Frankie's birthday in England

Getting over jetlag this time around has been a work progress. For some reason, I'm having a hard time getting re-adjusted to England time. Maybe that has something to do with Frankie, who's having a very hard time adjusting to the time change. Last night was the first night that her sleeping schedule was back to normal. The two nights before that, she was up from 11pm to 2 or 3am....WIDE AWAKE.

I'm glad that she was able to get some rest last night, since today we're celebrating her birthday. We have a big party for 20 of her school friends planned at Monkey Madhouse, an indoor playplace in the nearby town of Workington. She's thrilled about it, of course. It makes me happy to see her so excited.

Monkey Madhouse should be loads of fun for Frankie. I'm looking forward to it as well, and am trying to gear myself up for all of the mom chit-chat and socialization. If given the choice I'd prefer to run the party from behind a big screen where no one could see me, Wizard of Oz Style. But, that's not going to happen. Darn you, social conventions!

After the big birthday celebration today, we're getting up super early tomorrow to head for the airport and to our family trip to PARIS. I'm really excited! I haven't honestly done very much planning, and don't have a daily schedule for the trip, which is very unlike me. But I like the idea of just letting the days unfold in Paris. I know I want to see the modern art museum and walk past the Eiffel Tower, but other than that... I just want to be in Paris. I'll be happy sitting in a cafe, sipping coffee and eating pasteries.