And then there was the Baby Shower...

I had my first baby shower (possibly my only one...but that's another story) this past weekend. My mom and my sisters held it here at my place...wasn't overly big..about 20 or so people, just close family and friends. It was really great to have all of my family and friends in one place to share in this special time with me :) We got tonnes of baby clothes and quite a few of the things I had registered for...including baby monitors, diaper bag, playmat, blankets, bibs, sheets, etc. I also received a gift card to Babies R Us...which I enjoyed spending very much. My child is pretty much dressed for the next 6 months with the amount of clothing we were given...and shoes lol...I swear this child has better shoes than I do!

Mike's family *might* throw me a baby shower...but that has yet to be decided. Apparently everyone is just too busy. I know that I probably sound really petty...but I've spent the last year watching everyone bend over backwards for Mike's cousin's wedding and I get that it's a special time for her right now...and I'm not trying to take any of that away...but it's also a special time for Mike and I and I feel like we've just been placed on the back burner. My mom had asked Mike's mom if she would like to have a joint shower...to which her offer was declined - the reason given was that "the wedding is so close by and with it being Winter...no one is going to want to travel out this way two times...if there's a snow storm then people won't come" - so whatever. I can't change the fact that the baby is going to be BORN in the Winter but whatever. We figured his family would throw us a shower once the wedding was over (first weekend in Feb) but now apparently things are too busy and no one knows when there will be time for a shower. They may throw one after the baby is born...which to me defeats the whole purpose of a baby shower - to get mother and baby the essentials to help welcome the new one....but again...whatever!! I've said that if this turns out to be the case then I will not be able to attend a shower until the baby is at least 3 months old...as I am not hauling a brand new baby to a party.

Anywayssssss....I went a little crazy this week buying some of the things that I hadn't received off my registry. I found some great deals at Babies R Us the night I went...the breast pump I registered for was on clearance for $15!!...plus I bought a couple of soothers, soother clip, car seat bag, Safety First essentials (thermometer, brushes, nail clippers, etc), and I bought a convertible car seat that was on sale for $70 off...so it will last until the baby weighs 65lbs. There are still some things I need to buy...mainly my crib bedding, glider and dresser. One of my really close friends is selling me a bunch of her stuff since she is done having children and hers will soon be too big to use the stuff (a jumperoo, bouncer and swing).

Hope that everyone is doing well!!

2011 in Review...

Happy New Year Everyone!!

I figured it was time to reflect a little on all of the things that have happened in the last year :) I have had some pretty amazing things happen and am really looking forward to what 2012 has in store for me...

...This year we bought our first house and moved in. We've spent the last few months really making this place our own and I look forward to continuing to add those touches over the next year. This weekend we will be prepping the babies room (painting and setting up the crib) and then we will move on to getting the rest of the house repainted to freshen it up. Mike did quite a bit of work on the basement and redid all the flooring and paint down there...looks amazing!

...We got pregnant! Much to my surprise we found out we were expecting in July. It happened a few months earlier than anticipated but we couldn't be happier and more excited. I look forward to finally getting to meet my little guy in the next couple of months. So far this pregnancy has been quite a journey but I wouldn't trade a second of it <3

...Spent time with some good friends during a lot of fun times. We've hosted quite a few parties here at our new place and have had lots of people over for visits. I look forward to spending more time like this in the next year.

I look forward to all that 2012 has to offer...and the much needed break that Mat. leave will bring :) Most of all I am looking forward to getting to meet our baby and spending some time with him!

The Aftermath of Christmas...

Hey Everyone!! I hope that you all had a great Christmas!! Mine was pretty busy...but I'm kinda sad its all over. I feel like you wait so long for the one day to get here...then the day flies by and is sadly over.

We started off our Christmas celebrations by heading to MiL's house on Christmas Eve. Had some apps, opened gifts and headed home. On Christmas morning my sisters and mom came over and we cooked a big breakfast, ate and proceeded to open all of our gifts. I got some pretty awesome things...everyone went way overboard, which made me feel crappy because we can't afford to spend as much as they did. I then helped my mom to cook Christmas dinner and her bf later joined us. We eat dinner with my family fairly early in the day, so everyone headed out around 7ish. Around 8ish we packed up and headed to Mike's family's Christmas dinner. We arrived in time for dessert...which is honestly all I could fit anyways and spent a long time just hanging out and catching up.

On Boxing Day I decided that I NEEDED to head to Thyme maternity to check out the sales and see if the dress I want for Mike's cousin's wedding was on sale. I was super happy to find out that it was! I didn't feel like braving any other stores so I decided to go home and head out to the mall the next day. I've spent the majority of the last two days shopping...and I'm tired out lol. I picked up some pretty good deals...got my dress for the wedding, shoes to go with the dress that were like 75% off...a couple of shirts, a new watch (a Christmas present from the hubby) that was on sale....so overall didn't do too bad. I also had the joy of going for my glucose tolerance test this morning...yuck. The stuff you have to drink is just gross...and it made the little guy super wiggly shortly after drinking it. Hopefully the results will come back in the next few days and everything will have gone well...

Anyways...I'm off to dinner, so I will update again soon!

Nesting!? Possibly...

I've always heard that pregnant women go through a nesting stage at some point in their pregnancy and I think I've begun mine....

Next week I'm holding a Christmas party with some of my closest friends here at my house. Like most people...I want a clean house for when everyone comes over, for those of you that know me...cleaning is what I dread the most! Well last night not only did I start cleaning for next weekend but I also made myself a list (I Know what!?!) and I'm actually sticking to my plan. Last night I cleaned all of the bathrooms, today on the list was vacuuming and mopping the floors and tomorrow my plans are to dust and do laundry. I got all of the downstairs vacuumed and mopped and I cleaned up the bedroom and gathered all of the laundry for tomorrow. Tomorrow I will vacuum the upstairs and mop the floors up there, as well as dust everything downstairs and finish my Christmas shopping.

My second sign that I'm possibly nesting is that the baby's room is driving me crazy. Right now it's pretty much empty of baby stuff and filled with random boxes that we just never moved or put away after moving. Everytime I walk into the baby's room lately I become really bothered. I know that things will get moved once the basement is completed (which should be sometime this week) but I can't wait! I've also decided how I want to decorate the room...I want Mike to put up chair rail around the room, so that I can paint it chocolate brown on the bottom and pale blue on top...hang up the airplane decals once I frame them and buy wooden letter that spell out the baby's name for above the crib. I can't wait to get the room done :) I think it will really pull things together...even though I have no furniture for the room yet.

Anyways...I'm looking forward to my Christmas party next weekend :) I can't believe that Christmas is coming up so quickly! I hope that everyone is enjoying this time and that everyone is doing well...until next time!

So...

I wish I could come up with some witty blog post or have something inspired to write...but alas I don't. To be honest things have been pretty boring lately in my life. I've felt stressed out about stuff for the last month and things are FINALLY starting to calm down. I'm getting a much needed and well deserved day off tomorrow, so I've just been relaxing this weekend and catching up on my rest. Being stressed is bad enough...but being pregnant and stressed is just down right tiring lol.

I think tomorrow I'm going to go shopping for Christmas decorations for the house with my sister and try to get the house in Christmas condition. Only a couple more weeks until I host a Christmas party and I want this place to look festive! I then plan to spend the afternoon watching Beauty and the Beast (because I'm cool like that) and then going to see Breaking Dawn with my mom.

Well I'm off to watch some never before heard of B list movie on TMN on Demand...until next time!

Quick Baby Update

How far along? 23 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: about 5-6lbs
Maternity clothes? a couple of tops that were given to me and my jeans...going to buy more this week though
Stretch marks? None
Sleep: some nights are good..some are bad...
Best moment this week: seeing my stomach move when the baby kicks...it's kind of trippy...and being able to feel where he is in there.
Have you told family and friends: Yes!
Miss Anything? drinking sometimes...which is weird bc I'm not a big drinker to begin with....and my teeny tiny waistline lol
Movement: he kicks...all the time!! I can actually see him kick from the outside now
Food cravings: depends on the day and the time lol....it's always something different
Anything making you queasy or sick: a whole chicken breast BLAH
Have you started to show yet: yes...in the last couple of weeks my "food baby" has turned into an official preggo belly
Gender: boy :)
Labor Signs: Nope
Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Moody...but in a very emotional way not a snappy way
Weekly Wisdom: I just need sleep...
Looking forward to: meeting our little guy :)

Pregnancy and my Ever Changing Body

In the last week I've really noticed how much bigger my belly has gotten. It's not "huge" per say...but it is a lot bigger then what I'm used to. Along with my ever growing belly...other parts of me have grown as well. My hair is growing like a weed..which I don't mind at all, it has also gotten a lot shinier and softer over the last couple of weeks, which is a nice plus too. I've come to the realization this week that I may just have to buy a new bra as well...something which I was pretty sure I could avoid. When I first got pregnant I was all excited about that area starting to grow...as naturally I am pretty small chested. I had a couple of bras that I had bought or had been given to me that were slightly too big pre-pregnancy that not fit post-pregnancy. Sadly..those bras are also getting too small. I've been avoiding buying a lot of things clothing related for as long as possible...the only things I've really bought are pants, as my old pants fit just right and any additional weight gain made them really uncomfortable. This pay day I think I will hit up LaSenza and pick out a new bra and have myself measured to find out what size I even am anymore...and then I am going to head to Urban Planet and pick up some slightly larger sweaters for the winter. I'm not quite big enough yet that buying regular shirts/sweaters in larger sizes doesn't work...so to save money I figure I will just go buy some cheaper sweaters in larger sizes and save myself some money...sweaters at UP are like 2 for $25 whereas sweaters at Thyme are $59 each....such a rip off!

I'll post a pic of the belly soon...I just generally try to avoid cameras..pregnant or not.