(Long) Weekend Wind-Up

Posted in Recap, Weekend Update by

This past weekend was a holiday one here in BC, so that means that Monday was a day off for those who could take advantage of it! Of course, since I’m on maternity leave every day is a proverbial day off, but it doesn’t mean I can’t try to enjoy it, right? Right! Of course, the May long weekend is usually cursed with less than summery weather, and this weekend was spot on. It rained, there was windy, and a little bit of sunshine here and here.

Anyway, I didn’t get up to much for the weekend. Kyle worked Thursday-Monday, and got off work this morning, so we didn’t have any extravagant plans. Generally, we don’t anyway. With the May-Long rain curse, we avoid things like camping and such – plus, it’s the first “big” tourist weekend of the summer, and that there be cray-cray.

I suppose the biggest thing is that my bestest good friends got engaged on Saturday!! I’m not going to lie, but I was totally surprised when Callie called me and told me the good news, but I’m so excited and happy for her and Dave. Whenever someone I know gets engaged it just makes me all giddy with the memories of my own wedding and how much of an amazing day it was.

On less exciting topics, I gave my take on Silver Linings Playbook (the movie) for my friends over at We Came from the Basement, so please feel free to jump on over there and let me know what your thoughts on the movie vs. book are!

I’m also pretty sure that Isla is cutting more teeth, because after two weeks of sleeping all night and being a happy, awesome baby, she’s now back to waking up in the middle of the night in a rage, drooling, and being quiet testy. I think I almost hate teething more than Isla does. Almost.

On a lamesauce note, I really want to give some people the big ol’ “F-YOU”, but I won’t because I’m a nice person most of the time and doing that would only cause more problems.

Time to put pyjamas on, crawl into bed and read a book before bed.

Blarg.

Listy Friday

Posted in Listy Friday by

- The other night I woke up to go the bathroom and didn’t realize that I had slept in a funny way so that my right leg went numb. I stood up and immediately crashed down to the ground, hitting my head on an open dresser drawer. I just laid there, waiting for the feeling to come back while in a slight state of shock, and Kyle heard be fall and rushed over to help me get up. (He thought I tripped over the dogs and dislocated my shoulder.) Other than a bump on the back of my head and a sore shoulder (not that one that’s prone to dislocations), I’m fine. Although, when I went back to sleep, I dreamt that Kyle got into a fight with an octopus that tried to eat him whole, and Daphne got into a battle with a seal. They both won. I DON’T EVEN KNOW.

- Kyle and I are having a dishwasher installed into our rental unit. Happy renters, happy life! The process is going so well, and it will really help increase the resell value a little if/when that time comes. (Which won’t be for a while because there is zero equity in it. Womp-womp.)

- Isla’s learning how to give kisses, and they’re the most hilarious open-mouthed kisses ever. I can’t tell if she’s catching on, or if she’s trying to eat my face.

- Kamloops just recently had a Target open up, so Kyle and I went there to check things out and compare to Walmart. I must say – it was a little underwhelming. For my American readers – Ya’ll have it so much better. Our Target, so far, just seems like a cleaner Walmart. Maybe it was because it’s brand-new and our Walmart is currently being renovated, but it was brighter and cleaner, and that’s about it. The prices were about the same for most things. I’m going to go back this weekend I think and check out more of the housewares section, as well as the clothes, but yeah – Underwelmed is how I’d best describe my experience.

- I really want to do Crossfit, but I can’t get over how unbelievably expensive it is. I tried it once a few years ago and really loved the fast-paced workout, but again – the cost! It’s just too much :( I suck at working out at home and lose motivation so quickly. Blarg.

- How is it that Isla will be 1-year-old in a month & a half? Time goes by too quickly. I need to start thinking about planning her big day, and I have no idea where to start. As much as I’d love to make it as amazing as Pinterest shiz is, it’s not happening.

Happy Mother’s Day!

Posted in Family, Holidays, Motherhood by

 

I’m so lucky to have such an amazing little girl to be a mom for – Isla sure has made motherhood pretty easy on me se far! And, of course, I wouldn’t be the mom I am without learning from my own! In fact, on Friday I won a radio contest that was asking people “How you’re turning into your mother.” I like to think that I’ve adopted all of her great advice and parenting skills, even if they may have come with some silly quirks (just ask Kyle!).

This morning Kyle took the three moms in his life (plus Isla) out for some delicious brunch (save his soul). It was a lot of fun and I’m pretty lucky to have some amazing ladies in my life.

So Happy Mother’s Day to all you lovely mammas and mammas-to-be out there! I hope you enjoyed your day – You deserve it!

Kara, Lori & Isla

Photo courtesy of my MIL!

Listy Friday

Posted in Listy Friday by

- With the gorgeous weather we’ve been having, I’ve been slacking on the ol’ blogging. I don’t care! Considering it SNOWED a couple weeks ago, I’m elated with the record-breaking temperatures we’ve been having. Proof:

I don’t think I’ve ever seen it this warm at the beginning of May.

- It was my birthday on Tuesday. I’m now the ripe ol’ age of 27 and so far, it’s been a good age! I had a lovely, relaxing day with my family; Kyle made me pancakes for breakfast, and I got a brand new Magic Mouse for my Macbook from Isla – SO stoked about it! We went for dinner at my mom’s place and then had tiramisu cake for dessert – Yum!

- My mom and I hit up Ikea during our trip to the Lower Mainland two weeks ago, and I bought Isla a new bookcase for her room! The kid has quite the collection of books already and I was running out of room on the shelf of her changing table to store them all. Kyle and I finally got it put together the other day, and I was so glad to be able to put her books in it, as well as some of her other things:

pic20130509130354

My favourite book she has? Probably “What Can You Bee?”, which my brother wrote & illustrated for her! It was part of a class assignment, and then he had the book printed and coil-bound. I hope she keeps this one forever and passes it along to her children.

- My mom is getting a tattoo tomorrow! She’s been wanting to get a specific one for a while now, so for her birthday Kyle and I got her a gift certificate so she could nut up and do it! We’re probably a little evil for doing it, but I don’t think she’ll regret it. She’s nervous as hell, but I’ll be there to hold her hand. She’s afraid of what the pain may be like, but as Kyle told her, if I could do it several times over, it can’t be that bad! We’ll see how it goes ;)

- On a whim, I applied for a new job. Not so sure I’ll even get a call for it, but hey – you never know! It’s good paying and in my field (in a way), so we’ll see what happens. If something comes of it, great, if not, that’s OK too.

Roadtrip Recap!

Posted in Recap, Travel by

This past weekend my mom, Isla, and I travelled down to Vancouver for a couple days of shopping and fun! The drive down on Saturday was gross – windy and rainy, but worth it! Isla slept pretty much the entire time, waking up just outside of Hope, so we stopped in Chilliwack for lunch, and then she fell asleep again until we were about 10 minutes away from the hotel. One of my bestest friends came and met us at our hotel downtown, and the four of us shopped Robson Street until it was time for dinner!

Saturday we met up with my brother and his girlfriend at the Vancouver Aquarium. It was so cool to see all the animals and fish there, and Isla was enjoying until she got over-tired and had a meltdown for a half-hour. She eventually passed out and we were able to finish the tour. After lunch in Stanley Park we headed out for more shopping at Pacific Center – where I resisted the temptations at Coach and Nine West and laughed at my mom’s obviliousness to their price tags as she walked into the stores.

On Sunday we hit up Ikea – LOVE IT. I swear, if I had drove our truck down it would’ve been VERY hard for me to not buy everything! Lucky, I held back and only spent about $100. The biggest price tag was the bookshelf I bought for Isla’s room, and I was worried that it wasn’t going to fit in the car, but we made it work! After that we visited with my grandpa and his gal for lunch before we hit the road back home. There was snow on the mountain pass, so we had to take the scenic route home through the Fraser Canyon. It added an extra hour to our trip home, and the weather was rainy, but we made it home just before 8pm Monday!

Isla did SO good on this trip, minus the meltdown at the aquarium. She travelled so good in the car, so I can’t wait to travel with her more in the future. It helps that she falls asleep almost immediately in the car.

Now for some photos:

Amazing jellyfish
Isla LOVED the saltwater fish tanks, especially the ones with the clownfish
Beautiful sea turtle
Sleeping sloth!
Beluga
Stanley Park
Family photo!
My baby girl and I
Bestie and I

Ten Months

Posted in Growing Up Isla, Isla by

At ten months … (A day late since we got home late from Vancouver yesterday!)

She:
- Weighs 20.6lbs

- Waves “Bye-bye!” It’s pretty much the cutest thing ever. She’s always just stuck her hand in the air, but a couple weeks ago she actually started making the waving motion when someone says “Bye” and waves to her. She actually waved to my Grandpa as he was leaving, which made me feel great because she was pretty apprehensive about him since she hadn’t seen him in so long.

- Is stranger shy. This actually started about a month or so ago; there’s this front-end assistant at Costco who has made her cry twice just by talking to her, and now she’s really freaked out by most men. At her 9-month check up at the doctors? Total meltdown. He’s tall, loud and got into her personal space, and that didn’t go over well at all. She’s OK with most women, but prefers her mom, dad or grandma. I figured it would happen eventually, she was just too friendly for so long!

- Is on a bottle exclusively now. I’m certainly enjoying the freedom a bit more, and she’s enjoying the “control” she has over the bottle. (Playing with it, taking it in her hands and drinking from it without my help.)

- Walks along everything! She’s not walking on her own, or while holding my hands, but she’s walking along the furniture, walls, whatever she can lean her weight onto. It’s amazing and terrifying to see how far she moves in a short time frame. She’s definitely keeping Kyle & I busy!

- Has two more teeth – her two front teeth! We’ve been battling these two for the past couple weeks now, and I’m so glad they’ve finally popped through!

I:
- Like I said, am enjoying the freedom of not breastfeeding anymore. My boobs are grateful, and my milk is slowly but surely drying up. The toughest part was the first couple days after I stopped pumping to bottle feed. The engorgement was so painful and it was hard not to pump too much and only to do enough to relieve the pressure. But, I did it, and with the help of some cabbage, I’m getting there. (Yes, cabbage!)

- Am also mourning the loss of my boobs. They’ve gone all sad and small since they’re no longer producing milk. I’m going to have to invest in a good quality push-up bra. Hell, maybe I’ll just get a boob job when I’m done having kids. (I kid. Kind of. No really, I kid.)

- Am trying to decide what I want to do career-wise. Since I’m no longer going back to work in June, I’m  reassessing what I really want to do with my life. Journalism, as much as I love writing, is fizzling as a viable career. I’d love to keep freelance writing, but I need a more reliable career that isn’t going to crap out due to the economy. I have a couple ideas in mind, so we’ll see what happens.

Photo:

10 Months

One month
Two months
Three months
Four months
Five months
Six months
Seven months
Eight months
Nine months

Listy Friday

Posted in Listy Friday by

- On Tuesday I took my car to the body shop to have the bumper removed and checked for any unseeable damage after I was rear-ended. As it turns out, my car is A-Okay! Yay! It’s a huge relief because even though the repairs wouldn’t have been on my dime, it’s nice being able to drive your own vehicle. (Even though any courtesy car would be a step up from my lil’ Focus.) Our biggest fear was that it would be a write-off and that I’d have to get a new car – Not something that’s in the plans for at least a couple more years. (Fun fact: If the damage is greater than 70% of the value of the car, ICBC considers it a write-off, and since my car isn’t worth a lot, it wouldn’t take much.) But – All is well, so no worries!

- I leave for Vancouver tomorrow for a fun, three-day trip with my mom and Isla! We’re super-pumped to be going, and I’m sure Kyle will have fun with his guy-friends doing guy things while I’m gone. Now, if only the weather would smarten up. Why, oh why, must it always be rainy in Vancouver? :(

- Dogs are expensive. Just saying.

- I always tend to put the happiest, cutest photos of Isla on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, etc., and people are always commenting on how much she smiles and how she’s always happy. Well, those are lies. She’s not always happy, and lately she thinks it’s a fun game to wake up in the middle on the night and scream bloody murder at whoever will listen. (Which is usually me.) So, I took this gem of a photo to prove that she’s not all sunshine and happiness:

It’s too bad she still looks adorable, even in her misery caused by teething.

- My birthday is in 11 days. Uggggggh.

That’s it for today. What are your plans for the weekend?