me and mine {december}


Daddy is loving
* christmas morning at home with the kids.
* seeing family at the farm in Wales.
* booking our holiday.
* riding the big wheel at Winter Wonderland.
* cupcakes from Hummingbird Bakery.

Mummy is loving
* visits to London to see all the christmas lights.
* dreaming about our holiday in the spring.
* seeing the beautiful boy in his preschool nativity.
* the good hair days she's had due to her new hairdryer and wand (thanks Mum and Dad).
* the sheer magic of christmas morning with little ones.

The beautiful boy is loving
* his new pirate ship and green stripy socks.
* singing songs from the nativity.
* watching Father Christmas fly through the sky on Christmas Eve.
* chocolate coins.
* going to the farm.

The beautiful girl is loving
* eating chocolate for breakfast (well, it is December!)
* her newly refurbished dolls house.
* watching Minnie's Winter Bow Show.
* singing and dancing to 'Shake It Off' by Taylor Swift.
* unwrapping presents.


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him and her {week fifty-two}


he has adored everything that Christmas has to offer,
is chuffed to bits with the green stripy socks he kept asking for,
and has been an absolute star throughout.


she would have happily stopped after opening her first present,
is a little too used to chocolate being permanently on offer,
and sings a cracking rendition of 'jingle bells'.
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{little christmas moments} nativity


Nativity is one of those little things which is a real milestone of childhood Christmases. I remember being in them as a child, and planning them as a teacher, and it has always been a major Christmas highlight for me. There is something about small children proudly performing their parts, acting out the Christmas story and singing all those well known festive songs that just never fails to get me in the mood for Christmas (and to bring a big lump to my throat with the sheer cuteness of it all.)

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him and her {week fifty-one}


he was the very best king number one that ever there was in his preschool nativity,
is repeatedly asking for green stripy socks for Christmas,
and makes sure we read every single kiss when we show him christmas cards.


she says "merry christmas" every time she sees a christmas tree or a father christmas,
constantly asks for "moreteasers" which seems a pretty good name for Maltesers really,
and is obsessed with watching Minnie's Winter Bow Show.
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{little christmas moments} emotional mummy


Christmas is an exciting time of year; packed full of festive adventures and anticipation as the big day draws near. I have always loved Christmas time, and never more so than now I have my own children to enjoy it with. I say it every year, but for me, having children just sets the magic of Christmas on fire; heightening every experience and making it so special.

5

him and her {week fifty}


he has been one poorly little man with a high temperature
and none of his usual energy and enthusiasm for everything,
but is kindly sharing the advent calendar chocolates that he doesn't want with his sister,
and has been giving everybody the loveliest cuddles.


she has been one poorly little lady with a horrible cold
and the saddest little face you ever did see,
but is still finding the energy to give her brother some big 'get well soon' hugs,
and is enjoying getting to watch wall-to-wall Disney on the television.
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collecting memories


We all lead busy lives, and that's no different in our family. Rich works hard so that we can afford to have me stay at home to look after the children, and I obviously work pretty hard doing just that. The children are always busy, thats kids for you I guess. During the weeks we can end up feeling a bit fragmented I guess, as we are rarely all together. But the absolutely bread and butter of our family, the thing we love most, and that really makes us tick is making memories together.

We make a real effort to get out and have adventures together, each week when we can manage it. Sometimes a trip to the country park, sometimes a couple of days away, maybe a day at a theme park, or a trip to the seaside, but we make sure that we make that time to enjoy each other's company. 

We've been lucky to go on some fantastic holidays and little breaks away this year, all over the beautiful British Isles, and we have enjoyed ever single adventure so very much. That travelling bug really gets in your blood I think, and I was lucky enough to travel a lot when I was child. I so want my children to have that experience too; to learn to swim in a swimming pool in the sunshine, to try new activities that they'd never do at home, to experiment with flavours and taste new foods, to have the excitement of packing your case and then waiting at the airport for your flight, to get little stamps in their passports. I can't wait for the day that we get to take our children out of this country that we call home and show them some other places in this big wide world of theirs. 

We are always thinking about the next place we would like to visit; a bit of glamping is on my agenda and taking the kids to Disney (and by kids I also mean me). Rich wants to go to Italy and back to visit New York again. We're also both dreaming of snowy trips to Lapland at Christmas time, and days spent in the sunshine dipping our toes in the see. And the children....? The main thing that they want to do is go on an aeroplane, because thats a big exciting new experience they haven't had yet.

I think any parent will tell you, that having children makes you very aware of how fast time passes. You spend your youth racing from one exciting thing to another, desperate to grow up. Then when you grow up you wish it would all just slow down a bit. I feel so passionate about filling their childhoods full of exciting adventures. Because it means that as we look back on the ever growing collection of memories we have, we can look back with even bigger smiles, knowing that we enjoyed every single second. That we grabbed every second, showed them every opportunity and really enjoyed life to the fullest.

So that is why I can't not throw my name in the hat for a chance to be a Mark Warner Ambassador in 2015. Mark Warner wants to know what our perfect family holiday is... well ours would be anywhere where we can have adventures and good times as long as we're having them together... and our first abroad family holiday would be one hell of an adventure.
11

being 'growed up'


Our little miss has definintely hit that stage where her imagination has come to life, and all she wants to do these days is make believe and play at being mummy to her toys or being 'growed up' by making us all 'cup-a-teas'. Her attention to detail as she role plays is amazing, and watching her play in this new kitchen from Great Little Trading Company is such an absolute pleasure.


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siblings {december}


Our December hasn't started off in the best style if I'm honest. We are embracing the excitement of the upcoming festivities with as much enthusiasm as we can muster... which isn't as much as I'd like, because so far December has been a sickly one. As I write this I can hear my poorly pair coughing and spluttering in their sleep, and I will shortly pop in to check their temperatures and no doubt re-administer yet another dose of calpol. I love Christmas, but all this Wintery-ness and the associated bugs... well they suck!

Lurgies well and truly scuppered my Siblings photo plans for this month, because taking poorly kids outside in the cold for the soul purpose of getting a photo... well thats just cruel. So we've settled for cosy indoor ones, which actually sums up our month so far pretty well. 


The only nice thing to come out of the illness in our household, has been how adorable the children have been together. Yes, they have both been fractious, and a little quicker to get annoyed that usual, but they have been lovely and caring too. The beautiful boy was struck down first, and as he lay on the sofa feeling sorry for himself, his little sister regularly checked up on him; giving him cuddles and kisses, clearly worried about her quiet little playmate. And in turn as she has become ill herself, her big brother is full of sympathy and even offered her his rabbit to cheer her up.

So my pictures are grainy from the lack of light... that's December for you. But if you look past the grain, you'll see that they are sat sharing a book together in matching hats that they insisted on playing in, and you'll spot that they are holding hands as they look at the Christmas tree together. And those are the memories of Christmas that I want to hold dear, the moments where my two enjoyed something together.



28

him and her {week forty-nine}


he loves telling us the date each morning so that we know which advent calendar door to open,
is repeatedly saying that he wants Father Christmas to bring him green stripy socks,
and squeals with excitement every time he spots a new house with decorations up outside.


she spent an absolute age carefully adding sweets to her gingerbread man,
surprising us all because we thought she'd simply want to eat it all,
and excitedly shouts "look its a christmas tree" every time we come back home.
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an autumn stroll


I kind of feel like a stuck record for saying it, but family photos really do mean the world to me. There is something so incredibly precious and priceless about capturing a moment in time, especially when that moment includes children, who seem to have this tendency to change and grow so fast.


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{little christmas moments} advent


Happy December 1st. It's officially the most magical month of the year. And the first day of December brings with it all the fun of advent.


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