countdown

Well its the second of the busiest month of the year already.

Our Advent calendars are up, the 3year old and I have lovely traditional, open a door, get a festive pic type calendars...the 2 big boys nearly got nothing, I forgot to buy their chocolate non christmassy type advent calendars and when I went to Tesco yesterday they had a choice between Ben 10 (who??), Hannah Montana or High School Musical...if they were 9 year old girls we would have been sorted. So they got a pack of choccy coins each to put in a vintage (well, a few years old anyhow!) fabric calendar. They are happy, but I did feel slightly inadequate in the festive aisle whilst looking!!

We also have this tree - it was from Avon about 13 years ago - mum had it at her house for the big boys when they were little boys to open, it also winds up and sings at you....she kindly passed it on to us when she moved away. They still fight over who opens the drawer and pops on the mini decoration...bless!!

I have almost, nearly, officially finished my Christmas shopping....I am waiting for 4 amazon deliveries, and need to pick up a wooden train set from Argos tonight - then apart from something for my dad and maybe the other half....thats me done. Its half wrapped so I will finish the rest of the wrapping at the weekend. It'll feel good to be done as I still have a birthday to go before the main event :)

I am debating when to put up my tree...we have a real one (well 2 ), so I don't like it up too early otherwise by the 25th it looks a bit sad!! I thought this weekend, thinking the 6th or 7th its borderline 'too early' but acceptable...but I don't think I'm quite festive enough yet. So perhaps I'll make a start on the decorating but leave the tree til next weekend?? My thinking is that if I slowly put away day to day pretties to replace with Christmas pretties..it'll be an easier job. I can also then go through and get rid of the decorations I don't use...each year I think I'll sort it when I put away and it never happens!!

I've peeled and pickled a sack of small onions this morning...but I'm thinking its perhaps a bit late in the day for boxing day?! Still lots of lovely pickles for 2009 :) - what a crappy job that is!!! Last years onions were peeled sat at a table following my discharge from hospital with pregnancy complications...I must have been bored senseless cos I don't recall it being such a hideous task!!!!

There I am saying I don't feel festive enough and the snow has started falling here in East Anglia... if I didn't have to go and do a school run I could get excited lol!!!

eleven

For William......

We had a birthday last week, my second son (he doesn't like being described as number2 strangely lol!!!) was 11.

My diddy (his smaller brother couldn't say William, now he can but we all still call him diddy!!)is growing up quick...he is the quietest and least 'needy' of all my boys and tends to get forgotten. Which is not as sad as it sounds - he loves it as it means we forget he is on one of his games consoles..again!! I suppose in larger families this is what happens, he who shouts loudest and all that!!!

Dids has the most amazing skill......gaming......he can complete games within the same day of getting them - it isn't necessarily a skill I am that chuffed about, lol, but we've all got to be good at something!!!

And now he is 11... the lovliest son and brother anyone could wish for. And remember diddy dewdrop...even though mummy shouts at you to get off your wii, because its a school night and you really shouldn't have sneaked back on it.....she loves you tons XxxX

And the winner is.................

A very sniffly snotty small boy picked a name out of the bowl................

but then got camera shy........well Mr Tumble came on cbeebies to be more correct!!

Well done Second Wind!!! (second wind who hasn't updated her blog for yages :) does angel know lol!!!!)

If you get your address to me, I'll pop it in the post for you.

Thank You everyone for some fabulous ideas for wedding favours, and great links too.

I am totally puzzled as to what I will do still.

We are not having a sit down hoo ha (well we are for 9 people after our actual ceremony on the Friday), but I still wanted favours on my tables at our party on the Saturday.

I love love love the idea of gingerbread men for the children, and this could work (as long as I don't have to find the time to make them!), Laura (happy birthday btw!) suggests icing the Tesco gingerbread men, which I think is a definate possibility!

As for the grown ups favours...I'll get back to you in the New Year when I will be in serious wedding mode!! But sweeties seem to be a repeat suggestion, and I have found someone on ebay (US) who will personalise ribbon to tie them up....or is that a bit narcissistic????(yes I did need to check the spelling on that big for Monday morning word!!)

ooh its a nightmare having my head filled with such trivialities!!!

And I thought the dress would be the problem (actually not a problem at all, but the shoes could be!!)

More Christmas Preparations....

So as we edge closer to the festivities, I don't feel quite as organised as I did a month ago!!

I have some more pressies left to wrap and a few to buy, but I'm practically done. I had planned to make loads of decorations, more handmade gifts, but its not to be.

I even bought this in order to plan the festivities. But my time management at the minute is ...well, poor to say the least!! And the organiser hasn't made it off the books to read pile yet!

So I shall say again, what I said last year - it'll be different next year the baby will be bigger. no more building work at home, etc etc. Truth is, I will just have to manage my time better. Follow my progress here, next year lol!!!

So although I have no handmade tree decorations and haven't made as many handmade gifts as I'd have liked, (and I still have 10kilos of pickling onions to peel!!) I have made some pretty parcels. (well by my standards - last year folk were lucky their pressies weren't in Tesco bags lol!!)

I've used brown paper and ribbon on lots of parcels ,I bought some cheap tree decs from Tesco- the presents were £1.50 and the reindeers a pound , some skinny silky ribbon and found the Ikea paper string lurking in a craft drawer.

So this is what I played this afternoon, while the baby emptied a whole pack of baby wipes :0 !!

These are bottles of Baileys for my childminders, tissue and florist cellophane with the Tesco present trimmings. (If I looked after other peoples kids - I'd need alcohol for sure lol!!)

This one is sick in a bottle (AKA advocaat) for my stepdad - you can't see closely but the ribbon has gold trees on it.

I've made my own tags on the computer by downloading vintage Christmas images and typing the greeting. (I know its not that personal, but I think I'd appreciate the thought that someone could be bothered to type my name into the computer), and the stickers were something ridiculous like 30p in the sale in January and I use them to put on Father Christmas's parcels as last year he thought he'd use different paper for each boy but then he forgot which paper was for which boy - the twonk!!!

Some more parcels - the green paper was from Lidl of all places - its not the best quality but was a pack of 4 rolls for £1.99 and 1 of them I liberated for birthdays as it has no festive references on it!!

These days we do a secret santa for the adults in our family with a £10 spend limit. Here's one of mine (the other was a sushi themed basket that I forgot to photograph) - I used the would I be happy to receive it principle and I would... handmade bag, LA sign and pretty dishcloths.

Speaking of Tesco...(I did mention earlier - you've probably just lost the will with my waffle!)...Look at these NOEL letters, for my lounge fireplace, a bargain, but I can't remember how much - £3 or £4!?!Really need to get my decs out of the loft so I can see what I have and start planning what will go where....but probably not this weekend as I have to go and visit a new baby, a pink baby, my 1st niece.

So, the giveaway may not get drawn until Monday, just in case anybody thinks I've forgotten!

Cool Whip

My big boys are huge Family Guy fans, so obviously by default I get to enjoy it too!! And you know how it is when you find something funny and you end up quoting the catchphrases constantly!! (or is that just us?!)

The video below is our current obsession - I just had to share!!



And (huge whoop whoop ....) I can put videos in my posts now!!

rememberance

Remember

Remember me when I am gone away,
Gone far away into the silent land;
When you can no more hold me by the hand,
Nor I half turn to go, yet turning stay.
Remember me when no more day by day
You tell me of our future that you plann'd:
Only remember me; you understand
It will be late to counsel then or pray.
Yet if you should forget me for a while
And afterwards remember, do not grieve:
For if the darkness and corruption leave
A vestige of the thoughts that once I had,
Better by far you should forget and smile
Than that you should remember and be sad.


From: Goblin Market, The Prince's Progress and Other Poems. Christina Rosetti. London: Macmillan 1879.


This was my Grandads favourite poem .

Today I will remember what he did for this country during WW2.

Today I will remember that he saw things and experienced things, as little more than a boy, that I can only pray my boys never have to experience.



Today I will remember everybody who has fought for our country in our time.

Another magazine post

The last couple of months I haven't been enjoying Country Living how I used too!! Don't get me wrong I had a slightly racing pulse when it plopped on the door mat each month but once opened there has only been the odd thing inside to tickle my pickle :)

But then this came - the December/Christmas issue - and CL has redeemed itself.

I had to go to A&E with the eldest boys facial injury (see last post!!) yesterday teatime so I shoved it in my bag. Every page got an ooh! or a 'look, isn't that gorgeous!!' Surprisingly, 13 year old boys can show some enthusiasm for gorgeous things, especially this...

This was met with a - 'why can't our fireplace look like that!'

(because I haven't got a stylist coming to my house sweetie to clear up the debris of 4 stinky boys xx)

I apologise for another magazine post this month but look at this picture - does anything say Christmas/Winter more than him??

And the winners from the summers 'what you gonna do with an empty Bonne Maman jar' comp were announced....and I love this idea...

I have lots of non Maman jars so I may experiment with this.

There are tons of fabulous Christmas ideas for decoration (love the red hanging stars from John Lewis) and foodie ideas too.

We didn't have long to wait in A&E (the benefits of a dedicated childrens and young persons consultant!) so I had to have an early night with my magazine, so thats the ironing not done again. Oh well priorities eh!!

Oh and his face is fine - nothing broken!