Could you imagine a house without clutter?

Oh my. What a dream come true it would be if we lived in a home without clutter. With Martin's father away for the weekend, we were able to do a bit of house clearing. Honestly, I didn't even know there was that much junk in the crevices. As his father is a bit of a hoarder it was nice to get a few things out of here. At one point Martin and I found an old tin cup with paper and old garbage in it! Don't you just love the feeling you get after you remove some of the things stifling your home's energy? It feels so open, new, refreshed. All of the old VHS are gone, replaced by many open shelves. Glory, glory to the feeling!
This week, Martin starts school. He is excited, and I am officially done text learning. Now I just have to complete all of my practical hours. Woo! And Zacharie's first week at daycare was a success. He seems to like it, but then again there really is no replacement for momma and daddy :)
Wonder what this week will hold for awesome adventures...

Oh how I love this feeling...

The feeling? Of being sick? Unlikely. In case you didn't catch that, think sarcasm. Here in Edmonton there is a never ending circle of virus passing, and while Zacharie seems to finally be getting over his two week spurt of it, I have caught another version from the ladies at school. Oh well. I don't mind him being ill though, builds a healthy immune system! And he is only starting to get better now that we have him on prescription Ventolin. Thankfully we have a new pediatrician who understands our babe a little more than the previous doctor, so he is able to detect that faint possibility that he may have not been getting better due to asthma. Now he is getting better. That is all that matters.
I took half a day off school today, studied Reflexology on the ride home, and slept for four straight hours this afternoon. Still tired, but starting to feel a little more focused. After a nice steamy shower with some Eucalyptus aromatherapy, I am able to breathe with more ease. Thank goodness I am knowledgeable in aromatherapy!
Zacharie starts his first full day at daycare tomorrow morning. Martin will be getting his texts for NAIT during the day and just tinkering around until it is time to pick the little man up. He may not say it, but it is hard for him to leave him after being his daytime caregiver for many months. I agree. I am having just as hard a time trusting someone else to take care of our little Monkey. I wish I could be there, but this is something that happens to have to be done. No point in worrying, when he is taken care of by Him. The most we can do is pray for his well being and safety, and leave our worries to God. That being said, it is still an ordeal.

I love him.

Just a quick set of words here...
To my husband and best friend, Happy first Anniversary!
I can hardly believe a year has gone by, literally in the blink of an eye. Here we stand, side by side together and more in love than ever. It may be only one year of matrimony, but it still feels like a lifetime. I love you so much, and am so happy that you are the one who knows me inside out. All of our wishes are coming true, from our first date at the meteor shower :) I love (noun) to love (verb) you. Hugs and kisses, your Chani.


Wow. I guess there were more than a few words :)

Sometimes it is hard to make up a title for these things...

Finally here I am at the end of the week. Saturday. Hoorah... Excuse my lack of enthusiasm, because I have just endured the longest week of my life. I didn't even have any time to myself, let alone more than 20 minutes alone with Martin. Every day, up early for school, be busy at school learning the last of the theory for the final exams, come home and eat dinner while spending time with baby Zee, two or more hours of homework and working on projects, then finally sit in bed for 20 minutes and read before passing out to another day. Oh, and all night... Get up and nurse. I love it, I really do. I tell myself all the time! I feel it all the time. But sometimes things just get so busy and so muddled that you forget what day it is, and whether or not you put on deodorant! There are so many projects due at the end of next week, as well as a big final exam, and hardly any time to study and do projects at the same time as everything else. Having a family does have it's challenges when you are also continuing your education, but after all of this... I really see what God has in store for us. He wouldn't put these loads on us if He didn't think we could handle them. Besides, only one more week... If I can get through it :)
Graduation is also coming up soon. October 2cnd to be exact. I have purchased 200$ of tickets, for four of us to go (my parents will come to the family dinner, things worked out better that way), gotten myself a purple dress which Martin picked out, picked up cute shoes, and found accessories to compliment the rest. On September 27th I have a date with a colourist to have my roots touched up and a new do created. See, I have been using this shampoo/conditioner combo called FAST, it doubles the rate your hair grows each month. I already have an inch! By that day... I should have enough to trim it and reshape it but still hold the length. I am regrowing my hair out :) This shampoo seriously does wonders, but you can only get it from certain distributors, and only one from Edmonton! On that day I will be getting an all over chocolate brown colour done with TWO blonde sections underneath in chunks. It should look great! I am pretty excited. I also paid for cap and gown and am thinking of getting a white marker so the 7 girls in my class can sign their well wishes onto it. I think out of the whole school of over 60 graduating stylists and however many fashion students, our 8 person class of esthetics will be the loudest and most dramatic out of everybody. We do have charisma going for us ;)
It snowed today. In August. Just light flakes here for a while, nothing more... But snow nonetheless. It feels like autumn more often than not, and I am excited for winter to be on it's way. Favorite season along with fall, you know! Martin and I are thinking of making a trip to Saskatchewan for Thanksgiving if our schedules work out together. I really really hope so. I need to get out of town for a little while. Save my sanity... Thankfully this long weekend we are going to the cottage at Mann Lake. Yesss!

School news, Books & Weekend funnies

This weekend was interesting. After two half days (Thurs & Fri) at school and the other portion of the day home with the little bee to help him feel better with his cold and teething, we were able to have some exciting moments with family. Martin's grandparents from Winnipeg were here visiting the whole week (leaving for home on Tues), and we had a big family BBQ on Saturday night. Zacharie played with a two year old named Lucas, we got to know some of the Beck family (Martin's mom's side of the family) and enjoyed the traditional BBQ eats. After a slightly charred edged burger, and several pieces of Zucchini-Chocolate cake later, Martin and I got to sit by ourselves for a while and finished watching the movie Watchmen. Interesting, long, and a great splash of super heros and villains. A good end to the evening.
On Friday at bible study, I was on child care and we were all singing and dancing in a circle pretending to be princesses (the two girls I was watching were 2/3). Saturday morning I walk into Zacharie's bedroom to say hello and good morning, only to find him standing in his crib swaying back and forth singing LALALALA! I guess he caught on to what us girls were doing, and felt like he should be part of the crowd too, and ever since he has been singing and dancing around the house... Or crawling away with super speed. Even at church this morning, he was humming away in my ear during worship or "singing" along with the rest of us :) Precious!
Tomorrow is my BIG anatomy exam, and I am a little nervous. I am praying to have my wits about me and not freeze up on this one. I have been getting all 100's minus about three but have no lower test scores than 97. Hopefully tomorrow is the same. I have done my part in doing the practice exam, going over what I got wrong, and then re reading the whole unit. I will re read again before bed, and before school in the morning. The rest is up to what He has planned for me, but I feel confident nonetheless. In school I am going to be finishing up this week with advanced body treatments, such as body wraps, balneotherapy (water therapy, etc), polishing, etc. We have already done Swedish and hot stone relaxation massages, and man... What a hard week that was ;) They were nice, but I think I like giving rather than receiving them. Next week is all about Reflexology, can't wait!
Oh, and if anyone hasn't heard... I am finishing the Twilight series of books. Yes, I know, me! But it turns out they are impossibly amazing and I have found myself dying to read them whenever I have a spare moment to myself. Sadly this weekend's reading allotment has been taken over by responsibility to myself and my studies with this exam tomorrow. But I might have to create a time slot before bed to read a little. Maybe just a few pages... I would suggest the series to many. They are a good read!

Exciting, exciting!

I just wanted to inform all of you hive followers that the youngest bee has FINALLY gotten a tooth :D We are proud as can be, and I am sure that once it gets bigger Zee will be too. It has been a long weekend and day or so through this last major step of cutting his first tooth, but we all made it through. So far, no biting with the nursing (luckily) and I am ready to face that when it happens. It is bound to happen with an actual tooth at some point. Usually he is very good at not biting.
I started the last portion of class time at school, and after the long weekend in September I will be just completing hours and officially certified in all areas. I am especially looking forward to learning Reflexology which is two weeks away! Thanks go out to Natalie, for agreeing to take on the "oh so hard" task of being my final practical model. She will get to "endure" through a day of back treatments, full body relaxation massage and reflexology... The poor thing ;)
Martin... Not a good practice client for Swedish massage, or any at that. But I am thankful he let me do his back and ease some of the discomfort he has been having of late. But he is just too darn ticklish to do anywhere else!
Well, that is the update for now. Currently working on completing or starting the three projects due in the next three weeks, studying for a major anatomy exam & wholistic therapies exam, and preparing for my photo shoot at the end of next month. All while snuggling my baby Bee & my Smartie <3

Summer 2010

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So Sorry for the wait...

Hey everyone! So sorry about the wait for another post... I know some of my family is following, and they are probably waiting to hear some news. Well, things have just been so busy around here. School, parenthood, marriage... Well I am going to try and now take a moment every week or so to update this thing called a blog. Now that I have deleted my facebook, I seem to have oodles of time on my hands in the evenings. Not so much this weekend, as I have been searching for possible employers and emailing accordingly. But this is a short post tonight so Martin and I can sit down together and watch a movie!
Thanks for being true readers, and all my love.

Untitled

So the first semester is almost over. My final exam is less than a week away, practical and theory. I intend to do well :) I have been lucky so far that my hard studying is paying off with good marks. Sometimes it is very tiring to just study and complete endless pages of homework during my weeknights and often whole weekend. Home just after six pm, play with Zee until his bedtime between seven thirty and eight, then homework or studying until ten thirty for bed. Barely enough time to have intimate moments with my husband, or talk about anything aside from the latest thing the baby did. It's an amazing life, and I am blessed with it... But we were very happy to take a few hours to ourselves and go out for dinner together. Tonight we went to the Keg steakhouse. He had prime rib, and I had chicken. And it was wonderful to get to go together someplace by ourselves. The atmosphere was very romantic, with dimmed lights and hand holding... I had a wonderful night all in all.

This week.

I got new shoes today. Shoes, wonderful shoes. It has been too long since I have purchased anything from a shoe store... Oh how they must have missed me. I have a shoe problem, having more than four pairs of black heels alone. And today, I added silver flats and a Grecian gem sandal to the list! Martin tells me they are very nice.
I have passed all of my exams so far with excellent marks, all hundreds minus my practical today which I got 84%. But that still leaves me in honour roll, so yay! I only have to deal with doing artificial nails until the end of the school year anyway, I know that most spa's don't offer them for services anymore. This evening I was thinking about where I would like to start looking at for possible employment options. There is a place called The Boardroom downtown that looks pretty interesting and I am definitely considering talking to them about when they will be hiring. It is the only all male spa in the city, so lucky for me if I got hired I wouldn't ever have to paint nails! But I don't know if I would be totally happy there until I see what they offer. I would miss reflexology and aromatherapy if they didn't offer it there. Also, a new spa opened up too... I should look into that one as well as Perugia on Whyte Ave. I am aiming to find a more holistic spa first and foremost, however.

May and such.

So school has started, and I have to say that I am thoroughly happy I decided to transfer schools. The wait was well worth it. I enjoy my classmates, although the beginning was quite rocky between me and a girl. But now that feeling is over and friendships are flowering! I am particularly happy to say that I have found a friend in a few more than many. I have become a study partner for Denise, and after we studied she got quite a high mark. I am very happy for her, and am glad I can be a boost of encouragement and such. We will be studying together for the Anatomy exam coming next week, because sometimes things just stick better when you bounce thoughts and ideas back and forth between one another. I am just glad I can help :) Another two friends of mine are DawnRaye and Angel. What goofs we can be! DawnRaye has a little girl who is soon to be six, her name is Amaya. I have seen pictures, but await eagerly the day I can meet this little princess in person. Angel also has a lot of character and is wonderful to work with. I think sometime soon the three of us will go out dancing together. These girls keep my day light and fun, and I am laughing between moments of seriousness :) My teacher Sanja (pronounced Sonya) is also amazing! She is very into the holistic side of life, and is a Rieki master. She has so much knowledge about reflexology, aromatherapy, and many more holistic practices that I am excited to learn about. I plan on learning more of a holistic approach to esthetics. She says to not refer to ourselves as estheticians because people always say "oh, you do nails?!". Which is not true at all. So now we are referring to ourselves as nail and skin wellness therapists. Sounds fancy, but really my job is all about the wellness of body and its areas of function. I am also happy to report that I have had three exams already (as well as almost a whole textbook finished) and have passed them all with 100%. I am hoping to get another 100 on my anatomy exam, but we will see. I didn't think I would pass the last one with such a good mark, because I was having difficulty remembering the difference between the nail diseases and disorders... The medical names of them were all so similar! But thankfully I came through. Why aim for lower than the best mark? But I will just have to study hard and review for the upcoming exam like always, and the rest is up to Him. I have also become quite good at french nail art, as well as painting... I just really don't like nail painting. It is sooooo tedious :S I much prefer facials, massage, aromatherapy, and waxing.

Martin seems to be doing well with Zee alone at home while I am at school. I feel bad sometimes still though, because he won't eat as much when I am not there. Martin has said that the little guy looks around for me when he wants to eat, and then gets upset. This statement tore at my heart. But I have been keeping my head up regardless of the hurt, because I know this is what I am supposed to do. At the end of the course, when I walk across that stage, it will all have been worth it. I am sure of it in my heart of hearts. Besides, now when I come home and spend that fleeting hour with Zacharie before he goes to bed, those moments are even more precious now. But I still pray for strength for Martin while I am away. I am jealous too, though, because he gets to see him more than myself. I am thankful he gets this opportunity. How many dads can say they got to do this at least once with their children? Martin is excited to start school, I can tell. He is already looking into what type of laptop would suite his course at NAIT best. He will be taking Marketing their in September, a two year course. For the two of us, things have been so busy. We had been forgetting to be a little romantic, but now that the stress of the first school week is done I can feel it coming back. I had forgotten on one occasion or two as well, so now we are spending a little more fun time and snuggle time. Our relationship is always thriving and that makes me happiest of all. He is such a wonderful friend, husband, and father... I couldn't be more blessed <3



My parents just moved into their new home in the west end of the city at the beginning of the month. We will be going to visit them tonight for a bit. My mom and I are doing very well in our relationship too, compared to a year or two ago. For this, I am happy. My father's parents also visited this month too, and I was glad they got a chance to see Zacharie :) I miss them the most in Saskatoon.
Zacharie has been growing so fast since my last post. On May 3rd he was sitting up on his own (that's two days before he turned five months). He can now also roll over both ways on his back, but still not from his front since he first did it in March. I think that is because we cheered so loud that we scared him. I don't blame him... On May 17th he started to body scoot around. Now he sort of does the worm (belly flopping) to get around. He has the leg movements but not the arms quite yet. He is so very close to crawling! And at five and a half months, it just feels so early. I guess all those moments of sickness during the whole pregnancy were worth it, he is just so smart :) But I guess every parent thinks their baby is smart. He enjoys reading and snuggling during the day, and loves to walk around while you hold his hands. He bounces and dances in his jumperoo, but loves to see the dog Sammy walk by. Once he gets thoroughly mobile, Sammy better watch out. He is so fascinated by him, that once he gets moving he will be chasing him about the house :) Zacharie loves animals. When we had our kittens, he would pet them and squeal, and all dogs he loves to pat. I am looking into taking him to the next petting zoo. Even books about animals make him squeal!

Our kittens Tesla & Tiki were adopted to a bigger home earlier this month as well. It was a better fit for them as we will be here in the basement for another two years and it wasn't fair to them to have to stay in one room. I am happy to say they now have a large house to roam around, and a little girl is very happy to have them as her own. The woman who came was very nice, and I am happy they have such a loving new home. We still miss them very much though, and Halo too. We are thinking that maybe after the summer we will get a bunny. But we will see. For sure when we move though, we will be getting a dog. We won't get one until then though, as Sammy is not fond of other dogs on his areas. But we will be loving Sammy regardless. We will be taking him camping with us this summer. And hopefully once the sun comes back after this week of rain we can start going on evening walks with him again!

School Worries

Things are pretty much hum drum right now. For me all that is on the horizon is a new workout regime and an upcoming gym membership at SpaLady. Oh and the stress of starting school soon. You would think that I would be ecstatic to start, but sadly I am no longer pumped to go. I feel like I am doing the wrong thing by leaving my little man at home, and that I should be staying with him the whole first year. More so since we have had countless battles with transitioning to a daytime bottle. I worry to much, yes, but I am just a huge nervous wreck to be at school for a big part of the day without him. How will he eat? Will Martin be able to read all of his signs? What if he won't stop crying? These are issues I am dealing with in my head, even though I know my husband is more than capable of handling things. I guess it is just a matter of letting go of the reigns. Doesn't make the whole ordeal easier though...
Tomorrow night I am going to start trying a new sleep method along with our current one. Hopefully this will help him to get to sleep by himself without needing to be rocked every time. And hopefully he will start to sleep a lot better during naps as well! Well, here's to attempting a new bedtime routine. If it doesn't work in a week then I guess we will just go back to the current one we have. I don't mind the thirty seconds to five minutes of rocking to calm him down, but it isn't working the way we want it to for naps. Here's to hope for success with combining the new with the old routine!

Busy Weekend!

So this weekend I attended a fitness boot camp with some of the gals from my mom group. That was three days ago now, and I am still sore to the point of not being able to walk down the stairs :P But I must say, if I had't been working out one to three times a week for the past three months, I would not have survived. Very proud of myself to have made it through!
On Sunday we headed to a nearby provincial lake and attempted our first picnic of the season. Although the weather was warm, and the breeze was balmy... The lack of leaves on the trees made it hard for Zee to be outside. So we picked up some sunscreen on our way back. Either way though, the first trip out is always the trial run. Which means, we forgot a lot of everything. But it was fun either way, the trip made by Martin and I with Zacharie as well as his parents and the dog. Zee went on the swings, we laid in the shade (or what shade there was) and had hamburgers and juice. Despite not being able to do much of anything because of a sleepy baby, it was wonderful just to sit and listen to the wind and birds while looking at the sandy beach and lake water.
And then to end off the pleasantries of the weekend, I got to go out for my first driving lesson with my mom-in-law, Lyn. Although I was initially very stressed and scared of taking the wheel, when it came time to the actual deed it was very simple... Or it is while I am still going 20-30 km/h. I may change my mind about liking it when I have to exit onto the Whitemud at 80 km/h where no one lets you merge. EEK! I got to try out signaling while driving, turning corners, driving in the parking lot... And finished the lesson off with driving down the road to the stop sign, then continuing down to the Canadian Tire. Of course, it sounds so simple to those of you who drive, but please. Remember back to when you first drove, and you will feel what I feel. Happiness at accomplishment and a sense of awesomeness! Anyways, I thank Lyn for teaching me... I hope to get good at everything very quickly so I can start driving more and more and soon be able to drive with her to her work, where we will be starting up our family garden of organic vegetables!

Road Travels

This free photo collage created with Smilebox

Our trip to Saskatoon for Easter was a success (than goodness!). After all the worrying, praying, packing, and organizing for our trip we have nothing bad to say about it. Zacharie is even sleeping better since we left for our trip there and back!
On our first leg of the journey, I woke up the sleeping baby at seven in the morning and he stayed awake pretty much up until we got to Lloydminster (two hours away). Lucky for us, he slept the rest of the way! I am happy to say he adjusted well to being away from home. The trick of wearing his sheets in my shirt was a good one, because he was able to sleep soundly and even nap! The night before we left, Zee got his first spoon of cereal and during the trip he graduated to two meals a day. It was a messy business to start with to say the least.
Our little trio enjoyed a couple of walks in the beautiful fourteen degree weather, and were surrounded by all of my loving family. Since we stayed at my mother's parents house, we never went without a good hearty breakfast (as Martin puts it). Eggs, ham, crepes, pancakes... Every day, thank goodness I am still the same weight I was when we left. One day, Martin even had cake for dessert AFTER breakfast! Ah, cake. My dear grandparents were so sweet to have gotten Martin a birthday cake while we were there. On Good Friday we celebrated his 22cnd birthday with an Easter dinner and a giant black forest cake complete with candles.
Sadly all was not as good as it was the other moments in the trip on the Saturday. Zacharie was in dire need of a nap, but had to go without a good solid sleep. So while we had our second dinner at my father's family's home and visited with our family, Zacharie was quite fussy. It makes me sad, to think that his first impression on my dad's mom was so rough... But that's what babies do :) Luckily, we were able to squeeze some happy time in for him by finding a HUGE teddy bear and letting him wrestle it. I don't know what it is about babies and toys much too big for them, but he sure was having a ball with it!
Finally, we decided to head home a day earlier than we had planned. Martin and I were homesick and missed our two kittens and bed. Yes, our bed... There is no replacement for a bed that you make your own. Besides, it is an IKEA mattress and I LOVE IT!
Now at home I am glad that Zacharie is back to his normal schedule and patterns. He is much happier sleeping in his own bed and napping in his own home. Back to full time cloth diapers, our friends and playdates, his jumping toys that we were unable to bring along, and back to a long list of chores. He is now eating three meals a day of solids, and still nursing every two to three hours at night and during the day (on top of the three meals). Zee will be getting his four month shots tomorrow evening, and we will be updating his weight and height. I am betting he is in and above the 100th percentile now, and I don't mind one bit. He has had just milk up until a few days ago, and he is nothing but healthy and happy. And tomorrow we are also going to attend another Rhyme, Song & Storytime class at the Millcreek Room... Well, just until school starts. I won't be able to go until June.
One of the mom's from the New Mom's Network class at the local health centre and I are becoming fast friends. I really like Jennifer! She and I are planning on starting a weekend ritual of walking and talking. Working out those leg cramps and getting our bodies somewhat trim again from post baby blahs. Oddly enough, I can't wait to get out there and start sweating. Exercise never felt so good!

One thing I am no stranger to is unwanted advice on parenting. But when a nurse from the public health system tries to tell me I am doing everything wrong when I am only following God and my baby's cues, well that just turns my key! Martin and I follow the attachment parenting style, which is not using clocks and calendars to decide when to feed our baby or the "new fad of the day". Our latest dilemma is what to do if he seems like he wants to eat at five or five and a half months and our pediatrician agrees... What do you do? Should we go with the doc's advice and baby's cues and start solids before six months, or do we listen to the "fad WHO advice" and wait until six months. But if we do choose to wait then we need to see our sweet boy be hungry and cranky. I guess we will just have to wait and see how he is doing food wise in the next month or so.
Today's battle with the bottle was an awful experience. Because I am due back at school this May we tried to get him used to take the bottle. Well, that won't be happening... He practically screams when he sees the thing! Finally, after not eating almost all day I nursed him. I felt so much better after listening to my instincts and not using the advice to get him on the bottle that has been forced at us for the past few months by everyone including our doctor. And while nursing, Zacharie himself settled more than he had all day. Afterwards, he was able to take his first sips out of a cup! Now, Martin is devoting himself to looking for Zee's cues and learning what to watch for. After he has learnt what to look for, he is going to work with him to drink momma milk from a cup once a day and slowly work up to a bit more. And I promise my baby that I will not take away his night and evening nursings, to let him enjoy a long nurse session in the morning before I leave, and to devote every moment I have with him to be the most wonderful moments. If I have to be away from him, I am going to make every moment I have with him the best. Snuggles, stories, naps together, walks, singing, playing, talking... These are the moments I will cherish. These things and more are things that I have been called to do by God. Martin and I have prayed for months, even during pregnancy, for guidance in parenting our children that way He (God) wants. Today, I realized that we have been raising him right the whole time. Godlike parenting is attachment parenting, or at least a small portion of it. He does not want us to ignore our babies cries, or to not hold them... He wants us to love unconditionally and wholly. Who cares if our baby gets up to nurse several times at night... If he wants to snuggle and nurse, I say let him! If he needs that, I will gladly indulge him. Today, I have realized that I am a great momma. And I couldn't be happier!

So our baby is sick again, poor thing. At least this time it isn't as bad as the bronchitis he had last time. We have had three nights of throwing up and a great deal of crying from a soar throat. Thankfully since the last time he was sick we have picked up a few tricks for aiding him to get better. Like raising his mattress to help him breathe easier, and getting the snot sucker to work properly (haha!). On another note, we had an awesome time walking the trails with our momma group this Friday. Honestly it just feels so good to get out of the house and get those limbs moving. And today it is double digit warm! Winter is almost over, which is saddening but exciting at the same time. I am hoping to get out for a walk with the dog after Zee wakes up from his nap.
On the nap note, things seem to be going well with scheduling. He has a somewhat solid nap and bedtime schedule now, which at times can be annoying. I am hoping that he will be able to stretch his bedtime to after seven by May so I can have some time with him after I get home from school. Ahh school, the upcoming date on my agenda that will force me to leave him all day five days a week. I spent all night last night in an anxious wakeful state thinking of what my break schedule will be like at school. I know that I am going to be pumping at school on my lunch break for sure, but I am just praying for a fifteen minute break after lunch and before home time so that I can keep up a good supply of milk for Zacharie. And next month (April) we have to start working to get Zacharie onto a bottle during the day or a sippy cup, and nursing at night and on weekends. As it stands right now, he hates the bottle. But it could just be that Martin isn't able to read the signs for hunger quite yet. There is plenty we have to start working on, but let's just wait until Easter is over before getting going.
Ahhh Easter, our first road trip as a family. I have no idea how this is going to work out. Hopefully the little one does all right in the car for the trip, and transitions well into the new place we will be staying. Of course, I will be wearing his playpen sheet under my shirt for a few days to help make his temporary crib smell like momma & home. Here's hoping that it helps him be able to sleep away from home! Traveling with a baby for the first time is a new experience in itself, going from one bag for the two of us to having to pack a bag for ourselves, a bag for baby, playpen, sling, and everything else you need for everyday care for your infant. It will be a car full to say the least. But I am excited and looking forward to seeing my family! Except for my mom's parents, no one has met Zacharie yet. There will be plenty of comments and cuddles for him I am sure.

Martin the Super Dad

I am pretty lucky to have such a supportive husband and best friend in Martin. Not only does he look kindly on me with my sometimes unbending belief of nursing our baby, but he also takes his own lead in our battle to reduce our environmental footprint. Today he decided that he is going to hand make our cloth diaper inserts, not only to avoid commercialism but to reduce waste! On top of this, he is currently making a pizza... Mmm! I love you Smartie <3

It's a Tough Trail to Hike

Note: Must find an activity that is momma friendly for weekends while in school. Why is it that all of the exercise programs, or anything that promotes "baby bonding"has to be on a weekday? Just today I was looking into Salsa Babies (which seems to be the hype at my mom network) only to find that like everything else it is on weekdays only. I am fortunate to have found one activity to do, though, so things are not at a total standstill yet. Zacharie and I will be doing swim lessons come spring, and I am looking forward to it very much. Every time we have tubby time I tell him about the pool that he will soon be going to, how we are going to swim like dolphins and practice our splashing :) But even with the excitement that these chats brings, I still can't help but wonder when my emails will be looked upon and weekend series will start popping up in the momma community. Likewise, if anyone knows of anything that does have weekend slots please let me know! Much appreciated!

My, How He Grows!

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Getting Out There

Today was a bit different for Zacharie and I. We went over to the Starbucks to meet up with some of the momma's in our new mom network for a brisk walk around the newly developing areas. The weather was nice enough with a beautiful blue sky and a bright shining sun, overcoming the more than slight chill in the air. And even though I ended up carrying him for about half of the almost two hour walk, it was a nice reprieve from our usual boring routine of playing on the floor. Not just with the new mom's network are the two of us branching out, but also by attending a strollerobics class at the YMCA. I had forgotten how great it felt to get out there and get moving! Two weeks ago at the start of our first exercise class I was a sad sight to see, straggling behind all the other super fit moms who probably worked out while baby naps. Now though, I feel better than ever! It is amazing how little I have to switch with my current routines to make them a little more fit friendly. Now when rocking him to sleep, I can do lunges, lifts, squats... When playing I can use Zee as a weight lifting exercise and do crunches... Even something as simple as turning off the television has made our connection a whole lot deeper! And I can see that all of these things benefit him too. He gets a great role model for physical activity, and gets different perspectives of the rooms and world by me lifting and spinning or moving around with him in tow during motions of activity. And already I can see that if the radio or television is on while it is time to nurse, he has a very hard time staying latched. Oh how I love these bittersweet moments of closeness. It will be so hard to leave him behind in May when I board the bus to school. But with getting in shape now comes many rewards for when that time does come. When we have full weekends together we can do swim lessons, hikes in the trails, romps in the garden, meet up with our momma friends... And still, even though the list of bonding experiences for then are limitless, it doesn't make the thought of leaving him behind any easier to swallow. So for now we can just soak in these moments of getting out and getting in shape. Besides... Our house gets to be boring after a few months of just sitting on the living room floor. I think I have named everything in our house to him on more than one occasion. Might as well point out things in nature, feel wind, see sky and birds... Might as well start living well and enjoying every moment to the fullest.

Something Witty, something cute... Something like an introduction?

Hello :) So my name is Chantelle Marie aka Chani, and I have finally had the thought to chronicle my life as a new momma and wife in a quick and painless manner. Besides, everyone these days uses only facebook... What about people who don't use facebook, twitter, myspace and all the other networking sites? What if (in some crazy world) you wanted to just be able to email an article to a friend of a friend, or a family member to show everyone what is currently going on in your life? Since most of my family lives in Saskatoon (Saskatchewan), I am doing just that. Don't get me wrong, I am still a dedicated facebooker... But for those who don't network, this is one way to follow a little piece of our family life.

So I came from Saskatoon and lived here in Edmonton off an on for a while, and then eventually met my husband, Martin. Palindat, obviously. We went together for a while and then took the wedding off the back burner, taking our vows on August 29th, 2009 in a backyard wedding under the summer sun. Soon after, we were overjoyed with the arrival of our first baby. On December 5th, 2009 I gave birth to Zacharie after a long and very difficult labour. The days leading to and until just after his birth were snowy and cold. A snow storm, in fact! After our car got stuck down the road from our house I was taken back to the hospital by ambulance. And several other big moments later, Martin and I were welcoming a healthy baby boy into the world.
Since then, there have been many challenges and changes. But everything turns for the best in the end... Even when we have to just look at it in a different light. Challenges like when Zacharie and Martin fell down the stairs (both are okay thank goodness), Zacharie getting a serious bronchial infection, or Martin and I having serious discussions that meant changed habits.

Currently we are working on sleeping and napping with Zee (the little guy), attempting to train our two new kittens, getting myself ready for school in May, getting Martin ready to take care of Zacharie by himself while I am in school and continuing to adjust to new parenthood. So feel free to read on as I post every now and then. For now, I have to get everything in order for the next day. As it stands, tomorrow is my first night out with the girls in quite some time. Also Zee and I have a walk group to meet up with in the afternoon, naps to accomplish, meals to fix, and a hectic weekend as well! Pfew, tired thinking about it already!