say g'day seven!

The day began far too early and had ended too, too late the night before for both Tigs and me.

By midnight the wrapping fairy had fallen asleep and instead of stylish, carefully planned and executed gifts all I managed were a batch of tissue clad and red grid tape parcels.  He had to begin with the 'T' and work  through to 'is, 7 ! YAY'.  YAY containing the pièce de résistance - Lego Atlantis.  Between the end of school and the family arriving for a party all 480 odd pieces had been connected, with very little assistance from me :)  He's a natural Lego dude!  By 9am the following morning Woo had demolished it :(

I'd wrapped each package with something nice, but not stellar, and cunningly hid something guaranteed to float his boat.  The first some cute new handmade jammies with a new DS Star Wars Lego game tucked between the folds.  One that had caused a minor tantrum at Costco some weeks earlier when he'd seen the DS game and the super cool Lego Book on the shelf and had jumped up and down with excitement about them.  We had told him that as his birthday was coming up he should wait and hope and that he couldn't have everything he wanted when he wanted.  Therein the scene erupted and whines of "It's not fair" and "You get everything you want" had echoed around the store. I was less than impressed ...

Greg then, in some unfathomable way, decided that in order to reassure him that we wouldn't let him down come his birthday and to have patience promptly GAVE HIM THE BOOK that we'd hidden with the DS game at the bottom of the trolley.  I stood  wide mouthed and incredulous as this unfolded and I watched one pouty and petulant 6 year old switch on the charm and get away with murder. 

Miraculously - extraordinarily - unbelievably,  it has had an ongoing positive impact.  I know!  Hard to believe, and certainly not a technique described in ANY parenting tome.  I rarely give Greg credit for his parenting but this episode appears to have worked and has infact taught Tiggy that we are always there for him and will do our best not let him down in life.  And to reassure the nay-sayers he usually doesn't get what he wants in terms of material items but he absolutely knows that we love him and that,  he gets by the bucket load!

And he gives love back by the armful too.

More to Greg and me than to Woo so this little moment had to be shared!

Having your birthday on the winter solstice ( I know this is a very late post on the big day!!) has its merits and by 7.00am in the pitch dark, we were outside waving sparklers in a figure '7'!  Can you see it just in there?  I know there is a way of capturing it perfectly but I had a) not read up on how to do it photographically and b) did not have my wits about me sufficiently at that time of day to even try aside from the auto setting. So that my friends is the closest we get - this year.

Our day progressed rather normally and by the evening the most immediate family gathered for his favorite meal, shepherd's pie. 

Floss

Babcia (no Dziadziu he was working late)

Momo and Booboo - currently sunning themselves in Mauritius.

The meal should have been followed by apple crumble but I had to have a cake for his birthday and as he's not a real lover of traditional cake I did my now famous ice-cream cake.  

Take one tub of the recipient's favourite ice cream and invert it on a platter.  Lavishly slather it in Ice-magic and before the topping sets push some juicy fresh strawberries into the chocolate.  Place in the freezer until it's time to sing!!

Then scoop large balls into waffle cones, spray on some cream in a can (come on it's his birthday!!) and plonk a sweet frozen berry on the top. 

YUM!

That weekend I took 13 children to Kung Fu Panda 2! 

 Am still awaiting medal in the mail...

E x