Updatey-like

So I turned 35 last week. With everything going on, I didn’t have any grand plans to celebrate other than lunching with my twin sister and mom. We were on our way to the Flying Fish when we noticed that E.P. Delta Kitchen was now open for lunch. So we went there instead and had a very nice meal. A little too nice. We were all so stuffed, we had to take a little walk. My sister mentioned seeing a story on the new Westin hotel on Beale and before we knew it, a nice young man named Chris was giving us a tour of the hotel’s extra tall top floor, designed especially for NBA players. (My mom kept lamenting about those “poor guys” who had to duck every time they entered a room at a normal hotel.) The hotel was really just lovely. I hope that I someday have a reason (and the money) to stay there!

The festivities continued with an impromptu monkey convergence (attended by nearly my entire blogroll!) at the Memphis Pizza Café followed by a visit to Peabody Park to eat homemade cupcakes (thanks Warren!) and watch some Dodge Ball. (I think I had almost everyone who wasn’t pregnant or of the cheerleading variety convinced to start a midtown parent blogger team and was devastated to learn that the league will be playing out East next season! First Roller Derby, now Dodge Ball. Wtf?)

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Thanks to everyone who came to the bout on Saturday! The Z-Girls got spanked a little (okay 75 points) by the Angels of Death, but considering they have the fastest jammer and scariest blockers in (possibly) the entire country, the score wasn’t that bad!

The interesting thing about Saturday night was the fact that my stomach was in absolute knots. I started having severe shooting pains and was convinced that I had food poisoning. The only problem was that I was so nervous/excited all day, I hadn’t really eaten anything that could poison me.

When the bout was over, I made Warren follow me home down Poplar because I was scared I wouldn’t make it all the way home without vomiting, passing out, or worse. As I drove past the E.R. at Collierville Baptist, I started wondering if my severe stomach pain might be psycho-somatic. Our team’s “dugout” was on the same side of the rink as it was on December 10th, when I got hurt. And right next to our dugout was a giant stretcher and three EMTs.

I took a few deep breaths and tried to let go of the fear. I told myself that I was going to be okay and then focused on the fact that the monkeys were at my mom’s house and there was an after-party at Dish. (Going home with a stomach-ache would have been a huge waste of a babysitter!) By the time I got to Poplar and I-240, my stomach was back to normal. I called Warren and said, “I’m going to take Sam Cooper to the house and change into some jeans. Let’s get in one car and go to the party.”

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The next birthday is Satchel’s this Saturday. Since no one has scooped up that amazing house on Court Avenue, I thought it would be nice to let Satchel have a friend spend the night rather than throw a big party. Somehow the one friend became three…and then four…and now five. Five! Warren rationalized it by pointing out that at a certain point the numbers become meaningless. (Yes, this is a set up for RJA’s comment…) I rationalized it by thinking of it as one child for every year of Satchel’s life.

I told Satchel that he had to decide by yesterday evening who he wanted and that he absolutely, positively could not change his mind. (Once the number of friends was upped to five, this task became much easier.) The finalists are: Miles, Jack, Kai, JP, and Stella.

Yes, a girl. I had seen this coming as Satchel (quite the ladies’ man) tossed out the idea of a slumber party with both Stella and Piper not too long ago. I wasn’t sure how Stella’s parents would react to an invite to Satchel’s slumber party, but considering Stella’s mom is in the Roller Derby with me and her dad works at the school, I figured the odds were in my favor.

I ran into Stella and her dad this morning and posed the question. Mr. Paul grinned a little, asked Stella if she wanted to go (she nodded), and gave it the okay. Then he said, “That’s funny because Stella’s birthday is tomorrow and she wants to have a slumber party too. I told her all girls, but maybe I should rethink it. I know she’d love to have Satchel over.”

I tried picturing Satchel as the only boy at Stella’s slumber party, but had to stop, suddenly wondering what I might be getting myself into. I’ll let you know!

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Warren took Jiro in to get his cast off this morning. He reported that Jiro was fitted for a boot (exactly like mine) since he refused to walk, but chances are he won’t need it by tomorrow once his leg loosens up and adjusts to its freedom.
I can’t wait to see him.