Weekly Wisdom

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The Saturday Update

The weeks are just flying by now. Highlights this week include:

• Getting the living room painted and bringing our beds over from the flat.
• Getting the xmas cards finished and sent out.
• A vert early but good baby group at 8.30!
• Watching Pete meet a neighbouring ginger cat.
• Meeting some of our human neighbours.
• Bringing over and filling the bookcases.
• Lots of Isabella smiles and giggles despite her first tooth breaking through!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!!

30 things - Start a Savings Plan

This week Isabella and I visited the local bank to set her up a savings account. I want her to be much more financially competent than I am so it makes sense to start early.

While we were there, I finally set up my own savings account. Obviously, I don't get the same benefits as Isabella but it still felt good to finally do something. My main financial goal is still to blitz my debt but at the same time, I can start putting a little aside.

There's something nice about doing something with your child, it's like a second chance and I'm loving it!

A goodbye

Even though it's been spread over a month, this move seems to have progressed rather quickly which is good in a way because I tend to get over-emotional but I just wanted to take a moment to remember what our old flat meant to us in the style of Rachel Jeffcoat.

This is the living room where we've spent so many cosy evenings, enjoyed many game nights, received many guests. It's where our Christmas tree stood for the last three years, where we skyped with friends and family to share news big and small. From this room we saw birds and squirrels up close. This is the room I was sat in when labour started and the first room we brought our baby girl into.

In this kitchen we cooked so many meals together, tried lots of new recipes and learned to live gluten-free.

In this bathroom I discovered I was pregnant!

Here in this bedroom, we brought our 'practice baby' cat home and waited for him to come out of his cage and accept us. This is where he woke us up like Simon's cat many mornings. This is where Nico proposed, where I told him I was pregnant and where our sweet baby girl slept for her first weeks.

This is the office where we both brought work home.

This room started out as a guest room, and we had many people stay there, it became something of a storeroom for our ever shrinking kitchen, then a nursery for tomato plants before finally being the nursery for our little girl - the scene of night feeds and smiley mornings.

Finally, our balconies where plants grew, kebabs were barbecued, quiet time was enjoyed and storks were spotted overhead.

This is the first place we called 'ours', home to our family of two, then three, then four. It's a home I'll never forget but now it's on to new experiences and hopefully lots more wonderful memories like these.

Girl Power

Becoming a homeowner has led to me trying several new things over the last month or so, and while none of those things were on my lists, it's been quite empowering.

Before the move, I had never painted a room before. I've now painted six with help from family. I've learned how to prepare the room and how to clear up afterwards too.  First it has made me very grateful for all the times my dad painted our rooms growing up - thanks Dad! (I'm afraid Isabella may be doing her own when she gets bored of yellow.) It also makes me wonder how my grandad did this as a job. I'm exhausted each Saturday when we are done.

My favourite new thing was building the above log fire. To be honest, I'm a little afraid of things like that and normally leave them to my chemistry teacher husband but he taught me how to do it this week and I felt quite proud of myself.

I'm sure there will be many more things to learn over the next few years as we get the house done and work on the garden and I'm really looking forward to it!

Recipe: Hollandaise Sauce

Ingredients:

• Butter
• 3 egg yolks
• Salt and pepper
• Water
• Lemon juice

Instructions:

1. Melt the butter.
2. Whisk the eggs and add the seasoning, water and lemon juice.
3. Gradually add the butter, mixing constantly.
4. When the sauce thickens, pour over your meal. (We eat it with fish and broccoli.)