Last Friday, we had a little Halloween party for the kiddies. DD had decided to have a party and invited her best mates before I’d even thought about it, so I sort of had to follow through. I got quite excited, did the massive Sainsbo’s shop, cos obviously you have to offer the grown-ups soft and hard drinks as well as getting all the stuff in for the nippers. I filled the house with tealights, fairy lights, pumpkins and various tacky decorations, put on some high heels and a witch’s hat, and chilled the cava. We had a great time, although I still can’t believe how much noise and mess nine small witches, cats, pumpkins, devils, princesses and skeletons can make in the space of two hours…

We made up for it on Saturday by allowing my olds to kidnap their beloved grandchildren and whip them back to the West Country so we could go to a wedding. I was as excited about the prospect of lie-in on Sunday as dressing up in a new frock and spending the day as Grown Ups, obviously.

Most of the other guests had jettisoned the kids as well. The funny thing was, although it was really lovely to totally relax and enjoy myself all day and evening, I did really miss the kiddies. DS would have just been a pain in the arse as he is still very little and rather high maintenance with nap requirements and not really at the running around all day stage yet, but I couldn’t take my eyes off the three gorgeous little bridesmaids. I kept thinking that actually DD would really have enjoyed it. Up to a point, of course – by 8pm she would have been hanging and desperate for bed, and she’s not one for falling asleep on overstuffed sofas under a coat so it could have gone horribly wrong at that point. And there is an awful lot of hanging about between things at a wedding that starts at midday. She would have loved the whole dressing up, party, food, cake, dancing thing, tho. I’m not sure how many more weddings we’ll be invited to in the near future as most of our friends are matched and hatched already, and she’s unlikely to be a bridesmaid as a child. I wondered if we should have taken DD and left DS with his doting grandparents.

Until Sunday morning when, with hangover fully in effect, cuddled up on sofa with tea, choccies and Sky+’d X Factor, when I realised that I couldn’t have had the best of both worlds. It would have been a completely different occasion if I was on mummy duty all day. The times when DH and I get to kick back together are so rare, and however torn I felt about leaving the babies, I can honestly say that I made the most of my 24 hours off.

Still recovering three days later, though. At 36, I think I’m just too old to do an all-dayer with occasional food and dancing for hours to early 90s rave music as we all attempted to re-live our uni days. Even with a lie-in to – whoo! – 8am!