Once upon a Birthday

I don't get everything right in my parenting endeavors.  In fact, there are days when I don't get much right in any of my endeavors.  It's part of the reason I'm keeping a public journal.  I figure that someday, when they are in therapy, the kids can take my blog books to their doctors and say "See?  It really did happen this way.  I'm not making this stuff up."  And their therapists will thank me for keeping such meticulous records and possibly even offer a discount because I have made their jobs (of blaming the mother for everything) so much easier.

Sometimes, though, I do get it right.  Those times simply must be documented.  Publicly, if possible.  We celebrated a birthday last week.  I  schemed up a surprise with Christie and I actually kept the secret until the moment the surprise was unveiled.  (I know, right?  I've grown so much, at times I astound even myself.)  Following are the details with a few pictures.

Friday morning the kids piled into the van as though they were headed to school.  (This was the point where keeping the secret was particularly hard.  I couldn't use it as leverage to get them to hurry up.)  An hour and a half into our drive to "school," Creed looked out the window in confusion and I heard him say to Jack "I don't think this is the right way to go to school," thus sealing his future as the world's most perceptive Private Eye.

An hour and a half after that, we arrived at our destination: The Independence Center Mall.  Creed was thrilled.  He would have been pleased as punch to play on their double decker carousel and then head straight home.  Then he saw the real surprise.  

Chase is Creed's Brother From Another Mother, and Christie was allowing us to take him home for the entire weekend.  Not only that, but she took Stella and Jack home with her to give Chase and Creed some time together without siblings.  This, in my book, is a sign of true friendship and solidarity (pounding of chest, raising of fist.)  The kids were in heaven.

Among other things they:

had milkshakes dumped on their heads

dumped milkshakes on the waiter's head

scaled a few walls

and attacked unsuspecting grown-ups with nerf guns.

The weekend was over way too soon, and we are so excited for the next time we see our cousins.  Creed's exact words were, "This weekend was awesome.  The best weekend of my life."  Take that, you mama blaming therapists!

(Of course, Christie may have to send Chase's future therapist to my blog when he suddenly develops a seemingly irrational fear of ice cream.)