"To cease to admire is a proof of deterioration."

Well it seems that we've had our fill of the snow for this winter. I think we made the most of it though. We did all of the usual snow activities, We made snow angels, had a snowball fight, Made a LEGO  snowman, built an LEGO igloo, all with our own little twist. Although we had lots of fun and I do love the snow I'm glad it's cleared as getting out and about in the car was a bit of a pain at times. It was great while it lasted but lets please all stop to think about the casualties of the snow. The deteriorating snowmen with missing arms and eyes and the igloo's that would be no good to any of the passing Inuit's we may have in the Shropshire area. Today I will be thinking about you all. Until next year my fallen frozen comrades.

“May you have warmth in your igloo, oil in your lamp, and peace in your heart”.

Today was day three of the Shropshire snow, we checked online to see if Seth's school was open but then decided it wasn't safe enough for him to go in so we kept him off. Obviously Seth was over the moon at that. We wanted to make sure that we made the most of the snow and i asked Seth what he wanted to do. Seth decided that he wanted to build an Igloo, one that he can sit inside. I asked him what shape he wanted it and he decided on an Igloo shaped like Jokers head (Oh dear).

When i told Mrs M what i was going to try and attempt she looked at me like i was losing my mind. in hindsight i guess it was a bit much for an activity that should be finished in a couple of hours. It was a very cold afternoon after all. I decided to give it a try anyway.

First we got our sledges and filled them with snow from the front garden and pulled them round the back as we knew we were going to need loads of it. We made a really huge pile of snow and started to shape it. It did take us some time but Mrs M being the thoughtful thing that she is she broke up the cold afternoon with an outdoor tray of hot chocolate and cookies for us.

I think at that point Seth could see that a Joker shaped igloo was going to take a long time to make. Which i guess is the reason Seth said "it looks a bit like a Lego mans head, could we make a mini figure shaped one to go with the snowman we made?" It was like music to my ears, that was definitely doable so we shaped the pile into a Lego head shape.

Seth wanted the mouth to be the door so after patting the pile until it was solid and adding the Lego bump on the top we started to carve the door and insides out.

Opeie came out to join us for a bit after his nap too which was nice. He didn't really know what to make of the igloo and he definitely wouldn't go inside. Mrs M was pretty impressed with what me and Seth had been doing with our morning.

The whole thing took a few hours to make but we had lots of fun and i really enjoyed our 'boy time'. The end result didn't come out quite how i wanted it but Seth loved it and was pleased that he could sit inside it. It was starting to get really cold so after tidying up our creation we headed in to get changed and have some warm drinks.

As we were heading in i found some carrots in my pocket from feeding the rabbits and Seth decided he wanted to give our Lego head igloo a classic snowman nose...

"Of course you're not an elf. You're six-foot-three and had a beard since you were fifteen."

So it's day 2 of the snow filled fun. I woke up with Opeie early and we had cuddles on the sofa under the blanket and watched the usual Yo Gabba Gabba/Aquabats Super Show marathon while Mrs M and Seth were still asleep. Looking out the window it was obvious that i wasn't going to be doing the Saturday morning trip to Tae kwon do so i knew i could keep my Giraffe onesie on for a couple of extra hours.

Seth woke up around 7 and we pretty much played with the Lego until Mrs M woke up. Seth was itching to get outside but Opeie's teeth were giving him jip so Mrs M took Seth sledging and we stayed in the warm. Opeie started to feel a bit less groggy so i decided to get him ready to go in the garden

Again it seemed to take forever to get him ready and by the time we got into the garden Mrs M and Seth were just getting back. Seth stayed in the garden with us for a bit making perfectly round snowballs, sledging and writing our names in the snow but as he had already been out for a while he was cold and decided to go in.

Opeie was wrapped up nice and warm in snow trousers and his fancy pink wellies so he was good for a bit more snow fun, so next on our agenda was a snow man. It was Opeie's first snow man so i wanted it to be something fancy. Opeie loves playing with Lego minifigures, he will sit there for ages swapping the heads, bodies and giving them new hair and hats so i decided to make a snow minifigure...

I gave him a crash course in how to roll a body out in the snow and we was having lots of fun but unfortunately he started to get cold and wanted to go in and play with Seth. I decided to stay outside and make Opeie his Snowy Lego man. I did feel a little bad because the house was a bit of a mess but then how often does it snow?! 

It didn't take to long to make and ended up looking pretty good, the hardest part was the hands. The boys loved it and it's another nice thing for them to look back on. Hopefully the snow will still be here tomorrow and we can have yet another afternoon of snow fun.

"Maybe Christmas, the Grinch thought, doesn't come from a store."

I fell asleep on the sofa last night before doing all the usual Christmas touches for the boys, thankfully it wasn't for to long, i woke up at 12:30 and sprang into action making sure that Santa had put all the presents out safely so that no one tripped in the morning and that Santa had left his special key at the door (from Nanny Roo). Ive not been feeling great for a few days so decided to spend the night on the sofa to save Mrs M the discomfort of my snoring from being full up with cold.

Seth woke up at 5:30 to pop to the loo and was excited to find home made stockings left by Santa (aka Mrs M). Surprisingly because his clock hadn't gone off he went back to bed until it did, i was really shocked. He got up at 6:30, came in to me and requested i put 'The Santa Clause 2' movie on so that we could curl up under the duvet and wait for mommy and Opeie to wake up. It wasn't long before they joined us and we soon had a look through our stockings.

I especially loved my Spider-man stocking that Mrs M made me as she had used one of Opeie's old T-shirts i liked, making it more personal. We all had some amazing presents but it was the personal touches and the handmade items that really made my Christmas this year. Starting with a bottle of beer. It wouldn't seem personal to most but the beer does have a significance. It was an American beer that i had when we were in Florida the day i proposed to Mrs M (She's such a cutie).

I really loved the framed picture that Mrs M had made me from Opeie. I love having things like this as its great to look back at. Home made things mean more to me than anything else and they will always be cherished.

I'm sure that your not shocked to read that Mrs M's card from me and the boys was made from Lego, which she loved. Seth decided on a Snowman with multi coloured buttons and a face that spins round so we had spent about an hour making one for her. I do love a good Lego gift.

On the last day of school Seth had come home with a present wrapped up for Mrs M, he took me to one side and told me that it was a candle holder and he was really excited about her opening it as we had given her the Yankee candle advent this Christmas and he knew how much she loved candles. Well Mrs M was over the moon at her hand made gift and it will take pride of place.

When it comes to Birthdays, Christmas or fathers day the one thing i love the most is that i know Mrs M will have helped the boys make me a very personal card and this Christmas was no exception. I loved my Christmas tree card made from outlining Opeie and Seth's hands. Very creative.

I couldn't have asked for a nicer Christmas day and as i type this, still ridiculously full from the beautiful Christmas dinner that Mrs M prepared i find myself so thankful of what i have. I'm so lucky that the three people i adore most are here every morning when i wake up.