Cow Racing, Target Practice, Rabbids and that Damn February Baby

We started off the New Year with a date night.  As our date nights are always on Tuesdays, it wasn’t a big stretch.  It was supposed to be like every other date night: dinner and a movie.  However, we met up with friends for dinner and then they dragged us to their house to wait for the movie to start.  I thought what the heck, we had an hour and half to kill why not?  I didn’t realize that I would be opening myself up to a new additiction in my life.  One thing you must know, these so-called friends have opened the door to many things that I didn’t know we needed until they came into our lives, like, TiVo (oh, how I love thee and never, NEVER, want to live without you) and Netflix (keeping blockbuster employees safe from my rantings).

Before all that, we are in the process of planning the big 2 for Sam.  The problem, his birthday is on the 2nd and Mardi Gras is on the 5th.  Some may say, NO big deal, but let me tell you a little story.  This is a story told to me by our friend who, also, has a February birthday.  It seems that babies born in late January, February and early March in New Orleans may fall to the similar fate.  A young CS planned a disco party (hold your laughter it is not polite)where all of his friends agreed to come.  When the day came, which was the same day as the Endymion parade, no one showed up.  He was left alone, while the whole city partied.  He did make it to the movies with a friend, thanks to his dad, but nothing could take the sting away from being stood up for one of the biggest parades in the city.  It appears that this is a scar that runs deep and I wonder how we can avoid this for little Sam. 

Sam’s REAL birthday is on the Saturday before Mardi Gras, which will be the day of Endymion.  We are facing a big dilemma here.  Our solution will be to celebrate Sam’s birthday on the last Saturday in January.  The poor boy will be forever confused as to which day is his actually birthday.  No matter, if I didn’t scar him in one way it would be another, so I shall push that thought aside and get on with a much bigger decision:  Thomas or Mardi Gras party.  Our friend warns that February babies are not fond of the Mardi Gras theme party.  If we are going to do it, we might as well do it while the boy has no say in it.  On the upside, I know I can get him a cheap birthday cake with minimal effort.

Now, on with my newest addiction that leaves me scratching and wondering the halls:  the Wii.  I had shunned the Wii, because I am not one of those video gamers.  GEEK!  I played Atari and the Nintendo as a young girl, but I was never that into it.  It was just a way to pass the time on long hot summer days.  Then we were opened to the wide world of hilarity of watching your friends and siginficant other look funny while trying to hit a tennis ball, shoot a balloon or maneuver a drugged out bunny through it’s world with no clear goal in mind.  We had only planned to stay for an hour, but once that Wii controller was placed in our hands we held on tight.  I enjoyed the pounding I gave my friend, in the virtual world, playing tennis with a litte Asian chick and Mayor Ray Nagin, sitting atop my brown and white cow knocking down scarecrows and blocking the sensor bar while trying to shoot at moving objects on the screen.  Who says you can’t cheat at video games? 

I have visions of justifing a big purchase of a hard to find gaming system as excercise and ignoring my family even more than I do, now.  How could anyone complain that I am not fulfilling my family obligations when I am doing something good for my body by beating the tar out of my loved ones, in the virtual world?  It is in the name of health, people.