Sister #5 and I thought we’d embark on the most epic of festive quests. The perfect gingerbread house. In our heads, or at least mine, we were going to make at least 6 or so between last week and the C day. As it currently stands, or more correctly, lays in a heap, under an upturned plastic bowl on the kitchen counter it remains uneaten. Don’t underestimate its deliciousness but plying a sweet biscuit with royal icing and then sticking more sweets to it doesn’t make for easy eating. At least not gorging.

So there may be one more attempt at one of these monstrosities before the big man arrives.

I’m not actually going to give you the recipe because we butchered it but the original one is here. This is more a cautionary glance at my potentially diabetic future. Hopefully I’ll have some slightly less manic looking dwelling soon.

Oh. Before I show you I must moan about planning again. The date for a decision got pushed back AGAIN. by five weeks. That’s pretty much this year gone so. Feckers.

In other news; My back disintegrated. The sorest it’s ever been. I finally decided to see someone. I’d seen a physio a few weeks ago and he’d suggested that I stopped lifting children. Tricky. So against all my instincts I went to see an osteopath. I do my best to avoid ‘paths generally. I don’t trust them; homeopaths, psychopaths, etc. In any case it was a truly bizarre hour spent small talking to a New Zealander as he violently massaged my flanks before body slamming me to the most terrifying, full length spinal crack. Only to turn me over and do the same on the other side. Whatever the mad man did I feel deadly.

Finally, I went for a hot chocolate with my littlest son. Just the two of us. It was perfect. Two chivalrous gentleman rushed to open the doors of the cafe to get my pram in without me asking. The lady behind the counter asked if it would be easier for me to order first and she’d follow me up with our order. We got a window seat. The waitress was coo-y. Baby boy was an angel eating the head off his gingerbread man. Half an hour of being a very content mother.

Anyway behold, here stands our first attempt in the Gingerbread House Series.