mummy mumble

i can only apologise for disappearing once again.
The past 3 months have been filled with sleepless nights, vomit stained tops, dirty nappies and a huge shock to the system.
Our little boy arrived on due date August 1st at 10.47am weighing 8lb 6.5oz... (and yes i pushed that out naturally) Since then life has been a bit of a daze, i now no longer have any sense of what day it is let alone the month or year.
I just about arrive to appointments on time, but should i have arranged to meet you  for a coffee then expect me to be late, with my hair tied back and minimal make up (because little boys hate watching you do your daily routine even if they are sat in their favourite bouncy chair with a tummy filled with milk)
Thought you'd be organised and sort your clothes the night before? think again... that is unless you have picked out two or three outfits because you can bet your last lipstick on the fact just as your about to walk out that door your baby is going to puke all over you.

system shock aside its the best job I've ever had and will ever have, yes i maybe on call 24/7, the pay may well be awful, I've become a human sick bucket and right now conversations are one sided but when that helpless little face looks up at you with pure love in their eyes you know its all worth it.

12 amazing weeks have now passed and its crazy where this time has gone, before i know it we will be potty training and checking out schools. time has to slow down.
my house is now less show room and more playgroup, i 100% have way to many toys & books for this boy. His wardrobe is also more filled than mine now in fact his clothes have taken over part of my wardrobe.  

maternity wage is pretty rubbish so my reviews will be limited for the next few months. I have bought a couple of new make up pieces with money i have saved so will start on reviews shortly. My posts will all be budget make up to prove you can be beautiful on a budge.
i may also take this blog from time to time in a different direction, with random baby posts. mainly so i can keep this blog active.
If you have any posts you would like me to do please feel free to let me know...

xxo

Exciting news

Firstly a massive apology for disappearing for over a year, I have no excuse what so ever as to why I didn't blog, I guess time was just an issue but I'm back.
So obviously lots has happened since my last blog post. I conquered my insane spending sprees I used to have with a serious amount of help from Steve, I bought a new car as a present to myself on how well I did with the saving, but the biggest news I have to share is me and Steve are expecting our first child.

Ok yes this is huge news, the next bombshell is that I'm currently 37+3 weeks pregnant, so nearly due to pop.
So I guess id best start at the beginning.
December 2nd (my sisters birthday) I took a pregnancy test, no reason other than I knew I was a week late but put it down to the stress of Christmas and the salon being super busy, but I had been feeling rather sick in the mornings.
Nothing can nor will it ever prepare you for the moment you see them two blue lines on the white little stick you just peed on.  No matter how much you've longed to have children.
Steve and myself had been fairly open at the idea of having children and both agreed that rather than constantly trying it would happen itself when it happened and we wasn't going to stress out over it., with this in mind I still sat on the toilet seat for about 10 minutes trying to process what had come up, everytime I glanced away I expected it to change to one line boldly shining up at me and that the two was a mistake, when I realised this wasn't happening I read and re-read the instructions to make sure two lines did actually still indicate pregnancy.
So many thoughts and emotions went through my head in those moments I sat letting it sink in. How would Steve react? How would I cope? Will I be any good? Can I actually look after someone that is solely dependant on me all the time?  Telling Steve was the hardest but also the most exciting thing iv done, obviously he was over the moon and helped put my little wobble at ease.
We decided to do another test in the morning to be sure before finding out with a doctor what we had to do next.
That night I couldn't sleep. Id gone from doubting myself to over exciting myself within hours. By 5am I admitted defeat and got up, I spent the next 2 hours researching via google different pictures of pregnancy tests to see if they had ever been wrong. At 7am I took my second test and was relived to see that them two lines were just as bold as the night before, the two minutes I sat  waiting were the longest of my life. I just stared at the test to the point I was seeing 4 lines.  Rubbing my eyes I skipped into the bedroom to show Steve the outcome.

We was given our first midwife appointment in Christmas Eve 2014. Followed by a 12 week scan 17th jan 2015. By this point sickness had kicked in and I was struggling to hid the news from people. The sickness got so bad I ended up in hospital New Year's Day as I couldn't keep a thing down not even water.
It was then I knew I had to mention it to my bosses at work, id fully planned to wait until 12 weeks but I didn't want them thinking I was absent from work because of a long suffering hangover.
The sickness finally stopped at 18 weeks but I still had the nausea feeling and just ended up gagging all the time until 24 weeks. I can't say I enjoyed the early part of pregnancy because it really was awful.

At out 20 week scan both Steve and myself opted to find out the sex of the baby providing they could see, this was purely down to the fact that Steve wanted to feel more connected with little one  giving us an idea on the sex  but also so we could buy stuff. Most places lack neutral colours these days,  I'm guessing that's down to more and more people finding out the sex.
We was over the moon to be told we was having a boy :)

I'm now on maternity leave. Starting as I mean to go on meeting up with other expectant mummy's for coffee or lunch and soaking up this glorious weather we have been having. 

If one more persons asks if I'm struggling in this heat I think I will go insane, weather like this was made for me and I'm loving it. 
Having a years worth of holiday to use up I tagged that on the start of my leave so finished earlier than normal.
This was most welcomed after I had struggled with lots of swelling. Hairdressing isn't a great job to be in and be mega busy when your pregnant.
Now I have (that is until baby arrives) time on my hands I'm hoping to do a few more blog posts and get back into blogging again.

Obviously I shall include blog posts on my new little arrival when the time comes but  If anyone would like to me do a certain post please feel free to comment below and I'll do my best to do that :)

I promise not to leave it another year for another blog post. I'm already planning on my next one :) 

Shopaholic: my road to recovery

Ok so throughout the new coming months my blog is going to be dedicated to over coming my addiction to shopping. This has been brought on by the fact I actually have no money right now and have no idea what Sundays are for other than shopping. I feel strange and need to find money free things to so with my Sundays. 

Us girls love to shop; maybe because it’s part of our genetic code? Shopping can be an addiction and while it doesn’t exactly mean you need rehab, surely your wallet and credit cards will benefit from some changes.

 I know lots of girls can relate to this but how many girls (and men) can say they actually are a shopaholic? 

So how to depreciate between a normal love for shopping and a true shopaholic. 

1. You hide the things you buy...

Im not going to lie, when I lived at home I always hid my purchase's in my Carboot until it was safe to bring them out (I.e when my parents weren't about) 

I used to hide the bags in a old school bag in my built in wardrobe and receipts used to get filed away with my bank statements (but usualy between the pages so they couldn't be found) 

I never made this mistake of simply just putting them in the bin, I would always get found out, as for the bags with shop brands all over them I know I would be found out instantly! 

If I ever put something new on that my parents esp my mum would comment on I always said 'oh this old thing - don't you remember I brought it with you, you said you liked it' 

Occasionally if I was caught in the act while tryin to maneuver my purchases from car to house I would always come out with the line oh my gosh this was half price in the sale. My mum would give me that 'I don't believe you Claire' look and iwould always say let me sort it outand show you. I'd even gone to the depths of buying a big red pen and while in my room I would mark down the prices of what I had brought. 

I still do the same now I'm living with my boyfriend. Only I don't have a walk in wardrobe a I have to hide everything in the draw under my bed. 

2. Credit cards......

Yes I have one, and although try are usualy for emergency like when your washing machine breaks down mid month of a nasty unexpected bill arrives on your door mat, mine is purely for shopping, when iv run out of cash on my debit card oh well I have a credit card. When I look down at the transactions all I see is shops (river island, new look, h&m, primark or online shopping websites) 

3. Emotional shopping 

Ok shopping is not a comfort food, only for me it is. 

I wouldn't say I go shopping because I'm sad of stressed what I would say is when I walk away from the shops with a lovely new pair of heels or a cute little dress I get a good feeling inside, it's like a buzz. 

Iv tried taking carry bags with me with clothes I have from home so I feel like iv shopped more than I have but when I get home and take out my new purchases it's not the same feel good feeling u get when u have something new in them bags. 

It's not even that I just like spending money I'm tite when it come to handing over money for food or drinks car fixing or bills but shopping for clothes bags or shoes I will simply spash that cash! 

4. You can't save money....

I find yourself absolutely unable to save money and feel this intense need to spend every cent that comes into my purse, we want to save to buy a house and get away from renting, I love the idea of saving but in practice I just can't before the end of the month I'll be counting my last penny's and come the day before payday I'm broke. 

This is the reason im doing this, although you can't take money with you I'm not actually living my life, what's the point in having lovely clothes if I can't wear them anywhere because I'm to broke to go anywhere? 

5.  You have no idea where your money went. 

Prime example of this I got my deposit back on our old rented house, determined to put this into savings to help towards buying I was until it entered my bank, before I knew it I was in the shops buying everything that look my eye without even looking at the price tag, 3 days later I go to move my £1000 into savings and it's gone, I look around my bedroom later that day and have absolutely no idea where it went and how I spent so much... 

6. Impulse shopping... 

If I see something I like I have to have it, an will simply buy it there and then, not because I have the cash to do it but because I want it. I guess that's a sign of me bein selfish if I want it I'm having it and I don't care what I go without to get it. 

I guess I need to stop and take a step back walk away from the item and if in a few days time I keep thinking about it then maybe I do need it in my life, if Iv forgotten about it chances are I will once iv brought it so will not need it. 

See I know what I need to have as a mind set I just can't seem to put it into practice. 

Finally 

7. Do you need that item?....

YES 

YES

AND YES!

So iv just answered this question in my above question. 

When I see it I always want it, I always then find a way to convince myself that I need it.

 * *  

So as you can see from these tell tale signs I think I may have a problem. 

I don't normaly make New Years resolutions because I think it's abit silly but 2014 I plan to conquer this stupid addiction I have, I want to set myself a goal of goin on a nice 2 weeks holiday all inclusive somewhere extremely hot.

Although I work very hard for my money I'm a hairdresser so clearly not a high flyer warning all kind of wage kind of girl. 

I'm not disclosing what I earn a month but I never reach £1000 in any given month regardless of any added tips or bonuses! 

So starting as I mean to go on today I Sunday and normally I would head into town do abit of shopping and come home. 

The new me has laid in bed until 12 and now planning on going on a nice country walk far far away from any shops. 

The sun is shining and there is a gorgeous Blue sky, out the front of my house across the road are fields. Miles and miles of fields I'm taking Steve on a nice stroll. 

If anyone has any tips for me please drop me a message below. 

I'm going to need all the help I can get. I will be blogging on my journey every few days if not daily so please keep a check on how I'm doing. 

Day 1. 

Positive attitude, just hope this lasts past the next 24 hours!