How I know I married a super-hero and other points from our day

Yesterday was Nathan's birthday. We had our traditional big breakfast and then he headed off to work. The PLAN was to celebrate with his favorite dinner (cubed steak, broccoli, cheese & rice casserole, and garlic mashed potatoes) when he got home and he would open gifts then. We were going to spend the day readying the house for the big "party" and finalizing his homemade gifts. Well, you have heard the saying "The best laid plans..." right?

I, excitedly, loaded the kids up in the car to go and do their dollar shopping for Daddy at target (a birthday tradition. They can't keep a secret yet, so we do it same-day). I DO leave the house often with all five of mine, so this wasn't new, but I did prepare them with he old ,"what Daddy would really love is to know this was done in peace"-bit to add an extra flare of importance about behaving in the store. We arrived and they were doing fine. We picked up the last item (a Yoda water bottle to match the 20 other Yoda items they had picked out for him) and headed towards check-out. "So far, so good", I thought. Then I had a major mental trip-up and offered to buy them hot chocolate for being so well-behaved. What I was thinking will be a mystery for the ages. I know that I wanted to bless them, but for the record, children ages 7,6,4, & 3 should not be given hot chocolate unless they a re strapped into a water-proof room. That trip went downhill from there and ended in two of the above mentioned hot chocolates being poured out into the parking lot bushes because of disobedience and almost getting hit by a car in that disobedience.

Then I decided that it wasn't bad enough and I still "needed" to go get Nathan's camera from BJ's. (Again, a mystery for the ages as to what I was thinking)Only this time, the kids did fine. It was the "customer service" lady that needed to have her hot chocolate poured out! I simply asked to see a camera ON (GASP!) and she acted like I had just...well...poured out her hot chocolate. I asked for a new worker to help me and this new person got my camera, turned it on, and I bought it. It wasn't until I got home that I realized that someone else had owned this camera and taken 90 pictures of their messy apartment (??). FINALLY, we were headed home. That is when I got THE call.


Nathan had been sent to Charlotte and wouldn't be home until after 8pm. Our kids go to bed, normally, at 7:30 and we normaly eat around 5!! I decided to NOT fret and to just give them a snack and a nap when we got home. Understandably, they didn't want to sleep. They just wriggled around for an hour and probably worked themselves up more than they would have if I had just let them watch TV or play the computer.

So then we just waited, and waited, and waited for Daddy to come home and be "surprised". Even though he knew everything really, they love surprising him, so that is what we call it :). Many times when he called to check in, the wind whipping around him (as he worked on the lift at the top of a building in the freezing wind we had yesterday) would muffle out his voice

completely. He was as exhausted as we were or more. Still, he came home and was excited to see those bouncing off the walls, so-ready-to surprise-daddy-that-they-are-about-to-bust kids. He couldn't hear a word, because they weer squealing so loudly when he finally got home. He was so tired, but he had so much patience with Ella (3) and Cooper(4) especially who refused to eat a bite of their meal for some reason. Ella just crumbled into tears at one point and Nathan just went over and sat on the floor next to her chair while he helped her finish her food, so that she could get cake. It was a long night, but we really did have a good time celebrating, FINALLY.

Nathan loved his YODA cake and I even got a high-five from him for it :), as if I had figured out some sort of guy-code. I don't remember getting into my bed, but I slept very well when I did. I am a little (OK, A LOT) run-down today, but we are taking it REALLY easy.

Praying for no bumps in the road today!!