Thursday 28 February 2013

7 Days - The tantrum

Mini egg nails//new hair//photoshoot//Rosie decided to apply make up//photoshoot

 

I have been a terrible blogger of late and my only excuse is that I have been quite busy with work and also have developed a terrible addiction - to Candy Crush. If you don't know what that is then never find out as it will take over your life!

Last week was really quite uneventful in our household, Monday to Thursday involved the usual activities such as work, nursery, swimming and such like. Friday we had a bit of a situation; we had gone into town to do some odds and ends which began with a visit to the Post Office as I had about 14 parcels to send and Tom had to update his driving license photograph. The queue is always massive at this Post Office and they are so slow at serving - unusually so, but as we walked in I noticed they had a new touch screen pay and go parcel machine. Thinking this would make my life much easier I told Tom that I would just use that whilst he was waiting in the queue for the fancy DVLA photo booth. Rosie was sort of dotting between us which was fine until Tom got further away and the place started to get busier. I asked her to come over and help me, which she did for about 3 seconds before deciding she wanted to go back to daddy. I explained to her that she had to stay with me and as she tried to escape I grabbed her hand. We then experienced the mother of all Meltdowns. She was screaming and kicking and lying on the floor. All with me trying to hold on to her hand whilst weighing and scanning parcels through this machine. If I could of I would have stopped what I was doing but there was a man waiting behind me so I just tried to do it all as quickly as I could. At one point I glanced up and all I could see was these faces just staring at me as if to say "Look at that terrible child, the mother can control her" etc etc. As soon as I could I took Rosie over to the side and sat her on the seats. A lovely kind lady came across and asked if I needed any help or if there was anything she could do for me. She also tried to talk to Rosie to tell her that she had to help mummy. A minute or so later Tom came across and I actually just burst into tears I was that mortified. My heart was racing and I could feel my blood pumping, also in the process I had managed to hurt my back. Tom managed to calm us all down and we finally got the parcels posted. I never want to experience a situation like that again and will definitely make sure Rosie is always in a pram! Goodness knows what it will be like with two!!

After the trauma of the Post Office we did actually go to a nice little tea room for some lunch but I was still so flustered by it all that I didn't really think to take any pics - it was delicious though. Rosie was unfortunately still playing up. She has been so naughty lately!

On Saturday I had a Bridal trial in the morning which was great fun as my clients has decide she wants to go for a Cara Delvingne look which shakes it up a bit from the usual requests. After the trial I went and got my hair chopped off. I think about 6 or 7 inches must have came off it and it is now it a lovely long bob style which is so much easier to maintain that my long, thick, main was and it feels so much healthier. Here is a before and after pic:

 

Sunday, Rosie and Tom went off to Tom's parents for my nephews 3rd birthday party whilst I worked on a photo shoot. It was a hard day and we worked from 12 till 7 but got some brilliant shots and had such a laugh. When I came home I was ready to collapse in my bed but not after a few rounds of Candy Crush!!

 

Love Sophie

xox

 

 

Tuesday 19 February 2013

7 days

 

Bump watch // drying clothes outside! // immense Valentines dessert// The aftermath of a yummy dinner // braids // gardening fun


Monday

A boring work day so nothing much happened at all, in fact all I did when I finished was go for an epic nap. I was in such a deep sleep that I woke up in a puddle of drool! Sexy. Thats when you know you have had a good sleep though! Mum and dad dropped Rosie off, so I caught up with them over a cuppa and heard about Rosie's antics that day.

 

Tuesday

This week Tom came with us on our weekly swimming trip. Rosie really loved having both mummy and daddy there. It also meant that she could go on the big slide with out any drama, thought she only wanted to go down twice. One thing I love about our local pool is the indoor pool joins on to an out door pool which is open all year round. This meant that we could go for an outside swim - it was so refreshing as the air was so cold and crisp yet we were surrounded by the warmth of the water. After swimming we headed home for lunch and then to be honest we didnt do that much. I spent the afternoon taking pictures and putting things on ebay, I find it such a tedious task! I did however manage to eat a whole packet of chocolate digestives through out the day!

 

Wednesday

Another work day for me but luckily I finish at 12, I came home and we decided to get on with some packing. Todays room of choice was Rosie's. It was quite nice being able to go through all her wee trinkets and what not, and looking at photos of her as a teeny baby. It seems like yesterday she was a little bundle in my arms. We also woke up to a blanket of snow today, probably a couple of inches which we were delighted with as even though we live a stones throw away from the beginning of the Scottish highlands we have had literally no snow this winter. I think every where in the UK has been covered in the stuff and all we get is slush rain! It was so nice just to sit on the sofa with a cuppa and watch the snow fall out the window.

 

Thursday

We never really do anything to celebrate valentines day but this year I decided to stop off at Tesco's on the way home and pick up some bits and bobs for a special dinner. I decided to go for steak and chips, a classic. Obviously because I am pregnant, I am not drinking alcohol at the moment so I picked up a bottle of Appletize for a substitue. My dessert consitised of a crepe filled with banana, nutella and chocolate ice cream and topped with whipped double cream (pictured above) which nearly tipped me over the edge, I was so full and in repayment for my greed I was given a lovely case of heart burn. It was horrendous, I had actually forgotten how painful it was.

 

Friday

The morning was spent doing a few household chores and looking for inspiration for out meal plan as it was grocery shopping day. I hate thinking what to have for dinner - I feel like we just have a handful of choices that are on constant rotation, so if you have any yummy recipes or dinner ideas please feel free to share. We headed out for a bite of lunch and then took Rosie to the park for a run around before hitting the shops. If you are interested in what we bought then take a look at my groceries post.

It was such a lovely day that I actually managed to get my washing outside for the first in what feels like forever. I always find that your washing feels and smells so much better when its been dried outside. Because of the lovely weather we decided we should make the most of it and tackle our garden, in particular the bit round the front. I really wish I had taken a before picture because it was unreal. This particular patch has been the center of dispute with us as I am not really sure its our responsibily but the people who service the rest of the area dont want anything to do with it either so it has gone for nearly 3 years pretty much neglected. As we are moving out soon and knew the landlord would have perspective new tennents having a look round we though we best tackle it. Iknow absolutely nothing about gardening, not a bloody clue, what I did know is that I wasnt going near it without a pair of gardening gloves - luckily Aldi had some cute flower print ones for £1.99

I went out expecting to do an hour or so of weeding and ended up out there until it was dark, I have to say I got pretty in to it, especially when our neighbour let us borrow his hedge cutter things. As soon as I had those in my hands I was away - like a small child with a fringe - just cutting anything in sight. The picture above is Tom standing next to the massive pile of bushes that we had chopped back. Tom is 6ft 4! I was supposed to be taking in easy but of course over did myself and had to have a good long soak in the bath to help those poor muscles. Needles to say I went out like a light that night.

Saturday

Today was my first wedding of the year so I was up at dawn's cracking getting everything together before heading out to the brides house. I cannot express how much I love my job - its amazing doing something you really enjoy, getting to meet lots of new people and getting paid for it. The icing on the cake is that I have an actual genuine reason for buying shit loads of make up (added bonus is the Pro Discount!). The bridal party were lovely and the bride decided to go for a smokey eyed Kim Kardashian look which I really enjoyed doing, she looked a million dollars and after looking in the mirror said it was exactly the look she had picture in her head, that always puts a smile on my face. The adorable Mother of the Bride had even gone to the trouble of knitting a wee cardi, hat, mits and booties for the bump. I nearly cried at her kindness!

After "work" I headed home, had some lunch and then we went back out to the garden again. Tom also did a 3 skip runs and the pile looked like it hadnt been touched. His mum, dad, sister and our nephew came down in the afternoon which Rosie was thrilled about as she could run wild causing chaos with her cousin. It also meant that she was worn out, by tea time she could hardly keep her eyes open and to be honest me and Tom were feeling the same so we decided on a cheeky chippy tea which was delicious before an early night.

 

Sunday

I woke up on Sunday and the sun was literally blazing through the window so I hopped (scrambled) out of bed chucked some clothes on and went out in the garden with Rosie. We did the final lot of gardening which took us about 3 hours before heading in for some lunch. It was so warm that I was able to take my jumper off and be quite warm in a vest top. Its amazing how much the weather can change your spirits. It made me even more excited for the summer months. I have been quite stressed out of late but I just found that it cleared my head and made me feel really happy and full of life. A feeling that was quickly stolen by the afternoons task of business admin and worse still - sorting out my accounts. The one downside to running your own business. If I was a better person I would be much more organised and stay on top of things but lets face it - I am not. I can think of a million better things to do with my time. In fact I am suppose to be finishing off my accounts right at this moment. Tom very kindly got the dinner ready whilst I was surround by various screens, notepads, invoices, calculators, shouting obscenities and such like. After dinner, we got Rosie to bed and then did some TV watching/ Blog reading before heading to bed. Wild.

 

Love Sophie xox

 

 

Sunday 17 February 2013

Groceries #3

 

 

Honey Nut Cornflakes

Maple and Pecan Crunch

Large punnet of mushrooms

Soured cream

Mixed peppers

Pink Lady apples

onions x 3

Bananas

pears

cucumber

grapes

squeezy fromage frais pouches

washing up liquid

milk

long grain rice

Steak Cut chips

frozen garden peas

chicken breast slices

fish fingers

mature cheddar cheese

fig rolls

tuna chunks x 3

chopped tomatoes

hot dog rolls

chicken breast

washing up liquid

bin bags

kidney beans

crunch corner style yoghurts x 2

Total: £38

 

 

Tesco

Pull up pants

pizza

baby wipes

toothpaste

frankfurters

chicken burgers

cherry tomatoes

500g mince

Total: £15

So I managed to remember and take pictures this week which is a bonus! We did a big Aldi shop and then got a few other bits and bobs from Tesco that we couldn't find in Aldi. The Aldi shop was £38 and the Tesco's £15, so £53 all together. Not Bad!

 

Love Sophie xox

 

Tuesday 12 February 2013

7 Days

Pancakes//my face//20 week scan//cute toddler Toms//meal planning//a delicious dinner (thanks Charlotte & Rosie)//baby top knots//cake face//k2

So the other week I did a list of what's been good or bad in my life but I have decided to change that and instead do a weekly round up post. Purely because that's what I enjoy reading and as I want this blog to be an online journal of my life I think it fits in better. I am hoping to post these every Monday but it true "me" style I am already a day late with that!

 

Sunday

It is the start of wedding season for my business which unknown to many isn't May to September but actually more like February to November so really the only two months I have off is Dec and Jan. Through out those months I have been chomping at the bit to get back to the swing of things so was very happy when I had an appointment booked in for a trial on Sunday morning. Off I went to meet my lovely client and work out some wedding day looks for her. She was so sweet and had the cutest little boy! I love clients that you can have a right good laugh or chat with. After her trial I went and did a quick food shop before coming home to do some admin work. Tom and Rosie were staying with his mum and dad so I had the house to myself to get on with those bitty jobs that you never get round to doing. When they got back I gave R such a big squeeze and the we had some fun playing whilst Tom cooked a delicious tea of sweet and sour chicken, then it was bath, story and bed for R and then some blog time for me!

 

Monday

As well as working freelance I also work 15 hours as a medical secretary at our local hospital. Monday is a day that I work there and always begin with a totally mad dash of getting up, ready, getting Rosie ready, packing bags and dropping R off before heading to work. It is always such a crazy rush and I am always at least 5 mins late for work. I just never have enough time! I finished work at 2.30 and then headed home where I had a few ours to myself to tidy the house and more importantly catch up on blogs! My mum has R till around 7pm so when she gets home it's just a case of putting her to bed and having a catch up with my lovely mum.

 

Tuesday

Tuesday is swimming day, well it has been since last week. I just wanted to spend some more quality time with R, especially before K2 comes along so decided we would go once a week. She was so good and I think only had 2 tantrums, one brought on by the little accident we had... They have a wee toddler pool bit with a cracking slide that has been there since I was about 4, to get up to the top there is two narrow sort of enclosed stair cases either side. I was hoping that for some stupid reason R wouldn't notice the slide (it's pretty much the focal point of the pool) as normally there is me and Tom there. One to help her up the steps and the other at the bottom to catch her. Of course she spotted the slide and was desperate to have a go so I reluctantly allowed her, telling her to be very careful. Are two year olds ever careful? No. So of course she wasn't paying attention going up the stairs and of course she ended up falling down half of them, backwards! I was horrified, I rushed out to see she was ok - which she was, after a few moments of tears and kisses better. But she wanted to embarrass me more and when I told her that she couldn't go up again cause it was to dangerous she had a melt down. This was worse that the fall. A kind man asked if she was ok and suggested that his son could take her up the stairs, so off she went and finally had her shot on the slide. As soon as she hit the bottom, I caught her, thanked the man and rushed off totally mortified. Swimming totally wears R out so when we got back we had lunch and then she went for a 3 hr nap whilst I sorted through some stuff to pack as we are moving in the next few weeks.

 

Wednesday

Today was another work day but only till 12pm so after work I decided to grab some ingredients and have a go at making a chocolate cake with the help (or hindrance) of R. After that it was time to cook tea before story bath and bed. I was totally shattered after R went to bed as Tom works late Monday - Wednesday so it's constant go go go.

 

Thursday

Another work day till 2.30 - it seemed to be hectic at work yet time passed so so slow. I hate days like that. I had taken some chocolate cake in for my colleagues which was very much appreciated, try it for yourself here. It's funny how I work with a team of Dietitians yet there is always some sort of cake/treat in the kitchen! After work I nipped to B&Q to get a starter switch for our light. Does anyone else feel totally out of their depth in there? I must always have a look of sheer confusion, or they have very good customer service and someone always asked if they can help! Thank goodness as otherwise I would have been there for 3 hours instead of 5 mins! I got the switch and headed home with the intention of fixing (or rather watching Tom fix) our stupid kitchen light that has been on the blink for weeks, I was totally over cooking in the dark! I proudly presented the vital part, however it turned out that wasn't the problem, the bulb had gone too! I was livid. What a fail.

 

Friday

Friday was our 20 week scan day which you can read about here.

 

Saturday

We were supposed to be heading to a 2nd birthday party but both Rosie and Tom were suffering from colds and were a bit under the weather so we decided not to go and instead had a cosy day in, where I sorted through bags and bags of Rosie's old clothes. I actually cannot believe how much stuff she had, most of which was given from kind friends who's babies had outgrown them. Sorting through the clothes actually took around 4 hours! It was a bit of a non eventful day really!

 

Sunday

Tom was working all day today so again me and Rosie just hung out, watched about a thousand episodes of "Jake and the Neverland Pirates" and "Doctor McStuffins", made puzzles, coloured in and just made a mess. I decided that I was going to have a go at Rosie from Cider with Rosie Bee's Chicken and leek pie recipe and what better to go with it than Charlotte's Roasties recipe. Oh my - it was delicious! Seriously the best meal I have cooked for a while. You need to try it now! Also a bonus is that it's really pretty simple. I have added it to my list of favourite meals. After stuffing my face to the point where I needed to lie on a cold floor, I helped Tom put Rosie to bed and then chilled out with some blogs.

Love Sophie XoX

 

 

Our 20 week scan

Pregnancy scans are like double edged swords; before them you feel excited that you will get to see your baby but at the same time the days leading up to them you find your head filled with all sorts of questions and worries.

We had our 20 week scan on Friday afternoon and to be honest I think I was a bit more relaxed that the first time round but still the week before I found myself getting butterflies whenever my thoughts wondered on to the subject. I was so excited about finding out the sex of the baby but more importantly I was worried about everything being ok.

At the 12 week scan I was terrified, I was actually shaking and nearly threw up. This was mostly due to the fact we were left waiting for around 40 mins and waiting rooms fill me with nerves even if its not me that's being seen. A bit like how seeing a policeman always make you think you have done something wrong...

I was dreading the wait at the 20 week scan and made sure we arrived exactly on time and no earlier. Friday morning was filled with cleaning and washing and doing anything I could to take my mind off it. When we arrived we checked into reception and were given a sheet of information and told to go and sit in the waiting room. I tried to read the information but the writing just blurred together. Amazingly we only had to wait about 3 minutes after our appointment time!

We were called into the ultra sound room and I jumped up on the couch where the nurse kindly yanked down my leggings and wrapped some tissue around. They always pull you trousers right down passed your knicker line and I found myself thinking," shit, why didn't I tidy up down there", yet again. But at the end of the day this was an appointment to see your baby not feel guilty about your unruly pubes!

The sonographer then got my details up on the computer before asking if we had any questions and placing the Doppler on my belly. Within seconds our wee baba was on the screen and I felt a sense of calm. The 20 week scan takes a little longer that the 12 as they carry out quite thorough checks . Our sonographer began by checking the baby's brain and announcing "good, it's defiantly got one", she then went on to check the baby's heart and its four chambers, before moving on to the spine. At this point I didn't have a clue what we should or shouldn't be seeing but I was so mesmerised with looking at the baby moving around that it did take my mind off things slightly.

She then checked the babies face which was a bit scary to be honest as all we could see was this skeletal face looking right at us! They also have a look to see all the vital organs are there and looking as they should before measuring the femur, waist circumference and a foot!

Seeing the wee foot was amazing, we never got to see that with Rosie! In fact I think we were given much more lengthy, in depth scans with this baby and found the sonographers spent a lot of time explaining what each part was etc.

The final check was of my placenta which really just looks like a big black mass. After everything was checked and ok'd she had a look between the babies legs and announced that although they cannot be 100% the three lines that she could see indicated that it was another girl!!

Once the scan was over she let us choose the picture we wanted - I must point out that we are charged at £1 per picture and that in some hospitals it can be £5, so please be aware of this. We were caught out the first time but luckily the sonographer sneaked us a couple of pictures! This time we totally forgot even though I had said to myself a million times to remember change! Again the sonographer let us away (it was a different one to the first) and she actually gave us four picture instead of just the two we choose.

She told us that everything seemed normal and the baby was developing as should. The only concern is that my placenta is growing where my c-section scar is and sometimes they can grow into the scar (blurgh) so I have to have another scan at 34 weeks. I can't wait to see how big the baby is then!

It was such a great experience and we left with massive grins on our faces and a huge sense of relief. It all seems a bit more real now especially since I am experiencing big kicks now, Tom actually felt it the other day! We them went home to tell Rosie that is is going to have a sister.

Here are some pictures of the scan, the sonographer even included the foot picture!!!!

Love Sophie XoX

 

Monday 11 February 2013

Groceries #2

Something rare happened this week - Tom unpacked the shopping!!!! Whilst this was a lovely rare occurrence unfortunately he manage to do it before I had realised that I hadn't had chance to take a picture. I am really not doing well at the picture thing this week! I promise to try better next week. If you would like to see more of my photos then feel free to follow me on Instagram. I normally post at least one picture a day there!

I was going to type out the list but with the above picture it's not really necessary as its pretty obvious what the items are. FYI " easy fit pants" are R's nappies!

Again it was a pretty cheap week, so along with Tom's discount and the coupons we had it was about £35!

Here is an idea of our meal plan this week:

Bacon & leek pasta

Home made Nandos

Chicken & leek pie with veg and roasties

Roasted red pepper pasta

It's just me for meals on Monday night and only me an Rosie on Tues, Wed so we normally have left overs on those nights or cheeky freezer meals such as fish fingers!

Love Sophie XoX

 

Sunday 10 February 2013

The best chocolate fudge cake you will ever make!

Quite a claim but this cake is so absurdly easy and so so so yummy. The only down side is that it is packed full of sugar, not so good but fine as an occasional treat. Unfortunately I am the words most messiest cake decorator so the above image is a from weheartit, but you get the idea.

 

Ingredients

For the cake:

250g Self Raising Flour

325g Golden Caster Sugar

1/4 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda

3 heaped tbsp Cocoa

250g Butter

250ml Coca Cola

125ml Milk

2 Medium Eggs

1tsp Vanilla Extract

 

For the frosting:

200g Butter

4 tbsp Coca Cola

3 heaped tbsp Cocoa

400g Icing sugar

 

Combine the flour, sugar, cocoa and bicarbonate of soda. Melt the butter together with the coca cola and then add to the dry ingredients along with the milk, eggs and vanilla. Gently combine before putting in a lightly greased cake tin. Bake at 180 degrees/ gas mark 4 for 40 mins or until a knife comes out clean. Cool on a tray.

 

For the frosting melt the coca cola with the butter and pour into the icing sugar. Add the cocoa and beat until smooth and thick, let it cool slightly and then spread over the cake.

 

I then put the cake in the fridge to let the icing set firm and fudgy!

 

Serve with cream or ice cream or by itself as its a super moist cake. Let me know if you try this recipe and how it turned out!

 

Love Sophie XoX

 

Thursday 7 February 2013

Pregnancy update - week 23

 

 


How far along? 23 weeks

 

Total weight gain/measurements: When I do get on a pair of scales I am going to get one big shock but up until now I still havent weighed myself. I feel really bloated though - especially around the face. I am now measuring at 38 1/4 inches round the bump.

Maternity clothes: I think I will get away for another month or so yet. I am living in leggings, jeggings and dresses though.

Stretch marks: None.

Sleep: Brilliant - well it would be if I got a whole nights continuous sleep without a Rosie interruption.

Best moment this week: Working on the photoshoot, really got my creative juices flowing!

Miss anything? Pate again!

Movement: Oh yes! Yesterday the bambino was kicking all day long and some really sore ones too!

Food cravings? Not really but I have been stuffing my face with crap really. All I seem to want is stuff thats bad for you now! And I am hungry all the time!

Anything making you queasy or sick? Not any new ones.

Gender: Still a girl as far as I know!

Labour signs: Far to early!

Symptoms: I have had a bit of a bad head yesterday and today and feel exhausted. Mind you that could be symptoms of wasting too much of my life on Candy Crush! Bump is very solid now and I do get out of breath really easily.

Belly button in or out? In

Wedding rings on or off? Would be on!

Happy or moody most of the time: Happy.

Looking forward to: 24 Week Midwife check! Completeing Candy Crush.

 

 

Love Sophie XoX

 

 

 

 

 

Wednesday 6 February 2013

What I ate Wednesday #3

Whilst standing doing the dishes this evening I had that horrible "forgotten to do something but can't think what" feeling. I went through my mental to do list and nothing seemed to jump out, then it hit me! Shit! I had forgotten to take pictures for this very post. Never mind eh, worst things happen so I will just crack on pictureless.

 

Breakfast

Just the usual porridge and banana for me this morning accompanied by a cup of coffee (decaf). I switched to decaf last week so I could indulge in more than one cup of coffee if I wish as I have gone right off tea, which is strange as I have been a tea Jenny since I was about 9 months old and used to get it in my bottle! Now we normally have decaf tea in the house and the only difference I can make out is I would rather have tetly or my much beloved Scottish blend, however Tom insists on PG Tips. What is wrong with him?! Anyway, I thought it would be the same with coffee but I just don't seem to be enjoying my daily cup of java as much as I used too. It has a taste of falseness around it, much like sweetners. So I may have to switch back. There is some utterly useless info for you all.

 

Lunch

1/2 tomato, mozzarella and pesto panini, of lack lustre side salad, small bowl of homemade lentil soup.

Today was swim day and my plan never included having lunch there as it is such a bloody rip off but we were later coming out and I wanted to get Rosie down for a nap so I just grabbed something there. When I got back home Tom had made soup so I had a small bowl since I shared my lunch with a toddler.

 

Snack

Packet of crisps - a nice healthy choice

 

Dinner

Sausage and mash - a hug on a plate! I love this dish so much and it is just so simple to throw together. If we are feeling fancy we have it as toad in the hole but today it was simple style. It is also a meal that I know Rosie will eat without fuss.

 

And that's it for this week. I promise I will have some lovely images to accompany next weeks post but for now I will leave you with this picture of my charming daughter who had a full blown tantrum because she dropped some ready brek.

Love Sophie XoX


 

Peppa Pig World

Last September we took at trip down south for a family wedding and to visit Tom's side of the family who live in Dorset and Surrey. We also took this opportunity to treat Rosie to a wee day out at Peppa Pig world as she has recently discovered that wee pig and had taken quite a liking. A relationship that has further developed and has now encompassed the whole family's life.

 

As it was a while back I really can't remember what day we went on but I think it was Tuesday or Thursday, it wasn't the weekend that is for sure. We arrived there about 10.30am and although there were quite a few cars there already finding a space was no problem. I imagine in peak seasons it can get very busy by the size of the car parks.

We had booked our tickets online for a slightly reduced rate (around £22, pretty pricey but children under 1m get in free, so ironically it was only me and Tom that had to cough up) so we just had to show our e tickets at the kiosk and there was no queue. Once in the park we then went in search of Peppa and her friends.

 

Peppa Pig World is situated within Paulton's Park, a family theme park, and although we really didn't get chance to have a look round it seemed there was a great variety of rides to suit all ages and a day or two could easily be spent there.

 

We finally heard the Peppa theme tune in the distance and then Peppa came in to view on a pedestal that went high in the sky. I was very impressed with my first sightings, everything looked so clean! Rosie was absolutely amazed, the look on her face was priceless and she just kept saying "look, Peppa pig!"

 

I won't go over each ride individually but there was about 10 Peppa themed rides such as "Daddy pig's Car" and "Grandpa Pigs boat". Bearing in mind that Rosie was under 2 at the time, there was only one ride she wasn't allowed on and she was only just a teeny bit small.

As well as all the rides they also have a massive indoor soft play barn which you could easily spend a good 2 hours in itself. They also have lots of picture opportunity spots such as The School House. Giant Peppa and George come out to see the children about three times a day. Rosie was initially amazed when she saw Peppa but did not like it when Peppa tried to give her a hug!

 

One thing that could definitely be improved is the food options, there is a very small kiosk style cafe but it just sold hot drinks and sandwiches at an extortionate rate. There are some other cafe's around the park but again they are so expensive. I would recommend that you take a wee picnic along, as there is a lot of seating. There was also an area where you could park up your buggy but it was at your own risk.

 

As I said we arrived there around 10.30 and left at 15.30 mainly due to the fact that it started raining really bad, we could have easily spent another couple of hours in there. So even though it is pricey you do get your money's worth and I found it a great place to entertain a toddler for a whole day, something that is very hard to find! There is also the rest of the park for older children to enjoy, with a bit more daring rides.

 

And Rosie's favourite bit - dancing next to a speaker that played the theme tune and chasing her shadow of course!!!! Typical Tod!

 

Would I go back? Yes, definitely. It was well worth it. I would like to go back maybe on a warmer day as a few attractions were obviously seasonal. They even have a small water feature area with sprinklers and such where you can let them run around in swimming gear for hotter days.

 

If you have any questions about Peppa Pig World then please just leave a comment as I have probably missed a lot of information out as it was a while back we visited.

Sophie XoX

 

Monday 4 February 2013

Groceries #1

So I thought I would start taking pictures of my weekly shop and sharing my meal plans. Sort of similar to the YouTube haul videos as I really enjoy them and love to see what everyone buys. I am one of those people that stare at other people's shopping at the check out! I might do also do a weekly meal plan or may just stick to What I ate Wednesdays.

Fairy washing liquid (bargain at £4 from Asda!)

Alpro Hazelnut Milk

Baby leaf salad

Warburton's pitta

Hovis Best of Both loaf

Seabrooke multi pack crisps

Ribena

Pears

Carrots

Choc chip cookies

Bertolli spread

Quickies nail polish remover

Tomatoes

Houmous

Raspberry jam

Pink lady apples

Greek style yoghurt with honey

Light mayo

Smoked bacon

Chicken burgers

Cumberland sausages

Chicken mini fillets

Dry cured ham


Total cost : approx £28, all from Asda.


Sophie XoX


 





 

Friday 1 February 2013

The 25 facts post

So this is a post that has been going round the blogs at the moment and at first I thought I didn't have 25 facts about myself, I am pretty sure I do. Here goes:

 

  • I was born nearly four weeks premature.
  • I have one sibling, an older sister who lives in London and works as a women's ware fashion designer.
  • I am very proud of my sister.
  • My mum, my sister and me all studied at uni in Newcastle, at different times, not planned, it just sort of happened.
  • When I am drunk I like to do silly things, most probably for attention.
  • When sober I could think of nothing worse.
  • I graduated with a 2:1 in a Media & Politics degree
  • I won the school award for my dissertation at uni. It was about the influence of magazines of femininity.
  • From the age of 13 I wanted to work in P.R
  • At the age of 24 I began working in P.R and hated it.
  • Other people's children scare me a little, and to be honest so does my own sometimes!
  • I worked at the 2003 MTV Europe awards and met a lot of famous people such as Beyonce, Kylie and Mark Owen!
  • I was part of the Scottish Junior Showjumping team.
  • I would love to go to Italy and just travel around, it looks so beautiful and romantic.
  • I was bullied at high school and it made me lose a lot of confidence.
  • I always want to be a stone lighter.
  • I used to be quite a picky eater and hated courgettes and aubergines with passion, I now love them and would add them to anything.
  • I am not that much of a soup person, I am getting better but still not that keen.
  • I once died my hair bright red. I looked like an idiot.
  • I am the owner of my own business.
  • I am both a tidy and messy person. I would love my house to look spick and span 24/7 but in reality I can't be arsed.
  • Make Up is not only my addiction it is my livelihood!
  • I love my job.
  • I really don't know my left from right and also my times tables.
  • My daughter is my world!

 

Sophie XoX

 

Cracking & Crap #1

 Image from weheartit.com and doesn't really have any 
relevance but its pretty! 

So I thought I would start doing my version of weekly summaries or in's and out's, I welcome Cracking & Crap!

Cracking

♡ Tom has been working really crap shifts over Christmas and new year but this has calmed down of late and he is now at home a lot more.

♡ My freelance work is starting to pick up as we come closer to wedding season. I love being a make up artist but as my work is mostly bridal it means quiet winters, which means less money! From February onwards I am quite busy again with weddings and trials.

♡ A really cracking thing is feeling k2 (aka the bump) move about. It is so weird yet so warming!

♡ I have found so many new blogs over the last 2 weeks and my reading list is pretty full up! At some point my plan is to add a wee blog roll tab so I can share my finds.

♡ Now this wasn't that great but my ipad was having some teething problems, namely it was shit and the touch screen intermittently became non responsive. Simple tasks were talking hours, I couldn't even read blogs without hassle. I eventually managed to take it to get fixed and they replaced the whole thing! Brilliant!

Crap

  • I am totally skint :(, obviously cause its January, work is quiet, and I have too many debts from my reckless youth!
  • Basically, cut short, the story of our lives at the moment is that we live in Scotland but we want to live in South Wales for numerous reasons. We can only do this if Tom finds a full time job, which is proving to be bloody hard. We cant really set down any roots here in case we do move soon, and I can't take many advanced bookings or concentrate on expanding the business. It also isn't great for Rosie, I would love to get her enrolled in a ballet class but I am hesitant to if I have to move half way through.
  • I have had enough of this rubbish weather. I seriously think we live in some crap micro climate. We had no summer what so ever, winter has been a wash out, people 3 miles down the road had inches of snow and all we had was slushy snow which was really just rain in disguise. Another reason why we want to move to South Wales, although still Britain it is definitely better weather!
  • Having a best friend that lives hundreds of miles away, sometimes we just need a hug from each other or to help each other through bad times but distance makes this a problem. If the moving thing goes to plan then this will go from crap to cracking :)

Obviously, as you can see the things that are crap in my life are problematic but people deal with a lot more. I don't really like moaning too much and try to act and think positively most of the time but sometimes you just got to let it out!


Sophie XoX

 

Do you want the truth or something beautiful

The truth is - I am just not happy and I feel a bit robbed to be honest. I always imagined pregnancy to be full of happy, exciting memories and with Rosie I got a pretty good deal. This time round is completely different. Don't get me wrong, I love being pregnant. I love feeling the kicks and the rolls, watching the bump grow bigger everyday and knowing I am making a new wee life in there but the situations and circumstances surrounding this pregnancy are making it difficult to really enjoy and savour as there is so much uncertainty. I feel like I need to get these off my chest and I will use this as a vessel to do so as it is pretty private. A big thank you to those who have decided to follow my wee blog though - it means so much that you have deemed it interesting and worth of a follow!

Lets start with the mummy and daddy. When I was pregnant with Rosie, me and Tom had only been together 6 months. Everything was so fresh and new. Although we had known each other for years and actually briefly dated in our late teens, we were now learning about our adult selves. Yes we argued and not everything was "Rosie" so to speak but it was such an exciting time. I had just moved from Newcastle, Tom was in his 2nd year at uni and I had a full time job. We had no real financial issues and could do what we liked. We were looking for our first home together and getting prepared for our bundle.

Then Rosie arrived and I think the dynamics changed quite a bit. When you have a child you have more things to disagree on, difference of opinion on how to do things and bring them up. Not to mention the lack of sleep!! But we got through it with a few explosive argument over, well nothing really but try telling that to two sleep deprived new parents!

Over the last year our relationship has been on a downward curve, at first I thought it was the stress of Tom finishing uni. But then graduation came and went and things were still going wrong. And they still are. Although I do believe we have now hit rock bottom.

So what's caused us from going from a happy relationship full of laughter to barely acknowledging each other - a good few things. The stress of having a toddler that has hit the terrible twos with full force and has embraced it with open arms. She has gone from a sweet, easily managed, content child to a kicking, hitting, screaming, shouting, disobedient, tantrum throwing little madam, and we are really struggling. I honestly feel inadequate as a mother, I don't have a clue how to deal with her anymore! I have read the books and tried the tricks but nothing works. Tom gets very frustrated too and again we have different parenting techniques which clash and cause arguments and general bad feeling. Challenging times.

Money is also another evil contributing factor. We are totally skint! Tom has been looking and applying for jobs since last summer and has not had one interview, that's depressing. But also as we may have to move hundreds of miles I have not taken on many weddings this year. We get by, we have a roof over our heads and food on the table but we can't afford anything else. We have no money to go out, with Rosie or as a couple, we can't afford petrol to visit friends, the last time we purchased clothes for ourself has become a very distant memory. We have debts up to our eyeballs and are trying to make ends meet on two part time wages. Our joint income for last year was around £13,000. Now I know money isn't the be all and end all but when you are stuck in the house, swamped by each others company, stressed with how you will pay the tv licence you argue. A lot.

To top it all off we want to move, we really want to move but can't because of the above. As I did a lot of my social growing up down south, I lost a lot of contact with people up here. And my best friend moved to Wales so really I have very very little friends that I can call upon to drop round for a coffee or go for a walk with, or simple just talk too. I am by myself a lot. I have held back going out there and meeting new people because at the back of my head is what if we move in a month? Is there any point? So I stumble on in a very lonely world. We are both not happy with our location and want a lot more. Mainly better weather and better local amenities, plus somewhere with a bit of scope. A new beginning. So because we both want this and it's not happening we get frustrated with each other and guess what, we argue. A lot.

 

Of course there is all the other relationship problems. I wish Tom was a bit more supportive, I wish he was a bit more affectionate, I wish he wasn't so hot headed and we could enjoy a family trip out without an argument. But I also love him, I love when he smiles and laughs, I love when we can be care free and silly, I love how much he loves his daughter. But when there is such a big black cloud hanging over you, all this gets lost in the fog and you are left wondering if you will actually make it through.

 

All this is stressful enough, and at the back of my head I know three will become four in a matter of months and all these things will be exasperated further and I am scared. Really scared. I feel that all these issues need to be resolved and there is a ticking time bomb, in the shape of my ever growing belly, waiting to go off. To make it worse we have to move in about 6 weeks and that is a stress in itself.

It has got to the point where I feel so stressed that its affecting me on the in and out. I believe my skin is so bad because of the stress and that is lowering my confidence as I feel like one big acne outbreak! I am getting pounding headaches, I can't sleep, I cry at the drop of a hat, I feel irritable, I feel guilt that Rosie isn't getting the best from me, I get knots in my chest, and I just have a lot of pressure on my shoulders.

So what would make me happy? Just some simple things like a bit of security, a new home in a new town in a new country, not having to sell things on eBay to pay bills, a happier relationship, better skin, two happy healthy children, and maybe some better weather? Hopefully it will be around the corner but for now I just have to pick myself up and get on with it.......

 

Sophie XoX