Testing...testing...1,2,3 ~ I WHHEEEIIINNN!

Whew!  I just completed my Live Performance Electrical Certificate (LPEC) exam and I passed!  Since having Marley, my brain has not ventured into the academic side of things and I studied for a couple weeks for this exam.  For folks that don't know what this is ~ it's through our Safety Authority ~ it's for people working in the theatre (and film) industry whether it's professional, community or education.  Since I teach drama (and therefore, teach students how to use lighting equipment) I am supposed to have this certification.  To even write the exam you have to put together a package showing your hours (which has to be a minimum of 800 hours working with lighting!) and then you get a login and a pass number to then write the exam online.  You have 75 minutes and 54 multiple choice questions ~ man was this exam hard!  Very specific and detailed ~ a lot of the content does not necessarily apply to what I do day and day and made me have to think back to my university training.  But I studied and got'er done!  So happy I passed and so happy I completed it!  Very handy thing to have on my resume!  Of course, I had to wait until Marley was sleeping to write it.  Which I did and I went through all of the questions and finished with literally a couple seconds to spare!  Then the computer tallies up your mark and tells you how you did ~ when it said Congratulations!  You passed on the screen I actually yelled out "I passed!" soon followed by a cry coming from the nursery ~ I accidentally woke Marley up:)  Sorry baby ~ Mommy was very excited!  She fell back to sleep after daddy went in and ssshhed her and now it's time to relax and watch a movie!  Hoping she will sleep another 13 and a half hours like she did last night!  Feeling super!

A note on HOT BABY DEALS!!

I have created a Facebook page called Hot Baby Deals where I list all the sites and pages that I have come across that provide some great baby deals!  The purpose of this page was to let my mom friends (and any other moms) know about all the great deals to be had.  People that "like" my page can also list their favourites that they come across as well and hopefully my page will keep growing & folks will keep on saving some $$ as we all know babes can be pricey little monkeys!

Here is a summary note that lists all the sites and pages that are on my page as of Oct 14. I hope to update it once a month so moms don't have to keep scrolling down to find what is on the page ~ I know how valuable time is when you got a baby on your hip:)

Hope this helps:)

• BABY HALF OFF ~ http://babyhalfoff.com/
• BABY STEALS ~ http://babysteals.stealnetwork.com/index.php
• BABY HEIST ~ http://www.babyheist.com/category_1/Heist-of-the-Day.htm
• TRUE CUDDLES ~ http://www.truecuddles.ca/
• FUNKY TRICYCLE 
• BUNDLES AND BUZZ ~ http://www.bundlesandbuzz.com/
• BABY BELLHOP ~ http://www.babybellhop.com/  (IN Victoria!)
• GREEN MOMMY
• ECO BABY BUYS ~ http://www.ecobabybuys.com/index.php/
• MAMABARGINS
• BABY CHEAPSKATE
• HIPPEEZ CLOTH DIAPERS
• NEW BABY SUPPLY
• FAIRYTALE DEALS
• CLOTH DIAPER CONTEST
• YEAH BABY BOUTIQUE
• OLIVIA PLACE
• BABY AGE
• HIPPO BARGINS

Lots of the above sites have Facebook pages as well!  Here are some other ones on Facebook:

• Mom N Tot Deals
• AppleCheeks Reusable Diapers
• MOD Mommy Jewelry
• Cloth Diaper Contests & Giveaways
• Mother of a Deal
• Armstrong BC Kid Swap
• Baby and Kid Stuff for Sale
• Kelowna Parent's Buy and Sell

Also if you have an iphone ~ there is an app called DEAL DROP which actually lists a bunch of the above sites!

Dates, Food and Spa

It's Thanksgiving weekend and I am loving all of the turkey and ham dinners we are having!  Food just seems to taste better when someone else makes it:)  Paul and I had our first date night since Marley was born (8 MONTHS AGO!!!)  We got a babysitter (who rocked!) that we trust and feel very comfortable with so we never worried once while we were out.  We went to this wonderful comedy show ~ it was crazy how many folks I saw there that I had not seen in ages ~ pretty much since our daughter was born.  I guess that is what happens when you "hermit":)  As we were walking out of the show arm in arm Paul and I decided to pop over to the place we actually had our very first date.  It was funny because we sat in the exact same place we did 5 or so years ago.  It was fun reminiscing!  Of course Marley just slept for our babysitter so she had a pretty easy night (but I do think she wanted Mars to wake up so they could hang out!:)  Friday was low key.  We did a friend dinner on Saturday night which was super but it had to end early as Marley wasn't really in the party mood ~ party pooper!  It is always such a toss up whether we are going to be able to stay a short, medium or long amount of time now that we have a babe.  Sometimes we are just lucky to make it out of the house:)  Marley's "witching hour" is usually 5:00pm ~ it has been a while since the last nap but not exactly bedtime.  All I can do is try to make her happy so we try to go for a walk and then eat, bath, eat, bed:)  This night she was ready for bed before we even left the house!  But we made it and it was a great visit:)  Oh and did I mention the turkey and stuffing were to die for!  


Then yesterday I got to do something I never have done before!  I did a spa day (from 11am-3pm!) with a girlfriend!  I got a massage, a facial, a pedicure then a manicure!  It was very relaxing to say the least and it was nice to spend time with a friend that is moving away.  This was all thanks to my brother ~ I could not have spent that kind of money on myself now that we have Marley (just would have felt to guilty).  Of course when I got home I smudged up my manicure ~ nail polish is completely impractical when you have a baby!:)  So off it went and back to mommy hood I go ~ au natural nails and all:) We got to go to my mom-in-law's place for ham dinner ~ sooooo yummy!  That was a great day ended off with blueberry pie and Marley was so good even though we got her home late:)


Now today is a cleaning, getting groceries day (which I love!)  I pulled out the bassinet that Marley was in for a couple months when she first arrived.  It was tucked under the crib but we are going to drop the crib mattress platform down as Marley will probably be trying to escape any week now:)  I sat the bassinet in the living room and sat her in it.  It sort of looks like she is sitting in a boat ~ she just sat and played while mommy and daddy did chores ~ looking up every once and a while with a 4 chomper grin ~ then back down playing with her toys.  Very sweet!  And tonight we get ANOTHER yummy turkey dinner at my folk's place and then it's back to the same ole' routine:)


I am finding everything is much more fun when you have Marley around (and sure more work but that's fine with us).  I love watching her out and about, visiting, sharing stories with short grunts and big squeals, grabbing her toys and clapping them together, crying if someone gets right up in her face to quickly (she has the cutest cry face which makes me laugh), cuddling up to my shoulder when she's unsure<3  Can't wait for number two whenever that happens!

Four Chompers

I was rocking Marley last night in our big cozy chair while we fed and watched the Dream Screen in her room.  It was quiet, she was so relaxed ~ her eyelids getting heavy.  As I gazed down at her I had a thought ~ this sweet little girl was in my belly only 8 and a half months ago!  I then started to think about how she always kicked and jabbed my sides when there was music playing or when I was laying down.  How amazing is that!  I feel like for the last 8+months that she has been here has flown by in some ways and I never really think back to how it all started.  With the first few months of nausea, weird tomato cravings, really sore hips and being super thirsty all the time:)  So many changes, so many sensations.  And then she was here...in my arms.  She wasn't a little tadpole of a creature....she sure doesn't look like a little alien like she did in the second ultrasound.  I remember tearing up the first time I heard that little heartbeat and now here she is...in my arms ~ just chillin':)  Holy smokes life is nuts ~ I made this, we made this!  Now she has grown ~ 18 +lbs from the little 7 lbs 15oz ~ still has the cute head of hair ~ the biggest, brightest blue eyes you have ever seen, the sweetest smiley face and 4 big chompers!  2 down, 2 up ~ so funny! And boy let me tell you ~ she'll bite you:)

Never have I loved anything, anyone so much as I do Marley<3

I love you Marley!

I knew she was a cutie!

Winning cutie!

Just found out Marley won a photo contest (one of the 10 finalists in the Weleda Green Baby contest) so we get a $100 gift basket from Weleda!  Yaaaaaay!  I knew she was a cutie from the first day I laid eyes on her ~ and it's nice to know that I am not the only one:)  I love putting her in little contests ~ she has the best expressions and I catch so many great moments with my camera.  It's crazy to think in 20 some years I will look back at the photos with a young adult sitting beside me!  And I have lots of great photos I can embarrass her with LOL:)  Love that baby!

To sleep or not to sleep? That is the question.

Well it's Sunday night or Monday morning depending on how you look at it ~ I unfortunately can not sleep (I find my biological clock is completely out of whack since having Marley) so I decided to work on my blog a bit.  This past weekend was a bit of a "baby break" for me as I was playing in a ball tourney.  It was nice to be able to do my own thing ~ not have to constantly be attending to Marley but I sure did miss her when it came down to it!  Luckily she got to spend the weekend with Paul aka Daddy<3  I think it is so good to have that quality bonding time where a bossy, "A" type, and sometimes pushy mama bear isn't around critiquing every little thing.  I'm not talking about myself of course ~ I obviously am not like that;) I know Paul really appreciates all the time he gets to spend with her.  And I found that being away (even if it was only a couple hours at a time) really recharges my batteries and makes me a better mama.  That being said I want to be around her every chance I get.  I cringe at the thought of having to return to work. I know some moms want to have the career and I know some moms want to stay at home.  I feel like I have focused on my career for so long(since grade 8 technically) that my mind and heart want to (and is ready to) focus on family now.  When I first found out we were expecting, my mind made a complete shift from career to family.  And I can 100% say that I feel this is what I should be doing, this is where I should be.  To stay at home with my children(YES WE ARE GOING TO HAVE MORE EVENTUALLY:) would be a dream.  I look forward to the day I can.  Don't get me wrong I still have a passion for teaching and theatre but what I am feeling right now goes deeper than that passion ever has been for me.  I truly feel I am doing exactly what I should be doing right now...well not right at the moment ~ I know I should be sleeping:)  But you know what I mean.  A new chapter has begun...I can work for the rest of my life but my baby girl Marley is only going to be a baby for a little while longer (of course she will always be my baby even when she is 80 years old)!  She is an amazing little creature<3 

Sweet dreams ~ I am off to bed<3