And Baby makes 3!

Ben and I have been so anxiously waiting for the chance to be able to tell everyone that we are expecting. I had it in my head that we needed to wait until after our first appointment. No real reason for it, I just got it in my head and so it was decided.

Last Monday we finally had that appointment. We both went into it not really knowing what to expect. I mean I knew they would want my history, bloodwork, weigh-in etc. Other than that we really had no clue. We were both very pleasantly surprised when our doctor said he was going to try and find a heartbeat. He warned us that it can be hard to find on the doppler and not to be worried or disappointed if we did not find it.  Luckily he found it!!! It was so neat getting to hear that. Ben’s face was priceless, I think it helped make things more real for him.  Baby Wilson had a strong heartbeat of 160bpm!

Pregnancy so far has been interesting. Gone through a lot of All-day sickness (as I prefer to call it), extreme tiredness and changes in mood that my poor husband has had to put up with. My skin seems to have taken a bit of a beating as well. I never had to deal with breaking out even when I was young so this has been a big challenge!  Luckily now as I am into my second trimester the sickness is gone, which was the worst, and the tiredness isn’t quite so strong either. As for the hormonal moods….well…they can still tend to be here

Can’t wait to keep you all updated! Might even have to share a few of my irrational behaviour stories….

Doesn’t matter what you say!

It seriously doesn’t. My family is very much known for torturing each other. I am sure many of you have been witness to this on Facebook. You can literally try to say the nicest thing to someone and a member of the family will find a way to twist it.

Take for instance a shopping trip I recently had with my sisters, Jaelayne and mom. We decided it was finally time to find bridesmaid dresses for Shanni’s wedding. The car ride up was great we teased each other a bit, talked wedding talk, was good times all around.  The arrival in Edmonton is really when it all started.  Shannon kindly drove us all (much to her dismay). So fast forward to an attempt at parking in the West Ed parking lot….now we circled, and circled….and…you guessed it circled. This is where Shan got a bit irrational. At one point she even wanted to follow the ‘Blue Hairs’ as she called them cause she was sure they would have a good spot.

Finally we got into the mall. Jaelayne tried on a few dresses that looked pretty sweet but wasn’t totally satisfied so we moved on to Angie.  We get her into a dressing room, she tries a few on that we all take our turns either laughing at something ridiculous about them, or telling her they are just so so. THEN she tries on an AMAZING dress. Honestly she looked like a babe. She tells us all we are liars and she would only believe Sarah (she couldn’t come) and so refused to buy the dress. They went back a few days later and Sarah hated the dress the rest of us loved…so Angela found she earned the right to continue telling us we were all liars. Shannon replied with “maybe Sarah is the liar”  Swirling Ang into the action of “OH thanks Shannon so your telling me my dress I bought is ugly”…..like I said doesn’t matter what you say.

Next, we move on to me.  I hate West Ed. Like with a passion so strong. SO, we headed to South Common instead. Here I try on a dress that (sadly I bought) looks a little old lady-ish. It even makes my shoulders look massive. My sisters convince me it looks great and we can fix the old ladyness with a little altering. At this point mom is a bit quiet, never a good sign. I look in the mirror and say “yeah but I feel like I look like I have a roll right here…” My sisters kindly tell me how ridiculous I am. BUT Mom informs me “hunny it’s cause you do….” I literally crumpled on the floor. This sends my sisters into a round of hysterics.

Shannon also had a second fitting on her wedding dress that we had to get to. Her dress is totally amazing and she looks so beautiful in it. BUT honestly the woman putting the pins in took forever. Then there was debate on whether to get rid of the train or not. We all said keep it, Shan wanted to dust it. As Shannon cheerfully looked at herself in the mirror, never missing a beat, she informed us “I wish none of you had come”. I believe this is where Johnny came out with a few zingers that I can’t quite remember.

So, as you can see it really doesn’t matter what you say. We will figure out a way to twist it up to torture you and tease you a bit. The interesting thing though, is it really does come from a place of love. I mean we even do it to our Grandma Pam…she is one of the funnest to do it to. No one ever really gets mad (well ok sometimes they do but this just opens you up for more torture so it’s best to stay on the light side).  We love each other just as much. There are times when life does really seem tough, that when the family gets together and we can do this and just be together, it can make you feel better and help push past the tough times.

Peace.

Christmas..YAY!!

I used to think Christmas wasn’t that big of a deal to me. It was a nice holiday, used to be a great break from school. In the last few years I have realized how much I truly love christmas. That it just might be one of my favorite times of the year.

There are so many things about the season that really hit home for me. I love that my nieces and nephews are really starting to get to the age where they are so pumped about Christmas. This year they all received messages from Santa that were in video format, this was totally over the top for them. They could not believe Santa would take the time to do that AND that he even knew where they lived!

The thing I love most is getting together with the whole family. It is a rare year that we don’t have all 25 first cousins (not including spouses), 12 aunts and uncles, 1 grandma and 1 grandpa together. Everyone seems to make the effort to get there no matter what.  This year it will be even bigger as more of us are married now and there are 7 great-grandchildren added to the mix. The atmosphere is so relaxing and full of love that it’s almost addictive. It makes me sad when we all part our ways. Even though most of us still live in the same community and get together very often.

This year is going to be a little different. A few of the cousins, well maybe onlye one *cough Justine cough* won’t be there and our Grandpa Jim passed away this past November.  It is still amazing that with everyone growing up and starting their own families we still make the effort to be together. We grew up that way though. We spent weekends, summers, weekdays together. It was the most important thing to all of us. I thank our parents for that. They are that way with each other. Family comes first. That is just how it is.

Peace!

*Side Note to Family….I will most likely win the competition this year….Aunty Dawn can cheat all she wants but we will all know who the real winner is!

Severe….SEVERE Depression!!!

OK That might be a little dramatic but I think some of you will understand once I tell my story.

Last weekend our family put together an amazing memorial service for my Grandpa Jim. It was really a great service and a lot of great family time. It was really nice to get some time in with the whole family since it is getting harder with people getting married and having babies.

A lot of you will also know we  have adopted a very great and kind woman into the family, a  longtime friend of my grandmas. She so kindly did a small search and found the most AMAZING gluten free bread. Like seriously this stuff was unreal. It was made at Cobbs Bakery in Calgary. All of us glutinites were pumped! No more styrofoam, no more cardboard, no more mush….nothing but the best for us.

I spent a good chunk of time explaining to Ben(who has had to put up with my meltdowns over craving wheat products) how easy it was going to be to not eat wheat now that we have this bread. I was on top of the world. I felt like kissing the bakers.

I was about to head over to my mom’s house today to pick up a loaf of it and thought I should find out where in the house it was. So I got a hold of her on a chat I knew the response was not going to be what I wanted. I knew there had to be something…..

Mom recently found out *sighhhhh* that ….*tear* ….there was a mix up….*gasp,sob,stomping feet* . The bread is NOT gluten free!!  I even had to remind myself that that is not a good enough reason to exile people from the family. So, now I am on another search for the elusive great gluten free bread.

*sob* Peace!

Christmas is a coming!

I am so excited for christmas this year. Ben and I have had such a whirlwind year and this sort of feels like a close to some of it and just the beginning of so much more.

Last year we got engaged on the 20th of December. We had only two weeks with our families before having to head off to Halifax again. I remember feeling so sorry for Ben when our plane took off from Edmonton. I was such a wreck. I was totally devestated to be leaving everyone again. And at that time we did not know how long we would be gone for.

This year is so different. We have moved back to Bashaw, got married, did some traveling and bought our first home together. It is so exciting to know we can just enjoy the holiday this year. We don’t have to feel like we need to rush to see everyone or else we wont get time with them. We don’t have to keep switching from household to household. Instead we have our own home. We are so excited to get to start some of our own traditions together, ones that we will do with our children in years to come.

Right now I can hear Ben’s footsteps on the roof as he is putting lights on the house (don’t worry someone is spotting him!). We put our tree up about a week ago. Have done some christmas baking. Next weekend we get to have some time with all of Ben’s siblings to enjoy some of their christmas traditions and get some good quality time in!!

Peace!

The Best…

There are so many reasons I can think of to explain why I have the best Husband. No, really I am a tiny bit spoiled.

A few of the reasons that come to the top of my head:

1) He cleans and does dishes and laundry a lot of the time. I rarely if ever have to ask him to.

2) He is pretty much the primary cook in the house. I actually put in little effort to most meals.

3) He makes me coffee or tea pretty much every morning.

4) He respects my addiction to Q-tips….seriously i need a support group!

OK now that I read the list I can see that many people are probably thinking their husbands or significant others do all of those things too. And that none of them really set my husband out from the crowd. Also that they might be sort of shallow reasons. So here are some of the other bigger things that are so great about Ben.

1) He is the most supportive person I have ever met. I can not think of a time he has ever been judgemental in a decision I have made or in a new idea I have. When I expressed interest in taking up photography, but that i was very nervous about it especially because i have so many great photographers in my family. Ben quietly supported me and encouraged me in a way that at first I almost didn’t notice what he was doing. We would go for walks, he would bring his camera pretty much everywhere, and he would ask me every now and then if I would like to try taking some pictures. Slowly I started using the camera more and more, so much that Ben went and bought me my own so he could have his back!  He helped me to become confident enough to embrace something I was passionate about without being so fearful.

2) Ben is the most passionate person I have ever met. When he gets excited about something he generally does not hold back. If he finds out something exciting say about our company and we are in the middle of a mall. He jumps and grins and raises his vouce a bit in excitement without worrying what other people are thinking of him. He is so passionate about music, food, the environment, his family that sometimes I wonder if he found an eternal spring of passion that I don’t know about.

3) One of the things I have a hard time wrapping my head around is how easily and wholly Ben loves me for who I am. Just like a lot of women (and men) I can struggle with confidence in myself. I can look at some of my negative qualities and wonder how he sees around them or how he can love me for them. I mean my poor family had to put up with my stubborness because I was born to them…..somehow Ben chose it!! 

4) We are very  different ….but at the same time very much the same. Our core values are identical. Which to me is the most important thing. But we have some different traits and interests, as well as some that are the same. The important thing there is that we both respect and encourage each others interests and passions no matter what.

5) We can make each other laugh like no one else can. Laughing together is one of my favorite things we do together.

So obviously I could keep going and going but I think you all get the point. I have an amazing husband that I love very much. We have a great relationship(struggles and all). He has taught me more about myself then anyone else ever has. We love together, we grow together and we laugh together….who could ask for more?

Peace!

You say Cheap, I say Brilliant!!

Tuesday Ben and I left Calgary for San Jose Costa Rica. The original plan was a stop in Dallas, get on a new plane and head for Orlando, eight hour layover then on to San Jose.

SO, all went well we got to Orlando with no troubles at all. Since we arrived late though we decided to sleep in the airport….i do not recommend this.  The next morning it was supposed to be a quick flight that I thought was direct. Apparently I don´t read well. As we had to stop in Miami. Once we were there waiting the nice lady at the desk announced they needed 5 people to offer to stay 2 hours more and not go on this flight since it was oversold.  Along with just being kind you also recieved a $400 voucher and $20 for food. We had not slept at this point so most sane people would ignore the announcement and get on the freakin plane….not us!  THEN our plane ended up having a mechanical problem and we had to wait for them to get a new one. All in all we had another whole day in an airport.

Today was our first official full day  here. The country is amazing. So beautiful. It´s very strange though because I sort of feel like I am not here. I feel like I am on a movie set or something. Right now we are in a small town called Samara, the people are friendly and the beach is beautiful. The weather was fantastic today(as much as uncle brian tried to curse us).

I am realizing I struggle a bit with slowing down. There is this part of me that wants to be  homebody and just live very quietly. Then there is the other side that just wants to go go go.  So adjusting myself to a slower pace here and just relaxing has felt a bit like a job today. I am very confident that it will become easier as the days roll on.

Miss you all.  See you soon.

Peace!

Time

Time. It has such an important role in our every day life that sometimes I forget the importance of it. Or sometimes I get to hung up on the importance of it. The last few days have been such a roller coaster. There have been so many things happening in our lives that I want more….more time!

Everyday I look at the work that needs to be done in my job, some days I think I can tackle it all in the amount of time I have. Other days I wish I had more time.  I look around the house and wonder when will i squeeze in the time to clean, do laundry and cook(well ok Ben cooks but you know…).  As the week begins Ben and I look at our schedule and woner how we are going to fit in time with both of our families, whether it be by phone, email, chat a quick visit. Then I look at the our week once all of the above is fit in and wonder, where is the time for Ben and I?  Well we have discovered our car rides are a great time to catch up on good conversation. I start to feel like I am looking at the time too much! I am wishing and hoping for more, or wishing and hoping for it to go by quickly.

This week it all sort of stopped. Just for a brief second. I am not sure it even made the second mark it was so brief. I was sitting in a cafe with Ben when the cell phone rang. It was a brief call.  Only about a minute. Sarah and Logan had taken their kids and Angela’s to get the H1N1 vaccine. Grant and Bella had already gotten theirs with no troubles. But not Luke. Luke had an allergic reaction to the shot, he had gone into anaphylactic shock. They were headed to the hospital. Sarah had called me to get a hold of Angela so she could pick up all the other kids.

In the seconds after hanging up with Sarah a mild panick hit. I had my computer on my lap and Ben was tapping away on his. I looked at him and wondered what to do. Finally those seconds passed I quickly told Ben the situation as we headed out the door and got a hold of Angela and sent her on her way to the hospital. Ben and I headed to pick up my mom and on the way there I still had not heard more about Luke so was feeling a little panicky still. I kept trying to think of the last time I was with him and could not quite retrieve the memory. A few minutes later I recieved a phone call from Logan saying Luke was doing better still having a few reactions but they were getting it under control.

This really made me look at time. And how important it can be and well…unimportant. The little things that I try to schedule and make time for sometimes need to just be left alone. The time with my family and the people I love should not be timed. It should not be the kind of time where you check your watch to make sure you don’t miss the next thing on your list. Thankfully Lukey was released later that night from the hospital and is now getting back to normal!

Peace!

Focus – too much? or misdirected?

Last night Ben and I decided to go out for a walk around town. We used to do this a lot in Halifax. It was always a nice way to focus on each other and have great conversation without a computer in the way or distracted from cleaning, cooking etc. This walk was no exception. We had some amazing chats about so many things happening in our life and around us.

One of the big things we discussed was our upcoming trip. On November 3rd we are leaving to Costa Rica for 3 weeks. Now this decision was made rather quickly, it was not rash a lot of thought went into it, it was just quick. Originally we were not supposed to leave until February.

We got to talking about it because I had said I was excited but that right now it sort of feels like just another thing on the calendar. Like “oh tomorrow we have an interview, Friday we have people coming over, Tuesday we leave to Costa Rica for 3 weeks, then we have a conference.” Back it up….Costa Rica 3 weeks…WHOOP!  Then Ben asked “Are we too focused in what we are doing right in the now…or are we too focused on the big picture so much so that we just sort of see the trip as a small speed bump so aren’t really focusing on it?”

I’m not really sure which one we are. I think everyday it changes. What I do know is that I want this trip to be a focus on the moment trip. I don’t want to be thinking about what I need to do when I get home, or what needs to be done next month, I want to be able to just focus on the day, the moment. I think people really let days slip by focusing on the rush around them, I know I am super guilty of this. But, it doesn’t hurt to take a day and focus on the sights, smells, noises, beauty, job that is right in front of us at that moment.

Peace!

Thankful

Looking back at the past year has really given me so much to be thankful for. It has also been really neat to look at how much has changed in just one year.  In some ways so much has happened that it feels like things that happened only a few months ago were years ago.

I was chatting with my cousin Justine last night, just a check-in call to see how she was. It really got me thinking. The day I landed in Halifax to move out there with Ben, Justine had her first baby (the adorable Miss Indy). I was SO sad that I missed it by just one day. Justine and I were very close growing up together. I remember being so sad that I was not there and that I felt like I was so far away from being in the same place as her. I was unmarried and had just roamed the country for the summer.

This is where we hit the fast forward button. One year later. I have moved four times, got engaged, got married, traveled to Ontario and Halifax a few times, spent some time in Vancouver, bought a house, working at starting a company, and now have booked a three week trip to Costa Rica beginning November 3rd.  Looking back at this has made me that much more thankful for everyone and everything in my life. Especially the people without both my family and Ben’s it would have been a stressful year with so many changes happening all at once.

So, a big thanks to all of the people in my life you have helped make a crazy year absolutely magical! Love you all.

Peace!