Easter? So what?!

Am I a bad parent for skipping Easter celebrations this year? For starters, I hate Easter! Really. As a non-religious person I find it completely pointless. I hate pastel colours and milk chocolate and bunnies. Seriously! A big, scary white bunny bringing baskets of candy is nowhere near as adorable as a fat man in a red suit coming down your chimney to bring you gifts. I mean really. All the Easter Bunny does is hop. And there's nothing very fun about that now is there? I can hope. Enough said. Anyway, not only do I hate Easter but my sweet hubby Turkey Butt was on base the entire long weekend (Thursday til whenever we pick him up today - Monday). Where's the fun in celebrating a holiday when the only person to appreciate it can't even be here. The guy is missing enough, I don't need him calling home and me being like, Oh hey hun, you missed it, we had this big super awesome easter celebration without you. Oh, and did I mention that Elodie is only 5.5 months old and couldn't given a crap if she has a basket full of goodies outside her bedroom door?

Considering all of these things, why is it then that I feel like a bad parent for not celebrating her first Easter? I'm also feeling a little bad for not celebrating her first St. Patrick's Day but again, hubby was away, I don't drink and we're not Irish! You know where my guilt comes from? It comes from following the blogs of these perfect little mama's and their perfect little newborns. I have two in mind in which the babies are younger than Elodie, the Mama's look better than I did before I ever got pregnant, and they have adorable little outfits for every damn holiday. As adorable as it is, it's kind of annoying too. I have a newborn so I know that looking perfect and well-rested and getting a baby (no matter how good natured) to sit still long enough to get a perfect photo of them is hard. I just wish they'd be a little more honest and admit that. Show the photo of the baby spitting up all over their perfect little First Easter outfit. Maybe then I won't have to feel so damn guilty about my lack of holiday parenting, my messy house, my unwashed hair, and the spit up stains on my daughter's onesie. That is all. This is my life.

Ellie Belly & Mama's Snowy Love Day

First time in the snow - any other time she's been covered in her car seat on the way to and from the Jeep.

Little Miss Elle & Elle :)

In the doorway of our new house!

Back inside - Baby-o getting kisses from her Mama. Did you know that Mama Kisses are the best kisses because they're filled with love? True story!

Thanks Jay for letting us borrow your little man's Jolly Jumper. She loves it.

Too cute for words.

Yayyy, cloth diapers. This is a One Size FuzziBunz - my current favs. How cute?

Because Turkey Butt works tomorrow on the actual Valentine's Day, we are celebrating today. Unfortunately Turkey Butt had to shovel the driveway, pick up his kit (uniform, etc) from the base, and get groceries for our Love Day Supper. Ellie Belly and I had some pre-nap fun without him though. This is my life!

P.S. Little Miss Elle got me the sweetest Valentine's day card (thank you Turkey Butt). I literally bawled when I read it. It talks about how "she" thinks I'm the perfect Mom to guide, teach and motivate her through her wonderful life. It also thanks me for all the hugs, kisses and songs I share with her each day. Gah. After a rough, nap-less day yesterday - this was such a nice thing to read.

Jumping on the Yearly Recap Bandwagon

It seems to be a trend in blog world to end the blogging year with a nice little recap. So, no need for me to disappoint.

January - We had to put down our sweet kitten Rocco. We cried. I celebrated my 26th birthday in Cottage Country with Turkey Butt.
February - We found out we were expecting our little pumpkin on the 16th.
March - Celebrated our 1st anniversary at my in-law's very cold camp.
April - Turkey Butt celebrated his 27th birthday with a homemade ice cream cake.
May - Moved to a new apartment.
June - Found out that our little pumpkin is going to be a girl.
July - Went to the zoo.
August - Had an unpleasant run-in at work that led to a few days off of work - funded by Worker's Compensation.
September - Got beautiful maternity photos taken by RavenDawn Photography. Attended my first baby shower - and it happened to be my own.
October - Turkey Butt & I got hitched on the 1st. On the 18th we welcomed our Little Miss Elle into the world. On the 31st we celebrated our first Halloween as a family of 3 (+dog) with cuddling and horror movies.
November - Took holiday photos of Little Miss Elle for our Christmas cards.
December - Found our dream house and put an offer on it. Celebrated Christmas as a family. Officially bought our dream house - now we wait for the closing date.

All in all it was such a wonderful year. I feel so very blessed to have had such an amazing year! I can only imagine what will happen for us in 2012. Will be so hard to top 2011! This is my life!

My List To Santa

It may or may not be a secret that I'm expecting 20+ (okay, more like 30+) items to arrive in the mail over the next week or two. What with Black Friday/Small Business Saturday/Cyber Monday occurring shortly after I got some extra moolah (5 weeks of EI, paid out over a 2 week period), I was bound to do a little online shopping. Of course we all know that moderation is not something that I often practice so that little became a LOT! Oops.

That being said, I am quite positive that not a single item soon to arrive in my mailbox is actually for me. It's the sad fact of life for a Mama. Well, that and I just love buying gifts for people (esp. sweet hubby who acts like a kid in a candy store when you gift him a used t-shirt). Of course I do have my eye on a few enjoyable things for myself. I store them in my Favorites area on Etsy just incase I ever feel like splurging on myself.

So Santa, incase you were wondering what you could buy me this year (from Etsy of course) - here is a handy list for you:

Vintage Ornament Xmas Frame from Mmim

Love Dishtowel from Brookish

Mini Calendar from KaydenAshley

Airstream Notebook 3 pack from Red Tile Studio

I Love You Mug from Retrogalusa

Peas in a Pod Bracelet from Aden Creations

Thanks Santa, you're the best! This is my life!

P.S. Oh Santa, you didn't honestly think I would forget to include something for you did you?

Xmas Tree Cookies from Broken Road Farm

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas...

Today while Little Miss Elle was sleeping, I did a Christmas photo shoot of the babe. I used various props (stockings, ornament balls, xmas decor) as well as various locations (laundry basket, rocking chair). I then used Picnik to turn the photo's into Christmas cards for my loved ones. So far I have 4 different cards created and I simply cannot choose which I like the best. *Insert consultation with Turkey Butt* Okay, we've both agreed on a favorite so I will show you the ones that didn't make the cut:

And just for fun, our (mine & my sister Aych's) holiday photo from last year:

and our Christmas card from last year:

from Gwen Marie Designs

This is my life!

Homemade Christmas Gifts

I love making homemade gifts for the family and friends on my list! This year I am trying to get a head start on my creating, what with the baby's imminent arrival. The only downside to the crafting, when I like my gifts so much that I want to keep them... Sigh! This is my life!

Happy Valentine's Day!!!!

I received a very wonderful e-Valentine from my bestest Aye:

Two very cute Disney Valentine's and an Apple Turnover (with no bites and no frosting licked off!!!) from the little men in my life, Jax & Mason!

Two cupcakes and a Puppy Valentine from my Sister and her BF!

A "Happy Valentine's Day" facebook message from my Diddy and another from my Mother-in-law.

And this lovely homemade card from Turkey Butt:

He was so proud that he'd used scissors and tape and string on his Valentine to me!

And now i'm off to make some Red Velvet Whoopie Pies for my honey! Wish me luck! This is my life.

Valentine's Day

I'm going to try my hand at these Red Velvet Whoopie Pies this Valentine's day. All I need is for Turkey Butt to bring me home sone cocoa from work. Yummmm....

This is my life :)

On this New Year's Eve...

2010 has been a rollercoaster of a ride and there are so many things for me to be thankful for! Through the ups and the downs, it really did turn out to be a wonderful year full of love and happiness.

... my dad started walking again after his accident and was able to return to work and best of all (for him anyway) play golf.
... my sister is still my best friend and we're lucky enough to live close by and visit at least weekly
... my mom was able to visit us more often than she did last year, even if the circumstances weren't always the best
... my stepmom loves my dad, accepts my sister and i as her own children and was an amazingly strong support system for my dad while he was injured
... my family has survived the year - though not everyone will survive 2011, we had no deaths in 2010
... my bestest has found the love of her life and i\m so thrilled that he's good to her and treats her right

And me? Well, in March, Turkey Butt kissed me and I knew that I was madly in love with him and would never kiss another man ever again. We tumbled into this whirlwind love affair that I know will last the rest of our lives. I love him more every second of every day and wish we could just spend a lifetime together playing boardgames and watching movies and travelling from my family's cottage to his and hanging out with the animal babies and loving each other like it's going out of style. In 2010 we kissed, fell in love, were accepted by and fell in love with each other's family, we moved in together, we got our own place, we got pregnant, we loved and supported each other through a miscarriage, we adopted a new animal baby, we got engaged and we started new Christmas tradtions that we plan to pass down to our children someday! It wasn't always pretty, but it was always love.

Now, to 2011, all I have to say is: Bring it!

This is my life!

$$$$$

I spent too much money this Christmas. There. I said it. Three Christmas' ago I was broke and thought, How can I give without breaking the bank? So I decided to donate money to charity in lieu of giving gifts to my large extended family and my good friends. Sure, I gave a few tiny things, stocking stuffers really but I stuck by it that first year. The problem? No one wanted to abide by my wishes to not receive gifts either - just money donated in my honour. So I felt guilty and the next Christmas I bought a few more gifts for everyone AND donated money to charity. This year my gift purchasing was extraordinary. Definitely at least as much as I ever did. Plus, I still donated all that money to charity.

Because I've this, i've made the decision to get back to the basics, and make my gifts for next year! Knowing that waiting til the last minute is not an option when making things, I've already begun my creations. Best case scenario, I complete one item a week which will give me 52 items come Christmas 2011. I'm sure it won't be that perfect, but it's a good goal. A fairly realistic goal at that.

With a few days spent in Cottage Country for my birthday, a trip down south (Mexico? Cuba? Domincan?) for our anniversary/Turkey Butt's birthday, oh, and a wedding - money is going to be tight this year. But bring it on! This is my life!

Our First Christmas

Today, Boxing Day, Turkey Butt and I are celebrating our first Christmas together. We're starting the day in our matching pajamas, he'll make us smoothies and french toast, my parents will come watch us open our presents, I'll make scallopped potatoes for supper (his request) and we'll just lie around being lazy with the animal babies all day!

Last night, since it was our version of Christmas Eve, we each opened one gift from the other. I received a beautiful photo of an old house that spans across two canvases. Turkey Butt received a DVD collection of the entire career of one certain boxer. He was SO excited! Big smiles, goofy grin, knocked me over to kiss me and thank me and tell me he loves me. What a great reaction!

Now if only he'll get out of bed, we can get this party started :) This is my life!

Happy Holidays!

My Christmas Eve has been absolutely amazing! I was surrounded by my family, we had some amazing food, and the gifts this year were above par! The only things I'm lacking are my Turkey Butt and my Dog Face. It's so quiet in the house with just Rocco and I, and opening gifts isn't the same without Turkey Butt to show them to. We'll have our own Christmas (on Boxing day) and create some traditions of our own to carry on when we have kidlets but I miss him now. He's sadly an hour away, visiting his family and I work in T-minus 8 hours for the entire Christmas Day. Sigh. This is most definitely the last time I let anything get in the way of spending the holidays with the love of my life! This is my life!

Holiday Movie # 16

I really tried to like this movie. I did. Even the fact that I was watching it at 2am didn't save this movie. Nor did this handsome man. Or this great actor. I just couldn't get passed the fact that I cannot stand ANYTHING about Jenny McCarthy. She's just one big annoying package (sorry, it really works for her, but I can't take it). Apparently there's a Santa Baby 2. After looking here though, I'm going to skip it. Santa is no longer played by that same great actor (see above) and Luke (a.k.a. the hunk) is now played by Mrs. Tori Spelling. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy Dean McDermott but he's no Ivan Sergei. Besides, if I'm watching a sequel, I want to see the same people playing the same roles. Otherwise, write out those roles. This is my life.

P.S.

Ivan Sergei, mmmm.

Holiday Movie # 15

Another holiday classic, Home Alone. I've always wished that I was as smart and creative as this kid. Heck, I still do. This is my life.

Holiday Movie # 14

John McClane, kicking ass and taking names... again! If only all the Die Hard movies took place at Christmas time. Seriously, it was such a great concept. A nice, upbeat holiday movie for the action-types. Sigh. Another holiday classic. Paired with Die Hard, it makes a great evening of action in front of the Christmas tree. Or maybe that's just me? This is my life.

Holiday Movie # 13

With parent's who are separated, this very easily could have been my Christmas this year. Instead, mainly due to an excessive work schedule, I will be celebrating on Boxing Day at my place. My family has been informed that they are all welcome to come visit us, but I will not be travelling on my one and only day off in the entire month of December. Turkey Butt will spend Xmas Eve and Day with his parents an hour away (they're still together) and I may spend a few hours with my Dad, Step Mom and Sister on Xmas Eve. Otherwise, one christmas. Our first :).

But back to the movie, not executed as well as it could have been considering the concept, but it's enjoyable none the less. This is my life.

Holiday Movie # 12

Deck The Halls. It's really hard not to compare this movie to Christmas Vacation. Especially since I just watched it earlier today. I mean, it's alot different. But there are enough similarities to make you go Hmmm. Like how the scenes open with an advent calendar door being opened. Different advent calendar, same exact idea. Hmmm. See! This is my life.

Holiday Movie # 11

Love, love, love it! This isn't my life and that makes me very thankful :)

This is my life.

Holiday Movie # 10

Surviving Christmas starring Ben Affleck, James Gandolfini, Christina Applegate, The Mom From Home Alone, The Chick From House, etc. Completely predictable, but a twist on the typical holiday movie. This is my life......

Holiday Movie # 9

Mickey's Christmas Carol. Who doesn't love a little Mickey over the holidays. Mind you they happily skip through the majority of this story. But for kids, it's a classic! This is my life!