Ha' Bir'da Do Dooo!

That's Theo's attempt at Happy Birthday To You, if you can't quite make it out.  He's got the tune down to a T, so we'll give him some leeway on the consonants.  He's had plenty of opportunity to sing it, as it was my birthday recently.  Breakfast in bed seems to have become the custom, so I was proudly presented with cereal, toast and a boiled egg.  I managed the cereal in bed but thought the rest might be safer eaten downstairs.  Toby also drew me two very nice birthday cards.

So, apart from having to figure out your age when people ask you (what year is it again?), how do you know you've reached your mid-thirties?  Well, one reliable indicator is that you are actually pleased - possibly even delighted - to receive a vacuum cleaner as a birthday present.  Graham has already been gently mocking me for enjoying my new toy so much, but look!  It actually picks the dirt up!  And my stairs don't have dust in the corners for the first time in two years!

Okaay, moving swiftly on... Just to prove I can still have fun, I also purchased Qwirkle and Bananagrams with some of my birthday money (thanks John!).  Toby and I had a go at Qwirkle, which is a strategy game with coloured shapes, and found it easy to get the hang of and quite absorbing.  He's probably too young for Bananagrams, which is a bit like fast-action Scrabble, despite protesting that he "knows how to spell lots of words".  So if you come to visit any time soon, expect to be coerced into playing one or the other - or if neither appeals, we can offer Guess Who?, Jenga, dominoes or plenty more!

For dinner we went to a local pub/restaurant which is enlightened enough to provide a children's play area.  It was pleasantly quiet, and we enjoyed the carvery and finished off with a massive chocolate brownie sundae.

Everyone enjoyed that!