Christmas 2008

A good one - definitely! On Tuesday this week we went to see my friend Joyce's pantomime at Watford - Dick Whittington - she wrote it as well as directing and I'm so proud of her - it was brilliant! Well worth the trip up there. We even got a name check! Terry was most impressed. It made me feel all Christmassy and started the festive week off a treat.

Kirsti and Terry stayed here on Christmas Eve (since my Dad couldn't get home from Kosovo for Christmas, we decided to do it here instead of at my folks' house). We ate steak and latkes (a Reeve-Edwards tradition) and pierogis and mushroom soup (A Reeve-Gonda tradition), watched Muppet Christmas Carol and wrapped hundreds of presents - or that's what it felt like. Oz hung his stocking before bed and wrote Father Christmas the following note "I am Oscar. I have been good. Please bring me lots of presents"


And Father Christmas obliged! Toby got lots of chocolate, Nemo goodies, all sorts...
Oz even got a reply from Father Christmas as well as 2 stockings stuffed to the brim of cars, guns and a fetching pink fluffy handbag which he loves. It's only the second time I've cooked a full Christmas dinner for the whole family - instead of just Rob and I. And I was quite pleased with how it turned out. Perfect turkey -

3 kinds of stuffing (sausagemeat, country and chestnut), roast potatoes in goosefat (divine), roast parsnips, mash potatoes, sprouts and peas. Bread sauce and the best gravy I've made in years finished it off.
Kirsti even filmed it


After lunch we opened presents. I got my heart's desire - a purple Ipod nano - plus speakers to go with it. I also got a surprise from Rob - a proper expresso coffee maker with a steamer spout to make cappuccino! Hoorah! Rob got his heart's desire - an XBox 360 with Halo 3 - he'd wanted it for 2 years..... so even though there's a credit crunch we all did rather well!


Toby got a kitchen and a ton of dinosaurs.


Oscar got a variety of Lightning McQueen toys like a playmat and a customisable McQueen car plus a Leapster game console
A lovely lazy play filled afternoon, cheese board and smoked salmon for tea, much playing with Ipods and Xboxes....

Today we went to Greenwich Playhouse and saw the most AMAZING pantomime - Jack and the Beanstalk - if you can get tickets, do as it was one of the best I've seen (not including Joyce's of course!). I've been messing around with my Ipod most of the evening (rediscovering Alisha's Attic) while Rob blasts aliens into oblivion. I'm about to go have a relaxing bubble bath and an early night.

Hope you all had a wonderful marvellous sparkly Christmas!

Christmas Cards.....

I could pretend it's because I want to save the planet and cards contribute to Global Warming. I could pretend I lost my address book. I could pretend I lost use of my legs or the post office burnt down.....but I'm going to be honest.

I haven't sent any cards out this year because I kept meaning to and then time ran out.

So all you wonderful people who have sent me cards - I'm so so grateful and so sorry that I'm totally crap. If it's the thought that counts I promise I have thought of each and every one of you and thought big. I promise!

All I can do now is wish you and yours a blissfully HAPPY CHRISTMAS. May worries be far away. May joy be very close. May everything be sparkly and glittery and wonderful. And lets wish for wonderfulness in the New Year.

I'm sorry. I promise I'll try harder next year. Santa will be leaving coal in my stocking.

I "heart" Will.I.Am

Just been to see Madacascar 2 with Oz - fab film...but this song was the best bit!....

Big And Chunky Lyrics

I just bought it on ITunes....my new theme song.... methinks!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas....

Oscar officially has Christmas fever. As soon as he wakes up he wants his advent calendar (well it's chocolate...he's a kid)....We decorated the tree last weekend - I would have posted then but I lost the camera and since I lost my mobile, I can't take pics - however I just found it so taa daaaaa
It was wonderful this year - the first year that Oscar really helped decorate it - and was excited by it! Totally cool.

Toby in drag

As promised....

Typealzer

Stolen from Clare who stole it from someone too - this supposedly analyzed my blog and said I am the following personality type...whaddya think? Have a go here....

ESFP - The Performers

The entertaining and friendly type. They are especially attuned to pleasure and beauty and like to fill their surroundings with soft fabrics, bright colors and sweet smells. They live in the present moment and don´t like to plan ahead - they are always in risk of exhausting themselves.

The enjoy work that makes them able to help other people in a concrete and visible way. They tend to avoid conflicts and rarely initiate confrontation - qualities that can make it hard for them in management positions.

Tantrum city!

Toby was UNBEARABLE yesterday - I have to rant (I also have PMT so prepare yourself). We went to Peckham Park which is a place I love. It was bloody cold though and we kept moving - Oz on his bike and Toby on foot. Then we saw a puddle. One unfortunate side effect of Toby's Peppa Pig addiction, while it enables me to put the washing on in peace, it means he's obsessed with "jumping up and down in muddy puddles". Or any puddles. Or any body of water he finds. It was a small one - I didn't mind.

Move on to the playground - the biggest frickin puddle I'd ever seen was there - at least 6 foot across. And of course Toby went straight for it. I'm wearing my fakelike ugg boots (£4 from Primark - bargain!) and of course don't want to get them wet. I finally fish him out and try and distract him on the swings. SCREAMING tantrum. Oz tried to push him instead - SCREAMS....my friend Claire arrived along with pink wellies (rather fetching). Toby doesn't like wellies. Screaming tantrum - getting the idea?

Eventually (after standing next to him while he writhed on the floor for 15 minutes) I picked him up and put him in the puddle. Then he starts to have fun. Then he starts to run around like mad - watched all the while by envious wellie-less children and I was being unsubtly tutted by other parents.....

He was soaked. Drenched. He sat down in the bloody puddle. But he wasn't screaming so I didn't care!!! Claire had a spare pair of trousers - girl ones of course....so Toby spent the rest of the afternoon in the 1 o clock club wearing pink wellies and purple stripey skin tight leggings. Hysterical. Claire has a photo - I'll post it when I get it.

Oz in the meantime was being ok but Toby was still on the edge of tantrumming all afternoon. After they both screamed the cafe down in pursuit of ice lollies (in sub zero temperatures my kids want ice...?) I gave up and headed back to the car. They both fell asleep on the way home - I drove to Savacentre petrol station, filled up the car, bought chocolate and diet coke and sat on the forecourt with the heating on full blast listening to the radio and trying to relax. It felt like my brain was knotted up in stress....

Rob, bless him, put the boys to bed - I started to cook pasta bake (PMT remember?) and managed to smash my favourite glass baking dish. The perfect end to the perfectly crap day. I snuggled on the sofa to watch Britney's big soul bearing film and was thoroughly bored and didn't learn anything about her. She's just like me is she? Bollox. Don't get me started on her....

ANYWAY! Enough rant. Today was better. Tomorrow I'm going to Bromley for Eggnog latte - thank you starbucks for FINALLY giving us the christmas coffee we wanted! I'm eating lots of chocolate as I type.

On Friday last week my lovely husband sacrificed his male pride and had the SNIP. He's still a bit tender but is putting a brave face on it. We keep telling the boys that Daddy has a poorly lap so they can't jump on him.....I'm not going into details but I want to log how proud and grateful I am that he has taken this option so I can come off the pill and stop mucking about with my body chemistry. More men should step up and do this (I'd rant some more about that but I'm spent!)

Oh and one other thing - if you're reading this cos you saw my piece in the NCT broodsheet ... Hello! Leave me a comment....