{Highs and Lows of 2013 - Happy New Year}

Kate from Kate on Thin Ice has invited me to take part in her Highs and Lows of 2013.

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I took part in this last year, and it's actually really interesting to look back at what I wrote. You can find the post here.

Anyway, here are my answers for this year...

1. What was your happiest event?

My dad and his wife Jo moved back to Scotland. Welcome home Grandad & Nanny Jo :-)

2. What was the saddest thing to happen?

My close friends have had to deal with some very sad situations, I'm not going to list them all here - you know who you are. I still can't comprehend why bad things happen to good people.

3. What was the most unlikely thing to happen?

Despite hoping, wishing and planning, I didn't think it would actually happen... but we sold the marital home and I'm now settled in a new house.

4. Who let you down?

Last year I said that it was myself that let me down, and I think I'd probably still agree with this. There's been a lot of change this year though and I'm learning to be more confident and assertive.

5. Who supported you?

I've been seeing a counsellor on a weekly basis, since the summer time. I've come on leaps and bounds since then.

6. Tell us what you learned.

Everything happens for a reason.

You can't do it all... take help when it's offered. I had a horrific eye infection earlier this year that took two courses of oral antibiotics to get rid of it. This all came at a time when both little ones had chicken pox. It was tough.

7. Tell us what made you laugh.

My amazing boyfriend makes me laugh all the time. And he's handsome too! I'm feeling very lucky.

8. Tell us the things that made you cry.

Turns out I'm a weeper... I've cried lots this year. Over silly stuff. Songs on the radio, at scenes in movies (that aren't even upsetting!)... I've cried talking to my counsellor, I've cried talking to friends & family... I've had friends that have had to deal with horrific things this year, and I've cried for them. I'm hoping that in 2014 there will be less tears and more laughter, for all of us.

9. Tell us the three things your child or children did to make you feel proud.

This is an easy question to answer... I can think of three big changes that my little ones have done that have made me super proud:

The littlest has made the transition from her cot to a big girl bed, and she's been an angel. Staying in her big girl bed all night.

In addition, she is wearing big girl pants, and is dry through the night. No more nappies!

My son has given up his dummy. Santa took it on Christmas Eve and replaced it with a Batman cuddly toy. He's asked for it only twice since it went.

10. Tell us the things that made you proud of yourself.

This year, I went to my ex's house on Christmas morning and had breakfast with him (& my sister came too) before the kids woke up and opened their Santa presents. I'm glad that we're able to be civil with each other and I'm proud of the way I've dealt with the situation over this year and last.

I'm also getting much better at making big decisions on my own (with a bit of help/advice from others). This month we sold my car (a 4x4) and I downsized to a saloon...this will save me so much money in the long run. I picked the car (nearly) by myself and I'm really happy with my decision.

I've also hit my highest page views on the blog this month. I'm rather proud of that too :-)

11. Tell us the challenges you overcame.

Standing up for myself when dealing with others. I'm still not there yet, but I've certainly improved since last year.

Last year one of the parenting challenges I was dreading was ditching the dummies, but we did it and it wasn't as much of a big deal as I had anticipated.

I also successfully completed the Project 333 challenge... living with 33 items for 3 months.

12. Tell us the things you would like to change about your life in 2014.

Simple, I'd like to get divorced, draw a line under that chapter in my life and move on.

Hope you enjoy the new year celebrations, and I wish you happiness, health & success in 2014.

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{#ShareAdvent - Christmas breakfast}

Merry Christmas everyone!!!

It's the final instalment of #ShareAdvent, with the prompt 'Christmas breakfast'.

Right now, the pain au chocolat will be baking in the oven and the Buck's Fizz will be chilling all ready for our festive breakfast!!

Last year we had nutella pancakes, and this year I'm sticking with the chocolate theme!!

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Anyway, I hope you've enjoyed my posts, I've certainly enjoyed taking part. If you missed some of them, you can find all my #ShareAdvent posts here. From Joy to the World, to childhood memories... favourite recipes to gardening... it's all been covered! Thank you to Anna from Skin and Blister blog for taking the time to host #ShareAdvent - the prompts have been really enjoyable.

Enjoy your Christmas Day, and I hope you all have a lovely time whatever you may be doing :-)

{#ShareAdvent - our family tradition}

In addition to the usual advent calendars, Christmas jumpers and mulled wine, there a few other family-friendly traditions that the Glasgow Mummy house have...

Last year we started our very own Polar Express themed tradition for Christmas Eve. You can read about it here. The kids (& the grown ups) thoroughly enjoyed the experience and I'm looking forward to repeating the trip in the future. This year the kids are with their dad on Christmas Eve, and I'm not sure what he has planned.

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Another tradition we have is Elf on the Shelf, and this year it's been a big hit. Every morning the kids have been super excited to search for Buddy and to see where he's hiding. Our elf isn't very cheeky (I don't want to give them ideas!) so basically he just has a different hiding spot each day. As they get a bit older I might get a bit more creative with the ideas!

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One final tradition is that each year, in the run up to Christmas, we watch Prep & Landing. The kids absolutely love this cartoon, as do I!

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{35 at 35: #ShareAdvent Afternoon Tea, Done!}

For today's #ShareAdvent topic, 'mulling', I'm going to share with you the details of the festive afternoon tea I hosted in my new house.

It's the last #35at35list item that I'm going to be able to tick off this year :-)

I had planned to have a lavender-themed afternoon tea party in my new house as a civilised house warming party and had pinned a whole host of inspiring pictures here of lavender hot chocolate, lilac macarons and blueberry cupcakes...

Anyway, I ended up deciding that a festive afternoon tea would be much easier, and I went ahead and organised a child-friendly afternoon for a few friends.

We had cheese & crackers, puff pastry canapes, warm mulled wine from the slow cooker and mince pies with Baileys cream. Yum!

The cheese & pate

My festive wreath!

Kids hard at work cutting out pastry shapes for our goats cheese and onion chutney puffs!

The living room, complete with "roaring fire"!!

{#ShareAdvent - gingerbread day}

Today's #ShareAdvent prompt is 'Gingerbread day' and I have to admit, I've never made a gingerbread man or house before...!

If I have enough time, then today the kids and I will bake some biscuits for the neighbours - it's about time I practiced my biscuit decorating skills. I've posted all our Christmas cards now, except the neighbours ones because I wanted to hand deliver them with some festive goodies to say Hello, especially to the ones we're yet to meet in our new street!

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I'm hoping one of the other #ShareAdvent participants will be sharing a good recipe? x

There are so many beautiful Christmas biscuit designs... I better get practicing!!

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Watch this space to see what ours turn out like!!

{#ShareAdvent - "O star of wonder, star of night"}

"O star of wonder, star of night" is today's #ShareAdvent prompt.

Did you know that at Glasgow's Science Centre, there is the chance to fly forward in time to 1 minute to midnight on Christmas Eve and help Santa find his way home after delivering all the presents by finding the North Star?

Santa's Starry Adventure

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I remember going to visit a planetarium as a child and found the experience to be magical. 

There's something amazing about outer space, and I'm sure this performance will capture the imagination of pre-schoolers and adults alike.

There are also lots of other activities happening at the Science Centre as part of the Little Explorer Days. Check out the information here.

{#ShareAdvent - Favourite Family Recipe}

I made a big pot of Chilli Con Carne when I had guests over for my Social and Cocktail party last month.

Chilli has always been a firm family favourite, and it's ideal for entertaining at this time of the year. Even my little ones enjoy a mild chilli with rice and flour wraps.

I made a batch of chilli, stuck it in the slow cooker on 'warm' as we demolished the cocktails, and then served it with plenty sour cream, guacamole, nachos and salsa. Easy.

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Here's the recipe from the BBC GoodFood website, that both Ali (my sister) and I have used at recent parties we've thrown. I'm sharing this for today's #ShareAdvent prompt, favourite family recipe.

{Ingredients}

1 tbsp oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped (I use ready garlic in a tube)
1 tsp hot chilli powder
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp ground cumin
500 g lean minced beef
1 beef stock cube
400 g can chopped tomatoes
1/2 tsp dried majoram
1 tsp sugar (I added two squares of dark chocolate instead when I added the beans)
2 tbsp tomato puree
410 g red kidney beans

{Method}

Put your pan over a medium heat. Add the oil and leave for a minute until hot.

Add the onions, and cook until soft (about 5 min).

Add the garlic, red pepper, chilli powder, paprika and ground cumin. Stir and leave to cook for 5 minutes.

Add the meat and break it up with a spoon or spatula. Keep stirring until the mince is in uniform sized lumps and there are no more pink bits.

Make up the beef stock cube in hot water. Pour this into the mince mixture.

Add the tomatoes, marjoram, sugar, salt, pepper and tomato puree.

Bring the whole thing to the boil, then turn the heat down and leave it for 20 minutes gently bubbling.

Add the kidney beans (& chocolate) and leave to cook for another 10 minutes. Taste the chilli, and season as necessary.

Replace the lid and take it off the heat. Leave to stand for 10 minutes prior to serving.

{#ShareAdvent - Random Act of Kindness}

Today's #ShareAdvent prompt, 'Random Act of Kindness', got me thinking on the drive to work this morning...

A car that was up ahead of me was indicating to enter into my lane. I quick flash from me to let them know it was safe for them to go ahead with their manoeuvre, followed by a flash of the hazards from them to say thanks.

There are so many drivers out there that are full of rage, and it's makes driving a really unpleasant experience for me.

It doesn't take much, but I think it's important to say thank you. A little act of kindness, that can make a massive difference to someone's day.

Some driver's raise their hand to say thanks, others may just nod their head or lift their index finger. I usually stick the hazards on for a couple of flashes, and raise my hand too - just to be sure that they know I'm saying thank you!

At work, one of my colleagues has suggested we start using the 'ok' signal that's used in diving to say thanks whilst behind the wheel...

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I did it once, and the other driver gave me a slightly funny look. But perhaps it might catch on??

{#ShareAdvent - feed the birds}

Today's #ShareAdvent prompt is 'feed the birds'.

I'm no gardener, as you will know, but I've decided to use this prompt and write about getting your garden ready for winter.

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The garden in my new house is much smaller and I'm planning on maintaining it by myself. I used to have a gardener, but not any more...

Anyway, from the reading I've done, here's what I believe needs to be done with your garden before the weather really turns for the worst (there's been snow in Glasgow already so I am probably a bit late with this post...oops!).

• Collect all the fallen leaves and stick them into a compost bin if you have one.

• Similarly, dig up any annuals that have past their best and fling them to compost too.

• If you've got grass, give it a good rake and stick down some fertiliser.

• Prune any plants that require it.

• Make sure any garden furniture is brought inside into a shed or garage, or like me if you've no space to store it then at least make sure it's covered up. I bought a great cover for my table and chair set on Amazon.

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{#ShareAdvent - make a date with yourself}

Today's prompt for #ShareAdvent, make a date with yourself, has come with perfect timing.

At this present moment in time, I'm on a mini-break with my amazing boyfriend and I've scheduled this post in advance knowing that my internet signal is going to be poor!

I've been swamped with so many things lately... juggling work, the new house (with a leaking pipe that's meant water has seeped from the bedroom into my room below, and a roof that's now in need of repair after the high winds), buying a sensible & economical car (which I'll hopefully get this week) and the ongoing divorce that I just needed some time away to relax.

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Cue R, who has treated me to two nights away in a fancy hotel. Perfect :-)

I'm coming back to Glasgow today and I'll hopefully be refreshed and raring to go. I've still got Christmas cards to write and post, presents to buy as well as all the stuff listed above... I'm keeping my fingers crossed that everything just falls into place. What are the chances?

{#ShareAdvent - Remembrance}

This time of year always makes me think of my mum.

I miss her every single day.

I bet there are bound to be a lot of us in a similar situation, missing family members or loved ones and it can be even harder at Christmas-time. So it seems fitting that one of the #ShareAdvent posts has been dedicated to this theme, Remembrance.

My eldest son is starting to understand a bit more about life and death as he gets older, and yet I still struggle to find the right words to explain what happened to my own mum.

I've had questions asking where my mummy lives, and when will she be back. It threw me at first, but I've now explained that my mummy was ill and she's not coming back. 

I spoke to my son's nursery teachers about the situation, and they recommended a lovely book.

Word of warning, don't read it if you're feeling emotional. I was blubbing, big style!

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"A little fox is in a big bad mood and is worried that its mother won't love it forever. In this beautiful and lyrical picture book, we see a clever and resourceful mother prove to her child that a parents love is limitless - no matter what."

{#ShareAdvent - take a family portrait}

This year the kids and I had our family portrait taken by Zoe Stewart Photography and I shared a few of the snaps here on another #ShareAdvent post.

I also shared a few ideas for taking your own festive photo here.

Instead, I'm going to share with you the Christmas cards we've done over the past few years, some you may recognise from the blog but the older ones haven't been posted here before...

2012

2011

2010 - Card front...

And the reverse!!

2009

{New York Bakery Co - festive bagels!}

I was sent some New York Bakery Co Limited Edition Cranberry & Orange Bagels to try...

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... and they were absolutely delish.

The bagel has plenty cranberries loaded in it, and you can taste the orange flavour. I had it with butter, but I'm told it's amazing with chocolate spread.

It reminded me somewhat of a hot cross bun, so if that's up your street - then definitely give these bagels a whirl.

Are you a bagel fan and have you tried these ones yet?

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{#ShareAdvent - Christmas stories}

For today's #ShareAdvent prompt, Christmas stories, I thought I'd share with you a book that my sister and I loved growing up.... The Jolly Postman. And especially for this time of year, there is a Jolly Christmas Postman!

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"It's Christmas Eve and the Jolly Postman is delivering greetings to various fairy-tale characters - there's a card for Baby Bear, a game appropriately called 'Beware' for Red Riding Hood from Mr Wolf, a get-well jigsaw for hospitalised Humpty Dumpty and three more surprise envelopes."

I love that there are actual envelopes that can be opened and the illustrations just take me back to so many happy memories of my childhood. 

What's your favourite festive book?

{#ShareAdvent - "Maybe Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store"}

Today's #ShareAdvent prompt comes from The Grinch...

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Hear, Hear!!

I love this time of year because (the majority of) people are enjoying themselves, smiling, laughing and spending lots of time with family, friends and other special persons ;-)

We had a festive afternoon tea party at the weekend, which I'm going to share in a separate blog post as I've managed to check off another item off my 35 at 35 list! Yay!!

But it got me thinking of other ideas for having festive parties...

It's National Christmas Jumper Day tomorrow, so why not throw an 'Ugly Sweater' party! This could be purely for the grown ups, but would equally work well for a family party I think! If you were going all out, you could even invite Social and Cocktail over and I'm sure they could easily whip up some festive cocktails that would suit the occasion! I'm putting this on my to-do-list for next year!

Or perhaps a stylish hot chocolate party? I'm a big fan of hot chocolate!! {image source}

Looks amazing!!!! Proper hot chocolate!

Serve hot chocolate in little glass milk bottles dressed up to look like snowmen... tres cute and perfect for a family soiree! 

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My last suggestion is a Christmas movie night, with popcorn in clear plastic cups, again to look like snowmen! Ideal for a family night in...

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{#ShareAdvent - Spread some cheer}

Have you heard of "Been Jingled"?

For today's #ShareAdvent prompt, spread some cheer, I'm going to share with you one of my recent Pinterest finds.

It's really straightforward...

1. Print out a sheet from the website, or the crafters out there could create their own card.

An Eager Elf just left this treat

on your door step for you to eat.

2. Gather some form of tasty treat, homemade or otherwise to accompany your printout / card.

3. Put them on your neighbour's doorstep, ring the door bell or knock and then run, run, run like the wind!!!

What do you think, cute or creepy?

{#ShareAdvent - Childhood memories}

I've shared quite a lot of my own childhood memories here on the Glasgow Mummy pages... from my favourite childhood books (that I still have to this day!) to my favourite childhood toy (again, that I still have to this day!!). I've even shared pictures from my Christmas in Doha when I was 10 years old... with a funny looking Christmas 'tree'! 

So for today's #ShareAdvent prompt, Childhood memories, I thought I'd share a recent discussion I had with my ex regarding my children and their childhood memories.

Apparently the situation with Gavin, my ex boyfriend, has scarred the children (not sure that was the actual words he used, but it was something along those lines) and that they still talk about him (they've mentioned his name once in front of me since June). Gavin came on a short holiday with the kids and myself (although there were other people there, like my cousin and my sister for parts of the trip) and the ex is of the opinion that I've ruined their memories of their first holiday. I did explain that Gavin was introduced as a friend and we weren't in physical contact with each other in front of the kids. Have I really ruined their memories? I'm not sure I agree. I can't even remember any holidays I went on when I was 6 or 7, let alone what I was doing between the ages of 2-4 years old.

I gave it considerable thought before Gavin met the kids, and it didn't work out. It was my decision to end things. I'm now in a position where I'd like my new boyfriend, R (who I have been seeing for 5 months) to meet them, but the ex thinks I'm being selfish and it's not in their best interests.

I know the situation is far from ideal and I didn't see myself being a separated single mummy. But I want to move on. Obviously I don't want to do anything to jeopardise the children's wellbeing or safety etc but is it selfish that I want R to meet them? They're a massive part of me and my life.

Would appreciate any relevant comments or suggestions on this, from either point of view.

{#ShareAdvent - The joy is in the giving}

Today's #ShareAdvent prompt is 'the joy is in the giving'.

I absolutely love to give presents to people & take much delight in seeing (or hearing about) people's reactions when they open a gift, especially one that I've put a lot of thought into.

I also really enjoy the process of wrapping the gifts. This year I bought a Motex retro label maker from Amazon (using points I earned from credit card!) and I'm planning on creating some beautiful parcels with brown paper, gold ribbon & black retro labelling :-)

Here are some of my inspiration pics from Pinterest...

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{#ShareAdvent - spruce!}

I've taken today's #ShareAdvent prompt, 'spruce!, to mean spruce up... and I believe the dictionary definition is to make (oneself, a person or thing) smart and neat.

Well, the lovely people at the St Enoch Centre sent me a gorgeous parcel in the post the other day.

Inside these sparkly boxes is my Christmas Party Survival Kit... one for the party itself, and one for the morning after! Ideal! Thank you very much St Enoch Centre :-)

Christmas Party

Five minutes to get you from office chic to party glam...? I've been gifted five items, all of which can be purchased from retailers at the St Enoch Centre, to help me achieve this (although I'm not actually at work on the day of my office party, but with the kids in tow prior to going out I probably will have just 5 minutes to get ready!).

• Kate Moss' new Rimmel London lipstick
• Topshop gold nail polish
• Dorothy Perkins bracelet in gold
• Scholl Party Feet
• Glam Lashes from Claire's Accessories

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The Morning After

To relax the next day, my second box contained a few essentials...

• Eye Mask from Claire's Accessories
• Peppermint Foot Soak from The Body Shop
• All in One blusher from The Body Shop - to put some colour back in my cheeks!
• Alternative Mince Pie from Hotel Chocolat - some sugar to get me through to lunch (although I'm ashamed to admit that this was gone in 5 minutes from opening the boxes...oops!)

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What are your must haves for getting ready for your Christmas night out?

I was sent this lovely parcel with compliments of the St Enoch Centre. Opinions as ever are my own.