Our Christmas happy 2019 – Mummascribbles

Well I usually write a weekend happy post on a Monday, but as we have had both boys poorly over the weekend, there actually hasn’t been much to talk about other than dog walks and taking the decs down! So I thought instead, I would do a Christmas happy round up of the few days we spent celebrating – when we had only one poorly boy! I’ll apologise now for the quality of some photos. Dark mornings and fast moving kids opening presents don’t make for the easiest photo taking opportunities!

Christmas Eve

It was panto day. The boys had no idea until the morning that we were going, and they found out when they opened the box of their advent calendar which had a special chocolate and a note telling them what we would be doing. We had arranged for the other half”s parents to come over and dog sit for us as we knew we would be out for a fair few hours, and they spent the whole morning asking when they were arriving.

The other half took the dog out for a walk, and shortly afterwards his parents arrived. I made up some lunch and then it was soon time to be going.

To be honest, I wasn’t sure we would all make it – Oscar was pretty rough with a horrible cough and a temperature which we were just about keeping under control with medicine. But we knew we had to try because we didn’t want him (or I) to miss out.

We drove up to the Spotlight Theatre in Hoddesdon which isn’t too far from us, and went and grabbed some snacks from the bar before taking our seats. I had taken a lollipop for Oscar to suck on to try and keep his coughing at bay. Unfortunately, his cough was pretty bad but over the noise of the panto, you couldn’t hear it too much!

They both really loved the panto, which was Aladdin, and even though Oscar was feeling rough, he was clapping and dancing along in places, while cuddled up with Daddy.

After the show, we were heading straight home. Oscar of course fell asleep straight away in the car and then woke when we got home because I couldn’t leave him sleeping in there when it was cold! Also, we were doing Christmas pressies with Nanny & Grandad when we got in because we wouldn’t be seeing them again over the Christmas period.

Once we were in and the dog had calmed down, it was pressie time. I don’t think they have ever had presents on Christmas Eve so it was a pretty exciting moment for them! We all opened what we were given and then we dished ours out too. The boys were very excited to have a remote control car each as well as a few other bits too!

It wasn’t long before Nanny & Grandad were off again as they were going round to the other half’s brother and his family to spend a couple of nights there. It was then time for us to do dinner, and then as Oscar was desperate to get to bed for some sleep, we quickly got the stuff ready for Santa and the reindeer, hung the magic key outside, and then I took him up to bed.

Zach wasn’t quite ready to sleep by this point, so I left him downstairs with the other half tracking Santa on Norad. Oscar fell asleep immediately so then I went back downstairs, gave Zach five more minutes, and then took him up too – knowing full well that we still had to wrap all their presents and I was likely to be disturbed by a coughing Oscar!

When he was asleep too, I went back up and snuck down with the pressies and then we sat and wrapped. I had already done the rest of the family’s throughout the week and weekend, so it was just the kids I needed to get done. The other half wrapped mine while I was getting Zach to bed! We managed to get them all wrapped before Oscar woke up and I was summoned to bed – which I needed anyway!

Christmas Day

I thought we were going to be up at like 4am, but actually it was about 6.30 (maybe 6!). We all went downstairs and the boys were super excited to see their stash of presents. We pointed out which was from Santa and they saved those until the end, opening ours first. Zach got a 2 wheeled scooter that he has been waiting so patiently for, and he got some Horrible History books and a Vtech singing karaoke thing! Oscar got a big Hotwheels set, a new coat and a new dinosaur tracksuit which he was very excited about!

They then opened the main pressie from Santa which was the electric train set that they had both asked for! They also had a box each of extra track!

We then opened our pressies (I got a lush new dressing gown and some other bits that I had asked for), and then we spent most of the morning chilling with their new pressies. Well, I say chilling. The other half sat and built the Hotwheels track and I spent a good 2 hours building the Lego train (while Zach was busy singing) so that it could be played with as soon as possible.

I eventually got in the shower and got ready as fast as I could, before I loaded up the car with stuff and then we all went over to my Sister’s (Buster included). When we arrived, Oscar had fallen asleep. I grabbed the dog and he soon woke up and we all went in. It is the first time Buster has met their dog Sadie but all was fine once he had realised that despite her being double (or more) his size, she wouldn’t hurt him! He was soon playing with her and annoying her (she is 10 so got tired quick).

The other half had sat down with Oscar who had fallen straight back to sleep on him, so I got all the stuff in from the car and then spent loads of time following the dog around in his new surroundings!

Once Oscar woke up, he perked up a bit and was playing around the house with Zach. Dinner was soon ready and what a yummy one it was. My Brother-In-Law is the best at cooking a roast! I managed to grab a couple of snaps, one of the other half with his soon to be Mother-In-Law, and one with my Nephew and Zach – who both had ketchup on their Christmas dinners!

After dinner, we exchanged presents and once again the boys got lots of awesome stuff. New bedding, new pj’s, books, jigsaws and games. They were very lucky indeed!

We then spent time chilling out before having dessert and then getting the kids to bed. Oscar obvs fell asleep immediately and Zach, despite protesting that he wasn’t tired, did too!

I went downstairs, poured a glass of fizz, and then we all sat and played a couple of games while munching on the many snacks that my Sister had.

I would have usually had a bit more to drink than I did, but I just knew Oscar would wake up and the last thing I wanted was to be feeling rough! And I was right. Oscar woke up coughing and was in a bit of a state, so he joined us downstairs for a while so I could finish the game we were playing, and then seeing as I was really tired and struggling to keep my eyes open, we both went up to bed together. The other half was sleeping downstairs on the sofa with the dog, and unfortunately, every time Oscar woke in the night, he wanted to go down and see Daddy!

Boxing Day

We were both tired wrecks on Boxing Day morning, but I managed to send the kids downstairs and grab a couple of hours extra. I had had a terrible sleep on Christmas Eve as well, so I just couldn’t get up! When I went downstairs, all was good and I popped the kettle on. My Sister came down shortly after and I got distracted and forgot to make tea! It wasn’t until her hubs came down and put the kettle back on that I remembered!

The other half got himself ready so he was feeling fresher, and then I did too. We then had bacon and sausage sarnies for brunch, and then the lads all sat down to watch the footie – which Zach wasn’t impressed with because he isn’t a fan. I was getting ready to go, but Oscar had other ideas and fell asleep on the other half who passed him over to me while he did something.

I decided that despite him being asleep, the best thing would be to head off as he would sleep in the car anyway, it was peeing down with rain outside and I just wanted to get back home! So we jumped in the car and drove back through many nasty puddles and potholes!

Once home, the rest of the afternoon was just a massive chill out, with the boys playing with their toys and resting before dinner and bed time.

Friday 27th December

This was the final day of Christmas celebrations, as later in the afternoon, the other half’s brother and co were due to arrive. Of course, the waiting for the kids was a nightmare and there were constant requests for when they would be appearing. The other half had gotten up with the kids again and when I went downstairs, he and Zach were busy playing a painful game of Monopoly. Zach is a bad loser and so moans a lot when the game isn’t going his way!

We managed to occupy them all day and then the family arrived at around 3pm. We were doing a Christmas dinner (the turkey was £9 in Sainsbury’s on Boxing Day!) for everyone and we all had a catch up before popping the turkey in and then opening presents. The kids spent the whole time playing with their new toys and playing hide and seek, we chatted, and then we all ate dinner which went down a treat.

It was then time for another play and then time for them to head off again to get the kids home for a bath and bed. And our boys were pretty exhausted too, so we got them up to bed pronto and they were asleep in no time!

And that was Christmas! It really is extra fun when you spend a few days seeing different people. It lengthens it out and makes it more exciting knowing presents are being spread out too. Despite Oscar being pretty poorly the whole time, we did manage to have a wonderful time. It has had to be pretty chilled out, and as I write this on Sunday, Zach has kind of caught the lurgy too, with a day full of temperature spiking and a 2pm nap because he felt so rubbish! I am hoping that they are both clear of this real soon so that we can get out again before it’s back to school and pre-school again!