What?!

As you all know, my birthday is Wednesday. ( Just go with it if you didn't know...) Because I make the rules, I celebrate the entire week and choose what it is we will do and when, because it is officially My Birthday Week.

Rick asked me on Fri night what I wanted for my birthday. Now, any other time I would have pulled out a list that was 7 ft long and full of unnecessary wants I have. But now that I have Carte Blanche on choices, I got nuthin'. I can come up with no neat expensive items that I must have. What is my deal?! So I just told him that he needs to give me some time to think, which really means to sit and thumb through all my neato SkyMall magazines and decide what useless item I want.

Since the little ones were at their dad's this weekend, Rick and I decided to go see the boys in Stephenville. My 21 year old son works at a steak place as the cook and we picked up Trevor, my 20 year old, and went to eat. Watching John David behind the counter cooking and becoming that much closer to his dream of owning his own restaurant made me tear up no less than 8 times. The steaks were phenomenal and he looked so grown up back there in his apron. He even came out to mingle with all the customers and the kudos and pats on the back were rampant. I wanted to jump up and shout, "That's my boy!", but I refrained.

Stephenville is a college town, housing Tartleton Sate University and it's 3000 students. On our way back to the boy's apartment, Trevor is showing us all his favorite hang-outs which consisted of restaurants and two bars. We passed Chi-hua-hua's and Trevor says, "That's Chi-hua-hua(pronouncing it chi hooa hooa's) I said, "Isn't it Chi wa-wa's?" He informs me, "Mom. It's Stephenville. They don't have real Mexicans here."

John David and Trevor are 17 months apart and are as different as night and day. They live together and like The Odd Couple, have many obstacles to overcome as roomies. Their apartment was spotless. No dishes in the sink, nor clothes on the floor. John David's bed was made perfectly and the toilet was sparkling. I teared up again thinking that my baby boys were really growing up and didn't need me anymore. Then I opened Trev's door. Scanning the bare mattress and 4 ft deep clothes covering the floor, I felt a tinge of satisfaction, knowing at least my baby still is a pig, with or without me.

Kalee and her husband spent the night at our house with the babies and I got to spoil Grayson and Kaydi Jo all day Sunday. It was wonderful.

Speaking of my kids, is it just our family, or do others have this issue? When my kids are caught doing something wrong, and I catch them and stand there with my eyes and mouth open wide in astonishment, they all use the word "WHAT?" with the inflection at the first part of the word, indicating I am the one that has lost her mind. Here are just a few examples:

Kalee, when she was about 7, got up on Christmas morning at 4am, woke her brothers up and commenced to open and play with all her toys from Santa BEFORE waking me. Hearing the sounds of squeals and loud toy noises, I stumble into the den see all my kids intensely playing. Kalee looks up and says, "What?"

John David, when he is about 6, uses the "What?" when Trevor runs in screaming that he has just been shot in the ass by John David and his new BB gun.

Trevor, around the age of 5, at midnight, walks past the bathroom, through the living room where I was watching TV, unlocks the front door and goes outside to pee off the porch. When he comes back in and is met with my infamous look of stun, he also says, "What?" before heading back to bed.

Chris, Amy's son, my nephew, said the exact phrase when he walked into the kitchen where Amy and I sat, holding the arm to an antique rocking chair in his hand. Apparently to his 5 year old conclusion, WE were the ones with the issues.

And now the genetic defect has reached my grand children. Grayson, who will be three in November, got hit in the head with a bouncy ball and fell saying, "DAMN!" Kalee quickly looks over to him and he nonchalantly says, "What? I can say that." She had the same open-eyes-open-mouth expression.

Hee hee. This is the moment I have looked forward to for 18 years. heh heh.