Another Lucas-ism

We went out last night for dinner and ordered a bottle of wine. The waitress opened it and poured Dean a sip then waited for his approval before pouring my glass (I'm sure that's just a formality - anybody really ever send back wine?). Lucas was with us (he selected the 2009 Dr. Pepper.)

Tonight at dinner (at home, thank you) Lucas asks me, "Mom, is there a food that Dad likes but you don't?" I had to think awhile but finally came up with olives. He says, "Then what if somebody gave you both olives, but you don't like them. So why does the waiter wait to see if Dad likes the wine, but you don't get to taste it? What if YOU didn't like it? It's not fair."

Go boy - stand up against sexism! Finding inequalities where I've never seen them before! Who would've thought of that at 7 years old? (Of course, when you're raised with parents who only drink beer and liquor at dinner it doesn't really come up, trust me. My phone will ring with my mother on it in 5, 4, 3, 2, wait for it...)

Can't Help Falling...

So if you've been in the archives or are a regular reader, you may remember a trip in New York City...yes, IN, not TO, as in I fall down go boom in a fancy hotel lobby. Well I took another trip this morning at the beach. I was coming down the stairs barefooted and that left foot just flew right off that step - luckily I fell backwards instead of forwards or this could've been tragic.

As it was, it was quite comedic - Chevy Chase couldn't have done better. Drew was sitting at the table and turned around as the thudding started then went on for quite a while. To his credit, he didn't smile or laugh until I started, but first asked if I was okay. Then when the hysterical laughing began (I always laugh hysterically after I fall unless strangers are watching), he asked incredulously, "Are you LAUGHING?" Once he realized 911 was not necessary, he described how funny I looked bouncing down each step rapidly on my bum. (I was wondering why it took 5 steps to stop when you've got an elbow, wrist, and iliac bone applying the brakes.)

Then the hysterical laughter threatened to turn into sobbing, but that would confuse the children, so I nipped that in the bud. Now I'm the proud owner of a black and purple stripe in the nether-regions as well as a greenish-blue swollen hematoma from wrist to elbow. (When that one darkens up I may post a picture!)

The Birthday PartyThat Almost Wasn't

My brother had a birthday party on July 4th, one time, which is his actual birthday, but for some reason it was thought to be a great idea to do the party that day too. I remember sitting on the front porch with him waiting for guests, then realizing after about 30 minutes that no one was coming. I then went and sat with him on the back porch while he cried. (Luckily his 18th birthday party went much better - look out now!)

That almost happened to us with Lucas's birthday. Sunday, August 2nd, is a bad day for a party when school starts 2 weeks later. Most people were out of town. But can I say that out of 14 invitations we got 6 RSVP's? Less than half the people responded, s'il vous plait! So on the way to the party we had one confirmed guest! That is why there is no one in the pictures except my children.

Now we did end up with 4 actual guests, plus 2 siblings, so luckily there were people besides his parents to sing Happy Birthday to him. But you can see how big the place is, and we only used one tiny section of a table. Plus look how homemade Patrick looks. This is the first time I've actually been embarrassed by my homemade cake. (It's a cookie cake - squeeze a tube of dough onto a pan and spread it out with your hands. You're done.) I did have to sketch Patrick then cut out a stencil to use with the edible spray paint, but it just looks pitiful. Dean actually complimented it and said it looked great (he told this to Lucas), despite declaring my art skills on the level of a 5th grader earlier.

So take a note - summer birthday parties SUCK. On the bright side, he doesn't have many thank-you notes to write!