Wedding Day

It was Lara and Rob's wedding yesterday. It was a lovely day and all Lara's preparation and hard work paid off. Her dress looked lovely too.

Here is Lara beside her Hippy Wagon:

I did a reading at the ceremony and was a witness, and Isobel was the bridesmaid.

The happy couple:


Isobel looking angelic:


Isobel behaved herself througghout the ceremony, but was an evil moo for the photos. I had to put her back in the car as she had a massive screaming fit. She also got grass stains all over her dress!



My favourite picture from the whole day:

Finally, I get a chance to finish my blog!
On the Saturday evening I met up with Lara and her friend Claire(yes, another one) for a few drinks. Then Lara and I went on to Polysexual at The Fridge in Brixton, and had an awesome night! We stayed for the afterparty, and didn't leave until 9am. Naughty girls!



I've been off sick from work for two days with a bug of some sort. I just feel so tired and washed out now, even cooking dinner exhausts me.

We tried Isobel in her bridesmaid dress ready for Lara & Robs wedding, she looked very sweet. Jake looked adorable in his outfit too. I can't post all the pictures as it might give too much away. ;)


Pete is really doing my head in talking about babies at the moment. I was really broody, but then we booked the wedding and I forgot all about it. I was really happy with what we have, I'm enjoying the freedom of no newborns, and definitely didn't want to take a newborn to Jamaica for the wedding. Then he started saying he was going to get the snip, he was even joking about it in front of friends which was a little inappropriate.
We talked about it a few nights ago and he was adamant he didn't want any more. I told him that I'm not willing to discuss it in depth until after the wedding, I'm happy as we are right now, but I may want more in the future. I just want that option, I'm only 26. I said that when you love someone you naturally want to have babies with them. We are such a happy family and I can't help wanting to create children within that. I get a little bit upset when I think that Isobel is the only one we can have together. We each had two children outside of this relationship, whom although we love very much weren't created in ideal situations. I just don't want this to be it. This much joy should be shared with more children. We honestly have so much fun together. Anyway, the next night he said he'd think about it. So the broodiness comes back. Argghhh! I'd not thought about it for ages. Why did he have to talk to me about it.

Then today he said that what I'd said really struck a nerve with him, and after the wedding we'd talk about it some more, and he may consider having another. I'm really happy with that. I may not even want any more, but I don't want those doors to be closed to us forever. For now I'm just enjoying the ones I have.

Crazy weekend!

Whew...that was exhausting, but lots of fun.

On Saturday morning I went to London with Isobel, Taylor and my Mum. Firstly we took Taylor to see the monument to the Great Fire of London. He's been working on it in school so he was really excited to see it and climb it. It's 311 steps!





Then we went on a meetup with some friends from The Treehouse messageboard. We went for a pizza in Kensington, then for a chat in Hyde Park. We had a great day, Isobel was grumpy and Taylor and Ben had a great time. Everyone was really nice, and I can't wait for the next one.






More to follow...

Wedding

We went to a wedding this Wednesday, it was just gorgeous. Not too dissimilar to the original wedding we had planned in the UK, before we got hacked off with all the family politics and organisational headaches. It was beautiful, and me and a few of the girls blubbed quietly through the ceremony. The music was perfect, they had a Metallica, Oasis and a Darkness song playing.














All the girls(you can just see me on the right with pink feathers in my hair):


















The gardens where the reception was held:


















The venue was stunning, I couldn't recommend it enough to anyone looking for a magical day. The website is http://www.creekseaplace.co.uk/ .

Hot, hot, hot...

It's been gorgeous here, I have a lovely tan. It's a nightmare keeping the kids cool and covered though. They tan so quickly, like me, that even with SPF 35 on they've gone brown. We had friends over all day yesterday, just to chill out and have a few beers. The kids had the pool out, and I cooked us all dinner. It was a nice day, but exhausting!






I have Angela and Alastair popping round for a cuppa today, and Jayne is coming back over to sunbathe in my garden. I love the summer!

Football...

I took Taylor to his new team training today, they were a nice team(if a little small). We need to help the coach get the numbers up.

Then we got the bus to the social club to watch the World Cup wth all our mates. I sat outside in the sun with Isobel, but could listen on the speakers in the garden.

England were poo! We still had fun, then went to Jayne and Spookys for a BBQ. We only got home a little while ago(it's 2am), the boys have stayed there and Neil is staying at ours tonight. Here's some pictures from today:

We are managing without a car, just. It's going to be a long few weeks until we can buy one. Pete doesn't get paid until the 23rd of July.
Taylor starts playing for a football team tomorrow, at last. It's taken me forever to find him a decent under 8's team. I'm gutted he can't play for the same team as Ryan, but their under 8's team has folded as the manager left.

Ryan has settled back down after his visit with his Mum. He soon retuned to normal.

We went to Chatham Dockyard with my work last week with the boys. We had such a great time. Here are a few photos of the day:

We are in big trouble, really, I can see no way out of this one.

We drove Ryan 150 miles to see his Mum Sian for the first time since October. She couldn't be bothered to travel to see him, so we gave in and said we'd take him just the once. Big mistake. The car decided it wanted to die while Pete was down there with the three kids, so family members had to drive them all home in two trips. The car was put into a garage, and the radiator has been fixed costing £150. The car still won't work, it now needs a head gasket, which will cost £400. We aren't sure if it's worth fixing, we may be throwing good money after bad and are thinking of scrapping the fucking thing. Our other immediate problem is that as the work has been done the mechanic wants the car off his property NOW. Pete is 150 miles away with no transport.

This is making Pete really depressed, because yet again his bitch of an ex wife has hurt us financially. This would never have happened if she had got off her lazy worthless arse and seen her son. Travelling down there was not our problem. Bitch. She has cost us hundreds of thousands of pounds as a family over the years, she's even ruined me financially and she's still fucking doing it! Argghh!!! We have nothing because of this woman, seriously. She lives on an island in a converted barn bought with our money, and we live on a council housing estate.

Sian's house in the distance:














The view from my window:




Bit of a difference there, hey?


I'm really worried about Pete, we have nowhere to turn to sort this out, and we know she is rubbing her hands together in glee over this. It just makes me feel sick.

Pete's job as an Area Manager means he has to travel around visiting his staff every day. He's pretty useless to his Senior Manager without a car. We can't buy a new car until payday on the 27th July, and even if we get one on credit before that with huge repayments it won't clear straight away. Add this to the fact that the £1000 bill for the deposit for the wedding just came in, and we are screwed.

Stress!

I don't think I've ever mentioned the huge back story on here, but my stepson Ryan came to live with us full time last October. I won't bore you too much with the details, but his Mum and stepdad had been emotionally, and as a final straw, physically abusing him. They are also Jehovahs Witnesses and as a general consensus they aren't the most caring parents. It's a case of do as I say or be disfellowshipped and treated as dead. The whole religion is based on guilt, fear, and terror of being cast out, even at Ryan's age. He knew he wanted to live here years before the final showdown in October, but there wasn't much we could do. Anyway, Ryan was sending us suicidal texts, and when he came down to stay he had marks on him where he'd been hit. Pete has equal parental rights as they were married when he was born, so we called her up and said he wasn't coming home. She refused to send his stuff, and hasn't paid a penny in maintenance(we'd been paying her £600 a month at one point).

Since then it's been fight after fight to keep him safe. He was terrified of seeing her, Social Services were useless, and every time she phoned he'd cry and not sleep for days. We finally got him some counseling, which he's been at for a few months, and he's a changed boy. A few months back we said we'd take him to the Isle of Wight to visit for a day but she went mad saying it was to be for a week or nothing. They also said weweren'tt allowed on the island, which made us suspicious. He didn't want to go, it all kicked off, and we stopped him from going at his head teachers advice(he broke down in school).

Thanks to the counseling he can finally stick up for himself on the phone to her without her shouting him down with her threats of Armageddon, so he feels ready to see her. We arranged a day trip down to Portsmouth(NOT the Isle of Wight!) as he feels safer meeting her on neutral territory. It was all agreed weeks ago. We don't HAVE to do this at all, she never helped us to travel the 13 hour drive to North Wales when he lived with her. In fact she was downright difficult. We are doing this journey down for him, not her. Anyway, she called up last night shouting and screaming saying it had to be the Isle of Wight or nothing, and that she'd never beaten him up and it was all lies. Why she had to do this at the last minute I'll never know. Ryan told her to speak normally or he'd hang up, so he did!

He called her tonight and arranged to meet her in Portsmouth as agreed or not at all and she agreed. I was hoping she'd freak again so he wouldn't have to go, but it's going ahead and I'm going to be worried sick about him. I can't even go with them as I have work. She is either going to give him a hard time, or she'll make him feel so guilty that all the work we've done with him will be back to square one. Worse case scenario is she'll run off with him. We've told him to take his mobile, and walk away if she even starts in the slightest. Pete will be down there with him in another part of town in case anything happens. I feel like this is it, he's never coming back here with us, she's going to do something stupid. Argghhh..It'ss so stressful!

26th Birthday

I forgot to update on my birthday, I was 26 last Wednesday. Goodness, the years are rushing by. I was only 19 when I met Pete, now I'm inching closer to 30.
I went out for a lovely chinese buffet lunch with Lara on my birthday, then we went out to see a comedian(Ian Cognito) on the Thurs with Lara and Rob. He was very funny. Lara knows him, and we ended up giving him a lift to the station to get home.
I also have a rotten cold and a kidney infection, so I'm feeling pretty shitty. We are going to a BBQ today, I'm looking forward to the munch!
Ryan won a football tournament with his team yesterday. It was a miserable day, it rained non-stop, but we all had fun. Here is Ryan collecting his winners medal.


Look at the state of their kits. I've had that in soak all night, and it's been through two washes and it still won't come up clean. Yikes!

Christ on a bike, I've found another dress.

Now what am I going to do. Whilst on a mission with Lara for wedding outfits, I spotted another dress. Shit, now I'm in a quandry. Hers is lovely by the way, and now purchased at last, but I can't give anything away ;) Husbands-to-be may be sneaking!

I adore this colour so much, I was thinking of having it for the bridesmaids. Then I saw this dress and fell in love. I think it looks great on, but I can't quite do it up so it isn't hanging right on me. It's £100 cheaper than the other one and I think I like it more. I just don't know.

























Here is a close up of the material, it's an irridescent rust coloured taffeta. The colour matches my headdress perfectly(see other picture below).

These are the pictures from Isobel's birthday party yesterday. It was just a small family party, she had fun though.

Blowing out the candles for the twentieth time...

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Birthday video....

Isobel is saying "Day to you",her new favourite phrase. It's her version of Happy Birthday to You.

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We were a little naughty today and let Isobel have some of her birthday presents early. We put her trampoline, slide and sandpit out for her last night so they were ready this morning. She loves the trampoline, I must take some pictures tomorrow.

I got some money for my birthday from work today so I'm off to buy craft stuff tomorrow with it. I may pay for my haircut too, rather than waiting until next month. It depends on the cost. I want a short blunt cut fringe, very Betty Page! Pete gave up smoking today, he's done really well. He hasn't got the grumps yet which I'm amazed about. I hated quitting, it was hard, and I was pregnant at the time so had an obvious incentive.

Isobel has a family birthday party on Sunday so more organising and running around for me this weekend. I'm sure she'll have fun though.

Wedding dress

I went to try on my dress today. I still love it, which is a start, but I'm now worried the shop will stop selling it before I get a chance to buy it. She said their sale starts in August, so hopefully I can get it then.

I need to start exercising though, I'm not bothered about going down a dress size, I just need to tone up a bit. Maybe I'll start swimming(which I hate!), and aerobics. I'm not a going to the gym kind of person.

The wedding is booked for August 2007 in Jamaica, I can't wait. We are taking the three kids and my Mum, then we also have two couples and their children coming. This is where we'll be saying our vows, isn't it gorgeous?

I took these pictures of Isobel in the garden last week. I wanted some nice shots of her as she's so hard to pin down I haven't got any good ones in months. Also, as she's nearing her 2nd birthday I want lots of shots to look back on. We recently cleared the garden(it's a dumping ground in the winter) so she's been playing out there all week. It's her favourite place at the moment.
We had one of those special moments with your children that you never forget. Isobel was sat on my lap, absent mindedly stroking my arm, and she turned to me and said 'Love you Mummy'. It was so sweet.

It's been ages since I've had time to update here...

...quite a lot has happened!
I had to more or less run the office at work today, only myself and Jacqui were in(there are normally 5 of us), as everyone else was either sick or on holiday. We were very busy, but had a laugh. Some of the old ladies said they were going to mention how hard we'd worked at the Committee meeting on Monday and request a raise for us both(tongue in cheek of course!)
It was my friend Lara's little boys 1st Birthday last week too, so Isobel had fun beating up all the younger children for even daring to look at her. She has a bit of a superiority complex when it comes to her own personal space. Come within that specified distance and you get swiped. Unfortunately, only Isobel knows what that specified distance is. The rest of us mere mortals have to guess.

I gave up in the end and tried the 'containment method'(see photo).


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We went clubbing last weekend to Mass in Brixton. It was a Techno night full of sweaty shirtless men, it was great. I do like a good boogie, but my legs were killing me the next day. Here is a photo of me and Lara out that night. Then on bank holiday Monday I went to try on wedding outfits with Lara(her wedding is in June), then stupidly invited everyone over for a BBQ. I had no time to prepare, I was exhausted from the weekend, but we managed to pull it off and everyone had fun. It finished at about midnight, and all the kids behaved themselves, especially the small ones.

Pete has been off on holiday from work this week as he can't take the pace of a night out clubbing then the pure torture of two and a half days work afterwards(bless!). He needs about a weeks rest after a night out. He still hasn't recovered, and is currently laid up on the sofa with Man Flu.

On Wednesday we went to the garden centre(how awfully middle class), then dug our vegetable patch. I was given some very good advice by a seasoned gardener. They told me to start of by digging a small patch, then make it larger as and when needed. Otherwise, you get sick to death of digging and never seeing any results. I took heed of that advice, hence my small and pathetic vegetable patch. It has Carrot seedlings, Spring Onion seedlings(both grown indoors), then Taylor planted Broccoli, Beetroot, Lettuce and more Carrots. We also have Tomatoes in grow bags and Strawberries in pots.