Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Vacation Week

Next week we are taking a very much deserved week off! We haven't had a full week off since we got married, and we are so excited about all of the adventures we have planned.

We're having dinner downtown at West Restaurant on Sunday to celebrate 5 years as a couple, then taking a road trip to Seattle, as well as a camping adventure with the family. In there, we're trying to plan a night at the drive in to enjoy the comfort of the truck, and maybe get some time to look at baby strollers.

Nothing excites me more (except maybe Christmas) than spending time with my husband with no real schedule or plan. Being on adventures with him is the best time... we're going to shop for maternity clothes for me, eat some yummy food, watch a baseball game, enjoy the river stream over my feet, take time to avoid technology and just be together.

I know that our adventures together are just beginning because by next summer, Peanut will be in our lives. I'm trying to take as many moments with Aaron right now as possible - when it's just the two of us - to enjoy my husband just as we are right now.

Thursday, July 25, 2013

The Sweet, Sweet Smell of Coffee...

I'm a through and through coffee lover! I love the smell of coffee, the taste of coffee, the effects of coffee. I love coffee desserts, coffee ice cream, coffee candy, coffee scratch-and-sniff stickers. Every morning Aaron makes me my latte to take to work. Every. Single. Morning. Without fail.
 
Since finding out we were expecting, I just haven't wanted it as much. I love the thought of it, but it's a struggle to drink it. I don't know if it's because it's so hot outside, and I don't want to drink a hot drink. Maybe it's because Peanut doesn't like coffee. Or perhaps subconsciously I know I'm not really supposed to consume it while carrying. I miss it like crazy though. 
 

Maybe once this first trimester is over (3 more days to go!) I'll be ready for some sweet, sweet coffee loving again. Maybe I won't enjoy it until after Peanut arrives. I don't know. But life's not quite the same without my caffeinated friend pumping through my veins!

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Ponderings from a mom-to-be...

We had lunch on the weekend with a friend from high school and her husband, and their two adorable girls. We ate fish and chips in the park. I bought the girls giant bubble wands, and we watched them blow them and giggle and chase them, and laughed when a few popped right on their nose. We walked slowly back home because one of them is 19 months and the other has special needs and uses a walker. Normally, the slow pace and stopping every 6 feet might test my patience. That day, however, things seemed different. I know it's not because I have a child growing inside me. I know it's not because I had sore feet, so I didn't mind the slow pace. It's because I am head over heels for these girls, and watching the patience and love their parents show every day gives me hope that when I give birth to this baby and she/he starts to grow up, maybe I'll have some patience as well. It's something I know I lack in my day to day life.

Our friends discovered their oldest daughter's condition before she was one. She wasn't progressing like most children her age. Their parents noticed it first, because the new parents were just too in love with this beautiful red headed little angel to really see any flaws. But soon it was apparent. She wasn't crawling, wasn't speaking, wasn't focusing. She is now going into grade 2 and she's progressed so much in the last few years. She's gone from only being able to crawl a few years ago to now walking with the help of leg braces. She is so intelligent, but sometimes her speech is unintelligible, but most of the time, she gets her point across. She's so beautiful and she's so fun and she's very kind. She loves hugs and loves cats and gold fish crackers and French fries. To her parents, she's their world. The younger daughter is just as beautiful with curly red hair and bright blue eyes and a wonderful laugh. She doesn't have the same condition, but they treat them no differently. Their mother, my friend, hopes that they are best friends as they get older, and I'm sure they will be.

I watched these parents go through 5 years of anguish with their daughter who was different than they'd expected her to be. I watched these parents who went to great, painstaking measures to bring another daughter into the world without the same issues as their first. I watched these parents who give so much of themselves to their children. I watched these parents who traded in fun cars for a minivan to fit the stroller and walker and/or wheelchair. I watched these parents who have to carry their second grader up two flights of stairs every day to go to the washroom. I watched these parents who struggle daily to make sure their girls both feel as normal and loved as every other child on this planet. I watched these parents. I watched them closely. I watched their hearts soar as they watched them. I watched their fears of them falling. I watched their pride as they walked and ran on their own. I watched them. And I felt like if they could do it with all of these issues they've faced and overcome, I can certainly do it with one. I can certainly be the best mom I know how to be. I can do this. I can.

I don't know why some children are born with so many more barriers in life than the rest of us. I don't know why she was chosen to have this condition. I don't know why my friend and her husband had the matching genes to give to her. I don't know why my friend didn't have the life she necessarily wanted or thought she'd have. But she was so blessed with these two amazing girls, and it's made her stronger, selfless, and a fighter. She's going back to school to work with kids with special needs. This life that was given to her by some other power has given her purpose. And maybe that's why.

Thursday, July 18, 2013

Emily's Baby Shower

On Sunday, Luciana and I worked together to host Emily's shower. I was just an assistant - she really did everything and paid a lot to make it the best shower for her sister. But Emily was very excited, very happy, and very spoiled by her friends!
 
Emily is one of the most generous and gracious people I know - almost to a fault. She will do anything for anyone and often give things up in order to provide for others. So this was a time to really repay her for everything she does for others!
 



Doesn't she look beautiful??? She's so small for being almost 8 months pregnant, and she's holding herself so well in pregnancy!


 
Luciana ordered one of the most darling cupcake/cake displays I've ever seen! It was amazing!






 
My two best pregnant girlfriends... it's still hard to believe that they will soon become mothers themselves!


Monday, July 15, 2013

My Scentsy Business

In February 2013 I officially joined Scentsy as a consultant, and I've loved representing them to my clients! It's been slow due to my shallow pool of contacts, but I feel like I'm rejuvenated to start promoting the business further after a great session with my sponsor on Saturday!

Scentsy is something I truly believe in... I love their products and use them myself. I love their family-run mentality, their customer service, their commissions program, the commraderie, the ever-changing scents and warmers. I just adore the company.

I guess my shyness is a bit of a hindrance when it comes to being in sales. It always has been. But when my friends and family and strangers alike get excited, I know it's all worth it.



On Sunday at Emily's baby shower, my friend tried my Scentsy hand cream and everyone around us commented how great she smelled - she was my walking advertisement. It got me thinking - I'm going to send out hand cream samples to my clients that love lotions and are around a lot of people. Maybe it will generate some new business? Maybe it will just entice them to try it. Who knows. But I need to do something.

The whole point of me joining a consultant business was for me to earn a little extra money for when I go on mat leave. But finding something that I love myself makes it easier to want to succeed.

Friday, July 12, 2013

My role is changing...

I had a meeting with my manager, and we discussed my mat leave dates. I think that's when this whole thing suddenly felt SO much bigger than me. I will be off work for a year... I haven't done that since I was 16! I know that staying home with an infant is the biggest job you can have - it's a 24/7 career! But how am I going to handle not going to work every day?

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
My role at this company has changed and evolved over the almost 14 years I've been employed with them. I've done everything I can do... but my new role as a mother-to-be-going-on-mat-leave-soon is completely new to me. When we talked about when I'd start my leave, I think I had a mixed reaction - eagerness to start my new title of MOM and anxiety over relinquishing my role at my company. Who would know this job the way I do? Who would be able to figure everything out? Who would babysit and nurture and coddle the guys the way I do? :)
 
I know that everything will be fine - and if it's not, that's not my problem until I come back in a year's time. Maybe in a year they will think that my role is a cake walk and have replaced me without a second thought. Or maybe they'll realize I just did my job so well that I made it look easy, and they couldn't do it without me! Who's to say? Who knows?
 
But I know that I've wanted to be a mom since I was a little girl, and I've wanted to be a mom to Aaron's child since the first time I kissed him. And THIS is the role I belong in more than any other. 

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Are you carrying twins in there?

The wonderful blog What Jay Has to Say recently had a post about what it is like to have people comment on the size that you are during pregnancy. She was a pretty small girl pre-pregnancy, but has had weight-gain as one of her symptoms, and having people comment on it isn't making life any better for her. Someone even asked her if she was sure she wasn't having twins. Can you believe that?

So far, because I'm so early in my pregnancy, no one has had the ability to make rude remarks, with the exception of my mom who said in front of my husband and brother "You look a lot further than 9 weeks!" She defends her remark by saying that the maternity shirt I was sporting made me look bigger, but the comment hurt.

People think that it's okay to rub your belly, give their opinion on finding out the gender, make suggestions constantly on your care, and comment on "how big you are getting" when none of those things would be okay in day-to-day non-pregnant life.

I recently had a conversation with our mailman who's wife is about 6 1/2 months pregnant, and he said that she was quite thin before but is significantly larger now. He said it hesitantly (as if his wife would strike him dead on the spot for saying it out loud to a stranger), but he said that she's so uncomfortable and feeling self-conscious about the difference in her body. I guess it's a normal reaction.

I'm excited to see Peanut grow. I'm excited to rub my full belly and feel her/him kick. I'm over-the-moon about all of the fun things that are going to happen. But I think that when I start showing and people start making it okay to poke fun at me... I won't be quite as casual about the whole thing!

I have to give props to my hubby...

I think in the almost 5 weeks since we found out that we're expecting, my hubby has only been annoyed with me once. For the most part, he has completely exceeded my expectations as a patient and loving father-to-be to his pregnant wife. He has cleaned and cooked and shopped and bent to almost all of my needs. He has rubbed my shoulders and feet, he has cut watermelon for me late at night, he has calmed me down when I start to feel overwhelmed.

Yesterday I felt like I was going to explode. I was so beyond tired that my vision was blurred. I had a pounding headache, and unable to take anything because it might harm Peanut. I had heartburn. I had nausea. Yup - I was a mess. So after working a full day at his job and then studying for 2 hours, he picked up sushi from our favorite place, rubbed my head, and stayed on the couch with me watching two of our favorite shows on PVR.

I can't tell you how wonderful it feels to have his support and unconditional love during a time when I feel anything but stellar. I don't know if his patience will last for the next 6 months, but so far, I am falling more and more in love with him the further I get in this pregnancy. I didn't think I could love him anymore than I did, but somehow, creating a child together has made me fall head over heels in love with him all over again!

Friday, July 5, 2013

This weekend...

The husband is meeting up with a schoolmate to study tonight, so I'm by myself. I think I'm going to get a slurpee and go home to watch What To Expect When You're Expecting or some other equally mind-numbing chick flick so I can forget all about today! It wasn't a great day!

Tomorrow night is my aunt's surprise 60th birthday party! I'm excited to celebrate with family and finally get to tell them about the little surprise of our own! :)

Sunday is hopefully going to be a chill-out day... maybe clean the house, stay cool by the river, bbq some food - who knows! That's the joy of a day off for a change!

Everything is A-OK!

We had our first ultrasound on Wednesday. I was so scared walking in there that something might be wrong, but our Peanut is growing according to schedule and we saw the teeny tiny heartbeat! It was something I'll never forget!

Aaron stood at my side, close to my feet, and watched our child's heartbeat. He stared at the screen for a long while, in awe, unsure of what to say or how to feel other than amazement and wonderment. Seeing your baby's heartbeat inside of you can do something more than spectacular to your soul... it gives you purpose and makes you remember why you wanted a baby in the first place. You forget how sick you're feeling, how heavy your eyelids feel, how worried you are about the cost of this new adventure... all of it... gone. You just stare at that tiny heartbeat, that little cashew-shaped miracle living inside you, and you just feel absolute and wholehearted love.

Thursday, July 4, 2013

The living room...

When we first moved in, I thought I loved the bright greens and dark greens in the living room. But the more I lived with it, the more I hate it. What I hated more, though, was the horrible painting job the previous residents did... it was bad! So while the kitchen renovations were wrapping up, I hired my retired uncle to come over and paint. It was exhausting trying to pick the right colors, but I think I nailed it. 
BEFORE
 
 AFTER
 
BEFORE
 
AFTER
 
BEFORE
 
 AFTER
 
The media wall
 
 
I changed the wall colors to light and dark gray and repainted all the trim a nice glossy white. My uncle did most of the light colors, but I did all the dark ones over the course of 2 nights. I also did all the trim, the doors, and the baseboards. It feels so much more fresh and modern and cozy and US! It also doesn't feel as dark, even though this pictures may show otherwise.
 
I also updated the artwork. My favorite two pieces are a photo of our rings resting on an apple from our wedding that I had blown up and put over our buffet, and a piece of beautiful craft paper I found at a store in Seattle that I knew I wanted to frame for our living room. Funny enough, a lot of the tones in the picture match perfectly with the wall, and it gets a lot of attention from guests wondering what it is... it looks like unique wood grain from a tree stump. It's beautiful. I was also able to hang the REGEHR picture that Aaron got me for Valentines Day.
 
I'm very proud of our home. It's comfortable, it's calm, it's full of our personality. And soon, it will welcome our baby home. Amazing what can happen in less than a year!
 



Our pimpin' kitchen reveal...

So last I left, we demolished our kitchen! Gone was dirty and outdated, here to stay was clean and modern!

We ripped out everything, laid down new floors and new baseboards. We painted. We installed a new light. We put up a nice mosaic backsplash and a modern hood fan. We moved the fridge. We had our cabinet builders install the cabinets and countertop, but we did the rest ourselves or with the help of family. Everything was new - nothing stayed behind except the appliances which we'd installed the month we moved in.

Here's the big reveal:

BEFORE
 
AFTER
As you can see, the stove area had a big overhaul. We removed the disgusting white flowered tiles, and replaced it with a mosaic tile that yours truly installed pretty much by herself! We decided to go with a glass and stainless hood fan and eliminate the useless over-the-range cabinets to make it feel more airy and open.
 
 
BEFORE

AFTER
The biggest change here is that we moved the fridge from the corner to the other wall. The way that the fridge was placed made it so that if someone was in the fridge, no one could get in or out of the kitchen. It was a strange spot to have it in the first place, and now we have even more counter space.
 
 
BEFORE
 
AFTER 
We didn't do a ton of change to this sink area, except that we replaced the sink and faucet, and made sure that the plumbing wasn't leaking for a change! We still have to get some blinds for the large windows, but that can wait a while.
 
 
BEFORE

 AFTER
 This was a huge transformation. As you can see from the before picture, the wall was bare. Empty. Naked. Lonely. The previous residents had a cheap white pantry there, but I just put one of our bakers racks there for the meantime where all of our necessary dry goods were housed for the 4 months before renos started. When it was completed, the wall was functional with the fridge there and floor to ceiling pantry space! It fits all of our food nicely!
 
 

THE FINAL PRODUCT
Overall, I'm ecstatic with our new kitchen. It was a tedious process, and it was hard on us and our cats. It was a lot of dust, dirt, blood, sweat, and tears (literally) but we love the final outcome. All in all, it took about 2 months from start to finish. We saved money by doing a lot of the work ourselves or with the handy work of our tradesmen family members. I did a lot of research on the best deals:
 
1. All the backsplash tiles were from Costco: $279, but we returned 2 boxes - so about $200 for the entire kitchen.
2. The cabinets were of course the most costly, but we waited until they were having an installation sale, and I also luckily liked the more inexpensive handles. We also picked laminate over stone, but love the look and feel of it. Total cost installed for the cabinets and counter - $6000.
3. The hood fan was from Costco - $269.
4. The sink and faucet were from Home Depot - I think that set us back about $300.
5. Flooring was from Home Depot, and was on sale. It's actually laminate, but looks like granite tiles. I love them because they were easy to install but more because they are warm unlike tile, and without a heating source in the kitchen, I opted for warmth. - $200.
6. The light fixture was from Home Depot as well. We used the same one at my Dad's when we helped him reno the basement suite and liked it, so we used it again. It is easy to keep clean, uses low electricity, and gives off great light. - $89.
7. We bought paint at Cloverdale paints because our friend gets us a discount - $28.
 
I'm sure there were other costs involved like little tools or parts we needed, but all in all, I believe this renovation cost us $7500. We managed to save about $3000 of it from wedding gifts, so we only paid about $4500 of it ourselves. Was it worth it??? OH HELL YA!

Our disgusting kitchen!

I feel like I'm on HGTV and get to finally reveal our new kitchen! A little backstory first... when we first looked at our townhouse in August 2012, we almost didn't go inside. I was tired, hot, and afraid that the asking price was too high. I just didn't even want to bother. But Aaron and our realtor convinced me to just check it out anyways.

My husband likes to tell people that he knew it was meant for us when he walked through the doors because it was painted in our wedding color of apple green! :) Needless to say, we were smitten with the place - it had newer dark laminate floors, a main floor bathroom, 3 bedrooms upstairs with a hall bath and a master bath, a washer dryer on the main level, and a decent sized kitchen. I remember not loving the kitchen, but thinking that it was okay at first sight.

We put an offer on the house after only visiting it once, and after a lot of nervous weeks, discussions, negotiations, exasperation over insurance issues, and finally a midnight phone call, the townhouse was ours!

When we got the keys on December 1st, my first thought was "Oh my god, what did we get ourselves into?" I H.A.T.E.D the kitchen. It was useless. It was dysfunctional. It was dirty. It had mold. It was not us. So what did we do? We lived with it until March when we finally took a sledgehammer to that mofo!

Here's the demo pics:



 






Up next: The Reveal