I like to think of this time after Christmas as a time to think of others less fortunate than ourselves (really, there are people in worse debt than me!!) and so we take the time to carefully choose some of the children's toys to give to charity. This has nothing whatsoever to do with the fact that they get far too much for Christmas each year and without a massive sort out we would not have room for all of their new stuff, I think there is a valuable lesson for the children to learn about children who do not get presents at Christmas. Maybe I could kill two birds (not literally, Sarah!) with one stone next year and not buy them any presents. The problem with that is, I like shopping as much as (probably more than) they like receiving the presents.
We do have a problem though of where to store all the new presents. Our house is not tiny, but it's full already and we don't have a spare room. Having had Christmas at Seany's this year, we came back and literally dumped everything into the conservatory, where it has stayed. I am gradually filtering some of the gifts into the children's rooms but they simply do not have anywhere left to put things unless we get rid of something. Little Z has very conveniently decided she no longer wants to keep her huge Sindy doll's house or the furniture. It is a bit easier with Little Z as she has a lot more stuff which she is growing out of or doesn't play with any more. Big J on the other hand, has the smallest room in the house and does not seem to have grown out of any of his toys yet. We were given several big boxes of boys' toys by a neighbour last year and although we passed some of it on at the time, we kept a lot of it and the storage space in his room is full to the brim not to mention the big tub and 2 boxes and a small tub of toys he has downstairs in the living room. I go through phases of ruthlessly getting rid of lots of stuff, but even that's not working at the moment. The minute I put things into a bag for the charity shop, Little Z finds the bag and gives Big J all his stuff back. I heard her telling him this evening, "Mum wants to give this to the charity shop" (passing him a Bob the Builder phone.) I would have been really cross, except Big J is only 2 and has no idea what a charity shop is because it is not something he can eat.
I need someone to give me some good ideas on how to get rid of the children's toys. Otherwise I will have to do it during the night and tell them santa came back and he was very cross!
Saturday, December 30, 2006
Friday, December 29, 2006
Thank you!
This post is dedicated to my Big Bruv, Seany, who made sure our Christmas this year was one of the best ever (and who is probably going to kill me for the awfull attempt at the picture above, which I really ought to have blamed on Little Z!)
We planned to leave Southampton on Saturday 23rd December after PP had finished work and had come home for a few hours sleep. However, it didn't quite go as planned. In the 3 weeks running up to Christmas, I had a bad cold then Big J had his chest infection and then poor Little Z had a bad cold which kept her off school for the last few days of school (the only days when they get to play all day and not do any work!) and which meant that the few days we had together after she finished school and before Big J's nursery closed for Christmas were spent mooching around the house instead of having fun "girls' shopping trips" which I had planned for us. PP had got away with a mild cold in all of this, but we thought we had at least got all of the germs out of the way before Christmas. So, we were not very impressed when PP started coughing & sneezing around Wednesday of the week before Christmas as we knew it was unlikely he would be able to get rid of it before Christmas. I was even less impressed when, on the Friday night before we were hoping to travel on the Saturday, I felt the beginnings of another cold. Surely I have had my quota for this year, or maybe it's like holiday, maybe I still had some to use up before the end of the year and it could not be carried over. With all the hours he had been doing, PP had not really had a chance to let his body recover from the cold and so it had just got worse and worse, so I thought he needed the opportunity to sleep non-stop for what most of us consider and take for granted as a full night.
Anyhow, the point is (oh yes, the point, I had almost forgotten!!) we finally decided to leave the 4-5 hour journey until early the following morning (Sunday 24th) as neither PP nor I were feeling like driving. We arrived at Seany's around mid day on Christmas Eve after a very smooth journey. Not only had Seany given up his bedroom for us, he also had bought lots of extra things in that the children needed and had also made sure that he had bought the children's favourite breakfast cereals. In fact, during the four days we were there, he spent a lot of the time running around after us and my parents. The Christmas dinner was excellent, one of the best I have ever had, and the buffet he did for Boxing Day was so good, we had more on Wednesday before we left for home.
What also made it a great Christmas this year for me, was the Children. It is always difficult when you go to someone else's house to stay, as you rely on the host having a lot of patience with your children or you rely on your children to behave themselves. In my experience, you can never rely on either of these for any significant length of time, but I am very proud of both Little Z and Big J. They were not perfect, but then who is? But they were well behaved and I don't have any complaints about the way either of them behaved while we were at Seany's house or on the journeys there and back.
I hope you all had as wonderful a Christmas as we did.
We planned to leave Southampton on Saturday 23rd December after PP had finished work and had come home for a few hours sleep. However, it didn't quite go as planned. In the 3 weeks running up to Christmas, I had a bad cold then Big J had his chest infection and then poor Little Z had a bad cold which kept her off school for the last few days of school (the only days when they get to play all day and not do any work!) and which meant that the few days we had together after she finished school and before Big J's nursery closed for Christmas were spent mooching around the house instead of having fun "girls' shopping trips" which I had planned for us. PP had got away with a mild cold in all of this, but we thought we had at least got all of the germs out of the way before Christmas. So, we were not very impressed when PP started coughing & sneezing around Wednesday of the week before Christmas as we knew it was unlikely he would be able to get rid of it before Christmas. I was even less impressed when, on the Friday night before we were hoping to travel on the Saturday, I felt the beginnings of another cold. Surely I have had my quota for this year, or maybe it's like holiday, maybe I still had some to use up before the end of the year and it could not be carried over. With all the hours he had been doing, PP had not really had a chance to let his body recover from the cold and so it had just got worse and worse, so I thought he needed the opportunity to sleep non-stop for what most of us consider and take for granted as a full night.
Anyhow, the point is (oh yes, the point, I had almost forgotten!!) we finally decided to leave the 4-5 hour journey until early the following morning (Sunday 24th) as neither PP nor I were feeling like driving. We arrived at Seany's around mid day on Christmas Eve after a very smooth journey. Not only had Seany given up his bedroom for us, he also had bought lots of extra things in that the children needed and had also made sure that he had bought the children's favourite breakfast cereals. In fact, during the four days we were there, he spent a lot of the time running around after us and my parents. The Christmas dinner was excellent, one of the best I have ever had, and the buffet he did for Boxing Day was so good, we had more on Wednesday before we left for home.
What also made it a great Christmas this year for me, was the Children. It is always difficult when you go to someone else's house to stay, as you rely on the host having a lot of patience with your children or you rely on your children to behave themselves. In my experience, you can never rely on either of these for any significant length of time, but I am very proud of both Little Z and Big J. They were not perfect, but then who is? But they were well behaved and I don't have any complaints about the way either of them behaved while we were at Seany's house or on the journeys there and back.
I hope you all had as wonderful a Christmas as we did.
Monday, December 18, 2006
Twelve Year Anniversary
I am very proud to say that PP and I celebrated our 12 year wedding anniversary yesterday. Despite being told we were too young (20 & 23) and not ready for marriage, we tied the knot at 2pm on Saturday 17th December 1994 at St James' Church in Grimsby . It makes me feel quite old to have been married for so long, especially when I think that most of my uni friends with whom I did my PGCE were still at Junior school back then. For the first few years we followed the tradition of buying something of paper, something of wood etc. We got bored of that pretty quickly and although we did continue to buy each other gifts up until last year, we now just buy cards. It is so close to Christmas that we have decided not to spend more money on presents for our anniversary. We usually celebrate with a meal out or a meal in, although invariably since Big J has been born, we have spent our anniversaries at home as it is too much hard work trying to keep him occupied when we go out. This year we didn't even bother with a meal. This was not as a result of a conscious decision made by us, we simply hadn't planned it very well (actually, we hadn't planned it at all!) We did do something quite special though...
With little Z's increased interest in Christianity, I have been promising for a while now to take her along to a church, but have been putting it off because I did not feel comfortable walking into a church full of strangers. Last time we did that, we were going to hear our banns read a few weeks before our wedding and were practically pounced upon by the regular members of the congregation asking us to get involved in various events. Needless to say this put us off going back to that church (apart from to get married), even if that had been our intention. However, having recently got back in touch with a friend who goes to church regularly, I decided to ask her about the Carol Service at Central Baptist Church, in Southampton. I was happy that we were not going to be cajoled into getting involved more than we wanted to and so we went along to "Carols by Candlelight" at 6.30pm. Big J was as disruptive as could have been expected, Little Z took it all very seriously and looked quite solemn, until they offered her cake and juice at the end of the service. We all enjoyed ourselves: Big J had lots of cars and a wooden garage to play with, Little Z made a Christingle, PP had mince pies and I had mulled wine. Well, anywhere where you can get free food & alcohol must be good!
With little Z's increased interest in Christianity, I have been promising for a while now to take her along to a church, but have been putting it off because I did not feel comfortable walking into a church full of strangers. Last time we did that, we were going to hear our banns read a few weeks before our wedding and were practically pounced upon by the regular members of the congregation asking us to get involved in various events. Needless to say this put us off going back to that church (apart from to get married), even if that had been our intention. However, having recently got back in touch with a friend who goes to church regularly, I decided to ask her about the Carol Service at Central Baptist Church, in Southampton. I was happy that we were not going to be cajoled into getting involved more than we wanted to and so we went along to "Carols by Candlelight" at 6.30pm. Big J was as disruptive as could have been expected, Little Z took it all very seriously and looked quite solemn, until they offered her cake and juice at the end of the service. We all enjoyed ourselves: Big J had lots of cars and a wooden garage to play with, Little Z made a Christingle, PP had mince pies and I had mulled wine. Well, anywhere where you can get free food & alcohol must be good!
Friday, December 08, 2006
How do you solve a problem like Little Z?
For 2-3 years now, Little Z has been taking an increasing interest in God. As we do not go to church ourselves and do not consider ourselves religious, she must have decided this based on her experiences of Religious Education at school. She does not go to a C of E school, but the school is very proud of its RE syllabus and does put quite a strong emphasis on teaching Children about Christianity.
I have always believed that children need to make their own decisions about their beliefs and not have their parents' (or anyone elses for that matter) beliefs thrust upon them. For that reason, I have not had either of my children Christened, particularly as I do not go to church and am not willing to stand in a house of God with a new baby promising to bring them up in the way of the Church, when I have no intention of doing so. I appreciate that many people get their babies Christened because of pressure from their families. It is not my place to condemn them. I am simply saying that I decided not to do it because I don't think it is right.
I have digressed somewhat from my point. Little Z has told me she is a Christian on many occasions since starting school. I have been to see her teacher to discuss their RE syllabus and actually, I am quite happy that they are not telling the children what they believe. She now tells me she has decided to become a nun. When someone asked her, "Do you even know what a nun is?", she replied, "Yes, I am going to give my life to God." Wow.
So, how does this happen? My Church-going friends say it is a calling from God. My Atheist friends say it is a phase and she has probably watched "The Sound of Music" too often.
God bless you!
I have always believed that children need to make their own decisions about their beliefs and not have their parents' (or anyone elses for that matter) beliefs thrust upon them. For that reason, I have not had either of my children Christened, particularly as I do not go to church and am not willing to stand in a house of God with a new baby promising to bring them up in the way of the Church, when I have no intention of doing so. I appreciate that many people get their babies Christened because of pressure from their families. It is not my place to condemn them. I am simply saying that I decided not to do it because I don't think it is right.
I have digressed somewhat from my point. Little Z has told me she is a Christian on many occasions since starting school. I have been to see her teacher to discuss their RE syllabus and actually, I am quite happy that they are not telling the children what they believe. She now tells me she has decided to become a nun. When someone asked her, "Do you even know what a nun is?", she replied, "Yes, I am going to give my life to God." Wow.
So, how does this happen? My Church-going friends say it is a calling from God. My Atheist friends say it is a phase and she has probably watched "The Sound of Music" too often.
God bless you!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
