My birthday

For my birthday Mike did a wonderful thing. He took all of us to dinner at PF Changs. He was sure it would cause us to have to take a second mortgage on the house but it really wasn't that bad. We went to this same PF Changs five years ago on my birthday and the kids have never let us forget they didn't get to go. So this time the kids and dad got to go with us. Dad coming with us was a huge deal to me because my dad doesn't usually go out to eat at restaurants.

When we got home there was a mint chocolate cake and peppermint icecream. The icecream comes out this time of year and my mom use to tell me that it came out for my birthday. Not sure why I believed that as a child but it was a good story.

The kids all made me presents and had great notes with the gifts. The best gift was having them all go to dinner and the looks on their faces when I opened what they so carefully wrapped either in Christmas paper or construction paper. We recently got a king size bed so my big present was a new comforter set. If anyone knows me matching is HUGE for me. Plus I've had my eye on this set for a while. It looks great in our room and adds the right colors to the mocha walls. This has got to be one of the best birthdays ever. Thanks to all the friends that remembered and to my family for making it such a special day!

Do we get a punch card?

We had quite a Thursday last week. Reid and Laura had their very first band concert on Thursday and things were all set for everyone to go and watch Reid with his clarinet and Laura with the french horn. Dinner was a frozen lasagna that the kids popped in the oven when they got home from school. I pulled up in enough time to pick up Reid and Laura and get them dropped off at the school. As I pulled into the garage I ran back to the suburban started it so it could warm up. Yelled into the house, "LETS GO". About that time David said you need to go help dad. I said WHY? I had only been gone about 4 minutes and he wasn't home yet when I was their earlier. Then he said, look at the kitchen floor. When I did there was blood all over. I saw a knife and a loaf of french bread. Sure that was the culprit. As I got upstairs, Mike was in the kids bathroom running cold water and trying to bandage his finger. There was blood all over. He was bleeding through the bandage. He kept saying that he was going to be fine, we needed to get to the concert. With all that blood we were going to the emergency room. David, Krystal and Haley got the camera and were told to be nice and take good pictures. Of course Reid and Laura had no idea why we weren't there. But the other kids smiled (as instructed) and took pictures. We will buy the DVD.

When we got to the ER it was the same nurse that helped us with Haley earlier in the year. It is our families third visit to the ER this year not including my moms visit in November. Mike asked if we could get a punch card or frequent flier miles? They asked where the tip of his finger was. We figured that the dog may have eaten it??? They couldn't stitch his finger but they bandaged it really well and told him not to get it wet for 24-28 hours. Mike was walking around with his #1 all weekend. It is amazing how quick they take you back to see a DR when you have blood coming through a towel! The culprit wasn't the knife and loaf of bread. Mike was putting a bowl back in the cabinet and hit the edge. He was worried I'd be upset that one of the bowls broke and didn't realize he was hurt for a few seconds.

Reid and Laura didn't believe the kids when they said that Dad was in the ER. So when the kids sent a text message that the concert was over Mike stayed in the ER while I went to pick the kids up. Our normal tradition is to go and get ice cream after school performances. So David, Krystal and Haley got dropped off at home and Reid and Laura got to go back to the ER. We ended up stopping at the grocery store getting some drumsticks home for everyone and calling it a day!

We are grateful that my sister Jill could come and sit with mom while we were in chaos mode. The kids also all stepped up and did a great job without us around. That was a wonderful surprise. ( if you read the blog back in September they had a lot of fine while Mike and I were in California).