I've moved...

I just couldn't keep up with more than one blog, so I can be found at kdf CREATIONS . It's mostly posts about my cakes, but I intend to use it for any of my creative 'attempts', baked or not.

Hope to see you there!!!

Cupcakes and photos...

So this morning I had some amazing ladies come over and take some photos of Mia. I'm so so so excited to see them. Mia didn't exactly cooperate the best, BUT she did look pretty cute in some of her gettups. :) I'll be tapping my fingers and toes until I get a peak at the pictures. I SO can't wait.

As a thank you to the WONDERFUL Shandee (www.shandeegoulding.com) for coming to take Mia's photos, I made a cupcake bouquet. It was my first attempt and I did learn a few things, but overall I think it turned out pretty darn cute! I'll be making more of these, I'm sure of it!

Happy Birthday friends...

Yesterday was my friend Christine's birthday. Wish I could have baked her a cake. I wouldn't trust mailing a cake. She lives 6.5 hours away, so to deliver it myself would be a little silly. That said, I was thinking of her on her birthday.

Today, is my former coworker and dear friend Michele's birthday. I did bake her a cake. They usually get cakes for people's birthdays anyways... but I really wanted to bake one. It needed to feed the office and according to Sue (also former coworker) she likes pink. So I did the sides and embellies in pink buttercream, with a touch of purple. I'm proud of it... here it is:



I'm making cupcakes for tomorrow and then I've got 3 cakes for the end of the month. :) Yay.

Today is my last Monday on maternity leave... I'm off to enjoy it.

Less than a month away...

Well... yesterday made me realize that there was a month away from Mia's birthday. That means I have a month to plan Mia's birthday. Boys oh boys... So I got my butt in gear and finished her invitation, and got them printed. Hopefully I can get them mailed out pronto. Also on my to do list today was to pick up some things for my friends birthday, it's not much but I wanted to get a little something. Now I need to hustle and make what I need to make to get it mailed out. Paul also came home at lunch time today with the same flu Mia and I had 2 weeks ago. Poor guy. AND Mia and I got to have a play date with Anja and Ellen...

I got some cute pics at our playdate...I also have a pic of the invite. Then I'm off to keep tackling my to do list. Tomorrow is another work morning, so very few hours for me these days. :) Have a great hump day tomorrow!!!!

Mia's Birthday Invite:



And here are some candids from earlier today:

Anja and Mia...


Anja...


Mia being a "big" girl...

11 months...

11 months ago today my sweet baby girl was born. 11 months ago today was the first time I met my precious baby. 11 months ago today my world completely changed (for the better of course). 11 months ago today began my happy ever after.

I can't believe Mia is 11 months old. That means next month she will be 1 year old. I get teary eyed just thinking about that. WOW. My daughter will be 1!!!

The poor thing is teething something horrible. There's two teeth trying to come out and it's like they're stuck or something. I wish there was something I could do to help.

Time to go rest and relax... and ponder the last 11 months!

Positively Rough...

So... today and yesterday have been rough days in our household... our little munchkin is teething. In fact I checked and 2 teeth are coming in. She's whiny, cranky, and in pain. She won't really nap, so that makes her even MORE cranky. So I thought... what could we do that might distract her and keep me happy too. So I thought and thought and came up with a photo shoot. I'd been wanting to do one for her birthday but I kept putting it off. Well I learnt a few things. 1. I can't do photo shoots alone with her anymore. I need an extra 15 hands! 2. Our living room DOESN'T cut it. 3.Nothing makes a teething baby happy.

All the same I came out with a few REALLY good shots that I love, so well worth it... here are a few.

Mia's BIG day...

So.. I think I've finally come up with the final details for Mia's birthday. I'm going with a 'polka dot' theme. I'll have a bunch of white, pink and purple balloons. I'll make a white, pink and purple cake, with polka dots. I'm hoping I can find her a polka dot dress/outift???

Now I'm just on the hunt for anything polka dot ish... lol. I'm getting excited!!!!!

Nice day, nice night, nighty night.

Well, I returned to work for the morning again today. Shhhhh... GUESS WHAT? I really enjoyed it! Don't want to say that too loud in case people actually hear me. The morning didn't start off the greatest though... First we were running late. I finally get Mia to the sitters and realize we forgot her playpen at home. Luckily Paul can drop it off on his way by. Then I pull out of their subdivision and traffic is backed up... I was at a full stop for an hour. There was an accident up ahead. I was about an hour late for work. Pretty bad when I'm working 1/2 a day per week and I show up an hour late! lol. Anyways... I get there and the morning flies by. I got to play (test) some software and really enjoyed being back in that familiar world. It was like getting back in touch with 'the old' Kim... Anyways... I had a really nice morning. Then I went for a foot massage. (ahhh)... Went to pick up my Pumpkin Pie (Mia) - this has somehow become her nickname... Turns out she didn't sleep all morning, why? Because we FORGOT Bunny Bear. Ugh... bad parents. We deserve time outs. So, I drive home and bring her in, take her snow suit off, and during that WHOLE time she does not wake up. Ouch... sleepy baby. So she goes in her crib. I find a couple of AMAZING scrapbook blogs. I drool. Then Mia wakes up, Paul comes home, we go get dinner, come back home put baby to bed and that's that. Not sure what it was about today, but today was a good day. You know...I think I'm just living off of the energy I absorbed from the innauguration yesterday. So inspiring... so positive...

There was a post on the s'book board I belong to (skrapnchat.com) to post your favorite pictures of 2008... made me dig through my pics and choose my faves. I found it really fun and thought I'd end this post with my all time fave pics of 2008... Night night....

A day for the history books...

And Mia took it all in. This will be neat to show her when she grows up...

O. M. G. Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ok... so Paul was craving chocolate chip cookies last night. Like he wouldn't stop talking about them so finally I broke down and said I'd make some. Go figure, I had everything EXCEPT for baking soda. I was so bummed. Because there really is no substitute for baking soda. ANYWAYS... I came across this recipe that I made for a friend (It's one of those cookies in a jar recipes) and I realized I had all of the ingredients...I made a few changes, but OMG...so so yummy... Here's the recipe...

2 cups of Biscuit Mix (I used the instant mix from the bulkbarn) (recipe says buttermilk instant biscuit mix)
1 cup light brown sugar (recipe says 1/2 cup light, 1/2 cup dark)
1/2 cup melted butter
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips (recipe says 1/3 cup milk, 1/3 cup semi, 1/3 cup white)
1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Stir until well mixed. Roll into 1 inch balls and place on cookie sheet. Bake at 375 for 10-12 minutes. The recipe says it yields 30 cookies, but at 1 inch balls I made 48... I guess mine were small 1 inch cookies. lol.

SO easy, and SO yummy.

Enjoy!

My life with Gym, Harry, Mia and Paul....

Let's start with gym... as I've mentioned before we were given a very kind gift of a gym membership. I then fell sick and hadn't been able to go yet until yesterday. So I'm back on schedule with my 'running' program. 2 days in row this time. I'll go back next week. My goal is to get myself to run up to 10km. Not concerned on time...I just want to run 10km. Then I hope to participate in the Fredericton Marathon on Mother's day. I'll run the 10K.... So hopefully going back to work won't put a kink into my gym time. My goal is to get up at 6am... ha ha. We'll see about that.

Then let's move on to Harry. I did a Harry Potter cake for Denise's daughter Mya... Denise is the lady who will be watching Mia when I go back to work. Awesome lady...awesome family really. The cake turned out "ok"... Paul was quite impressed... I had a few issues with a few elements but of course I am my own worst critic. Here's a pic of the cake:



Then let's go to Mia... I think in a day or two another tooth is going to pop out. She's had one heck of a week. Daycare Wednesday am...playcare two days in a row while I've been at the gym. Playdate with Anja and Ellie... (Ellen and Carrie too I guess) Now add to that a tooth, and a switch to sippy cups, no more formula and mostly big people food. I've got the best baby in the world cause through all of this, she hardly fusses and is always in good spirits, with everyone. The best girl ever.

Paul... I don't have anything really to say except that I'm happy it's the weekend and we get to spend time together. I feel like through the week it's just go go go and we hardly spend any time together. Between dishes, and shoveling the driveway and running errands...then I go to bed earlier than he does so we see each other for only a few minutes every day. So I like Fridays...cause that means I get to spend time with him...

Anyhoo... off to enjoy my Friday night. Hope you enjoy yours!

I survived...

Today was my first morning back at work. Wow. I survived. In fact, I did better than survive...I actually enjoyed myself. It was super nice. It was great to see everyone, it was great to hear about my clients. It was nice to see the improvements and it was exciting to get back into the swing of things. Not to mention the ability to think only about me. Sure I thought about Mia, wondered how she was making out BUT I knew she was in GREAT hands. For the first time in months, I drank my coffee HOT...for the first time in months I went pee with a baby screaming because I had to put them in the playpen... for the first time in months I was concerned with me, and what I needed to get done, without any little person agreeing or disagreeing... I love Mia, I would love to stay home with Mia, but I will admit, it was nice. To get back in touch with Kim...not be Mommy for a while.

That said...I was so antsy the whole way home to get Mia. I hoped she had a good morning, I hoped she was a good girl...I hoped hoped hoped. So I get to Denise's, where my little girl is playing on the floor with the rest of the kids and doesn't even look up. I need to actually say, "Hi Mia" to get her attention. And then it happens, my heart melts because Mia looks at me, then a double take and then her eyes light up, her mouth opens, and she waves hello, over and over. Then yells MOM. She didn't forget who I was! She was happy to see me. She didn't think I dropped her off forever. She doesn't hate me! I hugged her, we put her coat on her and then she starts pushing me away. Well that lasted long! She was happy to see me, but wanted to stay and play with her new friends. That made me even happier. Of course she was a great girl for Denise...Even had a almost 2 hour nap. Ate all of her lunch...she's a champ!

So today was a great day. I've had a rollercoaster of emotions today and it's only 1:20... Wow. At least now I look forward to next Wednesday, for Mia to go play with her friends and so that I can get a bit of "me" back...

Hurray for today being a good day. I hope you have a good day too!

I need a carpenter...

Funny how I'm sure we have all of the equipment but between the two of us, I don't think we could manage to build a bookcase. lol. I'm sure we could if we really tried, but we don't have the time or money to waste on something that "could" topple over on the baby!!!! So...I'm on the hunt for a carpenter. I posted an add on kijiji...a few promising responses. A few completely out of their mind... Here's what I'm looking for... (my talents are drawing scale drawings like this in MS paint...lol)



I've been quoted from $350 to $600 for this and I want it made out of MDF... Looks like I might be going modular. :( I just thought it would be nice to have something be built for my space, instead of making something fit, ya know?

So tomorrow marks the end of my fulltime maternity leave. I just go to work for the morning...just to get in the swing of things. Not something I'm looking forward to. Well not entirely...I have found some positive in knowing that I'll be back to a schedule...back to a regular routine...and back to getting at least 1 hour a day just to me (my lunch) that is, if my work will allow it. Tomorrow will also be Mia's first day at daycare... wow. Good luck Denise... I so hope it goes well. I consider Mia to be a great baby...but add 4 toddlers on top of that...who knows.

Oh... and today was a big day for me. I've been noticing these grey hairs more and more...they're making me mad. So today I did something. Today, I dyed my hair... Just bought the kit from shoppers...the color is pretty much my normal hair color, minus the grey. Ahhh. Much better. Now to get a cut, eyebrows waxed, chin electrolysis and lose 20+lbs and I'll be a whole new woman.

Anyways... off to do a bit of surfing... have a great week...

Countdown to D day...

So the time is quickly approaching... in fact I'm planning a part time return and was thinking of starting this Wednesday. Just need to work that out with a few people. I know this won't be easy...but ya gotta do what ya gotta do...

On another note... I'm working really hard at planning/cleaning our downstairs playroom/craft room... I have so many great ideas...but I just need the time to actually start getting everything organized. In fact as soon as I'm done this I'm going to run downstairs for an hour or so. I got so many wonderful tips online for storage ideas. I just can't wait to get the room in tip top shape.

We went to a friends this past weekend for a potluck. What a great time we had... we brought Mia and put her to sleep in their guest room and she actually did ok. We had some great food, conversation, some drinks and a game of Taboo... It was the first time where I completely lost track of time. WE got home at 2:30am... We're rebels. Lol. I got to bake a cake for the dinner too...that was so exciting...I forgot to take a picture beforehand though, so thankfully Ellen took a pic for me... Here it is:



SURPRISE....check out the insides... (pics a little blurry)



Off to go clean clean clean. I think this is the first time I've been excited about CLEANING. :) Chow for now.

Out of commission...

Just when you think you have everything figured out...you get thrown a curve ball. First off...I was sure my cold was getting better, so why do I feel WAY worse today? Then, I was sure Mia was showing cold symptoms because she was teething...but why does she really not seem well, is clingy, rosy cheeks and nose, sniffles and sleeps ALL the time??? Looks like she's going to get pumped with tylenol. I do think she's teething, but normally she doesn't sleep when she's cutting a tooth...this time she's different. I think that she is getting the bug. Not good. Especially when I feel like I've been run over by the plow. Ugh....

Here's a pic of my super smart baby, reading already...



Happy Hump day!

Hip hip...HURRAY...

So...as sad as it was to see Compu Pro scrapbooking come to an end, I'm thrilled to see skrapnchat come to life! A new place to hang out, to be inspired and to scrap and chat with new and old friends!!!!!

Last night we went to the gym and signed the paper work for our memberships. I'm still a little stuffed up so I'm going to start tomorrow. I'm so excited. I'm going to start slow with maybe 45 minutes of cardio and we'll see from there. It's going to get tough once I go back to work... cause that will mean that one of us will have to go in the am and then one of us will have to go in the evening. That kind of sucks...but hey...we'll make it work. I wish they had childcare in the evenings. :( I thought about getting a babysitter, maybe even for just two nights a week...so that Paul and I could go together. I don't know how much they charge though. For someone to come and just sit on my couch for 1.5 hours, while we're at the gym and Mia is sleeping...I'll have to think about that. Maybe we could go together one night a week. Make it our night.

Ok...so I'm SO excited about this project I've been thinking about for a while but finally completed yesterday. I have this canvas that's I think 1.5 feet by 2 feet...I cut out squares from CS and PP and modge podged them onto the canvas. I'm trying to get some wall art for downstairs in our family room. Anyways... I'm thrilled with how it turned out. Now I just need to do another one. :) Check it out....

Happy Happy Joy Joy...

All kinds of great news... first off, I can't say how, why, or who... but today Paul and I received 1 year gym memberships as a very generous gift. I'm so excited. That will certainly help with my 2009 goals.

Secondly, our great friends from MA just confirmed our vacation for the first week of August at a resort in NH!!! TAX FREE SHOPPING here we come. The place is massive, three levels, with a full kitchen, living room, 2 bedrooms, loft area, grill on the patio... We're going to vacation in style. It'll be so perfect with the girls. I can't hardly wait. Not that I want to count down the year...but August can't come fast enough!!! I love having things to look forward to.

As for regular stuff... I got some groceries done this morning, had a visit with the doc, have spaghetti sauce in the slow cooker and am just chillaxin on the couch while Mia naps. My cold is still in my head so I'm trying not to overdo it but I'm in really great spirits. I have 2 scrap projects I want to tackle and I'd love to get a few pages done... hopefully in the next few days we can put a move on those. :) Hope everyone is having a GREAT Monday! :)

The planning begins...

So as I'm sitting here all stuffed up from this dreadful cold, thinking I should probably just go to bed but totally don't feel like it...I thought I'd start planning Mia's first birthday. Some will probably say I'm going a little overboard BUT this is what I've been waiting for. The party planning...the cake making...the family gatherings. I love it all...so call me crazy but I'm going all out!

I'm still trying to decide on a theme. I may just go for a 'pink and purple' theme. I'm thinking that will be the colors for her cake. Her cake will be 2 tiered. Maybe with polka dots... I'm still thinking on that one...I've found some pretty cute cakes.

I found some 'games' to play. Although I know we could all just sit around and watch Mia, I figured it would be fun to do a few things. The first is not much of a game but it's a 'time capsule'... I let everyone know that I'll be doing this and they bring things (if they wish) to put in the time capsule, I'll also have pieces of paper for them to leave a message and I think I'll give it to her on her 16th birthday. Wouldn't that be neat to get? I think so.

Another cute idea was to get some small frames and then take pictures of Mia with each guest and give the guest the framed picture as their 'party favor'... Love that idea. I might give that one a shot. We'll see. Anyways... yet again my obsessive list making, party planning mode has gone into full swing. I need to go work on the invites. I'm thinking I'm going to make a digi invite and then maybe include the details on a piece of CS on the back of the print out. We'll see. :)

YAY...let the planning begin!!!!

Resolutions...

So... it's that time to set some goals for 2009... I feel like I'm constantly setting new goals. New years or not, I'm often saying ok...Today I start fresh...with whatever goals I may have. But, with the New Year it's always easier to start fresh, yet again, with a big long list of goals for this year...especially with all of the changes that occurred last year, I need to try and get some things strait.

1. Weight... This has been a struggle for me for a while now. But I'm determined to lose some weight. Ultimate goal... 75lbs...I'll be taking that one day at a time. There are a few obstacles I'll need to overcome but I'm pretty sure I can do it... this leads me to my second goal...

2. Exercise... I'm not much for exercise. I don't mind the occasional walk, I enjoy taebo and swimming...but I just don't have the discipline for regular scheduled exercise. Unless I have a goal. Mom is running the marathon at the Fredericton Marathon on Mother's Day...I decided that I would run the 10km...with a goal to finish the race (not to win). I have 4 months to get my body in shape and 'trained' for this. Thanks to a very generous offer, I may have a fascility to train at, so, here's hoping I get to accomplish this goal...

3. Scrapbooking... December is always such a whirlwind month...I never get anything done. I've got so many amazing pictures of Mia that I really need to get scrapping. I think I got a little overwhelmed given that I have 10 000+ pictures of her, but I've decided I will scrap events, and occassions and then every once in a while I can do a 'favorite'... I'm really excited about this. Especially since I've gotten the cricut and have yet to use it on a layout!!! That's my motivation to take all of my Christmas stuff down...once that's cleaned up I can scrap. As for specific goals... I'd like to get about 10 layouts a month...that might be a little much but we'll see. I'd also like to get a few more layouts published...but we shall see about that too, I haven't thought much about this goal.

4. Cakes... I really want to expand on this. I'm having a blast and have learnt so much. I'd love to continue making cakes and hopefully create myself a small business. Nothing much, but just something where people can give me a call if they want something special... :) I've already got a few cakes booked...so it'll just be a matter of putting myself out there. Hopefully this will be the year that Paul FINALLY finishes my website. :)

5. Baby #2... I think around June we might start trying again. Getting pregnant was such a struggle the first time around and I get REALLY nervous. I don't want to take anything away from Mia...she is my whole life right now...so this will be thought over in depth and fingers crossed we will be pregnant this time next year.

I also have a few personal resolutions that don't really deserve their own category...for example I want to work on my patience...mostly with Paul, he deserves it. I also want to work hard as I return to work and be proud of my accomplishments in my carreer. I also want to make a bigger effort with Molly and give her more attention, like she deserves. She's such a good dog and she so often goes unnoticed...

That's about it... may you be blessed with health and happiness in 2009!

Happy New Year...

These last 2 weeks have been such whirlwinds! We travel to all ends of this province visiting with family and thankfully, we had very safe trips with an AMAZING daughter. Most of our extended family only gets to see her every few months and she's only 10 months old... but smiles for *almost* everyone. So proud of her. Speaking of Mia, she has grown up SO much in last few weeks. It's so much fun because she's really become my little buddy. Calls out for "Mom" all the time and crawls around looking for me. Love her to pieces!!!! Unfortunately, a few days ago Paul came down with a cold, and Mia and I came down with it today. There's nothing more pitiful than a sick baby. That said, she's drooling buckets again, so I'm wondering if she doesn't really have a cold and is just cutting a tooth. I guess time will tell.

I thought I would share my "surprise" Santa gift under the tree...




I just can't wait to use it. It's been calling my name since boxing day when I took it out of the box. :)

I have other Christmas pictures that I'll be sure to load in a few days.

I just wanted to be sure to wish you and yours a very Happy New Year. May it be filled with health, happiness and lot's of love!