Manchester Christmas Markets

On Saturday, DB had his first proper sleepover at nanas house.
He was very excited to be going and was looking forward to sleeping in the bed in the little room. (I thought he would of wanted to sleep in with nana, but apparently he doesn't like girls so wanted to sleep on his own!)
Anyway, he had a fabulous time and was a very good boy for nana and is already looking forward to staying again!
With DB staying out for the night we took the opportunity to take DM to the Christmas markets in Manchester. I haven't been for years, I think the last time was when DM was in a buggy and I swore I wouldn't go ever again with small children as it was far too stressful!
We went on the tram, which is always exciting, although it was so busy.
We had a great time wandering around and sampling biscuits, cake, cheeses and lots more. DM enjoyed a hot chocolate with cream and marshmallows, and we enjoyed a orange punch with a kick and a Glühwein. Just the thing to warm us up!
We had a late tea in Bella Pasta, and I loved spending some special time with DM on her own. We got home about 11pm and had a lie in till 9am the next morning! Bliss!

Baking With My Boy

Last Sunday, Megan went to a birthday party, so I took the opportunity to spend some one on one time with my boy.
We decided to do some baking and make chocolate brownies.
It was lovely to spend time, just me and Ben. It made me realise that rarely happens as the opportunities just don't arise.
He is such good company. When it is just me and him, he makes me laugh with all his funny little sayings and I love just spending time with him chatting and having fun.
Ben pretty much made the brownies himself. He cracked the eggs and fished out the shell! Stirred and mixed, spooned out and pressed down.
And the finished product was delicious, and we have all enjoyed them this week.

I am going to make a big effort to spend more time just with Ben. Megan and I spend time together, especially in the evenings when Ben is in bed, so I need to find times just for Ben and me.

Bonfire Night 2013

We had a lovely evening here. Chocolate apples to start, followed by fireworks and sparklers.
True to form Megan stayed inside to watch, just venturing out for the last couple of fireworks and Ben got stuck in with the sparklers this year. He loved them and had massive fun waving them around!
Happy Bonfire Night!

The Snail and The Whale Review

Last Tuesday, we were incredibly lucky to get last minute tickets to see The Snail and The Whale stage play that was showing at The Lowry.
It was being performed by Tall Stories Theatre Company.
I was really excited as it is a fabulous story by Julia Donaldson, that makes an appearance fairly frequently in our house at bedtime.
I was really looking forward to it as I couldn't imagine how it could be transformed onto the stage as it is mainly a book based in the sea with a huge whale!
When we arrived at theatre I realised this was going to be a very popular show. There were lots of parents there, with children, ranging from babies up to about 10 years old.  The show actually states from 3 years up and to be honest, I think that is more appropriate rather than to bring babies. It just isn't geared to them and there was a bit of crying and a few little ones were taken out.
As we were all getting settled in our seats, a lady was playing the violin, which I thought was a lovely touch. The two other actors were also interacting with the audience, talking to the children, getting into character and playing a game of hide and seek between father and daughter, which was actually part of the first scene. Very clever!
As the play began, the lady playing the violin, began talking and we realised that she was the young girl in the play, all grown up. There were just the three actors and they were all of a very high standard. The man was the dad, one of the girls was his daughter and the lady playing the violin was the daughter grown up who narrated the story and provided the wonderful music.
Without spoiling the play too much, the story of the tiny snail was seen through the eyes of the young girl and her father who was going off to sea. It was very cleverly done and provided us with the story but from a slightly different view point. As for the whale, that was great, and made from furniture from the girls bedroom set, and was set up in different positions on the stage so it could be viewed from different sides throughout the play.
The play really gripped the children and also interacted with them. There was some singing and a bit of shouting, during the game of hide and seek, which everyone joined in with.
The play was about an hour long, which was just right for the age it was for. Megan and Ben really enjoyed it and Ben in particular has been talking a lot about it since we went.
And for me, I thought it was excellent. Far better than I thought it would be. The quality of the acting was superb and the set was amazing.
We were even given a souvenir programme to bring away, that Megan has now put in her scrap book!

Christmas is just around the corner!

Winter has pretty much arrived. I think winter is quite possibly one of my favourite seasons. I love the cold, icy air and the frosty mornings. The only thing I don't like is the rain, that just depresses me!

With the arrival of winter comes my most exciting time of the year....Christmas!
I love Christmas and I love the fact that we are creating our own fabulous traditions here in the Wright household.
Just this week we started our very first bit of preparation for Christmas....soaking the fruit in brandy ready for our Christmas cake!

Soaking the fruit in brandy!

 Both Megan and Ben helped to do this and we all made a wish while we were doing it!

Making a Christmas wish!

Now is the time for me to start thinking of what Father Christmas *may* be bringing the children. Although I have already picked up a few bits and bobs throughout the year, of things I know they will like.

We always have a real Christmas tree, I love the smell of them, and that is just part of Christmas for me. This leads me onto another Christmas tradition that we have.... usually the first weekend in December we go and pick our tree. This always takes a while as it can be very difficult to find just the RIGHT tree! It has to be just bushy enough but not too bushy that it will take up the whole room! Just tall enough but not too tall that we have to lob loads off!

Then comes the best bit! Decorating the tree and putting up the decorations. We have lots of tree decorations and as we are decorating, we talk about where we got them from and what they mean to us. Both Megan and Ben have baubles with their names on and I have already got a brilliant collection of hand made decorations that will be on my tree for many years to come!

Rush on November, lets get to December!!!



This is a featured post.

Photo of the Week Halloween 2013

Photo Of The Week

I am linking up with Louise from Team Lloyd for Photo Of The Week. Louise will post a linky on her blog for us to link our photos up. If you fancy joining in, click here.

It is an opportunity to capture a special moment from the whole week, something that happened, something that you saw or something that you want to remember.

Halloween 2013!

For Halloween this year we had two witches, a vampire and a policeman in a swimming cap! I love the fact that at the tender age of 4 Ben knows his own mind and in individual enough to wear what he wants! Long my it continue......although the older two decided he was an escaped mental patient!!!!