Birthday!

Well Soldier's birthday went off without a hitch, but it very nearly didn't.

It is a tradition in our house that the birthday boy or girl gets to choose what they want for dinner and what cake to have afterwards. Soldier decided on lasagne and a chocolate cake of some description, he wasn't fussy.

After okaying a menu of bruschetta, lasagne and salad and chocolate butterscotch cake with him I sat down to write a shopping list.

Yesterday morning I set off to the shops with my list and what I thought was plenty of time to get everything. My plan was to bake the cake and ice it, assemble the lasagne and bruschetta and have it all ready in the fridge when he came home from work. I wanted to greet him with a beer and some bruschetta when he came home from work, and just pop the lasagne in the oven and all would be well. You know what they say about best laid plans don't you!

I get to the small shopping centre that is about a ten minute walk from home, with both kids in the pram, to find a rather large group of people milling around out the front, the fire alarms ringing and the firies in attendance. Seems there was something wrong with the airconditoner at the supermarket that was setting the alarms off.

I waited ten minutes, until the firies gave the all clear and followed the mob into the centre. I went about the business of filling up a basket and no sooner had I put my stuff on the conveyor belt, the fire alarms went off again! This happened again at the butcher and again at the grocer! So a little trip to the supermarket that should have taken about an hour, took about three.

Then I get home and discover that I had forgot to get the butter that I needed for the cake. So out we trot again.

Because of all of this, The Boy hadn't had enough sleep and when we get home again from the shop it was about four and he had a major meltdown. By this time Soldier was home and I hadn't even started any of his birthday dinner.

He was put in charge of The Boy, and I got started. I am very happy to report that everything got made and was on the table by 6.30, and it was the best lasagne I have ever made. The cake tasted great, pity the same can't be said for how it looked.

Maybe next year I will go shopping the day before!