33

Every 6 years my birthday falls on a Sunday, and I kind of hate it. Sundays are poor birthday days, anyway, because we believe in keeping the sabbath day holy, so that means any celebrating like going out to dinner or having a party or going swimming or anything--we do it on a day not a birthday, and even though that's fun, it's just not the same as on your birthday. But when my birthday is on a Sunday, that means it's also Mother's Day. My sixteenth birthday was a Mother's Day birthday, and I was asked to give a talk that day! I also share a birthday with my mother, which I actually love. She would always say something about me being her favorite birthday present, and she never seemed to mind sharing her day with me. We would have two cakes; angel food for breakfast (hers), and a devil's food cake after dinner. It was a fun tradition.

I digress. I was dreading this Mother's Day birthday even more than usual because my big baby reveal plans were erased three weeks ago, and I knew that today would be another reminder. 

I don't want this post to drag on, but I do want to remember all of the ingredients that made it one of the best birthdays I have ever had.

I had girl time, family time, me time, Joe time, and friend time--and I fit it all in in basically 2 days. I have this ongoing argument about which of these I need--it's a delicate balancing act, because I need all of them, at times, and I'm afraid of choosing the wrong one. Having the opportunity to get all of this good quality time in is probably what made the weekend so wonderful.

Friday night a few of us got together at a friend's house to watch Saving Mr. Banks. It was a good movie, and the company made it even better. Saturday morning Joe made us crepes for breakfast, and then we went on a family hike--one of my favorite family activities. Then we came home and took a nap, and then I went shopping and used my birthday money to buy some clothes--for me!! I got home and soon after, Joe and I went out for Mexican food. THEN (it just keeps getting better) a friend texted me and said she had made a cake, so we collected our children and we got to spend time with good friends while we ate this delicious cake. Doesn't it look good?!

Grant decided to get sick, and he walked into our room about 2:00 a.m. this morning, crying. I rubbed his wet head while he explained he had thrown up all over his bed. Joe whispered "happy birthday" to me and told me to stay in bed while he took care of it. Heart throb, right there. Funny thing is that his saying that made me want to get out of bed to help, so he showered Grant while I stripped the bed and started the laundry.

Joe made me a feta and spinach omelet for breakfast and then cleaned everything up while I got ready for church. The kids were anxious to open presents, and I got almost everything I boldly suggested (I wanted new nightstands and Joe suggested we wait for the new house, which is smart. He's such a smart guy!). 

Logan drew this on the ipad for me. 

And here's a shot of the gifts I received. Can you guess who gave what? Also, they told me they are trying to make me fat. 

Joe made me steak and potatoes for dinner--yum! He said it's the first time he's ever made steak, which should give some good insight into what kind of people we are! (He tweeted it and someone asked him if we were communist, lol.) I knew that after all the cheesecake and berry cake that I did not need or want cake today, so I told the family yesterday that I would happily sacrifice dessert on my birthday. The kids wouldn't stand for that, so they bought root beer and vanilla ice cream, and tonight they sang me happy birthday over root beer floats. We kept them very small, half-cup floats, but the kids didn't mind because that means they can have more sugar for FHE tomorrow. Hooray! 

And my celebration weekend is not even over! Joe told me last week that he is going to work from home tomorrow, which just makes me giddy. I won't see him very much during the day, but he'll come downstairs to eat lunch with me, and maybe we can eat dinner a little earlier tomorrow (we usually eat around 6:30-7:00 p.m.). I love knowing that he's just a room away.

Operation birthday #33: success!