Oh Canada

Hello from Brockville Ontario.... Look across the street river is New York. Morristown to be exact. This was so cool for me to see the USA so close but be in a place that felt like another world. These people have their own language!! Eh

I love all the Canadian Flags everywhere. Lots of love for ones country.

I love the architecture in this town. The houses are old and adorable!!

More from our trip to Canada to come...

Canada radio that makes me laugh

We drove many miles across Canada last week to visit as many Shaw's as we could.... I have to share with you their radio program CBC.ca This Is That. Hilarious.

Now mind you my Canadian husband is constantly joking about stuff that 'Could' be real but far fetched. He is from Canada so I am not always sure. We are driving all over Canada with a screaming Sterling in our back seat because he  HATES the car. I am getting amused listening to these 2 guys Pat Kelly and Peter Oldring on the radio. At times I cannot tell if this is real or a joke.  You have to listen to the AWE segment. My husband was promising me it  was real.  All in all this made our trek much more amusing.

I am working to get the rest of our Canadian trip down on paper!

First Big Trip Post Baby

This was a big trip for me as I traveled to ATL alone with 3 kids in the car. Wowsers ... what was I thinking? The girls were going to stay with my parents up at the lake in the motor home and Mr.M and I were going to stay with LittleMan in a Hotel. Since MrM was flying into ATL and I had to drive South to get him we decided to stay in Buckhead. I had visions of reliving my younger years where we would party it up at a bar then a nice dinner and stay out to all hours of the night. Did I mention I hate getting older? Even though I was going to be in the car for 5+ hours I still wanted to look hip and cool NOT comfy. And I did look hip and cool and definitely NOT comfy. Do you see where I am going with this? By the time I finally got to Mr.M after leaving Charleston at 10:30 am, I picked him up at 9pm in Buckhead from the Marta Station. By this time, I had already driven from Charleston, drove all over North GA to meet my parents, Nursed the baby twice in the car and Pumped once bc he slept through a feeding. Looking Cute was not on the top of my priority list.

We did have some fun once we checked into our hotel. Little Man was wide awake and ready to go. This was our first hotel experience with the baby. I even brought the Pack N Play. Still in the spirit of things we headed out on our dinner / drinks adventure. You should have seen us  trying to figure  out  how to get the baby to dinner. We were going to walk since we were looking for the feel of Chicago. So MrM put on the Baby Bjorn to carry LittleMan. How are  we going  to eat dinner if the baby is in the  carrier? MrM's bright idea is to get the car carrier from the car and carry it to the restaurant. So here we are in Swanky Buckhead walking around with the baby and an empty car seat. It was quite humorous to watch us. We ended up eating at Bistro Niko. It was very good and the staff was very nice even watching our  empty car seat while we waited for our table. Little Man did very well on his late night  dinner. I realized that dressed up for Charleston does not  equal dressed up for Buckhead. At this point I did not care. I was uncomfortable and happy since I was spending my evening with my 2 favorite men.

The girls went to their grandparents to stay. While  they were there they got to do some of their  favorite playing:

Got Facials

Did some Shaving

Pretended to be Christmas Wreaths

Had an Amazing View of Lake Lanier

On Saturday, We had some time to go downtown while the girls stayed and played at the lake. The adults  went to the High Museum of Art. They were having the Picasso to Warhol exhibit.

Photography I want to learn how  to do

Southeastern part of Jasper John's Painting

This picture says it all to me. I am so loved. We had a great time in Atlanta.

MIA ... sorry 36 weeks 6 days

Hello -- I have been out and about doing all these last minutes before ShawBaby (BoomBoom) comes into this world. This weekend was our LAST weekend with no children....tear. We are 3 weeks away from baby hoping for less but not too soon. This family momma has plans. I think this baby is going to be a 40 weeker even though I am starting the nesting process. I am getting my HUGE TO DO LIST Done...

Pregnancy belly pics

Window treatments and hung

Bumper pad

Wash baby clothes

Put together and hang pictures in baby room

Put together all baby gadgets – swing, bouncy seat, pack n play, stroller

Organize kitchen cabinets

Girls Weekend at Daufuski

Last family Vacation before baby

2 Baby Showers for dear dear friends

Manicure/Pedicure

As you can see my priorities are set. Here is a little Sneak Peak of what has been happening. Be prepared for picture overload.

Belly Shot ~ can you see that 1 AB muscle? Knew I had one

Happy Birthday Amy

 Girls night to get Mani/Pedi before dinner with the guys at Carrabba's

Manicure AND my new Magnolia Ring

Hello Pretty Toes

I love the heart photos

 Hurricane Irene off our coast of South Carolina. She missed us with just some wind and rain only

Babies 1st  Hurricane

Mr.M.

 Date night with Hubby. I sat and enjoyed the weather while he taste tested beers at Triangle.

This was supposed to be a rainbow.

 I think I am just about over all the pictures of me  being pregnant. I am not feeling as pretty as Mr.M says that I am..... until I see the beautiful pictures he took of me and the baby yesterday.

1st time on the belly in 9 months

 Thanks to all my girlfriends for digging our holes in the sand.

Daufuski Crab Co - me, Carmen, Hannah, Amy, Kris, Christine

Marshside Mamma's GNO ~ Kris, me, Amy, Christine, Hannah

Yumm Dinner Marshside Mammas Chicken Shrimp Sausage VooDoo Pasta

Our House / Golf Cart - The Templeton's

Now onto completing my TO DO list. Was extremely motivated this morning with my 2 mile walk with Bailey (the dog), Blogging, and breakfast - coffee and pancakes.
Have a wonderful week!!

Girls weekend baking

I spent hours at the store getting all the ingredients for our little vacation coming up tomorrow. It is now almost 10:15pm and I am blogging instead of packing.

After going over all these picks I learned one thing -- I need better bowls and better photo skills as these do not seem very exciting. Another note... I am a little embarrassed at how much Walmart brand foods were used. If my husband saw this before eating it - he wouldn't. Good thing this is not for him.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

Fruit Salad

Texas Caviar

Hope you all enjoy your weekend. I know I will. I am going to eat like a queen.

My Little Get Away and 36 weeks!!

Pic:The Doctor's Closet



 Happy Thursday Everyone!! Or Friday for me. Girls Weekend this weekend Woot Woot!!

I cannot wait to get away for a little relaxation and friendship with my girlfriends. Mr.M is a little worried about me going to some place where the only way to get there is by :

And our only mode of transportation is by:

This is not true to form - ours doesn't have doors!!

I have no idea what everyone is so worried about. We have 4 weeks!!!

Now I will tell you I am a little worried about ....

Promise - we will go nice and slow.

This Place is the most beautiful place on earth... I cannot wait to go see our friends over at...

The Iron Fish

I will definitely have lots of stories and pictures for when I return. Enjoy the rest of your week.

Washington DC Our Nations Capital

The Shaw's went on a Family Vacation to Washington DC. It was a very educational trip for the entire family. Mr.M's parents traveled all the way from Canada to have a visit with the granddaughter's and us of course. This was the first time they got up close and personal with the baby bump ~ BoomBoomShaw.

One can dream right?

As you may recall I mentioned that the Shaw Girls would be  riding on the train to DC. Here is a little montage of our 1st ever experience with AMTRAK. As you can see we all had a great time. We played games, read books, watched movies and Explored the train. A few tips I learned after our first experience,  bring layers. Meaning, a jacket or blanket. They keep these trains very cool. We carried on our luggage so I had plenty of layers to share with the girls.Another tip, bring a cooler. I packed a lunchbox with Uncrustables, grapes, juice boxes, some cakes cut up. We also brought dry snacks like SCRABBLE Cheezits - a game and snack all in one. Lastly, the girls and I made our own  trail mix.

 

We are so lucky we had the opportunity to go to some of the Smithsonian Museum's and other Monuments. Upon our return and 300+ pictures later, I think I am in less than 10 total. I created a photo book off MyPublisher. It has not arrived  yet but I am going to share some highlights from the trip.

The White House - with MrM's arm blocking it

GDaddy, Nanny, BigGirlH and LilMissJ

Smithsonian Air and Space Museum

The Hope Diamond

National Zoo

Hop on Hop Off Tour and Lincoln Memorial

The Train Ride



Back Home in Charleston



I did spend the entire time just eagerly waiting to get to The White House. I was slightly disappointed at how far away it was. In the movies it seems so much more up close and personal. BigGirlH wanted to see President Obama very badly.

Also, while we were away, we celebrated Mr.M's birthday in China Town. YUMMY. When we returned to Charleston the family celebrated Mr.M. The girls wanted to show  him just how  much they love him. We all love him and appreciate him. Please excuse the bottom left picture, someone got a little sun burnt. Birthday and Father's Day all wrapped into one weekend. Whew we are tired.