All over bar the shouting....

We decided this year not to travel all over the country to visit everyone over Christmas. For some unknown reason, it's always us that has to do the travelling, despite us being the only ones with a small child. Mark ends up in grumpy old man mode for most of Christmas and we always seem to be on the move to the next set of relatives to visit. It wasn't so bad when Isabelle was a baby, but she's now 4 and our little 2 door rover cannot house the large boxes that house her small presents. It beats me why toys have to have so much packaging! (that's my annual grumble as I'm trying to take toys out of the box and swearing to myself as I fiddle with twisted wires that hold every single part of the toy in place!)

My family seem to be spread all over the UK. We're in the North West, Mum is in the Midlands as is one brother, the other brother is in Norfolk and half of Mark's family live 15 minutes north of Edinburgh and the other half live in Plymouth. Each year our car racks up hundreds of miles to accompany Mark's ever growing temper. So, we decided to stay home. My one concern about staying home was Mark doesn't like being cooped up and he gets  bored VERY easily. He's one of these people that is constantly on the go or he self implodes, which is not a pretty sight! I'm very laid back and will go with the flow and am happy chilling and playing games with Isabelle.

On Christmas Eve we took Isabelle to a magic show and party. The magician was the worst I've ever seen, but Isabelle enjoyed it. He redeemed himself by producing a real live white rabbit at the end of the show, and Santa paid a visit. She came home really tired and ready for bed, and went straight to sleep waiting for Christmas morning. I was a bit worried about the My little pony sweetie belle gumball house she'd been asking for for the last two weeks as I'd not been able to get it, but I had got the fur real kitty lulu that she's been asking for for months. I needend have worried as she forgot all about it when she saw all her presents. She was particularly happy with the Dora Rollerskates I'd picked up like new on ebay for £1.50! She spent the day trying to break her neck and every other limb in her body but thankfully, she didn't.

We got snow on Boxing Day. Not a lot,  but enough for Mark to take Isabelle out to build a small snowman and have a snowball fight with the kids from next door. The snow was gone by the following morning.

My poor baby has had it a bit rough though. She woke up on Christmas morning with Conjunctivitus in one eye, which then spread two days later into the other eye. We got through the best part of a small bottle of hand sanitiser, and I worried myself that I'd give Isabelle OCD about keeping her hands clean! Then yesterday (Monday) she started crying with earache. I didn't realise it was a Bank Holiday and the Drs were closed. I called for an out of hours Dr only to be told one wouldn't be coming! What?? so I dosed her up on calpol (the medicine of the gods) and sent Mark out to find olive oil (on a bank holiday??) He managed to find some so I put a few drops in her ear followed by cotton wool. She wasn't impressed and said an hour later that the cotton wool must have accidentally fallen into the bin (eh?). But this morning her ear is better. She must have just had a blockage. So thankfully, no trip to the Dr's surgery that has been closed since Christmas Eve morning and will have everyone and their dog (figuritavely speaking) waiting to see a Dr.

So now we sit waiting for the New Year to arrive. We won't be travelling up to Scotland this year. This will be the first time in 10 years that we've not been in Scotland for Hogmanay. Things are different these days. Mark's parents are no longer together. Mark no longer drinks or smokes (and hasn't for over 4 years) and going to his mum's is a drinkfest. I have no idea how this 5ft nothing woman who can only weigh 8 stone wet through can drink tins of beer from 9am until she falls asleep. She drinks beer the way we'd drink coffee. But anyway, Mark can't see the point in risking the roads on a 5 hour drive through some of the worst hit snow and ice areas on the way to sit and watch him mum get slowly more and more drunk whilst chainsmoking. Once upon a time it was his idea of bliss. He has changed a lot since he realised he is an alcoholic and quit. We've all changed a lot since then to be honest... for the better I might add.

So I think the New Year will be seen in and we'll be in bed sleeping 10 minutes later LOL.. old gits that we are. And this brings forth thoughts of the year we're leaving behind and what the year ahead will bring us. But that's a post for another day.

I hope everyone reading this had as good a Christmas as we did.