Christmas

Last year I cooked and panicked. This year mum was supposed to be cooking but went down with the dreaded lurgy... this meant I was back on for cooking so began to panic about 4.30 Christmas eve.

Luckily my gorgeous brother Shane came home from Iraq (He wasnt due home for another week or so) and he is such a fabtastic cook that he willingly took over the duties. Dad and I then sat on the sofa and proceeed to get drunk... a couple of bottles of wine later and a bottle of port and a bottle of wiskly and we were doing the "your fab", "No, jor Flab, fab" "I love you" thing.

Dylan woke the house at about 5.30 and we attempted to get him back to bed. Mum and I lay on her bed, I with my head nodding (Why did I drink so much) and mum wishing desperately attempting to not vomit. Hmmm maybe we were both trying not to be sick.

Anyway at a healthy 8.30 we groaned, moaned and drove ourselves from our beds. Dylan was put in front of his big box (Decorated about 10.30 before the port but after the wine). It had a couple of balloons in with feathers, bubbles and sparkly bits, with a few tinker toys and basic cheap but cheerful crap.



After saying to everyone "dont buy him much" Dylans pile of pressies was huge.



The mess was fantastic and feathers, sparkly bits and fun flew threw the air. Wrapping paper was, of course, the most played with thing and the big box was a total hit.

Wine,


good food,

family




and a surplus of love abounded. This was probably one of the nicest Christmases Ive had in such a long time.

Walking in the Clouds

This weekend I drove over to Cumbria to visit Shaun and Jo again. Did the usual plebbing, eating and drinking but we also took in a HILL. I'm reliably informed it was a hill by Shaun who yomped up the mountain like it was a Sunday morning stroll through a flat park, to me it felt like mount Everest. In fact I think the reason I was so short of breath was due to altitude sickness. I mean I walk on a regular basis with the pram with the girls, whats the big deal about walking up a slight incline - DOH!!!

Anyway we left the car in sunshine and headed for a peak that at the time didn't look that far way. Shaun volunteered to carry Dylan in the baby ruck sack they brought us in March and off we sauntered. Hats donned we bimbled towards the bottom of the hill.



10 mins up a "slight rise" and I had peeled off my jacket and was panting somewhat.20 mins of altitude sickness later the peak still seemed some miles away and the cloud cover was beginning to sink over the peak we were heading for.

Another 20 mins stomping through marsh land and climbing stiles and we reached the tor point.



The climb up had become really ethereal, we couldn't see our hands in front of our faces and I thought I had perhaps had a heart attack and had passed into the bad lands.

But Dylan and Jo's smiling little faces made me realise I hadn't died, I was just bally unfit.

Weekend away

Ive had such a lovely weekend. Left home on Friday and drove across to Cumbria to Shaun and Jo. The drive across was lovely even in the rain. Started to get things unpacked and then discovered the little man had hit the coal bucket.


I know I should have rushed to him and grabbed the coal from his hands but he was so full of himself I found myself reaching for the camera to capture the moment.



I lay on the floor laughing my head off. He lay on the floor laughing at me laughing at him. It was the begining of a great weekend.

Two tooth Browning becomes three tooth Browning

Yeah, little man has teethed his way through to five teeth. Two on the bottom - now very prominent - and three on the top. These top three were not as great a struggle as the bottom two. He was slightly upset and restless but there didn't seem to be as much dribbling, crying and general wakefulness as the first time.

He is obviously enjoying his new teeth as he now munches happily on his veg and enthusiastically chews and sucks his way through a slice of toast. I have also tried him out on the sweeter things in life. Chocolate isn't such a hit but ice cream made his eyes pop and he chomped his way through a bowl of ice cream and pured apple.

Ive also lost a lot of my own inhibitions about food and rather than saying "no he isn't going to have that" I'm now saying "If I'm eating, he can try it". This has been a fun stage with highs and lows but generally more highs.