THURSDAY THINGS

1. Hillsong United's Zion came out some time this week and I must say, it is pretty good. A little different, sure, but I pretty much love everything they do. Apparently there has been a lot of negative feedback from fans and whatever, but I really don't care. I love their music, and I plan on blasting these tunes all day long. We haven't bought the actual album yet, but the whole thing is on Grooveshark so we are using that for now. Check it out for sure.

2. This week I got facebook back for like the tenth time. I'm pretty happy about it to be honest. At this day and  age it's near impossible to keep in touch with just emails and a blog. I find I can keep up better with my friends and family, and I especially love seeing the pictures of little cousins growing up. Now that we're living here in Beauval, I think it'll be handy to have. And plus, I was tired of using my mom's.

3. Earlier this week I actually spent half the day with my pants on unknowingly backwards. Like, what the heck. Who does that? And I mean, I totally went out in public and everything. I'm blaming it on pregnancy brain.

4. I'm cracking down on my meal planning habits, in hopes to save a few extra dollars in the months to come before baby. This means eggs and oatmeal at least twice a week. But luckily, I make pretty dang good oatmeal so I'm not hearing any complaints. It's actually kind of fun to go through the cupboards and purposefully look for interesting ideas for recipes based on what you have. I don't think I'll be spending more than $50 for the next 3 weeks. Well, that's the plan anyway. I'll let you know how it goes.

5. My friend posted this sweet sweet music video on twitter earlier this week and I can't stop listening to it. It's so refreshing! I pretty much just want to swing dance every time I hear it. Which is often... because it's on repeat in my house (well, this song an JT's Mirrors). Plus is reminds me of the movie That Thing You Do, and I love that movie. Happy times.

6. If you haven't heard of Your Move with Andy Stanley, your welcome. The sermons are outa this world. I'm currently watching Balanced, and it is truly insightful. Plus they have an app for your smartphone so you can watch it any time you want. How lovely. I love apps.

7. Mark and I have a slight obsession with tiny homes. I want to build one and live in it all summer long. Maybe one day. They are just so cozy and organized and they have lofts! Lofts! I can't stop looking at pictures on Tumbleweed and PAD and Pinterest.

8. But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self control. Gal. 5 22-23

BEST KEPT SECRET

Check out my very favourite oatmeal recipe on my friend Danielle's blog! Mark requests this meal at least 2 times a week. Click on the picture for the whole recipe!

23 WEEKS

23 weeks... WOW! I cannot get over how fast the weeks are flying by. This is baby is going to be here before I know what happened.

Things are going really well, baby is moving lots and I'm feeling great! He had a really strong heartbeat at my last appointment, and I look forward to hearing it again at my next! We have been really busy lately with our trip to Edmonton and all the basketball tournaments, and it's only getting busier! We have been searching for a van and we just found one about 9 hours away in Alberta. So Mark is taking Friday off and skipping this weekend's bball tourny so that we can go and most likely purchase it. We are putting a hold on it this afternoon (just waiting for an email from the dealership). It's a used 2008 Honda Odyssey and we are just way more excited to get a van than we ever thought we would be. With baby on the way, the extra space is going to come in handy! Plus, we will feel a whole lot safer than in our little car, especially up here with all the dirt roads and crazy animals. Hopefully all will work out! Yay!

Hope you all had a great weekend!

INSATWEEK

Take a peek into my week.

A compilation of instagram photos taken in the past week.

THURSDAY THINGS

1. Last week I had this craving for Nutella... as you know from this post. The hot chocolate turned out awesome, so I decided to keep going and tried making Nutella brownies two days later. They were gross. I even added a bunch of mini eggs and now I wish I would have just kept the mini eggs by themselves and not wasted them on nasty brownies. So that is one recipe I am not going to share! I got it off Pinterest, and wow. So disappointing.

2. Hopefully unrelated to these brownies, I had a stomach bug this weekend. Mark and I were on a little vacation in Edmonton, and well, let's just say I left quite an impression with the hotel staff after breakfast our first morning. Woops! Luckily I'm quite obviously pregnant now so they all had some extra compassion for me! Not a great start to the weekend, but we still managed to have a fun time!

3. I really wish I knew how to sew. Mainly because I want this apron. Well and I want to make a million different things, but mostly the apron.

4. I am starting to go baby crazy! I can't wait to start getting some furniture and supplies for the baby room! It's all I'm thinking about lately. I started making some DIY nursery decorations to make myself feel better. But really, I think I'm just trying not to freak out. We have a bunch of baby clothes, but nothing else really. And it feels like this baby is coming so fast! I'm super excited about that, but I just want to make sure we have everything ready for when that day comes. Mark is a lot more less-stressed out than I am of course, which is good. But seeing as he's not home until tomorrow... I'm going a little insane.

5. If you have little ones at home, this playlist is the bomb. Wow I haven't said that since elementary school. But seriously, Jamie loves it. And so do I.

6. Came across this awesome MLK tribute song  on Vimeo yesterday, and it's definitely worth a look/listen. Enjoy!

7. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:6

22 WEEKS

A little late this week with the photos, but we were away, and then I had to do this weeks photo as a seflie! It turned out ok though. Didn't want to miss a week!

I've been feeling awesome (other than getting the flu bug this weekend) and the baby is moving all the time now. Soon I'm sure we'll be able to see baby moving! He gave me a really good kick today... I was shocked! As you saw earlier today, I started making some crafts for the baby room. I have a long way to go, it's so nice to get some stuff in there! I'm so excited to get more baby stuff now! But mostly so excited to get baby!!

This is my view!

NURSERY CRAFTING

Mark and I arrived home from Edmonton Monday evening, and unfortunately Mark had to leave early yesterday morning for another 4 days. Then he's back for one night, and gone again all day Saturday. Basketball is busy this time of year in the North! So I had to figure out some things to do to entertain myself with for the next few days.

Enter nursery crafts.

Above, I made a simple garland using friendship bracelet string. It's sooo easy! I just wrapped the string around a piece of cardboard, wrapped some more around the top, secured it with a hot glue gun, snipped the bottom, strung them up, and voila! Simple and cute. 

Oh but wait, there's more.

I thought I'd try out some DIY stamps, and make a print for the baby's room. I simply took 2 elastics I had laying around and cut them into equal lengths. Then I hot glue gunned them to a piece of cardboard, slopped on some paint, drew and cut out a whale stencil, and got stamping! Easy, adorable, and cost me $0. And no, it's not perfect, but I kind of love it like that.

It's beginning to look like a baby boy's room now! Well, almost. But of course I have a few more craft ideas up my sleeve for another day. Hope you can get some inspiration to start crafting! (Instead of just pinning... which I am usually guilty of).

INSTAWEEK

Take a peek into my week.

A compilation of instagram photos taken in the past week.

THURSDAY THINGS

1. February. The month where you first see a glimpse of the spring to come. After a very long winter here in Beauval, I welcome February with open arms, dreaming of the first days of spring. The temperature is slowly starting to rise, and even the hats and mitts are shed in the afternoon sun. On Tuesday, little J (the sweet and lovely girl I babysit) and I spent our whole morning exploring our little town. With a deep breath of fresh air, I basked in the beautiful sunshine and was thankful for this time of in-between, of looking forward, of the changing of seasons and the hope that lies within.

2. This week I came across this hilarious and inventive film about author and artist Oliver Jeffers. I'm sure you will enjoy this short video, and perhaps even find some inspiration.

3. Unfortunately, living in Beauval means that we don't have easy access to a large grocery store that sells every ingredient you could ever think of. It also means a lot of planning on my part for when we do hit the road and visit a bigger city center. Aaaand it also means that my pregnancy cravings have to be put on hold until then. For example, I do not own even half of the ingredients in this Homemade Chai recipe, and if you know me and my love of all things tea, I would have scrambled off to the nearest Bulk Barn by now and stocked up if we were back in Ottawa. We are, however, making a little road trip to Edmonton this weekend so I am hoping to grab everything I need to satisfy this mouth-watering craving of mine. And plus, it will give me yet another excuse to use my little milk frother!

4. If you need a laugh, this hilarious list of 38 Ways To Tell If You Had The Best Childhood Ever will surely do it. As you will notice of course, this is for all you 90's childhood friends. So great. So so great.

5. I have really been looking forward to creating something with this colour of yarn. Now that the temperature is slowly rising, but not yet reliably so, I am making one last winter cowl.  A little thinner than my others, this little guy should keep me warm but not uncomfortable in the warmer hours of the day. It is just the beginning, but once completed I will share with you my very easy pattern.

6. I can't stop looking at IKEA stuff. Mainly the baby IKEA stuff. And mainly the IKEA storage solutions for baby's room. I also can't stop looking up pins for organized nursery's. Again, if I lived closer to an IKEA I would have probably spent too much money already. I am trying, however, to be as crafty as I can with the nursery to in fact save money as well as make his little room as homey and handmade as possible. I've started a little mobile project, but I must grab some more yarn and other supplies while in Edmonton. Michaels, here I come!

7. I missed the Grammy's this year. I was so excited to see that Global was streaming it live, but it must have been just swamped with viewers because it was not working for me at all. I made do with watching the red carpet and some behind the scenes footage online, but it was sure frustrating not to see the real thing. Luckily my friend found a great website that had most of the performances uploaded so I was still able to watch those! And I must say, although there were very many awesome performances, I love Kelly Clarkson's the most. Here's a terrible youtube version of her performance. Beautiful.

8. On Monday night Mark and I started hearing this dripping noise... and this is what we found. A leak of course. We assume it has to do with the mounds of accumulation of snow on our roof slowly melting in the warmer weather. But is that not the grossest looking water you have ever seen? Eugh. We're going to put in a work order when we get home from Edmonton and hopefully someone will come and figure out what's going on. And then fix it. Because it grosses me out. PS. Don't judge me by how big that ice cream container is... or the fact that it's empty.

9. And I have the best for last. Have you heard Justin Timberlake's new song, Mirrors? No? Well in the case... your welcome. Because this song is flipping great. I can't stop listening to it!

10. Don't copy the behaviour and customes of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. Romans 12:2

PS. HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!

RECIPE: NUTELLA HOT CHOCOLATE

So I caved, and bought Nutella. With all these World Nutella Day recipes floating around, I mean really, how could I not? So I made some Nutella hot chocolate for me and little J and it was amaaaazing. Especially because I frothed it up real good with my handy dandy little milk frother from IKEA. (Speaking of IKEA, I can't get off the website. Again. Mainly because I want everything from children's IKEA to go in the nursery.) Anyway, back to Nutella. I'm planning on making some kind of Nutella brownies soon. And I'm thinking mini-eggs. Can't wait. Road trip snacks for the weekend of course. (Yay Edmonton!) So if you have 0% will power like me, you will love this super easy Nutella hot chocolate recipe. Enjoy! I know you will.

Nutella Hot Chocolate

1 Cup skim milk

2 Tbsp Nutella

Saucepan.

Medium heat.

Whisk frothy.

Black out.

RECIPE: STRAWBERRY BANANA LOAF

 So I finally made this strawberry banana loaf! (you can find the link to the recipe on #2). And let me tell you, it is delicious. I was pretty suspicious at first looking at the batter... and then when it didn't rise as much as I thought it would have... but it turned out amazing. I did have to cook it for an extra 15 minutes though, which the recipe does warn you about depending on how moist your batter turns out.

 This is by no means a healthy recipe though you may be fooled by all the bananas and strawberries. There's a good amount of sugar. However, I definitely plan on making something like this again that is a more healthy version. Maybe using honey rather than sugar and applesauce and oats as well. I'll figure something out! I think I have some healthy banana bread recipes laying around somewhere. But if you're looking for a little treat with some added healthy pieces to make you feel better... this is the loaf for you (and me)!

 Seriously though, it's amazing. 

Enjoy!

21 WEEKS

Baby Westman is a....

As you know, I had my 20 week ultrasound this past Tuesday and everything went great! It was so amazing to see our little one moving around so much in there! The Doc said everything looked great and baby was healthy and normal. We also found out we are having a boy, and we are thrilled! Now we are just trying to pick a name... that's the hard part!

Anyone else notice a HUGE jump this week in size? Wow!

ORIGINAL PRINT: ADVENTURE OR NOTHING

A special additional Friday post. An { allandsundrops } original print.

For personal use only. { all and sundrops... photo and print by: Rebecca Westman }

INSTAWEEK

Take a peek into my week. 
A quick compilation of instagram photos taken in the past 2 weeks.

THURSDAY THINGS

1. February ♥ Here's a little something to get you in the romantic mood! The sweetest little animated short film you ever did see. Compliments of Disney of course. Paperman. Enjoy!

2. I almost bought Nutella last week because it was on sale. I'm so glad I didn't because I probably would have eaten the whole container by spoonful by now. I did buy Cheez Whiz though... Cravings are driving me insane. Luckily I am craving some healthy items too... like broccoli. Oh I could eat broccoli every day. The only thing is that I really like broccoli with Cheez Whiz. So close.

3. Speaking of Cheez Whiz, I have a confession: I adore incredibly cheesy Bollywood movies. Thanks A. Netflix has a bunch of Bollywood movies though and it's honestly great. If you are interested at all in checking one out, Saathiya is my favourite one to date. Soooooooo good. You will cry. I really thought I would hate Bollywood movies, but I only had to see one movie to make me love them. You have been warned.

4. This video is a MUST watch. Two men are hooked up to some crazy machines that create a mimic of labour pains. It is hilarious. HILARIOUS. In order to put the English subtitles on, press the little "CC" button at the bottom of the video screen. Enjoy. You will.

5. Some music love for you: Birdy's cover of Skinny Love. Hauntingly beautiful. I kind of love her. You can watch some of her other music videos here.

6. I had my ultrasound on Tuesday morning, and it was amazing. We found out the gender of our baby! Stay tuned... you will find out too on Monday's post! It was so amazing to see our little one moving around (so much too!) and honestly it was the most incredible thing we have ever seen. I have never thought ultrasound pictures were cute, but umm... is that not the cutest ultrasound baby picture you ever did see???? I know, I know. It is.

7. One of the couple's that attend our church came over on the weekend to drop off two huge bags of baby clothes. Now that I know the gender, I sorted through everything and ended up getting SO much stuff. Like SO much. And, she even said she doesn't need them back! We are so thankful for their generosity. I can't even imagine how much money that just saved us. And the stuff is just so dang cute! I even cleaned out the dresser in the baby's room yesterday, washed everything and put them away according to size. I am starting to understand what this whole "motherly nesting" thing is all about. I can't stop pinning nursery pics.

8. Now that we know the gender, our list of baby names has somehow doubled. What the heck. It's so hard to pick a name! I know we have a lot of time before baby arrives... but I just want to name our baby so bad! Feel free to leave a comment with your suggestions.

9. Did you watch this week's new episode of How I Met Your Mother? The whole Robyn Sparkles #4 thing was pretty hilarious, but I hope the next episode is a lot better than that...

10. Farmer: hands down best Superbowl commercial of the year. According to me.

11. Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from Him. Children born to a young man are like arrows in a warrior's hands. How joyful is the man whose quiver is full of them! He will not be put to shame when he confronts his accusers at the city gates. Psalm 127:3-5

RECIPE: CREPE SCRAMBLED EGGS

There is nothing more fun than creating in the kitchen. Yes you get ideas from here and there, but in the end, it's your own creations that are always the best. You can tweak or combine recipes (along with using whatever ingredients you may have in your house) to create something that isn't just good, but something great that you love. And that's where these babies come from. Crepe scrambled eggs with spinach and cheese, topped with marinara sauce. That was the original title for this post, but it was kind of ridiculous. Anyway, this recipe has earned itself a spot on our list of regular meals.

Enjoy!

20 WEEKS

Today is an exciting week. First of all, can you believe we are already at the halfway point? Because I can't! Where has the time gone? Baby is getting really big now (banana?!) and it's just mind blowing. Our creator is astonishing and I am in awe of Him. Also, we have our ultrasound tomorrow morning. I couldn't be more excited!! We'll finally get to see our little one moving around, hear the heartbeat, and hopefully find out the sex. That's right! We're finding out. I know everyone has their own opinions on this matter, and everyone knows someone who was told it was going to be a girl and it came out a boy, but that's what we've decided as a couple and you can decide whatever you want when you are preggers. Just had to throw that in there. But yes, we know there is a slight chance they could be wrong, but we would be thrilled anyhow! And that's also why we're going to keep it a secret. So keep your guesses coming!

Baby has been moving a lot this past week! On Saturday night I felt baby move with my hand for the first time, and Mark thinks he felt movement too! He was expecting a swift kick, but they really feel more like tiny bubbles or waves at this point. So hopefully as the weeks progress he'll be able to feel baby more and more. 

Is it just me, or does it look like my tummy is getting smaller in these photos? It's really not though.

In other news, Beauval hosted their first ever basketball tournament this weekend for the Sr. boys. It was so much fun. Mark was at the school until just after midnight on Friday and all day Saturday and I went to watch a game each day. Mark had a blast and let me tell you, he is one proud coach! The boys ended up winning in the finals by 2 points in the last few seconds of the game. The crowd (including me) was going wild, and you should have seen the smiles on the faces of the players. Priceless.

Anyway, back to another week!

This week I'm trying to meditate on the truth that each day is a gift like no other and we will never get the same day again. It is not just another day but a miracle, an opportunity.

xox

BABY IT'S COLD OUTSIDE

But the cold doesn't stop us from having fun!
Happy February everyone ♥