LuLu's Birthday, pt 2

                              

What? You thought one party was enough?

Nope, we had the family event tonight at the house.

 

Present were my father and the oldest of my two sisters, my mother-in-law and Lisa's step-dad, my wife's Aunt, and the six of us.

Again, it was on to presents. This was from Lisa's Aunt:

From my family Hannah Montana sheets, a chalk rake, and a Hannah Montana guitar

Lisa's Mom gave Lu a fun gift. Packed inside a box inside a bag inside wrapping paper inside more bags was a wooden box with ten brand new John Quincy Adams dollar coins. She got a kick out of unwrapping it all.

It was a casual but enjoyable party. Towards the end disaster struck. LuLu got upset with her brother and tossed down the ear microphone for the Hannah Montana guitar. It promptly broke off, but it shouldn't have. I doubt a glass would have broken with the same four inch fall in the laundry room. I scolded her even so for her ridiculous tantrum, but tried and failed to exchange it with her at Target - dang their firm gift receipt policies!

Surprisingly, she offered no screaming or crying fit when Target sent us on our way, which was unexpected but appreciated.

So, my girl is 5 years old. Yikes. Time sure does fly.

Love you Lu!

Happy 5th Birthday LuLu!

      

Just about the time I'm writing this, at 9:59 pm on June 4th, 2003, my LuLu was born. At 9 pounds 5 oz she was the biggest of my kids at birth but the easiest and most peaceful of all the births.

This past Saturday we held a party for her and her friends in the Princess-themed  room of a local hotel.

Because it was supposed to be a girls-only party and I'd succeeded in dumping the two little one's off at Grandma's, I was looking forward to an ill-deserved night alone at home. Alas, Lisa's Mom aka the scheduled helper, hurt her ankle and so I was pressed into duty.

At first - well, throughout the party - the girls were fascinated with the carriage in the room.

But eventually we split them up for activities. One group did 'pin the crown on the Princess'

and YaYa led another in playing the 'Pretty Pretty Princess' board game. I would later take over leading the game and everyone had fun.

Then we sat down to make our own Princess wands.

 

Then it was time to sing happy birthdayand enjoy the cupcakes.

And then - presents!

We bought LuLue a purse, pants, a book, a Hannah Montana t-shirt

We also bought a horse set, complete with pony, both of whom actually eat the food that comes with them,  and changing clothes for them both. Originally $30 at Target, Lis picked it up for just over $7 on clearance.

YaYa got her a little teddy bear  wearing a Happy Birthday hat and some glitter socks, all in a purse-like carrier. LuLu really seemed to like it.

There were many other presents, many of which I won't list here. Rest assured, she loved them all.

After that, as the party wound down, each girl took a photograph with Belle.

Everyone went home with a purse Lisa had personalized.

The girls were pretty tired.

But after all the classmates left phase 2 began. My girls, their two cousins, and Chris' kids stayed the night with Lisa.

I stuck around while they went swimming. Initially I kept YaYa out of the pool because she'd been very naughty, just over the top jealous of her sister. After making her sit with me and watch the others swim for 10 or 15 mintues I let her in the water.

[she impressed me at the pool: From a standing position she can lauch herself forward and complete a full front somersault before hitting the water. Where the heck did she learn that?]

I went out and bought dinner (Pizza Pizza! aka Little Ceasars at Lu's request) and an ice cream cake.

After that I returned homeand Lis slugged it out solo for the rest of the night.

I think it was a great party, and I think the girls thought so too.

Happy Birthday LuLu!

Like 'The Mist', only instead of fog and aliens it's sunny and there's a guy with a gun outside

I won't keep you long tonight. But a quick anecdote worth remembering.

I was on my way to LuLu's  Birthday party with two of my nieces in tow when Lisa asked if I could stop and pick up some last-minute party items from the Dollar Tree. No problem, since it was on the way and features a healthy hardcover book selection.

While I was standing in the book aisle a Mexican guy ran right into me. Normally I'll shrug off an accidental bump or nudge but this was so noticeable I reacted without even thinking.

"What the hell are you doing!?" I said.

"Gun!," he replied. "There's a black guy outside with a gun. He loco [here he twirled his finger against his temple]. He already knock out some windows. Run. Police coming."

Oh for Pete's sake. I was hoping he was full of crap but a quick look to the front of the store showed people running in the parking lot. Inside the store the staff locked the front door and prevented customers from walking outside.

Grand.

I called Lisa.

"Yeah, I'm going to be a little late for the party. There's a guy outside the dollar store with a gun." I said.

"What!? Are you kidding me?" she said.

"No, I'm serious. We're fine but we're stuck inside."

"Did you call the police?" she said a little frantically.

"I didn't think of that. I figured I'd call you first and see how the party was going. Yeah, of course the police are on the way," I said a bit testily.

"Ok, just stay inside. Call me and let me know you're ok," she said.

"Will do. But listen, not to sound like a [bleep] or anything, but the hell with the shopping list. If I see the chance, I'm running for the car," I said.

"Of course! Of course!"

Well, this just sucks, I thought. I'm going to be late for my kids party, I'm responsible for the lives of two children that aren't my own, and the store had zero new books worth reading.

I took the girls into a nook in the back where the restrooms are located .They're rinky dink one toilet affairs with homemade 'out of order' signs permanently taped to the doors.  I pulled the 12 year old aside.

"Ok, listen up. If this guy gets into the store I want you to take your sister, go into the restroom, and lock the door. Don't come out until the police or I get you," I said, "Understand?"

"Yes," she said very solemnly.

"Good. Now in the meantime find me a yellow tablecloth and a princess tiara," I said.

There's not much of an ending to this tale, thank God. A few minutes later the cops came and he gave up peacefully, explaining that he'd acted out because he was mad at his parents.

[What an excuse. As I told my Dad later in the day "Big wup. I've mad at you and Mom for 30 years and you don't see me shooting up the dollar store."]

Now I know the guy who bumped into me was telling the truth. After all this we waited in line to buy the tablecloth and tiara, and the store manager told us the guy had knocked out one of their windows and one in the grocery store next door. I saw all the cops in the parking lot, and I overheard one of them as they interviewed the manager.

But . . ..

Granted, when we got out the door (cops or no cops) we sprinted for the car, but I'm danged if I can remember seeing the broken windows - and we're talking the usual, super-size business windows.

Anyway, pretty much a non-story. In the next few days: my nephew's graduation, LuLu's party, Lost's season finale, and reviews of a Robert B Parker book, Salem's Lot, and Flakes.

'Til then :)

Tags: blogplugs

Four minutes of baby footage. Hey, at least it's more interesting than watching The View

For those of you who read the previous post in the first few hours after I wrote it, take note of a correction: Lump is not 27# but 17#, a glaring typo that made my nine month old sound like a hungry hungry hippo.

* * *

My sister commented the other day about a video I had made of Lump crawling. That was odd, considering I'd told no one about it and had only uploaded it to Youtube the night before. Apparently my every move is followed by my adoring fans. That, or my family is creepy nosy. :).

A word about the video, which was taken May 16th. Yes, both Lump and Smiley are in their diapers (or in Smiley's case a pull-up). Lisa objected to this saying that I never seem to show the baby in actual clothes, leaving the impression we live in the sticks and make moonshine for a living. I have no idea why the baby was sans clothes, so you've got me there, but I'd just given Smiley a bath and he should have been busy getting his PJ's on.  As you'll see he had other ideas.

Aside from the fact that I want to gag every time I hear my voice on tape, I sound a little exasperated at Smiley. I don't remember why, other than the PJ thing, and for all I know I'm hearing something that wasn't there in the first place.

Gadzooks, I like to over-analyze everything, don't I? Geesh.  On with the show!

 

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Just a family update

I won't waste time apologizing for not posting in a week, as I'm betting for some of you it was a welcome break. I will however offer some explanation:

A) I've just been busy as heck with work. I've said I seem to accomplish more now  in four hours than I used to in twelve under the old owners. I'm only half-kidding. It's amazing what you can get done when you aren't handcuffed by a budget the size of a pimple. I'm enjoying working under the new regime, although some of that might be a honeymoon glow that will wear off in time.

B) I haven't had any time to read anything. For instance, I just now finished 'Salem's Lot, which I've been plugging away at for weeks. With book reading down to a crawl there's been no time to visit other blogs. The guilt of failing to meet the tit-for-tat expectations of blogdom has slowed my desire to post.

C) I've actually been working on my fiction, which is a nifty change of pace.

D) Life, in general, has been hectic.

Ok, brief updates:

1. Me: still employed, still devilishly handsome. I kicked caffeine cold turkey four or five days ago, suffered through one day of exhaustion, and emerged with essentially the same energy level as always. The reason for the change?  I was downing two or three 20 oz. Diet Pepsi Max's a day, along with some standard diet soda, and I was getting a bit jumpy.

2. Lisa: still married to a devilishly handsome man. In high gear to prepare for LuLu's upcoming birthday party and YaYa's dance recital.

3. YaYa: 50 pounds at her last checkup and healthy. However, the doc did announce that she was constipated and prescribed a mild fiber supplement. Despite YaYa's best efforts to convince us that this was a malady worth mounds of sympathy and special attention, we've basically told her to be quiet and start pooping. :)

Last Friday I took a call at work from her school announcing that she had tripped and hit her face against the corner of a desk. No stitches, but a heck of a shiner and a small but glaring gash running horizontally across her left eye. Even now, nearly a week later it's still black and blue.

So guess what? Tuesday was 1st grade's turn to 'host' Mass, and during the homily on the Good Samaritan the priest said "And just last week one of our first graders - I won't say who because I don't want to embarrass them - fell when practicing for Mass and hurt her eye. And you know what? All the people who stopped and helped her? They were Good Samaritans too."

 You should've seen the grin on the kid - she loved the attention from her peers that gave her!

3. LuLu - 40# and healthy. Having some trouble with lower case letters at school but easily passed the 'entrance exam' for K5 next year.

4. Smiley - more and more often he goes #1 on the potty (standing up in front of it actually, which impressed me) and sometimes even #2. Just sometimes mind you.

Sadly, we've given up our long awaited placement at a great Montessori school for the fall and stuck with his special ed class for another year. He still barely talks, but he's shown some improvement. His non-verbal communication has greatly expanded in recent weeks.

5. Baby aka Lump - Lump being a nickname her Mom is trying to make stick. Just fine and dandy, sleeping through the night and a solid 17#. Of late she refuses all attempts to be spoon fed, preferring finger food and/or to slobber food in with her own hands.

I hope to post again tomorrow. Until then, have a good one.