Birthday gift

What do you want for your birthday?" he ask me "Do you want like a real gift?"

"I'd rather put the money you'd spend on a gift towards an apple tree this year." I reply

"I'd buy you an orchard." He whispers

My birthday has been wonderful despite the fact that my husband is in Houston this week, I have all three children with me, two of which have colds and one who has a case of the crankies and I started a new job this week.

My husband sent me surprise tulips which are beautiful. I love getting flowers and while I enjoy the ridiculous roses I get on Valentines day it's even more wonderful to get a lovely bouquet of tulips, an often overlooked flower in my opinion.

My mother in law came to Aurora, picked up my son from day care, cleaned my kitchen and cooked dinner. Oh and brought me a cake. It's pink and purple with edible pearls. Lizzie is lusting over the book marks that came on it.

And at my new job (HR Employee Connect Representative for CH2MHill) the trainer brought in purple mums and a balloon while my new co-workers all signed a card wishing me a happy birthday and welcoming me to the team. It was honestly the best welcome I could get.

I don't dread birthdays. I don't pretend to be a year or 4 older. I guess either I'm not that old or I just don't care. My 30th birthday was my best birthday ever but each year it seems my life just gets better and better. I think more people are actually like that than we care to admit but for some reason society, especially for women, tells us we must dread the wisdom and experience that each successive birthday brings.

Phooey on that I say.

Here is to another amazing year. I bet this one will be the best one yet.

Third child

"I think your son just ate something. Well he put it in his mouth anyways."

I look at him under the play structure bridge. I look around him and assess the possibilities.

"Hmm. Well, whatever it was, it probably won't kill him. Right?" I ask her.

"Probably not." She says to me.

I shrug and for a split second wonder if she's judging me. Then I decide I don't care.

Later on Will wanders over to her "side" of the playground. Her little boy is standing by the stroller digging goldfish out of a giant silver bag. In my son's mind I can hear him think "I didn't think this day could get any better and then it DID!" He loves goldfish. Especially other peoples. I lazily job over to intercede in the theft of goldfish but when I get there she says to me "He's welcome to them."

I smile and thank her and point out that we have some over on our "side". I offer her kids, via her, some juice drinks. She thanks me and lets me know she has some too.

Two moms, smiling, bonding at the park over stolen goldfish and children eating debris.

"Is he your second?" she asks looking around at the other children. I can tell she's trying to figure out if any others are mine.

"My third."

She grins "That explains it."

I'm not sure if she means the eating of strange objects or the stolen goldfish. I know it's because I'm far too relaxed about either to really care though.

"The leaves, I hear, are a good source of fiber." I say.

"My boys have been eating them for years" she replies.

Some days I really love the park.

Do you know where your 'maters are?

What's that? Snow on the ground? Temperature is below freezing? Bah! It's spring if I ever felt it! So you know what that means right?

It's time for your FAVORITE annual series, Lacy's Vegetablepalooza!

This year I've toned down my excitement and am eagerly awaiting my raised beds, hopefully going in at the end of the month. *fingers crossed* That means that this year I have honed my focus and know what I want to grow instead of just haphazardly planting whatever I felt like.

Since a lot of my later season plans for canning involve tomatoes it only made sense to try and grow them. To that end today I planted 6 Amish Paste tomatoes, 1 cherry tomato, 1 plain old eating tomato and a pea plant. Just for funzies.


Hopefully in the next 2 weeks I'll have some sprouts. Then I'll be on my way to tomato sauce BABY!

Rent

After many grueling weeks, nay, months we FINALLY got to see Kylie perform in the her school musical.

This year the school put on RENT! which deals with topics such as homelessness and AIDS/HIV. To be sure, in the high school version there are still gay and bi-sexual people but honestly the way it's dealt with is more of a background to the problems faced at the foreground of the play.

That said, we had a FABULOUS Angel and Tom Collins. Truly class act performers.

Kylie was chorus which of course isn't a big role but she definitely acted well and sang well and I think for her it certainly felt good to be a part of the group.

My in laws Leslie and Rex came with us and Brian and Sommer were there as well. There were three performances but of course everyone really came on Saturday which was the last performance of the show. Very moving, I cried.

If you look at the left hand corner you'll see someone in an orange sweater, gray hat and coat. That's Ky.

I am so proud of her. She isn't afraid to try something new, to open herself up to criticism and to perform in front of people. Those are all wonderful qualities.

Good job Cuckoo. Momma loves you.

A boy and his car

Everyday I am confronted with the fact that boys are different than girls. Not just in the usual ways but in the energy level and utter disregard for safety. Or his life. I struggle to navigate which parts are "boys are different than girls" and his own personality traits.

This week, since I've been home due to losing my job (Yes, I lost it and I don't have another one and it's depressing and I don't want to talk about it just yet.) I've gotten to see more and more of the daredevil, high energy boy.

Thursday he was just unhappy. All day he was an unhappy little guy, nothing I did was right. He wanted up then he wanted down then he wanted a bottle then he didn't want a bottle, etc.

Friday I decided that maybe he was too cooped up and to let him run free might help his mood. Boy did it.

When he first saw the car he got excited but didn't really "get it". He thought, like most things with wheels, he should just push it around.


Then he discovered the door. With a little help from Momma.



Soon enough he was inside and living the joy of everyman and his first car.




Even the yucky stuff. I gave up trying to divert his attention from the fact that there was a little water, dirt and old leaves in the back area because it seemed like the more I tried to refocus him the more enamored of the dirty he became.

Besides, I find that children tend to wash off pretty easy.

Will quickly found his inner driver and I'm afraid at one point he was channeling a New York City cabbie.


But there is no mistaking the joy he had in driving his first car. Even if it was his sisters hand me down.