Faith, Love, and Chocolate

It was a big weekend for us! And one of those weekends which made me desperately want to clutch for any of those precious moments where the Entourage are still my babies, and not young adults functioning in their own lives.

On Friday, Miss Tink turned 14. She is so grown up now that it is unbelievable. In the last 12 months she has lost the last of her baby features, and has grown into a stunning young lady. She has also taken to high school like she was born to be there, being on the student council and organising events.



Turtle cupcakes for Tink!

A couple of weeks ago I got a text from the school saying she wasn't in class. I messaged back saying that as it was a free dress day I imagined she was somewhere doing something for that. I was right.

Friday was also the day the Pixie returned from camp. The Pixie is my youngest, so I have sent my babies on camps, both through school and Guides, lots of times. Even though I was mentally prepared for it, that moment when they come home just that little bit more mature than when they went away still takes my breath away.



A little bit older

I am not exactly sure how the Pixie's camp experience actually went. Most of the other kids had gastro. Pixie was one of the lucky few who escaped. The ones who were well enough did all the activities, but all Pixie has told me about is all the vomit stories in great detail. I have no intention of sharing those stories.

I was all set to hear all about camp on the car trip home; to give her some time in the spotlight before we got home to celebrate Tink's birthday.

The Pixie told me that car trips are for sleeping and napped the whole way home.

She woke up in time to drive down our road ....
Pixie: Oh. Is the father one here?
Me: Looks like it.
Pixie: Why?
Me: Um it is Tink's birthday, and he usually has you on the Fridays he is home*.
Pixie: Oooh!!! My puppy! I can see my puppy! I missed my puppy. She is my favourite!

She then had a tantrum because we were going out for a house family dinner for Tink's birthday, and she was very tired after camp.

Yep, my Pixie is still my Pixie and not all grown up yet.

Dance rehearsals took all day Saturday. Once again Tink and organisational abilities took my breath away. She filled in for someone who was absent side of stage, while still dancing, and keeping me informed what song was being performed. (I am in charge of the quick change room). I am predicting big things for Tink if she keeps going like this! (No pressure though, baby-girl. Mummy just wants you to be happy). 


Tink and the Pixie have been doing hair for dance concerts for the last 3 years.
I am still in charge of make-up.
 And glittering people. I love glittering people.

Rehearsal day was marred by a hurt foot, and a trip to Emergency. Tink is ok. Very relieved with her Singapore soccer trip coming up in a few years. Buglet is determined not to be hurt this year. Two years ago she danced on a cracked tail bone, and last year she didn't dance because she'd just come out of a moon boot after a fractured foot. The Pixie says she is the best child because she doesn't get broken. I think this is mostly because she is so bendy.

On Sunday, Buglet and Tink were confirmed as adult members of the Lutheran Church. I am so proud of them. They looked so grown up (I will ask them if I can share pictures). It is yet another big stepping stones to them being grown-ups and responsible for their own lives.

I also got lots of baby cuddles from my youngest two nephews (and be shouted at by Pie, and hang out with my eldest niece and nephew). Definite bonus to family occasions. It was nice to have that reminder that even as my girls get big, we are part of a massive family and that is important too.

Finally, today Buglet is sitting year 10 exams. She politely requested that I take her younger sisters out last night so she could study. Grown up! I tell you, they are too grown up!

The amount of squabbling yesterday afternoon and this morning reminded me they are not adults yet though. Part of me is now waiting for the squabbling to stop. Part of me is a little bit glad that I still have a few years left. Part of me wanted to throw things at them.

So faith and love have been covered. The chocolate part is for me! Mamas who are preparing for empty nests need chocolate.

When your children politely ask if you are going to get another dog to keep you company when they move out, you also know you need to start making plans! If you interested in finding out what I am planning for my post-high-school-children life .... please check out Kris' Angels.


*PS in defence of DB (see what a lovely ex-wife I am): I haven't seen him in ages, but he does always come around for the girls' birthdays unless he is away and he normally has them the Friday nights he is home. He also did all the cooking for the girls' confirmation lunch. The Pixie was just being a grouch.

A Rose By Any Other Name ...

A very famous line for a quick post about one of our most recent excursions ... and a few older ones.

The girls' first experience

The reason this particular line is important is because once, about 4 years ago, I accidentally took my (then) 10, 9 and 7 year old daughters to see Macbeth.

The most obvious question is "how did you manage to accidentally take your children to see a play?". To clarify this is how it happened:

1. See an advertisement advertised for The Scottish Play in uni newsletter, with a synopsis that it is about putting on a Shakespearian production.
2. Think "Oh that sounds like a good introduction to Shakespeare for the girls and it is only $10 per ticket, plus it's supporting the university. I should go".
3. Because I am a responsible parent (sometimes), I email university to see if it is suitable for children*.
4. Uni says that they year 7 students who saw a similar production last year enjoyed it.
5. Take children on the basis that they like plays and they are good audience members. Audience is full of middle aged people (parents?) a few students (friends?), and us.
6. Work out it is actually Macbeth with a bit of an prologue and epilogue at the end of each act about why you can't say 'Macbeth' in a theatre.
7. Spend the intermission trying to explain why a play called The Scottish Play has everyone it Asian clothes
8. Fail dismally at point 7. Partly because I don't really know why. Artistic interpretation is hard to explain to small children.
9. Girls love it.
10. Spend the rest of my life trying to explain it to people that I know Macbeth is often referred to as The Scottish Play, but that the synopsis implied it was a play about Macbeth not actually Macbeth with about 10 minutes of extra bits.

Turns out it was a great accident. The girls are very enthusiastic and wanted to see more. This lead to me developing a theory that children should be encouraged to see Shakespeare's plays. They are too young to understand the raunchy bits, and aren't self conscious about not understanding the words. A good production involves "miming" style actions as much as words. That said, liking Shakespeare from a young age I think helped me develop a love of words.

Helpful tip: Read the synopsis first. Makes explaining things much easier.

The Pixie did create a bit of a mexican wave style giggle when she whispered very loudly "Mama, is he drunk". He was. He was weeing on the wall, but never mind. As a side note, if you have yet to experience Shakespeare for yourself, please remove any delusions you may have about it being all grandoise and classy. Lots of crude jokes in every Shakespeare play I have ever seen!

See! It was still a great show even if I had been expecting something else. Does the title of this post make sense now?

Later ...
I took them to see As You Like It, and Much Ado About Nothing (which Tink was pretty adamant should be renamed Lots of Talking About Something).

Last week
On Friday night I took them to see Cymbeline, which to be honest I had never heard of before. I really liked it. It had lots of drama, romance, fighting, lots people, evil plots, poisons which turn out not to be really poisons, you know, all the good stuff.

I totally forgot to follow my helpful tip about reading the synopsis first. Pixie found all the names a little confusing so made me read the synopsis on the program modernising the names. I don't think it really helped her follow it but she was impressed by my efforts.

She wasn't in a particularly good mood anyway. The Pixie really wanted to do something for Halloween, so we got a little dressed up to go. I was a cat. Pixie was a vampire. Tink was a vampire. Buglet and Apple came straight from dance so they didn't get to dress up.

We also snuck in a quick Halloween party down the road, including reusing the water-melo-latern from my work morning tea!

And just in case you thought that this intellectual stimulation wasn't having any affect on the infants, this was the exchange on the way home in the car ....

Pixie: What Shakespeare plays have we seen?
Me: You guys? Um ... Much Ado About Nothing, As You Like It, Macbeth ...
Pixie (horrified): Mama! You can't say Macbeth in a theatre!
Me: We're not in the theatre, we're in the car.
Pixie: Oh yeah. Continue.
Buglet: Do you have any of the plays written down?
Me (horrified): Yes! The complete works. They're right next to Harry Potter, and I have a few of them in student editions.
 Apple starts giggling
Me: Are you laughing that they're next to Harry Potter?
Apple: No, I'm laughing that she thought you might not have any.

We are off to see Taming of the Shrew in a few weeks, so we clearly haven't been scarred too badly.

*This is actually really important with plays. I took the Pixie and my niece and nephew to see a MA type play because I didn't check ... and we were in the front row! Admittedly that was this year, so ages after this, but that is not the point.

Disclaimer:

• I am not qualified to give gardening or beauty or any other household advice. Follow my suggestions at your own risk.
• I am not qualified to give teaching advice.
• It is doubtful I am qualified to give parenting advice, there is still time for me to stuff up.
• I am not even allowed to give legal advice without supervision.

I would recommend finding more reliable sources for any advice of any nature.

Off, off, and away!

This week it is the Pixie's turn to go gallivanting.

For those of you who follow us on facebook, you would have seen the early morning over-excited posts about the Pixie being "verra grumpy" that "everyone in this house is always asleep". I still maintain that this is reasonable for a Sunday morning. She was welcome to get up and pack for herself but, as she had all day, sleeping seemed welcome to the rest of us!

Despite not being thrilled about being woken for early morning conversations, I am still massively proud of my Little One. She packed all by herself. When I asked if she wanted me to double checked she promptly informed me that she had gone through all the kit list twice and she had everything.

She later told me that she had four pairs of shoes, because "you need choice you know Mama". Now I am wondering what she didn't take in the quest to have clothing choices. I told her she will need to redress her packing habits before the next time we go on a holiday. I suspect she rolled her eyes at me, but I wisely didn't look.

Tink has been known to re-write kit lists she has been given by other organisations, because she hasn't thought they were adequate, but I don't think she has ever added in things purely to have an option.

In case you are like me and didn't realise the importance of dressing appropriately at camp, I will share with you the following:

• The Pixie had a bit of a melt down when her newly dyed blue hair washed out and she had to re-do it;
• The Pixie negotiated doing jobs around the house so she could buy some "new, cool t-shirts for camp"; and
• I had a phone call mid-meeting on Sunday to discuss whether now she had done half the jobs she should stop and pack because "folding clothes can wait until later, but I only have today to pack". I congratulated her on making responsible life decisions.

"Pixie dipped in smurf"
aka
"After a weekend with Daddy"

The Guide leader in me repeated numerous times "don't forget you need to be able to carry everything yourself". The mother in me desperately wanted to carry everything for her. Miss Pixie insisted on carrying everything herself, because the teachers said she had to (no Guide-leader-Mama influence cited). Just a little bit proud. It does make me happy when the Pixie is self-sufficient because she is so dependant on her sisters and me so much of the time! (It is a bit ironic really that I have spent most of Tink's life wishing she wasnt' so independent. Apparently there is no keeping me happy.)

Miss Independent: My chick (temporarily) leaving the nest.

One last useful camp tip provided the Pixie include: Write your number on the back of your hand so you don't forget when the teachers call "Sound off".

 

A very Pixie solution

I did have stern words with Pixie about camp not being a holiday for the teachers so to appreciate them and be good. Possibly more fun than teaching in class (well I would think so anyway!) but it is still work. She was not convinced. I told her that if she becomes a Guide leader she will understand. She was not convinced about that either.

It is a very quiet week at our house. We are all paying lots of attention to the puppy, and eating lots of meat.

So Bali for me a week or so ago (it feels a lot longer!), camp for the Pixie this week, Singapore for Tink next month ... we are having some adventures ... and ... I am planning a lot more. If you want a sneak peak at my latest project check out Kris' Angels or find us on facebook.

Meanwhile spend some time planning your next adventure whether it is just down the road or the other side of the world. It really is lots of fun.

Happy adventuring everyone!

Running away from home

Ok, so when you put it like that it doesn't sound very grown up, but last weekend that is exactly what I did. A long awaited trip with one of my best friends, where we abandoned our children (and by abandoned we left them safely in the care of the fathers and other caring family members - thanks Apple!), and spent a weekend in Bali.

I left my phone in my room during the day and I didn't log on to my work emails at all while I was out of the country, and I only answered one parenting question and one Guiding question. We swam, we wandered, we dreamed, we drank, we slept, we read, and we developed some exciting new goals and plans.

There will definitely be more on the exciting new plans later. This is what my blog is for right? To share my random ramblings with you all under the guise of writing about my children?!

Speaking of my children, my super awesome girls all thought I was very in need of a holiday, and that me going away was a good thing. I only had contact with each of them once while I was away. I missed them so much it hurt, but I know the independence is a good thing for them. (Mothers of older children: does the mother-guilt ever go away? Or the longing to hold them tight?).

The morning I left was a bit horrific. Lots of teenage hormonal squabbling, which lead to this wonderful quote which I am treasuring to get me through the rest of the teenage years ...

Me: Girls! Stop fighting. Seriously! I am not going to see you again until Monday, and I don't want to spend my last hour with you telling you off!
Pixie (surprised): I wasn't fighting. If we were fighting I would have used better arguments.

The fighting did reduce the mother-guilt a bit. There has to be a silver lining to every cloud.

Pixe rang me at the airport before I left though  ...

Pixie: Mama! Can I please have the Twisties in the cupboard?
Me: Sure. Ah. You know I am on holidays, not at work, right?
Pixie (excited): Oh yeah! Are you in Bali?
Me: No. I am at the airport.
Pixie: Take an airport selfie! Take lots of selfies!

I posted a picture of a selfie on facebook immediately as instructed, and asked Tink to make sure the Pixie saw. See what a good mother I am? (You can also see in the picture how exhausted I am).

Ah. Yes. I did buy a new book before I left the country. The first thing I bought in Bali was also books.
 

Have I mentioned that I love books? Super excited about 'Shopoholic to the Stars' because I had somehow missed the fact it had been published. Awesome airport find.

But I digress ...

Tink messaged me to say :
"hey mum i hope your holiday is good
i have a bit of a problem
i have needles on monday/or tuesday (i cant remember which) and i havent had my last lot. will that matter".

You will be pleased to know I did actually have it sorted. It just didn't occur to me it was something she would have thought about. I should have known better.

Giving myself bonus points for the fact I had it sorted, and that Tink is so super organised.

Losing points because of Tink's appalling writing style. It makes me sad. And I know she has freedom to express herself in the way she chooses to write, but capitals would make me happier!

Buglet politely asked me if I was having a good time, and asked how I was going on the hunt for a present that she was particularly hoping to get. Teenagers talking to you is always a positive!

Yes, I was having a good time. I loved these teal nails, and the pool, and lying reading.

People who know me, or who have been reading this blog, know that I have a total caffeine addiction.

I did not miss it at all while I was away. I literally had one small coffee per day because it came with breakfast.

Coffee and apple guava juice

I took the little two shopping the night I got home; nothing major, just grocery shopping. Within 15 minutes Pixie was saying "You looked stressled Mama. Look there is a V. You should have a V, that will make you feel better". Is it unfair to place the blame for my addiction on their high energy levels, and to call the Pixie my enabler?

On a serious note I am detoxing. I do have way to much caffeine and I know it is not good for me on lots of levels.

I came home feeling amazing for a whole heap of reasons. If you had asked me before I had left, I would have told you that it had been a horrific week at work, but that I was happy and healthy and in a really good place. All of that was true, but I feel a million times more fabulous since being away.

Happy relaxed me in my awesome hat. I thought the girls would hate my hat, but they all tried to claim it.

So now I am home. Happy and excited. Ready for what the world throws at me next*, and super excited about the next exciting adventures that are currently being planned (just in case you have forgotten about that teaser from the first part of this blog). And yes there will be more on the actual trip itself, but that will have to wait for a different day. I want to tell you about my spiderman-monkey-bells.

*Dear World,
This is not actually a challenge.
Thanks.
Cath

Where unsolicited advice is given .....

Hello blogworld.

I have been asked a lot in the last 12 months "what are you going to do with all your free time?" once all my study was complete. My standard answer has been "catch up on 6 years of housework". Turns out I was right. (This may be the only thing I get right in this post). Bonus.

Instead of spending weekends and nights at the computer procrastinating from studying, I have been renovating my bedroom and doing lots outside. Pictures of my bedroom when I have finished ... but now ... by special request ... the blog where I give advice not only on handy home hints but also beauty tips and parenting.

1. Furniture restoration

Step 1
Have pre-made window seat that your ex-husband made for you and promised to stain 7 years ago.

(In this case he broke it in the 30 minutes he spent dropping the children off after a weekend down South, after I spent a weekend catching up on 6 years of spring cleaning of my bedroom and then I had to wait 2 weeks for him to fix it).

Ok, so your furniture does not need to be acquired in this manner, but that is the story of my window seat and bookcase.

Before restoration, but after being broken.

Step 2
Go to hardware store of choice (I like Bunnings but I suspect this has more to do with a love of sausage sizzles rather than any informed decisions) and buy stain in appropriate colour. Spend ages reading instructions. I cleverly decided to go with a stain and varnish so I didn't have to do both. I accidentally got oil based instead of water based though which was annoying.

Step 3
Follow steps on the can.

Step 4
Realise that the following things were not included on the can, but would have been useful:

• Open the windows first;
• Start from the back rather than the front if you don't want to get your clothes dirty;
• If you ignore tip two it is probably best to do it naked; and
• It is even more fun than painting.

Step 5
Spend rest of week trying to get wood stain off yourself (see Beauty Tips below).

Step 6
Wait (im)patiently for ex-husband to visit and fix the seat he broke while collecting his children (Thanks DB).

Step 7
Get home and realise that he fixed the window seat but didn't put the bookcase back in. Refuse to wait any longer and make your children help you move furniture before they go to bed. They are teenagers, they spend all night up reading anyway.

All stained and back in place.



2. Beauty tips for the professional look
If you read my tips on furniture restoration above, you would have seen that not only did I get myself covered in wood stain, it was oil based. Let's just say that five days later I am still covered in marks which look like they may be bruises or dirt, but are actually stains from the varnish.

Some are actually bruises.

Clearly the number one suggestion would just be to be careful but if like me this is not likely to happen, the suggestion has been made that you should pick your stain in the colour you would like to be and instead of applying fake tan you can use the woodstain and accomplish it all in one hit. While I haven't attempted this myself, I would always recommend following the suggestions on the packet.

Other useful tips include stockings, pants and long sleeved jackets for covering up stains, nail polish remover for clean nails, and being prepared to answer the questions about "what on earth were you doing on the weekend?".

3. Gardening tips (with bonus suggestions on parenting)

 

This used to be waist height weeds

This weekend was dedicated to gardening.

This involved bribing my actually useful teenage daughters and by giving them very specific jobs that needed to be done. In their defence, Buglet and Tink worked very hard and did what I asked them to do.

Mount Mulchmore

Pixie tried very hard, but needed lots of reminders that we were gardening and not just posing for pictures.

Parenting tip of the day is get them to do something, be specific and say thank you. And be thankful that you have teenagers who will still talk to you for an hour or two and will be helpful without excessive complaining. Then adopt some nice younger children to help you and who will actually think it is fun. My lovely gardening elf and my gardening fairy (from across the road) helped me all of both days and were super enthusiastic. They also looked after Flip-Flop.

In addition to the woodstain and bruises, I am also covered in scratches from gardening. I am wondering if gloves might have helped.

Stay tuned for next week when I will give more household tips.


Disclaimer:

• I am not qualified to give gardening or beauty or any other household advice. Follow my suggestions at your own risk.
• It is doubtful I am qualified to give parenting advice, there is still time for me to stuff up.
• I am not even allowed to give legal advice without supervision.

I would recommend finding more reliable sources for any advice of any nature.

But Shakespeare did it!

When I was little we had a set of Encyclopedia Britanica Children's Encyclopedias. If you have never seen these particular ones they were mostly written in a story-type style so they were easy to read, and in a world pre-Google (are your paying attention children, there was a way of finding out things pre-Google) reading them was an eye-opener to so much stuff. 

I remember being beyond fascinated that Shakespeare invented the words "gloomy" and "hurry". Can you imagine a world without the word "hurry"? "Gloomy", I feel, is a bit underused these days which is a shame 'cos it is really a very expressive word. Say it out loud! Go on. Don't you think it sounds like its meaning? Eeyore knew a thing or two!

Yesterday's car conversation focused on onomatopoeia, and I have to confess that this happened after a discussion on the the difference between onomatopoeia and acronyms ...

Buglet enthusiastically: Let's all think of as many onomatopoeia words as we can.
*awkward silence*
Me: That is totally nerdy. Even for us.

Today's confession. I laughed at my daughter, called her a nerd, then told her I was going to blog about it. We are totally ok with being nerds. It is part of what makes us so awesome. I think Buglet's suggestion here crossed the line though.

Anyway, back to Shakespeare. Since I was about 7, my argument has always been that "if Shakespeare can make up words so can I".

Tink: Mum, that's not a word.
Me: Yes it is. I just used it.
Tink: You're not allowed to just make up words.
Me sadly: That is what my boss says too.
Tink: And don't say if "Shakespeare can do it so can I". You're not Shakespeare.

Squashed! On lots of levels. I think the word I had used talking to Tink was "barklet". Mostly because it make more sense in the context of some random song Pixie was singing about Flip-Flop. Flip-Flop might do many things, but she does not meow (I am assuming the song had originally been written about a cat and Pixie had altered it to suit herself. I don't ask silly questions, sometimes it is better just to assume, lots of these times are to do with Pixie).

The word my boss said I had made up was "skewy". As in "the margins are all skewy". I am pretty sure this is a real life shortened version of "askew". It is very descriptive and it really was what the stupid margins were doing.

This week we attended the dedication and naming service of my beautiful new nephew. For those of you wondering, neither Pixie nor I predicted the name. Clearly, our psychic skills are not working properly.

I got lots of photos of the eight cousins. Unfortunately none of all them together, as my gorgeous youngest niece decided to sleep for most of the time. I did sneak a cuddle in just before we left though and got a few quick pictures so she can't feel totally left out.

I haven't been able to find a collective word for a group of cousins so I am coining my own phrase. What do you all think of "a cuddle of cousins"? I think it is cute. Who knows, it may even catch on!

At one point Pixie had her own campaign to introduce the term "awesomization" into mainstream language. It didn't really take off. "Sickaling" on the other hand I catch myself using all the time.

Stay safe everyone, and enjoy the English language today. I am trying very hand to expand what words I use, so let me know if you have any favourite words or expressions!

PS Did I tell you I have a Cath shaped book?

Cath shaped book!

Trust me, I am (finally) a lawyer

So dear readers, I have finally done it. I took the long walk down the aisle (?) at the Supreme Court, swore the oath and I was admitted as a lawyer.

Yes, I was nervous. But conveniently the girls provide a distraction from worrying about professionally related things.

They were super excited. Pixie is fascinated by Judge Judy. I came across this facebook update from December last year:
It's not everyday the Governor and Fat Cat sing along with your choir.
It's also not everyday your daughter asks Fat Cat if he is really Judge Judy.
So very proud of the "Guide Choir", and very proud to be one of their leaders.
Not devastated I wasn't easily identifiable as Pixie's mother during the Fat Cat interaction.

Yes. That really happened. She was so sure Judge Judy was going going to be there that Marsh told her that she might be disguised as Fat Cat. I am putting the blame squarely on her for that one.

Judge Judy has also meant that Pixie has been a little bit obsessed with the idea of lawyers and hammers, I quote ....

Pixie: When you are lawyer will you get to hit people with hammers?
Me: Um. No?
Pixie: Well what is the point then?

Oh, I don't know. Being part of the justice system? A career I happen to enjoy? A world with answers? (Ok so not the answers to Pixie's questions, but questions nonetheless).

She was also adamant that she was going to ask the Chief Justice if she "could see his gabble". Fortunately she did not get the opportunity to speak to the Chief Justice, and did not ask anyone else about "gabbles" (gavel for those of you who are still confused).

After all my worrying, Pixie was pretty good. The main awkward moment was when she got all excited about "Mama, we went in the lift with the Big Boss". You may picture this said in a stage whisper. He was only a few metres away but if he heard he did a lovely job of ignoring her.

There was also a hilarious moment when my mum asked where a long term colleague and former boss of mine was. He is on long service leave. Pixie responded with "Is he having a baby?!" I couldn't see her face, but another colleague informed me her face was priceless as she was processing the idea of a man the same age as her grandparents being on maternity leave. I did clarify that the term "leave" meaning being away and the term "maternity" being the baby bit.

After all my worry about the Pixie, Tink was the one who got told off for hanging over the balcony, and she was the one who got all excited about "that lawyer who looks like a mad professor". I hope anyone who heard realises that to kids these days being a professor is super cool thanks to Harry Potter.

Overall they were very good, and my colleagues told me how well behaved they were.

I was very well behaved too. I didn't trip or cry or forget how to sign my name or how to talk or drop the Bible or anything like that. So many things to be proud of!

I had a totally amazing day with brunch with my family, and morning tea and after work drinks with my colleagues. I also got some wonderful presents which I was not expecting at all.

From my colleagues.
My boss got the same style necklace when she was admitted.

A champagne (I think it is pink!) coloured pen for signing important legal stuff.

To top it all off the girls had organised a surprise for me when I got home ...

Foot soak + nails done + hand massage + face mask = one lucky Mama

I was very surprised. I knew that they had been planning something because the Pixie had asked me if Apple would be looking after them at all earlier this week and I was also informed that she was "going to discuss finances with Daddy, but you can't ask any questions, Mummy". (Thank you Apple for being the girls' "person", and for always being there to help them).

The fact I am not just their favourite Mum/lawyer, I am their only Mum/lawyer does not need to be mentioned.
 

Then just as I was falling asleep from all the excitement and relaxation, I got a late night delivery ....

Cath shaped book!

The girls are soooooo jealous! The friend who gave it to me has been teasing me for weeks with clues. I had decided that it was a polar bear disguised as a panda disguisd as librarian eating Oreos. A Cath shaped book is even better. She told me I would want to blog about it, and she was right! Expect this picture to appear in other blog posts.

Being a lawyer is awesome so far. I hope all my days are as lovely!

I do have some thing to work on though. Namely the fact that all my children get the words "prosecute" and "execute" mixed up. I would like to point out that these are not interchangeable. Buglet told me off at brunch yesterday for talking about prosecuting people because it freaks her out.

And today I have worked hard at work again. Just in case anyone was wondering.

My weekend plans are consisting of finishing my bedroom renovations. We worked so hard last weekend and I can't wait to be able to post pictures once it is all done! I was also very proud of myself for thinking to not do any painting between Sunday and Thursday so I wasn't being admitted covered in paint. There is a school of thought that says I should be able to paint without covering myself, but I don't subscribe to that. I am just proud of myself for being so grown up and sensible.