They Ain't What They Used To Be

Birthdays, I mean.

Take, for example, Jay's 45th birthday which was this past weekend. Did he spend it eating at a fancy restaurant, or taking in an opera? Drinking fine wine, hanging out with his good friends or even being waited on by his family? Well, not exactly.

Instead, here's how it went down:

His wife (me, of course) was laid up in bed with the final stages of pneumonia. I did manage to let him sleep in and make him some coffee, but then basically spent the rest of the day in bed. (Sorry, honey, I'll make it up to you!) He is such an amazing man that he actually spent his day not only taking care of the bulk of the children, but also upgrading the irrigation system in my vegetable garden. Yep, he's a keeper!

The next day we enjoyed a nice visit with his mom after mass but then came home to discover that our 17 year old cat Stanley was dead. So, Jay set right to work digging a grave while the kids tearily decorated a box for him to be buried in. Naturally, this did not all go smoothly. Jay hit a sprinkler line when he was digging and had to run to Lowes for an emergency sprinkler repair. Thank goodness, he is quite talented in this area and was able to fix it fairly quickly. But, still, not really how you want to spend your birthday weekend, repairing a sprinkler line you broke while digging a grave for your cat.

By this time it is 4:30 pm and Jay has to leave for his Bingo shift (the Knights of Columbus offers Catholic school tuition assistance to dads who work their Bingo games). But the cat is still not buried. So, we gather quickly for a funeral, say some nice things about our cat, take turns throwing dirt on his grave, and then Jay races out of the driveway for Bingo. Everyone there understands why he is 15 minutes late, but Jay HATES to be late. For anything. (I don't have that gene.)

Did he have any time for himself? No. Did he get to exercise, as he likes to do every day to keep job stress at bay? No. Did I treat him like the king I think he deserves to be on his birthday? No.

Did he ever complain, even once? No. Act a little bit grumpy about the circumstances? Never. He is a better person than I, that's for sure. I have a sneaking suspicion that everyone would have known about it if I had spend my birthday weekend like he spent his.

Happy birthday, Jay. Now that I am feeling better I am planning to take you out to dinner...after I find a babysitter of course! :-)

Wish I Were Him

How come adults never get to go on field trips like this one? Thanks to my friend Julie who took these beautiful pictures so I could experience Tony's field trip to Uncle Andy's Donut Shop from my command post in bed (and thanks to grandma for taking him).

Illness By the Numbers

Number of days I have had a fever: 7
Number most commonly seen on the thermometer: 101.3
Number of medications I am now taking: 6
Number of times I have been to the doctor: 2
Number of diagnoses I have received: 2 (pneumonia and mastitis)
Number of grandmas working themselves to the bone to cover for me in my downtime: 2
Number of children who seem to notice that I am ill: 0
Number of times I cough in one hour: too high to tally
Number of naps I will take today: at least 3
Number of pounds I have lost: 5 (see, there is always a silver lining!)
Number of shots received in the behind: 1 (ouch!)
Number of blessings in my life: too numerous to count (so none of this is really all that bad, is it?)

Perceptive Little Fellow

I am sick. Fever, cough, general yuckiness. Not enough to kill me, just enough to annoy me.

When Jay finished working this afternoon he encouraged me to climb in bed and stay. He didn't have to ask me twice! Twenty minutes later, Tony assessed the situation and gleefully declared, "The whole house is a playground and we can eat whatever we want!"

Yep, Daddy is in charge.

Happy (Belated) Birthday Isabella

I don't know where the time goes. It seems like we were just celebrating Isabella's birthday in the snow and here I am two weeks late in posting the photo!

As you all know, I live by "better late than never", so here we go...

Happy 2nd birthday, Isabella. I can't believe it has only been two years since you were born, because it feels like you have been a part of our family forever--I can't remember what things were like without you!

This is because you add so much energy and love (and, of course, noise!) to our family. You are smart, confident and determined, yet so sweet, kind and loving. I like to joke that if you had been my first child you would have been my only child, because watching you takes a lot of commitment. But honestly, I wouldn't change a single thing about you. I love your sense of adventure, your vehemence, your absolute sense of self. You are a complete, unique, wonderful person in a tiny little package. I can't wait to see what you become. Watch out, world!

I love you intensely. Happy birthday!