Crazy insane bat-month

So October is crazy insane bat-month for us. All these birthdays. Hot on the heels of Cherub's 5th comes Fixit's 40th, then we whoosh along to Bertie and Nell, and let's not even mention all our little and big friends who were also born in this crazy insane bat-month.

Anyway, to celebrate Fixit turning the big Four-OH! a friend has bought us tickets for a little overnight jaunt to Launceston. (Isn't jaunt a great word? I'm going on a jaunt.) So that seemed a good enough way to celebrate; farm the kids out, hop on a plane, stay in a posh hotel, and have ourselves a romantic night away. (And by the way, you would think a wise couple would not get themselves any more of this action before a dirty weekend away, but this is crazy insane bat-month remember, so hell, crack out the antibiotics once more! Woohoo.)

And then, crazily, insanely, then I thought - because I am crazy insane bat-woman - that maybe Fixit's family and friends might like to get in on this celebrating Fixit being 40 lark so I decided to organise a surprise drinkies for him tonight. Let it be stated now that in the history of surprise parties this will have to go down as the most half-arsed low-rent surprise party ever, but hey! It's the half-arsed low-rent thought that counts, right? When Fixit was taking the boys swimming last Friday I broke into his phone and started ringing people. With instructions to turn up at our place any time after 7 (i.e. after dinnertime, and after the kids -touch wood - are virtually if not actually in bed) for a birthday drink. The good thing about hosting two parties in 4 days is that the house is still mostly presentable, so cleaning is not an issue. And there is some alcohol in the house, but not, obviously enough for however the fuck many people are coming tonight, so yesterday I went to Dan Murphy's Liquor Store and stared, bewildered at the slabs of beer until a kind employee took me under his wing. So I've been stashing alcohol round the house and trying to work out where the fuck the esky is so I can chill the slab (note to self, buy ice!), and hoping Fixit won't notice that hidden in the fridge behind the leftover beers from Cherub's party are another dozen light beers. Then, as I bought a takeaway coffee at our favourite cafe and was telling the guys about my crazy insane bat-plans, they offered to fix up a couple of platters of dips and breads at bargain-basement price, and I could hardly refuse that kind offer. So I dropped off my empty platters on the way to school and will pick them up filled with food when I collect Climber later today. And I've got 4 hours to think of a plausible excuse for said platters because our kids are blabbermouths and as such have not been informed of my crazy insane bat-plans.

So on my still to-do list today I have:

• Dishes
• Blog about it. Wait, how did that get on here?
• Birthday cake(s)
• Mop floor
• Cook nice family dinner (because that's all -I think- he's expecting for tonight)
• Buy ice
• Pick up platters
• Get kids fed, bathed, story-ed and bedded really early without Fixit cottoning on
• Convince Fixit to wear one of his new birthday shirts
  

And I think that's it. Phew. The rest I can do when people start knocking at the door. That's the surprise element, that coincidentally a whole heap of his friends and family will be rocking up to wish him many happy returns. No hiding behind the couch in the dark required. See? Definitely low-rent. Meanwhile here's hoping that no-one's blabbed to Fixit. (He shaved this morning, do you think that's suspicious?) I am also hoping that people actually remember to turn up and also that there is enough beer for the male contingent and that none of them stay too late (school night) or disturb the sleeping children. That's not too much to hope, right?

I'm definitely crazy and insane bat-woman. But he is worth it.