Orianna's Birthday and the next

Orianna turned 5 on Wednesday. This was a pretty big deal, since 5 is the first milestone she can actually participate in. Turning 1 was pretty much just a lot of noisy fun and cake. She thought she was a pretty big deal as well. She sort of became a birthday monster, telling Ashley what she had to buy her, expecting every phone call to be for her, and telling Lily that it was NOT her birthday. 

Hmm... might need to downplay the  birthday thing next year. 

Lily got a few presents as well--Playmobil! While Orianna scratches her bug bites. 

Native American family with papoose and feathers meets suburban mom with jogging stroller. It was a remarkably lacking in culture shock.

Gilbert thought it was all lovely.

They used their new crocs as boats for the new playmobils. 

Talking to Uncle Tyler

Singing. Her cake was meant to be decorated by Justin, who is much better at that sort of thing. I thought he forgot, and since it was getting late, I wiggled the icing all over. It looks like a brain. Maybe this will be a smart year for Orianna.

How Owen looks when we sing Happy Birthday to him

Her new bike!

And wheelbarrow

One giant step for... Justin.

Olivia off in the weeds taking pictures

Big cloud

Who lets their kid run around in a diaper? Me!

Who should have done their daughters hair differently on her birthday? Me again!

This was a highlight

Our garden. And weeds.

Lily with her chive flowers

Gilbert suddenly fell asleep, which was nice. Until we found out he had a fever.

Love, love, love that purple-y evening time

It was a superb day! 

Which is good, because the following day was not. After a night of getting up for Orianna 3 times (!!!!!)   Gilbert's fever was 103 by 7 AM, so I decided to take him to the Doctors in Saranac Lake. Justin stayed home to watch the girls, so I got the brilliant idea that I should fill the car chock-a-blok full and stop by the dump, since I never can do this if I have the two girls with me. Imagine a feverish infant (better with Tylenol!) amidst piles and stacks and boxes and bags of trash and that is pretty much how Gilbert looked.  Bordering on child abuse. But it was only for 10 miles or so to the dump. Except the dump is closed on Thursdays. Like it always is. I KNOW this. I had planned on doing this on the way to the doctor, so there was no going back--I had to drive to Saranac Lake with a pizza box threatening to obscure my vision at any minute while Gilbert sucked his thumb and kicked at a bag of Justin's construction trash. Meanwhile Justin texted me that Orianna had started throwing up. Huh. I found out, with Clover's assistance, that the Lake Clear dump was open, so after parading to the doctors to hear that she didn't know why Gilbert had a fever, I set off to find the Lake Clear Dump. Lake Clear is small. Probably less than 300 residents. And I spent 40 minutes in Lake Clear driving around looking for the dump. The man who worked there didn't know the name of the road it was on. By the time I found it, I was ready to lose my patience in a large way. I got to where we are supposed to dump our trash and there was a large "No unauthorized persons beyond this point" sign. So I drive over to where some people are dumping trash to be told that that area was for construction trash. So I go back over to the unauthorized area and someone was already there, blocking the entrance. I got the brilliant idea that I should go do my recycling first. So off I go. I dump the first batch of paper trash in and see something black and metal falling in. Yep, one of Justin's wood planers that he is paternally attached to. I then intermittently try to climb in the paper dumpster and finish throwing more paper trash in another hole. After stacking up all the boxes and rubbermaids I had with me and falling off them, I decided to give up on Justin's plane, there was just no way I could climb in that thing. I imagine different scenarios in which Justin will never find this out while I drive back to the unauthorized area. Half way through dumping my trash, I realize all those boxes and rubbermaids of paper and magazines we carefully kept seperate for a month to save money, will now be weighed with the trash instead of being free because I forgot to go back to the scales after getting rid of them. At this point I am thinking a lot of nasty thoughts about myself and my supposed intelligence that clearly wasn't working beyond the amoeba level. I finally drove home with a sad Gilbert who needed tylenol again, which I forgot to bring. 

It was just one of those days. 

I got home and decided to be honest with my husband and face the consequences, namely him never loving me again. And while I am trying to describe it to him, the wonderful thought comes to me that there were little holes on the bottom of it, not a flat blade, so it was a rasp, which are a dime a dozen in Justin's book, not one of his planers. Oh the relief. We had a good laugh. But not too deep of a one, since I think I impaled my stomach on the side of that paper dumpster

All this sickness meant that we missed the first gospel meeting we have had this year, which was a major bummer. Instead we got the kids in bed by 7:30 and  ourselves in bed by 9. I get worn out being stupid. 

So far, Orianna hasn't thrown up since 7 last night and Gilbert is fever free.