My wish for the Royal birth

I have always wanted to be a princess.
I am probably the most un-princessy princess you'll come across, but as a 12-year old marrying a prince was high on my list of things to do. Probably the same for many a 12-year old girl!

But Kate Middleton was the one who ended up living my dream... and as I watched the Royal Nuptials whilst celebrating my own honeymoon, I will admit to a twinge of jealousy (mostly because I would have loved to have had even 1/1000th of the money spent on their wedding; we could have had a live band then!)

Fast forward just over two years, and now everyone is waiting with baited breath for the newest addition to the Royal Household.

This time, there is not even a hint of jealousy, only sympathy.

My #2 was two weeks overdue (such fun times!), and it was bad enough having family, friends and random strangers asking me when the baby was due, regularly interspersed with the "you're huge, shouldn't you have had that baby by now?" question.

I can only imagine how frustrating it must be for the Duchess to be heavily pregnant and effectively forced into confinement, if for no other reason than to avoid the press! Let alone to read all the speculation about her due date and whether she was overdue or not. 

And now, she's in "early labour" and the world is on tenterhooks for the arrival of the third in line to the throne. The press camped outside the hospital, waiting for the announcement of the newest Prince or Princess. 

What pressure for a first time mum! 

But my main sympathy lies in the days ahead; those first heady days of being a new mum, of getting to know your baby outside of your belly, of falling in love with the tiny human being that you created. 

When both my sons were born, those first few hours of it being just me, Husband and the baby were the most private and precious moments I have ever experienced. My babies were out, and they all mine.

So I can't begin to imagine how it must feel, knowing that as soon as this baby arrives it will essentially become public property. 

If I were Kate, I'd be pretending that I had been in labour for 36hrs, just to have some cherished normal "brand new parents" time with the baby and William.

I'm sure (I hope!!) that the press will continue to keep a respectable distance from the new family.

I hope that the little one is given the opportunity to grow up away from the glare as much as possible.

But more than anything else, I hope that Prince William and Duchess Catherine are given the privacy to enjoy every new moment with their baby.

Love is in the air

Last weekend, my bestest best friend in the whole entire world got married.

She was stunning, the day was amazing, and I wept with breath-taking happiness when I first saw her in her wedding dress as she came down the aisle.

As is the norm with such emotionally charged events, (and probably because my second anniversary is this weekend!) I reminisced on own my wedding day.
The weather (the one day of glorious and warm autumnal sunshine, in a windy week of cold rain), the venue (a small non-denominational chapel with a stained glass window looking out over the ocean), my dress (a column dress, off the shoulder, just like the one I had seen in a perfume advert when I was 18), my love on display for all to see.

She was worried about being the centre of attention, and I totally get that; it is one of my biggest fears.
Yet on my wedding day - after months and weeks of being scared to stand up in front of 80 people - I could not wait. I wanted so badly to be walking down that aisle, to be standing next to my beloved and to be telling everyone that he was the man I wanted to share my life with.
I remember sitting in the car on the way to the chapel, mentally willing my step-dad to break all the road rules just to get me there all the quicker  :)
And when I got to the chapel and began my walk down the aisle... well there was nobody else in that room but my Husband-to-be. I didn't notice anyone until about half way through the ceremony; not even my Little Monster, who was stripped down to his nappy because he was so sick! (which I felt awful about afterwards!)

Listening to their ceremony, I couldn't help but to remember mine.
Husband and I didn't even hear what our celebrant was saying; we were to busy gazing at and whispering sweet everythings to each other. We only knew that it was our turn to speak because suddenly she was standing behind us with microphone in hand, ready to prompt us through our vows.

When my BFF and her husband kissed and were officially announced as the newly weds, I was flooded with the same feelings that I had when we were finally officially Husband and Wife:
Euphoria.
A sense of shock (well, I had waited eight years!)
Utter satisfaction and completion
Thankfulness - it was finally over and the party could begin!! :)

As I sat in the autumn sunlight last weekend, watching my most cherished friend experience her most amazing day yet, I felt somewhat forlorn that my big day was done and dusted.

So I glanced up at Husband, smiled shyly and held his hand. And I asked him if we could do it all again, if we could stand up in front of all our family and friends and reconfirm to the world that he was mine, and I was his.

He smiled back at me and said, "Maybe in 8 years time...."

What are your memories of your Best Day Ever? Would you like to relive that day?