Celebrating Ashley @ 26

I promised myself that I would sleep as late as my body wanted and not force myself out of bed even a minute before. That worked out pretty well, not waking until 815am. I calmly, quietly headed downstairs where I started some coffee then played around on the internet.

It was cold, about 28 degrees under mostly sunny skies. It was 10am n a hurry, and this far I hadn't given any thought to heading out for a run. In fact, it was almost 11am before I finally dressed and headed out for a run. It was truly a lazy Sunday morning. However, that would all change come early afternoon. Not only were we expecting Lindsey and the boys over to do laundry and play, but we were also expecting our own two kids home around 1pm. Then, around 230pm Ashley & Olivia were coming over.

I ran the usual weekend 3 miles without any discomfort and actually felt terrific. Mindy was in the shower by the time I got back to the house, and planned to head off to the grocery store in the very near term. To help her out, I loaded the recycling into the Pilot. Back inside, I made myself a roast beef and cheddar sandwich. It was delicious. Eiknarf watched me eat every bite with lustful eyes. J

I was still playing around on my PC when Rocky came knocking at the front door. I pretended not to hear him and then stared at him like I didn’t know who he was. I toyed with him until his mother was at the door with a loaded laundry basket. They weren’t in the door even three minutes before Landon asked to play Wii and Rocky shot his airsoft pistol inside the house. I heard him tell his mom he didn’t think it was loaded. I’m shaking my head even as I type.

Lindsey asked if she could go tanning. I suggested she wait until Mindy was home to assist me with the boys. As a diversion, I suggested the boys make birthday cards for their aunt Ashley. They were excited to do so. That kept them busy for a good 10-15 minutes. Jacob & Bella were home a little while later. As Mindy requested, I asked that they unload and put away their weekend clothes first thing. Jacob & Rocky soon headed off to Cody & Kyle’s. Landon hung out inside and eventually joined Bella and Makayla upstairs.

Mindy was home in short order. By then Jacob and Rocky were back, too. I asked for their help carrying in the groceries. Rocky was a big help save for the mud he tracked across the kitchen floor. Quickly, our freshly cleaned home was looking a bit overrun.

Once Mindy got the groceries put away, she and I took a brief rest together on the sofa lying at opposite ends. That lasted only until Ashley & Olivia showed up sometime near 2pm. Mindy planned to take Ashley shopping at Kohl’s for her birthday while we kept Olivia entertained with the others. I’m thinking it was near 230 when Mindy & Ashley left. Lindsey did her laundry and helped keep and eye on the wee ones. The girls played in Bella’s room and the boys played in Jacob’s room.

I relaxed from the sofa tuning the TV to the golf tournament sometime after 3pm. It always does me good to see the pro golfers playing in the sunshine and greenery this time of year. It won’t be long before spring is upon us here at home. Mindy and Ashley were back before 415pm. The only reason I remember that is because Mindy asked me what time I wanted her to order pizzas. It was 420pm when she asked. Mindy & Ashley showed off what they bought at Kohl’s.

Mindy ordered the pizzas just after 5pm. She let Ashley determine the toppings. We ordered two extra-large, one with pepperoni & sausage and the other with pepperoni and extra cheese. I agreed to fly and buy. As usual, they quoted her 20 minutes, but I’d leave after only 12. They’re always ready early. Mindy picked up some brownies from the Kroger bakery which would serve as Ashley’s b-day cake. We’ve had them before. They were terrible then. I expected the same this time, too.

I left to get the pizzas near 520pm. Not a big crowd at Minelli’s but an agitated crew. They were at each others throats from the second I walked in until the minute I left with our order. I had to wait about five minutes. Everybody was gathered in the family room and kitchen apparently anticipating the pizzas arrival. Mindy & the girls served up the kids then themselves. Best estimate, we devoured about 1.25 of the pies. Mindy packed up what was left of the pepperoni and sausage pizza for Ashley to take home.

Around 6pm Mindy got out the brownies and adorned them with a single candle. We all gathered round the table and sang happy birthday to Ashley. We ended up doing it three or four times, including once for each of both of the wee ones, Olivia and Landon. They’re so cute! As expected, the brownies were horrible. I think it was the icing more so than the brownies. But still.

After we finished celebrating Ashley'd b-day with brownies, Olivia asked if I would show the videos of her as a baby. She loves watching videos of herself. Many of the other kids gathered around too. I played videos of Landon and Rocky as well, each time Olivia whining that she wanted to see more of herself. She’s very much like that. It’s all about Olivia!

Chrissy brought over a rug to give to Ashley after buying if for her two girls but later discovering it too small for the space. It’s a pretty, colorful rug that should go well in Olivia’s room, though we bought her a similar rug a few years back. Ashley was a gracious receiver and gave Chrissy a hug and thanked for her taking such good care of her and Olivia all the time.

Everybody left around 7pm. Felt good to have our house back. I quickly took to mopping the floor, especially the entries where the kids tromped in mud from the outdoors. Spent about 30 minutes getting the downstairs back in order. Unbeknownst to me, Mindy agreed to have Chrissy kids spend the night. They, including Mindy, were all off school the following day in recognition of President’s Day. That made our kids happy. It wasn’t too big a deal, and they’re generally fairly well behaved.

I spent another hour or so playing on my PC and organizing photos. Mindy headed up to our bedroom to read around 9pm. I stayed up a while longer enjoying a bowl of Cookie Crisp. I heard Mindy more than once head to the kids rooms to ask them to keep the noise down. There was a lot of thudding and verbal racket going on.

I joined Mindy in bed near 945pm. By then she was already asleep. Like often happens when I get into bed, I got an unwelcomed second wind and couldn’t get to sleep. I tossed and turned for well over an hour and even considered getting out of bed and heading back downstairs. I never did get back up. I’m guessing I finally fell asleep near 11pm.