Christmas has left the building

I awoke this morning with the sheer determination that the Christmas decs were to come down. And yes I know I haven't done the 12 days of Christmas, but with a return to work looming fast, and kids to get ready for school, today seemed sensible. First of all it was off to see GG Pearl & GG Jos (aka Cocker, not sure where that came from but the boys gave him the name and it sort of stuck).  Its GG Pearls birthday today and middle boy asked how old she is, to be honest I'm not sure and would not want to cause offence so I just said 80 something to which middle boy decided to tell me that GG Pearl is very old and how we die when we get old. I proceeded to tell him that GG Jos is 90 something to which middle boy was totally amazed and speechless (for all of 10 seconds). Having delivered the 12th box of chocolates for GG Pearls birthday we decided to visit Grandma and let her know how good middle boys had been in the holidays and  had refrained from trying to murder his brothers.  Middle boy seized the opportunity to ask Grandma if he could sleep tonight since he had been such a good boy! And so it was, relived of 1 boy for the night. Yippeee! Its not that I don't love my boys, but they are bloody hard work and everyone tells me I wouldn't be without them. Well let me tell you, I would be without them for a couple of days, that would be nice..... Having relieved my mother of a piece of furniture I returned home to find the other half was skillfully fitting a lock to the bedroom door, not for anything saucy mind, but to stop the flow of traffic which seems to travel through our bedroom at all hours of the day. Boy, I cant wait to have a pee on my own in the ensuite, it will be the first time in nearly 8 years. Then with the help of eldest & youngest boy, eldest and baby dog we dismantled the Christmas tree (not that I wanted or needed help) in record time (note to self: new Xmas decs needed for this year). So now the other half has gone to work on nights and I thought a nice chilled bottle or 2 with a few snacks would end the evening nicely, how wrong could I be, bloody Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on the TV and dogs with very loud squeaky balls.  Arrrrrggggggghhhhhhh!

Panto Time

So last night we went off to the theatre for the annual visit to see the Christmas panto at Doncasater.  This years offering.... Aladdin.... Star of the show...come ere.. Jimmy Cricket. Of the three boys youngest boy was the only 1 to join in with the jeering, pointing and shouting but seemed to thoroughly enjoy the show.  Eldest boy protested about how loud the child behind laughed and middle boy remained stoney faced throughout.  I do worry about the stability of my boys minds, I mean how do you explain that a man plays widow Twanky and a girl plays Aladdin when the boys ask why dont girls be girls and boys be boys? It wasn't until nearing the end of the show that  I realised Jimmy Cricket has L & R on the wrong wellies, also confusing for the boys although I doubt they noticed this level of detail.  So it came to 10pm and three tired boys needed to go home, as we had step daughter and nanan with us it meant that 2 boys had to be imprisoned, tortured and neglected in the far rear seats of the car. After a re-enactment of WW2 it was decided that middle and eldest boy would take these seats, they protested all the way home and decided that fighting each other was the answer that would save them. So a good nights sleep was had by all and unusually the boys slept in till 10am this morning. But alas the gits are back and chunks of skin are  now scattered around my living room. Roll on bed time!!

Christmas Cheer has left :(

Well the Christmas spirit has up and gone from the home today.  The other half was up and out at 5.30am for the 2nd of the Christmas shifts and I was left at home with the boys.  This isn't ordinarily a problem however today they decided that destroy and torture was a good pastime. Eldest boy decided to do an xmas jigsaw, middle boy decided to run on said jigsaw, eldest boy protested, middle boy got naughty step for 5 mins, middle boy protested and so the circle of hell began. Eldest boy again tried the jigsaw, middle boy decided he would destroy said jigsaw. Right on cue other half came home from the 2nd Christmas shift and eldest boy smacked middle boy in the mouth and blood poured. So now I have tendered the cut and repremanded eldest boy for using violence against his brothers. This is just a normal day in our home and I wonder if my boys will ever like each other. Holidays from work will be mostly taken in term time for 2011, else I worry that I will spend 32 minutes on the naughty step. Step daughter to the rescue! Me and other half are off out for a drink tonight hopefully a pint or twelve will enable a restful sleep and drown out the noise of torture.

1st blog!

Well here goes, first blog I have written, and was inspired to do so by reading a blog by an old school friend, so thanks Jayne!!  Well Christmas day went well the boys didn't kill each other and I cooked for 10. The other half successfully completed a nightshift so I thought it best to get the boys out of the way before they create as much noise as jumbo jet passing 10 feet above the house. So me, 3 boys and eldest dog embarked on a walk in the cold, eldest dog loved it, boys hated it, I just thought about that extra piece of Christmas cake I ate and hoped the walk would burn some calories. Doubt I even managed to burn enough calories to shift the sprouts I ate. After staying away for a long long as possible we returned home, to find that step daughter had gone out and left baby dog to roam around the house. You can only imagine the presents left for me. The boys decided to do a Christmas jigsaw, of course it was far too difficult for them even though the box said it was for their age range, so war began because team work is a dirtry phrase in this house. We are off to the parents of the other half for boxing day tea, I wonder if the boys will be nice?  Thank the Lord for beer, the kids may just see Easter....