Roll on next Christmas

Yesterday the husband went over to a friend's house with twin2 and the lad. I stayed at home with twin1 while she had a nap. When they all came home the husband was rosy cheeked and full of vim. "Next Christmas, my darling, will be in England" he announced.

Now I know thay we have only just pulled down the Christmas decorations and found places for the myriad multicoloured plastic gadgets Father Christmas lobbed down the chimney but I am now sooooooooo excited about next Christmas. The last cold Christmas I had was in 2005 and it was an awesome one. It was the first Christmas with the husband (who was then 'the boyfriend') and we got engaged that New Year's Eve in Austria under the falling snow and sparkling fireworks.

All I can think of is wearing boots and coats and scarves, walking to the pub and stomping your feet in front of an open fire clutching a mug of steaming mulled wine. Spending Christmas with my parents in their lovely family home with my own little family will be fantastic. My brother and his wife won't be there as they will be running their cosy, beautiful chalet in Chamonix (if you fancy a holiday go to http://www.ice-break.co.uk/). Having them there really would be the icing on the cake but it's a good excuse to go over and ski. Ooh yeah baby roll on next Christmas.

Hallowed turf

Check out the pictures of the lush, beautiful lawn which now replaces the slope at the back of our house. The husband has many talents - one of which is that he is a 'finisher of projects'. Two weeks ago ready grown lawn was delivered to our doorstep and the husband painstakingly laid it. We were told to water it regularly and to wait 10 days before we walked on it. It all sounded fairly basic to me but the husband treated the grass with the kind of attentiveness a newborn baby affords. Every night for the last couple of weeks if he has woken up in the night he would go outside, check how wet the grass was and tinker with the rate at which the water came out of the sprinkler. His alarm was set for 5am every day and he has been out there, studiously watching the water pitter patter onto his pride and joy. When we drove to Taranaki for the weekend to see Fleetwood Mac his brother was drafted in to get up at 5am and turn the sprinkler on (luckily they are very close and the brother didn't think this was either odd or too much to ask). This was suplemented by several daily strolls round the perimeter watering the places the sprinkler couldn't reach with a hose. After 10 days I tentatively asked if we could walk on the hallowed turf. "One more day" I was told. Two days later I was informed it should only be a couple more days until we can use the garden. Today, 19 days after the lawn was laid, the lad ran riot and we moved the trampoline down there too. The obsession has paid off and we now have the most fantastic extra bit of garden. What a clever man you are, thank you oh husband of mine.

This year I have a goal. I can't really call it a resolution as such but something to work towards. A few months ago my brother married his lovely girlfriend. She has changed his life in the most profoundly positive way possible and has made him a very happy person. Although they live a mere 11,000 miles or so away from us (they are in Chamonix, France and we are in Mount Maunganui, New Zealand) I would like to spend more time with them and get to know my new sister in law better. A fairly fantastical wish but I have a few ideas up my sleeve. Unfortunately all the ideas need pots of cash to finance them and involve travelling the aforementioned 11,000 miles. We had talked about going to France for the winter season at the end of 2010 some time ago but a few other spanners have been thrown into the works since then. Anyway we can but try, can we not?