Happy birthday, Mommy!

In our dotage (40-freakin'-2!), we're not much for over-the-top celebrations these days, but the kids like to have a little fun when a birthday rolls around. So Lincoln spent all weekend sucking on his fingers hard enough to get sick and swell his lymph nodes to the size of small golf balls, forcing Mommy to stay home from work today so he could have some blood work done. Nothing like watching your child throw a fit at the lab on your birthday. The good news is it's nothing more nefarious than a bacterial infection and 10 days of Augmentin ought to zap it out of his system.

After the prescription was filled we had a birthday dinner at Parkwood Diner and came home for a slice of chocolate cake that the birthday girl herself whipped up last night with Greta.

The kids were very excited to present Mommy with her gift -- earrings and a bookmark -- bought more than a month ago in Maplewood when Grandma Vickie was visiting.

From her beloved husband, she got another year of royal treatment, a continued pledge to do the dishes every weeknight, a book ("The Book Thief," now a major motion picture!), and some microfleece PJs to make sure I don't see her skin until April.

Happy birthday, love!