Weekend mission impossibles. Whether you choose to accept them or not.

This weekend was a series of impossibilities.  But we are still alive and kicking...weakly.

Mission 1: Josh's Cricket Match

Mobilise a family of 5 to be at Terrey Hills for cricket at 7:45 am on Saturday morning.

Ha!  It was never going to happen.  I drove Issy (unfed in pyjamas) and left Sarah at home (unfed in pyjamas watching tv) and drove Josh (fed and dressed) and Mike (just dressed- luckily) up to the match and left them there.

One day I will stay for my little son's entire cricket match.  Just not one where we have to be there at stupid o'clock at stupid o'place.

Mission 2: Issy's Dance Concert

Get Issy to stage door dressed with high ponytail, headband, costume (black sequinned leotard with blue fringy skirt), socks and jazz shoes.  Apply basic makeup to someone who never stays still.

Redo ponytail 4 (yes 4) times due to fiddling.  

Complication: She was at a skateboarding party until an hour before she had to show up at the stage door.  She was overexcited on far too many fronts.

She danced, she pranced.  She does all the time anyway.

We got Issy there on time and left her backstage with her fellow blue frilly friends.  She danced and looked gorgeous (as did her mates).  She is still at point in her dance career where her teacher stands off stage at the front and does the dance facing them so they don't forget their moves.  Her teacher did this maybe 6 times (ie. for six different acts of frilly pastel sequinned madness).

Their teacher is no spring chicken, yet she is the second fittest woman I know.

After the last dance it looked like she sank to the floor and kissed the stage in utter relief that it was over.  I think she was just hoisting herself up onto the stage for the finale but I wouldn't blame her for being glad.

Watching the tiny tots dance is a highlight.  I laugh, I cry, I grab poor Josh sitting next to me and bury my face in his hair so I don't laugh out loud.  Many of Issy's mates and family friends are there, so there's someone we know in every dance.

We even get to see kids more Sarah age and older (and therefore quite accomplished dancers) doing solos and ensembles to fill out the program.   It does make a relief from the madness of the tiny kids dances.

Well, that's over for another year.  Woot!

Mission 3: Sarah's Masterchef project + host friends for Sunday lunch.

Mmmm raspberry macaroons.

Film Sarah and her mate as they create respectively, choc raspberry cake and choc macaroons, taking both still shots and short videos to give Sarah (the editor and producer of the final product) enough rough material to edit herself into a reasonable project she and her mate could present the next day.

Josh helped.  Mainly by eating the leftover cooking chocolate.  

I did all the filming and still shots while simultaneously preparing to have friends over for lunch.  Friends we really wanted to make an effort for as they had done for us in the past.  

Consequently when they arrived our kitchen bench looked like this.  Utter shambles.

When you have a big kitchen bench, you can fit a lot of shit on it.  

And our friends looked quite frightened.  As well they should.  I felt frightened myself.

Thankfully after a couple of champagnes, I was much less frightened.

Later in the afternoon Sarah busied herself with creating her project out of the photos and filming we'd done earlier.  I'd told her she was on her own.  And she took it in her stride.  

Honestly, the technology these kids have access to is amazing.  My 10 year old can now make a short film.  With the much appreciated help of one of our visitors, a very tech savvy 10 year old herself, Sarah put together a pretty decent 3.5 minute result.

After getting over their initial fear at the mess our house was in, I think our friends enjoyed themselves.

This morning I looked at our calendar for next weekend.  No less busy.  Although slightly less kid centric for once.

Got to love November.