Really it all started when one of them decided to be born on the other one’s birthday. Ever since that year, statistically speaking, 1/5 has been a mostly crazy sort of day for us.
While birthday sweaters were wrapped up with needles still in them and many warnings to be careful in the opening of them so as not to inadvertently drop stitches, I did manage a last minute dress for her. The pattern is Simplicity 5997 from 1973. It’s actually meant to be a nightgown (their meaning, not mine), but whatever. The rose covered fabric was thrifted by my mother-in-law. It’s much paler in person. I’ve been itching for an excuse to buy some of the prints in Rifle’s new fabric collection, and thought this might just be my chance, but $11 per yard plus shipping versus free and already here? Guess which fabric won out… She was quite pleased. I should have gotten a close up of the vintage floral buttons and hand sewn button holes- sewn with real silk button and button hole twist from a tiny wooden spool- also from my mother-in-law. Yes, the button hole function on my machine is still not working.
This is the second year in a row where we’ve had to call 911 on their birthday. Lest you think we just go about calling emergency services for every little thing, these have been the only two times we have ever called. Ok, well Galen once dialed them by accident when he was 2, but I don’t think that counts (they don’t really care for that kind of thing, by the way).
This year’s calamity involved a chimney fire with flames shooting several feet into the air. Bless our metal roof and single digit temperatures with frosty snow all around. And the chimney being run almost entirely outside the house instead of in the walls. These things and these things alone meant a night of excitement instead of full out disaster.
Seraphina thought that the firefighters were coming to fight us and that we were basically under siege and bravely told Mairi that she would save her.
Iain spent the entire day pretty much too sick to move, poor kid. He did open gifts, but that was about it. You know your kids are feeling pretty miserable when the whole house is illuminated by flashing lights and surrounded by emergency vehicles with people coming in and out and around every which way and me piling snow boots and sweaters around them in case we are forced to evacuate and two out of the five of them barely bothered to lift their heads or open their eyes or even seem to register what is happening at all.
Also, it would be the case that what felt like half the town would turn out and need entrance to the house immediately after I tore apart the pantry, scattering it’s contents all over ever flat surface in the house. Along the lines of this…
Only everywhere else as well. Seriously, that wasn’t embarrassing at all.
Iain is much better now and we did have a belated celebration for him a few days later.
On their birthday, as the fire fighters, first responders, et al left, I resisted the temptation to say that we’d see them next year. Here’s hoping we don’t!
Ooh melody!!
While pregnant with Birdie, we had a chimney fire with flames shooting into the night sky. .And being early pregnant I was quite sick and not doing much housework…They needed to go into our bedroom to check the walls and the floor was literally covered in laundry needing to be folded and put away. I still blush over that.
So sorry I couldn’t stop laughing…I thought this sort of thing only happened to us. What a memorable birthday!