I called it Halloween weekend, but really it was a one-two punch of halloween and my hubby’s big 4-0 birthday.  You may have read that he got a very pretty and much loved tele. for his gift, although it was a bit early.  Sunday was the actual day, although he officially declared it “birthday weekend” any time there was something he wanted to do and was outvoted, or when he felt he was being disparaged or picked on.

The kids picked out a very handsome pork pie hat to rest upon his head.  We made note of it when we visited the Hats Plus Ltd. shop on Our Last Hurrah and I ordered it for him online.  He looked dashing, of course.  He went right off and got a haircut so that it looked even better and he was happy.  After that, my mother in law came to call, and brought with her her auntie.  The plan was to arrive after the 8:00am mass (they live like 1 hour away), but for some reason found that they needed to stop and do some shopping at our local outdoor mall ON THE WAY to our house.  I had warned them that my husband had prior plans to go to lunch with his lovely daughter for his birthday, and yet they showed up right at lunch time.  Although not at all surprising, the total disregard is still disappointing.  So he opened his gifts, chatted, and finally when I started to threaten him with my eyes because CC’s were starting to mist up from being blown off, left to have sushi as planned, 2 to 3 hours late.  Except my mother in law was still here.  She stayed, and stayed, and stayed… until right before my husband called to say that lunch was over and they were on their way home.  Now many of you enjoy the company of your in-laws, right, because maybe they like you?  Yeah, not really the case here.  You would think that I might be growing on them a tad after 14 years, but nooooo.  They never have liked me and probably never will.  I think they only spend time with us is because they’re just desperate now that the “baby” (hubby’s little brother) has moved to Texas and the two ex-sis in laws are nowhere to be found.  I don’t play like that.

Regardless, by the time the birthday boy and his lunch princess got home, she had come down with a serious cough.  Which only briefly preceded her fever.  So any additional birthday plans were scrapped and instead we all hunkered down on the couch together and smothered the littlest Frank with lots of love and attention.  I know that it wasn’t a big celebration or anything, but it was awfully nice.