Embracing Christmas in November

Around this time last year I wrote this old post about Christmas in November. It’s grumpy. I’m my defence I was very very very pregnant. 

Actually, I still agree with some of it. I hate that it’s just a big push to get us to spend more and more money. Toy adverts are the worst! And don’t even get me started on Black Friday. Bleaugh! 

I do feel quite differently this year though. Maybe because I’m not pregnant and uncomfortable, but also because Iris is really getting into to. For the first time, she’s old enough to have an understanding of it all. We’ve not talked much about presents, but she’s been chatting about Christmas trees and sparkly lights and Santa for a couple of weeks now. She’s even got a part in her nursery show. She’s going to be a star! 

Astrid will turn one just after Christmas, so she’s not a teeny baby anymore either. She obviously has no idea what Christmas is, but she’s definitely old enough to really enjoy it. She’s much more sociable than Iris was as a baby, and loves being surrounded by people. I’m a bit scared she’s going to pull the Christmas tree over, but I think Christmas with her around is going to be a lot of fun! 

I’m not even slightly miffed by the two houses in our street that already have decorations up, and I’ve already bought some presents! I might even let the kids put the tree up early! This picture is from last Christmas, and that is water in Iris’s glass! 

What’s new in the mouse house

Actually, not much really.

I’ve just renewed my domain thingy which costs actual real money, and it made me think that maybe I should try a bit harder with this blog thing. I’ve been saying that for months actually, but I can’t quite find enough balance in our busy life. There’s just not much room for this, but I wish there was. I’ve always found writing about my life very therapeutic, and I still do. I really love having things written down to look back on too. I quite often read my old posts when they pop up on Timehop.

On the whole, life is really good right now. Apart from the usual money worries (how is Christmas so soon??) we’re doing really well. My mental health was worrying me for a while, but I feel like I’ve really got a grip of things at the moment. I’ve been feeling quite a bit better physically too, with migraines now a very rare occurrence and they’re mild even when they do appear. A combination of amitryptaline and sertraline seems to really work for me. I’ve had no aura, no flashing lights in my vision, and much less neurological pain. I’m tired though, and I haven’t been looking after myself. I still eat too much junk food. I really don’t need a big bar of chocolate every evening, but somehow I feel like I do. I’ve put weight on, I’m sure. Which isn’t great because I want to lose quite a bit, but it’s not the end of the world.

The big kids are doing great, with the eldest being made house captain at her school. Their days with us have been full of fun, with lots of train trips and boat trips and days spent in Techniquest doing science. Second kid made a gorgeous crown for a school project, and biggest kid has got really into photography. She turns 11 next week and has asked for a fancy camera.

Iris is still going to the local nursery two mornings a week and absolutely loves it. It’s a bilingual setting, and she keeps singing Welsh songs at home! She’s starting praising me in Welsh when I’ve done something ‘clever’ like using the toilet. Da iawn Mummy! I have no idea what she’s been getting up to there, but there’s a coffee morning coming up where I can talk to her key worker about how she’s doing. I’m really looking forward to it. It’s half term now, and I know she’s really going to miss it. She does have a Halloween disco to go to on Friday though! She’s got a witch costume but keeps telling me she doesn’t want to wear it, so she’ll probably go in her usual clothes.

We’ve not been letting the colder weather keep us indoors, which is lucky really as Iris now knows there’s a whole tv channel that just shows Peppa Pig all day every day and if we stayed at home she’d insist on watching it constantly. Because it’s been colder, we often get the big park in Pontypridd all to ourselves. If we go towards the end of the day there’s a tannoy announcement about the park closing, and Iris takes it much better from the tannoy than from me. This has reduced the amount of public tantrums by quite a few!

Astrid is doing really well. I planned to use the time Iris spends at nursery to spend some time with just Astrid, but she’s decided to sleep all morning nearly every time. It means I get some time to myself, but also means I have no excuse to ignore the dishes and laundry!

After struggling to dye my roots I decided that bleachy blonde hair was way too much hard work, and this week I went brunette. The plan is that it’s similar to my natural colour and so I can just stop dying my hair now. It’s just too much work and I can’t be bothered. I’ll probably change my mind. I have trouble committing to one colour!

With Astrid going to sleep pretty early in the evenings with Iris not far behind, I feel like we’ve got a little bit of time for us again. It’s nice. We’ve been watching Grey’s Anatomy from the beginning again. It’s weirdly nostalgic for me. Even though I was very late to it as a series, I watched it all when Iris was a tiny newborn. She never slept so I gave up going to bed. It’s such a good series and it kept me from getting really down during the worst days of sleep deprivation. Trevor caught the odd episode here and there, and he’s now enjoying filling in the gaps. I feel a bit bad about all the hours we’re spending watching tv because I really want to read some of my pile of unread books. I guess they can wait. One benefit to tv over books is that I can do something else at the same time. I’ve been crocheting loads, and finally finished Astrid’s star blanket that I started before she was born. Iris has one I made two years ago, and it’s nice that they’ve got one each now. I also made Iris a doll, which she has named ‘Jo with the bow’, but she refuses to play with it and says she doesn’t like it. I’m trying not to let that upset me!

My sister had a new baby when we were away camping in August, and we’ve been trying to get together as often as possible so we can all get to know my new baby niece. It’s great to get all the kids together anyway, as our little two and my sister’s three are all similar ages. I think cousins should be your first friends if possible, and I didn’t spend much time with mine as a kid. Now we’re not in contact at all, and I’d love for my kids and my sister’s kids to be there for each other even when they’re all grown up.

There’s been talk of getting a new kitchen here, even though we’re a long way from having the cash for it. I’m trying to convince Trevor that we need a dishwasher, but I don’t think he’s persuaded yet. We have a fairly good size kitchen, but it’s poorly designed and laid out in such a way that we actually don’t have much surface or storage space. If it was shuffled around we could easily fit a dishwasher plus more cupboards and more worktop space. Our bathroom needs doing too, plus we have a small hallway with a bare concrete floor that needs carpet or something. Our daft dog Seb has a thing for eating underlay and will happily rip up carpet to get to it. Thankfully that tiny hall was the only bit of carpet downstairs. Perhaps it might be better to put laminate in there.

I’ve started to think about what I want to do when it’s time for me to go back to work. I don’t think I’ll be doing anything anytime soon because childcare for two is too expensive. I’m thinking about not going anywhere to work at all, but childminding from home. I have a couple of friends who do it, and although hard work it does look like a good way to make some cash. I’ve worked with small children most of my adult life and have the relevant qualifications already, so it makes sense. I don’t plan on doing anything at least until next September when Iris will start nursery class at school. We applied for her place last week, which felt like a parenting milestone I was not ready for. She’s only 2!

It’s getting colder and the heating has been on a little bit for the first time this season. It feels like winter is finally on it’s way and I’m relieved for a change. Halloween has been spoilt a little bit this year by those stupid idiots dressing as clowns that we keep seeing on the news. The big kids have said they don’t want to go outside on Halloween, and I don’t feel much like it either. There have been quite a few clowns reported to police around here. Hopefully bonfire night will be better! We went to the display in Ynysangharad Park last year, and it was great. We’ll probably do the same this year. I love the big organised displays, but seeing fireworks for sale in supermarkets makes me nervous. How can it be right that anybody can pick up explosives when they’re just popping in for some bread?

We’ve started thinking about Christmas here, and like every year we’ve decided not to buy as much, even though we never manage to stick to any kind of budget. I want to buy Iris a balance bike and perhaps a Lottie doll but other than that I have no idea. Astrid has all of the old toys belonging to three big sisters to play with, so she really doesn’t need anything. Plus she’ll turn 1 just a couple of weeks later, meaning she’ll get even more presents she doesn’t need! I think we’re going to need a serious sort out before we do any shopping.

I don’t have any more news I want to record, so I’m signing off here. I’ll probably think of something else in a minute!

Our week in pictures #4

Last weekend was just how I expected it to be. We spent both days Christmas shopping and successfully managed to buy all of the presents for the kids. We did find time for coffee and cake treats and a visit to see Santa in Cardiff though. Iris wasn’t particularly impressed, but did like the giant light up bouncy ball he gave her. It was hard work to prevent her from throwing it at other shoppers! We were thoroughly worn out by Sunday evening.

On Monday we all felt quite dreadful, but we went out for a walk around the shops anyway. We got coffee with a friend and then headed home to make Christmas cards.

On Tuesday my dad came to visit. We don’t see him often so Iris has no idea who he is. She was quite taken with him though, sharing her Peppa Pig toys and insisting he helped her with her crayons. She even gave him lots of kisses and cried when he left! Then she scaled our cat tower  and frightened the life out of me. It’s pretty high!

Trevor and I were both up in the night being sick and had no sleep at all. Getting bored with one illness after another now!

Wednesday meant another crochet club, where I actually did some crochet this time. I started a rainbow hat for Iris (that she’ll probably refuse to wear). She ate cupcakes with her friends and enjoyed the change of scenery. In the evening Santa came through our village on the back of a pick up truck, stopping to talk to the children who had gathered to see him. Iris didn’t want to get too close, but did wave at him. She was more interested in Christmas lights, and it took a long time to walk back up our street as she stopped to peer through the windows and check out all of the Christmas trees. I’m very excited to see how she reacts to ours when we put it up at the weekend.

Yesterday we finally got round to visiting the midwife led birth centre and were very impressed. It’s so much nicer than the hospital where I gave birth to Iris. We’ve all developed nasty colds so didn’t get out and about in the afternoon. Instead me and Iris napped together snuggled up. Lovely. Then me and Trevor stayed up til 2am wrapping all of the Christmas presents. I had two baths because I couldn’t get rid of the pain of heartburn and trapped wind. Pregnancy is not glamorous!

Today it’s Friday again, and I feel like we’ve achieved a lot of Christmas related stuff this week, but none of the things I need to get done before the baby arrives. Like packing a bag! I don’t want to be doing these things over the Christmas celebrations, so that’s my focus for the next week or so. I”ll be washing all the newborn clothes! Tonight we’re off to see the big kids in their Christmas play, and then we’ve got a very busy weekend of Christmas fun planned, including a trip to see the local pantomime! I just hope we can shift these colds.

Here’s hoping for less illness and more energy!

  
  
  
  

My Instagram Christmas wish list

We’re skint this Christmas. It’s probably going to be a struggle to find the cash for the mince pies and satsumas once we’ve got the kid’s presents sorted, so I know Trev and I won’t be buying for each other again this year. I’ve requested button-down warm pyjamas from anybody else (like my mum!) who has asked what I would like. Mainly as I have nothing warm and cosy to sleep and breastfeed the new baby in. 

In reality, there’s quite a long list of things I would currently like! But I know that we are already better off than almost every family in the world because there will be food and presents, and I’m more than happy with that. 

However, if we did suddenly have a load of money to spare that I could spend on myself, I’d spend it all on small businesses I’ve found on Instagram! 

My Wish List.

 

Yes, those are rainbow tie dye woolly tights in adults sizes. Yup. I have always wanted to wear amazing colourful tights like those lucky toddlers get to wear. I’ve never found quite the right ones though, and then I stumbled upon @threevioletbuttons on Instagram. I fell madly in love. Find the Etsy shop here, and if you fancy buying me a pair of these while you’re there I will promise to love you forever! There’s also kid’s stuff and hand dyed yarn to be found over there. 

  

I love @thedresstree! Plus I also love Kim who makes these gorgeous things quite a bit too. Find her beautiful blog here and even more beautiful Etsy shop here. I actually own Kim’s first ever breastfeeding friendly dress, another dress, two kimonos and several necklaces from here already! I’m currently lusting after her new range of velvet skirts, but I adore that sunflower dress too. I’m obviously way too round to wear either but not for much longer. A new dress would be just the thing to perk up a body-conscious me after giving birth in the most miserable month of the year. 

  

This is not the first time I’ve mentioned @sunjellies on my blog. I wrote a whole blog post about my obsession with their jelly shoes at the end of last summer. I lived in them while pregnant with Iris as I couldn’t get my big fat feet to fit comfortably into anything else. Iris even has a tiny purple pair. They’re adorable. This time though, I want a bag. This exact bag actually. A squishy gorgeous yellow jelly bag, to stuff with crochet stuff and hang stylishly on the handle of the pushchair. Can you imagine how cool I’d look? Find the online shop here.

  

I don’t actually remember a specific tiny beaded purse from my childhood, and I’m sure I had several. Probably several hundred. I have a feeling I kept earrings in them. For some reason they make me think of those shops along the beach on summer holidays with my family as a little girl. @playpurse have taken those nostalgic little beaded purses and blown them up. To adult size. Like big beaded clutch versions. And I LOVE them. Actually, this colour would look good inside my jelly bag, wouldn’t it? Buy the PlayPurse online right here.

  

Jewellery made out of kid’s toys. Perfection, right? I know I’m a 30 year old but I’m not ready to think of myself as a grown up just yet. I want a My Little Pony one. Or maybe a Santa one, as it is Christmas after all. Actually, I want all of them. Buy from the LoveFromToby Instagram page, which also supports Children’s Heart Surgery Fund. 

  

Ok, I know this was supposed to be a list of things that I want for me but I’m so taken by these hats. I’d love matching ones for Iris and her nearly-here baby sister. So so cute! They’re available online here.

Instagram is so full of wonderful people who make beautiful things, and small businesses supporting families or charities. If only being a stay at home mum paid better! I could easily get addicted to shopping in this way.  

It’s Not Christmas, It’s November.

On Saturday my sister and her family drove over from Bristol to spend the day with us in Pontypridd, for the big Christmas lights switch on. Mainly they came because Mike and Sully were set to make an appearance, and my niece adores Monsters Inc! Can’t say I blame them. Their own town had Peter Andre turning their lights on. Boring.

I’d been looking forward to the day for a while, but I felt that the event was way too early!

I was wondering if it’s just me that feels like this. I absolutely adore Christmas. I truly do. I really get into the spirit of it and I am no Scrooge. Here’s a picture for proof.
The Christmas music in the shops, tinsel everywhere. The pressure to start Christmas shopping. The John Lewis advert and the Sainsburys advert, neither of which I’ve seen but I don’t need to. Apparently they’re all anybody can talk about. The Coca Cola advert. I hear that’s already been on. Worse still, the toy adverts causing children up and down the country to say I want that and make lists as long as your arm.

It’s just all about spending money, and I hate it.

I was relieved recently to find that I’m not the only one, and even kids find this annoying! The 9-year-old recently said, when asked what she’d like for Christmas, “Give me a chance, I’m not done with Halloween yet!”. When Christmas music started playing in Pizza Hut on Friday night, the same 9-year-old called out “SERIOUSLY?! Don’t they know it’s November?!”

I’ve bought one present so far. A toy for my niece that I spotted in a discount shop a few weeks ago. I only bought it because it was perfect and I was worried I wouldn’t find it at that price again. I’m not writing my Christmas cards for a good few weeks yet, because writing them now is just madness! I’m not thinking about the food or the wrapping paper or anything else. Not yet. In my family we never start Christmas until after my sister’s birthday on the 4th. Otherwise she doesn’t really get a birthday, and that’s just not fair.

Thankfully the big lights-on day in Pontypridd was strangely not Christmassy. I imagine there were a lot of people who felt differently, thanks to the fake snow and Santa’s Grotto. But to me it just felt like autumn. It wasn’t cold. The kids petted rabbits and guinea pigs, went on rides, ate candy floss, went on a climbing wall, looked around the shops, and had their pictures taken with Anna and Elsa from Frozen. It was a fabulous day and we all had a wonderful time. In the end we missed the lights switch on because we were buying pyjamas and pink wafers in a bargain shop. Ha!

Unfortunately my tiny niece never did get her picture taken with Mike and Sully, so it was lucky she bought little Sully along for the day!
She did enjoy seeing them on stage with some other characters though, and apparently that was good enough. The big kids didn’t mind as long as they could have candy floss and they were still busy talking about how well they’d both climbed! We’ve decided to take them to a proper indoor climbing centre soon. We’re always on the look out for fun stuff to do with them so it’s great when they come up with ideas.

Once we’d all had enough, and our hair was full of fake snow, we headed back to the car park to see the fireworks and escape the crowds. Fireworks say November to me, not Christmas! We missed the local firework display a couple of weeks again because of torrential rain, so it was great to finally see some! My little nephew was mesmerised by them, and even Iris seemed interested.
I’m so relived that it didn’t end up being a really festive day, and we were able to concentrate on having some fun instead of panicking about how much shopping we’ve got to do (and where we’ll find the money!). Now there are 13 days left of November. Any chance I can just enjoy them for being the last few days of autumn please?