There are only two words I fear at Xmas time and they are "assembly required" This year I bought Emily (amongst lots of other things) a lovely big wooden doll house. Normally it wouldn't bother me that it had to be made up as thats Joes job but since he won't be home for xmas and since Haley is clueless in that department, I felt obliged to do the right thing...
I was pleased to see the screws were all separated out in a plastic box with compartments...however none of them looked like the screws in the picture diagrams so there was a lot of "process of elimination" throughout the whole procedure...thankfully each wooden piece was numbered which helped but I am not the greatest at following instructions so what I thought would take an hour actually took 4 hours and several times I blew a poofer valve and had to go outside and have a smoke to calm down...Emily will love it, it even has a lift for heavens sake....a far cry from the dollhouse I had as a kid made from a toilet roll box.
Ebony was been diligent at changing the numbers on the advent tree every morning and I can't believe it is only 3 more sleeps till santa comes...I am so ready for this, I can't wait to see everyones face when they unwrap their gifts.....may I add that Ella has already started to unwrap several of them none of which were hers.
We have decided on our xmas menu..prawns, chicken and honey glazed baked ham..the ham was my idea even though none of us are really into ham....but I really want to to the whole diamond criss cross thing with the cloves..looks so cool...they couldnt decide on one dessert so we are having the usual pav and trifle and this year we are adding triple choc honeycomb log...I have had a practice run and its yum...not that I should even care as I wont be able to eat it anyway.
Jodie emailed me a few days ago and said she had received her care package...she loved everything but was most excited about the milo....they seem to be loving it in Canada, Duane earned 800 dollars in tips when he helped out as barman during the world cup.....Jodie had been promoted and is now supervisor of her department and gained a payrise to....wait for it......$10.20 per hour!! She also got employee of the month which earned her a restaurant meal, a $70 gift voucher and a 3 hour snow boarding lesson.
Martin intends to take three days off for Xmas..woopdeedoo, he isnt big on the whole relaxing holiday thing, he would much rather go to work...but I think he will take a week off at the end of JAnuary so we are trying to find a holiday destination that will suit all of us...Martin hates the beach or anything even remotely related to water or fishing or anything that separates him from his big screen tv....I hate anything that resembles camping or roughing it....Ebony hates anywhere without access to a power point to her hair straightener and needs to be in close proximity to major shopping centres...as expected we havent been able to think of anything that suits all of us...in fact I reckon we should just stay at home because it meets all of the above criteria.
Thats all for now as I need to get an early night as I want to be at the shops at opening time tomorrow to do my xmas food shopping...my list is a foot long and I know th ecrowds will be out in force. Merry Christmas everyone, enjoy the day with your family and I hope Santa comes to each and everyone of you , even if you have been naughty...see you next year!

The dental work is all over folks, on Thursday I had my remaing top teeth removed and an upper and partial lower denture fitted...I was in agony for three or four hours but after that (touch wood) I was shocked to find myself pain free and now a few days later still pain free...I have to say the first time I removed the top denture to rinse my mouth I honestly almost fainted...it looks like I have been shot in the mouth..no joke, I still cant believe something that looks that bad isn't causing pain.The upside is (now the swelling has gone down) the teeth are quite realistic and dont look very fake....the downside is I talk with a terrible speech impediment and it is impossible to eat...it either hurts or I simply cant chew with them yet....since wednesday night I have had two bowls of runny porridge and a small tin of creamed rice...and eating that was an ordeal...Martin keeps asking me questions that require an answer with an S word which I simply cannot manage....you cant say s words with new dentures...So I wont have toothache for xmas...but I also wont be eating xmas dinner either!

This is as good as it gets as far as a xmas photo shoot with Miss Ella...she wouldn't co operate at all- no hat, no smiles -no way! WE even tried to get her to cooperate by letting her hold the guinea pig but she choked it and made the poor thing throw up..end of story...However I did manage a couple of cute ones of Emily.
So excited that it is only 21 sleeps til Santa comes!! The tree went up at the end of November, I give in every year. The presents (way too many) are prettily wrapped and under the tree and now we just have to await the arrival of the big guy in red. Emily is here for a sleepover tonight...she was looking at the animated Santa we have who holds a list in his hand and she asked Pop to read the names on his list...Pop rattled off the names of everyone including Ella (they were not the real names on the list) and Emily asked...Pop, isn't my name on there? Pop replied, "no it doesn't look like it" Emily placed her hands on her hips most indignantly and said, "How COULD he leave me off that list, I wasted my time being good!" We just about wet ourselves laughing.
I sent a care package to Jodie and Duane in Canada...hope they like their bloody milo - it cost me $79.50 in postage lol! I included some anzac biscuits, twisties, vegemite, milo along with chocolates, xmas decorations and green and gold aussie xmas hats and stockings...well not for Duane -he hates xmas so I sent him a black santa hat that says Bah humbug on the front. Did I mention that when Duane arrived they had changed his job...he is the portaloo guy...rofl, I will call him Kenny from now on..they seem to be enjoying themselves despite the fact that if they go jogging in the park they have to carry bear spray???Let me tell you, if you are close enough to a bear to spray it you would much rather be carrying a shot gun I reckon!
It seems I have started sleep walking again which is a worry...a few weeks ago I woke up standing next to the clothes line in the back yard and a few nights after that Martin heard the front door open, so he got up to investigate and I was off down the driveway (thank God I don't sleep in the raw!) I am shit scared of the dark, so as you can imagine it freaks me out. I was a nightly sleepwalker when I was kid, so bad mum used to have to give me sleeping tablets. When I was 11 I went into hospital to have my tonsils out...I terrified all the other kids in the ward so badly they had to restrain me in my bed. I only do it occasionally now thank heavens.
I would like to congratulate Sue Jones on becoming a Nanna for the first time to a beautiful grand daughter. You will love the job Sue! I have compiled a few tips
1. Only buy outfits if they are in colours that are easy to match up to patterned papers and embellishhments
2. If the baby is screaming and can't be settled, offer to help...when you become a Nanna you are given some sort of magical power that puts babies to sleep even though nothing ever worked with your own kids
3. Respect the fact that the parents would prefer the child not to have lollies....which means you have to hide the M&M's when they are around, then hope to God the kid doesn't point to the pantry and ask for a lol lol
4. Resist the urge to impulse buy cute toys.......for at least a minute then whip out the cash
5. Remember when they are old enough to ask for a sleepover that once you say yes they will never ever ever walk in the door for a visit again without an overnight bag.
6.Cute overnight bags can be purchased at Target or Kmart
7. You can say no all you like, but once they drop that bottom lip you will say yes quick smart
8. Expect to be the guest of honour when they have seniors day at Kindy
9. Hundreds and thousands on honey toast is acceptable for breakfast
10. YOUR grand kid is way cuter than anyone elses, even when they are being naughty!
Talk to you all soon