Is This Normal?
The chaos that is the KerbersArchive for birthdays
Happy birthday, Curtis!
Fifteen. It seems impossible to me that Curtis is fifteen today. Oh my goodness, he’ll have his license in a year. It freaks me out to think about that. Fifteen years ago on Christmas Eve, I met Curtis for the first time at Grandma Jane’s house. I can remember sitting in her rocker by the phone holding him for the first time ever. It was an awesome Christmas present. But now my little Beasty boy is getting his driving permit. Man.
Happy birthday, Curty! We can’t wait to spend time with you in Florida at Christmas. Hope you had a great day today!!
Sycamore or bust
We made a quick trip to Sycamore…went up yesterday, and came back this afternoon. It was so good to visit Grandma and Grandpa…The kids had been there earlier in the fall, but I hadn’t been up there in forever!
The kids and I got there about 11:00, just in time for me to hop in with Rod and Ryan to go to DeKalb for one of Curtis’s basketball games. C plays on the Freshman team, and they had a tournament all weekend. I was glad that I got to go to the game. It’s one of those things that I used to do all the time in my old Sycamore life, so it was nice to be able to be at one of the boys’ events again. Curtis got some playing time, and they even won the game!
While the grownups were at the game, Grandma, Brett, Ben & Emma all decorated Grandma and Grandpa’s tree. Since they’re leaving for Florida on the 10th, it is a very small tree, but at least they have one. Grandpa told Grandma earlier this week, “We’ve had a real tree for 49 years…we’re not going to miss a year now!” So he went and got a little tree and set it up so they would not miss out on having some Christmas spirit in their house.
After the game, everyone went to Grandma & Grandpa’s house and we ordered pizza and had birthday cake for Grandpa. Of course my kids were very into that. They’re suckers for a rousing version of “Happy Birthday”. Most of all, though, they had so much fun playing with their cousins. It’s getting more and more fun being with the entire family now that the kids are getting older. Even Emma joined in with some of the games we were playing. Of course, “Little Miss Me Too” couldn’t do a lot of the things Ben could, and that was frustrating to her. But it’s definitely getting easier to keep them both entertained.
It was a fun trip, although short trip. When we left today, Ben said, “I wish we could stay at Grandma Judy’s longer, because there’s a lot of stuff we didn’t do yet!” I had to smile at that one. I’m pretty sure he’d feel that way even if we had been there a week. There’s always fun stuff to do at Grandma Judy’s.
I didn’t really think about it when we left this afternoon, but today may have been the last time we’re at Grandma & Grandpa’s house until next spring. Each year I think it will get easier to have them gone for the entire winter, but so far it hasn’t. I’m pretty sure it never will.
Happy birthday, Grandpa!
Even though we didn’t get to spend Thanksgiving with you this year, we all wish you a very happy birthday today and we really can’t wait to see you tomorrow. Hopefully we’ll have some birthday cake then so we can sing “Happy Birthday” to you. Emma was very sad that we didn’t get to today.
You’re the best…hope your birthday was, too. 71 never looked so good! 
Ali’s birthday party
Ali is truly one of our kids’ best friends, and tonight we got to celebrate her fourth birthday with her and a lot of other friends. We were at All About Fun in Danvers, IL, which is a big building that has inside it a bouncy house, an air hockey table, a fooseball table, tricycles, hippity hops, chalkboards, and an apparently endless supply of little plastic balls to throw around aimlessly. The place is awesome. Needless to say, everyone had so, so, so much fun.
There’s really no better way to describe the night than with the pictures
I was snapping like a madwoman. I took a million of them, but I think this one sums the night really well. You can’t get the full impression of the place, but the kids all pretty much had the same expressions at all times…one of pure joy!
My favorite picture of the night, though, is this one. It was taken while we were all singing to Ali, and I absolutely love the look being shared by her and Ben. When I saw it on my camera, I said to Ali’s mom, “Look, we can use this on their engagement announcement!” We always call them an old married couple, anyway.
We all had so much fun at that party. It’s really cool seeing Ben and Emma play with and care about their friends. It’s really the start of a phase I am looking forward to…getting to know the kids they choose to be their friends.
Happy birthday, Jamie!
Jamers is Sweet 16 today. It doesn’t seem possible to think that she’s been a part of our family for 16 years. I can still remember getting the call from Brad like it was yesterday. The sad news is that she can’t get her license yet, though. Apparently you must have your permit for a year before you get the actual license, and she wasn’t really pushing to get that last fall. I don’t think she has to wait very long…like a week or so, I believe…but I’m sure it’s driving her nuts right now. Time will pass quickly, Jamers, and before you know it you’ll be cruising around Jacksonville on your own! That is, if your dad ever lets you out of the house again…
Happy, happy birthday, Jamie. We love you!
Happy birthday, Aunt Nancy!
This year Aunt Nanny is having a little bit of trouble with her birthday. She’s hitting a round number (I won’t mention which one, but if you take 9×5 you’d probably be able to guess it) and it’s bothering her a bit. But I assured her last night that she is definitely the youngest 45 year-old I’ve ever seen! I swear sometimes I feel much older than she seems. I’m hoping that just has to deal with the fact that I’m still chasing toddlers. I hope so, anyway!
There was a time that the mid 40s seemed absolutely ancient! Now, though, they’re super duper young…especially since I’ll be seeing them all too soon! In all seriousness, though, Nance is truly young at heart, and I’m sure that she’s happier with her life every day. What more could anyone want?
Happy birthday, Nance. You’re the best sister I could have…exactly the same as me in many ways, but very, very different in others. I love our relationship, and I love you!
Happy birthday, Uncle Brad!
Man are you old!
Just kidding, of course…48 isn’t that old. After all, we’re all right behind you in years! You’ve always been a good big brother to me, and the seven years between us seem to get smaller and smaller all the time. There are lots of times I wish that we could hang out more, but alas, four states always seem to get in the way.
Sure wish we could all tell you happy birthday in person, but it won’t be long until we see you again. I hope your day has been great, and that the Bears and Jags both win this weekend for you!!
Happy birthday, Daver!
Today is the anniversary of my best friend and husband, Dave, being born. In honor of his birthday, I’ve come up with 41 things (can you guess how old he is?) I love about Dave.
41. He wears shorts 10 months out of the year.
40. He likes landscaping, and keeps our house looking great.
39. He’ll always read Emma a book when she brings it to him.
38. When he really cracks up, his whole body shakes.
37. He lets Ben help him work with him as much as possible.
36. He can figure out technology problems when I can’t.
35. He will research and study a product until he knows what will be best for us.
34. He makes me yummy breakfasts on the weekends.
33. He will do anything for his siblings or parents…even when they don’t ask.
32. He has patience with the kids when I don’t.
31. He compliments my cooking all the time.
30. He truly wants me to do more things for myself.
29. He wants to go back to school.
28. He still loves to go on dates with me.
27. He rubs my back until I fall asleep many nights.
26. He likes my friends.
25. There is very little he can’t fix.
24. If he doesn’t know how to fix something, he’ll read and study to figure it out.
23. He likes Liz Phair as much as I do.
22. He’s getting more and more sarcastic every day.
21. He would literally do anything for our kids…anything.
20. When Emma sees him come home from work, her face lights up.
19. When anything breaks, Ben is sure that Daddy can fix it.
18. He will always play cars, trucks, or action figures with Ben.
17. He’ll stand between Ben and Emma, each on a swing, pushing one with each hand.
16. He can handle emergencies much better than I can.
15. He is a whiz with tech support on the phone…and he always gets his way in the end.
14. When he’s motivated, he can get more done in a day than most.
13. He tries to stump me with movie quotes all the time…
12. …and he’s still impressed when I get them right.
11. He truly appreciates my love for cheesy movies.
10. He thinks my elbows are soft.
9. He makes me laugh almost every day.
8. He loves Kadzilla, his old Cadillac madly.
7. Upon seeing some old cars, he’ll say, “You’d look great in that car, Hon!”
6. He wants to take our kids all over the country to show them how beautiful it is.
5. He’s more impressed with a little gesture than a grand act.
4. He’s very sentimental with his things.
3. He wants to keep everything the kids bring home if they made it.
2. His priorities are the same as mine.
1. He really has no idea what a wonderful dad he is.
These aren’t really ranked in order of importance to me…they were just typed in as I thought of them. Happy birthday, Sweetheart. I truly think my life is better because you’re in it.
Date night
Tonight Dave and I went to dinner to celebrate my birthday. I chose Outback Steakhouse simply because there is a steak sandwich there that I absolutely love, so I wanted that. Sadly, when the meal came my potato was ice cold and the sandwich was pretty sad looking. Typical, right? So I sent it back to get a hot potato and they said that they were making a new one. Of course, when the plate returned, it was a new potato, but it was a heated up sandwich that was now pretty soggy looking.
None of that really mattered, though, because the whole point of going out was to spend time alone with Dave. It’s so nice to go out with him. I feel like we never really get to have much of a chance to really sit and talk when we’re home. We’re always trying to clean something, fix something, organize something, or finish something or another. I love just getting out and enjoying the company of my best friend. It’s really the best birthday gift I could ever get.
Happy birthday to me
41. Ugh, that seems really old to me. But today I’m turning 41. I know, I know…it’s better than the alternative, but still, it’s weird. Now I’m not just 40, I’m in my 40s. How in the world did this happen??
Every year on my birthday I try to make some kind of birthday resolution. I figure that’s a better time to do it than at New Year’s Eve, when everyone is saying all the same standard fair…I’ll lose weight, I’ll work out more, I’ll eat healthy, etc., etc., etc. Usually there is something that immediately comes to my mind…some kind of improvement know I have to work at making. This year is no exception. My birthday resolution this year is to have more patience with the kids. I find myself losing my patience with them more quickly lately, and I don’t like that at all. With Ben especially, raising my voice rarely works, yet it still happens all the time. So this year I’m going to try to yell less and to keep my cool even when I’m upset with them. I really think that the old adage “you can catch more flies with honey” applies to toddlers very much.
My day today was nice…we were in Sycamore this morning and Dave and the kids had some nice gifts for me. I finally got the new U2 album and Ben & Emma gave me some of my favorite candy Mike & Ikes. Grandma Judy had a little cake for me after lunch, and the Swartzies gave me some really cute new cookie cutters shaped like farm animals and numbers. I can hardly wait to make cutout cookies! When we got home this evening, it was gorgeous outside and the kids spent the evening running around and playing with all of our neighborhood friends. It was a good day.
So I guess 41 should not be that big of a deal, right? My life is fuller than I ever thought it would be, and there is still so much ahead of us. I am really thankful for everything I have. I’m a pretty lucky girl.
