CHICKEN POX AND CHRISTMAS SHOPS

We had Youngest Step-daughter's two littluns over at the weekend. Eldest Grand-daughter was just getting over chicken pox and Youngest Grandson was just starting it. I was up all night with him on Saturday as he writhed and screamed - although he did manage to snatch two and a half hours sleep from around 2.30 a.m out of pure exhaustion. It is a long time since I held such a sick infant in my arms and I felt so sorry for him. He is only ten months old, he didn't understand what was happening and couldn't tell me how he was feeling so he did the only thing he could - cry. Youngest Step-daughter did offer to come and get him but I told her to hold off. She and Clever Son-in-Law recently split up and I knew she needed the break - particularly since she'd already seen Eldest Grand-daughter through it single-handedly. Chicken pox is just so nasty, isn't it? I didn't get it until I was about 12 which is quite late. But it seems horribly unfair for a ten-month old to get it and he really was so unwell.

Youngest Step-daughter arrived to collect the children around 10.30 Sunday morning and looked as if she'd been up crying all night. I felt very angry with Clever Son-in-Law - or Former Son-in-Law as he shall henceforth be known - for not being around to support her when she obviously needed it but of course as a parent - even a step-parent - I know not to get involved or to show my own feelings about the whole sorry mess. We did ask her if she'd like to stay for the night but she refused saying she wants to keep the routine as normal as possible for the two children and Eldest Grand-daughter had nursery the next day. Fortunately by the time she arrived, Youngest Grandson had perked up quite a bit. His temperature had returned to normal and he'd eaten some weetabix for his breakfast - which was more than he'd managed the previous day when the worst was only just beginning - and he beamed up at her, spots and all, as she walked through the door.

After they'd gone, Hubby and I had a whole hour to clear up before Youngest Sister arrived with her hubby and youngest son for lunch - soup and French Stick - prior to meeting Mother in Croydon for a spot of Christmas shopping. Hubby was working so he stayed behind as the rest of us braved the freezing winds and hit Poundland and the new 99p shop with great gusto to stock up on Christmas Cookies and other festive delights. By the time I got home just after 5pm he had left and at 7pm I fell into bed, the lost sleep of Saturday night finally catching up and hitting me full-force! I only woke up once and that was when Mother called me at 9pm to see how I was. I went straight back to sleep afterwards and stayed that way until the alarm roused me the following morning.

This weekend Hubby and I are determined to get the bulk of our present buying out of the way so we are both looking forward to that and the following weekend we are off to Worthing to see Vampires Rock. Less than two weeks after that is the Big Day itself then the New Year will arrive and we'll start all over again - and hopefully, 2009 will be a better year all round.

Catch you again soon.

"THCAREY......"

I am in the office ultra-early today. I wanted to put the Christmas Tree up. Figured it might put my colleagues in a festive mood. Hoping to put our own up this evening at home. Grand-daughter is visiting on Sunday and I wanted her to see it. It will be the only chance we get to show it to her this year because the family Christmas get-together is at Youngest Stepdaughter's on 29 December - ironically that is the same day that her baby is due - which means we are all congrigating in Leigh on Sea in Essex rather than Addiscombe in Croydon. And talking of Grand-daughter - Hubby and I survived the whole weekend with her last week.

We went into Christmassy Croydon on the Saturday full of plans to take her to see one of Santa's many Helpers. We thought we'd initiate her gently by first taking her to see the workshop full of mechanical elves in Centrale. One look at the soul-less figurines and she pulled the buggy hood as far down as she could. Okay. So the elves didn't work. What about the huge Singing tree in the central concourse? Oops - no - she told us it was 'thcarey' as opposed to 'scary'. When it suddenly opened its huge blinking eyes and began to sing, it almost finished her off. It actually is quite scarey! We crossed to Whitgift. The giant tree inside the main entrance was also 'thcarey' even though it didn't sing so we went into Smiths to get a couple of books for presents. By now, she had talked us into letting her out to walk. Big mistake. She saw the Terry's chocolate oranges piled up in front of the till and really let rip when we walked out without buying her one. I eventually had bribe her into going back into the buggy by promising she could have 'Dum-dum' if she'd only stop and resist the living rigamortis that had set in to coincide with the scream with the highest decibel count in the history of mankind. This worked as she is only allowed 'Dum-dum' when it is sleep time. As she had been up since half past six and it was now almost midday, she was just about due her usual nap anyway. She finally conceded, sucked on 'Dum' and fell asleep inside thirty seconds. So we never did get to see the Helper in the giganticus Whitgift grotto.

This afternoon I am finishing work at noon so that I can go Christmas Shopping for Hubby's presents in Croydon. It will be the only opportunity I get between now and the Big Day so I intend to make the most of it. Tomorrow we are going Into Town - which effectively means a day in London, most specifically Covent Garden - to finish off the General Christmas Shopping. We are both looking forward to that as we have a love of London, especially at this time of year when all the lights are glittering and "Do they Know It's Christmas" is booming out of every shop doorway. Having said that though, I heard The Pogues and Kirsty McColl's "Fairytale of New York" for the first time this season the other day. That, to me, more adequately epitomises the spirit of Christmas and I allowed myself a little smile. When you hear that for the first time as Christmas gallops towards us like a herd of demon reindeer across a snowy plain, that's when Christmas has really arrived!

Wish me luck as I brave the Manic Shoppers again. Oh yeah - I guess I'll actually be one of them as long as I am trailing through the town with ten thousand bags hooked over my elbows!!!! My prime directive? To find at least one unique, unexpected, awe-inspiring present for my Steve. That shouldn't be too didfficult. Should it...?

ATTACK OF THE MANIC SHOPPERS

I was somewhat surprised to note when I weighed myself this morning that since I stopped worrying about my weight I have lost half a stone! How did that happen? Where did it go? I think I will have to stop worrying about my weight forever; at least that way I might get back to my ideal weight (ideal according to the media you understand). I have heard of the phrase 'Think yourself thin'. Thin I will never be but thinner-than-I-have-been-of-late sounds quite interesting. Work that one out if you can!

Hubby and I did not get all the Christmas shopping done last Saturday, despite the fact we were in Croydon for around eight hours. Hubby - who was diagnosed diabetic eighteen months ago - was not feeling a hundred per cent which put a bit of a dampener on it, but it wasn't his fault. Plus the place was absolutely heaving. With five weeks to go, people were still shopping like there was no tomorrow. You couldn't move in some places, finding yourself hemmed in by a human wall of panic buyers behaving like weird dolls whose Prime Directive was to BUY BUY BUY. I have never seen anything like it this far in advance of Christmas Eve.

At five to eleven, the Debenhams Santa arrived, somewhat sureally, in a black and silver Rolls Royce surrounded by security guards. He had to compete for attention along with the Allders Christmas dancers (lots of little girls in red and fake-ermine) and the Town Crier to boot. It was complete mayhem. Hubby and I were sipping coffees in Munch in Allders Mall and all we could hear from the crowds pressing against the windows were their mindless Ooohs and Ahhs. At least there weren't any real reindeer this year, which must make the street cleaners happy!

Of course the fact we didn't get it all done heralds a repeat performance this Saturday. I'd like to think that everyone will have got the Christmas Shopping Fever out of their systems by then but I can't see it, somehow. In fact I am not at all sure I can face such retail craziness again so quickly.

I might just have to write to Santa and leave it all in his very capable gloved hands. No, not the Debenhams one, the real one.......