Christmas day.

It seems that I got a little ahead of myself over the last couple of days!  I didnt tell you what we did for Christmas!  Well....here goes!

This year, we only had 5 of our 8 kids with us.  Weez was with her Nan and Poppy and Corky and J-Man were with their Mum.  Happens every 2nd year for us....a quiet Christmas - well, as quiet as it can get with 3 young boys with an endless supply of energy!

Christmas Eve we headed down The Boyne, set up camp outside my Dad's house and settled in for the night.  I took my sewing machine down, fully planning on sewing up the Christmas stockings that I bought from Spotlight a couple of days before (at 75% off of $14.95 - which made them just $3something - they were hard to resist!).  Problem was....I had no foot to go with my sewing machine!  Somewhere along the way (between house, car and Dad's house) I lost it.  With no spare ones with me, I abandoned mission and sat about, catching up with Dad and chatting with Pete.  We were not late to bed, because we knew that the kids were going to be up early the next morning.

Yep - the boys were up early!  After not being able to make up the stockings, I decided to 'steal' their pillow cases and provide them for Santa to deposit their presents in.  this proved to be a bad move, as Mickey and Bubba both woke up, crying for them!  I had no idea that they were so attached to their pillow cases!  Bubba was the first up.  He ended up sleeping beside me, so he woke me at the same time with "Mum!  It's morning time!"  LOL  Of course, Mickey was next up and went straight upstairs.  Bubba probably forgot about presents, because he was straight onto his bike!Will was left sleeping in the van....he had been up most of the night - new bed, new noises (or lack of at Dad's place), etc to get used to.

The boys soon found their pillowcases again!  And soon delved into the depths to see what Santa had brought them.  There were plenty "OOO's" and "AAAH's" as they poured over their gifts. 

Next up was brekky - nothing really special, but Will had fun, all the same!

At around 10am, we decided to head on down to the river and play on the beach to fill in time before we were to head over to my brother and SIL's house for lunch.

They enjoyed splashing in the water.

And Will especially enjoyed ruining the sandcastles that Daddy made!!

On the way home, Will enjoyed being perched on Daddy's shoulders.

And Bubba Pete enjoyed riding his bike.  This is a particularly cruel hill for kids to ride up (a long, gentle slope) - I did it many a time when I was a kid and dreaded it all the time!

That is all for the photos!  I forgot to take my camera to my brother's house and, as a result, forgot to take photos for the rest of the day!  My brother, Dad, Pete, Lenny and Moo enjoyed a little bash with the hockey sticks out the back of Dad's place while SIL and I looked on.  I cant tell you how much it pained me to see everyone with those sticks in their hands and me unable to join in because I could twinge my back, again!

That night, we had leftovers from lunch.  We didnt feel like eating much, because we had been eating and drinking all afternoon, but the kids still had a fair meal.  We said goodnight to my brother and SIL early that night, because they were heading off to Carnarvon gorge early the next day.

Handmade Christmas

In an effort to make this Christmas as 'cheap' (but not nasty) as possible, I set off with my crochet hooks a couple of months ago and started to craft up some goodies for my friends and family.

Every year, Pete's family has a 'Secret Santa' list (not so secret when everyone gets a copy of the list!) that needs to be filled with monetary amounts allocated against each name. Each year, I feel like a cheapskate for not spending that full monetary amount on who I am supposed to buy for, but I have decided NOT to feel that this year, since I have basically spent next to NO money on the presents that I plan on giving out! Most have been lovingly handcrafted by my hands from my stash (I will admit to buying a couple of things when Spotlight had a sale on balls of yarn recently) or bought at an earlier stage at sales and kept in a box, just waiting for a time like this to come along.

Here is what I have managed to make so far:
A nice, soft lapghan for my Dad











Nice and easy lapghan for my niece and nephew
(Pattern can be found here)














And a little shawl for another niece (modeled by my beautiful daughter, Weez!)
(Pattern can be found here)



.








A beanie and scarf set for my brother
I used a plain dark blue yarn and added white sewing thread while crocheting.













Slippers for one of my besties. I made some a little smaller for her daughter in purple and pink, but I have already wrapped them! hehe. These were so easy and quick to make! I got the pattern from a crochet mag I usually buy. More to come, since they are so easy!










I plan on getting a few more things made before Christmas. My sewing machine will be coming out and I will be whipping up a few things on that, too! Better get my butt into gear, hey? LOL

Merry Christmas!!!!

Ok, so a little late with this actual post, but Merry Christmas to all!!! I hope everyone had a fantastic time and Santa brought them all they wanted!

We made a last minute decision to head down to a property at Agnes Waters (we only had 4 kids with us, so it was a little easier to just up, pack a few bags and leave!!).....SIL Mum and Stepdad's place. It poured down rain the night of the 23rd, so were at odds whether we wanted to camp out in the rain. BUT we made the trip and set up camp in the very overcast afternoon. Christmas Eve wasnt too bad...just a few drizzles....but Chrissy day was fantastic!! Very overcast, but not hot, humid and awful, like so many other Christmases I have known!

Tea that night was a lovely, big Red Jew that Pete bought from the fish markets just before we left......bloody lovely fish!!! It fed 6 kids and 10 adults (I think that the 4 dogs got a little each, too) and we were still picking from it when everyone had had a plate full! It is tradition for them not to eat red meat on Chrissy Eve, so it was a fitting meal....and very filling!!

The kids had a fantastic time opening their pressies up in camper in the morning before Christmas. As SIL's whole family were there, we thought it best to do that first then head over to the house for brekky. Brekky was VERY simple, with vegemite on toast, cereal and the usual non-cooked stuff.....no bacon and eggs and no dishes to wash up (used plastic plates!!).

About 10:30am came some nibblies as well as some more visitors! Christmas certainly IS the one time of year where I eat and eat all day and dont feel guilty!! After lunch, we all had a rest and everyone was back up by 4 or 5pm. SIL's Mum was a little under the weather the whole time, so it did her some good. I just hope she doesnt/didnt pass the flu onto anyone else!!

Heaps of video was taken over the days, but not many photos, so I can only show you guys a couple! Bubbles were the theme for the day......there is a bubble machine on top of the chest freezer, there and the kids were chasing them and having a HEAP of fun! See the sky in the background? Yep....that is what it was like ALL day!! AND windy!!


Here is SIL entertaining the kids with one of those bubble wands! They really loved the huge bubbles from it! Well....when the wind wasnt blowing them apart, anyway! She DID manage to get one or two off whole, though....so all good!

A visit from Santa!!

Santa came to visit the kids last night!! Every year, the Apex club in this area (with the help of a local car dealership) dress a bloke up in a Santa suit and pack him onto the back of a trailer and he hands out lollies to the kids. He has a bell and sounds very much like the Home Ice Creamery Van, but the "Ho Ho Ho" makes the difference!

This year, he handed out lollypops, red skins and a few more lollies (all wrapped, to avoid germs, I spose). Bubba was all excited, until he pulled up! I had to pick him up, because he would not go to him by himself. Once he saw the lollies being handed out, though, Santa was his best friend!

Here they all are, waiting for him to come down the street....in their night time glamour...hehe.


And here he is!! FINALLY!!