Requested by Heather - sort of

No front pic yet (waiting on people to send them to me... ) But I do have a pic of the back of them dress....

Wedding Tea

Last weekend Pete and I finally celebrated our wedding - reception 1 of 2  - this one was in Toronto, at the Old Mill with a casual reception back at Pete's parent's place - these are the pics I have thus far, more to come.

Mmm, cakes!

Our little Ninja Turtle

Goals update

Update time.... Back in February I listed a few things that I was working on.  I've found that if I have a list of things that I am working towards I get a lot more accomplished that just winging it.  Let's check up on how things are going


Fitness:

• Finish the 60 days (Insanity )challenge; 
• Done and done.... Oh my God... this was tough.  I won't lie - during that second month I was MISERABLE.  I lost a lot of my motivation, I had to really push myself to finish but finish I did.  Things were a bit more challenging at home which I think added to my misery but I finished nonetheless.
• Lose one more pant size;
• Also done and done... thank you Insanity.  I am at least 10 lbs lighter than I was pre-pregnancy.  The upside, I am smaller, fitter and can see my abs again.  The downside... almost all of my clothes no longer fit.  These days I wear a lot of lulu lemon-esque clothes.  But even those are getting baggy -  not really something I am complaining  about but it will cost a lot of $$ to replace all my office work clothes.
• Beat my pushup record;
• I have yet to try this one yet due to my Insanity commitment... I will tackle this one soon.
• Run at least one race - no distance specification as of yet
• nothing yet, although Pete and I are taking a week off from Insanity before we start up again and this week will involve a lot of running - yay!  ( I miss listening to my music)

Finance:

• Save at least half my pay cheque each month (towards travel to Calgary and other vacations, property taxes, and things like weddings); 
• I have been very good at saving these days.  I think it helps not living near stores and having a husband that takes the car away to work every day.  Although we do have a Giant Tiger and Booster Juice :) pretty much within stroller / carrier distance so I can pop out for some milk / smoothy if the mood strikes me.
• Invest some $ for Will.
• yet to be deposited but it is there... in my account

Education:
Pete gets to go back to university in May - I am not quite there yet.... there is hopefully an MBA/ MPA  in my future, but for now I would like to:

• Finish one more OPME (military) course (for a total of 4/6)
• Still working on this one
• Re-test my French profile for a CCC (I am currently at a BBC)
• not even close to re-testing... should really watch some french tv and start Will on some french lessons.

Personal:

• Volunteer at the YMCA and / or the Legion in town
• application handed in... almost there
• See Niagara Falls
• Maybe in June with the goal below.
• Finally wear my wedding dress and celebrate the fact that we got married over 2 years ago (living apart and not knowing where we will be in the near future does not help one to plan a wedding)
• Booked for 9 June in Toronto... Calgary date TBA.
• Buy another car - one car in a smaller town without public transit is tough 
• This should be decided in a month or two.

2 months into my goal commitment and I feel like I have made some progress.... still many things to tackle, but a start at least. 

At my wit's end

I know I shouldn't compare to other moms and other babies but after my round of visits in Calgary and Ottawa I've come to the conclusion that my baby is not nearly the same as anyone else's and it really has me down today.

Will is super cute and adorable - we often joke (in the throws of the dreaded colic) that if he wasn't so darn cute, we would have left him out on the doorstep.  But adorable as he may be, my days are so LONG and so exhausting that I really am having a hard time keeping it together today.  The thought that keeps running through my mind is as follows:

• Most of my friends had:
• easier deliveries; and
• easier recoveries, 
• and their babies:
• cry a bit; 
• fuss a bit;
• eat well;
• easily gain lots of weight; and
• sleep easily.  

Will on the other hand does NONE of these things.

My delivery was horrendous, my recovery was crap, Will had colic for more than 4 months, he did not take to feeding easily, his weight gain has slowed down, he will not be put down without screaming, it takes FOREVER to get him to go to sleep and when he does, it is a whopping 20 minutes...joy.... and for the last 2 months he will not sleep through the night.

Sometimes I feel like I've got it all wrong - fingers crossed tomorrow is a bit better.

Ides of March?

Today is historically known as the "Ides of March"... 

...but it is actually this Lady's special day

Happy Birthday to you my dear!

Happy (Leap Year) Birthday!

To one of my dearest friends Denise - I hope you have a wonderful birthday!!  

Give those adorable little twins a big kiss from me!

Goals v. 2012

I've been home from work for 5 months now.... what have I accomplished in that time?  Not too much. Yes, I have a new addition to look after, and yes, it's been hectic and trying, and one of the most difficult things I've ever attempted, but I feel like I need some proper goals to work through, to keep me from becoming one of those "helicopter moms".

When I lived in Victoria I had a rolling list of goals that I was set to accomplish by the 9th of each month. Finances, fitness, education - you name it, I had a goal for it.  It really helped to keep me motivated and accountable.   It seems as though I've slowed my effort to create and meet my goals.  Now that Will is *mostly* over his colic (I say mostly after the horror that was last night), I think I can put some time towards thinking about myself a bit.

Now for the 2012 goals:


Fitness:
Pete and I have started the Insanity fitness system.  We tried the P90x way back in Victoria and liked it, but this one is a bit easier to do daily and actually a lot more enjoyable.  The best part is, although Pete is crazy fit and I am just getting back into a fitness routine after a rough delivery and unfortunate c-section, we can both get a lot out of this system.

• For my fitness goal:
• Finish the 60 days challenge; 
• Lose one more pant size;
• Beat my pushup record;
• Run at least one race - no distance specification as of yet

Finance:
Although being on Mat leave and having a new house that needs furnishing and eavestroughs makes saving tougher,  the goal here is to:

• Save at least half my pay cheque each month (towards travel to Calgary and other vacations, property taxes, and things like weddings); and 
• Invest some $ for Will.

Education:
Pete gets to go back to university in May - I am not quite there yet.... there is hopefully an MBA/ MPA  in my future, but for now I would like to:

• Finish one more OPME (military) course (for a total of 4/6)
• Re-test my French profile for a CCC (I am currently at a BBC)

Personal:

• Volunteer at the YMCA and / or the Legion in town
• See Niagara Falls
• Finally wear my wedding dress and celebrate the fact that we got married over 2 years ago (living apart and not knowing where we will be in the near future does not help one to plan a wedding)
• Buy another car - one car in a smaller town without public transit is tough 

Those are the goals that I have on my mind for now - I'll likely add some more as time goes by, but for now that's good.

Diamond Jubilee

In Honour of Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee, I snagged a few pictures that show her true beauty.  Also, this list of 60 facts about Her Majesty is quite an interesting read - especially # 27.

 Such a beautiful young Queen

A caring Mother

Official Portrait for the Jubilee

Progression

Starting from Day 1.... it goes so quickly.

1 Day - with his poor little squished head

3 Weeks

 1 Month - the colic begins

 2 Months - it's almost Christmas

 3 Months - a smile!

And yes, my husband is a HUGE Leafs Fan.... clearly I need to get some more Flames gear.

12 years ago

12 years ago I woke up in the sweet Swiss village of Avully .. I was hired to be a nanny to 3 poorly behaved children - fast forward 12 years and now I have my very own.  Time really does fly.

2011...

Like most people, the past few days  - or rather weeks... this post is slightly late.....I looked back at how 2011 shaped up.  It was certainly one of my busiest and most dramatic years to date...

Jan

• Began the New Year on the right foot with a Resolution Run, actually it was on New Year's Eve, but that's almost 2011... 
• Started a job at the President's office of a Government agency.  It turned out to be somewhat like "The Devil Wears Prada" but was a very interesting kick off to the year.  I learned how particular the President was with his coffee, how to print documents and hand deliver them to someone sitting 10 feet from my desk (please note the sarcasm), but hey, it paid the rent, so yay!
• We started building our house!  Well, we put money down to buy the house and signed the contract, the construction didn't begin until June....

Feb

• Ended said "Devil's Wears Prada" job and started my dream job at the logistical support command of the Military.  It was nice to be back in uniform on a daily basis and get paid a lot more, but the learning curve was STEEP.  Suffice it to say, I was in a wee bit over my head.
• I also found out I was pregnant shortly after starting my job... yikes!  Cue morning sickness, joy.

March

• I made it back home to Calgary to see my friends... passed on the fun baby news :)
• Missed out on a military ORCA trip to Victoria, boo :(

April

• Pete and I had a lovely weekend out in Mont Tremblant.  Very romantic and the best Spaghetti Carbonara I've ever had... yum!
• Made it back to Sharon for Pete's family Easter celebration, and had a special afternoon tea at the Old Mill

May

• Cruise time... first time on a cruise, first time to the Caribbean - very, very fun.  Maybe next year we can hit up the Baltic?

June

• Still on the cruise, trying desperately to stretch out the week.
• House construction begins!
• All the way at the end of the month a few friends and I headed out for a shopping trip to the outlet's outside of New York - amazing deals!

July

• Last trip to Calgary with Pete before the baby arrives!  Spent the week showing Pete the wonders of the Stampede and Spruce Meadows... he's a good sport :)
• A trip to Kingston to attend the Baptism of our darling God Daughter... so cute!
• Pete turned the big 3-0!

August

•  Baby Shower!  My fantastic sister in law threw me a lovely baby shower.  All of Pete's female relatives were there and we had such a great time.

September

• I turned the big 3-0!  Yikes!  
• My last day of work.... a week early as it turns out.  My blood pressure was up and down, and up and down, and up and down.... so my Dr decided it was best to rest at home.
• Continued to be in and out of the hospital with the threat of induction.... at the end of the month we still didn't have a baby yet... boo

October

• More hospital time... and finally on the 17th of October after 44 hours of (mostly back) labour, and an emergency c section, we had our darling baby boy.  I can't say it was a wonderful, easy, magical experience - it was awful, excruciatingly painful and one of the worst things I have ever had to endure.  Thank goodness he is the cutest thing I have ever, ever seen.... 
• Cue the flood of relatives to our TINY apartment... I was very thankful for the help, how do single parents do it???

November

• Busiest month by far.... never again will I have a newborn, move into a new house with furniture coming from across the country and more furniture from the apartment, with your husband working.  However, once we were in the house, we were good to go.

December

• Hosted the Sands' family Christmas with my Mom at the new place.... busy, busy, busy, but awesome and the extra hands to help with our colicky baby was more than welcome.

So there we go, 2011 in review... typed as fast as I could while Will sleeps... Happy New Year!