Meeting Auntie Shaila And Baby Zianna

After a week of talking on the phone and exchanging text messages, we finally got a chance to meet Shaila and baby Z for the first time. Thanks Dana for introducing us to each other! It's great to meet more moms in our area.

After our play date with Shaila and baby Z, we rushed home for our our Artist Group (minus Anne, plus Nat) Knit & Bitch night where Nuala teaches us how to knit. She definitely makes it look so easy... the rest of us don't make knitting look like a relaxing activity. Some of us look quite intense!

We ordered pizza, and since it was a cold night... I had the fire on and made some tea for the ladies.

Sean was a bit surprised to come home and see that all I have is a small rectangular piece... I think he expected that I'd have made a scarf or hat or something like that.

I am so glad that my relationship with my girlfriends sans children had not changed, even though the logistics of getting together may be different than before Maddi came along. Although I wasn't too worried about it, it was definitely something that has crossed my mind. Although I seem to hang out with guys more in my high school and university days, I definitely treasure the women in my life and have learned to appreciate the relationship I have with them, regardless of age, race or where and how I met them.

Testing Out The Crib

Today, we had a busy day. I had my chiro appointment in the morning, then went to Metrotown after to return some stuff from holiday shopping. Then, we took a drive out to visit Sue, and have a play date with Ethan and Hayley. It was a great bonus that I got fed lunch, as well as some Filipino treats that Roland's parents brought back from their recent trip to the Philippines.

When we got home, it was time for Maddi's nap. Since she's growing so much and I'm not sure how much longer she can sleep in her bassinet, I decided to have her nap in her crib. I've tried to do this before, but she only lasted five minutes. Today, she actually slept in her crib for a full nap! Doesn't she look cozy in her sleep sack? Thanks grandpa and nana - the sleep sack keeps Maddi warm and mama loves the colour and design on it!

Another Visit From Alicia

Alicia is my most amazing Hypnobabies doula - thank you, Crystal for recommending her to us. I will never forgot how she was there for me; such a wonderful memory and experience! And I am glad to be able to keep in touch.

A couple of days ago, I messaged Alicia to let her know I have pictures to give her and wondered if she can come by for a visit or if I should mail it out. She decided to come for a visit and see how Maddi has grown.

We love it when you visit, Alicia! We hope to see you again soon!

Later that night, since Henry was away on a work trip... Anne came over to hang out with us. We went to Yoko Yaya to see if they have any more knitting needles for our knitting night next week, then to T&T to shop for ingredients to cook dinner with. On tonight's menu - yellow chicken curry and green tofu curry.

I always get excited going to T&T, I feel like a kid in a candy store... I want EVERYTHING! Since we can only get as much as what the undercarriage of Maddi's stroller can hold, other than what we need tonight, I only got a couple other stuff to have congee with. I'm excited!

Mama Quiet Time

Today was a quiet day. I went to my appointment with Dr. Sukhi in the morning, then came home to have lunch before meeting an old friend who I haven't seen for a while to chat about a side business I'm considering. However, she had to stay home with her dad who was not feeling well. So we just had a short chat over the phone instead and had the rest of my afternoon free.

Maddi needed to nap, and usually, I can't just lay her down. She loves to be held. So she usually naps in the carseat or stroller while I'm out and about or I carry her in the Moby wrap. However, when I laid her down on the couch to put the Moby on, she just stayed sleeping. Jackpot! Mama gets to have her own quiet time... with some English tea, French cookies, chocolate, classical music in the background and a book - The Artist Way.

Discovering Thierry

I got on to Foursquare early in 2011 because L'Atelier offered a big discount to new clients for checking in on it. I don't remember to check in most times, unless I'm with my friend Sonia who's crazy over it.

However, for some reason, I've been remembering to check into places I go in the past week. And once I saw myself ranked against my Foursquare friends (you get points for checking into places, and ranked among your friends based on number of points you gather within a 7 day period), my competitive nature kicked in. All of a sudden, I am out-ranking Sonia! Woot woot!

Anyways, I've brought up Foursquare because that's how I discovered Thierry Patisserie.

I've been cooped up indoors for most of the day; so when I discovered Thierry, I sent out a spontaneous invitation to a couple of girlfriends to go check it out with me. And naturally, Sonia was one of them. In the end, she was the only one who can make it.

Tonight, I got to take a walk and check out this fabulous tea and treats place. They do have really good macarons! Also quite good coffee! And this came as a surprise to me, but they serve wine and liquor! Not that I'm a big drinker; quite the opposite, but I just thought that was a clever twist for a tea and treats place.

All in all, a wonderful night of play and simple pleasures, with a great girlfriend to share it with.

I do feel quite lucky to have girlfriends that can come hang out with me in a moment's notice. You know who you are, you are all awesome!

Gangsta

Other than an appointment with Dr. Sukhi, today was a fairly uneventful day.

Sean had today off from work; he had football on the tele of course, so Maddi and I just hung out at home with him.

In this photo, Sean just got home from placing his sports bets at the 7-11 across the street. Since it was getting close to the end of the day and I still don't have a photo for the day, I thought this would make a good one.

Maddi's First Sleepover

Today was a stay-at-home day... until at night. Our friends Mark and Gabby who moved to Toronto in the Summer were back in town for a visit and arranged for a dinner out with all those that played in their ultimate team many years ago.

The evening started at Anne & Henry's for a photo slideshow that Crissy put together as well as some pre-dinner drinks - for those of us that are neither pregnant nor breastfeeding. Then, we walked to Banana Leaf for dinner.

Maddi was really good at Anne & Henry's, but was pretty fussy at the restaurant. Not really sure why; at one point I thought she might have had gas pains so I helped her do some baby exercises and rubbed her belly; then I thought she wanted to feed, but I tried to feed her at three separate occasions and she wouldn't eat. Maybe she was also over-stimulated.

After dinner, we drove out to my cousin's place out in Surrey - we're sleeping over (Maddi's first) so that we'd have most of tomorrow to spend with my cousin and his family. When we got there, Maddi finally ate, then I put her to bed. This was her corner of the bed.

After she went to bed, we played board games like we usually do whenever we stay over. I love it. It's been too long, glad to finally be spending some time with them!

Maddi's First Play Date

Today, Maddi and I slept in till 9.30 this morning. We both had our breakfast, I got a chance to change out of my pjs when Maddi had a bit of a nap after a feeding. I managed to tidy up the house a little and then it was time for our first play date!

I first met Elina about two years ago, when I first started going back to school, in Accounting class. We took the next class as well and have kept in touch after, through Facebook. Coincidentally, we got pregnant around the same time. And today, Elina and baby Jacob dropped by with some cookies for a play date. It's really more of a mama date. It's nice to have friends with babies around the same age. Thanks for coming over today! Next time, when I am done with my voluntary house arrest, a walk would be nice!

After Elina and baby J left, I had my lunch then it was time for our nap. I napped till about 4, but Maddi didn't wake up till about 5.30. So I took the opportunity to have my ginger sponge bath. She really only got up to feed, then when I put her in the Moby, she continued to sleep until 7.30pm. In that time, I got busy. Tidied up the house a bit, washed dishes, put dishes away, made more of my herbal tea that I've been drinking, made dinner and had dinner. The only thing I didn't get to is laundry. I have to say it was a pretty productive day!

Dorky Spectacles

This morning, I woke up at 3.30 - AGAIN! Sean was off so I stayed in bed with him and managed to drift in and out of sleep until 9am, when he decided to get out of bed. I got out of bed, too and made pancakes for breakfast.

I had my acupuncture session today, and Sonia did some work to naturally induce labour. Between Sukhi and Sonia, I'm sure baby will come if she's ready.

We got another visit from Hen, Gib and Baby G today. We had ramen for lunch and walked around Yaletown, checking out some baby & kids stores. In this picture, Sean is goofing around in one of them... he looks like a dork, sort of reminds me of Bubbles from Trailer Park Boys.

Vintage Finds

A dollar fifty for a pack of 3 vintage designed glass magnets at Michaels... I couldn't resist! I bought 3 packs and these are ones that have messages on them.

Wise words I must say. This is my last week at work. Starting next week, until baby comes... is for me to take time for myself - relax, rest, nest. When Maddi comes, I'm sure the transition will give me lots of opportunities to look at myself closely and reflect. Lastly, the time during my maternity leave is an awesome chance for me to unlock some of my dreams and explore my purpose and passion.

I was in an Alice In Wonderland kind of mood when editing this photo...

Snow Woman

So here's a picture of me with my new hair colour, thanks to Jeffrey of Is. Salon. Although I keep thinking a purple streak down on one side of that triangle of red would look even more rad!

I'm at 35 weeks and 6 days today, and another busy day as I count down to Maddi's arrival. We went to pick up our crib mattress today, then I met up with Amy to run some errands for our dear friend Nat's bridal shower next Sunday. We walked a lot, and got a lot done. It was awesome that my feet didn't start hurting until Amy's did, too. I remember being super frustrated during that small stretch of time a few months ago when it seemed I could hardly walk without a part of my body hurting after just a few minutes.

Tonight, as I got ready for a good night's sleep after a productive day, I asked Sean for help climbing onto bed... he called me a rolly, polly snowman. My belly does look VERY round, like a snowman. =P

London Chic

I often just get these sudden urges to get my hair cut... and today was one of those days. I just love getting my hair cut... definitely one of the things that take me to my happy place! On one hand, I hesitate to cut my hair because it had just gotten long enough in the back that I could sort of tie it up in a mini pony tail... and Sean said he likes it. However, my hair just looks like a mess and I feel the need for a rescue operation before it got any sloppier.

So I made a consultation appointment to see what they would recommend before committing to a haircut. Literally, the consultation took a minute or two... was assured that I could polish up my look while keeping some of the length in my hair and I went for it. Towards the end of the appointment, he asked if he could give me a fringe. I told him that if he thinks it'll look good, I am pretty adventurous with my hair and I would be open to it. I just never had a fringe since I was five because I have thick, coarse hair and lots of it... and I didn't want to end up looking like a mushroom head. He assured me it wouldn't, so I consented. And this was the result. He said I look very London-y!

It took a bit of getting used to... I did feel a bit like a mushroom head at first, but I love my hair now.

La Casa Gelato

My friend Amy's mom is in town and since her birthday was just around the corner, we decided to go out for dinner to celebrate. After dinner, we came up with the brilliant idea to go for a gelato stop at La Casa Gelato.

This place is definitely up there as one of my favourite places in town. Being a gelato place that offers over 200 flavours, how could it not?!

One of the flavours I usually get is durian. Yes, the stinky fruit... you can usually tell which one it is because it'll be the only flavour covered. It is an acquired taste, not everyone likes it... but I most definitely enjoy it!

Sweet Dreams

Tonight, I unpacked some of the boxes as I organized our den into an office when I stumbled upon something that put a big grin on my face - one of my Sweet Dreams romance novels from my early teen years!

I remember cleaning out my old desk years ago and it was hard to part with my collection of teen romance novels. I thought it would be silly to keep them all, but I'm so glad I decided to keep one for memory's sake even though I got rid of the rest.

I don't know if these were popular here in North America at the time, but they were huge in Manila, where I grew up! They were definitely up there as one of my favourite things!

Guess what my bed time read will be tonight? I'm curious to see how I would enjoy this read now, as an adult and almost ready to pop a baby out! Can't wait to be brought back to one of my happy places which I haven't visited in a long while... so excited!

Sweet dreams, everyone!!! =)

Almost

It feels like I haven't been outside for a while. Other than the trip to the Okanagan and the camping trip, most of my daily photos have been of just stuff around the house. Before I get even lazier with my daily blog, I thought to invite hubby for a walk tonight since it was nice out.

After dinner, we took our cupcake desserts to the park near our house for a mini date. Hubby's just recovering from being sick, so he didn't want to be out for very long and we are both also feeling pretty tired. I keep looking around and asking for what the universe's message is for me today... I want to take my picture outdoors today!

On our way home, I saw this bush with yellow buds and the more familiar white cottony balls that I would blow on. I did not realize those cottony balls transformed from yellow flowers! Neat - you learn something new everyday! So, I took a picture of it.

Further, it also made me think of Maddi. Not to compare my baby to a weed, but I thought it was a neat message from the universe to view her as a small bud that soon will blossom into a thousand wishes! Babies symbolize such a great start, a blank page, a future with infinite possibilities!

p.s. I shared my thoughts with Sean and he said, "So sucky." I said, "What did you say?" He replied, "So sappy." LOL =P

The Sascrotch Crew Plus Two

Since our first camping trip together, Ryan, Amy, Nat, J, hubby and myself had called ourselves the Sascrotch Crew. This year, Lev and Marina joined us.

Yay to no fire ban... we were able to stay up and hang out around the camp fire.

It was a great weekend with friends... making food, hanging out at the beach, playing Beans (albeit some tense times), making s'mores and hobo pies.

BIG BERTHA

After breakfast, we spent the afternoon at the beach by our camp site. This was the awesome view we had.

There were a couple of boats and even a float plane at one point parked on the shore... Big Bertha was attached to one of the boats... and was the biggest tube I've ever seen.

Enroute

Having had trouble sleeping the last couple of nights, and hubby feeling like he's coming down with something... we almost had to bail on a camping trip with friends which we've been looking forward to for weeks.

However, I guess the massages worked their magic and Sean felt better by the morning. As for me, all I wanted was an air mattress that didn't half deflate by the morning. Hubby went and got a new one... so we ended up making it to our last pre-Maddi camping trip.

Here, we are on the road out to the camp site... to enjoy the weekend with friends and simply relax... away from phones and Facebook.

Elephant Island

Since I am pregnant, I didn't do any of the tastings at all the wineries we stopped at; hence, I didn't purchase any wine.

When I got to Elephant Island however, they all just sounded soooo good... I can't help but at least have a sniff at all the wines the other ladies were tasting.

Just from sniffing and with a little help from the ladies, I ended up purchasing 4 bottles from this place!

Looking forward to making cheesecake and pouring some of the raspberry or cassis fortified wines (or both) on it! Will have to wait a couple of months for this... but I have a feeling it'll be worth the wait!

NK'MIP

After an eventful night last night, today's agenda was a little more chill.

We got up, got ready and enjoyed a delicious breakfast at the b&b. When we checked out, we headed for the lake and hung out there for a little while before we started on the winery tours.

Nk'mip (pronounced Inkameep) was the first winery we stopped at. We actually got a tour of the winery here, then a tasting of their wines. No, I didn't participate; I was the designated driver and official photographer - very important job! We decided to have lunch at the restaurant in the winery, and this was the amazing view we got to enjoy with our food.

We visited a couple more wineries, then got on the road again towards Naramata, where we booked ourselves into a nice 3-bedroom vacation home. After settling into the house and resting for a bit, we drove out to have dinner at Salty's in Penticton. I was happy to be impressed with great food and excellent service.