A Birthday Boy, A Rock Star, A Dinosaur, and A Monster

After recovering from the party on Sunday, my son’s actual birthday was Monday.  He started it as “Star of the Week” in preschool, and we ended it with a family dinner at Red Robin.

I’d like to say everyone was well behaved, and the dinner was perfect, but what fun would that be?  The birthday boy did a really good job eating, which is amazing for the boy who never likes to eat.  He also didn’t know what to do when the waiters came out and sang to him and presented him with a sundae.  It was super cute.

What was not super cute?  Littlest twin throwing Thomas the Train at the table next to us.  Although, the guy caught it and was a good sport.  Bigger guy demanding my Diet Coke, then spitting it all over when I let him finally have a sip (which was actually pretty funny and taught him a good lesson!)  Also, the constant screaming wasn’t very cute.  Just look at these faces.

To be fair, it was past their bedtime.  So, we finished eating pretty quickly, put the twins to bed, and had cake and presents.  I think it was a successful 5th birthday!

Tuesday night, mommy and daddy had an actual, real date night.  Unbelievable.  And it was awesome.

Grandpa came to babysit once the twins were sleeping, and we headed to see Ryan Adams at The Riverside Theater.  We had great seats, some adult beverages, and listened to some great music.  Good stuff.

Wednesday night, it was time for Walking With Dinosaurs with my 5-year-old.  This was the third night out in a row for mommy.  Definitely not the norm, and I have to admit I was a little more tired than usual, if that’s possible. BUT, my son was super excited to go, so off we went.

One of the perks of being a blogger was the free tickets we got for the show.  The show was fabulous.  You can read my review here.

What was not fabulous?  The coughing, irritating kid sitting behind us.  After not covering his cough and kicking our seats, to which his dad seemed oblivious, he then proceeded to sneeze, not once, but twice, all over my son’s head.  I wiped down his head with a wipe, then moved him over to my other side.  Luckily, the kid behind us could not sit still and moved over to his mom, right behind my son.  Again, the coughing started.  This time I shot his mom a look, and she says, “Oh.  Don’t worry.  He’s not sick.  It’s just a sinus thing.”  Uh huh.

So, instead of preschool on Friday, we went to the doctor.  My son had a fever and an earache, which turned out to be an ear infection.

Now, before you think I’m calling this child a “monster,” I’m not.  Although the whole situation really bugged me, it’s not the kid’s fault.  He was too young to know any better.  The parents are not.  I understand how you spent all this money on your tickets, but at least cover his mouth!  Or hold him in your lap.  Or do something to keep him from infecting my child.

But, I’m not even referring to the parents as monsters.  I’m referring to all these darn viruses out there.  The Flu, RSV, and especially Enterovirus D68 are really freaking me out.  It’s so early in the season, and they seem to be everywhere, and really strong.  I know we’re not going to isolate this winter, so that puts me more on edge.  And a situation like the one we were in just shows how you can’t protect your kids from everything no matter how hard you try.