Twas the night before Christmas

and all through the house, just  a meatball was stirring but thankfully no mouse!

The stocking are laid out for Santa to fill

The children are nestled all snug in their beds.

We have had a lovely day with our family around us.

The food is all prepared for our big meal tomorrow.

Santa's treats are by the fireplace and Fraser has even left a comic for santa to enjoy.

and the tree is awaiting the flood of gifts that santa is sure to bring!

Murray and I are wearing our new Christmas PJs and are ready to head to bed, to allow santa to come and do his very special job.

We wish you all a very merry Christmas, filled with love, laughter, family and the kind of joy that makes your soul  the most happy of all.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night xxx

Christmas gift exchange.

Twice a year, Linda at Craftaholics anonymous hosts a gift exchange. Once again I took part in the Christmas gift exchange and it was so much fun!

 

This year my partner was a very sweet girl called Lisa. We chatted back and forth a couple of times , via email, and then set to work.

I received the sweetest gift through the post!

A crochet mug cosy!

I am so so excited. I have wanted one of these for such a long time and I love anything that is crochet.

And it is red. Be still my heart.

(Please excuse the ropy pics, my favourite new camera is needing batteries and I have been housebound for the past couple of days!  So the old faithful has to do)

I adore the purple heart on the front

and the super cute co-ordinating button on the back.

Love.

Thank you so so much to Lisa for my wonderful gift! I can't believe you are only just learning to crochet! You are a pro already!

And as always thanks to Linda for hosting the giveaway. It is lovely to meet new people and to enjoy exchanging something handmade and yummy!

Merry Christmas everyone! xx

Monday.

It's Monday today and it just soooo feels like it! I can barely keep my eyes open! As a general rule I actually quite like Mondays, I like that we get a new start to each week, I like getting our house back into some semi - order after a busy or extra lazy weekend. I'm also quite often off on a Monday too which is not to be sniffed at!

This morning I have my girly with me. She is choked full of the cold and has a pretty constant (and fairly "embellished") cough. She has been prescribed lots of cosy drinks, vicks vaporub and lots of rest. The last is the hardest for K to do, she is never still! She likes to keep busy!  We are snuggled in watching Annie at the moment ( I have already cried twice!) and have plenty more movie magic planned for the day.

I wanted to share with you the view I have from my end of the couch, my sweet girl at the other end, snuggled under a "mama made" quilt with her heavy eyes and her pink PJs. Out of the window I can see a lovely wintry blue sky and the sun just making it high enough to tip the top of our trees in gold.

But I have two cameras and neither have charged batteries. Sigh.

So instead I will share a couple of pics taken last week of some of our December fun.

Our christmas cake mix

filled with glistening jewel-like fruit and an amazingly spice filled aroma.

Yesterday K and Emmy got a great surprise, Granny C has been busy knitting up a special Christmas suit for our favourite little girl.

special Christmas Emmy.

I'm off now to pop the kettle on for cuppa number 2 of 200. I may pop back later to share some gifts that have been keeping us busy.

Bee Bee.

Thursday was a very sad day for us. Our sweet Bee Bee left us and went to guinea pig heaven.

I can't put into words how much I will miss her little nose poking through the mesh as she begged for grass.
I'll miss her sweet little (and not so little)  " weep weep" sound.

I am sure Lu Lu will miss her friend and sister, it makes me hurt to think of Lu Lu being all alone for the first time in her wee life.

BeeBee has been unwell for quite a few months, nothing that could be found or treated, but she just steadily kept losing weight.

It's been a long time since we have seen her in her prime.

We loved her and did our very best for her until the end and she was happy and chatty until less than an hour before I found her, so I have real peace that she lived the fullest life that she could have possibly lived.

Night night sweet BeeBee, we will miss you but we are very glad to have had 41/2 fun years with you , we love you still xxxxx

The most wonderous of days.

Oh, Christmas tree day. You lie fond in our hearts. You are one of our most favourite days of the whole year.

Last year you delivered. The air was so thick with magic I am not sure any other year will ever measure up to you on the magic meter.

Although ths year, I am sure, will be unlike any other.

The saga story began on Friday morning when the wheel fell off our car.

Sigh.

Luckily it wasn't a huge job to get fixed, but there was no way it would  be ready for Saturday morning, which was Christmas tree day.

There was nothing else for it! We had to call in reinforcements.

 I drove Mum's (weeny small) car and Jimbo followed in his van to drive the tree home.

And so began our crazy, chaotic, hilarious tree day.

When we arrived we realised straight away that th farm had changed things up. Instead of the huge choice and great layout, usually there was a man there to help you lug trees around to compare and then measure each one so you could pay by the foot.

This year the poor trees were pretty much dumped in rows, no one was there to help, there was very little choice and they were lumped into price brackets. It just wasn't the same.

Sniff sniff.

But, for us,  nothing can take away from the fun of tree day! We still had a blast choosing our own very special Christmas addition!

(K is her Mama's girl, here she is orchestrating a photo opportunity!)

Perfect.

Needless to say, we did NOT bring this one home, even at the bargain price of £35........

Who needs employees to help?? We managed just fine on our own!

maybe this one is a little too large K ...

and here is Jimbo's gloating face, all because we chose the one he was holding!

Will this even  fit in the stand???

"Of course it will! " says I.....

(famous last words!!)

We tucked her into the van and took her home!

Where we hit snag number one.

It did NOT fit in the stand! , We sawed all we could saw and it was still inches out.

Again we called in the Jimbo.

Who brought his jigsaw.

It didn't work. It got stuck on all of the sap in the Griswold family Christmas tree.

So we sawed some more, in a different direction.

And then out came the axe.

It's clear to see where I got my mad axe weilding skills! 

It was a massacre!! There were bits of tree flying all over!

I thought I might split in two from laughter!

It was even hitting off the mirror above our mantle.

Hilarious.

It was a good fight.....

(K couldn't quite believe what she was seeing!)

 Jimbo emerged victorious! And our tree stood proud!

She emerged from her little net chrysalis and.......... took up half of the living room!

This tree is huge!

And very very beautiful.

By the time we finally go the tree standing, Frase had left for a Birthday sleepover.

Tree decorating for three anyone?

As darkness fell, the hilarity subsided and the magic returned.

I think this may be my favourite tree. Ever.

Let the Christmas fun begin xx

It's a good day.

Most days I am pretty proud of myself  if I manage to get the dishwasher unloaded and a load of washing done in the morning.

This morning the dishwasher is unloaded, re-loaded AND I remembered to switch it on!! There's a whole load of washing washed and hung on the line in the winter sunshine.
And it is only 10.30am!

I. AM. SUPERWOMAN!

 I actually feel all kinds of excited and motivated., It is tragic I know, but it is what it is.

Now you have to hold on to your hats people!  I have two littles who are about to take me to the playpark for a while and then we are gonna go turn that dial right up and bust out some crafty fun when we get back!  All before lunch.

jeez, at this rate I'll need to dust off my gold hotpants and cape.........................

A great start to the season.

This is the first time I have ever made gingerbread houses, I used this tutorial from Whipperberry and it all worked great.

The scene was set and we waited with Christmas tinged excitment for our guests.

Oh the fun we had.

We all felt like children, it was wonderful!!

My Mum told me that she had wanted to make a gingerbread house since she was little.

It was so fun to share this together!

I have seriously been dreaming of doing this since the first time I watched Christmas vacation, when I was about 10!

Simple dreams coming true people!

Our little Gingerbread street

Each one was so individual!

This one was K's,

Mum's house on the left and Fraser's on the right (he even had santa going down a little marshmallow chimney!)

Fraser's friend Stefan's on the left, then Michelle's house and then Granny C's on the right.

Beeb's house

And mine.

Sigh, such a pretty street! Wish we could live on it!! LOL.

And so now it is Dec 1st and our Christmas season is under way, started by what is sure to be an annual tradition!

23 Sleeps until the magical day of Christmas eve.

2 sleeps until tree day.

Love.