December...

I usually have so many plans for the month of December. The kids need to be kept busy. It's an exciting time. However, after reading something quite traumatic last week I took a very bad anxiety attack that lasted several days. I'm still not 100% back to normal. I usually have a bit of social anxiety but this is the first time something of this scale has happened to me. I hope it never happens again. I was questioning my sanity for a few days during it.
I'm still not completely in the mood to do all the fun things. I'm very irritable. But we do have some things on the cards.

We put our Christmas tree up on the 1st December but because I was unwell the kids and Paul did it. We got a new white tree earlier in the year as our old one was falling apart. He didn't put any of the new decorations or the new star. The old decorations and star were white so the tree just looked like a big white blob! I spend the afternoon yesterday trying to sort it out. It's not great but it's much better than it was.

I've  been saving up toilet roll tubes for ages to make a tree and some Santa's/snowmen/penguins.
I'm hoping to do salt dough again this year.
Loads of baking
I think we may be having a trip to the zoo to see the penguin parade.
We're going to see Frozen in the cinema.
Keira's school concert is on Monday and Tuesday.
She's also going to see Pinocchio in pantomime on Friday.
I'm also really looking forward to getting the last of my Christmas shopping done.

The big dilemma is whether or not to buy those extra gifts for the kids or not! Haha!

So, December isn't a total loss.

The Christmas Tag

1.  Do you prefer a real Christmas tree or synthetic?

I've never had a real tree and I don't really fancy one. All those prickly needles falling everywhere all the time. No thanks!

2.  You're in a coffee shop, it's December, what do you pick?

A gingerbread latte from Costa! I really want to try the hot white chocolate too.

3.  Whats your favourite colour scheme for decorating the tree?

I love traditional decorations. Red and golds. But my tree is for my kids so it's a complete mishmash of everything they like. I'll do themes properly when they get older!

4.  Giving or receiving?

Giving. Always giving. I'd be happy to just watch my kids open presents and get nothing myself.

5.  To mince pie or not to?

I'm not keen but Paul and Logan love them.

6.  What's your traditional Sunday lunch?

As in Christmas dinner?? We have usually either chicken, turkey or steak pie, mashed and roasted potatoes, gravy, stuffing, peas, carrots, sprouts. Then we have a big dessert too.

7.  Christmas day fashion

We always get something new for Christmas day. Keira gets a fancy dress, tights, shoes and coat. Logan will get chinos and a shirt (maybe with a tie). I'll be wearing my maternity leggings and I have a new top to wear. I'm going out shopping soon to buy something for Paul. I want to get him one of those obnoxious Christmas jumpers! Possibly one with bells! Hahaha!

8.  What's your favourite Christmas song?

I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day by  Wizzard

9.  What's your favourite Christmas film?

I love Elf! I also love The Santa Clause films, The Muppet's Christmas Carol, Mickey's Once and Twice Upon A Christmas. And Nightmare Before Christmas!

10.  Open presents before or after lunch?

Before. We spend the morning opening gifts, then we get ready to go to my mum and dad's for dinner. Then we have all evening and night to play with new toys and watch TV!

Christmas Traditions

Since having kids and moving into our own house I've always tried to make Christmas our own way. I started a few things myself and continued a couple (with my own twist) from my mum and dad.

Every year I make a Christmas craft list. Almost every day in December Keira and I do some crafty projects. We make, bake and glue. It's something to look forward to and helps the days go in a bit quicker. This year Logan will be old enough to join in too!

We usually make a DVD pile. They aren't for one specific person. They are just there for everyone in the house to use and share. This is what we have so far...Minus Wreck It Ralph, Fantasia, Fantasia 2000, Basil the Great Mouse Detective and Hotel Transylvania. I gave them to the kids early because I'm weak! I still have to get Monsters University, Planes and Despicable Me 2!

The Christmas Eve gift! My mum always let me open a gift on Christmas Eve and it was always new pyjamas! I usually give my kids pyjamas, a dvd and a small toy. But this year I saw a better idea. The box! I'm going to get two boxes. In each box will be pyjamas, a blanket, a small wrapped toy and special treats like popcorn, sweets and fizzy juice. They'll also get a DVD from the pile. They usually get a bath with something from LUSH in it. I'm hoping to get them the Christmas Eve bubble bar this year. We get all cosy and watch a movie. Then we head outside and sprinkle our reindeer food. Last year Logan was too small to understand and Keira fell asleep because she exhausted herself with excitement....but this year they'll lay out Santa's mince pie and drink before heading to bed!

Also from my mum and dad I want to continue the tradition of putting the Christmas tree up on 10th December. My gran always put it up then because it's my Aunt's birthday. My mum continued it and I planned to except excitement always got the better of me! But after last year, my lesson has been learned! I had to move my tree to the kitchen because Logan was destroying it from the start of December. This year it goes up on the 10th and comes down on 27th!

Do you have any traditions of your own?

A Few New Things....

I took a little shopping trip with my mum yesterday to get the kids new jackets. I think I did pretty well.

I managed to get the jackets as I planned to. I got two bargains. I went into H&M first  and they had boys jackets half price. £20 down to £10. They were just exactly what I was looking for. So, I picked up a navy blue one but now I wish I gotten the green one as well. I got Keira's jacket from Primark. It was also £10. I don't normally go for this type of jacket for the kids. I'm not that keen on them. They look like giant marshmallows. But as long as they are being kept warm, that's all that matters! This is the only picture I have of them at the moment! I took it right before we left this morning! They both also have new hats on! And Keira has new gloves. =)

Keira got a new outfit too. I still need to buy one for Logan. I couldn't find any jeans or trousers for him that I liked. I bought them fluffy pjs as well but those have been put away for Christmas. 

I got a few new decorations. I've not taken pictures of all of them and I probably won't until we decorate for Christmas. I need to buy some new window lights. I saw some purple ones in B&M that I'm hoping to go back and get! Logan got a little snow globe decoration with special son on it. Keira already has one from a few years back. And the little tea lights were only 99p each! They're almost too nice to take out of the packaging.

Through the week Paul picked up new toothbrushes for the kids from the Disney Store. They have an offer on at the moment when if you spent £10 you get a Minnie Mouse plush for £7.99. I usually always take these offers! So we got the Minnie but I've put her away for Macey. 

And finally, I got Keira two shower caps. I try not to wash her hair every day. Usually every second day. On the days she doesn't have it washed it was still getting soaked in the bath or shower so I got her two for changing with. They were both from Poundland.

This post was a complete mish mash! Haha!

My Dad..

Sorry again for the lack of posts but we've had a lot going on!

My dad was taken to hospital a week ago. He suffers from gout. Gout is a form of arthritis that comes and goes. My dad has one of the worst cases the hospital has ever seen. So bad that he's actually been photographed for trainee doctors and fully qualified doctors to study. 

A bit of a back story to this year. My dad has big lumps the size of tennis balls on his joints due to gout. He had it on one knee, his both elbows, his toes and his knuckles are starting to go out of shape. At the start of this year he was having trouble with the one on his knee. One day the skin on his knee turned black indicating that it was dead. Then it pretty much exploded. Like a giant spot (gross, I know). He had to go to hospital to have it drained completely. Because the skin and muscle was dead he had to have it cut away leaving a hole in his knee right down to the bone. He had a few operations on it and ended up with plastic surgery for a skin graft. It still hasn't 100% covered up. He was at work last week and fell on his knee and burst the hole open again. 
The day after this happened he had excruciating pain in his hand and arm. So, off to the hospital he went again. They had to drain the gout that had turned septic from his hand with a couple of operation. But they also discovered that when he fell he got dirt deep in his knee wound causing blood poisoning. 

His hand is in a terrible mess. It looks like a someone's blown up a rubber glove and is bright red. They're doing everything they can to try and get to the bottom of it but nothing seems to be working. He's on super strong antibiotics for his blood poisoning but he also has a kidney infection, MSSA (a form of MRSA that causes blistering of the skin) and another infection that was picked up for the hospital. So, he's in a poor state.  

I really hope he gets better soon. It's horrible knowing he's stuck in the hospital and can't leave until all his infections are cleared. 

Scan number 4 of 6!

I had my fourth scan on Thursday. It was really amazing. So far out of every scan I've had this was the most detailed. I was there was ages and the ultrasound tech went over everything. She even showed me the lenses on Macey's eyes! I asked her to check the gender again. Baby had her legs closed but she said it looked like girl parts. So, that triple confirms. I'm having a 4D scan either between Christmas and New Year or just after New Year. Then I have my last scan at 36 weeks to check on Macey's size. 

Money has been very tight recently due to Christmas so I won't really be buying any new baby things until after Christmas. However I have purchased a packet of 9 headbands. They haven't arrived yet but this is what they look like. And my mum bought a packet of Minnie Mouse bibs!

(Ignore the flower in the middle at the bottom!)

The Tooth Fairy

Keira finally lost her second tooth! It hung on by a tiny bit for a week. Eventually she asked me to take it out. Only took a little bit of wobbling and it was out! Now she has a wobbly tooth on the bottom! She's going to have no teeth left at this rate! Haha!

She wanted to keep her teeth so she wrote the tooth fairy a letter to tell her. She got a couple of pound under her pillow. She's keeping her money in her "treasure chest" (it's a chest shaped jewellery box!)

I'm not sure how long it usually take for new teeth to come through but I reckon she'll be super gummy on her Christmas pictures!