The other day Sela cornered me.

"Why didn't you call me Alice?" she inquired.

"Well," I blustered, "We liked the name Sela. Don't you?

"I looooove Alice!" she informed me.

"When you have a little girl maybe you can call her Alice," I suggested.

"Mummy, I am not going to have a baby for five years and I want to use the name Alice now."

With this road block, I tried the tested and true for so many years method of smoothing the unanswerable waters….DIVERSION.

"Odila's daughter is called Alice."

"She must be so very happy."

"Er, yes, I believe she is." I responded weakly.

Finally there was nothing to do but to apologise.

"I'm sorry, I didn't call you Alice," I managed.

"That's all right mummy, I forgive you."

It was brother Graeme who commented that Sela's name phonetically backwards is Alice. Hm.

On Friday Sela asked if I would call her Alice. Carys got in the game and asked if I could call her Serafina.

"What's this?"

"Serafina. Sela said the name to me and I weally like it."

So off and on I have been referring to the girls by their new names. Thankfully/not thankfully, depending on the mood, Alice and Serafina don't have new personalities.

Today, we decided to whittle the day away at the Boat Club. Damien, Harrison and Ellie joined us there as did Meg and her girls, Olivia, Amy and Zoe. We took a long time eating, and at one point when I was showing off the new pedicure I got at Happy Foot the other day, Meg commented that her girls were desperate to go to Happy Feet.

"So let's go!" Someone suggested.

And we made a reservation at Happy Foot for 6pm. 13 people.

Considering they were surrounded by their peers, the kids were quite good. Seb was wayyy more giggly than he was last time, but all in all, he was fine. He and Amy are sleeping at Ursula's tonight….Ha ha Ha! Sela was really good and besides the fact that every time a chair shifted Carys would sit upright and demand, "Did someone fart?" she was good too. Charles was downstairs in another room with Jasper, Zoe, Harrison, Olivia and Damien.

It was a great afternoon and on the way home, Carys reminded me that her name is now Serafina.

"And I can call you Teresa," she announced. "It is a beautiful and happy name."

"Because mummy is beautiful and happy?" Inquired Jasper who was desperate to curry favour so I would let him watch TV.

"No, because her feet are now happy and her girl's names are beautiful!" announced Serafina, and skipped away on her freshly massaged feet.