birthday lunch

It was her idea, and an excellent one. Her dog leaped through the air, attacking Sam in the head, sooo excited to be here.  I picked up food from the deli and my mom came and it was perfect for a birthday on a Monday. 

This is the insane card the kids picked out for her. They were behind me while I looked for a card--I often don't even buy them, just write my own.  They seem like such a rip off, and shoot, I can speak for myself.

Anyway, behind me was this burst of crazy, deep laughter.  Tim, Julia, and Lydia were all laughing their heads off, right out loud in the grocery store.   It was this card.  It's one of those musical ones, only this one--the baby cowboy dances.   His little legs kick around and arms flail.   It was pretty unexpected, and since we were all cracking up, that definitely had to be her card.

Here she is with the cupcakes my mom brought. Funfetti--doesn't get any better than that.

And no problem on the candles.  She's got it.

Oh, it was a truly great Monday.

And this is today. 

Today we got ambitious and cleaned the kids' drawers and closets, tried on clothes, went through the boxes in the basement.

We have p.j. (napping) and b.g. (upstairs playing barbies with the girls right now) here today, so they got dragged through the ordeal also, though they didn't seem to mind.

b.g. is always happy for a trip to the big basement where the legos are, and p.j. just wants to practice standing.

Anyway, a productive day--big pile for the goodwill--I must have eliminated forty pair of socks. Where on earth do they all come from? Why did Julia have over twenty little camisole undershirts? Must have come down the line from older sisters--well that's just too darn many.

Sending home a box for p.j., I held up a wad of tights to show Joe. There were at least five black pair, and five red pair, a few white, and a couple pink, plus a pair with hearts and another with stripes. And that's just the size 2-6x range.

What in the world?

He said, "Well, five girls..."

Yah.

I got rid of half the sweatshirt jackets, and there's a big basket of sheets.

This is a funny story: A co worker of John's used our cabin this summer, and has only two children. I guess the older child went around the cabin counting all the beds and in astonishment asked his parents, "HOW many people LIVE in this family??"

Then he picked out a bed to sleep in. The next night he wanted to choose a different bed, but they said no. (He sure could have. Who cares?)

Anyway, even WE do not need this many sheets.

November is looming and looking fine, and KIRSTEN, your birthday has had me still smiling all day long. I love you so much, Mom