Wedding - a night away from Elizabeth and Edward!

Well, what a weekend we've had!! Saturday saw us leaving the children at Mum and Dad's for an hour while we dashed around the town centre getting sandwiches for the journey, a new necklace and bracelet for me, and looking at shoes and cufflinks etc etc. Spent the afternoon getting things sort of packed, then got ready for a relatively early night.

Sunday 15th August. Up at 6am. Showers. Breakfast for the 'baboos' at 7am. Me intermittently packing more stuff. We left the house with stairgate, bed rail, buggy, handysitt, bag full of bibs, bowls, spoons etc, bag full of clothes and changes of clothes, bag full of bedding/sleeping bag/baboos and bear and westwood, travel cot... you name it. Plus of course the suit carrier, wedding shoes, hat, wedding card, massive bottle of Gaviscon, Panadol, pregnancy notes, cool bag etc. Had a very stressful 20 or so minutes when we arrived at the in-laws, as we struggled to unload everything and set everything up for them. Husband got told off for putting a cushion on the computer keyboard ffs... Were told not to ring, which upset me. Was heartbroken to leave them, but they seemed fine. Set off in floods of tears, and an hour and ten minutes later we were at Wirral Eastham Travelodge, the calm before the storm.

Problem was, we'd booked an 'early check-in' for all of the rooms, but none of them were ready at 12, and we had nowhere to go to either eat or get changed. We had to leave at 1pm, but in the event two rooms were available soon after 12 so we got Nan installed in one, and everyone ate lunch rapidly in the other. Then another came free, so the men got ready in one and the ladies got ready in the other. I couldn't seem to find anything and flitted from one thing to the next without the calming influence of the husband. Cue mad dash to the church on a wing and a prayer, arriving somewhat flustered with five minutes to spare!!

Hour long service, stunning bride, very hot (nearly passed out during 'Make me a Channel of your Peace', happy couple looked very very happy. Pictures outside, then mad dash to the Travelodge again to drop off one of the cars. I took husband, Dad, Chris and Stu - managed to miss a turn but still arrived in one piece and in front of the others, at Thornton Manor. Then - a lovely afternoon. The sun was shining, and it was so relaxing not to have to worry about the 'baboos'. We did phone them, but Elizabeth didn't really say too much. Missed them, but also enjoyed feeling a bit more relaxed. It wasn't exactly relaxing though with Nan to look out for. She was in quite bad shape - exhausted, looking bruised and battered, and with a look of intent concentration on her face at all times. We took turns to sit with her, and the men mostly sat outside drinking. As the afternoon glided on thoughts were never far from how long she'd last out, and how we'd manage the transition back to the Travelodge - a night of Pass the Bomb in that grotty place certainly wasn't appealing. Then Nan got locked in the toilet. The happy couple delayed coming to the table for the wedding breakfast as long as they could, but a good 10 minutes passed by and we were no closer to releasing her. Nightmare. We sat at the very pretty table surveying the menu, and taking photos, waiting for Mum, Nan and Amy to materialise. Eventually they did. It was a sorry picture watching Nan trying to eat, but the meal itself was delicious. After that we retired to the lounge (me, Carley, Mum, Amy and Nan) while the others sat outside. Eventually it was decided that I'd drive Mum and Dad and Nan home, come back with Dad, and see how things went. Dad told me to go right instead of left outside the venue, so it took ages to get back, eventually managed to get there... Lost the momentum somewhat as by the time I'd got back to Thornton Manor I felt quite tired. At about 11.40pm we converted our car into a 7-seater and took them all back.

Next morning we enjoyed the luxury of being able to get showered and dressed unhindered, and had a poxy breakfast in the Little Chef. Said our goodbyes, and hot-footed it back on the M6 to Cannock to be reunited with the children. Edward was lovely - running up to hug us both. Elizabeth was more indifferent. They both fell asleep in the car, and I cried a lot, worried I'd lost her trust, as she was so quiet and wouldn't talk to us. After lunch normal service was resumed, and despite feeling absolutely knackered, we could reflect on a positive achievement. We'd left the children for the night for the first time ever. We'd had a lovely time at the wedding - uplifting and reviving, although somewhat stressful and tiring at times.

Now I'm nearly 37 weeks, and feeling more optimistic. Have started packing my bags. Am making moves to get things ready for the baby. Might be getting a crib from a friend next week. Will have to order mattresses etc. Will need to get umpteen things out of the loft. Feel tired still, but last two nights have slept better. Hope things will continue to go smoothly from hereon in. Parents on holiday until 1 September, so hoping nothing happens yet!

5 year anniversary!

This week saw us, ahem, 'celebrating' our 5th wedding anniversary. We didn't exactly celebrate it as such, our usual practice of watching the wedding video was out because we don't have a video any more. We didn't go to the church or the venue, and didn't even manage to look at the wedding photos, but husband bought me flowers, we exchanged cards, and we thought a lot about how far we've come in five years.

Itching is worse across my stomach now, and have been swinging wildly between getting some nights of sleep and waking up at 11.30pm and not being able to get back to sleep again. He is back to very early waking, as he was some time before the holiday, which isn't helping, and she tends to wake up at around 6am too. Husband's training for the Wolverhampton half marathon means long (2 plus hours) runs at the weekend before breakfast, and occasional runs in the week, so no rest for me!

Iron tablets are well underway now, but can't say I feel magically any different. Still shattered. Have started on the raspberry leaf tablets now, as I took them last time and think I should!

Children are off to Grandma and Grandad's for lunch tomorrow and we're going out for lunch with our friends for the first time in ages!