the missing blogger...

My deepest apologies for abandoning Lattes and Juice since December!  It just became too much living on a building site with the children and I was desperately trying to keep my head above water.  Between the invasion of the builders, not having a kitchen, endless noise and dust, terrible weather, living literally with giant holes in the house, and barely any internet just took a toll on me.  Thankfully our house is 97% complete and all so incredibly happy in our bigger and much improved  home!  Still unpacking the house but finally feeling back to myself again.  Just cannot believe that this is really our house and I promise to give a full reveal on our renovation in the next couple of weeks.

So here's the complete low down on what I have been up to for the past 6 months (seriously cannot believe I took such a long break)!

Andy turned 4 in December and it's crazy how quickly he has grown up.  We threw a London themed birthday party for him with a trip up to the London Eye.  Most of his friends had caught chicken pox just days before the party so we ended up having a small and intimate group.  Everyone had such a great time enjoying the breathtaking views of London from high up.  The amazing London cake and bus cookie pops are from Biscuiteers in Notting Hill.

And in a blink of an eye little Miss Milla Rose turned 2 in March with a Peppa Pig birthday extravaganza in our new kitchen.  My lovely friend made the most amazing and gigantic Peppa cake for our birthday girl and I don't think it will ever be forgotten.

Thankfully we had a big trip planned in December just when the building works got really bad.  We were missing doors, windows and walls at this point and it was just unbearable living in our house.  We headed over to stay with my mom in New Jersey and the kids just could not get enough of the snow.  No trip is complete without checking out all of the holiday sights in New York City, just like a tourist.

We were spoiled rotten with a fabulous trip to Casa de Campo in the Dominican Republic with my family for Christmas.  I have been going to Casa de Campo since I was a little girl and always have the best memories here.  It was just incredible to bring my kids to CDC and to be able to share this amazing place with them.  My husband had no voice the whole trip and Andy had a fever the whole time but there's no where better to be sick!  

After New Years we headed on a plane back to London and when we walked in the door to our house I was completely in tears.  The cloud of dust was so thick we could barely breathe and literally everything in the house with covered with dust, dust and more dust.  The best part is that both kids broke out with high fevers when we set foot back in our house.  We checked into a flat we rented from One Fine Stay just down the street from us instantly.  Within 48 hours we were back on a plane to my mom's house in New Jersey on airline miles.  Renting for the next 2 weeks just was not in our budget so crashing at my mom's was the best option.   We had taken 6 flights within a month at this point and now I can truly say that my kids are really amazing little fliers!

When we returned to London at the end of January the house was finally coming together and habitable again.  I was in tears when my builder surprised me with having my kitchen done a couple of days earlier than expected.  There is nothing like having running water, a gas stove and electricity all at the same time!  All I can say is that I can cook almost anything in a microwave and rice cooker.

We took about 1.5 months off from the airport and for Easter we decided to hop over to visit my family in Asia.  My dad lives in Shanghai full time and we have a ton of family over in Taipei.  It was such a great experience for the kids to see the other side of the world and get in touch with there Chinese roots.  We ate and ate and ate for 2 weeks straight and none of us wanted to come home.  

And now it's just so nice to be back on our daily routine filled with school runs, playdates and swim lessons.  Oh and waiting for the builder that finish off the last 3% which apparently can take longer than the whole of the renovation.  Back to work now!