My Birthday

No doubt about it, as we age, our birthdays become less and less exciting, and the day becomes more and more dreaded - unless you are a 5-year-old and your mom's birthday serves as an excellent opportunity for you to eat cake that is. Seriously, you would have thought it was Claire's birthday with how excited she was. The entire day she was planning my "surprise" party, which would include party plates, napkins, party favors, party hats (Disney's Cars, no less), cake, and candles. It also had to include a moment when everyone would turn off the lights, hide under the kitchen table and yell "surprise!" when I walked into the room. All of these "secret" plans were shared with me throughout the day, and I even learned that I was to go to my room and shut the door until the "surprise" party was ready.

At the "surprise" party. Don't I look "surprised"? I practiced my "surprised" face while waiting in my bedroom. Claire and Ben were under the table, waiting for me to come into the room.

Modeling our Mater party hats.

This picture cracks me up. I look like I'm afraid the cake is going to eat us, but really I was just trying to wrangle two kids who both wanted to be the one to blow out the candles. Despite my efforts, we ended up relighting the candles after the first go around, so that Ben could blow them out on his own. He felt he got gypped the first time.

I think Claire needs to add party planner to her list of potential future careers. It will fit nicely with the other possibilities under consideration: landscaper, dentist, pilot, and Ben's teacher.