Shame on Me!

I can't believe I let two birthdays go by with nary a post to my blog. For shame. Especially since the two bdays belong to Mat and Nicholas...the two incredible men in my life!

Mat's was first on the agenda. And luckily for us, Samantha did not have dance that night (doesn't happen often). So we got to enjoy a leisurely dinner at Tony Roma's. Started with their onion loaf (yummers), then had ribs (what else?). Loved it all. The kids could hardly wait until we got home...for cake and gifts. We had a very cool chocolate trifle instead of the traditional cake. It had choco cake, choco pudding, Cool Whip, coffee, and crushed Heath bars (a big favorite of the bday boy...and mine). It was Samantha's idea (she saw it in my stash of recipes). We were going to make it earlier, but decided it would be a perfect fit for dad.

She and Nicholas gave him a terra cotta pot and pack of flower seeds. They are all going to plant flowers! Now, how cool a gift is this. And it was all Samantha's idea. That's my girl! I got him a stereo system for the great room. We've been wanting one for a while but didn't know which one. I saw this one at Best Buy. You can play the radio and a CD (single), but also has the ability to play an iPod, plus has ports for those flash drives (isn't that what they are called?).

Soon after, my little boy turned 7! Can you believe it? Time sure flies, especially when the kiddos are involved. We had a nice dinner then home for dessert and gifts (after Samantha finished dance). He was very excited. Got a Gigapet (or whatever those things are), Pokemon cards (always a fave), and books. He was soooo excited to get book 3 of the Lion Boy trilogy! He and I have been reading this and are almost through with book 2. The one sad thing: we can't find the gift that Samantha got for him! She found him a Pokemon video game (gently used but something he really wanted). She and Mat got it; Mat thought it was put with the other gifts. But alas, it wasn't. We're sure it's in the house but just don't know where. Nicholas was very understanding but she felt bad. At bedtime, she told me, "It's my fault mom. I should have checked before to make sure we had it ready for him." She was so distraught. I told her not to worry. We'll keep looking for it; if we can't find it, we'll get him a new one. Still, it's not the same as giving your lil brother his gift on his bday.