Coral at 26 months

For all the family members and friends who live far away but love Coral updates, this post is for you.

-Her favorite food is, well, her potty treats of course. But if we're talking real food, it's probably noodle soup or yogurt.

-She is a copy cat. She is always listening while daddy and mommy talk, and she copies what we say. Especially while were in the car.

-She is always singing. Like always. In the bath, in the car, in the store, and of course, sings herself to sleep every night.

-She tells people she has a baby in her tummy too, or a monkey, or yesterday she told me she has a baby in her toe.

-She is obsessed with stuffed puppy's. Like major obsessed. If she sees one in the store, she thinks it's her responsibility to adopt it and take it home. And they all sleep with her In her bed. She also blames things on her puppy's, and gets them in trouble for things like biting and barking. She also uses her puppy's to ask for things like "can we go to Mcdonalds" in her puppy voice.

-She is starting to get embarrassed. For example, on Sunday we went to go order hardwood for the basement. Coral slipped on one of the samples we were looking at and fell, so the sales man helped her up. Her face turned beat red and her little lip started to quiver. She ran to me and buried her face in my neck and tried so so hard not to cry.

-She has the most adorable but obnoxious fake laugh. It's loud. She loves to do it in places like Superstore where she can really get some looks and hear herself echo.

-She is starting to "read" to us. If she doesn't know the story, she will make it up, usually saying things like "THE BOAT CANNOT BARE IT". If she knows the story, she will just say it from memory. She has a lot of her books memorized.

-She is the ultimate bedtime staller. She uses every excuse in the book like I'm thirsty, I need to sit on the potty, I need to talk about my day, I need to pray. She even tried using her nails being to long the other night in hopes I would take the time to cut them before bed. Last night it was "oh no, I didn't get to say goodnight to my smiley face balloon."

-She loves to swim and she has NO fear of the water at all. Ya'll are thinking, yay, good job, no fear of the water that's great. Um not so much. She will fully run and jump into the water whether someone is there to catch her or not. She doesn't want anyone to hold onto her to help her stay afloat. She will go to the edge of the pool and jump in backwards. Scary. And she will even throw a ball to distract her daddy and then try to jump in while he is distracted. She needs lots of eyes watching her at all times near the water.

-She is still crazy about her cousin Emma. She loves Kaden too but they act more like brother and sister then they do cousins. Those two are constantly battling over toys and snacks.

-She has a better memory then mine and Andrews combined. She remembers things that we did in BC back in September. She remembers where she hides or leaves her toys. She remembers who gave her what presents for her birthday and Christmas. She remembers books that nana reads to her in Port Rowan. She has a crazy good memory. It's kinda scary when I ask my two year old where I left the keys to the house, and she knows exactly where they are.

-Shes very serious around new people or larger amounts of people. She won't talk much or at all and would prefer to be on Mommas lap. But at home she is loud, and crazy and very very funny. I'd say she gets that funny goofy personality from me, but she claims it's from her daddy. Whatever Coral. Mommy is way funnier then daddy.

-Ask her who's sweetie she is, and she will always say "I'm papas sweetie". Papa brain washed her to say that I think. We tease her and say noo mamas sweetie, or Emma's sweetie, or daddy's sweetie, but she gets very loud and offended and screams "PAPAS SWEETIE". Try it, I dare you.

-She's scared of blow up castles. Really scared of them.

-Over all she's a fantastic kid. I can't complain much about the terrible twos...maybe she just hasn't hit that stage yet, or maybe it's the way Andrew and I handle it, just laughing at her when she's having a melt down. But she is usually well behaved (oh trust me, she has her bad days though. some very very bad days. But don't we all).

-She loves to be tickled, chased, and play hide and go seek. She also loves a good naked run after her bath.

I think that's all for now. We are loving the toddler stage.

Sometimes Pregnancy Sucks....

Let me start by saying that I feel very blessed to be pregnant and I recognize what a gift this baby is to our family.....BUT....yes, sometimes pregnancy just plain sucks.

For some people it seems like they just practically sneeze and their pregnant. No morning sickness for them, in fact some women have told me they had MORE energy throughout their pregnancy. They don't retain water. No acid reflux, no lack of sleep or feeling uncomfortable. If there was a jealous button, now would be the time I would push it.

When I was pregnant with Coral, I threw up almost everything I ate for the first four months, and then again the last two. In my last trimester everything gave me heartburn....water gave me heart burn. I had to "sleep" sitting up. Lucky for me though my bump didn't get super big so I was never really uncomfortable.

With this pregnancy, the heart burn has started early, making is appearance just a few days after we got the positive pregnancy test. My belly, which is not huge yet, but popped out much much sooner then with Coral, already feels uncomfortable. There's that "glow" that my brother-in- law says I have, which I think is actually just sweat. And then the morning sickness. Or all day sickness is what they should call it.

With Coral, I was much to stubborn to take anything for my morning sickness, although the drs did try to get me to. I'm not much of a pill popper as it is, and so I really didn't want to take anything during my pregnancy. But I knew I would have to take something with this pregnancy if I was going to be able to take care of Coral as well. So, Diclectin it is. And of course I did hours and hours of research before taking it. Don't worry, it's totally safe.

I started taking four a day, and while I do think it helps a ton, I was still stuck in bed most of the time (plus those suckers knock you right out...wow drowsy zombie momma). It DID help me keep my food down. As pregnancy progressed, I slowly started taking less, and this last week was down to one a day, which meant my energy level was slowly going up. I was brave Sat night and thought "I'm 15 weeks already, I can probably go without the Diclectin" which resulted in my head being in the toilet and me losing my supper. Nope, morning sickness is still there which leaves me feeling gross, exhausted and defeated. Oh how I miss being able to play with my daughter.

Along with the morning sickness, I have also had bladder and kidney problems. My Easter weekend which was suppose to be spent with my family was spent in the hospital. Let's just say I had complete bladder failure, and I had things done to me that even a women who has given birth before doesn't want to think about. My bladder and kidneys still hurt everyday, and I have to watch how often I go to the washroom or else my bladder stops working.

Then there's the amniotic fluid leaks which started yesterday as well. Now this I'm used to. It happened with Coral at this exact same time in my pregnancy with her. I know the drill, bed rest with lots of fluid intake. Well, bed rest isn't really possible when I have a bouncing two year old to look after, but I can do my best to get as much rest as possible.

Yes, pregnancy can sometimes flat out suck. I'm not afraid to say it. But I have gone through it before, and I know the end result. I remember looking at Coral after she was born and saying to Andrew "she was worth it". And really, I would have gone through a million times worse then what I went through for her, and for this baby. Plus, pregnancy does have its perks, like a loving hubby who surprises me with blizzards!

Pregnant mamas who are currently not loving their pregnancy, I feel ya. Keep pushing towards that end result with me. I promise it will be worth it.

Reno progress!

A lot got accomplished over the weekend in our basement. Like I said, get yourself a handy brother-in-law, you won't regret it.

Ok, so framing is done. Electrical is done (shout out to my father-in-law who knew how to rig up our basement for us). Insulation is done (and I am left with one itchy husband). Vapor barrier is done. Sound proofing on the ceiling is done. Plumbing is done, and sub flooring is done. That's a lot done right! Progress!













No more concrete floors! Woo hoo! All of the progress was really exciting. I'm excited for when our basement will be complete (ooh but it still has a long way to go). I never knew how messy renos could be. Besides all the junk that couldn't be in the basement so it's scattered in corners of my house, there is dust dust dust everywhere. Not just in the basement, but the dust travels all the way to our upstairs. There is going to be some major cleaning once the renos are over.

Our next plan is for me to take Coral to my sisters house in Font Hill one weekend, and Joel and my dad come to our house to tackle the dry wall and the brick accent wall. Our goal is to have the basement finished for sure before the baby comes, MAYBE before our BC family (The Holdsworths) comes in Aug, but that's a big stretch. Hmm yes that will give me enough time to clean my house before I'm officially nesting.

New light fixture

Remember this ugly old dresser?



Remember how it inspired me to change up our whole master bedroom? Well, a few changes have already begun.

My handy dandy brother-in-law was here on the weekend. If ya'll don't have a handy brother-in-law that can do practically everything (from plumbing, all construction, to electrical stuff) I suggest you snag yourself one ASAP. Whenever I know Joel is coming, I scramble and make mental lists of what I can get his help with. Ok, I try to be independent with my DIY stuff, and my decorating, but with me being pregnant, I need a lot more help these days.

Him and Andrew moved the furniture around in our bedroom to their new spots (it was quite entertaining watching them lift up a king size bed and move it around), and then I got him to put up my new light fixture for me.







Wowza! Look at all those flowers! I found this beauty on sale for half off at Urban Barn. It was exactly what I was looking for for my bedroom. I was in love. I bought it, took it home, and opened the box, and discovered I would have to put together 300 little flowers to make this beautiful light. Gah, where is my glass of wine when I need it. Sipping on grape juice instead, over two evenings I finished the light. It was worth all the hard work.

I also had ordered some fabric for new curtains (since the wall to wall curtains had to come down).



My sister quickly sewed some curtains for me, but those will be revealed once my ugly old dresser make over is complete.

Thanks Isaacs for letting me use your skills this weekend!

A Hodgson Announcement

The Hodgsons have been keeping a little secret for a while now, but we are finally ready to share the news with the world.




Miss Coral is going to be a big sister, and Andrew and I are going to be....busy. That's right, Hodgson family of four comin right up!




The little nugget (as our friends call him/her) is due to arrive October 13th.

Coral is very excited.



It hasn't been an easy journey (I'll post more on our baby story later) but we are beyond thrilled to be welcoming another little one into our lives. Thank you to all our friends and family who have been praying for us over the past couple of months. We love you all so much.

And now to nap, because this pregnant mama is ALWAYS tired.

Good Friday

Easter is coming. For us Christians it feels sort of like the Super Bowl, or the final game in the NHL playoffs. This is the big one for us. The holiday of all holidays. This weekend, we will morn. This weekend, we will rejoice.

For me, I have always found it easy to just skip to the good part about Easter. The part where Christ has risen from the dead, defeating the grave, the greatest victory of all. But this year, I'm trying really hard to focus on the tough stuff first.

I don't think I ever fully understood how great a sacrifice the cross was until I had a child of my own. Ohh children. They just have a way of putting things into perspective for you don't they?

I love my daughter more then anything. I would do anything for her. Now I couldn't imagine sending her into a place, knowing full well that she would be beaten, and killed in the most humiliating way ever. My innocent daughter. I couldn't do that. But God did do that. He sent his only son as a sacrifice, to die for me, to die for my husband, my child, and for you. Why? Love. He did it because of love. And why did Jesus willingly go to the cross? Love. A love so deep, I only understood it once I had a child of my own.

So tomorrow, I mourn the death of Christ. I prepare my heart for what is to come. Tonight Andrew and I will watch the Passion of the Christ, so we can remember the suffering that Christ endured. I will think about my name, Corals name, Andrews name that was written on the palm of his hands as they drove a nail through it, and hung him on the cross to pay for our sins.

And then I will wait. Because Sunday is coming. I have been teaching Coral how to say the four most joyous words I know "He is risen indeed!"

Prepare your hearts ya'll. Friday is almost here...

Coloring Eggs

Yesterday Coral colored eggs for Easter for the first time. I found a little kit at Superstore for $2.00 that had everything we needed in it, including the cups to dye the eggs in. It was a total hit. Coral was very impressed that we could change the color of eggs.




Getting our colors ready. Look at those tired little eyes. She just woke up from her nap and was eager to get crafting.










We drew in them with the special white crayon, and put them in the dye.







Taadaaa! What a fast and easy project. With the kit there was no mess at all and was super easy to clean up. Not bad for her first attempt. She even put them in a little basket and took them to daddy's work to show grandpa. They didn't make it beyond the car ride home though. Coral hasn't quite learnt yet how delicate egg shells can be. Good thing they were hard boiled. Phew.

This ugly old dresser

Check out this ugly old dresser. Hmm it's just something else isn't it. I got this dresser from kijiji for $5.00. Not bad. It's solid, heavy wood, and is in great shape. But it sure is ugly isn't it.

I love this dresser so much, and yet I hate this dresser so much. I love it for the potential it has. Once painted in a glossy white, with new hardware and some modern legs, this dresser is going to be stunning with a ton of character. However, I hate it in the state that it's in, and the size that it is.

You see, I bought the dresser, thinking I had the perfect spot for it in our master bedroom. Our master bedroom is quite large and very long. The thought of it not fitting exactly where I wanted it to go didn't even cross my mind. Gulp. Decorating fail. I under estimated how long this thing is.

So it's sitting in my room, in the most awkward spot, waiting for me to paint it. As I stared at it I thought to myself "ok I have two options. Either I find a way to get rid of it and find something for just as cheap with the same amount of potential....or I could rearrange my entire bedroom. Which one do you think I chose?

My love for the dresser out weighed the hate. It's staying. And I have had fun coming up with new ideas for my room. Well, really, there was only one other way I could rearrange my room. We have a king size bed, that only fits in two spots in our room. One is where it is now, the other is against the longer wall of our room. That means the wall to wall curtains are going to have to come down, as well as my wooden art. I will have a huge empty wall above my bed that I am going to have to fill. I have already been dreaming up what I am going to do, and have been texting my dad (my supplier of old doors) about what I want.

But, this is all in the future. Because right now, I have no motivation to bust out a paint brush and paint the ugly dresser. Stay tuned...