Monthly Archives: December 2011

My Winter Manifesto 21

 in Manifesto  tagged 2012 Winter / manifesto by

We didn’t make any resolutions this time last year, in fact just getting through the new year intact was a bloody miracle and guess what I didn’t feel any worse off for not having these things hanging over me. I am not sure the beginning of the year, when the nights are dark and the days dank and wet is the best time to make resolutions. So as I did in Autumn, I am doing a Winter Manifesto.

Start Pilates lessons, I have found beginner lessons and the consultant things it would be good for my back
Keep on using my Philips goLITE daily for up to 45 minutes (it really makes a difference in my mood)
Get my craft back on. I have enjoyed the small things I have done at Christmas, so I have ordered a cross stitch kit to give me a kick start
Get the raised beds sorted and plant some seeds

Christmas 2011 12

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Christmas, a a special time for family and friends and this year one big part of our lives was missing. My mum died on Christmas Eve last year and was discovered on Christmas Day by my brother. This year was never going to be the easiest, however, we raised a glass to our missing loved ones and made the best of the day. Christmas Lunch was at The in laws and we came home and watched the Gruffalo’s Child, Dr Who (which had me sobbing) and Strictly Come Dancing.

Felt Mistletoe with button berries 1

 in Christmas / Christmas Crafts / christmas decorations / crafts / Fabric and Sewing  tagged christmas / craft / mistletoe by

Who doesn’t love a good smooch under the mistletoe? What with having to stay in for deliveries, being unwell and lots of school things to attend, I haven’t been able to get out to buy any, so I searched the internet for a tutorial to make one with the small amount of green felt I had in my stash and came across the fantastic Stay at Home Artist blog and her 2010 tutorial for mistletoe. I didn’t have any pearl establishments so used an assortment of buttons and I love the finished ornament. If I had more felt and buttons I would have made another.

But the best thing is I have an excuse to have loads of smooches with my boys.

A Pause in Advent 5

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We watched Strictly Come Dancing the final last night and that was the straw that broke the camels back for me. I lost it, I started to cry and couldn’t stop. Strictly was one of my mums favorite programs, we had been to see the live show together and bought her a DVD of it for Christmas last year, which still remains unopened. She would have loved this years series and it was Mini commenting that Grandma had just given him a 10 for his show dance that set me off.

I am hoping that this coming week with the boys off school and no expectations can bring with it some peace.

A Little Legacy – Christmas 19

 in Christmas  tagged christmas / Little Legacy / mum by

My mum never did anything by half and Christmas was one of those things that was just magical in my home growing up. When I was younger the decorations and tree would always go up on 19th December, the day prior to my birthday and there would be crape streamers strung across the ceilings and paper bells and balls hanging from them. It was a real family affair.
Christmas decorating took a back seat after my Dad died, that is until the Grandchildren came along and then again, my mums house was a festive wonder filled with tacky decorations along side the more traditional. She might have complained about decorating, but once she made a start she wasn’t content until the Lounge, Dinning Room and Hall were all festive.

A pause in Advent, The advent story for children 8

 in advent  tagged a pause in advent / advent / playmobil by

I think I have said in the past that I label myself as something of a reluctant worshiper. But you can not have Christmas without Christ and I also really enjoyed this time of year as a child growing up and going to Sunday school, so I make it my aim to teach the boys about Jesus, the Christmas and Advent.

Last year, the wonder Coffee Lady told me about a book called The Light in the Lantern, which is filled with short stories for advent. The stories are intended for reading aloud for children of school age and are perfect for sparking conversation about Advent. The are pretty short, but perfect for night time reading.

No Slogans for my boys 11

 in boys  tagged boys / clothes / event / next by

I was invited to the Spring Summer preview by Next as I am part of their Bloggers Network a couple of weeks ago. Before we went Next gave the boys £50 between them to buy an outfit, so off we headed to our nearest Next store. Now one of the things I used to have to do was make a beeline for any clothes that I didn’t think appropriate. Now what do I mean by that? No slogans is the main issue for me. I do not like children in slogan clothing. So I was pleasurably surprised to find that there was nothing that I considered completely in appropriate and the […]

Win a Bunk Bed Buddy Around the World Limited Edition 4

 in competition  tagged bunk bed buddy / competition / review / Tidy books by

We have a bunk bed buddy in natural finish in Mini’s room for his mid sleeper bed and it has been a real revelation for him.  Like all tidy books products, it is superbly well built and designed and the buddy is very lightweight, but perfect solid and strong at the same time.  We live in a new house and the walls are made of plaster board so we have to be careful of what we put up, but this went up in seconds with the addition of some plasterboard screws and if you have brick walls then the appropriate fixings already come with the kit. It is W53cm x H33cm x D13cm and comes already preassembled, so all you have to do is […]

Alone 27

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As I sit here and type I have tears rolling down my face because all of a sudden I have realised that my mum was alone and on her own when she died last year and what fear and pain she must have felt.
I woke on Christmas Eve to the sound of the telephone ringing and when I answered it was mum. She wasn’t upset, just very matter of fact and said that her arthritis was playing up and she was finding it hard to get moving and get her medication and could I come and help her. So I set off in the snow to Mums, which was about a 10 mile drive, but a world away in snow terms. Maddad was at home with the boys and taking Mini to the GP’s as he had a pretty bad chest infection and needed seeing.