The unpredictability of life in BC...

Just goes to show that you can never be too sure of the weather when you live in BC.

We went from this...

... to this, in a matter of one day. Seriously...

I just got home after leaving work early this afternoon.  What usually takes me about 20-25 min. to drive, just took me over 1 hour 15 min.  Its brutal out there!

So much for spring arriving early... *sigh*

This and that...

The weather around here has been gorgeous lately. I've often had to remind myself that it is still February and rain is still likely to make an appearance over the next few weeks. But for now, the sun has been shining gloriously and we've been trying to make the most of it while we can.
We made it out to the driving range last weekend to start our season of golf. Swinging around my baby belly was a little awkward but it certainly won't stop me from golfing, every chance I get. I'm really hoping to get in at least a few games before I get too huge. We'll see... :)

It seems that life just gets busier & busier and compared to how often we used to see our niece and nephews, the time in between our visits lately has felt quite long. We did get some time with them a few weeks ago at Jon's cousin's wedding, and then spent a Friday evening with them at Mom & Dad Esau's, last week.

Konrad trying to give Calvin some brotherly lovin'...

Erich & Naomi were out for a friend's birthday party so the kids got to have the Friday night with Grandma & Grandpa. We joined them for a pancake & fruit topping supper, and spent the rest of the evening playing, wrestling and watching cartoons. Man, we love these kids! :)

Ava & Konrad enthralled in the Bugs Bunny & Tweetie Show...

Calvin saying hello to the camera...

... and busy getting into Grandma & Grandpa's work papers...

As for a pregnancy update, I'm feeling really good these days (...knock on wood!). The "phantom" pain has disappeared, so other than some occasional heartburn (which is vicious when it does appear) and the usual feeling of fatigue at the end of the day, things are going well. The baby is extremely active (and even that is quite an understatement) and has given me a few too many 'close calls' when it comes to pushing on my bladder. He/she is quite low in my uterus and seems to LOVE using my bladder as a trampoline. Add this to an already overactive bladder and it makes for a scary situation at times :) But the main thing is that the baby is moving, which is a good thing. I go for another prenatal appointment on Tuesday so we'll see how things are in the way of weight gain, heart rate and all that good stuff.
I have to go for another ultrasound at 32 weeks because the last u/s showed that my placenta is low-lying. Not exactly great news but my doctor said it wasn't anything to worry about at this point. He said that often as the uterus expands, the placenta will naturally shift up to where it needs to be, on its own, and they'll just monitor it to make sure that happens. The only downside is that, if by the 32 week mark, it hasn't moved, I will have to have a c-section. The ideal would definitely be to avoid that, but I've already wrapped my head around the fact that it may have to happen if that is what's best for me and the baby. Just praying that it all works out in the end.

I'm only a week away from the 6 month mark now, so we're starting to feel the "crunch" a bit, when it comes to preparing the nursery, etc. We'll be transforming our guest room into the nursery, and then eventually, our upstairs office will become the guest room. Jon has been renovating our basement so that it can serve as the office in the near future, but for now, we'll just leave the office upstairs and be "guest room-less" for a while. Our friend Kevin is a ticketed electrician (which is very handy for us) so he is spending this afternoon, re-wiring things downstairs in preparation for the rest of the reno's. Then Jon is hoping to get the drywall up this week and from there, hopefully things will move along fairly quickly.

Here are the boys, hard at work...

Well, it is Sunday afternoon and there is nothing I enjoy more than having a Sunday afternoon nap. So I'm going to go cozy up in my bed and sign off for now :) Until next time...

25 Random, or not so random, things about me...

I realize that not everyone who reads this blog is on Facebook, and seeing as I need to put something new on here anyway, I thought I'd let you in on a few "random" facts about me. The latest "thing to do" on FB is, come up with 25 random things about yourself and then tag 25 people that you'd like to hear about. I won't do the whole "tag" thing on here but thought you might like some easy afternoon reading :)

So, in no particular order, here are some things that you may, or may not, know about me...

1.) The older I get, the more I realize that I am fairly OCD. There are certain things that I HAVE to do the same way, every single time, or things that drive me crazy if they aren't done a certain way. For example, I brush my teeth the same way, every single time.

2.) To go along with #1, I am also extremely picky about tidyness. My poor husband can really attest to this fact. I'm sure he feels like I'm constantly nagging him about the messy things he does, that drive me crazy:) I like the sink rinsed after the dishes have been washed; I HATE a messy kitchen; and the chair in the corner of our bedroom is NOT the closet, though I am convinced he thinks it is :)

3.) I've always been artistic and knew from a very young age, that I wanted to either go into architecture or interior design. I felt a great sense of accomplishment when I finally received my Diploma of Interior Design. Though now I'm not convinced that I would want to do that for the rest of my life.

4.) I have two different scars that I have very vivid memories of getting. One on the inside of my left foot (from trying to slow myself down on the huge slide at Rosthern Park-- I'm pretty sure I was only 3 or 4 years old when it happened); and scars on my right knee from having a really nasty wipeout on my childhood friend's mini dirt bike--- I was about 6 or 7 yrs. old I think.

5.) I've always REALLY looked up to my older brother Craig and wanted desperately to be like him when I was growing up. Not much has changed.

6.) I'm passionate about singing and have written 2 songs. The first one I got a chance to record while I was at Bethany College, and the 2nd I wrote and sang for Jon on our wedding day. I would love to write more some day.

7.) I adore my husband. I still feel amazed at the fact that I get to spend every day with him.

8.) Though I was quite the "tom-boy" as a child and always preferred sports and playing with the boys at recess, I also enjoyed a lot of girly activities. I even taught myself how to french-braid hair on my Barbies.

9.) I have a deep envy of people who possess perfect skin. That is one thing I would change about myself if I could.

10.) I NEVER thought I would be a mom by the age of 25. The thought of it is becoming far more exciting than terrifying... thankfully :)

11.) My maiden name was Glen. While I was in New Zealand after high school, I discovered that there is actually a town on the North Island named "Bonnie Glen." I never got the chance to visit it and feel the need to go back so I can have my picture taken by the town's sign. Plus, New Zealand is one of the most incredible places on earth and I would love to take Jon there.

12.) I really enjoy blogging, even though I think it makes me seem like a computer geek.

13.) Golf has quickly become one of my favorite sports. I plan to get as much of it in this season, before my baby belly gets too big to work around.

14.) I often wonder what I did to deserve THE best friends on earth. Trust me, I win on this one.

15.) I've always hated jewelry. I'm one of the only girls I know, that doesn't have my ears pierced.

16.) Almost my entire wardrobe consists of American Eagle clothing. But I have been "trying" to broaden my horizons in this area :)

17.) Even though I love summer, spring is great because I love having a fresh bouquet of tulips on my dining room table.

18.) I haven't owned a bicycle since I was in Grade 7-- I sold mine to buy a Super Nintendo... brutal, I know.

19.) Some of my favorite childhood memories consist of family camping trips to Waskesiu (in Saskatchewan), having bonfires in our backyard when we lived on our acreage & my almost weekly sleepovers with my life-long friend Michelle.

20.) Jon and I got to swim with, & touch, manta rays and nurse sharks when we were snorkelling on our honeymoon in Belize.

21.) There are few things I hate more than throwing up. Unfortunately, I have a very strong gag reflex, and since being pregnant, throwing up has become "old hat" for me.

22.) I've still never been to Disneyland and continue to hold it against my husband, who refused to take me when we were in Palm Springs a few years ago. I was THAT close... :)

23.) If I could eat a full fledged turkey dinner every day, I would. It probably wouldn't help keep me slim, but it sure would taste good.

24.) I would love to spend my next vacation in Maui. Anyone feeling generous?? ;)

25.) I LOVE my parents to bits and feel incredibly thankful that they've moved close by. I hope & pray that they live to be 100+ . I will never have enough words to express how much they mean to me.

Update

It struck me today how often I used to post. When I look back to my posts of 2006 & 2007, I can hardly believe that I was able to come up with 14+ posts per month at times. That equals out to writing pretty much every other day! Wow... not sure how I was able to find that much to write about but I do know that I can't even come close to that these days. Oh well. Life is still good :) And I do still enjoy blogging... just don't take as many pictures anymore and feel less inclined to update as frequently, I suppose.

Some of you have been wondering how I've been feeling lately and I am happy to report that things are definitely getting "better." I use that lightly because I'm not exactly "in the clear" just yet. I was up for most of the night last night, with intense pain in my side and back again, and then I had it again at lunch today. But other than that, things have improved significantly. I'm still completely baffled (as is everyone else, I think!) as to what is wrong with me, but I just continue to pray that God will take it away soon.

I hit the 5 month mark on Monday and am pretty excited at the thought of being half way through this pregnancy. Jon and I spent some time on the weekend, browsing the baby section at Sears and had a lot of fun looking over strollers and playpens. Plans are brewing in my head of what the nursery will look like and we'll start to make some "big" purchases soon.

Basketball is winding down for Jon. If I'm not mistaken, they only have another week or two until playoffs start. He thinks they have a fairly good chance of making playoffs but we'll have to see how the next few games go and where they get placed in the rankings. Its been a good season-- the team has improved by leaps and bounds over the last few months. But I will be very happy to get my hubby back when its all over :) He's had bball every evening for the last week and a half, including the weekend, so we're both hoping for more "free time" once the season comes to a close.

Work has really slowed down for me lately. The looming recession (I say looming because I'm still not convinced that we've hit the worst of it yet) has really affected our industry and unfortunately, there just isn't enough work for both Tara and I right now. So as of next week, I'm cutting back to 3 days a week. Financially, this is a scary thought right now but at the same time, I can't say I didn't see it coming. I'm just thankful that they didn't have to lay me off completely. I have a possible lead on some other temporary work for the other 2 days a week, so we'll see if that works out. It would be great if it did, but if not, I guess I'll just try to enjoy the slower schedule before baby comes, and trust that God has things under control. I'm sure He does :) If things pick up again, I will be able to go back to full time before I take my mat leave, but for now, we'll just have to see what happens.

We've had some gorgeous weather lately and I've been extra thankful for it, considering how low my spirits have been through all of my recent physical fiascos. Its also nice to have daylight later in the day and arrive home from work before its pitch black outside. Makes it feel like there is actually life outside of working :)