Moments I REALLY, REALLY LOVED Lately.....

(In addition to this "baby-is-sleeping, Phil-is-out-watching-football, bed-to-myself, cup-of-tea-in-hand" thing I have going on right now....)

Strolling through the Avenues with my first pumpkin spiced latte of the season.  And sporting Nan's "coffee cozy" en route, of course!  (But in the spirit of honesty, I have to confess that I don't particularly like this beverage all that much.  There's just something HOMEY about it that I MUST HAVE.)

Having a Saturday afternoon ice cream party with the family.  The whole Baskin Robbins to ourselves and cat slippers to boot!

Watching Nory snuggle up with gentle souls like this one.  I feel like she just KNOWS.  We love you, Uncle Nasser!

Aunt Dana.

This weekend we were reminded, once again, just how awesome it is to have family living with us abroad.  We may not see Aunt Dana all too often, but when we do, we have THE BEST TIME EVER.  She's a super fun person to eat fake corn on the cob with, empty out an entire container of pens with, or sort through coins in a wallet with........

Snuggling up for "night night".  Ha!  Ya right.  If you've ever tried to put this child to sleep you know FULL WELL this is simply a game!

Doing the "freaky face".  Ah-hem, the face that I HATE, HATE, HATE.  She feels compelled to do it whenever she talks to Grandpa on Facetime.  Why?  I don't know....

WE LOVE YOU, AUNT DANA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

24 WEEKS!!!!!

And I can't believe it.  Pregnancy #2 is going by much more quickly than pregnancy #1.  We are going to be a crazy family of four in no time at all :)

Today I went to the doctor for a regular check-up.  Things to note:

1)  She didn't say that I "got too fat" this month.  WIN!
2)  She believes this baby is MORE ACTIVE (yes, MORE!) than Nory.  I'm thinking she'll settle down come January - once she realizes how hectic this big old world is (fingers crossed? ha!)...
3)  She also says that Goose LOVES the breech position.  Hence why I randomly have to go to the bathroom IMMEDIATELY.  
4)  We are unsure of how to proceed in terms of medical care.  The doctor who delivered Nory has switched to a private clinic and my current doctor is recommending doctors from a different hospital.  I'm not sure what the best move is for us yet, but I'm happy that there are many moms around here to ask for advice!

I'm feeling great.  Minus the cold that swept through the house this past week and left me semi-exhausted.  A bit of upper back pain.  Some sharp pains here and there the odd time.  But I'm still pumping out lots of steps and I'm hoping to attend a zumba class this afternoon!

But first, it's that time of the week!  TIME TO BAKE!!!!!!  I'm so happy that this weekend activity was instilled in me as a child.  It feels so good to watch my family enjoy a fresh batch of muffins, cookies, loaves, WHATEVER!

Happy weekend to all of you back home! XOXO

Stranger things HAVE happened....

It's almost 5 o'clock and I've decided to make my first tea of the day.

Well.

Look what the fresh box of PG Tips had waiting for me!  I burst out laughing and immediately thought that someone who knows me ALL TOO WELL had this particular box made JUST FOR ME :)  Thank you Coincidence Gods (or Phil?)!!! What a lovely way to kick off this tea party event :)

Lunch-Making....a new A & C :)

We have finally found success in the packed lunch department!  I'm not sure why, but in the past it has been a last minute scramble for leftovers in the fridge, granola bars, apple sauce, or crackers.  It was a "Shoot!  What about lunch?!" sort of thing as we were leaving the flat, rather than a top priority which it absolutely should have been.  I mean, Nory's food has always been prepared in adequate time (because I want to make sure she's eating certain things throughout the day), but ours was just not viewed with the same level of urgency.  That is until we found THESE.....these beautiful lunch containers from where other than Pottery Barn Kids!

Since purchasing these lunchbox gems, I'm having a lot of fun putting our snacks together the night before work.  Finding different coloured foods to fill each little part - and make the finished product look so organized and pretty - involves the creative process and I've always been a fan.  I've also found this eating arrangement to be ideal for grazers like me.....or for those who only have 5 minutes here or 5 minutes there to get some energy into them (ah-hem, ALL TEACHERS)!

That being said, if I don't get the job done before I go to bed, there's NO CHANCE it will get done at 4:30 in the morning!  I suppose the time it takes me to put them together is a bit of a drawback....but if I can motivate myself after dinner each evening, it's 100% doable :)

Alright, it's BED TIME!!!!  The morning seems to come extra early around here.  We hope you all had a wonderful weekend!!! XOXO

The Name Game.

It's really, super hard guys.  I mean....there is so much to consider:

Is it adorable?  Do we both like it?  Is it easy to say?  Is it easy to spell?  Is it any of the names that we decided WERE NOT GOOD ENOUGH for Nory?  Is it familiar , yet not too common?  Does it go well with our last name?  Does it go well with some proposed middle names?  Does it go well with Nory?  Does it have a good meaning....or at the very least a neutral one?  Does it remind us of someone we've taught?  Is it too similar to so-and-so's name?  Could it be altered in a rude way?  What are the possible nicknames?  

It goes ON and ON and ON.  But....GUESS WHAT?!  Today we happened upon a name that we both actually liked!  We've put it up for "testing" and will be using it around the house to see if we fall in love with it.  And NO - we will not be revealing the name until she is officially HERE!  There's got to be SOME element of surprise and since you already know it's a girl, you are going to have to hold out for the name :)  I WILL tell you that we've been calling her "Goose" because Nory has been affectionately called "Chicken" since she was extra tiny :)

We are SO, SO excited to meet you, Goose!!!!!!

Love, Mama and Dada
XOXO   

Don't hit me. I'm just being honest.

We don't do dishes anymore.  We don't put away leftovers anymore.  We don't make our bed anymore.  We don't put away clean clothes anymore.  We don't steam iron our work clothes anymore.  We don't unpack water bottles into the fridge anymore.  We don't pick up toys resulting from an all-day-Nornado anymore.  We don't even sort laundry or take out the garbage, which are jobs that Phil previously INSISTED on doing himself.  And sometimes, we happen upon things that make a random Saturday morning - where you're rushing into school to get some planning done despite feeling like you've been hit by a mac truck - feel like CHRISTMAS MORNING..............

Time spent finding the lid?  ZERO MINUTES!

     
God bless the wonderful woman who allows us to have more quality time with our daughter than we ever could have imagined as working parents. 

WE LOVE YOU KUMARI POPPINS!!!!!!!!!!!

In case you need some....

I have a cold. It's gross. But lying on the couch I came across the best motto ever!!!

This house is FULL OF LOVE.  Pumpkin-oatmeal-chocolate chip cookies are baking in the oven.  All that's missing is the tiara.  Two of them.  For now.  Until January.  When we require three.

Also....it's basically fall, right?  My billion cans of pumpkin on the baking shelf tell me that this is true.  If only we had the sweater weather and colourful leaves to accompany it.

PARKINSON OBSESSIONS.

Eleanor:  CATS.  It makes me cringe to even say that word because she legitimately says it AT LEAST 100 times a day.  She has cat slippers, cat books, cat toys, and requests to watch cat Youtube videos on my phone whenever she sees me with it.  It's getting out of control, BIG TIME.  One might even call it an addiction based on the meltdowns that ensue if Nory is not instantly gratified with something "CAT". (Somebody help a Mama out!)

She wants to wear these EVERYWHERE - inside AND outside!

Lindsay:  CRUNCHY PEANUT BUTTER.  This is strange, strange.  I have always preferred the extra smooth variety, which changed drastically two weeks ago as I reluctantly used the crunchy peanut butter that the school placed in our flat upon arrival this year.  We were all out of the good stuff, so I had no other choice but to use up what was remaining in the cupboard.  Well.  What a LUCKY experience that was!  It turned out to be quite the hit with me and my bump :)

Phil:  Daddy Daycare.  A group that consists of men in our building, their respective children, and NO WIVES (well maybe sometimes)!  They meet up almost daily at the pool or in the courtyard where the kids swim, blow bubbles, play in the sandbox, do sidewalk chalk - whatever - while the "Daddys" sit and socialize.  The kids love it.  The dads love it.  The moms love it.  Hmm, perhaps it's an obsession we all have.....