Saturday, September 18, 2010

and then there were three



Can’t believe you’re here now
Tiny dream come true
The answer to a prayer now
I’m so in love with you
Couldn’t wait to meet you
Hope you like your name
I get the funny feeling
Life will never be the same

Safe and sound
You’re here with me now
Like I hoped you’d be
Safe and sound
You’re here with me now
And that’s all I’ll ever need

The world’s a scary place here
But baby it’s alright
I’ll make sure the coast is clear
So you can just sleep tight
But if you’re afraid of monsters
Like everybody is
I’ll be right beside you
Closer than a kiss

Safe and sound
I’m here with you now
And you will always be
Safe and sound
I’m here with you now
And that’s all you’ll ever need

Someday I’m gonna teach you
The reason why we pray
So that heaven’s love may reach you
Every single day
So, baby close your eyes now
And say a prayer with me
Lord, I lay me down to sleep now
But I know I will be

Safe and sound
You’re here with us now
And we will always be
Safe and sound You’re here with us now
And that’s all we’ll ever, all we’ll ever need
You’re all we’ll ever need

Thursday, September 16, 2010

wheeling & dealing


Meet the newest member of our family ... the Kia Forte!




Husband and I car shopped for months before we finally took the plunge. We've been driving our 1998 Toyota Corolla for four years and it was time to add a new car to the household, namely for a little more reliability to tote the new babe around.

Big credit has to go to brother-in-law A who helped us a great deal with our car decision and negotiating the best possible price. Definitely visit his website if you're in the market for a new car.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

try it tuesday


I have to say that I'd really like to be giving birth as my Try It Tuesday this week ... but I hold out absolutely no hope that it will actually happen today, so how about muffins instead? Sounds more pleasant, doesn't it?

I made a new recipe recently that I really think is worth sharing. While we're at it, let's make it a Try It Tuesday, because trust me, you're going to want to try this one for yourself!


Whole Grain Banana-Pecan Muffins (Recipe adapted from Cooking Light)

3/4 c. all-purpose flour
1 1/4 c. whole wheat flour
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. honey (you can substitute 1/4 c. sugar here if you prefer)
1/4 c. butter, softened
2 large eggs
1 1/2 c. mashed very ripe banana (about 2 large bananas or 3 smaller ones)
1/3 c. low-fat sour cream or plain yogurt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 c. pecans, chopped
1/4 c. packed brown sugar

Preheat the oven to 350.

Whisk together the flours, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the sugar, honey (if using), and butter. Add each egg in one at a time, combining completely after each addition but not over-mixing. Add the mashed banana, yogurt, and vanilla. Slowly add in the flour mixture and beat until just combined (don't over-mix).

Admittedly, I didn't read the recipe fully and tossed all the pecans right into the batter. Oopsie! I chopped some extra to be added to the tops. Turned out well though. A happy mistake.

Divide the batter evenly (so the cups are about 2/3 full) among 15-16 muffin tins. I actually filled just 12 cups up to the brim, providing lots of batter for the muffins to grow little tops in the oven. Combine the chopped pecans and brown sugar and sprinkle them on top of the batter. Bake for 23-28 minutes.

These are so tasty! Not too sweet; perfect for breakfast on the go. Enjoy!

Monday, September 13, 2010

not me monday


I am not starting to get annoyed at the fact that I am nearly a week overdue.

I am not considering jumping on trampolines, horseback riding or commandeering a bumper car to help coax Baby B out of hiding.

I would never lecture my unborn son about the importance of being on time for his engagements.

And I am most definitely taking suggestions of things I can do to pass the time to keep myself from going crazy.

Saturday, September 11, 2010

finally finished


Here's the last piece of the nursery puzzle.

We started with a hand-me-down, dusty rose, swivel armchair. But once we found out that our bambino is a boy, I knew I wanted to cover it to something more boy-ish.

Oddly enough, after searching high and low in stores and online, I couldn't find a slipcover to fit. So I got the closest thing I could find –


It needed to be nipped and tucked from all angles — sides, seat, arms and length. The bottom portion went smoothly, but removing the wings from the wing back was a lot easier said than done.

Halfway through, I actually considered leaving the chair pink, but my Mum convinced me that having a cover to protect the upholstery from baby barf would be a blessing. True. So, here's the finished product.


And now his room is complete. Did you hear that Baby B? Your room is ready for you! You can come out any time ... seriously. Any time!

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

d-day


If you're keeping track, today is my due date!


Eeeekkkkk! I know that less than 5% of babies are born on their due dates, but I was, so maybe it runs in the family and our little boy will arrive today? Wishful thinking? Maybe.

I've been doing as many things as I can to naturally nudge this little guy to get this party started — walking, rocking and bouncing on my balance ball, drinking red raspberry leaf tea, taking herbs given to me by my lovely naturopathic doctor sister-in-law, eating spicy food and fresh pineapple. The list goes on.

I'm not really this impatient. I know he will arrive when he's good and ready, and not a moment early. It's just that I'm ready. Totally, completely, absolutely ready. That means, I have nothing left to do. The nursery is ready, the deep freezer is stocked with homemade meals, the house is clean from top to bottom. I've read books, watched movies, got my haircut, gone out for coffee.

Husband has started to take our car the whole way to school (one hour commute each way) instead of traveling with a carpool buddy, so he's fully on call when the moment arrives.

The waiting game is now in full swing. Wish us luck!

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

i heart fall


I love fall, and even though the humidex was still reading 35C+ until Hurrican Earl swept through this weekend, I'm ready to start celebrating September.

Our red front door is bare and a wreath would be the perfect element to add a little fall flair. Since I'm on a mat leave budget, I want to make one myself using mostly supplies I already have on hand.

I Googled a bit of inspiration ...


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I'd also like to try something with a unique shape, like square or rectangle.


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So after digging through my craft stash, I decided that the bulk of my best fall-ish materials are in my fabric supply. So maybe some layered fabric flowers like these, but with Earth-tone fabrics?


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I've got my crafty thinking cap on. How do you decorate for fall?

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

nursery reveal


It's been months in the making, but Baby B's room is finally just about ready for his arrival! Good thing too, since he's due in a week!

I wanted to make this a special space for our new addition, while also being frugal, which meant scouting for deals and repurposing a few things we had around the house. When we decided on a coffee-coloured crib, we snagged this shelf from our living room for the nursery instead.


I picked up this super-cute, hand-carved mommy & baby elephant figurine at the Boyce Market in Fredericton.


Husband and I loved the baby safari theme in the Babies R Us catalogue right away and couldn't find anything we liked more. That said, to be truthful, the wall decals and valence we got were quite over-priced, and the customer service at the local store is absolutely terrible. In the end though, we got what we wanted and are very happy with the way it turned out.

The baby sign above the window is one of the first gifts our baby received, from his grammie-to-be. The swing, which will likely end up in the living room after our babe arrives, was a generous gift from my co-workers.


Here are the decals up close. They stuck on easily and we were able to move them around until we were satisfied with the pattern. They blended perfectly with the wall colour, which meant we didn't even consider painting the nursery — one task I was happy to forego. I used some little 3x3 canvases I had stashed away to paint a nameplate for our boy, and Husband carefully hung them at just the right angle above the crib.


You'll remember these under-crib storage bins from an earlier post.

Captured in two photos below is the shelf we picked up at Walmart, thanks to generous gifts of money and gift cards. We were originally planning to get a changing table, but it seemed silly to spend money on a piece of furniture that could really only serve one (stinky) purpose. So we picked this shelf for it's storage and display potential, as well as future usability in any room of the house.


The lantern hanging above the shelf is a keepsake decoration I kept from our wedding. The first shelf holds the lovely DIY frame we received from a friend and the Noah's Ark themed piggy bank Baby B received from his great-grammie-B. We're using the next three shelves for storing diapers, receiving blankets and other items in baskets. And the bottom shelf currently houses his Bumbo chair until he's big enough to use it.

Finally, we have the dresser that once belonged to my Mum and then belonged to me. I had originally considered re-finishing it, but decided that the shade of the wood lends itself nicely with the espresso colour of the rest of the pieces. My main concern was the surface of the top of the dresser, because the stain and varnish was quite faded, but that issue was solved by attaching the changing pad we received from lovely friend HH and converting it into Baby B's changing station.


We snagged the white clock, which was a wedding gift, from one of our bathrooms and decided it would serve better use here when we stagger in for middle-of-the-night diaper changes and have no idea what ungodly hour it is.

One thing you can't see here is the swivel chair. It's currently still in its dusty rose/beige state, and I'm hoping to have time to alter the chocolate brown slipcover I bought for it before Baby B debuts. Stay tuned for that, too.

Now all this room's missing is its tiny resident, who is hopefully coming soon!