LIFE: Highlights of Last Week

Early Evening in the Cemetery

Last week felt like quite a productive week. This is my rundown of the main highlights of my week...

• Finding the gate that leads from our married quarters to the local cemetery. Some people may find this morbid, but I love having a stroll around a cemetery. They are just so peaceful, you get to see lots of wildlife and it's the perfect time to have a little think.

• Finally ordering our Nursery Furniture.. with 20% off the price too! This is our first big purchase. We then proceeded to have a moment of panic when we realised how much baby things we actually need to buy, eeeeek! We are getting the delivery for this later on in the week, so I will give you my verdict then.

• Getting the delivery of our Shnuggle moses basket. (Ordered at the same time as the other furniture, but delivered really quickly!) 

The Red Vintage Mini was my Favourite

• Seeing a line of vintage Mini's lined up in a car park. We saw lots of Mini's last weekend, so there must have been some kind of "meet-up". My favourite was the red one!

• Going out in the evening with friends for a curry. We try and book a meal out in Newquay every month with some of Chris' colleagues and their wives, but we somehow missed last month by accident. It was great to catch up with them and have a laugh whilst eating some lovely food. (I paid for it with heartburn later though.)

Alfie Perusing his Treats

• Finding the best deal for Alfie the cat... Alfie loves treats. He begs for them throughout the day and is very partial to the multipack cat sticks you can pick up in the supermarkets. Not only did we find his favourite flavour (lamb), but they were reduced to 25p!!! We picked up 11 packs, so he should be good until the end of July.

• A trip to Truro to finally purchase a few maternity tops and a comfortable bra. Although I can still fit into a lot of my clothes, it was nice to now have something that isn't struggling to stretch over my bump. I got fitted for my new non wired bra in record time by a lovely lady in Marks & Spencer. It is pretty ugly yet actually feels so amazing. I'm in love!

• Having cucumber and salad cream sandwiches for lunch. Is this a late craving? Who knows! Either way they are delicious and are my new addiction. *Drools*

 What were the highlights of your last week? Did you do anything exciting? Let me know in the comments below.

HOME: The Body Shop Fragrance Oil Burner Review

The Body Shop Home Fragrance Oil Burner

Earlier this year, we had my sister-in-law come to visit us down in Cornwall. A few weeks later, whilst more relatives were visiting, we were handed a "thank you for letting me stay with you" present from her. I opened it up (Chris was busy talking and drinking tea) and found the most lovely oil burner and fragrance oils. She clearly knows me well as I strive to have a pleasant smelling home and I may have a tendency to stock up on candles. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that I may have the beginnings of an addiction.

Well, Chris will be happy as I think this oil burner may end up being a lot more economical. The oil burner and oils were purchased from The Body Shop. The burner itself is made from soapstone and the neutral colour really compliments our Living Room.

It is also really simple to use. A tealight is placed into the centre of the burner. The lid that rests on top is half-filled with water and then you just add a few drops of your chosen fragrance oil to the water. All that is then needed is to light the tealight, which will in turn heat up the water and release the fragrance. Easy Peasy! It does state to use the burner for only 20 minutes and to not let the water in the lid dry out. I must admit I have lost track of time and had it on for half an hour and there was no damage to the burner.

We received two oils as part of the present. The Jasmine & White Frangipani oil has quite a sweet and light smelling fragrance and is more of a feminine smell. I use this in our Living Room but I think it would suit a bedroom really nicely too. The Aloe & Soft Linen oil has a subtle clean and fresh smelling fragrance which again suits a Living Area or even a Bathroom. I recently purchased the Green Tea & Lemon fragrance oil and it's just as lovely as the other two. This has more of a fresh citrus smelling fragrance, which smells gorgeous in our Living Room, but actually would work great in the kitchen.

I've heard that some fragrance oils can smell quite synthetic, but I haven't found this with the oils from The Body Shop. They can also throw their scent throughout the downstairs of our house really well. If I'm honest, they are probably more successful at doing this than many candles that I have purchased.

So, before you go out and spend your hard earned money on a really expensive candle, why not give an oil burner a try. You won't regret it!

Have you tried an oil burner? Can you suggest any fragrances I may like? Feel free to let me know in the comments below.

BABY: Feeling Our Baby Kick Together

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It has been brilliant getting to feel our little monster moving around inside me. Those first flutters were what brought forward the reality that there really is a little baby inside there getting himself big and strong before entering our world.

The only down side was that the movements were not quite strong enough for Chris to feel. A couple of weeks ago, whilst Chris was away on a work course, the movements felt like they were getting a lot stronger. Trying to test if I could feel these with my hand proved a lot more tricky than I thought it would be, especially when I could feel them from the inside. I decided that I would just have to wait for Chris to return home and test it out for real.

Last week was the turning point for us. Chris got back and after a long day, we were sat catching up on a bit of TV. After feeling the little monster kick for a few minutes I told Chris to come over and see if he could feel it too. So, there we were, me sat on the sofa with my top pulled up, Chris kneeling on the floor next to me with his big bear hands on my tummy. We were probably frozen like statues for maybe only 30 seconds when I shouted, "THERE, HE KICKED". Chris wasn't certain if he felt it, so he told me to not tell him when he next kicked.

Perhaps another 30 seconds later, Chris exclaimed, "THERE.. Did he kick then?!"
I nodded.
His face had a look of disbelief.
"Really?"
I reassured him that yes he definitely had just felt him kicking.

We probably spent another couple of minutes feeling the little kicks and we were both so excited that we could finally share these moments together. It is so nice that Chris can now feel more connected to our baby. It now feels so much more real for us. Real enough that we should probably get off our backsides and start buying this baby some things!

Did you experience a similar heart warming moment? Tell me about it in the comments below.

LIFE: Turning 30

Obligatory Birthday Car Selfie

For some people, turning 30 is the scariest most horrible thing that could happen to them. "Oh my word, I can't believe I'll be 30 this year, aaaaah!!" The amount of times I've seen this status coming up on my social media has really surprised me. Why does turning 30 mean their world has ended?

I personally don't find the age 30 to be life changing in any way. I celebrated my 30th on the 1st April. (Yes, I am an April Fool!) Did I wake up feeling any different to when I was 29? ...No! My outlook is that age really is just a number. I spend most of my time feeling either 19 or 85, depending on whether I am goofing around or in granny mode. So, anyone panicking at turning the big 3 0, please don't worry, just treat it like any other birthday!

Yes I Still Insist On Having My Photo Taken With My Birthday Cake

That is exactly what I did! I am quite silly when it comes to birthdays. I haven't grown out of the childhood glee of opening a present and blowing out the candles on a birthday cake. I know this could change next year when we have a baby of our own, but deep down, I really don't think it will! I don't expect much really, just some nice food, spend some time with the husband and if I get a present (inexpensive is fine) then I'm a happy lady!

Me Being Daft With My Birthday Cake

Well, I really was truly spoilt this year. Not only did Chris get me two bunches of flowers, but he also got me the Kate Spade watch I had been lusting over. Nearly a month later, I still can't get over how shiny and beautiful it is. He also surprised me by taking me out to lunch to Nathan Outlaw's restaurant at St Enodoc Hotel in Rock, Cornwall. We actually settled for the set lunch menu and every course was sublime. As I couldn't drink alcohol, with me being pregnant, it seemed pointless going out. Luckily for me I got to choose how we spent the evening. I decided on snuggles on the sofa, popcorn, ice cream and watching a rom-com together. Perfect! So, turning 30 may not be a huge milestone for me, but it doesn't mean it shouldn't be celebrated... just like every other birthday I will ever have.

The Most Beautiful Watch That I Ever Did See

Do you love or dread your birthday? Does getting "old" weigh on your mind? Let me know in the comments below.

BABY: 23 Weeks Pregnant Update

Today I am 23 weeks and 6 days pregnant. To think I am over halfway through this pregnancy seems unbelievable! Where has the time gone? To say we are both flabbergasted would be an understatement.

I have felt the baby moving for around a month now... at first I wasn't sure if it was wind, but this week has seen the strongest movements that I've felt so far. Sometimes I forget to keep drinking my water, or leave it too long between breakfast and lunch and this is when he seems to get really active. I fear he is telling me off for not keeping him well nourished *hangs head in shame*. Late night/early morning is another highly active time. At the moment the movements are more of a strong flutter, but as he gets bigger and stronger, I can see how he is going to give it some welly!

I haven't felt that tired as I'm still only getting up once in the night to empty my bladder. I'm also making the most of the lay-ins that I can currently have. I know these will probably be the last I will experience for many years to come.

For the past few weeks I have had some pains in the groin, that make it painful to turn over in bed and walk or sit for long periods. We have a midwife appointment next week, so I think I'll mention this to her.

My skin has taken a turn for the worse and a few blemishes have surfaced. I probably exacerbated things when I did a deep pore cleansing mask. I've been mainly make up free for the past few days so hopefully they will clear up soon.

BABY: Gender Reveal!

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We are so excited to have found out that we are having a boy! The ultrasound lady was very confident that he is definitely a boy, although I suppose they can never be 100% certain! 

Truthfully, the important factor for us was finding out that our baby appears to be healthy. Chris has always said he would love a boy and is probably hoping he will be as sports mad as him.

I'm looking forward to shopping for some more boy related clothing. So many places have such gorgeous designs, I really can't wait to splash the cash.

We have a few names that we keep trying out, but for now we are keeping them to ourselves.

Did you find out the sex of your baby? Did you have your heart set on a girl or a boy? 

BABY: The 20 Week Scan

Our 20 Week Scan Photo

The two months between our 12 and 20 week scan seemed to fly by. We had relatives come and visit us down in Cornwall, had Thai Takeaway Day Valentine's Day, I had my winter flu jab and we had our 15 week midwife appointment. Urine was checked (fine), blood pressure was checked (fine), new appointments were booked for May and then we got to listen to the baby's heartbeat again. It was so quick and it made us all giggly and it was a real treat to hear (it can't always be picked up so clearly at this stage in the pregnancy) but we were soon sent on our way back home as happy as could be. Apart from that nothing exceptional happened apart from me watch my expanding waistband get increasingly larger.

The date for our 20 week scan was scheduled for the day after my birthday, so the week running up to the scan I was probably thinking more about what Chris had planned for me than getting myself preoccupied with the scan like last time. (In case you wondered.. the boy did good! I may write a blog post on this next week.)

Our scan was much later in the day, and like before, our appointment was probably a little delayed but I wasn't feeling anywhere near as nervous as before. After a small wait another lovely lady showed us into the room, which was basically the same set up. We knew from the hospital letter that we had received that this scan would be longer than the previous one due to them checking the main organs for any abnormalities.

After assuming the same "leggings lowered, top raised" position, the cold goo was again placed on my tummy and our much larger baby was up on the screen for us both to see. I can only really compare this scan to when you check your lottery numbers against the winning results. The lady would zoom in on an organ in the baby's body and check it for abnormalities, measure it, whilst we were waiting for her to say, "Yes, that looks good". For us this was a, "Phew" *circle the winning number* moment. For the next 20 minutes we were getting the most amazing views of our baby's brain, spine, stomach, hands, feet, heart, lungs, kidneys etc and we were circling off all of these winning numbers. By the end of it we really felt like we had won the rollover jackpot (If only!). The lady said that everything seemed fine and that the baby's size was normal for this stage in the pregnancy.

We were then asked if we wanted to find out the sex of the baby. But I'll save that for another blog post! We left feeling excited knowing the sex of our baby and hadn't even made it back to the car before we were ringing family! We also finally felt confident enough to announce the pregnancy to everyone, including the obligatory Facebook post!

Did you enjoy your 20 week scan? Did you find out the sex of your baby? Feel free to let me know in the comments below, I'd love to hear from you!