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Tuesday, December 22, 2009

In the Festive Mood (sort of)

This week has had a very festive flavour, there was the visit to Lapland UK, we just managed to sneak it in before the snow began to fall. The children loved decorating a gingerbread man nearly as much as they liked eating them. They listened to the stories and put the elves horses back together. They tried out ice skating and discovered how difficult it was and finally had a private audience with the man himself. As we had supplied details about their friends and pets and so on the visit was personalised and the children's eyes really widened when they discovered that Father Christmas knew the names of their dogs.

Then the weekend was filled with a visit to Centreparcs. The place was decorated very festively and they had great fun spotting the trees, ducks and trees filled with lights shining brightly. On the Saturday we managed to complete a treasure trail, we had to find pictures of the reindeer dotted around the park. It took a while but we got there. Then we had lunch and ate the most enormous pancakes you have ever seen!

The afternoon comprised a pantomime, the children except Matthew, were enthralled, Matthew on the other hand became a little scared of the witch, scarpered to the lap of a friend and promptly went to sleep! We did manage to wear them out later at the festive disco and I have to say the kids all looked great, especially the little boy who was dressed as a giant present and still throwing some shapes.

Sunday dawned still cold but bright and we made our way to the next activity, a horse and carriage ride, sadly the horses had decided that the ice was too much for them and stayed in the stable so we had to visit Starbucks for comfort! This was followed by a visit to the swimming pool where the kids made the most of the slides and rapids although Matthew did manage to lose one of his new armbands before he left! Dinner was next and an evening filled with fun, laughter, chocolate and maybe one or two glasses of wine!

We all managed to get up in time for breakfast and check out and the journey home was less icy than the journey there, our biggest challenge being getting back onto our drive way. Then we spent the evening wrapping the children's presents and hiding the sacks so that 'Santa' can deliver then on Thursday night. All we have left to do now is build Heathers dolls house and rescue Matthews car from the shed where it has been hiding for the last few weeks!

Now for the sort of bit. Just two days before we went to Lapland and three before we went away for the weekend Lucy for a rather unexpected present, a plaster cast. She has managed to break her left leg. At dinner on Tuesday she decided to stand on her chair which rocked back, I was sitting opposite her and raced around to catch her, but was too late. It seemed as if her toe had swollen up and she was waving her leg about and after a cuddle and a phone call to Daddy and a dose of In the Night Garden she seemed calm and happy. The next morning however, she still refuse to bear weight on her leg and we knew something was wrong. Off to A & E I went while Mr T looked after the other two, I was fully expecting an X-ray and a strapping of some sort but when they showed me the picture of her leg I must admit I cried. I felt guilty that I had put her to bed in such a state and felt terribly. Lucy hadn't seemed distressed other than now racing about the place but even so it seemed such a bad injury for such a little girl.

We had to return to the fracture clinic on Wednesday and she was given a proper plaster cast. By Friday she had learnt how to manoeuvre herself about - she is crawling and bum shuffling about the place as if she wasn't in a plaster cast at all. We have to return to the fracture clinic tomorrow and I am hoping that she is beginning to make a good recovery. Whilst it hasn't ruined her Christmas as she seems so happy with life I feel awful every time I change her and get her dress her and on and see her poorly leg.

Still three sleeps and Christmas will be here...