ahhhh the time has finally come and I’ve managed to steal a few minutes just to say to everyone MERRY CHRISTMAS! I hope you’ll all having so much fun!

I decided to make Santa snow foortprints by sprinkling some talc powder and getting my husband to carefully make boot prints from the fireplace to the tree, the kids were so ecstatic (although my eldest were onto us!)

Anyway, must dash – turkey in the oven!

once again – MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Looking forward to watching films snugged with the kids and family!

Now that I have a full house (sometimes more like a madhouse!) I’ve been more busier than usual – so apologies in advance if I’m slacking! It’s been great having all the kids back at home, my house is burtsing with hussle and bussle! Our back garden is spotted with various snowmen and snow angels and as result there’s only black sludge left.

My husband bought a sledge to surprise the kids – oh my, how well that went down (no pun intended!) It was a great day all round, after playing in the snow I made everyone scrummy hot chocolates to warm up those tums with lots of whipped cream! Of course, you can never have enough chocolate and my kitchen turned in a chocolate bombsite! I always try to encourage as much cooking in my kids as possible, I think it’s so important that they get confident as early on as possible, the key is to make it fun! We ended up making a choco-chesnut log (keeping in with the Christmas feeling!) I found the recipe in the Discovery Box Book, it’s so easy – perfect for beginners in cooking!

It serves 8, and all you’ll need:

30g butter biscuits
100g butter
1 egg
200g dark chocolate
1 packet of chesnut cream

1.Grind the butter biscuits into fine crumbs. Melt the butter in a pan on a low heat, and add the eggs and mix well.

2. Out the chocolate in a saucepan with a little water and it melt over a low heat. Pour into the powdered biscuits. Add the melted butter and egg and mix well.

3. Shape the mixture into a roll. Wrap in aluminium foil and leave to cool in the fridge fr 4 hours.

4. Cut the ends off the roll. Spread the chesnut cream over it. Pull a fork through the cream to mark it. Put your log back into the fridge for a few hours….then enjoy!

Ok, so it’s Tuesday and I finished my shopping! HURRAY! All that’s left to do is wrap, tag and hide them from all the kids – plan is to stash them in the loft so that they think Santa C came down the chimney! Although, I need to hand post Christmas cards to all my neighbours – pushing it a bit late but I’ve just had so much on my plate!

It’s no secret I love a bargain! Well, with four children and a house to run it would be silly not to keep my eyes open for good deal.

Apparently Harvey’s Furniture (you have probably seen the T.V ad’s – they do lots of nice new designer furniture at a reasonable price) are giving away something from their new shop at Tottenham Court Road shop EVERY HOUR all day. Prizes look absolutely amazing, things like brand new sofa’s and furniture (worth a fair bit I expect) so I think it would be well worth getting down to the shop. Plus they are giving away a prize every day after Boxing Day (Boxing Day is the best day as this is the new shops opening day).

There are lots more details on the Harveys Facebook Fanpage and/or Twitter – to enter you will have to be a fan or a follower of one as you have to send in a photo of a piece of furniture with a gold star to win.

It’s snowing like mad here and the last day of school has been cancelled so I have the kids a day earlier than I anticipated! Still we are going to have lots of fun building a snowman in just a moment before coming in to warm up and get baking some mince pies! Yummy.

I am being called now so I better go! Have to find some coal, carrots and a scarf too to make the perfect snowman.

The kids can hardly contain themselves with Christmas fever; they beg to
be the one to open the present on the family advent calendar. I can’t
wait for Christmas either but the days are passing so fast and I STILL
have shopping to do!
The new Bayard books came in this week and my two youngest can not get
enough of the story Father Frost’s Forest in the Story Box. I think I
have read to them every night before bed since we got it. My oldest loves
the Discovery box story on polar bears. With the issue of global warming
and the Copenhagen climate conference taking place it was a relevant
article. My oldest is a sucker for anything cute and cuddly but she became
concerned for the polar bears after reading in the latest DiscoveryBox book that they are endangered due
to the melting ice caps. She now is trying to gather information on global
warming and is beginning to lecture everyone in the house about green
living just to save the polar bears (which is excellent news in my opinion).

So after the mad rush of the weekend, I came home today to place a holly wreath round the door and I absolutely loved it when one of my children came up to me, very self assured saying ‘Did you know that holly leaves don’t fall in winter? That’s because they are evergreen!’ As any impressed mother, I assumed that they had taught it in school but before I knew it I had an Adventure Box book in my face, with the response ‘Seeee?’ It was the Bayard book titled ‘Aki works it out!’ and it’s at times like this that I am proud to be associated with them.

Well, well, well, the X-factor finalist 2009 has been revealed! I must say, I had no idea who would be taking away the prize, I was on the edge of my seat to say the least! I’m so happy for Joe, I’ve always had a soft spot for him (especially after I found out he’s a campaigner for Great Ormond street). It was such a good show, and looking retrospectively it just goes to prove that old Aesop fable of the tortoise and the hare – slow and steady (and consistent) wins the race! I also found out that he had applied in 2007, so if first don’t succeed try, try again (it worked for Alexandra too!)

I tried making it more fun whilst the adverts were on by making up our own ‘judge panel’ with the children – with who they think will win and why and to give their best X-factor singing and dancing skills.

Overall, I had a fantastic weekend, the X-factor buzz was definitely much appreciated after doing most of Christmas shopping. Staying true to my colours, I organized it to militant precision with where to go and what I needed to buy, I know without it I would have been as useful as a chocolate teapot.

Thankfully it was crispy blue skies around London which made shopping and meeting with my sister all the better. We ended up having coffee and a lovely catch up in Covent Garden, apparently there’s an outdoor lido which is open all year round near there – I know it was clear skies but it’s going to take a lot more for me to step into an outside swimming pool!

So after an exhausting (yet enjoyable) Saturday shopping, I was feeling rather unadventurous with preparing dinner so went with a fail safe pasta bolognese, it always goes down a treat. We all gathered round and watched Stacey voted off, although I thought she had done a cracking job. I put my feet up because I knew the Sunday I had a big day ahead of me.

On Sunday, I prepared a special roast (Christmas decorations and X-factor final!) I decided to roast parsnips and have lashings of beetroot to give the plate a burst of colour. During the day we all spent getting the decorations out from storage and letting the children pick out the tree and getting all in the festive spirit!

A handy little hint, a way to keep the little ones busy is buy making some decorations ourselves, I particularly like to teach them how to tie bows with simple gift wrap ribbon (make sure it has the wire edges) to then pop it on the tree. Watching the X-factor with nothing but Christmas lights made it even more magical. Here’s to Christmas!

I was looking through my recipes and I came across the most delicious overnight French toast recipe that I haven’t cooked in ages. I used to beg my mother to make this for Sunday brunch when I was younger (although I used to call it “Eggy Bread”!). It is so delicious!

The recipe calls for:
• 2 tablespoons corn syrup
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 (1 pound) loaf French bread, sliced
• 5 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
Directions:
• Combine the corn syrup , butter, and brown sugar in a small saucepan and simmer until the sugar has melted. Pour this mixture over the bottom of a greased 9×13 inch casserole dish.
• Place the bread slices over the sugar-butter mixture in the dish. In a bowl, beat together the eggs, milk, vanilla, and salt; pour this mixture over the bread. Cover the dish and let it stand in the refrigerator overnight.
• The next morning, preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Uncover the pan and bake for 45 minutes. Serve while hot or warm or the French toast will harden in the pan. It can be reheated.

The preparation is simple but must be done the day before, which makes this dish ideal for a time when you do not want to prepare something the day of.
After discovering the recipe, I made it for my family for Sunday breakfast, served with a bit of cream, maple syrup and fruit, it was a hit! Ser Everyone was asking for more and I must tell you it tasted just like my mother’s.

Christmas is only a couple of weeks away and I’ve yet to start purchasing Christmas gifts, YIKES! With four kids, a husband and the extended family I have a lot of shopping ahead of me! I love Christmas shopping because I enjoy seeing all of the seasonal decorations in the stores; people can be so creative!
In order to complete all of my shopping I am going to have to plan a trip into London to see my sister and have a stroll on Oxford Street. I am going to have to prepare ahead for this because Oxford Street is packed at this time and I have a lot of shopping to complete. Without a plan I am completely lost when I have so much to accomplish in a short amount of time all while fighting off the other shoppers. Even though this is the season of giving, people can be a bit rude when they are shopping.
I doubt this one trip into London will be sufficient to complete all of my shopping so I may have to depend on some online shopping. There are so many gift sites I could spend hours going back and forth trying to find the best deal. What are some of your favourite online shopping venues?

I’m sure many of you are already aware I love a good bargain! When you have four children a husband and a house to run your really have to make “thrifty” your middle name.

That can sometimes be really hard when you are trying to make sure you really give the very best to your children, especially their education. Finding the balance is something I am always striving to do, but something I came across yesterday has been a big help!

Putumayo Kids is something I have loved before having been introduced to the brand from the kids Bayard books They describe themselves as “committed to introducing children to other cultures through music from around the world. As the children’s and educational division of Putumayo World Music, Putumayo Kids has established itself as one of the world’s leading children’s record labels. Each CD in our growing collection features songs with child-friendly lyrics and multilingual liner notes that entertain, educate and inspire cultural curiosity” From my experience this is all very true.

The good news for bargain hunters such as myself is that they are currently offering a free song having teamed up with Storybox books. Brilliant stuff!