Christmas Day & We Almost Flooded!

So it was Christmas Eve and in the early hours of Christmas day (2am!) we had a flood warning call from the Environment Agency! My husband was pacing around and taking short trips to the river by our house to check out the situaton at crazy o'clock and we were both slightly panicking by the time the girls woke up at 7am.  We carried on as usual determined to keep Christmas Day the special and magical day it should be! 

 

Once all the presents were opened instead of just playing and getting ready for Christmas Day we decided to lift our furniture onto breeze blocks (just in case) in order to prevent any damage to our posessions before we went to my parent-in-laws for the day!  

Stressed is not the word to be honest, the river levels had never been so high and the water was literally a couple of feet from reaching the top of the flood barrier at the end of our road! 

The mobile home site on the other side of the river had been evacuated in the middle of the night and I felt so sorry for them it was truly awful, at least we hadn't actually been flooded!

Let's hope this once in a hundred year occurence stays away for another 100 years...

 

I'm Back!

Hi Everyone, I hope you had a fabulous Christmas!  We certainly did despite some rather stressful OMG our house is going to be flooded moments (more on that later)!

We had a great Christmas Eve where we went to the cinema to watch Disney's Frozen - what a great film! We all felt really Christmassy by the time we left and ready for Santa's arrival! Of course we set out the obligatory goodies for Father Chrstmas including a mince pie, a carrot for Rudolph and don't forget the strawberry milkshake and candy cane from our 6 year old!

So I've had a bit of a Christmas holiday from blogging but I am back now and ready to blog! 

See you soon..Sophie..xxx

Merry Christmas!

I hope you all have a fantastic day!  

Sophie..xxx

The Christmas Dilemma!

So Christmas is nearly upon us and as someone who likes to be fairly strict when it comes to my exercise regime this poses a small dilemma for me! 

It would be ok if Christmas day was on a weekend then I would feel no guilt as I like to take it easy every weekend by not worrying about the calories! But as Christmas will be on a Wednesday I will need to relax my keep fit regime next week for at least Wednesday and probably Thursday...Maybe Tuesday too?! 

To many people this is probably a no brainer it is Christmas after all! And although I completely agree I don't want to have an entire week off only to find I have put on half a stone! 

It really is a funny thing once you get into exercise and a healthy regime, it really effects your entire life, routine and outlook! Although I know I deserve a rest I also know I will be feeling guilty for having a break over Christmas and with the children off school as well, it really leaves little time for exercise!

I still haven't come to a conclusion but I know I will try and squeeze some exercise in over the week, this way I may be able to balance out all the eating I will be doing!  

Maybe I'll go with this equation:

Christmas Dilemma Sorted = Eat Loads Of Food + Exercise = No Guilt!

I hope everyone has a fab Christmas!

Sophie..xxx 

I Dont Mean To Brag But...

...My daughter is Mary in the nursery Nativity!

You can imagine the pride I felt when my three year old Sasha was chosen to play Mary in the nursery Nativity play this year!  I don't think anyone in our family has ever been chosen to play one of the main parts in a show before and I told everyone I bumped in to, literally!

It was a short play but she was perfect, looking after the Baby Jesus and singing really well! Here are a couple of little pics for you...

Is Santa Real??

Yes of course! Is my immediate reply to my six year old daughter! My three year old has quite rightly and somewhat obviously never questioned his existence...yet! But my six year old has asked on a couple of occasions now. I feel really disappointed when she asks as I feel like she is already beginning to lose her childhood innocence and I put it down to her poor fellow classmates who already know Santa is not real! To be honest I feel quite sad for these kids and wonder why their parents don't want to encourage the wonder and excitement of Father Christmas? 

I've quite rightly, in my opinion, told my daughter that he is definitely real and if she doesn't believe then he may not come and leave any presents.  I hope this is good enough and the magic will stay strong for a few more years yet! As a child I loved the excitement of Christmas and truly believed my Mum when she told me Santa was real - I really wanted to believe and feel it did no harm to me and does no harm to anyone else.  In fact I think I believed in father Christmas until I moved out of home! 

Well now I have finished with my feelings all I have left to say is GO SANTA!

Check out this great page from Netmums which gives you some perfect answers to all your children's difficult Santa questions! It also has contains links to some fab Santa apps! 

Sophie..x

OMG..It's December!

I don't know about you but I cannot believe how fast 2013 has gone! In case you didn't realise it is the 2nd of December today - wow! I started the Christmas preparations a little late this year (I'm blaming my new hobby - the Blog) but I am nearly there and feeling a little chuffed with myself!  We are going to the In-Laws for Christmas this year and I am really looking forward to it especially as all the responsibility is being taken on by them and not me (until our turn next year)! 

My children have been asking about the Christmas tree already and although I am a huge fan of Christmas this is one thing I try to put off for as long as possible.  

I'm not sure why I dislike the Christmas tree so much but I just can't stand having it up.  I guess the main reason is that it takes up too much space and just gets in my way.  It does however act as a good storage space for all the presents (not the kid's) I have bought and are currently piled up against the wall in my bedroom. I always aim for around two weekends before the big day and put it up then and try and get it down again before the New Year - I'm such a Scrooge! 

There is also the question of who will decorate the tree - ugh! This is a hard one for me as I am a bit of a control freak and like to have a stylish, neat tree however the girls like to stick on anything they can find!  My three year old likes to hang all of her decorations on one branch and my six year old likes to stick on A4 bits of paper with her drawings.  In the end I let the girls hang their decorations and then secretly move them when they are not looking (I know, there's that Scrooge again)! 

Apart from the dreaded Christmas tree I do like all the other Christmas decorations and have invested in some new ones this year so will look forward to putting them up.  My Husbands job is to put up the outside lights.  There isn't that many just a few icicles to hang up but last year they didn't make an appearance much to the girls dismay, this year I will be cracking the whip!

So here's wishing you all a great December! Please let me know what the Christmas preparations are like in your house - I'd love to hear from you!

Love Sophie..x

Ok Baby Born You Win!

So this year my three year old has been begging for the new Baby Born range every time the advert is shown on TV.  I think the makers of Baby Born have clearly hit the nail on the head with this latest range consisting of Interactive Potty, Bath and Doll each costing a small fortune.  I mean what three year old can resist? A ‘working’ potty and bath...it’s a miracle.  

Well here I sit making sarcastic remarks about these new toys but I have succumbed and bought these items for Christmas…oh dear! Well at least I will have an incredibly happy daughter on Christmas morning and who can resist that? Not me that’s for sure!

Love Sophie..x

NaBloPoMo #26 - Please visit NowtSpecial for more Blogs taking part!

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Body Shop Poducts Tried & Tested

Its NaBloPoMo #22 and I have recently been given a few Body Shop products to try by my local Consultant Trudy McKnight which I am incredibly grateful for and thought I should shout about it especially as Christmas is coming up.  Hopefully this review will give you a few ideas!

1. The first product I have tried is Cranberry Joy Body Butter:

This Body Butter is part of the new Christmas range and has everything you can expect from The Body Shop's notorious Body Butters.  They are thick and creamy and incredibly moisturising.  The Cranberry Joy scent is fruity but not too fruity )if you know what I mean) and I felt incredibly luxurious and Christmassy using this after bathing.  Buy this as a Christmas present for someone else or even for yourself and you won’t regret it!

2. I have also been trying out the Foundation Dragonfruit Lip Butter: 

I suffer from dry lips and have found this lip butter gorgeously scented and really moisturising especially now the cold weather is coming in.  You will find this product moisturising and caring on your lips perfect for this time of year. Another great reason to buy this lip butter is that The Body Shop split 100% of the profits made between their selected charities!

3. The third product I have tried this week is the Absinthe Purifying Hand Cream:

At first I was a little reserved as I was not keen on the smell from the tube.  But I have been using this all week and once applied the smell is much nicer than first impressions led me to believe and leaves your hands with a subtle leafy scent.  The best part about this product is how your hands feel once you have applied it, my hands felt as smooth as velvet and so soft.  It may be pricey but you only need a small amount and I would definitely recommend it!

Click here to go to The Body Shop online catalogue to get you into the festive mood. Also for a limited time they are offering a 40% discount with free delivery using code: 14322!

I will be testing more Body Shop products and will post the results soon! 

Sophie.x