Miss Ellie's Ladybird Cupcake Decorating Party

We started with musical bumps, statues, pass the parcel and best dancer competitions and then onto the mandatory party food!
A Ladybird cake had been requested and duly produced although I kept wondering what the face reminded me of and I have finally worked out it is Shaun the Sheep from Wallace and Gromit in a head on wind rush! I should have made the antennae with pipe cleaners rather than licorice as they weren't strong enough to hold the icing bobbles up. Nevermind the birthday girl didn't seem to notice. I also forgot to put it on a bigger board so I could put the ladybird candles around it, so they got a cake stand all of their own.

The party invites and party bags all followed the theme. I couldn't find Ellie's box it has been whisked away into her burrow never to appear again I think. Each little girl got to take home a ladybird purse and ladybird mechanical toy which is rather good fun, it runs about and turns itself over on its back and spins circles (adults can be children at heart to. J and I didn't fight over which colour we got to play with!) They also had foilwrapped chocolate in ladybird designs, rather nice but rather pricey! sorry J with birthday cake and a sheet of what else but glow in the dark ladybird stickers!

I can't believe our Miss Ellie is nearly 5 (officially her birthday on Monday). After the food J and Euan bogged off to the rugby leaving myself and a fellow Mum Angelia (sorry if that is spelt wrong) to the cupcake decorating part. Each child was given 5 plain cupcakes and let loose with a bowl of icing to mix and colour and then to decorate away with as many toppings as they desired. I did set them challenges such as the best looking ladybird, butterfly, most colourful, best pattern et cetera with which they could win a prize. I was so involved in supervising I forgot to take pictures of the process or the end product which is a bit of a shame. Still after all the girls had gone I asked Ellie is she enjoyed her party to which she enthusiastically said yes especially the cupcake part. Ah bless a mothers duty is done. The party was followed by a manic clean up by Mum as we had two viewings that afternoon. Why is nothing ever stressless in this house. Well all I have to do now is design the thank you cards. Hmmmmmmm.

Auntie Helen and Uncle Chris came over this afternoon and brought Ellie her present which was lovely. Helen did a bit of buying damage with my christmas stock, nice for me!I have just finished wrapping the gifts for the offical birthday tomorrow so all in all the girl has done rather well. Now back to these damn christmas cards, number 93 and 10:10pm!

SLOW PAINFUL DEATH BY CHRISTMAS CARDS

Yes you guessed it, it is that time of year again where I ask myself just why do I like to design and print my own christmas cards? Last year I printed them on 6x4 cards and the printer took them like a dream, this year I designed an image that had to go on 5.5x5.5 cards which the printer hates. Yes every single one of the 120 cards I have to print for our own personal list has to be hand fed into the printer with quite a few rejections. The air is rather blue since I started at 6pm and it is now 9:10pm and I am still only on number 76. I hope those of you who read this and receive a card will appreciate it in a new light!

The smiley face stickers next to the cards are definitely not the way I feel right now. They are in fact for a good behaviour chart which was started on Monday with a reward of Pizza Hut on Ellie's birthday if they can get twice as many smiles as sad faces. It has had the desired effect and behaviour has improved and John will be able to tick off another thing from Euan's list - being a family trip to PH for tea with Dad!

We have had a busy weekend with Ellie's Party and 3 house viewings. John decided to escape the mayhem and watch rugby with Euan at Murryfield coming home in more Scottish Rugby parafinalia - sorry Dad I do try to avoid it. My works in progress for the craft night on Thursday had to be moved from the dining room table back into my work room, which also received a major makeover for the viewings. All this was rather frustrating as all I really wanted to do was get on with some work not fiddle faddle about for time wasting househunters, yes one couple were just checking what was on the market as they hadn't yet put theirs up for sale - arrrrrrgh I could seriously swing for them especially at this time of the month! Still I have a clean house so I should be able to get on now without quite so much distraction. I have no where near enough stock for Thursday but it has been a rather silly year. I wish I could get out of this cycle of manic making just before christmas when I still have so many things to do for the family. My children are still waiting for homemade christmas stockings. Looks like it could be another year of J's flying socks waiting at the bottomof the kids beds for Santa!

We are still no further forward in the search of or sale with our house. We are still waiting for the elusive proposed offer by the Strachans and are still standing with startled bunny eyes at the prices down south. We have found two that we quite like but they both have disadvantages of either busy roads or having to walk through a bedroom to get to another. John is going to start viewing when he starts in London in two weeks time and I am going to be down at my Mum's at the end of the month. It will be interesting to see what Fergus and Leo make of each other. Right back to the cards and a very late night at this rate.