Festive fun, great food and a very special day...

Santa did not disappoint today. Every member of the Hammond family has quite simply received some amazing gifts and we have all excelled ourselves in the Christmas shopping stakes. We are all chuffed to bits and now firmly flopped on the couch, unable to move having consumed way too much food (cooked by the delectable Mrs H) and in need of a sleep. Anna now has every Buzz Lightyear product known to man having had multiple Toy Story gifts: Buzz PJs, Buzz shopping trolley, Buzz watch, a big Woody, Buzz chocolates, Buzz cards and the limited edition Buzz dressing gown with built in flashing lights! She is in heaven. Lucy has the world's largest toy Dalmatian, some Zoobles, books, DS games, a new scooter and DVDs. She has a beaming grin and is so pleased with her hoard. Both the girls have had a fantastic day and I am really proud to have heard so many 'thank yous' and 'pleases'.

I feel very lucky that we have had a good year and can spoil the girls rotten - which we have! Highlights of the day: grandpa fixing a poorly Zooble; Libby's face when she opened her VW money box; silly glasses; whoopee cushion mayhem and the love and generosity that we have all shared today as a family complete with Granny and Grandpa...

One more sleep to go!

Excitement is hitting high levels in the Hammond house as there is only one more sleep to go and then Santa comes down our chimney! The presents are wrapped and there is a serious amount of them under the tree. The girls are noisy and hyper excited - not necessarily what we want, but we are just having to go with it as there is no sign of them calming down and chilling out. Mince pies made, all goodies purchased for consumption, the house looks beautiful and festive and there is a real possibility that this year is the year I have excelled myself in the purchase of presents for Mrs Hammond and lots of them! All essential ingredients for a lovely family Christmas. The best thing of all, is that this is the first Christmas Eve that I have not worked since either of the girls were born and I am spending it with my family. Really looking forward to the Christingle service this afternoon.....

A star is born!

Anna made her stage debut this week and a star was literally born. Playing the role of the star in the nursery nativity play, she found herself with a severe attack of shyness and spent most of the time with her thumb in her mouth and very subdued. Amy went to see the play and Anna has proudly told me about her starring role. Amy said she was quite simply adorable. She has been very cloak and dagger about the whole thing pre the performance, telling us all week that it is a secret - thinking that we do not know the story of the birth of Christ and all will only be revealed at her play! A kind of world premier that only she knows about. She has accidentally given away some of the content with some adorable renditions of several Christmas songs that she has learnt. Most memorably on Sunday singing with her cousins and her sister by killing 'Away in a Manger'. Such a new experience for her and the first time she has done something in front of so many people. Normally gregarious and gobby, she moved into new territory and showed a really vulnerable side...

A cheeky version of the nativity!

Went see Lucy's Christmas play today, it was delightful. I was so proud of Lucy for two reasons - firstly she had clearly worked hard and knew all the words of the songs and secondly she managed to overcome a really bad attack of the nerves. Lucy was a narrator telling the story with several others. When she came out she looked so worried and this was not helped by what happened next. Her first lines were delivered in front of about one hundred people and she clearly wobbled, but as she turned around to step off the reading box most people in the room saw her exposed bottom as her trousers were coming down! I did not know what to do with myself and I am so deeply ashamed that I burst into laughter. There were then tears and more worry from all concerned. I am not very proud of myself, but what she did next made me so proud of her. She lifted herself, got over it and then delivered her next two sets of lines to perfection and really enjoyed herself. Once we talked about it in the evening she managed to see the funny side as we told her she had the best bottom in Fakenham! Lucy, I know that you really do not enjoy being in the limelight, but you did great.

Opening up secret worlds..

I have been on leave this week and it has really opened up my view of the world that my two children inhabit and what they enjoy. There are elements of their lives that Amy has seen so much of that I do not normally get to see when I am at work. My first lesson is how much they both enjoy spending time with us on their own as well as a family. Lucy is pictured here on a recent girlie shopping day with her mother, that she regularly refers back to with a glint in her eye. Having shared Wednesday with Anna and Amy, whilst Lucy was at school, it was a pleasure to see how much Anna enjoys being top dog without her big sister around and the benefit she is getting of that time alone with Amy. Having picked up Lucy from her rainbow's meeting and her dance class today, it was lovely to see the freedom she got from both of them. They were her experiences and she embraced them as her own and they are clearly is very important to her. I saw the girls swimming at their class last Saturday for the first time and was so proud of how well they were doing. Both were desperate to show me what they could do and probably underperformed as they tried to impress me. I think my presence was a little distracting! They have such a strong bond as sisters, but I have definitely learnt they are individuals who have things that are special to them and this week has opened my eyes a little...

Poorly Grandma...

Grandma is poorly and back in for her biannual visit to hospital on the exact same day of the year. That's another story about fate and strange coincidences. It even extended to her being in the same bay at A & E. I am keeping my fingers crossed that she will make a full recovery. She has had a suspected stroke. Anyway, that was not really the reason I chose to blog about my pretty awful weekend. The reaction of the girls to how low I am feeling and their grandma being unwell has been amazing. Lucy's instant reaction was to draw and write a get well card, even though she never actually got round to it and to tell me that she would say a prayer for Grandma in church. Anna has been ringing her on her toy phone and telling me that she is going to be right. They have realised I am not feeling right and have been good as gold, giving me so many hugs and kisses and have looked after me. Amy has been amazing today and reminded me why I chose to spend the rest of my life with her. Thank you girls, just what I needed to boost my spirits and to feel positive again....