A TEENAGER IN THE HOUSE

Miss 13 is ... well... 13. Today. We have a teenager in the house. I've been calling her a teenager since she was about 4 but it's real now.

In the Thorn house you are allowed to eat what you like on your birthday and on Christmas day - no diet police those days. So.... for breakfast Caits chooses leftovers our lovely friend, L, brought for dessert last night. Baklava-like filo pastries and icecream. Sounds like my idea of a breakfast treat, too.




We did do about a 5km family walk this afternoon - to burn off the over indulgence (which included C's friend, R, delivering a birthday cake this afternoon). Tonight we are off to Ichiban Teppanyaki - Japanese being Cait's choice of restaurant. Party to come on Friday night with a few friends, movies and dinner (Turkish). I've said it before - we do like to spread those birthdays out to last as long as we can.

Happy birthday, Caitsy-girl!

I'M A COMMA!

Thanks, Mim, for this mindless bit of timewasting quiz!

You Are a Comma

You are open minded and extremely optimistic. You enjoy almost all facets of life. You can find the good in almost anything. You keep yourself busy with tons of friends, activities, and interests. You find it hard to turn down an opportunity, even if you are pressed for time. Your friends find you fascinating, charming, and easy to talk to. (But with so many competing interests, you friends do feel like you hardly have time for them.) You excel in: Inspiring people You get along best with: The Question Mark

What Punctuation Mark Are You?

ARMY PARTY

Elliot's army party yesterday was great. I highly recommend Kelly Sports and their parties as a great way for kids to burn off energy before you get them back to your house for food.

10 boys. Copious amounts of pizza, chips, drink (interestingly more water than coke). Homemade icecream sundaes. An army cake that was big enough to feed an army. Ration packs to take home. No tears. No fights. Happy. (Are boys easier than girls?)



And today Mr 8 and DH are off to Armageddon - the Pulp Fiction expo. Talk about spreading out your birthday for a week!



Oh and it all starts again next weekend (when we'll have a teenager in the house). Another birthday. Bring it on.

EIGHT IS GREAT!

We have an 8 year old in the house! My baby turned 8 on Sunday.

We like to spread out the birthday celebrations so we had a family meal on Sunday. He was allowed to choose where we went and he chose..... yum char at Grand Century in Tory Street. A boy of immaculate taste, I'd say.

This coming Saturday he has an army themed party - Action Indoor Sports run by the lovely Vanessa Chatfield (daughter of the famous cricketer!), and pizza at home for 9friends.

And because I'm not working this week I have time to turn to my domestic goddess side. So this morning I thought outside the square and made these 'ration packs' instead of loot bags. Now for the army cake...




(The cake in the photo is courtesy of Moore Wilson's as I totally forgot about it on his actual birthday because I knew I was making the real birthday cake for his Saturday party.) Ah well - we all need two cakes.

HOW MUCH DO YOU WANT IT?

Over the past two and a half years I've lost around 35 kilos. Pretty good. I've gone from a size 24 to a 16. So you'd think that by now I would have learned how to eat well. That I'd have the diet stuff under control.

But no. In a 3-4 month period over Christmas I put on 7 kgs. SEVEN KILOGRAMS! And no, I wasn't eating a kingsize cake of chocolate every day (but I wish I had!)and I only had takeaways once in that period. I was still going to the gym 3-4 times a week. I just wasn't paying attention. I let my focus on the right food lapse. I wasn't exercising hard enough.

Last night when I was bemoaning all this a wise man said to me "How much do you want this?" Ah, yes. I'd forgotten that bit.

There's a difference between going to the gym and working out hard.

There's a difference between a once a week treat and a 'several times a day' treat.

There will always be birthdays, dinners out, friends to visit. Excuses - choose not to make them.

So today I woke up with a better attitude. I remind myself what I have always known -that this is a forever thing.

And I do want it.