Day 2 - Valentine's flowers

Red roses on Valentine’s Day might be clichéd but they still make me feel extra loved on Valentine’s Day along with the lovely card from my hubby.  I don’t need cards and flowers to know that he loves me but it’s always nice to get them.  All the cards (including the one Jessica made this week) and flowers go on the piano and a big canvas print of one of my favourite photos from our wedding day hangs above them – my little ‘love’ corner.  After four years of marriage, we still find time each day to say ‘I love you’.

Thirteen on the thirteenth

It is thirteen years today since my hubby and I first got together. It was a Friday 13th just a few hours after I left the house declaring that I enjoyed being single and was going to stay single for a while. I’d never thought of Michael as anything but a good friend but something changed that night and within a few days I knew that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him. It’s not always been an easy road but we’ve travelled it together and hopefully we’ll continue to do so for many more years.

Who needs the fairytale?

I once wanted a man to sweep me off my feet, to be my knight in shining armour. My husband has never quite lived up to those expectations but I have learned that real love is so much more than fairytales and romance. He once surprised me by meeting me from work during the summer holidays when I wasn't expecting him to visit. Throughout all Jessica's surgeries and hospital stays, he has been there for us providing strength and support. He tells me I am beautiful when I'm tired and feel like a beached whale. He makes me feel loved.

4th wedding anniversary

Four years ago today my lovely hubby and I got married. Such a wonderful day full of so many happy memories. I still hold the record for latest bride amongst my friends (32 minutes late – fortunately there aren’t many weddings at our church so it didn’t cause too much trouble other than perhaps to Michael’s nerves!) The last four years have been amazing in so many ways and very hard at times but I do feel we are stronger for facing all that we have faced together and I hope we’ll have many more happy years of married life together.

A day at the spa...

Hubby and I decided that it would be a good idea to spend some quality time together before baby Jessica arrives and as we had really enjoyed our last spa day back in November, we decided that we should do it again (having got a spa voucher from my mother-in-law for my birthday also helped!). We had a lovely day and had a massage, facial and pedicure each so both of us now feel very chilled out as a result. I think Jessica enjoyed it all too if all the little wriggles I was getting were anything to go by!

2nd wedding anniversary

This time two years ago, Michael and I were celebrating at our wedding reception. Our wedding day was fabulous – I don’t think I stopped smiling from the moment I woke up that morning until my head finally hit the pillow that night. I feel very blessed to have had two years of married life with such a wonderful supportive and loving husband. The last two years have not been the easiest by any means, but I am so glad to have had Michael by my side during them, and I hope we will get to spend many more years together.

Embracing technology

I have to confess that I’m not really into technical gadgets. I still don’t own an iPod or MP3 player and I only upgraded my mobile phone after 6 years because it was starting to get temperamental. So when Michael arrived home with an iPad a few weeks ago, I have to confess I wasn’t really very interested. Until today, when he made the mistake of introducing me to iBooks. Within minutes, the entire works of Jane Austen had been added to the library and I was engrossed. I might give him the iPad back when I’ve finished them all...

Manic months

June and August tend to be months when I see very little of my husband as he is busy preparing for games conferences, working long hours or is away working on the conferences themselves. Needless to say, I miss him quite a lot when he is away and have tended to struggle a bit during the busy periods – there are moments when it feels like life is always this way and I never see enough of him. I’m trying to remind myself that the manic moments pass and to enjoy the time that I do manage to spend with him.

1st wedding anniversary

I can’t believe that Michael and I have been married for a whole year. It has gone by so quickly. Our first year of married life has been quite tough in places and there have been moments when we have realised that we have not always communicated as well as we could, when we have taken each other a little for granted. I look back though and realise that I have been very blessed to have Michael by my side throughout the last year, through the bad times and the good. He really does bring out the best in me.

Quality time

A night off, a nice glass of red wine, no rehearsals, meetings or anything else booked in the diary and hubby home at a reasonable time so we can actually sit down and eat dinner together – ah, this is my kind of evening. Despite both of us having quite unpredictable working hours and the variety of other activities which seem to eat up weekday evenings, we’re usually quite good at managing to make sure the time we do spend together is quality time. It’s nice to have a whole evening though rather than just an hour or so before bedtime.

The challenges of married life

Seven months in and Michael and I are rapidly discovering that marriage actually does involve a lot of hard work. We didn’t start our married life thinking that we’d live happily ever after without any effort required but we didn’t realise that our expectations would change as much as they have, or anticipate what a strain the effects of bereavement can be. We are learning that communication really is the key – again, it has been a surprise to discover that something we thought we were both very good at is not always as easy as we expect it to be.

Hubby's shopping list

Next week should be interesting food-wise after hubby returned with the following:

9 x cartons/bottles milkshake
6 x packs instant noodles
5 x packs of sweets
5 x pouches microwaveable special fried rice
5 x bottles squash
4 x pies
3 x tins spaghetti & sausages
2 x packs beef jerky (revolting stuff, does anyone eat it?)
2 x pizzas
2 x packs fresh pasta
2 x packs bacon
Ice-cream
Eggs
Bread
Milk
Flowers

Plus points – bread and milk
Minus points – no fruit or veg
Bonus points – flowers

I really should send him out with a shopping list in future…

Sending hubby shopping

I’m feeling slightly better today but decided that it would probably not be a good idea to head off to the supermarket to share my bugs with everyone else and so have sent Michael out to do the food shopping. Sending Michael shopping is almost the equivalent of doing the shopping online whilst wearing a blindfold and just clicking randomly on items – i.e. I have no idea what he’s actually going to come home with, or whether we’ll be able to create any sensible meals out of it. We could be living on chocolate and chorizo for the next week…

Thank you, Michael

Michael and I have been married for exactly six months today. It has been, without a doubt, the toughest six months of my life with having lost my dad, and Michael has truly been a tower of strength during this time. I don’t think I ever really realised quite how strong and supportive he was until I needed it. It has made me really appreciate the wonderful, caring man that I married and I am so thankful to have such a fabulous husband. He might have a few faults (doesn’t everyone?!) but his good points far outweigh the not-so-good ones.

Helicopter havoc

Michael has a new model helicopter. It looks pretty much the same as his other small helicopter but apparently it requires more skill to fly it. Judging by the fact that he’s just flown it into my leg and shredded my tights, clearly he has yet to perfect the art of flying this one. It’s just as well he has another helicopter flying lesson tomorrow. One day I might be able to sit in the lounge and write without having to dodge small flying objects or feeling the need to remove all breakable items. Oh well, I love him anyway.

In praise of my wonderful hubby

There are times when I take my husband for granted, when criticism comes more easily than cuddles and I forget the things I love about him because I’m too busy grumbling about the things I don’t. So, to redress the balance, here are some of the things I love about him:

1) He makes me laugh.
2) He gives the best hugs ever.
3) He always sees the good in people (not one of my skills, I have to admit!)
4) He tells me every day that I am beautiful and he loves me.

What more could a girl want?

Skewed perceptions

I have again received a timely reminder which has made me realise how lucky I am to have Michael and that I should stop focusing on criticism and re-focus on cuddles. I have also realised that my perception of a typical day was perhaps a little harsh. It doesn’t reflect the fact that my working hours are generally less than Michael’s. Unless I have been called to a birth, I usually leave the house after he does and get home from work before him. Being at home more means that the bulk of the domestic chores naturally fall to me.

A day in the life...

My day: get up, make breakfast, make lunch, put a load of washing on, sweep up the cereal that Michael dropped on the floor, make bed, wash up, go to work. Come home, hang the washing on the airer, hoover and tidy, cook dinner, eat dinner, wash up, write blog, go to bed.

Michael’s day: wake up, play games on iPod for 15 minutes, get up, have breakfast, pick up packed lunch, go to work. Come home, put TV on and sit on sofa, eat dinner, fly helicopter, go to bed.

Something tells me I’ve drawn the short straw here...

How married life should be...

After a busy day at work, it is nice to come home and put my feet up. Usually I get home and end up rushing around doing all the little household chores and cooking dinner whilst Michael tends to come in, put the TV on and crash on the sofa until I tell him that dinner is ready. Tonight he has surprised me by reversing the roles – it is me crashed out on the sofa watching the TV whilst Michael is cooking me dinner. This is definitely how married life should be - I could get used to this quite easily...

Little and large

There’s quite a height difference between me and Michael – I am 5ft and he is 6ft 3 which is very handy when I need to get something down from a high shelf. Sometimes I forget that we see things at different levels – I once tried to hide chocolate on the top shelf of a cupboard and was actually surprised when he opened the cupboard and spotted it straight away. Unfortunately, he keeps his chocolate stash at the back of the top shelf in his wardrobe which is very effective as I can’t quite reach it even standing on a chair!