Yawn

Sophie had her birthday sleepover last night, so we had five extra twelve and almost-twelve year olds in the house last night. Activities included giving each other facials, watching girly dvds, making pizzas (I bought ready made bases and they put their own toppings on) dancing, and giggling. Not a lot of sleeping, though. They were up by 7.45, which surprised me, as they had still been awake at 1 last night, when Bobby and I went to sleep. And they were dressed and ready for the day by 8.30 (much spraying of Impulse and use of hair straighteners involved in the getting ready process; between the body sprays and the hair products it was fairly hard to breathe for a while...) After breakfast they went to the park. Well, five of the six of them did. The sixth wasn't allowed to go without an adult being present. Which I think is utterly ridiculous. But her mother won't allow her to go anywhere at all unchaperoned; apparently it's because her two older sisters went off the rails during their teens so her mother is determined that the youngest will have no opportunity to follow in their footsteps. Doesn't seem like a very good strategy to me, though. Stopping her daughter from doing totally innocent things now is surely going to lead to major rebellion later on?

I'm glad the sleepover went well, but I must admit I'm also glad it's over. Six 12 year olds is 5 too many for one house, really.

Can't believe Sophie will be 12 tomorrow, she still seems like my baby girl... She's asleep on the bed next to me right now, looking very small and young... Hmmm. Ems seems to have passed out too. It's amazing how many people can fit onto one regular-sized double bed. Ems is also growing up far too rapidly. She and her friends spent yesterday shopping on Oxford Street... I wonder if the poor child who wasn't allowed to go to the park will ever be allowed to venture out on such trips?

I am relieved that I managed to sort out the car today; its MOT is done and its car tax is paid. I found the whole process very stressful; dealing with forms always panics me far me than it ought to.

Stephen is stressed too, I think. He needs a part-time job as he has to earn some money before he starts uni at the end of September, because he's run through every penny of the money he'd saved up. And so far, he's had no joy in finding one. I feel very sorry for him, but I also feel incredibly frustrated and annoyed that he quit the job he used to have on the spur of the moment, and that he's spent his savings and has hardly anything tangible to show for it. I suppose this misery is the way that people learn the consequences of their actions...

Anyway, no-one's allowed to be stressed tomorrow, because it's Sophie's birthday and we're going to Thorpe Park to celebrate. And the next day, I and however many of the children wish to accompany me are going to Beccles to spend the day with my folks. Looking forward to both events greatly.