What Comes Before Part B?

Part A!!
Ohhh yeah.

Happy birthday to me. I finally have embraced the (perhaps obnoxious) reality that I love my own birthday. Party! Party!

The festivities kicked off yesterday when one of my favorite friends met us at the park. C's bff's mother surprised me with a birthday picnic. I was so shocked! A nice tablecloth, a fancy delicious cake, snacks, drinks - it was seriously one of the best surprises.

OHMYGOODLORD - It's 5freakingAM and Olive keeps meowing and chirping and scratching at the kids' doors. She's been at it for the last half hour and I now am beginning to suspect SHE is the reason they've been waking up so damn early. GRRRRR. Olive, hell hath no fury like a mother of children awakened too early in the morning. You have been warned, cat.

Oh hey, I like my cats again. Remember how I was so annoyed with them all of the time? Yeah, that's over. At the moment I'm in my favorite seat in the house ("my" armchair) with a cup of coffee on one arm and Max on the other. But, alas, I have to go chase Olive away from Nils' door.

Okay, back to my birthday. Sorry for that not-so-brief interruption. After my surprise birthday picnic yesterday we spent all morning at the park. The weather was perfect and that mom is perfectly content to talk about Everest, and Erik Weihenmayer, It's Sunny, and all things that are fascinating. We have very similar tastes. Then C and I spent the afternoon eating popcorn and reading library books. Eating popcorn and reading library books is a ritual for us. Sometimes I like to ask her if she's going to do that with me forever. Can't you just see the two of us with a bowl of popcorn and some good books through out all phases of life? Yeah, me too.

Chris came home early with proclamations of birthday celebrations and we went to my favorite restaurant (Alicia's). I'm sure they hate us there as we order queso and fajitas for one... but we tip really well to make up for it, go at like 5, and really - fajitas for one is a ton of food. If you are going to serve enough food for four people then don't be surprised when four people order it.

Oh! AND - Chris cut our cubbies to fit into our entryway!!! Remember how I brought home kindergarten cubbies from my parents' house? They're in! Woo! They are so so so awesome. All I need to do is get hooks and put each of our names on a spot. I'm giddy with how cool and functional it is.

All of this fun and it wasn't even my birthday yet! Today: coffee, zoo, birthday homemade pizza dinner, cake! Tomorrow: gardening and dinner with c's best friend's fam. Things are looking up (remember that commercial that I always quote from when we lived in VA but it didn't play here?) "Things are looking up!"

Also, awesome side note - I was thinking about my friend Katie and realized that they are our friend family in which EVERYONE is friends. Chris and her hubby are friends. Katie and I are friends. The kids are all friends. How often does THAT happen? Awesome.

Oh, damn it, Olive... again? Really. I take back what I said about liking my cats...
Sigh, we'll at least while I'm up chasing her I can get some more coffee.

Happy birthday to me! Happy birthday to me! I look like a walrus, and I swim in the sea!