Christmas in the County

Every other year we have "Christmas in the County"...Prince Edward County that is (Bloomfield, specifically).  It is one of my favourite times of the year, as it can sometimes be, if there aren't any weddings in the year, the only time we see some of my extended family!  It's crazy only seeing eachother once a year, we usually do more than that, as we seem to have had a wedding every year for the last 8-10 years...but it's a favourite time, none the less.  I was thankful to not have to work today, meaning that Graham and I could go together and spend some quality time with family. 

It's always a time to catch up, laugh, hear/tell stories and eat WAY.TOO.MUCH.FOOD.  I was pretty good, Graham taking in more baked goods than I could ever consume...but it was all delicious and as good as years past.  While we don't have a big dinner anymore (there are a LOT of us), we have buns, ham (it was SOOOOOOOOOO good) and "Oma soup" (a personal favourite!).  A nice addition this year, was a soup made by my cousin Selena (we think), which was a big hit according to Graham!

There were baked goods, snacks galore, veggies, meatballs, shrimp platters, candies, dips and much more...and since I can't eat a lot at once anymore, I loved the ability to snack when I felt a bit hungry or nauseous.  Veggies and fruit are a big hit for me lately, as well as cheese, so it was nice to have a good healthy mix, as well as sneak in some treats!

I love Christmas with our family!  I love getting to see cousins and second cousins, Aunts and Uncles and everyone growing up and changing.  So thankful!  While Opa was and will always be greatly missed, I always feel his love and warm hugs whenever we're all together.

Friends forever!

Dana and I have been friends for a VERY long time!  We met back in grade school, but didn't hang out and become friends until Highschool (we went to different schools, but we met through Calvinettes at church).  When we became friends, we became close and we spent a lot of time together, always laughing, always making memories and always sharing our deepest thoughts and secrets.  She was, is and will always be, someone I can completely trust!

With both of us working shifts, we don't get to see each other as often as we'd like...but when we do, we always try to make the most of it!  Through the years, we have always gone out for dinner, drinks, movies, coffees or drives, so that we could catch up and talk.  At Christmas, we used to get a coffee/tea and go out for a drive, in whatever town/city we were living in and go and look at "the crazy houses with all of the lights".  We loved it.  We hadn't done it in a few years, so Graham and I thought that our "crazy houses" in Pickering, would be the perfect start to a dinner out!

We couldn't and can't ever prepare someone for the houses here.  Once you hear about it, you think it's going to be crazy...and it always is, but it's so over-the-top insane, you almost can't take it all in when you get there!  Dana could not believe her eyes, when we pulled up to a few houses, that were covered in lights...little did she know, they barely had any compared to where we were taking her next.

While she's never seen "Christmas Vacation"  WHAAAAAAAT?, she thoroughly was SHOCKED when we pulled up to, what she now refers to as: "The houses that THREW UP Christmas".  We laughed A LOT, joked around, took some photos and were mesmorized, as if it was 10 years ago, the first time we ever got in the car to go look at lights together...

Christmas with the Boss.

Every year (well more than that, Graham's lucky to have a GREAT boss!), his boss, Danny, takes us out for dinner.  It's always somewhere nice and he always suggests I either:

"Where something sparkly", or "Have fun dressing up".

He LOVES going out to dinner, later at night, and making a good few hours out of it.  He is one of the most intriguing people that I have ever met and I get more and more fascinated with him, everytime we get together.  He truly has had some hilarious and very entertaining life stories, that always keep me coming back for more!

His boss is very kind and very generous.  He always spoils me, everytime that we go out, usually showing up with a small gift on top of treating us to a deliciously, usually unaffordable meal (for us).  He tries to find out my favourite interests from Graham and then goes gift buying from there.  It's really sweet, and makes me REALLY appreciate how well Graham has it at his job!  Danny and I have a lot in common, work experience wise (off and on- from retail, to restaurant work, to public service) and we always have a good laugh.  He is always interested to hear what the "latest scoop" is and he is the most attentive person, when it comes to listening about it!

Tonight was no exception!  He ran into us, walking from the TTC station, while we were parking our car.  He greeted us, I asked him how he was, to which he replied, "I'm doing great...enough about me!  How are YOU?  I can't tell if you're showing under that coat, but I can't wait to see and ask questions"!  HILARIOUS!  The evening was spent, talking about things baby, how I was feeling, what I was eating and what we had planned for the nursery.  He was FASCINATED.  ADORABLE!  He spoils his nephews to death (he isn't married and doesn't have kids) and very proudly talked about each of them.  It really warmed my heart to hear someone talk so lovingly about their family and be so interested in someone else's life, out of true, genuine care.

We had a fantastic meal (mmm...steak!  I can't get enough of it lately, and I usually don't eat red meat!), great conversation, so many laughs and new memories made.  We exchanged gifts (he never gives it to Graham, always to me, as we are both Christmas lovers!) and he got me the most beautiful, handpainted ornament, that almost gave me tears.

I really hope that Graham remembers down the line and really appreciates his boss, as he's really got ONE-OF-A-KIND.

Merry Christmas from the Clarke's!

While we didn't get a chance to cut down our own tree this year (stupid working retail and having to work weekends!), we did FINALLY get a tree last night and put it up!  A big 9 footer!  We followed our other traditions of watching Elf as we decorated and taking our family photo in front of the tree!

Long legs, big feet.

You'd think that this post is about either Graham or myself (we both have size 11 feet, and yes, can share shoes!) and have LONG legs and shorter bodies...but NOPE!

These were the words out of the midwives mouth today.  You're baby is measuring ahead at every ultrasound...mostly due to LONG femurs and big feet!  So funny!  While I can't feel baby on the outside yet, I can feel it's hands/feet tickling my left side on an off/basis.  While it's not everyday, when it is, I wonder how long this baby will be, or how little room it will have to stretch out.

It's interesting to hear them say things like this now and wonder what that will mean for baby Clarke years down the road!  Will baby be a tall boy or a tall girl or will they have just been tall when they were young and are average height later...weird to think about it.

Glorious Sun!

Yup, it's mid December and while it's definetely colder outside, the sun was shining beautifully today!  It's one of my favourite things about Canadian winter (Graham's too actually!)...no matter how cold and snowy it can get, there always seems to be days of BRIGHT shining sun!

Today, I walked to the chiropractor, with the sun on my face, bundled up with mittens and enjoyed every bit of my walk.  I'm a big fan of the brisk weather, as it means I can walk for longer periods of time without overheating!

Keep shining sun!  Although it'd be nice to have some snow on the ground for Christmas, I don't wish the dark, gloomy days that can sometimes come with that...

CRAZY shoppers!

I have never worked in true retail over the Christmas season, let me tell you, it's insane!  I don't even Christmas shop during the retail season, as I hate how busy it gets and cranky everyone is!!!!!!!  It's a shock to me that people are "willing" to wait up to 30 mins or more in line, sometimes for one piddily item!!!!!!!  "Willing" being in quotations, because they are C.R.A.N.K.Y once they get up to cash!

Needless to say, I keep my smile on and positive attitude (you have to, or you'd go NUTS!) and the day seems to FLY BY!  Thank goodness!

Today we had a line up for ages, almost all day.  I've heard it gets so big, we have staff walking the line handing out candy and asking customers if they need anything else while they wait!  NUTS!  So people, if you need to do your shopping, do it NOW and do it either right in the morning when the stores open, or right before dinner time.  It's the quietest then.  And by quiet, I mean, less than 30 people in line!!!!!!

The blame game.  I get how horrible it is to wait, return or purchase, but we want to fix your problems...IF WE CAN.  No, it is not our fault that you tried your card 4 times and it's NOT APPROVED.  No we are not judging you.  Yes, you should call your bank.  No, it's not because I am "stupid, an a*# or F*&^#@G with the machine" (yes, I was accused of and called all of these things today, because their card wouldn't go through!).  Yes, I am sorry that your item had a chip, crack or is broken.  Yes, I'd be happy to return it.  Yes, you have to wait in line.  No, sorry, you can't return something that you already used.  No, not even because it's cheaper somewhere else.  No you can't just make up something wrong with it, now that you've told me this.  Sorry, I can't help.

Ahh...I try.  I really do.  Sometimes, you just can't help someone who doesn't want to work with you!

A large request!

For months now, I have been prepping for what was going to be a VERY large order of baked goods, chocolate and treats for an event.  I had agreed to do it, before knowing I was pregnant and when I found out I would be 5 months pregnant doing this order, I got very nervous as time went on...

I knew if I made a master plan (yes, it involved spreadsheets, WORD documents and many, many lists), that I could accomplish it, probably under high stress in the last moments, but I had hopes that I could do it.

Well, I can safely say that I finished the entire order, with time left to spare.  It made for some VERY late nights and long days after work during the week leading up to the event and a VERY early morning (4am) on the day of, to fresh bake cupcakes, make buttercreams and organize how we'd fit everything in the car.  When I put the last bit of buttercream on the last cupcake, I sighed a small sigh of relief...as we still had an hour and a half drive to get everything there safely!

This order consisted of:

8 dozen whoopie pies: 4 of them red velvet and 4 chocolate and cream

20 bags of bark: Dark Chocolate Cherry, Oreo, Peppermint and Marshmallow & Raisin

4 dozen cake pops: Christmas Cake, Triple Chocolate and Black Forest (sadly, I was too busy to take them in the process or before they were bagged).

20 bags of Chocolate covered licorice: White, Dark and Milk Chocolate

Homemade Marshmallows: Peppermint and Coffee

20 bags of Homemade Caramel Corn

and last, but not least...

16 dozen cupcakes: 4 dozen Very Vanilla, 4 dozen Chocolate Mint, 4 dozen Chocolate Caramel and 4 dozen Lemon Meringue

And some pictures, which I stole from my amazing sister-in-law who ran the event that this order was for... (NOTE: not all of the treats displayed in this picture are mine...people from her church, have some SERIOUSLY good talent too!!!  I was dying, looking at those cheesecake pops!)

While I learned a lot, was exhausted, had a lot of fun, was challenged, completed it ALL BY MYSELF (with some bagging help from Graham), I don't think I could EVER do an order that big again.  Bits and pieces of it for sure, but that's a lot for one person and one home kitchen!

Needless to say, our kitchen and diningroom was a baking haven and disaster for a solid week.  I was so happy to have my kitchen/diningroom back, when all was said and done (so was Graham).

Adjusting to a new routine...

It's called NO routine.  I am a creature of either routine, or organization.  I do like change, but I like to know when it's coming, how it's coming or at least have a small amount of preparation.  However, in the past 5 months, growing this little bean has taken any and all of that over.
Here is my "usual" nighttime routine since becoming pregnant:

Go to bed at 10pm (early in the beginning, I was SO TIRED!), wake up at 1:30am.

Go to the bathroom or turn over multiple times.

Toss and turn till 2am.

Move to the spare bed and toss and turn till 3:30.

Get fed up and uncomfortable and move to the couch, hoping to fall asleep.

Toss and turn till 4:30.  Give up and watch whatever ridiculous show is on TV or PVR.

Until last night..................................................!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have been DYING to see a Chiropractor and don't know why I've waited this long.  I used to go in Hamilton all the time, but since my benefits used to be full coverage, and Graham's are well...not covering more than paperwork half the time, I waited.  Until today.  I barely slept the night before, resorting to the spare bed at 1am, due to heartburn and back pain.  I slept for 1 hour with Graham's pilates ball behind my back (yes, the BIG 65cm kind) and it was my only relief for that night.  I then gave up and got out of bed in tears.

I had a feeling that I might have thrown my back out due to having the flu and so much time spent being sick and I couldn't take it anymore.  I went to the Chiropractor after lunch, desperate for them to take walk-ins, which they did!!!!!!!!!  HORRAY!

He is a wonderful man, who actually gave me some great recommendations regarding stretching, treatment and prevention due to my fibromyalgia and how pregnancy will affect it.  He listened, he made a plan with me and he really seemed to "get it"...something a lot of people who have never had Chronic pain, cannot ever understand.

He ordered me a new all natural prenatal that should solve some "other" issues, as well as some support socks for my vericose veins.  He adjusted my back, hips and neck (which he said were more tense than he could ever imagine, so no wonder I couldn't sleep or work without pain).  I instantly didn't have a headache and realized how little I could move my beck before coming.  He instructed me that I MUST (yes, MUST) take two tylenol that afternoon and 2 before bed, along with one children's gravol.  Then to come back and see him 3x per week until the new year and once per week after that, if all goes well.

I knew I felt better when I left, feeling slightly better when I went to bed.  I figured that I would have the SAME type of night that I have had for months now, until the first time I stirred and looked at the clock, it was 5:30 in the morning!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  WHAAAAAT???  Sweet, sweet relief!  I turned over, continued to feel comfy and fell asleep till Graham's alarm went off at 6.  He could not believe that I was STILL in bed beside him and I told him that I woke up 30 mins ago, not stirring at all and felt minimal back pain!  I felt so happy, I could have cried!

So, lesson #1:

If you have back pain/neck pain, JUST SEE A CHIROPRACTOR.

Lesson #2:

If you are pregnant and have trouble sleeping due to back pain/neck pain or anything else, see a Chiropractor.

Lesson #3:

If you haven't slept more than 2 hours a night for over a week, YOU WILL GET SICK.  IT WILL KICK YOUR BUTT.

Lesson #4:

If a Dr. tells you it's safe to take gravol or tylenol and it will seriously help you, don't be stubborn or so paranoid about hurting your baby that you suffer.  In turn, your baby will also suffer from your lack of sleep, energy, appetite etc.

Lesson #5:

Listen to your MOTHER, even if you're almost 30 and she tells you that you need to rest.  Everytime I got up yesterday and could barely move, all I thought of, was making chicken soup (Mom was GREAT at that) and laying back down.  Anything else would have to wait.

Officially Halfway!

I can't believe it!  Time in the first trimester went by so slowly.  Everyday we waited to hear the heartbeat and get past the scary stage, felt like years.  Now that we've gotten to see little "squidge" a few times, it is all seeming more real...that and my expanding waistline won't let me forget.

We've had a few bumps in the last couple weeks, with me not feeling too well off and on, but mostly, it's getting more exciting.  I've felt baby move almost daily now (it's still sporadic and baby is at my back with the placenta in between it and my belly button, so it will take longer to feel kicks on the outside) and it is such a neat feeling.  At first, it felt like bubbles and now it feels like little tickles or the occasional jab.  Tuesday, I swore that I felt the baby flip around and sure enough, at today's ultrasound, they confirmed that baby is now facing forward again.

We've gotten to hear the heartbeat multiple times, which is amazing each and everytime.  We've also been told that if we want to know what "squidge" is, we can...as the radiologist has released this info to the midwives!  Nice to know that we could if we wanted, but for now...it's a secret.

I see the midwives on Tuesday and will get the results from our anatomy or 20 week scan then.  What we do know, that the techs would tell us, is that baby is still measuring 5 days ahead (3rd ultrasound confirming this) and it has big feet (no surprise there, I'm a size 10/11) and long legs (again, no surprise there, both Graham and I have long legs).  I had to have a repeat today, due to not being able to see the stomach last week, and since baby has flipped, we got an awesome profile shot!!!!!!  It's crazy how much baby has grown.

Can't wait for Tuesday to find out everything else (like estimated weight of baby so far and length, as well as heartrate and growth percentiles).

For now, here's a comparison from our first ultrasound, to this one (hopefully our last, unless they have to check baby's position down the road)...however, we will be doing a 3D ultrasound as eachother's Valentine's present :)

Teeny, tiny baby at 9 weeks 2 days.

Baby at 20 weeks!  It's got a little button nose, big eyes, cute lips and look at that spine!  It's hands were waving away and legs were crossed and rocking itself to sleep! 

Sick as a dog...

Last night was R.O.U.G.H.

I spent the majority of the night either puking in the bathroom, repeatedly and violently or shaking/desperately trying to get to sleep.  Graham was lucky enough to sleep through the entire thing, unsure what state I would be in, once he awoke in the morning.  When he went to bed, I was feeling like junk and he was hoping I'd recover by getting some sleep in the other room.  Boy was he WRONG.

I have NEVER been that sick in my life.  Everytime I drank, it was out...eating was out of the question.  Getting the flu sucks, but getting the flu while pregnant, I don't wish it on ANYONE.

By the time 5am hit, I was in such a state, I just made it to the bathroom...to have to have a shower, as I was a hot mess.  I don't remember much after that, other than getting out to be sick again.  Graham came into the bathroom at 6am, wondering what in the world I was doing sleeping on the bathroom floor, beside the toilet.  Attractive.  It was the only sleep I got that night.  The rest of the day continued to be a disaster, but at least I had nothing left in me to be sick all day.

Man, the bathroom floor feels good when you're sick, tired and sweating like crazy!

Ice Cream night!

While the night started out okay, it ended pretty roughly (sick as a dog!)...

But while I was feeling okay, we had a little mini date.  As we ate dinner, Graham said he had a sweet tooth, saying it be nice to get a treat.  I had been wanting Marble Slab ice cream for awhile and thought it would be a perfect time to go. 

If you've never been to there, it's DELICIOUS!  You get to pick your flavour and add whatever mixings that you'd like.  I have only been a few times before, but whenever I went, I loved that you got to have exactly what you wanted.  Graham seemed to really enjoy himself too!  I had my favourite- Birthday Cake with cookie dough and gummy bears...yup kid at heart!  Graham had chocolate peanut butter (strange, as he's not usually a fan) with skor and brownies.  Delicious.  It was a nice mini date out!

A hard workin man!

Last night, as I was baking away (going to be a daily thing, all week!), Graham decided to finish sanding the dresser for the babies room.  He started this on Sunday, while I was at work and last night, decided to get a power sander to complete the job, much better/faster.  I am SO happy that he is willing to help me with this request, as I didn't want to buy a new dresser ($$$$$$) and really wanted one that would be stained to match the crib, as closely as possible.

What an amazing husband!  It now looks totally different, sanded down and I can't wait to see it stained!

Here's proof that Graham is amazing!  It's dark outside, cold and he is having fun "playing" with his new power tool!

HOLY Griswald house in Pickering!!!

I kept hearing about these two houses in Pickering that are always on the news at Christmas time, for their amazing lights on their house.  All of my co-workers talk about them, know where they are and repeatedly recommended to go there anytime after December 1st, as they will be all lit up.

While we went for our drive through the neighbourhood on Friday, I am just getting around to posting about this house now.  We haven't seen their neighbours house lit up yet, so we will have to take another drive this week.

While driving around, we initially passed the house, but immediately turned around, as it was blaringly obvious where it was!  It was light up night there and it was like NOTHING I have ever seen!  I immediately had to send a picture to my sister-in-law, Stephanie, as one of her favourite movies is, "Christmas Vacation" with Chevy Chase.  Seriously, if you are EVER in the area, you NEED to see this house and the neighbours.  Even if you're not, COME ON OVER!

I love that they have made so much good out of their house display, taking donations of food and money for the local Food Bank.  Last year they collect over 4000 pounds of food and $4000.  They have over 50,000 lights and the cost of running this, was my biggest question.  Surprisingly, if you check out their website, it's substantially less than I'd ever imagine!

Check out www.wrightslights.com !!!  But for now, look at this photo!  It's amazing!

A Day in the States!

While it took 2 hours to wait in line at the Border on the way there, immigration was a BREEZE!  We were finished at immigration in under 3 minutes, I literally came out of the bathroom, to find Graham doing his paperwork!!!!!!!!!  Miracle!  We either end up waiting at the border for minimal time, and the office for ages, so I guess it's one or the other.

Once across, we hit our stride.  We stopped at Target for some last minute stocking stuffers and the like, checked out a few baby things and then went to pick up the crib that we ordered.  We LOVE the crib and wanted the exact one at Babies R'Us, but it is $350 more in Canada.  WHAAAAAAAT?  Needless to say, we were taking our money elsewhere...  We also got the crib mattress, a WHOLE TON of clothes at Carter's, as there was a MASSIVE sale and a few gifts for others as well.  All in all, we spent way over the daily limit, but didn't pay a penny in duty AGAIN!  WHOO HOO!

Graham was so excited when we got home, that he immediately started setting up the crib.  We put it together in less than an hour, with only a few bumps and bruises (on the crib, not us), and it looks gorgeous!  We knew that waking up the next morning, with the crib in the babies room, was going to make it all feel real.  We are keeping the blue that's in there and painting the room after baby is born, so that it can be gender specific.  We need to find crib sheets and a dust ruffle and curtains, but I can't find quite what I'm looking for!

I'll take pictures of the actual room once it's done...but for now, this is our crib!

It's the Graco Stanton 4 in 1 crib.  We love the colour and look of it and Graham is working this weekend on sanding down a dresser that we had in the room, so that we can stain it the same colour.  Can't wait!!!!!!!!