What I Wore: Wedding Edition

Meghan at Absolute Mommy is doing a fun link-up for her 7th wedding anniversary.  What I wore: wedding day edition. 

(There aren't many great pictures of my wedding dress - no photographer and a dress that did not fit well don't make a great combination)

Dress (online knock off of a dress I loved, see a post coming this week) = $150
Jewellery (bought online only to have a note included saying they were out of stock of what I ordered so they sent me this instead) = $50
Veil was borrowed
Shoes (can't see in this photo but they were pink) I already owned (I decided to go with shoes I knew I could last most of the night in)

Five Question Friday - April 27

1. Do you make your kids finish all the food on their plates?

It honestly depends.  If Lynden hasn't eaten much throughout the day and we know the amount we've given him at dinner he can eat we will make him eat all of it.  (It's more frustrating when he asks for a snack 5 minutes after dinner).  It is hard to tell sometimes because we dish him up, as he gets old enough to dish his own plate then we'll be a little more strict about it.

2. Do you give allowances?

Not yet.  We threw around the idea of paying Lynden to do certain things each day, like put his toys away, put dirty clothes in the laundry, help make his bed, etc, but he wasn't too keen on the idea.  Probably after his birthday we'll ask him again; the kids does like money!

3. Do you actually park your car in the garage?

We only have a carport, and Danny doesn't even pull the car into it.  I don't know why...

4. What's the one food you'll NEVER cook?

I don't know... There's foods I don't eat, yet I still cook them.  I probably wouldn't cook something weird like dog.

5. Do you have anything exciting planned for the summer?

Yes!  We're taking a road trip to Alberta to visit with some family.  I'm actually really excited about it (maybe not the actual roadtrip.  2 days each way with an almost-4 year old and an 18 month old.  That part should be interesting).  We're going to take them to West Edmonton Mall and Drumheller, both places I've never been either. 

Other than that, not much else is planned.  Danny will be working crazy hours again so it's a lot of solo-mommy time, in between working. 

Re-Opening A Chapter

Back in January I wrote about making the decision to leave my employer after being with them (on and off) since 2004.

Since then I've been (mostly) enjoying life as a stay at home mama.  I've been really looking forward to warmer weather; spending time outside with the kids instead of being cooped up in the house while we've been sick or due to gloomy weather. 

So, it would only make sense that my former employer would email me and offer me a few shifts a week at two stores closer to home, which was one of the factors in deciding to not go back in January as they wanted me to travel quite a ways to stores. 

As some discussions and figuring out the daycare situation we've decided I'm going back to work!

I am really excited to contribute to the household income again, as well as having a little break from the kids (which will be good for Lynden who starts preschool in the fall).  Although I'm sure I'll have some guilt at times.

I am also feeling a little nervous.  I was really fortunate with the people I worked with in the Okanagan (they were/are beyond amazing people) and I've only heard good things about the manager I'll be working with but that doesn't stop me from being a little nervous about change.  It's also going to be a change in customers (who were also great in the Okanagan).

So, as of next week I'll be a part time stay at home mom, part time working mom.  Lynden's not handling the news great; he doesn't care if I go to work he's upset because he can't come with me (he doesn't understand that sharp knives and a 3.5 year old don't mix well.  And Yes!  We sell sharp knives). 

This means I'll be a little less frequent with my blogging for awhile until I get into the swing of things (as I'm also taking an online class in the evenings). 

But I am kinda excited to go back to work. 

If you're a working parent after being a full time stay at home mom, how did your kids react?  What was the hardest thing to adjust to?

Mommy Talk Tuesday: Sleep

This week's topic is sleep!  Something I quite enjoy but don't get enough of. 

With Lynden we're still working on sleep training (ha ha, I joke).

(sort of...)

We did do sleep training with him when he was a baby and we did the cry method. 

It was something we threw around for a bit but Lynden was an infant who wanted/needed to be held, much like all babies (and there is Nothing wrong with that).  Then one day, just after Xmas (he was 3 months old) he fell asleep on his own while "playing" with his play mat. 

It was the first time he had a) put himself to sleep and b) wasn't held while he was falling asleep.  We took this as a cue that he could do it so we started letting him cry it out around new years. 

We would let him cry for 5 minutes and then go check on him, without picking him up.  The next night we'd increase the time and within 4 days he was doing it. 

It was actually harder to get Danny to not go in; thankfully the second night was at his sister's who backed me and made Danny wait it out. 

What You Missed Last Week

Every post I add it to Facebook, where most of my followers read my posts from (maybe I should look at starting a Facebook page... maybe...) but I had posted a status to a certain group and instead of undoing it after Facebook kept my statuses and links locked down.

I've had a few people comment they've missed me last week but I was posting new stuff last week.  So, I thought I'd write a recap for those of you who missed my week.


Covert Robin Gift Exchange
About a month ago I added my name to a Covert Robin Gift Exchange.  When my package arrived it totally made my day.  Rikki from Optomistic Slacker made a wonderful package for me. 

Pinteresting Recipes
I post about what I like on Pinterest, but I decided to actually show you some of the recipes I've tried (with my feedback on them).  The pork tenderloin has been commented on many times and my grandparents had it last week and Loved it. 

Wordless Wednesday
This is one of my favourite Wordless Wednesdays.

5QF - April 20

1. Groceries are high right now, what is the easiest way you've found to cutback?

I wish I could say couponing but 95% of the coupons I have are for anything but food.  I find it helps making a menu plan and buying only what we need.  It helps cut back on the impulse buys and overbuying. 

2. What are the top 3 things on your bucket list?

See Machu Picchu, meet Trevor Linden (my son was named after him), and learn to dive.  (Check out my top 25 items on my Bucket List)

one day

3. Would you rather give up AC or heat.

AC!  Not a problem.  I like heat and it takes a lot to get to my breaking point, which is around 35, even pregnant. 

4. What's your favourite cocktail.

Mojitos, oh I do love mojitos.  It's funny, I'm not much of a drinker (you can read about it here) but I had the (slight) possibility of going to Cuba last weekend (I was waiting to see if my sister's boyfriend's passport arrived.  If it didn't I was going as a last minute replacement) and since the Cubans came up with the mojito I planned on drinking many of them.  (For the record, don't order them in the Dominican.  I figured being a hop, skip, and jump away they could make them but they use mint liquor instead of real mint.  So disappointing). 

Triple Berry Mojito

5. What was your first job and how old were you?

I was 18 and I ended up getting 2 jobs at the same time, both seasonal help at Mark's Work Warehouse and Baskin Robbins.  The latter ended up keeping me on for an extra 6 weeks while the owners went on vacation; it was not bad.  I had to make waffle cones every morning and if some were cooked too long (which seemed to happen every so often) you couldn't put it out so we were to dispose of them.  We also got 50% off so I ate a lot of icecream while working there.  It was a pretty good job, until I had a food inspector show up (without the owners in town) and failed on things I was never told about. 

New Boots

This week we had to buy Lynden new shoes, again.  His feet grow ridiculously fast (since last August he's gone up 3 sizes). 

He was very excited at the idea of new shoes, which he normally fights us on.  Danny took him to the store and while there Lynden fell in love with a pair of rain boots, fireman rain boots. 

The moment he walked in the door he showed me his new boots and has been wearing them almost non-stop.  He wakes up in the morning and puts them on, he gets upset when I tell him to take them off before he crawls into bed, he's even figured out the best way to sit at the table with them still on.

Even Alyssa was excited about Lynden's new rain boots. 

Yes, I put her in them but she brought them to me and sat down so I could put them on her. 

I'm a little worried how he's going to handle out growing them, which I'm sure will happen before the summer is over.

Wordless Wednesday: Then & Now

Yet Anoter Way To Follow

There's yet another Blog Hop going on and I'm a sucker for them.  A great way to find new Fantastic blogs to read (in all my spare time). 

This one is for Hello Cotton.  So, for those of you using it you can follow me on there now too.

You can also find me on Blog Lovin'

And on Linky Followers



You can still find me on Google Friend Connect (for as long as it's up and running) as well as subscribing by Email. 

You can also check out my Pinterest account

Pinteresting Recipes

I've been showing you a lot of what I've been pinning, 97% of which I haven't done anything with.  So, I thought I'd show you some of the recipes I've actually tried from Pinterest.


Lazy Sunday Casserole

I don't think I made it on a Sunday, so I don't know if that's why something was missing from it.  I liked the fact that it's a one-pot dish (in theory easier cleanup right?) and we are big sausage fans in this house so I thought this would be a hit, but it wasn't.  Something was missing.  I don't even recall what "taste" was missing, maybe something acidic, but it needed something.

I don't know why I can't link it, so you can see it here



Coconut Lime Sugar Cookies

These were Awesome!!  Lynden helped me make them and he discovered he likes coconut.  The cookies were light and highly addicting.  I was not upset that Danny did not like them, because it meant I could eat more of them.  I think next time I make them I'll add more lime and there will be a next time.





Cinnamon Roll Cookies
Another big hit.  Taste like a cinnamon roll but less time making them.  Granted, you do have to chill them for about 2 hours it's still less time than actual cinnamon buns.  I didn't add as much icing sugar as I should have so next time I'll add more.  Our downstairs neighbour and I exchange baking and he said his daughter just devoured them so I know she's waiting for the next batch.

Covert Robin Gift

Hello!  I'm Rikki from Optimistic Slacker & I was Amanda's Covert Robin.  From what I was able to ascertain, Amanda, like me, is taking it one day at a time & doing what she can to make good, healthy choices for herself & her family - and she gardens!  My husband (Yobo) & I (ok, mostly Yobo) have been working on our garden over the past few years and have spent a lot of time experimenting with what yummies we can grow that will be productive up our way in Alaska.  When we found out where Amanda's at, Yobo immediately asked if we could move there because they have some EXCELLENT growing conditions!  Saving the trip, we settled on gardening vicariously through her  - hope she doesn't mind! :)   

Somewhere in Amanda's blog, I read that she didn't have much for winter wear, so some mittens were in order!   These are just some lightweight, lovely feeling mittens.  Now, I didn't knit the mittens or dye the yarn, but I did spin the yarn  :D   This was some 70/30 merino/silk spun about about 2 years ago that was dyed & knit by a friend and fellow Alaskan.  Now put those mittens away until fall and let's bring on the summer!

5QF - April 13th

It's been awhile since I've done a 5QF so here we go

1. Who mows your lawn?

Honestly, the guy who lives downstairs.  Every time Danny goes to do it Everett does it that afternoon.  Good thing I pay him in baked goods. 

2. Do you have a picture wall or picture gallery in your house?

No :-(  I have finally decided on a spot for a picture wall, so now I just need to get some pictures printed and framed.  I even know what pictures I want to canvas (which is all the rage now-a-days with the help of Pinterest) and where I want to put them.  So... basically, I need to get off my arse and do it!

I would love something like this but since Lynden doesn't craft I might have to wait until he starts school.

 I would love this to be down in our entry way, it's just so inviting and warm

3. What book has influenced your thinking the most?  Or blog?

This is a tough one, I haven't done much reading these days.  I picked up The Dark Tower series again, which has been on my nightstand for two months.  It's a really slow book, but Danny assures me it picks up again.  Hopefully it's soon because I'm skipping pages at this point.

4. Do you have allergies?  If so, how do you handle them?

I don't have allergies; I had them for one week while pregnant with Lynden.  However, Danny suffers from them Horribly and I don't handle it well.  It's a lot of sleepless nights due to his snoring (he makes noises humans cannot make), a lot of kleenex, and a lot of various allergy pills that don't ever work. 
5. What's your go to meal to cook in a hurry?

Hmmm... last night we had parmesan tenderloin that cooks in about 15 minutes.  It's great for a super fast meal.  Other than that, tacos are quick and easy, or if all else fails pizza delivery!  Granted by the time it arrives I could have cooked a home-cooked meal. 

Choosing Names

Today I thought I would share with you how we came up with our kids names. 

Choosing the right name is such a hard thing to do, nevermind when two people have to agree on the name. 

Thankfully Danny and I came up with an agreement that worked really well for us.  I got to name our first son and Danny got to name our first daughter, with the other choosing the middle name(s).  Since we've had one of each we both got to choose our names and if we were to have a third Danny would name a boy and I would name a girl.  Make sense?

Here's how we came up with our names.

Lynden Nicholas Christian:

When we got pregnant the first time Lynden's full name had already been decided on (at a much earlier date).  Since we didn't know what we were having Danny had to have a girl's name ready to go.  Earlier on in the pregnancy Danny had chosen Emily, a name he has liked practically his whole life, then at a wedding girl names were thrown around and one stuck. 

Annabelle. 

Well, it stuck for Danny, I was not keen on the name.  I was so not in love with the name I never thought about middle names (although I knew the basis for one, which I used for Alyssa). 
Thankfully we had a boy (I really didn't like the name Annabelle).

Baby Weight

With both my pregnancies I was fortunate enough to gain a fair amount of weight.  I was underweight before getting pregnant with Lynden and my doctor said 30lbs would be a healthy amount of weight for me to gain.  When we left her office I told Danny I would like to gain 40lbs so I might have a chance to keep some weight on after having the baby. 

4 months pregnant
weighing 125lbs

37 weeks pregnant
weighing 160lbs

I gained around 45lbs with Lynden and was successful at dropping all but the 10lb I wanted to keep.  When Lynden was just over a year I got sick and lost my access weight, dropping me back to the 120-122 range. 

I'm 5'9"ish and even though 120lbs is considered a "healthy" weight my bones stick out.  My wrists, elbows, knees, and hips all protrude and not in a way I find flattering on me.  And I cannot gain weight.  I know, there are women out there who are cursing me, but when you want to gain weight and can't it's frustrating.  So, keeping those 10lbs was a miracle, it was also upsetting when I lost them. 

When I got pregnant the second time around I had the same goal in mind and, again, was successful.  I actually managed to keep a weight of 145-150 while I was breastfeeding.  Once I was done breastfeeding my weight evened out around 140.  I was thrilled!!  I managed to keep 20 lbs of pregnancy weight.

Tuesday 10: Easter

10 Easter Memories (in no particular order)

1. Easter on the Island. 
   I remember being about 10 and spending Easter with my mom and sister at a lifelong family friend's on the Island.  I remember we set up a trap to catch the Easter Bunny, which didn't work; we only found chocolate bunnies.  I also remember going outside in their front yard that was covered in Easter goodies, it was the second biggest Easter haul!
2. The year of chocolate.
   Oh.my.gosh!  This has been told many times over and it still flabbergasts us.  My mother went chocolate crazy one year and it was insanity!  I have a major sweet tooth and at Halloween I still had stuff left over, no word of a lie!  We took it to school and tried to pawn as much of it off as we could and still had mountains left.  It was nuts!
3. Our cousin
   I have tons of cousins, but 99% of them are a numbered cousin so many times removed (I don't really understand how to figure it all out, so everyone is a cousin).  Growing up it was my sister, our one and only full cousin (on my mom's side), and I.  We only saw our cousin a few times a year but Easter was usually one of our regular visits.
   
4. Colouring eggs
   Every year we coloured eggs at my grandparent's place. I can still picture the newspapers or sheets (depending on what year it was since they discovered newspaper print got everywhere when soaked in egg dyes) covering the table and floor. It was always a competition as to who could make the best looking egg, which usually ended up with them all different shades of brown from the mixing Every colour of dye. (It's kinda sad to think today's kids won't have those eggs with the new dye systems. There's rollers, which we used this year, bags, sponges, along with other ways to keep the mess contained).
   
   

   

   colouring eggs

   
   
   

Easter Weekend

Easter weekend was a huge hit in our house. 

Danny's sister arrived at our place on Friday and Lynden had a ball!  They played cars (she might be a favourite now), built a fort over his bed, coloured Easter eggs, and she went down the slide multiple times at the park (that might have cemented it). 

love how he stuck his tongue out while working

having fun

painting

Magic Eggs

one of my favourite shots

Saturday we had dinner with Danny's family at his other sister's. The moment we arrived Lynden was off playing with his cousins.  They ran circles around the house playing tag, played trains, rode bikes outside, and Lynden even had his first taste of a trampoline, which he loved.  It was really nice to see him play all day, especially since we have not seen them nearly as much as we want to.  (I'm really sad, I took my camera but didn't get any pictures.  Not even one in Alyssa's Beautiful dress and shoes.  I may have to dress her up in it once I wash it just to get the picture.)

That night Lynden planted his Magic Beans from Dash and was thrilled to be having a sleep over with his Aunt (although it's hard to have a sleep over when you sleep in our bed all night). 

An Easter Surprise From Dash

Lynden has been talking about Dash quite a bit lately.  Every now and again, out of the blue, Lynden will talk about something Dash did or tell us Dash is coming back when it's Christmas. 

Sadly, we haven't heard from Dash since last Christmas.  Until today. 

This morning Lynden and I checked the mail and Lynden was thrilled there was mail for him. 

We took the mail upstairs to see what Dash had sent us

Wordless Wednesday: Happy Baby Sad Baby

not a great video but funny

Out And About: Weekend On The Island

(I'm pre-warning you, lots of photos!)

This past weekend the kids and I headed over to the Island to visit with my dad, stepmom, and youngest sister.  (My other sister and her boyfriend were able to join us for part of the trip)

We were really sad to see them move, but they're new place is great and they live super close to the beach, which Lynden loved!!  He enjoyed it more when he was given a beach shovel!! 

Aunty and Lynden excited to be at the beach
Isn't his shovel cool??

using his shovel to search for treasures

hard to see but in the tree there's a bald eagle

Alyssa enjoying her beach time ;-)
Uncle Kevin is too cozy!

Lynden's other favourite: throwing rocks

On Sunday, after our sunny trip to the beach the Easter bunny arranged for Lynden to do a small egg hunt with his Aunty.