more party preps

Oh man, I'm really really tired. It's 12:41am by the way and I'm not finished what I'm doing...

Tonight Liam assembled the two last dining table chairs and wrapped a pass the parcel while I did the other. Of course I had to take both apart later when I realised that the party bag gifts didn't fit, so I had to swap them for the parceled ones.

I've made list upon list upon list. Lists for what food we should have, shopping lists to buy the food, lists of decs, lists of party prizes and what game to assign them to, loot bag stuff, things I still need to do, people coming, more shopping, etc, etc.

I think I need a list of my lists

I've made the party bags, they're a patch of tissue paper (various colours) inside a bright pink circle of netting material, tied with pink ribbon left over from my wedding invitations. Inside I have a bead bracelet, two rings, 3 chocolate coins and 2 hair clips. That doesn't sound much and they are only small, but each child will be getting a prize for one game or another - that's another list I've had to make; which games can be played when so that I can 'fix' the later ones to ensure they all win something! Still need to sort the boys bags - I might just get some regular party bags from the shop if I don't have any here.

I've arranged all the toys and bits - separated Saturday's prizes from Sunday's and put them in different bags.
I've made a list of the party games and the ideas behind it, like finding Snow White's poisonous apple before she does, Maleficent freezing people in to statues by turning off the music, wrote a couple of details just to try to keep the theme going easier on the day.

But I was really really supposed to do the cake and it's just not happened. I'm going to be panicking about that one, I really am, come tomorrow. It's such a difficulty being out all day because of the school runs - there's so much I could do with a few hours at home! Scarlett is being a dear about the cake, she says if it comes out wrong not to worry because she believes it will still be delicious. At least I realise that I'm not too proud to buy her a princess cake from Asda if mine buggers up!

I need to make little signs for the princess food, or no one will know why I have it. I'm going to do little 'flags' on cocktail sticks, but I need to get the sticks first! I could actually do this while out tomorrow as it wont take up much space. I also want to make signs directing peopel to our house! And make a magic mirror, and a throne.
I need to colour in the castle - the Sleeping Beauty castle to go on the front door. Got loads of shopping to do and I want to stick up the decorations tomorrow night so I wont have to fuss over it on party day. I had better call/text Laura early tomorrow to get her to take her medieval costume to work so I can pick it up from her. It' not really a princess costume; it's a vampire queen thing for Halloween, but since it's just red and gold it should do! Darn, I just thought - I need to check the drinks fountain that arrived this morning.
Need to make the hats tomorrow night too, and half the party food; cakes, biscuits, cut up the dipping sticks etc.
Not least of all I need to do - I really really need to get cleared up here. Not just tidying, but cleaning too. The annoying thing is that Tonks will need to be shut away as she'll go nuts with all the kiddies, sot hat means people will need use of the upstairs toilet. Which means that I need to clean and tidy upstairs as well as downstairs! Liam has reassured me that I can shove most of it in to our room as no one will go in there, but I think he' forgetting the cleaning aspect, plus the curious children, plus the new people not knowing which one the bathroom is - and mainly that I just have to get more area sorted!

That's the other thing - the cakes and food bits! The kitchen is a tip - the fly lady sink has been long forgotten in all the party work, rushing to school, being out all day and reading hurriedly in prep for my uni course. I can't make food in there as it is.

On this subject I should go - it's really late now, I can tell as I just heard that mysterious alarm go off. I have no idea what makes the alarm but it comes from a box of bits behind a chair in the living room and goes off at 1am every night - lol!
So off I go now to battle the kitchen just enough to make Scarlett and Rowan some packed lunch tomorrow. Not me, I don't even have enough time and energy to find clothes for everyone (though I guess it has to be done) let alone make myself food! I may buy some if I get the chance or inclination to eat tomorrow.

ElaineXX

When I'm feeling naughty, really naughty

When I'm feeling naughty, really naughty, I let myself go in to shops to browse around clothes. Not just any clothes though- baby clothes.

I did it today. I was feeling quite satisfied this afternoon; I had successfully re-covered some kitchen chairs, got to nursery on time and Rowan went in without moaning and with a smile on his face. I was about to find a quiet spot and a cuppa to do my reading (finished Pride and Prejudice now, on to The Color Purple) but I got sidetracked along the way, in to Mothercare...

I'm looking mostly at white, cream, unisex clothes. I've decided that we wont find out the sex of the next baby, so I plan to get a load of white sleepsuits but save aside some money to go and buy pink or blue bits. I may of course buy a little hat or pair of socks in both colours!

Today I was very naughty. I looked at baby clothes in two different shops, Mothercare and BHS. Neither were wonderful for unisex stuff beyond plain white babygros, but I've been seeing pretty boys and girls bits all over the place. I'm very very tempted to go to the Disney store tomorrow as I know they have lovely bits and I have vouchers to burn... Agh, what's up with me?
Not yet Elaine, not yet....

Princess Party Planning

Well I didn't know whether to go for this subject or that of Rowan. The latter is a bit upsetting so I thought I'd give you party stuff.

Well, Scarlett's getting two 'dos' - Saturday is the tea party for 6 school friends (all invited are coming - I was surprised!) and Sunday is time for some out of school friends; Sally and her boys, Maria and her daughter. Sarah was invited with her daughters but unfortunately can't make it.

I've been planning planning planning!
You should have seen the invitations, actually, you can here;
http://www.flickr.com/photos/12810462@N05/2198331450/ (hope that works)
although the picture isn't too good. I addressed them all 'To her Royal Highness Princess .............' and followed the rest in the same theme, fancy font. Then I used a rounded off piece of card a bit smaller than the invite paper, to spray bronze paint over as a border. I made a note to parents (Kings and Queens, lol!) with directions to give to your carriage driver and telling people that we have princess dresses available here if girls don't want to come in their own. They got scrolled up and tied with pretty pink ribbon, but as you then couldn't see who it was addressed to, I made little tags to go on the ribbons - pale yellow card with a pink shape stuck on; an apple, a glass slipper, castle, diamond, a crown.....
Well, they've gone down well anyway - I've had a few people compliment me on them, which I admit to being quite pleased about as I stayed up until about 3am two nights running finishing them off! i only wish I had one to keep now, to put in to a memory box.

Next thing i did was start shopping - ebay has been a friend of mine! Pink and purple balloons, plus a foil Disney Princess one - I'm going to get some helium from Asda. i have the Christmas icicle fairy lights trailing down the stairs and I hope to be able to do a chair up as a 'throne' for S. which reminds me - I need to re-cover the other chairs or it will look pretty pants in the kitchen. I have one of those mosquito net things, a lilac one - that's going to go over a 'throne' (decorated chair) for photo posing at some point. Pink table cloth hopefully with purple crepe paper over it. I've drawn a big Sleeping Beauty's castle to stick on the front door as a welcome. I also want to make some signs to stick along the little road to our door as people get lost finding us!

I Loved an idea I read of a real tea party style, where a mum found lots of old china tea set bits for the girls to use and they served themselves milkshakes from teapots. I can't find a boot sale I can get to to look for these things though, so I'm settling for plastic wine glasses and pink lemonade - I might put sugar frosting around the tops of the glasses too! A fab idea for fancy ice is to put a rose petal in each ice cube, looks lovely. A strawberry might be better for little girls though! Fantastic news is that a friend - Ali, thank you so much honey! - has tracked down and bought Scarlett a drinks fountain (pink no less!) after my failed attempt with Tesco (they sold me and empty bloody box!) so of course Scarlett is very pleased and I'm sure it will be a perfect attraction for her little friends.
i thought flowers would be nice - real ones, am I going OTT yet?

i have it planned that they are going to sit around the table like dignified little ladies! Whether they act up to it or not I don't know... I have food planned, thinking mainly pink bits (candyfloss is my favourite so far!) and am trying to theme some bits around Scarlett's favourite princesses;

Cinderella - chocolate mice and lumps of cheese
Belle - Magic Roses (thinking those tiny sugar roses placed on sweets or fairy cakes)
Ariel - Watermelon? (bit vague I know!), sea-salad? (regular salad, new name ) Frazer suggested seaweed which he and I think is yum but I'm not sure the little girlies would agree! Liam suggested crabsticks but I told him that would be cannibalism for Ariel.
Snowwhite - sliced apples, of course!
Mulan - some little chinese snack food.
Jasmine - fruit kebabs (had no idea and this seemed sweet)
Aurora - Sleeping Beauty's kisses (those little red lip sweets)
Frog prince - frog sweets!

I bought reduced in tesco gold princess wrapping paper that's actually Christmas paper but doesn't look like it - this is being used for pass the parcel - I plan to alternate it with another colour paper so people can see what to rip!
Not definite on what other games I'm playing apart from this yet, but I have plenty of prizes I've been picking up bit by bit! Where I'm only having 6 girls I can give better gifts, like a pink feather boa, or princess powder puff wands (both bought in sales)

Oh and I'm making a castle cake! Wish me luck! Baked the middle bit and bunged it in the freezer with the swiss roll 'towers' I need to work on the icing though as I've not tried it yet. I've bought a heart shaped cookie cutter to make pretty sandwiches and Scarlett wants to make some cakes and cookies for it. another idea i liked was to dip marshmallows in melted white chocolate and then roll them in hundreds and thousands mmmmmmmm.....

I'd better leave it there as I have loads to do, like a 'pin the kiss on the frog' and a 'magic mirror', the signs I mentioned etc.

In the words of Victor Meldrew...

I don't ruddy belieeeve it!

Today I bought a bargain little treat for DD's birthday. Or so I thought.
At Christmas time Tesco had various novelties stocked and one that caught the eye of DD and myself was a drinks fountain. It's a bit like a chocolate fountain but on closer inspection it really didn't look all that so I didn't bother for the price it was. However now it is reduced to £4.98, and that I thought was ok and would be great for DD's little party.

So I bought one, the last one I could find in fact. The box was big, and it was heavy enough to be quite a burden as I was out all day and bought it this morning. I checked to see how it fits together this evening - and IT'S NOT IN THE BLOODY BOX!!!

So how do I explain that without seeming a complete crim when I take it back tomorrow? I didn't think I needed to check inside before I bought it, and neither did the cashier. I'm so bloody annoyed because this means;
1) me returning something - which I hate doing (still got a broken iron needs returning) 2) me lugging the horrible thing around all day again
3) the sheer embarrassment of me saying 'no I did NOT take it out of the box at home, it was never in the box'
4) the quite likely possibility that they don't have any others in store, so we'll have to go without - but DD is looking forward to this centrepiece now

I feel like a right pillock, but when there's a certain amount of weight to a shelved box you pretty much assume it's got contents beyond a thick stack of carboard!
I'm really worried about this actually. Hate doing this kinda thing but can't afford not to.

That Sunday feeling

That Sunday night feeling...

School in the morning, and a week of trudging back and forth, rushing each day to get everything fitted in and no Liam to help out for the most of it. Tired children, tired me, though often at opposing times which isn't useful.
I'm always left tired at this point of the week, but even after what might have been a relaxing day, the tension starts here in anticipation of setting my phone alarm - and ugh I need to get to bed! Desperately needing beauty sleep, though it will have to be a LOT to get rid of the bags under these eyes!

Boxing day

OK I'd better get down what happened or I never will! We've already had New Year's eve, two birthdays, a new school term and party planning since I last posted!

Boxing day worked out really lovely - my friend Sarah came over with her two daughters, they are lovely, one just a bit younger than Rowan and one in between Frazer and Scarlett in age. The only problem was that the younger daughter was scared of Tonks, but I had forgotten to give Tonks her giant turkey bone the day before so she has something to keep her occupied and I think she barely resented being shut away for most of the day! i did keep it so that her door was open but blocked her exit with the table; it meant that people couldn't use the downstairs loo, but she could see us and i let her out when ever I could.
My mum seemed a bit out of sorts and I began to get really worried at one point, thinking that she hated it at mine and we'd never do this again. However, I received a call from her a couple of days later to say that she'd just been let out of hospital - she went in after coming to mine on Boxing Day and was diagnosed with pneumonia! Honestly that woman runs herself in to the ground - before Christmas she was told she had a dislocated shoulder that had been like it for at least 2 weeks! She must have been in agony but says she didn't have the time to feel it.

Liam's friend Bryan came over on Boxing Day too which was really lovely because we all think he's great. He had to go eventually as he had a date, but Rowan clung on to his leg for dear life, not wanting him to go at all!

We didn't get to play many games s we spent so much time catching up, but I think the children got their fair share. Of course there was the usual present dash and food fest anyway!
when everyone was gone we got to snuggle down in our new pyjamas and the kiddies had their cosy slippers and we watched Doctor Who. Not as great as we had been hoping for but Frazer enjoyed it and that was my main objective.

The day after Boxing Day we spent at Liam's mum's. a much quieter day, especially since Frazer took his ipod shuffle so we barely heard a peep from him while it was on. the festivities gradually died down from here on. Liam had a few days off which was lovely, so we got to slouch about together eating all the yummies and watching festive films.

New Year's eve was very uneventful. I find that if I don't have something big to look forward to in the new year, then I really need to be out to ring the new year in and take my mind off it - I just seem to find it depressing otherwise. which would explain why I went to bed at 11:35pm and got all narked off at the fireworks!
i had a bit of a depressive period about this time and wasn't sure if it was the anti-climax to the festivities, or a new year not holding much for me or what. I have concluded now though, that it may be in part these things, but mainly hormonal, because in the end the dark cloud went as fast as it arrived and I feel pretty normal now. The only problem is that each time I get like this, a little more of the niggling worries sticks with me - I really need to shake that.

Anyway - onwards and upwards! I have a princess party to organise dontcha know!