Some Christmas photos

We have had a wonderful Christmas, but it is getting late and I'm tired so I'll keep it short. I just wanted to share some photos so that my parents in Devon can see what their grandchildren got up to today. The children are too young to fully get what Christmas is about, so we weren't woken up until Lily surfaced at 7.30am. We helped the Podlings to open their stockings and had some breakfast before heading to church. We were quite excited by the appearance of a real donkey in the Nativity play! The children had a few presents before lunch, including their 'main' present, a ride-on car each. We had a fantastic Christmas dinner thanks to the efforts of Mark's mum and dad, after which we all amassed in the lounge to open presents. The Podlings had so many gifts that we decided it was too much for one day. They still have half of them to open, so they have another day of excitement to look forward too. Lily was very tired and couldn't wait to go to bed this evening, but Tom was somewhat more reluctant to go! He was having far too much fun to want it to end! I have also had a great deal of fun today, but I'm rather more on Lily's side and will be grateful to go to bed! I hope you have had a wonderful Christmas and will have a peaceful and relaxing Boxing Day.

Lily investigates the contents of her stocking

Lily with her favourite present, the apple from her stocking!

Tom enjoying a breakfast of smarties, courtesy of Father Christmas


Lily decides she has had enough of posing for photos


Lily on her ride-on car


Tom adores his new toy car. He spent most of the day in it.



Lily adores Tom's car too. There were squabbles!

Lily having a cuddle with Daddy

Tom and Lily with their new Rainbow Aquadraw.

Merry Christmas

The children are nestled all snug in their beds, and soon I will be too! The presents are wrapped and under the tree, the stockings are filled and the clothes are all pressed and ready for church. I'm hoping our little lady will fight off the temperature she has had today and will be bright and happy tomorrow. We are looking forward to spending some time with Mark's family this Christmas and I may not be able to post for a few days. I will try and put up some pictures if I can. In the meantime I would like to wish you all a very happy Christmas. I hope you have a wonderful time.

Festive fare

I managed to have my entire Christmas social life crammed into five days this year. We had three Christmas dinners to go to, all of which have been in the last week. Last Saturday we went to a get-together in Exeter with the people that Mark used to work with before we moved up here. I also used to work with a couple of them a few years ago, so it was nice to catch up with them again. The Podlings joined us for this meal and behaved admirably. Tuesday night was the Christmas meal for the group Mark manages at work and last night was the senior management staff meal. Many delicious three course meals, which will no doubt translate into many extra pounds on the bathroom scales!

I thoroughly enjoyed all the meals, but I particularly enjoyed last night's. I had the most fabulous piece of beef I have ever eaten...it was cooked to perfection! I also had a rather entertaining dinner companion in the form the husband of one of the management staff. I could not have sat next to anyone with a more differing life view than me! He is an atheist who doesn't celebrate Christmas, dislikes young children and thinks that women with qualifications who become housewives are wasted. Hmmm...I'm a Christian who loves to celebrate Christmas, has two small children (and wants more) and loves being a housewife despite possessing a PhD in polymer chemistry! Despite our opposing views, I found him the most delightful fellow and he certainly kept me entertained.

I've had a most enjoyable time this week, not least because I have been able to spend some time with the man I married. Mark works very hard, so it isn't often we get time to just go out and enjoy ourselves. It has been lovely just relaxing and enjoying his company. After all, I was Mark's wife before I became the Podling's mother!

The greatest story of all...

"Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son,
and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is,
God with us." Matthew 1:23

Lest we should lose sight of what this season is really about.

Home again, home again, jiggety jig

We got home late on Sunday night after spending a lovely week with my parents down in Devon. Mark was away in Europe all week on a business trip, so the Podlings and I went to stay with my mum and dad. It was so nice to go home again after such a long time away. I was also able to make a considerable dent on my Christmas shopping while I was down there as I had help with the Podlings. I'm just hoping my online orders will arrive in time!

We managed to put most things away the night we got back (a first...usually things lurk around for weeks after a trip!), but I am now running around like the proverbial headless chicken trying to get everything ready for Christmas. We haven't even decorated our Christmas tree yet, which is standing, forlorn and naked, in our lounge. Still, I'll get there! My stress is nothing in comparison to what my mother-in-law must be going through. She has 9 adults and 2 children to cater for on Christmas day and she still manages to remain cheerful. Would that I had her fortitude!

'Well traveled luggage II' by Richard Vergine

Random pictures presents...

This picture, taken this morning, shows Tom in his element. He is in to cars in a big way and he owns dozens of toy ones in all shapes and sizes (well, mostly car-shaped to be honest, but the point is he has lots of different ones!). He will play with his cars, bikes and trucks for hours on end and is never happier than when we can go for a long drive so he can look out the window at oncoming traffic. Much of his 'rest time' now consists of him looking out his window for cars. If you look carefully at the picture below, you can make out Tom's face as he gazes out of his window during his rest time (top left window).

To wee or not to wee, that is the question!

I've been trying, with limited success, to introduce Tom to the concept of using the potty. Tom, however, is quite content to stay in nappies. A definite downside to disposable nappies is that there is no incentive to use a potty, as a 'wet' nappy is just as comfortable as a dry one. I thought we had turned a corner a couple of days ago as he independently asked for the potty twice in one day and actually used it. The second time was while I was running the bath, so after he used the potty I just left his nappy off. I figured that his bladder was now empty, so I didn't need to worry about accidents. Boy was I wrong! When the bath was ready, I went on a quest for Tom and found him in Mark's office standing in the most enormous puddle of wee. "I done a wee-wee" he announced at the top of his voice, with a 'wouldn't you believe it's happened again' expression on his face! I just couldn't believe that one little boy's bladder could contain that much liquid, especially after using the potty all of five minutes beforehand. Thankfully, we have laminate floor in the office, so clean-up could have been worse! However, I'm starting to see that potty training Tom is going to be no easy task!

In case you were wondering, no I'm not trying to potty train Lily. She just insists on doing whatever Tom is doing, so whenever I get the potty for Tom I have to get one for her or she gets upset. When given the potty, she puts it on the floor, sits on it and looks me quite seriously in the face before announcing 'wee wee'. We rarely get one in there, but she's trying bless her!