Little Brother

Introducing 

Ashe Monthomery Stein

April 11, 2013

1:20 pm

8 lbs 9 oz

21 inches

Mud Room Project

My husband spent a couple hours over the past week working on a house project for me. A few weeks ago I finally decided I was fed up with our system at the back door. By 'system' I mean the way we were storing our jackets and children's winter gear. Everything seemed mismanaged and I was sick of having my hubby's work jackets piled on top of my nicer smelling jackets. So naturally I began to peruse Pinterest. This pinterest thing paired with nesting is a very bad idea. We have a very large mudroom that enters through our garage and carries through the pantry, but the space was just not being utilized. Plus we have a large coat and shoe closet, but coats rarely seem to ever get hung up on their hangers. We needed a more convenient and quick way to stash away our 'stuff'. These are the ideas I found:

simple and efficient and we liked
the idea of two rows of hooks
(one for adults one for kids)

these colours go well with our home, and again
a very simple idea, although probably wouldn't use
our storage space for decor

slightly more complicated but a nice
polished look, plus the bench cushion is cute

Loved this one for the use of the corner space
which is exactly what we were dealing with

 

A nice one piece unit

Liked the idea of the overhead cabinets

We talked about the pro's and con's of each idea and came up with three possible options. 1) We built a unit ourselves. Probably more cost efficient but maybe wouldn't be as professional or polished looking 2) try to assemble something ourselves from pre-built pieces such as good ol' Ikea. Again relatively cost effective but would it be durable and reliable for such a dirty and "lived-in" space. 3) Hire a woodworker or carpenter to custom build a unit for us. Least cost effective but would result in a beautiful addition to our home. 

Being pregnant and indecisive we went back and forth and finally settled on doing nothing at all. After allowing some time to pass my husband suggested he give it a whirl. He is not a woodworker by trade but anyone who knows my darling hubby, knows that he can pretty much tackle anything. He is a hands-on kind of guy and is awesome at every project he takes on. From car building to plumbing, to deck building to tree and flower planting, he is seriously amazing! Anyway we decided to go with a shelf row of hooks, followed by a lower row of hooks, followed by a bench. We designed it to have space for baskets on the top shelf as well as under the bench. 

I dont know how he just knows this stuff, but it turned out awesome. I am so pleased with our mudroom now and feel so much more organized. With a second boy on the way I know we are going to need lots of room for muddy boots, hats, winter gear and coats. It is perfect. 

working away with Dad

The mirror that used to hang where

the shelves are now

The finished product.
Still needs a bench cushion but we will
see if I get around to that before baby

First Family Camping Trip

We just got home from our first family camping trip and it was great! Minus all the pre-camping issues we had to deal with of course. Lets start with the back story. Sandy and I started looking into trailers for camping last May-June (2011) but because I was due with Alexander in August it didn't make much sense to invest in something that we wouldn't be able to use right away. So we decided that we would wait, not do Christmas presents for each other, and instead buy a trailer in the spring of 2012. So that is what we did. We only exchanged stockings with one another (except the diamond earrings Sandy got for me and broke the rules, but that's neither here nor there) and in February we went to look at trailers at the RV show. We had basically already decided what we wanted but thought it was still a good idea to go look. So one fun date day in February we went to the show, and within 20 minutes had decided on our trailer and purchased it! We were told it would arrive in March or April. So in the meantime I started purchasing what we needed for camping and making lists etc. March and April came and went and no trailer arrived. Finally in May we got word that it was here so we went for a quick peak and it looked great! Just as we had expected and everything looking like it should! We made an appointment for our orientation and pick up of the trailer. It was a Tuesday morning about two weeks before we had our first camping trip booked. But, when we showed up for our appointment, the trailer wasn't ready to go home. The salesman had forgot to put the work order through to have it pressurized and ready to go. So instead of getting it that day we ended up getting it Saturday, six days before our scheduled camping trip (and the day of Alexanders dedication). I spent Saturday night and Sunday (Mothers Day) filling the trailer and getting it organized and ready for camping. The only thing left was to fill the fridge! Tuesday Al went to my Mom's for Grandma-baby time, like he always does on Tuesdays so I took advantage of the free time and went and got our groceries. Five hundred dollars worth of groceries. 

the groceries

Not thinking, I didn't plug the fridge in ahead of time so when I got home I plugged it in and waited for it to get cold. The manual said about eight hours so I gave it eight hours, and it still wasn't cold. I gave it twelve hours, still hot, and by twenty four hours it was still warm inside! At that point we called the dealership and the short version was the fridge needed to be replaced, three days before we were supposed to leave. Luckily they had the fridge in stock so they replaced it and we had the trailer back that night. Which leaves us to Thursday. This is the day I went over our site we had booked and last minute lists. This is when I realized I had made a mistake with our booking and accidentally booked a non-powered site. Bahh. Not the end of the world but I was disappointed that I had made this over site. Oh well. Friday it was time to leave on our first camping trip. Fridge replaced, food and clothes packed, gassed up and ready to go. 

We hit the road shortly after lunch and got to our spot around 4:00pm. Within ten minutes of getting there and starting to set up, one of our jacks hit the gas line (our main source of power for the weekend) and blew the line. At this point we packed up, signed out at the office and got a refund, and were on our way home! All of this work and waiting and packing and planning, just to come home 10 minutes into our trip because we had blown a gas line. We ended up taking the trailer straight to the dealer and they were able to fix it for us immediately (I think they felt bad for all the trouble we had been having with the brand new unit). By 8:00pm Friday night our trailer was fixed and ready to go again. I ended up calling back to the lake for a reservation and got the last site in the entire park. We left shortly after lunch on Saturday and had a great camping trip! We put a couple little scratches into our new trailer but I guess that is going to happen! Anyway just wanted to share the adventure of our first camping trip as a family. Despite that I was very upset each time something went wrong, I can now laugh at it because it all worked out in the end. There are people in much worse situations so I have to smile and remember how blessed we are. After all, our fridge in our trailer malfunctioned, some people don't even have fridges in their homes.

All hooked up

Crawlin' around the new place

Now mommy can have her hands free
for a game of bean bags

All fenced in

My first bath in the new tub

Good Morning, had a great sleep in my new bunk bed

Hanging out with Dad

Checkin' out the beach

I can't wait to take it out again and spend more time as a family camping!

Alex is a NO-NO

Warning: this is just a small rant about professionals addressing clients/ customers using nicknames. 


For those of you who don't know, my husbands name is Alexander. He goes by Sandy, as it is a family tradition and a family nickname. Legally it is Alexander, though, so on forms, accounts, cards etc it shows up as Alexander. When we go into banks, doctors offices, registries or anything of the sort I am constantly annoyed at how the professionals refer to him as Alex*. Im sure you are thinking, "harmless, don't be so uptight" but why it bothers me is that he doesn't even go by Alexander, so please don't shorten the name further and use a nickname. Nicknames are reserved for close friends and family and have usually been agreed upon by the person being called that nickname. It irritates me because if they are trying to create a friendly, comfortable  atmosphere they would know to call him Sandy, the nickname he has chosen to go by, not Alex,  something a distant acquaintance  has chosen for him. By calling him Alex, it makes the professional exchange feel even less personal because it is such an inaccurate reference to my husband. 

Tell me this, if your name was Richard and you commonly went by Rich, and you went to a bank teller and they addressed you as Dick, would you not feel slightly offended? It's just weird. Don't shorten my name, if anything address me as Mrs. or Mr. McLaren. Alexander is even fine, I just cringe every time I hear them say to me "Alex". Lets leave name shortening and nicknaming to family and friends. Full name , Mr. or Mrs., or even sir or madam can be reserved for professionals in the work place. 


To top it all off, we have named our son Alexander as well. We, his family and some friends, have come up with little nicknames for him, but to make very very clear, Alex is NOT one of them. Please refer to our beautiful little boy as Alexander, or Al or any other nickname that you know we are ok with (Billy as Daddy calls him, McDuff as Grandma McLaren calls him). When he is old enough he will decide what he is comfortable with as well. ALEX is out of the question as it just gives me that cringey car salesman, trying to chum you up and be buddies with you, kind of feeling.


End Rant


* Please note that I don't have any problem with the actual name Alex, I think it is a lovely name I just don't prefer to call my husband or child by this. Please take no offence if your name is Alex as my feelings about the name are based purely on emotional response to situations described above. 

All fixed up

It's here! The desktop arrived on Valentines Day, along with Appletv (which Sandy loved). I took the laptop in that day and had her all fixed up! The computer man explained the fixing up to me in laymen's terms: the "car" can now fit more people (hard drive), go faster (RAM) and won't turn off unexpectedly (new battery). Delightful, now it can be passed off to Sandy and the big desktop is all mine! Hehehe The only thing I need to figure out now is how to transfer all my music and photo's. Speaking of which I installed lightroom on the desktop so now I have a new project to conquer. Add it to the list, along with figure out the sewing machine, baby book, photo books, figuring out what we need for our new trailer! Just so many fun and exciting things happening.


We purchased our trailer last weekend when the RV show was in town. Not that it was a hard decision, we basically already knew what we wanted, but now it's an official done deal. We get it in March or April and I can not wait to take our little family camping. Those are for sure the best memories of childhood: camping! 

I've been back to running, getting on track for my upcoming races (haha literally). I entered in a 10 km race in March to get my first race out of the way. I think I may be a bit nervous so I don't want it to be an important race like the one we have in July. I've also been busy getting ready for my two year observation for my fitness instructing! I can't believe it has been two years already. Never-the-less I've been reviewing, doing up class plans and booking my CPR course. 

We are starting to baby-proof the house as well, outlet covers, baby gates, and cupboard lockers. It's only a matter of time before our little monster will be on the go so I wanted to get the house safe and sound ahead of time. Anyway that is about all for now as I hear him waking up from his afternoon nap. 

Computer down

Sorry friends it's been a few weeks! We have a problem with the computer. It's if full, and I mean completely full! I need to have more ram and hard drive space put on it but before I can do that I have to back it up and before I can back it up I needed an external Hard drive,which apple was sold out of. So it finally arrived in the mail this week, I am backing it up tonight and will hopefully be taking it in next week to get more room on the old boy! For now I've been using the iPad which makes blogging a little challenging! And on top of all this I have orderd a desktop for our little family so we surely won't run out of room anytime soon! ( even with the amount of pictures I take) so now that I have explained myself I can tell you what we've been up to!

Our biggest change as of late is that we have switched to the bottle. I think it was harder on me than it was on Alexander but what's done is done! Despite a few very horrible attempts before this, it went pretty well! Otherwise we've been sitting, eating all kinds of food, and growing! Al gained a full pound in a week!

I have finally finished my photography course that I started last May/June. I am oping to take a class on my photoshop program and continue to work on my photography. I am also working in receritifying my fitness certification which will be all taken care of by e end of February. On top of that I hoping to figure out my new sewing maching. Busy busy. Still training for the ultra marathon in July and I have my first race (a 10km run) in March.

Sandy and I are off the RV show this weekend to pick out our trailer, merry Christmas to us! And then we will have our date night. First one since December, I'm really looking forward to it! Mother exciting weekend coming up is a Toms "style your sole party" next weekend. A fellow blogger posted about it and I decided to join in on the fun! I can't wait to see how they turn out!

Lastly I made a very delicious soup today that a few people have requested the recipe for so here goes:
Ingredients:
30 oz of shredded frozen Hash browns
3 cans of chicken broth
1 can of cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup onion chopped
1/4tsp pepper
1pavkage of cream cheese ( don't use fat free it won't melt)

Garnishes:
Sour cream
Cheddar cheese
Bacons bits
Chives

In crockpot combine all ingredients except cream cheese. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. 1 hour before serving add cream cheese and cook on low until cream cheese is thoroughly dissolved. Serve with garnishes! It's really complicated I know! Enjoy!

Home Sweet Home

Well seven days in the Mayan and we are home! And not a moment too soon. Before I start sounding ridiculously selfish and spoiled I should probably let you know that travelling with a baby eliminates the word relaxing and vacation!  Al is an exceptionally good boy but even under the best of circumstances babies will reach their limit! It was hot, very hot, and that is hard for a baby who has to be held all the time (skin to sweaty skin). On top of that he is too young for sunscreen so he was forced to stay out of direct and indirect sunlight. I don't know if you have ever been to mexico, but aside from staying in your room 24/7, staying out of the sun is next to impossible. To top it all off, the saving grace we were hoping for was the swimming pool, but unfortunately it turned out to be ice water. He actually bawled when we tried to dip his toes in the pool. This poor kid can't catch a break when it comes to swimming pools and vacations! Without elaborating too much more there were a whole slew of other minor issues that all added up to a long and challenging week. I think it is safe to say we will not be returning to a resort for a LONG time! 

I am happy to be home to my dogs, my house, my morning coffee, my usual shows on TV, Al's toys.... everything! While we were gone Al figured out how to sit, on his own. Not without a few spills but it is still a milestone. We are starting food (peas will be first) sometime in the next few days, and I am thinking its time to start weening. Big things are happening. We have appointments, classes just basically busy busy!

Here are a few shots from our week in Mexico

Christmas Eve

Merry Christmas everyone! This week has been a whirlwind. I cannot believe Christmas is here already! I have been doing a lot of reflecting on the past year and it is amazing how many blessings we have recieved. First and most importantly, Alexander. He is my sole purpose in life, I cannot imagine him not being a part of our family and lives. So many people find their calling in life when they discover their career but for me I know that I was supposed to be a mother! And I cannot even believe he will be 5 months on boxing day. The most amazing gifts we were given this year was definitely the gift of parenthood!  And speaking of the little guy, Santa stopped by to see the peanut! No tears from our brave guy he just snuggled up to Santa and tried to eat his beard! It was great. 

I have also had the blessing of reconnecting, or should I say connecting, with family I had not known before. Unfortunately the circumstances were not the ones you'd like to unite over but it is nice to hear from family that I have been curious about for a long time. Sadly on December 21, my Grandmother passed away from cancer. I am hoping that she is relieved from all pain and sufferings and has been welcomed into Heaven where she can watch over her family. Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted.

In times of mourning and sorrow we are reminded of our appreciation for the family and friends we do have. Which leads me to my next thankful reflection, and that is my friends! They have been so good to me over the last year, through out my pregnancy and growing family! They are just the greatest!! I can't even find the words, I just love them so much! We are going to have so much fun in Mexico celebrating Kyla's wedding! So many big moments in our lives are happening and I am so grateful to share them with these fine ladies!

And of course family! I am so excited to share Al's first Christmas with all of our family. We are very lucky to have each other to celebrate the good times with and to lean on each other during the challenging times! A lot has changed in both of our families over the last year and I am so glad to say we are closer than ever! 

Anyway it is time to get the carrots cooking (my pot luck item for Christmas Eve dinner) and to get Al into his Christmas outfit! I hope everyone has a fantastic Christmas and remembers the reason for our celebrations

Matthew 1:21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. 

Sandy's big 3-0

34 days until Mexico! I can't believe how fast it is coming. I remember being pregnant thinking about this trip and how it would be, it seems so surreal that it is almost, FINALLY, here! That being said we are getting closer to Christmas and my birthday too! We celebrated Sandy's 30th this weekend and had a great party to mark the milestone birthday. We had about 30 people to our place for the party. I LOVE hosting such events since it gives me an excuse to cook, decorate and socialize, all my favorite things! Friday night the girls came over to help me decorate and after they left I spent a few more hours cleaning. Well when I woke up Saturday morning I was surprised to find EVERY single one of the forty balloons I had filled with helium had deflated. I was not impressed. Anyway I had a quick pitstop to make before I continued getting things ready. Al had a sleep over at Grandma's so that Mommy and Daddy could have a night off parenting duty (which made hosting a party alot easier). After I dropped him off and got him settled at Grandmas I went to pick up Sandy's surprise birthday cake, which I think turned out great! It was really tasty too!

Next I had to finish the decorations and get food ready! We had everyone over around 7:00 and we didn't end up shutting things down until around 2:00. I was definitely tired Sunday morning but all in all it was a great night! And now onto Christmas! These next few weeks are going to be very busy!

Do not criticize me for my inability to "walk a mile in your shoes" nor judge me without having "walked a mile" in mine. 

Some battles are not not meant to be fought. Today I stumbled across one of those. This will be my few seconds of venting and then I will lay this frustration to rest. How funny it is that you will whine, complain and criticize that no one could ever understand your pain without having actually been in your situation, yet you have absolutely no issue dishing out judgement to others, when you have certainly not been in there situation. As the dictionary would say see: Hypocrite (hyp-o-crite)

It has been a long week of dinners! Mmmm food. We had a birthday dinner for friends on Sunday at Japanese Village. I'm not normally the biggest fan of this restaurant but once in a while it's not too bad. Monday Sandy and I had our date night, we went to the Keg (very yummy) and then went to pick out the baby's "coming home from the hospital" outfit. Tuesday was one of the only nights we didn't eat out (which is sometimes a treat in itself). Wednesday we took Kyla out for a traditional Birthday dinner at Julio's, where my crazy friend orders caesar salad! From Julio's, I know, why not get something a little more.... mexican? Anyway Thursday my mom had us over for a BBQ again a nice treat not to have to cook. And finally tonight was what will probably be our last "lunch crew" date before baby gets here. We went to Cactus Club ( a rare treat since its so far away) and it was delicious not to mention hilarious. I cant remember laughing so hard in a long time! Too bad laughter isn't a labour inducer. A girl can dream. I think that will be it for dinners out, for a while! Time to eat up the groceries in the house!

I'm not too sure what we (Benson and I) will get up to tomorrow. Maybe clean out the jeep, or find some sort of ridiculous activity around the house to keep me busy! Since most of my days are spent with Benson he has become my little buddy attached at the hip. I have been meaning to google some ideas of how to introduce baby to baby so it isn't too traumatic of a transition for him! 

That is about it for this week. Just patiently waiting for our arrival from the stork! Cross your fingers for me, because I am ready any day now!

Happy weekend readers!