As I enter into a new decade in my life, I can't help but reflect on the last one. A lot of great things happened in my 20's. I graduated from college, I met and married my best friend, I swam with whales and sea lions, I bought my first house, I had two amazing kiddos... the list goes on and on. But, regardless of how much I enjoyed the 20's, the 30's are here to stay (for a while, anyway!) So, I'm just gonna be excited about it - woo hoo - I'm 30!
Brian went out of his way to make this birthday a special one. I'm a HUGE fan of birthdays, which always made me feel a little silly, until I met Melissa. She introduced me to the concept of BIRTHDAY WEEK (which I think I always secretly tried to weasel out of my loved ones, though I never verbalized it). Thank you, Melissa, for validating my love of all things birthday. And thank you, Brian, for indulging me. You will be rewarded - your big day (week) is just around the corner!
So, what does birthday week look like, you ask? Well, the week started out with Brian being off with us on a Monday (it was the last day of the vacation time he took) so we had pictures taken of Gracie and went out to lunch. It was just a special treat to have him home with us an extra day. Brian also made the meal plan and grocery list for the week and we went shopping together (much nicer than going alone with the two kids). He cooked dinner that night and cleaned the kitchen. In fact, he released me from kitchen duty for the rest of the week... HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
On Tuesday, after dinner, Brian loaded us up in the van and drove us to Freddy's where we shared the world's most perfect food: The Brownie Sundae! I don't know what was more fun, eating the Sundae, or watching Ben eat the Sundae. He matched us bite for bite and when it was all gone asked, "Can we get some more ice cream?" The child is a bottomless pit. Anyway, yay for brownie sundaes (without nuts - not an easy find). HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
On Wednesday, Brian took my van to get washed. This was a delightful surprise that I wouldn't have thought to ask for - but I was very grateful! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
On Thursday, I had to work most of the day. However, the wonderful women that I work with took me out for... wait for it... a brownie sundae after lunch! It was fun to sneak away from the office for a little bit! Thursday night was our turn in the rotation for date night (we trade off with our neighbors every other week) so Brian took me out on the town. First, we went to the Container Store, which is my own little piece of heaven here on Earth. I have just about had it with my tiny little pantry, so I wanted to look into an Elfa build (we've already done our closet, Ben's closet, the utility room, and the garage). I LOVE Elfa - but I have to say they failed me this time around. Essentially I would have to spend about $250 to get one more shelf than I already have. I was hoping to be able to do drawers or baskets or something, but the door opening is too small. Oh well, it was nice to say hello to all the containers. Then we went to Babies R Us to pick up a new bottle for Grace in the hopes that she will use it and stop screaming at Brian all day when I'm at work. (Isn't it weird how, once you become a parent, running errands WITHOUT the kids becomes a fun date night activity?) Our last stop was Cheesecake Factory. Yummy, yummy! That's all I have to say about that! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
That brings us to Friday - the big day! Grace decided she wanted to be the first to wish me happy birthday, so she woke up starving at 5am. (She does this once every 3 or 4 days now - the rest of the time she sleeps until 7:30 or 8). I went back to sleep after I fed her and slept in until 8:30. (Brian got up with Ben for me - thanks, Babe!). After I fed Grace again, the boys brought me a card and a present (a fun stamp with our address on it - look for it on our Christmas cards!). Then, we loaded up in the car and Brian took us to a little bakery called "Cupcake Couture" for a birthday cupcake. Once again, I think Ben had more fun than anybody. He picked out his own little mini cupcake from the platter, wolfed it down, and then tried to talk us out of our cupcakes. "But I'm sooooo hungry!" he says. I wasn't buying it. At noon, Missy came by to take me out to lunch (which I knew about) and a pedicure (which I did not know about). Thanks, Miss, you're such a blessing and an amazing friend! Aubrey, you will be thrilled to know that my toes would now pass inspection ;). When I got home from our girls outing, it was time for naps, so I enjoyed the quiet house for a little while. When Brian got up, he informed me that I needed to be ready to go at 5:20. What?! We're going out again? I thought last night was my birthday dinner. Nope - he had a baby-sitter all lined up and off we went. Once we were in the car, he said that I can never decide whether I want Cheesecake Factory or Pappadeaux's for my birthday, so because I'm turning 30 I get both! What a great husband! And the icing on the (birthday) cake was that he invited some of our friends to join us. We had a great dinner with Aaron & Liz, Caleb & Abby, and Seth & Melissa (my birthday week partner in crime). The food was great (did you know they have REAL whipped butter - hee hee), and we laughed a lot. It was the perfect end to a great week. If the rest of my 30's are half as great as this week was, I'll be a very blessed woman! Anyway - here we are dinner - thanks, guys, for sharing my special day with me!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!
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