Sunday 31 January 2016

Our New Additions

If you follow me on any form of Social Media site I apologise for the following post as you’re fully aware of the announcement I’m about to make...

We have 2 new additions to the Bailey household; Meet Jaffa and Henry... Our KITTENS! 


We’ve been contemplating some sort of Pet for a while now and initially it was going to be a fish! That changed when we saw how much the Neighbourhood Cats loved Millie! She was like the Cat whisperer! They loved her and she loved them so we looked into getting a little Kitty of our own. A colleague recommended a lady who lived local and took in strays, abandoned cats and other animals and said she may have some kittens coming up soon! A phone call and a visit later we were proud owners of these two beauties! 

They are both males, around 13 weeks old and are the cutest things EVER! They are a little shy around Millie still but Jaffa is warming to her more each day! We only got them yesterday so they have plenty of time to get used to her but they seem to have settled in so well and we’re so happy! I never saw myself as a Cat lady but these two guys have changed that! 

The place we got them from re-homes 100’s of Cats each year, these babies along with their 5 brothers and sisters, were dumped on her doorstep a few days before Christmas! Unfortunately, they do all have Caliche Virus too, which is basically Cat Flu that can effect their respiratory system causing snotty noses and runny eyes but dealing with a poopy toddler that constantly has a snotty nose, it’s nothing new to us - it made me want them even more! So with careful thought, we went for it and can now call these cuties ours! 

If you’re looking at re-homing a Cat, Kitten or other small furries, please do take a look at Lost Paws Small Furries Rescue page on Facebook or Cats in Need if you’re local to Burton on Trent. 

I’m sure these fella’s will be making many of an appearance on here so stay tuned...








Wednesday 27 January 2016

Life.

It's been a while and this may turn out to be a bit of a rant but I feel like I need to air my feelings a little bit and perhaps explain my absences...


Over the last few months, things have got a little bit too much - Working full-time in a very stressful job, studying my last module for my degree, working a business from home and being a Mum to a very demanding 2 year old. For any human, this would be a lot, for me, I thought it was manageable. That was until something inside of me broke. Something that I thought I was holding onto quite well, something that I didn't really knew existed. My sanity has always been something that I've been praised for - I'm quite strong willed, I can deal with things relatively well and I can take a lot of things on at once and just, well, get on with it. That was the old me.

From around October time, I noticed a change. I didn't really want to go out with friends or struggled to make the effort, I was constantly busy and never really had time for anything or anyone else. Work was busy, life was busy and things were just too much. I tried to get on with it, as usual, until it started to effect areas of my life that were pretty strong. My relationship started to take a bit of a hit and I just wasn't happy. I don't know why I wasn't happy, I just wasn't. It wasn't anything anyone had done, it wasn't a situation that I had ever really been in before and all it took was a bad day at work and that was it.

I had been diagnosed with Anxiety and Depression which is something I would never, ever have put myself into a category of. Do you know why? Because I thought I was strong. I thought I could deal with everything that was happening on my own. I don't bring others into situations that I'm struggling with because I like to deal with them on my own. I'm not argumentative and I have quite a tendency to put things to the back of my mind and let them stew for a while before dealing with them. This is my problem, I know this but it's something I've always done and to change a life long habit is something that we would all struggle with.

I am happier now, I feel better in myself, I've prioritised a lot of things in my life and I am enjoying everything a little more. I just wanted people who feel like they're in a similar position to know that it's ok. You're not the only one and please don't think you have to tackle things alone. There are people here for you to talk to, to rant to, to cry to. We're here.

You're not super-human, no one is.

Tuesday 12 January 2016

Travel: Bluestone Wales

A huge apology before you start reading as I have been meaning to post this for SO LONG but I took a little break before Christmas as I had a lot of things going on and have only just got back into the swing of things... Hopefully I’m back and badder than ever in 2016! POW!! 

Anyway... In October, the three of us took a little holiday down to Bluestone Resort in Wales. Bluestone is a family park, kinda like Centre Parcs if you know what that is, with lovely little woodland lodges and a village in the centre of the Park. It is located about 15miles away from Tenby so there are beaches nearby if you want to explore the wider area! We stayed Monday-Friday with arrival time being around 4pm and departure at 12pm. 

The resort was so easy to find with sign posts as you come off the main roads for the last 20 minutes or so of the journey... There was quite a bit of traffic though as we realised the traffic we were in were people waiting to get into Bluestone! Check in itself was super fast and simple, you don’t even need to leave your car! Simply roll up to the check in window (yes, like McDonalds) collect your key and then head to your lodge! You do have to take your car back to the carpark which is situated at the front of the park though as there are no vehicles allowed on site (except disabled). We were overwhelmed with how simple the process was and how easy it was to find our lodge - a beautiful wooden, upside down living, 2 bedroom lodge with 2 bathrooms and a gorgeous view over the lake! The lodge was perfect, clean towels, comfy beds, a picnic table outside, dining table, TV and DVD player and everything in the kitchen you need to cook if you don’t want to spend money on eating out! 

















On the site itself, there is SO much to do for all ages! We tried to make sure that we had something to do each day and you can book on to some of the activities beforehand incase they’re fully booked when you get there! So for the Tuesday, we had booked Millie on to the Fairy Walk which involved going into the forest and doing Elf and Fairy activities also meeting real life Elves and Fairies along the way! Wednesday was a day at Camp Smokey with toasted marshmallows around the fire and an afternoon in the swimming complex and then Thursday was Messy Play and more swimming! In between all of this, Millie was in and out of the soft play which had a games room, a lego station and the biggest tree house we’ve ever seen! They have various climbing activities indoors too but of course, Millie is too small for them and we weren’t too fussed but watching other people do it was entertaining! We wandered round the lake and played games outside of the lodge - the weather was perfect, a little chilly but it didn’t rain, thank god!









































The site is pretty huge though and if you have a little one, I definitely recommend taking out the buggy hire which is £80 for the week or there are bikes available to hire. Of course, you can take your own bikes but we were bloody glad that we never got bikes as we would have been KNACKERED! The site is quite hilly so a buggy is your best bet and there’s 100’s of these little things whizzing round! There are charging points scattered all over the sites and they are simple to handle - you do require a driving license though so remember to have that with you...

It was such a fantastic week, I just wish that we had time to do more things as there was still so much to do. If you’re looking for a family break in England, I definitely recommend checking Bluestone out. It took us around 3 hours from Tamworth so it’s not too much of a big drive and Millie was entertained by the iPad and magazines! If you’re looking to go in Summer or Winter, there is something to do for all occasions as the resort it open pretty much all year round but be quick if you want to book school holidays as they fill up fast! Head to Bluestone’s website to book your stay.
*Collaboration with Bluestone Wales