Happy 39th Birthday, Mom!
We started out her special day with
breakfast at the Inn so that Michael could join us for at least a bit of the
celebration; we had fun with that; and then we hit the road for Crystal Springs
– with ‘we’ being Mom, Ethan, Ehlana, and me.
I drove, but that wasn’t for any reason other than because Mom had the
day off from any work; and she doesn’t need to do all of the driving anymore
now that I can help out now and then too.
Our day in the city was just the start of
her birthday adventure, but Ethan, Ehlana, and I were only with her for the
shopping and lunch; and then we dropped her off with Dad after he was done
work. We had a short visit with him too;
and then left Mom and Dad behind so that they could have a kid-free
weekend. I won’t be writing about that
tonight – or any other night; since I really don’t need to know most of the
details for what they’ll be doing between now and when they get home on Sunday.
Before I move on, though; let’s add in some
of the shopping and lunch details.
First up for that – Happy St. Patrick’s
Day!
That isn’t something I usually even think
about in connection with Mom’s birthday, and to be honest; the only reason I’m
mentioning it today is because we had Shamrock Shakes with our fast food
lunch. I know that in some places that
would be a bit crazy, but St. Patrick’s Day just isn’t a huge occasion in our
little town; and Mom’s birthday has always been more important to me.
I do like the shakes, though; so maybe we’ll
have to do trips to the city more often around mid-March again in the
future. ;^)
Moving along, we shopped at our usual mall
all morning; took our lunch to go and went to a nearby park because the
temperature climbed into the low seventies today; and we played there for an
hour or so too before heading downtown for some boutique store shopping that
included picking out an awesome new dress and shoes for Mom to wear sometime
this weekend. It was convenient that
some of her gifts today included gift cards; they helped to cover some of her purchases;
and then she bought a few extra things for herself – along with a bit of
shopping for Ethan and Ehlana. Yes, I
picked up a few things too; but paid for them myself. Mom would have bought my new clothes too, but
I do have two part-time jobs; and don’t exactly spend much money at home – even
when I’m buying treats for the twins and their besties when we go for snack
breaks to the Emporium or elsewhere.
Dad was done work fairly early today, and
since we were downtown already; it didn’t take long to meet up with him outside
of the courthouse. We had to walk from
there to get the minivan out of the parking lot we’d used; and then we went
over to the hotel to drop Mom and Dad off there – after spending a bit of extra
time with Dad before doing that – and leaving them there while Ethan, Ehlana,
and I headed home. We could have stayed
for dinner, but the twins and I did get to spend the entire day with Mom; so it
only seemed fair to us that Dad should get to wine and dine her tonight without
kids around to mess that up for them.
They totally did not buy my excuse about not driving at night for my
first big trip alone with the twins, but it’s an excuse that we got away with
anyway – possibly because our parents are happy about getting to have two days
with no kids!
I’ll leave that thought right there and
move on. We picked up more fast food on
our way out of town – including some treats for Aunt Leanne, Zack, and Brianna. I had us home by six-thirty; we dropped off
the food and drinks; and then we walked over to the new section of town to pick
up Naomi and Aiden. They’re spending the
night here; and are also chaperones for Michael, Tim, Rowen, and me. We’re going to have a movie night in the
lounge that will be starting soon, but I’m doing this update now because we’ll
likely be up too late – and Michael and I are still booked for the breakfast
shift at the Inn in the morning.
Our sleepover plans aren’t happening
because the parents are away – or at least not in the way you might be
thinking. Rowen and Tim are going to
babysit in the morning while Michael and I are working; they’ll come to the Inn
to have breakfast with all four kids; and then I’ll take over again once I’m
done my morning shift. I’m going to have
other help with Ethan and Ehlana the rest of the weekend when I need to be
working; and will take care of them the rest of the time. Yes, most teens will think I’m nuts to do
that instead of getting aunts, uncles, or friends to take the twins tonight and
tomorrow night, but we’re going to have fun; and Michael and I wouldn’t get
parental approval for sleepovers at all if we were going to be here all weekend
on our own.
That, by the way, isn’t a trust issue – it’s
all about perception and life in a small town.
It’s one thing to get teased about sofa sleepovers and something else
entirely to get the wrong kind of reputation when that sort of thing can linger
on to haunt you for years or even decades.
Anyway, I have to get going and do the set
up for snacks and drinks in the lounge now.
Rowen and Tim will be here soon; and Michael should be here by nine –
unless something happens and the Inn and he gets stuck there until close. I’ll start the next update with the rest of
the news from this evening and our sleepover, but that’s all I have for
tonight; so, until next time...
...May the Magi Force be with you!
