The Best Moments of My Life

This week the poorly Patrick pair have been out and not so about! Davey Babes and I have been hit with colds so bad, I'm pretty sure they were/are the flu (the only reason I'm reluctant to say so is because then I'd have to accept that I maybe should have taken my mum's advice to get the dreaded flu jab). Last Saturday to Tuesday Dave was ill, then Weds we were fine, then Thurs till now has been my time to wallow in pain and poorliness. So it's safe to say I've not left the house in like a week and have been feeling very sorry for ourselves (myself in particular obvs!). Thankfully Sally has been as right as rain, and given our well planned split of illness, and Dave taking time off work, one of us has always been able to look after her. I've been a tad Sally-less the past few days with Dave ordering me away to the bedroom so I don't get up to things (I'm tricksy like that- no idea who I get that from... mother... ahem...). But today I was feeling able to join them and was back on napping duty. Now this is a daily duty that I both relish and despise for the following reasons...

Despise:

• It takes sometimes up to an hour and a half to get her settled ready for a nap (trust me, this isn't her telling us she doesn't need a nap, as she always sleeps so much worse at night if we skip one) as she wants to carry on having fun and is just pretty stubborn... but mothers know best ;)
• She has never wanted or liked napping in her bed... like ever! I even did the controlled crying a few times but her nap would last literally minutes! I think she just associates her room with bedtime so doesn't understand why we put her to sleep in there. You can't even move her up there once she is asleep as she's like psychic or something and wakes up the split second before her head hits her mattress. The pram used to solve this issue but now that there's not one really big enough to recline her all the way and rock back and forth, in my arms I get her to sleep. The thing I find difficult is having to slide her off me onto the sofa and having to get on with the jobs and stuff I need to do... it can be really difficult sometimes, and I can't lie, sometimes I do just indulge in my giant hot water bottle for a good hour or two :) or maybe cheekily nap myself (how dare you stay-at-home mum! What about all that work that needs to be done... people will say you're lazy.. pfft.. stuff yous..).

Relish:

• In the same light, I get some good time to do what I want to do... even if that is the dishes, or even shower!! (Yep sometimes it just doesn't get done till the afternoon- anyone else have those days?)
• She's so cute when she wakes up :) her hair especially. And usually my family will race to get the post sleepy Sally snuggles as they are just out of this world :) but mummy wins pretty much all the time (woop woop)
• I get to see her little face as it falls asleep, and get to snuggle up to her and think how wonderful she has made our lives. Like these moments are not going to be around forever.

One of these moments happened today. She's finally got into a position she liked and pulled my head to lean against hers. I then put my hand on her face and started stroking it with my thumb, to which she responded by wrapping her arms round my arm and stroked my arm with her thumbs in the same way. She did this till she fell asleep. And although it may just sound like a lot of arms and thumbs, it was the most perfect moment of happiness. She may be 2 years old now, but she can still be my snuggle baby for as long as she wants.


(This is Sals in the snow whilst I was cooped in bed! Her happiness in this photo is UNREAL!)

Return of the blogger!!

It's like Bonss Blog part 3.... my previous laptop sadly died.... and my hubby loves me lots so now I have a new one, after a little wait :D And it's oh so beautiful by the way! So blogging and book writing, and indexing were all put on hold for the past few months. To be honest I felt rather lost :( so I'm MORE than happy to be back typing this away right now!

Now I feel a lot of pressure to write you some good ol' content....
Life's pretty good right now- apart from my feet feeling way to chilly for my liking. The Patrick household is super excited for Christmas! So much so we put up our tree one week earlier than usual... November 24th to be exact... we're so daring. Got all my Christmas shopping finished a month or more ago too, so we're having a very chilled start of December. Which is probably a good thing given that Sally and I took a slip down the top half of our stairs together and she broke her leg :( so there's not much venturing out with hop-a-long, though I think we'll journey out to the library tomorrow :D she loves a good book. She's being super brave, and I'm sure I'll dedicate a whole post bragging about her braveness very soon...
We're loving our home a lot! It's easy to forget all the stress and waiting we had to do before getting it, but it's so beautiful and we're very excited to get decorating in the new year- dining room first then our bedroom.
And finally Dave's brother Josh and his girlfriend Becky had their baby at the end of November :) a gorgeous little boy called Joshua Junior (JJ for short :) I'm soooooo excited to get snuggles when we go to see the whole fam after Christmas. So I'm now an auntie and Sally has her first cousin! And Dave's an uncle too :) This growing up stuff all happens rather quickly doesn't it?

BBxx

TKMaxx Haul :)

Currently sat in our little garden, in the glorious sunshine trying to tan the pins whilst Sally's digging for ants... She's always sooooo happy to be outside! So I thought I'd write a post whilst she gets mucky :) 

TKMaxx has recently become a new addition to our family... I had always despised the one in my home town (was just too higgledy piggledy) and it had pretty much put me off them... That was until we moved to our new home and decided to go there to look at their home stuff... Now I'm slightly obsessed with the place.... The bargain hunter within me literally is in paradise whenever we're there. So last Saturday we ventured over and this is what we came back with... Eeek.... 

I feel pretty... Oh so pretty :)

Who could refuse? (my husband couldn't ;) 

We have a wicker/basketry drawer thingy majig that has two compartments... This is to go in our new ikea bookcases to hold some stationary bits in :) 

The pretty blue box thing is also destined for our bookcases... Though what it is going to hold I do not yet know... From memory the wicker one was something like £9.99 and the blue one £7.99...

The beautiful Kirsty Allsop (apologies for any spelling errors) door stop :) it's perfect and for just £5.99 a darn good cheaper than a load of other places we saw them. Plus it doubles as a weight lifting exercise for 19month olds.

A decorative 'E'... Couldn't not pick it up really! As with most things in TKMaxx, if you don't get it there and then then you probably won't be getting it ever :) and it literally turns my bookcase from a storage solution to an interior design decision :D (I will probably do a post on just our bookcases once they are completed don't you worry pet!) think it was £6.99?

A glass soap holder... Which Dave is going to use to keep all his cufflinks on :) smart huh? Believe it was £4.99

A cream pink/rose gold eyeshadow by some random company, which was reduced to £2 instead of £14.99 and it's BEAUT!

Then last but by NO means least... I've even spaced out this paragraph for dramatic effect!... A pair of Michael Korrs pointed silver/steel grey pointed pumps! Ah me gosh! These babies are literally the love of my life at the mo (if only I could have them forever like Sals and Dave). When I saw them I just had to try them on, then there was no turning back as they are THE MOST comfortable heels EVER! Granted they're not my highest but boy oh boy, they had me at hello (anyone else know the Beyoncé song?). Now at £39.99 instead of £95 they were a bargain... But that's still a lot for a pair of shoes, especially as I'm no longer a shoe spendy teen... Luckily I had high hopes they would go with my outfit for my bros wedding, and I said I'd bring them back if they didn't go with the dress. Who knows if I'd actually have been able to do that, thankfully I didn't as they are so darn perfect a match for my outfit... Have promised myself I won't wear them out till then... Can't say you won't catch me in them doing the housework (oh so glamourous when donned with pjs ;) can pretty much say I'm an owner of designer shoes too surely?? :D 

I just need a new excuse to go back there... Could exercise count? I'll try not to buy anything ;)

Renewed Nails!

So in case you hadn't realised by now, I'm a little bit obsessed with painting my nails. It's the one thing I will always do... More important than a face of make-up! 

Last night I decided to take drastic action and start to file my nails into a different shape! Daring I know! My nails have always naturally been very square/squoval, but I rather like the look of rounded nails, especially with longer fingernails which I have (they grow like no-one's business). Here's the result of my first tweak,

You may think it boring but I find it rather an exciting change :) and this is just the first step! The varnish was a freebie with an Instyle magazine, called something like São Paulo Streets... I rather like it.. Nudey dudey!

BBxx

Midday Nails :)

Sally's nap has allowed me to change my nails :) it's ridiculous how much joy I get out of painting my nails! And I just had to share this gorgeous colour with you! Got it from TKMaxx a couple of months ago and only just cracked it open today! It's stunning! 

Makes me think of mermaids :) it's called blue rhapsody. On another note, this top coat from Revlon is AMAZING! It's much thinner than my previous love Seche Vite, but for me it dries quicker, leaves a nice shine, and because it's thinner my varnish takes longer to chip (before I'd changed them my nail varnish had lasted just over 4 days! That's amazing for me!) Also my Seche Vite has got so thick and gloopy (with just under half left in the bottle) and I can't really see this one following suit!

 :) 

BBxx

Want you back... want you back... want you back for good

Oooooo Take That how I long for your next album and tour.....

It has been over a month since my last blog post... so as a way of doing a sort of catch up I thought I would share with you some of my favourite things from May... warning... this is likely to be a very wordy post... with no pictures.... deal with it punk :P

1. Number one has to most definitely be our new first proper mortgage home :D it was LONG awaited for but now we're here it is literally home :D I still don't think we've quite realised how grown up it is to have a mortgage, or that the house is 'ours'... but don't worry, once I crack open a tin of paint I'm sure that will change :D
2. Our first family holiday :) Although this was officially at the end of April, it did cross over into May by a couple of days :) it was so nice just getting away from the stress of packing and just enjoy being a little family :) in a BEAUTIFUL caravan in Cumbria, just down the road from Dave's family :) so we got to spend lots of time with them :D Sally wooed them as she does everyone :) may do a post of pictures of it later :)
3. Chesterfield's new chapel! It opened the day we left for holiday, so we had to hold out to see it till we got back... and golly gosh is it beautiful! Not only is it in the best location for a chapel I have EVER seen (and I've seen a lot of chapels) but it's just plain stunning! Plus it has under floor hearting, and a whiteboard that rises from the side of the pulpit... you know like the televisions that rise from posh beds :D way too cool :D
4. Being on the YW's presidency... it's only been a few months but I love those girls so darn much (the presidency and the yw themselves :D). I just forgot how wonderful of an environment it is, and just how much fun I can be :) being a mummy can sometimes make you forget that :)
5. Having a garden :) it may be mostly concrete slabs at the minute (quite nice ones though, perfect for Sally's chalks :) but it's just amazing how just sitting out in the sunshine for even just 5 mins can make your day so much better. Plus Sals is in love with all things creepy crawly. Let's just say she had a Lenny from 'Of Mice and Men' moment with a woodlouse... one minute she was kissing it (I had to try so hard not to react totally disgusted as I don't want her to get wimpy), the next she had just his head in her hands... don't worry she didn't eat it... well at least I hope she didn't. Her latest best buddies are the spiders that live in our bathroom :) shhh... don't tell my mum....
6. Having a big bathroom... and space in general :D the first time Sally came in the house once we were moving she just ran from wall to wall in the living room screaming :D she likes it :D a lot :D
7. Preparing for my brother's wedding!!! Woop de woop! So excited :) even got my outfit sorted :) so happy for him and Eve (she's gorgeous, and the perfect match for my one of a kind bro ;). I can't lie though, I'm most excited for Sally being the flower girl :D and the food of course.... nom nom nom...
8. Big Bang Theory- Davey Babes and I have been big watchers of this for ages... and since getting him the series 1-5 for father's day last year our love for it has grown even more! We've been mashing in the episodes this month and I cannot get enough :) you thought I'd have enough geekiness with engineers for a hubby and brother... and all the other geeky stuff they do.
9. My Sally :D she is always a favourite, now and forever! She's been a bit lazy on the speaking front but this past month she's grown a ton physically but also decided to actually bother repeating things I say and just surprise me by saying words all of a sudden of her own accord, like 'shoes' and banana... or as she loves to say it (like a minion) 'ba-ba-ba'- she says it in hushed dramatic tones too. She also does THE cutest dancing and excited noises and fist pumping when she likes something... for example when the choccy treats come out :) naughty mummy.... though she does get super excited about tomatoes and cheese too.... gotta love her!
10. A blogging break! It has allowed me to kinda re-evaluate my life a bit and try and get my head around what I want to be doing with my time, and I don't want blogging to takeover anymore :) I'm writing my first novel (onto chapter 8) and I really want that to be my thing :) it's just something I've always been secretly wanting to do since I was a kid reading Roald Dahl books... I want to be a writer of more than just a blog, so that's what I'm gonna do. My plan is to finish my first draft by the end of the year... and I'm telling all you guys so that you hold me to that goal :) don't let me falter okay? Because I will blame you... for sho!

There's been so much more stuff I've been loving but I think that about sums it up! Now I'm off to do my first day of the 30 day ab challenge... bye bye poochy tummy :) the rest of you curves can stay ;) ;)
Toodles!!!!
BBxxx

Baby Be Gone

Okay... so I (and Dave of course) experienced something new these past few days... here's how the events unfolded...
*quick disclaimer, if you think this is going to be some super exciting experience then you are going to be nothing but disappointed! This is my life :) and the smallest things are exciting (though this wasn't that small to me)
We went over to Nanny and Pop's this Easter weekend, and had a wonderful time hanging out with family and some super close family friends (they're basically adopted). Safe to say Sally made two new best friends, and I was very tempted to decide to adopt a 5 year girl and 3 year old boy for Sally's siblings :)
Here's a pic of our Sals hanging out with her best gal pal Bella under the table ;)

So yep, basically ate a load of chocolate and a SUPERB roast on Sunday (like the best ever!!!)
Then Sunday evening, after we put Sally to bed Dave and I left for Chesterfield... without her!!! What was I thinking???? Basically we wanted to use the whole Bank Holiday Monday to carry on really getting the house sorted ready to move (yes we are moving... but that's gonna be a whole other post!).
When we got in it suddenly dawned on me just how long I was gonna be parted from my bubba... Two nights and nearly two whole days! The longest we'd been parted before this was one night for Dave's work do in December. I literally just kept repeating out loud "I've got no Sally". Literally for that first night and pretty much the entire Monday I kept realising little things about how much Sally has changed my life... and other stuff like that...

• I had to facetime her for the first time EVER! I finally got to experience what it's like for my mum and dad just seeing her on a screen, but I have to say it reassured me even more that she is THE most gorgeous girl ever, and she just does the cutest things- including eating her dinner like a boss.
• Lie ins are nice, but you want them so much more when you've been woken by a baby than by your bladder- you get me?
• It's strange eating breakfast in front of the tv at 10am in the morning... I literally felt like I had lost a whole day in time....
• Meal times just seem too simple to fathom....
• No matter how many times your hubby tells you that Sally's not here, the baby's coos and giggles next door immediately make you think it's here.
• You can vacuum the whole house in 30mins- including going up 2 flights of stairs!
• All chores and various 'to dos' are done in a matter of minutes.
• You don't have to worry about being seen with chocolate.
• You don't get sleepy snuggles, or any other snuggles at that :(
• There's no going up to bed silent ninja style... stomp and creak the floorboards all you want.
• The house, and your heart somewhat, feels empty :(

Okay that was a few more things than I was expecting, but I think you get the picture! I just missed her sooooo darn much!!!! So when she came home this afternoon/evening (of as Sheldon cleverly describes 'pre-evening') I was dancing in excitement in the kitchen waiting for her :) and when she saw me I got the biggest and longest cuddles ever! Like a good 10 minutes! Which luckily for her meant I was all too ready to forgive her for her nappy over-filling and her basically weeing on my hip mid cuddles.... ahhhh feel the warm love ;) It's just so nice to have her home, but also a HUGE blessing to know that she's been so happy with her Nanny and Pops (and Auntie Rella ;).  In fact until this afternoon I wondered whether she even missed me one little bit :) now I can go to bed smiling... I'll let you know if I'm still smiling 6.30am tomorrow morning!
Here's a Sally selfie for you :D

Look at that hair!!! My little messy mooch!!!!
BBxx