Thursday, December 31, 2009

2009 Year in Review

So much happened for us in 2009; it was truly a fascinating, memorable year! Here are some highlights....

We got engaged on March 19, 2008 and began planning our elaborate wedding. We took our engagement pictures just a few weeks before we said "I Do" on March 29, 2009....


Our first home together was built and completed at the beginning of the year....


I've loved decorating and making our house a "home"....

I tuned into my sensual side and worked up the nerve to do a boudoir session for my future husband. I had a book made of the images and had his best man deliver it to him the morning of our wedding....
I met some of my cousins for the first time ever! It was very special that they flew in for our wedding....

On March 29, 2009 we got married and it was the most amazing day ever!!! God has blessed me with His best.

We traveled to Prague, Czech Republic and Vienna, Austria for a two week honeymoon....



Just 2 weeks after we returned, we found out we were expecting!!


A few weeks later, on Mother's Day, we let our mom's know that they were going to be grandmothers!....



Married life got into full swing real quick! I delved into cook books and tried new recipes and have become quite domesticated if I do say so myself!....





In July, I turned 30....

At my 20 week visit we found out that our little baby....


....was a GIRL!....


Our wedding was featured in The Knot, and I started a wedding planning business, Peonies and Palettes.


We've been enjoying every second of preparing to welcome our little girl {Ilah} into the world....


In less than two weeks we will be bringing our first child home! It's such an exciting time in our lives!!!
We look forward to all of the memories that will be created in 2010!!
Wishing you a prosperous, happy, and very fulfilled New Year!!!!

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Questions and Answers, Part 2


QUESTION #1

Q: How do you feel about having a baby within the first year of marriage?

A: My husband and I were on the same page with wanting to start trying to conceive within the first year of marriage. But I didn’t think I would become pregnant within the first month! I knew "how" a baby was made {lol!} but I wasn’t conscious about the ovulation period when a woman is at her highest probable chance of conception. We just figured that I would become pregnant whenever it happened – personally, I thought it would take at least 6 months. Needless to say, I was absolutely shocked when I discovered I was pregnant within two weeks of returning from our honeymoon! We were stunned but overjoyed. A little nervous, but thankful.

I think there's a lot to evaluate before bringing a baby into the world. For us, we knew that we would be bringing our little one into a loving, stable, Godly home in which her needs would be provided for. I have an incredible husband, we have a new home, we're financially stable and our baby will have supportive grandparents who live close by. Since these things were already aligned for us, I never worried that the timing wasn't right.

My husband and I, both independently and together, have lived life to its fullest – and will continue to do so even after the baby is born. I’ve traveled to 14 countries and more than half of the states in the US and my husband has taken in his share of travels as well. We’ve both pursued, and accomplished, many things that we have been passionate about, and we will continue to do so. We’ve taken part in many ministry opportunities and mission trips and desire to spread the love of God whether in our back yard or abroad, and want to walk through as many open doors of opportunity as we can.

Ilah will be an additional blessing to our life and we look forward to making her, and our future children, a part of the many memories that my husband and I will continue to create together in our lifetime.

QUESTION #2

Q: Do you worry about the actual vaginal delivery? I'm worried about it and I'm not even pregnant yet! How do you handle knowing this challenge is coming up, or is it not a worry to you?

A: I never started thinking about “delivery day” until about a month ago. And even then, I more started wondering what time of day or night my water might break, would it break at all or would I just begin having contractions, how the drive to the hospital would go, and imagining checking into the room, putting on the hospital gown and wondering how I would feel in those moments leading up to meeting our baby! Even now, just two weeks away from my due date, my excitement to hold our little girl in my arms is trumping any fear of a vaginal delivery {I’m more afraid of a c-section than a vaginal delivery}. But it does amaze me how women were created to birth another human being. There are times when I look down at my stomach and I say, “Wow, she’s been growing in there for 9 months! That’s amazing! And somehow she’s gonna make her way out”. Lol!

QUESTION #3

Q: What are you using on your stomach to not get any stretchmarks?

A: I did a post here on what I’ve been using. I still don’t have any stretch marks. PTL!

QUESTION #4

Q: How did you decide that breast feeding was not for you?

A: I just knew that when I posted that I wouldn’t be breastfeeding that I would get questions about it; lol! Let me answer it this way. There are many reasons why women choose not to breastfeed:
  • Medical problems; an infection or condition that can be given to the baby through milk
  • Baby has a hard time latching on and unable to suck sufficiently
  • Breastfeeding can be painful
  • Pumping hurts; mom can’t pump enough milk to keep up with babies daily intake
  • The child doesn’t take the mothers milk
  • Inverted Nipples
  • Both mother and baby need plenty of patience and persistence to get used to the routine of breastfeeding
  • Psychological reasons; doesn’t feel comfortable with it
  • Uncomfortable breastfeeding in public
  • With formula, others can help with feedings

    I’ll just say that one, or more than one, of the above reasons is why I’m choosing not to.


QUESTION #5

Q: Who customized your blog?

A: My husband did! He’s a computer guru. I just told him what I wanted and ta-da!

Images used on my blog came from istock.com, and shabbyblogs.com.

Here are some other sites to fancy up your blog for free....

Leelou Free Blog Layouts and her old template designs here.

paigeandbrooke.blogspot.com

kevinandamanda.com; free fonts here.

Cutest Blog on the Block {check out the left hand column that says "Grab what you want"}.


Questions and Answers, Part 3 to come!!

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

The Diaper Bag My Hubby Will Be Sportin'

Ilah got her daddy this diaper bag for Christmas....




The diaper bag was on clearance at an unbelievably low price - and I was able to save even more by combining two coupons {of $5 off, and another coupon saving an additional 20%}. Final purchase price was just $11 and some change!! Score!! Daddy LOVES it!! And while although he thinks mommy's diaper bag is cute, he's glad he has a masculine one of his own to sport!!

Ilah's Baby Book

The very next day after doing this post, I went out to Barnes and Noble to find Ilah's baby book. I ended up buying the one below, which had the highest reviews on Amazon. I was surprised and excited when I came across the book on the shelf {they only had one left!} as I wanted to see it in person and not make a blind purchase, even if it was a popular choice by other moms. I was also thrilled to come across the book since it is not available for direct purchase through Amazon, but only through third party sellers and at a higher price than what I paid for it in the store {$19.99}, and the customers who went that route weren't too pleased with the condition that the book arrived in or the long shipping time.


I'm posting pictures of some of the inside pages in case you too are on the hunt for a great baby journal. Of all the baby books I came across I truly liked this one the best for many reasons. You can go here and scroll down to the customer reviews to read about what each of the eight sections entail.


At the front of each of the sections are pockets to hold bulk items such as baby's hospital tag bracelet, cards you've received, pictures, special keepsakes, etc.












Be forewarned: this baby book is very lengthy and detailed. If you're all about a short, sweet and simple book this one isn't for you.

Some of you recommended baby's first year calendar - where you can use stickers to make notes and keep track of baby's special milestones. Coincidently, my mom just bought me one and I love it! I'll be using it along with the baby book I purchased for Ilah.






I look forward to filling in all the pages as our little girl grows and discovers new things!

Monday, December 28, 2009

Questions and Answers, Part 1

I hope everyone had a great Christmas and that the presence of those you love surrounded you! Our Christmas was spent between our families and while it was a great day, we all kept saying how fun next year will be with little Ilah! She will be nearly a year old when experiencing her first Christmas, which is a great age because she will be fascinated by all the decorations, shake her little bootie to fun Christmas songs, and can at least tug on bows and partially rip off wrapping paper! We can't wait for next Christmas!!

In this post I will answer the questions that you guys sent in. I mostly received private emails with private questions so I chose to answer those outside of the blog. Here are the remaining ones:

QUESTION #1

Q: Im 18 weeks pregnant and this is my 2nd pregnancy. My first ended at 14 weeks. I wake up constantly worrying that something will go wrong. I'm always a nervous wreck just before my Dr's visits. We try and cover our baby and ourselves in prayer constantly but the worrying never ends...do you ever worry? How do you stay sane?
A: Before my husband and I got married, we attended premarital preparation classes through our church. One of the areas we covered was family preparation {we discussed when we wanted to begin trying for a baby, what our thoughts were on discipline, balancing home life versus our careers, etc.}. It led us to really pray about our future concerning the transition into parenthood and even before we entered into the union of our marriage, my husband would pray over me and my womb...asking God for an easy and healthy pregnancy, and that He would equip us to be Godly influential parents. We prayed over our children before they were even conceived and realized the great task at hand even before entering into it. We also took a class called Ancient Paths and discovered the vital time in a child's life when the nurturing of a mother is most important and when a father's influence is most pivotal. This class also made us aware of the importance of praying away generational curses before your children are conceived and ushering in generational blessings for the next lineage.

With all this said, when I found out I was pregnant, I did have moments of fear. Even after all of the above preparation. I knew that the first trimester of pregnancy was a crucial stage to pass and I know many women who have had miscarriages. I remember not even wanting to tell our families until I passed the first trimester in fear that I could lose the baby but we found out we were pregnant {just weeks along} right before Mother's Day and I couldn't think of a better gift to give our moms.

I remember inhaling and exhaling a lot during the first few months. What I should NOT have done was research the statistics of miscarriages - because you then become a bit focused on the probability that something that could go wrong rather than focusing on the high percentages of pregnancies that proceed perfectly fine with both mom and baby being healthy. Reading negative stories kept me nervous. I had to change my mindset. So I stopped with the research, stopped dwelling on my fears, and stopped reciting the "what if's" and stopped visualizing painful aftermaths. In itself, stress during pregnancy isn't good. My mom is a great source of encouragement - so whenever I called her and began talking about my fears she would replace my thinking with positive thoughts and bring me back to a stage of excitement and joy about being pregnant. Hopefully you have great people in your life that don't add to your worry but instead, fill you with words of affirmation that add to this exciting time in your life. Those should be the same friends, that if something should go wrong, they are there to pick you up and still fill you with words of peace and encouragement. And then there are those times when you just need to talk to yourself and fill your spirit with confidence that all will be well.
QUESTION #2

Q: What you did as a career before marriage and motherhood?
A: I held a 9 year career in the mortgage banking industry - and literally fulfilled every position as I climbed the corporate ladder at various companies {at 19 I started out as a receptionist at a bank, then became an admin assistant, then a loan processor, funder, underwriter, and then a senior underwriter...my last position was as a Commercial Real Estate Lender}. I also simultaneously fulfilled my passion for writing through a side business that I began 7 years ago, Higher Vision Consulting, where I offered creative writing and marketing services to small-to-large size businesses and individuals.

QUESTION #3

Q: How did you make the decision to stay at home full-time once Ilah arrives? It's an important decision that a women must carefully consider for herself. Is your husband's career flexible where he will be able to offer you support??
A: My husband and I were both on the same page about me being a stay-at-home-mom once we had a baby and began starting our family. While I always knew I would value that time with my children and wanted to put all of my heart into being a hands-on mother and a wife that foremost tended to the needs of her husband and the household, I wondered if being a SAHM was for me. I felt that I would need at least some sort of fulfilling outlet aside from bottles, diapers, and household chores. When I discovered my love of weddings and had the push from so many people to start a business it became the perfect venture to do from home. Peonies and Palettes has already proven to be a gratifying endeavor.

My husband is a Senior Software Engineer for the largest pharmaceutical distributor in North America and the nation's leading health care IT company, with software and hardware technology installed in more than 70% of the nation's hospitals. Conveniently, his office is less than 15 minutes from our home. Great job, great commute! Which means easy access to home, and us having easy access to him - for those times when he wants to pop in and visit us at home or attend Ilah’s doctor visits, or when we want to venture out and have lunch with him!

QUESTION #4


Q: Will your little girl have a Nigerian name? Has your husband told you about the traditional Nigerian naming ceremony and will you be having one?
A: You can read this post as to how we chose our daughter’s name. While I’m aware that my husband’s culture does a naming ceremony, I’m not sure to what degree all traditional practices will be carried out.

I will answer more of your questions this week!

Friday, December 25, 2009

Merry Christmas!!

May you be surrounded by the love of those you hold close to your heart, and may you experience all the warmth and special memories that Christmas brings!

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

I Flipped Out on the Photo Guy at Target Yesterday

It was well deserved.

Allow me to vent....

Yesterday I pulled myself out of bed, got dressed, and headed to Super Target around 11 am to beat the afternoon flood of people who are using their lunch hour to finalize their Christmas shopping. I didn't want to be in the midst of long check out lines...I wanted to get in - and out - quickly. I went to simply pick up some pictures that I sent in for processing this past weekend - and to get just a few groceries and the ingredients to make some cranberry-oatmeal cookies for my honeylover.

Well....Super Target wasn't exactly "stocked up" on things. Knowing that I now had to go to another grocery store to pick up less than five items urked me. Aside from the mall, we all know the grocery store is a mad house these days. I check out with all my items and make my way to the photo processing center to quickly pick up my photos. I thought it would be a breeze. I give my name, they pull my pictures, I pay, and leave with my photos. It's always been that painless. Well, not yesterday.

When I approached the counter, the guy in the photo center was on the phone - apparently trying to assist a woman whose photos never registered in their system for processing. I waited patiently. Keep in mind it was now around 12:30 p.m. and I was starving. Not to mention my back was killing me, I was hot, and floods of people started coming into the store. It was my time to escape.

The photo guy gets off the phone and he's casually frazzled. I say casually because he's "a wreck and a half" trying to do his job but doesn't really mind that he's moving at a snails pace. At this point I'm bending over the counter to stretch out my back and waving a piece of paper in front of my face to get some air. About ten minutes go by and I haven't even been spoken to. He does see that I'm standing here, riiiight?? I've really been trying to practice patience here and I didn't want to break whatever "concentration" he had going on - so I went up to the customer service counter {that literally shared the same space with the photo center, and where there was no one in line} and kindly asked the lady if she could pull my pictures. Her response was, "you have to wait over there; he handles that". I take a deep sigh. I wait another 10 minutes.

She comes over and says, "has he helped you yet?". Ummm...lady, you DO still see me standing here, right?? I say, "no, I'm still waiting". She asks for my last name, I give it to her, she opens the drawers and says, "I don't see your pictures. He's gonna have to help you". I discover the photo guy has a voice when, after hearing my last name, he tells the lady that my pictures are sitting "over there" but apparently it's too much for her to put them in a cardboard flap so again she tells me, "he's gonna have to help you" and she proceeds to walk away. By now, the little patience is just about gone. I can't stand lazy people!

I hear the photo guy talking outloud saying, "I just had those pictures. Where are they?". In the meantime, the lady who he was helping is looking at me puzzled wondering if she's ever going to find out the status of her missing order. There's another teenage girl standing there {simply waiting for her receipt} and then another woman walks up and asks me if I'm in line. Before I can even answer her, he asks her what she's there to pick up. Uhhh....NO HE DIDN'T!!! I'm curious if I appear invisible {I was in a RED sweater no less!}. That was it.

I ask the 30-ish photo guy if my order is back there and never, ever looking me in the eye he says outloud that he has my 4x6's but can't find my 5x7's. Let me emphasize that photo guy was in no way physically or mentally challenged. He was just utterly unqualified to fulfill a simple position. He walks away and goes to the printer. To do what? I don't know, because he's not communicating with anyone. And here's where I just lose it.

I loudly ask him if he's re-printing my 5x7 photos. He says yes, but then asks me how many of each photo did I order because the machine is automatically printing 6 of each. My response? "Whatever quantity I input online is what I ordered. I assumed it would be processed accordingly, especially since this was a 1 hour photo order and I placed it 5 days ago". Photo guy has no response. He remains standing in front of the printer. Totally unfazed. And then I blow a gasket.

I tell him, "Look, I've been standing here for going on 45 minutes. Clearly you can see that I am 9 months pregnant, which means I am hot and bothered - and that's putting it mildly. I have a cart full of groceries - some items are frozen, which are now likely defrosted. My photo order should have been ready for an easy-breezy pick up 5 days ago; now you're telling me that you lost half of my order while I've been standing here. This is ridiculous. I'm going to at least need a discount applied to this order!". I don't think I took one breathe while saying all that. It all came out in one long run-on sentence. I was peeved. Then he looks at me {he actually looks at me!} and says, "I understand. I won't even charge you". The 5x7's finish printing, he hands me my order and I'm more than over that place by that time. I exit with a deep sigh and welcome the feeling of 47 degree weather to cool me off.

On a side note: I accidentally found myself in an aisle that I haven't visited in 9 months...the sanitary pad aisle. And a light bulb went off. I'm gonna need some pads post-delivery. I know the hospital provides sanitary pads for women after they have given birth but it's not like they're going to throw a two week or monthly supply my way. So I use my blackberry to type in "best pads to use after birth of baby" wanting to see what other moms who have "been there, done that" recommend. The response that came up: Network out of service. Lovely. So I had to wing it. And that's exactly what I did. Literally. I bought the Always pads with wings {and later discovered this is the brand that came up most recommended}....

About the only fun thing that I did at Target was buy some more cute things for Ilah. I got the below pieces off of the clearance rack, and mostly all were around $5....

I noticed that Ilah doesn't have many 9 month jammies so I picked her up some cute ones that had footsies {I took the advice of other moms who recommend stocking up on footed pajamas in the winter because when summer rolls around, the majority of the pajamas are without them}.

The Paul Frank jammie on the left is 3-6 months, the one on the right is 9 months....

Other 9 month footed pajamas....


When I got home from the insanity of Target, I popped a pot roast in the oven for dinner {it was the first time I made one}. I seasoned it up, cooked it for 3 hours and it was surprisingly really good! Of course, the below picture isn't mine but rather just a visual {mine was more charred on top, we like that toughness!}....

Back to those pictures I picked up...they were our wedding pictures. I've been wanting to frame a few of them for quite some time and finally got around to it.

I placed one on my nightstand {Dele's nightstand has a picture of us from a trip we took to the Cayman Islands}....


I placed another one on top of our tall chester drawer {this is a picture when we changed into Nigerian attire}....


And then I placed this one in our livingroom....


I finished the evening off by breaking into a bag of bbq chips while watching House Hunters on HGTV. It's true - you can't eat just one potato chip. But this pregnant woman ate her way to the bottom of the bag. That's NEVER happened before. Before I knew it, I was taking in crumbs. I should have slapped my own hand half way in!