Happy Birthday to Me

Yesterday I turned another year older. THIRTY FIVE! Yikes. That's big! I made a point of reminding Ben what a "big" birthday this was, and when he took the kids shopping for three hours on my behalf, I have to admit - I had some expectations.

Of course the kids were all excited about my birthday finally arriving - they'd been crossing out the days on their calendar every night (how cute!). So when they came marching out with something behind their back yesterday morning with Dad in tow, I was genuinely curious as to what it might be. *Drumroll* With an uncertain look on his face, Will handed over an unwrapped electric toothbrush. Huh? I looked at Ben for clarification. "It's a gag" he said. Will chimed in, "Mom, I said it as a joke but then Dad said we should really get it". I of course acted thrilled with the toothbrush and thanked the kids for the gift and cards while sending mental darts at Ben... HILARIOUS.

I had learned earlier in the week that the kids had a grandiose plan of taking me out to dinner and buying me a cake, but it quickly became clear yesterday that their plan had not been formalized. I reassured the kids that we'd either buy or make a cake, and that maybe we could go out for lunch since school had been canceled. That sounded good to them. After cleaning up our messy playroom and discussing ideas on how to better utilize the space, we ended up going out for lunch at a new restaurant I suggested. The food was really good, and the whole experience actually turned out to be fun (sometimes with three kids, dinner out can be the opposite of fun). With a moderately improved mood, we then headed to the store in search of items to retro-fit our playroom into a play/exercise room... and a cake.

On the way home, Charlie listed off all the reasons why he loves me - so sweet. And when we got home, Will presented me with a birthday picture he'd been working on all week - awwwww. Ben brought the treadmill in and put together a stand for the new TV, Will and Jake inflated my exercise ball and Charlie completed a segment from my new workout video - 10 Minute Butt & Legs. After that, we all headed upstairs for cake, and everyone sang their hearts out while we watched the candles burn and spark. We finished off the day by getting in our PJ's and watching an episode of Spongebob on our new little TV in the dark.

ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL.