A crafty friend!

ACK!!

Check out how cute my daughter is!!!

 And did you also check out her super adorable hat?

Yeah, my friend made that.

In like, 5 minutes.

Crazy talented is she!!

Her own daughter rocks a brown and pink one and I have been oohing and aahing over it for a couple weeks now, and today J had a present for Aislynn. Actually, TWO presents for Aislynn! This one, that fits her right now, and another one that will fit her probably as soon as she grows out of this one. The bigger one has a flower on it as well, and J said she would be making a flower for this one. With or without the flower, the hat is pretty awesome!

My friend J is a whiz at the knitting and crocheting, so I think we are going to plan a trip to Michael's so she can show me what to buy and then maybe she'll teach me how to make some awesome things too. I really want to learn! The fact that she just whipped this hat up in 5 minutes makes me hopeful that I could maybe get one done in...oh I dunno....a week?

Anyway, I just wanted to brag about how awesome my baby's new hat is.

Je's hubby, Ja, said that Aislynn looks like a cabbage patch doll in it. I totally agree.

She's got the bald look (even though she does have some hair under that hat), and the huge chubby cheeks. 

She's my favorite.

A crafty, yet simple, idea.

So last night, I was sitting on my couch, staring at my ugly lamp.

It looks like this.

Pretty basic.

Pretty boring.

Pretty much a great fit for a bachelor pad.

I started looking around the ol' apartment and was realizing something.

I have a LOT of bachelor pad things!

I have a coffee table and end tables from the 70's.

I have a yucky plasticy, used to be white, dining room table from the 80's. (With matching chairs)

I have a big screen tv.

Tons of video games AND video game paraphernalia.

But I sure don't have much on the very pretty, very homey, very decorative side.

Now, I scrapbook. I craft. I like to make really pretty things, but I also have a husband who really hates to shop.

And also hates when I shop.

He also hates it when I say things like, "Man, I would LOVE to get a new table. A wooden one. A really gorgeous dining room table with really beautiful matching chairs."

That's about the time he starts hyperventilating.

I am combing two of his worst fears.

Shopping.

And spending money.

So over the years I've just learned to deal with it, and be happy with our college dorm, miss matching furniture, and just not look at things in our apartment too closely. 

Then I realized.

If this beautiful woman can re-do her house on no budget. Mostly for free. Than I can do a few things around this place to make me feel like it's more of a home and less of Cuinn's place where Aislynn and I live too.

Sidebar: I have to say a quick something. I do have a couple things that are very nice here. Please don't think it's all junk. I'm just feeling a little pretty things deprived right now. Especially since a few of my girly friends have MUCH more beautifully decorated houses.

SO back to my very basic lamp.

I decided to jazz it up a bit.

Make it a little more light fixture than yucky floor lamp.

So I grabbed my glue.

I grabbed my coffee filters.

And turned my boring old lamp into.....

THIS!!

I am so ridiculously proud of myself!

And it only cost my 97 cents!!

I didn't have enough coffee filters, and Cuinn was getting mad that I was using all the coffee filters so I had to run to Giant Tiger to get some more. Coffee is a hot item in the house. Well, for Cuinn. I don't drink the stuff, I just make pretty crafts with his filters.

It was super easy to do too!!

Do you remember when you used to make flowers out of tissue paper in elementary school? Y'know, with the tissue papers squares, white glue and the end of a pencil? They looked something like this:

Well, it's the same basic idea. Just with much bigger pieces of paper and a much larger pencil.

I actually used my nail polish, because the bottom of it was the perfect big circle for it, and it was also on the coffee table and handy. But I think you could use a big, magic marker? Or maybe...umm...uhhh....small shampoo bottle? Whatever you have on hand.

I wish I had taken photo's during the process, but I wasn't sure how it would turn out, and if it was a flop I was planning on hiding the evidence and pretending I never did it.

In true perfectionist fashion.

Ha ha.

Anyway.

I am in love with my new lamp!!

Cuinn only complained because it is pretty poofy and girly, but that's ok.

He's a boy.

He doesn't like poof.

He likes basic.

Hence the first picture of the lamp and why he bought it.

Anyway, this lamp makeover has me inspired to start doing some projects around the house.

On the cheap.

Because I have shown myself that I can do it. So. If any of my lovely readers have any suggestions or tips or DIY projects you've done and loved, by all means TELL ME!!! So I can then steal the idea!!

Don't worry, I'll give credit where credit is due, but let's share our crafting idea's together!!

Now, go get decorating!!! Make that space of yours..well...YOURS!!

An updated version of Phase Ten

Holy Mackerel! It's been a long time since I blogged. 

So here I am.

Oh wait, my baby just woke up.

Let me put her back to sleep first.

Alright, baby is asleep, husband has his video games, wifey/mummy can blog now.

So it's been a whirlwind of stuff lately. We've been busy hanging out with friends, saying goodbye to friends, having family time and basically trying to enjoy what's left of summer.

Can you believe it's August 23? I can't.

It was my friends birthday last week so our babies and us went out for a birthday dinner. It was so delicious. Our tiny town has very limited selection when it comes to dining out, but I have to say, it's mostly pretty delicious. We went to Crabby Joe's and it was so yummy. I'm so glad we have one of those here. It's one of those places I would NEVER have gone to, myself. Since we have very few choices here, like I said, I've been a couple times. I even tried their pulled pork sandwich.

Un.

Be.

Lievable!!

Anyway, we had a good time eating, gabbing, laughing and spitting. 

Our babies were mostly doing the spitting.

Mostly.

After her birthday dinner, Cuinn and I had a play date  Game Night planned with our friends, Ja and Je. So Cuinn picked up a couple 5 dollar pizza's for his and their dinner and we headed on over.

Their little girl was cooperating and was already asleep.

Our baby was not cooperating and I had to take MANY breaks from the game to try to soother her to sleep while being somewhere that is not her own bed.

Then we had the genius idea to put the playpen into Ja and Je's bedroom and it all worked out perfectly and we were happy.

Now we know for next time.

Anyway.

We played a wonderful little game called Phase Ten.

Have you played it?

No?

YOU'RE CRAZY!!

I've been playing this game for years with my family, then when Cuinn entered the picture, we taught him.

He hates the game.

Because he always loses.

Especially when he plays against me.

Ha ha!

I'm usually pretty amazing at this game.

I say usually because...

well...

Ja beat me. 

Like, wiped the floor with me.

BUT,

my parents will be very proud of me.

I took it like a champ.

I didn't throw the cards on the table, or storm off in a snit, or pout, or anything.

Nope, we were laughing and having WAY too much fun for me to get annoyed that I lost.

Cuinn was impressed.

Anyway, after we played it properly, Je and I decided to change the rules up a bit.

Ja and Cuinn were NOT impressed.

We decided that, instead of playing all the phases in order, you could just pick whatever phase you wanted to do and do it.

GENIUS!

Well, Je and I were kicking ass and taking names that way.

But Ja and Cuinn were being sticks in the mud and getting very annoyed with us playing that way.

I think they were just annoyed that they couldn't figure it out while Je and I were, obviously, so amazing at playing it that way.

Either way, we had a fantastic time. So fantastic that we have another game night lined up for Saturday.

Yay.

We really like our new friends Ja and Je.

I don't really have anymore stories to share right now.

I have BB tomorrow night.

A Farewell BBQ on Thursday (as well as BB)

A girly day on Friday and game night on Saturday.

So, looks like this week is going to be awesome!

Hope you all are having great last minute summer hilarity!! 

a huge annoyance...

Late last night my friend, A, messaged me on Facebook.

Hey, are you still up?

Hope this isn't yous:

http://cpsr-rspc.hc-sc.gc.ca/PR-RP/recall-retrait-eng.jsp?re_id=1366

I just sent you a link, Make sure you read it and that it's not yours.

Well, I wasn't up. But this morning, after I woke up, fed Aislynn, played with Aislynn, changed Aislynn, cleaned Aislynn and then unloaded the dishwasher, I check my Facebook. And there was a lovely message from A. My whole day just went to the crapper.

It is, in fact, my crib that is being recalled.

I called the company, they told me they can't deal with me so could they please email them so they could tell me what to do.

First of all, seriously? You can't just tell me over the phone?

Stupid.

Before hanging up, they told me, twice, not to let my baby in the crib. And if I did then they were going to hunt me down and shoot me and take my baby away.

Not really, but it kinda felt that way.

So I quickly emailed them and they told me, Yeah, your crib is dangerous. We'll send you another one. IN 4 TO 6 WEEKS! Oh, and in those weeks, make sure you don't put your kid in the crib. If you do, it will result in CAS being called, we'll take your kid away, and we'll beat you with sticks.

Again, they didn't really say that, but you get the jist.

This is why they told me to email them. Because if they had told me that on the phone, they would have gotten an ear full.

Yes, I know it's not their fault, but how can you tell a mum of a 5 month old that the crib her precious baby is sleeping in is a super dangerous bed and I can't put her in it? For a month and a half!

Now, we're committed co-sleepers anyway, but we've changed it up a bit.

Our bed time routine is, nurse at 9, rock to sleep, in crib at 9:30. She stays in there until about midnight (when we go to bed), she stirs a little, we bring her into our bed with us.

BUT!!

She naps during the day in her crib. It's the only place where she will stay asleep during the day! I put her in our bed, she wakes up, I put her in the swing, she screams, I put her on the mats on the floor, she thinks it's play time.

So now, for (up to) 6 weeks, I'm basically going to have to let her sleep in my arms. That's the only other option we have, at this point, for nap time.

I am so pissed!

Cuinn has said a couple times, "The crib looks safe right now, it's not broken, it's not going to collapse on her, she can sleep in it until we get the replacement."

But..

The worry wart, mummy side of my brain keeps saying, "DANGER! DANGER! BAD PARENTING!"

The logical side of my brains replies with, "Relax, it will be fine for a couple more weeks. As soon as it looks like there IS a problem with it, you can take her out."

The trouble is, the whole rest of my body and brain really hates being told to relax, so really that response just pisses me off even more.

Anyway, I hope none of you lovely readers are going through this right now. Give me a day or two and I'll calm down too, but right now, I just want to be irrational, mad and complainy. 

Yes it's a word.

It's a word because I said it's a word.

That's how words get made up.

The other thing that is super annoying to me today is, one of Aislynn's toys got broken.

I won't name any names, but someone in our house wound up the musical part of it too far and now it won't sing. The only reason Aislynn plays with it is because she loves the song that it sings and it also plays pictures when it's singing.

So now, Aislynn's favorite toy is broke. The toy that she could play with for hours. The toy that was helping her learn to crawl (it rolls away and stuff and she tries to follow it), the toy that would light up her face when she just saw the toy, let alone play with it.

So basically I am in a cranky mood today.

On the plus side, I did go to the library today and got a library card! We also signed up for a baby book class thing in the fall. So, y'know, that's cool.

I found a book called Coventry, which is all about the bombings in Coventry in WWII. My parents live in Coventry right now, so I thought that was pretty neat. Looking forward to reading it.

What are you all up to today?

A post about nothing...

Do you ever feel the need to just sit and write? I do. I do today. So let's have a bit of a ramble.

Went to church today. It was good. Aislynn also was happy to be there. Very happy.

Extremely happy.

No, you don't get it.

Ridiculously happy.

So happy, in fact, she wanted the whole congregation to know just how happy.

She squealed. She laughed. She yelled. She squeaked her toys. She rattled her other toy. She basically made any noise she could.

Y'know what I've realized after becoming a parent?

I really don't care when other kids are being loud. I think it's cute. I really love hearing children making noise.

But when it's your own?

Oh dear.

You're face goes red. You don't look anyone else in the eye. You feel like everyone is staring at your baby and wishing she would just be quiet. You feel everyone is thinking BAD PARENTING! You nearly break a leg running out of the room so no one can hear your baby making noise.

You're just super embarrassed. 

Please tell me all you other parents feel the same way?

We went to the city again today. This time we went with 2 other families. 

It's so weird that Cuinn and I hang out with parents and their kids.

I still can't believe how far our lives have taken us.

We went to the city, and the restaurant we were going to go to was all police taped off. With a police bus. And other police vehicles. With police.

Police.

(I just felt like I said police a million times and the word has lost all meaning.)

Cuinn pipped up and said, "Hey, I heard on the radio that someone was murdered on the south end of (insert city name here) today. This must be where it happened."

Needless to say, we ate somewhere else.

We had a good time with our friends.

My one friend and I are super alike. We ordered the same thing.

I always get super excited when someone else orders the exact same thing. I really can't explain why, I just do.

I had a sirloin bacon and cheese burger with no onions and fries. It was a deal though, because for $20 you also got a starter salad or soup and a dessert!

My friend and I were more excited than we should have been for it. 

It's how we roll.

Shout out to J.

Hope she's reading. 

I also got a snowsuit for Aislynn for 12 bucks!

We're pretty sure it will fit. My friend (J again), has a daughter, M. Her birthday is the exact same day as Aislynn. I think I already told you that. M is one year older than Aislynn so it's nice. I asked J for some help in deciding sizes for the snowsuit.

If it doesn't fit, I'm sure I can either return it or sell it. 

It was 12 bucks, so I feel pretty ok about it.

Considering that I just looked up prices for snowsuits of the same brand and they are priced at around 80 bucks.

WHAT?!?

Ridiculous.

It's super cute too. It's pink (because we had a girl. Just in case you were wondering.) and it is all one with a zipper. Like a onsie. Only, for a snow suit.

Why don't I just show you a picture?

 See? She goes in there.

 Then I zip it up and it's cute.

And I button it up. WITH REAL BUTTONS! (Yes, I did get excited about real buttons. Leave me alone.) 

 And her little feetsies go in there. So cute.

And her little handsies go in there. WITH REAL BUTTONS! And I can take those off, but that is probably unlikely, since she can just keep her hands warm in the mittens.

So, yeah, great deal!

AND!

It's not Disney. 

So, y'know, awesome.

I watched Big Brother tonight.

It's my secret obsession.

Which isn't a very well kept secret.

I don't watch ANY reality tv. I really can't stand it.

But watching it reminds me of all the season I've watched with my mummy, so I watch it. Kinda sad though, since my mummy is in far away land and isn't even watching it this year.

Or survivor. Which I know is very upsetting to her.

Let's stop talking about my mummy, because I'm missing her like mad today. I really wish she could have been here to be with me when I bought Aislynn's first snowsuit. I dunno why it was important for her to be there for that, I just felt like I wanted to share it with her. 

I miss her.

I am desperate to get pictures done of Aislynn in the fall. 

Desperate.

Maybe Cuinn will read this and surprise me and plan it all for me. That would be nice.

It could even be my Christmas present. 

I wouldn't mind having an early Christmas present.

Then maybe our Christmas presents to our parents could be pretty prints of their first grandchild?

Wouldn't that be special?

C'mon, everyone! Gang up on Cuinn with me!!

OH,

Speaking of my baby.

She almost crawls now. No big deal.

Except, it's a HUGE deal!

Look at her almost crawling!!

Checking to make sure I'm still watching.

I think I'm going to have a bath now.

My baby is asleep.

My husband is playing video games.

Think I'll pick a book, draw a bath, and ignore the world for an hour.

A menu plan...

I have decided that I'm going to try to menu plan. I warn you, I won't be doing it every week. I am really going to try, but we'll see. So here is my menu plan for the week!

Monday

Breaky - Cereal with sliced banana's

Lunch - Pasta Salad (lots and lots of veggies)

Dinner - Chicken burgers, potato's, salad

Tuesday

Breaky - Eggy Wrap 

Lunch - Pasta Salad

Dinner - Mini Meatloaf, perogies, veggies

Wednesday

Breaky - Toaster Strudel

Lunch - Chicken wrap and veggie sticks with dip

Dinner - Stuffed peppers, meatballs, fries

Thursday

Breaky - Yogurt and granola 

Lunch -  Sandwich and crispy mini's

Dinner - Spaghetti, Ceasar salad, garlic toast

Friday

Breaky - Banana and toast

Lunch -  Tuna melts and Red Pepper sticks

Dinner - Pizza, veggie sticks, Salad

I will post my recipes for the things I am making homemade. Which to be honest is quite a bit of it. Cuinn and I are also planning on inviting some friends over on Thursday for dinner. 

What do you have planned for this week?

A back to reality check...

Well, the vacation is over. Cuinn is back to work today. He still has Sunday off, his regular day off, but he's back to work today.

We had a pretty chill staycation. We didn't do a heck of a lot, but it was nice to recharge our batteries. It was so  amazing having daddy home so mommy could sleep in one day! And go to the bathroom without trying to pee as fast as I can. And brush my teeth without holding a baby. And trying to clean the house while my baby doesn't sleep!

I'm not complaining.

Really.

I do, for reals, love being a stay at home mummy.

It was just nice to have that extra set of hands this week.

Anyway, yesterday we celebrated Cuinn's birthday. His actual birthday was on the 6th, but we had a lot going on, and what with how paychecks land, it just happened that this was the weekend we were celebrating. I had a very busy day so I'll tell you all about my adventures. Because I know you're all sitting on the edge of your seat, waiting for me to tell you.

Every other week is grocery week. I try to get enough groceries that will last us until next grocery day, and also yummy stuff that is good for us (mostly) and will stay fresh. Thursday night we get our papers delivered to us which is always full of coupons and flyers, so I make up my shopping list Thursday night. I have to make it a list now since I price match and coupon. I used to just go by the seat of my pants, but now that I have found the wonders of grocery shopping on a budget, I have to make a list to keep all my coupons and flyers straight.

I seriously hate it. 

I am so NOT a list maker. I am a spur of the moment, do what I feel like, consequences be damned, kinda gal.

But...

I'm also a stay at home mum now.

And in case you were wondering,

The pay sucks

So I need to make our one paycheck go a lot farther.

Some weeks it's kinda tough, but we make it and I get a little big of a high when I see a great score. Like how I got 6 packs of chicken for 5 bucks. (Two breast in each package) Or when I see Drumstick ice creams (which I never buy because they are so expensive and we so do not need the extra treat), on for 2.74 which is about a third of the price. Actually, probably closer to a quarter.

Anyway, I made my list Thursday night.

Usually I have to take Aislynn grocery shopping. Which isn't too bad. I have a cart cover thing so she doesn't suck on the nasty carts, she just sucks on her toys and I know it's only her mouth on it. I'm not much of a germ-a-phobe, but I really don't want her mouth on things that I don't trust. 

I am on a serious ramble today.

(Fun Fact! A ramble in England is actually a walk. So when my dad tells me he went on a ramble the other day, he wasn't doing what I am doing now, he was on a hike with his other friends. English is fun!)

ANYWAY

Since Cuinn is home on vacation, I got to leave Aislynn and Cuinn to have some daddy/daughter time while I braved the grocery store.

I thought it might make things quicker, not having a baby.

It took me longer.

I suppose when I have Aislynn with me, I am rushing so that I can get it all done before nap time and there is a melt down. Without her though, I strolled through the aisles. I stopped in the book aisle. I skimmed a mag that I would never buy. I checked out some outfits that I would have no place to wear. I tried on some gawdy jewelery. I basically took my sweet time, just like I used too. I felt like I was just a woman, doing her grocery shopping for the week. 

Truth be told, I missed Aislynn.

After grocery shopping, I had a lunch date with a friend from church and her daughter. Her daughter N is a couple weeks older than Aislynn and is adorable. My friend C is still a newish friend, but I really enjoy getting together with her. We went to a family owned and run coffee shop that, unfortunately, closed it's doors for good last night. Cuinn and I had only gone for the first time earlier this week and loved it, so when we found out it was closing we were very sad. Such is life.

After lunch, Cuinn and I headed to the city. I wanted to go to Once Upon A Child to see if they had any booster seats on the cheap. 

Can I just take a quick second to plug Once Upon A Child? It is an amazing little chain. It is a gently used and new child store. They have everything from books, to toys, to baby/maternity/children clothes to high chairs and cribs and strollers. Seriously, they have everything! You can take your gently used things and get cash or credit. They also have brand new stuff. I think it's the over flow from big box stores. Anyway, go take a look! You'll love it!

So we went in to look for a booster seat, and wouldn't you know it, the exact one I wanted was sitting on the counter! Someone had brought it in to sell today and I was so excited! 

At first.

I went up to ask for it and they told me they couldn't sell it yet because the woman who had brought it in hadn't come back to accept their offer so they didn't actually own it yet. I asked if they knew about what time it would be available and they said the next day. But I don't live there!! So I was pretty disappointed. Cuinn and I went through the store looking for maybe another one in the store. The only ones they had were Disney Cars and Princess ones. 

And you all know my feelings on Disney.

So I was kinda sad that I wasn't going to get the booster seat. I kept looking around though because I told my friend I would see if they had mesh bumper pads for her kid. I found Cuinn a little bit later with Aislynn and a Sophie.

Now, I doubt you will know what a Sophie is.

Unless you're a parent.

Then you will FOR SURE know what a Sophie is.

It's a rubber giraffe that has a squeaky in it.

Seriously. I was so morally opposed to the Sophie. I found it to be just a status symbol. I had seen them online selling them for 34.99! I didn't understand why anyone would pay that much for this toy that doesn't seem to do anything but squeak. It kind of sounded like a glorified dog toy. But other moms go CRAZY for them. Everyone fawns over someone who has one. I so did not want to be apart of that. I really can not stand brand name clothing that costs 5 times as much as non brand name. I think it's ridiculous that a Disney book can sell for 35 when a no name book costs 5. I hate the commercialism of our culture.

But.

Now I understand the Sophie phenomena.

I am willing to admit that I was wrong, wrong, wrong about Sophie. 

I mean, there is still a part of me that is fighting the whole, having something that everyone else has, but when Cuinn opened that box for her, and she played with it and I saw her eyes light up. The fact that wouldn't let it go until she was asleep. Watching her chew on it, and learn how to make it squeak.

It was totally worth it.

Now, I did NOT pay 35 for it. We got it for 19.99. I still won't be buying Disney crap. I still am morally opposed to brand name items.

But I will now be buying Sophie's for any baby shower I ever go to.

After Once Upon A Child, we went and got Cuinn his birthday present. He wanted a new chain for his bike, so we went to the mall and found Sport Check and inquired about it. Turns out we need a tool to change the chain, or bring the bike in. So he said we could order the tool or buy it and blah blah blah, we ended up not getting the chain. I promised Cuinn I would go back on Sunday (I have to go get the booster chair anyway. Once Upon A Child is holding it for me. Yay!), and get the chain on for him. Then we went to Chapters and he got a book! Yes! It was the second time I have ever bought Cuinn a book that he actually asked for as a present. Granted, it was a zombie graphic novel, but he was so excited.

After, that it was time for dinner. We went to Red Lobster for crabfest. I have never had crab before because I don't really like shrimp so I think that's kind of put me off all seafood.

Well.

I was so wrong about crab too.

IT WAS AWESOME!! I wish we had taken some pictures, but I got Crab legs and steak and Cuinn had crab legs and shrimp and scallops. I loved it ALL!! Seriously. I think I am just going to eat seafood for the rest of my life. Every day. It was so good. Cuinn was very impressed with me trying scallops and shrimp again. I'm glad I did, because I really enjoyed it and I am now a seafood lover. Aislynn didn't eat any of the crab (for obvious reasons), but she did enjoy almost a whole tomato and some potatoes. I could not believe how many tomato slices she ate. We asked the waitress for a few slices and they very nicely gave us a plateful. And then another one. Oh dear.

After we had eaten much more than we should have we headed on home. Once we got into our tiny town, I wondered aloud if there was a place in our tiny town where I could get Cuinn's bike chain. We realized we do have Canadian Tire so why not ask? So we stopped there and Cuinn went in and asked, they had the tool and the chain for 15 bucks cheaper than what they were going to charge at Sport Check! So I went in and got Cuinn his birthday present. We headed home and Cuinn fixed his bike with his new gift.

All in all, it was a pretty fantastic day. We're looking forward to heading back to the city on Sunday to get her booster seat and to play at the water pad. We're going to ask a couple friends from church if they want to come with us and maybe make a day of it.

What have you all been up to?

A First Time At Potato Festival..

We had a great weekend. Like, really great. Wonderful in fact. Let me tell ya all about it.

This weekend our tiny town had a Potato Festival. I think that's hilarious. I love small town festivals. Everyone gets real excited, it's all everyone talks about for weeks, then when it comes it's just as cheesy and awesome as everyone hoped for. BUT, as a newcomer, everyone always tells us, "It's not as big as it used to be, seriously, it used to be awesome." I love how people here get to defensive about their tiny town. I find myself getting a little defensive when my in-laws and parents smirk about it. I get a little riled up thinking, "HEY! This is MY town!" I guess that means I'm becoming a towny.

urgh.

Anyway.

Friday night was the start of the funtivities. (See what I did there?)

A church friend of ours hosts a pot luck and then everyone hangs around on their front lawn to watch the parade. Their house is on the parade route. Obviously. It was awesome. We ate some yummy food, people asked us more about how Aislynn is eating "real" food, Cuinn and I felt a little ambushed, but it's all in good fun. I made a delicious tuna pasta salad. Well, I thought it was delicious. Aislynn liked the tomatoes. And the carrots. And she tried to love the chips, but we are mean parents and wouldn't give her any. BAD PARENTING!!

Anyway, I hung out a bit with J and J during the parade. A new couple friend who also go to our church and have a pretty cute kid. And guess what? Their kid, M, is born on the same day as Aislynn! A year before her, but isn't that cool? Must mean we're meant to be friends or something. Anyway, during the parade J asked me what Cuinn and I were doing on Saturday and I mentioned how Cuinn and I were going to go to the pancake breaky. Mostly because we love pancakes. Also, though, because it was Cuinn's birthday and we have a tradition of making the birthday person pancakes for breakfast. 

Side bar: We didn't do birthday stuff this weekend. We are celebrating Cuinn's birthday next weekend. Don't worry, I'll post all about it. 

So I thought J was just making conversation but he said, "Hey, how bout we meet and go at about 8?" Which is awesome, because we really like them! So we made a breakfast date.

So we watched the rest of the parade, which had so much more farming equipment than I was expecting. And, oh my goodness, the Shriner's! There were about a million Shriner's!! It was a pretty awesome parade though. So that was cool. I did take pictures, but at the moment we can not find our camera, so I'll post them when I find it! 

After the parade, J and J asked us if we wanted to go downtown and check out the fire guy. So we went down for a walk with them and checked things out. The fire guy was awesome. He asked for a member of the audience to help, and, of course, I raised my hand and volunteered myself. I am WAY to much of a dramatic to pass that up. He, of course, picked the most obnoxious, loud, energetic person in the crowd (me), and on I went. He asked for a good luck kiss on his cheek and when I went in to give him a kiss, he turned his face and it was hilarious. Cuinn made a comment to J and J, but it's all in good fun. Anyway, I threw the flaming sticks at him so he could juggle on a box on a ball on a box. It was awesome. He had amazing showmanship and it was just a blast. By the end of the show, J and J's daughter M was pretty exhausted so it was time to call it a night.

Saturday morning we headed to the pancake breaky with our new friends and enjoyed some delicious pancakes. So yummy. Aislynn had some as well. Her second time having pancakes. Not as good as daddy's, but good all the same. Afterwards, we all just hung around downtown and saw all the excitement. We HAD to get some ginormous poutine and it was delicious. Aislynn loved it too. Yep, Aislynn got some poutine too. Cuinn and J went into a hobby shop and found a new card game that they wanted to play together. It was very cute, they came out and they each went to their wives and asked permission to buy a new toy. Seriously cute. So J and I went in with J and Cuinn (this could get confusing, as they are both J) and we talked it over and we all decided to start playing the game. So we bought our cards, and went over to J and J's house to figure it out.

Well we didn't figure it out. But we've got it enough that the next time we get together (hopefully next Saturday), we will be able to play together. I'm glad we were able to get this new game with the J's. I think it's a start of a wonderful friendship.

When we FINALLY figured out how to play, my brother and his girlfriend called us to say they were in town. So we said our goodbyes to J and J and M and headed back home to hang out with the fam.

It was a good time. We went to the Much Music Dance Saturday night and it was a blast. It was nice to spend some time with A and Cuinn was able to spend some time with my brother.

Sunday we slept in. We had a very late night on Saturday so we (unfortunately) missed church. Again. Next week we're going to be better. We slept in, and then we went to go back downtown to have fantastic poutine again, but by the time we went out it was all closed down! Sad! So Cuinn went out to the chip van on the other end of town and got that poutine. Which was still amazing. Really amazing.

So, this weekend has been fantastic. Yay for Potato fest! I promise to have pictures up later this week hopefully!

Cuinn is on vacation this week. So we will be doing some family time this week. Berry picking, heading to a Stars and Strollers movie, Ball game on Friday possibly, Cuinn's birthday next weekend. Fun filled week! Yay!

Anyway, Hope you're all enjoying your summers friends!!

A moment of imperfection..

I have a confession to make.

I'm a perfectionist.

As in if I can't do it right the first time, I don't want to do it at all.

I want everything that I do to be perfect all of the time.

I've been like this forever.

For example, When I was younger (I'm thinkin' maybe 4?) my mum and dad thought it was time for me to learn how to ride a bike. They went out, got me a cute pink bike with a basket on it. 

(I'm sure at the time, my mum was still desperately trying to make me a girly girl. She only had to wait 24 years before I willingly put on a skirt. On a weekday. Not just for church.)

I put my little helmet on, I sat myself on the bike, my dad held onto the seat and away we went.

And, as any parent who has taught a child how to ride a bike can guess, I promptly fell right off.

Now, instead of getting back on the horse (or bike in this instance) and trying again, I threw the bike on the ground, pouted my patented upper lip pout, stormed off while saying something like, "This is stupid. I'm not doing it anymore." Or something to that effect.

My mum, being the wonderful mum she is, stormed after me and said, "Get back out there young lady! What happens when all of your friends know how to ride bikes and they all go off for a bike ride? What will you do?" 

And of course, because I have always been so stubborn I shot back,

"Who cares, they're all stupid too."

Long story short, my mum made me get back out there and by the end of the hour I was riding like an old, seasoned pro.

Well, not a whole heck of a lot has changed.

I still don't like when things don't go just exactly right. I have a very hard time when I put a pound of butter instead of half a pound like the recipe says (true story), I have a crying fit when the pants I hemmed have all the stitches fall out the first time I wear them (yep, true story), I storm off into my bedroom for a pout when my big, new, decorating idea doesn't work out (I'm too embarrassed to even say what the project was, but suffice to say, another true story).

Now, I'm pretty lucky to have a best friend who is so supportive that he still ate the shortbread with double the butter. He even said it tasted better than usual. He gave me a hug when my pants fell apart and told me that it was kinda stylish the way the pants were frayed at the bottom. He cleaned up my decorating mess and told me how beautiful it looked and even displayed it for a while. Before I finally took it down.

He's so wonderful.

It's so hard, though, to realize that the older I get, the less perfect I become. 

My marriage isn't perfect. We fight sometimes. We yell sometimes. We have different idea's of how to spend our days off. We have different goals. Marriage is hard work. 

But.

And I do have a but.

The fact that we both work so hard at it, makes it a happy marriage.

I love my husband. 

Y'know, what else?

I like my husband.

And in this day and age, how many couples really like each other?

I gotta say, I'd rather be liked than loved some days. And I know I'm a pretty impossibly woman to live with.

Now that we have a baby, we're finding that life is even less perfect in some ways. 

Take today for example.

My beautiful, happy, full of joy baby, who is usually so easy going and full of love and kisses and smiles for mummy, just did not feel like sleeping. And she was so exhausted.

I mean exhausted.

As in, screaming with her eyes screwed shut, rubbing her face, past the point of no return, nothing I can do to calm her, kind of exhausted.

Being a parent is so hard for us perfectionists. Because babies aren't perfect. Adults aren't perfect, so why should we expect any different from our babes?

I had a really rough day today. 

I was feeling like a huge, mega failure as a mummy. I couldn't calm her down. I couldn't get her to sleep. Or eat. Or cuddle. Or play. I couldn't put her down, but I didn't know how to hold her how she wanted to be held.

I felt like I couldn't do anything.

And then at 5:35.

When Cuinn was due home any minute.

She fell asleep.

And I laid in my bed and had a cry because I was feeling pretty crappy.

And the most perfect moment happened.

My husband came home, he kissed me and said, "Go have a shower, I'll get things ready for dinner and watch Aislynn. You need some you time."

I'm finally starting to get it.

Life isn't about being perfect.

It's about having perfect moments.

It's about having someone there to take up the slack when you fall short.

It's about trusting that God's still there helping you out and giving you what you need.

It's about learning and growing and being all imperfect.

And that's just perfect for me.