D'y ever think - I really hope the film 'The great escape' is on tv on Christmas Day?

[pinkfrog]

no....are you sure?

FG - I am impressed re the booze - are you not going to have a bevy on Christmas Day? I need to cut down too but traditionally I always try and give up for the month of January so will be doing that again. 2007 I made it to about the 27th Jan, this year I only managed the 11th, but hey, maybe 2009 will be the one where I do the whole month!

HM, OHNO, Christmas Day is not part of the bargain

It was the thought of facing a long January trying to cut down that made me feel ill! So I thought I'd start this side. If I try to cut it out totally I will think of nothing else so I'll cut out now for two weeks and then re-start on modest portions. Thats the plan anyway.

Whats been helpful is (with DP away in Germany right now) eating with the kids and then cleaning up, shutting the kitchen and doing other stuff at night (xmas stuff). Normally I bed the kids and then enjoy wine when I cook and wine when I eat.......maybe a g&t before that. Its too much. I have me to take care of. And I will do a little of everything to do that.

Want to join me? I'm always happy to have a partner in crime? No pressure, if I have a g&t I'm not going to sweat it but I'll try to just have the one.

Know this may sound very, very stupid Frumpster BUT I didnt, ever, smoke until the day after Matt's funeral. Even though both my mum and dad used to.

Now this sounds even more stupid. I dont want to give up - I enjoy smoking. I know how unhealthy it is but I like it.

I would give up the alcohol tomorrow as long as I could still have my ciggys. I smoke about 8 a day (no IM NOT FIBBING)I also have had no apple juice for nearly a month.

I also do it because DH hates me doing it....despises me doing it and remarks about it all the time.

Im going now before I confess to anymore. OMG I feel like SHITE!!

Anway - promise this is my last rant - life is too feckin piggin' short to stop doing the stuff we like doing. The ice caps will still melt, the credit crunch will worsen and JLS still wont win XFactor even if I give up the cigs right this minute.

Why, oh why can kids not do anything together nicely unless it is something they shouldn't be doing?

good stuff in my coffee??? Ta very much xxxx

Hi girls...............I have been a poorly poorly girl since Sun, bad chest, full of cold, on day 3 of a migraine and still got my nagging pain. Have not slept more than 2 hours a time and am feeling truly run down and exhausted and now have sil, niece and twins arriving tomorrow after putting them off twice!
Now dy</strong> <strong>want</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>bad</strong> <strong>news</strong>, news that had me in tears all day Monday? At midday Kings College Hospital phoned to speak to Harry, they had the result of the follow up ct scan after his successful liver op. We were expecting nothing, but what we got was that the smallest lesion on the right side of the liver which they told us had disappeared, was still there. I just burst into tears. They asked us to go up to see Prof Rela today, so feeling crap up I am at 6am had to get kids to friends to take to school for us by 8.15am.Anyway, it would seem that the third lesion is still there, bloody bloody thing. So what they have decided to do is to do RDA, radiotherapy ablation. They are going to hopefully get him back into hospital soon after Christmas. He will be in for 2 nights, have a general anaesetic, a probe put into the liver and it burnt out. Then two weeks later back up for a ct scan to check that they got it, then we can restart the chemo, which probably now isnt going to be until Feb! The same day amongst the post was an appt from the day surgery unit at Canterbury hospital for him to go in to have a new picc line fitted ready for chemo. What day............Christmas Eve!!! More tears. Anyway now that is all on hold, no chemo until they get rid of that lesion. So I have been very down, crap, I think every bone in my body has and is aching, and trying very hard to be merry for the kids! They know nothing about this yet as they think(as we did) that the cancer was all gone and they knew he would restart chemo in Jan. I dread telling them he has to go back into hospital. It will be his 5th time in 10 months!

TRIPLETS &TWINS........how lovely to see you back xxxx

MAJOR Mummy fail today.

Went to ToysRus, got lots of good stuff, got back with ten minutes to spare, ran upstairs with bags and slung them in the attic, locked it, and dashed to school. Came home, did reading, wrote class Christmas cards, etc, was cooking tea when everything went verry quiet...

(That's right T&T, they were doing something nicely together....)

DT1: Mummy, can you help me open that thing up there? I can't do it.

Me: No dear, I'll get the games down in the playroom after tea.

DT1: No, the other things from the room up there.

Me: What....room....?

DS1: Mummy, mummy! DT2 got some pieces of DS4's cot and made them into a ladder! He climbed up and unlocked the door to the attic and there's loads of cool stuff in there!

Me: (colour slowing draining from face) Nooooooooooooooooooooooooo..................

I ran back up three flights of stairs with them and there's DT2 sat amid Star Wars and Ben 10 toys beaming saying 'Look mummy, I found it! I love it! Can I open it and play it?'

I was speechless, wondering what the heck to do. I told them off a bit because they shouldn't be in that room (hence the high bolt on the door), but they had actually gone in because I had lost a boot and they decided they were going to search round the house and find it for me, so I couldn't go ballistic, could I?

Anyway, I distracted them with some TV and they mentioned it once more before bed time to ask if they could have the stuff, but I said not yet, let's wait and see.

Any chance you think they might have magically forgotten the whole thing in, er, eight days time?

No?

Oh trips! Cross-posted.

That's awful news. So much for a peaceful Christmas.

Really hope the new year brings good news.

Oh Trips - you had such fab news earlier this year when you were on hols - this is just a small hiccup on the road to full good health. Please try not to worry. Daft thing to say I know.

Estar - dont know about you but my mum would have smacked the back of my legs so hard!!!! It makes me LOL now when she lets Tom get away with everything. I would just ignore the little monkeys when they ask you about it. If they pester I would stick to any Santa story suits you best!!

I made the mistake of opening one eye and thats it. I can appreciate that H has had this cold for several weeks but just cause I have been out of action for 2 and a half days I rather hoped that washing up may have been done, or a hoover pushed around. I give up - normal service will be resumed tomorrow morning.

Got to say goodnight girls - got a mountain of things to catch up on tomorrow

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Hiya Pinkfrog..............boy do I have a headache
Hows the mighty Robmeister?

Kale Nits ma petite mange tout

triplets But it is small and they are going to blast the arse off it.

Do you need to tell the kids? Could you ignore it, put it on hold in your minds until after Christmas? A bit like the Germans and the Brits playing football on Christmas day? Could you pretend you didn't hear any of it and re-face it after Christmas? Sorry you're feeling bad too. That brings you/me right down, hate being ill.

Shabs, good for you hen. Smoke if you want to. Decision made x. I just presume everyone who smokes wants to give up! Just for the record I'm not a cigarette fan but I adore cigars and pipes

Ruby, your man is an angel. Pop him in a jiffy bag won't you doll?

estar AWFUL!!!! But they were 'helping'. Not your fault doll. It will all look totally different when its wrapped. You could always take everything out the boxes and packaging and then it will look different when they open the wrapping. I wouldn't comment. If they ask then Santa maybe has to drop some stuff early for the parents to wrap since there are so many children in the world????? Or something. Is there anywhere else you can keep it? Move it all and then let them back in there in 2/3 days time so they know there is nothing there............

I have thought about it and worked out they saw only half their presents (they're getting 4 each). So if they recognise them on Christmas Day, I'll say those ones are from mummy and daddy and those ones (that you haven't seen) are from FC. I'm not big into the whole die-hard-have-to-weave-a-web-of-stories-to-keep-the-myth-about-Santa deal. We always mention it casually and a bit tongue-in-cheek, but I don't want it all ruined for them just yet, they're a bit young!

Trips, I think FG is right about not mentioning it to the kids yet. Enjoy your treatment-free Christmas, refresh and tackle it in the new year.

Snorris, love the pictures - those cheeks! Yum

Hi FG,
I must get to bed, look like Rudolph with my red nose and visitors tomorrow.........aghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! We won`t tell them anything until after Christmas, we are just going to try and make the most of it, no picc line to worry about, no ghastly chemo. Just wish I felt better. Anyway must must go, my eyes are sooooooooooo sore. Kale Nits xxxxxxx

Good plan estar. I am one of the die-hards . I will never, ever admit to anything. Not even if they tie me to a chair and threaten me with vegetables.

Kale nits mon petite cherie, mange tout, mange tout xxxxxxxx.

Oh..................and to boot on the train today two teenagers were playing very loud annoying music so we asked them very nicely to turn it down a little. We then got 15 mins of verbal abuse until they got off, the girl called me "an old miserable cow". As she got off I had to say something, so I said,
"for a very little girl you have a very big mouth".
Daren`t type the reply!
Night night. xxx

Aw Trips, I'm guessing it was **off. Tick it on your list. Thats fab news!!! Thats on my list of things to do before I die......... to be suitably irritating to the younger generation to the point they swear at me and make me feel old. I like your put down Nite hen, there's life in the auld dog yet xxxxxxx.