Christmas is a coming

Oh yes it is !! Sorry - I didn't mean that to sound like Panto, but I guess it is the season :o)

We've had Grace's Nativity (she had the starring role of Mary !)

and Sam finished the school term with his carol concert at the local church - lovely !

My little man has now broken up from school and we have a very loooooooong school holiday ahead of us. So to start off the holidays we (we, being me and 2 of my very good school mum friends) took the children up to London on Friday to the Christmas Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park. I hadn't heard many reports about this particular event so wasn't too sure what to expect, but I have to say it was really good !

It was free to get in but you had to buy tokens to get on to all of the rides (no cash allowed). Each ride for the children worked out at £2 each, but it was well worth the money because they got a really long go on everything and there were lots of different rides for them all to go on. We didn't actually leave the children's part of the park (Santa Land) so missed out on the rest of the huge event - apparently it covers 32 acres !!

Fortunately for us, it wasn't very busy there at all so we didn't have to queue for a single ride and even got straight on to the great big ferris wheel - well, sort of ferris wheel - it was like a smaller version of the London Eye and the view was just as good, especially with all of the beautiful twinkly Christmas lights.

Of course, it was all very exciting for the children as they got to eat M&S sarnies on the train on the way up, have a good ride on the tube, have a wonderful time at the wonderland and then got a McDonalds for their tea !! And to finish it all off, we had to get the bus back to the Park & Ride carpark and we didn't get home until 8.30pm !

What a great day out !!

Sarah x

Christmas is coming !!

Oh yes it is !! I've booked my first Christmas Craft Fair. I can't believe that you have to book them in June, but apparently I'm one of the last to get a table at this particular fair on the 1st November - everyone else booked at the actual event last year !!!

So, I've had to turn my thoughts to Christmas stock. I've got a few ideas in my head and need to scribble them down on paper because otherwise I'm bound to forget them.

But back to summery things !

Friday was Sam's first ever school sports day and what an event that was. I have NEVER been to a sports day like it ! We rocked up at 12.oo, in time for the sandwich lunch at 12.20 which the school was laying on for both parents and children, only to find that the rest of the parents had beaten us to it and had apparently been setting up their gazebos, tables and chairs at 8.30 (yes, you read right, 8.30 in the morning!) So consequently we ended up at the start line, rather than the finish. But never mind, we got out our picnic rug and little picnic that I'd packed in case Gracie turned her nose up at the one the school had laid on. How embarrassing - our lunch consisted of spanish omlette (which I'd made, I hasten to add), crusty rolls and pate, and some fresh fruit. When I looked around me, the majority of the other parents had got proper tables and chairs (with tablecloths !) and were sitting there eating platters of M&S party food, fresh strawberries and cream, and drinking bottles of champagne !!! OMG !!! It's another world ! But next year we shall know and I will be there the night before laying out my towel on the sun-lounger !!

Sam did soooooooooo well, he was in 5 races, the egg & spoon, the sack race, sprint, put the teddy to bed and came 3rd, 3rd, 3rd and 1st and then unfortunately his team came last in the relay race. But he did manage to make up a whole leg, before passing the baton over, so we were really really proud of him. He had a whale of a time and it was one of the nicest afternoons I've had in a long time. The older children were fantastic, helping the littlies with their sacks etc and high-fiving them before cheering madly as the whistle went and a bunch of 5 year olds made their way down the track.

During the awards ceremony Gracie decided that she didn't want to wear her trousers anymore and to my horror pulled them down, along with her knickers, and showed off her little bottom to the crowd of parents standing behind her !! I'm sure she's not really my daughter and they gave me the wrong child in the hospital !

Yesterday was spent cutting the grass, spying these beautiful water lillies in the pond, and admiring the roses along our front fence.

And to prove that I have actually been a little bit crafty this week, I made up some more fabric covered buttons - I'm still hooked !!

Ooooh - while I think of it - the blank cover buttons are now available for sale on my website. They can be bought individually, in sets of 5 and sets of 10. At the moment, I have 2 sizes available, but next weekend, the half inch buttons are arriving, so they'll be available for sale then, along with the fantastic new needle felting kits. They're worth waiting for ... I promise !!!

Byeee x