Lovely Children's Rooms

A successful week of scrapbooking

This morning I am daydreaming about having an entire room for scrap booking and crafting. I am utilizing the small space that I have to its fullest, but I know that I will soon run out of space. I am using ikea storage boxes to hold my stamps and die cuts, glass jars for my ribbons and buttons and clear plastic containers for my chipboard and other sparkly embellishments. I love anything that helps keep me organized - cork boards, boxes, wicker baskets, plastic totes, white boards, filing cabinets, folders, clear plastic page holders, binders, .... oh the list goes on. The very prospect of organizing a space gets me excited.

Despite that fact that I feel sleep deprived and slightly cranky, I am pleased with how much scrap booking I have gotten done. Over the weekend I made a little book for my mom called "10 things I love about you". Perhaps I will photograph some pages and post them here for your viewing pleasure. I managed to get two layouts completed on graveyards tonight, which I am pleased with. Sometimes I am so tired that my creativity is virtually non existent.

A little about me

Describing oneself is a strange thing, especially when I haven't done it in awhile. Let's see...... I am introspective: I am incredibly inquisitive and an excellent listener. I think that I am a type A, goal orientated type of girl, but I am learning how to relax and sleep in. I consider myself to be both social and introverted. Crowds exhausted me and deep conversations invigorate me. I enjoy solitude and I require a great deal of it to feel refreshed. I am ambitious, and competitive but also easy going, and thoughtful. Sometimes I feel like a conundrum. I am a feminist, a follower of Jesus, a wife, a soon to be mother, an older sister, and a good friend. I like to read, road bike, camp, snuggle with my husband, bake cookies, listen to jazz, travel, scrapbook, sing, swim and write. I enjoy trail running, drinking warm delicious beverages, volunteering, looking at decorating magazines, dreaming, wearing high heels, wandering in the forest, taking photographs, drinking tea with my girlfriends and making lists.

Things that I am proud of:1) Bought, renovated and sold a home for an excellent profit. I learned how to use some really cool power tools. 2) Trained for and completed a triathlon. Swam 2.0km Biked 93km Ran 22.1 km. It was the most amazing race I have ever competed in. 3) Traveled around the world with my husband. We visited over 16 countries in 8 months. My favorite places were Guatemala, Rajasthan, India and Zanzibar, Tanzania. 4) Worked my way through University by selling books door to door across Canada. It was the hardest job I ever had, but it taught me some valuable lessons and allowed me to graduate without any debt. Beautiful.

My Birth Plan ....

I realize that a birth plan is an idealized best case scenario, and not necessarily very realistic, but I always think that it is hope for the best and prepare for the worst. In any case I am incredibly excited about birthing my baby girl and I will be happy to have a healthy baby at the end of it all regardless of what happens. However, I would like to give birth to my baby in the comfort of my home surrounded by my family. I have a midwife and I am planning on having a water birth, which I have been told is the most gentle way to give birth and provides a decent about of pain relief for labouring women. I have no desire for pain medication - I want to be alert and aware of everything that my body experiences, even if it is excruciating pain. I know that may sound sadistic to some, but I think birthing is a profound experience, comparable to nothing else. I doubt that I have or will ever experience the thresh hold of pain that labouring brings, but I know that it is an end to a very positive means. It will be different than say, having a bullet extracted without anaesthetic. I feel very confident that my body is capable of giving birth and that there is nothing wrong with having my baby at home, as women have done for centuries. My husband is supportive of my decision, while my mother is rather horrified. Nevertheless, it is my decision, and I have have spent a considerable amount of time thinking it through.

Awake at 3am

Okay, I have decided that I need to start writing more frequently, as I have only been blogging when inspiration hits or I am bored out of my mind. I started a blog after some of my distant friends sent me their blog links. It was lovely to hear their thoughts on a regular basis and see photos of their little ones growing. I am also enjoying reading blogs written by perfect strangers, especially when they include personal journeys, photos of beautiful homes and random rants.

I find that I blog when either A) I am awake at 3:00am in the morning and can't sleep - due to the fact that I am working graveyards four days of the week and my sleep schedule is all messed up or B) when I am working graveyards and there is nothing better to do. I will be going on maternity leave in four weeks and I am excited about the prospect of sleeping through the night. It will be short lived of course, due to the fact that I will soon be a first time mother of an infant that needs food and care on a frequent basis. Essentially, I guess I should be thankful for this "sleep deprivation training", as I have come to call it.

My husband is in the thick of the recruitment process towards becoming an RCMP officer and there is a strong possibility that he may be called to school in Regina in 8 to 12 weeks. While this is exciting news, it is also slightly terrifying. I can only hope that he will be around to witness our baby's birth and that he may have at least a week with us before he has to go. While the possibility of being a single mom for half a year doesn't thrill me, I realize that I'd rather him go now than when we have a couple children to contend with. My parents are incredibly supportive, and my sister recently had a baby so I will have lots of help and companionship. I am also strongly entertaining the prospect of going to Norway for awhile to visit my a girlfriend who recently had a baby. Her and I have always talked about wanting to raise our children together, so it would be nice to live that dream, even if it is only for a brief time. She lives in a lovely cottage in the forest near a charming town by the sea.

I realize that when I have a child my life will change. I don't think that I quite grasp the enormity of that statement just yet, but I think that I have a fairly good idea. Being a nanny for years and working with children has given me a good idea of what I have getting myself into, but I still think I am in for a shock. Right now I have so much time for myself, I can come and go at a moments notice and I can go to sleep whenever I feel like it. Soon I will be consumed with the needs of my child, packing a massive amount of things around with my and planning my outings around naps and breastfeeding. There have been times in my life when I have thought that I would never want to have children, due to this knowledge, but while I was traveling around the world I decided that I could handle those things and that I actually wanted them. Nothing good in life comes without some difficulty and work.

So now I am eight months pregnant and thinking about how I will retain some semblance of myself amidst baby blues, spit-up, chapped nipples and constant fatigue. This is what I have come up with:

1) Social: I will spend time with girlfriends with babies
2) Fitness: I will buy an wind trainer for my road bike so that I can get back into shape,in my own home, while my little one is sleeping.
2) Creative: I will scrapbook, something I am already doing fairly frequently, my trip around the world.... a slightly monumental task.
3) Rest: I will sleep when baby is sleeping even if there is mountain of dishes calling to me.
4) Outlet: I will blog my frustrations and hopes as I navigate the world of motherhood. I know that venting will help me keep my sanity.

How does this sound. Am I setting myself up for failure or does this sound reasonable and healthy. I would love to get some feedback.

Being crafty

Oh the joy of being artistic. I recently found an incredible blog by a woman named Brittnay who creates the most beautiful things; namely aprons, fabric flowers and lovely altered journals. She has inspired me to dig out my fabric and start sewing again, and to embellish my layouts with abandon.

Here are a few of her yummy creations~













I think that this apron is adorable (I know that I use that adjective far too much) but it really is.

Daydreaming

What an idyllic place..... it invites me think for a moment that the world is good place. Unfortunately, it is not. Although beautiful it is fraught with crime, selfish ambition and cruelty. Sometimes I just want to escape from that knowledge. I work in a shelter for women leaving domestic violence so I am exposed to the harsh realities of life everyday. Last year I traveled around the world with my husband and witnessed poverty and desperation of every kind. It broke my heart and forced me to re- evaluate my life and what is important to me. At present I sponsor three children from third world countries but I would like to do more. Perhaps, one day, I will create a non profit organization to help rescue little girls from prostitution. Oh *sigh*


Spring is on its way and I can hardly wait for the crocuses, and other delicate flowers to push out of the frozen earth.



I adore handmade children's clothing, especially anything with European flair. This little hat is darling.



Oh look what I found. The most adorable print of a little bird with the name "Amelia" written underneath. That just happens to name that I have been calling the little girl growing in my womb.



This little booties are so cute that I could buy them for the sole purpose of just looking at them on a shelf.

A farewell to all things Christmas

I must admit that I am a little sad that the Christmas season is over, hence the reason I can't but post a few Christmas themed photos.





My dearest friend Heidi gave birth to a beautiful little girl named Annabelle just after Christmas. I love this photo of her in her daddy's arms. My hope is that one day Heidi and I will live close to eachother and be able to raise our children together.