Jammie Georgers

At their best

The girls were sitting with me this dinner, choosing the boys they want to marry and telling me when.

I've had to break it to them they can't marry me (Roz), each other (Roz), or at four (Roz) seven (Roz), ten (Izzy) or 16 (Izzy). Izzy is still intent on marrying her current sweetheart. Roz, not quite sure, was pressed to pick an Oscar in her room by Izzy, who reeled off names she'd read on coat pegs until Roz chose one.

Now they are busy making flowers for Alex and I and - ah they've just spilt paint on the carpet. Izzy has run back into the room with a packet of wet wipes and is hissing instructions at Roz.

Balance returns to the universe.

Izzy's seventh birthday

Party in the woods with the Moshi Gnosher

Izzy got her wish for a scary party in the woods with her friends. A tip-off from a colleague led to a local company who carry out adventures in the woods with campfires. The Moshi Gnosher stole the birthday cake as soon as we arrived and locked it in a treasure chest.

So the girls - we invited a few boys but only one brave soul made it - spent the afternoon looking for the bones of the monster, working out a way to get some blood across a boggy river, zipwiring over the boggy river, and then mixing and casting spells to bring the monster back to life. 

The tension once the spell was cast was palpable and the screaming when they spotted the monster extremely shrill. Only poor Ros was actually quite scared though she was later assured by the others it was "only Simon" - one of the two people managing the afternoon - in costume.

All in all, the best birthday party I've been to so far and proof that really, children and a bit of imagination and the woods, are quite happy. Shame poor Ros is less likely to be able to enjoy such a thing given the rather chiller temperatures around her birthday.

Never seen so many girls happy to clamber about trees before

Helping with the zip wire

Whee!

Finding the Moshi Gnosher's nineteen bones

Spell time

Here comes the monster!

The Moshi Gnosher is pestered for the key

Cake time!

Darn cake took me an age and a half to make - this version is pimped with Izzy's own Fimo moshis

Nom nom nom

The benefits of Yiyi

More conversations about boys

Izzy's sitting at the back of the car and we are chatting about her friends, who they are and who she plays with at lunch time.

We've confirmed that T is definitely her suitor of choice though there is report of at least one other who likes her.

It turns out T won Star of the Week twice last year. Very well-behaved, I say approvingly.

Yes, Izzy agrees, looking out the window with a far-off glaze.

"And when he's older he'll have to stop playing football so much."

"Eh? Why's that?"

"So he can talk to me during lunch break of course." (In tone of 'duuh'.)

Star of the Week

However this year it took until week five (week two last year) and she's now demanding hard cash toward a Barbie hideousity that costs a staggering £25.

First crush

Izzy triumphant: Mummy ... did you know? I'm a class computer monitor.
Me: Really? Good.
Izzy: And do you know what else?
Me: What?
Izzy: My <italics>boyfriend</italics> is also a computer monitor.

We've had confessions of the suitability of a little boy as her future husband. It started at the beginning of the summer holidays and has carried all the way through.

Alas and alack young T could not make her birthday party though.