WOW! WOW! WOW! Would you look at this DIY chandelier that Rachel from Smile and Wave did as part of the Project Restyle challenge?!?! I am i lovvvve. I think I may have to try and do this for the bug's room, such a creative lady! She always inspires me...as a craftster and also as a soon to be mom. You should check her out if you haven't because you like live under a rock or something. She is kind of a big deal to us Arts n Crafts bloggers

Dear bug,

Are you still in there? Because mamma just feels kinda fat. You have been so good to me this whole pregnancy, it's like your not even there. Well...aside from the insomnia, and the heartburn, oh yah and the headaches. Ok and also the crying fits and REALY sore boobs. But seriously, are you there bug? It's me mamma. You and I are nearing our 20th week together and Id really like to feel you move. Or hiccup. Or kick. Anything, just tell me you are there.

See I am a wee bit paranoid. Sometimes I ask your poppa "Oh my god, maybe I am not pregnant. Maybe I am just getting fat." I stare at myself in the mirror and have to admit ok, that is a prego belly. No wieght gain anywhere else, just boobs and belly. SO WHERE ARE YOU BUG?

The other day I think I felt a poke. Like an elbow? Your big fat nose from the Newitt side? (blame your grandfather) Or it could have been gas from the massive slice of apple pie with ice cream I had just finished demolishing too.

So I am just sayin, anytime you wanna jab at me go right ahead. I wont get mad. I wont ground you. Kick away dear little one.

PS: can we get over this whole aversion to chicken thing already? It's getting ridiculous and your Dad misses cooking it. K thanx bye

Here is what was playing on my Ipod this morning as I rode the bus into work this cold wintery morning:

And last but not least this song came on and I thought, what a great song to turn into a lullaby for the bug! Give the lyrics a real listen, its beautiful!

Time for a weekly update on me and the little bug growing in my belly. Week 19 has been pretty good to me so far aside from some fatigue and a suddenly MUCH larger appetite. I have been waking up at 2 or 3 am STARVING so there is now a box of crackers and glass of water by the bed, otherwise I cant sleep my tummy grumbles so hard. I am sure with this sudden surge in appetite will come quite the growth spurt, and so I am trying to be cautious and make healthy food choices. But man I tell yah, when you are starving and all there is around is a batch of cookies fresh out of the oven WATCH OUT! They will be gone in no time! Mental note: tell the hubby to stop baking cookies as midnight snacks. LOL, thank god for pre-natal vitamins.

Looking back over this pregnancy so far, it has been an interesting ride. There of course have been times of barfyness, insomnia and extreme fatigue, but all in all it has been pretty manageable. There are some funny/weird side effects too:

• I will often forget words, or the names of things resulting in sentences such as "Can you pass me that thingy?" or "I wonder what will happen to whats her name...you know the brunette in the next episode?" That last one was in response to my favorite TV show How I Met Your Mother, for like a week I couldn't remember Robyn's name
• smells, my god the smells. Most people know a woman's sense of smell increases during pregnancy but you have no idea by how much! I became a freaking bloodhound! I could solve crimes! I could literally smell Ryan walking into a room during my first trimester and couldn't open the fridge door because I was literally bowled over by the intense combination of smells.
  
• Animals know you are pregnant. Somehow they just sense it, both my cats curl up around my tummy and my Aunts dog licks my belly when she sees me.
• You will turn into a Gumby doll. With pregnancy comes a massive surge in hormones one of them being relaxin. As you tell from its time it relaxes things, mainly your joints and ligaments. In the first three months I found myself waking up in the strangest positions, contorted into a pretzel. My arms would often be flung so far over my head that it would hurt to move it back to normal.
• you may not be menstruating anymore but for some there is still cramping. I could literally feel my uterus growing and changing shape in the first trimester. CREEPY! I still get weird cramps from time to time, but sadly it is morphing more into back pain. oi vey!

In other news we put the crib together yesterday so we could see how big it was and how much room it left for other furniture. Baby Kitty quickly decided it was now his bed and hoped in and made himself at home. Pictures of this adorableness will follow shortly

1.   Winter is: really wet and rainy here in Vancouver.  I would much rather have cold and snow as at least you get those cold, clear, crisp, sunny days when the snow sparkles and your cheeks are rosey. Here everything is just wet, soggy and crouchy. I am tired of rain     

2.  Summer is: full of gardening, organic veggies, farmers markets, days spent by our pool and lazy brunches outdoors soaking up the sun. It is also when "the bug" is due!

3.  If it were summer instead of winter right now I'd: be out in the garden watching my veggies grow or reading a book in the sunshine     

4.  My favorite thing to do in winter is: get outside in the snow as it cheers me up immensely, sadly its all rain here...le sigh. I think I am going moldy  

5.  My favorite thing to do in summer is: spend a day at the Trout Lake Farmers Market. I love to wander about with my basket in hand, listen to the music, by yummy food, and take home lovely little plants to grow      

6.  The ideal outfit for a sunny summer day is: a long flowy hippy skirt, tank top, sandals, and huge over-sized sunglasses      

7.  The ideal outfit for a frigid winter day is: cozy pjs and a warm blankie! 

I will leave you all with a "bug bump" sighting, that belly! Oi its a growing and I love it! Now I just cant wait to feel it MOVE!

Howdy folks! It is a cold, grey, rainy/slushy snow day here in Vancouver. I am dreaming of being home curled up with my katz under a warm blanket. Speaking of blankets, I am kind of obsessed with quilts right now. The other day I started making a blanket for the bug. I wont share the details until it is done but it's super cute, involves some minor quilting and I will share a sneak peak with you:

Wouldn't you know it? Shortly after I start this blanket I hear about an E-Course called "Modern Quilting" taught be the ever so lovely Rachel! Funny how small that kraftinista world is. I of course signed up right away, and will share my projects with you as I go. If you are doing the class too plase let me know so I can spy on your stiches too.

This adorable apron is one of the things I am most looking forward to making!

And of course now I suddenly see cool quilts everywhere, like this one on Flickr

In other obsessive news I am LOVING a new band I found, "The National". Take a listen and let me know what you think!

What's floatin your boat these days?

Growing up I didnt always have the most steadfast representation of "mother-love", but now that I am older and wiser I know it was there. Dysfunctional yes, but it was there. There is a lot of glorification of mother-love, over expectations and blame. The simple fact is that the very act of carrying a small, helpless, dependable human being inside of you for 9 and half months is the very definition of love. pure, selfless, innocent love. No matter how the rest turns out, we were all rocked to sleep in our mothers bellies.

A pregnant woman must give up a lot during this time. Say goodbye to that nightly glass (or two, or three...) of your favorite pino grigio. Farewell to your sashimi binges at that local Japanese hot spot. Sayonara to any prescription medication you were taking, no matter how much it helped. Ta Ta to late nights dancing with the girls and eating late night pizza on Granville street at 3am. Have a headache? Well forget about the advil and only take that regular strength tylenol if a solid nap doesnt kick it. And you might as well pack up all thse skinny jeans, tube tops, mini skirts and high heels as they will only taunt you from your closest. Not that I couldnt wear them if i didnt want to but lets be honest...4 inch heels and a tube top do not appeal to me right now in the slightest. Frankly none of the above things do. I willingly gave them all up. Why?

For love. For the love of a tiny unknown creature growing in my womb that I have never even met but I know who will be my everything. Now if that isnt love, I don't know what is?

Normaly I would do a scheduled "Motherhood Monday" post for you all but I am too excited to share with you all that I am doing my very first guest blog post today! Go visit Pamplemousse today and tell her I told you to say hi! While there you can learn my nifty camera trick that can litteraly save you tonnes of cash-olla! A proper blog post will follow later today, for now go visit me over here!

Since it is the Holidays and all, time for a lil Bob and Doug. For all of my American readers here is a little taste of Canadiana, eh!

Oddly enough as I near my fourth month, I feel nothing but calm. I am sure I will have another freak out episdoe over something, I mean hell I am becoming a parent! That is HUGE stuff. But for now, in this moment, right now, I feel calm. I feel like its all happening for a reason, in the time it needs to happen. I am taking more time for myself these days, not listening to the little voice in my head that guilts me into things or makes me worry about other people. I am giving myself permission to be selfish, do things for me, buy that cupcake and eat it too! (Hehehehe I currently have a thing for cute cupcakes as snacks, lol!)  I am so unbelieavble drawn inward that I feel like a different person. A calmer, happier, contended person. It's nice. And I am tired, like I sleep...ALOT! LOL. But it is a deep and restorative sleep and I am soaking it all up while I can. Peace and pickles my dear lovelies!