Dear Mother Nature

As a long term inhabitant of your residences, I feel it appropriate to inform you of a few recent, but less-than-ideal, experiences I have encountered during this adventure you would refer to as "life"...

First of all, I'd like to know what reasoning was put forth, aside from requirements for procreation, to commit two beings who are so completely opposite of each other that they spend most of the day trying not to eliminate the other from existence? May I suggest that, moving forward, you consider two separate residences for each of the two human species (as they cannot be of the same classification being that their differences are so abundant and apparent). Perhaps an annual mating day and then separation again to different corners of the universe?

Unfortunately, I've come to terms with the fact that these beings, of the species "male", would be unable to handle the pressures, stress, exhaustion, etc. that accompanies child bearing - mostly from having witnessed the struggles of these creatures during the course of a minor cold. However, would it not make sense for them to have been injected with some sort of understanding, empathy, etc. for the shear feat that it is to create an ENTIRELY NEW HUMAN BEING inside ones body for TEN MONTHS?!?! Just a suggestion for future improvements if the above recommendation is not taken into consideration.

Along those same lines, I am curious why it is that in the process of creating such wonderful little human beings, along with weight gain, exhaustion, back pain, cramps, and the resulting, fantastic but body-destroying labour, the women of your community are also subjected to further punishment in the form of stretch marks, weak bladders, saggy boobs, rashes, swelling, acne, insomnia, etc.? And those are just the minor aggravations of your pregnant females. Mother Nature, I hate to question your intentions but are you, perhaps, on the wrong team? If I were to make a suggestion - perhaps the results of such a long and strenuous pregnancy could be any combination of the following:

• Teenage-boy level metabolism
• Perfectly round and perky breasts
• Saddlebag elimination
• Cellulite obliteration
• Instantaneous six-pack abs
• Noxzema-girl skin

Something to consider.

On the topic of the weather. I understand that it is summer. I am both satisfied and made happier by the sunshine. However, it would be fantastic if you could either (1) turn down my internal temperature or (2) crank back on the 30 degree weather, just a little bit. Perhaps setting a limit at 25 might be a happy medium for all? Perhaps a resident survey is in order - I will draft.

Lastly, with reference to my upcoming labour and delivery. I would like to make a formal request for early delivery on the basis of wanting to harm somebody if I have to carry on much longer. In the interest of public safety, it is best that labour be initiated as early as next Monday morning with duration lasting no more than 3-4 hours. I would prefer a morning appointment beginning at approximately 9am so that we can drop Jane off to daycare first, and so that my male partner is able to pick up Jane at the end of the day without much disruption to her daily schedule. Most importantly, obviously, I would like you to order up a healthy baby.

Wishing you a wonderful evening.

Yours truly,

slap that girl

I took an updated pregnancy belly pic today and, in my effort to compare one to the other, I was going back through my Jane belly bump pics and saw this thumbnail (photo left) from my 16 weeks photo, pregnancy number 1... and, from the thumbnail, I was thinking "Man, I look skinny in that pic".

Sadly, I remember taking that photo. I remember thinking "I'm starting to pop!" I definitely was feeling "fat" and I definitely was insecure about how I was looking (despite the fact that I took a picture of myself in a sportsbra - which I NEVER would have done had I not been pregnant). SLAP THAT GIRL. First of all, I would pay a million bucks to look like this again. AND, if I ever looked like this again, I might just live in my sports bra. :p

OMG! I just went through the pics from THIS PREGNANCY, and found my earliest "bump" pic - taken at 19 weeks. Check this out...

I'm officially saying it right now - I'M NUTS! I KNOW 100% when I took this pic that I thought I was really looking pregnant now!! WTF! It's amazing how relativity changes things. I remember I kept wondering how people didn't realize (because it was SO obvious) that I was pregnant. What the heck was I thinking?

Dear Lord, please, please don't let me look back on the photo I just took of myself, at 36 weeks, in four weeks and have me think I looked tiny... it's got to be impossible! :p

I'm having a ah-ha moment here people.

I am literally nuts. My perception of my body is ridiculously distorted. This may not be news to some of you but, to me, this is, like, life changing... right now. Ask me again in like 3 months when I am "tiny" again and hating myself because I feel fat. Stupid me.

Have my docs appointment tomorrow morning and can't wait! I look forward to every docs appointment now as it means another week has passed and that things are moving forward!

In a dream world, I only have 5 more docs appointments left until this baby is here!

I'm hoping, in my appointment tomorrow, that my doc will agree that, because of all this nonsense with my rashes, platelets, etc. that another ultrasound makes sense. A few people (including some docs from work) have mentioned to me that they would want to make sure the baby's OK in there and, now that they mention it, I can't stop thinking about it... of course. I'm having TONS of movement and the baby's heart rate has been great so far but still... I think it would definitely give me peace of mind to make sure the little tike is OK in there.

Plus, I have to admit, the idea of getting another shot at finding out the sex is way too tempting... although Dan says he wants to still have it be a surprise since we've made it this far. So, I just won't tell him! :p ha ha ha. Not likely.

Will keep you posted on the progress tomorrow and what the doc has to say about the chances of inducing me early, still, due to my platelets and also the ultrasound.

Two days of work left - and tomorrow is basically a half-day as between my docs appointment and blood work afterwards, it takes like 4 hours (understandably, these docs are never on time - they're dealing with emotional, stressed out, grumpy, demanding pregnant woman all day...).

one week and counting

It's the home stretch folks and I am READY... this is my last week of work. I saved my vacation time to use all in July so that I could start mat leave a little early, in hopes of having a few weeks of relax time before baby comes. NOW... I'm hoping the baby decides to come sooner than later.

I. am. so. uncomfortable.

I know it may seem like I'm just being whiny because I'm getting big and it's getting hot and blah blah blah. But I was definitely not THIS uncomfortable, tired, etc. when I was preggers with Jane.

Sorry for being M.I.A last week - I hope to get more consistent once I'm off work. It's a little difficult sometimes to be 35 weeks pregnant, raising an energetic three year old, working full time, running a side-business and writing a daily blog... sometimes. :p

Had my docs appt last Thursday AM and it wasn't ideal. My platelets dropped again, from 112 to 106. So I was sent right away to get blood work done again to check my levels and also to check a bazillion other things to make sure my low platelets weren't due to something more concerning that just your standard gestational thromocytopenia. My doc seemed a little concerned so I joked "induce me now!"... to which her response surprised me... she said that might just be an option if my platelets continued to drop. WHAT?

OK. I will admit, the thought was very exciting to me and did make me happy... at first. Then, I realized, it would probably be less than ideal to be induced early and that it's probably not what's best for me or baby - unless, of course, the benefits outweigh the risks. I chatted with a few doc friends of mine and, apparently, they would induce me early (if my platelets kept dropping) to avoid potential complications. If my numbers drop below 80, they can't give me any anesthetics... which lets just face it. WOULD SUCK. Aside from the pain, I'm a fan of epis FOR ME because it made my first delivery less dramatic, stressful, exhausting, etc. on mommy (and baby for that matter)... If my numbers drop below 50, that's when there's a high risk to me and baby of more serious (bleeding) complications. So, they'd induce to avoid all that.

However, my doc called this AM (which was a relief as I was nervous I'd have to wait until my appt on Thursday to get the update) to let me know that my most recent tests showed my platelets were stabilized for now, at 109. SO, she's sending me to see anesthesia so that we can have a plan in place in case things go awry but I don't have to see hematology yet - who would be putting a plan together (drug wise) to try to get my numbers back up. SO, no drug intervention yet and hopefully I can butter the pain-killing docs into not being ridiculous and giving me the epi... otherwise, I've requested with my doc that I be allowed to bring two bottles of shiraz into the delivery room with me as I figure this will be more effective that (1) nothing (2) the useless gas crap.

On a brighter note (not), I think the baby is dropping. It's brighter in that, I can breathe a little better and crappier in that it feels like my lower belly is going to crack open. I literally couldn't walk from my car to a restaurant today at lunch because I was so crampy. Now my back is killing me and I have so much pressure stretching from my lower back to the underside of my belly. It's a dream. I ran into a friend today who is two weeks further along than me. She looked rested, awake, happy, comfortable, just perfectly pregnant. I was grumpy, uncomfortable, hunched over, zonkered and ready to die. Fantastic.

With all that said, I have a friend who was due last Thursday and is still pregnant... so, all my complaining aside, I'm glad I'm not there. Yet.

Come 37-38 weeks, it's operation get bun out of oven all over again and I'm willing to do anything to ensure I'm not late again. My POA includes sex every other night, as many aggressive membrane sweeps as I can convince my doc to give me, spicy food out the wazoo, taking up jogging, and if I have to play with my nipples 24/7, I'll do it. Just don't judge me when you run into me at the grocery store... :p

Alright, I'm roastin'... Will keep you updated on all my complaints, annoying symptoms and whinings as they occur. :p Your welcome.

mid-week meal plan

I intended to do this on Monday but, fact is, I'm tired, grumpy, itchy and, in short, lazy. So, I opted to pull the "guest post" card which required me to do nothing except do a little blabbering beforehand. Blabbering is easy. Coming up with something logical and useful to share is my most difficult challenge these days.

So, after many requests, I think I'm going to TRY to share my weekly meal plans with y'all each week, with a few disclaimers:

(1) I am NOT a chef. My objectives in cooking supper are as follows (and ranked): QUICK, healthy, tasty (yes, this is third) and cheap-ish (I try to do one-two meat-free dishes each week to save on $$ cause meat is darn expensive!!).

(2) I do repeats. If a meal is a winner - which basically means Dan and I think it tastes half-decent and Jane will actually eat it, it's stays.

(3) I half-ass veggies. We always have them, especially Jane, with every meal. But I'm more of a throw some carrot sticks or fresh snap peas on the plate vs. cook special veggies, kind of girl. I am not a cooked veggie fan and Jane LOVES fresh, uncooked carrots and peas, so this is my go-to veg side dish.

(4) Sometimes I am TOO LAZY to even cook the quick meal I've planned and I end up serving, what I like to call, "platters". Thankfully, I know that I also was raised on "platters" back in the good ol' 80's that often included vienna sausages... :p YUCK! My platters have been upped a little since the 80's and usually include a nice aged cheddar (yes, Jane loves expensive cheese), some pre-cooked chicken, baguette, grapes, veggies, etc.

So, here goes... this is what we have had/are having this week for dinner... recipes will be below. :) Eventually, I won't have to include EVERY recipe as you will surely be able to resource previous posts for repeat recipes.

Monday - BBQ Chicken Souvlaki with Oven-roasted Oregano Potatoes

Tuesday - Swanson Creamy Cheddar Chicken Skillet Meal - I make this for Dan and Jane because they both love it and chow it down. It's good because the chicken is actually white-meat and good quality (I'm anal about textures and meat) and Jane actually eats the carrots and the corn. I am not a fan. I made a "platter" for me because the platter is actually my favourite ever meal. :)

Wednesday - BBQ Chicken Pizza and Asparagus Goat Cheese Pizza - I could literally live off of goat cheese, 100%.

Thursday - Marinated BBQ Flank Steak with Oven-roasted fries and fresh-boiled corn

Friday - Going to "Monkeytown"... we last minute planned a little "vacay" (you'll understand why I put it in quotes if you know where/what Moncton, NB is - maybe not the sexiest vacay spot). So, we'll be eating out Friday night, woot woot!

Saturday - No idea. Usually there's at least one night per week where I have no idea what I planned to have or I just don't plan for. This is the night where Dan says "what's for dinner?" and I whine and say I have no idea, I'm so tired, and we end up doing something insanely easy like platters. :) tee hee hee.

So here are your recipes - remember, easy is my cooking priority and servings tend to be for 2.5 people! :) I'll try to include rough estimates of cost as well - for key ingredients - assuming you have a fairly well stocked pantry.

BBQ Chicken Souvlaki Skewers
This is one of my favourite meals! SO yummy. Say $15-$20 depending on whether you can get chicken on sale or not.

Step 1: A few hours before cooking (or in the AM before work), throw some wooden cooking skewers into water to soak so they don't burn. Mine burn always, regardless of doing this, so I'm not really sure what the point is... :p

2-3 Chicken breasts, cut into 1" cubes
Wooden cooking skewers
1 medium red onion
4 medium-large white or red potatoes

Marinade for chicken:
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup parts red wine vinegar
2-3 cloves minced fresh garlic - I always use fresh garlic, I find it tastes SO much better
1.5 tsp of dried oregano (I actually have no idea how much I really use because I don't measure anything) but in my head this seems about right, it's definitely not significantly more or less! Season as desired! :p
Salt and Pepper

Also, FYI, the above marinade also makes a perfect dressing for greek salad, if you choose.

(1) Mix together marinade. Pour and mix with chicken breast. Refrigerate for 3-4 hours (or throughout the day if you're doing in the AM).
(2) Cut red onion into 1"-ish pieces
(3) Cut potatoes, I leave the skin on, into 1/2" thick fries.
(4) Preheat oven to 425. Toss potato with olive oil, s&p and tons of dried oregano (I probably use 1 tbsp or more). Cook for 45 mins or so on bottom rack until crispy (turning as many times as you want).
(5) Make your skewers. I do one piece of red onion, followed by one piece of chicken, and so on - putting 5 pieces of chicken on per skewer.
(6) Preheat BBQ to med-high.
(7) Toss chicken skewers on BBQ when the potatoes have 15-20 mins left. After they sear a little, turn the heat down to medium and turn regularly until cooked through.

Serve with store-bought tzatziki for dipping (for chicken and potatoes). YUMMO!

BBQ Chicken Pizza
$11 for one pizza

Store bought whole-wheat pizza crust
BBQ Sauce
Store bought pre-cooked rotisserie chicken breast
Red onion
Mozza cheese

(1) Spread pizza sauce (which is included with my two-pack of pizza crusts from Sobeys) on pizza crust
(2) Toss chopped chicken in a ton of BBQ sauce so it's really saucy
(3) Finely chopped red onion
(4) Spread toppings on pizza and cook as directed. Rocket science. :p
* It's also great with canned, pineapple tidbits added for sweetness but I forgot to think about this until now! :p

Asparagus & Goat Cheese Pizza
$11 for one pizza

5-6 spears of thin asparagus - you don't want the giant, costco ones for this recipe or they'll never cook
One small package of light (I use PC Blue Menu) goat cheese or goat cheese crumbles
2 roma tomatoes, slices thinly
Olive oil
1 store bought pizza crust
Mozza cheese

(1) Using hands, pour 1 tbsp olive oil onto crust and spread
(2) Place sliced tomatoes all over crust as if this were your sauce
(3) Place asparagus on pizza randomly - I leave them as spears, you can cut them up if you like
(4) Break up goat cheese with your hands and sprinkle all over pizza
(5) I generally use a TINY bit of mozza on top as well, like literally maybe a 1/2 cup for the entire pizza, just to hold everything together
(6) Bake as directed for pizza crust - usually 425 for 10-15 mins or until goat cheese is browned and asparagus is wilted.

I love this goat cheese pizza - I often make little individual ones for myself for lunch on a piece of naan bread.
I make the two pizza because I find that one is not enough for Dan, Jane and I. I usually eat 1/3 of the pizza myself and Dan could probably eat a whole one, so we make two. :)

Marinated BBQ Flank Steak & fries
$15-$20 Depending on size of steak/sale, etc.


1.5lb Flank Steak
Marinade:
1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1.5 tbsp worchestershire sauce
1 tbsp dijon mustard
2 cloves fresh minced garlic
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper

4-5 red or white potatoes, cut into 0.5" fries
Olive Oil
Paprika
S&P

(1) Mix together marinade and pour over steak in large tuperware container. Marinate overnight or as long as possible.
(2) Preheat oven to 425. Toss potatoes with olive oil, 1 tbsp of paprika and s&p. Bake on bottom rack for 45-1 hour until browned and yummy.
(3) Preheat BBQ to med-high.
(4) Place steak on HOT BBQ and close lid, let sear for 1-2 mins on each side to seal in juices. Grill meat for 5 mins per side after searing for medium steak (obviously depends on thickness). I like mine well-done, so I usually cut off a separate piece for myself and char the f outta it. :)
I made this flank steak for the first time a few weeks ago (used to use another marinade/recipe) and Dan said it was my best steak yet. Jane is not a big fan, however, so she'll likely be having KD with cut up tofu added (she thinks it's chicken and when combined with the veggie KD makes me feel a lot less guilty)! :p My daddy-o's in town so I'm making a "special" father's day meal for him. :)

That's it folks! That's what we're having for dins this week! Feel free to share some recipes yourself!

guest post: top 8 things every pregnant woman should know about breastfeeding

I'm going to start this post out with an admission and then a clear statement so there's no confusion...

Admission: When I was pregnant with Jane and met Moms who weren't breastfeeding, I TOTALLY judged them. If they didn't have a good reason, I completely disagreed with their decision not to breastfeed. In my defense, I also told myself my child would never drink juice over water, I'd never feed her KD, and that I was never going to bribe my child with candy. If THAT me were to visit THIS me, she'd be very disappointed. If THIS me could say something to THAT me, I'd say YOU'RE A CLUELESS IDIOT. :)

Statement: After successfully breastfeeding Jane for eleven months, I now tell my pregnant friends something different. My new advice re: breastfeeding is: If it's a priority for you, you CAN make it happen and it CAN be easy and it CAN be wonderful. If it's not a priority for you, don't stress yourself out about it.

Here's the other thing - this post is completely one-sided. Because I've only had ONE child, and I breastfed, I can only speak to experience with bf-ing. So, anyone who wants to chime in on formula-feeding, do so in the comments section please!

I have no idea why breastfeeding was such a priority to me but it was. I wanted it to work. I wanted to do it right. I wanted to follow all the "rules". I read about it. I learned about it beforehand. I asked questions to friends beforehand. It was just a priority. I think part of my reasons were for "health" reasons for baby. I think part was that I did NOT want to have to pay for formula cause it's $$$ insanity. And I think the last part of me held out hope that bf-ing was going to be the liposuction people claim it is. The last was not the case for me, unfortunately.

It was also one of the hardest things I had to adjust to, learn, struggle with, when Jane arrived. I cannot speak to how my experience would have been different if I was formula feeding - I know there are also struggles that accompany this (gas, which formula to use, having to do all that prep - between sanitizing, mixing, etc.). What I can say is that it definitely made the first 8 weeks of life with a newborn challenging... which, I think they basically are in general regardless of feeding choice. For clarity, what I often say is the first 8 weeks of bf-ing were HELL. Then, it was fantastic. Once I got it all down pat. Once Jane got it all down pat. Once my milk adjusted. Once I relaxed. It was the easiest thing in the world and I loved it. So, as I approach the arrival of my second little monkey... I have no choice but to hope that I can have the same experience as last time.

Of course, this has been on my mind for the past few weeks and coincidentally, in making an invite for a customer on MBD, I came by Gloria - a lactation consultant - who offered me help if I needed once baby arrived. I immediately asked her to write a post on the blog as, I know that I benefited from all the advice and research I did before Jane arrived.

As always, you know my RULE... this post is not intended to (1) sway you one way or the other or (2) judge you for your choice. My only RULE is: Do what works for you! But, if you're hoping to bf, I know you'll find the tips below useful as they were great reminders for me! Enjoy!!


Top 8 Things Every Pregnant Woman Should Know About Breastfeeding


1. LEARN THE BASICS BEFOREHAND. It has been documented that women are traditionally in a poor position to learn new information and new skills during the taking in phase. READ: Its really hard to do anything but panic and love the first days after the baby is born and NOT a good time to START learning about breastfeeding.


2. WATCH BREASTFEEDING WOMEN. If you know women who have breastfed or are breastfeeding talk to them, observe them (if they don't mind). Don't worry no one will think you are weird if you show up to a La Leche League meeting pregnant and ask questions about breastfeeding. They will be THRILLED that you care and HAPPY to share with you. If you have seen it before and have some idea how it normally looks you will likely fall into the appropriate actions and stance when you meet your baby.


3. SKIN TO SKIN CONTACT. THIS would be my number one piece of advice if those other two bits of advice didn't chronologically need to happen before the baby was born. Skin to skin contact means having your NAKED baby in ONLY a diaper resting belly down on top of your NAKED chest with a blanket, hospital gown or sheet over the baby's bare back. While I always explain this the same way I sometimes find my patients "doing skin to skin" while the baby is wearing a onesie, or the mother is wearing a bra - neither of which actually count as skin to skin. SKIN TO SKIN is ABSOLUTELY the very best way to spend THE MAJORITY of time with your newborn. It helps to elicit their natural instincts to open their mouths, root around and properly latch to the breast. The most important time of all to do skin to skin is in the first two hours after the birth. In hospitals sometimes skin to skin is delayed for the repair of a tear or episiotomy or because the nurse assumes you wouldn't want a bloody baby placed on your chest. This delay in the first skin to skin contact is INCREDIBLY detrimental to your chances for EASE and successful breastfeeding. It doesn't mean you won't or can't breastfeed however, it will likely mean that you will have more difficulty achieving the elusive "perfect latch". As a patient in a hospital let your nurse and Dr. know ahead of time that you absolutely WANT your baby put skin to skin immediately after delivery and for as long as possible. After this time try to spend AS MUCH TIME AS YOU AND YOUR BABY LIKE in skin to skin until you feel that everything is going PERFECTLY with your breastfeeding. If I could go back and do one thing differently with my first son I would throw away all his adorable "newborn" outfits and have him skin to skin with me for the first 4 weeks of his life. YES, it's that important. Yes, you should do it for at least 8 hours out of every day! Since mothering is the most important job you will have in the first weeks after birth imagine that topless is your uniform and baby's too!


4. FOLLOW BABY'S CUES. When your baby is opening her mouth, looking around the room, frowning, trying to eat or lick her hand or fingers SHE IS HUNGRY. It does not matter if she just breastfed for 10 minutes, 45 minutes or 300 minutes. It does not matter if she has eaten 12 times already today. IF SHE SHOWS SIGNS OF HUNGER.... SHE IS HUNGRY. That seems so obvious but I can't tell you how many people just don't believe the incredible frequency that breastfed babies need to eat with. PLEASE FOLLOW YOUR BABY... she will never lead you wrong. Baby's who are crying have passed the earlier hunger cues mentioned above and are already in distress. If you wait until the baby cries her attempts to nurse will likely be uncoordinated and less successful.


5. EXPECT EXHAUSTION.  There is NOTHING you can do to prepare yourself for the absolute exhaustion that will overtake you as a new parent but try to envision it and embrace the idea of being up to feed your baby. SLEEP as much as you can before baby comes, especially starting the 38-40th weeks of pregnancy. These are your last chances to sleep well so try to enjoy them even if you aren't exactly comfortable with the largeness of the baby who will inevitably wake up and kick your bladder while you are resting. Once the baby is born I want you to take a deep breath, look at his little face and say "goodbye sleep it was so nice to know you". Accept that it is NORMAL for a breastfeeding mother to sleep in SHORT segments of time (sometimes 15 minutes) several times in a day. This is NOT what we were used to and it will not feel like real sleep. It will not kill you but you may feel like it will. In the first few weeks after my son was born I used to repeat the mantra "it is my privilege and an honor to be able to wake up and feed you". I needed to remind myself that not everyone is LUCKY enough to 1. Get pregnant and have a baby and 2. breastfeed.


6. ASK FOR HELP. With everything and anything. Shamelessly. When your mother-in-law comes to "help" with the baby remind her that what you really need help with is dishes and laundry and fresh meals. If breastfeeding isn't going well seek the help of a professional lactation consultant or a La Leche League leader. Don't be afraid to say I need help, something is not right. Ask your husband or partner to help you with ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING. With breastfeeding they can help you by handing you the baby, removing baby's clothes for skin to skin, stimulating a sleepy baby, bringing you water.... heck, I've even seen dad's holding breasts for baby as mommy slept.

7. Buy AMAZING support tools. I HIGHLY recommend the pillow "My Brest Friend". This pillow snaps around your waist so it won't slide away from you like the Boppy tends to. It has lumps to help correctly position baby's butt and head. Quite frankly I can't say enough nice things about it... I loved mine and wouldn't have survived nursing without it.


8. BELIEVE IN YOURSELF. The number one concern I hear from mothers is "I don't think I have milk" or how do I know the baby is really eating. Remember that our bodies are divinely created to provide for our children. It is incredibly rare that a mother MEDICALLY can not breastfeed or that a baby is actually incapable. BELIEVE that you are completely capable of sustaining your baby. Just the way you grew her when she was inside of you and your body provided what she needed - now you will continue to grow her as your body provides. 


 Namaste and good luck earth mamas =) 
 Gloria, RN and soon to be IBCLC

birthday party pics!

Finally getting around to posting about my "baby's" birthday party last weekend...

A little bit of history - because Jane and my niece, Lucy, are the same age and were born two weeks apart, we've done joint parties for the past two years. Going forward, though, I think this is the last joint party. As much as it makes sense to do so for family, it doesn't make much sense for any other reason! :p Jane and Lucy don't have the same "group" plus, I think, next year (being that they'll be four), they might be more interested in having their own special days.

So, this year, I suggested we rent a place for the party vs. doing it at my sis's house or mine... mostly due to the fact that I knew I'd be huge and grumpy and not wanting to clean up and decorate much, etc. I was right. I might have had four hours sleep the night before the party and, between company and party prep, I was zonkered! We rented an "indoor playground" for a private party and it was awesome. The kids loved it, the space was ideal and it took us ten minutes to throw everything into a garbage bag afterwards and LEAVE! WOOT WOOT! Plus, being that it was split between two families, it wasn't too expensive. I don't know that I'd do it if it were just us as it would be a little pricier than I might be willing to pay to get out of cleaning... in fact, I'd probably just do it at home and pay to have molly maids come in the next day, if I were doing it myself. :p

As far as themes go, I started planning early and, because the party was for both Jane and Lucy, didn't want to go with a typical character theme as it might be difficult to find someone/something that appealed to both of them. Last year was easy - Minnie Mouse - what two year old doesn't LOVE Minnie? But this year, Jane gave me the inspiration as I asked her what she wanted at her birthday party and she said CUPCAKES! THe child LOVES cupcakes. So, cupcake theme it was! Simple and all-pleasing, fantastico!

This was the invite and thank you card combo I came up with for the girls party...

It was inspired by the cupcake wrappers and favor boxes I found from the lovely Martha Stewart at Michaels (seen in the other photos below). I like to coordinate. It's a blessing and a curse.

I also went with the cupcake theme because, two years ago for Jane's first birthday, I bought a $40 giant cupcake pan that I promised myself I'd use more than once... so this gave me a good excuse to pull it out again. I was disappointed, however, as I found a flower-shaped cupcake pan on sale this winter and was so excited about flower-shaped cupcakes that I bought "turf" tiles to line my cupcake trays with so that it would look like flowers in the grass (I know, I'm so cool) and no matter how much batter I used - a little, a little more, too much, a little less - I could not get effin' FLOWERS! So, we just had varying sizes of different color cupcakes - that, of course, I matched to the colours of the invites and martha stewart stuff - that, of course, no one else noticed but ME! :p tee hee hee.

Here's a photo summary of my efforts...

I got the cupcakes toppers on Etsy (of course)... pretty cheap, I think it was $10 for a dozen, totally custom and I got two orders - one for Jane, one for Lucy. I did the big cupcake as a cake for just the girls - for diggin' into with fingers - and individual cupcakes for the other kids and parents instead of a cake to cut. I think it went pretty well. The kids seemed to like that they could choose a cupcake colour of their choice. The party was from 4-6pm and, conveniently, right next to a pizza spot, so it's no surprise what we ordered for dinner! :p Can you ever go wrong with pizza?!?!

I filled the loots bags with a mix of candy, mini chocolate bars, bubbles, and either pretty hair ties for girls or dinkies for boys. I mean, lets be honest... all the kids want is some candy but some parents aren't in to that so the loot bags can be tricky. We all remember loot bags growing up. Candy = success.

I'm thankful we're still in the politics-free party planning stage... I mean, we invite who we want to come. Simple as that. I suspect, once we get into the school-age-parties, things will get a little more complicated. Do you invite everyone in the class? Do you invite only the kids your kid likes? You have invite those who have invited you... and the gift thing is tricky. I always say "your presence is present enough" but people always bring gifts! Do I appreciate it, of course! But, it's not necessary. How do you truly avoid this? I mean, Jane gets enough gifts from us, the family, etc. She didn't even open her own gifts this year because she was so wired and distracted by everything that I ended up opening everything after she went to bed. :p

Because it's Friday and I feel like I'm bored writing this post, let alone for you poor folks out there reading it... I'm stopping now. :p

Here are some pics of my sweet girl. Look how grown up she is!

same ol', same ol'

This is going to be the world's shortest post as I am currently cremating at Starbucks... I have no idea what I was thinking but I thought, AC, it will be cold there (forgetting I'm 34 weeks pregnant and basically going through severe menopausal symptoms) so I wore full-length yoga pants (that don't fit at all) and a sweater... and I'm roasting. The decaf skinny vanilla latte that I continue to sip, despite ongoing cremation, is likely not helping...

Anyways, I'm here because we switched internet/cable providers yesterday after being loyal customers for like 12 years... and we immediately hated the new provider. SO, we switched back today. Sometimes a little bit of savings ISN'T worth the inconvenience. SO, we're currently without internet/tv at home and I have a ton of work to do for my Etsy shop! ARGH!

Moral of the story - some times things ARE too good to be true. Sometimes it's best to stick with the same ol', same ol', if you have no complaints... even when something sexier comes along. I apply this to my marriage as well... unless that sexier being is Taylor Kitsch, in which case, Jane and I are goners! :p tee hee hee.

I am 34 weeks pregnant!! WOOT WOOT! Two weeks and one day left of work! WOOT WOOT!

Haven't heard squat from my doc about my platelets - which, you'd think would be good news, but I'm not convinced I believed her when she said she'd "call if she was concerned"... I have little faith in the organization of the PNC (prenatal clinic). Not because they aren't great, just because they are dealing with every grumpy, complaining and screwed up pregnant woman in the city and I'm thinking my low platelets may get lost in the shuffle. I'd be worried, except, I'm only 34 weeks preggers and I see my doc in 7 days so I figure we'll still have lots of time to freak out and figure out what to do if they start dropping again.

If you don't follow me on facebook... shame on you! :p But, the update on my face issues is that I saw a DERM finally this week. Apparently, it's what I have is fantastically (sarcasm) facial, effin' eczema... so I'm being treated with Hydrocortisone cream and I'm supposed to pray it goes away after pregnancy. In the words of the derm (whom I'm a bit in love with I think) "pregnancy is screwy". Understatement my dear friend, understatement. Interestingly, since I've started expressing my anger about my itchy skin disorder, turns out it must be quite common as every 4-5 woman I speak with who've had kids or are pregnant, have experienced something similar. It's an outbreak I tell you - save yourselves! :p

Alrightly, my sweets, enough roasting for me... home time! xoxo until tomorrow.