Micaela Marie's Birthday

Twelve years ago today......the kids love hearing the stories of the days they were born. Today was Micaela's 12th birthday and all during the day we reminded her of what was going on at exactly that time twelve years ago. Since things got going at about 4:00am and she was born just before midnight, there's a lot to tell.

For her birthday meal, Micaela picked chicken fried rice and I found frozen spring rolls that weren't as good as what you find in the U.S., but were better than nothing.

I haven't been able to find American-style cake mixes and frosting, but a little frozen chocolate cake from the supermarket was perfect for the six of us.

Still not too old for a kiss from Dad. That's Guinness, by the way, at Micaela's side, just hoping she drops a fork full of cake.

Micaela feigns surprise over her gifts. You see, she picked out most of them at IKEA on Saturday, but makes her Mommy happy by expressing shock at the big stack of presents.

Micaela requested a carpet and some bedding for her room. She got an ultra-shaggy carpet and then a pillow, featherbed and featherbed cover.

The featherbed is rather ingenious. What we got Micaela was a set -- a lighter-weight one for warm weather and a heavier-weight one for cooler weather. In the winter, you snap the two together for extra warmth. Then, you put them inside the cover, which is like a huge pillow case. You can have many different covers, so you're not tied to the same comforter or quilt all the time.

And it's easy to make the bed. You have a fitted sheet on your bed and then directly on top, the featherbed. No extra sheet or blankets to fiddle with. Just give the featherbed a fluffing and you're done.

Here's a typical pillow.

Happy Birthday, Micaela!