Preparing for winter II

bluebag

Is it me or has it just gone really cold in the last hour?, I'm freezing with the heating ON!

Confuzzled

well aside from turning the heating on tuesday night because it was supposed to be really really cold on wednesday (storage heaters, gotta plan ahead!) i haven't bothered turning them back on again

i did replace my clothes airer today as my last one was wooden and my ex stepped on the bottom of it with his clumsy army boots and broke it :mad: but i can't test out the new one as i don't have any heat on in the house

i've decided to add another fleece to my thermal curtain i made for my bedroom but i'm going to do it the cheats way. i have one of those ikea fleeces that has the holes at the top. and my curtain has these little tabs built into the rod with holes in them for the hook but i haven't used the ones at the very ends as they are fixed so i wouldn't be able to open my curtain (singular) if i did. instead i'm going to use some ribbon to tie the fleece up and over the rod finishing up with the hole over the fixed tab. i'll also shore it up in the middle with the bracket there. it won't look amazing but no one ever sees my room but me and my daughter so stuff looks i want to be warmer!

i noticed that the curtain i'd made doesn't quite come up to the very top of the rod and there is air getting through there (i felt it, not imagaining things ) plus it's just not quite as dark as i'd like it either so this should solve both things and it will be easy to remove on my biannual landlord inspections mind you she didn't bat an eyelid at the bubblewrap on the bathroom window last year, i just couldn't be bothered to take that down as it's a nightmare to put it up in my deeply recessed window as it is... but if she doesn't see the fleece she can't ask me to remove it so nah nah nah nah boo boo (yes i'm very mature :rotfl:)

not sure when i'll turn the heat on, i've only really felt it a few times mostly around 4-6pm but then later in the evening the neighbours heat kicks in and suddenly i don't feel so cold anymore... wonder how long i can ride that train?!

we did need to wear our late autumn coats today when we walked into town though, but thankfully not the gloves just yet (but i brought them with just in case!) i think tomorrow i'm going to clean out the hall cupboard and put all our scarves hats and gloves in the bike basket i'm not using right now (i was lucky my knees let me walk into town, they'd pack their bags and leave if i tried to ride my bike!) it's taking up space in there so it seems a good catch all for all our cold weather paraphenalia!

Confuzzled

i've got a question for you all... it's off topic well mostly but we're not all fanatical about staying on topic in here (:T) and my mind has really been on this lately because it's getting colder and i know christmas is coming up and i trust all of you all to give good advice so i'm asking:

my daughter just turned 9... now, i think she's starting to figure out there isn't a santa...little snippets from telly, comments here and there from others in public that sorta thing. but she hasn't come out and asked me nor has she said she doesn't believe.

so my question is, how do i proceed from here? i mean, should i tell her? should i just wait and see what happens closer to christmas? i was just 5 years old when the kids on the bus spoiled it for me. mind you i let on i believed for another 3 years cuz i had been told by the other kids you get more pressies if you believe in santa. actually i think that's true lol well in my family, you got gifts from santa and gifts from the family too and that's how we do things with my daughter.

i mean, i could tell her that she'll still get the same amount that she would have before... i dont' know i don't want to spoil anything for her but i'm thinking maybe she's getting a little old. she's home educated so unless she brings up whilst playing with her friends after they get home from school they won't know she still believes so it's not the same sort of pressure as in school...

how old were you when you found out? i don't really have a guideline here as i found out way too early... she's really quite clever so i'm fairly certain she knows now, in fact i think she probably knew last year but i don't want to spoil things if she's going along with because she enjoys it.... i also don't want her getting teased terribly by her friends either, it's hard enough that she is different (and a few have voiced jealousy at her being home educated) but being THAT kind of different isn't great if you understand what i mean...

i still want her to enjoy the warm cozy feeling associated with christmas, but the free lovely kind that has nothing to do with how high the heating is on or how well insulated the house is if you catch my drift....

diddly74

Personally I would leave well alone - if she was 15 and still creeping down on Christmas morning thoroughly believing that Santa had crept into the house in the middle of the night and brought her presents then I would worry but she is only 9! Let her be a child.

My own daughters are 8 and 11. The 11 yr old knows dam well there isn't a santa and I am sure when I am not around she is looking to see if I brought the tvs they have asked for for Christmas - well she told me the other day that I am crap at hiding presents. lol. We only moved into this house in May and I haven't got round to completely getting rid of all the junk we don't need - there is a lot of "just in case" stuff in the garage which is taking up space for hiding presents!

But back on track - the 8yr old has not mentioned once yet that there might not be a Santa, and she aint the kind of kid to not ask me if it was playing on her mind. She does know however that Santa does not buy the presents. I do. We have always told them that people have to buy the presents for other people and send them to santa. He is a very busy man and can't get everything - this explains away why we buy presents and wrapping paper and then it is suddenly gone! Cos the Elves - when they are checking up on girls and boys - take them back to Santa! Its what my Mom told me! And it explains why she can't have everything she asks for because I don't have the money for electric cars, DSi, dolls houses, WIIs, ponies etc etc lol.

I also know that for my Mom, Christmas lost its magic when I found out that Santa was really Mom and Dad! I want to keep that magic alive for my kids. So this year I shall be starting a new tradition of a Christmas Eve hamper - for us all to open together with Christmassy things in and new pjs and sweets for us to snuggle down in and watch Chrimbo telly/film in and wordsearches, games and pictures for the kids, and simply be together, us 4 as a family (idea cursory of this lovely forum). My girls are growing up fast and I want to keep something special for my memory banks because it won't be many years now until they are buzzin around doing their own things with their own friends and all I will have left is the memories of when they were small and didn't know where to start on opening the presents that made the mountain in the corner!

adelight

diddly74, the hamper sounds like such a lovely idea!

My Dad sent me some thermals from Aldi in the post yesterday- they're... interesting. The top is long enough and not too baggy but the sleeves are like 3/4 length baggy sweater sleeves! And the ladies long johns have a willy hole and are short even on me at 5'2. They're warm enough around the house but I will not be wearing them outside like me uniqlo tops! I managed to get some uniqlo thermal t-shirts on ebay for cheap this weekend

Ladyhawk

Just on the Father Christmas side of things... my friend's brother used to absolutely hate Christmas as a child. He was terrified of this old man breaking into the house while everyone was asleep!

rosieben

I remember finding out there was no FC when I was about 9, but I pretended for a couple of years because I didn't want to spoil it for my mum and dad! even to the point where one year I pretended to be asleep when I heard them come up the stairs with my stocking! I would say nothing, let your dd enjoy it for as long as possible, even if she does know in her heart of hearts she might still be enjoying the pretending

I love the idea of a family hamper for christmas eve, its so important to have family traditions, they're what make the memories; my ds (38) still insists that he is allowed to open one present on christmas eve despite the fact that he's no longer an altar boy attending midnight mass

beachbaby_2

Confuzzled, my neice has special needs and my sister didn't want her to look stupid talking about santa etc. as she is in a mainstream school so she just explained that santa only delivers to younger children. It was a way of letting her down gently. Hope this helps.

kidcat

I wouldnt say anything about FC - my eldest is 15 and knows quite well its not true, my 12yo knows too, but the youngest two (6 & 4) both believe. I have never said anything and they act on as though they believe but are just keeping it up for the littlies. Kids find out at their own pace but more importantly they accept it and become willing to let go of it when they are ready.

lutzi1

It's got to that stage now where every night THE MINUTE it starts to get chilly the lounge curtains get drawn and I light half a dozen tea lights in coloured glass pots round the room. Looks nice and cheerful and cosy and really takes the chill off the room.