"Your heaviest artillery will be your will to live. Keep that big gun going."

having two young children, me and Mrs M never get to do anything together. We have not been out in almost 5 years which is a little crazy when I think about it. Over the last month or so though the boys have been taken out a few times by Laura's folks and sister and they have had so much fun, making me and Mrs M realise we need to occasionally do things for ourselves. It is important to do things as a couple every now and again. I feel lucky that our relationship is so solid. Had it not have been i can imagine the stresses of not having that 'us time' could become quite a strain.

While we were at auntie Lottie's cottage on boxing day I was asked whether I was interested in going clay pigeon shooting, having never fired a gun I jumped at the chance and Mrs M seemed game too so a few days later Lottie and Opeie hung out while me and Mrs M donned some Harris Tweed and went on a mission up to their friends farm to meet up with Lottie's chap Aaron and our friend Aub.

Mrs M didn't like the look or sound of the gun but eventually intrigue got the better of her and she was soon shooting at the sky. Her face was priceless when she hit one of the disks.

I'm not much of a mans man and was convinced I was going to miss them all and expected everyone to have a chuckle at me but i managed to hit a few and the boys were great in showing us how to use the guns etc. We were only out for an hour or so but it was lots of fun and was really lovely doing something with Mrs M and not having to worry about the boys. Saying that though Seth would have loved to sit and watch from a safe spot, maybe next time.

Me and Mrs M have got a few plans for some things to do together and we are lucky to have some great family and friends to spend time with the boys so we can fully embrace our 'us time'.

"Christmas... is not an external event at all, but a piece of one's home that one carries in one's heart."

I feel like it's been months since I last wrote on here. So much has been going on that it just made sense to go quiet for a while until things were a little more calm. Christmas can be a stressful time of year for a lot of families but for us this year it wasn't the festive preparations and gift buying that was piling the pressure on but the fact that not only was Mrs M starting her new job, we also moved Gifts from the Pirates HQ two weeks ago. (If you can avoid it, moving house this close to Christmas is a crazy idea).

That being said though, we are now in and slowly getting settled. There are boxes in every spot that isn't used regularly and trying to find specific things amongst items still packed has been quite testing. Despite this and the fact we are living without Internet at the moment (it's like being back in the 80s), it's great to be in our new home, which so far has been quiet and very relaxing.

We didn't get to put our Christmas tree up till the 16th of December which was a little grim, being the big Christmas fans that we are, but being able to find a new space for the decorations and even have the extra space for a second tree (thank you Gary and Ruth) was awesome. We filled the house with festive cheer which put a smile on everyone's face and took our minds off the piles of boxes scattered around each room.

As expected it was made quite clear early on that the styling and design of the boys room was going to be my remit. But that's where my creative flair ended and the remainder of the house belonged to Mrs M. Suits me fine though as most of my time in the house is spent playing with the boys in their room. Their room was the first to be organised the weekend we moved in (sorting a place for the LEGO was most important). It was great to unbox all of their books too as they took up a lot of boxes. I'm loving the library/LEGO area they've got now and I'm looking forward to getting some photos and art work up over the next few weeks.

We still don't have internet and probably wont have for a couple of weeks but having my trusty phone means that i can get back in to the swing of writing and play catch up over the next few days. 

I hope you all had a great Christmas and new year.

“Never laugh at live dragons, Bilbo you fool!”

UPDATE:

Thank you all for taking part in The competition. The winner of the Hobbit goodies is  jamieisbell....., an email has been sent and we look forward to hearing from you. Congratulations.

Stay tuned for more fun competitions In The new year.

I love a good competition and being able to reward our readers with great products every now and again is a lovely feeling (especially when its LEGO)

To celebrate the release of The Hobbit Battle of Five Armies, in cinemas from December 12, we’re giving one lucky person the chance to win a LEGO® Lonely Mountain set, a signed sword plus a goody bag filled with Hobbit action figures and even a themed t-shirt! 

 

About The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies 

New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Present a Wingnut Films Production, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies . As with the first two films in the Trilogy, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug , the final film is a production of New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures (MGM), with New Line managing production. Warner Bros. Pictures is handling worldwide theatrical distribution, with select international territories as well as all international television distribution being handled by MGM. www.thehobbit.net 

The Lonely Mountain set is the must have for any Hobbit enthusiast – containing a sought after Smaug dragon figure, a first for LEGO®! 

Bilbo Baggins™ has been sent to look for the Arkenstone™ inside The Lonely Mountain. Find the secret door into the lair of Smaug™ and enter with the Dwarves. Smaug is an enormous fire-breathing Dragon, unlike anything you’ve ever seen before, so move fast! Includes five minifigures with assorted weapons and accessories: Bilbo Baggins, Balin the Dwarf, Dwalin the Dwarf, Fili the Dwarf and Kili the Dwarf, plus a Smaug figure. 

IN CINEMAS EVERYWHERE DECEMBER 12 th Cert: 12A 

LEGO and the LEGO logo are trademarks of the LEGO Group © 2014 The LEGO Group, All Rights Reserved 

© Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All rights reserved. THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES and the names of the characters, items, events and places therein are trademarks of The Saul Zaentz Company d/b/a Middle-earth Enterprises under license to New Line Productions, Inc. (s14) 

Competition open to UK residents only. Competition closes on 26 th December 2014 at 11.59pm.

One Winner will be chosen at random from the list of correct answers and will receive: 

1 x LEGO ® The Lonely Mountain set 

1 x signed sword 

1 x Hobbit t-shirt 

1 x LEGO notebook 

1 x action sword 

1 x double action figure set 

1 x single action figure set 

For your chance to win, just answer the question below: 

What is the name of Bilbo Baggins ’ home ? 

   1. a. Bag-End 

   2. b. Bag Land 

   3. c. Baggins Hole 

   4. d. Baggins Shire

Leave your name and email address in the comment box.

Good luck and Gifts from the Pirates hope you enjoy the festive season.

"Only those who have learned the power of sincere and selfless contribution experience life's deepest joy: true fulfillment."

We've got so much going on at the moment that the blog has suffered a little over the last few weeks, but I'll be back on track soon. The exciting build Up to Christmas is in mid flow now and with under three weeks to go it's all the boys are talking about.

With letters to Santa sent, the boys wait patiently for the big day. Opeie knows exactly what he would like from Santa and has made it very clear what is at the top of his wish list. Where as Seth (and his old thoughtful head) as always has been unbelievably caring and has asked for only one thing for himself (in fact it is something for him and Opeie to share which is even cuter), anything else he would like to be given to children that don't have mommies or daddies, my heart could melt.

This selflessness that we get every year from Seth is rubbing off onto his little brother and I couldn't be more proud of the both of the them. They are such well rounded children. The countdown to the big day is already getting to be so exciting and I am thoroughly looking forward to spending some quality family time with the people I adore the most.

"Charity is willingly given from the heart."

We have loved working with Build a bear workshop over the last couple of years and the experience of walking into a store with the boys knowing they can create themselves a furry friend really is quite an experience. Aside from the bears and all their amazing outfits to choose from, one of the things i love about them as a company is all of the charity bears they release and charity events they support, working to help disadvantaged people. Their current charity bear is Spots if fun pup and £1 from each sale goes to the Children in need appeal, which helps children and young people on various endeavours.

 In addition to Spots of fun pup, you can choose to add the Pudsey pyjamas which will secure a £2 donation to the worthwhile charity. The pup put a huge smile on the boys faces and has been on a few adventures already but for me i know that the sale of the bear will put smiles on many more children's faces.

"Whatever good things we build end up building us."

Never before have i felt so out of my depth reviewing a product (and its a LEGO product). I know pretty much nothing about Minecraft apart from what Seth has told me over the previous days. So, when i was faced with a review of the new LEGO Minecraft Mine set (21118) i had to turn to my right hand man to get me out of a pickle, for fear of looking like i didn't know what i was talking about. I can write about LEGO day in day out but Minecraft was definitely out of my comfort zone, hopefully the last week or so of education by Seth has helped, i did let Seth have free reign of this review though (i may have added some rude builders in a long the way though). Over to Seth and of course the star of the show, Steve.

I learned a lot from our build together and it made me realise how much i need my little team mates around when building, to keep me on my toes and educate me when clearly i have no idea what i am doing sometimes. Since building the kit, LEGO Minecraft has crept up Seth's Christmas list and it seems to be becoming quite popular as its sold out all over. the Crafting Box looks great for the creative builders not wanting to stick to instructions. Personally I'd like to get my hands on The Farm, for some really interesting pieces.

Seth is already planning on extending his track on a huge scale so stay tuned for some custom Mincraft building very soon.

"The happy combination of fortuitous circumstances."

A few weeks back a last minute trip to London fell in to our lap because Mrs M had to be there for work. So we jumped at the chance to tag a long (well what else were we going to do?) . Rather than ramble on about what we did though I thought a series of pictures would suffice, I'll leave you all to make your own minds up whether we had a great time or not, enjoy...