Liv*n Life

sicky, guilt, oh and an engagement!!

2012-01-24T20:07:00.000-07:00

Liv has had a struggle lately. She's on the mend, but still isn't 100%. Her mucous-y sickness has been passed along to me and we've both been a little miserable. Add her sickness to starting daycare and I have one clingy kiddo. She's been crying every time I drop her off at daycare and when I pick her up. Apparently it's just too much for her to see other parent's picking up their kids and not see her mom.

It's such a weird transition for me, not something you can be ready for. I feel guilty when I come to get Liv and she's crying and I'm not working yet. I can only imagine the guilt I'm going to feel when I'm working full-time. Hopefully though, I'll feel a little more fulfilled and in control of my life.

Anywaysss.

I had a wonderful day yesterday. It was my 27th birthday, which I share with my twin sister (Dani). I've talked about her a lot on here. Dani and Mike (otherwise known as: Bikey) got engaged!!! We are all so happy for them. I have known for a bit so it was hard to keep a secret but it was so worth it. I said to liv that Auntie Dani and Uncle Bikey were getting married and she responded "I gettin' mawied!". Girl doesn't like to be left out. She also told me it was her birthday yesterday....

Pat took me to the Calgary tower for dinner. It was good because it was different from anything we normally do, but it was a little stuffy for us. The restaurant stands at 155 meters and revolves a full circle every 45 minutes. So weird to be constantly moving. Here is a link to go see for yourself. We walked to the top of the tower after dinner and everyone else stood on the glass floor, but I don't appreciate heights and the feeling that I'm going to fall to my death, so I passed...I took a little peek over though :).

We'll be spending the rest of our week recovering and cleaning in anticipation for Ashley to come visit! She's coming either Friday or Saturday to spend a few days with us. We will probably spend our time visiting, drinking wine, and crafting!

Bikey and Dani. Congrats! Love you :)

a great idea and a good friend.

2012-01-20T12:48:00.001-07:00

I had to write about my friend, Jocie. She just started a blog and not just any blog. She started a blog in order to reach out to people who are dealing with the same loss she is dealing with and also to be an advocate for suicide prevention. She lost her little brother to suicide two years ago. I've known Jocie since grade school and her strength is undeniable. Whenever I am feeling sorry for myself over the loss of Shannon, I think about Jocie. She is a survivor and has survived more heartbreak than I and I am so proud of her for using her loss to help others. Please take a minute to read her story and share. Here is the link.

Jocie and I.

what's new

2012-01-18T09:19:00.001-07:00

I have been spending a lot of time during my day job searching. It's more annoying than I remember, but it gets easier the more jobs I apply to. It's just been so long! I had my resume updated/re-written for me, because It needed a facelift, I'm much more confident in it. It doesn't exactly change my lack of experience, but it made it sound a little prettier ha.

Other than that, Liv is at daycare again today. She knows what is going on at drop-offs now, so there have been tears. She breaks my heart, but I know its for the best that she gets used to this. I know once I'm gone that the tears stop and she has a great time. It's good for her to be around other kids and stay busy.

We've kind of hit a road block on her sleeping though. I don't know if it is her being sick or she's just going through a stage, but she is getting up multiple times during the night to come in bed with us. Mean mommy made a few appearances last night when I had to put her back in bed. She is not a toddler you can sleep with, we've tried, and we end up being up all night. I'm hoping mean mommy can take a vacation after a few more days.

I've also been on pinterest a lot lately. I'm finding inspiration to re-decorate our living room. I'll update on that when I have more finished. Pat enjoys teasing me about pinterest, however his obsession with reddit is equally as obnoxious so I take it all in stride. Last night when we were lying in bed, talking about who knows, he made a comment that "I know, I'm so pinteresting"...he's hilarious.

My life has been exciting...not really, but what is exciting is that we are going to a piano bar on Friday to celebrate my birthday (which is on Monday). I've only been there once before, but it was a blast, so i'm looking forward to going there with Pat and some friends.

"school"

2012-01-10T21:04:00.002-07:00

It's Liv's first day of "school" tomorrow, or what normal people call, daycare. We strategically played it off to her as school, because she is very into wearing her backpack around and pretending like she is going to school.

As of right now, I'm excited. Things could change tomorrow morning. There might be tears, but I think its for the best...for both of us. It will give me some extra time to do some major job searching and organizing so that my apartment is in order once I start working. Oh what will I do with all my extra time?

She's going to go two days this week and probably three days next week and the following weeks until I find a job. The idea is to ease her into daycare. She went to daycare when she was around 5 months old, but not for a lengthy amount of time and she definitely doesn't remember. This will be a total shock for her. I'm hoping for a nice and smooth transition.

So...wish us luck! I'm a little anxious I'm going to forget something. I already had to make a last minute run to the store for snowpants because Liv's mysteriously went missing, not pointing fingers, Pat...oh I'm definitely pointing fingers. Crisis averted though...I'm thankful that my over planning self decided to pack her bag tonight and not tomorrow morning :).

my pretty girl(s)

2012-01-06T13:26:00.007-07:00

It's been so nice here this week. Two days ago it was around 60 degrees here. I posted about the nice weather already, but it gives me a chance to get Liv outside and practice my limited photography skills. It helps that my subject is so cute and I don't have to have the perfect picture to make her look perfect.

taking lily for a walk...umm notice the infinity scarf, on a 2 year old! I die...it's so cute :). (my mom made it!)

exciting

strolling

my wild girl

this is a rare moment that I'm thankful I caught

The New Year

2012-01-04T09:43:00.000-07:00

We started off the New Year with me receiving my work permit! You know the one that I've been waiting over 11 months for....yes that one. What better way to start the new year than with a fresh start and a new beginning. I can't even explain how exciting this is for me. I have felt stuck after moving to Canada. This work permit brings with it some excitement for me.

Liv has been on a waiting list for about a month to a daycare that is literally 2 blocks away. I am calling back today to check on when she'll be able to go. She'll be in for some big changes. Speaking of big changes, we are on day 3 of no "sucky". Well she gets it at naptime and bedtime, but this is seriously huge for her and us. It was our new year's resolution. She is under the impression that daycare is school and she is very excited to go to school...she woke up this morning talking about it :). I told her that yes she is going to school and there will be other big girls there and they won't have suckies because they don't allow them at school. She seemed satisfied with that answer ha.

We had a pretty low-key NY eve. We had a few people over and everyone pretty much filed out after midnight and we went to bed. It was nice to hang out at home and also to not have to stress about where we were going and finding a babysitter. So not worth it and this was much better. I do have far too much champagne left over, so it looks like I'll be drinking that tomorrow for the return of grey's, private practice, and vampire diaries!!!

It's also be unseasonably nice here, which is perfect when trying to keep Liv busy and her mind off her non-existent sucky...so we took a trip to the park yesterday. I have a bunch of pictures I discovered on my little camera that I need to upload and sort, so hopefully that will motivate me to do some more consistent posts.

kind of love this picture.

slide!

christmas 2011

2011-12-27T11:02:00.003-07:00

Christmas 2011 was a success! While I wish I had more pictures....I was trying to enjoy the moment and not be stuck behind the camera. Liv had a blast. She was so excited with everything she opened and all of the parties we went to. She is exhausted and her and I are having a relaxing day today. Well, she is...I am cleaning the up after the hurricane that destroyed our apartment. It is a disaster.

Some Christmas highlights:
- Skating! We did a lot of ice skating. We even did a little sledding. Liv isn't currently ready to play in the NHL, but give her a few years ;).

-Christmas Eve was spent at Great Grandma Doreen's house. It's the tradition and we had appetizers and opened gifts, all while enjoying each other's company.

-Christmas morning we had a big breakfast here: including red velvet pancakes, eggs, sausage, bacon, hashbrowns, cinnamon rolls, and of course some mimosas and coffee with bailey's. It was perfect and hopefully can be the new tradition!

-Christmas Day we had a nap, did some more skating, and then headed over to Grandma Carolyn's for food, drinks and visiting. Also, another tradition and is great to see everyone.

-Boxing day Pat took liv to the Mac's midget tournament, she was so excited. She had her new backpack from santa stuffed with stuff to do and snacks and headed out for 4 hours of hockey excitement. I did a little boxing day shopping and we had a nap together when they got home and headed over to Auntie Donna's for a "cousin's get together". This is another place that we look forward to because we get to see family we don't see very often.

Needless to say, all of us our exhausted. Liv had a few naps where I thought she would have slept all night if I let her and she did not want to wake up. Poor girl. I think she would agree though that it was worth it :).

and onto the pictures!

at GG Doreen's opening some gifts.

wondering what to do with this? (she got a leap pad for xmas :)

playing us some christmas tunes, Thanks auntie Dani for the dress!

christmas morning!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas 2011!!!

sleep

2011-12-15T10:51:00.001-07:00

We've had a little improvement in the sleep department.

Here's a re-cap of our sleeping timeline:
-moved into our new apartment early October.
-didn't bring the crib, so straight to the toddler bed.
-went home for 3 week, where liv slept in a pack and play
-came back and liv had a month of doing well at bedtime, sleeping all night in her bed.
-then came huge tantrums at bedtime which had me sitting on her floor until she fell asleep.
-got the tantrums under control and not sitting on the floor, but have to keep her door open.
-but now we are having issues with liv getting up randomly to come into our bed in the middle of the night.

Letting Liv sleep with us would be the easy thing, but honestly...none of us sleep well. Multiple wake-ups occur and coaxing ensues to get her back to sleep. So, last night at 1:30am I was woken up by Liv, took a deep breath and pulled myself out of bed to put her back in her room. It was unpleasant but it worked. She came back in my room around 6:10am, but slept soundly with me until 7:20. I consider it a success!

The main thing for Liv right now is having her door open. It's not necessarily a problem if it's just us in the apartment, which usually it is...but obviously if something else was going on, i.e. setting up for xmas morning, it might become one.

If Liv wakes up and her door is closed, she gets up and cries to tell me she wants it open...once I get the waking up thing under control I might attempt to close it once she's sleeping again. Baby steps. I originally tried to fight her freak-outs and do a little nanny 911, which is basically telling her its bedtime once and after that, just putting her back in her bed with no words. Well, that escalated the situation to a point where she was SO upset I thought she'd throw up. It also lasted 2 + hours. I'm not willing to do that every night, so we are taking the baby step approach. So far it's working and I can only hope that if I'm consistent with putting her back in her bed that she'll eventually stop coming in our room.

My friend, Krysta, asked me to post about our sleep situation. It's definitely not perfect, but for now it's working and will ::fingers crossed:: keep evolving.

a month

2011-12-09T20:20:00.001-07:00

With the anticipation of Pat finallyyy coming home today, today being a day short of him being gone for a month, I kept Liv and I busy. We did errands all morning, she got to visit with her gaga carolyn and auntie leslie and uncle ryan and baby jax, then we went home for a nap. She napped and weirdly enough I was excited enough to clean the house and do some laundry.

Then came the dreaded "I can't come home until tomorrow" call. So, now I can say "pat has been gone for a month", because tomorrow marks a month. I know how odd it sounds that my husband has been gone for a month, but thats the life we live. Its not often, but it can happen. We deal. I deal with extra glasses of wine at the end of the night/early evening, but deal I do.

While on our errand run today I got Liv some princess body wash an a cinderella loofa, Liv refers to it as a "foofa". Even though it wasn't bath night, we indulged ourselves. She polished herself clean with her "foofa" and extra squirts of princess body wash (which obviously makes you more princess-like) and practiced our back floats and front floats from swim class. I have to say that if swim class does anything for Liv, it will probably allow me to wash her hair like a normal human being in the bath tub! She is over her bath hating phase now...the fight continues to drag her out of the tub.

bath time baby.

back float!

Thank you swim class!

cinderella foofa!

baby bum

"takin' a break mama"

the girls of the hour.

happy after her bath.

princess pose.

can't forget about my other princess :)

ohhh lily ha!

poop strike

2011-12-07T19:52:00.001-07:00

Potty training is going fairly well. Liv can wear panties all day and doesn't pee her pants. However, pooping is a whole other story. She continues to poop her pants, even with constant reminders.

So anyways, the other day she pooped her pants twice. I was livid after the second time. I try to talk to her and say "liv you can't poop in your panties, you need to tell mommy when you have to poop so you can poop in the potty". The second time though...I lost it. She went in time out, she got in big trouble. She knew mama was mad.

What does a two year old who won't poop in the potty do when she gets in trouble for pooping in her pants?? Goes on a poop strike thats what!

Liv is quite...regular. So 2 days with no poop was a bit of a concern for me. I knew what she was doing. So tonight she kept going into the bathroom and shutting the door. I would go in and she would come out. Then finally I heard her mumbling something about pooping. I followed her and said "liv do you have to go poop?". She said yes and she wanted to sit on the big potty (she only does this when she poops). And she did! She got down and said "whoa mom, thats a big poop!". Seriously, so proud.

I'll disregard the fact that she didn't exactly finish in the potty and I ended up cleaning undies anyways, but its the fact that she tried. Go Liv!

life lately

2011-12-02T20:03:00.001-07:00

Life has been interesting lately. Poor Pat has been out of town for about 3 weeks. He came home on Tuesday for about 10 hours, but then was called back out of town. So, by interesting I mean stressful.

Liv decided that when Pat left she would be waking up and coming into my room. Of course the night Pat was home she slept all night in her room...so I'm hoping that her little habit is due to little disruption in her life. Obviously to her, its not such a little disruption.

I did do some Christmas Shopping this week, which is a relief. I hadn't done any. I don't want to go overboard, so I'd say I'm almost finished. Just a few more things here and there. Speaking of Christmas, I'm thinking Liv is going to have a repeat of her performance last year when it comes to sitting on Santa's lap. Which will include an all out tantrum...I fear for Santa's safety.

I've been a little off lately. Life has just been weird around here without Pat around. That is what I'm blaming this on...a little story. So, I bought a winter jacket from value village. I had tried it on and when I brought it home I washed it immediately. When I took it out of the dryer I tried it on again...and I realized the zipper was broken! I looked for the bottom piece and couldn't find it anywhere. I was mad at myself, but figured since I only paid $13 for the jacket, I could afford to get it fixed. The next day I brought it to the seamstress down the hill. Fast forward to today when I went to pick it up. Let's just say it was free. Free because the zipper was intact, it was a double zipper and the top part was up by the top and I guess I just....well, I overlooked it? It was a wee bit embarrassing.

With that little life update, I'll leave you with some pictures...

a re-decorated with some re-painted vintage platters.

a little holiday doily banner via Mandy's blog

new wall decal in liv's room

re-painted vintage frame with adhesive chalkboard (easiest thing ever!)

liv's updated picture wall...it's coming along

and liv and her new obsession, which includes filling bags up with toys and toting them around. This always results in a mess, of course.

antagonizing lily

the only good pic I have of my other re-decorated wall.

spinning.

whoa.

a little wind in the hair.

some turkey noodle soup from leftover turkey...we had thanksgiving dinner at our place, but of course I failed to get any pictures. Pat has been asking for this, so I obliged. Here is the recipe. I omitted the celery, because cooked celery is moogy and grosses me out. I also thought the addition of soy sauce was odd, but it tastes good!

judge me

2011-11-22T19:53:00.001-07:00

Do you ever feel like you are being judged?

For example, if I'm out in public, I feel overly aware of how I'm reacting to Liv. Such as, she's throwing a tantrum on the floor, do I do what I want to do, which is walk away from her and leave her there (in the aisle, not the store...obviously) or will people look at me and think "well she could have handled that a bit better".

Its not so much that I care what people think, because I know I'm a good mom, but it angers me that someone thinks they could do a better job. Especially if you aren't a mom or dad. If you have never woke up in the middle of the night (multiple times), been pee'd and pooped on, rocked and cradled a baby, watched them grow and learn, loved someone so much that you couldn't live without them, If you have never been the most important person in the world to someone, someone that calls you mama (or dada) and is the most loveable, frustrating and beautiful person you'll ever know...then shut it.

Please, go be the best parent you can be, when you are a parent...I'm sure you'll be better than the rest of us. If only we could take a peek into our future and see all the things that we thought mattered that didn't matter much at all in the end.

I'll never look at a child again and think "well her mother didn't put much thought into what her child was wearing" or "poor kids, her mom didn't wash her face", because now I think "It's amazing that she got the child out of the house, through the grocery store and the child is still smiling". Being a parent really changes your perspective on things.

xmas pictures

2011-11-16T21:00:00.001-07:00

Liv and I had a photo shoot today. We haven't had once since she was a year old (with just us), and I know why now. I had to use bribery...usually my dancing, voice, funny faces work. Oh well, candy is much more exciting these days.

I took the pictures in my room, thinking the window would be enough light...it wasn't, so I broke out the 'ol light scoop. It actually worked out really well. I was surprised. I did a little editing, but then sent them on over to the master (Dani). Not quite sure what we will do with them. They are christmas inspired, so I think Dani will create us a christmas card. If you want to check out my sister's work, you can go to her website: Tutte Belle Photography. Pictures of Liv are scattered all over :).

Here's our photoshoot.

edited by Dani

couldn't forget Lily

edited by Dani

Extracurricular

2011-11-15T15:14:00.001-07:00

Liv is quite the busy bee lately. She has been in dance class for a few months now. Her Grandma Carolyn brings her. It's once a week, and It started off a little rocky because what two year old likes to be told what to do, but it's getting better. Liv really enjoys it. She loves music and dancing so it's right up her alley.

Liv has really gotten into swimming lately too. Pat and Carolyn have both brought her swimming a handful of times and Liv says "I a mermaid now". So this Monday I signed her up for a parent & tot swim. Liv was a bit weary about it at first. We spent a lot of time in water that was over her head, but I think just like dance, she will get more comfortable as time goes.

I think its important to introduce your children to as many activities as you can. Whether it be organized or simply in your backyard. I enjoy liv being in an organized setting because, as of now, she is at home with me every day. So, its good for her to be around other kids and to follow directions given by someone other than her mom.

My parents put me in every activity imaginable. I was in ballet, jazz, hip hop (thats a story for another time, it involves daisy dukes and wedgie picking), gymnastics, softball...the list goes on. My mom was really rooting for gymnastics because she was a gymnast. Sadly though, It was not our forte.

Along came Fifth Grade and basketball. I started and never looked back. Track was also a favorite of mine. I played throughout Grade School, Middle School, and High School. I don't have a preference of what Liv does, but in my experience, sports kept me focused and on a good path. I wasn't a drinker, never went to parties, and I can only hope that my daughter takes after me a little bit.

I get teased because I was sort of a geek, seeing I didn't have a drink of alcohol until I was 18, but having a daughter now...I want that for her. Don't get me wrong, I had my fun in college...maybe too much at times, but I want my daughter to hold onto her childhood as long as possible.

So. Whether it be dance, choir, drama, team sports, individual sports, chess, or god forbid hockey (pat is crossing his fingers), I just want her to find something she loves and throw her heart into it.

Who knows, maybe she'll be a model? ;) Your future is bright my dear.

sunday update

2011-11-13T20:42:00.001-07:00

Ashley left today. For those of you who don't know Ashley, she has been one of my best friends since middle school. She met her fiance in the Sault (our hometown) and moved to Edmonton, which is 3 hours North of Calgary. Isn't it ironic that she met a good 'ol Canadian boy and moved to Canada also?

Lucky me though, because she just spent 4 days with us! We had fun. A lot of mellow "old lady" fun, but thats our style. We did some crafting, thrifting, cooking, and visiting....lots of visiting.

My sister told me today that my mom called her and said "Did you know that Ashley and Desi spent their Saturday night crafting?". You know it's bad when your mom is making fun of you :). I assure you we had some wine with our crafts, because if anything is better than crafting, it's crafting when you are drinking wine.

We did have one small glitch in our Saturday night though. Her name is Liv. It took me 2 hours to put her to bed. I'm not sure what was up with her, but it was a struggle. She usually stays in her bed when I put her there and doesn't come out. Not last night though, she was on her worst bedtime behavior for Ashley. She tried to pull it on me again tonight but I nipped it in the bud right away.

I'll be flying solo this week with Liv because Pat had to go out of town for work and will be gone for around a week. Not exactly sure how long yet. My goal is to keep us busy. I'm going to try to sign Liv up for swim class tomorrow so that should start our week off right.

Our last activity with Ashley was the coldest walk I've been on in a long time...but I have some pictures to share. I'll call this compilation: Liv and Lily, a Love/Hate Relationship.

"What da matter?"

2011-11-08T14:17:00.002-07:00

It is no secret around these parts that I have my hands full. Liv is a full-time job. She is a busy, opinionated, and if I'm going to quote The Happiest Toddler on The Block, she is categorized under "spirited". Yes I have one of those.

I love her more than anything. Even when she tries my patience to no end, which she does often and multiple times a day.

I worry that I'm not doing the right things and that she'll grow up basically running my show. I waver on time-outs because she badly needs one, but ohmygawd she won't stay in time-out, and she's screaming her head off...yes she said she was sorry, but did she really get the point I was trying to make.

I don't want her to be a robot, my highest hopes for her are that she is well-rounded, empathetic, ambitious with whatever her dream may be, and just an all around nice person.

I worry about these things every day and then she does something that stops me in my tracks and makes me think that it's going to be alright.

The other day, actually the day we went horseback riding, I was quickly changing and getting ready in the small bathroom that is our Master Bathroom. I was throwing a little make-up on so we could get out the door to our pumpkin carving party and in walks Liv. This is normal...she usually walks in the bathroom with me and terrorizes me or Lily. This time was different though, she walked in, looked at me and said "what da matter mama?". I was completely dumbfounded because there was absolutely nothing wrong and I chuckled a little and responded "nothings the matter Liv". She then shut the door, so we could have a little privacy obviously ::side eye::, and repeated "tell me what da matter". This statement was more like her because the first was phrased as a question and the second round-about was a demand. I don't know made her think something was wrong, but I simply gave her a hug and said "nothing is the matter Liv, I'm just getting ready to go carve pumpkins".

She went on her way, but it might have been one of the sweetest things she's ever said to me. Not that I need to be comforted by my child, but the fact that she wanted to talk to me if I was and was concerned. It makes all my worries go away. She'll be a nice person and she'll care about others, I just need to set my worries aside and let Liv be Liv.

a year later

2011-11-06T08:00:00.000-07:00

It's been a year since Shannon was taken from the world.

This morning last year I had woken up after four hours of sleep, brought liv in my bed and was skyping with my mom. I remember saying to her that I felt like I couldn't get to Shannon and I would never see her alive again. My parents tried reassuring me that Shannon would be alright. Minutes later, my sister called to tell me that Shannon was declared brain dead. I'll never forget that moment. The pain and tears...I've never felt anything like it. It was a surreal moment. I told Dani to make sure to tell Shannon how much Liv and I love her. I'll never forgive myself for not being there to say goodbye myself, but I'm grateful my sister was there to tell her.

I've learned a lot this year.

I've learned how capable people are with dealing with what they're dealt. My world stopped Nov. 6th 2010. I know a lot of people who had their world's stop, it took some of us longer to get it going again, and we all did. We still feel the pain every day, it never goes away...but you learn how to deal with it, to manage it.

I've learned to never take any friends for granted. To take the extra effort even if the other person isn't willing to do so for you. I can only pray that Shannon knew just how important she was to me. It's hard not to wonder if she did.

I've learned empathy. You have to put yourself in another person's shoes to be able to understand why they do or feel a certain way.

I've learned how I may come off as slightly emotionally retarded and maybe I am. It may sound funny, but I have issues letting my emotions all out there. I have a hard time expressing exactly how I feel and sometimes say things I don't necessarily mean. I don't however think I'm wrong to not vomit all over facebook. No, I will not be writing on my best friend's facebook wall, because she won't see it and I can talk to her whenever I want. I don't feel the need to prove to anybody how I feel about Shannon.

I've learned a love/hate relationship with "If I Die Young" by the band perry. It's beautiful, but when it strikes every chord in your dwindling heart strings, its hard not to hate the reminder of everything lost. Speaking of songs...I've also learned that I can make a lot of songs relate to how I'm feeling at the moment. Even if my meaning isn't the same as the intended meaning.

I've learned that I will never take another bath in peace. Shannon used to tell me how gross she thought baths were. Her opinion was that you were basically sitting in your own filth. She didn't understand how you could wash your butt while sitting on it. I tried to explain to her that you simply lift up your butt cheek, but she wasn't convinced. I love baths and I cannot for the life of me take a bath without thinking Shannon is shaking her head at me.

With everything I've learned, I haven't learned how to not think about Shannon every.single.day. I'm not sure that I would want to learn that. Sometimes I think about her so much that I forget that she's gone...like I could reach over, grab my phone, and call her. I would give anything to have another conversation with her.

A year later, I just hope that Shannon is proud to call me her friend. I hope that I've done everything she has wanted me to do and acted the way she would have wanted me to act. Its been a hard year. Life will never be quite the same. I know she is looking out for us though.

{I love you my little lizard toes ~ Love your little cheerio}

Add caption

Her last day...

2011-11-05T16:31:00.001-06:00

Today was the last day of my best friend.

The feeling is so fresh and I'd like to go back to last year and be blissfully unaware of what awaits. If I did that I would have called her up to tell her how much I love her and how special she is to me.

However, I wouldn't want to go through the acute pain of losing her again. It was consuming and heartbreaking. For everyone and more for some. A lot of people built their lives around her and it all came crashing down this evening last year. We are all still building our lives back. They will never be what they were, but they will be better because she was a part of them.

I will be celebrating her life tonight. I'll remember how special she made my life and how I'll never forget her. I might cry a little, but I'll be toasting to Shannon tonight.

getting my craft on

2011-11-04T14:31:00.002-06:00

I have been inspired by what else, pinterest. I've spent many of liv's naps painting, cutting, glueing, and sewing.

Here are some of my crafts and the links to where I saw them on pinterest.

I got my idea from Here. I free handed the picture onto scrapbook paper then cut it out with an exacto knife. This is actually the cut-out from my homemade stencil. I used spray adhesive to attach it and then used a clear gloss spray paint to seal it.

This is the actual stencil...as you can see, not as perfect, but that's ok. The background color is supposed to be grey, but as you can see it looks like a very pale blue. I plan on putting some hooks on the bottom to hold our keys. Here is where I found that idea.

Here is some more handmade canvases...I might change the yellow striped one, not sure if it goes or not. Here is where I got the idea for the doilies....although mine is not the same, it did inspire me though.

I made this to hold Liv's bows. I didn't find this on pinterest, but a lot of fellow bloggers have made or ordered similar things. This was a mirror that I thrifted. I knocked the mirror out and attached the ribbon with my trusty hot glue gun. It took me more time to actually put the bows on the ribbon :).

And for fun Liv and I made a turkey out of a cut out of her hand. She was more interested in throwing the felt around but she still enjoyed herself. I stole this idea from Emily. She did a tutorial on her blog. Here is the link.

toddler beds

2011-11-03T21:14:00.002-06:00

Oh the adventures of toddler beds. Let me set the scene: It's around 2 o'clock pm. I put liv down for her nap sometime after 1pm. I had heard her playing in there, which is the usual now, but it had been quiet for some time. I thought I'd go check to see that she was ::fingers crossed:: sleeping.

I opened the door and immediately looked on her bed, hmmm, no liv. A quick scan of her floor told me she wasn't there either. I could see Liv's closet light under the door. I slowly creaked the closet door open and this is what I saw.

I questioned her sanity when she chose the floor over her bed, but at least she thought ahead and brought the essentials. Pillow, 2 "kikis", and seahorse. She continued to sleep in here for 2 and a half hours!!!!! really....I had to go wake her up.

Ready

2011-11-02T15:00:00.000-06:00

I am SO ready to open my mailbox and find my work permit inside. It would be the best Thanksgiving (american thanksgiving)/Christmas/oh you know anytime present EVER.

It has been 10 months since I sent in my application and we were so naive with our expectations. Our expected timeline is quite laughable now.

I feel very lucky that I have been able to stay home with Liv and watch her grow and do new things every day. It's a blessing to be able to do that. I am sure I will miss it, but...and this is a big but...I need to work. I need more adult interaction. I need to meet some friends.

I have been living in calgary for about a year and a half. I have met people through my MIL and SIL, but nobody by myself. I definitely need to take some of the blame because I can be antisocial. I avoid mommy groups because the thought of bringing my not always well-behaved two year old to a group full of moms that don't know us scares me. I should have been more outgoing, but I wasn't. So, here I am on the verge of my new beginning. I'm excited to have a new opportunity.

I used to always tease Pat in University that my goal in life was to make more money than him...and now I just want a job ha! How times change.

Liv Lately

2011-11-01T05:15:00.007-06:00

Despite the terrible two's, because they are definitely live and and well in our household, Liv is still so much fun. I was just talking to my SIL about how I am afraid to have another baby, not just because I'm afraid of the baby stage, because I am, but I also will be the most impatient mother ever knowing the little personalities they develop and how much fun they become :). It might also have to do with the fact that I wouldn't just have a little baby to cuddle with, but also a demanding toddler.

Liv is hilarious though. She says the funniest things. Sunday I went into our little bathroom in our room to change and throw on some make-up and she followed me in there, shut the door and said "mama, what da matter?". I looked at her and laughed then said "nothings the matter Liv" and she continued on with "tell me what da matter?". Haha, there was absolutely nothing wrong, but it was so cute and thoughtful that she felt the need to come ask. I don't get to see that side of her every day.

Pat recently got an ipad for work.....and I have to hide it. If it sat out all day, Liv would want to play with ~~her~~ the "pie-pad" all day. She also is really into her mega blocks and building castles, which of course is followed by her stuffing all of her princesses inside. She loves to color and collect "monies" from here dad and I to put her in purse while dressed up in all her princess clothes, including the shoes. Oh, and lets not forget singing and dancing, because she probably dances and around 50% of our day. I have a video of her dancing to Justin Bieber...need to upload it. She still loves her some "baby" by the Biebs.

Changes that have been happening lately? We have lots of them. Potty training for one. It's going pretty well. She still wears pull-ups the majority of the time, but requests to wear her "panties" in the mornings and afternoons and will let us know when she has to potty. She has had a lot of little accidents where she pee's a little and catches herself and asks to sit on the potty. Pooping on the potty is verryy few and far between. I swear she waits for us to put a pull-up on her so she can poop in it.

We also switched her into a toddler bed when we moved. So, she had 3 nights in it and then we went to the States for 3 weeks. I was a bit afraid because before we left I was lying with her to fall asleep. She was afraid and we were trying something new in a new place so I was feeling guilty. However, I've corrected that situation. Let me correct myself, at nighttime Liv will go to sleep in her bed no problem. During the day she gets out and plays...which turns in to me hoping she'll eventually fall asleep and having to bring her in our room and lie in our bed with her. I'm not quite sure what to do with the nap thing, so suggestions would be appreciated.

I have some photos from Sunday when we went to a friend's farm and rode horses! Liv was supposed to be riding with her dad, because I had never really ridden a horse...but ah the terrible two's. She threw an absolute fit and was scaring the horse, soooo she ended up with me.

feeding the horsies grass.

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T22:04:00.004-06:00

Happy Halloween
Love, Jasmine WannaB4Life

a little look

2011-10-28T14:01:00.000-06:00

Our apartment isn't 100% done, but I was excited to post some pictures of what we've done so far.

I'm really indecisive and kind of a perfectionist, so I've been changing things daily. I know the walls are still a little bare, but I need to order some more pictures and maybe do a few more crafts that I have stored on pinterest :). What did the world do without pinterest?!

You'll notice in the pictures that Liv is in a toddler bed! Woo hoo. I found it at a thrift store for $14. I wasn't convinced I was even going to get her a toddler bed, but for that price I changed my mind. She's been doing pretty well with it. My goal is to not lay with her and bedtimes are way easier than naptime. It's a work in progress.

Speaking of works in progress...potty training. Liv has been spending a good amount of time in her "panties", but she isn't in them 100%. She hasn't quite figured out that feeling of having to go. She tends to pee a little before saying she has to go and then peeing in the potty too. I suppose I should be thankful that she is catching herself. I'm not rushing it, but I'll be happy when we can't get rid of the pull-ups.

Ok, on with the pictures...I'll update more on Liv in another post!

mantle. I covered the canvases with fabric (idea from pinterest)

close up

Pat picked out our couch...I'm super impressed. I covered the ugly pillows that came with the couch though.

another view

The tray was another craft of mine

This will be a photo wall when I get more frames...chairs were bought off of Kijiji, covers from Ikea and I covered the pillows.

Dining room

we needed this, because we literally have 2 drawers in our kitchen. No room for a junk drawer.

I love this napkin holder. I found it at Winners on clearance.

curtains from Ikea.

I thrifted the mirror and re-painted it navy.

bathroom

The potty is such a nice decorative touch no?

Liv's room!

once again...that will be a photo wall eventually ha.

Liv's bed.

Her mess of a closet...Need to remedy this situation

So there is our mini tour, when I'm ready I'll add pictures of the kitchen, den, and master bedroom. We have a random couch sitting in our den now and when that is moved, Liv's kitchen is taking it's place...It is a huge distraction at naptime, or what Liv thinks is tea time apparently.

update from the southern side

2011-10-15T14:34:00.004-06:00

Well, we aren't exactly in the south. In fact, we are very far North, but we are South of Canada.

Liv and I took another flight together, one in which she puked all over me, again. It's lovely really. So we sported Toronto T-shirts around the Toronto airport and smelled slightly pukey for our second flight. I went to the pharmacy here to ask for recommendations on what to give Liv for our trip to Chicago and our flight home. The pharmacist recommended benadryl, so that's what we'll try. Hopefully it solves our problem.

Speaking of Chicago, Liv is beyond excited to see her Auntie Dani. She asks us every time we get in the car if we're going to "acago". It's really cute and when we head there next week, she'll probably be too excited to sleep :).

I was in a wedding last weekend. Mike and Kira's. I have known them since college and we all worked at the same restaurant/bar together. It was so much fun to see them and everyone else. I love seeing friends that I haven't seen in a long time.

I'm getting antsy to get back to Calgary though, seeing we moved into our apartment less than a week before we flew here. Pat has been doing a good job though. He bought a couch....not the grey one I had originally wanted, but he has good taste so I like it. I'll have to take pictures once we get home and settled.

I've known for awhile that Liv is going to be a princess for Halloween, it was just a matter of which one. One day she was watching Aladdin and I asked her if she wanted to be Jasmine for Halloween. Of course she agreed and if you ask her what she's gonna be she says "Jasim".

I had been collecting things here and there for her costume. I bought these little slippers and re-vamped them to match her costume. I also had bought some pants, which my mother cut apart and used as a pattern for the new pants she made....omg, this costume is amazing. Liv loves dressing up, so Halloween is going to be a blast this year. My mom is a much better seamstress than I, so I'm glad she wanted to take on the challenge. I am making my newphew, Jax, a costume though. He's being a burglar...I have everything to make it, now I just need to find the motivation to start.

Some random pictures that I've been collecting on my camera and been too lazy to upload...

Kananaskis, the view from where Carolyn took Liv camping.

lounging ha.

we went to Spruce Meadows to see some horses...waiting for our friends

Liv and Gaga Lisa

holding her Lily

Her daily bandaid request.

a little help from papa.

thrilled obviously.

moving week

2011-09-28T14:37:00.001-06:00

Moving week has officially commenced!

We aren't able to start moving until tomorrow but I have a ton to do before then, so I'm ok with that. We also have a busy weekend ahead so this should be interesting.

Yeah...we have 3 birthday parties this weekend and Liv and I fly out for Michigan on Tuesday....I'm not quite sure how it's all going to happen, but somehow I'm sure it will.

I'll be MIA for a few days, bear with me and I'll be back to blogging when I'm in the States :).

Roast

2011-09-20T11:13:00.000-06:00

Did anyone else catch the Roast of Charlie Sheen?

How about the premiere of Two and a Half Men, including Ashton Kutcher?

I watched the latter and part of the roast. I've seen a few roasts before, so I knew what I was in for. Crude and Hilarious. You have to be a pretty good sport to sit there and laugh at yourself when the panel of "friends", roasters, seriously gives it to you.

So, after I watched Charlie Sheen basically get roasted on Two and a Half Men, I stayed up to watch the Roast.

I dunno about anybody else, but I found it a bit sad. Obviously Charlie Sheen agreed to participate in this, he also positively knew what he was in for. However, a man who clearly had a complete mental breakdown months before, among other meltdowns, was the man of the hour.

Nobody held back...teasing about his kids being taken away, even referring to them going through their own 12-step program, about the knives he has pulled on his wives, the drugs and hookers he's done, among many other things.

I found it kind of sad. It would be funny if it wasn't true and they were stretching the truth or what was just written in the tabloids. I just think maybe it was a bit too far? In reality he had his kids taken out of his home, he pulled a knife on his wife...and none of that is funny.

Even though his ex-wife, Brooke Mueller was in the audience laughing about it.....

It was very strange.

The other strange thing was that Kate Walsh decided to show up...where did that come from?

Monday

2011-09-19T08:09:00.001-06:00

You would think that since I don't work and haven't worked in some time, that Mondays would be just another day of my week.

I still hate Mondays.

They are always the longest day of the week and it's hard to go from having two parents to just me. Oh, and it doesn't help that Pat is going out of town today.

I will try to keep us busy. Thats the game plan anyways. Liv got my memo about sleeping in, so the day is already off to a good start :).

I HAVE to go measure the windows in our new place for blinds today. I plan on using this opportunity not only to use a tape measure, but also to ~~bug~~ ask our landlord if we can move in early. I am a little nervous about moving in on the 1st of Oct. when Liv and I are flying out on the 4th. Should I bring cookies?

We are so ready for our move. We have everything we need except for a few major things, such as a couch and pots and pans. In fact, we were looking at couches last night and I came upon this beauty:

Isn't it gorgeous?? Pat is the one who initiated the search and he couldn't open our costco pack of shredded cheese, so we had a little contest and I won....will this contest be enough to win this couch?? Not sure, but it was a good start.

Speaking of beauties, check out Jaxon.

He has the most perfect little baby face. This is an example of my mediocre photog skills...ignore the shadows. I only reserve the right to take pictures of my child and family. Dani told me she would give me a little lesson when we come down, I will have to do some practicing so stay tuned for an obscene amount of pictures of me practicing :).

Wedding Photos

2011-09-15T08:08:00.002-06:00

I received all of my wedding photos a few days ago! I'm in love and want to do it all over again...err, maybe not, but I seriously re-lived our special day with every picture I looked at and it brought a smile to my face.

There are like 800 pictures and obviously I won't post them all on here, but it was hard to choose my favorites...I'll try to control myself.

I think Pat looks pretty handsome in this picture.

and this one :)

seating chart.

table arrangements.

My sister made all of the prints at the reception. "If you'll be my Calgary I'll be your Sault Ste. Marie"

crazy girl

we had potted branches with pictures from our ceremony hanging from them.

and of course a photobooth with props.

my girl.

mmmm.

petals over the dance floor....may have been my favorite touch.

pretty sister "pippa" for the day.

she got a little emotional....it was the best part...and so cute how she turned around :)

crowns from dani...they went with her speech.

my loves.

my sequin TOMS from Dani.

party!

a little indian outlaw anyone?

Pat taking his mom for a spin on the dance floor :)

(totally failed on that whole control thing!)

Picture Post

2011-09-14T08:25:00.001-06:00

I have a bunch of pictures on my camera from various events...I use the word 'event' loosely because event could mean a trip to the park or me wanting to take pictures of Liv's cute ensembles :)

Hello men's "boy's" shirt with a top knot....so cute

mommy's model

baby Jax

cousin love

chowing on a granola bar "bar bar"

pretty girl.

park time

this reminds me of pictures when liv was a baby....

first day of dance class :)

not in a very good mood...in fact she was pissed that I wanted her to take her necklace off...diva.

free time?

2011-09-09T08:00:00.001-06:00

I remember the little things that I used to take for granted often.

Such as: drinking a cup of coffee in peace, taking a shower and actually blow-drying my hair after, going to a store and taking your time, etc.

Then your MIL takes your granddaughter camping for a few days and you are left to sit here thinking about all of those things you should be enjoying and not taking for granted. Yet, all you are doing is waiting for the day to be over because geeez, it's SO boring without your little gremlin running around.

I'm obviously weak. I have been away from Liv for longer, but usually it is because I have something else going on. I haven't slept in or taken a nap since she's been gone. What am I thinking???

I'm thinking that maybe I enjoy being a mom more than I enjoy my memories of alone time.

life

2011-09-06T09:40:00.003-06:00

Well...we signed a lease! Finally. We have been holding out for this place to open and it finally did. We technically can't move in until October 1st, but we might get to sneak in a few days early.

Its perfect for us. We signed a year lease, which isn't what we originally wanted, but I'm totally comfortable with that. It has 2 bedrooms and a den, washer/dryer, fireplace, dining area...and the other plus is it's all laminate hardwood floors. So, I don't have to stress about carpet. It's also located right on Fish Creek Park, which has walking trails and a river...it will be good for Liv and Lily.

Thats pretty much what has been going on here. I'm stressing about moving only a few days before we head back to Michigan for my friend's wedding, but I am so the type to unpack all at once and I know it will all work out.

In other news, Liv is going camping tomorrow with her grandma and Pat has to take a course out of town for two days. I don't know what I'm going to do with myself, but I'm sure I'll find something to do with my time. Possibly get caught up on my endless supply of laundry....

I've also been perusing pinterest for diy apartment decor and have a few projects I'd like to start. Or maybe I could finish a few projects that I've already started. The possibilities are endless :).

wheee!

don't mind the hair....tunnel slides do a number on 2yr old hair.

here and there

2011-08-30T08:13:00.000-06:00

I've been a little lost with what to write about on here lately. That's probably pretty obvious seeing its been about two weeks since I've last updated. I've started writing a few things and then I never go back to them.

It's safe to say that I'm feeling pretty blah.We need to move and are most likely not going to until October 1st, I still can't work and won't be until November...I'm just feeling a little stuck. I have also started some projects that I have yet to finish, like ::ahem:: my thank you cards from the wedding. In my defense, I ran out, but they need to be finished, asap.

I dunno...its just one of those months I guess. Where everything is at a standstill in life. I really need to learn how to enjoy these times. I do have a few things to look forward to, and the major one being: we are flying back to Michigan in October for a friend's wedding! I'm pretty excited. I think that we are going to make a trip down to Chicago to see Dani and Bikey too.

I am determined to be better about updating this little old blog of mine. I have some pictures of the things we've been doing...and I will be taking pictures of my nephew. I got a little pep talk from Dani and I'm going to put my veryyy amateur photog. skills to work!

at the lake...I've been playing with new hairdo's for liv.

it's cold!

just waking up from a 2hr nap in "mama's bed"

our week.

2011-08-17T22:48:00.000-06:00

Sooo...what's new? Nothing much around here. My Kijiji addiction is still in full force.

Case in point, the play structure I found today...and picked up and paid for. It was a whopping $25! I'm thinking its a big hit. What do you think?

princess dress and tigers hat....cute combo

LOVES it.

Other than that, I've been single-mom'ing it since last Tuesday. Liv is going camping with Carolyn tomorrow so I will get a few days off. I'm going to miss my little monster, but I have a list of things I want to get done while she's gone.

We went to a cook-out at Pat's Aunt Donna's house yesterday. There was lots of family around and we all had a blast. Liv was reunited with her love, corn on the cob...not kidding, my child ate at least 4 pieces. She may have had more on her face than in her tummy, but she was enjoying herself.

mmmm

YEAH CORN!

party is going on...and my kid is still eating corn.

Furnishing on a Budget

2011-08-12T16:03:00.000-06:00

We are currently looking for a place to rent. I would say apartment, but then again, we've looked at apartments that call themselves condos and condos that call themselves townhouses. So we'll stick with place. We want to rent for 6 months, maybe a little more, so that when we buy our home we can get what we want. I ::cross my fingers:: should be able to work by then.

So anyways, back to the budget part. I consider myself to be a thrifty person. I rarely go into a store and buy something that's not on the clearance rack. With that said, big purchases seem reallyyy big to me. That's where Kijiji comes in. Kijiji has been my best friend lately. Don't know what Kijiji is? Well, Kijiji is not only fun to say, but its a lot like craigslist but, in my opinion, easier to navigate and more user friendly.

For example, I have a hard time paying $1600 for a bedroom set that I could get "lightly used" for half the price.

That said bedroom set included a queen frame with a padded headboard, a footboard, 2 side tables, a long dresser and mirror! It is barely used. If you aren't grossed out by using "used" items, which I'm not, it's a great way to save a lot of money.

There are also things that are more than barely used. I spotted 2 Ikea Tullsta Chairs and they were anything but pretty. They were a hunter green and very worn. But, a quick look on ikea showed me that they sell covers for them and so I snatched them up both up for $50 total and purchased two chair covers for $100. Total spending: $150.

My other great finds include an ikea table and chair set (paid $50) and a Trofast storage system (paid $150). I have to say the storage system was probably my biggest savings, as it would retail around $400 total for everything I got.

I'm pretty impressed with myself. I'm totally sick of loading and unloading things...and sick of driving around searching for the addresses of where the seller is located, but all-in-all I'd say that I'm happy I did it. I'm done buying furniture on Kijiji for awhile....There isn't any more room in our basement to store it until we move!

My next purchase may be a toddler bed frame! Apparently Liv has decided it's cool to try and climb out of her crib....I was hoping to keep her in there until she was 4 :).

u.p. wedding

2011-08-09T21:49:00.000-06:00

I didn't really have a theme for my wedding. I mean I had colors {gray and yellow}, but theme-wise, I was lacking. I had a vision, a lot of help, and when my mom told me about a conversation she had with a coworker, it clicked. She was describing all of our centerpieces (diy) and the woman was amazed and said "oh that's very u.p." I never in a million years would have planned a u.p. wedding, but it definitely was. It was outside, simple, slightly country, and come on there were branches on the table.

I have never put something together like this in my life. I felt a little over my head at times, but I'm so glad I had so much help and everyone took time to help create the masterpiece that it was.

I have some more pictures from our photographer, Lea Peterson. She did a post on her blog, Vienna Glenn Photography. She was so easy to work with and I have to say that it was far easier than I expected to have pictures of myself taken. I kept thinking it was going to be super uncomfortable and that Pat would be miserable, but we actually had a great time!

So, without further adieu, here is the sneak peek we received.

The perfect willow tree.

"today was a fairytale"...I hear this song when I look at this picture. yay Taylor Swift.

we discovered how good we were at faux kissing :)

one of my favorites

dippity-do-da

"can you feel the magic in the air, must have been the way you kissed me!!!"

my SIL informed me that we looked like we got into a little mischief behind the bushes in this one....ha

vintage coke bottles and grey striped straws courtesy of Dani

warm coke....I was a fan, Pat, not so much. oy the things you do for love.

cheers!

my amazing cake...courtesy of Tara.

By far, one of my favorite touches...hanging flowers over the dance floor.

"I GOT IT!" Liv's dress was handmade by mom mom :)

This pictures kills me....little princess.

Dani amazing us all with her speech, crowns included.

Dani made me this sign among a few others for the reception. She repainted old frames and put her prints on canvas. They were awesome. She's very talented. This was by far my favorite. It's the chorus to Blake Shelton's "Honey Bee", but obv. we included a little improv. of the lyrics.

Wouldn't have been the same without my girl Shannon.

We had 3 larger branches in pots with pictures from our ceremony hanging from them.

Thats how amazing the cake was....oh and that Groom's cake, kills me also. Pat loves the Flames and it was the perfect touch and oh so us.

Our dance....Liv included.

Father/Daughter dance...I love Liv in this picture.

Taking Liv for a little spin on the dancefloor.

Belle of the Ball

This is Rob....Rob before he split his pants :)

So much fun!

Pat dancing with his mom.

Kind of out of order...but isn't he handsome :)

picture recap

2011-08-08T07:59:00.000-06:00

I've been gone so long that I don't even feel like I live in Calgary anymore! With that said, I spent last week getting back into the swing of things here. Unpacking is always fun...especially when you have a child and a husband that you have to unpack for too. The laundry is insane. I thought I was caught up but I forgot about the pile accumulating upstairs while I was busy washing downstairs, gah.

In other exciting news, we are apartment hunting. We've been looking at houses for awhile, mostly just to see what is out there. When Pat arrived in the Sault he announced his new plan, which I quickly agreed with. We are planning to rent for 6months to a year. That way my immigration will be finished and I'll hopefully be working...and there will be no settling for a house that we don't love.

So, thats where I'm at. We looked at an apartment last night. It was nice, in a good location, but it was a bit small for us. There is one that is literally a block away that would be perfect, however we are waiting for the tenant in that unit to give notice that he's leaving....so the waiting game begins. We are looking at another apartment on Sunday and Monday. Keeping out options open, while I silently hope the perfect one becomes available.

Liv was amazing on our flight home. Of course, when Pat is there. He probably thinks I overexaggerate how hard it can be to fly with her. She slept for both flights, one was just over an hour and the other was 3.5 hours! It was amazing to be able to watch a whole movie ha. Next flight is in October and Liv will have her own seat...a blessing and a curse (holy ticket prices).

I have so so many pictures from our vacay, so I'll try my best to keep it down to a minimum.

Auntie Dani gave liv her first bday princess dress

and convinced her to pose like lady gaga...

I had a wonderful faux bachelorette party with some pretty amazing ladies (This is Tara)

Jocie and Dani

My twin

wouldn't be a night out without some karaoke :)

I got to watch Stella...and convince her to wear a bow

Ang and I at Sam and Dusty's wedding

We also had a princess party....Liv was SO excited.

yayyy more princesses dresses!

Liv had a little photoshoot with my mom and her cousin

and my mom came out with us...isn't she pretty?

our friend rob did a little planking....

The faux bachelorette group!

and one more...Thank you ladies!

TWO

2011-08-02T04:45:00.000-06:00

Liv turned 2 today at exactly 6:18am. I remember all 9lbs .09ozs of her. She gets more beautiful by the day. She is everything I would have wanted in a daughter. I have to admit that her princess fanaticism is really getting the best of her lately, but seriously the look on her face when she threw her a little party yesterday and every present she opened had princess stuff in it, omg...she completely flipped. She was the happiest girl on the planet.

We threw a very small birthday party for her yesterday because we leave the Sault today and head back to Calgary. We will have to throw another one in Calgary so I didn't wan to overdue it. Seriously though, any more princess presents and the girl would have exploded.

So, wish us luck on our flight. For the first time ever we will have Pat with us, so my anxiety level is staying at a manageable place. I'm looking forward to meeting my Nephew, Jax, for the first time and feeling like I live in Calgary once again :).

And, holy hold me, my baby is two!

sad to say goodbye

2011-07-26T01:59:00.000-06:00

Seriously. What a whirlwind weekend. We had so much fun that it's hard to put it into words. So many great memories were made and a lot of friends and family came to celebrate with us. It felt so special and I will never forget this day. I'll give you a little rundown of some of my favorite parts of the day/night.

-Ummmm you guys, Pat did seriously amazing at our photoshoot before the reception. I had been dreading that for about a month now. Pat is so not a picture person, but he was my little model that day. He really did a good job and sucked it up.

-My sister's speech was pretty epic. Let's just say, she related Pat and I to Liv's all time favorite, Prince's and Princesses. It was hilarious and cute and a tear jerker all at the same time.

-My mom and MIL both spoke too, I'm sure they were none pleased to follow Dani's speech, but they did amazing as well.

-My friend Tara made our cake, it was beautiful and delicious, I can't wait to get all of our pictures so I can post what a great job she did! She also made a groom's cake with the Calgary Flame's logo on it (pat and all of his friends loved it).

-Our photobooth was a huge hit. HUGE. Everyone loved the props and you can bet that I was in a few pictures with a mustache on a stick!

I will for sure be doing another post when I receive all of our pictures, but for now....my two favorites of what the photographer has shown me :).

Vienna Glen Photography

weeping willow = success!

as promised

2011-07-18T22:08:00.000-06:00

I have pictures! loads of them. We have been taking advantage of the beach while we can get it. It's also been disgustingly hot and humid here. Poor liv has beads of sweat rolling off her nose constantly. Unfortunately, the poor girl has inherited my red/splotchy face when I'm hot or crying.

Auntie Dani bought Liv an ariel swimsuit when we were in Chicago and Liv is obsessed with it. I think I've stated a few times how obsessed she is with princesses, she asks for them the minute she wakes up in the morning until the minute she goes to sleep. When she does something bad, sometimes I tell her that princesses don't act that way...apparently, she thinks they do because it takes a few reminders. I was at Walgreens the other day and I saw a little plush snow white doll on sale for $3, so obviously I had to buy it and when I handed it to her she immediately began singing and dancing with it. She is a girly girl. My mom went back today and bought her the sleeping beauty doll to go with it.

She relates princesses to a lot of things in daily life lately. If I have a dress on she says "ooooh mama, pityyy desss". So, naturally we've been playing up the reception as a princess party where everyone will wear their princess dresses. I think she'll be very thrilled with it. I also can't wait to see her on the dance floor!

Rambling is over, onto the good stuff:

me: who are you wearing liv? liv: Alilol

enjoying some sandy graham crackers

enchantment

a little song and dance.

gardening with papa.

probably saying "no mama no"

yooper girl

liv and papa.

torturing poor nahla

paris hilton?

gaga, liv, papa and good 'ol abbie

this is what a day at the beach can do to you...even with Tangled playing.

elmo is still on our list of things we like.

this week

2011-07-18T06:05:00.000-06:00

The week has come! Pat and so many friends and family start heading in town on Wednesday. Let the festivities begin! Liv and I just enjoyed two days at the cabin and she's currently still sleeping and will hopefully stay that way for another 30 minutes because she was BUSY yesterday. She is definitely a beach babe. She was so good, which I'm thankful for, because it was a relaxing day at the beach. I am a little more tan than I'd like to be (Dani reminded me last night that you don't look so hot in black and white pictures when you are really tan...whoops).

I haven't downloaded my pictures from this last week...yet. I will today though. I have a lot of cleaning to do this week, as we are hosting an Anniversary cocktail party for Pat and I on Friday. I suppose it should feel like a huge accomplishment, but I think we have bigger accomplishments under out belt. Being married to Pat isn't really hard.

Did I mention that I'm having a faux bachelorette party? Faux because I'm already married, but my friend Tara and Dani decided that I shouldn't have to miss out on the fun. So, on Thursday night we are going to head over to Tara's for some homemade bellinis by Dani and celebrate. I have also helped plan a little something for Pat (with the help of my cousin, Sean). I'm such a nice wife, I know.

I've been a bit absent from the blog lately, for apparent reasons, but I'll be back with some pictures from last week and, of course, from the reception!

excitement

2011-07-11T21:33:00.000-06:00

I know I'm already married, but I can't help but be excited for our big celebration. We've been doing a lot of work around here...I don't even want to share pictures of all of our DIY projects because I want it to be a big surprise.

We finally finished all of the centerpieces. It took us longer than expected, but I'm so glad we took the time to do them. I having been recruiting friends and family left and right to make this all happen. I'm so thankful that they all wanted to help!

There are still some last minute things I need to finish and some phone calls to make but my list is almost finished. I'm also really happy that my sister is so creative because it comes in reallyyy handy when I need it the most :).

My friend Andrea, who is going to do my make-up, came over tonight and did a demo. She did an awesome job and It made me even that more anxious. We have decided that in order to infect Liv with the excitement we are going to tell her that she is going to a princess party, where she is going to have to wear her princess dress and lots of princesses will be there with their's on too. We've been having issues getting her to want to keep her dress on, oy.

Oh, and my baby? She turned 23 months on the second and I didn't even acknowledge it like usual. I'll sum her up as: the funniest person I know, wannabe princess on the verge of overly obsessive, loves to talk our ears off, play outside, read books, and bug her mama.

So...yes, Pat will be here soon, I'm excited, I've said this a few times...I will end my rant now. Here are two pictures from down in Chicago :)

Liv and I in front of Dani and Bikey's townhouse

Liv and Auntie Dani (the only person she wanted to swim with)

drowning

2011-07-08T13:59:00.000-06:00

I'm knee deep in DIY projects for our reception. To give you an idea of what I'm talking about, my escapades have involved plaster, spray paint, rocks, chicken wire, and a few cuts and bruises.

I also discovered that I have a talent for cutting out mustaches.... Its a talent that I don't take lightly, because you never know when you'll need a mustache :).

I have also been attempting to organize and make sure everything goes smoothly on the day. This has proved to be my most dreaded task, in fact every time I look at my list I want to walk away and put it off for another day. However, slowly but surely, I am checking things off my list, one of the most exciting ones was picking up my dress today!

I have decided to keep it a secret and not show a picture, because its more fun that way and the model looks better in it than I do! I will leave you with the newest addition to my ensemble. My mom is a trooper and took another trip to David's Bridal with me when we were in Chicago.

I don't plan on wearing my hair like that, but you get the idea...

Here and There (pictures overload)

2011-07-04T21:29:00.000-06:00

We have been so busy since I've been home that I've put my blogging on the back burner. Busy in a good way though. Its been really nice here, so we've been enjoying a lot of time outside and I've been working on all of my DIY projects for the reception. Everything is coming along nicely, but not finished yet!

My mom, Liv, and I drove down to Chicago Friday evening and are here until Tuesday. We are having a lot of fun and I don't know if its because Dani is my twin, but Liv is obsessed with her...she could really care less about me when Dani is around. It kind of works in my favor though :). It was hilarious when we pulled up here at 1am (yes liv was stilll awake), Liv was going crazy in her carseat. She was bouncing around, kicking, and yelling. She was thrilled to see Auntie Dani and Uncle Bikey in person instead of on skype.

I'm going to try to be better about posting while I'm back home. Its just so crazy when you first arrive somewhere new with a toddler and have to get them used to their new surroundings.

Some pictures to share.

we've been riding our bike.

using a necklace as a leash to walk Abbie.

boat ride...and some crazy hair!

Lake Superior...how I've missed you.

old friends! (Jill and Ashley)

had to add another one. It was amazing.

Did I mention how excited Liv has been to Have Auntie Dani and Uncle Bikey around??

visiting Auntie at work...hanging out on the lawn.

love for auntie.

we found some princess shoes!

Bikey blew some bubbles with his gum which Liv found weirdly interesting

oh and we played some hockey with sticks...liv was clearly the referee.

Do I smell like puke?

2011-06-23T20:36:00.000-06:00

I wish that after every time I fly with Liv I didn't have a story to share, but the trend continues. Nothing is ever smooth sailing with Liv and I. We like to keep things interesting.

Our first flight to Toronto was, like I said yesterday, 3 1/2 hours. I was worried about this because that's a long time to keep Liv sitting still. All went off without a hitch. I finagled an extra seat for us and Liv slept for the first hour of the flight and then happily watched a few princess movies. Everything seemed fined until our descent...

I don't even know how it happened, all I know is I looked down and saw Liv "spitting up" on me...and then I thought to myself, well you are almost 2 years old, so I guess you don't spit up anymore, and then came the 2nd puke followed by the 3rd puke and I just sat there horrified by the smell and by the mess that was COVERING us.

I immediately took off Liv's long-sleeve shirt, my sweatshirt, took away her blankie away and wiped her down as best I could. We were 10 feet from the ground so nobody could help me until we landed and the only help I received was a plastic bag to put our pukey clothes in. We looked a wreck and as I'm trying to de-board the plane with Liv, a diaper bag, over-sized tote, Liv's friggin' princess suitcase, and our extra plastic bag of puke clothes...The irritating flight attendant warns me more than once about the step down from the plane and how Liv might have problems. I looked at her with my arms full and in my mind I said "Maybe you could shut up and help my daughter down because as you can see my arms are full and we are full of PUKE!"...but I am a lady and I didn't say that. I reallyyyy thought it though. I need to add that while I am struggling to get off the plane, Liv is complaining and dawdling because she wants her damn blankie out of the plastic bag and in her hand, seriously kiddo?

The drama continued because we only had 20 minutes to get to our next terminal, which was in the middle of nowhere with no shirts for kids and I thought it would be evil to get myself a change of clothes and not Liv.

In the end, I'm going to chalk it up to some motion sickness and how hot we get sitting in our take-off and landing position (seriously doesn't anybody else sweat to death like that?). It was miserable...I can honestly say it was the worst flight I've ever had.

Liv seemed fine after...puke covered (even in her hair) and all. She continued her day talking, singing, and dancing. I continued mine trying to apologize to everyone we sat next to.

on the road again...

2011-06-22T06:05:00.000-06:00

Or should I say, in the air again?

Either way...here we go again! I'm trying my best to not get as stressed as I usually do. We leave Thursday at 6am, so I'm hoping that the disrupted sleep will help Liv to sleep for most of our first flight...which is 3.5 hours long! Gah, thats a long flight for a nearly 2 year old. I will have our usual arsenal of snacks, movies, and new coloring books to keep my little monster entertained.

Tips that I've learned when travelling with an under 2 year old:
-When packing, pack outfits that can be mismatched

-Bring enough diapers for a day and a half-ish...don't waste suitcase space, buy some when you get to your destination.

-Portable DVD players are my savior.

-Essential sleep items are needed on the plane (for liv, pillow, blankie, sucky).

-We have never paid for Liv to have her own seat, but I always ask the gate attendant if there is an extra seat and they usually finagle something for us (bc really, nobody wants to sit next to a baby if they don't have to).

-Always bring your stroller, we don't even use it anymore for Liv to ride in at the airport...but we do put all of our carry-on's in it so I don't have to lug them around.

-I try to bring a large variety of snacks (some new ones that I know she will like).

-I always dress Liv in layers because during landing and take-off (which is when she usually falls asleep), she gets so hot and sweaty because she has to face me on my lap.

-Stay relaxed. I'm so not the person to give advice on this because I'm usually a frazzled mess, but I try to stay relaxed at least on the flight.

-Always bring something to drink that can be closed tightly because if you don't get an extra seat, there is no way your drink cup is not going to get knocked over by your squirmy child.

-And last but not least, something to read for if and when your child naps and you try not to move an inch because man its a long flight and if they could just sleep for half of it, everything would be much more manageable!

Well, wish us luck! Packing is almost finished (this is a record for me) and we are ready to roll!

Father's Day pt. 2

2011-06-19T07:49:00.000-06:00

I was going to post about Pat in my last post, but I decided he deserved a post all to himself. When Pat became a father, it was unexpected. We had been together for 5 years and even though that seems like a long time, we weren't planning on getting married or having a baby at that time. Along came Liv, and life's way of saying "you thought you knew what you were getting, but you had no idea what I had in store for you!".

This was the first year we have all been together as a family. Many of Pat's friends probably think it seems quite weird and impossible that Pat has an almost two year old. They don't really know him anymore, because he has had to change a lot. Pat has stepped up and he became the Dad I knew he would be. He loved Liv the minute she came into this world. Pat had to give up hockey. He will say that he got what he wanted out of it (he received his Bachelor's and MBA for free!), I am very proud of him for that, but I think if our lives had been in a different place, he would have liked to stay in Belfast to play a little while longer.

Instead, he came home and immediately set out to make us a life here. He has been taking care of us ever since. When we were at University, I would say to him "I have high expectations for you and you are slowly but surely meeting them". I think I can confidently say now that he has met my expectations because there is nothing better than seeing your husband love your daughter more than he could love anybody else.

So, Thank you Pat. Liv and I Love you and.....Happy Father's Day! (I won't be making you breakfast because you don't even like breakfast, but maybe I'll make you dinner :).

Father's Day pt. 1

2011-06-19T07:35:00.000-06:00

My real Dad has never been a "real" part of my life. I know that a lot of people can say this and its not an uncommon occurrence. I can say though, that I have never missed out on having a real Dad.

My Dad's name is Jody. My mom re-married when my sister and I were 6 or 7. He was a huge part of our lives way before that though. I never understood the significance of how a man who had never had children could love my sister and I like Jody did. There was no hesitation and I always knew that he loved me and considered us his own. I now understand because I have a child of my own. I think that it shows the kind of person he is. He loved my mom so much that he loved us too. It proves that blood doesn't make a family and as my friend so eloquently quoted on facebook today "anyone can be a father but it takes someone special to be a dad".

I have never called Jody "Dad", but I think and hope he knows that Dani and I have never thought of him as anything different. Now not only is Jody my Dad, but he is Liv's "papa". Thank you Jody for being my wonderful Dad, but also for being Liv's amazing Papa. I love you Jody!

non-traditional

2011-06-15T10:24:00.000-06:00

It's safe to say that I'm a non-traditional type. I'm not sure when this rebellion started, but I have been fighting against tradition for quite some time now. I like to chalk it up to my straight laced k-12 years. I was the epitome of a goody-good. I didn't have a sip of alcohol until I was 18 years old. I enrolled in a local University after Highschool and didn't apply anywhere else because I had a boyfriend and that's what you were "supposed" to do. I also joined the cross-country track team which didn't last long and was the beginning of my changed life. I followed that bold move up with breaking up with my boyfriend of four years and enrolling in a University that wasn't in my hometown.

That one decision single handedly wrote the story of my life up to now. I met my husband there. Now this is where things get scandalous, so pay close attention to the sequence of events: I dated him for 5 years, got pregnant (2008), gave birth the best part of our lives (2009), Pat moved to Belfast for a year, moved to Calgary and got married (2010), and now we are having a reception in my hometown in July!

We did all of this before we even owned a home. Is that weird? It doesn't really feel weird, but I think some people might think its a bit backwards. I don't regret any of it because obviously I wouldn't have my family if things hadn't gone the way they had. I'm not saying traditional isn't great. I think traditional and non-traditional both have a place in this world.

If I ever have any doubt about my non-traditional ways, I just take a glance at my daughter because she's anything but traditional...

enough said.

baby shower

2011-06-12T21:35:00.000-06:00

This is a little late, but Sunday the 5th, we threw a baby shower for my Sister In Law, Leslie. She is almost 8 months pregnant and is due August 4th. I am so excited to meet my nephew. There were a lot of girls that pitched in to make the shower a success and it didn't hurt that it was BEAUTIFUL. Honestly, we couldn't have picked a better day. It was perfect because we were hoping to keep everyone outside. Everyone was so generous and Leslie walked away with almost everything she needed and more.

drink table.

buddies.

baby shower fun. Les is thrilled :).

The belle of the ball.

goofball

Leslie had lots of help opening her gifts.

22 Months

2011-06-06T15:36:00.000-06:00

Another month gone by...I am currently drinking coffee and watching "be be beast", which is clearly beauty and the beast, for the umpteenth time. We watch princess shows every day. Because, "pincesses" are Liv's new favorite thing everr.

Liv requests princesses every morning and the way she says it is too cute to deny her. She drops the 'r' and sometimes adds a few 's" to the end, ex. "pincesseseseses". Her dad had to go and buy her 2 more pairs of princess pajamas because she wants to wear them to bed every night. Every. Single. Night. God forbid I change her diaper and take her princess pj pants off, because that is just wrong in her eyes.

She also loves to talk on the phone, especially with gaga, auntie Dani, or Pat if he's not here. Skyping has become more fun too. She used to not want anything to do with it, but now she gets excited to talk to all of our family.

Liv is extremely bossy. She tells us to sit all the time...this phrase is not reserved for only the dogs, its for everyone. She likes to say "no dada, no, bad dada". I like to think of it in a positive way, I spin her bossiness to mean that she knows what she wants and goes after it...she's clearly very ambitious. I clearly should have went into public relations.

She has also started to play so much nicer with other kids. Which thrills me because I am so that mom that gets glares from other moms because my kid doesn't like anyone to get in her way or play with a toy that she possibly had her eye on. Her hugs also used to resemble wrestling moves. She is getting it now though. For the most part, she will listen to me when I tell her to wait her turn or that she has to share. She may not like it very much, but she does it and thats all that matters.

It definitely gets easier. Liv is easier to reason with and is learning how to act like a little human being and not so much a caveman. I am starting to feel like I can have another baby. Not saying that this will happen soon, but I can confidently say in a year or so we will try to have another baby.

we spend lots of time at the park.

we try to let liv be as independent as possible...but the worrier side of me has issues.

hello liv.

loves to walk lily.

we go on lots of walks too.

not happy about getting her picture taken with mom.

hello husband.

Wedding Edition

2011-05-29T22:41:00.003-06:00

I thought I should do another update on the progress of our reception details. Everything major is booked, but I will admit that I'm stressing about all of the details. I am completely doing all of the decor and centerpieces myself and by myself I mean me and some devoted friends and family. I love having complete control over the situation, however it does lead to some stress.

Here are some sneak peeks of ideas that I have used for inspiration.

I'm using a variation of this idea for centerpieces

another touch for the centerpieces

photobooth and some fun props

I love the simplicity of this photobooth

Also, these are the shoes I'll be wearing.

I found these by mistake when looking for a pair to wear to have my dress hemmed...$30 and I'm in love.

So I am running into one wee problem. I don't think there is anyone that can do my make-up for the big day. Small town problems, but I was thinking about going somewhere in Calgary and explaining that I need to do my own make-up for my wedding, get a little tutorial and buy a few products that I love. Any advice for me? I'll add that I'm not very good at putting make-up on and usually just wear the basics, so I need some sort of help!

Home

2011-05-26T13:36:00.000-06:00

We had so much fun in Victoria. It was the first time Pat and I had ever taken a vacation together so it was very nice and a long time coming. Its so weird because I'm used to having him gone all the time, we've done long distance for a majority of our relationship...so really, just living in the same place feels like a vacation!

Our first day we did some exploring, had dinner and a few pints at an Irish Pub, so our style. We were in bed by 9 because Sunday we were driving to Tolfino. I of course woke up early every day of vacation. It always works out that way doesn't it? It took us about 4 hours to get to Tolfino and in retrospect we would have booked a room there because this little town was amazing. So much to do and see. The drive there was a bit scary and I had to close my eyes a few times. Lots of narrow roads and steep drops, but the view was out of this world.

When we arrived, we booked a whale watching tour, had our best meal there at this place called SOBO, went to the beach and spent the rest of our time there with some grey whales! I took some pictures, but of course its hard to see anything in them. I will admit the boat ride did end up making me a bit sick for the rest of the day but it was still worth it.

Monday we spent the day exploring Victoria, we watched the Victoria Day parade, walked A LOT, and went to the wharf where we saw some house boats and seals just hanging out and being fed some fish. We had a night out and woke up early the next day to have breakfast with a friend.

It was so much fun to just enjoy each other and putter around. I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little bit antsy to get home and see Liv. Her reaction to seeing us didn't disappoint. She was so excited and I missed her so much. I swear I leave for a few days and she grow up a little bit more. It makes me never want to leave her again!

driving to Tolfino...the trees her ginormo

I saw my life flash before my eyes a few times

wouldn't you like to live in that house on the ocean?

walking from the beach...it reminded us of sugarloaf (mqt)

whale! our skipper said "there she blows" every time ha.

a tail...so hard to see

sea lion colony

beautiful hotel in Victoria...known for there afternoon tea :)

capitol building

house boats on the wharf

having a snack

at big bad johns...our last night in Vic.

this place was hilarious

the decor.

29

2011-05-20T09:28:00.000-06:00

Happy Birthday to my Husband!! He turns 29 today...and I like to remind him frequently that its a year before 30 (even if he can do the math himself).

When I remind him, I like to remind him that I won't be 30 for four more years, and how lucky he was to snag a younger woman.

I'm so excited to be able to celebrate his birthday with him. With all of our long distance stunts we have performed and usually dealing with hockey schedules, we rarely got to spend each others birthdays together. So I'm thrilled to be able to let Pat sleep in and tell him "Happy Birthday" when he wakes up.

Once again, Happy Birthday Love.

I know a secret!

2011-05-18T20:19:00.000-06:00

I totally found out where Pat and I are going on Saturday.

Weirdly enough, it was a complete accident. I love it when things like that happen.

I had messaged a friend of Pat and mine to get his address for the reception...his response was something along with lines of "Hey how are you doing, Pat called me a few days ago and said you were coming to Vic".

"Vic" as in Victoria. Its located in British Columbia and is on the Southern tip of Vancouver Island!

You know I immediately called Pat and blurted out "I KNOW WHERE WE'RE GOING!". He couldn't do much but laugh because it was his own fault for not telling his friend it was a secret....oh how the mind of a man works.

So we are staying in Canada, which honestly is a relief because I'm not quite ready to cross the border again. Not that I've ever had a hard time, but its so much explanation and blah blah blahing. I have never been to B.C. and I have only heard great things about it. The weather is going to be nice but not short nice...so I'm glad I found that out and didn't waste any space on things I won't wear.

Wish us safe travels!

Books

2011-05-16T21:33:00.000-06:00

Ever since we incorporated books into our bedtime routine, Liv has taken on a new and obsessive love for them. She has become much more opinionated about which books I read and I swear she tries to pick out the longest ones at bedtime, but her favorites have remained the same: She loves The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Sesame Street books (yay Target dollar bins), all Olivia books, and her Puppies, Kitties, and Duckies books (they have buttons that bark, meow, and quack...go figure).

She also likes to "read" to us. Some of the books she knows so well that she can tell her in her toddler way what is happening on the page and other times she just babbles. Through her Duck book, she quacks for every page...because obviously, thats what ducks do ha. My favorite example is who knows what book she was reading but according to liv it said "blah blah blah, blah blah blah blah....chicken". All I know about this book is that it had nothing to do with chickens.

story time

more books

"where do you think you're going?"

reading to easton

booty tooch?

end scene.

5 days

2011-05-15T22:10:00.000-06:00

That's right...5 days until Pat and I take a trip together. Alone. Without Liv. It's been a long while since I've been on a plane without Liv. She has had her passport since she was 4 months old. We have travelled to Belfast, between Calgary and Michigan (at least 4 or 5 times), and Chicago. Most of these trips involved some sort of driving too. Like, say oh that time we drove from The Sault to Calgary. Which takes 27 hours....yes I said it, TWENTY SEVEN. It was a three day drive.

Needless to say, I have done a lot of travelling with my wee baby and now toddler. I find it very stressful and I'm alway an anxious wreck before a flight. So I'm really excited to have a relaxing flight. I am definitely going to have to have a few drinks! I'm obviously also excited to have a few days with my husband. We have never done something like this before so it will be nice.

I'm sure I won't be anxiety free though because who likes to leave their most precious cargo, but deep breaths because she will be well taken care of :).

I discovered that liv's sour mood lately has been bc of one of her 2yr molars....

oh bubbles, how I loathe thee

Liv loves them as much as I loathe them

Our Vacation Vol. 2

2011-05-14T21:44:00.000-06:00

Here's the last edition to our vacation pictures. I realized that I have no pictures of Liv and my mom. Which needs to be remedied as soon as we get back to the Sault. Sorry mom. Its funny how you think that you never want to live in a small town and I'm not sure that I could, but it will always be my home and I love being there. My family is everything to me and I miss them every day. So...I can't wait to go back!

convinced auntie dani to take off her clothes for dancing.

I had the great pleasure of meeting Ellie. She holds a special place in my heart.

Getting ready to go for a walk with Gaga (my mom).

Save a Horse Ride a Cowboy?

Tara took Liv dancing in the rain.

She had to be bribed with cake to come back inside....

oh canada

2011-05-13T23:44:00.000-06:00

21 Months

2011-05-13T15:21:00.000-06:00

We're creeping up on the big number 2. I am totally doing something sesame this year...possibly a nemo themed party, because those are Liv's two major obsessions lately. Along with being outside. Its all we hear lately "siiiiide, siiiiide". We have spent a lot of time outside lately and usually when its time to go inside the whole event ends in tears. I feel her pain though, its taken so long to get nice out and I was anxious to get outside too.

We went to the walk-in clinic a few weeks ago for a rash....that still hasn't gone away. Gah. I need to make an appointment with her doctor like yesterday. Anyways, they weighed her and my little gremlin weighs a whopping 31 pounds. I have no idea how tall she is though. Its just amazing to me how big she's getting. Personally I think she gets cuter and cuter ;).

The talking, oh the talking....This has been the most fun part for me. I love the little sentences and phrases she makes. Some of her semi-new phrases that I die over are "oh goshhh". I was tickling her today and whenever I would stop she'd say "oh goshhh". It made me giggle. She also likes the phrase "oh nuts". Probably not the best thing she could say, but its pretty hilarious. One of her favorite things about Auntie Dani's apartment were the ducks, which she pronounces "cucks" (it sounds mildly inappropriate when she says it). So, naturally when we were skyping with Auntie Dani today she said "Side. Side, cucks side?". She remembered! The first thing she said to Dani though was "Hi Dadeee, where Bikey?". For those of you who missed it, Bikey is my sister's boyfriend, Mike...we call him Mikey.

She is just so much fun. Which I'm sure everyone who has a toddler this age can say. She is thrilled with every little thing we do and the most simple of activities are huge hits. How could you not have fun with a 21 month old?!

Our Vacation in Pictures vol. 1

2011-05-10T08:09:00.000-06:00

I am just getting around to downloading all of the pictures from our trip...so there needs to be more than one post on all of the action.

lots of playing with auntie Dani

a little dancing....

lots of playing outside.

lots of visiting.

we dressed up a lot.

we visited some friends....hello ari.

we did some naked dancing.

we had to say goodbye to auntie "daddeee"

oh man, liv really had fun with Dani.

Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-08T20:31:00.000-06:00

First of all I would like to say Happy Mother's Day to all of the Mom's in my life! Especially my mom.

Pat got home last night and with him he brought my new laptop!!! I'm so excited. I still need to transfer all of my pictures from the external hard drive and get used to using a mac. I know the basics and thats about it. I am up for the challenge though :). Pat is here until Wednesday. Then he will be gone for another week or so.

Kind of exciting news...Pat is planning a trip for us. He will not tell me where we are going, but we aren't bringing Liv and its the weekend of May 20 (his birthday). I know that we are going somewhere in the U.S. or I am about 95% sure that we are. I'm dying from the excitement of it. Immediately when Pat told me I said "Do you know how long its been since I have flown in a plane without Liv? I am for sure having a few drinks!".

Other than that, life had been pretty ordinary. Liv turned 21 months and I need to do a post on that...I will have that up this week. I hope everyone had a lovely Mother's Day :).

absence

2011-05-04T15:57:00.000-06:00

I'm sorry I have been so absent lately. It's not because I don't want to be blogging, its simply because I still don't have a computer. Well I also was visiting my family for three weeks and now that I'm back in Calgary I won't have a computer until Pat gets home. There is some good news though...Pat bought me a Macbook Pro! Well originally he bought it for us to share, but now that he's been using it, he doesnt think he can part with it at all...so he thinks he needs to get another just for himself. I'm not going to complain though...come to mama little Macbook!

So, I'll be back to blogging soon.

look-a-like

2011-04-28T15:10:00.000-06:00

I've heard from a handful of people, including my husband's family, that I resemble Kate Middleton. Weirdly enough, or not so weirdly, Mike's (my twin sister's boyfriend) family thinks my sister resembles her to. So in honor of the Royal Wedding tomorrow and just because I'll take that similarity any day...let me know what you think. Yes or no?

what's new

2011-04-21T18:27:00.000-06:00

I have been neglecting my blog while I've been home. I'm just enjoying our time here with my family. So, here is a little update.

Pat went back to his old job. The one where he was gone for weeks and then home for a day and a half, but they are putting him on a rotation so he will be home more often and for longer stretches of time. The deciding factor for us was that it pays more than his other job and we found out that I most likely won't be working until November. So thats that.

My computer is completely dead. It wont be resurrected. So, yesterday, Pat went and bought us a macbook pro. We are going to share that and his computer. I'm really excited to use it!

Liv has been saying some really funny phrases lately. My favorites include: dada at woookk (work), papa go sideeee (outside), mama dethiii mama dethiii (for some reason she decided that calling me by my name is appropriate). She has also been hogging the phone. If I let her talk to auntie Dani or Pat, she refuses to give the phone back...I basically have to pry it out of her fingers. I think this may be a sign of things to come in her teenage years.

My goal while home is to get as much wedding stuff as possible finished. I ordered our invitations, which Dani designed for us, and they will be here tomorrow and I've also collected all of the supplies for our centerpieces. We are gonna have a invite/centerpiece party so we can have some help putting everything together.

I have some more pictures from our visit in Chicago. They are too cute not to share.

liv loved hanging out on dani's little deck. she could see the duckies from there.

duckies! high five!

loves auntie dani.

the happy baby, ducky dance

working on her poses

vacay life

2011-04-13T19:25:00.000-06:00

Our vacation life in the Sault has consisted thus far with playing outside, playing at the park, playing with gaga and papa, oh and we took a 3 hour nap today....yes I said "we".

It was fantastic.

I'm thinking I should make this a daily occurence.

Pat once said something along the lines of "your mood is in direct correlation with how much sleep you get". First I'd like to write my response, which was "DUH", and second I think that naps are also directly correlated with my mood.

So, that will be my excuse from now on....naps make me a nicer person.

Speaking of nice people...check out Liv in her little sunhat and carrying around my mom's coach wristlet. She is generally nice, except when she's calling all of us "bad!". Drama drama drama.

I love her sunhat.

The flower is a clippie made by me.

Pondering her little 20 month old life.

climbing to the top of the slide like a big girl.

loved this swing.

bad pictures, but you get the idea.

Chicago

2011-04-09T22:45:00.000-06:00

We are here!! In one piece...both of us.

Everything went great. We played in the airport before our flight, Liv stood by the window and yelled at all the "APPIESSS" (airplanes). I finagled an extra seat for us and she ended up sleeping for half of the flight and then sitting next to me eating snacks and watching her dvd's. It went very well...I would have liked if she had slept longer but I can't complain.

I can complain about the drunk guy sitting diagonal from us. He was obnoxious and kept turning around and staring at my child. It was a bit creepy and I had to break out my stink eye.

Since we've been here we've been doing a lot of catching up with "Dadeee"( Auntie Dani) and "Bikey"(Uncle Mikey). Dani was waiting for us at baggage claim while Mike did circles outside, it was nuts out there. Liv immediately ran up to Dani. No awkwardness at all. She actually has gotten a little confused a few times about who mommy is. That is something new...It takes a little convincing once she has it in her head.

My mother also made a surprise visit. We weren't supposed to see her until Monday, but she was on her way back from a work trip and her flight got cancelled so she stayed with us on Friday night and flew out today at 4. We drove her into the airport which made for a long day, but before that we spent the morning together, she bought me a wedding dress, and I had my first Chicago Style hot dog!

Wait, what? New wedding dress? Yes I will admit to being a bit of a spazz, but I just wasn't happy with my dress. I tried it on for my mom and sister and they weren't wowed either. So, after some online perusing (which I may or may not have been doing for months), I had a dress in mind that I had to try on. I went to David's Bridal, tried it on and my mom bought me the dress! Its exactly what I wanted. It fits perfectly and just needs to be hemmed. I'm still deciding on whether I'll put pictures up or not. I might need to keep it a surprise, because I'm such a traditional bride ::rolls eyes::

We are heading up to the U.P. tomorrow, but not before we have a photo shoot with Liv. I do have a few pictures to share. Of course Dani has been snapping away all weekend.

seriously, how does an impromptu photo shoot turn out so damn cute?

Liv looks so much like her dad in this pictures it scares me...

bubble beard!

this is my favorite...i die

"brushing"

bubble baths are the best.

20 Months

2011-04-05T09:45:00.000-06:00

Yesterday marked 20 months for Liv. The terrible two's are going strong in this household. Liv is conveying to us more and more her needs and wants, its just that sometimes those aren't things that I am willing to give her. For example, like a million snacks a day. Liv is known to literally throw herself on the ground and throw and all out tantrum. Usually this is easily fixed by picking her up, patting her back, and letting her know why she can't have what she's asking for. A little love goes a long way though.

Liv's current favorite things include:

Stickers....oh lord, the "stickies" we have in this house. I am constantly picking stickies up and off of everything. Liv loves to cover herself in them. Nothing gives her as much joy as a huge book of stickies. She immediately asks for them when she wakes up and continues until bedtime.

Coloring is also a big favorite now. We "Colow" all day. I use the term "we" lightly because Liv doesn't really let me or want me to color with her, she would prefer me to sit next to her and watch.

Snacks...did I mention snacks?

Liv loves to play outside. Pat took her out a few times on sunday. Just to shovel the walk and build a few snowmen, but it doesn't matter if we actually do anything with her, the mere act of being outside gives her joy.

Talking. This girl loves to talk our ears off. She is putting more words together now. It makes it easier to communicate with her, but she's still a fan of talking in her own language. It's usually a bunch of mumbo jumbo that ends in a word we know. She is so confident in herself though...she knows exactly what she wants to say.

Reading. When I took Liv's bottle away, we started reading before bedtime and naptime. She has always liked to look a books, but it was a struggle to get her to sit down and let us read to her. Now, its an all day activity. Pat was watching freakonomics a few weeks ago and it said that out of everything you can do for your child, reading to them is the most beneficial. We have taken that to heart. Also, working in a first grade classroom, let me tell you...its very clear which kids were read to and which were not. They just had much more flow to their reading, like they knew how it was supposed to all blend together. So, I'm happy with this love of Liv's.

Music. Girl has some good dance moves.

Some of Liv's dislikes include:
Getting her diaper changed (still), being told no, when there is not a pop music station playing in the car, coming inside from outside, sitting still...typical toddler behavior.

She is such a sprited little girl. Pat and I like to talk about her to eachother a lot. We were out on Saturday night, in a club (which we thought was a pub, whole other story). Anyways, we were screaming at eachother to be heard and were talking about our daughter. Pat said "she will always make us laugh", and its so simple but so true. Nobody can bring a smile to your face like your own child. She thrills us.

I don't have any pictures right now, but let me assure you, I will. We are going to see Dani who will spoil us with amazing pictures, and of course I will eagerly share them!

almost vacay and some wedding drama.

2011-04-04T10:01:00.000-06:00

We leave on Thursday for Chicago...I am so so excited, but packing anxiety has struck.

We are only taking one suitcase and I have anxiety until the moment my bag is weighed, checked, and out of my eyesight. Any other mom's have the same anxiety? It will make things easier now that Liv has no bottles, but also more difficult on the plane. How in the heavens am I going to get Liv asleep?? Hopefully its not a totally disaster.

In other stressful news, my computer will not turn on anymore. I am going to bring it to a place called tech support to see if it has any hope. If not, I'm not sure what I'm going to do...I feel completely lost without a computer. I use Pat's when he is at work...but he is literally attached to it when he's home. I would have to do some major begging to be able to use it.

What? doesn't sound stressful enough? Well, I also am having serious second thoughts about the dress I have for the reception. I dunno, I just feel its a big blah. I know I could dress it up with a belt, but I'm not sure it would be enough for me. I have been perusing online and found a few dresses on Zara and French Connection that I am considering. I am not making the same mistake though...I'm going to go try them on. Here is what they look like.

Keep in mind. We are not having a ceremony...we are already married. We are having a reception in my hometown to celebrate our marriage. Which means, I can be as casual or dressy as I like. I would like to stick with a white/cream color...but length is not an issue for me. Oh, and I realize two of these dresses are strapless, which I said I did not want...but I am keeping an open mind.

found here

found here there is also a knee length version.

found here, its so simple...but there is something I like about that.

names

2011-04-01T20:13:00.000-06:00

Liv started calling me "Desi" yesterday....

Sure, she still mostly calls me mama, but she gets a good giggle running around chirping "Desiiiiiii, Desiiiiii" she says it almost perfectly, with an added little toddler lisp in there. So cute.

Since she's all about my name and I have been asking her lately "What is your name?", I thought I would try again tonight....this is how it unfolded.

::Liv sitting in her highchair slurping up some cheerios and milk::

me: Liv what is your name?

liv: "sluuuuuuuurp"

me: What is your name? your name? what is your name??

liv: (very proudly and pointing to herself) MEEEEEEEEEEE!

.....we haven't quite figured this out yet.

a little park time

2011-03-31T12:23:00.000-06:00

Liv and I ventured out to the park yesterday. Not because its spring-like here, but the sun was out so that motivated me.

We left the park soaking wet, but burned off some energy.

I also couldn't pry the stickies out of Liv's hands so she played with stickers all over her. Can we say obsessed?

When we were there, two little girls had Liv following them everywhere. I said hi to their mom and helped Liv climb around with the girls.

After the park I drove through the Tim Horton's drive through and got us some lunch and Liv a smoothie. When we were driving back home I saw the little family from the park and came to the realization that we see them walk by the house multiple times a day. Its spring break and I never put two and two together. Such a weird coincidence.

a girl and her stickies.

watching in amazement.

most popular

2011-03-30T09:25:00.000-06:00

The two most popular words in our house right now are...

"Colowwwwww"

and

"Stickiesssssss"

In english those translate to color and stickers. There are stickers EVERYWHERE. Pat went to work yesterday with a huge sesame street sticker stuck to his suit pants and it was brought to his attention from a coworker who giggled and teased that it was how he lured in little kiddies. Liv just got a big book of princess stickers from her grandma carolyn so I joked that he would be going to work with princesses stuck to his leg next. I bet Pat never envisioned that for himself :).

As we speak I am having a conversation with Liv that consists of:
"Liv get down from there"

"no, noooooo"

"ok, well then we are going to go to bed"

"no"

le sigh. This little 30lb gremlin is running my show. Naptime is definitley approaching faster than Liv realizes.

hanging on by a thread.

2011-03-27T19:27:00.000-06:00

My computer that is. I couldn't start it all day. It is struggling to stay alive. Pat just got it up and running this evening and I immediately backed up all of my pictures on the external hardrive. I was so nervous I would lose something.

On that note, I feel naked without my computer. It makes me anxious. I'm not really sure what we are going to do about it yet. Pat is going to get a work computer so I may take over his old one or this old boot might surprise me and run for a bit longer.

We had a nice weekend. We kicked off Friday with a playdate at a place called Playtopia. It was so much fun and even had a mini bouncy castle. Liv loved it! We played there for a few hours and finished off our afternoon with lunch at Wendy's. The only complaint I have about the day was that Liv never napped...it turned out into a long day.

Other than that, we had a dinner party last night and did a whole lot of lying around today. I'm unreasonably tired though and need to go to bed early to get ready for my week. Did I mention I have a little over 2 weeks until our trip?! I can't even think about it because it makes me so excited!

I'll leave you with some pictures I took a few weeks ago...

walking inside.

Feminism

2011-03-22T11:09:00.000-06:00

Maybe I am, maybe I'm not...a feminist that is. I have always thought of myself as independent. I know I CAN do everything that a man can do. I usually prefer it my way anyways. I have never depended on a man before...well, thats not true, I depended on my dad.

My dad is a man who takes care of all the blue things if you will. Blue meaning, stereotypical man jobs. For instance, everything to do with his families vehicles. I mean, yeah, I got my own oil changed, but if something were to break or I needed a new registration or something...my dad got it done. Automatically...I didn't even have to ask.

I am now at a point in my life, where my only option is to be a homemaker. I can't work, yet. I stay at home all day with Liv. I cook, clean, do laundry, change most of the diapers, and drink way too much coffee. My husband is the bread winner and only winner in this situation because like I said above, I can't work. That puts me in a position that I have never wanted or saw myself in.

Its taking some adjusting. This is all being brought up because the other day I texted Pat to shovel the walk while we were at a baby shower because I slipped and almost killed myself. He was doing a little working from home and didn't shovel. Of course, me being me, I had to give him shit about it. He then responded back with "this is the 21st century, why can't you go shovel the walk?"? Touche my friend, however, sometimes I don't feel it is because here I am in my homemaker role. Its very conflicting.

I am also going to renew Pat's registration on his truck today...which brought up the whole subject again. Isn't that how marriage works? So, I'm sucking it up and going to renew it for him...but I am also going to make him go get me an oil change. Its only fair right? I won't make him take Liv with him. Hello DMV, here we come!

life

2011-03-21T08:47:00.000-06:00

We just got home from dropping Pat off at the train station.

This is our regular morning routine, wake up, get liv up, get her ready and out the door. She usually requests to brush her teeth with dada and get some juice and we're ready to go.

Now we sit here and she has some toast and juice while we watch sesame street. I love our mornings, everything would be perfect except that I ran out of coffee creamer. We need to go grocery shopping badly today...Liv's incessant requests for snacks has left the cupboards bare.

Her eating has changed a lot lately. Its growing more and more difficult to get her to eat a full meal, so snacking it is. I have also noticed my little liv is losing her baby fat, which up until now I haven't been able to say. She's really sprouting up and only has one leg roll now...its a little bittersweet.

Sleeping after her St. Paddy's Day festivities. I promise that she has a green bow in her hair and also wore a green sweater :).

Nothing was waking this girl up. She was snoring as Lily barked and I took pictures...

Saturday before dinner with mama and auntie Leslie. Auntie Dani got Liv her shirt and headband. Oh, and I made her the pillow...and its now a staple along with her sucky (cucky) and blankie (kiki)

I also took her foam puzzle off the floor. Not because I didn't love it, but because the OCD in me couldn't handle the cleaning process of it. With the two dogs in the house, a lint roller was needed to get all the hair off of them....I looked like a crazy person.

buds? not really...and sorry for the food on liv's face...I noticed a little too late.

Dancey Dance

2011-03-20T16:55:00.000-06:00

Liv has learned some new dance moves! Enjoy :)

My Nikon's BFF

2011-03-14T20:31:00.000-06:00

I have been looking at buying a lightscoop for my camera. I finally did it a few weeks ago.

I didn't really know what to expect, but I was hoping for the best.

The verdict: In my opinion, it helped make me look like I knew what I was doing a bit more when dealing with my camera. I would recommend it for anybody who was having issues with lighting. I have a Nikon D40 and I'm very much an amatuer. I took a bunch of pictures today trying it out and i'll leave you with a handful of them!

such a happy baby.

liv loves stickers...and loves to stick them to my nose.

lily even got a photoshoot today.

My Mom

2011-03-14T09:24:00.000-06:00

My mom had her 48th birthday yesterday, which has me thinking a lot about my family. I miss them a lot. I never imagined being so far away from them, especially with Liv. My parents are completely in love with Liv. I have to give my mom credit, because I knew nothing about raising a baby. She taught me everything I know. Having her was better than any baby book I could have read. Motherhood is very instictive, but it doesn't hurt to have a fabulous mother that loves your baby as much as you do to be able to teach you everything she knows.

Liv was an easy and happy baby, but who knows if she would have been that way without the help from my mom. I may not tell her as much as I should how thankful I am for that, but I am very very grateful. Its nice to have someone to call and talk about the little things Liv does all day that most people might not find that interesting. She is just as excited as I am about all of Liv's little milestones. With that said, I'd like to post a few tidbits about my mom that I love.

- She tells it how it is. I am slowly but surely acting more and more like my mom these days, but there's something to say about someone who is completely honest...in a tasteful way of course.

-She's a hard worker. She has spent her life (part of it as a single mom to twins), getting an education and making a life for her children.

-She was very involved in her children's lives. I strive to be the mom she was and to let Liv know the complete interest I have in her life and what she is doing. She was always very supportive and I'm sure my brother and sister would agree.

-She LOVES Halloween. She has made our costumes since forever. Not that there is anything wrong with having a store bought costume, but its a nice memory to have, all the homemade costumes my mom would come up with.

-She's a good friend. She is one of my best friends. She still holds the right to be my mom at any point, but I like how our relationship has developed to a friendship also.

-She's beautiful. She would be dissapointed if I didn't add this, ha! She is though :). She also, regularly tells me how she thinks Liv looks like her. Even though I don't usually agree, I wouldn't be dissapointed in that.

Thats just a few things that I love about my mom. So, Happy Birthday (yesterday) Mom. Love you!

reminders

2011-03-11T09:29:00.000-07:00

I was driving in the car the other day and a song came on the radio. A country song. It made me immediately think of Shannon. As I pulled in front of the house, I waited to hear the name of the song or the artist who sang it, but nothing...

I googled and googled, but not being able to type out a single lyric didn't help my cause.

Fast forward a few weeks. I got home from the gym around 7:30 this morning. I sat on our bed waiting for Pat to get ready for work and Liv to wake up. I was trying to watch the news to get updated on the tsunami, but there was a commercial playing. After pressing the guide button to see what else I could flip between, CMT caught my eye. I used to watch CMT every morning...but not anymore because Liv prefers elmo.

I thought to myself, maybe I'll catch that song that I heard...

It was playing when I switched it over. In fact, it was at the beginning and I was able to hear the entire thing and see who was singing it and what it was called.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-03-09T11:33:00.000-07:00

This pictures is obviously old, but how cute is it?!

nibbling on mama's sweatshirt...and lily trying to ignore liv's existence ha :)