The List - part 2

Since I posted 'The List' the first time I've added a few things - well it did have some gaps:

1) Move to a bigger house

2) Have a baby brother or sister for Joshie 
3) Get the holiday scrapbooks up to date
4) Learn to play the piano
5) Finish writing a book - any of them!
6) Loose weight - attempt to be under 11 stone!
7) Fit in my wedding dress
8) Do an assault course
9) Have a pampering day
10) Win the lottery - preferably big but a small win will do
11) Make something for the house
12) Cook a roast dinner
13) Get upto 400 followers on twitter
14) Play netball again - even if just once!
15) Watch five live sports you've never seen
16) Read five classic novels
17) Knit a scarf for someone who loves you and will wear it!
18) Eat 10 foods I've never eaten before
19) Keep a plant alive
20) Go and eat/drink in the university refectory
21) Learn some sign language
22) Finish 'This book will change your life'
23) Go to Jane Austen's house
24) Change my passport
25) Get Josh a passport
26) Get a tattoo
27) Get a family portrait done
28) Walk the amount of steps equivalent to the hours I'll be alive
29) Learn Hello and Goodbye in ten languages
30) Have a weekend away
31) Try a new sport
32) Get rid of the clutter and be ruthless over things we don't need!
33) Sell five things on eBay
34) Go to an auction
35) Take in five cultural experiences
36) Do the weekly food shop and not deviate from the list
37) Go to a casino
38)
39)
40)

So the ones in red are the additions, there are still three more spaces. Have a shout now as to what they could be or I might ask my son. And heaven only knows what he'll suggest. Damn, now I know you're going to leave it to him!

12) Cook a roast dinner

You were expecting me to blog about the third one? Well lesson one, if I was going to do this in order then it would need to be a list until I'm 50 - some things are going to take longer than others.

No shamefully we skip to no 12 - the one about the roast dinner. I'm not a veggie, I am a natural born non chef. I try and blame the fact on being the middle of three sisters so decided to keep completely away from the kitchen, especially as my older sister loved to be there. 

Admittedly it would have helped if I'd learnt a few things - instead I bumbled my way through university eating things like pasta n sauce and tinned ravioli and then branched out to quiche, chicken kievs - well I opened the packets and put them in. I've also dated men who could cook and married a very good cook. Needless to say it isn't me who does the cooking in this house. 

But I love roast dinners and it's something that we always had a Sunday roast growing up as children and something that seemed so time consuming, so complicated that I didn't think I could ever accomplish it.

But, with the watchful eye of the hubby and some suggestions along the way, I did. Ok, it was roast chicken which probably isn't the most complicated of roast meals, but I did do it. And realised that actually it's all in the timing rather than a deeply mystical dish. Well for me anyway. 

And while the pictures proved that it looked ok, both husband and son proclaimed it tasted good too. And my son is three so trust me, he'd tell you if it wasn't!

2) Have a baby brother or sister for Joshie

Yes it's been a while since I last blogged, but my time is very much controlled at the moment by the subject of this number on the list....

We always intended for our adorable son, who was born in October 2010, that he wasn't going to be an only child. I come from a big family, my husband less so, but felt it was better having siblings and we had richer (and sometimes more fraught) lives as a result!

Of course unlike some of the other things on the list, this isn't completely in our control. We can do so much but if it wasn't to be, then it wasn't to be. But of course one of the reasons I didn't publish my list too early was highlighting the desire to have another child. It's personal to us and as a working woman isn't something you want to shout from the rooftops until things are progressing well.

For us they did - we had some ups and downs along the way, a mere five scans during pregnancy, involving some scary bleeding, and a bump that wasn't growing particularly, and in the end being induced early and an arrival 10 days before the due date.

But what an arrival! We welcomed our gorgeous daughter into the world on the 8th July and she has been a fabulous addition to my already lovely family. So any lack of blogs is down to both enjoying my time with her and also starting to type just as she decides to wake, poo, etc etc. So number two achieved and we couldn't be happier! 

No 1) The bigger house

We bought our first home in 2009 and it was a lovely little house, in a lovely neighbourhood in a lovely town. 

Sounds fabulous doesn't it?

And it was. But we also out grew it.

It was the home where I first brought home my baby son, where I first worked out about having a garden and looking after plants, and painted walls. And having to take responsibility for getting things fixed rather than call the landlord or the letting agent!

But as we wanted to have another child we knew we needed more space and so it was time to look elsewhere. And it meant to get a bigger space we needed to move from the lovely road, the lovely town.

As with all house hunts, we saw some humdingers, we saw some good ones we missed out on and then we fell upon what I thought was ideal. My husband wasn't as convinced on first sight as I was, I just could see us there, but our son seemed more satisfied -the big open plan sitting/dining room offering the perfect place to drive his toy car around! Sold!

Well a bit of negotiation, a few viewings, a check over with a builder, but yes sold and we moved quickly. Sale agreed on July 16th and we moved in on Sept 21st. 

And, what of the lovely old surroundings? Swapped for lovelier surroundings. A really nice road, friendly neighbours and embracing village life. And filling my house with even more clutter? Yep, we've spread out somewhat!

So number one on the list - ticked off!

The List

I know, I've been slacking but trust me I've had some good reasons - you'll find out more in a bit. 

But the six month mark has now passed so it's time to put up the list which I started compiling in August 2012. But now it's time for regular updates - well and actually doing the list:

1) Move to a bigger house
2) Have a baby brother or sister for Joshie 
3) Get the holiday scrapbooks up to date
4) Learn to play the piano
5) Finish writing a book - any of them!
6) Loose weight - attempt to be under 11 stone!
7) Fit in my wedding dress
8) Do an assault course
9) Have a pampering day
10) Win the lottery - preferably big but a small win will do
11) Make something for the house
12) Cook a roast dinner
13) Get upto 400 followers on twitter
14) Play netball again - even if just once!
15) Watch five live sports you've never seen
16) Read five classic novels
17) Knit a scarf for someone who loves you and will wear it!
18) Eat 10 foods I've never eaten before
19) Keep a plant alive
20) Go and eat/drink in the university refectory
21) Learn some sign language
22) Finish 'This book will change your life'
23) Go to Jane Austen's house
24) Change my passport
25) Get Josh a passport
26) Get a tattoo
27) Get a family portrait done
28) Walk the amount of steps equivalent to the hours I'll be alive
29) Learn Hello and Goodbye in ten languages
30) Have a weekend away
31) Try a new sport
32) Get rid of the clutter and be ruthless over things we don't need!
33)
34)
35)
36)
37)
38)
39)
40)

Yes er shamefully still gaps. People have suggested things to me - like do a bungee jump, but I've done that. This isn't meant to be a list of all the things you should do before you reach 40, more what things can I do which are a bit out there, a bit stretching (ok you'll argue some but bear with me!) and some I need to do in the next six months. So suggestions for the last ones - be my guest!

Oh and comments on what's on the list, suggestions etc, also welcome!