The weekend just gone was very special to me.
It was, of course, the first weekend of December. Where the weather is always perfect on the Saturday.
And you’ve woken up to embrace it with a run after spending the night before dressed up in a Camilla kaftan reimagined as a shrug (thanks to a nifty knotting at its neckline) whilst sipping prosecco and nibbling at papadams and dhal.
December 1 is the day for finally being able to open a window or pull open a drawer of those advent calendars I bought way back in November.
The day’s first cuppa was, of course, a mug of T2’s Christmas Breakfast Tea. I’m planning on adding a Dutch syrup waffle too as the weeks go by. Slightly warmed and softened by placing said waffle over the top of the mug of tea as it steeps.
The official start of summer was also the motivation I needed to finally sort through Master SSG’s summer clothes. My current self is thanking my past self profusely for doing all that shopping at the outlets every time I go stateside.
I’m good for children’s clothes shopping for at least the next couple of years thanks to my stash.
Master SSG rocked those lobster printed boardshorts at his 6th (!!) birthday party.
The chosen venue was Skyzone in Alexandria. Be warned, it does take a bit of detective work to find it if you’re not familiar with that section of O’Riordan Street. GPS systems will likely take you to a neighbouring property and you then have to drive behind to find the particular building that Skyzone is located at. However, there is lots of parking and it is quite easy to navigate once you’re there
The staff were so wonderful in spite of the chaos of having so many birthday parties to host simultaneously. They managed to supervise the children and keep the parties separated without too much fuss. We had a few younger children in our group and they were looked out for by our party host too which I was very grateful for. I was surprised that the little ones got into the trampolines with as much bravado as they did. Neither batted an eyelid or hid behind their parents – they just went straight for it with the older kids.
You know a good time was had by all when there was no time to pose for family photos before the candles were blown out and the cupcakes shared out. Fortunately, we managed to sneak in this one.
This sums up how the boys felt on the inside when it was time to go home and I suspect that more than one nap was taken on the drive home.
And just like that, we are done for another year and I now have a nearly, nearly six-year-old in the house.
I can remember when those hands were chubbier and the mind that controlled them would make them tap along the surface of things like the ledge of a counter that could only be reached by standing tippy toed on the arm of a sofa or to explore the edges of boxes that might topple at any moment but were great for climbing all the same. I remember when the games we played involved hiding under blankets or pretending to be on the telephone using pieces of Duplo and look at him now!
Speaking of looking at things. This was the scene at the local shops on Sunday. What kind of inebriated grinch would kidnap Reindeer #2? Where did they take him? Will he return in time for Christmas?
Be well.