Social butterfly

Once upon a time I had a very robust social life. During a typical week I would be out of the house on three evenings, and would consider it very poor form to stay in on a Saturday night. Since Team O'Toole arrived, my social life has taken more than a severe battering...I think it would be fair to say that since having children, my social life has been left gasping for breath on the floor of the morgue. Although I still adore my friends (and crave their company), the one-two combination of breastfeeding and early-morning wake-ups have spelt the death-knell for any shenanigans out on the town. And so, this weekend came at me like a bolt out of the blue - and my goodness, it was great fun!

On Saturday morning, Mum and I took the kids to the photographers to get some professional portraits taken. We spent several hours coaxing the kids into various positions - sitting, standing, jumping, cuddling (and may I say, there is nothing like the promise of a visit to Toys R Us to get a bit of cooperation...) It was totally worth the effort, as the photos looked absolutely gorgeous. I think the kids had fun being supermodels for a morning, and Mum and I had two cappucinos apiece! Nice.

After such a busy morning, you'd think we'd just flake out for a while...but no. Christian and I had an end-of-term dinner to go to, so we packed Maisie back up again and took off for a hootananny with all the staff from our school. Since I have been on maternity leave this year I haven't seen most of my colleagues for a fair while. It was great to have a chat and a glass of wine, catch up on the news (and gossip!) and just generally get away from the remote for one evening. Maisie Mouse had a ball being passed from one adoring adult to another, until her eyelids began to droop and the yawning started. When the karaoke machine was cranked up, we decided to call it a night. Unlike the days of old, we arrived home well before midnight. But also unlike the days of old, we were up at the crack of dawn to three people who were ready to party!!

Although Christian and I were a bit creaky this morning, we still had swimming to go to, so we all went off to the pool for a bit of a splash and a giggle. A quick lunch after the swim, a sprint around the supermarket, two loads of washing and a baked cake later, and we were back in the car heading off to dinner with a group pf gorgeous friends. Do you remember when you were a child, some evenings that stand out in your memory that were simply magic? Tonight was one of those nights. We sat outside around the pizza oven, cooking delicious homemade pizzas, chatting and laughing and carrying on. The ten kids ran completely wild, and I know my two big kids had more fun than they could ever have imagined because I didn't lay eyes on them for the entire evening! There was not one squabble, not one injury, no whinging whatsoever...just a tribe of kids having the times of their lives. The babies were either being constantly breastfed or cuddled and cooed at. I think Maisie might have fallen a little bit in love with Uncle Adam, as she was perfectly happy in his arms, even to the point where she saw Mummy and didn't start to grizzle! It was a fantastic night, and I am so grateful to Anna and Adam for having us there tonight. There is nothing like a great evening with friends to make you feel relaxed and happy and recharged. I only hope I still feel like that in the morning when I'm getting three kids out the door to go to Melbourne!!