christmas is over

Oh how lovely to be drawing something other than christmas!
Hope it was a good one for you! 
The other half and the little one are currently playing Fifa 15. The big one is lost upstairs with her new laptop. So I'm eating a full M+S trifle designed for 6 people before it goes out of date. And doodling something that's NOT christmas. Happy holidays :)

merry christmas

Merry Christmas folks, hope it's a good one xx

advent 24

Woo! Christmas Eve people! Time to celebrate! No more advent drawing at midnight! Crack open the champers!

advent 23

So... yesterday we borrowed my dad's car, cos it has 7 seats, and me and my sis and the 5 kids drove an hour away to go ice skating in a "winter wonderland". Very exciting. Very festive. 
Only it wasn't very wintry. Indeed it was so warm that the flipping ice had melted. And so windy, the man said, that they couldn't refreeze it. It was like a lake. Skating was OFF.
Very disappointing cos no-one got to see my Dancing on Ice skills after all. 
And it was a bloody long way to go for lunch.
Ho ho ho

advent 22

Hi ho hi ho... we're off to find some snow...

advent 21

So the holidays are here. Tomorrow's entertainment is already booked. Me and my sis are taking the 5 kids ice skating.
I used to be ok at ice skating. In the olden days. Not Torvill and Dean good you understand. No twirling around or leaping about. But I could do that thing where you cross your feet over while going round corners. And I could skate backwards. Maybe I still can... I'll let you know...

advent 20

Wrapping presents is one of those jobs that starts off all lovely and jolly and festive till you remember it takes about 700 hours to do and starting it at 10pm on Christmas Eve was a really crap idea. 
It has taken me a while to cotton on to this fact. But finally, this year, I decided to change my deadline. When the kids don't want go to bed till after us you kind of realise that Christmas Eve is just a bit late to make a start on the wrap job.
So I moved my goalposts. My new deadline was yesterday - break up from school day. And I'm pleased to inform you that I never miss a deadline. The wrapping is done. Completed. Finito. I can be one of those smug mothers who show off on facebook. If I want. But I don't want. I'll just show off here instead. 
#smugface

advent 19

Anyone ready for pudding? 
Oh is it not that time yet? 
Christmas has been going on so flipping long this year.... my mistake, carry on folks x

advent 18

It's the little one's Christmas party at school today. Lots of sweets, games and disco dancing. Yay!

advent 17

Could someone please wave a magic wand over my To Do list? Ta x

advent 16

What's going on with this Elf on the Shelf thing all of a sudden? Where did that come from? Is it a new thing or have I just missed it up to now?
There are people putting pictures of the damned thing everywhere. Elf hiding in the tree. Elf causing trouble with toilet paper. Elf in the fridge drawing faces on the coleslaw. The bloody elf is getting on my nerves! 
Mostly because it annoys me that these people have got the time to come up with funny elf antics when I haven't even got time to write my flipping Christmas cards!
One woman has even made the elf a skirt! 
They obviously haven't got a big pile of work to get through. And no doubt they bought their Christmas presents months ago and they've already wrapped them and hidden them in the loft. 
It's THOSE PEOPLE again!

advent 15

Not long to go before your stockings are filled people...

advent 14

It was the other half's Christmas do last night so we were having a late one anyway...but then the little one was all pukey at Grandma and Grandad's and had to be delivered home at 3am! He continued to puke till 7am. So now I am too tired to think of an entertaining story....a picture will have to do...pink reindeer wearing a scarf should do the job...

advent 13

Update on Christmas Jumper Day:
So it turns out that Christmas Jumper Day yesterday was actually a THING and everyone in the country was doing it. Not just the little one's school!
And before I left to purchase the flipping jumper on Thursday night he announced that, actually, he would really really really like to wear a santa costume instead of a jumper. 
I said "Ok darling, I'll try my best to find one for you". What I actually meant was "Not on your nelly kid, you are 10 years old, not 5, and will look a total loser in a santa suit"
So anyways... I got to the shopping centre and started my hunt for a non acrylic, well designed, quality jumper. 
Zero results.
Indeed....zero Christmas jumpers. I down-graded my search and looked for any Christmas jumper, acrylic or not, and any size. Nothing. Sold out. Gone. Till next year.
So...... yesterday, on National Christmas Jumper Day, the little one wore a full on santa suit. With full on santa boots. And a santa hat. 
He loved it!
What a super mother I am!

advent 12

Halfway through the advent folks!

advent 11

The weatherman says it might snow this week. Or it might not. 
He's hedging his bets cos he doesn't have a clue.

advent 10

The little one brought a letter home from school yesterday. Apparently they have to wear Christmas jumpers on Friday. Great. He doesn't own a Christmas jumper.
If I was any sort of childrenswear designer I'd rustle him one up immediately. Wouldn't I?...

 

advent 9

Well for the last few years we've had this tall, skinny pretend tree. I wasn't a big fan. But I didn't moan about it. Much. 
I just prefer a real tree. They look better. And they smell better.
Real trees didn't fit very well in my available space though. Not without a lot of branch-hacking-off-action.
But this week I had a revolutionary idea! I moved the telly! Who knew you could do such a thing!
It created a rather nice corner space. Just perfect for a bit of real life Norwegian Spruce! So last night me and the kids went off and bought one. We squished it in my Mini and brought it home to it's new corner location. 
We are totally festive now. And the little one can stop nagging.

advent 8

We went to the great annual village light switch on last night. It was....er....the same as it is every year. Only colder. But these things have to be done don't they? Ho ho ho!

advent 7

At one of the Christmas fairs yesterday there was this dead cute little baby wearing this dead cute Christmas pudding hat. Very little and very cute.. 
After a while the cute little baby went home. With his not so little and cute parents. Who were also wearing Christmas pudding hats! Seriously parents. Don't do it! 
I wonder if they have matching hats for their pets too?

advent 6

This morning we went to TWO Christmas fairs. I am now exhausted and the house is filled with tat. That is all.

advent 5

Anyone bored of the 800 million advents on the go yet? There are loads this year. Everyone and their dog has an advent thing going on....
But I'm sorry, I've started now...gotta go the whole way. 
Only 19 more to go people, just switch your computer off for 3 weeks if you're suffering from advent overload. If not nip over to Dotty Wren. It's my day today so you can see this one twice. Bonus :)

advent 4

After the announcement this week that 2014 was "the warmest year on record" it's suddenly got really cold. In fact it's now "colder than average for this time of year". Make your flipping mind up!!
The little one is just waiting for it to snow. Not 'cos he likes snow or anything. He just thinks his school will shut if it snows. Cos it usually does!

advent 3

I'm not loving these dark mornings. I'm not a morning person anyway. I like to stay up late at night and sleep in late on a morning. But you can't do that so easily when you have kids to kick out of bed and feed before school. And nag. I do a lot of nagging on a morning. How long before they'll just sort themselves out and I can have a nice lie in? 

luna & lola

I worked with a lovely Spanish company last year on a fab range of crafty sewing kits for little people. They recently sent me samples and they look brill! All I need now is a spare minute to get them chopped out and made up.
If you can't wait for me to get my arse into gear you can make your own... Or get your crafty kid to make one for you. 
Or better still you can buy one for that crafty kid as a stocking filler...that should keep them quiet on Christmas day :)
They are available here....go snap them up people!

advent 2

Why do people put their trees up so flipping early these days? What's wrong with mid December like it used to be? There were loads already up last weekend round here. It was still N O V E M B E R!!! Now I'm being nagged to do ours because we are apparently the only people in the world without a Christmas tree twinkling in the window. And it would also seem that I am the only person in the world who hasn't bought everything, wrapped it up and hidden it in the loft!
Get a grip people, there are still 23 sleeps to go!

advent 1

Two years ago mine and Lizzie's agent went bust, leaving us totally in the lurch before Christmas. The only thing that kept us going with work when we really couldn't be arsed any more was her idea to do a daily advent calendar.

We've both decided to do one again this year...even though we are both proper snowed under with real life work and everything! We love a bit of pressure we do!
So here's my day one. I may make it to the end and do all 24. And then again I may not. Only time will tell. Or the lack of it...
Have a nose at Lizzie's here...

We're also doing a shared advent over at Dotty Wren Studio so if no-one bought you a real life advent calendar with chocolate and stuff nip over there every day and pretend it's a calorie saving exercise :)

november 2014

Well, that's November gone in the blink of an eye! Here it is in a bloggy repeat pattern thingy...

different day same jumper

I've got this new jumper. It's cosy and warm. I love it. 
But it means that now, every morning when I get dressed, I just put it on. I think about wearing something else. For a minute. But this jumper is just so easy. And it's freezing. Even with the heating on full blast. So I just wear the jumper. And will continue to do so till about April. Or till someone whisks me off to a hot country...

essential maintenance

So this week I spent a day and a night in a spa, I had my nails done, I had my eyebrows done and I sat for 3 hours at the hairdressers to go a bit blonder than I was last week. All in the same flipping week. Anyone would think I didn't have any work to do. Like I'm some sort of Beverley Hills Housewife or something.
And you might think, after all that pampering, that I now look like some super amazing gorgeous thing. But sadly it was all just essential maintenance work. Necessary as I approach old age. Great.

squidkids

Last year I worked with the super-lovely ladies at Squidkids to come up with a range of fabbo rain stuff. It's not just your ordinary rain stuff ya know. Oh No. This is stuff that changes colour when it gets wet. Like when it rains. Or someone chucks water on you. 
It's in the shops now...including Hamleys in London...so go splash the cash and kit out your kids people. 
You can have a nosey here for more details....

time for a rest...

Oh yes people. I won't be here on Monday. Don't be expecting me. I will be resting. At a SPA HOTEL. Oh yessirree!
Me and my sis are going away for the night. Leaving the blokes and the kids at home. Wearing a white fluffy robe each and some of those towelling slippers that are always 3 sizes too big. And swanning about in jacuzzis with a glass of champagne. Ha! See ya. I'll miss you all. Mwah X

zutano wild things

Quick everyone, zip over to Zutano and snap up this clobber for your kiddos. They'll thank you one day....when they learn to talk...

My original designs...

Thanks for being a super-spotter and pointing it out Genine x 

cat pattern

I'm loving all the simple patterns about at the mo... so I made one out of the cat from my Dotty Wren bonfire post. Like you do when you have loads of proper work on your list that you're meant to be doing....I love a good old skive disguised as "work"....

from this....

...to this....

in one simple skiving sesh :)

october 2014

Move over October. It's November now. My birthday month. Yay.

Another digit older. Just what I needed.
This was October...

trick or treat

So every year we go out trick or treating so that the kids can stock up on cheap chocolate and weird inedible jelly sweets.
But this means that there's no-one actually in our house to meet n greet the trick or treaters who come to us. So I normally leave a bucket of quality chocolate treats on the doorstep.
I like to think that 87 lovely children all pop by and take one each...but I suspect that really there's one greedy big kid who comes early doors and nicks the lot. Cos it's ALWAYS empty when we get back, and we're not out that long!
So I'm thinking maybe this year I won't bother. People will just think we're those miserable sorts who turn their lights off and hide behind the sofa on Halloween. Then we'll get home and scoff all the quality chocs ourselves.
Either that or I'll just get a butler for the night so he can answer the door...

halloween spooktackular

I had the day off yesterday. Me and my sis and our 5 kids went to Halloween at the York Maze. It was ace!! We went on tractor rides and carved pumpkins and everything. And me and the sister sat in the sun while the kids went mental on all the attractions. The big ones forgot they were cool 14 year olds and turned back into kids for the day. Epic!

woodland walk

The good thing about where we live is that we have woods and stuff on our doorstep....like we're in the middle of the countryside and everything. But it's also only 15 minutes away from Harvey Nics! Bonus! 
The dog likes the woods. Not so much Harvey Nichols. So yesterday we did the woods. Gotta keep the dog happy.

half term

The kids have finished school for the October break. Unfortunately I appear to have forgotten to book us an exotic holiday somewhere warm and sunny. I'm not quite sure how this could have happened! All I know is that it's cold and it's dark and we are not going anywhere other than Yorkshire and I am most likely gonna have to juggle work with bored kids and the promise that we would do a full bedroom makeover for the big one...
Story of my flipping life!

it's not christmas till December

How irritating are people who ask you what the kids want for Christmas IN OCTOBER? And people who update their facebook status regularly with all the presents they've already bought, wrapped and hidden in the loft? And the shops selling wall to wall Christmas crap, that no-one really wants, as soon as the summer hols are over. And how damned annoying are those people who say "Only 10 Fridays till Christmas"? JUST SHUT UP! There's no need for it till at least December.

Soooooo.....anyone interested in my Christmas card ideas?
Thought not....

weekend visitor

We had a fab weekend with our little visitor. We took her to the park on Saturday and we jumped on fallen down trees in the woods on Sunday. And in between we had every piece of Lego, Playmobil and Sylvanian Families ever invented covering every piece of floor space in every room of the house.
She rejected my Mum and Dad's Sunday roast beef and Yorkshire puds in favour of beans on toast but ate everything else. She slept like a brick and didn't wake up till after 9 both days. Even though she gets up at 6am normally. YES! RESULT!
I'd forgotten what 3 year olds are like. But I remember now... 
They ask a lot of questions. And when you answer they say "Why?". 37 times. They need help getting dressed. It takes an extra 10 minutes to get them in the car. They can't be left alone for 2 minutes. They need to be taken to the loo. And they make a lot of mess.
But they also give the best cuddles. And they know how to have fun. And they do what you tell them without a teenage strop. And everything is an adventure. And they laugh. A LOT.
She was a little cutie. And she cried when she had to go home. So she can defo come again.... when I've recovered from this weekend....

school trip

The little one has been away on his school residential this week. He's been on zip-wires and giant swings and climbing walls and assault courses. All very outdoorsy. And all very quiet without him. No-one for the big one to argue with. 
He's back now.
And in other news our 3 year old niece has arrived for the weekend.
Not so quiet any more..

harvest festi

It was the little one's harvest festival service in church this week. I was volunteered to walk down with the kids. As soon as his teacher says the words "Does anyone have a parent who...." the kid sticks his hand up and volunteers me.
Anyway, this was no ordinary harvest festival...it was the LAST harvest festival. Next year the little one will be at high school. No harvest. No volunteering of parents who can walk. No nothing.
I've been going to the school harvest service for 10 years now. Ever since the big one was in Reception. So it was a bit sad that it was the last one like EVER!
However...
After sitting through an hour of a million kids reading a sentence each (which was barely audible and largely DULL) I was feeling pretty glad that it was the last one!
Turned out walking to and from church with the kids was the best bit! Put my name down for Christmas kiddo!

day trip to London

We had a Dotty Wren day trip to London on Friday. It was fab....but waaay too short. What we really needed was a week in London. Actually what we REALLY needed was a couple of weeks in Ibiza. Maybe next time...

september 2014

If September was a repeat pattern it would look something like this.... 
Now onto October people...

great outdoors

It's the big one's birthday. She's a big 14 today! And somewhere along the line I appear to have agreed to her and her mates sleeping in the tent in the garden!! Well THAT was a great idea. Wasn't it....