Christmas Cleaning

Back in the day I had everything organised down to a fine point re Christmas.  My cleaning was like Spring cleaning, and December is the first month of Summer so it was almost right.  I would clean the house/flat/villa from top to bottom, bleach, wash and iron the doilies, wash the curtains, polish the furniture, crappy as it often was, but it was ours.  By Christmas Eve the place was gleaming and everything smelled and looked great.
This morning my MP had me awake and fretting at 3am.  I got up and made some milk and honey but that just made me cough so after trying to go back to bed for a while and cuddling into Phill I gave up and went out into the loungeroom and looked up anxiety.  One of the suggestions was to not sit and think about how anxious you are (duh why didn't I think of that) but to DO something, clean, organise, just get up and move.  So bugger me if I didn't.  I went to the kitchen and took the dishwasher apart and scrubbed all the bits then put a cleaner through it.  The I cleaned the microwave.  And then tackled the fridge which hadn't had a good clean and scrub since we moved in six months ago.  I threw out so much crap and it looked very empty but CLEAN.  I then tackled the pantry which has been needing a makeover since we moved here.  I thought I had organised it but was just putting things into it as I found the boxes in the shed, one by one. I also cleaned out the little bar fridge in the laundry.
All this almost killed me and made me realise how out of shape I really am.  I could barely walk by the time I had a shower and we went to the supermarket for supplies.  We got back and I had lunch and a bit of a rest then had to help Phill clean Em's room.  I swear she trashes for Australia that girl.  Her room, as always, was disgusting.  We got it done, and also Josh's room, changed the beds and got them tidied up and smelling a lot better.  Then we had to cook dinner, we did chicken/beef meatballs with lots of garlic and some chilli flakes simmered in a packet Korma sauce, with rice and vegies. 
I got my second wind and cleaned the bathroom.  So the house is looking lovely, it's been dusted and polished and swept and tidied all ready for Santa.  It's so sweet to see the kids so excited as old as they are now.
Tomorrow I have to do the rest of the grocery shopping and get the stuffings ready and as much as I can do ahead, but for us, really, it's a very relaxed Christmas these days.
Kate didn't get her present today, and I'm so disappointed but she was fine about it.  I just wish she had got it before Christmas even though she says she doesn't care about any of it.
I am so, so tired and hope I will get a better sleep tonight.  The Ferals certainly will, in their clean rooms with their clean sheets.  I have lavender burning in Em's room to help calm her and hopefully repel the spirits she has been seeing at night lately.