As usual I found some great ideas for presents after we’d finished but they will have to wait until next year.  I have a friend who is carrying on making presents through January to avoid the panic in December and I can see where she’s coming from.

THE PROCESS…

Oscar juggling with cooking bowls while making his fortune cookies

Lucas trying not to stab his fingers while needle felting

It’s not just Santa that wears a hood.  Cornflour and glitter glue combine to make a very messy kitchen.

Dancing breaks out.

Concentration.

THE END RESULTS

PRESENTS THAT OSCAR MADE

Grandad’s scarf which took several days of finger knitting and a lot of sewing up!  Ahhh!

A scabbard for Anton’s sword

Fortune cookies for Granny and Umpa and another packet for Uncle David.

PRESENTS THAT LUCAS MADE

A needled felted Umpa jumper keyring for Umpa and an owl keyring for Granny from Lucas.

An owl decoration from Lucas for Grandad.

ANTON’s SALT DOUGH DECORATIONS

For Grandad and Uncle David.

For Granny (He painted the overall colour and drew the letters over my pencil marks and I added a bit of pattern to them)

AND OSCAR AND LUCAS MADE

A beautiful, personalised jigsaw for C which we spray painted and then they drew their own pictures over the lift out shapes and coloured them and then we added pictures of all the boys, Grandad and C underneath the shapes.  We varnished the end result.  It was a true mammouth labour of love which took weeks to finish in it’s various stages but we were all so pleased with it and C seemed to be too!

(Oscar did the knight, toadstool and bat and Lucas did the monkey, snake and parrot).

And Dante misunderstands the idea of Christmas decoration

Dante has become quite helpful these days and there are obvious perks for him.

We made our wishes while we stirred.  Mine has been the same for several years now – please this year?

Typically Oscar has wanted to do his own different festive treats and decided to make  fortune cookies which I was dubious about thinking they would be too much effort for little reward but they were surprisingly fun to make and tasty too.  He liked putting the sayings in and has made some for Christmas presents too.

When he needed time out from crafting and cooking Oscar ended up running out and trying out his stilts, even in the rain!

Our lodger, also showed us how to make a Ukranian dish. ..  Great fun.

We also started the Christmas tide by our traditional putting up the tree and sleeping together in the living room which is one of our most successful traditions.

Oscar made us mince pies and then we put up the tree and watched a film called “Fly Away Home” which the boys were dubious about but it turned about to be one that we all enjoyed.  The child actor was really good and it was just the right side of corny.  Anyway I often think that things aren’t corny to children because they haven’t seen things enough to work out the formulas.

We started with the traditional opening presents in bed while mum tries to open her eyes.  And yes, I am in there somewhere.

Their friends had been away for a couple of weeks but they had come back yesterday without Oscar knowing so I was able to ask them round as a surprise.  Oscar opened the door to them just before lunch in his pyjamas and just said a sort of sheepish “Oh!” and they all ambled off upstairs to play Risk and Warhammer.  They have such a lovely easy going friendships but it did make me laugh thinking that if they had been girls they would have probably fallen all over each other with “What a surprise” and “How lovely to see you”  etc etc. but not a bit of it!

The little ones “helped” me make pizza for lunch and then we made Oscar a different sort of cake this year.  I felt that being a teenager warranted a change but on reflection I wondered if he felt a bit pushed in to feeling more grown up than he wanted to.   I remember lots of people referring to me as a “teenager” in that slightly mock horrified voice and I remember it making me feel a bit uncomfortable (although most things did at that age) and I also had that feeling of wanting to hold on to being younger.  But then it’s easy to imagine that he may have felt similarly to me and he may well have felt nothing of the sort.

Anyway,  I made Oscar a chocolate mousse cake which involved layering mousse and soaked sponges, covering it in melted chocolate and making chocolate rose leaves for the top.  All of which was great fun and very rewarding as it tasted really good.  I recommend the recipe.

Both Anton and Dante had been very insistent on helping me and Dante was keen to use the whisk which was lucky as between he and Anton   they managed to whisk the sponge mixture for the 45 mins required to get it to the necessary consistency.  They are quite a team together these days…

We played a very successful game of Risk in the evening which had been a present.  I had set up E to come around to babysit the younger two for the first time ever (with the idea that we’d go out after they were asleep) and booked us a table at the Waterside for a special meal but Oscar said that he would actually prefer to stay in and play a game!  I felt a bit disappointed as I thought it would be something really different to mark the occasion but it would have been very expensive and it was rather touching that he loves our games evenings so much.

And so my first born is a teenager.  I can’t quite believe it.  He said he felt a bit sad at one point in the day as he said birthday’s make him sad.  I’m not quite sure whether that was a feeling of disappointment that birthday’s are never quite what you hope they will be as you grow up or whether he’s disappointed the day passes so quickly.  I was touched he told me.  He’s grown up such a lot in this year alone and shows flashes of maturity that make me think he’ll be a lovely open, honest, caring enthusiastic young person.  Go Oscar!

LUCAS: ”What do you think the worst thing to be run over by would be mum?”

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

(On hearing Dante scream for the milk)  ANTON:  AAAaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!  (very loudly!)

MUM:  (shocked) No Anton! What are you doing?

ANTON:  Well Dante’s screaming and I want to tell him not to do it.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

(Upon being dressed as a fireman, Anton helps Dante to move the little horse so he can ride on it)

MUM:  Thank you Anton, that’s just the sort of helpful thing a fire fighter does.

ANTON:  What else do fire fighters do?  …  If too many enemies come for the people to kill I could shing them down with the water.  (said with glee)

MUM: (weakly)  Well … they get cats out of trees.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ +++++++++

Anton has been many different characters over the last few weeks as he’s very in to dressing up.  Look at this dashing knight:

Harry Potter has made an appearance

And it’s very useful to have a fixit man in the house

especially one who’s always on the other end of a walkie talkie when you need him

And superheros have their uses too

A viking is less useful I find in a modern house but I love the tie up sock look so that’s a winner

And of course a policeman is very useful here to keep order (as I can’t do it) and he’s such a friendly one too

And then of course the cool look

He wanted the tie because the older 2 had an evening at Sea Cadets where they had a three course meal that they had to dress up for.

Last weekend we had a new trip out and took the Cremyll ferry over to Cornwall from Plymouth which was really pretty.

The weather has been so mild recently

We went past all the Stonehouse Navy barracks.

And went to play hide and seek at Mount Edgcombe on the other side

We were in Plymouth while Oscar was doing his OU seminar last week so the rest of us went for this lovely trip.  Or rather it had all the ingredients of a great day out but Joth and I were feeling too irritated with each other to enjoy it properly.  Things were so bad we had to try talking to each other that evening instead of putting the TV on.  We think perhaps we should do it more often as it worked like magic.  We even used the listening technique of holding something while you are talking with the idea that the other person doesn’t interrupt until you have “handed over.”  Usually a beautiful object is used like a bowl, stick or stone but Joth and I used a symbol of power in our house – the remote control, which is actually mine I might add.  Joth doesn’t know how to use all the buttons which I always find amusing.  The organisation of the RSNO is in his hands but he can’t work the volume on our TV.

Anyway, the listening technique works so well because saying what you want to say without being interrupted helps you to say it more calmly and having to listen without responding immediately helps you formulate a more balanced response.  Interesting.  We’ve felt closer all week because of it so that’s got to be a good thing.

Watch out for Oscar at the back of the Sea Cadets Parade.  He couldn’t help grinning the first time we saw him but managed to control himself the next time.  It was a very moving occasion as always.

And our latest recruit…

How proud is he!

Anton had a wonderful time playing with a cardboard box kitchen today.

And then once we’d mastered play kitchens we moved on to more advanced games.  This was chess but not as you know it!

The lodgers like playing games too.  This is Anatoly playing Blokus with the boys.

And speaking of games we had a drive to Dartmoor last weekend but the mist was so heavy we ended up sitting in the car rather than walking and just read the Haunted Dartmoor book and drank Horlicks (which I have succeeded in getting the kids keen on).

(Lucas enacts the Hairy Hands of Dartmoor – hands that grab your steering wheel while you are driving….)

I had a brain wave on the way home for a board game about Dartmoor that would involve a map of the area, wildlife and legends.  I can just see it now on the shelf in the tourist information and local shops and we’d have our own internet site and advertise it in cafes and holiday shops.  I know just the local artist to ask to design the board for a share in the profits.   Well, I spent a happy couple of precious hours (thanks Joth) just having fun with the idea and then I made the boys and Joth play it when the little ones were in bed.   Needless to say it needs more tweaking than I thought so I won’t be running to the tourist board with  it just yet but there’s an idea in there somewhere.   It was fun.

So failing that idea, we are still relying on Joth to save us from the workhouse and he had another email from another orchestra this week.  More fingers crossed.

On the day we had his friend M over for a mini pirate party and played some games with all the boys like “Walk the plank” and “Find the Treasure” (try to get money out of a collection of metal objects while blindfolded) and “Hook the Necklace” with a pirate hook to search through shredded paper to find candy necklaces.

We then had a small birthday tea.

Anyway, as far as Anton’s birthday went we didn’t get chance to do his proper cake until Sunday.  He was insistent he wanted to help make it and Lucas and I had been to the sweet shop to buy treasure island additions so we spent Sunday morning making this

with pebble sweets, matchmaker fire and edible palm trees made out of licorice root with marshmallow tops and green fizzy strips.  They are the only edible trees I have managed 0to make successfully.  I also gave him a map of the cake with a red cross marking the spot where I had “buried” a little playmobile treasure chest in the cake with a clue inside it saying “in your bed” and I had hidden a huge chocolate coin inside his sleeping bag.

And he was very pleased!

Happy 4th Birthday Sweetheart. x

Joth’s parents came down for the first weekend and we had such a lovely relaxed time.  Sita and I nipped off for a lovely shop in Totnes on the Friday when they had arrived.  The boys came with us and happily wandered around and Dante and Anton were busy, eating Spelt biscuits in the buggy.  I so enjoyed a bit of female company for shopping and Sita bought me a lovely wicker bag that I have been craving, the weather was warm and the kids had a play in the play area before we went home so everyone was happy and Sita had bought a fish pie with her for us to go home to.

Cheers Granny!

On the Saturday we had a nice lazy start with the kids having a pyjama morning while Brian fitted some outdoor lights for us.

The lodger mucked in as usual.  I’m pleased that I’m feeling far less uptight about having lodgers than I used to be.  I even find myself feeling that there are some sides to it that are good for me and good for our family.   It often disperses any family niggles as we have to behave, the boys are better at pulling their weight with setting the table and clearing up when the lodgers are around, and it’s good practise for the boys to be more polite.  I also think generally that there is a lot to be said for not having life the way you want it all the time.  Not being too precious about everything can be a very good thing.

The amount that we are paid for having lodgers also makes me see our money in a new way.  We get £115 a week for each lodger, which is £14.50 a night and we have to give them breakfast and an evening meal out of that.  There’s not enough left over I reckon.  Food is so expensive now.  We will have Sam for 8 weeks and Anatoly (the Russian) for 8 weeks overlapping which is £1840.   When we have 2 lodgers we sleep in two rooms (Joth and I with the little ones and the boys in bunks as they usually are – Oscar is looking rather big for his bunk bed these days.  He can’t sit up!) Joth has to work in the outhouse (which is set to get colder) and cooking for 2 more adults is quite a lot more work aswell as more costly.  So, I find myself thinking about money in terms of how many weeks of lodger it costs us.  Also, if I spent £5 less each day that would add up to £1800 a year (or 16 weeks worth of lodgers).  Surely I can find more ways to spend less.

Anyway, Lucas and the little ones came with Sita and I to the Cider Press in the afternoon and we had a nice wander round.  Sita bought Anton and Lucas a Christmas decoration each and they spent ages choosing.  Anton was very clear that he wanted a little bell!  Lucas loves the ritual of choosing as much as the item itself.

Ron and Sheila came over for a celebration in the evening.  We toasted Brian and Anton as their birthdays were close and had a baked alaska for fun.

Sita had managed to find one of the special candles which Anton had been wanting (having seen it on my friend Emma’s cake) which worked beautifully on top.

The meal was an easy one with chicken rolled with pesto and wrapped in bacon, roast potatoes and sugar snaps.   I’m so relieved that although I’m not getting much better at cooking I am better at not getting in a flap about cooking for large numbers.   I did find a few extra bits of forgotten chicken in the oven later though which would have been useful!   I really enjoyed seeing Ron and Sheila.   I find them so relaxed and generous.  The little ones were on good form and it all worked out fine.

Ron (a sculptor) and Lucas even managed to share a bit of Fimo clay modelling!

On the Sunday the boys had archery and the lodger likes going too.  Brian, Sita and Joth dropped them off and took the little ones to Riverford shop and then to Staverton.  They all came back for lunch before leaving for Hemel.  I was a very special weekend.   We had so many lovely chats and lots of gentle chaos that is the way with so many people in the house!  I love the way the house comes alive with family.  It felt very right having Brian and Sita with us again.  We all loved it.

And even after they left we were still enjoying the results of their visit as we had lots of lovely things to eat still.  I was also very proud of myself for finding a great recipe to use up our left over croissants, 6 eggs yolks (after the baked alaska) and lots of cream – this fabulous croissant bread and butter pudding.  It was absolutely delicious!!

And yes, that was the one we made!  Perfection!

The next weekend Dave arrived with Charlie.  Charlie was so excited to be here that he wouldn’t go to bed until 12 but was still up ready to play early the next morning!  He and Dante took so much more notice of each other than last time and even gave toys to each other and gave the odd affectionate stroke!  C also seemed to be quite taken with Anton.  It’s funny to think that Anton will be the cool older cousin.

The weather had definitely suddenly got colder but we still took the kids out to the pirate ship for a quick play in the afternoon before coming back for Tacos.

We tried to give Dante and Charlie a bath together but Dante hadn’t read the script and refused to cooperate.  Bedtime went more smoothly though so we had chance to watch “Life of Brian” with the older ones which they absolutely loved and had a card game of “Pit”.

The next day we had a brunch and then got packed up to go to the Dart Valley Park for the day while they are doing their £5 for a car full offer.  The sun came out for us and everyone had a great time.  I cannot believe it but the older ones went in the lake again at the end of October!  They weren’t the only ones either!

Dave and I said afterwards that it had been one of our best weekends for chatting.   I always feel better for seeing my brother – I love you Dave!