Good morning Mumsnet! What's everyone doing today?

[lucysmam]

I'm just drinking my usual cup of tea, in silence. There's no noise apart from the fridge humming to itself! Absolute bliss.

I need to do some washing, wash up last night's pots and put out the recycling.

We're going to have a wander to Asda for sweets to decorate the gingerbread house, baking ingredients, and some food for the next few days. I've run down the freezer ready for the Christmas shop but seem to have forgotten that we actually need to eat before then

Later on, I plan to carry on with my crochet project, and the girls wanted to make mince pies 😋

What's everyone else up to?

@GreeboIsMySpiritAnimal is there a camel?

There is!

An inflatable one.

I'm having a cuppa in my armchair with Dcat on a cushion next to me. She's snoring gently in my ear with the occasional paw twitch & ear flick so she's obviously dreaming!
There's a noisy robin in the garden singing away, loud enough you can hear him through the double glazing!

I’m working. Hospital is quieter than it has been for ages. Feels pre apocalyptic. Everyone wandering around wondering where all the patients have disappeared to….

Trip to Aldi to buy the Christmas drink, mince pie making, strictly final with nibbles and wine later. Christmas Light trail tomorrow.

DDs (7 and 5) are going through their clothes and deciding whether to donate any to charity. No idea where this came from but happy for them to crack on (I will check the donations bag in case they’ve gone totally mad and now have no pants). DS (3) is playing with plastic dinos and sharks in some sort of weird battle scenario (trucks are involved too). DP in the shower.

We were going to go to a childrens nativity service rehearsal but the DC aren’t interested so no plans for today. Need to post Christmas cards and should go for a run later but struggling to find the motivation 😣

DD popped over to pick up something. She was very nice about the fact I then thrashed her at draughts. Put the washing on, going to go out and give someone’s cast offs to a charity shop. I have no room or need for a million pairs of shoes.

It’s nice reading other people’s plans. I’m a bit broken tbh run down from consecutive colds (many negative tests), lack of sleep, generally stressed and feeling kind of worn out.

Both DC are overtired and both have been a bit under the weather themselves. So later on they’ll be desperate to watch Strictly but also be exhausted and grumpy. Not really sure how to play that one!

I've been ill the last few months so I'm mostly catching up with cleaning. I was going to do some gardening later but its drizzly outside and I've lost my waterproof trousers.

Volunteer dog walking
Posted a parcel (volunteer fund raising)
Going skating with DS
Going to supermarket with big DS
packing woes
misc other holiday prep
calorie intake esp. of perishable foods
talking thru cat sitting info with big DS
should do some cleaning, I guess, will probably read book instead, & doss here

Not shoe or Xmas shopping

Tomorrow is room swap, LFT showdown, packing woes, travel to preflight hotel, meal out, call my dad...

We had a cooked breakfast this morning with ds16 before he went to work, then Dh and I have been doing some final bits of DIY (hanging pictures and unpacking ornaments etc) as sofas and carpet both arrived yesterday so the pre-Christmas stage of our new house project is complete.

Ds12 is on the PS4 and I'm about to go and have a shower. I need to do some bits of shopping, and get food for tonight. We're going to London tomorrow to stay with friends for a night (slightly panicking about that TBH) so Christmas food shop won't happen until Tuesday, but we literally have no food in the house at all.

I went out first thing to get wrapping paper and a pork pie for our walk tomorrow. I’m currently trying (and clearly failing) to get into my new book.

DS is playing in the bath. He and DH have been playing Minecraft.

DH has gone to buy a “just in case” chicken as I’m still not convinced we’ll make it to my family in Wales for Christmas.

We’re meeting MIL at a Christmas market-thingy at a riverside pub this afternoon. She’s then going to take DS for the night whilst DH and I have takeaway curry and watch Die Hard.

I ran our last rugby tots sessions until the new year, and the last sessions I’ll be running myself for a good few months.

We had an early lunch out and I think the rest of the day we plan to just be lazy apart from dog walks.

Not much.

Walked the dog.
Tried to fix the underfloor heating as we’ve got a dodgy ‘zone’ (unsuccessful).
Need to walk the dog again and mop the kitchen floor.

One of my dogs wouldn't settle last night, so I was up at 3am til 7.30. Feel tired and ill now. DH popped out to get a meat order from our local farmshop and to buy a present for my friends husband who has been taken into a hospice for Christmas.
Managed to get a last minute click and collect shop from Sainsbury's this afternoon, DH will go get that for me.

It's a quiet one after some busy weekends.. but with plenty of Christmas prep to do. Cards to write, shopping orders to update, general tidying up to do. Currently contemplating a mug of tea and a bacon sandwich.

Up early. Went for a walk and posted some Christmas cards.

Heading to tesco shortly to buy Christmas snacks...(Malteasers)

Chilling then. Roast chicken for dinner

In a minute dragging family out of house to see an ruined castle about 40 mins away, and then get cake if we can find a quiet cafe. I was isolating most of week before last for small hospital procedure, then somehow still managed to catch a horrible cold straight after (negative PCR, so not COVID) so haven't been out much and it feels like things are closing in so I really want to get out of house. Family not unwilling as such, but kind of inert and will just stay at home if no one does anything. So frustrating with these short days because you have to start by a certain time or else you run out of daylight!

Ds at his dad's
Using my time wisely:
Cleaned the oven
Cleaned the kitchen
Cleaned the bathroom
Done 3 loads of washing
Got the presents from the loft and stashed them in the hiding place
Done the ironing
Going to watch a rubbish film now and answer some work emails !

Love these threads. Thanks @lucysmam.

Thinking of you @buckeejit. I hope all is peaceful for you both.

I was up early. Had a cuppa and then showered and dressed and went into our nearest small town for some Xmas shopping. We haven’t lived here long so I’m still finding my way around. It was nice. Not too busy. Got most of what I wanted. And some nice treats for me.

Got a few bits from Sainsbury’s and then came home.

Have had lunch and ordered the final present I want for DH.

DH walked the dog.

Pondering what to do this afternoon. Might just sort washing out and do a bit more and vacuum upstairs. Then I might just read for the afternoon. I should brush the dog too.

Currently sitting in Wetherspoons, while we still can. Ordered sirloin steak, my first ever time of eating it.

My wise-manning went well, and the camel was a big hit.

I didn’t clean my oven :(

But I ended up cleaning out my wardrobe when doing my bedroom and found my hospital bag list for when eldest was born 14 years ago 😱.

Had my booster, bought some champagne and generally getting the house ready for my MIL

Woke up at 9am late. Took kids to park, they smashed the frozen puddles. DH has taken DS for an eye test. Relaxing afternoon hopefully, it's supposed to snow.