Sur-priiiise

It's really difficult to make a surprise anything when you can't remember the surprisee's preferences. It's even more difficult when you have a family who find it very difficult to keep secrets. I am not referring to the 5 and 8 year-old. I am referring to the me-year old.

It was Andrew's birthday today, and my ability to make a surprise breakfast in bed when he expected me to be at work was hampered by:

a). Me blurting out the night before that I had the day off
b). Trying to drop into conversation a question about whether he preferred smoked, or unsmoked bacon (also: should you use salted or unsalted butter in a hollandaise sauce?) without being completely obvious about it.

However, he still enjoyed the Eggs Benedict, even if it wasn't quite the surprise it should have been.

In other news, Josie and Lori had an preliminary audition at the Edinburgh Music School. It was successful, so they are moving on to a full audition in February. Josie was incredibly excited after the audition was finished. She had been a bit unsure about it all until she saw the grand piano she would get to play on, a Steinway. She muttered breathlessly,

"Is this where I would get to play? Oh Mummy, I could get used to this."

Thankfully, it looks like she will at least get a chance to get used to it. The next audition is in front of a bigger audience, but I'm hoping the worst of her nerves will be over. As for Lori, she sails on, blithely unaware of the hilarity that cascades from her mouth at any given moment. She was happy to get through, too.

What a lovely birthday present for Daddy.