I’ve begun to look forward to the start of term! I love all of the excitement and magic that comes along with christmas but now it’s all over the children are just restless and suffering from a bit of cabin fever. Keeping them both occupied is not that easy – they both have such different needs and poor old Toby just can’t bear being outside when it’s dreary, cold and wet. So it was lovely yesterday to have a change of scenery. Amy and I joined the others from her ballet school and headed into London to the Royal Opera House to see the Nutcracker.

It was wonderful! I have taken Amy to the ballet before but she was only 4 and she  didn’t really appreciate sitting still for so long. Now that she’s a sophisticated 8 year old she found the whole
performance riveting and I think I spent as much time watching her face
as I spent watching the performance. To see her so entranced was a
really precious thing.

We didn’t get home til midnight so today we’re having a pyjama day and listening to a CD of Tchaikovsky’s music – all in all a good end to the christmas hols!

I hope your Christmas was a good one and you ate, drank and had a merry old time. We certainly did and our Christmas day, despite getting off to a shaky start thanks to Toby’s lack of sleep, went well. We’ve visited family and friends and are now back home and able to play with all of our pressies!

I got a cold for christmas – not my favourite present and I’m hunting around for the receipt to see if I can give it back!
Failing that 3 very large whisky hot toddies tonight might do the trick! I did also get some nice presents and had to show you my favourite one which is from my husband and (luckily for him) came beautifully wrapped and ready to give.

And inside was the lovely Hortense (dingy winter days don’t make for great photos – you get a better look at her here)

I’ve long had my eye on all of the wonderful creations over at Sweet Nellie but I no longer have to admire them from afar now I have one of my very own to cherish! She even arrived with an extra cute little party hat which she will don tonight to see in the new year!

So from Hortense and me – very best wishes for a very happy and healthy New Year!

Well, we have the tree decorated (and it’s still up!), the christmas cards have been posted, the presents have all been bought (although still need wrapping) the school play watched and exited with a pocketful of soggy tissues, the christingle service sang along with and exited with another pocketful of soggy tissues (come on who among you can endure the sweet, raised voices of children singing carols without shedding a tear or two?) and now we are in the last few hours before the official start of the school christmas holidays. Have I got all of the shopping? Probably not. Am I sorted? Well, not exactly, but to be honest I’m now past caring!

(* note to self, must iron that flippin tablecloth!)

Blog posting over the next couple of weeks will no doubt be sporadic but let’s face it we all have other places to be! So, if I don’t see you before, have a magical and special christmas with those that you love and that love you. Peace and goodwill to you all from all the little cotton rabbits and me!