A Little Wine and Jewelry

                                   

                                        

A few days ago I had a couple of girlfriends over for a jewelry party.  I have mixed feelings about these kinds of parties. Over the last 5 years I have been to dozens of them, and while I usually have a good time and enjoy the company, food and wine, there is always the underlying feeling of obligation to buy something. While many hostesses probably don’t care if you do purchase the product they are selling, you always feel guilty if you don’t and most of the time you want to anyway, you just might not have the extra money to buy it. So all of this being said I finally decided to host my own party.  At a recent play date when I told the other mommies I  was going to place an order online from one of my favourite jewelry sites they all encouraged me to host a party as they had things they wanted to purchase as well. So putting my mixed feelings aside I contacted a stylist I knew and started the planning process.

I don’t know how other people are but on days I know I have company coming over I am a bit of a monster to deal with.  My house has to be clean, there needs to be more then enough food and drink and I like to make a back up plan for anything that could possibly go wrong.  To say these days are trying for my husband is probably downplaying it.  I do feel bad for my craziness but I honestly don’t know how to fix it. Maybe if I always had a perfectly clean house it wouldn’t be such an ordeal, but I never do. So I spent the day running errands, making food and cleaning, by the time 6pm rolled around I felt spent. Then people started arriving and laughter filled my house and it made the craziness of the day all worth it.

I had a great time, got to look at some great jewelry (if you haven’t yet you should check out Stella & Dots new Spring line here ) had a few drinks and a kid free night with the ladies. I don’t think I will be hosting a lot of these kinds of parties in the future but at least now I know that I can, and hopefully people don’t feel like they have to buy but rather just use it as a good excuse to get out of the house and have a little visit.

The Flu, Kids and Grandma

This last week we all came down with the flu. It was a knock your socks off, don’t leave the bathroom for hours; loose 10 pounds in a day kinda flu. Unfortunately it hit Matt and me at the same time so we had to call in reinforcements of the Grandma variety. Looking after a playful two year old and a very busy 8 month old can be hard and tiring for anyone especially when the kids aren’t feeling good, mom took it on like a champ.

Neither of my kids seem to like to sleep. We have tried various things but as soon as Ava was moved from her crib to her big girl bed, things like napping and going to bed easy disappeared. She also started waking up terribly early and nothing we do seems to help. Knox has never slept well. At 8 months he stills gets up at least two times a night, so all of this combined with them not feeling good left my mom feeling a little tired and worn out. As much as I hated seeing my mom so tired it was kind of nice to see that my job really isn’t easy. The lack of sleep I get on a nightly basis combined with dealing with the terrible two’s, a busy baby and trying to maintain a semi-clean household, really isn’t easy. Being a mom is hard and it takes a lot of sacrifice, its also not a job that gets a lot of recognition, if any, so when I see that I’m doing an ok job it feels like a small victory.

So flu, while you knocked us down pretty good you also helped me see that I’m doing a decent job at this whole mom of two thing. But please do not come back again for a really, really long time I don’t think my body could take it. 

A Valentines Day Note

When I was young I always envisioned what it would be like to be married. I thought about how sweet it would be to wake up to someone everyday and have someone to share my thoughts with every night. When Matt and I first moved in together I got excited at just seeing our clothes hanging side by side in the closet. It felt like everyday was a new adventure. At the end of this month we will have been together for 8 years, living together for almost 6. To say the novelty of seeing our clothes together has worn off is a bit of an understatement, to say we have had a perfect marriage would be a lie. We have our ups and downs just like everyone. We have gone to bed angry and woke up livid. We have shared hurtful remarks and a few tears but we love each other and that gets us through it all.

I know we have many more years to weather the storm together and I don’t predict an easy ride but I also know how much I love my husband and how much he loves me. I know that he would do anything for me and the kids, I know that he is the only person in the world that truly “gets" me and puts up with all my crazy quirks and I know that at the end of every day he is the only one I want to see.

Because Valentines day just passed and all that lovey dovey stuff is still in the air it is reminding me how much I love him and helping me to forget that he leaves his socks all over the house. Thus while I am in this love kind of mood I thought I would jot down a few reasons why I love him, so that the next time we are having a tough day I can look at it and remember why I love this man.

Matt is 100% dependable and trustworthy. He is the best father I know (no offence dad), this man of mine does it all and there is nothing he wouldn’t do for his kids. He is funny. He makes me laugh daily and I love that and he is still as handsome as the day I meet him.

So dear husband of mine, here is my love letter to you, a little unconventional I know but we have never really followed the rules anyways.

Happy Valentines Day Love.

On Being Pregnant

I never had that pregnancy glow. I kind of feel like it’s a myth.  Instead of glowing my skin seemed to get pale and breakout. Instead of talking to my baby and watching my belly grow, I watched the toilet bowl flush for the fifth time as I crawled my way out of the bathroom. To say being pregnant was a joyful time for me is a bit of a stretch. Don’t get me wrong I loved watching my belly grow and expand larger then I thought possible. I loved feeling them move and kick in me, and I loved that I got to carry them around all the time, making sure they were always safe and sound.

Unfortunately I never had the easiest pregnancies (but I do want to say that I am grateful that I was able to get pregnant and had two healthy babies) I lived in a constant state of nausea for the first 16 weeks and after that passed I had the pleasure of experiencing agonizing leg cramps that woke me up at all hours of the night. Neither of my babies wanted to come out on their own, I went as long as possible with both until it became dangerous for them to stay in any longer.

 I know some people have a lot worse pregnancies but it seemed that people that had that easy pregnancy glow surrounded me. While I struggled to keep my eyes open during the day, I had friends who organized their house, painted the nursery, and cut their lawns, all in a days work. I have no idea how some of them had so much energy while I struggled to get my self dressed and out the door. This struggle became even harder the second time around. Not only did I have to get myself ready but I also had to get Ava ready in the mornings. The poor girl saw momma puke more then she should have, but she was always so sweet about it.

I wanted to write about my pregnancies to get my experience out in the world and hope that maybe someone who was right in the middle of it, or thinking about it could get a fellow moms perspective. Neither of my pregnancies were filled with sunshine and lollipops but what I got at the end of those long 42 weeks made it all worth while and I would do it all over again. That’s the awesome thing about having kids, they change your perspective on life and love.