Humph. 37

I had a birthday last week.  I consider my birthday to be the most wonderful day of the entire year.  I also consider anyone who doesn’t agree with me to be a jerk.

I’m happy to report that it was indeed the most wonderful day of the year.  Michael took the day off from work and we were able to spend time together playing and celebrating my wonderfulness.  My friend took Eva for a few hours so Myke and I could go to lunch at an adult restaurant with other adults, then we picked up Eva and went to the movies.  We watched Trolls and ate a gigantic tub of popcorn and drank a Coke Zero big enough to make an elephant look dwarfish.  We then sealed off the day with cake and presents. 

 

 

 

Michael got me an electric knife sharpener and a cake stand.  How did he know that’s exactly what I wanted?  (It might have been the bullet-pointed birthday list I emailed him but it’s hard to say exactly.)  He also wrote me a sincere note extoling my good qualities and overlooking my poor ones.  It’s nice to have that guy around.

I initially felt weird about turning 37 but after a day of warm wishes from my family and friends, I felt grateful and blessed instead.   And I got to eat German Chocolate cake with impunity.

37 ain’t so bad.

Snuggles

Eva loves to burrow into her warm, cozy blankets and snuggle up to her…

kitchen tongs?

They’re the best to cuddle with.  As long as you don’t mind sharp edges.  Or being pinched.  Or the coldness of metal pressed against your face.

Cuddly, cuddly.

Discernment

If you were a kid and your grandparents gave you 50 bucks for your birthday, what would you choose to spend it on?

Well, first you’d choose dress shoes because your mom is a buzzkill.  But then…then you’d go wild at Target and choose lots of other really neat stuff.

Like a big T-Rex and Triceratops.

Or Minnie Mouse. 

And the classic motorized fishing game.  (This game is deceptively difficult.  Or I’m just deceptively stupid.)

A light-up ball is also a fun choice.  50 bucks buys you a lot when you’re 4.

For days after her money was gone,  Eva kept asking to go to back to Target to spend her money.   She couldn’t wrap her little mind around the fact that her money was used up at Target, and in exchange, she had all these fun toys.  After about a week of the same conversation about her money being gone, she announced that she wanted to give all her toys back to Target and get her money back so she could buy different toys.

Well, you can’t blame the girl for trying. 

14!

Michael and I celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary on Tuesday.  Let me tell you the best way to celebrate your 14th wedding anniversary.

First, make arrangements with a babysitter to watch your child on the Saturday before your anniversary so you can have a nice, romantic dinner out.  Then, 2 hours before your babysitter is supposed to arrive, have your child develop a spontaneous case of explosive diarrhea.  Cancel with your babysitter and spend the evening with the aftermath of a diarrhea bomb disguised as your child.

Have your husband get takeout from your favorite Thai restaurant.  Enjoy your meal in between announcements from Miss Poopy-Pants that, “Uh-oh.  I pooped again.”

On the actual day of your anniversary, go to breakfast with your spouse.  Then, have your spouse spend the entire breakfast corresponding with work on his cell phone while you eat pancakes in silence.

Be sure to eavesdrop on the conversations happening all around you and judge the people involved for their ridiculous conversations. 

That evening, plan a delicious meal of homemade pot stickers and Marion berry cobbler.  Then, make sure you disregard the recipe’s instruction to use a non-stick skillet and use a regular one instead.  Spend 10 minutes trying to scrape the pot stickers out of the regular skillet and herniate a disc in your back in the process.

Eat the mangled, yet delicious meal and be sure to have a second helping of cobbler because restraint really is an absurd notion.

Finally, sit on the couch and dink around on your cell phone while an episode of Hawaii Five-O blares in the background and your husband obsessively follows the election results. 

But…just when you’re feeling sad that you’re old and comfortable in your relationship, look on the mirror and see the sweet note that your husband wrote for your anniversary.   

Come to the conclusion that being old and comfortable isn’t the worst thing that could happen to you; having a 4-year-old with diarrhea is much worse. 

And with that, you can go to bed happy.

That, my friends, is how you celebrate 14 years of marriage.    

Happy old and comfortable anniversary, Mykey! 

This is Halloween, Halloween

Beautiful weather.  Good friends.  Loads of candy.

Perfect Halloween.

The 4th

Eva ignored my pleas to stay a little baby and turned 4 last week.  4!  I will never stop marveling at how quickly she is growing.  I’ll be 85 still in awe when my baby turns 53.  It’s the way of motherhood I guess.

I hope Eva enjoyed her birthday because I thought it was a fine day.  We spent the week prior to the big day at my sissy’s house in Coeur d’Alene, where I took exactly 1 picture.  This one:

Eva and Britta had matching outfits at church.  It was not planned but divine nonetheless.  I apologize for my defect of not taking pictures away from home; it’s a nuisance.  Despite my photo-oversight, I sincerely had a wonderful time with my sister, as always.  My parents were also at my sissy’s house and then caravanned with me back home to spend a few days.  We had a fine time exploring around.  It was especially fine that they were here for Eva’s birthday.

The morning of her birthday, I went in to wake her up for school and shouted, “Happy Birthday, Eva!”  She gave me a glowing smile and then I said, “You’re 4!  I can’t believe it!”  She didn’t like this statement.  She insisted that she wasn’t 4 yet.  Not until she blew out her candles.  If someone asked if she was 4, her response remained, “Not until I blow out my candles.”  She officially recognized turning 4-years-old at 7:00 that evening,.

It was a school day and they were trick-or-treating at school so she was able to wear her costume all day on her birthday.  I thought it was the perfect way to spend the day.  She continued to wear her kitty costume until bedtime.  While she was at school my mom and I attempted to make her a rainbow cake.  That’s what Eva has been counting on for months.  We had a few stumbles along the way – mostly that I stink at frosting – but we salvaged a nice little cake in the end.  When I excitedly showed Eva the finished cake, she said, “Where’s the butterfly?”  Dang.  We forgot that she wanted a butterfly.  Thankfully my mama can do anything and quickly fashioned a little creature out of tootsie rolls.  Success!

 

We spent the day at the coast where it was cold and rainy, but we ate salt water taffy and enjoyed ourselves anyway; even if we did miss the lighthouse tour.

We had Eva’s party in the evening and it was a superb ending to my baby’s birthday. 

Zootopia

A kitty towel

Paw Patrol cars

Awesome magnets from Aunt Cam.

Eva also received a teddy bear and book from Grandma Lisa and cash from my parents.  I’ll tell you later what a 4-year-old spends money on when given free range at Target. 

Happy birthday to my sweet Eva!