Un-parties and The Plots Against Me

There are many reasons that living out in the middle of nowhere can be amazing. For instance, this past weekend Jeff and I left the kids with their grandma while we went riding around in tiny neighboring towns and as we drove through a little farming valley I was struck by how absolutely beautiful everything was. It was like a scene from a movie or a postcard. It was sunk down in a valley, with tree-filled mountains rising on each side, the leaves had begun to turn, the rail fencing lined peaceful rolling pastures that housed old red barns, the road curved lazily as giant oaks leaned over the street, sigh, it was so soothing to see and this is everywhere up here, a picturesque scene in our backyard.

However, I couldn't find any place in a twenty mile radius that sold party hats.

:::

Jamie's party was last night, held too late, with too few people and the only ones actually there during the whole lit candle singing part didn't actually SING, except for Jeff and I. Which was . . . awkward to say the least. It made me wish we had just stayed home, but oh well it was only next door and I would have felt slightly anti-social to have stayed home. Someday I will just accept the fact that I kind of AM anti-social.

I made a cake. It wasn't store-bought-pretty or anything, but it was really good and I just ate some and oh look at that, it's 11:45 at night.

So tempting.

James was good last night, waiting patiently until we finally let him dig into the cake and then he thoughtfully perused the toys that Faith viciously unwrapped for him. He got some firetruck thing that plays a little song that has already embedded itself into my memory and I keep hearing the sing-song tune and of course that's his favorite toy NOT the old-fashioned wooden ones that I tracked down and bought him. Those are already pushed to the side, positioned perhaps deliberately so that I will keep stepping on them and momentarily wishing that I still cursed the way I used to.


THEN today James climbed up on top of a counter, like Spider-Baby, and gleefully threw down my glass pumpkin which shattered into millions of shards on the kitchen floor. I yelled for Faith NOT to come in there (which, so stupid, I should have known that if I hadn't of said anything then she would have stayed happily in her room) so immediately she runs in asking “Why Mommy? What did James do? Why I can't be in here? Why? Why?” and I tried to keep them away as I swept up the tiny pieces and got three splinters of glass in the bottom of my foot. All the while, still not cursing. I deserve some sort of medal.

However, he's really cute. So, that counts for something.