A Red Balloon

We are celebrating our birthday today.  Woke up early this morning and decided to have a chocolate cupcake (one without icing) and a mug of coffee before going back to sleep.  Littles are talking inside.  They want a red balloon.  That doesn't sound like too much to ask.  A lot of pleasure from a simple thing.   They want to get their stuffed animals out and tie ribbons around their necks.

Yesterday Ray and Chris returned from shopping with ingredients for cupcake baking and two presents cheerfully wrapped in poinsetta paper.  
"Happy Birthday to Us!  Happy Birthday to Us "  the kids-of-us were excited.  In the kitchen, Ray was making fajitas and feeding Gia the Italian Greyhound bits of chicken.  Gia was zooming around, not at all interested in curling up in my lap.  Not with so many good smells in the kitchen.  Ray and Chris made the cupcakes together,  taking turns with the hand mixer.   Watching from my chair with my foot up, I was admiring their forearm muscles, as they took turns beating the butter, sugar, and chocolate together.  Then Chris was frosting the cupcakes, getting fancy, squeezing the icing from a plastic bag.

For dinner we had fajitas, cupcakes, and watched one of my presents: The Wizard of Earthsea.  Gia finally settled down once the food was put away.  Ray put her on my lap, I covered her with a baby blanket, she did her groaning thing and fell asleep.  I opened my other present, an Upwords game, we pulled a card table over my splinted leg, and played until bedtime.

Sally has taught us to check and make sure that the littles are experiencing some of the joy.  It's important for the littles need to know that we are safe now, and that we are loved.

Littles just popped to the surface, excitedly talking.  Jo is typing for them.
"Ray and Chris made cupcakes for us, with icing.  Gia wanted one but she couldn't because she's a dog.  But she got chicken.  We have a happy birthday this year.  The body is all grown-up but that's ok because nobody is hurting us now.  We're going to play games for our birthday.  Good games.  Not the bad kind.  We're going to have cupcakes.  And maybe a red balloon."

Coffee and a cupcake tasted good. I'll eat something sensible later.  But now I think it's time to get  a bit more sleep.   It was after one by the time we got to bed last night, and we woke up at 5:30.  We'll finish our morning sleep on the sofa.  The bugs-in-space quilt is waiting.  The cat just curled up on our wheelchair to take a nap.  She has the right idea.
Bye for now,
Sara and Jo