The Day of Birth

I'm recycling parts of this post from last year since I failed to launch it within that time. I was going to delete these photos and start fresh...but I couldn't bring myself to!

I mean...just look at that face!

These photos are from Ian's 3rd birthday! He requested these chocolate cupcakes two years in a row!

Last year at this time I was very pregnant with Addie, tired, and not sure how I was going to accomplish anything I needed to do. My in laws were kind enough to come over and watch the boys so Eli and I could go out to eat. I didn't expect much for my birthday last year, which often proves to make for a pretty amazing day.

9 lbs. 2 oz. of loveable, squeezable, simply adorable birthday baby

Four years ago on February 28th, I was blessed with the best birthday gift ever. Sharing a birthday with Ian has brought so many unexpected joys. It also gives me the ability to say "I gave my birthday away" when I'm feeling too old. All day long Ian would say "Happy Buffday Mama!" and I'd get to say it right back. 

This year Eli said we could do anything I wanted (apparently within reason) for my birthday. He had to work on the actual day so we went out on the 17th instead. I am so grateful to my in laws for coming over to sit with the kids again. I had no grand plans in mind. We hit some of my favorite stores: Hobby Lobby, a thrift store. I got Addie a bag of cute clothes, including her Easter dress.

All I really wanted to do was eat at the Texas Roadhouse (oh expectations, how you trip me up!) Visions of Cactus Blossoms danced in my head...but when we got there, we found we'd have to wait 65 minutes for a seat. We headed to Applebees instead, where there was only a 20 minute wait. It still took an incredibly long time to get our food, but I enjoyed a delicious margarita while passing the time discussing plans with this guy.

The 28th was more Ian's day. He started it by opening his gifts. Both sets of grandparents visited Tuesday and Wednesday. We baked cupcakes. Ian loves baking so he helped! 

He also loves eating our culinary creations....

We put together Ian's new train table. (I love having kids' birthdays when the stores are still full of Christmas clearance goodies! We saved $60 on the train set!) Ian also got his own set of play food, which was more exciting to him than the train table. We brought Addie's little wooden stove down from her bedroom for him to "cook" on.

The birthday boy here gets to pick his own special meal. Ian chose corndogs. I decided on spaghetti with meat sauce and cheesy garlic bread. Mmmmm.....

I can't believe my baby boy is four years old!

Bees, Birthdays, Bowling, and Breweries

We had an eventful weekend...or Eli did, at the very least.

Saturday morning started out with plans for Eli, Aidan, and Gavin to go mushroom hunting with my Dad. I stayed home with Liam and Ian to catch up on some chores. Most of us are on the tail end of nasty head colds, and our two little guys got it the worst. Ian has returned to his two-nap-a-day schedule. Throw a wrench in that and he becomes a bear.

The big guys returned (mushroomless) and mid-nap for Ian. I had the boys clean up, eat a quick lunch (crescent ring!) and get ready for their cousin's birthday party. Ian slept on.

By 1:30 we were officially late, so Eli decided to take the older three boys to the party at the park. Eli was supposed to leave for his last night of bowling league by 3:00. Ian had just woke from his nap and was being a stinker. It took forever just to get clothes on him. Ever tried to bathe a cat? The struggle was similar.

Ian and I made it to the park just before 3:00. Eli came over and showed me his hand, where he had just been stung by a bee. His hand was slightly swollen with white blotches. Despite bee allergies that his siblings have, he wasn't too worried. He left as planned to bowl, 45 minutes away.

Within an hour of him leaving, he text me these photos:

"Oh my gosh," I replied.

"I'll be fine," he said. "I'll let you know if I have to go to the hospital."

What???

He's a big boy, I told myself, calm down. I headed home with my other four boys and spent some time outside with them, riding bikes in the driveway while I weeded the street-facing wildflower bed along the side of our house. When I finished I had them line up on the deck for haircuts.

They grow up too fast! Aidan looks so much older when his face isn't hidden by his glasses.

I had the little boys in the tub when I asked Aidan to grab my phone for me. I saw I had missed a couple texts from Eli. 

"At hospital but doing fine. Love you mama. Swelling starting to go away."

I called him right away. He said after bowling the first game his lips and hand/arm were swollen, with hives up to his neck, and he was so kindly driven to the emergency room. He said he would be released when they got his heart rate down.  No need for me to head up there, he said, everything was under control. He hoped to be back at the bowling alley to finish up there soon.

What???

Thank God it wasn't worse. Eli's tongue and throat never swelled. If he gets stung again it will probably be worse. By 8:30 he was released from the hospital. He picked up some meds from a 24-hour pharmacy (and will pick up an epi pen this morning), then went out to eat with his bowling buddies. After that they stopped at a local brewery. He made it home without further incident, but lips and hand were still noticeably swollen Sunday morning.

It's so strange the way things work out. The "coincidences" and patterns that are visible in everyday life. Sometimes it's so easy to "see" the unseen Hand guiding and shaping my own life. Just earlier in the day Saturday I had posted a question on social media, asking for suggestions for a great local brewery to visit. Eli's birthday is at the end of the month. I had succeeded in finding a sitter for the day, and I wanted to surprise him with a trip somewhere we had never been before. We never made it to tour the brewery in Colorado on our honeymoon, so one of the local microbreweries seemed like a great idea. I now have a back-up plan for the day, but I have to admit I did not deal with my disappointment well. Whatever we end up doing, it'll be great as long as we're together...and there are no bees.