That was Christmas...Hello 2015!

After an absolutely wonderful Christmas surrounded by the people I love most in this world, I am now ready to face 2015 with positivity and determination.  I made a conscious decision to keep the laptop packed away over the holidays and concentrate on nothing more than having fun, making memories and enjoying the time spent with my family.

I was so happy to have all three of my grown-up children home over the holidays. Having all five of my children together is definitely one of my greatest pleasures.  It makes me feel complete. I love the dynamic of the relationships, the laughter and the love.

Adding my gorgeously cute little grandson Ted to the mix adds to the fun.  I was overjoyed this Christmas, to feel that little Ted had really bonded with his McDonald family. He was so happy and comfortable in our house, giving us hugs, saying our names and playing with us. He reminded me so much of Joe when he was a toddler, especially when he decimated the chocolate Santa tree decorations, searching for them among the baubles and proudly declaring that he had 'chocwot' every time he found one!  Ted also bonded beautifully with his Great Grandad.  Watching them having fun together was so heartwarming.  The oldest and the youngest member of the family united through the power of play!

We continued with  lots of festive family traditions this year.  From doing lots of arts and crafts activities in the run up to Christmas to baking lots of festive treats including our gingerbread house.

Choosing the tree that would be brought into our home for Christmas is a serious business and this year we found the perfect tree in our local garden centre and enjoyed a warming hot chocolate in the cafe afterwards.  We decorated it together using the baubles I have collected over the years, each one holding memories of Christmases past.  The children also get to choose a new bauble each year.  This year, Disney princesses and felt covered deer were added to the eclectic collection.

The gifts were spread out this year with a present each on Winter Solstice that paid homage to Ian's Scottish ancestry.  We bought McDonald tartan inspired presents for everyone, which included a shirt, a scarf, pyjama bottoms and a nightshirt.

As usual all the Christmas dinner prep was carried out on Christmas Eve whilst the South Park Christmas CD was played!  I also made a hearty, wholesome vegetable soup for our lunch.  Something healthy before the onslaught of Christmas Day excess.

Christmas Eve gifts included matching onesies for the girls and Minion pj's for Freddy along with a new mug for hot chocolate, slippers, Christmas pants and socks along with a new teddy to hug, all wrapped in a festively decorated box.

The kids designed a plate to leave Santa's snacks on and Freddy sprinkled reindeer dust in the garden.

Christmas stockings were left on the children's door handles ready to be discovered and brought into our king size bed in the morning to be opened.  The door to the living room was covered in wrapping paper for Freddy to burst through to discover all the goodies that Santa had delivered.

But before the unwrapping commenced we sat down to a breakfast of freshly backed croissants and Buck's Fizz to set us up for the day ahead.

My mum and dad joined us on Christmas day which was a real honour and made the day so special. They loved their presents and I managed to make my wonderful dad shed a tear or two of emotion when he opened a framed family photo montage that I made for them. I love doing nice things for my parents and sharing Christmas Day with them is right up there in those things I enjoy.

Dinner this year was a vegan feast including a homemade nut roast.  I looked at so many recipes but couldn't find any that really ticked all the boxes. So I made up my own recipe incorporating all the elements I liked, tweaking it to suit our needs.  So the Lentil, Cashew Nut and Chestnut Roast was born (recipe to follow soon.)  It was a huge hit, especially with my dad who ate tonnes of the stuff!  I served it with a vegan 'sausage' and chestnut stuffing, which was like a main course in its own right, and all the usual Christmas dinner trimmings (including vegan pigs in blankets).

This year we had a Big Christmas Challenge after dinner, which I had spent weeks working on.  It included questions on 2014, news, films, music, Christmas traditions, carols, anagrams, picture quizzes etc plus each family member wrote 5 questions based on their own 2014 experiences to test everyone on.  It was a lot of fun and kept us all busy in the post dinner lull!

We got to do Christmas all over again two days later when Joe, Jade and Ted visited for the weekend. My parents came back again too to see them all bringing four generations together under one roof. Ella's boyfriend Frank also came to stay and we enjoyed another roast dinner and even more presents.  We discovered that Frank is one of the most thoughtful gift givers ever and that he makes my daughter so happy...definitely a keeper!

Thankfully, the illness that has plagued me for the past 8 weeks did not spoil my Christmas in any way.  I battled through and refused to let it get  the better of me.  I'm still not 100% better yet, but feel revitalised and ready to take on 2015!

Christmas was definitely pretty chaotic and hectic this year, but it was tonnes of fun and filled with hundreds of happy moments that we will remember for years to come.  Family means everything to me and spending the festive season with my loved ones was a simply perfect end to the year.

Freddy's birthday party with four generations of our family!

Freddy's birthday is next week, but as his big brother will be on holiday and his big cousin Tom will be emigrating to America, we had an early family birthday barbecue to celebrate last Sunday.  My guest list included all the family - meaning that all four generations (aged between 1 and 81) would be together for the first time ever.  I was so happy to be able to pull this off, especially as this was Tom's final visit before he heads off to make a life for himself in Georgia with his lovely American fiance. I will miss him so much but am so proud of him for achieving his dream.  It was a nice opportunity for everyone to say their goodbyes.  He stayed with us for four days around the barbecue and I cherished every moment and may have drank a few too many beers and shed a few tears!

Freddy's party had a construction theme.  His birthday cake was going to be a three tiered chocolate cake with diggers on top, digging up the top layer of sponge, but Freddy was adamant that he wanted a vanilla tray bake!  So I put my thinking cap on and topped the vanilla frosting with crushed Oreos and decorated the cake using Playmobil construction workers.  Cadbury's Pebbles made good rocks for the wheelbarrow and bucket! It was a very easy birthday cake and I'll use the idea of making a tray bake as a base for a themed scene again.

I bought some sand toys; buckets, spades, a wheelbarrow and a big truck, which were used to hold crisps, biscuits and sweets.  The little ones loved digging for the goodies with the spades!  A tool box made a good holder for some of the snacks and I used tin cans decorated with a construction themed label to hold cutlery.  We had a veggie barbecue served with an assortment of salads and bread.  We had construction themed plates, cups and napkins, and we had balloons with diggers and trucks on them to decorate the gazebo. Freddy's JCB toys, die cast vehicles and toy trucks were dotted around.  The theme worked well and I was pleased that everything came together.

My parents are now both in their eighties.  They have a total of 13 grandchildren and two great grandsons.  It's been years since they have had all their grandchildren in one place at the same time and the great grandsons had never met before.  Ted is my eldest son Joe's little boy who is 18 months old.  My adorable great nephew Baby Michael is my niece's son and has just turned one.  These newest additions to our family mean we have four living generations, which is a great honour. Seeing everyone together made my mum and dad's day.

With everyone together we had to try and take a family photo of my parents with the grandchildren and great grandchildren.  One of my nieces had left by this point, but 12 out of 13 wasn't bad going!  Unfortunately Freddy decided not to pose and little Ted was not going to cooperate and run off half way through.  However, this is my favourite shot of our slightly chaotic family - it really tells a story! 

The kids loved playing in the newly refilled sandpit, blowing bubbles and bashing the pinata. I had ordered a truck pinata but it was out of stock, so I got a fire engine instead. It was well and truly bashed and eventually spilled its contents of sweeties to the delight of the little ones.  Thankfully, bar a little shower, the sun shone.  It was a lovely day and I loved having my children Joe, Megan, Ella, Kizzy and Freddy all together at home.  It makes me feel whole again.

Once most of the guests had left, I remembered that I hadn't cut the birthday cake!  So Freddy blew out his candles watched by his Nana and Grandad, his sisters, a couple of Ella's friends (who Fred adores and wanted to invite), two cousins Tom and Kate and Baby Michael. (At least it meant more cake to go round!)  He had a wonderful day!

We'll be celebrating some more next week for Freddy's actual birthday.  He's a lucky little boy!

PS. Thank you to Freddy's Auntie Debbie for the fantastic Angry Birds onesie that Freddy wore all day long!

The Men In My Life

Yesterday, my baby grandson Ted had his Naming Day, a day where we came together to celebrate this new little man in our lives.  He is a lucky little boy with lots of people who love him from both sides of his family.  Both of his paternal great grandparents were there which made the day really special bringing four generations of his family together.  We had a lovely day which reminded me just how blessed I am to be surrounded by people that I love so very much. 

Seeing my own sons Freddy and Joseph together makes me so proud.  Joe always wanted a baby brother when he was younger, but instead got three younger sisters.  He was a fabulous big brother to them all, but he always hoped for another boy in the family.  It wasn't until the year that Joe left home to live with his girlfriend Jade, that Freddy came along.  But although they have never lived together, the brotherly bond is just as strong.

Now Joe has a son of his own, a new generation of McDonald men has begun.  Seeing Ian , Joe and Ted together is wonderful.  It makes us so proud that our son is now such a great dad to his boy.  Joe now understands what it is like to be a parent, and understands just how much we have always loved him.  It tightens the bond between us all.

 The best part of the day for me, was seeing my own 80 year old dad with his grandson and great grandson.  Baby Ted has been given my dad's name Stanley as his second name, which is such an honour for my dad.  It is also Joe's middle name so it is a lovely family tradition.  

Initially my dad was nervous about being there because he suffers terribly with arthritis in his legs.  But thankfully, he changed his mind when my in-laws offered to drive him down with them, saving him the two hour drive.  It was still a long day for my dad, but we looked after him, keeping him comfortable!  He was glad to have been a part of Ted's special day and relished being surrounded by his family.  Due to the distance, he doesn't get to see Joe very often, but it means the world to them both when they get together.  Beautiful memories were made which will last forever.

My family means everything to me and these Magic Moments are what makes my life worthwhile.