Hello Sazzles.
Hope your holiday was tres bon.
I am in shell-shock after the departure of my lovely nephews. As DS says they are 'brilliant and funny', but being responsible for 5 chldren at once is exhausting.
You know pretty much what your own will do, but you have to be hyper-vigilant with other people's if only to keep your furniture intact.
Also, DN1 had a very sore throat and both were missing their mum very sorely after a week away. DN2 asked 'how do you spell "I miss you, Mom",'
It was lovely to reunite them today.
I've just spent five minutes lying with my head on DS's lap while he explained tactics from Lego Batman (his first ever 'proper' computer game) and stroked my hair.
This is after he gave me the Cadbury's caramel from his party bag because he knows I like them. One of his finer moments I think.
VG-I do hope your DS1 is feeling better. DS has a bad habit of being ill on Christmas and birthdays too ... The football cake is fabby and my email to you is forthcoming as we say in the academic world.
Except that it really is coming.
No time to write at all over the last few days due to boys.
For anyone making a 'shape cake' the 'buttermilk birthday cake' in Nigella's Domestic Goddess book is brilliant. It tastes great but has a texture that allows you to cut shapes out without carnage.
A brief word of warning to No1 - the thing about there being no blue foods in nature and therefore people being unable to eat blue things holds true here, even with my gannet children.
I made a blue Thomas Tank cake one year and it went practically uneaten ... You can get blue in those colour paste tubes though.
I'll stick a pic of one of the ones that worked on my profile ...
It's rubbish to hear about the mardy DHs and DPs. 18 months of sleeplessness is not conducive to peace, harmony or reason. We've had our dodgy spell here too, but seem to be back on track now, thank God.
Dizzy - how does the outside of the house look? Ours was dirty orange when we moved in and is a very restful cream and cappuccino now and it has made a world of difference to how we feel about it.
Oops- the duck obsession is so dotey!