Maternity Photos

When I realized that I was going to be super pregnant in the middle of the winter, I was excited.
Warm maternity clothes, internal furnace [baby] through the coldest months of the year, and the possibility of winter maternity photos!
I love a nice sunny winter day in Grande Prairie.
Snow-covered floors, hoarfrost on all the tree branches, peaks of sunlight.
 I'm usually reaching for warm tea instead of standing outside in the frosty cold weather without a coat, but what better setting could you ask for!
This is as good as winter maternity photos get :) 

My lovely friend Ashley, who blogs over at Delightfully Domestic, agreed to take some photos for us. and we lucky picked the perfect day in December!

Here are a few of our favourites (too many to choose from!):

Now I just have to narrow down my favourites for the scrapbook and the nursery!

{xoxo}

No-Bake Pumpkin Trifle

Post-holidays I had some leftover pumpkin pie filling that needed to be used up. 

Since I don't have a regular store of pumpkin recipes, I started searching for ideas. 

When I came across the idea for pumpkin trifle, I knew that it was perfect. 

Mr. A loves everything to do with trifle. Everything. 

So I found a couple recipes and modified them to make them easier for me :) 

Here's what I came up with:

Crunchy Pecan and Graham Cracker Crumb Layer

Ingredients:

1.5 cups of graham cracker crumbs

3 tbsp. of brown sugar

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup crushed pecans

5 tbsp of butter, melted and slightly cooled

Instructions: 

Combine graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Cover with butter making sure it is evenly softened/mixed.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Layer

Ingredients: 

8 oz. of cream cheese, softened

1 can pumpkin pie filling

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

Instructions:

Beat the cream cheese until smooth. Then add the pumpkin, vanilla, and sugar. Mix until Creamy. 

Whipped Cream Layer

Ingredients: 

Heavy whipping cream (whipped into whipped cream!)

Once all the layers are made, you simply layer them one at a time into each cup, and top with extra graham cracker crumb at the end.  I did 6 layers total (2 of each). Best if served fresh, but they can be refrigerated and eaten the next day - just watch the whipped cream doesn't settle too much!

That's it! 

This recipe made approx. 12 mini trifles (as seen above) and took approx. 30 minutes to prepare.

{yumm}

Home for the Holidays

 I'm not quite ready to emerge from my Christmas cacoon yet. 

I'm eating chocolates for breakfast, soaking up time with family that lives far away, savouring the last batch of nuts & bolts, and lounging in my pajamas with a husband that doesn't have to go back to work for a few more days. 

Finally, I'm trying to take in the last couple of weeks without a baby around. 

The last Christmas with just the two of us. 

It was a very peaceful Christmas at home for the holidays. 

Our Christmas in Photos: 

 Baking Christmas pies with my niece and nephew!

Visiting with family :) 

Beppe learning how to text!! 

(sorry it's blurry... but the memory was still worth posting!)

And then it was Christmas day. 

At home. Just the two of us :) 

Reading the Christmas story at home via the iPad :) 

Just look at that smile!! 

Inside his big box was a drill press for his garage! Inside my big box was a sewing machine! 

We both got a bit spoiled this year :) 

 Christmas at Beppe's (Grandmas) involved funny gifts, games, and a delicious turkey :) 

Puppies wearing their new Christmas scarves!

(which to everyone's surprise, stayed on ALL day!)

Merry Christmas!! 

Now back to my Christmas cacoon :) 

{xoxo}

Winter Scrapbooking

Time is flying by! 

I can't believe it is already mid-December. 

Christmas and New Years are going to speed by without having time to blink (or sleep). 

In preparation for a ultra busy December and January, I pre-made a few scrapbook pages. 

They are all completed using Close to My Heart (CTMH) products.

So far they are all blank, just ready and waiting for the right photos!

This winter layout used the CTMH Frosted Scrapbooking Kit.

Might become a newborn baby page...

And these two layouts were created using CTMH Sparkle and Shine papers and accents. 

They are all ready to have some amazing Christmas pictures plopped into them. 

One page for Mr. A and I at home, and one page for our adventures with family.

{xoxo}

The Ultimate Pregnancy Winter Coat

I found it. 

The best winter coat for pregnant mamas. 

It's called "The M Coat".

Ok...  it may not be the best winter coat, but it is a really good one!
The reason I praise it so highly is because I've never seen anything else like it, AND it's made in Canada!

I works like this:
There is an insert that you can zip up into the middle of the coat so that the coat expands at the bottom while you are pregnant, then you flip the insert and you can walk with the baby all tucked into your coat. And finally, when you are all done, you can remove the insert and wear the coat yourself. Genius!

source

I've been wearing this coat all winter, and so far I LOVE it.
It's a bit expensive compared to other maternity coats, but you can keep wearing this one when you aren't pregnant anymore! Plus it's WARM!! It is obvious that the person who invented this down-filled coat has lived in cold Canadian winters!
Some friends of mine had said, "Oh its ok, you can just wear your normal winter coat with the zipper open all winter". Those friends clearly don't experience -40C weather.
This was a much better solution :)

Best. Pregnancy. Winter. Coat.

 {xoxo}