This blog is moving!

 

 

Well folks, after much thought and consideration, I've decided to take the plunge and move my blog to something better! I now own my own domain and will continue doing all my blogging from there. All of my posts from here on blogger have already been moved to my new site. 

 

I'm liking the look of it already, but It may take a bit to set up and get use to, so please bear with me. I will continue to post to Facebook but there are options to follow on there as well! Sadly my Adventures in Mommyland title was already gone, so it'll now be called Moments in Mommyland.

 

I've really loved the way blogging has helped me to connect with other mommies out there and I hope this will help me to continue to do so. Thanks for all the support!

 

- Carolyn

 

Moments in Mommyland

The first 'I Love You'

I received a very special gift from my son over the last few days. Though it has been our tradition since he was born to say 'I love you' whenever he goes down for a sleep, the words were never spoken back.  At almost 21 months now his vocabulary has really taken off! Anything Momma or Dada say around him is generally now repeated back (we've got to watch ourselves!) and he has even begun stringing several words together. It's amazing to see the knowledge that he has absorbed about things we never realized he was paying attention to!

Thursday morning had been a little rough for me. I went to my 38 week prenatal appointment expecting to hear words of progress from the doctor only to be disappointed. Nothing was happening with my body to really signify that labor would be happening in the coming days or weeks. She couldn't even do the planned 'sweep' to try and help things a long. I left a little grumpy, only to then come across a parking ticket on the windshield of the car. Fantastic. That certainly wasn't helping my mood!

After some lunch it was time for Goobers nap, which he decided he didn't want. I go in to check on him almost an hour later and find one extremely messy diaper. Certainly explained why he wasn't sleeping! I begin taking it off and he instantly grabs his bum with both hands, covering them in the mess. Yuck! To make matters worse, he looks at his hands and starts saying 'chocolate' and as if in slow motion, I see his fingers move towards his mouth. I quickly grabbed his hands away and in turn, the poop ended up all over me. At this point I was exhausted and just feel like bursting into tears. But I managed to hold it together and clean the both of us up. He yawned and as I carried him to his bed to give the nap another go he looked right at me smiling and said, "Momma, a la loo. A la loo!" It took me a moment to register what he was saying, but once I did it immediately brought a huge grin to my face and happiness just welled up inside of me. I repeated back to him, "I love you too hunny" over and over as we snuggled for another minute til I laid him in his crib. As I pulled his bedroom door closed, I could still hear him saying it over and over, a la loo... a la loo... Five minutes later, he was fast asleep.

Isn't that timing wonderful? How many people can say they got their first I love yous from their child right around Mothers Day? After all, he is too young to really make me anything with his hands, or buy me flowers. But he found a way to tell me, even at such a young age. How wonderfully special!

Camping with two under two - is that just crazy?

Okay I know I have some friends out there who have done this, and up until a few weeks ago I would have called those friends insane.
But here is the thing. I really love camping! I grew up camping. And I'm not talking sleeping in a cabin with running water and electricity kind of camping. I mean real camping! My parents crammed four of us into a teeny tiny two person tent that leaked when it rained for many years and we had an absolute blast! Around the age of eleven we moved up in the world and bought a trailer. Nothing fancy like those RVs that come with TVs and satellite and pop out sides, but an enclosed space to shelter us from the rain and give us the luxury of being off the ground. The biggest thing for me was that it had it's own toilet and I no longer had to make that scary pitch black middle of the night run to the washrooms while scaring off bears and raccoons with my flashlight. Talk about spoiled!

Last year hubby and I did our first family camping trip with our almost one year old. We'd purchased a nice tent and all the other necessities we'd need to make it an annual thing. Our son was still on formula, in need of diaper changes and for the most part on a different diet then us. He was also in between crawling and walking, which means he was sitting in the dirt 24/7. This made things pretty challenging for me as I felt like I was always either making food/bottles, washing dishes or attempting to keep a rock out of my child's mouth. The dirt thing didn't really bother me, and trust me he ingested a ton of it. One thing I was not expecting though was how wonderfully he slept! He thought the tent was funny and slept a good 10-12 hours each night.

With a new baby due here any day, we assumed camping would be off the schedule for this year. The last thing I wanted to do was have my young baby crying at 3am in a dark tent and waking up all the neighbours around us. But with the possibility of us being able to go for a few days coming up I actually find myself really wanting to do it. And I don't think it would be as hard as I initially thought.

If we were to go, and it's still a big if... my parents have offered us the use of their trailer. This would make a world of difference! It means a proper bed for us, our toddler and a place to put our infants bassinet. It means easy access to a washroom (with a tub), a soft place for diaper changes (and storage) and a quiet safe place for naps and nursing. Noah is another year older and no longer requires different food or milk then us. He can also walk, run and enjoy exploring the nature around him. Baby Asher would be around two months and will hopefully be fully on breast milk and content being worn, pushed in a stroller or sitting in some kind of bouncy seat or pack n play. We'd also have help in the form of family members. That sounds do able right? The biggest hurdle would be the usual one with camping, and that's the packing before and unpacking after aspect. But is that really a reason to shy away from a fun family adventure? I don't know...

Over it.

Okay, I've officially reached that point. That fun time where I am so over being pregnant!

It's not that I am in horrible pain or swelling up or anything like that. Thankfully, I am actually fairly comfortable despite my size. But I now feel as though this baby should come or else I'd just like to forget that I am pregnant all together.

It'd be nice if I could distract myself from the fact, but how is one suppose to do that when one has to pee every 20 minutes and can't walk for more then 15 minutes without looking progressively more and more like a penguin?

My son is getting seriously annoyed with my incapabilities now too. He can no longer sit front facing on my lap for a story, cause 'Bubba' is in the way. Lifting him up to the change table or the stairs makes me feel like my second child could slip right out, so I avoid doing that at all costs. And mommy just can't get low enough on the ground to play with him anymore as he'd like. I'm sorry goob! At least he still sees me as just mommy and not some pregnant lady.

And speaking of, that takes me to my newest annoyance. The conversation I have with everyone I run into each day at various activities. "So, how much longer? You look like you're ready to pop! You are looking great! What are you having?" Etc. etc. Even a small child at Target yesterday pointed to me and informed his mommy that there was a baby in my belly. I know these comments are far from offensive and are being said in well meaning, encouraging ways. And up until recently I quite happily engaged in the conversation and enjoyed it! But now I'm bored by it and to be honest, I don't really want to talk about it. It just reminds me that I'm still pregnant.

I guess I'm just being a hormonal grump right now, and I've already apologized to my husband for it. But it's just how I feel. I am very grateful to be carrying a healthy baby, don't get me wrong. But can he just come out now so we can enjoy him and get on with our lives?

Full Term (baby!)

Before I say anything else I've gotta say this. How awesome is the weather this weekend in the lower mainland!? It's currently sitting at around 25 degrees and we are all in shorts and t-shirts around here. We've been sipping smoothies, enjoying the fresh air and looking at the beautiful mountains off in the distance. I love our city!

My first born enjoying the great outdoors

Okay, back to pregnancy stuff. I am 37 weeks pregnant which means I am officially full term! The end is in sight! That being said, I'm not exactly sure how I feel about that. It's odd, because everyone else seems more excited about that fact then I am. I'm very happy to be full term and I realise that means that baby could show up anytime now in the coming weeks, but at this present moment that doesn't make me overly anxious or eager.

I remember being at this point not quite two years ago and being so impatient about our first borns arrival. I felt like I was going crazy waiting for the contractions to start or for something to happen. I was frustrated with the state my body was in and I was nervous about what labour exactly was going
to be like.

37 weeks pregnancy with Noah

It's different this time around. If were to go into labour tonight that'd be fine, I'm not looking forward to it but I'm also not frightened. If it wasn't for another two weeks I feel like I'd be fine with that too. Maybe it's a second child thing? I'm not in a hurry to disrupt the nice little family balance we have going right now, but when it does happen I'm sure that'll be fine too. I guess you could say I am feeling pretty complacent about the whole thing.

I can say this though, I am definitely looking forward to kissing pregnancy goodbye for a few years. I think it's pretty common knowledge to those who know us that we don't plan to stop at just two children. We definitely want to have at least one more, possibly two, if God blesses us in that way. But my body needs a break. Two pregnancies within two years is really hard, and I'd just like to enjoy having my body back for a bit before I do this again. Right now we say we'd like to wait until this coming guy is close to two before we venture down this round again, but we'll see what happens. We tend to get baby fever pretty easily (and I am not just speaking for myself!)

37 weeks pregnant with #2- sorry for the crappy cell phone picture

So, a little week 37 pregnancy rundown.
Energy wise I feel pretty good. I am still taking 20 ml of Floradix a day and I am pretty sure that's why I feel as good as I do. I had full blood work done on Thursday and I am finally not anaemic. Yippee! It's borderline though, so I can't stop with the liquid iron. I have been napping daily for about 20 minutes while Noah does and that gives me a little extra zap to last through the day. Blood pressure and babies heart beat have been continually good at my checkups and my weight gain seems to have plateaued right around 18 pounds. This coming Thursday my doctor plans to check me for, shall we say, progress, and If I am dilated enough she will do a sweep. The only discomfort I am experiencing is the constant backaches and pelvic pressure. Nothing a warm soak in the tub every evening or a back massage from my hubby can't fix. I'm also pleased that I haven't puffed up at all. I was about 10 pounds heavier to start with in my previous pregnancy and I think that's really made a difference as to how I look and feel about myself. Hopefully it won't take me too long to get back into my comfy summer clothes!

Well, that's all I've got for now folks. Time for this momma to go back to the couch and put her feet up for a few minutes before heading out to a BBQ. To all my local people - enjoy this gorgeous weather! And to all those who aren't quite as fortunate at the moment, feel free to come visit ;)

What's for dinner? You tell me!

I have a problem.
It's 2pm and this is the third day in a row where I have no idea what to cook for dinner. And one can only serve soup and sandwhiches for so many meals right? I know, major wife fail! I'm sorry boys!

Can I blame this one on pregnancy? I am after all 37 weeks (as of tomorrow) pregnant and my brain just doesn't work as good as it use to. For some reason the energy to bake comes so easily to me and I've started stocking up on frozen treats in my freezer. But I'm a lost cause when it comes to preparing suppers in advance.

Fast food would be an easy options, but I took Noah to McDonald's yesterday for lunch and it messed up his system in a gross way. Don't ask. And to be honest, fast food isn't super appealing to my taste buds lately anyways (or the wallet.) Except Timbits - oh how I love timbits...

So, the way I see it, I have two options. Good ol tuna noodle casserole or pancakes and bacon. I know which my husband would vote for.

Pancakes and bacon it is!

Bucking the trend - Childrens birthday parties

I look back on my childhood birthday parties with great fondness. Though I always hated that my birthday took place in the dead of winter, my parents allowed me to have as many of my friends as I wanted in our home to celebrate. In fact, my average birthday party consisted of about 20-25 kids. We didn't do anything fancy, just played a few fun games, ate the typical hot dogs and cake and opened a few gifts. And you know what? It was great! I never felt deprived or unloved in any way shape or form.

These are the moments I'll always remember...

Things seems to be different now. Not everyone is affected by this (may I take this opportunity to give those of you who aren't a huge pat on the back?) And maybe it was just me, but I felt an immense pressure once I started having children to have an elaborately themed birthday party. I think social media is to blame for a lot of this. I saw via facebook, pinterest and parenting magazines the kind of parties parents were apparently throwing for their children and I felt as though I had to do the same. I felt like if I didn't put such great effort into my child's party it somehow made me a bad mom.

...this...

When my sons first birthday was only a few months away I started to plan and stress over everything. I bought craft supplies and spent hours making hand made invitations. I colour coordinated plates, table cloths, utensils and décor. Planned out the menu and guest list. I seriously considered making little labels for every little food item on display, but then I got exhausted. Oh. and I really wanted to make one of those fancy banners to hang up somewhere but admitted defeat the week before. Have I mentioned how un-crafty I am? And really, I didn't nearly go to the lengths I have seen done, and that was just simply because we didn't want to spend any more money on it.
Did the party turn out great? Yes absolutely. But I think it would have been just as great had I not done all that but was still surrounded by our friends and family.

...and this

I've heard from other moms that school aged children parties have even gotten so crazy that 9 year olds are going for limo rides downtown to the spa and spending hundreds of dollars. Are you kidding me!? What's the limit? Where does it end? Is it because children's parties are now such a big deal that they have to be topped every year which is leading to this kind of excessiveness?

Well, I've decided that I am certainly not going to try and keep up with it. Nope, not happening in this house! I'm going against the new 'normal' and doing things how I was raised. Noahs 2nd party this year will consist of the basics. Food, friends and family, a few gifts and an already coordinated table wear set from the dollar store.

Ahhh, now doesn't that sound easy?