A Little Chip fun!

Just a little clip from our family mealtime ~ and yes, it is often like this!!

Chip 'accidentally' discovered the spoon-flipping thing, but didn't stop at that!

 And then of course others had to join in the fun...

A little Art Update and A Birthday...

Our Jim Dine 'mixed media' art came out well :D 

We didn't follow the instructions to the letter, but the results are pleasing.

Minnie and Taz chose to do a different piece of work, so Minnie's is acrylics and Taz's is gouache. 

Both are lovely I think :D

Left to right; Stitch (6), Minnie (13), Taz (15).

Top to bottom;

Lilo (10), DD (8) & TP (almost 12)

Here's some other bits of art that I don't think I've documented either 

~ these hearts were TP's work with wax-relief the week before last... 

...and these Lego Starwars people are just something Taz did in his spare time :D

And this week - on Monday - I became the mother of three teenagers!

I can remember when I thought about these teenage years and they seemed so far away. BUT, in just 15 months from now, Jake will be officially an adult and TP will be a entering her teens too! It hardly seems possible.

The difference 2 years makes ~ from young girl, to young woman really :-(

She started the day opening presents and cards on my bed with lots of on-lookers (as is our family tradition). She had put this watch on her wish-list at Christmas (which was when I bought it, and put it aside), but had forgotten all about it, so when she saw it she was thrilled :D ...

And she had her heart set on this dress from Joe Browns since it went in the sales after Christmas ~ she was super happy to have it on at last :D

Along with '13' in this house comes Facebook, and all the privileges of more internet freedom. It's scary for sure, that our children our so publically 'out there' these days, but I have to accept that this is the age they are maturing in and they need to learn to be savvy and wise within it. I figure at home, with me is the best place for them to do that ~ under my watchful eye (and I am watchful) and guiding hand. I have had to make sure I keep up with it all for the sake of my children, and I am glad that I have done that mostly ahead of them. Jake is now at a point where he knows more about some internet related things than I do, but in MOSTLY I am still a step ahead of him ;-) May it always be so (or at least may I always keep up!). So, the morning (and a good portion of the day tbh) was spent setting her up on Facebook, finding her friends, posting and tagging pictures, etc... ~ you know the deal :D

Usually Minnie cooks lunch on a Monday, but being as it was her birthday she didn't, and as she had another ballet show in the evening she wasn't even going to get her 'chosen tea' (another family tradition), so I asked her if she fancied pancakes for lunch! She was very pleased with that idea, so we had savoury pancakes (garlic chicken, rocket, cheese, tomatoes ~ you choose the filling), followed by sweet ones (chocolate sauce, Nutella, golden syrup...). It made everyone happy ~ including me! :D

Early evening she set off for her final ballet show of the year ~ excited, happy, sad (that it was all going to over very soon)...

Once Paul arrived home with her at almost 9.30 he then decided she could sit and watch Les Miserables with him (and Jake & Taz), so she didn't get to bed until gone midnight!

All-in-all she says she had a lovely birthday and we crowned the occasion with a delicious Chinese take-away yesterday for her special meal (her choice instead of a party this year, as it cost almost as much!)

Happy Birthday Minnie ~ Love you SOOO much!

A little bit of this and that...

This week has been decidedly uneventful, which is actually a good thing :D

THURSDAY ~
Usual Thursday things really...
Caught our Zoology lapbook up to date with where we are in the textbook, and stuck everything in place.
Minnie got her top brace fitted in the afternoon, so by the evening her teeth were beginning to ache - poor thing.

I swam ~ I'm back up to my 130 lengths more easily now and working on my technique a little. Trying to better my time. Managed 1hr 25 tonight :D
I spent the rest of the evening watching a few more crochet tutorials and downloading some patterns to try. 

FRIDAY ~ 
The usual things; Chatterbox (toddler group) and then home to catch up on a bit of work (and do some more crochet!)
I spent the evening crocheting my first real 'thing' ~ & made Minnie a slouch hat. 

So here's a shot of Minnie with new braces and new hat!

SATURDAY ~
The usual craziness in the morning of gym for Lilo and DD, & Ballet for Minnie. It's her ballet school's biannual show on the 9th and 10th, so they are all rehearsals and excitement atm :D. However Paul does all the taxiing, so I just laid in for a bit!
I crocheted some more (yeah, kind of enjoying it :D) and spent some time on the PC in the afternoon, doing some prep for Sunday morning.
The kids generally played well together most of the day, so it was quite a peaceful day - for me anyway!

SUNDAY ~ 
Church (fabulous service) and then home for a game of Seafarers of Catan ~ Episode 6 (Cloth for Catan). These games usually take all afternoon, and this was no exception :D Paul won (again ~ how does he do it?!?), but we did chase him down hard near the end and it was a close call between him and Jake. 

Then the older kids were off out straight after tea to youth groups, while I put the littlies to bed and settled down to an evening of 'Call the Midwife' and 'Mr Selfridge' ~ my Sunday evening fix (crochet in my lap) :D

MONDAY ~
A new week, but I always find it tough to get up on a Monday morning! Only this morning Chip was up bright and early needing the loo, so I got up to sort him out & then of course he climbed back into bed with me and chatted and fidgeted like all good 3 year olds do ;-) . So, I crocheted a little bit - just to start the day on the right foot and all! ...

Here's my progress in a week... I feel I'm beginning to see how it all works now, and that really helps :D

DD & Minnie are back up to Lesson 3 of All About Spelling (Level 4) now. We're going a bit slower this time, but I am very glad we are repeating. It is proving very worthwhile and, surprisingly, not at all boring!

Minnie cooked a fabulous Macaroni Cheese for lunch, with garlic bread and salad ~ yum, but somehow the afternoon just ran away and consequently Geography never happened this week, not that I was met with any resistance about that from the chids!

TUESDAY ~ 
'Igniting Your Writing' seemed to go really well today. The lesson was on 'Megawatt writing' ~ adding impact and intensity. I wasn't really sure how well they would all do with this, but was really pleased with what they wrote. TP especially produced a piece of writing better, I think, than anything she has previously written to date :D She said she really enjoyed writing it, which is also a first! She doesn't hate writing at all, but she doesn't love it either - usually. 

The sun came out briefly in the late morning and it actually felt warm for half an hour or so, so Stitch and Chip took themselves outside to play with some little plastic eggs ~ hiding and finding them. I joined them and hid the eggs to make it more fun for them both - and took some pictures of course!

Later the girls went outside on their roller skates for a bit too, before the rain started again. It was good to hear them playing outside. They don't choose to much over the winter months unless there's snow on the ground! And to be fair, we have had endless rain this winter!

I took TP, Lilo and DD swimming in the afternoon (my lesson with them) and worked them hard! Their swimming has dramatically improved since I have been taking them and I now actually feel confident that they could get themselves out of trouble should they need to, or at least keep from drowning long enough to shout for help! Lilo especially has really strengthened all her strokes and gone from a sinker (swimming almost vertically) to having much cleaner, more proficient strokes and a good position in the water. It's good doing this with them. We all enjoy it :D. 

After Paul picked them up I continued on with my swim, but I really find it hard, when I have already been in the pool most of an hour, to then swim for another hour and a half. The pool is so crowded on a Tuesday - it's a constant weaving in and out of kids and slow swimmers. There's no lane at that time (only one that's used for lessons) so hacking up and down is not at all easy. I also struggle with hydration (due to length of time in the water) and I think the pool puts some kind of air-freshener around intermittently  (somehow) that I find takes my breath away. I don't do well with fragrant sprays (deodorant/airfresheners...), they stick in my throat and I feel like I can't breathe - which is not most conducive to swimming long distance! I just can't wait for the outside pool to be open again so I can just breathe fresh air and there is always an available lane for serious swimmers...roll on spring! Anyway,  for all those reasons, I only swam for just about an hour and didn't even bother counting, but I did try to concentrate on my technique a little more.

In the evening, I prepared my Communal Global blog post, pottled on FB for a bit, downloaded yet more crochet patterns (TP wants a belt and Minnie want a headband) and then sat on the sofa and crocheted another African flower (btw I know these are stitched together incorrectly - I've undone them now and will do them again when I have a few more). TP also has her eye on this as a blanket...

TODAY (WEDNESDAY) ~
Another early start because Chip wet his bed :( , but today I climbed back under the covers and fell asleep again! It's been a pretty mundane kind of day really.

In Art we began a piece of Valentine's art, looking at the work of Jim Dine ~ who uses hearts a lot. We'll finish it next week, because it requires 'rubber cement', which I don't have. I've ordered some, but I've no idea what it is! Hoping for a nice rewarding piece of mixed media artwork at the end though. Pictures next week :D

And tonight Paul has just announced to me that he has taken tomorrow off work and is taking me out for lunch at one of our favourite little cafes in town ~ how awesome is that! :D An early Valentine's, before we hit birthday season!

TOP QUOTES OF THE WEEK...

Chip (wearing a hoody with a kangaroo pocket) - "I can't find my pockets!"
Minnie - "It's here Chip. It's called a kangaroo pocket and you can put both hands in it. Do you know what a kangaroo is?"
Chip - "No, what is it?"
Minnie - "It's an animal that lives in Australia that jumps really high and has a special pocket on it's tummy where it keeps it's baby safe."
Me - "It's a marsupial Chip. Animals with pockets on their tummies for their babies, are called marsupials."
Chip - "I like 'supials' ~ I like MY supials!!"

Jake was home on Tuesday. It's his study day, but he was intending to spend the day job hunting. So, I think as most teenagers are apt to do, he didn't emerge from his bedroom until late morning, had things he needed to do at home, had a shower, had some lunch and didn't even get to a point of being vaguely ready to leave the house until some time after 1.30pm! He had originally intended to go into one local town (Crewe) in the morning and the other (Nantwich) in the afternoon, but now he only had the afternoon left, so he could only go into Nantwich. We had a brief conversation about not using time wisely and he declared that he was 'adamant' about going into Crewe anyway, so it didn't really matter that he hadn't! I was slightly confused ... until I realised he meant the exact opposite and did in fact mean that he wasn't that fussed! He's so funny how he does that :D.

Ten Days...

For me to post in just 10 days is quite something, but I'm still going to have a job to think back!

Nothing much new on the home ed' front really. We're just plodding along nicely, so I'll bullet point the things of note (for the record really)...

• Completed All About Spelling Level 4 with Lilo and DD, but wasn't really happy that either of them had the 'rules' sorted in their heads very well, so have decided to repeat the level with both of them. It won't hurt and will hopefully cement a few things that are shaky atm.
• ETC Online ~ Taz 2/3rds through book 3, DD Bk 6 Lesson 3:1 (completed Bk 5 in ten sessions), Lilo BK 6 Lesson 4:1 (7 sessions so far) ~ making slow but steady progress).
• Reading ~ Stitch is reading an abridged version of Robinson Crusoe, DD reading Five on Treasure Island (I thought the Famous Five would appeal to him and it's easy reading, without being TOO easy), Lilo reading Shadow the Sheepdog ~ again easy reading, but hopefully ticking her 'interesting' box. It's so hard to find books for her, because at 10 she needs older content, but her reading level and comprehension of what she reads would not keep up. TP about to start a new book, having just finished 'The Body Book'  Minnie re-reading Ballet shoes, and thrilled to bits with a hard-back copy I bought her on Amazon for less than the Kindle edition! 
• Maths ~ Minnie whizzing through Miquon purple and decided to try to re-tackle some of the Year 6 conquer maths and actually finding it easy enough, so hoping Miquon has done the trick for her and plugged some gaps :D. Lilo struggling to get to grips with fractions in Miquon Yellow, so finished the section but have asked her to work through fraction on Conquer Maths until she has it sussed out more in her head :D DD happily plodding through Yr 4 Heinemann maths without any issues. Stitch almost completed Year 2 Collins Primary Maths, so will then move on to working through Yr 2 on Conquer Maths, but I think he will sail through it. The only concepts he struggled with a little, were the ones to do with shapes ~ reflections, rotations, etc... which fits a little with the way he struggles to process those concepts in every day life too, so no surprises there, but all the 'concrete' maths he is very solid on and can explain to me quite complex ways of finding solutions :D
• Geography ~ we have been looking at urbanisation in rural areas, and in poorer vs richer countries. It has raised some interesting conversations and ideas about solutions to the problems it brings! One suggestion by TP was to build one Mega building and everyone and everything be under one roof ~ the whole world! We thought about that for a bit and considered some of the pro and cons... can you imagine!! Taz  suggested that all the shopping could be in one mega-rise building then people wouldn't have to travel to more than one place for anything ~ I pointed out we sort of have that in places like The Bullring (to which he has never been) and we discussed the problems that places like that themselves present. We went on to discuss the effect of internet shopping on ALL genres of 'real' shops, from small family businesses, to town-centre shopping, to business parks ~ all negatively, and yet also positively affected by on-line shopping. This week we talked a little more about 'commuter villages' (such as the one we live in) and how history has changed the nature of our villages across the country, to the point where many of them consist of little more than a few 'nice' houses and pub ~ no village shops and few young children. We also discussed how health care and public transport are often not so easily accessible in rural communities which means more people, especially those with young families, choose to live nearer to towns, with all those amenities close at hand.

      Strangely all my children tell me they "don't like Geography!" - yet it very often brings the most relevant and interesting conversations to our school room ~ so we aren't stopping it ;-)

• Zoology ~ we made some fossils! Looking at the differences between fossils formed in mud/sand/clay ...

• Art  ~ last week was a bit of a cheat ~ we just did some wax relief painting ~ easy for the littler ones for a change ~ and Taz did some more of his Airfix helicopter. We didn't do any art this week as Paul & I had to be at the college by 4 for Jake's (Bugs') parent's 'consultation' ...

Tonight, as I said we were at the college for Jake's review. It seems they are generally quite pleased with him, but to be honest I was not mightily impressed with them! They have a very airy fairy approach to grades etc... in that they basically are too afraid that a low grade would discourage a students from working well, so they don't give any grades at all until the end of the second project ~ end of Feb! I explained that I felt that would depend on the mind-set of the student, because for someone like Jake (and me), he needs to know where he stands or he feels he is flailing in the dark, not knowing if he is doing OK or not and feeling like he's working hard for little or no reward. I think the tutor understood, but I don't think it will change anything tbh ~ it's the nature of an arty farty department I think!! Essentially though, I got the gist that Jake is working to merit level. His target grade overall, based on his initial entry assessment, is a MM (higher level Merit), and with steady progress this is perfectly achievable. I personally feel he is capable of a Distinction, but would need more tutorial support to achieve it ~ which he is sadly not all that likely to get. Although his tutor said "all he needs to do is ask," in reality he is not always available and knows that, so he kept saying things like "but it is all written out for the students in the 'objectives' guidelines." To Jake though, those guidelines might as well be written in Dutch for all the help they are to him :( 

Jake's other concerns about certain 'personalities' in the class were rather brushed aside, so I will need to keep a careful eye on that with him. He is being slightly bullied/intimidated, but tbh he doesn't help himself by not being able to keep his mouth shut at times. He opens himself wide for attack ~ like handing them ammunition. He's just not very worldly-wise or diplomatic! That said his tutor did mention how impressed he was with the way Jake has handled the transition into college from Home-school, and that his energy and enthusiasm were a real asset to the class dynamics :D

Aside from the chids, I too have been learning something this week...

For YEARS (literally since I was a small girl) I have wanted to learn to crochet. I had a ladybird book when I was girl that was supposed to teach me, as no-one in my family crochets either, but I could never make much sense of it and even going back as an adult it wasn't easy to follow. I managed to eventually make a square block  of double stitch, but couldn't get any further. I wanted to make a granny square ~ SOOO badly! In the end I resorted to You-Tube (oh the joys of modern technology) and watched a video or two! I realised I was using the hook like a knitter (not that I knit, but I can a bit) and wrapping the wool instead of hooking it up. I got the same result mind... So now I'm practising doing it properly, but it's not as comfortable and I keep dropping everything! All the same, I have managed to make 5 granny squares, all different sizes (due to different wools and hooks), but I'm getting there :D I've also made a phone sock and two MP3 player socks for the girls :D. I'd like to attempt a small blanket for my Nan for mothers day (thinking a square or two each night), but I need to get some wool first ~ some decent wool ~ this horrible, cheap, rough 3ply is doing my head in - it's so 'splitty'.

I've also found time in the week to complete Lilo's sock-cat that she got as a kit for Christmas ~ helped by taking it to do at a soft play centre early in the week, giving the little chids a run around and me a break!

Mini drum solo by Taz

2014 So Far...

There's been a bit of Tot-Schooling going on;

Chip really likes his new 'Zimbbos' game, but equally just enjoys stacking the elephants!

And knocking them down!

He also rather loves playing on the Hudl tablet that we got for the younger boys to share, but Flash sites don't work on it, so he still pinches my phone sometimes (which is old enough to still do Flashy things!)

We've done some science...

Investigating Static Electricity

And today, I didn't take any pictures, but we were looking at which materials conduct electricity and which insulate it.

Today was also Art day.

We finished off these pieces, based around the work of GUSTAVE KLIMT, that we began last week. This was possibly one of the most stretching pieces of art we have done so far. It doesn't look difficult, but it definitely required some thinking outside of the box ~ something my children are not so great at doing!
  Their first inclination was to use the shapes as objects, so a single rectangle would represent a persons body, rather than a build up of shapes doing so. Eventually though, they clicked into the idea and this is the result ~ they are all pretty pleased with these :D

Top to bottom, left to right...

Stitch's (there are birds, a sun, a sky, a man, a tree ~ so I guess it's a 'Field scene'!), Lilo's 'Beach scene', DD's 'Man on a Bridge' (or a rocket), Minnie's 'Abstract Order', TP's 'Music Man'

While we were busy doing that Taz was working on his Airfix helicopter that he received for Christmas. He's worked on it for a lot of hours already ~ there are SOOOO many tiny bits ~ but he's making progress :D

One of the girls' popular pass-times at the moment is making these;

on this 'Rainbow Loom'. 

I'd seen them about on the internet a fair bit, and I managed to bag one for a tenner just after Christmas. I don't think the big two girls have really put it down much since! A great little purchase, mainly to say thank-you for all their help over Christmas, but I'll be needing more elastics and closing clips VERY soon!

Aside from school, we've seen some stunning sunrises;

and had some spontaneous visitors (of whom I failed to take pictures), when The Manor Borns paid us a visit en-route to Liverpool to collect a guitar for C. It was lovely to have them stay over and to catch up a bit, especially after our total failure at doing so in London before Christmas (when our family's sick-bug destroyed our plans for the day). All four girls disappeared upstairs and for most of the evening we did not see them at all ~ although the giggling was plentiful enough! Minnie cannot wait to have C come and stay again ~ they really had a chance to get to know each I think, and they got on well :D

Ok ~ so I think at last I am up to date. Lets see if I can keep it that way shall we!!

December...

...It's hard to believe it is already the middle of January and I haven't blogged since Lilo's birthday ~ that's Chip's 3rd Birthday and the whole of Christmas missed!

December was not as smooth and exciting as I usually like it to be. We had things planned that just didn't happen for one reason or another. One of those was a day-trip to London. Minnie was meant to be meeting up with some other H'Ed children and having a day at the Opera, seeing Carmen. I was taking her, along with Taz, TP & Minnie, and we were going to make a day of it ~ visit Harrods, Hamley's, maybe Selfridges, pick up Minnie and go to see the lights in Oxford and Regents St, buy chestnuts from the street sellers and maybe see the Christmas markets in Hyde Park ~ we were all really looking forward to it... BUT the night before we were going I was very sick :( I would have forced myself to go (though in hindsight that would have been stupid), but Minnie was also sick in the morning and so was Joel! So, that was that, no London outing this Christmas :( I rang Qjump from my sick-bed and managed to get the majority of the train fare refunded (THANKFULLY), so had hoped to possibly make the trip between Christmas and New Year, but by then the money was gone again and the time was never really available either ... maybe next year then!

Minnie took a couple of days to pick up after the bug, and gradually everyone but Bugs and TP came down with it in one form or another. Not all were sick, but all definitely had dodgy tummies! Some got over it in a blink, a couple had it twice (!) and I just took forever to feel right again. Every time I ate anything I felt immediately sick, so was having to eat little and not to often. It was not until about New Year that I felt properly well again. 

  Not being well for 2 out of 4 weeks of December, just threw everything for me. I had a shed-load of photography work to do: I had done a charity shoot in November that I still needed to finish editing, but I also did an engagement shoot in November, for which I then had various things to do that were new to me and took more time than an average editing batch. However, I enjoyed the challenge and my customers were chuffed with the outcomes :D. 
  Aside from that, of course, I had to make sure all the family gifts were bought and delivered here in time, which involved more than a few hours on Amazon and other sites! Blogging really just fell to the bottom of my priority list :(

So, in some way, I shall try to attempt to get this blog up to date and, for those of you so inclined to view, I've included slideshows!!

Chip's Birthday...
  ...was a lovely relaxed day; opening presents in the morning, all of which he loved and then going bowling in the afternoon. To begin with, at the alley, he decided it was his party...and he'd refuse to join in if he wanted! We didn't make a fuss though and, thankfully, before very long he was really having fun :D He's a funny little man! You can never be 100% certain that he is going to be game for anything ~ even the things you know he usually enjoys. Anyway, on this occasion it all ended happily with no massive tantrums (phew). 
  After bowling we took a trip to Tesco to pick-a-pizza each. Some of us had customised pizza made, and the children were fascinated by watching the shrink-wrap go on! 
  It seemed funny to think back to the days when I was 17, doing my 'A' Levels and that was exactly my job ~ to make pizza (in Asda) for the morning's shelf stock 3 nights a week, and 'to-order' for the customers on a Saturday. I remember the job with mixed feelings, but it paid my rent!

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

Christmas Day...
  ...was wonderful this year. It was a bit of a frugal year, but despite that I think all the children got what they asked for (they were encouraged to ask for less), or at least almost everything they received they were really pleased with. 
  The day began around 7.30am. The children had been up a bit already, but not ridiculously long, and had opened their stocking gifts, then mingled amongst themselves sharing their excitement. Eventually I called them in to 'show us' what they had ~ and they all piled in to our room with their goodies :D I think that may be one of my favourite parts of Christmas Day!
  After breakfast, it was time to set off for church. It's only a short service on Christmas day, and often a quiet one, but this year the church was full :D The children love showing everyone their new toys ~ as do some of the adults!! DD especially stole the show this year, with his flying, Tarzan-calling, sock monkey.
  When we got home, we opened a game ~ this year it was 'Dobble' - as I knew it would be quick to learn and keep them all entertained for a while. Together with 'Pixit', which Lilo had opened in the morning, that worked really well while my wonderful husband put the dinner together.
  This year Minnie was very much part of the team, helping set the table up ready for the feast. I love this part of Christmas too ~ there is something very lovely about having a pretty table. I'd do it more often, but it's simply not practical: candles and small children (or boisterous 6 year-olds) are not the safest combination, but I'm happy to take the risk just once a year! 
  Once the feast was eaten ~ and no-one had room for ANY pudding! ~ we did a quick tidy up before settling down to the business of opening the rest of the present mountain! At this point Chip was crashed out (he did that last year too ~ I think the excitement exhausts him!) so we made a relatively calm and collected start to it all. By the time he woke up the rest of the children were nearing the end of theirs, so he became the centre of attention for a while, which was nice for him :D
  Then of course, it was time to eat again! No-one was VERY hungry, but we all forced a little food down and even some pudding this time! I think it was eventually about 10pm before the children started heading up to bed, but it was an altogether LOVELY day, with lots of fun and laughter along the way.

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

Boxing Day;
  It's fast becoming a family tradition to have all of Paul's family here on Boxing Day. We have the room and his two sisters only have to travel from Birmingham, so it's not too far either. Usually Paul's parents are staying with one of us 'northerners' too, so it's easy enough for them to join in, and this year Paul's brother, David, was also up for Christmas with his son (B). So cumulatively there were 23 of us here on Boxing Day! We all love being together and the children just have a ball. The only dampener on the day was the fact that both Gareth (b-i-l) and myself were feeling pretty icky. I had not fully recovered from the stomach bug I'd had almost 2 weeks prior (and having eaten so much the day before was suffering for it) and Gareth was also suffering from the same bug I think. Neither of us ate much (although there was plenty on offer) and both of us moped a bit in separate corners most of the day, but we enjoyed watching the day pass by, with lots of laughter and yet more gift sharing :D. 
  Around 7pm Paul's sisters were beginning to think about going home, when cousin 'T' came running into the room with his hand over his mouth and proceeded to spew violently - everywhere, quite a few times ~ right threw my lounge and all the way through the kitchen, to the downstairs loo ~ leaving quite a trail behind him!! Poor Gareth (his Dad), was the first on hand and it was all he could do not to add to the mess! SO, after that, once T had been lent some fresh PJ's, all the visitors grabbed their stuff and left rather promptly! Nothing like a dramatic end to a visit ;-)

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

New Year...
   ...we asked a bunch of friends over to have a bit of a party. It was a lot of fun and it was nice to see the year in with more than just family this year.  All the children were allowed to stay up and all but Chip made it to midnight! He flaked out about 11.30pm!  Once midnight had passed the smaller chids were sent upstairs, but it was a while before people left and the bigger chids went up. By the time everyone left I think it was about 1.30am, but I was too awake to go to bed, so I sat and chilled on my phone for about another hour just to wind down!
  On NY's Day we asked another family over to play games. They had been unable to make it for the party, but they are a family who LOVE games like we do, so having them over was great. They brought their new games too ('Jungle Speed' and 'Kabeleo') and we played an eclectic mix of fast and fun, and more thoughtful games ALL AFTERNOON! I think we'd have played all evening too, but we were all getting a bit tired by about 8pm ~ and I didn't take a SINGLE picture!! Definitely one to do again though :D

So, that was Christmas... next blog will be life since then!!