We’ve Been Everywhere, Man

 

Happy Monday! Wow. Is it bad when a weekend is so busy that you are kind of looking forward to the normalcy that comes with Monday? I think our whole family was exhausted last night as we went to bed.

Friday I picked up my boy early from daycare (no issues, just our schedule right now) and headed home to do some puttering around the house. Ryan had the afternoon off to go play hockey and I was pleasantly surprised to see him home to have supper with us!

Sam was being very helpful when I was unloading the dishwasher!

 

Sam was pretty tired after an almost full day at Daycare. He isn’t use to the early morning wake up calls yet. We decided to do his bedtime routine a little earlier to help our little guy out!

When Sam went to bed, Ryan and I settled in for a movie night! After 3 choices of his, it was my turn to pick a movie! We watched Tyler Perry’s Temptation.

Saturday morning we were all up early and got ready for our day. While I was getting ready Ryan made us breakfast sandwiches! I’m not use to him being home so much during the Flying Elbows Tournament but I’m not complaining! The extra set of hands was nice!

In the morning we ran to Shawville to check out the curling tournament and hockey tournament. Make an appearance and support both! But we flew home to give Sam lunch and put him down for his nap at his normal time. We are trying to stick to the Daycare’s schedule as much as possible.

Unfortunately, during Sam’s afternoon nap on Saturday, it was also a birthday party next door for Faith and Clark, my niece and nephew. Ryan stayed at home with Sam and I went to the party for a couple of hours. After the presents were opened I rushed home so he could head to the hockey rink again to help out.

Sam woke up about 1 later in a great mood! For a while I was feeling like he was mad at me. He always wanted his Daddy because I think he was associated me with leaving him. There’s something that I love about a little boy in overall’s and I loved watching him play with his Uncle Jared’s old Tonka forklift. He LOVES this thing. Anything he can push around with wheels. Tucker in the background, never too far from us.

After Sam went to bed I had the whole house to myself! I practiced piano, did a facemask and then watched a chick flick on Netflix! I settled into bed pretty early knowing that Sunday was going to be a busy day!

We were all up at our usual time but on this particular Sunday there was no lazing around. We had breakfast, got dressed and then hit the road for Greely, Ontario! Social media can be an amazing place. It was through a Canadian April 2014 mommy group that I met these Ottawa ladies (1 missing) and their families. We have talked in the middle of the night, during sick times and many happy times. We’ve shared so much with each other and are now like family.

On Sunday Sam and I attended the dedication of our ABC (April birth club) cousin and then celebrated his 1st birthday. Between the three babies, there is only 3 weeks in age difference.

On our way home after a fun party, I got a text from Ryan saying that they had won their 1 PM game and would be in the finals. Really, I didn’t want to go but I knew how much it would mean to Ryan to have Sam and I there. So, I quickly ran into the house to grab milk and snacks and continued driving to Shawville. We didn’t stay for the whole game but Ryan enjoyed taking Sam into the dressing room to show him off to all his team mates. Unfortunately, Ryan’s team lost 3-2.

To say we were a little tired Sunday would be an understatement! Our boy was a trooper and thankfully we still stayed pretty consistent with his nap and meal times. We had such a great weekend together!

How was your weekend?

xo

Five On Friday

 

Happy (finally) Friday! This was a week filled with work! It is going to be a learning curve. How to go from a hectic work mind and then unwind to my mommy mind. Today Sam will go to Daycare for his longest day yet, 7-3. I feel as though he is ready!

Besides work and daycare, the other thing occupying my mind is first birthday preparations. I love to organize and throw parties and I have been getting things ready for Sam’s birthday for over a month! There is nothing that I hate more then last minute running around! I would much rather be prepared ahead of time. Here are 5 things I have done in preparation for the 1st birthday bash!

1. Pom-Poms! When planning the birthday I looked at balloons that went with Sam’s theme. But who wants to spend the morning of the birthday blowing and hanging up balloons? So, I opted to make these inexpensive and fun tissue paper balls! A pack of tissue paper cost me $0.50 and I got 2 Poms from 1 package. Total I made 14 tissue paper balls to hang in various locations of the house!

2. Each holiday has it’s own large container to hold the decorations. I’m starting to collect birthday stuff in one small bin. I wanted to make this wreath for a while and figured this birthday was the perfect opportunity! I already had the wreath and just bought 4 packs of balloons from the Dollar Store. I hope to store this wreath and use to for every birthday we celebrate throughout the year.

3. We decided on a menu for the birthday party and Japanese meatballs are part of the meal. One of the reasons I chose this is because it is so easy to prepare ahead of time and put in the freezer. All the meatballs are made and ready for Sam’s birthday party.

4. I wanted to give a little token to the people who are at the party. A little “thank you”. I decided to make some “Green Eggs”. These little chocolate/pretzel treats are a favourite and again, something I made in advance and is currently in the freezer waiting for the party!

5. Last but not least is the first birthday invitation! The theme is Green Eggs and Ham!

1 week to go till party time!

Hope you have a great weekend!

xo

My Yummy Breakfast

 

Happy Wednesday everyone! I’m actually a little surprised that I can function today. Our company had an important presentation in Kingston, Ontario yesterday which meant that this girl was up at 3:30 AM to get ready for the day. That time shouldn’t exist unless for newborn baby purposes.

I feel as though I haven’t fully settled into my groove of being a working Mom because Sam is still only going to Daycare part time. I think the hardest part is the mornings. Trying to get myself organized for work, Sam organized for daycare and the house ready for when we all get home (meat out for supper, dishwasher on…etc). Part of my new routine is that I have my morning coffee and breakfast on the road. The coffee part is easy, the breakfast portion? Hard to pull off something that is quick, healthy, yummy and can be easily eaten in the car.

While perusing Pinterest, I noticed that a lot of people made these yummy looking breakfast sandwiches. The only problem for me? It’s a lot of calories for one meal of the day. So, I tweaked it a bit to suit my nutritional needs!

To make my sandwich I used eggs, english muffins, bacon and medium cheddar cheese.

The first thing I to do is pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease some ramekin’s and then crack the egg. In order to reduce the calories of my sandwich, I separated my eggs and only used the whites! One egg white per sandwich.  

As that is cooking I prepped the rest of my ingredients. Cut the English muffins and grated my cheese. I already had leftover bacon in the fridge which made this SO much easier. To make 6 sandwiches, I only needed 3 slices of cooked bacon.

I started the assembly line and placed the cheese on one half of the English muffin.

 

Another huge calories saver is that I only use half a piece of bacon per sandwich! On a small English muffin that is all I really needed. A lot of the Pinterest reciepes call for Ham. But I prefer bacon!

After about 15 minutes, my egg whites are cooked! I allow them to cool for about 5 minutes to make them easier to handle.

 

The joys of the ramekin in that the cooked egg now sits perfectly onto my sandwich!

I close my sandwiches and in order to save a little extra coin  (you know me, every bit counts!) I put them back into the English muffin bag before putting in the freezer! 6 yummy breakfast sandwiches all ready for my busy mornings!

When I wake up the first the I do is set out my sandwich on the counter and start the coffee machine. I then get ready, do a little computer work if there is time, pack up all of our stuff and then wake up Sam. I nurse Sam and get him dressed and then pack up the car! As I am packing up the car I make a coffee in my travel mug and microwave my sandwich for about 30 seconds. Good to go! I am really enjoying my mornings driving Sam to daycare. I get to listen to my favourite morning radio show (thank you 89.9) sip coffee and eat a hot breakfast!

Oh yes, and that yummy bacon, egg and cheese sandwich? 250 calories. The protein keeps me full all morning until lunch! I don’t feel like I am eating a healthier version and feel as though this breakfast is giving me lots of energy to get through my mornings!

Happy Wednesday!

xo

“Hands Up” and My New Favourite Jeans!

 

Happy Monday everyone! I hope that you all had an awesome weekend! In our household, we had a great weekend. Although, it was difficult to keep Sam happy as his top two teeth are popping through! I hope they break that last little layer soon and he gets some relief.

The weekend started out on Friday by Ryan and I doing our March date. He later had to go to the city for work because of the snow we were getting.

Saturday morning we were all up, breakfast eaten and then hitting the road. Ryan had a couple of errands to run in the city and Sam and I joined him. We stopped in at Wild Wings for lunch and Sam was being a big flirt with the waitress. She was loving him too and brought him a special plate of fries just for him! Ha ha!

I couldn’t resist these new shades for Sam as the ones from last summer no longer fit him. I actually scored them for FREE! Sam thought he was pretty cool stuff!

We eventually got home and Sam went down for his afternoon nap. Ryan wanted to go work on his truck in the shop. Here I thought it was just a small thing but he worked on his truck from 1 pm – 10 pm….Momma wasn’t happy!

But, once Sam woke up from his nap we had supper and played! He was in such a silly mood! Over the weekend he has learnt to throw his hands up in the air when I sing “Hands Up”. It was his favourite thing to do this weekend.

Sunday we were all up. Sam and I got ready for church and Ryan decided last minute that he was going to go for “one last” sledding trip with friends. I told him it better be the last trip, cuz’ his going out quota is UP!

I wore my new jeans on Sunday and I HAVE to tell you all about them. They are SO comfortable, they aren’t low rise (let’s face it, after baby, low rise just doesn’t work!), stretch, hug the curves in all the right places and only cost $29! They are like magic jeans! Where are they from? WAL-MART! I never thought I would love a pair of jeans from Wal-mart but these are perfect. Not only can you pick your waist size but also the length which I need for my long legs! I can go on and on about these jeans but they are seriously amazing! Check them out here! (No endorsements here I just seriously love them! Although if Wal-mart wanted to give me a few free pairs, I wouldn’t object! Ha ha!) 

Church was a little difficult because Sam was in a bad mood but we got through it and it was lunch time when we got home! I made Pita pizza’s for both of us!

Again, more “hands up” before nap!  

Sam had a great nap and I got a lot of things done to prepare me for the week! 3 loads of laundry, 1 pot of soup, 2 suppers, treats for Sam’s birthday and office work! Sam was in a much better mood when he woke up and had some snuggles with Tucker while watching some Bubble Guppies.

I was preparing supper for Sam and I when from the kitchen I heard this funny noise. I come around the corner to see my boy like this! He has discovered the central vacuum plug in and continued to play with it for the rest of the night! Today, it’s getting taped up! ha ha!

Ryan eventually got home just as Sam was going down to bed but got to read him his story while I cleaned up. Unfortunately, just as I was getting ready for bed (at 7:30 pm) he was getting dressed to go to work. Boo! Hoping for no more snow so that there will be no more night shifts!

Now that Sam has started day care, I find myself soaking up the weekend moments where he is with me 24/7. I’m sure that changes eventually but for now, I just want to spend the weekends with Sam.

Today, we are on week 2 of Sam in daycare and what a difference a week makes! No tears or anxious feelings today. The routine is starting to be second nature.

How was your weekend?

xo

St.Patty’s 2015

 

Happy Friday and welcome to Spring! I know that the calendar date does not necessarily mean that I am going to wake up today and walk out the door without a coat, but it sure does give me hope!

St.Patty’s is always a big deal for my Irish family. Not only are we able to celebrate our heritage but it’s also Ryan’s birthday! St.Patty’s looks A LOT different this year as compared to the past. And this year we feel even a little more lucky because we have Sam!

I had been in the process of making this balloon wreath for Sam’s birthday. I decided to go ahead and give it a test run and hang it up for Ryan’s birthday.

Sam was pretty tired on the 17th and I had to wake him up at around 4. I put on his green shirt and he sipped on some milk while we enjoyed the last quiet moments before the festivities began!

The birthday boy (aka: Daddy) was all decked out in green too and we decided to go ahead and give him our birthday present!

My boys in green!

Sam and I. Anyone have any tricks on how to get an almost 1 year old to look at the camera!? Ha ha!

Usually, if it works out, we celebrate Ryan and my brother’s birthdays together. Jared’s birthday is on March 23 and usually gets skipped over because he shares the day with his son, Clark. Celebrating the two guys together is much more fun and a good excuse to all get together. This is Everett, who was hilarious! He would come back to the room every few minutes with something he had “found”. He was finding things I didn’t even know we owned.

As part of Jared and Ryan’s birthday gifts, I made them a couple of mugs. It’s kind of an on going joke that they always have to have some rye when they are working on the local rink. I figured I’d make them some official rink mugs to use! Rye was included in the gift as well!

Check out those Pizza Pizza boxes in the background! It was the birthday boy’s (Ryan’s) request to have pizza and McCain cake. I was MORE than happy to oblige. In the past, I would make homemade pizza for everyone but with dietary preferences and restrictions, it gets harder and harder. This way everyone had what they wanted!

Sam’s first daycare craft!

Everyone was fed and heading out the door by 7 PM. How things have changed! ha ha! But still a very fun St.Patty’s day!

How did you celebrate St.Patrick’s Day?

xo

Well, We Did It!

 

Happy Wednesday everyone. I am happy to report that we did it. Sam (and I) survived his first day of Daycare.

As you all knew, leading up to the day was difficult for me. I was anxious for the new routine but also extremely sad realizing that my time with him at home was over. No longer would I be seeing him all day, every day. Now he would be in someone else’s care from 7-5 every week day. It made me feel as though my time as his Mom was over. (I know, not true. But this was what was going through my head).

Despite these feelings, my work load at home has grown and grown and I’ve been falling behind. I NEEDED to go back to work. This week Sam is transitioning slowing into Daycare. Just a few hours on Monday, today and Friday. The goal being that by his first birthday he can do a full day in someone else’s care and for 5 days a week.

Sunday night I packed all his stuff, picked out his clothes and had one big snuggle fest before he went to bed. In the morning we got ready and headed out the door. Ryan had to work the night before and I was glad to have him there.

Of course, like any of Sam’s other milestones, I had to  take a picture!

A lot of people liked Sam’s back-pack. It is very hard to find a decent sized children’s back-pack when it’s not back to school season! Thankfully, Etsy to the rescue! Found his at BreezyOaksDesigns.

The whole drive to the Daycare I was holding back tears. Our Daycare has a great “home” policy. She has expressed many a times that if we ever wanted to be there to watch him interact then we are more then welcome. This was comforting but I knew after I had put all of Sam’s stuff into his cubby that I couldn’t stay. I was about to have a melt down. By this time Sam had already crawled away and was playing with the other kids. That was really comforting. I gave him a quick kiss and headed out the door. The very SECOND the door closed behind me, I lost it.

Ryan drove away and I cried and cried and cried. We only had a few hours to kill before it was time to pick Sam up again. I had already said that I wasn’t going to work because I knew I would be in no shape for it! Ryan had to go pay his license and was very happy that around the location was filled with four wheelers and boats. He was having so much fun looking at all of these toys and all I could think of was that something was missing, Sam wasn’t there. For over 11 months, Sam has barely left our side and now he wasn’t there. Of course this realization also made me break out in tears.

I decided to grab a HUGE cinnamon bun and coffee from a little cafe and sit by myself. Ryan went off to do his thing and I stayed and enjoyed my treat while filling out Sam’s profile paperwork. At around 9:30 I got a text from the daycare provider. My heart sunk. Something must have been wrong.

I opened my phone to see my boy peacefully sleeping and some good news. So far, Sam was doing great. Even put himself down to sleep with the other young children for a morning nap. (Ps- LOVE that she texts me! It’s so easy and getting this update MADE my day!)

At this point, there were no more tears. My boy was happy and adjusting and I was going to do the same for him! I opened up my phone and did a couple work related things! I vowed to use the time away from Sam and be the most productive that I can be. No more tears. I can’t promise there won’t be anymore sadness or guilt but I’m going to try to push those feelings aside. I’m going to work hard and provide for him and make him proud of his working Momma!

We happily picked up our boy and he was still where I left him, happily playing with his new friends! We are up, back-pack ready and all set for day 2! This time, no tears…hopefully…ha ha!

Happy Wednesday!

xo

Weekend Happenings And Today Is The Dreaded Day

 

Happy Monday! Today is the day. My baby and I start our new routine. Today is Sam’s first day making new friends and hopefully wonderful memories. I am up and at it this morning getting the last of his stuff in his school bag.

Before I break down and start crying, I’m going to change the subject and tell you about my weekend!

It started out on Friday night by this inspirational wine cap! I did just that!

We had good friends, Amanda and Josh over for supper on Friday night! They are great to come to our place so that we can have a quiet supper while Sam sleeps upstairs. Amanda brought dessert which was McCann cake for Ryan’s birthday!

Saturday morning I was up early and started getting ready for a busy day. I tried to keep Sam entertained so Ryan could get a few hours of sleep before I had to head out the door. Our spring weather is gone and we got lots of snow and freezing rain over the weekend. Meaning that he had to work.

Sam helped me get ready for our church’s Irish Tea. It’s grown and grown over the years and I believe this was one of our best turn outs yet! Of course I couldn’t help but remember being 36 weeks pregnant for the event last year! This year I was A LOT more comfortable and able to help a lot more.

While I was at the tea, I got a text from Ryan telling me that Sam had been getting into everything! ha ha! Ryan said he turned his back for one second to then find our boy standing up a couple of stairs and pulling our DVD’s off their shelf.

That night we had some spaghetti for supper, one of Sam’s favourite meals!

I wanted to capture this picture on Saturday. Lately, Sam tries so hard to get as close to me as possible. When watching cartoons, he stands up and then squishes his face up against mine! I don’t mind the extra snuggles one bit!

After Sam went to bed, Jilly came over for a movie night! Traditionally, Jill and I would have seen the next Hunger Games movie in theatres but the busy holiday season had gotten away with us and we were never able to go! It was on paperview this weekend and we had to rent it! The best part was that it has been so long since I have read the book so I had no idea what was going to happen! Ha ha!

Sunday morning Ryan finally got home from work just as Sam and I were heading out the door to church.

After church Sam and I headed to my parents for breakfast and playtime. It was great to let Sam crawl around their place and make as much noise as he wanted knowing that he wouldn’t wake Ryan up.

When I got home I put Sam down to bed and as my boys slept I got ready for the week and did a few little birthday crafts.

They both woke up and Ryan entertained Sam while I made supper. The entertainment of choice? Dancing around the kitchen! Ha ha!

I grabbed a couple extra snuggles last night before Sam headed into bed. I won’t lie, I went to bed a little sad last night and had trouble actually falling asleep. But, today is the day and I am going to put on a happy face for my boy. I know that this first day will be the hardest for me. On one hand I am incredibly sad but on the other I feel as though we are ready. Here’s hoping Sam (and I) adjust well to our new day care/working Momma schedule!

How was your weekend?

xo

A Day In The Life–Before Returning To Work

 

Happy Friday everyone! Well, my last full week of Maternity leave will officially be over at the end of today. It’s been amazing. Lately I have been feeling overwhelmed with work and think it’s time for me to get back. But for today, I’m going to soak it up! I figured to give myself a little reminder of what our lives were like, I’d do a little Day In The Life post! Do one now, before I return to work and after!

4:50 AM- My alarm goes off. I use to push snooze all the time but not any more. I don’t want to risk waking Sam with it. Ryan and Sam are still asleep. Ryan is back at days now and starts work at 7.

I start my coffee machine. While it warms up I get ready. Hair, makeup and etc.

6:00 AM – I am all ready for the day and I have settled in front of the TV with my laptop. Lately I’ve been watching the local news. While the TV is on I usually post a blog and check e-mail, respond and etc. All while slowing sipping my coffee. This is my favourite time of day. I consider it my “me” time. Life is slow at this hour.

7:00 AM – I actually forgot to take a picture here. But I go and wake Sam up at 7 if he doesn’t get up on his own. Ryan is gone to work now. I change Sam’s diaper and nurse him. Usually I would get dressed at this time but because this is my last week of Maternity leave I decided to stay in my PJ’s a little longer.

8:00 AM- Breakfast time! Sam has already gobbled down his banana and is now polishing off a slice of toast with peanut butter. I use to eat with him at this time but can’t now because he just wants to eat my food. 

9:00 AM- I’ve gotten Sam cleaned up and it’s time to play! His favourite thing to do is play with Tucker right now. He “throws” his toys and laughs as Tucker brings them back to him. Soon Sam will go down for his morning nap.

10:00 AM – Sam fell asleep around 9:30AM. I grab a quick smoothie and head to the office because there is something that needs to be finished today that I’m not confident I can do during Sam’s afternoon nap.

11:00 AM- I only ever let Sam sleep for an hour in the morning so he was up at 10:30. I gave him a sippy cup of milk and then we headed off to enjoy the beautiful day!! I loved that I didn’t have to bundle him up in a huge snowsuit! We went and visited Ryan at the shop, took a nice long stroll around the sheds and then headed back to the office to visit everyone there!

12:00 PM- Mom had told me before about grabbing salad ingredients and invited me to stay for lunch. I packed Sam a lunch as well.

1:00 PM- Still at the office! We are all done eating but need to head home soon so I can put Sam down at 1:30!

2:00 PM – We are home now and I just laid Sam down for his afternoon sleep. I am waiting for him to fall asleep so that I can begin more work. I can’t focus unless he is sleeping! He is more interested today in standing in his crib then sleeping! Working on those new skills!

3:00 PM – Because of doing some work in the morning I finished up my work early. I putter around the house which included setting out the St.Patty’s day stuff!

4:00 PM – Sam is always awake by 4 and today I even had to go wake him up. We live by a pretty strict schedule. It works for us and makes life a little easier. I gave him a bottle after his nap today because I had to be heading out the door by 4:30 PM and usually he is slow to drink it.

5:00 PM – On Wednesdays I go to my piano lesson! I’ve got my homework all done and I’ve practiced really hard this week. Hoping that I get stickers so I can move on to some new pieces for next week!

6:00 PM – Happy to be home with my boys! Ryan had given Sam his supper. When I get home Ryan goes and takes a shower. Sam and I play in the basement and he “helps” me fold some of his diapers. This is Sam’s most active time of day! It’s like he plays so hard to tire himself out for bed!

7:00 PM – Sam is nursed, bathed, put into PJs, read a story and said his prayers. He is in bed by 7 PM. Any later and our boy is a BEAR! Ryan and I usually eat with Sam but not on Wednesday. We grabbed our supper, warmed it up and enjoyed eating together. It was crockpot orange chicken with rice.

8:00 PM – This girl is not a night owl! I would much rather get up early! By this time I am usually in bed setting the PVR and watching some recorded TV or reading.

9:00 PM – Lights out and so am I! Good night!

And that’s it! A look into a regular day of the week for us! I’m sure I’ll be looking back at it dreamingly when I get back to a little bit more of a hectic schedule when I start back at work.

What’s your day look like?

Happy Friday!

xo