Anniversary Weekend - The Third One

I thought I had better catch up whilst I have 5 minutes of sanity in the house. Ok, I admit, that's probably the biggest lie I've told in a while. That only occurs when they are at school. I am just choosing to ignore them for half an hour. The kids are beginning to drive me mad.

The weekend away was just what I needed but a week and a half later it all seems a distant memory already.

We left bright and early on the Saturday morning and our first port of call was the city of Ely. We did a quick wander around the town area. It was a beautiful little place. It's a city in the "old rites". By this I mean, compared to other towns and certainly to other cities, Ely is quite a small place but going back to when the town earned city status it would have been high in population and a thriving area. These days it seems like an average town in size but boasts of this beautiful Cathedral.

We actually stayed at St Ives in Cambridgeshire. A pretty little town that is about half an hour away from Ely or about an hour from home. The town was a little smaller than Ely but had lots going on. We went on market day and it was busy but a lovely environment.

We were lucky to be staying somewhere incredibly central. The picture above shows our hotel as the white building just in front of the church. We stayed in a lovely room in a pub that looked traditional from the outside but the inside was very very modern and a great place. They warned on the booking website that they had live DJ's at the weekend but they were very fair when it came to finishing times. Not that hubby and I worry. We're always happy to be up late and it's nice that we can chill in the same building we're sleeping in.

 We arrived early and took a little tour of the town first. We had a nice walk around somewhere completely new and decided to stop for a drink at one of the many pubs. The pub we went to was situated on a beautiful river and this was the view as we sat outside.

There are a number of boathouses along the river and being a Saturday afternoon, the river was busy with the odd boat on a little cruise. It was lovely relaxing in the sun child free.

We booked in at the hotel, dropped off the bags and er.... well, ya know, kid free.... anniversary.... you catch my drift.... spent a bit of time in our room and dozed whilst watching a film before getting ready for our evening out.

I had had a headache half the day but a little snooze seemed to make it better. How wrong I was! We went to a very trendy pub and whilst I had a glass of wine, I began to feel really sick as well as having the back end of my headache. I began to feel more and more sick to the point I really didn't think I could eat but we'd made a reservation in a tiny chinese restaurant (All the restaurants apart from the pubs were small due to the traditional style of the town) and hubby said it was just probably because I hadn't eaten much. So I settled for a glass of water with my meal, It was like a buffet restaurant but instead of getting the food yourself, they bring the food to you freshly cooked as 6 courses. Course 1 was a chinese starter platter. Sesame prawn toast. Coconut Chicken. Squid in tempura batter. Crispy Seaweed. Satay chicken. Prawn Crackers with dips and I am sure there was more but as soon as I started eating I DID begin to feel better. I didn't think I'd manage much food at all but once I started I felt so much better it was amazing the transformation. We then had soup, followed by crispy lamb pancakes with hoi sin sauce, spring onion and cucumber, followed by a meat main - I chose a light battered king prawns with sweet and sour sauce and a side of noodles with beansprouts. We could have had seconds of any of the courses but we found that we had had enough. It was a very enjoyable meal and the staff were top standard. They were sweet, funny, knowledgable and made us feel very welcome. We'd certainly go back there again.

After that we went back to the hotel bar (It was getting on for 10.30pm) and enjoyed a drink on the terrace watching all the really drunk people in the smoking area below. It was rather funny. The pub was vibrant and looked to be thriving. At 11.30pm as they said, they called Last Orders. The music stopped at 11.45 and they began requesting people to leave at 12. Most of the revellers appeared to be heading to a club down the road but we had been up early, plus we're old and not into clubs anymore, so we headed off to bed.

In the morning we had a freshly cooked English Breakfast in the hotel which was included in our booking deal. It was excellent quality and again, the waitress was very good and left a great lasting impression of St Ives and  The Golden Lion Hotel in general. (Click it for more pictures and details)

On the Sunday morning we had a quick trip to one of our favourite shops kiddy free and got one of Liams birthday presents. Sometimes, it's just nice to see things and go places without the distraction of small people who don't want to be there.

We were home fairly early due to hubby having to take his mum home.

We didn't do much on our anniversary itself as we'd done the weekend away and on the Tuesday hubby bought a little surprise home from work.

This is Tilly, the newest member of the family. She was found on one of hubby's work sites and is officially a stray so rather than have her come to harm in a big water tank, he bought her home. The kids love her and she seems to have grown so much in a week already.

We don't know how she got to the water works. The nearest houses are 5 miles away so she either got out too early and got lost or was dumped in a field. We don't have any idea how old she is so we will have to get her along to the local vets to determine that and when to get her sterilised. She's really good, very playful and she must have had some time in a family home as she knew how to work the cat litter tray straight away so apart from being a little skinny, she wasn't neglected. She isn't allowed out for another 2 weeks but she seems very happy.

Three Years

Sometimes it's just easier to steal the words of Bon Jovi......

"Thank You For Loving Me"

It's hard for me to say the things
I want to say sometimes
There's no one here but you and me
And that broken old street light
Lock the doors
We'll leave the world outside
All I've got to give to you
Are these five words tonight

Thank you for loving me
For being my eyes
When I couldn't see
For parting my lips
When I couldn't breathe
Thank you for loving me
Thank you for loving me

I never knew I had a dream
Until that dream was you
When I look into your eyes
The sky's a different blue
Cross my heart
I wear no disguise
If I tried, you'd make believe
That you believed my lies

Thank you for loving me
For being my eyes
When I couldn't see
For parting my lips
When I couldn't breathe
Thank you for loving me

You pick me up when I fall down
You ring the bell before they count me out
If I was drowning you would part the sea
And risk your own life to rescue me

Lock the doors
We'll leave the world outside
All I've got to give to you
Are these five words tonight

Thank you for loving me
For being my eyes
When I couldn't see
You parted my lips
When I couldn't breathe
Thank you for loving me

When I couldn't fly
Oh, you gave me wings
You parted my lips
When I couldn't breathe
Thank you for loving me

Good Bits and Bad Bits

Bonjour dearest friends.

I've been trying to update for a week but I have so much going through my crazy little mind I didn't have a point to start nor stop. I had plans for all sorts of posts yet they never came to fruition but in short, here's a little mish-mash of everything I can find.

1) Liam is 100% off nappies. 2 weeks, no nappies, 2 wet beds. 1 was the very first night and the second was the first night I didn't take him to the toilet when I went to bed myself. Every other night he did it himself with success. So that's it, no more babies, no more toddlers, just big boys in my house now!

2) These pictures amaze me. Photo 1 is my instagram photo of the little man himself.

Picture 2 is his great great great paternal grandmother, that' his dad's nan's nan or his great nan's nan. My mother in law has been working on the family tree and found this picture of his great ancestor Anne who was born in 1868. They have the same nose, the same mouth and very similar eyes. It's AMAZING that the web can find such treasures. I'm very interested to see what else the family tree brings  up.

3) Hubby was sleep talking the other night and it was so funny. I was having one of my "awake when I should be asleep" episodes and I turned over to get more comfortable he said to me "Don't knock into me, I'm shooting!" I replied "You're shooting?" and he responded, "Yes, shooting, watch out!" Before anyone worries that my hubby gas some odd tendencies towards firearms, I'll just point out that country living seems to have soaked into us both. A few of his work friends regularly go out game hunting, shooting pheasants and partridges and other game birds and he has been invited along a few times and has expressed an interest but I don't know if he'll ever go. It's an expensive "sport" even if you do shoot your own dinner.

4) James appears to have a wobbly tooth. He's not 5 for almost 3 months and it's one of the teeth he hurt a couple of years back so hopefully it's a good sign that it's growing ok underneath. The other tooth is still up in his gum and we'll have to see what happens about that but the other one looks promising.

5) I've been feeling a bit bleugh, this week. Not down, not unwell, just "off" I can't explain it. Maybe it's a bit of Mother Nature reminding me that even though I don't have the monthly visit from AF, I still have female bits and female emotions. I've been just, angsty, angry at the world and worn out. You know, that proper PMT feeling where all humankind are annoying, especially the male ones who make a mess and don't clear it up. Kids who leave Lego everywhere and generally.....er... generally feeling like I did when I was pregnant with the boys.

6) The kids have been playing together great this week but I am getting fed up of the school holidays now. They seem to be dragging now. I know in the US and Canada thoughts are heading towards going back to school but we still have another 2 and a half weeks to go. James and Matthew go back September 4th and Liam begins September 5th. So we still have quite a time to go.

7) We have most of James' school kit. He just needs PE shirts. I only want one but they sell them in packs of 3. I find this annoying!

8) Last week I made my 25lb diet goal. This week I haven't stopped eating and put on 3lbs. Poo.

9) Hubby is finishing work early today, picking up his mum and bringing her back for a nice Indian meal tonight and she will sleep over tonight so we can be on our way nice and early tomorrow for our day/night out in Cambridgeshire tomorrow. I am looking forward to a "mummy day off" These are very few and far between.

10) I always say every year seems to have a theme. This year seems to be focussed upon marriage. Whilst a lot of friends are marrying this year, I know of 6 couples celebrating their 10th wedding anniversary (If I hadn't left my ex, it would be my 10th anniversary next year too) and 2013 seems to be a year for break ups too. Whilst a marriage breakup is sad for all involved, it's also a very PERSONAL thing and I will never judge anyone on their reasons. For some, it's a release from an unhappy place and can make a person a much better person. This is how I felt with my marriage split and I know it's like that for someone else. It's only letting go of someone when you realise that life can really be good. I'm no expert on the case of marriage, separation or divorce, but alot of my understanding of it all came after time. Over the years, I've looked back and that I realised that the main things that caused us to split were just the icing on the cake. Looking back, there were so many other things where I felt I was being taken for granted, that I wasn't happy about that situation, that sometimes, I don't think I was ever happy with him. I just got carried away in the "new romance" stage, fell pregnant, married and it all just snowballed. So much happened so quick and at times I felt powerless as to how quick everything happened and I felt SO MUCH GUILT. I felt I had to marry for my unborn baby, he deserved a family. I felt I should marry for the sake of my family and to keep him and them happy. The only person I wasn't keeping happy in this crazy crazy time was myself.

Unfortunately it took an unhappy marriage to realise exactly what I didn't want in relationships but when I met hubby 2, everything seemed right. Admittedly, James and Liam did come along quickly but we were happy and it wasn't the kids what kept us together. We were happy from the beginning, he took on and stood up to my stupid ex and was happy to take on a stepson where many men would run for the hills. Even though this was a whirlwind relationship (I don't do things by halves!) it was the opposite of the last. It took time to meet the right person, I dabbled with dating before I met him but have never looked back. We married within 3 years of being together, we had the kids, did the house move then married so it was fully back to front compared to "conventional" families. But what is conventional these days.

11) Remind me to do that post on "Parental Politics" I've done similar before but I have new ideas on school run mum.

12) I've been reading more again this week. 4 books in a week is good. One on Guilt Free Parenting (very funny hence my inspiration for number 11) and 3 murder mysteries. Two were short books and 1 really was rather poor to be quite honest but my newest book was the best book I have read in a long time. I will certainly be looking out for more from this author.

13) I'm feeling rather happy and chirpy today so I'm going to share my favourite song of the year so far. I can't wait until the album comes out on Sept 16th - my bubba's birthday:



Not normally a fan of the "country sound" but I love this DJ!

24.5 and other numbers

I don't often talk about my weight in this blog. I save most of that for the Weight Watchers blog and members community boards but there is something in me this time that makes me determined to succeed. As of my weigh in last Saturday I am 0.5lb from 25lb and therefor, 3.5lbs from my 2 stone marker.  I have a long long way to go but I am feeling so much better, happier with myself and confident these days it's been worth every bit of hard work watching what I eat, exercising and worth every penny I've spent. (Membership costs £11 per month which I find VERY reasonable)

Right now I am really into my Just Dance on the Wii. I am getting better every time I go on, my scores rise and I feel my arms working hard. I walk alot which helps the bottom, thighs and legs so overall I have a good body system going.

I really want to meet that 3.5lb weight loss goal by next Saturday (Aug 17th) as hubby and I are having a day out followed by a hotel stay to celebrate our third wedding anniversary. THREE years of marriage already! Wow. That's longer than my first marriage and we've still never had a single falling out. hehe.

It's funny to think that when we first met I was actually still married.

Bad bad girl. wink wink. 

I used to tease him that he only wanted me as I was a married woman and he wanted the challenge. I even mentioned it the other day and he admitted he'd forgotten that I was married when we met.

Of course, I was separated and in the process of divorce but for the average person, it can take some time. Last week, about 4 weeks after their public problems and 3 weeks after divorce was mentioned, Nigella Lawson and her husband Charles Saatchi divorced over a 90 second court meeting. The Power of money. I was in limbo awaiting a divorce for almost 2 years. There were "technical issues". Namely that my solicitor lost her license for legal aid funding. As I was a single mum who initiated the divorce I didn't have to pay. We had no assets to fight over so it was a simple case of getting the marriage annulled. However, she left 9 months in and a new solicitor took over all her cases as well as her own and in January 2009 the divorce was finally official despite the separation taking place in May 2007 and I met hubby November 2008.

Looking back, those dates seem so far away now. So much in life has changed and mostly for the better.

So, all of a sudden we're looking forward to a lovely little night off to enjoy our 3 years of marriage and plan to have a nice meal out, a few drinks and enjoy a real date night.