good'n'crazy

first of all, thanks to all those who asked:

YES. i survived the sleepover.
i slept. they didn't (so whaddoicare)

...and 14 sleeps to italy!
i think i may actually pee my pants
(from the excitement you understand. not from any previously unmentioned bladder control issues...)

WARNING: LONG POST!
filled as always, with photos and interesting tidbits

my day off (friday) was interrupted by a sick child, so i resigned myself to not doing much. at least i could still work out (on my exercycle). miss 13 wasn't particularly ill, she was just feeling very flat. we like to call these days off 'mental health days', ie where a day at home is good for the soul, and day of missed school won't kill you.

i had previously committed to take miss 11 and 5 of her classmates to our local SPCA as part of ther 'a 12 year old can change the world' social enquiry. we loaded up the car with shredded paper (for bedding), blankets and cat food and off we went.

the puppies were just totally depressing, and that's all i'll say. cute but depressing.

i don't know this guy's name, but he's blind in one eye and very cuddly.
there are currently 39 cats awaiting re-homing.

this is tiny- he climbed right into miss 11's lap and made himself comfortable while she groomed him.

friday night miss 17 got a mercy call from the hockey 1st XI to play in their final (play-off for 3rd and 4th).

they made a guard of honour for her before the game - this is her LAST game of hockey for her college (high school) - EVA. they won 6-1.

the game didn't even start until 8pm, so by the time we got home, i'd been up and on the go (and totally over the day) for way too many hours.

still, look at the lovely weather i got to stand in.

we build 'em tough down here - 'twas but a passing shower...

saturday morning we were up early for a family photo. the FIRST weekend post-netball and i drag my family out of bed for a photo. there's a whole other post on family photos that i'll share some time too!

anyhoo - it went really well, and we all went out for coffee and hot chocolates afterwards.

then it was home to get ready for the SLEEPOVER - you know the one, where you take in 11 teengers you hardly know and entertain them for the next 18 hours.

so here's the dealio - MOST of the girls had never been to my house before, so i was expecting to run up and down the stairs several times to answer the doorbell and make the acquaintance of many-a-new parent.

guess how many parents came to the door.

ONE.

as tara said to me when the same thing happened to her a couple of weeks before:

"i could have been an axe murderer and they just DROPPED their kid off!"

in this age of helicopter parenting and OTT PC, i find it unfathomable. i guess the bottom of my long drive looked good'n'average'n'safe-like.

fast forward to the next morning. the invitation CLEARLY stated 'collect at 10am' (coz, ya know, after i've had your kid 18 hours, i'm gonna want to get on with my day).

the first got collected at 10.10 - the last at 10.35. admittedly this parent got lost, but PULEEEZE!!! where are these people's manners?

and how many came to the door you ask?

TWO.

i'm over it now, but i would NEVER leave my child at someone's house without going to the door and meeting the 'rents'.

how's it work where you live?

anyhoo - back to the party
-here's miss 13 again - that's her on the wall too

tara came up with this cool pass the parcel idea a few years back. once the kids are old enough, you can make them WORD for the candy, and make it interesting too!

attached to the candy is a question about the party girl
it's fun - AND you get to know your friend that little bit better!

that's me on the music

the final round i absolve myself of responsibility

that's tara trying to be impartial while the girls pass it around on the last layer
-funny-

i made THREE pizza doughs in the bread maker. this is them: slightly out of control during the 'proving' process.

2 kid-friendly pizzas and this one. it's all about the combination of flavours. trust me.

a little bit of rock band

and no party at my place is complete without a little 'craft'

they made these

i made TWO banoffee pies. one with a gingernut biscuit base, and one with a krispie biscuit base.

AMERICAN EQUIVALENT: Graham Crackers

Here's the recipe:

mix together 250g biscuits (cookies) - crushed with 150g melted butter
press into pie/flan dish. refrigerate

slice banana on the base.

for the topping:

125g butter
395g condensed milk
50g brown sugar
3 tablespoons of milk

bring to the boil then stir for around 5 mins until it thickens a little.

pour over bananas and base. refrigerate.

KIDDING!!!

when caramel sets (it won't set rock hard tho) - top with whipped cream and grated or flakey chocolate.

ENJOY!!!

i only have one day in the office next week (monday) before i head out of town for my work annual conference. when i get back, i literally only have enough time to unpack, do laundry and pack again before we head out to italy - no peace for the wicked!!!