 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Our
Journey:
Journey:
Avalon's Army of Angels
| November 1, 2009 Birthday catch-up |
It's birthday central here! Today is the normal day we would have celebrated Aurora's
birthday. Usually, she gets the day to herself, but today - she was very generous and shared
her celebration with Anam. You see, Anam's real birthday was Oct 13 - the day of Avalon's
LP. His party was planned for that weekend, but as you all know, Avalon and I were locked
away in the hospital then. We also spent the following weekend in the hospital, so no party
then either. With this being the first available day, we decided to jump on it, and finally 'let'
Little Man turn 3! He's been quite patient about it.
Usually birthdays are big stuff at our house. We go all out for themes, and Aurora has
become quite the decorating diva over the past few years. But for this particular swaree...mom
dropped the ball. In fact, the ball is so dropped...it's flat, has whopping holes in it, and is
beyond hope. Da daa daa dummmm......Aurora to the rescue!
Not only was Aurora willing to share her day, she provided the party decorations too. Since
we missed so much of high Halloween season at home, we decided to leave up the
decorations for Aurora and Anam's party. I headed out this morning for party grocery
shopping, to pick up a few party things, and to buy some presents for Anam. After I hit and
ran at Krogers, I retrieved Aurora from her friend's house. She came with me to Factory Card
Outlet and Toys R Us. Poor kiddo, not only did she give up birthday rights, she was forced to
come along as I shopped for her brother. Seriously, how much more can I insult her?
All together, this was one odd party. The house is Halloween central with lights and
decorations everywhere. Instead of cakes, I got two of the new 'cupcake cakes' - where they
put cupcakes close together, then ice them like one large cake. Because it was the day after
Halloween, I got two HUGE cupcake-cakes for a mere $6.49 each. Yeeha! Of course, those
prices were because they were Halloween cakes, but given the decorations, a Frankenstein
cake and a large ghost seemed to fit.
Then again, Anam had requested a Thomas the Tank train birthday. Hmmm...$6.49 for the
cake trumped quadruple that for a small custom cake, and we didn't have time to undecorate
and redecorate train style...so we had to settle. At Factory Card Outlet we found a large
Thomas balloon to go with the Thomas plates and napkins we found at Toys R Us. We also
went slightly bonzo in the Thomas aisle, and Anam is the proud new owner of train cars that
carry a removable dinosaur, clucking chickens, and roaring lions. He needs a new train holder
now, but he's happy as a clam.
Aurora found Spongebob plates and napkins at Toys R Us and a SB cup and goth princess
tiara at Factory Card Outlet. She talked me out of a costume jewelry necklace and some
stickers too. Truthfully, she could have nearly asked for anything, mommy guilt is riding an
all-time high today. I hate that on this, her 15th birthday, we're in no better financial shape
than we were way back when. I wanted to give her the moon...but she had to settle for a small
stereo to plug her Ipod into (which she earned in a contest at school!) and a promise of money
to add to other birthday money for something she's saving for. I'm so tired of this. My wildest
dream would be to run out and buy the camera she wants. She's so talented, she deserves a
chance to really showcase what she can do.
For today though, it was a Halloween/Thomas/Spongebob kind of day. Anam squealed and
Aurora obligingly took a backseat to the bouncy 3 year old. We made huge sandwiches and
dipped things in 3 different kinds of hummus. We ate cheesy popcorn and stuffed ourselves
with fancy cupcakes and ice cream. We laughed, took pictures, and appreciated one of the
last few days together for a while. We all know what's on the horizon...but for today, we chose
to forget it and move on with great joy. For today, we celebrated the days I met my oldest and
my youngest children. We celebrated two of the four most perfect days in my life.
Decorations/cakes/presents be damned. Today, I looked at my babies and marveled how one
unremarkable mom could possibly be so very, very blessed....
birthday. Usually, she gets the day to herself, but today - she was very generous and shared
her celebration with Anam. You see, Anam's real birthday was Oct 13 - the day of Avalon's
LP. His party was planned for that weekend, but as you all know, Avalon and I were locked
away in the hospital then. We also spent the following weekend in the hospital, so no party
then either. With this being the first available day, we decided to jump on it, and finally 'let'
Little Man turn 3! He's been quite patient about it.
Usually birthdays are big stuff at our house. We go all out for themes, and Aurora has
become quite the decorating diva over the past few years. But for this particular swaree...mom
dropped the ball. In fact, the ball is so dropped...it's flat, has whopping holes in it, and is
beyond hope. Da daa daa dummmm......Aurora to the rescue!
Not only was Aurora willing to share her day, she provided the party decorations too. Since
we missed so much of high Halloween season at home, we decided to leave up the
decorations for Aurora and Anam's party. I headed out this morning for party grocery
shopping, to pick up a few party things, and to buy some presents for Anam. After I hit and
ran at Krogers, I retrieved Aurora from her friend's house. She came with me to Factory Card
Outlet and Toys R Us. Poor kiddo, not only did she give up birthday rights, she was forced to
come along as I shopped for her brother. Seriously, how much more can I insult her?
All together, this was one odd party. The house is Halloween central with lights and
decorations everywhere. Instead of cakes, I got two of the new 'cupcake cakes' - where they
put cupcakes close together, then ice them like one large cake. Because it was the day after
Halloween, I got two HUGE cupcake-cakes for a mere $6.49 each. Yeeha! Of course, those
prices were because they were Halloween cakes, but given the decorations, a Frankenstein
cake and a large ghost seemed to fit.
Then again, Anam had requested a Thomas the Tank train birthday. Hmmm...$6.49 for the
cake trumped quadruple that for a small custom cake, and we didn't have time to undecorate
and redecorate train style...so we had to settle. At Factory Card Outlet we found a large
Thomas balloon to go with the Thomas plates and napkins we found at Toys R Us. We also
went slightly bonzo in the Thomas aisle, and Anam is the proud new owner of train cars that
carry a removable dinosaur, clucking chickens, and roaring lions. He needs a new train holder
now, but he's happy as a clam.
Aurora found Spongebob plates and napkins at Toys R Us and a SB cup and goth princess
tiara at Factory Card Outlet. She talked me out of a costume jewelry necklace and some
stickers too. Truthfully, she could have nearly asked for anything, mommy guilt is riding an
all-time high today. I hate that on this, her 15th birthday, we're in no better financial shape
than we were way back when. I wanted to give her the moon...but she had to settle for a small
stereo to plug her Ipod into (which she earned in a contest at school!) and a promise of money
to add to other birthday money for something she's saving for. I'm so tired of this. My wildest
dream would be to run out and buy the camera she wants. She's so talented, she deserves a
chance to really showcase what she can do.
For today though, it was a Halloween/Thomas/Spongebob kind of day. Anam squealed and
Aurora obligingly took a backseat to the bouncy 3 year old. We made huge sandwiches and
dipped things in 3 different kinds of hummus. We ate cheesy popcorn and stuffed ourselves
with fancy cupcakes and ice cream. We laughed, took pictures, and appreciated one of the
last few days together for a while. We all know what's on the horizon...but for today, we chose
to forget it and move on with great joy. For today, we celebrated the days I met my oldest and
my youngest children. We celebrated two of the four most perfect days in my life.
Decorations/cakes/presents be damned. Today, I looked at my babies and marveled how one
unremarkable mom could possibly be so very, very blessed....