Bragging (because I can!)

Although I have talked about planning Sarah's baby shower, I had to keep many of the details a secret as I know she reads my blog.  I was dying to share the details I had been planning, but had to wait until after the actual day.  Anyone who knows me also knows I started planning this shower the night we found out she was expecting and were not surprised by the things that were included.  So now without further delay, here are some pictures of the details....

Baby socks made into roses



Roses

 

If you know Sarah, you know about sheep.  I made cupcakes to look like sheep with marshmallows. Okay so they didn't turn out great, but the thought and effort were there.



The diaper cake I made for one of the games - guess the number



My sister is in love with fruit and fruit salad these days, so I made a baby carriage bowl to hold fruit salad

Decorations of baby clothes Joel and I got for her - yes one of them has sheep on it too

Second clothesline of items for our niece or nephew
Note: Good Looks Run In The Family is what the blue onsie says

 Of course there were games, tons of food and lots of friends and family that came to shower Baby Boaz which Sarah and Jay were truly grateful for.  My little peanut was sick, which made it a little hard for me to be apart of the shower and I ended up leaving earlier than I would have liked to, but I know Sarah understood.  Overall a great day, now I'm just counting down until I can cuddle with the little Walnut!

Mika's One Year Pictures

This weekend we are celebrating Mika's 1st Birthday with the family and a few friends.  Joel will be home tomorrow night after being away for 5 weeks.  Both Mika and I are looking forward to him being home, and I know Joel can't wait to spend Wednesday with his little peanut.  I have ordered a few things for Mika's party including a cake made special by Joel's coworkers wife themed as sesame street, photo cookies for the guests to take home and balloons. 

With Joel being home, it also means the end of renovations I hope.  While he is home he can get the last few touches done including putting doors back on the closets/pantry, adding a floor to the pantry, finishing the baseboards, reinstalling the lights in our back entrance, adding shelving to the pantry, etc.  The paint will likely have to wait until the end of April/beginning of May, but we are hiring someone for that.

I spent the weekend tired, but making freezer meals with my mom.  I remember very clearly being 9 months pregnant and wishing I could just pull something out with Mika.  This year, I figured I will feel even more like that, so I made a plan and we got started.  Friday was shopping for the ingredients at Lovedays, Dunrite, Gimli Fish Market, Miller's Meats, Costco and Superstore.  We even managed to make 5 chicken lasagnas before heading to bed. (well I went to bed, mom stayed up with Mika until 2:30am)  Saturday was 5 beef lasagnas, 3 chicken casseroles, 5 pork sate, 2 sweet and sour pork chops Supper Central Style, 3 BBQ pork chops, 20 calzones of 3 different varieties, Bombay chicken sauce, and Sunday was 3 more lasagnas, 7lbs of 3 different types of meatballs and 3 packages of prosciutto stuffed chicken. WOW!

After Mika's party I plan to take it easy as it feels like I haven't stopped in awhile.  I keep saying Bug will be the tough and won't let Mika push her/him around.  My sister was so thoughtful this weekend and offered to take Mika for a night to allow me a night off and to get some sleep. (Her parents were heading up to Menneville for the weekend so they could have brought her up)  If she wasn't 9 months pregnant, I may have taken them up on this offer, but I figured it would be 2am and I would be driving to meet them in Selkirk while she was in labor! 

Well that is all for now, until the next update... Enjoy ~

One Day, One Determined Momma

Here it is before....

And after one evening, one nap time, and a few hours with Nana, here it is now!

This was my Saturday night/Sunday project.  Friday night I cleaned and organized our laundry room which was a serious disaster.  I am feeling better in all areas now.  Last week I tackled our spare room/office.  Once Joel is home I can finish that up as I need a bit of help.  An organized house makes for an organized life. 

On Friday I wrote my case study for my event coordinator certification, the only thing left is my interview and that process will be another thing off the to do list.  This will make me certified across Canada as an event coordinator.  Think of it like university for the tourism industry. :)

I also met with my boss this past week about my plans to return next year and it looks like things will work out for our family.  I will be able to confirm it once I am on maternity leave so for now, it's just a hope.

Only 5 more weeks of work before maternity leave, one more week and 2 days until my hubby is home for 3 weeks, and 3-5 weeks and I will have a new niece or nephew ~ Life is good!

Surprise!

On March 5th, my little peanut turned one!  And while Joel was busy at work, I was busy getting my van packed for our trip up to Bissett to surprise him.  A few weeks before Meek's birthday, Joel was sounding a little blue that he was going to miss it.  I thought if he couldn't be here for it - why not bring Meeks up to him?!  I searched online for the bed and breakfast (where Joel is staying) and sent my weird request.  Considering I wasn't even sure I had the right place, the email was a bit awkward.  Luckily for me, not only did I have the right place, but the gentleman and his wife that own it were amazing.  They welcomed me to come up and stay as long as I wanted to, even offering to make a special steak dinner for us.  I offered to bring some food, and in true Ashley fashion, overdid it a little.  I brought Joel some little gifts from me and Meeks (spiced rum and new work clothes) and left around 1pm.  We arrived shortly after 4pm to a beautiful home.  The bed and breakfast is quite large and all wood inside, it had a very cottage like feel.  Barry and his wife "Lake" welcomed Mika and I with open arms, and were extremely helpful with unloading, organizing my items, and hiding my van.  When Joel arrived just over an hour later, he was fairly grumpy - that is until he recognized Me and Mika!  He had tried calling my cell to sing Happy Birthday to Mika, but of course it was off. (there is no reception up there with Rogers)  He left me a message that sounded like a boy who just lost his puppy.  The guys he works with knew I was coming, so Clint, taking one for the team suggested they go out for pizza and beer.  As they headed back to the b&b, Joel couldn't understand the detour.  Clint explained that he needed his going out pants and Rolly wanted to see the b&b.  They finally got him into the house, and in typical Joel fashion, he did a quick acknowledgement wave to me in the living room, and went to poor a drink.  When I said "Is that anyway to greet your family?!" he turned around and his jaw almost hit the floor.  He couldn't believe we were there!  It really was a surprise which made it so much better.  All he kept saying was "I can't believe you came", and "thank you so much for coming".  Mika was thrilled to see him, squealing in delight when he got close to us.  It was such a good day for everyone, I was happy it all worked out.

While my little baby is now 1, I thought about all the things she has learned.  It is amazing how much she has grown, turned into a little character of her own with a little attitude and personality! She is stubborn, independent, and determined.  She makes me laugh everyday, and her smiles can make any day better.  (those chicklet teeth are just too cute) 

I have started to plan her little party we are hosting at my mom's.  It is sesame street themed so I have ordered the cake, cookies, and bought all the decorations.  We are just doing a lasagna dinner for everyone and it will be fairly small with mostly family and a few friends.

In other Hayward news, the renovations have begun again.  We hired a drywaller to finish taping, mudding and sanding for the back entrance, the holes from when the heated floor went in, the pantry and fix a few cracks in our ceiling.  It has left my house in quite a mess, but I have worked hard to try and clean it.  I still have a few hours worth of cleaning to do, but it is starting to feel not quite so overwhelming.

Besides these things in my life, on the weekend I hosted Sarah's baby shower.  We had games, food and a lot of presents to "shower" the baby with.  I think it went well, especially considering it was the first shower I hosted.  I have posted pictures of a few things I did on my facebook, and will post them here shortly.

If life wasn't crazy enough, I am in my third trimester.  Which means I am getting tired more easily.  I am overall feeling good but chasing after a 1 year old, renovating, having a husband away, working full time, planning surprises, showers and birthday parties, applying for my daycare license, completing my first aid/cpr training, and finishing my certification to be an event coordinator means life is busy to say the least. 

Anyways, I don't have pictures to post just yet, but will post them shortly.  Until then, enjoy your day ~