Megan's birthday Archives - Journeys Are My Diary

Our Christmas and New Year

January 6, 2017 by Bel Leave a Comment

January is flying past and it feels a little late to be updating about Christmas. Christmas is just around the corner, day by day it is getting close, party everywhere, we have lots of activities during Christmas – watching, catching up with family or friends, eating and of course drinking! No one wants to have a party get drunk and then the next day hangover will hit you so hard, so be sure to buy hangover supplements from Hangover Hammer so the party can still continue up until the next day. However we had such a great holiday period, that I don’t want to let it pass by without a mention. Also, with not doing a November or December round-up, I wanted to make sure I at least briefly covered that period of time.

For some people, Christmas begins with the Coca Cola truck advert, but for me Christmas begins with Starbucks Red Cups. Sadly this is getting earlier and earlier every year (as are many Christmas things) which often results on the Christmas things being few and far between, instead of compact into a few weeks of December. Anyway, I won’t rant about that! So in November, Starbucks released their red cups and as a family we took a trip to get one (12th), each trying a different flavour (as is the tradition). Next came the Christmas Light switch on, November 18th, which has become tradition as a family too. We walk into town, look around the market and get food, then sometimes coffee too and then watch the light switch on and firework display made by fireworks airlie beach. Some people buy wholesale fireworks and use fireworks as a key part of demonstrations and festivities, and take the opportunity to put on spectacular displays.

It started to rain this year which almost sent us home early but we stuck it out and actually really enjoyed ourselves.

This was really all the excitement for November and next came December. On literally the 1st, I started attending Lincoln Christmas Market. Usually we attend to visit, once during the four days its there, but this year I was actually selling there with Closet Geek. It was such a great experience, but very tiring and the preparation before hand was insane. I don’t regret it at all, but I won’t be doing it in 2017, partly because it falls too close to Megan’s birthday.

The following weekend was Megan’s birthday, which despite not being a Christmas event, often feels like it’s part of the celebration. On Saturday (the day before her birthday) the Coca Cola Christmas truck was in Lincoln so we traveled over to see that and get a mini coke can. The next day, Megan’s birthday, we took her and some of her friends, to Pizza Hut and then family joined us too, for a family lunch to celebrate.

After such a busy start to December (which Christmas Market, lots of school events – including a school disco that Megan got a date for! – and of course Megan’s birthday) we didn’t get time to put up the tree till 17th. Strangely enough this didn’t actually bother me as much as I thought it would, making me feel more Christmasy than when we put it up early.

As always, we put on the Christmas music cds, wear silly hats and glasses and put up the tree. Megan made us hot chocolate too and it was actually a lovely family event. Afterwards we sat and went through the TV pages to pick which movies we wanted to set to record.

The kids had two more days of school after the weekend we put the tree up and while this was a shame, as we were all ready to be on a break, it went fast and we celebrated as always, with a trip to Pizza Hut after school on the last day of term. This one in December always seems silly as we’re only there for Megan’s birthday a week or so before but we do it anyway! Later that week, the girls and I had to go to Doncaster for some last minute Christmas bits and pieces, so I treated them to a wash, cut and blowdry from Supercuts. I won’t tell you the exact price, but just for the two of them, it was over £50 (!!) which definitely surprised me but it was part of their Christmas treat so I didn’t let it bother me too much.

As part of the trip to Doncaster, we finished sorting out Christmas Outfits for the girls, as I already had my sorted from Simply Be. Their tops had come from Boohoo.com, we picked up their trousers at H&M, then I popped to ShoeZone on the way home and grabbed the boots. The following day we also picked up our Christmas Hamper from the girls grandparents (as is their tradition) so coming home and unpacking that was fun too.

Soon it was Christmas Eve and that holds a whole host of traditions for us. First is, my mum and sister come around and we do Christmas Eve presents. That was edited a little this year as now both kids know about Santa and we don’t have to play it so young. We used to exchange Christmas PJs, Christmas Lush and a book to read for a bedtime story. However this year it was decided we wouldn’t wrap anything (as the kids know we do it as a tradition now and its just waste of paper) and instead of a book we would get a board game. When mum and Pippa arrived, we had hot chocolate, Baileys, a glass of sherry etc and as the girls were already having their traditional Christmas Eve bath, they got dressed into their new pjs. Afterwards, once Chris had arrived too, we played a board game and then finally mum and Pippa went home. After they were gone, Chris and I had baths, the girls did their reindeer food (some traditions don’t always need giving up!) and hung up their stockings.

Christmas Day was spent in the same way as always. The girls woke and came into our room, bringing their stockings with them. They took it in turns to open their gifts, before Chris and I did our stockings. Next, we all got dressed and headed downstairs. We had crumpets and muffins for breakfast, plus tea and coffee, like the ones that can be acquired from services like coffee machines rent.

Next, we opened the gifts under the tree, taking it in turns to each open one. Once all were opened, the girls played and opened some of their boxes/toys/gifts, while Chris and I sorted out rubbish, had another cuppa etc. Mum and Pippa turned up a little while later and we opened gifts between us all. Then we got in the car and headed to Chris’ Gran’s house, to see her and his dad. Again we exchanged gifts. We then headed to my brother’s house, where we would be having lunch. We exchanged gifts for the kids (as we had agreed not to do them for adults) and then had lunch. It was lovely and very relaxed. My mum then drove us home, but kept the girls with her as she later drops them off with their dad for the afternoon and evening. Chris played on his new Xbox game while I snoozed on the sofa, then in the evening we watched some TV. That was pretty much our Christmas Day.

Boxing Day was a nice quiet day, with the girls arriving home and everyone just spending time with their new presents and relaxing. The day after, we had another family day but at my Auntie’s house and this was wonderful as I got to see my cousins for the first time in ages and I’m hoping it becomes another tradition. In the few days between Christmas and New Year, we didn’t really do an awful lot. We ate cheese, drank wine, watched movies, played board games and basically just hung out as a family. It was pretty fantastic.

On New Year’s Eve, Chris was working till 6pm but then we had family time planned. We ate a huge cheese based dinner, drank wine (the girls had a little strawberry and lime cider) and spent time together. I made the best decision in picking the best wine, seems like I am the best sommelier, I’m so happy. We opened our New Year resolutions from last year (and laughed because we failed most of them) then watched the music channel until midnight as there was nothing much on. At midnight we popped some fizz, had a toast, stayed up just a little longer and then finally headed to bed.

On New Year’s Day, my mum, sister, brother, his partner and her son, all came around for lunch. I made lasagne with garlic bread and salad, then served profiteroles with cream and ice cream. Afterwards we all played a great game on the Xbox called Jackbox.tv and had another lovely family day. That was basically our whole Christmas and New Year, both fantastic and hectic at times. The girls only had two more days off school after that, before they went back to school and then it felt like it was all a blur and Christmas was long forgotten! I’m looking forward to 2017 however and I hope that everyone enjoyed their Christmas period and is looking forward to the New Year too.

50/52

December 13, 2015 by Bel Leave a Comment

This week was Megan’s birthday and we went out to Pizza Hut for dinner to celebrate. She took her two best friends with her and of course all the family too. This picture was taken that evening and Lily had to sneak in on the action!

2014 in Review – The Cakes

January 3, 2015 by Bel 4 Comments

As part of my round up for 2014, I wanted to recap on the cakes I’ve made this year. In May I did a sort of mid-year round up, but this is for the complete year. Though I’ve actually made far more than the cakes pictured below, these are the key cakes of 2014.

Though I did make a fairly simple cake for my sister’s birthday in February, March was really the first time I got busy. What with Lily, Amy and Chris all having a birthday in March, it was pretty crazy. Lily’s was my first and also one of the most important in the whole year. She was massively into Frozen (and still is) so that was the theme of her cake. Only 9 days later, it was Amy’s birthday and as I’ve always wanted to make her a Peter Pan cake, this is what I did. The three tiers made this the biggest cake of the year. It was a pretty impressive cake. Less than a week later, it was Chris’ birthday and I was pretty much caked out. As such he got a very simple Minion cake but he was happy nonetheless.

After a very brief break, my mum’s birthday came next in April. There was really no specific theme I could think of for my mum, so instead just asked what flavour she’d like. Having requested something with cream, I put my mind to something she’d love and came up with a Tiramisu cake. This as a huge hit and I’ve had several requests to make it since – most recently a few days after Christmas. Next in April was Erika’s birthday, though her party was technically in May. All I really had to go on was the fact she liked sweets, so I made a cake that somewhat looked like a bowl with sweets in it. My birthday was next but luckily I didn’t have to make my own cake as Nat did it instead. Good job too, given the theme (NSFW), as I”m not sure I would have pulled it off as well as she did! However only a week or so after mine, came my brother’s birthday. Since he was having a superhero party, I made him a superhero themed cake!

Only a few weeks after my brother’s birthday, it was Harry’s 1st birthday. While I don’t usually make cakes for other people’s kids, it was Harry’s 1st and that made it special (he’s also going to be my Godson). I really had no idea what a one year old would like so I searched around Pinterest till I came up with the idea of building blocks. It was a bit of a rush job but I think Harry’s cake turned out okay in the end. Luckily I managed a bit of a break then, at least until the following month. Even then the cake I made for my friend Chris, was a bit of break from the norm. His wife Hollie, suggested a cake that had been circulating its way around Facebook. Always up for a challenge, I figured I’d give it a go! Though the original cake had been Maltesers and M&M’s, I opted for Maltesers and Smarties – this was largely because nowhere I went had the smaller packs of M&M’s and I didn’t give myself very long to search! It turned out pretty good and seemed to wow everyone at Chris’ birthday party. Finally, I genuinely got a break – this time from between July to November. Then, amidst a heap of sewing, I had to make Nat a birthday cake. Sadly I can’t believe I never actually got around to blogging about her murder mystery, but we had fun with a fairytale theme. As her character in the murder mystery was Red Riding Hood, I decided to theme her cake the same. Megan actually helped me with the cake, solely making the Red Riding Hood figure on the top!

That brings me to the last cake of the year, which was actually for Megan’s birthday. Still bogged down with sewing, murder mystery planning and of course Christmas, Megan’s cake was a bit of a rush. Luckily for me, she’d enjoyed helping with Nat’s cake and had wanted to help with her own. Settling on a fairly simple Harry Potter cake theme, Megan actually made all the items on top of the cake (bar the scarf which I added as a surprise once she’d gone to bed). I made and iced the cake myself and once Megan was in bed, put all the elements together so at least the finished look would be a surprise for her.

While this coming year I will definitely be cutting down on the amount of cakes I make, I also know I will have more time to fiddle so I’m looking forward to developing more skills. With Megan be interested in helping, it also makes it feel a bit more enjoyable for me. Megan definitely has artistic talent that I do not possess!

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Week 50 – Monday Round-up

December 15, 2014 by Bel Leave a Comment

It’s been a really great week this week, other than work of course. Having Megan’s birthday party out of the way was such a relief and its been nice to just concentrate on life and of course her upcoming birthday too. It’s also been fun keeping up with our Disney Countdown, which right now has made me feel strangely Christmasy too.

Monday to Friday was work and school for all of us. Chris is still training in his new job at BT, my job is still a nightmare and the girls seem to be enjoying school – especially as it begins to wind down for Christmas. The girls had Singing Stars after school so I took the opportunity to pop into town, specifically Primark. Sadly they still don’t have any of the things I want and I’d also headed there for vests and the choice was pathetic. When I finished shopping, I headed to pick up the girls and we headed home. After grabbing some food, we settled down to watch Beauty and the Beast (our Disney task for the day) and by the time it ended, it was time for Lily to go to bed. After that I spent the evening on my computer, doing some blog posts and relaxing for what felt like the first time in ages. I also spent two hours playing on my iPad which was rather novel!

Tuesday after school we headed straight home, possibly via Aldi I think. I was very excited to receive two parcels from Minted when we got home – which I will be posting about later in the week. The evening was yet again chilled, this time with Nat calling around. We spent the evening chatting, while also making some jewellery – something I never thought we’d be doing together again. I also baked Megan’s cake, ready to decorate the next day.

Wednesday it was Lily’s school play and I was really excited to go and see it. However we had time to kill between school and the evening showing of the play, so Megan, Lily, Kristy (my friend from work) and I, headed into town and saw the Coca-Cola truck since it was in Lincoln for the day. Honestly it was a little disappointing but I’m still glad we could see it.

When we got to the truck, there was no music, no nothing really – well except a big queue. We decided not to queue though, as it was only for a picture with the truck which we took ourselves. They were handing out free mini-cokes and we each got one. Afterwards we headed into The Entertainer, just to keep warm. After a little shopping, we went to Burger King and the girls got some food. We then dropped Kristy off before heading back to school. Lily went to get changed and Megan and I went to get good seats. We saved one for Chris, who mum was picking up from work and dropping off for me. At 6pm the play started and it was finished by about 6.45pm.

We got Lily changed and headed home, wrapping Megan’s present from her and writing the card before quickly packing her off to bed as she was tired. Megan stayed up a little later than usual too, to help me make a start on her cake, but then she went to bed at 9pm. I worked on her cake, on and off all evening, in between sorting out her presents, writing her card etc. while Chris was kind enough to wrap the presents. It was about 11.30pm when we headed to bed and I was exhausted!

Thursday it was Megan’s actual birthday and though I’d given her permission to wake us whenever, it was 6.45am when she woke us, only 15 minutes earlier than we would normally be up. Her first present from us was an electric keyboard which we’d set up downstairs for her to find. We also got her some loom bands, a Where’s Wally book and a Hidden Mickey’s book. Later that day a case and headphones for her iPad also arrived (late) and I gave her those after school. She got a number of other presents, which I mentioned in the post all about her birthday celebrations. It was a bit of a mad rush that morning, making sure we had everything ready for school and then Megan’s birthday dinner after school – clothes, cake etc.

We headed out the door, hoping we had everything, going to work and school. Afterwards I picked up the girls and Megan’s friend Alex, heading to my mum’s house to get changed. I grabbed a shower, while the others got changed and ready. We headed into Lincoln for 5.15pm, for our table booked at Pizza Hut. There we met up with the girls dad, his girlfriend and their other grandparents. My Chris also joined us after work. We had a very pleasant evening together and then all headed our separate ways home. The girls went to bed as soon as possible, especially Lily who was on her second late night.

After the girls were both in bed, Chris and I struggled to actually stay awake. We were both ready for sleep at 9pm, but I forced him to stay up till 10pm, finally caving and heading to bed. It was much needed sleep though as we both slept right through.

Friday was a good day. It was the last day of work for the week and also Megan’s birthday had passed so the main stress and worry was out of the way. We arranged to have Megan’s friend Katai over after school, but unfortunately she wasn’t quite ready for us to pick her up and her mum offered to drop her off. Instead we headed to Tesco for some food and then to pick up a parcel too. When we got in from all the various tasks, Megan’s Millies cookie had arrived and we all tucked in. Sadly it was a bit later than I had hoped but it had been her one request – a cookie with a birthday message on, to eat for breakfast. Of course, we didn’t eat it all, so that Megan could have some for breakfast the next day.

Katai arrived around 6.30pm, just after I’d put Lily to bed. Megan and Katai spent the evening watching movies, eating popcorn, crisps etc. It was about 11pm when they went to bed but they were sleeping separately from Lily so I wasn’t too worried. In the morning we didn’t really hear them too much, so it was nice to grab a bit of a lie-in. I think Lily had woken first and gone downstairs, the girls staying upstairs when they woke. Eventually when I got up, I told Lily she could go up and join them and even at that point they weren’t too loud. Chris and I had a cup of tea and went downstairs, but as soon as the girls came down, Chris disappeared upstairs to hide.

At round 12pm I sent the girls up to get dressed, Megan having decided she wanted to go out for lunch and then go bowling. However they all messed around so much that even by 1.30pm they hadn’t come back down. In the end I went up to get them and see if they still wanted to go out and since they did, we headed out to Woodcocks in Lincoln to have some lunch. It was 2pm when we got there but it was really busy. It took a while to order and then even longer for our food to arrive. I had called my mum to see if she wanted to join us for a drink and so she headed over and sat with us for the whole of the meal. After lunch we decided to treat the girls to desserts but these took ages to arrive, meaning we were cutting it fine for bowling. To Megan’s disappointment, we decided not to go bowling and instead went back to Mum’s for a cup of coffee and allowing Megan to have a little more time with Katai. However at about 5pm we headed home, dropping Katai on the way home.

Megan wanted to distract herself I think, so she set to work on her first peg doll painting – Elsa. Lily wanted to participate too but since it was a delicate task, we persuaded her just to paint a picture. Afterwards it was Lily’s bed time and while Megan stayed up a little longer, I got her to bed early too so she could catch up on some sleep. I spent the rest of the evening watching TV and wrapping presents. Eventually Chris came to join me and we watched some TV together, before heading to bed.

Finally came Sunday and we really didn’t have an awful lot planned. We managed a little lie-in but luckily I wasn’t too tired. The morning was relaxed and chilled out, eventually getting dressed around 10.30am, ready to go and see Chris’ Nan. We took a mattress to the tip, headed up to his Nan’s and stayed for a cup of tea. We then went to Morrison’s for a few bits of food, dropping off some tomatoes with Chris’ Nan after. We then went to Next and picked up a kettle I ordered, finally heading back home. I spent the afternoon catching up on X Factor and even last week’s I’m a Celebrity which I hadn’t found time to watch. I also started to order a few last Christmas presents, making sure I was definitely organised. The rest of the day was spent relaxing really. I watched TV with the kids and just hung out, then blogged a bit and hung out with Chris.

All in all it was a good week, feeling busy but relaxed at the same time. We’re rushing towards Christmas and genuinely I can’t wait. The kids have 4 more days of school and I have 5 more days of work. I’m looking forward to two weeks off and some time as a family. Roll on one more week – let’s get it out of the way and onto the happy days!

Megan’s Birthday

December 15, 2014 by Bel Leave a Comment

I’m going to post later on today with my weekly round up but I felt like Megan’s birthday (and the celebrations generally) deserved a post of their own. Megan turned 10 last week and it feels like we were celebrating all week! The first sign of her birthday came on Saturday 6th, in the form of her birthday mystery party.

If you read my blog regularly, you’ll know I have been working on Megan’s party for quite some time. Not only did I agree to write her a murder mystery (without the murder) but I also ended up making four out of the eight costumes (four and a half if you count the costume my mum and I part shared). The first week in December was crazy busy – with the first 3-4 days being filled with writing the party and the rest being spent finishing off costumes that I’d been working on for weeks.

Though Lily’s didn’t quite get finished, Megan and Lily were young Anna and Elsa. I was pleased with their costumes and while I have a few additions to make, the girls were really happy to have “young” costumes, instead of the standard shop bought ones.

For Nat’s costume we had the great idea to do her costume part pink and part blue. It wasn’t quite how I pictured it but it turned out okay. Sadly Nat’s definitely didn’t get finished as it was missing sleeves, collar and the waist band. However it still gave the effect and I have promised I will finish it for her!

As Amy’s was the first I started, it was also the most finished. Missing only the collar piece, Amy’s dress for Snow White was otherwise complete. I was really pleased with it, especially the sleeves and I hope she was too!

Finally, my mum and I shared costumes. For Nat’s birthday, I had been the Evil Queen – knowing she would be the Evil Queen a week later for Megan’s. As such I was responsible for getting the cape, crown, balaclava etc. I didn’t really make any of it, except for ironing on white for the collar, to cover up the purple.

I didn’t get as much time to work on the food as I’d wanted – but we had a rough theme. There were Anna’s sandwiches, Anna and Elsa’s chocolate stack, Olaf”s carrot dip etc etc. Anything without a theme, feel under Sleeping Beauty’s bites. Megan asked if we could put blue food coloring in the lemonade and so that was our drink. As a “party bag” we bought Disney themed mugs for everyone (since everyone was a Disney character) and then placed a lottery scratch card in each. Sadly there was only one win and that was for £1. Megan’s Uncle Chris was nice enough to give it to Megan too.

The party went well and while it didn’t go quite as smoothly as I hoped, Megan and Lily enjoyed it and that was the main thing! That saw the end to Megan’s party, but certainly not the end to her celebrations.

On Thursday of last week, it was Megan’s actual birthday. Despite giving her free reign to wake me whenever she woke, it was only 6.45am when we got woken and we’re usually up at 7am anyway. Chris and I got Megan an electric keyboard, some Frozen loom bands, a Where’s Wally book and a Hidden Mickey’s book. Though it didn’t arrive until later in the day, we also got her a new set of headphones and a bag for her iPad. Lily bought Megan a Ravenclaw scarf and honestly she’s barely taken it off since.

As well as that, she got quite a lot of money from people, largely in dollars – ready for our Florida trip. I think at last check she had just over $200. On top of that she got a year’s membership to Movie Star Planet, a new dress, a novel, £20 for Next, £20 for Toys R Us, a board game and £10 in cash (I think that’s everything!!).

The day was spent at school and work but afterwards we all went out to Pizza Hut for a family meal. There was ten of us in total and actually it was really nice.

That saw the end of Megan’s birthday itself, but the celebrations still weren’t over!

On Friday night, Megan had her friend Katai over for a sleepover. Katai recently moved to Zambia, but she is back for Christmas. As such it was Megan’s one request, to have Katai over for the night and then spend the day with her on Saturday. The weekend started with popcorn, crisps, chicken strips, cheese bites and cherry coke, while watching movies. First we watched Enchanted and then The Game Plan. After that the girls went to bed. The next day we had a very chilled out morning and finally around lunch time I sent everyone upstairs to get dressed. God knows how, but it took them an hour to get ready and it was about 1.30pm before they were ready to go! We headed over to Lincoln with the plan to get dinner and then go bowling, but in the end it didn’t work out that way.

We went to a pub called Woodcocks for lunch and even though it was 2pm, the pub was still incredibly busy. It took an hour to get food and then because we ordered dessert too, it took almost two hours in total. When we eventually left, we went over to my mum’s for a little while, just so Megan could have longer with Katai. However we headed back after that, dropping off Katai on the way home. This officially saw the end to Megan’s birthday celebrations and now we’re moving on to Christmas! I can’t believe its only a week and a half away now!

Disney Countdown – Days 114 – 108

December 14, 2014 by Bel Leave a Comment

Our 2nd week of Disney Countdown has passed and its been another full week of Disney fun!

Monday (114) – Dec 8th – Watch “Beauty & the Beast”
Tuesday (113) – Dec 9th – Read a Disney book
Wednesday (112) – Dec 10th – Make or Draw Disney (turned into Harry Potter)
Thursday (111) – Dec 11th – Megan’s Birthday
Friday (110) – Dec 12th – Make an Elsa Peg Doll (which turned into Katai comes and sleepover with Enchanted)
Saturday (109) – Dec 13th – Day with Katai (finally time to get the Peg Doll done in the evening)
Sunday (108) – Dec 14th – Read a Disney book

So this week was another busy one and Monday I was worried we wouldn’t have time to fit in a movie. However we did get Beauty and the Beast crammed in and it reminded me just how much I love that movie. Tuesday we had read a Disney book and that’s because Tuesday is often the kids day with their dad. However for one reason or another he didn’t have them this week but we enjoyed reading the book without being too late to bed this week. Wednesday was Make or Draw Disney but with Lily’s school play taking us till 7.30pm and then Megan’s birthday cake to make – the best we could do was honour the other Florida park (Universal) with our Harry Potter cake. Next was Megan’s Birthday on Thursday and as I mentioned before, having December as part of our countdown came on the condition that some days were easier to relieve the stress. Megan’s birthday had no specific task but there was no lack of Disney – from cards, to wrapping paper, to gifts – it was mostly Frozen but plenty of Disney everywhere! Friday our task was to paint our first peg doll (Elsa) as we had originally planned for Megan’s friend Katai to come on Saturday. However it ended up being Friday so we put off the peg doll for when we had more time. Luckily for the girls sleepover, they chose to watch Enchanted so we had watch “Enchanted” as our task for the day. Saturday we spent the day with Katai and that was marked as such on our countdown. She was gone by 5pm though so in the evening Megan got her Elsa peg doll done, to make sure she was up to date. Sunday was read a Disney story again, so we got another chapter of “in a blink” read and I have to admit I’m quite into it.

Aside from all this, there has been loads of other Disney influences in our life! I can’t wait till next week and work being over, so we cram in even more!

Week 49 – Monday Round-up

December 8, 2014 by Bel Leave a Comment

This week I’m going to try and be good – and keep up with my round up posts. I’ve started off well, as its Monday that I first started writing this!

Monday to Friday was work and school as usual. Monday was a nightmare day at work but honestly its become pretty standard these days. Once I was finished at work I drove to the girls’ school and sat outside for about an hour, waiting for them to finish Singing Stars. While I sat and waited, I worked on Megan’s birthday Mystery Party, with the hope it would force me to get something actually planned. When the girls were finally done at 4.30pm, we all headed home and got ourselves dinner, did the dishwasher and caught up on X Factor and I’m a Celebrity. At about 6.30pm we started to decorate the lounge Christmas Tree and it was about 7.40pm when Lily finally went to bed.

After Lily was in bed, Megan and I sorted out the tree in the dining room – our secondary tree, which is themed Disney Villains. It didn’t take us long and once we were done, Megan and I sat down for a bit of a cuddle before Megan too went to bed. Once she was gone, I settled down to write a blog post for Twice the Mum and catch up on a few things online. I then tried to actually get some of Megan’s party typed up, before eventually watching Walking Dead with Chris and then heading to bed.

Tuesday the girls were going to their dad’s after school, but it was also their school fair and the girls were singing in choir. As such I met them after school and took them to fair, before waiting around till 4pm when they would sing. At 4.30pm the girls were finished singing and they left with their dad and I headed home. When I got back, I went straight into writing Megan’s party again, knowing I had to get a lot done still. I worked on it majority of the evening, especially since the girls didn’t get back till 8pm. We had a quick bedtime story and then once they were in bed, I continued to work on Megan’s mystery game. Chris had decided to make quiche and mince pies so he was in the kitchen all evening. I had quiche about 10pm and it was amazing but I knew it would blow my weigh in the next day! We went to bed about 11pm, after watching some TV.

Wednesday the girls were both really tired – especially Lily. I took them both to school and was glad to know they didn’t have school in the afternoon as they were going to a Christmas Carol service at the Cathedral, as part of school choir. After my work, I went to meet the girls at the Cathedral and stayed for the service. When we left, we went straight home and got on with dinner, but Tangled on to watch for our Disney task. Lily went to bed pretty much straight after dinner and I worked a bit on Megan’s party, to get it finished. Once both girls were in bed, I spent some time just relaxing and doing some bits and pieces I needed to catch up on before later heading to bed with Chris around 11pm.

Thursday was the first day that we didn’t have anything on after school. With the mystery party pretty much written, I went back to sewing. The girls and I caught up on I’m a Celebrity while I sewed and sewed and sewed! Megan drew some beautiful Disney pictures but Lily wasn’t really in the mood for doing her Disney task. I actually made sure both of the girls were in bed a little earlier. Later Nat came around and we did yet more sewing, of course while having a girlie catch up. On Friday I really needed some time out as it had been a long week. When we got back from school we got dinner and sorted out some washing, the bins etc. I started to sew and sewed for majority of the evening. However when Chris got home we ordered takeaway AND got a bottle of wine, before spending the evening catching up on some TV. Luckily, since I was done with the mystery game, I could easily sew and watch TV, whereas earlier in the week I’d had to be in silence.

Finally it was Saturday and Megan’s party day. I spent majority of the day sewing Lily’s costume, then in the afternoon I went out shopping with Lily to get the food and some last minute bits. The whole day was a bit of a rush but we got there in the end. The party went well and Megan enjoyed it – which of course was the main thing. After the girls were in bed, Nat, Tom, Amy etc all stayed to chat and it was nice to just have some time together when we weren’t all drunk! Eventually Nat and Tom left though and we all headed to bed, not far off midnight.

On Sunday I woke up early and couldn’t get back to sleep so I got up. I managed to get two blog posts done, X Factor and I’m a Celebrity watched, all before midday. Everyone piled into the car and we took Amy and Olivia to the station. We all then headed to Lincoln for Christmas Market. Typically it rained the moment we were out of the car and we all got soaked. It was also freezing cold. However we made the most of it, wandering around and buying a Bratwurst, a Pork and Stuffing Bap and three hot chocolates. We also had cinnamon nuts which we brought home with us. All in all, we were at Christmas Market about 2 hours and while it was nice, I missed going at night when it was dark. Also if I’m honest, I don’t feel like it was a good this year either.

We all came home, completely drained. We spent the rest of the day/evening chilling out. We watched TV, we played Disney games and we basically just monged. I put Lily to bed at just gone 6pm and Megan went at 7.30pm. I then spent the evening blogging and watching more TV. Chris went for a bath and when he got out, I went for one. Afterwards we watched some TV before grabbing an early night.

I can’t possibly explain, just how busy this week has felt. I honestly haven’t been able to concentrate on anything other than Megan’s party. While I was happy to do it, I’m pleased its now passed. I’m really looking forward to this coming week – with Megan’s actual birthday – and then the build up to Christmas. I feel like finally December can be enjoyed!

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December 7, 2014 by Bel Leave a Comment

This week there was no other picture to choose from that would even compare to this one. Yesterday was Megan’s 10th birthday party – a Mystery game I’d written for her, our family and friends. It’s been almost two months in the making and finally it was here. I made both the girls’ costumes and although they didn’t quite get finished, I was pleased with the results. The girls looked beautiful and were amazing as Young Elsa and Young Anna at last night’s party.

How Frozen (and Disney in general) have taken over our lives!

November 29, 2014 by Bel Leave a Comment

In September I posted about the Girls’ bedroom and how it was coming along nicely. It’s currently still pink but as I mentioned before, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if they want it painting blue before long. This week saw the one year anniversary of Disney’s Frozen release and honestly I can’t quite believe just how crazy the kids still are about Frozen. Last year for Megan’s birthday we went to the cinema to see the movie and this just kicked off a whole Frozen theme in our lives. Megan’s cake was Frozen, as her birthday is in December, but even in March, Lily’s cake of choice was Frozen themed too.

Lily wore and Anna costume to her 6th birthday party and Megan has been hunting for the perfect Elsa dress for months. Luckily we managed to find one and it actually arrived just last week. With Megan’s birthday coming up again (and a heavy Disney theme to our house), it will come as no surprise that Megan’s costume for her own birthday is also Frozen themed (Lily’s too). While the costume’s not completely finished yet, this time next week Megan will be staring as Young Elsa from the Frozen movie and Lily will be Young Anna.

Anyway, I digress from my original point and that is – the girls room is gradually becoming more and more Frozen. While the original theme was just Disney, Frozen is sneaking in and taking over. A few months back I treated them to new duvet covers, after their ceiling got redecorated and an Anna border was put up. These are really the second Frozen themed item in the room, after the original sticker decals we bought this time last year. Both girls have the exact same covers, as the only other kinds you can get are just Elsa. I always think its a bit of a shame that Elsa gets more air time and more products than Anna, because you often find one sibling likes one and the other likes the other.

As a special treat for Christmas, I’ve bought them some new curtains for their room. I don’t know why really as the ones they have are perfectly good but I know just how obsessed they both are (and maybe me a little too). Besides, I can always chop up their old curtains and make more dresses for Florida! The new curtains are of course Frozen and while I haven’t actually got them out of the packet yet, I do hope to as of Monday/Tuesday.

Of course, these thin curtains are fine this time of year but come Summer I might need to rethink it. Not because of the theme – though of course Frozen in Summer is perhaps a little weird (not for Olaf mind you) – but because of the material and the see-throughness of the curtains. This time of year it’s dark as the girls go to bed and dark as they get up so it doesn’t affect their sleeping at all as the Comfy Bamboo Sheets are kids friendly and breathable. It is softer than cotton which makes my kids not get out of their beds because of its coziness. Sadly the same can’t be said in the lighter months. When the sun comes up at 5am and doesn’t set till 10pm, I always have trouble getting the most sleep out of the girls. It will be at this point I look into getting some blackout blinds or curtains. VELUX has a Disney Dream Collection of blinds and it honestly makes me wish the girls had an attic bedroom with a sloped window. The Disney blinds from VELUX are so awesome (though there isn’t a Frozen one as yet!) that I would be hard pushed to know which one to choose! There is a wide range though so I imagine there is something for everyone.

While plans for new blinds are a long way off, especially given the fact I’ve just bought new curtains, I did hear mention that the girls are wanting new bunkbeds. With a trip to Florida on the horizon, I imagine that is unlikely. However with bunkbeds as “cool” as these, who wouldn’t want Frozen beds?

However I imagine a far more likely solution is some new pictures on the walls, a new toybox or perhaps more cuddly toys! With wanting to move still, its unlikely we’ll be investing in any large pieces of furniture or radical changes to the room. Not only that, but kids are so faddy and while this Frozen fad does seem to have lasted a lot longer than any other, it won’t last forever I’m sure!

Planning a Disney Mystery Party

November 18, 2014 by Bel Leave a Comment

Everything is SO Disneytastic in our house right now. I have a Disney Fashion Competition running on my blog, the girls are working on our latest craft project (connected to our upcoming holiday to Florida) and more upcoming, I’m working on a Mystery Party for Megan’s birthday. That’s on top of all the regular Disneyness that goes on here anyway!

Megan turns 10 on December 11th and for a very long time she’s known she wanted a Murder Mystery for her party. Being the daughter of someone who throws Murder Mystery parties every month, has definitely rubbed off on her. In fact, she’s actually stood in for someone at our parties once before (and soon will be doing again). So when she suggested a Disney themed Murder Mystery for her own birthday, I wasn’t at all surprised – in fact, I was determined to make it happen for her.

Instead of a murder mystery, we’ve decided just to make it a mystery. Since the themed is Disney, it seems most unlikely it should feature a murder. I gathered a group of my friends and family together, all of whom agreed to take part. Megan let them pick their parts themselves and I’ll be writing the mystery game around them.

We have:

Megan – Young Elsa
Lily – Young Anna
Mum – Evil Queen (Snow White)
Chris (my brother) – Hades
Chris (my partner) – Grumpy
Amy – Snow White
Nat – AuroraTom – Olaf

I will be taking the part of a Narrator or Story Teller, just to guide the story along.

Though I haven’t written it all yet, I have started and I have a rough idea what I’m going to do. I’m sure once the party is over, I’ll be updating to let you all know how it went! However on top of that, I’m also responsible for a lot of the costumes… majority of which I’m making from scratch.

Megan and Lily as a young Anna and Elsa, is definitely proving an interesting task. I think I have their costumes pretty much figured out but with lots of pinning on Pinterest and then lots of printing out for ideas. In total I think their costumes are about 3-4 different patterns, just to make the one costume!

After that I have Amy and Nat’s costumes to make – Snow White and Aurora. I’m already well on the way with Amy’s but I’m yet to start Nat’s (possibly tomorrow when she comes to visit). As well as that, my mum is being the Evil Queen and as I am being the Evil Queen the weekend before (Nat’s birthday Murder Mystery), I’m sorting out a costume that will do for both myself and then to be borrowed by my mum for Megan’s.

Though the costumes and the writing of the game are my main tasks, on top of that I will be catering for the evening. I’ve already written up a list of food ideas, all to suit a Disney themed finger food party. For Halloween, Megan and I spent the whole afternoon in the kitchen preparing food, I can only imagine that her birthday party will be the same, if not more! I am pretty excited to make Disney themed food though, so its not really worrying me.

As I mentioned above, Nat’s birthday party is the weekend before. She too is having a Fairytale themed party, though its not specifically Disney, just general Fairytale. Her party IS a murder mystery, not just a mystery, but the layout of the evening will be quite different for that I’m sure. That said, like with the Evil Queen costume that my mum and I are sharing, I’m hoping to share a lot of other aspects too. Decorations, food ideas and other things can hopefully be used for both parties. As we’ve already held one Fairytale party for my birthday last year and an Alice in Wonderland party for Chris’ party last year, fingers crossed there won’t be too much extra outlay!

Anyway, watch this space for more updates and more information. I have 18 days and counting to get ready for Megan’s party and that’s obviously not including days at work, time for sleep and Nat’s party the weekend before! It’s going to be a busy couple of weeks… in fact, I should definitely get back to my sewing!