Living in chaos

Last year my husband and I did some small renovations in our kitchen.  Phil got rid of the 80's backsplash and did some drywall and painting and we had all the cabinests re-painted.  It wasn't a huge reno but it felt like one because it was a mess everywhere and when you don't have your kitchen for several days you feel lost.

We are at it again but this time downstairs getting ready for baby.  The 2 spare bedrooms downstairs have that lovely fake panel wood so we have are having the rooms drywalled and painted.  We had to pull all the furniture out of both rooms which now makes our downstairs a disaster area!  Everything is dusty and out of order and it drives me crazy.  One a good day I can't stand being unorganized and things a mess.  When you're almost 7 months pregnant and ready to start nesting it heightens the stress another 50%.  There is light at the end of the tunnel as hopefully the painting will get done today and I can start the cleaning and organizing process.  I have never been so happy to clean anything in my life!

A Day at Baby's R Us

My husband and I basically moved in to Baby's R Us on Saturday.  We compiled our list at home of everything we could possibly need for the baby.  We spent 3 1/2 hours with Kathy our amazing sales person picking out the specific kind of everything we need for baby.  I have to say that Kathy was awesome and so patient with us.  She's a mom and a grandma and has worked there for years so she was an amazing help to these first time parents who were clueless on how to fold up a playpen. 

The one thing I haven't decided on yet is a type of bottle.  There were just so many so i'm calling on all you mother's out there to help me.  What bottles did you use and what worked and what didn't?  There's so many brands and styles so i'm seeking some advice!  Please leave a comment!

Breaking Tradition

I have discovered that planning to have a baby is like planning a wedding all over again.  Everyone has an opinion and you can't please everyone.  I broke a few traditions when I got married and it was controversy!  I had candy centre pieces instead of flowers - shocking!  We didn't have a wedding cake instead we did a big desser buffet with a chocolate fountain - scandelous!  We gave the first dance of the night to our parents as a tribute to them and their marriages - WHAT!  I would like to point out that I specifically didn't tell my mom we weren't having a cake to avoid the drama and do you know that she never even noticed!  That's the thing about these so called traditions, if you don't do it odds are no one's going to walk away complaining that you didn't have a cake. 
Now as I am getting closer to baby time and talks of baby showers have begun it all starts over again.  "You want to have the shower before the baby is born?  You can't do that!"  I realize that yes everyone likes to meet the baby at baby showers but my baby is due mid-November, it would be mid-December before I would probably be up for a shower and that seems unfair to guests to do something like that so close to Christmas.  I'm not going to go into hiding with the baby, everyone's going to get a chance to meet the baby when it's born. 
So i'm going to do what I did with my wedding and break tradition and have the showers before the baby....hopefully people still come! 

From This Moment On

"From This Moment On" - big hit single from Shania Twain and the title of her autobiography.  I just finished the book which I read as I also watched her show "Why Not?" on the Oprah Winfrey Network.  Shania is Canada's sweetheart - a title she shares with Celine Dion I guess, but her true life rags to riches story has been one she has shared for years but her book goes into greater detail about her life growing up and getting her start in country music. 

She endured a rough childhood to say the least including poverty and domestic abuse.  After losing her parents at a young age Shania took over taking care of the family and moved everyone from Timmins to Huntsville to work at Deerhurst resort and eventually becoming the country superstar we know her as now.  Her journey was an interesting one as she battled record executives to write her own music and have more creative force behind her image. 

The book also deals with the sad end to her marriage to husband Mut Lang who was also her co-writer and producer for her albums.  She is in a happier place now recently re-married and starting to fire up her music career again, she has signed up to headline in Las Vegas in 2012.

I love biographies and Shania was truly honest about her life, her struggles and the depression that comes with divorce.  I was surprised to read the stories of some of her homes even later in life and how she roughed it in a house in Huntsville with no running water.  It's not what you expect from someone like her, but Shania is just the image that we have known for the past 10 years, it was Eileen, her real name who roughed it and it sounds like even the Eileen/Shania now is happiest back in nature how she grew up.

http://books.simonandschuster.ca/From-This-Moment-On/Shania-Twain/9781451620740

You Love Me Anyway

I'm filling in on the air for AJ today as they get ready for the arrival of their baby Wonderdog anytime now.  I'm taking this quiet time in the studio and really listening to the words of the music.  The music of LIFE 100.3 pumps through our offices all day long but when you're working it's easy to kind of tune it out.  I just played the Sidewalk Prohets "You Love Me Anyway" - i sat back and listened and WOW what a reality check.  All the wrongs I have done, sadness I may have caused God when I turned away instead of turning to Him when I needed Him the most and yet He loves me anyway.  It's a promise that we all need to be reminded of.  If He loves us through all the garbage how can we not give Him everything?

Did you feel that!?!?

Disclaimer:  The majority of my blogging will probably be about pregnancy these days because it's the biggest thing in my life right now - literally so I apologize if you are rolling your eyes, "here she goes again" kind of thing.

I'm 21 weeks pregnant now and i've been feeling the baby move since about week 17.  Just rolling or twisting but not until this week i have I felt more defined kicks and punches.  Nothing too hard or painful yet but I can definately feel it.  My husband has been anxiously waiting for when he gets to feel the baby seeing as I have been talking about it for weeks.  Last night there was quite a bit of kicking so I got his hand in position and we sat still and quiet and waited for the big moment....then pow there it was and we both said at the same time "did you feel that?!?!?"  It was probably the hardest kick i've felt and I was so excited for my husband that he got to feel it, it was quite a bonding moment for him to feel our baby moving around.  Even though I hear it gets uncomfortable i'm looking forward to more kicks and punches from the little one!

20 down 20 to go

I have hit the halfway point with baby Melanson, 20 weeks down and 20 more to go until we meet our little one.  I had my 20 week ultra sound and we did NOT want to find out if it was a boy or a girl and even if we had wanted to know the baby wasn't showing off the info, a modest little one already.

I have been very blessed to have a smooth sailing pregnancy so far.  Not really sick in the beginning, although very tired.  I had an energy spurt after I hit 12 weeks where I was feeling great, ready to stay up late and have a life again.  That seems to have come to an end seeing as I was in bed at 6pm last night because I couldn't keep my eyes open.  I slept for a couple hours, got up for America's Got Talent and Cake Boss and back to bed I went. 

Sleeping has become an interesting task as I try to find a comfortable position which usually depends on how the baby is sitting.  The baby seems to like to sleep all day and party all night so as I fall asleep it decides to do some gymanstics and I have to find a new position to sleep in.  I am not complaining at all because I find it all so exciting.  I still can't believe there is a baby in there keeping me up and not just something I ate.  I'm loving all the movements but it's starting to set in that in 20 weeks it has to come out.......not sure how I feel about that part yet!