I made that!

   When we found out we were expecting a baby one of the things I was most excited about (other than the baby part) was creating a nursery. After we finally figured out where we were going to live (thanks to my sister:)!) and got moved in, we started to prepare the room. We didn't know if we were going to have a boy or a girl so I wanted to make sure that we had a room that was gender neutral...but could be "boyed" or "girled" up. We choose a cool light teal colour and decided on all white furniture. Although PJ is now almost half a year old (what?!) we still haven't completed the room. There are some last finishing touches that need to be completed, they are:
- curtains (my mom is going to help me with this!)
- ABC wall decorations (hopefully my dad is going to help me with this!)
- some other wall art 
- paint all the door knobs for the furniture the same color as the wall (hopefully my sister still has our knobs she can help me with this!)
   Really, its not a very long list and mostly is just fun "finishing touches". These are the things that I am starting to really enjoy. Since we have been married we have only rented...and although we are in another rental my sister has been kind enough to let us bring our own 'personal' touch to our home...it really does feel like home (more so than any of the other places we have lived so far)! These finishing touches are an exciting part of making PJ's room feel like a homey and comfortable part of our home! 
   This past month I decided it was time that I tackled the only item on my list that didn't involve one of my family member's involvement - wall art. I knew that I wanted some sort of framed something (pretty definite aren't I?) for the wall behind my glider (love my glider!), so I went on pinterest and started looking for some ideas. A lot of the things I pinned brought me to Etsy stores where people were selling their nursery designs for $20+! I looked at all of these options and thought, "I can do that!". And that's what I decided to do. I went to our local Bibles For Mission Thrift store and bought some old frames for a total of $7. Then I went to the fabric store and chose a couple of pieces of fabric that I liked and that I thought would match my wall color and white furniture. Finally I sat down at my computer, took an hour or so, and designed some different 'posters'. I also printed off a free downloadable bible verse poster from this blog: The Flourishing Abode (such a talented woman and an interesting blog!). I printed my designs and the one I downloaded at Staples, bought some supplies at Home Depot (paint brushes and trim white paint), and went home to craft! Now, if you were to ask anyone who knew me...they would tell you that I am not the most creative person around...so, I was quite nervous but I thought that I really had nothing to lose and perhaps some money saved and a decorated nursery to gain!
   Here's me attempting to take pictures of the process:

The picture frames before the transformation - I forgot to take a picture of them before I took them apart but one was a picture of a thatched cottage and the other an old fashioned bouquet of flowers. Both nice pictures....but not for PJ's nursery. By the way...notice my flowers? They are pretty and Spring-like!

Then I painted the frames. That's my hand painting...I think I have good form:).

We used my sister's old pizza box to protect the table from my paint...it mostly worked but our table now has some white paint splatters. Oops!

All painted! I think they already look better :D

One of the fabrics I used as backing for my poster. First I ironed it out to remove the creases . 

Then I covered the original picture's backing.

All covered!

Next I placed the text poster on top (this is the download from The Flourishing Abode) and put it all together into the frames!

This is the other picture/poster that I made - I forgot to take pictures of the process (oops!) 

The completed product! I think that they are pretty good. They will look great in PJ's room and I did it for a fraction of the cost of buying and having them shipped from Etsy! 

   I had a lot of fun doing this craft, so much fun in fact, that I have designed a couple more posters and went out to buy some more frames from BFM. I think having three or four in a sort of frame collage on her bedroom wall will look great! Who knows? Maybe I'll become a creative crafty momma yet!   

Bread Baker Momma!

   I made homemade bread! I've never done anything quite that domestic..but it was actually very easy! I used the recipe from this blog: bread recipe.  It contains just four easy ingredients, takes about five easy steps, and produces delicious bread. I cut the recipe into a quarter because I just wanted a very small amount of bread for our supper meal and didn't want a whole ton of extra bread that might go bad (didn't know how it would taste). Next time I think I will make a bigger batch and use the excess for sandwiches the next day (it was that good!). This also gave me an excuse to break out my new pottery dish. It worked well, it was pretty, and I love it! Here's some pictures of the finished product:

Love my beautiful pot!

Isn't it delicious looking? It was quite small (my husband joked that it looked like a big bun) but it was perfect for accenting our meal!

The rest of our meal was a BLT salad from a Company's Coming Cookbook. It was delicious as well. Notice my homemade croutons! I AM domestic;)! LOL

 

The finished product. It was all very "yummy"! Even Mark was happy...with salad for supper! 

I love Mondays!

   Crazy, right? Hardly anyone I know says that they LOVE Mondays...but I do! I really, really do! If I am to be honest with myself...I used to HATE strongly dislike Mondays. That was back when I used to have to get up at 6:30, quickly get ready for the day, be in the car by 8 for my morning commute, and at a desk by 8:30...yeah...back then, Mondays weren't my favorite (especially in the Winter! Brr!). But now...now I love them. The weekends are always a lot of fun...but they are busy. Mondays are a great day for me to relax, tidy up the house (which is still "mostly" clean from the weekend cleaning), and be productive. Today was another GREAT Monday. I got up before PJ, drank my morning tea while trying to pass a "tough" level of Candy Crush on Facebook (no shame here :D!), fed and played with PJ,

Such a sweetheart! She is loving the highchair and the food that comes with it! :) 

put my pinning skills to use and tried out a stove top cleaning trick that I had pinned a while ago (You should try it because it works!! Clean your Stove Top!),

(LOVE my turquoise teapot!) See how shiny the stove top is? Beautiful! 

tidied up our bedroom (I even made the bed!),

Its a good day when at the end of it you can crawl into a made bed :) 

did all my laundry (seriously! the only thing in my laundry basket is a random sock that I found on the floor (my OCD self finds that annoying! LOL) :D), folded all of my laundry (I know that this should go hand-in-hand with doing the laundry...but I HATE strongly dislike folding so it doesn't always get done right away), 

Showing off his sock folding skills. One of the two pairs he helped fold ;) Not complaining though...any help is good help :)!

washed some of PJ's stuffed toys that have been overly sucked and chewed on in the past couple of "teething weeks", spent some time on the computer trying to design some wall art for PJ's nursery, made baby food (squash and yams! yummo!),

My camera didn't really capture the truly beautiful colors of the food! Too bad! 

read my book ("Real Marriage" by Mark Driscoll - after I am done reading I am looking forward to listening to his sermons on the same subject! Check it out: Real Marriage - Mark Driscoll - Marshill Church), did a workout (yay me! PJ even joined in with Mark's help!), and enjoyed a delicious supper with Mark. Now, here I am blogging while on a break from writing my final essay for my university history course.

Healthy snack and all!

All in all, a most excellent Monday! Just keepin' it real I guess :)! 

"He is a Friend of mine!"

   Loving my new CD that Mark spoiled me with for my birthday (#24!). Its Chris Tomlin's Burning Lights CD. All of the songs are amazing but the one that is sticking with me and playing in my head today (not in the annoying sort of way but in the refreshing reminder sort of way) is the third song on the CD "Whom Shall I Fear (God of Angel Armies)". I love having the reminder that our God goes before us, stands behind us and is ALWAYS by our sides! The God of angel armies and who reigns forever....He is a Friend of mine:)! Good reminders for a Stay-at-home Momma just trying to find her way! Have a listen! Whom Shall I Fear (God of Angel Armies).

   Wonderful:)

Jump! Jump! Jump!

   Look who's jumping around in our house:). She loves hanging out in the Jolly Jumper. Its nice having a place that I can set her down that she enjoys! 

LOL! I just noticed my piles of laundry! Laundry day!

Groceries, groceries, groceries!

   Yesterday evening I went grocery shopping...and came back with 5 weeks worth of groceries! My upstairs sister started doing this a couple of months ago...and it intrigued me! She plans all her meals for a five week period and then does all the groceries for this in one shop! This way she doesn't have to worry about grocery shopping each week and she frees up her Saturday a little bit! And she tries to save a little money in the process. Let me tell you, she's my inspiration! 

   So, I decided to give it a try! I normally do love doing my grocery shopping with Mark and PJ during the day on Saturday, but its not Mark's favorite pastime. As well, its been getting a little harder to fit into our busy Saturday schedules and PJ is starting to be awake more often. Its definitely NOT fun grocery shopping with a screaming baby. So, I sat down and plotted out my 5 week meal plan, wrote my list, and headed to the grocery store with my sister. It took us 4 hours and four grocery stores but we did it! We bought all of our groceries! It was a good feeling! I have to admit, I felt a little overwhelmed when we got home and Mark brought all the groceries in from the car. My kitchen floor was covered and I wasn't sure if I would fit everything! Thank goodness for my OCD and love of organizing! I got everything in and my cupboards, fridge, freezer and a small corner in our storage room are full! Here's to having my next five weeks worth of meals planned and having more time to enjoy family Saturdays! 

Half way through the process!!!

Finished product! I should post a picture in 5 weeks to show how empty it will be!! 

Yikes!

   Little PJ is already five months old! Yikes! Where does the time go? I am having such a hard time believing that she is actually five months old:). Her five month birthday was a little difficult to celebrate because February only had 28 days this year! We decided to celebrate on the first of March. I tried to convince Mark to wake her up at exactly midnight between the 28th and the 1st so that we could snap a quick picture but he thought I was crazy and strongly objected to the idea! Probably for the best as she hasn't been sleeping well anymore and once she falls asleep it seems best just to let her be! 
   She had quite the eventful fifth month! She traveled across the country with us to B.C., flew in her first (and fifth) plane, met a whole lot of extended family, saw her first mountain and journeyed up it in a gondola, traveled on her first ferry and saw the ocean for the first time, went swimming for the first time, slept in her first hotels, visited the Vancouver Aquarium and was mesmerized by all the fish, stopped sleeping well, started sucking her thumb, had her first taste of real food (rice cereal and banana), cut her first tooth, and continued to smile, laugh and be a joy to her parents. Her neck muscles continue to get stronger and she is able to spend more and more playtime on her tummy. She also is enjoying her Bumbo chair and likes to sit in it while we feed her or while she plays with a toy. She is more aware of her hands and is touching, grabbing, and playing with toys more consistently. She 'tastes' everything and is quick with a funny facial expression showing either her confusion, disgust, or excitement. It has been easier and easier to coax a giggle out of her and often we spend quite a bit of time at the change table, both of us giggling away as I make faces at her. She had her four month check-up at the doctor when she was approximately 18 weeks old.  She weighed 12.7lbs and was 67cm tall! She was given a clean bill of health and cried a lot less when she received her immunizations (I actually stayed in the room this time! Although, I have to admit Mark was there to do all the 'hard' stuff!). Although she has been a little bit 'crankier' (she hasn't been sleeping through the night and sometimes its a battle to get her to have a nap during the day!) she still is a lot of fun and makes us so happy! We love having her around and can't wait for her next 5 months ++! Here are some pictures!!!

Spending time with her cousin who is only 15 days older!

Eating rice cereal for the very first time!

Always loving bath time! By the time the bath is over, my entire kitchen is soaked from all her kicking! 

Doesn't look comfy but she actually LOVED the Bijorn! 

Cuddles with Aunt Marion :)!

First time swimming!

Beautiful day in Victoria!

Love this girl!

   Here are the monthly pictures with her "Five Month" sign! It was a little more difficult to take these pictures because she has started being super curious. She just couldn't wait to get her hands on the sign to see what it was all about and how it tasted!

BIG smile:)

Yummy!

She sure is growing!

   So thankful that we have been blessed with five wonderful months with this kiddo! Praise God from whom ALL blessings flow!

Beautiful British Columbia!

   We went on a family trip!! To beautiful British Columbia. It was absolutely wonderful. We did a lot of sight-seeing, travelling, visiting and eating. My aunt and uncle were kind enough to let us stay in their renovated barn (its an apartment now!) and lend us their vehicle. So sweet! We did a little touring of Vancouver (beautiful city!), took the ferry to the island and stayed in Victoria (another beautiful city), and also traveled up into the mountains to see Whistler (and yet, another beautiful city!). We visited with my many family members who live out there and it was great to connect with everyone again. All in all, it was a wonderful 13 days away. Even the flying to and from went okay with PJ (I have to admit I was VERY nervous...but she was a little angel and hardly even made a peep in the total trip!). It was nice to come home feeling energized and connected as a family again! Here are a couple of pictures from our trip!

The view from my Uncle and Aunt's barn (where we stayed!)

A beautiful day for a walk! Harrison Hot Springs.

Family Selfie!!

"I lift my eyes up unto the mountains, where does my help come from? My help comes from You, Maker of Heaven, Creator of the earth! Oh how I need You Lord, You are my only hope, You are my only prayer!"

Night time walk in Beautiful Victoria!

PJ was such a trooper being carted around everywhere in her stroller.

Mile Zero - the beginning of the Trans Canada Hwy!

We had a beautiful day in Victoria - perfect for a nice long walk up to a historic castle!

PJ enjoying the fireplace in our hotel in Whistler.

We spent an evening skating by the Olympic Rings in the Whistler Village. 

We took PJ swimming for the first time! She loved it!!

Sleeping on the gondola up Whistler Mountain and on the Peak to Peak from Whistler Mountain to Blackhomb Mountain. 

The view was amazing from the gondola!

Mark and PJ enjoying the fish at the Vancouver Aquarium in Stanley Park.

   On another note, PJ reached some milestones while we were gone. She cut her first tooth! She also started sucking her thumb...which I think is adorable! She is getting better at balancing herself and she loves sitting (or standing) with us. She was such a good baby! The sleeping threw her a little bit but she was in a pretty good mood the entire time we were travelling...she hardly even complained about the fact that she spent her days in strollers, car seats and the bijorn. Mark loved having this opportunity to spend lots of time with her and even did some one-on-one with her to give me some extra "sleep time"! All in all, an amazing, wonderful, super, and excellent family vacation! 

 Even pulling a face like this, we think she is adorable!!! :D