prego stats - weeks 22-24

For weeks 22-24 I was on holidays with my hubster WITHOUT our kids! It was incredible. It was our first vacation without them and we loved it SO much. Some days I felt like I needed to do more since I was on holidays, but then I remembered that it was perfectly OK to let Brad go off exploring and to stay in our rental and sleep for huge portions of the day - what else does a prego with 2 toddlers need while on vacation, really??

Here's my stats for those weeks, I know I'm behind!

Total weight gain: 10lbs

How big is baby: spaghetti squash, large mango, ear of corn

Maternity Clothes: pretty much all the time - especially shirts since my bump is really large out front. some low rise pants still fit but I'm most comfortable in maternity.

Sleep: i did a LOT of this...

Best moment this week: all of it! having time away from our other saplings was so helpful to my soul. I returned refreshed to be an intentional parent, and physically rested to do the task.

Movement: loads and loads. girlfriend knows how to bust a move.

Food cravings: we ate some really amazing food on holidays, so ALL OF THAT, plus anything sweet and filling (carbs are my friend!)

Food aversions: zero!

Gender: petit fille

Labor signs: n/a

Belly button in or out: out

What I miss: I missed the kids slightly, in the 2nd week, but really nothing. I was in a pregnancy sweet spot. Maybe energy, as I could have used some more :)
 

What I'm not loving: lower back pain began at about 24 weeks. not a good sign!
 

What I’m looking forward to:  le bebe!

What I'm loving: WE CHOSE A NAME! We had it narrowed down to two for a long time and I was strongly adamant about one and Brad was open to both and not sure of either. We ended up going with the name I didn't prefer as strongly after seeing it everywhere on holidays :)

Milestone(s): see above :)

taking a step towards understanding my fertility more

I've decided that taking my temperature daily and closely monitoring physical signs just isn't for me. My friend Heather recently suggested that doing that may lead to more stress, and in fact her friend's doctor encouraged her to STOP charting her temperatures because it was causing more stress (and we all know stress makes conceiving less likely). I was already leaning towards that, and had never began the process. To me, it's too much to look into, every.single.day. So other than taking note of my monthly cycle, I wasn't doing anything.

This month Brad and I want to have more fun together and this baby madness is making things stressful, so we've opted to stop talking about pregnancy and conceiving. WHAT A GOOD IDEA. As much as I want to be pregnant, like, yesterday, and want to have my children close in age, it's not happening right now and that's out of my control.

One thing we've talked about doing though is taking ovulation tests so we know FOR CERTAIN when I am ovulating. In the past, every day I've had one symptom or another and assumed I'm ovulating. Or if we don't have a chance to "try" for a baby that day, I worry that I was ovulating that very day and we missed out and can't try again for another month. It's all too much. One of my friends who took a bit longer to conceive her second child went this route and had good things to say about it. She recommended this test kit, and I think it's worth the $30. It would simplify trying and take out the guess work that is making me crazy. It would take the pressure off and help me know my cycle better. Sounds like a plan! I'll buy it next month, when/if I begin my cycle again.

Have you ever used ovulation/fertility predictors?

33 week thoughts & FAQ

6 weeks and a coupla days to go - or even sooner (and maybe later)!

Current life situation: living amidst boxes and adjusting to a new sleep schedule (Lily's, but as a result mine). Moving in 6 days.

Current JOYS of being pregnant: ha! I am forcing myself to write something in this category... not easy... let's see... ummmmm I'm excited to meet this boy. the ultrasound was a BIG joy. LG was yawning and blinking a lot so we saw his eyes and mouth well (Lily was asleep during her 32 week US). 

Current BENEFITS to being prego: hubby is doing a LOT of things that I'd usually be doing. He's rising to the occasion big time. also I'm super motivated to get things done since I know when LG is born it'll be much harder... so one benefit is getting my but in gear (Xmas stockings and various sewing projects are completed!)

Current SYMPTOMS: along with the 3rd trimester ones I already mentioned,  just lots and lots and lots of pain/pressure. limping around the house and not really leaving the house because we don't have a car and the doctor insisted that I stay off my feet to the max :(

Oh, and mommy-brain like woah. I can't remember where I put a SINGLE THING. It's horrible. That, and clumsiness. I heard pregnant women were more forgetful and clumsy but didn't experience it too too much with Lily. This time I'm getting injured a ton. Even had a trip to the emergency room from one knife incident, and a second knife incident left me with glue holding together another wound. ouch.

Most Excited About: newborn snuggles. i looked at some pictures of Lily when she was 2 months old today and my heart became mush. just a bag of bones, and always wanting to cuddle. LG may be our last infant child, so I intend to really soak those early months up - even in hectic times.

Most Afraid About: my water breaking in a weird place (like church or on the metro), going into labour and not being able to reach Brad or find a sitter/caretaker for Lily, going into labour anytime before 37 weeks...

FAQ: 

have you chosen his name yet? 

- yes. we had it from when we didn't know if Lily was a boy or a girl, so it was easy peasy.

have you written a birth plan yet?

- no but we aren't planning to. we'll just plan to trust the doctors and get through it as comfortably as possible (so yes I plan to get an epidural for those wondering!!)

are you having friends/family in the delivery room or at the hospital?

- NO. just like last time, we intend it to be a very intimate experience. just Brad and I. it was so perfect for us during Lily's birth and first 2 days that we wouldn't have it any other way. Now, to find someone to take L off our hands...

are you having any family stay with you after the birth?

- again, no. Brad's dad and Debbie live 40 minutes away so they'll probably be the first to see LG, once we're discharged from the hospital, and then after that my family is coming for a weekend in late November followed by Brad's family the 1st weekend in December. That's also when we'll do our "Christmas" with them all because we're staying in Montreal this year for the first time (!!!) as a family of 4. 

We really benefited from not having live-in family help when Lily was born (though I totally understand why some people want their moms or families there 24/7 during the first little bit!). we learned to trust our instincts and learn on the fly right away, which was good for us.

are you breastfeeding?

- yes, Lord-willing!

are you cloth diapering?

- yes! after a few weeks whenever LG's umbilical cord comes off.

are you vaccinating?

- YES.

are you scared/worried/afraid?

- most days. two will be a HUGE adjustment. but we can do it!

are you taking maternity leave?

- oh ya! Thanks to my employer and the province of Quebec, I am taking my 2nd maternity leave and will be on it until Summer 2012.

is Brad taking paternity leave?

- yes! in QC the father gets 5 weeks in addition to the mother's 12 months. he'll take 1 week right away and then the remaining 4 later on during the 12 month period. With Lily he saved his 5 weeks until the middle/end of my maternity leave, and it just so happened I was in my 1st trimester of pregnancy with LG... so it was bliss. I got to sleep in (and puke, undisturbed) and he did the morning feeds :)

***

dear LG

When you're old enough to get a job, your first pay cheque will go towards buying you and I Habs tickets.

Just so you know :)

Yes, my husband just told me of a friend who has season's tickets and had a pre-season game to spare. Of course Brad being the selfless man he is offered it to me first. Knowing the state of my body/pregnancy/pain level I knew I had to decline. I think the declining hurt more than the lower abdominal pressure!

#sacrifices

another MM travels the globe...

OK so not the GLOBE. But the continent :)

With Lily in the oven, we traveled twice to Africa, and once to Spain and France. She would have quite the passport if it were required for the unborn to carry them. For Baby #2 it's not looking like we'll do much over seas travel, but this baby will and has hit the USA pretty hard before her/his November birth day. 

We just got back from an enormously encouraging trip to Chicago for the Gospel Coalition conference (will definitely be blogging in time, on Our Nest in the City about that) and in just a few short months we'll be taking up residence in Louisville, Kentucky for all of June and July as Brad studies there for his MDiv at Southern Seminary. 

I'm so excited for Louisville! Brad will be in classes pretty much all day Monday-Friday, but it's an amazing city, where I actually know a few people already, and have lots to explore with Lilygirl. The seminary where Brad will be studying even has an on-campus clinic for students (and their families) where I can get as many ultrasounds as I want for $5 a pop! Not bad considering in most places in the USA, it's over $100 if you don't have coverage (and we won't since were not American, other than travel insurance). We can't wait to find a church down there and get connected to the community. The temptation when you're in a place for a short time is to just keep to yourself but that's not "us" and definitely not our plan.

And something tells me traveling pregnant to Louisville will be far easier than Africa and Europe, so I'm definitely game!

"let's get you a diaper bag"

Music to my ears yesterday morning.

Bradford asked,
"is there anything you didn't get for your shower or we haven't bought that you'll need the first few months of MM's life?"

{as I'm having another baby shower from his dad's side of the family, but not until October}

"I guess a diaper bag is something I wanted but haven't yet got", I replied.

"let's get you a diaper bag", he beamed, knowing he's made my day

indeed he did.

COULD IT GET ANY BETTER THAN THIS?

Healthy baby, head-down position, strong heartbeat, healthy movement, sucking her thumb, perfect glimpse of her adorable face, 5 lbs 6 ounces (approx) and suggested to be born around 7lbs, set for an on-time arrival (ONE MONTH TODAY!!!) or a few days early :)

But YES, it could have been better.
Bradford is still away with work until August 1.
I miss him SO much right now...

goodies

today was a great day :)

Just found out a friend who has been waiting to be entrusted as an adoptive mother has got the good word that her and her hubby will have not one but TWO new babies to call theirs. God is so good. I know he'll provide such a nurturing, safe, loving home with my friend and her hubby. So happy to see the 9 month process of waiting (ironic eh? the adoptive process took 9 months the exact same amount of time it would take to have a baby!) ending this way.

In other news, we had delicious black bean ho fun for dinner (I'm on a Chinese food kick!) and I'm feeling MM kick around the clock which makes me so much more aware that I'm somebody's mommy and I LOVE IT.

Brad says he's a bit jealous because it's like me and MM are a "team" and he wants to join!
Example: Brad is making some lunch and will ask "are you and the baby hungry?"
Pure team spirit and I feel it even stronger now that MM is kicking all day long reminding me that he/she is alive and well :)

Also, Brad is up to his old tricks again. What a good hubs! For my 20th week with MM he surprised me with a book I've been meaning to read since reading it's much later sequel, Outliers. I'm now the owner and current reader of The Tipping Point by Malcom Gladwell :)

Off to bed for a good read then a long sleep, unless MM has anything to say about it and wants to have soccer practice, which is just way too entertaining to pass up, even when I'm so tired I might fall asleep sitting up! Yes, my belly is actually RISING now with each kick... soooo cool!

MM = a Hab's Fan?

Last night as had a great opportunity to go to a Habs game. Even though they lost it was SO GOOD! We live really close to the Bell Centre so we just walked over during the 1st period and hoped we could buy some tickets for a good price since it's impossible to get your hands on them otherwise.

Well we were 13 rows from the ice, amazing seats, retail price $106 for $45 a piece! So good, but the cutest was MM. I know babies can hear sound in the womb, so I'm guessing it's just the noise, but every time Montreal was on a breakaway and the crowd started getting load and cheering GO HABS GO, MM would begin to kick like mad! Plus seeing all the kids at the game in their jerseys made me so excited for our kids to cheer for the home team :)

just a pre-game belly shot (terrible quality I know, but Brad was busy so I had to take it myself, 18.5 weeks)

reunion and speculation

Tomorrow I get to have a little reunion with my baby :) I was hashing this out with my cousin this past weekend. How when I first heard MM's heartbeat, I felt like I was finally "meeting" him/her. Finally getting to communicate, if only one-way. MM to me. But it was pure bliss.

Tomorrow is my second appointment with my OB so I get to hear MM again. What a sweet sound. Now that I'm feeling MM move I'm even more eager to hear him/her because I feel MM's presence more daily, and definitely more positively (MM used to like to remind me that he/she was there by causing me to vomit and cry and sleep for 13 hours a day, now MM just gives me a nudge every so often... which I will tell MM when s/he's older is much more appropriate).

I can't wait for tomorrow, and to talk to my OB again (I have some questions), to get my "clean bill of health" from Dr. Hall so I can fly all over North Africa in a few weeks, and because after tomorrow it's only 19 more days until we find out what kind of MM MM truly IS. Though I'll tell you a secret, I have a hunch that MM is a BOY.

Why, you ask? I think you'll remember how SET I was on a girl. I was kind of afraid of a boy because I had been brought up surrounded by girls, all female cousins, friends, and 1 sister, NO BOYS ALLOWED basically :) So I don't know how I'd be as a mom to boys since I have such little experience. But maybe about a month ago I started LONGING for a baby boy. Out of nowhere. I'd see little boys (about 2 years old or so) and just DROOL over them. So cute, if not inappropriate. I would think more and more about having a boy and switched from constantly referring to MM as "she" right to "he", and now I'm stuck on "he"!

My theory is that God is preparing my heart for a boy. And He did a darn good job, because I'm now at the point where I really truly want a boy. I still want a girl too, I'm perfectly balanced (FINALLY) and really just so excited to find out the gender either way. But gosh, I can't stop thinking about boys and how cute they are and how my dad would be in HEAVEN (like me he lead a life surrounded by girls) and so would Brad and it would add a nice mix to my female-dominated family...

But little boys grow up into big boys and that scares me. I work in young women's ministry, I understand what teenage girls go through and can walk that path with some awareness. Teenage boys who refuse to hug their moms or grown men who don't have strong bonds with their moms is a horrible thought to me. Most grown men I know don't call their moms very often, whereas most grown women I know do... Little things like that make me scared, just for a second or two.

So in conclusion: hearing MM again (can't wait!, I've missed you MM!) tomorrow, wanting a little boy very much these days, but still aware of the differences it will bring to life :)

blog for later:

{our nest in the city}

see button with attached link ------------->

the post-bump blog is up, but will be rarely updated since my life revolves around this bump and I don't have enough spare time to host TWO blogs. But I'll keep this one even after MM is born for MM2, 3, 4 (God-willing).

To be honest, I always thought blogging was kind of ridiculous, but once I actually started READING them (yes my judgment was based on no experience whatsoever) and writing one for myself, I began to love it. I love that my community from back in Ontario can read here and know what's going on. I love that I have it recorded so I won't forget. I love that I can have a place to write my thoughts instead of them crowding up my packed head.

So, a blog for later has begun :) A blog about my relatively new life in the city, Brad and my journey as new parents, new home owners (hopefully soon!), new full-time job (on maternity leave), new LIFE period.
Hope you'll read it :)

ALRIGHT ALREADY

I've taken a lot of flack for not posting baby bump pics on facebook, which I decided not to do, but I was always planning to post them up here, just never got around to it. The first posting of bump pics were taken by me in a mirror and looked pretty cheese... but I enlisted Brad and was having a good hair day, so I'll post these proudly :)

16.5 weeks

mm @ 15 weeks!

Into the 2nd trimester and loving it!
this week, MM is the size of an apple! Look how big MM looks compared to a 25 cent coin:

I'm feeling GREAT this past week!
Haven't been nauseous in a long time and my energy is really climbing. Things I've done in the past 2 weeks that were impossible the last 3 months are:

1. Walking to the grocery story at the end of the day (UP HILL) and doing groceries for about an hour
2. Sleeping between 7-9 hours a night (just a reminder, I was up to 13 some nights a month ago!)
3. Staying up to midnight some nights (REBEL!!!)
4. Eating meat again (though still nothing like a huge pot roast... that still seems disgusting to me, but other red meat is fine now)
5. Working longer hours without being as exhausted (though I still am after a full work day or sometimes after 6 hours)

As I read this list I see how LAME my existence has become... that these five things are milestones I've been able to regularly accomplish in the last 14 days that I haven't done or even thought about since 2009. What has my life come to?! It's funny and somewhat pathetic but I'm still celebrating :)

I feel like ME again.

Minus the crazy hormones that have me crying or really angry at the drop of a hat... yeah those can peace out anytime.

And a little update on MM: s/he is 4 inches long this week! Which I think, after looking in my fruit bowl, is actually larger than most apples, but whatever. S/he is also sensitive to light now which means if I were to shine a flashlight up to my bump, MM would squirm away from it (who wouldn't?) even tough his/her eyelids are still fused shut. WILD.
MM is also evening out, with the legs growing longer than the arms now (with a LONG way to go since MM's MY child!) and has taste buds. I hope MM likes regurgitated King Crab, since that's what Brad brought home last night for us to have tonight... It was 50% off and is one of our most favourite meals (though usually too expensive to have often).

Other great news for ME: I got some more maternity clothes this week! Old Navy had a $6 sale on all their basic T's and tanks and I'm lucky enough to live 10 minutes away from one of only TWO Old Navy's in Canada that carried their maternity line. Normal prices were $9.50 and $14.50. GLORIOUS.

boys and girls

Most of you know that I'm a girl's girl. My hobbies include shopping and baking and I have never even thought about the reality that I could be the mom of boys, or even all boys.

I think it all began when my parents didn't have sons. And then my aunts and uncles closest to us didn't either. It was a girl's party. My cousins Maggie, Sarah, and Alysha were the extended family we spent the most time with, leaving zero room for boys to enter the brain. Then there were my dolls/barbies/imaginary friends: ALL GIRLS. Noticing a trend here? Not to mention I've never been the girl who's best buddies with guys... All my closest friends throughout the years have been Caily's, Tess's, Missy's, Catherine's, and Jamie's... GIRLS.

Naturally this is could all change in 6 weeks and I think it's just hitting me recently. Of course Brad is probably the most comfortable with boys since he has only brothers and I'll be thrilled no matter what the sex is, but part of me is a bit nervous of the potential of having a boy, or down the road, all boys. Can I swing it? I'm no hockey mom and I don't really "get" boys. But who knows?

At church I taught Sunday school today and there are two boys (brothers) who I adore. Miguel and Manuel. I thought to myself today: if my kids are like these, I could do boys! Often I get epiphanies like this, you know seeing the great things that boys bring to the table that girls can't, or thinking about how great it would be to "gain a daughter instead of lose a son" as they say in marriage, or the possibility for my future daughters having an older brother always looking out for them. I never had that and always was slightly jealous of those who did.

So we'll see. My 20 week ultra sound where I get to know the sex is in 6 weeks. I'll keep you all posted, and in the meantime, any advice on boys is welcome!

books on the go

Lately I'm in bed a lot, with little energy to do anything but read (and when I'm nauseous reading goes out the window too since for some reason it makes things worse).

I just finished 2 great easy-reads that my friend Lydia calls "Chick-Lit" since they're novels basically about things girls care about: romance, clothes, the stuff that just washes over you like an episode of Friends or Grey's Anatomy.
Something Blue was actually a sequel to a book I hadn't read, but I chose it since I read it was about a woman who becomes pregnant at a non-ideal time in her life. I can't relate with the non-ideal part, but since I'm all about pregnancy these days it seemed good. Plus I found it at the Salvation Army in Newmarket, ON for $2.00. Can't beat that! It's a cute, easy read and I finished it super fast but it was fun and I'd recommend it. If anyone wants to borrow it, lemmie know!

At the same Salvation Army I found What To Expect When You're Expecting and What To Expect The First Year, also each for $2.00 each. These 3 books were the most fun because I bought them the week I found out I was pregnant.

Another book I recently finished was kind of a "Chick-Lit" with culture. Girls of Riyadh follows the lives of 4 women living in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, present day. It interested me so much partly because I'm fascinated by the Middle East and Muslims Countries (such as those in North Africa that we're fairly invested in through work) and partly because I love seeing the human side of places so far away I'll probably never visit, like Saudi. It's amazing that in some places women can still be forced to marry men they despise, even if they are the most educated and elite women in that country. Imagine those who have less leverage. But what a great book. I have several friends living the same lives as these girls. Practicing Islam, being from or living in Muslim Countries that are quite conservative, yet still having a side to them that would surprise most westerners. Again, I'm done if you'd like to borrow it.

Finally, Now that I'm done the recent books I bought/received, I'm onto a couple I had begun sometime ago and never finished. The Arabs, Journey Beyond The Mirage is written by a reporter who lived in Egypt for 5 years while covering news for a major broadcasting company in the Middle East and North Africa. It's really interesting, and I'd bought it for our trip over to North Africa before Christmas but I was quite nauseous during that trip (read: pregnant but didn't know it!) and only got 1/2 way through. Can't wait to work on it.

In the same boat is French Kiss, Steven Harper's Blind Date With Quebec which I mentioned to Brad I'd wanted last year and he surprised me with one day. That's a HARD read (according to me) and is taking a while. Every page is laced with political background that I'm learning about as I read (and I used to say I was "into" politics! This book tells me I know nothing!). But it's educating and it's about the province I live in and love and the realm of politics which I used to think I loved and now just admire from afar...like really far.

all i wanna do

is barf.

Sounds weird, but nausea stops when I throw up, and I've been in the bathroom on the verge since 5am this morning.

Put me out of my misery and just doooo it!

In other news, Brad is adorable and began a "surprise each week" today. Starting with a quiz about our baby's development (mm has a tongue now!) he then asked me how to take care of a tongue... After a few more leading questions I was lead to the bathroom cabinet where a new book "Girls of Riyadh" that I've been wanting to read for months was sitting, nestled beside the tooth brushes!

I tried reading it a bit today but it made my nausea worse- but what a mood lifter!

milestone 1

Last night, for the first time since the first week of December I slept through the night. Glory!

I've been waking up between 2 and 4 times per night for the last 6 weeks to pee, and then when I'm awake the nausea hits me and I feel sick or am sick for the next hour or so, resulting in a 2nd bathroom break, and hopefully sleep. It was nice knowing the first month or so are the worst for frequent urination, because that season is winding down (wow, almost 7 weeks already!)

When I woke up this morning to day light I was literally shocked. And to think, I JUST got into the hang of things: brought a tall glass of water to bed as I was becoming dehydrated after so many bathroom trips, brought some crackers to munch on to counteract the nausea, started assuming an hour when I could to nap, etc. And just like that, I slept through the night. What a pathetic milestone! But we (yes because Brad bears the brunt of these horrible nights often) were thrilled!

I thought God was having me awake every 2 hours to prepare me for when I'll have to breast feed in the wee hours of the morning, but maybe he's also preparing me for celebrating tiny milestones in my own baby as I did this morning at the full 7 hours of sleep I got :)

where it all began

Today Brad and I leave for North Africa - the part of the world where we first met officially and soon thereafter fell in "like".

Brad was leading a Missions Trip and I was a 3rd year student at the time, with intentions of joining staff with Campus for Christ. He had already been working for C4C for 3 years at the time.

I remember the first day I saw him I thought he was cute and that he spoke really good French, but it was still pretty superficial until fate would have us on the same team and we got to know each other more... It wasn't long until I had a huge-must-be-kept secret crush since dating on the project wasn't allowed and let's face it, it was kind of sketchy that he was the staff and I was the student even though we're 4 years apart!

Anyway, years later we're married and returning to the same place where it all began. We're going for 1 week to visit with missionaries over there and also do some planning for the trip we're going on this summer with a bunch of other staff and students for 6 weeks.

How weird will it be to be back there as husband and wife, trying for a baby???

WOW, remembering right now exactly why I married my husband... He is AMAZING.

I feel so much better about the whole could-be situation after talking to him.
Last night when he got home, in borderline hysterics (crying, laughing, oh gosh...) I told him how there was a mistake in my previous planning for when we're fertile (and thus when not to have sex, JUST until December...) and we may have been having unprotected sex for the last 4 days that were my most fertile.

warning...potentially gross part below

I know I know, the chances are low. Women try for months before conceiving a child, but then again some people do it once WITH protection and still wind up pregnant, so I don't want to be ignorant. There's also the matter of (don't get grossed out!!) Discharge. When you're pregnant it increases and becomes a thicker consistency similar to if you have a yeast infection. I fit the bill for that symptom, but again, could be a number of things.

It's just the whole what-if uncertainty that we're in right now. You all know how much we want a baby, but just in December... one month from now would make a HUGE difference.

We could go to North Africa this summer (traveling in the 2nd trimester is apparently the best time), we could go to France after and have some amazing R and R before kids arrive, our baby could be born in September instead of the dreaded August (that's a hot month I'm thinking to be super pregnant!). Ah the next 9 days (before I get my period) will be a real interesting time (read: poor Brad, I'll be laughing and crying s'more).

But as I started this post, he has been AMAZING. I was worried he (the seasoned back-packer and traveler extraordinaire) would be disappointed if it turned out we couldn't go on Project this summer or France afterwards. He was so cool about it. Cucumber cool.

"Babe, we can go anytime, we're young, there will be more opportunities for travel",

"Babe, God is in control and whatever happens is his will so let's not worry about it",

"Babe people try so hard to become pregnant, if we are it's a blessing!"

Like I said, WOW. Just like that my panic dissipated into peace about the whole thing. I know I do so badly want to go on this missions trip this summer, and of course France was icing on the already delicious cake... but he's right - about all 3 of his above quotes.

So, time will tell... I'll keep you posted.

pourquoi j'adore le Quebec

Brad just revealed that this weekend he's taking me to Quebec City for our anniversary (due to our hectic work schedule we couldn't take the weekend on our actual anniversary which was October 18th).

I'm SO excited!!! I've really come to LOVE Quebec and Montreal specifically. Here's Why:

1. Quebec is a socialist heaven. The rights of Quebec citizens are amazing, we're talking cheap rent with rent control, low costs of buying (and if you're buying down town the PQ Gov't will give you up to $6K if it's your 1st home, and $10K if you're got kids!!)
2. Which brings me to the next part - Quebec is an amazing province to have kids. The province supports a generous 1 year maternity leave for those whose employers don't offer it, so practically every woman or man, should they choose, can take a paid year off to care for their children.
3. And upon returning to work after the glorious 1 year of baby-bonding, Quebec citizens have access to (actually GOOD) $7/day day-care! It's completely government subsidized so anyone can be a working parent.
4. Not to mention, when my kids are of age, they can attend some of the greatest universities in Canada, if not the world (McGill was just ranked #18, the highest in Canada, take that U of T!), at significantly subsidized rates as well. That's right, Quebec citizens half HALF the tuition costs that I paid in Ontario and Canadians in other provinces. Leaving Quebec one of the provinces with the least number of graduating students with debt.

Granted, Quebec has these amazing offers because the birth-rate has been on the decline for decades as people here are statistically prone to never marry, never buy a home, never settle down, never have (or keep) children, and drop out of high school (yes, Quebec has the highest rate of teen depression, high school drop out, divorce, and abortion in Canada)

As you know it's the latter statistics that drew us to ministry here though we definitely are benefiting from the former!