Goodbye 2010

It has been a little while since my last post. Here's a quick run-down: On the Saturday before Christmas J started to feel unwell with flu. On Tuesday I went down too, quickly followed by Z and E. On Thursday we flew out to France and just as we landed my doctor called to say we had swine flu. Christmas was a blur of high temperatures, coughs and colds. J's family were amazing at helping us out but gosh, three sick children is no fun at all. And now New's Year's Eve has arrived so we are staying in and having a quiet evening with the children all tucked up in bed.

I wanted to say a huge thank you to all my readers and fellow bloggers for visiting Bristol Parenting Cafe and providing great photography and inspiring writing content on your own blogs. It has been such a joy to discover so many blogs which are now daily reads for me - thank you! Here's to a happy 2011.

Angels and Horsebacks

Z making snow angels

We woke up to find a real-life snow globe scene outside our window - hooray! After weeks of reading about snow everywhere else in the country Bristol could finally share the excitement. We managed to get everyone dressed, fed, rested, nappy-changed and in the right clothes just as the sun was going down, so about six hours after our first attempt to leave the house! No matter, Z and E both loved being pulled on the sledge and making snow angels was a huge hit with Z.

Afterwards we visited the Carter Steam Fair on the Harbourside for a ride on the vintage merry-go-round and a zoom down the helter-skelter. All the rides are powered by steam and date from 1895 - 1960 and it's great for 2 - 4 year olds, as they are so gentle. They have an arcade full of vintage games like bagatelle which are so evocative of a different era, it felt like going back in time. The carousels are beautifully painted and restored and looked wonderful against the snowy backdrop. We'll be going back before it leaves town, I'm sure.

Favourite Things

I don't really remember having a favourite item of clothing when I was a child. I was a bit of a tomboy and didn't like wearing dresses but apart from that I was pretty indifferent. But E is cut from a different cloth and these socks are the source of much joy for her at the moment. They are the only pair of long socks she's got so I'm not sure if that's the attraction but she so looked sweet dancing on the sofa in them in the weak winter sun that I couldn't resist taking a picture.

Advent Snow Globes

Z and E had Christmas cake decorations in their advent jars this week and today we used them to make snow globe jam jars. I painted the lids gold and glued the decorations on using Araldite the night before. Z and E filled the jars with bottled water and added a teaspoon of glycerine (from Boots) and a teaspoon of clear washing up liquid (we used Ecover). They added silver glitter and screwed the lids on tightly. I would recommend standing the finished globes in a saucer for a few hours to make sure they don't leak and sealing the lids with glue if needed.

This is what happens when you leave a 2 and 4 year old with access to 6 pots of glitter while your back is turned, in their own words 'glitter gloves!'

Violet at 6 months

In amongst the sleep-less nights and the constant washing, the nappy changes and the early mornings the 'gosh-I'm-so-tired' and the 'when-will-I-fit-back-into-my-normal-clothes', I have moments in my day when I get a chance to stop and realise this: sometimes it's OK for the sink to be full of dirty dishes and the laundry basket to be full-to-overflowing. It's OK to leave the beds unmade for a day and the post unopened. I can look at Violet in wonder and amazement. That amazing smooth skin, the soft hair on her head, how quickly these early months pass and how privileged I am to have her.

Out in the cold

Today it was -5 outside. We've been staying inside because E can't take the cold at all. Everytime we go outside she starts crying, despite wearing a snow suit, hat and mittens. Her interest in snow is limited to watching it though the windows whilst snuggled up in the warmth of our living room. I'm the same and have a low tolerance to being cold. This afternoon though, I braved the freezing temperatures to take a walk with J. It was utterly magical. My day was topped off by the fact that I am able to fit into my favourite red coat for the first time since V was born - hooray!

Christmas Tree Wishes

We don't have enough room for a Christmas Tree, not even a tiny one. It makes me a little sad that we can't choose and decorate a tree together for our first Christmas as a family of five. This weekend, though, we are staying at my parents house where there is a beautiful Norwegian Spruce in the sitting room - I love the decorations and it made me feel very Christmassy. Z and E were so excited to see it twinkling in the window when we arrived. When we get home I'm planning to put a few branches in a vase on our bookshelf and decorate it with baubles, lights and paper angels as a little tree substitute.

Advent Biscuits

Christmas Jammy Dodgers

I wanted to make Jammy Dodgers using the star biscuit cutter that was in the advent jar. But my recipe called for rice flour and I didn't have any. I remembered a post written by one of my favourite bloggers Emma Bradshaw with a recipe included and it came to the rescue and we made these. E managed to take a sneaky bites out of 3 of the biscuits before we had finished!

I didn't think to note what was in each advent jar before writing the number labels. I wish I had so that I could engineer what was being opened on each day. Some advent items are simple pocket treasures whilst others lead to cooking/craft activies and I'd like them to open these at the weekend when we have time for baking and making.

Kitchen Sink Baby

Violet taking a wash

I had forgotten how messy (and fun!) weaning is. Violet has just started on solids and each mealtime is a mess of puree everywhere - on the floor, my clothes and all over Violet. I've taken to putting her in the kitchen sink for a post-lunchtime wash. It's much easier and quicker than running a bath, and she loves splashing about.

I only just stopped myself automatically adding washing up liquid before she got in!

Advent Walnut Boats

Yesterday, when Z and E opened their advent jar there was a walnut wrapped up inside. A walnut? They looked at it, and shook it, and wondered what was making it rattle. I discovered they aren't that keen on the taste of walnuts. Once we had opened it we used the shell to make these pretty boats. We ended up making a whole flotilla using shells I had been saving.

Walnut Boats
You will need:
A few walnut shells
Glitter
A candle (or plasticine or clay)
Cocktail sticks
Old paper
Glue gun
Scissors

1. Put glue all around the edge of the walnut shell and dip in glitter.
2. Cut a sail shape from your paper - we liked squares best but you can also try triangles.
3. Cut the bottom off the cocktail stick so it has a flat base.
4. Thread the paper sail through the cocktail stick.
5. If using plasticine or clay place this in the bottom of the shell and stick the sail in place, otherwise melt the candle wax into the shell and stand the sail in the wax and allow to set.