The tree is up

The rapid thaw (not rapid enought to remove the massive, dirty mounds of ice fringing most roads and pavements round our way) has left the roads in a poor state. Sharon crunched through a pothole on Saturday which led to yet another flat tyre (near-side rear as opposed to the off-side rear recently replaced). It's not been a good year on the car front. My heatnig has gone on the blink too, which proved challenging driving back from Lesley's last weeked in a minus six degree temperature with a windscreen frozen on the inside.

Finn and Sharon tried kick-boxing on Saturday. Both seem to have enjoyed it. Finn tends to be the least active of the boys, in terms of running about and dancing, so we're hoping to encourage him to do more things like this. He's started reading the Faraway Tree trilogy which is great to see.

Rowan and Angus had a great time at soft play last week, Angus running about kissing everyone. He's been getting fed up with the palaver of getting dressed up in so many layers to go out in the backpack, so he enjoyed being out the house for a change.

I just realised this will be the last Christmas with a child in a cot in our house. Sharon bought a nice tree on Friday and I put it up and decorated it with the help of the boys over the weekend. As usual, they are delighted to see the decorations come out the loft. If anything, Rowan is even more excited than normal which raises him to unbearable levels of screechiness and, when he doesn't get his way, whinginess.

Sharon was away working yesterday with Julie who had stayed over on Saturday night, so I had a tidy-up day for the most part, trying to get the rooms in order before the next wave of toys and packaging sweeps in over the festive season. In the afternoon I took the boys into town to see the lights at the Dome and Jenners and the Fayre on Princes St. They were very good at staying together. We had pizza and bolognese in La Rusticana without major mishap. Sometimes you just have to test yourself that you can go out and do "normal" family things, even when you have four children to contend with!