What a whirwind 24 hours...

aye yi yi ...
what a day of hustle and bustle for (practically) nothing!! hahaha

I received a voice mail at 8:45 this morning..
it was the IWK (childrens hospital in Halifax)
they received notice from my doctor and would like to fit me in today at noon for an ultrasound.

I called back one million and one times but there was no answer so I said to Nick
lets just show up and hopefully it will still be available.
we did. and thankfully it was.  

 

It was super last minute so Elliott came with us but it turned out no children under 12 can attend the ultrasound so he and Nick had to wait in the waiting room.

 

I love taking Elliott places with us these days, he's such a hammy personality and normally the public falls right into his charming trap ways heheh

 

He says Hi to everyone and gets more and more chatty everyday.

today he took taggie bear (who of course comes everywhere)

Elliott demanded Taggie be sitting on a chair and pushed in, when we left the hospital we forgot him and THANK GOD Nick remembered as we hit the van to head home or we could've had a very ugly holiday season! (still in search of more taggie bears but they seem to be discontinued.)

 

 

Anywoo we did the ultrasound and it turns out there is only ONE baby in there and he/she is only 15 weeks along! booo

 

I was slightly discouraged but it was a nice relief to see the flicker of that heartbeat and look at the little arms and legs flailing around.

 

the ultrasound tech told me to keep my 20 week ultrasound in January and we'll go really in depth then. for now they just measured the arms, legs, head and torso. She sent me out and said she just wanted to check something, then she called me back in for more photos..

She said it looked like my uterus may have been contracting but they wanted to double check because it could have just been the current photos.

The second set of shots showed everything as all good so no need to worry and sent me on my way!

 

In Nova Scotia they will tell you the sex of your baby after the 20 week ultrasound but they wont let the techs do it, you have to wait for your next doctors appointment.

Both me and the ultrasound tech who I had today said we hope we see each other for the next appointment because she was an absolute sweet heart!

She described everything to me as she went and was almost as excited as I was when we saw the little fingers and toes moving around.

She said when she does the 20 week she will tell you when she's shooting the gender reveal shots in case you want to try and take a throughout peek yourself, she said she wont give any clues but some of the techs don't even describe what you're looking at at the time and it can be a very silent appointment!

 

 

Other than that I wrapped all of Elli's gifts last night so we are set for Christmas eve.

I hardly spent a dime this season on him, minus the train table.

 

^ He's got a handful of gifts to unwrap and his stocking but I picked everything up throughout the year, mostly at great clearance sales!

 

The train table finally came together and it looks great!!

this is the exact Train Table we purchased.

DO NOT PAY FULL PRICE.

it is always on sale!

$229 regular but we paid the $169 plus we waited for a free delivery special so we had it dropped right off at the house!

the delivery saved us about $81 dollars so make sure you wait for that special too :)

I also got Nick to swing by and pick up these cute little homemade blocks that I found on a buy and sell. we love Monsters inc incase you were wondering :)

and Elliott loves building towers!

 

but the joke was on me because I didn't ask the dimensions..

when Nick got them home I realized they were only about the size of marshmellows!

so his 6 piece tower won't be much in the height department lol!

but he can add them to his other block towers...

they were $10

 

Other than that, I picked up some makeup sponges and I'm going to test out a glitter mani using them!
I hope to report back positive reviews later this week..
see you then! :)

The BEST baby news...

I never wanted to be a mother..

I had friends in high school who couldn't wait to be stay at home moms.
I was like "ick. no why. ew. horrible." (hehehe)

I cringe when I hear people say:
"my life didn't begin until I became a parent..."

WHAT?! Bish, where you been??? because my life was bomb dot com!

all jokes aside, that statement truly makes me uncomfortable.
I spent many years as a childless women who never wanted kids and my life was happy and full and perfect. (ask me if I could live without pets and we would have a problem!)

there were many reasons why kids were not an option for me.
one of them being:
fear.
if I had kids, I wanted to be a better parent than my parents.
I wanted my potential children to be better people than me.
(I don't think these are usual feelings)

I didn't think I would have the patience and endurance to make that happen and quite frankly I'm not sure I even wanted to try.
I love me, I love everything about me.
spending time on me.
spending money on me.
me. me. me. me.
I'm a selfish person and if it was just me, I didn't have to feel bad about that.

so why the heck do you have kids you ask??

I had them because eventually I knew I would be a good parent and I knew that Nick would be the best father. He would fill all of my shortcomings while going above and beyond.
We would be far from perfect but we would be good, really good.


so then comes part two:
I was either having none or a Duggar load!
for me siblings were a BIG deal.
If I have 1... I want 4!
but I HATE Pregnancy!

ugh this whole motherhood thing fights me every step of the way doesn't it??!?!
at this point I'm not sure if a 3rd pregnancy is in the cards for me.. but foster care and adoption down the road is not out of the realm of possibility.
(I've read up on foster card many, many times and the thought of it breaks my heart but the thought of not doing it breaks my heart more)
Foster Care Nova Scotia

AND THAT BRINGS US TO TODAY....
(I can never just get to the point, I need to mull over all these useless details first)

I had my doctors appointment and the nurse said we were going to listen to the heartbeat
(YAY FINALLY! didn't I just post yesterday how we hadn't done this yet??)

I laid down and she got her Doppler..
then she looked, and looked and looked and looked and looked and looked....
and OMG, what the heck is the problem...

and I don't panic.
I know what will be will be and also it can take a long time to find a heartbeat.
but I mean we were talking like 30 minutes here..
she said to me a couple of times "don't panic. don't worry if we can't find it. etc."

well I wasn't going to at the 15 minute mark but my god 30 minutes later, I'm starting to sweat.

then she found it!
it was up a lot higher than she expected and she also said I felt a lot bigger than 14 weeks +4 days.

she brought in the doctor who struggled as well and said
"well you're either further along or its twins!"

twins is my dream scenario in a way..
double the family, half the pregnancy!

but after what felt like an hour of doppling he said
"I only hear one beat, I think you're just further along"

AND THERE YOU HAVE IT!
I just gained a whole month of pregnancy in one day!

instead of being 14-15 weeks they think I'm about 18-19!
EEEEEKKKKKKK!!

Still vomiting this morning but I feel re-motivated knowing I'm that much closer!



Babies are HARD work and a major commitment.
I'm glad I decided to go for it but if you're on the fence I recommend getting a cat, then another cat, then a dog, then a 4th cat... and eventually maybe you'll decide to add a human baby to the mix or maybe not, but either way you've got your hands full girl.
Spend some money and time on you! ;) 

 

1st born- Roxy Roller

current age 9 years

 

2nd born- Luna the Ripper

current age 8 years

 

3rd and 4th

Marley worlds worst dog - 8 years

Little Orphan Annie - 7 years

 

 

5th ^

Elliott Eugene 2 years

Current day photo

Resting while I type: 

You will never find Luna in this mix, she is strictly my girl only and she is anti social to the rest!

Cookies, beauty and ultrasounds...

OK its the final stretch friends!!!

5 days until Christmas and Elliott's gift was JUST delivered today! phew!
we decided to go for one big gift this year and that's about it.
Its a train table that hopefully will be of interest for years to come because it was not cheap but we did catch a sale ;) I will post photos after Christmas when assembled!

I found an EASY PEASY delicious cookie recipe that I will be remaking/baking for the big man December 24th! >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

 

 

Vanilla Cookies by my girl Fran over at The Hungry Homemaker Blog

seriously go make them! so simple and so satisfying!

 

 

If you haven't noticed I've been on a makeup no buy!

hence the lack of beauty around here..

out of desperation I was about to purchase a new foundation because all of mine seemed to be too dark for my current pale skin tone.

but I did a little digging and found a few I'm going to empty out before I bring in more.

 

you have no idea how satisfying this no buy has been!

I have a nasty clutter of half used things in my makeup/bathroom stash and to finally be seeing the empties pile up has just made my heart feel good!

 

I don't know if its age or having kids or what! but over the last few years I've starting feeling this tremendous guilt over the amount of things I own. I have so much when parts of the world have so little, and replacing perfectly usable things with another usable thing just seems so pointless and frankly overwhelming!

 

I mean, I'm not totally cured.. the lipstick situation is not under control.. but baby steps!

 

I think I will pick up this book after Christmas, its got a hyped following:

The life changing magic of tidying up - decluttering and organizing.

 

I'm feeling 2017 is the year!!

or maybe its the nesting (lol pregnancy shout out)

 

 

either way here's my hoard!

I've been sticking to the MAC for events

and the water blend for days at home.

 

the l'oreal is terrible for my skin and going to have to find a new owner

 

 

FYI: read small print!!!

 

picked up this mascara pack for my sisters birthday and it also comes with a full size mascara coupon!!! WIN WIN

I could not find this product available on Sephora.ca but there was still 3 available at Micmac Mall Sephora as of a week ago....

3 still available after I may have purchased some for stocking stuffers ;)

they're hidden by the cash in the quick grab isle!

 

AND we are really considering going to UC baby again!

we went for Elliott because Newfoundland does not tell you the gender of your baby (2014 they didn't anyway) and I could not live not knowing.

my pregnancies are so nasty I needed some form of pick me up!

 

Nova Scotia will tell you but my first ultrasound isn't until January 31st.. and then I would have to wait for my doctor to reveal the gender so we are talking February before knowing.. that seems like a lifetime away.

 

also,

I cannot believe my first ultrasound isn't until January

I haven't heard a heart beat or anything!

they really just let you go through the whole pregnancy with the if there's nothing immediately wrong, there's no need to worry vibes... 

if this was my first baby I would be purchasing my own Doppler because it worries a girl to death!

 

but luckily with this being my second pregnancy Elliott has me too distracted on a daily basis to let too much worry sink in and I've been much more aware of this baby's movements!

I remember feeling Elliott move for the first time at about 16 weeks and it was minor butterfly like swirls that I guessed was him.

this baby I swear I felt SO early! probably 12 weeks starting and its only gotten stronger and more like a swooshing baby movement feeling and we're only at 15 weeks!!

 

so we're thinking UC baby in mid January and right now it looks like a sale!!
so booking that immediately!

 

 

How are your holidays going??!?!
Are you ready?!?!?!
XOXO

Maternity fashion, I have nothing to wear... but lipstick!

So as I am approaching 16 weeks pregnant (baby #2) I have very quickly run out of regular clothing options...

UGH so annoying.
I have a vision in my mind of what I want to look like but sadly there's very little maternity fashion options around and even less of a reasonable price tag!

I have a sort of boho, easy wear style which is hard enough to style on a good day let alone when my belly is bulging, so I've been trying to think outside the box and pick up very few pieces that will stand the test of time - pregnant time and after!
lets face it the holiday season is not friendly on the purse strings, yet you want to be glam this time of year! struggles.

the dedicated maternity stores around can sometimes (a lot in my opinion but prove me wrong!) lean towards a more mature pregnancy.. I'm 30 and I want to look 25 so help a girl out with more stylish options!

Luckily there is stores like gap, H&M and Old Navy that seem to have some tiny maternity sections in store but in my experience they have been so cluttered with all mix and match sizes, options.
hit or miss!

as discouraging as it is..
I got desperate today and splurged a little..
see what I got below!
and send me in the direction of some hip, moderately priced mat wear! :)

 

^ the most recent photo of me taken at 14 weeks.

this is an old sweater from target I spied it in the back of my closet and was reminded of the zippers on the bottom (see the V's with a grey tee underneath) so its accommodating for an expanding mid section but not maternity.

 

 

If you've been wondering what shade of red I've been obsessed with rocking lately, its the Kate Moss for Rimmel long wearing lipstick! an oldie but a goodie

 

I can't be certain that they have the exact same shade still available but it looks like they might..

Kate Moss Rimmel @ walmart Canada

^ lipstick in natural light!

first things first.. I'm the realest.

when in doubt, wear dresses!
110% dresses will make your pregnant life easier!
went pregnant with Elliott I was due a month later than with this baby and my belly didn't pop until much later in pregnancy equaling a spring/summer FULL of maxi dresses and it was the best.

they are normally quite affordable, you can find them to fit in the non maternity section if they're flowy enough and one and done!!

this time its the dead of winter so I knew pregnancy tights would be my best friend!

I had seen them at H&M so I grabbed one pair (haven't tried on yet, keep you posted!)

 

they weren't cheap!

I was hoping for a $9.99 price point so I could stock up but at $17.99 one would due for now.

 

the mat section at H&M was a mess and unfortunately I didn't find anything that wowed me. so I moved onto Old Navy..

I saw this knit cardi and HAD to have it because the colour red was just so good!

sadly online I only see it in navy and beige! what!!

 

cardi

its a non maternity item but seeing as its open front it better grow with me ;)

 

same deal with the dress, non Maternity but these flowy tee dresses are a must have for me, pregnant or not! you have to be careful because they can be boxy looking but paired with a belt, cardi or jacket. its like wearing pyjamas - so comfy!

 

swing dress

the one maternity piece I picked up was a royal blue sweater and I just couldn't draw my eyes away from the colour! when your main pant colour is black.. its always nice to brighted around your face.

can also see this with lots of bling accessories for the holidays!

 

again couldn't find the blue online...

similar in pink!

 

maternity sweater

 

the one thing I will say is that sadly I feel like Old Navy is caving to the fashion sizing of many stores.. I always found Old Navy to be a wonderful example of "real" women, they have sizes xs-xxl and the large always felt like a large not a small labeled poorly..

maybe I am wrong and its just my current weird body proportions that have skewed my perception but the size large felt smaller to me.. I tried a lot on, a lot of dresses for example and the larges looked teeny tiny for an over sized swing dress style.
maybe just me.. ?
has anyone else noticed?