the rockford files v.2 ~ on colour

this is the second house that rob and i have lived through building together.  we built our current house about seven and a half years ago.  at the end of june we'll have been here together for seven years!  it's hard to believe it's been that long.  honestly doesn't feel that way.  i have no idea where the time seems to be going.  it's like it just disappears.

when we built our current house we chose an earthy colour palette of brown, red, orange, grey, taupe, all in varying shades.  it all worked very well together and we get compliments on it all the time.  but, it was not the route i wanted to go for the new house.  because of all the windows in the new house and being surrounded by trees i was pushing for more of a blue/green colour scheme.  lucky for me rob was on the same page.  choosing our paint colours this time round was very easy.  for the most part.  i did have to do a little convincing on a few of them.  yes we have more than one colour going in.  it cost a little more to have the builder paint some of the rooms different colours, but honestly in the end it'll be worth it.  we won't have time to paint when we move in because of baby girl arriving around the time we take possession.  so it made sense to choose our colours and have them already done.

choosing colours wasn't all that difficult for us.  rob and i are pretty much on the same page when it comes to what we like.  for the entire house interior we went with a very light grey.  we did a colour match to behr's: classic silver (on the right).  it's light enough without being too light.  it will also show up against the white baseboards and trim.  in our family room it's open to above which means we have storey windows and stone from the fire place going right to the ceiling.  so with the fire place being a feature we wanted a paint colour on that wall to be just as dramatic.  however, rob needed convincing on this colour.  i fell in love with it the moment i found it.  again we had to colour match to behr's: observatory (on the left).

we also decided to have two of our bathrooms painted before we move in.  it's so much easier to have the painters do it before the tub, tile, vanity and toilet go in.  it also means one less job for us to do when we move in.  we choose to go with a very pale green, glidden cil: mirror lake (right) for the kids bathroom.  and for the ensuite we colour matched behr's: delicate mist (left).

i'm really looking forward to seeing what these colours will look like in the spaces.  we've still got awhile to wait until that happens.  drove by the house yesterday and it was fully shingled.  we're hoping to do our framing walk-through next week.  wonder how long it will take for them to get drywall up??

have a happy sunday!

twenty-five cents

last week felt long.  really long.  it was even a short week for me.  i ended up taking friday off because liam's day home was closed and it still felt like i put in a full week of work.  but the weekend did make up for it.  we made it out for our first camping trip of the season.  we had decent enough weather, no snow by the time we got to our site.  we had really good food and even better company with all of our friends.  liam was out of his element so it made for some interesting mornings, and afternoons.  let's just say there was a lot of screaming.  and i mean a lot.  i totally felt like we were those parents with that child.  i could almost hear the whispers, "won't that kid shut up?"  believe me.  i felt the same way.  but whatever.  we were in the mountains, with the trees all around us.  get over it.

camping at twenty-five weeks was interesting.  i'm starting to feel like i waddle a little bit.  very sore hips lately.  and going to the bathroom every forty-five minutes in an outhouse wasn't the most pleasurable.  but hey, we were camping!!

so what's up with baby girl this week?

how far along? 25 weeks. 

total weight gain:  158 this week.  however i think i put on five pounds in marshmallow consumption this weekend alone. 

maternity clothes? totally, but i did manage to get into some non-preggo yoga wear this weekend.  trying to come up with things to wear during camping was hard.  i don't have any grubby preggo clothes. 

stretch marks?  zero!

sleep: pretty awesome this week.  i think it's been because i've so freaking tired.  honestly i can't seem to keep my eyes open some days.  liam has been amazing and we've been coming home from work and having naps.  and they have been at his request.  i couldn't ask for a better gift from my little man.

best moment this week:  camping with my two guys this weekend.  i loved seeing liam explore all around the trailer and campsite.  he was so curious about everything. 

miss anything?  the days of zero heartburn.  seriously the zantac is just not cutting it anymore.  i can't get through the night without at least one or two tums.  

movement:  tons of kicks.  we even saw her move across my tummy one night.  

food cravings:  yogurt, chocolate and i'm back to the fruit cravings.  we have gone through so much fruit this week.  i'm going to be making my fourth trip  to the grocery store tomorrow.

anything making your queasy or sick: my heartburn.  if i don't take a zantac or have tums readily available it gets so bad that i feel sick.  

gender: girl

labour signs: nada

symptoms:   go away heartburn.  and really really sore hips.  i think they are starting to spread.  whatever it is it's not very nice.  i know i know, in the end i will thank my hips for spreading and making labour much easier. 

belly button in or out? in

wedding rings on or off?  both wedding and engagement rings still on.  no signs of swelling yet.

happy or moody most of the time?  pretty in the middle this week.  neither overly happy or overly moody.  just meh.  could be related to the being so tired all week. 

looking forward to: getting my glucose test out of the way this afternoon.  fingers crossed for no gestational diabetes.  

twenty-two month toddler

i've had to come to the realization that in two months i will be the mommy of a two year old little boy.  not a baby anymore.  i'm not sure exactly how i feel about this.  i love all the new things we get to experience with him.  but i miss those quiet baby moments with him too.  i love the adventure we see in his eyes every time there's something new and exciting happening, and let's face it that is every day for him.  but the mommy inside is desperately trying to hang on to her little baby boy.  the one who instantly brought more love into our home then we ever thought possible.  the one who instantly changed our lives in the most indescribable way possible.  for the better of course.  before he was born i couldn't imagine life with him and now i could never imagine life without him.

he is our farf.  our awesome little boy.  our almost two year old.  i imagine that i will go through this "oh my god he's how old?" every year now.  other mom's including my own have said this to me.  and now i finally understand what they mean.

over the last two months both rob and i have noticed a change in liam.  he's becoming a little boy.  his appearance is starting to lose that "baby" look.  he is full of curiosity and will stop at nothing to go and check things out.  he is mr. chatter box all the time.  seriously, this kid has an opinion or something to say about everything.  guess he takes after his mom.  his vocabulary has exploded.  he picks up new words every minute second it seems.  sometimes he gets them wrong.  like calling a tree an elv-a-phant (elephant).  or a truck a tractor.  but we know what he means.  he's got his body parts down pat. and loves making animal noises in the bath tub.  his current favourite being a chicken.  buck buck buck.

and he's growing.  wow is is growing.  i've finally put away all of his twelve month clothing and we're even moving into some of his 2t stuff.  ya it's a little big, but whatevs.  he'll grow into it.  as a result of being almost two, we're starting to see some of his eating habits change.  like he'll only eat certain things.  lately he's been refusing what we're having for dinner.  with me finally caving one night last week and giving him leftover french toast, instead of asparagus and grilled pork.  he's was fine with that.  sometimes he won't touch his food until we sit with him at the table.  sometimes he'll devour his meal and demand some of ours.  it's always a gamble.

we've also moved into dr. jekyll and mr. hyde territory.  i don't know how else to explain it.  one minute we're happily playing with his cars and the next it's like the world is ending.  one minute he loves mommy or daddy the next we're throwing things or hitting them.  i know it's just a phase and he'll move out of it.  i know that all children need to go through this to begin to understand their emotions.  but shit this is hard.  and not just for us.  i can't imagine what it must be like for him.  he doesn't even understand the emotions. and least we do and can try and explain it after it's over.  be there for the hugs and wiping away of tears.  and of course the playing that happens again.  until the next time.

but two.  my son will be two in two months.  and i love absolutely everything we go through.  even the tantrums, after they're over.  i love the hugs, snuggles, story time, bath time, clicks into the car seat, sharing of snacks, the "no mine", the wet kisses, the tears, the squeals of laughter, the curiosity, and the joy that he brings to my life everyday.  i'm going to savour these last two months i have with my little man who is still just one.  and dream of the adventures we'll have with our little man who will be two.  i love you liam.  now.  always.  forever.

the rockford files v.1

for those that know me in real life, it is no surprise that i absolutely love everything related to home design and decorating.  i read a ton of home design magazines and am obsessed with hgtv.  and if i had all the time and money in the world i would re-design and re-decorate our house over and over again.  yard included.  unfortunately both are usually in short supply around here.  good thing we're moving into a brand new house that both the husband and i have worked hard on designing.  we'll sort of.  we went off the home builders plans and modified some things to make it just right.  i've been wanting to find a creative way to include our new house as a project on my blog for awhile.  i just couldn't figure out how.  other than just throwing together a random house update.  then i had a break through.  why not make it a series and include the building process and the decorating process as we move along?

we're actually about three months away from our possession date and the house building is in full swing.  you can see previous house posts here and here.  we've been through all of our selection appointments.  some more than once and some more than twice.  we sometimes second guessed our selections.  the great thing about building brand new is not only do you move into a house where no one has peed in the toilets but you can choose everything.  and i mean everything.  faucets, paint, baseboards, handles, cupboards, fireplace mantles, stone, tile, and the list could go on and on and on.  i'm not going to share all of our selections and that part of the process.  partly because we finished up with it a couple months ago and partly because then there's nothing to look forward to as the house gets finished.  but you get the idea.

not sure how often the rockford files will appear, but i'd like it to become a regular series on my blog.  you may wonder where the name came from.  well there's two things behind it.  one:  rockford is the name of our street.  and two:  the husband loved watching "the rockford files" with james garner, growing up.  it just seemed to fit.

hope you'll follow along.

twenty four weeks

this week has been much better than last.  although liam had some issues sleeping a couple of nights he was in much better spirits and we didn't have the meltdowns of the week before.  he was in a great mood all week.  i credit the sunshine, the outside play and the fact that both thursday and friday meant for lazy mornings at home with mommy.  i had a midwife appointment thursday and friday had no meetings in the morning so school didn't start until 9:00.  woo hoo for mommy/liam mornings!!  it gave us time to slowly wake up, have breakfast together and play with his cars until we had to leave.  also for some strange reason he has been all about mommy this week.  even to the point where he was pushing rob away.  he hasn't been like that in over a year.  used to be all about dad.  maybe he knows that it's mother's day on sunday and he's being extra special nice guy.  whatever the case ... i'm enjoying the happy go-lucky liam that used to be around everyday.

pregnancy is going well.  it's not great, but it's not bad either.  listen, i'm not one of those women who love being pregnant.  i look at it as a means to an end.  if this is what i need to do so we can be blessed with another child, then bring it.  but otherwise ... count me out.  i keep telling myself to suck it up because this is the last time i will be pregnant.  not going to happen again people.  two child is more than enough for us. 

so what's new this week?

how far along? 24 weeks,
total weight gain:  155 lbs. this week.  when i went for my appointment on thrusday one of my midwives was so happy to see that i was putting on weight.  i guess i hadn't put on enough??  i thought i was doing just fine. 

maternity clothes? only non-maternity cardigans are fitting, everything else is maternity.  i'm having a hard time fitting into my maternity clothes from my first pregnancy.  they are all too big.  i guess that's a good thing though.  think positive right. 
stretch marks?  zero!

sleep: pretty decent this week.  i have been super tired though.  both liam and i have been having afternoon naps when we get home from work.  it's been really nice to just lie down and relax for an hour or two before dinner. 
best moment this week:  hearing baby girl's very strong heartbeat this week at my appointment on thrusday.  it was the first time i actually cried when i heard it.  i don't know why??

miss anything?  i'm going to be selfish right now.  i miss my pre-pregnant body and all of my summer clothes.  i know that i won't be pregnant forever and that it is absolutely worth it, but dammit i miss not feeling like i'm an eighty-five year old woman.  i've even started to waddle a little bit because my hips get sore during the day.
movement:  a lot of jabs, kicks, and rolls.  she's all over the place still. 

food cravings:  chocolate and yogurt, not necessarily together.  oh and watermelon.  mmmmm perfect for the summer weather we're having.
anything making your queasy or sick: my heartburn.  if i don't take a zantac or have tums readily available it gets so bad that i feel sick.  other than that nothing ... i'm back on fish again.  had some fresh wild salmon on the weekend and it was delicious!!

gender: girl

labour signs: nada

symptoms:   go away heartburn, and please don't ever come back.

belly button in or out? in

wedding rings on or off?  both wedding and engagement rings still on.  no signs of swelling yet.
happy or moody most of the time?  a bit of both this week.  i'm not enjoying the moody part of things these days.  i feel like i don't have a handle on my emotions these days, now i know what it's like for liam.

looking forward to: going camping this weekend.  we're busting out the trailer and heading to the mountains for some fresh air, campfires and s'mores.  the first of many trips this summer.

hey let's do a swap

as the summer draws ever closer i've decided to do some sponsor swapping again.  i did this last year when i started blogging and have had two amazing sponsors stick around.  gillian of building bumps, and melissa of knit purl baby.  make sure you go and check these great momma's out.  i haven't done a new swap in awhile and figured june would be a perfect time to start up again.

what is sponsor swapping you ask??  well basically it's swapping buttons for a month (or more).  you  display my button on your blog and i do the same ... i'll also do a feature on each of the sponsor swaps that month.  i also love guest posts too.  it's a great way to generate new readers and find some pretty fantastic blogs. 

what should you do?  send me an email: livinmjsdream@gmail.com letting me know that you would be interested and i'll let you know what i need. 

hope everyone had a great mother's day.  we took it easy but i have to say i was just a little spoiled by my two guys.  i look forward to all the blog swapping!!

when you just cry

sunday was an awesome day.  i spent all day at MRU taking my first photography course.  got all the basics about the what and how of my slr.  and it was all done with one of my even more awesome friends, samantha.

that was until i got home.  for some reason i walked in the door and liam became super grumpy.  not what i was expecting and for some un-logical reason i totally took it personally.  i know it mostly likely had nothing to do with me, but he was just being a total toddler mr. mc-grumpy pants.  within an hour i was a heap sitting on my bathroom floor bawling my eyes out.  much to the dismay of my poor husband.  and this continued off and on for the next two hours.  when asked "why are you crying?" the only response i had was a pitiful "i don't know" in between snotty sobs.  we're going to play the pregnancy hormone card on this one.  honestly i don't know what brought on the seriously ugly cry.

 but after it was all over ... i felt immensely better.  relief even.  i guess sometimes you just need to cry.

i totally get it buddy.

totally.

twenty-three

this week has been super overcast and really really rainy.  it's a good thing i love the rain.  and i do.  really.  with all the rain it's meant that we've been inside a lot this week and unfortunately that also means that liam has been cooped up.  as a result we've had some terrifying tantrums.  thursday's lasted about a half hour!  poor guy.  i'm not even sure if he knew why he was upset.  at one point he got up and moved to a point where he could see us and then started his tantrum all over again.  once it subsided though, he was full of hugs and kisses and in need of some serious snuggles with mommy.  i was sure to oblige.  here's hoping that next week is a little drier and we can play outside.

how far along? 23 weeks, baby girl is the size of an ear of corn and weighs about 1.5 lbs.

total weight gain: hit 154 lbs. this week.  i'm officially up 20 lbs. not bad considering at this point with liam i was up almost 30.  

maternity clothes? pretty much everything now.  except for my blazers and cardigans, i'm still wearing non-preggo there.

stretch marks?  zero!

sleep:  pretty good this week.  baby girl kept me up a few times.  she likes to move a lot between midnight and 2 am.  not really the best timing.  but i guess she's prepping me for those late night feedings.

best moment this week: surviving liam's temper-trantrums.  i like to think that i'm handling them fairly well ... even if i had a mini cry while he was in the throws of one on thursday.  we can blame part of that on the hormones.  

miss anything?  playing outside because of all the rain ... but i still love it.  it's helped me sleep this week, love the sound of it on the windows and sky-light. 

movement: she's all over the place.  rob felt her move finally.  she's still hanging out around my bladder and really likes to push on it. 

food cravings:  we're back to drinking a lot of chocolate soy milk.  and i'm all over ice cream, no particular flavour.  what happened to my healthy fruit cravings??

anything making your queasy or sick: nope.  

gender: girl

labour signs: nada

symptoms:  the belly is getting bigger.  i even had someone tell me "oh wow.  you're getting a lot bigger!"  gee thanks ... that's really what a girl wants to hear.  on a positive note, my heartburn hasn't been as bad.  

belly button in or out? in

wedding rings on or off?  both engagement and wedding ring on

happy or moody most of the time?  not going to lie ... there was some definite moodiness.  can't really explain why.  hormones right??  that's what rob always says.  just blame it on the pregnancy hormones. i'm cool with that. 

looking forward to: hearing baby girl's heart beat on thursday at our twenty-four week check up.  and we're almost on the official count down to the end of work.  seven weeks to go!!

west coast wedding weekend

so last weekend was our first weekend away from liam.  a whole weekend!!  i know to some that may sound crazy.  but not really to us.  it's not as if we haven't been away from him, rather it was a result of circumstances.  no babysitter for the entire weekend = no trip for mommy and daddy.  until now.

our very dear friends, mike and kelly, got married.  we're so excited and happy for them as the embark on their adventure of life together.  it also gave us a very good excuse to plan a parents only trip.  believe me it took work to make this one happen.  at one point we were considering multiple flights just to do it.  in the end, liam's gramma's came through for us.  lots of hugs and thank-yous all around.

our weekend started off with flying to vancouver island, driving an hour and then catching a ferry to quadra island.  our point of destination.  and despite the cold rainy weather, it was an awesome weekend.  full of great friends and good fun.  here's what quadra island and our weekend looked like.

thanks for the good times quadra!!

we'll be back soon.

wordless{ish} wednesday: my silly boy

lately i felt like i've only been posting about my pregnancy and baby girl.  i haven't forgotten about liam.  how could i??  he is at such a fun age.  everything he does now is with the utmost concentration.  and i love how his personality shines through.  he's such a silly kid.  love him, just love him.

here's a couple snaps of him at his best!

he loves his alpha-getties and his whacking stick.

happy wednesday!

house update

the house is moving along.  finally.  it feels like we started this process so long ago.  oh wait.  we did!  you may remember way way way back in october i announced we'd bought a house.  well it only took five months for them to get started on it.  and oh baby once they get going.  things are starting to change daily now.  it's starting to sink in that we'll be out of our small-ish two bedroom soon and into our family home.  i'm currently obsessed with hgtv and style at home magazines.  basically anything decorating related.   here's just a few snapshots of the current state of construction over the last couple weeks.

this is the pond on the side of our house.  the family room and dining room windows get this view.

i can hardly wait for it to be finished and we can move in.

fingers are crossed for beginning of september!