Tea Party

Oh how rock and roll, lets chuck a few tele's about while we're at it shall we?! 35 years old and I celebrate with a..... a tea party!!! Long gone are the days where I'd get dingbatted on mojito's and back comb my hair in a bar to make my friends laugh.

Mr C took the bigguns swimming so that I could indulge in a spot of baking and playing with my tea set.

I had a sneaky feeling something would eat into my play time because something always does, be it a knock at the door, a phone call...a baby needing his Mummy...

Yes, Mini needed me and not for the cooing cuddles I'm usually treated to. He was very sad. He has reflux and he'd been doing so well and grown so much I thought it was time to trial him without the medication.

Bad idea. Poor little mite was in a fit of vapours so I hastily syringed his medicine into his mouth and hoped it would work swiftly. It did but he was fractious for the rest of the day.

But it didn't matter that I'd lost lay time as I'd preempted it and had bought macaroon mix, scones, coconut ice, nougat, jam, and bon bons. So I was able to snuggle my poor little fella and still produce a nice spread, I feel very grandma-ish saying that. I like feeling grandma-ish these days, there's something very warming and secure about embracing the granny in me. Tea parties and crochet is total heaven to me...I'm sure you know what I mean.

Coconut ice reminds me of a story about my Grandad Bill. Years and years ago my Nanny Dot (his wife the original Cuckoo) had been caught in a shower of rain on her way home from the co-op. She was wet through as were her purchases. When she got home she laid everything out in the larder on paper to dry out, including a box of fire lighters. Grandad came home and feeling a bit peckish went yogi-ing. "Ooooh coconut ice!!!" he exclaimed and took a huge bite of................................ a fire lighter! He could taste paraffin for weeks.

You may be wondering what yogi-ing is. You know Yogi Bear? Remember how he was always on the hunt for picnics? Well, when someone has the munchies and is on the prowl for snacks that's yogi-ing. I'd forgotten all about the phrase till my Mum said it for the first time in years at the weekend. She probably says it a lot but I'd not heard it in a long time. Took me right back to when a was little and my Dad would go ferreting about trying to placate a greedy tummy (which I have inherited, blast!)

I made a lemon layer cake and plonked some roses on top. 

I made some cucumber sandwiches, popped some cute, gorgeous, divine little flags in then.

Made macaroons using Squires Macaroon mix, total cheat, they did taste nice but I think I'll get better organised next time I need macaroons and have a go at making them from scratch. Happily you can't tell from the photo but I scorched the green ones.

I made some sugar cube hearts in a tiny heart chocolate mould I have. I first saw sugar cube hearts at Coco Rose's, who followed a tutorial from A Day with Doris. I should have followed the tutorial as trying to get the hearts out of a silicone mould was tricky dicky.

I could do with some sugar tongs

I made little place settings for the Cuckoo Boys...

They really got stuck in. No surprise really as cake, sweets and sugary stuff is heaven to little boys.

Mr C looking as though he was enjoying himself

My Mum and Step Dad really did enjoy themselves

Mini had a smiley hour during the afternoon which was especially lovely after being sad all morning. Can you see that grin he is aiming at his current favourite brother. Mini and Little have a special relationship as they have two days together with out Big Cuckoo. 

And then it was all over and time to wash up. Washing up my treasure doesn't feel like a chore. I think of my china as treasure because I have chanced upon most of it randomly at car boot sales or at the local auction house. Now and again I find something on ebay or in charity shops. I simply adore all my old fancy stuff. Mr C on the other hand, now how can I say this kindly, he's not keen. Not at all. I think next year he'd prefer to visit the Apple store or something more appealing to his alpha male sensibilities. I don't blame him. I fell for the man that he is, all blokey and strong and hard working and ambitious and clever and all those things I am not. It would be foolish to expect him to be all fluffy when it suits me. Foolish and unfair. 

I had dreamed for too many weeks about my birthday tea party. Being the only girl in the house I really, really R:E:A:L:L:Y wanted a pink tea party. I planned, plotted and day dreamed about it. Of course that was a daft thing to do as reality cannot live up to a daydream. How can it? I'm not being all "woe is me", it's a fact. It's not that life is a disappointment in contrast to the day dream, far from it. In fact life is lovely, life is lush, my life is good and I'm grateful for it and for the amazing people in it. But the tea party... it didn't live up to expectations in that not everyone enjoyed it the precise way I hoped and I was left with a feeling of deep silliness. I felt silly. Silly for enforcing my femininity on a household full of testosterone and not for the first time did I feel an ache for a daughter.  I'd give anything for a daughter ...except my boys, I wouldn't give them. I am blessed with my boys. I love them insanely, all perfectly marvellous. Besides if I had a daughter she'd probably think I was an embarrassingly uncool Mum, she wouldn't want to learn my granny crafts or embrace my granny ways, she wouldn't want the things from my childhood I have packed away for a girl. She probably wouldn't want to wear the clothes I imagine I'd make for her. I hoped to have a daughter who would be my friend as she grew, someone to share things with when the boys are glued to the x box or whatever will have been invented by then.  I have my fingers crossed for marvellous daughter in laws! They might enjoy tea parties with me and might like to actually keep my tea set when I'm gone.

My step Dad sent the sweetest email entitled "Pink Sugar in my Tea" which cheered me up no end (I'd had an emotional out burst after washing up as Mini had kicked off a treat again and so I fell to bits, I'm prone to short melodramatic outbursts of despair. I blame it on the legacy of PND but in truth I've always been a bit of a "Victorian heroine taking to my bed" type. Best way to deal with me in those situations is to cuddle me out of it, which my Mum did) 

Here's the email content, now bear in mind my Step Dad is very old school Royal Navy so this email is more than just lovely words:

Thank you very much for inviting me to your 'Pink Birthday Party' I really enjoyed it, the cups and saucers and tea spoons, pink sugar hearts, cucumber sandwiches and several choices of cake-sweets and biscuits, what a visual treat.
              I hope Master Mini settled down after we went. He is great to watch, you can almost read his Body Language and only 10 weeks old.
              Again, 'Thank you' and I am looking forward to next years Pink Party already.
            Loads of Love,

In other news (since it's over a week since I did anything like a proper post) I went to my step sisters wedding and I did manage to squeeze myself into my dress. Phew. I'll post a pic when she puts some on facebook as I don't have any photo's of the day. I think I looked ok, scrubbed up well enough. Mr C looked very dashing in his suit and tie and Mini looked too cute as usual. I don't think we let the side down! Big Cuckoo and Little Cuckoo stayed home with my Mum and had a glorious time causing mischief

I had yet another Weirdy Wednesday in that I had to have a scan as things haven't settled down properly since having Mini. Turns out I have a weirdy womb and so I need another scan in 4 weeks and then possibly a small op under a general anaesthetic which gives me the willies a bit. In the mean time I'm taking Co-Amoxiclav which is just an oral antibiotic but they are big beasties and keep sticking to my gizzard. Yick!

I have finished The Nemesis!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yes I have!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's done and it's gorgeous albeit littered with mistakes. But who cares? Not me! It's lovely despite it's faults and I'm so glad it's done. Just waiting for a nice day to take some photo's.

I have also mastered the art of crochet bobble stitch in a different colour and how to carry the yarn through instead of having a gazillion ends to weave in. I feel triumphant, I do! Here's a peak at a small project I started and finished in one sitting. 

You thought I was lying about the hair........

Age 33, there's no hope!