Happy Birfday!

I had another birthday.

This is the moment that I realized I'm 44 now.

Who me? Couldn't be!

It was a delightful birthday nonetheless.

A couple of days before, Mykey and I went to the Biltmore Estate.  THAT was amazing.  The sun was shining and we had a great time.  We were the youngest visitors by a couple of decades, so Baby received excessive amounts of attention.  At one point I was swarmed by 5 old ladies outside the bathroom, where they all cooed and admired Baby.  It was really sweet.  I felt very proud of my beautiful baby. 

On my actual day of birth, I was met in the morning with gifts and an awesome giraffe card from Kitty.  We had lunch at my favorite BBQ joint, went to the park so Kitty could practice rolling on her wheeled shoes, opened presents, and closed out the day driving through Christmas lights at the Bristol Motor Speedway.  We even got to drive on the track! I felt like our car would tip right over.

Mykey went all out and bought me perfume, a bluetooth speaker, and a jewelry cleaning machine.  I received cash from my parents and mother-in-law, which I will use to purchase a fancy curling iron.

It was a happy 44th birthday indeed! 

5th Grade Music Program

You know what's weird? 

A tap-dancing raccoon.

But it's also weird that my oldest baby recently performed in her final elementary school program.

The raccoon is prolly weirder though.

ANYWHO...Kitty was in a music program and was chosen to be a waltzer! With a boy! They had to touch palms! She was simultaneously embarrassed, excited, and nervous.

I was just excited and proud.  Immensely proud. 

Look at my beauty.

It was a really nice program - short and sweet.  

Kitty did great even though she was stuck next to a bawl baby for the first half of the show.

It's alright, her mama was also being a bawl baby in the audience.

Her waltz was a success and we celebrated the event with pizza for dinner.

Another milestone for my girl.

Now no more!

Happenings

A few snippets of life:

Saturday morning soccer games

All the Buzz in P.E. Award, complete with a gift certificate to Texas Roadhouse

Mastering the Etch-a-Sketch

Birthday money cotton candy machine

Baby becoming a handyman.  Or is it a handybaby?

3rd place in our ward chili cook-off for me and Most Creative costume for Mykey

New sleep mask

Ongoing floor repairs and installation.  Wait.  That's still happening?  You bet it is.

And there isn't a pacifier in this world that Baby will take.

Trust me.  I've purchased them all. 

I might make Michael start using them just to get my money's worth.

And he'll have to do it because I said so.

21 Big Ones

I'm so young and spry, it's hard to believe I've been espoused to Michael for 21 years.  

21 years!

It was a nice anniversary for us. Michael took the day off from work so we could be together.  Awww. He bought me chocolates from an amazing place in Boston.  Aww.  

And then he spent half of the afternoon at the allergy clinic with Kitty getting an updated scratch test.  Not much of an awww.

But the good news is that Kitty is less allergic to life than she used to be.

We did get to spend the morning together alone though.  Well, except for the crying baby.  

We had donuts at our favorite place. The maple bacon was divine.

And we went for a drive to see the fall colors. With a crying baby.

Later in the evening we had steak for dinner at a restaurant.  With a crying baby.

Who keeps inviting this baby?!

After 21 years of marriage to Michael, I can say with all sincerity that I love him more now than I did on our wedding day.

He is my source of happiness, the one I want to talk to about everything, my guiding light, my calm in the storms, and my one true love.

(Side note: the next day I pulled the chocolates out of the pantry and they were crawling with little ants! I screamed.  Michael gasped.  We brushed them off and ate them anyway.  Go ahead and judge me.  They're too delicious and expensive to waste over a few ants.)

Happy 21st Anniversary, Mykey!

Spookytime

We had a glorious Halloween this year.  Kitty decided on her costume months prior to the big night, and we anxiously awaited for China to send it our way.

After our first order failed we had to find a new vendor.  The stress of whether or not the costume would make it across the ocean in time for Halloween was dizzying.  Thankfully the boats were running quickly and the costume arrived on time. Whew!

Kitty was a character from Zelda named Purah.  She's a scientist of some sort.  No one knew who she was.  Wah-wah.  She did get a couple of shout-outs and it made her night.  Next year she's going the more traditional route.  I told her to choose from one of my childhood costumes: clown or hobo.  That was it for me.  But everyone could recognize what I was!

Mykey was Mad-Eye Moody, Baby was a bat, and after discovering that my Ghostbusters costume was far too tight in the hips and backside, I was a cat.  I learned my lesson about purchasing a 5 dollar costume without trying it on.  Too tight and itchy.  Wah-wah.

Kitty has a best friend from school, whose father is also her soccer coach.  We spent the evening with their family.  We had pizza, all the snacks you could ever want, and a gargantuan pan of chips and queso dip, which we were lucky enough to take home at the end of the night.  It's possible Mykey and I ate every last chip.  Possibly.

It was a beautiful night and a bit on the cold side, but we had fun nonetheless.  Baby protested the stroller after a while and I ended up having to carry her the last half hour.  At least the extra body kept me warm.  I also stole Kitty's costume gloves to keep my digits from turning hypothermic.  

I have a temperature problem.  Always cold.  Always.

Kitty scored a pillowcase's worth of goodies and everyone was happy.  The Mom Tax was especially tasty.

Happy Halloween!

11 Years of Kitty

My first baby is 11-years-old.  11! 

One word sums up Kitty's 11th birthday: Zelda.

She is everything Zelda all the time.  With the occasional Lego intermission.

We had Zelda themed invitations and gift bags.

She received Zelda themed gifts.

And we had a Zelda party at the trampoline park where she made it to the top of the Ninja wall! Kitty also requested a Texas Sheet cake this year and that was a blessing for her dear old mother.  I need simplicity.  

She scored in the gift department.  She received shoes with wheels - they are not easy to use at first - an Etch-a-Sketch, a Lava lamp from Mykey's mom, and crafts, gift cards, and a robotic lizard from her friends.  And of course, an enormous Harry Potter Lego set from her cousins.  She instantly went to work on that baby.  She also spent her money from my parents on an Indiana Jones Lego set. 

It was the perfect way to celebrate 11 years of Kitty.

She brings me such joy.  We are very similar in our Viking rage, and sometimes we clash stronger than the Titans, but Kitty truly is a pleasure to have around.  I love watching her grow, but I wish it wouldn't happen so quickly!  I love her with all of my heart.

Happy Birthday to Kitty!