How Far Along: 39 Weeks*
Size of Baby: A Mini Watermelon
Weight Gain: 30 pounds

Movement: All kinds of it, though I am definitely feeling it in new places. She is still most active in the evenings, she usually starts rocking out around 8:30 pm and goes non-stop for about 2 hours. Last night I felt her lower than I have ever felt her before, which leads me to believe she she may be on her way fairly soon… which makes sense as my due date is, you know, tomorrow.

Still lots of hiccups, and now you can actually feel her little hands and feet bumping out as she stretches inside me. The Hubster loves being able to feel her feet as she pushes them out against my belly!

Cravings: Still noodles. I’ve wanted something noodle-y all week long.

Food Aversions: Nothing this week.

Symptoms: My cold is finally subsiding, and I think the Hubster is just as grateful as I am. I woke up early one morning to find his side of the bed empty, and I crept out and found him sprawled out in the spare room. Apparently my stuffy nose was causing me to snore sporadically… poor Hubs.

My feet and ankles are still quite swollen, though it goes down drastically if I just slow down and put my feet up. I find I get tired very easily these days, and I have to take breaks between most tasks I try and complete.

I haven’t had any back or leg pain, though my hips were a bit sore last night and this morning.

Lastly, I have made it to the end without any stretch marks on my belly! However, my thighs were not so fortunate…

Belly Button Watch: Still an inny, though the edges of my belly button have raised up a bit.

Baby Prep: We’re just wrapping up the last details to make sure we’re prepared for the day of her arrival. My hospital bag is packed, and my birth binder is ready to go. The wee-bean’s diaper bag is packed and sitting by the door, and the Hubster is putting his things together today.

I feel like we are just about as ready as we can be for her arrival. Today my “baby prep” tasks are focused primarily on cleaning the house and getting groceries so that I won’t be stressed about the state of my home when people drop by after she’s born.

Contraction Watch: A few here and there, but nothing consistent. I can definitely feel that she has dropped, so I expect to feel more of these in the near future…

Things I’m Thinking About: Today is actually the last day of my 39th week, which means that my due date is tomorrow.

(Holy crap!)

I’m finally done work… though it still doesn’t feel like it. Right now it feels more like it did while I was on Christmas holidays–like I had a nice short break but that there was still more marking and prepping looming ahead of it. It definitely hasn’t sunk in that I won’t be teaching again until next October / November!

The Hubster also worked his last day on Friday… and he’ll be off with me for the next 14 weeks. I am so looking forward to this time together. :)

I think it’s rather funny that anytime I call or text someone, the first thing out of their mouths is, “ARE YOU IN LABOUR??”. I feel like everyone around me is more anxious over this than I am–I still feel quite relaxed and calm about what’s coming.

(You know, the whole pain bit.)

The secret little deal I made with the wee-bean expires tomorrow, which means that she can come anytime. Not that she couldn’t before, but in one of our quiet moments she and I had a heart-to-heart about how I needed to finish my work contract and have a few days to unwind before she arrived in order for me to be properly prepared to greet her with all the energy and enthusiasm she deserves. She has been a most obedient and wonderful wee-bean to date, and I’d actually find it funny if she arrived tomorrow, as that was the earliest we discussed.

(We actually talked about waiting until Tuesday to give me a full week off between work and wee-bean. So she may be honoring that date instead.)

So, any day could be “the day” now… I’ll keep you posted!

Remember that time when I used to post more than once a week about things other than my pregnancy updates? That time before work completely took over my life?

Well, at long last… I’M BACK.

I made it!!!

It was a long, crazy 8 weeks, but I survived my LTO and submitted my report card marks with 5 minutes to spare on Tuesday. It still feels a little surreal–I have this terrible nagging feeling that I’ve forgotten something, but I think it’s just my mind readjusting to the idea that I have absolutely nothing to mark.

*swoon*

It feels… magical. It’s only my second day but I’m already having a love affair with my mat leave. I’ve caught up on my shows, visited with friends, been thrift shopping, and here I am writing… and not even feeling guilty about it. My house is still a disaster, but I’ll think about that tomorrow. :)

I honestly cannot believe that my due date is on SUNDAY. I’m fairly positive that she’ll be late (thank you, sweet wee-bean) but still. Holy moly. Most people I know told me that they were SO ready to be done with their pregnancy by this point, but when I think about it, it really feels like I’ve only been pregnant for about 3 weeks. It has gone by SO fast.

However, that being said, there are a few things that I am excited for… beyond, you know, meeting my daughter. ha.

I’ve really had a very easy pregnancy, but once the wee-bean arrives I am SO excited for:

*No heartburn.
*Being able to sleep on my stomach.
*Wearing my wedding rings.
*Eating hot dogs.
*Being able to bend over.
*Being able to put my own socks on.
*Walking. (Not waddling.)
*Entering a room at the same time as my belly, not after.
*The return of my appetite
*Wearing my pretty shoes.
*Having more than 5 shirts that fit me.

…and lastly,

*Ankles.

The end.

How Far Along: 38 Weeks*
Size of Baby: A Leek
Weight Gain: 28 pounds

Movement: I was told that it’s normal for babies to slow down their movements at this stage as they have less room to dance at this size.

Um, no.

The wee-bean is still rockin’ out in my belly pretty much all the time. She’s still very obedient and stays quiet while I’m at work or while I’m asleep, but if I’m sitting quietly, then it’s time to dance! The other night I was curled up in bed marking essays, and I could barely even concentrate because she was moving so much. We had to have a little heart-to-heart about dancing while I’m marking. She listened. :)

Still lots of hiccups, though they seem to be abating somewhat. Instead of having them 3 times a day, she’s cut back to only once or twice if she has them at all.

Cravings: Noodles. I have been dying for something with noodles ALL day.

Food Aversions: Nothing in particular, I’m just still not cooking very often. (Sorry Hubs… haha)

Symptoms: My feet and legs are still quite swollen, and pairs of shoes that I can still fit on my feet are quickly diminishing. I’m pretty sure that at this point it’s just swelling as it’s not nearly as bad in the morning. In fact, I tried on a pair of new heels I just got this morning and they fit then… just not now. haha

I’ve had a few more BH contractions, and I’m definitely feeling pressure on my pelvis. There have been a few “Oh my!” moments as I feel her working her way down and I’ve had to stop and brace myself until the pressure subsides.

Lastly, I’ve caught a cold. I have been so healthy for the last six months that I was sure that I was going to survive to the end without feeling sick. Sadly I think that the crazy schedule I’ve been running these past few weeks has finally caught up with me. I’m trying to take it pretty easy this weekend as I cannot afford to be sick when she arrives!

Belly Button Watch: Definitely still an inny! I’m pretty sure that I won’t pop at this point–it’s still way in there!

Baby Prep: Car seat is finally in. :) It barely fits in our little compact car, but it’s in and ready to go for when she arrives!

We also spent this morning blitzing our main floor. We’ve been using our living room as storage while we work in the basement, but now that it’s framed and insulated it was time to get the last of the boxes and items back to the basement and garage. I’m trying to get the house in order before she arrives so that I won’t feel stressed when people come over to meet the wee-bean.

I finally found curtains for our main floor. For the past 9 months we’ve been living with sheers, but I wanted a second set to provide a little more privacy so I can breastfeed downstairs without feeling like our neighbours can peep in on me. I found the colour I wanted, they are just a touch too short so we’re going to have to adjust the curtain rod and move it down a little. But we have time for that.

Today we also set up our baby swing! I bought it from a friend months ago, and it’s been sitting in pieces ever since. It’s now cleaned and ready for the wee-bean to hang out in!

Lastly we’re in list mode. Phone call lists, email lists, meal plan lists, what we still need lists, etc. We’re trying to get all our ducks in a row so that we’re not scrambling on the big day!

Contraction Watch: Just a few more, but nothing to indicate that she’s on her way… yet.

Things I’m Thinking About: I know this is my post for 38 weeks, but again–I’m late. Tomorrow I’ll technically be 39 weeks, which means that my due date is next Sunday. HOLY CRAP. haha

I’m not nervous about labour… yet. I fully expected to be terrified and stressed about the impending… unpleasantness… but, I actually feel really calm about the whole thing. I know it’s coming, and that it will likely be the most painful thing I’ve ever experience, but I also know that it’s temporary. I actually feel very peaceful about everything.

I’m also not at a point where I am dying to not be pregnant anymore. I’ve really had a very easy pregnancy, and I don’t feel so large or uncomfortable that life has been altered greatly. Aside from the heartburn, swelling and feeling tired at the end of the work day, I haven’t had any back pain, I haven’t really been sick or in any great discomfort. Sure, it’s awkward trying to move around, but I’m still sleeping and eating well, and I’m happy to let her hang out in there until she’s ready to meet us.

I finish work on Tuesday at 1pm. Sometimes I can’t believe that it’s finally here… then other times I can’t believe that I won’t be teaching again until next October(ish). The Hubster and I have decided to split up our maternity / paternity leave so that he can be home with me when the baby first arrives. So, it means that I will be returning to work mid-October, but also that he’ll be here at home with me for 3 months or so when the baby is born. I am thrilled that he’ll be able to be here with me–the last year has been so insane that I am beyond excited to have some time together to focus on our new family. :)

As soon as work is done, I am SO EXCITED to have more time to write (provided that the wee-bean doesn’t arrive immediately. ha). Get ready.

How Far Along: 37 Weeks*
Size of Baby: Swiss Chard
Weight Gain: 27 pounds

Movement: Still loads of hiccups–she is actually hiccuping away as I type right now and this is her third round today. She is still very active, though she is still definitely most active in the mornings and evenings; she seems to sense when I’m at work and tries not to interrupt. :)

Cravings: Brownies. And cupcakes.

Food Aversions: Same as last week–basically anything I prepare myself is less than appetizing.

Symptoms: My feet are not just swollen, they are huge. Well, today at least. For a few days this week they went back down to almost their normal size, then yesterday they ballooned back out again. This morning I went to slip on those boots that I’m wearing in the picture up there, and I couldn’t even get them on my feet! It’s a sad, sad day.

I definitely started feeling some pre-labor symptoms this week. On Thursday my legs were aching from the moment I woke up and I wrestled with cramps (like menstrual cramps) all day long. I ended up taking a half day off work and came home and slept which really helped, and I haven’t felt anything like it since.

Belly Button Watch: Still an inny. :)

Baby Prep: We’re still playing and cleaning in the office / nursery, but all the essentials are now set up. We have been trying to go out each Saturday to pick a few things on our “still-need” list, though the baby showers our family and friends have thrown for us have gone a long way to help us out in that department. We have been extremely blessed to have received so much from everyone around us, and words cannot express how grateful we are. It’s been incredibly stressful trying to balance full-time work and preparing for the wee-bean, but everyone we know has gone the extra mile to help us out. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

The car seat is prepped and now just needs to go into the car–hopefully we’ll get to that tomorrow afternoon!

Contraction Watch: I’ve had a few more BH (Braxton Hicks) contractions this week, though they’ve been very sporadic and they aren’t painful. Thursdays contractions + cramping was the first time I really felt like something was happening, especially as I sometimes feel like the baby has dropped so low that she’s right… there. You know.

Things I’m Thinking About: Two weeks. Holy crap.

I think I’m the only one of my pregnant friends who is praying that their baby doesn’t come early. At all. As excited as I am to meet our little wee-bean, I would love a day or two to breathe between work and her arrival. I know I don’t get much say here, but I’m praying that she waits and arrives on time or even a day or two late! I would love a few days to be absolutely lazy, sleep in and watch movies in bed all day.

And not have a pile of marking staring at me while I do it. :)

I need curtains. Right now we just have sheer curtains in our living room, and I desperately want to get a heavier curtain to cover up after dark, especially in case I want to feed the baby downstairs. I’ve tried IKEA and Walmart with no success–where does one go to buy reasonably inexpensive curtains? I’m looking for long (80″), Mustard curtains. Help?

My wardrobe is shrinking every day. I am down to a small pile of shirts that still stretch over my belly… thank goodness I’m almost done work!

On that note, I only have seven work days left. SEVEN. And only two of them are actual teaching days; the rest are all exam supervision and marking.

Holy moly.

How Far Along: 36 Weeks*
Size of Baby: A Crenshaw Melon
Weight Gain: 26 pounds

Movement: Hiccups, hiccups, hiccups. She gets them at least once a day, and this afternoon I felt them so strongly that it actually woke me up from a nap. It’s still pretty cute, they are just definitely getting stronger as she gets bigger!

I can also see my whole belly rolls as she turns and moves now. I’m trying to capture it on video for you… it’s absolutely wild to see. It’s like there’s a cute little alien in there. haha!

Cravings: Milkshakes. I heart them.

Food Aversions: I am so over cooking these days. Basically anything I make for myself is completely unappealing. It’s sad.

Symptoms: My feet are swollen. I was a bit worried about it as it seemed to happen completely overnight, but my midwife assures me that the amount of swelling I have is completely normal. It’s always worse after I get home from work, but I find that if I put my feet up for a while it seems to help.

Heartburn. Lots of heartburn. I’m still okay if I take Tums right before I sleep, but I find that it’s triggered by more foods now. Last night we went out for Indian food and it was sooo good… until the heartburn was sooo bad at 1am that I was basically up all night. Le sigh.

I can definitely feel the baby “dropping”. It feels like there is sudden pressure on my pelvis and bladder for a few seconds, then it disappears. It basically means that she’s moving lower to prepare for birth!

Belly Button Watch: INNY! I’m hoping I’ll make it all the way.

Baby Prep: We’ve been busy little bees this week. My hospital bag is packed, we finally bought (and packed) a diaper bag, and we’ve been busy washing all the blankets and clothes we’ve received. We also transformed our office into an office / nursery, complete with a crib and change station! It actually looks quite cute, and the Hubster doesn’t mind sharing his workspace with the wee-bean until his new downstairs office is ready.

This week we’ve been busy picking up miscellaneous items we still needed for the baby–we bought our crib bedding, a change pad, a robe for me to wear in the hospital, etc. I definitely feel a little more prepared (especially now that we have diapers and wipes) but it still feels like we have a billion things to do.

Contraction Watch: I’m pretty sure that I had my first Braxton Hicks contraction tonight! It didn’t hurt at all, it just felt like my abdominal tightened and I could feel pressure on my pelvis. When I touched my belly it felt rock hard… then it released after about a minute. It definitely makes things feel real!!

Things I’m Thinking About: Three weeks. Holy crap.

Which side of the car should the car seat go on?

My house is a complete disaster. I spent so long organizing today and it still looks like a bomb blew up here. haha! Work was a little crazy this week and I just haven’t been able to keep up on the home front.

The Hubster’s foot is slowly healing. He ended up taking another few days off work, and he’s moving around much better than he was a week ago. We’re both just hoping he’s back to full strength by the time the wee-bean makes her grand arrival.

Only 7 more teaching days and exams… then it’s maternity leave for me!

(Holy crap.)

I adore everything about this–the era, style, music–and it’s just the best feel-good song when you need a little pick-me-up.

I hope you love it like I do. :)

How Far Along: 35 Weeks*
Size of Baby: A Honeydew Melon
Weight Gain: 24 pounds

Movement: Oh goodness. This child has already inherited her father’s inability to sit still for long. I can feel her dancing and squirming all day long, especially first thing in the morning and just before I go to sleep at night.

…except for last Friday when she decided to have a dance party. At midnight. I was exhausted and crawled into bed at 10:30 with a movie. Within an hour I was dozing lightly before I was jolted awake by a wicked bout of heartburn and a little Elaine Benes dancing inside me. I’m pretty sure that she got her days mixed up and was just ready to party for New Years, in any case she danced away until almost 2:30 when I was able to pass out.

She still has the hiccups all the time. Usually it’s like clockwork at 7pm, though she also sometimes decides to go crazy and hiccup first thing in the morning too.  It feels like I have a little pulse against my skin, and I can see my belly shake each time she has one.

Cravings: Tonight I needed pizza. I came downstairs to make dinner, looked through every cupboard we have and couldn’t find a single thing that appealed to me. So, I made dinner for the Hubster then went out and bought myself a pizza.

(The poor Hubster felt so bad that he couldn’t go pick it up for me, but he’s a bit stranded right now. He injured his driving foot, which means no crazy pregnancy craving errand runs for him for a few days!)

Food Aversions: Tonight it felt like everything. Absolutely nothing appealed to me.

Symptoms: Still heartburn. It has been my one consistent struggle throughout this pregnancy, and these days I feel like I am more sensitive than ever. Last night it was so bad that I wanted to rip my throat out… but I just ate a tablespoon of cool whip instead and that seemed to do the trick for a while.

I’ve learned that I sleep better if I fall asleep with a movie on. I was having a really hard time falling asleep every night as each time I’d turn off the light my mind would begin to whirl with the billion things I have to get done in the next 5 weeks. The past few nights I’ve put on a movie, set my TV to “sleep mode” and just watch until I pass out. I fall asleep in half the time and wake up feeling so much more rested!

I am still without stretch marks, but sadly my poor feet are starting to become a little swollen. I actually didn’t even notice–I was sitting on the bed on Saturday morning without my house shoes on, and the Hubster walked in, looked at my feet and thought I was dying.

(He didn’t know that swollen feet are just another pregnancy symptom. He’s cute.)

After I whipped out my pregnancy bible and showed him the section on swelling he felt much better, and I feel like the swelling has gone down a bit since then. I’m trying to rest more and kick my feet up as often as I can, though that will become increasingly difficult as I go back to work on Monday.

Lastly, I can’t see the bottom of my belly. It’s quite sad–I sometimes have to change my shirt 2 – 3 times a day as I forget that my belly enters a space before I do, and I constantly get things all over myself as I clean and cook. *sigh*

Belly Button Watch: It’s still in there!

Baby Prep: Right now I’m prepping our bedroom for the wee-bean’s arrival. As her room is not ready yet, she’ll be sleeping in a bassinet in our bedroom, so I’m organizing and making space for her in there.

Tomorrow is also my day to go out and get everything I need to put together my hospital bag. As I know that the next few weeks will be insane with work, I want to have everything ready to go now so I won’t be worrying about it.

Contraction Watch: Still nothing!

Things I’m Thinking About: I worry about my job… a lot. I feel incredibly conflicted because I am so grateful to have this amazing opportunity, but at the same time I worry that I didn’t really think things through enough when I accepted the job. I’m really worried that I’ve taken on too much and I won’t be able to balance everything I’ll need to in the next three and a half weeks, or that she’ll come early and I’ll have to leave my department in the same situation they were in when I came in. I know that I can’t control what happens and I just need to take each day at a time, it’s just… hard. I’m trying to do what’s best for me and for her, but I also love my job. I don’t know what the answer is, or what I’m even trying to say exactly, but it’s just something that is constantly swirling around in my head.

Tomorrow I will be 9 months pregnant and we’ll be just a month away from the wee-bean’s due date. Holy crap.

I feel… unprepared. There’s still so much that we need to do.

Sometimes life is just a little overwhelming, you know?

I wish I could say that it was because I was out doing something totally awesome today, but in reality it’s just because this pregnancy is kicking my butt today, and we ended up having a really late night last night…

…in the emergency room.

Let me just say: I’m fine. Actually, the trip wasn’t even for me or the wee-bean. We had dinner at our neighbours last night, and after dinner I went downstairs to watch a movie with the girls, and the Hubster went upstairs to play NHL with the boys. At 9pm or so he came down to get ready to go and somehow went over on his ankle on the stairs. To make a long story short, after icing it for a few minutes we realized that something was definitely wrong and decided just to go get it checked out. Thankfully our neighbours are amazing and one came along with me to help the Hubs hobble around and then pushed him in his wheelchair through his x-rays and tests.

So, by midnight last night we learned that he (luckily) hadn’t broken his foot, but he had severely sprained it and likely torn some ligaments. He was given crutches last night, and then today we went out to have him fitted for an air cast.

Now then, you know I am always up for some shoe shopping, but shopping for casts is not as exciting… especially when I knew that my Hubs was in pain. We took it pretty easy today, but I’m just… exhausted. I’m just feeling very… pregnant tonight, and my heartburn is killing me.

So, I know this isn’t much of a post… but it’s about all I have in me tonight. I’m off to help my Hubs hobble into bed–it looks like he’ll be in the cast for a week or two at the very least.

What a pair we make–I’m 9 months pregnant and he’s in a walking cast.

Thank goodness I’m still on holidays. :)

(via: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-D9aOPgN63LA/TdhxciZxP5I/AAAAAAAABQM/OC9kG0Uz8iw/s1600/2012+wallpapers+pics.jpg)

 **I actually wrote this post yesterday, but wordpress decided to be a jerk and delete half of it when I tried to submit it. I just didn’t have it in me to write it all out again last night, so you’ll get double the post love from me today! :)

Happy New Year!

I hope you all had a fabulous evening celebrating the end of 2011 last night, and that you’re all enjoying the first bit of 2012 so far. The Hubster and I actually did make it to midnight (much to my own surprise) and spent a perfectly lovely evening ringing in the new year with Hockey Night in Canada… even though the Leafs lost.

*sigh*

As has been tradition for the last several years, I love to begin each new year by reviewing my goals for the previous ones, and setting new goals for the year to come. So, let’s have a look at my plan for 2011:

1) Run. (As often as I can. I’d like to try for 3 times a week.)
Well, I had such good intentions for this one–I ran sporadically through March and April and was ready to hit the pavement hard in May / June as the weather got a little nicer. Annnnd then I found out that I was pregnant. I know that it can be safe to run during pregnancy if you’re already an experienced runner, but as I didn’t feel I fit into that category and I already had so many anxieties about the pregnancy I decided to forgo my running season this year.

2) Eat well.
I actually have done considerably well with this, and knowing that someone else is depending on me to eat well has helped me a lot. I couldn’t even look at sweets for the first trimester, so my diet adapted to include many lovely fruits and vegetables that I would normally avoid due to laziness. As a result I feel great, and I’ve only gained 23 pounds through my pregnancy so far (I lost a pound this week… I’ll find it again. haha).

3) Finish writing my book.
Yeaaah… no. This didn’t happen. With everything that happened this year I just couldn’t commit myself to the project. It’s something I hope to keep picking at though!

4) Revive my blog. (Write every day until the end of January… then try for Feb!)
I DID do this… for a while. I was so proud of myself for writing every day for months… then the house and pregnancy happened and it all went to pot. It’s so hard to balance everything, but I miss writing so much when I let it slip.

5) Have at least one girl’s night a month.
Success! Our lovely book club meets every month, and when we can we’ll meet up in between for dinners or hangouts. In fact, I think we’re well overdue for another…

6) Have a date night with my Hubster every week.
I wouldn’t say that we have had official “date nights” each week, but we do try to set aside time to spend together when we can. For a while we declared Home Depot our date night store, as every spare penny we had was poured into improving our home. In any case, we always find time to be together. :)

7) Run a 5km or 10km race. (Anyone want to do this with me????)
Ugh. No. I had my race picked out but couldn’t do it. Next year!

8) Feel good in my clothes (aka– drop a few.)
…I DO feel good in my clothes, but only because I heart my baby bump! haha!

9) Be brave.
Yes and no. There were certain things I had in mind when I chose this as a goal, and in some respects I feel it was successful, but there is still definitely room for improvement.

10) Find a full-time teaching job. (or at least an LTO)
WIN! It didn’t happen in the way I expected, or when I thought it would, but I found my job at my favorite school. Life is good.

11) Take at least one more AQ course.
Done! I took a course about teaching students with communication needs (focusing on Autism) from January – May of this year, and while the timing of the course was terrible for me, I loved the material. It was just hard trying to balance school, work and moving all at once!

12) Be grateful.
For a while I was writing out lists of what I was grateful for each week, and it definitely helped me keep things in perspective. I am definitely grateful for everything I have in my life, and I continue to work hard at making sure I am expressing that!

13) Travel somewhere.
Well, traveling didn’t happen this year… hopefully we’ll be able to take the wee-bean on her first family vacation some time in the next 12 months!

14) Watch less TV. (Get rid of at least two TV shows)
DONE! By March of last year I had cut out nearly half of the TV shows I was watching. Now I’m down to roughly 5 or 6 shows that I follow each week, which works out to maybe an hour a day. I can live with that.

15) Read 100 books.
Fail. Again, I just didn’t have the time. I set this goal before my course, the move, the pregnancy and then work and I just couldn’t keep up the rigorous reading schedule it would have required. I made it to 45, which I am still proud of!

So, I didn’t complete all my goals for 2011, but overall I’m quite happy with what I did accomplish, considering the year I had.

Sometimes you just can’t predict what life will throw your way.

That being said, I still love making goals, and wanted to set some new ones for 2012. Here we go!

1) Take care of myself. (If I learned anything from the last year, it’s that I tend to take on WAY too much, stress out and overwhelm myself, then forget to find the balance I need to be healthy and happy. With the wee-bean’s imminent arrival, I need to take care of myself in order to properly take care of her and the Hubster and enjoy the life I want. I know this will mean learning how to say “no” in certain situations, something I’ve never been good at.)
2) Express Gratitude.
3) Eat well.
4) Exercise regularly & feel good in my clothes.
5) Run a race.
6) Read often.
7) Write often.
8) Set aside time to spend with my Hubster, that doesn’t involve working on our house.
9) Read the Book of Mormon.
10) Be a good mom.

I have a billion other goals that tie into some of these, but this is what I’d  like to focus on for 2010. I know that our lives are about to change completely (for the better) and I want the focus for this year to be on the happiness and health of my family. I know deep down that that begins with me–so my goal for this year is to become a more balanced, healthier version of my past self.

I don’t really know that this next year holds for me, but if contains even a smidgen of the awesomeness that was 2011, bring it on.

(via: http://www.rcrwireless.com/article/files/2011/12/b_2011-year-on-a-blue-field1.jpg)

New Year’s Eve.

I distinctly remember feeling flabbergasted that 2010 was ending last year, and I feel the same way about 2011 tonight. This past year has been an absolute blur.

At the beginning of the month my book club hosted its annual Cookie Exchange. Last year we read The Christmas Cookie Club by Ann Pearlman and we fell in love with the concept. Instead of just exchanging cookies, you are supposed to choose a recipe that reflects the year you’ve had in some way. As I began to look back on 2011, I realized that this year has been full of unexpected, but happy changes. Here are just a few:

*Finding my niche at work and working steady weeks at my favourite schools
*Celebrating our 6th wedding anniversay
*Writing in my blog every day until the end of May
*Meeting my handsome nephew Hugh
*Buying our first home
*Seeing the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, CCR & Colm Wilkinson
*Completing another Additional Qualification course (Communication: Autism)
*Completing a full year with my Book Club
*Buying our truck
*Visiting with the Hubster’s Mom & Dad
*Getting my first “LTO” (extended supply work for 5.5 weeks) at my dream school

…and of course, the appearance of the wee-bean in my belly. :)

If you had told me in January that in the next 12 months we’d purchase our home, a second vehicle, get my dream job and find out that I was pregnant, I would have probably laughed in your face.

There’s no way all that could possibly happen in a year.

…but then it did.

It has been a glorious, busy, full year. It absolutely flew by and I have a sneaking suspicion that 2012 will do the same. Much of the last 7 months have been spent working on our house–here’s a quick look at some of the projects the Hubster has been working on:

Our House*
1) We completely ripped out our back yard, added soil and reseeded it. It involved ripping out two small trees and raking in an enormous mountain of soil.
2) We turned our jungle of a front lawn into the nicest lawn on the street.
3) The Hubster built a new, beautiful deck.
4) He also added loft storage in our garage, sealed the floor and insulated an exterior wall.
5) He added a storm door to the front, which included building a new door frame to hold it.
6) New faucet in my powder room.
7) Our quirky house had no overhead lighting in any of the upstairs bedrooms, so he wired and installed three lovely new ceiling fans.
8) We had five new windows and new patio doors installed.
9) We ran cables through the walls and attic so that we can now have internet and cable/antennae TV in every room in the house.
10) He wired in a new (proper) bathroom light fixture.
11) We replaced the fan and stove range hood when we discovered a family of birds living in the pipe.
12) We weren’t happy with the location of the hose hookup outside, so he plumbed in two new locations for it.
13) He also put in plumbing for our lovely new dishwasher, and is in the process of finishing the cabinet for it.
14) He installed a fabulous new garage door (with the help of some fabulous neighbours).
15) And then there’s our basement. In the last two months we’ve been framing, insulating, plumbing and electrical-ing and our basement is now beginning to take shape as a livable space. In the next few weeks we hope to see the insulation finished and have our electrical inspection, then it’s time to drywall and add the floor.

…all this while still working full-time, and you know, growing a wee-bean.

To say that our house has kept us (read: him) busy is an understatement, but we’ve had some amazing help from family and friends. I try to help where I can, but in my large and in charge state I make a much better supervisor than work assistant. :)

The baby threw our house timetable into light speed, and I hope that once our basement is finished we’ll be able to slow things down a little.

Just rereading everything that happened this year makes my jaw drop a little–it just goes to show that you can never really know what the future holds for you. Even as I thought my year was a full as can be in December, I got a phone call that changed everything and gave me the teaching experience that I so desperately wanted before I go on maternity leave.

It’s been a wonderful year. Each day I wake up and am so grateful for all the blessings I have in my life. I am married to my best friend, and our relationship continues to grow and get stronger with each passing year. I am so excited to embark on the adventure of parenthood with my Hubster as I know he is going to be an amazing father.

I have the best family. Seriously. We are far from perfect, but I think that’s what I love most about us. Each of my siblings is so different, and yet we all just love being together. My parents are so supportive and continue to get “cooler” as I get older. (haha!) Also, I have the cutest niece and nephew in the world. Period.

We know the greatest people. This year has shown me exactly how blessed we are to know the people we do. There have been so many acts of kindness thrown our way this year that I wouldn’t even know where to begin to list them or express my gratitude. Between friends of the Hubster who have put in countless hours helping him with projects around the house, to my oh-so-lovely book club girls, to our amazing down-the-street neighbours who we’ve come to think of as family, we really do have an incredible circle of friends.

So, for me, if 2012 contains even a smidgen of the awesomeness that was 2011, it’s going to be an incredible year.

Bring it on.