Madagascar 3 Madness

So on Tuesday my niece Miss M rings me.

"Aunty Kylie," she sweetly intones in that very cute way of hers, "next holiday, can we have a sleepover?"  In the background you can hear Miss G piping up "Me too, me too!"  Well, as it transpires, no, we can't have a sleepover next holiday - cos next holiday starts next weekend and they are going camping with the rest of my family to Bonnydoon (no, not really - but I can't pronounce where they're going so we've all just been calling it, "Bonnydoon") - and anyway, I'm going on a school trip to Cambodia.

But that doesn't mean we can't have a sleepover this weekend - and all that this entails.  Basically, a sleepover at Aunty Kylie's involves the following: junk food, junk food, and more junk food.  Lots of Barbie movies on the TV.  Maybe a trip to the movies or at the very least, the local park.  Drawing, playing with dolls, laughing at the cuckoo clock, occasionally a spot of cooking - but always, junk food and lots of fun.  Oh, and its an unwritten rule that whatever the sleepover guest wants (i.e. Miss M or Miss G), they get.  But I learned last time not to take the guest shopping for the junk food - no, that results in way more junk food than we (a) want or (b) need.  So I did that bit, a couple of days ago.

Anyway, I get the phone call that Miss M and Miss G are ready to go, so we meet at Chermside.  Madagascar 3 is on, so we decided to go see that.  Two very excited little girls jumping up and down at my side as we queue for tickets, then finally, we are in the cinema.  Munching happily on twisties and drinking barbie / dora drinks, I think, can it get any better than this?  Then the movie starts, and I realise that this was probably the worst choice of film to take them to.  Plot?  What plot?  Well, to be fair, there was a plot - but it was, in my opinion, way above the understanding of Miss 5 and Miss 3.  Hence the PG rating, I guess.

It was all too much for Miss G, who promptly starts demanding her 'blanky'.   Well, at least that's what I think she wants - when she says it, it sounds like she's saying 'manky', so I usually do a double take.  Only problem is that manky is in the boot of the car, and in order for us to get it, we'd have to all leave the cinema - its not like I can leave Miss 5 alone in the movies to go get a manky from the car.  The news of this prompts more tears however.

Fortunately, the tiredness and sugar crash from the party they'd attended earlier kicked in, and Miss G nodded off.  Miss M stuck the movie out to the end.  We had to wake Miss G who was deep out of it as we left - and then who promptly wanted to go to the paid bouncing castle next to the cinema.  Oh well, it'll kill a bit of time - off we went.

They played quite nicely there, even played with the other children and built several forts, the purpose of which always was to knock down afterwards.  Soon enough it was time to go.

Back at the ranch, and immediately it was Barbie movies on the box.  Barbie Nutcracker being the favoured one.    Then Barbie Rapunzel.  Then we lost attention span with Barbie and wanted to do some drawing - which at the moment consists of asking Aunty Kylie to draw something which she is then supposed to display on her wall.  There is a reason Aunty Kylie is a music teacher and not a teacher of Art!

Dinner - no one wants it - then more Barbie - then Miss G drops the iPad on her foot, cutting her toes - and the night went downhill from there.  Didn't want a bandaid.  Didn't want me to wipe off the blood. Wanted to go home.  Didn't want to go home.  Wanted Mummy.  More tears.  Finally we call Mummy and then Miss G says she wants to stay for the 'leep over'.  Ok, great.

But at 9.30 it was a totally different matter.  No one was sleeping.  One of the airbeds had sprung a leak and deflated.  Miss G wants to go home - really - and there are tears with this.  But Mummy isn't answering the phone (she's at a movie herself), and the only way to get Miss G to calm down is to tell her that Mummy is on her way (liar! liar!).

Finally Miss G nods off - and Mummy calls - and the decision is made not to pick up Miss G - she'll probably sleep through the night, right?  Wrong.  1am, 2am, 3am, we saw them all.  Each time crying, "want Mummy!"

I swear I have never known tiredness on any level as draining as this.  Miss M enjoyed herself though, sprawled out across my bed so I had nowhere to go.

But you know what?  I'd do it all again - just love those little precious gems...