So long 2015...

You were the year my youngest son turned 1 and I waved goodbye to that precious first year for the second time.

You were the year that brought us endless stress and angst...but then we finally got the keys to our forever home which we love.

You were the year my firstborn started school and my heart cracked open a little wider.

When you list it like that, it seems like it's been quite a quiet, boring year for Mama. Except, I think those three events (and the details that came before them/are still dragging on after them!) were huge, monumental, even life-changing and actually, when I look back on 2015 I see a lot of happy memories but a LOT of fatigue and hard work and sleepless nights.

Here's to 2016. May it be calmer, more peaceful, slower and sweeter!

Gonna get these little whirlwinds into bed, crack open a bottle of champagne with my love and then work on my resolutions...

A Christmas round up

Greetings from the depths of Christmas madness. I am just coming up for air!

I shan't apologise about the lack of posts, I doubt any of you had any time to even check this blog over the last week or so! Life here has been rather ridiculous but all in good spirits; the boys have had an excellent time. We have visited Santa, eaten mince pies, been to Christmas drinks parties, given out dog treats for an advent activity, completed last minute rushed shopping, fallen out with each other, filled the recycling bin (twice!), eaten a LOT of turkey, celebrated Lichfield-Christmas (in Birmingham!), had some snoozy lie-ins, gone through quite a lot of batteries...it's been fun. I am, however, ready for normality again now, thanks very much. I had hoped today would be that day because Husband did mention going back into the office today...the fact that he's still snoring in bed at 8am leads me to suspect this is not going to happen. Ho hum. Is it ungrateful to be frustrated?!

Anyway, an update. My Christmas gifts were mostly delightful. Am in love with my new coat

and my watch is just what I wanted although, even after sending it back with Husband twice to have a link removed, it is still too big. I know, I know, I really needed to go WITH the watch to get it sized accurately but the thought of dragging the boys to the shops was more than I could handle. Third time's the charm!! The dress from Hush also looked like a weird black bin liner so that's got to go back (MUST do that today!) but I cheered myself up by replacing it with a skirt AND dress from the Boden sale so fingers crossed they fit better.

I also got a bottle of this under the tree...

which was a nice surprise, if not totally unprompted!

And that was that, a few bigger things to add to my wardrobe rather than lots of little bits of tat!

Our Dyson also upped and died on Tuesday last week so Santa brought this a bit early...

Living the dream!! The boys are delirious about the retractable plug and, as such, keep asking if they can hoover for me. I love it!

Snuggled down on Saturday night to watch the Agatha Christie special 'And then there were none'. Man, I wanted it to be so great. It wasn't. What an incredible let-down. Excellent acting and scenery but...meh. The end wasn't what I wanted it to be. Ho hum... Higher hopes for Sherlock on Friday night.

So apart from taking parcels to the post office, this week is going to be a nice, lazy week of forgetting which day it is and seeing some lovely friends for playdates. Today we are off to BFF's at 10.30am, tomorrow we are going to Shenstone to see Eco-Mama and the blond-haired wonder boy, Thursday is free as a bird and on Friday we're seeing some of Boy's schoolmates for a bike ride if the weather holds. Am leaving the shit jobs such as new school shoes until next week, they will not blight my holiday time!

Must do my end of year post on Thursday and post my resolutions on Friday, one of which will be implementing a proper blog-post schedule (I'm fine if I have a plan, ad-hoc posting and me don't mix!)

Hope Santa brought you something beautiful, almost time to take all the decorations down!!

Tis the season...

...to take full advantage of your Husband's generosity and tick some lust items off the list! I may well be the epitome of restraint when it comes to buying for my children but as soon as I get the green light for choosing my own gifts...that resolve may or may not go flying out the window!!

This year I have chosen:

a new chunky watch.

a LBD that I can wear in the day to lunches (now just need some suitable boots to go with it?!!)

and a knee length navy coat to help me stop looking like a bag lady in my North Face gilet. We shall see if it works!

As ever, I have ticked everyone off my list, wrapped the whole shebang and was sitting back smugly on the sofa last night when I realised that Husband has 3 items of clothing and a tube of fruit pastilles...and nothing else. Huh. He mentioned a book this morning and Nana's dogs need new beds (don't ask, after eating wooden toys, chewing open some gifts under the tree, raiding the dog food, emptying the recycling all over the kitchen and POO'ING in two different rooms they have been relegated to the kitchen but it's cold tiles in there and so I feel new beds for Christmas are in order) so once again my poor children are being dragged to the shops. I am going to try and convince them that it's a fun expedition by purchasing a McDonalds for lunch!! The things you resort to when desperate. 

Husband is out on a work do this evening and staying in a hotel (we have been together 14 years this spring, this is a safer plan for all involved, I don't do drunken Husband when I'm stone cold sober trying to keep babies and dogs asleep!) so after I've completed today's Davina workout (sob) and wrapped today's purcahses I shall be, once again, sitting down smugly. That's the plan anyway.

What have you asked Santa for this year? Anything gorgeous for your wardrobe?

Oh thank you, baby Jesus!

It has been a looooong half term and I am delighted to announce that Boy has officially broken up for the holidays. We practically skipped down to church this morning and at the end of the service, when the children were dismissed until Jan 7th, we positively ran out the door whooping and hollering. 

Don't get me wrong, he seems to like school and I know he loves his friends but he is still so young and it is such a big ask. He needs the 3 weeks to replenish his little body, mind and soul. As we left school on Wednesday the headteacher asked me and another Mama if we were looking forward to the holidays and (after we looked at him like he was insane!) we both wittered on endlessly about how we couldn't wait, we adored them! I think he assumed our love for the break came from a fondness of lie-ins and the lack of school runs...

But it's just so much more that, isn't it?

We're not a sicky family on the whole but man, do we need to slow down and recharge before next Friday?! Boy is so exhausted he can hardly cope, Baby barely got over the last cold before this one started, Husband is about to start with man flu (God help us all) and I have fought off a killer head cold but am now suffering from nausea and stomach cramps.

The school runs won't be missed, I will admit, but it's nothing to do with the early starts (my boys are up at 7am no matter what!) I miss our lovely happy mornings where I didn't have to constantly 'nag' him into eating, brushing his teeth, getting dressed, finding his left shoe... I miss letting him choose, letting him just 'be', letting him relax and really get into projects around the house without worrying about timetables or routines. I am excited to watch him play soldiers with his brother for the next three weeks, build hundreds of Lego models and paint many, many pictures. We are going to pootle into town, leisurely run our errands, go for coffee together, take our sweet time and enjoy each others' company. 

Because that's the main reason I'm so stoked. I love my son and I think he's a hoot. I enjoy his company and the thought of spending 3 whole weeks with him fills me with deep joy. I know we'll fall out. I know we'll grump at each other. But I am his Mama and that's my job and the small shit bits are NOTHING compared to how much fun we're going to have together. 

School is necessary and Boy seems to be flourishing so far, but this Mama is delirious that it's temporarily suspended!!

Happy Holidays, everyone. Soak up every single moment with your littlies because, sooner than you care to admit, they'll be stolen away again. 

I'm Back!!

Apologies, Christmas madness has taken over and writing blog posts has fallen off my radar. When I sat down to write this I thought, God, that's awful but at least I'll have loads to say. Ha!

In the last 10 days though...

We've snuggled under a lot of blankets and watched a lot of Disney movies after school!

We've had a lot of time with Nana's dogs (who are also coming for Christmas, who knew? Not me or Husband, that's for sure!!)

We've made a lot of mess!!

We've fought off the lurgy best we could (Mama succumbed over the last weekend but it's nothing some Beechams can't keep at bay)

And we've also decorated the tree-of-immense-festiveness! I love it even more now it's got sparkly twinkly lights on, sooooo perfect.

What else have we been up to? 

The school Christmas fair gave me a crackalackin' headache but raised an immense £1600, I thank you!

We went to the local grammar school's Christmas ball which was a hoot and a half.

Husband hosted his company's Christmas party at House of the Rising Sun in Shrewsbury which was a wonderful night with 8 of our nearest and dearest.

We attended the annual Light up a Life service at Lichfield Cathedral in honour of my beloved Dad.

I rearranged the playroom. Thrilling, I know!

Boy went into Birmingham with his Nana to see a Christmas Musical Concert at THSH, lots of festive fun.

We've already seen Santa twice and are scheduled to see him another 2 times before the big day, slight oversight on my part, happens every year!!

So yeah, life has been a little hectic over here in the shire and we're all suffering a bit. We could really do with slowing right down and just 'being' or we're all going to be ill for the actual day itself. Boy finishes school on Thursday at lunchtime and I think that is going to be my plan, hunker down at home for a few days and let us all re-energise. 

Add in the tumble dryer finally giving up the ghost so having to order a new one, the hoover tube splitting in two so having to order a new one, finishing off the Christmas gift shopping, finally starting to think about the Christmas food shopping, two big nights out, endless meals out with different friends and family...we are officially skint until March! Ouch! Some days at home is what our bodies and our bank account needs!!

How is everyone else getting on? Are we all decorated and shopped and ready? 

Back ASAP with some wardrobe ideas for gifts ;-)

Be still my heart...

This week has been far too emotional for my liking. From Tuesday evening onwards it has been a veritable roller coaster for reasons I a) shan't bore you with and b) can't bring myself to relive just yet. 

It's now Friday night and I can not tell you how happy I am to be snuggled up on the sofa under our new fleecy, Christmas blanket (thank you, Asda!) with a large glass of wine and no school tomorrow. 

This also helps no end...

My entire adult life I have dreamed of a house big enough for a real tree, a mammoth tree, and this year we have finally made that dream a reality (we can't afford baubles to decorate it due to STILL paying two mortgages but this isn't a post focussing on shit!!)

Am so happy. It's only been standing there since 6.30pm but every time I walk past it I give it a tiny stroke and it makes me feel a little happier. 

What do they say? Make your home safe and cosy, let them know that whatever is happening out in the big, wide world your home is their refuge, their little haven of calm and security. 

Our tree helps me remember that on this difficult week. 

Now, where are the bastard fairy lights?!

Happy December!!

The flannel, festive sheets are ON...

And the Christmas book box is OUT...

Let's get this advent started!! 

Happy 1st December to you all