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

Car-less Momma!

   Last week (whoops it's been a while since my last post...guess its two (three?) weeks ago now!) Wednesday I was coming home from a friend's house (playdate!) when my windshield wipers went CAPUT! Of course this would happen during a chilly January downpour. I was a little nervous driving (because I couldn't see) so I inched along on the side of the road with my head sticking out of my window getting drenched by the rain (pretty picture, isn't it?). I finally got home (what is normally a 18 minute drive turned into a 45 minute drive), parked the car, and haven't been out since! Sure I have left with Mark - him driving his truck, Peyton in the extended cab portion and me wishing there was a ladder attached to the truck to climb up (its quite the jump!). So I did go out last Friday night and again today when Mark took us to the Doctor's office for Peyton's 16 week check-up and immunizations. Other than that...I have been housebound! I typically HATE winters. I don't like being cooped up and I am not a huge fan of the cold, wet, snowy weather, so I thought I would have a hard time being stuck at home. On the contrary! I have enjoyed being home with my little girl. We have had lots of snuggles and my house is very clean:)! I do miss my car...its always nice to get out...especially as Peyton is on a nap strike and the car is sometimes the only time i can convince her to nap...but I am making do! Now to prepare for B.C. - at least this gives me something to do while being housebound :)!

A Little Catching Up....

   Wow! Its been a busy week! I have been trying to get on the computer all week to complete a blog post but it just didn't happen! So, here I sit at 11:30pm writing a blog post...its a good thing I am enjoying blogging so far! :) 
   The reason I was so busy this past week was because I had an essay due today for my history course. It has been so long since my last essay! I sat down and calculated and I think its been 2 years since I last wrote an essay. Crazy! Needless to say, I was very nervous for the whole experience (and re-learning). It took me quite a while but I think I produced an "okay" essay. Fingers crossed for a passing grade. Sad thing is that tomorrow morning I have to start working on my next essay that is due in four weeks...but only one week after we get back from B.C.. I am hoping to have the essay completed before we head out!
   Speaking of B.C. - that is another reason I have been busy. I am so nervous for flying and vacationing with PJ. I am dreading the plane ride...I guess it will be what it is and no amount of worrying is going to fix that. I also am getting minorly stressed about how I am going to pack everything that I need to take! I am hoping to start this week. The one upside to this is that many lists will be involved...and I love me my lists! LOL. We already are leaving in one and a half weeks! So soon!
   Add in some laundry, cleaning the house, visiting with friends for dinner twice, and a visit (sleep-over) from my younger sister and my week was pretty full. Even with the essay doom cloud looming over my head it was a very good week. God has blessed me so greatly!
   Speaking of blessings...I have still been keeping up my Gratitude Journal. I am finding it such a good exercise every night to sit down and reflect on my day and choose something that I am thankful for. The thing that has struck me the most is that I have never had a hard time finding something to write...the hard part has been choosing just one thing to write! Once again, God is so good!
   Today our water pipes were frozen (its just that cold here in the North!) so we were unable to head to church in the morning. Instead of just lazing around all morning Mark and I listened to a sermon by Pastor Mark Driscoll. We choose to start his series called "The Seven". This series focuses on the seven churches that John writes to in Revelation. His first sermon in the series was very good. He spoke for 57 minutes...and it didn't feel like it at all! I really enjoy his sermons and am excited to listen to more of them with the hubby. We already decided to listen to the next sermon on our "stay-in date night" this coming Wednesday! Yay! 
   Finally...the big news in this house this week was that PJ turned 4 months old! I am not going to lie...the morning of...I cried. I can't believe how quickly time has flown by! I am loving every moment of being PJ's mom! She is such a joy to have around. She is laughing and interacting more and more each day. I love playing little games with her and getting a smile or a laugh in response. Even though I am sad that these four months have flown by...I am excited for the next four month lifetime that I have with her! She is just going to get more and more fun I think! Here are a couple of shots of her "four month" photo shoot!

A cute little smile!

Eating her sign :)

She is getting so curious lately...I love that!

And a 'signless' picture for good measure. I know I am biased...but I think she is the cutest baby ever!

   Well, I think that's it for now...sorry for the rambly post but I think everything is updated for what's going on in my life! Have a wonderful God-filled week!
   

Detox Momma

   So, Mark and I decided to do a Detox. We have been talking about doing a detox for a while. We thought it would be an interesting experiment of will power and that it would be cool to do together. We also kind of liked the idea of 'detoxifying' our bodies. We had some friends who tried the Dr. Oz's 3 Day Detox. We talked to them before they actually tried it and they were really excited. We went home and decided that maybe we would try it as well. It seemed better than some other detoxes out there - think cabbage soup detox (ew!). This one included three smoothies that on paper didn't seem too bad. So we took Dr. Oz's handy grocery list and went shopping for all the ingredients to start our 3 day detoxification. 

All of the groceries required!!! Kind of pretty :).

   The groceries were quite expensive as we were buying things that we normally didn't buy - almond milk, coconut oil and water, and almond butter. All these things we found in Zehrs in their Organic section. We decided to start the detox on Monday as Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday weren't very busy days for us and we thought it would help us stay on track to not cheat. 
   The morning starts with some green tea with slices of lemon and the breakfast smoothie. I found the tea kind of lemony strong (think neo-citron strong) but it was still more enjoyable than cabbage soup (that was my motivation!). The breakfast smoothie was actually quite good. I sipped on it for about an hour in the morning as I went through my normal routine - getting PJ ready for the day, doing the dishes, and starting my Monday chore of laundry. I felt fine after drinking this - I was satisfied and able to continue with my day.

The morning tea and smoothie, plus my handsome hubby in the background preparing the lunch smoothie:). Notice the flowers he got me! So spoiled!

   We made the lunch smoothie in the morning so that Mark could take it with him to work for his lunch and his snack smoothie. It smelt sooo bad! Even my upstairs sister (when she came downstairs for a quick visit) mentioned that it stank quite bad! The kale was the over powering smell (ew)! I put off drinking this smoothie for a bit but my 1PM I was hungry so I got it out of the fridge and sat down with PJ to drink it. It was gross disgusting! I had such a hard time drinking it. I knew I would be hungry if I didn't drink it all though so I persevered. I didn't even realize that I was pulling faces as I was drinking it until PJ started giggling uncontrollably.  Her laughter caught me off guard and I checked to see what she was laughing at...it was me! I guess I was doing a funny "yuck" face! Her laughing at me was the motivation I needed to finish the entire lunch drink! This drink made me feel sick. I had a hard time not gagging the entire time and bringing it back up. I went to brush my teeth right after finishing it but the after taste stayed with me. I felt gross all afternoon after drinking it.

Although this smoothie is kind of a pretty colour - it tasted DISGUSTING!

   In the afternoon I made the supper smoothie for Mark and I and I made an extra batch for my snack smoothie. It was a little better than the lunch smoothie but still contained kale and therefore had an overpowering smell and taste. Mark liked it as it had some cayenne pepper which gave the smoothie a kick. I did not enjoy the cayenne pepper kick and was a little worried about how it might affect PJ (I am still nursing her!). Sadly, I have to admit that this was the first time in this whole detox experience that I thought about the fact that I was still nursing PJ. I know that nursing means I have to get lots of nutrients...but also that I need a few extra calories in order to provide good healthy milk for her. I did some quick research and I read about how a lot of people were feeling very tired and weak on day two and three of the detox. I didn't think that would be healthy for me since I was nursing her and didn't want to hurt PJ in all of this. When Mark got home that night we sat down and drank our supper smoothie and talked about what we thought about the whole experience so far. I told him about my concerns about nursing and I think it was just the "good enough" excuse Mark needed to decide that one day of detoxing was enough for us:). 

The supper smoothie - looks disgusting! 

   So, thats the truth! We QUIT after 1 day of detoxing. The lunch smoothie was disgusting and the dinner smoothie (although better) was gross too. We both sat there dreading doing it all over again on Tuesday...and then we decided maybe it just wasn't worth it. We read a bunch of reviews and the general consensus was that people didn't feel any better after completing the detox. They just felt tired and disgusted by the lunch/supper smoothies. Those reviews, along with my concerns about nursing PJ, were enough to make us decide Dr. Oz's detox was NOT for us! LOL so much for our experiment of will power! One thing I did learn through my one day of detoxing is how often I walk into the kitchen during the day to "grab something to munch on". That is something I am definately going to try to cut down on...so maybe the detox wasn't a total waste after all! 
   Tuesday morning Mark enjoyed a big bowl of cereal and I enjoyed a bowl of yogurt and granola! Honestly...best breakfasts we've ever had! :D