Category Archives: Pregnancy

Baby Bump 25-week Fitness Update & CanvasPop Giveaway Winner!

Hello darlings!

Today’s post will be rather short because I would like to announce the winner of the CanvasPop giveaway!

and the winner is

If you didn’t win, don’t be upset; peeps at CanvasPop were super nice and provided all of my readers with a discount code CANDIES35 to get a rebate of 35% off any order until April 30. Just in case you are wondering, I am not getting any percentage of sales if you do end up using their services; I do, however, truly believe that you will be really happy and satisfied with the service and quality you will receive from CanvasPop.

Without further ado, the winner is… *Drum Roll!!!*

giveaway winner

Congratulations, Danielle! I will be contacting you shortly in order to provide you with all details on how to redeem your prize!

And here is a quick check in of my baby bump at 25 and a half weeks.

25.5 weeks

The baby girl is growing!… GROWING VERY FAST!… and so is my belly! *Haha!*

I’ve been really active this week. I attended my first prenatal aqua class on Monday, which was super fun!

I also decided to cut down on running and started biking/spinning instead. It was a nice change, but I definitely had to do some adjustments. For one, I have to keep my back straight up instead of leaning forward or otherwise the bump is in the way. *#PregnancyProblems haha!*

spinning

In addition, I’ve been focusing on toning my arms and legs with an occasional dance HIIT from Gina or, as many of you may know her, Fitnessista. *Fun, fun, fun!* By the way, have you heard? She is expecting too!!!

SoliBeat

And, of course, I’ve been taking relaxation quite seriously! *LOL!*

Lush bubble bath

I’d like to hear from you now. Is there anything that you would like me to share with you in terms of how my pregnancy is going? Cravings? Workouts? Pains? Hopes? Fears? Please, do let me know!

Have a great weekend!

xoxo
Olena

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Filed under Fitness, Health, Pregnancy

Swimming & Pregnancy

Hello beauties!

I hope you had a great weekend and spent Easter with your loved ones!

I think I mentioned to you recently that I was going to join a prenatal aqua class. Well… It finally happened! I had my first class yesterday, and I must admit, I had a blast!

First of all, it was nice to be for once surrounded by ladies pregnant just like me. *Call it sense of belonging! Haha!* All ladies I had a chance to talk to were super nice and fun. Who knows, maybe I’ll be able to develop some new friendships with other mommies-to-be.

pregnant

I must admit, I rocked my 2-piece bathing suit with PRIDE. It’s my baby girl who is in there, after all, and not donuts. *Fine… Maybe a piece of cake or two! Wink, wink!* 

Finally, our instructor was very friendly and the class was super fun. I was pleasantly surprised that I got a chance to work on all major muscle groups: core, legs, arms, even my back. We even did some stretching exercises. In addition, I thoroughly enjoyed jumping in water. It didn’t even feel like I was 25 weeks along!

light as a feather

Source

There are plenty of benefits of swimming during pregnancy *or in general*:

  • A low-to-no-impact activity and a great cardio at the same time,
  • Reduced stress from lower back,
  • Lowered pressure on joints,
  • Resistance training: feel the burn!
  • A very enjoyable and fun workout option!

Last but not least, don’t forget to enter a chance to win you free canvas print from CanvasPop. *See details here.*

IG giveaway

All you have to do is follow this link: a Rafflecopter giveaway. You can have up to 8 entries to increase your chances of winning by fulfilling all of the options. *Just saying! Haha!*

What is your favorite aqua workout?

xoxo
Olena

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Filed under Fitness, Pregnancy

My Non-Fitness Obsession & CanvasPop Review and Giveaway!

Well, hello there, beautiful people!

It’s a long weekend here in Canada and you are about to enjoy it even more!

Today’s post will be somewhat different because I would like to talk to you about a passion of mine which is NOT fitness related. *HA!*

Is that even possible

For those of you who have been following my blog for a while or those who know me in real life, it won’t come as a surprise… But I am OBSESSED with photography! I absolutely love taking pictures, editing them and looking at beautiful images taken by other photographers. The whole ordeal is very therapeutic to me!

photography is the memory

Source

I’ve never been exceptionally creative. However, I do always feel that I can express my creativity through the pictures I take.

I think this hobby started when my dad asked me to take a picture of him and our dog when I was a teen. I was mesmerized by the entire process of my dad taking pictures by carefully adjusting camera settings and then developing film. It was magic happening in front of my eyes.

When I was 20 years old, I bought myself my first camera… Let’s just put it this way… People would be flabbergasted if I didn’t have it on me.

That being said, taking pictures is great, but what’s even more important is preserving them. I’ve always been terrible at printing out my photographs! I paid dearly for my laziness when my laptop crashed in 2013: 4 years of memories were completely erased… I was devastated! *Thank God for Facebook and picture sharing!*

no

That day I vowed to myself that I’ll get better at saving those precious memories. I still have tons of pictures to print, but… I, for one, created a picture frame wall on our staircase to celebrate my relationship with my hubby which was later joined by a beautiful canvas of our wedding picture.

stairs

I don’t know if you, guys, believe in destiny or things coming true when you really want them to happen, but get this… A couple of weeks back, me and Justin were looking through some of our pictures, and Justin said something across these lines, “Babe, you know what, we should have some of our pictures printed out on a canvas.” Obviously, it was like music to my ears and he had no convincing to do.

Here is where it gets crazy. A few days later I was contacted by a company called CanvasPop to see if I would like to review their product. Now… my readers know that I’ve never posted any reviews on my blog to date. I must assure you, this is not due to the lack of interest from companies. I just refuse to accept any offers that go against my values or could potentially jeopardize my bond with all my dear followers. So even though the request was very tempting, I decided to do my homework first and headed straight to their website www.canvaspop.com.

Made with Love — behind the scenes with CanvasPop from CanvasPop on Vimeo.

This is where I got really excited. Upon only a few minutes on their website, a pop up chat appeared in the bottom right corner. A very friendly representative, Steve, asked me if I needed any assistance, and, when I told him that I was simply surfing, he encouraged me to let him know should I have any questions. *WOW!* 

The website is super user-friendly and very easy to navigate. I had lots of fun clicking through endless options like adding text to pictures, changing up filters and effects, creating collages (from IG pictures!!!) and triptych images. Furthermore, there are multiple canvas sizes, frames and edge choices available.

And then… I said, YES, ABSOLUTELY!

Once again, customer service was exceptionally fast and efficient when it came to ordering and shipment of my order. Upon sending my request, I received a digital proof of the design to ensure that I was satisfied with how it looked. And even though I was told that it would take between 7 and 10 business days to receive the canvas, it took only 2! The picture came out very bright and lively, just the way I imagined it, and the mirrored edge made it look complete!

My hubby, without any hesitation, put the canvas up on the wall in our living room right above the TV, so we get to enjoy looking at it every single day. You be the judge! *We are one good looking couple, eh?! Hehe!*  

CanvasPop

I can assure you that I am very pleased customer and I will definitely be printing my images through CanvasPop in the future. I have soooooo many decorating ideas for the nursery for our baby girl!!!!!! *I’m already 24.5 weeks! Time FLIES!!!*

Finally, CanvasPop was super generous and offered a great discount to all of my dedicated readers. Any of you can get a rebate of 35% off your entire order by using a discount code: CANDIES35 from now till April 30, 2015. To make things even better, one lucky gal or pal will also win a free 16 x 20 canvas with the .75″ frame depth + free shipping!!! The giveaway is available only to the residents of the U.S. and Canada. All you’ve got to do to enter the draw is to participate in the Rafflecopter giveaway in the link below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The giveaway will be closed at 12am on April 10th (Eastern Time). I will contact the winner via email, so please make sure that you provide me with one.

Now tell me, if you were to get a canvas, what picture or pictures would you print? Why?

Happy Easter!

xoxo
Olena

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Filed under Fitness, Giveaway, Pregnancy, Reviews

Baby Bump Growth Reveal

Hi loves!

I thought I was due for an update, so here it is! *Taaaaa Daaaaa!*

The biggest news yet is that I started feeling the baby! And no, they are not butterfly sensations or popcorn popping feeling, they are full blown kicks and punches. At times I even find myself jumping up from a surprise. But let me tell you, I absolutely love, love, LOOOOOVE the feeling! I truly think it’s the most precious thing I’ve experienced in my entire life. I can’t stop smiling and giggling when I feel my little bundle of joy moving around… I’m smitten with her *or him* already…

smitten

Another exciting news is that I finally registered myself for prenatal aqua classes at the local swimming pool. I can’t wait to meet other expecting mommies in a little over 2 weeks from now, and, obviously, have fun while exercising in water!

can't wait

To finish off, here is a picture of my baby bump progress from December 4, 2014 to February 12, 2015 to March 19, 2015.

7-17-22

Total weight gain: 5 pounds.

I still consider myself pretty lucky because I don’t have any particular cravings. *Fine! I gave in and had an Oreo McFlurry from McDonalds on Monday… and I enjoyed every single bit of it! No regrets whatsoever. Haha!*

Now tell me what you’ve been up to? Any exciting news or upcoming events?

xoxo
Olena

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Filed under Pregnancy

What’s It Gonna Be? Bow Ties Or Bows? A He Or A She?

Hellooooooooo ladies and gents!!!

You love the title, don’t ya?! *Hehe!*

20 weeks

If you expect to find out the gender of our baby from the get go, then… how do I put it nicely… well… then you don’t know me!!! Go and read my blog from the very beginning! NOW! *Fine! Since I’m in a good mood today, just read to the end of this post and we’ll call it even!*

bow or bow tie

Source

So let me start from the very beginning. Justin and I found out what we would have on Friday. It was super exciting to see our baby for the second time! I can’t explain the joy of seeing pretty little face, fingers and toes! It still hasn’t really hit me yet that there is a baby growing inside of me. It’s truly a miracle!

We decided to reveal the secret to our families first over Sunday lunch. I must admit that both sides of the family tried some dirty tricks to fish out some information… But what can I say? I am a true Spartan girl, I don’t break. *How cheesy! I love it! Haha!*

On Friday evening, Justin and I went to a children clothing store and picked out the very first outfit for our baby. We also bought a few decorations for the table to keep the suspense and keep our families on guessing.

table set up gender reveal

Needless to say, there was a lot of noise and action over that little box! I love messing with people’s minds!!! *Oh wait! I’m so sorry! I’m still messing with yours! NOT!*

Guessing games

Also, as you can imagine, if you follow my Instagram account, there was plenty of food!

Scalloped potatoes…

Scalloped potatoes

Savory crepes with meat filling…

Savory crepes with meat filling

Vitamin cabbage salad…

Vitamin cabbage salad

Peach and cream jello…

Peach & cream jello

And a bundt cake…

Bundt cake

Oh… I’m sorry! You are still waiting to find out what it is!!! You know… I’m pregnant… It’s so easy to get side-tracked by food!!! *wink,wink*

Alrighty! The secret shall be revealed now. However, I must warn you… It’s not 100% sure yet! It was hard to tell because baby’s legs were crossed. *As the doctor said, ‘Don’t paint the walls yet!’*

Drum roll… It’s a…

It's a girl

It’s a GIRL!!!

We are extremely excited! That being said, even if in the end of the day it turns out to be a boy, we’ll be equally thrilled. All we truly care about is that the baby is healthy!

Without further ado, our traditional big family picture. *I love them dearly!!!*

Family

And of course, this cute swimming little pink duckling!

Pink duckling for a girl

Have a wonderful day, loves!

xoxo
Olena

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Filed under Pregnancy

1+1=3… Say What?!

Hello my loves!

If you have no idea what the *BLEEP* the title means, then you are about to find out!!! Call it spilling the beans or letting the cat out of the bag, but the secret is about to be revealed… *MWAHAHA!*

Are you bracing yourselves??? Get ready for it…

*DRUM ROLL!!!*

we are expecting

WE ARE HAVING A BABY!!!

I know, I know.. I’ve kept a secret for a while…  A WHILE… Well, to be precise… for over 19 weeks!!!

Ron-Burgundy-What-Did-You-Say-Anchorman

Ummm… I was gonna say… we’ll find out the gender of our baby in about a week!!! *HAHA!* 

Brain Oh No animated GIF

Nooooooowwww it makes sense to you!!! All the cooking and Instagram pictures… You see? I wasn’t hiding it THAT much!

WE ARE THRILLED!!!

I won’t blab much more and simply let you digest the news! I shall be back to tell you some juicy details soon!!!

xoxo

Yours truly,
Olena a.k.a. Mommy-to-Be 🙂

20 Comments

Filed under Pregnancy