Celebration

We are wrapping up birthday week for both Ben and I. We've been in celebration mode for the past several days and have had some great times and some not-so-great times. You can't win 'em all. It's super fun having our birthdays so close together but also adds some pressure to really celebrate...which can be both good and bad.

My wonderful sister-in-law Cindy offered to come over Wednesday morning to watch my girls so I could go get a pedicure. It was fabulous. I was the only one in there so they spent a whole hour on my ugly feet and it was so, so nice. Taking time out to pamper yourself once in awhile is so important. My darling husband got me a heart rate monitor I had been wanting and took me to Panera bread for dinner. We didn't have a lot of time because I had to be back for Activity Days at the church. I spoiled the evening by doing some major complaining that Ben wasn't fawning over me enough and because he handed me my present in a garbage bag rather than wrapping it. Leave it to me to make a mountain out of a mole hill. He and my friend Martha had cupcakes and candles waiting for me when I got home that night to try to de-funk my birthday attitude. It worked.Thursday I got a wonderful package from my family in the mail and that night I went out for crepes with some awesome gals in my ward to celebrate. Nothing like presents in the mail and a night out with the girls.Friday morning I spent hours making Ben a birthday cake...German chocolate with homemade everything. I had my doubts when the overfull cake pans were bubbling over the sides and landing on the tray of toasting coconut and pecans underneath and the house was filling with smoke....but it turned out. So very rich but so very delicious. Rosie and Evie loved helping. I let them take turns sitting up on the counter to hold whisks and shake containers and watch me beat. They also had chocolate frosting covered spoons in their high chairs and fell in love. Girls after my own heart.We continued to celebrate by going to IKEA on Saturday and getting some fun, cheap stuff for the house and even very impulsively splurged on a play-set for the girls. They are so into climbing lately and are loving it. That night my friend Kendra came and babysat and Ben and I went out for a birthday date. We went to Olive Garden and talked about how five years ago, on this exact same Saturday night between our two birthdays was our very first date....at Olive Garden. We went to a movie afterwards and it was so fun and simple and perfect. Date nights are a must.
Sunday we thoroughly enjoyed church in the morning with the girls playing happily in nursery. I can't get over how much better Sundays are now. We had plans for a triple birthday party for Ben, my brother in law Chris, and I that afternoon with cheese and chocolate fondu and watching the 49ers game.

After church, Ben helped himself to an enormous piece of cake and I reminded him how rich it was and that we would be fondu-ing soon. His response was: "If I want to make myself sick on my birthday by eating too much cake- that's my choice." Famous last words.

People arrived and we started setting up for the first fondu course and Ben started feeling sick. He ended up being MAJORLY sick and threw up the rest of the evening and didn't get to enjoy even one bite of the birthday feast. And then the 49ers lost in overtime. BOOOOOO. Things just don't always go the way you planned. Poor, poor Benny. He has had a really good attitude about the whole thing. In fact I think I was more upset than he was that his birthday was ruined.
He didn't get sick from the cake but has a terrible stomach bug that now we are hoping didn't spread to everyone else last night. My poor baby Eve woke up twice in the night puking and continued this morning. Ugh. Ben went in half day because he has a lot to get done at work and I've been laundering pukey crib sheets and pjs and bleaching out every nasty bathroom in the house. Lovely. We are also in the middle of adjusting from dropping morning nap because the girls seem ready. They are doing really well and have been so sweet and somber and cuddly today. I'm hoping this sickness passes quickly. Birthday officially over and the lesson I learned over this past week is that it is ALL about attitude. It will make you or break you and it is your choice. I hope to remember that throughout my last amazing year in my twenties.