L's Wifey Lifey

Ruffles Guest Bedroom with Twin Beds

2015-04-13T10:38:00.000-06:00

This weekend I re-did our guest bedroom. I was fortunate enough to inherit my Grandmother's 1930's solid maple wood twin beds and matching dresser.

The dresser was actually given to me as a child and I grew up with it. My grandma had painted it white and in my early 20's I had painted it black to match my décor at the time. Now its a teal! I finished it with Cece Caldwell's Thomasville Teal. If you don't know about Cece Caldwell's paints I would urge you to check out their website and find a retailer near you. They are amazing paints to work with and endless options on finishing and looks you can achieve with these paints. Plus they are eco-friendly and all natural.

I wanted this room to have a lot of ruffles and feel girly while not over using pink or purple, the traditional "girl colors". The dresser in teal was my main pop of color, I used more muted blue tones on the accent pillows on the beds to draw more blues into the room.

I found the accents pillows (both the white ruffles and the muted robin's egg blue ruffle trimmed pillows) at Home Sense! The white ruffle comforters are Bella Lux from Home Sense.

The chair in the corner of the room is also an antique. It also belonged to my grandmother. It's from the 60's. I love the shape of this chair so much! The mouse is Kent and I picked him up in Paris this past February. I absolutely fell in love with him and his fur vest and grey suspender trousers! He fits perfectly into this room.

The two floating shelves I picked up a couple years ago from Land of Nod for my son's nursery. I have these shelves styled with (from top left to bottom right):

1. "Peony Bottle" print from Indigo/Chapters. I lucked out on it as it was majorly reduced on price. Regular $46, marked down to $11.50. I love it because the teal blue of the bottle matches the room perfectly. Peonies are my favorite flower and the light blue around ties in the rest of the color scheme.

2. Pink frog. This pink jacketed frog, my mom purchased for me on our travels to London when I was just 9 years old at Harrods. I'm so thankful she kept him for me. Next to him are a couple of childhood books. The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher and The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter. Classics. Enough said!

3. Vintage milk vases with a peach floral.

4. Another vintage children's book set of classic nursery rhymes.

5. "I'm over the Moon for you" print (also from Chapter's - however it is no longer available).

6. 3 door knob hooks, to hang towels or sweaters.

7. "K" this wooden silver K is from our wedding. We used it on a large bird cage for our card box.

8. Another vintage milk vase with a small ceramic bird.

9. Underwater Babies by Seth Casteel.

10. King crown.

This book though. Okay I have to admit I bought it because it's just so cute and adorable AND happens to match my color scheme. But after I read the intro I loved it even more. This book is intended to draw awareness to water safety and the potential dangers of swimming pools.

Child drowning is the number 1 cause of accidental death for kids age 5 and under. This book is intended to raise awareness of the potential dangers of swimming pools and to generate awareness about water safety for children. Participation in formal swimming lessons can reduce risk of drowning by 88 percent for children under age 5!

It seemed to be purchased at the perfect time since my son's swimming lessons start back up today.

That's all on the new room, I hope you enjoyed the blog post on it. I absolutely adore this room and have been spending time reading in here, or playing with my son.

Happy Monday,

Bachelor Chris Barn Proposal

2015-03-11T10:58:00.002-06:00

Okay first off, it's been a while since I have blogged. phew, okay now that that's off my chest. Let's get into the Bachelor. This show is so my guilty pleasure. I love reading Reality Steve to find out all the details before they happen and then watch along to see it all unfold!

I am a wedding planner so this show goes well with my profession. So with that said I'm going to start blogging more style, design related posts. I'm also a wife and a mommy to a 2 and a half year old boy so I may blog about him from time to time too.

This post though, is about Bachelor Chris and his barn proposal to Whitney!

I was personally loving all the décor elements. The beautiful chandeliers they had strung up, the stain glass windows, the lanterns. It was a very glam barn! Clearly not how life on the farm typically is!

You could tell Chris was shocked when he walked in! He's probably never seen so much décor anywhere, let alone in a barn!

What about the ring though?

I have to say I was vibbin on the rose gold with pink diamonds number that Neil Lane was showing Chris. But not shocked he stuck with a safe, simple choice. It's OBV gorgeous and MASSIVE! But it didn't blow me away. But I mean it is a total of 4 carats so I guess I'd take it if it was offered to me too. lol

Okay now what are your thoughts on two bachelorettes? Everyone is going crazy over this. I personally love it. I have a girl crush on Britt. She's SOOO hot! Kaitlyn is hilarious and also Canadian (me too girl!) so I think its great. Change it up. Let the guys decide night one or heck keep them both around for the entire season? Let them fight over the guys and the guys fight over them!? It'd make for great TV.

I loved that Kaitlyn was being REAL on her reaction to having to share the lime light with Britt. I can appreciate her honesty but I thought it was a little sad and somewhat self deprecating. Like be confident girl! Britt was playing it perfectly, being grateful to the network for the opportunity. Maybe she knows that given the choice the guys will pick her...and she's probably right.

Either way I can't wait to see how this plays out!

That's all for today folks!

XOX
L

Ectopic Pregnancy

2014-06-02T11:01:00.000-06:00

Losing a child a any gestational age is not easy... On February 2nd we lost our 2nd baby.

I want to share and educate women about ectopic pregnancies through sharing my very recent and painful story. If it hadn't been for another woman sharing her story with me very recently, I never would've guessed that that's what could be happening to me.

An ectopic pregnancy is when the baby implants into the Fallopian tube (or sometimes elsewhere) rather than the uterus. It occurs only once in every 50 pregnancies. And in my case there was no reason as to why this happened, I didn't have scar tissue in the tube that the baby attached to (which can be a reason for ectopic pregnancy) or any of the other "risk factors." It was just a flukey unfortunate thing...

The pain started as a dull ache in my lower left quadrant. It was a tolerable pain and I thought maybe this is just implantation cramping. That night I was violently sick, vomiting more than 15 times. Again I thought maybe this is just extreme morning sickness. The next day the dull ache intensified and went straight through to the same spot in my lower back. When I couldn't take the pain any longer we rushed to the RGH emergency.

From there the ER doctor didn't suspect ectopic pregnancy. In fact he never brought it up, I did. He suspected that it was in fact normal pregnancy symptoms as I "wasn't in enough pain" for it to be an ectopic. We were almost sent home.

Thankfully the pain intensified even more while I was still in the hospital and we were finally sent for an ultrasound and a consult with a gyne. It was determined that the best route was to go in for surgery and check things out. It was discovered that I did in fact have an ectopic pregnancy in my left Fallopian tube and it had ruptured through the back wall of the tube. The baby was 4cm and I had internal bleeding.

The good news out of this, and yes there is good news, is that this does not affect fertility. It does NOT cut fertility in half like you may think. In fact the right tube will over compensate and can even pull eggs from the left ovary. The other good news is that I'm still here, alive and well for my first born and the love of my life.

Every baby on this earth is a blessing and I'm sure squeezing my baby Smith a little bit tighter, since I can't hold the one I lost...

Birth Story

2012-11-09T20:00:00.001-06:00

I am so thrilled to welcome our son Smith Jon Glenn to the world.

Our birth story is a crazy one. As my last post indicated my last day of work was September 7th. That night the hubby and I went for dinner at Teppanyaki a japanese style restaurant where they cook the food in front of you. It was our celebratory date night - last day of work!

On Saturday September 8th we had a busy day planned, we had to go over to our condo (our rental investment property) and do some paint touch ups. Here I am 9 months pregnant rolling paint! We got home and decided to give our house a full cleaning. I was even washing windows! Hubby was having a few guys over for some pre-drinks before the K9 cabaret and so I was in the kitchen getting some appies ready. Everyone was supposed to be over at 5pm, it was 5:15 and hubb told me the boys would be here in 15 minutes. I was just about to turn the oven on and boom, I feel a gush of fluid and I think to myself... did I just pee myself? I go to the bathroom and check, nope that's definitely clear fluid. And the gush never stopped! I ran to the back door, to find hubby having a beer and I yelled "MY water just BROKE!" He did not believe me at first - he said "shut up!" and I said yaaa, its gushing! WHAT DO I DO! He said K lets go to the hospital! Get your bag!

Side note: because I was carrying a breech baby I was told if my water were to break to get to the hospital right away.

So I grab a towel and shove it in my lulu lemon pants and off we go! Now the flow of water didn't stop, by the time we go to the hospital 10 minutes later I'd soaked through the towel and the seat of my car was soaked.

Hubby dropped me at the emergency room door and went to park. After what felt like an eternity we got checked in (the women working the front desk was rude and I actually started to cry - when I got up to the front I said "my water broke and I have breech baby so I need to get in for a c section right away. And she said something like "well I can't do that for you" with such a rude attitude. I wanted to say YA I KNOW LADY, get me admitted so I can get up to Labour and delivery.) Anyway after a couple minutes we got escorted up to labour and delivery!

Once we got there I told them the situation and they said they would just check to make sure my water did break. They asked me to sit in the chair to go over my information. When I stood up - that chair was soaked too. The nurse said "ok yes you're water is broken!" haha yes thanks tips!

We got into an assessment room, hooked up to the fetal heart rate machine and saw a couple nurses to go over our situation. We were told the OBGYN on duty was currently in another section and we'd be next. However the last time I ate was 4pm (a small snack) and normally they want 8 hours with no food or water before they operate. We saw the OBGYN - they confirmed baby was still breech and the section would go ahead. Because I didn't eat much they said we'd be in the OR for a 10pm section. Around 6pm my contractions started and they were coming over 3-5 minutes. They honestly felt exactly like my period cramps (note: I have the worst cramps ever, debilitating really - I've had to leave work or not go into work because they've been so bad.) At about 9pm we were asked to leave the assessment room and go sit in the waiting room of labour and delivery until 9:45pm - when we were told my hubby needed to be suited up and ready to go into the OR. 9:45pm came and went and my contractions were coming on stronger and closer together. Probably about every 1-2 minutes. Oh and the water never stopped gushing! I had to go to the bathroom and change the pads every half hour. The worst part about it was I was labouring with 4 other women. I couldn't get any drugs because we were waiting to get into the OR to get my spinal. Finally at 11:30pm we found our nurse and she did bring some "gas" it helped a little but I probably only used it for a few contractions because a few minutes later we were able to go into the OR.

In the OR I needed to get my spinal and catheter before hubby could come in. My anesthesiologist was not kind... he shoved the needle in my back without any warning and I jumped! Then he tells me not to move! Well too late, so now I'm panicking my head that I'm going to be paralyzed! They lay me down on the table and start to put the catheter in and I can still feel my legs and feel them touching me so then I'm panicking that I'm going to feel the cut. I tell them I can feel and the anesthesiologist takes a needle and pokes my stomach says tell me when you feel pain. I tell him that I can feel all of that. He was SO rude and says oh that's painful? And I said no, its not painful but I can feel it. And he says you will feel it but it won't be painful. So I'm thinking, how am I going to feel this yet it's not going to be painful?? Finally they bring my hubby in, and I'm in tears. He's so pumped that we are about to finally meet our son! All I could say is "I'm scared, I'm scared" over and over. No less than 20 minutes later our son was born! And no, I didn't feel the cut...but I did feel them digging around in my belly to get Smith out.

They called my hubby over to take photos and cut the cord! After that they needed to take Smith off to the nursery for some checks, they brought him to my face. I couldnt hold him since my arms were stretched out on the table and i was being sewn up. But I nuzzled him with my nose and gave him butterfly kisses!!

By 2am, Daddy had brought Smith into recovery and I was nursing my sweet baby boy!

Today Smith is 2 months old, I can't believe how fast time is flying!!

Ready to POP

2012-09-07T14:39:00.003-06:00

On Saturday September 1st I was thrown a lovely baby shower by my besties Kelly, Jenna and Britt! It was amazing!!!! I got so many amazing gifts, all sorts of things - such a wide variety from the diaper genie to a coach diaper bag!!! Not one duplicate and everything will be used sooner or later with our little mister!

Home made POP tarts

My FAVORITE thing in this pregnancy = A & W Breaky Sandys!! YUMMYYY

Today also marks my last day of work, I am then officially on maternity leave for 12 whole months!!! I LOVE YOU CANADA! Thank you for giving us 12 months of maternity leave. It really couldn't be better, when I hear of women in other countries who only get weeks or a couple months I just couldn't imagine leaving my baby all day to have to go back to work. We are very lucky to have the right to take 12 months leave from our jobs to raise our children!

I'm now 38+ weeks pregnant and I am so ready to meet our son! I can't wait to reveal his name. I can't wait to hold him, kiss him and snuggle him!!!!!!!!!

He is currently lying breech in my belly so its looking like it's going to be a scheduled c section. I should know a date next week, they have told me that they won't let me go over due so he should be here on or before September 19th. I just can not wait!

2nd Anniversary

2012-08-20T10:30:00.002-06:00

August 14, 2012 marked our 2nd wedding anniversary! With me being 35+ weeks pregnant we didn't want to risk taking a trip anywhere. So instead we went to The Keg for a nice meal!

We really went all out...

First we had appies; calamari and bruschetta

As you can see I had a mocktail! mmmm strawberry kiwi margaritas! And the hubby had one or 6 beers!

The main course was served! 1lb of King Crab and 2 Lob Tails coming right up!

...I think I ate too much...

But why not have some dessert!

The bill wasn't cheap but hey 2 years is worth celebrating! Especially when dinners out just the two of us are going to become a thing of the past in about 4 weeks!

Maternity Photos

2012-08-07T15:30:00.001-06:00

Last week we did our maternity photos with Laurie Ann and her husband Andrew! We had been planning to do some shots outside but a storm came through and made that impossible! We still got some great shots in the nursery! Check out her blog to see more! http://www.laurieannphotography.com/?p=5457

33 weeks

2012-07-30T15:18:00.000-06:00

This week marks 33 completed weeks of pregnancy!! Last week we had an ultrasound to check my placenta. At my 12 and 20 week ultrasounds I had what they call a "low lying" placenta. Which just means it was low and if it didn't move would have been blocking my cervix. This is not to be confused with "Placenta Previa" which is completely blocking the cervix and is attached to the uterine wall and will not move.

Thankfully I had a low lying placenta and I'm happy to say it has now moved up!! YAY! Which means I'm able to have a natural birth - no c-section.

Our little guy however has decided he wants to hang out breech in mama's tum. So he's now the one I need to get moving! More on that later...

Now on to baby! He is doing great! Healthy weighing 4lbs 8oz. already!! I knew I felt huge for a reason. He wasn't being the most cooperative at the ultrasound though, he just wanted to keep showing us his biceps!

Baby's arm/hand covering his face!

Foot & Forearm/hand

side profile with his little biceps flexin

there's the sweet little face we were waiting for! The umbilical cord is on the one side and his little hand is still there too, but hey we got a face shot and he's PRETTY darn cute if you ask me!

Our due date is September 19th, 2012 - however this ultrasound put him at September 13th! I'm not going to bank on him coming early but I sure would be happy if he did!!

During the ultrasound when we finally got to see his little face - he was making sucky faces, clearly practising his sucking for the b**b when he gets out!

Now I've gotta get to a pool and do some hand stands and get my hips elevated above my heart so that the little man will move! I've also read putting something cold at the top near his head could get him moving away from the cold, and putting something warm near the pelvis could get him moving. So I'm going to try try try!

Keep y'all posted!

Chef Wifey

2012-07-12T11:14:00.000-06:00

Lately I have been really enjoying trying new recipes! Partially thanks to Pinterest and partially because I'm getting ready to be home on mat leave and spoil my hubby with homemade goods!

Last night I made Raspberry Lemonade Cupcakes! And yum are they ever good.

Ingredients: Cake mix is "Lemon" from a box! The icing is cream cheese icing:
1 package cream cheese
1/4 cup butter
1 cup icing sugar
and a few scoops of E.D Smith's Raspberry pie filling

YUMMMMMMY!

I also made these mini individually sized pizzas! And man were these easy to make too!

Soooo easy, all you need is pillsbury crescent rolls

some ragu sauce

and whatever fillings you want - I used turkey and pastrami meats and topped with grated cheddar cheese! Bake for 10-15 minutes!

...And voila you've got your own mini ZAA!! enjoy!

I'll try to keep sharing my new recipes!! So far, everything has been a hit!!

30 Weeks

2012-07-09T09:34:00.000-06:00

30 weeks, where has the time gone? It's FLYING by! 10 more weeks til baby!! I can NOT wait to see your cute little face and cuddle you!!!!!!

This weekend was filled with not one but two weddings! My hubby's cousin Laura and Noor were married Saturday in a Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Here's the happy couple...

The groom's family is Arab so there was definitely a lot of different cultures mixed into this wedding, Ukranian, German, Catholic on the bride's side with Arab, middle eastern on the Grooms. The decor really reflected this! Our company Old, New, Borrowed & Blue Wedding and Event Planning did all of the set up! Check out our facebook page for all the pics!

The other wedding we went to was Roxanne and Jay's! It was a very beautiful, classic and traditional wedding! And she was another very stunning bride! The long lace veils are definitely the hottest thing this year, both brides wore them this past weekend!!

Overall it was a great weekend, but I can't lie. I'm excited to get back to the lake this coming weekend!!!

Happy Monday!

28 weeks

2012-06-25T13:05:00.000-06:00

Two thirds of the way there? WHAAAT? How is it our 3rd trimester already?

This weekend we enjoyed time at the lake!

Here I am, belly out!

My girl Bobo - lil miss Boat Dog in her life jacket, enjoying the breeze

Hubby and Colin tubing!

25 weeks

2012-06-06T10:18:00.001-06:00

Today marks my 25 completed weeks of pregnancy! I am so excited to be feeling all the kicks and punches. Hubby has now felt Baby K squirming about, its truly the most amazing, reassuring feeling in the world.

25 weeks

I can hardly believe I only have 2 weeks left in the second trimester. Before I know it, it'll be September and we'll be brining home our beautiful 8lb 5oz baby boy! (That's my weight guess for him! I don't know why... but that number sticks in my head! hahaha)

How far along? 25 Weeks
Total weight gain/loss: Same as last time...not sure....but definitely growing...I don't like looking at the scale!
Maternity clothes? nothing new on this front.
Stretch marks? Still no!! Phew!
Sleep: I'm sleeping a lot better these days, we just got AC installed and I couldn't be happier about that!
Best moment this week: Having Hubby feel Baby K moving (it was exactly one week ago today - at 24 weeks when he felt him for the first time!)
Miss Anything? Same old, soft cheese, the odd glass of wine. But this BABY is SOOOOO worth it! :)
Movement: Lots of kicking and punching and even full rolls! I've seen my belly do a complete flip! It's the most amazing thing. I've had a couple stitches when he pushes his back or head really hard into my right side. It's laughable pain... so weird funny, you can feel him because its literally rock hard where he's pushing. I've noticed he's most active either after I eat something and around 10/11pm.
Food cravings: Just loving my Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream!!!!! STILL! Got a GIANT two scoop from Polar Palace the other day... I really wished I'd taken a picture. Guess that just means I'll have to get another one... right? lol picture to follow!!! ;)
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope; not any more thank goodness!
Have you started to show yet: Yes!
Labor Signs: No, thank god!
Belly Button in or out? It's in but popping out more and more as the days go on!
Wedding rings on or off? Off, it's hot here and I started to get a bit swollen so I took it off now before I can't! Hubby bought me a beautiful swarovski ring that I LOVE!
Happy or Moody most of the time: Feeling very happy. still more emotional too!
Nursery Update: We've hung some shelves and added a bit more of the decor. It's almost complete and then I'll take some photos and post them!!
Looking forward to: continuing to feel movement, bigger kicks/punches? Just enjoying this whole experience so much!
Not loving: my tail bone pain is still there but has subsided significantly from when it was pinching my sciatic nerve. THAT HURT!

Baby K's Gender Reveal Party

2012-05-22T21:36:00.001-06:00

On Friday May 18th we had our gender reveal party!! It went off without a hitch!

So what's it going to be... a lil Lex or a mini Jon?

The old wives tales are pointing to a ... _____?

Mom and Dad to be

And it's a

BOY!

Me and my girls with my chocolate stashes I made for the party!

And the night ended with a BIG ol' baby boy in the crib!

Dad decided he was going to test out the crib!! Thankfully it held his 210 pound a$$! lol it was too funny not to capture. So Baby K, if Dad can sleep in the crib, then you can too!

I'm 23 weeks tomorrow but I haven't done a photo yet, so here's last weeks photo... (I look a little haggy - okay a lot; it was late and I wanted the photo over with...) still love you Baby K!

How far along? 23 Weeks
Total weight gain/loss: Not sure....but definitely growing...I don't like looking at the scale!
Maternity clothes? nothing new on this front.
Stretch marks? No! thankfully. I've been using Vitamin E, Bio Oil and body butter! I have noticed I may be getting that "LINE" up the belly... so far it was just a TREASURE Trail according to hubby... lol thaaannks. He says I'm growing a little man so I must have more testosterone in my body... hmmmm let's go with that theory.
Sleep: I'm waking up more often, I always used to sleep so solid. I definitely notice my sleep is more interrupted. Is my body getting ready for night time feedings already?
Best moment this week: Sharing the gender with our friends and family! And doing more organizing in Baby K's room!
Have you told family and friends: Yes! And strangers :)
Miss Anything? soft cheeses!!! Okay and wine... okay and all the new drinks that come out for summer... like Coors Light Ice T! But you're worth it Baby K! I'll drink MOCKtails all summer long and LOVE every minute of it! :)
Movement: Lots of movement! I compare it to a fish swimming around! I think I even felt hiccups for the first time this weekend! IT was the CUTEST thing!! Some movements are still smaller and then others catch me off guard they are so big! I LOVE IT!
Food cravings: Just loving my Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream!!!!!
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope; not any more thank goodness!
Have you started to show yet: You bet! I still worry that some people think I'm just fat or gained a beer belly. lol
Labor Signs: No
Belly Button in or out? In, but seriously starting to pop out. the top is pushing out, its only a matter of time!
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Feeling very happy. Also very emotional.
Looking forward to: Getting more accomplished in the nursery! We came home from our Toronto trip and my AMAZING in laws had set up the crib! AMAZING mother's day surprise. I organized the closet yesterday! It feels so good! I also ordered the bedding and some wall decor. Once the nursery is complete I will do a post dedicated to it! I can't wait! Everyone that's seen it has said how serene it feels!!!!

Not loving: Oh the list is growing...back pain, tailbone pain, bending over pain.... the sciatic nerve PAIN! The worst so far.

Until next week!

Baby Products

2012-05-11T14:29:00.000-06:00

Here are some more sweet finds I've bought! There's a mothers day promo code on each of these three sites so I got these all for FREE! Well only catch was I had to pay shipping, so still - basically FREE! :)

Car Seat Canopy from https://www.carseatcanopy.com/

This one is called "Reagan"

Nursing Cover from https://www.uddercovers.com/content/home

This is called "Elsa"

Sling from https://www.sevenslings.com/

This one is called "Northern Lights"

The girl in this photo (above) lookslike Jamie Speers (B Speers lil sis)!

20 and a half weeks at the Brotzel Wedding!

How far along? 21 Weeks
Stretch marks? No
Sleep: Sleeping great! Still feeling pretty exhausted, when I do get tired, I am out!
Best moment this week: Feeling Baby K kicking and fluttering up a storm!

Have you told family and friends: Yes!
Miss Anything? The odd alcoholic beverage and soft cheeses!!!! I want some bri!

Movement: yes, fluttering Food cravings: Nothing in particular. But am eating a lot of ice cream!
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope
Have you started to show yet: Yep!
Gender prediction: Boy

Labor Signs: No, thank god!
Belly Button in or out? In... for now
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy for the most part but pretty annoyed by drunked hubby & Uncle Mo these days!
Looking forward to: Seeing our baby in 4 months!!!

Not loving: Tail bone pain!!!!

20 weeks

2012-05-03T20:58:00.001-06:00

OUR BABY!!!

Yesterday (May 2nd) marked my 20 weeks!! HALF WAY there! Today we had an ultrasound appointment and were able to find out the gender of our little nugget!!!

We are keeping the gender a secret for 2 more weeks! We are planning a gender reveal party! I have some ideas in mind! Such as:

Cupcakes filled with the colour of icing; something like this:

Source: thecakeblog.com via Michelle on Pinterest

OR cookies!! OR both??

Source: sugarderby.com via Lex on Pinterest

I also want everyone to "Pick a Team" so I will have something to identify Team Pink and Team Blue.

Source: tinyurl.ms via Lex on Pinterest

Source: familymattos.wordpress.com via Lex on Pinterest

Source: radiantphotogallery.blogspot.com via katie on Pinterest

Finally we'll make the reveal by opening a box with the appropriate colour of balloons! Then we'll serve the treats!

I have more ideas on my pinterest page!! Follow me! http://pinterest.com/lex_kress/

How far along? 20 Weeks
Stretch marks? No
Sleep: Sleeping pretty good these days!
Best moment this week: Seeing Baby K and finding out the gender!!!
Have you told family and friends: Yes!
Miss Anything? My energy levels!! Definitely can't do as much as I used to!
Movement: still feeling the flutters! They are sporadic but definitely there.
Food cravings: I'm loving frozen fruit bars! Still preferring salty over sweet - not eating much chocolate which is kind of odd for me! lol
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope
Have you started to show yet: Oh yes.
Labor Signs: No
Belly Button in or out? In, but I swear it's going to pop out by the end!
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy for the most part but pretty emotional!
Looking forward to: Feeling baby K really give me a good kick!!

Not loving: Heartburn, and back pain, specifically tailbone pain! I sit on a big yoga ball at work!!

XO
L

Nursery Inspiration

2012-04-24T14:07:00.000-06:00

Overall concept/theme:
-Grey & White
-Old & New
-Calm, serene, classy, elegant, relaxing, fresh

Boy Room Inspiration: Photo from On to Baby

If it's a boy I want to have the decor all "Little Man" themed.

Mustashe Mobile: This one is for sale on Etsy!

I'm pretty sure I can make this myself! I'm going to try for sure (if it's a boy!)

Mustash Chalk board decal! Again for sale on Etsy but I'm going to try and make it myself!

Girl Room Inspiration: Photo from On to Baby

If it's a girl I really like the peach, light pink tones for the accents!!

Baby Purchases

2012-04-23T13:45:00.000-06:00

I have been so excited about my recent "big" baby purchases. So far we haven't got a ton but we do have some of the main things. On Saturday I went to Babies R Us to take advantage of the sale!
We've painted the baby room a light grey called "Dolphin Fin"

It looks really warm in the room, the baseboards, trim and doors are all white so my theme is a calming, serene, classy feel for the room. When we find out the gender we'll add some POPS and decide on the fun accessories and decor! More to come on that!

My wonderful in laws (Grandma & Grandpa) bought our crib for us from Toys R Us.

My wonderful mom (Nana Jubes) bought us the dresser/change table (also from Toys R Us)!

Over the weekend I went and bought a few more things for baby that we'll need before he/she arrives!

We got this play pen - it will fit beside our bed if we need it to (which I'm guessing we will) plus has the amazing roof cover for outside!! I love this! It was regular $150, on for $100! Nana Jubes generously offered to pick up the tab on this one too!! Such a good nana! ;)

I got this little bassinet for our bed! This way baby can sleep right with us for the first little while and I don't have to worry about rolling over on him/her or the dogs laying on him/her! It was regular $60 and I got it for $35!! Who doesn't love a good deal right??

My only impulse buy which was SUCH a good deal, I couldn't pass it up was on this high chair!!

I bought the floor model. Regular price $280, got it for a hundred BUCKS! How could I pass this up?? PLUS Nana Jubes is picking up the tab on this one too! We're so blessed!!! This baby is so spoiled already!!

The only other items we have found that we want - are...

This DENIM Peg Perego car seat!!

For anyone that knows us, will get why we NEED to have the denim...

Our Wedding Day

Another jean-xedo (as hubby calls them) pic! The "Canadian Tuxedo" Jean on Jean or Jeanxedo!! ;)

Now you see why we need the DENIM baby gear????

This is one thing I am DESPERATE for... but will hold off on getting til AFTER the baby comes!!

Peg Perego-GT3 Completo Stroller-Denim!!!

I'll keep ya posted on my purchases and/or gifts as we continue along this amazing new adventure!!

XO
L

Preggy Update!

2012-04-20T16:14:00.004-06:00

I'm going to try to update this more regularly now!! I found this set of cute questions to go through each week, so my new goal is to do a blog posting each week to track the pregnancy!!

How far along? 19 Weeks
Maternity clothes? I bought 2 maternity shirts (in Vancouver with my Mom back at 8 weeks - still haven't been wearing those much yet since I don't have MUCH of a belly). I bought a pair of black mat work pants, belly band and a pair of mat jeans! Otherwise I'm just wearing all flowy tops!
Weight: Up a total of 12 Lbs
Stretch marks? No
Sleep: Waking up more often - somewhat restless - exhausted but can't turn my mind off! I used to have the BEST sleeps...
Best moment this week: Feeling the baby move! The flutters!!! It feels like bubbles bursting, or butterflys fluttering!
Have you told family and friends: Yes!
Miss Anything? The odd glass of wine and sometimes I crave just a sip of beer!!
Movement: flutters!! Started at 17 weeks +
Food cravings: Salty over sweet!
Anything making you queasy or sick: Smells are starting to bother me now - my coworkers B.O. or my hubby's axe!
Have you started to show yet: A little bump so far.. its getting bigger!
Gender prediction: I have thought BOY all along, now that our 20 week ultrasound is booked I'm starting to second guess!!! I'm about 80/20 split for boy vs. girl

Instagram Announcement at 13 weeks

Major Mile Stones To date:
January 14, 2012: took a home pregnancy test and discovered we were pregnant! 4 wks, 3 days.
January 23, 2012: Doctor's appointment confirmed pregnancy by blood work! 5 wks, 5 days.
January 25, 2012: dreamt it was a boy! 6 wks.
February 21st, 2012: 9 wks 6 days. Doctor's appointment + 3lbs
March 8th, 2012: 12 wks 1 day had our first ultrasound. We got to see the baby, kicking with both feet, yawn, wave at dad ;), saw the chambers of the heart, the bladder, back and bum, and front of the face.
March 13th: 12 wks 6 days - Doctor's appointment - she felt the uterus had moved up! +7lbs
April 13th: 17 wks 2 days - Doctor's appoinment - got to hear the heart beat!!! AMAZING sound! +2lbs

Hubby is going to be a Daddy

2012-03-19T09:33:00.001-06:00

Hubby is going to be a DADDY...and I'm pretty sure it's MINE! :) Such exciting news to share. After one entire year of TTC (trying to conceive) we have successfully created a human with our genitals!! WOOP WOOP! hahaha

It was a very trying year (no pun intended). While we tried not to get too down, there were some difficult months where we had to ask ourselves if something was wrong? How could some people accidently get pregnant and here we are married and wanting a child so desperately and unable to create a life. Well 1 year went by fast in retrospect. And from all the research I did on TTC, 95% of couples conceive within the first year. I guess we fall into that 95%!

So many things contributed to our successful conception. For one I was given this AMAZING necklace for my birthday (belated gift) on December 22, 2011 from my sisters in law. They both recently had baby girls (Kadyn in August 2011 and Jessi in October 2011). They knew how badly I wanted a child as well and so they so graciously bought me this necklace. Read more below about this MIRACLE worker!

This pendant bears the image of St. Gerard, the patron saint of expectant mothers and babies. He is known for his help in obtaining the blessings of motherhood. His intercession is also sought for difficulties in parenthood. Wear his image and read his prayer daily for help with infertility.

During his short life he helped many and performed many miracles. It seems that God had given him, in particular, the special power to help mothers in need. In life and since his death, he has helped so many women who have prayed to him during labor that he earned the nickname the "Saint of Happy Deliveries." Many mothers from all over the world have even named their child Gerard after him in gratitude, and have adopted him as their patron in the joys and fears of childbirth.

Rose quartz are the beads of love, peacefulness and emotional healing. It can soothe the heart, bring peace, balance, compassion and kindness. It also encourages acceptance and promotion of inner peace, to bring back emotional balance. Also can reduce stress and improve hormone flow. Aids opening to the goddess within. Heals heartache and loneliness, and helps us love and accept ourselves.

Moonstone can help you welcome a new soul into your body and is said to have powers that aid in balancing of your emotions, very important in trying to conceive! Calms emotions, opens up ones feminine side. Heightens intuition and receptivity. Assists with hormone equilibrium during menstrual cycle. Moonstone also encourages love, hope, and fertility.

Hangs from a 24" silver ball chain, close to your heart. One side of the pendant is St. Gerard, the other is Our Lady of Perpetual Help.

Our fertile window in December was approximately December 24th- December 30th. We had such a great feeling about being fertile over Christmas, Jesus' birthday! We prayed and hoped that we'd conceive. It's so funny looking back on everything. In previous months I had so many times thought I was pregnant, my breasts were tender, etc. but alas I had always had a visit from Aunt Flo. Blessed with a regular menstrual cycle, I knew I had one thing to be happy about. As my doctor told me. If you are having a regular period every month that means you've ovulated which means you are fertile. On December 21st, 2011 I went to the doctor for my annual physical. She ordered some extra blood work to test all of my hormones just to be sure (and mostly to give me peace of mind). She told me they'd call with the results if there was anything out of the ordinary. Beginning of January I hadn't heard anything but of course was anxious to hear her say I was completely healthy and normal. On January 11, 2012 (also my Mom's 60th birthday) I went to get the results. My period was also expected to arrive on the 10th (ish). I say "ish" because my cycle has always been between 28-31 days and so it could've just been a longer cycle this month. All of my tests were completely normal. I told her I was technically one day late and she told me to wait it out until at least January 14th (as that is one month after my last period). So I did, all the while thinking I was going to have my old friend Aunt Flo drop in at any moment unannounced. Friday the 13th (also my lucky day which I'll get into later) came and went, no aunty. hmm that's strange. So I decided, what the heck, tomorrow morning I will take a test. Hubby was working nights so when he got home at 7am I groggily stubbled to the ensuite and peed on the stick. Now you have to know I've only ever taken 2 home tests in the past, both negative followed almost immediately by my period. So I was expecting the same. After seeing 2 negatives months before I had a really hard time envisioning a positive. I set the stick on the counter and started to wash my hands. Not even really paying attention to the "+" sign that had formed. I had to take a second and third look, I checked the box, looked back at the stick."+" = pregnant "-" = not pregnant. WOW I am pregnant! I called for hubby to come in. I took one step out of the bathroom and said (probably deer in head lights look) "I'm pregnant!" I remember shaking like a leaf. He, of course, wanted to double check the test and box before we celebrated. Once he confirmed I read the stick right we just embraced. WOW. There's a BABY in my BELLY!!!!!!!!! It was a moment I will never forget.

The next day I took another test (just for good measure) and the little + sign appeared. Phew, still pregnant! :) And again the next day I had to take just one more home test and this time I swear the + was even darker! Relief washed over me.

Now Friday the 13th has always been a very lucky day for me. I know, look at me, going against the grain of society. No I'm not afraid of bad things happening on Friday the 13th it's a very lucky omen for me. On Sunday March 15th, 2009 (A Friday the 13th weekend) my now hubby proposed!! You can check out our proposal story here...

When planning our wedding I knew I had to plan for a Friday the 13th weekend. And the next available was Saturday August 14th, 2010! It was such a beautiful day.

1 year and 5 months after our amazing wedding, we got another amazing blessing - We're Pregnant!

I went to the doctor and she confirmed my news! She said the next 6 weeks are critical! The 1st trimester is the time where the baby develops all of its vital organs. She said after the 1st trimester the baby just grows and gets bigger! In the first trimester is all developmental. So she said I can definitely travel no problem but don't overexert myself, take it easy and get lots of rest and fluids. She said don't go on a big hike or anything. Just take it easy. She said there's no reason to be concerned since I'm 27. She said over 35 is where they do tests for down syndrome and spinabifida. So yay, it was nice to have it confirmed by blood work. She said the next blood work should show an increased HcG reading and if it doesn't that's a problem but no reason to be concerned. yayyyyyyy
The waiting game is the hardest part... now at just 6 weeks pregnant, I can't tell anyone when all I want to do it shout it from the roof tops!

March 21st marks my 14 weeks of pregnancy!! It's so nice to be able to be public about our news.

On March 8th at 12 weeks 1 day we had our first ultrasound. It was amazing. Our doctor (Dr. Albed) was amazing and so patient. We saw the baby yawn, kick (with both feet at the same time!), we saw the heart, bladder, back and bum and face! So incredible!!

We'll definitely be finding out the gender at our 20 week ultrasound!

Happy Monday!
xo
L

C'est L'Halloween

2011-10-31T10:04:00.002-06:00

This year I went as the BLACK SWAN! Here was my inspiration...

My girlfriend Nicole went as the white swan...

I also made these fun witch's finger cookies...

All in all, Halloween was a success!

Happy Halloween!

Scrabble

2011-10-24T10:40:00.001-06:00

I have been scouring usedregina.com for scrabble... yes the board game. I wanted it solely for the wooden letters. The first scrabble I picked up was for $5. Only problem was it Scrabble Junior! So the letters were just cheap yellow and blue cardboard. The search continued and I found a 1976 scrabble board for $15. I soon realized that there really aren't that many letters included, I guess that's what makes the game hard? So I went back on usedregina.com and found myself a second scrabble. This one was $10 and it was brand new still in the plastic. Perfection I had all the pieces I needed.

Friday night I got to work making my little craft project. I went to Michael's to find the perfect frame. I found this one that opens up. I bought one piece of scrap book paper and some fun letter stickers and the fun began.

gluing the letters on!

The finished product!

Hanging on the wall!

Friday night I also had a little visit from my sister in law and my niece Kadyn! She's getting so big!

She'll be 3 months old in a week! Time flies!

Jessi Jaymes Johnson - October 21, 2011 8lbs 6oz.

We welcomed our 3 niece into the world on Friday!

We were so honored to be asked to be Jessi's Godparents!

Saturday night I hosted Karlene's Animal Print Stagette. It was such a fun/funny night. We had 200+ shooters and shit got real!

The Bride to be with her sissy and lotsa jello shooters!

dressed up at the fire hall

quick stop at the fire hall for some kisses!

Happy Monday!

Don't fake it!

2011-10-17T15:43:00.000-06:00

Have you noticed the "fake laugh" in sitcom comedies on TV??? It couldn't be more annoying. I came to this realization when I flipped to "Two and a half men". I wanted to see if Ashton was any good... all I could hear was the annoying fake laughter added in after each and every sentence from the actors. It's SO annoying, and really every line they say is not that funny. It got me to thinking about all the other shows I watch and I realized none of those shows have the fake laughter added in. THANK GOD!

This weekend was busy with what else? Wedding related events. Saturday I threw a Mexican themed bridal shower for my gf Karlene! This is Karlene with her cutie little son Channing. He's enjoying one of my amazing cupcakes.

She's going to make one stunning bride, but she's funny cause she absolutely HATES attention. So she's going to be sweatin buckets and stressin hard. Good thing we are off to Mexico and there will be a smaller crowd!

Here are some highlights. 1. my cupcakes - vanilla and red velvet. 2. the food spread including Mexican flag fruit pizza YUM! I probably had 5 pieces... shame on me! and last but not least my Mexican fiesta garlands!!

Sunday we had a wedding for the biz, Old, New, Borrowed & Blue Wedding and Event Planning for anyone that forgot! lol It was a small intimate wedding held at the Hotel Sask in Regina. It is one of our oldest and most regal hotels. It was perfect for her vintage elegance themed wedding.

Now I just have one more wedding for 2011, we are off to Cancun, Mexico November 5th-12th for Karlene and Colin's November 8, 2011 wedding! Then we have a NYE social in Regina to plan/finalize for them. Now it's on to planning 2012 weddings! Wow does time ever fly!! Happy Manic Monday... wish it were Sunday!

Okanagan

2011-10-03T09:40:00.003-06:00

Goat cheese

Last week I was in the Okanagan for business travel. But of course I brought the hubby along for the ride. This made my "work trip" in to what felt like a paid vacation! FAB!

We went to wineries and drank good wine; went to a goat cheese farm and ate great goat cheese, went to fancy restaurants and ate great meals! It was all around a great time.

This is probably my favorite shot of the trip... I took this photo with my Canon T3i.

Vino

Here are some more fav shots...

My model hubby

Kelowna

This weekend was a good one! Friday night Hubby and I went to his parents place for dinner with my mom. It was good to catch up with the rents! Then I went to my GF Britt's for our 2nd splurge night. It was a good ol fashion GNO. Love that!

Saturday I went for lunch with Britt and Mel, our mission was find Britt a wedding dress. Or at least get an idea of what styles she likes. Her wedding is in 7 months (exactly from Wednesday!) and it was high time she got her butt in to a wedding dress. And funny enough, she found THE ONE! The first one she tried on... it was incredible. It was hard because she has a perfect model body, meaning every dress looked so good. It had to come down to what she felt best in and what she thought her hubby to be would love the most. We are confident that he will MELT when he sees her come down that aisle. Nothing beats that moment...

Sorry I brought the attention back to me... but that's how my hubby looked when he saw me coming down the aisle. AH it's just the BEST moment!

Later Saturday afternoon I bet up with my hubby and our besties Lance and Jenna. We ended up having them over and drinking a little too much. Well Jenna did anyway... hahahaha she was toast by 11:30. Then hub and I decided we wanted to dance... so we hit the club for an hour. hahahaha...no joke!!!

Sunday was supposed to start off with church, which didn't happen because we woke up at 11:15am... Hub had to work at 2pm so I proceeded to make Sunday BAKE/COOK day! I made my usual berry crumble, but this time I added apple sauce instead of butter to the crumble. It just got healthier!!

Then I decided I NEEDED to try the black bean burgers that Britt made a few weeks ago. So I had to hit up Super Store first. Which got me to buy a few fall treats...

I know I mentioned how much I love PINTEREST and the lace wrapped pumpkin is a tribute to that... you can check out my Fall/Halloween board here!

Then I did a little patch work to the dog's look out bench (they jump up and down so often the upholstery ripped), so we're making it into a patch work bench over time!

Then I finally got to making my black bean burgers! YUM are they ever good.

I dunno why I'm adding this picture... just because it feels like a good ending for this blog. "I welcome for the first time Mr. & Mrs. K"

Have a GRRRREAT week y'all!

I blinked and September was over?

2011-09-30T11:44:00.002-06:00

Seriously, how fast has September gone by? SO fast!

I don't even know what happened. Ok, well I do. I had three weddings to plan/coordinate and attend.

First was Krista and Quinn... here's the GOBO (custom lighting) we did for them! Check out our facebook page to see more amazing photos from their wedding!

Next was Carly and Trevor's wedding! Which I blogged about before... but here's an amazing shot from their AMAZING photographer Laurie Ann Photography!

Melting, its SO SO cute!

Then was Miss Linds' wedding events... first was the spa night...

cute plates! :)

Then there was the rehearsal dinner, rehearsal at the church and finally the BIG day!

Here comes the bride...all dressed in white... I don't remember the rest of that song. But really that's her, SO beautiful right?

THE KISS and the newlyweds!!! awwe!

And here's us... drinking between the ceremony and reception!

I was of course a responsible wedding planner and was so organized that I had all my duties done in the morning. Look at our amazing job with the amazing decor! I loved the way this all came together.

One of my fav shots of the night... she got AIR!

TGIF!!!

Hot Dogs

2011-09-22T08:28:00.002-06:00

Last night I attended one of my good friends Lindsay's wedding pampering spa night. I got a pedi!! I love getting spa treatments!

After the spa night, I went home and caught up on a few shows...

Like The Real Housewives of New Jersey (loveeee me some TV with DRAMA!)

Teresa has really gone off the deep end this season. Although I do think she isn't the only one in the wrong. Her brother is equally as crazy.

Then I watched a new show (new to me anyway) that my gf Britt told me about. Pregnant in Heels.

I love this show! The women are rich, crazy and hormonal! DRAMA = yes please. Plus I am learning things about being pregnant, and babies... like what the color of their poop means. WHO KNEW! Not me...

After that I watched ANTM ALL STARS!

The shoot was with HOT DOGS! and it made me think of a shoot I did once with a hot dog... I think I would've got best photo!?

Me vs. ANTM

That's me on the left!
I think this photo above is my best shot... but here are a couple more...

ANTM

I have to say Alexandria looks gorgeous here!!

That's all for today folks!! Happy Thursday!

xox
L