The One and Only TEA Room: Everyone Welcome (bring champagne and muffins please!)

[Jacksmama]

Wow, we're on our third thread!!!
Previous (second) incarnation of the tea room.

A warm welcome to everyone, whether you have one child, none, or ten. This is a tea-and-muffin or booze-and-sofasorcanapees sanctuary for all. But certain standards of behaviour continue to apply - anyone engaging in fisticuffs will be ejected by George Clooney, ably assisted by Mellors the Gardener.

Cheers all!

DCMB - there is always soft play of course - went to a rather 'posh' party recently in a HUGE soft play where ds (3.5) was one of the littleies (whereas at the local one he's one of the big ones now) - lots of running around, then they supply food etc (although it was fairly yeugh food in terms of what ds normally eats!)

There is quite a nice soft play place on a farm about 40 minutes away - or the one the mum at trampolining was booking last night! Catita DOES have a very valid point about the running and screaming. Argh, the screaming.

Of course all the running and screaming may have a bonus side: complete child exhaustion, which could bring on an early bath and bed .... Which of course means you might also get some kind of rest by the end of the day
Although there is the fine and hard to define line between good exhaustion and "I'm goin gto scream myself to sleep exhaustion".
Good luck with the party arrangements

And do I make a mad cake this year?!

I think a play barn - preferably with sound-proofed seating area for adults - sounds ideal for 4 and 5 year olds.

In recent years we have stuck with the formula of church hall + crafts bought from Baker Ross. This works well and we just buy slightly more complicated crafts every year - they're laid out on tables so that everyone has something to do when they're waiting for the stragglers to arrive or if they're out quickly in a game. I've never booked an entertainer, although some people think that my boogie-ing to the musical statues tracks is entertaining in itself!

I've looked at Cmot's new car. Veeerrrrry nice. Sadly, I will never have a company car.

Amber - Are you sure it wasn't Mellors who gave you the massage aspirin? He does like to take care of us laydees.

I too am looking forward to Catita's lantern lecture on any aspect of history!

Now, would anyone else like a hot drink?

DCMB - You are an artiste of confectionery!

Blimey, it wasn't me who had the massage, was it?!?

Amber - So sorry. I got my wires crossed as I moved between pages. It was Catita who had the massage aspirin.

Justabout - Oh that sounds grim. Were the soft play centre staff kind and understanding or cross and shouty? And how is he now? Not still puking, I hope.

Here, the Whisky Distillers' Association of Scotland has sent us a complimentary crate of Laphroaig. And another of Lagavulin.

Who else would like a restorative glass of something warming?

The massage aspirin was me. I hope it was Mellors (it was a bit dark to see really). Whoever it was was a bit of a dab hand with the old oil, though. I fell right off to sleep.

Much sympathy for the puking incident. I hope s/he managed to avoid the other children.

PS. DCMB Bloody hell, fab cakes. I was going to put a photo of the car I made for DS, but in comparison it looks pretty shoddy. Do you give classes??

Oh dear Justa, what fun it is to have an outfit christened in that way.

Have choccy biccy (or three) to accompany your toddy.

Okay, DCMB's cake decorating masterclass:

1. Don't.
2. If you must, just do ONE.
3. Bought sugarpaste is a thing of evil.
4. If making butter icing, ensure you have enough icing sugar (the lovely pink castle was a bit greasy thanks to me having about half the quantity of icing sugar required)
5. Try not to be too frightened of the sight of a naked Barbie leaping out of an uniced cake (when the Barbie closely resembles Victoria Beckham the effect is particularly unnerving)
6. Reduce costs by cultivating friends who own such things as the Australian Women's Weekly book of cakes, and a Dolly Varden cake pan (that's the one that makes the Barbie skirts - I like to think of it as a Dolly Parton pan)

Justa, heartfelt sympathies ... I am amused though by the thought of the soft play staff room, 'Good news, we treated the mum of the child who threw up everywhere with such sympathy and understanding that she's bringing him back again ... hurray!?'

Catita - thanks for the offer, but I get history overload (am but a mere physicist y'see) as I have a friend who is a medieval historian (when we moved to current town she was pleased with our selection due to the interesting history of the area), and a mother and DH who both should have done history degrees but chose not to - but make up for it in interest.

DCMB - cool cakes. I have only slightly ventured into childrens novelty cakes, but have done a number of engagement/wedding/anniversary cakes, including my own wedding cake. For DS I have invested in the Lakeland train cake tin which is fab. I like Nigella on the subject of barbie cakes

Justa and Amber - sounds like a bad day on both sides. Enjoy the whisky

Bocca - thank you for the car approval. The car thing is a two edged sword though for a number of reasons.

I'll pass on the whisky though - I don't get on with it very well

Cmot - My car judgements are based on equal quantities of ignorance and aesthetics! But it does look lovely. I can see that a company car must be a mixed blessing but am still (and not in a sonofjustabout way).

DCMB those cakes are WOW, all I manage these days is choc sponge and betty crocker fudge frosting. Mind you the boy and his grandfather do rather like that.
This birthday the boy is having a party for teh 1st time, he is shareing it with a friend. DH and I are doing food, friends mum is doing hall booking, scrapstore trip for crafty bits and invites. Its for a bunch of 1-4 yr olds ( the boys will be 3 & 4, a number of their friends have lil siblings) Crafty bits will be card hats to stick tat on to. Will also have teh toddler group toys out as its at the comunnity hall we go to toddlers at.
Bocca- isn't baby bocca younger than Ambers hulking great 14 yr old DS? YOU may be older than all teh rest of us put together but I think you are over ageing BB.
Just- BUM about teh puke at soft play, nightmare.
Now then, is some of that virtual whiskey going to come my way. I feel an evening of sloth coming on as my RL yoga class has been canceled.

cmot, my friend has the Lakeland train tin, it's fab - and she has two girls, it's just that fab she had to have it anyway. Hm, wonder if I could borrow it? Ooh - Fairyland Express cake! There is a Nigella influence in the Barbie cakes - both are wearing clingfilm foundation garments as per her advice. I'll tell you what though, when we went to Disneyland Paris last year every time I saw Sleeping Beauty I twitched, those bloody pointy things she has going round her shoulders, trying to fashion those out of sugarpaste, nightmare.

I did consider making my own wedding cake ... while the birthday cakes have a certain slightly wonky charm I think it was just as well I was dissuaded. I did 'construct' my own cake though, with the help of M&S plain white iced fruit cakes (small wedding, and I can't stand wedding cake so didn't want to spend a lot )

Mm, to choc sponge and Betty Crocker frosting ... DH has spotted some ghastly looking creation in a supermarket which is just a traybake covered in sweets, and I have to admit DD would probably be very happy with it.

Right, I have to go and finish off my content for the talking news tomorrow; kick me in the bum if you see me in the tea room again this evening.

whistles to the fascinator clad ladies to come this way...

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/one_child_families/697836-to-those-of-you-with-only-one-child-but-not?msgid=142 15559

UniS - You are quite right. Sonofamber is about twice BabyBocca's age. Amber, I expect, no longer has to arrange parties involving vats of PVA and glitter! But I am very elderly and so prone to bouts of forgetfulness.

Wow, are we are all map geeks then? I used to MAKE maps - geological ones at that how very interesting we all like them...

All the snow has disappeared to be replaced with rain and freezing wind here. All very slushy and not at all romantic or pleasant.

you are a lot braver than me to bring 6 kids to the cinema!! Oh the toilet trips, especially if they're all one sex.

I saw madagascar2 with Zazenette t'other day (she's 4.5 yo and it was her first trip to the cinema) and she was fine with it, but her poor friend (who was there with her mum, and is a seasoned cinema goer, had stopped off at the sweetie shop before hand) was howling at the loud bits and ate so many sweets she was in quite a twist by the end. She was sitting on her mum's lap for at least half the film....
Zazenette was very happy taking the train home - I think it was the highlight of the excursion - perhaps that's an option - going somewhere on a train, having the cake and coming back home again!

Just to give an idea about how foolhardy we are for Zazenette's party we set up a soft gym in two of the spare rooms we had in the house (we were in the process of moving office) and they (16 of them) had a fab time with a ball pit, tents, tunnels and shutes in one room, and more traditional games, and food, in the other.

I made a hedgehog cake - in the traditional Woman's Weekly style and it was totally demolished. Zazenette claimed and ate the head with Enthusiastic Gusto! Her 'boyfriend' claimed the bottom!!

Oh yuk justa - hope that's the last of it now.

Humm, has a look over the bottles, we seem to have accumulated.
I like a single malt - a wee Speyside would be perfect. Ahh, that's better.

I have no idea who's had a massage and who has had an aspirin. Are the effects the same I wonder? except that one involves a lot less oil!

ummmm... that whisky was just the thing.

eagerly awaits Catita's lecture - are you near Yucatan?

Hm, zazen, you have me worried now - but this is good, I don't want to go into things and have them all go wrong. DD is a very seasoned theatre-goer, she's been going since she was two and I tend to forget that this isn't typical. But she DOES always end up sitting on DH's lap. And the loo trips - I've already realised that packing someone else's DD off with DH to the loo is NOT an option (he's very good at taking DD).

Anyone else for a night cap?

Thanks to the magic of the tea room, I'm enjoying this scotch.