I'm 35 tomorrow

On the eve of my 35th birthday, Ben and I are eating tortilla chips and mango salsa as we watch the Survivor finale. All 4 kids were in bed before 8. Did I mention that the baby has a bedtime? She totally does. In her own crib even. She is one of those put down drowsy but awake babies I have always read about but didn't believe existed.

 Anyway, maybe it's the snack or the quiet house or the lovely Mother's Day we've had, but I feel grateful for my life and all the people in it. And I am not even drinking. Although I did start the day with a surprisingly strong mimosa-- maybe the brunch bartender felt bad for us as we wrangled 4 tiny kids-- and I was nostalgic for my day-drinking days. Ah, college. Ah, grad school. Ah, life before Mother's Day was about me.

Cooper did, of course, still have a fever on Friday. That's it, though, just a fever. 102.5 the second his Tylenol wore off round the clock. No other symptoms except general lethargy and crabbiness. He even fell asleep on the floor a couple of times. OF COURSE we went back to the pediatrician because after Harry's ordeal, I am "that mom" and will go to the doctor seeking antibiotics for every sniffle from here on out even if Ben is in class and I have to take several children by myself. Cooper lost his shit again OF COURSE, and I had to hold him for his exam while Dorothy lost her mind in the stroller (and it seems that Cooper begins freaking out the moment I pick up the baby, so I had to put her down mid-scream, but it was too late-- Coop was already cray-cray). Luckily he had an ear infection and scored a script, so the doctor did not have to culture his throat. He feels much better and is back to his usual living Build-a-Bear self. Phew. (Dorothy, though, has what looks like diaper rash in her neck folds, and Jack looked really sick at dinner tonight, so we might be back in the office before our already scheduled well child checks-- 18 months for Coop, 2 months for Dorothy, and 5 years for Jack-- next week).

My awesome parents sent me this on Thursday as an early birthday present, proving that you should always be Facebook friends with your parents because they will hear you crowdsourcing your friends and buy you good gifts.

I love feeding Dorothy-- this is my view of her all the time.  So sweet.

Vera Bradley layette!  Love it!  Also, this is the first time I have ever had a less-than-2-month-old baby who can wear 3 to 6 month clothes.

Harry at brunch this morning,  He ate SO MUCH, including several plates of bacon and a made-to-order ham and cheese omelet.  We won;t mention that to his cardiologist on Friday.

Cooper really likes watermelon.

Jack is a buffet risk taker and loaded up on the shrimp.  Also, I love how scrunchy Dorothy is in this picture.

We finally figured out how to eat our meal in peace:  keep  Cooper in whipped cream and cupcakes.

He even had whipped cream on the bottom of his shoes.

See his footprints?

Ben suggested we sit on a bench outside the ballroom for our picture, but it wasn't very pretty, so I insisted we go into the lobby.  In the time it took to get downstairs, everyone started acting squirrely, though, and I ended up immortalizing this weird straddle hold.

Jack is too cool for school.

Speaking of school, this is what Jack made.  I asked him what he was saying, but he said he had a spine on his leg, which I think means he sat near a prickly bush?  I am going to miss homemade Mother's Day gifts, by the way.  (Although Ben got me gorgeous flowers and a 6-month series of pedicures at my favorite spa, so there's always that stuff to tide me over after pom-pom picture frames and mystery plants potted in plastic cups stop coming my way).

Ben and Dorothy spent Cooper's nap watching Kill Bill Vol 2.  FOTY.

Dorothy didn't get her usual 8:30 nap this morning because we went to brunch (clearly it was heavy on the "br" part).  We thought she'd sleep through it, but she fussed and nursed the whole damn time.  Then we went to Whole Foods because we had no food in our house, and she sort of slept in the store.  Once we got home, though, she spent the entire rest of the day giving us the creepy stare and trying to eat herself to sleep, spitting up, and starting the whole process again.  I put her to bed at 6.

Because I am officially an old lady tomorrow, I thought I would ring in 35 in true super old lady fashion by making a recipe I clipped from the paper.  This particular recipe is from 1978, so it's as old as I am.  Twinkies!  Ben and I are excited, but the kids have never had a Twinkie, so they just think it's a weird cake alternative.

Happy Mother's Day-- I hope it was lovely!