Start the year with a great dump!

So goodbye 2009 I guess you were more gentle on us than 2008.

The snow is coming down and it is intending to snow all night and tomorrow day.

What a great way to start 2010 with a good dump!

Here are the photos when it has been snowing for 2 hours...tomorrow will reveal the dump load in its full glory!

I felt that it was a good time to clear out the old & bring in the new so we had a sock fest. This photo shows all of our family's socks that have lost a partner throughout the year...quite frightening indeed! We did manage to make a couple of pairs but that is all. I felt guilty chucking 15 odd socks out. I should have made puppets out of them?

What the heck time for a clear out Daffodilly.

So I wish you all a warm and a lucky 2010.

And of course World Peace! 

A Belated Merry Xmas everybody!

Christmas was such a blur! Yet a warm memorable one.

Twinkling lights, pine tree scents, masses of unwrapped parcels that were soon ripped apart with many an "ooh" and "ahhh".

Yummy food cooking and filling the air with mouth watering aromas.

Tasty pomegranete fizzes to drink.

Sharing the day with special friends/family....ahh it was lovely!

Fresh snow covered the ground ready for the Christening of the new sled and snow shoes!

The teenager modeling her sunglasses and flicking her mane of hair around! Where did my little girl go?

Number 2 playing for hours on his Ripstick, number 3 trying to copy him amongst the falls & bruises!

Playing games around the Christmas tree followed by the meltdown of a 6 year old who was shipped off to bed clutching a new soft toy YODA!

Ahh perfect!

Guilt Pays!

An exciting day at our house yesterday as number 3 lost his first tooth!

Now being a Superdoopermum when my other two lost teeth we had a great build up as I have a broad imagination & I love all the magical fairy tales. We had the stories of the tooth fairy, I bought cute little wooden boxes to leave their teeth in, and we wrote letters to the tooth fairy when she forgot to deliver the dosh due to a heavy snow storm! I really created a magical experience!

The original boxes.

Now number 3 is the youngest by 5 & 7 years....and I failed him!

We never did the stories or "build up" as we are so busy going every day to basketball, indoor soccer, the Christmas build up and parties as well as applying for new jobs etc etc.....I know all excuses!

So yesterday when his tooth fell out it went from excitement to wanting to keep it! I told him to put it in his tooth fairy box and told the tale of the fairies using the teeth to build roads and castles.

"What tooth box?" was his response!

Holy shit what a bad Superdoopermum I am, may have to loose the Super bit!

The poor child suffers so......... I had never even bought him one!

So my motor mouth kicks in and I make a big fuss that we will go and buy him one after basketball. How lucky was he that he would get to choose a special tooth box?

The build up was a little late but what the heck! I was trying!

So off we go all excited and me thinking that I got out of that one nicely!

I guess there had been a rush on the boxes as there were none to be found...this ended in a tantrum! Are you watching Santa?

Off to the next basketball game ...screamer enclosed!

I nipped out to the expensive store in town and found this gorgeous tooth fairy box that was 4 times the cost of the original boxes with a cute poem enclosed. Of course I bought it, had it gift wrapped with bows and gave it to him.

He loved it.......and here it is!

You lift off the shell and put the tooth in it! How cute or what?

Bah Humbug!

I have two ways of looking at Christmas:

1. I love to receive photo cards to see people who I never get chance to re-connect with & to view their children.

There again what do you do with them all afterwards? I feel guilty chucking them!

2. I love the sparkly lights everywhere & walking through the snow laden streets as it really fels like "its" here.

What a waste of electricity!

3. All the baking of cookies & chocolate covered pretzels feels so special...

until it hits the hips!

4. The excitement in the air as the kids count down the days to go.

Putting pressure on the parents...will it arrive on time...shit how much more do I have to do?

5. Seeing the pile of presents grow under the tree as the British parcels arrive & are all given a good poke & shake!

Please do not let any of them break!

6. Getting together with friends for drinks & nibbles.

Wishing you had not had that last drink where you grabbed the microphone & sang "like a virgin" girating your hips & all!!

7. Not exercising as you are just sooo tired.

Your aching muscles as you re-new yet again your resolution to go to the gym more regularly.

8. I love Christmas Eve when it is all done and you can relax & wait for the excited voices to wake you up in the morning.

The "wow that was all over very quckly"...it took months of  buying & packing that lot!

9. Keeping old traditions such as Christmas crackers  (we make our guests wear the crappy crowns) and introducing new ones such as making reindeer food.

No moan on that one!

10. Reading Christmas stories to the kids snuggled up by the tree.

No moan on that one either!

And the snow arrives.............

Good deeds.

As the recession is still in full swing in NH despite what the press and media say I am trying to teach my children to be grateful for what they have and to help others that are not as fortunate.

It surely is a struggle at times...ungrateful wretches!

Our village hosts a  "Festival of Trees" every year where business and families can make and donate a Christmas tree all decorated which is then given to a local family who have fallen on harder times.

This year I picked up a gorgeous tree in the summer and decided what a great project to do with the kids for Christmas.

I spent a fortune at "Michaels" & "Walmart" buying lolly sticks, glitter, glue, paint, candy etc. and we were ready to start our project.

I had a romantic image of us all around the kitchen table with hot glue guns singing along to Christmas songs as we made our homemade decorations.

Alas it was not to be!

The boys had little to no interest and my daughter started off with great gusto that then petered out! She did achieve alot though.

Anyway it is finished and I had to go and put it up this week ready to be on show.

That was a challenge as one set of lights died on me so I had to rush out & buy more!

Any way here is a photo of the finished product.

Our theme was " An Old Fashioned Christmas." Hence the tin foil star!