lunch, snip snip and deck the halls

1. A rare lunch all together at the dinner table.  We enjoy our baked potato and sit and talk for a while.

2. Doris is so well behaved at the hairdressers.  She sits and looks at herself in the mirror, keeping perfectly still and saying please and thank you for her lollipop at the end.  And best of all the lovely hairdresser didn’t even charge me for her cut as she ‘didn’t take much off’!

3. I finish off the personalised tree decorations for Doris and Isla.  Their granny Mary loved things on the Christmas tree that meant something and I hope the girls will enjoy their decorations made from one of their granny’s hankerchiefs for many years to come.

Sweetie snowman, Fwa Fwa returns and move it!

1. I finish the snowman piñata, fill it with sweets and hang it in my wardrobe out of Doris’ sight.  OK so it’s a little rough around the edges but I am pretty pleased with my handiwork and know it will be great fun to smash open on Christmas day.

2. Fwa Fwa Jr is back! The much-loved toy monkey that was lost on a trip to Sainsbury’s a year and a half ago has returned.  He was sitting on the shelf at a local cafe, having been put there just in case his owner returned to claim him.  I couldn’t believe my eyes. Only last week I was wondering what happened to him – I pictured him lying in a filthy gutter somewhere and it turns out he was safe and dry all along…

3. Dancing round the kitchen with Doris to eighties tunes.  She’s a really good mover.  I, on the other hand, am not.

toasty, easy decisions and tutus

1. We trundle up to nursery in our hats and gloves, feeling toasty warm and enjoying the crunch of the leaves under buggy.

2. The fortnightly shop at Lidl – I love the fact that there is usually only a choice of two things for each item, which makes shopping a lot quicker and hey, everyone loves a bargain!

3. Making homemade tutu for Doris and for my niece Emily for Christmas.  The repetitive motion of threading the tulle through the elastic is very therapeutic and the end result very satisfying

Wrong venue, feeling festive and father/daughter chat

1. We had a family outing to church this morning.  The school choir Mat has been working with was performing and we went along to listen, except, er, we went to the wrong church.  We eventually found the right church and heard the final hymn and then had a lovely cuppa and a chat with the very friendly congregation.

2. A trip into town to see the new ice rink.  OK so it was closed as the weather today was ‘unseasonably warm’ according to the notice, but it still made us feel festive and I can’t wait to get my skates on.

3. Isla and Mat had their first ‘chat’ today and it was lovely to hear. He made a noise, which she copied and then he copied her and she copied him and, well you get the picture…

caffeine, tolls and catching up

1. Fluffy caffe latte from Mat’s machine and a homemade shortbread biscuit – nothing better

2. A speedy journey up and back through the Dartford tunnel/over the bridge.  Such a rarity, it’s worth a mention!

3. Catching up with old friends over dinner.  We haven’t seen them for a while so there’s lots to talk about. I prepped the dinner this morning so there’s not a lot to do other than catch up over a glass or two of wine while the kids play together (reasonably) nicely.

Cookie dough, getting creative and español

1. Eating the scrapsies of the raw biscuit mixture in the bowl before it goes in the dishwasher.

2. The gloopy pleasure of papier maché pasting as Doris and I begin making a snowman piñata for Christmas.

3. I’m learning beginner’s Spanish and feel I am starting to ‘get’ it – it seems a logical language and I am enjoying stretching my mind in new ways.

Parcel, all wrapped up and the new Debbie McGee?

1. A large parcel arrives in the post from Japan.  My sister-in-law’s Mum has sent a towel for Isla and a toy dog for Doris – people have been so generous in sending gifts and cards.

2. I wrap the first of my Christmas presents – it may sound sad but I love cutting the right amount of paper from the roll and making it fit the shape of the gift. I should get out more…

3. Doris’ reaction to the magician at Eddie’s birthday party is priceless.  She laughs at his jokes, shouts out in the right bits and is a fantastic magician’s assistant for one of the tricks – she jumps up and down, waves a magic wand, shouts abracadabra and makes a rabbit appear.

Moussaka, sunset and Homer

1. I hate seeing food go to waste so I get great satisfaction turning yesterday’s leg of lamb and cold pommes boulangeres into a delicious moussaka for tonight’s dinner.

2. As I walk up to the shop to get milk, I look up to see the most beautiful sunset sky – a baby blue streaked with pink stripes.

3. A deliciously moist slice of banana cake and a cup of earl grey whilst babysitting.  Isla falls asleep on my arm as I watch an episode of the Simpsons with my three young charges.

In the Hood, chariot racing and splashing about

1. I have a chat to a neighbour post pre-school drop-off and I love the fact that, after four years of living here, we really feel like part of the community now.

2. The buggy board is now fitted and, despite the fact that I seem to have rolled through dogsh*t and brought it in the house, Doris looks like Charlton Heston in Ben Hur – we roll up to ballet with ease as she shouts ‘Look at me, look at me!!’

3. Isla squirms happily in her bath and looks at me as if to say ‘this is good fun, I like this now.’

Smooth ride, my lane and Tracy Beaker

1. The M25 is flowing freely as we drive round it to pick up the buggy board we won on ebay.  We find our destination easily and without fuss.  The previous owner of the board hands over the board with a friendly smile.

2. 50 lengths in the pool and the lane is all mine for at least half of them.  As I climb up the steps to get out, a group of excited schoolchildren await their turn in the water.

3. Doris is feeling a bit under the weather so we snuggle on the sofa with the blanket over our knees and watch Tracy Beaker.  I love the feeling of her curly head on my shoulder.