Family Time

December is a family time for me, my  very last photo session was a babies first Christmas on December the 21st. Then I was free from work to spend quality time with my family or so I thought.

The bug hit them first of all my wee daughter , then my husband had man flu, Then my 14 year old who insisted while whining on the couch  that he was brave and wouldn't give in, finally on Christmas eve my 17 year old . As for me on Christmas eve I whizzed off down to Brighton to collect my eldest son and whizzed back again to Essex getting back early hours of Christmas morning.

Christmas eve Brighton

I set out the present that had taken 5 days to wrap with a fair amount of Sellotape stress under the tree and retired to bed for an hour or two.

My little girl woke me at a sensible time of 08.30 to declare Father Christmas had been she duly then woke all her brothers who then came downstairs and demolished my hours if not days of delicate wrapped presents with ribbons and tags , the room was a mass of screwed up paper in less than 10 minutes.

At this point I did silently wonder why I didn't just  leave all the gifts in carrier bags.

Then it was off to the kitchen for me to tackle the turkey and the stuffing the pigs in jackets and roast potato,s oh and the starters. The dinning room table needed dressing with all these ill men it was left to me.

Being family time it meant collecting my  less abled mother from her home to bring her to ours for the day this was made  10x worse because of the ice.

The master piece was ready to serve and my family just kind of sat there  just staring with ohh we dont feel like dinner GRRRRRR. Half a ton of washing up later it was time to escort mother back across the frozen ice  this took two people and more than an hour.

I finally sit down at 20.00 thinking oh yes some me time when 3 boys appear at the living room door and declare they are hungry.

I some how pictured myself  in cosy clothing with a fluffy blanket a box of chocolates and the Christmas tree lights gentle twinkling around the quiet room. How wrong my dream was by now i was fit to scream.

I have come up with a plan for Christmas 2011 its called go on strike. I wont be cooking dinner they can have a buffet and help themselves . I will ask for some good books and retreat to the bedroom with a bottle of wine and box of chocolates .

Heres to Bliss

Christmas Cheer.

Those tangled lights

Not amused