The Lambert Family

I'm still here!

2011-10-06T14:55:00.000-07:00

Well I have been a complete slacker in the world of blogging. I know I totally suck. I feel really bad about it. But here I am...wanting to start fresh & hoping that you will all be cool with that.

And I have some fantastic news! Most of you have probably received my little announcement in the mail by now, but if you haven't (either because it hasn't arrived yet, or I didn't get your address) & would still like one, feel free to message me your address...but here it is...

So... we are so excited to announce that Little Lambert #2 is on the way. I wanted to wait until we hit the "12 weeks, hopefully good to go" mark, so I'm just about 15 weeks & am due on March 31, 2012! We find out what we're having on Wed, Nov 16 & I am sooo excited to find out! I'm a planner & need to know what color to paint that room :)

The first trimester was difficult. I was exhausted (working full time, toddler, etc, etc, etc) ... there were some nights that I was in bed by 6:30pm. I was grateful to have my parents visiting over the summer; it was good to have them there at that time. I was also nauseous a lot... but this time around more so in the evening. I was on Diclectin, but I'm fine now.

Little Lambert #2 at about 8 weeks

The highlights of strange cravings I had were 1) I REALLY needed fortune cookies...HAD to have them... It was ridiculous...Luckily for everyone involved, they sell them by the box at Safeway :) 2) Check this combo out... mini dill pickles, pickled carrots, pickled beets & slices of smoked gouda cheese. One night I brought my little plate of all of that into the living room, so proud that I'd identified everything I "needed" to have (because ladies, sometimes it's tricky to pinpoint what it is you want to eat) ... and Alex simply said..."That smells disgusting!" I'm sure it did... but it was amazingly delicious. Luckily this baby is not really into chocolate or ice cream... (I'm sure that saved me at least 10 lbs) It's not so bad now... but a few weeks ago I couldn't even think about either of those things without wanting to throw up. WEIRD... because I am definitely a fan of chocolate & ice cream at any other time. I've mostly wanted things like nectarines, asian pears, lemon water, etc.

And it does suck a little bit that I'll have to lose weight all over again...& it'll be really hard (hella hard, as Meaghan Mingo says) but I know that I can do it & it'll totally be worth it! And then I feel so good... so give me a year from now & hopefully it'll all be sorted out.

So overall things are going really well. I'm really happy things happened when they did. We weren't even going to start trying until Sept...but I guess there was another plan that was set in motion. It's a good thing because with Owen, it took us 8 months of trying & stress & all of that.

I'm not sure that Owen really understands what's going on yet... But I did ask him what was in my tummy & he said a "baby grill" (girl) ... so that was really cute. And he bumped my stomach last night & said "sorry baby" It was so sweet. And when he was at Trish Piepgrasses house, he got to hold a week old baby (he was nervous at first, but finally managed to do it & he analyzed the little baby & then said "it's hands are so small" I wish I could've been there to so that :)

So hopefully I'll be better at posting & keep everyone up to speed... Oh... & I also bought a Sonoline B Fetal Doppler to monitor the baby's heart rate periodically. The doctor I have for this baby only does the standard dating ultrasound & the ultrasound at the 20 week mark, whereas my last doctor did one at every visit... and for those of you that know me...you know I'm a bit of a hypochondriac... so I'm hoping this heart rate monitor will help calm my worries. I just got it today & haven't had the chance to use it yet... but I will keep you posted on how it works out :)

Summer So Far

2010-08-07T20:43:00.000-07:00

I know I've been super slack with posting... Sorry about that... so here's what we've been doing for fun & excitement these days...

Going to the park...

Driving big trucks...

Causin' some mayhem...

Havin' yard sales...

Cleanin' (with lots of various tools)

Going' to the Circus for the first time...

Getting bored with dinner...

Getting excited for dessert...

Bein' a part time model...

Listenin' to some tunes... (blurry but cute!)

Wondering why Daddy likes this stuff...

Swimmin'

Hangin' out in our PJs...

Lookin' like a big boy...

More mayhem....

So it's been a good summer so far!

Little Lambert Turned 1

2010-05-04T19:37:00.000-07:00

So yesterday was the big day... Owen turned one! I can't believe how fast that year passed. Here are some highlights from the day (courtesy of my photographer husband ~ because I suck at taking pictures (both quality & frequency))

Big Boy on his Big Day!

Lots of People!

The people brought lots of nice things!

And then... there was cake!

This is what I made for Owen's cake, & as take home treats for the guests...

All in all it was a great day! And now my baby is 1 year old! These are things he can do now, & a few of his fave things:

*He likes to walk around if he's holding onto something.
*He loves to crawl up the stairs, but hasn't quite got the hang of going down yet. (Except for falling down them, he's got that down pat!)
*He likes to eat yogurt, but if there's little pieces of fruit in it, he spits them right out.
*Unlike his Mommy, he doesn't like chocolate.
*He likes to spit his food out (blowing raspberries) to let you know he's done eating.
*He's learned what a fish looks like & can point it out when you ask, and he can do the same for Mommy's eyes, nose, mouth, & can almost always point out a cat, dog & bumblebee (they're the toys on his high chair, along with the fish)
*He's starting to babble more like he's trying to say something.
*He'll point at things when he's trying to show you something
*He's getting the hang of "high 5's" & thinks it's hilarious when you do them in sucession.
*He can drink juice from a sippy cup, but still prefers a bottle. Also, he will drink a few sips directly from a glass if you hold it for him.

All in all I think he's pretty smart, he's just a little cautious when it comes to physical advancements (straight up walking, going down the stairs, etc) but all of that stuff will come with time, I guess!

Owen`s First (& Second) Major Incidents

2010-04-05T16:05:00.000-07:00

So here`s a picture of my little boy ... this is the face he makes when something drops (whether he`s dropped it, or something else drops...) it is so cute :)

Isn`t he sweet? So imagine my horror when this little boy got hurt...

Incident 1)
A week & a half ago, I had to get on the elliptical in the morning (normally I go on after he`s already asleep) ... so Owen had never seen it in motion before & of course he was interested, so he crawled over to it... closer & closer ... & I guess I`m just a really big moron because I didn`t stop & he put his little fingers right on the track that the pedal goes over & I ran right over his little fingers. I know that Heavenly Father protected him because of how it happened, his fingers should`ve come clean off... but he survived with just a bruise under his fingernail. (And A LOT of screaming & crying)

Incident 2)
Last night I was working in the kitchen & Alex was in the living room. Owen has mastered climbing stairs,

but... We both thought the other person had Owen with them & then all of a sudden I hear this thud (the kind that makes you feel like you`re going to throw up) & then lots of screaming... I ran to get him & he`d fallen down some of the stairs. I scooped him up & Alex was right there & took him right away & that`s when I noticed his mouth was full of blood. I panicked... like... bad. He cried & cried & it was a while before I could look to see where the blood was coming from. We were going to go to the emergency room (because I thought the blood was coming from his lip or tongue & he might need stitches) but we finally got to look & the blood was just coming from around where his top 4 teeth came in. Also, I think his frenum tore as well (the little bit of skin between the inside of your upper lip & gum.)

I immediately panicked & thought about them dying & turning grey or falling out & him not having front teeth until he`s 6 (he`s only 11 months old!), but then I got a distinct prompting to as Alex to give him a blessing that he`d be okay & that if he got a blessing that his teeth & everything else would be fine. So I asked him & he didn`t want to initially... but I stated firmly that "I have enough faith that if you use your priesthood power & give him a blessing, I know Owen will be okay" And so Alex did & Owen wiggled a bit, but Alex got his little blessing (short & sweet) out & I felt much better. We gave Owen some Tylenol & since he`d had his bottle & a good cry, he went right to sleep & slept the whole night. And was just as happy as could be this morning when I went to get him, chattering away like nothing had ever happened. Everything around his teeth looks okay (the gums are a little swollen & his left front tooth is chipped a little), but he`s been okay to eat, drink & use a soother. I know that blessing worked.

So i`m thankful for my little baby (soon to be a big boy, turning 1 on May 3rd) & I`m so sad he had to go through those experiences... OUCH!

Happy Birthday Julia!

2010-04-02T21:03:00.001-07:00

In honour of this girl's b'day... I thought I'd re-post this blog entry about my friend Julia (sometimes in days gone by referred to as Julsa)

Friday, July 6, 2007

A Tribute of Sorts

This post is dedicated to one of my best friends....quite possibly one of the coolest girls on earth: Julia Blakeney, formerly Miss Julia Pestill.
This is what she looked like when I met her in March of 2005. Well, I had met her before, at her baptism @ the end of January, but I didn't get to know her until she came in my car up to the Moncton YSA conference in March. As you can see... she's a dead ringer (who came up with that phrase anyway?) for Avril Lavigne. We came up with a plan to dress her up like Avril, put some big sunglasses on her & take her to the Halifax Shopping Centre to see how many people we could trick into asking her for her autograph. It's still in the works, I think.

This is a more recent photo of Julia... maybe recent isn't the right word... does New Year's of 2006 count as "recent"???

Julia lived with Jessica Smith (Marling at the time) & I in #1101, 27 Stoneybrook Crt. That year was one of the best pre-marriage years of my life, leading up to all 3 of us getting married in the same wedding season...starting with Jessica & Shane on July 22nd, then Alex & I on August 12th...ending up with Julia & Josh on October 24th.

So here are a few things I love about Julia: 1) She puts the "fun" in funner. You are always guaranteed a good time when this girl is around. (p.s...this is Julia's idea of a "good time")

2) Our mutual admiration for Grey's Anatomy & Veronica Mars. She was always my go to gal for catching up on awesome shows.
3) Her awesome sense of humor. Any girl that can 100% quote Dane Cook's SNL Opening Monologue is top of the line in my books.
4) Julia is never opposed to posing for a photograph simply for the comedic value of it.
Case in point:

(just in case you were wondering, Julia didn't like the taste of "Icebreakers" mints)

5) Julia is a kind & caring person that is thoughtful of others.
6) She stands up for what she believes in...I mean, hey...how many people would jump at the chance to join a church that could possibly alienate you from your family somewhat.
7) Julia is pretty...so it's not at all unpleasant to look at her for extended periods of time...which is helpful if she's going to be one of your best friends & you'll spend a lot of time with her.
8) She likes to hang out. Sounds basic...but it's an awesome quality. Sometimes she would just call me up to say "I'll be up in five" & then show up in pj's with a snack it tow. It's nice to be comfortable enough with someone to just "hang" without any sort of agenda.

9) Julia is a straight up, "ain't gonna be frontin' for nobody" kinda girl... what you see is what you get.

And finally... 10) This girl gets around... I don't know this personally, but my husband, Alex, testifies this to be true... He said..."That fart-sniffer...oh yea... she's a carnival ride!"

And that is why I love Julia!

My Post Made It!

2010-03-28T21:37:00.000-07:00

I submitted a post to the overheard in the ward website & it's on there now! (Ya, I know I'm lame) Alex was trying to tell me that all those quotes are fake... well... mine's not... I actually heard this from a guy giving a talk in the 2nd Ward....

Millennial Unicorns And Rainbows

Posted by Overheard In The Ward on March 26, 2010

Brother giving talk from pulpit: And I look forward to the Millennium when all the animals will be returned to the their true color… white. And the unicorns will return to the earth. Amen

Overheard by: Dodo Bird

Rating: 4.4/5 (8 votes cast)

Sometimes Mormons are Funny

2010-03-24T22:11:00.000-07:00

So I've stumbled upon a new-to-me website & it's pretty funny... Here's a sample...

Traitor’s Testimony

Posted by Overheard In The Ward on February 21, 2010

5-year-old boy bearing testimony: I just want to say that I’m so proud of my family because they’ve stopped saying the F-word.
5-year-old’s dad gets up later: Just so you know, the F-word is “fart.”

Overheard by: Tash

Rating: 4.6/5 (19 votes cast)

Givin it a Try

2010-03-22T21:54:00.000-07:00

Well I read Kristi's post ... over here & I thought..."Mmmm... how interesting." (genuine interest, not sarcastic interest, btw) So I thought I'd give it a try.

For someone that has oily skin, & has been told my whole life to avoid oil like the plague, washing my skin WITH oil doesn't seem to make any sense. But after reading that post, I'm willing to give it a shot. Especially since I'm living in northern Alberta & it's SUPER dry up here.

So I went to Walmart to buy Castor oil & they didn't have any. I went to Save-on-Foods & they had a 50ml bottle for $3.99. (That's 2 TBSP, btw... I'm going to have to find a cheaper source) And I already have Extra Virgin Olive Oil at home (my husband, who's in LOVE with Rachel Ray, likes to say EVOO (by spelling it out) & likes to point out that that's how he & his "pal" Rachel Ray like to say it.... Oh well, at least he doesn't point out that he's "pals" with like, Pamela Anderson or something) Anyway.... I didn't need to get any EVOO, but I did get a bottle of Tea Tree Oil to throw in.

So I used an old glass spice jar (one with a cover that has holes in it, & then a screw on lid) & I mixed 3 parts castor oil & 1 part EVOO & a few drops of Tea Tree Oil & shook it up. I started with a dry face & rubbed in about a teaspoon. Then after rubbing for a little bit, I added a bit more. Then I wiped everything off with a damp Norwex facecloth & then rinsed everything off with a little water. That was about 20 minutes ago & my skin still feels great. It doesn't feel oily or greasy or anything. It feels clean, but like I had already put my face cream on. So we'll see how my skin reacts. My innate fear is that all the oil on my face is going to make me break out. But that's just because that's what I've been taught my whole life. So I'll let you know how it pans out.

***Update**** it's the a.m. now & upon waking up I noticed no extra blemishes, & my face actually feels less oily than when I normally wake up... I'm totally buying this thing about our face producing extra oil to replace what's been stripped away with "oil free" cleansers... I'm gonna keep this up!

Wednesday Special

2010-03-10T20:57:00.000-08:00

I was very pleased and surprised to find a special package waiting for me in my mailbox today. (I LOVE getting mail, except bills ~ so this was an extra special treat) Lately I've been getting a lot of fabric in the mail from etsy.com (for my "Sew Cute" by Kellie side project I've launched at the market in addition to my "So Cute" Signs by Kellie - more on that later) so I just thought it was a package containing a yard of some cute fabric, until I saw M Mingo as the return address!

When I saw the peek that Kristi did over here, I just loved the purses Meaghan was doing to thank people for letting her stay with them, I commented on how cute they were & if she did her own pattern. She responded by asking me if I wanted one. I said yes, how much & what do you want for shipping... And that was the last I'd heard from her until I opened the package today & saw this...

So cute, right? I totally love it... I love that it's green (my fave color) & I love that it's autographed. I just love it! Meaghan is so talented... she can do anything she sets her mind to... singing, painting...sewing.... she's amazing.

If you haven't already, check her out here. I'm so glad I met her all those years ago & it makes me so proud to see the success she's achieved thus far & I wish her & Jason all the best in their careers. Love them!

louloubell Giveaway!

2010-02-12T07:34:00.000-08:00

Kristi's sponsoring a fabulous giveaway here

You've gotta check it out & leave some comments... cause this girl has great stuff!

Scentsy Giveaway!

2010-01-23T18:50:00.000-08:00

Hey! Just letting you all know there's lots of chances for you to win some great Scentsy prizes over at Kristi's blog... so head on over & leave as many comments as you can!

The contest ends on Tues at midnight & the prizes get mailed out on Wednesday (so make sure I get your address as soon as you find out you've one... email kellielambert at hotmail).... good luck to everyone!

So Sorry Folks

2010-01-20T19:49:00.000-08:00

I need to apologize for lack of posts/comments, etc. I've gone back to work part time (one week on, one week off) & this is my week on. It was my first week in 9 months & so I've been a little frazzled with not being around the house all day.

And last week I was in Edmonton visiting my sweet husband who is training for his new job with Halliburton for a month. He's training to be an Operator's Assistant on a Frac Team (I don't know either) & getting his Class 1 Driver's license along with other required safety tickets. He's staying at the Coast Edmonton House & it's a pretty nice home away from home. And all expenses are paid, so that's nice too :)

Anyway, got some tidying & laundry to do before bed. Nitey nite!

What I've been working on...

2010-01-10T23:31:00.000-08:00

So here's my first baby quilt...

And my first pair of baby shoes...

And some bibs...

And decorative coasters...

And the fabric magnet boards...

So I just get some galvanized steel (18 gauge) cut to whatever size (these ones are 12"x18")

Then I measure out where I need the holes to be & then drill away... whatever size is slightly larger than the eyelets you're going to use later (I use 1/4").

And I use this spray adhesive & spray what will be the front of the board. Then I place it glue side down onto the wrong side of the fabric I'm going to use (precut with a couple of inches extra on all sides, cut with pinking shears) Then I spray the edges of the back & pull the fabric onto the back. The corners are kind of tricky, you kind of have to angle them in a bit... you'll see what I mean when you try it.

Then I use a high heat glue gun with high temp glue sticks that say right on the package it's good for metal. And I slowly secure the edges to hold everything in place.

Then you'd put the eyelets in. Use whatever tool is recommended by the brand you choose. (Each line usually has it's own applicator tool.) Then I cover the back with a matching color of felt (cut, again, with pinking shears)

Then I put a ribbon through & tie a knot first (to keep it in place) & then tie a nice little bow... Voila... fabric magnet board to have a nice place to put notes, reminders, invitations, etc.

Be sure to leave a comment letting me know if you liked this little tutorial & if you'd like to see more instructions of the projects I do.

Christmas Sleep Sack & Very Large Ties

2010-01-06T18:29:00.000-08:00

Since I've had a 2 week hiatus from the Farmer's Market, I've been focusing my time on other crafts. I've done a baby blanket (my first quilt!), a couple of baby bibs & fabric covered magnet boards (pics of those things to come once the battery for my camera charges! I'll do a post with instructions on how to make the fabric magnet boards)

So... one of Owen's favorite things to do these days is kick off his blankets. I'm constantly going in to check on him, to keep him covered. I decided I'd make him something like a Halo Sleep Sack.

I have one made out of jersey knit, but it's too small & not warm enough for the winter. So I went to Wal-mart & got some fleece. I picked out some Christmas themed fabric because it was 50% off. Here's how it turned out.

He seems to like it & it's kept him warm :) I plan to make a couple more. I don't have a pattern, I just kind of copied the one I already had & made some adjustments. If anyone wants me to make them one, just let me know.

Last Sunday I asked Alex to dress Owen for church & he said, "Fine, but you'll have to deal with whatever I put on him" (This coming from the man who put an blue & gray argyle sweater vest with med brown cords over dinosaur sleepers ~ wish I had pics of that treasured experience) So this is what Owen ended up with...

He actually looked pretty cute & Alex had a matching tie, so it all worked out :)

And during bath time, this is how much Owen liked the bath toys Jessica Smith got for him...

So cute!

So Alex is gone for a month to Edmonton for job training. He got a job with Halliburton & he's very excited about it. It pays very well & I'm really excited for this new adventure for him. This is what Alex's suitcase looked like at the beginning of him packing...

I guess it's hard to go a whole month without your little boy!

Anyway... next post... fabric magnet board instructions & crafting pics!

Christmas Time 2009

2009-12-29T20:58:00.000-08:00

So lots of fun was had at the Lambert household this Christmas season. We scaled things waaaaayyyyy back financially & found lots of ways to celebrate the season without the expense. Lots of the gifts we gave to Owen this year were either because of a trade (my signs in exchange for a gift) or were given to us or were purchased before. And Alex & limited ourselves to one gift ($60.00) & a stocking.

My sister Shannon, on the other hand, got the best Christmas present of all... a one carat, solitaire, white gold engagement ring! Congrats to her & Jason on their engagement!

We spent Christmas Eve with friends at the Jarvis household (3rd time in as many years) & Christmas Day dinner was spent with the Keslers & Purnells. It was nice to be with friends through the holidays. Especially since we're not close (geography-wise) to our families. Christmas was fun with Owen... he loves the lights & decorations on the tree & loves looking at the lights decorating our bay windows in the living room. But as far as gifts go, he was just as happy to play with the paper & bows as he was actually getting anything... it was still fun to watch him though.

Here are some pics & video links from Christmas Day.

Christmas Tree & Owen on Christmas morning

Opening a present with Owen

After reading Kristi's post it got me thinking all about what I'd like to fix~change~complete. My life (even though I'm on mat leave (until Jan 18th! eeekkkk.... more on that in a bit) I'm always going with things for the Farmers Market, taking care of Owen, church stuff....etc, etc, etc & sometimes I feel like I don't spend enough time on day to day stuff like keeping my house as tidy as I'd like, re-organizing rooms & things like that. So in the precious few weeks that I have left before I go back to work (part time for now... week on, week off until April) I'd like to ~
1) Finally organize my craft room/office & make it a fabulous space to be inspired in.
2) Clean up/organize our bedroom & put up some pictures/wall vinyl (we've been here for almost 2 years for pity's sake!)
3) Catch up on some sewing projects I have the material for... stuff that's been sitting around for way too long because I'm always making signs for the FM & custom orders, etc... So this one I'm actually doing right now... I've got 2 bibs done & my first ever patchwork quilt! Pics to come soon.
4) De-clutter! Get rid of stuff I haven't used &/or thought about for over a year.
5) Be a better Blogger (frequency, leaving more comments, etc)... this will be an ongoing one.

Looking forward to 2010!

Christmas Show 2009

2009-12-05T21:56:00.000-08:00

So last weekend I did the Christmas show here in Grande Prairie. It was a lot of fun & things went really well. There were a couple of other booths with vinyl &/or signs...but people said my prices were the best & I had the most variety... so I had a lot of people coming to my booth over the 3 day show.

Here are some pics of my booth & the things I had on display...

My booth (10' x 10')

A double-sided sign display I built.

Some signs, tiles & charger plate

Some glass blocks I did (both with ribbon & vinyl)

Magnetic picture holder (I also did recipe holders)

The Christmas cards I did

And my mini Scentsy display (I booked 3 parties & signed up 2 people!)

Had a great time... it was worth all the hard work! Had a lot of people take my business cards & said they were glad I was at the Farmers Market. Yay for me!

Canadian Tuxedo

2009-11-23T12:25:00.000-08:00

Thanks to my hilarious husband, I learned a new term the other day... somehow had never heard of it before.

"Canadian Tuxedo"

Are you guys familiar with this?

"Sometimes you're looking to really dress to impress, but maybe black tie is overkill. You're in luck though, because you can almost never go wrong with the Canadian Tuxedo!"

I love my husband! He's so funny :)

p.s. Went to New Moon Saturday night...loved it! So good!

November... so far

2009-11-17T11:55:00.000-08:00

So I, like a lot of other Mormon girls these days, have become a Scentsy Independent Consultant. I have done this for a few reasons...

1. TOTALLY love the products... love the concept of wickless candles (no soot, no smoke smell when you blow the candle out), no flame, or even extreme temperature to harm little fingers. .... Love the smells of the 80 different scents... can't get enough of them! Love the way the different warmers can match with your decor.

2. Liked the idea of being able to do something from home to earn a little extra money for my family (in addition to all the other crazy adventures I'm a part of...which can be seen here.)

3. Love the idea of being able to do home parties that people will actually want to go to. Who wouldn't want to sit around & chat, while checking out the wonderful scents that Scentsy has to offer.

So those are my top 3... So, if you don't already have a Scentsy consultant (and chances are you probably do...they're popping up everywhere!) But if you don't & you'd like to learn more about the products, hosting a party, or becoming a consultant yourself... Here are a few places to check out...

My website

My Scentsy blog

Email me

And.... leave a comment to be entered into a draw for a Car Candle in the scent of your choice. If you mention this blog entry in your blog you get two entries. Contest ends Friday @ midnight Atlantic time (9:00pm MST) Good luck!

My October

2009-11-05T22:21:00.000-08:00

*Enjoyed General Conference at home
*Went to visit family & friends in Nova Scotia & New Brunswick & got to introduce my baby boy to lots of people (& got to meet lots of new babies/toddlers)

Highlights of this trip (since it took up 50% of October)
-First airplane ride with Owen (who did very well ~ didn't even need the Gravol I bought)
-Having Thanksgiving with the ENTIRE Hudson Family together for the 1st time in many years.

-Lunch dates with Jessica & Julia... TWICE!
-Driving in a nice rental car to Saint John with a very good baby.
-Getting to spend time with the Verbeeks & Cosmans &Lamberts & Jenny May McKim (such cute twins!)
-Going to church in the Halifax ward & running into Meaghan & Jason Mingo (completely out of the blue!)
-Having a visiting day & getting to see Meaghan & Jason, Tanya Keeping (such cute kids!) & Julia, Josh & Lyla (what a cute kid! - loved the Halloween costume!)
-Getting to go for dinner with JJ & Sheldon & their adorable children
-Teaching my Mom how to do vinyl lettering signs...( look for "Vinyl Designs by Wendy" at upcoming craft shows.)
-Coming home to my awesome husband who I really missed by the end of the 2 weeks.

*Got ready for Halloween...didn't do decorations this year, since I got home on the 22nd) Made Owen's costume ... from scratch...drew the pattern & everything.
*Brought Owen to the market with his cute pumpkin costume.
*Went to the ward's Trunk or Treat (solo ~ Owen was sleeping)
*Had Trick or Treaters & then went to bed!

Happy Halloween from Grande Prairie!

2009-10-30T15:25:00.000-07:00

One Week Down

2009-09-24T20:36:00.001-07:00

Had my first week of Weight Watchers... Ate healthier than I ever have in my whole life. And as I stepped up to the scales to get weighed tonight I thought to myself... "If I don't lose any weight, I'm gonna be so mad..."

Well all that healthy eating paid off... I lost 6 lbs. I was so stoked. So I'll try to keep things up & see what happens over the next week.

:)

Hilarious

2009-09-23T21:47:00.000-07:00

This is the funniest thing I've seen all month!

I laughed so hard I had tears in my eyes.

Finally

2009-09-17T22:53:00.000-07:00

So today I joined Weight Watchers (despite my husband saying it's just for older people) ... I just have to do something...it's no fun when you're son is 4 months old & you're still wearing your maternity pants.

So I'm hoping it will work & will help & I'll begin to develop a new style of eating & taking care of my body.

What have you guys tried that you've found has worked?

Please leave your thoughts!

2009-09-09T22:40:00.000-07:00

So the last post I wrote ... nobody commented & was a little sad... And then I realized 2 things...

1) I think I accidentally "password protected" my blog by adding Twitter updates which are password protected (had too many unsavoury followers popping up) ... So I fixed that issue.

2) I probably don't have very good "Comment Karma" since I'm usually not very good at leaving comments ... so I've resolved to be more diligent about leaving comments for you all.

So in an effort to find out who is reading my ramblings, please leave a comment for me, even if it's just to say, "Hi, I do read your blog" ... Heck, you can even copy & paste that phrase if you're super short on time (like I usually am :)

Love you all! Keep reading... there's some good posts to come :)

p.s. Here's recent pics of Owen & I... my friend Suzanne (who did my Maternity pics) came over & took some shots for us.

4 months!

2009-09-03T08:36:00.000-07:00

Look what I can do!

*I can sit up really well with some help or in my Bumbo.

*I like to look at & suck on my hands... but I still haven't figured out that I'm kicking people in the face/neck or danger zones.

*I sleep through the night (but Mommy's been spiking my nighttime bottles with Rice cereal, so I technically think that's cheating)

*I like to stand in my excersaucer & play with all the toys on it. When I touch the buttons, lights come on & music plays... it's crazy!

*I can also stand for a while if you hold me up (once again, cheating)

*I weigh about 14 lbs 10 oz... I'm getting pretty big!

*I like my soother, but I have also found my thumb on occasion. (Mommy says she wants me to use my soother because when the time comes, it'll be easier to take my soother away than my thumb.)

*I like to laugh when I'm tickled (I'm really ticklish... on my belly, my feet, even the back of my legs!)

*I like it when Mommy sings to me. She makes up fake songs all the time... most of the time they don't rhyme... (I think it's because she can't think on her feet)

*Daddy sings to me too... (he makes up funny lyrics & thinks I won't know they're the wrong ones) Daddy's songs are funnier than Mommy's. I think Daddy's funnier in general, actually. I think I've even heard my Daddy on the radio once or twice, isn't that weird?

*I'm pretty happy most of the time... sometimes I have little freak outs (my Daddy calls me a "turd burglar" when I do) but I haven't quite figured out how to let them know what the deal is when I do freak out. Maybe someday I'll be able to say the funny words Mommy & Daddy use.

Well I can't believe that 4 months has gone by... pretty soon I'll be getting teeth!

Summer Recap

2009-09-02T07:18:00.000-07:00

So here's how the last few months went...

*Had a few houseguests...

Alex's Mom

My Dad

My Brother

My Mom

*Some awesome people had a Baby Shower for me (so fun!)

*Owen has gotten a lot bigger

*Went to Edmonton to see the Kesler family get sealed to Hannah

*Visited with the Cosmans in Red Deer

*Turned 32! (Oh my goodness)

*My husband got a really nice cake for me & we had a little surprise party at the Cosmans

*Went camping in Grande Cache for the 1st time with Owen (he did really well)

*Had our 3rd Anniversary

*Picked raspberries at Bro. Meyer's & made raspberry jam (yummy!)

Had a great summer! It went by so fast!

In Research Mode

2009-08-26T12:35:00.000-07:00

So I'm always thinking of new things I'd like to make/create & my latest is sewing baby things. It started a while ago when I made blankets, bibs,burp cloths, soother holders & nursing covers for Owen. Since then I've made a blanket/bib/soother holder set for a girl in our ward & there's lots of babies just about ready to be born, so I have lots of gift making opportunities coming up.

With all this going on, I've been thinking I'd like to do more & expand my sewing capabilities. (I'm by no means an expert... but I get by) So I've been scouring the internet, finding patterns for things that are cute that I can make & I've decided that if I can find a few extra hours here & there, I'd like to go for it. (Although how I'm going to tackle sewing on top of making signs/cards/etc... I don't know...)

So I'm going to try to start making the following items:

*Blankets/Quilts

*Burp cloths

*Bibs

*Soother Holders

*Nursing covers

*Fabric booties/shoes & boots (these aren't ones I've made...just examples)

*Baby Slings

& eventually clothes (like skirts, tops, dresses, etc.)

But I need a name. I'll need a name to make labels to put on my items. I've got a few ideas so far... & I'll get you all to vote on which one you think I should use... or... if you have a better idea for a name, & I use it, I'll send you a vinyl wooden sign of your choice (up to a value of $25.00).

So here are my choices...

1. Little Stitches

2. A Little Love (just for you)

That's all I can think of so far... but like I said...if you think of a name I like & use, I'll send you a vinyl sign... there are some ideas at socutecardsandsigns.com

So let me know what you think!

Here's some recent pics of my little man!

Pic of the Day

2009-08-21T21:42:00.000-07:00

Guess what Owen found!

The End

2009-08-14T13:17:00.000-07:00

Well I was really sad the other day because I've stopped breastfeeding.

Some of you may remember I wasn't really able to nurse Owen that well because I didn't have enough milk for him... So I was pumping as much as I could & giving him the pumped breast milk in bottles. And when I noticed I was starting to lose my milk supply I started supplementing with Soy formula (Owen reacts to lactose based formulas). I also tried increasing my milk supply with herbal remedies like Fenugreek & Blessed Thistle. But it was continuing to decline, to the point where after all day, pumping at the end of the day I only got 2 oz.

So a few days ago I didn't pump at all... or the next day. And the sad thing was I didn't even feel full... It was like there was nothing really there anyway. I had a little crying session & got Alex to comfort me a little.

It's just that I totally was attributing Motherhood with breastfeeding & was hearing from all sorts of people (who meant well) saying how they had no trouble & had lots of milk for their babies & it was just really depressing. I had just assumed I would be in that category & that breastfeeding would be a breeze. No such luck.

Oh well... I've moved on. And maybe things will go better with the next baby (which is not any time too soon, btw)

3 Years!

2009-08-12T11:21:00.000-07:00

Well it's August 12th... that time of year again... (My anniversary!)

I can't believe it's been 3 years already! Time flies so fast! I love being married to Alex. He makes me laugh every single day! And he's always experimenting with hairstyles & facial hair patterns & I totally love it. He's so creative & smart (especially with music editing & related things) ... so much talent! I love the way he is with Owen... so caring & comical as well... it's fun to watch him read stories to Owen. And to see they way Owen's eyes light up when he sees his Daddy...& the smile he gives him.. it's so nice.

I just know I've found the perfect person to be with for eternity. (Because, as we all know, that's a long time & I could imagine spending that much time with anyone boring). Now, for all of you who have been or are married, you know the road can be a little rocky at times, but overall, it's definitely worth the ups & downs. I love my husband!

Pics of Owen!

2009-07-28T12:08:00.001-07:00

Here's a slide show of some recent pics of our little man!

Pictureless Post

2009-07-06T17:18:00.000-07:00

So there will be no pics with this post & you'll soon see why.

I gave Owen a bath & put him in his towel in his little baby chair & kept him next to the tub while I took a quick shower.

When I got out & went to put a diaper on him, guess what I found? I nice pile of messy poo in his nice clean baby towel.

YUCK!!!!!

50 baby wipes later, I had a clean baby again. (I almost re-bathed him, it was a close call)

Daddy Time

2009-06-30T21:46:00.000-07:00

Here's Owen with Daddy...

This is how Alex survives changing a dirty diaper...

And here are some links to some videos of Owen (tried posting them here, but they would NOT load!!!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CuuYNOoEAtQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-epGzzo-Eg

First Big Boy Outfit & Bath Time

2009-06-26T21:20:00.000-07:00

So Owen wore his first Big Boy Outfit (aka not just a sleeper) the other day (it was for a Church BBQ/Activity). It was so cute I just had to snap a few pics. Alex took the last one... post activity. I think he was trying to go for the "I drank so much milk, I can't even do my pants up" look.

And Bath Time!
Owen actually likes baths. I think it's because I keep him entertained by talking to him & smiling at him. He just doesn't like the "getting dried off at the end" part. But oh well, at least he doesn't cry all the way through.

How did your newborns do with baths?

And when are they not newborns anymore???

10 Questions

2009-06-22T15:06:00.000-07:00

1. How heavy was your baby at birth?

7lbs 14oz

2. Who was the first to bathe your baby?

A Nurse in the hospital a few hours after he was born, me at home 2 days later (the every other day thing)

3. Did your baby like his/her bath?

Yes. I've tried to make bath time a very fun experience with lots of smiles & talking to Owen, so far he likes bath time.

4. What was his/her first outfit?

2 pc light blue Noah's Ark themed outfit, borrowed from Sarah Shaw. It was for newborns & sadly doens't fit him anymore (he's 7 weeks now)

5. Was he/she born with hair?

Yes, the Benjamin Button 'do (balding) & it's dirty blonde like Daddy's.

6. What amount was his/her first feed?

Not sure... it was from the breast, so I can't be sure... but it sure took a looooong time to feed him!

7. Did you bottle feed or breastfeed?

I'm pumping & feeding him the breastmilk with a bottle & he still takes night time feedings from the breast.

8. If breastfed, did your baby take to it straight away?

Not really. He got the latch thing down pat, but because I don't produce enough milk (not a plentiful amount, very light stream) he was getting mad b/c he'd never get as much as he wanted, so I had to start pumping for him.

9. What went through your mind when the labour was over?

That took a lot less time than I thought it would, but I'm sure glad it's over.

10. How happy has he/she made you?

It's been so amazing to have little Owen in my life so far. I'm in awe every day that this little person belongs to my husband & I & we're responsible for taking care of him. I just love him sooo much!!!

Hello 50th Percentile!

2009-06-15T18:08:00.000-07:00

Baby Owen had his 6 week check up today & here are his stats:

*He weighs 10lbs 8oz
*He's 23" long
*His head circumference is 15.2"

So he's in the 50th percentile & he's doing well. My milk flow isn't quite up to par so I'm pumping & giving him breastmilk in a bottle & feeding him on the breast during nighttime feeds (when he's more serene & doesn't get mad that he's not getting as much milk as he should). But I've been taking all the recommended herbal remedies (Fenugreek, Blessed Thistle, Brewer's Yeast, Marshmallow Root Tea & Fennel Seed) & I'm on a Rx (Maxaren) to help boost my milk flow. It's helped, but to be honest I still prefer to pump & give a bottle for most feedings. It's much more convenient & Alex gets to feed Owen as well. At least he's still getting breastmilk.

*Question ~ I know they say not to microwave breastmilk b/c it kills the nutrients...but ladies... have you microwaved breastmilk before? Let me know :)

So Owen's doing great, excpet for some cradle cap (which I think he got because I specifically requested Heavenly Father that he NOT get it, as I think it looks atrocious...& we all know what happens when you ask HF for things based on foolish or selfish reasons... :) So ladies, *Question #2~ If your kids have had cradle cap, what methods did you use to get rid of it/did they work?

And... as a mother that's trying hard to implement the Babywise system...I have some questions for fellow Babywisers...

* What's the longest you'd let them cry in their cribs (while trying to go down for a nap) before you'd go to get them?
*If they woke up before it was time for their next feeding, would you go get them, or let them cry a little & see if they go back to sleep?
*When feeding, what's your preferred routine... (eat/burp/diaper change/eat/burp/diaper change etc?)
* What age did you find the baby was adapting to the schedule?
*Is swaddling/white noise/pacifier okay to use for sleep aids, or should I be training him to sleep unswaddled with no noise machine or pacifier?
*Any tips you found helpful?

Thanks in advance! Here are some pics from when "Poppa" Hudson was here visiting...

Picture of the Day

2009-06-04T11:32:00.001-07:00

This is what makes it all worthwhile...wouldn't you agree?

Love, Love, Love

2009-05-28T20:45:00.000-07:00

~Love that my 3.5 week old son grinned at me today (while awake) for the first time... It makes it easier to deal with the fact that he's been crying for about 2 hours straight now. (Poor little guy has some serious gas bubbles we're trying to get rid of)

~Love that Poppa Hud is here for a week & is helping me get those gas bubbles out for Owen right now, so I have a few minutes to blog (we're taking shifts.. thanks Dad!)

~Love that my son has figured out that it's funnier if you wait until Mom has just changed your diaper to have a big, messy poop. Thanks Owen, you're the best!

~Love being a Mom...even though right now it means not sleeping more than a couple or a few hours at a time.

~Love not working a full time job right now (even though it meant a big pay cut) ... I'm so glad I get to be home with my baby boy.

~Love friends & family that have shown great love & support to us via visits, meals being brought over, invites to hang out, traveling to see us... & everything else I've forgotten to mention.

D (Delivery) Day

2009-05-14T11:41:00.000-07:00

So May 3rd... Delivery Day...

*9:00am ~ We arrived at OB triage, under the assumption I'll be getting a 2nd dose of Prostaglandin gel. Dr. Lindsay said I was 4cm & he could go ahead & break my water. I was admitted & moved over to a Labor & Delivery room. He broke my water & then I was encouraged to walk around to get contractions going.

*10:00am ~ We called Le Anna Rasmussen, the girl from our ward who offered to be our birth coach. We told her our status & she said she'd be by after she was done teaching her Sunday School class. She arrived at about 11:45am.

*1:00pm ~ I was put on the drip & contractions started more regularly & more painfully after that.

* Time got a little confusing for me at that point, so I'm not sure what time it was that I asked for pain meds. They said it would be about 45 min until I could get an epidural, so they got me some Fentanyl to keep me comfortable until I could get the epidural.

* The Fentanyl wore off a little & then I got the epidural... (it was very difficult to keep still during contractions) but it finally worked. They checked me a little while later & I was 8cm.

*5:45pm ~ The epidural worked well enough that I didn't have pain from contractions, but I could still feel pressure & could tell it was time to push. They checked me & I was 10cm & said I could start pushing. So I did... (as you can see)

*6:26pm ~ Owen Alexander Lambert is born.

So all in all, everything went really well... a lot better/quicker than I had expected. And now that he's here, we're just getting used to being a new little family & are learning how to take care of our new little one.

Owen finally made it!

2009-05-05T14:55:00.000-07:00

I'll get a full post up ASAP... for now I just need to feed Owen & sleep/feed Owen & sleep...you get the idea. Alex is resting with him for a minute.. so here is... (thanks to my wonderful husband for the fantastic photography skills... (I only know how to use the "automatic" setting)

Owen Alexander Lambert
7lbs 14oz, 19 & 3/4 inch, born May 3rd @ 6:26pm
after only 5 1/2 hours of labor (including only 45 minutes of pushing)

~Special thanks to my husband Alex & Le Anna Rasmussen (birth coarch extraordinaire) for getting me through the process, the awesome nurses in OB Triage, Labour & Delivery & the QEII Maternity ward (especially Sharon Sanders, Lactation consultant & the best Stake RS PRez ever!) & Dr. Staples for that fantastic epidural that got me numb enough to not go insane, but let me feel enough to know how & when to push properly.

p.s. 2 things I've learned so far about being a new Mom...
1) It's way easier to put pants on without a 10 watermelon strapped to your stomach.
2) It's going to be a lot easier than I thought to give up wearing lipstick so that I can kiss my little baby.

At Least by Sunday!!!

2009-04-29T06:46:00.001-07:00

So I have an induction date scheduled for Saturday. By then I will be 6 days overdue. I asked if we could move it up because the girl that's offered to help as a birth coach (Leanna Rasmussen, she's a Labor & Delivery/NICU Nurse from our ward) will be in Edmonton on Saturday for "Time Out for Women"... of course...just my luck. But Dr. Lindsay didn't really deem that as a legitimate reason to change the date. I didn't think he actually would change it, but there was no harm in asking.

I have one last appointment on Thursday & then go in Saturday morning for an induction. I think they'll start with a Cervidil insert or prostin gel. I'd rather that than the oxytocin drip... I think anyway... from what I've heard from people. So at least by Sunday we'll have our little guy out into the world. YAY!

I'll do my best to keep everyone posted... even if it means sending Alex on here to get the word out!

It WAS a False Alarm

2009-04-26T05:50:00.000-07:00

Turns out those 12 hours were just kind of like a "Systems Check"... as in "Are all Systems a Go???" The symptoms stopped (or shall we say "stalled") at about 6pm last night.

Shucks... I was all set to have a baby yesterday.

Oh well... I guess we know he has to come out sometime in the near future...it's not like he can just hang out in there for the next 18 years.

Maybe he just has stage fright.

p.s. This is a pic of me on my due date, trying to grimace through a contraction...

Am I in False Labour?

2009-04-25T16:48:00.000-07:00

So is this the real thing... or just 12 hours of pain just for fun?

I've been having off & on "pain spells" we'll call them... over the past few days... nothing consistent & nothing I can track. Just my lower back & lower pelvic area (where my uterus USED to be) would start to hurt & then subside after a few minutes... like a back ache that just disappears all of a sudden. And then I was also getting tightenings that didn't hurt when I'd stand up after sitting for a while (so, Braxton Hicks, I'm guessing)

But this morning when I got up at 5am to take Alex to work (sick, I know...5am) it started hurting in those 2 areas listed above & hasn't gone away yet. It comes & goes in intensity. I went to the Farmers Market to run my booth at 10am & alternated between walking around & sitting... both were uncomfortable & didn't make the pain subside. All I noticed was that if I was sitting & then stood up to walk around for a while, everything would tighten up.

But there's been nothing specific that I can time or keep track of... just pain. It's not unbearable yet... ( I keep reminding myself that it's going to get a lot worse) it's just like bad to really bad menstral cramps with a side of a back ache just for kicks.

So am I in the beginning stages of labour? I definitely haven't had anything like this to date... Did any of you guys have anything similar, or did it go right to timeable contractions right from the get-go? I just wish my water would break so I could go to the hospital, no questions asked. For now, I'll just be walking around... trying to get this baby out by Kathy's B'day :)

p.s. I'll try to get Alex to take one last prego pic before we head off to the hospital.

Molly Mormon Strikes Again

2009-04-20T08:13:00.000-07:00

So I've been getting this urge to make things in preparation for our baby coming. All of a sudden I'm wanting to sew & create things for him like nobody's business. What a weird way to nest, eh?

So here are some of the things I've come up with...

Project #1 ~ Custom Wall Hanging

Obviously I didn't make the frame & matte & everything... This was a picture frame we got from IKEA, with the intent that I would "tweak" it to be part of the decorations for the baby's room. It originally had pictures of lighthouses or whatever in it.

I took the back off the frame, covered the existing prints with white cardstock & then put some of the NOJO Jungle Babies decal clings over top. I out it all back together & "Voila" ... this now looks totally cute hanging on the wall above his crib. And so much cheaper than buying something similar that was done by someone else.

Project #2 ~ Homemeade soother holders

Super easy... Just take extra fabric, long enough (about 12-14") & wide enough to fold over & have your final width fit around the clip opening (about 1"). Sew with right sides together (I like to safety pin a piece of ribbon down the middle so I can pull the fabric right side out once I'm done sewing. Then you fold one end over the clip opening & sew to secure. The other end is to attach to the soother & to make these holders interchangeable, I use snaps. You could also use velcro. Just hand sew the snaps in place, giving yourself enough clearance to fold over the ring of the soother.

Project #3 ~ Homemade bibs

So I just found a free pattern on the ol' internet, after googling "free baby bib patterns" & this is the one I ended up using: http://www.poopockets.com/free/bibs/bibs.htm

It's easy as well (I'm not the most talented seamstress) ... Just pick a cute fabric & one to coordinate with the back of the bib... cut out the pattern, sew right sides together, turn out & do another stitch around the edge to secure. I used metal snaps for the closure...but again, you could use velcro.

Project #4 ~ Homemade burp cloths

Once again, super easy... Just cut 1 rectangular piece from 2 coordinating fabrics, sew right sides together, turn out & sew again to secure. I plan to make many more of these with scraps of fabric I've got laying around.
Project #5 ~ Homemade Baby Blankets

This was the project that started the whole thing. I wanted to make a blanket or 2 for our little guy & things just kind of took off after that. It was the whole, "Well, if I can make this, then surely I can make this, this & this too..." So here are some of the blankets I've done so far...

Project #6 ~ Homemade Nursing Covers

So a while back I bought a "Hooter Hider" Nursing Cover off of ebay. And then when I got on this sewing kick, I decided I could just copy it & make my own. The instructions are a little bit more indepth (you have to get boning & buckles & such...) but if you want to know the details, I'd be happy to pass them along, just feel free to ask. Here's how my first one turned out...

Now, I know I didn't make this last thing...but look how cute they are... I found these little socks at Winners & just had to get hem. The soother is there so you can see how tiny the socks are...

6 more days people!

Thanks for "Free" Healthcare

2009-04-17T20:46:00.000-07:00

So in the past 2 days I've had to use the Healthcare system 3 times so far (with another trip scheduled for tomorrow morning) Imagine how nuts that would be if I had to pay every time I went out of pocket... (I know... we pay through our taxes, but at least I don't have to think about it or look at a bill) Anyway... not trying to get political or anything...

Thursday I had my regular Doctor's appointment (38wks 4days) The good news is he says I'm now 2cm dialated. The bad news is my BP was 150/90...the highest it's ever been my whole prgnancy. AND... I'd had 5 straight up dizzy spells that day. So I mentionned them & the Doctor said to monitor how I felt & if I was still dizzy today to go to Labor & Delivery Triage @ the hospital for an assessment.

Well I was dizzy all through the night & all day today so I went to my work place to measure my BP again & it was 154/103. So off to Emerg we went. Right up to L&D for a non-stress test. Baby's fine...my BP was 143/86 & then 138/77. So they did a urinalysis & bloodwork & then sent me home. They said they'd call if there was anything to report. Sure enough at about 7:50 they called asking me to come back for IV antibiotics! apparently I have a bladder infection.

So we went back & I got an IV (first time...not so fun) & waited it out while the Ab's were deleivered. They gave me some pills & I have to go back tomorrow @ 10am to see my Doctor @ the hospital & get a Rx from him. FUN DAY. But I really do hope this dizzyness thing subsides, because it is NOT COOL. I'm scared I'm going to fall over in the middle of the night when I get up to pee.

So hopefully we'll get it all figured out & the baby will come soon & everything will be all good.

Which Birthday? & Free Stuff Updates

2009-04-16T05:50:00.000-07:00

A little contest for you all... with a little prize (unknown, as of yet, what it will be...but it'll be something good) for the first commenter who has the right guess.

Who's Birthday will our little guy end up being born on (or closest to)???

a) Chantelle Abarca's on April 20th
b) Ryan Hudson's (my little brother) & Earth Day on April 22nd
c) Meaghan Mingo's on April 24th
d) Kathy Nelson's on April 26th (that's right isn't it Kathy? I think I remember you saying that)
e) Wendy "MumHud" Hudson on May 5th

Let's just say for sanity's sake it had better not be "e"... but I guess with a first time pregnancy, it very well could be.

So good luck to you all & good luck to me & I'll send the prize out once we know who wins!

p.s. Updates on the other giveaways I've done:

*The shampoo/conditioner coupons have all been mailed out... look for them shortly.
*I've thought of everything I'll send for the "5 Homemade things" giveaway & just have organize myself to finish making a couple of things & send them out. As a reminder, I'll be sending something to:

1) Claudine (I have your address)
2) "B" ~ Claudine's friend...(I now have her address)
3) Jenny May McKim (I have your address)
4) Chantelle Abarca (I have your address)
5) Julia Blakeney (I have your address)

Thanks guys!

2009-04-09T10:28:00.000-07:00

So these were the first 5 qualifying (aka, living in Canada) commenters:

1) Julia Blakeney
2) Kathy Nelson
3) Brianne Fraser
4) Nancy Wentzell
5) Lesley Fraser

So I just need mailing addresses for Brianne, Nancy & Lesley.

Thanks for playing!

Free Stuff

2009-04-08T12:32:00.000-07:00

So I have some free stuff to give away! I'm participating in a marketing research survey for the new Hydralicious Shampoos & Conditioners...

hydralicious

swirled shampoos and hydrating conditioners meet your hair match with our teams of custom-swirled shampoos and moisturizing conditioners. take a dip into our swirls of luscious hydration. find the one that's right for you...

*featherweight shampoo/ conditioner
*self-targeting shampoo/ conditioner
*reconditioning shampoo/ conditioner

So the first 5 people to write a comment will get 2 coupons, one for a shampoo & one for a conditioner of your choice...absolutely free! The only thing I ask is that once you've tried the stuff, come back to this post & comment on what you liked & what you didn't like about the products... that was I can pass along your feedback to the company.

Thanks & good luck!

Oh, & make sure you send me your mailing address through facebook or to kellielambert@hotmail.com.

WARNING... Images not for the faint of heart!!!

2009-04-06T10:28:00.001-07:00

So as promised... this is the state of affairs with regards to my feet these days. I figured if you're reading this, we're probably good enough of friends that you won't judge me for my disgusting feet. (I got a little sick when I saw the pics, so if you do too, it's okay, I totally understand.)

Anyway... 20 days to go. I'm off work now, so I'll keep my feet up & things should be okay.

Cankles

2009-03-31T17:00:00.000-07:00

So Saturday after the Farmers Market I was thinking, "Wow, my feet feel really weird"...like really tight & just ...different. So when I got home I took my socks off & I was like... "Wow...my ankles & feet have exploded in size all of a sudden. No ankles anymore...just cankles & Fred Flinstone feet.

I'd take a picture for you all, but I haven't been able to see my feet in weeks. :)

So it's been rest & elevation for those puppies since then... so far things have been okay.

The Countdown keeps ticking

2009-03-31T04:52:00.000-07:00

I just looked at my Lilypie ticker & realized there's only 26 days left...

Oh wow.

It's 5:48 in the am... I'll have a real post later.

The Countdown is on my friends...

2009-03-25T19:16:00.000-07:00

Well I had a prenatal check up today. I can't believe I'm on weekly visits already. And that there's only 4 more to go (hopefully). And I got the added bonus of having the Group B Strep Swab & an internal exam today (YAY for me). It was supposed to be next week but Dr. Lindsay is away next week & guess who's covering his practise for him while he's away??? My Bishop... FANTASTIC. So I requested a visit this week & will skip the unpleasantries of letting my Bishop see THAT next week. (WHEW...dodged that bullet)

So skip this paragraph if you're squeamish or don't like TMI... so he told me there's no dilation yet, but that "things" are softening...so that's good... I'm cool with that. Things are coming along.

Dr. Lindsay's measurements speculated that the baby weighs 6lbs 9oz (within 10-15% accuracy, so at worst guess he's sitting at about 6lbs right now. With a lb a week gain over the next 4 weeks, I'm looking at about a 10lb baby. "Can I just say" (shout out to the Glenforest days) that I'm not interested in delivering a 10 lb baby? No thanks...not me. He could be born right now & I'd be just fine with that.

Luckily I only gained 2 lbs this past weeks. She shocked me good with that "6lb" announcement last week. So we'll just keep going along & everyone pray for an early delivery! (Please & thanks)

Here's a pic of our little guy.

Happy Spring & Beached Whales

2009-03-20T07:30:00.000-07:00

So Dr. Lindsay

(pictured here with my friend, Tina, who just had her baby girl a couple of weeks ago) specializes in obstetrics & as such has 5 ultrasound machines in his clinic. So I get to see our little guy each visit & he does measurements to confirm the baby's size & weight.

Last time, he weighed 4 lbs (approx...it's within 4% accurate).

The good news is: Baby weighed 5lbs 12oz yesterday (2 weeks after the last visit)

The bad news is...Mom gained 6lbs in that same time frame.

Therefore, this is how I feel...

Happy Spring everyone!

What's that in the picture???

2009-03-14T18:44:00.000-07:00

This is what happens when you try to take a picture of something right underneath of you when you're 34 weeks pregnant.

Also...here's my Top 5 List of things I'm not really interested in hearing people say to me these days:

1) You're STILL pregnant??? (What kind of stupid question is that? OBVIOUSLY there is still a small child dwelling in my uterus)

2) Are you having twins? (Just so you know, that's the equivalent of saying...'wow, you're really big')

3) 6 weeks left? Wow... that's still a long way to go! (Thanks, 'cause I really need to focus on how much time I have left...)

4) Wow, you look really uncomfortable. (Once again, thanks for your insight)

5) Looks like it should be any day now, hahaha. (There's always a little fake laugh at the end...because generally people know when they're saying something stupid)

But seriously people, as uncomfortable/sore/tired/in pain as I am, I'm glad that I'm pregnant with our little baby & I wouldn't trade this time for anything because I know it'll all be worth it. I can't wait to meet our little boy... and it's only 6 more weeks!

Maternity Pics... At Long Last!

2009-03-07T18:09:00.000-08:00

As promised...here are come of the shots Suzanne took of me. These were done when I was 30 weeks pregnant.

8 Weeks to Go!

2009-03-01T13:19:00.001-08:00

So it's week 32 & I'm thinking, "How much bigger can I possibly get...?" My back has been hurting lately & I thought it was just pregnancy/work related...but I thought I'd call Alberta HealthLink to ask if it was okay to use one of those electric massagers. I'd used it once & the baby started kicking right away...so I stopped using it. I was worried the vibrations or noise might hurt him. (Anyone have any thoughts on this? Do you think it would be okay to use?)

Anyway, the nurse didn't end up saying if it was okay or not, but she did do an assessment over the phone & determined that I might have a bladder infection. She said I should go to a walk-in clinic within 4 hours... but it was Saturday night so I asked if it would be okay to wait & she said I should just go to the hospital right away. So Alex & I went, deck of cards in hand for the anticipated hours of waiting in the emergency room. But when I checked in they let me know that since I was 32 wks, I'd be sent right up to the Labor & Delivery dept.

They did a urinalysis & while we were waiting they did a non-stress test with the fetal monitors for 20 minutes. We got to listen to his heartbeat for that time, while we played cards. The test showed no bladder infection (yay!) ... I just have to start drinking more water. I haven't been feeling like drinking water lately because it makes me feel like I need to pee all the time... but I guess I still need to keep hydrated. I just hate having to go 50 million times a day!

But it was a nice chance to see where we'll have to go for the big day...like a little trial run. Prenatal classes are done, but we have the tour of the hospital this Wed... so I'll get to see even more & hopefully feel more comfortable about where I'll have the baby.

So I'm just waiting to get the maternity pictures from Suzanne...she's still editing & cropping... so as soon as I get them, I'll post some. I'm so excited to see them!

Testimony of Tithing

2009-02-26T18:57:00.000-08:00

So we've been 100% tithe payers & I guess you could say I had a testimony of tithing (or maybe just of the tax breaks we get as LDS-ers & our 10% thing) ... but this week I had a really good testimony/faith building experience related to tithing.

As I'm approaching my maternity leave, I'm getting super nervous about money (or the lack thereof) & have been squirreling away food storage, diapers & wipes, anything that I can so I don't have to spend $$$ while on mat leave. Well, this past month we had a few extra bills because our car died & had to get a new one (well, new to us ~ it's a 2006 Pontiac Pursuit - luckily we had a lot of help from Alex's Mom & Stepdad) & I was almost debating not paying our tithing this time because it would give us a negative bank account balance... we have overdraft protection, but still, I don't like to go there...

But on Sunday, I realized I couldn't just not pay it, because I knew I needed to show Heavenly Father that I had faith we'd be okay. Well, I went today, with trepidation, to check our bank account balance online, only to find out that somehow we weren't at a negative balance. At first I thought the tithing cheques hadn't gone out yet, but then I saw that they had. And then I saw that almost the same amount that our tithing was had been deposited back into our account in the form of two sources...One...a "tax refund" & the other, an extra car insurance payment (for the dead cadillac) being refunded.

The first thing I did was called the government's tax dept to find out why there was a tax refund deposited into our account (since we haven't even filed our taxes yet) And they had no record of giving us that amount. I asked if there was anything else I could do & they said no, as far as they were concered, to not worry about it.

So I just thought it was really interesting that the amount I thought we'd be overdrawn was "taken care of". I just love Heavenly Father! :)

p.s. sprry no pics!

Lucky 5... Lucky You

2009-02-16T16:08:00.000-08:00

Are you one of the Lucky 5?
Lucky you!

The first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me! My choice. For you. This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:

1. I make no guarantees that you will like what I make! (Though I hope you will!)

2. What I create will be just for you.

3. It'll be done this year {might be a little while}

4. You get no clue what it's going to be. It may be a story. It may be poetry or maybe even some creation I haven't even invented yet. I may draw or paint something. I may bake you something and mail it to you. Who knows? Not you, that's for sure!

5. I reserve the right to do something extremely strange.

The catch? Oh, the catch is that you must repost this on your blog and offer to do the same to the first 5 people who do the same on your blog. The first 5 people to do so and leave a comment telling me they did win a FAB-U-LOUS homemade gift by me!

PS Please leave your address incase your surprise finds you via snail mail:)

Prenatal Visit & a Photoshoot

2009-02-11T09:11:00.000-08:00

So I had my 29 week visit yesterday... I cannot believe there is almost only 10 weeks left. Where the heck did the time go? I'm seeing Dr. "Let's take a look at this baby"-at every visit- Lindsay for my prenatal care (he'll be our Family Physician as well when our little guy is born...so that's helpful.) But he has an ultrasound machine in 2 of his rooms, so he always says..."Let's take a look at this baby!" Which is fine with me, because I love seeing him in there, moving around.

But there's not much to see now... he's getting so big. He's head down now & Dr. Lindsay says he prbably won't go back to breach before the big day. Maybe that's why I was up 7 times the other night to pee. So all I could really see with this ultrasound was the circumference of his head, which put him right at about 29 weeks. So that's good. Dr. Lindsay was a little rushed because there was a a patient of his in labour at the hospital & there was a possiblilty he'd have to go at any moment. I didn't mind because it's nice to know he'd be there for me when needed.

And I got some maternity pictures done, compliments of my friend Suzanne Purnell.

Suzanne & I used to be VTing companions & now I'm her Visiting Teacher. She's awesome & does really great photos & wanted to practise doing maternity shots. She used 2 different back drops & then we went to Muskoseepi Park to get some outside shots. I had a great time & look forward to see the shots once shes'd cropped them. I'll upload some pics to this post once they are available.

So we had our first Pre-natal class last Wednesday at the Public Health Unit. SO much fun! Very informative & apparently everyone in Grande Prairie is pregnant right now. There were so many couples there! I guess they're running classes all the time. But we learned a lot...got to see a video of the stages of labour & delivery, played a game, got some free stuff (covered by our $60 class fee, I'm sure :) Looking forward to tonight's class where we'll talk about pain management & relaxation techniques.

Our Smiling Baby Boy

2009-01-18T16:12:00.000-08:00

Well I guess Lambert Men don't know how to make girls after all. :)

We had our visit to UC Baby Clinic in Edmonton & had a wonderful time there. It was so fun & we got to see our little baby...whom they told us right off the bat was 100% boy...it wasn't hard to miss. He gave us lots of great shots & we have a nice video from the visit as well.

She said the following things about our little man:

*He has my "button" nose
*He has lots of hair (hence the heartburn)
*He'll have long eyelashes
*He has our full lips
*He'll be about 8lbs when he's born (I don't know how she can tell that, but anyway)

So despite all the things I thought meant I was having a little girl, we actually made a little boy! And my heart sank a little when I thought about all the cute girl clothes I wouldn't be able to use/buy...but now I'm on the Boy Train & I'm pretty stoked.

We went to IKEA on Saturday & picked out things for Baby Boy Lambert's Room. I have the Rainforest mobile, so we're going to go with a jungle kind of theme.

Alex was more than happy to pick out things, including the Leaf Canopy...

And a crocodile stuffed animal. It's going to be so sweet by the time we're done. I'm sooo excited!

Here are some more cute pics of the baby:

Awww shucks.

2009-01-13T13:05:00.000-08:00

Turns out the "change in due date" thing wasn't an official change...that's just what the ultrasound last time showed... but from a medical perspective, they're sticking with Apr 26th as my due date. But thanks Dr. Lindsay, for giving me a sliver of hope (for a month) & then yanking it away...that was great :)

Oh well.... the baby's going to come when it wants to anyway :)

Aching Belly Buttons & Old Crazy Ladies

2009-01-03T21:28:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year to Everyone! Hope you all had a swell time ringing in 2009.

So I thought they were kidding when they said your belly button would hurt/ache...turns out...they weren't. It's one of the weirdest 'baby related' feelings I've had as of late. Oh... & the baby is kicking quite a bit now...all over the place, stretching out...checking out the boundries, like he/she owns the place or something. And I first noticed the aching belly button thing when a couple of kicks/pokes/prods landed there. Not a cool feeling my friends.

Oh...and I also had a 70 year old woman ask if I was having twins... so that was a nice addition to the day.

She asked when I was due & said "Oh, you've got a long way to go yet...are you having twins?" I was looking for a polite way to say that she looked like she was having twins as well, but I thought I'd better just leave it alone. I've only got like 15 weeks left people! That's not that long! I can't believe how fast time is flying.

Anyway...I had a great day...how about you?

Belly Pic...almost 25 weeks

2008-12-30T20:45:00.000-08:00

Well folks... there's no denying it...I'm totally pregnant, as you can see from this photo. But I love it. I love being pregnant. Even though I can turn into a crazy person faster than ypu can say, "There's no more Cadbury Mini Eggs", & even though I cry at almost everything, I love being the temporary home of our little baby.

Christmas Cold & Kicking Babies

2008-12-28T04:37:00.000-08:00

So I got sick on Christmas Day. Woke up feeling not so nice, things progressed to the point where I never did get out of my PJs & had Xmas dinner that way. Nice. I was supposed to go to a joint family Xmas dinner at the Church for all the locals with no extended family way up here in the Great White North...but I ended up missing that too. It sucked because I really wanted to go, but I just couldn't face packing up all that food & taking it & all the work that would've been involved...I just didn't have the energy. Alex went alone after we had our little dinner together (I feel so bad... he's such a trooper that's gone to so many activities without me for one reason or another... people always ask him why I'm not there "this time")

Anyway... things have gotten worse & it really sucks that I can only take Tylenol. Luckily I had Rx for a rinse that numbs your throat (albeit temporarily) from a previous illness, so I've been using that & it seems to help. That & plenty of ice water & heating pads on my face & head. I'm up now (5:30am) for a while because I can't sleep (due to the lack of the abilility to breathe properly & now I have an earache as well. I'm wondering if I should go to the doctor tomorrow, or if I should just wait it out, seeing as he'll probably just tell me there's nothing I can do anyway. Any thoughts?

Aside from that fun... Alex felt the baby kick the other night. He's been putting his hand on my belly every night around the time I usually feel it the most active, with no luck until 2 nights ago when he felt it. It was sooo neat. And last night was the first night I wasn't completely fascinated with every little kick & movement & was starting to think, "Okay, I just want to go to sleep now..." But that could be because I'm sick & my patience is a little less than stellar.

So because they've moved my due date up, I've changed my UC Baby 3D Imaging appointment to Fri, Jan 16th...I'll be 27 weeks at that point (which is ridiculous to think...) So I can't wait to post pics of the little one. No pics today...sorry.

Hope everyone is having a great holiday season. Take care.

Prenatal Update

2008-12-16T21:57:00.000-08:00

So they changed my due date today (YAY!) From April 26th to the 17th. Every little bit helps, I guess. We had our 20 week ultrasound & here are some pics.

It's so weird to think that that little person is inside of me. Even though I can feel hin or her everyday now (which is so cool as well). We didn't find out the sex (Alex thinks it's a girl...me too kinda) but we might when we go to the UC Baby Clinic in Edmonton on Jan 31. We'll see.

But we had an interesting experience with the whole "name choosing thing" ... A name popped into my head (randomly, & one I would have never chosen on my own) & I was like "Ya right. No way." And then half a day later, Alex yells up the stairs (randomly) "What about _____??" (He said the name that had popped into my head) I was freaked out a bit. And then, when I get my new Scrapbooking magazine in the mail, don't they have the cutest little girl on the front & she has the same name too! So I'm like...okay...what the heck is going on here? So I guess we'll see if she looks like a _________. (If it's even a she)

Anyway...all is well... going to the Podollan Inn & Spa for our Babymoon this weekend. I am so pumped. I have a prenatal massage booked & they have a fabulous restaurant there. It's going to be great. And then it's going to be 2 weeks of not working & Christmas too! How's that for awesome?

Hope all is well with everyone. Have a Happy Holiday season!

Calling All Addresses!

2008-12-02T08:02:00.000-08:00

Well...it's that time of year... I've got most of my Christmas cards done (one of the perks of sitting at a Christmas Craft Show booth for 3 days) but I just need your addresses.

Please either leave them as a comment to this post, of if you prefer not to do that, send them as an email to kellielambert@hotmail.com.

p.s. I already have addresses for Kristiane, Sheldon & JJ, Meaghan & Jason Stewart, Karen & Brandon Bing, and Kathy & Jeff Nelson.

Thanks so much & Happy Holidays!

15 Weeks & Counting

2008-11-03T19:49:00.000-08:00

So I'm 15 weeks now...took another picture...I'm coming to terms with the fact that at some point in the near future, I'm going to be as big as a house...as depressing as that is.

But I'm noticing it feels strange when I bend down to pick things up...like there's something in the way... (oh yeah...it's my baby) I'm always afraid I'm going to break my uterus...but people are telling me it can withstand up to like 200lbs of pressure & that I should chill out (in so many words)

My nausea is gone...but I find I get hungry quite a bit...and get a sick feeling if I don't eat something. I've been trying really hard to eat small portions of healthy snacks...luckily I've been craving mostly oranges & Granny Smith apples, etc. And I've been able to avoid the urgent "ice cream runs" (thank goodness it's cold out...I'd be screwed if it was summer time...) & I've not been eating too much fast food/junk food. I know it's important to not gain too much, since I was already heavier than I should've been to start. But luckily I've only gained 2 lbs in 15 weeks.

So everything is going well...and I'm enjoying pregnancy for the most part (except for getting dead tired by like 8:30pm)

On an unrelated note...I finished "Breaking Dawn" & it was so good! I'm listening to "Twilight" (unabridged) on iTunes & I can't wait to see the movie in a couple of weeks. Is Breaking Dawn it for the Twilight series?

Saw the baby!

2008-10-21T17:32:00.000-07:00

So cute!

Had my prenatal visit today (13 wks). He did an ultrasound & Alex & I got to see the baby... it's little head & hands. It was sooo cool to think that that baby is in my belly moving around...chillin out, maxin' & relaxin'. We didn't get any pics printed (we'll get those @ my 20 wk ultrasound at the Peace Diagnostic Imaging Clinic here in town.) but here's a couple of 13 week related pics I found on the ol' internet.

And that's pretty much what everything looked like too :)

And that's the actual size of the baby right about now.

Crazy hey? And we found out the baby's heart rate was 156 bpm... I found some info on the internet on "boy vs girl" heart rates...here it is:

Heartbeats

One belief that has been around for some time, and even had some acceptance in the medical community at one point, is that the fetal heartbeat differs for boys and girls. If you're having a girl, then the fetal heart rate will be above 140. A boy will have a heart rate below 140. However, that pesky science has reared its little head again to say that this is complete fiction. A baby's heart rate is not affected by its sex until it is born, when a girl's heart rate will increase considerably compared with boys during labor.

So we'll see...who knows?

Also...good news... no more nausea for me! I feel great! Like...super... still get tired though. And amazingly hungry. But it's all good.

It's just so intense.

2008-10-19T11:55:00.000-07:00

So I just finished Part 1 ("Bella") of Breaking Dawn... Oh Wow...is all I have to say. I'm so glad no one gave me any heads up along the way. My question is...do I have the read Part 2 ("Jacob") first, or can I skip to the next "Bella" part? I'll keep reading the Jacob part for now...but oh my!

As I've said before, what the heck am I going to do when I'm done this book?

(oh p.s. I now know that you have to read straight through...duh)

p.s. 2nd Trimester now folks...where did the time go? I feel great now...just hungry A LOT! and "randy" too...hee hee :)

Here's the baby now...3 inches long now...ridiculous!

2nd Pre-Natal Visit

2008-10-07T20:26:00.000-07:00

I figured I'd better write about my most recent pre-natal visit, before the next one happens in a week or so... Nobody told me time would pass so fast... I'm 11 weeks & 2 days already... baby Lambert is 2 inches long! That's so crazy.

So when I went for my visit I was 9 weeks & everything was fine... I got to see the tiny baby & hear it's heartbeat...that was so wild! I cried a little bit because I couldn't get over the fact that there was really a little person hangin out in my belly!

I was all ready to go & I was at the front desk making an appointment for my next visit when the doctor came around the corner & asked me to come back in for a minute. I was like, "Okay, sure"...??? So I sat down & he said, "I've just been looking at the results of your bloodwork & one test has come back positive for 'Syphilis'... I was like... "Syphilis...what is that?" (I mean, I know what Syphilis is, but I was just in shock & had no idea how I would even get that)

Dr Lindsay said it's an STD, but it could also be blood borne. Then I thought, well maybe I got it from a needle stick injury at work. But he said that I should wait before I get all worked up, because it might just be a typo from the Lab. So he asked me to wait in the waiting room while he got one of the Nurses to call the lab. I waited for about 15 minutes (felt like about 5 hours) & then got brought back in again... only to be told to not worry, it was just a typo & lucky for me, I was STD free! Yay :)

So I called Alex & said..."Well, the good news is I got to hear the heartbeat, the bad news is I got told I had Syphilis, but the good news is it was just a typo & I'm alright."

My sweet husband, got confused, & said "Well what word were they trying to spell?" He thought I meant that someone meant to write something else & "accidentally" wrote "Syphilis". (instead of what really happened, which was that someone accidentally checked "Yes" by the Syphilis box. It was pretty funny, after everything had settled down & got figured out.

So here I am at 11 weeks... first baby belly pic...

Yup... One Ticket for the "Twilight Bandwagon" Please

2008-10-01T20:19:00.000-07:00

So I'm also hooked... I knew it was inevitable, what with my past Buffy/Angel addiction. And better yet...the books are totally clean! Finished "Twilight" in about 8 hours...started "New Moon"..sooo good! (I actually went through the line up at Costco with all 4 because I don't want to wait in between each one.) Anyone have any coping advise for what you do when you're done all 4 & that's it?

Free 3D Glasses to Any Pregnant Ladies Out There

2008-09-15T22:00:00.001-07:00

Julia Blakeney put me in the direction of a great website that shows you, week by week what's happening to you & your baby during your pregnancy. The website is: http://3dpregnancy.parentsconnect.com/

The really cool thing is that you can see your growing little one in many different forms. 2D (cartoon pic), 3D Static, 3D Rotatable & Anaglyph...which means that if you happen to have 3D glasses, you can see the image of your baby in 3D...like in the movies!

Now, because I`m such a nerd, I just had to get a pair, so of course I went to eBay & purchased a lot of 5 pairs for 99 cents. And it is so cool to see the pic on the website.

So I have an extra 4 pairs, if anyone is interested in having a pair, or knows anyone that`s pregnant & would like a pair...email me your address ... kellielambert@hotmail.com.

Also... I`m tallying up some information...can you let me know:

a) If you had morning sickness or not &
b) If you ended up having a boy or a girl.

I`m trying to sort out this `If you have bad morning sickness, you`re probably having a girl` thing.

Thanks!

p.s. this is what Little Lambert looks like @ 8 weeks,

Size: 1/2 inch

Weight: .04 ounce or 1 gram

8 Weeks Pregnant

First Ultrasound!

2008-09-05T17:37:00.000-07:00

So we went to the hospital to get my first ultrasound & to get a more accurate due date. I had to drink a LITRE of water one hour before the appointment & then they were late, so there I was, sitting with a litre of water in my bladder, needing to pee like nobody's business.

The ultrasound technician made Alex wait outside, promising he'd bring him in in a little bit. Then the technician did his thing for like 12 minutes, & I couldn't see a thing, & it hurt so bad because I had to pee so much. But he finally stopped & brought Alex in & then guess what! Holding hands, we got to see the tiny, very fast flicker of the heartbeat of our baby! It was sooo awesome & soooo amazing to see life in there!

So they've adjusted my due date to April 26th, 2009...which seems like so long away, but time is passing so fast, that I know it'll be here before we know it!

I've been really sick & so I started taking Diclectin, which has become my new best friend. I still feel nauseous/queasy during the morning, but it's way better than without it. And most of all, our little baby is sooo worth a little bit of nausea!

So all is well in our world...how about yours?

Heavenly Father has a sense of humor...

2008-08-29T17:39:00.000-07:00

Here's a snippet from a previous blog entry,
dated July 7th...

"No baby news yet... In fact, we're putting that idea on the back burner for a while... I just want to take the "stress less" approach & when it happens, it happens. Watch...now it'll happen like next month :) Anyway...we'll see where this "not thinking about it" road takes us."

Let me just point out that I did, indeed, find out about it the very next month.

Alex + Kellie = Baby Lambert

2008-08-23T20:53:00.000-07:00

Well, folks... all that trying paid off.

We're really excited. We'd kind of put baby making on the back burner for a while, so when I started to feel sick every day a couple of weeks ago I thought ... "What the heck is going on here?" Alex urged me to wait a little longer to take a test, because I've spent sooo much money on tests that have 100% of the time come back negative. So I waited.

Until he went to New Brunswick for a week.... :) I was still feeling sick every day, so on Monday (the 18th) after Lesya (my friend from work) & I went to see "Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D" I bought 2 digital pregnancy tests... and decided to wait until the next morning to take one.

So 4am rolls around & I really have to pee & I think...do I really want to waste this valuable testing opportunity. So there I am @ 4 in the morning...doing this test...I'm half asleep... & all of a sudden I look over to the counter & see this:

(okay, the photo shoot came later)

I couldn't believe my eyes! I was so used to seeing "No..you're not pregnant...you suck...please try again...etc) So to see a YES with a plus sign!!! Double whammy! I was pumped (& no longer half asleep)

So what do I do? I try to call my husband...who is in N.B. where it is 7am. I knew he wouldn't be up, but I was hoping his Mom would be. So I called. And she said, "You're lucky I'm up." (Whew...I was lucky...) But, unfortunately, he wasn't there. He'd stayed @ his brother's house, and she didn't have his number. So I just asked her to get him to call me when she saw him. And then I tried to go back to sleep for a couple of hours until I had to get up. (no easy task)

I decided @ 6:30am that I didn't want to wait until he called me @ work to tell Alex about my news... So I decided to try to track him down. Canada411.com didn't have any thing for a "Chris Lambert" So I called Alex's dad...who wasn't home...so I got his cell number, called his dad's cell & finally got Chris' number... called Alex... & said...

"I just wanted to let you know that your sperm works."

There it was... immortalized forever... He said... "Really ??... that's how you decide to tell me?"

Because I'm classy like that. :)

I just wanted to tell him in an interesting way. Mission accomplished, as far as I'm concerned.

Since I'd become so used to getting negative tests results, I figured it was in Science's best interest to take the other test (@ 6:45am)...once again... "YES+"...so exciting... almost as exciting as when I took the 3rd @ 7pm ... just to make absolutely sure. "+" again! YAY! for Baby Lambert!

So I went to work & had a horrible morning sickness experience that I'll share later... it's time for bed now.

So in conclusion, in my first week of knowing that I'm pregnant...here's what I've discovered:

1) My new favorite pass time is taking pregnancy tests & having them come back positive...

2) It's amazing that you can be hungry & nauseous @ the same time...

3) Pregnancy is nature's form of bulimia.

4) When your pregnant body says it's time to a) throw up, b) eat, c) sleep...you'd better listen...

5) I love having a little person growing inside of me!

Signs, Signs, Everywhere there's Signs

2008-08-04T21:32:00.000-07:00

Fun times with my Momma a few weeks ago when she was nice enough to come with me to the Farmers Market and keep me company. She was also nice enough to take a few shots of my booth, some cards & some signs... Here they are... (Short post today...working on another one as I write this...) p.s. Feel free to visit my website (that is partially under construction at the moment, as I've switched to a new domain name "socutecardsandsigns.com" ... "socutecards.com" is still functional...but I'm working towards the Cards & Signs one being the main website.

"A Miracle a Day Keeps the Faithless Away"

2008-07-27T11:31:00.000-07:00

So this week the Lambert Family faced a little bit of drama... I'll let Alex tell you all about it... this is an entry from his blog at work

Cadillac Chaos

"On Tuesday night my wife assumed that I'd lock the car doors for her, and I assumed that she already had done so, after she'd been shopping. Everybody looks like an ass, and that night my car gets broken into by a punk kid. He wants to see what he can steal, and comes across the spare key, so he decides he'll just steal the whole car.Getting ready the next morning, I see isn't out front.

Total denial kicks in and I start checking the back, then the front again... nothing. Call the cops, call the insurance company (PLPD leaves me up the creek). Go to the police station in a cab, fill out a statement and swear on a bible (placed by the Gideons). I was left to my own devices for a minute, so I cracked that bible open and read a verse saying, forgive them, they know not what they do. I decided that I would. This kid is most likely just the byproduct of a 'Grand Theft Auto' video game culture, and he doesn't realize the panic & chaos a joyride for him can cost others.

I got to work and began to talk on the radio about what had happend. I described the car, and advise people listening to call the cops if they see it. I advise the thief to get out and leave the car, since the city now knows that it's stolen. Got a call from Claudio that afternoon, who had seen the car parked at his constuction site. He was on his way to it, not knowing the thief had already come back & taken it again just minutes before, almost crashing while leaving the site.

Right after that, I got another call from Shane, who spotted the car, followed it and called the cops. He watched the takedown, and snapped some photos for me.The photo's are here, but the 16 year old kid's face has been removed, partly because he's a minor, partly because the punishment he get's will hopefully be enough, and partly because he'll be free at some point, and I don't want him slashing my tires for revenge. I played Shane's request, and I always will in the future. Shane is a man who helped a fellow man in need, for no reason than it was the right thing to do. He didn't throw himself into a line of fire, but he did take a little time & effort, and I'm in his debt."

So I feel that it was a complete miracle that we were able to get our car back not even 10 hours after we discovered it was missing. Thank goodness Alex works for a radio station. When Alex went back to the radio station (after picking up the car, safe & sound) he went on the air to review the events of the day & the outcome. And he told Dave & the listeners of Grande Prairie that the hardest thing to forgive was the fact that the radio station in our car had been changed to Rock 97.7 (a competitors station) & that it must be the preferred radio station of car thieves & criminals. But it's a good thing he wasn't listening to Q99, otherwise he would've heard about Alex looking for him & getting the city of GP's help with the search.

Anyway...it's all taken care of now...as they say..."All's well that ends well."

Sunbeams, house guests & elements of my life that suck my time away.

2008-07-07T18:40:00.000-07:00

The only problem with neglecting your blog for so long is that by the time you go to update...you have about a million things you want to say & the whole thing just seems to daunting & you want to abandon the whole idea altogether. It's usually around the time that one of you out there in the Blog family sends me a Facebook msg that says..."update blog" (Kristi) or you chastise me personally (Julia) that I get to business. So keep prompting me & we'll see if we can get this blog thing going a little more regularly.

So I was just called to be in the Grande Prairie 1st Ward Relief Society Presidency. I'm the 2nd (Enrichment) Counselor. I'm pretty excited (mainly because I get to decorate the Relief Society bulletin board in the hallway :) It'll be a lot of fun. Jennifer Kessler is the RS President & Sarah Shaw is the 1st (Education) Counselor. Fun times with some fun girls. I had been teaching the Sunbeams (& I had some super cute pics of the little ones, but our camera ate them...believe me...I'm not impressed) for what seemed like such a short time (only about 6 weeks) before they re-organized the RS Presidency & I got called to that.

I was teaching my first RS lesson in a while on Sunday (Charity is not easily provoked) & wasn't I surprised to find my summertime houseguest arrive early...right in the middle of my lesson...my Momma! MumHud has come to visit Alex & I for a week & a half & her flight got in yesterday @ 3:00pm...right @ the beginning of Relief Society. I thought for sure she wouldn't go to church with me until next week...so when she walked through the door smack dab in the middle of my lesson...well...I was certainly surprised! It's been over 20 years since she's been here in Grande Prairie...but there were people who still remembered her...so it was nice to have a trip down memory lane.

And it's been fun hanging out with her. I've gotten to re-watch the last few episodes of Grey's Anatomy because my Mom wanted to see the episode (s4 ep13) with Meaghan Smith's song "5 More Minutes". And as if you can just watch one episode & not finish the rest of the season. I love the fact that I cry just as much watching it over again as I did when I watched it for the first time. We watch 3 tonight (as I painted signs) & we have the big 2 hour finale to watch tomorrow & I can't wait!

So, I just wanted to let all of you know that if you'd like to find a way to never have time to get anything done...try adding a part (almost full) time job on top of your already full time (40-50 hrs per week) job @ a busy dental practise...then you'll feel like even if there was 30 hours in a day, you'd still find a way to never get everything done. The good news is..."So Cute" Cards & Signs by Kellie is really doing very well... The Farmers Market has been great...& the Grandview Country Store now sells my signs & Sheryl (owner & operator) got me to do all the business signage for her store ... in fact, I actually done a few business signs now. So...needless to say...it keeps me very busy. But just for all of you (b/c I love you all that much :) I'm staying up extra late to get this business done. I do love writing & keeping everyone up to date...I just wish I could dictate to my computer while I paint signs....wouldn't that be sooo great?

Here's some pics of the signs...

No baby news yet... In fact, we're putting that idea on the back burner for a while... I just want to take the "stress less" approach & when it happens, it happens. Watch...now it'll happen like next month :) Anyway...we'll see where this "not thinking about it" road takes us.

Everything thing else is good...work is good, the house is good (I know I need to get pics up) Looking forward to a few days off next week...so who knows...I might even get another entry in sooner rather than later.

Anyway...love you guys...talk to you soon!

Long Time Coming

2008-03-29T20:53:00.000-07:00

Well I just about had a heart attack when I saw that I last posted on Dec 10, 2007... I thought it had to be some sort of mistake. But no sir... it certainly has been almost 4 months since my last post. You guys probably aren't even checking to see if I'm still writing. Sorry for letting you down guys. I think of you way more than I show through blogging, emailing, & phoning.

Things are busy here...work is good & "So Cute" Cards & Signs by Kellie is really growing. I don't think I'm going to have pics for this post...so I apologize in advance. I just went downstairs to see if the pics are took of the house were still on the camera & it turns out they're not because Alex needed the space for the Foo Fighters concert (which was last night in Edmonton ~ I didn't go, but Alex had a fabulous time... I think that's the real reason he got us to move out here...so that he could be closer to good concerts...anyway...) So sorry for that...they were there at one point.

No good news on the baby making front yet. We thought had that situation all locked up last month...turns out it was a false alarm. We'll keep you posted.

So I'll share with you all what I've enjoyed listening to/watching lately.

Top 5 Songs:
1) "I'm Yours" - Jason Mraz
2) "Realize" - Colbie Callait
3) "My Moon, My Man" - Feist
4) "Stop & Stare" - One Republic
5) "A Kick in the Teeth" - Fischerspooner

Top 5 Movies
1) August Rush (PG) - The story of a charismatic young Irish guitarist and a sheltered young cellist who have a chance encounter one magical night above New York's Washington Square, but are soon torn apart, leaving in their wake an infant, August Rush, orphaned by circumstance. Now performing on the streets of New York and cared for by a mysterious stranger, August uses his remarkable musical talent to seek the parents from whom he was separated at birth. (I watched this one twice in the same day)

2) Across the Universe (PG-13) - An original musical film, Across The Universe is a fictional love story set in the 1960s amid the turbulent years of anti-war protest, the struggle for free speech and civil rights, mind exploration and rock and roll. At once gritty, whimsical and highly theatrical, the story moves from high schools and universities in Massachusetts, Princeton and Ohio to the Lower East Side of Manhattan, the Detroit riots, Vietnam and the dockyards of Liverpool. A combination of live action and animation, the film is paired with many songs by The Beatles that defined the time.

3) Dan in Real Life (PG-13) - Dan Burns is a single father who dedicates his life to his children, but one day he meets Marie at a bookstore. They get to know each other, but then Dan finds out that Marie is actually dating his brother.

4) Juno (PG-13) - I'm sure you know all about this little gem. Laugh out loud hilarity!

5) Enchanted (PG) - A classic Disney fairytale collides with modern-day New York City in a story about a fairytale princess who is sent to our world by an evil queen. Soon after her arrival, Princess Giselle begins to change her views on life and love after meeting a handsome lawyer. Can a storybook view of romance survive in the real world?

So...good tunes, good movies. I'm a big fan. Hope you're all doing well.

Leaving the Land of Apartment Dwelling

2007-12-10T19:32:00.000-08:00

Well folks... again I apologize for my lack of blogging... my life consists of working at Nova Dental (I usually submit about 100 hours every 2 weeks) & making cards & signs for "So Cute" Cards & Signs by Kellie (I'll put some pics up soon. I promise I'll get better.

But....the good (awesome) news is... we're getting a house!!! (YAY!!!) We've been looking for a while now... we started about 5 months ago. Over that time, the prices of houses have dropped & the interest rates have dropped as well... It's the middle of winter, nobody really wants to buy a house right now, so there's tonnes on the market, & so the prices have come down quite a bit.

When we saw this one (MLS # L040765), we knew it was the one. Everything is perfect.

Building Type : House

Bedrooms : 3

Bathrooms : 2

Bathrooms (Partial) : 1

Interior Floor Space : 1328 sqft

Storeys : 2

Age Of Building : 2 Years

So as I'm writing this, I'm also watching Grey's Anatomy from last week & I'm bawling so I can't see the keys to type & I'm really missing Julia Blakeney. Snap... George just told off that Nazi...nice one George.

So we're pretty stoked about the house... we put our bid in & got verbal confirmation that our compromise was finalized @ $267,000.00. Tomorrow we'll sign the papers to confirm that amount & we'll put a deposit of $1000.00 down. We'll do the financing thing (we were already approved for $270,000.00 a few months ago) & hopefully our possession date will be Jan 18th or 25th. So we're pumped.

Let me know what you guys think of the house. You can see a virtual tour at www.mls.ca & putting in # L040765.

Love you all!!!

Check out my Slide Show!

2007-12-04T18:23:00.001-08:00

These are my 7 Random Things

2007-11-20T20:09:00.001-08:00

Okay...okay... so people have made comments about my lukewarm commitment to blogging... Folks...I sincerely apologize. I had the best of intentions when I started this business. I really meant to keep you all up to date frequently... I guess, somehow in the busy-ness of life, the definition of "frequent" somehow escaped me. I've actually developed a feeling of trepidation towards it...like when you don't return your movies to the library and allof a sudden you have overdue fines totalling $46.00... Well...I guess now it's time to pay my dues.

I've just recently discovered this tagging business (thanks Kristiane... I think of you often, miss you dearly & love you very much :) in the world of bloggers... So here are 7 random things that you might not have known about me & will contribute to your lives being 100% better once you learn these things about me. (I don't think it will make quite that much of an impact...but it can't hurt to lead in with a big build up...can it?)

1) I, unlike my dear ex-roomie extraordinaire, Jessica Smith, do not like the ocean. I don't like the smell of it, the taste of it, or the way it makes my hair feel when it's soaked with sea water. As much as I miss all of you guys, I don't miss the ocean... But don't worry...I'm not about to buy a pair of cowboy boots, or a lift for my truck yet.

2) I didn't actually make out with Aaron Smith... I know there were lots of rumors & speculation... but these lips are 100% Smith free.

3) "I love Lamp"... just kidding...I am, in fact, a very boring person lacking in "randomness" as I'm already struggling to share "random" things with you all.

4) This year, the thing I will miss one of my "most favoritest" activities in the world...christening the Christmas season by walking down Spring Garden road on a night when it's just barely snowing, with my "most cutest" hat/mitts/scarf combo & a cup of Vanilla Bean Hot Chocolate from Second Cup in my hand... & following it up with screaming "It's Santa...I KNOW him!!!" at the parade of lights.

5) I also really miss my life in Halifax. It's been fine & dandy to be on a nice, new little adventure with my husband...but seriously folks... this "being away from Halifax & missing the people I love to death" thing is starting to get old. And I just realized this right now. Sorry to be a "Debbie Downer" but I really do miss you guys. Oh well...at least I'm not the only one in the "I Ditched Halifax" club. Props go to Kristiane, Kristi & Claudine for stickin it out. People...please drop me a line to let me know we can still be friends in the eternities, okay? I promise I'll try to call too.

6) I'm addicted to watching a cappella versions of songs on You Tube. There's some pretty awesome & unexpected songs performed by various groups. I even ended up buying a CD of one of the groups ... the Carleton Singing Knights (http://myspace.com/thecarletonsingingknights) because they covered the following songs "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" by Daft Punk, "Soul Meets Body" by DCFC, "The District Sleeps Alone Tonight" by The Postal Service & more songs like that.

7) Finally, Every time I burp out loud I think of my ex-roomie JJ Choo. I don't even try to make it quiet (much to the dismay of my husband, who pleads with me to at least try to be attractive for him & not burp so loud "Just TRY to be a lady" he says.) And the same goes for farting.... in which case I think of my ex-roomies ... Julia, who would always let 'em rip & Jessica, who couldn't stand it if you did.

Well guys, there it is... I also need you to know that I mean to update more than I do. I mean to call more than I do, & I mean to clean my apartment more than I do. Okay, so ... "I see Sarah Shaw, Mellee MacDonald, & Ariel Nelson."

Love you dearly, not queerly

Operation "Make a Little Lambert"

2007-10-04T20:37:00.000-07:00

Well folks... The Lamberts are just about ready to embark on the journey of parenthood. (Wow... can you believe it?) After one year of marriage, & me begging Alex for the last few months to "get down to business already"...folks, he's finally caved.

Just kidding. I actually laid off the pressure for a while...I figured nothing would be better than having a baby when we were both totally ready. Then two weeks ago, after a really amazing Gospel Doctrine lesson (which I, unfortunately, couldn't attend, as I teach Sunday School to the 12-13 years), Alex came to me at home, after church & said he felt it would be good for us to have a baby. He explained that they talked about how Motherhood (which totally deserves a capital at the beginning, btw) helps the Mother (& family) to draw closer to the Lord, grow emotionally & bond together as a family better. It was so amazing to hear him say that... I didn't even have to drag it out of him!

So we're not going to ditch the pill quite yet... first... Momma Lambert has to get her body in "Healthy, Mommy Approved" shape first. As such, I'll be meeting with Rae-Lynne Goss, a personal trainer that works with Dr. Josee Boucher (one of the dentists I work with at Nova Dental) I'd mentionned my goals about getting in shape to have a baby to Josee & she immediately suggested working woth Rae-Lynne for a few months. So I met with her last Saturday, at her home... which is GORGEOUS, btw... Rae-Lynne is a Real Estate agent by trade & has an amazing house. The whole basement level is an in-home gym... with every type of weight/cardio equiptment you can imagine.

Last Saturday's meeting was to discuss what she could do for me, in terms of workout sessions in her home, meal planning & support. I was so pleased with her, especially by her own story of triumph... She was once at 268 lbs & decided to meet with a personal trainer...& now she's in totally fabulous shape & is a personal trainer herself!

So we discussed the frequency that I'd meet with her, $$$, etc & set up another appointment for Wednesday (last night). I went away feeling pumped for the whole experience, & decided that it would be awesome to attend "Mommy Body Boot Camp"

Wednesday night was great too, except for the getting my measurements done, my weight taken & pre-weight loss photos taken (especially since those had to be taken with just my bra & undies on...ugh) Actually, the "getting my wieght taken" part wasn't so bad, since it was 8lbs less than when I had it taken on the Saturday before. Mind you, about 3-4 lbs would have been the clothes... but still... I thought that was pretty awesome. Rather than telling you all a running tally of where I'm at weight wise, I'll just keep you up to date on how much I've lost so far.

I know that the more people I have on board with me, the better things will go, because there will be more people to be accountable to. The people at work are cheering me on & I hope you all will too. I'll keep you guys up to date on how things go, with the final blog to tell you all that the Lambert's are ready to go... :)

I know I usually put pictures up, but I figured you all wouldn't really want to see a picture of me in my skivvies, even though my trainer threatened to put them on Facebook... wouldn't that be a treat.

Take care!

"So Cute" Cards by Kellie... Update!

2007-09-12T21:16:00.000-07:00

Well... folks... things are taking off for me... my website... http://socutecards.com is becoming more & more functional everyday!

And I've also listed some cards on etsy.com... my page is http://socutecardsbykellie.etsy.com
& I'm adding more features to that page everyday too!

I have business cards (WOW) & each week, at the Farmers Market, more & more people ask me if I do custom orders... wedding invites, family Christmas cards, etc... so it's all very exciting.

I am loving every minute of it!

I love & miss you all.

"So Cute" Cards by Kellie

2007-08-19T14:42:00.000-07:00

So a few weeks ago I decided that I liked making homemade cards (thanks for the inspiration, Meaghan Mingo) & I decided that I'd like to try to sell them at the Gr ande Prairie Farmers' Market on Saturdays (from 10-2pm, if you're in the area)

So I went a little nuts at Michaels & the Superb Scrapbooking Store & went crazy making cards. So much so that Alex's favorite saying soon became, "You're making cards AGAIN???"

But I just knew it would all be worth it. I'd brought them into work to show them to Dr. Josee Boucher (she'd asked to see them... I wasn't just randomly pimping them at work, btw) & she ended up buying 6. So With over 100 made, I set out to my first Saturday at the Farmers Market.

So there were just a few pics of the set up, some cards I'd done, etc. It wasn't bad for my first week. A lot of the long time vendors said you need to do a few weeks in a row to build up more clientele. So I'll be back again this coming Saturday. It's been a lot of fun so far. If anyone is interested in getting some custom cards made, just let me know, I'll hook you up!

Workin Hard for the Money

2007-08-19T14:02:00.000-07:00

Oh how the cash drives our lives... In this area, with the cost of living being what it is (& can I just say...it's: RIDICULOUS...just in case you wanted to know) Alex & I have chosen to do what we can to get ourselves further ahead in this tres expensive town. (a town which has the personality of a bustling city, which is why I'm paying $1235.00 for a dowtown 1 brdm apt, I guess)

We've gotten part time jobs!!! I need you all to know that I haven't done anything else workwise besides Dental Assisting since the summer of 1999! (SNAP...that's a long time ago!) It all started when Alex's co-worker, Cory, mentionned that he "moonlights" at CD Plus in the mall on weekends. Alex decided that a) since he really likes music & the prospect of getting discounts on said music (thus, as Becky Bloomwood would say, we'd actually be SAVING money by having him work there & getting discounts on things he would spend $$$ on anyway), & b) since he really likes Cory (in a "Dude, you're a great friend" kinda way) & most importantly c) since he really likes gettin extra $$$, he decided to go into the store one day about a month ago & politely ask if they were hiring.

They said they weren't at the time...but Alex had heard from Cory specifically that they were...he mentionned that fact & the girl said, "Oh, you know Cory...well, you can come in tomorrow for an interview then." Alex went the next day & the first thing he was told was that they'd already interviewed someone for the position, but because he knew Cory, they were extending him the courtesy of an interview. And then he was asked why he thought he'd be a good candidate to work at a record store.

He said, "Well...I like to think that I'm a fairly personable person, I LOVE music...and.... I work at a radio station." So she said, "Good point...you're hired." And so, Alex began working Thursdays, Fridays & Saturdays @ CD Plus in the Prairie Mall.

So I decided that I should chip in my efforts as well & one day (about a month ago) when we were in at our friendly, neighborhood Movie Gallery, I casually asked, at the close of our transaction, if they were hiring. The manager (whom I now know as Karen) happened to be right there & I mentionned that I already had a full time job, & that I was just looking to get a couple of shifts on Fridays & Saturdays. She got this look of relief on her face & said she'd love to get one more person working on the weekends. I said I'd be by the next day with my resume so that we could work out the details. I went back & it was basically just filling me in on the duties of the job & the benefits (as in, 3 free rentals a day! ~ another thing Becky Bloomwood would recognize as savings!)

So I've been working there on the weekends. It's been a lot of fun. Like I said, it's been a lot of years since I've used a cash register, but I was amazed at how quickly I picked everything up. Karen was pretty amazed too... And it was a good thing I learned so quickly, because by the time I showed up for my first shift on my 2nd weekend of working there, I found out that they had to let the other weekend girl go & I would be closing the store by myself. I managed okay & it's been smooth sailing ever since.

Here's a pic of the store ... not the one I work at specifically, just one in general... I don't they'd bust out a ribbon cutting ceremony in red neck Grande Prairie.

So we're working working working... up next, my other side project, "So Cute" Cards by Kellie

Kiss Those 20's Goodbye

2007-07-19T14:24:00.000-07:00

to me!

Oh wow... moment of truth folks... I am 30...that's 30 candles...anyone have a smoke extinguisher?

How did this happen? Where did the time go? How is it that I'm already 30?

My day started off great. I got to sleep in a little bit. My family called me @ 7:20 am to sing Happy Birthday to me. I went to work today & it was okay. But, I'm really missing Halifax today. Thank goodness for Facebook though... all the people that wished me a Happy Birthday really cheered me up.I got home from work & there was a nice note from Alex saying, "don't worry about dinner, I've got it covered." And best of all, there was a card in a pink envelope on the dining room table & pink balloons all over the floor.

He's so sweet.

Doesn't he just look so sweet?

He's cooking dinner & letting me write this blog. He got me a Death Cab CD that I didn't have already. (You Can Play These Songs With Chords) He also got me a Ruby/Diamond necklace that looks like a flower.

Okay, so this is what I looked like 13 years ago... (aka, 17)

And this is how old Alex was when I was 17...

Just kidding...but he was 10. And this is a picture of me today...

And this is the card Alex got me...

And this is the card my family sent me...

So all in all, it's been an awesome b'day so far...

Oh wow..... turns out my awesome husband had planned a surprise b'day party for me. At about 7:00pm he said he "forgot" the windex in the car & he needed to get it... When he came back up, he had a bunch of people from church with him! It was so fun! He'd tried to book the common room downstairs, but it was already booked, so we had everyone in our little apartment.

And there was an awesome Black Forest Cake, courtesy of the amazing Lisa Jarvis...

So... very, very fun! Good times had by all!

West Edmonton Mall

2007-07-17T11:45:00.000-07:00

So we showed up @ West Ed at about 4:00pm. We went into the Cineplex Odeon entrance & I was amazed @ how huge it was inside. It took walking up about 3 flights of stairs to get there. There was huge statues of characters from movies...a 25 ft Batman, 20 ft Yoda, etc. In the center of the room, there was a huge dragon.

I thought that just by looking around we'd seen everything we needed to see, but Alex said, "We're just in time!" so I knew there was something more. All of a sudden this music starts...and then the Dragon starts to "come alive"! It started by just moving it's head around & then the fire came!!!

Now, what you need to know is that as far as dragons are concerned, this was very realistic, in my humble opinion, having a mostly dragon-free lifetime... What you also need to know is that, for some reason, there were parents there that thought bringing their children to this spectacle would be a good idea. Well, let me tell you, those children ended up buried in their parents chests out of fear pretty darn quick. Tears streaming, wailing & screaming... How did the parents manage to think that their children witnessing that was going to be a good idea? I can only imagine their dreams that night!

We left & started wandering around the mall... let me tell you...you almost need GPS, let alone a map to navigate around that place. We took a few pictures...here are some of the Pirate Ship area (not quite sure of the exact title)

And here's the waterpark...

And there's a section of the mall that's always decorated like it's Christmas...

And I think this place is called Galaxyland... Our whole purpose for going to the West Ed was to go on the big roller coaster, but it was out of commission for repairs...Oh well... maybe next time...

I saw a LuLuLemon store & wanted to take a picture really bad...but Alex wouldn't let me...he thought I'd look like an idiot. One of the highlights was finding a store that sold only Hello Kitty stuff. I was so excited I had to get my pic taken in front of it. Luckily, I was wearing my pink srcubs, so I blended right in, like camoflauge.

And the craziest thing happened as we were walking around the mall. I ran into my first finace (yes, I've had 3...luckily one of them turned into a husband), Chris Jensen, with his wife Holly & their 8 kids.

I hadn't seen them in years & years & it was just so random... you just never know who you'll run into. Like Holly said, there could be 50 people that you know @ the West Ed at the same time that you're there & you'd never know it. So anyway, it was good to see them again, & to meet all of their cute kids.

So all in all, it was a big day. I wish we'd have had regular clothes to wear... & that we could've spent more time there...but I'm sure we'll go back sometime soon.

Our Trip to Edmonton

2007-07-14T22:17:00.000-07:00

So we got settled into our new place & I got settled in @ my new job (more on that later)... things went along fairly smoothly. In order to work as a Dental Assistant in Alberta, I needed to take a dental course called "Interim Restorations & Gingival Retraction Cord Placement" at NAIT in Edmonton... a course that would basically allow me to make temporary crowns for people ... something I'd already learned through on the job training in Nova Scotia. But noooo... that training wasn't good enough for the Alberta Dental Assistants Association... they wanted me to pay $450.00 to review the things that I already knew...

ANYWAY... the good thing was, the course fell on the same weekend that Alex had a training course for Seminary ( p.s. for those of you that don't know, Alex got called to be a early morning seminary teacher for September...hahaha for my husband who hates early mornings period, let alone teaching 14-17 years olds @ that time)... so at least we would get to claim the mileage for the trip. (All 495 km each way)

The course was Saturday, June 23rd & 24th, so we left on Friday afternoon @ about 4:00pm & what a beautiful day it was!

I decided to take pictures of the mileage signs along the way, but didn't get the technique down right away...so I missed my chance until we were down to 395 km.

So we had a good drive. We found some good tunes to keep us company. I had a good book to keep me company. The time passed & so did the km.

The trip seemed to go on & on... but apparently we were making progress.
Finally...we knew we'd made it when we saw this...

I mean...what better greeting could you have than a huge, smiling & waving cowboy? We also saw this...which Alex got really excited about...

I guess it's a BMW or something. Anyway :) We went to Alex's Aunt & Uncle's place in Sherwood Park. We chatted with them for a while & then hit the hay after a very long day & a seemingly longer drive.

The next day I went to my course @ NAIT & Alex went to his Seminary training. We were going to go to the West Edmonton Mall after everything that day, but we'd heard that it didn't stay open past 6:00pm so I didn't bring a change of clothes. Once I got to my course, I found out it was open until 10pm, so we decided to go anyway, despite the fact that I was in my Dental scrubs & Alex was in his church clothes.

Up next, our trip to West Edmonton Mall...