Saturday, December 24, 2011

Merry Christmas

Some of you may have been wondering if I'd been kidnapped by Santa's elves and made to work in a North Pole sweatshop for the last two weeks but the reality is that work and home life in the lead up to the holidays has been kicking my sorry butt. I'm tough- I survived and as of yesterday I'm officially on almost 7 weeks holidays. That means I'm planning to annoy you all far more regularly since I'm officially a lady of leisure. Last time I was this leisurely was in 1995 when I had a 4 year old.

As I write this post it's Christmas Eve morning here. My presents are all wrapped and under the tree. The house is decorated.

My fridge and pantry are  full of good things to eat , all the grocery shopping having been done yesterday. It was a complete zoo. The shops are shut for three days here from tonight and it's like bread and milk have become the most precious commodities on earth.




I need to bake my ham today and prepare a chicken salad for my chicken croissants tomorrow night. (Thanks for the recipe and inspiration Kirsten!) 

Two remaining jobs include cleaning the house and picking up Miss P who is staying the night. We're going to do a Webber chicken for dinner and then take Little P for a walk round the neighbourhood to see the Christmas lights after dinner. Then it's home again where he can open one present which will coincidentally happen to be a picture book edition of "The Night Before Christmas" and we'll read that and then cross our fingers that he'll go to sleep before we do. Little P went into a big boy bed 10 days ago and has been coming out of bed 1275 times and falling asleep at 11pm every night since.  He told Miss P at 4.30am the other morning he was coming in to my room to play with me. I think we need to work on getting him to tell time and to clue up to the fact that anyone who wakes me at any time is really taking a risk of having their head bitten clean off. 

So, I went out and bought Little P this bedtime buddy yesterday and also on the agenda for today is to make up a photo story about the big bear that stayed in bed when it was dark outside. And then he can take the bear to bed with him at night. Wanna bet the bear starts coming out of bed 1275 times a night as well? 


I have aback up plan. If the non aversive bear idea doesn't work I'm going to super glue Little P into bed.

In my absence, I've finished a double sided baby quilt,(one side was for a boy the other for a girl because we don't know what my friend is having) 9 bibs, the Dresden cushion , and a pincushion for my mother in law. I've ignored my Christmas bunting and my Christmas quilt. Now I have a jump on my 2012 Christmas projects.


Somewhere in amongst all that crazy Miss P and I decided it would be an awesome idea to make a gingerbread house. I have discovered gingerbread house making is not among my many talents. I'm hoping this note in my 2012 diary will remind me of the agony of 2011 and save me hours of angst.


I'm still scraping icing off my bench tops. That stuff sets like concrete. And the result of all this labour? The sorriest looking gingerbread house you've ever seen...




I'm going to stick to cooking hunks of meat in future. I rarely bugger that up. Fiddly and I are not friends. 

And so, on this day before Christmas, from all of the Pyjamas clan to all of you and your families I wish you a very Merry Christmas full of wonderful food, laughter and the creation of some very special memories. 

With love, 


33 comments:

Kristie said...

Merry Christmas, Shay! I have a jump on several 2012 Christmas projects, too, on of which will now become an epic 3 year project ;) Anyhoo, no matter, the mood is bright over here on the other side of the world, the kids have been warned that they have to hold it together and be "nice" for just one more day so Santa won't bypass them (though today my son made about 8 videos starring his butt crack), and whatever is not done is just going to stay that way. Time to crack open the wine and be festive! All the best to you :)

thea said...

Merry Christmas Shay! I really did think you had been kidnapped by Santa's elves. Such a relief that it wasn't you .. The tree and presents look lovely. We have our tree up (the second one), but no presents underneath. There are two little "angels" at my house who would feel the need to see what was in each package. So the gift placing waits for tomorrow night after the "angels" have gone to bed.

I think your g-bread house looks fine (but that's probably because the only one I ever made caused me to NEVER make one again).

Our stores are open all the time. I think the grocery stores will close early on Christmas but re-open the next day bright and early -- or maybe they'll be open the whole time. no rush on milk here. All the other stores may close early on Christmas eve, and reopen the day after Christmas because that day is the busiest shopping day of the year with all the returns and after Christmas sales ...

Have a wonderful Christmas!

Marg said...

Merry Christmas Shay and all the P clan.
The shops are only shut Christmas Day here but you;d think they were shut for a week the way everyone is stocking up.
Your Christmas tree looks lovely, very Christmassy.
Super glue? Hmmm is that one of the secret skills you've picked up from work?
At least you tried making a GB house.

seabreezequilts said...

Glad you survived the pre christmas work hell, yeah for 7 weeks off. I have 2 weeks off and am looking forward to doing not much. We went to the shops late yesterday afternoon and it wasn't that bad. We had a couple of errands to run, got a park no problems and we even decided at the last minute to do last minute grocery shopping for the 3 day break from milk/bread etc...didn't even have to line up at the checkout was home by 5.30 and that was taking the kids with us which I usually avoid at all costs at this time of year.

Last night we wrapped the kids pressies so apart from a bit of a tidy up I have nothing to do today. We are at MIL this year as I am band from Xmas lunch because I did salad's last year instead of a hot roast lunch because it was supposed to be hot. But apparently it isn't xmas unless lose massive amounts of sweat while you eat (glad the forecast has been revised down).

Think I might be removing myself from the IPAD envy club very soon.

Have a lovely Xmas.
p.s. squid still gives us nocturnal visits on occasion and she is nearly 9 it has been a couple of weeks since the last one though maybe it has stopped
.

Helen McNaught @ AuntyHennys said...

A Very Merry Christmas to all the Mrs P clan!

Love everything you do - that pincushion is fabulous and as I have a zillion pieces of selvedge just waiting to be made into something (anything!) a few of those might pop up on my sewing table!

Enjoy the time off!

We are heading to the bush for Christmas so I don't have anything to rush to the shops for today, thank heavens.

Have a great time with Little P,

Helen

Kirsten's Cooking said...

I feel your pain on the nocturnal visits! Emma used to walk up and down the hallway with her baby stroller in the middle of the night....again, and again, and again. You're going to have such a fun Christmas!
Things could be worse for you...Rob is currently putting together a 1000 piece dollhouse....and I'm on mt iPad, leaving you a comment. On the plus side, everything else is wrapped and ready to go....it's only 7:12 pm on the 23 rd here.
Have a merry one, my friend :)

Jennifer said...

You know that gingerbread house will become part of your family's folklore and history, don't you? Doesn't matter if it is less than perfect, it's the attempt that matters. Superglue sounds like a great idea, I can also recommend crushed panadol....place panadol in centre of child's forehead, tap firmly with hammer to crush tablet.....child will then sleep soundly all night. And day. And night.....yep, the siege mentality is alive and well here too.

Deb said...

Merry Christmas Shay. I hope you and the family have an amazing christmas. Enjoy every minute of it, it passes by too quickly.
Much love and hugs

Razzle Dazzle Quilter said...

Hi Glad to see your head pop up again!
What sort of paradise do you live in? No shops for 3 days? Shhhhh dont tell everyone - all shop workers will be wanting to move to your neighbourhood!
Cheers
Linda

Baa-Me Kniits said...

Merry Christmas Shay! Hope you all have a lovely day and don't get woken up too early....I think mine will be up at sparrows fart, they have been for the last 3 days so why change? Maybe I should have read your post before I started cooking this afternoon...I'm just done all the pieces of the gingerbread house and am waiting for them to cool before I attempt to 'glue' them together. Oh what a fun way to spend Christmas Eve. Cousin has just taken the boys to the pool and hubby is not home yet so a few minutes peace and a cold beer I think are in order before I wrap some presents. I may even get to bed before midnight myself if I am lucky. Have a lovely day tomorrow and I hope little bear works. Wishing you health, happiness and lots of love for the New Year, can you believe its almost 2012!! hugs Jenni xx

Paulette said...

I've never made a gingerbread house so my standards may be skewed, but yours looks good to me. Congrats on being ready for Christmas, and a start on the next! I hope you and yours have the merriest holiday!

Canadian Abroad said...

Your gingerbread house looks remarkably similar to mine! So pleased you are relaxing, enjoying and all ready for Christmas. Have a fabulous day!

Cindy said...

Merry Christmas to you and yours too, Shay! Enjoy your time with you family away from work. You deserve it! xoxo

Rachaeldaisy said...

Very Merry Christmas to you and all the pyjama clan!! I want to eat your gingerbread house!

Dianne Neale said...

I think your gingerbread house is wonderful. I don't do fiddly either - my christmas tree cake was re-name the christmas dalek!
Have a wonderful Christmas, but please don't worry about next year yet!

Michelle Ridgway said...

Love the note in the diary and the gingerbread house by the way. I am laughing out loud and have visions of you heaving huge sides of beef on to an open fire. Ha Ha!
Merry Christmas to you and the fellow consumers of the gingerbread house....looking forward to another year of 'fun with Shay'!
Michelle xx

Kirsten said...

Merry Christmas to you and your family. I love the note in your 2012 clender...great idea.
Thanks for being a wonderful friend and helping through so many of live´s little or big desasters this year.
Have a great time with the family.
We will be spendin x-mas eve with my Mom, my Inlaws and my kids and the day tomorrow with the the whole gang.

Ann Marie @ 16 Muddy Feet said...

Merry Christmas from our side of the planet to yours, hope Santa brings you want you asked for.

Shevvy said...

Happy Christmas luv, enjoy all the festivities and the next 7 weeks, sounds like you will need the rest!

Anonymous said...

Merry Christmas, Shay. I know Santa is going to be very good to little p regardless of his good/naughty ratio, but I hope he is also very good to you because you've been very very good this year:-) IMOP

Jenn said...

Merry Christmas to you, faraway friend!! :) Jenn

Marti said...

Merry Christmas!

After making gingerbread houses with dd#2 in 3rd grade, I decided I would never have the knack for that, and put it on my Never Again list. Didn't help that we used graham crackers for the walls.

Terri said...

Glad you are out of the slave mode. I do that too, assign too much to myself. This year we bought everbody a wallet and put in a check. No kitchen, no fudge, and no time to do anything expected. A good excuse.

I bought a kit for a gingerbread house one year. My DD and her hubby decorated it. Turned out quite nicely. Secret is extra candies in shapes like building materials. (Makes it expensive though)
A Very Merry Christmas to all the Ps. Have a wonderful time on your vacation, as well.
Hugs!

Mistea said...

Sound like you have a fun few days planned.
Hope the big bear story worked.
Enjoy all of the festive season and your super long holiday.
Merry Christmas Day to you.

Helsie said...

Merry christmas to all th PJ clan.
I'm so stuffed I can hardly waddle to the computer. We are not long home from our all day family Christmas but I've been stretched out in my recliner chair since we stumbled back through the door!
Hope you have a nice day too.
I'm not moving much tomorrow... or eating again either ( famous last words ?!!)
Cheers

Char said...

I rather like the gingerbread house myself!
I hope you and the hole Pyjama family have a wonderful Christmas!

Lorraine said...

methinks you are too fussy....I think your GB house looks fine....hope you had a wonderful Christmas Day....how many times did Little P get out of bed.....you should have gotten a really fearsome looking bear to sit next to his bed...he would have been too scared to get out...LOL...or...he could go in to your room at stupid o'clock.....and be really scared for the rest of his life! LOL
thanks for your friendship and great blog this year.....you make me laugh (on the blog and IRL)...looking forward to catching up soon....7 weeks off work.....wow......sounds fantastic...I have eked out two weeks and am really looking forward to having some "home" time...wishing you and all your PJ clan a wonderful 2012.

OzRose said...

Thats why I dont make gingerbread houses!!!!! Merry Christmas Shay to you and all the family. See you next year! Have a safe and Happy New Year xx

Kate said...

Hope you had a very Merry Christmas. I've been without Internet access since Saturday morning, hence my late greetings.

I like you gingerbread house, it's the effort not the finished product that counts.

Enjoy your 7 weeks off! I'm looking forward to being annoyed!

Brenda said...

Wow, they close up for 3 days. A lot of things are even open for a little while on Christmas Day here, which I think is sad, people need to be able to spend it with their families. Good luck with the big boy bed/bear thing. I have a houseful of company and am missing that quilting passtime of mine...

Elizabeth said...

Funny post tag (the one about little P).

Also, your gingerbread house is pretty cute. That frosting dripping down the front actually looks like snow. So, don't sweat it. My gingerbread house never got made. It is still sitting in a box. I wonder if it will keep until next year?

Sounds like the lead-up to your holiday was wonderful. You always amaze me with everything you get done! Hope Little P eventually got to sleep and that your Christmas was the best yet.

xo -E

Lane said...

Okay, so you can see how far behind I am. I think your gingerbread house is charming. Your tree reminds me so much of ours. We also had a ham. And, I can't wait to find out if you kept little P in his bed without a strap. Enjoy your holiday!! Lane

Vesuviusmama said...

I was MIA for about 2 weeks myself - where does the time go? So, how did the bear work out? In theory, it was a genius idea...