Advent

I decided earlier in the year that I'd do an advent calendar for the girls with sweeties and small toys in the pockets for each day of December. But then my Nov-Dec issue of Mothering arrived in the mail, and it had the most splendid suggestion for advent calendars: instead of sweeties and toys, do a special activity each day as a family. I love it! So I thought I'd share the idea with you too. Below is what I've listed for each day. The girls will reach into the pocket each morning and pull out a slip of paper. Whatever is written on that paper is what we will do that day. It's a bit ambitious, some of these things, but I'm hoping it'll give us something to look forward to each day and accomplish. I also better add that I stole some of the ideas from the ideas in the magazine, though some are originally mine too.

You, of course, would need to adapt it to your lives if you choose to do it too. I've incorporated already planned events into the calendar, and have taken into account days when I know we'll be more busy than others. (For instance, I have a couple of nights out planned for December, so on those days we'll just do something simple and easy.)

I hope this will inspire some of you to do something similar. Sorry for leaving it so late, but I've just gotten around to it myself!

Merry Christmas!

McFarlane Family Advent Calendar Activities:
1. Make paper chains and use them to count down Christmas!
2. Create gift tags using recycled and repurposed items from around the house.
3. Put together a shoebox of presents to send to a charity.
4. String popcorn and cranberries for a tree outside for the birds to eat!
5. Cut colourful snowflakes and hang them in the window.
6. Produce a family video e-card and send to family and friends.
7. Go to a Christmas party at Mummy’s class!
8. Make gingerbread men for the Christmas tree.
9. Have a Christmas picnic in our pajamas on the floor.
10. Make festive cookies and deliver them to our new neighbours.
11. Look through old photo albums and talk about the pictures.
12. Wrap up presents in brown paper and decorate them.
13. Take a walk and pick pinecones.
14. Make a wreath using paper plates and tissue paper.
15. Watch a Christmas movie with Daddy.
16. Read a story about Mary and Joseph and baby Jesus.
17. Pick up Musha at the airport!
18. Make Lolly a special birthday tree ornament.
19. Go for a special walk with Daddy and Musha.
20. Eat dinner by candlelight only with the fancy dishes
21. Go to a Christmas party at FunWorld and meet Santa!
22. Take Musha to the shop to make your very own teddy bears!
23. Eat ice cream while watching a cosy Christmas movie.
24. Go to midnight mass with Caspar and Nina.
25. Eat chocolate gravy for breakfast and open presents!

We're in!

No time to blog, must unpack. Photos will be taken once the house looks like a normal house, not a warehouse.

Moving week.
Crazy.

Moving and Packing

I think it's time I update, lest everyone think that I'm still as worn to a frazzle (what a good phrase) as before.

I'm better. Ahem.

Still stressed though, as moving day creeps closer. Less than two weeks to go and the house is a bombsite.

I would like to be able to do nothing this week but pack, but I'm simply too busy, as usual. My schedule is as follows:

Monday - TinyTalk in morning, Fifi dance in afternoon
Tuesday - Antenatal Fayre (where I do a presentation to pregnant mums about our breastfeeding text service) in morning, Fifi dance in afternoon
Wednesday - FREE
Thursday - Toddlers in morning (yes, I could skip it, but Fifi and Lolly and I all love it too much), breastfeeding group in afternoon, unless I can pawn it off on someone else
Friday - TinyTalk in morning, Jewelry & Craft party in evening, with set-up in afternoon
Saturday - Cameron's Un-Birthday party, which I'm really teetering on skipping, but it's CAMERON, my lovely Sarah's son, I really can't bear to miss it

And then, it becomes the LAST WEEK.

Which simply MUST be cleared. So TinyTalk on Monday and Friday and THAT'S IT. Other than the moving on Friday, of course.

Anyone want to baby-sit over the next few days???

If I Hear a Whiny 'MUMMY?!' One More Time...

I hope being a good mum isn't meant to be a constant state because right now I am so vacillating between good and crap. I've had two sick daughters for a week now (though I think they are over it now, fingers crossed) and being couped up in the house with them has driven us all to extraction. There were only two days of the sweet, wanting to sleep and cuddle all day period; since then, they've been in that crabbit, moany, grumpy phase which is making me want to hang them upside down from the clothesline.

Lolly's been especially trying. She WILL. NOT. be put down. She WILL. NOT. be held either. It's constant screaming and crying from her. The first few days, I was filled with sympathy and compassion; after that, I started going mental. If I put her down, she shrieks and comes crawling up my leg, biting me and wiping her snotty nose across my jeans. When I pick her up, she shrieks and fights to get back down. It's CONSTANT. I've used up so much petrol this week just driving them around, because the car is the only place Lolly will sleep.

Fifi's been a bit better, but she's harder on a different scale. She's just been whiny and pestery and ornery. But at least she can tell me what she wants, which has just been pretty much juice and medicine and DVDs.

But on the other hand, I've had some good times in the house with them. We've sat in the dark watching lots of movies on the couch, Fifi's head in my lap and Lolly nursing at my boob. We've done lots of crafts (we made a Christmas bank and a milk carton pig!) and lots of cooking (Big Cook Little Cook rocks my world). At those times, I think I'm doing a pretty good job with these little chicas.

We go away for the weekend tomorrow. I am so grateful. I need the break. Scott's parents are coming too, so the first evening will be child-free. I am so looking forward to it. Oh please don't let the sickness reappear before then!

Long Time

Yes, I realise I've been neglecting my blog. Better than neglecting my real life, right?

Well, in current news, we are moving house! We have officially outgrown the second-last house in Greenock and will be moving to some-random-flat-in-the-centre-of Greenock. Doesn't have the same ring to it. But it's a 3-bedroom, which suits us much better. It's right in the centre of town, literally one block from the school the girls will attend and 2 or 3 blocks from church and our Thursday toddler group. It's great. Gonna save so much money in petrol!

So the next few weeks are going to be predominated by packing and trying to clear out. While the new place has more rooms, it doesn't have a loft so our storage space is going to drop significantly.

As will blogging time. Heh. As if you're going to notice a difference.

Be back soon.

Word Of Caution

If you are looking for a stock image of a little old sweet grandma for display purposes, do not type 'granny' into Google images. Trust me.

No, trust me.

Down Days

I don't know why I dread days in the house.

There's something terrifying about entertaining two children of different ages within the four walls of your own home.

But often, they end up being wonderful days, and I think, 'I should do this more often.'

Today, I do have somewhere to be in the afternoon, but this morning was free. Nothing houseworky has really gotten done, but at least I've had time to clean up our little messes as we go. And we haven't done any organised games or crafts, but the girls had a leisurely bath, and I painted Fifi's nails. It's just been nice and quiet. Okay, quiet isn't the right word AT ALL. Perhaps just relaxed is what I mean.

However, now that it's getting closet to time to go, I'm feeling stressed out, because the morning has been so laid back, I'm not at all prepared to leave!

Anyway, must plan more days in. They aren't as bad as I imagine them to be. (Ask me to repeat that the next day we are rained in, and I might have a different resposne.)

Cheeky Children

It's a cold, wet day. Fifi spotted her sandals and started putting them on. I told her she couldn't wear her sandals today. She said (and I quote):

"I too big for listening to you."

I don't mean to brag but...

My family ate the same meal THREE NIGHTS IN A ROW.

First was the chicken corn soup, mentioned below. Next night it was Tom Kha Gai soup (!) and the next night it was chicken breasts with rice and fried okra (!!).

It truly warms my heart that my daughters are eating Thai food and okra.