Sunday, March 14, 2010

Birthday Fun!

Well, I am 26! Today is my birthday and it has been so nice! I think I like weekend birthdays! The celebrating began with my school kids. One of our moms brought in cupcakes, a special drinking glass for me, and we had a little party. Earlier the kids and I had hung up a H-A-P-P-Y B-I-R-T-H-D-A-Y banner and gotten out the fun butterfly party plates I had chosen so the place was all ready for party. They even made me blow out imaginary candles. My 2 year-old "sang" the happy birthday song to me for the rest of the day. It was precious. For some reason I think it is one of the cutest things when babies "sing" songs that you can't understand a word of but that you know they are singing because the tune is perfect! I love it! The kids left early and I was free for the weekend...that is an excellent birthday present in itself!

I had had a really rough patch in my day because of a little bit of hurtful news I received and so I was THRILLED to have dinner with my sister Erika and her husband Matt. We ate Cali N Titos where I had delicious Tilapia and fresh squeezed lime-aid. I even got to see one of my former babies (students)! Love. love, love me some Elliott!!!

Erika and I caught up some and discussed more serious matters pressing on my heart. It made me feel so much better to have someone who knows me listen to me, affirm my feelings and understand me! I enjoyed the much needed baby sister moments I had. There is nothing like TLC from my sisters. The mood returned to normal as we began to reminisce a little, as I believe any and all encounters with long-time friends should. I really love when you spend enough time with someone that all of those things occur. I also am thankful for friends that I can laugh and have a good time with and also take it deeper the very next moment. It is such a blessing to have friends like this in my life. AND Erika gave me a new nightgown for my birthday! See, who would know that nightgowns are like my favorite thing ever!? Erika. Because she lived with me and made fun of me everyday of my life because I wore nightgowns. She said I looked like a grandma. But this one is SO not grandma-ish...it is SO cute!

For those of you who know me well you also know that it might be one of my life's ambitions to Save the Princess in the original NES game Super Mario Bros. It was my goal my freshmen year of college. When I became I sophomore and junior and senior and had still not accomplished this goal I just extended the deadline. Before I graduate...before 2010...before I'm 25...within my 25th year...before I get married...before I have kids...before I die, ok, the goal is the goal...I really wanted this year to be the year...I wanted to say I beat that game tonight, here with friends, video games for my birthday, what more could a girl ask for...Well needless to say tonight was not the night. If indeed in my lifetime I ever achieve this you [all] will be the first to know.

So...cupcakes, good food, good friends, video games...went to bed and slept a TON of hours...I LOVE to sleep for days at a time. Last weekend I slept for 16 hours...this weekend not so long but still, like 12. Then I got PAID for NOT baby sitting. (The family I always baby sit for on Saturday nights had to cancel for that night but he insisted on paying me anyway!) I went shopping, my mom came, went shopping some more, got lots of things I needed and lots of things I wanted. Most exciting thing...a car booster seat... Don't hate, I am SO excited about this because it is going to save ME so much hassle in my day-to-day life. Then my mom took me out to eat at one of my favorite places--Red Lobster! I got shrimp bruschetta, and more tilapia--stuffed with crab and seafood...stuff...and of course cheddar bay biscuits and a sunset colada! I was so full that thought I was probably going to thrown up. TO top that off we went to Dairy Queen and got my cake--the kind of cake I have wanted for YEARS for my birthday, to make all of my birthday dreams come true.

My mom and I played What Not to Wear when we got back to my apartment and when she left I got right to work on the millions of projects I had to get done! I was very productive and stayed up super late getting things accomplished. I cleaned some, but mostly got things picked up to clean well today and prepare for Ashley's arrival home. I worked in the nursery, was taken out for another meal, had Lydia over all afternoon and baby-sat for a home group...MORE yummy food...more people I love...LOTS of text messages, phone calls, emails and facebook messages, etc...all in all, very good day...THEN... I had 2 of my best friends come over for awhile. One of them hadn't seen my house since the PLP transformation. That made me very proud to show her.

They brought me flowers, and presents and a homemade cake. We talked about their Spring Breaks a bit and all of our crazy weeks ahead. I felt very loved and blessed. It was a very great birthday--even though I wasn't in Jamaica or another foreign country that my heart loves.