Visit To Santa

Saturday was a bit different from usual. Started off we were dead lazy and had a lie in. We should be working on some painting but there you go.

The afternoon was spent running the children to chess club, and going to Harveys to get some shelves for Ashley's wardrobes. The shelves - which I eventually got (only through powers of persuasion) for a more respectable price of £28 wen they were marked at £71 - yes £71 for three pieces of covered chipboard!
On the way back I drove through the town which was relatively busy, but I did notice Woolworths wasn't so bad. I decided to take the kids on an impromptu shopping trip. This attempt at having a look at the Woolworths sale was definitely more fruitful than the last. The other day we went and the people were queued down the whole length of the shop and there were 'bouncers' on the door. This time I managed to get a few bargains including some smart new everyday cutlery which we were in desperate need of, glasses, socks, Christmas decorations, glittery things, a couple of watches and some clothes for the children.





We also stopped off to see Santa Claus in the Flagship Centre, Bangor.


He was a nice Santa and spent quite a few minutes with the children.























These are photos of the photos so they are not high quality, I think they came out okay all the same.

In the evening Roy and I managed to sneak off to the cinema. We were owed quite a number of babysitting hours from our neighbours so we took advantage of that and went to see Quantom Of Solace. It was good but I much preferred Casino Royale. Oh and Bangor Multiplex has been done out it is worth a visit, we much enjoyed the very comfortable VIP seats which were leather reclining sofas.

Feeling Washed Out

I wasn't going to post this photo but was persuaded otherwise!

Please Look Away

If you are liable to get a Christmas gift from us then please look away now!

We decided to try something different for our gifts this year - neighbours and friends are getting hand made gifts instead of bought ones.

Snowman Soup thanks to http://www.organizedchristmas.com/.
These simple gifts were made by putting a bag or marshmallows, some wrapped chocolates, and a couple of sachets of hot chocolate in a lovely snowman mug.

The tag has the poem
Snowman Soup
Was told you've been real good this year.
Always glad to hear it!
With freezing weather drawing near,
You'll need to warm the spirit.
So here's a little Snowman Soup
Complete with stirring stick.
Add hot water, sip it slow.
It's sure to do the trick!


The jars below were also simple to make.
The whiter jars need to be made two weeks before you are going to give or use them. Simply split a vanilla pod length ways and cut it into three. Put the vanilla pod and caster sugar in a sterilised jar and give a little shake. After two or three weeks the sugar will smell devine - mmmm. You can use the vanilla sugar in coffee, hot chocolate, baking or anything else you fancy. This is an everlasting gift too, because when your sugar goes down you can refill it a number of times before the vanilla pod fades.

The other jars are maldon sea salt, with some dried chillies, peppercorns and a couple of star anise. The spiced salt is great for putting on your steaks or rubbing onto roast chicken for a bit of extra kick!

Seasonal Photos

Another busy week gone by. I have spent most of the week just getting things prepared for the big day. I pre made a lot of the food that we will need over the Christmas week so that I wont have to miss out on the children enjoying their gifts.

There is a fair bit to update on so I will start with the photos from last Friday evening (5th Dec). The village where I live had the ceremonial tree light switching on. The children from the playgroup had the honour of doing the switch on, they were really sweet and sang a few carols beforehand.
Afterwards everyone headed over to the church hall where there was a visit from Santa! Sadly I didn't get any decent photos of Santa as I had handed my camera over to Mag to look after and he vanished at the crucial moment.

We did get a snowman photo!



Or two!

SPONGE BOB SQUARE PANTS

Day out to W5 - PART 1

I am saying part 1 as the most of the day went great for us, but we did have an incident this morning.

We headed off fairly early this morning to go to W5 at the Odyssey Arena in Belfast. W5 is a science museum for kids, and the children all love it so much we usually just spend the day there.

We parked up in the main car park as usual. You have to cross a main road to get into the complex, fortunately there are two pedestrian crossings with lights. I lined the children up at the crossing that takes you to the main entrance. When it was time to cross I saw a car speeding toward us. Thankfully I had my wits about me and I just 'knew' that the car was not going to stop so I pulled the children back. It was a scary moment for us all. The driver did not stop the car despite my attempt at flagging him down!

We were quite shaken by the incident and went into the main complex to report this to security staff. They in turn called the police and luckily for us the Roads Service lorry behind the car called in too. Long story short the police contacted the police stations local to the complex and viewed the CCTV, they also viewed the complex's CCTV and were able to track this car's journey through the town. They were also able to see us on the crossing and that we had done nothing wrong. Although we did not get a number plate the car had a distinctive paint job, and we got a good description of the driver inside, because of the paint job and the other things we noted that were inside the car's window they are hopeful.
The police and staff were absolutely great with us, they took statements and nothing was too much trouble for them. I apologised at using police resources but they reassured me that I did the right thing in reporting this to the security staff.

They said they are hoping to get this guy though it could take a few weeks if he was to be prosecuted, and we will just wait and see what happens now.

Spills 1st December

December is going to be a month for crazy stuff - I can just tell - feel it in my water or whatever!

Yesterday the 1st was an ordinary morning, then lunch time we decided to head on up to B&Q to get our kitchen paint.

I did get to test the paint before I bought it - Roy only managed to spill it on the floor and over mine and Toni's new Timberlands. *sigh* then Seb broke a snowglobe.


B&Q I apologise!

Oh yes and while I am on that subject - glowstick bangles ... when they burst they make everything glow. My children thought it would be funny to shake them up and down the hall! My hall glows in the dark now.