A marriage carved in stone - Happy 59th anniversary Mum and Dad

My dad was the handsome Coldstream Guard who swept my beautiful mum off her feet when they met on a night out in Windsor.  Love blossomed  and 59 years ago on Christmas Eve 1955, they got married.

My parents have shared fifty nine years together as man and wife.  As with all marriages, there have been some bad times as well as some devastating experiences to contend with, but any heartache endured has only served to make them stronger as a couple.

Now, in their eighties, my parents are a shining example of the sanctity of marriage.  Their love for each other is just so obvious as they openly show their affection for each other. My dad said he would marry my mum again tomorrow and he genuinely means it.  They are the sweetest, most wonderful people and I am so proud to call them my parents.

The longevity of their marriage is the benchmark towards which I compare my own marriage, and I hope that in the future Ian and I still love each other as much my parents do.  They make me believe that relationships can and do work and that they are worth investing in.  Their example has made me see that love is the most wonderful and selfless gift that we can give to one another.  If everyone was as happy together as my mum and dad are, the world would be a much happier place!

Happy 59th Anniversary to my wonderful parents.  I love you so very much.

My Marriage - Seventeen Years On!

Seventeen years ago today I married my best friend and embarked on the great adventure that is marriage. There has not been a single day that has passed where my husband hasn't told me that he loves me.  I am a lucky to have a man who makes me feel so valued and loved; who accepts me for everything I am and has never tried to change me (and who does more than his fair share of housework!).  I've known Ian since my early teens and his existence is so entrenched into my own life, I cannot remember what it was like without him by my side.  We share so many memories of being at school, growing up in sunny Slough and having mutual friends.  He's knows everything about me, and still loves me. No secrets, no lies.

 Together we have celebrated our family.  We have watched our eldest three grow into wonderful adults and have welcomed two more children into the fold.  Our five kids are our greatest blessing and our biggest achievement.  They make us so proud every single day.  Joe has got his own life in Northampton with a successful career and a little boy who he adores. He is an amazing dad.  Megan is doing fantastically well as she pursues a career in film production and has already worked with John Hurt on a feature film!  Her ambition, dedication and drive is inspirational. Ella is about to sit her A'Levels and will be off to university this September to study criminology. She is so talented and so very lovely.  Kizzy is our beautiful, fashion loving girl who is due to start secondary school after the summer.  Her sense of humour and fun keeps us all smiling. Freddy is such a breath of fresh air in our family, a whirling dervish of mischief with a heart of gold (when it suits him!).  I look at them and know that if I were to achieve nothing more in my lifetime, I would still feel accomplished. I am so grateful to have had Ian with us, every step of the way.

I love my marriage.  I love feeling a part of something that is greater than the sum of its parts.  I feel safe.  I feel whole. Being a wife and a mother is an honour.  It's been my salvation.  I look forward to the future as we face all the challenges to come together as a team.

I can't believe that we've been together for twenty years and married for seventeen years. I guess we're probably classed as a middle aged couple now!  But as long as we can still laugh and have fun and enjoy the blessings of our family life, then the next decades will be every bit as wonderful (in spite of our advancing years!) 

Happy Anniversary Ian. My husband. I love you. xxx

Sixteen Things I Love About You

On May the 16th 1997, I married Ian.  The boy I had known throughout secondary school, who I had briefly dated and had never lost touch with.  The boy who was my best friend, seeing me through the ups and downs of my life.  The boy with whom I successfully gambled a dear friendship on, as we took our relationship to the next level. The boy who became a man.  My man.  The man I married.

Sixteen years of marriage later, I am sharing my life and my family with Ian.  I wouldn't want it any other way.  We have grown together and are now in such a wonderful place that brings comfort, stability and joy into all of our lives.  For that I am forever thankful.

So, as a tribute to the man that I married, here are "Sixteen Things I Love About You!"

1:  You are without doubt the most patient person I have ever met. Hearing you talk my 79 year old mum through the latest update on her computer is simply incredible.  You, sir, are an actual saint!

2:  You have smoothed away all my sharp edges and made me a better person.

3:  You are an amazing dad.  You are so hands-on with the little ones and an inspiration to the older ones.  You're the dad that the other kids think is cool.

4:  You can still give me butterflies when I look at you.

5:  You aren't afraid of turning your hand to anything. You really are an inspiration to me. You fear nothing!

6:  You support everything I do.  Even if I screw up, you're still there encouraging me. (I know that you don't really like chargrilled vegetable stew, but you make me believe that my burnt dinner offerings are not a total fail!)

7:  You look like the love child of Kevin Bacon and Mark Wahlberg.

8:  I love you playing the guitar. You even wrote a song for me. Our house is filled with music that transcends the generations and has us all singing along.  I love that. You are my rock star.

9:  We share a love of horror films and we indulge that love on our big ass 3D TV.  The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3D Blu-ray is on pre-order!

10:  You are non-judgmental.  You never hold anything I have ever done against me. (You even humour my cougar crushes on Harry Styles and Zac Efron.)

11:  You are not afraid to cry. (Especially when watching Little House on the Prairie.)

12:  You would rather be with me and the kids than anywhere else in the world.  We don't have to compete for your attention with the pub, football, boys' nights out, the gym or online gaming.  When we do things, we do them together.  The rest of the world doesn't figure in the equation. (But you still let me do all the things I want to do and facilitate me being able to do them!!)

13:  You believe in sharing all the housework, cooking, cleaning, laundry etc. plus you do the 'man's work' like DIY, putting out the bins and mowing the lawn.  I know how lucky I am!!

14:  You know me.  Better than I know myself. I see myself differently now, thanks to you.  Your patience and understanding has helped us weather many a storm.  You have literally saved me from myself time and time again.  You ground me, but you still let me fly.

15:  You are an incredible judge of character and you can instinctively read people and understand them.  It's a gift and I trust your judgment completely. (I do however wish sometimes that your gift was predicting lottery numbers.  We'd make fabulous rich people.)

16:  You make me feel safe.  You make me look forward to the future.  You make me whole.

I love you xxx

Swashbuckling, Alton Towers and Anniversaries!

Today is fourteen years to the day since I married my husband, soul mate and best friend.  I treasure our relationship.  Last year we had a Horror Themed Anniversary Party.  This year we decided it was time for some swashbuckling adventures to celebrate our anniversary!

This weekend we took our three little ones to Alton Towers.  14 years ago we spent our honeymoon there staying at the hotel.  We had Joe, Meg and baby Ella with us and my parents came too...not your traditional hot and heavy honeymoon, but it was wonderful sharing it with the people I loved most!

This year we went to the Splash Landings Hotel in one of the swish Pirate Themed Suites with now teenaged Ella, Kizzy and Freddy.  It wasn't cheap but we wanted it to be special.  And it most certainly was!!

We felt like VIP's having our own personalised parking space at the hotel.  It put us in the mood for swashbuckling adventures!

The kids were very excited to be pirates for the weekend.  The weather wasn't great but with waterproofs at the ready we were ready to take on the Towers!

The Pirate Suite itself was amazing.  Every single detail was meticulously themed to our swashbuckling fantasy.  From the pirate's voice that shouted out "Shiver me Timbers" or "Walk the plank" or "Heave Ho me Hearties" everytime you opened the toilet door, to the rats, cannonballs and ropes in the rigging!

The bed was unbelievably sumptuous, perfect for a Captain and his wench!  The rich drapes and the skull adorned bedposts were exactly to my taste...very gothic!  The night lights were mounted on barrels and swords, pistols and plundered loot decorated the walls.

The kids particularly liked the treasure chest.  They had to solve clues to work out the combination on the lock so they could get to the booty!  Gold Doubloons and pirates' paraphernalia was happily plundered by the little shipmates!

 A bouquet of star shaped foil Helium balloons made me and Freddy extremely happy.  We love balloons!  They added to the party feeling...although they weren't very pirate-y!!

The girls had bunks in the scurvy sea dogs' quarters with sack cloth blankets (which were actually beautifully soft and snuggly!)  Everything was just perfect to transport you to the Seven Seas...but thankfully without the travel sickness!  It was the place of fantasies.

The Piratey theme continued out into the park with a meet and greet with Finn the Shark, and other swashbuckling rides.  The SeaLife Centre was great for walking round.  Beautiful fish in brilliant themed tanks with sunken galleons.

We went to the Splash Landings Waterpark which was Freddy's first time in a pool.  It was amazing fun.  The warm shallow waters of the Little Leak play area was perfect for Freddy to bob about and play with the water and whizz down the slide shouting "woohoo"!  I thought I was pretty brave getting into a swimming costume! It weren't pretty but I didn't care (until I saw the exposed arse crack in Ella's photo...oops!)

This weekend has been awesome.  The pirate-y element was definitely Timber Shiveringly good.  We loved it and the kids thought it was magical.  For a special occasion I'd highly recommend staying in a suite at Alton Towers!

Flashback Friday...My Anniversary

On Monday I will celebrate my 14th wedding anniversary with my utterly wonderful husband.  Ian proved to me that marrying your best friend really is a good idea, and that platonic can become passionate!  We are a perfect fit and I couldn't imagine my life any other way than with Ian by my side. We are Team McD, better people for being together!

Who would have thought that this little girl...

 ....and this little boy...

...would become this teenage girl...

 ...and this teenage boy...

...who would fall in love and get married...

 

....and live happily ever after!

The Dog's Doodahs Personalised Gifts and Cards!

In two week's time it's my 14th wedding anniversary.  I love to discover new and fun things online to keep our celebrations interesting.  When I was contacted by The Dog's Doodahs to have a play with their personalised cards and gifts website I was only to pleased!  It meant I'd get to order a unique card for my wonderful husband and have some fun in the process.

The Dog's Doodahs sell hundreds of personalised cards for every occasion and features brands such as On The Ceiling, Virtual Safari and the Odd Squad.  The designs range from the cute to the arty to the downright outrageous with edgy pictures and cheeky slogans.  Text and headlines can be edited to personalise them making thoughtful and often hilarious cards for friends and family.  They can be as funny and as rude as you like!

I went through all the 1877 designs (yes I really did!!) to see what was on offer.  Covering everything from birthdays to anniversaries to new baby to leaving cards, there is really something for everyone.  Male, female, straight, gay, pets and even secret admirers are catered for.

The majority of these cards are definitely for adults only!  There is a massive selection of rude and risqué cards with toilet humour, sex & fantasies and drinking all featured. Rhyming "between us" and "penis" gives you an example of the type of poem you might find!  It's like the old seaside postcard humour brought bang up to date for the 21st century.  Double entendres and the battle of the sexes reign supreme.

The website is very easy to use and navigate.  The search option allows you to find cards based on what and who it's for, as well as what style and theme you'd like.  It is easy to work through the designs.  Nine are displayed per page and hovering over the image opens it up larger to view.  When you find the design you want you can personalise it.  Highlighted text can be edited and the card can be previewed so you can see how the personalisation looks.  I had a lot of fun playing around with the site!

In the end I chose a card for Ian that used a photo upload.  I didn't go for a rude one because I couldn't find one that really suited our relationship.  (A lot of the anniversary cards implied a sexless marriage where the man does nothing bar fart and hog the remote control while the woman irons and fantasises about George Clooney whilst drinking Chablis....that is so not what goes on Inside the Wendy House!!)

Despite going for a safe option I was delighted to receive my card the next day.  The design was lovely and the personalisation made it perfect for Ian.  It was larger than I expected and well printed on a good quality, glossy card.  I was very pleased with it and very impressed with the excellent service.

Standard cards cost £3.50 plus postage.  The cards can be sent direct to the recipient or back to you with a spare envelope to send the card on yourself.  If you order by 2pm the card will be posted first class on the same day...so this is perfect for last minute card buyers.  Other personalised gifts are also available online.

You can follow the Dog's Doodahs on Twitter and on Facebook (over 16's only!)  This company is a lot of fun and definitely up for a laugh!

Although I didn't find the perfect rude anniversary card, I've lined up a few cheeky cards for some upcoming birthdays....I'll definitely be back!!

*I was given my card free of charge for the purpose of this review.  Don't tell Ian that I'm cheap!!*

Blue Friesian...the Wedding Cover

I've reviewed the fabulous Blue Friesian products on my blog before.  I was very impressed with the website and with the end results.  So, when the opportunity came up for me to make a magazine cover in the Royal Wedding promotion, I jumped at the chance.

With my own wedding anniversary fast approaching, I made a Glossy "Hallo!" Magazine cover for Ian, commemorating our upcoming special day.  Incorporating photos from our wedding day with a recent snap, I am delighted with the finished product.

I love Blue Friesian.  The website is now even easier to use with built in editing functions allowing you to resize and move photos in-situ. The finished cover is great and is a perfect memento for our 14th wedding anniversary.  For just £10 you can have your own glossy, fully personalised spoof cover made and delivered.

*I'm reviewing this simply because I love Blue Friesian and I wanted to tell everyone about how fab their products are! *

My Horror Marriage!

My husband is just one of the most wonderful men you could meet.  He is so family-centred, adores his kids and our homelife.  He cooks, cleans, washes up and always puts down the toliet seat!  He never hogs the remote control.  He works hard to enable me to be a stay at home mum.  He phones me at least twice a day and constantly declares his love for me.  The man is fab!

So when he just rang me to tell me he had me a present, I knew it'd be something perfect!  I was not disappointed.  Jewellery does not excite me...I have metal allergies.  Chocolate's no good because I'm on a diet.  I'm not very material at all...I hardly wear make-up and never covet the latest fashions or shoes.  But his gift is totally brilliant!

He has got me THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE ON BLU-RAY!!

Some might scoff at this choice of gift, but you do not know me like my husband does!  We love all things horror!  When we first met in the 80's it was the era of Halloween films, Friday the 13th's, Poltergeist and my personal favourite the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise.  We shared an enjoyment of being scared witless by the latest masked, marauding, murdering character or evil spirit! This love has evolved with us.  We have a sizeable library of DVD's and Blu-Rays, many of which fit this favoured genre.  From the 1932 classic Todd Browning's Freaks to the high tech gore of Saw Franchise...we love them all.

Our love of horror lead us to name our latest born baby Freddy after my horror icon hero Freddy Krueger.  I even got doting Knitting Nana to make him a little dark green and red striped jumper to match his namesake's outfit of choice!

This year was our 13th wedding anniversary.  We celebrated in a style true to ourselves and held a horror film themed fancy dress party.  I was dressed as a blood spattered prom queen and my husband was Dorian Gray.  All our guests entered into the spirit and our house looked like an overspill from a casting of a film paying homage to the scary side of celluloid.  Our food was all themed and we spent many an hour giggling when we devised puns to represent buffet items.   "Dawn of the SPREAD" , "The Evil BREAD", "Jason Vor-CHEESE", "Nightmare on Elm SWEETS", "SHROOMS" (for our delicious veggie mushroom pate) and "The Hills have PIES" are some examples!  I made a graveyard cake and a chocolate fudge bat cake.  My sister brought Mummy Muffins.  We festooned the house with cobwebs, wall decorations and black balloons.  It was perfect for us!



My beautiful children.



                                                                                                                                            

Blood spattered prom queen!



Me, my husband and Freddy!

Scary cakes!

So tonight I have a date with my husband, a take away and The Human Centipede....very romantic!!!