Countdown to Christmas 2016 - Thread 3!!!

[MrsDilligaf]

Wheeeeee

Nearly there

SEVEN DAYS TO GO

Ho Ho Ho

My sister suggested that we play cards against humanity with our parents...

I remember the Christmas of 2011 and monopoly wars...that was bad enough

DH is in my bad books. He is working tomorrow morning, I had demanded asked that he took some time off before Christmas to pitch in and help. Much as I love Martha it is so difficult trying to do anything with a baby. He's under no illusions that:
A) he gets off his arse and helps
B) I need a bit of child free time to do stuff like shave my bloody legs
C) Martha has 2 parents, so he can bloody well parent without going "can you have her while I go to the loo?" no! Do what I do and manage!

I'm angry and I will explode if he carries on being a f*ing faffer

Dh is unable to leave the house with two children and go anywhere but his mothers. If i go out for the day he ropes in his sisters and his mum to help him. I want him to have a full day with them with no help and to go to IKEA.

What a PITA, MrsD. Do you have a playpen? Or does M have regular naps?

For leg-shaving showers I'd pop ours in the playpen and just go for it (I'm now very good at VERY quick leg shaving!). Otherwise, utilise nap time.

Once ours were diagnosed (eldest lactose intolerant, youngest cows' milk protein intolerant) they were calm enough to be left in a playpen for a while so I could get stuff done. Or, if upstairs, I'd put them in the cot with toys for a bit. Would this work for you?

Ours are 13 months' apart, so you kind of get used to the 'domestic dash' to get shit done quickly! 😂 One baby is nothing compared to two with a small age gap...I think we must've been mad sometimes!

We've been and done the Santa train today and it was brilliant. Both kids had a great time (as did we)!

Dentist and my not-decreasing list of stuff to do tomorrow. Need to get my act together! (We are going drinking tomorrow afternoon. This may not go well!)

I have to admit to rarely having our two together...maybe I'm the useless one in our marriage!

5

School carol concert today and a Christmas night out tonight

Everything is wrapped. I need to get out and buy some more snacky bits and then I go to collect my mum on Thursday and bring her back here on Friday. Not looking forward to the M6 traffic

Morning all!!!

It sounds like plans are mostly falling into place.

Mrs D, I hope you manage to get through your list somehow, whether that is accompanied by the bundle of energy that Martha sounds like, or solo!

Very jealous of those like 70s and Woolly who have their shopping and wrapping done.

Although I did get started yesterday. There was not a puff of air, so the last race of the season was called off (but not until the bravest or daftest boats were on the water (about 8 out of a fleet of 70odd) - so we all had to de-rig and take down the Christmas Decorations as well!). DD didn't win a prize for best decorated boat - a set of adults had gone overboard! - but she was in her Rudolph hat (with bit red star on top of the mast) in front of the boat carrying Santa with tinsel on his mast (getting a tow from a motorboat to the starting line). And Rudolph and Santa both got a spot prize anyway, as the only 2 U13s, who have gone out to sail with enthusiasm every week despite being lapped every week, and come home every week still smiling, just enjoying the races. They got the biggest cheer of all the prizewinners in the room (the only children involved, there are a few late teens, but mostly well-seasoned sailors who have been doing these races for most of their 46 seasons!).

In other news, as we then had a spare hour or so, I got the pastry I made on Friday rolled out and made mince pies. Quite tasty (I can recommend not having time to make them last year and leaving the mince mature for 18 months!). And made 70 candy cane cookies for school. And wrapped the first few of my presents (about 4 - there's quite a few to go yet!).

This week is going to be mad busy. Flu jab later this morning, mentoring meeting, work planning/management meeting and then a stakeholder meeting are the fun items today. I must get to M&S early in the week for nibbles etc. I have no packing or even things laid out yet. I will bring my wrapping paper with me if need be, but I want to try and get it done here in peace.

But no more social events planned. And we've decided on 1 car for travelling (I was pushing for 2, as there are 2 days when we could get "stuck" by only having 1) - so DD and I will have to get the tram out to meet DH on Friday for getting on the road. And probably the bus into town earlier.

Since having Martha I've surprised myself at just how much you can get done in 15 minutes. I can pretty much do a room in 15 minutes if you forget about doing things like cleaning the windows

I'm too very houseproud and while I don't mind clutter I like to know it's had a good clean, but as DD is going through that clingy stage if she can't see me she yells and gets her knickers in a twist.

I tend to plonk her in her activity centre in the kitchen while I potter about in there but the rest of the house is a bit more difficult!

Mummy DH is the same - he needs an escape route otherwise he panics!

Hungry have fun on your afternoon of drinking can I come?

Woolly I don't envy you dealing with the M6. It's worse than the M25 sometimes!

Biddy I've no doubt you'll pull it all together. You come across as very organised!

Must go - Martha is trashing my Christmas Good Food Magazine! Aaaarrrgggghhh!!

How are we all so enthusiastic and yet still have things to do this close to C Day?

I thought I was ready, but DH brought home a lot of teacher presents on Friday and we are 'redistributing' some of them so I have more wrapping to do (it's mostly booze we don't drink).
My house needs to be cleaned. The plan was to do this over the weekend but both me and DH have been unwell so we abandoned the plan!
I have to go and pick up various things for DH which I hadn't done previously and we weren't initially going no buy for each other but have now decided we will (with a strict budget).
Oh and DH has announced a surprise belated anniversary trip away so we are no away overnight Thursday - Friday so I have 2 days less than I thought to get things done so we are now cleaning/ emergency wrapping this evening and food shopping and delivering the last of the cards tomorrow afternoon. I suddenly feel very busy!

I bought our turkey this morning! A lovely roly poly from Aldi. Cost me about £30 and is 5.5kg. Lots of lovely turkey!

I also bought my veg and me and wilf blanched the sprouts and broccoli ready for Christmas Day.

And I've made gingerbread syrup that just needs bottling.

One meeting dragged today (after my issue was done) so I wrote a "to do " list- it's not dreadfully long (but each item is time consuming!😱). I also emailed my siblings "going home" for turkey to see if there's interest in a shared case of wine as a hostess gift (instead of us all rocking up with different bottles). Some interest so far.

Wilf looks happy to be helping!

Wind warnings starting for the weekend. Not great for travel but should make for interesting weather watching at the edge of the harbour!💨💨🤓

He was very happy to help, he was fabulous and ate all his cucumber so he could help 🙈 He tells me raw broccoli and raw sprouts and super yummy.

I've bottled the syrup and made a pile of gift tags, truffles and fudge I'll make on Thursday and Friday.

Tomorrow dh is taking the boys for breakfast with nanny and then to his sisters so I can attempt to do all the wrapping. Gulp.

FOUR DAYS TO GO!!

FOUR!

Can't sleep. Been ploughing through my never ending list of jobs. DH has behaved and actually "done stuff" give the man a medal

I am considering going to tesco now. I did this last year as well - nipped off to Tesco in the wee small hours...for sprouts! I was massively pregnant and freaking out that we wouldn't have sprouts. I don't even eat them

Dh Is taking the boys for breakfast with nanny and then probably to his sisters. I am going to wrap all morning and try and do it.

Good luck with the lists! When's Martha's birthday? Are you planning a do?

I didn't do a lot last night - DD wanted help with her packing (aka take the heap on the floor, fold it, check it, and put it in her bag!). In fairness, it was not a bad job of choosing items, and she'd remembered all the essentials apart from PJs (she was planning on getting her onesie washed tomorrow to add) and a washbag (she seems allergic to washing mostly!). She had also gone through our "self catering/camping" box and reduced it to what we needed (left out a couple of essentials - but had made sure the corkscrew was still there! Love it!! ). So assisting with those took me until her bedtime, by which time DH had taken over the dining table and my plans for wrapping were scuppered, but he sent me to watch tv and veg (and was probably right - flu jab on top of still stuffy sinuses was making me slightly miserable).

Today's list of jobs is long when I get home (changing sheets, wrapping, starting my packing, more pastry for mince pies etc), but I only have 1 thing to do at lunchtime (buy a book for Santa to deliver) and 1 thing en route home (buy another plastic tub to transport mince pies - I have lost my massive tub somewhere and I have no idea where it's gone!). And we have finished our meetings for the year, so while we are trying to get a few more things finished off in the office, there is a much reduced pressure on us now.

Which means I actually managed to meet a friend for coffee on the way into work, and have had 2 cups, so am slightly high (I've been on restricted caffeine intake recently as I was not sleeping well, so 2 cups should be normal but seem to have gone to my head!).

Woo Hooo!!

Off to annoy the Scrooge in the office by changing the "X more sleeps!" on our whiteboard and as it is quiet, I may even turn on Xmas FM to play for the morning. (We really don't normally have radios on, except for the annual Budget speech).

I am on an annoying excited countdown to finishing work for 9 days. 3 hours to go!!

Work is ok, although the rest of my team at looking at me like this 😤 because they're here until 6, but I don't care because they're being a bit miserable. I think they're a bit resentful of all the time I was off sick as it was so unexpected.

So, plan today is finish work, meet DH and do the Christmas food shop (which includes 2 supermarkets) then home to sort some more washing (hoping for a clear basket by tomorrow), clean bathroom while DH walks dogs and cleans the floors. Then an appointment this evening, then home and pack.
Tomorrow is a mad dash to do last bits of clearing up, change bedding, take dogs to kennels and then go on our mini break. Phew!

Oh and I STILL haven't finished this bloody blanket!

Martha will be 10 months old on Christmas Eve and lucky girl that she is, she's having 2 parties (bit of a trend with us...we had 2 weddings!) One for family up in the midlands and the other here for her honorary aunties and uncles (who have demand a proper kids party with jelly and ice cream and party bags )

I popped into B & M earlier to get some battery operated fairy lights - there was not a decoration to be seen. They have sold out of everything! I briefly considered a trek into town but thought "sod it" and ordered them off Amazon. I've twined ivy up my staircase and I've got one set of lights, two or three? would finish it off beautifully. I've also hung some snowflakes off the ivy, gold glittery ones, and the gorgeous crochet ones Woolly made (❄❤❄)

HANDBAG Get back to your blanket!!! Chop chop!!!

We are driving down to see my family as I type (DH is doing the actual driving, clearly!) and will be staying just round the corner from Wooly tonight!

Then it's travel back tomorrow and then no more travelling until after the event, thank god! We are spending so much time on motorways this year.

DD slept for 14 hours last night and is asleep again now. It seems to be doing her the world of good as her cough is niggly rather than nasty now. DS is also in good spirits.

Wilf and I are watching the nightmare before Christmas. Dh is doing something upstairs and Gabriel is havjng a nap. Dh took them out this morning with his mum and sister and complained how tiring it was. I was doing all the wrapping and didn't get done. I was about to start stocking wrapping but I had a quick check on "find my friends" and saw that dh was going to be back in thirty seconds. I had to run upstairs with the stocking bags and special paper. Not easy with a knackered back and hip. I asked him why he hasn't texted and he said he didn't think of it!!

In the wrapping I've realised we are shorting a few people so I'm going to go and pick up some bits when Gabriel gets up.

Horace - you could have picked my mum up on the way down and saved me my trip later this week. You wouldn't have minded bringing an elderly lady as an extra passenger would you?

Just be aware when travelling from your old home town to here that there is a major renovation project on the railway bridge and the road is down to one lane so traffic is bad.

Well, we wouldn't have minded, but she may have objected to being squeezed in between the two car seats / toddlers in the back! 😂

Thanks for the tip...I think we will travel in past the bowling alley / ex-football ground and head round that way as I want to go to Sainsbury's to get diesel. We will head out the other way past Tesco as my parents are that side of town.

The area round where they're working is rubbish at the best of times.

MrsDilligaf my local B&M were selling off all the decorations really cheap Sunday and Monday. All the Christmas trees were £1 including the huge LED ones.

😩 I've suddenly started feeling rotten and been sick 😷 This cannot be happening! I'm keeping my fingers crossed it was something dodgy that I've eaten and not the bug DH had which lasted 4 days. No no no no no

No!!!! Drink a bottle of wine, I've been told this helps. May not. But you may not care so much.

I have finished the wrapping. Wilf's stocking will take him days to open. Oops. Dh declared he only has a few things for me. I made a grumpy comment about how much I've got him. Oops.

Tomorrow we are going to make tiny fake gingerbread houses from rich tea fingers, royal icing and sweets.

ALERT ALERT THREE DAYS TO GO

I finished the wrapping last night, I've bought the cream to make truffles and I've got the vanilla for vanilla syrup and all the ingredients for fudge. I just don't know when to make the fudge and truffles. Trying to wait to as close to Friday. But I want dh to take the presents for other people and deliver them so they are gone.

Friday I've got to make cinnamon rolls and a terrine as well.

I am pretty knackered. We have family staying at the moment for 2 nights. It's lovely to see them and the DCs are so excited to see their cousins but I am done in. Have been getting up at 5am for a while now to fit in work and stuff to make sure that I was more or less ready for Christmas by the time they arrived. Those extra few days of prep just before Christmas (or rather when you lack them) make quite a big difference.

The DCs went to bed late and were up at the crack of dawn giggling. And yesterday was quite boozy so am struggling a bit this morning. And we are going to Winter Wonderland at Hyde Park which is really not wondrous at all.

Hopefully I can catch up on sleep later in the week.