58 Lakeside Drive

A week later and I think we are finally setting into our new house. I have to say, I love it and I'm pretty sure Mark and Calum do, too. The move went off without a hitch, hiring professionals was worth every last penny in the end. Mark's family was also amazing in helping out, but thank God we won't be moving again for a long time!

The week before we moved he and Nana sat outside in the sun

Before moving in I had doubts, it had been so long since we last saw the house and I worried if it was really the best one for us. Everyday I love the house more and whilst it's going to be a work in progress over the next couple of weeks (spotlights fitted in every room, painters coming to paint all of the rooms, new carpet and a new fireplace), in the end I know it's really going to be our dream home. The space is amazing, I just can't get over how big it is! So far we've spent 80% of our time in the kitchen and with the nice weather (finally) arriving, we are really going to make use of the deck which is larger than our old backyard.

This move has just really made me feel like a grown up. The house symbolises the transition into that next phase of our lives, the grown up phase, and that for me is cemented in that I have an official guest room! The t.v. we installed in the kitchen, whilst a small thing, was something I have wanted since I was a kid. I have very fond memories of my Grandma watching the news in the kitchen on what must have been about a 6 inch screen while she was cooking and it's little touches like these that I want to add to our home to make it really feel like home.

Calum acts like he's lived here all of his life-he seems to sleep even more soundly and has absolutely loved exploring and opening all of the cupboards in the kitchen. A second dream comes true for me this weekend as we're finally going to put up Calum's swing set that the family bought for his 1st birthday. I always wanted a swing set growing up as a kid and now I'm finally getting one!

Loving the cupboard under the stairs
Exploring the kitchen cupboards

Yesterday Calum and I went on a short walk to explore the massive pond and park just behind our house. Initially I was pretty excited about just the pond, it makes for a gorgeous view from the back bedrooms and Calum loves ducks so I knew we would spend lots of time down there. I was so excited to find that if you follow the path around the pond it leads to the most amazing little hidden park complete with a huge grassy field and bandstand, a great toy area and picnic benches. I'm pretty sure we will be spending lots of time down there in the next few years and as we were walking down the path which borders our back fence, I could imagine Calum in a few years being a typical boy and exploring the woods back there (with supervision, of course!).

View of the back of our house from the park
Loving the swings (but not his hat!)
Calum's view of the geese and ducks

Anyway, we're loving it and I hope you all come and visit at some point as I can finally entertain! Otherwise I've been really busy trying to balance work (whilst Pat is away on holiday and having surgery I am trying to fit in every spare second I can), spending time with Calum and feeling like I am giving him enough attention, getting settled in the house and oh yeah, my marriage which unfortunately seems to come at the bottom of the list at the moment although I am looking forward to celebrating Mark's birthday in the next couple of weeks and going on a much needed date soon-I can't even remember the last time we went out!

Have a great weekend, it's going to be 27 here so time to fire up the barbecue!

Checking out the back deck