Crepeyistmas Time, Camel Toe and Whine...

[MrsSchadenfreude]

Pandering to the uncouth...

We have snow - it started off with flurries and now is a proper storm. Fortunately it is small flakes - no, change that, it's big fat flakes. It snowed briefly overnight, thawed and then froze, so lethal underfoot.

My Secret Santa has arrived, but it had NO STAMPS and NO POSTMARK .....has someone been visiting Beachy Towers????

Obviously no-one is going to answer that, as it's SECRET.....

Did you send it to yourself Beachy? :)

I'm so befuddled by Christmas this year, I may well have, BD.....

Have a lovely Christmas lunch!

Woo spooky Beachy!
How can that be??

MI love that underwear- my kind if thing def. Yes, no gaps is definitely correct in this weather. NU we also have snow and still with the howling wind.
Cremolacat 1 is poorly , which seems to involve miaowling at top volume constantly. It's very odd.

Molly I love your analogy on teenage boys. I've no direct experience , except years ago, working in Community music, these boys were my target group. I think the thing is to get them to be involved in some kind of learning process that they can identify with. Music, sport, the great outdoors. It is about identity ( yes Lalsy) and building confidence. It's often the ones with the jokes, swagger and big voice, that lack all kinds of confidence , which is a surprise. Like they are making up for it by being the clown. ( BTM)
I always just wanted to hug them and tell them it was going to be ok. But I guess you'd be arrested for that these days.

I've just had a major row with Amazon for signing me up to Prime without asking and whacking a charge of £79 on my bill. Fortunately it's my business account so I scrutinised....have got a rather terrified bloke to retract the whole thing.

sexy yet practical

MI that happened to my poor internet-hapless mum last year and I had to sort it out Molto voce last December . Too damn easy to get involved. Bloody amazon

I think you're right, Cremo. DS definitely has the big voice, jokes/banter and swagger, only I'm not sure he is lacking in confidence. More that he is too big for his boots, too assertive... He has always been very high profile everywhere he goes
In Y6, his teacher put him next to a diminutive but very bright girl with two older brothers. She was quite able to put him straight!
Apparently he is now in quite a few classes with her again - I wonder if a seating plan might be a good strategy?!
Funnily enough, DD sits with her Dbro in some of her lessons

Love the ethical pants, MI, might have to send dh a link. I did say to him that under no circumstances did I want anything from this range as it's possibly the naffest combination of brands ever thought up.

I have also received my SS pressie, v exciting .

I have finished a couple of work things that were looming over me and so am feeling much better about Christmas as now I can start to count down, finish cards, wrap presents etc. Going home tonight to eat date cookies and decorate the tree with the dcs. We scored free MN tickets to ANNIE on Sunday morning and will then brave the shopping centre opposite if only to quell the kids' complaints that we never take them To The Shops. I'm hoping against hope that by that point the vast majority of presents will be purchased, although I still didn't think of any thing nice to get dh.

Oooh Wilbur, I was wanting to see Annie, but I thought I would look a bit sad on my own as DD would never have got out of bed for it, despite it being her Y6 show. However, I have booked for The Scotsboro Boys in January for us both and DH - DS declined the offer!

Am wondering what on earth we have done to upset the passport people as not only did I get a letter from them a couple of weeks ago asking for me to confirm I was DD's mother, but also our "witness" has received a letter today asking for her to confirm who she is. The original renewal application was sent in about 4 weeks ago

I think all kid's passports are triple checked these days, as we had the same with dd's this year. Took about 6 weeks altogether for it to come, but quite quick once they'd got the verification.

Annie was ds1's Y6 play too! He was Daddy Warbucks (after a school life time of playing trees or 9th shepherd) and has already declared that Jamie Foxx won't be as good as he was . Really looking forward to it. Will be v interested to hear what you think of Scottsboro Boys - it seems to have divided a lot of people, although everyone says it is a brilliant production, even when they weren't keen on the whole concept!

Don't mention kids' passports....

oh lord, Crepeys, my Saturday is turning into a car-crash which for some bizarre reason I seem to be having to manage. DD2's dance class doing semi-performance in morning. Then up to have lunch with one of DP's mates. DD1 can't come as she has drama thing. Then I have a party in the evening and one of DD1's friends coming for sleepover as her parents are going out (DP only too pleased to get out of party [cross]) and so we also invited one of DD2's friends. All the timings are looking awful. And DP is getting increasingly huffy that somehow we are Ignoring His Friends this is the man who is only too pleased to get out of seeing mine in the evening, dammit. Why is it my responsibility to eg see if we can be home for DD2's friend at 6pm because her (very very nice) parents are going out?

Cream crackered. Today I have put marzipan on the cake, made my surprise pudding for Boxing Day (it has eggs which aren't cooked in the traditional way and therefore not suitable for pregnant women - with four babies over three years I am hoping Dd and DDiL aren't pregnant this Christmas), ironing and present wrapping. We're off to Derbyshire next Wednesday to exchange presents with my DSis.

I realise that this is peanuts compared to what the rest of the Crepeys do every day, but it is a lot for me. Oh, and a big pot of chilli is bubbling on the hob.

MI, sorting out arrangements appears to be women's work to most men I know. I have no idea why this is and would be happy if someone can enlighten me?

NU, I'm cream crackered too....I like the sound of your dinner .

God knows why. I do know a few families where the men make some of the arrangements but they are noticeable.

I like the ethical pants too.

ds is in a sort of rather thrown together production this week, it isn't quite clear what as.

DH makes no arrangements whatsoever. Unless it involves football, of course. He still can't decide what he wants to do on his birthday on Saturday with our lovely friends and is trying to make me decide for him. As usual

Lalsy, that sounds interesting!

Normally I do all the organising but this year DH has organised a lot of electronic equipment which the children apparently want, and I don't understand. I'm just getting bits and bobs to add to this so there are a few little surprises round the Christmas tree.

I have been with DD1 and bought the aforementioned tree to avoid the rush on Saturday. It is actually lopsided at the moment as I haven't the strength to force it into it's log stand properly. All will be adjusted and decorated on Saturday.

The maths test apparently went well but she doesn't want to say too much just in case she did less well than she thinks (which has been known).

CV - I was wondering about your finger or have I missed an update?

Thanks for the vote of confidence, Tilly I just find that when I get in to a spiral of self pity it helps to be a bit pragmatic and think of others. It gets me out of the "oh woe is me…oh hapless day…"rut, iyswim.
Re your Ds, I suppose he'd think youth theatre/drama was naff? It's just that its a huge outlet for anyone who has a big front, with underlying confidence doubts. They're usually amazing on stage and really funny too. Probably way off the mark, sorry but just sayin'…

MI when you get to that point that your DCs social life, (and so it seems the social life of their friends parents!!) get in the way of yours….words need to be had

NU thats LOADS!! I'm tired just reading your post. And I do love marzipan…I'm one of those people who could eat it off the block…never mind the cake.

Ds has texted to say he had a "meaningful" day. I am getting a cold, I just know it…. that vague sore throat, tickly ears, sneezes that hurt….aaargh.

Next confidence building dinner party is on Sat night. Menu is as follows…
Chunky Veg soup i.e. everything but the kitchen sink and not in the blender.
Honeyed Chicken, Jamie Oliver's glazed carrots from the telly a couple of days ago, roast potatoes with a little garlic and rosemary and green beans.
Mincemeat tart, cream and a fruit platter. Boring? Too rich ? Too basic?

Rose, that would be a great idea for many children/teens, however neither of my two have ever been into acting and although he is pretty good at imitating accents, I think he would rather slit his throat than join a drama club!
He is also tone deaf, but did manage to scrape a grade 1 in trumpet thanks to the most patient and persistent teacher

I think he's just plain arsey. He apparently got into trouble today for refusing to take his coat off "inside" the building (this part is notoriously unheated) - he can't see why he should follow a rule which, in his opinion, is wrong.

Not my finger, Hatty; twas Beachy's.

I've just had a 45 minute gap between dropping off DS and collecting DD2, so I sat in the Waitrose caff with my free coffee, and read The Times from cover to cover. Lovely!

Bathroom is slowly progressing; today's issues include a dent on the worktop and some dodgy brackets. Plumber is also grumbling about "tricky" wall panels, so I've summoned a joiner. But basin, loo and radiator are in, and plumber still assures me it will be done by Christmas.

And the menu sounds delish!

2 weeks still to go CV

Rose - I can and do eat marzipan in any form. Lidl do a marzipan log I can eat at one sitting (with unpleasant repercussions, mind).

And your menu sounds lovely. Nod towards Christmas but refreshing.

BTM didn't you have a finger too?

We are switching to fibre optic broadband next week. What are our chances of losing all internet for Christmas?

Rose I'll come to dinner