wordless(ish) wednesday: first

Last Friday we finally took Liam to get his first haircut.  It was starting to get mullet-esque.  Not that I have anything against the mullet.  I'm all for the mullet in times of hockey necessitity but that's it.  It wasn't an emotional thing for me at all.  The hairdresser even asked if I was going to cry.  I looked at her strangely and said "no?".  Apparently a lot of moms cry at baby's first haircut.  It's a bit of a milestone.  I hadn't really thought of that until then.  There have been so many firsts and there will be so many more.

my baby boy is bad ass man

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the montreal escape

Well we've been home a week now so I figure it's time to get these posts done.  I do have a couple of good excuses for not doing them right away.  Number 1:  it has been super nice so Liam and I have been playing outside a lot (good mommy = bad blogger).  Number 2:  I got knocked on my ass with a cold (seriously felt like I was hit by a bus for the last 4 days).  Here's hoping I haven't spread the germs to everyone else.

So, the first family vacation.  It was funtastic!  We had 10 days to explore Montreal and Quebec City.  We saw the sights, went to F1 Grand Prix, ate all the poutine and smoked meat we could ever want.  Liam was a real trooper and we survived all the new challenges as travelling parents.  Here's what I'm gonna to do.  I'm breaking our trip into 3 parts, mostly due to the obscene amount of photos but also because we essentially had 3 different parts to our trip.  We started in Montreal for the F1 race, moved to Quebec City and then back to a different part of Montreal for the remaining few days.

Montreal part 1 ~
We stayed in "old" Montreal right along the river.  It strangely reminded me of being in Buenos Aries, it was European...but not.  A ton of beautiful buildings line the cobblestone streets with cafes and outdoor patios crammed with people.  I immediately fell in love with this city.  As the husband said "Montreal has a great vibe."  It appeared that there was something going on everywhere.  Just that weekend there was a music festival, a wicked street fair and the formula 1 race.  It was fantastic!  When we landed we headed straight for the race track.  A very good friend of ours works for one of the teams and he took us on a tour of the paddock and the pits.  The husband was in his glory...smile from ear to ear.  The rest of the weekend was full of some sight seeing with a ton of walking, a street fair with some friends who live in Montreal and a soggy race day.

Click twice for a sunny Tuesday!

friday's five (on Saturday): things I learned...

...while travelling with a child.  It used to be so easy to pack up and head out on vacation when it was just the husband and I.  Throw a baby into the mix and chaos ensues.  Liam did great not bad on our first family vacation.  I have to admit...travelling with a baby is hard.  Travelling with a baby who is cutting two teeth is harder!  But despite the appearance of Liam's two upper chompers we did have a great vacation.  Seeing as this was our first long haul vacation (10 days in all) this weeks f's 5 is dedicated to the things I learned about travelling with a child.

1.  it's okay if your kid cries for 45 minutes on an airplane.
Liam was super cranky about half way through the flight to Montreal (unknown to us he was teething).  He refused to nap and as a result we had a crying explosion.  Nothing I did would help...until he finally fell asleep.  At first I was all embarrassed about it, then it stressed me out.  But really, I was doing everything I could to console my babe and that is what mattered most.  Seriously what else are people going to ask you to do?  "Mame can you please stop your baby from crying otherwise you'll have to exit the plane."

2.  nap time IS important...even if it's only 25 minutes at a time.
Naps are even more important when on vacation.  This was found out the hard way.  No nap = cranky mcfussy pants.  We figured out that Liam fell asleep easier after eating and if we were constantly on the move.  We walked everywhere and he was always well fed!

3. snacks, snacks and more snacks.
And not just snacks for Liam.  But snacks for us too.  Liam gets uber cranky and fussy when he's hungry.  He comes by it honestly...both Rob and I are the same way.  Gerber puffs and Baby Mum Mum's were our saviour on this trip.  So was the occasional banana and muffin.

4.  packing for 2 in 1 suitcase.
I have become a master packer.  Who knew that you could get a 10 day wardrobe for both a momma and a baby into a medium sized suitcase that weighed less than 40 lbs with room to spare?  Even more amazing, I bought a few things (a much needed pair of red heels) and everything still fit.  I give credit to our eagle creek packing cubes.  They make packing so much easier.

5. family vacations rock!
I had so much fun hanging out with my guys for 10 days of family fun time.  It didn't matter if Liam was cranky or I was cranky or even if the weather was crummy.  I loved every minute of it...because I was with the people I love the most, doing fun things.  I feel like we bonded again.  We haven't spent that much time together, just the three of us, since Liam was born.

  

Click twice if you love family vacations!!

eleven

Eleven months!  This is how old my baby little boy is (as of last Friday).  I'm not sure that I believe that in less than a month Liam will be a whole year old.  I feel sort of sad...my baby isn't a baby anymore.  He somehow turned into a little boy.  I remember how impossible it was to think he would ever be a year old when he was ity bitty.  Now it's impossible to think that he was ever a small sack of potatoes.  Here's just a few highlights of being eleven months:

~ upper left front tooth has cut through, right one is on it's way

(teething this time around wasn't quite as bad)

~ still not crawling...only army crawling forward and back

~ has learned to pull himself up from lying down to sitting to standing

(if he has something to grab onto)

~ he's started bum scooching across our hardwood floors

(very funny to watch)

~ talks and talks and talks some more

~ very stranger shy and very clingy to mommy

~ he rolls around his crib, gets stuck and cries

(of course when he should be napping)

~ eats devours everything and loves meal time

~ Liam is finally starting to feed himself

(this has been an ongoing battle, he thinks food is a really fun toy)

~ we've started weaning and so far we've managed to drop one of his 3 feeds

(I am both sad and happy about this...perhaps another post)
~ still refuses to take a bottle so formula comes from a cup
(a regular cup...refused a sippy cup)

~ loves to play with anything that is not a toy

(phone, drawers, light switches, cupboard doors)

~ taking longer afternoon naps

(I'm talking between 1 and 2 hours)

~ "reading" books by himself

(okay just turning pages)

happy eleven months farf!

can't wait for you to be one year old

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oldies but goodies ~ a realization

So here it is.  While on vacation I came to a realization regarding my participation in the 30 for 30 remix challenge.  I am NOT ready to take this on.  I think I was excited to try something new, and why not?  It sounds fun and a great way to re-acquaint yourself with your closet.  Well that it the precise reason why I'm backing out of the challenge.  I have yet to re-acquaint myself with my closet.  I reached my goal of getting back to a pre-prego body and I want to re-acquaint myself with my entire wardrobe.  Entirely.  Not just 30 items.  I want to wear things that I haven't been able to wear until now (due to pregnancy, nursing, postpartum belly...etc).  Clothes that haven't been put on since before I got pregnant with Liam, in 2009.

So there you have it.  I am neither unhappy nor defeated by not finishing barely starting the 30 for 30 remix.  Perhaps this is just a postponement until I am more familiar with some oldies but goodies.  You should definitely check out the remixers list on Kendi Everyday...these ladies have some wicked style!!

and we're back

Ahhhhhh.  I always love coming home after being on vacation.  Don't get me wrong.  I love vacations.  But there is something about coming home to something familiar after being away.  We had a fantastic time touring around Quebec...Montreal and Quebec city to be exact.  The weather was amazing and Liam did not too bad on his first long vacation away from home...10 days in all.  He even grew two new teeth.

I'll post more about our trip later on.  For now the focus is on getting the mountain of laundry tackled, get the groceries into the house and just settle back in to our routine.  Happy Monday!!

our first guest

So here is our first guest post!  I was super happy when Ashley said she's help a girl out while on vacation.  Make sure you definitely check out her sweet blog.  She's got an adorable little peanut...Peyton.  She ridiculously cute.  Also she's got a sweet handmade Etsy shop with all sorts of fun stuff.   Read on dear friends...read on.


Howdy Do Livin' The Dream readers! Im Ashley stopping by from over at The Peanut Gallery. First let me say a big thank you to MJ for asking me to do a guest post for her while she is making us all jealous that she is on vacation right now. I'm regretting not forcing her to bring me along in exchange for this post!

Well any who on to the main show shall we?

I asked my fiance for advice on what to blog about since I was drawing a blank and he said how about being healthy? This coming from him was a shock. I have been talking about this particular subject a lot on my own blog and I thought I could come over yonder and throw my two cents in here as well!

My health journey has taken a new turn for the better recently and that is not only living a healthy lifestyle for myself but including my family as well.
Up until recently my mom and I were the only ones working out around here and eating healthy but as of late our practices seem to be rubbing off on the other (male) members of the household. So here are a few tips for getting your whole family involved in your healthy living habits

1. Do the grocery shopping~ For the most part I do the shopping around here and that means what I buy, you eat. If I don't stalk up on ho hos and twinkies then they aren't gonna eat them. It's that simple.

2. Make pre made meals in big batches~ Everyone here is on a totally different schedule and we don't always get to eat our meals together. If you make pre made meals for the week you know your family is eating a healthy homemade meal even if you aren't there to enjoy it with them.

3. Work out together~ Find what you have in common with the members of your household and work with that. My brother and I enjoy hiking so we tend to take that approach when looking for a work out. And as of 3 days ago I have gotten my brother AND Mikey to come on my nightly runs with me. This is HUGE people I haven't seen Mikey work out a day in his life since I met him 3 years ago. My dad is even starting to do some low impact exercises and for him I think its been over 22 years!

4. Rub off on each other in a good way~ When you see everyone you are living with making healthy decisions it will motivate them to do the same. Trust me I live in a house of bumpkins but it is even starting to work for us which means it really can work for everyone. Just commit and encourage and you will start to see progress!

For those of you with kiddos what better way to get them to live healthy then to learn from you? Practice what you preach and get everyone involved!

Thanks again to MJ for having me over to guest blog I hope you have a wonderful vacation and I will leave you with some pictures of my latest hike!

xxAshley

bit of a break

Well folks it's time for a much needed vacation.  We're heading out for our first family trip and it couldn't come at a better time.  Sunny skies lay ahead!

A an awesome lady whose gonna guest post while we're away.  Thanks so much...you rock my world!!  As for my 30 for 30 challenge?  I have decided to hold off and continue when we return from our vacation.  There have just been too many other things going on.  Bring on the maxin' & relaxin'.

c-ya later

wordless(ish) wednesday: watermelon

So awhile back I posted about the fact that my son had a hate on for fruit.  He refused anything remotely fruit related...veggies fine, meat fine, fruit...gag!  Well I'm happy to announce that not only does Liam still eat anything of the meat or vegetable kind but he has added fruit to his food repertoire.  Actually he will pretty much eat anything, curry, lentils, curried lentils, scrambled eggs, french toast, grilled cheese, apples, cantaloupe, watermelon, on and on.  Scrap that.  Almost everything.  Still refusing banana but I think that has something to do with the texture.  I'm pretty sure he doesn't like how slimy it is.

Also, on a completely non-fruit related tangent, I think that both of us are now ready to start the weaning process.  Should be interesting seeing as Liam flat out refuses to take a bottle and sees his sippy cup more as a toy then something to drink out of.  Any suggestions?

we linked up with project alicia & the paper mama

just realized that this title is all w's

happy wednesday

blame it on the rain (1 of 30)

Okay, day one of fashion challenge.  Challenge indeed.  I think I looked through my clothing choices this morning many times.  many. many. times.  The thought "what was I thinking" crossed my mind a few times too.  I couldn't decide what to put on or what would look good.  So instead I came up with the excuse that the rain is hampering my style.  I couldn't type that with a straight face...sure it's the rain.  I'm not sure that I'm actually as style challenged as I think I am, I think it's that I constantly second guess my clothing choices.  Not that they are uncomfortable, ill-fitting, a bad colour or that I just don't like them.  Rather I question how I put my outfits together and how others will perceive me wearing them.  Am I too fancy?  Am I too casual?  Am I sloppy?  Ridiculous I know...but sadly true.  I guess, after thinking about it way too much, what I'm hoping to gain through this 30 for 30 remix (besides a renewed love of my existing closet) is the confidence to put myself in an outfit and not care what others think about what I'm wearing.  Because I feel good in it. And today I felt good in it.

our summer bucket list

We are pretty much in the midst of summer here.  I'm so happy that I still have 3 months left on my maternity leave (I go back to work full time as of September...so sad).  With that 3 months I feel that I should make the absolute best use of my time at home with Liam...especially since the weather should be glorious.  I saw this summer bucket list idea on momma b & baby boy, such a great idea!!  Bethany inspired me to do up a list of our own.  Totally sidetracked me from what I should be doing...housework, laundry, weed the garden, etc...but who wants to do all that boring stuff anyways?

So here is our summer bucket list...

~ have a bbq in Bowness park

~ meet Rob downtown for a picnic lunch (on a work day) in the park

~ take more photos

~ make rhubarb popsicles

~ eat strawberries from our garden

~ play in the paddling pool in the backyard

~ make frozen fruity drinks

~ go to pick your own fruit farms

~ visit family in the okanagan

~ go to the zoo
~ eat breakfast outside in the garden
~ throw a summer ADULT ONLY dinner party (sorry Liam)
~ go to the neighbour hood kiddie pool with friends
~ eat ice cream...introduce Liam to his first ice cream cone
~ run through the sprinkler
~ go on our first family vacation
~ spend a week at the beach
~ celebrate my birthday and Liam's first birthday
~ celebrate 4 years of marriage
~ go rafting down the elbow river
~ go to greatest outdoor show on earth, The Stampede
~ get a glimpse of Will & Kate when they visit our city in July
~ bake a fresh fruit pie
~ camp, camp, and camp some more
~ go on many'a bike ride
~ eat s'mores
~ play in the park
~ drink ice lattes on the patio
~ read both newly purchased books (something borrowed & the help)
~ one year family photos with Liam
~ go to Shakespeare in the park
~ go to an outdoor concert
~ go to family movie night in the park
~ take Liam for his first hike
~ get a pedicure
~ frequently visit the farmer's market
~ go mini golfing on vacation
~ build sand castles
~ picnic in the mountains
~ watch the Canada Day fireworks

Pretty sure that'll keep us busy for the summer
...but I'm sure we'll think of more.


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why remix?

So why am I doing this?  The 30 for 30 remix is my effort to stop buying articles of clothing that I honestly don't NEED (but want), to spend less (because I don't get paid to be a SAHM...although it'd be pretty sweet if I did) and to get myself out'a my "mom uniform" style rut (currently consists of jeans, jeans and more jeans) This is why I have decided to try a 30 day wardrobe remix folks.  I'm also seriously tired of feeling like I've sacrificed lost my style since I became a mom.

So what does this mean??  Well....I've decided to choose 30 articles of clothing from my closet (actually it's 28 but that means I have 2 wild cards) and I'm  going to attempt to remix them into outfits for 30{ish} days.  I'm going to keep my shoe collection out of  the mix...weather is way too unpredictable here, and truly...how could I ever choose??  Also I didn't include my layering tank tops, I wear them under everything and would never wear them on their own.  I'm excited at the prospect of finding a renewed love of my wardrobe and to realize that I indeed HAVE many things to wear, because really....I do!  Here's to the next 30 days!

My picks to remix:

 F21 / Tristan

H&M / J.Crew / H&M

F21 / Kersch / F21 / H&M

Banana Republic / Gap / Anthropologie

J.Crew / Banana Republic / Banana Republic / Joe Fresh

Banana Republic / Gap

H&M / Joe Fresh / F21 / Banana Republic

Both Old Navy

American Eagle / Aerie / American Eagle / Banana Republic