Anatomy of a Birthday

4:15am - Leah wakes up with a scream. Sarah rolls over and grunts, "happy birthday." Irony before 6am. Heh.

6:00am - I go back to bed, and hand Leah over to Sarah.

7:30am - The kids wake me up by climbing all over me and screeching "happy birthday!" We make pancakes, some of which are shaped like Mickey Mouse.

1:00pm - Nap time for the kids. I clean up a bit, then dash off to get a haircut.

3:00pm - Kids wake up. Sarah puts together an impromptu birthday party for me, with the kids clapping as I blow out the candle on a delicious coconut cream pie fashioned by Asher and Sarah.

4:00pm - We hook up with Sarah's sister Debbie and head up to Prospect Park for a little playground and soccer fun. Leah masters the slide.

8:00pm - Kids are in bed. Dan comes over to babysit, so Sarah and I can catch Roy Hargrove play around the corner at the Brooklyn Conservatory.

10:30pm - We get home. Dan leaves. Leah starts screaming. Sarah's in with her now. And there's wet laundry in the basement. And the kitchen still needs to be cleaned.

All in all, my best birthday in years. Seriously.