Happy Birthday, Collar!

Today is the Collar's Birthday. He was a Mother's Day baby. Such a good guy.When we came home from church, he did his usual after church nap, but he got to do it in the hammock today. :) When it was time to grill the ribs, he did it and Wiz stayed in the hammock with him, apparently getting lessons on how to look like he's working without actually doing anything.Game Boy made his cake (he likes to bake, and is having a blast doing it at school in Home Ec).

He received some fun (and/or useful) gifts. A bag to carry to work from me (he's also getting a cycling jersey, but even though I ordered it 11 days ago, it's not here),a pair of pigskin gloves for gardening and a mini multi tool (Wiz calls it a spy gadget) from the Wiz,
a set of carpenter's pencils and sharpener from Game Boy, and also from Game Boy, Mr Bacon and Monsieur Tofu, which Game Boy found last November and has wanted to give his dad ever since. (They were sold out at Christmas, so when we found it later, we bought it. He's had it since February!)
I think he had a good day. :)

(P.S. We blew off Mother's Day. It's too complicated to celebrate both, so we'll just have a Mother's Day do later on.)

Still Busy

When it's nice outside, and the boys are in school, and it's the end of the semester, I'm too busy to really blog. This might be good, because then I'm not writing about minutiae. This has been another very busy week.

The Collar has had three funerals since last Saturday, and a fourth is coming up tomorrow. Sunday is the youth Evensong at church, so Game Boy is learning a new song. I've gotten to ride three times this week for about 55 miles this week.

Wednesday (besides being Earth Day) was my 39th birthday. (I don't care who knows.) It was such a nice day--temperatures in the 70's, sunny and beautiful. On top of that, my boys all gave me a great day. Game Boy baked my birthday cake and gave me a gift certificate to the bike shop.

The Wiz bought me a water bottle, which says enjoy the ride and new cycling socks, with a cup of coffee, and a writing on the sole. It makes me smile to know that my socks say things.
The Collar made dinner: grilled steaks, grilled asparagus, fresh steamed broccoli, and baked potatoes. It was so good, and all of us really enjoyed it. For my birthday, he gave me a new jersey and a weather center, because he thought I needed a non-cycling gift. Of course, I'll use that for deciding what to wear when I'm going out or if I can go out. Of course, we'll use it for other decisions.
A really great week and birthday. (Pictures courtesy of Game Boy.)

He's 8!

Today was a big day for the Wiz.
It's his 8th birthday. He went to school, he chose our dinner menu which he helped cook (the menu was pulled pork sandwiches, cole slaw and roasted potatoes).

He also opened presents.
Game Boy gave him a monkey birthday card, quarters to buy monkeys, and a monkey house that he made for the Wiz's monkeys. The Wiz loved it. The Collar gave him a game we played at a friend's house: Apples to Apples, which can be hysterical. He also gave him some smokey pink marbles.I found a jousting game set for the knights that the boys have been collecting and been receiving for years. This was how they ended the evening.

And Now

The Collar is old, too. (My birthday is all of 18 days before his, so he always claims I'm old. Well, now he is too.)

I took the boys shopping for his birthday, to a place that has all kinds of crazy things. The Wiz found a great tin sign for him, from his favorite movie. The picture is untouched. That's a pretty accurate picture of the Wiz.

Game Boy also found an absolutely amazing present for his dad. Can you believe this?A Pigs In Space playset. It came with Miss Piggy, but he'll need to find a Link Hogthrob and a Dr. Strangepork. Isn't it just cool?!?

Earthday/Birthday

I say it's my birthday! The boys say it is too!

The Wiz even made my soccer team sing to me.

It's been a lovely spring day. The sun was out all day. It made it into the upper 70s. Perfect, pretty day. I rode my Dew to the bike shop and bought two pannier baskets. They are big enough to hold a gallon of milk plus more. Then I rode down the street and picked up the Wiz's albuterol. (Cough is better. It must be allergic.) Running errands by bicycle makes me happy: I love my bicycles and it's an environmentally friendly mode of transport. (That's where the Earth Day stuff comes in.)

The Collar made dinner (fajitas!), and a gluten free cake, with cream cheese icing. Game Boy prefers gluten free cake, so it's nice that everyone will eat it with me. He did not put 38 candles on the cake. Instead, he put on sparklers. I'm going to return that favor. The cake was very good. Both of the boys now adore cream cheese icing.

The Wiz has given me a soccer ball, a packet of sunflower seeds (strawberry blond variety) and a purple t-shirt (our soccer team wears purple). Game Boy gave me more cube dudes. I love those silly stick guys. I'm a geek. The Collar gave me an i-Pod Classic, so I can watch tv and listen to podcasts, and do all of these things while I work on the computer. I need to have some noise when I work. He also found, somewhere, a sterling silver necklace. What a guy!

Now, the boys are in bed, and The Collar and I are relaxing. It's a quiet end to a lovely day.

Six!

When I was One, I had just begun.

When I was Two, I was nearly new.

When I was Three, I was hardly Me.

When I was Four, I was not much more.

When I was Five, I was just alive.

But now I am Six, I'm as clever as clever.

So I think I'll be six now for ever and ever.

                                    A.A.Milne