Our family Christmas Card!

Make a Smilebox greeting

What did I do before?????

Sometimes I sit and wonder what I actually did with my time before I had kids. And especially when I lived in SA and didn't have to clean my own house or have any kids! Crikey - I must have been at a loss over what to do with my spare time, that's for sure.
The other day, Paul kindly mentioned that I don't tidy up as well as I used to!!!! Laughable really. HA HA! On Monday I think he got to see why. He was still home from work recovering from his op and this is what he saw! We get up in the morning and start getting Ross ready for school. In between that I have to deal with Madison and Gethin. Then we take Ross to school and return home. That's when I relax on the couch with a cup of coffee and watch tv all day! NOT!
That's when the fun begins as I try to keep the house tidy whilst attending to two small children. Some days he's lucky to have clean clothes and supper cooked when he gets in. I just start cleaning or doing something when one of my precious little ones needs or wants something. Believe me, its no fun having to stop start chores all day. I'd love to be able to start doing what I need to do and be uninterrupted until they're all done!
There we go, enough said! I'll get off my soap box now!
That said, we are having operation clean up this week in anticipation of the arrival of my parents on Sunday night. So far, I'm on track. Little bits, every day is how it will get done. Yesterday was a rest day as Maddy had her Christmas party at school. They had a Father Christmas come in and give the children little presents. I wasn't sure how she'd be with him and was waiting for her to start crying. But she was very brave and went up to get her present.
Then it was back home where I left Maddy and Gethin in the capable hands of their dad while I went for lunch with some of my friends - other mums from Ross' school. It was so nice to sit in a restaurant and eat peacefully without having to worry about anybody else. Gethin was very good while I was gone and only allowed his Dad a 10 minute break for a short nap!!! I think Paul has gotten the point now!

The snowman and the choirboy!

That sounds like a good title for a Christmas concert! We've had a week of Christmas concerts and still have one more to go tomorrow. Maddy was a snowman in her concert which was on Wednesday. She wasn't a very well snowman unfortunately! She's had a bad bout of flu with high temperatures for most of the week. We dosed her up with paracetamol just before her "grand" performance which kept her going until the end of her show which lasted all of 15 minutes. They were so cute - about twenty 2 year olds singing some rather cute Christmas songs. Well, some were crying and the rest were just sitting wide eyed staring at all the adults oooohing and aaaahing over them! Sweet nonetheless especially when one of them is yours. Hopefully the attached video clip works and you can see Maddy singing "We wish you a merry Christmas".
Ross' concert was on Thursday and a lot more sophisticated, of course. He was a choirboy so he didn't have a lot to do besides sing! He wasn't very impressed with the choice of costume however - a dress in his eyes. Tomorrow is his Sunday School Christmas concert and he'll be back in a "dress" again, this time as a shepherd. At least this "dress" comes with a stick and a little sheep so he's a lot happier about it.
Paul had his knee op on Thursday and all seems to have gone well. He was back home the same night and seems to be making quite a fast recovery. It was so nice to have him home today instead of being out all day with football.
We've had a busy day today with a birthday party, concert practise and then the annual Church Christmas Dinner. We haven't been to the previous 2 Christmas dinners because of the children but decided to give it a go this year. Our Church doesn't have many young families so Paul and I are always nervous to attend such events as we don't want our children to ruin any one's idea of a nice quiet meal! I think the people were secretly hoping, as we entered the hall that they wouldn't be the ones to have the "Evans'" at their table. Shame! I think we always think the kids are making twice as much noise as they really are because people always come over and say how well behaved they were. Maybe they're just lying but we had a nice meal and enjoyed the carols afterwards with no major events to report or any breakages. Phew!

Busy week ahead!!!

Its been another crisp and cold weekend. The days are sunny and wonderfully clear but boy oh boy is it cold! - .5 degrees in my car on the way home from Church tonight.
We don't usually go to Church in the evenings because of the children but tonight they had a Carol service and I had been asked to read the part of Mary for the story of Christ's birth. I was quite nervous as I haven't done anything like this since school! Luckily it was reading so I didn't have to memorise anything or do any acting and after all is said and done I think I did quite well! I even had a phone call from one of the deacons to say how wonderful my "reading" was.
All is quiet at home now - the kids are in bed and Paul is out at a football function. I'm recharging my batteries for the busy week ahead. I'll tell you now what we're doing as I don't think there'll be many updates this week. Tomorrow is Maddy's dress rehearsal for her Christmas concert. Tuesday is Tumble Tots. Wednesday is Maddy's actual concert. Thursday is Ross' Christmas concert and Paul is having a knee op. Friday I will probably be looking after patient Paul and the rest of the kiddies plus trying to squeeze in some Christmas shopping. Saturday is a birthday party, Sunday School concert practise and Church Christmas Dinner. And last but not least on Sunday we have the Sunday School concert. Phew!!! By then I will be all concerted out! I'm sure the kids will be too.
I like it though - it makes me feel quite festive!
Yay - only 14 more sleeps till my parents arrive. I hope they're getting plenty of rest in the next 2 weeks as these grandchildren will have them exhausted after 3 weeks!!!

Deck the halls with boughs of holly........

Its done! The tree is up! It was quite fun actually. We started this morning after Ross had gone to school. Madison and I put the tree together and then put the lights on. She was so cute and even put on the Santa hat to do it! Santa's little helper was having so much fun that I decided to let her put a few decorations on as well! Just when I was starting to feel overwhelmed with all the chaos and mess, Paul suggested we go out for some lunch before he had to go to Uni! I'm never one to turn down a meal out so we halted all "tree decorating" proceedings and got ready to go out. We didn't have much time as Paul wanted to get a new coat as well so we had a quick lunch at Starbucks and then went our separate ways.
When Ross was home from school later in the afternoon we finished off the tree. The bottom branches were rather loaded shall I say. Maddy crammed as many decorations as she could on one branch! Every now and then I couldn't resist the urge to reposition them but she was having none of it so I had to wait until they were all in bed to get it more balanced!

Icy Wednesday!

Its been bitterly cold here this week and today when I took Ross to school I actually had prise my car doors open as they were iced shut. When we got to school we had to be very careful how we walked as it was quite slippery. I was holding Gethin and trying to keep a firm grip on Maddy as she walked. A very kind parent offered to carry her so she didn't fall. Bad idea! No one will ever kidnap Madison - she screamed and kicked and carried on so much! The poor woman eventually had to swap children and take Gethin instead. Another kind parent came behind and picked up all the items of clothing Maddy had managed to discard in the whole event. I think we brought the whole car park to a standstill. That's my girl!
After that excitement it was off to Maddy's school and then Gethin and I hit the shops for my favourite pastime - shopping! But not before we had coffee and a bite to eat at M&S! We wandered around the shops for awhile and I'm sad to say I couldn't find anything to buy!
I had planned on putting the Christmas tree up this afternoon when Ross was home from school. I was all psyched up for an afternoon of chaos and mess and had even phoned Paul to warn him of the afternoons disruptions and that he should not expect much in the line of supper. But alas!! It was not to be as I could not find the shed keys where the tree is stored. Hopefully they will be located tonight and I will psych myself up again to do it in the morning. I use to love putting the tree up but the thought of doing it with 2 little ones and a baby is not quite so appealing. I just know they're not going to put those decorations where I want them to go!
Bah humbug!

Busy weekend.

Where does the weekend go? Before you know it, its over! Actually, if I'm honest I hate Saturdays. It feels like I'm the only one in the world who spends Saturdays without her husband around! And so, the more Saturdays that I have to endure on my own, the more I hate them! Oh well, at least it won't be like this forever!
To pass the time on Saturday I took the kids to Millie's Madhouse - one of my favourite places to go with kids! While they play and use up energy I sit with Gethin and have lovely hot chocolate and a nice meal. The kids have fun and I get some time out!
Sunday is our "family day" so we started off at Church and then went out for lunch (if you call Burger King out for lunch). Then it was off to visit Sharon and invite ourselves for dinner! In between the visiting I took Maddy and Ross to a birthday party where I got to sit for another 2 hours and just watch them play!
All in all, not a bad weekend!
Today has been a very uneventful day. Ross stayed home from school - I should say because he's sick but he isn't. He was so tired this morning and its freezing outside and Gethin was still sleeping and has a bad cold. Enough excuses? Bad mommy! I know but we don't let him do that very often and he is only 5!
I was going to attempt to put the Christmas tree up today but I've spent all day doing washing and when Gethin's been awake he's been so miserable that he won't be put down. Maybe tomorrow or tonight when everyone's in bed!
Only 20 more sleeps till my parents arrive! Yay!!!!

Not much happening....

Two days and already I'm slacking!! The last 2 days have been pretty much uneventful so I thought I wouldn't bore you with the details. I've also been working so haven't had much time either. When I work I have to be extremely well organised or else we have disaster. Everything is packed and ready the night before so that all we have to do in the morning is get dressed and GO! I dress myself first and then Ross and if time is on our side I dress the babies. So far so good - with the exception of Gethin no one has been delivered to the childminder in their pjs! I'm sure the day will come though!!
I've been working at my favourite school this week. Treorchy Primary. Its where I worked for a whole term at the beginning of the year, just before Gethin was born. I know the staff well so its nice to see everyone again after my time off! The kids know me as well so I don't have to be the mean teacher until they get the hint that I'm not to be messed with because I'm the supply!
Just got back from Ross' football practice so I'm off to feed, bath and bed the children and then RELAX!

What a day!

Life with Madison is never dull to say the least. Thanks to her little fingers we had to be rescued from the RAC - again! Tuesday is Tumble Tots day which Maddy absolutely adores. Everytime we get in the car she thinks she's going to Tumble Tots. Anyway, after a relatively uneventful (one small temper tantrum and only a packet of chips and a box of Smarties for bribery is minor in the world of Madison) trip to Tesco for our weekly shopping we then made our way to T Tots. We were a bit early so I decided to give Gethin his lunch in the car while we waited and then in we went for our weekly exercise. Got back to the car afterwards to discover we had a flat battery - Madam had been playing in the front while I fed Gethin and left the lights, flickers, hazards etc etc ....... on. Tried to call RAC but couldn't get through. Plan B: ever helpful Paul. After much ummming and aaahing he decided it was urgent enough to ask to leave his beloved job and rescue his wife and children. But by now it was past 2pm and Ross needed to be picked up from school at 3pm. So while I waited I tried the Rac again and this time managed to get through to a human. Luckily there was an Rac man in the area and he was in attendance within 10 minutes! I knew having small kids would have its perks - we were bumped up the list and marked as priority because I had 2 small children in the car with me!
Soon enough we were back on the road again and made it home without any further ado. It was too late for Paul to go back to work and he had excused himself from training for the evening so the kids got to enjoy Daddy for the whole afternoon. Normally they don't seem him from Tuesday morning until Wednesday afternoon because he gets back so late from football!
Hope you like my choice of photo for today - I thought our precious little Princess deserved to show off her cheeky little face!

All this is very new to me please bear with me. My thinking is that this will be an easier way to keep in touch and keep everyone up to date with our daily lives. I will try to make an entry everyday but can't make any promises. At the moment I am typing one handed with Gethin on my lap.

Not much happening today beside the usual school run, housework etc etc. Gethin had a visit from the health visitor today for his 7 month check. She came to the house to do it - I presume thats so they can see that we're doing a good job at home. She asked a whole lot of silly questions which I answered with all the right answers (only the third time I've done this)! She seemed happy and that was the end of that!

Hope you like our photo for today. Its yesterdays attempts at trying to get all 3 kids with mom. Gethin and Madison were cooperating but Ross was being a little otherwise shall we say!

I'm off to put Gethin down for his "do mom a favour nap" and then attempt to make supper.