An Early Birthday

Today is not my birthday, but it might as well have been.

Few pregnant women sleep soundly at the end of their pregnancies, and I am no exception.  After tossing and turning most of the night, finally falling soundly asleep around the time T's alarm went off, I awoke with a start at 9:30AM (!).  Fearing the worst (because no toddlers, not even mine, sleep in until 9:30AM), I leaped from my bed to see if anything was amuck. 

Behind door number one, I found G-Bear, quietly playing in her bed, which was filled with her stuffed animals, books and slippers.  "Mommy!"  She exclaimed with delight.  "I peeked in your room, but you were STIIIIIIIIIL sleeping.  I decided to keep playing!"

Was I dreaming?  If not, in what parallel universe had I awakened? 

Behind door number two, G-Bear and I found E-Bear, who had slept for the first night on a big boy mattress, lying in bed with a pile of blankets over his head.  "HeeeHEEEEEEEheeeeeeeHEEEEEE," he giggled. "Surprise!!  I HIDING!"  He had not only slept soundly in his new bed, but he had not left the confines of his floor mattress despite the toys enticingly strewn about the play room.  

Certainly the army of angels was still present somewhere.  

Was that angel dust in his hair?

E-Bear invited me to play trains with him, G-Bear invited me to teach her how to play Candy Land.  While E-Bear merrily chugged his trains along, G-Bear and I enjoyed her first-ever board game experience, calling it a tie when the card pile ran out before either of us got to King Kandy's Kastle.  Who ties playing Candy Land?

We finally made it downstairs to feast lazily on cereal around 11am.  We enjoyed our cereal "mixtures" of the 4 boxes I bought earlier this week (accurately anticipating my waning energy for making morning meals).  

Still in our pj's, we headed downstairs to watch a PBS cartoon together (we had missed our Friday morning Sesame Street episode) on our plush, newly acquired hand-me-down couch, a gift from one of T's favorite staff physicians (prior to this exciting acquisition, we have watched TV entirely on our basement floor).  When WordWorld finished, we snuggled even deeper into the couch to read a pile of our favorite Beatrix Potter and Richard Scary books.  T called at 2pm.  The kids and I were still playing downstairs in our pj's.  He shared the exciting news that he had finished early for the week and could come home for lunch! 

Ok, now am really looking around for the magic wand.  

Thank you, Lord, for the legion of angels you sent our way to make today possible.  I couldn't imagine a better birthday eve.