22 Foxhole East

DH is home for Christmas!! He decided to come home while it was still light outside. He will be shirking from home over the holidays, he is off to Portugal to give a paper early in the New Year so he has prep to do for that. He has marking to do and moderating for the course over the hols.

He says he feels exhausted already, hope he gets to recharge his batteries and he does not find the kids too stressful. Nevermind, in a week it will all be over!

Emptied two huge boxes of lycra cycling stuff into himself's wardrobe, I love it when another box is empty! It is not mine btw.

Our 2 furry babies are still hilarious. We are going to try to handle them this weekend, and see how they feel in their zorb so they can explore the living room in their hamster ball. Little do they know what excitement lies in store for them!

Tomorrow is baby fox's 7th birthday. How did that happen? Seven? already? Christmas Eve Eve birthday sucks for him. He does get to spend a ridiculous amount of money in the sales though.... which reminds me I have to get 8 x £5 notes tomorrow from the bank to stick in cards for the kids from cheques sent by relatives. All presents have been wrapped, but I still need a few bits for stockings, but I might just abandon everyone on Xmas Eve for a bit and run into town. Leicester city centre is not a big place so it will not take long. I might even take the kids in for gelato and waffles.

Which reminds me, I am thinking of pancakes and maple syrup and fruit salad for Christmas day breakfast. That way they will get some fruit into them before the choc-fest begins. I don't make a big cooked lunch, because they are rarely hungry at lunchtime, they pig out at breakfast and watching films and then lunch is wasted, so last year we did home made pizza and foccacia and olives and pickles and sunblush tomatoes and salads. It was nice as anything not eaten went back into the fridge and wheeled out with crackers and snacky foods later on. If eating were an Olympic sport, my boys would come home with team gold.

Have to go and buy some nice ice cream too.

Got kidnapped by the hospital on 21st - I went for a routine prod as he was 7 days late, but even so he was totally mobile and spinning head to foot, to side, and allsorts. They totally panicked and refused to let me leave - it was snowing - icy roads, yadayadayada told me I was having an emergency caesarian at 7 the next morning, took me up to a room where I gave him a jolly good prod and turned him the right way down before the consultant came, who was totally confused as kid was head down and ready for launch. Apparently they aren't supposed to be able to do that. Get me, baby whisperer. So I was on the list for the morning, in case he turned again, but if not then induction. I was induced. Born 23rd, Home 25th,

DH let them open their presents on Xmas Eve morning because he could not remember what date Xmas was and thought the 24th sounded right (academics!) but he rang me up to say Happy Christmas at 8am and I put him right. Only 2 presents opened. I was home by 2 on Christmas Day. The kids refused to open their presents until I got home. Babies sleep a lot, and his brothers thought he was just an extra present. DH is perfectly capable, although he pretends not to be, and I lay on the sofa with the kids watching tv and doing the odd bit of washing up and laundry.

After a week DH went off back to work and the kids went back to school. Smallest got strapped up in a baby harness and life continued as normal. To be honest the leap from 1 to 2 smalls is much harder than 3 or 4. They just slot in with the school run and you get on with it.

Right, off to watch Rogue One as a birthday treat and out for a chinese later at the fabulously named Big Wang's (I kid you not). Happiness is boy shaped today.

And the hamster is now called Cheeky not Ninja, so we have Cheeky and Sneaky. Happy Christ-mouse.

Well we all enjoyed Rogue One, but as it was not my normal kids club movie (£2.50), it was about £50 for the 6 of us. Small was pleading tiredness so we had a takeaway instead.

We put one of the hamsters in a ball tonight and he seemed to have a whale of a time running around the living room in it. They are very quiet tonight, just cuddling each other on the wheel. They are so gorgeous. Tiny Roborovsky hamster people.

DH is now pleading sinusitis. Poor thing. I told him it was all in his head. He is not amused by my jokes. Never mind. I have sent him off for a hot steamy bath and will see if that improves it any.

All the monies from all relations have been allocated in the correct denominations to each card and labelled accordingly.

Presents to DS 1 & 2 and cards to all the others from M-I-L have not yet arrived. She is delighted with the sugar coated saccharine cards I sent her from the kids.

(must remember thank-you letters - new mantra)

Sadly we seem to have phone issues. With our handsets rather than the line, one has stopped charging and ringing, so unless you are in the hall and hear the upstairs one, you miss the call. Going to have to swap them over in the morning. Argos sale here I come!

Happy Christmas Eve in 90 minutes! or if you hate it, or are having an unhappy time this year, only 49 1/2 hrs until it is all over bar the tidying up and putting the recycling out.