Scary auntie

Packrat's two-year-old twins are known for sticking their fingers into birthday cakes the instant they get the chance, so when his birthday cake was unboxed at lunch today and they were trying to paw their way into it (even as Ondine and other family members tried to restrain them), I unwittingly channelled the deepest teacherly voice I ever mustered in my five-year career and issued a no-nonsense, "Jor---dan." At which point the girl twin retracted her finger and looked up at me with big, big eyes.

Then I dissolved into laughter and said to my mother (who's one of her regular caregivers), "Oh dear, I don't know where that came from."

But hey, the kids kept their fingers out of the cake till Packrat blew out the candles.