Ain't we got fun

There are but two months of the year within which someone in our immediate family does not have a birthday.

Those months are July and November.

But give us time.

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As for the other months, the two with the most birthdays -- three each -- are March and June.

We have one each in January (TG), February (Little Andrew), April (Allissa), August (Grandpa Henry), September (Stephanie), October (Brittany), and December (Melanie).

We have two in May: Joel on the first day and Erica on the next-to-last.

We have three in June: Dagny, Chad, and my mother.

And we have three in March: me, Audrey, and Andrew.

I lead off in March each year, and for someone who once had a birthday party given in their honor to which no guests came, I do pretty well, thanks to my loving and generous family.

Then at the tail-end of March we celebrate Audrey and Andrew, who were born exactly six years and one week apart.

This year we had one party for Audrey only, on her actual birthday. Everyone attended except for our Brittany, who was out of town -- but her little brother, Garrett, was staying with Andrew for a few days and he came along.

(Garrett is a kind and considerate young man of 13 with a sweet smile and lovely manners. He played Legos with Dagny so patiently while waiting for the meal to be served, that she is still asking when Garrett's coming back.)

Since most of us are pretty serious about eating low-carb (until it comes to dessert), we had London broil and plenty of salad, along with baked potatoes for the men, who need more carbs than we ladies.

After supper, we had cake and cupcakes and coffee.

Notice my bunny-on-his-back cake stand. There's a story behind him.

About a year ago, I came across this bunny on Amazon. I was so taken with him that I read most of the reviews by those who had purchased one.

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Although the reviews were all positive, one lady who'd bought the bunny cautioned would-be buyers to be aware of his size.

This bunny is maybe four inches high and the plate is six inches across.

In other words, not a full-sized cake plate. Even though, when you look at a picture of him on Amazon without any treats on the plate, he appears to be big enough to hold a regular cake.

But it wasn't his size that made me demur and ultimately not buy him. It was his price.

What was it? you may ask. But I don't know. I don't remember what it was; I only remember that it was too much.

Or, more than I was willing to pay for a tiny bunny cupcake stand.

Fast forward about a year, to a few weeks ago. Audrey and I were at TJ Maxx -- one of our favorite haunts. I was not looking for a cake stand or, in fact, anything in the way of dishes.

But on an Easter display table at the front of the store, I saw the tiny bunny cake stand that had captivated me on Amazon.

And guess how much he was? Seven ninety-nine.

Sold.

I checked that night to see what the bunny had been (and still is) on Amazon: Twenty-three ninety-nine.

So ... twenty-four dollars or one-third that amount? I'll take the latter. And I did, and yes, I feel as though I scored quite the retail coup there.

On Audrey's birthday, she and Dagny hung out with me for a good part of the day. We went to Publix for her birthday balloon, and fresh flowers (which she loves), and for a six-inch cake to display on the bunny plate.

We also got six chocolate-frosted cupcakes. Just enough for everyone at the dinner to have a little something sweet, with no (or very few) leftovers.

Turns out there was one cupcake left (I gave it to Garrett to enjoy later), and a small slice of the cake (which I sent home with Audrey).

The following Tuesday, in Andrew's birthday week if not on the actual day, we all met out at his and Brittany's place for the second party. 

I had saved back a few of Audrey's presents so she'd have more to open. And of course, there were gifts for Andrew.

He cooked chicken and hamburgers on the grill in his outdoor kitchen. It has been so cool this spring, though! And damp too. So we did not sit outside but rather gathered indoors, around the fireplace.

The meal was simple but delicious and Erica had brought pies -- cherry and pecan -- for dessert. We made coffee and everyone chowed down on slices of pie before the honorees opened their gifts.

Yes; we make sort of a big deal about birthdays. I guess it's my fault because I'm the one who drives it, but I feel as though everyone ought to be made to feel special on their birthday.

It's only one day a year.

Until the next one. Which for us, is a few weeks hence, on Tax Day ... when we will gather in Charlotte with our North Carolina kinfolk to celebrate Allissa turning eleven.

I've already got her presents, and most of them are wrapped and ready to go.

The cool weather continues ... this morning while I drank my coffee, it was thirty-eight degrees with a steady rain.

We didn't have many days like that even when it was winter.

The dogwoods and azaleas were thrashing and shivering, but not to worry. They'll be basking in warmth and bright sunshine again in a day or two.

And that is all for now.

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Happy Tuesday