Owen + Eliot

Today was supposed to be the kick off event for the moms group that I started in my area.

Supposed is the operative word there. One of the moms (and her kiddo, C) is sick, and the other three that RSVP'd were no shows. Pretty disappointing, however I'm not without hope and have already posted two other events at the libraries in town - one for storytime with our kiddos, and another for Grandparent Storytime so the moms can get together and go Christmas shopping sans kids. Should be fun!

Anyhow, today turned into a playdate with Owen's friend Eliot (and his awesome momma, P)

Here's a little photo recap of their afternoon together

O and E playing on the floor

P entertaining the boys

The best of friends!

SO cute!

Owen holding his head up and looking over his shoulder at his favourite girl, mom!

It's Tuesday?

Right until midnight, as my Dad would say.

This week is already flying by, and I could have sworn that it was Monday today. But, no no...it's Tuesday, and that means getting my booty over to the gym to get it kicked by my trainer.

Today's routine consisted of...

5 minute cardio warm up

3 sets of:
- 40ft. (20 there...20 back) walking lunges
- 5 sprints up (and back down) a set of stairs
- 10 burpies

break

3 sets of:
- 10 ump squats
- 20 lying leg lifts
- 20 plank knee taps

End with 20 minutes of cardio

Wow...CRAZY! The legs are definitely a little like jell-o right now!

We had some really nice visits with Grandma Dale this week, and she got a good snuggle in today while I ran out to get some groceries and Owen wanted to nap for a while. Perfect timing! He was asleep when I left, and asleep when I got home!

Tomorrow is seeming to be more and more daunting. It's my first event for the moms group that I created in my area, and while it's an informal meet&greet, I still want it to go well. I've got the cupcakes, brownies, truffles and punch all done, and my friend P is bringing some ridiculously yummy cookies that taste like mint Girl Guide cookies, and a spinach dip that I have heard nothing but good things about.

The signs been painted, the survey sheets printed and the sticky name tags organized with markers to boot.

Fingers crossed it goes well!!

I'm Supermom

That's right...call me Supermom

This weekend was a crazy one, and this week is going to be insane as well.

Saturday, C was golfing in a tournament while I was at home vacuuming, dusting and trying to deal with a problem in the bedroom.

Seriously...bed bugs are a real thing! And, they're disgusting at that!! I haven't been able to shake the creepy-crawley feeling for the past 24 hours, and even slept in the spare room last night. Thankfully, it's not a fullblown infestation. I only found 3 dead ones, and 1 that used to be alive. The 4am inspection resulted in no bugs found, during their prime feeding time, so it looks like we caught it early enough, and it doesn't look like we're going to have to get a new bed (thank God, we have a king...so that's definitely an expense we can't afford! An exterminator though...that's going to have to find it's way into the budget somewhere, STAT!)

Everything's sanitized and vacuumed, no eggs or nests found...so that's a plus.

And, while I was busy cleaning, I was also in the process of making truffles and brownies for a little scrapbooking party that I hosted today.

An old highschool friend asked how I have time for all of this.

Today, it's called the Bumbo (yesterday was the swing) and we LOVE it since getting it yesterday off of a co-worker.

First time in the Bumbo!

Helping in the kitchen, keeping occupied with lots of toys!

and....he's out.

That, friends, is how I achieve Supermomdom.

What's in store for this week? Grandma Dale is coming to visit tomorrow and Tuesday, then I have my first event for the moms group that I started in my area on Wednesday. I'm really excited about it, but nervous all at the same time!

Thursday...hopefully Owen will nap a fair amount so I can relax a little and maybe get some of his scrapbook done.

Friday...Sue the child development lady from the Health Unit is here in the morning, which is alot of fun. We get down on the floor and play with Owen, go through his development phases, talk about challenges in parenting and selfcare associated with the postpartum depression.

BUSY week ahead, and I'm not sure that I'm ready for it!

Y3W

I know it's not Friday...not yet anyway, however C's working from home tomorrow morning and more than likely will commandeer the computer for a few hours (and *fingers crossed* take care of Owen so I can bake brownies and cupcakes and make truffles!)

So here's this weeks Your Three Words

Napping on mom (and yes... he really is that long! Pushing 28" right now)

Snuggled up for a nap...

Right down to his toes...

LOVE him like this...

And wouldn't you know...the minute I put him in his swing for the rest of his nap, he woke up! There must be something about snuggling with mom!

Happy Birthday!

To me!!

I had the absolute best first birthday as a mom, yesterday. We started the day off with lots of smiles and giggles from Owen, an episode of the Backyardigans while I ran around the house tidying and washing bottles, and then we were off to Chapters for a music class!

It was so much fun! I was a little hesitant because I'm not really into all of that dorky "sing to your kid in public" stuff, and admittedly I get really self conscious because I actually can sing fairly well and get nervous in front of others. Well!! It was amazing! I totally didn't know the songs, but they were really easy to follow and my early bloomer gave all of the kiddos a run for their rattles and drums.

Owen was shaking a rattle during shake-time, banging a tambourine while it was "make music together" time, and was imitating the instructor marching...without any prompting at all. She was amazed and asked how old he was, then quickly was shocked when I said "3 months!"

Then it was off shopping for books at Chapters, a little Starbucks courtesy of mommaT, and then we drove around our neighbourhood while Owen was napping in the back so I could post flyers for the moms group I've created in my city (I'm such a go-getter!)

Once we were home, Owen was still wanting to nap, so he slept most of the afternoon while I farted around on facebook, watched some TV and then got ready for the gym.

Yeah, you read that right. Even though it was my birthday, I still went to the gym! Todd definitely did not go easy on me, either!

Afterward, I joined Nana, Papi, Grandma Dale, C and Owen back at Nana's house for a bbq dinner. It was so nice to just relax with family...really it's all I had wanted.

Getting a #1 mom badge from my little boy wasn't so bad either :)

Snuggles for mom on her birthday!

He was a little infatuated with the candles on the cake...

Angel food cake with no frosting...diet friendly and my favourite!

Owen the Model

A couple of weeks ago, a girl that I went to high school with contacted me about Owen modelling for her. How cool is that?!

She's branching out and starting a photography business, so we were happy to make the trek to her farm to help her develop her portfolio.

Gorgeous venue, and amazing pictures!!

Happy Monday!

Our beautiful boy...

LOVE this picture...and his dark locks

Happy 3months, baby boy!

Graduating

Now that Owen's hit the 3month mark, we're starting to look at things around the house and consider all of the things that we're going to need relatively soon. And by soon, I mean practically now! First on the list, an infant/child carseat!

He's a big kiddo....14lbs+ at this point, and 26" as of last week. The restrictions on our carseat are 22lbs and 29"...He's going to be out of that by Christmas!

So right now, we're looking at the next phase in carseats. I'm really not sure even where to begin. I'd like an infant/child carseat so that once we hit the rear-facing maximum, we can turn it around to the forward facing seat.

These are the ones that I'm considering...

The First Years True Fit Convertible Carseat - Urban Life $149

Cheap and cheerful, and the safety ratings are great. Thankfully in Canada, all carseats have to meet a certain Transport Canada standard to even be in the stores. The reviews are also really great...It's also apparently good for smaller cars, which is awesome for our Elantra. The only con, really, is that it's on backorder right now so I'm not even sure when it would be instock.

Rear facing to 30lbs, forward facing to 65lbs.

The First Years True Fit Rebound Carseat - Retro Geo $249

Again, a great carseat with great reviews. The price is a little much to swallow, if you ask me, and it's definitely bigger in size so I'm not even sure that it would fit in our car. I do like that it has an attachable headrest and kickboard, which certainly would come in handy with our little drummer boy!

Rear facing to 35lbs., forward to 65lbs.

Britax marathon Convertible Carseat - Onyx $299

I have heard nothing but amazing reviews for everything that Britax makes. It's super pricey though, so I'm not sure it's the route that we'll go...but I thought I'd throw it in there for comparison.

Rear facing to 30lbs., forward to 65lbs.

What are you using as your next carseat? Given the options above, which would you choose? Or...would you choose something different all together?