39 Weeks and Maternity Leave Fun

How far along:  Thirty-nine Weeks!

Weight Gain:  pounds!

Maternity Clothes:   I miss my normal clothes.

Stretch Marks:  I knew my luck would run out eventually.  My sides have little purple lines creeping up them.  I'm gutted.  Despite all of my efforts with the Weleda oil, the stretch marks have finally won.  Everyone always says they appear right at the end - you think you've gotten away with it but you are very wrong.

Belly Button: Out...my belly looks like one big, giant breast.

Queasy or Sick:   Feeling pretty good!  I worked a bit too hard Friday, causing me to be really sore and achey for the rest of the evening and all day Saturday.  

Sleep:  There is a serious design flaw here....

Best Moment of the Week:   Around midweek I started to get into the swing of Maternity Leave.  B was off work so we had a lunch date at the Castle Rising Tea Rooms followed by some jaunts in and around school.

Worst Moment of the Week:  Monday - Day one of Maternity Leave as I didn't know what to do with myself! Plus FRIDAY - the 4th of July!  I hate being away for one of my favourite holidays.  I miss the fireworks and BBQs and Bocce tournaments!

Miss Anything:  I've been dying for blue cheese gnocchi bake.  B used to make this for me back during our dating days and I have a real hankering for this dish.  Can you picture it with a nice glass of white wine?? Mmmmm....

Cravings:   Twizzlers.  It seems every time I phone my parents or my brother, someone is eating Twizzler pull and peels.  I LOVE them.  I miss them.  I can't get them.  Therefore - I want them.

Looking forward to: Baby time.  Come on, baby....Mama is getting uncomfortable and you are quite heavy.

I'm one of those very fortunate people who gets a great deal of time off for my maternity leave.  I stopped work two weeks before my due date and it's been - interesting.   As I feel pretty good - energised and generally in good spirits - I felt so incredibly guilty for not being at work.  I try to not miss work - predominantly because I feel like it's more effort to NOT be there.  

But  this is guilt free - you genuinely aren't meant to be working - time off.  

Funny.

While at lunch, I actually felt like I was skiving!

I spent most of the time twiddling my thumbs, waiting for baby to arrive or something drastic to happen in order to break how mundane the days have been.  That's teacher guilt for you.

So far, my maternity leave has looked a little like this:

Laundry

Sweep the kitchen floor

Scrub kitchen surfaces/sink

Empty the Dishwasher

Midwife appointment - all looking good with Baby!

A jolly into town to buy Raspberry Leaf capsules and agave

Make awesome lemon and blueberry Zoku pops

Write all birthday cards for July and August

Bake Nutella doughnuts

Coffee at home with Georgie and Samuel  (limited work chat - more mum talk)

Laundry

Sweep the kitchen floor

Trip to Boots for makeup wipes and hair ties.....and some nappies and wipes (sale!)

Stroll around Mothercare....just in case waters wanted a good place to break
Watch ChoccywoccyDooDah - I am addicted!

Blogging in the sunshine

Research baby clothes (I love this and this)

Check work emails....just to see what's going on
Sweep kitchen floor

Chase a butterfly around the lounge, urging it towards one of the many open windows
Laundry (WHY DOES IT NEVER END?)
Glare out the window at workers drilling the sidewalk
Bake and decorate a cake (see below)
Buy a fan
Sweep the kitchen floor

Now - for that cake....

Our friend's Heidi and Toby had a joint 40th (or rather 80s/th) Birthday Party on Saturday.  Heidi asked me to make the cake and being bored on Maternity Leave, I was up for some excitement.  

I had a few ideas, but in the end I abandoned everything and just did what I thought was best.  I've never made a cake for 60 people, so I was a bit horrified by the amount of sugar, chocolate and butter I went through.

Heidi and B got involved in the icing and decorating process!

All in all, I'm happy with the finished product.  I had a horrible time with this cake as 

1) I hate square cakes

and 

2) It was TOO HOT to do much of anything with icing or fondant.  My hands were boiling, the house was boiling, things were melting....it just wasn't a good experience.

But it went down a TREAT, so that to me is mission accomplished!!

Xx

Baby Shower: You are my Sunshine!

I am so SO excited to be writing a post about the Baby Shower my sister and mom threw for me on Sunday!  I didn't have a bridal shower as it's just not something that is done in England, but these two were not going to miss the chance to celebrate Baby McBerry's upcoming arrival with family and friends!

The Venue:  We opted for Hellriegel's Inn in Painesville to house the event, which is the same place we had our American wedding last year!  They are well known for their food (which is delicious), but they also have a large room with a old fashion, family feel to it.  We had about 35 guests, so we needed somewhere spacious, but not huge!  

The tables were arranged in a U shape, making it easy for everyone to see and chat and just enjoy themselves.  We are friends with the owners and I couldn't recommend a place in the Painesville area more!

When I visit, I tend to have such a rushed stay I can't see everyone I'd like to.  This was the perfect opportunity for me to visit with everyone at once.  I don't know if people realise how often I think of them and how much I miss them.

 

(Talk about a blast from the past - the three of us grew up together!)

The Menu:    Breakfast was on the offer for our midday shower!  Pancakes and syrup, eggs, bacon, sausage, hash browns, fresh fruit and pastries.  Tea and Coffee were also on offer, but I think everyone was more interested in the Mimosa bar!  

The Dessert table housed a gorgeous sunflower cupcake cake made by Cakes to You (the icing was out of this world), plus a massive tray of our Italian cookies.  

I can't give away too much, but we had family recipes and all sorts of amazing treats on there.  The cake pops were a labour of love Erin and I trialled this week.   They are really hard to make!  How do people get them so round and pristine?!

The Decorations:  Erin really outdid herself on the decorations.  There were sunflowers, ivy and a hyacinth type flowers in small vases, wrapped with twine and set around the tables. There were also pictures of elephants and sunshine drawn by a friend's students as place mats.

The Games:   We are not big fans on playing games at showers, but we thought it would be fun to have a few activities for people.  Firstly, we had onesie decorating in the corner.  Erin had tons of onesies in different sizes and she provided fabric, stencils, fabric glue and fabric pens.  We had some adorable onesies by the end - my friends and family are so talented. 

We didn't manage to get a shot with all of them on the line - but I thought the presentation was just spot on!  Clothes pegs!  Adorable!

The other big hit was the Frozen Baby game found on Pinterest.  Erin froze little plastic babies in medicine cups and then gave one to everyone to "look after" whilst enjoying their food.  You weren't allowed to touch the baby, but if your baby melted out of the ice first, you had to shout "My water broke!" to win a prize.  We had some serious strategies in place with salt and babies being placed over cups of coffee.  

The prizes were adorable flower pots with lemon soap, sunflower seeds, candles and hand cream.  My favourite winning moment was when one of our Italian ladies shouted "The baby's out!  The baby's out!" 

We also spent a bit of time trying to guess the gender of Baby McBerry based on Old Wives tales (still half and half) and gave people notecards to try and guess the Baby's Name.  There were some hilarious options making the most of a surname like Berry.  Terry Berry and Ellie Font Berry had to top the list.

On the tables Erin also left a sheet with "Wishes for Baby" (adapted from Pinterest) for people to fill in in their own time. Erin has since put them all in a binder with the place mats and baby name suggestions.  

The Gifts:  I'm totally blown away by the generosity of my family and friends. I'm touched by the kindess and thought people put into gifts for Baby McBerry.  

One of my favourite things that we did, was asking for books instead of cards.  Being an English teacher, a mini library is incredibly important to me.  We were gifted some gorgeous books - some for infants, some for when baby grows a bit older.  The notes people left were beautiful and I cannot wait to read these stories to baby - always thinking of the person who gave the book to us.

 (My Dress)

We did an Amazon Baby Wish List in order to help with the whole transportation of gifts back to the UK.  It was fabulous because people picked out gifts and they are shipped directly to us in England.  It's been a lovely treat to get things in the post and have no idea what they are or who they are from!  I took photos of some of the gifts and Erin displayed them behind the gift table with clothes pegs.

There are a few things I'll be taking back with me, but thankfully my suitcase is HUGE and fairly empty!  My dad and friend, Jen, took loads of photos, and I thought I'd post a few pictures of some of the wonderful gifts we received.

  My cousin got us a baby calendar - there are little stickers for "firsts" or other important events.  She is currently using one for Baby James and said it is a lot easier than filling in a baby book/diary.  I LOVE the look of it and can't wait to fill it in!

 Boy or girl - Baby McBerry loves the Indians.  

My friend Jen asked me for old T Shirts B and I no longer wear a few weeks ago.  This AMAZING quilt came from Maiden Jane - the quality is outstanding!  I can totally recommend it!

 Jeri (my cousin's mother in law) knitted a few gorgeous jumpers, but I love the elephant buttons on this one!  I'm wondering if she knits adult sized....

Luckily we had the adorable Baby James on hand to seek his seal of approval on a super cool car mirror.  I'm fairly sure I'm going to hang it up in the mini - baby or not!

And finally, my mom gave me a gift and said it was from my Grandma.  If you have been reading, you'll know about my wonderful grandma and how we lost her this past September (link here and here).  There was a poem in the box (similar here) about a handkerchief which has been fashioned into a bonnet.  It's meant to be the "something old" on a wedding day. Well, I nearly lost it.  But what an amazing idea.

And that, my friends, was the Baby McBerry Shower.  It was a truly amazing day and I am so thankful and blessed to be surrounded by such wonderful people.  Baby - I can't wait for you to meet these people.

Xx

Birthday celebrations!

On July 30 I celebrated my 29th birthday!  One year until the big 30, which is scary.  Very scary. As it was B's second day of work I made the most of it and spent the day with some of my favourite people!

My morning started at 7AM when B's alarm went off.  He yelled "Happy Birthday!" and threw my present at me. It felt like a bunch a rocks and lo and behold - it was.  Hot stone massage rocks.  The sweetie.  The BEST bit is that he also bought me a Zoku!  Oh my word was I excited!  I've had a little play and used the toolkit to make some funky designs and shapes.  I cannot WAIT to get creative with this!  If you haven't heard of them or think that you don't need a lolly maker in your life - think again.

(Grape hearts with Cherry J20.  Yum.)

I also received a package from my parents in Ohio! I wish I could celebrate with them - hopefully in a few years we will! I get a real hankering for American sweets but they are extortionate here!  I can't decide which is my favourite.  The peach rings and Mio Lemon have already been opened!  Thanks Mom and Dad, Erin and Brian!

To celebrate my special day, I hit up Blissful Beauty in West Lynn for a pedicure with Annie in the morning.  She is just fab.  My feet were in desperate need of some TLC post Cornwall, and what better way to celebrate than with a birthday pedicure?!

I think popped over to my friend Heidi's house for a day with her and her two *gorgeous* little ones.  We thoroughly enjoyed lunching at Castle Rising tea rooms.  I think I could get used to being out and about during the day!

In the evening, B surprised me by taking me BACK to Heidi and Toby's house for some champagne and cake!  They joined us for dinner at my favourite restaurant ever - Middleton Steakhouse.  Oh. My. Word.  Vegetarian hamburgers....habanero style.  Seriously - check out their menu and hop a flight to England.  

To keep the birthday celebrations going, Heidi and I went to the Sandringham Flower Show the next day with her girls and got soaked.  Like.  Drenched.  I could actually ring my hair out.  Just a typical English Summer!

(We were NOT impressed at having forgotten our umbrella!)

The upside to the soaking was that we got to see Prince Charles and Camilla.  I couldn't get any good shots, but it's defiantly them!

Camilla with the clear umbrella and white coat and Charles was on the other side - grey suit and black umbrella!

Another year older.  I think big things are in store for my 29th year.  They say your 30s are where it's at - I can't wait!

xx

Happy Birthday, B!

Today is B's birthday!  We celebrated at the weekend as I was back to work today and out this evening for my first rehearsal.  The big 32 - as he likes to say - is just another step in his process of "ageing like a fine wine."

I got up early and made homemade donut holes and turned them into fruit skewers. I've seen these floating about Pinterest (obsessed, by the way), and I thought they would make a perfect treat for birthday Sunday!

Recipe

Breakfast in bed was accompanied by some bubbly, but that didn't last long enough to have a photo taken of it!

Then, in line with English tradition, B opened up his cards and presents in bed.

I'm not great with wrapping, but I can't stand normal wrapping paper.  I use brown packing paper and go to town with black paint and a pencil.  (Polka dots are probably my favourite thing ever)  Note the card on the top of the pile was a USA card from my parents.  They are far better at remembering to post cards than I am!

Presents!  The best bit!

1 (Marvellous Creations chocolate), 2 (Littman Copper stethoscope), 3 (Bang Bang - Marc Jacobs)

(Please excuse the horrible collage - I am still learning how to work the programme!!)

We decided to have a nice meal out at the Bank House Brasserie in King's Lynn.  I have to admit - we always complain that there is nowhere nice to go in town, but actually it was one of the nicest meals we've ever had in Lynn.  Best. Hand. Cut. Chips.

We made our way home and sat out in the garden for hours.  I went through a fair few Nespresso Iced Coffees (new obsession) and B played with his plants.  The garden now has 17 different types of edible plant (B doesn't like flowers as you can't eat them) - all I can say - roll on harvest season!

When it was time to cut the cake, I made sure it was a cake to be envied.  B had seen those Kit Kat cakes floating about online and wanted one of those, but I couldn't do anything the normal way.  So we ended up with this:

Recipe, Chocolate, Wafers

Without a doubt - it is the best chocolate cake recipe I've seen.  I had so much fun making eating the various pieces of this cake while assembling it.  We had a great day - now - on to planning next year's birthday!

Hopefully everyone else had a wonderful weekend!

xx