Happy Halloween 2016

Happy Halloween from this Kanga and her baby Roo!

Although we didn't actually go anywhere for Halloween this year, I was not passing up the opportunity to dress up my bump. I fell in love with this sweet costume. A lot of the "pregnancy" halloween costumes can be pretty strange in my opinion! At least four people told me I should be an avacado... 

Baby Reads

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Board Book

Goodnight Moon Board Book

Guess How Much I Love You

Ten Tiny Toes

Someday

The Giving Tree

I just thought I would share a couple of baby books that I am hoping to get for baby's first library! This post is super fitting as this week I did get a present for our little babe from one of my favorite families in our church congregation. They are moving back to Utah after living here for two years and I have been able to get to know their two oldest daughters while serving in young womens. On Wednesday night they brought a gift, the Goodnight Moon Board Book. It was such a sweet gesture, I guess you could say I am over the moon about it. I will miss the Howard family and can't wait to see them when the visit next summer.

mommy blogs

Today I want to share some of my favorite mommy/family blogs with you. I think a really important thing to remember about blogging is to resist the temptation to compare yourself to others lives. Some of these individuals blog as a full time basis and source of income. Their photos are beautiful and their lifestyles look wonderful, but I know they have their ups and downs just like the rest of us do. I like to read the blogs below to learn things about motherhood, hear reviews about good products, read birth stories and just learn some tips and tricks of being a mother and homemaker.

I love love love Jillian Harris! She is such a sweet Canadian girl that I would love to go on a Tim Horton's date with sometime! I am happy to read her blog about her adventures in being a new mom. Props to her and her husband for not finding out the gender of their baby and still creating this gorgeous nursery to provide me with some inspiration. I was also very intrigued by her placenta post, because I am seriously considering placenta encapsulation. Last but not least, how real is the first photo on her blog post of her son's birth story? Jillian, can we be mommy friends now???

I have been reading the blog m loves m for a long time now, since her dreamy proposal story to the most beautiful wedding in the blog world. She recently became a mom and her new mom essentials post is really helpful! She is mommy style goals that's for sure. I would be star struck to meet Mara if I ever end up in Los Angeles (wishful thinking!!!).

You must live under a rock if you are a blogger and have never read Love Taza/Rockstar Diaries. I have been reading this blog since before her kids were born! Love Taza has some really great reads for parenthood, kids & technology, travel tips and cooking ideas! How adorable are Eleanor, Samson and Conrad? The Davis family does such a great job at documenting their life. I think taking natural photographs of my children will be so important.

Who would I be if I didn't mention the Devine family's blog Something Devine. Hailey and Brad Devine are the sweetest people ever. I felt a connection to them when I watched their mission homecoming video while I waited for my missionary. This family has some really great goals and plans in store and I am excited to see what happens for them in the future! Their positive outlook on life, love and family is contagious.

Sarah from Wearing it on my Sleeves might just be my spirit animal. She is so much fun and I would love to spend a day with this girl talking about our little ones, clothing, make-up and just having a good time! I was laughing and crying while I watched her birth story for her new little girl, June. She keeps her blog real which is why I really enjoy reading it.


Here are a couple of other blogs that I really like to keep up on because they are wonderful women & mothers. They all keep things real by documenting life and talking about lots of fun things including places to see, parenting tips, food, style and beauty.

Alycia at Crowley Party

Candace at Lovely Little Rants

Sydney at The Daybook

Stephanie at NieNie Dialogues

Bekah at These are the Days

Laura at Dunford Life

CHARLOTTETOWN YOUNG WOMEN

I had the pleasure of taking some pictures of the young women in the Charlottetown Ward. They were asked to write qualities, characteristics or talents on the chalkboard for each girl. It was so sweet to watch them write all these wonderful, and sometimes funny things up for each other. Emma and Ellie Howard will be moving to Utah at the end of this month, and I know all of the girls are going to be heartbroken so I am glad we had this activity so that they could remind each other of the positive and wonderful qualities they each have!

Emma Howard

Paige Biggley

Ellie Howard

Erin MacKay

Rebekah Cutler

Alanna Cutler

Little Black Dress with a Bump

I'm not sure if it's the tights or the shoes, but I love this outfit for this time of year. A little black dress is perfect for almost any season, just depends on the style. I found this one on sale at Joe Fresh after Christmas time last year. It is a nice thick material to keep me warm. I took this dress home to wear on thanksgiving weekend and didn't realize how "bumpy" it would make me look until I had it on! I hope I can wear this dress for the rest of my pregnancy because it works so well with these changing seasons. 

Thanks to the blog husband for taking these outfit pictures ;)

My Best Chilli

It is FALL, which means it is time to pull out that slow cooker and start making ALL of the soups to keep you warm as the weather gets colder, or should I say chillier... I have a recipe I have been using for a long time now to make chili, but when I made chili earlier this week I just kind if winged' it and it turned out so good! My favorite ingredient right now would have to be the chili canned tomatoes from Walmart. It makes this recipe so easy because then you don't need to add a lot of the spices you would normally add. A couple people also asked if this recipe could be made on the stove, and yes I'm sure it could! Just brown your beef first and let everything simmer in a large pot for about an hour or so, but I love letting my slow cooker do all of the work.

I also made cornbread for the first time using a recipe from Six Sisters Stuff. 

Enjoy! 

Baby Registry

Hello! I have decided to make a post of some of my baby wishlist. I have also included links below of where you can find these items, because some of them are just so dang cute but also if you are interested in purchasing something for baby Pinsent, but no pressure ;) I am getting more and more excited every day. I really would like to buy some baby essentials soon like diapers, wipes and creams so if you have any recommendations please let me know.

I know I have said this already but shopping for a "gender-neutral" baby can be really hard! I am glad that there are more people that are waiting to find out the gender and I have found lots of bloggers that have linked great gender-neutral products and also great first time mommy products. I will do a post soon about some of my favorite mom blogs!

Sassy Sensory Ball Set

Imaginarium 10-Piece Pounding Bench

Sophie The Giraffe

MULA Abacus [IKEA]

Summer Infant SwaddleMe Premium Swaddle Blankets- Follow the Heart Teal

Carter's Hooded Fleece Bunting

Carter's 4-Pack Original Bodysuits

Kushies Cleanbib 3-Pack-Neutral

Just Born Woodland Aqua Crib Sheet

Skip Hop CHELSEA Downtown Chic Diaper Backpack Black

Hello Little One Memory Book

Jolly Jumper Baby Sitter Nursing Cushion-Birds

Ergo Baby Carrier- Black/Camel

Thanksgiving Weekend 2016

Haig and I had such a lovely Thanksgiving weekend. We are so lucky that we have been able to go home to Nova Scotia and be there together for Thanksgiving since he got home from his mission in 2014. I love spending Thanksgiving in Nova Scotia because on the drive over the views are breathtaking and I really enjoy spending time in the temple during this weekend of thankfulness. Of course I also adore seeing so many lovely faces including those of our family and friends!

I was able to go up last Wednesday afternoon as my sister and Megan had flown back from Utah the night before and stayed with my in-laws. I drove Kayla's car over by myself, just an hour after taking my glucose (gestational diabetes) test! I was a little nervous about it but everything went well and I made it over safely. I had a good night with the Pinsent girls. I went to their young women's activity at a clay cafe. I painted a small dove ring dish and it turned out great! On Thursday, I headed over to Halifax for the day to spend some time with Laura, Brittany and little miss Olivia, Sophia and Lucy. We had a great day catching up, talking about life, work and family. We went to Old Navy to do some shopping and Laura took some maternity photos for me, she's the best!!!

On Friday I spent the afternoon with Emma. It was some much needed hang out time, especially since she is hoping to move to Alberta soon. I really hope everything works out for her to get out there as soon as she would like to be there. We went to the mall and also bused to Dartmouth Crossing after. Haig came in later that evening and we hung out and I ran some errands with Emma. On Saturday morning, Haig and I got up early to go to the temple for a session. We relaxed into the afternoon and then took Luke and Hannah out for a bit. We had our Thanksgiving dinner on Saturday night as a family and then we went to play Frisbee across the street at the outdoor tennis court.

On Sunday we went to church and then Haig and I went to spend some time with the Cook family. We went for a walk in Shubie Park with Maia, Preston and the girls. They invited us to stay for dinner and we had delicious onion rings and homemade hamburgers. They are the best COOKS ever!!! We like them a lot. On Monday morning, Haig and I gathered up our things and made our way home. The drive took a little longer than expected in the rainy and windy conditions, but we got home, and we were happy to be arriving on the island and not leaving because the line up at the bridge was absolutely crazy!

I am so excited to think that when we go home for Thanksgiving next year (sorry mom & dad Fraser), that we will have a little (or not so little) almost 10 month old with us!  I love spending Thanksgiving in Nova Scotia, it has definitely become one of our own family traditions. Just so everyone knows, Haig absolutely LOVED taking this picture below .... (just kidding, he hated it and we only got one shot of it).

the new girl next door: Kinsley

Kinsley Alexis Gaudet was born on September 27th 2016 to my life-long neighbor and friend Amanda Russell and her partner Adam Gaudet.

She is as sweet as can be! I am happy to see my friend Amanda become a mom. I can't wait to join her in January with a new little playmate for Kinsley.

the name game

we are having such a hard time with choosing a name for our baby. we think about it for a couple days and then let it slide. I don't know when we will start thinking very seriously about it, probably not until baby is actually here. We will be those people that don't have a name for their baby for the first week, but if that's the case then so be it.

we like a lot of the older, British style names and since I have so many in mind I thought I would share a few that we are considering. A lot of these came from our family tree going back generations, I think it would be really great to use a family name and we have a really big family name to consider using too!!!

these names are in no particular order, just ones that we like ;)

making salsa

It is that time of year again when I get together with my momma to make some salsa! You can find the recipe we use here. This year, we had a few more helpers. Meeko made sure she sat with the tomatoes once or twice, and Winnie was great at watching mom cut all the tomatoes. No tomatoes were fed to the animals during the salsa making process.

One of our favorite snacks is nachos and salsa. This salsa is a sweeter salsa, but we still like to buy a salty salsa at the store every so often. I am sure Haig and I could eat a whole jar of this salsa in one sitting, it is so delicious!

  

skin

September 2015/September 2016 

I found myself in tears this week as I looked at a picture of myself from this time last year. My skin looked so clear. There was no filter on this picture, no distortion. I was amazed because all the previous acne scaring I had was gone. My skin was fresh and it didn't even look like I needed any make-up on. Then, I walked into the bathroom and looked at my face now. Pregnancy has certainly played with my hormones and my skin. I look awful. I am blotchy, bumpy dry and flaky.

I never wanted to go on a medication during pregnancy. Almost two months ago, I started a prescription called Clindets. It really has not helped much. My skin will have a couple of good days and then flare up again. I am currently dealing with a flare up situation and the timing could not be worse. Is it really too much to ask that I want to look nice around my friends and family over a holiday weekend? My knuckles are also starting to get very dry with the change of season. I feel like every time I walk by a mirror I cringe because my makeup looks too heavy on my face or that my foundation is making my skin look too pale.

But I think the hardest part about all this is that pregnancy looks seems to look so nice on everyone else and especially on social media. I see beautiful maternity pictures day after day and just wish pregnancy made me feel beautiful. Now, I KNOW that these women don't always feel beautiful. I know women who have struggled with hyperemesis gravidarum, sciatica, have been put on bed rest and women that have gone into preterm labor. I believe that we all have our own personal struggles. I am not trying to say that anything is harder than another, but my struggle with pregnancy and hormonal acne has been really hard.

Maybe it is selfish to wish that my skin could be flawless at a time when my body is changing physically to grow a human life, but I wish I could at least feel comfortable walking out of the house without make-up on or not having to take 15 minutes with a skin care routine before bed. I know I will look back on this someday too and realize how minuscule it was in the grand scheme of things, I mean, I am growing a littler human inside of me after-all. But like I said already, this is all still very hard for me. I am trying to feel more confidant in myself and I am going to trust in my nurses and health practitioners that will able to provide more relief and solutions to this problem after baby arrives in my arms.

the focus of our lives

After General Conference yesterday, a lot of people started posting their favorite quotes and talk references on social media, especially Instagram. I saw the quote from this talk in a lot of people's pictures of them with family, friends or just by themselves. It really is a good one to remember.

The joy I can feel in my life comes from the love I have for my family members, especially my husband. We have chosen to make and keep sacred temple ordinances and covenants because we know Heavenly Father's plan for us and we love His gospel. Sometimes, things don't always go as planned in our lives. We have learned that one too many times, but we are still joyful because we know if we keep Him as the focus in our lives, that everything will be okay. 

Another thing I noticed about this General Conference was a number of speakers that talked about doubt and those individuals who are leaving the church because of unbelief or their testimony has become too weak to carry on. The question was asked "where will you go to?" to feel the joy of the gospel, to make and keep sacred covenants, to be with your family forever? In my short lifetime, I have seen many people walk away from the church, and I still see it today. I want them to know that if they feel like their faith is unsure, there is help and there is a way to come back. 

I really hope I can remember the words that I heard this weekend of General Conference because next conference (April 2017) I will probably be busy with my little one to take the time to really listen and make notes from our leaders' talks. I am so excited that within the next six months, I will be a mom and have another focus in my life.

October

fall printable found here : 10 Free Fall Printables

I am so happy that it is finally fall! 

I have been loving this cooler weather so much and watching the leaves change colors already. 

I think fall is my favorite time of year. 

A couple things I want to do this season:

visit a pumpkin patch

go apple picking &

bake an apple pie/apple crisp 

(I actually already did this about two weeks ago, but I would love to make another one!!!)

have my maternity pictures done

go on a nature trail

we may check out one of the confederation trail or PEI scenic heritage roads

start knitting something for baby

how adorable is this hooded knit sweater?

dress up for Halloween

play one last round of golf

plan a date to take Haig on a scavenger hunt