Once is a Treat.

Today an old friend took me out to lunch for a birthday treat. It's not for another week but she had no kids today and decided she'd like to make me without child for a while as well. She greeted me with flowers and the next two hours went by too fast. It may well have all been a dream, brief respite that it was from the relay that is Saturday. There weren't even any parties for unknown children for once but there is always something.They mucked about last night and got to bed late. Fish has found an ancient busker's book of Essential Beatles and is nutting out a few golden oldies. The small fry is following suit.
Consequently, they slept in and woke sluggishly to a glorious early morning storm. That hobbity thing under the doona is B2 observing bending palms and swirling rain. See how the mountain is almost obscured. That's how we tell if a storm is really bad or not- by the visibility of the mountain.
I aways get excited by Saturday morning rain. Will all events be cancelled? Will it be justifiable to have a DVD festival in the lounge and feed them hot dogs and pop corn under doonas and blame the weather for not being able to take them and ten friends to the park for fun and injuries?
Sadly, it cleared away after some preliminary indoor play and the sun begrudgingly came out (like me) to make laundry and swimming events possible.

Look at this poor bedraggled rat child. The hypothermia, the hunger! Between dropping the teary 10 year old at his cello competition warm- up and tossing the sleepy 2 year old in her cot, I managed to see a couple of her races and faked the ones I missed. Why would you put yourself down for the medley when you can't swim butterfly and you haven't swum for months. "It'll be a challenge, Mum." Bless your cotton socks, Lala, just like you are!Then the sad, crippled cellist with the filthy yellow (not cheerful yellow at all!) cast on his bowing arm had to be attended to. Since Big Fella was stuck with the sleeper at home, I rushed over to catch their gig and then took him and Bedraggled home so they could have a giant melt down barney over a lego plane and some shared air. Stay calm. I am the adult. Divide, diffuse, distract.Lat night the big fella made the mistake of taking this one off to bed with him. She told everyone she met today about the noise Dad makes when he sleeps. She also wanted to go to bed with him tonight. I said no. Once is a treat, twice is a habit. A woman at the shops with twelve kids told me that once. She was cool, fabulous and funny. I figured she'd know and it has been a good mantra.
Besides he went to bed earlier than the kids tonight as he's off on a crack of dawn junket tomorrow. So I sent the others to bed and left her to potter in the lounge and wind down while I tidied up. When I went to find her she was nowhere. I checked the lounge, the sister's room, Dad's bed, Boysworld and then, Eureka! There she was, asleep in her cot with Roadkill Teddy. We have a self-bedder! I love when they do that. Fish has always done it and still does. So! Finally alone in the house and it WAS a lovely relaxing lunch for a brief shining moment of a whirlwind day!