We made it to Christmas

December 25, 2004

We escaped to the UK for a few days over Christmas to visit Granny B and Opa. We didn’t have a white Christmas in the truest sense but there were some spectacular frosts on both Christmas morning and boxing day, gorgeous to look at from the comfort of centrally heated house, however other parts of the UK did have snow. Thankfully the days were clear with crisp blue skies, a welcome relief from the continual grey, damp mists and fog that we have had in Rotterdam over the last few months. Who would have thought that anyone would go to the UK for the weather.

Granny and Opa had been extremely busy getting ready for the arrival of the now dynamite two year olds Benjamin and Oliver, preparing a bedroom for them, getting toys and books, table and chairs, catches on cupboards and other things to settle them in along with toddler proofing the house. It worked, they settled in immediately and we all had a very relaxing stay. Even the chaos and busy-ness of Christmas day didn’t phase them, they went from toy to toy, tearing open the wrappings with an emphatic “wow” every time. They sat at their table and chairs beautifully while the grownups had the full Christmas dinner experience.

Granny wasn’t at all phased when we discovered them in our room (when we thought they were sleeping peacefully), smearing my lipstick over the cupboards and themselves.

Stuart and I even managed to get out one evening for dinner and a movie. We felt like grown-ups on a date as we didn’t have to worry about tomato sauce (dip dip) being splattered up the walls or salt and pepper shakers upturned on tables. We could even have a normal conversation not punctuated with Benjamin don’t eat the pepper, Oliver why are you under the table and eat our dinner while it was still hot. Bliss.

We even got to do some shopping sans children and can report we are all now suitably puffer-coated up for the northern winter. Our New Zealand winter wardrobe was woefully inadequate.