Merry New Year

Happy New Year if I haven’t said it already. Yes, that just about sums it up. I want you all to have a year that is both new and happy 🙂 and just like last year, that’s what I hope for myself too.

Christmas has come and gone and was as good as we hoped. The week leading up to Christmas saw both Ben and I (ok mainly Ben) up to our eyes in flat pack instructions and Allen keys. We bought Oscar a KidKraft Kitchen as his main present, which took two full evenings to assemble and my mum gave him a book case that took at least an hour of Christmas Eve. But it was all appreciated by the little guy, who loves his kitchen (he’s taken to microwaving Thomas the Tank Engine poor old chap) and being able to access his books easily.

Flat pack to the max! But how gorgeous is this KidKraft play kitchen? It’s nicer than my actual kitchen!

As we weren’t visiting family over Christmas, they’d all managed to get the boys presents to us before hand. What a very lucky young man!

As, we did the year before, we went out for lunch on Christmas Day. Unfortunately it wasn’t the roaring success it was in 2013, which was a real shame. Our booking was for 2.30pm but we didn’t get our main course until 5pm! Thankfully Oscar was an absolute trooper and sat, in a high chair, for nigh on three hours without any real complaining. I was so proud of him. However it has made me think next Christmas I want more control over said dinner, as I can’t guarantee he’d cope so well every year. Short of moving house or building a giant extension in the next twelve months, the issue of not having anywhere to sit to eat at home will remain, so a bit more lateral thinking may be required. Hmmm, watch this space!

Clever mama keeping some gifts back to entertain the boy at the table. If I do say so myself 😉

Boxing Day was really the triumph of the holiday. We literally did nothing and it was superb. We stayed in our Christmas jammas all day, watched TV, played with our toys (if you follow me on social media you may have heard I got an iPad for Christmas. Oh, you didn’t hear? Well I GOT AN IPAD FOR CHRISTMAS!!!!!) and ate enough cheese and chocolate to put us into a lactose induced coma. It was bliss.

Pyjamas and playing. Superb.

All in all it was a lovely festive break. Ben was at home for nigh on two weeks, which the boy took full advantage of. Daddy’s such a softie compared to mama and many a time the boy simply took Ben by the hand and dragged him upstairs to play in the bedrooms. We also took advantage of Ben being home more to transition the boy from a cot to a bed. I know at 2 years 9 months we’re pretty late to this particular party, but I wanted to make sure Oscar was really really ready for it and besides he’d never manage to climb out of the cot so why change it 😉 . We had to slightly rearrange home room to fit in the new bookcase so took the opportunity to remove the cot bars, just from one side to begin with. We left him in his grobag for the first few nights, but he coped so well we decided to buy him a single duvet (turning it sideways and tucking it right under the mattress) and proper pillow. I still can’t get over how easily he’s taken to it. It didn’t upset him in the slightest and he’s slept brilliantly. What a star!

Reading bedtime stories in his big boy bed

New Year was as uneventful as the year before, but I know we weren’t the only ones staying in. That’s what having small children does for you I suppose. I cooked steaks and we drank prosecco at midnight. Gone are the days of me running in to the street at midnight, shouting my drunken head off. At least for now!

So a New Year, what does it hold? I remember being so thoroughly pumped for 2014, more excited than I’ve ever been. 2015 has me feeling more cautious. I can feel this is going to be a year of big changes (I don’t know why I feel this I just do!) I feel a need for things to happen. Does that make sense. Less excited more purposeful. Older? Wiser perhaps. I want to feel I’m doing the best by everyone. I also want to enjoy life, learn and grow. Not much then 😉

I hope you had the Christmas you wanted for yourself and your loved ones and 2015 is everything it can and will be.

Cheers!

 

 

Slimming World Update – Week 75

Hellllloooooo!

I promised I’d update you this week. And here I go!

So last night was the final group before Christmas – Tuesday instead of the usual Wednesday and despite it being so close to the big day, it was important for me to weigh in. Partly to know where I am right now and partly so I can know exactly how I do over the next week or so. As last Friday saw me drinking my own body weight in wine and eating an entire bag of Metcalfe’s Salt n Sweet popcorn when I got home, not to mention “recovery toast” the next day, I knew this weeks result might be a bit of a shock. And was it ever.

I lost 3.5lb!

I can’t tell you how shocked I was. I can only put it down to all the dancing we did on Friday night (it was fantastic and I feel the need to go dancing again soon!) It means I have lost 6 stone 9.5lb (93.5lb), 2 stone 9.5lb since last Christmas! Get in! It was so unexpected and it’s MADE my Christmas. Already. And it’s not even the big day yet!

So the next few days I will be going fairly easy on myself syn wise and that’s my choice. Obviously there’s the main meal, but alongside that I have a BOX of cheese in my fridge (we plumped for Gorgonzola, Yarg and a Port flavoured one with a Stilton core I don’t even know the name of, this year) as well as two boxes of Hotel Chocolat chocolates (we decided to go for a small box of Christmas and a small box of boozy flavours). These next few days will be decadent for sure. But I also have the wherewithal to make proper meals. Casseroles, soups, proper wintry fare. Gone are the days when the Christmas holidays saw me existing on a succession of one snack food after another, all washed down with vast quantities of Quality Street. I mean what’s the point? Seriously? What kind of a gift is that to give myself? Heartburn, nausea, stomach cramps, not to mention the weight gain. No thanks – you can keep them for me.

It’s not all about the food for me. I’m excited about so many other things this Christmas. I’m excited for Ben to be at home with us for 11 days, the longest he’s had off work in bloody ages! I’m excited to see my baby open his gifts on Christmas morning and for all of us to play with them together. I’m excited to go for walks with my family, watching Oscar grow in confidence and understanding of his surroundings. I’m excited to catch up with friends, be that in person, or digitally (Skype soon Michelle?). I’m just excited for Christmas. A little peace and a lot of love.

I also wanted to take this opportunity to say a huge ‘Thank you so much’ for all your support this past year. I know lately things have been a bit hit and miss here on the blog (bloody life getting the way hey?!) and for that I’m sorry. But whether you’ve stuck by me from the beginning or are new to my ramblings, you have all been more of a blessing than you could ever realise. If I could give you all a gift it would be to have the Christmas you want. as full or as peaceful as you would want it. To taste every mouthful you choose to eat and to mindfully and thoroughly enjoy it.

I’m not even going to pretend I’ll be blogging over Christmas – I wont (although if you follow me on any social media I’ll be sure to make you sick of the sight of me – links are in the side bar!) My next weigh in is on 30th so I promise to check in after that!

HAVE A WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

Big loves

Lisa

xxxxx

Merry Christmas from my little guy xx

 

 

Oh Christmas tree…..

Yeah I know, I’ve been mentioning Christmas for weeks and you may or may not give two hoots about the festive season (the hubster for one would join you in the not camp), but for me it’s a special, beautiful time of the year.

I don’t know about you, but one of the things I love about the season are the traditions, be they big or small. As I’ve mentioned before one of ours has long been having the tree up by the 12th December (my birthday) and I’ve insisted on a real tree as long as I’ve been able to. Only, for the last two years, what with the curious baby we had roaming the house, I had to admit a real tree perhaps wasn’t the best idea. Instead I resigned myself to a small artificial tree on a table, out of his reach. And it broke my heart. Really, especially the first year. I’ve prided myself on my tree in years gone by, so seeing this tiny little fake thing, well it was better than nothing, but it was just not right.

So this year, now that Oscar’s a bit older, I knew I wanted to try a real tree again. Despite husbandly protestations I’ve rearranged the furniture and made a tree fit in our tiny lounge. And I couldn’t be happier. Yeah Oscar’s had a play with the baubles, but anything too precious has been put up high and anyway he has to learn.

My decorating style is colourful, mismatched and fun. And I love it. I couldn’t begin to have a colour co-ordinated, all matching tree. They remind me of the ones I see in shops and hotels. Mine is truly a homely tree and will only get more bonkers as the years go on of that I have no doubt. I can’t wait for Oscar to start making me things to add to it as the years go by.

So here’s a look at this years tree and a few of my favourite, haphazard colourful decorations.

Here she is. What a beauty!

I said I’d get a proper tree in our tiny lounge, and I did!

One of the first ‘special’ decorations I bought when Ben and I first moved in together. It came from Accesorize and it’s still one of my faves.

Ben’s ‘Boobie Bauble’. I bought him this, from Ann Summers. It looks fairly innocuous, until you look at it closer. hehehehe!

Oscar’s taken a real shine to this Father Christmas and quite rightly so – he’s a beaut! The pink glitter bauble behind him, is also one of my fave plain baubles

This is just so American 😉 . Remember the Alamo. From The Alamo. We visited in 2010 and what a fab reminder of our trip.

My beautiful Welsh dragon, bought when we lived in Swansea. Ben wanted to find one wearing a Santa hat, but alas had to settle for this! I love this dude. Reminds me of some very happy times.

We made this with Oscar when he was 7 months, old for his very first Christmas. We went to a local ceramics cafe and made this, along with hand print tiles for all the grandparents. I took it out this year and was amazed at how tiny his hand was. I’ll admit. I got a little teary. Yeah this is a very precious bauble indeed.

And the most recent one is this, Christmas Thomas the Tank Engine. As soon as I got it I knew the Boy would never let me keep it on the tree. Ahh well. He’s Oscar’s decoration for 2014. Every year we’re buying Oscar a decoration especially for him. Each Christmas they’ll hang on the tree, then be put away in a special box. When he moves out, I’ll give him the box, so he’ll have a collection of decorations ready and waiting for him and his new home. So far he has Thomas and an Elmo from last year!

Hope you enjoyed this whistle stop tour through just a couple of my favourite decorations. What’s your tree like? I’d love to know!