Happy birthday to my very own Apatosaurus —

The gentlest of giants!

I love you, Lee!

John

Today is my son's birthday.  He's 31 years old today.  He's living in Virginia these days, and he's doing well.  I'm as proud of him as a mother could be . . .

But he's not here with me.  I miss him so much!  Happy birthday, Johnny!

No words . . .

I woke up my son this morning to kiss him good bye.  Christmas break is over and he was going to drive back to school today.

I came home tonight, after a long day at work and found this waiting for me at the kitchen table . . .

“To Mom,  A little bit of color to fight the grey.  Happy birthday!  Love, John”

John gave me the pretty pitcher for Christmas.  Today he filled it with flowers because he was leaving and wouldn't be able to be here for my birthday, and because he knows that winters are very tough for me.

I read the note and burst into tears.  Then I spied my husband texting John:  “She cried.”  I guess they had a bet going.

My heart is so full.  Sometimes, there just aren't any words . . .

Birthday Boy in Los Cabos

Today my son, David, turns 20.  What an interesting and appealing man he's turning out to be - Kind, generous, thoughtful, stubborn (don't know how he comes by this), enigmatic, independent, hard-working, fearless, peace-seeking, handsome, quick-witted, smart, loving . . . I know that as his mother, I'm perhaps a tiny bit biased, but just a little . . .  He does have faults, but today I can't think of any, not when my heart is so full of love for this child, this miraculous gift from God . . .  Let me tell you, the day David was born, God was smiling down on me . . . He sent me the perfect child to teach me what it means to be human, and what it means to know God.

Happy birthday, David!

Happy Mother's Day!

This photo of my mother and me was taken on my first birthday.  It's such a sweet picture, symbolic of a time when love was simple for the two of us.

My mother was a beautiful woman, and a strong one.  She suffered from rheumatoid arthritis for the last thirteen years of her life, eventually succumbing to the disease at the age of 58. We butted heads a lot in my teens and twenties, and I regret that we didn't have the opportunity to develop a more tempered relationship as adults.   I can now look back and see how courageous her daily battles with her illness were, and how much effort it took to just get through her day. 

Today, a memory came to mind of my mom, with her gnarled, swollen fingers, struggling to put my hair up in curlers so I would look nice for my first orchestra concert in high school, and of me, a bratty teenager, asking her to do one over because it wasn't laying just right . . . definitely not one of my finer moments.

If she were here today, I'd say to her:  “Mom, I have kids now.”  “I understand so much!”

Happy Mother's Day, Mom!  Thank you for all the sacrifices you made for me.  I love you!

More birthday fun . . .

I could get so spoiled coming in to work every day and finding roses like these sitting on my desk . . .

Yup.  Cubicle life is made a little more tolerable with some beautiful flowers . . . and it's so nice to be remembered . . .

53!

Happy birthday, Lee!

Today was my husband's birthday. The hardest working guy I know spent the day putzing around the house and painting the bathroom door . . .

And then, like a little kid, he hovered around the kitchen until his cupcakes were done . . .

Happy birthday, darling!

Family, food and birthday brownies!

We had a birthday luncheon today for my son, John, who turned 21 last week. My brother and his family came over to spend a little time with him before he goes back to school tonight. So we had a little food . . . O.K. we had a lot of food - including enough potato salad to feed a small army . . .

Some family stories and photos were shared . . .

There's my nephew, Kevin, sporting his newly acquired sling for a torn ligament . . .

And birthday brownies! John doesn't like cake, poor thing, so I baked him some brownies instead.

The "21" flag was a last minute inspiration carried out with a little help from Visio and a wooden skewer.

The lovely dessert stand was a Christmas present from my friend, Julie, and has elevated this homey dessert to new heights . . . (hee, hee, hee!)

See those rabbits on the shelf in the background? I've moved them all over the house trying to keep them out of camera shot until it gets closer to Easter, but the darn rabbits won't stay hidden! Today, I think they just couldn't resist the veggies . . .

Happy birthday, John!

Today my son, John, turned 21. This was a typical Saturday for us, filled with errands and chores. It was lovely just the same, just because he was here with us. He came home last night on Spring break and filled our home with his usual boundless energy. We went to dinner and stopped at Baskin Robbin on the way home to pick up some of his favorite ice cream - mint chocolate chip. Happy Birthday, Johnny!

His new easel has temporarily found a home in our Family Room, and is displaying his latest self-portrait. I'm told that self-portraits are the bread and butter of budding artists because they are the most accessible of subjects.

David's exercise ball has apparently also taken up residence in our Family Room. I must be mellowing because I don't seem to mind it as much any more . . .

Happy birthday, Scott and Colin!

We spent the day yesterday at the home of my brother, Al, and his wife, Kathy, seen below with her father, Phil . . .

My son, David, came, too . . .

Scott, the oldest of Al and Kathy's three sons, and Colin, the youngest, have always shared celebrations because their birthdays fall just a few days apart . . .

They are such hams . . .

I love these birthday parties when three generations of family get together. Here's Kathy's brother, Dan, and his wife, Kelly . . .

Al and Kathy are very laid back, and their house has always been the hangout for all their kids' friends. Below, my nephew Kevin and his friend, Shawn, watch me prepare a Greek salad . . . Actually, I think Kevin was just keeping a close eye on the Kalamata olives . . .

I love the openness of Al and Kathy's kitchen, where you can cook while the party swirls around you . . .

Greek salad . . . olives, tomatoes, red onions, cucumbers, lettuce, feta cheese . . .

The birthday boys with their auntie . . .

Staring contest between David and Jake-the-dog . . .

My nephew, Kevin . . .

Colin and his friend, Jenii . . .

Beautiful cupcakes by Jenii! I'm going to have to try making these . . .

We've gone to these parties every year ever since the boys were born. It's been a privilege, and a true pleasure, to play a small role in their lives and watch them grow up!

My pink birthday card and some feng shui help . . .

I usually prefer an uncluttered refrigerator door, but I couldn't resist putting up the card that my boys got me for my birthday.

 

And then, my son John said I needed a feng shui cure in the "Fame" section of my cubicle at work. Apparently, I needed to introduce more red into the area. Now, I have a bling-y red sign that proclaims how fabulous I am, just in case anyone had any doubt . . .

It's so nice to have a feng shui expert in the family . . .

Father's Day

This photo was taken on Father's Day 1993. We went to church, and then to breakfast at The Paddle Wheel, a local Greek diner where we knew we could take the boys and no one would frown on the crumbs left in our wake. They also served pretty good pancakes. Now they weren't Daddy's pancakes, but he deserved a break on this day.

"To her the name of father was another name for love."

— Fanny Fern

Lee defines patience

In this picture, Lee and the boys are watching TV after an exhausting day. John's 4th birthday party had been celebrated on this day, but seconds before the party started, David tripped, hit the edge of a wall, and began to bleed profusely from a gash in his forehead. While guests were arriving through the front door, Lee was rushing out through the back door to take David to the Emergency Room. My friend, Isabel (David's godmother) went with Lee. David ended up with four stitches.

At home, when I explained the situation to the moms dropping off their kids, they decided to stay and help, and pretty much took over the party, thank goodness, because I was a basket case.

At the end of the day, we were all exhausted. So the boys seeked a familiar comfort, they crawled into their daddy's lap, watched a Winnie-the-Pooh tape, and soothed themselves. And Daddy reached for his endless reserve of patience to hold them both for as long as they needed it.

“Spring - An experience in immortality” —Henry David Thoreau

That's not the only thing that makes me feel immortal.

Red frosting on white shoes

David christened his first birthday cake by stepping in the red frosting with his beautiful, white, Spanish leather booties. It was a heart-stopping moment, until we realized it was really pretty funny. Thankfully, the shoes didn't stain, the cake wasn't ruined, and we ended up with a pretty good story to pass on to David later on.

The Dinosaur Birthday

John was full of dinosaur facts right around his fifth birthday. It was dinosaur this, and dinosaur that. Naturally, his birthday had to have a dinosaur theme.

Piñata time. This was a Cuban piñata: Instead of hitting it with a stick, you pull strings attached to the base; a little safer for little ones. This particular piñata was sent from Florida by friends who knew I was having trouble finding a dinosaur piñata in Chicago (I now see them everywhere). It was then that I decided to learn how to make my own piñatas, and did so a couple of times.