Christmas, it's just not for women!

In the last three weeks our family have:

- celebrated an 18th (and had a big party at our house)
- celebrated Christmas (and had a big party at our house)
- been to a big Boxing Day party
- Spent 5 days away with 35 other people to celebrate New Year
- celebrated a 4th birthday (and had two separate parties at our house)

It has all been a bit much really and I'm seriously tired.

So today I've been trying to work out what exactly has been so overwhelming and I've finally got it down to one thing ... FOOD.

Deciding on what it will be, how much, how much to spend, is there enough, trying to fit it all in the fridge, deciding what order to prepare it in, finding enough bowls, deciding the right time to start serving, worrying people won't like it, worrying they will like it and there won't be enough and decorating bloody birthday cakes!

Oh, and lets not forget cleaning up after people have been eating food at my house.

Honestly I'm so over food that I would be happy to eat cereal and takeaway for the rest of my life.

We're going away next week and the rule this year is that we will have at least one bought meal per day.

My husband asked why (!!!). I calming and quietly (not) explained that otherwise it isn't a holiday for me.

I think my Mum summed it up best when I was at her house at 10.30pm on Christmas Eve (you guessed it ... dropping some food off) she came out with this immortal line "Christmas, it's just not for women."

I do love Christmas but that is so true!

Have you been exhausted by the 'holidays'?


 

How do you find the time?

Some of my favourite bloggers have written some amazing posts over the last few weeks and I have no idea how!

Christmas, New Year, an 18th birthday, a 4th birthday, a trip away and two small kids out of their usual weekly routine (read preschool is on holidays) have left me with far too much to do and no where near enough time to do it.

So blogging has fallen by the wayside in the mad panic to get the urgent things done.

Don't get me wrong I love my blog and I find it incredibly satisfying to be part of the mind-boggling blogging community but there are only so many hours in the day and it is an easy thing to put off.

So the everyone who did manage to blog/tweet/Facebook over Christmas ... seriously well done. You are amazing.

I'm determined to get back to regular posting now so watch this space. And next year I'll be ready for the craziness with some 'blog posts I scheduled earlier!'.

Happy New Year everyone.

I hate ironing!

In my husband's dreams!

My annual iron fest is coming up and it has got me thinking about the 'I' word.

I really hate ironing and for the most part I don't do it. It is boring and hot and frankly I have better things to do with my time.

To quote my mother; "You're a long time dead" to which I have added "So why would you bother ironing?"

With that in mind the ironing policy in our house is as follows:

• My stepsons are old enough to do their own (and so be it if they don't). 
• My husband is certainly old enough to do his own. 
• My little kids look the same after 10 minutes whether I have ironed their clothes or not. 
• I don't buy myself clothes that need to be ironed. Sometimes, when I see a beautiful white linen shirt, that makes me sad but for the most part it is a sacrifice I am more than happy to make.

But when we all go to church on Christmas Day it is important to me that we look nice so on Christmas Eve I have my annual iron fest and iron everyone's clothes for the next day.

That reminds me how stupid it is and how much I hate it and I'm pretty much done for the next year.

In my defence, I am incredibly careful how I bring the clothes in from the line so we don't look too rumpled. I fold the clothes straight away and woe betide the child that play in the baskets of clean washing and gets them crumpled.

I also follow one fantastic piece of advice from Maggie Alderson who, in her SMH column, once said to always peg your t-shirts under the arms so you don't get visible peg marks. She probably doesn't even remember but she rocked my world that day!

Do you waste your life iron?