Going on Maternity Leave

This week is my last week of work as I will be going on maternity leave for almost a year. I'm lacking energy and motivation for the last two weeks and I don't know if I should be blaming everything on my pregnancy.

Despite of that,We were able to organize a small surprise birthday party for my aunt's 60th.
I hope I was able to fix myself up and somehow hide how tired I was.

For the first week of my leave, I'm planning to wash all my baby's new clothes and organize them in our newly brought dresser.

Also I want to change my bedroom curtain and make it look more baby-friendly. My current one is dull looking.
Here is the photo to prove:
:

 As I mentioned in my previous post , I want to change it into a light, fresh green color. That way it looks more livelier and baby-ish too.

I also already have my "things to pack " list and will be packing them in a bag. I just want everything to be handy when the time of my real labor comes. I honestly don't know what to expect yet but I want to be prepared somehow.

I have mixed emotions leaving my job and facing an unknown career path in the following year. This job was the  first ever I had here in Canada. I never left since then because I was lucky enough to practice my profession from my home country, Philippines, without having to go back to some sort of training or education.

I loved the friendship that I have; the nature of work and the sense of certainty. Now I have three days left and I am feeling uncertain as to what my next job would be.

But I'm putting all these uncertainties away because I know the next life event I'm facing is much more important than any job and means so much more than any career: Motherhood.

And all my cares and concerns are taking the backseat for now.

Wishlist of A 7 Months Pregnant Woman

Yes. A pregnant woman ought to have her wishlist too. I think pregnancy is a good time for a woman to have extra pampering. So whether pregnancy related or not, don't feel guilty! Figure out what your wishlist is. Its just a "wish" list anyway!


1) A heavy duty mixer.

photo: KitchenAid




I want to learn how to bake. So far, I have only been succesful in making a cake using the instant batter mixes. The other day, I tried making this cake in a mug that is so popular now using ingredients from scratch. It seems pretty easy! I was gunning for something like this:




 photo from http://dairyfreerecipes.wikia.com/wiki/Chocolate_Cake_in_a_Mug

Dont ask for my results. I dont remember how it looked like anyway. It went straight to the garbage.



2) A lipstick in coral shade. Because Im a girl. And summer is coming. I love the bright shade of coral during hot days. It looks refreshing! I used to want the one from Benefit called chacha tint. I think it has a coral hue that looks nice when your your out and about during summer.

photo: Benefit cosmetics

But then any lipstick from the drug store with similar shade will do. I have my eye on revlon and covergirl.

3) A blush on with peach shade. Again, because I think this shade looks perfect during this season.

photo from www.temptalia.com

4) Green curtains for our bedroom. My current curtain is brown. I think it looks dull and the color it reflects to the  room makes me feel sluggish. It is time for a fresher, brighter color.

photo from www.simplehomeideas.com

photo from www.alibaba.com

5)Some gorgeous flats. Girls, Need I explain why? I love this color.






6)Pregnancy dresses.Simply because I cant breathe freely on my leggings anymore. It would be a breeze to wear them this summer.

photos from www.springmaternity.com

Add caption

That's about it. I dont have much, Do I?  They are just simple wants anyways and Im not gonna die if I don't get them. Well maybe I will. There are good finds in drug store cosmetics and Walmart is a good place too. I will be having a baby in two months or so. My wishlist would be different by then. Maybe it will be all about the baby. Ofcourse baby first before Mama. and Im happy with that:)

The Beauty of Spring

Spring is my favourite season. The melting of snow gives me freedom from  what seemed like an endless ,gloomy and cold atmosphere of winter. The color springing from everywhere make me see brighter things and thanks to the daylight saving time, I'm slowly regaining back my energy. Seeing more light in the day makes  me accomplish more things while the darkness of winter makes me want to stay under the sheets.

I love walking outdoors without the haste that usually happens when its too cold out to walk like I have all the time in the world. I love being able to open the doors and windows to eliminate the cooking odours inside the house. This afternoon I was already telling my husband that I wish  spring never ends. I know it has not officially started yet but this day is exactly the kind that makes me feel alive again after the long months of winter.

I love spring because it gives me a shift in my disposition. I am more inspired, more energetic and more light hearted. I want to call it a sunny disposition. And I want to be able to maintain this even after spring, and moreover, even during winter time.

Its easy to fall into patterns of worrying and pessimism when we are overwhelmed with tasks or problems along the way. If we don't help ourselves ,we can be buried  deeper and deeper into this dark disposition until it totally weigh us down.

On this day that I consider as the start of spring and as a result of my sunny disposition, I listed small but important things that I want to do:

* Every day matters. Every single day is what makes up a lifetime.So make  it a chance to make beautiful moments with the ones you love.
* Its okay to be silly. So go ahead, loosen up and let go.
* Worrying does not change anything. So.. right!  Stop worrying.
* Always look at the brighter side.
*Lighten up. Always remember that too much seriousness can add years to your looks. (yikes!)
*Be thankful everyday. Even though I don't have all things I want, I am already blessed with all things I need.

That is my sunny disposition list. I am hoping to carry it up until the next winter time.

Baby Cribs

I have anticipated so many joys in my life but I never thought that shopping for my baby's crib is as heart felt exciting as this.


Walking around the baby store opened my eyes to so many ways that I can protect and pamper the little person inside my tummy. It is strange but maybe all moms have felt the way I do, that even though I don't know a single thing about caring for a newborn, even though I did not pay attention to all the mommy stories of women who have given birth before me, I just know in my heart that when my baby arrives, I will know what to do. Maybe every mom has that caring instinct for their child even though she is holding a little baby, her very own flesh, for the first time.


Now I cant wait to see the crib standing in our bedroom.  I cant wait to see her giggle, cry and sleep. We will be hosting two parties in our home before I go on my maternity leave. One is for my Mom's birthday  and the baby shower. We still need the extra space in the living room so I'm being patient not to put the crib up yet.


We bought two cribs. One is wooden which I plan to put in the living room. The other is a playpen crib style which will become her crib for sleeping inside our bedroom. Although I was tempted to buy the playpen crib in pink, I realized it would be more practical to choose a unisex color in case I got pregnant again with a baby boy. So my husband and I agreed to buy light green.


Just buying the cribs makes me visualize many wonderful moments ahead . I'm so excited to become  a mommy: to run after her, comb her hair and read her stories. I know I will miss many hours of sleep. I may have less time for myself and will be really busy. I'm human enough to dread that fact. But I feel, just like what they always say, that this will be the most wonderful love story of my life.