Hens and Godmothers

It was my hen party this weekend - blimey the final milestone before the big day!

My sister had arranged that all my friends come and visit my new house and stay over for the weekend, and we booked a table in a local restaurant in Knutsford, warning them that we were 10 exciteable hens!

I was so excited to see everyone as I havent seen any of them since we moved, and most of them I hadn't seen for a good few weeks before that even.

My sister and I had had a sister night-in a few weekends before when my partner had had all his stags round, and we had decided that weekend that we would have a fairy godmother theme, with each fairy blessing me with a different virtue.

All sorts of plans and preparations went into it on everyone's parts and I was actually quite nervous to see everyone!!
Some of the hens magically transforming into Fairy Godmothers!!!






Fairy Godmothers of Wealth, Humour and Love!







Fairy Godmothers of Success and Family!









Fairy Godmothers of Happiness, Beauty and Luck!







And me!!!!








And then karaoke!!!




So now only 2 1/2 weeks to go - yikes!

My friends really made me feel a lot better about it all and now I am only looking forward to it and won't think of anyone else except me and my Groom!

Thanks Hens! xxx

A little ray of sunshine

This weekend just gone we went to Poland for my partner's best friend's wedding. We were really quite excited about it really as we thought how lovely it would be to escape the not so great British summer and get a bit of sun before the wedding. We also rather enjoy a Polish wedding with all their food, drink and games and the fact that their weddings generally go on until last man standing.
And sure enough, the wedding was lovely - so relaxed, so unpretentious.
We both were amazed as we drove through the streets of Warsaw, that outside of every church, of which there are many, was not just one wedding party, but several, almost forming a queue!
There were rows of limousines and fancy cars either waiting for the couple inside the church, waiting for the couple outside the church still to go in and get married, or waiting with the next couple to go and wait outisde the church.
Brides were literally passing each other on the street!!
We got to the church that we were headed for, and quite bizarely I thought, were our friends, the Bride and Groom, standing together, being photographed, waiting to go inside the church.
They also were waiting for the previous service to end.
I found it so strange that they waited together outside, and then, when we eventually all went inside the church, the bride waited outside and then walked up the aisle to meet her groom at the altar.
Equally strange I thought was the fact that after the ceremony, the bride and groom hopped into their car, which was parked down the street, and drove themselves to the reception.
Now, they weren't on a budget and in fact they hired a really grand restaurant in the middle of a popular park for their reception, so I just wondered why they hadn't hired a car or anything to drive them.
Anyway, the meal was not so typically polish. Instead of a free-for-all where you sit wherever you like in a horse-shoe of tables, and then help yourself to the platters that are brought to your table throughout the evening, there were about 10 round tables with a seating plan, and we were served a 4 course meal. Very English!
As soon as the meal was over, the Bride went missing, only to return to the party in a different dress. Now, in Poland, and perhaps in England when I went to a wedding 20 years ago, I have seen brides change from their wedding dress into a more comfortable evening dress, or cream suit or such like. Not here. This bride got changed into a completely different wedding dress!! A proper wedding dress!!
I don't understand that.
Anyway, the evening was great. The poles have no inhibitions about dancing at all, which suits me fine!!!
And at 4:30am, much to the groom's dismay, we left the party and went back to my partner's mum's house.

And that's where the problems start!!!

I've mentioned her in an earlier blog I think. Well, staying with her is like going back to being 5 years old. As soon as we go in, she has the table set and we have to eat her homemade soup. You know, as most parents, she just wants to look after her boy. I don't really want to eat her soup but I kind of have to.
And then she brings out all sorts of pate's and polish delicacies and I have to eat them too.

Anyway, after the meal we all sit round to talk with cups of polish tea.

She is something of a worrier. Well, that's to put it mild really.
Very polish, very old-fashioned.
She and her husband split up 15 years ago. He was with another woman and still is, in fact they got married last year.
The mother has never got over it. She talks about it constantly, as well as all her other problems - the house is too big for her to look after, how she spent her whole life looking after her children, how she is getting old and her children aren't here for her etc. etc. She is only 60 and perfectly healthy.

It gets you down but you just put up with it and learn not to respond. I used to get quite angry because her situation is no different to anyone else's, but now I just accept that she feels very hard-done-by.

Anyway, then we get talking about the wedding, or rather she starts talking about in Polish and I stare at the ceiling. I get the jist because I can see my partner's eyes rolling, and see him getting red and annoyed.
She is upset because she has to get a train from Chester to Manchester ariport (as does everyone else), she is upset that we chose a place in the middle of nowhere without considering her, she is upset that she has to check out of her first hotel at 11am and not check into the wedding venue until 2pm (standard), and she is upset that she doesnt know anyone that is going and wants to sit by her children.
She is so upset that she leaves the room in floods of tears saying how it will be such an unhappy day for her.

I hold my tongue.

We have been losing sleep over our seating plan. No joke.
My parents are divorced and don't speak, my grandparents are divorced, and my partner's parents are divorced and would beat each other up if they could.
I have woken up first thing in the morning several times and had to go and re-do the seating plan.
I couldn't put my partner's siblings on a table with just one of the parents as the other parent would get jealous. So in the end I decided to take all my partners siblings, all of mine, and all of my cousins and put them on a table together, and then surround the mother with my family and some people she'd really get on with.
But now she wants her children with her.

Anyway, thankfully the father calls then to say he is outside to pick us up. So we stand up to say goodbye and I give the mother a big hug to say thank you for letting us stay and that we'd see her soon.
She stands back and exclaims 'so what, she doesn't kiss me now?'
I was so taken aback I just said 'oh sorry' and leant in again to give her 3 kisses on the cheeks, which wasn't reciprocated!
And then she closed the door on us.
I was gutted and had a real lump in my throat!
Anyway then i got quite angry really, because I had had to sit through an hour of her talking polish that I couldn't understand, getting upset about our wedding, making my partner feel awful and upset, and then she got upset because I didnt kiss her - something which is her tradition, not mine!
Grrr.....

I held my tongue.

Anyway, once we were alone, we got talking about it, and I was very diplomatic because I didnt want my partner to feel worse and I would never ever want to turn him against his mother or anything like that. But he let rip, and in the end we didnt hold back at all and we got it all out in the open and we both felt that same. We both felt like we have been kidding ourselves thinking we could have a wedding with all our family there and that they could all put their differences aside and we'd have loads of lovely family photos at the end of it. How silly we were to think that!

So now we are dreading our big day! We sat on the plane and did the seating plan again, and then we made a list of all our photos we want taking, which is just as complicated. And we just thought how much of a disaster and nightmare it was going to be.

Most people say that it is the best day of their lives, and I am dreading it!!

Anyway, a few more sleepless nights pursued. And we know that we are both quite down about it. My partner is looking into cancelling his mother's ticket and everything!

We both feel exasperated.

But this morning I woke up and as usual, my partner was already working at his desk. He came over to give me a big hug and then stood back, looked at me and asked me to marry him.
Gosh, I could have cried like I did the first time he asked. I cant tell you how I felt.

It was like he had just said, 'you know what, forget about everything else, and forget about the day, and forget about how stressed we are. I just want to marry you.'

And I gave him a big hug and thought 'we are so on the same wavelength.'

And now I can't wait again!!! As long as I can see to the end of the aisle and he is there waiting for me, I don't need to see anyone else....

Operation Baby Baby

We have just got back from the Women's Hospital.

It always seems so empty there. There are no patients waiting to be seen at all, and the staff are all really friendly and have loads of time for you.
We saw Mr. Russell this time, who was really young and very nice.
He is taking us very seriously and wanted to know if our priority will be to regulate my periods, or to have a baby.

My partner answered for me, saying that he wanted a baby as his priority, which I was made up about! I wanted to give him a huge squeeze right there and then.
He knows I have a phobia of being an old mum! It's not that I am getting old as I am only 27, but my parents were 20 when they had me, and I just think that they are such a great age now as we are on fairly the same wave-length and can still go out and have a proper friendship together.
Most of my friends parents were 10 years older than mine when they had children and you can see the difference. Of course I am going to be more the age of my friends parents when I have kids, but I just dont want to be much older than that! In my eyes, knowing what I have always wanted, 27 is about 2 years older than I wanted.

Probably all women feel this, but I kept having a little niggling thought that I was dragging my partner into this and forcing him to think about it. But just that second when he answered the doctor's question, I realised that he wants this as much as I do.

So, now all the tests start properly.
I have to have 2 blood tests this month at various stages of my cycle. Then, in December, I have to go for this lovely procedure where they fill my tubes with dye and look to see if they are all open properly with no blockages or anything. Just lovely!!
I am already taking folic acid daily which the doctor commended.

I feel like a writing a book on this!

He's a real treat

I walked in yesterday just as I caught my patner telling Alvin he was a 'real treat'! See, they do love each other.... arrrrr......

One I made earlier

Happy Birthday Jack xxxx

The Wonderful World of Rabbits

We have been living with Alvin for nearly 2 years now. This month marks his 2 year birthday.

We decided to get a rabbit because we couldn't have a dog and because I don't particularly like cats. We thought that having a rabbit would be the next best thing to having a dog but would be a lot easier and less responsibility. We could leave him on his own and he would generally take up less space and be less expensive.

Well, we got to the pet shop one evening after work, when I could not bear the suspense any longer. We got to the rabbits enclosure, and there, looking up at us was this tiny, cream rabbit with silvery blue patches and huge ears that just flopped in front of his face. He was literally a bundle.

The guy who worked in the shop informed us that this little guy was the last one they had and that we could come back in a few days when we would have more choice. As if I could leave him! And why, I wondered, was he the last one to be sold when he was just so so cute.

So he was bunged into a box and we took him home.

We decided to introduce him to his new home slowly, and so we sat the box in the middle of the living room and just opened it. Then we sat there and watched what he would do.

Nothing!

That little rabbit literally sat in that box for 2 hours! He took the odd sniff of the new air around him, but no, he was quite comfortable in that little box. It was his.

In then end, we tipped the box onto it's side and waited for the little guy to hop out. He took his time but eventually, very gingerly, he took his first steps.

Alvin, as we called him, then started making his mark on the place, literally, and we soon discovered where his favourite toilet places were so litter trays were positioned adequately, and little by little, as we discovered eaten wires and cables, and nibbled shoes, we rabbit-proofed the house.

The little chap settled in lovely and was so tame and friendly. He loved nothing more than to hop onto my knee and watch TV with me (as long as I was stroking his ears!)
He would get up on the back of the sofa and stroke my hair and lick my forehead - so so loving.

When his daddy (my partner) was doing DIY, Alvin just had to know what was going on and would help him out in his own special little way.

Whevener we had friends knock, he always had to answer the door first and find out who it was and what they wanted. He loved the attention that they showed him and loved showing off, doing pirouettes in the air and running full-speed like a locomotive back and forth through the house.

Yes, he settled in just fine.

Alvin is a house rabbit. He lives as one of the family. He goes to bed last thing at night when we go to bed. I pop him in his cage with some food, and usually he is more than happy til the morning when we wake him up. Like a child, sometimes he can't be bothered getting up and will remain lying down in his cage for a while longer. Other times he bombs it out of the cage and you see him running quickly to his litter tray!
He won't go to the loo in his cage - he's a very hygienic fluff. I've tried putting a litter tray in there for his own comfort, but after seeing he wouldn't use it, I took it out and freed up some space for him.

Alvin loves to be amongst us all, but he also has his own little places where he goes to be alone. They are special rabbit places like under the bed, or in some very small place behind a box or behind the sofa.

He also goes for little walks in the garden by himself and pretends to be really brave, eating grass and sniffing flowers, but the slightest movement or sound, he jumps up and runs back into the house. There he will start thumping his back foot to warn me that there might be a danger outside.

He is very protective of me too, and on the odd occasion one of our male friends has had to stay over, and Alvin has found them in the morning asleep on the sofa-bed, he has actually nipped them! That's the only time he has ever bitten anyone, and I can't be cross because he is just being lovely (and territorial!) and probably doing 'Daddy's job!

Alvin spends most of his day just nosying around and sniffing things. I think he looks for trouble when he wants attention as he only ever gets into trouble when we are around. He will start nibbling something he knows he shouldn't and then, when you shout at him, he will just turn round and start licking the nearest thing to him - a chair leg, a wall, a shoe. You can almost hear him saying 'what? no, don't be silly, I was just licking this shoe here. Honestly, Mum.’

Alvin is just the most affectionate little fella. He runs up to me and just does little circles round my feet. If I am ever stood for longer than a few seconds, he will come and position himself between my feet and lie-down, quite content.

If I am sat down, he will come and nestle himself as close as he can to my thigh, pressing his little body into the side of me.

If I stroke him, he will pay me back by licking my fingers. How special!

Hmmm… Alvin and my partner don’t exactly have the same relationship! I think they compete for my attention a bit and have a love hate relationship. I know they love each other because on the odd occasion that my partner has time to stroke Alvin, Alvin will grind his teeth happily, and will lick his generous stroker’s hand, affectionately.

However, Alvin does try to wind my boyfriend up a lot and will misbehave when I am around because he knows that I won’t shout at him. When I am not there, he will stay out of the way as he knows he will be shouted at if my boyfriend catches him doing something.

But when I am there, and Alvin is in his safe zone, he will push and push and push my partner and really try to cause an argument! What a clever bunny.

He is also very cheeky with him. When my partner is in his office working away, Alvin will approach the closed door. I will be in the next room doing something, thinking that Alvin is by my feet still. Then I will hear Alvin, scraping at the office door and then suddenly, by the time my partner has opened the door to shout at him, Alvin is already back at my feet licking the floor like he’s been there the whole time. He can repeat this several times before he gets told off!!

And Alvin has been known, when he is upset, to get up on our bed and wee on my partner’s pillow! Thankfully this has only happened twice so far!

I look down at him sometimes and just wonder what would have happened if he’d gone to someone else’s home, and if we hadn’t have got to the pet shop in time. Would he have the same little personality? And had we got a different rabbit, would they have the same character? I think not. Alvin is incredibly special and definitely has a very strong personality. Our life has definitely changed since we’ve had him. My boyfriend would tell you it’s changed for the worse, but I sit here now watching him as he passes Alvin a surprise baby sweetcorn and gives him a little rub behind the ears!!!!

The little dude is 1!!!

Happy Birthday Jack!!!

Little baby Jack came into world on the 11th August 2007!


Since then, he has just grown and grown, and what's more he has just grown into a real cheeky chappy! How can such a little guy, ooze so much personality?



He has been camping.....



He's been to the beach....



He's been to London....




He really is a little explorer!

I can't believe a year has gone by and our little fella is 1 already!

Happy birthday little guy xxxx