Craven (almost)

The last few days have been lovely July days. We've had temperatures ranging from mid 20s up to mid 30s, summer storms, and all manner of lazy to extreme summer weather. I've been doing my best to get my work done outside in the mornings  before it gets too hot out. This tiny furnace inside my basketball-shaped belly seems to really take it out of me in the higher temperatures. All in all my lists for the week have gone well though. I spent one afternoon on the phone booking pretty much everything I can book for July, have been able to go for lunch dates, get the last few baby things on our list, and I even got my coffee table done.

I think my first week of maternity leave was a success.

I attempted to plant a small garden this year. Some things are working out, some not so much. I didn't plant tons as the weeding is really no fun whilst pregnant. And I'm hoping that next year I can plan things out a little better and have better success. My thumb is nor green, nor black, for now I think I'm somewhere in between.

However.

I'm very proud of this strawberry and I'm pretty sure it's the most perfect strawberry I've ever seen. And it just so happened to come out of my garden. Keith and I cut it in half and shared it. And it was not only the most perfect looking, but also the most perfect tasting strawberry my taste buds have ever had the delight of knowing.

We found this impressive thistle along a seasonal back road.

Craven is a small place. It is very much just one of those teeny little Saskatchewan towns that has a general store and a gas station and one or two streets with houses along them. However, every summer for a weekend in July, it is flooded by about 20,000 people for the Craven Country Jamboree. This is a pretty big deal in Saskatchewan. It is like the province's ultimate summer party. People get very into it. They line the highway with their campers to get in, do their best to get through all kinds of muck (the fairgrounds happen to be in a flood plain), and for most people I believe the 4 days is spent partying like crazy.

The music is right up Keith and my alley, this year the big names brought in were Tim McGraw, The Dixie Chicks, and Kenny Chesney. However at 9 months pregnant I said I really didn't feel like investing in a ticket and spending much time walking around for hours amongst the drunken Craven crowds. So instead we opted for a more peaceful option.

We took some back roads and walked through some fields to find the perfect little spot overlooking the valley. To our surprise no one else had this bright idea and we had the edge of the valley all to ourselves. It was lovely. We sat with the dogs and had a little look and a little listen. Once we doused ourselves in mosquito spray the entire experience was wonderful.

Nova enjoying Tim McGraw.

We found an actual cactus beside where we were sitting. Glad I didn't choose that spot - ouch!

The sun went down and we (well I) got cold, so we called it an early night. I wouldn't change any of it though. Next year we may splurge and actually get a ticket for a day, now that our interests have been sparked by our quiet little adventure.

And last but not least. A glimpse at my coffee table. Of which I'm oh so proud. And so glad that my first "big" furniture building project was a success. Keith and I are now formulating a list of all the things I need to build to outfit our house. I hope this baby is content being out in the shed with me, because it looks like we have a lot of work to do in this maternity leave!

Freedom (or so I think)

(I'm just going to start off like I never left...)

Today is my first day of freedom. AKA maternity leave.

Keith took me on a beach-date after my last day of work. 

It was fantastic.

It is a Monday morning, I woke up with Keith at 5:45AM, got an important email sent off, and am sitting at my kitchen island in the sunshine with my tea and my toast. Sounds pretty good to me. Today is my official first day of maternity leave. Before this it was just the weekend. And I'm so happy that I live in a country where we get a full year for maternity leave. Most of the pregnant-lady forums that I've lurked online are predominantly American and I don't know how people manage to go back to work say 6 weeks after having baby. So in the spirit Canada Day having recently passed us, I say thank you Canada for maternity leave.

I am now 36 weeks along and I feel pregnant. In the past week things have gotten quite awkward. Baby has dropped and is riding low now. And while it's nice that it's not jammed up in my ribs all the time any more, I feel pregnant. I get hot swollen feet as soon as I'm warm or the slightest bit dehydrated (which it turns out happens quite quickly in July). I have difficulties rolling over and getting up off the couch. If I'm laying down my belly needs its own pillow for support. Ah pregnancy joys.

Swollen pregnant summer feet

Everyone is asking me what I'm going to do with my "month off" before baby comes (I believe my "freedom" then may end and I'll be thrown into a brand new schedule that I really can't plan for). And I am quite excited about my few pre-baby weeks. I am a huge fan of day planners. I just got my new one for the next year (I only ever get the academic ones and there is a very specific make-model that I'm addicted to and am now on my fourth year of using, if they ever discontinue it I'm not sure what I'll do with myself) and it is so exciting. I get to look all the way into 2014 now. Anyway. I have been writing myself to do lists in my day planner and it's just so satisfying to see all my necessary tasks laid out before me like that. Examples:

Today:
-write that important email (check!)
-make vet appointment for the dogs
-book hospital tour
-do laundry
-drill pocket holes
-put up upstairs curtain rods with Keith

The pocket holes are quite exciting. I've decided to finally try building the coffee table that I've been telling Keith all winter I was wanting to build. So of course now with the sun shining and an enormous belly I've decided is the best time to do so. We got the lumber yesterday ($50 total, I'm hoping I can make this project worth it, if I see a similar coffee table for less than $50 I am going to be quite irritated) and I made all my cuts. Just a little proud of myself. I even had some angled cuts that I'm pretty sure I got right (thanks to a helpful YouTube DIY tutorial - insert a picture of me sitting on the shed floor with my cellphone watching YouTube clips). So today I learn how to use my fancy Kreg-Jig to make pocket holes and maybe I can figure out how to start putting this thing together.

Don't be expecting a step by step blog post. It takes me long enough to sit there and stare at the instructions confusedly, add a camera into the mix and I may never get this thing done.

All in all there is a lot to do. We had our last ultrasound on Friday and they said it looks like baby may come in July rather than it's original expected early August. Which I would be quite alright with. I told Keith that as long as it gets to full term and he's home baby can come whenever it wants.

Well maybe not this week, I'm pretty excited about my pre-baby to do lists this week.