UP TO THE MINUTE, UPDATE!

Not quite up to the minute but ......newsflash........Website address is www.budeself-catering.co.uk I realised yesterday, when www.thedaytodavis.co.uk  mother asked how the website was going ( she is a follower of Maid in Cornwall), that I hadn’t updated the blog with regards to the website having going LIVE!!!

Take a peek, hope you like it, then tell all your friends who want to visit Bude to stay there!! Been busy titivating the house after the last visitors, there is not much to do, had the carpets cleaned yesterday so feeling nice and fresh. Really want to update the children’s bunk room with some cushions as I have managed to acquire some lovely fabric that would look great in there. All in good time I think!

Am now responsible for getting the SEO for the website monitored and to try to elevate our position in the Google searches, am quite enjoying keeping the website updated and am so pleased with the way it is looking. Not my comfort area – technology- but I am learning bit by bit and have to say it is a minefield of information.

Another area where I struggle at the moment is shopping, I know, strange for someone who’s wardrobe resembled Gap’s latest collection and most of the high street alongside it some years back. These day’s I find clothes shopping a testing activity where I get bamboozled by the array of choices offered, I’m sure that’s why I love charity shop rummaging as there is a limit to what you are offered.

Yesterday was D day for getting my ball dress for next week’s Hartland Ball. http://www.abbeymidsummer.com/story.html.  I started with the North Devon Hospice Occasion Wear shop in Barnstaple, thanks to a “tip off” from www.thedaytodavis.co.uk unfortunately I didn’t find what I was looking for there, beautiful cocktail dresses but not full length ball dresses which was the order of the day. Next stop, Monsoon. Katie came with me and it was good to get a second opinion on the dresses, I know what suits me now and am no longer disillusioned into thinking I can wear the styles that I can’t but it is always nice to have a second opinion when you are searching for that special dress. After only 2 dresses I had found “the one!” Feels lovely to wear, very simple (always good with me) and tastefully accessorised by the lovely lady in Monsoon I am kitted out for next week. Within an hour and a half of arriving in Barnstaple we were sitting in Pizza Express eating lunch with Katie’s mum, mission accomplished!! Food is a great motivator for many things I do in life, shopping is no exception!!

Looking forward to getting dressed up for a wonderful night out, for a wonderful cause.

HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY JT

Quite profoundly taken aback by how emotional I was feeling on Tuesday as my “big boy” turned 7. For some reason this changing of years from 6 to 7 seems like a huge leap, mainly for me. My sense of pride when I saw him come into our room at 6.30am to open his presents was magnified this year, his sheer joy at opening his presents whilst saying “ah thanks” for each one opened. I loved it when he said “you remembered when I said I liked that, thank you” made my heart just fill with deep love for this lovely boy.
I remember so vividly my pregnancy, birth and first moments with my eldest son. The pregnancy was an anxious one for us as we had to say goodbye to little Emily at 20 weeks gestation, 18 months previously. Due to being hospitalised during and after Emily’s birth, I was adamant that I wanted a home birth for this child, luckily the midwives in Bude were very pro home births and were well versed in home birth procedures and I had much faith in my midwife, Chris Edwards.
A 20 week scan unfortunately showed 2 anomalies at JT’s scan and I was sent to Bristol for further scanning, unfortunately this is what happened with Emily, as you can imagine I was an emotional wreck until we had some good news that they would monitor the cyst and his kidney development and would hope that it would rectify itself by the 30 week scan I was booked in for. Still, a tense 10 weeks past before we had the all clear and I knew that my baby was in the clear – phew!
I remember the home birth with happy memories, was a very warm day and I spent some time in the bath with the window open listening to the voices of people and life going by, little snap shots of that day stick with me. Mr T was there for me as and when I needed / wanted him, at times I just wanted to be alone and others just with Chris (my midwife).
Eventually after 14 hours, my little man arrived, delivered in the bathroom, which to this day causes much laughter with JT as he was almost born on the toilet!!

JT - 1 day old x

Just made me realise how lucky I am to have my two healthy boys and am privileged to be able to be part of watching these lives develop and have learnt so much from becoming a mother,  that I count my blessings a little more today.

LOTS TO CATCH UP ON

Life has been an array of outings, training, proud moments, organising, dancing, racing and generally just doing for the last month. Never a dull moment it has to be said here at Maid in Cornwall.

Website is so very close to going live now, still some final touches – why are there so many final touches??!! – it is looking great and I am very proud of it, hope to be able to introduce you soon!!

JT became an orange belt in ju jitsu at the end of May and alongside many mum’s and dad’s there that day, an enormous wave of pride came over me when his name was called to go and receive his belt and certificate from Sensei Tony. Alongside his ju jitsu, JT has been progressing really well with his swimming and enjoyed taking part in his school’s swim gala. All the children are so very supportive of each other,from Reception to Year 6 they are cheering their house’s on all the way through. Good to know that JT’s points went some way to helping yellow house to come 1^st this year!!!

We are coming to the end of the half term and we have certainly filled it with fun times for both the children and Mr T and myself.

At the beginning of the break, myself, Claire and www.thedaytodavis.co.uk took ourselves off to Bristol to enjoy the Dot to Dot music festival. An amazing mixture of bands in various venues in Bristol playing from 3pm to 3am. Thanks to the awe inspiring organisational skills of Mrs Neal we had made a list of bands we were keen to see and made sure we knew the venues and how long we had between sessions – we also made sure we were able to book a table at Zerodegrees for another taste of their pizza and doughballs!! The Naked and Famous were by far the main event for me, with some great surprises along the way. Trophy Wife played in Thekla ( an amazing venue in itself) and I really was blown away by them. Made me realise how much I want to hear more of these emerging bands and will endeavour to do so as much as time and money allow!!

Was great to be back in Bristol after our girls weekend there back in November, although it did feel strange without Helen and www.ayres-rocks.blogspot.com beside us – here’s to Cardiff ladies!!!

I managed to meet up with the gorgeous Sian www.wealllovepost.blogspot.com at Zerodegrees and catch upon her news in Bristol,although The Naked and Famous did drag me away rather more quickly than I would have liked.

The following day, www.thedaytodavis.co.uk and myself headed off to the bright lights of London town whilst Claire returned home. Katie and I were running in the Bupa London 10K on the bank holiday Monday and had arranged to meet our hubbie’s at Waterloo when their train arrived just after ours. Was great to have some time with Mr T on our own as my mum had kindly said she would have the boys whilst we took a 2 night break in London. Was blissful.

Mo Farah and the elite men

There's Paula!

Katie, Kit, Mr T and myself had booked into Joel Robuchon’s restaurant in Covent Garden on the Sunday evening and we enjoyed a wonderfully relaxed evening of fine dining and great company, as well as an overindulgent stab at the cocktail list. Paula Radcliffe would not have been necking back French 75’s as if they were going out of fashion the night before her race, but then I’m not Paula Radcliffe and I was doing just that. There is nothing like spoiling yourself is there, but I think the cigar at £37 that Kit and Mr T decided to purchase was mind blowing!! A great night was had by all.

The next morning was a complete surprise to me, I awoke feeling good and really looking forward to the race. Thought I would have had a headache at least, thankfully not – my alcohol drinking schedule had been going rather well of late! Had a good breakfast at the hotel and as we were only a 15 minute walk away from the start line I decided to warm up by running some of the way there – I know I couldn’t believe it either, think French 75’s are going to be my pre race hydration of choice from now on!!! Felt great at the start, we were set off in waves and the atmosphere was amazing, very friendly and highly energetic. The whole route was lined with supporters and it felt like a carnival atmosphere, weather was warmer than anticipated,although the drink stations were really well manned and I used them at both points. Felt great running over the finish line in front of Buckingham Palace at 55.37 minutes.

As soon as I had finished I phoned my mum to speak to the boys, really miss not having them at the end as love seeing them. They were excited to know that mummy was only a stone’s throw from the Queens house!! Mr T and I really want to take both boys to London at the back end of the year as now that TJ is nearly 4 I know that it would be a great family experience. Felt weird when we went to London with JT as TJ stayed with my mum. He was still in a pushchair and anyone who has encountered London with a pushchair will tell you – never again! Now he is able to walk a fair way and is generally much more receptive to adventures, we will return to the city soon.

Had a great time away but was so good to see the boys again, they always look taller somehow! They had had a great time with mum and Mike, spent most of their time with their cousins which is a recipe for a very enjoyable experience for all.