Merry Christmas

A couple of snap shots from Alexanders first Christmas

Christmas Eve

Christmas! Love my Santa Outfit from Grandma

Cooking my first Christmas Dinner

What a ladykiller

Mommy and Daddy

Resolutions and Goals

Its crazy to think that a year ago I started this blog! It is so fun to look back at my posts throughout my pregnancy and after having Al. Its almost like journaling but better because of the pictures! Anyway I have started to follow a few other blogs along the way and one that I follow had a recent post about goals. I think goals are so crucial to working for and achieving anything in life. They are also great indicators of success! I used goal planning as a way to reach (well almost reach) my pre-baby weight and am now using it to accomplish my running aspirations. Anyway along with goals I also have some resolutions for 2012 so I thought I would post them on here as a way to keep me accountable! My followers can hold me to my resolutions and encourage me to reach my goals! Anyway here they are:

2012 Goals:

125 pounds

Run a 5km race

Run a 10 km race

Run a half marathon

Run leg 1 of the Sinister 7

Do 3 consecutive chin ups

Meet my Baker family in Toronto

Donate Blood (along with a list of other good deeds)

Take more photography courses and start a small photography business

Update my AFLCA certification

Take another AFLCA course

Start a mom group/ play date group

Take a trip to Vegas (without baby)

Start an RESP for Alexander

Save minimum $5000

Go for a psychic reading

Attend Church

2012 Resolutions:

Floss my teeth everyday

Brush Bensons teeth everyday

Cuss less

Walk Chevy more than once a week

I may revisit this list of Goals and Resolutions but for now this is what I have to work towards! What are your resolutions for the new year?

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. 

New Shoes

My sparkle shoes are complete! And just in time for the holiday season. I am so excited about how they turned out. I of course found this idea on Pinterest and knew I had the perfect pair of shoes to try this on. I had an 8$ pair of flats from Walmart, just begging to be jazzed up! And look at em now, the rest of the shoes in the closet are going to be so jealous! Anyway it was super easy, I mixed sparkles with modge podge (which is my new favorite craft supply) and painted the mixture onto the shoes using a sponge brush. I did about 3 coats and they were razzle dazzled. Afterwards I got Sandy to spray them with a clear gloss finish to make sure the sparkles stayed put! They are fabulous and a super cheap way to brighten up a pair of boring flats. On Pinterest the tutorial used black multicolor glitter but I decided to use white, gold and purple sparkles. I think they could be fun in ANY color. Another fun idea I had was to sparkle the rubber parts on a pair of old converse shoes. Fun!

One word to the wise: don't paint your sparkle coats on too thick or they will dry chunky and uneven! 

Other than shoe making we have been recuperating from the flu which hit hard and fast last monday! I have not been that sick in over 10 years. Luckily my mom was able to find subs for her classes and come help me take care of Al. If she hadnt been there I don't know how I would have survived! We have a busy week this week with appointments, dinners and pre-christmas activities. Plus we are trying to pack for Mexico and get back on track with our running! But we are off to an appointment in a few minutes here so that will be all for today!

Some new and fun hair!

Rolo Cookie Recipe!

Here it is folks, the sought after rolo cookie recipe!

2 1/2 cups Flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup cocoa

1 cup butter (room temp)

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

6 rolo bars

sugar (for rolling cookies in)

Sift flour, baking soda, salt & cocoa. Set aside. With a mixer cream butter and sugars until smooth. Add eggs one at a time, next add vanilla. Slowly add flour mixture to butter mixture and blend well. Take spoonful and wrap around one rolo candy. Roll into ball and roll through sugar. 

Bake for 7-10 minutes at 375

Kyla

Just a couple of photo collages from some of the wedding events we've been attending for Kyla's wedding coming up in January!

The Bridal Shower

The Stagette

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!

Baking Baking Baking

Well back to pinterest again but this time for recipes! I've been baking baking baking these days! Which I will admit is making my weight-loss goals a little challenging! But regardless here are the tasty treats I've been creating:

The nutella cookies turned out a little drier than I had anticipated and are probably my least favourite of all the things I have made this week. The cookie dough balls (with no raw egg) are delicious but they too are lacking a bit of moisture. Still tasty though! The mint chocolate chip cookies are divine! These bad boys are really testing me this week! They are just so delicious! Sugar cookies, always a classic. I think we had more fun decorating than actually eating them. And lastly the rolo cookies, I die! They are a little bit of heaven packed into a cookie! Just so yummy! If you are looking for a cookie to knock the socks off friends of family, this is your go to cookie!

Christmas is Coming

Christmas Cards have arrived! I can't wait to get them out, they are too cute this year. We used pictures from our family photo session with Jessica at Vintage Duck Photography and I put together the cards through iphoto on my mac. I forced Sandy into helping me stuff envelopes, while I labelled! I am happy to report I am almost finished Christmas shopping. Thank goodness because I'd really like to bake and relax and enjoy my Christmas time. Next on the agenda, getting ready for Sandy's 30th birthday. In a week and a half we will be celebrating his big 3-0 and I have quite the party planned. The best part, a custom cake. I can't wait to see how it turns out! After that shindig it will be on to Mom-Daughter dinner, Christmas party's, baking and gingerbread decorating, Christmas, and my birthday. And only a few days later we will be jetting off to Mexico. It is all happening so fast!

I've been looking into activities for Al and I to do, come January. We really enjoyed strollercize and swimming lessons the past few months but we will be trying a few new things after Christmas. There are so many fun classes to choose from but at the risk of over-stimulating my baby I will have to narrow it down. Right now we are deciding between a gymnastics program, a baby class (songs and actions), strollercize,and Salsa mama class. We will have to see what ends up happening!

On top of all that I am training for Sinister 7, an ultramarathon that my "friend" suggested we try. I use the term loosely as I think this is going to be very challenging. I am definitely kidding and I think it will be a great experience but it is going to mean some serious training. I have already worked my way up to 10km which is a great accomplishment, but I will have to continue pushing as my leg of the race is 16 km itself! Running, combined with bootcamp and strollercize, I have definitely been getting closer to my pre-baby weight goal. I am down 51 lbs in 4 months, and I only have 6 lbs left! I am definitely feeling ready to rock a bikini in Mexico! 

Anyway I am up way too late, for the third night in a row. Time to catch some Z's because Al will be up before I know it!

Sweet Dreams all

DIY

My latest addiction... Pinterest, has been keeping me busy lately. Not only just on the website, but also trying all of the DIY projects I come across on there.  Nothing I create seems to turn out quite the way it looks on Pinterest but still think my creations are cute. So I though I'd share a few with you. 

Mid-Line Photo Wall

Olive Oil  Photo Jars

Wreaths

Scrabble Frame

30 Sucks

Birthday Number

Im not quite finished the Mid-Line Photo Wall. There are a ton of frames to fill and I am still deciding what pictures to use. I was not sure if I wanted to stick with black and white photos but now seeing the almost finished product Im glad I stuck with no color. We also made our midline a bit larger than the example on pinterest but I really love how it turned out. It filled a main feature wall in our house that we have left blank for over a year now! And I used 2 tubs of frames that were sitting in our basement collecting dust!

The Olive Oil Photo Jars didn't turn out too terribly but I think I would probably use Photos where the subjects are smaller, next time around. When the subjects are too large in the photo the oil distorts them a bit, making them look like  images in the circus mirrors.

The Wreaths I would say turned out bang on! Finally a pinterest success!

I am super excited about the Scrabble Frame. It is a Christmas gift for my mother-in-law (pretty sure she doesn't check out the blog... I hope) She is a huge scrabble fanatic so I think she love it. The frame is a shadow box from Micheal's that I used a 40% off coupon for (ended up being $19.00) and the scrabble tile I ordered off Amazon for $12.00. All in all a really cute gift under $40.00

The 30 Sucks and Birthday Number are both for Sandy's birthday coming up in a week and a half. I loved the 30 sucks because it was so cute. I also really liked the idea of the birthday number, I accidently forgot to turn all the pictures black and white but I really liked how it turned out! I used all dirtbike photo's of him to keep with our dirtbike/checkered flag theme for his 30th Birthday Party!

I've been having lots of fun doing these projects, and I am sure there will be more to come! Next item of business, trying a few recipes off pinterest. Yum Yum! Anyway today we are pre-making a bunch of meals to get us through the busy Christmas season! Between family pictures, Christmas party's, gift shopping, working out, packing and so on and so on, we are going to be very busy for the next 35 days. We leave for Mexico on January 4 and it is going to come faster than I can imagine!  I still would like to share some of our family photo's and some updates on my mission pre-baby body but I will save that all for next blog update! Happy Holiday Season all!

My poor neglected blog! We are so busy these days and doesn't look like its going to slow down anytime soon! Who knew being off work I would be this busy... Who am I kidding I will always be a busy gal no matter if I am employed or not! Well since I last checked in we've been up to lots. We are currently finishing up our 10 day vacation in Mesa Arizona, visiting Sandy's parents. The weather has been great for us, not too hot for Al but way better than the minus double digits at home!

I have been doing lots of running and have even committed to one leg of the sister 7 race next July. When I told Chantelle to look into races for us to do, I didnt quite think she'd be this ambitious but hey what the heck it's something to work towards. I completed my first 10 km run last week in 1 hour 11 minutes ( with a stroller as usual) and was pretty proud. I never would have thought I would be into this whole running thing but so far I'm really enjoying it!


Al is doing great, growing and changing all the time. We survived his first plane trip with only a few tears here and there. All in all I'm feeling less nervous about our trip to Mexico in 6 weeks! My little boy is growing up so fast! I found a tooth the other day. I know hard to believe a 3 and a half month old has already cut his first tooth but it is possible. Crazy little guy, I guess that explains all the drooling, rosy cheeks, chewing and fussiness. Why did I not consider the whole teething thing haha.


I cannot believe Christmas is right around the corner, we have so much to do! We have Kyla's stagette this weekend, Sandy's 30th coming up, Christmas and all the party's that it includes, my birthday and then we are off to Mexico! This month is going to just fly by! And speaking of time flying it's time for me to hit the hay! Happy snow everyone!

Under the Weather

Another week gone by and we are that much closer to our visit to Grandma and Grandpas in Phoenix. Only 7 more days and 3 more pounds, hopefully. We had a busy weekend, Friday we had family pictures, and I can't wait to see how they turn out. Saturday Al spent the day with Grandma while I went out with the girls to have pedicures, shop for Kyla's bridal shower gift and go out for dinner. Unfortunately today I'm down and out with a cold so I'll be taking it easy around the house. That also means no run for me today. Anyway time to feed my babe have a great week all!