Christmas: Much Better Than Expected

I have to admit, I was a little worried about how the rest of Christmas would go — expectations were running incredibly high in certain key quarters — but it was wonderful.  Really and truly, it was festive, warm, relaxing, peaceful, and…  well, remarkably stress-free.  All in all, wonderful. After starting their Christmas morning off [...]

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Facing Christmas Morning… Together

Christmas began with my daughter’s eyes, still sleepy but sparkling with wonder as she looked up at me from her disheveled bed and I leaned down to kiss her.  “I did hear him!”  Her voice was pure excitement and I got my first taste of what fun Christmas is for the parents of little ones.  [...]

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A Lie on Christmas Eve

At the last minute, my daughter has blown it.  Unbeknownst to me, E1 went to bed last night with a blue crayon and, when I went into her room this morning, the first thing I spotted was her scribbled decoration all over the wall above her bed.  I wanted to shout, I wanted to laugh [...]

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A Tree — That’s What We Needed!

We’re a little late…  and we’ve got no ornaments…  and I’ve not had a chance to bake (egg-free) gingerbread men or stars to hang on it yet… But I think it looks pretty fab nonetheless! After six weeks of feeling like we’re surrounded by boxes and only just moved in last week, it has instantly [...]

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Another Reason to Love Trader Joe’s

Have I praised Trader Joe’s enough?  Nah, I don’t think so.  Let me share a little something that I could almost call life-altering.  Ok, not really life-altering, but it is pretty darned stunning. I have no idea why I picked up a bottle marked “Castile Soap” — I had no idea what castile soap is [...]

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It’s Cold Outside, and Dark, and I Am Frightened

I don’t want to say any more than this: my lovely husband, who is paid hourly, and normally leaves the house before 7am and often doesn’t get home until 6.30 or 7.30 or 8.30 or even later, has been getting home nearer to 3.30 or 4 for the past week and a half.  Yesterday, he [...]

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No Lights For You!

Everyone else’s houses up and down the street are strung with joyful, twinkly lights.  I’ve been meaning to get out buy some so we can join in the festivities, and on Sunday I finally did it.  I stood in the shop with two cranky kids as I pushed unwisely into their naptimes, in order to [...]

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Confident At Last, In Her Own Time

E1 is naturally quite a shy girl, and that has only been reinforced by the kind of isolation that a big move necessarily initially creates.  Being suddenly cut off from her friends, and spending all her time with only a few key people instead, E1′s social skills have rather frozen up.  No, if I’m honest, [...]

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It May be Almost Time to Close This Blog

We had a very near miss today… or perhaps not — I am waiting on tenterhooks to see if the impact is yet to come.   If it does, it will change completely how I feel about this blog.  And I know I set myself up for it. When we got to Trader Joe’s today, my [...]

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The Good, The Bad, and The Really Quite Stunningly Ugly

The Good I know you’ve all been wondering…  Well, we took your advice and, after performing some financial contortions, we went ahead and had the hardwood floors finished before we moved in.  And I love them.  Bloody love them.  Take a look and you’ll see why… Also good: the kitchen floor, which is done in [...]

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