• Craving a lie-in.
• Watching Izzy bubble with excitement as we prepared for her birthday party.
• Sipping tea and going over my ‘to do’ list for the day.
• Icing cupcakes. I baked two flavours, chocolate and lemon.
• Eating breakfast.
• Madly clearing and tidying the downstairs of the house.
• Making jam sandwiches.
• Cutting and sticking. I made little signs for all the food and a story book menu featuring characters like the BFG, Peter Rabbit and Harry Potter.
• Finally enjoying a hot shower.
• Slipping on a favourite skirt.
• Carefully applying my makeup and drying my hair.
• Wishing Mr.LA hadn’t decided the garden needed clearing.
• Starting to feel a little stressed.
• Hanging decorations.
• Telling Izzy it was almost time to skype my sister in Australia, just as she was about to arrive in Exeter! Nicola has been away travelling for a year and we managed to keep her return a secret.
• Feeling a little teary as I watched Izzy hug her Auntie. It was a huge hug and full of love. Neither of them wanted to let go.
• Decorating the dining room with crepe paper, bunting, paper balls, vintage books and pretty flowers.
• Assembling the birthday cake.
• Giving my Mum and sister plenty to do. I was so grateful for their help.
• Curling Izzy’s hair a la Hermione Granger.
• Loving the sight of Jesse dressed as the Gruffalo.
• Marvelling at my Mum and my sister’s costumes. Mum was The Tiger Who Came to Tea and Nicola was Max from Where The Wild Things Are.
• Welcoming Izzy’s guests. The children’s costumes were brilliant. We had two Little Red Riding Hoods, a Dorothy, Hiccup the Viking, three Hermiones, Matilda and a character from a Japanese children’s book.
• Feeling as if the next two hours whizzed past.
• Playing party games, handing out prizes, serving up food, pouring drinks, lighting candles and singing happy birthday.
• Wanting to adopt the child that proclaimed my party tea the best she’d ever tasted *looks smug*.
• Breathing a sigh of relief as parents arrived to collect their offspring.
• Watching Izzy open her gifts.
• Hugging the birthday girl tightly as she thanked me for a wonderful day.
• Putting two very sleepy, very happy, children to bed.
• Ordering Chinese food and pouring wine.
• Watching Shaun of the Dead.
• Collapsing into bed.
• Sleeping in.
• Having a much needed lazy morning. I drank tea and pottered about.
• Cleaning up the last of the debris from the party.
• Getting showered and dressed.
• Wearing pink lipstick.
• Making cheese on toast and a huge salad for lunch.
• Taking a walk with the children.
• Searching for signs of spring. We found crocuses and daffodils before debating whether we could smell the weather turning.
• Letting Izzy spend some of her birthday money on books and sweets.
• Wandering home slowly.
• Watching Ponyo. So much love for Studio Ghibli.
• Feeling sleepy.
• Cooking and eating pie, smashed carrots and peas for dinner.
• Laughing at Jesse pretending to be a rock star. He found himself a pretend microphone and everything.
• Winding down for the evening. We showered the children, read bedtime stories and finally embraced the quiet as they drifted off to sleep.
• Craving a mug of hot chocolate and an early night.

Love Audrey xxx