How I Managed my Stay at Home Between 21 weeks and 24 weeks!!

Just thought I would blog a bit about how I did with my stay at home between being discharged from the hospital, at 21 weeks 5 days, until my return at 24 weeks. I was really torn about going home or staying in the hospital, in one way I was in the very best place I could be for baby and myself, but realistically, they would not doing anything for baby until 24 weeks (viability), and I have a sweet little girl at home who was missing me terribly and I was missing her. We were not prepared for this to become our new reality. Our home was in the midst of being decorated for Christmas, and ironically, my husband was preparing for surgery the very next day (the day after my water broke), for a hernia. So, I let my house go a little figuring I'm going to be housebound taking care of Eric for the next couple of weeks. And then baby pulled trump, surgery was cancelled, and childcare in the form of grandma's and aunts and neighbours was established. I am soo thankful to everyone who has supported us through this process, I feel like I am in a bit of a fog, I cant remember what I said/did ten minutes ago, and the passage of time seems to meld together, but is passing so slowly. I can't keep track of things.

I am so glad I decided to go home for that time period. I missed my home, my baby girl and just seeing her in her element at home. We read lots of books together, and she often came up to me " Mommy I snuggle you". I love those snuggles and cherish every single one of them. I got to spend time with my dogs and cats and enjoyed home cooked food (cuz this hospital food is yucko). i made lists upon lists for how to find Hannah's clothes, how to run the washing machine, how to manage Hannah's daytime routine. I tried to prime myself for the reality that in just a short time I won't be here to oversee that its running smoothly. It was a good thing to do. It has made me feel like at least I have laid the foot prints for her to have some stability. That little girl is my world and I miss her like crazy!!!!!!!!!! I miss checking on her after she's fallen asleep and having her grip my finger in her tiny little fist. Someday I hope she understands how much I love her, and how even though I am not doing this to her, I am doing it for her, and her baby sister or brother who she will cherish for the rest of her life.

We planned an uneventful relaxing day for the Sunday of my return, we were going to just enjoy each others company, have a nice supper and then head up to the hospital. Unfortunately, the transition from home to hospital was not smooth. I ended up having some bleeding and pink amniotic fluid, so the return to hospital was rushed and panicked. I had to do one of the hardest things i have ever had to do, leave the house with my baby girl screaming at the top of her lungs for mommy to stay with her. it was awful. I felt like the worlds worst mom, and yet there was nothing i could do. She came up to visit me later that evening once things had settled down and i was settled in my room, and was really unhappy to leave but was really happy to see me.

They say the pink amniotic fluid is somewhat to be expected, as my water has broken and there's less of a cushion between baby and my uterine lining. However, it still terrifies me. I feel like I am living in perpetual terror. It's very difficult to keep my head on straight and be my normal positive self. I am trying to convince myself that everything is going to be just fine, and to minimize my stress, but it is very difficult with this fear looming over me. But I am making it my goal to stay positive. So please keep me and my family in your thoughts. Thank you soo much.....

Amy

I'm BACK!!! And I have some exciting news to share!!

First and foremost I would like to apologize for my absence, at first it was an issue with lack of energy and not feeling well, and then it turned into a google account verifier problem!! But the important thing is - IT FINALLY let me login to my own blog!! And more importantly I'M BACK!!!

Now onto the exciting news, and an explanation for my health related absence. Someone has some very exciting news to share...

Hannah's finally going to be a big sister!!! She is super excited and sooo are we!!! Words cannot even describe how over the moon and beside ourselves thrilled we are!! We look forward to welcoming our new addition to our family in March 2012, technically I am due the 25th but due to the fact that I am considered high risk, the baby will likely be here in the beginning to mid March via c-section.

Now onto why it took me 17 whole weeks to share our exciting news. In the beginning of the pregnancy I was considered high risk, and was put on light duty from 5-12 weeks because I had a nasty subchorionic hemorrhage. What that means is no friggen fun. It threatens your pregnancy because it causes the placenta to tear away from the uterus, which could cause the whole pregnancy to miscarry. So, it was a pretty scary time, but luckily the bleed reabsorbed itself, and was completely gone at our 12 weeks ultrasound, but up until that point we had weekly ultrasounds to monitor if it was growing or shrinking. So, now they only risk to the baby is that it can cause preterm labour because it affects the quality of the placenta, but they will monitor that down the road, and isn't much of a concern for me because given my past experience the drs were really pushing me to have Hannah 6 weeks early, and we settled on three. So, I have to continue trust that God has a plan for this baby, and that my Dr's will continue to shine like they have so far, they really have been phenomenally supportive.

So, that's my exciting news, and my grand re-entrance into blog land. So stay tuned for the details on how I told the hubby and our families and the renos we have been doing to our house in preparation for baby's arrival.

Most of all thank you for staying loyal even though I was M.I.A.

Sincerely
Amy

What I Am Loving Wednesday!!

So, my friends, this will probably be my last post this week until next Tuesday, as we have the big wedding happening, and it's a long weekend, so of course I have jam packed it full of all kinds of fun!! So, I'm not MIA, I'm just having an amazing weekend!!

Now, onto the What I'm Loving Wednesdays!!

So, I am loving soooo many things today....

First off I am loving that I got all the bridal jewelry done, and even managed to sneak in a necklace for Ashley to wear to her weddings Friday as well. I love the way it turned out also...

Excuse the blurriness, I was using my iPhone....

I am loving that Hannah is going to be a flower girl on Friday, and she is soo proud an excited. She will pick flowers from the garden and walk around saying "I'm a flower girl". Soo darn cute, now if only her elbow and knees that are skinned would heal up stat...

I am loving that I will get to see my dad's side of the family. We don't see them often enough, so I am looking forward to seeing everyone, especially my cousin Melissa whose wedding it is. Her hubby-to-be is a real sweetheart.

I am loving that I am getting my hair done on Friday for $15.00. I am looking forward to having half an hour to myself on what I think will otherwise be a hectic day :). I love being pampered so it will be soo nice to get my hair done. I am just going for something simple but I am loving both of these hairstyles I found on Pinterest.

I love this one, but without the flowers, but it might be a bit overstated, screaming I got my hair done...

I love this one, I'm just not sure if I want to go with the simple back, or have it braided and joined at the back

 

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Like this but then curly like the above one..

Which one are you guys loving?

I am also loving that it cooled off a little bit yesterday so I was able to have the windows, and front door open all day!!

So, those are some of the things I am loving today!!

Hope everyone's having a fabulous week, and has a fabulous weekend!!

Amy



Weekend Recap!!

Well, we did it again!! Had an AMAZING weekend! This weekend was a lot more low key then the last one, and certainly more low key then the next one. But it was still great!!

Friday night I was home alone with Hannah, so once she went to bed I watched "Definitely Maybe", which was an okay movie, not great, but not bad, I didn't regret watching it lol.

Saturday morning we got up, had a nice breakfast and then quickly packed up a picnic and headed into the splash pad we were loving two weekends ago. We met up with Ashley, and had a picnic in the park, and then headed over to the splash pad. There were a few glitches, like the fact that I forgot Hannah's swimsuit (of all things to forget going to the splash pad), and we arrived at the waterpark at 12:20, only to find out there website was wrong and the don't open until 1pm. So, slightly annoying, but a quick trip to WalMart and a new swimsuit was purchases (and on clearance for $5.00 too). After the waterpark we headed out for some ice cream, and then came home and Hannah and I had a nap, it was fabulous. We went over to the neighbours open house for about an hour, then came home BBQ'd some steaks, and had a delicious spinach and hard boiled egg salad... mhmmm,... I could eat one right now... then my best friend and her kids (and hubby) came over and we sat outside and watched the kids play. Then we had a huge storm roll through, tornado warnings were even issued for our area. I always hate when tornado warnings are issued, or even just severe storm warnings, after Hannah has gone to bed, it makes me anxious. I always contemplate waking her up and bringing her down to the basement. Crazy!!

Sunday morning we went out for breakfast with Eric's mom, and then headed into town for groceries. Came home and had a family nap, which was really nice. Then spent some time outside. Then Hannah and Eric went down to the rec room/play room while I finished up the bridal jewelry for this weekends wedding. I must say they look pretty darn good.

Bracelets, the maid of honors is braided the rest of the bridesmaids are just twisted...

The Earrings, sorry it won't rotate...

Necklaces

Sunday night we started watching the movie "Fair Game" (but I was too tired to stay up and finish watching it but I finished it yesterday), and it was a good movie.

Yesterday was another good day. Eric got done work early (to take me to a drs apt) but it was still nice to have him home early. We have an incredibly busy weekend coming up. It's my cousins wedding and Hannah is the flower girl, so I am really looking forward to it!! I'm really looking forward to seeing my cousins that are far away!! So it's going to be crazy busy, but I can't wait!!

Hope everyone had a great weekend!!

Amy

What I Am Loving Wednesday!!!

So, it's Wednesday and time for my weekly link up with Jamie at This Kind of Love

I think it would probably be faster for me to list the things I am not loving today because I can't think of a single one!! I am truly having one AMAZING WONDERFUL week!!

So, for starters, I am LOVING all the good news we have gotten this week. Our car is fixed, my hubbie received recognition for 10 years of dedicated service with the fire department, we have made significant gains in potty training. We found out that our building plans are going to be built, and the builder wants to PURCHASE the plans from us, Hannah has been absolutely adorable!! All in all an amazing week so far!!!

I am also loving this post by Ashley over at Life As I Know It!! I love the idea of blessings in waiting!!!

I am loving the amazing weather we have had all week, and the fact that it is going to continue right into the weekend. This will nicely allow for our picnic date/water park visit with Hannah's favorite aunt Ashley!! (and uncle Mike)....

I am loving that I am almost done all the bridal jewelry I have lined up this week.

I am loving my new hair color... and I even managed to take some self portraits of me and my hair in my dress for the wedding next weekend!!

New dress and new hair!! Excuse the self portrait!!

and an even worse up close shot... but I'm loving my hair!!



I am also loving that we booked our mini summer vacay!! I was looking to go to Great Wolf Lodge, here in Canada in Niagara Falls, but it was CRAZY expensive. It has an amazing water park, and I had heard great reviews about it. But at $460.00 for one night, I think I'll wait until Hannah is older. So then a friend of mine told me about this amazing water park hotel she stayed at in Frankenmuth, (which is nice and close to Birch Run an amazing shopping center I have never been too, and we all know how much I like to shop and in the States of all places). It's called Zehnders Splash Village, and we are booked in for two nights, and it includes 4 meals for $460.00!! Great deal!! I can't wait!! August cannot come fast enough!!

So. like I said I am LOVING a LOT of things. I am sure I am leaving some out, but alas I need to get back to my beading projects!!

Hope everyone's having just as an amazing week as me!!

Amy

Amazing Weekend Recap!!

Wow!! I am in a great mood today!! It's amazing what a morning to yourself getting your hair done can do for you!! But, more on the one later.... first my weekend recap!!

We had an amazing weekend. Friday night we headed into town to go to a Folk Fetsival, having never been to one before I really did not know what to expect. But it was soo much fun!! We first stopped off at People's to pick up our newly shined wedding rings, and then to get my new Kobo Touch (which by the way I LOVE, and I had an amazing saleslady, who instead of charging me the upgrade - as my regular kobo stopped loading new books on me, so I wanted to upgrade, and the newer one costs $30.00 more, which I was happy to pay, and she waved it!! Gave it to me for the same price (essentially free). So thank you super sweet Chapters lady!! You set my night off to a great start!! Then we headed to the folk festival, had a great time checking out all the different vendors, enjoyed a Copper Top Pizza, and let me tell you it was soo good, I regretted my decision to share with Hannah. It was delicious. Then we headed home to put the munchkin to bed. Enjoyed a quiet night at home.

My self portrait of my newly shined rings!!

The next morning we got up to find out my PVR was broken, it was very heart breaking for Hannah, but after an hour on the phone with Bell Canada, I ordered myself a new one for rent, in High Def, for less money, so at least it was an easy fix. Then our local fire department (the one my hubby is on), was having their 40th anniversay open house, so we headed down there for some lunch, and had a great time there. My mom came down and joined us (as she was babysitting Hannah for the evening while we attended the awards ceremony for the fire department and the BBQ). Hannah did not enjoy Sparky the fire dog (dressed in costume). She spent the afternoon with Grandma lazing in her pool. Then we headed out to the award ceremony, which was really nice, they spent a lot of time recognizing the retiree's, the firefighters were recognizsed with pins for their years of service, and even the wives got a framed photo of the fire department and a hat. It was a really nice evening, and they BBQ'd steak, so it was good eats as well. I went home before the after party as it was 11:00pm already and I was whooped.

The next morning we had a great morning together. Hannah was adorable, and we spent the morning playiny with her, and then headed over to my best friends place where she played with her sons. Then headed into town for groceries. Another GREAT day!! So. all in all an amazing weekend.

We had some running around to do yesterday, and Hannah spent the evening playing with the neighbours. And then this morning, even better, I got to be pampered, and get my hair done, and I am loving it. I'll try and get my hubby to take a picture of it tomorrow, with me wearing the dress for the wedding so you can all see how nice and fresh it looks!! I love it!!!

Hope everyone had a fantastic weekend as well!!

Amy

What I Am Loving Wednesday!!

Well, let me tell you, Blogger has been giving me a run for my money, not letting me log into my blog, so I apologize for the prolonged absence. But man I have had an amazing couple of days!! I'll be scheduling some posts, so that hopefully should Blogger decide to not let me log in it will at least blog on my behalf... if that function works when it won't let you log in....

Anyways, onto What I Am Loving Wednesday!!

So, for starters. the thing I am definitely loving most is THIS GIRL!!! I mean seriously how cute is she!! She literally brightens my day every single day!! I have such a blast with her everyday!!

This was Hannah's idea of golfing yesterday!!

And, as you can see in the background of that last picture I AM LOVING THIS WEATHER!!! I mean, seriously it has been gorgeous!! We have spend soo much time outside!! We are loving it!!

I am also loving our potty training successes... more on that in another post...

I loved Hannah and I's mini - vacay to the city, to stay with Grandma this past weekend!!

I love the amazing waterpark we found on Sunday, and thoroughly enjoyed, we will be going back there for sure!!

I am loving that all preparations are done for the wedding that Hannah is in (as a flower girl), at the end of the month, all our outfits are bought and coordinated, and Hannah's dress is altered and ready to wear, my dress is a perfect fit (I'll post about that one later too... maybe even include a pic of me in it...).

I hope everyone is loving everything in their lives as much as me right now...

Amy

What I Am Loving Wednesday!!

I am linking up with Jamie at This Kind of Love for What I am Loving Wednesdays!!

Ahh!! I am loving soo many things today!!

I am loving my amazing family, and the great weekend we just had!!

I am loving the gorgeous warm weather and sunshine we have been enjoying for about 6 days straight now!! Fabulous!! Hannah is loving her "cool" (her cold pool - lol)!!

I am loving that my hearing with the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board is over, and it was way easier on me than I anticipated it being!! Amen to closing that chapter of my life!!

I am loving the way Melissa's wedding jewelry is shaping up!!

Yep, I took this picture of myself with my iphone!! LOL

I am loving Hannah's sweet little mumbling of "I love you mommy" in her sleep last night when I went in to tuck her in before I went to bed. It seriously melted my heart!!

I am loving that I am all caught up on laundry!!

I am loving my followers, only 7 more and I am doing a jewelry giveaway!!

So, umm yah, totally loving all kinds of things today!!

Hope everyone is having a great week!!

Amy

Potty training!! Some successes, some not soo much...

We have started potty training in this house, and like many mom's have said to me before, it's not going the way I expected. She gets the idea of it, as she wakes up in the morning (albeit with a wet diaper), and tells me (as I am changing her diaper),"I go pee", and she proceeds to go to her potty and pee on it (successfully the last three mornings - so I count that as routine now lol - it happened the magical three times). We get really excited, cheering and clapping, and she is clearly really proud of herself, and she gets two jelly beans of her choosing for pees, and 5 for poops. But then, after breakfast I try everything but standing on my head to get her to go potty (because surely she has to go again after her breakfast milk), and it is not happening.

She then will pee after her afternoon nap, and sometimes wakes up from her nap exclaiming "I pee", and if I can get in there fast enough get her pants off, and get her to the potty we have success, but if not, then I find a warm wet diaper, so it seems she knows she is peeing when she pees. She tells me after she pees "I'm soaked mommy", and as cute as it is to see her say, I feel defeated.

I really imagined this being like a one week project that only involved pull-ups over night, and no pants during the say until she was trained, but that is just not happening. She hates the idea of wearing no pants, and kicks up a stink to have her pants put back on, and I tell her it's easier to not have to worry about that part just yet. It seems she just wants to potty when she wants too, and not when the "I Go Potty" app chimes her too, or mommy or daddy prompt her too.

Help!! Any tips ideas, or suggestions are very welcome!! PLEASE.....

Hope everyone's having a great day!!

Amy

Weekend Recap!!

Yes, I know it's a Tuesday, but I had such a fun weekend I decided to extend it into Monday (and truth be told I spent yesterday doing all the things I didn't get done on the weekend because I was too busy having fun).

Friday night we spent the evening at home playing with Hannah and the neighbours. Once Hannah was down for the count Eric and I watched the movie "Just Go With It", he liked it better then I did, it was okay, nothing remarkable, and not overly funny.

Saturday morning we had a nice breakfast together and then packed up the car and headed to Grandmas (where we were meeting to walk down to Kidsfest - it's a 2 minute walk from her place). So we met up with Grandma, slathered on the sunscreen and headed to the park. Hannah LOVED kidsfest, they had bouncy obstacle courses, kiddy rides, a ginormous slide, ice cream and all kinds of fun food. She played steadily until about 2:30pm when it was soo hot she started to get cranky, so we figured we'd head back to mom's, change her into her swimsuit and head down to the splash pad instead. But Hannah had other plans, she fell asleep on daddy in just her diaper. It was soo cute!! So we let her sleep for an hour and a half, and then we headed out for dinner, got some organizing done around Grandma's place, she still settling in from the big move. Had a delicious dinner at Jack Astor's, and then headed home after supper. It was a great day. Minus my freaking allergies, they can take a vacation anytime now...

Sunday, Hannah and I started off the day by letting daddy sleep in. Happy Father's Day daddy (or 'Happy Cake' as Hannah calls it). I baked him a carrot cake to take for dinner and boiled some eggs for the caesar salad we were bringing to dinner at his parents house. He didn't want to have anyone over for Father's Day this year (like we usually do), so we headed into town to meet up with my dad for brunch. That was lots of fun, then we came home and he relaxed around the yard, Hannah helped him work/play in the gardens. he spent the day doing whatever he wanted. Then we headed down to his parents for dinner, came home and went to bed. We were exhausted. What a busy weekend, and we hadn't even done groceries.

Monday, we headed into town for my dr's apt, then headed to the grocery stores to get some food. That took all morning and part of the afternoon. I had a nap while Hannah nap, since I am having issues sleeping at night thanks to these stinking allergies. Then we had some supper, played outside for a while. We went and visited the ducks, that just had baby duckies, so that was super cute to see. Then some Mennonites came and delivered some fresh local strawberries (can you say delicious). Hannah was super thrilled to see the horsies. I tucked her into bed, and started making Eric some homemade hamburgers. What a process but he had them for lunch today and said they were delicious.

So, that's my weekend recap, on a Tuesday, with no pictures because I forgot the memory card for the camera at home. So I apologize.

Hope everyone had a great weekend too\

Amy

What I Am Loving Wednesday!!

It's that time of week again, I'm linking up with Jamie for What I'm Loving Wednesday

I am loving that I found this super fun event to take Hannah to on Saturday, so I am looking forward to a super fun family day out at Kidfest on Saturday. They have carnival rides, and games, and food, and it's all oriented to kids 3-15 (even though Hannah's only 2 and a bit she's still going to LOVE it). And as an added bonus it's supposed to be super nice out Saturday, so if we get hot, they have an awesome splash pad just down the street we could take her to to cool down!! Really excited (as I am sure you can tell...)

I am loving my new screen door, and so is Bits, she has been sitting in front of it the whole day.

I am loving the fact that it's much warmer out today, and it looks like we are in for a warmer stretch.

I am loving my new coffee table storage ottoman. After literally YEARS, of looking I found one that goes really well with our couch. It was soo hard to find a leather one to match, so we went with upholstered instead, but I am loving it. (I promise I will take pics of it in my room really soon).

And of course I am loving sweet sweet Hannah!! That girl seriously is my LIFE!!!

What are you loving today?

Hope everyone's having a great Wednesday!!

Amy

Weekend Recap!!

I'm posting later in the day today because I have had a hell of a day. I have been all over the map emotionally, and I am finally going to write this mish-mash post that will hopefully recap my weekend, and some things I am feeling right now so I can put them to rest.

For starters, my weekend, Fri night, Eric was working, so I pretty much beaded jewelry and relaxed at home with Hannah.

Saturday, Eric was also working all day, so I hung out with Hannah at home and just had a low key day. When he got home we went back into town to get groceries, and at Hannah's adorable request picked up pizza for supper. We just had a quiet night at home, nothing exciting. Eric was exhausted from working afternoon shift to day shift, and then throw into the mix a firecall which he had to wear an air mask for 2 hrs straight.

Hannah got into my 'ipstick' on Saturday afternoon, I just loved this shot of her, what a little bum!!!

Sunday we "decorated" Hannah's bedroom in the morning, and Eric got some things hung around the house I had been wanting put up for a while (pics to come soon). We wanted to get some work done outside, but it was cold and yucky out... We had a nice dinner together and enjoyed some quiet time at home with Hannah. Eric went down to his parents to install their new-to-them dishwasher. he came home and went for a walk with one of his buddies.

Today, has been a rough day. For some reason Hannah has been ultra-clutzy, or just coincidentally has gotten hurt soo many times today. We have had lots of melt downs to the point that Mommy might have one soon. I'm sure that I am just already stressing because I am disappointed in how a friend handled a situation and that's left me feeling like I got slapped across the face by someone who I felt close to, and who I thought understood what I have been going through. When in reality, she was lying, and I was very sympathetic to her situation, offering any encouragement I could, meanwhile the entire time, she was lying to me, and was not going through what she said she was. And now I am hurt, because, not only did she out and out lie to me, she made me feel sorry for her, and what she was going through, because I am also going through it, but she really isn't/wasn't. So I feel betrayed, and then like she slapped me across the face with my own set of circumstances. It sucks. I don't want to be mad, I just don't know how to handle it? And ideas on how I deal with it when she actually tells me she has been lying? I value our relationship, I'm just quite hurt right now.

So, back to today, Hannah has been elbowed in the nose (BY ME - accidentally of course - making me feel like worlds worst mommy, when I was just trying to get her dressed), she did a face plant off the slide and split her lip open and then banged her head hard on the wall during a temper tantrum because she wanted to go outside and I (Heaven help me) had to go pee. So, we had a great time at the park with a friend and her boys, which was awesome, but Hannah's had a rough day, not soo awesome. Plus I'm feeling offended, and hurt, and apparently have a short fuse today (according to my oh-so-supportive hubby (NOT). He just informed me that if I continue to be in a bad mood I will not be getting my promised foot rub tonight.... like that's going to help turn my mood around. Anyhow, like I said, a range of emotions today, and on that note I am signing off.

Hope everyone's having a better day then me....

Amy

Hat lovin Hannah style!!!

So, I apologize about the lack of posting yesterday, after all those crazy thunderstorms rolled through our area I was left without internet, or intermittent internet at the least. So, hopefully we are back up and running, but they are calling for more storms today, so hopefully I stay running...

After a gloriously quiet morning to myself spent organizing the bead/spare room(which it doesn't even look like I made a dent), Hannah decided she wasn't going to nap, so I figured what better way to tire her out then to take her outside and let her play with her sand and water table (which let me give you a quick review of that one - BUY ONE WITH A LID - unless you like slimy algae water - which I do not). So I changed her into her swimsuit, it was crazy humid and hot out, and slathered on the sunscreen and told her to go and get her hat so we could go outside.

Not quite the hat I had in mind, but I sure did have a good laugh. The things this girl comes up with never cease to amaze me. She is soo hilarious and she doesn't even know it yet.

Hope everyone is having an awesome Thursday!!

Amy

Mommy Needs a Nap!!

Well, sorry for being M.I.A yesterday, it was a crazy busy day, that I hoped would end earlier then it did, or start later then it did, or maybe include a nap for everyone involved, but that was not in the plans. But you'll hear all about my truly manic monday shortly....

To start off my weekend recap right Friday night I worked on some beading projects for an upcoming shower (on Monday), and ran some errands, getting groceries etc. Went to bed nice and early as we had to get up super early Saturday morning thanks in part to my genius hubby....

Saturday morning got up at 7am to head to town to get our brand new Dodge Journey serviced, it felt like it was always pulling to the right, so hubby felt it needed an alignment, and with only 1500km on it, it needed to be taken care of... So we headed into town, and my mom met us at the car dealership so we could do some shopping (again for the Monday shower). We went out for an amazing breakfast at Cora's (where Hannah LOVED french toast, so I can find a way to get some eggs into her...), and then got a crazy thunderstorm, and headed to the mall to check out the bride's registry's and secretly look for a dress to the wedding for me. I had found one I liked at Sears, but it's strapless, and I'm not loving that idea with a two year old, who is also the flower girl in the wedding, so I was looking for something equally nice, but not as high maintenance we'll say. So after checking out the bride's registry and discovering soo many things were discontinued on it, I decided to make up my own gift including some of my favorite household things. So I got her a Pizza Stone set, and a Starfrit Rotato (because they are AMAZING and really do peel a potato perfectly in 10 seconds), and a can opener I also love. I also made her an anklet for her wedding day that is made out of the same beads I am using to make her bridal parties jewelry. Then we hit up the dress stores. Le Chateau had amazing, gorgeous short(er) dresses, but they were sooo ridiculously priced I walked right out. I mean come on $179.95 for a knee length dress is a bit much. I had a budget of $50. We walked around the mall a little more and decided to head out to Winner's and Homesense to check out there selection, and as we were walking back to the exit door we stumbled upon an amazing sale at Suzy Shier. I managed to find not one but two dresses, and one was 40% off the regular price of $40.00 (the one I am wearing to the wedding - I so wish their website had a picture of it on it so I could show you all, you'll just have to stay tuned for the wedding), and the other one was 50% off 40.00, so for the price of the one dress I ordered from Sears I have two. The one I chose for the wedding fits me perfectly, and it's purple (the color of Hannah's sash on her flower girl dress so we'll look cute in pictures, afterall who knows if she'll ever be a flower girl again), and the other one is grey but it has sleeves, so it would be nice for a fall occasion or something, but I liked it and the price was right so I bought it too!! Eric enjoyed a movie while mom, Hannah and I shopped, we then went and picked up our new aligned car and headed home. Eric went over to the neighbours to help tile his backsplash and I hung out with Hannah.

Sunday Eric got called into work in the morning so we had a quick trip up there, and then came home and got ready for my dad's 59th birthday party that was happening here (and my camera died so I have no pics...). I BBQ'd ribs and made caesar salad and caesar potatoes and we had a really nice time. After supper Hannah wanted to walk down and see the ducks so we went for a short walk and fed them some bread. Hannah was so excited to show off her duckies, it was soo cute.

And then Monday happened... To start the day off I went to the wrong dr's apt, I thought I had physio, when I was supposed to be at massage (and I had my hair down not up so massage was going to ruin that). Then I had to quickly find Hannah some white sandals to wear to the bridal shower to go with her dress. Luckily Payless had some super cute ones, and I managed to get myself some cute ones for the wedding and a new purse soo, I suck at BOGO (buy one get one half off ). You see it didn't make sense to me to just by my $44.99 pair of shoes and then get half off Hannah's $12.99 pair of shoes when there was this gorgeous white purse calling my name and it was $39.99, so well worth the half off. So I buy all three... yep I went in for a $12.99 pair of shoes and left with $80 worth... I already said it I suck. Then I headed home to finish up the jewelry and get myself ready for the shower, and Ash and I attempted to head to the shower and then her car tire decided it wanted to unattach itself, so we ended up having to wait to get a tow and then headed to the shower. We met up with our mom first at Jack Astor's for a delicious dinner (we ordered sirloin steak off the kids menu... loldr's apt, I thought I had physio, when I was supposed to be at massage (and I had my hair down not up so massage was going to ruin that). Then I had to quickly find Hannah some white sandals to wear to the bridal shower to go with her dress. Luckily Payless had some super cute ones, and I managed to get myself some cute ones for the wedding and a new purse soo, I suck at BOGO (buy one get one half off ). You see it didn't make sense to me to just by my $44.99 pair of shoes and then get half off Hannah's $12.99 pair of shoes when there was this gorgeous white purse calling my name and it was $39.99, so well worth the half off. So I buy all three... yep I went in for a $12.99 pair of shoes and left with $80 worth... I already said it I suck. Then I headed home to finish up the jewelry and get myself ready for the shower, and Ash and I attempted to head to the shower and then her car tire decided it wanted to unattach itself, so we ended up having to wait to get a tow and then headed to the shower. We met up with our mom first at Jack Astor's for a delicious dinner (we ordered sirloin steak off the kids menu... lol). It was perfect. Then hit the shower after some last minute gift scrambling of Ash's behalf. Then we drove Ash home and got home and got home ourselves at 10pm, much later then anticipated and much later then a little girls 7:30 - 8:00 bedtime, and she wasn't sleeping on the way home but rather loudly talking. So I got changed, put on some laundry and attempted to start watching The Bachelorette, but was getting really pissy with Bentley, so I headed to bed. And that was my truly manic monday.

To add insult to injury I had a terrible night of sleep. My allergies were ridiculous and then we got a really bad and long thunderstorm just as I finally got to sleep, which woke Hannah up, with cries of "Mommy I scared". It was a super intense storm, but man could I ever use a nap...

Hope your weekend was less eventful

Amy

What I Am Loving Wednesday and Wandering Wednesday!!

So, yet again this week I am linking up with Jamie, at This Kind of Love, for her What I Am Loving Wednesdays, and I gotta say, I am loving a lot these days...

First and foremost, I am LOVING little miss Hannah Jane, she is loving this weather, and has been in a great mood for the past couple of days (I'm sure because we have spent soo much time outside), and as an added what I'm loving, that this weather is forecasted to stay for the next little while, right through the weekend.

I am loving this super cute swimsuit and floppy hat on Hannah.

I am also loving that she is all about her daddy these days, up until lately it was mommy mommy mommy, and I loved it, but she really didn't seem to want much to do with Eric, which made me sad, so I am loving that everything these days is Daddy.

I am also loving that I am almost done sorting my newest selection of beads, so soon, very soon, you will all be invited to watch me transform my craft room.

I am also loving the new lighting my hubby installed out on our back deck last night. His buddies were complaining about being under the spotlight literally when they were drinking on the back deck, and we already had the lighting so it finally got put up last night (pictures to follow soon).

And one last little thing that I would LOVE, is to hit 50 followers, and get this giveaway started!! So lets get this little old blog up to 50!!

I am also linking up Paisley Passions for Wandering Wednesdays, and I am excited about her Thrilling Thursdays link up tomorrow, where I can reveal my "project" I worked on this past weekend!!\

Hope you are all having a great week too!!

Amy

Manic Monday!!

So, I'm linking up again with Ash, from Life As I Know It, for another round of Manic Mondays

So, Friday evening, I hung out at home with Hannah, as Eric was on afternoon shift. Once she was in bed I sorted some beads, and watched the movie "What Happens in Vegas"... pretty funny movie...

Saturday, we headed into town to get groceries, and then Eric headed to his grandparents to help them install a shower while Hannah napped (and we waited for the nicer weather to appear), and I took on a little reno project of my own much to my hubbies surprise (more details on that to come). He got home just as Hannah was waking up and they went out to cut the grass (Hannah's new favorite thing to do is "ride daddy's tractor". My neighbor got some cute photos of the two of them. We also got to meet our new neighbours who are super nice, and have three children, a son who is Hannah's age, so that will be fun. Hannah enjoyed playing with them for a little while before bed time. Saturday night we just relaxed at home.

Sunday morning Eric had to go to the fire hall and do Sunday duty (where they check over all the trucks). Hannah woke up and wondered where daddy went, so I told her he was washing the firetrucks, and she wanted to go see the "woo -woos", so we ate our breakfast, and got dressed, and headed for a short walk to the fire hall. She loved seeing daddy, but was a little indifferent on the whole firetrucks situation. But she looked super cute in the dress I bought her last week from Super Kmart (when we went shopping in the States). Then we came home and got some more yard work done around our place (and loved the nice weather). We even managed to help the neighbours out by cutting their grass (as it had been a few weeks since it had been done as the old owners had moved out then). Hannah enjoyed her tractor ride again. Then we cleaned up and headed over to his parents place to get some flowers for our yard and enjoyed a delicious steak dinner. Came home in the midst of an amazing thunderstorm, there's something about a good storm that reminds you just how human you are, and how tiny you are in comparison to this whole world. Hannah had her bath, and off to bed for her, and R&R time for mommy and daddy.

Hannah, clearly not sure about this thing....

.... Hannah driving.. lol.. she looks so little...

Discovered the seat belt and thinking maybe this could be fun, she loves seat belts right now, after all our car shopping...

Daddy looks happy at least...

she picked up a bug, and handed it to me.... thanks...

LOVE this new dress, and all her cuteness...

So, that was our weekend in a nutshell, and I have to say it was a pretty good one, I love being able to get outside.

Hope you had a great weekend too

Amy

Day 6 - 30 Day Blog Challenge

Day 6: A picture of something that makes you happy
This one is SUPER EASY............... and as an added bonus I've included a few pics of things that make me happy. Today has been a fabulous Mother's Day, and my talented sister, Ashley, took some pictures today of some of the things I love most, and the day was spent doing things I loved.

For starters, I got to sleep in until 10am, which is unheard of if you have a two year old. Then I got a box of my favorite Rheo Thompson Mint Smoothies, delicious!! Then had a very nice brunch with my mom and sister (and families). Then spent the afternoon outside in the gorgeous weather, and beading. Then had a yummy steak dinner with Eric's parents and grandparents, and am about to enjoy a foot rub from my hubbie.

So here's a few pics of somethings that make me happy....

Hannah and I, Mother's Day 2011

Me, Hannah and Eric on the front porch

Lucky and I on the back deck...love this dog!!

Me, my mom, Hannah and Ash!!

Happy Mother's Day!!

Amy

"The Rescue" - Nicholas Sparks Book Review Journal #1

"The Rescue" - Nicolas Sparks

This book is about a single mother, Denise, who is in a car accident where her son, who has a severe learning disability, disappears. He is rescued by a "risks it all" volunteer firefighter, Taylor. A relationship between Taylor, Kyle (the son) and Denise emerges from all of this trauma. This book delves into the complexity of a relationship between a mother and son, a hero and a boy, and a woman and man, and each character takes on a life of it's own. "The Rescue", is all about pushing life to the limits, and Taylor can physically do this at the drop of a hat, but when someone needs emotional rescuing, Taylor might be on the receiving end this time. I really LOVED this book. It hit home with the things my hubby goes through being on the volunteer fire department myself, and in addition to that it was a great story. I would highly recommend this book.

"Youth offers the promise of happiness, but life offers the realities of grief" (pg 15)

I loved this quote because it is so true, as a kid, I really didn't have that many cares, but I had more then a typical kid because I spent a lot of time dealing with a physical "disability" (I never ever call it that - but in reality that is what it has come to be). When I was born there were complications and I required emergency intravenous, and when the Dr's attempted to put the IV in they severed the tendon of my left wrist. At first my one finger was just bent up a little at the end, but it progressed as I grew. So after rounds of testing they determined that I required surgery, and upon doing surgery discovered I had a connective tissue disorder (aka I make scar tissue very rapidly and abundantly). After my surgeries I spent a lot of time focused on if I just do this physio then my hand will get better and I will be "happy", all the while not being terribly unhappy, just dealing with being different from other kids (which when you are a kid is hard). Eventually (14 years into physio every day an hr from my house plus hrs of exercises at home and very little improvement in range of motion), I decided I was done with trying to do this and be happy, I'd rather just be this and happy. So I quit, I instead joined the baseball, basketball, volleyball team and pushed myself, did things I wasn't allowed to do while I was doing physio. And I loved it. So for me this quote speaks to me, as a young child I was promised this elusive happiness, but was given the realities of life, and I needed to grieve those losses in order to really be happy, to be content in my own skin.

"Kyle. Sweet Kyle. Simply thinking about thinking about him made her smile. No, she decided, it wouldn't better (without Kyle). If there was one bright spot in her life, he was it. Funny how he could drive her crazy and still make her love him for it." pg 67

I loved this quote simply because as a mother, I often feel the same way. Hannah is two, she's testing the limits like no tomorrow, but later, when I am venting to my mom and sister about her latest shenanigans, and offering them my two year old, I notice that I am smiling when I am telling them this story about a little girl who has done something I would NEVER tolerate anyone doing, but I am smiling. Even the times she tests me like no tomorrow elicit a smile. Who could have ever imagined loving someone that much. She really can drive me crazy, and make me love her more for it.

Stay tuned for the rest of this book review!!

Amy

Day 1 - 30 Day Blog Challenge

Day 1: Introduce, recent picture of yourself, 15 interesting facts

I am a stay at home mom to a very sweet 2 year old, and have been married to my husband for 7 years this September. We have 2 dogs and a cat, and a somewhat new house that we are taking our time making over. We live in a small town in Ontario, Canada. I am new to blogging, and would like to use it to keep track of our life. What's happened, what's planned to happen, and it's a great way to meet new people. I spend the majority of my time at home (due to my medical condition), so it's great to feel like I'm interacting with people (other then a 2 year old) without having to worry about what you'll think if I pass out in the middle of our conversation. I try to blog every day (minus the weekends), and topics I like to talk about are my daughter, our home reno's, and book reviews. I love doing blog hops, because they are a great way to find new blogs, and I love reading people's comments!! In my spare time besides blogging, I like to read and make jewelry!! I think that about covers an introduction...

Here's a picture that was taken in January by a local photographer - Ashley Schultz (who did an amazing job)

Now onto the 15 interesting facts:

1. I recently moved exactly one block from my old house to our new home
2. I love to shop, but an incredibly thrifty
3. I hate my house in a mess, but I seem to enjoy renovating  - which everyone knows reno=mess
4. My daughter probably has as many pairs of shoes as I do, and like me, wears the same ones over and over
5. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Coca Cola, and I have been trying to cut back to only one a day as of late, and I hate it...
6. I probably spend as much time organizing and sorting beads as I do making jewelry, I need a better system
7. I am completely computer illiterate when it comes to designing this blog, so I basically say to my sister (Ash) I like this, fix it, and she does, because she knows if I try to do it myself it's going to be an even bigger mess. Love you Ash...
8. We recently bought a King Size bed, and I still get 3/4 of it...
9. I hate using a tea towel or dishcloth for more then one day, we are lucky around here if it makes it through the day...
10. I take way too many pictures, and then never remember to put them in frames, so we have a bunch of frames with "new relatives" in them as my hubby puts it, although I am getting better at this one
11. I treat my little dog Lucky like she is a child, and I try not to, but she's to stinkin cute and cuddly...
12. I love to travel...to Florida... I hate trying new foreign foods, so Florida suits me just fine
13. Sometimes I wish I lived in the states, they have such better shopping...
14. I hate that my PVR is always FULL, why do I tape soo much and then never get around to watching it...
15. I have a bead room that I never use except to dump my beads, I need to change this ...

So, there's 15 facts I don't know how interesting they are....

Stay tuned for the next installation of the 30 Day Blog Challenge...

Amy

Manic Monday!!

As I always do on Monday mornings I am linking up with Ashley at Life As I Know It for Manic Monday, a great way to recap what we did this weekend!!

Friday night Eric was working late, so I enjoyed a quiet night in, reading and worked on making some jewelry.

Saturday morning, we headed up to London for a quick appointment, and then stopped in the hospital to see my Grandma, whose is been in the hospital for over a week now. She was sleeping so we didn't get much of a visit, but I feel better after seeing her. Hopefully they spring her out of there soon, she's getting restless, but on the other hand, she's getting much needed medical attention, so it's kind of a double edged sword. Then we went to Costco, we were running low on chicken and milk and that's my go to place for those things. So, as usual $295.00 later our truck was full of goodies. We got our chicken and various other groceries, I got a new spring jacket (the zipper went out of my old new one last year at the end of the season so I had to return it), we got Hannah one of these bad boys:

It was a great prive $47.99, and Hannah LOVES it. Eric set it up on our deck once we got home and Hannah played with it as soon as she got up from her nap. Eric and I got to work outside on Saturday (it was a beautiful day here in Ontario - which it had pretty much rained for a week straight so we had been looking forward to Saturday's forecast). So, Eric and I were working in the side garden outside while Hannah was napping inside (we had the baby monitor with us), and I just said to Eric "Someone's awake", as I could hear her on the monitor, and we looked up and this is what we saw....

The little bum had climbed on her chair, pulled back the curtains, lifted the blinds and was screaming "Mommy, OUTSIDE", it was soo funny, and I had just been taking pics with the camera of our dog kennel, to post an add on Kijiji to sell it, so I did what any mom would do and snapped photos (and then dashed in the house to get her down...). We BBQ'd a nice dinner steak dinner on Saturday night, and then it was early to bed for Hannah, as she was a bear. I decided to have a nice relaxing bath, and watched the movie Eat Pray Love (more on that later once I have finished posting my reviews of the book).

Sunday morning we decided to go shopping to finish the list for our insurance claim (that was started back November - when our basement flooded see this post). We got most of the stuff crossed off our list, and so hopefully I can submit that later this week. I also managed to get myself a shower curtain for the main floor bathroom (I was asking for opinions in this post, again more on that as more details emerge - like paint color selection etc). Then we headed to Mike and Ash's for a delicious rib dinner, that may have included Hannah torturing their cats. But the cats took it like champs. It was a lot of fun. Then home to bath Hannah, and some laundry folding and R&R for mom and dad. (On a side note I was enjoying my favorite Sunday night show "Brother's and Sisters", and it was pre-empted for the news of Osama's death and it never came back on). So I went to bed and read for a bit.

How was your weekend? Stay tuned later this afternoon for my very first 30 Day Challenge blog post!!

Amy