Happy Christmas

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas.  Ours was certainly different and for those of you who are friends with me on Facebook you will already know that on Christmas Day

 Alice became a big sister to

Megan Jane :)

Claire had arranged to have a home birth and at 8am on Christmas Day she phoned to say she thought she might be having contractions. Half an hour later she phoned to ask if I could go over to be with Alice and when I got there at 9am the contractions were 3 minutes apart. I decided we needed to phone the midwife to let her know what was going on. The midwife arrived an hour later and Megan was born at 12.17pm, weighing 7lb12oz :)   Claire was amazing and went through it all without any pain relief. The midwives were so pleased with how everything went and also told Claire that they think Megan was the first Christmas baby in Mid Sussex (though we are still waiting to have this confirmed). 

Alice was able to meet Megan minutes after she was born and although she was a bit unsure of her to begin with she is already starting to treat her like she's always been here.  She is so sweet with her and will stand in front of her and say "Hello Megan, I'm Alice" and "How are you today?"  

Once the midwives had left and Alice had opened her last few presents, we packed their bags and brought them all back to the house to spend the first couple of nights with us.

 Christmas afternoon and Aunty Em gets to have a cuddle with Megan while Alice tells her Mummy something.

Claire, Alice and Megan

We are feeling very blessed at the moment and are so grateful for another beautiful, healthy granddaughter.

xx

End of the week already?

My goodness, where has the week gone!

 Hugh wanted to go in to town to do his Christmas shopping and wanted me to go with him. We didn't do very well - found a DVD I'd like and Home Alone for Hugh then went to Costa for a Black Forest Hot Chocolate.

 On Tuesday morning I was up earlier than normal as Emily had to be at school by 6.15am because a group of Textiles students were going up to The Clothes Show Live in Birmingham.  Claire had a midwife appointment in the morning to discuss her choice of having a home birth. Alice and I stayed at the house and played and then as she got tired she wanted to watch a DVD but wouldn't sit on my knee because she knows if she does that I'm going to try and get her to sleep. She's not silly ;o)

 It was freezing when we got up on Wednesday. When we came downstairs I kept saying how cold I was so Emily went and checked her phone to see what the temperature was. -6C!!! No wonder I was cold!  By 2pm it was still only -2C. It looked very pretty (though you can't tell so much from this photo).  Emily started writing her mock exams and had one in the morning and another in the afternoon. She came home at lunch and I took her back up to school in time for the 2nd one.

 Yesterday morning I went up in the loft to pull out all the baby stuff for Claire. I definitely think it's time for her to get ready for baby arriving as the due date is two weeks tomorrow! She now has the Moses basket and stand, 0-3 month baby clothes and a suitcase to pack in case she needs to go in to hospital. We have agreed I'll keep the bouncy chair and crib here as she has the Moses basket and pram and a baby swing at the house.  It still seems a bit unreal that baby could be here so soon but it's soo exciting too :)

 I took a few photos of ornaments yesterday and had to try the reflection one. The bauble could do with a clean but use it for now.

 Claire and Alice came back to the house after we'd been in to town in the morning. Alice is so at home here and she loves coming to sit and play on my computer. I had been trying to do a few bits but who could say no to such a cutie!

The Round Table Santa came round last night but Alice wasn't keen on seeing him. He was very understanding and just waved to her from the end of the path. Maybe next year she'll like meeting him more.

I have been doing a December Daily (very simple) and keep meaning to take photos of it but haven't yet.  I'll try and do that this weekend and post it on the blog. Have a great weekend!

xx

Coffee Ladies

Our Coffee Ladies group started when our children moved up to Secondary School five years ago. We used to see each other in the playground and chat when they were at Junior School but once they went to Secondary School we weren't taking or picking up from school any more. We missed our chats and decided to meet for a coffee instead and we now try and meet once a fortnight. It doesn't always work out and there are times when one or more of us won't make it but when we do all get together it's good to catch up.

We go for a Christmas lunch each year and today we had our lunch at the local Arts Centre, Chequer Mead.

 L-R: Carol, Sarah, Karen and Carol.

 Sarah and Karen

 Carol and Carol 

And finally, a group photo of all of us. Unfortunately it's turned out blurred but I'll still be using it in Project Life :)   Unfortunately, Kathy couldn't make it today as she was unwell and Pam works at the school and wasn't able to make it either.

xx

Christmas is coming ...

Yesterday's post didn't happen 1) because I didn't really have much to write and 2) because I wanted to get the binding attached to the quilt ready for me to finish the hand sewing today. By the time I'd finished I was ready for bed! I also thought you are probably getting fed up seeing photos of my sewing ;o)

.

Today, there is a definite smell of Christmas in our house :o). I decided to make homemade mincemeat - which should then, hopefully, lead to homemade mince pies in December. I picked up a few ingredients after dropping Claire at work and got stuck in as soon as I got home. I've never made my own mincemeat before but had heard it tastes much nicer than shop bought. Following the recipe in the Rachel Allen, Bake cookery book was really straight forward. Rachel's recipe books tend to be the ones I go to when I want to try something new because I've never been disappointed with any of the recipes yet.

I know it doesn't look particularly wonderful but it smelt delicious! I had been keeping used jars and cleaning them out with some home baking/cooking in mind. I was glad I had a few ready to steralise as the mixture filled six assorted jars. I see it also says the mincemeat can be kept for a year.

I thought it might be a good idea to label them so I remember when the mincemeat was made. Now I need to be patient and let it sit for at least a couple of weeks before using it.

xx