Eating a Sugar Coated, Raspberry Jam filled Doughnut without licking my lips

Yeah, this is how cool I am.

I record myself eating a doughnut on New Years Eve instead of going to some kicking party. I am so comfortable in my own skin and know where my true skills lay.

Jealous aren't you.

Baby Boy playing with sound

2009 in Review according to us here at A Mothers Ramblings!

Following on from yesterdays Wordless Wednesday Post of 2009 in Photos, I thought that today I would do it in words.

I have gone back through the posts from the start of the year and here are the posts that I think best sum up each month for me!

January: Baby Boy Giggles - Insult or compliment? I choose this because it was showing how much Baby Boy was developing and understanding everything around him.

February: Top Ender Giggles - They make it difficult I choose this because it is just so much like Top Ender that she wants everything to be straight forward.

March: Top Ender Giggles - Buts its free! I choose this because Top Ender may be the most frugal of us all!

April: Baby Boy Walking I choose this because Baby Boy walked!!!

May: Top Ender Giggles - At least she didn't get out any vinegar and brown paper! I choose this because this shows that Top Ender really does have my sense of humour even when not trying!

June: Daddy Giggles - Why wasn't he using the Zebra crossing though? I choose this because Daddy actually wrote this one!

July: Top Ender Giggles - Well how do I know? I choose this because I remember how sore poor Baby Boy was.

August: I have a TV Stalker I choose this because I still can't walk past the Blue House and I am sure that one day you are going to see me on the news because Bear has kidnapped me.

September: Sleeping like a Baby I choose this because I did once have a night time routine that kind of worked!

October: The Tale of Princess Top Ender and Baron Teenager Boy (and friends) I choose this because I like that a five year old can beat a Teenager at an arcade game and that somewhere in Brighton that Teenager Boy is still hanging his head in shame.

November: A Wiggly Tooth I choose this because Top Ender is growing up...

December: Santa caught on webcam! I choose this because I just love watching Santa in my living room!

And so that brings us to my predictions for this forthcoming year. My predictions for my family in 2010 are;

We will take a family holiday abroad

I will lose 104lbs

Baby Boy will sleep through the night

Top Ender will be classed as knowing how to swim

and

we won't be having another baby!

Wordless Wednesday - 2009 in Photos

Top Ender Giggles - The only reason to feel sad after Christmas

Whilst I was talking to my Mum on the phone she mentioned that she had taken down her Christmas tree as she was feeling sad. Top Ender overheard this and asked

"Why is Granny feeling sad?"
"Why do you think Top Ender?" I asked

Top Ender thought for a second and answered

"Was it because she didn't get lots and lots of Christmas gifts from Santa?" she questioned
"No, it wasn't that Top Ender!" I answered

The Yummy Mummy With No Tummy Challenge - Week Nineteen

The scales are the one thing in my life that tell me the truth week in and week out. I trust them, I understand them. I know that they want what is best for me. I know that even if I look like I have lost weight, but I haven't that they won't tell me that I have.

I know that my scales won't look at old photos of me from the last few years and tell me that I look like I have lost a lot of weight (Thank you though Daddy it was very kind of you) even though I don't think that I have.

So when I got on the scales this morning and saw that my weight had increased by 1lb from last week I was happy. My scales are telling me that despite all the indulgences of the past week my plan to try to keep on track and to try to exercise as much possible is actually working. I worked out my calorie in-take and I know that without my conscious efforts to exercise more that I should of put on a lot more than 1lb.

And so I look forward to next year knowing that I can lose weight, keep it off and enjoy myself doing it!

Lets party like it's 2009 - Week Eighteen of The Holiday Grand Plan

Well Christmas is over and not quite forgotten even though all the toys have been unwrapped and played with and are currently scattered across most of our living room and bedrooms and the landing and bathroom... Daddy and I are fighting a losing battle against an ever increasing Toy Army!

We had a really great day and saw most of our family on Christmas Day and even with Daddy needing to leave to go to work in the early evening, we spent a lot of quality time together and even managed to keep the Kitchen fairly tidy! We were so on the ball this year that we have stripped the Turkey, used up all the left over Veg (Baby Boy and I had Bubble and Squeak for Breakfast on Boxing Day and I had what was left in an omlette today!), made stock from the Turkey Carcass and I have a a few meals for the left over Turkey planned.

We are thinking about changing a few things next year and we are also going to need to think about what can be done about the number of toys that are gifted to Top Ender and Baby Boy because we don't live in a TARDIS, despite my attemps to woo David Tennant, but for now we are enjoying the gifts we were lucky enough to be given and the leftover Chistmas goodies (such as the Christmas cake and Christmas pudding!) as well as looking forward to New Year!

Daddy is working on New Years Eve and so this will be the first time in ten years that we haven't seen the New Year in together. We will of course be on the phone to each other (we have VOIP phones so should be able to connect despite all the other people trying to talk to each other at the same time!) and will more than likely both be watching Myleene Klass on the BBC with events from London.

This week in the Holiday Grand Plan it is suggested that we write our thank you notes, take down our trees and decorations and of course think about the New Year that is stretching out ahead of us. We will take our decorations down on the 1st and 2nd of January (before Top Enders Birthday but after New Year) and our thank you notes should all be in the post on the 29th December!

And this marks the end of the Holiday Grand Plan and Christmas 2009, but it is just the start for preparing for Christmas in 2010! Yes that's right I am already thinking about next year and planning to ease into Christmas preparation by stocking up on good value finds throughout the year.

If you would like to join me then stop on by on the 25th of each month!

One Year has past

The 3rd of January is Top Enders birthday, but this year when she turned five my Gran died. Now this day has two events linked to it with conflicting emotions.

I decided that Top Enders Birthday can be a day that we remember my Gran but not her death, after all it was Top Enders day first and so should be a happy day. We will remember all the fun times that we had with my Gran and all the silly and wonderful times that we had with her but today, the day that she was admitted to Hospital after collapsing in her home is the day that we can remember that she isn't with us anymore.

Dear Maw,

One year has past since you went to hospital and I still think about you everyday, I try calling you every once in a while and realise before the phone connects through that you can't answer anymore. I don't drive past where you use to live because it is too painful to think that I can't visit you anymore.

It makes me so sad to know that you are gone and that I can't hear you anymore, but I know that now you are healed and suffer no pain. I know that you are with those we both love who have gone before us and I know that you watch over me now.

Baby Boy has learnt to walk and is so loving towards everyone around him. He reminds me a lot of you, he has your laugh. Top Ender has lost her first tooth and she thinks of you often and remembers all the good times.

I hated seeing you in the hospital and I know that you knew what was happening. Thank you for holding Baby Boy so tight when he said Goodbye and for looking at Top Ender so lovingly. I hope that all the words I couldn't say were said when I held your hand.

Don't feel sad that you aren't with us because you are. You are in our hearts and always will be.

Love

Pippa xx

Santa caught on Webcam!

We have several webcams in our house and Top Ender decided that this year she would like to try and catch Santa on them, when he came to deliver gifts to our house. I thought this was an excellent idea as we wouldn't be breaking any rules as we would still be asleep in our beds and so we arranged for the webcams to record during the night.

Santa has an easy job here as he only brings the gifts that are left in our Stockings and so other than eating the snacks we leave out for him, taking the carrot for one of his reindeer (Think about it if every house in the land left out multiple carrots for the Santa's reindeer it would mean fat reindeers who are then to heavy to fly and the end of Christmas) and reading the note we leave he doesn't have to stay long, but even I was surprised that he got our house done in 96 seconds!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Top Enders Christmas Speech

Welcome to Top Enders Christmas Speech... short and sweet!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Top Ender Giggles - Luckiest in the whole wide world

"If you had a Baby in your tummy, I would stroke you like this" said Top Ender whilst we were cuddled up on the sofa and Baby Boy was having some Boob.
"Like you did when Baby Boy was in my Tummy?" I asked
"Yes, just like that" said Top Ender "Do you know what Baby Boy?" asked Top Ender

Baby Boy sat up and looked at his sister giving her a milky grin

"You are the luckiest Boy in the whole wide world to have me as your Sister!" she cooed.
"Is that right?" I asked
"Yes! And I am the Luckiest Girl in the whole wide world to have him as my Brother!" she added
"Well I guess that it's true then" I said
"And we are both the Luckiest in the whole wide world to have you and Daddy as our Mummy and Daddy" she grinned
"Not as lucky as we are to have you two. Not as lucky as we are at all." I whispered whilst kissing them

Wordless Wednesday - O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum! Du kannst mir sehr gefallen!

The School Nativity

Sitting with Daddy at Top Enders School Nativity (see pictures of Top Ender here) it occurred to us that there are always types of children that you can find in any School Nativity in the UK. In fact you could probably take this worldwide and go back and forwards in time and still find the same types of children.

So here is my brief description of some of the children that were present at Top Enders School Nativity. If you want to take this time to regress back to when you were at school and in the School Nativity and you are sure that none of your fellow classmates was *one* of the following particular types then it was probably you....

How many of the following types can you spot in this photo?

The Nose Picker

As the category type suggests they are the one with one finger digging away inside their nose. For some reason they are always in the front row of the Nativity and so you can't help but seem them. You can't help but be impressed with the depth they can get a finger into their little nostril, before finally it emerges with its treasure, which is either wiped on the child sitting next to them or eaten...

The Shy Child

This is the one that if you aren't there parent you might miss as they are so busy trying to blend into the background, or into the Skirt of the nearest female teacher. Their parents insist that they aren't like it at home, and yet you get a good view of the top of their head dress for the entire nativity as they keep their eyes on the ground.

The Noisy Kid/Shout instead of Sing Child

You can't see them but you can hear them. They will sing all the songs at the top of their voice and sometimes even shout the lines of their classmates if they felt it wasn't said loudly enough the first time. You know this kids name because the teacher keeps hissing it at them. The child sometimes starts singing a different song to the rest of the class.

The Crying/Overwhelmed Child

Not to be confused with the Shy child. This Child has been excited for the Nativity for as long as it has known there was going to be one. They are all ready to sing and to say their carefully practiced lines until they get up on the stage. They either cry or stand there looking like they are about to cry. The teacher is sometimes needed to hold their hand on stage to get them pass this point so they can either sing or say their line.

The I should of been... Child

This Child will be in the back row and will have the most powerful stare you have seen since Damien in The Omen. The stare will be directed at Mary or Joseph, or possibly the Donkey or the Lead Angel because that part should of been theirs! Careful not to look to long at this child because we all know what happen to the grown ups in The Omen.

The needs a wee Kid

At first you think this Child is just a normal fidget, but it is only as the Nativity goes on that you realise this Child needs a wee and needs it now. If the teachers are paying attention there won't be need for therapy in later years for this Child when the needs a wee Child becomes a need a cloth and new costume Child.

The Future Star

Normally an angel, this Child will have a costume that a parent has painstakingly spent hours, nay weeks making. There will be the usual tinsel around the neck of the dress, the Tinsel halo and huge painted cardboard wings and a smile that could light up the world if it was given at the right time. Jazz hands are optional.

The waving to Mummy Child

This Child might normally be quite shy and so Mummy and Daddy have invited everyone the Child knows to come to give them a confidence boost. The Child will beam at their Mummy or Daddy or Granny or Grandad or Auntie or Uncle or Next Door Neighbour or parent of their best friend or... yeah they wave to everyone in the audience who they have ever known. Greer Garson was this kid, and if you don't know why she is in the Guinness Book of Records go look her up.

The Chatter box

Some children just have to express every thought that pops into their head. This child will chat the entire time to those around them, and the Teacher will keep looking at them with that Teacher "Stop Doing that" stare or will have told the other Children in rehearsal to ignore the Chatter box. It is because of this that they are easy to find, they are normally the Child sitting in the middle of a circle of children facing away from them.

The won't open my mouth Child

Front row centre this is the Child who isn't shy or overwhelmed, but has for some undisclosed reason decided that it is not going to sing or say any of its lines. If you are lucky you might get a begrudged sigh from them when their least favourite song is started to be sung.

The I know everybody lines Child

The class know it all. They may be some kind of child prodigy and instantly memorise anything that is said in front of them (just like all Children are when you swear by accident in front of them) or they might be the one Child who wants any part other than the one they have and so has learnt all the script just in case someone gets struck down by The Measles or really does break a leg and they can save the day.

The Class Clown

The Teachers know that this child is going to be trouble from the start and so normally make them an Inn Keeper, as everybody knows the Inn Keeper gets the best laughs.In some productions they might announce there is room at the Inn, but normally they will be quite happy pulling faces and doing funny little actions to the amusement of those around them.

And of course then there is your child, who is just a perfect little Treasure and wouldn't do any of the above...but what I am interested in is which child were you?!

The Yummy Mummy With No Tummy Challenge - Week Eighteen

And so the week before Christmas has started and already I have seen enough food and chocolate (two seperate food groups) to last me all week. When we did the Christmas Grocery shop at the weekend we decided that it would be a proper treat week with some of out favourite foods being added to the trolley... Smoked Salmon, Prawns, nuts, fruit and Pringles!

Obviously this isn't going to all be eaten in one week, but I have a feeling that I shan't be losing any weight next week and thats with me saying very loudly and very clearly that I am on a diet!

Anyway to this week and the scales see a lost of 1lb which leaves me a happy bunny!

Its time to Celebrate! - Week Seventeen of the Holiday Grand Plan

Its here!!!! Today marks the start of the Holiday Grand Plans Celebrate week and the start of a week long celebration for Top Ender, Baby Boy and I (Daddy is at work for a lot of the week).

We start today with the celebration of Baby Cousins First Birthday, then this afternoon Top Ender and I are going to bake when we get back and then this evening we will light our last advent candle and sit as a family watching our last weekly Christmas film. I think that we are going to watch Barbie's The Christmas Carol, but if Daddy gets his way it will be The Muppets Christmas Carol!

Tomorrow Top Ender, Baby Boy and I will make some cake balls and possibly a yule log... depends if I think Top Ender can handle it! We will then go and visit with my Mum again as she will have some old and very close family friends coming over (weather permitting). Daddy isn't keen on me driving in the current weather conditions (apparently it isn't my driving but everybody else that makes him worried) but we might make an adventure of it and go by train!

On Tuesday I have a whole series of art and craft activities for Top Ender and Baby Boy, including some things that we can put up in our home and some things that we are going to make for last minute gifts, including hand wreaths, reindeer hand prints and a few calenders!

Wednesday afternoon will hopefully see the roads clear enough that we can go and pick up last minute shopping items, the sort of things that have short shelf lives, but are essential at Christmas such as cream and fresh fruit...but if not we might risk walking to the supermarket instead of driving!

Thursday is the day that we are looking forward to as we are hoping to go to John Lewis and drink Hot Chocolate and eat cookies whilst watching the last minute panic stricken shoppers run around the shopping centre! We will also pop to a couple of supermarkets to pick up some reduced bargins so that we can not worry about going shopping again until the New Year! Just make sure that you have room in the freezer if you decide to also go bargin grocery shopping on Christmas Eve!

Friday of course is the big day and there shall be an Alternative to the Queens Speech right here at A Mothers Ramblings!

And this will be the last time that I get to mention these lovely ladies who have also been preparing for Christmas, so please go and say Hello and look at what they have been up to;

Krista at Typical Ramblings
Candace at Diary of a FlyBaby
Diane at DianeDenmark
Kelly at Life at the Quinn Home
Hannah at Home Baked

The Worse Christmas gift...

The Worse Christmas gift I can remember being given is also the funniest Christmas gift I can remember ever given, but I need to set the scene for you.

My MIL and her husband are what one might call old fashioned. My MIL seems to be oblivious to a lot of the world, or at least the bit where slang terms originate from. I can not say I possess that quality myself and I have taken much delight in the past from being very naughty whilst in her home and using some phrases that may or may not have a double meaning... so far I haven't been caught by anyone other than my BIL who quietly smirked whilst sitting on the sofa and indeed joined in with this new game.

Now the year before last we went round to her home early on Christmas morning, (she goes to Church with her husband for the Christmas Day Morning Service and so we need to be there pre 8:30am). It isn't a pretty sight. I need breakfast and some time to wake up so I can be on top form mentally to think up my double entendres and the such and at 8:30am on Christmas Day I am still thinking about sugar plums dancing because I normally end up staying up to 2am on Christmas Eve trying to catch Santa.

So we were handing out gifts and I was sitting on the sofa in the corner trying to smile away the hangover "without-having-drunk-any-alcohol" feeling I had. My MIL then handed me my gift and I unwrapped it whilst wondering what delights were in store for me this year.

Inside was an apron.

But that wasn't the worst part. I would of quite liked a new apron.

The apron had a picture of a topiary tree on it and the phrase "Keep your bush neat and tidy" and it was positioned in such a way that the Double entendre of the phrase was quite obvious.

I laughed. I thought that it was funny. Although I did want to know why my garden was being questioned by my MIL and an apron.

My MIL looked at me with a look of relief.

"I'm glad that you think it is funny, I was worried you would be offended!" she offered
"No I think it is funny!" I said passing the apron to Daddy and thinking my little game would have to stop.

It was two days later that Daddy got a text message from his Mother, asking him to apologise to me on her behalf. She had just found out what the apron meant from her more worldly in matters such as these husband...

So I could never wear the apron again knowing that the apron had been given in more innocence than it first seemed.... at least I can keep playing my game when we go round!

Now let me hear the worst of your gifts!

The last Saturday before Christmas

The last Saturday before Christmas is spent by hundreds of people buying gifts at the last minute, but that isn't how we spent ours. I spent a lot of today reflecting on the past year because tomorrow it is Baby Cousins First Birthday and we get to celebrate with her and our family. There is an unwritten rule in our family that first birthdays are celebrated at my Mums and so that's where we will be.

Today we had a family day, we went and did the big Christmas food shop together and then mainly because of the snow in our area we stayed in and played or in my case wrapped gifts! It was really lovely because spending time together isn't something we get to do a lot of as a family with our conflicting work schedules!

This week with Top Ender being on Christmas break we are going to try and cram as much as possible in before the big day . I have so much planned for us to do that I think Top Ender will be quite pleased to get back to school! So I had better go now to get some sleep... And to watch the end of Love Actually so I can dream of Alan Rickman tonight!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

A Wiggly Tooth no longer.

Its happened the wiggly tooth is wiggly no longer.

This evening Top Ender was sitting on the sofa before she started running towards me with a look that was a mixture of glee, shock and anticipation in equal measure.

"Mummy, Mummy, Mummy!" she babbled "My tooth has come out!"

In her fingers she held the tooth, a tiny little thing and in her mouth a gap from where the tooth had once nestled.





In two weeks and two days Top Ender will be six years old and yet I will always remember the day that Top Ender was Five years old and three hundred and forty-nine days as it was the day that she lost her first tooth.

Secret Christmas Ornament Swap

A few months ago I was doing my usual blog hopping and came across a great blog called It's a Wonderful Life. I added it to my blog roll and it was a few weeks after, that I discovered Val was hosting a Secret Christmas Ornament Swap. After a couple of swapped emails about the possiblity of a British paticipation I signed up!

I sent my ornaments to the wonderful Pennie at Mom Thoughts which you can see in her post if you want to. I think that you can really hear the excitement in her post, plus I love the title of the post Yippee for Pippa!!!!

Anyway my ornaments came through in the post this week from a wonderful lady called Caitlin at Chaotic Creation (and she is getting married next October to her sweetheart Ryan so I want to say here that I wish them a long and happy life together because they look so cute together!) and wow were we impressed.

Top Ender and Baby Boy started working their way into the box and started pulling out packages before I even had the camera out of the case. I did manage to wrestle the ornaments from them for long enough to lay them out to get a few photos.

In this one you can see all the beautiful ornaments that Caitlin made, yes that is right *made*.

These two mittens have the adorable faces of a Santa and an Elf, who Top Ender has decided to call Alfie. Alfie is apparently in charge of Santas sleigh. I thought that was Dudley Moore's Patch, but apparently my great knowledge of Christmas films means nothing to Top Ender.

Top ender also decided that each set of mittens were designed for a specific family member, she believes that Green are for Daddy, Red are for me, Blue are for Baby Boy and the Pink are for her. I think she is probably right. What gets me about these mittens is that each set has a different snowflake on them and I totally didn't notice that at first!

Then of course there was this adorable Snowman and Santa, I love the snowmans scarf and hat and Santa's shoes with the curly toes they both look so cute!

Lastly there were these adorable pink and purple glittery snowflakes of which I got four of each colour, but they have all mysteriously gone missing... or at least I thought they had until I went into Top Enders room and actually paid attention to her little tree, from which I borrowed two ornaments so I could take a picture of them!

Part of the challenge that Val issued to us was to visit the blog of our partner and to get to know them, so that we could chose an ornament (or ornaments) that we felt would be suitable for them. So I would like to thank Caitlin for my beautiful ornaments because they really do fit our family perfectly!

Edit: I just found out that these were all store brought and not home made... I don't care, nobody over here has any the same as me so I shall say there were custom made for me!

Wordless Wednesday - The Nativity