A week, with a fabulous 90th party and festive decs.....

Alan took a day off on Tuesday so I could go into town for Xmas presents and the weekly food shop.He took over my duties :-) I went out at 10.30 and got back at 4.30.He and Emily had been busy,they had played,cleaned her room,been on a long walk(playing all the way round) and when I got back she was in a bath washing her hair whist Alan read to her.

Wednesday was a very enjoyable home ed group day.We had visitors from another home ed group and it was lovely to put some faces to names I have been reading on the local yahoo list:-) really hoping we get to see them again.There were girls in the group!! We are short on girls in our group.Nothing wrong with boys at all of course ;-) However Milly would love the company of girls.She has been resistant to going to any other group.Doesn't like a car journey and also doesn't think anyone would want to be her friend:-( Perhaps now she has met the children she may feel able to make the step.

After group we went off to town.I had seen a dressing table at Impact housing the day before that I thought she might like.Milly is redesigning her bedroom and has decided she wants old furniture that we can personalise,so we have been checking regularly as they get new things donated all the time.She really loved the dressing table it has two deep drawers and a large three fold mirror.The chest of drawers I thought was perfect got the thumbs down though ,not to her taste! £20 for the dressing table is a bargain, now we have to decide on how to personalise it.We are talking about black gloss(she is having red walls,one white near her bed so she can draw on that one and wants red and black accessories) and then we will do some decoupage, using images she either draws or we pull off the Internet, then varnish it to finish.She knows exactly what she wants and I am putting ideas forward if I think she might like it, but I want her to have free reign to really design her room herself.

We had booked the car in for a couple of things to be checked out on Thursday and decided to take Beauty with us in the car to the garage and then walk back home.It was a fab sunny day and a very enjoyable walk back.We played an imaginary game and chatted the whole way back.Mum arrived just as we got home and we all had lunch together.I then got in a long bath and read while they spent time together.Mum took us to visit my sister and nephew. We picked up the car and headed home.Milly then decided she would like to go out with Alan and Beauty again.

Friday began in leisurely fashion,Milly had a lie in.She is soooo excited about Xmas and has had a couple of late nights because she just can't switch off to sleep, so she really needed to catch up. I managed to work my way through some paperwork and phone calls.Alan was going out to his works Christmas lunch from work and would not be back until later than usual so we decided to take beauty out to save him a job.It was another lovely crisp day and we had a good walk and got home to get ready to go into town to see Deirdre(our homeopath).It was the first time we had been into Cockermouth since the floods and we felt quite emotional to see the whole of the high street with scaffolding and boards up.The road was full of skips and builders vans.The reality of peoples lives turned upside down hit home.

We got back home just before Alan did and Emily asked if he would go out for a walk with her and Beauty while I got tea ready.Milly loves to walk and play her imaginary games with us ,so it is ideal to incorporate that with exercising Beauty:-)

Saturday was spent in Ripon celebrating the 90th birthday of my Nana.Car journeys can be trying as Milly really gets herself worked up.However she had made a deal with herself that if she was "good" (her word) and had a nice day then Xmas day would go as she had planned it to:-) we all had a good time.

Nice to see Nana looking well .There were loads of family members I have not seen for many years.I do wish I was better at these kind of things,I never find it easy to "mingle" at parties, even if they are family, we still don't know each other! I sat next to one of Nanas friends called Win who was in her late 80's but she was a fab character,really cheeky and great company. Milly had baby (not so much a baby now at 2 1/2) Emma calling out for her and sat and coloured with her.Emma fell in love with Emily on our last trip to Ripon in June.

I had said I would get up this morning and see to Beauty so Al could have a lie in but he said he would get up.I heard Milly getting up around 9 but felt I was stuck to the bed! My eyes just would not stay open.I surfaced and Emily and Alan went off for an icy winter walk.I got on with cleaning and making a chili for tea( I sometimes use braising steak instead of mince and long slow cooking in the oven makes for a lovely thick sauce with the meat falling apart mmmmm) they came back after a couple of hours ready for lunch!

This afternoon has been car washing (Milly voluntarily helping AL out) and decoration making, to make the hall a little festive. I gathered a box of foliage from the garden.I was armed with gold spray and red paint and lots of pine cones we got from our walk last weekend :-)

We set about making bits and bobs ;-) Milly sat with me chopping foliage and a sponge to make her own little tea light dec:-)

Some pics of the finished hallway.Sorry about some blurry pictures.Hydrangea heads and pine cones, dried and sprayed gold add a bit of  bling to the candle wreath,mirror decs and the vase of foliage.

   

 

Just finished a very very yummy chilli and am now going to curl up on the settee to watch X factor results :-)