Birthday stuff

I took N and J to my friend Lori's today. Their twin girls had a party for their seventh birthday. They'll be over here tomorrow for J's sixth birthday party. They had a balloon/magician guy for entertainment. We have nothing of the sort. I bought a little kids' bingo game. If the weather clears up, I'll hide pennies in the gravel area near our driveway just inside our fence in the back yard. It worked as entertainment at N's party.

I finished making J's cake this evening. It was from a cake mix, but the frosting is homemade. I used the last mix my mom brought me last time she visited. It's a cherry chip Betty Crocker cake mix. They are not available here. I had it for almost every birthday growing up.

I ordered a bakery cake for J's birthday while I was at the supermarket tonight. We'll have that with just our family on her actual birthday (Tuesday). We'll also go out to dinner for her birthday.

I saw my friend Lori last Sunday in the church parking lot. Her belly looked fat, and she is a skinny woman. I didn't dare ask if she was pregnant because it would be so embarrassing if it were just fat. Today, I just had to ask because her belly was so big. Fortunately, she's pregnant. She had a couple miscarriages a couple years ago after announcing pregnancies, and I guess she just decided not to say anything this time, but she's due in May. The baby was not a surprise (I was rude enough to ask--at least one of her miscarriages had been a surprise). She's a year or so older than I am, which would put her 39. She had gone back-and-forth about wanting a baby after she had her miscarriages. I had thought from talking to her this summer that she was done with having babies, but she said her baby has just turned four, and it just seemed like she should have another baby. I'm so glad it's working out for her. It's supposed to get harder to get pregnant at will as one ages.

I haven't been the least bit sorry I can't have kids any more, but then my baby hasn't turned four. I am still so relieved not to be suffering the misery of pregnancy or the first three months of no sleep.

A couple Saturdays ago, during a bad cold, I was having my bath and doing everything I couldn't had I been pregnant. I almost posted about it, entitling it "Thank Goodness I'm Not Pregnant," but I didn't want Mama P to feel bad since she was pregnant. Now she's not pregnant. Anyway, I took my cold medicine guilt-free, and right during my long, super hot bath with lots of water (I had to keep them very short and shallow or had cooler bathwater when I was pregnant. Generally I kept them hot, shallow, and quick.) , to top off the experience, I enjoyed decaffeinated coffee with Bailey's Irish Cream in it.

Well, it's my bath night again tonight (I shave my legs in the tub on Saturday usually), but I don't think it's a good night for Bailey's. In fact, I need to mop the kitchen and bathrooms before I get a bath so the house is half-way clean for tomorrow.