My Resolution

is to be a better blogger.I have been awol for a while and must do better.
Life has been full of my normal ups and downs.Family life is never just normal in the nto household.
Haven't achieved all i wanted to achieve on the debt front but having so much rain hasn't helped and still being in recession.
But a few things have changed.Baby Isabelle came out of hospital after 6 days so 2012 has ended with a new grandaughter.

I don't like New years it makes me sad so i will be tucked up in bed before the bells chime ( helped by the fact i have not been able to sleep and have been up since 5 am)
Spreadsheet is ready to record all spends,which is a rather depressing read when you add up and annual expenditure figure and that's with living frugally.
So happy new year to you all and may 2013 be the year we finally sort ourselves out.

nto
x

Glad the world didnt end

Isabelle Rose was born at 11.55 am weighing 7 lb 9oz  3 weeks early.

Mum and baby doing well.

xx nanny nto

Light is clearly visible at the end of my tunnel.

Today i made our last payment (hopefully) to HMRC.
A year ago we had them knocking our door and threatening allsorts.The rest of the year was equally as hellish with the visits.

So it fills me with such delight to now have sent the final payment to them.I have phoned and they are looking into the difference in figures and hopefully sort it out,as i said before i have a paper trail so can prove it all my end.
My journey is still ongoing as i have 1 more payment for my car then just 1 more debt (apart from mortgage)  to pay.
Total debt is now £2100 left to pay then its mortgage blitzing time.53 months left on mortgage.

4D Scan

Today i had the privilege of being invited to see the scan of my grandchild in 4D.

It was amazing .My daughter in law is 31 weeks and tiny so her bump is all baby and baby doesn't have a lot of room to move.Even though the equipment was playing up and they have to go back in a couple of weeks for another scan.(Nothing recorded)We saw babies face pressed up against placenta,we saw it opening and closing its mouth.Fingers and toes all present and correct and even saw a rather rude gesture it did with a finger which was captured on picture.

Baby size wise is coming along nicely they anticipate about 7lb,both parents were very tempted to ask the sex but resisted.

Apart from that things have been fairly quite in the nto household.Haven't been able to pay the very last bits of 2 small debts off yet as money has not been coming in for weeks now but it should be soon.

Youngest daughter seems to be growing fonder of her friend she met on holiday.I'm happy that she seems happy again.
Eldest daughter took the very brave step of having a discussion about pay with her boss and fingers crossed that's looking hopeful.

Hope all is well in the rest of blogland
nto
x

Getting Old

Last night my OH and i went to a party.We don't often go into "town" and could have quite easily talked ourselves out of going but glad we didn't.It was a great evening and we actually got in later than our 18 year old DD.
So tired today though cant handle late nights especially when you still wake up and a ridiculous hour.

Finally got to meet DD's new friend.Shes seeing him,not a boyfriend.(cant quite get my head around how it all works nowadays.She plays it very cool but hes lovely( and gorgeous) and i hope we see more of him .

Bedtime soon always takes me an age to get used to the clocks going back.

nto
xx

KGB Deals

Since this recession started in 2008 there has been a big rise in companies like Groupon,KGB just to name 2.I get emails from these companies every day informing me of the bargain deals that are to be had.

One such deal popped up in the Summer which we decided to take advantage of.It was 1 night stay at the Holiday Inn next to Birmingham Airport for 2 people.3 course evening meal,bottle of wine,use of spa and a film of your choice all for £45.
Well yesterday afternoon OH drove the hour and a half to the hotel and it was fantastic.We checked in then drove to the nearest supermarket to buy a bottle of wine,refuse to pay £6.50 for a glass of wine.We returned to the hotel and had a drink whilst getting ready for dinner.We decided against the set menu so were allowed to spend £19.99 each off the bar menu.After dinner we took the wine back to the room to watch a film.The room was lovely and comfortable with a couch .
This morning we had breakfast which was a choice of full English,fruit .cereal and you could have different egg dishes specially cooked.

We checked out and drove to Stratford upon Avon ,we visited Shakespeare's birthplace,wandered around the town,visited some quirky shops and finished our visit with a cream tea.

A lovely 24 hours.

Birthday break away

We were so lucky with the weather,it stayed dry during the day and rained whilst we slept.

We had a fantastic time away but 2 nights wasn't long enough we all wanted more.The girls had a whale of a time and daddy loved spending such quality time with his girls it was written all over his face how happy he was.

Below are a few of my pictures,The Butlins Wave hotel is amazing we had a reef apartment (well 2 apartments) and you could have lived in it ,it was so well equipped.
We danced we watched shows,The children ( and grown ups) went on all the free rides as many times as they wanted.
Four generations of us went ranging from 4 years old to 80 and everyone loved it .
DD was 18 on Tuesday cant believe my baby has grown up she thoroughly enjoyed her birthday .

Back of Hotel

DD in Games Room

Front of Hotel

DS and DGD2

Off into town for lunch

Too cold for a paddle daddy

Face of an angel

2 beauties

lovely inlaws

master bedroom in my apartment

2nd bedroom

dining area

lounge

kitchen

view from balcony to the side,when you looked straight ahead you had a sea view

playing games

getting ready for a night out

Lazy town

1st legal drink

Birthday cupcakes

look at me nanny im a butterfly

Billy and Bonnie Bear

I love my daddy

Your so funny