Bad, Mother. Bad.

Yesterday was my son's birthday. He turned four-years-old and I marked the occasion with a snarky little blog post about TiVo.

It's okay though, because for once I planned and executed a birthday party that went off without a hitch.

The theme of his Saturday party was Tuna Boy's Super Quick Birthday Party. The invitations I sent had a picture of a train flying by with both birthday balloons and Christmas decorations trailing behind. We invited his classmates and my friends' kids for ice cream at the parlor right smack in the middle of the shopping district. The idea was that people could just stop by while they were finishing up their holiday errands.

Almost his entire preschool class showed up. They are an especially sweet group of kids and I really like the parents this year. I am making a conscience effort to be outgoing and make friends with them.

We let him open his gifts with each child as they came in the door. So we avoided that present-opening chaos that usually ends a party. And each kid got a really good look at him opening what they brought.

One thing I have to say for my kid is that he is an extraordinary present receiver. His cries of "Oh thank you so much! I love it!" (and on and on) had the parents so tickled.

It's hard to believe that he's four. That means we've lived in this house for five (unheard of!) years and it's been four years since are first deployment experience.

He was in his first Christmas program today. He was a reindeer in a "modern dance" recital. It was too adorable for words. And my daughter was an angel. She sang songs in French and Latin.

When the hell did they get so old?

I could go on and on, but the husband and I are in the midst of making a very serious decision. It is superseding everything else in our lives.

Suddenly, annoying friends (and if I still blogged about AH I'd have some stories), obnoxious strangers, bratty kids, and tons of shopping just aren't so important. The two of us have been able to go out after his hockey game every night this week and just talk about the pros and cons.

Life all comes down to our marriage and how very much we love each other, our children and how they are growing, and the people we love. (In that order.) I married an amazing man. He's far from perfect (aren't we all?) but he's perfect for me.

And in all of the hardships and separations of the last four years we've been able to raise a pretty awesome kid.

Happy birthday, baby boy! We love you. Whoo hoo!