u/grlsjstwannahavefun1

Open to other suggestions as well!

Hello! I’ll make it quick. I went in to Baby Scanning Co UK for an early gender blood test yesterday morning (Monday, 11AM). Website says results are ready in 3-5 days, but also says 2-3 days. My cousin is hopefully throwing me a tiny gender reveal party this weekend so we are anxiously waiting on results to be sent to her.

Has anyone had any experience in regards to how long it took to get their blood test results back for baby’s gender? Thanks!

Backstory: I’ve always been blonde. Obviously the top of my hair is my natural color, a light brown/dirty blonde. I was an idiot about 6 months ago and decided I wanted a drastic change. I went to a local hair stylist and asked for “copper cowboy”. I got bright orange and absolutely hated it. For 6 months I have never felt so horrible about myself and I am desperate to return to blonde. I don’t have the money to go to a salon (I live in one of the most expensive cities in the world and salon prices reflect that). Please, can someone please walk me through a bleach process to lighten my hair? I have blue bleach powder, 20 vol developer, and purple shampoo. But I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing. All I know is “do roots last” 😅. Do I just slap it on my entire head? Do I try a balayage process and sift through my hair with a tooth comb and only bleach sections with foil?

Listen, I KNOW I sound like an idiot. And I know most of the answers will tell me to go to a salon. I need to be very clear, at this point I would rather be bald than have this color I currently have. I have NOTHING to lose. Thanks for any helpful advice!

Warning for any animal lovers. We’ve just moved to Edinburgh a couple months ago so hopefully a local will have more insight. Our ten year old came in panicking the other day because he found a decapitated and flattened small bird in the yard. The next day, two more appeared and formed a perfect triangle. Cats, foxes, or a curse/spell being performed on us? Just curious as I haven’t seen any animals around in the Queens Gardens/City Centre area but maybe this is a common thing.

I understand this may never reach him, but I feel like in the moment I couldn’t express how thankful I was. We live off of Heriot Row and my dog slipped through our gate today (first time he’s ever done that and never would have guessed he could even fit through). He is completely oblivious to cars/traffic and was running out onto the road as cars were speeding by. I truly thought he was about to be hit. Not to mention I was running with my two year old in my arms down the road trying to get him to come to me, waiting for the inevitable. Every one looked at me but no one stopped until this very kind man ran across to help me trap him, then asked if he could help walk him all the way back to the house. What he didn’t know is just ten minutes prior to this happening I got a phone call from my family back home in the U.S. saying my dad had been rushed to the hospital. I was completely flustered and I know I said thank you a few times but I truly can’t put into words how much your kindness meant today. Such a restored faith in humanity. Thank you to that kind stranger!

I’ve come to that sad realization this past weekend. Growing up, I was always the kid who made presents for the other kids in class. Obviously as a child you don’t have money to go buy anything, but I’d spend hours on pictures and cards for other kids so they felt special and cared about. As I got older and grew a group of girlfriends, I was the one planning their birthdays, paying for everything, taking into account every little detail so everyone felt special. When my birthday came around, after spending the entire year tailoring each and every other persons special day, I spent mine alone. No cards, no plans, just a few quick “happy birthday!” texts. Same theme for baby showers, weddings, whatever other important life event or day that came around. I have always been the black sheep of my family as well. I’ve tried everything to make my father proud of me, I’ve gone to university, built a successful career, been his caretaker. But as the daughter who was born 23 years after they thought they were done having kids, when I finally moved away from my small hometown the last thing he said to me was, “well it’s not like you ever really fit into the family anyways”. I married a man who I thought was going to fill these holes in me. Before we got married, he was so thoughtful. Date nights that were so sweet, 5 bouquets of flowers at a time, trips around the world. We got married and I swear something flipped. The birthdays he used to make so incredible and special are now just an afterthought. A “wake up in the morning and try and figure something out” sort of day. I spend months planning his birthday, Christmas, Father’s Day. He just had his 30th birthday. I spent weeks trying to find something he would love. I surprised him with a trip to see a famous castle because he loves history, followed by another famous monument, and reservations at a beautiful restaurant. I planned everything from the transportation to the tickets to the timing to the gifts. I decorated the house in 30th birthday decor. He was so underwhelmed with it all. The castle was “meh”, the dinner was “not his favorite”. This Mother’s Day his mom sent me a robe via Amazon. This was the only thing I got. She asked him to wrap it for me, he grabbed the Amazon bag, went in the other room for 20 seconds, and came out with it in one of the “happy birthday dad!” bags…

This is who I am to everyone in my life. An afterthought. A quick, last minute, get it over with moment. It doesn’t matter if I clean the house all day long, if I plan everyone’s special days down to the minute, if I spend every second of my life worrying about everyone else around me, and I do. I am exhausted not only trying to be the best friend/mom/partner, but also with trying to be someone worth anything to anyone.

I’m a 30 year old married mom of two, a two year old and a 9 year old. I work from home. I have severe anxiety (social, situational and health). Lately I’m just stuck in a rut. I’m so scared of getting sick, and I convince myself I’m dying all the time. I’m depressed and I have to actively force myself outside, even though I live in one of the most beautiful cities in the world. The thought of going to the grocery store is exhausting. I’m so worried about the “what ifs” that I’m missing out on life itself and I spend all of my days doing literally next to nothing because of it. I want to start some sort of routine to not only convince myself that my health is important, but actually become healthier both physically and mentally. I want to look in the mirror and not hate myself. I want to lose weight. I want to feel desirable around my husband. I want to wake up early and dress nice and feel good and do things that are good for my body and mind, but it feels so overwhelming and I don’t know where to start. I guess what I’m trying to ask, is what are some things I can start doing daily/weekly/monthly to just FEEL better overall? What are some routines or activities or even morale boosters you have?