Emotional Ride to Whistler...

Wow. I cannot believe it is already Wednesday. Nearly a week since I last blogged. So much to write about and so many things to express, yet my mind and body have not been linking together well these past few days and I have not found much time, nor the energy, to type... I am dying to get things down, but am having problems finding the right words to express myself.

Lets start easy and see where it goes.

Thank you again to Kristi Gordon for her interview last week for the featured Celebrity Mom Interview! It is always fun to catch a glimpse into the busy lives of other woman (mom, mom to be, or not at all!). I find sometimes glimpses of other peoples lives helps to put our own lives in perspective in some odd way.

As for life and what has been going on over here. Well, my husband is officially 3-0! We celebrated last weekend with the family as he rang in the new digit. Too much food, good wine, some amazing gifts...and one not so great one.

Unfortunately, the art of surprise to my husband isn't really a good thing. I am not going into any great detail here, lets just say, I thought that a surprise trip to an undisclosed location sans kids would be an amazing gift for him...and us.  A nice thought and gesture wasn't received the way I had "expected" it to...and thus, a weekend blow-out and emotional exhaustion for the two of us, beyond any we had experienced in a long...LONG...time.
Life can be full of surprises. And his birthday came with one for both of us. Never in my wildest dreams did I think my plans would cause any form of argument, sadness or anger. And it did all of the above. That is the funny thing about expectation. Even when you know someone, you cant necessarily "expect" things. Be it a reaction, an outcome, a gesture or a gift. The minute you take your own expectation out of the equation, you wont get hurt, saddened, angered or disgruntled along the way. It is something that seems so simple, yet is the hardest thing to accomplish.

Putting the past behind us, we picked up our bruised hearts and broken egos and continued on with time for just the two of us; only looking a little different in location to me...but with the same intent. To spend time with my husband...just the two of us.

And so, here we are in a wonderful part of our province, even more beautiful on a hot sunny day, spending time together:laughing, talking and re-kindling the love that was hiding behind anger over the past few days.

It is amazing what you can allow to escalate and argue about when feelings get hurt and exhaustion takes over.

The tears are gone and the smiles are here.
The clock has been reading 8:30 am..instead of 6:30 with the kids. The work emails and phone calls have been minimal. The food has been made for us. I have only done one load of laundry. We are relaxing.

And so we are enjoying our mini-vacation. With the kids never too far out of thought. They are in most of our conversations.
Once a parent always a parent. Always wanting a mini moment to yourself, but missing them the entire time you get it.

To Life. To Love. To Happiness.

Welcome to Mommyhood! Celebrity Interview...

Yes, I know it is Thursday; But today is like our Friday cause tomorrow is Canada Day! And so, in honour of our "Friday," our long weekend, the last day of June and the beginning of SUMMER (July), today is the day for the next Celebrity Interview!

Today's featured celebrity is another local woman. She comes to us by way of Global TV bringing us our weather. That's right, it's Kristi Gordon!

Kristi is an almost ready to pop mom-to-be.
With life in the public eye, an expanding figure and a new family addition, I had to ask her how life (and baby bump) has been treating her.

Check out our Interview.

1.  How has your pregnancy been overall? Any difficult times (morning sickness, etc...)

I've been very lucky. I had slight nausea for a month in my first trimester and otherwise was just tired. Since then I have felt great. Although, I have definitely slowed down in the last month. The only really difficult part about this pregnancy was sleeping...I often have a hard time falling asleep because I have too much on my mind or because I'm uncomfortable. Plus, I have developed Restless Leg Syndrome which makes it incredibly difficult to sleep. To fix this, I have had to cut out absolutely all caffeine. I can't even have a morning tea.

  2.  What are you most looking forward to with regards to parenting?

 I think I'm most looking forward to when the baby isn't as much of a baby anymore. I'm looking forward to seeing him or her grow up. I think watching (and helping) a personality develop is so neat. 

  3.  What are you most looking forward to doing on your own (without that bump!)?

Sleeping on my stomach and tying my shoes!

  4.  Do you generally have a workout routine (before baby) and have you kept one up while pregnant?

Yes, absolutely. The one thing I would urge any expectant Mom is to keep active. It has helped me feel better both mentally and physically. I have been taking a Cycle/Circuit class through the North Vancouver Rec Centre with an amazing instructor Louise. This has been great. Plus, I've taken yoga and other step classes. I just keep going to as many workout classes as possible (3-4 times a week). I can't do all of the exercises but it doesn't matter, I just do my own variation.

 5.  Have you had any “I wish they told me that!” moments through your pregnancy? (i.e.. Some woman gain a show size, sweat more, can’t sleep...) or any “pregnancy/upcoming mom” advice?

I wish they told me that you definitely need maternity pants. What? You mean...I can't just roll your regular pants down at the front? Nope. I can't even pull my regular pants up over my thighs anymore, let alone over my behind. 

As for advice...whenever someone says "you're eating for two now", don't listen. If you do, you WILL end up eating for two....two of you! The baby will still be tiny. 

Kristi

Thank you Kristi for finding the time in your busy life to answer a few questions and let some moms and/or moms to be in on a few tid-bits!

Wishing you all the best in the last of your pregnancy and a big congratulations on your upcoming addition!

all the best~

Friday Giveaway...

Friday has come, already! This week seemed to have just flown by.

The Winners of the Giveaways are...

Rachael was drawn as the KeKe Kraze winner!!! Congratulations Rachael!!

And Anita is the winner of "Goodnight, Dad." Congrats ladies!!

I will message you both from facebook to contact you regarding prize info.

As for my Fabulous Friday Celebrity Interview, due to the happenings this week, it looks like things have gotten pushed back.
The featured celebrity is a local one, and I am sure has been busy with our Breaking News this week. Many other things on her mind!

I will post it if I get it by end of the day...otherwise, our Fabulous Friday will be post-poned till next week.

Sorry for the delay!

Gotta run, be back later :-)

Happy with my 6...

How is June flying by so quickly!? Another busy weekend filled with Si's stinky finger painting, family time and lots of work; and now, here we are on another Monday morning.
I have to write about my amazing run yesterday...usually this would not be all that impressive, yet being pregnant and having not run this far in quite a few weeks, I really surprised myself! Ryan organized the kids to be sat for a few hours yesterday morning, and him and I ventured out on a run together (another thing we have not done in ages). Not only did I keep up with him, i completed a 6 mile run in just over an hour. Again, not a huge feat; however, i was so pleased as my longest runs lately have lasted about 40 minutes and 4ish miles. I didn't think I still had the distance, or the lungs, in me! I will bask in the length of this run...as I know soon, my bladder and ligaments will not be liking this much.

On another note, as mentioned, I have some exciting Giveaways this week so stay tuned...and then this Friday brings another Fabulous Friday Interview! A good week in store...and I am sure a few good stories along the way.
I am on my way out to instruct a Stroller Fit class, in the rain...come on sun, this is getting tiring!

When I get back, I will update you on this weeks first Giveaway! A little something in honour of Fathers Day this Sunday (don't forget it!).

If you haven't yet today, Vote for me...and if you want to join in on the guessing game, click the Baby Pool on the side bar and guess what this Bump Number 3 is going to be!

Fabulous Friday Celebrity Interview...

I am so excited to start out my Fabulous Friday Celebrity Interviews with a local mom and television personality, Tamara Taggart!

Many of you know Tamara as our weather girl on CTV. She has more recently taken over as Anchor for the Nightly News on CTV! When she is not delivering our nightly news, she is being wife and mom to three amazing children; Beckett, Zoe and Poppy.  As if all of that isn't busy enough, Tamara also co-owns an amazing kids store EIO Kids... check it out if you haven't, it is AMAZING (and they just moved to Yaletown, prime location and easy parking)! These are just a few "credentials"; Tamara's list of accomplishments and ventures seem endless. I had to catch up with this busy mom and see how she manages it all: kids, work and life!

1) How do you find time for everything? (family, work, celebrity, You!?)

Ha!  I don't.  It's impossible to find time for everything but that
doesn't stop me from trying.  My first priority is my family, nothing
trumps what happens at home. My kids and husband always come first...I
love my job and I'm fortunate that I work at a place that understands my
family life.  That said I have a busy work life too, I'm committed to my
job which is new!  Anchoring CTV News at Six is a huge responsibility,
I'm at work each day from Noon - 7pm and I spend a lot of my free time
working on charity events and shooting promos. It's busy but I'm having
fun...

 2) What is your favorite thing to do with your kids on a sunny summer
day in Vancouver?

We love the beach, the kids could dig in the sand for hours. I have a
few weeks booked off this summer and we can't wait to pack up the beach
blanket, sunscreen and sun umbrella.

3) With your busy schedule do you find time for exercise? If so, do you
work it in with your kids or on your own?

After I had Poppy and was still on maternity leave I went to the gym
every day...not so much now that I'm back at work.  It's just so busy
and the gym seems to be the first thing that gets dropped...plus I'm so
tired, I usually pick sleep over a workout! I hate getting to the gym
but love it when I'm there, know what I mean?  The goal is to get back
to the gym.

4) What was your favorite and least favorite part(s) of pregnancy?

I have had three great pregnancies but each one has been harder on my
body. I love being pregnant, it's such a wonderful feeling knowing that
you are carrying love. I didn't like how tired I was all the time and
near the end there's way too many visits to the ladies room which is a
problem when you work in live television!

 5) What's your best "Mom Advice"

Enjoy every moment. As tough as I found the 3am feedings I realized that
they weren't forever so I should just embrace the moment.  I try so hard
to live in the moment and feel each experience as a mother.

Tamara Taggart
Anchor - CTV News at Six

Thank you Tamara!
I enjoyed this interview and getting a glimpse into the life of... Tamara Taggart.
Hope you all did as well!