wilma-bride
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- Joined
- Jul 13, 2005
- Messages
- 22,681
A bit of background
I will (try to) stick to the short version of this story as the long one is best told over copious amounts of alcohol.
I met and married my first husband in 1991, when I was 19, had 2 little girls in a 13-month period and he left me in 1995. Following our split, I was unwell for quite a long time and the decision was made that the girls would go to live with him some 400 miles away in Middlesborough. Things worked out fine for a few months, during which he or I would make the long journey to visit. Then he met someone else she (well call her Bunny, which is what my solicitor still calls her now) wanted to be their Mum, had 3 kids of her own and wanted them to be one happy family unfortunately, that didnt leave a lot of room for me. Slowly, I was pushed out of their lives and didnt get to see the girls for almost 3 years. Out of the blue, 4 years ago, I got a call from Bunnys' sister to tell me my husband had passed away. During the following year, I managed to get a court order to see my children and began the difficult job of building some sort of relationship with them. Then, after a lengthy (and expensive) court case, Bunny was awarded custody. 2 weeks later, Bunny called me to say the girls didnt want to see me again. This was confirmed by the girls themselves a few minutes later. Again, very unwell and, by that time, pregnant with our DS I was advised by the doctor that I risked losing my baby if I carried on the way I was going. So, once again, I had lost my girls.
Fast forward to March 2005. DS is now 2 ½ and we are living in Northern Ireland, having heard nothing from Bunny or the girls (apart from various CSA demands) in almost 3 years. My Mum phones to say she has had a letter from the girls and they are living with their Grandma (first husbands Mum). I take the address and phone number and, with shaking hands, immediately phone. Turns out Bunny has decided she doesnt want the girls any more and left them with Grandma. Grandma is very happy for me to visit them and so the endless plane journeys back and forth begin. Soon, the girls decided they want to come and stay with us and meet their new brother BUT youngest DD doesnt want to fly and is insistent she wont come. Somehow, a wonderful teacher at her school, manages to change her mind and they eventually come to stay with us for the first time in June 2005. Slowly, we begin the to build some sort of mother/daughter relationship. It has to be said, at this point, that it has been (and still is) a very trying time for us all. I have no idea what is normal behaviour, DH gets the occasional youre not my Dad etc. etc and DS is just too young to understand bless him! Meanwhile, recently retired, Grandma and her husband are struggling to keep up with 2 (almost) teenagers and discuss with me the possibility of the girls coming to live with us. Obviously, it's what we want - but what would the girls think? After consultation, the girls decide they want nothing more than to live with us and so its decided when me, DH and DS return to England in July 2006, the girls will come to live with us. They are really excited, which we take as a good sign.
Sorry about that it was longer than I intended. Hopefully, this will go some way to explaining the reason why this trip is so very important for us all. The girls have been through so much in the last few years and we really hope the Disney Magic will help our family in it's healing process.
So, now for the introductions to our family:
Me Joh, 33 (almost) - chief planner extraordinaire, 3rd visit to WDW and Orlando, hoping to be able to wear shorts and a swimming costume this year
DH Gary, 39 does not get it, doesnt do holidays but really enjoys it when he gets there, 3rd visit to WDW and Orlando
DD1 Sian, 13 (almost) mini planner in training, shes a teenager now doncha know, never been to WDW, never been on a plane before last year, will try anything and loves fast rides, favourite words are Class (means good apparently) and So (said with the attitude that only a teenager can have). She was diagnosed with ADHD when she was 5 and has been on Ritalin ever since. We are hoping to tire her out so much, she might actually sleep
DD2 Rhiannon, 12 (almost) another mini planner in training, taller than her sister (a fact which none of us are allowed to forget), calmer than her sister, also never been on a plane or a holiday before, and is most looking forward to Winnie the Pooh and Cat in the Hat (I suspect we will struggle to persuade her to do anything more adventurous than that, although she has promised to try everything once well see!) Just one more thing you need to know she can eat for Britain!!!
Also featuring:
DS - Daniel, 3 - staying at home with Grandma and Grandpa, loves Bob and Dora, won't really care where he is as long as he's fed and changed
August 2005
DDs come to visit for the summer holidays. As soon as they find out we are going to WDW in September without them they are not happy. They want to go too. They spend the entire time telling us what fun it would be. After theyve left to go back to Middlesborough, I get thinking. As theyre coming to live with us next year, I tell DH how nice it would be to take them to WDW theyre 11 and 12 and have never, ever been on holiday. After a couple of weeks of gentle persuasion and being presented with various quotes, DH agrees to book for next year. We book with Airtours 2 weeks, travelling on 10th October 2006 staying at the Renaissance Orlando Resort at Sea World for me, DH and the two girls (an absolute bargain at just over £2400!). We decide we will surprise the girls at Christmas keeping this a secret is gonna be hard but I really want to see their faces when we tell them so dont want to break the news on the phone.
Christmas Day
After hours spent devising clues for a treasure hunt and writing a riddle to give a clue to their gift, we put everything in place for the girls big surprise. After the washing-up is done on Christmas Day, we tell the girls they can have their big present now. We give them the first clue and off they go, tearing around the house like mad things. I sit with DH, listening to them shouting to each other Try under the bed, Have you looked in the cupboard. Turning to DH, with tears in my eyes, I tell him this is how my life was meant to be. Eventually, they find the envelope with the riddle in and sit for ages trying to work it out. DD2 gets the first few letters and starts experimenting Din, Dis, Dint, Disn, DISNEY. She looks at me Are we going Mum? She looks at me, who is still blubbing away, and starts screaming, Were going to Disney World. DD1 has yet to cotton on to whats happening. The penny drops (think Joey from Friends) and much delighted squealing and dancing fills the house. Eventually, they calm down enough for me to give them the pack weve prepared, with pictures of the hotels, maps of the parks, tickets, flight information and 50 Disney Dollars each. The fact that were not going till October puts a slight dampener on the merriment, until I explain that it will be better once theyre living with us full-time and they seem happy with that.
A couple of days later, DMIL phones to say that they have booked to take DS to Butlins while they are looking after him in October. Apparently, Bob the Builder will be there so Im sure DS will be happy. Im quite relieved that hes getting his own mini holiday as Im starting to feel ever more guilty for leaving him behind. However, DH and I need this time with the girls and Im hoping it will start our new lives together perfectly.
January 2006
Having read every single guide book in the house, the girls have returned to Grandmas leaving me with lists of rides they want to ride, places they want to eat, Characters they want to meet, etc. etc. I start to get into the planning, having been told by DH to wait until Christmas is out of the way. We receive a call from our Estate Agent, telling us he has managed to find us a new tenant (after the house has been empty for 3 months) who wants to move in straight away. Having started to panic slightly that his plans to buy a new car were disappearing out the window, in favour of my elaborate holiday plans, DH breathes a sigh of relief and stops tutting every time I mention Disney, the Dis or anything holiday related. I, being a woman, take advantage of the opportunity to spend a bit more money. Having muttered something to DH about upgrading our seats on the flight, and not hearing an emphatic No in return, I phone Airtours just to enquire. Five minutes (and £89.50 each) later, the deal is done and we are now flying Premiair Gold. Woohoo
Still have to book car parking, hotel for the night before, buy the girls WDW tickets (we still have ours from last year), buy MNSSHP tickets and decide whether we want to do an Illuminations Cruise. As well as our first holiday together, we plan to achieve lots of firsts on this trip, including at least one Character meal, Whispering Canyon, water parks, FOTLK @ AK and loads of other stuff. Im so excited I can hardly sleep and were still 8 months, 1 weeks and 6 days away ..
I will (try to) stick to the short version of this story as the long one is best told over copious amounts of alcohol.
I met and married my first husband in 1991, when I was 19, had 2 little girls in a 13-month period and he left me in 1995. Following our split, I was unwell for quite a long time and the decision was made that the girls would go to live with him some 400 miles away in Middlesborough. Things worked out fine for a few months, during which he or I would make the long journey to visit. Then he met someone else she (well call her Bunny, which is what my solicitor still calls her now) wanted to be their Mum, had 3 kids of her own and wanted them to be one happy family unfortunately, that didnt leave a lot of room for me. Slowly, I was pushed out of their lives and didnt get to see the girls for almost 3 years. Out of the blue, 4 years ago, I got a call from Bunnys' sister to tell me my husband had passed away. During the following year, I managed to get a court order to see my children and began the difficult job of building some sort of relationship with them. Then, after a lengthy (and expensive) court case, Bunny was awarded custody. 2 weeks later, Bunny called me to say the girls didnt want to see me again. This was confirmed by the girls themselves a few minutes later. Again, very unwell and, by that time, pregnant with our DS I was advised by the doctor that I risked losing my baby if I carried on the way I was going. So, once again, I had lost my girls.
Fast forward to March 2005. DS is now 2 ½ and we are living in Northern Ireland, having heard nothing from Bunny or the girls (apart from various CSA demands) in almost 3 years. My Mum phones to say she has had a letter from the girls and they are living with their Grandma (first husbands Mum). I take the address and phone number and, with shaking hands, immediately phone. Turns out Bunny has decided she doesnt want the girls any more and left them with Grandma. Grandma is very happy for me to visit them and so the endless plane journeys back and forth begin. Soon, the girls decided they want to come and stay with us and meet their new brother BUT youngest DD doesnt want to fly and is insistent she wont come. Somehow, a wonderful teacher at her school, manages to change her mind and they eventually come to stay with us for the first time in June 2005. Slowly, we begin the to build some sort of mother/daughter relationship. It has to be said, at this point, that it has been (and still is) a very trying time for us all. I have no idea what is normal behaviour, DH gets the occasional youre not my Dad etc. etc and DS is just too young to understand bless him! Meanwhile, recently retired, Grandma and her husband are struggling to keep up with 2 (almost) teenagers and discuss with me the possibility of the girls coming to live with us. Obviously, it's what we want - but what would the girls think? After consultation, the girls decide they want nothing more than to live with us and so its decided when me, DH and DS return to England in July 2006, the girls will come to live with us. They are really excited, which we take as a good sign.
Sorry about that it was longer than I intended. Hopefully, this will go some way to explaining the reason why this trip is so very important for us all. The girls have been through so much in the last few years and we really hope the Disney Magic will help our family in it's healing process.
So, now for the introductions to our family:
Me Joh, 33 (almost) - chief planner extraordinaire, 3rd visit to WDW and Orlando, hoping to be able to wear shorts and a swimming costume this year
DH Gary, 39 does not get it, doesnt do holidays but really enjoys it when he gets there, 3rd visit to WDW and Orlando
DD1 Sian, 13 (almost) mini planner in training, shes a teenager now doncha know, never been to WDW, never been on a plane before last year, will try anything and loves fast rides, favourite words are Class (means good apparently) and So (said with the attitude that only a teenager can have). She was diagnosed with ADHD when she was 5 and has been on Ritalin ever since. We are hoping to tire her out so much, she might actually sleep
DD2 Rhiannon, 12 (almost) another mini planner in training, taller than her sister (a fact which none of us are allowed to forget), calmer than her sister, also never been on a plane or a holiday before, and is most looking forward to Winnie the Pooh and Cat in the Hat (I suspect we will struggle to persuade her to do anything more adventurous than that, although she has promised to try everything once well see!) Just one more thing you need to know she can eat for Britain!!!
Also featuring:
DS - Daniel, 3 - staying at home with Grandma and Grandpa, loves Bob and Dora, won't really care where he is as long as he's fed and changed
August 2005
DDs come to visit for the summer holidays. As soon as they find out we are going to WDW in September without them they are not happy. They want to go too. They spend the entire time telling us what fun it would be. After theyve left to go back to Middlesborough, I get thinking. As theyre coming to live with us next year, I tell DH how nice it would be to take them to WDW theyre 11 and 12 and have never, ever been on holiday. After a couple of weeks of gentle persuasion and being presented with various quotes, DH agrees to book for next year. We book with Airtours 2 weeks, travelling on 10th October 2006 staying at the Renaissance Orlando Resort at Sea World for me, DH and the two girls (an absolute bargain at just over £2400!). We decide we will surprise the girls at Christmas keeping this a secret is gonna be hard but I really want to see their faces when we tell them so dont want to break the news on the phone.
Christmas Day
After hours spent devising clues for a treasure hunt and writing a riddle to give a clue to their gift, we put everything in place for the girls big surprise. After the washing-up is done on Christmas Day, we tell the girls they can have their big present now. We give them the first clue and off they go, tearing around the house like mad things. I sit with DH, listening to them shouting to each other Try under the bed, Have you looked in the cupboard. Turning to DH, with tears in my eyes, I tell him this is how my life was meant to be. Eventually, they find the envelope with the riddle in and sit for ages trying to work it out. DD2 gets the first few letters and starts experimenting Din, Dis, Dint, Disn, DISNEY. She looks at me Are we going Mum? She looks at me, who is still blubbing away, and starts screaming, Were going to Disney World. DD1 has yet to cotton on to whats happening. The penny drops (think Joey from Friends) and much delighted squealing and dancing fills the house. Eventually, they calm down enough for me to give them the pack weve prepared, with pictures of the hotels, maps of the parks, tickets, flight information and 50 Disney Dollars each. The fact that were not going till October puts a slight dampener on the merriment, until I explain that it will be better once theyre living with us full-time and they seem happy with that.
A couple of days later, DMIL phones to say that they have booked to take DS to Butlins while they are looking after him in October. Apparently, Bob the Builder will be there so Im sure DS will be happy. Im quite relieved that hes getting his own mini holiday as Im starting to feel ever more guilty for leaving him behind. However, DH and I need this time with the girls and Im hoping it will start our new lives together perfectly.
January 2006
Having read every single guide book in the house, the girls have returned to Grandmas leaving me with lists of rides they want to ride, places they want to eat, Characters they want to meet, etc. etc. I start to get into the planning, having been told by DH to wait until Christmas is out of the way. We receive a call from our Estate Agent, telling us he has managed to find us a new tenant (after the house has been empty for 3 months) who wants to move in straight away. Having started to panic slightly that his plans to buy a new car were disappearing out the window, in favour of my elaborate holiday plans, DH breathes a sigh of relief and stops tutting every time I mention Disney, the Dis or anything holiday related. I, being a woman, take advantage of the opportunity to spend a bit more money. Having muttered something to DH about upgrading our seats on the flight, and not hearing an emphatic No in return, I phone Airtours just to enquire. Five minutes (and £89.50 each) later, the deal is done and we are now flying Premiair Gold. Woohoo
Still have to book car parking, hotel for the night before, buy the girls WDW tickets (we still have ours from last year), buy MNSSHP tickets and decide whether we want to do an Illuminations Cruise. As well as our first holiday together, we plan to achieve lots of firsts on this trip, including at least one Character meal, Whispering Canyon, water parks, FOTLK @ AK and loads of other stuff. Im so excited I can hardly sleep and were still 8 months, 1 weeks and 6 days away ..
Your girls sound so excited 
