I am not a (party) animal

A couple of weeks ago we had a nice weekend planned.  The girls were at their cousins for a couple of days and Tom and I had a bit of peace and quiet to look forward to and a party to go to on the Saturday night.

The party was a birthday celebration for a friend of Tom’s.  We’d received the invitation a few weeks earlier and Tom asked if I’d like to go and I said ‘yes, that will be nice’. 

The weeks passed and the big day arrived and I thought ‘a party…meh’.  I’d even dutifully posted on Facebook that it was going to a be a good weekend, including the party in list of enjoyable things about to happen.  By the time party hour rolled round I was thoroughly disinterested.  It was cold and raining, the party was being held in a shed or barn or something and worst of all there were over 60 people invited - I only vaguely knew one of them.  I had a sudden realisation that I had absolutely no interest in attending this party.  In fact the very idea of having to go to this event, make small talk with strangers and generally socialise filled me dread.  I didn’t want to go.   I told Tom.  He was a bit disappointed but understanding.  After much thought and deliberation I decided not to go.  Tom said he’d go for a couple of hours.  I changed out of my party clothes and got into my PJs, poured myself a glass of wine and settled on the couch, with Jack at my side, and watched Midsomer Murders.  Happy.

I’ve since reflected on this (for the want of something better to do).  During this reflection I came to realise that I don’t like parties, I’ve never liked parties and I have, in fact, spent my whole life disliking parties and avoiding them where possible and enduring them when it’s not possible to avoid them.  I even remember as a child not particularly liking parties.   The same goes for clubs and organisations and conferences.

I’m not anti-social, I like spending time with people up to a point.  I’ve always been very happy in my own company but a nice gathering of close friends and family is fine.  A dinner party, or lunch with a small group is lovely.  I think my limit is 6 people before it becomes too much and too overwhelming for me. 

I don’t think there’s anything wrong with me (is there?).  I know I’m not alone in not enjoying certain social gatherings.  I’m past the point in my life where I feel I have to party like it’s 1999 (and that reference proves it).  I’m also past the point in my life where I have to pretend about such things and can actually say ‘thanks for the invitation, but I’m not really into parties but would love to catch up for a drink/coffee/dinner sometime’ and not make excuses or lie about phantom previous engagements.  

Does this mean I’m finally growing up? Or just getting old?

More pageantry

Last night we attended the local Christmas Pageant. The girls were participating with their school. Their theme was 'Summer' or something and they had to dress in hula skirts and wear Leis and flowers in their hair, despite the fact it was freezing cold and raining intermittently and really not very summery at all.

The girls looked sweet (if a little strained, they're wearing so many layers they can hardly move).....

....but 'horse man' was just weird and creepy.

There are more photos but with my dodgy internet connection I'm not willing to risk it.

Today we are resting, it's been a busy week with one thing and another and I think I see a lot of lazing around in the immediate future.

Thank you!

To everyone who wished me happy birthday by email, e-card, Facebook, Twitter, telephone, on their blogs and in person. I feel very special.

Hannah and Aislin put the candles on the cake, there are 22 on there.

I wish.

Sweet things

A little taste of home....

...and cake....I wonder who it's for?

Sunday in pictures

We all had a nice day and are suitably tired but happy.

There was also a birthday pavlova provided by my sister-in-law, it wasn't around long enough to photograph.

Just a reminder for anyone new to this blog, I spoke here about my reasons for watermarking photos of my (and other people's) children on this blog. Just in case you think I'd suddenly imagined myself Annie Liebovitz.

As I mentioned in the post that I linked to, help yourself to anything you like, I'm not that precious - they are words and pictures - not that important in the grand scheme of things and I certainly don't have any delusions of talent that require me to copyright it all - but leave the children alone.

Taxi!

We're currently trying to manage with only one car. Tom's car has been locked and parked and we're pretending we don't have it to see how we go. He gets the bus to work so that's fine, the challenge is when we have clashing engagements at the weekends.

Today Aislin had a birthday party to attend. Tom and Hannah stayed home and my plan was to drop Aislin off then go and have a coffee and stock up on books at the library until it was time to pick her up. I had just left her and was heading for my favourite cafe when Tom rang to say he'd had a phone call and had to be somewhere for work (unexpectedly). So I abandoned my plans and came home and picked him (and Hannah) up and dropped him where he had to be and Hannah and I went for coffee. She had a hot chocolate and a Funny Face biscuit as compensation for a) not having a party to go to today and b) being dragged away from her beading to do all this running around. As you can see she was devastated.

I did wonder if hot chocolate AND a Funny Face biscuit was too much but I figured that Aislin would be on a bender at the birthday party so they might as well have twin sugar highs. And they'll be at school tomorrow so it won't be me dealing with the sugar hangovers.

Then she and I went to the library. I sent her into the children's section to get some books for her and Aislin. I was browsing the grown up books and she came up to me struggling with the library bag, it was so full of books she could barely lift it. Then we went and collected Aislin from her party and now we're home.....waiting for Tom to ring so we can all pile into the car again and go and get him.

I'm not sure how this will work, to be fair we've been doing it for a couple of months now and this is the first time we've had a problem but it really is a pain the backside for the person doing all the running around...ME!

Party

Today was Aislin's birthday party (her actual birthday is tomorrow). My mother and father in law arrived early in the morning to stay for the weekend and we also have two extra children staying with us. It's kind of busy around here. The party went well, thank you baby Jesus for inventing play cafes. Aislin got lots of lovely presents - many of them with a million pieces which is my very favourite kind of toy, grrrrr - and she ate cake and fairy bread and enjoyed being the birthday girl.

For some reason we didn't take nearly as many photos as intended, sometimes it's just hard to supervise children, organise cakes, wipe mouths, sooth bumps and take photos as well. Here is one that has been vigorously cropped to remove the embarrassing view of my cleavage (as I bent over the cake). Be thankful I spared you.

Let them eat cake

We had four children this weekend. I've previously mentioned the deal we have with Tom's brother and his wife where one month we have their boys for a weekend and the next month they take the girls. It's a win-win, every two months each couple has a whole weekend to themselves and the kids get to spend a weekend every month with their cousins. It's no hardship having the boys, the kids all play happily and pretty much entertain themselves (we keep the sugar to minimum* otherwise it starts to look a bit like Lord of the Flies). Then there's the added advantage that at the end of it we get to be grateful once more that we decided to stop at two.

This time we decided to have a lunch when the boys' parents (let's call them A & S to maintain their privacy) came to pick them up on Sunday. It's Tom's birthday this week so an early party seemed in order.

It was a hot day so we dusted off the Weber, set a table under the Willows and T cooked roast beef for the carnivores, we had Greek salad (using our own tomatoes and basil), a fabulous vegetable bake provided by A & S, some crusty bread and nice wine. I made Nigella's Quadruple Chocolate Loaf Cake for the birthday boy (on Hannah's request) and we all have a sugar high that it will take a week to come down from. Happy day.

Here's the evidence (deliberately obscured to protect privacy) just enjoy that dappled sunlight.

Here's the cake....looks pretty deadly on the outside doesn't it?

Check out the inside - yes it's meant to be as moist and gooey as that - the 'quadruple chocolate' is cocoa, dark chocolate chips, chocolate syrup poured over the cake so that it soaks in and dark chocolate pieces sprinkled over. Sugar overdose. Delicious sugar overdose.

I'd love to provide the recipe but it would be breach of copyright however I may or may not be able to provide it by to any one who emails me. For the law-abiding among you it's in this book.

Alternatively it might be a safer option for your blood sugar levels and your BMI to just bask in it's chocolatey glory vicariously through these pictures.....nah, make the cake (it's very, very easy).

* While we try to keep sugar to minimum over the weekend we are quite happy to sugar them up before sending them home. We're evil that way.