So never a dull moment at the Boutilier household! On Friday night Andrea came by to watch Austin and G and I sent out on an actual date. It was so much fun. We went to Jane on the Commons for dinner (fantastic food) and then to Starbucks for coffee. I shouldn’t have had the coffee. It was my third cup of the day and sure enough on the way home I started to feel sick. At 2:30am I woke up with ridiculous pain and that didn’t let up until after 10am. By late afternoon I felt well enough to keep our play/dinner date with friends and off we went.


Austin had a great time playing with Graham and even ate his dinner at the play table without a high chair. I’m not sure who got more food though…Austin or Charlie (the dog). Around 7:30 I started to feel not great so we headed home. By the time we hit the highway I was in so much pain I couldn’t sit up straight. We went to the ER and I was seen pretty quickly. Apparently I am not having esophageal spasms…. I have been having gallbladder attacks! They pumped me full of gravol and were about to give me morphine when I had crazy flash backs of coming down after my c-section and wanting to take sandpaper to my skin all the while throwing up continuously…maybe I need to start listing that as an allergy. Thankfully I remembered before they pumped it through the IV port. I was given a dose of dilaudin and sent home and told to come back for 9am to get an ultrasound.

The next morning we dropped Austin off to hang out with Garnet and the boys and headed back to the ER. The Ultrasound technician was looking at the screen and I asked if it was a boy or girl. Funny right? …. G didn’t think so and actually come to think of it that wouldn’t have been funny at all. Anywho he didn’t find a baby but he did find a gallbladder full of stones but no inflammation, which would have meant immediate surgery.

Back out to see more doctors and nurses, got sent to the shiny new ER downtown, spoke with the hot surgery resident and then given the info to book an appt to see the surgeon. It was so great to get home to my little man at the end of the day. It was great that G and I got to spend some time together but that was really not what we were looking for!

I’ll keep you posted but hopefully it will be a few months before surgery. I’ll find out next week.

Friday weight in

Woo Hoo! Finally the scale has moved! I'm down 2lbs this week and pretty proud of that fact! Hopefully the trend continues. I am reading a great book right now called Master your Metabolism by Jillian Michaels. It is really interesting to learn about all the chemical reactions that happen in your body when you ingest something. There is a whole plan that goes along with it but I am not there yet. I'll keep you posted.

Last night after yoga, we skyped with Mom, Dad, Janice and their company. Austin happily blew kisses to Nanny, Poppy, Aunt Janice, Great Nan Coleman, Aunt Mary and Ian. Austin was a bit cranky given that he doesn't much like being made to sit in one spot for very long but he made sure to give a major dose of cuteness to tide everyone over! I really want to get a laptop, it would make doing the webcam thing so much easier because Austin could stand up and move around without too much disruption. It's hard to believe that this time last year Austin and I were home in Newfoundland for a visit. I miss having the freedom to just go and travel home and not worry about vacation days. Right now I'm stressing about how to manage next Thursday when Kelly is closed. I might bring Austin to the office for a little bit if necessary. We shall see.

I'm so excited for date night tonight! It feels like forever since Gordon and I have spent some real time together. I have no idea what we are doing yet but I am looking forward to it big time!!!

Happy Birthday Mom!

Another Year

By Joanna Fuchs

I’m wishing you another year

Of laughter, joy and fun,

Surprises, love and happiness,

And when your birthday’s done,

I hope you feel deep in your heart,

As your birthdays come and go,

How very much you mean to me,

More than you can know.

Have a wonderful day Mom!

Hump day update

So I didn't lose any weight last week. I'm not surprised given that I only got one workout and a yoga class in. I'm going to start cardio two-three days a week at work. We have a gym so I might as well use it! This week my goal is to get the 30 Day Shred done 3 times and to do my yoga class. I cut out my daily Starbucks (mostly because the gift cards ran out) and I have managed to stay on point every day so far.

I'm going to post a new recipe every week as I try to take my favourite foods and try to make them fit into my new way of eating. I will completely fail if I can't have things that I love so right now I'm working on some of my favourite soups. Below is a soup I reworked last week. It was so delicious!


Austin is finally on the mend! I'm so happy that my little boy is acting like himself again. He is eating and sleeping all-night and full of mischief! Last night he took all the baskets off the kitchen caddy and climbed up on the shelf and slid through to the other side. It was so cute. He is saying "happy" now. I was trying to teach him to sing Happy Birthday but so far no dice. He does start the happy part and then he sings his own song. Too cute!

Gordon and I are going on a date Friday night. I'm really looking forward to having some down time. I hate how I was adamant that a baby would not change the time I spent with Gordon and he totally has. We decided that we would start making a real serious effort to spend more time together. I really need that too. G is such an awesome guy and I really have fun with him. Friday night should be fun. I have no idea what we are going to do but I'm sure we'll have fun.

New Food Wednesday

Roasted Butternut Squash soup

Servings: 8 (1 ¾ cup per serving)
Points: 3

1 butternut squash cut in half, seeds and pulp removed
salt
pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp sugar free syrup

Drizzle the squash with the oil and syrup, sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Roast at 400F for about an hour.

8 cups chicken stock
6 fresh sage leaves
1 steam fresh rosemary
2 medium potatoes, cooked in microwave, skins on
salt
pepper

Cut the potato into chunks. Add remaining ingredients. Add the roasted squash. Cook for 10-15 minutes. Using an immersion blender puree the soup. Add salt and pepper to taste. For thicker soup add less stock.

Sick boys and stiff legs

Well it has been an interesting week. Austin has been very sick and I am exhausted. It all started on Friday when Austin came home from Kelly’s. He got through the door and wanted to cuddle. By 6pm he had a fever of 104 and the next thing I know he started throwing up. I have honestly never seen so much come out of someone so small! We decided to take him to the walk in clinic. The Dr at the clinic took a look and said that he didn’t have an ear infection and that if his fever didn’t break to take him to the IWK. Gordon was also feeling like crap and I thought he had an ear infection but it turns out his ears are just still clogged from the flights home.


Saturday started out as a normal day…well as normal as it can be when your child doesn’t sleep all night. G and I tried to get all the Christmas decorations down while trying to feed Austin (he refused food all day…not like him at all). At 5pm he became very clinging and attached and at 6pm he had a fever of 104. We decided to pack him up and bring him to the IWK. 5.5 hours, a pee test and a chest x-ray later we went home. Chest is clear, no ear, kidney or bladder infections. No sleep for mom and dad either.

Sunday Austin was acting more like himself and his temp was down to 100 so we went to get some groceries. We got home from the grocery store at 5pm. He became attached and by 6pm had a fever of 104. I decided to take him back to the IWK in the morning if his doc couldn’t see him.

Monday I find out that his doc is away so back down to the IWK we go. This time they say that he does have an ear infection and gave him antibiotics. I’m not sure that they are 100% right and have an appt to see his doc Thursday morning. He isn’t eating much and isn’t sleeping unless it is on or with someone.

Given all of this, I’m not surprised that I haven’t totally been on track this week. I did manage to stay on points so far and got my workout in yesterday. The plan is to do the 30 Day Shred 4 times this week, plus my yoga class on Thursday night…although one day in and my legs are killing me….why can’t I just wake up skinny? Although if I could wake up and have anything I want I think it would be to win the lottery so that I could stay home with Austin…skinny I can pay for! Lol!

Friday Weigh in...oh joy!

Well today is the day I get back on track. I was suppose to start Wednesday on my Valentine's Day challenge to lose 10lbs by February 14th but I haven't been doing so well. Yetsreday I had 17 of my 27 points used before 10am! Christmas was not kind to me and when I stepped on the scale this morning I was up 4lbs from where I was before the holidays.

Last night I had yoga and I feel so much better today. I am starting the 30 Day Shred again tomorrow. Should be fun! Austin slept all night in his own bed and for the first time all week I feel rested.....now to tackle the massive amount of work that I have to do before Robbie gets back in the office on Monday!

New Year- New Commitments

So I decided not to make "resolutions" this year. I made commitments to myself and to my family instead.2010 is the start of a new decade and a time for me to have a new mantra. I can no longer spend so much energy worrying about other people in terms of what they think about my decisions or about what I am doing. If it is out of my control I am not going to stress about it (see sega in previous entry...I was very proud of myself for maintaining my composure the whole time).

I have been trying to lose weight ...it seems like forever. 2010 is the year that I do this. I know I started this blog to keep my family up to date on news in our world and I am going to continue that, but I am also going to use it to help keep me accountable. Maybe I can help someone else who is struggling or find some support. By the end of 2010 I am going to have lost a minimum of 50lbs. I always resolve to lose weight for Gordon or for Austin. This time I am doing it for me and I am hopeful that that will make all of the difference in the world. I have to the tools, I just need to be dedicated and diligent. I can do this! (Especially because I can't get pregnant again until I do, and we want another baby!)

So keep checking in for Austin news and the boutilier household babblings but know that I am going to be talking a lot of my weight, food, cooking and balancing the world on my shoulders while trying to do it.

New Year and a travelling adventure already!

Happy New Year! Our trip to Newfoundland was eventful…to say the least. Our flight home was great, G and I both had sinus pain on the decent to Deer Lake but Austin slept through it, which was great. Our bags arrived and we headed to Corner Brook. On the 23rd Austin started to get sick and by the 24th he had a fever of 104. He was up bright and early Christmas morning and seemed to have fun opening presents but was pretty lethargic the rest of the day. His fever broke that afternoon and he finally started to come around on the 27th. He had a great time at Mom and Dad’s and they all loved having him. The only bad thing was that I couldn’t leave the room. He would freak out if he couldn’t see me. I went out a couple of times without him and he was fine once I was gone but if he knew I was around it was a whole other story!

New Year’s eve we had a bbq and then had family game night. We played Wii games and then set off fireworks at midnight. It was a lot of fun.

Saturday came and I got us all packed and organized. There was a big storm in Halifax and I was waiting for the flight to be cancelled but it wasn’t so we headed to the airport. Our flight was delayed 45 minutes and then another 35 minutes. We finally boarded the flight at 8:20pm and my mom and dad headed back to Corner Brook.

After sitting on the runway for 20 minutes they decide to cancel the flight because of winds in Halifax. The airport shut down. They told us that they would stay in Deer Lake overnight and then leave in the am. I called my parents and got them to come back to the airport (they were almost home at this point). Another 20 minutes pass and they announce that instead of staying in Deer Lake they were going to send the flight to Montreal. I asked if we had to go to Montreal or if we could get off the plane. They told us that if we went to Montreal we would get to Halifax for sure on Sunday because there are flights leaving every hour but if we stayed in Deer Lake it would be Saturday before we could get a flight. By this time my parents have come back to the airport and decided not to leave until we were off the ground. Gordon had also left his id in Corner Brook and they let him on the plane with his Costco card for id. (Great security) So we were worried about that. The Gate agent put a note on his file so that we wouldn’t have any issues in Montreal.

At 10:45 the plane finally left Deer Lake for Montreal. We arrived at midnight eastern time (1:30am NL time), get off the plane and were told that there were no flights and that it might be a day or two before we all get to where we are going (so not what they had told us before take off!) We got signed up for a hotel and then went to get our luggage. At 1:15 we had our luggage and were waiting outside in the bitter cold for the shuttle. Austin was a trooper and didn’t cry or act like a monkey or anything. We tried to get a cab but were told that was going to take 30 minutes and at this point the shuttle had arrived but because we were out of the line we missed it. G took Austin in the airport and came back out when the shuttle came back 17 minutes later. At 2am we were finally checked into our room and trying to get Austin to sleep while I was on hold with the number that they told us to call for 2 hours! I gave up at 5:30am NL time and finally closed my eyes to get some sleep.

2 and a half hours later my cell phone rings and it’s my mother asking if we were all checked in and ready for our flight. I had no idea what she was talking about. Apparently we were rebooked to go on a flight to Toronto and then to Halifax. The gate agent had given my mother our flight itinery but no one had communicated that to us. I was livid. I was so tired and stressed that I just sat on the bed and cried for a good 5 minutes before pulling it together.

I decided that we would get dressed, feed Austin breakfast and then head to the airport to deal with it there. We arrived at the airport at 9:35am. I got in the ticket line and called the 1-888 number again. G took Austin for a walk around the airport to entertain him. I got through on the phone (I had only moved about 5 feet while I was waiting) and she booked us on a flight from Ottawa to Halifax and told me to go to the baggage check in line to get put on a standby flight to Ottawa.

I get to the check in desk and explain to the agent that G only has 14 hours of insulin left and that I’m out of diapers and we needed to get to Halifax that day or G would be out on insulin and in a hospital somewhere. After about 30 minutes of working with the system and her manager she had us priority standby on a flight direct Montreal Halifax leaving at 1:30. She put notes on the file for the gate agent and told us to check with her when we got to the gate. We check our bags and went on. She was wonderful and even gave us diapers for Austin.

We went through security and went to the gate to wait. The gate agent comes and I go to talk to her and she brushes me aside and refuses to hear me out. At one point she put her hand in my face and told me to sit down! She left the booth and I spoke to the other agent and explained our situation and told her how I tried to speak to the other lady but that was useless. They had already filled the flight at this point and could not put us on. G lost it and swore very loudly and threatened to go find the manager downstairs himself! At that point I sent him away and apologized. There was a younger gate agent there and she immediately asked me my name. She looked up our file and all the notes were there. The other lady wouldn’t even look. I was so upset but I kept my composure. The younger agent then took us over to the next gate where a flight was leaving for Halifax at 2:30. She spoke with eth gate agent and then handed me boarding passes for the flight. We were so relieved! We boarded the plane but didn’t get off the ground until close to 4pm because we needed to de-ice.

As we were seated on the plane I could see them loading luggage on the plane and I watched ours go up the ramp onto the plane. We arrive in Halifax with no luggage. Don’t know how that happened! They gave us a loaner car seat that didn’t have any anchors or anything like that on it. Needless to say I took a mental health day yesterday. Austin woke up at 9:45am and then I sent him to Kelly’s. G and I had coffee, went for groceries and then had a nap. I’m still exhausted today but at least we are home.

Finding a new balance...will it ever happen?

I feel like I spend a lot of time on here whining. I don't mean to come across that way but I am struggling big time in my life. I dislike that I can't seem to find the energy to do the things that fulfilled me before Austin and my positive attitude seems to have taken a flying leap off my office building.


I remember when Austin was a month old and most of my family came to visit for his baptism, I had no idea how I would ever get him out of the house on my own and begged my mother not to leave. I felt so overwhelmed and alone and the thought of trying to get Austin anywhere on my own was just too much. But over time I managed to do it. I somehow managed to get myself ready and get Austin ready and leave my house to rejoin the world.

Austin and I had a good system going. I would pack his bag up at night if I knew I had to go somewhere the next day, he would sit in his bouncy chair (and later play in the excersaucer) while I got ready, I'd nurse, change and dress him and we would head out. I usually planned my day around his nursing sessions because they were so complicated and would take longer. Once he was 4 months old I abandoned the feeding tube for his supplements and simply gave him a bottle to top him off. My destinations were mapped out before I left the house and I managed to keep to it pretty well. As Austin grew, things got more flexible and we were good. I was happy, I knew what to expect out of my days and I just loved watching him grow and teaching him all about the world around me.

Now that I’m back to work I’ve settled into a routine but it isn’t one that I like. I am tired all the time and drag myself out of bed in the morning and get ready for work. The only time I get to spend with Austin really is nursing him and then the morning rush sweeps over. I work all day and then its home for supper, bath, playtime and then bed. By the time Austin is in bed, I don’t really feel like doing much (that and I usually fall asleep in the rocking chair and end up groggy). I know that I just need to pick a task and do it. I know what I need to do I just can’t seem to force myself to get there. I used to work out every morning before Austin got up but then I got off track. One day turned into two, turned into a week, turned into three weeks with no workout (thank goodness for Weight Watchers or I would be totally off track with my weight loss goals). I know I just need to get off my ass and do it.

No easy ending to this post....I just need to get this out there. I know someone else out there must be feeling the same way...

Off track- H1N1

I know, I know...I am suppose to be blogging about baking and I haven't in several weeks. I am sorry but life is happening and it is keeping me out of my kitchen (that and I tend to fall asleep in the rocking chair with my little man every night!)

Last night my little guy git the H1N1 vaccine. Now I will say that on Monday the line up was ridiculous! Tuesday we got turned away and Wednewsday we were rushed to the front of the line. He was a trooper and only cried a bit when he got the shot and then he was fine. Last night he had night terrors and it was horrible! I took him to bed in the guest room (he was taking up most of the bed and I wanted Gordon to get some sleep) and he tossed and turned and cried and whined and wouldn't wake up. I felt so helpless not being able to do anything. He was comforted a bit when I sat up and rocked him so it was a long night for me. I'm hoping that he will feel better today.

The whole H1N1 thing is completely out of control. People are jumping to conclusions, the media is circulating too many stories about it and people think they are informed but they aren't always reading facts. I'll be happy when things die down a bit and the vaccination process is open to everyone!

Chicken Pox

My poor little man has the pox. He had the vaccine last week and has developed a mild case.At least it isn't a full blown case. I spent yesterday afternoon with him as he had a fever of 104 degrees and was in a very cuddly move. By last night he was back to himself. He is back to playing with his friends today. I wish I could have taken the day off to be with him but he really isn't sick enough to keep him home from Kelly's (or me away from the office). Hopefully he is back to himself soon. He's a lot more fun when he is smiley and happier then when he is whinny!

this sucks

No sugar coating it today. Beinga  working mom sucks. I miss my boy and can not wait for this weekend so that I can speand some quality time with him...even if it means that I have to get into the pool with him tomorrow.

Just venting. Austin is awesome and someone else is getting to spend more time with him then I am...and it sucks!

Work week #2

Okay so I managed to survive working two days last week. Thursday I was a mess. I just missed my little man so much. It didn't help that he cried to break my heart all morning and wouldn't eat his breakfast or cooperate in getting dressed. He was cranky for Kelly too and wouldn't nap well. Friday was much better.
Saturday was Austin's birthday party (see previous post for link to pictures) and Sunday was pretty low key.

Day three of this week already and time is flying by. I have a ton of stuff to catch up on and just the nature of my job is that I am occupied pretty much 24/7 so that is a blessing. I really love getting home at the end of the day when Austin reaches his arms out for me and gives me a great big hug. I love being his mom!! He is so cute and animated....I wonder where he gets his love of chatting from?....

One thing about being at work that is nice is that I get to return emails and update my blog in a timely fashion. Lunch breaks are a nice perk!

I have been baking and I promise that I will post pictures and feedback on the receipes this weekend! 

More Birthday goodness!

Austin's birthday party was today. He ha da great time. Thanks to everyone who came and helped us celebrate this special day. You can check out the pictures at:
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=150814177875&saved#/album.php?id=514027875&aid=115590

This was a bittersweet day for me. I am so excited that he is growing up and was able to give him a pretty fun birthday party but I really missed my parents and brother and sister and our friends who live away. It would have been nice for them to have shared in this day with us. That is one of the down falls of living away from home. Don't get me wrong we had great family and friends at the party, there were just some people that we missed big time.

Austin loved his smash cake. I have never given him unrestricted access to sugar like that before! Needless to say it took us a while to calm him down and get him to bed tonight. He had so much fun playing with all his new toys after everyone had left. Tomorrow we're going to try to get his one year pictures done. Hopefully teh weather cooperates.

Wow, one year all ready...where did the time go?

Happy Birthday to my Baby Boy

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

If only time could stand still. I remember every moment of the day Austin was born. I can hardly believe that was one year ago. At 8am I called the IWK to find out what time we should be there for the planned c-section (Austin didn't want his little head to squish so he flipped feet down on my actual due date) I won't bore you with all of the details that I remember but I will tell you about the moment that I knew I had a son.


We were both so excited and nervous. I was all ready to great my little girl for I was CONVINCED I was having a girl. When the nurse brought Austin around the corner of the sheet and exclaimed "It's a boy!" I remember saying "Of course you're a boy" as Austin peed on his dad's pants. They whisked him over to be cleaned and weighted and asked us his name. Gordon and I said in unison "Austin Walter Paul". And then they placed our little boy in G's arms while they closed me back up.

Much later, after our visitors had left and Gordon and I were alone in the hospital room, I remember looking down at the baby in my arms and just feeling an overwhelming emotion. It was joy- but ten times what the ultimate of that emotion feels like. I was immediately in love with the little boy in my arms (didn't hurt that he gave me diamond earrings...lol). I don't think that there has been one moment in the past year when I have not looked at him and felt pride and an overwhelming love.

He has grown so fast. Any day now he is going to take off walking and I know he won't look back. His little personality is really coming through. He is a little shy but has a smile for everyone. As much as wish he could stay my little baby forever I'm excited for his future. I can't wait to see what he is going to do next. Every time he looks up at me and says "Mama" or gives me a hug, I am reminded that my world has completely changed and am loving every moment of it.

Thursday I head back to work and can't imagine how I am going to get through a day without mid-morning naps and story time, mid-afternoon walks to the park or Babies First Books. Establishing a new normal will be a challenge, especially because it will mean that I won't get to be with him all day long. Stay tuned to see how that goes!

Midnight carrides and sweet rolls

So Martha has been on the back burner for a couple of weeks. Not that I haven't tried to make cupcakes but I've been so busy trying to get things done around this house and we just updated our kitchen (it's amazing what a coat of paint and some hardware will do) so it wasn't fit for baking in anyways. My main problem is that Martha's book doesn't have any apple cupcake recipes in it and we picked 10lbs of apples two weeks ago in the Valley. So I have been making apple pies, apple crisp, apple muffins, etc. I have also been making a lot of soup and tea biscuits. So it's not like I haven't been doing anything, just not cupcakes.

Which brings me to the subject of this entry. I have never made cinnamon rolls. I have only ever made them from the dough boy. So when my friend Emily made them a few weeks ago, I got a major case of baker envy. Last night I finally got her recipe and was all set to tackle that last evening so that my husband could go to work and boast about the hot, fresh cinnamon rolls that he had for breakfast. Well that was until my darling, sweet little boy couldn't sleep. We tried everything! We walked, rocked, paced, swung and bopped him to no avail. So at midnight we packed him into his car seat and drove around Lower Sackville until he fell asleep and then for another 30 minutes just to make sure he was really, truly asleep.

He woke up at 2am and then again at 4am. I rubbed his little back from 4-5:30am and he woke up every time that I stopped. Needless to say today was a two cup of coffee kind of day (those who know me, know that one cup is usually more than enough for me!). He seemed alright this morning so I set out to make the rolls while he ate cherrios and played with his car in his highchair. I have to say that I was very happy with the way they turned out. At 8 points each, they took up most of the points for my day (well they did after I had two of them) but they were worth it!

Check out my boy!

We dropped by to see Sue Siri on Tuesday to pick up some pictures and she decided to take a few shots of our boy! Check out her blog to see how adorable my little man is:

http://suesiri.blogspot.com/2009/09/visit-from-austin.html

Zucchini anyone?

What a great Saturday we had! We got up bright and early (thanks to the cutest alarm clock on the planet!) and drove to the Valley where we took Austin to the Zoo for the first time and then on the way home stopped by Hennigar's Market and an apple upick. I picked up some veggies including a 3 foot zucchini. What's a girl to do with all that zucchini you ask...make cupcakes of course!

Saturday evening I made the zucchini spice cupcakes and they turned out perfectly...well mind you I had to start all over because I cracked a bad egg into the oil...I've never had a bad egg and I don't usually follow the rule about cracking eggs into a separate dish so that if you get a bad one it won't spoil your whole batter...lesson learned! At least I only wasted 1 cup of oil and 2 eggs. It could have been worse.

The cupcakes were not too sweet and perfectly moist. I topped them with cream cheese icing and set them off to Stantec with G. As usual the cupcake caddy came back empty.... :) Without the icing they were only 5 WW points so I got to have one and still stayed within my daily limit.
Now to get started on apple dishes...I've got 10lbs of apples to use before we go back for more in October.

On a side note, we decided to do a cosmetic update on our kitchen. We moved appliances around, installed new shelves and just got the paint for the cabinets....let's hope the renovation works wonders! We'll finally get to see if updating it for less than $200 will make it livable for a few more years. I swear the kitchen situation has led to more than one meltdown by yours truly. Let's just hope that this makes it better!

Chocolate Chip Burntcakes

So Austin and I have been to NL again. It was so great to see all of Dad's family. Everyone was there except for 3 grandchildren so that made all the brothers and sisters +significant others, 15 of 18 grandchildren + some of the significant others and 3 great grandchildren all celebrating Nan Coleman's 80th birthday. It was so much fun. Austin and my cousin Scott's little guy Ethan got along famously and spent most of their time together playing trucks. One thing I will never understand is how Austin knew what sound to make when he was pushing Ethan's trucks around. I don't play trucks with him but somehow he knew to push the truck along and make a "vroom" noise. It is very cute!

Wednesday I decided to bake some banana bread for Austin. Everything needs to be finger foods these days so I figured that was something he would eat (Everything else get flung to the walls or sprayed back out at me). Well wouldn't you know I managed to over bake the bread. It wasn't burnt but it was close. So I don't know what posses me to get back on the Martha Cupcake train that day...it obviously was a bad baking day but I couldn't heed the warning! Open up the book and decide on Chocolate Chip Cupcakes (p.22) The recipe is really easy to follow, I added an extra egg white (didn't want to waste the last one in the carton) and used mini chocolate chips instead of grown up ones. It says that the batter makes 30 cupcakes but I only got 24. I put them in the oven and brought Austin downstairs to play. I checked at 15 minutes but they weren't done and then checked again at 20 minutes, still not done. Austin picked that moment to "doo" his business so I had to wrestle a new Fuzzy Bum onto his bottom (diaper changing really is an Olympic sport these days) and momentarily forgot about the cupcakes. When I was finished I suddenly remembered and raced down to the kitchen. The cupcakes were done alright! I would say only about half had crispy bottoms but that is too many for my liking. I decided that they were sweet enough and sent them to G's work without the dark chocolate frosting (that and no way was I going to defy the baking gods for a third time that day to melt chocolate). His colleagues aren't too picky because they loved them.

Oh and in case you are wondering, They are 4 weight watcher points each without the frosting...Ironic isn't it? The cake lady is counting points...oh well maybe Martha and her peeps can team up with WW on a baking cookbook...just because you are counting points doesn't mean you should never have a decent baked good. Life is too short people!

Why am I baking?!

It's hot and humid and 9:30pm. We're having a BBQ tomorrow with our friends and I am making, what else, cupcakes! Roasted Banana cupcakes. Now if I had been smart I would have read the recipe in advance and realized today is not the day to attempt to whisk egg whites to a soft peak. I start off by following the instructions to a tee. Although I was very daring when I separated the eggs. (The best method is to crack the egg in your hand and pass it back and forth until the egg white has fallen away, no fancy gadgets required) I had to then pass the egg yolk right over my cookbook...thankfully I had no drips! Anyways then I read on to the part about whipping the eggs and silently swear to myself (G and Austin are both asleep at this point). I start whipping the whites, 10 minutes later they were still just frothy so I made the decision to just add them to the batter as is. The cupcakes don't look to be as "fluffy" as they would have been if all had worked out but oh well at least there will be cupcakes.

This week has been hectic and tomorrow isn't looking much better. We need to clean our house (gotta keep the "Martha" illusion alive!), do laundry and make all the food for the BBQ. Then I need to pack after Austin goes to bed. He and I are heading to NL for another visit on Sunday. We're going to celebrate my grandmother's 80th birthday. Should be a good time!

I'm off to take the cupcakes out of the oven and then head to bed. I know I'm pretty pathetic but the truth is if I don't get to bed by 10, I won't be a very happy person in the morning...

Sue Siri Photography

Hey! Check out Sue Siri's website (under my favorites). She did Austin's newborn photos and he made her portfolio!! Look at the portraits section. Austin is the second last photo and the photo before that is Austin's feet with our wedding bands around his toes resting in my hand. I'm so excited!!!

Back from our trip!

Sorry I've been mia! We took our first big family vacation to Ontario to see my cousin get married. I did her wedding cake (with some help from my mom) {see above}. I think it turned out pretty good. It was the devil's food cake that I made a few weeks ago. I'm going to make a smaller version of this cake for the party that her mom is having in a few weeks for the people who weren't able to make it to Cornwall.

The trip started with an over night in Fredericton to visit Laura and Dan. Austin didn't sleep really well that night but we did have a great visit. The drive from Freddy to Ottawa was long. It took us 17.5 hours from Halifax to Ottawa.

While we were in town we stayed with our friend Amanda and squeezed in as much sight seeing as possible. We went to three museums, parliament, the market and did some shopping (I cleaned up at the Osh Kosh store for Austin!). After 5 days in the city we headed down to Cornwall.

The wedding was amazing. Andrea was absolutely glowing (I actually think that she still is!) and Austin had a great time. He was so happy the whole trip. We are really lucky to have such a happy baby. Sunday morning we packed up and headed for home. We stayed in Edmunston overnight to break up the drive. Now we're trying to get back to normal.

I'll be getting back at my project this week. I'm going to try the Roasted Banana Cupcakes (p142) for the BBQ we're having on Saturday. Keep your fingers crossed it stays sunny!!!

The science of baking

So if baking really is a science then baking with an infant at your feet is rocket science. It is raining today and not the "oh isn't it lkovely to get a bit of rain to break up the heat" kind of rain. It is really coming down. I had every intention of brining Austin to teh library for sing-a-long but he fell asleep so we baked instead...well I baked and he limbed my kitchen. Things went a little like this:

Huge crash- tupperware is all over the floor.

Cry- Austin is trying to get into the lazy susan

Bang- Austin is beating the dishwasher with his dishes

Big bang- Austin is beating the dishwasher with a wooden spoon and laughing about it.

I started out with the Cherry and Almond Teacakes (p.93) only I didn't have any kirsch so I used amaretto instead. I had bough some cherries for Austin and realized that I had to use them up. Some went to cherry puree to get mixed in yogurt and the rest to my cupcakes. I managed to get through the mixing of ingredients without too much trouble. Austin was loudly banging on a bowl with a wooden spoon (he redirected his enthusiasm from the dishwasher). I tried to tidy up while the batter 'rested' (one of these days I would like to get some rest) but realized that I was fighting a lost battle with a 9 month old. SO I spooned up the batter (why didn't Martha's peeps just put the cherries in the tins and then add the batter? I made such a mess with this one!) and then put the little man down for a nap while the cakes baked.

So I had about an hour...little guy is asleep, now was the perfect opportunity to clean my kitchen, so logically I made a batch of Carrot Cupcakes. There are lots of carrots in the batter and it smelled heavenly. They are out of the oven cooling and at some point in the very near future I'm going to make the cream cheese frosting to go on top of these...but for now I'm going to go back to playing with Austin, who is up from his nap, and letting him destroy my house for his own adventures!

The first batches

My backyard is overflowing with rubbarb. Every summer is seems that more rubbarb grows and I never do anything with it, so I let my friend's mom clean out the patch. There was a little bit left when she was done so I thought I would try to make the Rubbarb Cupcakes with Whipped Cream (p. 33). Once I started cooking I realized that I didn't have enough rubbarb to make the rubbarb vanilla bean topping so I will have to try these again after my rubbarb patch has refreashed in August. Overall they were really nice, light and not too sweet. Austin really liked these ones too, he tried to grab the full cake out of my hands and he is getting quick!

Sobeys had a sale on blueberries a couple of weeks ago so I bough some and attempted to make the Blueberry and Cream Cupcakes (p.42). The batter base is very similar to the Rubbarb Cupcake, only I used buttermilk in the batter because I didn't have any whole milk on hand. It made the batter just a tad acidic but the cooked up just fine. The whipped cream topping gives keeps these cupcakes from becoming too heavy.

The last batch that I made last week was the Devil's Food Cupcakes (p. 34). Now there a cupcake I can sink my teeth into! Choco-holics beware! The batter is so yummy that you'll want to lick the spoon, bowl and beater. The Chocolate Ganache Frosting was a bit of a challenge. After 1.5 hours in the fridge it still wasn't thick enough to pipe so I diped the top of each cupcake in the ganache and then used the emersion blender to thicken the frosting up. I then piped a flower on top of each and thenfinished it off with a little silver candy. They were perfect to send to my cousin's bachlorette party (I missed out on a good night thanks to some mystery illness that stayed with me for 48 hours).

Humm...what to tackle this week?...

My new project..Cupcakes & my creative spirit!

For sometime I have had a pretty close relationship with Martha Stewart...not the personal connection but my obsession with all "good things". Although Martha did send me a lovely note at my wedding (I'm pretty sure that my cousin Laura had something to do with that though) I've never had the opportunity to meet Martha outside the pages of Martha Stewart Living or through the CBC when I used to have the opportunity to watch Martha weekdays when Austin would do nothing but nurse for hours on end.

Long story short, I need a hobby. My days are filled with chasing my sweet little man around the house and cleaning up after him. I love what I do but I need to unleash my creative side again. It's been a long time since I decorated a cake (check out my Gimme that Cake photo album on Facebook for pictures) and I don't have time for anything too time consuming. For my 29th birthday this year, Gordon and Austin gave me a new cookbook, not just any book either...Martha Stewart's Cupcakes book and a cupcake caddy. The logical thing for me to do is to bake....all "175 inspirational ideas for every's favorite treat". I'll have to do 3 recipies a week to cover them all this year and that just might not be practical but between birthdays and holidays I just might be able to pull it off. I admit I've been inspired by the previews of Julie & Julia. I don't expect to get a book deal or a movie but maybe, just maybe I can inspire someone to bake or create something for themselves. Right now I'm doing this for myself...and for G's coworkers who will be getting to eat my treats because if I keep them at home I will never lose the last 5lbs of baby weight or the 30lbs of wedding weight that I'm working on getting to disapear! Humm..Martha there is an awful lot of sugar in that book!!!

My messy house...

So people who know me well know that when I say my house is messy it really isn't that bad. I just like for it to be really clean and I like everything in its place (except my bedroom for some reason but the rest of the house has to be just so). I find that more and more I would rather spend my days cuddling with Austin, playing music, reading books, helping him learn to crawl and just chatting with him then keeping my house tidy. Someone posted this little poem on one of the discussion boards that I belong to and I wanted to share it:

"I hope my child looks back on today
And sees a mother who had time to play.
There will be years for cleaning and cooking,
But children grow up when you’re not looking.
Tomorrow I’ll do all the chores you can mention
But today, my baby needs time and attention.
So settle down cobwebs; dust go to sleep,
I’m cuddling my baby, and babies don’t keep"

I want Austin to remember that his mom had time to colour and paint and search for monsters and fight dragons and fly with him to the moon. Who cares if the house isn't as prestine as it was before he came along. It isn't dirty it's just a little unorganized. My little boy is growing and as much as I want to freeze him as he is, I am loving watching him grow!

7 Months today

I can't believe it. This time 7 months ago I was waiting to become a mother.....fast forward to today and I have an fantastic little guy who is pulling himself up and babbling like crazy. Where is the time going????

I know one thing that isn't going...my waistline. I have been walking everyday and now I'm killing myself with the 30 Day Shred (Jillian is the meanest trainer ever!). Clothes still don't seem to fit right. I am really hoping to see a change on the scale tomorrow. I feel like I've had the last 7lbs to lose forever. Then I need to get to work on the 30lbs I gained since I've been married. It would be nice to have all that off by the time we (hopefully) go on a cruise next March. I don't want to show up the bride or anything but it would be nice to feel comfortable in a suimsuit.

Congratiulations Annette & Derrick!!!! (the ring VERY pretty and shiny!)

Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all the mom's out there. I can't believe that I get to partake in the celebrations on team mom this year! In recent years I have developed a very deep appreciation for my mother and for all of the sacrifices that she made for us. Since Austin's birth that appreciation has only deepened. I am so grateful to my mom for everything and especially for being so supportive and helpful since I had my own son.

I truly understand what it means to say that I would do anything for my child. I would give my life for Austin. Becoming a mother has changed me in a whole bunch of ways, one of them being that I think that I really know what love is now. I know that sounds corny but the minute they placed Austin in my arms, I felt this whole other emotion that was so intense I was overwhelmed with it. Everything that I do is for him and I think that it makes me a better person in the end because of it.

My first Mother's Day as a mom was fantastic. Gordon got up with Austin so that I could sleep in and then made me breakfast. We hung out and had a great family day, visited with G's mom and then G cooked supper and did the dishes. What more could a girl ask for? (I also got a gift certificate to the spa...no complaints there!) I really love spending a full day just spending time with my boys without being distracted by chores and other responsibilities. Nothing is better than being able to sit and babble with Austin and just listening to what he has to say.

So Happy Mother's Day to all of the moms, honorary moms and moms to be. It is the greatest job in the world.

Austin is super baby!

Well it fianlly happened! Austin slept last night from 9pm until 7am without so much as a peep...now mind you he was sideways at the top of his crib when I made G check on him this morning but that is besides the point. A full night sleep and I feel like a new woman! Well a new women with incredible stiff and sore legs. I started the 30 Day Shred workout yesterday. I can hardly move up and down the stairs today. I missed on of the reps of the lunge with arm curl because Austin fell over at the musical jungle and I'm thinking that this is Jillian's punishment for me. I've stretched and had a hot bath and still the stairs hurt. I didn't think I was going to make it out of the rocking chair to get AUstin into his bed tonight so G did teh honors while I soaked in the tub.

Another milestone for Austin today. He moved forward about 6" on his but and he pulled himself up while holding onto my hands. I have a happy super baby! He really is the happiest kid I've ever seen (Annette will vouch for that!). I just hope he is still that happy when he's 17 and I don't let him take the car! :)

Sleep..or lack thereof

Poor Austin...I'm not sure if its teething or a growth spurt but the poor little guy is just not sleeping well. He was up about 4 times last night and then up bright and early at 4:50am. Yet, even with little sleep, my boy is still smiling and happy...he for sure doesn't get that from me! I miss the nights of putting him down at 8pm and him waking at 7am...I felt refreshed in the morning and it didn't worry me that he didn't nap during the day. Now I find myself going for drives just to get him to have a snooze.

Hopefully today he will have a nap in the car and tonight he will sleep better. I don't want him to be cranky tomorrow. Janice is in town and we're taking her shopping. Austin is pretty good in the mall but without a good night sleep I'm not sure how he'll react.

Who needs sleep anyway...not me! I can function..kind of... granted I say words that don't make sense, burn toast, drop spoons and baby food (today it was bananas all over my jeans) I can function perfectly well on 3 hours of sleep...(stop laughing....I can do it...maybe) Okay so maybe I do need some sleep (more like a lot of sleep).

But who am I kidding...those gorgeous blue eyes and his bright smile...you can't get down about broken sleep! He is just too important for that.

Visitors!

We've been very busy with visitors lately! Laura and DAn came by during their March break, Janine and David were here while David was on course, my mother was here for Easter, Janice is here right now for a band trip and Annette comes on Sunday.

I love being off on maternity leave and having so much time to spend with our family and friends! Laura and John are coming in June and then Gordon, Austin and I are headed to the Rock for Janice's graduation. I am loving being able to take the time to visit home. I haven't been able to spend this much time in NL since I moved away to University. It's so nice and I will really miss the flexibility when I go back to work.

The only thing that is bothersome about visiors is that they leave...

Ahh the weather

Well it is suppose to be raining today. So far the rain has not yet come but Austin and I got our walk in bright and early this morning because I didn't want the rain to keep us indoors all day. The sun is actually coming out a bit so we might go out again to get a bit more fresh air in my little guy's lungs.

I am so sick of winter. I just want the rain to come and get rid of the snow. I am ready for the sun to shine and to get Austin out of the house everyday to explore the world around him. I'm hoping that baby number two will not be another winter baby (no we are not expecting...nor will we be anytime soon!). Austin and I are starting a Stroller Fit class next week. It will be fun to get out with some other moms and babies. I'm in need of shaking up our regular routine.

I can't get over how quickly Austin is growing! He is pushing 16lbs and is quickly outgrowing his 3-6 month clothing...darn now I will need to go shopping :) He'll need a new carrier soon too as he is fast approaching the weight limit for the Snuggly. I am so proud of my little guy! He is "talking" up a storm and is really interested in the world around him. I can't wait for Nanny to get here for Easter and see how much he has changed!

My 3's- from Laura A.

THREE NAMES I GO BY
1. Lisa
2. Arrr (Mommy in Austin talk)
3. Sweety

THREE JOBS I HAVE HAD IN MY LIFE
1. Mommy
2. Executive Assistant
3. Communications Coordinator

THREE PLACES I HAVE LIVED
1. Corner Brook
2. Church Point
3. Halifax

THREE TV SHOWS THAT I WATCH
1. Oprah
2. Grey’s Anatomy
3. Elmo's World

THREE PLACES I HAVE BEEN
1. England
2. France
3. Eastern Carribean

THREE PLACES I WANT TO GO
1. Tuscani
2. Rome
3. Behamas

THREE OF MY FAVORITE FOODS
1. Turkey
2. Dark Chocolate almost anything
3. mac n cheese

THINGS I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO
1. Hearing Austin call me "Mom".
2. My Mom's visit during Easter
3. Going home in June for a visit

THREE PETS THAT YOU HAVE OWNED
1. George (our budgie).
2. Bailey (the family dog)
3. Wed and Ding the fish from our wedding reception

THREE FAVORITE BANDS/ARTISTS
1. Sarah McLahlan
2. Dave Matthews Band
3. Elton John

THREE FAVORITE TEAMS TO WATCH
1. The Sackville Rangers
2. Boston Bruins
3. The Mooseheads

THREE FAVORITE DRINKS
1. Ice Tea
2. Vanilla Bean Hot Chocolate
3. Skim milk

Three months in and this is my first post!

Well 2009 is almost a quarter over and this is my first post. I haven't been feeling like myself until recently. I have to admit that I had the baby blues pretty bad. Austin was incredibly well cared for I just didn't think I was doing a good job. Part of the problem came from the issues we have been having with breastfeeding and Austin not gaining weight at the rate his doc wanted him too. I just felt so overwhelmed. I really missed my mom and didn't like being cooped up in the house every day.

In January I took Austin to NL for a visit. It was a real turning point for me. I was able to see just how far in a funk I was. It was awesome having Mom, Dad and Janice spend all kinds of time with Austin and I got to spend a bit of time by myself. I actually read a book that had nothing to do with breastfeeding and/or baby care! It was great. Since coming home from NL, I feel a lot better and now that the weather is starting to warm up, Austin and I are spending a lot more time outside going for walks. I also take Austin to a Babies' First Books class on Fridays. He seems to love it. He is really interested in all of the babies in the group.

Austin is doing awesome. He is growing like a weed. He started cereal last week and really enjoys it. We're going to feed Austin a diet that consists of organic foods and no sugar outside of natural sugars in fruits and veggies. Yup...that's right...the cake lady is going sugar free. Gordon and I are going to try to go sugar free. I really need to because I'm fairly positive my inability to lose weight probably has something to so with the fact I can't seem to pass up dark chocolate. It's hard to cut out of our diet. I mean we don't eat white anything, barely any convenience food because I cook everything from scratch and we don't eat out very much at all. I think we did the big diet overhaul a few years ago and now we have to go through with a fine tooth comb and find out what we are eating that we think is good for us but really isn't (case and point- granola bars...very yummy but not exactly health food!).

Having a little boy is such an amazing experience. Austin is really starting to develop his personality! He is "talking" a lot and laughs all the time. I don't think he is going to be a quiet child!!! (but then how could I have ever thought that?...I am his mother :) )

Happy Holidays!

Season’s Greetings!

As I write this I can hardly believe that its Christmas time again already? Where did the year go? I haven't posted much because I am consumed with motherhood. My New Year's Resolution is to make time for myself and the things that I enjoy each day. I'm certainly in Mom mode these days!

2008 has been a very busy and exciting year for the Boutilier household! We finally finished renovating the home that we purchased last year. It took us just over a year to renovate the whole house. Over the summer Gordon, with the help of Garnet and a few friends, tore the basement down to the studs and rebuilt the whole thing. I must say that the room looks spectacular! They really did a great job. Looking back at pictures of the house when we bought it, it’s hard to believe that it is even the same one!

In early February, Gordon and I discovered that we were expecting our first child. We got the official blood work back on Valentine’s Day and had quite the celebration. We let a few people in on the secret (darn near killed my mother not to say anything!) and then let the cat out of the bag Easter weekend. The pregnancy was a bit trying...morning sickness turned into 24/7 sickness for 7 months, and the heartburn was a bit much, but all in all I’d do it again. On October 4, I thought that I was going into labour but then everything stopped and at my 40 week appointment we discovered that our little Pumpkin had flipped around and was footing breech (feet where the head should have been positioned). The doctors attempted to flip baby around but no such luck. They sent us home and told us to call in on October 14 to come in for a c-section. We hardly made it through the weekend! I was up at the crack of dawn that Tuesday morning (looking back I should really have slept in!) and we were on our way to the hospital at 9am.

At 1:16pm, Austin Walter Paul made his presence known to the world! I still can’t get over how much he looks like his father! Aunt Theresa and cousin Tanner were his very first visitors. Gordon is an awesome dad and takes fantastic care of both of us. The last two months have been quite a journey. Austin had lost a lot of weight in his first week but is back on track. Just the other day I looked at him and tried to figure out when his cheeks got chubby. Austin is very content and doesn’t cry too much (only when he needs something or wants attention). He likes to be up (not good when we’re trying to put him down for a nap) and is starting to give us the occasional full night of sleep.

In November the Newfoundland side of the family came to town to celebrate Nan’s 80th birthday and Austin’s baptism. Austin was baptised on November 9, 2008 and we were so happy that so many of you were able to be here for that event. It was exciting to have my parents and sister finally meet him. I’m looking forward to taking him to Newfoundland in the New Year for a visit.

Our house is finally a home and we are so grateful to everyone for all of your support over the past year. We are all set for our first Christmas in our house with our handsome boy.

We hope that you have a wonderful Christmas and that Santa is good to you!

Stayed tuned for the 2009 Adventures of Austin!

Our baby has arrived!

Above: Austin at 27 days old

Above: Austin at 2 days old

Above: Our new family! Day 1

Okay our baby arrived a month ago but I'm sorry there just hasn't been time to update my blog! Here is our birth story:

Tuesday, October 14- We called the hospital at 8am and were told to be there for 10am to check in. Once we arrived things moved pretty quickly and by 12:30 Gordon and I were in an operating room. I ended up needing a section because Austin was footling breech and it wasn't safe to have a natural delivery. At 1:16pm- Austn Walter Paul Oh my god! I have never experienced anything quite like it. I was convinced he was a girl and had worried that if the baby was a boy I would be disappointed. When they pulled him out and brought him around to show us and said “It’s a boy!” I immediately thought...of course you’re a boy. How could you be anything else? He proceeded to pee on G while G was taking his picture and then they whisked him off to be weight and evaluated. They handed him back to G and he held him by my head so that I could see him. I was so in awe. They asked if we had a name for him and we both said Austin at the same time. It took about 45 minutes to put me back together and then we moved to the recovery room. We were really lucky and had two great nurses before and after the surgery. We (more accurately G) started calling people from the recovery room. I sent a couple of texts but I was pretty out of it.

We finally go to move to our room and I got ill every time we moved the bed. We had to go back to the recovery room three times before we were able to make it up to the 5th floor. The first night was a little crazy. We didn’t get to our room until close to 6pm and the nurse gave Austin his first bath. He loved it. He isn’t a cryer at all. He only cries when he wants/ needs something. A few family members dropped by but it was pretty quiet in our room. G went to get some food for supper and I just sat there holding my little man. He is so gorgeous. I can’t describe the feeling other than to say it is the most awesome emotion that I have ever felt.

Our hospital room was like Grand Central Station. There were always nurses, doctors and visitors there. I didn’t get a moment of peace.

We had hoped to go home on Fri but my blood clotting number wasn’t high enough so they wanted me to stay until Saturday. Saturday came and Austin had lost even more weight. He started out at 8.13 and was down to 7.9. So while I was given to green light to go they were going to keep him. I begged and pleaded to take him home. I was so stressed and so tired that I wasn’t producing any milk and was a complete basket case. We worked out a feeding plan with his doc and agreed to give him formula to supplement him until my milk came in and it was enough to satisfy him.

We finally left the hospital at 5pm and had to go to Walmart on the way home to get my drugs and some formula for Austin. In hindsight I should have written out a list and given it to G but I wanted to pick out the formula and make sure I was comfortable with what we were feeding him. We had a complete dink for a pharmacist and we finally got out of there at 7pm.
We got home and I tried to feed Austin, had a complete melt down at G and then we all went upstairs to nap...

It seems like I've woken up from that nap and Austin is a month old. My family came up from NL for his baptism and I loved seeing them fall in love with my adorable little man. Austin is back up to birth weight and doing so well! Now if I could just get him to sleep through the night!

Happy Thanksgiving weekend!

Yes I have been slack again!

My friends Emily and Gillian held a surprise baby shower for me. I was very surprised. I had no idea. Gordon got me out of the house and when we came home, my friends and family were in my living room. We got a bunch of great items that we needed and my mom sent up the Christening gown that she made from my wedding dress (above). I cried (naturally). It was so much fun!

I finished work on September 19. My BP was climbing and I was exhausted so I finally agreed with my doctor that I needed a break before baby comes. I worked late every night that week trying to get everything in order for Alison. That weekend I spent most of my time sleeping. I was soooo tired!

I spent a week and a bit cooking. I have about three weeks worth of meals in our freezer so that I won't have to bother cooking for awhile after we bring baby home.

The highlight of September was seeing Sir Elton John perform at the Metro Centre. Words can not describe how incredible the show was! Every time he played a song that we play to the Baby, Pumpkin would kick and move around. It was very cool! The next night Drew ambushed Gordon and took him out on the town for go karting and a night of drinking. It's called a Diaper party. They started it with Drew and the whole concept is that the men have to bring diapers to participate. In our case we got a gift certificate to the place where we are going to buy our cloth diapers. It was great. Gordon had a great time out.

Tomorrow we are having turkey dinner at Gordon's parent's house. His brother Stephen is in town. I'm looking forward to meeting him. Should make for an interesting dinner!

Just a few more days to go and Baby Boutilier should be here!!! We are getting so excited!!!

What a weekend!!!

So we picked our nephews up on Friday after work and then went to Rogers to rent them a game each. Tanner picked Lego Indiana Jones and Adam picked Super Mario Smash Brothers. G now wants to buy the Lego games! It was a lot of fun I must admit. Smash Brothers not so much. It was giving me a headache.

We got up on Saturday and made the boys waffles and then we packed them up and headed to the Valley. After an incredibly nutritious lunch at the Golden Arches, we took them to the market and then we hit the orchard. I got some great pics (including my 36 week belly pic) The boys managed to find all the giant apples, which will work in my favour for baking this week and next!

Saturday night we had a good bye party for a coworker in town. That was pretty fun but I was exhausted after the day with the boys so we didn't stay long. I got up a little late on Sunday and had to bake a cake. G was dead set on getting me out of the house by noon so he was trying not to be impatient with me. I took the time that the cake was baking to do my hair and put on some make up...I never do that on Sunday regardless of where we are going but I figured if he had made the effort to plan something I could look nice for him. lol

Cake out of the oven, he promptly took my flip flops out of the closet and said "Let's go!". He took me to Cora's (a popular breakfast place here) and we got seated almost right away (unheard of on a Sunday!) Our waitress was slow and the food was taking forever. I was starting to feel dizzy because I was over heating and I was hungry. Finally our food came and it was pretty good. G still wouldn't give me any details about what was going on. After brunch (It was 1:15 by then) we went to Pete's and got some fruit and then he ran into Shoppers to get a few things. I wandered around the baby store and wanted to buy everything in sight! But I didn't. I really do need to find out if this is a boy or girl before I buy anything else!

G then declared that we had to go home and put the groceries away before we went to part 2 of his planned afternoon. So we get home and I go in with the key (desperate to pee, as usual) and I noticed that the front porch light was on. We never leave lights on...so I yell out to G that a light was on and he tells me to go in. Here I am slowly opening the door scared to death that someone had broken into our house, yet my husband didn't seem to care about sending me in first. I got the door open a crack and noticed that my living room was full of people! My two friends Emily and Gillian had planned a surprise shower for me! My family and friends and a few of G's family were all there. I was shocked! Not so much that they threw a shower for me but more so that they actually managed to surprise me! I always figure these things out...lol.

We got a bunch of stuff off our registry and a glidder rocker, some gift cards and some cash. The best gift of all came from my mom. She couldn't be there (obviously as she is in NL) but she found out about the shower and sent a gift through my aunt. I opened up the box and immediately started to cry. It was the christening gown that my mom had made from my wedding dress. She kept so many of the details I couldn't get over it. It has the rushing in the front and the buttons down the back. The collar is made from the beaded halter and she built some of that detail into the back as well. I couldn't get over how lovely it is. Of course it took me a few minutes to recover before I could say anything. Then we cut cake, had a chat and most everyone went home. Gill and Em had the men bring Graham and Claire over so that was a fun way to end it. The kids loved the balloons that were there. and had a great time running around the house with them! We got the place all cleaned up and then I decorated a cake. Went to bed a little late for a work night and now I am paying for it! Oh well. It was a great weekend....

8 weeks, 2 days to go...we hope...

So I have to admit that I have not been one of those happy, glowing pregnant people consistently throughout this journey. Don't get me wrong. I am in love with this child and am very willing to be uncomfortable to bring our little one into this world, but seriously! come on! Morning sickness has struck again, I can't sleep because I can't get comfortable and I'm so tired that it is only 9:20am and I am ready to go home and go back to bed. I feel sick and over heated. Come on October! Getting my body back will be so terrific!

On a brighter note...Gordon and I had an amazing trip home to NL. We had a couple of lazy days and then two party days and we spent a day in Gros Morne before heading back to Halifax. Mom and Janice hosted a baby shower and we were given a lot of great homemade blankets, some towels, books and a few other things. The wipe warmer was a pretty cool! My mother gave me a book called "Someday". If you have a daughter run out and buy it for her!!! It is the most beautiful book. It is a children's story book but I still can't get through it without crying. Part of it is hormones, part of it is that I really miss having my mom around. It's been very difficult to go through this whole pregnancy without having her physically close by and I am dreading the thought of brining home this delicate little newborn without my mother's help. We tried to time this so that the baby would arrive in the summer and my mother could come up but God had other plans and Pumpkin will be arriving in October instead. I know that I am extremly lucky to have close friends, aunts and my in-laws around but it isn't the same. Some times a girl just needs her mom...

Done!

Finally our house is finished!!! The basement is done, laundry room and half bath are finished, working and have doors. The upstairs is just bedrooms (no misc. boxes in random rooms) and the main floor just has the stuff that belongs there put where it is suppose to be. I am thrilled!!! I am beyond thrilled! It is so nice to come home at the end of the day and not have to face a renovation or a mess. It's great that G can now relax and spend some time with me and the baby.

We are headed to NL in 3 days. I am really excited about the trip home. I may have to wear a tshirt that says rub the belly be destroyed but I can't wait to see everyone. Pumpkin is growing like a weed and is moving around a lot. Pretty great during the day but not so fabulous at night. It's been so humid here. Between the bump and the heat it hasn't been so easy to sleep.

RyLee arrived from Nashville yesterday. Tonight we're all heading to see Mamma Mia. You can guess how excited Gordon is about that considering that he loves musicals and all. (I don't think that was sarcastic enough...) RyLee is around for the whole month so that will be great. On a side note her hubby Clay was performing at a festival where Jessica Simpson was performing and he got to hang out with her!!! I just happen to be a fan and will not be above begging and pleading to get an autograph or a pic and I told RyLee so last night. :P

I need to have a productive day today...I guess that means I should get off my blog and get to work!!

78 days to go!

Okay so expect a lot more countdown posts! Just 78 days (give or take) to go before our little one makes an apperance! Gordon set up the crib in the baby's room and we picked up our travel system last night (thanks mom and dad!). I can hardly believe that in about two weeks I'll be at our baby shower....craziness...


Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad! (I know it was on the 23rd but I didn't post that day). I can't believe that you have been married 31 years! I hope that we get to celebrate 31 more anniversaries with you! We love you and can't wait to see you in 8 days!

11 weeks 4 days to go

11 weeks?!? That can not be right...I feel like I have been pregnant forever (in a way I have) I am so tired, my belly is lopsided and by 4pm I will no longer have ankles (It's a daily feature of being preggo the coming attraction apparently is the wide nose that I will get in month 9 according to my coworkers!) The weather is crappy today. It is rainy and dark...perhaps that is perpetuating my mood. Oh well maybe yoga tonight will help.

Boutman house update!!! The basement is finally nearing completion! We can use the room now which is a major bonus. All of the furniture is now back where it is suppose to be. The rest of the rooms in my house now look huge compared to two weeks ago when they were all jammed with stuff. All that is left to do upstairs is hang a few mirrors, pictures and hooks. The baby's room still has some office stuff in there that needs to be sorted, filed or thrown out and then we can get that room organized and the baby's crib set up. Gordon has done such a great job and I am so proud of him!

Gordon and I registered last night for all of the essentials that we will need. I really do not want my house to be busting at the seams with stuff we don't need so we made a list of must haves and consulted with a few friends who recently had babies. Stripped half the stuff off the list and I think we ended up with a good list of essentials. It was still a lot of stuff... thank goodness for baby showers and hand me downs!!!

Other big news: We have tickets to see ELTON JOHN!!!! What a great last date night out before the baby! I am thrilled beyond belief. I love Elton John and I very excited to see his solo show. I'm sure that it will be something quite fantastic.

I'll post the 28 week belly pic soon. I know I haven't done a great job of sharing photos but I have to admit that it has been a real struggle to get used to having this belly in front of me!

And now for a quick game of MASH!

Well...thanks George! I was having a productive day when I took my daily check of your blog...and ended up playing MASH. I ended up with G but I had your man in the mix...oh well maybe I'll have better luck next time! lol

		I will marry Gordon.
		After a wild honeymoon, We will settle down in miami in our fabulous Shack.
		We will have 3 kid(s) together.
		Our family will zoom around in a Pink echo.
		I will spend my days as a Receptionist, and live happily ever after.

Enjoy the adventure George!

I hope you have a safe trip and that you arrive in the Hat safely. Enjoy the adventure and we will see you sooner rather than later!

Don't forget to run John's head for me!!! :)

4 years later...

I can still remember almost every detail of that day. I had hardly slept I was so excited. I opened my eyes early and decided to get out of bed and shower. I was a bit upset about the rainy weather and prayed that it would clear up in enough time to allow for our pictures to be taken in the Park. My dad's kinsmen buddies had planted flowers and hung hanging baskets in our wedding colour theme so that the gazebo (a tribute to a dear family friend) would be perfect for us.

One of my favorite parts of that morning was waking up my little niece Ani to get her ready for the hair dressers. I'll never forget as my mother was explaining what we were doing that day she said "the party keeps, going and going and going!" and she was so right. That day was a great day. I got to hang out all morning with my three amigos and my mom and some of my new family. I don't remember being overly stressed (I did have to get my Dad to call the DJ to remind him that he was booked for our reception). Before I knew it I was standing in my parent's living room in my incredible wedding dress. I felt amazingly happy. I have never felt so beautiful in my whole life as I did at that moment.

I remember getting to the church and having a few moments in the back with my girls before we all lined up. I couldn't even wait for Ani and Adam to get all the way down the aisle. I wanted to go. I wanted to see Gordon. I will always remember the moment that our eyes met. My heart knew I was right where I was suppose to be and so was he. The ceremony was great, we had a blast getting our pictures done and then we all partied until the wee hours of the morning. It was such a fun wedding.

Later sitting in our hotel room (after our "friends" kicked us out of the party in their room, seriously!) as Gordon was taking the 6 million bobby pins out of my hair, we both just looked at each other. "Good day?" he asked. "The best." was my answer.

Four years have past and I can still say that we had the best day. The best part is we keep having them. The past four years haven't been without their bumps but we always come up. I can hardly believe that this is our last wedding anniversary just the two of us. Next year we will need a sitter (and our basement will be finished!). I am so excited about our life together. I am so lucky to have such and incredible husband.

Happy Anniversary love!

And I have nothing better to do!

So Wednesday G and I had an appointment at the MFM clinic at 3:30pm. Well we didn't get put into an exam room until 4:30 and then around 4:45 a Douggie Howser wanna be. Seriously he was all of 12 with pinstriped jeans, cowboy boots and messed up hair. He announces he is a med student (no kidding, I couldn't tell..you only look like you've just fallen out of a textbook!) looks at my blood work, tells me the same thing twice and then proceeds to check my blood pressure (asking me what he had said it was as he wrote it down on the chart) and then asked "Where do they find the baby's heartbeat?" Seriously...are you kidding me?? At one point he had the doppler on my side up by my ribs...no baby there...what a shock! He finally found pumpkin's heart (150 beats/min...always reassuring to hear that!).

I'm all for this teaching stuff but they shouldn't be unsupervised when they are as dense as this one was...good lord... We waited until 5:30 to see my actual Doc. Found out that the fatigue is not all in my head. My thyroid levels are on the very low end of normal. They are just going to watch it for now. We shall see what happens.

We rush out of the clinic at 5:40 and rush to grab supper with Amanda before rushing back to the Health Cenrte for labour and delivery class. Good lord. I had been taking bets that G would faint during the video...not quite. Apparently I turned white. Never mind that I got home and had a mini melt down. I know that I have to do the whole delivery process, I just really don't want to.

I didn't think I would be this person. The one who doesn't think she can do this whole delivery and newborn thing. I am scared to death about the whole event and my confidence is basically nonexistent... when did I become this person? I used to think that I could do anything and achieve anything and these days I am just not so sure. I'm worried about everything (nothing new there) only this time when I worry I doubt that I can do anything about it.

I need a solution and unfortunately a good stiff drink won't be of much use to me at the moment...

Happy Birthday to me!!!

(My birthday surprise, Laura & I on the Waterfront- Sunday, June 21, 2008 {Great photo Amanda F!})

I am sorry that I haven't written lately. Things have been incredibly busy! I am training one of the girls in our office to take over my job in the fall and we had our AGM on the 19th. The meeting went extremly well and I got quite the surprise when Robbie announced to the room that it was my birthday and the next thing I know I had about 75 people singing "Happy Birthday" to me. It was pretty fun! I had a great birthday song from my cousin Ian when I got home that night too. Gordon had a great surprise for me. I got two new lawn chairs and an ice cream cake (anyone who was wondering what the cake lady has for her birthday.... DQ!)

On Friday I got an even bigger surprise. Drew, Em and little Clare were over visiting and the door bell rang. I went to answer it and was shocked to see my BF Laura standing there. If I was further along the surprise probably would have sent me into early labour!!! She's moving to Alberta pretty soon and I can't even think about how far away she'll be just yet. We spent the entire weekend just hanging out, eating candy (I know...not good for the baby, but oh so good for the soul!), talking and playing Wii. (George get ready because I am going to take you online!) Dr. Mario is now available for download and is incredibly addictive just in case anyone was wondering!!!

Laura left on Monday morning and then Janine was in town so we went out for dinner with her and then just the girls hit the mall. Laura S and Dan are coming tomorrow night for a couple of days and I can not wait to see them.

I really don't know what I am going to do with myself next week after all of these visit are over. I am really enjoying the company. Amanda is moving home and then to Ottawa and then I am really going to be lost. Don't get me wrong, I'm very lucky to have a couple of really great friends here in Halifax who I wouldn't trade for the world. I know I can count on them and they are always around and up for a good time. There is just something about having people around you who know what you are going to say before the words come out of your mouth and answer your question before you ask it. I know that comes with time and I am a person who has a handful of really fantastic friends that have known me for years...over 20 years for Jules and Annette.

Last week at our prenatal class we had to say what we wanted for our child...we all gave the standard answers but as I thought about it more I thought more of the long term and not just when our little one is first here. So here is my list, well at least for the babies friends:

To our little Pumpkin,

May your life be blessed with great friends who will stand by you and stand with you in every thing that you do. Friends who will go on crazy adventures at the drop of a hat and friends that will sit and hug you when you need to cry. Friends who will give you advice and not get angry when you don't listen. Friends who will take on your troubles as if they were their own. Friends who will share in all of your joy. Friends who will send you messages and call when they haven't heard from you in awhile. Friends who will travel for hours to come and visit you. Friends who will listen. Friends who will love you and believe in the person that you are and not try to change you in anyway.

Mommy and Daddy are blessed with such friends and we hope that you will be too.

Okay so that is my babblings for today. I am heading off for a mini stay-cation. I'm off work until next Wednesday. I will let you all in on our adventures...this is looking to be a very busy weekend!

Updates...

So I have been slack...a common theme for me these days. Growing a human, renovating a basement, doing cakes and trying to get ready for the AGM is taking its toll on me. I'm exhausted, I'm cranky and just have not found 5 free minutes for myself, let alone for blogging.

We had a great ultrasound on May 28. Our little one was being stubborn and wouldn't open its hands so we had a good 45 minutes of viewing time. Everything is looking great and I have my guess as to the sex of the baby but I'm not about to rush out and buy a certain colour of anything. I have finally started to feel pumpkin kicking and I think we might have a soccer star on our hands! Being able to feel the baby is making this belly a little more acceptable to me.

Gordon is working so hard on the basement renovations and his drafting that I hardly get to see him anymore. I know that its temporary and it will be great to have the summer together before the baby comes but I can't help but be a little lonely sometimes. Not that I should have time to be lonely but all I can say is thank goodness for marathon phone calls to NB and to A.F for entertaining me last weekend!

8 days until AGM. I think I might go off the deep end before that. So much to do, so little time. Thank goodness for Michelle. I am learning to let go of some control (I know...you are all surprised that I have control issues!) and just let her do some of this work. I'll still be here this weekend working on the speaking notes but by noon next Thursday it will be all over!!! YEAH!!

We start prenatal class tonight and my friend Janine is in town for the evening so I'm going to meet up with her after class is over. I'm challenged this month and I think that a pick me up in the form of a visit from my better design obsessed half!