June 08 - 42 days til Christmas, and Deb is coming home!!

[KnittingisbetterthanTherapy]

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Oh Dewin that is awful news, I'm so sorry. She has a dd same age as Iestyn did you say? . What a terrible thing to have happened. How are you feeling about it?

Spider, glad to hear your friend is OK but a shame she has anxiety. Is that related to the birth?

Rolf, DH went on his works do on Friday and had to sleep at the office cos he couldn't get home. Annoying thing is he spent nothing at the do (all paid for by work) then went to get the train (he has a season ticket) but it was cancelled. So he went back to find colleagues and ended up out till 6am with them so they could all go back to the office together (yes he is an idiot!) then he got a taxi home in the morning so a night that would have cost him zilch ended up costing £85!

Are 2yos too young to leave something out for Santa on Christmas Eve? I mean is it best that they just wake up in the morning and it's Christmas rather than getting all excited the night before?

Dewin, so sorry to hear about your friend

Didn't get on daybreak, they arrived yesterday at 5.30am , but they couldn't get the satellite defrosted and then they broke it on the roof of the van. So they said they would come again today, we got up at 5.30, started making the fire etc and they never arrived..they had been called to the earthquake at Coniston instead. My poor Mum has gone back today by train after 3 days in our freezing house, it took her 9 hours, it took her 3 to get here.

Still no oil, but we have electric heaters from people in the village and free firewood from the pub for as long as we need it. Still bloody freezing though, and we've been out of hot water too until tonight.Monday night was -11, it was only 4 degrees in the hallway and thick ice on the bedroom windows when we woke up.Ethan is struggling with the cold and we're getting a bit stir crazy all being in the living room.We're risking leaving the house overnight tomorrow(my Birthday) to go to mils and then on Christmas eve we should be able to get our 4x4 which will make things much easier.

If I don't get on again, hope you all have a great Christmas.

Ps Spider, would love to meet up in the New Year, e-mail me debs at family - friendly - holidays dot co dot uk.

Deb - I've emailed you (hopefully)

Dewin how terrible. I will be thinking of your friend and you too.

Neenz My friend has a history of anxiety caused by post traumatic stress but the prem baby has been an added burden. Wouldn't be right for me to expand on it though.

Got a baby full of cold, tummy down on my knees snorting away after hours of snotty feeding. Contemplating how to get him into his cot so I can go to sleep.

Hi posting while I can from aus- haven't caught up on mire than most recent posts so have I missed anything (any new early arrivals although don't think penguin and amber are due til new year). Sorry the weather playing such havoc and really hope the heating sorted for you deb. Dew in (sorry split spelling) I am so sorry for your friend and her family- a horribly poignant time of year. Spider hope baby sniffles getting better.

Having lovely time although it doesn't really feel that Christmassy being away and in the heat (glad it's not just me that thinks that penguin) - am putting photos on fb so as not to bore here. And on tv debate e Is a big fan and I am not sure it would be off if we were stuck at home due to snow.

Love and merry Christmases to everyone

Glad you're having a nice time H&S - is it just a holiday or are you there visiting people?

Deb, I fast-forwarded through Daybreak 3 times last night to try to find you! The most confusign thing was they flashed up 'Coming up: oil shortage' so i thought 'that will be Deb', but then nothing!

H&S was thinking of you just this morning! Glad you're having a great time - the snow has got very boring now. I'm sure Deb agrees! Hope your woes are sorted soon.

Sorry all about the misery post - kind of had to share it. It's awful, really there are no words. She was fine at the beginning of November, a bit sick mid November, and now by mid December they're trying to extend her life a bit - it's sort of unbelievable. It does seem hopeless. And yes, she has a DD roughly same age as Iestyn (few weeks in it, can't remember which way): like all of us on this thread. Basically I'm horrified and numb. And feeling very sick (I think down to that kind of thing going round in my head more than anything else). A miracle is needed, but of the super-dramatic kind, thunderbolt level.
Anyway, I don't want to put a dampener on everything - but then again, this is reality, so I'm sorry.

It is absolutely tragic Dewin, it makes you realise you have to savour every day and every minute. DH has gone to a funeral today for someone he played football with - died of leukeamia at 29 . Is your friend going to stay in hosptial? Is she nearby you?

Dewin I'm so sorry to read about your friend. Don't worry about ruining the thread or anything, it's good that you have somewhere to share. My colleague is going through a similar thing right now with one of her friends and it is heartbreaking.

Neenz we're doing the whole leaving something out for Santa and putting out reindeer food in the garden. Plus new pj's and a Christmas book.

Spider how did your friend get on on Tuesday?

Deb nightmare about your continuing oil woes.

H&S glad you're having a good time. I love the photos on fb.

Got a text this morning to say the induction went well and baby arrived yesterday evening (was induced in the morning).

Dewin - it's not something to apologise for. You need to share it, and you must.

Dewin - awful about your friend, life is so cruel sometimes.

Deb - my Mum came down from Middlesborough yesterday and has just sat and told me all about your fuel woes! I was trying not to laugh, didn't want to say I knew you as it would be hard to explain how.
Glad the locals are looking after you and hope you manage to keep warm.

Spider - congratulations to your friend.

Mincepie - after posting it snowed here yesterday, but not much, J got all excited and put his wellies and hat on and demanded that we went out to make a snowman, but there wasn't enough snow.

H&S - good to hear from you, enjoy your sunny Christmas!

I might not get on here much now so happy Christmas to everyone.

We're famous Katie!!!lol

You're never off the telly Deb - just like Knitting

Does anyone have a pocket or regular HD camcorder? Have just started a thread here asking for suggestions. We never dust off our old camcorder to get clips of S because it's a bit faffy so I'm looking to get something that's really easy to use/upload/share but isn't really poor quality.

Marking spot x

Marking spot too. Hope everyone is on the right place for Christmas - have a great time.

Just wanted to wish you all a Happy Christmas. Hope to catch up properly in the New Year.

We got a Flip camera two years ago. The quality is good vs the proper camcorder. Used it quite a bit in the first year. Less so this year because I tend to use the video on my iPhone which is less good quality but wins on convenience.

Feeling very relaxed and happy at the prospect of Xmas with just the 4 of us. It's very liberating to have no obligation to pack and travel to family or to be racing round cleaning up for guests.

Happy Christmas everyone! xx

happy christmas all - from the wilds of north norfolk - decided to brave the drive and it was a really easy run - think no-one else was risking travelling! hope you all have a lovely day - just trying to distract kids from stockings while dp gets up, we have my niece here too, 4 mths older than C, bit noisy since 5.30 but they're having fun!!

Deb we are in an oil-fired house and the oil is running v. low - we are hoping to have enough left to keep the aga running to cook the turkey - it has been rather cold here as a result so have been thinking of you!

Dewin I will light a candle for your friend and her family today.

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope everyone's had a lovely day - we have and really enjoyed watching the kids open presents - they opened the last one at 7pm as each gift took about an hour to open and then play with etc. Lots of love to you all!

(Dewin, so sorry to hear about your friend).

Merry Christmas one and all! Lovely day here, thought I had to prod and poke S to wake him up . He had a great day though, as did we.

Hope everyone has had a lovely day.

Good Christmas here - lie in until 9.45 (! yes, that includes Iestyn) and a lovely day with my folks. Iestyn swears he saw Santa in the night and heard his voice. Luckily he hasn't fully understood the Santa business, which is just as well because his main present is in London, due to our plans all being cancelled.
We're going down tomorrow, but taking a detour via Buxton for one night to see my brother - his Christmas plans were cancelled as his wife slipped in the ice last week and damaged her knee (badly). It's an operation job. Not in major pain (or is coping extremely well), but not at all mobile as her leg is in a brace so she can't get in a car easily.

Today was tinged with sadness though. My friend, her name is Hilary, doesn't have very long left. It's beyond belief really. Keep praying, but nothing can be done. Thanks for all the good wishes - her family desperately need them.

dewin I am so sorry for your friend. What an awful, shitty thing to happen. I'm sure we are all praying for her and her miracle.

We have bought a new laptop as an extra christmas present (yippee) Then on the 23rd we got a letter from the taxman saying they had made a mistake giving us a tax rebate and we needed to pay them the £1500 back. I mean really, 2 days before christmas, I was fu*king fuming, arseholes.

Still, I am trying not to think about it and enjoy the season. J had a lovely time yesterday, he was a bit thrown by the masses of presents at first and was a bit upset that every time he picked up a present to open ie didn't belong to him and he wasn't allowed to rip it apart. Eventually though, there were only his presents left and he enjoyed the easel and the balance bike particularly. Also, the talking Thomas trains half price from sainburys have been a big hit.

Merry christmas to you all, and love especially to dewin.

Hello....

Too late for Hilary. She died in her sleep on Christmas day. Terrible for everyone. I admit though that I've gone from shocked grief to kind of thinking it's something that happened in a film I watched or something (I think it's called denial, actually). It seems absolutely and totally unreal that such a thing could happen. The funeral will be extremely hard.

Sorry for the flippant change of tone, but, I guess, life goes on as well.

We made it to London today - only 10 days later than expected! There is absolutely no snow here at all. Iestyn had a whale of a time with my brother, who throws him around and does boy things with him. (I am amazed that those two aren't planning to have children - she isn't keen at all, but my DB is such a babies/children kind of person, and always has been. They're getting a dog instead. )
DH is just trying to get Iestyn to bed, but it's a bit late and he's a bit excited. He's been a bit excited for several days - but totally confused really. He knew that Santa had been, claimed he had heard a voice in the night (!), but also thought Santa had been to see Nain and Taid as well, because he had presents there. No concept of 'no, that present is for X so you can't see what's in it' (like J, Sybil!) and he's going to get more confused now that he gets the rest of his Christmas present from Santa tomorrow. Not really sure what to do - give it as a present, or just let him have it with no fuss? (It's a kitchen.)

Sybil about the tax rebate. (I'm typing this in a light manner but there is a letter from IR waiting for DH beside me here, tucked in amongst the Christmas cards - so I could be joining you in horror and disgust!)

Nothing more to report really. Must go and help settle Iestyn...