Plan B Birthday....

Today is my birthday.

I've been looking forward to this day for a while.

I had everything all planned.

We were going take the kids to see Tangled.

We were going to hang out and bake turkey cookies (you know, were you cut out the shape of your hand, bake it and frost it like a turkey).

We were going to build a fire and play board games.

Then, tonight, we were going to go out with friends for sushi.

I got up before anyone else, so I settled in on the couch to drink coffee, watch old episodes of the X-Files and wait for the kids to wake up so we could get this day started.

Kurt and Hope got up first.

Hope and I were chatting about how excited we were to see Tangled when we heard Jack stirring in his room. Kurt went to go get him.

I was in the middle of telling Hope how excited I was about our plans when I heard Kurt shout, "Heidi, Jack threw up in his bed!"

Eeeeeew....

I go in his room and find that the poor kid, his pillow, bed and stuffed animales were caked in barf. He had done it at some point during the night and then just slept in it.

The smell was so strong that the paint was beginning to peel off the walls.

I knew immediately that my birthday plans were not to be. I was so disappointed. I've been looking forward to his day for such a long time. I feel bad admitting this, but I was so irritated. I mean, really, who wants to clean up barf on their birthday?

I took Jack to the bathroom to get him in the tub. He was so sad..... Shivering, sick and smelly.... I washed him all up and wrapped him up in a blanket that Kurt had put in the dryer so it would be really warm. He looked up at me with his big, blue eyes and said (with a quivering chin), "Happy Birthday Momma. I love you..."

Tears..... (mine, not his)

How I love this family.

And I can honestly say that I'm perfectly content to stay home, cleaning dried barf out of my four year old's ears.

It's not the way I'd planned it, but I can't imagine being anywhere but right here, right now...

So Plan B stands for Barf, but it also stands for "Better than I could have Imagined."