Who are you?!

I have written and then pressed delete on so many blog posts recently.... So after gaining some confidence again about sitting down and writing about me and where is my life at yesterday, I have promised myself NOT to delete this one!

Life as a blogger means that I am forever taking photos but recently, my camera isn't being used as much and the things that I am taking photos of just doesn't feel like me.

I feel like my identity as Emma-Joy is vanishing....

I feel like I am in that typical cliche scene of 'my head is telling me one thing but my heart (my body in this case) is telling me something else'.

Inside I know I am still the same person, but my body is morphing me - which is it's way of preparing me - to have another job title under my name... Maybe it is because Baby O is coming as a bit of a surprise?

And I think that's why I haven't blogged for such a long time (it feels like)...

However, a few events this last week have made me finally enjoy what I am becoming... A mummy.

Whilst driving home from work one day this week, these funny movements that I have had in my tummy (that I knew were coming from Baby O) for the last month have finally made me realise and made me hit reality that they are coming from a real human being inside of me. My own flesh and blood growing and preparing to step into this world.

One day at work I had a bit of a funny black out / crazy head moment (basically thanks to a lack of eating and exhaustion).. It was like a mini wake up call of 'hey Emma, you need to look after yourself as it's not just you that you are looking after'

Then finally on Friday I went to the baby show at Olympia with both my Mum and my MIL. It was such a lovely day. Not only for the things we got for free, purchased, and some of the products we all laughed at together, but also that every now and then we had some moments down memory lane. There were even some tears shed at different points of the day.

At one of the stands I bumped into one lady who ran a website for Mums - a bit like NetMums maybe? Not checked it out yet as I need to sort out all the leaflets I got - you know what it's like when you go to those kind of shows/exhibitions. But I got chatting with the lady on the stall and she really inspired me to get writing again, she even gave me her business card. Which is one reason why I have decided to not worry about blogging all about Weight Watchers for now and to just continue writing about my day to day life with all it's ups and downs!

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So I am now 6 months pregnant.... I know! That is scary and whilst walking round the baby show on Friday, lots of people were saying 'wow, not long to go now'.... Which is probably another reason why my head was like, GET TO GRIPS WITH IT WOMAN!!

Just so you know, I will write a write up about the baby show (and not hit delete!) and I will post it up in the next few days.

I think this point now deserves a little 'catch up'....

This time of the year is definitely time to get the hot chocolate out... and it has been made full use of! Man, I love Whittard's White Hot Chocolate!!

I bought a new car........ Well, Mr O bought me a new car! After all the trying out of lots of different cars, trying out the boot size to fit THE pram etc we decided to get another Swift! This one is very swanky though... All mod-cons in it - even air conditioning! Hahahahaa..

 

I had a lovely time in Oakengates with the ISS... One of my fake little sisters and her Mum came along to see me. What a lovely surprise it was to see her <3

Oh, and I got a chance to wear one of my comfiest maternity tops....

 

(At Olympia I got lots of comments about it!)

I came across this really sweet boys outfits, which emphasises that no matter what sex we have they are still going to be dressed in really cute clothes!

A few weeks ago, the best way for me to chill out and let my legs calm down was to have a bath. Baby O must have been lying in a funny position which made my right leg and hip feel really sore

I had my 20 weeks scan.....

This could have been our last chance to see Baby O, but as you can see, it was being just as stubborn as it's father and wouldn't show us it's face or heart....

Oh, and what blog of mine would be complete without some pictures of my food....

Look away now if you hate crawly things.... But look what I found under a cushion at home... Even I was scared of it and I don't normally mind dealing with creepy things!

As part of 'prep to become a Daddy' I think that Mr O has developed a phantom baby! He has cravings, he's tired all the time, he needs me to get things for him oh and he is 'ill' too!! Here he is fast asleep!

Whilst looking at some old photos at home, we pulled one photo out of a frame and then we came along this beauty....

This is my Mum and I (she recons I was about 4 months in this photo). I hope Baby O is as small as I was! Plus it just shows how beautiful my Mum is.

More food.... Yummy 2 ingredient cookies with chocolate chips in them.... (Recipe here)

... So as Baby O was being stubborn, I had to go back at 23 weeks. This to me was a lovely blessing in disguise as it meant that I got to see it again! I got to see the heart and all 4 of it's chambers in such good detail. Unfortunately it was being stubborn again in allowing us to get a nice side profile, but we all think that it is laughing in these pictures ....

  

So that was Baby O on the inside and this is Baby O from my view day to day.....

I now have a new best friend too... 

As you may well know, I am a bit of a bargain hunter! I have so far managed to not buy anything at full price! I have even managed to get lots of things that are second hand and hardly used at really good prices. I have used local Facebook selling groups to find things, just like this gro egg ... It is a baby room thermometer that glows different colours depending on the temperature of the room. 

Mr O has also been doing a spot of cooking too.. As he is a massive meat fan, I think he always tries to find and cook THE biggest bit of meat he can! He also forgets about vegetables so I often have to bump in with some! But this last week he cooked me this beautiful bit of beef ribs. We had enough for dinner then lunch and dinner for the next day too!

Now, excuse how I look in this photo as I have been rough this last week! But it just shows how big Baby O is getting :( When my Mum saw me on Friday one of the first things she said to me was 'you're getting massive' which was then shortly followed by 'you've put all the weight back on your face'.... I was like, great thanks Mum! More about that in my Baby Show post...

And finally... This is one of the products we all had a good giggle about.....

We nearly bought it but they only had purple or blue - which was one of my big bug bares (I don't think that's the correct saying but oh well!) at the Show - all the gender specific stuff!

And finish! I feel like I have got a weight off my shoulders, a burden I have been baring for a while. I am just going to enjoy being me, this new changing woman. I am going to enjoy writing about my new and ever changing life and all that it brings to me. 

So, as always...

Love Mrs O xxx

Hello! Hello!

So since my last post, I haven't fallen into a deep hole and sunk in it at all - don't worry! But I've been trying to think and figure out where shall I take this blog now over these next ?? months whilst I can't do the lovely Weight Watchers?....

I don't really want to make it a blog full of stuff about Baby O, so I thought I would make this blog - for the time being - into one about life - all of my encounters, my trips, emotions, everything, you name it (and I can then also talk a little bit about Baby O and not feel guilty!)

So, like an old fashioned story tale book, let me take you back to where I left off - which feels like forever and a day ago!

As soon as we found out that Baby O was growing inside of me, Mr O decided that the first thing that needed to get sorted was to find THE pram! This was mainly because it would then lead to us sorting out my car and getting me a new car sorted. We knew that I would need a slightly bigger boot and 5 doors rather than 3. After trying out lots and lots of different cars and getting them to BlueWater to try the pram out in the boot, we have finally settled on.... Another Swift!! Hhahahaahaaa! My swift has been such a great and reliable car for me that we thought, what's the point changing something when it works. So we have now gone for a Limited Edition version with 5 doors and the best thing is is that the pram fits in the boot!!

Now, if any of you know Mr O, you will know that he is a massive car fan and that he can tell what type it is by just seeing a wheel or something stupid. He can now do this with prams!!!

We decided to go to John Lewis to find 'The Pram' and we can not fault their brilliance in how they helped us. The lady spent a good 2 hours with us, asked us all the things we would require with it and also took Mr O's height into consideration and she then said that X, Y & Z prams were the ones for us. We then chose this one... A beautiful Limited Edition Countryman Silver Cross ...

I did, of course, also fall in love with this beautiful Silver Cross, but unfortunately it was a little out of our budget!!

Oh, and Baby O is growing nicely... To get this picture was a task and a half! After trying to get Baby O to stay still in one position for 30 minutes, I was then sent off to go and walk around for another 30 minutes and to drink a drink!

But Baby O is growing so much that I've gone from this... 

  

(The pic in the gold dress, I must have been about 8 weeks)

To this.....

(17 weeks)

Now as for my Mum and Dad (who have just celebrated their Pearl wedding anniversary)

They are becoming more and more the excited grandparents to be.... Dad is adamant that Baby O is a girl (maybe he should put money on it?!) And Mum has dug out all our old baby stuff! She has even already given me the crib that myself, my sisters and two of my cousins slept in as babies... Making Baby O baby no 7 to sleep in it when they arrive....

As all new expecting mothers do, I have been doing some research and grabbing bargains when I can.

This was a great bargain and it just needs the stickers peeling off, some sanding down and then a lick of paint. I bought it for £3 off a local selling site on Facebook!

And one of the things that I have researched is this little sheep..... It is definitely on Baby O's wish list as it seems to solve many problems with sleeping....

Now whilst we have been visiting numerous amounts of baby shops, Mr O and I have had a few giggles along the way. This one picture sums up the other day after walking around Ikea and Mamas & Papas....

The caption that went with this photo was 'Off his rocker'!

Enough about Baby O! So what else have I been doing apart from all this Baby stuff?!!

Well, firstly I have been enjoying time out with Mr O. We have been going places, seeing things, eating things, all to help us enjoy the time we have with just the 2 of us until we become 3!

We are always going past this pub that has been done up and we never really thought much of it so we never ventured inside until one Friday evening and we decided to try it out...

We now can't wait to go back in there!! This was the starter and oh! my! it was massive!! Just look at all those olives!!

Then came along my main....

Now you all know me well and know how I love my desserts! But I didn't have any room for it :( So our next plan is to go there for just desserts!

I warn you now as you will see a trend in the food I must be craving but I've only just realised how many different forms it could come in until writing this!!

So what have I been craving? Orange juice with bits or smoothies!! AND Spag bol / maybe just the mince!!

Mr O and I have enjoyed afternoons and evenings walking around London and sitting in little parks like this one off the back of Regent Street.

We stopped off in Hawkesmore to have some refreshments and I had this lovely milkshake that is made from cornflakes...

Now what post would this be without a mention of Lidl?! They had a special week on the other week and one of the things they sold were these amazing coconut ice creams. They just reminded me of being on holiday!

Oh yes and Mr O bought an exercise bike... Need I say anymore?!

This last week I have celebrated 25 - or as my sister put it 'half way to 50!' 

You can tell how well my Dad knows me, Mum said that he picked this card out for me....

My lovely superintendent made these cakes for me at work....

And they gave me this lovely bunch of flowers...

So this last week again all I have done is eat out!!

Friday night started off with a lovely meal out with my bestie - Mr Ding Dong.... We went to an American style restaurant. Lovely food but as the night went on, it just got so noisy in the restaurant. You could tell that the waitresses were used to the noise as when she came to take our order at the beginning of the night the lady's voice pierced my ear!!

Then on Saturday night we went out with a load of my friends to No.22 Street in Clapham.

We went for the set menu, but as nearly all the things on the menu for the starters had things in them that I couldn't have I opted for a main and a dessert... 

I had a pulled pork burger for my main and then....

... for dessert I had banoffee Pie - which came with a song of Happy Birthday!

 Then on the Sunday Mr O treated me to Ikea's famous meatballs!!

On the Monday (my actual Birthday) Mr O and I went out for a lovely meal at a local restaurant called Apperfield Inn... I had a beautiful dessert which made me very happy :)

At Christmas we received a trip on a boat down the Thames and we finally got round to using it on Tuesday. It has to be one of the best days out that I have had in a long time. This week off was supposed to be a week away on holiday but we decided to put that on hold because of Baby O. So we made the most of the day by being tourists in London...

We saw the big hippo in the Thames... As well as many famous London landmarks. I even learnt a few things about London that I didn't know about!

We went on the trip on just the right day. Not just because we got to sit on the boat for nearly 4 hours in the lovely sun and get a good tan, but also because it was the final day of the boat festival in Greenwich. We arrived at the last stop just as all the boats went and did their parade down the Thames and past us. We got sights such as the sea Cadets saluting to us then doing a Mexican wave and then sounds of the cannons going off in what must have been in the Naval school in Greenwich.

On Wednesday Mum and I went on a shopping spree to get me a coat for my birthday.... We found this one and I fell in love with it but I needed a waterproof one with a hood! So I had to pose for a picture with the matching hat!!

Thursday I spent the day cleaning and nesting!! Then yesterday (Friday) I spent the morning at the doctors surgery then went shopping in Bromley.... People like my Grandad gave me vouchers for my birthday. He knew I wanted a new dressing gown from M&S but there was no way he would be able to have got that in the post to me!! So I went into Bromley to go and get these items.... I ended up getting big items in there like a dressing gown, new lamp shades, a full length body pillow (to help me sleep better) and a few other bits. 

Near the end of my shopping spree I decided I needed a drink and some lunch. However, as I sat down in Starbucks I felt very lonely. It made me miss my friends and family that lived near by. Normally if I was to go shopping on my own it would be for key things, not to just go shopping for the sake of it. It also made me want Baby O to hurry up and make an appearance as then at least i'll have some company. I hope and pray that I meet new friends to meet up with once I have Baby O so that I don't feel so on my own down here in Kent.

Anyway, if my hands didn't feel like they were going to fall off by the end, my feet certainly did!! I ended up with blisters on my feet as well as one that looks like a bruise too! 

I finished off the day curled up on the sofa with my new dressing gown on and a mug of Whittard's white hot chocolate. Oh and I will easily admit that I went round the whole of M&S testing the softness of all their dressing gowns!! And this one won!!!

So now as I go back to work this next week it feels like I'm going back after a summer holiday! But it's got me all excited about having my maternity time off to look after Baby O.

Hope you all have a lovely week 

Love, Mrs O x