It is definitely very civilised to have a birthday on a Sunday. I think from now on Peter and I should both take leave on each other's birthdays, when they don't fall in the weekend.

On Saturday afternoon a friend popped in unexpectedly with her son. We had a good chat while Lauren and Daniel and her son Alex scooted and rode around the pool. Robyn unfortunately felt rather left out. Not because they were in any way leaving her out, but because she takes it personally when they choose their own activities in favour of her latest convoluted game idea.

Fortunately Robyn's day improved after I suggested she stop hanging around with a sour face and go to her room for a while to decide whether to join in with them, or find something pleasant of her own to do. By the end of the day, with some help, she had re-dug her vegetable patch and planted some new seeds.

After Maria had left, Peter's parents showed up for babysitting. I took a long bath, and we went out and did dinner, adventure golf, book shop, ice-cream and a movie. I came across a book that from a superficial skim seemed ok, Family First: Your Step-by-Step Plan for Creating a Phenomenal Family, but unfortunately written by Dr Phil, whom I consider to be an egotistical powermongerer. I only came across the book by chance, as I was moving towards the psychology section - which is an interest I am thinking of persuing, particularly in relation to children.

The next day, my actual birthday, was really nice, with beautiful weather, and I trampolined for ages with the girls, played an old boardgame with them (from my childhood), and Peter organised a braai, and after eating we sat oustide under the stars while the girls collected bits of wood from around the garden and coaxed the embers back into a blaze, and had fun with marshmallow and marie biscuits, and hot coals and polystirene.