Advent Calendar - Day 20

Door number 20 opened! Not long now. Only more four more doors to go!

If you live in the UK, today is the last day for first class post. So if you haven't sent your Christmas cards yet, or you have that last minute present you want to send get them in a postbox near you before 12 Noon. (Presents need to be taken to the post office, and I suggest you get there before 11.30am).

I am working in a Post Office today. So please empathise with me as I believe it will be a very busy morning. (Yes I'm clever and have scheduled this post.)




Are you ready? Have you got all your Christmas cards written? Presents wrapped? Do you need a helper?

Advent Calendar - Day 8

It's the 8th of December... only 17 days until Christmas...

Have you written your wish list to Santa yet? What would you wish for?

The boys sent their letters off to Santa a few days ago. We await his reply. Maybe I should write mine?




Dear Santa, 

I've tried to be good all year... honest. Those other times it was the wine's fault.

And my friends led me astray...  

On the proviso that you do consider that I've been good enough to receive some gifts, here are some of the small things I would love for Christmas... if you can fit them on the sleigh...

I would really like; a brand new Range Rover in gold... 






A pair of diamond earrings... Still haven't managed to land myself some of those.

And Tom Hiddleston - now that's not too much to ask, surely? He's a nice man, I'm sure he'll be more than happy to be wrapped up and left under my tree... no?

Okay, if all that's a bit hard to organise at short notice, and I really haven't been that good... then I'd be happy with a few extra book sales... and the film rights sold. Ha ha! (A girl can dream!). 

Otherwise, Santa, may my friends and family be happy, with luck on their side, and for the next year to run smoothly, with continued happiness and none of those little annoying complications and stresses that life likes to throw at us. 

Lots of Love, Teresa x x 

p.s. there will be plenty of mince pies and sherry at this house on Christmas Eve x 

Little White Lies

Sometimes, as a mother, I feel like such a fraud. My kids will ask me, over the dinner table, "Are vampires real, mummy?" And I have to respond, "of course they're not," at the same time trying to remember I must put a pound under his pillow before I go to bed, so he believes the Tooth Fairy has been.

And Santa. He's real too, obviously.

As of September I will start reminding them that his 'helpers' are out watching to see if they've been naughty or nice. Santa is great blackmail material. However, it's not so great when I nag the little darlings to treat the PlayStation 3 nicely because Mummy can't afford to buy a new one, my eight-year-old kindly reminds me I didn't buy the first one.

"Santa did," he says smugly.

Humph! "Well, actually..." I have to stop myself and get on with the dinner, muttering under my breath before breaking the parenting code.

They've asked if Harry Potter is real. Ha! I can do that one. "No, sweetheart, he's a fictional character in a book." And so are vampires... I must remember that when I get asked it again! Books are the answer. They're all fictional characters - of course, which they are - except The Tooth Fairy and Santa.

Advent Calendar: Day 21

Not long now!

Yesterday I was driving the kids to Puxton Park when my seven year old commented on how the Santa that came into the school looked different to the one we saw on the steam train ride. I had to tell him that Santa can't actually do all the visits, so he sends in helpers, so unfortunately they are not always the real Santa. He then said, "I want to see the real Santa." And I replied that he probably had, mummy didn't even know the real one from the helpers. Gosh, you gotta be a smart thinker as a mum.

Then, stupidly, I mentioned that the Santa on Saturday (on our Santa Special steam train ride) had a real beard, so he was probably the real one. Now is he going to be looking more closely at the beards?

This is the problem with all these Santa visits. Seven-year-olds get suspicious. I fear this will be the last year when Santa is 'real' for him. I think when he's in a primary school, where the kids stay there till they are eleven, they lose the belief quicker. I was nearly nine, because I went to a first school until I was eight, then onto a middle school. I still remember the arguments with my friend about Santa being real.

And, sadly, someone at school has already said to Ben Santa isn't real. This upsets me!

But a real bugbear of mine is Santa's in naff costumes. I really wish if you're going to put on a Santa visit, he looks the part. And make sure the toys aren't so bloomin' cheap they fall apart in five seconds. This doesn't look good on Santa too!

So look what you get when you google Sexy Santa. Now I'd sit on these guys' knees :D

21st December

Only 4 more sleeps....

Day 15 - Early Christmas Present To Me

Kieran and Josh

I've had a very busy day today.  My three hours of freedom were well spent getting myself organised, and even going for a run.  Thought I'd better get one in before Christmas.  Not sure if I'll be able to next week, as both the boys will be off school/preschool. I had a pleasant surprise on the bathroom scales this morning, and it motivated me to burn some more calories - that's all I can say!

Forgot to take gloves out with me though - gosh, it's cold out there.  By the two mile mark my hands had warmed up.

I went to collect Kieran at midday, and we sat in the church (where he goes to preschool) while he ate his packed lunch, because half past twelve we had to catch a coach to Sanders Garden Centre, where we saw Santa again!  I just couldn't see us getting home and lunched, and back out the door for twelve thirty!  I know my limits. 

I do wonder if the kids think, "He doesn't look like the Santa I saw (for Kieran) Sunday..." I have tried to say that they are not always the real Santa, though it's hard to tell.  Although Santa is magical, he's not that magical - he can't be in two places at once, so he has helpers this time of the year.

Unfortunately, I can't post a picture of Kieran with Santa.  For one, he never looked at the camera for me, or wouldn't stand with Santa for a photo, and so the pictures I do have contain other children (and the back of Kieran's head).  And they're all a bit hot on posting kids on the net lately, so don't wish to upset any parents.  However, this is Josh (and I got his mum's permission) with Kieran.  They get on really nicely, it's so cute. 

When I got home the postman had been, and there in my hallway was a parcel for me.  Yes, my book, Bedded By The Greek Billionaire had arrived from Kate Walker.  She's even signed it, and I got a pen too, celebrating her 25 years of writing.  A Christmas present come early!  Think I might try to read this next, too.  I was looking for a book to read.

Day 12 & 13 - Ho, Ho, Ho!

Catching up today with my blog, as I ended up having a brainstorming session with my 'Betas' last night, and just had to write my story, novel, book, whatever - feels a bit weird calling it a novel/book yet... But I just had to write it up.

Yesterday, we went to see Santa.  It was a special day, with Nanny Chris, Grandad Alan and Grandad Ron joining us.  We travelled on a steam train from Bishops Lydeard, where the kids got chocolate treats and a carton of juice, and the adults got mince pies and sherry.  (We definitely got the best deal!)

Professor Popcorn was the entertainer who travels along the train to keep the kids occupied - he's jolly good fun, even if we've seen his jokes before.  Actually, that makes it funnier, as we played along better for him and had a good heckle giggle.  

Our Train - Santa Special - About to couple up and take us back.

The journey is only to Crowcombe Heathfield, which is usually the first stop if you do the steam train rides generally, but I think they travel a bit slower to give us a good train journey.  The station's waiting room has a lovely coal fire to warm up by. 

We arrived at Bishops Lydeard early, to watch the trains come and go - the boys are never bored!  Kieran went extremely shy with Santa and wouldn't stand near him, but Ben was happy to chat and pose for the camera.

Ben's Footplate Crew Induction

Ben and Kieran even got to stand on the footplate and warm up by its fire!

Kieran and Daddy, "It's toastie up here."

Before...

Arriving back at Bishops Lydeard, Ben really wanted to stand on the bridge that goes over the line and get 'hit' by the steam - having seen it happen to other people on the bridge when we'd arrived.  And Grandad Ron is always game for funny antics.  We only had a five minute wait for the train to head off on its next Santa Special (we'd already been standing around watching the train fill up with water etc.)  So the boys (this includes Grandad and Daddy) stood, waiting for the train, and its steam to engulf them.

After!

The day before I had helped the boys write their Santa's List, and I realised how manipulative we are in doing this.  We sort of put the 'toys' into the boys mouths of what they want.  Admittedly, we had asked them a while ago, (I'd made the mistake of showing them the Argos catalogue) and I'd started a list - which we could then work off.  Then, actually writing the list, and knowing what we had already bought them, we encouraged them to put these toys down.  Ben was determined to put a Darth Vader Helmet on his list - but he's not getting one!  They're forty quid, and to be honest, I can see the novelty wearing off very quickly and not really having a lot of play value.  (We did say that this list is to give Santa ideas - he can't get them everything off the list!)  They both are getting Lightsabers - yes I may regret this!  Ben's will be red, and Kieran's blue.  We made sure the specific colours went onto the list, too... to make Santa look extra good.

Today (my blog does say Day 13 too) I wrapped cocktail sausages in streaky bacon, putting them in a dish ready, and froze them.  My sausages went out of date early, and was going to have to freeze them, so decided to have them all ready for Christmas day would be the easiest thing.  I've had to sacrifice my run today.  I'm starting to panic, and stress, deciding that in my three hours of no kids (Kieran at preschool) I had to get some present wrapping done - which I did.  Plus I have put up my card holders, and the fibre optics Christmas tree and light up snowman are now in the lounge window  I was extremely busy this morning, and failed to actually get around to the housework.  That's tomorrow's job.

So much to do... so little time...

Now I must get back to my story... the plot has thickened, and I've got a really good idea for the Hero's mum. I've been worried that this story didn't quite have enough of something, but wasn't sure what.  But yesterday, was like a Eureka moment.