c'mon, 4 more, 3 more, 2 more ...

Lately, I've been asking myself - how the heck do people stay motivated to go to the gym on a consistent basis? Now instead of coming up with answers, I've decided to take a stand & just do it. Just go, just be consistent. Today marks day 2. I know it's doesn't seem like anything big, but it's an small victory. I think we would all be happier if we we're able to celebrate the small accomplishments in life just as much as the big ones. Today is day 2, tomorrow will be day 3, then day 4 & so on.

The thing that I struggle with most (besides watching what I eat, which I have never done until I was pregnant) is ... I've never had to diet, I never really had an issue with my body growing up, so now that the issues have risen, it's hard to deal. I'm struggling. But I can do this. Results come with hard work & hard work takes determination.

double date :)

Date night was definitely in full effect - last night. Ryan & I spent the evening with Ry's good friend Ivan and his finace RD (which happens to be a friend of mine). Our plans were to have dinner & drinks @ The Keg here in Mississauga, but when Ry & I were driving to the location, most of the major intersections had non-functioning lights. We arrived @ The Keg only to find that their power was out & they weren't seating any guests, waaahhh - totally cravings a medium steak! Nevertheless, we had ribs @ Baton Rouge. Ryan & I definitely know how to rack up a bill, but we always tend to justify it when the night is spent among good friends & great conversations. It's been a while since Ry & I have enjoyed the company of another couple & it's an added perk that the awkwardness factor was irrelevant - considering we've all known each other for 5 plus years.

Ivan & RD are cute, their engagement was so spontaneous. Their big day is etched in for October of next year & you can already see the stress of the wedding planning on their faces. It's hard to fathom, all that anticipation, the stress, the planning ... & the actual day will go by so fast! I'm happy for them, it's been a long journey already & they deserve their forever together.

That's the four of us, way back playback in 2002
goodness, where are my eyebrows ;)

to sunny skies & swinging swings

Today was lovely. It's Ryan's day off, so naturally we would be out before lunch, running errands, picking up necessities or heading out to a location of my choice. Today, I decided ... I didn't want to do anything, well ... I felt like I wanted to clean :) Of course, with A around, not much can get done (well, not as much as I would have liked). We did however got to organize our bookshelf before A's afternoon nap. Ry has taken over ... 4 blocks of cookbooks & he had the nerve to tell me to pack away my textbooks & store them into a box! Hahaha, I like seeing those books, it's like a sense of accomplishment.

The afternoon was super lazy. Ryan ended up taking a nap & to extend A's nap ... I ended up napping with him. Ry had plans to play basketball in the evening, so we took A to the park (for the 1st time!) late in the afternoon. He loves the swing :) It was so windy out that A's hair looked like a taupe! He's so cute. Wish we stayed for longer & got better shots, but the wind wasn't doing it for us. Plus, I'm not down with parks that have sand. Totally don't love the feeling of sand between my toes, well expect for when I'm maxing & relaxing on the beach :) Nevertheless, loved being active & outside. Here's to summer!

the weekend thus far ...

Yesterday started out beautiful (weather wise). It was stunning, Ryan even considered calling in sick, but how obvious would that be? :) Ran a few errands with Chels & A. Tried to keep it to a minimum because by this time, it was hot fire outside. Bought flowers for Nanay's 80th (wonder what it feels like to be @ that milestone!). What seemed to be a mini tornado storm hit by the evening. Winds were gusting & a gross amount of litter was floating through the musky air. Famjammin' all night. The humidity made it so uncomfortable & time was passing so slowly. A was incredibly cute last night. He's such a big boy now, always wanting to be part of all the conversations :) But overall, good times spent with friends & fam, lots of laughter - I love laughing. After the night was over (when A signaled enough was enough) ... we headed home. I was so happy to be in my bed, so happy.

I'm letting A sleep in my arms. Spoiling him a bit because he was such a trooper last night. He's sleeping so peacefully! My back & my arms are feeling it though!! Ekk! I feel like cleaning!, then scrapping. I asked Ry for a date night, but I'm thinking I would be perfectly content with staying in & organizing A's small baby clothes & burning his photos onto backup cds. Is that whack? Hahaha,

mr. sun!

The sun is shining, the weather is sweet (yes).

Hoping to have some photos of A enjoying the weather. He's napping right now & I haven't showered yet. Mellow day planned. Lola-Lola's 80th birthday bash tonight. Must go & pick up some flowers,

Have a great Saturday!

can we call this an acronym?

Ryan wrote something funny on our whiteboard today.

A: amazing
I: intelligent
D: dangerous
E: exhausting
N: nice guy

It made me laugh, out loud.
It's so very true, all of it :)

planning our very near future,

Yesterday, I sent off emails & made tentative arrangements regarding my back to work situation. I definitely can't believe that almost a year has passed. I'm both anxious & nervous to got back to the wonderful world of Aritzia. I feel conscious because I haven't lost all the preggo fat yet & somehow, I have to be fashion forward - not to mention the fact that I feel like I've forgotten how to dress myself! I'm scared to leave A. I've never really been away from him (minus the excursion that I made on Monday). It's definitely going to be a HUGE transition - once again. I feel like I'm going to be the one that's experiencing the separation anxiety. I'm going to miss my wubs.

I told myself that I was only going to go back PT, mainly because I wanted to take summer classes - which will give me flexibility come Fall & lighten my course load. But to tell you the truth, I'm a tad sick of the school bit right now. Maybe better focus will come out in the Fall, when I'll physically be in classes, as opposed to distance ed. Back to the PT shpeel, PT is really the only thing the Ritz can offer me - Ash said the recession is def taking it's toll. I'm crossing my fingers that my renumeration request (from last year's evaluation) was approved. Oh goodness ... how are we ever going to save for our own home?? Hoping things fall neatly into place!

first 2peas order!

Totally forgot to write about this post!

So, I've been waiting to order some 'goodies' from 2peas, but couldn't justify the cost of the shipping plus the USD / CAD exchange rate - BUT, they held a one day sale on April fools (no joke) and I just couldn't resist!

I'm finished with my psych class so I have to start getting back into the creative groove. Loving all the inspiration products that I picked out, especially all the AC stuff :)

leaving my baby babes

So yesterday, Carissa & I ended up on an excursion with TomTom (the GPS system) to Buffalo to do a bit of shopping. Okay, a good bit of shopping. It was the first time ever that I left Aiden for an entire day ... oh the anxiety. It was Ryan's day off & we had scheduled a doctor's appointment regarding the baby eczema on his thighs and behind his knees (nothing big, just have to apply some tropical cream onto the problem areas). I had made breakfast & lunch for him the night before & Ryan was responsible for dinner. Sent a bunch of text messages back & forth, & despite being nervous for the day (both Ryan & I), everything seemed to be going smoothly. My little man is growing up!

The night ended with Steak Hoagies & Wings from Davids that I brought back from Buffalo and Ryan & I finally finished Nick & Nora's Infinite Playlist (which reminds me, I want to download the soundtrack!) ... what a cute movie!!

On another note, saw this commerical last night too .. & instantly fell in love with everything in her closet, instantly.

sleepless in mississauga

I can remember vividly, the first months of having A. Ryan & I felt so happy, (obviously because we had this joy in our lives) but more because we were blessed with a baby who slept. Oh Aiden, as a baby, you loved loved to sleep.

Now, almost hitting your 11 month mark - I'm wishing we were still blessed with those sleepful nights. Your sleeping patterns are all out of whack. Ryan & I can't remember the last time you slept through the night (ok, twice in a row, last month ... but that doesn't reallt count!). When Ryan called during dinner, he asked me to try to put A to sleep in his crib (he's been cosleeping with since, I'd say, January?). I don't know what convinced me, possessed me, to say yes. What a sad attempt tonight - I've been rocking the poor, overtired, big little guy for over an hour now. (Blogging as I hold him - multi-tasking, something great mamas master!) Hoping he has now surrendered! ... Let's try this again, off to he crib! Ekkkk!!!

tell me, tell me

I just want to hear him say,
'Everything is going to be okay ...'

a better today,

Ryan had a dentist appointment this morning which means, I'm left with A from 9am to approximately 1030pm ... ekk. But to my surprise,
what started as a rough morning is turning into a better afternoon. A totally skipped his morning nap, most likely because it seems as if Ryan has forgotten how to change A's diaper properly - & by properly I mean - so that when A's napping, he pees in his diaper & not all over his sleeper. Aiden wakes up screaming, I pat his bottom to feel it soaking wet. I get up to change his diaper, anticipating a full one, but his diaper's dry & just his sleeper is wet. Fun. He never went back to sleep.
A spent most of the morning watching HSM3 & he actually ate his lunch today, yay :)
I'm sitting in our bed & A is asleep (in my arms again), but he's only woken up twice since 12:30pm :) Got 8 pages of my paper done, just need to finish up the 'directions for future learning' section & edit, edit, edit.

Here's to hoping the evening is swell!

I'm melting ...

I write this with A in my arms, moaning & diddle-daddling with his eyes closed. He's so tired, but just won't stay asleep.

My frustration levels have reached new highs. My patience is dwindling - I'm starting to think that I'm not cut out for this. I keep telling myself to play it cool, this is just a phase, & this too will pass - eventually. It just seems like later than sooner.
Naptimes never used to be a problem for A. I'll put him down for a nap (in my arms, of course), place him down on our bed when he's fallen asleep & 2 hours later, wakes a happy happy baby. Lately, everytime I leave the room, he wakes up crying, screaming ... I'm at my wits end. Naptimes are god send to me. It's when I complete my homework, wash dishes, tidy up, prepare snacks, complete online tasks, not to mention - revive myself of my sanity. Wishing I could somehow take a break for a moment, maybe for a few hours, or even for a day. But at the same time, I feel like I'm being a bad mama :(

midnight delight

Lately, when A wakes up around this time, we attempt to put him back to sleep (as per usual), but if that doesn't work out - we've been letting him stay up a bit. We change his bum & just quietly watch some TV in bed with A in either my arms or Ry's (although A fights Ry when he's in his arms & would much rather lay in bed with me, such a mama's boy - honestly!). I don't know if it's the 'right' thing to do, but it seems to be working for us! We wake up @ 630 am to a happy, but hungry baby (but when is A not hungry, hehehe).
So now, A is in my arms, Ry is getting ready for bed & we're waiting for CSI to start, feels like my preggo nights, but with a babe :P!

Aiden is so delightful around midnight, xxoo.

my biggest 'project' to date;

So I've been working quite diligently on A's First Year mini album. (Even though I have an 8 page paper on the effectiveness of alcoholism due next Saturday). I'm trying to make the concept / template of the album quite simple (mainly because I have to repeat the steps 12 times), but I'm finding that my brain is jumping the gun & wanting to do so much more with it. I'm going to compose a test template tonight to see just how visually aesthetic it is. The thing that I'm having the most difficulty with is the journaling. I tried, as best I could (being a first time mama usually means the preggo-brain carries on - for at least the first 3 months after delivery) to keep track of the events of A's days. What I should have did was writing along the way, as the months passed us by. But where was the time when I needed it?! ... learning to take care of a newborn, taking online classes for my degree & adjusting to being someone's wife ... LOL. So now I'm 'stuck' with the tedious task of reliving the moment & attempting to jot them down on paper (well, Microsoft Word). Don't get me wrong, the reliving is not the tedious part, but rather the fact that I want to write everything down - want everything to be perfect ... will I ever accept that perfection is next to impossible? I'm making progress though, hoping I'll have something to show for before A actually turns 1! (omg, he's 10 months tomorrow, where has the time gone?)