Monthly Archives: December 2011

Christmas Shopping in Town

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It is Monday but no school for the boys since they are now on their Winter break.  Ryan had work early this morning and I really wanted to do something special with Ronan and Maddox.   Instead of having porridge at home, I took the boys into town for some special time together.  We started off with breakfast at one of the bakeries where the boys got to choose what they wanted to eat.  They enjoyed a delicisous banana milk to drink.  I had a jacket potato with beans and it really hit the spot with the cold weather outside.  Afterwards we went into several of the shops, trying to find the right Christmas presents for their dad.  Not to spoil the surprise, I will not post what we ended up buying online.  But the boys did have a lot of fun picking out something specifically from them.  At the end of our morning out,  we found some cute santa hats at Claire’s for the boys to wear.  Getting into the holiday spirit we took some fun photographs around all the Christmas decorations at the shopping centre.

Breakfast with my boys in town. 

Silly faces and Christmas spirit. 

Christingle at Church

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The Boys got to be a part of the Christingle at Church this Sunday.  Same church as the one for their school, but this time they got to choose their outfit.  Maddox really wanted to be a sheep and I found the most cute costume at Sainsbury’s that looked like a character from Wallas & Grommit.  Ronan had his heart set on being an Angel, once he knew that Angels could be boys.   I love that he is shy of 7 years old because he wore this beautiful vintage lace dress I own as part of his costume without saying a word. He looked so handsome and a perfect Angel.  Afterwards the boys helped make the candle holders for the special Christmas service.  


First Snow!

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I did try to take a photograph today but given my time constraints with being at work and having an iPhone 3Gs that was not quite possible.  I looked outside our huge windowed walls at work and saw those snowflakes falling and I felt like a six year old.  It is the first snow fall I have witnessed in England since moving back.  I felt like dancing!  It was not the type of snow to stick and it was not quite cold enough to keep it long. Despite those common denominators it was quite magical all the same.  Sadly it seems the snow is not as welcomed to those around me at work and taken for granted.  I wish I could have seen it with my boys so we could have been excited together. However they were able to witness the snow with their dad. Hopefully it will snow again soon.

Christmas Shopping Date in London

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Kua ‘Aina Grill in London

I used to work on Tuesdays but things got a little too hectic at home and so I took to not taking those extra hours in the salon.  Ryan does not have class or work this semester on Tuesday so we found ourselves finally in years with one day to spend with just ourselves.  Well at least while the boys are in school.  With Christmas fast approaching, we decided to take to London for a little Christmas shopping.  As we got off the train we headed through the park where I really enjoyed watching the ducks.  I really enjoy all the parks in England. They are usually quite beautiful and quaint. After a yummy breakfast of warm food we headed to the toy store again for christmas shopping.  It was a really fun outing and makes me really look forward to more Tuesdays like this.  We even found a restaurant chain that we had in Hawaii!  Nothing like a bit of Aloha to make you feel warmer in the cold English weather.  Alas all the fun to be had today was finalized with a little bit of drama trying to get back home.  Unfortunately in the winter months it seems a lot of people decide to take their lives and jump in front of trains.  This happened and it delayed us getting back to the boys by a few hours. With not having any contacts we can rely on in situations like this it made it quite stressful.  My thoughts do go out to the family of the individual who ended their life.  Quite sad.

Ryan in Hyde Park 

Me bundled up in London 
Watching the Ducks 

Brunch of hot soup, warm bread, and a cup of hot chocolate.  

Maddox makes decorations!

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When I dropped Maddox off at school I got to see all the ornaments they have been making for school.  He was very proud to show me the ones he made specifically.  He looks forward to bringing them home at break so we can put them on our own tree.  Afterwards I stopped through town to check out the charity shops.  I found a huge tub of assorted legos for less money than a new lego set costs in the store.  I could not pass this up and so I bought it for the boys for Christmas.  I will just need to figure out how to wrap it up.
Maddox showing off some of his homemade decorations at school. 
Maddox and his classmates decorated these to hang up on their class tree. 
I really like the rudolph ornaments they made too! 
My charity shop find: a huge tub of legos!  This will be perfect for under the tree at Christmas.