crystal's little corner

If anyone is interested in donating toys for a toy drive, please let me know! A Few of us from our Mommy & Baby playgroup are arranging a mini toy drive. Pick up/drop off needs to be arranged before December 8, in order to be dropped off to the Second Story Women's & Children's Centre before their programming wraps up before Christmas. We can accept new, unwrapped toys, or used linens & clothing for people of all ages. Please help us make the holidays a bit brighter for families in need! Thanks :) Please contact me with any questions! crysmacdonald@hotmail.com

this past weekend, i went to moncton for an annual event - christmas at the coliseum .  mom, marilyn & i go every year... it seems to be what kicks off the holidays for us :)  this year, we brought along carter who was a hit with the ladies at the sale.  i'm sure at least half of the 5,000 people who were there on saturday morning told me how perfect he is.  duh! :)  i picked up a couple of things at the sale, and a few more things during the stops we made on the way home.  it seems like now, i can get my head into the holidays.  the grinch is on tonight, lights are going up wednesday. oh - and just for the monthly challenge - saturday, i let someone go ahead of me in line to pay for tickets to get into the sale' sunday, i told the ladies who take care of my nan in the nursing home how much i appreciate what they do; today, i bought a box of timbits and gave them to the kids playing at the park.

Today marks one month until Christmas Day.  In the spirit of the season, and in teaching my son that there is more to the holidays than receiving, I am embarking on a month long project of doing at least one random act of kindness each day.  This is also going to get me back in blogging form! Day One - I am donating breastmilk to a family in need :)

i know i've been MIA for awhile.  the last couple of weeks, i have been in a bit of a funk.  i can't seem to get out of my own way, and i don't know why, really.  the boys are wonderful, life is pretty good, but i'm not.  i am sad, and slumpy, and just all around not thrilled. there have been some teary eyed monster attacks the last few days, missing my girl.  the days are fewer & farther between that i cry and miss jenna, but wow.. when they come, they knock me on my ass. what do you guys do when you hit that funk?  how do you get back to yourself?

I fear that this post may run long & picture heavy.  But quite seriously, this was just about the best weekend EVER. Let's start by explaining - normally we would cram two turkey dinners with both of our families into Thanksgiving. This weekend, Dad & Adam were both working backshift, so Mom decided to come hang out with Mark & I & the boys. A couple of weeks ago, I won a prepaid Visa from DHBC , so Saturday morning dawned bright & beautiful, so we headed into the city to experience some new stuff.  By the time we arrived on the waterfront, it was lunch time, so we started out with lunch at The Battered Fish .  Can I just say, there isn't much better than eating deep fried haddock on a bench in the sun.  :) After lunch, we headed up to the Discovery Centre .  I had only been there once before, quite a few years ago, and couldn't wait to take Alex!  He had a great time, just like I knew he would.  We got there just in the ...

we've been putting in a rough few days.  the c-man has stopped sleeping much at night, or ever for that matter.  i think maybe he's coming down with a little something, he's had a cough the last 2 days.  so, the laundry & housework have been piling up around me.  this morning while the little dude napped for all of 20 minutes, i flew round the house, tidying.  no deep clean, but at least things are in the right rooms. and then, lo & behold, at 11:00, he fell asleep again (maybe we're getting back on track!), i managed to fold 4 loads of laundry and create this beauty: homemade turkey soup... with carrots from my garden :) i also prepped for a power outage, just in case.  dishes done, water boiled, bath tub filled.   we are supposed to get around 80 mm of rain tonight, with up to 100 km/h winds.. better to be safe than sorry.   but most importantly, i hung out with this cute boy all morning: next on the agenda for the day is a deni...

rainy day fun with my boys alex - 5 years carter - 3 months

so, yesterday i entered a contest online... to find out today that i won a $100 gift certificate from DHBC .  it can be used for pretty much anything in the downtown Hali core, so we're going to put our thinking caps on and come up with a couple of ideas on what to do.  i'm thinking about taking the kiddos to the Discovery Centre , and then to Freak Lunchbox for treats afterwards. what would you do if you could do ANYTHING along the waterfront of Halifax?  harbour cruise?  spa?  shopping?  eats? thank you Downtown Halifax.  i can hardly wait to spend my big day downtown :)

i think i've turned into a sloth.  i have ZERO energy these last few days. i went to zumba last night but i didn't enjoy myself.  it takes all my energy to do laundry or housework. anyone have any ideas on how to get out of my own way????

after a weekend full of family, friends, cake & fun, my little boy is five :) happy birthday bud.  each year that goes by, i am more and more in awe of you!

i cannot believe alex is old enough to start school.  i started this blog before he was BORN! here are some pics from the first day :

This Sunday, I am participating in the Ovarian Cancer Walk of Hope.  This is a fundraiser for a cause very close to my heart. On Christmas Eve 2009, my mom was diagnosed with Stage IV ovarian cancer after starting to feel sick around Thanksgiving.  The symptoms of this disease are very similiar to menopause or PMS, and go un-noticed, or misdiagnosed far too frequently.  For a person diagnosed with Stage IV, the survival rate is only around 17%.  So far, my mom is feeling well after her chemo treatments & a full hysterectomy, but the chance of the cancer coming back is still strong. There is no early detection test for ovarian cancer.  A pap test DOES NOT test the ovaries.  I always thought it did.  The idea of how quickly my mother became sick scares me silly, and I worry all the time about whether or not I will also get sick in this way.  All I can hope is to help raise awareness to the fact that there is no early testing that can be done...

This has been a pretty big week in our house.  We had a first day of school, first filling at the dentist, and first needles.  I had done up some pretty great collages on the software that is being given away later tonight, but the hard drive on our desktop crashed, and so I'm stuck posting from my netbook.  At least I can still do this much!  Pics and more details will follow a little later.  I have to get ready to go pick Alex off the school bus in a couple of minutes!!

i am so excited to roll out my first blog giveaway! i was approached by mymemories.com which is a digital scrapbooking software company to review their product here's what's in it for you, my readers!  you can win a full version of the software, and all you have to do is this: visit  http://www.mymemories.com/ , and check out the gallery.  come back here & post what your favorite was. giveaway closes september 8 - that's one week from today! you can see from my post below some of the effects that you can do.  that was just one template.  i'm going to keep playing with the program, but so far, it's super easy!

my beautiful family!   photos courtesy of m. blanchard - my talented SIL! software courtesy of my memories suite

i'm super pleased to announce that there is a giveaway coming down the pipes on my blog.. stay tuned - hopefully tomorrow i'll announce!

last summer, while struggling through the grief over losing my beautiful baby girl, i came across  facesofloss.com .  this amazing website got me through some dark days. it helped me know that i wasn't alone and gave some great information and resources.  they also have a facebook page, which, although i don't participate in actively, i still follow in case i am having "one of those days". yesterday, i noticed a post saying that the girls who run the site were looking for volunteers to act as admins to post stories, etc.  without hesitation, i sent them an email and offered to help out.  once school starts, it'll just be me & the c-man here, so i figure i'll be able to take some time and do what's needed. they were so helpful to me when i needed it most ,that i am so thrilled to be able to pay it back to them by doing this small amount of work for them.  i hope any of you moms who may follow my blog, who have suffered from miscarriage, sti...

i've been up since 245 am.  i wish the sandman was real and could make my kids sleep for more than 1 hour at a time. my house is in shambles, i want a shower, groceries & maybe a massage.  is there such a thing as fairy godmothers? this is the life of a mom struggling to find balance with my new life as a mom of 2.  just 2.  how do you mommas of 3 or 4 do it?  you are all my heroes.  cuz as of 6 am, i was ready to run away from home.   i know it sounds like i'm complaining, but i'm not.  i'm thankful for every minute i have with my boys, even if they are trying out chinese torture techniques like sleep deprivation.  i love their smiles, hugs, and love watching the dynamics of brothers.  i cannot wait to see what the future brings them.  i know that if they are crying, or not sleeping, or arguing with me, that at least they are here to do those things. 

i have the cutest boys EVER.

soo, tomorrow i'm taking wedding photos for a wonderful, old friend. i am trying to pull together some ideas of must have shots.. what are yours?

I lost 3.5 lbs this week! I guess it worked.

i'm having a super hard time getting back on the weight loss train.  two pregnancies in the course of 2 years left me pretty much eating whatever i want and being lazy on the exercise thing.  so, i started tracking again, using  loseit , and trying to walk and do some wii fit. tonight i tackle an athletic training course in tantallon. wish me luck, i'm afraid for my life.

the rain that's been persisting for weeks (someone, tell me, when did i move to seattle??!), has moved out for the weekend and left behind a beautiful, sunshiny saturday!  and, instead of being on the beach, or doing something fun with my boys outside, i'm playing nursemaid to my #1 son who has caught a summer cold.  so, it's a day of OJ, chicken soup, DS & movies for him today. however much it sucks that i'm not outside enjoying the day, tonight when hubs gets home from work, i'm strapping on the ipod and going for a kid free walk.  i can't even begin to tell you how excited i am about that prospect.  it also means i can get caught up on some much needed housework.  for anyone who knows me, you all know how crazy i'm getting living without the laundry done every day, floors done, and bathrooms clean.  LOL! i've also started getting back to basics on the weight loss thing.  journalling, meal planning & trying to squeeze in exercise whenever...

wow.  didn't think i'd be saying this so soon.. but i miss work.  i miss the customers, my co-workers, the challenge of working retail, all of it.  most of all i miss the grown up conversation! i never had any problems when i was off with alex.  but this morning i had a total mental break. i can sense a bit of something lingering... post partum?  some remnants of whatever depression set in after jenna?  a bit of guilt (more on that later...)?  i don't know.  but i'm not a happy momma these days.  however, as sad and lonely as i feel, i know that i'm doing the best thing for my boys and their beautiful faces and smiles let me know that everything i do for them is worth it.

So.. as you all can gather from having read my blog, my induction date was scheduled for June 30.  I had a regular OBS appointment, and biophysical profile scheduled for June 29.  Because there was an ultrasound involved, I thought it would be fun for my 10 year old niece to come with me, since she has been learning about babies, etc. in health class this year in school.  Abby & I show up for the appointment, and the nurses on the floor can't figure out why I'm there that day when I'm scheduled for the following day.  They make a call over to the OB/GYN on call to find out exactly what's up.  At this point, it's 11:30 am.  I headed downstairs to ultrasound to check on the babes, and go back up to the floor. When we get back up to the maternity floor, the nurse hits me with "Dr. J has decided that we'll start induction today since we're anticipating a busy weekend.  Are you ok with going ahead now?"   My reply?  "Sure...

happy birthday jenna faye. it's hard to believe a year has passed since i saw your face, stroked your hair, and said good bye. mommy loves you all the way to the moon... xo

just a quick update for now - this momma is tired & sore! carter brian macdonald arrived on june 29, at 8:23 pm.  he weighed 6 lbs, 15 oz, and is just as amazing as we expected him to be.  i'll update again in a day or two when we get ourselves adjusted to being home!

So, it's officially baby week in the MacDonald household.  Alex is over the top excited about 3 things - 1. Getting a baby 2. Spending a couple of nights with his Nana & Papa while Mommy's in the hospital 3. Getting his Uncle Adam to come visit Good thing we've got a few things to keep us entertained over the next couple of days.  Swimming lessons start today, then a haircut for Magoo, a pre-baby BBQ with my SIL & her family, and a baby appointment, soccer & more swimming on Wednesday.  That is, if this baby belly of mine stays put until Thursday which is induction day. I've been having some pretty steady contractions over the last few days but no other signs that anything is imminent.. so I'm pretty sure Thursdays' gonna be the day. I can't believe how quick the time has gone.  I've tried to enjoy every minute of this pregnancy, because I know it's my last - but the back aches, sore belly & barfiness will not be missed.

i also forgot to mention that i've become a bit of a crazy person when it comes to taking pics of my handsome son and random things around the yard... because i'm home on mat leave awaiting baby, you may end up seeing a few totally obscure shots.  fair warning. xo

really not much of excitement has happened in our world for the last couple of months, but things are about to get a whole lot more interesting.. we are down to NINE days until baby.. :) we had asked the OB/GYN if there was any chance of giving me a scheduled induction date since my due date for this little busy body in my belly is exactly the day that we got admitted to the hospital last summer.  she agreed that it was not an unreasonable request and scheduled us for june 30th. things are also about to get busy for my busy boy - summer soccer, swimming lessons, and a few other things on the horizon, not to mention becoming a big brother FINALLY and starting school. :) life seems to be on an the rainbow side of things.. let's hope they stay that way.

as some of you may know, i opted not to join a face to face support group when we lost jenna.  i couldn't bear the idea being that "newbie" in the group.  so, i found an amazing group of women via facebook, and am so glad that i did. s.o.b.b.s. is currently undertaking a huge project, which is to mail out "mom of an angel" bracelets in personalized envelopes to their members, who in turn distribute them to hospitals, etc., for new moms of angels, to let them know they are not alone, and to point them in the direction of our group.  in order to do this, every package costs $25 US to mail (we are currently shipping to US, Canada, Australia, and many more countries to raise awareness!).  in order to help alleviate some of the costs, members of the group have been asked to create a website which gives a little info about us, and try to help with fundraising. please take a moment to visit my page:  http://www.sobbsstoriesofbabiesbornstill.com/participant/1065 ...

it's hard to believe how quickly time can slip away.  i've not been as frequent at blogging as i was last year, but i find that with being back to work, family, and the constant worry that i feel with this pregnancy, i just dn't have as much time to sit down and let things go. currently 19 weeks pregnant.  i have my ultrasound on monday, which is awesome that i'm gonna get to see this little gummy bear on valentine's day!  we've decided not to find out the baby's gender (unless it's too obvious to miss on the screen), and i'm ok with that decision.  i'm having a hard time with the pregnancy, because the baby doesn't do a ton of kicking, etc, through the day and i only notice it for about an hour in the evening.  it echoes of the way jenna was while she was in my belly.  i don't know how many times i had told the doctors that she was a "lazy baby". i find that my grief doesn't consume me as much as it once did.  my days a...

So, Christmas and New Years has come and gone, and before I knew it, January was almost behind us too.  Today we sit not much differently than we did when I last posted.  We are still working our way through the dark, while battling the emotions that come along with this new pregnancy. I will be 17 weeks pregnant on Sunday.  I'm still having a hard time connecting to this pregnancy, I think mostly at this point because there isn't a lot of movement yet.  Until that happens, I will be that paranoid, crazy, pregnant lady who can't think that anything is going right.  Every one of my appointments so far has been wonderful, with a strong heartbeat, and I also have seen baby at every appointment with the small ultrasound machine that they keep in the room.  So, I know that things are fine, but my mental state just won't let me go there until this baby arrives healthy & happy. Alex is doing wonderfully.  Smarter by the day, and as sweet as ever. ...