The Many Faces of Concentration

Top of R's Santa list was a Lego fire boat. He spent a whole 3 hours on Christmas Day building it on his lonesome. I suspect if it had taken him 6, he'd have sat for that long and completed it too such was his dedication.
I was so surplus to requirements that all I could do was snap away around him!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Stress Free Christmas

Given that (generally) I am only at home every second Christmas, I really wanted to spend this Christmas in particular with my wife and kids so we could make the most of opening gifts, playing with toys and not concentrating on cooking. I do enjoy cooking dinner at Chrimbo, but I like to do everything on the day and that's just not practical when you are entertaining!

I got exactly what I asked for. Both our brothers had our respective parents over, leaving us free to our own devices.

 

Early doors, after checking to see if the Big Man had come (which evidently he had), we had breakfast before checking on his progress across the other side of the ocean. Apparently, he was due in Mexico City imminently.

 



 

It seems Santa left a letter for the boys telling them they had been good. R read it for his brothers, who inspected the left over carrots, crumbs and milk left by Santa and his mates.

C was mildly amused by all the presents which had appeared overnight. I think he was more impressed with the re-positioned table more than anything else which meant he could climb and use the sofa for a hand hold.

 

So the opening commenced, with Big Brother closely inspecting what his younger brothers were receiving.

 





 

 

Middle brother is very very pleased Santa brought him his crane.

 



 

 

Mum was apparently quite shocked when a quick peek under the wrapping revealed what Santa has left for her. It would seem acceptable that mum's should receive gifts with plugs....contrary to common opinion.

 

C was impressed with his WOW toys - so much so that he spent the whole day shouting WOW!

 



Big brother was equally impressed that Santa got his list. There will be another blog about that shortly......

 







 

All in all, a very relaxed and enjoyable Christmas Day, spent mainly playing with children and playing with toys. Dinner was a simple, yet suitably Christmas affair. I'll most likely be away next year, so I'm very glad I got the opportunity to make the most of this one.

And yes, Santa was very good to me too.....





Tattie Picking Holidays - 2012

This year, we had our first family of 5 holiday abroad, in Salobrena, Spain. The brief was to go away and spend some family time together, and ignore all the domestic chores that need doing just for a week. That's exactly what we did! For the first time since R was born, I read 2 books inside a week (I think the last time I did that was nightshift 2 platforms ago......how times have changed!).

This is where we stayed, the view was spectacular. What a difference from chilly Scotland - we ate breakfast outside almost every morning (as long as the sun cream policewoman was still sleeping....)

The beauty of a villa waaaaaay up a mountainside is that on cloudy days, brown boys just get even browner. Even 6 year olds seem to want to take it in.....



Most of the week was spent having fun by the pool for the boys. Most of this involved making big splashes. Dad was good at this, but obviously, mum was better! The lads were out of their depth in the pool, so it took a few days for the armbands to come off, but by the end of the week, R could swim a couple of lengths under his own steam, and O could just about swim across on his ownsome. Even Chunky, sitting watching below, was climbing in and out quite happily.

I'm just waiting on mum putting that bloody camera down so I can get in he says....



How old are you dad?

All boys together. Apparently, in the name of Health & Safety this is unsafe according to your friendly local authority. Quick, call childline!

I'll just splash mum.

Mum's too short in the leg, so had to sit on the steps with her brood.

Look - I can fly...

... I really really can fly!

Jumping off my Big Fat Dad is fun too though.

Even big brother wanted a go - (he's got half the bottle of this wee brother)

It wasn't all fun by the pool. You can't go to Spain and not have ice cream at the beach.

We had a wee wander down the road....not too far mind, what a climb back home.....

Where's the rain dad?



Reading is knowledge is power........

Meanwhile, back at the pool....little white boys need T shirts, otherwise they become little pink boys.
 

Off with the armbands, closely watch by my Big Fat Dad.

1-2-1 tuition.

Still trying to fly....honest, I didn't photoshop him in there.

Dad tried to lift mum like this. He failed.

Don't forget about me Dad. I had fun too.

Two peas from the same pod? Don't worry son, they said that about your big brother too and he's growing out of it.

So, all in all a fantastic trip. When you have three kids and the oldest has just turned six, sightseeing and late night meals are not the way forward. You just know that heated pools, early nights, and breakfast on the porch make sense. Jumping on dad whilst a) you're still light enough, and b) he's still young enough is fun. For dads too. Did I mention that Spanish people love kids too?

What's not to like?