My Birthday!!!!

Tuesday was my birthday. And for those of you who HAVE to know, I’m 36. I’m not afraid of my age. I own it, and love it! I feel like i have been blessed to stuff so much in my life, that I am happy that I am ONLY 36. haha.

When I was little, my mom used to send me to school with cupcakes and goodie bags for all my classmates. My friends always looked forward to my birthday and the goodie bag that came in February. As I got older and my parents got busier, birthdays got put to the wayside. We didn’t do a lot of friend parties and may have had just a simple cake/ice cream for dessert.

Well….all that changed when I met my husband. He has such a strong pro-life upbringing that birthdays were soooo important to him. They were meant to be celebrated!  I will never forget on his birthday when he took me with him to buy a card for his mom. It was a beautiful “thanks for giving me life” card. The impact that that had on me was life-changing. My husband solidified, when we got married, the need to make each birthday important and special. Yep….he’s THAT KIND of guy! I fell in love with him all over again that day and he reminded me how important it is to celebrate LIFE with our family and friends.

With that in mind, it’s no surprise that my children LOVE birthdays especially mine. We started a tradition two years ago, where each child would take me on a special date for my birthday. We started early in the day, and ended with a romantic date with the hubby. My day started with a cup of hot vanilla tea made by Sweet Pea and a beautiful little card from each child. My bedroom door was lovingly decorated by my husband with beautiful construction paper signs attesting to my beautiful role as wife and mother. I wanted to share with you some pictures from my 2012 birthday day. I had a wonderful date with each kiddo with the hubby playing chaffeur all day. Then, since little Miss Missy was only three months old and nursing, she joined us for a romantic dinner.

This year was no different in the spoiling…=) The children and I had decided to break them down into two teams….Team A and Team B so that we weren’t rushed in enjoying our day. We had decided that it would be a “homeschool holiday” honoring the “founder” of our homeschooling group and the children could have the day off school. They were elated! They met to discuss where they were taking me, as it had to be a team effort and get advice from daddy on how the date would go.

My birthday morning I was awaken by mini-me jumping on me, and four little cards ready to be read. They were so excited to start the day, and I watched as DDD started throwing clothes out of my drawer for me to get dressed. The hubs decided to start the day at our favorite breakfast place and it was so nice to be greeted by some wonderful women who love my little family. The kids couldn’t help but talk about how it was my birthday with the staff. After breakfast, we piled into the van and were off. Team A consisted of Sweet Pea and Mini Me and Team B consisted of DDD and the Fashionista. However, once we pulled up to go bowling with Team B, Mini me jumped ship and decided to join Team B. I guess at the age of 3, you have that option. It was a phenomenal time. Filled with tons of jumping up and down and hugging. I love any activity in which my kids get to root each other on.

Sweet Pea and I were blessed with being able to have some alone time since Mini Me jumped ship. We hit the neighborhood Friendlys for an ice cream treat and then went next door to get manicures. Sweet Pea, at 8, is so mature and really loves to be pampered like mom. She really loved the orange color that she chose for both of us……mom is still getting used to it.

Lastly, the hubby and I tried out an amazing new restaurant for dinner. It is always nice to get away for some romantic time and the hubs never disappoints. I had to take a picture of my dinner because it was just that good!!! I’m a HUGE steak girl and this ribeye was no joke. When the waiter mentioned that the special of the night was lobster tail, it seemed fitting that one of those guys find his way on this girl’s birthday plate! Feel free to drool over my birthday cake as well….it was chocolate, peanut butter ganache…..um, yes please!!!!……(would it be wrong to get one boxed???) haha.

Thank you for sharing this celebration of my life today. As a mom, we forget that we are an example to our children in ALL THINGS. We must show our kids that we love ourselves and can take time to celebrate the life that we have. May your birthday this year be truly blessed and may you find beautiful ways to celebrate it.