Life Lately

Hi everyone! Here's a little insight into my life lately.

Lately...I purchased umbrella lights. Actually, my husband bought them for me. He saw how stressed I was all the time about taking pictures during daylight (which is nearly impossible when you want to spend all your daytime playing with your babies), and decided it would be give me more freedom. Now I can take beautiful pictures late at night after my kids go to sleep and I can enjoy playing with them - worry free. I'm so excited to start taking more mockup pictures, I love creating messes!! I've been taking color coded pictures of random items in my house, trying to do pretty setups. It's seriously a lot of fun.

Lately...winter arrived and I've been enjoying the slower beat of things. Especially cuddling inside with my kids. We also put our 2 year old on skis for the first time this year and I wasn't sure he would be able to do it but he surprised me. He's actually quite good at it and he enjoys it a lot!

Lately...I've been hard at work updating my branding. I'm experimenting with my style, trying to define my colors and make my blog a little bit more user friendly. I'm doing everything on my own and it's quite the adventure; from coding, to web design, everything is made by yours truly. I'd love to hear what you guys think. Any constructive criticism?

Lately...my oldest had pneumonia and we spent 3 days in the hospital. It was really hard seeing him so sick. It was the first time one of my children was hospitalized and since I'm still breastfeeding my youngest, I was only able to be at the hospital with him during the nights. It happened just before we were supposed to leave for our Christmas vacation (which we had to cancel) so my husband was off work (thank goodness!) and he spent the days with our baby at the hospital. No one tells you how hard it is to explain things and entertain a 2 year old all day long (and night) when he's confined to a hospital bed. Oh, and by the way, when the nurse misses the intravenous 20 times in a row and they have to tie your screaming child down - not cool. His poor little hand was all swollen and bruised. He's feeling much better now and I'm glad that's over. We made the best of our Christmas holidays at home and took some much relaxation time.

Lately...I've been sporting my Rudsak coat. It's the Atelier Noir collection which can be found at Costco. It's a gorgeous design but I'm a bit disappointed with quality. I find it doesn't have enough filling and it doesn't really keep me warm enough. I've worn it for 2 winters and this time around I'm layering it with a shirt + sweater but next time around I'm probably going to go with a real Rudsak coat, even if it's more expensive.

Lately...I mastered my egg free gingerbread cookie recipe, which I'm planning on making a Christmas tradition, along with my homemade hot chocolate. :)

Lately...I've been spending a lot of quality time with both of my kids. I found it extremely difficult to be away from my kids so often when I returned to work after my first child. So this time around, I'm keeping both of my kids at home and playing with them as much as humanly possible (as in, I'm always on the floor). We have car races, screaming contests, story times, sword fighting, quiet eating times, lots of cuddle...and of course, the messy house that comes with all that. I'm absolutely and completely in love. Oh, and I stole my son's popcorn #random.

Lately...Em has been in a building mood, so we've been making lego villages and block towers.

Lately...Ez started crawling and man is this mommy thing getting excitingly fun. Em is such an amazing big brother. As parents, I guess we're never sure how things are going to work out between siblings, but I'm happy to report that in our home, it was love at first sight. I was a bit worried about what would happen when Ez started crawling and stealing Em's toys, but you know what? He's perfectly happy about it and he even changes his games to suit his younger brother's abilities. Isn't that amazing?

Life Lately

Lately... fall has come and gone. Didn't it happen fast? Seriously though, one minute it was bright, warm and sunny, the next the leaves were on the ground and we were back in our winter clothes. I kind of wish it was still summer, but I have to admit that fall was gorgeous. I love the cool breeze and the all the colorful leaves. Speaking of which, did you see what I made with all pretty branches and acorns I picked up (garland + mobile)? Pretty cool no? Have you made anything with things you've picked up outside before? If you have, leave me a link, I'd love to check it out!

Lately...Halloween happened. Yup. I realize this is a bit overdue but I just had to share with you my Halloween costume; my first try at a sugar skull. It wasn't that great, but I learned a few things about drug store face paint. It sucks. It's super thick and sticky. It's impossible to spread on your face, and don't even get me started on taking it off... Anyway. Next time I'll try with makeup. Hopefully it makes things easier!We also decorated our yard a little. Nothing too fancy. A few small carved pumpkins (our very first - not bad right?) and a tombstone. We're starting small and building up over the next few years because money doesn't grow on trees (god knows I wish it did).

Lately...I decided to try some of the Honest Co. products. I really love what they stand for so I thought I'd give them a go. I'll be sharing a review at a later time.

Lately...We've been trying to enjoy the last glimpse of warmth and blue skies by taking long walks and going to the park. We also visited my parent's cabin and took our son on his first boat ride. He was a bit scared and uneasy about the whole thing, but he stayed in the boat, so I guess you can call that a win.

Lately...Snow. WHY oh WHY? That is all.

5 Activities I Enjoyed During Pregnancy

I've always heard you should keep doing the same physical activities you're used to during pregnancy. For me though, that would have meant sitting in front of my computer screen all day long. No way that was going to happen. I wanted to take good care of the little one growing inside me, and of myself, to prepare for delivery. I wanted light activities, that I could easily build up and maybe even continue after giving birth.

PRENATAL YOGA

I remember thinking I would never EVER do yoga, it was much too weird, those positions, the heavy breathing, why would anyone like that? I had no idea how amazing it actually is. When my masseuse suggested it to me I kind of laughed in my head. On my way back home though, I figured why not? She'd always given me very good advice and I trusted her. This was BY FAR the best activity I did for myself; I even returned during my 2nd pregnancy. I have to be honest though, it really depends on the teacher, and how serious you are about it.

My first teacher was awesome, she showed us basic positions and encouraged us to try harder variations depending on our capacities. The cat/cow pose did wonders for my lower back pains (it was also the most amazing way to push during the last phase of labor!). The child's pose helped me a lot with relaxation and deep breathing (even during labor!). The butterfly pose was great for helping widen my hip bones and the goddess pose allowed me to practice muscular endurance combined with breathing exercises (which helped prepare me for dealing with the pain of labor).

The most important thing I learned though, was how to breathe and not feel stupid about doing it loudly. We worked on vocal ohms during most poses (my second teacher didn't do this and I was quite disappointed). What is ohm you ask? It's a deep breathing sound that comes from deep within. The weirdest thing ever, seriously, I felt like I was mooing like a cow. You know what though? This was probably THE BEST thing to practice for delivery. During labor, this is one of the only things that helped me stay focused and relaxed. Instead of thinking about the pain, I would thing about those very long deep sounds I was making. Magic.

PRENATAL SWIMMING

I've always loved water so naturally, I had to inquire at the pool if they had prenatal programs and they did! So I registered. I remember thinking I looked pretty silly jumping up and down in the water and walking around waving my arms. At first I didn't think it was helping me much, but after a while, I discovered that the intensity of the workout depends on how much energy you put into it. I pushed a little bit harder every class. I'm not sure how much this activity actually helped me physically, but it was nice to think about something else for a while and get out of the house. I didn't end up doing this activity for my second pregnancy but I'm glad I tried it out.

By the way, this is probably one of the times you'll be wanting to wear a bikini. I've always been shy about my body, but being pregnant is just so beautiful that I felt super comfortable showing off my new curves. Which worked out well because I didn't have to buy a completely new bathing suit. Although I did have to change the top because my breasts engorged so much that my existing one ended up looking like tiny little triangles. Lol.

WALKING

I really enjoyed walking during my pregnancy. It was a nice way to get some fresh air, spend some quality time with my husband, and get moving. This is an activity that I continued doing with my children once they were born. It's good for everyone, forces us to spend some time together, and it's a great activity to give you a break from entertaining your kids (especially if you don't want to use the television as a distraction).

PROFESSIONAL MASSAGES

If you don't already do this on a semi-regular basis I strongly suggest it. Even if it's just once a month, it's totally worth it. Getting all those tensions out of your muscles is a must, especially during pregnancy. All the changes going on in my body caused me discomfort, and this was an amazing way to ease my body into accepting these changes. I did this for both of my pregnancies and continue to do so when I need some "me" time. 

GOING OUT

Restaurants, operas, plays, weekend escapades, or even just to the movies. I tried to go out as much as I could before I had my first child because I knew it would be a while before I would be able to do so again. I'm glad that I did and would most likely do it WAY MORE than I did because now I know how much "no time for myself" actually means "no time for myself". I figured I'd have at least an hour to myself every day. Nu-hun. Nope. Nada. Even when/if I can find a little time to go out, I either end up feeling guilty or thinking about my kids the entire time. I'm sure this is something that will fade over time, but for now, it's a little bit overwhelming. In any case, I quite enjoyed taking the opportunity to go to the movies and eat out during my pregnancy.

The most important thing I got from doing these activities though, is some time to reflect on my pregnancy; what I wanted to get out of it, what I hoped for my little one, how I wanted my delivery to go and what role I wanted my husband to have in the process. It also gave me the opportunity to make friends with other women that were going through the same thing as me.

Disclaimer: I am not a health professional, I am simply sharing my personal experience hoping to encourage future mothers. What worked for me may not work for you. Always consult your obstetrician with questions concerning your pregnancy.