Here we come a waddling...

So, did  you all have a good christmas?

I promise this will be the last post on this topic...as you may be able to tell, I am very much a fan of this festive season. Despite the rubbish weather we had, there was still a lot of magic in the air in the Abbott household. After all, christmas is what you make of it :) And with little kids around, it's so much fun!

My bloomin' batteries went on my camera on christmas eve night of all times! And as they are special lithium batteries I didn't hold much hope of getting anymore that evening. So I was camera-less on christmas day :(

But christmas eve is also very special to me, and I managed to capture a few special moments.

Is it mean that I told Lizzie if she kept looking out her bedroom window for long enough she would see father christmas' sleigh? She was there a rather long time and left with a disappointed look. Mean mummy..

We try our best to have a few family traditions on christmas eve, some of which we have only just started. One of which is pancakes for breakfast! Yum...

 We also make each-other handmade presents which we give out on christmas eve. To me, these are the most special presents, and I treasure them.

Impressed, eh? My amazing husband painted me this. I LOVE it! Kinda looks a bit hallucinogenic...Ben on speed!

 We also made a birthday cake for Jesus and sang happy birrthday to him. So cute, Lizzie loved it!

And of course, one cannot forget the christmas classic before bedtime....

Hope you all have a great New Year! xxxxxxx

The true meaning of christmas.

Bedtimes for Lizzie are a special time for us now. I love hearing her prayers. In fact, I would go as far to say that her prayers are often more sincere than a lot of my own. They are different every night, and always involve a rundown of her day. She gives an exhaustive list of all the things she is grateful for, naming each family member in turn.

Children teach us so many things. Things that we as adults often tend to forget. Now don't get me wrong, as every other child, Lizzie is very much focused on the 'presents' that come with christmas day. But I know that all the presents in the world will not make her happy if it were not for the love of her family around her. Give her a toy from poundland and she would be happy as Larry.

So this christmas folks, let us remember it is not about the presents under the tree, or the heaps of quality street (although this is a bonus I admit.) It is about relationships with loved ones. And making the most of what we have.

A friend recently shared the following quote by one of our prophets, who summed up the meaning of  christmas beautifully.

"This Christmas, mend a quarrel. Seek out a forgotten friend. Dismiss suspicion and replace it with trust. Write a letter. Give a soft answer. Encourage youth. Manifest your loyalty in word and deed. Keep a promise. Forgo a grudge. Forgive an enemy. Apologize. Try to understand. Examine your demands on others. Think first of someone else. Be kind. Be gentle. Laugh a little more. Express your gratitude. Welcome a stranger. Gladden the heart of a child. Take pleasure in the beauty and wonder of the earth. Speak your love and then speak it again".

President Howard W Hunter, December 4th, 1994

                                   Merry Christmas everyone! Love from the Abbotts xxxxxxxxxx

Kung fu baby.

So...I'm still pregnant.

Just another 8 WEEKS to go...

I haven't seen my feet in weeks, and if anything drops to the floor I kind of look at it and sigh. It might be there for a while.

This baby has been planning his escape now for a while. I think he has all escape routes covered. And his martial arts kicking contests are a regular occurance.

I figured however, that whilst I am pregnant I might as well make the most of it. And there are advantages to my condition. The extra slices of pizza on pizza night kind of disappear and get reabsorbed into a bigger baby bump. I'm hoping it's all going onto him. Ignorance is bliss.

So without further ado, I give you...Kung Fu baby (cue Kung fu fughting music..)

Maybe I should ease off on the pizza...

What makes a house a home?

Something wonderful has happened in our home lately. Something which has given me the wonderful gift of time. And sleep!

Mmmmm, maternity leave. 

The bit before the baby arrives, where you go to bed knowing your restful nights are soon to be a thing of the past.

I have been having a few medical problems with my latest pregnancy which have caused me to take my maternity leave early. Despite the  bits of bleeding I have been having however, I must admit I am really loving having the time to get our lives organsied, and the house too!

We have been decorating our living room lately, and I have really got a bit carried away with good old pinterest. I no longer just see it as a website, but as a way of life. I have become a bit of a tramp with holding onto things instead of throwing them away. And my dream is to go skip hoarding (asking for prior permission, of course!) 

I have been putting a lot of thought into our home, and how I want it to look and feel. After all, a house is just bricks and mortar, until you add your personal touch. 

I mean, who wants an Ikea home? A habitat home? Don't we all want a home that is full of memories, and reflects our personalities? That's why I love to collect little decorative items from second hand shops and upcycle furniture. I like quirky.

I have been using up the fabric scraps in the craft cupboard, and had a spare wreath that I picked up from a car boot last year. So I kind of went down the same road as the rag tinsel.

 I bring you..rag wreath!

I was quite happy with the result, and now I have more space to hoard more fabric! Bonus!

And I also found I had WAY too many baubles left over from last year. I keep buying them..think I may have a bit of a fetish!

So I strang them together on a string..simples but effective!

I also made an adventure board a while ago but have finally got round to hanging it up. I love pinning new places we have visited..but get a bit sad when I see how much of the world we have unexplored (most of it)! I have thought about making ones for the kids too for their rooms. Not sure how Sam feels but Lizzie absolutely loves travelling and learning about new places. I am already thinking of making a 'before 10' list with Lizzie, of things she want's to achieve in her early childhood. I already know she wants to go in a helicopter..that's how she rolls!

And of course, we have put up the tree! And we may have put it up in November...(I couldn't wait!)

I had a little helper/destroyer of baubles and all things shiny...

She was quite chuffed with her tree.

But her favourite part was the cinnamon rolls afterwards. I'm not sure what she likes more..eating the ingredients or the sheer mess it creates...

It's getting pretty chilly outside guys, so remember to wrap up warm...

And drink plenty of the chocolatey stuff...

Christmassy goodness!

I hope you are all getting ready for christmas! In the Abbott household we have been preparing since October! I start early every year and absolutely love this time of year.

I have always wanted to make my own christmas decorations and made a few last year. I intended to add to these this year, and each year we make small contributions to our decor, so our house looks even more festive!

I went with my mum to Hobbycraft again at the NEC and got a few awesome ideas there. And maybe a cake or too....

So these are my creations so far....

I really need to learn to walk past the decopatch stall!! I got some lovely mdf hearts from the poundland equivalent for crafters and a merry christmas plaque..and used normal glue --not the expensive mod podge stuff! I love all the different papers..they were expensive but sometimes things are worth it!

Another awesome idea I got was from another stall..this guy was not selling these but used them to decorate his stall. Its kind of a rag-rug approach to tinsel. And easy peasy. You simply cut your material into suitable lengths (1cm wide) and tie them onto some string! You do get through a lot of material -I was lucky I had some stashed away in my craft cupboard. I added a couple of metallic hearts for decoration (at only £1 each!)

I love my tinsel! I couldn't bear to pack them away for when we get the tree out so they are staying in our living room!

And Lizzie has been getting crafty too! I got this idea off pinterest and used some ceramic paints. I am going to use a few different designs and give them to various relatives who I'm sure will treasure them.

I got the paints off amazon. Leave it to dry, pop in the oven for 30 mins, and voila!

And let us not forget that I am also busy making a baby. What a multi-tasker! Baby Abbott number 2 has been in the oven now for 29 weeks and coming along nicely!

Pumpkin mania!

Once upon a time there were three pumpkins.

One of them escaped being cut up, gutted, and then covered with glue and glitter. 

The other two were not so lucky.

The pumpkin contents were added to a bowl of flour, sugar, spices, eggs and baked in an oven.

 
 And dolloped with cream cheese icing with cinnamon. :)

Then the third pumpkin was then treated to a run around in the park. What a lucky pumpkin!!

                                                                             The end.

Nursery on a budget!

So, me being all OCD about organisation it's not very surprising that I have already planned every detail for the anticipated arrival of baby Abbott number 2. Despite it only being the size of a cauliflower (according to google.)

I pretty much have everything all ready. I am armed with a breast pump, super-dooper sized sanitary pads and nipple cream. Nice, eh?

It feels good to be prepared.

Now I just need a baby.

I thought I would share a few photos of the sprog's nursery, as I am quite proud of how little we have spent this time around. We already had most things saved from Lizzie, but this one being blue we had to make a few changes.

I must admit I have found decorating a boy's room no-where near as fun as a girl's. My love for all things floral has had to be tamed.

...I'm sure I will manage to squeeze in a flower somewhere.

We kept the same colour for the walls that we had with Lizzie, and just touched up the walls with the leftover  paint in the shed.

The cot was originally mine (believe it or not, it has been through eight babies.) I just sanded it down and painted it after Lizzie had had her share of chomping on the sides. The mattress is obviously brand new, I got a great deal off amazon, it was reduced from £80 to £40. Bargain!

The wardrobe and chest of drawers (which you cannot see here) are off the lovely freecycle and painted up. The frames I made, inspired from pinterest. I had the frames already knocking about in my craft cupboard and bought the letters off ebay for about £15. I just painted them with cheap emulsion which was already in the shed, and used scrapbooking paper to back them.

The bunting I bought when I was expecting Lizzie (again, boy bunting is so not as exciting!.)

I made his door sign from a poundland plaque (gotta love poundland!) I just painted it and again glued scrapbook paper.

I feebly attempted to replicate the applique frames I have made for Lizzie. Again, the choice of fabric for boys is much more limited. I didn't buy any new fabric, just rummaged around to find some vaguely boy-like patterns. The frame I already had from a car boot, so I just painted it.

And the baskets I just collected from car boots and painted white. Again, in OCD fashion, I like to label each basket. Ahhh, it makes me feel happy!

So total spend; £55! Not including the stuff I already had and bought previously. But still, I am quite impressed!

There is still stuff to add; I am planning on crocheting a blanket, and we have a mobile I am currently working on but so far so good!

Staying on track

Way back in May I wrote a post about goals, where I came up with 20 goals I wanted to achieve before I turned 30. I am slowly working my way through them!

http://xxxlifeisbeautifulxxx.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/goals.html.

We all have goals. Some are big ones like buying a house, and having children. Other's less so, like riding a hot air balloon, or going bungee jumping (the second one I'm not so keen on!).

But they are all important to us.

I think it is easy to lose track of our goals when we are busy living everyday life. I certainly have become culprit to this. Children and work make things difficult to have fun in life sometimes.

I propose that we make the time to revisit our goals regularly throughout our life. And make them happen.

Come on people!!!!


The other day I was browsing the charity shops and I came across this gem.

No, we didn't need it. But I wanted it. I want a real one one day. But for now it will have to be a ceramic one.

You might not be able to tell, but it is a money bank. I see it as a representation of our dreams, that we are working towards.

Lizzie has a little campervan too that she keeps in her toy box. I tell her that one day we will have a real one and go round the seasides in it ;)