am's blog

Alex Black Photography

2007-02-04T21:27:00.000-05:00

Claire is now 3 months old! She had her first photo session with Alex Black Photography...I have posted some of my favourites. Alex is primarily a wedding photographer but does some family sessions during the off-season.

IT'S A GIRL!!!

2006-11-03T19:40:00.000-05:00

CLAIRE ISABELLE
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2006
2:30 AM
6 LBS, 13 OZ

Stuff

2006-09-06T08:12:00.000-05:00

I haven't posted anything in a while so I thought I would update on "stuff" that is going on...

Pregnancy-wise...

I found out that I have a mild case of gestational diabetes...apparently hormones during pregnancy prevent insulin from getting to cells resulting in excess glucose in your blood. So I am on a specific diet and have to test my blood 7 times a day. Fun! Luckily I ate really healthy and have been exercising anyways, the nutritionist said for some people this would be a difficult lifestyle change and they end up having to go on insulin (which you have to inject into your stomach - gross!) There's incentive right there to follow the diet! It involves a certain number of carbs and protein at every meal and three snacks a day to try and keep sugar levels regular (and pretty much eliminating refined sugar). The only tough part is eating out because I don't always know what is put into the food.

The second thing that is going on is that it looks like I will have a scheduled c-section (will find out tomorrow from the OB for sure). I knew I had some fibroids (benign growths) but I guess they decided to grow like crazy during this pregnancy due to estrogen and according to my last ultrasound 6 of them are the size of golf balls, and three of them are in a cluster likely blocking the baby from delivery and apparently they also put me at risk for hemorrhaging. So if I do have a c-section, I will definitely go in early...so I might only have 5 weeks or less left, not 6 like I originally thought!

I'm not thrilled at the prospect of a c-section (not what I had envisioned and I heard the recovery is awful) but whatever is best for the safety of the baby and me I'm all for it.

Renovation-wise...

With this latest news, the renos have really picked up the pace. As of today we have (trust me, these are very exciting for us! ha ha):

a running full-size bottom-mount stainless steel refrigerator!
finished and painted walls ("Broome" by Ralph Lauren, sort of a cappuccino colour)
painted floors (espresso),
potlights installed and running
wall cabinets up (tempered glass ones, Astivik, IKEA)
floor cabinets assembled (Adel Birch, IKEA)
fume hood on the wall (just needs a hole drilled to the outside for ventilation)
stainless steel slide in range - guy is coming by today to move the gas line so we can use it
framing for a built-in storage closet by the back door

So what's left? Finishing the storage closet, ordering our counter top (hopefully this weekend if I can find a colour that works - I'm thinking matte dark chocolate brown for a nice contrast), buying open shelving for above the sink and a free-standing pantry (IKEA, this weekend, that matches the wall cabinets), trim, plumbing for the sink and dishwasher, faucet...we also need an island with seating and hanging lights for the island, but we aren't in too much of a rush for those. Once we have the stove and sink working and a countertop, we will have a functioning kitchen!

Surprise!

2006-07-06T11:15:00.000-05:00

My office had a staff picnic the other week and to my surprise, my co-workers presented me with an In-Step jogging stroller that they had pitched in for!

What a great gift - we will definitely make good use of it!

Memoirs of a pregnancy

2006-06-27T10:01:00.000-05:00

While I was swimming last night, I was compiling a list in my head of the things I like and dislike about being pregnant so far. I thought it would be good to record them, so that I can look back on them later and remember how I felt...so here it is!

I'm writing this at 6 months so some things may change as the weeks go on...

My favourite things about being pregnant are...

* feeling the baby kick and move
* seeing our baby on the ultrasound screen
* having an excuse to buy an entire new wardrobe
* having a cute belly
* shopping for baby gear
* planning and decorating a nursery
* not having to worry about how your stomach looks at the pool
* prenatal yoga
* strong fingernails
* chatting with complete strangers who ask me about the pregnancy and tell me their stories

My least favourite things about being pregnant are (these are all pretty minor actually, except for the first one on the list!)...

* CONSTANT KILLER HEARTBURN !!!
* not being able to run/play ultimate
* feeling 'impeded' when bending over
* no alcohol
* veins surfacing in weird places
* having people touch my belly without asking

melinda & alex's wedding - june 16, 2006

2006-06-19T09:34:00.000-05:00

They say how things go on your wedding day will indicate how things will be in your marriage...if that is the case, Melinda and Alex have nothing to worry about!

From the weather to the speeches, dresses, decorations, flowers, the food...everything can be summed up in one word...PERFECT.

Melinda was a vision in white, with lovely orchids in her hair, and Alex looked quite handsome in his tux and blue accent vest. And as you can see in the photo, they were smiling non-stop!

I was Melinda's matron of honour, so I got to see all of the aspects of the wedding close up and personal. And my 5 1/2 month pregnant belly even fit into my espresso brown Alfred Sung outfit...barely, but I at least I could breathe and my ribs are still in tact ;-) For anyone who is pregnant, a two piece bridesmaid's outfit is the way to go!

The wedding cerimony was held at Victoria Park in Kitchener at 4pm. There was a nice breeze that kept us cool (I know Melinda was very thankful for that to keep the perspiration down!). The reception was held at Grey Silo Golf Course, which Melinda and some of the other girls nicely decorated in their 'spice' wedding theme. The colours for the wedding were brown with a blue accent. Everything looked beautiful.

At the reception, Alex's younger brother Cam made a very emotional speech about Alex's dad, who passed away a few years ago. He was so sweet, trying to think of all of the things that his dad would've said (I still get teared up thinking about it). I knew I was speaking next, so I was fighting hard to stay composed...but it was tough. Fortunately for me Gina got up there right after Cam before I had to go up and made a few jokes so that lightened the mood a little.

There was a lot of mention of Alex's dad and I felt like he was there in spirit...he must've been watching over everything, making sure things went perfectly for his son and his new bride.

In my toast to the bride, I talked about a few of Melinda's 'unusual talents' - like her addition to online Warcraft...it was funny, because JC said that he heard a lot of people talking about Warcraft afterwards...so I don't think she was the only closet addict in the room!

In many ways their wedding reminded JC and I of ours...especially it being on a Friday and the very casual and relaxed atmosphere at the reception. It is so nice when people get creative and go outside the 'template' wedding. Those are the weddings you tend to remember more I think.

It was also very nice to see a few faces that I have not seen in a while - Mandy and her husband Mike were there from Iowa, and Eric Voss as well, who has just moved back to Guelph from Calgary. Gill was also in the wedding party and I don't see her too often, so it was great to catch up with her. I also enjoyed meeting Melinda's younger sister Becky from Vancouver and her boyfriend Frank, whom I have never met before.

~*~

Ultrasound pics - around 21 weeks

2006-06-08T10:32:00.000-05:00

Top picture: side profile
Bottom picture: baby looking straight out (eye sockets can be seen)

Melinda's bachelorette party

2006-05-29T08:26:00.000-05:00

Saturday evening I organized a bachelorette party for Melinda, who is getting married to Alex on June 16th. About 8 girls attended (dinner + dancing at the Flying Dog in Waterloo). Those who could and couldn't attend helped me compile a list of 'tasks' for Melinda to complete before midnight...I edited the list to include only those items that I thought that Melinda would actually do that were fun but not over-the-top embarrassing.

After a few drinks and shots and some help from Tracy, she did a good job of completing everything. We dressed Melinda in a white tank that said 'BRIDE' in rhinestones, a pink feather boa and a tacky veil.

Here is the list of things that she had to do:

1. KISS A GUY WITH A MULLET OR A MUSTACHE (Melinda went for the mustache - a safe choice)
2. FIND A GUY NAMED ALEX AND 'PROPOSE' TO HIM ON ONE KNEE (Tracy found someone named Alex for her and Melinda proposed, but he refused to accept...unless Melinda decided not to marry her Alex)
3. ASK A GUY TO BUY YOU A DRINK (guy turned out to be a dog and would only do this if Melinda let him write on her boob - see Task #5 - forget it!)
4. HAVE A BOY "TEACH" YOU HOW TO PLAY POOL (Tracy and Melinda had fun doing this)
5. GET AS MANY GUYS AS POSSIBLE TO WRITE THEIR PHONE NUMBER ON YOUR BODY (she did a good job with this task and had some interesting messages written too! Luckily I chose a non-permanent marker!)
6. PERFORM A POLE DANCE ROUTINE (left this one for near the end of the evening - using the table on the dance floor. Go liquid courage!)
7. DANCE WITH A COUGAR (there were too many to choose from that evening! The best one I saw was about 50 years old, with a tight short white strapless dress and a tatoo on one shoulder - THAT's HOT!!)
8. GET UP ON A CHAIR IN THE RESTAURANT AND ANNOUCE SOMETHING FUNNY (she said something about me and pink underwear but I missed her doing this)

Badminton season ending ;-(

2006-05-24T09:53:00.000-05:00

This is a sad week...because the badminton season is coming to an end. I play at the Royal City Badminton Club (www.rcbc.eloragorge.ca). Our season goes from Sept-May and we play 3 nights a week, I usually make it out at least twice a week. The club has special meaning to me because I am also on the executive (as secretary-treasurer and web/advertising co-coordinater). It's nice to have a say in the club's organization. This season I also got to help out with some coaching (elementary school), which was really fun. I hope to do more of that in the future...the kids ran me into the ground with the drills, talk about endless energy! They were so enthusiastic, it's great to see young people interested in this great sport.

By the time the badminton season starts up again in the fall, I should be really HUGE...I wonder if I will still be able to move on the court? Maybe I can try traditional mixed doubles; that's about all of the court that I think I will be able to cover. Already I feel like I am tripping on the 'bun' if I move quickly from the back to the front of the court. It's a strange sensation!

PS. One day I will be able to jump smash just like the guy in the picture! ;-)

Midwife appointment

2006-05-16T14:59:00.000-05:00

According to the books I have been reading, at the end of this week I will be starting my 5th month of pregnancy...

I am having our baby delivered by Guelph Midwives (at Guelph General Hospital), so I had another midwife appointment today. I will go once a month until the end of the second trimester, then every other week and then once a week.

JC came with me so that he could hear the heartbeat for the first time...it was between 140 and 150 beats per minute. Up to this point I think it has been a little surreal for him, but hearing the heartbeat is a reality check that there IS something in there!! ;-)The baby kept moving around; every couple of seconds we would hear a 'swoosh' that interupted the heart beat sound. I still haven't felt the movements but the midwife said that I should very soon.

I am definitely 'showing' a little, my uterus is about a finger width below my belly-button, and within the next two weeks it is going to move up to meet my navel, and it should look more like it has 'popped out'. Right now I just look like I could have a bit of a beer belly!

On June 7th we have an ultrasound, we are both looking forward to that, but it is also kind of scary because they are going to do a complete scan to check the spine etc. JC is going to try to take a little movie of the ultrasound with his digital camera.

BaBy NeWs

2006-04-21T15:08:00.000-05:00

Check here for updates on our baby's development. The ticker should update automatically. My due date is October 19th... soon I will be 1/2 way there...the time is going by quickly!

On Tuesday I heard the baby's heartbeat with a Doppler. My midwife said it is between 140 and 150 beats per minute. Sometimes it's hard to believe that someone's 'in there', so hearing the heartbeat is a nice reality check!

Our 'debate' over baby names continues...

I have recently found out about 2 other friends in Guelph that will be having babies around the same time. It will be fun having other people to share stroller walks with during my maternity leave!

Alberta...

2006-02-22T16:00:00.000-05:00

JC and I had a really nice trip out west! We spent time in Canmore, Banff, Lake Louise and Yoho National Park (B.C.)

The chalet we stayed in was awesome, right across from the Three Sisters near Deadman's Flats and complete with a heated pool, fireplace, sauna and indoor and outdoor hot tub. My friends Tracy and Kim came up to visit and cross country ski with us at the Canmore Nordic Centre. The weather was great...+8 and +4 on the days that we skiied. Kim showed us a great flatbread pizza restaurant in Canmore; they cook your pizza in a huge wood oven!

JC and I also skiied at Lake Louise, where they had dog sleds running and a lot more snow than in Canmore. We pictured those types of dogs to be big and fluffy, but they were suprisingly kind of scrawny! We also went to a town called Field in Yoho National Park, B.C. We checked out the residential area (it's cute) and ate at a place called the Truffle Pigs, the only restaurant in town. It's an organic restaurant apparently started by a couple of hippie's from BC - go figure!

We spent our last day in Banff...we went with Gab and Kevin on a hike in the townsite to one of the hot springs where they have an interpretive centre. It was one of the original hot springs, but is no longer used by the public. It was quite interesting to see lush, green vegetation at this time of year. We did a little driving tour through Banff...we were going to do the drive up Tunnel Mountain, but the road was closed, and we didn't have proper footwear to do the hike. Maybe next time!

Trip update

2006-02-03T11:23:00.000-05:00

The countdown to our weekend away is on...some updates...we are staying at a resort called the Banff Gate Mountain Resort, it looks like a nice place:

http://www.banffgatemountainresort.com/abouttheresort.htm

Kim told me today that she is definitely coming up from Waterton on Saturday and staying until Sunday. Hooray!!! She also told me that our friend Tracy (whom I haven't see in a few years) is also coming along for the fun! I can't wait to see both of them, it will be a little Waterton reunion! I am also excited to introduce Tracy and JC, because they have never met.

Unfortunately my brother David leaves Banff and flies out of Calgary on the morning that we arrive! He has a gig to get back to in Toronto, so he can't even change his flight. Disappointing!!! Perhaps we'll run into him at the airport...

JC and I are not into Valentines Day, but I suppose we will be spending at least part of that day in Alberta...not too shabby!

Canmore bound!

2006-01-25T09:41:00.000-05:00

JC and I are taking a long weekend (Feb 10-14th) and heading out to Canmore. Whoooo - I can't wait!! It will be such a nice break, JC needs it especially from all the work he's been doing on the house. His sister Gab works for Air Canada, so if we fly standby with her we get a sweet deal. Gab's boyfriend Kevin is also going, as well as his Dad and Dorothy (who are renting the chalet for us!) JC and I plan on doing some x-country skiing (no more snowboarding for JC with his knee!), exploring the town and relaxing in the chalet.

My brother David is in Banff right now (studying at the Banff Centre for the Arts) and heads home on the 11th...I'm hoping to catch him before he heads back to Toronto. I also hope to see my good friend Kim from Waterton is she is able to visit me !

Happy birthday to me!

2006-01-18T12:55:00.000-05:00

Jan 2006. Tracy planned a fun celebration for me at Atmosphere. Notice my black eye that was starting to come out (badminton racket incident) - nice!! I actually have two black eyes at the moment...

I think this is the first year in a long time that there actually wasn't a snow storm on my birthday.

New fireplace

2005-12-20T16:06:00.000-05:00

We just had a gas fireplace installed on Dec 1st...just in time for the cold weather! We tried to pick one that looked like an old stove so that it suits our house. Now we just need a nice area rug to put infront of it!

Cheese please!

2005-12-20T15:42:00.000-05:00

Tracy was in Nepal for several weeks in October, and the thing she missed most of all was CHEESE...so I decided to throw a little cheese party for her to welcome her back! We sampled a lot of different kinds...and wine too of course! We also tried some breakdancing but we weren't very good at it...we'll keep our day jobs!

Gary & Shawna's Wedding

2005-10-19T12:53:00.000-05:00

Our last wedding to attend for this year was on Oct 15th. JC was in the wedding party...he met Gary about 5 years ago when he worked in Timmins, and Gary moved to Guelph a couple of years later. Shawna looked absolutely stunning!! The wedding took place at the Halton Region Museum, near the Kelso ski hill. They had a beautiful day for it. It was a nice, small wedding, about 85 people. All of the groomsmen had to wear orange ties, and they decorated the museum beautifully with autumn decor.

Fondue!

2005-10-07T16:00:00.000-05:00

Liz hosted a fondue party and I finally got to test out my fondue set that I got from Mandy a couple of birthdays ago (thanks Mandy!!). We made PC cheese (with bread and veggies) and a broth dip for lamb, beef and chicken. We were all pretty stuffed!

Ted and Carrie's wedding

2005-10-07T13:08:00.000-05:00

This seems to be the year of weddings! This was one we went to in the summer that I forgot to post. I know Ted from ultimate and have known his Carrie for about a year or so. They had an outdoor cerimony, and the reception was at the Conestogo Golf & CC. It was a lot of fun because my whole table was made up of people from my team. We knew a few other people there as well. As soon as we walked in, Brad pulled the chair out from under Eva...she fell right down on the floor! Talk about a grand entrance! I haven't seen that trick since grade 4! I thought she was going to burn the place down cause when she fell she made a grab for the tablecloth and there was a lit candle on it. She will definitely have to find a way to get him back for that!

Kitchen demolition...I mean renovation...

2005-10-05T18:33:00.000-05:00

We've been talking about renovating our kitchen for a while now...so at the end of August after I was away for a week I came home to find JC smashing away at the plaster walls...so I joined in the fun! Now (almost 2 months later), the kitchen has been complete gutted down to the exterior walls and studs, including knocking a couple of walls down. We also decided to tackle the main bathroom at the same time as well, since they both needed to be redone and are in the same area. We hired a designer and met with her last week; she is going to come up with a couple of layout options for us. We are hoping to have some kind of big island with seating. Right now I would settle for just a stovetop to cook on! We have been living off of whatever we can store in the fridge or make in the microwave. It looks like we are going to start the whole thing over from scratch, so new appliances, cupboards, sink, counters, floors, walls etc. Our goal is to try and have everything complete by Christmas.

The 'before demolition' photo shows what the kitchen originally looked like...everything was crammed into a small galley kitchen and there was a giant eating area which was a big waste of space. The worst layout ever! Now that the wall is knocked down between these two rooms, it should open things up and use the space a lot better. We also knocked out the drop ceiling so we are back to the original 11 ft ceilings.

Ian & Lisa's wedding

2005-10-05T15:16:00.000-05:00

Last Saturday afternoon, we attended Ian and Lisa's wedding at the Caledon Inn (in Caledon East). It was an outdoor affair, and they totally lucked out with 25 degree weather and sunshine, unusual for October! It was a lovely small wedding (50 people or so) and very quaint; the food (salmon and veggies!) and atmosphere were very nice...afterwards we went back to their place in Guelph for some drinks and snacks. I will post a picture once I get one from JC!

Stall Fall Tournament 2005

2005-09-20T08:31:00.000-05:00

Last weekend I played in the Stall Fall ultimate tournament in Guelph ( on "LGA etc"). Most of us played together at London Calling, plus there were a few pick-ups. I'm in my 'usual' position for our team picture, front row and centre ;-)

Our team went 5-1 for the weekend, and finished 5th out of 20 teams in the B division. The one game that we lost we played horrible...it was after a three hour break (and a few beers for some of the guys...and a nap for me!). After the half and making tons of mistakes we were down 7-0 (ouch!!!), we started to wake up in the second half but by then it was too late and we lost 13-7. So we finished second in our pool and therefore lost our chance to play for the top 4. We won our playoff games on Sunday pretty handily, 15-6 and 15-7 and that put us in 5th position.

The theme for the tournament was 'Back to the 80s', the party was at Van Gogh's and a lot of people dressed up Our group didn't dress up too much....I went for neon yellow and a side ponytail...but we did have Olivia Newton John (Lori G) and Madonna (Carrie G)! Also, Carrie P wore a dark green velvet prom dress...sa-weet!!

Little Bella

2005-09-16T10:41:00.000-05:00

About two weeks ago, JC and I adopted a new little kitten. We named her Bella. She is an 8 week old calico, and a little rascal! Neighbours found her eating out of their composter, she was abandoned, dehydrated and starving. We had her checked at the vet, got her vaccinated and dewormed, and she is doing very well...she purrs constantly. She weights just under 4 pounds. Our other cat George adores her. Here are a few photos of Bella:

London Calling Tournament 2005

2005-08-11T11:18:00.000-05:00

A few of the Guelph teams (mostly LGA, plus Bender & 1 person from Sunnyvale) blended to put in a team for the London Calling tournament August 6-7th. It was an awesome tournament...all of our games were really close (we either won or lost by 1 point). We played 5 games in total. We won the C Division.