The perfect start to December

Last night the ground was bare and brown. This morning, this is what we woke up to!


It's so beautiful, and I think it's the perfect start to December! I thoroughly enjoyed our mild and comfortable November, and honestly wish it would stay like that for the rest of Winter, but I have to accept the fact that I live in Manitoba. There will be snow. There will be cold. And I'm going to have to deal with it. For today, I'm going to enjoy the beauty, and try not to think about the months ahead :)

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What to write...

*Disclaimer* I borrowed the following photos (except the belly shot) from friends and family :)

Life is in that kind of routine where there doesn't seem to be anything exciting to post about. Every day seems pretty much the same. After this coming weekend though, I should have a bit more to say :) Keith's little sister, Stacey, is getting married this Saturday, and with all of us involved in the ceremony, it should be interesting! Hopefully we'll get some pictures, with all of us being busy all day. I'm not sure who is going to carry the camera...

I guess I did have a bit of a wild Friday :) On Friday, I went out for a girl's night out. It was a blast! Elaine (center of the following picture) celebrated her birthday on Friday, and we went to get pedicures, along with our friend Anna (on the right). We had such a great time, relaxing and being pampered :) I really need to do this more often. My toenails are a lovely shade of deep red, and my feet are oh so soft!



After the pedicures, I went over to my friend Rebecca's house for a little open house that she was having. She makes fabulous jewelry and wanted to showcase her newest creations. I think she sold quite a few pieces, and we had an awesome time visiting. In fact, some of us had such a good time that we stayed til 2 am... oops :) For what it's worth, Keith was happy I had a good time and said I need to do that more often! I was surprised, and blessed by my hubby that day :)

Let's see, maybe I should do a quick pregnancy update. I posted a picture last week. Here it is, in case you missed it (not sure how you could, since I hardly posted :) ). I was 26 weeks in this photo, and I am now 27 weeks and 3 days. I have certainly grown in the past few weeks, but when I look back on my other pregnancies, this is the big growth time for me. It seems to slow down again before I reach the end.

How far along? 27 weeks, 3 days

Total weight gain/loss: See my sidebar :)

Maternity clothes? Mostly, yes.

Sleep: I'm still sleeping fairly well. I count my blessings on that one for sure!

Movement: Lot's of movement. I love it that I can feel the little bum poking out sometimes. Makes it feel much more real.

Gender: Won't know until this little one arrives, but my thought right now is that this is a girl.

What I miss: Being able to bend over properly! This baby is super low, and making it hard for me to move properly already.

What I am looking forward to: Christmas! I can't wait to spend time with family and friends, and celebrate the birth of Jesus.

Milestones: I'm entering the third trimester! CRAZY!!

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Menu Plan Monday

So I'm going to jump in on Menu Plan Monday for the first 'official' time! I always make a meal plan, but it starts on Wednesdays, since that's when I go shopping. So, here you go!

Wednesday:
Southern Pork Chops (my moms recipe)
Rice
Tossed Salad

Thursday:
Garden Chowder (we LOVE this!)
Homemade Bread

Friday:
Burritos
Tossed Salad

Saturday:
Leftovers

Sunday:
Tomato Soup
Homemade Bread

Monday:
Parmesan Broiled Basa Fillets
Bakes Potatoes
Cooked Carrots

Tuesday:
Lasagna
Caesar Salad

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26 weeks, then and now

I was looking through my blog archives the other day and came across a picture of myself at 26 weeks pregnant with Bria. I still have the same shirt, so I thought I'd take a picture at 26 weeks again, and compare. What do you think? I think I was a couple pounds heavier, but pretty much the same when pregnant with Bria.

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Home again, Home again...

We got back Sunday night from a great 5 day trip to see Keith's family. Other than a little lack of sleep, we had an excellent time, and it was nice to not just rush there and back (they live 3 hours from us). We usually reserve our longer trips for harvest time, but this year things just didn't go as hoped, and harvest was small and we couldn't make it out anyway.

Wednesday we arrived on time to share some birthday cake with Alyssa and Michelle, who celebrated their 24th birthdays. FUN! We had cake at around 4 or 4:30, and supper at 6:00. Maybe not the usual way to do things, but Alyssa had to work that night, so she left after we ate cake.

The kids had a ton of fun, having the attention of Grandma, Grandpa, and three aunties. Even Great Grandpa came over for a while, and Bria helped him play chess against Keith :) I love it that my kids are comfortable with great grandparents!

We even captured Bria's grumpy face. She's so animated sometimes, it's hilarious! She makes these faces just for fun. She's got the spunkiest personality, and I heard it said a few times during our stay that it would be awesome to freeze the kids right where they're at. Rowan's in the major learning stage, and Bria is just so silly!

Friday was my 26th birthday, and Keith's mom took Alyssa, Michelle, and me for a yummy lunch in Gimli. The weather was absolutely PERFECT!! We spent some time browsing through some local shops, and took a nice stroll down the pier. I couldn't have asked for a better birthday. Loved it.

We also had a bridal shower for Stacey on Friday evening. There were somewhere around 40 ladies there to celebrate with us, and we had a great time.

Of course, there was so much more that went on in those 5 days, but maybe Alyssa wants to share something. Like maybe that super cute video of Bria.... pretty please?

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Sickies and Milestones

Here's Bria. She looks pretty happy, doesn't she? She tends to be a pretty happy little girl, no matter how bad she feels, but the last few days have been pretty rough for her. Saturday night especially, she had a high fever and a nasty cough. We made the decision to keep her home from Sunday School (even though she really does love it). I'm one of those parents that gets really annoyed when people bring their sick kids to church. Yes, it's church, you want to be there, visit with friends, etc. But at the sake of all the people you are going to be in contact with, it's just not worth it! Keep the germies at home.

Here's Rowan. He's very proud because he has reached a very big milestone in his life. It may not seem that important to some, but in our house, it's means for a celebration! Rowan has gone over a week now with a dry night pull up! Yup, he is over 4, I get that, but he sleeps like a brick. Nothing phases him. All of a sudden, he started waking up dry, and even waking up to go to the bathroom during the night! I can't believe it. I honestly thought we were in for at least another year of pull ups. Which is why I bought 2 packages of Under Jams just the night before Rowan was dry. Yup. So now I have two lovely packages of Under Jams (not cheap, by the way) that will sit there until Bria needs them! Or maybe this next little one, I don't know.

Still not brave enough to go without a pull up, but I think in another week, we'll give it a shot. I'm so proud of my big boy, and tonight we go to pick out a car as a prize for his accomplishment. He's so excited!

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So maybe I spoke too soon

As of last night, Bria and I are both feeling pretty rotten. She started coughing/having trouble breathing around midnight, and each time I went in to help her, my throat hurt just a little bit more. I'm hoping to send Keith to the store at noon for some Sambucol to hopefully get over this a little quicker. I've heard it works really well.

Now I'm just hoping Keith doesn't get sick too. How fun, a house full of sick people. Next week we are heading over to Keith's parents house, and I'd hate to go while still feeling rotten. Here's to being healthy!

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