It was a bit of a manic weekend but had the advantage that the baby seems to be back to sleeping - and more importantly, waking - more or less normally.
My 'baby' daughter turned 6 on Thursday. She's still as feisty and demanding and loud as when she was born; still as striking looking with her dark hair, dark eyes and pale skin (not surprisingly some people bought her Snow White dolls as she definitely has that sort of colouring - or Dora the Explorer, to bring things up to date). She is also confident and extrovert and told almost everybody we saw over the weekend, whether or not she knew them, that it was her birthday.
The actual day itself started with presents at breakfast, wearing a new woolly jacket to school, and then Nanny and Grandad Bill turning up at school just as we were about to fetch Alex from Book Club. I had prepared - with a lot of help from the Co-op - a surprise birthday tea of crisps, sausages on sticks, pineapple and cheese on sticks, sandwiches, chocolate cake with candles.... etc.
The following day she was granted a day off school and my parents and I took her and the Baby over to Newcastle to go to John Lewis for new shoes and lunch - the baby very much enjoyed the Max's Wicked Chicken - and then to the Great North Museum, which is where Alex got taken for his birthday. It's a fabulous museum and actually I'd really like to spend the day there on my own, without any children in tow. http://www.twmuseums.org.uk/greatnorthmuseum/
Friday evening there were fireworks in Brampton at the primary school - including a hot dog stand and a pig roast stand - yum! Edward didn't think much of the fireworks as he was trying to get to sleep, so I came home with him to make Mulled Cider and Isabella stayed at the fireworks with Nanny and Grandad. Alex had chosen to go to Film Club at school which was showing Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, which he can only have watched at home several hundred times.... Emma and co. came round to share the mulled cider and whilst Craig helped my Mum do one of Isabella's jigsaw puzzles, Emma and I chatted!
On Saturday we held a small party for the birthday girl here at home: 11 children in total. Never again. Never will I have a party for children any older than about 4 years at my house. They get bigger and noisier and more boisterous - and no less messy. They're all lovely individually but once they get together in a crowd they start stirring each other up and invariably there are a few tears. Alex took the two boys who had been invited off to play at knights and dragons, but despite being the oldest he also got very silly, which the others thought was hilarious but which David and I just found annoying. Sadly, I remember getting told off for exactly the same thing at my sister's birthday parties.... Alex did do a very funny impression of a chicken laying an egg with its bottom on fire as his forfeit for pass the parcel: I do think he's good at acting and should carry on with drama lessons once we have enough money (currently he's sticking to athletics and rugby, which have the advantages of burning up some energy).
On Saturday evening David and I escaped to the fireworks at Bitts Park in Carlisle, as I'd been given guest passes. Well worth it not to be squashed up in a crowd of 3000 people, and the fireworks and bonfire - with an olympic theme - were suberb.
Sunday was slightly quieter as my parents left in the morning as we were going for a walk round Talkin Tarn with Mandy and Thomas, while Chris ran with David. We all agreed we had never seen the Tarn look so stunning: not only was there the golden autumn foliage under a cold blue sky, but the mist of the evening before came back and hung over the Tarn, making the rowers and sailing boats on the water look ghostly and surreal.
It continued cold and I had to defrost the car before Isabella and I headed back to Carlisle that evening, to the Sands, for my birthday treat to her: a performance of the ballet of The Snow Queen. She insisted on wearing a rather bare Cinderella dress, a tiara and her 'clip clop' shoes (dressing up shoes which leave her toes and ankles bare): I was wearing a cotton jumper, a thick, lined, woollen zip up jacket and long woolly socks, plus gloves, hat and coat in the car.... The Snow Queen was not great ballet but it was perfect as a birthday treat for a 6-year old girl, having a story, beautiful costumes and some funny moments as well. Bella was particularly taken by the old flower lady who wiggled her bottom, as well as enjoying the crow and the reindeer.
She just managed to stay awake on the way home. Going in to school today she was trying to remember all the things she had done for her birthday. And I have not even mentioned the lovely dress her father bought her!
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