The Weekend

Howdy all! What did you this weekend? I have been busy, I tell ya.

Friday night was my friend Mara's birthday. To be honest, I'm not too sure how old she is… maybe 25? Anyways, there was a huge group of us at the local Balti restaurant to celebrate her special day! I brought along my balloons for entertainment. They were a hit! You might have thought it was a child's birthday party with all the colourful animals all over the table. It was really fun to see the excited and surprised looks on everyone's faces. It was a great time! Happy Birthday, Mara!

Saturday, I got up a bit early to get some of my packing sorted for my trip. I did a bit of tidying too, but I mostly rested, because I knew I had a big night ahead of me. The Mum and Dad were off to London with their friend to celebrate the Mum's birthday properly. So, I not only was I babysitting the 3 regulars, I had two additional 11-year-olds (let's call them Jack and Jill) and a 15-year-old (Lottie). Jack, Jill and Lottie were all very polite and well-behaved. It was a bit of a shock to hear them say 'thank you' so much, since I normally have to fish for those two words in this house. Anyways, Lottie and I decided to take the kids to 'Hickory Dickory's'… we thought it would be fun… but to be honest, it was a bit of a nightmare. First of all, we had to take 2 trips from our house to the warehouse. Also, being a Saturday, there was no parking. I had to park over the road and around the corner and walk in the rain, dragging Youngest beside me all the way back. Finally, it was just so busy inside! I let the older ones do their own thing, but I could barely keep my eye on Youngest as he ran around the place. The older ones got bored quickly, so we headed home after an hour.

The rest of the evening was all movies, Nintendo and popcorn (baths and stories for Youngest). I had a bit of a time getting Middle, Oldest, Jack and Jill to settle down, but they were quiet by the time I headed to bed, so that was fine.

I barely slept, because I knew in the back of my mind that I'd have to get up with Youngest when he got out of bed at the crack of dawn. Sure enough, at around 6, he came climbing up the stairs for a cuddle. I let the kids chill out for a bit, while I caught up on Over the Rainbow, but soon, we were all out in the sunshine at the park. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that our visitors brought their incredible well-trained and adorable Labrador with them. Her name is 'Bluie', apparently short for 'Bluebell', but they never call her that because that's only her name when she's in trouble. We brought Bluie to the park, too. She was so well-behaved that we were able to play fetch with her in the park without her leash on! I really miss having a dog around (RIP Charlie!).

(Bluie and Charlie, my late pet)

When we returned from the park, the parents were all home! I had a quick pub lunch with Aussie, but we both returned home for a bit of a rest because… tonight was the Ceilidh (kay-lee) at church! Oasis has these Ceilidhs once in a while so church members can bring their friends and family along to meet the congregation. It was awesome! There was a live band and a lady calling and teaching us different country dances. We were bouncing around, swinging our partners and doing the do-see-do! It was so much fun and everyone was getting involved. Someone mentioned to me that couples will often have Ceilidhs at their weddings— I am SO doing that if I ever get married. Super fun.

I'm off to bed, it's Mop-Day tomorrow!