Joy and Austin 18: 234 Days Since the Wedding and Counting

[LittleOwl]

On 20/01/2018 at 12:22 PM, victoriasponge said:

 Then spend the rest of the year searching for a place around the Leicester/Nottingham/Derby areas. Cheaper and has an abundance of cute Victorian terraces that I like. Plus he’s training to be a lawyer and I’ll be a primary teacher so we should be able to find jobs.

There are lots of affordable builds out in the suburbs of Nottingham at the moment. I'm considering trying to get on the property ladder back home in Notts rather than near London where I need to sell my soul to afford a garden shed. 

[Meggo]

1 hour ago, Irishy said:

All the shoes on/off talk became redundant in our house once we got our dog and her giant paws. Every day in winter is a battle with mud. 

me too. I try to wipe them off before she comes in - but she is constantly going outside. She's always begging to go out or in (depending on where she is) and I'm tired of the muddy paws. The prints are EVERYWHERE. (thankfully she's not allowed upstairs)

I need a bath mat to mitigate it.

 

[louisa05]

7 hours ago, SapphireSlytherin said:

We're getting ready to sell our money pit house and we are going to rent for a few years before we retire to the UK. We've already figured out that being able to call building maintenance for furnace/air conditioning/water heater/dishwasher/plumbing issues is going to be FABULOUS. It's also going to save us a TON of money.

Owning a house isn't all it's cracked up to be, sometimes. lol

At the same time...it's ours. I'm not young and this is literally the first time I've been able to decorate my own way and have things as I want them. Plus the space. I was so sick of having no space for anything I couldn't take it anymore. I had a Christmas tree, all the decorations, an aquarium, extra leaves for the dining room table...all in the bottom of my closet. Now my closet has....wait for it...clothing, shoes and accessories. And it all doesn't regularly fall out in an avalanche because it is stacked on top of a Christmas tree. I remember these things when I write that check. 

[melon]

My house was built in 1991.We are the second owner.We have a foyer,after you come in the front door,to the right is a formal dining room,if you keep straight,there is a closet for coats and such,to the left,a door going in and out of the garage,then after that door ,is the stairs to the bedrooms,but if you keep going ,you can go left into the living room or straight into the kitchen,there's a sunroom off the kitchen, with a door to the back  yard.We have a laundry room off the kitchen ,and another door to the dining room.I love my laundry room.We lived at our other house for 30 years.I had a washer connection in the kitchen,but did not have a dryer connection.I used a clothesline,or a rack inside,or had to go and dry clothes at the laundromat.I went through a few washers,so sometimes it was washing and drying at the laundromat.I certainly do not miss that.I have thought about getting an indoor rack for drying clothes,in case of an emergency..lol..That and my HOA doesn't allow clotheslines.

 

[SapphireSlytherin]

8 hours ago, LittleOwl said:

There are lots of affordable builds out in the suburbs of Nottingham at the moment. I'm considering trying to get on the property ladder back home in Notts rather than near London where I need to sell my soul to afford a garden shed. 

We're looking at Dorset/Southampton area for when we move back over there. I'd love to live in North Wales because I totally ADORE it, but DH thinks it's too far from London. lol

I also really like Wiltshire and Oxfordshire, but damn - property is SO expensive there! We'll go there with our savings, which - if things stay the way they are - will be enough to buy a small end-of-terrace house, or - if we're really lucky - a semi-detached. At least we'll own outright and will be on the property chain. Then when we need assisted living, we'll be OK selling and moving into one of the over-60s places.

 

BTW - Kensington is where we stay (we have a tiny shared-ownership apartment there) when we visit London right now. But to buy outright? No way. I found a GARAGE (yes, a one-car GARAGE) for £100,000. But you're not allowed to live in it. lol

[singsingsing]

I love Wiltshire. I would probably live in Wiltshire if I ever moved to England. As soon as I win the lottery...

[Seahorse Wrangler]

We lived just outside of Swindon for 8 years in one of those villages which looked like it was going to be gobbled up into the urban sprawl.

I loved being able to drive to London if I needed to to but preferred the train journey(past the Uffingham White Horse). The Cotswolds were about 30 minutes away and my personal favourite for misty early mornings, Avebury was around 40 minutes away.

 

The downside was horrible traffic on Fridays in the summer with people escaping London and the surrounds for Dorset and Cornwall. I quickly found a few back routes to avoid the M4. And the Fairford area for the airshow.

[mango_fandango]

Ooh ooh ooh we’re talking about the UK!! 

I live in London, if we’re precise, in the suburb where they hold that tennis tournament every summer . 

I’m a bit odd. Although I’m quite introvert, and don’t go out much, I love living somewhere with a lot going on. I’ve always thrived when I have stuff to do. I would hate living in the middle of nowhere/some small village, it would drive me insane. It’s fine for a week’s holiday, but any longer and I get bored. When I went on my uni year abroad, I was in a town with not much to do and I got so damn bored... thank fuck for laptops and Amazon, my mother sent me so many DVDs that year  (couldn’t use Netflix or Prime because I had an internet limit every month). 

Ideally I’d live in London forever but it’s so damn expensive. I could probably do ok in another big city, but I’m quite a homebird (year abroad made me realise this) so I’d be happier nearer to my parents. 

[Bad Wolf]

I grew up in Northamptonshire. Very boring.

[LittleOwl]

I used to live near Swindon in a little country town... but I'm currently in Reading. Yuk. We are getting CrossRail in the next year or so and all the empty office blocks are being converted into flats. A friend of mine tried to buy one, but they refused to sell to owner occupiers. They only wanted to sell to landlords! Grrr!!!! 

I miss Nottingham and being close to a vibrant city and also close to countryside.  My dream is to have an old property in Bunny and have a couple of Donkeys

[Scrabblemaster]

10 hours ago, louisa05 said:

Now my closet has....wait for it...clothing, shoes and accessories. And it all doesn't regularly fall out in an avalanche because it is stacked on top of a Christmas tree. I remember these things when I write that check. 

Oh I know what you mean! Before we moved into the house we are living in right now, I had to share the wardrobe with Mr. S. It was a four-door-wardrobe, which meant two doors for each one of us. We still use it now and the problem was not that I had to share my wardrobe with the man I love. The problem was, that it contained our clothes for winter, summer, and the times between, our underwear, our socks, our bedclothes for winter and summer, our blankets for either winter or summer (depending in the season we had), our table-cloths AND I was able to squeeze one box of wool and knitting supplies into it. It would fall out on a regular basis and I would have to iron things like dresses or blouses before wearing them, because everything was so crammed. I have no idea how all of this did fit, because now we use this four-door-wardrobe  for our clothes plus a chest of drawers for underwear and socks plus a chest of drawers for bedsheets and blankets and the knitting supplies and our table - cloths moved too. 

And we have two toilets for two people too!!! Pure luxury .  Although one is our guest-toilet. In our old apartment we had the luxury, that our toilet was separate from our bathroom. That was great too! Ahhh I loved that apartment, but it had it's faults, such like no isolation and a heating installation that broke down regularly in winter. It worked fine during the warmer seasons, but in winter it was just to cold for the heating to work .  Ahh the good old times ... 

[CarrotCake]

33 minutes ago, Scrabblemaster said:

And we have two toilets for two people too!!! Pure luxury .  Although one is our guest-toilet. In our old apartment we had the luxury, that our toilet was separate from our bathroom. That was great too! Ahhh I loved that apartment, but it had it's faults, such like no isolation and a heating installation that broke down regularly in winter. It worked fine during the warmer seasons, but in winter it was just to cold for the heating to work .  Ahh the good old times ... 

 We have two toilets for two people and both seperate from the bathroom. I love the luxury.

Only our upstairs toilet does not have a window or other ventilation so no number two there ;-)

[VBOY9977]

So the video was deleted from Joy and Austin’s Instagram page. 

I wonder if it was because some tabloids decided to exaggerate the whole thing (as always) and said that the house was super filthy and messy, and they felt kinda embarrassed?

i didn’t think the house looked filthy and only some parts were messy because they’re still moving in. Tabloid magazines really stress me out sometimes

[freedom_for_all]

7 hours ago, Bad Wolf said:

I grew up in Northamptonshire. Very boring.

My boyfriend lives in Northamptonshire. Can confirm there is literally nothing to do here.

[louisa05]

5 hours ago, Scrabblemaster said:

 And we have two toilets for two people too!!! Pure luxury .  

Yes! Two toilets is pure luxury. We have a full bathroom in the main hallway and a half bathroom off our bedroom. I use the one in the bedroom for everything but (obviously) showering. Mr. 05 uses the main one. So I can have all my stuff wherever I want it and the entire cabinet is mine. And the great part: he isn't in there to move my stuff!! Because that man loved to stand around in our tiny duplex bathroom and rearrange all my stuff. 

I did finally break him of moving my stuff in the shower after about three months of yelling from the shower because I could not find the shampoo. He had never lived with anyone who is extremely nearsighted before. 

(And by extremely nearsighted, I mean I can't see your face from a foot away if I'm not wearing glasses or contacts, not "I kind of really need them to read but I can without if I want to"....Just saying.)

[LegHumperBibleThumper]

On 1/17/2018 at 4:28 PM, justoneoftwo said:

I would be so stressed about everything left to do in the nursery, but thats just me.  Ours was done in December, he was due in May.

You are stressing me out!! I am due in May and the only thing I've done is empty the walk-in closet (which was no small task). My shower is at the end of Feb so I don't have much to even put in it right now.

[HermioneSparrow]

My non malicious envy to all of you guys who live in the U.K.  I lived in London for a year and fell in love with my grandma's homeland!  Wish I could live there again.

[VelociRapture]

1 hour ago, LegHumperBibleThumper said:

You are stressing me out!! I am due in May and the only thing I've done is empty the walk-in closet (which was no small task). My shower is at the end of Feb so I don't have much to even put in it right now.

I know it can be overwhelming to think about. Take a few deep breaths and remember you have over three months left to get things sorted. Even if you don’t get it done, newborns don’t need much for the first few weeks - all you need is a way to feed them (pretty much you and/or clean bottles and formula), a way to keep them clean (whatever diapers you’ll use, wipes, diaper cream, baby soap, lotion), a way to keep them warm (washed clothes, blankets, and sleep sacks), and a safe place for them to sleep (bassinet, crib, pack n play, etc.) Focus on those areas first and you should do perfectly fine.  

[justoneoftwo]

3 hours ago, LegHumperBibleThumper said:

You are stressing me out!! I am due in May and the only thing I've done is empty the walk-in closet (which was no small task). My shower is at the end of Feb so I don't have much to even put in it right now.

Oh don't stress.  We were stressed about everything that needed to be done, so we started right away.  It turns out there wasn't much that needed to be done! My headship spent the rest of the time stressing that there wasn't anything for him to do!

[Knight of Ni]

Ok since we are talking about preparing for babies I thought I might share this photo that a friend of mine posted. I can’t even begin with all the things wrong with this photo. How can someone reasonably compare smoking cigarettes with ensuring your child is fed. Yes, most health experts say that breastfeeding is the most healthy for your child, but some people, like me, were unable to breastfeed. Should I have let my child starve? No, I went out and bought formula. Actually I already had some just in case. 

ETA: I would have loved it if my doctor had given me some free samples because formula is expensive. 

[allthegoodnamesrgone]

I hate it when people act like breastfeeding will bring about world peace.  Get over yourself, you are feeding your kids, so was I, but for my kid it was formula or starve to death, since I don't lactate (neither does my sister).

As for Joy's place, it wasn't bad, the tools drove me batty but that is because I live with all those tools and they drive me batty, and we are NOT renovating nor are we moving in, we've been there nearly 14 years.

[Jenn The Heathen]

Because formula is on the same level as cigarettes.  Guess I should have let my kids starve because my milk never came in.  Or maybe I could have given them cigarettes since apparently they’re the same thing.

[melon]

I would never say anything negative to a woman who breastfed,and decided it wasn't for her,or a woman who couldn't or didn't breastfeed.I breastfed two of my three,and had unsupportive people in the family.My mother in law would watch the clock,and tell me my baby wasn't getting enough,if he nursed,then two hours later,nursed again.She told me I didn't have any milk,which wasn't true,in my case.She constantly asked when I would wean.My pediatrician supported the mothers by telling us she would not tell us when to wean,that it was between the mother and baby.Of course,that went over like a lead balloon with my MIL.She told me to change doctors.With my third ,my MIL kept telling me I needed to give him a bottle everyday.When we'd come over,she'd say," Did you bring his milk?". I'd say no.She'd proceed to tell me I needed to give him a bottle everyday.My sister in law told me she didn't bf because she knew how our inlaws felt about it(they regarded it with digust).I told I knew ,too,but would continue to nurse my baby whether they liked it or not.And breast or bottle,FED is best.

[AtlanticTug]

I don't understand why anybody cares about how another woman's child is fed, so long as they are fed.

I did BF my first but we had to supplement in the beginning because I am an insulin-dependent diabetic and what happens in many babies of such mothers is that their blood glucose crashes after birth because they still have circulating insulin in their body (I have to inject it for survival up to the time of birth, and am also on an IV drip for insulin or glucose, depending on my numbers) but the colostrum is simply NOT ENOUGH to keep that child from going into a hypoglycemic state. And by the time the milk comes in, that baby could die. And even despite all this I had a lactation specialist/activist acquaintance of mine blast me for it saying that colostrum is most certainly enough biologically and that in her opinion the side effects of diabetic mothers on babies are wildly overstated in an effort to hook us on formula. A person without a science degree, much less a medical degree, now knows more than my endocrinologist, the pediatric endocrinologist, the neonatologist in the NICU and so on. It is just so frustrating and I was so angry. I don't judge whether you have Type 1 (genetic) or Type 2 (acquired) diabetes, and neither should anyone else. But it killed me that my diabetes, the fault of bad genes and nothing I have ever done wrong, made me feel so guilty about how much harder my body was making it on my newborn already. And on top of that she had the gall to tell me I shouldn't have supplemented and there is no way she'd "put that stuff" in her baby's mouth. RAGING HATE.

[Screamapillar]

My toddler was exclusively formula fed and she's perfectly healthy. Those 2 packs she smokes a day must really be helping her immune system!*

*Obviously, I am joking about the cigarette part. I couldn't help myself.  Those "You better breastfeed your baby or else" memes are HORRIFYING!