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So What If....








Linking up with Shannon at "Life After I Dew"



So what Wednesday

So what if ..

- I didn’t make dinner tonight and had a Dr. pepper and cheese and crackers instead I’m not hungry yet lol
- I let my daughter watch Sesame street while I do laundry or clean house, I know she’s a baby but she likes the music and colours.
- it’s snowing and I didn’t shovel the driveway for my husband.
- Nora doesn’t always sleep in her crib in her room and sometimes she sleeps in the playpen in our room.
- paul doesn’t get the “job” he wants at rmc I still love him to death and am proud of him no matter what.
- I’m not going back to work when my mat leave is done thank goodness for having the entire year to decide that lol.
- facebook drives me crazy and I deleted it from my phone I think it’s made my life much better and I don’t get as upset or angry.
- paul and I want another baby sooner rather than later.  It’s our choice.  Not anyone else’s.  so stop judging.  Ugh.  
- i ignore when some people try to skype with me, just because my computer is on and my skype is "on" it doesn't always mean I'm sitting in front of my computer waiting for you to skype me.  in fact - I like to check with people to make sure they are available for a skype before I randomly call them EVEN if their skype says that they are online.
- I just want to sit on the couch and snuggle with nora all night we had a rough sleep last night and she’s snuggly today so it’s nice :)

also - does anyone want a postcard/card/or fun package from Canada?? I miss snail mail and would love to send a package to someone - first 33three people to comment (and email your address to me - hansen.kea At gmail.com) will get something fun from me in the month of March!!!

Tuesday Ten





Tuesday Ten

1.  Our diaper service will no longer be servicing our town.  It’s kind of frustrating.  We were only given 1 ½ weeks notice.  So now we must decide wash them ourselves or go back to disposables.  I love how Nora has no diaper rash because of cloth diapers and I love how she knows when she’s wet, so I think I’m just going to suck it up and wash them myself.  Any advice from Mom’s out there who wash their own cloth diapers??

2. I had a Pampered Chef party last night it was really fun.  But I was once again reminded just how different life is civilian vs. military.  My mil wives were on one side of the room, civi wives on the other side.  And I sat in the exact middle.  It was a little bit awkward for me, but it didn’t seem too bad for them I don’t think.  Or maybe it was, I don’t know lol.

3.  I had an issue with Facebook last week.  And I kind of lost it.  I was so upset that I turned the icons on my phone into shakey little scared fellas and deleted it off my phone right then and there.  I’ve been back on twice on my computer due to a Pampered Chef Party I hosted and put the event on facebook I had to see who was coming and how many people were coming lol.  Other than that, I’m done for awhile.  It was causing me far too much angst.

4.  So since I’m not on Facebook I introduced my Mom to Twitter and Pinterest.  And she’s so cute at it.  HI MOM!!!!  She reads my blog so I have no problem with her reading my twitter updates.  My inlaws on the other hand read neither and I hope to keep it that way for now. But we’ll see, somehow they will probably find my blog and my twitter account too.

5.  The weather here sucks right now.  It’s nice and then it’s cold and then it’s nice and then it’s cold.  I mean, it could be worse but it’s wreaking havoc on my skin.  My hands went from being really nice to being SUPER dry.

6.  I downloaded new fonts onto my laptop.  And I LOVE LOVE LOVE them.  If this turns out, this one was typed with Milk and Cereal and I like to think that it looks a little bit like my own handwriting but really nothing like it all lol.  The l’s are the same, but that’s about it hehehe.

7.  I ordered three books from Amazon last week..  Ok wait, I just checked the email I ordered them on Sunday.  I received them via the UPS man today.  I’m so excited.  I can’t wait to read them.  One is an organizing book, one is a devotional type book and the third is a true story book.  I will post reviews on them when I’m done.

8.  I can’t get enough of Party Popcorn.  I found it on pinterest via this link She Wears Many Hats And I’m obsessed now.  I’ve made it in pink, and blue and now green.  And it’s yummy.  Oh so yummy.

9.  Something big happened in town today.  And I’m not allowed to talk about it.  And it’s killing me.  But I’m not supposed to know anything about it.  That’s what happens when ALL email accounts go to the iPad, even the ones I’m not supposed to see.  GAH.  Once it’s in the news I guess I can talk about it.

10.  We are finally starting to make our home look lived in and decorate like a family home.  Not a bachelor pad.  And it’s awesome.  I’m so excited.  We are putting a shelf over our couch and now I can have a holiday area to put all my knick-knacky stuff celebrating everything like St. Patty’s Day and Easter and Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. Oh Pinterest you have ruined my life lol.

HAPPY TUESDAY!!!

Project 365 - Week 8!!





Woohoo!!!  I've done this challenge for almost 2 full months now (8 weeks is approx 2 months, right???)  I'm so happy I've kept up with it.  And I think my mom is too ( HI MOM!!!)  She reads my blog sometimes :)






Linking up with the Loverly Laura again at Between The Lines.


Shout out to her (I won something in her Bloggiversary giveaway and I was SOOOO freaking excited to find that out!)  Love this link  up :)

Sunday - we went for a walk downtown - this was at the toystore.  I want to get it for Nora for her 1st birthday.  Paul says no - it's kind of expensive lol.

Monday - Family Day here in Ontario so everyone had the day off.  We stayed at home and hung out.  Nora played with Bianca (her 1st Cabbage Patch Kid) and Daddy played with his Xbox.

Tuesday - we drove up to Ottawa to check out the new Ikea.  It's huge.  Largest one in Canada.  Had a blast.  I wanted to buy everything.  Unfortunately we drive a Honda Civic.  Not really big enough to bring everything back home lol.

Wednesday - Hanging out on the couch with Mommy.

Thursday - the first of Daddy's playoff hockey games - this is how prepared we are.  And we also come with a snack bag for Mommy lol.

Friday - we woke up to winter again.  Thursday there was absolutely no snow on the ground and we were in spring jackets.  Friday - not so much. 

Saturday - Daddy took Nora grocery shopping while I was able to clean the house.  It was awesome.  He took this picture for me, they were at Costco and she rode in the cart like a big girl!  I can't believe how big she is now.

Speaking of big - we had to raise the exersaucer up a level so she wasn't bending her knees like crazy!  What a big girl!!

And another Saturday pic - Daddy and Nora bought me flowers at Costco.  He said Nora chose the colour - he gave her two options and this is the one she kept going back to.  :)

30




30.

Thirty.

the big three-oh.

In less than 8 months I will be turning 30.  Saying that out loud makes me feel really freaking old.  I guess this is kind of like my "mid mid-life" crisis time.  I'm at a weird place right now.  We only have 14 months left here at RMC, and then we are being posted... well maybe posted, maybe just Paul will be going to the next place and we will be apart for 6-8 months while he's on course depending on whether or not they change it from a posting to a course.  And I don't know what to do with myself.  I love being a SAHM to Norabear.  She is my world.  But it's coming up to my "one year" mark and I have to let all of my employers know if I'm coming back or not.  I want to keep some hours at Carter's, really only because I want the sweet discount.  I would LOVE to go back to teaching dance, but with one car and teaching being a half hour drive away, it's not really feasible.  PLUS with the dancing, it doesn't start until September and then if we are posted, we will be leaving in May, dance "season" doesn't end until June, so I will have to leave early and that's not fair to my students or the studio.  And the gym... well I don't think I want to go back, I may stay on as casual and pick up a shift here or there if they really need me.  So back to my dilemma.  What do I do with myself?  I feel like I'm not really contributing to our household (don't say that to Paul, he goes on and on about how I'm raising our daughter and that's a huge contribution), but I'm talking money wise.  I see bills and things we want to buy and it's frustrating because I feel like I'm not doing anything.  And I knew that going into a military relationship, whatever "career" path I choose, it needs to be flexible, because we will only be in the same place for 4 years max. usually.  And that's if we are lucky, we might move every 2-3 years, who knows?  

Hmm, this turned into kind of a downer post... I love being at home with my baby, I just feel like sometimes my identity is Nora's Mom, or Paul's wife.  Not Karen.  

365 Week 7











Linking up with Laura from Between the Lines for week numero 7!!!








Sunday - I made Party Popcorn (found here via Pinterest) for Brandi's baby shower.  They know they are having a little boy.  It was such a great shower, especially because it was a surprise and she had NO clue :)












Monday - playdate at Pam's house, where we dressed Nora up in her tutu and headband made by Kaydee Crafts.  That's my new business... which will hopefully take off sometime in the near future lol.










Tueday - Happy Valentine's Day - Love Nora.  This is the picture we emailed to all of our family on Valentine's day this year :)







Wednesday - Coffee morning with the Otter wives.  Nora was playing tug of war with Sonny.  It was really cute.







Thursday - We were able to sleep in for a teensy bit on Thursday morning (before Mommy got up to go shopping in Watertown with the girls lol)  and this is how Nora took over the bed lol.







Friday - Daddy's hockey game!!  We spread out our blanket and toys and she had a blast.  Thank goodness the stands are heated at the rink, otherwise it would have been mighty cold lol.







Saturday - Saturday snuggles on the couch with Mommy. 







What's Your Love Story??




Taken Ladies
1. How long have you and your significant other been together?
We have been together for 3.5 years. 

2. How did you meet? {What's your "love" story?}
We were introduced at a mutual friends wedding.  Both of us had recently gotten out of pretty crummy relationships and Brynne thought it would be smart to seat our families at the same table.  I kept telling him the entire night that I would never date an Air Force guy and he kept pursuing me.  2 weeks later I went to visit him in Cold Lake (which was 2 provinces away) and I knew that he was the man for me.

3. If married, how long have you been married? If not, is this the guy you hope to marry? {do tell}
We have been married for just over 1 month.  

4. If you are married, where did you get married at? Big or small wedding?  If not, where would you like to get married? And will it be big or small?
We were married in Currie Hall at the Royal Military College of Canada.  And our reception was at Fort Henry, which is a Canadian Historic site.  It was really cool because our servers were dressed in their military scarlets from the 1800 time period.   

5. Do you have any nick-names that you call one another? Do share!
He calls me Karebear and I call him PandaBear.  And when I was pregnant - Nora was Baby Bear.
 
6. Name 3 things you love most about your honey.
1 - How great he is with our little girl - he is the most awesome dad ever.
2 - How he puts up with my craziness and my craftiness and my ocd and my insane ideas
3 - I just love him.  He is a great person and I'm thankful to wake up next to him every day!
 
7. Tell us how he proposed? Or your ideal proposal?
Well, let's start with a little back story first.  I found out I was pregnant in November 2010, and when I told Paul he told me that he had planned on asking my Dad if he could marry me, and then we had to tell my parents we were expecting our little bundle of joy instead.  So me being all preggers, was not expecting any proposals in the near future.  That Christmas we went to Runaway Bay Jamaica to the Gran Bahia Principe with friends of ours.  I packed the suitcases with Paul and saw that he did NOT put any rings in the suitcases....  We arrived at around 3pm on the Saturday night and Paul asked me to go for a walk on the beach with him.  It was really romantic and we made a habit of it.  On the second night I mentioned to him that it would have been the perfect proposal spot and he played dumb and said "If I had known you though that I would have brought the ring", and I of course, believed him and being hormonal - got a little bit angry at him.  The third night we were going for dinner at one of the nicer restaurants so we got dressed up and went down for our walk on the beach.  Paul had to roll up his nice pants so he kept having to stop along our walk to re-roll them (they just wouldn't stay up for some reason lol).  And I just keep walking along.  So he started asking silly questions and then asked, "so what are your plans for the future?"  And I thought he meant the next day, so I talked about how I wanted to go down to the beach and maybe go to the spa... and then he said, "I meant, what are your plans for forever?"  At this point I turned around and he was down on one knee with the ring in his hand.  He then asked me "Will you be my wife?" and I of course said yes, and then started crying and then at this point some fool on the beach yells "HOLY F***!!  I think that guy just proposed!!"  It was cute and romantic and absolutely perfect.

8. Is he a flowers and teddy bear kind of guy for v-day, or strawberries, champagne, and rose petals?
He's a bit of both.  Although this year, he was awesome and gave me Twilight: Breaking Dawn.
 
9. Are you a sunset dinner on the beach kind of girl, or pop a movie in and relax on the couch?
I like sunsets on the beach but lately I'm way more of a movie and couch girl.

10. Tell us one thing you'd like to do with your significant one day. If you could do anything? Go anywhere?
I would love to go to Europe and see the Eiffel Tower together.
 
11. Tell us what you plan on doing on this Valentine's Day.
Well, Paul has a midterm tomorrow morning... so we had a pizza dinner together and now he's going upstairs to study all night lol.
  
12. Are you asking for anything this Valentine's day?
 Nope lol


13. Give us one piece of advice of keeping a relationship strong and full of love.
 Communication is key.  Always say what's on your mind - otherwise the other person will never know if something is bugging you.


14.  Show us a picture of what love means to you.


Miscellany Monday





Oh Monday - you are here again.... linking up with Carissa at lowercase letters today.

1.  I love playdate Mondays, I seriously think that Monday's "dates" are more for me and Pam than the kids.  We also like to dress Nora up and take pictures of her during our playdates.  Pam was our wedding photographer (who did AMAZING work!) and she has a studio in her house.  Which is super cool.  This is what we did today:
HOW CUTE IS THAT???

2.  We have started to use Quinoa when cooking.  And I must say, I LOVE it.  It's much better than I was expecting it to be.

3.  I partially watched the Grammy's last night.  I love Adele and I'm glad she won.  I also really enjoy Taylor Swift and I thought her performance was super cute.  And I like that it's not just crap music anymore that's winning, it's stuff that actually sounds great.

4.  Nora has been fighting naps all weekend... and it's spilling into the week.  She will be beyond tired but won't go to sleep.  It breaks my heart because you can see how tired she is but she just doesn't want to miss anything.

5.  I am not pregnant.  And I'm not sure how I feel about that.  One part of me is okay with it, and the other part of me is sad.  And to clarify - yes we are trying to have baby #2.  And yes, I know we just had baby #1 only 7 short months ago, BUT we do know that we will be in the same place for the next year and half AND there will be no deployments, no training out of province, no crappiness that the military can and usually does throw at people so it's the perfect time.  I think I'm mostly just disappointed because when we weren't trying, I got pregnant super fast (and I was even on the pill), and now that we are trying - there are no results.

6.  I miss my sister.  I mean, I always miss my sister.  But I wish she lived closer so that when either of us are having a bad day, I can give her a hug or vice versa.  I miss being able to bake with her and craft with her.  Silly military keeping me so far away from her (that and the fact that she moved to the States for work too lol).  I'm planning to go down for a week at the end of March to visit - and I just might be there in time for the Cherry Blossom Festival - which REALLY excites me.  It looks so pretty.  And my parents will be down visiting too.  All in all - a great time to plan a trip.

7.  I'm starting to plan Nora's first birthday party.  I know it's a long ways away - but with us being military - we are trying to give enough advance notice to all family members so they can come out for her birthday :)  It will be during the July long weekend (the Canadian one lol).  I can't decide on a theme though :(  It was going to be Cabbage Patch Kids (I went to the actual Cabbage Patch in Georgia and bought a bunch of party stuff)... but I was perusing Pinterest (oh you time waster you!) and I found a giraffe themed party.  And Nora loves her some giraffe.  Her fave stuffed toy is Giraffy the Giraffe.  She has two pairs of Giraffe slippers, a Sophie the Giraffe, several blankets and toys with giraffes.  So now I'm torn... what do you think Blog world??

And that's it.  I'm out of interesting stuff to talk about.

Project 365 - Week 6!!










Once again, a little bit surprised that I have made it this far - but I'm pumped about it.  This week has been CRAZY busy for us - through it all I did manage to take some superfun pictures though.

I'm linking up with Laura at Between The Lines again for this!!




Sunday - Morning sleep ins with Daddy are the best!





 Monday - Monday night study/dance parties in Dad's office are AWESOME :)





 Tuesday - Zach's mom is coming home from Basic Training for the first weekend in 4 weeks, we made her cookies to celebrate.  He was SO excited.





 Wednesday - Just hanging out after coffee morning with the wives. 


 


Thursday - we went shopping.  As you can see - Nora loves Michael's just as much as her Mommy does.  She was wide awake, smiley and babbling the entire time we were there!





 Friday - hanging out at home with Mommy watching some Backyardigans with my new Backyardigans toy that we bought on Thursday while we were shopping lol.




 Saturday - Nora's first bouncy castle experience.  She seemed to enjoy it, even though she was sitting in the corner lol.





Project 365 - Week 5!




Linking up with Laura again over at Between The Lines for another week of Project 365.  I have made it to week 5 - I repeat - I have made it to week 5!!  I'm so happy that I've made it this far.  I have high hopes that I will actually be able to keep up with this, linking up makes me feel more accountable :)









Sunday - One tired little lady - passed out on Mommy's lap.

Monday - Happy Baby - snuggling in bed with Daddy (we may have all taken an afternoon nap together....)

Tuesday - Watching The Backyardigans (that show is my sanity some days - she quiets down for half an hour and watches the singing and dancing with a huge smile on her face!)
Wednesday - Lazy puppy.  She sits at the top of the stairs and barks.  But she won't even lift her head up.  Just barks lol.

 Also on Wednesday - we took a trip to Wally World.  Nora sat in the shopping cart for the first time ever.  It was adorable - she loved it.  She also helped Daddy pick out his granola bars for the week.
   
Thursday - RMC had a hockey game vs Queens University at the KRock Centre - we took Nora.  My baby loves cowbell.  She had a blast ringing that thing.  And she seemed to really enjoy the game.  Although she did fall asleep halfway through it lol.
Friday - Play date with Desmond!  They are 2 weeks apart from each other and they get along so well.  They have another play date tomorrow too!  (It's really just an excuse for me and Pam to get together lol).
Saturday - I made these for today,  we went to a Superbowl party so I made football cake pops.  It was lots of fun - a little bit of hard work, but definitely fun :)  And they were a hit today at the party!


Now I'm off to plan for a busy busy week - we have something planned every day this week.  It's going to be crazy!!!!

Wednesday??




Wednesday?  Really?  Already?  I feel like 2012 is flying by so quickly.  I mean, it's February now.  What on earth happened to January?  This week has been busy and a tad stressful so far.  Nora has been sick, I was sick, Paul was sick and everyone with different sicknesses lol.  I have a sinus cold,  Paul has a chest cold and Nora really just has the sniffles plus teething which equals UNHAPPY baby.  It makes for some really long nights.  

I've been doing some fun things this week though,  I went to Bellyfit on Sunday night.  It's a fusion of belly dancing, yoga, african dance, and pilates.  One of my friends is an instructor and she's trying to get back into teaching it so she is test running her classes on a group of us.  It's free and lots of fun.  

Then on Monday night - I went to a friends house for tea.  It was so relaxing to get out especially after a long day with a sick teething baby.  Tuesday was childcare day with Zachary.  It's fun to take care of him but it makes the day REALLY long.  And then last night with Nora was brutal.  Today was tea day with the Otter Wives, it was at our house this week so I had to get up extra early this morning to finish cleaning up the living room.  It's amazing how quickly things get messy with toys everywhere lol.  I need a toybox for Nora.

Tomorrow I'm going shopping and to Stars and Strollers with the girls.  Definitely looking forward to being out of the house :)

Happy Hump Day!