30

OK.

I know you are all waiting... on pins and needles... for me to post my birthday post. The one that I promised... filled with additions to my list. 


Well... 


It's coming. 


But, it's still not finished. 


You see, the holiday weekend and my birthday celebrating just ended this morning. Well, that sounds really fun, right? It does, it does. However... most of the weekend was completely rushed and exhausting, in a perfectly good way. It just didn't leave me much time to focus on one of my favorite things in the world... my blog. :) 


Do you really want a rundown of my weekend? Probably not. I've been told I give too many meaningless details when discussing these things. Yes, I've been told that my entire life. lol. :) 


So... the quick, detail-less version (haha, I know... imagine if it were the full detail version): 


Wednesday - worked until 4:30 and then traveled to my parents' house. There, my daughter coughed so hard that it made her sick and we had to change the sheets. A perfect beginning to the weekend. lol. A perfect indicator of how the kids would feel all weekend... absolutely. 


Thursday - got up and ran a 5K with Brad, Colt, and Dawn. Finished it in 30:20. Not a bad time, but not as fast as I had hoped for. I should have trained harder leading up to it. It's my own fault. But, it was a great start to Thanksgiving. Spent the day at my grandmother's and then to my grandfather's to help cook. Overate... extremely. Kids felt bad, but I thought it was just a cold. 


Thursday night - Bailey got sick again. This time, she made it to the bathroom and we didn't have to strip any sheets down. 


Friday morning - up and at 'em at 4 a.m. Shopped until 10 a.m. Brad and Dad took the kids to have breakfast (they loved it). Then, headed to my mother-in-law's house for Thanksgiving dinner. Deliciousness. Except that Jake was sick, too. He had to run to the bathroom all day. You could tell he was feeling terrible. That night, we traveled back to my mom's to spend the night. He threw up all over the car. ALL OVER CHRISTMAS GIFTS. Well, really, only one Christmas gift, but still. Brad inherited a new jacket by default. :) 


We made it through the night without any sickness and with good night's sleep. Thankfully. I was exhausted. 


Saturday morning - we had to get back for Bailey to practice her ballet for the Nutcracker. She was still coughing pretty hard, but not as bad as she had been. We cancelled my birthday celebration and rescheduled it for Sunday, just to be safe. We spent the rest of the day relaxing and I bought our Christmas tree. We have it up, without lights or decorations yet. That will come later this week. 


Then, Sunday rolled around. We slept in. We fixed breakfast. I was bombarded by birthday wishes online and by phone (I love you all so much). I felt old. Not really. But, I felt like I should feel old. :) We played Guitar Hero to make me feel younger. I can still rock out the medium skill level, so I'm feeling OK about myself. 


At 5, we met our friends for dinner at a Japanese steakhouse, where we continued to gorge ourselves on delicious food. We also tortured an eleven-month old baby with the fire on the Hibachi grill. No, we didn't torture him on purpose, but I'm pretty sure he thought we did. He couldn't believe that we were eating at this wretched place. :) Sorry, Carson. :) The other kids had fun. We had fun. It was perfect. And, I got gifts. :) 


My hubby and kiddos got me an ipod touch (older generation): 

My mom and dad got me Paula Dean cookware (I LOVE it): 

My mother-in-law gave me money for my new running shoes (hopefully I'll get them this week): 


Photo pending my shopping. :) 


Cilla and Bret got me four of the most wonderful cards and an ice cream cake (my absolute favorite): 

Rebecca, Paul, and Joseph got me a book (Shit My Dad Says - I can't wait to get started on it!): 

And, last but certainly not least, Dawn (and Brandon, Jackson, and Carson) got me an adorable keychain with a 5K and 10K charm on it. She's promised a 13.1 (half marathon) and a 26.2 (marathon) once I complete those races, too. I might be waiting a while on that 26.2. :)

I dreaded this birthday more than any. And, yet, it turned out so wonderfully. Everyone has made me feel so loved. And, I don't feel old. At all. I feel alive. Very much alive. And very thankful for everything. And, while I absolutely love my tangible gifts, the ones that mean the most to me are the ones that you can't see. The love and encouragement I get from all of you. The cuddles with my kids and husband early in the morning. It's the sweetness of Bailey telling me happy birthday at 5 in the morning, because she woke up and instantly remembered. It's the way that Jake looked so sweetly at me on our way to go eat and told me happy birthday, even though he was very disappointed that it wasn't his birthday and that our meal would not involve french fries or rides. It's the way my husband graciously offered to fix me omelets for breakfast and let me play lead guitar on the Xbox all morning, while he sang songs he didn't know. lol.. The little things, people. :) And, it most certainly is in the hope of 30 more wonderful years and fulfilled birthday wishes (just like this year's - ;-).) 


I love you all... and thank you for being such a sweet and wonderful part of my life. 


And, I promise... the additions to my list are coming. I am just getting slow in my old age. :)  


Just for kicks... here are my favorite girls in the world. :)