It was GREAT!!!
But I'm really glad it's over! I've had a really terrific birthday, but I am sooooo tired. (I know, Tammy--it's because I'm "31 years old now!" Nah--I would've felt tired after a day like this 10 years ago. So there!)
But first I'll catch you up on the past few days. Uummm... I put together the Regional Paper. That's about it! Still haven't touched the ironing. Done some minor cleaning. The end. There, that didn't take too long! We have had some more of those really great sunsets...
This morning I got up, took my shower, and cleaned the house. It had gotten really messy yesterday, kitchen and all, and I was helping James with report stuff last night and didn't get a chance to clean it. I knew I'd have a much better birthday if I had a clean house, so I spent an hour or so getting it that way. I called and talked to Mom for a while. I learned last year that it's no good to wait around for her call--if I want a birthday song from her I'll have to call and ask for it. ;-)
After that we loaded everybody up and headed to town! First stop: The Olive Garden. You know how you get those particular hankerings when you're fasting? How one specific thing pops into your head and you can almost taste it on the tip of your dried and crackly tongue?! Ha! Well, I'd been dreaming of fettuccini alfredo for days. And I wasn't disappointed. It was sooooooo good!!! James told the waitress it was my birthday, so a horde of employees came out and sing some hip "have a great day" song and set a little plate in front of me with a candle in the middle of... a small pile of mints! Ha! I did my very best not to laugh out loud, at least until they left. I mean, come on!!! It's not like this is some super chintzy place--it's the Olive Garden! And the best they could come up with were mints?! That's kind of sorry, you know? At least they were Andes mints. Enough for everybody to have two... if the Dad hadn't eaten three. The boys ended up with one and a half.
After that we went over to the mall so we could go to Christopher & Banks and James could buy me an outfit for the Assembly. Today was the last day of the buy-any-top-get-any-other-top-half-price sale, so I walked out with four items for the price of two! Not really. I only buy things that are on sale there, so I can't really look at it like that. Still, all of the things I got were already ON sale, so it still works! Sadly, none of them will really work for the Assembly, but I've got a few really great casual shirts now! :-)
We walked the mall for a while trying to find a suit for each of the boys for the Assembly. Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! The prices some people want for a suit for a kid who's going to outgrow it in 3 months!!! CRAZY. I like the one we got for Joe last year for $12. Aren't there any more of those around?! We'll keep looking, 'cuz it's just absurd to pay $64.95 for a suit for a 6 year old. Are there people that actually do things like that??? ~whew~ Not me!
We were parched after a while and sat down to enjoy an Orange Julius (raspberry for me) before we left the mall. I even got my very own because it was my birthday. :-) I usually just share mine with the kids instead of getting them one of their own.
We went to the dollar store and I waited in the Envoy while James took the kids in to shop. They each selected a gift for me... and one for themselves! It's just too painful to walk into a dollar store and not get something for yourself when you're that age, you know?! They insisted I open their gifts as soon as they got back in the car. Katie bought me a magnetic notepad on a mini-clipboard with a pencil (something SHE would love to have!), Joe got me a pack of mechanical pencils (we're ALWAYS looking for pencils around here), and Sam got me a green dish towel with a leaf embroidered on it (he thought that's what I would want). It's so fun to see how pleased they are with what they've chosen "special" just for me! It was great. What sweet, thoughtful kids.
For themselves, Katie and Sam each got a toy cell phone--Katie's is a replica of my own, which she thinks is SO COOL. Joe got yet another pirate set. Like there aren't enough hooks and patches and revolvers lying around here already.
We came home and laid the kids down for a while. I put a few more finishing touches on the Regional Paper (like the page numbers I'd forgotten to add) and then James started the printing while I worked on a grocery list. We then loaded everybody up and went to Edgewood to do some major shopping at Wal-Mart. It was dinner time though, so we stopped and ate at DJ's Doghouse (or simply, "The Doghouse") on the way. I was soooooo not hungry and I made myself order just a corn dog. Then I went and ordered a cherry cream soda float! What can I say--it's my birthday! :-)
We had a huge list and I had ads from three different stores with at least 15 or 20 comp-ad items. It takes so much longer to shop like that (especially checking out!--I'm just glad we were in Edgewood and nobody was behind us!), but it saves soooooo much money!
By the time we were finished there it was already past 8:00 and we were all beat. Sam couldn't even stay awake on the short drive home, but Joe was nice enough to play pillow for him.
We got home and unloaded the Envoy, then I put groceries away while the kids put their pj's on. Then it was time for yet some more partying! I insisted that James take pictures. I take pictures all the time and I love it. But that means I'm never in them. I love that, too, most of the time! But I hate it that my kids will look back at the thousands and thousands of pictures of their childhood and say, "Hey, wasn't Mom around for any of this?!" So I figured I'll pass the camera off one day a year so they'll know that at least I came home to celebrate my birthday with them each year. ;-)
I was real excited because Katie was arranging the candles to make a 13 instead of a 31, but James remedied it. Jerk. :-)
I had a little help blowing out all those candles...
Me and my Katie Girl
Good old Mosey...
And crazy Sambo!
I even got a Sammy kiss--which is about the sweetest thing in the whole wide world. I could get a hundred a day and never get tired of them. :-)
And all three of the little rug rats
Katie took a couple pictures of me and James--proof that they actually have two parents at one time every now and again. ;-)
(James wanted me to crop out the pajama pants. I did in the first shot, but somehow missed it in the second. Don't tell him. Ha!)
And that's about it! It's 10:30 now and I've even blogged about it all. It's been a good, fun, happy day and I'm soooooo thankful for all of God's blessings. I've had 31 really, really terrific years and I'm so grateful for them! He's just sooooooooo good to me.
I'm also thankful that my fast is over.
:-)
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