If I’m going to focus on the positive, let me just say that I’m grateful not to be stuck in some foreign airport with cranky kids, no accommodations and no way to get home. I feel for those people. I do. But I’m naturally more concerned about the fact that I’m supposed to leave for my Mediterranean cruise next week and my travel plans include connecting through the Frankfurt airport, which has been closed for the past five days. It sounds like things may be improving a bit, which gives me hope. It sucks to wait a year for a vacation and then not be able to go. Keep your fingers crossed.

Again with the positive thoughts…Brayden had his third birthday yesterday amid much fanfare. We rented a bouncy house for his party, hoping the weather would cooperate, and as it turned out we couldn’t have asked for a better day. The kids loved the bouncy house (particularly the slide — check out the pictures in the photo gallery), which kept them occupied for almost three straight hours, and the best part was that all of the party chaos was confined to my backyard rather than my living room. Brayden was non-stop movement, of course, and when bedtime came he crashed hard, so that was heavenly.

So my baby is three years old now! He had his speech appointment last week and the therapist tells me he has suddenly caught up to where he should be for his age, which means he basically learned how to talk in two months. He also got weighed and measured last week and at 39 pounds he’s off the chart. It’s not fat, either — this kid is just built like a pitbull. I figure a few more good meals and he’ll reach the magical number of 40 pounds, which means we can move him out of a car seat and into a booster. Happy days ahead!