Live and let Live

Just wanted to pop in and share a quick note with you, my readers. I started this blog about a year and a half ago as a way to share my experiences in life. At the time I was pregnant, and as any mommy knows, pregnancy is a huge life changing journey. I had lots to share and it was a fun outlet to chat about my "pregnancy changes" without boring anyone who didn't want to hear about it. From there I started blogging about my new baby boy, my DIY projects around the house, my fitness goals and challenges and so many other things. The point of the blog was to share things with my readers in hopes of inspiring them, motivating them, giving them a laugh or to just stay in touch with friends and family. I have recently received some very cowardly criticism from someone who very obviously reads my blog and would like to take a moment to invite them to exit their browser and not visit my blog anymore. 

That is the beauty of it. If you don't like what I am writing or don't like what I am choosing to share with you, then please, by all means don't read it anymore. Seems like a very common sense concept but I am obviously a much more mature and self aware individual and can see it is not actually myself or my writing that is "offending" them so greatly. I am very aware of what a blessed and fortunate life I live (which I have shared my gratefulness for many times throughout my blog) but sometimes these blessings in my life cause others to become envious, jealous, resentful and sometimes even hateful. So again I will state: if my blogging has caused you to feel as though I am being hurtful to you in anyway I would appreciate that you simply stop following my blog. I am a very kind and generous person and do not intend to hurt anyone with what I share. Furthermore I do not share these things to be boastful, or act superior, I share my life stories in hopes that I am connecting with others as they go through similar journeys and can be a source of support and encouragement. Reading my blog is a choice by my readers and I am going to continue to share my stories with you in hopes that you appreciate what I have to say and do not feel anything but uplifted by my blog posts. 

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!

SCHOOL ZONES

This is a school zone sign

This is a playground zone sign

                                                  School Zone Times (school days only) are: 

  • 8:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. 

                                                   • 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. 
                                                   • 3:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Playground Zone speed limits are in effect 

                                   every day from 8:30 a.m. to one hour after sunset. 

I just had to post this information because I know some people are unsure of what the different times, speed limits and zones are. The reason I know people are unsure is because they drive 30km/h at 6:00 at night through a school zone! I want to pull my hair out driving behind some of these "unsure" drivers. I live outside of ardrossan, where the speed limit on Range Road 222 is 80km/h except when you drive through the school zone. When you drive through the school zone it is 30km/h but only between the hours of 8:00am-9:30am, 11:30am-1:30pm and 3:00pm-4:30pm and only on the days there is school (so not in the summer). That means that ANY OTHER TIME OF DAY the speed limit is 80km/h. What really gets me is when someone drives through the school zone at lets say 2:00pm, and they are unsure about the school zone hours so they coast at 50km/h. That is 30 km under the speed limit for that time of day, or 20 km over the speed limit if you are thinking it is a valid school zone time (which it is not, as shown above). Argh! I don't know why this drives me so crazy it just does. Either look up the school zone hours, or drive 30 km/h because 50 km/h is either way over or way under!  And just for your reference all of this information can be found on Alberta Transportation Website, just click here.

 End Rant. 

Sorry it's been a really tough week.

Dedication

We had a very busy weekend last weekend! On Saturday Alexander had his Child Dedication at church. The philosophy at our church is that when a person is old enough, they will make the decision about what role religion will play in their life. As children, the church performs something called a dedication which is basically the parents committing to raising their child in a Christian home. When the child is old enough to make his own decision to be baptized (or not), he or she will do so. Anyhow we had a little celebration with our families ahead of time and then attended the Saturday night service where we had our Child Dedication ceremony. It was a very special day indeed. We have asked Aunty Chantelle to be Alexander's Godmother, and she has accepted. It was a great Saturday and a very special day that will be remembered for a long time.

Our family photo 

The next day (Sunday) was my very first Mother's Day and it was just perfect. The weather was beautiful! I played a round of 9 holes with my mother-in-law and sister-in-law and then had a BBQ dinner at my moms. Nothing too elaborate just a nice day with the mothers in my life! 

Self Defence

Last night was our ladies night, and this time it was Kyla's turn to host. She chose a self defence course, and it was awesome! We had a team of martial Arts experts come and teach us a private lesson on how to defend yourself. It was pretty basic as it was our first time. They told us they do offer more advanced classes though, like how to defend yourself against a  weapon such as a knife or other more advanced situations. For us last night we stuck with basic moves that would help us to get out of being choked, grabbed from behind or grabbed by the hair, you know, standard attacker moves. It was a three and a half hour course but it was a lot of fun! We didn't get to take any pictures during the class so we decided to demonstrate some moves in the locker room for your viewing pleasure. 

the pony tail grab

eye jab

choke hold eye jab

surprise attack

not part of the training 

grab from behind

Naturally when I got home Sandy wanted to test out my defence techniques. I felt pretty confident leaving the course, so no problem I can take him I thought. Wrong! My techniques weren't so great put into actual combat but Im just hoping my fight or flight juices would kick in and I would ward off any such attacker. All in all it was a great ladies night and hopefully the class was only for piece of mind and never has to be used! 

Back on Track

I've been stuck at a plateau on the scale since we returned home from Mexico( Yes almost 4 months ago). Part of it was due to a lack of motivation because I was satisfied with my body. I wouldn't say I was overjoyed but I had reached a point that was "good enough". The other part was that I was enjoying having a break from being super strict with my diet. I wasn't gaining any weight but I wasn't losing any either. I had climbed up about 5 pounds from Christmas to the return of our trip to Mexico and I just really wanted to see that number on the scale 5 pounds less. Crazy that I had lost 57 pounds but just couldn't commit to 5 more. But, a friend at bootcamp had shared a little secret with me and it got me inspired again. She has been on an incredible weight-loss journey and I really admire her for the hard work she has put in! She told me that she had been stuck a certain number on the scale and had even gained a few pounds when she told her self enough is enough time to get back on track! And she did, she beat that plateau and is continuing to lose weight! What was I waiting for? I can do this, and she pushed me to get back on track.


I have been training so hard for my ultra marathon in July and putting exponential demands on my body, how can I expect it to perform under this kind of stress without fuelling it properly?! So I decided to seek out nutritional services (even though I have done it without the help before) and get some accountability for my diet*. I found out there were some things I needed to focus on to get back on track. To help me with these healthy choices I planned  ahead. I packed all kinds of snacks and pre made to-go bags of healthy choices for on the run and even when I am at home. It is so easy to grab a bag of chips or candies while you are sitting at home with the little one playing. Before you know it the entire bag is gone and you now have 300+ calories to burn off. Yikes! So I packed carrots, pre cut apples, cheese strings, containers of cottage cheese, hard boiled eggs (shelled and sliced), rice cakes, rice crackers, bell peppers and more.  It has only been 4 days and already I find I am not craving the sugary treats, and now reaching for the bell peppers and hummus or apples and peanut butter. Now that Alexander is eating more and more, why would I not want to model good eating habits for him to pick up on?! I am just so excited about eating right and feeling great! Ive also increased my water consumption (which has also increased my bathroom trips) and started a food journal to keep track of what I am eating. Until I can be honest with myself and make responsible decisions I am going to write down what I eat to show myself how to stay on track! 

Carrot sticks and Apples

Rice cakes, Rice crackers and 90 cal granola bars

Premade fruit & yogurt smoothies
(with protein powder and ground flax seed)

On top of the eating, I have been going hard with the training to prepare for the race in July. We are 8 weeks out from race weekend and have started alot of extra training. We are running hills and stairs to prepare for the moutain-ess terrain we will be running in. I love this kind of training because it is something so foreign to the body and brings the pain! I love it! On top of that we have registered for the Mud Hero obstacle race in Calgary at the end of July and i cannot wait! It is a 6km route with 14 obstacles along the way! It should be a blast!

Anyway just wanted to share my food journey with you all and let you know you can do it! Wether it is 50 pounds or 5 it really is a lifestyle you must adapt. Why wouldn't you want to eat right?

* When I say diet I do not mean a Body by Vi or Atkins type of diet, I am talking about my overall food intake and what I choose to put in my body for fuel. Not a temporary thing but my permanent way of eating. 

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. 

Crawling!

Well he finally figured it out. And just like that he is tearing up the house. From plugged in cords to furnace vents he is into everything. I can't take my eyes off him for a second. He has only been crawling for  two weeks now but man can he motor around. On top of that he has popped out a tooth! I have a feeling (based on his grumpy disposition) that he is working on another one as well. But who knows with these little guys, its enough of a challenge to try to get your fingers in there to see what's going on. On Sunday he had another first, and that was getting his hair cut.  I was getting all kinds of flack from people, "he needs a haircut it's getting too long" and "don't cut his hair, it's his baby hair". Blah blah blah but ultimately we ended up giving him a little trim around the ears so he doesn't look homeless anymore. Lucky for us Aunty is a hair stylist so we were able to book him in with her for his first trim. I cannot believe how much he is growing up it is just so crazy! I see people with new babies and it feels so long ago that Alexander was an eating pooping sleeping machine. Now I see him as a little boy, full of charm and personality and a lot of stubborns! I am seeing how fast everything is happening and changing and I am so grateful that I don't have to return to work this summer. I know for some it is not an option but I just couldn't imagine having to leave him in the hands of someone else. I am really blessed that I get to stay home with my kids and watch them grow up. I'll take it all, the good and the bad! Yesterday was one of those good days, as we got to spend it outside in the sunshine at the park with some friends. Anyway have a great week all!

chillen my gums on a can of pepsi

Aunty, cutting my hair

How do I look?

At the park with my girlfriend Jaelyn

Finish Line

Last week I completed one of my goals that I set for myself last fall. I completed a 20km run! It wasn't a race and didn't count for any special recognition but it was a goal I had set and I am happy to say I completed it. I started running because it was something I could do with Alexander to get back in shape after having him. It can be hard to find time to work out but I found that since I could bring him with me it wasn't as hard to get a quick 30 min run in. That turned into an hour and it just kept progressing from there. Now my training is focused toward my ultra marathon in July where I will be running a 16km leg of the race, through the mountains. It's really amazing to see how far I have come.


My very dear friend has also completed a goal and a huge achievement that I am so proud of her for! She ran her first half marathon last weekend!  I think it is so cool that she was able to do this race, because last September the two of us could barley huff through 5km without having to stop and walk and catch our breath. Its a true testament to how far we have come! So proud of her!

The cheer squad 

Crossing the finish line

The Superstar herself!