Aunty Lizzy’s Birthday a.k.a. Boxing Day (by sarah)

Boxing Day happens to be my aunts birthday so we all went round there for a bit of a party boxing day - this was cool especially as two of my cousins had babies about 6 weeks either side of Jean. Add in my still school aged cousins and Rachel the new baby and it was full of a bit too much cuteness and definately far too many smelly potties!

There was also a nintendo wii which had alot of the sports accessories with it - much to my cousins Niels horror me and his girlfriend came a very close first and second in the bowling game where as he had about half our score!

Jean had a great time especially when she got a little fairy dress complete with gold angle wings - there where much cries of pretty dress - far too girly for my taste but she enjoyed herself!

Fred the cat was unfortunatly spotted first by Jean and then by Alaric - fortunatly he is a tolerant old thing.

At some point getting on towards the end of the everning a curly afro st gorges wig appeared which made its way with a fake beard and long witches noise left from halloween, onto a teddy bear. Then Jean found a tou pram and then said teddy was proclaimed - 'My Baby!' and thrust in said pram. Conor (or possibly Jordon) then stole the witches nose and well here are the pictures:

There was lots of food including some very tasty mediterian vegtables and stuffing balls that werent dry! Alaric also recieved more presants that he could happily sit and build 🙂

as everning set in properlly the babies begain to get very tired - mum and dad where actually stranded at my aunts place as once again their car broke down and my brother had to go and get them! This ment they stayed the night at my aunts with a Jean Jeany who slept quiet happily in a travel cot thats not her own.

Christmas Day At the Chateau de Pym (by sarah)

Christmas day begian for us in Highgate - Al had got me a bueatiful black highheel stocking with feathers and pearls all over it and purple glittery highheel shoe christmas decorations. Then to ungirlyfy things abit I recieved loads of dinosuar themed stuff which made me really happy - of course I'd managed to leave most of his presants in Gloucester so he only got a few old techniqual books and a cat money box!

We then packed the pie and christmas cake up and headed for Essex.

There we found what is possibly the most scariest santa clues ever!

For the meal itself I had made six glittery napkin rings - one for each of us - Jeans was the christmas tree, Davids the bualbal, mums the bell, mine the star, Alarics the holly and dads the santa hat (well he is the Hat Man after all!). Mum had made some snowmen christmas napkins for said rings to go onto.

The p0ie was baked and did Alaric proud - it contians fennel, quill pasta, spinache, pin nuts, red pepper, feta cheese, cream and marmite.

Probably Jeans favourite presant of the day was this puppet theatre that David had picked up in a charity shop - I got into trouble for playing with it too much though, apparently the wizard isn't dumbledore its merlin and apperantly Hermine is sleeping buety and Luna is goldelocks etc... I think they were all being very mean especial as I was singing the sing and every thing - snape snape severus snape - Dumbledore etc... (ok if I can find the link I'll post it later it was really funny at the time.

Alaric had bought her back some little planes with - Pretty lights mummy! - on them, from Dublin.

The night of mums operation I went and helped dad clean (him being a cleaner) and Jean came with us and fell in love with Henry the hoover of which there was fortunatly multiple ones so that we could still actually hoover! Anyway mum and dad got her this little henry which came with a dustpan and brush and all sorts of fun excessories - she loved it 🙂 I'm wondering if it would be seen as child labour to get her hoovering the house (once we have one again) 😉 Of course Alaric and David had to open the poor little henry up to see how it worked and if there were any brains in there!

As you can see the meal and excitement of christmas day resulted in Mum going for a sleep and Dad - well... Jean thinks sleeping people need teddys to hug 🙂

Christmas Eve in Highgate (by sarah)

Christmas Eve was spent making mulled wine both alcoholic and non-alcoholic even though it did mean sending someone to the shops on an emergancy tour! I also decorated the christmas cake I'd got dad to bake back at the Mill. I went for christmas trees on the snowy tundra (it would have been spikey but this was my first time using the instant royal icing mix rather than making it up myself). Becuase I am me and was thus unprepared I ended up having to improvise an icing bag out of greese proof paper and everything. You may have noticed from the picture that I have some little creatures that should not be there - my little family of marzipan hedghogs - these are special hedghogs who have awoken for the Snow Ball and it has nother NOTHING to do with the fact my brother loves marzipan and hedghogs - I didnt then refused to let anyone else have a hedghog honest!

Cooking wise we also roped peeps who'd come for mulled wine - namely Clair into helping us prepare the leopard pie which is Alarics traditional veggi christmas dinner as we where going to be spending christmas day at my perants we where preparing the pie to take with us and cook once there. I have only one thing to say at this juncture - 'Mmmmm Pie!'

Of corse the Christmas clock made an earlier appearance and after about three hours had everybody wanting to kill me or the clock or both - I still think its cute with its flashing lights and five minutes of tinny out of tune christmas carols, Jean loves it too with its riendeer going rouw rouw - tick tock rouw rouw mummy! Snowman! Snowman! Daddy lookit Snowman!

As the day progressed there where lightsaber fights with bits of cardboard!

Mucho mucho playing with the remote control darleck I got Al an eon or three ago!

There might also have been some dancing but I have acidently forgotton to upload the photos with this one being the least embaressing 🙂

We finished the day off by watching Jack's (whos office we're currently in) friend doing the christmas lectures which included inflatible real lungs on a resirator etc... It was fun 🙂

Sarah and Simons New Year Eves Party (by sarah)

On New Years Eve clair came round to where we are staying in Highgate and painted my nails for me including putting on nial gems which took a while and for me has resulted in self control in trying not to pick at them!

We then headed out to Burgess Hill for a geology party (well a party hosted by geologists). Sarah and Simon where in disgrace as they went and got marraide with out telling me! In fact scarily I realised I hadn't seen any of them since Flos wedding just before the birth 🙁

It was great catching up and their tree looked fab 🙂

Midnight came with a pop by which time me and clair where horse from having sung along to about three cds worth of power ballards

As you have probably noticed Neil sprouted some facial hair during the night! He then proceeded to dance badly 🙂

Sarah and Simon had made mulled wine with chillies in! I'd not come across this concept before - the verticts ranged from wow! To arg my mouth and throat are blistering - I was a chicken and avoided it.

Here are some general picks of party randomness 🙂

Alaric decided to a) design chocolate bars and draw pianos becuase Jules Holland was excited on TV with a piano and to general amusement he decided to do impressions of Wallace and Gromite for which he has the perfect teeth!

Some time around 3 am we decided that it was time for cups of tea having all stuffed our faces with warm minni jam filled doughnuts, chocolate brownies (made by one of the Clairs), out cookies (made by one of the Sarahs) and other sundry yummyness! Did I mention that most people at this party where called Clair (sorry probably different spellings I know!) or Sarah! this can only mean one thing! - Clearly they are the best two names in the whole universe 😉

Coming soon to a blog near you - What else we did over Christmas - as some of you may have noticed the blog was actually broken there for a while hence I am only writing the posts now. It felt disheartening to write the posts when I knew people couldnt get at them to read :/

Again Happy New Year 🙂

Jeany-bow was at a family party creating havoc with two contemperies the three of whom where dressed in identical little fairy outfits! I'm hoping someone took pictures for me 🙂

Samuel Pepys (by alaric)

I'd always been vaguely aware that Phil Gyford, an interesting fellow I had the pleasure of meeting through my time with UpMyStreet.com nearly a decade ago, ran a web site that told you what the famous diarist Samuel Pepys was doing three hundred and forty three years ago today.

However, it wasn't until I saw his blog posting about it today that I realised just how much work he's put into it.

WOW.

Well worth a visit, even if you're not into history...