A Party and a Little Productivity

Last Saturday we postponed Henry's birthday party because of the snow. I guess we could've had the party anyway, since the snow was pretty much melted by the afternoon. Oh, well. We had the party this morning, instead. I got a late start on planning the party last week, so I didn't bother with invitations, but just invited Henry's friends via email or the phone. I didn't really pay attention to the actual number of kids coming until I started making treat bags. Not all the kids could make it, but the ones that did made it a real fun party for Henry. There were eleven kids running all over the place, but I thought it was fun. They mostly played in Henry's room, but I got them organized long enough for them to play pin the tail on the donkey. Our neighbors came with their son, which was nice because Ben and I got to have some grown-up conversation with them, and they were a big help with lunch, passing out food and drinks. At the table the kids improvised the Happy Birthday song. I thought it was cute.



After the kids got all sugared up and sent home to their parents, another of our neighbors came over and helped us take care of that fallen tree. I stood in awe while he hopped right up into the beech tree and fearlessly climbed up to the branch that needed to be cut. Ben got out the ladder and climbed up to pass him the chainsaw. Pretty soon the dead tree was down and chopped up enough so that Ben and I could put the fence back up. Now all we've got to do is get the rest of the tree chopped up and moved.

Now I feel completely justified in being a lazy slob for the rest of the weekend.

Happy Birthday, Henry!

On Being Happy

A few days ago while I was hefting a huge plastic storage bin downstairs, my foot slipped. Luckily I was near the bottom and only fell down a few steps and landed on my butt, where I've plenty of naturally grown, organic padding to keep me from busting a hip. I did scrape some skin off my pinky finger, though. Ben was right behind me on the stairs and witnessed the whole embarrassing fiasco. And he didn't laugh.

Bless you, Ben.

Yesterday while I was out to procure party stuff for Henry's birthday, I decided to get a haircut. Later on when Ben and Henry got home I did one of those obvious look-at-me hair flip things. Ben just rolled his eyes. Henry hadn't a clue, so I asked him if he noticed anything different about me. He was not getting it at all.

"Do you notice anything different about Mommy today?"

"Umm? You're happy?"

Good thing I started laughing at the same time as Ben or I'd have to smack him one (Ben, not Henry).

Even after I pointed out the haircut that Henry still didn't quite notice. I guess he might notice if I shaved my head or dyed it blue. It was kind of interesting that he failed to notice my change of hairdo when just the other day he asked me if I remembered when the microwave used to be on the other side of the kitchen sink. I think I moved the microwave a couple of years ago.

And yes, I'm always happy, people! Every single day!

The Monday before last Henry had another teacher work day, so we hopped in the car and went to visit Maggie. It was a nice sunny day, and Henry asked questions and chatted with me the entire hour and a half drive. At Maggie's he entertained Wesley, and between the both of them it took less than five minutes to collapse a tent and randomly distribute all the toys in Wesley's room throughout the house. For lunch we went to visit Mom at work. Since she works at a doctor's office, Maggie took the opportunity to tease Henry and told him he was going to get a shot, but he called her on it, reminding her that I told him last year that he didn't have to get any more shots for a long time. We went out to eat and then went back to Maggie's where Henry and Wesley recommenced play/destruction of the tent. Meanwhile, Maggie and I perused Netflix movies looking for something that we could both agree on watching. That went on for about an hour or so. It reminded me very much about trips to Blockbuster back in the day, wandering the store for an hour while we tried to find something to rent. Now we can waste time looking in the comfort of home, although we were at the time wedged together in a single arm chair because she couldn't get the wireless to work on her laptop and had it plugged into her internet thingy with a five foot cord. Dad came over after a little while and we showed him some free dogs on Craigslist. Then Henry and I had to leave so we could get home in time for dinner. The drive back was a lot quieter because Henry fell asleep. I could see him in the rear-view mirror, his head slumped over onto his shoulder, so peaceful. While we were crossing the bridge over Jordan Lake it was right at that golden time before sunset and I saw myriads of white birds circling out over the blue water. It was beautiful but I let Henry sleep through it.

This past Friday a winter storm came through, snow first, followed by sleet. Everything was white in the morning and Henry was very excited. After breakfast we all went out for a walk through the lightly falling sleet to the "dragon" park. Ben took some nice photos on the way.


The greenway, not so green:


A tree psyched out by the warm weather before the snow:



And a little fun:



After the snow it actually decided to stay cold for a change. All the secondary roads stayed covered in compacted sleet. That meant Henry got to miss three days of school this week. This morning the schools were open again, but on a one hour delay. You better believe I was excited to get Henry on the bus.

There was another teacher workday scheduled for next Monday, but because of the snow all the kids have to go in and make up their missed day. Oh, well. It'll be a while before Henry and I get to play again on a weekday.