This has taken a while to write up because I was trying to get that epic Legoland post out of the way first. And if you’ve read that 2000-word monster, you’ll understand how tired we were when, the very next day, we went to church and then on to Big Fish Little Fish at Hackney Wick. And you might just understand how, on the number 30 bus, this happened:
Weirdly, this state of affairs was actually an improvement, given that moments before she’d been making strange noises and saying her tummy hurt. I was cautiously holding the Tupperware of Doom when suddenly I realised that instead of throwing up, she’d bedded down. Ah well, a quick snooze on the way would give her a bit of energy for the disco, right?
Maybe not. We arrived and she was still asleep, having been scooped out of her bus seat by Nathan and carried into the venue. There was a walled-off baby area with a generous amount of seating in it, so the two of them settled in a corner there and she slept on. It was meant for crawlers and babes-in-arms only but she was quite literally in-arms so we were let in.
It’s a pity because, out of all of us, she was the most suitably dressed for the hoedown theme. I’d had to throw some outfits together in a post-Legoland haze and I was quite pleased with this one:
She looks pleased as well, doesn’t she? Roo was in a cowboy-themed pyjama top and Nathan? Nathan’s always ready for a hoedown.
Except for now, when Nathan was stuck in a dark corner with a sleeping girl and a beer and Roo and I were the only ones roaming around the dancefloor. Don’t feel sorry for Nathan though – he was pretty happy having a sit down, a cuddle and a beer. It’s his idea of a good Sunday afternoon.
First stop for Roo and I was the craft table:
The craft activity was butterfly making, but with some randomness from Kids’ Church still buzzing around his head, he decided to make a fishing rod instead. So, the pipe cleaner became a hook, some tissue paper became a worm and some string the fishing line. But what to use as the rod itself? Aha, time for an ice lolly!
Job’s a good un.
BFLF with just one, 7-year-old child is a strangely serene experience. We could do whatever we wanted and not worry about Eva throwing tantrums because her lolly was the wrong shade of pink or it’s melted all over her outfit because she eats so darn slowly. I felt strangely free. Nathan, at this point, was still trapped.
Roo spotted a giant red balloon passing over the crowd and started to chase it. Man, he was a dedicated chaser – knocking over toddlers in his pursuit of the balloon, eyes fixed upwards as he darted through legs to catch hold of it and bat it away again. Sadly, the game was brought to a premature end as it it the ceiling and burst with a spectacular boom.
Yes, Eva still slept through that.
Next, we did a bit more craft. Roo was still thinking off-piste (is he ever on-piste) and this time turned the butterfly template into a nightvision mask. Then he pulled a few moves on the dancefloor:
I’m going to try something new now, which may well die on its arse..but here’s my attempt to capture some of those moves, via the medium of YouTube embedded video. If it doesn’t work, click here for the direct link.
I think he’s trying to do the Coconut Calypso from his Perform class, but it could well be his own invention. Who knows? Waht’s that Roo, you’d like a biscuit? Sure! After all, it’s just the one kid I have to buy for….right?
Uh oh…the kraken awakens. She may have slept through a full-on rave, but the sound of her brother biting into his cowboy cookie half a room away must have pushed her injustice alarm. She was awake, confused and demanding baked goods within moments:
By now, it was darn near time to go home but she still had time to receive her tuptake, do a bit of the parachute dance and then play in the play area for a few minutes. Reuben, meanwhile, was busy adding superheroes to the colouring wall:
I’m sad to say Nathan and Eva probably didn’t get the most out of our BFLF trip but hey, they probably both needed the rest. I was pretty exhausted by the end, so it was lucky that Bob had invited us over and was prepared to feed me tea and crumpets and cook for my kids while I gibbered gently. Still, fun times though! And there will be a next time for poor sleepy girl…
