Up to 50% off at Cath Kidston!

I was just having a wee online shop around and noticed that there is a wonderful (up to) 50% off at CathKidston.co.uk!

As their Sale creative says, this means that the Sale is now “Cheap as chips” 😉

Shop the Sale online now>> CathKidston.co.uk

Our GroCompany purchases: Swaddles, GroBags and GroEgg.

We first came across the Gro Company when researching cot’s and moses baskets. We completely fell in love with the pretty patterns and prints of their now-famous Gro Bags (baby sleeping bags) and decided that on that alone we would definitely purchase a few for baby boy bump! The Gro Company are the original, and only company to be recommended by the FSiD.

So I signed up to the mailing list and received a lovely catalogue through the door. The designs are so lovely we could have bought them all! We had decided that we wanted to swaddle baby boy bump when he arrives – so went straight to the GroSwaddles section.

We’ve gone for the ‘Woodland Friends’ and a twin-pack of the ‘Wish Upon A Star’ print.

Woodland Friends GroSwaddle £11.50. Click here to purchase exclusively online at JohnLewis.com.

We also opted for the ‘Day/Night’ twin pack and a ‘Little Trikes’ sleeping bag. Absolutely love the Little Trikes print. It looks and feels really vintage – but in a good way!

Click here to purchase GroBag sleeping bags exclusively online at JohnLewis.com

From the catalogue you can receive a massive 25% off when you order over £40 – so we thought ‘Sod it, let’s buy a GroEgg while we’re at it!’. So we did. Looking forward to using it! Had a trial run in the bedroom last night…turns out that bay boy’s bedroom isn’t a bad temperature! The GroEgg will also make for a great nightlight too!

GroEgg Room Themometer, £19.94. Click here to purchase at JohnLewis.com

 

All in all, we’re pretty chuffed with the quality of all the products now that they’ve arrived. We can’t wait to use them!

Have you had your little one’s in any Gro Company products?

MM.

 

Cath Kidston: 15% all styles, one day only!

Cath Kidston (UK)

I know a lot of you are huge fans of Cath Kidston, just a really quick one to update you all on the exclusive promotion that the brand are running! Until 31st March at 8am, receive 15% off all styles at CathKidston.co.ukicon with the below promotion code!

Offer: 15% Off all items
Enter promotional code: EGGS
Valid from: Thursday 29th March, 6pm GMT.
Expires: Saturday 31st March, 8am GMT.

Click here to take advantage and shop now at CathKidston.co.uk>>

Don’t forget to enter that promotional code at the online checkout!

Let me know what you purchase!

I’m off to the dentist now – so will be making my purchases upon my return.

MM.

Cath Kidston Sale: Up to 70% off!

Cath Kidston (UK)

I absolutely LOVE Cath Kidston – and now is the perfect time to shop their amazing printed goodies! They have a massive (up to) 70% off all their Sale styles! Have a look below for some recommendations!


Chelsea Roses Nappy Bag (and essentials) – NOW £40.00

Toy Print Baby Gift Set (perfect for New Borns!) – NOW £7.00!

 


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Dinosaur Kids Drawstring Washbag – NOW £6.00icon

Zoo Reversible Duvet Set – NOW £22.00!icon

Shooting Star Laptop Case – NOW £12.00

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Dotty Fondue Set (perfect for catch-up’s with friends!) NOW £12.00!
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Coming clean about your pregnancy at work.

So as I mentioned in my previous post, I felt it was the right time to speak to my boss about my pregnancy. Although I am still within the first trimester I feel I owe it to him and the company to come clean. After the Christmas party and the festive drinks and meals of the week before, I was told by a close friend and colleague that people think I might be pregnant… I hadn’t even told her the news yet either! SO I had to REALLY play it down. I had planned to tell EVERYONE ELSE after the 12 weeks. Just to be safe. But now that people were ‘gossiping’ about my impending situation, I felt I had a responsibility to tell my manager before anyone else catches up with him.

So on the morning after the office Christmas party (Friday 23rd) it just so happened that we were the first to turn up at the office… I had a feeling that most people would be arriving somewhat late to work. So I took this as a prime opportunity to take him aside for a chat.

It also, just so happens, that he had an inkling. So when I asked for a chat he had an instant smile on his face. He knew. He so knew.

So I basically said that DP and I were ‘expecting’. To which he grabbed me and shouted congratulations and I KNEW IT! So yes, he did know. I was somewhat taken aback by his excitement. I knew he’d be happy for us as I’ve worked at the company for many years now and I do know my boss outside of work because of this. So I was pleased it wasn’t a shock for him. Ultimately however, as a department, this is the first baby to arrive. SO! It’s going to be a learning curve for everyone that I work around, including my boss. He suggested that I wait for my chat with HR until after Christmas when everyone is back in the swing of things and it can be dealt with properly.

So yesterday I had my chat with HR and they sent a ‘Risk Assessment’ form to my boss for completion. They have also sent me a Guide to Maternity on behalf of the company which outlines the rules and regulations at company-level but also my entitlements and legal standing from the government too.

So that’s that – I’m officially pregnant at work! But shhh, nobody else knows!

Are there any tips or tricks that you found whilst being pregnant at work that might be beneficial?

MM.

Christmas Party Woes!

It’s that time of year when there are LOTS of invitations to festive drinks and meals. I’ve had TWO important ‘festive drinks’ and a ‘festive meal’ with external companies through work this week… AND I’ve just got back from my office Christmas Party.

I’ve documented my previous struggles with excuses for not drinking in the below blog posts:

TTC: Excuses for not drinking!
TTC: Excuses for not drinking, PART DEUX.

It’s been a struggle again, but because of my recent trips to the hospital I have just been saying that I’m on strict orders not to drink until my “blood test results come back”. I’m pretty certain that people are not convinced – but I have had quite a lot of sympathy! 🙂

So at tonight’s office Christmas party there was the usual free-flowing booze from the onset. I’m usually the one guzzling the freebie’s and dancing the night away… but things are obviously quite different this year! Upon arrival there were ready-made cocktails, with jugs of the same cocktails ready for people who wanted a refill. I obviously couldn’t drink them so politely asked the barmaid for a ‘soft drink’. To my dismay she REFUSED and said that it was the ready made cocktails for the first hour and ‘custom drinks’ could be prepared thereafter. So I said, “I don’t wish to drink a customised drink, I’d just like a lemonade or a tonic water please?”. I actually could not understand!! To my further dismay, she pulled over her manager, who reiterated to me that there were no additional drinks until after 8pm….and that I could have a glass of water if I was “desperate”. Seriously, how rude?!! Nevermind being pregnant – I could be allergic to alcohol, or alcohol may even be against my religion! (Neither of these are true, but they don’t know that!). Has anyone else had trouble with mardy waiting staff?!

Despite being post-8pm I still struggled throughout the evening to obtain non-alcoholic drinks. The music was so loud that most bar staff thought I was asking for Vodka and Lemonade when I was simply asking for ‘JUST LEMONADE PLEASE!’. By 10pm I was absolutely exhausted and frankly, sick of the people behind the bar so left ready for home! Several colleagues did question whether I was pregnant… Most of whom were pretty much beyond drunk and wouldn’t have remembered my answer the next day anyway. But I did shrug all awkward questions off with “Maybe next year”.

Because of the amount of appointments and phone calls I’ve been making during working hours (and the CONSTANT not drinking anxiety!), I feel that the time has come to tell my boss what is really happening. I’m kind of looking forward to finally getting it off my chest – albeit, I know it’s still really early doors. I’d just hate to have people thinking I’m taking advantage…

Wish me luck!

MM.

 

 

TTC: Excuses for not drinking, PART DEUX.

Just wanted to go back on the original ‘Excuses for not drinking’ post. I took another Mumsnetter’s advice and pursued the Tonic water with ice and lemon route for my several social events this week. It worked a treat! Nobody even battered an eyelid. Perfect!

Here are some of the other suggestions put forward on my post:

ChocoBOO says:

Just don’t say antibiotics. Dead give away!

When I found out I was pregnant I said I’d been having migraines so needed to rule out causes – worked for alcohol and caffeine.

Jenniec79 says:

Be the driver? It’s the other unquestionable excuse for not drinking on a night out!

MrsDobalina says:

At work dos I always walked around with a glass of wine and waved it around, pretended to sip it but never actually drank any. This worked even at dinner – it’s amazing how little people noticed! 

At bars I ordered tonic water and asked for ice and lemon so it looked like a g+t. 

LydiaTheTattooedLady says:

There was one last time I had quite an aggressive dental infection. Dentist told me not to even risk a sip, as it can cause severe vomming.

Nice.

Whereismywine says:

I’ve got a big run/bikram yoga in the morning
I’ve got a nasty bout of cystitis – this shuts people up!
I’m on a detox
I’m driving
Ive got a big drive the next morning
I’ve got an important work meeting the next day 
I have one half pint of something at the start of the night. Often no one asks after I’ve been seen with that. Usually give it to dh. Difficult if rounds are going.
I’ve got a cracking hangover.

I wish you all the best ttc. But if it does take a while, a glass of wine or two a week would be fine, in my humble opinion.

So with what Whereismywine says in her last sentence, what you think of one or two glasses of wine while TTC or PG?

MM.

TTC: Excuses for not drinking!

I stopped drinking several weeks ago in order to be the healthiest I can be; as myself and DP had planned to begin TTC. We’ve now began the exhausting journey of trying to conceive. The giving up drinking thing was fine because we didn’t really have any social events planned and had kind of slowed down on the red wine at home already. When we had been for meals with friends (we have the same circle of friends luckily) recently, we’d been quite open about our plans… but work friends are a little bit different. I have a work friend’s birthday party tonight, another party tomorrow, a meal with work colleagues next week – aswell as a conference with evening ball! There will be lots of wine and champagne flowing, and in attendance will be my boss, with whom I get on with, but obviously wouldn’t want to find out I’m TTC for fear of work complications.

So not only is it a busy week – but a lot of time spent with work colleagues and alcohol. Which would also be fine if I wasn’t renowned for being a little bit of a red wine lover! How have you ladies gotten around the not drinking thing? Any useful hints and tips? Or even excuses? My DP will be attending the party tonight and tomorrow and won’t be drinking either – stressbox!

MM.