Birthdays, Illness, and Sundry Distractions

Over the past couple weeks, I’ve been laying low in blogland for assorted reasons, such as:

My birthday. When it comes to a choice between blogging and food, food will triumph…and my birthday was all about food. I love baking and I love cupcakes, so I spent the morning of my birthday making these delicious strawberry lemonade cupcakes from scratch. (Except for the lemon curd, which was store-bought. My zester and I don’t get along.)

My dear husband reminded me halfway through the day that I had forgotten the Birthday Trifecta, a cherished tradition involves scoring free birthday meals from three local restaurants.  Starting at a disadvantage, we ran to Joe’s Real BBQ for my favorite jumbo baker topped with pulled pork and a red cream soda. On the way to my family birthday dinner, I picked up a Farm Salad and sweet potato fries with pineapple-serrano dipping sauce at Joe’s Farm Grill, which I enjoyed while everyone else dined on pizza. (Yes, I’m mean like that.) My intention was to hit Liberty Market for a second dessert on our way to bowling, but everyone’s motivation to bowl fizzled out as the evening progressed. Two outta three isn’t bad, though!

Illness. First, there was some gastrointestinal thing that struck two of the kiddos. Right after we recovered from that, I was felled by the flu.

But the biggest distraction of all is this thing my husband is doing:

His departure for training is quickly approaching, so we’ve been thrown into a whirlwind of preparations. Mounds of cheap Ikea bedding, conservative suits, and boxing gear are piled around our bedroom. Nearly every day brings another trip to the bookstore to get more moving boxes or a stop by Goodwill to drop off our excess stuff. And egads, the paperwork!

Once Kyle is gone, I’ll be on my own with FOUR BOYS for at least six months. (Pray for me.)

Brady found this action figure in a drawer and claimed it for his own, dubbing it “FBI Daddy”.

And yes, I am a big geek with multiple Mulder and Scully action figures sitting in drawers throughout our house.