What starts ? My School attendance, except I don't get any brownie badges for attending, but I do get emotional and have fun !

C, had her first Infant School Christmas Nativity on Wednesday, she was a little snowflake and looked so cute. They all sang their little hearts out and yawned, as tradition warrents, when the Reverend spent a bit too long explaining the reasons for the Nativity,bless. I am convinced that Infant School Children have an attention span of three mins max, then the tonsils get hawled out,LOL

Then there was costume making and stage set up for the Junior play rehersals. The Play being on Tuesday which I am told is all about a mouse who lived at the Inn next to the stable where Jesus was born ! I am banned from rehersal though, because R is taking part and so not allowed to see it till production night.

Monday and Tuesday Morning is cusion making, so parents needed to thread needles and plaster fingers!!!! Monday afternoon infant school x-mas party, I am so looking forward to that one, Santa has agreed to attend too :) Which reminds me, must add baking to Sunday's list.

Today though was the Junior School Christingle Service, 480 children with Christingles all lit up and singing Silent Night. Oh it was a sight to see and very emotional, there was not a dry eye in the Kirk, if it was'nt for all those lit candles, one might feel in danger of being flooded out ;). Even the Daddies were sniffing and blowing noses,LOL

Then there were the wardrobes that needed to be built, so I did that in between school visits, because it is Hubby's Works Christmas Party week, because he works on secondment, as and when needed, he gets invited to all the Depts Christmas Meals and of course it would be churlish, to refuse an invite now, would'nt it ! I just hope he makes the last ferry, it is a long swim home if he misses it, he thought it was Saturday this morning, which I suspect was wishful thinking, he does not have the stamena he used to have,LOL

Got my cards written and Amazon was visited and aided in getting rid of some of it's stock, so that just leaves town to visit, sometime this next week, though I hate the thought of hunting a parking pace and then standing in queues for one item :(

However all this has really got us into the Christmas Spirit, but we are waiting till next weekend to put the decorations and tree up, as we have some very special guests coming and thought it would be nice for all the children to do the tree togeather.

I hope you are all having equally as much fun, getting all your prep ready for the festive season and send vibes to you all, as we parents try to retain a measure of sanity as the big day approaches.

Luv. Winnie.xxxx

My toss up was this or "White Christmas" but Ruth voted for this one,LOL.

Look forward to seeing the Song posts,LOL.

I Tag Janice and Kseers.

Hope this works,LOL.

Luv to you all.Winnie.xxxx

Our youngest, Caty, wrote to Santa and asked for her own Spirit Stallion and Rain mare, thats it, nothing else. Horse figures from the film Spirit, Stallion of the Cimarron. Not a lot to ask for is it? A couple of pastic horses!

Problem is that only Breyer made them and then they greedily issued each design as limited editions!!!!!!

Ebay has a few of sets, but only one will ship world wide from the USA and that has reached the grand old price of $70 with 6days to go!!!!!!!!!!!! Obviously a collectors Item.

What really gets my back up is that this film is still popular with young children particularly in Europe, but the Adult Collectors Market and greed has ensured that children can no longer enjoy the fun of owning their own little playsets. 

R had a playset which we bought for her in France back in 2002, but she got so much play and imagination out of the little set she wore it out and the colours wore off after one too many trips to the bath,LOL Cannot recognise any of the horses as the ones from the film.

I am stumped even before I start :(

See, elves are magical and can make any toy apparently. My warning that Santa might not have Spirit has fallen on deaf ears, Santa can do anything!!!!!!!!!!!

Arrrrrrrrrrrrrgh.

Any suggestions welcome, because I am at a loss as to what to do!

Well the best thing is to go sleep on it and hope that miracles and ebay come up trumps, because Amazon is a dead loss:(

Luv. Winnie.xxxx

We have been baking, again. Yes Sunday tends to be baking day if nothing else is planned.

So Ruth was on scone duty, I was on pancake watch and Caty on Victoria Sponge making.

We have just officially tasted Caty's cake and yummy it is too. We have been making different cakes over the past month. I thought it was time to up the anti for Ruth and teach her how to throw togeather a ginger cake, carrot cake and carraway seed cake.

However today Caty wanted to make a Sleeping Beauty cake ! Was rather intrigued by that suggestion and pictures of elaborately decorated flouncy cakes entered my head and I groaned. I don't do fancy.

I questioned Caty and was rewarded with a simple idea. She wanted a pink cake with blue and pink icing, like Sleeping beauty's dress, phew, we can do that.

So we did and she is so happy with it.

It also brought home to me that when baking cake, with little one's, the standard Victoria Sponge recipe is a no brainer. It can be mixed, banged and thumped to there and back, you can add colour galore and still you get an edible result at the end,LOL So big thankyou to the original cook who came up with that recipe :)

So here is Caty's Sleeping Beauty Cake, all done by her own fair hand, except the oven bit,LOL.

Luv, Winnie.xx

Humming Bird Lyrics.

Hummingbird, hummingbird
I thought I'd find you here
Bright lights draw you near, they always will
All that work and worry just to stay still
Hummingbird, hummingbird
Always on your mind
Sweetness you must find, does it get you down ?
You never reach the sky and you cannot touch the ground

Soar you will never soar
Spin or swoop or glide
Soar up above us all
In the shadows you must hide

Hummingbird, hummingbird
So you beat your wings
If you forget to sing you'll lose your song
Then where will you go when all the pretty things have gone ?

Soar you will never soar
Spin or swoop or glide
Soar up above us all
In the shadows you must hide

Hummingbird, hummingbird...

------------------------------------------------------------

Love, Winnie.xxxx

Arrrrrgh I was a tad shocked to be asked to do this, honestly I was. However I love to read featured member blogs so it seems only fair to rise to the honour given me and bare my sole,LOL.

1. Starting with Name, Location and Children.

My name which might come as a surprise to some is actually Mary, called for my Paternal Granny, who died many years before I was born, sniff,sniff. We Live in South Hampshire not far from the Historical City of Portsmouth. I have two lovely girls ages 8yrs and 3yrs (4yrs in two weeks time,LOL).

2 .How did you find Minti?

My Sister found Minti. She was aware of my insecurities as a Mother, having lost my own Mummy just 7 short and traumatic weeks after our 8yr old was born, I had no one to turn to for reassurance, my Mother In Law though kind and helpful had issues of her own and was not very forthcoming. So Sis a computer guru went seeking a forum where she could prove that I was doing O.K. Minti was the place. Thank you Sis.

3. What's your favourite thing or feature at Minti?

I love the spontinaity of the site. You never know who is going to be around or what topic will catch your eye at that moment.

4. What is your favourite thing about being a Parent?

Again, the spontinaity. No two mins, hours or days are the same, you face new challenges and new insights every single day all day long,LOL.

5. What has been your biggest Parenting Challenge?

Trying to get my voice heard for my youngest. Her mis-shapen head was a real concern and no-one would listen, they fobbed me off almost till it was too late. Thankfully one Doctor listened and acted immediatly as she realised the implications, bless her.

6.What worries you most about Parenting?

Not listening! My biggest worry is missing the the things that are not spoken, the between the lines things that teens tend to veer towards,ugh. I suppose realising the issue is a step towards looking out for it, but I still worry about it,LOL.

7. What is the best Parenting advice you've ever gotten from some one?

Trust your instinct and if it fails sleep on it and give yourself time to process the facts. For me it works very well. But it was given to me by my Mum the day before she died and she new how my thoughts worked,LOL.

8. What were your Babies first words? 

Appart from Mama and Dada, 8yr old said jeorgous (georgous) which I called her all the time,LOL. Our 3yr old pointed and said bod (bird) which she could see from her high chair and we chatted about at meal times.

9. What is your favourite song?

ll Cantico delle Creatures by Angelo Branduardi... I love it and will die loving it.

10. What is the funniest thing you've ever done.

Well I will save the families blushes and own up to my own folly here. I was having a lesson to brush up my routine for a Dressage Comp. Gail my business partner who gave me the lesson, stopped pointing out my sloppy habits to say " You have never had a falling off in all the years I have known you, how did you manage that?" I replied "fear, I have a fear of hitting the deck so I dont do it" at which moment my Mare Duchess, tripped up, tipped forward and down and I went flying over the top of her head, ROFL. Gail could not continue for the hysterics that brought on,LOL.

11. Using Just one word sum up Minti.

Well we all can give a list of words to describe Minti, but I think my favourite would have to be:

Humanity.

12. What is the best piece of advice you have gotten from Minti?

Trust my Intincts and never be afraid to seek advice no matter how silly I may think my question is.

13. How do you deal with your Minti addiction?

I make sure I have completed all my set tasks and goals before allowing myself online,LOL.

14. How does your family deal with your Minti addiction?

With total glea and relief because if I am online then I am not wittering on at them,heheheheh.

My husband is very supportive. I live a very narrow life surrounded by the middle class mentality. I am from a peasant / working class background and find that those around me don't always get me or understand where I am coming from. Minti has such a broad spectrum of people who have the ability to share and try to understand the diversity of life.

Thankyou for taking the time to read my witterings and for giving me the chance to share a bit more about me,LOL.

Luv Winnie.xxxx

This advert was filmed live, and yes lots and lots of the public got up and got down too,hehe. I think they should do this regularly as a public service for commuters to lift their "leaves on the line, train cancelled" spirits,LOL.

Luv Winnie.xxxx

I have seen hard times from the outside and heard tales of very hard times indeed but that is a different thing than experiencing it for real.

As Christmas approaches and hard times come closer than ever for many millions of people around the world, I would like to dedicate this favourite song to those who feel the loneliness and despair of real hard ship and to remind those having good times that others suffer alone.

My Father who is sadly missed this year, taught me this song as a youth and the meaning behind it. This youtube version by Nancy Griffith is very special to my heart.

Luv Winnie.xxxx

1. Whats the main thing on minti that make you so addicted?

The spontaneity

2. whats something funny thats happened to you recently?

I wrote a cheque for Ruths school dinners in the amount of £810, should have been £8.10p, I had Flu at the time LOL.

3. whats a word you kid/s say/said thats pronounces funny / cute?

Caty says tool instead of full,LOL Beautitool, I am tool up,LOL

4. if you could be someone famous for a say who would it be and why?

Nobody, I dont do limelight,LOL. I like to beever away behind the scenes,LOL.

5. sum up what minti means for you in 5 words

Friendship, sharing, caring,laughter and support.

I now tag: AZMom, krys, llmunchkin, mariamum

Luv Winnie.xxxx

In any given moment on Minti there is more positives than negatives. If one sees a negative it stands out because of the positive around it.

A venting and whinging blog becomes noticed because of its singularity at that moment in time.

However a negative and whinging blog about Minti more often than not actually refers to the writers own initial negative actions.

I think sometimes it is forgotten that Minti members can work out for themselves what is really going on. Minti is so open in all areas and has so many interactions between members, that it is actually an open book, despite private areas.

We each choose to tackle our interests in our own personal way. Our interaction always speaks volumes about the people we really are and to think a computer hides that, then we delude ourselves.

If a member finds themselves picked on unfairly then the community and admin will step in and support 100%. However if a member is feeling put out because of their own negative actions and lack support from the community over them then they only have to look to themselves.

It takes more courage, effort and humanity to respond to others in a polite and courteous manner than to get negative in a disagreement.

I for one find Minti a positive, upbeat and forward thinking community of people.

I also believe that if I have negativity in my life then I mostly brought it there through my own actions and it is up to me to put effort in to bring back the positive to my own space.

Sometimes negative things happen reguardless of my actions, but I still have the choice to work at turning it around positively.

The same on Minti, if you see the positive then it is positive, if you see the negative then it is negative.

I bet though, if one looks at the activity and counts negative interactions v positive, the positive adds up to so much more.

That is the true Minti, a positive supportive place for Parents.

It is also an evolving changing medium so there is no "what Minti used to be" there is only what Minti is at any given moment.

I love Minti and its nature.

Just my thoughts.

Luv Winnie.xxxx