots of pictures! Eek!

Well, Ken is home, better go! Bye!

Elephant prints in the Peanut Butter?

...No, Ariel prints! How do you keep a girl out of the peanut butter jar? I seriously may have to babygate our kitchen, as princess feels the need to help herself rather than ask me. Perhaps its due to the fact I have been out of it and she is feeling the need to provide for herself? Either way, its growing old! She pulls the stool over, gets it down from the high cupboard and well you know the rest. That's my girl, I call her MacGyver.

So the last blog we were preparing for Ken's birthday on Thursday, and boy did it turn out to be a doozy. The night before when I had forgotten to take my pill at lunch, it came to haunt me. I was unable to keep anything down that whole evening and gave myself a huge migraine. Ugh. The next morning Ken was to be going to a school for a presentation so we were to go out to breakfast to celebrate his birthday, but I was still super sick in the morning so that didn't happen.

Ken headed out after lunch to go to the school, using our car which I was a bit concerned about as it had done a weird thing the night before. I was at ease when he called at the school saying he arrived safe and sound. The day went fast and I had enough energy to pull together a steak and potato dinner for my man. Then he called... the car broke down... and he was over an hour away. I broke down sobbing, not today, not on his birthday, not when I feel sick... ugh. I tried calling my dad but no one answered. I called Nana and got the number for BCAA, and we became members over the phone, haha, and someone was on route to help him. They managed to shock the engine and he got home safely and we had a very late dinner... but it was still good.

Next morning I took the car in (which I was super annoyed about since we had JUST been in). All they could figure out was that the battery was pretty much dead. They tried charging it all morning so they could test to see if it was the alternator (which is what I was dreading it would be) but turns out the battery wouldn't juice up enough for the test. They tired a new one and sure enough the test works and nothing appears to be wrong! So when all was said and down, it was cheaper than anticipated, and Dad and Rita were kind enough to help us out, thanks again! We truly appreciate it!

Here is something fun to see, the finished quilt top! Its going off to the quilters to get the backing and cotton middle added. I can't wait to see the final product, its too cute! Stella found a great backing flannel that's blue with sprinkles, very cute! Plus it was on sale, bonus!


Sunday morning we all stayed home. I was so tired and we were having company for Ken's birthday dessert so we laid low and it was heaven. Then Mike and Jo arrived at 7pm and at 20 after we called and poor Dad and Rita thought it was 8pm so dashed over. We ate cake that I decorated with some jelly bellies that Stella had gotten Ken (thanks, they made good decorations) and added a Kermit. We always have toys around here so its easy to find a good topper. Haha.


Ariel had been DYING all day to blow out the candles and eat the cake. On several occasions we caught her tying to get a knife (butter one, don't worry) to cut herself a piece! This girl is insane! We had to hide it on top of the fridge finally.


Ken got some nice gifts, Ariel and I got him a used copy of the new Batman movie (he had actually seen the used one at the video store and hinted - haha) and the Garfield minus Garfield book he was wanting. Mike and Jo got him a 2 free movie pass with the drinks and popcorn added, always nice for a date. (Score!) Dad and Rita surprised us both with paying for our Fleetwood Mac tickets! Yes, I got my present early too, hee. Sadly Nana and Papa didn't make it in the end, so we missed them.

This morning I woke up and got Ariel out the door for ballet class. Today they were trying a new thing of not having parents in the room, and boy did it do wonders for Ariel! Miss Nicole said she was so confident and just glowed. When I came back Ariel grinned so wide and yelled 'HI MOMMY! I DANCED!' It was so sweet and everyone went 'Awww'. She is really growing up. Came home and Ariel relaxed with her friends while I made some lunch.


After lunch we did a craft, a playdo frame. It was fun to pick the colors and we changed it several times.


Finally we were happy with this, and Ariel was very proud.


Since I was somewhat feeling good, I remembered to call the hair salon to book an appointment as my hair was looking pretty yucky. Surprisingly they had a cancellation and I could go in tonight so I am home now with happy cut hair! They took off about 3 inches and layered it a bit, so I am pleased.


Well, I am going to get a bit more work done on Graeme and Kalia's video. I got all of Graeme's pictures scanned today, it was a huge job as he had quite a few albums I had to go through. Now its time for the easy stuff, and it should be finished this weekend. YAY!

Ok, have a good night everyone!

Who Pressed The Self Destruct Button?

I guess you know by the title its gonna be a doozy! Its been a rough few days but I am happy to say we made it to week 10. Huzzah! Only 30 more to go, ugh. Here is my ever so lovely picture, kinda wishing I didn't do them. I really don't look nice in any of them... here is hoping by second trimester I look better. Blah! Yes, I will string the first trimester pictures together when I get to 13 weeks, so getting close.



Our Superbowl food was a hit. I made veggie quesadillas and they were sooooooo yummy, and really filling. I highly recommend them. I even watched some of the game, and kinda figured out what was going on. Haha.

So Monday morning I managed to drag my butt out of bed in time to take Ariel to ballet class. She was better this week, although she kept checking to make sure I was still there. Should be interesting next week when she is to be alone in the class... shall fill you in as to how it goes. Just when things were going well and she was smiling, 'CRASH' another girl falls on top of her, smashing her face into the floor. When I pull her up, she is crying and there is blood. Oh man, not the lip again! Miss Nicole helps us in the bathroom with getting cleaned up and Ariel is enthralled with the special attention from teacher. She is smiling in no time and back dancing.

When we got home the phone was ringing and while I answered it, princess decided to help herself to a snack. Too many evenings with Daddy I think! Haha.


Here is the lip later that morning, not too bad at all, just kinda bruised.


Tuesday we went to Stella's for some sewing on the cupcake quilt... and I totally forgot to get a picture of the progress. I will say the stopped boarder is on and 2 of the larger boarders were on when we left. Stella was going to finish it up to help me out, as things are taking me longer as I move slower these days.

I did get a cute shot of the future seamstress. Ariel is convinced she is sewing, its very sweet.


Today was hard... we rolled out of bed by 10ish and walked to the library to pick up something, hit the store to get the lettuce I forgot the day before and came home in time for me to collapse into bed. I didn't know what was wrong, I managed to eat, but then it got to a point where I couldn't move, and if I did, I knew I was going to be sick. All afternoon I laid in bed while Ariel played quietly in her room. When I got up to go the bathroom later I found that she had kept herself very busy.


Yes, I had to take a picture because I know at some point down the road it will be funny, and good blackmail I am sure. My daughter had striped down, emptied her book shelf and drawer and was playing dress up.

I went downstairs to find her dress she took off and saw my pill sitting on the counter... I had forgotten to take it at lunch! UGH! No wonder I couldn't get out of bed all day. Good grief. In the time I took it and got back upstairs, Ariel had gone into phase two and processed to play with the toothpaste in the hallway. It was in her hair and lets just say it was a new tube... yes, our hallway carpet is very minty.


Into the bath she went to get washed up, then I got as much as I could out of the carpet. Got the clothes and books picked up and now I sit and type while she is reading beside me. She really is a good girl, just pushing the limits... who wouldn't with a mom half out of it.

Sooooo, tomorrow is Ken's birthday, and I look forward to celebrating his special day with him. We are having a family dessert thing on Sunday, so no cake till then, and I think it will be rather boring this year, nothing super creative... my brain hurts. Ok, off to find my daughter's dress, she is naked again.