A Night Out at the Grocery Store

When Monkey was small, I had the joy of staying home with him for his first summer. I was able to spend my days teaching him, playing with him, feeding him, changing him, bathing him, and trying to stop the cat from torturing him.

The days were exhausting, and money was very tight. It took my dear husband 6 long weeks to find a job after we moved in. But by the grace of God we made it through the summer, and by the grace of God I made it through each day.

I'm not one of those moms whose lifelong dream was to have a ton of kids, and then stay home and raise them. No. My goals were much different before I met Hubs, and before Monkey was even a thought in our minds.

I dreamed of a career. I actually wanted to go into Police work, or something else in the Criminal Justice field. I thought "I will work, and IF we have kids, my HUSBAND will stay home with them." I never thought that I would want a huge family, or that there would be a time when I would want to stay home to raise my kids.

That was before Monkey was born.

I still dream of a career, but now I'm more focused on building a business I can do from home. And I love Monkey and would love as many more blessings as God decides to give us. The biggest change in my mindset is that I DESIRE to stay home and raise my child.

NOTE: I am not saying that all mothers have this same mindset, I know a few mothers who feel it is their calling to be in the workplace and not in the home.

I'm not a perfect mother. There are days when I'd like to leave my kid for a few hours (or more)... There are days when I wonder if I'm insane for wanting more kids... There are days when Monkey drives me SO crazy I contemplate the use of Tylenol as a sedative...

But there are also times when I see him sleeping peacefully at the end of the day, or when he calls to me if he gets hurt, or when he laughs at his own little joke and his whole face lights up... those moments that make my heart ache with love for him remind me that the hard times are brief, but all the good times I have are shorter than the blink of an eye...

So for today I'll take the moments when he runs around the house yelling, when he eats his crayons instead of his lunch, when he poops in the tub and then plays with it, when he empties out his full dresser onto the floor for the third time... And I'll remember how blessed I am to have such a healthy little boy.

And then I'll take an evening off, shower, do my hair and makeup... and I'll go to the grocery store. I'll look at the other kids behaving just like mine, and I'll smile at their moms. I'll take my time checking my fruit, I'll even go up the cereal aisle just to experience shopping without tantrums....

Because when I was a new mom "going out" meant a trip to the grocery store... and in those first few months when my ONLY alone time was spent browsing the frozen food section, life was simpler. I realized through the tough financial times that I am so blessed to be able to CHOOSE what I buy instead of relying on the Food Bank. It's nice to keep the perspective of blessing when my mind is filled with complaints...

And honestly, don't ask why, but grocery shopping just relaxes me.

~A

image found here

Fill in the Blanks Friday

Thanks to Lauren over at the things we do for sharing this fun activity!

1. I am currently obsessed with baby name books. Even before we found out about baby number 2, I was writing lists. Now I'm trying to compile a book with all my favourite names so I can put all the other books away .

2. Today I am excited because, my march break started yesterday! I get to have a mini vacation and relax for a week before finishing up the last 2 months of my post-secondary school education FOREVER!! .

3. The age I am is 24 and the age I feel is About the same. I don't feel like a teenager, but I don't feel like I'm much older than my age. I feel comfortable in my skin, and I don't think I'm too young to be married with a kid. .

4. My favorite place is some place where my favourite people are. A place is nothing to me if I don't have someone to share it with. (although right now I would love to be snuggled up in front of a big fire with a good book) .

5. Something I have been procrastinating is organizing my pantry. I keep shoving my baking stuff in the cupboard, and then shutting the door so nothing will fall out...soon that's not going to work anymore and I'll have to clean up an avalanche of baking ingredients .

6. The last thing I purchased was McDonalds breakfast with Monkey (so that he would sit still for the 2 hours it takes to do laundry at the laundromat) .

7. The thing I love most about my home is no carpet! The last place we lived had carpet in the dining room, and it was TERRIBLE to clean after Monkey would eat. Now we can just wipe the floor and not have to worry about vacuuming! .

Wednesday, I Love You!

As always, I'm linking up to Jamie.

This week I've got a LOT to love!

{one}

Today is Doctor's Appointment #1 with Baby #2!

(32 more weeks!)

{two}

Today is the last day before my last reading week as a post-secondary student!

{three}

Monkey didn't cry at all when we dropped him off at daycare!

{four}

I found a $25 gift card for Tim Hortons on the same week that Roll-Up-The-Rim started! Yay for free coffees! (even if I don't win anything!)

Oh, and I've been able to eat breakfast all week without hating food!

{five}

My amazing husband has been spoiling me by waking up early, doing all the dishes, and basically running the house (as well as paying the bills) so that I can get as much rest as possible to grow this little blueberry.

What are you loving this Wednesday?

~A

What do you REALLY Need for a Baby?

When I was expecting Monkey, I read all kinds of books, and made up huge lists of all the items I NEEDED...

Now that we're old pros at this (joking... we're still learning every day) the list I've got for a second baby is much shorter than the other lists I had.

My Top Ten Baby Needs are:

10. A place for baby to sleep (crib? basinet? cradle? playpen?)

9. Sheets, blankets, and puke cloths.

8. A place to wash baby, and all the stuff needed for bathing (tub or sink? soaps, towels, washcloths)

7. A baby carrier (a front carrier? sling? wrap?)

6. A car seat (just rear facing? or do we get a convertible seat?)

5. A stroller (do we get a double stroller? or a sit-and-stand? or do we make Monkey walk?)

4. Bottles (if we need to supplement formula) ALSO a Breast Pump

3. Something for baby to wear (can't forget clothes!)

2. A place to feed baby (rocking chair? cozy lounger? couch?)

1. Diapers (Cloth? or disposable?) and wipes

Even though I've narrowed down my list, I still need to figure out the exact detail of each item.

It's a good thing I've still got 32 weeks to go!

~A

Linked up to ohAmanda and her Top Ten Tuesday!

A Goodbye and a Hello

Goodbye:

In January, our family said goodbye to an amazing daycare provider who had been taking care of our Monkey from 12 months to 27 months. We were told that he needed more structure, and that an environment with more children his age would be better for him.

We were very sad to go, but we also were glad that our Monkey is smart and is growing so much that he needs more advanced learning opportunities.

January 25th was the first day at the new daycare centre. Monkey is going 3 days a week now. He has 2 wonderful teachers and is making new friends. He had a rough adjustment at first, but this last week has been wonderful as he is now excited to play with the other kids.

On the 25th, I had a tough morning, as it was the first time in 15 months Monkey was going to a new place where I didn't know the people taking care of him...I didn't know any of the other parents...I didn't know what he would be doing during the day or if he would miss me....

I had a harder time than Monkey did.

But I left him, I sent him off to play with the others, and I went to class.

Lunch time came around, and we were dismissed from our first class very early, so I was able to go home and have lunch there before coming back for my second class...

During my lunch break at home, I found out that we would be saying "hello" to someone in a few months...

I was testing a day early, but I guess God knew I needed something to brighten my day!

And it worked!

I've got my first appointment on Wednesday. We're going through some trouble trying to get on a list for a family doctor, and also for me trying to get a midwife for prenatal care, but since we have NO health care providers lined up, I'm going to be doing appointments at my school clinic until we have either a midwife or a family doctor.

We are NOT going to be finding out the sex of the baby, as that was not accurate with our little Monkey (who is most certainly NOT a girl as we were told).

I'm looking forward to buying little baby things, and feeling little movements.

I've already had different symptoms this time around than I had with Monkey, but every pregnancy is different. My only prayer is for a healthy little person who we already love.

Hello little blueberry! We look forward to hearing your heart soon!

My favourite part of the day on January 25 was telling my husband. I had gone shopping after school, and stopped by Old Navy (just because. I actually have no idea why).

I found the cutest little sleeper, which I presented to my Hubs when I picked him up from work that night... He didn't get it at first, but when he did, he was ecstatic.

So even with the sad goodbye, we all still had a good day. And now we have so much more to look forward to!

~A

~7 Weeks~

If you haven't seen this post already, then it might come as a surprise to you, but *TaDa!!*

We're pregnant!!

I haven't had my official first doctor's appointment yet, but after peeing on a few sticks and not seeing any sign of "Aunt Flo" for ummm almost 2 months, I'm pretty sure that it's confirmed.

We're still lacking in the camera department (hopefully not for long) so I can't show you the picture of my non-existent bump yet. All that it is now is leftover weight that I still haven't lost after having our first baby (mumbletwentyeightmonthsagomumble)...

When it actually looks like something other than muffin top, I'd be glad to share pictures (as long as I can do it with a shirt on. Stretchmarks are not a pleasant thing to look at!)

As of today, I am 7 weeks pregnant!

~A

Love on this Wednesday

as always I'm linking up to Jamie...

I'm loving...

...my yummy breakfast of yogurt, blueberries and granola (so much better than the Mcdonalds I was considering!)

...the full night of sleep I got last night even with Monkey sharing the bed!

...the amazing Valentines present from my favourite guys in the world!

...sharing dinner with friends and family (and I get to do both this week!)

...the excitement over the cooking competition this afternoon in class!

...the fantastic volleyball games I got to see on the weekend! (I'm so proud of my brother Ryan and the 4 years of Volleyball he's played for RMC. You're awesome little brother!)

...lemon tea to make my sore throat feel better!

...this beautiful love song!

... only 33 more Wednesdays...

...and (of course) my wonderful husband!

What are you loving this Wednesday?

~A