Birthday Palooza

I love birthdays! Seriously. I look forward to them. I count down the days. I just love birthdays. However, the older I get and the less "exciting" the celebration tends to be.

This year was no exception. Mark & I planned to go out to dinner and a movie on Friday night. My parents were scheduled to babysit. However, Mom got sick on Thursday on the way home from a business trip. Sick sick. Fever, vomiting, etc. In fact, the plane had to stop while taxiing to the runway so she could run to the lavatory and puke. Serioulsy. So, needless to say, she wasn't able to babysit on Friday. Saturday I worked. Sunday (the actual birthday), mom was better (no fever, etc), but was weak. So, we went over there for dinner. Dad BBQ'd and Mom made a banana cream pie (my request).

Now back to the story. I received "the usual" calls. Got quite a few facebook Happy Birthday messages. But, I have a few "favorite" memories to discuss.

1. Grandpa's call. He's my last living Grandpa and lives in the boonies in Wyoming. He called and wished me a happy birthday, etc. We chatted a bit and joked around a bit. Then he said (with a chuckle)...."just think of how it feels to have a granddaughter who is middle age"!

2. The kids. Lauren has been taking piano lessons for a few weeks now. She's finally able to play the "white notes" too. So, she, Mark, & Mason composed a song for me while I was at work. Lauren accompanied Mark & Mason's singing, to the tune of "Old McDonald". Here's how it went:

Old McMommy had a birthday,

Boy was she getting old.

She had a birthday by the fire.
Boy was she getting old.

With a grey hair here and a grey hair there

Here a gray, there a grey, everywere a gray hair.

Old McMommy had a birthday.

Boy was she getting old!

3. Jackie's card. The card itself was cute. On the inside, Jackie drew her own illustration. She drew a picture of a hill. At one end was a person. At the other was a grave marker that said "RIP". At the top peak there was a line pointing to it, which said "how is it at the top"?

I may be mistaken, but the average life expectancy (according to the CDC) is 77.8 (and a little higher for women). Just for the record, I am not 38.4 yet! But, nonetheless you funny people....I still don't mind how old I am! But you might want to check back when I hit 40.

Please, no........

For those who don't read Mason's caringbridge updates, I'm going to fill you in a bit.

Friday: Approximately 50 children are absent from Mason's school due to a stomach bug. And, through the grapevine I heard that the Public Health Department was called.

Monday: 77 children + 14 staff are absent from Mason's school due to a stomach bug.

Today: Approximately 30 children are absent from Mason's school due to a stomach bug. A letter is sent home from the principal informing the parents that "there has been an increase in student absences due to norovirus-like illness). Or, the stomach flu. The letter goes on to warn us that if your child has symptoms, to keep them home for 48 hours after symptoms have ended. The other side of the letter is information about Norovirus from the Public Health Department. It explains that the "symptoms often begin suddenly within 12 to 48 hours after exposure". The next section discusses how it is spread (contiminated objects or inhaling the virus when someone vomits); diagnosis; and prevention (wash hands.....).

Tonight we were at Pump-it-up for a birthday party. This was the first birthday party (from a classmate) that Mason has been able to attend. Mason has been talking non-stop about going since yesterday. When we pulled up to the building, the birthday girl and about 4 other classmates came LITERALLY running out of the door to our car to hug Mason (all the while screaming his name). The bouncing was terrific. I think I could've skipped my walk today, as I'm sure I burned more calories just jumping, sliding, and climbing the inflatables.

After bouncing, it was pizza time. There were two tables filled with classmates and their siblings eating pizza and drinking pop. One of Mason's good friends complained of a stomach ache and went to the bathroom with his mom. He came back a few minutes later, looking a little pale, but seeming fine. That is until about 3 minutes later when he vomited!!! AAAAHHHHHH.

When the kids and I got home I made them strip down in the laundry room (since I had to run around the house, I just took off the sweats and coat). Their clothes were immediately put in the washing machine and each was given a thorough bath/shower. Once they were in bed I scrubbed their shoes with Lysol (yes, even the soles). I tossed my clothes into the wash and took a shower too. Now, I'm just praying we all survive and do not end up with this awful bug. But....as I've told Meghan, if Mason gets it, he'll probably end up at Children's needing IV hydration, so she'd have to watch Lauren. :-)

Love

Apparantly Mason has a girlfriend. Or, at least that's what he told me yesterday and again today.

He was invited to another classmate's birthday party at an inflatable bounce place. The whole class was invited (as has been the case all year - but we haven't been able to attend any yet due to scheduling conflicts, illness, etc). When I picked him up from school yesterday, he informed me that he was going to Mika's birthday party and was going to bounce all over. He was quite excited. Next, he told me Mika was his girlfriend. I chuckled and asked him if a few other girls in his class were his girlfriend. He said 'no, Mika is my girlfriend'. I kept chuckling and let him know that yes, he was going to her party.

Yesterday afternoon Lauren, Mason, & I went shopping for the gift. We went to Michael's since I had a coupon and knew they had some good craft-type gifts. As we're walking through, Mason is explaining to Lauren that he has to get a gift for his girlfriend's birthday party. He finds a few things and says, "oh, my girlfriend would like that". We settled on a wooden paint-your-own little jewelry box/vanity thing. It's cute.

As we're walking to the front of the store passing the fake flowers, Mason grabs my arm. "Mom, stop. My girlfriend would love a beautiful flower. See...". Both Lauren and I continue to wink at each other and just go along with Mason. "Mom, my girlfriend would love a rose". It was hilarious. But, we settled on the box/vanity thing.

This morning I wasn't greeted with a hello or good morning, like usual. I was greeted with "Oh, mom, it's my girlfriend's birthday party today after school". He was literally bouncing around the house ecstatic for the party.