22 Days and Counting

Here I am with 22 days left to go! Can you believe the time has passed so quickly?! I can't believe I'm almost a Mom?! I sure hope I know what to do! lol

Ok looking at this picture now I think I look huge in here! I tried to get one with my hands on my belly, but it was blurry so I didn't bother. I don't think I have dropped yet!...but I will I'm sure...I can't wait!

Lost and Found

So, Friday night, Jeremy came home around 7pm, he and I met Tara and her mom at Boston Pizza. We had a great supper and great conversation and didn't make it home again until 9pm.

At that time Jeremy took Tucker for a walk. I laid on the couch and started reading my book. After a little bit my cell phone rang, when I answered it, it was Jeremy. A puppy had followed him and Tucker home. He asked me to bring Tucker into the house, then we fed the puppy and I fed Tucker.

Jeremy wanted to keep the puppy all night, I had wanted to kick it out last night. Tucker and the puppy got a long great, they had a great time playing in the yard chasing one another and what not.

I told Jeremy to get rid of the dog and he said, I kinda feel like I've given the puppy it's last meal if I send it back out tonight. I said fine she can stay the night and we'll put up posters tomorrow to see if we can find her owner. Jeremy was already planning on keeping the dog indefinitely but he agreed to the posters.

The puppy stayed the night and needless to say Jer and I did not get much sleep last night, neither did Tucker.

This morning the dog peed on the floor twice, I yelled at the dog and she didn't even stop peeing, she just ignored me. I was furious, I yelled to Jeremy the dog is going back! lol Then she peed on the floor a little later and Jeremy yelled at her and again she didn't even stop or look at him. That's when it was decided that the little black run away was no longer welcome in our house. We let the dog back out through the gate that she had arrived at and I haven't seen her since. I'm sure she had a family to go home to and they were probably waiting for her.

I told Jeremy today, he is not allowed to bring home any dogs on his walk with Tucker.

It's Begun!

So...I am officially 4 weeks away from due date! Kind of exciting, kind of scary, kind of making be a bit looney to think of everything that needs to be done in next 4 weeks!

I've completed my last day at work for 10 months. 10 months without working...wow...that's a long time, I know everyone says the time will go by quickly and then I won't want to go back to work at all. This will be the longest I will have gone without work since..umm....I was like not old enough to work! So not working is hard for me to imagine! lol

I boxed up all my stuff, trained my replacement, and on Friday at 430pm, I walked out the door, to return only after the baby has been born.

Showered with Kindness

Since I am so far away from home, I really thought I wouldn't be having any baby showers. I thought I would be really lucky to have the girls from work give me something, but I wasn't expecting all the wonderful acts of kindness I have received in the last week.

Last Sunday, Jeremy and I went to my cousins, Beulah, for supper. Beulah had asked that we arrive at 130 or 2, which I thought was kind of early for supper, but she said she had wanted to visit with us first for a bit before supper. Jeremy asked what time Beulah wanted us there and when I said 2pm he said ok, without any second thoughts. I thought that was kind of odd, as Jeremy isn't the most social person in the world and actually finds social situations a bit stressful and exhausting. But he didn't complain at all, he just said ok.

On Sunday we arrived at 2pm and went into Beulah's new house and had a look around. It's quite a bit bigger then the apartment they were living in at Christmas time. The house has some great painting done inside, as well as other things that make the house stand out from most of the ones going up now a days (where most everything is the same).

We got the tour of the upstairs and eventually we moved our way down stairs. They had decorated the apartment with streamers and balloons and there were baby presents everywhere. Not to mention there were tons of people there that I did not know! lol Beulah and Jen had planned a baby shower for me and Jeremy. Jeremy was shortly afterward banished to the upstairs...lol. We played some games, we measured my belly with string, we had to guess how many jelly beans were in a baby bottle, we did a word scramble game, played baby bingo, and of course were given beads and told that we would lose the beads if we said the word "baby". One of the girls was actually right on with my belly, and she was the skinniest one there! lol All she did was wrap the string around herself twice, makes me kind of sad to know that I am twice the size of her...but it's all baby right?! lol

I got a ton of great presents. I felt so spoiled and am ever greatful to the hospitality and the kindess of these mostly strangers. I would list everything I have gotten, but you know SOME people don't wanna know what the baby is yet, so I'll add pictures later and give a general list now.
Beulah - 3 sleepers, 5 onsies, and 2 blankets
Jessica and Kim (Kim is Beulah's daughter in law and Jessica is Kim's daughter, she's 5) - knit outfit and socks
Judy and Robyn (Judy lives with Beulah and Robyn is her daughter, 20 something) - 2 Onsies, diaper bag, change pad, wipe case, and $25 gift certificate to shoppers
Jill, Jason, and Gianna (Judy's other daughter is Jill and Gianna is her daughter and I'm guessing that Jason is Jill's husband) - 4 recieving blankets, hat, soap, teether, 2 bibs, 2 onsies, coffee toppers and additives, bubble bath, hand lotion, candy, baby hangers, and bouncy chair
Jen, Brenda, and Larisia (Jen is Beulah's daughter, Brenda is her daughter and Larisia is a friend of Brenda's) - Stuffed Eeyore, 5 receiving blankets, baby outfit
Louis and Destiny (Louis is Jen's mother in law and Destiny is her granddaughter) - Photo Album set (has My First holiday, my first birthday, my first vacation and my first year)
Susan (a good friend of Beulah's) - 2 candle bottles, snowsuit, 2 bibs, a onsie, a sleeper.

Quite the load of stuff if you ask me! lol I was pleasently surprised by the generosity of these almost complete strangers.

On Wednesday, I had another baby shower at lunch time at work. The girls worked hard on organizing and keeping it hush hush so that I wouldn't find out (but if you are my mom, you know I'm not easily surprised...lol) I did have an idea but not until Wednesday at about 11am. When things got a little hectic in the office and people started disappearing...lol

Again we played games and had a great time not to mention ate food! lol This party actually involved most of the office! I was quite surprised by that, I thought maybe my group of 4 people would be doing something, but never expected most of the office to be involved.

The gifts from this group was amazing as well. Again, for people I hardly know they certainly pulled together for me!

Rachelle - garbage bag of clothing she had found from her baby
Donna and Shannon - bowls, spoons, 2 outfits
Russell Farrow (the whole office) - Diapers, formula gift pack (has a soother and bottle and a bunch of other stuff), shoes, bath towel set, socks, face cloths, and a stuffed animal.
Tracy and Nicole - Calendar (to record baby firsts), basket, bib, seseme street bath mitt, safety plugs, spoons, teether, baby soap, oil, powder, vaseline, soothers, wipes and bath towel
Jennie - outfit
Sherri - winnie the pooh sun shade, baby on board sign
Betty - 2 bath towels
Jean - outfit
Teri - basket w/stuffed animal, pop tarts (inside joke with her and I), outfit, 2 onsies, socks, scrapbook stickers
Evelyn - Basket with face clothes and bath towels
Andrew - Nursery Rhyme books

You should see all this stuff, I have so much baby stuff now, I'm not sure what to do with it all! lol

Last night, Friday, Jeremy's aunt stopped by, her and Ralph just had a baby last May and she had quite the load of stuff for us as well. She gave us a car seat (I now have two), a swing, a bouncy chair (I now have 3..lol), a bath tub and an activity center for the baby to lay on the floor and play with.

I can't believe how much kindness has been shared out here, I think it's great that people pull together like this.

Jeremy and I have decided to try to give the baby stuff we aren't using, or when we are done using it, to someone (probably military) who moved here and has not much for family. I appreciate all that they have done for me here and I think that giving back to others in the same situation would be the best for the things we have received. So I told Jeremy to keep his ears open in a few months to see if he hears of anyone who could use the stuff.

On the other side of things, I'm pretty sure I do not need anymore wash cloths...lol I seem to have a ton of them and receiving blankets, but everyone keeps telling I will need lots of receiving blankets, but I really have like 15 or 20 of them, I think that's plenty! lol

Pregnancy Forgetfulness

So yesterday, I felt like my head was in a fog. Jer and I stayed in bed most of the day, watching tv and sleeping. When I finally did get up, I couldn't shake the "I don't know what I'm doing" feeling. Everything I did was like it was the first time I had done it. We went into Edmonton, to some second hand stores and we found a few things, but we didn't buy too much. One of the thrift stores we went to had a half price sale. So we got 3 bibs and 1 underwear shirt for 1.23. Crazy eh?! Then we went to goodwill and I found cute little pants for 2.99 so we got those too. We then went to chapters and bought a baby book, which Jeremy has had a blast filling out. He's got the family tree done, wrote down what we have received as gifts so far, along with many other areas filled out. He's looking forward to adding to the book as we go along.

So I was talking to Jen and had told her what I was going to blog about this weekend, however, I completely forget what it was. lol Everyone said I would get more forgetful as time went on, honestly, I never imagined it would get this bad! lol

I think it was about the Crib. I have finally found a crib! Jer and I had bid on one on Ebay and had one. It was going to cost us 206 dollars. Right after I found out I had won the bid, a girl from work, Steph, came up to me and offered her crib to me for FREE!!!! I said I'll take it. But then I had an Ebay problem. So I explained to the seller that I had just found out that I could get a crib for free and that while I thought the one he had built was beautiful, I would rather have the free one because of finances. He came back and said he completely understood and he sent a Mutal Agreement to Cancel, which will hurt neither of our scores and he can get his money back from putting the item up for sale. So crib problem is now solved!

Tonight, Jer and I have supper at my cousins place, and maybe we will pick the crib up afterwards or something, I will have to call Steph to find out what she is up to. Jer also has to drive back tonight, so hopefully we won't be too late.

Jeremy's Away! UGH!

Last Tuesday, Jeremy came home and told me that he's being sent away to train some new troops. He'll be gone from that Thursday until June. Since he's not going to be too far away, he will be home on weekends. It's only about a 3 hour drive.

I'm in my last weeks of pregnancy and they think now is a good time to send him away? I was livid, livid might be an understatement, I was PISSED!!!!! I couldn't believe that they could be so insensitive. Family is important to them my ASS!

I knew that when dating Jeremy there would be times I would be alone as he would be away, then when I got pregnant, I realized that there would be times when I would be a single mom. However, I did not in my life ever think that I would be going into labour by myself, or possibly having the baby with out him. I do have some cousins here who are willing to come to my rescue, and I do have some friends who will help out in a pinch. I just never thought of him not being here.

Not to mention, as far as we know, he gets 5 days off to be with me after the baby comes. After that I'm by myself all week with a newborn. As if the newborn isn't enough to think about and worry about, but I have all the household things to do on my own as well.

A friend of mine from back home, is thinking about moving in with us...well me really...from March until June, which will be a big relief for me. Jeremy's mom doesn't know about this yet, I'm sure she'll be concerned as well. My mom was supportive, but still wished she could have come out until after the baby is born. This would have been easier if I had of been due the end of June...lol

I've calmed down a lot since I found out the news of him going and him actually leaving. But I'm sure when those labour pains hit, I will not have nice things to say about his place of employment!

Let's all hope and pray that the baby makes his/her arrival on a weekend, rather then during the week! I know I will be discussing it with the baby every Friday and Monday! lol

34 Weeks

Almost there! If I was Jennifer I would have the baby in two weeks, however, I am not Jennifer, so I guess I'll have to wait a bit longer!

Ultrasound Pictures

After losing the first ultrasound pictures, I begged my dr to send me for another ultrasound. He eventually gave in and got me a spot.

I think the baby has huge lips...what do you think? lol

Random News

Once again nothing exciting really happened during the week, but keeping with my promise of updating every week, I have to type about something so here is some random news and thoughts!

- Melissa is counting down to her trip, which in turn is counting down to my due date. 7 weeks left to go, scarey that I can count down now! While I'm either looking after a newborn, or giving birth Melissa will be preparing for a beach.....I think I'd like to trade with her! lol

- I seen a UPS truck in the ditch this week. I thought it was funny. The roads were quite bad tho, but it was on the highway on my way home from work. Melissa said I should have stopped and took a picture, I said yeah, and cause another accident! lol

- I had an ultrasound on Tuesday. Jeremy came along as well. This one wasn't quite as exciting as the first, but I did get pictures again. Jeremy left them at work, so I'll get them scanned and posted on here hopefully for next week. I think my baby has huge lips! lol Hopefully the rest of the face will even out before she's born...lol

- I had a dr appt on Thursday to meet my new dr or another dr. Dr Heard, my original dr is moving his mom and dad the week that I am due so if I go then he will be unavailable and I'll have to call Dr Azer. Dr Azer seems nice enough, more chatty then Dr. Heard, but he's not Dr Heard. lol

- Pregnancy thoughts. I've been blessed with a rather normal pregnancy, nothing out of the ordinary, no complications, but I have to say with 7 weeks left, I'm more then ready to have the baby. So I don't have a crib....the baby can sleep in a laundry basket just as comfortably as in a crib! lol I'm anxious to see what the baby will look like, what color hair, how long, how many pounds, will the baby be cholicy, will the baby have huge ass lips...lol

- With all that being said, I kinda wish I had more time. I have 10 working days left and then I am off for 10 months. Crazy to think that way. What am I going to do with myself for 10 months? Jeremy's decided to take a couple of months with me, so that all the parental leave gets used up. It'll be nice to have him around to help for those couple of months. I'm scheduled to be back to work Jan 1, 2009.

- I've decided that to be on the safe side I'd like to get a tent thing that you can put over your crib, it's made of mesh and it's to keep animals out of the crib. I think that would work for keeping the damn cats out of it, which is a concern of mine.

- UPDATE: Tucker is no longer scared of the last 7 steps to get upstairs. Ok, it's not that he's not scared of them, but he will go up them now, which is nice, because there is no way I can carry him up..lol

- We had a few storms this week. They were small storms not amounting to very much, but we did get a little snow, which is now slowly turning to ice as it's been warm (10c or so) and the snow is of course melting and then freezing at night when the sun goes down.

I think that's it...Until next time!

Let's See How Long....

....a cold lasts when you can't take anything for it and the temperatures outside are well below zero! lol

The latest flu that has been going around work is one that begins with a migraine (which I had on Friday) and progresses to the sinus. Let me tell you, I woke up yesterday, achy, tired and whiny. Poor Jeremy I really think this is the first time I have been this sick since I have met him.

Temperature outside yesterday was -36...in other words...FREAKING COLD!!!! We needed groceries, it was a we had to go yesterday or we would starve to death kinda situation. We went for groceries and I didn't think I was going to make it around the grocery store. We got home I curled back up on the couch only getting up to eat supper with Jer. This small amount of time away from my blankie on the couch made me freezing. I quickly ate "enough" and rushed back to my blankie and couch. Soon after I went to bed (I didn't get out of bed until 2pm and was back in bed by 730pm...lol) I woke up with the chills, I literally thought I was going to freeze to death! I didn't want to move out from under the blankets to put more on so I just wrapped my head in blankets and hoped that would help keep the heat it....and it worked, I fell back to sleep and woke up a little later sweating!

Today the temperature has been -18 (a nice improvement!) and I am feeling a little better. I am still cold a lot of the time. My head feels fuzzy and my legs get tired from the quick trips to the bathroom...lol

I asked Jer yesterday how long he thought I would be sick seeing as I can't take anything for it. Usually I knock the cold out of me by taking some cold medication and am all better within a day or two...this time...I think I'm going to be delivering my baby with the flu! lol He said I should be better in a couple of hours....I hate to tell him he is way wrong! lol I'm not sure he completely understood how sick I was yesterday, today he had to go to Canadian Tire to get stuff to fix his car....He said you want to come....I said do I have to? he said no. I went anyways, because I like to get out of the house sometimes!

How was that for a pitty post?! lol I really had nothing to write about and being sick is on the top of my mind...lol

32 Weeks!

Here are my latest belly pictures! Wow, I don't realize how much it has grown until I see a picture of myself! lol I just told Jen the other day that I didn't think I had gotten any bigger since the last time...I think I should start looking in the mirror more often, or something.

Time for an Update

Jen and I made a mid-Jan resolution to update our blogs at least once a week. So far we have both done well at this, however this week I really don't have a theme. So I'm going to make this a random posting.

***No pictures today as Jeremy's camera is on the base, so it will have to wait until Monday or Tuesday. I am guessing tho that I have grown a bit, as the girls at work are noticing more now. So pictures will come soon, I promise.

***Baby's been quite a squirmer...I might end up having my hads full when he/she arrives! I would say I'm carrying a soccer player, but really it's not so much kicking as it seems to be shifting positions, which causes butts, feet and arms to be shoved to the front of my uterus. None of this hurts of course, but definitely lets me know I'm not alone!

***Monday was cold at -35 when we got up, but my car started just fine. But I parked close to work as I wasn't walking 5 blocks in the freezing temperature! It cost me 10 dollars to park that close! Usually I pay 2.50 a day, so 10 dollars is quite an increase. Jeremy's car broke on him and the heater coil was frozen on him as well, so he had a very cold drive to work.

***Tuesday was even colder -43 when Jeremy and I got up. Pretty cold...actually so cold my car wouldn't start. I didn't know where the plug in was so it took all day to get the car going. I eventually found the plug in and after 4 hours the car gladly started for me. Since Jeremy's car was broken and he got sick from his cold drives to and from work, that left me to figure out the car by myself...pretty much, he did help a little bit, but he was freezing to death and then sweating, so he really wasn't of much use. I sent him back to bed. lol

***Wednesday, Cold, but not near as cold as -40. Jeremy and I car pooled to work. Was a pretty good day.

***Thursday, cold, I was so grouchy when I left work. I had a huge cry when I got to my car and if I could have strangled Jeremy I would have! lol Not that he did anything wrong, he just wasn't helping my mood. I was bitter that I had to walk in the cold. I took the Pedway (so I can walk inside most of the way) and ended up 3 blocks out of my way. I was just in an overall bad mood. Meanwhile, Jeremy was going to get picked up at the door and would only have to be outside for a few mins. Yeah....it was a bad day for me, however the mood did break. Why was I driving Jeremy to work you might ask? I work downtown, Jeremy works waaayyy at the North end of the city (I do mean WAY...lol) So instead of him fighting traffic 4 times a day downtown, it's easier and quicker for me to fight it twice instead.

***Friday, Jeremy was exhausted and still not feeling well so he came home and went to bed. I stayed up with the animals to give them some attention, as they have been alone all day and probably pretty bored...lol I couldn't imagine not getting out of the house. I bought a new purse today. Imagine that girls...Lisa carrying a purse! LMAO. I figure since I'm going to be a mom I should get used to the whole purse idea. I got it at Winners, it's a Tommy, it's pretty big, I could probably fit a couple of diapers and some other baby things in them for those short trips where a diaper bag is really too much.

***Saturday. I got up and took Tucker for a drive to the store, ok I wanted to go to the store and he wanted to go in the car...lol it was a win win situation! I cooked breakfast for Jeremy and I and then I had a nap! We got up and headed into Fort Sask to browse through some shops. We found a second hand store and let me tell you was it ever packed with stuff in there. We did get 1 pair of mitts for the baby so he/she doesn't scratch his/her face, 6 pairs of baby socks (too cute!), Jeremy insisted on the pair that says "I love Daddy". They had a few crib sheets and what not, but Jeremy said let's wait until we get a crib. Then he said you haven't bugged me about that lately. I said well that's because if we don't have a crib by the first of March I'm just gonna go buy one. Ohh he said. We went to Canadian Tire and got the stuff to change the oil in our cars and tired to get a treadmill again but no luck, but we'll have one soon. We went to The Source and found a boombox for the Sirus radio, however it's not compatiable with Jeremy's so it will be going back. I rearranged the baby's room in the evening trying to get it organized for the arrival. I started by emptying the shelves, boys are there ever a lot of books in this house! lol I definitely want a 3 bedroom next time, so that we can have one bedroom as an office and the baby will have their own space. Because it really sucked trying to figure out where to put everything, since the room is an office/baby room. Ahh well next time will be better. So I think I have it set up the way I want it, however I still don't have a crib or a rocking chair yet. lol so I'm sure once those things arrive I will want to rearrange again.

***In other news, my 100 lbs baby with fur named Tucker is all the sudden scared to climb the last 7 stairs to put him upstairs with us. For two nights Jeremy carried him up, and last night I slept on the couch, otherwise he would whine all night. I have no idea how to fix this problem, I don't want to make the situation worse, I've tried bribing him with cookies, but he just won't come up those last 7 stairs! lol Poor Pup.

***On the agenda for today, Cook breakfast, clean up afterwards, return boombox, I'd like to go into Edmonton to browse some shops in there, but Jeremy's been invited to some superbowl thing, so I'm not sure if he's going to go to that or not, he's not much of a sports fan. Ohh yeah and Jeremy's changing the oil i n the cars.

***My dad has had his first week of radiation treatment. It was a bit rough, lessons were learned and hopefully next week will go easier and better for him. I'm so glad that the treatments are working, it's very hard to be this far away at these times. And I'm glad the postal service found the parcel I sent out and got it to mom and dad. I was worried that it was lost forever.

I think that's all from now...over and out in Alberta! lol

Baby Stuff

Everyone has been asking what Jeremy and I need for the baby. Today, I went to my friend Jean's (a coworker) and she had a bunch of baby stuff ready for me, but won't give me a price as to what I should give her for all the goodies she had ready. I felt like I was coming home from a baby shower today! lol

I took some pictures of what I have for the baby so far, but I'll try to list everything as well, as the pictures are a bit overwhelming. Or at least I find them to be! lol

Jeremy loaded up the car today with all that stuff and said..."Yeah....We need a mini van!" lol Finally he's realizing what is needed for a baby.

So far we have:

1 Car seat with base (Jeremy's uncle is sending us another infant car seat. The one we got today will mostly be used for going for walks and such as it clips right onto the stroller)

1 Stroller

3 Infant hats

3 Sleepers

8 Receiving Blankets

1 Sweater (might be too big sized at 3 months)

1 Crib Mobile

1 Crib Bumper

1 Diaper Changing pad

1 Night light

1 Baby Carrier

1 Bouncy/Vibrating Chair

8 Washcloths

1 Hooded Towel

1 Baby Soap (pack of 3)

1 bag of Cotton Balls

1 package of Baby Wipes

1 Travel Container for baby wipes

1 Diaper Bag

1 Nursing Pillow

1 Baby Monitor (has video too!!!)

2 Teething toys

1 Baby Bath tub

3 Bottles

2 Bibs

1 Small Can of Formula

And a whole bunch of baby toys....lol As if the baby won't have lots of those anyway Jean gave me whatever her kids aren't playing with anymore....lol

Almost Forgot

Ok I forgot a few things.

While Jeremy's mom was home we went to an Imax movie called Hurricane on the Bayou. It was a good movie. Almost all Imax movies are Documentaries and this one was about Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans and the Wetlands. It was quite informative and brought back the rath of Katrina. I still feel for that city and them having to put everything back together.

We see this at the Telus Science Center. Which is where we spent the rest of that day. We had a great time playing with all of the exhibits. We got to see the stars as they would appear over Edmonton that night, however it was too cloudy to really see them.

The next day we took Jeremy's mom to the airport and then went back that night to pick up a puppy for a friend of Jeremy's who lives in Winnipeg. She drove all New Years Eve to come get this puppy. The airlines would only fly the pup this far. The dogs name was Quest. She was cute, a mix between a husky and a german shepherd. Tucker was still cuter of course! lol

Speaking of Tucker, he was not impressed that we brought another dog into the house. He was mad at me at first, because I was carrying the puppy, and he was mad at the puppy. Poor girl. We kept her locked up in the bathroom all night, as she was stressed from the travel and we didn't want Tucker to hurt her. I worked the next day and by the time I got home, Tucker and Quest were good buddies. They played the day away! Jeremy and I went to the fireworks that night, and when we got home, and decided it was bed time, Quest protested by crying all night. Which kept, me, Jeremy and Tucker up all night. The next day Jeremy's friend arrived to take her dog. Both Jeremy and I were relieved to have some peace and quiet and celebrated it by doing NOTHING all day. It was great. Tucker was a little sad to see the puppy go as he had a great time playing with her, but he was happy that he didn't have to leave too and that he got to stay here with us.

Here are some pictures of Tucker and Quest playing.

28 Weeks

I know it's been awhile since I have posted on here with a picture of me. I did have my webcam hooked up on christmas day for mom and dad and Jen. I tested it on Jen to make sure it works properly. Thank you Jen!

See what happens when I don't post in forever?! lol I just haven't had time lately to post anything or to even think about what to put on here. But I think I'm pretty much up to date now! lol

Ohh yeah I suppose you want to see the pictures now eh?! ok I'll get on that.

Painting Frenzy!!!

Jeremy's been very busy this last week. Painting up a storm, trying to get things done. So far he has the back entry and the livingroom has one wall done and one wall waiting a second coat on the walls, but no trim done yet.

This is the livingroom wall that he has finished. he put the last coat on it today and then hung everything back up while I had a nap.

Here is the back entry way. Tucker always wants his picture taken when he sees the camera come out, so I figured I would make him take his picture where it would benefit me too! lol

New Years Eve

I know most of the people who look at this were pretty snowed in on New Years Eve, however I had no problem getting out and going to look at things.

Jeremy and I went to the events in Downtown Edmonton. There was live music and crafts for the kids, out door skating and a bunch of other things, ending with Fireworks.

Jeremy didn't take any pictures of the fireworks, however I have found a video on youtube of them. I added them here incase anyone wants to have a look at them. It is a 7 min long video, and there is a "part 2" on youtube as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_XbQ3LLr5E

Flowers For After Christmas!

Beulah got me a nice vase for christmas. (this is one of mom's cousins who lives out here) I didn't have any flowers to put in it, so I wanted to buy rocks to put in it so that we could still use it as a center piece on the table. Jeremy said in a sarcastic tone "You and rocks. Now you want to buy them?!" Which is fine by me, baby and I will just collect our own rocks this summer and probably for the next 10 years or so! lol

So while Jeremy's mom was here, I went to work and came home to a bouquet of flowers already in the vase for me. Jeremy took the picture o f this flower but there were others in the vase I swear. Some orange roses, which were very pretty!

Edmonton Snow

Everyone from back home has given me lots of oppurtunity to see how much snow they really did get out there! I have to say WOW!!! I haven't seen that much snow since I was a kid!!! The kids out there must be having a great time with snow forts and tunnels and sliding!

This is my backyard. Quite the difference eh?!

I thought these two trees in the next picture were pretty so I snapped a picture and decided to put them on here too. To give you an idea of how little snow we have (not that I am complaining!), twice today we have had to clean the mud off Tuckers paws before he could come in the house! He's dug through the snow into the mud, somewhere in the backyard.

This picture actually shows the garage, we need to put real siding on it...it kind of reminds me of an old barn back east. and I do mean old! lol

You can see our neighbours house in this one. These ones are to the left if you are looking at the house. They have two dogs, who Tucker likes to play with by running up and down the length of the fence with them. They seem to have a good time, hard to say how things would go if we let them play together where there was no fence. He'd probably love it and play the dogs out!

Christmas Bed!

Mom and Dad helped Jeremy and I purchase a bed for Christmas! Here is what we got at Ikea...It's so nice to not sleep on the floor anymore!

Step One: Let Jeremy and Margo do all the hard work! I just took pictures, until I handed that job off to Jeremy as well! lol

Step Two: I did help with this a little bit, but really I was a spectator!

Step Three: The bed with out a mattress, again I was a spectator! lol It's great to just be able to watch!

This is the finished product!! All we need now is a queen sized mattress to fit the queen size bed frame we bought! LOL ohh yeah and some queen sized sheets and blankets!

Random Pictures

Here is Tucker's Christmas Photo...and you would not believe how hard it was to get him to sit beside the tree like that so I could snap a photo, everytime I turned my back he was gone! lol Ahh Well patience paid off because itj's a pretty good picture. I think his tongue is even hanging out! lol

Do you see the bunny? This bunny lives in the parking lot that I park in. I park beside his sleeping place. I've named him Fluffy, however he doesn't come to me...lol

Our Christmas Tree this year.Isn't it cute?! lol I think it's hilarious that we have a christmas tree against the same wall as a beach picture where it looks warm and inviting...lol

The boy....how he has grown eh?! Still handsome tho!!!

Almost a Month Since my Last Post?!?!!

Wow, it's hard to believe that it's been almost a month since I last posted on here. I do have good reasons tho. Jeremy and I have been very busy getting settled in and getting his Military Christmas stuff out of the way.

Nov. 30th - I got to meet the other officer wives at the Wine and Chocolate party. What a spread of Chocolate, there were chocolates, cheesecake, other cake, and other chocolately goodness there waiting for us. Lisette, the CO's wife was very nice and she really enjoys my email address. I think she remembers me by my email not my name. lol, either way I left an impression. I think it's all because I emailed her in regards to attire for certain events. I needed an explanation of all the different types of formal...lol Did you know that casual does not mean jeans unless specified?! I did not know this! I met quite a few people at the party, it was nice...kind of a sophisticated evening. I felt out of place because I had sneakers on. I figured if I could wear jeans that must mean sneakers are ok too right....WRONG!!!! lol try hiding your feet for two hours with a bunch of women! LOL

Dec 1st - Jeremy had a party with the guys. I dropped them off at a strip club (yes it was all clothes off...someone had asked me if it was). Jeremy said it wasn't too bad of a club, but he's been to better. I was supposed to go hang out with Andrew Gray and his girlfriend (friends from UPS), however I wasn't feeling well, so I cancelled and decided to stay home and make the christmas balls I had bought the stuff for. I stopped at walmart on my way home and purchased a bone for Tucker and a few other things. At 5pm I got a call from Jeremy, who said he was having a great time, but that he would want to come home at the end of the evening and wanted to know if I would pick him up if he called me at like 1am. I told him that I would, as next year I would probably be a little less likely with the baby. As both of us would have to get dressed to go outside. I puttered around the house, not in a big hurry to get the chores done as Jeremy wouldn't be calling until late. WRONG! He called at 9pm asking me to go get him. He wasn't feeling well. I told him that in order to go get him I needed to know where he was. He told me he didn't know. I said well someone there should know where they are. He was in St. Albert. I headed in that direction and just before the lights to go straight to St. Albert or turn left to go to Edmonton, Jeremy called again to tell me he wasn't in St. Albert and that he was going to Tony's house. As if I know who Tony is...lol. I spoke with Tony and got directions. However, his directions sucked and I ended up on the right street, but one of those weird streets that starts then stops and then picks up again....so I was not in the right area. (this is what happens when you take directions from a drunk person...lol) 2 hrs after I left the house, Jeremy and I were on our way home, he was passed out before we even got out of Edmonton. He did have a good time, he just had a little too much to drink.

Dec. 2nd - Jeremy and I went into Edmonton and met up Andrew and Sarah to go to the Festival of Christmas Trees. It was a good time, it was really good for me to see a familiar face. Jeremy and Andrew hit it off well and spent a good amount of time chatting. Later, Jeremy told me that he had a better time on Sunday then he did on Saturday.

Dec 8th - Christmas Galla on base. Jeremy and I got all dressed up (and there is no proof..lol) and went into the Officers Mess for the dinner. It was a good time. I seen some familiar faces as I had met them at the Wine and Chocolate, however there were more unfamiliar faces! lol I met some of the guys that Jeremy works with and for...I met the CO and spoke with Lisette again, who remembered my email address...but not my name...lol. It was a pretty good evening, I had lots of comments on my hair and I did it myself...lol and it didn't take me too long to do either. It was a really nice dinner and we sat at a table of interesting folks. One lady was trying to help Jeremy and I name the baby, no conclusions were made that night...lol...but she did have some good names. I was pretty tired by the time we got through all the toasts, so we searched out his boss and excused ourselves. It was still past midnight by the time we got home.

Dec 9th - Jeremy and I decided to take Tucker hiking on a 3km trail we found in the near by National Park. This turned out to be a bad idea for two reasons, one we hadn't brought Tuckers booties, so his feet kept icing up on us so we were always picking the snow out of his feet..poor little guy...two...pregnant women have to pee a lot, and there are no bathrooms in the middle of the trail. I've decided that from now on I will be unable to go hiking, walking around town no problem, walking in the woods with out a bathroom, bad idea...lol I had to pee so bad it hurt by the time we got to the car, there is a bathroom by the car, but still I thought we would never make it there.

Dec 14th - Starting at Noon, Jeremy is on his month christmas leave. I felt good leaving work, so Jeremy suggested that we go see a movie at the cheapy theater. But by the time, we cooked supper I was exhausted and opted for going to bed rather then pay for a movie I'd sleep through.

Dec. 15th - Jeremy and I went to the West Edmonton mall with JP and Kelly (friends of Jeremy's). I think we were there too long and I was really tired. I was cranky too...ok REALLY cranky! We were in and out of stores and we watched the Sea Lion show. It was pretty cool. I was looking at maternity clothes and Jeremy was looking for a suit. I didn't buy anything, and Jeremy came home with treats for the dog and a new keychain for him. We met back up with JP and Kelly and they weren't ready to leave yet (but I was past due...lol...damn this whole tired thing!) Jeremy wanted to go back to a hobby store we had passed to see if they had a model he wanted to do. I browsed the shop for a bit, and then went to sit down and watch the people skate at the indoor rink. Jeremy came out and we started to leave when he found the keychains. He asked if I wanted one, but I didn't really have a need for a keychain, as I have one or more already. While Jeremy hung out at the keychains, I wondered around to other stores and eventually ended up in a Jewellery store, where I was looking at the sapphire rings. I tried a couple on and talked to the sales lady, and then she cleaned my rings for me and then Jeremy called looking for me. Jeremy asked what I was looking at, I told him Sapphire rings, he said how come, and I replied with...that's a stupid question, why do you think I was looking at them? lol See cranky! He laughed because when he's cranky and I ask a "stupid" question that's the exact same response he would give me. We headed towards the door when Jeremy wanted to stop and look at mens rings in Peoples. He's been trying to decided if he is a ring kinda guy or not. We went in and looked and sat down (loved that they had chairs!). Jeremy was trying to figure out if he is a plain ring or a stone ring kinda guy. No one came to ask if they could help. Eventually, Jeremy said let's go. So we started out of the store, when a girl behind the counter said have you been served? I shurgged and Jeremy said nothing we continued walking (I should mention that the store was kind of busy) the girl asked again, to which I replied "Too late now". Jeremy said you didnt have to say that Lisa. I said she didn't have to wait until we were leaving the store to ask if we needed help either. Jeremy replied with well I'd rather this mood be directed at her then me. lol. So yeah, I think we stayed too long at the mall yesterday. It was fun as it always is when we go to the mall, but we really needed to leave a few hrs before we did...lol

That catches us up to today, where I have nothing to report. It's almost noon, I'm still in my PJ's and I'm rather liking the relaxing day. I've done some laundry, I've swept the stairs and kitchen and I've made breakfast. Later on Jer and I are going to head into The Fort to get some baking supplies for me to make cookies, as I have to make them for work, and I really want something sweet to eat!

Evening Gown Shopping.

On Saturday, I went evening gown shopping with Beulah and Jen my cousins who I don't remember meeting before. It was a fun day meeting them and having lunch and then the dress shopping began! I tried on probably 20 dresses or more.

I ended up buying two dresses. One from Mariposa and one from Sears. I really like the Mariposa store, it's got some gorgeous dresses and lots of other great clothes as well.

I had Jeremy take some pictures of me in the dresses, and I have added them below. I even had him take a profile shot to prove that there is no belly to be sending to everyone! LOL

This post will make Melissa happy as she has been asking for pictures with people in them!

This is the Sears dress. I paid 50 dollars for this one. But it's not what I was thinking of...and look at the cleavage!!! UGH!

This is the Mariposa Dress I paid 95 dollars for this one! This is the one we are going with. I like it, it fits well, and well I'm allowed to look a little fat in it, I'm pregnant afterall! lol

Here is a profile picture. See not really any baby belly to show off! I told you all so! lol but there consider this the first month of a picture, me at 21 weeks.

My Office Place

I thought I should take pictures of my office today to give you an idea of where I work. So there are pictures of the inside and outside of the building.

I work in the Melton Building on Jasper Ave in Edmonton. This is the back of the building in the smoking area.

This is the front of my building from across the street. Pretty big eh?!

This is the view from the smoking area.

This is my work group part one. Teri and Jean sit at these desks. I took the picture at lunch time so they were both gone.

This is the other part of my work group. This is Jennie's desk and an empty one, or at least I think it's empty, no one has sat at it since I started working there.

And last but not least, this is my very own desk. I do not share it with anyone, and everything on it is my very own! lol. I have my own phone with my own extension and my own voicemail. That's just to rub it into any UPSers who read this! haha!

A Pittance of Time - The Fallen Heroes Foundation

On Saturday night, I had the privledge to attend my first military function. It was a banquet for the Fallen Heroes Foundation. The night included a meal, and entertainment, as well as a few speeches from different officials.

I was a bit reserved going into this, as I hate being forced to mingle with strangers. There was a debate on what I was required to wear (just between Jeremy and I) and I was really dreading the whole damn thing! I emailed Jeremy's CO's wife to get the in on what I should wear, she gave me a lovely breakdown of what is required for most events. It's been rather cold here so I elected to go with a pant business suit and of course my poppy. I fit in pretty good in the attire side of things.

The appetizers/h'orderves were amazing. I especially liked the cheddar crisp with pear and chicken, but they also had cheddar topped with apple and pork and a cranberry. Jeremy loved those ones best, but I'll stick to my cheddar crisp. Even though the name is deceiving as the cracker thing is not actually crispy. lol

Jeremy and I met an older gentleman and he had just retired recently from the military. Just before he retired he had been working with the rehab and helping soldiers get back on their feet after injury. I am sure his job was both enlightening and heartbreaking.

While we were out in the lobby, having our h'orderves and trying to mingle a little, I was quizzing Jeremy on the hooks, rings, crests and other things that many of the service men and women wore on their uniforms. I also learned the difference between the blue, green and other color uniforms. I am afraid that I will not remember all of the information, I do know that a corporal wears two hooks, a master corporal wears two hooks and a maple leave, people with more rank don't have hooks or rings at all, but they have crests on their sleeves. I tell you it'd be nice to know this incase I do need this information some day.

Once we got inside and seated at a table we were joined by two other couples who were all in the military. I felt a bit out of place being the only civy at the table, as I did not understand half of the abreviations they were using or did I have much of a care for what they were talking about. Everyone at our table was a corporal, except for one and she was a master corporal. They were all supporting people, like clerks or what not. But soon I learned that they were all from the east coast! Phew! I didn't feel so out of place after that. There were two Newfies, and two Nova Scotians at my table. What a relief that was, we could talk about home!

For our meal we had: for starters a garden salad with saskatoon berry dressing (kinda...sour dressing, wasn't something I would rush out to by). Then we had a pumpkin soup...mmmm sooo good!. Main course was Alberta Steak (yes there is a difference), potatoes, a mix of veggies, some tomato thing, which I am sure was more of a decoration. For dessert we had a personal cake with a digital image, the cake had vanilla like shavings on the outside and oranges in the middle. Very good meal.

For entertainment, we heard from Terry Kelly. He wrote the song and video I'm going to try to link to this, but the name of it is Pittance of time and if you go to You Tube, it's the only song that comes up under Terry Kelly.

Before he started his skit/singing (as it was a delightful mix of the two) he told a few stories that I thought I would share here. One will help explain his video and the other is just a meaningful story.

When Terry was in high school/junior high he was made to attend the assemblies that we all had to attend on Rememberance Day. One year he and his friends were behind some Vets for the ceremony. He and his friends were grumbling about the two mins of silence that were coming up, probably discussing what they would rather do with their two mins. The Vet turned to the boys and said "I want you to take the next two mins and think of all the good things in your life. This will show you number one, the two mins will fly by and number two, you cannot think of all the good things in your life in two mins. We gather on this day to honour the men and women who have helped us to have our country the way it is."

Terry said that since that day he has always taken those two mins at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month to reflect on all the good things in his life.

A few years later, Terry was in a store on Nov 11th. The store announced that they would be recognizing the two mins of silence and that they hoped their customers would join them as well. Terry thought what a great thing for the store to do, how respectful of them. At 11am they started their two mins of silence. There was a man and his daughter who looked to be about 8yrs old. The man continued talking to his daughter, she backed away from him and Terry eventually turned around and put his finger to his lips and said "Shhh" The man grumbled some more and continued to talk. Eventually he left the store before the two mins were up, but the daughter stayed to respect the two mins. He came back afterwards to finish shopping and what not, his daughter looked at him and said "Dad, that was really embarassing". Terry was annoyed that this mans daughter knew more about respect then he did. Shortly afterwards, he wrote the song.

Ok, I can't do the whole add a video thing, since it's not mine, I'm sure there is a way, but I'm not that interested to learn right now...lol so here is the link. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYlrrAWCTRg

The entertainment itself was a skit about a couple during WWI. He leaves without saying good bye to his new wife as she is away when he gets his notice. She finds out she is pregnant, he keeps saying he will be home at christmas. Unfortunately, he never gets home. After each little segment, there is a song or two played to fit the mood of the segment.

Overall, it was a great evening, and I hope that Jeremy and I will have the chance to go again next year.

1st Week at Work

Let me tell you, parking in downtown Edmonton is much different then parking in Downtown Fredericton!!! LOL

I started my new job on Monday, November 5. Since my car had not yet arrived from Oromocto (surprising I made it before the car and the car came by train!!!), Jeremy took me to work and dropped me off and then had to come pick me up again.

Jeremy dropped me off by a Tim Horton's which was great because I had some place to relax before starting work, even though my belly was a little knotted up from the excitement and anticipation of starting my new job. When I got out of the car and walked a couple of feet I was handed a newspaper called Metro....for free!!!! I was kind of excited about that because I had nothing to read and figured that the newspaper would have something in it to entertain me. I went to Tim's grabbed a hot chocolate and settled in with my newspaper for work. It didn't work much really, because I looked up everytime anyone got close to me, crazy I know...not like I would know who anyone was! lol

I did read that Halifax got hit pretty bad by Tropical Storm Noel...or something. A lot of people without power. Either way the hour went by pretty quickly and then I headed off to my new job which was a block away. I took the front elevator up to my office which is on the 5th floor. I don't think I'll be taking the stairs much, 5 flights sure seems like a long way up!!!

Upon arrival, I'm handed paperwork that needs to be finished filling out so that they know I work there! Then Phyllis comes to train me. I had one full day of training and have been on my own for the rest of the week. Well I work in a team, so I'm not really alone, but I've had to ask probably 100 questions.

I did pretty good all week, seems that the ones I get back with mistakes are the ones that the girl who trained me helped me with. I've well with all the ones I have done on my own!

On Tuesday, Jeremy and I went to get my car afterwork. What an adventure that turned out to be! Let's just say I am glad I do not have to cross the river to go home at night! It's really busy and conjested in the evening! Everyone out here seems to work 8 to 430. It's great, but makes for a long day when I leave the house at 615am and I don't get home until 6pm.

On Wednesday, I had to find my own directions to work and find a parking space. This did not go well. There are 100's of places to park downtown. The problem is the cost of them. I didn't want to pay 12dollars for the day, so I drove until I found one at 6 dollars a day. I parked there, and was running a bit late so I rushed off to work. After work tho, I couldn't remember where my car was! LMAO! Yeah so I walked around for like 10 mins trying to figure out exactly where the car was. I felt so dumb. Jeremy called to see how my day went and I said ...in my very sarcastic tone...can you hear it?? "ohhhh....Just GREAT" LOL....He wanted to know what went wrong, so I told him. He offered to come help me look for it, but I wouldn't let him. I said "I'm the idoit who didn't take in the surroundings this morning, I should have to find it on my own." I knew I was on 108 st...but I had no idea where. LOL After a little more walking I learned that I had not walked far enough up the street. Who loses their car?!?!?! UGH!

Jean a girl that I work with said to me on Friday that everytime I have a dumb spell, it's ok to blame it on the baby, as it's just the baby inheriting my smarts. At this rate the child will be a genious and I will be a moron. lol.

Thursday and Friday I parked in a 3 dollars a day lot, by the downtown Casino. I figure if I can find the Casino, I can find the car! LOL Here are some pictures I took from the lot that I have been parking in.