Birthday mode: ON. Let the celebrations begin! 🎂🎈🎉

The day started at 6 a.m., which I’ll take over 5 any day. 
It does make me wonder if Raven notices how easily sound carries between the three rooms when he keeps the kids in his bedroom.

I’ll admit the living room isn’t much better. 
The bedrooms are so close to it, and sound echoes for some reason.
Even so, it would give Badger a better chance at sleep. 
Her room shares a wall with Raven, and she hears everything.

It's hard to have a soft, gentle blog and not rant and rave when you share a house with very loud houseguests.

I finally gave up and headed to the living room around 9. 
I turned on the TV and tried a cartoon that should’ve been perfect for Eins and Zwei. 
They took one look and ran straight back into Raven’s room. 
If it’s not loud, musical, flashy, or violent, they won’t stay put for more than a second.

I put on “Frog and Toad” for Vier, just hoping it might keep her attention for a little while. 
Turns out, she loved it and settled right down.

They left at noon. 

Badger and I may have upset Raven.

Eins… he can be a little sassy sometimes.
I told him not to do something, and he muttered under his breath, so I reminded him, “Buddy, this is Granny’s house, not Daddy’s.” 
Raven heard me and took Eins back to his room pretty quickly.

Badger had already warned Raven on Friday not to make a mess because she had plans for Sunday and didn’t want a huge cleanup.

So Saturday, Raven kept the kids mostly in his room, and they were gone most of the day. 
With the kids in his room and Badger keeping the kitchen clean, the main parts of the house stayed surprisingly clean.

Cowboy got home from church, and we headed to Red Lobster.
It was easy to find, and traffic wasn’t bad at all.
We met Heron, Peacock, his wife, and Gealach there.
Raven was the only one missing, but Badger told him she had plans today and maybe he could take the kids back on Saturday.

Badger and I weren’t sure the kids could handle Red Lobster. 
I’ll admit both Raven and the other parent take the kids out to eat pretty often, not McDonald’s but nicer restaurants.
 I’m just a bit more cautious because I know how they behave at my house.

This was mine, Badger’s, and Cowboy’s first time at Red Lobster. 
It was good to try something new. 
The food was good, the service was a bit slow, but Sunday after church is never a good time to go out to eat.
The cost for eight of us, well, I spend that much on groceries a week.
Badger, Gealach, and I brought a doggy bag home.
Gealach and Badger are picky eaters.
They were very generous with their portions for me.
I ordered the shrimp and lobster linguine, and the serving size was very big.
It was my first time trying real lobster.
I liked it, but I think it’s probably a one-time treat for me.

Of course my boys had to see Mom drinking on her birthday. 
I didn’t even start drinking until I turned forty, and only once in a while. 
They still think it’s a hoot. 
They also found out that Red Lobster’s bar isn’t like a real bar. 
They had no clue what a buttery nipple was. 
The bartender brought something sweet that was close enough. 
It wasn’t perfect, but it worked.

Time for us to leave came all too fast.
Peacock and his family went their own way. 
I think they live close to the Red Lobster.
Heron went his way, and Cowboy, Badger, and I headed home.

Of course, we stopped at Dunkin’ on the way home.
Why not.

We made it home at 4 pm.
Badger went to her room, I settled in at my computer, and Cowboy took care of his chickens, came inside, and napped in his recliner until it was time for church.

While Cowboy was at church, I suddenly realized my phone hadn’t yelled “message from the dark side” in Yoda’s voice in a long time.
I tore the house apart, had Heron and Badger call it, and got nothing but silence.
Badger said I’d had it in the car on the way home, so I hoped it had just fallen in the floor.
I had a long wait for Cowboy to get home. 
He likes to gossip after service.
Luckily, it was in the floor.
I'm terrible about keeping the phone on me or near me or even keeping up with it.

Badger has mostly stayed in her room since we got home.
Raven went to work.
Heron came back from wherever, and Cowboy got home from church. 
They're watching the Super Bowl.
I'm guessing Heron wanted to watch it. 
I've never known Cowboy to care about sports.
I'm heading to bed. 
It's been a long day.