Oh, boy, where to start.

Well, as far as diet goes, I came home full of Jamaican Chocolate cheesecake, so let's just leave that topic for today.

I have had a fantastic day. It's been interesting, but really good.

We didn't have an overly early start. 6am. Not unusual for my girls. 3yo was worried that Santa hadn't come, so we directed her to the loungeroom to have a look. She was so excited to see the presents. She opened them like a girl possessed and loved every single one of them! 2yo took a little bit to warm up to this present thing, but once she did, she was ripping into them like a pro!

We stayed home for lunch, just the 4 of us. The girls didn't even touch the roast turkey lunch I made for us. Not surprising, they never eat roasts!!

I spoke to my niece last night to find out what time everyone was turning up. One sister was coming early afternoon and the other mid afternoon, so I decided we would be there when the first sister was going to be there. If the day bombed, we could use the kids as an excuse to leave early. Sounds horrible, but Ken wasn't too keen on going. I wasn't too sure how the day would go either, so having an escape plan was important to me.

We got there and my niece and her boyfriend were busy getting things ready. My sister arrived not long after us. My niece tricked me. She didn't mention my sister was bringing our mother!!
I haven't seen her for over 3 years! I guess I wasn't disappointed to see her. I certainly didn't think to scoop my kids up and walk straight out the door. Everything was put aside for a day. It was nice. I certainly don't think anything will change, but I guess it's good for everyone to know that we can be in the same room and no one needs to walk on eggshells.
I did say to my niece during the afternoon "was there something you forgot to tell me?" She smiled and said "if I told you, you probably wouldn't have come." She's right.
My mum met 2yo for the first time. She's still a little young to understand. 3yo is very family oriented at the moment and I'm sure she'll want to see her Grandma again. I don't know what I will do, whether I'll use it as an opportunity to see her again, or if I'll tell her that we can't. I was going to keep my kids away from her forever and live with the consequences later. Now, I just don't know. It's not like my mother does anything with her grandkids. No shopping trips, or any trips for that matter. If they visit her, she doesn't make it interesting for the kids or do anything with them, then wonders why they get bored and want to go home.
I guess I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. It's a very narrow, tightrope kind of bridge, so I'll approach it with caution!

I was half expecting my other sister to turn up, but then she's only talking to half the family anyway, so it was unlikely. But that's what I thought about Mum!

Mum informed me that a family friend passed away two weeks ago. I was silently fuming. I am the one family member who actually turns up to funerals and I didn't know about it!! She made a crack that she read it in the paper, nobody bothered telling her. Maybe because she never fucking turns up!! Her oldest friend passed away this year. The funeral was only a couple of kilometers from her house and she still didn't turn up! And she wonders why nobody told her!
These are the things that remind me why I don't bother staying in contact with her. It's all about everybody putting in the effort for her, everybody has to contact her. She never rings anybody!!
now I have to try and get in contact with the family and do you think right now I can even remember the daughter's surname? Of course not!! And nothing is coming up in the newspaper search!!
Ok... I've vented and I need to move on from the topic of my mother. 30 odd years of issues there!!

... I've also found the archive for the funeral notices and I'll be in touch with the Funeral home tomorrow. Hopefully they can help me get a card to them. Nothing I can do at 10:30 at night, or possibly til Monday, stupid public holidays!

So, back to Christmas. Ken spoiled me as usual. It's funny, my niece has been with her boyfriend for a bit over a year. She got jewellery from him. I got a digital photo frame, external harddrive for the computer and some CDs. All very much appreciated, but can you spot the married couple!? :-)


2yo fell asleep on the way home, I managed to sponge her down, change her and put her to bed with barely an eye opening. 3yo's head barely hit the pillow and she was gone. The house is now silent. God, I hope they sleep in! I'm exhausted too! Only 6 days of the year left!!

I think it's time for bed. What a day!! Let's do it again next year!! :-)