no more work for weeks!

The past week dragged by, as time generally seems to do right before something exciting happens. I did manage to have a short little reunion with my friend and former roommate Kimmy, which was a nice little treat amongst an otherwise endless few days. On Friday evening I landed in snowy, snowy Edmonton, dug my car out from its parking spot, and from that moment I was officially on vacation.  Okay, so I'm still home... but not for long!

On Thursday morning Ryan and I will be headed to the airport, this time for pleasure rather than business.  Fast forward far too many hours of sitting on a plane, and we'll be in Tokyo! This trip has been many months in the making and we are both extremely excited to finally visit Japan. Of course there are still a million things to do before we leave, but being the procrastinator that I am I'll likely hold off on packing until Wednesday night. Is procrastination genetic? If so, our child is doomed to many late nights in high school finishing up assignments due the next morning.

We have a rail pass and we plan to explore the country. Who goes on a backpacking trip at 4 months pregnant?  Me, of course.  My greatest hope and biggest fear is that this baby will be just like Ryan and I and long to explore the world. Everyone should travel.  I'll always encourage the adventures, but cry whenever he or she leaves me.

In Osaka I'll be reunited with some of the wonderful friends I made in Dubai, including Naf and Sayaka who are getting married. Naf was the first friend that I ever met on my Emirates journey, and I'm so glad that I can be there for their big day! 6 days later, I'll reminisce about my own big day on Ryan and I's first wedding anniversary. I can't believe that 12 months has gone by so quickly.  We'll be back from Japan and in Seattle by that point, and I'm certain that we'll have an amazing day filled with food and airplanes. When in Washington, a trip to the Boeing factory is mandatory.

By the time that we return home, I'll be halfway through this pregnancy already. Today I'm 17 weeks pregnant, and according to what I read on the internet, my baby is now the size of an onion. Onions are boring and gross, so I read a much funner site that explains pregnancy with a great deal of sarcasm instead of sugarcoating it. They tell me that my baby is the size of an iPhone, which sounds much cooler to me. My little iPhone isn't making me feel nearly as sick as previous weeks, which is definitely a relief.  My so called "bump" fluctuates day by day and I'm at that fun stage of just looking like I've ate too much cake.. but let's be honest, I have ate too much cake.

Now don't go assuming that I've already forgotten about my first baby, Niko. He's cuddling me as I type, and got a much needed haircut this week. 

 I'm sad that we can't take him with us on our trip, but he'll have a great time in Red Deer with his grandparents.  In my guilt over leaving him behind, I picked up a stuffed bunny at the pet store... it's his very first Easter!

Now that I've successfully wasted a great deal of time thinking of all sorts of random thoughts to create a blog post, it's time for me to go be a little bit productive... but on a final note, I need to thank my wonderful sister and brother in law for being my heroes this week. I was gone for 3 days during a ridiculous snowstorm and came home to a shovelled driveway. I am forever grateful,  especially after getting home late from my pairing. Thank you, thank you, soooo very much!!

happy birthday, my love!

This weekend we celebrated a very important occasion! My husband Ryan turned 28 years old on St. Patrick's Day.  He finds getting compliments awkward and will hate me for gushing about him in my blog... but I don't care. My husband is amazing.  He's the smartest, most caring person that I know. He loves me, despite my recent pregnancy hormone induced craziness.  He's always been the one to encourage me and support me in everything that I've done. As this is his very last birthday before becoming a father, I wanted to spoil him and show him how much I truly appreciate him.  We spent the weekend in Canmore, eating, sleeping, and doing all of the things that he loves most.  It was a great little getaway for both of us, and I was thrilled that he had such a great time... nobody deserves  it more!  

  Happy birthday Ryan! I love you this year just like I will 60 birthdays from now! 

Here is a little peak at our weekend... 

hanging in hamilton

Sometimes having a career in the aviation industry has wonderful perks.  My most recent trip took me to Hamilton, Ontario. Although the industrial city isn't too thrilling to most crew, I'm fortunate to have family there that without my job, I'd see far less often.   

A round trip ticket to Hamilton costs the average person at least $600, so to get to go for a quick visit and get paid to do it?  That is just plain awesome.  I've seen my grandparents more in the past 4 years than I normally would in a 10 year span.  

The day started in Edmonton, where we deadheaded to Calgary and then on to Hamilton.  I grabbed a coffee from Tim Horton's, because Hamilton is the birthplace of my beloved coffee shop and it just felt necessary... don't worry, it was decaf. This baby only gets caffeine when I have an overnight flight and can't possibly make it without the extra boost.  My disappointment over yet another losing Roll up the Rim cup soon faded, as I headed to the hotel, checked into my room, and then went to the lobby to meet up with my grandparents... including my great grandma, is 6 months away from becoming a great-great grandmother. How cool is that?! We headed to a restaurant nearby, where we met up with Sheri, who is basically my aunt minus the fact that my uncle and her are still not married... a fact that I like to bring up every single time, just to make things awkward.   

These days when I go to a restaurant, I go with an appetite that surpasses a grown man's. I ordered a beef dip to satisfy the hungry child growing in my belly. I've come to learn that being hungry brings on nausea, so I avoid it at all costs. I'm eating all day, every day.  I'll probably be 300 pounds by summer, but at least I won't feel sick! We all enjoyed our meals, catching up after nearly a year without seeing one another.  

We finished eating, and I took the mandatory generation photo with my grandma and great grandma. If only my mom had been there, it would have been 5 generations including the one that is yet to be born.

  

After dinner, they took me to a grocery store to stock up on snacks and food for the flight home the next day.  You can never rely on airplane food, especially when you are supposedly banned from deli meat and serve nothing but sandwiches.  

We went to my great grandma's house for a bit more visiting, before I returned to the hotel to call it a night.  It was a quick trip, but we were happy knowing that I'd return the very next week!

The next day it was a few easy flights and I was home by supper time! 

It's times like these that I  realize just how lucky I am to have my job!

so, about this pregnancy thing...

First things first, as you can imagine my last post created a frenzy of comments on Facebook, Twitter, and the blog. Thank you so much to all of you for all of the congratulations... it's so amazing to see how much our baby is loved already, 6 months before he or she even enters the world!
Now that we've broke the news... let me tell you a little bit about my experience so far with this joyously nauseating thing they call pregnancy.

I've learnt a lot over the past few months, and this is only the beginning.

First things first, I'll admit that since I am one of those fortunate people who "never get sick", I assumed I'd be safe from the perils of morning sickness. I was wrong, oh so wrong. I was so unprepared for days of nausea and insane food aversions. Things that I'd normally eat every single day suddenly looked as appealing as chowing down on dog poop. My healthy diet?! Gone, out the window, just as I'd always sworn would never happen when I got pregnant. I'd promised myself that I wouldn't use the pregnancy excuse, I'd continue eating healthy and gain only the minimum necessary weight. Bring on the cheeseburgers... they make me feel so much better than anything paleo.  We had such high hopes for our New Year's resolutions... but they lasted less than a week.

So how is it being a pregnant flight attendant, you ask? This might be the only time in the past 4 years that I've actually dreaded going to work every single day. A little bit of turbulence and I'm on guard to steal the nearest sick bag from a passenger and use it for myself.  It's such a glamorous life that I lead...

I've spent the past 2 months looking forward to finally admitting the reason for being so slow and slightly incompetent at work.  Any longer and I'd probably have a pretty bad reputation for being that girl who hides in the galley drinking ginger ale whenever possible to do so.

Overnight flights are especially fun when your doctor tells you that you must restrict your caffeine intake. I'm tired enough being awake at normal human times. I've come to appreciate the art of napping. It's my new favourite activity.

Don't even get me started on my mood swings. I've always been somewhat of an emotional roller coaster.... but lately I'm crossing my fingers that my husband will understand that it's the hormones that are grumpy and mad at him, not me.  I can't be reasoned with... believe me, I've tried. If something doesn't go my way, I'm going to cry, because all of a sudden I've become a 4 year old all over again.  Oh, and sappy TV shows or even commercials with puppies?! I'll be bawling, guaranteed.

In saying all of this, the good outweighs the bad. In 6 months we'll have a beautiful new baby to bring home and keep for ourselves! My husband is going to make an amazing dad, and my puppy will welcome his new sibling with lots of cuddles. My heart is happy, and that is all that matters.

We can't wait to meet you, little Shippelt!