With furrowed brow

Birthday party planning has come to a standstill. The invite list is complete and I have had all the RSVPs. We're assuming the day will be sunny although the Met Office aren't especially supportive of this assumption. I have yards and yards of home made bunting, charcoal for a barbecue, a cake planned and yet if it piddles down with rain we will all be shoe-horned into the house to play squishy sardines (a rainy day version of dead lions if you're wondering). How on earth I figured I could fit 30 adults and 10 little nippers into the house if the weather was foul I have no idea. I must have been blinded by the Jones's again. My brow is furrowed.

The attempts at cake making have been... and gone... to Grandma's house. We bought silicone cake moulds spelling G R A C E, and we're hoping Grandma can succeed where we failed. Apparently the art of silicone moulds is to let the cake cool before you tip the cake out. Failure to realise this must be why Matt the Husbands efforts popped out looking like they'd had a run in with a combine harvester bless him.

The house this week is gradually coming under control - clean and tidy again after a period of mayhem. We have been concentrating our time on the garden and this has too been stemmed by the weather with both the shed and the play house being one coat of paint and a door knob short. People at the party will think the unfinished look is planned no doubt, that is what I am hoping.

The food is planned and shopping list written - I'm off to the store to accomplish that task after Grace is in bed tonight. Then that's it - planning over, birthday celebrations commence. Our good friends Laura and Canoe-Matt arrrive Friday night from Wales and from then on it's go go go until bed on Sunday. I have my jammies on the bed stand ready.

As you can see from this pic, Grace's teeth are coming through thick and fast - 8 fully in place and 4 more coming through at the moment amidst plentiful drool and doses of calpol. As for her snotty cold and cough, she slept better last night and is on the mend. Tea time this evening should be telling - if she clears the plate we're on the home straight to wellness. Fingers crossed.

So I'm at the end of the first week of frugal living. Enjoyed it and steaming on into week 2 - pleased to have had several NSD's (no spend days) this week and its a great feeling to be making a stance on taking the road to recovery. Money aside, as Grace's first year comes to a close I'm ignoring the budget at this fleeting moment in time and adding a little bottle of bubbly to the list for the party on Sunday. Check!