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Labour day…or 3 Part 2

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I woke up from what felt like the deepest sleep to the sound of Mr Willetts declaring “dinner is served!”…reminding me of Lumière from Beauty and the Beast. At that point I remember feeling a sharp pain in my lower tummy. I convinced myself it was hunger pains and waddled on down for dinner. As we sat at the dining table going over the events of the day I felt a little dazed as I was secretly in my head keeping an eye on the clock timing what I began to realise were the beginnings of my contractions. I was so calm because I was finally getting what I wanted not only a baby but a home birth. (if you’re induced you have to have the baby at the hospital… if not you’re free to have the baby wherever you please).

I managed to wait until after dinner and everything was packed away and Mr Willetts and his mum were sat comfortably on the sofa (me on the birthing ball) to tell. them that I was almost certain we were having contractions. With that Mr Willetts reluctantly stood up from the sofa (after asking if we needed to go to the hospital yet… keeno) and began writing down the contractions on the back of a piece of paper. In hindsight I dont know why we didn’t just use the app I’d downloaded for this exact thing. Nothing much happened after that with the contractions only lasting short periods of time and one in every 20 minutes we all decided to go and try to get some sleep.

Obviously no sleep happened. From 11pm until 6am on Friday morning we religiously wrote down the contraction, tried to keep our eyes open and played Outnumbered on Netflix in the background. Mr Willetts and I agreed at 6am we’d call the midwife again. (I think at that point out of kindness I wanted the midwife to have a decent nights sleep if no-one else was).

The contractions started to heat up a little from that point. Now the only way I can describe the pain is like a strong period pain routed right in the bottom of your tummy.

For the next 9 hours I paced around the house practising the hypnobirthing techniques I’d picked up from this amazing book “Your baby, Your birth“. If you are pregnant and take nothing else away from this blog… GO AND BUY THIS BOOK. It was given to me by my lovely sister-in-law and although sceptical at first I learned so much from it. More than I realised until I was in the thick of labour.

If I could give away4 top tips from this book it would be:

1.Make your own rules and stick to them

2.Breathe THROUGH your contractions

3.Don’t be alarmed if your birth plan takes a different route but stay in control

4.Dont listen to any birthing stories before you have your own. Positive vibes around childbirth is ESSENTIAL

Anyway, back to the labour. I turned out to be completely different in labour than I expected. I had decided in my head I would be this out of control crazy woman, screaming from the rooftops and having to apologise to the neighbours afterwards. Turns out I was the complete opposite.

I managed. In the face of an audience which consisted of 3 midwives, my mother in law and Mr Willetts to remain calm, command the room and even laugh at times in between contractions. I gave myself a bruise on my forehead because the only way to get through a contraction was to push my head into the side of the door and grip to the door handles on either side. I also got to have about 10 baths which if you know me, you know I LOVE a bath. Mr Willetts sat right by the bath at all times slowly pouring warm water over my bump.

I had spent hours upon hours on my maternity leave putting together a playlist of songs I wanted to listen to throughout. Some upbeat, some calm and some that made me feel delight (including our wedding song and Superbass by Nicky Minaj). When it came down to it the only thing I wanted to hear was silence.

I had also spent a considerable amount of time on the birthing ball preparing for baby Willetts arrival.. if I had a knife I would have put a hole in it right at the beginning. Instead it was used a between contractions as a conversational tool to convince me to give it a go (not helpful. Don’t be as forgiving as me. If you don’t like something tell them you have no reason to be sorry for offending someone).

Throughout these 9 hours I just seemed to be a cycle of deep breathes, water being poured over my tummy in the bath (thanks Mr Willetts), a conveyor belt of selected drinks and ALOT of bananas. I remember 3 specific moments…

  1. Absolutely losing my shit because I had previously asked Mr Willetts to contact my sister in law to let her know how I was getting on and as I scoured the room I caught a glimpse of him appearing to film me. I exclaimed “Get the F*&K off your phone right now”. Mr Willetts laughed and walked away. returning sheepishly when that contraction was finished.
  2. Walking down the stairs only to find the 3 midwives, my mother in law drinking tea eating biscuits and nattering away. I remember standing at the door head to the edge thinking very quietly they were so engrossed in conversation about god knows what, I’m not sure they’d even notice if the baby fell out at this very moment. Also, I wish someone would offer me a biscuit.
  3. The moment we were stood in our spare room which was precariously covered in meters and meters of workmans plastic and the Midwife telling me it was time to push. Th audience were read and all I saw was a sea of excited faces. In that moment as the midwife read out the notes she was making I remember the time was 2:05pm and without thinking I said out loud “my nephew was born on a Friday at around 3pm… wouldn’t it be great if they were born at similar times”

Little did I know we still had a strong 12 hours left to go…

The nursery ready and waiting.
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Labour day… or 3 Part 1

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While I’m in the mood to write and now I have a positive vibe regarding my pregnancy I thought it would be the perfect time to walk myself and you guys through my labour. What I remember and how I felt.

For me the labour started on Thursday morning. We were scheduled to have a scan in anticipation of an induction on the Friday. When we arrived at the hospital at 9:30am I remember the waiting room being filled with lots of parents and future grandparents eagerly awaiting their name to be called. No sooner had I sat down, my name was called. As Mr Willetts hoisted me off the chair with a 1,2,3 (he always did that I think more to prepare himself for the load he was about to pull) a discontent man behind us rather loudly pronounced “she only just got here, why does she get to go first?” I remember looking back and him with a stare that I hope described how I was feeling in the moment “mate, I’ve been waiting 9 whole months for this moment spare me the first appointment or fight me for it”.

Once we got into the scan they checked everything was well with bump & the lovely scan lady (is there a correct word for that person… if so I don’t know what it is) noticed that we had lost some fluid around the baby. She was convinced my waters had broken and I hadn’t noticed. She wondered off into the corridor and returned to tell me that they wanted to induce me early to ensure little Willetts arrived safely. We were then ushered into the corridor awaiting further instruction… it all got a little serious at this point. Mr Willetts went quiet but continued to play games on his phone and huff every time he had to restart his level and I sat there being nosey and listening in to find out what others scans were showing. The head of the department was doing a strange meet and greet around the corridor for those who looked like they had been waiting a while. He approached us and asked why we were parked in the corridor. After a brief explanation he raised his hands and in an accent that can only be described as Rafiki from Lion King (imagine it) he exclaimed “you’ve waited long enough, let’s get this baby out!”

The next thing I know we’re on our way home to pack up the last of the hospital bag. Mr Willetts was planning his snacks and working out exactly how many sandwiches he would need bearing in mind this labour could go on for a while. I remember at this point being utterly disappointed that we’d spent so long planning and preparing for a home birth and it was all being stripped away in an instant.

We were told to wait at home and the nurse would call when there was a bed free for us to go in and be induced. We logically thought that left plenty of time so we got home, I double checked the hospital bag and reluctantly packed some pieces for the bump to wear when it arrived. Meanwhile in the kitchen Mr Willetts was planning on cooking up a storm, oven on, pizzas in and all the sandwich supplies he’d been stashing were laid out to make a feast. Then the phone rang. They were ready for us. If I had been in the same room as Mr Willetts at this time I assure you I would have seen smoke coming out of his ears. Instead just a huge huff and the disgruntled movements of him returning all of his ingredients back into the fridge.

When we arrived at the hospital we waited and waited. Only to be told that the labour suite was so busy that we’d need to come back tomorrow but in the meantime go home and wait to go into labour naturally. You can imagine the look on Mr Willetts face. So, with his mum already here we once again returned home. Obviously via Tesco so Mr Willetts could pick out something for dinner along with a couple of treats from his mum. We got home and I went for a nap while dinner was prepared and we waited…

My thoughts on pregnancy…

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As I sit back on the sofa almost 8 weeks after giving birth its really difficult for me to imagine my life without Halley. Then I look back on my “bump shoot” at week 32 and I’m filled with mixed emotions. Seeing as I haven’t posted a blog in 2 years, I thought whilst the baby naps now might be a good time to restart and in a word “put pen to paper”. In reality it took me 3 weeks to write this post and I’ve had to update the number “8” in reflection each time I click on here to start typing away.

Getting to 32 weeks at the time seemed like a constant uphill battle. Having previously suffered a miscarriage at 16 weeks I found it really difficult to relax during pregnancy and felt like everything was a constant worry. In the back of my mind I think the 16 week mark was a real turning point where the worry changed to belief, but never a sense of excitement and in hind sight I think that really showed in my face. It certainly affected my mental state throughout and I really wish I could have relaxed more and enjoyed the ride.

I didn’t enjoy being pregnant one little bit. I was obviously eternally grateful to be able to carry the little darling but the sleepless nights, constant heartburn and backache were something I was more than happy to wave goodbye to when she finally arrived. I think the most difficult part for me was how different my work life was in reflection of being pregnant. Before I liked to see myself as a pro-active hands on person and I don’t really take well to someone telling me I “shouldn’t” be doing something. However towards the end of my pregnancy working on a boat and trying to balance the extra 3 stone I’d gained on my little legs was not an easy task and I found myself both static and useless for a large part of the day. Obviously safety first as there were instances where I found myself slipping down some steps or almost turning my ankle trying to move at my old pace. Being smack bang in the middle of the Christmas rush and not being much of a help for me was really difficult (I like to think I made up for it in cheering people on and supporting them through the stress of that Christmas customer).

Then came the maternity leave, this was the point where I actually almost lost the plot. The first couple of weeks were great! I could potter around the house tidying up on my way, making sure dinner was cooked for my hardworking (yeah right) husband when he arrived home each evening. however, I very quickly realised that I was going a good 9/10 hours without actually speaking to anyone other than via what’s app or social media, continuously replying back to the “how are you feeling” “any signs off arrival” texts. I mean I was glad people cared but there are only so many ways you can describe how uncomfortable you are.

It was after a few weeks that me and Mr Willetts actually sat down and had a serious conversation about the prospect of him giving up his job so I could go back to work after the baby was born. I couldn’t see myself doing this for another year. If you know us well you’ll know I’m a bit of a social butterfly and Mr Willetts… well he could be in a room crowded with interesting people and still happily stand there and say nothing. I’m happy to report that since having Halley my attitude has completely changed and whilst I’m keen to find the balance of being social I’m sorry Mr Willetts but you gotta work!

I think its really important to note that not everyone enjoys being pregnant and whilst there are women out there on social media who make it look like a breeze we should always be conscious that everyones experience is different and it doesn’t take a lot to support someone through the experience and be mindful that its tough work physically and emotionally to grow a small human.

Now that pregnancy part is over it’s about raising a small human and getting over the trauma of child birth! Stay tuned to find out how we’re getting on!

p.s I’m fully aware that all the lovely pictures that go with this post are pretty much the same pose in different backgrounds and clothes… I’m not keen on how my fat pregnancy face looks when its facing the camera.


Xcarat, Mexico

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I don’t want to say too much about this place other than how much fun Mr Willetts had spending the day exploring this wonderful place. If every country could lock all of their culture into an amazing journey as well as these guys have I’d visit every single one! We did everything from cave diving to spotting butterflies and walking through a traditional Mexican Cemetery. The pictures tell 1000 stories so ill let you enjoy!

Mrs Willetts x

Sensatori Riviera Maya, Mexico

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When it comes to holidays Mr Willetts and I have in recent years become creatures of habit. We find ourselves booking the same holiday every year. Now don’t get me wrong having the luxury of being able to afford to jet off to Dubai every year to enjoy the lavish lifestyle for 2 weeks is fantastic but in the spirit of “YOLO” we decided to open up our horizons and head for Mexico.

Now I have to say despite some things not being quite the same it was in fact a lovely holiday, I came back with a fantastic tan and plenty of Electric Lemonades were had by all.

If you’ve ever seen Mr Willetts and I in a pre holiday build up you’ll know a couple of things:

  1. I never have a clue where were going. Country yes… hotel no clue. I like to look at it as a little surprise when I get there.
  2. Mr Willetts is the group leader. you’ll find him in control of all passports, money and luggage issues throughout… I’m on my holiday I don’t need all the boring jobs. He can manage that.
  3. I’m an airport keeno. I like to be there super early. I like to be the first in the queue to board the plane and I LOVE duty free…there’s always a bargain to be had! Mr Willetts – The complete opposite in fact in his words

“I like to be the last to board a plane, everyone should be waiting for me to arrive, I’m not waiting on the plane for every other idiot to get on”- Mr Willetts

Needless to say that this causes a few mid-airport heated discussions usually involving me storming off in the direction of the bar for a large gin and tonic.

Anyway I digress, the holiday itself. Mr Willetts decided to take me on a Thomson package holiday to The Sensatori, Riviera Maya, Mexico, link to the resort can be found HERE.

Mr Willetts informed me we’d be flying on the new “Dreamliner”, I know what you’re thinking… pure luxury. I’m disappointed to report that the plane and the flight were both awful. The “Dreamliner” is pretty much a basic b***h version of any long haul plane, the movie selection is VERY limited for a 10 hours flight and the aircraft itself makes an incredibly strange buzzing noise for the entire journey. – My first piece of advise DONT FLY ON THE DREAMLINER.

When we arrived in Mexico I was sooo excited to get involved in some of the culture and see some of Mexico in its true light when in fact the truth of it is we only left the resort once. When we did it was the most amazing day out Mr Willetts and I have ever done and you can read all about it HERE. – My second piece of advise, when going to somewhere like Mexico DO NOT book a package holiday unless you plan on sitting around the pool for 2 weeks slowly roasting into a sun-dried tomato.

The hotel itself was perfectly fine, it had everything you could possibly need in the confines of it’s walls and if it’s sun, sea and sangria you are looking for this is your place. Their food selection (considering it’s an all inclusive resort) was fantastic! We were both expecting 6 restaurants of endless, repetitive buffet food- we couldn’t be any more wrong. The restaurants, all bar one had a full a la carte menu and there was even a restaurant which changed it’s menu every 3 days!!

Mr Willetts and I did everything that was expected of an all inclusive resort holiday, we ate 3 times a day, we drank cocktails for the sake of drinking them from 10am right up until bedtime and we even went along to the evening entertainment a couple of times. Overall it was a delightful holiday filled with new friends and some lovely photo ops but if we did it all again boy we would do it differently. We’d definitely get out and see the surroundings more! Who knew that Mr Willetts and I were such explorers…?

Mrs Willetts x

P.S Sensatori resorts churn out weddings… If you’re thinking of getting married abroad I would say avoid this place. I saw 2 weddings a day, everyday for 2 weeks… very repetitive and not very special to each couple at all. Think outside the box people!

Substituting carbs 2.- Lettuce Tacos

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Getting into the swing of no/low carbs for dinner my next magical creation was lettuce tacos with homemade guacamole and salsa. Now once again I have seen a couple of recipes online for this but in the spirit of mixing it up a bit we do like to put our own little stamp on it.

So for this recipe breakdown for each bit! – This comfortably serves 1 Mr Willetts size portion and 3 normal size portions.

Mince tacos & filling:

-2 Cos Lettuce hearts

-500g Lean 5% fat mince meat

-1 Tin of Chopped tomatoes

-2 red onions (chopped)

-1 red pepper (chopped)

-half a packet of mushrooms (sliced)

-1/2 red chilli (chopped)

-Small tin of refried beans

-1 sachet El Do Paso Smokey BBQ Fajita Mix

In a pan, place the chopped onions, mushrooms and mince meat and cook until brown. Then add the chopped red pepper and the tin of chopped tomatoes, then stir. Allow to simmer for a couple of minutes and then add the refried beans and sprinkle the packet of El Do Paso Smokey BBQ Fajita Mix over the top and stir in. Sprinkle the 1/2 chopped chilli over the top and allow to simmer for around 20/25 minutes. Remember to keep checking and stirring.

While the taco filling cooks, break your leaves off the Cos lettuce individually and wash. You’ll find the first 6/8 leaves that come off and the rest are a little to small. Fear not you can pop these back into the fridge and use them for a side salad in another dinner!

I like to serve this meal family style as you can see from the picture above and we basically throw everything onto the table and let people fill them as they want! Serve these with some low fat feta cheese and sour cream as a topping and some corn on the cob. Accompany it with some of Mr and Mrs Willetts lovely Guacamole and Pico De Gallo which you can find the recipes for HERE and you’ve got the perfect carb free dinner!

Once again Mr Willetts is never really satisfied with a completely carb free dinner so you could serve it up with a free corn chips to fill him up a bit!

We love this dinner and we hope you do to!

Mrs Willetts x

 

Homemade Mexican favourites

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When Mr Willetts gets into something… he obsesses over it. Especially with food, if he find something he really enjoys he will eat it on repeat until he gets bored or finds something new and better.

Over the past few weeks in fact even months he’s got a new found love for Avocado. He has it on everything. Burgers, sandwiches, on toast… even just scooping the avocado straight out of the skin and eating it. So I thought it was a perfect time to explain to him ho execute homemade Guacamole. Since then every time he’s made it he’s changed the recipe slightly to find the perfect version for him (This is starting to sound like a Goldie Locks story) but heres the basic Mrs Willetts version of the recipe for you guys to use and play around with.

I also thought this is a great time to tel you about my Salsa. it’s technically a Pico De Gallo because its dry salsa but it’s the ultimate accompaniment for ALL Mexican dishes we make at home!

So the Guacamole…

This recipe will feed 1 Mr Willetts and 3 normal appetites as a dinner side

-2 Avocados – nice and ripe. The softer the better.

-1 1/2 cloves of garlic

-1 red onion

-2 sprigs of coriander

-1/2 Lemon

-Plenty of salt ad pepper

Firstly de-skin the avocados (is there a technical term for that). take out the stone and place into a bowl.

Then dice the red onion into the smallest squares you can. At this point you don’t need to be too neat because it will be blended eventually. Add that to the bowl. Next finely chop the 1 1/2 cloves of garlic and then pour a little salt over the top of it and crush together under a knifes edge and add to the bowl. Squeeze in your half a lemon and pepper for extra flavour.

Blend the entire contents of the bowl until smooth. This is where the Goldie locks element comes into it. We are divided because I like to blend but still have a few good lumps in my Guacamole but Mr Willetts likes his as smooth as it comes… the choice is yours but I assure you mine is better!

And its a simple as that! once blended transfer it into a clean bowl, and sprinkle with chopped coriander and serve!

Next, the Pico De Gallo

This recipe again is very simple but VERY tasty and can be used as a lovely dip or served on top of a chilli or fajita dish.

This recipe will serve 1 Mr Willetts and 3 regular appetites and you will need:

-4 spring onions

-1 red onion

-A handful of cherry tomatoes

-2  normal sized tomatoes

-2 heirloom tomatoes (yellow is preferable, if you don’t have these to hand then use normal sized tomatoes instead)

-1 glove of garlic

-1 red chilli

-Salt and pepper for flavouring

-free pour of olive oil

Super simple with this one finely dice the spring onions, red onion, all the tomatoes and the chilli into a bowl. FYI – I don’t really like the middle slimy bit of the tomatoes so I tend to scoop these out but its perfectly fine to leave them in! Then slice and crush the garlic with a little salt and add to the bowl. stir around to mix all the ingredients together. Then add a generous helping of olive oil and season with salt and pepper (again to taste, I like everything quite peppery) and serve! As simple as that! The flavours all together is amazing… sometimes if I’m feeling a little cheeky I’ll add a couple of mint leaves believe me when I tell you it’s delicious!

Again I’d love to see the pictures of your creations for this… and lets find out if you prefer your guacamole lumpy or smooth!!

Mrs Willetts x

 

 

Substituting carbs 1. – Pasta free lasagne

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In order for me to complete or succeed at any sort of diet or exercise routine… I need an accomplice and as much as I love every single one of my friends… not one of them is great at keeping to a diet or going to the gym with me. We all work in the food and beverage industry which means one thing… you can be easily persuaded into a gin or two or frequently end up in a pub that hand makes warm, fresh sausage rolls (wheatsleaf in Borough Market) and as hard as we all try… we never succeed.

So this time around to help me drop some excess weight I seem to have picked up since getting married, Mr Willetts decided to help me out. So during the week we have been juicing during in the day and sticking to a low or no carb dinner. I have also been working out to Charlotte Crosby’s 3 minute Belly Blitz (which is amazing by the way) and also going to the gym when I can.

“you have let yourself go a little bit since the wedding but I’m still in great shape”- Mr Willetts

So I thought what a brilliant way to show you what I’ve been doing than to blog the meals we’ve (I’ve) been creating trying to substitute Carbs for something just as filling and nice to taste.

My first creation was pasta free lasagne. Now this has been done time and time again but 9/10 these recipes are vegetarian recipes. My one version combines meat and the idea of using courgettes and spinach as the layers. Now I’m no cooking expert and I’ve certainly NEVER made a cookery book or a recipe before, but in the name of blogging I’ll give it a try! I’m not using any technical measures because to be honest we normally guess anyway! and switch it up depending on whats in the fridge.

To serve 1 Mr Willetts and 3 normal size appetites. You will need:

-4 Courgettes – thinly sliced ( I try to use the big side of the cheese grater OR a potato peeler to get it nice and thin)

-half a bag of spinach

-2 tomatoes sliced

-3 dice size pieces of low fat feta

-Pesto

-1 500g packet of 5% fat minced beef

-1 beef stock cube

-2 red onions

-1/2 packet of mushrooms

-1 jar of Bolognese sauce… choose your own brand… we like Dolmio on our house

-1/2 tin on chopped tomatoes (or the small little carton you can get)

Firstly, Mr Willetts and I like to split the cooking dinner thing. We usually prep together and then I pull everything together to make it to the plate! (he’ll always claim he “MADE” dinner… even if he only chopped one onion).

Top tip- turn the oven on now to get it warmed up… Mr Willetts is rubbish at this and then wonders why he has to wait an extra 20 minutes for dinner. Place the oven on 180C. Now our oven doesn’t actually have the numbers on the dials anymore, the oven is so old that they have worn off so… we guess.

So start by chopping both onions and the half pack of mushrooms and we get those into the pan  with some fry light (maybe 5 sprays?). Add the full packet of mince and cook until browned. At this point Mr Willetts and I like to add a beef stock cube to create some extra flavour and then we pour away any excess water (That’s a Mr Willetts job as I would end up pouring the whole thing in the sink by accident). Then simply add 1/2 tin of tomatoes and the Dolmio sauce, stir and leave to simmer for about 15/20 minutes.

Take the Courgette slices and season with salt and pepper for extra flavour.

Once everything is nicely cooked off take a rectangular oven dish (preferably a glass one) and layer 1/3 of the meat on the bottom of the dish. Then add a layer of spinach (around half of what you have) on top and then add a layer of courgette, making sure to pack extra in on the layers as courgettes do shrink in the oven! Repeat this again for the next 2 layers. – Top tip that we’ve learnt after doing this a couple of times now… use the sliced tomato to top the Lasagne and this will stop the courgette layer from drying out when its in the oven.

Place the lasagne in the oven or around 20 minutes to bake. Once the tomatoes start to crips and the courgettes start to brown on the top layer take it out. Crumble the feta over the top and add some tea spoons of pesto to the top and spread around. Then pop it back into the oven for another 10 minutes.

When it’s done (you’ll know because the feta will melt over the top of the lasagne, take it out and leave it to rest for around 10 minutes… this is probably the most important bit because it allows the juices inside to settle a little so that it firms up and doesn’t fall apart when you cut into it.

Now we usually like to serve this with a rocket salad or sometimes with sweet potatoes baked in the oven but the world is your oyster in terms of what to serve it with. As we’re trying to keep to low carbs I would say the salad is the best option!

Why not try it out! Remember to tag me in pictures of your creations… I’d love to see them!

“This dinner is lovely, my version is always better because it has more layers. It doesn’t fill you up because there’s no bread…” – Mr Willetts

Mrs Willetts x

 

“But I was in bed first…”

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Once again I find myself with a story to tell but when I go over it in my head it seems like I’m talking about a toddler that doesn’t actually exist.

Now bedtime in our house has been slowly turning into a theatre production some might even say Pantomime. It gets to that time in the evening where a normal couple would be settling down to watch a movie or getting ready for bed and doing cute stuff like snap chatting themselves brushing each others teeth. Then there’s us… Mr & Mrs Willetts starring in “The battle of the last one in bed”.

We usually go to bed at a reasonable hour, most of the week it’s once the football has finished or a repeat of Grand Designs make us upset that we can’t afford to build our dream house from scratch. We eagerly sit in anticipation of the final whistle of a midweek champions league game eyeing each other up out the corner of our eyes ( most would expect as newly weds this is for a certain reason you’d be wrong…). The final whistle blows and with out hesitation or a second glance we’re both up and out of the living room quicker than The Flash saving Iris from another evil speedster.

We race to the bedroom where there’s a few harsh pushes and shoves as we move around the bedroom trying to undress and get ready for bed. At this point distractions are key… any reminder to pull the curtains, grab a drink for bed are encouraged to slow down your opponent. Sabotage is the only way to out play the other here, it has been known for my Pajamas to be launched out the bedroom door or Mr Willetts mobile to magically disappear in the hope of slowing down the other from making it to the finish line first. We take one last look at each other with one last loving glance and we pounce into the bed like a lion chasing it’s last meal and we scream “I’m in bed first”.

Key things to point out here:

-you must be under the covers

-you can’t be fully dressed

And once your in, you’re in… there’s no going back. The idea of getting back out of bed once you’re settled in is unimaginable. That leave’s the other one of us in a state of despair. The loser left with the ultimate punishment… TURNING OFF THE BEDROOM LIGHT. Yup that’s right we aren’t wrapped up in that uncontrollable passion newly weds on the TV have for one and other –  we are in fact so desperate to get into bed first so we aren’t left with all the “close down jobs” (hospitality talk in play there).

In our relationship there is nothing worse than being the person who has to set up the iPad and sound system to whichever catch up TV series we plan to fall asleep to and make it all the way to the bed in the dark without tripping over tomorrow a gym kit or stubbing their toe on the corner of the bed. Doing all whilst the victor lays in bed all snug and smug waiting for you to yelp the ‘F’ word as you collide with the edge of the dressing table.

Getting into bed first in our house is an art form, the World Cup of relationship competitions and I have to say that I lose almost every time and when I don’t lose Mr Willetts is so stubborn that I end up having to get out of bed to correct something he’s done wrong or to get something I forgot along the way.

They say in life Love will conquer all… but I struggle to see how love can conquer the hate I feel being the last to make it to the bed and that smug look on Mr Willetts face.

I must learn to just be quicker… I’ll let you know the next time I have a glorious win!

Mrs Willetts x

 

Happy Birthday Mr Willetts

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Happy Spring guys!

I’m reporting this to you live after making it all the way through Mr Willetts birthday. Now he’s not one for massive social occasions, in fact if you’ve ever met him you’ll know that he’s quite happy to sit on his own playing the latest iPhone game (Golf Clash is currently cool) quietly judging as we all chat around him. So when his birthday comes around every year the challenge is on.

Now there are a few rules for his birthday that MUST be followed or he’ll stomp his feet and probably refuse to leave the house (Yes, I am talking about my 20 something other half and not a child who doesn’t want to go to school).

Rule 1 – Any birthday celebrations MUST NOT clash with the PGA Masters.

This usually falls around his birthday EVERY year and he will make a public announcement over dinner every year that he is busy… from the Thursday evening until the Monday morning. Please ensure large supplies of junk food, beer and the local kebab is on speed dial for the occasion.

Rule 2 – No parties

The man hates chit chat and large crowds so this is a pretty obvious Birthday rule.

Rule 3 – Don’t waste money on cards or decorations.

If you have the burning urge to purchase any of these don’t. simply deposit the money you would have spent (yes we know its only £1/£2) into his bank account so he can spend it “wisely”… usually on a Greggs or some snacks for his big PGA weekender. His appreciation for this will be far greater than a card that sits on top of the fireplace collecting dust… This year we have just shy of £25 worth of pointless cards…

Rule 4 – If there is any sniff of a Fast and Furious spin off movie around his birthday… cancel all plans, were going to the movies.

It’ll probably be the most expensive cinema outing you’ve ever had because again as a child would he will ask for the biggest popcorn, freeze blast and nacho combination the cinema has to offer and he won’t even bother turning up if you haven’t booked the VIP seats on the day it opens.

it’s taken 8 years for me to master these simple rules and yet every year I still buy him a card… and I still get “thanks but I would have preferred the £2.00”. I would like to point out that Mrs Willetts Snr has this fantastic ability to ignore the rules and at times purposely breaks them for our enjoyment. Mr Willetts’ love for his mum means that he endures whatever silly thing it is she’s making him do and for that I love her. Above all else its extremely entertaining for the rest of us.

I’m hoping he enjoys!… Stay tuned to find out what went down…

Happy Birthday Mr Willetts you pain in the arse weirdo.

Mrs Willetts x

 

 

Mum’s first Spa…

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Every year my mum’s birthday and Mother’s Day fall around the same weekend so this year I thought it would be the perfect chance to take her for her very first spa day! Now my mum isn’t a big fan of pampering herself or spending anytime on herself at all really. She day in and day out strives to please everybody else so I thought what better treat than a spa.

After browsing the internet I decided to take her to The Norton Park Hotel, Winchester. Complete with an ESPA spa. The package was an absolute steal and for £105 per person included the following:

-A nights stay in the Norton Hotel

-Access to the spa and all its facilities for both days

-A complimentary bottle of Rose Fizz on arrival

-1x1hour treatment or 2 1/2 hour treatments

-Breakfast and Lunch buffet style

-detox smoothies

-Dinner invitation to the value of £28 per person

Now usually when a deal is this good there’s a catch or a T&C that no-one ever reads but always gets caught out by but in this case there is no catch to T&C but it should come with a hazard warning… Their online booking system for the treatments is COMPLEX and gets booked up VERY quickly so leave plenty of time to get your treatments in. It took me around and hour to work out the perfect combination of times and treatments for me and mum.

Other than that minor hiccup the spa was amazing! The food quality was incredible throughout and the spa treatments were amazing! We both has a full body salt and oils scrub on the first day to detoxify our skin and then a massage on the second day. The facilities in the hotel are good, the swimming pool is a little small but perfect for a little swim up. There’s a steam room and sauna (which I must say I am getting used to as I never used to like them at all!)

We drank wine, we pampered, we chatted and even had time to catch up on an episode of Eastenders (she’s a die hard fan)!

I’m confident when I say I she loved it. She loved it so much she’s decided next year she wants to do a spa treat again and is going to make her birthday last a whole week (she’s starting to sound like me). I’m also confident when I say that this spa weekend was probably one of the best deals I’ve ever seen in the spa world and would definitely recommend it to anyone who just wants to get away and be pampered!

The offer is on until June and is available in lots of different Q hotels up and down the country so definitely go check it out HERE! Its prefect for a girly weekend/hen party or if you just need an excuse to get away!

On a side note I REALLY need to get better at photographing things to make my blog more animated!

Happy Birthday/Mothers Day mum… you deserve it!

Mrs Willetts x

 

Oh Beautiful Madeira

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Afternoon Blogging world!

In 2016, despite what my lovely line manager thinks I didn’t take all of my holiday allowance. Now in the grand scheme of things this wasn’t a massive issue because I like to think I’m quite savvy with the days I do have and I did spend 3 weeks getting married and on our honeymoon. So this year I decided I would make the most of every day that I have.

When the oppertunity came up to attend our friends wedding in Madeira, Portugal we jumped at the chance. Mr and Mrs Willetts FIRST wedding as Mr and Mrs Willetts. I’m sure the first of many but it’s all pretty exciting!

So this weekend we packed our bags and headed for the tiny island just off the coast of Morocco. We stayed in the Forum Apartment which can be found HERE. The apartment was modern, clean and set in the heart of Madeira so everything was easily accessible (good find Mr Willetts).

Now I must say the island is breathtaking, the people are so relaxed and friendly and the food is incredible! I’m almost certain I must have put on half a stone.

The wedding was set in a beautiful church on the top of a mountain and we later spent the evening dancing and eating at a lovely hotel along the coast. There are some small slight differences between a Portuguese wedding and an English wedding but it’s always fun to experience new things!

Mr Willetts and I were truly honoured to be invited even if Mr Willetts was upset he had to wear a suit jacket and a tie (his least favourite outfit). We even managed to squeeze in a Baptism of a friends son on the Sunday before flying home.

If you ever get the chance to visit Madeira I would highly recommend it even if it’s just for the beautiful scenery and the brand new sculpture of Ronaldo’s head… which we did actually miss but I’m sure we’ll be returning just and will check it out!

March and April are turning out to be pretty busy month’s for Mr Willetts and I… I think we’ll both be glad for our Holiday in May so we can sit back and relax…

Mrs Willetts x