Mikey's Visit

Mikey was in town all last week. It was brilliant to have him over. We had a couple of nights out, but we also did a few nights in... I'm a mommy now! I had a great time and got to let my hair down. We also did a bit of sight seeing which was great. Belfast has it's own version of the London Eye which I had been dying to get on. We also walked up to Botanic Gardens and people watched with Liam. Liam's granny watched him on Thursday so that Mikey and I could head up the Antrim Coast. It was a beautiful day and we even got a bit of colour.

Mikey and Liam on the Belfast Eye.

Me and Liam on the Belfast Eye. The "Mikey Pose" on the Belfast Eye. The "Mikey Pose" at the Carrick-a-rede Rope Bridge.Carrick-a-rede rope bridge.

The Giant's Causeway.
Antrim Coast

Friday night with the ex-Pru girls

Got out this weekend for a good girlie night with mates that I used to work with at Prudential. We started off at Tao for a good gossip over wine and chinese food. Once we had sufficiently caught up we headed over to the M Club for Groovy Train. It's quite a fun night full of 70s music and dancers. It was a really good laugh. Some pictures from the night...

Wendy, me and Caroline...

Cathy and Wendy...

Cathy dancing on a table...

Caroline having a boogie...

And all of us at the end of the night...

M.I.A.

Those of you who follow my blogs will have noticed I have not updated this one in quite a while. That's because my life now revolves around my little man, Liam. I'm updating his blog more regularly at www.reynolds-babyjournal.blogspot.com .

So what's going on with Ollie and me...

Well we celebrated completing on our new house and getting the keys this past Friday by having a night out without the little man. Granny Reynolds and Auntie Susan looked after little Liam for the whole night! We booked into the Radisson SAS in the city centre with a romance package. Our business class room was fabulous. A big huge bed, heated tiles in the bathroom and champagne and truffles on arrival. We had a few drinks in the bar before a nice dinner in the hotel's restaurant. We were both ready to pass out at 9:30 during dinner, but we made ourselves stay up until midnight to enjoy some quality time with just the 2 of us. It was a nice night and we really needed a night to ourselves.

So, the house is ours. We picked up our keys on Friday. The painters were still in over the weekend and the carpets were put down on Monday. We're hoping to move in at the weekend, but might need to wait another week if Ollie can't get the time off of work. Ollie's promotion has taken him over to London durnign the week for the next few weeks- not the most convenient tf times but it's a brilliant opportunity for Ollie.

I'll post some pictures of the new place soon- it's still a complete building site, but should be a bit better towards the end of the month/ beginning of March.

Completion date and other bits

We've finally gotten our completion date for the new house- 25 January. It seems like a good bit away, but with the new baby and the holidays I am sure it will fly by. We won't be moving in once we get the keys. The house is not turn key, so we have to paint, tile, carpet, floor... and we need to wait until the walls dry out to tile and paint... plus the houses across the street will not be ready until the end of February so it will be a building site with dust and loud noises- no place for an exhausted mummy, daddy and new baby.

We have the luxury of not having to move out until we are ready, so no rush!

Our house type from an earlier release went on the market the other week. It has literally just been finished, but there are no floors or paint or tiles and it's still on for £40K/$80K more than we bought for... so we've made a ton of money before we've even put the roof on the house!

Ollie's mum and I took a sneaky look at the house last week. It's hard to visualise space from a plan, so it was great to see it in reality. It was beneficial in many ways- it allowed me to see changes that needed to be made- extra electrical sockets and removing the french doors between the kitchen and lounge for extra wall space. It felt really small. I know this was partially due to the grey plastered walls and lack of furniture, but it just felt so small! We always new we were downsizing in order to move into a much nicer, more expensive area, but we're down a good 600-750 sq feet! Ugh. While we have a larger plot with scope for expansion at the side and rear, that's only the living space and with a growing family you really need more bedrooms. So, I've put our name back down on the list for the largest house type (a lovely 4 bedroom, 3 bathroom, detached red brick house) for completion in 2009. We should hopefully have made a good £100K/$200K from the sale of ours and have gotten a few pay rises to afford the much higher price tag. The house is currently going for £300K/$600K and it could go up to £350K/$700K. Oh well, it's just money right?

Other news is our mortgage was approved. Not that we thought it wouldn't be, but it's good to know everything is in place for us to complete in January.

Right, more information to follow soon...

One year… already!?!?!

We celebrated our first anniversary over the weekend. I cannot believe how quickly this year has flown in. It seems like yesterday that I was getting my make up done and slipping on my wedding dress. It was great to remember that very special time. We decided to take it pretty easy (mostly because we were still a bit tight on money).

We woke up early in the morning and headed down to the St George’s market. We had some breakfast (crepes and coffee) and sampled all the lovely treats at the stalls. We had been down a few times before, but forgotten how fun it was to have a nosy around and enjoy the atmosphere.

We went out for a lovely dinner to a restaurant in the Radisson Hotel, Filini’s. Ollie has not stopped talking about how amazing his fillet was. I think I may need to ring the chef and ask him who his butcher is. We then just went down to Cutter’s Wharf for a quiet few drinks at a booth in the corner. It was nice and quiet and gave us a bit of time to laugh about the last year.

We headed up to Redcastle in Donegal on Sunday for a few days of rest and relaxation. I’ve been to the hotel a couple of times and think it’s a great wee spot. We took a few drives up through Donegal, enjoyed the beautiful weather and relaxed in the spa. Our meal on the Sunday night was super tasty. In fact, we ate like a king and queen all weekend! We took the ferry across Lough Foyle and headed back to Belfast via the scenic route.

Had a great time… one of the last as a 2 person family!

It’s finally over… the house is officially sold!!

Well, after 2 months of delays the house is officially sold. We signed the contracts on Friday, 10 August and handed over the keys. This was despite not actually receiving the money. You see the buyers were in an even worse situation. They were being forced out of their rented house, or would be required to sign another 6 month contract. So rather than have the whole thing fall through we let them move in… and paid the mortgage still, so they were living there for free. Whatever- at least we didn’t have to spend our time between the houses out of fear some hoods would decide to take up residence or wreck the house.

The money finally came through on Friday, 17 August, but of course took another 3 days to clear. But I cannot tell you how satisfying it is to see your bank balance with 6 figures in it!

So now Ollie and I can finally turn our full attention to preparing to be a mom and dad and getting our new house sorted!

The on-going saga of our house… 10 August 2007

I’m so frustrated with this entire house situation. We had to get building control on the loft conversion (which we didn’t anticipate) and failed the first inspection. We then had to spend £120 on materials and Ollie and I stayed up late sawing and drilling and loosing our minds!! But it was done and we passed. So, you would think that would make things go easier, right? Wrong. I don’t know whose fault it is, but someone sucks. Our solicitor, their solicitor, their mortgage people… We had originally scheduled to complete on the 23rd of June!! It’s nearly the middle of August.

Despite continued calls to our solicitor and from our solicitor, it seems we are still no closer to the effing sale! They were supposed to release the funds on Friday, then Monday and now it’s Tuesday and we still haven’t signed the contracts.

I’m so fed up with this crap.

Erika’s hen- 27 July

8 of us headed down to Naas (just outside of Dublin) for Erika’s hen night. Marguerite and I were in one car and the other girls in another. We made excellent time- think it was around 3 hours. This is a mighty feet considering the insanity of the traffic inside and around Dublin. I could never live there- simply because of that.

So, we were the first to arrive and our rooms weren’t ready. Most of us had booked in for treatments, so we headed down to get ready for ours. I had a balancing facial. The baby kicked the whole way through the thing, but it was really relaxing and my face was glowing at the end. Once everyone had completed their treatments, we headed for the relaxation rooms- I could only do the basic relaxation room, but there was a sauna, steamroom, solarium (sun room), ice room, salt room (where they mix salt into the air and it smells kind of like the beach). It was pretty cool in all. I then headed up a bit early. I had intended to take a nap before we started partying, but once I got up to the room I just had to enjoy the surroundings. I think we got a suite. It was amazing, with a balcony, social area with large bunket and table and a huge bathroom with a roll top bath and raindrop shower. It was pretty cool!

How nice was our bathroom??

We had all of the girls around to our room for champagne, strawberries & chocolate and cheese and crackers. It was a good laugh. Then we headed down to the bar for some games- Emma, who organised everything, did an awesome job with the games. I had never had so much fun and laughed so much at a bachelorette/hen party!

Erika and Kathy, blindfolded and feeding each other bananas...

There were granny panties you had to wear if you drank with the wrong hand (each half hour or so it changed). Erika was made to run around the bar with the panties on, crawl under tables, scream things over the balcony… you get the idea. We then headed for one of the most amazing meals I have ever had. It was included in the price of our package and the food was simply amazing! (Except for the desert which was a weird attempt at a cheesecake, but I don’t think I could have appreciated it that much because I was so full up). We then head over to the club and continued the fun there.

I’m officially out of my jeans- they hardly close and when they do, I’m totally uncomfortable. So I spent most of the night with them unbuttoned. Nice.

It was a great night- exhausting, but a real laugh.

Best memory of the night was definitely Marguerite having to shove loads of marshmellows in her mouth and try and say 'chubby bunny'. I think I wee'd myself a little...

Andrea’s bridal shower- 7 July 2007

Jamie, Cherie and Vindy put on a great party for Andrea. The food was amazing, the games fun and well, everything was just great! I got to catch up with friends and acquaintances from high school that I’ve not seen in years! It’s amazing how much happens in 10-11 years! Everyone’s married and has kids and are pretty much totally grown up. Had to take a picture of the lovely cake...

After the party during the day, we headed out that night to a club somewhere in Northern Jersey. The breakfast club was interesting. I was pretty much starting to hallucinate from tiredness (having only arrived from Ireland on the Friday, I was still feeling my time zone- 5 hours ahead). It became a bit of a struggle to stay up, but it was a good laugh. Andrea got pretty wasted and was dancing about like a loon- really funny to watch.

This was before we even left for the club!

Lorie and Andrea in the bathroom...

It was great to see everyone again. Although there are many miles between most of us, it really feels like old times when we get together. I’m sad I won’t be able to make Andrea’s wedding in October. I’m going to be like a beached whale, I’m sure- hitting the 36 week mark. Or maybe the end of the pregnancy will be just like now- I’m not big at all! Hopefully!!

Anne's Birthday Party

Fourteen of us headed out to the Piano Bar & Restaurant at the Europa Hotel to celebrate Anne's 60th Birthday.

After enjoying a lovely meal, we had a really tasty cake I had made for the occasion. I think everyone enjoyed themselves, especially Anne.

It also gave me a new chance to wear my new top. The great thing about fashion these days is that mock tops, baby doll tops and dresses are all in style which means I'll be able to continue wearing them as my bump gets bigger.

Spa Break

For my mother-in-law's birthday, Susan (sister-in-law) and I thought it would be nice to treat her (and ourselves) to a nice spa break. We headed up to Donegal for a 2 night stay at the Carlton Hotel in Redcastle. Susan, myself, Anne and Eileen (Anne's best friend) enjoyed a relaxing few days treating ourselves to spa treatments and lovely food. I bought a bottle of rosé Cava, strawberries and a chocolate sauce to place in Anne's room upon arrival. We told Anne and Eileen to head into the bar for a drink while we checked-in and got sorted out. Picture of our efforts...

I know there are 4 glasses, but I only had 2 sips out of mine... I really don't have a taste for alcohol and have no plans to drink through my pregnancy. On Thursday, we headed out for a drive after breakfast... of course I forgot my camera, but the weather was perfect and the scenery gorgeous. Susan and I dipped our toes into the Atlantic Ocean/ Lough Foyle... it was freezing. After our drive, we all headed to the spa for our treatments. They didn't have a pre-natal therapist on staff so I couldn't get a massage, but I enjoyed a lovely facial and manicure. We had an amazing 6 course meal that night which was included in the price. We brought candles with us to surprise Anne at dessert.

We all had a great time. And for any of you looking for a wonderful and restful break I would definitely recommend heading up to the Carlton Redcastle Hotel. We got this brilliant deal- 2 nights B&B, 1 gormet dinner and 2 spa treatments for only 199Euro each!!

Bronagh & Jamesy's Wedding- 12 May

Unfortunately the weather did not stay clear on this day. The rain lashed down and made it impossible for outdoor pictures. Nonetheless, the day was lovely and a very fun event. I was exhausted having driven down to Newcastle for the reception and staying awake and on the go for 12 hours straight. The only real thing pregnancy has given me is this tiredness. Anyway, the bride and groom looked great and really happy on the day.I was able to get another use out of my bridesmaid dress from Heather's wedding, just wearing a black silk sash and black peeptoes instead of chocolate brown... although I had trouble fitting my breasts in. These bad boys have gone up to Fs! I'm kind of heaving out of most of the photographs. Here's me with the girls- Marguerite, Carment and Laura.

I could only stay up until 10:30 and then had to head off to bed. I was exhausted and my head beginning to melt from the progressive drunkeness of everyone else. I was disappointed I couldn't stay up for the disco and craic that insued after my departure, but simply couldn't make it. I had to take a picture of the cake which was gorgeous... and how I had wanted mine to look...

Majorca

I totally suck and haven't been updating my blog site. Much to report, but this blog will be about the holiday Ollie and I took at the end of April/ beginning of May...

It was so great to get out of town. I was totally knackered and my head melted with work. The weather was a bit of a let down, but we got tons of sun on the last 2 days... so I did get a bit of colour.

This was the view from our apartment... gorgeous, huh!

At the end of the road near our resort was a beautiful cliff that overlooked the small bay that was outside of our window and along the coast. We took the opportunity for a photo...

The other pictures are all pretty much the same, so I'll leave it there (plus it's late and I'm knackered). We had lovely dinners each night- I at a ton of Seabass... of course they had to serve the fish with head, tail and all of the bits in between. I could have done without that, but everything was delicious so I just closed my eyes and enjoyed.

It was so lovely to get away... our last real vacation as a 2 person family...

Check out my other blog for regular updates on my baby (when I say regular, I mean when I get a chance).