where do i start?

i have so much to show and tell that i might have to post everyday for the next week to get through it all!!! i will start with christmas eve... after trimming dads tree we came home and put the girls to bed. we started a tradition with lili (she turns 7 next year) that on christmas eve and christmas night the children get to sleep on mattresses on the floor in our bedroom, we call them nests. once they were safely tucked in their nests and sound asleep, i madly wrapped all the presents while 'santa' assembled three bikes *^_^* we will have to make sure that we are a bit more organised next year because we finally hit the pillows at 1:30am. ( make sure you click on the photos to enlarge them)

here is our fire place with the stockings waiting to be filled.

all the presents wrapped and under the tree.

the last thing we saw before going to bed. three shiny new bikes.

as soon as claudia woke up mick went out to the lounge and started to ring santas bell which then woke the others up. mia started to panic thinking santa was still in the lounge... so after a little coaxing and much screaming of joy from lili she ran to the lounge to find her bike alongside the her sisters. there really is nothing like the joy of a child to make your heart soar, i will be sad the day they find out the truth about santa (lili is starting to notice things like tags that are the same as mine and writing that looks like mine etc..) the girls enjoyed opening all their presents and quietly or rather nosily went about playing with them. once it was all over mick and i realised that i had stooooopidly insisted on making my FIRST EVER pavlova and my FIRST EVER trifle.

now i love love love my husband but he has a habit of taking over when i start something and quite often the end product isnt how i imagine it to be. below are photos of his attempts at the hard peaks of a meringue. even though i was saying that the peaks needed to be more 'peaky' we went with his effort. even though i wanted to oil the baking paper we didnt because he thought it would taste oily. (bad mistake! they stuck to the paper)

the trained eye would be able to spot that these meringues are not peaky enough

this is what we were going for.

keep reading for photos of the actual pavlova and its best friend trifle.

after we could prepare as much as possible in the area of food i moved outside to begin setting the tables. there were to be 12 of us for dinner so i set about making name tags and making the place look festive.

i made us all a place name wrapped around a bon bon

we used our best silver for the first time in 8 years, it was given to us as a wedding present.

two tables was all that was needed, very cozy. the best thing was that we were all sitting down at the same time together at a table for once. and we all cracked bon bons together.

we happily feasted on freshly cooked prawns, a wonderful baked ham made by uncle mikey, the tastiest potato salad ever, roast chicken and tossed salad. after our bellies were full we all decided on our favourite bon bon joke and toy.

this joke cracked us up (pardon the pun)

this little bird balances on your finger, very small and very cute.

time for sweets here comes the pav... ready ta da

nothing like the picture in the book!!! the meringue was rubbery and the frozen fruit DID NOT look like it does on the packaging.

even though this looks like a bowl of vomit, it tasted quite nice.

we ended the night with present opening and family photos with grandpa boris. all in all a great night.

boris with lili, claudia, chelsea and mia

here he is with katie, lindsay and emma

mike, narelle me and mick

the three musketeers in their Hawaiian shirts.

we had a great night and a relaxed boxing day with a visit from micks dad and leona, her sister barb and aunty marg. now we just have to get through new years and it will all be over for another 12 months!!

dying to show you my presents!!! will post again very soon. until then enjoy the remained of this year and dont spend too much at the sales. %*_*% xxrosey