Dads

Always stepping it up a notch.

Taking it to the next level.

Turning something safe into something dangerous.

Making it a lot more fun than it was with boring, safe ol' Mom.

Blessed Beginnings

Things sure have taken off on the doula-ing front this year! Wow. Hard to believe it was just over a year ago that I was taking my training course out in B.C.

I have a lot of people ask how I'm enjoying it, how busy I am, what it's like. What better place than here to share the delights (and downsides!) of my new side job.

Short answer: I love it!

It's rewarding, you feel appreciated, I have an outlet to exercise my passion for childbirth, pregnancy and health. Getting to sit beside women as they go through one of the most beautifully challenging and empowering times of their lives. I love watching the dynamics between the couple during labor. The dads who know just what to do, the dads who don't. The tenderness of the men as they labor with and care for their wives. The delivery room thick with anticipation and full of love.

I can't imagine anything more fulfilling than getting to watch a couple welcome a new little person to their family. The mom's who gush, the dad's who cry, the ear to ear smiles, the cooing, watching the parents check out their new baby, to be there for the very first moments of someone's life. Rewarding, thrilling, exciting, heart warming. To say the least.

I feel very in my element while I'm in the labor & delivery room. When they call me to come to the hospital, I get butterflies in my stomach, I quickly review their folders to remind myself of their birth preferences and medical histories and I drive, often in the middle of the night, to the hospital. As soon as I walk in the room the butterflies are gone, the nerves are calm and I seem to know just what to do. I feel like I've found my niche.

The one and only downside for me is being on call. I truly enjoy every other aspect of it. I'm not bothered by the sights, sounds or smells. I don't find it difficult to mesh with the nursing staff. My only negative is having to have my cell phone connected to me, checking it at movies every few minutes, those sorts of things. Being on call also means finding last minute care for the girls, which isn't easy, even with lots of family in the city. My list of "babysitters" keep shrinking as my friends are getting full time jobs or have little newborns themselves. This is a bit of a cause of stress for me!

Luckily for me, business is booming too! I may be booked right through until the end of June! I set up a Facebook fan page and made myself a website (www.blessedbeginnings.webs.com) and the calls and e-mails just started coming. I'm so thankful for those who have helped me spread the word, my first few clients who let me use them as guinea pigs, for the kind, positive reviews clients have left, for words of encouragement and for Amanda who's taken care of all my graphic designing needs.

I have been presented with two other really REALLY exciting opportunities that would be a fantastic extension of what I'm doing right now so fingers crossed that they work out! I would be over the moon if these two things worked out.

So, that's how it's going. Thanks for asking. :)

On Days Like Today

I decided to have a (pretty much) computer free day. I snuck on only once because I HAD TO immediately e-mail my mom the cutest picture of Josie in her bumble bee Halloween costume and I rebooted because Abby wanted to play Starfall when she got home from school.

I loved it. I want to spend way less time online. Even when I came back online this evening, there wasn't that much for me to check out. I've heard enough H1N1 info to last me a life time, all the blog posts were still there for me to read, e-mails were quiet today. I think it's the beginning of a new trend for me. Quieter days spent doing things much more enjoyable than the circle of blogs, Facebook, e-mail that is so easy to get stuck in.

Today wasn't necessarily an awesome day due to a lousy sleep for me last night, Abby being a little crabby after kindergarten and Josie not being able to resist the urge to do a little scratching today. But it was nice. In that disconnected type of way.

A day with time to enjoy the simpler things.

Like wrapping up in a blanket, still in your pjs and sporting your bed head and doing sewing cards:

Or hanging out with your sister reading Winnie the Pooh books:

Or my personal favorite. Me, my favorite magazine, with some of my favorite loose tea, in my favorite mug, on my favorite couch, snuggled in my favorite blanket while the girls watch Rapunzel downstairs.


It was nice. Refreshing. And I didn't miss a thing.

I shall do it more often.

Snapshots

We had one day of fall so we took advantage of it! Raked all the leaves in the front yard and had a play/photo fest!

I love these types of days.

This was last week but we had such a nice day. The girls and I spent a lot of time together, got some good fresh air, had a nice lunch with Jordan, I got to sit and read on the couch for a bit in the afternoon and then I got to go out for dinner and some shopping with a friend.

If only every day could be so perfectly balanced.

Home Makeover: Laundry Room Edition

Jordan is getting so good at doing renos! This might possibly be the best "before" and "after" ever but unfortunately, I don't have a before.

That's because "before" was a cement floor, a tiny darkly lit room, usually a disasterous, unorganized mess.

A few weeks ago our washer broke down. It was the one that was here when we moved in. We decided to get a new laundry pair.

And while the appliances weren't there, we might as well lay flooring.

And while we are putting down flooring, we might as well paint.

And if we are painting, why not put in a finished ceiling and some pot lights.

And really, it wouldn't look nicely finished without new baseboards.

Jordan did such a good job on this one! The best job yet, I'd say. He mudded the dry wall so seamlessly, the flooring looks great, the pot lights really brightened things up. He even took out the original door way and made it a big, wide opening which adds so much to it.

Without further ado, our new, 100% improved and much more functional laundry room!

Pictures don't even do it justice. It's great.

One of my favorite features is the bar for clothes that need to hang to dry.

I adore the front loading washing pair too.

Up next, the main bathroom. For which I may leave town.

Lucky Number Seven

Seven years ago today Jordan and I became Mr. & Mrs.

Time flies when a) you are having fun and b) you add two little kids to the mix.

I've written a post before about how we met, started dating in grade 8 and were head over heels by the time we were 14 & 15.

I'm not going to write about "us" today, but rather about him.

He has many great assets. Let's start here:

(No one tell Jordan I posted that picture. He'll kill me. I unsuspectedly took it while he was busy renovating the laundry room this morning. There's no way I could do a post about him without mentioning my favorite part of him. ;) Thanks for keeping it between us.)

For real now.

He's romantic, he massages my feet, he lets me warm my cold toes between his thighs in bed at night. He frequently writes me love letters, cuddles me until I fall asleep, gets the girls out of my hair every time I ask. He makes me mix tapes. He sings me song that he hears that make him think of me. Lately, it's been this one.

He makes me laugh and makes me feel loved. I never question it. He's head over heels, still, like when we were 15. He'd do anything for me and I know it. He still loves to hold hands, snuggle on the couch and make out. Which is fine by me because he's got mad make out skills. ;)

He's a wonderful father. A great friend. A fantastic son. A spectacular husband. A truly good man.

And, luckily for me, he gets better and better looking every year. I love the wrinkles that are starting to form around his eyes and the ones that creep up around his mouth when he smiles. He still makes my heart skip a beat and can still take my breath away. And really? Those buns are quite incredible. I could squeeze them all day. And some days I do.

Each year with him really is a little bit better than the one before.

Seven years ago I thought I was the luckiest girl alive and now ...

... And now you're my whole life

now you're my whole world

I just can't believe the way I feel about you, girl (I'd change that to boy but then it wouldn't rhyme)

Like a river meets the sea, stronger than it's ever been.

We've come so far since that day

And I thought I loved you then

Happy 7th Anniversary Jordan!

Big Girls DO Cry

My little Abby.

(nevermind the chocolate around her mouth. She just finished a delicious Halloween cookie.)

She has grown leaps and bounds since she started school. She's kind of like a person now. She has friends that I don't know, doesn't tell me everything she did at school when she gets home, knows more French now than her daddy, has experiences I'll never know about and it so enjoyable to be around.

You know when your kids are little and want to come to the store with you and you kind of slump your shoulders, think of the hassle it will be, wonder if you'll be able to get everything accomplished you want to before your child has a meltdown in the aisle? I don't get that anymore with Abby. I enjoy her company. In fact, last Friday Jordan was off work so I picked Abby up from kindergarten, we went for lunch and shopped. I think I enjoyed her being with me more than I would have enjoyed it had I been alone.

Abby has joined Sparks (the first step in the ladder of Girl Guides). She loves it. This past week was Bring a Friend night. Abby had been talking about this girl Madison from kindergarten non-stop since Day 2. We invited her to come along. We picked her up and the conversation that began in the car had me smiling ear to ear. They were adorable. They sounded 15. They talked and laughed non-stop, literally, non-stop, the entire way to Sparks and back home again. They talked about movies they'd seen, things that happened at school and who played with who at recess. Madison to me, "Hey, you know what? Abby is my very best favorite friend in kindergarten!" I was glad to hear it because Abby feels the same way about Madison and life is so much more fun with a best friend around.

Abby is also in swimming and this past weekend actually swam all by herself! She sunk after about 4 feet but still. She swims!

She's just as smart as ever. The other day she drew a picture a few different colored flowers. The purple one was the biggest and purple is her favorite color so on the drawing she wrote:

Prple es bgst.

Prple me favret.

No where near perfect but so cute and really, if you are trying to sound words out, that's pretty close. ;)

(check out the cool pencil crayon case my mom made her in the photo above. She loves it! It rolls up and then has a ribbon attached that ties the bundle of pencil crayons closed. Her name is embroidered on it and everything.)

The only downside to Abby starting school is that she's been exhausted. She's even more sensitive than usual and cries so easily. I never wake her in the morning so she gets to sleep as long as she wants but she's cranky and has the occasional temper tantrum similar to those she had when she was two years old. I'm trusting that it's just an adjustment period and not late onset terrible twos. Because she never had those, or any other bad phase really.

She's been a great, easy kid. I like her. And not just because I'm her mom.