Lillian's 1st Christmas

Thank God that's over....

I'm all up for Christmas Cheer an' all but it's starting to wear thin... Just like my bank balance and unlike my waist line after all the chocolate and junk food...

So its done. The tree is down and the turkeys run out, I cannot face another turkey stew!

But Christmas Day. Oh how excited I was, not for me you see but for my darling baby girl who was going to open all her presents and smile and rejoice in the day. (Yeah, ok maybe my expectations were a little high - she was more interested in the television lol)

We (Me, Andrew and Andrews Mum, Lesley,) got up as usual, around 10am, still dressed in our PJ's and all looking eagerly at the tree but not wanting to be the first to ask to open a present. But eventually, we starting ripping into them. I was so happy to see how Lily has been really blessed with presents from friends and family and her toy collection is now so big, we already have a big toy box in the living room. I cant thank people enough for spoiling her :) 

We tucked into our dinner (which was D-E-LICIOUS!) and just generally enjoyed the day with each other. We popped over to Andrew's Dads in the evening and shared in more present sharing, even though little miss was a grumpy bum and we were home by 8pm lol.

So heres the important bits, the pics :)

 Just a few of her presents :)

Much Love,

Jenn x

My Mum

I have been thinking. If I grow up to be a Mum like my mum was/is, I will be one happy girl.

My mum is wise. My mum is kind and caring and full of such great advice.

When I was growing up I turned into the typical? teenager, I smoked, I swore, I came home stinking drunk and gave my mum a lot of attitude, I effed up big time and it took a lot of effort to get that trust and respect back. I'm glad to say our relationship is now wonderful and I couldn't imagine not having her in my life.

My mum taught me many wonderful (and strange) things. Along with the normal stuff like 'never eat yellow snow...' yada yada yada... To this day, every time I get in the bath, I hear my mums voice 'Shaving gel will ruin all your bubble bath bubbles...' Strange how certain things stick with you?

My mum is on round two of having kids, meaning there is 20 years between my youngest sister and I, and it has been the best thing ever. I am as close to them as I am to my 'round 1' sisters and also now starting a family of my own, she has taught me so so much. When Lily was 1st born, 'Baby Hotline' was open 24/7 and although I have a decent knowledge of what to do, anything I needed, or wanted to know she was there for me.

My life has been a whirlwind this year and she has helped me through everything. When I gave mum and my step-dad, Mark, the mammoth task of helping to organise our wedding, they triumphed. It was a fantastic day and all planned in two weeks... So I know I said it a thousand times on the day, but *~THANK YOU~*

So that's my mum. A fantastic mum who I will always aspire to be.

If you are reading this mum, I Love You.

Much Love,

Jenn x

Just Because...

Now, please excuse the *MASSIVE* Mummy Boast that is about to happen.

But I love this little girl so freaking much.

I never quite realised how incredibly strong a Mother's love is.

Lily is now cooing and giggling and chatting away to herself on a regular basis, she is such a happy little girl and sleeping right through the night (thank God!) But she can also be a right grumpy little Madam. She loves her Mummy and Daddy, and the game Peek-A-Boo which she could quite happily play for hours, but Mummy and Daddy get bored long before that. Monkey is now back in her good books and I am allowed to bring it near her again, also the dreaded dummy situation, (the game where she spits it out every 2 minutes and then screams for it) is getting so much better, to the point where she doesn't really have it now, biggest reason is because she is finding her thumbs.

We also had her weighed today and she's now 12lb 9oz's and you can certainly feel it! My little chunky monkey is growing up so fast!

So here's a picture to make you smile a little, cos she makes this Mummy smile more each day.

Much Love,

Jenn x

My not so little girl

This is my not so little girl.

I cant believe how quickly she is growing up before my eyes. She is 11 weeks, going on 11.
She doesn't want to lie down, only sit up or stand up whilst your arms go dead  with you holding her up.
She spits out her dummy with the expression on her face as if to say 'What the hell are you putting that in there for?'
She laughs and gives sneaky grins in a 'Aaaaaw Shucks' kinda way which makes you think she is innocent as, but really she is full of attitude character.
She makes out she's starving and then only takes an ounce whilst smiling, teet still in mouth.
'Monkey' is no longer her prized possession and cries if I bring it near her... Oh you were once such good friends.

But she still loves her Mummy hugs, and currently I'm her favourite person. And for the time being, thats good enough for me :)

Much Love,

Jenn x

Little Snowdrop

Unfortunately its the time of year when Mummy's hearts seem to hurt the most....

This is for all the Angel Babies and their Mummy's


Little Snowdrop

The world may never notice If a Snowdrop doesn't bloom,
Or even pause to wonder If the petals fall too soon.
But every life that ever forms, Or ever comes to be,
Touches the world in some small way, for all eternity.
The little one we long for was swiftly here and gone.
But the love that was then planted, Is a light that still shines on.
And though our arms are empty, Our hearts know what to do. 

Every beating of our hearts, Says that we love you.

Much Love,

Jenn x

Looking back at 2010

Wow this year has come and (nearly) gone fricking fast...

My life changed on 10th January 2010 when I saw two little lines appear. Two little lines I never expected to see... EVER. Two little lines that started my hectic year.

We had decided that we wanted to move house, from our tiny pokey little one bedroom flat to a family home with Andrew's mum and now we had a reason to. So the moving house began on 1st March 2010...

Our wedding was already planned for August but with our new arrival early September, we decided to move the wedding forward. So my fabulous parents, helped me planned the whole event in two weeks. And it was the best day of my life, although I was 14 weeks pregnant and still gagging at the thought/smell/taste of any alcoholic beverage and was knackered by the end of it! I was so glad to get into bed, and there was no funny stuff before you ask, my new husband had consumed enough alcohol for the both of us.
I married my best friend on 20th March 2010 and would do it all over again in a heartbeat...  (minus the gagging...)

SO so far, I have moved into a house, got married - 2 of the 3 major things you are meant to do in a lifetime, the only thing left to do was have a baby... oh yeah that was happening too!

Much Love,

Jenn x

Birthday Celebrations

Today is my birthday and I am the big 23 lol. I don't really feel 23, but am not really sure what 23 is meant to feel like?

I enjoyed a lovely meal with family and friends, its so nice to all get together but a shame that we don't all do it more often. I received some lovely gifts, a beautiful necklace from my daughter Lily, care of her Daddy... some perfume, a wind chime and lots of chocolate, I don't feel like I am ever going to shift this baby weight!

We also put up our Christmas Tree, which happens to be THE highlight of my year :) Lily absolutely loves the lights and stares up for hours just watching the twinkling lights. We have a few special ornaments on our tree which are added each year without fail. We have two little butterflies, which are for my angel brother and sister, and some pretty card pictures, for our own little angels. This year though, we got to add Lily's first ornament. A lovely snowman holding a little pink bundle with the words 'My First Christmas' on. We also add each year a Union Jack flag in support/remembrance of our troops, although Lily enjoyed hitting Mummy in the face playing with this and didn't want to put it on the tree lol.

Lily also experienced her first day of snow today, albeit a quick 2 minutes of it falling, it quickly turned to rain.

So all in all, a fantastic day :)

Much Love,

Jenn x

Its Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas...

I do this *EVERY* year. I pretend I'm not that bothered by all the commotion and the rush of it all, but secretly I am a kid at heart...

My Christmas shopping is complete, except for one small furry little animal... And before you say 'A hamster's not just for Christmas,' its what the hubby wants and whatever my darling wants he gets. Sometimes.

It was hard not to go mad spending for Lily. If I could, I would have bought the whole shop for her. I am also contemplating what her Christmas outfit will be... An angel, a star, a reindeer, a Christmas pudding. Its the one day that I am allowed to dress her up and take lots of photos to embarrass her with on her 18th birthday.

I am stuck though. We haven't had a Christmas yet in this house and I have no idea where to put the tree! Gone are the days when you just stuck it anywhere, this year, the ball-balls have to be perfect, the tinsel cannot be out of place, and the star isn't allowed to be wonky, for this year is my little girls 1st Christmas. Her 1st Christmas :) It is going to be wonderful.

Because next year, I promise I wont be bothered by all the commotion and the rush of it all...

Much Love,

Jenn

M is for Motherhood

SO since I have been a mum for 9 weeks now, I have learned a few things and come to realise that for the most part is a wonderful experience, but at times, it really sucks lol. So here is my ABC to Motherhood

A is for AAAWWW. Watching your baby sleeping, eating, cooing, giggling... I could spend 24/7 watching these moments...
B is for Bubbles. Bath time is the highlight of Lily's day. She LOVEs it. And I love it too, it means that bed time is looming because it makes her happy.
C is for Calpol. A mothers best friend...
D is for Dummies. A mothers best friend / A mothers worst enemy.
E is for Energy. I sing whilst doing the washing up, dance whilst hoovering and blow raspberries when hanging out the washing - just to keep her amused.
F is for Friends. You know who your real ones are when you become a mum.
G is for Giggles. And what a wonderful sound it is...
H is for Happiness. A happiness no words could describe...
I is for Intuition. A powerful thing...
J is for Jenn. It is so nice being 'Mum' but its so nice to be 'Jenn' at times.
K is for Kicks. I swear I still see my belly move when I'm in the bath... Weird.
L is for Laughter. No matter how old you are, you WILL laugh at your baby farting...
M is for Motherhood. My reason for being here.
N is for Nap Time. The small window of opportunity to get the 873526483745647 things done that's on your list.
O is for Outings. Having people stop you in the street to tell you 'how pretty your baby is.' Priceless.
P is for Poo. Yes you read that right. How can such a little person make such a big mess?!
Q is for Questions. No matter how many books you read or documentaries you watch, nothing really prepares you, and there will be times where you just need to ask for help. Thank Goodness, my mum had 'Baby Hotline' open 24/7...
R is for Record Function. Because just when you want to watch something on TV, your up to your neck in nappies... or getting a bottle ready... or bath time... you get the point.
S is for Sex. Even if you did entertain the idea of having sex, your either too tired or worried that every creak of the bed will wake up the baby, so you just don't do it lol.
T is for Teamwork. I couldn't have done any of this without the hubby.
U is for Underwear. Out with the sexy thongs and pretty knickers. In with the granny pants...
V is for Vanity. Yeah right...
W is for Weight. And no matter how hard I try, I seem to be putting ON weight, not losing it....
X is for Xylophone. Well can you think of one better?!
Y is for Youthfullness. In 9 weeks I look/feel like I have gained 9 years.
Z is for Zzzzzzzzzz.... Or the lack of it...


So there it is!

Much Love,

Jenn x

The Blog Has Life

So thank you to my wonderful friend, Steph, I am now completely up and running. I tried and tried but failed, but Steph has done a wonderful job and even got the sunflower in, I *love* sunflowers.

So the day has started well, Daddy let Mummy have a lie in because Baby decided she wanted to play at 4am this morning. Mummy not impressed. Lily has only been in her own room for a week now and it has certainly been the hardest week so far. I really did want to give up and just have her back in the room with us. But I will persevere as I feel I am old enough now not to go to bed at 8pm. I'd like to be able to talk about the days events with the husband and not worry about waking her up, I'd like to be able to potter around, and maybe... just maybe, enjoy some 'adult time.'

Plus... she snores.

So feeling completely refreshed, and ready for the days events... which will be housework.

Oh the fun of a SAHM!

Much Love

Jenn x

Life, Laughter, Love and Lily

So, hello! And welcome to my blog. I have never ever attempted anything like this so bare with me...

So I'm Jenn. I'm 22 ... no wait, 23 (in a few weeks,) I'm currently a SAHM until I go back to work in January, to my beautiful daughter Lillian, (Lily to her mates) I'm a wife to my teen sweetheart Andrew, we got married this year (and before you do the math, yes it was a shotgun wedding - but we had already had it planned out and had to cancel it all because it would have fallen when I was around 38 weeks pregnant lol.) I met Andrew through his cousin, and he then crashed a party of mine, we have been inseparable ever since. He's my soldier boy and makes me proud every day :-)

Me? I'm into the usual 22... 23 year old stuff, spending time with friends and family, its a little bit more tame nowadays since I have more responsibility and less money. I'm a black and white person and tend to tell it how it is... but ultimately what you see is what you get.

Lily was a bit of a surprise. Actually a complete surprise... We had been trying for a baby for nearly 2 years and even underwent fertility tests which showed that I had PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome) and that my ovaries were pickled in cysts... This was November 2009. We were due to start fertility treatments in March 2010, but Santa decided to leave us an extra special present and found out I was expecting :) They put our conception date as Christmas Day lol. My angel is now 9 weeks old and growing up waaaaaaaay to fast!

So there's a bit of a sneak preview into my life. Im looking forward to getting stuck into this - if Lily lets me that is :-)

Much Love,

Jenn x