4 months down, 5 to go!

I took some belly pics today ... I feel like I've been getting bigger faster than I have in the past few months, so I wanted to show it off :) Its getting more and more noticeable ... though, depending on what I wear I can still nearly hide it. I can still wear most of my regular clothes, but the maternity pants are SO much more comfy!





Team PM & tadpole

The new house

As you can imagine, we are getting pretty anxious to see pictures of our new house ... so, I finally emailed our real estate agent in Cold Lake to see if she could take some pics for us and send them. And she did! The pictures aren't amazing, in that they don't always show much ... but better than nothing! The house is not completely done, but is supposed to be finished by Christmas. We are hoping that our move in won't be delayed ... but at the same time, its better that its not going to be sitting vacant for too long. Judging by the pictures it looks like there are just finishing touches left like lighting, baseboards, some plumbing etc. So, we'll see ... All that to say, the house looks great! We are both really pleased with what we can see so far ... looks like we made some good choices with decor ... or should I say 'I' ... : )

So, this is the main kitchen (on the main and also technically 3rd level) ... you can't see the eating area and patio doors, but what I really wanted to see was the counter, cupboards and flooring ... you can see one of the french frame cabinet doors (upgrade) and there is another one in the opposite corner. And another upgrade is the huge pot drawers - I'm excited about those, as much as one can be excited about pot drawers ; )


Next is the living room. This is the first room upon entering the house, and you can see the wall that divides the kitchen and living room - and the vaulted ceilings. The wall between doesn't go all the way up to the ceiling, so it feels very open concept on this main level. I do feel the need to clarify, however, that the paint color in this picture in particular looks kinda peach-y ... when really, the color we chose for the entire house was called 'crouton' and is a light cream color. We are hoping that this is just the lighting or something! (No offence to those of you who like peach-y colored paint).


This next picture is the 4th bedroom which is on the 2nd level. We also have a sub-basement (the 1st level) which will remain unfinished, this is where our washer/dryer, furnace etc are. Because the house is on a slight incline, this room has a full window even though its in the basement. It will make a nice guestroom.


This is the family room ... which is also on the 2nd level ... it walks out into the backyard. We'll have the tv etc down here. Also on this level, is a full bathroom, but we have no picture of that. Please take note of the SNOW outside the doors!!! These pics were taken yesterday when it was -21 degrees in Cold Lake ... good thing we like winter in the Connolly household - especially Fletch. He's going to be thrilled at all this snow when we arrive.


And, up on the 4th level is our Master bedroom ... not much of which can you see, apart from one of the windows in the room. Nice wall though eh? ; )


Last but not least is the main bathroom, also on the 4th level. Sadly, we don't have an ensuite in this house, but I will have drawers in the bathroom cabinet - which I've always wanted so that is pretty exciting! Again, not much to see ... a tiny bit of the counter, cabinetry and flooring which is exactly the same as the kitchen.


So, needless to say we are all very excited to get to Cold Lake. I honestly never thought that I would say that I was excited to move there .. but I am. Part of it is in my anxiousness to get home to Canada, and into this new house. Also, I'm anxious to be settled again somewhere and to see what God has in store for us! I think its going to be a great 4-6 years ... plus, life will change dramatically soon, and I think that will make things all the more fun. By the way, for those of you keeping track, I am 18 weeks today, which means that I am officially entering my 5th month of pregnancy. Hard to believe! In two weeks, we have our ultrasound, and at that point I will be halfway :) AND, I can still fit into my regular clothes ... but I know someone is in there, they like to kick me in the morning and at night when I'm laying in bed!

Team PM & tadpole

The latest

I think I am getting worse at trying to create interesting titles for my blog posts ... I try really hard each time to think of something eye catching and relevant to the blog entry, but I'm starting to lose my touch!

This last week was very hectic for Peter ... but not so much for me and Andrea, my latest and definitely final visitor from home. She stopped in at our place for about 4 days in her month long journey around the UK. So, she arrived on Wednesday evening and I picked her up in Salisbury. On Thursday we spent the day visiting Stonehenge and the town of Avebury (both of which I've done before). We also visited West Kennet Long Barrow which I hadn't yet seen. It is an ancient burial mound ... quite interesting, though we did encounter an interesting assembly of people inside the barrow (3 in all) conducting/taking part in some sort of ceremony to someone ... we weren't sure what or who, and we didn't stick around long enough to find out!

On Friday Andrea went to Bath for the day, and I stayed home ... defintely have had enough of Bath. Saturday, we decided to visit the village of Chawton to see one of the homes that Jane Austen lived in. The town was exactly what you would envision if I said quaint, pituresque, small English town. Jane Austen spent the last 8 years of her life in this 17th century home, and was there right up until 2 months before her death, when she was sent to Winchester to receive better care from a doctor. It was in this house that she wrote Mansfield Park, Emma, and Persuasion. She also edited and revised Sense & Sensibility, Pride & Prejudice and Northanger Abbey in the house. Each room of the house was set up with various exhibits and displays relating to Austen's family and her life - Andrea & I both really enjoyed it. We took a short walk down the street out front of the house to see some of the other very old houses, one was dated 1550, complete with a thatched roof that looked like it too had been there since 1550! We ate lunch in 'Cassandra's cafe' (named after Jane's only sister) and then headed off to nearby Winchester. The plan was to visit Winchester Cathedral where Jane Austen is buried .. but we decided the admission was too expensive and instead took some pictures of the exterior and then walked around the town a little.




On Sunday we drove up to Bristol (where I would be parting ways with Andrea as she had a flight out of there on Monday). I wanted to visit the S.S. Great Britain, which was built in a dry dock in Bristol in 1843. It was the first ship to ever have an iron hull and a screw propellor, and at the time was the largest vessel afloat. It was a working ship for 90 years, and in 1970 it was towed back to Bristol and transformed into a museum. We were initially shocked that it cost 10.50 gbp to get in, but we soon learned that this was well worth it. There were 3 parts to the site: first you went down to the dry dock to check out the hull, the propellor and rudder ... then inside to a huge (and very impressive) exhibit about the ship and its work ... then out to the ship itself for a fun audio tour including very realistic props and displays depicting life on board the ship for passengers. It was a lot of fun!





After the many hours we spent with the S.S. Great Britain it was time for me to head home ... so we had a quick bite to eat and then I dropped Andrea off at her hostel. Meanwhile, back in Amesbury, Peter was working his tail off! He and his group worked every day all day and until about 10, 11 and beyond. On Sunday morning Peter went into work at 8:30 and did not return home until 10:30 this morning!! It was full 24 hours of work required to get their report done and edited ... he was very tired when he got home, but also a little hyper because this enormous weight was off his shoulders! He took a well deserved nap and then for once, in what feels like a long time, we spent the afternoon and evening together. This week will be fairly light for him; all they have to do now is prepare their presentation, and then give the presentation on December 6th - then he's done! Yay! It will be so nice for him to be finished so we can (sort of) resume our normal life, even though a lot is about to change! Speaking of change .... this morning I felt and saw the baby moving for the first time. It was amazing to see my tummy being thumped from inside - very exciting :)

Our next big plans are to visit Ireland the weekend after next, so we'll be sure to keep you posted.

Team PM & tadpole

An update ...

Well, the last few weeks have been busy - for both Peter & I. Peter was in France working on his last project for the course, which was a lot of work ... in the meantime I decided to head to Ottawa! I surprised my parents by not telling them that I was coming. I had their friends Bob & Earlene pick me up at the airport and take me back to their house .. then my parents arrived while I hid upstairs. When the time was right, I snuck down into the kitchen and surprised them both!! It worked out very well and it was a nice way to start out my 2-week visit. (Fletch was at his baby-sitters house ..) I spent most of my time visiting friends, and doing my Christmas shopping (much cheaper in Canada!) ... and alot of time was spent relaxing and hanging out with my parents. Meanwhile, Peter was having a busy, but fun time with two other classmates in the south of France - they were even able to squeeze in visits to Marseilles and Nice. The hard work for Peter started when he got home last Friday. Him and his 2 teammates for the project have to write a 300-page report in just 8 days - needless to say, its an extreme amount of work! Once Sunday night rolls around they will finished and will hand it in on Monday. It is a busy week for Peter, which means he's not going to be home as much, which would normally mean that I would be incredibly bored ... but my friend and former classmate from Algonquin, Andrea, is here visiting with me for a few days. It was perfect timing for her to stop in, and its great for her as it saves some money and is nice to see a familiar face while she backpacks alone for a month.

After this week things will start to slow down a lot for Peter and soon he will be finished his course altogether! We are both excited for him to have a month off so we can do some travelling and spend some time together.

I don't have any recent pics to post, but I'm sure I will soon ... so stay tuned :)

Team PM
(p.s. I am 4 months pregnant today .... little tadpole is growing very quickly!)