I hope you all had a fantastic New Years Eve, we were all in bed by 10.30 pm but did have some fireworks left over from November earlier on in the evening. Little Sweetpea wasn't sure about them again and said that Nanny had to come round and look after her whilst they were going off as Nanny looked after her on November 5th - how sweet :-)
We have had a lovely Christmas holiday after the initial problems with little Sweetpea's emotional outbursts. There were games of Twister which I got for them before Christmas. I love the way little sweetpea tried to play whilst learning colours at the same time, who would ever think Twister was such an educational game :-) I found it easier to play after a vino or two lol. My Mother-in-Law kindly took over the arrow spinning in the photo above :-)
Christmas Day itself was a bit of a blow out after a terrible nights sleep on Christmas Eve. The adult Sweetpeas stayed up as we were excited about Father Christmas arriving, by the time we went to bed it was about midnight. Off we pottered to bed to find little sweetpea had wet the bed (my fault as I missed her 10.30 pm toilet run :-(), whilst changing the bed clothes middle Sweetpea woke up. Middle Sweetpea then couldn't get to sleep as she was so excited and got a tummy ache. She then ended up in our bed at about 1.30 am only to keep fidgeting for the next couple of hours. Little sweetpea then coughed in the night and I heard middle Sweetpea saying something about going to help her, I then heard the words 'oh look, Father Christmas has been' aaaaaarrrrggghh it was 3.40 am! So then little Sweetpea was in our bed and middle Sweetpea banished back to hers. Little Sweetpea was allowed to open one stocking pressie to get her to go to sleep again. Eldest Sweetpea then woke us with a nose bleed at goodness knows what time! Fun times :-)
We had a quiet day with a visit to the Grandparents in the morning where the Great Grandparents and Aunty were visiting and then we came home for lunch and chilled out all afternoon.
The Sweetpeas seemed very happy with their pressies. Amongst other things middle Sweetpea got her first sewing kit with a needle book that I made for her with a monkey on it (she loves monkeys for some reason). I got her a lovely batch of felt from The Felt Fairy for her kit - thank you to the lovely Annie who added a few extra bits in there too :-) She also got to go to build-a-bear with me yesterday to make a monkey teddy too.
Little Sweetpea got her long awaited for dolly house - I just love this photo of her looking at the box with her little hand on it.
She loved it, in fact all the Sweetpeas loved it and haven't stopped playing with it since Christmas Day. See that little Sylvanian Family cat in the house? That is what I hid in the Sweetpeas crackers this year. Many years ago my Dad hid some Sylvanian Owls in our crackers, I was so happy and excited when that little Owl popped out, in fact I still have it to this day. I wanted to re-create that lovely moment for my kiddies so I did it for them this year. Not sure they were as excited as I was as they started to argue over who had what cat later in the day but I think they enjoyed it - kids eh :-)
Now what did Eldest Sweetpea get, yes I am completely bonkers and did say no to this idea but somehow my voice isn't heard in this house sometimes. Meet Sid the Corn Snake! I must admit he is very lovely and is now used to us all but I am still feeling guilty about the dead mice he eats :-( The family promised to have 2 vegetarian days a week to make up for their lost lives but we will see if that will happen.
The dogs got a new present each too, oh how I love watching them open pressies - so funny! They get sooo excited!
Other lovely moments included little Sweetpea painting middle Sweetpeas toe nails - not sure she will go into beauty as an occupation ....
Making snow globes out of old jars , little Sweetpea loved hers a lot :-)
Well, now we are in 2011 - where did that year go!? 2010's New years resolution was to do more arts and crafts, I had so much fun finding the real me again :-) I think it is the first resolution I have never broken!
So what are my resolutions for 2011? I have decided that making ones with things that need to be changed about yourself e.g. getting fit, losing weight etc just don't work and you end up punishing yourself. I think that if I focus on things I love or really want to do then the things that I would prefer to change about myself will happen as I will be a happier person through to my soul. This year my resolutions are to get the sewing machine down from the loft when we put our Christmas trees up there and to learn how to use it (or even thread it up lol). Also I want to learn to crochet, my friend at work can do this so I am going to ask her to teach me :-) It is rather strange actually as I just read a mates blog with her resolutions on there and they are nearly all the same - spooky :-) Would love to know what your resolutions are ...
Oohh before I go, do pop over to the lovely Jenny's blog where she is having a fab giveaway. Also keep an eye out here for another of her giveaway's here soon :-)
Hi it looks like loadsa fun in your house! my main resolution is to wean myself off oats so simple golden syrup flavour!!! jennyx
ReplyDeleteThanks for the link to my giveaway! You must have been so tired on Christmas day, so eventful. I always wanted a snake when I was little, but my parents were too against it :( . Christmas day looks so much fun! Happy New Year! :) x
ReplyDeleteThat all looks so lovely - even with the exhaustion!
ReplyDeleteLooks like lots of fun all round.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year to you all xxx
Happy New Year to you all. Good luck with the sewing machine.
ReplyDeletelove
Lyn
xxx
Such great photos, I love the one of little sweetpea touching the box of her dolls house, her bed hair is great!!
ReplyDeleteHope you had a great xmas and new year, here's to a fab bloggy new year!! xx
I know I shouldn't but I did chuckle about your Christmas Eve shenanigans, it all sounds so very sweet. Yes, you are bonkers for having a snake but I bet it's a good way of banishing any fears of creepy crawlies.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year to you all.
Kate x
EEEEEKK a snake!!!! Have a happy new year all of you. xxx
ReplyDeleteHello there! Just stopped by to wish you a happy, peaceful and creative New Year. Ros
ReplyDeleteYou and your sweetpeas are having lots of fun, I can see. One of your sweetpeas likes monkeys, does she have a sock monkey? You can even buy kits to make them. Happy New Year from me, your friend who lives across the pond. Terra, in California
ReplyDeleteChristmas Eve sounds very stressful, but I couldn't help but smile at the goings on.
ReplyDeleteI love playing Twister too.
Your Christmas sounds like a lot of fun. Good luck with the snake!
Dan
-x-
A fantastic day after an eventful night!! Sounds like our house! Lovely pictures to share with us. My Gabs has the same house and adores it, many years of fun will be had from it.
ReplyDeleteYour resolutions are the best kind, who wants to give up chocolate anyway!!!
Andrea x
Now that sounds like a 'hard work' christmas eve :0) but in years to come (especially if you print off your blog) you will be able to look back at it with laughter.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year to the Sweetpea household xx
such wonderful piccies (apart from the snake - yikes!), looks like a lovely family christmas and new year.
ReplyDeleteyour resolutions really struck a chord with me, still a work in progress but this year my resolutions will be about trying to be kinder to myself and doing more of the things i love instead of the things i feel i should be doing.
so, i may be a little(!) over-weight; so, the housework doesn't get done as often as it should; but i have a feeling we're going to be much happier for celebrating who we are and for being creative.
have a great 2011 :)x
Oh wow, the game of twister looks fun! I love Sid, he looks great - I am always amazed at how nice snakes feel - you kinda expect them to be cold but the are rather warm aren't they!
ReplyDeleteLoving the picture of the dog - yes I know I am turning into a doggie old lady!!!
Happy New Year and Happy New Decade to you and you flowers love Annie xxx
It looks like you all had a wonderful Christmas, even with sleep deprivation.I don't tend to make resolutions, I can never stick to them so I like your idea of making your resolutions something you love or want to do, I'm sure they must be much easier to stick to. Happy New Year. Hope 2011 brings everything you wish for.
ReplyDeleteFrom the pics it looks like you had a fab festive period. I love the sewing kit and the idea of putting the Sylvanians in the crackers! I used to love Sylvanian families x
ReplyDeleteOoh, I was very excited when I saw your corn snake!!! I used to keep snakes when I was in my late teens. I started with a Western Ribbon Snake and progressed to a Baird's rat snake and then my favourites, a pair of corn snakes!! I called them Samson and Delilah!! Sammy snake was lovely, he would curl up into the palm of my hand and sit and watch telly with me! Delilah laid egss each year, but they never hatched as I didn't used to reduce their heat which they need for eggs to be fertile. I used to have a freezer full of mice too!! Eventually, my snakes got too big and I gave them to a local butterfly park that was starting up a reptile area. It's funny to go there now and see them both fully grown and I get very defensive if I overhear some kid looking at them and saying, "Uggghhh!". I had them from when they were pencil-sized, so I'm quite protective! I hope you have fun with them. Remember if the skin doesn't shed cleanly, that putting the snake in a little tank with about an inch of warm water and some scratchy plants will help. The warm water softens the skin and the plants give the snake something to rub against and it should come off cleanly. My rat snake was awful each time she shed and I had to gently wipe her eyes with moist cotton wool to remove the eye scales for her and also the little bit on the tip of her tail. Sorry, you took me down a memory lane trip there! xxxxx
ReplyDeleteYour Christmas Eve was a bit hectic...In our house we went to bed a 2.30-3pm and the kids were up at 7.30ish....we managed to stall going down stairs until 8.30 by letting the 3 of them open the stuff in their stockings!!!! in the girls room and my husband and I chuckled at the comments in our room! Your post brought a tear to my eye with you doing things that your dad did... I'm the same and it was lovely to see you doing it aswell! Have a great 2011 xxx
ReplyDeleteglad you had a good time despite your usual lack of sleep! - crochet is easier than sewing machines!
ReplyDeleteHi Zoe! Thanks for your comments... the boys loved the blackbird (as do we all!). But they didnt even touch the pie.. bloomin fussy kids! Anyway, here's to more pie making!
ReplyDeletep.s. To get the photos at the top of the page I used picnik collage. You just select the pics you want to add, click & drag them into the squares, save. Then add text. Voila! Then in blogger, go into dashboard, then design, click on edit header. And add your collage image there. You might have to change your template background tho. Goodluck! lou xx
Happy New Year to all you Sweetpeas!
ReplyDeleteNo resolutions as such for me neither - like you say, they only get broken in no time at all!
Your Christmas looks like so much fun - I just love the dogs with the wrapping paper. Jess and Bobbi were beside themselves playing with paper, boxes and ribbons at Christmas - and that was before I had wrapped any presents:-))
Hope 2011 is good for you!
Jeanne
x
Hi There!
ReplyDeleteI have a blog award I would like to pass onto you! look over at Fin and Gabs to see.
Andrea x