My Boxing Day Nippy Dip!

This morning I did my Nippy Dip at Aberdeen beach (finally!) Amazingly, the temperature was just about positive (1 or 2 degrees I think) and the sun was shining so that was an encouraging start!

My initial thought when I got to the check-in/registration desks over the road at the leisure centre was, "Uh oh, nearly everyone is in fancy dress and looks cooler than me" and then it was "I'm wearing less clothes than most people"!!! So I will know that for next year...

We were led out from the Beach leisure centre by a bagpiper!

Warm and dry celebrating afterwards, phew!

I raised £458 for Lyme Disease Action, thank you all who donated and supported me!! If you want you can still donate until January here: https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/twiggernippydipper

Christmas!

This year we are spending Christmas up here in Aberdeen, just the four of us. We feel very grown-up, and so far we haven't forgotten anything important like the cranberry sauce, yorkshire puds or cheese and crackers. Phew!

So far the family fun has consisted of:

- a visit to THE best Grotto in the world, at BA Country Stores. It was decked out in a huge, moving winter wonderland and Santa's workshop, with bits of trucks being assembled travelling over our heads and on conveyor belts... oh wow. Then Father Christmas spent so long with us, and reeled Oliver nicely in with a haribo sweet. Brilliant!!

- a cinema trip to see 'Brave' (great!!) which only costed £2.70, AND the boys were very good throughout- followed by a trip to McDonalds!! We both hadn't been for sooo long and we bought Oliver his first Happy Meal...! The chips went down a storm.

- lots of Christmassy baking

- Ben being poorly so we all snuggled in bed to cheer him up

- we made a gingerbread ruin!!! (the 'roof' is made of strawberry laces... we ran out of icing sugar to stick the real roof on!)

- more Christmassy baking- this is Ben and Oliver making mince pies together. So lovely

- before bed on Christmas Eve, the boys acting out all the parts in the Nativity

- leaving out a home-made mince pie for Santa and a carrot for the Reindeer. Oliver didn't think S.C. would need a drink, instead he was adamant for us to leave the mince pie in the cup

- Christmas day lunch!

- My husband looking especially handsome in his new jumper

... and it's only Boxing day!! More excitement when Ben's brother and sister come to visit at the weekend, yippee!

Goals for 2013!

Hooray, even better than reviewing and realising you've met your goals is MAKING goals... (am I alone on this one?? I LOVE goals...)

Goals for 2013

Me:

• Lose a further ½ stone and maintain it... GOAL: * st 12lb! :)
• Work up to teach two hours of music classes/lessons per week (currently one hour a week)
• Invite more people over... become a better hostess!
• Exercise twice a week (20 mins+)
• 30 minutes (genuinely timed!) church time every day (be it reading the Bible, Book of Mormon, teaching Oliver a story, reading the church magazine or Sunday school reading... I just need to do MORE!)
• Play the piano at church once a month

Family:

• Work hard to put Ben and his needs (and lots of wants)  first- every day! (this is probably the secret- if I put him first, and he puts me first then we will both be exquisitely happy and have an amazing marriage :D)
• Set aside uninterrupted time with the boys of play/read/learn, totally away from jobs around the house or anything else... at least one hour a day!
• Skype my family twice a month
• Buy a house!

Goal Review 2012

Last December I wrote my goals for this year- 2012. I think it's good to review them at the end of the year before I make ones for next year... some went well, some totally rubbish. Good to see that I've improved though!

Goal Review for 2012

Personal:

- Finish Oliver's Quiet book... not even touched it! (good start!)
- Join something musical and do at least one concert... This year I began teaching again, absolutely LOVED IT! Two beginners and one grade 5ish. Also organised and now running Tiddley-Pom (since February... quite successful!)
- Learn 12 hymns on the piano from the children's songbook (one a month)... Not worked on until September, when we got a piano!! Since then I play most days and can play at least 12 songs, wahoooo! :) Piano books are on my Christmas list :)
- Have another baby and be sane :)... I did it, and yes, I am at pretty much the same sanity level I always was! :)

Physical:
- Lose baby weight plus an extra 3lb by Christmas 2012... DONE!! I put a lot on... but then I lost the lot, plus an extra 5.5lb!! Woooo :)
- Begin colouring hair and make a concerted effort with doing something with it! … well, I'm colouring it every few months and quite pleased with it, but confess that I leave the roots quiteeee a while...

Spiritual:
- Read every Ensign cover to cover (The 'Ensign' is our church magazine)... I was doing so well at this one... until about October-time. Now I flick through but don't read the whole thing :( Will improve.
- Do Sunday school weekly readings before each Sunday lesson... hooray! We ended up being ahead! :)

Familial:
- Do something messy/arty with Oliver at least twice a week... started this twice week... now more like once a week, but it happens!
- Initiate more kisses! (Ben likes them and I forget to give them!!) Still not great at this. Will probably be on my goal list again in 2013...
- Go out on a date with Ben twice a month- get a babysitter and organise one each per month... again, started so well, but since Zach was born it hasn't been great. Something to do more of next year!
- Sort out Oliver's nap schedule... it's rubbish AGAIN! … we have come full circle on this one. I sorted it... and now it is rubbish again! I think he's managed one nap in the last month. Uhhh.

Zach, 17th May 2012

Ta-da! I feel quite good looking back on this year, it has been a good one.

Party Weekend!!!!!!!!!!!

HOORAY, what a wonderful weekend it has been! We have had a weekend full of parties!! It all began with Oliver turning TWO on Friday (7th) I cannot believe that we have a two year-old, he is such a lovely boy! We had an O-themed party for him and three of his friends came to share games and food with him. Just great! In the afternoon we took Oliver out sledding in the snow that's been sticking around the past week. We also did a bit of 'jumping up and down in muddy puddles' (Peppa Pig!) Great.

Yesterday we went to Ben's work Children's Christmas party and oh my, did they look after us! A trip to see father Christmas complete with amazing present, face painting, yummy lunch boxes and snacks, bouncy castles, a balloon mannie (Scottish for man!) and lots of cool crafty things. Fab!!

And today was Oliver's favourite friend, ruby's 2nd birthday party! Yay! More cake, musical bumps and general two-year-old excitement.

Now I feel a bit deflated. I genuinely wish I could go to children's parties every day of the week :)

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!!

Happy December!! We arrived here so fast, it's amazing! Well we have not succumbed and put our tree up yet (the family rule is that it can't happen until after Oliver's birthday, which is this Friday!) but it is very cold and we have snoooooooooooooooooow!

Zah now sits up well by himself and Oliver is saying more and more, things like "Close a door!" or "Oliver's green bowl!" or "More muuuush!" (mush is weetabix, by the way- Oliver has two a morning and still begs for more, while Zach has about 3/4s of one). Ben is working hard and busy at church too, helping with the youth program (activites on Tuesday evenings, lessons on Sundays).

As for me, the exciting news is that I have new slippers! The last pair died a death and I continued to wear them for months, and they were getting a health hazard! The replacement pair are VERY ugly- a cross between a dead hairy cat and a dead furry bird... but they are very snuggly and warm!!

It is a wonderful time of year! Here are some of our getting-in-the-mood recent happenings:

Reading

Wrapping

Adventuring

Sleeping

Snowing!