The Nursery

The new nursery is complete! Well pretty much....as complete as it's gonna get considering we're on a budget. Everything was done on fifteen minute chunks of time here and there when Maya was not taking up all my attention. Gotta fill some holes and iron the drapes, but this gives you an idea of the overall look! 

Since I am not a talented photographer those are the best pictures we're gonna get with the lighting that I had. I just sort of ran upstairs when Maya was sleeping and started snapping up a storm with my does-so-many-cools-things-but-I-just-don't-have-the-time-to-figure-out how-to use-it camera. 

The inspiration for this room began with pictures on pinterest. The two main things that got me started were the wall colour (Stonington Grey - Benjamin Moore) and a handful of fabrics from the fabric store that I snatched during a huge fifty percent off sale. I made the fabric stretch throughout the room for various projects to save some moolah. We went to Ikea and got the same furniture that a million other nursery's have and some toys to go with it.  

Actually, we bought the exact same dresser and book shelf that we bought for Maya's room only the smaller scaled down version.....

Then I threw in our old rocker / recliner chair that Chris had in his bachelor pad back in the day so that I have somewhere to rock the baby. Crib was a good deal on kijiji and most of the books were purchased with Chapters gift cards I've collected. The rest of the stuff were things we already had from when Maya was a new born. 

Another cheap addition were plastic bins for storage that I already had lying around the house. They added just another punch of colour to offset the grey walls. 

Here's the highlights of what you would find if you were to come visit the new babe!

A home made mobile as seen on pinterest.

Fabric put into frames for easy wall art, also pinterest inspired.

Nifty shelves from Ikea and crafty book holder made with double curtain rods for when baby is big enough to pick out his own books!

Book shelf from Ikea with legs attached since it sits right on top of an air vent. 

Your classic three drawer dresser from Ikea. 

My favourite project. Soft blocks. 

Personalized bunting. Yep, we picked our name already!

Fun boy toys. 

Snuggly blankets. 

Lots of little bins for storage. 

Soft teddy bear. 

More colourful storage.

I love this little clock, it is so quiet and perfect for telling what time it is when I am sleep deprived. 

Used a groupon to get this wall decal for fifty percent off. After ordering I learned that trees are all the rage in nurseries this year!

I feel good knowing that the nursery is pretty much ready to go. One less thing to do! We've got seven weeks to go people! Speaking of which, did I tell you that my BFF is also pregnant and due in October?  Yesterday she was admitted into the hospital on strict bed rest, the poor gal! More on that later!  

Hey There!

This blog has been ever changing since I first started it. The goal at the beginning was to use it as a way of keeping myself motivated every day to get back into a healthy lifestyle and work towards weight loss goals. Every day I would write about a reason to stay motivated and would keep track of what I was eating. Then, once I made some progress I got preggers again and it sort of just evolved into talking about my life as a Mom, going back to work, you know that sort of thing. Now a days it's pretty random, I just can't seem to find the time to update this thing as often as I would like to. So I thought today I would at least give a pregnancy update and let you know how I have been doing on the whole back to work, healthy eating thing. 

This is me at 31 weeks. 

So far this pregnancy has been pretty typical. Brutal morning (all day sickness) lasted for about the first four months, but then it tapered off. Now it's just the usual aches and pains of pregnancy, nothing out of the ordinary. When I found out I was pregnant, I decided to stop modifying what I eat in terms of trying to lose weight and just try to eat as many whole foods as I can. Well since then I have been eating pretty much whatever I want. That includes processed foods and some take out. Since I have been back at work it seems to have been a slippery slope in that regard. I get so hungry during the day, so a lot of mornings you will see me walking down from the cafeteria with a muffin and a chocolate milk, after already eating breakfast at home.  I could plan ahead and bring something healthy but it is a chore just to pack a lunch every day let alone a morning snack. Anyhow, I have also allowed myself the occasional chocolate chip cookie in the afternoon, and so on. You get the picture.  I do get my servings of fruits and veggies in every day, but I know that I could be way more disciplined when someone offers me dessert or when I am tempted to order pizza on a Saturday night (which we did when I had my Dad over last night to celebrate father's day).

So far this pregnancy I have already gained 30lbs, and I have nine weeks to go. I still only weigh a few lbs more than I did before I even got pregnant with Maya last time but I know this is not just all baby and so I feel a bit guilty about weighing this much. I can see the chub in my face and the sausage arms back in full force. The good news is in the last few weeks I have only been able to eat smaller portions and snack rather than eat big meals (since baby is now taking up all the room).  So hopefully there won't be too much more gaining going on, but they say the last month of pregnancy is the most weight gain so I better watch it.

I kept going to my cardio kickboxing classes until I was about six months pregnant but then stopped once my membership expired (and belly was starting to get in the way). I felt so much better when I was exercising regularly. Now I try to get out for walks but honestly with this weather I usually opt to stay inside after work and put my feet up after Maya goes to bed. I can't wait to get back into a regular exercise routine though!

But overall I would have to say that I could be doing a lot worse, and I am confident that when I get my body to myself again I will continue working towards my goals. In the mean time it's just the count down until crazy craziness mccrazy enters my home with two kids under two.

But don't get me started on my thoughts about working full time and having a kid. It is so much easier to stay on track when you are at home and just focusing on yourself and your family - but we'll save that for another day.



So Maya and I did a spontaneous photo shoot in the back yard last week in preparation for father's day. It took forever just to get a few decent shots. But now her daddy has updated photos he can bring to work with him.

Father's day was pretty low key today. Chris got back late last night from being out of town for an adventure race that he does with guys from work every year. When he woke up today he was pretty sore and so we didn't do any traveling or visiting today, just hung out as a family. In fact, that's what we're doing right this second as I sit here and type this. 

Stay tuned for pictures of the nursery - it is almost complete!

I hope you all are having a wonderful day!

Get Out Of This House

The last three days have been very challenging around here. Maya has been little miss crabby crab. It's so hard to tell what is bothering her sometimes - it seems like she is just crying NON STOP and there are no clear signs of what is distressing her.  It reminds me of when she was colicky as a new born and all we could do to make her stop crying was sit her up and pat her back for two weeks straight. Tonight after supper I told her Dad, "Take this child out of here so I can clean up dinner in silence!". She always seems to be in a better mood when we are hanging around the back yard so out they went.  Later I joined them for some grass time and it is so entertaining to see her chicken out every time I try to get her to touch the grass. She hates it when her feet or any other part of her body has contact with those spiky little things growing out of the ground.  It's funny because even when she is driving me crazy I still have the urge to just scoop her up and give her a million kisses, know what I mean? Do your little ones ever make you go bonkers?

 

This Long Weekend

It's only Saturday and we still have two more glorious days of nice weather ahead of us!

Toddler Cuteness

I just can't get enough of her cuteness lately. She repeats every word that comes out of my mouth. She sings along to songs. She copies all my gestures. She climbs everything. I got a video of her saying "cracker" the other day cause every time I pick her up from daycare she asks for a cracker over and over again all the way home. It must be her new favourite thing. And don't even get me started on the fact that she knows most of her body parts....nose, eyes, ears, mouth, hair, belly button, hands, feet....I had no idea she knew so much!  I know that every other fourteen month old can do these things, but come on, MY baby girl is the cutest for sure!

Another thing I love is when day care sends home things that she has made.  For reals, my heart explodes with pride when I see what she has done (even though I know most of it is the handi work of her teachers and she just puts random splashes of paint on things).  But still, these are the things that make being a parent so much fun. Here are just a few of the things that have come home lately... 

A thumb print necklace

A painted picture frame with sparkles that says "Mom"

These little handprints literally make me swoon.

They love to do stuff with paint!

I cannot even explain how something simple like a tiny handprint on paper can make your day when you are away from your little one at work.  It is such a miracle to watch a child you created grow and learn every day and to change so much every day. I cherish this time in my life.