Meal Marathon!

I do NOT like thinking up meals and then cooking them when I am tired....And I do Not like constantly eating chicken fingers and fries for dinner!  Therefore I spent lots of time searching website after website for the best tips, advice, and recipes for freezer meals and then I spent ALOT of time planning out the shopping list, the slicing and dicing, and the instruction lists! (Not like I don't have the time to do this!)

I managed to come up with 28 freezer meals--2 of which my mother in law is so kind to make for me (her specialties of course...Enchiladas and my favorite mexican beef stew of some sort)--On Sunday Ike and I managed to pump out 21 of the 28 planned freezer meals!  I feel so much better knowing that we will have great and easy meals to eat after the babe is born! 

Of course the first thing we decided to attack were the onions...Ike and I chopped and cried over probably about 8lbs of onions for various meals!  As you can see, giant freezer ziploc bags are my new best friend!  Each bag is a meal destined for the slowcooker!

Must have chicken!

And hamburger for Shepherd's Pie and Chili and Soup...oh and there was also more raw hamburger for meatballs.  Can't forget about the potatoes which were mashed up for the Shepherd's Pie.  Oh man I'm getting hungry just thinking about all this goodness in my freezer!

Shepherd's Pie, Scalloped Potatoes, Chili, Chicken Pot Pie, Greek Chicken & Potatoes, Pulled Pork, various Soups, and the list goes on!

I can't believe we actually managed this...if this works out as well as I hope it may become a regular thing around here!

I should also mention that on saturday night our hot water tank experienced a break down and we didn't get it fixed until sunday evening....We boiled water in our kettle numerous times just so we could wash our hands and some dishes during our meal making marathon!  Oy, talk about a disaster zone!

God is Awesome!

I apologize for not posting an update sooner!  Soooo....a few days after my infection/pre-term labour scare I had an appointment with MY doctor.  She said everything was great and that baby is healthy and still measuring big!  Thank you God!  Then I asked her if the other doctor had talked to her about my visit to urgent care...She said he had and she couldn't understand why he had made such a diagnosis because all of my urine tests (including the one done that day) came back negative for infection!  WHAT?!  Oh my goodness I was taking antibiotics and fearing for my baby's health for nothing!  Jackie and I have concluded that God works super fast miracles instead of being too angry at the other doctor!!

The bonus to this is that I am done work but still taking it easy and resting more! :)

Momma kitty news...

Momma is doing much better!  She had spent the whole weekend at the vet so they could keep an eye on her and give her IV fluids (because she wasn't eating or drinking).  The vet figured that it was pancreatitis and that just runs its own course.  They did give her a pill to help with her nausea and make her hungry which really helped!  She came home on Monday....VERY tired and angry at being caged up and apart from us and home!  She slept most of the week and just today has been showing more signs of returning to her old self.  Very happy to have my silly Siamese back!

THANK YOU TO ALL FOR PRAYING!!!

Update and a Couple of Prayer Requests!

Yay we are down to the single digit weekly countdown!  8 more weeks to go (I'm praying for at least 6 more!)

This last Tuesday I noticed that I was having alot of Braxton Hicks contractions...I figured that maybe I had been overdoing it and the truth is that I had done too much that day (I guess being stubborn does have some downfalls).  So I took it much easier the next day...in fact I spent half of my shift at work (at the restaurant) sitting on a stool watching everybody else work!  When I got home I took a nap!  We had planned on going grocery shopping that evening when Ike would get home from work while Claudia went trick or treating with her friends.  It didn't quite work out as planned...I had still been having too many contractions and was quite uncomfortable so instead of heading to Superstore we headed to the Urgent Care Clinic (basically Winkler's version of a walk-in clinic).  There I saw a very young but very nice doctor!  They discovered that I had a bladder infection which is irritating my uterus and causing the contractions.  He also said that this is in fact very serious as it can lead to pre-term labour!  I just about started crying!  This baby is not nearly ready to come out!  He checked the baby's heart rate which was good! He also (ahem) checked my cervix (sooo uncomfortable!) which is still closed! Praise the Lord!!!  Then he gave me a prescription for the infection and sent me to the hospital for a non-stress test.  At the hospital the maternity nurses (such sweet ladies!!) hooked me up to a fetal monitor which measured the baby's heart rate (Ike recorded the sound of the heartbeat on his phone, at the suggestion of the nurses) and it measured the contractions.  I could watch on the machine when a contraction was coming and going (I could feel them too!)...Apparently I was having more than I thought!  I had about a dozen in the hour that I was hooked up!  Everything I read says that 3 in an hour is enough to be concerned about!!  Yikes!  At the end of the test the nurse talked to the doctor who had seen me and she came back and let me know that he wanted to follow up with me the next morning...She also gave me a stern talking to about taking it easy and resting MORE! (sigh...very difficult for an independent go-getter/Baldwin).  That evening when we got back home I went to tell my boss/great friend about the day and we sadly decided that I would officially be done work as of that day!  So far I feel the same or maybe a bit better which is ok...The doctor said that if it gets worse or more painful or if I have a fever to go directly to Emergency, and that they will be keeping a closer eye one me from now on.  

Prayer Request #1~ Baby stays in! Infection goes away!

Thursday morning my kitty decides to get sick and is puking everywhere almost non-stop!  We decided to take her to the vet to get checked out (I had my follow up appointment that morning anyhow).  They couldn't find anything seriously wrong with her just possibilities like bad food or treats, irritated pancreas, or swallowed foreign object.  They gave her fluids and an anti-nausea pill and let me take her home to keep an eye on her.  She seemed happier but tired and weak like a kid who had been puking all night.  The vet asked that I call around noon the next day to give an update so I did....She hadn't eaten or drank anything and was pretty lethargic all day...she also started to puke again that morning.  I brought her back in to the vet and they kept her there all day doing x-rays and blood work.  Which all came back normal BUT the vet said that soft foreign objects don't show up on x-rays very well so there's still that possibility and she would keep her overnight and give her IV fluids since she wasn't eating.  Waiting now for them to call with any updates.  I miss my kitty!

Prayer Request #2~ Heal my kitty!

(I am so overly emotional lately that this would just be too much for me to lose her now!)

Busy Weekend!

We had a really great but busy weekend!  On Saturday we attended my good friend Ghislaine's wedding!  It was beautiful!  They decided on an outdoor wedding at a place called Evergreen Village (basically a done up farm yard on the 59Hwy) and lucky for them...they were blessed with gorgeous weather!  Unfortunately they had one major snafu...The justice of the peace they had hired showed up an hour late for the ceremony!  She claimed to have gotten majorly lost...hmmm maybe figure out ahead of time where you're going!  The bride did need some make-up touch ups, obviously, but all went well after the jp showed up!

Ghislaine & I

Chantal (my friend since kindergarten and G's older sister) / Ghislaine / My prego self / Marjolaine (G's twin sister)

Then on Sunday we spent the day at my mom & dad's to celebrate mom's birthday as well as mine!  We surprised my mom with a kindle from all of us kids (special thanks to Auntie for the help)....It definitely made her day!  I got some great loot too and strawberry shortcake for dessert just like I had requested...Mmmmm!!  

Just before dinner mom dragged us outside to take pictures of the grandkids and of course she snapped this one of the one on the way. 

Ike and I and "Mistletoe 27w5d)"

Baby Update & Artist Tour!

On Thursday I had my 24 week ultrasound...I was so excited getting ready to see my baby, probably for the last time before it will be born!  It didn't even matter how bright and early my appointment was!

 Baby is healthy! Yay!  Everything is developing properly! Baby weighs approx. 1lb10oz!

 So cute!  Can't wait to meet this little one!  Some people say they see little hair whispys...hmmm are we going to have a full head of hair?!  :)
P.S. the little black spot in baby's chest is it's heart beating away!

ARTIST TOUR

Yesterday I had invited my mom to join us for a yearly local artist tour.  There were something like 32 stops available...I think we managed to visit 6.  Art varied from paintings(oil/watercolour/batik/encaustic), pottery, metalworks, textiles, clay, and glass.  Some stops were better than others but all were interesting!
First we visited our town pride "Gallery in the Park".

 The Schwartz House was built in 1902 and recently renovated and transformed into a beautiful gallery for local artists!

 The town created a beautiful park surrounding the Schwartz House complete with water feature and sculptures.

The gallery in the House is beautiful and they are constantly changing the art to display the many talents we have here in Manitoba.

We also visited a local place in the country called Elemental Stone.  Somewhere I've wanted to visit for years now!  It did not disappoint!

 Their farmyard was full of stone from all over Manitoba that he has trucked in.  He then carves or breaks them into wonderful pieces of art.

 He carves and polishes artistic faces, abstract sculptures, Stonehenge masses, and even furniture! 

 Of course they have landscaped their yard to accommodate the sculptures.  This pond held several beautiful Coy fish

We spent almost an hour and half wandering the paths and finding cool art along the way. 

 This rock is amazing!  It's got many colourful rocks inside it!

 Water feature!

Apparently Claudia needed help climbing up onto this boulder.  One of many in his "backyard" awaiting creativity.

Barn Concert

On Thursday evening Ike and I attended a barn concert.  Yep you heard right...I live in the sticks so what else are we gonna do for fun!?!  Actually though, it was great!  A high school teacher and his artist wife converted an old barn into their home (very cool) and they use the upstairs loft to hold random concerts.  Looked like about 100 people showed up for it!  The opener was a local guy, Paul Bergman, and his friend...great singers...depressing songs...and quirky stage presence!  Hmmm....good thing it's BYOB....oh wait I can't drink!  The main band was AWESOME....The New Lightweights...check 'em out on Youtube or ITunes.  They were kind of a bluegrass rock combo...lead singer was hilarious and kept us laughing between songs.  It was great with the exception of the couple sitting next to us who had never heard of deoderant or bathing...sigh....country people...

Half Way There! :)

 20 weeks! YAY....Can't hardly wait for Christmas!

P.S. Props to Kara...It is mighty awkward taking your own belly shots!

Besides growing a baby here's what else I've been up to on my days off from work...

I made a wonderful diaper bag out of denim and lined it with super cute baby teddies material...It has tons of pockets and space for everything!   And it's uber chic! :)

I made a matching change pad for my diaper bag...found this cute animal vinyl print in the States and used baby teddies on the reverse to match the bag!

Also in matching baby teddies and denim...play/nursing pillow!  I can attach toys (like Sir Prance-A-Lot & Olivia The Owl) to the ribbon loops for baby to play with!

Check out this snuggly blankie!  I also bought this super cute farm animal panel in the States and turned it into a super soft blankie with the SOFTEST material on the back side and cutesied it up a notch with the cotton lacy frills!  Can't wait for snuggle time!

Fancy burp cloths are a must!  One side is nothing but softness!  Terry-cloth.  And the other side is a new material I found called 'Pul Material'.  Basically a waterproofed soft polyester material in super sweet baby designs.  Of course I couldn't leave the terry-cloth side so plain so I jazzed it up with some matching owl embellishments! 

Baby Belly

Check out this momma's 14 week belly!

So very excited...we made it past the first trimester!  Grow little piggie grow!

So Proud of Our New Family Photo! :)

Love For Jackie

I planted these babies just for Jacks cause I miss her and I wanted to fall in love with something that she already does!

 The ever awe inspiring Daffodil!  This cutie is a twist on the classic as it is white with yellow middles!

Glass Class 2

A couple of weeks ago, my friends Leah and Diane and I challenged our creativity with another day of glass!  In three hours I ended up with two more sets of stir sticks, a beautiful smokey heart shaped dish (which will be a wedding gift for one of my close friend's this fall. Obviously she does not subscribe to my blog!), and my ladybug fruit bowl which turned out even more amazing than my flower dish!!! 

The Last Two Weeks

These last two weeks have gone by super slow and super fast all at the same time!  So strange how that is possible.  Last weekend a longtime friend of mine had her wedding social and I was asked two make two cheesecakes for the silent auction.  Of course, this being a big public event (it was sold out!) I really needed to outdo myself and boy did I ever.  I am actually jealous of the guy who won these beauties cause they looked soooooo yummy!

Strawberries & Champagne Cheesecake

Salted Caramel Cheesecake

Side note....check out this plant that my friend Leah gave me a clipping of....the flowers look like dolphins!

Last week was the junior high's musical, Aladdin.  I cannot believe that those kids were willing to do a musical!  They did AMAZING!!  Claudia was one of the guards...it was the first play she's ever participated in...so proud!

The costumes were too cool...I think the bird and the genie were my favorite costumes!  The townspeople were wearing torn up sheers (good old MCC!) and their mom's silky pj bottoms.  :)

Glass Fusion

I did something super crafty and super dangerous and took a glass class!  I learned how to cut and break glass...yikes that was scary at first...but the multitudes of swirly colourful options of glass and the ability to make whatever my heart so desired (as long as I could afford it) erased that fear and I was snapping glass like a pro within hours!  Here's what my heart came up with in a matter of hours... 

  

 Swizzle Sticks

 Leaf Shaped Dish

 soon to be Necklace Pendants (I have yet to attach the hook part)

 I had leftover glass and just threw it into a star shape to either be a Necklace Pendant or a Decor Item

The Picture Frame was my very first project...not bad, eh!

And the piece de resistance....

My Flower Dish

It turned out amazingly...I am patting myself on the back as we speak! 

Loves it!!!!

I am definitely going back for more...of course I will show off my new pieces as they happen!  Stay tuned.